Shore Leave

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."