As the sun rose above the sea in a clear blue sky, the plan for getting the derelict liner back to Manehattan was soon put into motion. Twilight and Starlight were busy down in Boiler Room Two, clearing it of water before Rarity could begin her work on patching the hull breach. While they were doing this, Steel showed Applejack and Pinkie Pie the large pantry which was used for storing ingredients for delicious meals that Chef Michelin would've had prepared for the passengers. With the generators still without steam to power them though, that meant that all the refrigerated foods had gone bad. It also meant that the ovens couldn't function properly. So the meals would have to be as basic as possible.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash flew above the listing ship, watching the horizon from above. Fluttershy meanwhile waited in the crow's nest for when her friend would get tired. Then she'd take over. Their task would be to keep an eye out for any other ships or hazards that would need to be avoided. With no electricity or steam, the rudder and steering gears were locked in the position they were in when the steam was vented out. Luckily, that was not going to be a problem since they were locked in the position they'd be in if the liner was simply going straight.

In order for the ship to maneuver however, Twilight and Starlight would have to use their respective magic to slow or speed up the two turbines they'd have running. Thankfully, Mareitania was equipped with a voice pipe for just such a situation. A means of communication from the bridge to the engine room and vice versa. Steel would be positioned on the bridge. And should the ship need to turn, he'd relay the information down the pipe to the two ponies in the engine room.

With the water being cleared from Boiler Room Two, Steel could sense the floor beneath him leveling out. This made a genuine smile appear on his face for the first time since yesterday. Standing alone on the bridge, he placed a hoof on the large wheel beside him and sighed before tapping it a few times.

"Don't worry," he said as though he was talking to the ship itself. "We're gonna get you back to Manehattan."

"Captain Blade!" Twilight's voice called out through the voice pipe. Hearing this, Steel turned around and walked over to the pipe.

"Yes, Princess Sparkle?"

"Please. Just call me Twilight," she replied. "We've got most of the water in your boiler room cleared out and that hole in the wall is now patched up," she replied. "Rarity and Starlight are going topside to inspect the damage from the outside. Can you meet them up there?"

"Of course," the stallion replied. "I'll be waiting for them."

"Great," she said. "I'll still be down here if needed." After she said that, Steel exited the bridge out onto the starboard bridge wing. Once outside, he looked over at the Solar Wind as it waited for the liner to get moving once again. Having the royal frigate escorting his ship back to Manehattan will obviously be something that will be plastered in the headlines of newspapers all across the country, something that was both good and bad. Good for the extra free publicity for the Red Apple Line, something that he was sure Dotted would be very grateful for. But also bad as this extra attention would surely alert a certain changeling Queen that this ship and the one pony aboard didn't go to a watery grave as she intended to.

But with the protection of the Bearers of the Elements, he felt as though everything would be alright. Soon, the stallion descended the stairs down to the main deck before walking aft. As he walked, he kept thinking about how lucky he was. Had Princess Twilight and her friends shown up any later than they did, he certainly wouldn't be alive. Soon, his eyes caught sight of Starlight Glimmer and Rarity as they appeared on deck in a flash of turquoise colored magic.

"Hello there," the stallion said, gaining the attention of the mares.

"Hello there, sir," Starlight replied. "I'm sure Twilight already gave you the details about that hull breach."

"Yes," he said before stopping in front of them. "I'm very thankful for everything you all are doing for me and my ship."

"Darling, it is our pleasure," Rarity replied. "And honestly, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that this ship makes it safely back home." This made the stallion smile as the two mares walked over to the railing. He joined them as they all looked down, trying to find the damage to the hull.

"So what exactly are you going to do for the damage out here?" he asked as he looked at the others with him.

"I'm going to lower Rarity down into the water with my magic," Starlight replied. "Then she's going to find and assess how big the hole out here is. Judging by what the condition this ship was in when we first got here, I'm guessing it's going to be a fairly good sized hole."

"It wouldn't surprise me," he said in response as Starlight ignited her horn, enveloping her friend in the process before the white unicorn was lifted off of the deck and over the railing. As he looked at Rarity, he gave her a quick salute before she was lowered down.

"Once she finds the damage, she'll do what she did down in the boiler room and patch it with a magical shield," the mare continued.

"As long as it will be watertight for the duration of the trip back, that'll be fine," he said as he watched Rarity be lowered into the water. He then watched as she slipped beneath the water. "She can still breathe. Right?"

"Of course," Starlight replied while not breaking her focus. "She's perfectly fine down there." Steel just silently nodded as he looked over the railing. After a few minutes, he could see the water glow with a shade of sapphire blue before the deck beneath him started leveling out. His eyes grew wide as soon, the ship returned to an even keel. Looking back down, he could see what looked to be the top portion of a white colored shield attached to the side of the ship. Shortly afterward, Rarity's head poked back up above the water.

"We're good to go, darling!" she called out as Starlight lifted her out of the water. Once she was lifted back on to the deck, she turned around and gave a small salute to the stallion. "I can promise you that those patches will hold until we get back to Manehattan."

"Thank you," Steel replied as a tear formed in his eye. Not one of sadness. But one of joy as he was overwhelmed by feelings of happiness. In a show of gratitude, he gave each of them a hug. They both smiled before returning the favor in the form of a small group hug. Once done, the stallion stepped back and looked out at the Solar Wind. He could easily see that Captain Broadside was watching the liner for when it would begin moving again. "Well," he said before turning to look back at the mares in front of him. "Let's get this ship under way again."

"Yes, sir," Starlight said before saluting and smiling. "I'll head back down to the engine room and wait for your orders." After saying that, her horn lit up. Seconds later, she disappeared in a flash of magic. Once she was gone, Steel waved out to the frigate. He then watched as Broadside looked to salute before he could be seen turning around and presumably giving orders to his crew. Seeing that, Steel and Rarity began making their way to the bridge.

"How long do you think it'll take for us to get back to Manehattan?" she asked as the two walked.

"Depending on the speed, maybe a couple days or so," he replied. "Could also depend on the weather too."

"I haven't heard of any storms coming up," she said before they started climbing the stairs up to the bridge wing. Once up there, they could see Rainbow and Fluttershy resting in the crow's nest. As Rarity stayed on the wing, Steel entered the bridge and went over to the voice pipe.

"Prin... Twilight," he said into the pipe, remembering what she said before. "Are you both ready?"

"Yes, Captain," her voice replied. "We're ready to go."

"Alright," he said. "Let's go. Half ahead then."

"Half ahead," she repeated. "Got it." Down in the engine room, Twilight had several lanterns hung up to provide a sufficient amount of light. She then walked over to Starlight and stopped before looking at what was in front of them. Two massive turbine engines that would spin the two central propellers. When they first arrived in the engine room, the two mares decided that it would be easier to control these two instead of trying for the two outer ones since they were directly next to each other.

With each mare lighting up their horns, the two turbines were enveloped by purple and turquoise colored magic respectively. Each mare grunted as the engines slowly started to come to life. As a result, the two bronze propellers they were connected to began turning once again.

"This... is a lot bigger... than a snowplow," Twilight grunted as they pushed the two engines up to half their speed. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead, making her wonder if they'd be able to sustain this all the way back to Manehattan. "You doing okay, Starlight?"

"Never... better," the unicorn replied as she was in a similar position to the alicorn. "This... is definitely going to be... a workout." With two of the four propellers now churning once again, the large liner slowly started moving through the water. When he could sense this, Steel couldn't help but smile. But soon, the first test of maneuvering would have to begin. Once he felt the ship was up to a good start, he walked over to the voice pipe.

"You both doing alright down there?" he asked.

"We're... fine," Twilight replied. "It's just... a little bit harder than I imagined it'd be."

"Alright," he said. "Well it's time for us to begin the turn toward Manehattan. So I'm gonna need the starboard engine to go astern while the port engine stays ahead."

"Starlight!" he heard Twilight call out. "Reverse your engine!" He heard an audible groan in the background, making him feel bad for the two mares down there. Stepping away from the voice pipe, he walked over to the compass mounted in front of the helm. After a few minutes of nothing happening, the direction of the ship started to change. With the starboard turbine reversing and the port one still going ahead, the bow of the liner was slowly beginning to turn to the right.

On board the Solar Wind, Captain Broadside watched the ship as it very slowly circled around his frigate. The sight of the ship moving on its own without any smoke coming from the funnels made him feel uneasy. However, as the ship got turned in the right direction, he motioned for his crew to lower the sails. With the large sails now catching the wind again, the frigate was on the move once more. It didn't take long before the smaller vessel was sailing side by side with the enormous liner. One being propelled by the wind, the other by the efforts of magic. With a speed of between roughly 7-8 knots, the voyage ahead of them would certainly be a long one.

On the port side bridge wing of the liner, Steel stood watch alone. Rarity had volunteered to go assist Twilight and Starlight, figuring the magic of three would be better than two. With the morning sun now facing his back, Steel breathed a sigh of relief before turning his attention to the frigate sailing next to them. He watched as the crew of the small vessel worked hard, washing the main deck and tightening the ropes while a couple were seen climbing the large rope ladders up to the crow's nest.

Seeing this made a sense of relief come to him. He was thankful for not having to do that while in the academy. He was also thankful for having an easier time navigating the ocean without relying on the wind. Steam power was now the preferred method of propelling ships through the water. Something that he wished he had instead of having to rely on Princess Twilight, Starlight, and now Rarity to do.

"Gettin' hungry, pardner?" he heard Applejack ask from behind him. Turning around, he found the earth pony mare holding a plate that had what looked to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on it. The sight of the delicious food made the stallion's stomach growl as he realized that it had been almost an entire day since he last had really anything to eat. "Hope you like it," she continued to say. "We don't really have many options to work with."

"Given the fact that I haven't eaten since yesterday, I'll eat just about anything at this point," he replied before taking hold of the plate with his magic. As soon as he took the first bite, he let out an approving moan of satisfaction. He then followed it up by devouring the rest of the sandwich. This made the mare in front of him chuckle before she stepped aside to show that she brought a small serving cart with her filled with mugs of apple cider. The stallion picked one up with his magic as she picked up another with her hoof.

"Here's to a safe trip home," she said before the two clinked their mugs together. After that, they both chugged down the liquid contents within their respective mugs. Once they were finished, Applejack chose to stay on the bridge wing to keep Steel company. As they stood and watched, they could see Pinkie Pie climbing the rope ladder leading up to the crow's nest where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were while keeping plates of sandwiches perfectly balanced on her mane and tail.

"Okay. Seriously," Steel said as he watched the pink mare. "How is she able to do that?"

"Like Twi said," Applejack replied. "It's Pinkie Pie. Don't question it." This response made the two laugh as the two ships continued on their course to Manehattan.

At the Red Apple Line headquarters in Manehattan, Dotted Line sat alone in his office with stacks of papers in front of him. But his focus wasn't on them. It was more toward the fact that once he and Port Side arrived back in Manehattan, they found that the Mareitania wasn't there. Neither was Captain Blade.

"Why does it seem like some kind of elaborate prank is being played on me?" he asked himself as he got up before turning to look out one of the windows. The sky above the city was clear, signaling a perfect day. "Why does every pony I talk to say that today's a different date than what it really is? And how exactly did I manage to lose track of where my brand new 32,000 ton liner is?"

The white unicorn remembered arriving at the pier where he thought the ship was docked only to find it empty with workers saying that the ship had already left. But when he tried sending out a message to the liner, he got nothing in response. He then remembered having a message sent out to Mareseilles yesterday in hopes that somehow, the ship would be there. But the Harbor Master there said that the liner had yet to arrive.

After spending several minutes looking out his window, he turned and walked to the door before going out into the hallway. Looking to his right, he saw Port Side talking to what appeared to be some reporters, each of them wearing press caps, satchels, and cameras strapped around their necks. As soon as the green stallion saw his boss, he waved for him to come over. Raising an eyebrow, Dotted began walking toward them.

"Dotty!" Port called out as the white unicorn entered the main lobby. "I got some good news for you!"

"Oh yeah?" he asked in a depressed tone as he continued walking toward them. "Like what?"

"Well. You know your new ship?" one of the reporters replied. "The one out on her maiden voyage?"

"Yes?" Dotted asked while looking at the reporter. "What about her?"

"She's been spotted by one of our pegasi reporters," the stallion replied. "But she ain't alone. She's being escorted by the Solar Wind it seems." After saying that, the stallion levitated a photo out from a satchel pocket before allowing Dotted to take hold of it. Once he did, the white unicorn's blue eyes grew wide as he couldn't believe what the picture showed. It was definitely the Mareitania. But it looked to be moving without any smoke coming from the funnels. And sailing just off her port side was indeed the royal frigate, the Solar Wind.

"How... long... ago was this taken?"

"About an hour ago," the stallion replied. "Which means they should be coming into the harbor any time now."

"Well. Why are we still standing here?" Dotted asked before rushing over to the glass doors, making sure to give the photo back to its owner. The stallion opened the doors and rushed down the stairs to the street as he could see groups of ponies looking to be rushing toward the harbor. Seeing this, Dotted, Port, and the reporters followed suit and began running as quick as they could toward the docks.

"Sir?" Port called out as they ran. "What should we do once we get there?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it!" Dotted replied. After several minutes of running, more than the white unicorn had spent in Celestia knows how long, the small group arrived at the docks. Both stallions quickly went through the security checkpoint before they rushed along the Red Apple Line's pier, hearing various tugboat whistles as they ran. When they reached the end of the pier, the sight before them was something they never thought they'd see.

"Dear... Celestia..." Port said as he and Dotted just stood motionless while looking at what was in front of them.

Down the river from where they were, they could see the Solar Wind being escorted by two tugboats, one on each side. Not much further behind them was the enormous Mareitania along with a flotilla of ten tugboats. Ponies could be seen lining the piers while they watched the ships pass by as pegasi flew overhead. The sounds of cheering could be heard from all of them. Many camera flashes were seen by reporters as they documented what was going on.

Soon, the liner arrived in front of the pier Dotted and Port were standing on. Looking up toward the deck, the two stallions saw what appeared to be Princess Sparkle along with the rest of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony standing on the forecastle just next to the first mast. They were all waving at the two stallions, prompting them to wave back. Looking up toward the bridge, they saw Steel and a purple colored mare with a purple and turquoise colored mane walk on the starboard bridge wing before stopping at the side. The stallion then saluted the two of them as the mare used her magic to float down to the others standing on the bow.

However, it appeared that the ponies on board the liner seemed to be the only ones as no others could be seen. The two stallions then noticed the large white magical shield on the hull. This made Dotted groan as he could feel the financial impact of having to put the ship in dry dock for repairs.

"Captain Blade better have a good explanation of what all is going on here," he said while looking at Port.

"Don't worry, sir," Port replied as the tugs began maneuvering the ship into the berth. "I'm sure once everything settles down, he'll have quite the story for us."

As all of this was happening, a lone unicorn mare stood on an old abandoned pier. One that was surprisingly devoid of spectators. This unicorn had a green coat along with a brown mane and tail. On her flank was a ladybug cutie mark and around her neck was a camera, similar to the reporters. The mare stood still, looking at the scene going on just across the river from her.

"Hmm...." the mare said to herself as she looked through the camera at the stallion on the bridge wing. "I certainly wasn't expecting to see you or your ship again, Captain Blade." Putting the camera down, she watched silently as the tugs pushed against the liner. As she was doing this though, she licked her lips while thinking about the stallion in command of it before sighing as she remembered that fateful night. "You really were the first one that ever truly satisfied me. Perhaps it's a good thing you somehow managed to survive after all."

After saying that, the mare turned and began walking away from the edge of the pier. "Don't think that you've seen the last of me, my dear. One way or another. You will be mine! Because like I told you before," she said as her eyes flashed bright green. "No stallion rejects Queen Chrysalis!"