Sinking Ships Setting Sail
Rain. Streaming down from the black sky above, clouds painting the horizon of the vast ocean before the distraught mare. The tide violently crashed and slammed against the docks, droplets of seawater flew through the air and pelted everything. The shipping crates that piled one another tilted and collapsed like a tower of cards, the massive boxes falling to the wooden floor with a thud. The wind’s horrific triumph in the sky was strong, causing the raincoat that rested on the mare’s back to flap in the ongoing breeze.
The rain made it hard to see, blurring out her vision and replacing it with murky liquid splotches. The blistering cold rattled her legs and the tips of each ear felt to go numb, even with the protection of her hood. She could no longer feel her nose and her heart seamed to grow black and lifeless the longer she stood out here. But she must. She knows she must.
Returning home and leaving the docks could only result in the cruelest betrayal a pony can experience. So she will wait, wait for her husband’s return. Wait for his small sailing vessel to appear through the blockade of darkness that rests above the murky waters.
She wraps her front hooves around her chest, a feeble attempt to block out the cold. Her eyes remained trained on the horizon in the distance, knowing that something will appear eventually. The words of the other town’s folk swam through her mind.
“He’s gone. Never coming back. Move on.”
They didn’t understand, they never will. Love doesn’t simply leave. Love doesn’t mindlessly move on. Love remains. Love doesn’t waver, even after the intense battle against fate or reality. The mare knew this, not taking the other ponies words into consideration.
Yes, the mare’s beloved has been gone for some time. But this is only an obstacle through the journey of life. Things block our paths and fluster our footing, but we still advance, knowing that no matter how outnumbered we will succeed over the ones who deny us. The ones who deny the true lovers.
This is what the mare believed, and the undying faith in her husband’s untimely arrival still stands tall.
Only one memory left itself embedded into the mare’s shrouded mind. The last time she saw her beloved.
+++
Two ponies stood in the center of a living room. The small shack like structure’s wooden walls reeked of rot and the floor continuously creaked.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” asked the mare, her hooves wrapped tightly around her husband.
“Honey, there is no need to worry,” he chuckled, looking down on his wife with a tender stare, “This isn’t the first time I’ve been gone on a trip like this.”
“I know, I know,” stammered his wife, refusing to lossen her hold of him. “It’s just… this is the longest you’ll be away. And every day feels like a year and every second feels like--“ her rambling was cut short by the stallion before her.
“Shhh,” she whispered, “I need you to promise that you will have faith in me to return home safely. I won’t rest easy knowing you are concerned.”
The mare let out a long exhale, closing her eyes to contemplate for a moment. “Yes,” she said, the smallest of smiles wrapped around her face, her voice drifting off like a calm wind atop the salty sea.
Her husband smiled, planting a soft kiss against the mare’s lips, his warm grin radiating a soothing heat that brushed off her reddened cheeks.
Suddenly, the front door of the couples living room slowly opened, a rather dirty looking pony standing in the entrance. His chin wore a three day stubble and heavy bags rested beneath his dark green eyes. A blue bandana clung to his forehead and his long brown mane dangled from it, all disheveled and unorderly.
He glanced at the stallion. “You ready to head off, captain? The boats prepped and ready, just waiting for your command and we’ll get going.”
The stallion smiled and followed up with a nod, “Of course, Davidson,” he said, “I’ll be out in a moment. Allow me to part with me wife first.”
Davidson returned the grin as his eyes darted to the mare that clung to his captain. “Good day, my lady,” he bowed.
The mare smirked and bowed back as Davidson headed out the door, presumably to the docks to finish loading up the ship.
“Well, I must be going,” the stallion said, holding his wife one final time.
“Oh I don’t mind walking to the docks with you,” she quickly stuttered, not wanting to truly say goodbye yet.
“If you insist,” he chuckled, holding his wife’s hoof as the two made their way out the door and towards the docks.
Many ponies wandered the streets as well; mare’s following their stallions to wish them luck on such a long voyage. The town was bustling with excitement, almost thirty ponies were setting off on this trip, there destination being the royal city of Canterlot. They had been asked by the Celestial Guard to deliver supplies to the kingdom. Being given such an important task was big news for this tiny fishing village, and everypony couldn’t wait for the wondrous return of the ponies chosen to seek out this delivery.
The crowed hushed and all went still as the mare and her husband walked towards the boat, all eyes locked on them.
“The captain has arrived!” shouted a random voice from the mass of ponies. All let out a cheer of delight as the couple continued to walk forward. They both waved, the captain revealing a much realer smile then his wife. Of course, the attention was flattering and her husband had been given the brilliant honor of leading the crew through this journey, but she just didn’t want to say goodbye yet. A strange sense of foreboding lingered within and left the mare shaken and uncomfortable.
The crowed went quiet again as the captain stood atop a pile of crates, earning the attention of his shipmates and fellow townsfolk. “Alright everpony!” he shouted over the squawking pelicans and crashing waves, “Today we set forth on a journey to the capital city of Canterlot! Where we will deliver cargo specifically ordered to be given by us!” The crowed let out more cheers, the captain’s wife standing beside the crate pile of which her husband stood, awe struck by his speech of inspiration. “Now I bid my humble town a farewell. We will return within two weeks, our payment in hoof and smiles etched across our features. For we will have achieved a mission by the princesses themselves!”
The crowed let out another tremendous roar of ecstatic joy, shaking the unstable barge from which they stood. The captain and his men quickly piled aboard, the mare’s leaning over the boat rim to kiss their husbands goodbye. The captain’s wife was the last to give her farewells.
“Promise me you’ll be back soon,” she sighed.
“In time, my darling. In time” he said, resting his lips against hers as one crewmate hoisted the anchor. “See you in two weeks,” he chimed, ending the kiss.
“I love you,” the mare squeaked, her breath fading away at the seams.
“I love you too,” her husband replied, his voice soft as silk.
And with that, the boat slowly parted with the docks. The crew waved at the crowed of ponies as they drifted further and further into the distance, the captain not breaking eye contact with his beloved as he became harder and harder to see through the dense fog. His wife could feel another churning in her gut as the ship slowly went out of view, disappearing behind the mist that rests above the ocean’s surface.
As the crowed dispatched and returned home, the mare stayed frozen at the docks, staring into space.
+++
That was four weeks ago, the ship of thirty brave ponies didn’t return to the docks at their expected arrival time, and the small fishing village suffered a massive loss that day. The Celestial Guard were ordered to scour the ocean for the missing crew and boat, but nothing was ever found. All the ponies lost hope that they would ever see their loved ones again, and their disappearance may forever remain a mystery. But the captain’s loyal wife remained strong. Her hope never waving, her confidence of the ship’s return; undying.
She will wait by these very docks day and night if she must. No matter how many ponies call her crazy, she will live on knowing her husband is somewhere out there in the big blue.
As she stares into the murky water before her, she knows her beloved will return. She doesn’t know when or how, but he will.
For his sinking ship has only just set sail.
