Unrestricted Warfare

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven

Chapter One

The bright light of Celestia's sun shined through the clear blue sky over the seaside town of Mareseilles. Everywhere you could see, ponies were seen conducting their normal day routines of shopping in the markets or eating at one of the many restaurants that this town had to offer. Inside one of these restaurants sat two unicorns in a corner booth near a window. One of them who had dark green fur was busy happily munching away on a plate full of pancakes. The other one, with bright red fur, seemed content with just reading a newspaper while occasionally taking a sip from his mug of apple cider.

"So Steel...." Port Side said after swallowing what he had in his mouth. "You think we'll be getting out of here today?"

"To be honest. I'm not sure," Steel replied after a sigh while still reading the paper. "We've been docked here for three days now and that shipment of new suits of armor hasn't shown up yet. Correct me if I'm wrong, Port. But didn't we get told that those things would be ready to go by the time we got here?"

"We did get told that before leaving Manehattan," Port replied. "But hey! Look on the bright side. At least we've had good weather while we've been here. Not even a cloud in the sky today."

"I suppose so," Steel replied. "Almost seems like we're on vacation." This made Port chuckle a little.

"I'm sure my brother would love to be here instead of back in Manehattan," he said while leaning back in his chair. "Back when we were young, Broadside and I always enjoyed being outside on days like these. You know who I'm talking about, right?"

"Admiral Broadside?" Steel asked. "Yeah. I've spoken to him maybe once or twice before. Kinda seems a bit too uptight if you ask me."

"Yeah," Port said while nodding. "He always was one that liked doing things 'by the book' as he would say. But he's also the reason why I joined the Merchant Marine in the first place." This made Steel set the paper down so he could listen to what his friend had to say. "When he got out of school, he left to go join the Navy right away. My parents were so proud of him even though they missed him very much." He then used his magic to lift his mug of cider to his mouth for a quick sip before continuing. "I tried enlisting in the Navy myself so I could be with him again, but I didn't last very long in there."

"Why's that?" Steel asked. "You've certainly got the talent. I've never seen any pony rise through the ranks of the academy as quickly as you."

"Thanks, Cap," Port replied. "But I just didn't have the physical stats that Broadside has. I couldn't keep up with the other recruits in boot camp. So I had to either go back home or join the Merchant Marine." He then finished up his breakfast before looking out one of the windows of the small building. Just a few blocks away, the four funnels of the ship they arrived on could be seen over the rooftops of a few buildings. "I'm glad I chose the latter. Otherwise I probably never would've gotten the opportunity to serve on such a beautiful looking ship."

"Indeed. Plus I wouldn't have an amazing First Officer," Steel replied before looking up at the clock on the wall. "Well. This has been an enjoyable time." He said before getting off of his seat. "But it's time to head back and see if we can head out for Manehattan today." Port nodded before getting off of his seat as well. Steel then levitated a few bits out of his coat pocket and left them on the table as payment for the meal along with a tip for the waitress.

Stepping outside, the two set off for the docks in hope of finally being able to depart. "Thanks for the breakfast, Cap." Port said as the two walked down a sidewalk. "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"What are friends for?" Steel asked. "Besides. Though I love my ship very much, even I need to go ashore every once in a while."

"You do seem to spend a lot of time on the ship," the green unicorn replied as the harbor came into view. "Almost like she's your actual home." As the two ponies neared the docks, the sounds of seagulls, cranes, and steam whistles filled the air. Carts loaded with various crates passed by as they came up to the security checkpoint booth.

"Identification, please," the guard pony said as he leaned against his counter inside the booth. Steel presented him with his identification and E.M.M. badge. Port did the same as well. The guard pony looked at each item for a minute or so before returning them to their respective owners and proceeded to wave them through. Once inside, the two ponies immediately set their sights on their docked ship, the flagship of the Red Apple Line, the EMS Mareitania. You wouldn't be able to miss her even if you weren't paying attention because from the view of standing on the wharf. She looked like a floating eleven story building.

"Port," Steel said as the two walked toward their ship. "I want you to take charge of the bunkering. It should already be getting started by the time you get aboard. If we are able to leave today, I don't want anything to delay us even further. Once I'm done with my meeting with Star, I'll meet you up on the bridge."

"Yes sir," Port replied before saluting. Steel responded with a salute of his own and watched as the green unicorn quickly rushed off toward the ship. Once he couldn't see him any longer, he turned to walk over to a small building located just a few yards away from the dock.

"Please let us finally be able to leave," he thought to himself before he stopped at the door. "Even though this is a nice town, I don't want to be here any longer than I need to." Using his magic to turn the knob, Steel slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Closing the door behind him, he found himself looking at a light blue unicorn mare who was sitting behind a desk, filling out some paperwork. "Umm... excuse me," he said in an attempt to gain her attention. It did the job as her gold colored eyes looked up at him.

"Good morning sir." The mare said as she moved the paper she was writing on to the side of her desk. "My name is Gale Wind. How may I help you today?"

"Hello Gale," Steel replied. "My name is Steel Blade. I have an appointment with Star Board to see if the shipment I'm waiting for is due to arrive today."

"Ah. Captain Blade," Gale replied before bringing up a clipboard in her gold colored aura of magic. "Star is expecting you. Her door is just down the hall, second door on the right."

"Thank you," he said before looking where Gale had said to go. "Have a good day now." Gale simply smiled before she went back to her paperwork, leaving Steel to walk down the small hallway until he came up to a door that had the words 'Harbor Master' nailed on it. He then softly knocked on it before waiting a little bit for a response.

"Come in," a mare's voice on the other side said before Steel began to open the door. Inside the room sat a light red pegasus mare behind a large wooden desk who was stamping a few papers. The emotion she was displaying on her face could easily be determined as her wanting to be anywhere else than where she was.

"Good morning Star." Steel said, instantly gaining the other pony's attention. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing well, I suppose," she replied. "I've just been swamped by all this paperwork." She then pushed the papers to the side of her desk as Steel sat down in a chair in front of the desk. As he did this, she proceeded to rest her head on her hoof before she looked at Steel. "If I had known that being Harbor Master of this place meant filling out almost 100 papers a day, I don't think I'd have taken this job." This made Steel chuckle a little as the pegasus grabbed a clipboard out of one of her drawers. "I suppose you're here wondering about that late shipment. Am I right?"

"Absolutely," Steel replied. "I don't mean to be a bother to you. But these supplies that are already aboard are really needed back in Manehattan so they can be distributed to the various towns and outposts in Equestria under our control. If that shipment isn't here today, Mareitania may have to leave without it."

"Yes," Star replied. "I've been hearing so many things about this war that's been going on. Makes me glad things are nice and calm over on this side of the sea." After saying that, she flipped through a few papers on the clipboard before looking at Steel again. "Well. I'm sure you'll be relieved to hear that your armor shipment is here and is currently being loaded onto your ship as we speak."

"Really?"

"Yeppers," she said in a cheerful tone. "I have a document confirming the arrival of your armor shipment right here." She then slid the clipboard across the desk to him. "Everything is there for you. Cargo manifest, departure schedule, and clearance papers. Also, my bunkering crew will be finished loading your ship in an hour or so."

"That's great to hear," he replied in an impressed tone as he looked at her. "I've never seen a ship fully coaled up in that short amount of time."

"About that," she continued as the tone in her voice lowered while her ears flattened. "Your liner isn't getting as much coal as we've given in the past. Our coal reserves have been running out. I'm afraid what you'll be getting is the last we have until our next supply comes in from the mines."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "How long would that take?"

"A few more days," she answered. "At least a week to get the reserves fully resupplied." Hearing that, Steel just sighed as he weighed his options. He knew that the supplies on board his ship was desperately needed back in Equestria. Especially the suits of armor.

"What would you advise we do then?" he asked. "Manehattan's at least four days worth at our top speed."

"What we've given you should get you there, Captain," she replied. "I won't make any promises though. You're more than welcome to wait here a few days longer. And as soon as the train arrives with the coal, Mareitania will have first priority when it comes to bunkering."

"I appreciate that," he said. "But these supplies are needed back in Equestria. My hooves are tied."

"Understood," she replied. "I'll let the crews of our tugs know that you'll be departing today."

"Alright," he said as he glanced at the cargo manifest. "Well. Besides the shipment of armor. It looks like everything else that I already know of is on here."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked. "Look at the very bottom of the list." Raising an eyebrow in confusion, the stallion did as the mare suggested and looked. As soon as his eyes saw the very last thing on the list, he gasped in shock at what was listed.

"One hundred crates... of high explosive gunpowder?!" he read out loud. "Why are those on my ship?!"

"Admiral Broadside sent us a request to have them loaded on your ship," she answered before producing a paper for the Captain to see. "He said that the reserves of them were dwindling in Manehattan. So he wanted more sent over on your liner."

Looking at the message, Steel couldn't believe what he was reading. But everything looked official as far as seals and signatures were concerned.

"Is he nuts?!" he screamed internally. "My liner isn't built to carry that kind of cargo!"

"Are you alright, Steel?" Star asked, noticing that his eyes were fixated on the paper. "Do you need a glass of water or something?"

"Huh?" he replied, looking up at her. "N-No. I'm fine. I... just wasn't expecting to have such a... delicate cargo loaded on board." He then sighed heavily before signing the papers. As much as he wanted to have those crates taken off, he couldn't overrule the Admiral's decision. "Guess we'll... just have to be extra careful," he continued.

"Definitely," she replied. "So. Around 2:00 is when we should have all of the tugs needed for your ship." Hearing that, he looked up at the clock mounted on her wall.

"Two hours," he said as the clock showed it being noon. "That should be plenty of time for me to get things ready to go." With that said, he got out of the chair before taking his copies of the papers with his magic. "Thank you very much, Star," he said while walking over to the door. "Try not to have too much fun with those papers now."

"Oh you don't have to worry about that," she replied. "Have a safe journey back."

"Will do," he said before closing the door behind him. "Well," he thought while walking down the hallway towards the main door. "I hope I made the right choice. I know I should just wait here for more coal. But we can't sit here any longer than we've already been. I'm sure Broadside must be furious over the fact that we haven't left yet."

As Steel began to make his way over to his docked liner, little did he know how true his thought really was. Even though Celestia's sun was just peeking up over the horizon in Manehattan, Admiral Broadside was already sitting at his desk as he began his morning by crossing off the previous date on his calendar.

"Three days," he said to himself as he looked at the three red X's on the paper. "That ship has been there for three days and they haven't left yet? How in the name of Tartarus are we supposed to defend this city against Sombra and his forces if we don't have those new suits of armor?" Setting down the red marker with his magic, he turned his chair to look out the window. From his office, he was able to look out at the Equestrian Ocean as the bright rays of morning light began streaking across the water. "I just hope that they get here soon." Literally seconds after finishing his thought, the silence that surrounded him was destroyed by the sound of a pony knocking on his door.

"Admiral?" a voice asked from the other side. "Are you in here?"

"Enter," Broadside replied before his door slowly swung open. He then proceeded to swing his chair around to see who it was. "Ah," he said upon setting his gaze on the light blue pegasus mare. "Sgt. Rainbow Dash. What brings you by here so early? If I remember right, you aren't really one for mornings."

"Well. I was on my way to grab something to eat from the mess hall," Rainbow replied. "But your secretary wanted me to bring this to you since I had to go by here." She then grabbed a envelope that was tucked under her good wing with her mouth before the Admiral used his magic to take a hold of it. "She said it was pretty important."

"I see," he replied as the item floated over to him. "Also, how are you feeling? I know you must still have some pain from losing your wing."

Rainbow looked at her mechanical wing as the paper floated down on to his desk. "Yeah. It does still hurt from time to time," she said. "But the doctors say I should be ready to get back into the fight in a couple of weeks."

"That is great to hear." The Admiral replied before he opened the envelope and began to read the paper that was within.

From the desk of Harbor Master Star Board of Mareseilles

To: Admiral Broadside of the Manehattan Fleet

Dear Admiral,
We have just received the shipment of new armor that has been ordered by the Equestrian Royal Guard and are currently loading it aboard the Mareitania. Captain Blade is due to be meeting with me this afternoon to discuss a potential departure. Everything else that has been requested is already aboard.

I would like to apologize for the delay. Things are currently chaotic around here at the moment. But we'll get your ship out of here as soon as we can. Hopefully today.

Best of luck in your fight against the Crystal Empire.
- Star Board

"Fantastic!" he thought as he set the paper down on his desk before turning his attention back to the rainbow maned pegasus in front of him.

"So what's so important?" Rainbow asked. "You look pretty happy now after reading that."

"Just a message about a ship that is carrying vital supplies leaving from Prance later on this afternoon," he replied. "Though they are six hours ahead of us so maybe they're leaving as we speak."

"Vital supplies?" she asked. "You mean those new armor things that are supposed to protect against crystal shards?" The stallion nodded his head as a response, making the pegasus mare gain a big smile on her face. "Awesome!" she exclaimed before briefly taking to the air only for the pain to bring her back to the floor. "That'll really help us out a lot."

"Indeed," he replied before his stomach began to growl. "Well..." he said before getting off of his chair. "How about we go celebrate this by grabbing some breakfast."

"Yes sir," Rainbow happily said before saluting the Admiral, who returned the favor. After that, the two ponies exited the little office to begin making their way towards the mess hall.

Chapter Two

The sound of Steel's hooves echoed against the once carpeted floor as he walked through a corridor on his way to the bridge. Each room he passed by was once decorated with only the finest furniture and artwork afloat. Now, each room was stripped of all furnishings except for a couple of bunk beds with mattresses that were really uncomfortable.

"You sure have seen better days, old girl," the stallion softly said as he placed his hoof against a wall while closing his eyes, thinking back to Mareitania's ill-fated maiden voyage that led to him to almost marry that horrible changeling Queen and help create a new generation of changelings to wreak havoc. The mere thought of what could've been his fate made him begin to shake until the sound of hooves coming up from behind made him jump.

"Woah. Sorry, Cap," Port said as the Captain turned around to face him. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"It's fine," he replied. "So... how is the bunkering process coming along?"

"They should be done pretty soon," he answered before noticing the look on his friend's face. "You doing alright though?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure?" Port inquired. "Cuz from where I was, it looked like you were gonna go into a panic attack if I didn't say anything."

"I said I'm fine, Port," he repeated, this time with a little unintended harshness that made the green stallion flinch slightly. Seeing that, Steel just sighed and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to do that. It's just..."

"You were thinking about the maiden voyage again. Weren't you?" his friend asked, just for Steel to silently nod as a response. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"As a friend Cap, you know I'm here whenever you finally decide to talk about it."

"I know. And I am grateful to have somepony like you as a friend," Steel replied. "But I never really was one for talking about my emotions. You know that."

"Yeah," he replied. "But it's never good to keep something like what happened back then bottled up inside for so long. Though I have no memory of the ship even leaving Manehattan for that particular trip, I can clearly tell that something bad did in fact happen. And a few days after me, Dotted, and the rest of the crew got back to Manehattan, we see Mareitania limping her way up the Hoofson River with a large hole in her starboard side being covered by a magical shield and you standing on the bridge wing with Princess Celestia."

"Yeah," he responded before looking at Port. "A lot happened during that time." He then sighed once more before looking back at him. "As much as I would like to get this off my mind, this isn't the time or place. We need to have everything ready by the time the tugs are ready to take us out of here." Hearing that, Port just slowly nodded in response before Steel turned and began to walk down the corridor again with the green unicorn following close behind. Several minutes of awkward silence passed until the two ponies finally reached the main deck.

"It'll be nice to get back," Port said as he walked beside Steel. "I'm really looking forward to seeing Broadside again."

"I agree," Steel replied before passing by a few crew members. Each one immediately stopped what they were doing and saluted both Steel and Port as they passed. "Carry on," he ordered in a calm tone while saluting back, making each of them go back to what they were doing. Once they were clear of them, he turned his attention back to his First Officer. "As I was saying. I'm looking forward to speaking with the Admiral as well. But most likely not for the same reason as you." This made Port look at him with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?"

"What kind of Admiral decides to send a hundred crates of high quality, highly explosive gunpowder across the Equestrian Ocean on an unarmored, unarmed passenger liner turned troopship?"

"Woah woah woah," Port said. "That's what those crates were?!" Steel nodded as the two entered the bridge. "What the buck is my brother thinking?"

"That's what I want to know," Steel replied. "But there's nothing that can be done now. The paperwork has been signed already and we're leaving today." Port sighed a bit as Steel looked over at the helm. "We'll just have to make sure that we don't hit anything on the way back."

"Agreed," The green one replied as he and Steel walked into the chart room. Inside the small room laid dozens of charts and weather reports, each one having the most up-to-date navigation courses and hazards. Steel prided himself on making sure to always have these in case a problem arises. "So if the weather cooperates with us..." Port said as Steel picked up a chart with his magic and laid it out on the table. "We should be back in Manehattan in roughly four or five days. Right?"

"If we were carrying a normal cargo, then I would agree," the Captain answered as he started to draw a line on one of the charts to plot a route from Mareseilles to Manehattan. "But because we're carrying munitions now, we have to take things more cautiously."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm saying that maybe we should go at half speed for the duration of the crossing."

"Half speed?" Port asked.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"No disrespect intended, Cap," he began to say. "But half speed would only allow us to go at 12 knots. At that speed, we'd be a sitting duck for what's lurking out there." This statement made Steel look up from his chart as Port levitated a file off of the table and held it in front of him with his green colored magic.

"Canterlot..." the red stallion thought as Port opened the file that the Royal Equestrian Navy gave to them. Inside the folder was a copy of any and all information about the warship that they were allowed to have. "How did that slip my mind?"

"If we run into that battleship while only doing 12 knots, we wouldn't be able to avoid taking a hit." Port continued. "And since we are carrying munitions, that is something that we can't afford. We have to go full speed to even have a chance."

"You have a point there, Port," Steel replied before sighing heavily. "It's just a shame that we don't even have an escort or anything to protect us."

"Guess we'll just have to rely on our speed and maneuverability," the green stallion replied. "Canterlot's max speed is only 21 knots. Even though Mareitania is bigger than her, we can outrun and outmaneuver her as well."

"You're right," Steel replied before looking up at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was already one o'clock in the afternoon. "Looks like we only have an hour left before the tugs come to take us out of here. I want everything ready to go before then."

"Yes sir," Port said before leaving Steel to finish plotting a course as he went to go check on preparations.

As the two stallions were making preparations for their afternoon departure, the sun was just beginning to rise above the North Equestrian Ocean. To anypony on a boat, the calmness of the sea would have brought a feeling of peace to them. But for two pegasi flying high above the clouds, there would not be any peace until the Crystal Empire was defeated. These two members of the Wonderbolts have been tasked with an important mission and have also been ordered not to return until it was completed.

"Commander Spitfire!" one of them called out. "Why are we looking for the Canterlot all the way out here?"

"Because from what the last patrol who spotted her reported, she was heading northeast from Horseshoe Bay," Spitfire replied as she looked over at her wingpony. Tail Wind was just a rookie, hardly a few months out of the Academy. But with the number of pegasi being taken out of action with various injuries from the multiple battles with King Sombra and his troops, there really wasn't much left for her to choose from. Her usual wingpony, Sergeant Rainbow Dash, wouldn't be able to return to action for at least a few weeks. Till then, she had to make due with what she had. "We need to find out where she is and what possible destination she would be going to."

Tail nodded before he turned his attention back down to the sea below as Spitfire did the same. The two ponies knew that this mission was urgent, especially since it was ordered by Princess Celestia herself. Urgent, but also simple. Several weeks ago, the naval base in Horseshoe Bay came under attack by King Sombra and his troops. The ponies who were stationed there fought valiantly, doing everything they could to defend themselves and their station. But the opposing forces were eventually too much to overcome, forcing the surviving ponies to evacuate.

As the ponies fled for their lives, the warships they were forced to leave behind would eventually find a spot at the bottom of the bay as Sombra ordered them all to be destroyed. That is, all except for one. One that would soon strike fear into any pony who wished to go out onto the ocean.

With a main battery of twelve fourteen-inch cannons housed in four triple gun turrets, the Canterlot was once the pride of the entire fleet. Sombra knew this and recognized that the retreating ponies made a foolish decision by leaving the warship behind, hoping that he would choose to sink it. One that he would make them regret. Now with the flag of the Crystal Empire flying where the Equestrian flag once was, the Canterlot would soon become the most feared vessel on the sea. The only way that the Royal Equestrian Navy could stop her would be to send every remaining ship in the fleet after her. So it was critical for up-to-date knowledge on the warship's whereabouts.

As the two ponies flew through the sky, Spitfire reached into her sidepack and pulled out a set of binoculars to get a better look. "See anything down there?" Tail asked as she scanned the water below.

"Just water," she replied. "Nothing else."

"Darn," he said. "I've never flown for this long before. My wings are starting to hurt."

"Typical rookie complaints," Spitfire thought to herself before she turned her head to look at her wingpony. "If you want to stop and take a break on a cloud, that's fine. I mean, it isn't like we're trying to find something that can destroy anything in its path or something like that."

"Sorry, Commander," Tail said. "I'm just not used to being in the air..." His voice soon trailed off after saying that.

"What the buck are you talking about?" Spitfire asked, now glaring at the other pegasus who was looking down at the water. "You should be used to flying by now!"

"Warship spotted!" Tail called out before pointing his hoof down toward the ocean. Upon hearing this, Spitfire quickly turned her head to look at where he was pointing and soon found what Tail was looking at. She didn't even need her binoculars to make out the unmistakable shape of the Canterlot as she cruised through the waves on a northeastern course.

"Where are you going?" she thought while looking through her binoculars. Through them, Spitfire could clearly see troops of the Crystal Empire stationed in the various gun mounts. This sight truly sickened her as she remembered walking by those same stations as the ship was docked in Manehattan several months ago. But now, it was in the possession of King Sombra. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, nothing would make her happier than seeing this once proud warship sink beneath the waves.

"Commander?" Tail asked. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We need to get this information back to the Navy," Spitfire replied. "Start heading back to the carrier. I'll be along shortly."

"What are you going to do?"

"I just want to see if I can figure out where this thing is going," she answered. "Now get going, Tail. That's an order."

"Yes ma'am," the stallion replied before giving a quick salute. He then reversed course and started flying away, leaving Spitfire alone to see where the warship might be going. Sensing the need for cover, Spitfire ducked behind a cloud to hide herself from the enemy below.

"What's your plan, Sombra..." Spitfire said to herself as poked her head out from behind the cloud. "Why are you sending this thing all the way out here?" Pulling out her binoculars again, her eyes once again scanned the deck of the warship. As she looked at the troops below, a slight breeze blew through her mane, sending a chill down her spine. Being preoccupied with trying to figure out her enemy's plan though, she didn't pay it much attention. But about a minute or so after the breeze, Spitfire noticed one of Sombra's troops stop and look up at the sky, directly at her. "Why are you looking up here?" she thought before pulling her eyes away from her binoculars. It was then that she realized exactly why. That breeze that she felt had moved the cloud out from in front of her, completely exposing the lone pegasus mare to the enemy vessel. "Oh..." she said before noticing that the Canterlot was beginning to turn to starboard. Spitfire didn't even need her binoculars to guess what the ship was doing.

It was standard naval procedure for any ship to begin turning broadside to any airborne target so that the anti-flight cannons on that specific side could take said target out. But these cannons weren't designed to kill. They were designed to disorient the target by firing shells that would eventually explode in a bright flash. "Good thing I came prepared." Spitfire thought before lowering a pair of tinted goggles across her eyes. Under this sense of confidence, the mare didn't even flinch when one of Canterlot's AF guns opened fire. "Bring it on," she thought as a shell flew by her. Upon hearing a detonation behind her, Spitfire turned her head to look, expecting a flash of light. But instead, she found a cloud become encased in a black magical aura before it dropped out of the sky in the form of a giant crystal.

"What in Equestria?!" she cried out before another shell raced by, narrowly missing her. Her gaze then went back to focusing on the warship as all of Canterlot's starboard anti-flight guns opened fire on her. Seeing that, her pupils shrank in fear as she saw the shells flying toward her. Despite being exhausted from having flown for so long, the Wonderbolt Commander dodged and weaved her way through the first salvo of shells. "How is this possible?" she thought as before one shell passed close enough for her to get a quick look.

The shell itself looked like the normal flash grenades that were fired. But in the split second that it took to pass by, Spitfire was able to see an aura of black magic encompassing the object.

"Sombra..." she thought before she turned to try and fly away from the warship. "Gotta... get... out of here!" From behind her, Spitfire could hear the guns of the Canterlot fire another round into the air. As she turned her head back to look, three magically enchanted shells looked to be on target. Her wings were aching at this point, but she did her best to avoid the first one. The second one just missed the tip of her left wing by a few inches. But by moving to avoid the second, she accidentally placed herself in a spot where she couldn't avoid the third.

The shell struck her back just between her wings, making her eyes shoot open as she started to get engulfed in an aura of black magic. Soon, her body became encased in crystal to the point where she could no longer stay airborne and started falling toward the sea. Despite being in this state, she could still see what was happening. Down and down she went until the crystal encompassing her body splashed down into the ocean. However, instead of sinking, she remained on the surface.

"Great..." Spitfire thought as she floated there in her crystal prison. "What's gonna happen now?" It wasn't long after she asked herself that when she heard the sound of a familiar horn coming up behind her. "No..." she thought as she was soon in Canterlot's shadow. "Anything but that!"

Chapter Three

Spitfire could only look on as the crystal that she was trapped within was hauled up above the main deck of Canterlot. Her facial expression has been frozen into a look of fear from having dodged so many salvos from the modified anti-flight guns. But her mood wasn't fearful. She was angry. Angry at the fact that she was now a prisoner of war. Angry that this once proud battleship was now serving King Sombra and the Crystal Empire. And angry at herself for getting caught.

"So what do we have here?" one of the crystal soldiers asked as Spitfire's crystal prison was lowered onto the deck.

"From the looks of it....." another one said. "We got ourselves a military pegasus. That uniform clearly shows she's with those Wonderbolts."

"Should we take her to a holding cell?"

"We can't," the soldier replied. "No way that thing will fit down the corridors. We'll have to get her out of it before we can do anything else."

"Guess we'll have to wait for King Sombra to get down here then."

What that soldier said would've made the mare gasp in shock if she was able to. After all, she was under the assumption that Sombra was still in the Crystal Empire. The recon report that she had based that assumption off of was done yesterday. As she started to ponder just what exactly was going on, the soldiers in front of her crystal, without much warning, immediately began to bow.

"So....." a familiar voice that Spitfire had come to loathe said. "What do we have here?"

"Sombra," Spitfire said in her mind as the one and only ruler of the Crystal Empire slowly made his way into her field of vision.

"Your Majesty," one of the soldiers said before both got back up. "We appear to have caught a pegasus from the Wonderbolts. Judging by her uniform, she is a high ranked member."

"Yes," Sombra said before staring directly into his prisoner's eyes. "I'm well aware of her rank. Isn't that right... Commander Spitfire?"

"How the buck does he know who I am?" Spitfire mentally screamed as Sombra methodically walked around the giant crystal.

"Surprised that I know who you are?" he asked before chuckling sinisterly. "During times of conflict, if one wants to defeat their enemy, they must first know their enemy." Having no choice, Spitfire could only listen as the sound of Sombra's hooves on the wooden deck gave away where he was. "I've seen you in previous battles. I've seen the way you fight. I could sense your passion. Your hatred... for me." He then stopped just outside her vision. "But does that mean I hate you? No. Quite the opposite as a matter of fact. As much as you've proven to be a thorn in my side, I've grown quite the amount of respect for you. The way you inspire your troops in battle is admirable. And...." He then stepped back to where the captured mare could see him. "Now that I'm able to observe you up close, you certainly are quite the attractive mare as well."

"Just kill me now," Spitfire groaned in thought. "I'd never be with you. Even if you were the last stallion in this world."

"However," he continued. "Despite your attractiveness, my heart belongs to another. And she is the very reason as to why we are out here."

"Huh?"

"Now...." he said as his horn lit up in his red aura. Soon, the crystal surrounding Spitfire's body was shattered, allowing her to drop to the deck. She then felt something wrapping itself around her wings. Looking back, she could see a chain was now tied around her body so that her wings couldn't move. "Seeing as how you're a high ranking official of the Equestrian military, you are sure to have valuable information. Information that I would like to know."

"Forget it, Sombra!" Spitfire replied in a defiant tone as she glared at him. "I won't tell you anything." This response though only made the tyrant smirk as he stood in front of her.

"Is that so?" he asked in a sinister tone. "Well. I'm sure with what I have planned, your attitude will change." After saying that, he turned around and started walking away from her. He then unexpectedly stopped and looked back at her. "Oh dear. Where are my manners?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. "You must be tired after trying to escape from my new warship's guns." He then motioned for her to follow him. "Come. My soldiers and I will show you to your new home." With that said, Sombra simply walked away, quietly laughing to himself as one of the soldiers motioned for Spitfire to follow him by tapping her on the flank. This caused her to immediately jerk her head around to see which one of them did it. Upon seeing the culprit standing right behind her, she bucked her hind legs as hard as she could, sending him flying backward.

This action though, predictably, resulted in each of the remaining guards pouncing on her to subdue her efforts. As she struggled under their combined weight, she heard the tyrant snicker as he walked back up to her.

"You are a bold one," he said as he looked at her. "Be thankful that this situation has put me in a good mood. Otherwise, you'd already be dead."

"My liege. Should we alter our course back to base?" one of the soldiers asked as they all got off of her, making sure to keep her in check though in case she tried anything else.

"No," he replied. "Bring us back on our original course immediately. We still have our mission to complete."

"Yes, sir," the soldier replied before racing off to presumably tell whoever is steering this battleship Sombra's order.

"What is your plan, Sombra?" Spitfire asked bluntly. "What possible reason do you have for being out here in the North Equestrian Ocean?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Sombra replied. "I'll be sure to give you a front row seat for the... fireworks."

"Fireworks?" she asked in thought before Sombra just started to laugh again.

"But I'm afraid the time for talk is over," he continued. "Come. Your new room awaits."

As Spitfire was being led into the corridors of Canterlot, Steel had just finished plotting his liner's route back to Manehattan. If everything goes according to plan, they'd be back in friendly waters in at least 5 days. After double checking everything, he was satisfied with what he had done. Setting the map aside, he stepped out of the chart room and entered the wheelhouse.

"Cap," Port said as he stepped back onto the bridge. "All preparations have been made and we are ready to get underway."

"Excellent," the red stallion replied before he looked up at the clock. "And with just fifteen minutes to spare before the tugs arrive to take us out of here."

"We always do seem to cut it close," his First Officer said before chuckling. "Good thing my brother ain't here though. Otherwise we'd be in some serious trouble for being too relaxed about these things."

"Yeah," he responded. "We really should start doing a better job with these things. Can't afford to look sloppy when we're representing Equestria overseas."

"That's true," the green unicorn replied. "I'm just glad we're finally getting out of here. Mareseilles is a nice town and all. But I prefer being back in Manehattan."

"I just enjoy being out on the open sea to be honest."

"By the way Cap," Port said, gaining his attention. "This is probably the longest I've seen you without your sword. How come?"

"Oh!" Steel exclaimed before instinctively reaching back to where his sword would usually be only to find nothing. "Guess I just haven't had the chance yet to go grab it from my cabin. Couldn't really take it ashore with me when we went there for breakfast."

"I suppose so," his friend replied. "Guess I'm just not used to seeing Captain Steel Blade without his sword for so long." This made both of them chuckle for a bit before the room became filled with silence.

"You know what I just realized, Port?" Steel asked in hopes of breaking the silence.

"What's that, Cap?"

"Your name is Port Side. Yet your coat is green. The color of starboard." This made Port start to laugh.

"And Star Board's coat is red," he replied. "The color of port." This made Steel begin to laugh along with his friend before both of them heard a couple of small boat whistles coming from Mareitania's starboard side.

"The tugs are here already?" Steel thought while looking up at the clock. "First time they've actually been early." He then looked at Port before both unicorns walked out of the wheelhouse and onto the starboard bridge wing. From there, they could see the small boats lining themselves up along the side of the ship with a pony at each bow. After a minute or so, they heaved a line up to the ponies waiting for them on the main deck.

"Make sure those lines are tied tight!" Port called out to the group of ponies tying the bow's tow lines. As his friend watched over the bow, the Captain made his way to the stern to check the lines being tied there. As he passed by the lifeboats, he couldn't help but think back to the maiden voyage, and how he almost wound up in a situation that would've resulted in him being a prisoner/slave of Queen Chrysalis. But as soon as that horrifying scenario played out in his head, he quickly shook it several times before getting back to the task at hand. Once he arrived near the stern, he could see one group of ponies was tying the ropes from the tugs while another group was releasing the mooring lines on the other side. The moment the final mooring line was released, he couldn't help but smile. They were finally going back to Equestria.

Soon, the liner's whistle sounded, echoing all around. Hearing that, the stallion nodded to himself before starting to make his way back to the bridge. As he walked, the tugs all sounded their whistles in response and began to pull the massive liner away from the dock.

"Manehattan. Here we come," he said to himself as he walked. But as he got closer to the bridge, his mind began to wander with many questions filling it. Would it be another safe crossing? Or would they run into Canterlot? The battleship's last known location hadn't been updated for quite some time, hence the reason why she momentarily slipped his mind. As the liner was pulled clear from the dock, the smaller vessels soon changed their course to begin tugging the leviathan out of the harbor.

"Cap," Port said as Steel arrived back onto the bridge. "We are clear of the dock now."

"Alright," he replied. "All engines. Slow ahead." Port quickly nodded before his horn lit up and enveloped the handles on each engine telegraph with his green magic. Steel looked on as each lever was simultaneously pushed into position, sending his command down to the engine rooms. Soon, he could feel his ship begin to vibrate as the steam turbine engines began to slowly turn the four massive bronze propellers. Looking upward, he could see smoke starting to rise out of the funnels. "Sleeping time's over for you, old girl," he said in his mind before hopping up and placing his front hooves on the railing of the bridge wing. "Time to get moving."

"We'll release the tugs as soon as we exit through the breakwater," Port said as he stood next to him as they observed their ship being guided toward the opening of the sea walls that made the waters within so calm. "Sound good, Cap?"

"Yes," he answered. "That's fine. Once we do, we'll go to half speed until we reach the open ocean. From there, it'll be full ahead."

"Yes, sir," Port replied before he walked back into the bridge. As he did that, Steel looked out to the water ahead as the ocean liner passed through the breakwater entrance.

"I certainly do hope nothing will happen," the Captain thought as he looked out ahead at the ocean in front of him. "With Canterlot lurking out there somewhere, who knows what will happen."

"I must say that this is quite the welcome surprise," King Sombra said as he led Spitfire and one of his soldiers down a corridor that was lined with cells made for keeping newly captured prisoners of war. "If I had known that I'd be entertaining somepony of your status, I would've made your accommodations more suited for you." After saying that, he stopped in front of one of the rooms before using his magic to open the door. The iron bars creaked and groaned as the door swung open. "Please do make yourself at home, Commander."

"You can knock it off with the sarcasm," Spitfire replied before being shoved into the cell by the soldier. The sudden force from behind made the mare fall flat onto the floor before Sombra closed it with his magic. Turning her head, Spitfire glared at the soldier as he just stood there.

"Enjoy your stay here, Commander." the tyrant continued to say before turning to leave. "Because once we complete our mission and return to Horseshoe Bay, you and your soon-to-be cellmate will be transported to the Crystal Empire for interrogation and imprisonment." With that said, he slowly walked away, leaving the soldier that escorted her to her cell behind to stand guard.

"Cellmate?" she thought as she slowly got up. "Who's that going to be?" As she looked around at her new accommodations, she sighed heavily as the realization of her circumstance set in before making her way over to the thinly padded cot. Once she climbed on, she turned her head to face the wall. "Why didn't I just go with Tail?" she thought as a tear began to form in her eye. "I could've been back on the San Franciscolt by now. Taking a nice hot shower after a long flight." She then turned to look out the porthole in the room as the morning sun rose higher into the sky. "I just hope he made it back with the information that we got."

Author's Note

What's up everypony?

Sorry for the long wait in between chapters. I've been focusing on some of my other stories. Plus work and other things didn't really give me much time to devote for writing. Anyways, I hope that you guys are enjoying the story so far. Hopefully the next chapter will be out in less time than it took for this one.

Also, here is what the REN San Franciscolt looks like. She'll be appearing in the next chapter along with a few other characters so I just thought I'd give you guys a visual interpretation of her.

Chapter Four

Several dozens of miles away to the southwest, a lone ship could be seen plowing through the waves of the Equestrian Ocean. The Royal Equestrian Navy's San Franciscolt, one of the newest pegasus carriers in the fleet, was out on her first mission: To provide any recon on where the Canterlot is. Under normal circumstances, she'd have dozens of ships surrounding her in a task force. But due to the shortage of ships after the battle of Horseshoe Bay and the importance of this mission, she was left to sail alone but with an extra amount of pegasi groups for added scouting and patrolling.

On the bridge of the carrier, a bronze colored unicorn stallion with a gray colored mane and beard while wearing a black colored uniform stood watch. Captain Triple Screw, an experienced commander with the Navy, had just been given command of this new warship just weeks prior. And this was his first mission with her. He wanted everything to go smoothly. And so far, it has been how he wanted. Next to him was a light blue colored unicorn stallion with a black mane. He had a set of binoculars in his magical grasp as he scanned the sea and sky ahead, looking for any sign of Commander Spitfire and her wingpony returning.

"Do you see any sign of them yet, Pin Point?"

"Nothing yet, sir," First Officer Pin Point answered. "I can't see anything except blue skies and the occasional cloud."

"Hmm....." Triple said as he rubbed his hoof against his muzzle. "I don't like this. Not one bit. Something in my gut is telling me something is wrong."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"I'm not sure," he replied while continuing to look at the sky ahead. "But I just can't shake this feeling that something went wrong."

"To be fair though, the high command did say for them not to return until their mission was complete. Personally, I wouldn't have put that stipulation in there. But I guess that's why they're the higher ups."

The elder stallion sighed and nodded in agreement to what the other pony said. If he was in charge, he wouldn't have given those two that order to stay looking for the Canterlot until the battleship was found. But given the importance of knowing where it is and where it was going, he understood why the order was given. Soon, he looked away from the sky and down at the ocean ahead. The large warship was slicing through the waves at a speed of 30 knots, a speed that was usually only achieved on their destroyers and some of the newer cruisers.

"Hopefully they'll be back soon though," Triple said while looking out ahead. After saying that though, an idea came into his mind. He then turned to look at Pin. "Take us down to half speed. Maybe we'll be able to spot them better if we slow her down."

"Yes sir," Pin replied before rushing into the bridge to fulfill his Captain's request. As his officer was doing this, Triple gazed back up into the sky before he got out his binoculars to see better. As soon as he looked back up into the sky, his eyes caught sight of a light blue pegasus stallion coming towards them.

"Pin!" he shouted, gaining his officer's attention.

"Yes?"

"All stop! Private Wind is coming back just off the starboard bow!"

"Yes sir!" Pin replied before moving the engine controls to 'All Stop'. Triple Screw kept his sight on Tail Wind as he came in closer to the ship. "Is Commander Spitfire with him?" Pin asked as he stepped back out onto the balcony.

"Negative," Triple replied as Tail flew by and lined up with the stern of the San Franciscolt before coming in for a landing. "I don't see her anywhere." He then looked on as Tail collapsed onto the flight deck, visibly exhausted. "Stay here and keep an eye out in case she shows up. I'll go down and talk to Private Wind."

"Aye sir," Pin replied before Triple began to make his way down to the flight deck. As he did this, a crowd of ponies gathered around Tail Wind as he laid on the deck.

"Make some room!" Triple ordered as rushed toward them. "Let the poor pony breathe!" The crowd did as instructed and slowly backed away from Tail as Triple came up to him.

"Captain Screw....." Tail said as he gasped for air, clearly having pushed himself to get back to the carrier as quick as he could. "I've got..... news for you.... to hear."

"What is it, Private?"

"We found..... the Canterlot!"

"Wonderful!" Triple Screw replied as he grinned with pride. "I'll be sure to ask Commander Spitfire about the location when she gets back." He then looked around and found it odd that the fiery haired pegasus mare was nowhere to be seen. "Speaking of which," he continued before looking back at the pony in front of him. "Where is she?"

"That... isn't all I need to... say, sir." the Private replied before he slowly got to his hooves. Once upright, he just stood there for a minute or so, breathing heavily and visibly shaken. "Commander Spitfire stayed behind to see where the battleship was going. But I wasn't too far away when I heard the AF guns go off."

"You left her behind?!" Triple said, using his magic to grab the pegasus by his uniform and bring him within inches of him. "Why in Celestia's name did you do that?!"

"She ordered me to come back here!" Tail answered in defense. Hearing that, Triple sighed in response before releasing his magical grip, allowing the pegasus to quickly get some space between the two.

"Captain Screw?" Soarin's voice asked from behind the two ponies. Turning around, Triple found Lieutenants Soarin and Fleetfoot standing just a few feet in front of him. "What's going on? Where's Spitfire?"

"It seems Commander Spitfire had ordered her wingpony to return alone," the Captain answered. "But he claims he heard the Canterlot's AF guns going off, which means Spitfire's out there, dazed and confused as to where she is." He then pointed his hoof out toward the bow. "I need you two to go and find her. Bring her back safely."

"Yes sir!" both pegasi replied simultaneously before both of them took off into the air. As the two flew off, the stallion turned his attention back to Tail Wind.

"Private Tail," he said. "I want you to accompany me to the War Room. Under normal circumstances, I'd ask Spitfire. But since she is not here, I'll need you to tell the ponies waiting in there this important information regarding Canterlot."

"Y-yes sir," Tail replied nervously. With that said, the stallion slowly followed Triple Screw as they both started making their way to the War Room. Along the way, Tail was getting more nervous with each step. This would be his first time conversing with the high ranking officials of the Equestrian Military, ranging from the Royal Guard, to the Wonderbolts, and even the Navy. "S-sir," Tail said, getting Triple's attention.

"Yes?"

"P-permission to speak freely, sir."

"Granted."

"I'm nervous," he said. "I'm just a Private. Going into a room filled with Generals, Captains, and Admirals."

"They will listen to you, Tail," Triple said before placing a hoof on the young pegasus' back. "The information you have is critical. They'd be fools not to listen."

"If you say so, sir," the Private replied before the two walked down a flight of stairs to the lower deck. Soon, the two ponies stopped in front of a door with the sign 'War Room' placed above it.

"You ready, Private?" Triple asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be, sir," he replied before Triple opened the door and stepped inside. Tail quickly followed him in before a guard closed it. Inside the room was a table with a holographic map of the Equestrian Ocean. Seated around the table were five ponies. Tail recognized all of them except one. Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. Front Line, General of the Royal Guard. Jet Stream, Lieutenant of the Wonderbolts. Fire Power, Admiral of the Royal Equestrian Navy. And finally, a small lavender unicorn mare with a purple mane that had a pink and lighter purple streak running through it.

"Greetings everypony," the ship Captain said as he approached the table.

"Hello Captain Screw," Shining Armor replied. "Have you gotten any news yet?"

"Yes," Triple replied. "But I will let Private Tail Wind here explain the situation."

"Private Tail Wind?" Jet Stream asked in a confused tone. "Where is Commander Spitfire? Why isn't she here?"

"Spitfire is... currently MIA at the moment," Triple replied, earning gasps from each pony sitting at the table. "I currently have Soarin and Fleetfoot out looking for her."

"How did this happen?" Jet asked before turning his gaze to Tail. "You were her wingpony. What in Tartarus happened?"

"We uhh.... found the Canterlot." Tail replied in a hesitant tone. "But Spitfire ordered me back to the San Franciscolt to give you guys this information." Every pony leaned in close as Tail cleared his throat before continuing. "But I wasn't far away when I heard the AF guns go off."

"You left her behind?!"

"He was following orders, Lieutenant." Triple said in Tail's defense. "But like I said, I have Soarin and Fleetfoot out looking for her now. Hopefully, they will return with her."

"Let us hope so." the Lieutenant replied.

"So what is the current location of my captured battleship?" Fire Power asked. "Where is she and where is she going?"

"We found her roughly a hundred miles northeast of here," Tail replied before a blip appeared on the map. "Her course was northeast, traveling at what appeared to be full speed."

"That doesn't make any sense," Shining said as he looked at the map. "There's nothing out there but open ocean."

"There is something, big brother," the mare said.

"What is it, Twily?"

"A common shipping route used by merchant ships," the mare replied as a yellow line appeared on the map. It stretched all the way across the Equestrian Ocean. "But there aren't any ships in that particular area right now that we know of."

"Who is that?" Tail whispered to Triple.

"Twilight Sparkle." Triple replied. "She is Shining Armor's little sister. She's one of the best battle tacticians we have."

"I see," the stallion said before looking back at the ponies as they conversed with each other.

"When is the next ship due to be in that area?" Shining asked as he looked over at Fire Power.

"Two days," he replied. "The troop transport Mareitania." After saying that, an outline of the liner appeared on the screen over on the opposite side of the ocean from where the carrier was. "She just departed Mareseilles today from what I've been told. No soldiers are on board though. Just her civilian crew."

"Is that ship carrying anything of importance?"

"Let me check," he said as he pulled up a clipboard with his magic. Fortunately, he was given a copy of the cargo manifest for the liner by the Navy. "Well, other than the usual amount of food and supplies from our allies in Prance, she is due to be carrying several dozens of crates loaded with experimental crystal resistant armor and..." His pupils shrank as he looked at what the last item on the list was.

"And?" Front Line asked. "What else is she carrying?"

"One hundred crates of high explosive gunpowder bags has been placed on her as well..."

"Gunpowder?" Shining asked. "One hundred crates of gunpowder? On an unarmored, unarmed ocean liner?"

"Who in Equestria authorized that?!" Jet asked angrily as he slammed his hoof down onto the table.

"Admiral... Broadside," Fire replied as he looked at the paper before showing it to the other ponies. "What in Equestria is he thinking?"

"Does she at least have an escort?" Twilight asked.

"No," Fire replied. "The only ships that were capable of keeping up with her at her top speed were our destroyers. And almost all of them were sunk in the aftermath of the Battle of Horseshoe Bay."

"So we have an unarmed, unarmored, and unescorted ocean liner carrying armor and munitions sailing into an area where Canterlot is heading," she continued. "This is bad. Really bad."

"But this can't mean that they're going after this ship. Right?" Triple asked. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would Sombra allow her to sail this far out into the open ocean just to sink a merchant liner? And how exactly would he even know that the ship will be there?"

"I'm not sure," Twilight replied. "That can't be the reason. There's got to be something else out there. Something we're not seeing."

"It wouldn't hurt to send them a warning though," Fire Power said. "I'm sure the Captain has got enough on his mind with this unusual cargo."

"Agreed," Triple said. "I'll be sure to have a coded message sent to the Mareitania right away."

"See to it," Shining replied before turning his attention back to the map. "We'll stay here and see if we can figure out what is going on."

"Yes sir," Triple said. "Come along, Private. We're no longer needed here."

"Aye sir," he quickly replied before both ponies walked out into the corridor.

"I'll be in the wireless room," Triple said. "I need you to go up to the bridge and tell Pin Point to get the ship going at full speed while putting us on a course heading 070.

"What for?" the stallion asked in a confused tone.

"I know that Mareitania might not be the target. But I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen. I want to be as close as we can so we can have a squadron patrol the area overhead. It'll give her at least some protection. Now go."

"Yes sir," Tail replied before saluting. Triple saluted back before the pegasus raced off to tell Pin Point the order.

As the pegasus carrier was racing eastward, the large ocean liner was peacefully steaming westward at a speed of thirteen knots through the waters off the coast of Prance. Even though the ship had lost some of her grandeur due to having her non-essential fittings stripped away, she was still an impressive sight to see. Equestria's largest and fastest liner. A title that her Captain and crew were proud to have.

While the ship steamed along, Steel was on the starboard bridge wing looking out ahead at the calm waters. To him, seeing this was very refreshing and relaxing as it gave him the sense that this would be another routine crossing, despite the threat of the rogue battleship out there.

"Cap," Port's voice said from inside the wheelhouse, gaining his attention.

"Yes, Port?" he asked. "What is it?"

"I just remembered something that slipped my mind earlier because of the departure," he answered. "There was a package for you that was brought aboard before you got back from your meeting."

"A package?" the Captain asked while raising an eyebrow in confusion as he wasn't expecting any mail. "Who sent it?"

"The Navy," the green stallion answered. "It was addressed from the headquarters in Manehattan."

"Strange," Steel said in his mind as he kept looking at his friend. "Why would the Navy send me something in the mail if we were going to be back in Manehattan in a few days?"

"If you want," Port said as he walked out on the wing. "You can go check it out. I had it placed in your cabin."

"Very well," Steel replied. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Yes sir," he said before Steel turned and entered the bridge. Upon entering, he looked at his helmspony who was guiding the ship along on her course.

"Steady as she goes now," he said as he walked by.

"Aye Captain," the pony replied before Steel turned and went through the door leading into his cabin. Upon entering, he found what Port was talking about. A medium sized box with the seal from the Royal Equestrian Navy on the side was sitting on the table next to his room's window. As he got closer, he noticed an envelope taped to the top of it as well.

"Wonder what all this is," He thought before opening the envelope with his magic and removing the letter inside to read.

To Captain Steel Blade of Mareitania,

As a token of my appreciation for all that you and your ship have done for Equestria, I've decided to grant you your very own personal set of crystal resistant armor. While this war has raged on, we at the Navy know that merchant ships are a strategic target for the enemy. That is why we are issuing these to all of your crew, starting with you. For safety precautions, it is strongly advised that you wear this underneath your uniform.

Once your ship arrives in Manehattan, your crew will get their sets of armor as well. But I wanted to give this to you first as a show of gratitude for the things you and your ship have done and will continue to do for this great country of ours.

Signed,
Admiral Broadside

"Broadside?" Steel asked in thought before opening the box to find the suit of armor that the letter mentioned. "Huh. Well that was nice of him to do that." Levitating the armor out of the box, the stallion gazed at it. The weight of it was certainly noticeable as well as the quality. It was definitely something that he was impressed with. "Alright," he said to himself as he took off his white uniform jacket and placed it on his bed before turning his attention back to the armor.

"Everything okay in there, Cap?" Port asked through his cabin's door.

"Yeah," he answered while putting the armor on. "Just give me a moment."

"Of course," his friend replied as he adjusted it to be more comfortable for him to move around in. He was surprised that only his front half would be protected. But then again, it was better than having nothing. He then put his uniform jacket back on. Once this was done, he walked over to a mirror and looked himself over. It was like he wasn't wearing any armor at all since it was all covered by his jacket.

"Impressive," he said while looking at his reflection. Once everything was back on, he turned his attention to his sword as it sat on its wall mount. Using his magic, the stallion levitated his sword down before taking it out of the scabbard. He smiled as he saw the reflection of himself on the polished metal before placing it back in the scabbard and securing the strap around his body. "You can come in now, Port," he said as he finished up. Doing as he said, his friend opened up the door and stepped in.

"So what was sent to you?" he asked while looking over at the open box.

"My own personal set of crystal resistant armor," the Captain answered before pulling his jacket down to expose the armor to him. "The Navy said that they want us all to start wearing these."

"Awesome!" Port exclaimed with excitement. "When do I get one?"

"When we get back to Manehattan."

"Cool," he said before they walked out of the room and back into the wheelhouse. Steel then walked back out to his spot on the starboard bridge wing and propped himself up against the railing. As he looked out ahead, there was nothing but ocean. He then turned his attention to look aft and saw that Mareitania had already put quite the distance between herself and the coast.

"Port," he said, gaining his attention.

"Yeah?"

"I'd say we're clear enough from the coast to take her speed up," he said. "All engines. Full ahead."

"All ahead full. Aye sir," Port replied before using his magic to move the telegraph levers, sending the command down to the engine rooms. As he did this, Steel closed his eyes and took in a deep breath while feeling the turbines begin turning the propellers at a faster rate. As he felt this, his confidence grew more and more with each passing second.

"Manehattan," he said in his mind while opening his eyes to look out ahead once more. "Here we come."

Chapter Five

Several hours had passed since the Commander was taken prisoner. Celestia's sun was high in the sky, showing a clear blue sky that she yearned so badly to be flying through. But instead, she could only sit on her bed and think about what possible reason Sombra and Canterlot would be out here for. But each time she tried, she just couldn't find any reason to justify this action.

"So how quick do you think that ship's gonna sink once we open fire?" a voice outside the cell asked. Her ears perked up immediately when she heard that before looking at the wall made of iron bars. Two guards were stationed on the other side with their backs to her, each of them wielding a spear.

"If I had to guess," one of them replied. "She won't even last one hit. Especially with those crates of gunpowder on board."

"You think so?" the other asked. "That'd be kind of disappointing if you ask me. I'm hoping that she lasts at least one round from each gun."

"What are you two talking about?" the mare asked as she walked over to the bars.

"Quiet, prisoner!" the one on her left ordered as he turned to look at her. Spitfire just glared silently at him in response.

"Now now," the one on the right intervened, holding a hoof out in front of the left guard. "Let's not be rude to our guest. Besides. It ain't like she's in any position to stop what's gonna happen anyways. What harm would come if she knew what was coming?"

"I suppose so," the left guard answered. "Seeing her reaction might give me a laugh too."

"I doubt it," she said while rolling her eyes.

"We'll see," the one on the right replied. "You see. There is a ship out there that is heading this way. A ship that a certain stallion is on. This pony has escaped our leader in the past. But he will not be so fortunate this time."

"Huh," she replied. "Must be pretty talented if he was able to get away from Sombra in the past."

"He didn't escape from King Sombra," the guard replied. "He escaped from our Queen."

"Queen?" the mare asked in a confused tone while looking at both of them with a raised eyebrow. "Are you stupid or something? You guys don't have a Queen."

"Typical response... from a pony," the right guard said. "There's much more at play in this war than you realize."

"What are you talking about?"

"We'll show you exactly what we're talking about," the one on the left answered before a ring of green colored magic formed around his hooves. Spitfire's eyes widened while looking on as the magic suddenly enveloped his entire body until it dissipated, revealing a changeling where the guard once was. The mare just audibly gasped as the one on her right did the exact same thing.

"Changelings?!" she shouted as she stepped away from the bars, completely unexpecting this. "How are you here?"

"We've always been around," the changeling on the left replied. "Hiding among you. Biding our time. Consuming the love needed to survive."

"Until our glorious Queen joined forces with King Sombra to take over Equestria, giving him the rule he desires in exchange for allowing us to feed off of the love of you pathetic ponies," the one on the right added.

"But then..." Spitfire said. "What did this pony that Sombra is going after do?"

"He was a stallion selected by the Queen herself to help create a new generation of changelings and rule together," the left guard answered. "But he rejected that honor."

"So she's the one that Sombra was talking about?" the mare asked. "The reason you're out here? The one his heart belongs to?"

"Yes," the right one replied. "Now obviously our Queen was not happy when this stallion refused her offer to become a changeling King. She was so enraged that she attempted to kill the stallion herself by trapping him aboard his liner and sinking it. But he managed to save his ship and escape his fate. When she discovered this, it only fueled her anger. She then decided that she would no longer try to make a King for herself. Instead, she'd try to find one. Enter King Sombra and the newly returned Crystal Empire. Seeing as how both him and her shared common enemies..."

"You pathetic ponies!" the left one interjected while pointing his hoof at Spitfire. The Wonderbolt Commander only just narrowed her eyes and glared back at him.

"Yes," the one on the right continued. "Because we shared a common hatred for all of the ponies in Equestria, an alliance was created. But soon after, the King and Queen decided to make it more than just some alliance."

"So Sombra proposed to marry our beloved Queen. Thus creating a truly powerful empire for both to rule over," the left one continued. "But she said she would accept his proposal only after he proves his love for her."

"By going after this pony?" Spitfire asked.

"Exactly," the right one replied. "If he manages to capture Captain Blade and bring him to the Queen for a lifetime of imprisonment, we will remain permanent allies as the two will be joined in marriage." He then paused before looking right into her eyes. "You wouldn't happen to know who Captain Blade is now, do you?"

"No. I don't," she replied before thinking about what they said. "And... what would happen if he doesn't manage to capture him?" This question just made both changelings look at each other before suddenly breaking out in laughter at her as a response.

"How exactly is he going to escape?" the left one asked as they turned to look back at her after finishing their fun. "The pieces have already fallen into place. All that remains is sending his beloved ocean liner to the bottom of the Equestrian Ocean."

The mare's eyes widened in horror while she backed away from the bars as the changelings started laughing maniacally again.

"So how long will it be until that ship gets here again with our new armor?" Rainbow Dash asked as she and Admiral Broadside made their way down a hallway toward his office. "I can't wait to get mine!"

"Calm down, Sergeant," Broadside said. "I'm just as excited as you are to see the new items come in. But we'll have to wait a few days before they arrive. At least five."

"Five days?" the mare groaned. "Aww come on! I can't wait that long!"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to," he replied as the two stopped in front of his door. He was about to open his mouth to speak again, but his voice was cut off by another pony clearing her throat.

"Excuse me, Admiral," a mare's voice said, making both of them turn around to find a gray colored earth pony mare with a black mane and matching tail standing in front of them.

"Ah. Ms. Melody. It is good to see you," Broadside replied as he looked at her. Octavia Melody, a former cellist, had just become his new secretary not too long ago.

"I have the cargo manifest of Mareitania that you requested, sir," she said as she turned slightly to show a leather satchel she was wearing.

"Excellent," he replied before using his magic to levitate the paper out of her satchel. As soon as it was clear of her, Octavia simply smiled before walking away from the two ponies. "Let's see," he said as he read what was written on the paper. "There's the crates of armor. Usual crates of food and supplies." His eyes then widened as he then saw something unexpected. "And a hundred crates of high explosive gunpowder?! What in Equestria are those doing there?"

"Is everything alright, Admiral?" Rainbow asked before her eyes caught sight of what was written on the paper.

"I'm afraid not," he replied. "I need to get a message out to the Mareitania right away. She can not be allowed to cross the ocean with a hundred crates of gunpowder aboard. She needs to turn back and get those things off." He then looked at the mare in front of him after folding the paper and tucking it in his pocket. "If you'll excuse me, Sgt. Dash," he said before opening the door with his magic. "I have to get this taken care of immediately." After saying that, he turned to walk inside. But just as he started to walk, a hoof forcefully hit the left side of his head. Dazed from the hit, Broadside turned to see the rainbow maned mare as she smirked nefariously at him. "What... is the meaning of this?" he asked angrily as he rubbed where he was struck before she shoved him into his office and casually walked in behind him before locking the door behind her. "Have you lost your mind, Sergeant?! I'll have you arrested and court martialed for this!"

"Quiet, you pathetic pony!" she harshly ordered in response. Hearing that come out of her mouth shocked the Admiral into silence as he never thought he'd hear her say something like that. "You think that I'm one of your soldiers?" she asked before chuckling slightly before becoming engulfed in green colored magic. The stallion's eyes widened in horror as a changeling was now standing tall over him.

"A changeling?!" the Admiral asked in shock as he looked at the creature in front of him. "How is that possible?"

"We've always been around, pony," the changeling answered. "Feeding off of the love you ponies have to give. Just barely getting by in order to survive."

"What have you done with Sergeant Rainbow Dash?!"

"She's currently in the dungeon of the Crystal Empire," he answered before chuckling in an evil manner. "Proving to be very uncooperative with interrogations regardless of what tortures we put her through."

"You... monster!" the stallion shouted before lunging at the changeling, only to be grabbed in an aura of green magic. He couldn't move as much as he tried before the sound of more chuckling could be heard. But it wasn't coming from the changeling in front of him. He wasn't even the one that was holding him in the aura of magic.

"You ponies are so easy to fool," another voice said from outside the stallion's field of vision. "I'm actually quite surprised with how easy it was to infiltrate your facility."

"That voice..." the restrained one thought as he heard hooves stepping beside him.

"What should we do with this pony, my Queen?" the changeling in front of him asked.

"Queen?" he exclaimed in his head before soon enough, the Queen of all changelings, Queen Chrysalis, appeared in his sight.

"Well. The answer to that question is very simple," she replied before looking at the pony in her magical grasp. "But I will let the Admiral decide."

"What are you doing here?" he angrily asked.

"Just making sure that you don't ruin my plan for revenge," she answered. "Wouldn't want any messages about gunpowder crates being sent out. Now would we?"

"How did you manage to get those crates on board that ship?"

"By forging your signature, of course," she replied. "It was so easy to replicate that I was tempted to do more than I already did." This made the captured pony glare at her before she cleared her throat. "Now. I'm going to let you choose your fate," she continued. "Either you come quietly with us back to the Crystal Empire for interrogation and imprisonment. Or..." She then slowly slid one of her front hooves in front of her throat, signaling only one thing for him. "So what will it be, Admiral?"

"You think I'd willingly go anywhere with you? Especially for torture and interrogation?" he asked before laughing. His laughter continued for at least a few seconds before his facial expression turned into a serious one. "I would rather die than do that."

"Such loyalty," Chrysalis replied before gently rubbing her hoof under his muzzle. The Admiral couldn't do anything to stop her, no matter how much he tried. "It reminds me of how much my subjects are to me."

"I am nothing like them."

"Indeed," Chrysalis replied. "That is exactly what the last pony in your position said." She then looked over at her loyal subject in the room before nodding at him. "But unlike him..." she continued while turning her head to look back at him. "I'm going to make sure that you won't be able to escape from your decision." Once that was said, she levitated him up off the floor before moving him toward the window behind his desk. The other changeling quickly opened it for her before soon enough, he was floating just in front of it on the outside.

"Why'd I have to pick an office on the top floor?" He thought as his eyes gazed at how far of a fall was between him and the pavement.

"Any last words?" Chrysalis asked while turning the pony around in the air with her magic.

"Curse you, you waste of oxygen!" Broad sternly replied while glaring at her. "I hope you rot in Tartarus for eternity!" This made her smirk before chuckling.

"We'll see about that, Admiral," she replied before bringing him close enough to her to where she leaned forward and smooched him on the lips. Broadside struggled in her magical grasp. But couldn't do anything as he was forced to kiss her. Once the kiss was finished, she moved him away. "I hope you enjoyed that, Admiral," she continued. "Because what's coming next will not be so pleasant." She then chuckled in her own devilish way before smirking. "Goodbye," she coldly said before stopping her magic, allowing the stallion to plummet fifteen stories to the ground below. Once she heard the screams of multiple ponies below, she stuck her head out and saw the Admiral's lifeless body on the pavement in a pool of blood. She then saw many ponies racing out of the building she was in while wearing similar styled uniforms as the deceased.

"What should we do now, my Queen?" the changeling asked as she pulled her head back in.

"We shall return to the Crystal Empire and await the arrival of my love," she replied as she walked away from the window. "Now come. Before we are discovered."

"Yes, my Queen," the changeling replied before the two of them left the office, disguising themselves in the process.

"Captain!" Port said as he rushed to the bridge while carrying a paper in his magical grip. "Captain Blade!"

"What is it, Port?" Steel asked as the green unicorn came to a stop in front of him.

"A message..." Port replied as he breathed heavily from having sprinted from the wireless room. "From.. the Navy!" Steel then took hold of the paper that Port had in his magic before reading it.

Keep an eye on the horizon. She's heading your way.

TS

"Sir?" Port asked, breaking Steel's concentration on the paper.

"Canterlot seems to be coming our way," Steel said before folding the paper up and placing it in his pocket.

"Should we turn back?" the green stallion asked. "If we do it now, we should be back in Mareseilles before sunset."

"We can't," he replied. "These supplies in our hold are long overdue as it is." After saying that, he then paused to think about the situation. "But maybe there is something we can do."

"What?"

"Once the sun sets," he began to answer. "We'll take her down to half speed. And we'll also run dark as well. No lights at all."

"That's extremely risky, sir," his friend replied. "No other ship is going to see us if we do that."

"Precisely," he said. "I know for a fact that ever since the news of Canterlot being in enemy hooves got out, a large majority of ships are now laid up until the situation is dealt with. I wouldn't be surprised if it was just us out here."

"Wow," Port said in a surprised tone. "I never thought I'd ever hear that."

"Just shows how much of a threat that battleship is," Steel replied. "We're faster than she is though. That's why we're still operating."

"I see."

"So the darkness will now be our ally," he continued. "And once the first light of a new day is seen, we'll bring her back up to full speed. Hopefully by doing this, Canterlot will just pass by us with plenty of space in between for us not to be threatened."

"I still think it's risky," the First Officer replied. "But what choice do we have?"

"Indeed," the Captain replied. "Also. Until sunset and each day until we reach Manehattan, I want to double the number of lookouts. I don't want to give them any chance of sneaking up on us with those fourteen inch cannons."

"Aye sir," Port replied before going off to gather more lookouts. Steel looked on as he disappeared inside before hearing the sounds of hooves approaching from behind.

"Captain Blade," a voice said, making him turn around to find a small group of ponies in the wheelhouse with him. This was a bit strange as the stains of coal dust on their coats signaled that they were stokers.

"Is there something I can help you ponies with?" he asked in a confused tone while giving the ponies a puzzled look on his face.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir," a pony with blue fur replied. "We're representing a good majority of the crew and wanted you to hear our concerns."

"Alright." Steel said. "I'm all ears."

"Sir. The crew is a bit... nervous as to traveling on a ship loaded with gunpowder."

"Especially with Canterlot out there somewhere," another stallion added.

"And..." the assumed leader of the group said. "We think that it's in everypony's best interest if you... turn the ship around and take us back to Mareseilles."

Steel was stunned by the request that these ponies wanted him to fulfill. Never had this ever happened to him before.

"So you want me to turn this ship around?" he asked. "With all of these crates of food and supplies for the citizens and soldiers of Equestria. Along with this special armor for the Royal Guard as well? All because of some gunpowder crates." Each pony in front of him hesitantly nodded. "Well I'm sorry to say this..." he continued. "But your request is denied."

"But sir!" the blue stallion said. "What if we run into Canterlot and she starts firing on us?"

"Okay." Steel said. "First off. What's your name, sailor?"

"Blue Moon," he answered.

"Well then, Mr. Moon," he replied. "Let me just ask you something. Have you lost faith in this ship?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you not think that this ship can avoid being hit?"

"Sir," he said in a confused tone. "Have you forgotten how big this ship is?" This question made Steel chuckle before looking over at the pony at the helm.

"Would you mind letting go of the wheel for a moment?" he asked. The pony simply nodded before letting go and stepping away, allowing Steel to take hold of it with his magic. He then turned to look at the ponies in front of him. "I suggest you all brace yourselves," he said before swinging the wheel all the way to the right, making Mareitania heel over toward her port side. The ponies stumbled backward, hitting themselves against the wall behind them before he swung the wheel back toward the left, resulting in the deck slanting toward the starboard side.

"No no no no no." Blue cried out as he and the other ponies fell forward before crashing into the wall on the other side of the bridge before the Captain straightened the ship out. The sound of the ponies groaning made a smirk come to his face as he looked at them.

"Do you all need another demonstration of my ship's maneuverability?" he asked while keeping ahold of the helm.

"N-No sir." Blue replied as the other ponies silently shook their heads in agreement.

"Good," he replied. "Now if you still feel unsafe on this ship, you all are more than welcome to abandon your duties, your pay, and your country. You will be cast adrift in however many lifeboats would be needed. But I'll let you all in on something. With the threat of Canterlot out there, the number of ships out here has been drastically reduced. So Celestia knows how long it would be before you're rescued, brought back to Equestria, and charged with the crime of desertion. Which would result in a long stay in prison."

"I uh....."

"So what's it gonna be, Mr. Moon?" Steel asked before letting go of the helm and taking hold of each engine telegraph handle with his magic. "Shall I stop the ship and prepare the lifeboats so that you and anypony else that wishes to leave may do so?"

"N-No," Blue stuttered in response. "T-That won't be necessary."

"Good," the red stallion said as he let go of the handles. "Now I want all of you to go back to your posts immediately."

"Y-Yes sir," the stallion replied before he and the other ponies quickly left.

"Captain!" Port's voice called out before he appeared on the bridge again. "Captain! What's going on? Are we under attack?"

"Not at all, Port," Steel replied before chuckling. "Just had to persuade a few possible deserters to stay. That's all."

Chapter Six

Triple sat in his quarters as he was getting ready for a little nap. He'd been up since sunrise before Spitfire and Tail Wind left on their mission to find Canterlot. And after the events of today, a small break from reality was something that he would gladly welcome. But as he was just about to lay down on his bed, the sound of hooves coming toward his door made him look toward it with a raised eyebrow.

"Captain!" Pin Point shouted as he ran into the room while carrying a paper in his magical grip. "Captain! I have something very urgent that needs your attention!"

"What is it, Pin?" he asked before turning to see the panicked expression on his First Officer's face. "What's going on?"

"We just got a message from the Manehattan Naval Base," he replied before laying the paper down on a table for Triple to look at. "It's about Admiral Broadside." Upon hearing that name, Triple wasted no time in reading what the message said.

To: Captain Triple Screw of San Franciscolt
From: Manehattan Naval Base

Please relay this information to Captain Shining Armor and Admiral Fire Power immediately upon receiving this. It is with much sorrow that we inform you that Admiral Broadside has been tragically murdered this afternoon. We are currently investigating this tragedy. But due to the possibility of another attack, Princess Celestia has requested that the San Franciscolt should return to Manehattan so your squadrons can patrol the skies overhead until things are settled.

"What are we going to do, sir?" Pin asked, making Triple look back up at him.

"It would seem that we have a tough decision to make."

Pin looked at him with a confused expression after hearing what he said.

"What do you mean?"

"We've been ordered to return to Manehattan so our pegasi soldiers can patrol the skies over the city."

"But what about the Mareitania?"

"Exactly," Triple replied before he started walking toward the door. "I'll need to speak to the others about this." As he opened the door, another thought came to mind. "By the way," he said before turning back to look at Pin. "Have Soarin and Fleetfoot returned with Spitfire yet?"

"Not yet, sir," he answered. "But it is starting to get dark." He pointed toward the porthole to emphasize his statement. "I'm hoping that they will return soon."

"Let's hope so," Triple replied as he and Pin exited his quarters and started walking through the corridor. "I want you to return to the bridge." He said, gaining Pin's attention again. "Keep us on the course we're on until Soarin and Fleetfoot return. Once they do...." He sighed a bit before continuing. "Be prepared to adjust course and put the engines at full ahead so we can return to Manehattan as soon as we can."

"But sir!"

"We have our orders, Pin," Triple said. "I'm sure the others in the War Room will say the same thing."

Pin sighed before nodding his head. "Yes sir," he said before turning a corner and disappearing from Triple's view.

As the lone earth pony walked down the corridor, he thought long and hard about what he could do to help both Manehattan and Mareitania. But no matter what he could come up with, it wouldn't work. Upon reaching the door leading into the War Room, Triple sighed before knocking on the metal door.

"Who is it?" Shining's voice asked from within.

"Triple Screw."

"Enter." Once he heard that, Triple pushed open the door and walked inside. The magical holographic map was still up as the ponies around the table it was being projected from continued to try figuring out the situation with Canterlot. Seeing that they put an extra chair at the table, Triple went over and sat down. "What do you have for us, Captain?" Shining asked before he turned to look at him.

"We received a message from the Manehattan Naval Base," he replied. "Admiral Broadside.... is dead." Each pony gasped simultaneously when they heard that.

"How?!" Admiral Fire Power asked. "That base is supposed to be one of the most secure facilities in all of Equestria!"

"According to eyewitnesses...." Triple continued. "He was thrown out of his office window on the 15th floor."

"And.... what exactly do they want us to do?"

"We've been requested to return to Manehattan by Princess Celestia so our pegasi soldiers can patrol the sky above the city." He then sighed after saying that.

"Is there something else that is bothering you, Captain?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," he answered. "If we go back to Manehattan, that would leave the Mareitania all alone against Canterlot if the two vessels encounter one another."

"You sent a message out to them though. Didn't you?" the young mare asked. The elder Captain just nodded in response. "Then I'm sure that the Captain of that ocean liner has already taken measures to avoid an encounter."

"But what if they still run into her?"

"I don't think that would happen," she replied before turning to look at the map. "The Equestrian Ocean is vast. The probability of those ships running into each other would be really unlikely if the Mareitania adjusts her speed or course."

"If you say so," Triple replied before the sound of hooves knocking against the metal door emanated from behind him.

"Who is it?" Shining asked.

"Lieutenants Soarin and Fleetfoot," Soarin's voice replied from the other side.

"Enter," Shining said, resulting in the metal door being pushed open again to allow the two pegasi to walk in.

"Did you manage to bring back Commander Spitfire?" Jet Stream asked.

"No," Soarin replied before lowering his head. "We looked all over the area where she and Tail Wind were at. But she was nowhere to be found." Jet sighed heavily after hearing what he said.

"Well then..." he said. "I guess we have no choice but to declare Commander Spitfire MIA." He then turned to look at Fire Power who then turned to look at Triple.

"Send a message back to the rest of the fleet back in Manehattan. Tell them that we're on our way back at full speed. And tell them to also send a search party out to look for Commander Spitfire. By air and by sea."

"Yes sir," Triple replied before slowly getting out of his seat and following Soarin and Fleetfoot out.

As Triple was on his way to send out a message to get a larger search for Spitfire under way, the Wonderbolt Commander watched as the sun slowly started dipping beneath the horizon from the small porthole in her cell. She let out a long sigh as she wished to be anywhere else than being inside the small cell aboard Canterlot. A few tears began to form in her eyes as they looked at the clear sky above the waves. But as time ticked by, she couldn't help but imagine the horror of what was to come as she imagined seeing the fourteen inch guns firing on an ocean liner. Innocent ponies were going to die. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She kept thinking about it until a loud clanging noise from behind her snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Supper time, prisoner," a guard's voice said as she turned around to see a crystal pony guard, or maybe a changeling in disguise, as he nudged a tray of food through a slot at the bottom of her cell door. Her stomach soon grumbled when her eyes caught sight of the food presented to her. A lone apple accompanied by some lettuce with a cup of water.

"Is that it?" she asked as she got up and made her way over to the tray.

"Be thankful that our benevolent King has told us to make sure you were fed," the guard replied before he turned and walked away.

"Benevolent King, my flank," she thought before looking down at her food. She sighed a bit before she sat down and picked up the apple with her front hooves. She examined it closely, trying to see if anything was wrong with it. But it looked like a normal apple. Her stomach growled again, demanding nourishment due to her not having eaten since before she left the San Franciscolt. Sighing heavily, she took a bite out of the apple. The taste brought a calming sense of familiarity. It tasted just like an apple from Sweet Apple Acres. But as she ate, her mind still thought about what the changelings had told her earlier.

"Whoever this Captain Blade is, he must have some nice skills if he was able to escape from the changelings before," she thought while chewing the piece of apple in her mouth. "But if his ship gets within range of these guns, there is very little chance that it'll avoid being sunk." She then swallowed before taking a sip of her water before feeling the floor beneath her tilt as Canterlot heeled over toward her port side as she turned heavily to starboard. Normally, Spitfire would've hovered in the air until the floor leveled out. But with the chains around her body keeping her wings against her sides, she slid forward until she hit the bars. Upon hitting them, she grunted in pain as she hit the iron bars head first.

"Lousy stupid bars," she quietly growled to herself as she got up. But when she turned around, she saw that her apple was missing. She raised an eyebrow before she turned back toward the bars to find her partially eaten apple outside of her cell. She sighed once again before she climbed up onto her bunk and laid down, keeping her face toward the wall.

"How are they so confident that he'll survive though?" she thought as the conversation from earlier continued flowing through her mind. "It would be a miracle if anypony will survive." As she thought about it, the last rays of light faded as the sun dipped below the horizon. A weird feeling of calm started to wash over her as the waves gently rocked the battleship. Spitfire found her eyelids becoming heavy as she has been awake since early in the morning. A small yawn escaped her lips not long after. Being a prisoner was something completely new to her. But if she was going to survive, sleep would be her escape from this nightmare of a reality that she was in.

Soon enough, her eyes finally closed as the mare drifted off into slumber.

Steel looked on from the port side bridge wing as the sun set in front of him. The Mareitania was slicing through the small waves at top speed as she was on her course for Manehattan. As the last rays of light faded, he nodded to himself before walking into the bridge. Once inside, he grabbed hold of the engine telegraph levers before pulling them back to 'half ahead'. Soon, he could feel the turbine engines begin to slow as the engineers below quickly responded to the signal. After letting go of the levers, he watched as the speed dropped from 24 knots down to around 15.

"Gonna be sailing dark," he said while turning his head to look at the pony at the helm. The stallion nodded before he turned off the lights in the small wheelhouse. After doing that, Steel made his way out to the starboard side bridge wing.

"Captain," Port's voice said from below. Hearing that, Steel looked down to see his friend on the boat deck looking up at him. "I've just finished making sure that all lights in each cabin was turned off."

"Excellent," he replied. "Hopefully that'll provide us with cover should Canterlot be near."

"I hope so too," Port said before he started climbing up the stairs leading to the bridge wing. As he did, Steel could see that he was looking as though he wanted to say something. But he wasn't sure if he could go through with it. "Sir," he continued. "There's something I've been wanting to know."

"What's that, Port?"

"Something that we might not get another opportunity to talk about," he replied before coming up beside Steel. "I know you don't really want to talk about it. But I just want to know." Steel sighed as he knew what his friend was talking about. That of course being the incident that occurred on the maiden voyage.

"Alright," he said before sighing once more. He knew that this topic wouldn't be easy to discuss. But he at least owed it to him after all this time. "After you guys were forced to abandon ship, Chrysalis tried to convince me to join her in marriage to become King of the changelings." When he heard that, the green stallion just gasped in surprise. "But I instantly refused."

"What happened after that?"

"She tried to convince me through..... other methods," he continued. "If you know what I mean."

"You mean that you and her..."

"It didn't get to that point," he replied. "Thankfully. But I still have nightmares about it some nights. All I'll say is that it didn't happen by choice." Port just stood there in silence as he was shocked by what he had heard. He saw Steel's body shiver as he guessed the ordeal was going through his mind all over again.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Cap," he said before putting his hoof on his friend's back. "I had no idea that she would do that to you."

"It's alright, Port," he replied. "Nothing we can do about it now." Once he said that, he turned his head to look out at the water ahead. "She wanted me to be the fuel needed for a new generation of changelings. But before that happened, she wanted to show me what I could have if I chose to marry her."

"That probably wasn't the best way to convince you."

"Yeah," he replied. "Like I said. It wasn't by choice. She drugged me with some sort of drink. And when I came to, my limbs were being restrained by her magic and my... shaft was fully erect."

"Sweet... mother of Luna," Port said in a shocked tone.

"She attempted to try and show me what she was capable of doing. But when I told her that I didn't want to be her King, she stopped and got really upset. She then locked me in my cabin and blew that hole in the starboard side, hoping to send both me and Mareitania to a watery grave."

"I see," the green stallion replied. "And how exactly did Princess Celestia get involved?"

"She just so happened to be in the area on board the royal clipper," he answered. "She saw the ship listing to starboard and sensed that I was still on board. But by the time she got onto the ship, I had already escaped from the cabin I was trapped in and was trying to save my ship by keeping the water coming in at bay."

"How'd you escape?"

"When Chrysalis locked me in my cabin, she made a crucial mistake," he said before pulling his sword out of the scabbard secured to his body. "She didn't take this away from me. So I just sliced my way through the wooden door."

"Nice," he replied as Steel put the sword back into the scabbard. "So Princess Celestia helped you save the ship?" The Captain just nodded silently. "How?"

"She put up that shield you saw over the gaping hole," he replied. "Once that was up, I was able to pump out most of the water. Not all of it, but just enough to where she would remain afloat. From there, it was a challenge to get her back to Manehattan. While I steered the ship, Celestia was in Boiler Room #1. She used her magic to shovel coal into all of the boilers in the room at the same time. But with only one boiler room producing steam, we just had enough pressure for the two inner turbines to run at a low speed. Which she somehow managed as well."

"Wow," Port said in an impressed tone. "I can't believe that it only took the two of you to sail this ship back."

"Well when one of the two was an alicorn, it wasn't all that difficult. Only tough times were when I had to shovel the coal while she raised and lowered the sun. We stopped during the night though to rest. No way we could've gone non-stop back to Manehattan."

"I bet."

"And you know the rest of the story," he continued before sighing. "Huh. You know. Now that I've talked about it. I am feeling slightly better than I was before."

"Really?"

"Slightly," he repeated. "But... still better than I was before."

"Well that's good to hear, Cap," Port said before yawning. "I don't know about you. But I'm ready for some sleep."

"Yeah," Steel replied before yawning himself. "I could go for some sleep right now." He then turned and started walking back toward his cabin. "I'll see you in the morning, Port."

"Yes sir," Port replied before Steel made his way onto the bridge. He then turned and entered his cabin before closing the door behind him. Another yawn escaped from him as he unhooked the strap securing his scabbard before placing it on a table in the room. He then removed his uniform and set it aside before he took off the suit of armor that was underneath.

Once everything was taken care of, Steel climbed into his bed and laid his head down on the pillow. The waves gently rocked the ship back and forth, lulling him into a state of comfort as his eyes struggled to stay open. With one final yawn, his eyes closed before he soon fell asleep.

Author's Note

Due to this being in an alternate universe, what Steel mentioned in his conversation with Port is not what really happened during Mareitania's maiden voyage. If you wish to see the canon version of what happened, please read The Voyage of the Mareitania.

Chapter Seven

"Greetings, Commander Spitfire." A familiar voice said, making Spitfire's eyes open to find herself in what looked to be a conference room. She was sitting at a large wooden table with empty seats all around it with the only exception being a chair with its back turned to her. Suddenly, torches with blue flames ignited all around, enveloping the room with bluish light.

"W-Where am I?" The lone mare asked as she looked around.

"Do you not recall our agreement for a meeting this night?" The voice coming from the chair facing away asked before it slowly turned to reveal the Princess of the Night, Princess Luna. "I believe it was you who originally came up with this idea so that you could speak with me directly."

"Oh!" Spitfire replied as the memory of what Luna was talking about flooded her mind. "Right. Yes. I'm sorry. I've just been through so much today that I completely forgot."

"I see." Luna said before raising an eyebrow. "Anyways. Let us get to the business at hoof. I was told by my sister that you were sent out this morning to find the Canterlot and to report back any activity. Any luck?"

"Oh yeah." Spitfire replied before sighing. "I found her alright."

The tone in her response caught the dark blue alicorn off guard as she tilted her head slightly to the side. Spitfire looked almost ashamed that she had found the warship that was causing both her and Celestia quite the headache.

"Why do you sound so sad? I'm sure that your friends threw you a wonderful celebration when you returned to the San Franciscolt."

"I'm sure they would have." Spitfire replied before sighing again. "But I'm not on the San Franciscolt right now."

"Oh?" Luna asked. "Then where are you currently at?"

"On the.... Canterlot. As a...." Spitfire sighed again as she swallowed her pride. "As a prisoner of war." Luna's pupils shrank as soon as she heard what the Wonderbolt Commander had said. The orange mare just tilted her head down, hiding her eyes from Luna's.

"This.... is news I wished never to hear." Luna said, prompting Spitfire to look up just enough to see her. She could see Luna's head tilted down with her eyes closed. "One of our subjects.... now a prisoner of our sworn enemy." A long silence soon followed before Spitfire heard Luna sigh heavily. "How did this happen?"

Spitfire could see that the news of her imprisonment was not sitting well with the Princess of the night. She had never seen Luna like this before.

"I... got hit by a flash grenade that was enchanted by Sombra's magic." She replied. "Once that happened, I became encased in a crystal shell and fell down to the ocean only to be picked up by Canterlot." Luna's head continued to be tilted down as she listened to what was being told. "But enough about how it happened. Nothing can be done about it now."

"That isn't true." Luna replied. "Once we're done here, I will alert every ship left in our Navy to your situation. We will free you from your captor before they can interrogate you."

"Don't worry about saving me." Spitfire replied. "I'd never talk. Even if they cut my wings off, they wouldn't get a peep from me." She then paused before looking up again. "Besides. I have information that you need to know."

Luna tilted her head slightly while looking at the mare in front of her.

"Oh? Like what?"

"We aren't fighting just the Crystal Empire." Spitfire replied. This sentence made Luna raise an eyebrow in response. "Sombra's created some kind of alliance with Chrysalis and her changeling hive."

Luna's eyes both shot wide open as soon as she heard that.

"Are... you sure?" She asked while only getting a silent nod from Spitfire in return for an answer. Luna then sighed before looking down at the table. "This is the first I've heard of any changeling activity in a few years." She said. "Not since my sister had provided assistance to a sailor who was trying to keep his ship from sinking after it was damaged by Chrysalis."

This statement made Spitfire raise one of her eyebrows as what the two changeling guards had said earlier surged back into her mind.

"Who was it?" She asked, prompting Luna to look up at her. "Who was it that she saved?"

Luna rubbed her muzzle in thought as she tried remembering.

"I can't recall his name right now." She replied before looking at pegasus. "Why do you ask?"

"If what I learned from today is true, then that ship that Celestia saved might be the target of Canterlot's guns." Luna's eyes just grew wide after hearing what Spitfire just said.

"What sort of satisfaction would Sombra get by sinking a ship that can't fight back?"

"Some twisted plot to finalize their alliance." Spitfire replied. "Apparently that sailor was previously approached by Chrysalis about joining her in marriage. But when he refused, that's when she attempted to sink his ship and him along with it." Luna just sat in her seat and stared at Spitfire as she continued. "But now, they're saying that they'll blow up his ship and take him prisoner too!"

Luna sighed softly before pulling up a notepad and jotting down some notes. Spitfire looked on silently, wondering what else was worth relaying to the Princess.

"This is most certainly a dark day for us, I'm afraid." She said as she wrote. "First Admiral Broadside's murder in Manehattan. And now this." This completely surprised the mare on the other side of the table as her jaw dropped instantly.

"Woah woah woah. Back up a second." Spitfire said. "Admiral Broadside.... is dead?" Luna silently nodded in confirmation. "How?!"

"The investigation is ongoing as we speak." She replied before putting the notepad away. "All we know from eyewitness accounts is that he was seen being hurled out of his office window at the naval base." She then turned to look at the clock on the wall before looking back at Spitfire. "I'm sorry, Commander. But I need to take care of other matters. I will make sure to relay this information you've given me to my sister. And we will find a way to rescue you. I promise."

"Don't worry about me." Spitfire said. "Worry about the ponies on this ocean liner that Sombra's going to destroy. They're the priority here."

"Agreed." Luna replied. "I will consult with my sister and see what the best course of action is in this situation." She then got out of her chair and walked around the table until she stopped next to Spitfire's chair before placing a hoof on her friend's back. "Stay strong, Commander. Don't let them get inside your head."

"Yes ma'am." She replied, earning a gentle smile from Luna before Spitfire closed her eyes. Once she opened them again, she found herself back in her cell aboard Canterlot. The sunlight of the coming day was just beginning to peak over the horizon, revealing a calm sea and clear sky. Spitfire rolled out of her bunk, stumbling slightly due to the weight of the chains around her body, before going over to the porthole and gazing out at the water. "I hope that Luna can warn that ship in time of what's coming." She thought as a tray of food was dropped on the floor and kicked under the bars by a guard. The restrained mare looked back at the fresh apple and glass of water before sighing.

The warm rays of sunshine filled Steel's room with light as he slowly awakened from his slumber. He yawned softly before sitting up in his bed and stretching out his forehooves. Looking over at his alarm clock, he saw that it was just after 6am.

"Get dressed, go get some breakfast, and then take control." He said to himself as he got out of bed and put on the body armor given to him. After securing it around his body, he threw on a clean uniform and decided to strap his sword around his body as well. Once he was finished, he walked in front of a mirror in the room before looking himself over. He then saluted his reflection before opening the door and stepping out onto the bridge.

"Morning, Captain Blade." The pony behind the helm said before saluting.

"Good morning, sailor." He replied before saluting back. "What heading are we on at the moment?"

"Our heading is 270 degrees due west, sir." The stallion replied. "I made sure not to deviate from the route through the night."

"Excellent work." He said before noticing how tired he looked. "If you need to rest, you are free to do so. I can take the helm until the morning helmspony gets here."

"Thank you, sir." He said before letting out a big yawn. "I will make sure to be ready in case you need me." He then saluted again before letting go of the wheel, prompting Steel to take hold of it with his magic. He then watched as the pony exited the bridge, leaving him alone for now.

"Alright, Mareitania." He said before looking over at the engine telegraphs. "Let's get you back up to speed." After saying that, he cut off his magic and stood up on his hind legs while placing his forehooves on the wheel. He then used his magic to push each telegraph lever back down into the 'Full Ahead' position. After doing that, the ship vibrated as the turbines started getting up to speed once again, turning the four huge propellers at a faster rate. Steel smiled with pride as he felt his ship's speed increase.

"Morning, Cap." Port said from the entrance to the bridge. "Sleep well?"

"Eh. It was alright, I suppose." Steel replied while looking at his friend. "How about you?"

"Not really." He replied. "I can't quite figure out why though. I usually sleep fine. But I didn't this time." Steel just looked at his friend while keeping hold of the wheel. "Probably just all of the stress of this crossing, I suppose." He continued.

"Probably." He replied. "But at least we'll be done in a few days or so. After a crossing like this, I could certainly go for a mug of cider."

"Forget the mug. Give me the barrel!" Port jokingly replied, making the two of them burst out with laughter. This continued for a minute or so before they both calmed down and looked out at the open ocean through the windows of the bridge. "So you think we'll be alright?"

"I'm sure we'll be fine, Port." Steel replied. "If we see Canterlot on the horizon, we can easily steer the ship away without ever getting close to her firing range."

"Yeah. I suppose so." The green unicorn replied. "I mean. How hard will it be to miss a battleship out here?"

"Exactly."

"So how's that suit of armor feel?"

"Eh. It's alright, I guess. Takes a bit to get used to moving around in." Port simply nodded as he listened. "You'll find out as soon as we get back to Manehattan."

Port just sighed in response and nodded. "I can't wait."

"Same here." Steel said before his stomach began to growl. Port looked over after hearing that and chuckled softly.

"Need me to bring you something to eat, Cap?"

"Well. I was going to go see what the cooks were making for breakfast. But I'll be here until the morning helmspony arrives."

"I could still get you something to snack on while you wait." Steel rubbed his muzzle in thought while looking between his friend and the waters in front of him.

"Maybe a blueberry muffin?" He asked. Port just nodded and saluted.

"I'll see what I can do, sir." He replied before leaving the bridge to go find what Steel had requested.

Once alone, Steel let out a calm sigh and looked out ahead at the ocean. By now, Mareitania was slicing through the waves at full speed. As he stood behind the wheel, he felt like nothing could harm this magnificent liner. But deep down, he knew that it wasn't true. He was lucky to still have this ship after what had transpired on the maiden voyage.

"If one blast from a changeling could nearly sink this ship..." He thought while keeping his eyes on the water. "Who knows what'll happen if we run into Canterlot." His hooves on the wheel began to shake as he imagined the horror of twelve fourteen-inch cannons firing on his ship. "No!" He said in his mind. "Get it together, Steel! If the crew sees that you're scared, they'll get scared too!"

"Good morning, Captain Blade." A voice from the other side of the bridge said, making him turn to find the morning helmspony standing in the doorway. "What happened to the pony I was supposed to relieve?"

"I let him off earlier. He looked tired." Steel replied before letting go of the wheel, allowing the other stallion to take hold of it. "Keep her on the course she's on unless told otherwise."

"Aye aye, Captain." He replied before saluting, earning one in return from him. With the other pony at the helm, Steel decided to go out onto the bridge wing and look out at the water. A gentle breeze made him breathe in the fresh air as he looked out ahead. Mareitania appeared to be the only ship in the general area. Seeing this made Steel sigh contently as he heard hoofsteps on the stairs behind him.

"Well. The cooks didn't have any muffins ready." Port said. "But they do have some pancakes if you want some."

"Better than nothing." Steel replied just as his stomach started to growl. "Want me to bring you anything?"

"Nah. I had a few apples after I woke up. I'm good."

"Alright then." He said before turning and going down the stairs. As he walked, he looked up in the sky at a few clouds overhead. As he did, something caught his eye. A little black dot between two of the clouds. But when he blinked and looked again, he couldn't see it anymore. He kept looking at that exact spot, but nothing was there other than the clouds. "I must be seeing things." He said before walking inside.

Spitfire laid on her bunk after having finished eating her apple. Her stomach growled for more, but she didn't have any more food to give it. As she laid there, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep until the sound of something clanging against the bars of her cell startled her enough to make her roll off of the bunk and land on the metal floor.

"On your hooves, prisoner!" She heard a guard, most likely a changeling disguised as a guard, say. "Your presence is requested on the bridge by King Sombra!"

Spitfire grunted as she struggled to get back to a standing position. The heavy chains around her body made it difficult to move. As she turned to face the bars, she found a group of three guards on the other side staring directly at her.

"And what exactly does he want?" She asked in a defiant tone.

"You'll soon find out." One of them replied. "Now either you come with us on your own. Or we slap this collar around your neck and drag you out of there like a dog." To prove they weren't bluffing, one of them had produced a metal collar with a chain attached to it. Spitfire sighed as she saw that and reluctantly nodded to come on her own. "There's a good mare." The guard said while another unlocked her door and motioned for her to move.

"If these chains weren't around my body, I'd make you all regret taking me prisoner." She said in her mind as she walked out of her cell and started following the lead guard while the other two flanked her sides. As they walked, she couldn't help but wonder what it was that she was going to see.

Once out on the deck, Spitfire stopped and breathed in the fresh air. After being stuffed inside a cell for a while, the fresh air was a welcome change.

"Keep moving!" One of the guards behind her said before shoving hard against her flank, sending the pegasus mare forward. Spitfire instantly glared back at the guard, wanting to make him pay.

"Do... that.. again. I dare you." She said through gritted teeth, making the guards around laugh at her.

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" He asked. "You're hardly in a position to be doing that. Now unless you really want that collar on, I suggest you move your flank." Spitfire just kept glaring back at the guard until she started to walk again.

"If I find a way to get out of these chains, you'll be the first to get it." She said in her head as the group started walking up some stairs that led to the bridge. After several minutes, Spitfire found herself walking onto the bridge of the warship. Before Sombra took possession of this ship, she had been there many times prior. But now, she felt sick being there. Barely just a few feet away, King Sombra stood in front of one of the windows looking out ahead of the ship.

"Your Highness." The lead guard said. "We have brought the prisoner as you requested."

"Thank you." He replied. "Now leave us."

"Yes sir." The guard replied before he and the others quickly left, leaving Spitfire and Sombra alone with only the guards controlling the ship left.

"Now. My dear Commander." Sombra said as he turned to look at Spitfire. "You will remain here until our... guest of honor has arrived." After saying that, his horn glowed with magic. Soon, Spitfire felt her hooves start to tingle and looked down to find them encased in crystal. She struggled in several attempts to move them but found her efforts in vain as she was stuck to the floor.

"Why are you doing this?" Spitfire asked. "Innocent ponies will die! The rules of engagement clearly state that you can't fire on an unarmed ship!"

"That may be true." He replied as he started circling around her. "You ponies always seem to try and do things the right way. But I'll let you in on a little secret of mine." He then stopped and leaned in close to Spitfire's ear, his lips just inches away. "I don't care about your rules." He said in a calm tone. "What I'm doing is something I like to call... unrestricted warfare. Nothing you say is going to stop me from doing this." After hearing him say that, Spitfire's pupils shrank in horror.

"Sir!" A guard standing outside called out. "Our scout is coming back!" Moments after hearing that, Spitfire saw a changeling land on the bridge wing. This changeling was wearing a set of goggles that she had never seen before. Sombra just smirked at Spitfire before going over to the changeling.

"Report." He calmly ordered.

"Your Majesty." The changeling said before bowing. "The target is less than 30 miles away and closing rapidly on our position."

"Excellent." Sombra replied before turning to look at the guards on the bridge. "Reverse all engines and turn to heading 120. Bring all of our guns to face the port side and await orders. Once we're stopped, we'll wait for them to come to us."

These orders confused the restrained mare as she watched the guards do as they were ordered.

"You do realize the moment that ship spots us, they're going to turn away. Right?" She asked. "They aren't going to miss seeing a stopped battleship in the middle of the ocean."

"I'm well aware of that, Miss Spitfire." Sombra replied as he looked back at her. "Which is why I've prepared a little... surprise for Captain Blade and his crew."

Chapter Eight

In the Mareitania's wireless room, a lone unicorn stallion sat and watched the hands on the clock on the wall slowly move. He yawned softly before looking at the mug of coffee on his desk.

"Only a few more days before I can sleep in a comfortable bed again," he said to himself. "Last night was terrible." After saying that, he turned to sit facing the desk and placed the headset over his ears. Expecting a quiet start to his shift, he picked up his mug and began to take a sip of the liquid within. After a gulp, his headphones began picking up a message. "Huh. Bit early for the first message," he said before grabbing a pencil and some paper with his magic.

"From.... Manehattan... Naval Base... to Mareitania," he repeated while writing down the coded signal. "Turn... back... to Mareseilles... immediately." As soon as he reread the message, the stallion's eyes shot open. Without a second thought, he got out of the chair and rushed out of the room with the message. Rushing as fast as he could, the stallion raced through the corridor before slamming against the door leading out on the deck.

The metal door swung open, hitting the metal wall loud enough to where Port could hear it on the bridge wing. He turned to see the stallion laying on the deck while rubbing his head, presumably hitting the door head first instead of opening it with his magic.

"You alright there, Sparks?" Port called out while looking at him. Upon hearing this, Sparks looked up toward his First Officer and got up before making his way over toward the stairs to the raised wing.

"I... just got... a message!" Sparks said in between gasps for air as he climbed the steps.

"From?"

"Manehattan... Naval Base!" he replied. Hearing this, Port quickly took hold of the paper and looked at what the message said.

"Are you positive this is from the Navy?" Port asked, confused by what the message told.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well. This could be a trick by Canterlot," he continued. "Maybe they detected us in the early hours of the morning and are trying to get us to come back toward them." After saying that, Port took out his binoculars and looked at the surrounding area only to see nothing but ocean.

"What should we do then?" Sparks asked.

"Go find Captain Blade," Port replied. "He should be in the mess hall. Show him the message and see what he thinks."

"Yes sir," he replied before rushing off toward the mess hall as quick as he could, making sure to use his magic to open any closed doors ahead of him.

Once he was out of sight, Port turned back to look out ahead of the liner. Keeping in mind of what the message said, he made sure to watch for anything on the horizon.

"Until I hear what Steel says, I'm not changing course," Port thought as the ship continued on at full speed.

"Your Majesty!" a voice outside the bridge of Canterlot cried out. "King Sombra!" This made both Sombra and Spitfire turn to look where the voice was coming from. Seconds later, a guard appeared on the bridge with a paper in his possession.

"What is it?" Sombra asked, making the guard shutter. "What is so important that you come in here without my approval?"

"Your highness," the guard said before bowing. "We've intercepted a message to the target." Once he said that, Sombra took the paper before reading it. Spitfire smirked slightly, most likely knowing what that message was.

"Thank you, Princess Luna," she said in her mind while hearing Sombra grunt with anger. He then crumpled the paper and tossed it aside.

"All engines at full ahead! Now!" he bellowed, making each guard shiver in fear before doing as ordered. Spitfire watched as Sombra walked through the doorway leading outside. "Scout!"

"Yes your majesty?" She heard a voice reply.

"I want you to go and see where the target is and what it's doing," he ordered. "Now!"

"Right away!" the voice said before she could see a changeling flying off ahead of the battleship.

"Is something wrong, Sombra?" Spitfire asked in a defiant tone, prompting him to step back on the bridge. Once he saw the sly look on his prisoner's face, Sombra gritted his teeth and walked over toward her.

"This is your doing, isn't it?" he asked as his horn began to glow. The pegasus mare's smirk remained, which only made him angrier. Soon, a red aura of magic appeared around her neck. Spitfire soon felt it getting harder to breathe as Sombra's magic slowly clenched tighter. "How? How is this possible?!" he said in a threatening tone. "Answer me!"

"Kiss.... my.... flank!" Spitfire said in between gasps for air. Sombra glared at her for several seconds before releasing his hold, sensing that killing her wouldn't do any good with the knowledge that she has. Once she felt the magic let go, Spitfire just gasped and breathed heavily.

"Be thankful of your rank, Commander," Sombra said before turning and walking outside once more. Spitfire kept breathing deep as she sensed the large ship begin to move once again. Once she saw he was out of view, her smirk emerged once more.

"You're never gonna catch that ship now, Sombra," she thought. "Might as well give up." Several minutes of silence passed as the restrained mare could only listen to the wind and waves outside through the open door. She tried to lay down as best she could, but the crystals keeping her hooves glued to the floor made any adjustment uncomfortable.

"Your majesty!" she heard a voice call out from the other side of the bridge. "Our scout is coming back!"

"That was quick," Spitfire said in her mind before the changeling she saw leave land on the wing that Sombra was on.

"Well?" Sombra's voice said. "What is that ship doing?"

"Your highness," the changeling replied. "The target seems to still be coming in our direction. It's only a matter of minutes before we'll see it from here." This statement stunned the mare in the bridge as she thought for sure that the liner would be turning away.

"Very curious," Sombra replied before he made his way back on the bridge. Turning toward the back of the room, he passed close to Spitfire, smirking back at her like she did to him. Spitfire could only stare at him until her neck wouldn't allow her to turn her head anymore. Once she heard his hooves stop, he cleared his throat. "Flood the port side torpedo tube and prepare to fire on my command,"

Hearing this made the mare's pupils shrink as she had completely forgotten that this battleship was also equipped with a torpedo tube submerged beneath the waterline on both sides. Her heart began pounding as the thought of seeing an ocean liner be torpedoed rushed through her mind.

"Why aren't they turning?" she screamed internally as Sombra walked up beside her before stopping. He looked down at the expression on her face and chuckled.

"Don't worry, Commander. I promise you'll be in for a show that you'll... never... forget."

"Smoke spotted off the port bow!" a guard called out from the bridge wing. Sombra smirked before his horn ignited in his red aura of magic. The magic soon engulfed Spitfire's body as she felt the crystals around her hooves disappear and herself soon being lifted off of the floor, unwillingly following the tyrant.

"And you, my frightened prisoner, will have a front row seat," Sombra continued before the two emerged on the port side wing. Once there, he set Spitfire down only to have her hooves encased in crystal again. Now she was staring out at the open sea before turning to look toward the smoke. She squinted her eyes to try and see what the approaching ship looked like, but it was pointless without binoculars. The ones that she had with her were lost with the saddlebags when she was hit with that enchanted shell.

As the seconds passed, the ship came closer and closer. It was easily within the firing range of the main battery, but yet looked to have no intention of turning away.

"What the buck are you doing?!" Spitfire cried out as loud as she could. "Do you not see what's here?!" But the liner just kept coming. The four red and black funnels spewing out smoke indicated that they were charging ahead at full speed. Looking on the deck, she could see the various ponies behaving as though the warship wasn't even there. This confused her as she watched the liner continue toward its demise. As she watched helplessly, Sombra walked over to the railing and chuckled before lowering his muzzle down to a voice pipe nearby.

"Launch."

Inside the mess hall which was originally the First Class Dining Saloon, Steel sat at a table enjoying a nice plate of freshly made pancakes. He had just finished the one that was on top before the doors to the room burst open.

"Captain!" Sparks cried out while frantically looking around before his eyes found the stallion he was looking for. Not wasting a second, he rushed over to the table.

"What is it, Sparks?" Steel asked while looking at the concerned expression on the pony in front of him.

"Sir. I... have something for you," he replied before putting the paper on the table. Seeing this, Steel picked the paper up before reading the message.

"Why did you bring this here instead of going to the bridge?"

"I did," Sparks replied. "But First Officer Port said to go see what you thought. He thinks it's some kind of trick by Canterlot to get us to turn back toward them."

"I see..." Steel said while rereading the message. But just as he opened his mouth to speak again, the room shook violently as a large explosion could be heard below toward the stern. The ship heeled abruptly over toward her starboard side before eventually bringing herself upright again. As this was happening, every pony that wasn't a pegasus slid down toward the right side of the room along with every chair and table. Those who were pegasi instinctively hovered above until the floor leveled out.

"What... in Equestria was that?" Sparks said as he slowly got up.

"Is everypony alright?" Steel called out. After receiving various confirmations, Steel got up as well but soon noticed something was wrong. The floor was now slanting toward the port side and back toward the stern. The chairs and tables all began to slide toward the other side of the room with the occasional sounds of plates and glass shattering being drowned by the ship groaning. As he looked around, he could see the lights flickering before they all faded to a dim glow. Now the only sufficient amount of light was coming from the windows and from the dome skylight above.

"I want everypony on deck! Now!" he ordered before using his horn to light the room in a bluish glow. As soon as the other ponies could see the exits, they made sure not to waste any time. Every unicorn did as Steel was doing and used their horns to light the way for the others.

Once the room was clear, Steel and Sparks exited and followed the group. With the power less than fully functional, the elevators were too risky to use. The stairs were now the only safe way to make it up to the boat deck. As they walked, various ponies were seen gathering whatever personal belongings they could carry out of their cabins and putting on life jackets. Seeing this made the red stallion feel uneasy as they made their way through.

The list to port made getting through the corridors a challenge, but the two unicorns soon made their way up to the boat deck.

"Sparks. Get to the wireless room and send out a distress signal," Steel ordered. "I don't care if the power is low. Just do it if you're able to."

"What's our position?" Sparks asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "But just start sending it anyways. See if there are any ships in the area that can assist. We'll get our position as quick as we can."

"Alright," the young stallion replied before rushing off toward the wireless room. Steel then quickly made his way toward the bridge, doing his best to keep his balance on the slanting deck.

"Damage report!" he called out as he reached the bridge. "What's going on?"

"Sir," Port replied. "We have a hull breach in the outer port side engine room. Boiler Room 1 is being evacuated as the port side bunker has also been compromised."

"Can we contain the flooding?"

"They're already working on that," Port replied. "The watertight doors in that part of the ship have already been closed according to what I was told from the Chief Engineer." As he listened to what was being said, Steel looked at the ship's clinometer mounted on the wall behind the helm. The needle on the instrument was indicating that Mareitania had a ten degree list to port and was slowly creeping further.

"Stop all engines!"

"Yes sir," Port replied before he quickly rushed to the engine telegraphs, moving each lever to the 'Stop' position.

"Do we have any idea what happened?"

"No clue, Cap," the green unicorn replied. "One moment everything's fine. Next thing I know, I'm losing my balance and down on the deck. When I got over to the other side, there weren't any other ships nearby." He soon began breathing heavily. Steel could see that he was beginning to panic as he was visibly shaking. "Cap. I'm... sorry," he said while standing by the last telegraph. "If I had just turned the ship around like that message said, we'd probably not be in this mess."

"It wasn't your fault, Port," Steel replied. "I was skeptical about the message too. But we don't have time to worry about what if's right now. I need you to get our position and get it to Sparks as soon as you can for the distress signal."

"Aye, sir," he said before leaving the bridge.

From the moment she saw the ship get struck, Spitfire's eyes were glued on it as a face of disbelief was plastered on her face. The smoke coming out from the funnels diminished tremendously while the entire ship was tilting toward the left side as the momentum it had carried it by the warship. She kept staring until the sound of her captor chuckling from behind snapped her out of the trance.

"Perfect," she heard him say as he walked by her while looking at what is going on. "Not too much. But just enough for them to not get away."

"You're sick!" Spitfire shouted while glaring at him. "Those ponies did nothing to you!"

After hearing that, he turned back to look at her with a smirk on his face. This only enraged the restrained pegasus to levels that she had never reached before. The fact that he was satisfied with attacking a ship that couldn't do anything to fight back made her blood boil.

"Trust me, my little captive," he said before turning back to look at the ship. "This is only the beginning. I intend to make Mr. Blade suffer as long as I wish before I capture him."

"What are you gonna do?" she asked. "You gonna make him surrender before blowing up his ship?"

"You misunderstand, Commander. I'm not accepting any surrender," he replied while still looking at the ship. "He won't have any say in this. Once my target sees that there's no escape, I will give him a little... surprise before unleashing the full power of this battleship." After saying that, he turned and walked back inside, leaving Spitfire to watch the scene in front of her.

"Captain!" Port called out as he returned from the wireless room. "I've given Sparks our position and he's transmitting now!"

"Excellent," Steel replied. "Hopefully there's some ships that can assist." He then walked over to a phone mounted on the wall before trying to get a hold of the engine room. It rang a couple of times before somepony down there picked up.

"Hello?" a voice on the other end asked. "Who is this?"

"It's Captain Blade," Steel replied. "What's the situation down there?"

"It ain't looking good down here, sir," the voice replied. "The outer port side engine room is lost. Boiler room one is flooding as well. The bunker wall gave way to the sea. Those things weren't designed to hold against water."

"Anything else?"

"We've got the watertight doors closed," the voice continued. "But with this list to port, we're having difficulties with getting the pumps working."

"Just... do what you can. And keep the electrical room dry for as long as possible. We can't afford to lose power."

"We'll do our best," the voice said. "But with the amount of water coming in, I don't know how long we can do that." After saying that, the pony on the other end hung up, prompting Steel to do the same as well. He then looked over at the clinometer. It was showing that the list has worsened to 15 degrees to port.

"Any further and we risk not being able to use the starboard lifeboats," he thought before exiting down to the port side bridge wing. "Not that we'd need all the boats anyways. There's not that many ponies on board."

As the situation aboard Mareitania was happening, Captain Triple Screw was busy on the bridge of the San Franciscolt plotting a course back to Manehattan. The pegasus carrier was cutting through the waves at over 26 knots. Just as soon as he finished plotting out his course, he heard a knock on the door to the chart room.

"Captain Screw?" Pin Point asked from the other side. "We've got a situation that needs your attention."

"Enter," he replied. The stallion did as instructed and opened the door to the room, holding two papers in his magic. Upon seeing them, Triple raised an eyebrow. "What are those?"

"So. We've received a message from Princess Luna. We now know where Commander Spitfire is."

"Where?"

"She's been taken prisoner," he replied. "She's on the Canterlot as we speak." Triple's pupils shrank as soon as he heard that.

"Do the others know yet?"

"Yes sir," he replied. "They're working on a plan to try and rescue her."

"Ok. Good," Triple said before looking at the other paper. "And what's the other paper?"

"We've just received a distress call from the Mareitania," Pin replied before holding it out for Triple to read. "It says they've had an explosion and are taking on water." Triple took the paper and looked it over before seeing the position on the paper. He then quickly placed it on the chart before looking at their own position.

"Did they say anything else? Are they under attack by Canterlot?"

"They didn't say, sir. But if they were, I doubt they'd be able to transmit anything. I can't see an ocean liner lasting long against a battleship."

"I suppose so," Triple replied before measuring an estimate of the distance between position. "We're roughly 200 miles away!" he exclaimed before rushing out of the room to the bridge. Once there, he immediately looked at the stallion at the helm and the ponies near the engine telegraphs. "Right hard rudder! Set course on bearing 065!" he ordered. "Engines ahead full!"

"Sir?" Pin Point asked as he came out of the chart room. "What are you doing?"

"I'll explain in a bit!" Triple replied. "But first I want every available pegasus we have on the flight deck!"

"Aye sir!" Pin replied before going over to a radio mounted on the wall nearby. He then took hold of the receiver with his magic while also pulling out a whistle from his pocket. Once the mouthpiece was in his mouth, he pushed down on the button and blew his whistle into the receiver. "Attention all pegasi flight groups. Please report to the flight deck immediately. This is not a drill. I repeat. This is not a drill. All pegasi flight groups to the flight deck immediately," he said before hanging up the receiver.

Chapter Nine

The flight deck of the San Franciscolt was soon filled with activity as every pegasi flight group member made their way out onto it. On the superstructure, Captain Triple Screw stood on a balcony overlooking the ponies below with a megaphone nearby. As he watched the ponies make their way out onto the deck below, he was joined on the balcony by Lieutenant Jet Stream and Admiral Fire Power, both of them looking confused as to what the Captain was doing.

"What is the meaning of this, Captain?" Jet Stream asked.

"Sir. We've received a distress call from the Mareitania. They've suffered an explosion and are taking on water as we speak," Triple replied.

"Okay...." Jet said. "And that justifies why you called every pegasus under my command out to the flight deck?"

"I think that that's where the Canterlot is." This response made the white colored pegasus' eyes widen.

"What makes you say that?"

"Did you not read everything on the report Princess Luna sent?" Fire Power asked. "She said that Commander Spitfire claims that that ship is Canterlot's target." he then turned to look at Triple Screw. "Did they say anything about the warship in their distress message?"

"No," Triple replied. "They didn't say anything in that regard." He then gave the message to the orange colored unicorn. As he looked over the message, Triple could see that each flight group pegasus had arrived on the flight deck.

"What makes you think that the Canterlot is there then?" the unicorn asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," he said. "But right now, it's the best possible lead we have."

"Well. If that's the case. Then we need to radio for reinforcements from Manehattan," Fire Power replied. "We can't face Canterlot on our own."

"If we wait for the fleet to get here, that'll be too long," Triple said. "Just... trust me on this." Both high ranked ponies looked at each other for a few seconds before they both looked back at Triple Screw and nodded.

"Proceed then," Jet Stream replied. This made the Captain nod before he used his magic to pick up the megaphone next to him.

"Attention!" he called out through it, making his voice ring out to all corners of the flight deck. Soon, all eyes were looking at him from below as each pegasus stood at attention. "Thank you all for coming out here in a timely manner," he continued. "As you all are aware, our mission out here is to search for Canterlot and report her activity back to base. However, we've received a distress signal from a ship that is supposedly the warship's target: the Mareitania." After saying that name, he could hear some gasps coming from the groups below. "They've reported that they've had an explosion and are taking on water as we speak."

"So what are we supposed to do about it?" one of the pegasi below shouted.

"We are responding to their call for help!" Triple called out through the megaphone. "Because if there's any chance that Canterlot is involved in this, we need to help our fellow sailors." He then looked back at the helmspony behind the carrier's wheel. "What course are we on?"

"Heading 065. As you requested, sir," the earth pony replied.

"Thank you," the elder unicorn said before turning his attention back to the pegasi on the flight deck. "Right now, we are on course for their reported position, roughly 180 miles dead ahead. However, I have a feeling we are needed urgently. So that's why as Captain of this carrier, I am ordering every one of you to fly there as quick as you can!"

"And what are we going to do if Canterlot is there?" a pegasus called out.

"Well. That's easy," Jet Stream replied. "If we arrive there and the battleship is still there, we're going to board her. And we're going to take her back by any means necessary!" Each of the ponies on the deck looked at their commander with wide eyes and mouths open before they all acquired expressions of excitement and determination. If they were successful, it would mean that the Navy would get their battleship back. Soon, the Wonderbolt Lieutenant took to the air and hovered just above the deck. "As we speak, Commander Spitfire is currently on board that warship as a prisoner. Now I don't know about the rest of you. But I don't intend on her staying that way! Now who's with me?!"

Every pegasus on the deck raised a wing while cheering in response.

"Well then. Lets go!" Jet Stream called out before he turned and flew out over the front of the ship in the direction they were sailing. One by one, the ponies on deck followed him until the sky ahead of the carrier was filled with pegasi. Seeing this, Triple Screw smirked as he watched them all until they turned into specks on the horizon.

"Be safe, everypony," he said to himself before turning to walk back onto the bridge. "Be safe."

Meanwhile, on the Mareitania, things were looking very bad. At this point, the ship's stern had sunk deep enough to allow water to begin pouring in through any open porthole, adding to the flooding that threatened to doom the liner. Inside the wheelhouse, Steel paced back and forth from one side to the other. His mind was in a state of panic not reached since the maiden voyage. He could feel the deck slanting further and further to port while being down by the stern.

"Captain!" Port called out from outside. "Captain Blade!" Hearing this, the stallion went out to the starboard bridge wing and watched as his friend climbed up the stairs to him. He looked drenched with water dripping from his uniform. "We've got water coming in on the lower decks, sir!"

"Guess some portholes got left open," Steel replied as the two walked back inside the wheelhouse.

"What are your orders?" he asked. This made Steel look over at the clinometer mounted behind the helm. The little needle in the gauge indicated that the ship's list had increased to twenty degrees. Seeing this, the Captain breathed deeply and sighed heavily. He had no choice. The order all Captains dreaded to make was the only one left to give.

"It's time, Port," he replied before looking back at his friend. "Have the crew ready the boats on the port side to be lowered. Don't bother with the starboard ones. They're useless now."

"Sir. Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes," Steel replied. "Abandon ship."

"Yes sir," he said before rushing out the port side doorway to begin fulfilling the order. As the Captain was once again left alone on the bridge, he took one final look around the bridge. Despite the liner's circumstances, her brass engine telegraphs shined brightly under Celestia's sun. Even in her death throes, Mareitania was still comforting her Captain with her beauty and elegance. A tear slowly formed in the red stallion's eyes as he walked over to where the lever controlling the ship's whistle was located. He then used his magic to grab it before pulling it down, sending a long blast echoing out across the water. After several seconds, he pushed the lever up before pulling it down again. Another blast of the whistle was sent out across the waves. This process repeated until five blasts of the whistle was made, signaling down to the ponies in the engine rooms to abandon ship.

"I'm sorry, old girl," Steel softly said as he pushed the lever up for the last time with his hoof. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you."

Meanwhile on the Canterlot, Sombra could be seen with an evil grin on his face as he watched the scene before him. The battleship had slowly reversed before stopping to where the two ships were parallel to each other with some distance between them. Each of the four turrets were trained to the port side, just waiting for the signal to open fire on the doomed liner.

As he looked on, he could see the one pony he was doing all of this for slowly exit the bridge. He could see the look of pain, anguish, and sorrow plastered on the stallion's face.

"Don't you think you've done enough?" Spitfire asked as she could only look on helplessly. "The ship's gonna go down no matter what now. Just let it go peacefully at least."

"My dear Commander," he replied. "Where's the fun in that?" He then turned to face the restrained pegasus. "Do you think that I'm just gonna let that liner sink on its own? When I have control of these twelve guns that you and the rest of your Navy want back so much?"

"And what are you gonna do to any of the survivors?" she asked. "You just gonna leave them alone once you're done blowing up their ship?"

"That's an easy question to answer," he said before walking over to the railing. "You see," he continued while keeping his eyes glued to the liner. "Aside from Captain Blade, there won't be any other survivors."

"What?!" the pegasus exclaimed before struggling frantically to break free from her restraints. Hearing her grunts made him smile as his horn lit up before shooting a stream of magic directly upward.

"I think it's time we let them know that we're here," he said as a wall of red magic appeared around the warship before disappearing. He then looked back toward a changeling on the bridge. "Sound the horn."

On the sinking liner, Steel was busy helping Port with getting the lifeboats ready to be launched, along with every other pony on deck, when the sound of a horn close by made every pony look up and then toward the direction the sound was coming from. As soon as the Captain's eyes landed on the battleship stopped not far from his liner, his mouth went agape as his eyes grew wide in shock.

"How... did... that... get there?" Port asked as he shook in fear as he saw each of the warship's main guns facing the liner.

"I.... don't.... know," Steel replied as he backed away until his flank bumped against the wall behind him. As soon as he felt it, the look of fear could be seen on his face. But then, he felt something strange happening. Looking down at his hooves, he could see that his body was now encased with black colored magic. He then looked back up toward the battleship just before he became encased in a crystal cube.

"Captain?" Port asked while still looking at the warship. "What should we do?" After getting no response from Steel, the stallion turned his head and saw what had happened. He then rushed over and began pounding on the crystal. "Steel!"

"Good," Sombra said as the magic around his horn faded. "He decided to wear that suit of armor after all. That makes things easier." As he continued watching with an evil smile on his face, Spitfire could only look on in horror at the sight in front of her. The liner's stern was just about to go beneath the water while the deck continued slanting. The flag of Equestria, still flying proudly from the flagpole mounted on the stern was just a few feet above the waves. Ponies could be seen slipping and falling off the side while others willingly dove into the water to begin swimming.

She then heard Sombra let out an evil laugh as he stood next to a voice pipe and uttered the two words that she knew were coming, but had hoped not to hear.

"Open fire."

After he said that, the first turret on the bow was the first to fire. Spitfire watched as the liner was struck on the deck toward the stern, toppling the mast. The towering structure crumpled and fell over the side, pulling the telegraph wires along with it. The Commander looked on helplessly as the remaining guns followed suit, sending their shells toward the liner with deadly accuracy. As the big fourteen inch guns blasted holes in the hull and superstructure, the secondary battery of five inch guns had their sights set on setting everything they could on fire, hurling high explosive shells at the wooden decks. Soon enough, the liner was ablaze from bow to stern.

"Every pony for themselves!" Port called out in panic as the scene on the liner was now one of chaos and carnage. Immediately after saying that, he and several other ponies jumped overboard into the water below. From inside his crystal encasement, Steel couldn't do anything other than watch his beloved ship be subjected to this bombardment. Fires caused by the five inch shells broke out all across the decks. One of the towering funnels, most likely the second one from where the stallion was able to see, crashed down onto the deck before sliding into the water. Lifeboats were being reduced to firewood in their davits. And the deck continued to slant further and further to port as more and more holes were opened to the sea.

Suddenly, the area just beneath where the crystal was sitting was struck by a shell from the battleship's main guns. This resulted in it, along with its captive passenger within, being blasted off of the liner's deck and into the water. The cube remained floating on the surface but was now turned to where he was looking at his decimated liner. Seeing it in such a state where fires were raging, ponies were falling overboard, and the entire vessel was heeling over to her port side made him so miserable that he'd be crying if he was able to. He couldn't even look away from it.

The warship's guns kept on firing until an explosion rocked the liner, temporarily righting the ship to an even keel. This in turn set off a chain reaction of explosions that inevitably tore the enormous liner in half where the second and third funnels once stood. On the battleship, Sombra was very pleased with what had happened as the guns ceased firing. The stern section quickly heeled over to the port side as it capsized, drowning any unfortunate ponies who were trapped within. The bow section however drifted forward from the blast. For a moment, it looked as though it could stay afloat. But that hope was short lived as the weight of the boilers in that section started to pull it down.

As that section began to sink, the bow was lifted out of the water until it pointed directly up toward the sky. It stayed like that for a few seconds before it too began to go down. Steel could only watch as the first funnel, which miraculously managed to stay attached up to that point, fell backwards before crashing into the sea. Soon after, the bridge disappeared under the water.

The process seemed to go by agonizingly slow as soon, the foremast and crow's nest were dragged under until finally, the last of the once mighty liner vanished below the surface. On the wing of Canterlot's bridge, watching the liner disappear before his eyes made Sombra's evil smile just grow bigger and bigger. But when he saw surviving ponies in the water, his smile slowly turned into a frown. Spitfire watched silently, stunned by what took place as the tyrant walked by her.

"It would seem we have quite a few stragglers to take care of," she heard him say. "Send a squad of soldiers out to deal with them. There will only be one survivor from this."

"Yes, my King," a changeling replied before a swarm of them was seen flying off of the ship. Spitfire just closed her eyes and tried her best to tune out the sound of the ponies screaming from what the changelings were doing to them. Steel however didn't have that luxury. He couldn't do anything but watch and listen. All he could do was sit in his crystal cube, face still frozen in fear, as he watched his ship slip beneath the waves. And now, he was forced to listen as the changelings ensured that any survivors from his crew in the water would meet the same fate. This continued for several minutes until an eerie silence was all that remained.

When she heard the screaming stop, Spitfire opened her eyes to see the destruction in front of her. All that remained of the once beautiful liner was debris scattered around the water. Lifeless bodies could be seen floating among the wreckage as Sombra walked back out and stood next to the restrained pegasus.

"Just as expected," he said while looking at the result of his actions. "I told you there would be fireworks. And there indeed was. I hope you weren't... disappointed."

"You sick monster!" she cried out as tears formed in her eyes. "I hope that you rot in Tartarus for the rest of eternity!"

"I'm sure I will," Sombra replied with a smirk. "But that isn't going to happen anytime soon." He then turned and looked over the side and spotted the floating crystal that had safely ensured that the pony inside would survive. Lighting up his horn, he grabbed the crystal with his magic and brought it next to the warship before lifting it aboard. Once the cube was on the deck in front of the first turret, the King fired a beam of magic directly up before a sphere of red colored magic surrounded the warship before disappearing. "There we go," he said. "Now we can leave in peace." He then turned and looked back at the soldiers inside the bridge. "All ahead full. And chart a course back to Horseshoe Bay."

After saying that, Spitfire could feel the crystals encasing her hooves disappear. She then felt herself get lifted off of the deck before being pulled along behind the King as he descended down to the deck. As she floated along behind him, her eyes remained glued to the horrific scene in front of them.

As they got down to the deck where the cube was, the mare could see that it was surrounded by soldiers, each of them wielding a metal spear. Sombra put her down before having some of the soldiers restrain her so she wouldn't try anything. Spitfire made no attempt at this point. What purpose was there to do so? She wouldn't accomplish anything with being surrounded while her wings were still chained to her body. And now that a civilian was taken prisoner, she didn't want to risk his life.

"Captain Steel Blade," Sombra said as he looked at the stallion trapped inside the crystal. "We meet at last." After saying that, he lit up his horn and made the crystal disappear, allowing the stallion to collapse on the deck. Spitfire looked on as he breathed heavily with tears flowing freely from his closed eyes. But then, they opened as a look of anger could be seen on his face as he slowly got back up on to his hooves.

She watched as he lit up his horn before using his magic to draw his sword out of the scabbard strapped to his body. Once the blade was free, he pointed the tip of it directly at Sombra as he glared at him.

"You're... gonna... die for that!" he said through gritted teeth before lunging at the King. However, one of the soldiers was quick to react, blocking the strike with his spear while another quickly placed a ring around the stallion's horn. Once in place, the stallion's magic became nullified. His sword dropped to the deck as the soldiers all tackled and restrained him.

"Now now," Sombra said as he lit up his horn to pick up the sword. "Is that any way to treat the one who saved you from joining the tragic fate that your crew had to face?" He then brought the blade up close and looked it over as the stallion's anger looked to grow with each passing second. "Nice sword," he continued before looking back at the stallion. "A shame that you'll no longer need it." After saying that, he used his magic to toss the weapon over the railing.

"No!" Steel cried out as he watched the blade disappear before hearing a distinct splash. He then closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. Spitfire couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Not only did he just watch his liner be destroyed while being able to do nothing about it. But now, it seemed he had lost the one remaining thing he cherished. Surprisingly, the soldiers around him released him from their clutches. As she watched him, he suddenly lunged at Sombra once more. This time however, he actually managed to strike the King with his right hoof to the tyrant's muzzle as hard as he could. This surprised every creature around as Sombra actually staggered backward as a result.

But just as the Captain was looking to go for another, the soldiers around him immediately reacted by tackling him once more with one of them even holding a spear to his throat, ready to strike.

"No!" Sombra yelled as he rubbed his muzzle. "The mission is to bring him back alive!" As a result of this, the soldiers backed off while still restraining the stallion from attempting to strike the King again. "Besides," he continued. "I think he's earned that one." After saying that, the King turned around and started walking away before stopping. "Take the prisoners to their cell," he ordered. "I'll be returning to the bridge." With that, the King slowly walked away while leaving his two prisoners to be escorted by the small group of soldiers.

"Get moving, you two," one of them ordered as two more shoved them forward, sending both of them to fall on the wooden deck. Spitfire just groaned as she got back up before looking over at her fellow prisoner.

"Come on," she said before holding out a hoof. "Get up before they do something worse." Steel silently looked up at the mare before he sighed and slowly got back up on his hooves. He then sighed as he took one final look at the devastation that was slowly disappearing behind the warship. After that, the two of them slowly followed one of the guards while the rest stayed closely behind them.

Roughly an hour after the battleship departed the scene, the sky above was quickly filled with pegasi. Each of them were immediately horrified at the scene below them. The level of destruction seen here indicated one thing and one thing only. That Canterlot had sent Mareitania and her crew to a watery grave. Bodies of some of the ponies were still seen floating among the debris, being kept that way because of lifejackets with the Red Apple Line insignia on them along with the name Mareitania.

As pegasi began searching for any glimmers of life, Jet Stream just silently looked around around and breathed deeply. He had been a part of many battles in his lifetime. He had watched his fellow pegasi brothers and sisters perish in combat. But these ponies down there, floating lifelessly. They were civilians. They weren't trained in combat. They had probably hoped that by being in the Merchant Marine, they'd be spared from battle. But it was made clear by this scene that the battle came to them.

Soon, he dived down and hovered just above the water before something caught his eye. A black Officer's hat that was floating next to a deck chair. Reaching down, he picked it up and started checking it for any sign of who it belonged to. Once he checked the inside, he found a small label. It was soaked, but still legible.

"If found, please return to Port Side. First Officer, EMS Mareitania," the Lieutenant said to himself. "Broadside's brother." He then looked around for any signs that the body was near. But he couldn't see anything other than wreckage. He then looked back at the hat. The metallic decorations gleamed in the sunlight and he was able to see his reflection in them. "Your family has suffered so much. I wonder if you even found out what happened to your brother." He then shook it a few times to get any excess water off of it. "Your parents will want to at least have this," he said before placing it into his saddlebag.

"Lieutenant Jet Stream," Fleetfoot called out.

"Yes?" he asked while turning to look at the mare.

"Sir," she replied as tears began to stream from her eyes. "We can't find any lifeboats. Or even any survivors. They're all... dead."

"I... see," he replied before flapping his wings to get above the large group of pegasi soldiers. "Brothers and sisters!" he called out, gaining their attention. "Look around you. Look at the devastation. These ponies here. They were not soldiers. They were civilians. Civilians doing their part to serve their country. But they were not prepared for whatever level of destruction took place here. What ocean liner could even have a chance of survival against a battleship like Canterlot? This to me just shows that we have entered a new phase in the war. A phase where even civilians can and will be targeted by the enemy."

"That's against the rules of engagement!" one of the pegasi shouted.

"It seems that King Sombra doesn't care about that," Jet replied. "But now, we have a new cause to fight for. These lives were cut down senselessly and without mercy. These ponies. They were mothers. Fathers. Brothers. Sisters. Sons. And daughters. Just like the rest of us. The only difference is that they wanted to avoid the conflict. Sadly, the conflict came to them instead. All of them have families that are probably waiting back in Manehattan and all across Equestria for them. But now, they will never see their loved ones again." After saying that, he saluted down at the wreckage and the floating bodies. "Soldiers! Salute the fallen! And let us have a moment of silence in their honor."

One by one, each pegasi did as ordered and silently saluted while hovering. Some even had tears in their eyes as they did so.

"Their loss will never be forgotten," the Lieutenant continued to say after a minute of silence. "We will honor their memory and service to their country. And we will avenge what transpired here today." After saying that, he turned and started flying back in the direction they came from, prompting the rest to follow as they all began the long trip back to the San Franciscolt.

Chapter Ten

Despite the battleship's slow top speed of 21 knots, the vessel was long gone by the time the squadron from the San Franciscolt arrived at Mareitania's wreck site. The former flagship of the Equestrian Navy was now currently plowing through the waves on course for her destination in Horseshoe Bay. As the mood throughout the vessel was one of accomplishment and celebration by the crew for what they had done, it was certainly nothing like that within the small holding cell that now housed two prisoners of war.

As the two of them laid on bunks mounted on opposite sides of the room, their moods were mostly defeat and sorrow. Both of them had just witnessed what could be the worst crime ever committed and neither could have done anything to stop it. And now, they were on their way to Horseshoe Bay to most likely be taken to the Crystal Empire for interrogation, torture, and imprisonment.

Laying on her bunk facing away from the wall, Spitfire just silently observed her new cellmate as he laid motionless across from her. The stallion was facing the wall, most likely hiding his shame from her. During the brief bits of silence between the crew's celebration and the waves, she could hear him sniffling and sobbing. Normally, she'd be the one telling ponies like him to quit crying and toughen up. But this time, she didn't want to. A Captain mourning the loss of not only his ship, but his entire crew as well was not something she had seen before. But the pain of losing fellow soldiers was something that she knew very well.

"Are... you gonna be okay?" she asked, breaking the silence within the cell. But the stallion didn't answer. All he did was just lay there. Wanting to at least do something to help console him, she scooched herself off her bunk and slowly walked over toward him. Once by his side, she gently laid a hoof on his back. "Hey. You gonna be okay?" she repeated before softly patting her hoof on him in an attempt to comfort him.

"No...." he softly answered. "I... don't think I will be."

"I get that," she replied. "You just lost everything you held close to you. That's something that... will take a lot of time to get through. Your ship. Your crew. Even that sword that I can tell meant a lot to you."

"Yeah," he said before sniffling. "It did. They all did. Mareitania. My crew. My sword. They all meant the world to me. And now... they're all gone."

"Why didn't you turn away then if your ship and crew meant that much to you?" she asked. "Didn't you get Princess Luna's warning?"

"Princess... Luna's... warning?" he answered in a confused tone before he rolled over to face her. "You mean that warning from Manehattan?"

"Yes."

"I only just managed to finish reading it before the explosion happened," he said. "I was eating breakfast in the dining saloon when it got brought to me."

"You didn't even get a chance to react to it," the mare softly replied, making her feel even worse for him.

"No," he answered. "I didn't."

As she looked at him, she could see the pain in his eyes. She could also hear it in his voice as well. It made her feel so bad for him. A civilian should never be targeted by an enemy, whether or not they could fight back. But it seemed as though Sombra didn't care as long as he accomplished what he wanted. But as she continued trying to console him, a memory of what the guards told her before flashed through her mind.

"Captain," she said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Are you familiar with... Queen Chrysalis?"

As soon as she said that name, the stallion's eyes shot wide open as his whole body shivered in response. Seeing that reaction, the Wonderbolt Commander immediately knew that whatever encounter he had with her was not a pleasant one.

"That's... a name that I had hoped to never hear again," he replied. "But... yes. I'm familiar with her. Why?"

"Well," Spitfire began to say. "She's... pretty much the reason why Sombra's out here. Why.. he did what he did."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah," she said before rubbing the back of her head with a forehoof. "Seems as though those two entered into some sort of alliance. Which would eventually turn into marriage. But for that to happen, Chrysalis wanted Sombra to prove himself to her. By... sinking your ship and taking you prisoner."

"Mother of Luna...." the stallion softly replied as he appeared stunned by what she said.

"Yeah...." she said in an awkward tone.

"So what's going to happen to us?" he asked. "Where is this ship going?"

"Horseshoe Bay most likely," she answered. "Sombra's forces captured the naval base there. From there, we'll probably get taken to the Crystal Empire. As for what happens once we get there, it's probably gonna be different for the two of us."

"I... see..." he replied before looking up at her. "You're... Commander... Spitfire. Right?"

"Yeah?" she answered, surprised that this stallion knew who she was. "How did you know?"

"My First Officer was the brother of Admiral Broadside," he answered. "He'd sometimes talk to me about his conversations with him. Your name came up a few times." He then sighed before looking down at the floor. "He's going to be so heartbroken when he hears what happened to Port."

"About that...." the mare said in an awkward tone. "Admiral Broadside was... murdered yesterday."

"What?!" Steel asked in a shocked tone. "How?!"

"According to what Princess Luna told me," she began to say. "He was thrown out of his office window at the naval base in Manehattan." The stallion just silently looked at her while trying to process what she had said. "Plummeting to his death. As to who was behind it, the investigators aren't sure."

"Well," he replied. "Sombra's been on this warship the whole time I'm guessing. So it couldn't have been him."

"Yeah," she said as she rubbed her muzzle in thought. "Though he might have the ability to teleport, I'm not sure if he could go that far."

"My guess would be that... Chrysalis, or one of her minions, is the one who did it," he softly said, making the Commander's eyes shoot wide open.

"Of course!" she exclaimed. "That would make sense! They'd be able to sneak in and out undetected!"

"Be quiet in there!" a guard shouted from somewhere outside the cell. "I'm trying to take a nap here!" This just made the mare narrow her eyes as she looked over toward the direction of where the voice came from.

"I swear to Celestia," she said softly. "I'm going to beat down any guard I can find if I manage to get out of here."

"Even if you somehow manage to get out of the cell," the stallion replied as he looked at the chains wrapped around her body. "You'd still have those chains keeping your wings folded." Spitfire just sighed while trying out of instinct to move her wings. But the chains wouldn't budge.

"That's true," she said in a depressed tone.

"I'd help you out with that if it wasn't for this ring on my horn," he continued. "It looks uncomfortable."

"It is," she said before turning around and climbing back on to her bunk and laying down.

"Can't imagine what it'll be like once we get to Horseshoe Bay."

"I'd rather not think about it," the mare replied. Even though she didn't want to think about it, she couldn't help it. The thought of the two of them being led down a gangway in collars and chains just to either be teleported to the Crystal Empire or thrown in the back of some prison wagon crept into her mind. And just imagining it made her shudder in both fear and disgust. She'd rather die than be subjected to that kind of humiliation.

But now that there was a civilian prisoner with her, things became more complicated. Any attempt of escape by her could potentially put his life in danger as he'd most certainly be used by Sombra as leverage to make her compliant. If she was going to escape, she'd have to figure out a way to help him as well. As she started thinking about potential escape plans, something she remembered Sombra saying echoed in her mind.

"Hey... Captain?" she said.

"Yeah?"

"You... might wanna take that armor off."

"Armor?" he replied before moving his uniform jacket down to look at the suit of armor that he still had on. "Why?"

"Because that's... what Sombra used... to help trap you in that block of crystal."

"How... would Sombra even know about it?" the stallion asked. "This got delivered to the Mareitania before we left Mareseilles. It was a gift from Admiral Broadside."

"Given the fact that Broadside was murdered..." the mare answered. "I think it's safe to say that it wasn't him who sent it to you. Rather somepony else impersonating him." Upon saying that, his eyes widened in shock as he again looked down at the armor he was wearing. Even if he wanted to get it off, it would be very challenging to do so while his magic was being nullified.

"Food is ready, ponies," a voice said from outside the cell. Looking up, both of them saw a guard with two trays in front of him. Both of them carried one apple, a couple slices of bread, and a mug of water. "Be thankful that our King, with his kindness and mercy, has chosen to make sure that you two are fed," the guard continued as he shoved both trays through the slots of the iron bars before walking away.

"I'd rather gag than be thankful to him," Spitfire said in her mind as the guard walked away.

As the two ponies aboard the battleship were having to adjust themselves to being prisoners of war, the squadron of pegasi soldiers had just returned to the San Franciscolt. Each and every one of them had looks of disappointment and grief on their faces as they landed. As they landed, Captain Triple Screw looked on from the bridge deck with his hat held close to his chest before looking out at the sea in the direction they came from. He didn't need any report from any of them to know what happened. Their faces told him everything he needed to know.

"Sleep peacefully, Mareitania," he said softly to himself as he gazed out at the horizon. "You and your crew served your country admirably."

"Captain," Jet Stream said in a depressed tone as he landed beside the unicorn.

"Lieutenant," he replied. "I take it our worst case scenario was what you found out there?"

"Sadly. Yes," the pegasus answered. "It appears that the Mareitania was destroyed by Canterlot. We couldn't find any survivors amidst the wreckage. I'm afraid to say all ponies aboard that liner have been lost."

"I could tell that judging from the looks of your fellow pegasi as they landed," the elder stallion replied before sighing. "We should break the news to the others." After saying that, he looked over at his First Officer. "Left full rudder. Set course on heading 270. And... lower the flags to half staff."

"Yes sir," Pin Point replied. As the stallion went off to fulfill his Captain's orders, the two other stallions began making their way down to the War Room. The journey was silent as the only sounds heard were their hooves on the metal floor, maintaining their balance until the carrier pulled out of her turn. Soon, they found themselves in front of the armored door leading into the room where the others were. Using his magic, Triple opened the door before he and the Lieutenant stepped in. Once inside, the two were met with the gazes of the others that were seated around the holograph table.

"Greetings... everypony," Jet Stream depressingly said while he and the Captain took their places at the table.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" Twilight asked as she looked at him. "What happened out there?"

"I can't say for certain exactly what happened," the pegasus began to answer as he looked at his colleagues. "But the destruction we found could only lead to one conclusion." The others leaned in as they looked at him. "Canterlot destroyed the Mareitania. And most likely killed everypony aboard." As soon as he said that, each of them gasped simultaneously. "We couldn't find any survivors," he continued. "No lifeboats. No swimmers. Nothing. Just.. bodies."

"That... heartless... monster..." the Admiral said as the others just stared with mouths wide open. "All those ponies...."

"I was able to recover this," he said as he reached into his saddlebag and pulled out the hat that he recovered from the scene before setting it on the table. "It belonged to Port Side. Admiral Broadside's brother."

"I can only imagine how grief stricken his family will be when they hear about this," Shining said as he gazed at the hat. "First Broadside's murder. And now this."

"Not to mention every other family that will be affected because of this," Twilight sadly added. "There had to be hundreds of ponies on that ship. Now they're all... gone."

"What do we do now?" Admiral Fire Power asked. "That ship was carrying vital supplies needed for towns and villages all across Equestria. Not to mention the special armor for our fighters on the front line."

"I'm not sure," Shining answered. "But that isn't something for us to worry about. Celestia and Luna will have to be the ones to deal with that. Our task now is for us to return to Manehattan as soon as we can." He then turned to look at Triple Screw. "How soon can we get there?"

"We should be there by tomorrow morning," the Captain answered.

"Good," he replied.

"Should we radio ahead about the Mareitania?"

"Yes," Twilight answered, making Triple look over at her. "We should. It's the right thing to do so the families aren't waiting at the docks for a ship that'll never return."

"I'll be sure to get that sent out right away then," he said as he got out of his chair. As he walked back toward the door leading out of the room, he looked back and saw that each of them were looking down at the floor, clearly defeated by what had transpired. Seeing that, the Captain softly sighed before leaving the room. Once out in the corridor, he turned and began to make his way to the radio room.

As the pegasus carrier plowed through the waves at full speed toward her destination, it wasn't long before the message of what Sombra had done was sent out. As soon as it reached Equestria's shore at the naval base in Manehattan, the shock was instantly felt. From the remaining ponies of high command on down. It was unheard of for civilians to be targeted. But now, hundreds of them were now lost.

Word of this soon reached the capital of Equestria, the city of Canterlot. The very city that now had to bear the burden of having the warship named after it being turned against them. In the throne room of the royal palace, things were calm and quiet as the ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia, sat quietly upon her throne while looking over various request forms. Normally, her sister would be helping her with this before she took her usual morning nap. But this time, Luna was in Manehattan overseeing the investigation into Admiral Broadside's murder.

As the benevolent ruler looked at the papers, she could see just how badly things were being affected all across her land. The war had taken an enormous toll on her country as cities and villages were being pushed to their breaking points. Supplies, provisions, and morale were draining at an alarming rate ever since the Crystal Empire had gone on the offensive. Hence the need to start bringing in supplies from Equestria's allies overseas.

Soon, the alicorn's quietness was interrupted by the sound of the massive throne room doors being unceremoniously thrusted open. Looking up from her papers, she found a member of her staff standing at the doorway holding a paper in her magical grasp. Twilight Velvet, a longtime friend and mother of both Prince Shining Armor and her current protégé, Twilight Sparkle. Normally the unicorn mare was calm and composed. But now, she looked to be in a state of shock and despair.

"Princess Celestia!" she called out from across the room as she began to rush herself toward her. "Something terrible has happened!"

"Twilight? What is wrong?" the Princess asked before taking hold of the paper with her magic and bringing it close to her to read.

To: The Royal Palace in Canterlot
From: Manehattan Naval Base

Please give this message to Princess Celestia immediately upon receiving it.

Message received from Captain of San Franciscolt. Troopship Mareitania destroyed. Canterlot likely responsible. All souls aboard lost.

As soon as she had finished reading the message, the alicorn just sat there in a state of shock. Never had she imagined a situation where civilians would be put in harm's way. Especially out in the vastness of the Equestrian Ocean. But this incident struck close to home for her as she was the one who helped save that particular liner and her Captain from meeting an unfortunate fate at the hooves of Queen Chrysalis roughly a few years earlier. And from that incident, a great friendship between the two of them was created.

"What should we do about this, Princess?" the mare asked as she looked at her. After hearing her question, Celestia stood up and inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly to steady herself.

"I'm afraid what's done is done," she replied in a low and depressed tone. "Nothing we do now will bring those ponies back to their families."

"I know that," the unicorn said. "But when the public finds out about this, it'll demoralize them more than anything else that has happened. It'll make them even more frightened than they already are too. Civilians aren't supposed to be targeted by Sombra's forces."

"I'm well aware of that, my friend," the Princess replied. "But our troops are stretched thin as it is. I'm afraid there isn't much more we can do right now." She then sighed before she started to walk toward the large doors leading out of the room. "I truly hope for the sake of everypony that this was just an isolated incident. But only time will tell."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to join my sister in Manehattan," she answered before looking back. "While I'm away, Cadance will be in charge."

"Very well," the mare replied before waving farewell to her friend. "Be safe!" Nodding silently in response, the alicorn lit up her horn before performing a teleportation spell, sending her from her castle all the way to the city of Manehattan. As she reappeared outside the naval headquarters, she looked over at the street beside her and gasped upon seeing the dried blood that was still there. In the middle of the large patch of red, a white colored outline in the shape of a stallion's body was seen.

"I knew you'd be here as soon as that message reached you, dear sister," Luna's voice said from the stairs leading up to the building's front doors. Looking over, she saw the younger alicorn sipping on her morning coffee.

"Yes," she replied. "This... was not something I could just sit back and handle from Canterlot. I needed to be out here like you."

"Indeed," her sister said as she descended the stairs to stand beside her. "Things are quickly getting out of control with everything that is going on."

"I agree," the older alicorn said while looking at the taped off crime scene. "How goes the investigation?"

"It's been progressing," Luna answered. "Though. Very slowly. We only have one witness from before the Admiral's death. Miss Octavia Melody."

"Octavia Melody," she repeated. "I know that name."

"You're familiar with her?"

"Yes," Celestia answered. "She was a member of the Canterlot Orchestra. Back before the war began."

"Ah!" Luna exclaimed. "Yes. I thought she seemed familiar. That's where I remember the mare from." She then sighed. "Forgive me, sister. This entire ordeal has been taxing on my memory."

"I feel the same at times, Luna," the older sister replied. "What did Octavia have to say for the investigation?"

"She said that moments before the Admiral's death took place, she had delivered something to him right outside of his office," Luna answered. "And what she gave to him before his death will peak your curiosity."

"My curiosity?" she asked in a confused tone. "What did she give him?"

"A copy of the cargo manifest for the Mareitania." As soon as she heard the name of her friend's liner, the older alicorn's pupils shrank as she let out a slight gasp. This reaction surprised her sister as she tilted her head while looking up at her. "Are you alright, sister?" she asked.

"Yes," she answered. "I'm sorry. I'm still... coming to terms with what that message said."

"Understandable, I suppose," the dark blue alicorn replied. "I have the manifest in question here if you wish to peruse." After saying that, she made the list appear in a flash of her magic. "Miss Melody found it laying outside the door of Broadside's office after things had calmed down. I've already confirmed the validity of this with the official manifest from the Harbor Master in Mareseilles, the port where the ocean liner last departed from."

Hearing that, Celestia took ahold of the paper with her magic before looking at it herself. Gazing through it, she could see the vast amounts of food, supplies, and various other things that were loaded into the liner's cargo hold, destined for towns all across her land. But just as she reached the last couple of items on the list, she once again gasped.

"One hundred crates of high explosive gunpowder?" she slowly said.

"Indeed," Luna replied. "I couldn't believe it myself when I first saw it. That is why I reached out to confirm the validity."

"I see."

"Also," she continued. "When I asked if she had seen anypony else with the Admiral, Miss Melody said that Sergeant Rainbow Dash was with him."

"Rainbow Dash?"

"Yes," she answered. "And just moments after she left the two of them alone, that is when the murder occurred."

"So... you're saying that..."

"Sergeant Rainbow Dash is the one who pushed him out of the window?" Luna asked. "It would seem the easiest answer. But no. I do not believe that that is what happened. Given the circumstances and the facts, it is impossible for her to be the culprit."

"What do you mean?"

"Firstly, the fact that the Admiral would have been more than capable of defending himself," she replied. "You and I both know that Broadside was well experienced in combat. I don't believe that Rainbow Dash, in her reported condition, would have been capable of subduing him long enough to throw him out the window. Even if she did somehow manage to, he would've been too heavy for her to lift."

"That is true," Celestia replied. "Have you interviewed her yet to get her side of the story?"

"That's the thing though," her sister replied. "Nopony has seen her since the murder. Which brings me to my next point. That being what Commander Spitfire revealed to me last night during our discussion. The fact that Queen Chrysalis and her changelings have aligned themselves with Sombra and the Crystal Empire."

Celestia just breathed in deeply before sighing heavily after she heard that. This was the first report of activity from the changeling Queen and her minions since she had helped save the Mareitania. Since she saved Steel from a watery grave.

"I... see..." she softly replied as she looked down toward the sidewalk they were standing on.

"Is something wrong?" Luna asked, once again surprised by her sister's reaction to what she had said.

"I'm... not sure," she answered. "Hearing that Chrysalis and Sombra are now working together against us. It shouldn't surprise me. Yet. This is the first time I've heard that rogue changeling's name since that incident with the Mareitania." She then sighed again. "I still don't know exactly what all occurred on that day between Steel and Chrysalis. He hasn't mentioned it at all whenever I talked to him. And I didn't want to pry into any repressed memories."

"Steel?" Luna asked in a surprised tone, not expecting to hear what her sister had said.

"Captain Steel Blade," she replied before a tear formed in her eye as she remembered the message she read before coming there. She didn't believe that the last time she had spoken to him would have been the last time. But that message couldn't have been more clear. All ponies, including him, onboard the liner were killed. And the liner itself was destroyed.

"Was he... a friend of yours?"

"Of course," she answered before looking back at her sister. "After I saved him, we became good friends. I'd occasionally visit him whenever he had time between voyages. We'd go out and have a meal at the local sweets shop and he'd tell me wonderful tales of places that he sailed to. It felt... nice to be able to do something like that."

"I see," Luna said as she looked at her sister. As she did this, the memory of what Spitfire had told her entered into her mind. "Well. What if I told you that there was a chance of him still being alive?"

"What do you mean?" Celestia asked in a confused tone. "That message I received said that all ponies aboard that ship had been killed. How could he still be alive if that was the case?"

"Commander Spitfire informed me of Sombra's mission," the younger alicorn replied. "And if it succeeded, then the stallion you saved is still alive. But as a prisoner of war just as she is." Hearing that, the taller one's body shivered as she imagined both her friend and the Wonderbolt Commander being prisoners of war.

"How can we be sure?" she asked.

"I was planning on having another meeting with Spitfire tonight," she answered. "As long as I can still communicate with her in the dream realm, we can use it to our advantage." She then looked up at her sister's gaze. "Don't worry," she said in a reassuring tone. "I was already planning on asking about your friend."

"That's.. somewhat comforting to know," Celestia replied. "Though if he's still alive, he must be in quite a lot of emotional turmoil over the loss of his ship and crew."

"I'm afraid there isn't much we can do for him in that regard," the Princess of the moon said. " I'm honestly surprised that I was even able to make contact with Spitfire in her dreams given her situation."

"Well," Celestia replied. "Your magic is quite different from Sombra's. Perhaps not even his dark magic can stop your access to the dream realm." She then sighed before looking up at the afternoon sky. "I just hope that things will work out in our favor. I don't know how much more this nation can take from this war."

"Indeed," her sister said. "We need to bring this war to a quick conclusion."

"So what is the investigation team doing now?"

"They are searching through Broadside's office," Luna answered. "And if my theory about what happened is true, then I know exactly what they'll find."

"What would that be?"

"Signs of changeling magic," she answered.

"So you believe that changelings did this?"

"I do."

"What makes you think that?"

"Further testimony from Miss Melody," she replied before making a notepad appear with her magic. "She was still within earshot when she heard something about 'getting a message out to that ship'. She then thought she heard something that resembled a struggle. But when she went back to look, both Broadside and Rainbow Dash were gone. So she chalked it up to her imagination. It wasn't until she returned to her desk and saw the commotion that followed what happened that she realized what took place."

Celestia just looked silently at her sister until it suddenly dawned on her what she was talking about. Why would Rainbow Dash, one of her most loyal soldiers, betray everypony by killing the Admiral before he could get a message out to the Mareitania? The answer is that it wasn't Rainbow Dash to begin with. It was a changeling disguised as her.

"So... if the mare Octavia saw.. was a changeling in disguise," she said. "Then... where's the real Rainbow Dash?"

"I had come to that very same conclusion myself," Luna replied. "As for the answer to that question, I do not know."

"Do you think she's... captured? Like Spitfire and Steel?"

"It's a possibility," she answered. "But I have no proof to support it. Perhaps the Commander can shed some light on this when I speak to her tonight."

"I certainly hope so," Celestia replied as her eyes drifted back to look at the large red stain on the pavement.

Chapter Eleven

As the sun began to set on the day, the battleship continued on ahead at full speed. At this pace, their destination of Horseshoe Bay would be reached within a couple days. While the warship plowed onward through the water, Steel sat in front of the cell's lone porthole as he gazed out at the sea. His eyes were slightly shaded light red from the amount of tears that he had shed.

The images of his liner being destroyed played over and over again in his mind. Every explosion that he saw. All of the screams from his crew. And the slow and agonizing sinking of the bow section after the ship was blown in two. He could tell by watching that she didn't want to die. But she didn't get a choice. None of them did.

"If I was on the bridge when that message came in," he said in his mind as just stared silently at the waves. "Maybe things would've been different. We could've turned around. Mareitania and my crew would still be here. But now they're gone. They're all gone!"

While he sat quietly facing the porthole, Spitfire sat on the opposite side of the cell looking through the bars at the line of empty holding cells on the other side. Doing this was better, in her opinion, than watching the stallion continue to mourn his losses. It would've just made her more depressed. Which was something she didn't want. If she was going to figure out a way of getting both herself and him out of this situation, it would require all of her focus.

As she sat there, she'd occasionally glance over at the guards as they stood still in front of the doorway leading out of the holding cells. Looking at the two of them, she couldn't tell if they were actual crystal ponies or just changelings in disguise. Chances were that they were changelings, but she just wasn't sure. And it was this unknown part that made her head hurt. She didn't want to have her anger and/or possible wrath directed toward any crystal pony, if she could help it, since they were being controlled by Sombra's dark magic.

But while her eyes were fixated on the guards, another thing of interest was near them as well. A large metal ring that held a key for each of the cells. Seeing that, her eyes lit up as a plan of escape quickly started to form in her mind. Details, potential obstacles, and many satisfying images of her getting some well deserved payback on the guards. It seemed to be a great one. But if it was to succeed, she couldn't do it alone. She'd need the Captain's assistance. Looking back toward him, she could see that he was still sulking over by the porthole.

"I know you're still mourning your losses, Captain," she said in her head as she watched him. "But if we're gonna get out of here, I need your help." Deciding to try and help him out once again, she stood up before turning and going over to sit down beside him. The stallion didn't even move when she sat down, seemingly in a daze as his eyes were fixated on the water outside. "You doing alright there, Cap?" she asked. When that last word was said, his pupils shrunk before he blinked a few times. This reaction made the mare tilt her head slightly with a look of concern on her face.

"Huh?" he softly replied as he turned his head to face her.

"I asked if you were doing alright," she said. "But now that I'm getting a closer look at you, I can see that you aren't."

"No," he said as his ears flattened while his eyes drifted down to look at the floor. "I'm not alright. I don't think I ever will be. I'm sorry."

"Hey. You don't need to apologize," she replied while placing a forehoof on his back. "I'd probably be in the same place as you if I had been where you were." She then softly patted her hoof against him in an attempt to comfort him. "Look. Normally I'm the one who'd tell ponies like you to quit your blubbering and get over whatever was making you sad. But after seeing what happened. And knowing your connection to not just that ship of yours, but also your crew. I'm gonna try my best to help get you through this."

"I.. appreciate that," he replied. "But I don't think that I'm gonna be feeling better anytime soon." As she looked at him, she could tell that getting him out of this mindset wasn't going to be easy. But she had dealt with similar situations where her fellow soldiers had lost friends and loved ones. The only difference here was that this was a civilian.

"How am I gonna get him through this?" she asked herself mentally as she looked at him. But as she did that, the memory of this stallion attempting to strike King Sombra with his sword and then him smacking the tyrant in the face with a hoof entered her mind. She knew most of her soldiers had dreamed about giving that asshole a solid hoof to the face. But this one actually did it. This civilian managed to do what most of her soldiers dreamed of doing. But how?

It didn't take her that long to figure out the answer to her own question.

"That's it!" she exclaimed in thought as her eyes widened. "He did it because he was wanting to avenge his ship and crew! If I can just tap into that, I can get him out of this depressing mindset." Setting her sights on this potential path, she scooched herself slightly closer to his side. "You know," she said as she looked out the porthole. "One thing's definitely certain about you."

"Huh?" he replied, looking back up at her. "What's that?"

"You've got balls," she answered before looking back at him. "I know plenty of soldiers back on the San Franciscolt who've talked about doing what you did. But if they were given the opportunity, they'd probably back down. But you. You actually did it. You socked King Sombra square in the muzzle with a hoof. That had to have at least felt good to do. Right?"

"I... guess... so...?" he replied, looking confused.

"Ah come on," she said while playfully poking his side. "You can't sit there and tell me that you didn't enjoy it. I saw you wanting to do it again."

"I was... just so angry," he said. "That... monster... destroyed my ship. He... killed my crew. And then he... threw my sword overboard like it was just... trash."

"That would've made anypony upset," she replied. "Believe me. I bet if it wasn't for those guards holding you back, you would've definitely gotten in more than just one hit. Am I right?"

The stallion just silently nodded in response.

"Let me ask you something," she continued, sensing that this approach was working. "Do you think that your crew would want you to just be sitting in some holding cell on the warship that just blew up their ship?"

"My... crew?" he asked, clearly confused by her question. "My crew's gone."

"I know that," she replied. "Just listen to me." She then took in a deep breath and sighed heavily before looking back toward him. "Do you think they want to be looking down here and see their Captain all gloomy and depressed as some prisoner of war?"

Once she finished asking her question, she watched his actions. As the seconds silently passed by, she looked on as he turned to gaze out the porthole once more. Except this time, he wasn't looking out at the water below. He was instead looking at the sky above as he gazed at the clouds. Sensing the need to give him some space, the mare got up and walked over to her bunk before hopping up and laying down. After several minutes of silence, she looked over and saw that he now had his head tilted toward the floor while his eyes were closed.

"You're... right," he said softly before opening his eyes and looking up at her. "My crew... wouldn't want me to just sit here and be miserable."

"Exactly," she said in a determined tone as she got down from her bunk and went back over to him. "They'd want you to stay strong and not let Sombra win."

"But how do we do that?" he asked. "We're locked in a cell. Your wings are chained to your sides. And my magic's being blocked by this ring." He then gestured up to the ring on his horn. "How are we going to do anything under these conditions?"

"Don't worry," she replied before resting her left forehoof on his back. "I've got a plan to bust us out of here. But for it to work, I need your help."

"Not sure how much help I can be," he said. "But I'll do my best. Just tell me what to do."

"That's the spirit," she replied as her eyes drifted up to look at the ring around his horn. For her plan to even have a chance of working, she'd need to get it off of him. But as she thought about ways of getting it off, only one way was sure to work. One that she certainly didn't expect to be doing. Especially to a stallion she just met. Gulping slightly, she knew what had to be done. "Okay," she said. "So what I need you to do first is to... lay down."

"Lay down?" he asked, clearly confused by what she wanted. "What do you need me to do that for?"

"You want that ring off your horn. Right?"

"Of course."

"Then I need you to lay down," she said. As Steel looked at her, he still wasn't sure what she was going to do. But he soon did as she wanted and laid down on his stomach. Seeing that, she repositioned herself to where she was sitting down directly in front of him. "Do you trust me?" she asked.

"If it means us getting out of here," he answered while looking up at her. "Yes. I trust you."

"Good," she replied. "And just so we're clear. What I'm about to do is something that you are not going to tell anypony else about. Got it?"

When she finished speaking, it didn't take long for the stallion to understand why she wanted him to lay down. Once that realization donned on him, he nodded silently in response. Seeing that, the mare sighed softly as she swallowed her pride and started leaning forward to where the tip of his horn was just barely touching her lips. A shade of red slowly appeared on her cheeks as she parted her lips and started to go further, allowing the horn into her mouth.

As his horn slid along her tongue, she could hear him stifle a moan by covering his mouth with a hoof. Soon, she felt the metal ring pass by her lips. Feeling that, she gently bit down on the ring while doing her best to cover the area with saliva for an easier time of removing it.

"Enjoy this moment while you can, Captain," she said in her mind as she could feel the tip of his horn slightly poking against the back of her throat. This was the first time that she ever had a unicorn's horn in her mouth. And she was hoping that it would be the only time. Sensing that she did enough, she started moving herself back. Thankfully, the ring didn't put up much resistance as it easily slid off his horn. Once the tip of it left her mouth, she breathed a sigh of relief as she held her tongue out with the spit coated ring on it.

As soon as he saw the ring, his eyes lit up as his horn acquired its blue colored magical aura once again. Spitfire silently watched as the aura appeared around the ring, removing it from her tongue for her. Watching it float away, she moved her tongue back into her mouth and smirked at the stallion.

"Bet that must've felt good for you," she said as she watched him open the porthole just enough to toss the ring overboard.

"I'd... be lying if I said it didn't," he softly replied as he turned to look back at her, making her roll her eyes. She then watched as he took off his white jacket before removing the armor underneath. Once that was placed on the floor, he put the jacket back on and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Like I said before," she said as he looked back toward her. "You better not tell anypony about this."

"I keep my promises," he replied, giving a salute to her as well. "What happened between us stays between us."

"Good," she said as she smiled at him. "You know. You're not so bad. For a civilian."

"Oh yeah?"

"You're... different from most civilian stallions I've been around," she continued. "Most times, I've either caught them checking out my flank or they'd be saying some stupid corny pickup lines in hopes of getting my attention. But you. You haven't done either. Granted the majority of time we've spent together up until now, you've been mourning your losses. But now that we've gotten you passed it, you've been treating me like a normal pony. Like a... friend. It's a nice change of pace."

"Well. My parents raised me to respect others," he replied. "And I'm friends with Princess Celestia. So I'm around members of the Royal Guard more often than most other civilians."

"Wow," the mare replied in an impressed tone. "I wasn't expecting you to say that you were friends with Celestia."

"Yeah," he said. "Ever since she saved my life back when Chrysalis tried to sink the Mareitania."

"I see," she replied before getting up and walking over to the bars. Looking to her left, she saw the two guards still standing at their post by the door leading out of the cell block. The large metal ring with keys to the cell doors was still hanging on its hook as well. "Are those two actual crystal ponies? Or just changelings?" she asked herself in thought. "I need to figure that part out before we can move on to the next step."

"Everything alright?" Steel asked, making the mare look back and signal for him to be quiet. Seeing that, he nodded silently in response. Spitfire nodded back at him before looking back at the pair of guards.

"Hey guards!" she yelled, hoping this would help her see which way this was going to go. "When's the next meal coming? I'm still hungry!"

"Silence!" one of them shouted.

"Yeah!" the other one yelled. "You'll uh... get your food when King Sombra decides when you will."

Hearing both of them respond to her, she knew that the odds were in favor of these two just being changelings in disguise. But now the question was how she was going to get the two of them away from that key ring. As she did before, she sat down and placed a forehoof against her muzzle in thought.

"What to do?" she said in her mind as she pondered various ideas in her head. "How am I gonna get at least one of those guards to come here?" Whatever idea was going to work, it'd need to be bold enough to get at least one guard to come over. Then hopefully the other guard would follow. And with the element of surprise, the Captain could use his magic to subdue both of them in order to get the keys. "Those two are probably under strict orders from Sombra to stay there," she continued in thought. "So we'd have to do something that'd appeal to their instincts. Something that they can't resist."

As soon as she finished that train of thought, there was only one thing that she could think of that could do the trick. One thing that made her cheeks burn red once more at even the mere thought. But it would definitely work with what she needed done.

"Well," she said in her head as she stood up and turned to look toward the stallion. "At least it's gonna be something both of us can enjoy this time."

"So what's the next step?" he asked as she walked back over to where he was before sitting down beside him. Looking over at him, she breathed in before letting out a soft sigh.

"Those two guards over there are most likely changelings in disguise," she replied. "And we need to get both of them to come over here."

"That's... not gonna be easy," he said as he rubbed his muzzle in thought. "I'm pretty sure those two are gonna stay there no matter what we try."

"Not... necessarily..." she replied while turning her head to look away from him. "There's... one guaranteed way of doing it. But... it's something that I'm not sure you'll want to go along with."

"If it means us getting out of here, I'm willing to do anything that's needed," he said. When she heard him say that, she gulped softly before looking back toward him.

"Anything?" she asked while looking him straight in the eyes.

"Absolutely," he answered.

"Alright," she said. "Well. Since those two are likely to be changelings, there's only one thing that we can use to our advantage. And that's their... need for feeding off of... love." When she finished speaking, it didn't take long for the stallion to figure out what she was talking about as his eyes went wide open.

"Are you... suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"It's the only way that will get both of them over here," she answered. "And I'm willing to let you do it to me."

"Can't you just... moan really loudly and get their attention that way?"

"As much as I'd like to just fake it. It won't work," she replied. "If I did that and one of them came over, they'd quickly figure it out without having the other one come. And for the plan to work, we need both of them over here. So only the real thing will do the trick."

"But..."

"You said that you trusted me. Right?" she asked. "And that you'd do anything if it meant getting out of here."

"Of course I trust you," he replied. "And yes. I'll do anything to help get us out of here. It's... just..."

"What?" she asked while looking at him with a mixture of confusion and impatience. "What's the problem?"

"It's... just that..." he began to say before looking away from her with his cheeks burning a brighter shade of red. "I've... never... done it before."

Once she heard him say that, her cheeks once again acquired a shade of red as her ears flattened. She wasn't expecting him to admit something like that. Then again, she didn't think she'd have to be in this position when she woke up this morning. As she gazed at him, she never would've guessed that he was a virgin. She just assumed that he had plenty of experience in that department. And now, the only way she could think of for them to escape was now for him to part with the one remaining thing that was special to him. On a day where he had already lost so much.

"I'm... sorry..." she said softly. "I didn't even think that you were a... virgin."

"It's... fine," he replied. "You... couldn't have known that."

"Still," she replied. "I... know that this probably isn't your ideal scenario for... your first time."

"Not even close," he replied, still looking away from her.

"And I know that I have no right to make you do this if you don't want to," she continued. "Especially after everything you've been through today. But... I truly can't think of any other way." After she said that, the stallion just breathed in slowly before letting out a long sigh.

"I... understand," he said before slowly turning his head to look at her once more.

"Hey," she replied in a slightly happier tone, hoping to cheer him up. "Who knows. Do a good enough job and I might just let you do it again some other time." This remark made him actually chuckle softly in response, which made her smile. She then scooched herself to where she was right next to his side and gently leaned against him.

"So..." he said in an awkward tone as she stayed there. "How do we... start?"

"Well," she began to say while straightening herself up before turning her head to look at him. "How about this?" After saying that, she leaned forward and gently placed her lips on his in a soft, gentle peck. No more. No less. Moving herself back slightly, she smiled as it felt nice. It was certainly a long time since the last time she had kissed anypony. And seeing the stallion's surprised reaction to it made her smirk before she closed her eyes, leaned in once more, and planted her lips on his.

Only this time, she kept them there as she breathed slowly. As this continued, she slowly parted her lips and gave his a teasing lick. When he felt that, he got the hint and opened his mouth just enough for the mare to sneak her tongue inside. Once there, it was welcomed by his own as they glided over each other.

"This doesn't feel that bad," she said in her mind as she invited his tongue into her mouth. "I'm... actually enjoying this." After that line of thought, she opened her left eye slightly and looked downward, hoping that what this stallion was packing would not disappoint. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for as a decently sized red colored cock was seen. "What do we have here?" she asked as she gazed at it while not breaking the kiss. "That'll definitely help me make it sound genuine."

Soon, the mare moved herself back once again and set her eyes on what she'd be dealing with. As she looked at it, a smirk formed before looking up at the Captain before softly moaning in approval.

"I take it that you're not... disappointed?" he asked after seeing her reaction to his hardened shaft.

"Not at all," she answered in her trademark confident tone. "In fact. You just might be able to give me something I haven't had in a long time."

"So... what would you like for me to do now?"

"Well," she began to answer. "All I want you to do now is to enjoy what I'm about to do. Because since this is your first time, I want to make it special for you. Just make sure you keep your moans in check. We're not ready for the guards to come here just yet."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

"Alright," she replied. "Now. Lay down on your back for me." The stallion just silently nodded in response as he did what she asked and laid down on his back for her. But he was soon surprised to see her straddle herself above him facing the opposite direction, leaving an unobstructed view of her marehood. "You know. I never said you'd be the only one getting some fun out of this," she continued in a playful tone as she wiggled her flank above him.

"Oh!" he softly exclaimed in response as he blushed while marveling at this unexpected view. "Um... okay."

"Enjoy, Captain," she replied before laying down on top of him. It took him a bit to adjust to the combined weight of both her and and the chains wrapped around her. But once he was situated, his eyes were now fixated on the marehood in front of his face. Due to her body blocking his sight, he couldn't see what she was up to. It didn't matter though as he soon felt the tip of his cock being pecked by the Commander's lips. Not wanting to disappoint her, he slowly moved his muzzle to where it was just barely brushing up against her body.

"I can't believe this is actually happening!" he exclaimed in thought as he opened his mouth and began running his tongue through her folds. Once this happened, he could hear her let out a moan that she quickly muffled by his tip into her mouth. She then pushed herself back slightly, giving him a clear indication that she liked what he was doing as she pressed his muzzle against her marehood.

The scent of her arousal surrounded his nostrils as his tongue continued to give the mare as much satisfaction as he could. And she was returning the favor by giving him absolute pleasure by skillfully running her tongue all over the tip of his cock while slowly working her way down further and further.

Even though this was the Captain's first time, this was far from it for the Commander. She had plenty of experience when it came to pleasing stallions. Nothing with strings attached though. Just casual flings to help relieve stress. As she kept on pleasing the stallion beneath her though, she used her experience to her advantage as she would have his entire shaft in her mouth on occasion. She'd then hum around the base of it, allowing her throat to vibrate around the tip. This would make him have to muffle his own moans in her increasingly wet marehood, which gave her even more pleasure.

As the minutes passed by, both ponies were lost in absolute pleasure. Spitfire was slowly bobbing her head up and down along the length of the Captain's shaft, occasionally having the entire thing in her mouth at times. And Steel would be lapping up any fluids that was coming from her glistening marehood. He'd even slip his tongue inside her love canal, which would make the mare groan in ecstasy. Soon though, Steel could feel the pressure in his sack rising for his inevitable orgasm. He wasn't sure if she wanted him to finish in her mouth or not. But he had no way of telling her as she was firmly pushing her backside up against his mouth.

"Please... don't... be mad..." he said in thought as he tried his best to hold it back as long as he could. But as the mare skillfully worked the entire length of his cock into her mouth one final time, it was enough to send him over the edge. Soon, spurt after spurt of his seed began shooting out from the tip of his cock straight down her throat.

Feeling that, she moaned around the base of his shaft as her stomach was being filled up. As a result of this, Steel felt a torrent of her fluids flood his mouth, likely her own orgasm. He began swallowing it to avoid coughing loudly and alerting the guards, who had surprisingly remained at their post. As the two of them basked in their respective orgasms, Spitfire slowly got up and allowed the shaft to exit her mouth, being sure to give it one final peck before she turned around to look at him.

"Not bad, rookie," she softly teased while winking at him. "Not bad at all."

"Thank you..." he replied as he breathed heavily. "You were... amazing... too."

"Let's just say I know what I'm doing for things like that, Cap," she said as she laid down beside him. "Now. Before we move on to the main event, I need to tell you what to do."

"I'm listening," he replied as he turned his head to look at her.

"So as you're... fucking me from behind," she said. "I'm going to be purposefully loud to attract the guards' attention."

"I see."

"And then when one of them hopefully comes over here and sees what we're doing, the other one will hopefully come as well. And when that happens, I'm gonna need you to use your magic to take 'em out."

"Take them out?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "Take 'em out. Knock 'em out. I don't care which way you do it. Just make sure that they won't interfere with us getting out of here."

"Oh. Uh... alright," he replied. "I'll try my best."

"There's no room for trying here," she said. "You have to do it. Not trying to put pressure on you. But we'll only get one shot." Even though she said that she wasn't trying to add pressure, Steel could sense it rising inside him. What she was saying to him was true. They'd only get one chance. And if he messed up, what happens afterward could be disastrous.

"Alright," he said before breathing in and exhaling slowly, trying to steady his nerves. As he did that, Spitfire stood up and walked over to the bars to make sure that the guards were still there. As expected, the two of them were still standing exactly where they were. Nodding to herself, she turned around and walked back over to the Captain.

"You ready?" she asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he answered. Hearing that, Spitfire silently nodded before pecking him on the cheek. She then turned around and walked over to her bunk before hopping up on it enough to rest the front half of her body on the mattress. Looking back, she wiggled her flank at the Captain before moving her tail to one side, giving him as clear of a view as she can.

Seeing that, Steel slowly nodded and proceeded to go and stand right behind her. Breathing in deeply, he gave a long and slow exhale before getting himself in position to where his shaft was now lined up perfectly with her marehood. Not wanting to delay the moment any longer, he slowly began to slide his shaft inside her.

As soon as she felt him doing this, she let out a loud moan. Hearing that, he instantly froze up and stopped his movement.

"Come on, Steel!" he mentally shouted at himself. "Focus! She's doing this on purpose!" Shaking his head a few times, he looked at her as she looked back at him.

"Come on, Cap," she softly said. "Don't get cold hooves now."

"Right," he replied. After saying that, he pushed himself in slightly deeper. As she felt that, Spitfire closed her eyes and smiled while moaning softly.

"That's more like it," she gently cooed while slowly opening her eyes again. "Take it nice and slow. I want you to enjoy this moment."

The stallion nodded silently upon hearing that. As soon as he felt himself roughly halfway inside her, he began to pull back. The feeling of his shaft inside her soaking wet marehood was something that he very much liked. And the fact that it took him this long to experience what many stallions around his age had done multiple times by then made him kick himself mentally. Once he felt that it was just the tip left inside her, he started pushing it back in.

"That's it," the mare said before moaning softly. "Keep it up, rookie."

Hearing that approval from her made the stallion's confidence soar to heights never reached before. The fact that he was giving a mare pleasure made him feel great about himself. The added fact of this mare being the legendary Commander Spitfire of the Wonderbolts just made it even better. Soon, he began to develop a steady rhythm of his motions, going in and out with a slight increase in both speed and power. As he was doing this, the mare's moans were slowly growing louder and more emphatic.

"Oh... yes..." she moaned out loud. "That feels so good. Fuck my flank. Just like that."

"What's going on over here?" a new voice asked as the sound of hoofsteps approaching was heard. Hearing that, both ponies looked over just as one of the guards walked in front of the bars and stopped as he looked inside. "Well. Well. Well," he said in an approving tone. "What do we have here?" He then turned his head to look at the other guard. "Hey Thorax!" he yelled. "Get over here and take a look at this!"

"Pharynx," another voice replied before the second guard slowly appeared, slightly shaking. "What are you doing? We're supposed to stay by the door."

"Looks like you owe me fifty coins," the one called Pharynx answered before pointing at the two ponies. As the guards were looking at each other, Steel quickly turned his head to face the opposite direction, hoping for the fact that the ring on his horn was gone had gone unnoticed. "The Captain's gettin' some action. Somethin' you've never done."

"Fa-fa-fair enough," the one called Thorax stuttered in response. "Now can we go back to the door?"

"What. Don't you want to stay here and watch them?" he asked before nudging him. "You might just learn a thing or two."

"I don't know," he replied before turning his head to look at them. "Shouldn't we just... leave them alone? I mean. Sombra told us to stay by the door no matter what." As the two of them stood there, the Captain slowed down his motions to where he was barely moving. He knew that if he didn't do something quick, they'd figure out that his dampening ring was gone.

"Screw what he says!" the one called Pharynx replied. "We don't have to do anything he tells us until he marries the Queen. We're only doing this because she told us to be here."

"But Pharynx!"

"Look. You can go back to the door if you want. But I'm gonna stay here and watch them. Maybe get a little feeding going on to while I'm at it."

"Fine," Thorax said. "I... guess we can stay here. If it means... getting some... feeding done."

"Aww. What's the matter, Captain?" Pharynx asked in a mocking tone, making Steel tense up upon hearing the changeling speaking to him. "Too embarrassed to perform now that we're here? Come on. Show us that face of yours. It's rude to ignore an audience." The stallion just breathed in deeply before exhaling slowly in response before he slowly turned his head to look at them. "There you go," the guard said sarcastically as he sat down and clapped his forehooves together.

"Uh... Pharynx?" the other guard said.

"Not now, little bro," he replied. "Can't you see I'm busy taunting this guy?"

"But..."

"What?" he asked as he turned his head to look at him, clearly getting annoyed that he was not being allowed to watch the show in front of him. "What is it now?"

"His... dampening ring," he replied as he began to shudder while pointing at the stallion. "It's... gone..." Upon hearing that, the one called Pharynx quickly looked at the Captain and saw what his brother was referring to as the stallion's blue colored magic aura appeared around his horn.

"Oh... shit."

Not even a second after he said that, both changelings had magical auras around their necks before both were lifted into the air. From the Captain's perspective, he watched as they flailed their hind legs while grabbing at the auras in a desperate attempt to free themselves. He then put some distance between the two of them before abruptly slamming them into one another. From his point of view, he saw their heads collide with each other. Once that was done, the two were unceremoniously dropped to the floor. Looking at the two of them, he observed as their true forms revealed themselves as a result of them being unconscious.

"Wow," Spitfire said in an impressed tone as she looked on, having watched the whole thing. "Nice work, Cap. Didn't think I'd see you do that."

"Thank you," he replied.

"Though I don't remember telling you to stop."

"Huh?" he asked before looking down and seeing that he had stopped with his shaft only halfway inside her. "You... want me to finish?"

"Would be a bit of a let down for you if I didn't let you finish your first time properly. Wouldn't it?" she replied. "Don't worry. It looks like you knocked them out pretty good. They should be out for quite a while."

"If you say so," he said before going back to what he was doing before. When she felt him doing that, Spitfire just closed her eyes once more as she sighed with pleasure. She didn't quite want to admit it. But some of those moans she made before the guards came over were genuine. She hadn't felt this way in quite some time. Feeling her marehood being stuffed full of his cock made her want him to keep going.

Soon, things were back to where they were as his shaft was steadily going in and out. With each passing minute, she felt his little increases in both speed and force. She was even moving her flank to help get more of it in. She could feel herself inching closer to her own climax on each thrust inward. This would be the first time she's ever orgasmed twice to the same stallion.

"Give it to me good, stud!" she exclaimed in her mind as he kept going. "Pound my flank! Make it yours!"

While the Commander's mind was filled with pleasure, the Captain could sense the pressure of his second orgasm beginning to build up in his sack. Using her moans as motivation to push onward, he kept thrusting in and out at greater speeds and force.

"Oh... fuck... yes..." she groaned in ecstasy as her eyes rolled upward while feeling her flank be stuffed again and again. "I haven't felt this good in so long! Keep going, Cap..."

"Am I really giving her that much pleasure?" he asked himself in thought as he looked at her. Based on her visible facial expression, her eyes rolled upward along with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, he was in fact doing just that. Even with his inevitable orgasm nearing that point of no return, he didn't want to slow down.

After another minute or so, he felt her walls clench tight around his shaft as she moaned loudly. It also felt even wetter than it was before, giving him the feeling that she had reached her climax. Now it was his turn to put the final touch on this experience. With a few more thrusts, he reached the point where his orgasm was guaranteed.

"Thank you so much for this," he said in his mind as with one final thrust, his seed was once again shooting out from the tip of his cock as though it was fired from a cannon. Spitfire groaned heavily in pleasure as she felt her flank being stuffed full from him. This was the first time she had a stallion finish inside her without protection. So the chances of her becoming pregnant from this was pretty much guaranteed. But she didn't care. Her mind was busy being overwhelmed by feelings of pleasure she never felt before. Once his orgasm subsided, the stallion pulled his shaft out of her and breathed deeply. Looking back, she saw this and smirked.

"Worn out already, big guy?" she teased while playfully wiggling her flank at him once again.

"A.. little.." he answered. "Give me a bit."

"You're fine, Cap," she said before getting herself off of the bunk. She then walked over to the bars and looked at the still unconscious changelings laying on the floor. Seeing that made her feel good that this plan to escape was working. But there was still the issue of getting out of the cell. "Hey," she said, gaining the stallion's attention.

"Yeah?"

"Come here," she said before motioning with a forehoof. Doing as she wanted, the stallion walked up to the bars beside her. "See that metal ring over there with a bunch of keys on it?" Steel squinted his eyes for a bit until he saw what she was wanting him to see.

"Yeah," he answered. "I see it."

"Can you bring that over here?"

"Of course," he replied before lighting up his horn once again. This time, his blue colored aura took hold of the ring and lifted it off of the hook it was on. Spitfire watched silently as the keys floated over to them.

"Alright," she said. "Find the key for our door so we can get out of here."

"Leave it to me," he replied before beginning the task of trying each key in their cell door's lock. While he was doing that, the mare kept a wary eye on the changelings in case they came to. Thankfully, it didn't take long until the familiar sound of metal clicking was heard before the door to the cell swung open.

"Nice!" she exclaimed before instinctively reaching out with her hooves and hugging him tightly. Steel could only smile proudly as he returned the favor.

"Want me to get those chains off of you now?" he asked as she let go of him.

"That would be great if you could do that," she answered. "But I'm not sure if the key for the lock on me is on that ring."

"I don't need a key for that," he replied before using his magic to make the lock securing the chains around her body disappear in a flash of magic. The mare's eyes grew wide as she felt her restraints loosen to where she could finally unfold her wings. The satisfying sound of the chain falling to the floor was music to her ears as she stretched her wings before flapping them enough to where she was now hovering just above the floor. This sense of freedom was enough for her to give the Captain one more kiss on the lips.

"Come on!" she exclaimed when the kiss stopped. "We're busting out of here!"

"Right behind you," the Captain replied before the two of them exited their cell. As a way of hopefully keeping their escape undetected for as long as possible, the stallion placed the two changelings inside the cell before locking the door. "That oughta slow 'em down," he said in his mind as the two exited the room, being mindful of their surroundings now.