Harlod, King of the Jarls of the Deer, stood gazing out over the harbour of Hjortland, watching as a ship, a proper, triple-masted, two-tiered trade ship, slipped its moorings and allowed a northern wind to drift it out to sea, embarking on its first voyage to Equestria as the rising sun cast a warm light across the water. On the shore by one of the piers, craftsdeer worked back and forth on a longship, removing the fear-provoking sea-dragon head and adding rings for oars; while pony thralls loaded it up with food and other supplies.

In one hoof, Harlod held Setting Stars’ runestone, watching it glow blue. With a puff, she appeared a little off to his side, her scribe saddlebag ready, and suppressing a yawn.

“You summoned me, my lord?”

“Yes, I did.” He said, continuing to stare at the horizon.

Setting surveyed the scene with the trade ship leaving in the morning light, and withdrew paper and quill. “A poem for the changing times?”

“In a way..”

“In what way?” she looked at him curiously.

“I don’t have a poem to conceive, but one to tell.” he said, trying to draw out the moment.

“We are being cryptic today, I see.”

“Do you see those thralls down there? By that boat.” He pointed at the longship.

“I do.”

“It’s poetry, because they’re loading up one of the ships that brought them here. It’s also the ship that will take them back.”

“Take them back?”

“Yes.. and they don’t even realise it. I didn’t tell them, but as part of the treaty I signed with the Princess of Equestria, I’m releasing all of the pony thralls from my household.”

“Al- all of them?”

“Yes, Star, all of them.”

A surprised emotion started bubbling to the surface “So.. so.. so..”

Harlod dropped the runestone and withdrew a one-hoofed battle hammer. With tremendous force he swung the hammer over his head and brought it down squarely on the stone. As Setting Stars watched with tears forming in her eyes, the stone was shattered by sheer force, and its magic runes died. When it did, a visible shiver ran through her.

“Setting Stars,” Harlod said, turning to face her, “I, the King of the Jarls of the Deer, hereby release you from your bound service to the house of Jelzek, and authorise your return to your home lands.”

Setting’s voice choked. “My lord… my lord…” she struggled to blurt out.

“No. You have known me since I was birthed. You served my father before me. You watched me grow into the king I am today. By all reasons, you are my elder. You are released now, and I am not your king, so you are no longer required to refer to me as ‘my lord’. This once, you can call me by my name, as if I were simply an acquaintance.”

“Even if I sailed to Equestria and returned to my own kin and my own princess, I would still call you ‘my lord’. Where I come from, addresses of respect are not reserved for those you are required to respect. You are a lord, and I respect you, for all you’ve done. So accept my address, my lord.”

Harlod nodded, accepting this reasoning. Then, he puzzled. “Even if? You would not go?”

“That’s not what I meant. I was making a point, not revealing my intentions. I.. I thank you for this opportunity, my lord. But I do have some concerns.”

“And what would those be?”

“Well.. what if I return and find that I have nothing left to go back to? It has been.. so long.”

Harlod smiled warmly at her. “You make a good point, but not one that I hadn’t considered. In fact, many of your fellow about-to-be-former thralls likely have the same issue. If you find that you have nowhere to go, you might make your way to the white castle of Canterlot. I’m sure that the Princess of Equestria would take a scribe of such talent and with such a hard life as you. Anyone with as such capabilities as her will immediately recognise you for who you are.“

“My lord… thank you. I thank you so much.”

“And I thank you for all these years of faithful service. The boat will be ready in only a few hours, the head has been removed so to help not scare your kin, you’ll find enough food for many weeks in a hold we added, and we added rings to help with rowing. You should gather your things and say any goodbyes you wish.”

Harlod dropped his hammer, and placed a hoof on Setting Star’s shoulder. “This is my goodbye to you. Your life of servitude is over, enjoy your new life.”

Setting Stars finally broke composure, and sobbed with joy, each sob pumping more tears out of her eyes.

When she left, the court seemed like it had lost a part of it for Harlod, but the scene of her crying, overjoyed at the prospect of going home, and the later scene as he watched her shed a few more as the converted longship left the Olenian shore for the last time, those scenes made it all worth it.

Author's Note

This has been my submission for the Equestria at War writing competition. I hope you enjoyed it. If you had questions, feedback, criticism, or if you noticed that I accidentally misspelled something because my hands missed a key at one point I didn’t notice, let me know!