It was going to be the best camping trip ever. Sea Swirl had invited her two sisters to an island camping trip. Ocean Breeze was an energetic, take-charge pegasus. Her sister, Tidal Wave, wasmore on the calm side. The three had never met before, so Swirl thought it would be a great idea to meet surronded by the ocean. All of them had agreed to meet directly on the island.
Breeze was there first, landing on the soft sand. She looked around to see if anypony else had arrived. When she saw nopony, she neatly folded up her pale silver wings and sat on the shoreline. Minutes later, Wave's dolphin carridge came into view. Once she exited the carridge, the earth pony was greeted by Ocean Breeze.
"Hiya! I'm Ocean Breeze!' she said cheerily, flipping her green mane. The two shook hooves, and Tidal Wave introduced herself.
"Well, I'm Tidal Wave. Nice to meet you." The two fell into an awkward silence. It seemed to last forever. Then, they heard a high pitched buzzing noise. There was a flash of pink light, and Sea Swirl appeared. The first to come out was Wave, her white mane in disarray from the static of the teleportation spell. Then Breeze flew out of the tree she had hidden in. The three mares looked at each other, then embraced.
"It's so nice to finally meet my sisters." sadi Swirl. The others laughed. Once they had set up camp and unpacked their bags, they began to tell stories. Breeze came up with the idea of how they got their cutie marks. Tidal Wave requested that she go first. So, Sea Swirl and Ocean Breeze sat down to listen.
"Well, I was visiting my grandponies by Celestial Beach. I was getting in some sun for my coat, so it would stay this shade of blue. Then, this lonely surfboard washes up. Me, being adventurous, goes up to it to check it out. I decided to try it out, and took into into the sea. To my dismay, there were absolutely no waves. I decided to try and stand up anyway. I was a little wobbly at first, but then I balanced out. All of the sudden, there was this huge wave behind me. At that moment, I felt like I was at the top of the world! I rode that wave all the way to shore like nopony else ever could. I realized that surfing was what I was made to do. Then I've had this pretty little thing on my butt since then." Wave flashed her tsunami cutie mark. The others nodded in agreement. Ocean Breeze went next.
"I was vacationing in the Dragonlands, and went to one of their amazing beaches. As winner of Western Best Young Flier, I was prone to finding the best air currents around. Thing is, I've never flown over open ocean before. And I can't swim. So, there I sat, watching the sunset. A little bit later, some friendly albatrosses flew over to me. Asked why I wasn't flying in the amazing currents with them. Told them I wasn't used to oceanic air currents and couldn't swim. So, they wheeled around, showing me how to work the air. I joined them in the sky. It was the best feeling ever. The wind through my feathers, the taste of salt in the air, and the feeling of no fear. Priceless. I just followed the albatrosses' lead. Right then and there, in that wonderful sunset, that I saw my cutie mark." she finished, opening her wings to reveal her flank. Three black swirls, representing wind, adorned her silver flank. The pegasus was very proud of her cutie mark, as it had been the finishing point of her L.O.C.H. training. L.O.C.H. stood for land, ocean, city, and height. Like B.A.S.E., but for pegasi. After a few minutes of explaining L.O.C.H., it was finally Sea Swirl's turn. She was nervous. This was the first time she would ever open up about how she recieved her cutie mark.
"Well, go on!" encouraged Wave, patting her pink back. Swirl took a deep breath, and began her story.
"I was a little filly back then, and I was swimming in pretty deep water. Little did I know, sharks were on the hunt. It was getting dark. I was lost in the open ocean. In the distance, I saw this huge shark fin. I thought I only had mere minutes to live. I prayed to Celestia that it would be quicj and painless. As the shark closed in, it stopped. Right in front of me. I was confused, until I looked down. Two dolphins were circling me, keeping me safe. After that, I think I blacked out. The last thing I remember was being pulled to shore by dolphins. Had this ever since." Swirl emphasized this with a shake of her butt. Two encircling dolphins, one lavender and the other purple, adorned her pink flanks. The story she just shared was a traumatic one. It was her first and only encounter with a shark.
"Wow. That was definately the best cutie mark story." stated Breeze. Wave nodded in agreement. Swirl was lost in the memory. It took cold ocean water to snap her out of it. The unicorn didn't complain though, as long as she couldn't see that horrible shark. As the sun set, the three mares went to sleep.
In the dawn's early light, Breeze was the first to wake up. The silver pegasus looked like a ghost in the morning mist. She decided to explore the island before the others woke up. Flying high above the trees, the red maned mare got a good bird's-eye-view. From her sky high position, she could see a wonderful stream that ran over a rock bed. Slowly, she spiraled down towards the island ground. Once she landed, she looked at the amazing rock formation. Walking up towards the beginning of the stream, she found a pony-sized hole in the rocks, looking like it lead to a cave. Ocean Breeze was excited by this, being a big Daring Do fan and all. The pegasus flared her wings and took to the air, hoping her friends would be up for an adventure.