Shore Leave

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six

Chapter One

The streets of Manehattan were busy with the usual activities of those who live and work there. Ponies were seen waiting at food carts and taxi carriage stops along with leaving various shops with bags in either their mouths or their magical auras. However, there was also an unusual amount of reporters walking the streets as well with cameras and assistants in tow. Each and every one of them though were tasked with the same mission as told to do by their superiors. They were on the lookout for the one stallion who had answers to one of the biggest stories in recent history. That of course being what happened to the Mareitania.

Equestria's newest, biggest, fastest, and most luxurious ocean liner was found almost completely abandoned at sea and had to be assisted back to Manehattan thanks in large part to Princess Twilight Sparkle and the rest of her friends along with the Captain of the liner, Steel Blade. Naturally, getting a chance to talk to any of the Bearers would prove to be quite difficult. Starlight Glimmer was always a challenge to get an interview with as well, regardless of topic. The Captain however. He should be easy to get the answers from. It was just a matter of finding him. So in order to be the first newspaper to get the scoop, the Chief Editors of every newspaper in the city had tasked every reporter of theirs to track him down and get the answers they were looking for.

The reason why all of them were searching the city instead of the dock where the liner was tied up at was because when each of them showed up, they were told that the Captain had gone ashore. Where he went to, however, was unknown. This was deliberate on the part of the sailor. He knew that the moment he left the docks, there would be dozens of reporters trying to get answers from him. Answers that he wished he didn't have.

As the reporters patrolled the city, the one they were looking for was sitting alone in a park. Instead of his usual white uniform and Captain's hat, he was instead wearing a black trench coat and fedora with tinted sunglasses. This was his best attempt to get through town without being recognized. And so far, it was working. With the sounds of birds chirping in a nearby tree, the stallion levitated a paper out of one of the pockets he had before unfolding it to read once again.

To: Captain Steel Blade, EMS Mareitania

From: Dotted Line, Red Apple Line Chairpony

Dear Steel,

I hope you are doing well. But as I'm sure you are probably well aware by now, the Equestrian Board of Trade has suspended Mareitania's safety certificate until she is fully repaired and passes an inspection. Obviously this is a significant problem that must be solved as soon as possible. I've already started making some arrangements. But there are some other things that I'd like to speak with you face to face rather than through writing.

Come see me at Red Apple HQ as soon as you receive this letter. I'll be waiting for you to arrive.

Sighing to himself, Steel folded the paper up before putting it back into his pocket. Thankfully, when the ship arrived the previous week, he had Twilight and the others to help explain the situation to Dotted. But that didn't seem to stop him from being upset over everything that happened. As he got off of the bench, he took a look around. From where he was, he could see the building where Red Apple Line's HQ was at. And there seemed to be no reporters around from where he was.

As he began walking, he took off the fedora and started using it like a fan. Wearing an all black colored outfit on a hot summer day was not the best decision he made. But if it meant that the reporters wouldn't recognize him, then it was worth it. With each step he took, his eyes darted back and forth. Once he reached the street, he turned to the left and started walking toward the building located just down the road.

But as he got closer to the building, he could see that the area around it was swarming with reporters. Seeing all of them made his eye twitch with frustration. Why couldn't they just take no for an answer and leave it? As he steadied himself by breathing slowly, he continued walking forward while placing the fedora back on his head. Once he was close, a reporter looked over his way. She was a pink colored pegasus with a yellow mane and tail. On her back was a leather satchel with pockets on both sides.

"Excuse me, sir," she said before approaching Steel, stopping in front of him.

"Yes?" Steel replied while intentionally making his voice sound deeper.

"Have you seen this stallion at all?" she asked before reaching into her satchel and producing a picture of him in his uniform. Putting on as best of an act as possible, the disguised stallion took hold of it with his magic before giving it a look, even tilting his head to the side as he gazed at it.

"Can't say that I have," he replied. "Sorry."

"Oh. Okay," she replied in a disappointed tone while he gave the photo back to her.

"Are all of you looking for him?" he asked while looking at all of the reporters in the area.

"Yeah," she said after putting the photo back in her satchel. "Every newspaper in town has their field reporters out trying to find him so we can finally figure out what really happened to the Mareitania. Guess it's just a race to see who can break the next biggest story first."

"That... seems a little extreme if you ask me," he replied while looking at the badge connected to a lanyard around her neck. According to it, this mare's name was Strawberry Sunshine and was with a paper called 'The Manehattan Chronicle'.

"Right?" she replied before giggling softly. "I don't really understand why we're having to hunt him down like he's some kind of rare creature. He's just a normal pony like the rest of us. I'm of the belief that if he's making this much effort to not be found, he clearly doesn't want to talk about it."

"You have no idea how right you are," he said in his normal voice as he lowered his sunglasses and winked at her. Seeing this, the mare gasped quietly as it didn't take long for her to realize who was standing directly in front of her.

"It's... It's you!" she softly exclaimed before looking around to see if any other reporters are looking at them. Fortunately, they all were busy conversing with each other to notice who she was talking to. As she looked back at the stallion in front of her, she watched him move his hoof across his lips. Seeing that, she silently nodded.

"If I wanted to talk about it, I'd have done it already," he quietly said. "But I'll tell you what. Let me pass and I'll give you and your paper an exclusive when I'm ready to talk about it. Deal?"

"Deal!" she replied before the two ponies shook hooves in a verbal agreement. Once done, she cleared her throat and stepped aside. "Sorry to bother you, sir," she said while putting on an act. "Have a good day."

"Same to you, miss," he replied before continuing forward. As he walked by her, he could hear her softly squeal in excitement which in turn made him roll his eyes and smile. Once he reached the stairs leading up to the two glass doors, he turned around and saw that she was dancing around excitedly. "Not exactly the subtle type," he said in his mind as he walked up the stairs and pushed open one of the doors before going inside.

Once inside, he let out a sigh of relief as he walked over to the receptionist's desk. Upon hearing his hoofsteps, the receptionist, a gray colored unicorn mare with a black mane, looked up at him. The nameplate on her desk read Stormy Skies.

"I'm sorry, sir," she said as he kept walking toward the desk. "We're not open to the public right now."

"What if I work for the company though?" he asked while removing the fedora and sunglasses.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Captain Blade! I didn't recognize you in that... outfit," she said while looking at him with a confused expression on her face. "Why are you wearing that?"

"Because I'm being hounded by reporters wanting to know what happened on Mareitania's maiden voyage," he replied. "That's why."

"I... see," she replied before clearing her throat. "Well. Since you're here. Dotted Line is expecting you in his office."

"Sounds good," he says before turning and walking down the hallway. After a minute or so, he stopped outside of the doorway leading into his boss' office. With a gulp, he knocked on the door three times. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Ah! Steel! Please. Come in," Dotted replied through the door. Doing as he said, the red stallion opened the door with his magic and stepped inside before closing it behind him. Inside the room, he found his boss sitting at his desk, which was covered with papers and books.

"Am I in trouble, sir?" Steel asked as he approached the desk before sitting down in the lone chair in front of it. The white colored stallion behind the desk chuckled softly after hearing that question.

"Why is it that each time I call you here, you just automatically think you're in trouble?"

"Force of habit, I guess," he replied.

"Well you needn't worry," Dotted said in a calming tone. "You're not in trouble." This made Steel sigh in relief as Dotted got out of his chair and walked over to the window. Through the glass, he could see the many reporters still out looking for the stallion that was now in his office. "I trust you didn't have too much trouble getting here?"

"I feel like a criminal being wanted by the police," Steel replied. "I had to wear this trench coat and fedora just to sneak by them." He then sighed again. "Though I did agree to speak to a reporter with the Chronicle in exchange for letting me through."

"The Manehattan Chronicle?" the stallion at the window asked. "Ah. Good paper. They'll be grateful to you for doing that."

"Yeah," the one in the chair replied. "So... if I'm not in trouble. Then why did you want to speak with me?"

"I just wanted to go over a few things with you," Dotted replied as he turned around and walked back over to his desk. "Firstly, there's the matter of our company's brand new ship already needing to be repaired. Now obviously, we can't put passengers and a full crew aboard her with the only thing keeping the water out being a magical shield."

"What do you propose we do about that then?" he asked. "Where would we even take her to get fixed?"

"The only place in all of Equestria with a dry dock big enough to hold her would be where she was built. The Clydesdale Shipyard in Horseshoe Bay."

"Horseshoe Bay?" he asked. "That's quite the journey."

"Indeed," Dotted replied. "Especially considering that she'll have to be towed there."

"Towed?"

"Yes. I've already made the arrangements with a local towing and salvage company. They'll have four tugboats available to tow her to Horseshoe Bay."

"How long do you think the repairs will take?"

"I'm not sure," he replied. "It depends on the extent of the damage. Boiler Room Two is already going to need to be stripped out and have new boilers and pipes installed since they were exposed to seawater. The starboard coal bunker will need to be repaired. The telegraph cables strung between the masts need to be replaced. And there's also some minor damage to your cabin that I'm sure you'd like to have fixed." This made Steel shudder slightly as the memory of what happened in that room entered his mind once again. Dotted however was confused by this reaction and raised an eyebrow. "Is.. everything alright, Steel?"

"Could I... ask a personal favor?"

"Of course."

"Is there any way you can have them... give me a new cabin?"

"Why?" he asked in a confused tone. "You just got that cabin."

"Just... trust me," Steel replied. "I'd.. really appreciate it if that could be done." The white unicorn just looked at his friend as he processed the unusual request. Clearly this was something that bothered the stallion in front of him. But he couldn't understand why.

"Did... something happen in there, Steel?"

"Yes. And no," he replied before looking down at the floor and sighing. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"I... see...." Dotted replied before putting the Captain's request down on the list. "Well. I've got it on the list. We'll see what the shipyard can do for you. But no promises."

"Thank you," Steel said before sighing again.

"Anyways. Getting back on track," Dotted continued. "Obviously we've been put in a precarious situation here. Apparently, the maiden voyage has already happened. Yet no pony aside from you has any recollection of what happened after the ship left port."

"Didn't Princess Sparkle explain the reason why to you?"

"Yes. She did. And I suppose it does make sense considering what happened to me, Port, and the rest of the passengers and crew."

"So what's the problem?"

"We've been getting numerous requests for refunds from a majority of the passengers," he replied before using his magic to levitate a stack of papers on to the desk. "Since they can't remember anything about the voyage, they naturally want their bits back. Now obviously we're going to have to grant them their refunds. Otherwise our reputation will be ruined."

"Fair enough, I guess."

"Not that we're running out of money or anything," he continued. "But this will be putting a financial strain on the company. On top of the fact that these repairs won't be cheap either."

"Understood," Steel replied, feeling guilty that this is all costing the Red Apple Line so many bits. "Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

"We still have one more thing to discuss," Dotted replied. "Obviously with the Mareitania out of commission for an extended amount of time, there's the issue of what to do with your crew. I've decided that they'll be transferred to other ships in the fleet to work while Mareitania is being repaired."

"I see. So where am I being transferred to?" he asked. "Back to the Celestia?"

"No," he replied in a more serious tone. "I'm afraid to say that you aren't going to be transferred to another ship." He then sat back down in his chair and looked directly at the stallion in front of him. "I'm not quite certain what all is going on. But Princess Sparkle is going to be meeting you in Horseshoe Bay."

"Princess Sparkle?" Steel asked with a raised eyebrow. "What does she want with me?"

"I'm afraid she wouldn't give me any further details about that," Dotted replied. "But whatever the reason, it must be very important."

"I see," he replied before a thought rushed into his mind. "And you're 100% certain that the pony you were talking to was indeed Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"She mentioned you might ask me that. That's why she wanted me to give you this," he replied before levitating a scroll over to him. Taking hold of the scroll with his magic, the red stallion inspected it closely. It seemed to be authentic, complete with a purple colored ribbon and seal bearing the royal cutie mark. After seeing that, he undid the ribbon and opened the scroll to read what was written inside.

Dear Captain Blade,

I'm certain that you needed some authentication as to what your employer was saying to you. Given all that you've been through, I wouldn't blame you for being skeptical. I hope you are doing well. But we still have a problem that directly affects you. All I can say is that there has been a development since the last time we saw each other. So I'll be meeting you in Horseshoe Bay personally to discuss this further with you. I'm looking forward to seeing you again.

Your friend,
Twilight

"Does that prove things for you?" Dotted asked, making Steel look up at him.

"Yeah," he replied while looking at the scroll again. "I suppose it does."

"Good," the white unicorn replied. "Now I suggest you get back to the ship and get her prepped for the journey to Horseshoe Bay. The tugs will be with you at sunrise tomorrow to begin the tow."

"Yes, sir," Steel replied before saluting. He then stood up and placed the scroll in his coat's pocket. Upon doing that, he then remembered the swarm of reporters outside. Sighing heavily, he placed the fedora and sunglasses back on. "I'll be on my way then."

"Don't have too much trouble with those reporters now," Dotted said before chuckling. Steel just rolled his eyes before opening the door and stepping back out into the hall. As he walked, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly the Princess wanted to meet him in Horseshoe Bay for.

Slipping out the back door of the building, he had to duck through alleyways and side streets in hopes of avoiding the mob of reporters still looking for him. Fortunately, it didn't take him long to return to the docks. The sight of his liner made him breathe a sigh of relief as he passed through the security gate. Once through, he took off his hat and sunglasses since the reporters weren't allowed to be beyond the fence. But as soon as he did, he could hear the sound of multiple cameras, along with a flurry of flashes, coming from behind him. Turning around, he saw a small group of reporters on the other side of the iron fence.

"At least they're on that side of the fence," he said in his mind as he turned and started walking toward his ship.

"Captain Blade!" one of them shouted. "Captain! Why are you ignoring our requests for an interview? Do you have something to hide?" This made Steel come to a sudden halt while clenching his teeth together. He then breathed in deeply before exhaling. The last thing he needed was for them to get the wrong idea. Deciding to set the record straight, he turned around and slowly started walking toward the fence. Seeing him approach them, the journalists smiled as the camera flashes ceased. But as he got closer to them, they could see that the Captain was clearly annoyed with them.

"Look," Steel said while stopping in front of them on his side of the fence. "I get that you all are just doing your jobs right now. But seriously. Can you all just knock it off?" This surprised the ponies as they all looked at each other. "I've already promised to give an exclusive to one paper. But that won't happen for a while yet since I still don't want to talk about what happened out there."

"Which paper?" one of them asked.

"The Manehattan Chronicle," he replied, making them all sigh with disappointment.

"I knew it!" another one said. "That's why Strawberry was so happy!"

"Alright. Let's go," a security guard said as he and several other guards walked over to them on their side of the fence. "Quit bothering the poor stallion." Soon, the crowd of ponies dispersed as more sighs could be heard. Feeling like he finally was free to leave, Steel turned and started walking away from the fence only to stop when he heard a mare clearing her throat behind him. Looking back, he found a yellow colored earth pony mare with a shiny orange mane. Strapped to her sides were two purple colored saddlebags. She waved at him while smiling after seeing him turn around for her.

"Captain Blade," she said as he walked back over to the fence. "My name is Ginger Delight. I'm with a magazine called Passion Print." After saying that, she showed her badge to the stallion. "Could you answer one question for me at least? It isn't about what happened to your ship. But it's one that our readers are really wanting us to ask you."

"I... suppose?" Steel replied as he raised an eyebrow. He was surprised to see a representative for a magazine that was typically known for offering romantic advice standing in front of him. "What is it?"

"Are you single?" she asked. This question made the stallion's eyes widen as he was completely caught off guard by this.

"I'm sorry," he replied, thinking that he misheard her. "What was that?"

"Are you single?" she repeated. "You wouldn't believe the amount of requests by our readers for your answer. Seems you've garnered quite the amount of affection from mares all across Equestria."

"Wait what?"

"It's true!" she replied. "Ever since the story of what happened here last week broke. And ponies realized who you were. Our mailbox has been stuffed with letters from mares in Las Pegasus, San Franciscolt, Baltimare, Whinneyapolis, Mareami, Ponyville, Canterlot, and here in Manehattan. Even your hometown of Des Mane had mares writing to us. All asking the same question."

"I uh..." he replied as his cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "Wait. How did you know I was from Des Mane? And what do you mean ponies realized who I am?"

"You're Wooden Blade's younger brother," she answered. "You know. Wooden Blade. Famous celebrity actor."

"Yeah?"

"Well," she continued. "He comes in from time to time and gives us an interview along with helpful advice for both mares and stallions seeking romance. And it just so happened that he stopped by the office the day after your ship came back here." Hearing this, the red stallion sighed as he wasn't expecting to hear his older brother's name at all today.

"Has he said anything else?"

"No," she said. "He was surprised though when we asked him his opinion on what happened to your ship." Her ears then flattened slightly as she looked at him. "I... take it the two of you don't really talk to each other that often?"

"Not really," Steel replied. "He's always been too busy with his career to be bothered with the likes of me."

"Ouch. I'm... sorry to hear that," she said. "I honestly can't say I know how that would feel. I've always been close with my sister."

"Wish I knew what that was like," the stallion replied as his mood began to change to one of depression.

"Anyways..." she said, trying to get back on track. "When we asked him about his opinion on what happened to your ship, he responded by saying that he was surprised that 'his little brother' would overtake him as the talk of Manehattan. You can imagine the look on my face when he said that."

"Probably one of surprise?"

"Exactly!" she exclaimed. "Until then, I don't think anypony knew that he had a younger brother!"

"Sounds about right," he replied. "Probably didn't want others knowing that his brother was a sailor. So what exactly does this have to do with your question?"

"Well," she replied. "Since he's already taken as far as relationships go. Many mares would like to know your status."

"Why?" he asked. "Are you saying that all of these mares who sent letters to your magazine are wanting me just to get closer to him?"

"Some? Definitely. But not all," she said before winking at him. "So what's your answer? Are you single? Or has some lucky mare already gotten to you?"

"I'm single," he answered, making the mare in front of him grin before she took hold of a pen with her mouth and started writing the answer down on her notepad. From where he was standing, the stallion couldn't help but be impressed by how neat her writing was despite having to use her mouth to do it. "You have very nice writing," he complimented, making the mare smirk before removing the pen from her mouth.

"I'd be more than happy to show you just how talented this tongue really is," she said before licking her lips seductively. She then giggled softly before looking over what she wrote down. "I appreciate your answer though, Captain. You have no idea how much our readers will love to hear that." She then turned her head and dipped her muzzle into one of the saddlebags before producing a laminated card between her lips. Using his magic, Steel grabbed hold of the card and took it out of her mouth before looking at it. The small pink card had a picture of her along with her name and the address of Passion Print's office in downtown Manehattan. "Maybe you could stop by and give me a one-on-one exclusive sometime?" she asked in a clearly flirtatious tone before winking at him again. "I'd love it if you did."

Sweat could be seen forming on the stallion's forehead while he gulped as the mare turned and wiggled her flank at him, clearly signaling to him what she meant.

"See you around, Captain Blade," she said in a seductive tone before walking away, giving her flank an added swing which allowed the stallion to see her private goods. As he watched her leave, he turned around and started walking toward his liner, breathing heavily as he walked. As he approached his ship, he placed her card inside one of his coat's pockets. Stopping next to the gangway leading up to the ship, he heard multiple sets of hoofsteps coming from behind him.

"Not so easy being the talk of the town. Is it," a familiar voice said, prompting the Captain to turn around to find his older brother, Wooden Blade, standing in front of him. The light brown colored unicorn stallion with slicked black hair smiled as he stood there with his fiancé, Sassy Saddles, standing next to him. Behind the two of them was a pair of private security guards. "It's good to see you again, little bro. Long time, no see."

"Yeah," Steel replied. "It has been."

"How you been?"

"I've been better. That's for sure," he said before sighing. "And you?"

"I'm doing alright," Wooden said. "Just finished up a rehearsal today for a play downtown. Figured I'd drop by and say hello to my now famous little brother."

"Is that so?" Steel asked. "Tell me. Would you have come down here to see me if none of this extra publicity happened?"

This question clearly caught the actor off guard as he just looked at him with a surprised expression. Sassy just stood silently by Wooden's side, visibly uncomfortable with how awkward this conversation suddenly became.

"Well. I uh..." the older stallion began to say.

"Exactly," Steel replied. "You wouldn't have. You wouldn't even have thought about it."

"This... is... starting to turn into something that should really be discussed between just the two of you," Sassy said. "I'll... just go wait in the carriage." After saying that, she gave Wooden a peck on his cheek before she and the two security ponies walked away, leaving the two brothers alone.

"Wooden," the younger brother continued. "This is the first time that you and I have spoken since you left for Las Pegasus all those years ago."

"Steel," Wooden began to say. "I just-"

"No!" Steel interrupted while raising a forehoof. "You're gonna listen to what I have to say!" Seeing that, the older brother closed his mouth and just stared silently. "Mom and Dad helped you become what you are. They paid for all of your acting classes. They moved their work schedules around to go visit your plays and performances. They even gave you enough bits to help you get to Las Pegasus! And how do you repay their years of support?"

"Steel. Look. I-"

"Shut it!" the younger brother ordered as he glared at him. "You repaid them by removing both them and me from your life!" he yelled, not caring if others could hear. The red stallion breathed deeply, trying to steady his nerves so he wouldn't lose complete control of himself. "When we heard about your success, we were so happy for you," he continued. "Mom and Dad were so proud. They hoped that you'd come back and visit them or even write them a letter. But you never did. Do you have any idea what that did to them? What that did to me?"

Wooden just stood there and sighed before looking down toward the ground. "No," he softly replied. "No I don't know."

"It broke them!" Steel angrily answered. "They felt as though they weren't good enough for you anymore!"

"Well what about you?" he asked. "Have you visited them at all since you've attained all of this?"

"Well," Steel said. "No. But that's for a completely different reason."

"What do you mean?"

"It's.... complicated," he replied. "But I at least wrote them a letter a few days ago and told them that everything was alright. Which is more than you've done for them!" Once he said that, Steel just silently looked at his brother. He certainly wasn't expecting to have this conversation at all. But now that he was, he wasn't going to hold back. He was going to make sure that his older brother knew exactly how he felt. "You have an easy life, Woody," he continued. "Going to parties. Sleeping with any mare you want. I was honestly surprised when I heard you were settling down with Sassy though. And top it off, you make tons of bits all because you entertain ponies across Equestria. Meanwhile I had to work my flank off to achieve my goals in life. I had to put myself through the Equestrian Merchant Marine Academy by working two jobs. And look at what my efforts got me." He then turned around and pointed at the massive ocean liner behind him. After that, he turned back and faced his brother. "No parties. No mares. Well. Until now, thanks to you. And only a modest salary."

"You think being a celebrity is easy?" Wooden asked.

"Kinda," he bluntly replied.

"Well it isn't," the older one said. "I'm always being hounded by the paparazzi. I can't tell you how many times I've woken up just to find a pegasi journalist peeking through my bedroom window. I never have any privacy in public. And I always have to be nice to everypony. Even on days where I just wanted to strangle the first reporter I saw. Otherwise my reputation would be forever tarnished. It's stressful!" Now it was his turn to take some deep breaths to maintain his control. "Yes the parties are nice," he went on to say. "And having all those memorable nights in bed were amazing. But it just didn't satisfy me anymore. That's why I decided to settle down and get into an exclusive relationship with Sassy. And yes, the bits do keep me in a good living condition. But it all comes at the cost of my sanity!" He then looked at the liner behind his brother. "Granted I have no idea how much that compares to being a Captain. Which I am proud of you for achieving by the way."

"Thanks."

"But just imagine how much harder your life would have been if ponies figured out sooner that you're my brother," he continued. "I saw you and those reporters before you came over here. And I heard about this little citywide hunt for you. I could see that you were at your breaking point already. Trust me when I say that if you saw how many reporters I have to deal with on a daily basis, you'd prefer what you experienced today." He then paused as he looked down once again at the ground. "That's why I stopped talking to you, Mom, and Dad. To protect you all from this."

"Well. You kinda blew that when you told that mare from Passion Print that we're brothers."

"Yeah..." he said while rubbing the back of his head with a forehoof. "That's my bad. I was just so surprised when she said your name that I just accidentally let it slip out." He then cleared his throat. "But hey. Look on the bright side. At least now you'll pretty much guarantee that Mom and Dad will become grandparents someday."

"What about you and Sassy?" Steel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sassy doesn't want kids," he replied. "She made that abundantly clear when we first started dating."

"Fair enough."

"Look. I'm sorry for not being around for you and the family," he continued. "I just wanted to keep you all safe from the annoyances I have to deal with constantly." He then let out a sigh before continuing. "I know that there's probably a part of you that doesn't believe me. And trust me. I'd be in that same position if the roles were reversed. But I'm being sincere here."

Steel sighed heavily after hearing that. Wooden was right though. Part of him did want to tell him to take that apology and shove it. But a bigger part told him that he was still his older brother who seemed to genuinely be sorry for everything between them. After several minutes of silence between the two of them, Steel walked forward until he was directly in front of his brother and gave him a hug.

He could hear him gasp as soon as he did this before he felt him slowly return the hug. After another minute or so of this, both stallions let go of each other.

"So when's the next voyage?" Wooden asked. "It'd be nice to get away for a while. Maybe I'll invite Mom and Dad as well. It'd be a start to my way of making it up to you all."

"That does sound like a good idea. Can't say for certain when the next voyage will be though," Steel replied. "Mareitania's got to be repaired first."

"Repaired?" he asked. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Follow me," the younger brother replied as he turned and started walking to the edge of the dock. As the two stopped at the ledge, Steel gestured down at the magical white shield that stood out on the black painted hull.

"What happened there?" Wooden asked as he gazed at what he was shown.

"It's... a long story, Wooden," he replied. "One that I'm not entirely ready to talk about quite yet."

"How come?"

"You know me," he replied. "I tend to avoid talking about my feelings and bad experiences."

"Yeah. That's true," the older brother said. "You always did do that. But you honestly shouldn't keep something like whatever this is about bottled up inside you." After saying that, a moment of silence passed before the older brother thought of an idea. "You know," he said. "If you want. I know this great psychiatrist in Las Pegasus who can help you. She owes me a favor anyway because I got her a part in a play a few months back."

"I appreciate the offer," Steel replied. "But I can't really go anywhere now. Thanks to your slip up, I'll be stalked by reporters and mares no matter where I go. Celestia knows what I'll have to deal with on upcoming voyages now."

"I've learned to just ignore the paparazzi," Wooden said. "Even if you give them an honest answer, sometimes they'll spin it in any way that would benefit their paper's sales. The mares on the other hoof. That's tricky. Yes you can ignore them as well. But for some strange reason, that just seems to make them want you more. Even though it's well known that me and Sassy are a couple, you wouldn't believe some of the fan mail I receive."

"Exactly," Steel replied. "And that mare from Passion Print. She was clearly flirting with me. Asking me to give her an 'exclusive' and saying 'she'd be glad to show me how talented her tongue was' when I complimented how nice her writing was."

"I suppose those were clever euphemisms," his brother said. "Ginger Delight is definitely one who can be creative at times." He then looked down at his little brother. "Look. Whatever choice you make is something only you can do. And if you need any help or advice, I'll be there for you. I promise. All you have to do is let me know."

"Maybe once everything calms down..." he said. "I'll.... take you up on that offer. Just... not now." This made Wooden tilt his head as he looked at him.

"I understand," he replied. He then gave his brother a light pat on the back. "Let me know if you need anything. I'll be here in Manehattan for the foreseeable future so I won't be far," he said before beginning to walk away. "I'll see you around sometime. Be safe, Steel."

"You too, Wooden," Steel replied as his brother continued walking away. As he watched him pass through the gate, the stallion sighed again before turning and going up the gangway to his ship. "Well," he said in his mind as he stepped aboard his liner. "I definitely wasn't expecting to deal any of this today." Once aboard, he looked around at all of the furniture that was piled up on the starboard side of the room. Some expensive paintings were also on the floor. Clearly no pony had been through to straighten things up. As he looked at all of this, it made his mind flash back to his ship listing dangerously to starboard.

Shaking his head a few times to snap himself out of it, he started walking down the corridor toward a staircase that would help get him up to the boat deck. "Alright, Mareitania," he said as he walked. "Time to get you ready for your trip."

Chapter Two

The next afternoon, Mareitania was once again traveling through the waves of the Equestrian Ocean. Except this time, she was the centerpiece of a small flotilla consisting of her and four powerful ocean going tugs. Three of them were at the front of the liner while the fourth was at her stern to help with maneuvering. Having been on the move since sunrise, the liner was due to arrive in Horseshoe Bay the following day. On board the large vessel, there was only a small skeleton crew consisting of Steel, Port, Chef Michelin, and a few deck ponies.

On the starboard bridge wing, the Captain stood with a cup of freshly made tea as he observed his surroundings. To his right was the Equestrian coastline. Every now and then, he was able to spot a few crowds of ponies watching from the shore. To his left was nothing but open ocean. Something that he wished he could be sailing through without the aid of tugs. From where he was standing, he could see the three cables extending out to their respective tug. It was astounding to him that just the three of them were capable of pulling this enormous liner of his since it usually took between 6 to 10 harbor tugs to do the job in Manehattan.

As he stood there, taking an occasional sip from his cup, something else was also on his mind. That of course being what exactly Princess Sparkle wanted to meet him in Horseshoe Bay for. What kind of development had taken place? Was he in any serious danger? Why would she have had to meet him in Horseshoe Bay? These questions and more continued floating around inside his mind before the feeling of somepony tapping a hoof on his back startled him enough to make him jump and spill his drink.

"Woah!" Port's voice said in response to what had happened. "Sorry Cap. Didn't mean to scare you."

"You're fine, Port," Steel replied after sighing. "Guess I was just lost in my thoughts." He then cleared his throat and looked down at the puddle of tea now on the deck. "How's the rest of our little crew doing?"

"They're doing alright," his friend replied. "They just finished up their lunch. Not much for them to do though other than just sit around and watch the coastline. Chef Michelin said that he'd start preparing supper later on. Though he was complaining about not being able to make his usual meals with how the refrigerators aren't working."

"He always does like to make fancy meals," he said. "Can't really be helped though. No steam means no electricity."

"True," Port replied before looking at his friend. "You doing alright though? I know things are a little weird right now with what happened on the maiden voyage. Not that I can even remember this ship even going out on it. But you definitely have been on edge since you came back."

"Well. You can thank a certain changeling Queen for that," Steel replied. "I haven't had a good night's rest in over a week now."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the green unicorn said in an attempt to comfort his friend. "Maybe your new assignment will help get your mind off of things for a while." This made the Captain sigh once more as he turned to look at his friend. "I got assigned to work on your old ship."

"The Celestia?" he asked. "Ah. She's a good ship. Not as big or as modern as the Mareitania. But she's proven to be reliable."

"Where'd you get assigned to?"

"I... didn't get a reassignment," the red unicorn replied.

"You didn't?" Port asked in a surprised tone. "How come?"

"I guess I'm supposed to be meeting Princess Sparkle once we arrive in Horseshoe Bay."

"Princess Sparkle? What for?"

"I'm not entirely certain," he replied. "But I'm sure it's got something to do with what happened last week."

"I see," Port responded as the two looked out ahead of the liner and tugs. The waters ahead were calm and the sky was clear. Things were proceeding smoothly as the flotilla continued on. Every once in a while, they'd sail by a tiny seaside village. Ponies on fishing boats would wave at them as they passed, some even sailing alongside them for a brief time before going back. There was good reason why they were doing that too. They weren't affected by Chrysalis' magic. So they knew all about the grandeur of this ship. Even though she's only been in service for not even a month, the Mareitania was the pride of Equestria, being the largest and most luxurious ship to ever take to the sea. This made the Captain feel proud because he knew that she was also the fastest, despite no one else knowing it.

"At this speed, we should be at Horseshoe Bay sometime tomorrow morning," Steel said as he looked at his watch.

"Mmhm," Port replied before he started walking toward the steps. "I'm gonna go check on the stern line," he said. "I'll talk to you later, Cap."

"Let me know if you find anything wrong," the Captain said, prompting the green unicorn to silently salute in response before going down the stairs. Once he was alone again, the red stallion turned and walked inside the bridge. Once inside, he closed the door behind him and did the same to the door on the other side. After that, he walked over and stood behind the helm before standing up on his hind legs and placing his forehooves on the large wooden wheel.

As he did this, he couldn't help but feel lucky about everything that he had been through. Not only to survive an attempt on his life by Chrysalis as she tried sinking him and Mareitania. But to also have something else that he wasn't ready to give up yet being taken from him. That being his virginity. Even though it was almost lost to that horrible changeling, he still had that one thing that gave him a sense of purity. This made him breathe a long sigh of relief as he looked through the windows out ahead of the ship.

"We've certainly been through a lot together, girl," he softly said as he tapped a forehoof on the helm. "I can only imagine what else will be in store for us." After saying that, he heard a knock on the wheelhouse door on the starboard side. "Enter," he called out before using his magic to open the door. On the other side was none other than Chef Michelin, Mareitania's Head Chef.

"Good afternoon, Captain," the gryphon said before stepping inside the wheelhouse, pushing a cart filled with sandwiches along with cups of tea and cider.

"Ah. Hello there, Chef Michelin," Steel replied. "What can I do for you?"

"Well. It is more like what I can do for you," he said. "Officer Port said that you may be in need of some refreshments." Steel just simply nodded in response as he lowered himself from the helm and walked over to his friend. "I hope you don't mind peanut butter sandwiches along with either a cup of tea or fresh cider. It's the best I can do given the circumstances of not having any power."

"I don't mind at all," the stallion happily replied as he took hold of a plate as well as a cup of cider. "Thank you for agreeing to come along to provide the crew with meals."

"My pleasure, sir," the gryphon said while taking hold of a sandwich and cup of tea as well. "It would have been impolite of me not to." This made Steel smile as the two clinked their cups of tea together before each of them took a sip. "Besides. I feel as though I owed some sort of debt to you. I can't quite put a claw on it though. But there's been this nagging feeling in my mind for over a week now."

"Yeah," the stallion replied. "Lets just say that you and Dotted got into an argument over some cake on the maiden voyage. And I got kinda got caught in the crossfire so to speak."

"Really?" he asked with a puzzled expression on his face. "I'd think I'd remember something like that."

"Mmhm," the Captain replied. "I'm sure changeling magic will do that to you."

"Changeling magic?"

"Why do you think Mareitania is in need of repairs even though every creature aside from me has no recollection of her ever going to sea?" Upon hearing that, Michelin rubbed a claw under his beak as he pondered the situation. His eyes then grew wide upon realizing what the pony was talking about.

"So that's why I ended up in that field outside of Ponyville," he softly said before taking another sip from his cup.

"Exactly," the pony replied.

"Well," the gryphon said. "I shall go and see if the others would like some refreshments. I'll talk to you later, sir." And with that said, Chef Michelin turned his cart around and walked out of the wheelhouse. Once alone again, Steel walked forward between the engine telegraphs and simply stared out the bridge windows as the flotilla continued on.

Several hours passed by before Celestia's sun disappeared and gave way to Luna's moonlight. With no electricity, the large liner seemed like a ghost ship as it was pulled along by the tugs. No navigation lights. No brightly lit cabins. And the decks just sat empty. With the majority of the small crew aboard having already turned in for the night, Steel was alone on the port side bridge wing. As he stood there, he could sometimes make out the lights of another liner far off in the distance. The stallion truly wished that his vessel could be doing that right now instead of being towed. But it was something that he sadly couldn't do anything about.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have stopped her," the stallion said as though he was talking to the very ship he was on. "If I could've, you wouldn't have to be having to get repaired." After saying that, he gently tapped his hoof on the railing and sighed. "At least you're not on the bottom of the Equestrian right now."

"Cap?" Port asked from the deck below. "Cap. You up there?"

"Yes," he replied before turning around and going to the other side of the wing, looking over the railing at his friend. "What is it, Port?"

"I've just finished inspecting each of the tow lines," he answered before letting out a yawn. "All four looked good to me."

"Understood."

"I'm gonna turn in," the green stallion continued to say. "Things are going to be busy tomorrow when we arrive in Horseshoe Bay."

"Yeah," Steel replied. "I'll be heading that way myself soon."

"Have a good night, sir," he said before saluting, earning one back from the Captain. Once that was done, Port turned and walked away, disappearing through a door.

Steel looked on as a green glow could be seen, presumably his friend using his magic to see where he was going. Turning back to look out ahead of the liner, a yawn soon escaped from his mouth.

"Suppose I should try and get some rest as well," he said to himself as he turned and walked into the wheelhouse. Once inside, he closed the door behind him before doing the same to the door on the starboard side. Inside the wheelhouse, Steel had laid down a mat along with a pillow and blanket just behind the helm. Even though he was on board an ocean liner with hundreds of empty cabins that he could have chosen to sleep in, it just wouldn't have felt right. The Captain always sleeps near the bridge. As he walked toward the mat, he looked over at the door that led into his hopefully soon to be old cabin. The green colored magic that had once enveloped the perimeter had been dispelled by Twilight after they arrived back in Manehattan.

Ever since then, he couldn't look inside without being flooded with memories of what went down in that room. So to avoid it, he had the door closed and even placed a 'Do Not Enter' sign on it. As he laid down on the mat, he turned over on his back and just looked up at the ceiling. He could feel the ship gently rocking side to side while it moved through the waves. As he laid there, a big yawn escaped from his mouth.

"Hopefully these repairs don't take too long," he said to himself. "But at the same time, I don't want it rushed either." After saying that, he began thinking about what would happen once they arrived in Horseshoe Bay the next day. Princess Twilight would be waiting for him there. For what purpose though? What kind of development had happened? As his eyes slowly closed, those thoughts faded away until the only sounds that could be heard were the waves and the occasional groaning of Mareitania's hull. Soon, another yawn escaped from him before he felt himself drift off into slumber.

The next morning, Steel was once again out on the bridge wing along with Port and Chef Michelin. The journey was nearing its end as the shores of Horseshoe Bay were just miles away. Along the shore, crowds of ponies could be seen while dozens of pegasi reporters flew overhead with their cameras flashing. This was an event that deserved to be recorded for the seaside village. The pride of the Clydesdale Shipyard was returning for some time in the dry dock for repairs even though she was still pretty much a brand new ship.

As the ship neared the mouth of the bay, the destination of her journey came into view. The large gantry of the Clydesdale Shipyard stood out significantly among the tiny homes of the residents at the far end of the bay. Just last year, Mareitania was just an empty shell inside one of the two slipways of the giant gantry. Now she was returning to the place of her birth. Only this time for urgent repairs that would no doubt result in a lengthy stay.

The crowds of spectating ponies cheered and waved as the large liner passed by. Seeing this, the small crew aboard the ship waved back.

"Quite the turnout. Right Cap?" Port said as he waved to the ponies ashore.

"You can say that again," Steel replied. "These ponies certainly cherish this ship as much as we do. Maybe even more since they're the ones who built her."

Soon, the flotilla entered the bay. Upon doing so, they were greeted by a small fleet of eight harbor tugs that would take over the tow from the larger salvage tugs. Like clockwork, the lines were cast off from the four to the eight. Once completed, the larger tugs pulled off but remained close in case they were needed for assistance. As the smaller tugs took up the strain of pulling the near 32,000 tons of deadweight that was the Mareitania, they positioned her in a way where the dry dock that she'd be placed within would be directly ahead.

On the shore, Steel could see that the dock had a set of railroad tracks on both sides. And on each track was a pair of small tank engines. But there was also something that he wasn't expecting to see. Positioned all around the drydock looked to be a squadron of the Royal Guard. Each one of them, with spear in possession, were standing so still that they could easily be mistaken for statues.

"Why are there so many guard ponies here?" Port asked as the liner was on final approach to the dock.

"Probably because Princess Twilight is here, I guess," Steel replied.

"Oh yeah," the green stallion replied. "I forgot you mentioned she was meeting you here."

"So how exactly are we going to get in there?" Chef Michelin asked as he gazed at the awaiting tank engines. "Are those engines going to help?"

"That's exactly what they're going to do," the Captain answered before pointing a hoof out directly ahead of the ship. "Since the drydock is too narrow for both the tugs and Mareitania to be inside at the same time, those locomotives will act in their place." He then rubbed a hoof under his muzzle as he looked at the size of them. They looked no bigger than a regular carriage. "So as they help to guide us in, we'll also keep a couple of tugs connected to the stern to help stop. Don't want to ram the other end of the dock and damage her anymore than she already is."

"Fascinating," the gryphon said while the tugs at the bow did exactly as Steel said they would and released their lines while getting out of the way of the large liner. The ship was then brought to a halt by the remaining tugs as lines were connected between the locomotives and the liner. Once complete, the little steam engines started to reverse. From his vantage point on the starboard bridge wing, Steel could see that the small locomotives were struggling to get the ship moving. Their small pistons were moving and sparks could be seen coming from their wheels. But even with the power of all four of them pulling, Mareitania remained still. Eventually, some of the tugs began pushing on the stern which in turn got the liner moving forward into the dock.

As the ship began to enter, Port decided to go monitor the activity at the stern while Michelin walked away to gather his equipment that he brought to make meals. Now alone on the wing, Steel walked over to the edge of the railing and looked over the side. It didn't take him long to spot a familiar face on the ground below. Princess Twilight Sparkle was standing next to the tracks as she observed the procedure. Standing next to her was a bigger white colored stallion with dark blue hair. He stood out among the other guards as his armor was painted purple. As the liner slowly continued into the dock, the purple alicorn looked up and waved at the Captain, who happily waved back to her. Seeing that, she stretched out her wings and took to the air.

"Ahoy Captain!" she called out as she flew up to the wing. Once she was at the same level as he was, she hovered there and smiled. "Permission to come aboard?"

"Permission granted," Steel replied with a smile. "Welcome aboard." Upon hearing that, Twilight nodded before moving over the railing and landing on the wing. Once her hooves were on the wooden floor, she folded her wings and wiped a bit of sweat off of her forehead.

"It's good to see you again, Captain Blade," she said as she stood in front of him.

"I can say the same to you, Princess Sparkle," the stallion replied before bowing.

"Please. We've been over this," she said. "Just call me Twilight."

"Sorry," he replied as he stood back up. "Old habits die hard." This made her giggle softly as she looked around at his ship.

"How was the journey here?" she asked before looking back at him.

"It was good," he replied. "Would rather have done it under our own steam instead of being towed. But it is what it is."

"I can understand that," she said. "Well. At least you made it here safely without any complications." Soon, they felt the liner begin to slow as the remaining tugs at the stern reversed their engines to stop the massive ship. Looking at the locomotives on shore, Steel could see that they all have stopped pulling as the lines between them had gone slack. As the two ponies on the wing looked on, Mareitania was brought to a halt. With the lines on the stern being cast off, the large gate that would keep the water out of the dock was slowly closed behind the ship.

"Seems everything is secure now," the stallion said as he watched a group of ponies pushing a gangway toward the ship to let his small crew get off. As that was going on, another thought quickly came into his mind. "So why exactly did you need to meet me here?" he asked while turning to face her.

"Well," she replied. "As I stated in my scroll that I left for your boss to give to you. There's been a development. One that would put you at great risk if we didn't do anything about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Chrysalis knows you and your ship survived," she bluntly replied. This just made the stallion's eyes widen in horror. While he appreciated the Princess not sugarcoating her words, they still instilled a feeling of fear and dread. However, he wasn't too surprised as he had suspected this would happen. The extra publicity that every newspaper in the country gave to him and Mareitania was bound to find a way to the changeling Queen eventually.

"H-H-How exactly do you know this?" he asked, visibly shaken by what the alicorn said.

"I'd rather not answer that here," she replied as she reached out and gently placed a hoof on his back in an effort to calm him down. After a few minutes, he settled down and cleared his throat. "We'll talk about that when we go to meet Princess Celestia and King Thorax in Canterlot."

"Canterlot?" he asked. "That's quite the trip from here."

"Yes," she said. "Shouldn't take us too long to get there though."

"I suppose," he replied. "Should be just about a day's worth of riding a train to get there."

"We're not taking the train there," she replied before giggling softly. "We'll teleport there."

"Teleport?" he asked. "I've never teleported that far before."

"Don't worry," she replied in a reassuring tone. "I'll handle that for you."

"Alright," he said as the water inside the dock started getting pumped out. The process for draining the dock would take a while as the liner would have to be positioned perfectly on the keel blocks below in order for there not to be any unnecessary strain on the hull. "So I suppose we'll be on our way then?" he asked while watching the water being pumped out into the bay.

"Yes," she replied. "Just let me know when you're ready to go."

"Alright," he said. "Give me a few minutes then." After saying that, he turned around and walked into the wheelhouse. As he looked at the door leading into his cabin, he sighed and shook his head a couple times before opening it. "Might as well take one final look before it gets changed," he said in his mind as he stepped forward and entered the room. Once inside, his eyes slowly drifted around the room. He made sure that all of his personal belongings were taken out of the room before the ship left Manehattan. But soon, his eyes stopped and focused on the bed.

"Just relax," Chrysalis' voice echoed through his mind as the memory of what happened on that bed flooded into his mind. "Don't fight it. And let it happen." The stallion's eyes were clenched shut as he stood there, visibly shaking.

"Stop... it..." he softly said as his mind continued playing out the memory.

"I can't wait to feel you fertilize my eggs and create a new generation of changelings," her voice continued. "In fact. Why don't we find out just how good that would feel."

"No!" he shouted as his eyes shot open. He then looked down toward the floor as he breathed heavily. Thankfully, the sound of the activity happening outside drowned out his shouting. "It's all in your head now, Steel," he said to himself. "It's all... in your head." Soon, he took a few steps backward and closed the door. Once it was shut, he stood there and took in another deep breath, gaining his composure before looking at his sword, which was leaned up against the wall in its scabbard. Taking it out of the sheath, he looked at the polished steel. When he saw his reflection, he sighed softly before putting it back and securing the weapon around his body.

Tightening up the strap around him, he took one final look around the bridge. The brass on the engine telegraphs glistened in the light of the sun. Seeing that, he inhaled deeply once again and gulped before a smile formed on his face. It was as if his own ship was showing off her beauty to help cheer him up. And it was working as he walked over to the helm before gently patting it a few times.

"Port! Are you around?" he called out, gaining his First Officer's attention as he was outside on the port wing.

"Yeah, Cap?" he asked, looking in from the doorway on that side.

"I'm putting you in charge of the rest of the operation," the Captain said. "Make sure she'll be fine before you leave. Alright?"

"Aye, Captain," he replied before saluting. "Where are you going?"

"Princess Twilight and I are going to be on our way to Canterlot," Steel replied. "And we'll be leaving now."

"Understood," the green unicorn said. "Safe travels. And I'll see you back here when the repairs are finished." Upon hearing that, Steel nodded and saluted back before exiting out to the starboard wing. When he stepped out, he spotted Twilight looking over the railing at what was happening below. Upon hearing his hoofsteps, she turned around and faced him.

"Ready to go, Captain?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "And please. Just call me Steel." This made a smile appear on her face as her horn began to glow. As this was happening, Steel took one final look at his ship. "See you soon, Mareitania," he said in his mind before the two of them disappeared in a bright purple flash of magic.

It was only a few seconds before the two would reappear inside the main throne room of the royal castle in Canterlot. This was the farthest that the stallion had ever been teleported. So naturally, it took him a bit longer to gather his bearings than it took for her.

"Ah. There you two are," a familiar voice said, making the Captain immediately freeze up upon hearing. Turning to his left, his eyes soon rested on the ruler of all of Equestria, the Princess of the Sun, Princess Celestia. The white alicorn was perched upon her throne like the gracious leader she was.

"Your highness!" the stallion blurted before he quickly bowed in front of her.

"Captain Blade," she said in a warm and inviting tone. "It is good to finally meet you."

"Th-th-thank you, Princess," he stuttered. "It is an honor to meet you as well." As he looked up at her, Celestia simply smiled as she stood up and began walking toward him.

"You've been through so much, Captain," she said as she walked. "More than you've probably ever imagined having to go through." Upon saying that, she stopped in front of him, looking down with warmth and comfort in those beautiful eyes of hers. "And yet here you are."

"Well. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Twilight and her friends."

"Yes," she replied before stopping in front of him and the younger alicorn. "Captain Broadside briefed me on what had happened out in the Equestrian Ocean."

"I'm just glad we just so happened to be in the right place at the right time," Twilight added. "Which is why we don't want to leave your fate to chance again if we can help it."

"What do you mean?" Steel asked.

"I'm sure Twilight has already told you about Chrysalis knowing you survived. Right?" the elder alicorn asked.

"Yes," he replied while looking up at her. "She told me. But. How do you both know that?"

"I can answer that question," a new voice replied from behind the Princess. As she stepped aside, Steel saw a strange looking creature along with a smaller one of similar appearance. They both looked like a fusion of ponies and bugs. The taller one was a shade of green and orange with orange antlers and purple colored eyes. The smaller one was a shade of dark gray with white colored eyes.

"Steel," Twilight said. "I'd like for you to meet King Thorax of the new Changeling Hive." Once he heard that name, Steel's mind flashed back to Chrysalis when she said it. The way she said it though was clear that she despised him.

"King Thorax? So you're the one who took over her hive?" the stallion asked.

"Yes," he replied. "It's been challenging. I've been learning 'on the fly' as it is referred to."

"I know that feeling," Steel said. "Trying to be a Captain when you had zero experience in that role before is hard. Probably not as hard as being a King I'd imagine." Thorax silently nodded in response. "Something I'm glad to not be experiencing for myself."

"Anyways," the bigger changeling continued. "The reason why we know that Chrysalis knows about you and your ship surviving is because one of the changelings who were there with you has now decided to reform himself." After saying that, he allowed the smaller changeling to step forward. "I believe the two of you know each other."

"Greetings, Captain," the smaller changeling said in a familiar voice. When he heard that, the identity of this gray colored changeling instantly came to mind for the stallion.

"Scythe?" he asked. "Is that you?"

"Yes," the changeling replied. "It's me."

"So you decided to switch sides, eh?" the stallion asked. "Why?"

"To tell you the truth," Scythe began to say. "This was something I've thought about doing for a long time. Long before we did what we did to you and your ship. I've grown frustrated with how I was treated by the others. Before we tried to take over your ship and convert it into a mobile hive, the others always treated me like I was beneath them. Giving me ridiculous assignments and having me perform humiliating roles."

"Like what?"

"Well," he continued. "Before I tried impersonating your boss, I was assigned the role of pretending to be Princess Sparkle's little dragon."

"Spike?" the young alicorn asked.

"Yes," he answered. "It was their way of making me feel smaller than them." He then walked forward and stopped in front of Steel. "Anyways. Chrysalis found out about your survival the moment you and your ship arrived back in Manehattan. She was there. Watching you among the rest of the ponies there. And when she returned to us, all she talked about was you. How she would not stop until she had you in her hooves once again. How she would get you to be her King. And how she wouldn't 'take no for an answer this time'." When he heard what the reformed changeling said, the stallion began to shudder at the mere thought of Chrysalis forcing herself upon him. "That's when I decided that enough was enough," he continued. "So a couple days ago, when she and the others were sleeping, I snuck away and returned to King Thorax to begin redeeming myself. Now I'm looking forward to paying my debt to society by helping to track her down."

As Steel listened to what the reformed changeling had to say, he still couldn't help but shake as his brain was running wild with thoughts of what she'd do to him if she caught him again.

"No..." he softly said while standing there, visibly trembling. Seeing this reaction, both Celestia and Twilight just silently looked at each other. The horror that Chrysalis must've put him through was clearly still affecting him, though neither one knew just what exactly happened. In an effort to calm the Captain down, Twilight moved beside him and draped her right wing over his back. It seemed to work as his trembling slowly faded as his breathing returned to a normal pace.

"It's okay, Steel," she said in a comforting tone. "We won't let anything bad happen to you."

"How?" he asked. "She can literally disguise herself as anything! She could be anywhere!"

"I know," she replied. "That's why I came up with a plan to send you somewhere that I know with 100% certainty that she can't get to you."

"Huh?"

"I'll explain it when we go to Ponyville," she continued. "But it's the only way that we can guarantee your safety while we track her down and bring her to justice."

"I can agree with that," Celestia added. "Twilight has gone over the plan with me. And I must say that it truly is your best option."

"But what about the Mareitania?" Steel asked. "I can only imagine that if Chrysalis was determined to find me, the first place she'd look is there."

"I'm sure you've seen the squadron of guards that I've deployed to Horseshoe Bay. Rest assured that they are some of the best of the best," the elder alicorn answered. "And to make sure that your ship will be truly protected, I've asked Shining Armor to deploy a protective shield around it with the only opening being a changeling checkpoint. If Chrysalis or any of her remaining followers try to enter, they will be found out and caught."

As he processed what she was saying, Steel could only imagine the sight of Mareitania being under a magical shield. He knew that the stallion she mentioned had performed much bigger shields in the past. One that even enveloped the entire city of Canterlot. So a shield around his liner shouldn't be too much to ask for.

"Alright," he said. "It seems you've thought of everything then."

"I can assure you that these actions have been taken with your safety being our top priority," Twilight replied. "And with Scythe helping us by giving information on where her usual hiding spots are and what disguises she regularly uses, it hopefully shouldn't be long for us to track her down."

"And.... what about my family?" he asked. "Are they in any danger? Are you doing anything to protect them?"

"We've taken that into consideration," Thorax replied. "And that's why I volunteered to help keep them safe. Your parents have already been informed and will be temporarily relocated to the Crystal Empire for protection. As for your brother and his fiancé, I was told that they've been briefed on the situation. They'll also be going there as well." The stallion could only imagine the reaction his older brother had to finding out about this.

"Thank you," he said. "I'm grateful for that."

"Think of it as my way of repaying you for not joining her," Thorax replied. "I'm sure that she tempted you with all kinds of things. I'm glad to see that you didn't succumb to your urges."

"Was there any other questions you'd like to ask?" Celestia asked. When he heard that, Steel rubbed a hoof under his chin in thought before one important question came to mind.

"How long will I be gone for?"

"We're not entirely sure," Twilight replied. "It could be a few days. A few weeks. Even a few months. It all depends on how quickly we can track down Chrysalis and capture her."

"And what if Mareitania is ready to go before you manage to get her?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," she replied. "I'm hoping to have her captured before that happens though."

"Alright," he said. "I can't think of any other questions."

"Very well," Celestia said. "Then we will let the two of you leave. Once he is safe, we'll wait for you and your friends to return before we begin the search for Chrysalis."

"Understood," Twilight replied.

"Be safe, Steel," the elder alicorn said as she looked down at him. "I look forward to speaking with you again when it is safe for you to return."

"Thank you, Princess Celestia," he replied before bowing again. Once he got back up, he looked up and saw her give a warm smile before she turned around and started walking away, leaving him and Twilight alone.

"Alright," the purple alicorn said as her horn lit up once again. "Hang on!" After saying that, the two of them disappeared in a flash of magic once again.

Like before, it only took a few seconds to travel from the throne room in Canterlot to the front of Princess Twilight's castle in Ponyville. Once he was able to see clearly, Steel simply gazed up at the structure in front of him. It looked to be an entire castle built on top of a tree made of crystal.

"Wow," he said while looking on. Even though he's seen pictures of this castle in newspapers and magazines, this was the first time he saw it in real life. Meanwhile, Twilight was amused at his reaction to seeing her castle. But there was more important things to be doing. So to snap him out of his self-induced trance, she waved a hoof in front of his face. Once she did this, he blinked a few times before shaking his head as his cheeks turned a brighter shade of red. "Sorry," he said while rubbing the back of his head and grinning sheepishly.

"You're fine," she replied. "Trust me. That's not the first time I've had to do that. And won't be the last either." After saying that, she climbed the steps and opened the main door before going inside, prompting Steel to follow her in. Once inside, she closed the doors behind him. "Welcome to my castle," she said as she began to go up the spiral staircase that likely went up to the main portion of the castle.

"Quite the place you have here," he replied as he followed her.

"It certainly took some time to get used to. That's for sure," she said as they kept going. As the two climbed though, Steel kept thinking about this place that he'd be going to. How was it that she could guarantee his safety with a place that Chrysalis couldn't get to? How long would he be there? These questions and more kept flowing through his mind until they reached the top of the stairs. Once there, they were greeted by Starlight Glimmer who was waiting for them with a tray holding three mugs of fresh apple cider.

"Glad to see you again, Captain Blade," the unicorn mare said as she placed the tray on a nearby stand. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Thank you," he replied. "And please. Just call me Steel." This made the mare smile in response. "How have you been?"

"I'm doing alright," she said before sighing softly. "Mostly just been hanging around here."

"I see."

"I hear that your ship is being repaired now," she continued before using her magic to levitate a mug of cider over to him. "How long do you think that's going to take?"

"I'm not certain," the stallion replied while taking hold of the mug with his own magic. "Probably a month or so at the very least. She's got quite the list of repairs needing to be done. Along with some... modifications as well."

"What kind of modifications?"

"Mainly just a personal request from me," he said. "I'm hoping to get some new quarters made." This answer made her raise an eyebrow as it was something she wasn't expecting to hear.

"Why would you need that?"

"It's...." he began to say before the memory of what happened in his cabin that night started flowing into his mind again. As a result, his body began to shudder as he clenched his eyes shut while looking away from the two mares in front of him.

"Are you okay, Steel?" Twilight asked as she placed a hoof on his back. Sensing this, the stallion's shuddering slowly stopped as he breathed deeply to steady his nerves.

"I'm.... fine," he replied.

"Are you sure?" the alicorn asked. "I mean. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But you're clearly experiencing some emotional trauma."

"I'm... alright," he said before taking one final deep breath as he repressed the memory. He then turned his head to look back at Starlight. "It's... personal. But it's something that I need to have done." After saying that, he brought his mug up to his lips and chugged down the entire liquid content inside in one go. Once finished, he looked back at the two mares who just stood there with their respective mouths agape as they held their mugs. "What?" he asked while looking at them. "Did I spill some?"

"I've never seen anypony drink a mug of cider that fast," Starlight said as she looked at him.

"You'd definitely give Applejack a run for her bits in a drinking contest," Twilight added.

"I'd honestly like to see that now that you mentioned it," the light purple unicorn replied. "A sailor against a farmer. Now that's something to see." This just made Steel chuckle as he placed his mug back on the tray.

"Maybe when things get settled down," he said, making the two mares nod before they drank out of their mugs.

"Well," Starlight said after finishing hers. "I'd love to stay and see you off. But I promised Trixie I'd help her with preparing for an upcoming magic show." After saying that, she placed her mug on the tray and looked at Twilight. "I'll hopefully be back before you come back. If not, I'll be at Trixie's wagon."

"Alright," Twilight replied as the unicorn mare stepped forward. Once she was in front of the stallion, she stopped and proceeded to give him a hug.

"Don't worry," she said into his ear. "I'm sure this place you're going to will be fine. And... if you ever need somepony to talk to. I'm here for you."

"Thank you," he replied as he returned the hug. Once they finished, Starlight stepped back and gave him a reassuring smile before she lit up her horn, disappearing in a flash of turquoise colored magic. As Twilight finished her mug, the stallion looked around at the interior of her castle. It reminded him of the corridors of his ship as many doors lined the hallway.

"Alright," she said after putting her mug on the tray and then making it all disappear. "Let's get going."

"Sounds good," he replied, making her nod as she turned and started walking with the stallion walking beside her.

"How are you feeling about all of this, Steel?" she asked as they walked. "I'm sure that it's a lot to take in all at once."

"I mean. Yeah. It's a lot to adjust to," he replied. "I've gone from commanding the largest ship in all of Equestria to now worrying that Chrysalis is gonna jump out of nowhere and try to finish what she started."

"I can understand that," she replied. "You definitely weren't expecting to have all of this thrusted upon you." The stallion just nodded silently as they continued walking. "It's good to see that you seem to be holding up well though, despite the emotional scars that you have."

"Well. I've got you and your friends to thank for that," he said. "Had you all not shown up and did what you did. I wouldn't be standing here today. And even though we've only interacted with each other for just over a week, I'd like to think that I made many new friends out of this situation."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," the alicorn replied as they walked. "I can say that the girls and I feel the same way." Hearing this made him smile as the two continued walking.

"So is there anything that you can tell me about this place I'm going to?" he asked. "Anything at all?"

"All I can say is that you most likely will have some trouble getting used to it," she answered. This made him raise an eyebrow as he looked at her while they walked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's difficult to explain," she replied. "It's similar to here. But yet is completely different. It's something that you'll have to experience for yourself to understand."

"I see," he said before she stopped and opened a door that led into a room. This confused the stallion even more as he was beginning to wonder just what exactly she had in store for him. As she stepped inside, he looked in to find that it looked to be a library complete with bookshelves mounted into the walls along with a few tables as well. But his eyes then landed on what appeared to be a large mirror on a platform. Behind it was some kind of strange contraption with cables hooked up to the mirror itself. And sitting above it on a shelf was a single book. "What's that?" he asked, making her stop in front of it and look back at him with a smile.

"This is where you'll be going," she replied before gesturing toward the mirror.

"I... don't understand," he said as he stepped into the room. "Isn't that just a mirror?"

"I know that's what it looks like," she said. "But this is actually a gateway to a different universe. One that's similar to this one. Yet is completely different than any place you've been to." After saying that, she used her magic to push down a lever on the contraption. With his eyes widened in amazement, he watched as streams of pink colored magic were seen flowing from the book and into the machine before they went directly into the mirror. The glass portion then flashed pink for a few seconds before returning to its original state.

"I've never seen anything like this before," he said as he approached. "I didn't think anything like this even existed."

"First time for everything," she replied before giggling.

"And this place," he continued. "It's safe?"

"Of course!" she replied. "I wouldn't send you anywhere that wasn't safe."

"I suppose so," he said as she walked up in front of it.

"See you on the other side," she said as she continued walking forward. He looked on as she then disappeared into the glass without the slightest bit of hesitation. Instinctively, the stallion looked around behind the mirror. But he didn't find any signs of her. Seeing that, he walked back around and stood in front of the 'glass'. As he looked at his reflection, he tilted his head before reaching out with a hoof. Once his hoof made contact, it just rippled as if he had just stepped into a puddle.

"That's... interesting," he said as he pulled his hoof away, making the rippling effect stop. He then breathed deeply as he calmed his nerves down. He then looked at his reflection one final time before tightening the strap securing the blade to his side and straightened up his uniform. "Well," he said softly. "Here goes nothing." And with that said, he slowly stepped forward and disappeared into the portal.

Chapter Three

Upon stepping into the portal, the stallion found himself swirling through some kind of rainbow colored vortex. He cried out in horror as he was spun around again and again, not knowing what else was going to happen or where he was going to inevitably end up. After another minute or so, he was blinded by a bright flash of light before he could feel himself flying through the air until he landed with a thud on something warm and solid. When he opened his eyes, his vision was blurred as a result of the bright flash. All he could make out at the moment was a blue sky, some buildings, and green grass.

"Ah!" he heard Twilight's voice exclaim from somewhere outside his distorted field of vision. "There he is. I was starting to think something went wrong."

The response she got from him was one of pain and discomfort as he laid still on the hard ground.

"Is... he... alright?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

"I'm sure he's fine," Twilight answered as his vision slowly began to return, only to be seeing double of everything at first. As this was happening, he could feel something come up beside him. But he still couldn't really tell what all was going on. "That first trip through the portal is tough. You and I both know that."

"I don't know about that," the second voice replied. "My first trip through was actually pretty easy." As their conversation went on, the Captain's vision improved to the point where he could see that he was laying on a concrete sidewalk with a large building in front of him that resembled that of a school.

"Where... am... I?" he asked softly before feeling something new. Something... strange. As he brought what he thought would be his right hoof up to his field of vision, he noticed the white sleeve of his uniform. Though it seemed to be longer than he remembered. But as his eyes slowly went down the length of it to where he was expecting to find his red colored hoof, what he saw would soon make him experience a mixture of both shock and horror as this... thing on the end of his limb was something he'd never seen before.

It looked similar to that of a gryphon's claw. Only this thing was different as it was covered in light tan colored skin and was branching off in five different directions at the end.

"What in.. Celestia's name.. am I?" he said as he saw the same thing on his left limb.

"It's alright, Steel," Twilight's voice said, making him turn his head in the direction the voice came from to find a creature that strangely appeared to be similar to the Princess. Though this creature was standing on two legs. Purple colored skin, purple colored eyes with long purple hair accompanied with a pink streak. Wearing a light blue buttoned-up shirt with a pink bowtie along with a purple skirt which bore the royal cutie mark.

"Princess... Twilight?" he asked in a clearly confused tone. "Is that you?"

"Yes," she answered with a friendly smile on her face. "It's me."

"What.. are we?" he asked before looking back down at his newly acquired appendages.

"In this world, we're known as humans," she answered before kneeling down and helping him up. "I did tell you that it would be easier to experience this for yourself rather than have me try to explain it." Once he was upright, or at least this world's version of it, he struggled to maintain balance. It wasn't the first time he's stood on two legs though. But normally, it would be because he was propped up on something like a railing or something else that would keep him that way.

"Humans?" he repeated. Twilight just silently nodded in response.

"In this world, humans are the dominant species," she said as she gestured around at other humans who were just casually walking around. "Yes. There are ponies in this world too. But they're... different than back in Equestria. These ones don't talk."

"I... see...." Steel replied as he tried to take a step forward, only to stumble and fall forward. But thanks to the quick reaction time of the transformed Princess, she was able to catch him and keep him from falling. "Thank you," he said as she held on to him until he regained his balance.

"Anytime," she said with a smile before taking a step back.

"Don't worry," the second unfamiliar voice said. "You'll get the hang of it soon enough." After hearing that, another human walked into his view. This one had light orange colored skin with red and yellow striped hair and light teal colored eyes. Unlike Twilight, she was wearing a black leather jacket with orange stripes on the sleeves along with a light blue top underneath. Around her neck, he could see an orange pendant with a symbol that he had never seen before. Looking down, he saw that her legs were covered by some blue pants and she was also wearing black colored boots with matching orange stripes.

"Steel," Twilight said as the other human stopped beside her. "I'd like for you to meet one of my friends in this world. Sunset Shimmer." She then turned to look at her friend. "Sunset. This is Steel Blade."

"Nice to meet you," she said while giving him a look over.

"Nice to meet you too," he replied.

"Twilight told me a little bit about you," she continued. "You're really a Captain, huh?"

"Yes," he answered. "Captain of the EMS Mareitania. The largest, fastest, and most luxurious ocean liner in all of Equestria."

"EMS?" she asked. "Forgive me for asking. But uh... what's that stand for?"

"Equestrian Merchant Steamship."

"I thought so," she replied. "Just took me a bit to remember. You definitely look like a Captain though with that uniform." Hearing that, Steel looked down to see that his white uniform jacket had adapted to his new body. He even had a red shirt underneath that matched his red fur back in Equestria. Around his body, he recognized the black strap that would secure the sword to his back. And judging from the amount of weight, he knew his sword was there too. Further down, he was wearing a set of white colored pants with a black belt as well as wearing black shoes. Seeing all of this gave him a sense of pride as he reached upward. Doing this, he felt the brim of his hat. Feeling that gave him some relief as he was worried that it didn't survive the trip. But as he felt the top of his head, he noticed something missing.

"Oh. Right," Twilight said, making him look at her as a shade of red could be seen on her cheeks. "I... forgot to mention that your horn would be gone too. Sorry."

"So this world doesn't have magic?" he asked, looking between the two of them.

"Well," Sunset replied. "Yes. And no. It's... hard to explain. All I can say is that this world does have some magic. But it's limited."

"I... see...."

"It's nothing to worry about though," Twilight added. "And you hopefully won't be here long enough to develop any sort of setback when it comes to using magic back in Equestria."

"Hopefully," he said as he held his limbs out toward them, wiggling the new extremities as well. "So what exactly are these?"

"Hands," Sunset answered. "You'll get used to having them soon. Think of how gryphons and dragons use their claws."

"I figured that," he replied as he looked closely at them.

"And those things on the ends of your legs are called feet," the transformed Princess added, making him look down at them.

"Fascinating."

"We'll probably have to take you shopping to get you some different clothes though," Sunset said, making him look up at her. "Right now, that uniform of yours makes you stick out worse than a sore thumb."

"A sore what?" he asked in a confused tone.

"It's an expression," she answered. "It means you stand out more than you probably should." Hearing that, Steel glanced at his clothes before looking at what the other two were wearing. As he was doing this, he noticed Sunset staring at him. Or more specifically, the sword strapped to his back. "What's that thing on your back?"

"It's just my sword," he answered in a casual tone. "Something I always try to keep with me."

"Well. Given your name, that's not surprising," she replied. But the look she now had on her face was signaling to him that she was about to say something that he didn't want to hear.

"Is... something wrong with that?"

"It's... just... that... I don't think you can keep that here."

"What?!" he blurted out, startling both her and the Princess. "Why not?!"

"Steel! Calm down!" Twilight quietly ordered as Sunset was frantically looking around, making sure that no one was watching them. Luckily, it seemed that the others walking by weren't paying attention to the outburst.

"Let me explain why," Sunset said after looking back toward him. "Look. Things are different here than they are back in Equestria. I'm sure back there, ponies wouldn't have said a word if you brought that into a store with you. Right?"

"I haven't heard any complaints about it before," he answered.

"Exactly," she said. "Because they probably knew who you were and could trust you with it. But here, things are different. For example. If you went into say... a store or a restaurant with that strapped to your back, you'd not only get people screaming in terror, but also be having police coming and placing you under arrest."

"Under arrest?" he asked. "For what?"

"I don't know the exact name of what it is," she answered. "But it isn't a good thing, regardless of what it's called. Especially for someone like you who has no form of identification. It's something you really don't want to go through. Trust me."

This made the transformed stallion pause and think as he looked down at the concrete. What she was saying, as well as the tone of her voice, made him believe that she had gone through a similar experience to what he'd go through should he be on the wrong side of the law. Back in Equestria, he had no problems with the local law enforcement. But here, things definitely sounded different.

"Don't worry, Steel," Twilight said in a comforting tone as she laid a hand on his arm. "I'll make sure that it's kept nice and safe for you in the castle." The transformed Captain just nodded silently in response before attempting to undo the strap around his body. But trying to use these new appendages of his didn't work.

"Here," Sunset said while walking up to him. "Let me help you with that." After saying that, she helped to loosen the strap enough to where she could lift the scabbard up and over him. "Wow," she grunted while bringing it back down. "This thing's got some weight to it." She then looked at him. "How do you manage to carry this thing around all the time?"

"You get used to it," he answered.

"Do you mind if I... take a look at it?" she asked.

"Go ahead," he replied. Once she heard that, she nodded and proceeded to take the sword out of the scabbard. As soon as the sunlight hit the polished metal, the woman could see her reflection.

"Sweet... Celestia..." she said as she pulled it completely out. "It's beautiful."

"Yes," the Captain replied, thankful to see that the portal hadn't altered the appearance of his blade at all. "Yes it is."

"I can see why you like to keep this with you," she continued. "I definitely would."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," she answered. "As the Captain of Canterlot High's Girl's Fencing Team, I can appreciate a good sword when I see it."

"Fencing?" he repeated. "What's that?"

"It's kind of like sword combat," she answered. "Except we don't use actual swords like this. We don't try to hurt each other. The main goal behind it is more to touch your opponent while keeping them from touching you."

"That sounds interesting," he replied as she put the sword back inside the scabbard and handed it over to Twilight. As he watched the transformed Princess secure the strap around herself, he couldn't help but feel vulnerable. Once she tightened it up, she let out a sigh.

"As much as I'd like to stay and help get you more acquainted with this world, Steel," she said. "I have to get back to Equestria so we can begin the search. Once it's deemed to be safe for your return, I'll write to Sunset and let her know."

"Sounds good, Twi," Sunset replied while Steel just lowered his head to look at the ground. Seeing this, Twilight walked over and gently hugged him.

"Don't worry," she said softly into his ear as she held him close. "This isn't goodbye. You'll be back on the Mareitania as soon as we can make sure it'll be safe for you."

"Thank you, Princess," he quietly replied before a thought entered his mind. He then looked up to look at his friend. "Could... I... ask a favor of you before you go?"

"Of course," she answered. "What is it?"

"If it's possible at all," he said. "Would you be willing to send me updates on Mareitania's status?"

"Status?"

"Like how close she is to being fully repaired and anything else they've had to do." Upon hearing his request, the Princess just smiled and nodded silently in response.

"Of course," she answered. "I'll see about stopping at the shipyard sometime within the next few days and let you know what's going on."

"Thank you," he replied as a slight smile formed on his face. "I'd be extremely grateful if you could do that for me."

"Absolutely," she said. "Just... don't get too impatient. Alright? I'm not entirely certain how long this search is going to take."

"Okay," he answered. Once he said that, she gave him another hug before letting him go.

"See you both later," she said before walking toward the portal. Once she reached it, she looked back and waved at her two friends before disappearing into the statue. When the last of her body vanished, Steel let out a sigh as Sunset walked over to the statue and confirmed that the portal was now closed.

"You gonna be okay?" she asked after turning to look back at him.

"Yeah," he answered while looking at the ground. "I'll be alright."

"I know," she said as she walked over to him. "This is all so much to take in and process at once." After saying that, she rested a hand on his left shoulder. "I'm sure you weren't expecting anything like this to be happening a few weeks ago. Right?"

"Not at all," he answered.

"If you don't mind me asking," she continued. "What exactly did happen? I mean. This is definitely something pretty drastic that Princess Twilight had to do in order to make sure you were safe." The transformed Captain let out another sigh in response. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too," she added. "I don't want to drag up any memories you'd rather not relive."

"What all did Princess Twilight tell you about me and this situation?" he asked as he looked up to look at her.

"Well," she started to say. "Not exactly a whole lot." After saying that, she brought a hand up to her chin as she seemed to remember what she was told. "She told me you're a Captain," she continued before gesturing toward his uniform again. "She said that you were a unicorn stallion who's nice and kind. And that you had an encounter with Queen Chrysalis on your ship."

"An encounter," he repeated before looking toward the ground once again. "That's putting it mildly." He then closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly before looking back up at her. As much as his mind was not wanting to revisit the situation that led to him being here, it probably wouldn't have helped the situation to keep her in the dark about it. "That 'encounter' was more like a hostile takeover of my ship. Her and her little group of followers."

"A... hostile takeover?" Sunset asked in a confused tone. "How?"

"Let's... start at the beginning," he started to say. "It all started in Manehattan. The day that Mareitania's maiden voyage began."

"Uh huh," she said while listening.

"Right before the time for us to depart came, my boss, Dotted Line, and I were surprised to see a chariot pull up to the dock surrounded by guard ponies," he continued. "And out stepped Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight, the rest of the Element Bearers, Princess Twilight's student, Starlight Glimmer, and her little dragon friend."

"I bet that was quite the sight to see," she said.

"It was," he replied. "Never saw anything like it before." He then sighed softly as he continued to recollect the events of that day. "I didn't know it at the time. But it was actually Chrysalis and a small group of her subjects posing as them. Though I had my suspicions that something was wrong after first talking to them after they boarded."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well. Before that carriage pulled up," he replied. "I had seen an article in the local newspaper about Princess Twilight and her friends taking a sailing trip of their own. Except that they were going to be sailing out of Mareami aboard the royal frigate."

"The Solar Wind?"

"Yeah," he answered before stopping himself. He then looked at her with a confused expression. "How do you know about that?"

"I was once Princess Celestia's protégé," she answered. "Before Twilight." She then looked toward the ground, sighing as she did. "Back then. I was once destined to be what she is now. But I let my ambition get the better of me. I wanted more than what Celestia was willing to give at the time. And when I showed her that I wasn't going to change, she cast me out as her student. That's when I came to this universe. Hoping to rule this place and then get revenge against her." Steel just silently listened as she looked back up toward him. "It wasn't until Princess Twilight came here and showed me just how wrong I was that I finally understood just what Celestia was trying to teach me."

"I see," he said as he looked at her. Back in Equestria, he had never heard about a disgraced former pupil of Princess Celestia. But then again, it was probably something that she didn't want the general populace to know about. "Well. I'm glad to hear things worked out for you in the end. Despite the bumpy path you took to get here."

"Yeah," she replied. "Enough about that though. Tell me more about what happened if you want to."

"Alright," he said while thinking back to where he left off. "Anyways. When I brought up the vacation to them, it was like they didn't know what I was talking about at first. But I had more important things to deal with at the time. So I just dropped it. Later on that evening, we had a dinner celebration. Dotted had arranged for a simple meal of carrot dogs, hayburgers, and chocolate cake to be made. But something happened that really started making me question what I was looking at."

"What was that?"

"Are you familiar with Princess Twilight's friend named Pinkie Pie?" he asked.

"Well. Not her specifically," she answered. "But if she's anything like her counterpart here, then yes."

"Alright," he replied. "So you know she's a fan of anything sugary. Like a slice of chocolate cake for example."

"Considering the fact I've seen her gulp down an entire cake in under ten seconds, I'd say so."

"Seriously?" the transformed stallion asked in a surprised tone.

"Yep," she answered. "One whole bite too."

"Wow," he replied. "That's.... impressive to say the least." He then cleared his throat before continuing on with his story. "Anyways. When I watched her eat just one bite from her slice of cake, her whole face turned green and she rushed out of the dining hall. I later found her with half her body over the side of the ship vomiting quite loudly."

"Really?" Sunset asked in a confused tone. "Wow. That definitely would've made me question some things."

"Exactly," he replied. "But again, I went against my instincts and shrugged it off as her just being seasick. The next day, Chrysalis somehow managed to get Dotted as her prisoner without me or anypony else knowing. So she tried to have one of her followers, a changeling named Scythe, try to pose as him. They probably would've gotten away with it until it was time for them to reveal themselves. But I needed to speak to him about what to do once we arrived at our destination."

"I take it that this changeling didn't exactly do a good job imitating your boss?"

"Nope," he bluntly answered. "Not at all. I could tell something was wrong when he couldn't provide me with some answers that I thought would've been easy for Dotted to give. The way I managed to figure it out though was when I asked him the name of the ship." He then chuckled softly. "I'll give him credit for at least saying something though."

"What did he say?"

"Boaty McBoatface." This answer made Sunset start laughing loudly in response.

"Seriously?" she asked. "He said that?"

"Yep," he answered. "Though what happened afterward was... not pleasant. At all."

"What happened then?"

"Well," he said. "At the time, I thought that with Celestia, Twilight, and her friends aboard, we could easily get Dotted back and take Chrysalis into custody. So I had all of them come to where we were. And then somehow, the real Dotted Line just showed up from wherever he was. That's when everything went wrong."

"How exactly was she able to take over your ship then?"

"She took Dotted hostage again. But this time, with my sword being held against his throat," he answered. "Threatening to kill him and toss his body overboard if we didn't do as she wanted. I couldn't do anything because my magic was nullified by some kind of magic blocking goo that one of them spat on my horn."

"That's..." Sunset said before shivering slightly. "That's... awful. I can't imagine what that must've been like. So what then? Did she have everyone get into the lifeboats?"

"No," he said. "The lifeboats couldn't hold everypony at once. So she made all of the passengers and crew, aside from me, go through some portal that dropped them off in some field outside of Ponyville with the memories of what they did up to a week from that point erased to cover up what she was doing."

"So... she did all that... just to get to you?"

"Yes."

"Wow..." she replied. "I'm starting to see why you're here now. If she did all of that just to have you to herself, she must've wanted something that only you could've provided."

"She... wanted me to join her. As... King," he replied.

"King?" Sunset asked. "As in... King of the changelings?"

"Yep."

"Woah," she replied. "That's... not something you hear of every day. And you said no, I take it."

"Not... exactly..." he answered.

"You actually considered it?"

"Of course not!" he quickly answered. "I didn't say yes. I never did. I was just... too scared of what she'd do had I said no right there and then. So I said that I... needed time to think about it."

"Ah. I see," she said while holding a hand up to her chin while listening. "You needed time to reassess the situation."

"More like... prolong the inevitable," he said. "I knew I had to give her an answer. One way or another."

"So what happened after she gave you that time?"

"I'd... rather not talk about that part," he answered before looking away while shivering slightly. Seeing that, Sunset gently placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

"It's okay," she said. "You can leave that part out." Hearing this and feeling her hand on him, this made him calm down as he looked back toward her. The caring smile she was giving him looked to be genuine.

"Later that night, I did end up refusing her offer..." he continued.

"And what happened after that?"

"She..." he began to say. "She tried to sink the Mareitania. With me trapped on board." Sunset just softly gasped in response, shocked by what she heard.

"Well she obviously wasn't successful."

"I've got the Princess and her friends to thank for that," he said in an appreciative tone. "I was down in a boiler room, trying to keep the incoming water at bay for as long as I could with my magic. They showed up just as my energy was completely spent." He then paused before looking down at the ground. "If they had showed up any later than that..."

"You... wouldn't... be here," Sunset replied while silently recollecting everything she had heard. Everything that this stallion went through, even if what seemed to be the biggest part was left out, sounded horrifying. And now, despite everything, he was still being targeted by Chrysalis. This made her feel sorry for him in ways she never thought possible. For his safety to be placed in so much jeopardy that he had to be sheltered in another universe, it was unprecedented.

"So.. that's pretty much the reason why I'm here now," he said before looking back up toward her. "Because Chrysalis found out that both my ship and I survived. Now she won't rest until she finds me again."

"Here's hoping that Princess Twilight and the others can do something about that," she said while gently patting him on the shoulder. "Thank you for feeling comfortable enough to tell me about this."

"You're welcome," he replied before he heard some kind of beeping sound coming from her. This slightly startled him as she just casually reached into one of her coat pockets and pulled out some sort of rectangular object.

"Huh," she said while looking at it. "Guess I didn't realize what time it was."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I was supposed to meet the others at Sugarcube Corner a while ago," she answered. "But I lost track of time listening to your story." She then started walking away from him. "Come on," she said while motioning for him to follow. "It's time to introduce you to my friends. Though you'll most likely already know who they are."

"Sounds good," he replied. But as he attempted to follow her, he staggered forward before losing his balance and falling down on the concrete sidewalk with a loud grunt on impact. Hearing that, Sunset quickly turned around and immediately rushed over to his side to help him up.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she offered her hand out to him.

"Yeah..." he answered as he reached out with his right hand. "I'm alright." But when she took hold of his hand to help him up, she immediately froze in place as her eyes suddenly glowed bright white. This confused him as she stayed like that for a few seconds until her eyes returned to normal. She then unexpectedly let go of his hand as a look of concern was now seen on her face. "Sunset?" he asked while watching her eyes drift upward to look back at the statue. "Are... you okay?"

"Huh?" she replied before looking back at him. As soon as she did that, her cheeks turned a shade of red that rivaled her hair. "Oh! Sorry," she said before chuckling sheepishly. "Here. Let me help you up." This time though, she grabbed him by his arm. Once she helped get him back on his feet, she helped keep him upright as they started walking together. After a few minutes, he was able to start walking on his own.

"That... was... odd..." he said in his head as he walked beside her. "Was... that some of the magic in this world she was talking about?"

"Hopefully it won't take too long for us to get there," Sunset said as they walked. After saying that, she looked over at him. "You sure you're alright?" she asked. "That sounded like a hard fall you had."

"I'm alright," he answered. "Not the first time I've fallen over. Definitely won't be the last either."

"If you say so," she replied. As much as the transformed Captain wanted to ask her about what happened back there, he decided that it would be better to ask at a later time. Now was the time for getting settled in this new world, however long his stay here would be.

"How far is it to this place we're going?" he asked while they continued onward. The reason for asking this was because the further they walked, the denser the surroundings became. Buildings would start becoming taller and taller. And with that came more people to be around. In a way, it reminded him of Manehattan. As the two kept going, they would pass by several people who would stop what they were doing and just stare at him, whispering to each other before going back to their activities. Each time this happened, it just made him feel more and more uncomfortable.

"Little early to be dressing up for Halloween. Isn't it, Captain?" a woman asked before giggling as they walked by. As much as the transformed stallion wanted to reply saying that this wasn't a costume, Sunset just silently waved the comment off and pulled him along by his sleeve.

"So this is what you meant by 'sticking out like a sore... thumb," he said as they kept walking.

"Yep," she answered. "Don't worry though. Rarity and the others can help us get some new clothes for you."

"Rarity?" he asked. "You mean..."

"This universe's version of her. Yes," she replied. "As well as the others. It.. might be a bit awkward since you'll know who they are. But they'll have no idea who you are."

"Probably," he said before she stopped in front of him, almost causing him to bump into her from behind.

"Alright," she said as she turned to look at him. "We're here." After saying that, she pointed toward the building they were standing next to. As he looked inside through the large windows, he got the feeling of this place being a restaurant as he saw multiple chairs, tables, and other humans eating food and having drinks.

"Fascinating," he replied while she opened the door and held it open for him to go through. As soon as he stepped in, the smell of fresh baked goods welcomed him. Breathing in some scents that were familiar to him made a smile form on his face. Looking around, he soon saw the counter with a display of all sorts of delicious looking treats consisting of muffins, cookies, slices of cake, brownies, and more. Seeing these goodies made his stomach growl since he hadn't eaten since before Mareitania arrived in Horseshoe Bay.

"Feeling hungry?" she asked when she saw that his gaze was locked on the treats.

"Kinda," he answered. "I haven't eaten for a little while."

"Don't worry," she said. "I can get you something to eat in a bit. But first, let's get you introduced to the others." After saying that, she started leading him toward a table where six other people were seated at. As soon as he saw them, Steel knew exactly who they all were. It was almost eerie to him how much they looked like their Equestrian counterparts. As the two of them walked up to the table, all six of them looked up and smiled before waving at them.

"Hey girls!" Sunset said before stopping in front of them. "Sorry for running late."

"You're quite fine, darling," Rarity replied. "And who is this dapper looking gentleman beside you?"

"Is he your new boyfriend?!" Pinkie Pie blurted out. "And you wanted to introduce him to us?"

"Huh? N-No!" Sunset quickly answered as her cheeks turned red once more. "No! He's not my boyfriend!"

"Who is he then?" Fluttershy asked. "I've never seen him around here before."

"That... would make sense," she replied. "Because he's not from around here."

"Where's he from then?" Twilight asked as she looked at him.

"Equestria," she answered. After that was said, the area around the table turned silent as each of the six girls that were seated just silently stared at him. Each one of their mouths were wide open in surprise at what they heard.

"You're from Equestria?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes..." Steel answered. "It's.. uh.. nice to meet you all."

"What are you doing here then?" she continued. "Did you accidentally go through some new portal that we don't know about? Are you here on some kind of secret mission? Oh! Did some major disaster happen in Equestria and you got sent here to bring us back with you?"

"Easy there, Rainbow," Applejack said while looking at her. "Don't be tryin' to freak him out. He already looks more nervous than a cat near a bathtub." She then turned her head to look back at him. "What's your name there, fella?"

"Steel," he replied. "Steel Blade."

"Nice to meet ya," she said. "Well. Since you're from Equestria. I'm guessin' that you probably recognize us then."

"Yeah," he replied. "I... know who you all are. I recently met your counterparts back there about a week or so ago."

"Well. That certainly saves us time on introductions then," Rarity said as Sunset brought over two extra chairs for them to sit. Taking his seat, he made sure to keep himself upright as best he could while mirroring how she sat down.

"Is he the reason why you had to go talk to the Princess?" Twilight asked while looking at her friend.

"Yes," Sunset answered. "Sorry for not bringing you all with me. Princess Twilight wasn't sure how he'd react if you all were there to greet him when he first came here."

"That's understandable," Fluttershy replied. "It's a similar situation to when a new critter arrives at the pet shop. We always have to keep them separate from the other animals until they're ready to interact with them."

"I suppose that makes sense," Steel said in his mind while he looked at all of them as they were all still gazing at him. Seeing all of them as soon as he came through the portal definitely would've freaked him out. And as much as he disliked being the center of attention, this was now going to be something he'd have to get used to for a while. Whether he wanted to or not. As the seconds passed by though, his stomach growled once more.

"Hungry there, pardner?" Applejack asked.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered in response. "I... hadn't eaten anything since this morning."

"I'll go get you something to eat then," Sunset said as she stood up. "Anything in particular you want?"

"Doesn't really matter," he replied. "I'll eat just about anything at this point."

"Allow me, Sunset," Rarity said before she stood up. "I'd be happy to get him something to eat. Besides. I'm sure he'd appreciate having you here instead of being away, even if it'd only be for a few minutes."

"Are you sure, Rarity?" she asked.

"Absolutely," she answered. "Please. Go ahead and sit back down. I'll even get something for you as well."

"Thank you," Sunset said before taking her seat again. "Just get me the same thing that you'd get for him."

"Coming right up," the fashionista replied as she stepped away from the table.

"So...." Rainbow Dash began to say, hoping to keep the conversation going. "What's with the outfit, Steel?"

"This?" he asked before looking down at his attire. "This is my uniform." After saying that, he took his hat off and placed it on the table in front of him.

"Your uniform?" she asked. "What. Are you some kind of sailor?"

"Yes," he answered. "Captain actually. I'm the Captain of the Equestrian Merchant Steamship, or EMS, Mareitania. The largest, fastest, and most luxurious ocean liner ever to take to the sea."

"Woah woah woah!" she exclaimed. "Hold on! The largest. And the fastest?"

"Yep."

"How is that possible?" she asked. "Aren't things that are bigger... supposed to be slower?"

"Typically that's the case," Twilight replied. "But I'd imagine his ship must have quite the amount of thrust to garner that title."

"Four steam driven turbine engines," he said. "My Chief Engineer, Golden Belle, said that when each of them are at full speed, they put out a combined total of 76,000 shaft horsepower. Capable of moving the ship at a cruising speed of over 24 knots."

"That's just over 27 miles per hour," she replied. "Assuming of course the conversion rate is the same back in Equestria."

"And that's the fastest?" Rainbow asked in a disappointed tone. "Seriously?"

"Well," Steel began to say. "If you saw just how big Mareitania is, you'd be amazed that she can go that fast."

"I guess so," she replied.

"I'm back!" Rarity's voice said from behind, making both Steel and Sunset look back to see her holding two plates with blueberry muffins and brownies. As soon as he saw what she had, his eyes just lit up instantly and a large grin appeared. Seeing that, Sunset couldn't help but smile as well.

"Thank you, Rarity," she said as she took both plates and placed Steel's in front of him.

"Yes," he added. "Thank you so much."

"Think nothing of it," Rarity replied as she took her seat. "I'm happy to help in whatever's needed to make sure that your stay here is comfortable."

"I really appreciate that," he said before grabbing a muffin and eagerly taking a bite out of it. Seconds later, he let out a muffled moan of satisfaction before gulping down the rest. "Sweet mother of Luna!" he exclaimed after swallowing. "It's just as delicious as the ones back in Equestria!"

"I'm glad to hear that," Sunset replied before she took a bite out of her brownie. Once she swallowed what was in her mouth, she looked over at Rarity. "I hope it isn't too much to ask you for some more help."

"Of course not, darling," she replied. "What is it that you need?"

"We're... gonna need to get him some new clothes," she answered. "Ones that won't make him stand out so much like he is right now."

"Hmm...." the fashionista said as she looked over at Steel while he was busy eating another muffin. "I suppose that would be something that could be done. I'd just need to get his measurements first before heading out to the mall."

"The... mall?" Steel asked after finishing his muffin. "What's that?" This question though made Rarity gasp as she looked at him.

"You've never been to a mall before?!" she asked.

"Can't say that I have," he answered.

"Oh my," she replied before putting a hand over her mouth in shock. "You most definitely are going to be in for a culture shock it seems."

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sure I will be."

"Would the rest of you all like to come with us?" Sunset asked as she looked at the others. "Maybe give your opinions on potential outfits and help ease him in to things?"

"Sure!" Rainbow replied. "I got nothing else going on today anyways."

"I got some chores that need to be done at the farm," Applejack added. "But I suppose I could push them off til later."

"I needed to get some more notebooks and pens at the mall today anyways," Twilight said. "So I'll tag along and help out."

"Unfortunately I can't," Fluttershy said in a sad tone. "I promised to go work at the animal shelter later. And that shift starts pretty soon."

"It's alright, Fluttershy," Sunset replied in a comforting tone. "We understand." After saying that, she turned to look at Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie?" she asked. "Did you want to join us?"

"I would," she replied before huffing disappointedly. "But I have to work too. I start my second job today."

"A second job?" Sunset asked. "Why would you need another job? Isn't the diner paying you enough?"

"It is," she answered. "But I don't want to just serve food. I wanna make it too. That's why I got a job at the Pizza Palace stand at the mall too. So I can try my baking skills there."

"I see," her friend replied. "Well. You can still travel with us there then."

"True."

"I do have a question though," Rarity said. "Well. Actually... two. Firstly. In order to gauge an estimate on how many clothes are needed. How long exactly is he going to be staying here?"

"That's something that neither of us know," Sunset answered. "He'll be here until we hear back from Princess Twilight that he's able to return to Equestria."

"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked. "Are you saying that he's here... not by his own choice?"

"Yep," Steel answered. "That pretty much sums it up."

"Why?" she continued in a tone of inquisition and confusion. "What happened to you that would necessitate something as drastic as this?"

"It's... complicated," Sunset answered.

"Long story short," Steel said. "I'm being targeted by one of Equestria's most dangerous villains. And until your Equestrian counterparts can track her down and capture her, I'm gonna be here." After he said that, the area around the table fell silent once again as the girls all silently looked at each other with shocked expressions on their faces. None of them knew what to say in that moment. The fact that this pony had to come to a different universe to truly be safe was something that none of them had even thought would ever happen.

Seeing this reaction, the transformed Captain just lowered his head and looked at the floor. He then closed his eyes as he felt ashamed of what transpired. His mind was filled with regret as he looked back to the maiden voyage.

"You failed us, Captain Blade!" the voice of one of his crew ponies echoed in his thoughts. "I hope you realize that!" Like he did before when he heard those words in real life, his eyes were clenched tightly shut as he gritted his teeth. However, just as he did that, he felt Sunset place a hand on his shoulder.

"At least you're safe here, Steel," she said in a comforting tone, making him open his eyes. "That's all that matters right now." Looking up toward her after hearing that, he saw her looking back at him with a caring expression on her face.

"I'm... terribly sorry to hear that, darling," Rarity said in her own tone of comfort. "I.. have no idea what that would even begin to feel like. Do... you have family back there?"

"Yeah," he answered. "My mom and dad. And my brother."

"Having to leave your family... your friends... your whole life... for your own safety," Applejack added. "That's... just plain awful to hear."

"Well. You've got nothing to worry about then!" Rainbow said in a determined voice. "If my pony self is anything like me, she ain't gonna rest until she finds whoever they're looking for. You'll be back in Equestria in no time."

"And until you're able to go back, we'll do our best to make your stay here as comfortable as we can," Twilight added. After he heard her say that, Steel just looked up at all of them as they looked at him with their own caring smiles on their faces. In a way, it reminded him of their counterparts offering their assistance to him in getting Mareitania back to Manehattan. None of them knew who he was. Yet they were willing to help him out in any way they could.

"You all... really are like your other selves," he softly said as a tear of joy slid down his cheek. "I'm... very thankful. To all of you."

"Think nothing of it," Rarity replied.

"What was that other thing you wanted to ask about, Rarity?" Sunset asked. "Before we head out."

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Right! I almost forgot. Well. I was just wondering where he'd be staying at while he's here." This made the Captain stop and ponder for himself.

"Don't worry about that," she answered while placing her hand gently back on his shoulder. "He'll be staying at my place."

"You... have an extra bed for him?"

"Of course," she answered. "My couch has a hideaway bed under the cushions."

"Splendid," the fashionista replied before she looked up at a clock mounted on a nearby wall. "Well. If we're gonna go to the mall, we should probably get going then."

"Sounds good," Sunset said as she stood up. Seeing that it was time to go, Steel reached out and took hold of his hat before placing it back on his head. Once it was safely on, he stood up and began following the others. As the group walked toward the door, the transformed stallion could see that other people sitting at their respective tables were all still staring at him.

"You're a long way from the ocean there, Captain," an older man said as they walked by.

"You have no idea how right you are," Steel replied in his mind as he followed his friends out of the café.

Chapter Four

The sky over the Crystal Empire was clear and beautiful as the local express train pulled in to the station. All around, ponies were seen doing various tasks ranging from reading newspapers and talking with other travelers to eating snacks and enjoying the lovely scenery. Though the increased presence of members of the Crystal Guard was something to be noted. As the train came to a complete stop, each of them approached it before stopping next to one of the coaches.

Once the door of the carriage opened up, each guardpony bowed in respect as Twilight stepped off. She was soon followed by Starlight and Thorax as they disembarked as well. When they all were on the platform, the presence of a familiar stallion was soon noticed as he waved at them.

"Shining Armor!" the Princess called out upon seeing her older brother. As she always would, she rushed over and gave him a big hug. "What brings you out here?"

"What," he said with a smirk on his face before playfully ruffling up her mane. "An older brother has to have a reason to meet his little sis at the train station?" This just made her giggle in response before they hugged again. Once he finished his hug, he looked up and smiled at his sister's friends.

"Hey there, Shining," Thorax said as he and Starlight walked over to them. "How's things been here?"

"Pretty quiet for the most part," the stallion answered. "Not that I mind though. I've had more than enough chaos for a little while."

"I wouldn't say that so loudly if I were you," Starlight said. "Wouldn't want a certain draconequus to take that as a challenge."

"Good point," the Prince replied before the four of them started walking. "Definitely don't need that happening." This made all of them laugh as they crossed the tracks and began making their way toward the castle.

"So are all of Captain Blade's immediate family here?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," Shining answered. "His parents along with his older brother are here. His brother's fiancé is also here as a precaution too. All of them were very surprised and worried upon hearing the reason for their sudden relocation."

"I can understand that," Starlight said. "It's not every day that a family member is targeted by one of Equestria's most wanted villains."

"Speaking of Chrysalis," the stallion said. "Why aren't you guys helping search for her in Manehattan?"

"Starlight and I will be heading that way," his sister answered. "But we just wanted to make sure that Steel's family was safe and sound here before we did anything else. Thorax will remain here to help make sure it stays that way."

"Fair enough," he replied. As they entered the town surrounding the castle, things looked as though everything was normal. Crystal ponies were seen doing their everyday activities ranging from eating at various restaurants, shopping at the local stores, and getting their pictures taken at the giant statue of Spike. As she saw that, Twilight just rolled her eyes and chuckled while continuing onward.

Soon, the group had entered the castle. Once inside, Shining led the small group toward the main throne room. As they walked, Twilight noticed the increased number of guard ponies patrolling the hallways and corridors of the castle.

"As you can see, little sis," the stallion said, gaining her attention. "We're not taking any chances here when it comes to protecting Captain Blade's family. Until Chrysalis is caught, I've doubled the amount of guards and have them patrolling all around the castle."

"That's good," she replied. "I'm sure Steel will be relieved when I tell him about this."

"Yeah," Starlight added. "That'll be a huge weight off of his mind."

After saying that, the group stopped outside of the large doors that led into the throne room. Using his magic, Shining opened them and stepped inside, followed closely by the others. Once inside, the purple alicorn smiled as she immediately saw Cadance with little Flurry Heart on her back talking to a group of ponies that she assumed to be Steel's family. A large gray colored unicorn stallion with a brown mane and tail stood next to a pink colored unicorn mare who had a black mane and tail. Standing next to them was a light brown colored unicorn stallion with the same colored mane and tail as the mare. The only one she recognized though was Sassy Saddles.

"Hey hun!" Cadance called out upon seeing her husband return. As she walked over, both she and Flurry looked happy to see him.

"Hello dear," he replied as the two stopped face to face. They then pecked each other on the lips.

"Hi Cadance!" Twilight said in an excited tone while waving at her. Seeing this, Cadance smiled before returning the gesture.

"Hello Twilight," she said. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing pretty good," she answered. "Just wanted to make sure Steel's family made it here safely." She then looked over at all of the other ponies as they conversed with each other. "Can I speak with them?"

"Of course," the pink alicorn answered. "In fact. They actually were hoping to get a chance to speak with you."

"Great," she replied cheerfully. "I'll head over there then."

"You go on ahead, Twilight," Starlight said. "Thorax and I are gonna go see if we can find Sunburst before we head out. Maybe he can offer some advice on how to track Chrysalis down."

"Good idea," she replied. "I'll wait for you at the station when we're finished here."

"Sounds good," the unicorn mare said before she and the changeling king left the room. Once alone, Twilight turned her attention back to the Captain's family as they were all now looking at her. Seeing that, she breathed in deeply to calm herself before exhaling slowly. Once she was done with that, she walked over to them.

"Hello there, everypony," she said as she approached them.

"Greetings, your majesty," the stallion replied as they all bowed in front of her. "It is an honor to speak to you."

"The honor is mine," she replied as they all stood back up straight. "I'm glad to see that you all made it here safely. May I ask your names?"

"Certainly," he replied. "My name is Iron Blade. And this lovely mare beside me is my wife, Sharpshooter." The mare just blushed and giggled before pecking his cheek.

"It's nice to meet you, Princess Twilight," she said as she smiled warmly at her. "Thank you for doing everything you can to protect our son."

"Yes," Iron added. "Steel told us about how you and your friends saved both him and his ship out at sea. And now you're continuing to help protect him, and us, from this threat." He then bowed in front of her again. "We are forever in your debt."

"It's nothing really," Twilight replied. "You both raised a great stallion. You should be proud of him."

"We are," Sharpshooter replied. "We're proud of both of our children." When she finished saying that, she motioned for the other two ponies to come. "I'm sure you've heard of this one as well," she continued as they stopped next to them. "This is our oldest son, Wooden Blade."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Twilight," the actor said as he bowed in front of her. "Thank you for everything you've done for my little brother."

"You're welcome," she replied before turning to look at Sassy. "Hello Sassy. Long time no see."

"Yes!" she eagerly replied. "Yes it has been, Princess."

"How's the shop in Canterlot?"

"We're doing fantastic over there," she answered. "Business has never been better. Rarity is going to be so proud. Though I didn't get a chance to tell her I'd be here."

"Don't worry about that," Twilight replied. "I'll make sure to let her know."

"Thank you."

"So where exactly is Steel, Princess?" Iron asked, making her turn around to look at him and Sharpshooter. "Is he safe?"

"Yes, Mr. Blade," she answered. "He is safe. But for your safety, I can't say exactly where he is. The less ponies who know, the better."

"Oh," he replied in a disappointed tone before looking down toward the floor. "I... see."

"Don't worry, dear," his wife said as she nuzzled his cheek. "You heard what she said. Steel's safe. That's all that matters right now."

"I.. suppose you're right," he replied.

"Plus we get to spend some quality time with Wooden again," she continued. "Something we haven't had a chance to do for quite some time."

"That is true," the stallion replied. "It'd certainly be nice to do that." As the couple spoke, Shining and Cadance walked over to them and stood by the purple alicorn.

"Excuse me, miss," Shining said, making Sharpshooter look at him. "I'm sorry. But you look familiar. Have we met before?"

"I... don't think we've met personally," she replied as she rubbed her muzzle in thought. "But then again. Maybe you know me from my old days in the ECWF."

"The... ECWF?" Twilight asked in a confused tone. "What's that?"

"The Equestrian Championship Wrestling Federation," she answered before smiling with pride. "One of the best moments of my life. Well. Aside from marrying my sweet Iron and having Wooden and Steel." As she said that, Shining seemed to grow happier and happier while standing next to his wife.

"I knew it!" the Prince exclaimed before making an old poster appear in a flash of magic and showing it. On the canvas was a portrait of Sharpshooter when she was a younger adult mare as she posed with a championship belt around her body. "7-time ECWF Champion of Mares! You even retired from the ring as champ! That's something not many can say."

"Ah. That was a long time ago," she replied as she stared at the poster of her younger self. "So many fights. So many memories. Remember this, dear? You were there when that photo session happened."

"I'd never forget that," he replied. "That's from when you started your first reign as champion. I was so proud of you. Just like I am now." The two older ponies then hugged while everyone else looked on. Though Wooden looked more surprised than any other pony in the room.

"You were a wrestler?" the actor asked as he stared at the poster.

"Yes I was, Woody," she answered. "And quite a good one too I might add. I never met a mare that I couldn't take down."

"She even tussled with a few stallions just to really test herself," Iron added before chuckling. "They sure were embarrassed when she showed them what she could do."

"Why didn't you tell us this?" her son asked. "Does Steel know?"

"If he does, it wasn't from us," she answered. "This was back before we had you two. Once I retired from the ring, your father and I settled down in Des Mane and got married. Before you came along, I had long since faded from the spotlight. I.. guess the topic just never came up."

"I guess that's where you got your natural charisma from, son," Iron added. "Sharpie was gifted with that. She'd always manage to get inside her opponent's head and have them off their game by the time the bell rang."

"That was the fun part," she said before giggling. "Well. Aside from the flank kicking."

"I see," Wooden replied. "So the whole family has done something special then. Mom's a retired wrestler. I'm an actor. Steel's a ship Captain." He then looked at his father. "And Dad? You still have the shop going?"

"Yes, Wooden," he replied. "The shop's still doing very well."

"You run a store?" Twilight asked.

"Mmhm," the older stallion answered while nodding. "In Des Mane. That's what me and Sharpie have been doing since she retired from the ring. What started out as a hobby of mine turned into a career for both of us." He then rubbed his muzzle as though he was thinking about something. "Come to think of it. Had we not opened the shop, Steel might not have discovered his passion for swords."

"Swords?" the Princess asked. "You two sell swords?"

"Yes," the stallion answered. "We make them too. Well. I make them at least. I also make other things as well depending on commissions and orders." He then nuzzled his wife's cheek. "Sharpie here manages the storefront and sales. I never was good at that part of the job."

"So you're a blacksmith?"

"Yes. I am," he replied.

"That's amazing!" she said in an impressed tone. As she processed what the stallion in front of her had said, another thought came into her mind. The thought of Steel and his reaction to having to part with his sword. "Mr. Blade?" she asked, gaining his attention once more.

"Yes? What is it, Princess?"

"There's something I'd like to ask you," she answered before lighting up her horn. Seconds later, the Captain's sword appeared in a flash of magic. As soon as they saw it, both of the Captain's parents gasped slightly. "This sword," she continued as she withdrew it from the scabbard. "There's something special about it. Am I right?"

"Yes," Iron simply answered as he took hold of it with his own gray colored magic. Once in his possession, he brought it close to where he could see his reflection in the polished metal. The Princess quietly looked on as a tear formed in his eye before he looked up at her. "How do you have this?" he softly asked after looking back up at her. "My son rarely goes anywhere without it."

"Where he's currently at," she answered. "It wouldn't have been a smart idea for him to keep it. But don't worry. Like I said before, he's safe. And he'll get it back as soon as he returns. But if I may ask. What is it that's so special about that sword?"

"Steel and I made this sword together," he said while smiling with pride before sniffling as he looked at the sword in his magical grasp. "It was my way of congratulating him for his acceptance into the Equestrian Merchant Marine Academy."

"Just like how Dad and I made this golden clapboard when I got accepted into acting school," Wooden added before making a director's clapboard made of gold appear. Seeing that, Twilight looked closely at it and found that it was customized with the actor's name and the school he went to engraved on the side like how a regular clapboard would look like. "I've always kept this around ever since we made it."

"I'm glad to hear that, son," he replied as he looked over at him and his fiancé with a proud smile on his face.

"He even made our wedding rings himself," Sharpshooter added while gesturing up at her horn, more specifically the skillfully crafted ring on there. "He's got quite the talent when it comes to crafting things made of metal."

"That's incredible," the alicorn replied as she gazed at it.

"As you can see," Iron said as he gestured toward the beginning of the blade portion for the alicorn to see. "I personalized this for Steel." Looking closely, the Princess saw an engraving that looked like Steel's cutie mark, two swords crossing in an 'X' shape, merged with an anchor. It also had his name and 'Equestrian Merchant Marine Academy' on there as well.

"Wow," she said in an impressed tone. "That must've taken a lot of time to make."

"It did," he replied. "We spent many weekends working on it when he came back to visit. But all of that time was worth it."

"I'm glad to hear that," the alicorn said. "Quality time together is something that family members should always cherish."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, little sis," Shining added as he playfully nudged her. This in turn made the young alicorn smile at him.

"I do hope that, despite everything, you all enjoy your time here in the Crystal Empire," Cadance said as she and Flurry Heart smiled at all of them.

"I'm sure we will," Sharpshooter replied. "I've always wanted to come visit. I just wish it was under... better circumstances."

"That's understandable," Twilight said. "But at least you all are safe and sound here. And soon, you'll be reunited with Steel once more."

"We look forward to that moment, Princess," Wooden replied. Both parents nodded in agreement as well. Seeing that, Twilight just silently nodded as she took back possession of the Captain's sword. She then turned and began to walk away from them toward the door exiting the throne room.

"Princess Twilight!" Iron called out, making her look back at them.

"Yes?" she asked, turning around to face them.

"If you're able to. Could you pass along a message to Steel?"

"Of course," she answered. "What is it?"

"Tell him that all of us love him and hope that he is safe. And that we hope to see him again soon," the stallion replied. "We'd be extremely grateful if you could do that for us."

"I'll be sure to pass that along," she said in a caring tone as she smiled at the family.

"Thank you," Sharpshooter said. "I know you're probably getting tired of us saying it. But this truly does mean a lot to us that you're doing all this to protect our son."

"Yeah," Wooden added. "After Steel and I talked yesterday, I learned just how much my decisions affected not only him, but my parents too. I want to do my best to make up for lost time. And I can't do that if he's being targeted by one of Equestria's biggest threats."

"Even though he isn't my brother-in-law yet," Sassy said as she leaned against her fiancé. "I already see him as family. I want him to be free from all this nonsense that Chrysalis is putting him through."

"Don't worry," Twilight replied as she gazed at all of them with a determined expression on her face. "My friends and I will make sure that Chrysalis won't cause him any more problems. Hopefully we'll be able to track her down quickly."

"We wish you the best of fortune then," Iron said as the rest of his family nodded in agreement. Twilight just smiled warmly and nodded silently in response before exiting the throne room, leaving the family with Shining and Cadance. As she walked along, she kept thinking how fortunate Steel was to have such a caring family. Even though Wooden and Sassy seemed to be distant from Iron and Sharpshooter, she felt as though this was a good opportunity for all of them to catch up and spend quality time together.

Exiting the castle, the Princess lit up her horn and disappeared in a flash of magic only to reappear inside her own library at her castle. Once she gathered herself, she levitated the Captain's sword off of her body and gently placed it on the table that was closest to the mirror portal. When that was taken care of, she looked over at the mirror and sighed slightly.

"You have such a loving and caring family, Steel," she said in her mind as she gazed at it. "I'll make sure you're reunited with them as soon as possible." After that, she lit up her horn once again before teleporting from her library to the train station just outside the limits of the Crystal Empire. Gathering her bearings again, she looked around and found Starlight standing next to the ticket booth. As soon as she saw her, she smiled before walking over to her. "Hey Starlight," she said, gaining her friend's attention. "Were you able to get any advice from Sunburst?"

"Not really," she said in a disappointed tone. "Changeling hunting wasn't really something he had any knowledge of. The only thing he had to say was to listen to Scythe, but to also keep our guard up."

"Keep our guard up?" the Princess asked. "Why would he say that?"

"I asked that same question," she answered. "And his response was that we don't know for certain just how committed Scythe is to Thorax and the new changeling hive. This could all be some elaborate plan in order for Chrysalis to lure us into a trap."

Hearing that, Twilight opened her mouth to say something in response, but then closed it before rubbing her muzzle with a forehoof in thought. What she heard wasn't far from the realm of believability.

"What do you think we should do then?" she asked. "Scythe is supposed to be leading us to Chrysalis and the rest of her remaining followers."

"We go along as planned," the unicorn mare answered. "But we keep ourselves ready for anything. We don't really have any other choice. This could be our best chance yet to get Chrysalis before she can elude us."

"Alright," the alicorn said. "So. Are you ready for us to get out of here?"

"As ready as I'm going to be," she answered before lighting up her horn. "Where are we teleporting to?"

"Rarity said that they'd all be waiting for us at her shop in Manehattan," Twilight answered as she lit up her horn once again. After saying that, the two mares disappeared in a flash of magic just to reappear outside of Rarity For You. Once that was finished, the alicorn wiped her forehead off from all of the extra usage of her magic. Starlight saw this and chuckled, making her friend smirk in response as they entered the building.

"Ah. There you two are," Rarity's voice said as soon as they entered through the door. Closing it behind them, Twilight found the rest of her friends sitting in the lounge area of the boutique while enjoying some mugs of apple cider and muffins. Two mugs and four muffins were left on a metal serving cart nearby, presumably for the two of them to split.

"How'd your trip to the Crystal Empire go?" Applejack asked as the two mares joined them. "Is Captain Blade's family alright?"

"Yes," Twilight answered as she sat down on a couch while grabbing her mug of cider. "They're all doing just fine. Though they are worried about him. Which I understand completely."

"Absolutely," the white colored mare said, occupying herself by fixing a tear in a dress. "I'd be in a similar state if anything like that had ever happened to Sweetie Belle."

"At least they're all together," Fluttershy said as she set her mug down. "Well. As best as they can be right now."

"True," Starlight replied while sitting down next to Applejack and Rainbow on a different couch. "It's one less thing for us to worry about."

"Yeppers," Pinkie added before chomping down on her muffin.

"Exactly," a new voice said, making all of them look to see Scythe walking toward them from across the room. "One less distraction. It'll make things easier for us to focus on the main goal of capturing Chrysalis."

"So what'll be the plan if and when we do get her?" Rainbow asked. "Do we just... take her to the police station here in the city?"

"No," the Princess answered. "If we are successful, we're to bring her to Canterlot. They've got a holding cell that can contain her. Once that's done, I can bring Steel back here."

"Sounds easy enough," the rainbow haired mare replied. "Almost... too easy."

"Where exactly is the place that you all have been hiding out at?" Starlight asked while looking at the reformed changeling. "Is it somewhere around here?"

"Yes," he answered. "It's an abandoned warehouse around the docks. That's how Chrysalis was able to learn of the Captain's survival. She noticed the increased activity when his ship returned and went to investigate."

"Do you think she's still there?" Twilight asked. "I'm sure she's probably aware of your disappearance by now."

"I'd be surprised if she wasn't," he replied.

"So would it be possible if she and the rest of her remaining followers moved somewhere else?" she continued. "As a sort of way to thwart any attempts of being found by deserters?"

"It's possible," he answered. "But that would take much longer to do than the time it has been since I left. There aren't that many places around here that are abandoned. Chances are that they're still at that warehouse."

"Well what are we waiting for then?" Rainbow asked in a determined tone as she started hovering above them. "Let's go get her!"

"The sooner we do, the better," Twilight said as she and the rest of them exited the boutique and began to make their way toward the docks. As they walked along, the hustle and bustle of the big city was always a sight to see. Ponies walking around holding many shopping bags filled with all sorts of things. Bridleway Theater was filled with ponies looking to see the performance within. And carriages were always going up and down the road filled with wealthy ponies.

"It's always so busy around here," Applejack noted as they walked along. "Definitely something different compared to home."

"This is the normal for this city, darling," Rarity replied. "You just have to learn how to make your way through the chaos in order to survive."

"I suppose so," the earth pony mare said as the group approached the Red Apple Line headquarters. Looking upward, they could see the company's flag flying proudly underneath the flag of Equestria. Stopping in front of the building, the group took some time to reflect on the exact reason why they were doing this.

"Ah!" a voice said. "Hello everypony. It's good to see you all again." Turning their heads in the direction of the voice, they found a white colored stallion with blue colored hair sticking his head out of an open window.

"Dotted Line," Twilight replied cheerfully, making the stallion smile in response. "It's good to see you again as well."

"What brings you all to the hustle and bustle of Manehattan?" he asked. "Can I offer you some drinks and refreshments? We just had some food delivered from the local bakery."

"No thanks," the Princess replied. "We just had some snacks. Thank you for the offer."

"Of course," the stallion said. "No problem."

"As for why we're here," she continued. "It's about that topic that we discussed before. In regards to Captain Blade."

"Ah. Yes," he replied. "So... this must have something to do with that... rapscallian?"

"Yes," she answered. "We're certain that she's got a hideout near the docks."

"Why don't you all come inside then?" he asked. "So we don't have to risk any... eavesdroppers listening in."

"Good idea," the alicorn replied before she and the others went up the stairs and entered through the large glass doors. Inside the lobby, they marveled at the luxurious interior. Large stone support columns decorated with gold trimming and unique light fixtures. A marble tiled floor that was so smooth and shiny that they could see their reflection in it. And paintings depicting destinations all over the world adorned the walls.

"Now I understand why their ships rival even the grandest of hotels of the city in terms of beauty," Rarity said in an astonished tone as she just gazed all around. "This place is wonderful!"

"Thank you," Dotted's voice replied, making all of them look to see the Chairpony of the Red Apple Line standing next to the receptionist's desk. "It always makes me happy to hear compliments about our lobby. It wasn't cheap. I can tell you that. But it was worth it. First impressions are always the most important." He then motioned for them to follow him down a corridor before stopping in front of the door leading into his office. "So this... scoundrel who is responsible for everything that happened on my company's flagship's maiden voyage is somewhere here in the city?"

"Yes," Twilight answered. "We learned that she's hiding out in an abandoned warehouse near the docks."

"Ah," the stallion replied while he opened the door and stepped inside. The group followed him in before Starlight used her magic to close the door behind them. "Yes. I'm familiar with the building you're referring to. Run down, in need of repairs, long abandoned for several years. It makes sense that she'd hide there."

"Exactly," she said as he took a seat behind his desk. "Which is why we're trying to capture her as soon as we can. I'm sure that this is causing all sorts of unneeded stress for you."

"It has," he replied. "But I guess it isn't as bad as it would be if I could remember what all occurred. The only ones who do know are Captain Blade and that... ruffian."

"It wasn't exactly something that was... pleasant," Scythe said, making the stallion tilt his head while looking at him.

"Wait," he said. "You... were there?"

"Yes," the changeling answered in an ashamed tone. "I... was part of her small group of followers. And... I'm sorry for the role I played in what happened."

"Why... you... little..." the stallion said in an increasing angered tone as his horn lit up in a bright blue aura before a similar colored aura appeared around the changeling's neck. Scythe immediately began gasping for air while flailing his forehooves around as the stallion's magic gripped tighter and tighter. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

"Dotted!" Twilight exclaimed before using her magic to save Scythe from being strangled. "Enough! That isn't necessary!" Seeing her reaction to his actions, the stallion just silently glared at the changeling before taking a deep breath to calm himself as he stopped his magic.

"You're... right," he replied. "I apologize. I let my anger get the better of me. It's.. just.. that his actions, along with the actions of his colleagues, have cost this company hundreds of thousands in lost revenue and repair costs. Not to mention whatever personal trauma happened to Captain Blade."

"I understand that," she replied. "And you are justified to be upset with everything that happened. But taking your frustrations out on Scythe isn't the way to deal with it. Princess Celestia has told me to inform you that she is willing to help provide the funds needed for Mareitania's repairs due to the circumstances. Scythe here is also atoning for his actions by helping us track down Chrysalis."

"Is that so?" he asked while staring at the reformed changeling. All of the other mares in the room nodded their heads, affirming what Twilight was saying. "I see."

"I'm... sorry... again..." Scythe said as he caught his breath. "I didn't exactly have a choice but to go along with what Chrysalis wanted." Dotted just sat silently in his chair while looking at him, making the changeling just look down toward the floor.

"We'll make sure things are made right," Twilight continued to say, making Dotted look at her. "For you, the Red Apple Line, and for Steel. I can promise you that."

"I appreciate that, Princess," he replied before his eyes looked up toward the clock mounted on the wall. A pair of loud thuds was then heard from somewhere nearby, making everyone aside from him jump in surprise.

"What in Equestria was that?" Applejack asked while looking around.

"Must've been some construction equipment getting dropped," the stallion replied. "We're having some maintenance done on the building today."

"I see," Twilight replied. "Well," she continued before looking over toward her friends. "We should probably get going then. We're already running behind as is."

"Very well," he replied. "I do have one more question though before you go."

"Yes?" the alicorn asked, turning her attention back to him.

"Is Captain Blade's family safe?" he asked. "I can't imagine what he must be going through. It must even be worse for them knowing that he's being hunted."

"Yes," she answered. "They're safe. Why do you ask?"

"Ah. That's good," he replied. "I was getting worried. I had an employee of mine go over to their residence to drop off Captain Blade's pay for him. They came back saying that nopony was home. I feared the worst had happened."

"Oh. Well it's nothing to worry about," Twilight replied. "Steel's family is safe. They've just been temporarily relocated to the Crystal Empire for their own safety."

"The Crystal Empire?" Dotted asked. "Wow. The threat to their safety is that high?"

"Yes," she replied. "And we'd appreciate it if you not tell anypony else that."

"Yes. Of course," the stallion said. "You've got nothing to worry about, Princess. I'll just hold on to Captain Blade's pay until this mess is resolved."

"Thank you," she continued. "Now we must get going."

"Very well," he replied. "Be safe. And good luck with your task." Once he finished that, the alicorn smiled and waved at him before she and the others exited the room. Upon leaving the building, they resumed their journey toward the old warehouse near the docks, hoping to catch Chrysalis by surprise and bring this whole situation to a satisfying conclusion.

As the group disappeared into the crowded streets of the city, Dotted Line just sat still at his desk before wiping sweat from his forehead. He then sighed heavily before getting up from his chair and opening the window to look outside. Upon seeing that the alicorn and her friends were gone, he smirked before closing it.

"That was close," he said softly before going over to the door leading out to the hallway. Seeing no one around, he closed the door before looking over at the likely source of the loud thuds from earlier with mild annoyance. Using his magic, he opened the door for a small storage room filled with boxes of documents. But his blue colored eyes focused on the bound, gagged, and magically restrained stallion who looked exactly like him as he wriggled around on the wooden floor. "Are you trying to expose me, you filthy little pony?" he asked before a green colored circle of magic enveloped him, revealing none other than Chrysalis herself.

The captured stallion just shivered in fear as his eyes gazed upon her. It wasn't too long ago that he thought he was speaking to a sweet reporter for a local paper. But it turned out to be nothing more than a ruse as he was attacked and captured by the changeling Queen who managed to knock him out before he could get a chance to cry for help.

"Things may not have worked out in your favor if I was revealed," she said in her normal, sinister tone as she looked at him with an evil smug before sliding a forehoof across her throat. "Then again. I almost blew it myself with that traitor..."

Dotted tried to respond, but his words were muffled by the cloth stuffed into his mouth.

"Hmm? What was that?" his captor asked in a sarcastic tone, even bending down and placing her ear close to his mouth. The stallion tried to repeat his words, only for her to chuckle as she straightened herself up. "Don't worry, pony," she said as she gently patted him on his head. "I'm not going to do anything else to you. In fact. You're not going to remember anything from this." She then charged up her horn before looking at the stallion. "When you wake up, you'll be at your desk thinking that you just dozed off doing your boring paperwork or whatever it is you do here." With that, she fired a beam of magic at his head. The beam struck him right between the eyes, resulting in his head swaying side to side before he slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Sweet dreams," the changeling said as she walked over toward the desk. She then used her magic to levitate four scarab shaped objects up from underneath the desk before arranging them in a square. Once the last one was in place, it set off a green line of magic that connected one after another until they all rose up and combined to form an enchanted vision portal. Through it, the Queen could see her hideout and what remained of her loyal followers.

"Queen Chrysalis!" one of them exclaimed as all the changelings in her view gathered together, all eleven of them. A far cry from what it once was. "What is it that you need?"

"I need for all of you to make yourselves scarce," she answered. "Twilight Sparkle and her friends are on their way to where you are."

"How?" another changeling asked. "We've had this spot without those ponies finding us for months! How do they know where we are?"

"It's pretty easy for them to figure it out when they had help," she replied with a hint of anger. "Scythe has turned against us and revealed our home to them."

"That traitor!" another changeling exclaimed in anger. "How dare he turn his back on our Queen!"

"Betrayal will not be tolerated!" another one angrily added.

"He will get what's coming to him in due time," the Queen replied. "But we have more important things to deal with. I have just learned from Sparkle's own mouth that our dear Captain's family has been relocated to the Crystal Empire."

"Why do you care so much about that stallion, my Queen?" one of them bluntly asked. "He already rejected you."

"How dare you speak to me like that!" Chrysalis yelled as some of the changelings around the insubordinate one hissed at him. "Be thankful I'm not there right now. Otherwise you'd be punished severely for questioning my plan!"

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed as he cowered in fear in front of her.

"He does have a point though, your majesty," another one added. "Why do you want this stallion so badly to be our King? This isn't like you." Hearing that, the Queen sighed as she knew that with her dwindling number of supporters, being somewhat transparent with them would be key to keeping them around.

"It's because he's unclaimed," she answered. "That is what makes him the perfect candidate for becoming our new King. I could smell it as soon as I first saw him. A plentiful source of pure uncorrupted DNA. When that is combined with my eggs, we will create an entire new generation of changelings. We need him."

"Is that all?" one of them asked. "I'm sensing something more to this."

"He also made me feel such an amount of love that night that I need to have him," she continued as her cheeks developed a slight shade of red. "That night. I got a taste of what he had to give. I was, for a moment, overwhelmed by what he provided for me. No stallion had ever made me feel the way that he did."

"Are you... in love with him?"

"Enough!" she quickly exclaimed, not wanting to show affection in front of her subjects. "We don't have time for this. Sparkle and her friends could be there any moment!"

"Understood," one of them replied. "Should we come to where you are?"

"Half of you will do so," she answered. "I will be waiting in an alley just north of the central train station. We will depart on the next train to the Crystal Empire. The rest of you will hide among these... ponies and observe Sparkle and her friends once they arrive. How you divide yourselves I will leave to you. Just do it quickly before they show up."

"Yes, my Queen," a follower replied. "We shall do as you command." Once that was finished, Chrysalis closed the portal and made the four objects disappear. She then turned her attention back to Dotted Line as he slept on the floor. Using her magic, she unbound him, removed the cloth from his mouth, and cleaned the nullification goo off of his horn before levitating him over to his chair behind the desk.

"There we go," she softly said to herself as she positioned him in a way as though he was just napping. She then charged up her magic once more before transforming into her usual pony persona: a green unicorn mare that has a brown mane and tail with a ladybug cutie mark on her flank. Once she finished that, she used her magic to quietly open the door and sneak out of the building to make her way to the train station.

Chapter Five

The sounds of tugboats and other ships sounding their respective whistles along with the calls of seagulls filled the air as the group neared their destination. This area of Manehattan's harbor was used for storing many different types of freight as they were processed for transport either to towns in Equestria or to ports across the sea. The smell of fish and dirty water was also pungent. It made a good portion of them wonder how anypony could tolerate being there on a daily basis.

"How much further is this place?" Rarity asked as she tried in vain to fan away the aroma from her nose. "I'm not sure how much more I can stand of this... unpleasant smell. How can anypony tolerate such a stench?!"

"Ah come on, Rarity," Applejack said as she walked beside her, unfazed by the scent around them. "It ain't that bad. It's better than the barn back home after a hot summer day."

"Well some of us aren't as... used to those kind of smells as others, darling," the marshmallow white mare replied. "I'm more used to scents that one would enjoy. Like lavender, berries, or citrus. Or... anything other than fish!" After saying that, the sudden sound of a nearby liner's whistle startled her. "Please tell me that we're at least close."

"Don't worry," Scythe said before he looked back at her. "We're almost there."

"That's good to hear," she said before breathing a sigh of relief, only to start coughing after inhaling more of the air around her than she had wanted. As she was tended to by Applejack and Rainbow, the others continued on. The repeated sounds of the nearby water washing up on the shore gave an uneasy feeling of calmness. Though this wasn't the time to be lulled into a false sense of security. The threat of being ambushed by the rogue changeling Queen's subordinates loomed over them.

"So how many other changelings besides Chrysalis are we expecting to encounter?" Twilight asked as she walked beside the reformed changeling. "If what Steel said before is true, then it has to be at least seven more."

"Aside from Chrysalis. There'll be eleven of them," he answered. "When we left Manehattan on Captain Blade's ship, Chrysalis had eight of us with her. Myself included. Those who stayed behind were tasked with guarding the hideout."

"I see," she replied as she began running some calculations in her head. The limited number of changelings shouldn't be too much of a problem for the eight of them to handle. But she also had to take into consideration what Sunburst had advised earlier. Even though she had no reason to doubt Scythe, it would be a genius plan of the rogue Queen to lure her and her friends into a trap.

"Only eleven of them?" Starlight asked in an unimpressed tone as though it was nothing to worry about. "Please. That'll be a cakewalk compared to when me and the others went to your old hive to stop Chrysalis. I couldn't even begin to count how many of you guys were in there."

"Hundreds," Scythe said as they continued. "There were many of us there that day. I wasn't though."

"Where were you?" the unicorn mare asked.

"In Ponyville," he answered before sighing. "Pretending to be... Princess Twilight's little dragon. Just like I was doing before on Captain Blade's ship."

"Seriously?" she asked. "That was you?"

"Unfortunately," he said. "That was... my assigned role. Had I been at the hive that day, I would've followed my brothers and sisters and reformed myself then and there."

"But you weren't," Twilight said in a sympathetic tone as she looked at him.

"No," he said. "I wasn't. When Thorax took over, and you all allowed Chrysalis to escape, she contacted the rest of us. She told us that the hive had fallen. And we were to meet her here in Manehattan to regroup. I.. had to go along with them. I was afraid of what they'd do to me if I did otherwise."

"I see..." Starlight replied while looking away from him, feeling a sense of regret for allowing the rogue changeling to escape. "Well. We won't make the same mistake twice. Especially with Steel's safety on the line."

"Exactly," the purple alicorn added. "Had I known that she would do all of this, we would've gone after her." After saying that, she remembered the Captain's reaction after being asked about what the rogue Queen did to him. She then looked at the changeling next to her. "Hey... uh... Scythe?"

"Yes?" he replied as he looked over at her. "What is it, Princess?"

"There's something I'd... like to ask you," she said. "If you don't mind answering it, of course. But umm... what exactly happened between Steel and Chrysalis?"

"I... don't think that's my place to answer, Princess Twilight," he answered. "That's more toward something you should ask the Captain."

"I've tried," she replied before sighing. "But he's started shaking and looked to be on the verge of a breakdown each time I brought it up. I want to help him. But I can't do that if he won't tell me what happened."

Upon hearing that, Scythe just silently looked down toward the ground as they continued walking. The expression on his face looked to be one of regret and empathy. He knew exactly what was causing such a reaction.

"You know how Chrysalis wanted to convert his ship into a mobile hive?" he asked before looking back up at her.

"Yeah," she answered. "He told us that part."

"Well..." he continued. "You can't really make a hive with just a small number of changelings. So Chrysalis wanted the Captain to... help her... make some more." When he said that, the group of mares stopped in their tracks. Looking back, the changeling saw expressions of shock and disbelief on each of their faces. Seeing that reaction, he sighed once more. "I'm sure you can piece together the rest of the story from that."

"You mean... she tried to..."

"I'm not gonna say it directly," he answered. "But... yes. She tried to. And from what I've been told, she wasn't successful. But I'm guessing that just the attempt by her would be enough for that kind of reaction from him."

"That... must be the reason why she won't stop going after him," she said softly as her brain pieced together everything.

"As if I needed any more reasons to stop her once and for all," Starlight said as a look of anger formed on her face. "I never thought she would've been that desperate."

"Desperation will make you do things that cross the line," Twilight replied before she looked down toward the ground. "I'd know."

"You?" the unicorn mare asked in a surprised tone as she looked at her friend. "How? I don't think I've ever seen you be desperate before. Not even when we were fighting each other."

"Long before I became the Princess of Friendship," she began to say. "Back when I was just Princess Celestia's student. There was a period of time where I felt as though I was required to write letters to her about what I learned from solving friendship problems. But on a day when there were no problems to solve, I was so afraid of what I imagined would happen had I been late. So... I... created a problem."

"You created a problem?" she asked, stunned by what her friend was saying. "What'd you do?"

"She cast a spell on one of her toys that made everypony in Ponyville want to have it," Pinkie casually answered as she stood behind the two of them, making the purple alicorn's cheeks turn red with embarrassment and shame. "So they all started fighting each other for it. It got so bad that Princess Celestia herself had to step in and stop it."

"Wow..." Starlight said as she never thought she'd hear something like that. "That's... pretty desperate."

"Exactly," the purple alicorn replied. "I'm just thankful that everything worked out in the end."

"But that still doesn't really compare to what Chrysalis did," the mare continued. "Or.. at least attempted to do."

"I know," she replied before turning her head to look at her protégé. "Which is why I'm really regretting not going after her when you defeated her."

"We're gonna make sure that she pays for all of this!" Rainbow exclaimed as she hovered above them, lightly smacking her forehooves together. "She's gonna regret every bad thing she's done after we're done with her!"

"Quite so!" Rarity added. "It's about time for her to face the consequences of her actions!"

"What happened in Canterlot. Then abductin' us and the Princesses. And now with everything she's done to Steel," Applejack said. "She's gonna get what's comin' to her."

"Well," Scythe said. "We don't have to wait much longer to get our chance at that." He then pointed a hoof out in front of him. "The hideout is just up ahead."

After hearing that from him, each of the ponies stopped and looked at the building in front of them. A large warehouse that looked to be in a very poor condition compared to surrounding buildings. As the Princess gazed at it, she understood why Chrysalis would have chosen this place as their hideout. No creature would dare attempt to get near for fear of their own safety as the majority of windows were shattered with pieces of glass strewn across the area. Some of the side paneling had fallen off. And chunks of the roof were gone.

"Are you sure that this is the place?" Rainbow asked as she hovered above them. "The whole place looks like it could come down at any moment."

"Even the birds are avoiding it," Fluttershy added as she watched some birds flying over the building before landing on any other place that wasn't close to the warehouse.

"Yes," Scythe answered. "This is the place. Why do you think Chrysalis chose it to lay low? It's because she knew that she wouldn't have to worry about intruders."

"It's a little too quiet though," Starlight added as she looked around, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of activity. "There's no guards or anything here. At least none that I can see."

"No," the changeling replied. "Having guards outside what's supposed to be an abandoned building would draw unwanted attention. Chrysalis usually keeps some guards near the entrances on the inside."

"I see," Twilight replied. "That would make sense." She then took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly to calm herself. "Alright girls," she said while turning to look at her friends. "I'm not certain what all is waiting for us in there. But one thing is clear. And that is who we're doing this for."

"Exactly," Rarity replied. "The sooner we can capture Chrysalis, the sooner Captain Blade can be reunited with his family."

"I'll be sure to throw him a great big 'welcome home from another universe' party!" Pinkie said before giggling. "He'll be thrilled to see that."

"I can't wait to see the look on that bug's face when we bust in!" Rainbow said in a determined tone. "She won't even know what hit her."

"Maybe we can even convince the rest of the changelings here to join Thorax," Fluttershy added. "I'm sure he'd be happy if we did that for him."

"So what's the plan?" Starlight asked as she looked at Twilight. "Even with the element of surprise, we probably shouldn't just all go barging in at the same time."

"Normally I would agree," the alicorn replied. "But I think we have the best chance of succeeding by sticking together. Hit them with everything we have at once. Leave no chance for them to plan any kind of counterattack."

"If you say so," the unicorn replied.

"Come on then. Let's go." After saying that, the group cautiously began to make their way toward the building. As they approached, both Starlight and Twilight were watching for any sign of activity. But so far, none was seen. Getting close to the main entrance, a metal door with a window that was surprisingly still intact, Rainbow hovered just in front of the window and peered inside.

"See anything in there, Rainbow?" Applejack asked.

"No," the cyan pegasus answered. "I don't see any changelings in there."

"That's odd..." Scythe replied. "There should be a couple of guards just on the other side of the door." He then extended out his wings and hovered up next to Rainbow before looking within. Just as she said, there were no signs of any guards.

"Just because we don't see any doesn't mean they aren't there," Twilight said. "Maybe they're all further inside."

"It's... possible," the changeling replied as he landed next to her. After saying that, the alicorn used her magic to open the door. The metal object creaked and groaned as it was moved, putting all of them on alert as the sound could easily be heard by those within. But there was no reaction from inside to the sound of the door.

"Maybe they're... sleeping," Fluttershy softly said before the group started to enter the building.

"No," Scythe quietly replied. "There's no way that'd be the case." Once inside, they made their way to the large storage room that was once used for housing various crates. But now, it was just a giant empty space with empty shelves, racks, and bins. What did seem different though was the thirteen mattresses spread out across the floor. But as each of them looked around, no changelings were seen.

"I... don't see any changelings here," Rarity said as she looked around. "I don't see anypony at all."

"Nothing up here!" Rainbow called out as she flew overhead. "Just a lot of empty space!"

"Are you sure they couldn't have packed up and moved somewhere else?" Applejack asked as she looked inside a crate that was on its side. "Don't seem like anypony's home."

"They had to have been here!" Scythe answered as he began checking each space he could think of. He even started knocking over any item he could find just in case it happened to be a changeling in disguise. "They couldn't have moved out already! The beds are still here!" He then growled with frustration as he had soon run out of things to kick. "Chrysalis!" he cried out, startling the others. "Show yourself, you coward!"

"Maybe she had a plan for something like this already in mind," Starlight said as she kept looking around. "How long was it since you left?"

"A couple days," he answered.

"That'd be more than enough time to move somewhere else then," the mare replied. "At least. That's what it's looking like to me." She then looked over at her mentor as she was also looking all around her. "Twilight?" she asked, getting her attention. "Is there any way to see if there really are changelings in here?"

"I... do have one spell that could do the trick," she answered before charging up her magic. Soon, a beam of purple colored magic rose out from her horn and went over to the wall on the other side from where she was standing. The beam then split into two as it widened vertically along the wall, creating a large field of purple colored magic. "If any changeling using a disguise is touched by this detection field, they'll be revealed." After saying that, she set out and began sweeping the area with her spell. As she did this, the others prepped themselves for any potential confrontation.

But as the minutes ticked by, nothing was revealed. No hidden changelings were discovered. After coming to this conclusion, a look of disappointment was soon seen on the Princess' face as she ended the spell.

"There's no other changelings in here," she said sadly as she looked around one final time before looking over at the reformed changeling who was equally saddened by this result. "I'm sorry, Scythe. But it seems like we're too late."

"I... guess the chances of her moving somewhere else were higher than I thought," he replied before letting out a long sigh. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she said as she walked over to him. "You couldn't have known she'd be gone by now."

"She must've immediately assumed that you went to Thorax," Rarity added. "I mean. You said it yourself that you were always picked on by the others. Something like that couldn't have gone unnoticed by her. The moment that they all realized you were gone, there would've been only one explanation that made sense to her."

"It's possible," the changeling replied.

"Are you aware of any other potential hideout locations that she'd have?" the alicorn asked. "Anything at all?"

"No," he answered while looking down at the floor. "Chrysalis always kept that kind of information to herself. She definitely wouldn't have told any of us if she did."

"I see," she replied as her ears flattened. This was not the outcome that she wanted. But she knew that there was always a chance that things wouldn't go their way. She was just more saddened by the fact that she'd have to inform Steel that his stay in the world beyond the mirror portal just became extended for the foreseeable future.

But just before she opened her mouth to say another word, the sound of a stallion clearing his throat from across the room garnered everyone's attention. Looking toward the entrance that they came in from, Twilight saw a lone dock worker standing in the doorway. A tan colored earth pony stallion with brown hair wearing a hard hat and safety vest.

"What's going on in here?" he asked while looking at the group. "You all aren't supposed to be here. This building's off limits to civilians."

"I'm sorry, sir," the alicorn replied. "We were just leaving." She then sighed heavily before looking to her friends. "Come on, everypony," she continued before making her way toward the door that the dock worker was standing in. "Let's go."

As the small group departed the warehouse with feelings of unfulfillment and disappointment for not accomplishing their task, the Captain stood quietly in a small room that was used for trying on clothes. As he stood there, his gaze was fixated on his reflection in a mirror mounted on the wall. His uniform was resting on a nearby chair as all he had on was the plain red shirt and an item of clothing around his waist that Sunset referred to as 'boxers'.

"This is all so much to take in at once," he said in his mind as he inspected this new body of his. "How in Equestria did Sunset and Princess Sparkle adjust to this so quickly?" Upon asking himself that question, his mind went back to first stepping inside the building that Rarity called the Mall. The transformed stallion was immediately overwhelmed by all that he saw. Technology that was unheard of back in Equestria was considered common here. A large self powered carriage sitting on a spinning pedestal that Sunset called a 'car'. Food that smelled so good that it made his stomach growl almost instantly. Words and phrases that if spoken back in Equestria would have resulted in ponies thinking he was crazy.

As his mind was still processing everything he had experienced so far, a couple knocks on the door derailed his train of thought.

"Everything alright in there, Steel?" Sunset asked from the other side.

"Huh?" he answered. "Oh! Yeah. I'm fine."

"Just making sure," she said. "Let me know if you need me to come in and help."

"I will," he replied before looking down at the clothes that his friends had selected for him. Having decided that the red shirt was fine to keep on, the clothes mainly consisted of blue colored denim jeans, a pair of new black shoes, and a black colored jacket that reminded him of his old uniform back on the Celestia. Only without the patches and badges.

After a few minutes, he unlocked the door and stepped out of the changing room wearing all of the clothes that were selected for him.

"What do you think?" he asked as he looked over at Sunset who was seated on a chair nearby with the others either looking at their phones or clothes on nearby racks.

"That definitely looks much more normal than that uniform," she replied as she looked him over. "No offense."

"None taken," he replied. "I'm sorry for all the headache I've caused with it."

"You couldn't have predicted this, darling," Rarity replied as she was looking at a fancy purple colored dress. "I'm sure the type of clothing you'd be wearing here was very low on your list of priorities when making the journey."

"You can say that again," he replied. "I had no idea what to expect when I watched Princess Sparkle go through the portal."

"How does that feel for you though, Steel?" Sunset asked. "Does it feel alright? Comfortable to move around in?"

"Yeah," he answered before taking a few steps forward. "It feels pretty good."

"That's all that matters then," his friend replied. "I just hope they aren't too expensive."

"Don't worry about that, Sunset," Rarity said. "I'll be more than happy to cover the cost."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright," she replied, still feeling bad that she was having to ask for help. She then looked back over at Steel as he walked back inside the changing room. As she watched him, her mind flashed back to what she saw back near the statue. As soon as she had grabbed his hand, her magical ability showed her exactly what he didn't want to talk about. The fact that he was almost forced against his will to breed with Queen Chrysalis.

It wasn't surprising to her that that was what he didn't want to divulge to her. She didn't blame him either for wanting to skip that part of the story. Had she been in his shoes, she would've done the exact same thing. But now that she was aware of this fact, she wasn't sure how he'd react to her knowing this.

"Maybe I can talk to him about it when it's just the two of us," she said in her mind as the door to the changing room opened once more, allowing the Captain to step out in his uniform with his new clothes draped over his right arm. "Something like that can definitely mentally scar someone for life if left unchecked."

"All set, Steel?" Rarity asked, snapping the fiery haired one out of her thoughts as she looked around to see the rest of her friends standing up and getting ready to leave.

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm ready if you all are."

"Splendid," the fashionista replied. "If you could be so kind as to hand over those clothes on your arm. I'll get them paid for and then we can go see what else the mall has to offer us."

"Sounds good," he said before doing as she requested, giving the clothes over to her. Once that was done, the group made their way over to the cashier's counter. Standing behind the register was a woman with light blue colored hair and cream colored skin wearing a purple colored shirt with black pants. Pinned to her shirt was a nametag that read 'Coco P.' on it.

"Hello Rarity," she said as the group stopped in front of the counter.

"Good afternoon, Coco," Rarity replied while placing the clothes on the counter to be scanned. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing well," the clerk answered. She then looked down at the clothes before acquiring a confused expression. "This doesn't look like any of your usual purchases."

"Certainly not," she said before motioning over toward the transformed Captain. "I'm just helping out a friend with getting some new clothes." After hearing that, the woman named Coco looked at Steel from top to bottom.

"Why is he wearing that costume?" she asked. "Did his clothes get ruined in the wash or something?"

"Uh... yeah," Sunset answered. "Some of my... personal clothes accidentally got mixed in with his down at the laundromat. And most of them were originally colored white. They ended up turning pink. So we're helping him out."

"I see," Coco replied while ringing up the clothes. "That sounds awful."

"Yeah," Steel replied, not comfortable with having to make up a story to cover his situation. "It's... unfortunate."

"Well I hope that your luck starts to turn around, sir," she said just as she finished up scanning the clothes. "And at least that outfit you're wearing right now looks nice. Almost like the real thing."

"Thank you," he replied, fighting the urge to say that it really was his actual uniform. After saying that, he watched Rarity dig around in her purse before pulling out a small diamond blue card. She then gave it to Coco, who slid it through a slot on her machine and then gave it back. A few seconds had passed until the machine made a slight noise. This made both Rarity and Coco smile before the clerk handed her the bags of clothes.

"Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone," she said with a cheerful tone as she waved at the group.

"We certainly will," Rarity replied before they made their way outside the store and back into the mall area. Once back out in the main concourse, the fashionista took the tags off of the new clothes before giving the bag to the Captain. "There you go, Steel," she said once he had the bag's strings in his hand. "Now you can go change back into these. You can even put your uniform in the bag as well once you're done."

"Thank you," he replied. "I really appreciate you doing this for me."

"It's no problem at all," she replied before looking over to Sunset. "And don't worry about paying me back for that either, darling," she continued. "Those clothes weren't expensive at all."

"Really?" Sunset asked, getting a silent nod from her friend as an answer. "Thanks. I still would've paid you back for them. Regardless of how much they were."

"No worries," she said before a buzzing sound was heard coming from her purse. Reaching a hand in, she pulled out her phone before putting it up to her ear. "Hello?" she said into the device. "What is it, Sweetie Belle?" As the group silently looked on, the expression on her face went from happy to concerned in a matter of seconds. "Oh dear," she continued. "Don't worry. I'm on my way." After saying that, she took the phone away from her ear before putting it back into her purse.

"Is everything alright, Rarity?" Applejack asked.

"It seems as though Opalescence somehow got into the paint cabinet and made a mess all over the floor," the fashionista answered before sighing. "I'll have to rush back to try and get as much cleaned as possible before it all dries."

"Oof," the apple farmer replied. "I know that feeling. Winona likes getting into things that she shouldn't be. Want some help?"

"Didn't you say you had chores back at the farm that needed to be done?"

"I can still take care of them before supper time," she answered. "All that needs done is sweeping the floors and repainting one of the walls on the barn."

"Are you sure you'll have time for all of that?" the purple haired girl asked before pointing at a nearby clock. As soon as the farmer's eyes saw what time it was, a look of surprise was immediately seen on her face.

"It's that late already?" she exclaimed. "Shoot! I won't be able to get that wall done before it gets dark!"

"Don't worry, AJ," Rainbow replied. "I can give you a hand if you need it."

"You will?"

"Of course I will," she answered in a confident tone. "I can have that whole barn painted in no time if I wanted to."

"Thanks, Rainbow," she said before breathing a sigh of relief. "You could probably stay for supper too if ya like."

"Awesome!"

"I can give you a hand if you need it, Rarity," Twilight said, making her friend look at her. "I don't have anything left to do today."

"You would?" the fashionista asked.

"Of course," she answered. "What are friends for?"

"Oh thank you so much, darling," she replied before gently hugging her. "I really do appreciate that."

"Anytime," Twilight replied as she returned the hug.

"We better get going then," she said as she stepped back. "That mess isn't going to clean itself."

"Yeah," Applejack said. "We'd better get going too."

"Don't have too much fun now, girls," Sunset said as she and Steel waved at the four of them as they walked away. As they all disappeared into the crowds of other people, the two of them began walking in the opposite direction. "There should be a restroom just up ahead for you to change, Steel," she said before looking over at him. "I'd imagine you'll want to stop sticking out so much as soon as possible."

"That would be nice," he replied. As the two walked along, the transformed stallion couldn't help but notice all of the extra attention. The eyes of random strangers watching him for an extended amount of time all because of his uniform was getting uncomfortable. The sooner he could change clothes, the better. After a few more minutes, the two stopped outside of a passageway leading into a room.

"Here we are," his friend said as she gestured for him to go in. "I'll wait out here for you."

"Alright," he said before entering the little corridor. Upon stepping inside, his nose was met with a foul stench that made him nearly gag on the spot. "Mother of Luna!" he exclaimed in his mind as he looked around at the room he was now in. "What is that awful smell?!" To his left was three sinks mounted to the wall with one large mirror spanning across the length they took up. To his right was three stalls. Two of them were open. But the one furthest from him looked to be occupied. Not wanting to stick around in the room any more than he needed, he entered the closest stall and closed the door behind him.

After several minutes of changing and a combination of holding his breath and then resisting the urge to gag when he had to breathe, he stepped out of the stall in his new outfit with his uniform in the bag. Checking himself over in the mirror, he felt satisfied with this before leaving the room. Stepping back out into the main concourse, he breathed in deeply as he was thankful to not have that horrid aroma invading his airspace.

"That looks much more normal for here," Sunset said as she looked at him while sitting on a nearby bench. Looking over toward her, the Captain couldn't help but agree as the people around him were no longer staring at him for an extended period of time. She then motioned for him to follow her. "Feeling up for another snack?" she asked as he came up to her.

"Of course," he answered. "I wouldn't mind having something else to eat."

"Alright," she replied. "I think I know something you'd enjoy." This made him smile in response as the two started walking together once again. As they walked, the transformed stallion couldn't help but feel a sense of normalcy for the first time in just over a week. Granted he was still in a world that he hardly knew anything about. But there were no reporters hounding him. No rogue changeling Queen potentially lurking around every corner. And no more unwanted attention. It was as though a substantial amount of weight had finally been lifted off of him.

Minutes later, they arrived in an area of the mall that was occupied by several food vendors. The mixed scents was very appealing to him as he breathed it in. It reminded him of several festivals back home where ponies would bring their best meals to share. Staying close to his friend's side, he followed her as she walked up to one particular booth. One that had a familiar person on the other side of the counter.

"Hey Pinkie," Sunset said as the two of them stopped next to the counter, making her friend look up from the food she was preparing.

"Hey guys!" she happily replied while turning around. As soon as she did, her blue colored eyes fixated on the Captain's new outfit. "Oooh," she said. "Nice new outfit there, Steel."

"Thank you," he replied. "I definitely feel much better wearing this out here."

"That's good," she said. "So where's everyone else?"

"Applejack had to go back to the farm to get her chores done," Sunset answered. "And Rainbow went with her to help get them done. Rarity and Twilight went back to the boutique to clean up a mess that Opalescence made. So it's just us now."

"I see," the pink haired one replied. She then looked at the transformed stallion who had his gaze focused on the delicious looking slices of pizza behind the serving glass. Seeing his expression as one similar to something she'd have when looking at some delicious ice cream, she smirked before tapping the glass. This made him blink a few times before looking up at her. "Feeling hungry there, Captain?" she asked as she leaned on the countertop.

"Yes," he answered before inhaling deeply. "The smell of all of this food is making me very hungry."

"Have you ever had pizza before?" Sunset asked as she looked at him. "I can't quite remember if Equestria has any places that serve it."

"I've had it before," he replied. "It's just.. been quite some time. Probably not since I left home for the Merchant Marine Academy."

"Would you like a slice or two?" she continued. "I was planning on getting some myself."

"Yes please," he quickly answered, not even taking a second to think it over.

"Alright," the fiery haired girl said before giggling.

"What'll it be then?" Pinkie asked while placing two paper plates on the counter.

"We'll just have two slices of cheese pizza each."

"Ah. Good choice," she replied in an approving tone as she turned around and started fulfilling the order. "I just had a fresh one come out of the oven." After saying that, she turned back around with a sizzling hot cheese pizza on a wooden paddle. She then slid it off on to a metal pan before dividing it into eight equal sized slices. Once the slices were on their respective plates, Sunset paid for them before taking hold of both plates.

"Thank you, Pinkie," she said while looking at her friend. "These look delicious."

"You're welcome," her friend replied cheerfully. "Let me know if you two need anything else."

"We will," she said before walking away from the counter, leading Steel over to an empty table. As she sat down in a chair, he sat down across from her. Taking hold of one of the plates, he set it down in front of him and just inhaled the pleasant aroma. It made him feel both happy and hungry.

"Thank you, Sunset," he said before looking up to see that she was already eating her slice.

"You're welcome," she replied after swallowing what was in her mouth. "It's the least I can do to help you out while you stay here."

"I know," he said. "I just feel bad that you're having to spend extra money because of me. I'm not quite sure how I'd even begin to pay you back for it."

"Hey. Don't worry about it," she calmly replied. "This whole situation is something beyond your control."

"True," he said before picking up his slice to take a bite only to quickly drop it back on the plate due to how hot it was. "Ouch!" he grunted while waving his hand in the air, cooling it off.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Just not used to picking up hot food with anything other than magic." This response just made his friend chuckle as she picked her slice up and took another bite out of it. After waiting a few minutes, the transformed Captain tried picking up his slice once more. This time, he was able to hold it without hurting his hand. Seeing this, he took a bite out of it. Immediately afterward, he let out a satisfied moan of approval as this was one of the most delicious things he had eaten in quite some time.

"I take it you like it?" she asked, happy to see his reaction to the food.

"Yes!" he happily replied before taking another bite. "This is so delicious!"

"Glad to hear it," she said as Pinkie walked over to the table carrying two cups. She then set them down on the table before taking a seat.

"Enjoying the food I take it?" she asked, giggling softly as she observed Steel enjoying his meal.

"If this was served on Mareitania," he replied after swallowing the food in his mouth. "It would be the most popular thing on the menu." He then looked over at the cup placed in front of him. Looking inside, he saw a fizzy brown colored liquid within. "What's this?" he asked while gesturing at the drink.

"It's a cup of ice cold root beer," she answered. "Goes great with pizza. My treat for you guys." Hearing that, Steel looked at the hand that wasn't holding anything at the moment before moving it to grab the cup. Like she had said, the cup was cold as ice.

"You got it, Steel?" Sunset asked while grabbing her cup.

"I... think so," he answered, slightly tightening his grip on the cup before bringing it up to his lips. Tilting it up, he sensed the cold liquid enter his mouth before he began to swallow it. The taste was not something he had experienced before. But it was definitely something he enjoyed as he kept drinking until the entirety of the cup's content was gone. Sensing this, he set the cup back down on the table before exhaling with satisfaction.

"You must've been thirsty, Captain," Pinkie said in an impressed tone before looking at Sunset who was just as amazed to see what he had done.

"I don't think I've seen anyone down a cup of root beer that size so quick," the fiery haired woman added as she looked at her own cup, which was still half full.

"Guess it must be a sailor thing," Steel replied. "Princess Twilight had that same look on her face after I finished my mug of cider before she even started drinking hers."

"Must be," she replied before she and Pinkie started giggling.

As Steel was relaxing with his meal, the reason for him being in this whole situation stood silently in a darkened alleyway just north of Manehattan's Grand Station. Skillfully hidden among the shadows, she watched as ponies passed by the corridor's entrance carrying items ranging from shopping bags to hayburgers. The level of disdain she had for them was immense as her right eye twitched each time she saw one pass by.

"A Queen such as I should not be subjected to such... conditions," she said in her mind. "Reduced to lurking in these disgusting alleyways and just barely scraping by." But when she saw a loving couple pass by the entrance, she sighed slightly as she remembered the stallion who had won her affection. "Why did you refuse me, my dear Captain?" she quietly asked out loud, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear. "I could've given you anything you desired." Though immediately saying that, she shook her head several times to snap herself out of her thoughts. "What am I doing?!" she yelled internally. "I will not let my feelings distract me. Once I get that stallion in my grasp, I will make him regret rejecting me. He will become nothing more than my consort!"

Not long afterward, a group of six ponies began to walk down the corridor toward her. Seeing them coming, she looked on as each of them looked around as they came closer, coming to the conclusion that they were the ones she was waiting for.

"My Queen," one of them softly said as they all approached. "Are you down here?"

"Over here," she bluntly yet quietly answered, startling all six of the newcomers. "Hurry it up! We don't have all day." Upon hearing her, the six of them quickly came to her before dropping their respective disguises.

"We got here as quick as we could, your Highness," one of them said. "We figured that the larger group should go with you."

"Very good," she replied.

"So what's the plan?" another one asked.

"It's simple," the Queen answered. "We are going to board a train to the Crystal Empire. Once we get there, we are going to find Captain Blade's family. And when we find them, we are going to bring them back to the hideout."

"And what happens after that?" yet another one asked. "Princess Sparkle and the others know where the hideout is. They'll come back as soon as they find out the Captain's family is missing. We can't take them on by ourselves."

"Who said we'd have to fight them?" Chrysalis replied before chuckling in her own menacing way. This though was lost on her subordinates as they just looked at each other with confused expressions on their respective faces.

"What do you mean?" one of them asked.

"We've already managed to kidnap them once before. Haven't we?" she said in a devious tone. "What's stopping us from doing it again?"

"So you want us to kidnap all of them too?"

"No," she answered. "Not all of them. Just everypony besides Sparkle and... Glimmer"

"Why leave those two?" another one asked in a confused tone.

"Two reasons," she replied. "First. Twilight is the only one who knows exactly where Captain Blade is hiding. So we can use that against her. And second. Unlike those other ponies, Glimmer won't be so easily fooled. She'll be on to any attempt we try."

"So we'll have the Princess' friends and the Captain's family," one said. "Then what?"

"Then we use them as leverage to lure Sparkle and Glimmer to exactly where I want them," she continued. "And once we do, Twilight will have no choice but to bring Captain Blade to me herself."

"What makes you think she'd do that?"

"Leave that to me," the Queen confidently answered before channeling up her magic. Soon, she was enveloped in a bright green field of magic until it dissipated, revealing that she was now disguised as Twilight Sparkle herself. "Now come," she said in the Princess' voice before walking toward the alleyway's entrance. "We have a train to catch."

Chapter Six

A couple hours after boarding their train in Manehattan, the group of seven disguised changelings had arrived at their destination. Stepping off on to the platform at the station just outside the Crystal Empire, Chrysalis looked on through the veil of her disguise at the shimmering spectacle that was the city made entirely of crystal. Under the light of the moon and numerous stars, the structures shined and sparkled as always. But in the Queen's opinion, it was sickening to look at.

Time, however, was on her side for this part of the mission. With Luna's moon high in the sky, the platform was less busy as it would be if it were daytime. Almost completely deserted aside from a couple security guards, who seemed to rather read magazines than do their job. They didn't even acknowledge the group's presence as they walked by. Almost as though they weren't even there.

"Such laziness," the cloaked Queen said in her mind as they went down the stairs leading off of the platform to cross the tracks. "If my guards ever were like this, I'd have them reassigned to more... unpleasant tasks. Oh well. The less we get stopped by these fools, the better."

"My Queen," one of them who was disguised as Fluttershy softly said after crossing the tracks. "How exactly are we going to do this?"

"Quiet!" Chrysalis softly ordered in the Princess of Friendship's tone. She then looked around to make sure that no one else was around before looking back at the small group following her, each of them disguised as one of Princess Twilight's friends. "It's simple," she continued. "By the time we get there, they'll most likely be sleeping. So all we'll have to do when we find them is just cocoon them. Once that's done, I'll make a portal back to the lair for us to go through."

"A portal?" the changeling disguised as Rainbow Dash asked. "Brilliant idea, your Highness!"

"Keep your voice down!" the Queen sternly said through gritted teeth while glaring at the loud one. "Do you want us to be exposed before we even reach the castle?"

"N-No," the changeling quickly stuttered in a quiet tone. "My apologies."

Hearing that, the cloaked Queen just sighed and rolled her eyes before turning around and walking once more with the group in tow. Soon, they had made their way into the city surrounding the castle. Looking around, they were relieved to see that most of the crystal ponies had returned to their homes for the night as many of the streets were quiet and peaceful.

"Once we reach the castle. Let me do the talking," the disguised Queen softly said as they walked. Looking back at the group, she saw all of them silently nod in agreement. After saying that, the group approached the castle. The entrance of the structure was being guarded by a pair of armor wearing crystal ponies. Both of them were holding spears as they stood motionless, almost as though they were statues. "Hello there," Chrysalis said in her cloaked voice, mimicking the Princess of Friendship.

"Princess Twilight?" one of them responded as both of them looked at the group. "What brings you here, your Highness?"

"Just wanted to check in and see how Captain Blade's family was doing," she replied, being cautious as to not sound out of character for how the young purple alicorn would usually speak. "My friends also wanted to see how they were as well," she continued before looking back at her disguised minions. "Right girls?"

Each of them nodded while smiling in response. As Chrysalis turned her head to look back at the guards, she could see that they both looked confused as their respective gazes looked on at the group.

"Weren't you just here earlier today?" he continued. "I doubt that much would've changed in such a short amount of time." This caught the disguised Queen off guard as she hadn't anticipated being questioned like this. Her response to this was one of two paths. Option one was her first instinct. One that she had to fight in order to keep the charade going. Berating the guard for having the audacity to question her actions. But doing this while disguised as the Princess of Friendship would immediately blow her cover.

The second option would be to keep calm and just go with the moment. Something that was more challenging for her. Clearly this guard wasn't as stupid as most other guard ponies. Something that genuinely impressed her. But it also meant that she'd have to come up with a realistic explanation for why Twilight would visit the same place twice within the span of a day if the words of this guard was to be believed.

"It.. never hurts to keep a constant... tab on how they're doing," she answered, trying to sound convincing while also improvising as she went along. "Besides. Lots of things can happen in just a short amount of time. Plus I'm sure Captain Blade would appreciate having updates on his family."

"I suppose that's fair," the other guard said as he rubbed his muzzle in thought. "After all. This is an unusual situation. It would make sense then to maintain a level of certainty with things like this."

"Precisely," the cloaked deceiver replied.

"But something still seems a bit... off though," the first guard continued as his gaze narrowed at her. "Normally Prince Shining Armor or Princess Cadance would have mentioned something about your arrival to us. They'd even be down here with us as we'd wait. Yet neither one of them are here."

"Well...." Chrysalis said, beginning to sense that they were starting to become suspicious. "This was a... spur of the moment decision. Naturally they wouldn't know we would be coming then."

"If that's the case. Then I'll need you all to wait here," the other one said before turning to go inside. "I must go inform Princess Cadance of your arrival."

"Y-you don't have to do that," the cloaked Queen quickly replied. "We'll just be in and out. No need to get Cadance or Shining Armor out of bed or anything."

"Sorry Princess Twilight," the guard replied as he opened the door with his magic. "But we're under strict orders to let them know if the Captain's family has visitors."

"No!" Chrysalis sternly said before grabbing both guards by the neck with her own magical grasp and lifting them off of the ground, being mindful to also cover their mouths to avoid any calls for help. The expressions of fear and shock in their eyes made her smirk as she looked at them. "You fools will not ruin my plan!" After saying that, she cast a sleep spell on both of them, making their bodies go limp as they drifted off to sleep. Seeing that they were now incapacitated, she set them down on the floor.

"Brilliant move, my Queen," the changeling disguised as Starlight said in a complimentary tone. "They didn't see that coming at all."

"That should give us some time," the Queen replied before turning around to make sure that no random crystal ponies witnessed anything. Fortunately for her, it seemed as though the streets around the castle were finally void of activity. Sensing this good fortune for her efforts, she turned and started walking inside. "We need to move quick though before these two wake up."

"We're right behind you, your Majesty," the changeling disguised as Rarity said as they followed her in. Once all of them were inside, Chrysalis used her magic to drag the two guards inside before closing the doors behind them. If this plan of hers was going to succeed, the last thing she wanted was for it to all be undone by being clumsy with a couple of sleeping guards.

Leaving the pair of guards at the bottom of the staircase leading up into the castle, the group slowly ascended the steps. Once at the top, the cloaked Queen was very careful and attentive when it came to listening for any hoofsteps approaching them. But as she looked at the various doorways and halls leading to different parts of the castle, she realized that searching the entire building for her target's family would take longer than the amount of time they had. Eventually those two guards downstairs would wake up and no doubt sound the alarm.

"How am I going to find them without raising suspicion?" she asked herself in thought.

"Princess Twilight?" a voice asked from outside her view. A voice that upon hearing, her mind flashed back to the demise of her Hive. Turning her head to the direction the voice came from, she found herself looking at the one creature who she hated nearly as much as Starlight Glimmer. That of course being Thorax. As soon as her eyes first caught sight of him, she had to fight the urge to look disgusted at his new form. But as she looked at him, he would look back at her with a confused expression on his face. "What are you all doing here?" he asked as he gazed at all of the cloaked changelings, being mistaken that he was talking to his friends.

"Hello... Thorax," Chrysalis said, trying to sound normal while holding herself together. "We're just here to check in on Captain Blade's family."

"But you were just here earlier today," he replied, adding to the disguised Queen's annoyance. "Not much has changed since then. Aside from them settling in to where they'll be staying."

"I'd just like to keep Steel informed about how his family is doing," she said as the temptation to attack him for the crime of betrayal was starting to become more and more appealing. But her mission was more of a priority. Especially now that there was no turning back. "Would it be possible to speak to them?"

"It... might be," he answered while tilting his head as he looked at her. "Chances are though that they could just be getting ready for bed. You might be able to talk to them before they go to sleep."

As soon as he said that, the Queen's eyes immediately widened with delight. This admission by him was something she immediately knew would work in her favor. If what he said was true, then she'd easily be able to cocoon them all with little to no resistance.

"Perfect," she replied in a happier tone. "Could you take us to where they are?"

"Right this way," he responded before walking away, prompting the group of cloaked changelings to follow. As they walked down one of the many corridors, Chrysalis knew that the chance of coming across Cadance or Shining Armor was high. Should either one of them show up, the entire plan could be ruined as they'd know something was not right. But as the journey continued, no sign of them was seen. Minutes passed until the changeling King stopped in front of a door. "Here we are," he said before opening the door and poking his head into the room.

"This is it!" Chrysalis thought as she silently observed him. "I'm so close to seeing my plan succeed! This incompetent fool doesn't realize that he's led me right to them." But as she stood there, an idea quickly formed in her mind. One that would allow her to exact her revenge upon the traitorous creature in front of her. But in order for her to do it, she'd have to rely on her minions to do it while she remained focused on the Captain's family. As she was simulating everything about to happen in her mind, Thorax backed away from the door slightly before closing it.

"I'm sorry, Twilight," he said as he turned to look at the cloaked Queen. "It looks like they've already gone to sleep. You can tell Captain Blade that they're doing fine though and that he doesn't need to worry about them."

"Are you sure they're all asleep?" she asked.

"See for yourself if you don't believe me," he replied before stepping aside, allowing her to open the door. But once she opened the door and looked in, what she saw was not what she was expecting at all. Instead of seeing a room of sleeping ponies, she was instead looking at an empty storage room. Seeing this only angered the Queen as she realized that Thorax wasn't as dumb as she thought.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked, attempting to keep up the charade as she looked at Thorax, who only looked back at her with a smug expression on his face. "Captain Blade's family isn't in here."

"Of course they aren't," he responded. "And you aren't really Princess Sparkle. Are you. Chrysalis."

This stunned the cloaked Queen as she didn't think that he'd see through her disguise. But sensing that the jig was up, she dropped the act and in a flash of green magic, revealed her true form.

"Impressive," she said in a complimentary tone. "I wasn't expecting you to be capable enough to sense my presence."

"I've matured since the last time we saw each other," Thorax replied. "I learned how to detect changelings in disguise. Just like how you detected me back at the old Hive."

"Old... Hive?!" she angrily said while glaring at him. "That Hive was my home! And you stole it from me! You and Glimmer!"

"You were only holding us back," he said. "We've grown so much since I took over. Where have you been since then? Hiding among the shadows? Just scrounging for any source of love to feed off of? Barely scraping by?"

"And who's fault is that?" she continued. "You betrayed me! You turned my Hive against me!"

"I saw that your way wasn't the best way," he replied in a sympathetic tone while holding out a hoof. "And now. It's time for you to see it too," he said. "Come on. Let's end this hostility. We don't have to be enemies. You can reform yourself. You and the rest of your followers. There's still a place for all of you at the new Hive. You will be welcomed back and accepted. Isn't that what you want?"

Chrysalis just silently looked between his extended hoof and his face repeatedly. Was he actually trying to get her to surrender? To throw everything away just like that? The nerve of him to try and get her to back down when she was so close to seeing her plan come to fruition. Nothing was going to stand between her and getting what she wanted. Nothing.

"You just don't get it. Do you," she said before swatting his hoof away. "Why would I want to be subservient to you? You and that wretched mare made me look like a fool in front of my enemies. You think I'm willing to look passed that and just give up? Especially when I'm so close to achieving the next step of my plan."

"Don't do this!" Thorax exclaimed before gesturing to her little group behind her. "Think of your followers. What way would be best for them? Your way? Or mine?" Looking back, the Queen observed her little group. They all seemed conflicted with what Thorax was saying. Were they actually considering his proposal? Was she about to lose even more of what little of her power she had left?

"The way that makes their Queen happy!" she answered before looking back at him. "My Hive was feared. My Hive was revered. And most importantly, my Hive was respected. Aside from your betrayal, no creature dared to attack it."

"Yeah!" one of them added. "We're not just gonna betray our Queen like you did! Her plan will bring us back from the near destruction you caused!"

"Once I get Captain Blade in my hooves again, we will create a brand new Hive," Chrysalis continued. "A new generation of changelings will be born! One that will be loyal to me! And when that is complete, I will then have my revenge against all who've stood against me."

"What is so special about him?" he asked. "For as long as I've known you, you've never done this much just to get one specific stallion."

"You think I'd tell you my reasoning?" she answered before scoffing at the mere idea of her revealing her plans to him. "You'd have better luck asking an earth pony to move clouds." She then narrowed her gaze to look directly at her adversary in front of her with a threatening glare. "Now," she continued. "This is going to end one of two ways. Either you take us to the Captain's family. Or we will tear this castle apart until we find them ourselves." This earned a heavy sigh from the King as he assumed a defensive stance.

"I offered you a chance to have peace," he said. "But I can see now that there's no hope of that happening. This plan of yours ends here. I will not let you reach Steel's family."

"Bold words for someone who doesn't have the numbers to back up," the Queen said before looking back at the group of changelings behind her. "Subdue him."

"Yes, my Queen," one of them replied before they all pounced and began to beat down the King in front of her. Even though he tried his best to put up a semblance of resistance, it was useless against the number of changelings repeatedly punching and kicking him. Sensing he was in over his head, he opened his mouth to cry out for help. But before he could even utter a sound, Chrysalis used her magic to cover his mouth.

"No one is coming to save you," she said in a confident tone as she observed the beatdown. Within minutes, the once proud King was reduced to a beaten, battered, and bruised creature writhing in pain in front of her. This sight pleased the Queen as she waved off her group and stepped forward to stand in front of his head. She then charged up her horn before casting a mind control spell on him. In his current state, Thorax was in no shape to offer up any resistance. "Get up," she said in a commanding tone before cutting off her magic.

"Yes.... my Queen," Thorax grunted in an emotionless tone as he slowly stood back up. Upon hearing that, the Queen couldn't help but smirk confidently. One of her sworn enemies was now under her control. And now in an ironic twist, he was going to help bring the next phase of her plan to fruition.

"Now," she said as she stood in front of him. "Take us to where Captain Blade's family is being kept."

The mind controlled King just silently nodded in response before turning around and started to walk away. As he did, Chrysalis once again assumed her disguise as did the rest of the changelings. With her newly acquired minion leading the way, the group made their way through many corridors. Along the way, they encountered several pairs of guards who all stood aside and saluted as they passed by. Seeing this as a sign that the two guards who she directly confronted had either not woken up or didn't sound the alarm made her confident that this next phase was moving along smoothly.

Soon, the King stopped in front of a closed door before turning around to face the group behind him.

"Here they are, my Queen," he said before gesturing toward the door.

"Thank you," the disguised Queen replied before turning to look at her subjects. "Keep an eye out for any guards approaching," she ordered. "There's bound to be many in this area."

"It will be done," one of them replied before they walked away to keep watch. Seeing that, Chrysalis turned back to look at her hypnotized adversary.

"Wait here," she commanded.

"Very well," he replied. After hearing him say that, the Queen used her magic to open the door before poking her head into the room. Inside the room was two large beds with four ponies sound asleep on them. An older couple as well as a younger one. Just the mere sight of them was making her mouth water in anticipation of the amount of love she and her subjects could consume. Stepping into the room, she silently closed the door behind her before dropping her disguise.

"Such a lovely family you have, my beloved Captain," she said in her mind as she silently approached the beds. The sounds of their respective snores helped to cloak her steps as she got closer. "They'll be the perfect pawns in my plan to have you in my grasp once again." Deciding to go with the biggest one of the four first, she lit up her horn and grabbed him with her magic. "You must be his father," she said in her mind as she gently lifted him out of the bed, being mindful to not wake the mare.

"No, mommy," the stallion said in his slumber while floating above the bed, making her freeze up in fear that he was waking up. "I don't wanna go to school." Cautiously looking on as she held him in midair, she saw that he was still sound asleep. Wanting to get him taken care of before anything else happened, she brought him over to her and began the cocooning process as slime started exiting from her mouth and binding his hindlegs together. Once she was finished, it wouldn't have mattered if he awoke or not. He'd be powerless to do anything as his magic would be nullified within.

"Soon," she said in her mind as the stallion was spun around in the air like a marshmallow above a campfire while her cocooning slime enveloped more and more of his body. "You all will be mine. And then. My beloved will have no choice but to be mine as well." It didn't take long until the stallion was fully sealed within his new cocoon. The changeling Queen smiled at her work before setting him down on the floor. "One down," she said in her mind. "Three to go."

"Iron...." a voice softly called from the bed, making her freeze up as her eyes darted back toward the bed to find the mare, presumably the Captain's mother, reaching around in her sleep for the stallion she had just cocooned. In a moment of panic, she lit up her horn and cast a new disguise on herself to where she was now in the form of the one now encased. "Sweetie?" she asked before opening her eyes.

"Y-yes dear?" Chrysalis stuttered in the father's tone of voice.

"Why are you out of bed?" she asked.

"I... couldn't sleep," she answered while quickly thinking of an easy and believable excuse. "I'm just... worried about Steel. I didn't want to wake you up."

"You know there's nothing we can do about it, hun," the mare replied. "Princess Twilight has everything under control. It's not like we aren't gonna see him again."

"I just wish he was here now though," the cloaked Queen said, being proud of herself for not getting her cover blown. In the cover of darkness within the dimly lit room, the mare didn't seem to be able to see the cocoon on the floor.

"So do I," she replied. "But all we can do is sit here and wait." She then started to pat the empty space next to her. "Come back to bed, dear. You know I can't sleep well when I don't have you to cuddle with." Not wanting to make her suspicious, Chrysalis did as she was asked and slowly got into the bed next to the mare. As soon as she did though, the mare immediately embraced her as she pressed herself up against her disguised body. Immediately following this, the Queen could smell the overwhelming amount of love this mare had to give. "I know one way that'll make you tired," she said before playfully winking at her. "But I'd rather not do that with Woody and Sassy in the room."

"Yeah," the disguised changeling replied, playing along with her. "Probably not the best idea."

"How about this instead?" the mare asked before she closed her eyes and placed her lips on hers, stunning the Queen as she was not expecting to be doing this. The soft touch of this mare's lips against her own, even with the disguise, was enticing. She could taste so much love that this mare had for the stallion she was disguised as. This wasn't the first time she had kissed a mare while impersonating her loved one. She didn't mind it though. To her, it was just another way to obtain the sustenance needed for survival. Wanting to feed upon this source, the Queen wrapped her limbs around the mare while keeping their lips together.

"Yes...." Chrysalis said in her mind as she pushed her tongue into the mare's mouth. "I haven't felt this amount of love since replacing that annoying Princess. Give me your love. Let me feed upon it." With the mare's eyes still closed, the Queen dropped her disguise, broke the kiss, and charged up her magic. Doing this, a stream of pink colored energy began flowing from the mare's chest into her mouth.

"Sweetie?" the mare asked in a softer voice before opening her eyes only for her pupils to shrink in horror at the sight in front of her. She tried lighting up her own magic to defend herself. But soon found herself too weak to do anything as it dissipated almost immediately afterward. She was too weak to even cry out for help as her love and energy was drained from her body into the awaiting maw of the changeling in front of her.

"Such delicious love," the Queen said after finishing her absorption of the mare's love. "I haven't fed like that in a long time."

"What... are you... doing?" the weakened mare asked. Before she could say anything else, her mouth was covered by the changeling's magic.

"Don't worry, dear," Chrysalis replied in a mocking tone while patting her on the head. "You'll be kept nice and safe inside your new cocoon." After saying that, she used her magic to begin enveloping the mare in her cocooning slime. Now reinvigorated by this meal she had, the process didn't take long at all before the Captain's mother joined his father as her prisoner. Once this was done, the Queen turned her attention to the other bed. The two occupants had seemed to have slept through the entire ordeal.

After several more minutes, four large cocoons laid at the hooves of the changeling Queen. Each of them containing a member of the Captain's family. Chrysalis smiled at her work as the ponies within grunted and squirmed against their enclosures. Try as they could, escape was now impossible for them.

"Time to get moving," she said to herself before lighting up her horn once again. Only this time, she used more of her power to open up a portal that led to the hideout in Manehattan. As soon as she could see clearly through it, she was able to see the minions who had stayed behind.

"My Queen!" one of them said as soon as they noticed the portal had opened. They all soon gathered around the opening and saluted her. "Your plan was successful?"

"Of course it was, you imbecile," the Queen bluntly replied before gesturing at the cocoons on the floor. "Start bringing these prisoners through the portal."

"Y-yes, your Majesty," the changeling stuttered before some of them emerged from the portal to start bringing the cocoons back through. As they were doing that, the Queen walked over to the door and opened it. Looking outside into the corridor, she found Thorax was still standing there under her control.

"Excellent," she softly said before whistling at her subjects who were guarding the corner. When they all turned back to look at her, she motioned for them to come to her. Silently nodding in acknowledgement, they all walked to the room before going inside, leaving Chrysalis and Thorax outside the room. "Get through the portal," she ordered as the last of the cocoons was taken through. "I'll be along shortly. Just have one final thing that I want to take care of."

"As you wish, my Queen," the last changeling replied before going through the portal, leaving the two larger changelings alone.

"Is there something else you need of me, my Queen?" Thorax asked while still under her mind control.

"As a matter of fact. There is," Chrysalis answered. "Hold still." Not even waiting for a response, the Queen punched the entranced King as hard as she could, making him fall to the floor while trembling in pain. "That was for my Hive," she said while breathing deeply as she steadied herself. "And now to make sure you don't remember any of this," she continued before firing a beam of magic from her horn directly at Thorax's forehead.

By doing this, the Queen had ensured that her adversary would not remember anything he had done within the last day or so, covering her tracks as best she could until she wanted her scheme to be revealed. If her plan was to succeed, timing would be the utmost thing to have on her side. And she wanted to have everything go according to her timing. Not Princess Twilight's. Not Starlight Glimmer's. Or any others'.

Gazing down at her fallen foe, she smirked before turning around and walking back into the room where the Captain's family once was sound asleep. All that remained in there now were two empty beds and the opening of her portal home. Closing the door behind her, she chuckled in her own dastardly way as she approached the portal's entrance. As she stepped through, she sighed contently as she was now one step closer to getting the stallion who rejected her back within her grasp.

"You will be mine, Captain Steel Blade," she said in her mind while watching her minions convert the cocoons into pods. Pods where she could actually gaze at the pony within. "One way or another. You will give in and submit to me. Especially now that I have your precious family in my grasp."

"My Queen," a minion said as he flew over to her. "Are we ready to move on to the next step?"

"Yes," she answered. "Bring me Sparkle's friends. All except for Glimmer..."

"How do you propose we do that?"

"The same way as we did the last time we captured them," she answered in a blunt tone. "Now go!"

"Yes, your Majesty!" he quickly replied before he and the rest of her few remaining followers left the warehouse, leaving the Queen all to herself with the Captain's family. As she watched them depart, she sat down next to the pod that contained his mother.

"It would seem your son has a choice to make," she said as she gently slid her hoof along the surface of the pod that was above the mare's face. "One that he had better choose correctly. For the sake of each of you."

As the changeling Queen was relishing in her success, the one that she was wanting to make hers was standing outside of a two story building as he watched Sunset fumbling around in one of the pockets of her jacket for her keys. While he waited, he took the opportunity to look upward toward the clear sky filled with many stars and a full moon. This was one of the many things he enjoyed when he was out at sea. On nights where the sky was clear, he could see countless stars in the darkened sky.

"Ah hah!" he heard his friend exclaim with delight as she pulled a set of keys from her pocket. "I was starting to get worried for a bit thinking that I left them at the mall."

"That wouldn't have been good," he replied, earning a soft chuckle from her in response.

"Nope," she said. "Not at all."

"So this is where you live?" he asked as he looked at the structure in front of them. From what he could see, it was a simple two story building with two large windows on the second floor and just a lone door at the top of a small concrete staircase on the first floor.

"Yeah," she answered. "Just moved here not that long ago. When I first arrived in this world, I had to take shelter inside an abandoned factory on the outskirts of town."

"How did you go from there to here in that short amount of time?" he asked in an impressed tone.

"Had to save up a lot of money," she answered. "My job at the mall might not be one of the better paying ones. But it at least provides a steady income. Eventually, Twilight and the others offered to let me crash at their houses. Which was extremely better than suffering through the winter in a building that had no heat and gaping holes in the roof."

"That definitely wouldn't have been the best time," he replied as she stuck her key in the door's lock and turned it before opening the door.

"Come on in," she said while waving her hand in an inviting gesture. Doing as she wanted, the Captain ascended the stairs and stepped inside. Once in, she closed the door and locked it. Inside, the transformed stallion was amazed by what he was seeing. From the ground floor, he could look upward and see the night sky through a small skylight in the roof. The second floor only covered a small portion of the room below.

"This is remarkable," he said in amazement as he looked around while setting the bag containing his uniform down on a table.

"Thanks," Sunset replied as she took off her jacket and hung it on a nearby coat hook. "Though I'm sure this is nothing compared to what you've got back in Equestria."

"I don't really have a home back in Equestria," Steel said as he continued looking around.

"You don't?" she asked, surprised by what he had said.

"No," he answered. "Most times, I'd just stay on the ship I'd be working on."

"You had your own cabin on those ships though. Right?"

"Well," he began to say. "Not exactly. On the Celestia, I had to share a cabin with all the other lower ranked Officers at the time. Since I was the Fourth Officer, I had to share with the Third, Fifth, and Sixth. We had two bunk beds with one on each side of the room. It wasn't until I got to the Mareitania that I had my own cabin."

"So... what all did you have to do?" she asked in a curious tone. "I mean. Did you have different tasks for each of you all to do?"

"Yeah," he replied. "We all did. For the First, Second, and Third Officers, they'd mostly be in charge of making sure the voyage went smoothly. Mapping the routes, looking after loading and unloading cargo and passengers, and anything else related. My task was making sure that the lifeboats and other safety equipment were in good condition. Had the Celestia needed them for any emergency, for herself or any other ship in distress, we wouldn't want them to fail us."

"So you went from Fourth Officer of one ship... to Captain of another?" she continued. "That's quite the promotion. Congratulations."

"Thank you," he replied.

"How long have you been a Captain for?"

"Not that long," he answered. "Couple weeks. Just short of a month at this point." He then sighed as his eyes drifted over toward the bag that still had his uniform within. "Couldn't even get one crossing under my belt before my ship had almost gotten sunk."

"That wasn't your fault, Steel," Sunset said as she stepped over to stand in front of him. "You couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"Doesn't make it any less true," he replied. "Had Chrysalis not erased the memory of everypony aboard except for mine, I doubt that my crew would even want to sail under my command again. I can only imagine what I'm gonna have to deal with once I'm able to go back."

"Hey," she said in a softer tone as she put a hand on his shoulder. "You need to stop beating yourself up over this. I'm sure you did everything you could've to make sure that no pony lost their life. That's what a Captain does. Right?" She then pulled him into a soft hug. "Look," she said as she held him close. "I may not have known you before today. But from what Twilight told me and what I've seen from our time together, you are capable of bouncing back from this. I doubt many ponies would be able to handle everything you've had to deal with and keep going. Becoming a Captain. Encountering one of Equestria's biggest threats. Almost having been forced to breed with her. And now having to stay in a completely different universe because she's still after you."

"Hold up a moment," he said in a surprised tone. Hearing this, Sunset let him go and stepped back. "How... do you know... about that part?" he asked. "I never told you that part. I never told anypony about that part."

"Remember when I told you that this world had some semblance of Equestrian magic?"

"Yeah?"

"Back at the statue when you fell over and I first tried helping you up by grabbing your hand," she continued. "I was able to look into your thoughts and memory." She then gestured to the pendant around her neck. "I completely forgot that I was still wearing this," she said. "So that's how I was able to find out about what you... didn't want to talk about." A thought then immediately rushed into her mind as soon as she finished saying that. "Not that I was trying to be nosey or anything," she said with her hands held up and waving them around, trying to avoid having him think she was invading his privacy. "The power just shows me what's troubling other people's thoughts."

"So you can't really control it?" he asked, still trying to wrap his head around this revelation. "Or what you see?"

"Not really," she replied after giving a soft sigh. "It really only happens when I touch someone else. Fortunately it only works when I'm touching them directly on their skin. Not when I'm touching their clothes. So there's that at least. That's why it only happened when I grabbed your hand."

"I... see."

"Look. I know what you went through wasn't anything that you wanted," she continued. "And that even though she didn't succeed, it still left an emotional scar on you. But you can't let that moment control you. Otherwise she wins."

"I know," he replied. "But... moving on from it is something that's easier said than done." He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them once more. The memory of everything that transpired in his cabin now flooding his mind once more. "I can still see everything like it just happened," he continued as she led him over to her couch. Once there, the two of them sat down. "Chrysalis... gave me a drink that she made. And when I drank it, it made me feel... woozy. I passed out not long afterward. Part of me doesn't even want to know what was in there."

"I can understand that," she replied. "I wouldn't want to know either if I was in your position."

"When I came to," he continued. "I found myself magically restrained to my bed. And... the mast... was standing tall."

"The... mast?" she asked.

"Please don't make me say it," he replied. It didn't take long until she realized what he was referring to as her cheeks grew a bright shade of red.

"I... see..." she softly said as she looked back up toward his eyes.

"Whatever was in that drink was what was causing that," he went on to say. "It... made me fall under her control. She... made me pleasure her. And I couldn't stop myself at first. Not until it was almost... too late."

"It wasn't your fault though, Steel," Sunset replied in an empathetic tone. "You said it yourself. She drugged you."

"But now I can't get that moment out of my head!" he cried out. "The sight of her... almost taking my... my..." His voice soon trailed off as his body started shaking again. His eyes clenched tightly shut as he shivered. Seeing this, Sunset immediately pulled him into another hug, making sure to keep her hands on his clothes to avoid her magic becoming active again. As she held him close, she could feel his heartbeat racing and his body temperature rising.

"You've... never been with another mare before," she softly replied. "Have you?"

"No," he quietly answered. "I... haven't." He then sighed softly. "Pretty sad for somepony like me to still have his virginity. Isn't it?"

"It's okay, Cap," she said. "You can at least take comfort in the fact that she didn't take it from you."

"But what's stopping her from trying again?" he asked. "What if she tricks me with a disguise and reveals that it was her all along?" This made the woman comforting him pause as she tried to think of a response that would help him. In the silence of the moment, one solution came to her mind. But it was one that she had hesitation saying out loud.

"The only way he'd know for sure that she wouldn't get it," she thought while looking up at the night sky through the skylight. "Would be if he gave it to... someone else." She then slightly shook her head to try and dismiss the idea. "No! I couldn't ask him to do that. We just met!"

"Sunset?" she heard him say, making her look back at him to see him looking at her. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" she answered as she slowly relaxed her grip on him and let him out of the hug. "Oh! Y-yeah. Sorry. I was... just... thinking."

"I could tell," he replied. "You had that same expression as my father would when he'd be making designs for new swords or anything else."

"New swords?" she asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "As in... he makes them?"

"Yeah," he answered in a slightly more cheerful tone. "He'd forge all kinds of blades. We even made the sword I had earlier together."

"Wow," she replied as the memory of his sword entered her mind. The glistening metal and fine attention to detail she saw when she had it in her hands was definitely the mark of a professional. Something that she would have been proud to own herself. "Do you... think it'd be possible for him to make me one?"

"I'm sure he'd love to," the transformed stallion answered. "The idea of crafting a sword for someone in a different universe would definitely excite him. We'd just have to get him the details of what you'd want."

"Sounds good," she said while being happy to see that he seemed to be back to normal with the change of subject. She knew that the uncomfortable topic would eventually have to get brought back up. But at least now, he was on the path to getting this traumatic experience behind him. Getting him to at least open up and talk about it was a huge first step in the road to recovery.

"Do you think that Princess Twilight will be able to succeed?" he asked, snapping her out of her own thoughts as he looked up at the skylight. "Capturing Chrysalis and everything?"

"I have no reason to think she wouldn't," she replied. "Twilight's very capable of doing things most would think to be impossible. If anypony can catch Chrysalis, it'll be her and her friends."

"I hope so," he said. "I can only imagine how difficult it'll be though."

"Shouldn't be anything too hard for her," she replied. "I bet she's already got a plan in place to get her and make it safe for you to go back home." She then gently patted his shoulder. "You've got nothing to worry about. You'll be back on your ship in no time." This made a slight smile form on his face as he continued gazing upward at the night sky through the glass.

"Nights like this was always so calm and peaceful out at sea," he said in a calm tone. "No trees to block your view of the stars. The moon would shine brightly among them. And the waves gently rocking the ship back and forth would make anypony fall asleep."

"I wouldn't know," she replied as she leaned back and gazed up at the night sky with him. "I've never been on a ship before."

"Really?" Steel asked, surprised by this admission as he turned to look at her. "You've never sailed before?"

"Well," she began to say. "I guess I've never been on a ship that floats on water. I've been on airships before."

"Ah," he replied. "That would make a difference."

"Yeah," she said before stifling a yawn. "Well. How about I give you a tour of the place before we call it a night."

"Sure," he said before the two slowly got up from the couch. Once they did, he watched as she removed the cushions from where they were just sitting. Once they were removed, she reached down and grabbed a metal handle before pulling it, revealing a decently sized bed that was folded within the couch.

"This is where you'll be sleeping," she said as she finished pulling it out. "It's pretty comfy. And I've got some spare pillows and a blanket you can use."

"That's good," he replied. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said before pointing to a small area underneath the portion of ceiling that separated the upstairs and downstairs portions of the room. Within that area was a desk with a fancy looking piece of technology that he had never seen before. "Over there's my gaming setup," she said with a cheerful tone. "Computer with two monitors, speakers, a mini fridge, and a microwave. Got some snacks in the fridge in case you get hungry. I'll help you if we need to use the microwave." She then gestured over toward the only other door in the room on the other side. "And the bathroom is through that door."

"Excellent."

"Not much else here to show," she said before gesturing at the space above. Looking up, he could see a metal railing with decorative lights wrapped around it. On the wall next to the stairs leading up to it were three guitars. "Up there's my bedroom area. Not a whole lot up there other than my bed, a window, a dresser, and a few bookshelves."

"Nothing wrong with just having the essentials," the transformed Captain replied. "I didn't have a whole lot more than that in my cabin on the Mareitania."

"Great minds think alike. I suppose," she said before chuckling softly.

"Now what exactly is this big square object?" he asked before pointing to a large object sitting on a wooden stand that was now in front of the bed he'd be sleeping on.

"That's my big screen television," she answered.

"Tele...vision?" he repeated. "What is that?"

"I keep forgetting that Equestria doesn't really have all this stuff that we do," she said, chuckling softly again before reaching down and picking up a small rectangular object with many small buttons on it. "Observe," she continued while pressing one of them. Once she did, the television turned on. The screen instantly began showing the scene of an intense battle with the sound of explosions and screaming coming from the small speakers behind them that made the Captain jump. "Sorry!" she shouted before rushing over to the stand and pressing a button on one of the objects below. Seconds later, the noise stopped and the screen turned blue with a gray box saying 'No Signal'.

"What... in Equestria... was that?" he asked while slightly shaking.

"Just a video game I forgot I had going earlier," she answered. "Call to Action: Global Conflict. It's a very popular game."

"A... game?" he continued. "You play that... for fun?"

"Well..." she started to say. "It's more... competitive than anything else because I'd be playing against other people. If I wanted to play something fun and relaxing, I'd play something like Outlaw's Epiphany or Slasher's Paradise."

"You're saying that as if I know what they are," he said while trying to process how games with names like those could be 'fun and relaxing'. "There's... so much that I'm gonna have to learn here."

"Oh yeah," she answered. "Don't worry though. We've got plenty of time for you to get accustomed to how things are here."