Rainbow Dash sighed as she felt the cool ocean breeze flowing through her mane. She loved going out to the ocean and basking in all of its triumphant glory. Ordinarily, ponies wouldn’t take Rainbow Dash for the type to be particularly appreciative of nature. That had all changed a few months back after the second accident that had put her into the hospital and sprained one of her wings. Her right wing contorted instinctively, the memory of the pain all those months ago still imprinted into its muscle memory. The memories of what the doctor had said to her still echoed in her mind.
”I’m sorry, Rainbow, but it appears you’ve sprained your right wing pretty badly, and you’ve got some torn muscles as well.” The doctor had said this with sincere regret in his voice. He knew how much Rainbow Dash loved to fly. Instinctively, he put his hoof on the confused mare’s shoulder, trying to comfort her.
“How long am I gonna be out for this time?” Rainbow asked, her voice gruff and dripping with sadness and anger towards her own carelessness.
“Well… It’s going to be about five months. Maybe even a little more. The sprain in your right wing isn’t as much of a problem. The torn muscles are going to take a while to heal, and that means that you won’t be able to move your right wing at all for all that time in order to allow them to heal. We’re going to have to give you a torso cast to fix them in place so that you’re not tempted to move them at all. Your insurance has this covered of course, so there should be no out-of-pocket expenses towards you.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up with horror and disbelief. “F-five months?! What am I supposed to do now? My entire life revolves around flying! Now I can’t do my job, I can’t practice my tricks, I can’t help teach Scootaloo how to fly… Hay, I can’t even get back up into my own house!” Her head sunk low in defeat as she realized the full impact of the situation. “Dangit, Rainbow! Why’d you have to try that triple front flip so close to the ground? If only that stupid tree wouldn’t have been there…” She continued to grumble to herself, berating herself for her own stupidity.
“Well, I’m sure that Twilight Sparkle will be more than happy to allow you to take Owlicious or Spike’s place as her secretary for a while.” This elicited a deep groan from the rainbow maned pegasus. She loved reading, but she despised all things having to do with organizing things, simply moving things around, or just outright alphabetizing things.
“Look, I know it’s not the ideal job for you, but it’s going to have to do for now. Twilight Sparkle also graciously informed us that she’d be willing to offer you temporary residence in her home while you are grounded. As for Scootaloo, Thunderlane has agreed to act as a mentor to her while you’re away as well. I know that neither of you are particularly happy with this situation, but look at the bright side; it’s only a few months. Things could have been much worse if you’d been just a few more inches to the right on impact. You could have broken your wing if you weren’t so lucky.”
Rainbow Dash sighed, leaning on her left side against the back of the bed. Sweet Celestia… I’ve really done it this time… At least things aren’t as bad as they could be. I could’ve broken my wing and never been able to fly properly again. Still… What am I going to do for five months? I can’t fly, so that leaves out training, most of my pranks with Pinkie, and playing Cloudball.
“Doctor?” Rainbow spoke up, causing the doctor to turn his gaze towards her, giving her a curious look. “What am I supposed to do for five months? Without my wings, I can’t do anything!”
The doctor looked at her and smiled. “You’re just going to have to learn how to be an earth pony like me for a few months, is all. I’ve actually got a list of several activities available for pegasi that are under similar circumstances to you. Tell me Rainbow Dash, have you ever heard of the term ‘surfing’?”
At first, Rainbow hadn’t been so enthusiastic about the whole concept behind this ‘surfing’ thing. Paddling out into the water, only to get pounded and beaten down by waves? That was a big ‘no-go’ for her. She could barely stand swimming in the first place, since it got her wings wet and too heavy to fly. She especially didn’t like the fact that it would be much harder for her to get out of the water now that she had no wings to lift her above the surface. Because of this, she just pushed the idea off, deciding to disregard it altogether.
That was before she’d tried the other activities. Hoof hockey, yodeling, and professional weight lifting weren’t really her cup of tea. Hoof hockey required hoof work that was much too eloquent and refined for her sloppy movements, yodeling required actually being able to sing, and professional weight lifting required a strength that she did not have. She was built for speed and precision flying, not power, after all. With all of her options exhausted, Rainbow was once again forced to consider surfing.
She remembered going down to the beach the first time. The breeze had been gentle and cool, and the waves were the slow kind. It was an easy day for a beginner to get into the practice and try to ride some waves. Rainbow headed down to the beach with her brand new surfboard clutched firmly in her maw. She glanced at its shiny surface and its large lightning bolt decal, admiring the quality of the board. It’s a good thing Waxy was willing to give me a discount, otherwise this thing would have been super expensive… Oh well, it only cost twelve bits.
The beach wasn’t really that crowded either. Just a few ponies were scattered across the beach, each one occupied with building a sandcastle or play wrestling in the sand. I think they’re wrestling at least… Oh well. Since they’re all distracted, that means they’re not going to be seeing me getting my flank handed to me as often. That’s good I guess. Geeze, I’m kind of nervous…
Rainbow walked down to the beach, setting her surfboard down and making sure all of her gear was ready. “Safety first,” she muttered. Satisfied that everything was in order, she began to make her way into the ocean. The first thing that hit her was the slight chill from the ocean water as it covered the bottom of her legs. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
Slowly, but steadily, Rainbow began to make her way further into the water before putting her surfboard in front of her and climbing on top of it. Alright. Now, I just gotta paddle out to those waves. Should be pretty easy. I hope it is at least. This is the easy part. If I can’t figure that out, then I’m pretty much hopeless. She positioned herself into the center of the surfboard and stuck her four forelegs into the water.
She began to move her legs in rhythm, feeling proud that she had even managed to get this far with how much she liked swimming. To her surprise, she didn’t manage to actually move anyway. Casting a glance back towards the rest of her body, she noticed that she was actually just flailing all of her hooves back and forth at the same time and causing large splashes behind her. She looked quickly back towards the beach to see if anypony had been watching her. She blushed a profuse shade of magenta as she realized that a few colts were watching her flop about like a dying fish.
“Stupid rhythm…”
Rainbow Dash tried again, this time putting a more conscious effort into paddling each of her legs one after another. To her surprised, she actually began advancing steadily towards the relatively small waves. She liked the way that the saltwater felt against her slightly submerged appendages. Huh. This really isn’t so bad. Maybe I should go swimming more often. I could certainly get used to this if I really wanted to.
Finally, after a few minutes of paddling, Rainbow reached the waves. She watched as they slowly rose up and pushed forward, only to collapse back inward upon themselves. Something about the steady rhythmic pace filled her with a sense of longing and peace. That was a common theme that she was noticing today. The ocean was filled with all sorts of beautiful patterns and rhythms that seemed to captivate Rainbow’s attention and pull her in for some reason.
The first few waves that she tried to catch were disasters. Even though they were small, Rainbow still managed to wipe out in embarrassing ways. The first time that she had tried to stand up on the board she managed to flip herself over and faceplant into the ocean. The second time faired no better, as the board slipped from under her. Third time? Definitely not the charm. She’d somehow managed to move so slow, that she rode backwards on the wave and toppled over the crest. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t seem to get the hang of it.
Continuing her practice for what felt like hours, she was starting to get tired. No. I am not giving up so easily you stupid waves. You think you can beat me? I’m Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria! Ain’t no stupid little bumps of water gonna keep me down! Dash stopped and contemplated before she attacked the next wave. This was… This was fun! She loved the challenge that the ocean presented her fighting spirit, giving her a constant worthy opponent to do battle with. She didn’t even mind that she was wiping out so many times, nor did she care that other ponies might be watching. She was having a good time and learning from her mistakes.
“One final wave… You’ve got this one, Rainbow.” She paddled forward, allowing her wave to catch up for her. This time, she stood up easily, and began to actually surf the tiny wave with great success, coasting along simply for a few feet before the wave ended. “Yeah! That’s right, that was my wave! Whoo!” Along the shore, ponies who had been watching her stumble for hours began to clap and cheer her success. She smiled. “I can really get used to this.”
That had all been months ago, now. She was quite decent at surfing, even able to pull off some pretty cool tricks. She was pretty sure that once she was actually able to use her wings again, she’d be able to put them to good use and perform all sorts of crazy surfing tricks. Sometimes she would invite Pinkie to come to the Fillydelphian beach and participate in surfing contests. Pinkie always won, of course, but Rainbow couldn’t help but smile thinking of all of the fun that they’d had together surfing.
Today was one of her solo days though. She liked to get out and ride the waves as often as she could get the chance too, and that meant that she would often have to go alone. She was used to it by now. The feeling of just her against the mighty force of the ocean filled her with a sense of adventure and extreme glee. There was no greater feeling than conquering that wave and riding it hard,until it finally submitted to your will and went tumbling back into the sea in defeat.
She smiled as she looked down the entire beach. There seemed to be nopony around today. Not even the few stragglers that were usually seen scattered around the place were present today. The weather was nice too. It was partially cloudy, with a nice breeze moving across the beach in a southeastern direction. There were some pretty decent waves too, some reaching up to eight or ten feet in height. Rainbow smirked to herself. “Well, ocean. Looks like it’s just you and me today.”
She ran down to the beach like an excited school filly, hopping into the water and beginning to paddle out to where the waves were. That familiar lapping of water against her fur sent shivers down her spine. Her body was pressed tightly into her surfboard as she made swift, coordinated strokes to push herself outward. Finally, she reached the waves that she had been seeking to conquer today.
Readying herself as a larger wave came towards her, she let it catch her and stood up. She rode the wave hard, sweeping left and right, jumping off of the crest, and even managing to do a front-flip once. “Aw yeah! Who’s the mare? Me, that’s who! I so have to tell Pinkie about that when I get home. That was freaking awesome!”
The elated pegasus smiled widely, riding the waves for several more hours by herself. She still found it a bit strange that no other ponies had come to surf today. Perhaps they were just busy with work, or it was some holiday that she had forgotten about and were spending with her families. It didn’t matter to Rainbow as long as she was riding her waves in peace.
She went in for another pass, surfing yet another wave. Little did she know that beneath her in the water, a shadow was fast approaching. Continuing to ride waves happily, Rainbow was completely oblivious to the small fin now sticking out of the water, heading straight for her as she rode the crest of the wave. As soon as she made a jump into the air, she was filled with shock as she saw a large grey body leaping out of the water and straight for her. The air was filled with her screams as the beast took a bit out of her surfboard and sent her flying high into the air.
Unfortunately for Rainbow, her wings were still out of commission as she fell through the air, still screaming in pure terror. She collided with the water, sinking beneath the surface. The impact had left her dazed and disoriented; a loud ringing was echoing through her ears now as she strained to look at her surroundings underwater. Then she saw it. A massive shark was circling her, eyeing her hungrily. Her first instinct was to get to the surface.
She struggled as she paddled with all four hooves. She was running out of oxygen; her lungs were on fire and her vision was beginning to blur. The harsh impact with the water had winded her, and in her dazed state, she couldn’t tell exactly where she was swimming. Those clouds that she had been so thankful for before were now out in full force, blotting out her vision and preventing her from seeing where the surface of the ocean was clearly. Please. Please, Celestia, don’t let me die! I don’t wanna die! I’m too young for that! Please!
Inexplicably, she felt herself being lifted upwards, and she gasped desperately for air as her head breached the surface. She shook her head vigorously, trying to clear the dazed sensation that was clouding all of her sense. After about thirty seconds, the ringing stopped and her vision cleared, allowing her to think logically. This caused her to come to a rather startling conclusion. She was still floating on the surface, but she hadn’t moved any part of her body except for her head for nearly two minutes. A feeling of extreme dread and terror settled in her stomach like a stone as she gulped.
Slowly, Rainbow Dash turned her head to face downward, only to come face to face with a ferociously grinning shark. “AAAAGGGGHH! Get away! Leave me alone! I don’t wanna die! Don’t eat me!” Rainbow Dash began to swim as furiously as she could, hoping desperately that she could make it back to shore before the shark could decide to make her into its meal. “Please! Somepony! Anypony! Help me, there’s a shark trying to eat me! I need help!”
Oh dear Celestia, I’m going to die here, aren’t I? Is this karma for accidentally knocking that colts baseball cards into the fireplace? I said I was sorry! I got him a Wonderbolts poster, it wasn’t my fault, I swear! Please Celestia, let me live! I don’t want to die!
The shark simply swam casually behind her, causing her to scream and shout even more whenever she would look backwards. If she looked closely, she could have seen a rather amused and somewhat annoyed smirk on its face. She cried out in pain and surprise as it bit into her leg lightly, pulling her backwards. It had used as little force as sharkily possible, causing relatively minor cuts in her hind leg. As the tiny drops of blood filled the water, the shark’s pupils dilated a bit before it shook its head and they went back to normal.
“Agh! It bit me! I’m bleeding, I can feel it; please somepony help me! It’s gonna eat me!” Rainbow Dash was crying hard from the fear she was experiencing at this point, not even bothering to swim anymore. She was just treading water now. The beach was empty. Nopony was coming. She was done. That’s why it came as a rather large surprise to her when she heard a slight coughing sound behind her. Somepony came out here to rescue me? How did they get out here? How did they get behind me without somepony noticing? She turned around, only to see the shark poking its head out of the water and looking at her. She drew in as much breath as she could to try and attempt another scream, and-
“Really? Are we going to scream again now? You know, it’s considered rather impolite to just scream ridiculous accusations at somebody without even stopping to speak with them.” The shark frowned slightly, looking slightly annoyed and a little sad. “It gets rather cumbersome really. None of you ponies ever just want to stop and chat with us…”
Rainbow’s jaw dropped as she looked at the shark. “Y-you… You can talk! Since when can sharks talk? What is this? I must be having some sort of nightmare. That’s it. It’s just a nightmare. I’m still sleeping in Twilight’s tree…” Rainbow Dash cupped her hooves to her faces. “Twilight! Pinch me, wake me up! This is getting super freaky!”
The shark gave an indignant glare directed at the pegasus. “Yes, as a matter of fact, we can talk. Ponies usually just don’t take the time to stop and figure that out. You know, it really hurts when you assume that all of us are pony eating monsters. Those are just the meanest of us. I assure you that I’m quite the gentleshark.”
Rainbow looked confused, tilting her head to the side. “Hold on. So… The bad sharks that hurt ponies are few and far between, and you’re a nice shark?”
“Yes, yes! Now you’re getting it!” the shark said while smiling happily.
“Well, if you’re a nice shark, then why did you bite me?! That hurt you know!” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves and blew a raspberry at the shark. He actually looked rather regretful and released a heavy sigh.
“I’m sorry… I just… I only wanted to get your attention! I didn’t mean to bite you too hard, and I’m sorry if I hurt you.” The shark leaned back, waving his two fins at her. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t exactly have the hooves to stop you with normally. I’m really sorry if I hurt you. I didn’t mean to…” The shark appeared to be on the verge of tears, legitimately saddened by the fact that he may have hurt Rainbow. Rainbow looked back at the bite marks, noticing that they were only a few millimeters deep, and barely bleeding. They could barely even be considered cuts, which was surprising considering the nature of a shark’s teeth. The only reason they even hurt anymore was because of the salt in the water.
“Hey… Uh… Don’t cry, dude. I’m sure you’re a really nice shark, and I’m really sorry for yelling at you. You wouldn’t have had to do that if I had just stopped for a second to listen…” The shark wiped his eyes with his fins, smiling a bit. Rainbow swam over to him and gave him a small hug. “Listen, I think that we may have gotten off on the wrong hoof. Er…. Fin. Hooffin? Anyways, how about we start over fresh? My name’s Rainbow Dash, what’s yours?” Rainbow extended her hoof towards the shark.
“Tidy. That’s my name. Tidy Whitey.” The shark took her hoof in his fin and shook, smiling. “And before you laugh at my name, no, it is not based off of that brand of undergarments you ponies wear. I am a great white shark. And my passion is making things clean and organized.” The shark looked rather proud and defensive of himself.
“Uh… I don’t think that’s a weird name. It’s your name, dude. We have this guy back where I come from named Snowflake, he… Anyway, you seem like a pretty nice shark. What did you want to ask me about anyway?” Rainbow Dash looked extremely curious now. She could have sworn that she saw the shark blush.
“Well… I kinda just wanted to talk to you. I mean, I see you out here surfing for hours everyday, and I just felt that it was kind of a shame that I’d never spoken to you before. None of the ponies ever really visit our beach anymore. It gets really lonely sometimes…” Tidy looked down sadly, his eyes shimmering with sadness.
Geeze. I kinda feel bad for this guy. He seems so nice, but nopony ever comes out to this beach anymore. Must be really sad having to live out here in the ocean alone, with nopony to talk to…
“Don’t you have any friends or family around here?” Rainbow asked.
“No. We all sort of went our separate ways. I’m the only one still left here at this beach. It gets sad sometimes…” Tidy looked on the verge of tears once again.
“Hey! N-no, don’t cry again! I’ll be your friend, I mean, I come here almost everyday.” Rainbow lifted the sharks head up and smiled genuinely.
“You mean it?” he asked. Rainbow simply nodded her head. “I… I actually have something else to confess as well. During the past few months, I may have been watching you afar, because I may have developed a little crush on you… You’re… You’re really good with the waves, you’re really pretty, and I can see the determination and passion behind your eyes. So… I kind of wanted to come here and talk to you because of that too.” It was Rainbow’s turn to blush now, as she turned a light shade of magenta. “I’m sorry if I said something wrong… I just thought I should say it.”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just that… This is all so weird! You’re a pretty nice shark, don’t get me wrong, but… Oh, what the heck. Wanna go on a date sometime or something?” Now you’re in deep, Rainbow. Asking a shark on a date. What has the world come to?
“Wait… What? Are you serious? Are you really being serious? Why would you ask me on a date? I was going to talk to you and get to know you first, and then ask you on one!” The shark was flabbergasted, his jaw hanging wide open and showing all of his sharp teeth.
“Well… I mean, why not, right? It’s not everyday you get told that a shark likes you. Especially not a super nice and polite one. I mean, seriously! You’re probably nicer than any other colt that I’ve ever met, so I figure, why not give you a chance? What can it hurt? If things don’t work out, then I can just stop coming to this beach and go to a different one. What’s the worst that can happen?” Rainbow smirked. “It should at least make an interesting story for my friends.”
Tidy simply smiled and nodded his head eagerly. “That, I can do.”
“Hey, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash’s voice permeated the cold morning air, piercing the mildly unsettling silence that was present in the library. She shivered as the air hung around her like an oppressive blanket. Stagnant. That was the only word for it.
For Twilight, this would be a morning like any other. She would get up, and walk into Spike’s room. She would knock on the door until he woke up. Then, Spike would make breakfast for the both of them—he made fantastic pancakes—while Twilight would prepare herself a checklist of the things she would be doing throughout the day.
For Rainbow Dash, this would be a morning unlike any other. She would get up, and then fret about her upcoming date with the most unlikely of creatures, a great white shark. Being the incorrigible, reckless pony she was, however, she would bury those feelings of uncertainty with thoughts of what great tricks she would be doing when she got this infernal cast off and resumed flying. Surely that was the way to keep herself from worrying too much about things.
Twilight’s ears perked up as they caught the familiar gravel of Rainbow’s voice. “Yes, Rainbow Dash?” She turned around to see Rainbow Dash leaning in the doorway, trying her best to look laid back and relaxed. Twilight could see right through her ruse, however. The way that her right eyelid was twitching, and her hindlegs were shifting…
“Rainbow? Is something wrong? You’re acting kind of… weird.” Twilight waved her hoof around in circles for emphasis.
“I, uh… need your help.” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly as she readjusted her stance against the doorframe. The corners of her mouth were creased downward into a slight scowl, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly as if preparing for some sort of attack.
Twilight’s interest was peaked. Rainbow Dash asking for help? And using the door no less? Twilight’s eyebrows raised slightly as she eyed Rainbow with curiosity. “Help with what?”
“Well, you know how I hurt my wing, right?” Rainbow pointed to the midbody cast that covered her wings and most of her torso. She winced as she looked at it, feeling the phantom pains from the incident.
“Yes…” Twilight’s eyes shot open as she rushed over to Rainbow’s side. “Oh my gosh, it’s not hurting again, is it? Did you do something to hurt yourself? Are your wings aching?” She grabbed a hold of Rainbow’s hoof and examined her midsection, frantically looking for any misplaced bones or other abnormalities.
Rainbow nudged Twilight away with her nose and gave a nervous chuckle. “No, it’s nothing like that! It’s just that… Well, the doc had me try out surfing. It’s really awesome. There’s waves, and boards, and oceans…”
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief before smiling at her. “Do you need any books on surfing? I’m sure I have something around here somewhere about the subject!” Twilight burst from her chair, half-walking, half-running towards the shelves.
“No, I got sidetracked. Anyways, while I was surfing, I fell in the water, and met…Oh geeze, how am I going to explain this…” Rainbow began trotting in place, trying to jog her mind. “Look, Twilight, this is going to sound weird, but you have to promise not to make fun of me, okay?”
Twilight tilted her head in confusion but still held the same scholarly enthusiasm as before. “Sure, Rainbow. You know you can trust me.”
Rainbow chuckled again and nodded. “Well, I guess you’re right. So, when I was at the beach, I was surfing and having a whole bunch of fun. And then I got knocked off of my board. And I sorta, kinda… met a shark.” Rainbow winced and jerked her head back slightly, waiting for the berating response that was sure to come.
Twilight’s excitement quickly faded into confusion. “You… wait, could you repeat that?” She chuckled at herself and shook her head. “I thought for a moment that you told me you’d met a shark.”
Silly Twilight, Rainbow couldn’t have met a shark. It’d kill her as soon as it saw her.
Rainbow took a deep breath and planted her hooves firmly. She looked Twilight dead in the eyes and spoke in the most serious tone that she could muster. “I met a shark while I was surfing.”
“I’m sorry, one more time.” Twilight’s cheery smile was now gone and replaced by a look of genuine bafflement. She lifted a hoof up to her eye and rubbed it, trying to see if she had any excess earwax blocking her from hearing correctly.
Rainbow sighed. “I. Met. A. Shark. While. I. Was. Surfing.”
Twilight blinked and stared straight ahead. “You...you met a shark.” Her voice held a slight mirth as she struggled to hold in a chuckle.
Rainbow nodded and frowned at Twilight. She could feel the doubt coming from her friend like it was permeable.
“And you’re alive. You managed to get away just fine?” Twilight was now on the verge of giggling madly.
Rainbow nodded again as her frown increased and her body tensed. I knew I shouldn’t have told anypony about this. It just sounds too crazy to believe…
“Rainbow, how is that possible? Everypony knows that all sharks are murderous psychopaths!” Twilight hung one of her forelegs over the back of Rainbow’s neck and patted her. “Come on Rainbow, tell the truth. It’s okay to admit that you wiped out a few times! Not everypony can be a surfing champion!”
“No, that’s not what happened!” Rainbow nudged Twilight away again and frowned. “And sharks aren’t all bad. Not all of them. Only the mean ones.”
Twilight huffed and gave Rainbow a condescending glance. “You mean to tell me that everything I know about sharks is wrong, Rainbow Dash? Because I have years of research under my belt.”
Rainbow’s eyes darted around, as if they were looking for a well-placed answer on the walls of the library. “Uh… yes?”
Twilight sighed and chuckled to herself. “Rainbow, if you wanted a book about sharks, you could’ve just asked.” She pulled out a large, grey tome. “A Guide to Sharks: Equestria’s Cold-Blooded Killers Revealed.” She tossed the copy to Rainbow. “There. Are you happy now?”
“Uh...yeah. Thanks for the help, Twi.”
Twilight smiled at Rainbow and helped her settle the book on her haunches. “Sure thing, Dash.”
Rainbow Dash began to saunter out of the library, leaving Twilight to think about their exchange. Well… that went a lot better than I thought it would. Did I forget to… Rainbow’s eyes widened in recognition as she blazed back into the library. “Oh, hey, Twilight? I forgot to ask you something.”
“Yes, Rainbow?” Twilight turned from the shelves that she’d been reorganizing and look at Rainbow confusedly.
“Have you…” Rainbow went crimson. “Have you ever…been on a date?” As soon as the word left her mouth, she felt her gaze automatically drifting towards the hardwood floor of the library in a desperate attempt to escape scrutiny. She pawed the ground in anticipation as she awaited Twilight’s response. For a moment, the library was silent.
“A date? Well, yeah. A couple.” Twilight tapped her chin in thought. “Why do you ask?”
“Do you have any advice?”
Twilight realized the implications of what Rainbow was saying and gasped. “R-rainbow, have you never been on a date?” Her speech came out as a surprised stutter.
Rainbow went even more red. “No, I haven’t. Do you have any advice?”
Twilight pondered this for a moment. “Well...don’t do anything to make your date uncomfortable. Respect them.” She frowned as she tried to wrap her brain around how to best explain the complicated thing that was the dating process. “I wish I could explain it better, but do you get what I mean?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Rainbow nodded as the flush began to fade from her cheeks. “Thanks, Twi.” She turned and walked out of the library as quickly as she could, leaving an utterly confused Twilight watching her from the doorway.
“Uh… no problem, Rainbow. See you later.” Twilight closed the door and sat herself against it. Why had Rainbow been acting so weird? Why did Rainbow need dating advice? She simply shook her head and sighed. “Something strange is definitely going on with that mare…”
Tidy swam around his small home at the bottom of the ocean. The frantic back and forth motions of his fins as he swam around in circles to keep himself alive caused the water around him to froth and ripple. If a passing pony saw it, they would’ve probably assumed that there was some sort of fierce undercurrent messing with the otherwise calm visage of the beach scene.
Just breathe, Tidy. You’re fine. It’s just a date. Everything’s going to be alright, all you’ve got to do is relax…
“A date with a very pretty mare, whom I barely even know!” Tidy’s frantic circles increased in speed as he gazed around his home. Oh, what do I do? What are the customs for a first date again? What do ponies like to eat? Oh…
Tidy slapped himself with a fin and swam over to the jumbo mirror that he had in his ocean home. It rested atop a large dresser made of sand, directly across from the large sand table that lay in the middle of the room. He reared up and flexed his powerful muscles, watching as his whole body rippled and twitched with hidden strength.
“Remember those self help recordings, Tidy…” He opened his mouth and smiled, showing of the sparkling white rows of razor sharp teeth that hid behind his thin lips. “You are a big, strong, powerful predator of the sea. You can take down any challenge in your path! You are a great white shark that fears nothing!”
He told himself the same thing for several minutes. At least, until the vivid image of his crush and soon to be date plastered itself on his minds eye like a curtain. He had to take deep, steady breaths as he watched the bubbles from his fretting rise to the surface. For some reason, the rising bubbles brought a lingering calm over his mind, allowing him to think clearly.
“It’s just a date. Just a date! How hard can it be? You just go and have fun, right?” His image in the mirror wasn’t nearly so confident. His dorsal fin drooped slightly. His razor thin lips were now curled into a slight frown instead of a small smile.
Tidy had never been on a date before in his life. Sure, he had asked, but had been rejected by all of his high school classmates. The pretty girls always went for the jocks. The jocks were all douchebags. It was a vicious cycle, and one that Tidy’d never had any interest in taking part in. Tidy pushed those thoughts from his mind.
“Be positive, Tidy! She said yes.” He took a deep breath.
Reluctantly!
Tidy shook his head and chuckled. “She still said yes! And she asked me!”
She forced it! It’s not real!
“Stop it stupid mental projection of my doubt!” Tidy bonked himself on the forehead. “Even if it’s not, it could blossom into something that is! So just… shut up, you! Oh, what am I doing? Arguing with my reflection? Yeah, that’s going to make a good first impression...”
Tidy snapped himself out of it. He was fine. His logical, rational side was telling him Rainbow Dash didn’t care, but his caring, trusting heart was telling him she did care. Tidy usually trusted his brain, but this time... He really, really wanted to trust his heart this time.
So he did.
He swam down to his bedroom. Opening his closet, he debated what to wear. The blue tie looked great with the black, but so did the purple. After a few moments of deliberation, he decided to go with the purple tie.
He swam outside. For their date, they had agreed to meet at sea. Dash would paddle out about twenty yards into the sea. Tidy would meet her there.
He moved towards his door, looking in the mirror one last time to make sure his tie was straight, remembering to grab the colorful corals he had gathered for her earlier. He chuckled softly to himself. Can’t look like a fool. He took a deep breath, steeling his resolve before swimming out the door.
It was time.
You’re fine, Tidy. It’s just a date. Just a date.
He swam out his front door, gently closing and locking it behind him and began his ascent to the surface. Whether he was ready or not, it was time.
Rainbow Dash picked up her surfboard with her mouth and trotted towards the open shore. As she walked, doubts continued to plague her mind. What if this all goes south? What if Tidy goes berserk and just decides to eat me? Celestia, that’d be terrible…
Rainbow Dash expelled these thoughts from her mind, taking deep, slow breaths. “Tidy’s a nice shark, and everything’s going to be alright. Get yourself together and stop being a baby, Dash.” She plonked her board into the ocean. It landed with a satisfying splash, coating her legs and body with droplets of water, which helped to calm her burning doubts..
She climbed on to the board. Easing herself onto the flat surface, she propelled herself forward and out into the ocean. After a short while, she had finally made it to twenty yards out. Her eyes searched the water as she waited nervously, paddling the water in idle anticipation.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadowy figure approaching from the depths.
No turning back now, Dash.
Tidy slowly emerged from the murky waters, his fins slowly peering out, making a cascade of the ocean water. A small smirk formed on her face as she noticed that he was wearing a suit and tie. She couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of this ferocious creature dressing up to impress her or all ponies. Still, he did look pretty awesome.
He wore a fancy looking tuxedo, with a white undercoat that matched his black coat and turquoise vest. His pearly white cufflinks glinted in the sunlight, causing Dash to silently gasp. The thing that really caught her eye, however, was his tie. Purple with diagonal stripes. Fancy, yet at the same time simple. Wow. He looks pretty nice. And I’ve always loved purple…
Dash suddenly found herself feeling extremely self-conscious. The contrast between Tidy’s fancy dressings compare to her naked, cast covered body was as distinct as night and day. She sat up on her board and gulped, trying to find something to say.
“Um... hey, Tidy,” she said, trying to start conversation.
“Uh, hi, Rainbow Dash.”
“I’m sorry for not dressing up, but my cast got in the way…” She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly and gave him a sideways grin.
“It’s okay, I understand.” He reached into one of his suit pockets. He pulled out a small clump of colorful materials. They came in all different shapes and sizes, but the entire group of them was about the same size of a handful of flowers. “I-I got these for you…” he said, extending his fin to her.
She blushed. She had never been offered flowers before. Well, they were corals, but they served the same purpose.
He blushed in return. “I...I know they’re not flowers…”
“N-No, they’re great, Tidy! Don’t worry about it! I like them!" Rainbow Dash stated, waving her hooves out in front of her.
"I-uh, er, well, I-I'm g-glad you do!" Tidy chuckled nervously.
There was a silence. Both creatures were looking for something to break the ice with, but to no avail. All of the sudden Rainbow Dash came up with something.
“So, Tidy," Rainbow Dash began slowly, "what do you like to do? For fun, I mean?”
“Well…” He pondered this for a moment. “I like to listen to music when I can.”
“How do you do that? You know, since you're underwater and all."
"Ah, well, that's a tricky thing. You know that sound travels much faster in water, right?" Tidy asked, leaving Rainbow Dash kind of clueless from that knowledge.
"Um, yeah! I do now!" Rainbow Dash nervously exclaimed, trying to give a strong smile. "C'mon Rainbow!" she thought, swallowing the lump in her throat, "Be yourself!"
"Well," Tidy continued to explain, "my kind aren't able to produce such products such as a microphone due to the resources we lack. I listen to the gramophone most of the time. And that's basically what I only have; a gramophone, some records, and lots of paraffin."
"Is that all you have?" Rainbow Dash asked, having a bit of pity for the shark.
"Eh, I manage, " Tidy said, shrugging his shoulders, "I sometimes find records on the ocean floor. Its always a treat when I find something new!"
Rainbow Dash giggled. “What do you listen to?”
“Well, I like pretty much anything. Except for country. I can’t stand it.”
“No?”
“Eh, that genre never really clicked with me.”
“Well, I have a friend who would strongly disagree with that.”
“As do I. I also like rock music.”
Rainbow’s ears perked at the mention of her favorite genre of music. “Really? What bands do you like?” she asked, feeling her heart beating a bit faster to finding out a similarity.
“Fall Out Colt, All-Equestrian Rejects, My Chemical Romanece, Breaking Benjamane..." Tidy said, listing a few, "all that stuff.”
“Awesome! Those are my favorites!”
“Really? Mine too!”
“That’s awesome!”
“I know! What do you think of Fall Out Colt’s new album?”
“Save Rock and Foal? It’s my favorite so far.” Tidy replied, "I remember being really excited when I popped it in!" he said, waving his fins like a fan-filly.
Rainbow Dash chuckled at his hilarious gesture and carried on the conversation, “Mine too! What about Breaking Benjamane?”
“I liked Phobia and Dear Agony more than the other two.”
“I know, right?”
Alright, something new... Something new... Maybe something he never heard of before..." Rainbow Dash thought, looking at the gentle eyes of the Great White. "Hey, Tidy..." Rainbow Dash began.
"Yeah?" Tidy said, going into the water for a second to get fresh oxygen.
"Have you heard of 'dubstep'?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Dubstep?" Tidy asked, raising an eyelid, "What's that?"
"I'm not a big fan of it myself, but it's sort of like a bunch of noises mashed together to make music." Rainbow Dash tried to explain, "I stick more to rock though."
"Same here then," Tidy said, "Rock and roll, is my soul," he rhymed.
After a few more hours of talk about music, current events, and the likes, Rainbow Dash and Tidy both found themselves having wonderful times.
Rainbow Dash blushed a bit and smiled cheek to cheek, “T-This was...this was awesome.”
“Er, yeah, it was.” Tidy said, gleaming his sharp teeth to smile, "It really was, Rainbow, it really was..." he said, trailing off.
“Listen... do you maybe wanna, you know, do this again sometime soon?”
His eyes went wide, almost as if he heard the most beautiful noise in existence, “Like...like another date?” he mumbled a bit shyly.
“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash said, the crimson color on her face growing a bit brighter.
Tidy’s face also went red, “Uh, yeah. Sure.”
“Great! Well, I… uh… I guess I’ll be seeing you again. Same time, same place next week?”
“It’s a date.”
“Good to hear. See you, Tidy.”
“Yeah, b-but Rainbow Dash..." Tidy said, stumbling upon a few words, "Um..." his lips couldn't make out words, but he made an effort.
Rainbow Dash eagerly waited as the beautiful sunset shined upon them. The light reflected off of Tidy's moist wet skin, making him shine.
"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Uh, n-nothing Rainbow Dash.” Tidy said, giving a warm smile, "I will, uh, see you soon!" he exclaimed.
Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Yep. Soon."
With a wave of his fin, Tidy plunged back underwater. A small pillar of water softly sprouted up. Rainbow softly gasped by it, the ocean water wetting her mane more. Rainbow Dash saw the setting sun reflect light into the water, seeing all sorts of color in her eyes.
Rainbow Dash quietly giggled to herself.
"We're going to see each other soon."
With that said, Rainbow Dash paddled away.
Rainbow Dash lay safely in her makeshift, temporary home at Golden Oaks Library.
As she lay in her bed, which was mildly uncomfortable compared to her cloud bed, she contemplated her date with Tidy.
He’s really nice, she thought to herself. He’s also kind, gentle, gentlemanly, smart, cool, and likes the same things I do. It’s like…
She smiled.
It’s like we were meant for each other…
Dash’s eyes felt heavy. She could feel her mind start to shut down as she fell asleep.
That night, she dreamed of another date with Tidy.
