Trottingham was a fine enough sort of town, plain and functional, reminded me a lot of my own home town of Port Mule back in Panchea, just without the familial charm. In the two years we had lived in Equestria I had travelled a bit, seen the sights and tasted the local culture. I travelled to Ponyville and Manehattan, pretty much all the major towns and cities except Trottingham. Maybe I avoided going back there because I knew it would remind me too much of the day we first arrived in Equestria, remind me of everything we were forced to leave behind when the war started.
This time was different however, I was back in Trottingham to see Equestria off, to set sail and go home. The train ride from Canterlot had been covered by Fancy Pants, he said it was his last gift to me, I could tell he was sad to see me go but we both knew I needed to get back home. It was for this reason that I didn’t want my family travelling with me to see me off at the docks, as it would have meant Fancy having to pay for a return trip for them even after everything he had already done for us, but they insisted upon coming and he insisted upon paying so there was little I could do to stop them.
As we walked from the station towards the harbour, my father dragging my suitcase along and my sister sniffling after thoroughly bawling her eyes out, I checked myself up and down to make sure I was presentable for Blueblood’s representative. I wasn’t wearing any dress that day; in fact I hadn’t packed anything of the sort. No, instead I could have been a famous explorer with my long, royal blue coat with gold trimmings, a set of tall leather boots adorned with buckled straps, a laced cincher and a leather baldric supporting a matching travel pouch.
All my own pieces of course, while they weren’t what I would normally have worn I thought they would be appropriate for the journey. By the end of this story however, those clothes ended up feeling like a second skin to me. It didn’t take a keen eye like mine to spot the ship I would be boarding as we entered the shipyard, most of the boats docked there were small trading or fishing vessels, only one ship stood out as being the kind of vessel worthy of the Equestrian Navy.
The Siren was an outstanding model, dominating the harbour and drawing the eyes of everypony, if there could have been a boat equivalent of Canterlot itself, it was The Siren. I won’t pretend to have any more than a basic understanding of sea travel; you’d think living in a port town my whole life would have given me some experience to talk about. Certainly my father was obsessed with it all being a professional fisherman himself, but I had always been too wrapped up in my own obsessions with fashion to pay it much heed.
Still, I had seen enough boats to know that the one before me was a truly marvellous specimen; my father certainly seemed to think so as he zoned out just by the sight of it and we had to spend a minute or two trying to bring him back to us. As we approached The Siren I could see there were already a couple dozen ponies milling about the ship, both crew members and refuges like myself who had gotten a place on the boat.
Beside the gangplank a makeshift desk had been assembled, behind which a unicorn sat who we presumed was Blueblood’s associate. Making our way forward we joined the short cue where we stood in uncomfortable silence as we waited for the few ponies ahead of us to sign in and move along. We knew the time for saying goodbye was fast approaching, but none of us were particularly eager to acknowledge it. It had been all well and good saying I would go forth myself and ‘reclaim our home’, but now that the time was actually upon me I couldn’t help but shake, and not just from the chilly sea air.
Two years ago I left my home behind, now I was leaving my family behind. Clearly noticing my distress, my mother pulled me into a tight hug and began whispering comforting words into my mane as she buried her head lovingly into it. When it was finally my turn to approach the desk, I stepped forward while my family stepped a little to the side and watched on.
“Hello…” I greeted, unsure if there was any proper title I was supposed to address this stallion by. “Sir. My name is Rarity; I have my ticket right here.”
With that I opened my pouch with magic and pulled out the silver ticket Blueblood had given me at the end of our meeting. The stallion examined it closely for a few moments before smiling up at me.
“Everything seems to be in order Miss Rarity,” he said, stamping it and handing it back to me while jotting down some notes into his ledger. “My name is Sundial; I will be in charge of ensuring your safety from here to Dawnbreak Landing.”
“Dawnbreak?” I repeated in confusion, glancing over at my parents who looked equally perplexed by that. “We aren’t going to Port Mule?”
“Uh, no,” Sundial admitted, his smile becoming slightly strained. “For various reasons we will be taking you to Dawnbreak, from there we have arranged a caravan to transport you all to Pivot, from there I’m afraid you will have to make your own way south.”
“Oh, well I guess that’s acceptable,” I replied slowly, it certainly wasn’t ideal but I could make do with it if it was what they were providing.
“I hope this isn’t too much inconvenience for you Miss,” Sundial stated in a halfway sympathetic voice. “If you have no further inquiries, Feather Duster here will have your baggage moved onto the ship.”
I noticed that a pegasus had just marched up, looking a little exhausted and particularly sweaty, no doubt from carrying everypony’s luggage on-board.
“You can board at any time,” Sundial finished. “Just present your ticket to whoever is watching the gangplank, and remember we plan to set off in just four hours.”
“Thank you,” I said, giving a small nod of appreciation as I turned back to my family, the next in line already moving up to the desk. “So… I guess this is it.”
My mother gave a little sigh while my father scratched his moustache awkwardly, Sweetie Belle on the other hand charged into me, knocking the wind from me as she wrapped her forelegs around my torso.
“Please don’t go!” She wailed, a fresh wave of tears pouring down her cheeks.
“I have to Sweetie Belle,” I explained sadly as I returned the enthusiastic hug. “You know I do.”
“Then let me come too,” she begged, pulling back enough to stare at me with her tear filled eyes.
Those big, adorable, puppy dog eyes…
“Come on now Sweetie, that’s enough,” my father interrupted, pulling her back slightly.
Good timing, I don’t think I could have held out much longer.
“We’ll join Rarity soon enough,” he continued as he wiped Sweetie Belle’s tears away with a tissue. “Then things will go back to the way they used to be.”
My mother stepped forward, presenting me with a second satchel. Opening it up I found various items of food, from fresh fruit to tubs of home cooked meals.
“I know it’s not a lot,” my mother began modestly. “But I figured any more would have just gone bad during the trip.”
“It’s wonderful, thank you mother,” I said sincerely, bringing her into a hug.
She was right, those supplies would only last me a few days out of the three weeks it would take to arrive on the shores of Panchea, but it was the gesture that counted.
“You write now,” she said sternly. “I don’t want to be sitting up all night thinking something awful has happened to you.”
“I will,” I assured her. “Once a week, though you’ll be getting them a bit later than when they were written.”
“We’ll take what we can get,” father said stepping forward. “Now you be careful over there, you hear? The war may be over, but that doesn’t mean things are going to be all fine and dandy.”
“I know,” I said reaching up and giving him a hug. “But trust me when I say I can look after myself.”
“That’s my girl,” he replied with a kiss on my forehead. “Just a few other things, hope your bags aren’t getting too heavy.”
He pulled back and began reaching into his own bag, pulling out a bulging coin purse.
“Father, no!” I said firmly, taking a step back.
“Rarity, yes,” he replied equally as firmly. “You may need this, especially if you have to start trekking across half the country.”
“I already have money…” I began, but I didn’t get much further than that.
“Don’t bother dear,” my mother said. “You won’t win this argument.”
“Fine,” I grumbled as I let him place the purse into my pouch alongside my own.
“And there’s something else,” he continued, reaching back into his bag.
“No, no more,” I tried to object. “You’ve already given me more than enough.”
He didn’t listen as he pulled out two leather pouches, one round and the other cylindrical, each with long draw strings. Opening them up with his magic he pulled out two objects which shimmered in the light of the sun.
“Oh, father no…” I tried to object, awestruck by what I saw.
“No nothing,” he cut across as he presented the spyglass and compass to me. “These belonged to my pa and his pa before him. I was always going to pass them onto you, now just seems like the best time to do so.”
I had kept it together pretty well up to that point, but I couldn’t hold back the tears that had been building up any longer. When I eventually pulled myself together and we all broke from our tearful family hug, I returned both items to their pouches and hung them around my neck. I remember thinking to myself that my explorer image was truly complete at that point. I inhaled heavily as I prepared to make the long walk from my family to the bottom of the gangplank.
“Well… farewell everypony,” I announced. “I hope to see you all again soon.”
As my parents bid me farewell I began marching along the pier to board the ship, only to hear trotting following closely behind me. Stopping, I turned to see my sister skidding to a halt right behind me.
“I told you Sweetie Belle,” I began calmly. “You can’t come. Even if I did suffer enough brain damage to consider bringing you along, you don’t have a ticket.”
“I know that,” Sweetie Belle replied, a little annoyed by my condescending tone. “I actually had something for you, but I was told to give it to you in private.”
Confused, I glanced up at my parents who were eying us curiously.
“Private?” I repeated. “Who told you that?”
“Mr Fancy Pants,” Sweetie Belle explained, producing a small package from her pocket. “He didn’t say what it was; just that somepony wanted you to have it.”
“Strange,” I muttered, accepting the little brown package. “Why didn’t he just give me it himself?”
I later guessed that he didn’t want me asking too many questions about who his mysterious benefactor was, although that too would become clear in time.
“I’m not sure,” Sweetie Belle admitted before giving me another, much gentler hug. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”
“Of course I will,” I assured her, a little surprised by her worry. “The war is over, everything will be fine.”
“If you’re sure,” Sweetie Belle murmured, not sounding completely convinced by my optimism.
“I am,” I stated. “Now go back to mother and father, we’ll see each other again before you know it.”
I examined the package closely as Sweetie Belle ran back to our parents; it was very small and looked to be wrapped hastily. I deposited into the same pouch where my father’s compass rested, the two fitted quite snuggly together. I couldn’t take my mind off what could be inside, even as I ascended the gangplank and presented my ticket to the sailor standing guard almost subconsciously. I broke my train of thought in time to turn and give one final wave to my family before I crossed the deck and they were out of sight.
I was quickly approached by the same pegasus who had carried my suitcase away, Feather Duster. He had managed to clean up a little so I could now make out his pale grey coat under his white and blue crew jacket, darker mane and tail, and feather cutie mark.
“Welcome aboard Miss Rarity,” he greeted, offering a little salute. “Your luggage is already stored below deck, would you like me to show you to where you’ll be staying.”
“That would be most appreciated, thank you,” I replied, following him towards the entrance to the lower decks.
The first room we entered I recognised as the gun deck, even if the canons had been hastily removed for whatever reasons, I picked up on the closed hatches lining the walls. They probably didn’t want to distress the passengers by making it too obvious they were travelling on a war ship, but also this room had been turned into the crew quarters with a number of hammocks strung up. I followed Feather Duster down into the orlop where the cabins were, and presumably where the crew were supposed to sleep.
He led me to a cramped room with only a single bunk bed and a desk sitting against the opposite wall. I glanced at him and he gave me an awkward look.
“I know it’s not exactly first class…” he began, not meeting my gaze.
“Don’t be silly,” I interrupted. “It’s a room with a bed, I couldn’t ask for much more.”
Feather Duster seemed to relax at that as he pulled out a notebook and began skimming through it.
“You’re sharing with a Miss…” he began, his eyes darting back and forth across the page in front of him. “Lyra Heartstrings, but she hasn’t checked in yet.”
“I’m sure I’ll meet her at some point,” I replied casually making my way into the room and throwing my bags onto the bottom bunk.
“Yes well,” he began putting his notebook away into his jacket pocket. “If you need anything from your luggage just ask me or one of the other crew members, we’ll go and fetch it for you. Meals will be served in the galley at least twice a day, I’m afraid we don’t have enough supplies to serve you whenever.”
“That will be fine,” I assured him. “Thank you for your assistance.”
He gave another little salute before leaving the doorway, presumably to help other passengers get settled in. Three weeks in a boat wasn’t my idea of a holiday, but it was already shaping up to be a fairly decent trip. I stayed in my room for a few hours as I waited for the Siren to set sail, at some point Lyra Heartstrings arrived. We chatted amiably for a little while, I learned that she was a musician from Arclight and that she too had been staying in Canterlot under the roof of a cellist she knew from when she was just a filly.
I also learned, to my dismay, that she got severely sea sick. She apologised in advance if she threw up in the room, I forced myself to smile and tell her it would be alright, all while silently praying to Celestia that we have a very gentle voyage with no disturbances that might result in me sleeping in a room that smelt of vomit for three weeks. When I heard the bell signalling our departure, I hurried back up to the deck to see Equestria off. Lyra predictably stayed in the room, but asked me to say goodbye to the solid ground on her behalf.
Quite the crowd had gathered on the dock to see the Siren off, whether they knew of its intended purpose or they were just fascinated by the huge battle ship sticking out of the trading port like a sore thumb, I would never know. Most of my fellow passengers were leaning over the edge of the ship, waving goodbye to the friends who had sheltered them or just getting a last glimpse or Trottingham and Equestria. The crew were busying themselves with the final preparations for moving out.
I noticed the unicorn Sundial was up on the quarter deck, instructing the stallion manning the helm, and in the background Feather Duster was fiddling about with the mizzenmast. Turning my own eyes back to Trottingham I surveyed it for a few minutes before shutting my eyes a breathing in the salty air as my thoughts drifted back to Canterlot. I thought of my Family who would already be on the train back there, I thought of Fancy Pants and his big house, I even thought of the palace and Twilight Sparkle.
Most of all though, I thought to myself ‘would I ever return? Once I was home and settled once more, would I ever have need to come back here?’. It was a sad thought that I might never return in all my years, so I made a promise to myself that one day I would come back, if only to make a dress for Twilight Sparkle. I only opened my eyes when I realised the ship was moving, turning my back on Trottingham I stepped back from the side of the deck and made my way over to the forecastle deck where I gazed out over the immense gulf that separated us from our destination.
Not for long though, in just three weeks I would be setting hoof on the sands of my home country once more. The Siren left Trottingham and Equestria behind and suddenly I was homeward bound.