Sunset loved the smell of the ocean, and its breeze which flowed through her mane. Heh, mane, it felt weird to call her hair after living in the human world for so long. Sunset leaned against the railing of the ship, staring at the dot on the horizon that was growing closer and closer. Celestia's sun was slowly starting to descend, ready to kiss the horizon where it would disappear. Sunset formed a small smile, she'd never been to Puerto Caballo before, or anywhere outside of Equestria. Blueblood had always made fun of her for that.
The fiery mare rested her head on the railing just as a small wave battered itself against the ship's hull, spraying her muzzle with seawater. It tasted as salty as usual, not that Sunset made it a habit out drinking seawater. Someone walked up to her side, their hooves clacking
"We should be arriving early in the morning." A unicorn stallion with a thick Baltimare accent said. Sunset angled her head to look at the Captain of the ship. With seagreen fur and a thick white beard, he looked every bit of a sailor, even without his captain hat.
"Really?" Sunset was sure it was going to take longer than that. Granted she wasn't a maritime expert, her unfinished degree from the Canterlot University was in Magic Application and Engineering, but Puerto Caballo did look pretty far away, and the ship was slow.
She got seasick the first few days onboard and nearly died. That was an exaggeration, but Sunset did feel like she was dying until the ship's doctor taught her a spell to ward off the effects.
"Aye." Captain Anchor said with a wink. "We have favorable winds."
"I'll take your word for it." Sunset smiled. Equestria had changed while she'd been gone. There were four princesses now, the Crystal Empire had returned somehow, and Severnaya was now its own country filled with communist. Sunset should've returned years earlier, instead of wasting her time in the human world. Getting betrayed by her 'friends' who didn't believe in her hurt a lot.
Captain Anchor nodded and looked out towards the waters beside her. "Most Canterlot ponies never leave the heartland. It isn't everyday that we get a noble like yourself onboard."
Noble? What had given him that impression? Sunset was just a normal pony-
It was the clothes, wasn't it. Most Equestrians didn't wear clothes unless it was a special occasion or a formal event. Sunset was used to wearing clothes since humans didn't walk around in the nude, so she bought some for her trip with some money Princess Twilight lended her. She wore a beige coat, it's matching hat with the rest of her belongings.
Twilight claimed it was a gift, but that did little to ease the stomach ache Sunset developed later that night.
"Just pay me back with stories if you're going to be that way! Take your journal and tell me everything!" Princess Twilight had said, which did help Sunset's conscience a little bit.
"Don't be surprised, it's just your accent." Captain Anchor chuckled. He closed his eyes and lifted his head in the air, feeling the wind on his beard. "Most nobles hire, how do I say, fancier ships than my own."
The Golden Sun, as the ship was named judging by the faded white letters near the front of the hull, was an extremely old cruise ship that was more rust than metal. Sunset had chosen it since it was the cheapest transport she could find on short notice.
Sunset laughed and shook her head slowly. "I'm not a noble, just a simple mare that's exploring the world."
Captain Anchor opened his eyes and raised a white eyebrow. "I see, well then, I wish you the best of luck. Enjoy the rest of your voyage with the Golden Sun." He left soon after, leaving Sunset alone with her thoughts as she stared at the sunset.
S-She missed her friends…
Her stomach growled, causing Sunset to shake those thoughts out of her head. They didn't care about her, they never did, and it was time to move on.
"Onward." Sunset whispered under her breath, finally moving from her spot. She was starting to get hungry, and she was going to need her sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. "Onward to Zebrica." Tomorrow was going to be a better day.
Puerto Caballo was just one small stop before she started her real journey.
As it turned out, Captain Anchor was right in the end. Sunset had just finished her light breakfast when the Golden Sun sailed into port. She was already on deck with her belongings in her saddlebags, not wanting to cast the anti-seasickness spell again once her dose for the day wore off. Captain Anchor gave her a stiff nod as she disembarked, along with a small smile that reminded Sunset of Mr. Cranky, her old history teacher back in the human world.
Sunset almost cried the moment her hooves first touched the solid ground. She had been on that old ship for too long, and hated every moment of it. She was a unicorn, not a hippogriff.
"Now I just need to find a place to stay." Sunset mumbled to herself, ignoring the ponies, griffons and other creatures that crowded the docks, mostly tourists. She needed to go through customs first before she could reach the city streets properly. The unicorn took a deep breath, one that she immediately regretted. She coughed violently and covered her nose with a hoof.
"Buck, why does it smell like rotten fish?"
Hopefully the line to go through customs would move fast enough for Sunset to find a place before lunch.
After an hour of standing in line, it was finally Sunset's turn at the kiosk. A bored official in a white shirt gave her a blank stare as she placed her Equestrian passport on the kiosk's table. She tried not to look at the two Equestrian Guards dressed in light green uniforms that stood on both sides of the desk, their caps hiding their eyes.
It felt weird, seeing them in their cloth uniforms instead of their golden armor, unless that was reserved for Celestia's own Royal Guard. Everything was different now, her own home world had changed enough to make everything foreign in Sunset's eyes. She was a stranger in her own world.
"Name?" The pale blue custom's officer said. He was another unicorn, with his horn parting his short black mane.
"Sunset Shimmer." Sunset answered easily. Twilight had taught her all there was to know about traveling, though most of her information was outdated.
She was an alicorn, she didn't need to bucking stand in line to pass immigration.
"Business or pleasure? What's the nature of your visit?" The Officer scanned her passport with his eyes and used a spell to envelope it in his magical aura, floating it beside her head.
"Pleasure." Sunset forced a smile onto her muzzle. "I'm just passing through, I don't plan to stay more than a few days."
"Hm." The Officer nodded and floated the passport back to his desk. He flipped a few pages and stamped it. "Enjoy your stay Miss Shimmer."
That was easier than she expected.
Puerto Caballo was just like the stories Blueblood used to brag about, with architecture that had to at least to be two centuries old, built by the first colonizers, still composing most of the port city. This time Sunset was able to take a deep breath without gagging.
It smelled old, but the food stands along the sides of the crowded streets helped to negate that. It made Sunset's mouth water, but she only had so many hits to spare. If she spent beyond her means, she would have to get a job to make more money. Mmm, the food here looked better than what was served on the Golden Sun. She reached what looked to be the tourist square.
"Watch it!" A large, red earth pony wearing a green Equestrian guard uniform growled. Sunset had almost bumped into him when she got distracted by a stand that was making fresh haysadillas. There were guards on every corner, with a few more patrolling the square.
They didn't look friendly.
"Sorry!" Sunset flinched and quickly trotted away, turning into an alleyway that was filled with more tourists. She would have to go deeper into the city to find a cheaper place to stay for the night.
That made sense right? Most tourists would stay where the attractions were, and in order to make a profit, the locals would raise the price of food and hotel rooms in those same areas. It was basic supply and demand. Once she found a room she could work on finding something to eat, and getting a ride to Colthage. Sunset ignored the various vendors that tried shouting each other, whether they did it in Ponglish or Sponish, continuing her trot through the crowds that grew smaller the farther away she walked.
After what felt like forever, the crowds finally thinned out, leaving only the local ponies that loitered outside of their homes. Sunset gave them a small smile whenever they waved. The ponies here were pretty nice, but that didn't mean she was going to let her guard down.
She approached an elderly pegasus that was sitting on a rocking chair on his front porch, if you could even call it that. All of the houses were closely pressed together, most of them taller than they were wide. It made the streets feel cramped.
"Excuse me, Sir!" Sunset said. She stood far enough to not intrude on his property. "Do you know if there's anyone, I mean, anypony who has a room for rent around here?"
The old pegasus stared at her for a few seconds, before pointing his muzzle down the street.
"Dona Yuca has a few rooms to rent." He spoke with a light Sponish accent. "You can try your luck there, it's the house with a red ribbon tied to the front door. Her home is just a few blocks down, very close."
"Thank you so much!" Sunset's smile grew, and she continued her walk.
A house with a red ribbon should be easy enough to find.
Sunset really needed to stop jinxing herself. Her short walk had turned into an extremely long one, so long that she had started to think that the old pegasus was trying to pull a prank on her. Her hooves were starting to hurt, and she was starving. She had skipped lunch to find an affordable room as fast a possible, and was just about to give up when she finally found the house with a red ribbon!
"Finally!" Sunset gasped, trotting up to the front door of the rather old and rundown building. It was three stories high, and she could see a few lights on through the windows that didn't have their curtains closed. She knocked on the door as politely as possible, and waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
Really? Sunset was about to knock once more, when the door finally opened, revealing a middle aged earth pony mare with light brown fur and a red mane tied into a bun.
"Yes?" She gave Sunset a mean stare through her round glasses.
"Hi!" Sunset ignored the glare and waved. "I was told that you have a few rooms available, so I was wondering if I could rent one for a couple days?"
Dona Yuca's glare didn't lesson, her eyes scanning Sunset's body up and down.
"Equestrian or River pony?" Dona Yuca asked, her voice curt. Sunset frowned for just a second. That wasn't a question that most ponies asked. Was this supposed to be a trick question? Puerto Caballo, while an independent country on paper, was under the dominion of Equestria.
"Equestrian." Sunset answered, returning her smile to her muzzle.
"I have no rooms for Equestrians." Dona Yuca snarled and slammed the door in Sunset's face, causing her teal eyes to widen. That was the last thing she expected to happen.
Damn it.