Rarity and the Regattaby lifeofthe6ChaptersRarity Enters the RegattaKeel Haul Helps Out!The White Diamond Sets Sail!Rarity Enters the RegattaRarity was a successful businessmare. She had to be. You don’t dive headlong into a clothing industry when most of your town is nude most of the time and not have at least some idea of what you’re doing. In terms of gross income, she still trailed behind revenue giants like Filthy Rich and the Apple family (they never live like they are, but the Apples are one of the richest families in Equestria), but she made enough profit that most Ponyville denizens would call her “well-to-do.” As such, this white unicorn enjoyed many of the finer pleasures of life: going to the spa as often as she saw fit, staying up-to-date on the latest fashions—by making many of them—and partaking in the more posh events of Equestria when she had the time. She liked to try new things, too, which is why she was particularly intrigued one early morning when a certain flyer arrived in the mail. “The Manehattan Regatta,” she read aloud, “This annual race pits the finest sailors and the finest vessels in Equestria in a competition that expertly blends excitement and class. Oh, I do like the sound of that! Registration is now open for amateurs and veterans alike. One sailor per vessel.” Rarity pondered for a moment. She certainly did want to give this race a try. It had been a while since she had appeared at a high-class event, and even longer since she had voluntarily entered any sort of competition that wasn’t fashion-centered. And she had never entered a race before, much less won one. She didn’t have a boat, but she did have enough disposable income to purchase a modest vessel. Even if she didn’t win the race she could still use the boat for outings with her family and friends. After all, a lady must treat herself from time to time, and if that means getting herself a ship, then so be it! “That decides it, then!” Rarity proclaimed to herself. “I shall buy a sailboat at the port of Manehattan and enter the regatta!” She trotted inside to begin preparations for her trip. As she tossed clothing, accessories, and other supplies about with her magic, Rarity was making quite the racket. This noise awoke her occasional housemate and little sister. “Rarity, what in the world are you do—mmph!” a giant hat muffled the rest of Sweetie Belle’s words. The older white unicorn perked up, “Oh! Sweetie Belle! I nearly forgot you were here this weekend, so sorry for waking you!” The filly tossed Rarity’s attack-hat aside. “Yeah, thanks. So, like I was saying: what in the world are you doing?” Sweetie squeaked. “Well, I received the most delightful flyer in the mail this morning and after some contemplation I decided that I just had to enter!” Rarity floated the flyer in her sister’s face for her to read. “A regatta?” Sweetie Belle tilted her head, “But you don’t even have a boat.” “I will soon! I have earned quite a bit from my most recent line of dresses and tunics, so I’m using the extra profit to buy myself a sailing ship!” Rarity beamed. “Do you even know anything about sailing?” Sweetie Belle asked. Rarity scoffed as if deeply insulted, “Why of course I do!” she enunciated each word, “The spring and summer issues of my favorite magazines always have articles on sailing. Besides, it’s just the wind. I’m sure it can’t be that hard.” “Just don’t come crying to me when your boat capsizes right out of the starting gate.” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. She glanced at the flyer again, “Wait, it says here that this race is in a week. If you’re going now, who’s going to take care of me while you’re gone? Mom and Dad won’t be back from Neighpon for another month!” “I’m sure the Apples would love to have you for a bit. Little Apple Bloom is one of your Crusaders, isn’t she?” “Aww, but I always end up doing chores with the Apples!” Sweetie whined. “Well, Scootaloo lives alone and I can’t risk you getting into any unsupervised trouble, and Fluttershy is busy helping various animals, er, make babies, so it’s going to have to be the Apples.” “Ugh, fine,” Sweetie Belle groaned, “At least it’s not applebucking season. I don’t think my legs could take that for more than a few days.” Sweetie Belle seemed to completely forget the prospect of chores as she chatted happily with Apple Bloom at the Ponyville train station with Applejack and Rarity, waiting for the train to arrive. “You’re sure you don’t want me or Twi to come with you, sugarcube? We could be pretty useful on a boat,” Applejack said. Rarity waved a hoof dismissively, “Oh, I’ll be fine, dear. Besides, I’m fairly certain the rules say only one sailor per craft. But don’t you worry, Applejack. I’ll be back with a blue ribbon before you know it!” As she said this the train to Manehattan rolled into the station. The engineer pony called out for passengers to board and Rarity said her goodbyes to her sister and the Apples. She pulled her cart full of luggage behind her with her magic onto the train and she was off. After about six hours of travel the Ponyville train arrived at Grand Manehattan Central, the largest train hub in Equestria. By comparison, the humble locomotive that had brought Rarity here looked like it belonged in a foal’s toybox next to the gargantuan engines that crossed the entire country daily. Though she had been to Manehattan before, the sheer size of the train station alone still astounded Rarity. “My, I’ll never get tired of this,” she said with a delighted sigh. She had paid to have her luggage delivered right to her hotel room, so she was free to head straight to the port of Manehattan, where registration for the Regatta was. As she neared the port, decorations advertising the Regatta increased in frequency and extravagance. It must be quite the event, Rarity thought. Dressed up in a maritime themed outfit, complete with an admiral’s cap, the white unicorn felt increasingly giddy as she stood in line behind other fancy looking entrants to the boat race. “Oh, I can smell the salt on the air already! You are so going to win this, Rarity!” she whispered to herself. Finally it was her turn to sign up. “Your name, please?” The receptionist mare asked. “Rarity,” Rarity proclaimed proudly. The pony at the desk looked up and her eyes widened, “You’re Rarity?” She began fanning herself with a hoof, “Oh my Celestia I’m wearing one of your scarves right now!” Her Manehattan accent was very evident. She showed Rarity the tag on her scarf that bore Carousel Boutique’s logo. “If your clothes are this great I can’t wait to see what kind of marvelous boat you have. What’s the name of the vessel?” Rarity shook her head, “Oh, I haven’t bought it yet. I’m sure the marina has a wonderful selection of—” “Bought? You can’t enter a purchased craft into the Regatta,” the receptionist pony said. “What? It doesn’t say anything like that on the flyer.” Rarity raised an eyebrow. The receptionist pony shrugged, “That’s because it’s usually common knowledge to the ponies who enter that you have to build your own ship. There’s no way any normal marina is going to have the kinds of boats that sail in the Manehattan Regatta.” “Well what kinds of boats do sail in the Regatta?” “Let me put it this way: if you’re going to build a ship for this race, I’d invest in steel armor plating and the best cannons you can find,” the receptionist pony said. Rarity’s eyes widened. “To be honest, though, most racers take months to build their ships. I don’t know what you can throw together in a week. Are you sure you still want to enter? No use spending the entrance fee if you’re going to get sunk right out of the starting gate.” Steel armor? Cannons? What sort of regatta is run with warships? Rarity wondered. It couldn’t be that dangerous, though. Deaths in an annual boat race would have made stories in newspapers across Equestria, and she had never read anything like that before. Besides, this event was high-class. Even the most eccentric of the elite wouldn’t needlessly risk their lives. With that in mind, the gears in Rarity’s brain began turning, and the vague outline of a vessel was being drawn on her subconscious. It was just like with her inspiration for clothing, only with more guns. She only had a week to make a sturdy, speedy, and powerful seaworthy vessel, but she’s made tighter deadlines. “Yes, sign me up,” Rarity said after thinking. The receptionist pony scribbled Rarity’s name on the roster, and wrote “TBA” under the column for the ship’s name. “’To be announced,’” she said before Rarity could ask. She pointed to a few other names that had the same thing under their ships. “You’d be surprised at how many ponies wait until the day of the race to unveil their ships. It’s for a more dramatic entrance. I just wrote that down for you since you don’t have a boat yet.” “A dramatic entrance, eh?” Rarity smiled, “Well, I am somewhat of a diva. That suits me well.” “In any case, you’re going to want to head to the Manehattan Dry Dock to see what materials are available. Armament is either built by hoof, or ordered from the surplus at Manehattan Naval Base. Here’s a list of things your boat can and can’t have. Good luck, Rarity!” the receptionist pony slid over the list, which Rarity picked up with her magic. She nodded her goodbye while scanning the paper, and headed off to the docks. “Hm, I’m losing daylight quickly. Perhaps I should just survey what the dry dock has today and get building tomorrow morning,” Rarity said as she tucked the ship regulations list into her saddlebag. Whatever a dry dock normally looked like, Rarity was fairly certain what she was seeing wasn’t it. Manehattan Dry Dock had been transformed into a massive open-air market specifically for shipbuilding materials, complete with huge stands for different components. As it was nearing evening, though, very few ponies were around, and some stands had already closed down. I should at least get the things I need for the frame, Rarity thought. She used her eye for detail to spot a stand selling aluminum that would be perfect for a sturdy but lightweight skeleton for her ship. Selection was sparse, but it hadn’t been totally picked clean by other racers who had been fortunate enough to be there days and weeks before she had. The shipwright selling the metal was knowledgeable and informed Rarity on the different types of aluminum, of course insisting that his was the best. Rarity purchased enough to make a 40 foot vessel, and sent the material off to the private warehouse she had been assigned. Her thoughts drifted to the bath she was going to take when she got back to her hotel. She needed to relax. After all, it was just that morning that she received the flyer in Ponyville informing her of the regatta. It was a whirlwind of a day travelling to Manehattan, signing up for the race, and shopping at the dry dock, the last of which she still had more to do, but was simply too tired to waste the time of any more shipwrights. As she left the stand, Rarity couldn’t help but notice the arrival of a large, muscular, and handsome yet old and salty looking stallion coming to chat with the aluminum seller. They glanced at each other for a split second but continued about their business. Little did Rarity know, they were going to become better acquainted in the coming week. Keel Haul Helps Out!The next day Rarity returned to the dry dock, the funds in her bank account already allocated so she could get the best parts she could find—assuming she could find them. She decided to go with steel as the material for her boat’s hull. Unfortunately for her, so did many other ponies. All that was available was either mangled scrap, rusted, or too weak to be useful as the outer hull. The white unicorn grimaced at her slim pickings, and very briefly considered dropping out of the race. She could still get a full refund if she quit before the regatta began. “Not much left, is there, little lady?” A booming, gruff voice gave Rarity a start. Its source was the old stallion she glanced at the previous evening. “Ya ha ha! Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just noticed you look like you’re pretty new to the shipbuilding business.” He was a big pony. Big enough that Rarity felt a tad intimidated as he approached her, but as he came closer she could see there was a wide, friendly smile behind his incredibly bushy moustache and beard. His bluish-gray coat and silvery mane and tail made him look like he was born to be on the sea. His cutie mark of an anchor over crossed mallets sealed his image. “Well, um, yes, I’m not much of a shipwright,” Rarity admitted, “And by ‘not much’ I mean ‘not at all.’ I design and make clothing for a living. In fact I entered the Manehattan Regatta completely unaware I would have to build my own ship, much less arm and armor it.” Despite the unicorn’s strained expression, the big stallion’s smile did not diminish. “Ya ha ha! And you’re still going through with the race? You’ve got guts, miss, I’ll give you that!” Rarity couldn’t help return a small grin. This earth pony stallion looked rough, but he was quite charming. “Rarity,” she extended her hoof, which the stallion shook wholeheartedly. “The name’s Keel Haul. I’m the owner of the Manehattan Dry Dock.” “The owner! Of this entire place? My goodness, I had no idea!” Rarity looked around as if she had been transported to another world. “Ya ha ha! I get that a lot. I’m pretty well off but acting high and mighty really isn’t my style. Yep, the dry dock’s mine, but the way I run it it’s more like a public utility. Anypony can build or repair any seafaring craft they have here and, if they want, store it in my warehouses. It’s all for a reasonable price of course—I’ve gotta maintain this place somehow!” “You’ve got the dock looking like a festival market, Mr. Haul. Is this just for the Manehattan Regatta?” “That’s right! I enter the regatta every year, and it doesn’t feel right monopolizing all these tools and resources to myself, so when the race rolls around I open up the place for all kinds of ponies from all over Equestria to sell shipbuilding materials and accessories. The naval base handles most armament, though.” “Speaking of armament: it might be a bit late to ask this but the race isn’t dangerous, is it? I came for excitement, not to risk my life.” “Ya ha ha! Not at all, Miss Rarity! The guns and cannons may be real, but the ammunition’s completely safe! Spells and all kinds of special magic make sure of that. That doesn’t mean your ship can’t be blown completely out of the water though!” Keel laughed again. He did a lot of that. Rarity thought that Pinkie Pie might enjoy him. “In any event, it looks like unless I want to sail a frying pan, I’ll have to use something else other than steel to build my ship’s hull. I already have an aluminum frame. What do you suggest as an alternative?” Rarity asked. Keel Haul only needed to search his mind for a moment, “How about fiberglass? It won’t protect you that much, but you’ll be so light, using a fiberglass hull along with a good sail means you’ll be too fast for anypony to hit you anyway!” Keel took Rarity over to a stand offering fiberglass. Rarity ran her hoof over a panel of the material on display. “Oh my, it’s quite shiny!” “Yup!” Keel Haul nodded, “The other good thing about fiberglass is that it’s easy to paint n’ whatnot. Even if you don’t have that long you can turn out a real pretty ship.” Rarity read over the display sign near the panel. “It looks like I’ll need some sort of mold to form my hull. Do you know where I can buy something like that?” The old sailor waved a hoof dismissively, “Buy? Oh, don’t worry about spending anything on that. Tell you what, I’ll lend you a brand new mold of my own that I was gonna use for this year until I changed my design. It’s great for a small craft like yours.” “My, that’s very generous of you,” Rarity smiled, “But why would you help me so much? I may be new to the water but I’m still your competition.” Keel Haul let out a great laugh again, “Ya ha ha! I haven’t cared about actually winning the Manehattan Regatta since I was younger than you. In fact, I haven’t even placed in the top 10 for at least fifteen years! It’s the new sailors like you that I like to see win and take on challenges. I sense you’ve got a fire, Miss Rarity, and seeing you win the race with a boat you built in a week will make a sailing story I can tell for the rest of my days!” “Well, then I’ll just have to make a story worth sharing, now won’t I?” Rarity put on a determined expression. She was getting fired up. “That’s the spirit!” Keel Haul said. Rarity ordered her fiberglass to be delivered to her warehouse. The last major things her boat needed were armament and, of course, a sail. Keel Haul and Rarity began walking around the dry dock picking up the smaller things Rarity would need for her boat. “Now then, what sort of weapons should I use?” Rarity asked. “Let’s see… A hull as small as yours made of fiberglass can’t take too much weight on it. You’d either be too slow or too heavy to float,” Keel Haul stroked his beard as he thought, then stamped his hoof on the ground when an idea struck. “I got it! A couple of Gatling guns will be perfect!” “Gatling what?” Rarity tilted her head. “It’s a machine gun with a lot of barrels. You’ll be putting a thousand rounds in the competition’s sails before they can even get one shell off! Ya ha ha!” Keel Haul explained. “Wouldn’t it be better for me to attack their hulls? After all, they can’t very well follow me if their boats are at the bottom of the bay,” Rarity said with a mischievous smirk. The old sailor pony shook his head, “It would, but it’s not likely your tiny bullets will be able to punch through the armor of most of the boats. Trust me, I know what usually sails in the regatta. At least taking out their sails will slow them down.” “If you say so,” Rarity nodded. Keel Haul saw the young unicorn’s dejected expression. She carried herself like a proper lady, but he could see she had quite the wild side that she didn’t get to let out nearly enough. “Now that I think about it, I can give you something else you can use in a pinch. It’ll give you that je ne sais quoi you’re looking for. Follow me; we’ll get you outfitted.” Keel Haul took Rarity toward the warehouses where ships were either under construction or being stored. Along the way he whispered something to a stallion who worked at the dock. He ran over to a couple of uniformed military ponies, who had him sign a form before they went to retrieve a very large crate from the roped-off area behind them. The worker stallion followed Keel Haul and Rarity with the crate that was loaded onto a cart for easier transport. “This is my warehouse. Number 15,” Rarity said. Since she had not yet unlocked her facility, the raw materials for her boat that she had ordered earlier that day and the day before were stacked in front of the garage door of the warehouse. She magicked a key from her saddlebag and used it to open the personnel door on the building. It was dark inside. “You’ll have everything you need to build your sailboat here.” Keel Haul flicked on the lights and opened some of the vents, allowing light to flood the spacious room. Clearly nopony had spent any length of time in here for quite a while, as dust was the second most common thing in the air besides the air itself. Because air was flowing in now it began to filter out, but thick layers of the stuff still covered the old and rusted tools, tables, and equipment that lined the walls and littered the floor of the warehouse. In the center of the room was a peculiar-looking structure. Judging by its vaguely ship-hull-shaped form, Rarity guessed that’s where she would be mounting the main body of her boat. It would give her room to work under and around her ship while she fashioned smaller components on the tables and surrounding work areas. Keel Haul coughed as dust motes filled his lungs. “Guess this place needs a bit of a cleanin’, huh?” “Indeed,” Rarity kicked her front hoof to get a smidge of dirt off of her. The stallion that had been following them with the crate set it down near the hull rig. The weight of the crate threw up even more dust into the air. “What is that, Mr. Haul?” Rarity asked. Keel Haul nodded to the stallion, who took a crowbar off the cart and cracked open the wooden crate. The sides fell away to reveal a long cylindrical tube that was almost as long as Rarity’s finished boat would be. “That, my friend, is a torpedo. Normally those things are used in submarines and larger ships, but with a little jerry-rigging and a can-do attitude, we’ll be able to slap one on to the bottom of your boat. It’ll be your secret weapon!” “But that propeller on the back—won’t it be cheating if I use it?” “Ya ha ha! The propeller’s not for you! It carries the torpedo through the water to its target. Once it gets close: KABLAM!” The sailor pony’s sudden increase in volume echoed in the near-empty warehouse and startled both Rarity and the dock worker. Keel Haul’s continued grin showed that he was unapologetic about that. “Just make sure to aim it. You’ve only got one and it won’t be much help unless it’s a direct hit.” “Right…” Rarity nodded. She was staring straight at the hull rig, already constructing her boat in her mind. “From that look I take it my work here is done. Well, that’s all the help I can give you, anyway. Actually building your boat is up to you. You’ve got six days, Miss Rarity! I hope to see you at the starting gate!” “And thank you, Mr. Haul. I hope to see you at the finish line. After I get there, of course!” Rarity shook Keel Haul’s hoof again and gave a few bits as a tip to the pony who had brought the torpedo to her warehouse. The stallions left and shut the door. Rarity opened the garage door to begin to bring her materials inside. Once she carted them in and organized them, she gave a deep breath. “All right, Admiral Rarity, let’s build ourselves a boat!” The White Diamond Sets Sail!For the remainder of the week before the race, Rarity spent more time in her warehouse than at in hotel room. She actually slept beside her marine construction two of the nights. The day of the race, she was ready, though. Rarity did one last survey of her boat and ran her hoof over the deep blue, silver-flaked decal that bore the name of her vessel: The White Diamond. Rarity chose the name because it represented herself and the boat perfectly. White, rare, incredibly tough, and the envy and desire of every high-class mare and stallion. Even without the sail up she was a sleek, magnificent sight. Rarity noted to thank Keel Haul for the hull mold again. Unfortunately, due to a lack of time, Rarity could not test her boat on the water. While she was sure she had built everything correctly from the many manuals she read and shipbuilding advice she… persuaded from ponies around the docks, she still didn’t know if the White Diamond could even float. The race would have to be the test and maiden voyage. Hopefully it wouldn’t also be her final one. Rarity had the White Diamond towed to the Old Manehattan Lighthouse docks, where the Manehattan Regatta would be taking place. She arrived shortly before her boat did, taking a moment to pause on the hill overlooking the event area. The Old Manehattan Lighthouse was not just a landmark. It was also the center of the city’s aptly named Lighthouse District, a more well-to-do area of Manehattan just a few miles south of the city proper. As such, the docks here were much less like the one at Manehattan Harbor. Each individual pier was covered, attendant ponies stood at the moor of each boat, and even the wood was intricately engraved and treated so as not to fade from hoof traffic and the weather over the years. On the shore flanking either side of the docks were country-club style buildings with ample outdoor seating, likely for spectators to watch the regatta. The lighthouse itself was a handsome building—well preserved due to community love and a lot of old money. If Rarity remembered correctly, it still used fire rather than magic filament lanterns common in more modern lighthouses. It stood on top of a high cliff, chosen back when it was built for easy visibility. Adding to that was its red and white horizontal stripe façade, a view that functionally and aesthetically broke the horizon from any angle. The salty air here somehow smelled more refined, a sensation Rarity felt the high class Manehattan ponies were taking full advantage of, as their noses were held higher than usual. By stark contrast to the general attitude of elegance around the docks, the boats moored at them seemed vicious and unwelcoming. That must be my competition, Rarity thought. Keel Haul had said Rarity’s boat would be a good bit smaller than most of the others, but she had no idea sailing ships could even be that large. “To think that these ponies commandeer these ships all on their own! They must be quite the sailors,” Rarity marveled. Using her eye for detail, she scoped out the boats from her vantage point atop the hill. She may have been far away, but thankfully Manehattan’s elite was as showoff-y as Rarity was. Almost every boat was brightly colored and elaborately decorated, with gold and silver trimmings and silk sails and all manner of extra decals and flourish that Rarity was sure wouldn’t help her competition win. The weaponry was a different story. Just like the receptionist pony had told her a week ago, several of the boats bristled with turrets and cannons and guns that would likely sink the White Diamond in a single shot. With all that firepower they were likely to be equally armored against attack. Battle would certainly not be a main aspect of Rarity’s strategy. “Ya ha ha! Glad you could make it!” Rarity yelped at the voice behind her. Keel Haul was incredibly quiet for such a big pony. Well, a quiet mover. “Sorry, Miss Rarity! Didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized. “Oh, it’s quite all right,” Rarity lied, attempting to put her heart back in its appropriate body cavity, “I’m just getting a gauge of the competition. It’s… something else.” Keel Haul nodded, “It’s like this pretty much every year. Which one’s yours?” Rarity pointed to the White Diamond, which was just now being lowered into the water at the rightmost moor. Now that she could actually see the size difference between hers and those of the other sailors, she blushed. “Well, she isn’t the biggest thing, but that ain’t anything to be ashamed of! After all, it’s not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean that matters!” Keel Haul assured Rarity. “The motion of the ocean?” Rarity echoed. “What I mean is you don’t need the biggest or the strongest boat to win. You just need to sail your boat well. Take another look at the lineup. I can see three boats right off the bat that you’ll leave dead in the water. Now, why might that be?” Rarity squinted and thought for a moment, but she had just been taking all the details earlier. When she took her new shipbuilding knowledge into account, what Keel Haul was pointing out became clear. “That purple one next to me likely won’t get very far. It’s not very big, which might make you think it’ll be faster, but whoever made it knows nothing about fabric. They’ve made their sails out of silk! Silk is pretty and elegant but it’s also very breathable. Wind will blow right through it and they’ll hardly gain any speed. “See the red and orange eastern junk-inspired boat over there? The mast supports are all wrong. It’ll fall apart the second it reaches full sail. “And that menacing looking jet-black giant in the center has a lot of guns but I can see the water line’s too high from here. It’s far too heavy to move very quickly, and it may have a lot of guns, but that means it also has a lot of ammunition. It should make a fantastic explosion if somepony manages to penetrate it.” “Good eye,” Keel Haul smirked, “You might be more of a sailor than you think. Expensive doesn’t always mean good, and those ponies are going to figure that out very soon.” “And that means my real competition is only five other boats, including yours! Which one is it, now?” Rarity began scanning. Keel Haul pointed to the opposite end of the dock from where the White Diamond was stationed. “There she is, I call her Maddy.” Keel Haul’s ship was a moderately sized yacht that looked as speedy as it did fearsome. Her hull was almost as blue as the ocean and she had a bright yellow pinstripe down either side. On her bow were two small naval guns as her only armament. The old sailor pony didn’t put much investment into destruction as some other racers. He probably had the experience to know not to. “Ooh, I bet one heck of a mare inspired that name!” Rarity playfully nudged Keel Haul. “Ya ha ha! Nonsense! Any sailor knows if you name a boat the same thing as a pony close to you you’re bound to lose one of ‘em! Maddy comes from the beginning of the words ‘Manehattan Dry Dock’. I just added a ‘y’ after to make it sound better,” Keel Haul explained. “I guess a ship named Madd would sound odd, wouldn’t it?” Rarity nodded. A bell on the dock sounded and a regal-looking pony walked up to a microphone near it. “Would all sailors please board their crafts to sail to the starting line? The 154th Annual Manehattan Regatta is about to begin!” “That’s our call, Miss Rarity. Are you ready?” Keel Haul asked. Rarity pulled her admiral’s cap out of her saddlebag and put it on, “I’m more than ready, Mr. Haul. I’m ship-shape!” “Ya ha ha! That’s the spirit! Let’s both make it to the finish line, deal?” The earth pony extended a hoof, which Rarity shook. “It’s a promise!” The two went their separate ways and made their way down to the docks where they boarded their crafts. Rarity undid the tarp that was wrapped around the bottom of the boat, concealing the torpedo. She put it in a storage compartment and raised the White Diamond’s sail. Emblazoned upon it was nothing other than her cutie mark overlaid with Carousel Boutique’s logo. The pristine white sail seemed to glow in the sun. She opened up the sail to catch some wind and set the White Diamond in motion. She and the other sailors navigated to the green buoys marking the starting gate, some more skillfully than others. “All sailors, drop your anchors!” the pony from earlier signaled to the boats. The anchors had to be dropped so no one could sail ahead early. “On your mark… get set… anchors aweigh!”
Rarity Enters the RegattaRarity was a successful businessmare. She had to be. You don’t dive headlong into a clothing industry when most of your town is nude most of the time and not have at least some idea of what you’re doing. In terms of gross income, she still trailed behind revenue giants like Filthy Rich and the Apple family (they never live like they are, but the Apples are one of the richest families in Equestria), but she made enough profit that most Ponyville denizens would call her “well-to-do.” As such, this white unicorn enjoyed many of the finer pleasures of life: going to the spa as often as she saw fit, staying up-to-date on the latest fashions—by making many of them—and partaking in the more posh events of Equestria when she had the time. She liked to try new things, too, which is why she was particularly intrigued one early morning when a certain flyer arrived in the mail. “The Manehattan Regatta,” she read aloud, “This annual race pits the finest sailors and the finest vessels in Equestria in a competition that expertly blends excitement and class. Oh, I do like the sound of that! Registration is now open for amateurs and veterans alike. One sailor per vessel.” Rarity pondered for a moment. She certainly did want to give this race a try. It had been a while since she had appeared at a high-class event, and even longer since she had voluntarily entered any sort of competition that wasn’t fashion-centered. And she had never entered a race before, much less won one. She didn’t have a boat, but she did have enough disposable income to purchase a modest vessel. Even if she didn’t win the race she could still use the boat for outings with her family and friends. After all, a lady must treat herself from time to time, and if that means getting herself a ship, then so be it! “That decides it, then!” Rarity proclaimed to herself. “I shall buy a sailboat at the port of Manehattan and enter the regatta!” She trotted inside to begin preparations for her trip. As she tossed clothing, accessories, and other supplies about with her magic, Rarity was making quite the racket. This noise awoke her occasional housemate and little sister. “Rarity, what in the world are you do—mmph!” a giant hat muffled the rest of Sweetie Belle’s words. The older white unicorn perked up, “Oh! Sweetie Belle! I nearly forgot you were here this weekend, so sorry for waking you!” The filly tossed Rarity’s attack-hat aside. “Yeah, thanks. So, like I was saying: what in the world are you doing?” Sweetie squeaked. “Well, I received the most delightful flyer in the mail this morning and after some contemplation I decided that I just had to enter!” Rarity floated the flyer in her sister’s face for her to read. “A regatta?” Sweetie Belle tilted her head, “But you don’t even have a boat.” “I will soon! I have earned quite a bit from my most recent line of dresses and tunics, so I’m using the extra profit to buy myself a sailing ship!” Rarity beamed. “Do you even know anything about sailing?” Sweetie Belle asked. Rarity scoffed as if deeply insulted, “Why of course I do!” she enunciated each word, “The spring and summer issues of my favorite magazines always have articles on sailing. Besides, it’s just the wind. I’m sure it can’t be that hard.” “Just don’t come crying to me when your boat capsizes right out of the starting gate.” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. She glanced at the flyer again, “Wait, it says here that this race is in a week. If you’re going now, who’s going to take care of me while you’re gone? Mom and Dad won’t be back from Neighpon for another month!” “I’m sure the Apples would love to have you for a bit. Little Apple Bloom is one of your Crusaders, isn’t she?” “Aww, but I always end up doing chores with the Apples!” Sweetie whined. “Well, Scootaloo lives alone and I can’t risk you getting into any unsupervised trouble, and Fluttershy is busy helping various animals, er, make babies, so it’s going to have to be the Apples.” “Ugh, fine,” Sweetie Belle groaned, “At least it’s not applebucking season. I don’t think my legs could take that for more than a few days.” Sweetie Belle seemed to completely forget the prospect of chores as she chatted happily with Apple Bloom at the Ponyville train station with Applejack and Rarity, waiting for the train to arrive. “You’re sure you don’t want me or Twi to come with you, sugarcube? We could be pretty useful on a boat,” Applejack said. Rarity waved a hoof dismissively, “Oh, I’ll be fine, dear. Besides, I’m fairly certain the rules say only one sailor per craft. But don’t you worry, Applejack. I’ll be back with a blue ribbon before you know it!” As she said this the train to Manehattan rolled into the station. The engineer pony called out for passengers to board and Rarity said her goodbyes to her sister and the Apples. She pulled her cart full of luggage behind her with her magic onto the train and she was off. After about six hours of travel the Ponyville train arrived at Grand Manehattan Central, the largest train hub in Equestria. By comparison, the humble locomotive that had brought Rarity here looked like it belonged in a foal’s toybox next to the gargantuan engines that crossed the entire country daily. Though she had been to Manehattan before, the sheer size of the train station alone still astounded Rarity. “My, I’ll never get tired of this,” she said with a delighted sigh. She had paid to have her luggage delivered right to her hotel room, so she was free to head straight to the port of Manehattan, where registration for the Regatta was. As she neared the port, decorations advertising the Regatta increased in frequency and extravagance. It must be quite the event, Rarity thought. Dressed up in a maritime themed outfit, complete with an admiral’s cap, the white unicorn felt increasingly giddy as she stood in line behind other fancy looking entrants to the boat race. “Oh, I can smell the salt on the air already! You are so going to win this, Rarity!” she whispered to herself. Finally it was her turn to sign up. “Your name, please?” The receptionist mare asked. “Rarity,” Rarity proclaimed proudly. The pony at the desk looked up and her eyes widened, “You’re Rarity?” She began fanning herself with a hoof, “Oh my Celestia I’m wearing one of your scarves right now!” Her Manehattan accent was very evident. She showed Rarity the tag on her scarf that bore Carousel Boutique’s logo. “If your clothes are this great I can’t wait to see what kind of marvelous boat you have. What’s the name of the vessel?” Rarity shook her head, “Oh, I haven’t bought it yet. I’m sure the marina has a wonderful selection of—” “Bought? You can’t enter a purchased craft into the Regatta,” the receptionist pony said. “What? It doesn’t say anything like that on the flyer.” Rarity raised an eyebrow. The receptionist pony shrugged, “That’s because it’s usually common knowledge to the ponies who enter that you have to build your own ship. There’s no way any normal marina is going to have the kinds of boats that sail in the Manehattan Regatta.” “Well what kinds of boats do sail in the Regatta?” “Let me put it this way: if you’re going to build a ship for this race, I’d invest in steel armor plating and the best cannons you can find,” the receptionist pony said. Rarity’s eyes widened. “To be honest, though, most racers take months to build their ships. I don’t know what you can throw together in a week. Are you sure you still want to enter? No use spending the entrance fee if you’re going to get sunk right out of the starting gate.” Steel armor? Cannons? What sort of regatta is run with warships? Rarity wondered. It couldn’t be that dangerous, though. Deaths in an annual boat race would have made stories in newspapers across Equestria, and she had never read anything like that before. Besides, this event was high-class. Even the most eccentric of the elite wouldn’t needlessly risk their lives. With that in mind, the gears in Rarity’s brain began turning, and the vague outline of a vessel was being drawn on her subconscious. It was just like with her inspiration for clothing, only with more guns. She only had a week to make a sturdy, speedy, and powerful seaworthy vessel, but she’s made tighter deadlines. “Yes, sign me up,” Rarity said after thinking. The receptionist pony scribbled Rarity’s name on the roster, and wrote “TBA” under the column for the ship’s name. “’To be announced,’” she said before Rarity could ask. She pointed to a few other names that had the same thing under their ships. “You’d be surprised at how many ponies wait until the day of the race to unveil their ships. It’s for a more dramatic entrance. I just wrote that down for you since you don’t have a boat yet.” “A dramatic entrance, eh?” Rarity smiled, “Well, I am somewhat of a diva. That suits me well.” “In any case, you’re going to want to head to the Manehattan Dry Dock to see what materials are available. Armament is either built by hoof, or ordered from the surplus at Manehattan Naval Base. Here’s a list of things your boat can and can’t have. Good luck, Rarity!” the receptionist pony slid over the list, which Rarity picked up with her magic. She nodded her goodbye while scanning the paper, and headed off to the docks. “Hm, I’m losing daylight quickly. Perhaps I should just survey what the dry dock has today and get building tomorrow morning,” Rarity said as she tucked the ship regulations list into her saddlebag. Whatever a dry dock normally looked like, Rarity was fairly certain what she was seeing wasn’t it. Manehattan Dry Dock had been transformed into a massive open-air market specifically for shipbuilding materials, complete with huge stands for different components. As it was nearing evening, though, very few ponies were around, and some stands had already closed down. I should at least get the things I need for the frame, Rarity thought. She used her eye for detail to spot a stand selling aluminum that would be perfect for a sturdy but lightweight skeleton for her ship. Selection was sparse, but it hadn’t been totally picked clean by other racers who had been fortunate enough to be there days and weeks before she had. The shipwright selling the metal was knowledgeable and informed Rarity on the different types of aluminum, of course insisting that his was the best. Rarity purchased enough to make a 40 foot vessel, and sent the material off to the private warehouse she had been assigned. Her thoughts drifted to the bath she was going to take when she got back to her hotel. She needed to relax. After all, it was just that morning that she received the flyer in Ponyville informing her of the regatta. It was a whirlwind of a day travelling to Manehattan, signing up for the race, and shopping at the dry dock, the last of which she still had more to do, but was simply too tired to waste the time of any more shipwrights. As she left the stand, Rarity couldn’t help but notice the arrival of a large, muscular, and handsome yet old and salty looking stallion coming to chat with the aluminum seller. They glanced at each other for a split second but continued about their business. Little did Rarity know, they were going to become better acquainted in the coming week.
Keel Haul Helps Out!The next day Rarity returned to the dry dock, the funds in her bank account already allocated so she could get the best parts she could find—assuming she could find them. She decided to go with steel as the material for her boat’s hull. Unfortunately for her, so did many other ponies. All that was available was either mangled scrap, rusted, or too weak to be useful as the outer hull. The white unicorn grimaced at her slim pickings, and very briefly considered dropping out of the race. She could still get a full refund if she quit before the regatta began. “Not much left, is there, little lady?” A booming, gruff voice gave Rarity a start. Its source was the old stallion she glanced at the previous evening. “Ya ha ha! Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just noticed you look like you’re pretty new to the shipbuilding business.” He was a big pony. Big enough that Rarity felt a tad intimidated as he approached her, but as he came closer she could see there was a wide, friendly smile behind his incredibly bushy moustache and beard. His bluish-gray coat and silvery mane and tail made him look like he was born to be on the sea. His cutie mark of an anchor over crossed mallets sealed his image. “Well, um, yes, I’m not much of a shipwright,” Rarity admitted, “And by ‘not much’ I mean ‘not at all.’ I design and make clothing for a living. In fact I entered the Manehattan Regatta completely unaware I would have to build my own ship, much less arm and armor it.” Despite the unicorn’s strained expression, the big stallion’s smile did not diminish. “Ya ha ha! And you’re still going through with the race? You’ve got guts, miss, I’ll give you that!” Rarity couldn’t help return a small grin. This earth pony stallion looked rough, but he was quite charming. “Rarity,” she extended her hoof, which the stallion shook wholeheartedly. “The name’s Keel Haul. I’m the owner of the Manehattan Dry Dock.” “The owner! Of this entire place? My goodness, I had no idea!” Rarity looked around as if she had been transported to another world. “Ya ha ha! I get that a lot. I’m pretty well off but acting high and mighty really isn’t my style. Yep, the dry dock’s mine, but the way I run it it’s more like a public utility. Anypony can build or repair any seafaring craft they have here and, if they want, store it in my warehouses. It’s all for a reasonable price of course—I’ve gotta maintain this place somehow!” “You’ve got the dock looking like a festival market, Mr. Haul. Is this just for the Manehattan Regatta?” “That’s right! I enter the regatta every year, and it doesn’t feel right monopolizing all these tools and resources to myself, so when the race rolls around I open up the place for all kinds of ponies from all over Equestria to sell shipbuilding materials and accessories. The naval base handles most armament, though.” “Speaking of armament: it might be a bit late to ask this but the race isn’t dangerous, is it? I came for excitement, not to risk my life.” “Ya ha ha! Not at all, Miss Rarity! The guns and cannons may be real, but the ammunition’s completely safe! Spells and all kinds of special magic make sure of that. That doesn’t mean your ship can’t be blown completely out of the water though!” Keel laughed again. He did a lot of that. Rarity thought that Pinkie Pie might enjoy him. “In any event, it looks like unless I want to sail a frying pan, I’ll have to use something else other than steel to build my ship’s hull. I already have an aluminum frame. What do you suggest as an alternative?” Rarity asked. Keel Haul only needed to search his mind for a moment, “How about fiberglass? It won’t protect you that much, but you’ll be so light, using a fiberglass hull along with a good sail means you’ll be too fast for anypony to hit you anyway!” Keel took Rarity over to a stand offering fiberglass. Rarity ran her hoof over a panel of the material on display. “Oh my, it’s quite shiny!” “Yup!” Keel Haul nodded, “The other good thing about fiberglass is that it’s easy to paint n’ whatnot. Even if you don’t have that long you can turn out a real pretty ship.” Rarity read over the display sign near the panel. “It looks like I’ll need some sort of mold to form my hull. Do you know where I can buy something like that?” The old sailor waved a hoof dismissively, “Buy? Oh, don’t worry about spending anything on that. Tell you what, I’ll lend you a brand new mold of my own that I was gonna use for this year until I changed my design. It’s great for a small craft like yours.” “My, that’s very generous of you,” Rarity smiled, “But why would you help me so much? I may be new to the water but I’m still your competition.” Keel Haul let out a great laugh again, “Ya ha ha! I haven’t cared about actually winning the Manehattan Regatta since I was younger than you. In fact, I haven’t even placed in the top 10 for at least fifteen years! It’s the new sailors like you that I like to see win and take on challenges. I sense you’ve got a fire, Miss Rarity, and seeing you win the race with a boat you built in a week will make a sailing story I can tell for the rest of my days!” “Well, then I’ll just have to make a story worth sharing, now won’t I?” Rarity put on a determined expression. She was getting fired up. “That’s the spirit!” Keel Haul said. Rarity ordered her fiberglass to be delivered to her warehouse. The last major things her boat needed were armament and, of course, a sail. Keel Haul and Rarity began walking around the dry dock picking up the smaller things Rarity would need for her boat. “Now then, what sort of weapons should I use?” Rarity asked. “Let’s see… A hull as small as yours made of fiberglass can’t take too much weight on it. You’d either be too slow or too heavy to float,” Keel Haul stroked his beard as he thought, then stamped his hoof on the ground when an idea struck. “I got it! A couple of Gatling guns will be perfect!” “Gatling what?” Rarity tilted her head. “It’s a machine gun with a lot of barrels. You’ll be putting a thousand rounds in the competition’s sails before they can even get one shell off! Ya ha ha!” Keel Haul explained. “Wouldn’t it be better for me to attack their hulls? After all, they can’t very well follow me if their boats are at the bottom of the bay,” Rarity said with a mischievous smirk. The old sailor pony shook his head, “It would, but it’s not likely your tiny bullets will be able to punch through the armor of most of the boats. Trust me, I know what usually sails in the regatta. At least taking out their sails will slow them down.” “If you say so,” Rarity nodded. Keel Haul saw the young unicorn’s dejected expression. She carried herself like a proper lady, but he could see she had quite the wild side that she didn’t get to let out nearly enough. “Now that I think about it, I can give you something else you can use in a pinch. It’ll give you that je ne sais quoi you’re looking for. Follow me; we’ll get you outfitted.” Keel Haul took Rarity toward the warehouses where ships were either under construction or being stored. Along the way he whispered something to a stallion who worked at the dock. He ran over to a couple of uniformed military ponies, who had him sign a form before they went to retrieve a very large crate from the roped-off area behind them. The worker stallion followed Keel Haul and Rarity with the crate that was loaded onto a cart for easier transport. “This is my warehouse. Number 15,” Rarity said. Since she had not yet unlocked her facility, the raw materials for her boat that she had ordered earlier that day and the day before were stacked in front of the garage door of the warehouse. She magicked a key from her saddlebag and used it to open the personnel door on the building. It was dark inside. “You’ll have everything you need to build your sailboat here.” Keel Haul flicked on the lights and opened some of the vents, allowing light to flood the spacious room. Clearly nopony had spent any length of time in here for quite a while, as dust was the second most common thing in the air besides the air itself. Because air was flowing in now it began to filter out, but thick layers of the stuff still covered the old and rusted tools, tables, and equipment that lined the walls and littered the floor of the warehouse. In the center of the room was a peculiar-looking structure. Judging by its vaguely ship-hull-shaped form, Rarity guessed that’s where she would be mounting the main body of her boat. It would give her room to work under and around her ship while she fashioned smaller components on the tables and surrounding work areas. Keel Haul coughed as dust motes filled his lungs. “Guess this place needs a bit of a cleanin’, huh?” “Indeed,” Rarity kicked her front hoof to get a smidge of dirt off of her. The stallion that had been following them with the crate set it down near the hull rig. The weight of the crate threw up even more dust into the air. “What is that, Mr. Haul?” Rarity asked. Keel Haul nodded to the stallion, who took a crowbar off the cart and cracked open the wooden crate. The sides fell away to reveal a long cylindrical tube that was almost as long as Rarity’s finished boat would be. “That, my friend, is a torpedo. Normally those things are used in submarines and larger ships, but with a little jerry-rigging and a can-do attitude, we’ll be able to slap one on to the bottom of your boat. It’ll be your secret weapon!” “But that propeller on the back—won’t it be cheating if I use it?” “Ya ha ha! The propeller’s not for you! It carries the torpedo through the water to its target. Once it gets close: KABLAM!” The sailor pony’s sudden increase in volume echoed in the near-empty warehouse and startled both Rarity and the dock worker. Keel Haul’s continued grin showed that he was unapologetic about that. “Just make sure to aim it. You’ve only got one and it won’t be much help unless it’s a direct hit.” “Right…” Rarity nodded. She was staring straight at the hull rig, already constructing her boat in her mind. “From that look I take it my work here is done. Well, that’s all the help I can give you, anyway. Actually building your boat is up to you. You’ve got six days, Miss Rarity! I hope to see you at the starting gate!” “And thank you, Mr. Haul. I hope to see you at the finish line. After I get there, of course!” Rarity shook Keel Haul’s hoof again and gave a few bits as a tip to the pony who had brought the torpedo to her warehouse. The stallions left and shut the door. Rarity opened the garage door to begin to bring her materials inside. Once she carted them in and organized them, she gave a deep breath. “All right, Admiral Rarity, let’s build ourselves a boat!”
The White Diamond Sets Sail!For the remainder of the week before the race, Rarity spent more time in her warehouse than at in hotel room. She actually slept beside her marine construction two of the nights. The day of the race, she was ready, though. Rarity did one last survey of her boat and ran her hoof over the deep blue, silver-flaked decal that bore the name of her vessel: The White Diamond. Rarity chose the name because it represented herself and the boat perfectly. White, rare, incredibly tough, and the envy and desire of every high-class mare and stallion. Even without the sail up she was a sleek, magnificent sight. Rarity noted to thank Keel Haul for the hull mold again. Unfortunately, due to a lack of time, Rarity could not test her boat on the water. While she was sure she had built everything correctly from the many manuals she read and shipbuilding advice she… persuaded from ponies around the docks, she still didn’t know if the White Diamond could even float. The race would have to be the test and maiden voyage. Hopefully it wouldn’t also be her final one. Rarity had the White Diamond towed to the Old Manehattan Lighthouse docks, where the Manehattan Regatta would be taking place. She arrived shortly before her boat did, taking a moment to pause on the hill overlooking the event area. The Old Manehattan Lighthouse was not just a landmark. It was also the center of the city’s aptly named Lighthouse District, a more well-to-do area of Manehattan just a few miles south of the city proper. As such, the docks here were much less like the one at Manehattan Harbor. Each individual pier was covered, attendant ponies stood at the moor of each boat, and even the wood was intricately engraved and treated so as not to fade from hoof traffic and the weather over the years. On the shore flanking either side of the docks were country-club style buildings with ample outdoor seating, likely for spectators to watch the regatta. The lighthouse itself was a handsome building—well preserved due to community love and a lot of old money. If Rarity remembered correctly, it still used fire rather than magic filament lanterns common in more modern lighthouses. It stood on top of a high cliff, chosen back when it was built for easy visibility. Adding to that was its red and white horizontal stripe façade, a view that functionally and aesthetically broke the horizon from any angle. The salty air here somehow smelled more refined, a sensation Rarity felt the high class Manehattan ponies were taking full advantage of, as their noses were held higher than usual. By stark contrast to the general attitude of elegance around the docks, the boats moored at them seemed vicious and unwelcoming. That must be my competition, Rarity thought. Keel Haul had said Rarity’s boat would be a good bit smaller than most of the others, but she had no idea sailing ships could even be that large. “To think that these ponies commandeer these ships all on their own! They must be quite the sailors,” Rarity marveled. Using her eye for detail, she scoped out the boats from her vantage point atop the hill. She may have been far away, but thankfully Manehattan’s elite was as showoff-y as Rarity was. Almost every boat was brightly colored and elaborately decorated, with gold and silver trimmings and silk sails and all manner of extra decals and flourish that Rarity was sure wouldn’t help her competition win. The weaponry was a different story. Just like the receptionist pony had told her a week ago, several of the boats bristled with turrets and cannons and guns that would likely sink the White Diamond in a single shot. With all that firepower they were likely to be equally armored against attack. Battle would certainly not be a main aspect of Rarity’s strategy. “Ya ha ha! Glad you could make it!” Rarity yelped at the voice behind her. Keel Haul was incredibly quiet for such a big pony. Well, a quiet mover. “Sorry, Miss Rarity! Didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized. “Oh, it’s quite all right,” Rarity lied, attempting to put her heart back in its appropriate body cavity, “I’m just getting a gauge of the competition. It’s… something else.” Keel Haul nodded, “It’s like this pretty much every year. Which one’s yours?” Rarity pointed to the White Diamond, which was just now being lowered into the water at the rightmost moor. Now that she could actually see the size difference between hers and those of the other sailors, she blushed. “Well, she isn’t the biggest thing, but that ain’t anything to be ashamed of! After all, it’s not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean that matters!” Keel Haul assured Rarity. “The motion of the ocean?” Rarity echoed. “What I mean is you don’t need the biggest or the strongest boat to win. You just need to sail your boat well. Take another look at the lineup. I can see three boats right off the bat that you’ll leave dead in the water. Now, why might that be?” Rarity squinted and thought for a moment, but she had just been taking all the details earlier. When she took her new shipbuilding knowledge into account, what Keel Haul was pointing out became clear. “That purple one next to me likely won’t get very far. It’s not very big, which might make you think it’ll be faster, but whoever made it knows nothing about fabric. They’ve made their sails out of silk! Silk is pretty and elegant but it’s also very breathable. Wind will blow right through it and they’ll hardly gain any speed. “See the red and orange eastern junk-inspired boat over there? The mast supports are all wrong. It’ll fall apart the second it reaches full sail. “And that menacing looking jet-black giant in the center has a lot of guns but I can see the water line’s too high from here. It’s far too heavy to move very quickly, and it may have a lot of guns, but that means it also has a lot of ammunition. It should make a fantastic explosion if somepony manages to penetrate it.” “Good eye,” Keel Haul smirked, “You might be more of a sailor than you think. Expensive doesn’t always mean good, and those ponies are going to figure that out very soon.” “And that means my real competition is only five other boats, including yours! Which one is it, now?” Rarity began scanning. Keel Haul pointed to the opposite end of the dock from where the White Diamond was stationed. “There she is, I call her Maddy.” Keel Haul’s ship was a moderately sized yacht that looked as speedy as it did fearsome. Her hull was almost as blue as the ocean and she had a bright yellow pinstripe down either side. On her bow were two small naval guns as her only armament. The old sailor pony didn’t put much investment into destruction as some other racers. He probably had the experience to know not to. “Ooh, I bet one heck of a mare inspired that name!” Rarity playfully nudged Keel Haul. “Ya ha ha! Nonsense! Any sailor knows if you name a boat the same thing as a pony close to you you’re bound to lose one of ‘em! Maddy comes from the beginning of the words ‘Manehattan Dry Dock’. I just added a ‘y’ after to make it sound better,” Keel Haul explained. “I guess a ship named Madd would sound odd, wouldn’t it?” Rarity nodded. A bell on the dock sounded and a regal-looking pony walked up to a microphone near it. “Would all sailors please board their crafts to sail to the starting line? The 154th Annual Manehattan Regatta is about to begin!” “That’s our call, Miss Rarity. Are you ready?” Keel Haul asked. Rarity pulled her admiral’s cap out of her saddlebag and put it on, “I’m more than ready, Mr. Haul. I’m ship-shape!” “Ya ha ha! That’s the spirit! Let’s both make it to the finish line, deal?” The earth pony extended a hoof, which Rarity shook. “It’s a promise!” The two went their separate ways and made their way down to the docks where they boarded their crafts. Rarity undid the tarp that was wrapped around the bottom of the boat, concealing the torpedo. She put it in a storage compartment and raised the White Diamond’s sail. Emblazoned upon it was nothing other than her cutie mark overlaid with Carousel Boutique’s logo. The pristine white sail seemed to glow in the sun. She opened up the sail to catch some wind and set the White Diamond in motion. She and the other sailors navigated to the green buoys marking the starting gate, some more skillfully than others. “All sailors, drop your anchors!” the pony from earlier signaled to the boats. The anchors had to be dropped so no one could sail ahead early. “On your mark… get set… anchors aweigh!”
