The flight deck of the San Franciscolt was soon filled with activity as every pegasi flight group member made their way out onto it. On the superstructure, Captain Triple Screw stood on a balcony overlooking the ponies below with a megaphone nearby. As he watched the ponies make their way out onto the deck below, he was joined on the balcony by Lieutenant Jet Stream and Admiral Fire Power, both of them looking confused as to what the Captain was doing.

"What is the meaning of this, Captain?" Jet Stream asked.

"Sir. We've received a distress call from the Mareitania. They've suffered an explosion and are taking on water as we speak," Triple replied.

"Okay...." Jet said. "And that justifies why you called every pegasus under my command out to the flight deck?"

"I think that that's where the Canterlot is." This response made the white colored pegasus' eyes widen.

"What makes you say that?"

"Did you not read everything on the report Princess Luna sent?" Fire Power asked. "She said that Commander Spitfire claims that that ship is Canterlot's target." he then turned to look at Triple Screw. "Did they say anything about the warship in their distress message?"

"No," Triple replied. "They didn't say anything in that regard." He then gave the message to the orange colored unicorn. As he looked over the message, Triple could see that each flight group pegasus had arrived on the flight deck.

"What makes you think that the Canterlot is there then?" the unicorn asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," he said. "But right now, it's the best possible lead we have."

"Well. If that's the case. Then we need to radio for reinforcements from Manehattan," Fire Power replied. "We can't face Canterlot on our own."

"If we wait for the fleet to get here, that'll be too long," Triple said. "Just... trust me on this." Both high ranked ponies looked at each other for a few seconds before they both looked back at Triple Screw and nodded.

"Proceed then," Jet Stream replied. This made the Captain nod before he used his magic to pick up the megaphone next to him.

"Attention!" he called out through it, making his voice ring out to all corners of the flight deck. Soon, all eyes were looking at him from below as each pegasus stood at attention. "Thank you all for coming out here in a timely manner," he continued. "As you all are aware, our mission out here is to search for Canterlot and report her activity back to base. However, we've received a distress signal from a ship that is supposedly the warship's target: the Mareitania." After saying that name, he could hear some gasps coming from the groups below. "They've reported that they've had an explosion and are taking on water as we speak."

"So what are we supposed to do about it?" one of the pegasi below shouted.

"We are responding to their call for help!" Triple called out through the megaphone. "Because if there's any chance that Canterlot is involved in this, we need to help our fellow sailors." He then looked back at the helmspony behind the carrier's wheel. "What course are we on?"

"Heading 065. As you requested, sir," the earth pony replied.

"Thank you," the elder unicorn said before turning his attention back to the pegasi on the flight deck. "Right now, we are on course for their reported position, roughly 180 miles dead ahead. However, I have a feeling we are needed urgently. So that's why as Captain of this carrier, I am ordering every one of you to fly there as quick as you can!"

"And what are we going to do if Canterlot is there?" a pegasus called out.

"Well. That's easy," Jet Stream replied. "If we arrive there and the battleship is still there, we're going to board her. And we're going to take her back by any means necessary!" Each of the ponies on the deck looked at their commander with wide eyes and mouths open before they all acquired expressions of excitement and determination. If they were successful, it would mean that the Navy would get their battleship back. Soon, the Wonderbolt Lieutenant took to the air and hovered just above the deck. "As we speak, Commander Spitfire is currently on board that warship as a prisoner. Now I don't know about the rest of you. But I don't intend on her staying that way! Now who's with me?!"

Every pegasus on the deck raised a wing while cheering in response.

"Well then. Lets go!" Jet Stream called out before he turned and flew out over the front of the ship in the direction they were sailing. One by one, the ponies on deck followed him until the sky ahead of the carrier was filled with pegasi. Seeing this, Triple Screw smirked as he watched them all until they turned into specks on the horizon.

"Be safe, everypony," he said to himself before turning to walk back onto the bridge. "Be safe."

---

Meanwhile, on the Mareitania, things were looking very bad. At this point, the ship's stern had sunk deep enough to allow water to begin pouring in through any open porthole, adding to the flooding that threatened to doom the liner. Inside the wheelhouse, Steel paced back and forth from one side to the other. His mind was in a state of panic not reached since the maiden voyage. He could feel the deck slanting further and further to port while being down by the stern.

"Captain!" Port called out from outside. "Captain Blade!" Hearing this, the stallion went out to the starboard bridge wing and watched as his friend climbed up the stairs to him. He looked drenched with water dripping from his uniform. "We've got water coming in on the lower decks, sir!"

"Guess some portholes got left open," Steel replied as the two walked back inside the wheelhouse.

"What are your orders?" he asked. This made Steel look over at the clinometer mounted behind the helm. The little needle in the gauge indicated that the ship's list had increased to twenty degrees. Seeing this, the Captain breathed deeply and sighed heavily. He had no choice. The order all Captains dreaded to make was the only one left to give.

"It's time, Port," he replied before looking back at his friend. "Have the crew ready the boats on the port side to be lowered. Don't bother with the starboard ones. They're useless now."

"Sir. Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes," Steel replied. "Abandon ship."

"Yes sir," he said before rushing out the port side doorway to begin fulfilling the order. As the Captain was once again left alone on the bridge, he took one final look around the bridge. Despite the liner's circumstances, her brass engine telegraphs shined brightly under Celestia's sun. Even in her death throes, Mareitania was still comforting her Captain with her beauty and elegance. A tear slowly formed in the red stallion's eyes as he walked over to where the lever controlling the ship's whistle was located. He then used his magic to grab it before pulling it down, sending a long blast echoing out across the water. After several seconds, he pushed the lever up before pulling it down again. Another blast of the whistle was sent out across the waves. This process repeated until five blasts of the whistle was made, signaling down to the ponies in the engine rooms to abandon ship.

"I'm sorry, old girl," Steel softly said as he pushed the lever up for the last time with his hoof. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you."

---

Meanwhile on the Canterlot, Sombra could be seen with an evil grin on his face as he watched the scene before him. The battleship had slowly reversed before stopping to where the two ships were parallel to each other with some distance between them. Each of the four turrets were trained to the port side, just waiting for the signal to open fire on the doomed liner.

As he looked on, he could see the one pony he was doing all of this for slowly exit the bridge. He could see the look of pain, anguish, and sorrow plastered on the stallion's face.

"Don't you think you've done enough?" Spitfire asked as she could only look on helplessly. "The ship's gonna go down no matter what now. Just let it go peacefully at least."

"My dear Commander," he replied. "Where's the fun in that?" He then turned to face the restrained pegasus. "Do you think that I'm just gonna let that liner sink on its own? When I have control of these twelve guns that you and the rest of your Navy want back so much?"

"And what are you gonna do to any of the survivors?" she asked. "You just gonna leave them alone once you're done blowing up their ship?"

"That's an easy question to answer," he said before walking over to the railing. "You see," he continued while keeping his eyes glued to the liner. "Aside from Captain Blade, there won't be any other survivors."

"What?!" the pegasus exclaimed before struggling frantically to break free from her restraints. Hearing her grunts made him smile as his horn lit up before shooting a stream of magic directly upward.

"I think it's time we let them know that we're here," he said as a wall of red magic appeared around the warship before disappearing. He then looked back toward a changeling on the bridge. "Sound the horn."

---

On the sinking liner, Steel was busy helping Port with getting the lifeboats ready to be launched, along with every other pony on deck, when the sound of a horn close by made every pony look up and then toward the direction the sound was coming from. As soon as the Captain's eyes landed on the battleship stopped not far from his liner, his mouth went agape as his eyes grew wide in shock.

"How... did... that... get there?" Port asked as he shook in fear as he saw each of the warship's main guns facing the liner.

"I.... don't.... know," Steel replied as he backed away until his flank bumped against the wall behind him. As soon as he felt it, the look of fear could be seen on his face. But then, he felt something strange happening. Looking down at his hooves, he could see that his body was now encased with black colored magic. He then looked back up toward the battleship just before he became encased in a crystal cube.

"Captain?" Port asked while still looking at the warship. "What should we do?" After getting no response from Steel, the stallion turned his head and saw what had happened. He then rushed over and began pounding on the crystal. "Steel!"

---

"Good," Sombra said as the magic around his horn faded. "He decided to wear that suit of armor after all. That makes things easier." As he continued watching with an evil smile on his face, Spitfire could only look on in horror at the sight in front of her. The liner's stern was just about to go beneath the water while the deck continued slanting. The flag of Equestria, still flying proudly from the flagpole mounted on the stern was just a few feet above the waves. Ponies could be seen slipping and falling off the side while others willingly dove into the water to begin swimming.

She then heard Sombra let out an evil laugh as he stood next to a voice pipe and uttered the two words that she knew were coming, but had hoped not to hear.

"Open fire."

After he said that, the first turret on the bow was the first to fire. Spitfire watched as the liner was struck on the deck toward the stern, toppling the mast. The towering structure crumpled and fell over the side, pulling the telegraph wires along with it. The Commander looked on helplessly as the remaining guns followed suit, sending their shells toward the liner with deadly accuracy. As the big fourteen inch guns blasted holes in the hull and superstructure, the secondary battery of five inch guns had their sights set on setting everything they could on fire, hurling high explosive shells at the wooden decks. Soon enough, the liner was ablaze from bow to stern.

"Every pony for themselves!" Port called out in panic as the scene on the liner was now one of chaos and carnage. Immediately after saying that, he and several other ponies jumped overboard into the water below. From inside his crystal encasement, Steel couldn't do anything other than watch his beloved ship be subjected to this bombardment. Fires caused by the five inch shells broke out all across the decks. One of the towering funnels, most likely the second one from where the stallion was able to see, crashed down onto the deck before sliding into the water. Lifeboats were being reduced to firewood in their davits. And the deck continued to slant further and further to port as more and more holes were opened to the sea.

Suddenly, the area just beneath where the crystal was sitting was struck by a shell from the battleship's main guns. This resulted in it, along with its captive passenger within, being blasted off of the liner's deck and into the water. The cube remained floating on the surface but was now turned to where he was looking at his decimated liner. Seeing it in such a state where fires were raging, ponies were falling overboard, and the entire vessel was heeling over to her port side made him so miserable that he'd be crying if he was able to. He couldn't even look away from it.

The warship's guns kept on firing until an explosion rocked the liner, temporarily righting the ship to an even keel. This in turn set off a chain reaction of explosions that inevitably tore the enormous liner in half where the second and third funnels once stood. On the battleship, Sombra was very pleased with what had happened as the guns ceased firing. The stern section quickly heeled over to the port side as it capsized, drowning any unfortunate ponies who were trapped within. The bow section however drifted forward from the blast. For a moment, it looked as though it could stay afloat. But that hope was short lived as the weight of the boilers in that section started to pull it down.

As that section began to sink, the bow was lifted out of the water until it pointed directly up toward the sky. It stayed like that for a few seconds before it too began to go down. Steel could only watch as the first funnel, which miraculously managed to stay attached up to that point, fell backwards before crashing into the sea. Soon after, the bridge disappeared under the water.

The process seemed to go by agonizingly slow as soon, the foremast and crow's nest were dragged under until finally, the last of the once mighty liner vanished below the surface. On the wing of Canterlot's bridge, watching the liner disappear before his eyes made Sombra's evil smile just grow bigger and bigger. But when he saw surviving ponies in the water, his smile slowly turned into a frown. Spitfire watched silently, stunned by what took place as the tyrant walked by her.

"It would seem we have quite a few stragglers to take care of," she heard him say. "Send a squad of soldiers out to deal with them. There will only be one survivor from this."

"Yes, my King," a changeling replied before a swarm of them was seen flying off of the ship. Spitfire just closed her eyes and tried her best to tune out the sound of the ponies screaming from what the changelings were doing to them. Steel however didn't have that luxury. He couldn't do anything but watch and listen. All he could do was sit in his crystal cube, face still frozen in fear, as he watched his ship slip beneath the waves. And now, he was forced to listen as the changelings ensured that any survivors from his crew in the water would meet the same fate. This continued for several minutes until an eerie silence was all that remained.

When she heard the screaming stop, Spitfire opened her eyes to see the destruction in front of her. All that remained of the once beautiful liner was debris scattered around the water. Lifeless bodies could be seen floating among the wreckage as Sombra walked back out and stood next to the restrained pegasus.

"Just as expected," he said while looking at the result of his actions. "I told you there would be fireworks. And there indeed was. I hope you weren't... disappointed."

"You sick monster!" she cried out as tears formed in her eyes. "I hope that you rot in Tartarus for the rest of eternity!"

"I'm sure I will," Sombra replied with a smirk. "But that isn't going to happen anytime soon." He then turned and looked over the side and spotted the floating crystal that had safely ensured that the pony inside would survive. Lighting up his horn, he grabbed the crystal with his magic and brought it next to the warship before lifting it aboard. Once the cube was on the deck in front of the first turret, the King fired a beam of magic directly up before a sphere of red colored magic surrounded the warship before disappearing. "There we go," he said. "Now we can leave in peace." He then turned and looked back at the soldiers inside the bridge. "All ahead full. And chart a course back to Horseshoe Bay."

After saying that, Spitfire could feel the crystals encasing her hooves disappear. She then felt herself get lifted off of the deck before being pulled along behind the King as he descended down to the deck. As she floated along behind him, her eyes remained glued to the horrific scene in front of them.

As they got down to the deck where the cube was, the mare could see that it was surrounded by soldiers, each of them wielding a metal spear. Sombra put her down before having some of the soldiers restrain her so she wouldn't try anything. Spitfire made no attempt at this point. What purpose was there to do so? She wouldn't accomplish anything with being surrounded while her wings were still chained to her body. And now that a civilian was taken prisoner, she didn't want to risk his life.

"Captain Steel Blade," Sombra said as he looked at the stallion trapped inside the crystal. "We meet at last." After saying that, he lit up his horn and made the crystal disappear, allowing the stallion to collapse on the deck. Spitfire looked on as he breathed heavily with tears flowing freely from his closed eyes. But then, they opened as a look of anger could be seen on his face as he slowly got back up on to his hooves.

She watched as he lit up his horn before using his magic to draw his sword out of the scabbard strapped to his body. Once the blade was free, he pointed the tip of it directly at Sombra as he glared at him.

"You're... gonna... die for that!" he said through gritted teeth before lunging at the King. However, one of the soldiers was quick to react, blocking the strike with his spear while another quickly placed a ring around the stallion's horn. Once in place, the stallion's magic became nullified. His sword dropped to the deck as the soldiers all tackled and restrained him.

"Now now," Sombra said as he lit up his horn to pick up the sword. "Is that any way to treat the one who saved you from joining the tragic fate that your crew had to face?" He then brought the blade up close and looked it over as the stallion's anger looked to grow with each passing second. "Nice sword," he continued before looking back at the stallion. "A shame that you'll no longer need it." After saying that, he used his magic to toss the weapon over the railing.

"No!" Steel cried out as he watched the blade disappear before hearing a distinct splash. He then closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. Spitfire couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Not only did he just watch his liner be destroyed while being able to do nothing about it. But now, it seemed he had lost the one remaining thing he cherished. Surprisingly, the soldiers around him released him from their clutches. As she watched him, he suddenly lunged at Sombra once more. This time however, he actually managed to strike the King with his right hoof to the tyrant's muzzle as hard as he could. This surprised every creature around as Sombra actually staggered backward as a result.

But just as the Captain was looking to go for another, the soldiers around him immediately reacted by tackling him once more with one of them even holding a spear to his throat, ready to strike.

"No!" Sombra yelled as he rubbed his muzzle. "The mission is to bring him back alive!" As a result of this, the soldiers backed off while still restraining the stallion from attempting to strike the King again. "Besides," he continued. "I think he's earned that one." After saying that, the King turned around and started walking away before stopping. "Take the prisoners to their cell," he ordered. "I'll be returning to the bridge." With that, the King slowly walked away while leaving his two prisoners to be escorted by the small group of soldiers.

"Get moving, you two," one of them ordered as two more shoved them forward, sending both of them to fall on the wooden deck. Spitfire just groaned as she got back up before looking over at her fellow prisoner.

"Come on," she said before holding out a hoof. "Get up before they do something worse." Steel silently looked up at the mare before he sighed and slowly got back up on his hooves. He then sighed as he took one final look at the devastation that was slowly disappearing behind the warship. After that, the two of them slowly followed one of the guards while the rest stayed closely behind them.

---

Roughly an hour after the battleship departed the scene, the sky above was quickly filled with pegasi. Each of them were immediately horrified at the scene below them. The level of destruction seen here indicated one thing and one thing only. That Canterlot had sent Mareitania and her crew to a watery grave. Bodies of some of the ponies were still seen floating among the debris, being kept that way because of lifejackets with the Red Apple Line insignia on them along with the name Mareitania.

As pegasi began searching for any glimmers of life, Jet Stream just silently looked around around and breathed deeply. He had been a part of many battles in his lifetime. He had watched his fellow pegasi brothers and sisters perish in combat. But these ponies down there, floating lifelessly. They were civilians. They weren't trained in combat. They had probably hoped that by being in the Merchant Marine, they'd be spared from battle. But it was made clear by this scene that the battle came to them.

Soon, he dived down and hovered just above the water before something caught his eye. A black Officer's hat that was floating next to a deck chair. Reaching down, he picked it up and started checking it for any sign of who it belonged to. Once he checked the inside, he found a small label. It was soaked, but still legible.

"If found, please return to Port Side. First Officer, EMS Mareitania," the Lieutenant said to himself. "Broadside's brother." He then looked around for any signs that the body was near. But he couldn't see anything other than wreckage. He then looked back at the hat. The metallic decorations gleamed in the sunlight and he was able to see his reflection in them. "Your family has suffered so much. I wonder if you even found out what happened to your brother." He then shook it a few times to get any excess water off of it. "Your parents will want to at least have this," he said before placing it into his saddlebag.

"Lieutenant Jet Stream," Fleetfoot called out.

"Yes?" he asked while turning to look at the mare.

"Sir," she replied as tears began to stream from her eyes. "We can't find any lifeboats. Or even any survivors. They're all... dead."

"I... see," he replied before flapping his wings to get above the large group of pegasi soldiers. "Brothers and sisters!" he called out, gaining their attention. "Look around you. Look at the devastation. These ponies here. They were not soldiers. They were civilians. Civilians doing their part to serve their country. But they were not prepared for whatever level of destruction took place here. What ocean liner could even have a chance of survival against a battleship like Canterlot? This to me just shows that we have entered a new phase in the war. A phase where even civilians can and will be targeted by the enemy."

"That's against the rules of engagement!" one of the pegasi shouted.

"It seems that King Sombra doesn't care about that," Jet replied. "But now, we have a new cause to fight for. These lives were cut down senselessly and without mercy. These ponies. They were mothers. Fathers. Brothers. Sisters. Sons. And daughters. Just like the rest of us. The only difference is that they wanted to avoid the conflict. Sadly, the conflict came to them instead. All of them have families that are probably waiting back in Manehattan and all across Equestria for them. But now, they will never see their loved ones again." After saying that, he saluted down at the wreckage and the floating bodies. "Soldiers! Salute the fallen! And let us have a moment of silence in their honor."

One by one, each pegasi did as ordered and silently saluted while hovering. Some even had tears in their eyes as they did so.

"Their loss will never be forgotten," the Lieutenant continued to say after a minute of silence. "We will honor their memory and service to their country. And we will avenge what transpired here today." After saying that, he turned and started flying back in the direction they came from, prompting the rest to follow as they all began the long trip back to the San Franciscolt.

Next Chapter: Chapter Ten Estimated time remaining: 49 Minutes