Shore Leave

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.