Hay. Why did it have to be hay?

I was staring at the last bushel of hay left on my ship. I had eaten all of my fresh plant reserves, and even if I hadn't they would be already rotten. Sadly, hay doesn't rot.

I took a bite and started chewing the hard blades. I missed the carrots.

It's been three months since I, Compass Rose, had last seen the land and over a year since I had left the Horseshoe Bay to discover what lies beyond the lands of the griffons. Nopony has ever managed to do that as getting to the Griffonlands themselves are perilous enough by itself. Both northern and southern shores of the continent were bristling with treacherous reefs. So I had decided to try to do it myself. I had taken my trusty ship, The Sapphire, and sailed away. Nopony wanted to come with me, but it had been for the better. They were saying that a mare on a ship brings bad luck. All those superstitious sailors should go and rot in Tartarus.

My blue coat was bleached by the sun to almost white and my navy blue mane took the color of the sky itself. I could only thank Celestia that my compass cutie mark still remained vibrant.

I finished the hay and drank a bit of rainwater from my reserves and then climbed up the stairs to the foretop. The wind was good and The Sapphire was sailing smoothly. I looked around, not expecting to see anything. After such long time, I was starting to lose hope.

At first I didn't see anything, only the sky and the sea mirroring each other, blurring together. And then I noticed a thin line on the horizon. Land!


After I sailed closer I took out my binoculars and started to examine the shore. The first thing that caught my eye were great, towering spires rising from behind the palm trees. They glittered like crystals, reaching high above the clouds that wound around them. I was almost certain I could see colorful dots zipping around the towers and the clouds. Some kind of exotic griffons? I directed my binoculars down, towards the shore itself. Sadly, I could not see what laid at the bottom of the structures, as it was hidden by the numerous palm trees growing on the beach. The beach itself was also covered in those colorful creatures. I could also spot some of them in the water.

I looked away from the beach and started to scan its surroundings, looking for a place to dock. After some searching, I found a small bay in a palm forest, nicely concealed in case I would need a swift escape. I've found it to be a good habit, the natives are often easily angered by even most simple things. Like hay. And shiny things. And being tied up by me and gagged to allow me to escape.


I almost cried out in happiness when my hooves touched the ground. I took a few wobbly steps on the sand. It felt a little weird to have a solid ground under my hooves. The wall of palm trees stood in front of me, but before it there was...

Grass!

I galloped toward it and started to munch on the blades straight from the ground. I know it is barbaric to eat it like that, but I hadn’t eaten anything fresh in ages. It was spiky and hard, but it was so much better than any hay. After I have stuffed myself I returned to my ship and took my sash. Inside there were some beads, bits, a knife and some tools. You know, all the stuff you may need in an unknown land full of dangerous beasts and native tribes.

Then I went in the direction of the beach. The palms in the forest were growing quite sparsely, but the undergrowth was quite thick. I needed to use my knife to cut down some of the more stubborn young palm trees. Finally, I have emerged on the other side, breathless and stumbling.

And then I saw what the colorful dots I've seen through the binoculars were.

Ponies. Ponies of all shapes and colors and sizes. Some were sitting on the chairs made of some kind of fabric, others were splashing in the sea and swimming. Several pegasi were soaring in the sky. A few young foals were building some kind of structure out of the sand.

I carefully walked towards the closest native, a yellow unicorn stallion that laid flat on the sand with his eyes closed. His cutie mark was some strange instrument that I have never seen before. I nudged him carefully with my hoof. He looked up at me and muttered something that sounded like "Huuuuuh?".

"Greetings. I am Compass Rose. I have come from faraway lands. I come in peace," I said to him, speaking slowly and carefully articulating every word. I could only hope that he would understand what I am saying.

He stared at me for a few moments, obviously puzzled. "I'm sure you do.... Are you okay, miss?" His accent was weird, but I could understand him just fine. Marvelous! I have found another continent where ponies thrive! I could barely contain my excitement.

"Could you please take me to the leader?" I asked.

"Uuuuhh... You mean the mayor? You can find him in the town hall, it's on the Flower Street. Just ask anypony in the city itself."

The native didn't seem to be very helpful, but at least he didn't attack me. I thanked him and trotted away towards the magnificent city itself to find the leader of this marvelous place.


The city looked even grander up close. The spires - now I could see that they were high towers - rose above the straight, cobbled roads lined by palm trees. Hundreds of sleek, shiny metal carriages pulled by strong earth ponies rode on the streets while pegasi-pulled chariots flew overhead. The bottom parts of the towers seemed to be filled with numerous shops and restaurants and cafes. I found it pretty curious that I could read what was written on the shop signs, but I guessed that the Equestrian language didn't evolve that much over the time.

One of the shops caught my interest. It seemed to be a bakery. The shop window was filled with pastries, muffins, cakes and bread. My stomach rumbled even though I had just stuffed myself full of grass. But it was spiky dune grass and before me rows of delicious confectionery glittered in all its sweet, sweet glory.

A bell rung when I entered the bakery. The inside looked cozy - everything was made of wood and glass and filled with muted light. I walked up to the counter behind which stood a pale pink earth mare with a cake cutie mark.

"Welcome to Dazzling Icing! What can I get for you today?" said the pink pony, smiling widely.

"Maybe that carrot cake?" I gestured at the display near the counter.

The shopkeeper nodded, then took one of the cakes from the display and wrapped it in pink paper and tied it with red string. She even made a ribbon. "That will be three bits."

I reached to the sash and took out a string of beads from it. It were very nice beads. They were transparent and had little pieces of colored glass sealed inside. Once one okapi village chief had offered me a husband for one of those. Sadly, I had to refuse. I am married to the sea.

"I do not have the local coin, but I hope that maybe this would suffice?" I mumbled, holding the beads in my teeth.

The shopkeeper just stared at me. "Don't you have any bits, miss?"

I put the beads back into my bag and started searching. Finally, I've found three bits stuck at the very bottom. They turned green from all the exposure to the elements and sea water, but you could still see Celestia's profile on them.

The shopkeeper looked at them for a few moments. I was afraid that she would reject them, but she scooped them up and hoofed me the cake.

I walked outside, sat at one of the tables, unwrapped the cake and ate it. It was the best cake I've ever had.

Then I went off to further explore the city. After some time, I have stumbled into a huge crowd of ponies. They seemed to be waiting for something in front of a huge building made of marble. There was a huge sign on it. "Theatre."

That huge crowd of ponies was probably waiting for some play, then. I liked plays. When I was a little filly and lived in the tiny village of Nail we sometimes had visits from a traveling puppeteer. I really liked the plays he performed. They were really funny, especially when the puppets started to hit each other.

Sadly, I had no bits left and the entrance was guarded by some burly stallion that was collecting money from everyone that wanted to enter. So I decided to sneak in. I mean, how hard could it be? Surely not harder than sneaking out of a village full of enraged okapis.

I trotted around the building until I found a back entrance. It was not locked, so I just slipped in. After walking through a few twisted corridors I started to hear some noises, so I headed to that direction.

After a few moments, I emerged in some kind of big room. It was full sitting ponies which were staring intently at something. They weren't watching puppets or actors, but moving images that were appearing on the wall out of thin air. From time to time words also appeared on the screen. A lone pony sat in the corner with some kind of instrument and accompanied everything with a music.

I sat there, transfixed. The images were depicting some love story between a griffon and a pony, the text that appeared between them describing the things that they were saying. This strange land was truly full of marvels!

Then I heard a cough. I turned around just to see that burly stallion that was guarding the entrance. He opened his mouth to speak, but I didn't give him a chance. I bolted away. I ran out of the building and then I ran some more until I was sure that no-one is chasing me. It was enough exploration for me. I decided to finally go and find the leader of this place.

After some asking, I managed to locate the town hall. It looked small, compared to the towers surrounding it, but it still looked grand, all marble and columns. I walked up to one of the guards standing next to the entrance. He looked like a brother of the one that guarded the theatre doors. "Can you take me to the leader of this place?"

"The mayor is currently busy," he grumbled, not even looking at me.

"But I need to talk to her! It's very important."

"The mayor's tasks are also important."

I was getting angry. "I have sailed a long way from a kingdom called Equestria! I need to talk to her!"

"Erm... Miss. You know that you are in Equestria, yes?"

"Well, it may shock you, but across the sea there is another land called "Equestria"! New Equestria, you could call it. It's ruled by two great Princesses: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!"

"So does this place, miss."

"But...but...I have sailed all the way east through the Griffon lands to here! What is this place?"

"The city is called Los Pegasus. The center of all entertainment. You never heard of it? Never went to any movie?"

"I guess not. I was born in a village of seaweed farmers. We talked mostly about well, seaweed. After I got my cutie mark I've spent most of my life sailing the seas. Best sailor in the Horseshoe Bay!"

"Well, that explains a lot. Trust me, it is Equestria."

"T-thank you for your advice." I could feel my face getting redder and redder. I slowly backed away from the entrance and sat on one of the steps leading to it. How could I be so dumb? I was so preoccupied with my potential great discovery that I missed the obvious. On the other hand I still managed to sail beyond the Griffonlands..

I knew what to do.

I went to the nearest bookstore and asked for a map of Equestria. Until now I had been mostly looking at naval maps that almost never concerned in what was inside of the lands. There were so many unfamiliar names on the map. Ponyville, Manehattan... My own home was in Horseshoe Bay, a whole country away.

It was going to be a long journey. But at least it would be an opportunity to explore the mysterious land of my own country, Equestria.