Overcoming Oceans

The private horse-drawn carriage ride from Baltimare train station to Horseshoe Bay is short and sweet. The summer sky is painted a brilliant orange by the time you come to a stop outside the lavish villa just on the edge of the local town.

The walls of the building are painted a soft cream colour. On one side, the powdery-golden sands of the beach, on the other, a simple cobblestone road that leads to the town itself, dotted with locals and tourists alike here and there. You can’t see much beyond the villa’s walls, at least, not from the outside. One would suppose that’s where the ‘private’ part of the term ‘private villa’ comes from.

With a nod of acknowledgement from the pullers, you leave alongside Twilight as her two royal family members generously tip them. You’d tip them yourself, but the amount of bits you have compared to them, well… you live full-time in a shack, that’s all that needs to be said about you in terms of wealth.

The four ponies - Cadance, Shining, Twilight and yourself - unload their respective luggage and take them to the villa’s decorative gate. Three of these ponies levitate their oddly excessive baggage with their horns’ aura. One of the ponies thinks it’s better to just strap the saddlebag on and walk as normal.

Pfft, magic.

*******

The interior of the villa is cool, in both senses of the word; the interior atmosphere takes the edge off any heat from Horseshoe Bay’s decidedly warmer sun. The villa also takes away the fanciness that would usually come with a prince or princess’ domain, and replaces it with more practicality and usage, giving the ponies within a freedom of utility rather than royal banners and the traditional namby-pamby. Shining Armor and Cadance must see this as a welcome change.

It’s got two bedrooms, each with a comfortable two-pony bed - you and Twilight dump your luggage in one room, the royal couple set theirs in another - and a large kitchen/dining area for cooking food, eating food and lounging around talking about which nearby restaurant makes the best food.

Looking out of one of the generously-sized windows, you notice the well-lit private swimming pool; you hadn’t noticed it from the outside due to the villa’s protective walls. The surrounding area of the pool has everything you could imagine; a shaded bar area, complete with an outside mini-fridge. More than enough deck chairs to go around. The wall’s high enough to prevent onlookers peeping over it, yet low enough to ensure the sun hitting the pool itself at all the best angles throughout the day.

Maybe tomorrow you’ll have a splash around in that… wait, no. Tomorrow you’re gonna be at the beach with Twilight and company, trying to swim under this ‘Lover’s Arch’ under the ocean’s surface. Emphasis on trying.

You haven’t set hoof in seawater in a long time. And for a very good reason. Not since you gained your Cutie Mark and…

“Hey, c’mon,” the laid back voice of a stallion brings you back to the present. Shining Armor’s head pokes through the doorway; “Cadance saw this sweet restaurant on the way here, and it’s right around the corner. Let’s give it a shot!”

Yes. Shining has the right idea. You’re here to enjoy the vacation with Twilight and her family so that’s exactly what you intend to do.

“Ready when you ponies are.”

*******

The outside air is cool against your fur coat. The sun has properly set now, and the lantern-dotted streets provide a calm, content backdrop for the exterior dining area of the restaurant.

The food is delicious, and the local pony-folk are polite enough not to give the Crystal Empire royals a second glance, preferring to just let them enjoy the meal. The restaurant sometimes caters to celebrities, according to the owners, so the locals see their presence as more of a passing interest than a paparazzi-esque obsession.

“So our plans tomorrow,” Cadance thoughtfully swirls the straw around her fancy-cocktail-with-a-tiny-umbrella-in-it, “first thing’s first, the beach and the Lover’s Arch. Then we check out the rest of the town and shops, maybe go our own way, then meet up back at the villa in the evening and hang out by the pool?”

“Sounds good to me!” your lavender-coated love chirps. Shining toasts the occasion and you mumble some form of agreement to the idea in your drink.

You’d contribute more to the conversation, but you’re really not looking forward to tomorrow. Being a seaside resort, you can smell the ocean’s salt on the breeze. It’s there, just outside the town. Washing over the powdery sands. Reminding you with each cold, frothy wave-

“Are you cold, sweetheart?” The gentle touch of Twilight’s hoof slows your heartbeat. “You’re shivering.”

Funny. You weren’t even aware of that before now.

“I’m… I’m alright,” you dismiss with a short wave of your hoof, “just a one-off twitch, I guess.”

You don’t have the heart to tell her, do you? Twilight’s always been impressed by your proficiency as a swimmer. The only problem is, she’s only ever seen you swim in your own lake just outside of Ponyville. She has no idea that you can’t dip a hoof in the ocean without so much as fearing for your life.

To put your lavender lover at ease, you give her a peck on the forehead, gently pressing your lips just below the base of her horn. You know the spot.

As predicted, her face blooms into a faint blush, and she forgets all about your unintended shivering. She shouldn’t need to worry about your problems. You’ll cross that bridge when you come to it. For now, just enjoy the rest of the night with her.

Speaking of which, the night’s just about to get a lot more interesting, courtesy of Cadance ordering another fancy-cocktail-with-a-tiny-umbrella-in-it and bringing on the next round of drinks. Well, since it's a vacation...

*******

“I’m tellin’ you guys, I’m not drunk,” Princess Cadance drunkily drunkie drunk.

You count on your hoof how many rounds of exotic drinks you’ve had in the past few hours, but because you’re counting on your single hoof, you just resort to counting “one” over and over again.

The swaying floor tells you that you may have had a smidge more than that.

“No, I’m serious,” the pink princess affirms, “I’m not as think as you drunk I am.”

“Oh really?” Twilight Sparkle challenges her old friend by pointing at the nearby clock hanging on the bar‘s wall. “Can you tell the time?”

Cadance promptly turns to the clock. “I’m not drunk, time!”

You check the clock yourself, and decide that it’s probably best if you stumble back towards the villa soon. Any later and you may forget the way back, despite it being just around the corner.

Shining Armor seems to have read your mind; perhaps it’s that male intuition from one stallion to another, or the realisation that his wife is arguing with a timepiece. He stands up on all four hooves - doing a commendable job at hiding his faint wobble - and makes a quiet announcement to the three of you.

“You know, I think there’s some drinks in the mini-fridge back at the villa. We should head back so we have somewhere to collapse.”

You second the notion without hesitance. Twilight follows suit, helping Cadance to her own four hooves. The princess’ sense of stability kicks in a moment later, her gorgeous downy wings shooting out horizontally to act as a makeshift balancing aid.

“To the next destination!” she quips, giving that stubborn clock the cold shoulder as she exits very slowly and carefully.

*******

“H-hey,” Shining Armor tipsily nudges you during the walk home, “yer starin' at my little sister’s butt there.”

His observation was not wrong; Twilight and Cadance were trotting just a few steps in front of you two stallions, and you’d spent most of the short, but slow trip hoping your girlfriend’s swaying buttocks would lead you back to the villa safe and sound.

“Well, technically,” you correct him, “I’m staring at my girlfriend’s butt.”

Twilight’s ear twitches ever-so-slightly. A classic sign that you would have recognised as ‘I heard that’. However, as previously established, it's not her ears you're paying close attention to.

“Yeah, but even so,” Shining replies matter-of-factly, “save it for when I’m not standin' right next to ya, y‘know?”

"Aw, c'mon, you fixed Twilight and me up with our own room for a reason, didn't you..?"

"S'only cause my li'l sis is growin' up," Shining's slurred words increase as he tries to think, walk and talk simultaneously. "I can respec' that she'd wunna be romantic in the romantic town with the romantic magicul unnerwader rock... and my wife's like the... princess of romantic love or somthin', I dunno... so what kinda husband'd I'd be if I didn't... y'know... damnit Twily, stop eggin’ him on!”"

Twilight promptly stops wiggling her butt at you. Oh well.