Overcoming Oceans

The fluffy towel around your head goes from dry to damp within seconds as your ruffle it through your sodden mane. You mumble your thanks to Twilight for levitating it to you from the bathroom to the bedroom you and your beloved pony are sharing.

Twilight sits on the bed beside you with a somewhat childish smirk on her face. As soon as you finish scrubbing your mane with the towel, she perches herself on the bed behind you, grasps a soft horse-brush with her magic aura and starts brushing it into shape. You don’t mind - you hardly ever maintain that mess on your head anyway, so she can have her fun; meanwhile, you focus on drying out your tail.

“I can’t help but wonder,” the unicorn says, measuring each stroke of the brush an even number of times before moving onto another section of your mane, “and don’t take this the wrong way, but… whatever caused you to get thalassophobia?”

You pause for a moment of consideration. You at least owe her an explanation. Perhaps it’s better that you get it out of the way, now that you’re alone.

You take a deep breath, your eyes rolling towards the ceiling in a state of recollection.

“It all started when I first got my Cutie Mark back in my home town. A tiny seaside village just north of Las Pegasus, and way below Vanhoover. That general area, hugging the western Equestrian coastline. I told you about my family, about how we’re all kinda gifted with water in one way or another, right?”

Your lavender love nods wordlessly, her brush ever-stroking your mane.

“Well, mine was swimming. Big surprise, eh? Except I hated competitive swimming; it was free-diving in the sea that sparked my special talent and gave me my Cutie Mark. I just felt so free, swimming among all the fish and the corals and the rocks. I still remember my surprise when I swam back to shore, only to find all of my friends pointing at my flank in disbelief. My parents were so happy that they arranged a party for the very next day.”

Your grip on the towel you’re holding tightens. You don’t like talking about what happened after that.

“So we held a massive party on that exact beach. The same place I earned my Cutie Mark would be the same place I’d celebrate having it. And during that party, I guess I got a little over-excited. I wanted to show everypony there how good of a swimmer I was. So I kinda ran into the ocean to show off, and…”

The very ambience of the room grows cold. Even Twilight noticed it; she’d stopped brushing.

“I swam out too far. In waters too deep. I didn’t even notice until I was face to face with an baleen whale. It just swam past me so quickly, oblivious at first. Caused a strong water current that dragged me through the water, deeper and deeper. I finally broke out of its currents, but I didn’t know which way was up. Didn’t know where the surface was. And before I could even gather my thoughts I…”

As much as recalling the story hurts you, just getting it over and done with would be worth it. At least it would be off your chest.

“I saw the whale swimming towards me again. It must’ve thought I was a stray fish or some plankton or something. If I hadn’t have swam out of the way in time it would’ve…”

Your grim recollection is interrupted by the sudden embrace of your mare’s warm, pastel-purple forelegs from behind. You welcome this new development, the stark contrast to your story that reminds you that everything’s okay with the world. You show her how you welcome it by turning your head to the side and giving her an adoring peck on the cheek.

“I never went back into the ocean again after that,” you sigh, eager to put an end to your story. “Which sucks, as you can guess. Can you imagine just getting your Cutie Mark, then a day later you can’t even make use of your special talent without suffering a panic attack? Over time, I guess I just started directing my fears to the sea itself rather than the whale. So much so, that I moved away as soon as I was old enough. Just drifted from town to town.”

You fully turn towards Twilight on the bed, calmly locking your eyes with hers.

“Eventually, I found a lake just outside a town called Ponyville. It was the only body of water I could remember - that wasn’t a pool or a bathtub, of course - that I could actually swim in without fearing for my life. I finally felt like I was home there. So much so, that I set up a simple shack with whatever funds I had left, and decided to live there permanently, right on the edge of Ponyville.”

With half-lidded eyes and a heightened heartbeat, you feel yourself leaning towards Twilight Sparkle, her breathless, parted lips, and her warm, scented breath…

“I lived in that shack for a few years. Until one day, I looked out from my window and saw a beautiful mare standing by the lake… and magically turning it into a hazardous freezie pop.”

“Snrk! Bah hah hah haaah!” And in one subversive instance, the unicorn falls from hopelessly romantic to hopelessly rolling around on the bed laughing. “Heh heh, yeah, I think I know the rest!”

Your eyes soak up the image of the wonderful unicorn lying over the bed, her mane flowing beside her. Twilight's chest rising and falling with each breath. That wonderful, beautiful… sexy mare.

You seductively roll over, positioning yourself over her hot, oh-so-tempting body. “You know, I should really thank that whale; if I hadn’t have moved away from home, I never would have found you.”

The corners of Twilight’s lips curl into a smile. Her eyes gleam with a sense of longing, as if she’d just imagined a world where you two had never met, and she was silently blessing that it wasn’t the case. With her forelegs hooked over you, she pulls your bodies closer still, the sensual heat alone causing your muscles to quiver.

“In that case,” she finally replies, her voice dripping with desire, “let’s make the most of what we have.”