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

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

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

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

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

"I'm fine."

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

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

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

"Granted."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What do you mean?"

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

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

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

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

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

"What do you mean by that?"

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

"Half speed?" Port asked.

"Is there a problem with that?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What are you going to do?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next Chapter: Chapter Three Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 23 Minutes