A Summer for Couples

Chapters

1 - Hello Tropics
2 - Orientation
3 - One On One
4 - Good Morning
5 - For You
6 - Water At Night
7 - Boardwalk
8 - Going Out
9 - Bubbles
10 - Music and Love
11 - Together

1 - Hello Tropics

Shining Armor couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. The crystal pony that had left the note had to have done so in extreme error. There was simply no other explanation for why it had written upon it what was clearly there in eloquent cursive pen. The trademark gray ink of the Crystal Court Commissioner was etched upon the dark brown canvas of the note in skill rivaled only by Princess Cadance herself, otherwise known as his beautiful and entirely unrivaled wife.

“Something wrong, dear?” that same pink princess asked in ginger tone as she walked into the castle throne room. Her hair was freshly done up into a bun and shone with the day's light in just such a manner as to indicate she had recently come from a bath or the spa.

Shining Armor, on the other hoof, was looking in far less refreshment. His coat may have been naturally white but his face could still paint a ghostly paleness when he was deeply disturbed by something. He had not been so upset as he was now since his sister, Twilight Sparkle, had happened across his stash of secret love letters he had been exchanging with Cadance in private.

“They've finally done it...” he almost whispered in an uncharacteristically worried voice, though it was uncharacteristic only from the general public's view of him.

Cadance found out after the first year of their marriage that she was indeed what she thought she had been even when they had been covertly dating each other under the pretense of purely platonic meetings. That was, of course, that she was several worlds more patient and long-suffering than he was in select circumstances. He tended to fret so much over matters that resolved themselves to nothing and her own calm was able to handle that as well as everything else that came with their marriage. Now to pass that calm on to him...

“Done what, dear?” she continued in a sweet voice and stepped up the stairs to the throne that he was standing in front of. Usually one of them would sit on it but he wasn't because the note had caused him to stand up in shock.

“They're sending us away,” he said in a hurt way.

Cadance rose her brows but figured that he phrased it in a way that misrepresented the true situation. She grabbed the note gracefully from his grip and read it aloud. Sure enough, her suspicion was confirmed. “To our esteemed and beloved rulers, the High Prince Shining Armor and the Crystal Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. The Grand Council has moved to present your majesties temporary leave of the Crystal Empire by a majority vote. This has been supported by thousands of letters sent to our office by the greater populace of the Empire. We, your humble and faithful citizens understand the troubles we cause your majesties by requesting your benevolent leadership and thus believe it is our duty and even our privileged to present your highnesses a reasonable respite. Enjoy the trip.”

Cadance now understood what the two tickets were for. They were secured at the bottom of the note with some fancy ribbon and they both had the image of some kind of beach paradise on them. The two tickets had the following inscription on them in cheerful lettering: “Hello Tropics! Your go-to paradise resort. Perfect for marriage anniversaries and honeymoons. Royal Cottage. Unlimited Visitation.”

“We're being dethroned,” Shining Armor stuck his face in his hooves in despair.

Cadance started giggling at a respectful level of volume. “I keep telling you that you worry too much,” she told him as she put a forehoof on his shoulder. “Our subjects are so nice, aren't they? They're giving us a free vacation. Just the two of us...”

“I guess I should start packing,” Shining moped.

“Oh, stop it,” the princess got more serious. “This is perfect. We've been needing a break. They didn't give us a time limit so how about we take one full month?”

“A month?” Shining stared wide-eyed at her.

“Well,” Cadance blushed and twirled a strand of her mane that had come down from the bun. The note she held with her magic was set down on the armrest of the throne. “Our honeymoon did feel kind of short.”

“It was a full week,” Shining remarked in confusion.

“Oh,” the mare finally wilted and backpedaled lightly. “I guess we don't have to stay so long.”

Shining decided he didn't like it when she looked sad and so he changed his mind. It wasn't as if he was averse to spending that much time one-on-one with his wife. Actually, now that he thought about it that way, the month started sounding rather appealing. “How about we take the month?” he offered up.

Cadance's smile returned and she hugged her husband. “Aw, thank you! We're going to have so much fun. I just know it!”

Shining returned the hug, not being able to help revising his view on the note. Perhaps they weren't getting kicked out. Perhaps their subjects really were that great. He'd be sure to stop by the council room later before they left to thank them. As Cadance leaned back from him, she was planning the same thing.

Shining Armor paced through the bedroom once more. Had he packed everything they needed? Cadance was packing her own little carry bag but he was the one that was in charge of the generic items. Toothpaste, floss, brushes. Did they have that kind of stuff at their lodging? Was it complimentary? Was he supposed to make that assumption and take the risk by not packing it?

“It's going to be okay, Shiny,” Cadance soothed him from across the room. She was standing on the opposite side of the bed where she levitated her things into her bag, a tiny white thing that was decorated in sporty pink highlights. “We could probably show up with nothing at all and they'd provide what we need.”

“I know,” the stallion admitted, sighed, and went over to the bedroom's one glass wall that acted, in its full width and height, as a window. The frost-bitten tundra to the north was laid out for a pleasurable sight, the mid-morning sun glowing onto it bright but not glaring. After the ordeal with Sombra, he began to see the beauty that laid out there in delicate ice formations and peaceful ravines of snow. “I guess Twily rubbed off on me.”

The princess giggled again in that way that made Shining's heart flutter. “She does have that effect on ponies. I think she was the reason I obsessed over every detail for our first date.”

“Oh, yeah,” the prince smiled warmly. “I remember that.”

The whole thing had actually been a disaster. It wasn't an outing with some little mishaps. It was a complete disaster. It may or may not have involved Cadance being covered in tar and himself being lit on fire. It was a long story but they'd both never forget who saved the day. Little Twilight Sparkle.

“She brought us together, if you think about it,” Cadance reminisced.

“That she did,” Shining agreed as he kept looking out to the icy realm beyond the edge of the Empire. “I'll have to get something from the resort and send it to her.”

“Just don't forget the tickets this time,” Cadance grinned. “Our honeymoon was almost canceled because somepony left them behind.”

“To be fair,” Shining finally turned from the window wall and approached the mare, “you totally distracted me when I was attempting to pack them.”

The alicorn grew a mischief expression. “Hmm, maybe I did...”

He kissed her quickly and simply on the lips. “I think I can do this.”

“We're going to have fun, darling,” she beamed like a filly.

Shining, however, frowned. “I told you not to call me that. It sounds...weird.”

“I'm allowed to call you what I want. You did marry me,” she poked him playfully in the shoulder.

“That was my first mistake,” he poked back with his smile returned.

“Sure was, hun,” she agreed and ruffled his mane with a forehoof.

“Hey,” he tried waving her off to fix it. “I thought we were supposed to goof off at the resort.”

Cadance snapped her bag closed and levitated it over near the door. “Oh? I was under the impression that our vacation already started.”

Shining was about to prepare a come back but was promptly pounced backwards onto their bed before he had the chance. His wife proceeded to mess up his mane to the best of her ability.

“Oh no!” she mocked while doing the deed. “High Prince Shining Armor is going on his getaway looking like a tornado victim!”

“Gah,” the male tried weakly to defend himself. “Not the mane. Not the mane!”

Cadance finished her work and leaned back on him. “Mr. Handsome's got a new look,” she giggled.

He pushed her off in panic and shot to the mirror near his wife's vanity dresser. “Ah!” he squeaked in terror. She had magically managed to arrange it to the style of somepony he knew. It was gathered evenly so that it looked identical to the mane of his little sister.

Shining Armor stepped off of the hoofstep of the carriage with less assurance than ever about what he was supposed to do. It was not that he was in need of advice as to what to do on a vacation. Rather, he was desperate to know what he needed to do to give his wife the most enjoyable time possible. Cadance, of course, knew him too well and could tell what he was fretting over simply by the contortion of his face.

“Shiny,” she got his attention gently.

“Huh? What?” the stallion did a double-take on the mare, who had stepped out next to him. The crisp air and warm sun were certainly good with the ocean air but they didn't help him focus any better.

Cadance placed a hoof on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. “You're worrying again. Your mane looks fine, you know.”

“After I got it back to normal. No, I just really want you to have a good time,” he decided to take the honest route. It was usually the best idea with the mare.

“It's not your duty to give me a good time,” she dismissed the idea. “I can enjoy myself even if everything goes wrong,” she winked at the end.

“If you say so,” he relented.

They walked up the smooth marble path that lead from the garden road they were dropped off at. The salty smell of the sea was in the air but the origin had yet to show its blue expanse. Instead, everything was impossibly green, tropical plants invading every corner and crevice. There were so many, in fact, that one could only walk forward down the path. It was impossible to go astray, but it didn't seem to be too bad a place to get lost in. The chirps of native birds made a unique song as they went on their way and a hummingbird even zipped by in front of them, making Cadance stop and then smile at the innocent creature.

A clean white building came into view that was built with so much glass that it made the wall of their bedroom at home look paltry in comparison. Large clear letters were accompanied by the resort's logo to spell out “Welcome Center” and the reception desk as well as the lounge were immediately visible even before they entered the building. Shining used his magic to open the door ahead of Cadance and then followed in after her.

With some measure of guilt, the princess alicorn started to wonder exactly how much the tickets cost. How much had the crystal ponies gone out of their way to give them this unexpected surprise? The soft and plush sea blue carpeting and designer lounge chairs of the reception area made her believe the place was the kind of super expensive establishment she would never dream of attempting on her own.

The spring blue mare at the pearl white receptionist desk grew a homely little smile when she looked up from something strange on the counter before her. It looked to be some kind of light projection that had letters and numbers on it, the kind of magical information device only the highest-class businesses could afford.

The room itself was situated in such a way so that the glass wall behind the desk gave an unobstructed and rather breathtaking view of the sea and coastline that laid right behind the building. At first, it looked only to be a straight edge against the water but Shining noticed as they came up to the desk that there were sweeps of beach angling from either side and even an island in the middle which made the area something of a protected bay.

“Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” she greeted them with a tone two steps more friendly than professional. She bore an exotic accent that neither of the guests heard often.

“Just Cadance,” the pink alicorn dismissed what she believed to be her “stuck-up” title.

“Cadance,” the mare corrected herself and looked to the stallion, taking her best guess. “Shining Armor.”

“Wait,” Shining Armor turned suspicious. “How'd you know-”

“Your reservation was booked in advance,” the mare motioned to her projected magical display and gave a cute giggle. She was already turning out to be an expert as world's most welcoming receptionist. “Our best cottage always merits our best service. But even if it was one further down the coast, I'd be sure you received our five star hospitality.”

“Why, thank you,” Cadance expressed her honest appreciation.

“Our tickets,” Shining Armor offered them up to her from where he had them ready in the side-pocket of the large luggage satchel strapped to his back.

The mare barely took a second to look them over before giving them back. “You can keep the tickets as souvenirs. Your reservation is unlimited, so you can stay as long as you want and come back whenever you want as well.”

Shining Armor raised his brows and Cadance brought a forehoof to her mouth in awe. She knew she was going to have to do something extra special for their subjects when they returned.

“Exactly how long was our cottage reserved?” Shining couldn't pass up his curiosity.

“Indefinitely,” the mare replied with a cheerful buoyancy.

“Isn't that...expensive?” Shining persisted. He was already incapable of imagining how much the resort's best cottage cost for one stay.

“Oh, I'm sure the payees didn't have too difficult of a time,” she responded politically. “Having a royal couple visit us would no doubt have given them a significant discount on it. It brings in more visitors, you know,” she whispered the last part as if it was something she wasn't supposed to say.

“Oh, okay,” the stallion finally gave in. “Well then...”

Just as he was about to ask where they were supposed to go next, two strong stallions came up behind him. Each was wearing a light green vest with the resort's logo. The first had a nametag that declared “Wave” and the other “Ice.” The former was larger and had a deep blue coat while the latter was smaller, had a coat of light frozen blue, and seemed half the age of the other. Both were Earth ponies.

“Ice and Wave here will take your luggage to your cottage,” the mare explained, her accent having a peculiar problem with the “l” in every word. “In the meantime, I'll get you oriented so you know where everything is at.”

Indeed, the two resort ponies promptly removed the heavy satchel from Shining Armor's back and took Cadance's small bag, which she reluctantly gave up with a blush. They left with the cargo through a side door that was labeled “Employees Only.”

Shining returned his attention to the receptionist, who clopped her hooves together and never let up her radiant smile. Somehow, she managed to be pleasantly friendly without it seeming forced the way most ponies in her profession came out as.

“Well, now,” the blue mare began. She backed up from her desk and tucked a lock of her short pale and pastel lavender mane behind an ear as she walked around the counter. Now that she was in better view, it was apparent that she was a pegasus. She had a similar vest that the stallions had except that hers was white with bright blue accents. Her flanks bore a cutie mark of a bubble with three arrows pointing up within the interior. “Ready?”

“As ever,” Cadance pranced in place while Shining nodded eagerly.

“Alright!” the mare enthused. “By the way, my name is Oxygen Rush. I'll be your go-to for all your needs whenever you're staying with us.”

“Hi, Oxygen Rush,” Cadance said with a goofy grin.

That managed to make Oxygen laugh. The princess poked her husband and egged him to do the same, but all he got out was a shy “hi.”

“The two of you have nothing to worry about. Just relax and be yourselves around me. I won't bite,” she winked before walking around them towards another door on the opposite side of the reception area.

Cadance noticed her stallion's face twitch a certain way before they began following their guide. She smirked to herself as an idea entered her head, not that she needed it. Even without the attractions the resort doubtlessly had, she had plenty of plans for having a fun time. Teasing her husband was just a small part of that.

“If you ever need anything at all,” Oxygen continued to talk as she lead them through a door marked “To Resort” and out of the building. “Towels, soap, speedboats...just call me up and I'll get it to you in no time at all.”

They started across a path similar to the one that lead to the entrance but this one sloped down and curved around towards the shoreline that only came in glimpses through the thick foliage around them. The sound of the birds came back in a song and a cool breeze kept the warm sun from becoming unpleasant.

“There are call booths all around the resort and every cottage so you never have to look hard for one. Since you both have the Royal Cottage, I'll just be giving you the keys when you're ready to settle in for the day.”

“The keys?” Shining asked, assuming at first that she meant the keys to the cottage itself.

“Yep,” she pipped. “To your personal ride.”

Cadance was about to ask in turn but then saw the mare's meaning when they came around the last curve in the path. Straight in front of them was a spotless dock that looked like it had been built yesterday for how much it shined in the light of the day. Several boats were moored to the walkways that stretched out into the water, but Oxygen Rush was pointing specifically to the one on the far right.

Compared to all the other boats, it was huge. The others were more like expensive speedboats that always sat unused in some rich pony's beachfront estate. This one, however, was somewhere between the size of them and a full-length yacht, which made it about three times as big as the others. It appeared as if it could have been requisitioned directly from the Equestrian Navy because its angles were reminiscent of military stealth. It was white all over except for cyan highlights that raced through the sharp points of its design. At one edge, one of the accents got thick enough for the inside to be printed with white letters spelling the name of the craft, “Hydro Star.”

“I thought you'd like it,” Oxygen beamed as she noted Shining Armor's reaction.

2 - Orientation

He'd never seen anything like it before. It had sharp corners but also managed to have a roundness to it. It was sleek, it was curvaceous, it was alluring, and most of all it looked fast. Very fast.

“I think I'm in love,” Shining whispered through his breath.

Cadance snickered as they came up to the boat's entry ramp.

“The Hydro Star is exclusively for the use of you two,” she pointed at the couple. “So you get the keys after the tour. Have either of you ever driven a hydrofoil?”

She looked at them both but Cadance looked to Shining Armor, who looked back to her.

“I'll give you the one-two while we make our way to Beach 2,” Oxygen reassured them as she stepped up onto the ramp. Instead of leading to an open-air deck, the ramp led to a closed hatch-like door in the side of the vessel. She opened it and beckoned them in.

The inside could have been from one of those sci-fi novels that Twilight had urged Shining to read in the past. Cadance was thinking the very same thing because every inch of the space was as shiny and new-looking as the dock had been. The compartment they had walked into was some kind of recreational room, a small kitchen and lounge complete with a loveseat secured into the wall. A passageway led along the inner side of the ship to some forward section and they only noticed after a while that most of the wall for the compartment was made of glass. It was hard to tell at first because something was shielded over on the outside to prevent a view of the outside.

“You can take her out to sea and relax here in the lounge if you want,” Oxygen continued the ship's portion of the tour. “And this,” she poked a button on a control panel on the other side of the room, “will open the blinds.”

Just as she pushed the button, there was a clicking noise and the outer non-glass walls of the room started pulling away out of view. What was left was the interior glass wall that provided them a crystal clear view of the dock they had just walked from. Cadance stared on in awe while Shining looked back and forth between the glass dome and Oxygen Rush.

“I've never even heard of anything like this existing before,” he told her in surprise.

The light blue pegasus nodded minutely. “Because this is the only one as far as I know. Latest and greatest. About half of the ship's design I did myself.”

She started traveling down the forward passageway before either of them could discern what she had said.

“Wait,” Cadance stepped up to get by her side, which there wasn't much room for in the narrow corridor. “You designed it?”

“Barely half,” Oxygen admitted with a tinge of embarrassment. “Mostly the lower equipment like the hydrofoils, engines, water sensors, adjustment gyros. I don't get all of the upper wiring. The diagrams scare me,” she giggled and stuck out her tongue, half-joking at the last part.

“You're so young,” Cadance peered on at the mare in admiration. She had meant it in an amazed sort of way because she had met engineers twice her age that hadn't accomplished half as much.

“Aw,” Oxygen blushed. “Now I've said too much. I don't want you thinking about me when you're here to relax with him. Forget I said anything.”

“Well, I won't,” Shining spoke up from behind them just as they entered the pilot's cabin. “This is amazing!”

Cadance shook her head. “You should have seen him when somepony suggested they start using armored wagons in the Royal Guard. He's obsessed with these kind of things.”

Oxygen laughed politely and came up to the pilot's wheel. Like the back part of the ship, the cabin also had the retracting walls and interior glass. The outer shielding retreated as soon as the pegasus tapped something on the wheel.

“The Hydro Star has automatic shifting and mooring,” she explained and beaconed the alicorn and unicorn closer. “I'll try to keep it simple and not use too many seafaring terms on you. Here are the toggles for the forward and rear lights,” she gestured. “The side and underwater lights....the cabin blinds....and here's the light that tells you whether or not the ship is secured to the dock. Just pull it in close enough and it will automatically moor when you come to a full stop. I'm sorry, 'moor' means the ship is hooked to the dock so it won't drift away. It will automatically unhook when you start accelerating away. And here are the toggles for speed. Up and down. Other than that, there's just the wheel for steering.”

Cadance looked on thoughtfully.

“I have to admit,” Shining spoke up, “I did some basic seafaring classes in the Guard but I've never dealt with these powered boats before.”

“Just watch me as we go from place to place,” Oxygen encouraged them. “You'll see what I mean by it being easy. By the end of the day, you'll be plenty capable enough to zip around the bay in it. If, by any chance, neither of you is comfortable with driving it then no worries. I'll be your chauffeur anytime you want.”

With that, Oxygen Rush prodded at the acceleration toggle gently and the mooring light flashed red. With a demure little hum, the craft started inching forward. Nowhere was the sound of a blasting engine furnace or grinding turbines. Just that quiet hum.

Cadance walked closer to the forward glass of the cabin and could almost look straight down at the water that the ship was splitting to both of its sides. As they came away from the dock, Oxygen started steering the vessel to the right to follow the shoreline.

“First stop,” she announced as she turned up the acceleration to a moderate pace, “Beach 2. Hot Springs and Gift Shop.”

The ship pulled up to the dock with an elegant grace. It was clear their pegasus guide was as used to driving it as she was to using her own hooves. There was a clicking sound as the moor light went green and something clacked against the ship's side. They filed out onto a different dock by Oxygen's lead.

“Each stop along our beach has a big sign,” she pointed up to what was indeed a large sign towering above them where the dock gave out to the cobblestone land path. “So you always know what each place is even without a map – you can see it as you're out on the waves.”

This particular sign read “2” with bold text below that read “Hot Springs” with “Gift Shop” below it. Shining Armor crossed one thing off his list of worries. There was no way in Tartarus he was getting lost around here.

“By the way, there's a big colored map in the Star's cabin. It's pinned to the back wall in case you didn't see it.”

“Why is there a gift shop here?” Cadance asked politely as she followed the mare towards a vine-covered stone building set into the swarm of lush tropical vegetation. Even though the beach was clean with smooth banks of white sand and see-through pushes of water, the plant life took on a hasty dominance some seventy hooves distance in.

“Oh, that's for the visitors that come just for the hot springs,” Oxygen answered and opened the old wooden door for them. “Ponies can access it from an adjacent road – the one from Fillydelphia. We actually get a lot of traffic that way. Not just ponies either. We've had lots of griffons and other visitors.”

They went in and got another tour no less engaging than the previous one. This building had nothing of the shiny newness of the Welcome Center they first came to but it did have an old serenity to it. Perhaps it was the fact that it was all stone and old wood or perhaps it was the fact that the stone walls and ceiling had crumbled in certain places to give it that jungle ruins feel. It was obvious enough that the ruin-like appearance of the place was just a facade, though, for a themed business.

Oxygen Rush stopped them after they went through a stone archway. They seemed to be standing in front of a hillside choked with ferns and low-hung plants. The stones of the building bled away so that it was hard to tell where it ended and the jungle began. But amongst the greenery, there were cobblestone paths winding up the hill to enclosures made from wooden walls that looked to be the newest thing around. She led them to one at the end of the path farthest to the right. It zigzagged up a steep incline to an enclosure removed from the rest and much larger too.

“This is your own personal hot spring,” she beamed for them and opened the rickety door to lead them in. “Come whenever you want. The lanterns are lit every night so you can come as late as you want to. Just don't stay in for over two hours or you might pass out,” she giggled.

Cadance walked in while Shining Armor just poked his head around the door frame to see. There was a generous amount of space between the wooden walls and the edge of the water, which was held in pools ringed with smooth stones. All of the soil was rich and dark with small well-kept plants and flowers occupying the space against the walls. There were lanterns spread about on the ground in these areas as well that would presumably give enough light to the place at night. Even now, the steam could be seen coming up from the water's surface.

“We'll obviously do this later, but I really can't wait,” the princess clopped her hooves and looked over to her husband and Oxygen Rush.

“Oh yeah,” the stallion nodded smugly at the spring.

“There are towels, lotions, and all the extras over here,” Oxygen motioned to a small cabinet stand near the door. There was a hamper next to it as well. “Any questions or are you ready to move on?”

“None here,” Shining started but then his wife poked him and whispered something in his ear. “Oh! Um...about the gift shop. Does it have any books?”

It was a good thing Cadance was around, Shining thought jokingly to himself. She usually had ideas that were good but somehow escaped his own incredible intellect. Again, he was kidding to himself but he was not kidding about how grateful he was to have a book now sitting on a side table back in the Hydro Star's lounge area.

His mare had suggested getting the souvenir early so he wouldn't forget or worry about it. And there was certainly no doubt in his mind that Twilight would love a book all about how hot springs got their heat through volcanic vents. It was just the sort of nerdy thing she would engross herself in for an entire afternoon. That was, of course, assuming she didn't already know. There was no telling what odd subjects she had already investigated thoroughly.

“Beach 5,” Oxygen declared from the wheel. They had managed to cover “Beach 3: Fishing and Water Gliding” and “Beach 4: Medical” in a relatively short period of time. This stop seemed to make their guide more excited, however.

“Diving?” Cadance read the marker on the cabin map.

“H2pOny Diving Center,” Oxygen confirmed. “I've got something special here for the two of you.”

“I don't know,” Shining shook his head. “It's all been pretty special already.”

Cadance nodded at that as they exited onto the dock and entered another building that looked much more like the Welcome Center except for the fact that half of it was hanging over the water. As always, Oxygen opened the door for them and then rejoined them inside.

Something buzzed and Shining Armor looked around curiously to where the noise came from.

“Sorry,” Oxygen apologized. “It's just my earpiece. My superiors are telling me I need to pick it up and stop wasting your time.”

“You're not wasting our time,” the couple expressed simultaneously.

“We're very grateful for you showing us around,” Shining Armor added in.

“Thank you,” Oxygen replied shyly. “Just bear with me a little longer.”

“But what do you mean by 'earpiece?'” Cadance asked while they entered a large locker room with what appeared to be a deep pool in the center. The edges were carefully roped off.

“It's like a small headset in one ear,” she answered. “It gives me notifications so I can keep up with all of the visitors and talk to them no matter where I am.”

“I didn't even notice it,” the alicorn peered to the side to try to see if there was something in Oxygen's ear.

“You're not supposed to,” the mare smiled in return.

She proceeded to show them the Center's training and equipment room, which they were now in. They went over to one locker in particular that had a single blue star imprinted on the riveted metal and she opened it to retrieve two suits hung on the inside.

“I really wanted to show you these before you got settled in,” she lifted up a suit in each hoof, which the two ponies levitated up to look over. “Special diving suits I made just for the two of you. I had to hurry when I got the notice of reservation but I really put my heart into them.”

Shining Armor blushed as he looked his over and glanced at Cadance's. They were designed to be skin tight and each was styled to the other's colors. Hers was white with striking blue accents while his was light pink with purple and yellow accents that matched his wife's mane. And yet both of them shared the same symbol on the flank, which was a perfect combination of their two cutie marks – a crystal shield with his stars and her embroidery. At the bottom of the right back hoof was tiny print that read “H2pOny” in clean type just a shade off from the surrounding color.

Cadance looked to him and cooed. “Oh, they're perfect. We have to go diving in them.”

Oxygen looked excitedly between them. She had secretly worried whether or not they would like them.

“Definitely more than once before we leave,” the stallion unicorn agreed before his cheeks could warm up any more than they had.

Their guide took the suits and stored them again. She kept talking as she lead them out of the Center. “I'll show you everything there is to diving when you choose to start, so don't worry about a thing. It's where I got my cutie mark, you know.”

“Really?” Shining asked curiously by Oxygen's side.

“Yep,” she gleamed, her accent insisting on softening and warping every “l” her tongue happened across. “I love the water.”

“You sure work in the right place for it,” he poked her playfully in the side and grinned.

She laughed again. “That I do. And it's a blast, I have to admit.”

After they boarded the Star again and set out along the deep end of the shoreline's curve, she heard a stomach grumble and managed to get them to confess what they wanted to have. It was the middle of the afternoon, so both Cadance and her husband agreed they'd want something of a late but light lunch. The pegasus repeated their orders a bit louder than her normal tone and gestured to one of her ears before either asked. She confirmed for them that the chef was on it and they'd have a fresh meal at their cottage as soon as they were dropped off.

“Beach 6: Plaza,” Oxygen declared to continue the orientation, guiding the ship gently past the sign. “We won't stop because I'm quite certain you don't need my assistance in getting around that place. The restaurants, shopping center, and Club Tropic are all there. If you want to eat out, there's everything from exotic dishes to a tried and true hayburger with fries. If you want something that you can't get at one of our restaurants then you just tell me and I'll get it for you.”

“You're a chef too?” Cadance went wide-eyed.

Oxygen laughed harder than she had all day. “Goodness, no. I couldn't use a microwave if my life depended on it. I'm just the req girl. The pros at our restaurants do all the fancy work.”

“It's hard to tell with you,” the pink mare praised and gave her a complimentary expression.

“For shopping,” Oxygen continued with a slight blush, “we've got everything you'd see in a normal mall plus some specialty stores. The Tropic's bar is for adults only but I don't think we need to worry about age here,” she winked back at her two royals. “We recently got a new DJ as well. Over the summer, we get guest DJs that'll show up for a night or even a week. DJ Pon-3 is scheduled to drop by for the first weekend.”

“Oh!” Cadance lit up. “She played at our wedding!”

Oxygen Rush looked genuinely surprised for the first time that day. “Wow,” she exclaimed. “Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy her show then.”

“Yeah, she was pretty good,” Shining agreed. “Who usually plays music?”

“Neon Lights,” the pegasus replied. “We managed to nab him last season when our old DJ retired. He's new blood but really good.”

“What about the last stop?” Cadance asked from where she now stood in front of the map on the back cabin wall. “Water Park?”

“Beach 8 is closed right now because they're getting ready for the day after tomorrow. That's the Arcade and Water Park,” she waved over to the map, not looking back because she was steering the ship around the bay. “I don't think you'll have any problem finding your way around those if you go to them. I can show you around after they open if you desire. Remember that everything is already included with your stay so I don't want you thinking about money during your visit.”

“If you insist,” Shining gave in with a mix of happiness and guilt due to the lack of worry and the feeling of taking advantage, respectively.

“I haven't noticed anypony besides us and those two stallions,” Cadance observed.

The pegasus was understanding in her answer. “You came at a bit of an odd time. Oh, no. Don't feel bad. It's just that we're preparing for the next seasonal flux – facility cleaning and that sort of thing. We get a big crowd this time of year and we still have another day before we start receiving again. Actually, you might want to savor the time because it'll get packed after tomorrow. The Royal Cottage is always prepared before everything else so it was ready upon your arrival.”

“Why are we moving away from the beach?” Shining broke in with his own thread of thought. He was watching the gentle waves of the ocean around them through the exposed glass front of the ship. The hydrofoil blades started becoming visible as the vessel picked up speed and ascended upwards from the water. However, they had been steered far enough away from following the beach for the line of sand to be out of view now. Instead, they were headed towards the island he had seen earlier from the Welcome Center.

“As I mentioned before,” Oxygen responded coolly as she casually steered the ship towards an inlet on the small island's beach. “The Royal Cottage is our best lodging. King's Land, the island, is just for the occupants.”

“It's on the island?” Cadance enthused with giddy excitement.

“It's all yours,” Oxygen confirmed and pulled up to a small dock not too unlike the others at each tour point they had visited. They came to a full stop, the moor light went green, and she turned to them with a bit of pride at successfully pleasing the guests the whole way. “Follow me to complete your orientation for the day.”

They came out to what, on closer inspection, was decidedly a much more private-looking dock. Design-wise it was the same, but there was only space for the Star rather than outcroppings for multiple craft. There were also lanterns on the ground every so many hooves distance and a cobblestone path similar to the ones back at the hot springs.

The air radiated with a close summer humidity and only the breeze from earlier prevented any sweating. The vegetation was already thick so close to the water and it seemed more like a jungle mistakenly dropped onto the ocean rather than a real island. Oxygen leaped out in front of them after letting them leave the ship first. She landed square on all four hooves and flicked back her short mane that had managed to flip in front of her eyes.

“This way,” she instructed and lead the way down the otherwise pleasant path. It didn't take long for the cottage of question to come into view. It was an impressive two stories high with a spire rising from the center and stretching into the sky above the treetops. The building was pristine white like many of the others had been and had as much glass for walls as well. A respectful amount of space had been cleared between it and the overgrowth so there was room for a trimmed grass lawn all around the perimeter.

“Welcome,” Oxygen announced as she trotted up to the front glass door, “to your Royal Cottage.”

3 - One On One

The plate was levitated over to the kitchen counter to join the other empty one in being the only items thereupon. It was a rather long counter top that swerved around the area that separated the kitchen from the lounge, where two ponies sat on a soft blue sofa that was so large it could have been a bed. The occupants sighed in contentment.

Both had experienced Oxygen Rush's final tour for their personal cottage and found all of their things neatly organized around the abode by the stallions from earlier in the day. Normally, they'd both be full of energy and have the urge to get on their hooves to do something. That energy, however, had been taken by the orientation to Hello Tropics and their initial travel in getting there. So, feeling spent and lazy, they laid together on the sofa and watched the sea wave along its predestined course.

The sofa faced a different side of the island than the one they came in from and opened up to a cove that crept right up to the lawn around the cottage. It was featured with a bounty of rocks and rough crags that obscured far less of the ocean than the thick tropical plants that retreated from it. All in all, it was a nice and calming view.

“So,” Shining was the first to speak after their meal. He took a sip from a glass of fruit-flavored water and set it back onto the low-slung glass coffee table in front of the sofa. “That was good.”

“Best hayburger I've ever had,” Cadance agreed but didn't open her eyes. She kept resting her head against her husband's side, which was respectively nestled into the spacious cushions.

“Sometimes it's nice to just have a regular old hayburger,” the stallion commented to himself and then made for an observation. “You notice how much glass there is around here? There's...well...a lot.”

“It looks nice, though,” Cadance sighed happily as she rested.

“There might actually be more glass here than there is crystal back home.”

“I dissent,” his wife grinned without opening her eyes.

“Dissent? You're messing with me again,” he smiled and nudged the mare around playfully.

Finally Cadance peeked her lids open. “I'm messing with you? What about what you did earlier?”

“Earlier? What did I do?” Shining pursed his lips in thought. He didn't remember doing anything in particular.

“Oh, come on,” the princess turned over and looked into his eyes with a teasing expression. “I noticed that little tap you gave Oxygen. What was that?”

“What?” Shining frowned. “I was just being friendly. She was so nice to us that I wanted her to know we're not a couple of stuck-up politicians.”

“Of course,” Cadance deadpanned, humoring him. “And there's nothing wrong with a married stallion getting cozy with a female tour guide.”

Shining Armor reddened in the cheeks and Cadance knew then that she had him. It was so easy to tease him. Almost as easy as it was to do so with Twilight. She didn't worry about embarrassing him as much, though, because she knew all the right things that gave him his pride and dignity back.

“You can be honest with me,” she insisted as she drew herself up more level to him. “You think she's pretty.”

Shining was beat red as he rapidly shook his head. “No, she's not. I mean, she is for a young mare. I mean, I might think that if I was single. No! Uh...ah...”

Cadance barely kept herself from busting a gut right there. “You're right. She's quite the catch. If I wasn't already taken then I might consider giving her a pass myself. I mean, seriously. Those hips!”

Shining's mouth dropped as far open as was naturally possible.

The way her husband's face altered from flushed to pale and then back again was the last straw for her. She dropped away from him, rolled off the sofa, and laughed so hard that her lungs began to hurt. She saw out of the corner of her teary eyes that he had clutched his heart as well, which made her laugh even more. When she had run her course and started gasping air back into her system, she saw Shining with a refreshed countenance and a sour look.

“That wasn't very nice,” he grumped with hooves crossed as he sat straight up on the sofa.

“Sorry, sorry,” she only half apologized and gave some more reserved laughs. “It's just that you and Twilight are so easy to tease. Honestly. There's practically no work involved.”

“Hmph!” he turned his face away with indignation.

Slowly, the mare started working her way up onto the sofa again. “You did heat up pretty fast, though. Maybe my prince needs some attention...”

He looked back over to her, hooves drooping and expression softening. Then he resumed his annoyance and looked away. “You're messing with me again.”

“Oh, I don't think I have any reason to tease you about this,” she countered and finally drew herself all the way onto the sofa, grabbing him gently in her hooves. “Just the two of us on a paradise island with a whole month of vacation to do whatever we want...”

Shining Armor's face started warming up again for different reasons. He couldn't stay mad.

Cadance drew him in tighter and brought her face in so their noses touched. “I married the stallion of my dreams, my Shining Armor. And you know what?”

“Hm?” he asked shyly, his hooves creeping around her sides to return the hug. His miffed attitude from a second ago took up a permanent reservation at the graveyard.

“I'm living happily ever after,” she breathed out as she made one smooth movement to lock their lips.

The prince found his mind emptying of everything they had done earlier in the day. He forgot where he was and didn't even care. All he was concerned with now was the soft warm coat of his beloved, her plush feathers moving against his hooves that encircled her, the strand of her mane that had fallen loose from the rest and tickled the left side of his face. Her hooves that hugged him were like heaven but were forgotten for the taste of the kiss, so deep and yet so calm. It was a passion that knew they had all the time in the world.

The mare finally drew back with an elegant slowness, the peaceful happiness on her face making the stallion feel as if he ruled the world.

“Oh, Celestia,” he breathed in deep for air. “I love you so much, Cady.”

“Careful, big guy,” she giggled. “I'm not sure my aunt would approve of you using her name like that.”

“Maybe I should start using your name,” he grinned suggestively. “Because you're my goddess.”

“Pfft,” Cadance failed not to laugh. “Smooth but corny. That's my husband.”

“Hey,” he defended himself. “Look who's talking. And, anyways, I think we need a couple of breath mints.”

“Yeah,” Cadance sighed in defeat. “Hayburgers do nopony any favors.”

“I think I saw some earlier...” he thought aloud as he reluctantly detangled himself from his wife and stepped off the over-sized sofa.

Cadance tapped a hoof to her chin and then stiffened in realization. “The bathroom cabinet!” she called out to Shining as he already started his way up to the second story.

“Yeah,” Shining called back down in confirmation. The sound of rapid hoofsteps sounded as he trotted back down with a small tin of mints proudly in his magical grasp. “I don't know why they were up there but they were.”

The princess leaned across the sofa to look at the tin as he approached. “Oh, variety!”

“Cinnamon, Spearmint, Peppermint,” Shining started naming off the flavors as he opened the tin. Each of the mints was a small thin square color-coded to the flavor. “I guess this is Ocean Spray,” he prodded at a blue one. “Whatever that's supposed to taste like.”

Cadance decided to be the adventurous one by flicking a blue one into her mouth. Her eyes widened at the taste and gave her husband a little concern.

“It's bad?” he inquired.

“No,” she said around the mint in her mouth. “It's really good.”

He eyed one in the tin suspiciously. “What does it taste like?”

“Hm,” Cadance carefully leaned onto her back into the generous cushions. “Like coconut, but just barely. Mostly like fresh spring water. It's really refreshing,” she detailed and then checked her breath. “It doesn't have a strong smell but that's way better than hayburger.”

Shining Armor was about to pass up on it but finally decided, what the heck, why not? He popped one in, sucked on it, and found his wife had not decided to tease him again. It really did have the faint taste of coconut and spring water. A hum escaped his lips as he savored it and then he realized that the number of mints in the tin did not even equal the numbers of days that they planned on spending there.

“We'll have to ask for more eventually,” he commented as he placed the tin on the low table, finished the mint, and jumped back into the feather-soft aqua blue cushions.

“We need them for anything in particular?” Cadance asked as she laid down and propped her head on a forehoof, batting her eyes in faux innocence.

The prince intentionally fell sideways so he was laying eye-to-eye with her. “You were paying attention to the orientation, right? There's a lot we can do and that means a lot of our time might be spent out of this cottage. I'm not waiting until we get back here each day to freshen up. I'll take some with us whenever we go out.”

“Oh? Plan on getting near my breath?” Cadance asked in a saucy manner.

“Near doesn't begin to cover it,” he matched her effortlessly.

“Okay, okay,” the alicorn relented. “So, what are we going to do? I'm too tired to go out but we can't go to sleep either. It's only 4:00.”

“I was thinking we'd just continue where we left off,” he said with a low husky voice and climbed across so that he was laying lengthwise with her.

“We've got all month, you know,” Cadance blushed but didn't protest.

“Yeah,” Shining breathed as he brought his face in close to hers. “So little time...”

Before she could say anything, he embraced her fully and resumed their kiss from earlier. The pink pony had no complaints and, in fact, embraced him back. Neither felt the need to rush it and so they just reveled in their private intimacy. The princess commented only after they had spent another long minute without air.

“You'd be happy to do this until midnight,” Cadance breathed heavy for oxygen.

Shining tossed his mane back with a “hah” and then looked at her again with conspiracy in his eyes. “That's funny coming from somepony who'd do the same.”

“Is it possible to love too much?” the princess kept up the banter.

“Only for those that lack imagination,” he leaned over and breathed playfully into her ear. “And when it comes to you, I've got lots of imagination.”

Cadance cuddled him from her spot beneath his chin. “Aww...I wanted to be the one to say that.”

“Oh?” he leaned back to look her in the eye again. “Why?”

“Because I like giving more than receiving,” she winked at him.

Shining Armor laughed but felt his heart pull at the same time. Her look had nearly given him a heart attack, but in a good way as far as metaphorical heart attacks were concerned. She didn't have to go anywhere near her magic to have this effect on him because he was legitimately in love with her.

The last time she had used her love magic on them had been on their honeymoon and it turned out to be a terrible mistake. They had wound up spending an entire day so lost in each other's eyes that they didn't even break physical contact for the full twenty-four hours, spending it all on shameless obsession the whole time. He tried not to ever let Twilight find out since she had read that book about the love potion. That would just be embarrassing. Nevermind the details.

“Well, well, well,” he tutted as he looked deep into his wife's eyes. They were two oceans of lavender that he never got tired of swimming in. “Maybe we should leave the rest of this for tonight then.”

“Worried about falling asleep?” the mare giggled.

“Oh, come on, Cady,” Shining stuck his tongue out at her for a second. “You're just too soft. Especially when you drape those beautiful wings around me. You're killing me.”

Spurred on, Cadance stretched one of her wings around from beneath her and flicked him on the nose with the tip. “I'll have to remember to do that tonight.”

“Aww,” Shining groaned while liking every second of it.

“Now get off,” his wife instructed. “I think I remember seeing some board games when we got the tour.”

“Monopoly?” the stallion inquired as he rolled over with enthusiasm. He immediately set to move aside all items on the low table in front of the sofa so they could set something up.

“Yes sir, Mr. Handsome, sir,” Cadance joked in a faux-male copy of his own Guard's tone of voice. She too got off the cushions and made her way to a side closet near the kitchen.

Shining sat down patiently, back rigid and hooves straight down, but glanced over to her not the least bit for a view of her swaying tail, which she intentionally sashayed about. “Call me handsome again,” he ordered her across the room.

Cadance opened the small closet with a bit of her magic and found exactly what she remembered being there on the second marbled shelf. She pulled out the bright colored box and brought it over to the glass table and her giddy-looking male. “Only if you call me pretty and let me have the light blue properties.”

“Hey,” he was taken back. “You're way better than pretty! Like super-ultra-beautiful with an overdose of sexiest mare in the world.”

Cadance could usually take his compliments in stride because of the goofy look he often got when giving them but this one got to her. She blushed not for the first time that day. “And the properties?”

“Are still going to be mine,” he grinned stupidly.

She stuck her lower lip out in pouting while she let him grab the box with his own blue aura and open it. The board was laid out and various pieces went to their proper places. “You're only excited about this because Twilight isn't playing with us.”

“She always plays this game with us,” he complained. “I even tried to play it alone with you once and she showed up at the door like clockwork or something and joined in. She always wins, Cady. It's not fair.”

“Badly, I know,” Cadance smiled with a hoof to her mouth. She was looking over the player tokens in the center, trying to decide on which to play as. Should she be the griffon or the dragon this time? “I still remember the day I was foalsitting her and taught her how to play. It was her first time, she was four years old, and she still beat me. Badly, as always.”

“It's those light blue spots,” he narrowed his eyes to the location on the board. “She hoards them and stacks up the hotels early while we're still trying to complete the other sets.”

The pink princess shook her head. “Here we are on our vacation and we're talking about Twilight again.”

Shining looked up to her and shrugged. “She's something else, huh?”

“It's fun watching her when she knows she's won, isn't it?” Cadance remarked as she chose the elegant serpentine dragon token. “Her eyes gleam and her hooves rub against each other like she's some kind of super villain plotting world destruction.”

“And she gets this little 'hee-hee' laugh that's kind of creepy,” Shining shuddered at it. “She scares me.”

Cadance laughed. “Aw, big brother is scared of his itty-bitty sister?”

“I am,” he answered with mock pride.

“Choose your piece, Handsome,” she gave him a half-lidded look from across the board.

His larger male forehoof tapped the Cerberus token and Cadance began floating the others back into the box. “We're playing Monopoly when I could be getting another kiss,” he commented to nopony in particular, "or more..."

“How about we add some rules,” Cadance began to conspire. “Every time one of us lands on the other's property, that pony has to-”

“Do something naughty?” the stallion suggested with a saucy tone.

Cadance leaned over the table and knocked him on the head. “I was going to say something more serious. You do want to sleep in the same bed as me tonight, don't you?”

“But I thought that was where we were going to be doing those naughty things,” he continued down the same path unfazed.

She knocked him on the head again but was careful not to cause permanent damage. He was valuable to her, after all. “Behave yourself,” she commanded only half seriously.

“We're alone, Cady,” he whined. “Who am I behaving for?”

“I'm not that loose, am I?” the mare turned her lips lop-sided and placed her forehooves evenly on the fake money on her side of the board.

“What are we talking about?”

Cadance opened her mouth and then closed it. Her cheeks puffed out as she looked indignant. “Fine! Let's just play.”

“What about landing on property...?” he asked and leaned back. The sofa was just behind him and offered a great way for him to rest his shoulders against it in relaxation while still sitting on his side of the board and table.

“Forget it,” the mare looked away and closed her eyes.

Shining knew his wife could be stubborn when she was feeling miffed so he offered a solution he figured would likely work. “How about every time either of us lands, I have to tell you how much I love you and how I'll do anything to make you happy?”

Cadance opened one eye and looked at him with it. Here he went again. She could never hold her look when he started this. He knew her just as well as she knew him.

“And,” he persisted, voice lowering, “I hold you tight and tell you really close to your ear that you're my everything.”

Cadance sighed. “Fine,” she gave up. It wasn't as if she was ever mad. Any attempt she ever made for that emotion was always dissolved by him before it reached fruition. “A kiss then,” she offered, “however the payee wishes it. And the final victor gets one special request for the night.”

Shining Armor shot straight up again and leered at the board with a hungry intensity. “Yeah, I'm going to win this thing!”

As it so happened, High Prince Shining Armor lost the game of Monopoly that lasted deep into the dark night hours. He lost rather badly, in fact, and visions of a conniving little sister were now replaced by those of his scheming wife...who defeated him with the light blue properties.

4 - Good Morning

Shining Armor awoke first, which was unusual. Cadance tended to awake before him and he always knew that because he could tell when her warmth left him. This time, he had the advantage and Equestria be cursed if he didn't use it.

It was hard to decide exactly what he wanted to do. The faint blue-orange glow of pre-sunrise was coming in over the horizon of the sea visible between broad plantlife outside the bedroom window. Their bedroom, grand but sparsely decorated in adherence to the cottage's modern motif, was finished with white carpet and a glass wall facing the same side as that in the lounge room. Less of the ocean was visible but still enough to be breathtaking at this time of the early morning.

Just outside the wall, which had sliding doors, was a patio. Though in all honesty, the term “patio” seemed a bit low-rent for the intricate design of it, which curved around in steps enough to be beautifully artistic without being absurd. Plenty of potted flowers and visually appealing plants were littered about in compliment and a well-kept path lead out towards the cove-like area seen the previous day from the lounge.

There was some tropical-sounding bird squawking somewhere outside and the exotic nature of it left Shining a smile rather than a frown of annoyance. The air was perhaps a little humid on his nose but it was far less so inside than outside the house because of the artificial climate control. There may have been the faint smell of some pleasant native flower throughout the cottage but Shining had little knowledge as to what exactly it could actually be. Twilight could probably give the scientific name for it off the top of her head.

The white stallion shifted the tiniest bit under the covers so as to feel the coat and feathers of his beloved against his own. Sometimes he wished he did have two wings because it might give him better insight to those that were attached to his wife. In spite of his lack of them, he had learned much about the flight-enabling appendages over his relationship with Cadance.

Sure, the bed was plenty big enough for the both of them to lay on opposite sides and have a full pony's width separating them in the middle. Did that matter? Not in the slightest. Cadance had ensured last night that there was negative physical distance between them. In other words, last night had seen the emergence of a singularity in...great flaming Celestia, Twilight's analytic breakdowns were invading his mind again. Blast that little sister of his.

He tried thinking in more realistic terms but the soft warmth that was his wife's body was blanking out his mind again. She was still asleep. He knew this because of her steady breathing, general lack of movement, closed eyes, and occasional mutterings that were incomprehensible but sounded like they were about how content she was to be where she was. Or perhaps that was just his own disposition. He was certainly very happy to be where he was.

In spite of losing the game last night, Cadance had decided to forfeit her acquisition of a special request and give him two instead. She may have done this knowing that he would choose to spend the requests on nothing she wouldn't as well, but that point was moot. Last night had been perfect. Cadance had been perfect. Not that she had to live up to some judgment of performance, but rather she was a goddess in his eyes.

Said goddess stirred, her eyes shifting a bit but staying closed. Her wings also stayed wrapped around him but seemed to tense up a bit to draw him closer, which couldn't happen because there was no distance to close between them in the first place. That was when Shining was finally able to form a useful thought beyond the musings of how much he adored the mare in his hooves. He knew what he would do.

Cadance had made the mistake of betraying one of her sensitive spots on their wedding night. “Mistake” was, of course, another way of saying that she betrayed the knowledge of something that he proceeded to exploit nearly every day. She liked it and so only encouraged him.

Shining Armor shifted, ducking his head under the sheets and below the pillow. He bent around so that he came right up to the point his wife's wings met her body. It was a mechanical thing to him and he tried, this time, to make it a tad more deliberate. He nuzzled her coat right behind her wing and then kissed the spot.

“Mmah,” a sudden combination of surprise wake-up groan and pleasurable moan escaped Cadence's lips. Her eyes tried opening but succeeded only by blinking open half-way several times at first. “Shiny...”

The prince smiled. He heard the familiar tremble in her voice that betrayed her content awakening. He sought to make every little action a significant expression. They loved each other and needed no grand gestures to show it. He said nothing but moved up to the lower feathers on her left wing and began nuzzling around them gently, half seeking any need for preening and half eliciting further contentment for his mare.

“Mmm,” Cadance hummed groggily. “Morning, love.”

Shining found a feather out of place, but it didn't need anything more than a gentle realignment. His teeth carefully corrected it and he was back to feeling the feathers against his face. He would swear Cadance's wings were better than any pillow he had ever slept on.

“Love,” he breathed out as he stroked her other wing with a forehoof.

“What was that?” she asked from where her head rested above the sheets, her voice sleepy.

“I love your wings,” he expanded the thought. “I love your coat, too.”

Cadance sighed in that way that told the world that it had been rather nice to her of late and needn't change anything more on her account. “Is this going to end with you saying that you love me?”

“No,” he smirked still under the sheets. “Just your hot bod.”

Cadance laughed loud and hard.

“I think I'll need rehab after this because I'm addicted,” he added with his own coltish giggle as he ran his cheek up the plush coat on her chest.

The pink princess pushed the sheets down from her to reveal her husband. “Alright, Mr. Perfect,” she said on the tail end of her laughing, “there's a penalty for loving a mare's body and nothing else.”

“What would that be?” he came back, looking up at her from below.

“You have to make me breakfast,” she grinned.

It hardly fazed him. “Well that's not too bad,” he also grinned. “Especially since all I have to do is call it in. What do we want, dear?”

“Something light,” Cadance brought a hoof to her chin. “I don't want to eat heavy when we're going to go out doing things today.”

“Oh?” the stallion raised his brows. “Making our schedule are you...? I thought we'd just stay in.”

Cadance was about to remind him to go order some food but he climbed up to her nose-to-nose and kissed her. Everything from her horn to her tail felt like melting back asleep. Her wings folded around him snugly again.

Shining broke the kiss, still smiling.

“You said as much yesterday,” the mare commented and then reluctantly started moving away from him and off the bed. “Come on, Shiny. It's not like you can't molest me while we're actually doing something with this resort.”

“Molest?” Shining laid back in fake shock, sprawled out across the sheets. “I'd never do it in public, though...”

Cadace gave him a deadpan look from the bedroom door. “And I suppose the last Council summit didn't count? The one where you were groping me during every five minute break?”

Shining chuckled as if he found it funny. “We were outside the break room. No one saw us.”

Cadance rolled her eyes and tried very hard from letting him know that she had actually enjoyed his attentions. He already knew but she thought it was honorable to pretend he didn't and try not to show it. Well, she didn't really think it was honorable because that was an idea one of her “how to be a stuck-up royal” classes tried indoctrinating her with. She preferred being honest unless she was looking to play with her husband, which she had all the time in the world for now.

“Let's get breakfast,” she reiterated as she left the room with a beaconing flick of her tail.

“Fruit was a good idea,” Cadance admitted. Her husband had chosen wisely. “The light oats helped too.”

“Yeah, I'm pretty awesome,” Shining Armor admitted humbly.

“My little molester,” she smirked as she ran a hoof up his back.

“You're not going to let that go are you?” he looked at her, trying not to let her be the only playful one.

“Never.”

They were both aboard the Hydro Star and moving at an easy pace towards Beach 5. One of the resort staff had arrived earlier to their cottage to deliver their light breakfast and they related then that they were interested in getting in some diving orientation before the resort season officially started tomorrow. Oxygen Rush might end up being rather busy and this was their last day to take advantage of her time. She did, after all, indicate she was quite excited about teaching them how to dive. Especially since she went to all that trouble of making custom equipment for them.

The stallion that had brought them breakfast related that Oxygen would be waiting for them at the Diving Center whenever they were ready. Shining Armor felt their craft, the Star, was plenty simple enough to pilot there and he had been paying careful attention during yesterday's tour to know how to operate it. That was precisely what he was currently doing.

The waves on the bay were splitting around them as they coasted towards the large beach sign with the number 5. When they approached, Shining slowed the vessel using the deceleration paddle and successfully got the green mooring light lit. He figured even a greenhorn from Guard Academy could pull it off.

Both the rulers of the Crystal Empire headed back down the ship's side corridor, through the hatch, and across the dock. Sure enough, Oxygen Rush was just opening the door as they came up to the Diving Center. She looked a little tired but had a vibrant smile on all the same.

The day was just as bright and refreshing as it had been previously. The smell of sand, salt water, and cleaning chemicals came at them in waves upon the breeze. No doubt the spotless dock and streakless windows on the Center were responsible for that last scent. Still, it was pleasant. Shining Armor had never really been to a tropical resort in the first place and most of his experiences were telling him that he should have visited long ago.

“Good morning, my little couple,” she lit up and failed utterly on cleanly pronouncing the “l.” Her accent was more obvious now than it had been yesterday. Likely related to how tired she looked.

“Good morning,” both royals return in cheer.

“Are you alright, dear?” Cadance added with a tint of worry as she came up to the other mare.

“Of course,” Oxygen just smiled it off. “The resort directors called a late meeting last night, is a-”

There was an odd moment while the mare struggled with her words.

“It is nothing,” she decided to end with instead.

“We can do this another time if you need some rest,” Shining offered generously.

Oxygen dismissed it, though. “Never necessary,” she persisted. “Come. We can begin.”

Cadance exchanged the same concerned look with her husband, both catching how their caretaker/guide had lost some of her articulation. But neither wanted to insult her by coming up with some excuse to cancel. If anything, Oxygen was more determined than they were.

So they followed her in and noticed a few other uniformed ponies that hadn't been there the day before. Things were obviously picking up, but their business was with Oxygen Rush and so they followed her into the locker room. She retrieved their diving suits for them and got her own from the last locker in the row. Hers was a pure white with the depiction of a single tropical flower on either side painted in polychromatic hues. She practically glided her body into it as if she had put it on a thousand times, which she no doubt had.

“Okay,” Oxygen proclaimed as she came up to them in her suit and motioned to the two still unequipped and held in the royal ponies' magical grip. “Normally I would give some instruction to easing into them but we are very lucky – both of you have magic. I assume both of you have used spells before to put on clothing or armor?”

Shining smirked at the hint. With a simple flash of his blue magic, the diving suit was on his body. His own reaction, however, was less in line to his expectation. Even knowing that the suit would be tight to his coat, he didn't anticipate how true that would be. He blushed quickly at the snug full-body contact. It was also just a tad bit cold at first.

Cadance cooed. “You look adorable in those colors!”

Shining's face warmed up a little more. “Adorable?” he felt unsure about the compliment. He wasn't exactly accustomed to wearing pink and the moment of realizing he was wearing his wife's colors was just a tad embarrassing in front of their guide.

The lean alicorn princess followed by flashing her pink magic. The white of her suit was striking indeed. Shining forgot all his own blushing as he stared at his wife in combination awe and elation. He couldn't prevent a “wow” from slipping out of his mouth. Spurred on, Cadance struck a pose, stretching out a forehoof to the air and doing the same with a back hoof on the opposite side.

“Oh, I like,” she smirked. “White with a little blue...sexy.”

Oxygen giggled behind a forehoof and Shining's blush returned with greater force while his mouth hung open.

“Thanks for making it, Oxy,” Cadance winked at the other mare. “I might need to ask for a few more outfits from you if this is the kind of attention they get me from my little prince.”

Oxygen stepped back politely. “Oh no, I am not so good with making regular clothes. Diving suits are of special design and material. It is sort of my niche.”

“Hm,” Cadance thought as she got back to all four hooves. “Still, perhaps some special requests to fit your talents...”

That only made Oxygen join in the blushing.

“I'm playing, dear,” the princess reassured her.

“L-let's get to diving,” Shining offered in before Cadance could distract them any more with her teasing antics. As serious as his wife could be in royal matters, she had a knack for messing around off-duty. Probably had something to do with her foalsitting days.

“You probably noticed the pool,” Oxygen turned to point to the roped-off pool behind her. It was well illuminated with bright and clean white lights casting down onto it and the lockers. The bottom wasn't visible and the dark color of the water seemed to indicate it was deep. “We use this to help new divers.”

She then walked over to the rope poles barring the edge on their side and unhooked one end. She hooked it back onto the other pole with her mouth and resisted the urge to gesture with her wings. They were currently beneath her suit since it was quite bad to have pegasi wings wandering about under water. Some ponies would use them instinctively in an effort to flap against the current, but wings were not made for such things and the result was nothing more than sprained muscles and broken feathers. She knew there were exceptions but she also knew to play on the side of caution.

Oxygen walked over to the edge of the pool and tested it to ensure the heaters were doing their job. It was warm enough not to freeze but not so warm as to disillusion one as to the real temperature of real diving. That fact reminded her to say something about it.

“Cadance,” she turned to address the mare behind her. “Your wings may have the urge to spread against cool water. I must warn you to relax and keep them folded. The suit will restrain them but you still don't want to push them against it. Doing so might cause a strain.”

“I see,” the princess nodded with pursed lips. She took the advice to heart.

“If at any time either of you feels uncomfortable or feel as if you might panic, just grab my shoulder gently with your magic and I will take you back to the top. This is as much about trust as it is learning and I do hope you will trust me.”

Shining Armor was first to answer on that point. “I don't think you'll have any worries there. I've spent a lot of time in the Guard, so it takes more than this to make me panic. And Cady here used to foalsit. That's like a hundred times harder than what I've done.”

Cadance smiled, shook her head, and poked her stallion in the side.

The spring blue mare nodded and began her routine. She carefully trotted over to the nearby ladder leading down on the edge. In practiced movement she got down into the pool and drifted back from the side. She was a natural in the water, destined as such from birth because of her cutie mark. Or perhaps the logic was the other way around. In any case, she made swimming look as easy as breathing. The two watching knew they weren't so talented, though. Oh, they could swim, but not with such flawless grace as Oxygen was exhibiting in her backward strokes. She seemed to move with the water and get to where she wanted to go rather than battle it and force it into submission.

There was hardly even the sound of splashing water as she drifted over to the the edge again near them and instructed. “Either of you can get in now. I'll help you, so do not worry about drowning.”

“Don't we need more than the suits to dive?” Shining asked.

“Of course,” Oxygen replied and moved her wet mane from her face. “But we are not diving yet. I must be certain you are first comfortable with the water and the depth below you before you attempt to breach it. I must also know you are comfortable with trusting me.”

“I suppose that settles it then,” Cadance nodded to herself as if in resignation. “Darling,” she looked starry-eyed to her husband, “you must be the first casualty.”

“Huh?”

Immediately, Cadance started shoving him toward the pool's entry ladder.

“Hey, hey,” the stallion objected without knowing why his hooves suddenly started pushing in the opposite direction. “I don't mind going first but what's this 'casualty' stuff?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Cadance smiled deceptively as she continued to magically encourage him down the ladder. “I can't be the first one to lose my perfectly styled mane. Mr. Perfect has to get the wet look first.”

“You just want to see me with my mane wet,” Shining insinuated conspicuously.

“Right as rain,” his wife countered.

5 - For You

Now you're doing it on purpose,” Shining Armor said pointedly to his wife.

“Oh, Shiny,” she returned in a sultry voice - if such a thing was possible beneath a scuba diving mask. “I was doing it on purpose from the very beginning.”

Once more the alicorn princess appeared to lose control of her underwater drift, colliding right into her husband's flank. This time was a little different, though, because he also drifted on impact and quickly grabbed her around her midsection, holding her tight against himself while being careful not to pinch the oxygen tube running from the tank on her back to the mask on her face.

“You have caught on very fast, Shining Armor,” Oxygen Rush complimented him from across the short distance of the diving pool. They were at the bottom and the fake murkiness made her appear a little distorted even so close. It was a clever trick to help orient ponies to real diving, but it wasn't anything Shining Armor had difficulty in overcoming.

“I'm surprised that we can talk,” he averted embarrassment at the praise.

“H2pOny is my business aside from resort service,” Oxygen explained. “I keep working hard to make these technologies the best they can be. I am afraid I still haven't managed to significantly reduce excess use of oxygen supplies when making conversation though...”

“Thanks for the help,” Cadance added in and wriggled out of her stallion's grasp. “I think we've covered everything even if I'm not as good at this as Shiny.”

The prince and the guide exchanged an understanding look. Cadance had been playing the whole time and was obviously far better than Shining was. Perhaps she had even done diving before and only pretended not to know.

“I do not often recommend diving around the bay right after learning, though,” the pale blue pegasus guide disclaimed. Her mane waved about freely in the water the same way theirs did, but it seemed obvious now why Oxygen kept her mane a little shorter than most mares. It didn't get in her way as much with its current length. “It is important to be fully rested before diving so one does not cramp or lose the energy to move.”

The royal couple took her cue to swim back up. It wasn't particularly dark down at the bottom of the beginner's pool, but the bright lights above the surface seemed blinding at first. Shining thought he now knew what a deep sea fish felt when it broke surface in the daylight (assuming one ever did). The depths almost seemed preferable in those first few seconds. That and also the air. It wasn't something he really ever thought about but, having spent so much time underwater, the cold impersonal nature of the air was practically offensive.

“I see why you seem to love your job so much,” Shining told Oxygen Rush as they climbed back out of the pool and removed their masks. “The water is really nice after you get used to it.”

The mare looked fondly behind her at the pool. “Yes,” she spoke calmly. “It is like my home. I know it must sound strange coming from a pegasus.”

“Not at all,” Cadance disagreed as she used her magic and a towel to pat her suit-encased form. She was barely dripping, however, because her suit didn't seem to hold any of the water. Most of it simply slid off, as if the suit was made of oil. “It sounds poetic if you ask me. Perhaps even romantic. You single?”

“Cady,” Shining Armor protested to his wife.

“It is okay,” Oxygen Rush smiled as usual while she took the masks and tanks from them and stored her own. “Yes, I am single.”

“Aw,” Cadance pouted. “Why? You're smart, beautiful...”

Oxygen blushed and hid it because she was still facing the lockers where she put the equipment. “M-most ponies don't think much of a pegasus that doesn't use her wings...”

“That's ridiculous,” Shining's expression turned sour as he contemplated when to remove his diving suit. “Cadance doesn't use her wings as often as most pegasi but my love for her is deeper than any ocean.”

“You're totally trying to score points with me,” his wife slid him a sly expression.

“Got that right,” he whispered back.

Oxygen Rush laughed while recomposing herself to face them again. She turned to them and drew in a forehoof as a gesture for the suits. “You are very lucky,” she looked to Cadance, “to have such a loving spouse.”

“I am,” the princess replied humbly, “but it doesn't make me feel good knowing you're alone. Maybe we can find you some special stallion!” she suddenly exclaimed in excitement, old fires of matchmaking re-igniting. “Or mare. Do you like mares? I'm really good at this mind you!”

Shining placed a hoof on her shoulder and pointed to their guide. “You scared her,” he whispered.

Indeed, Oxygen Rush had a little paleness to her face and a shake in her hooves.

“Don't tell me,” Cadance gasped. “You're afraid of having an intimate relationship?”

“Don't make it worse,” Shining groaned.

“P-please,” Oxygen stammered for their diving suits.

Both royals flashed their magic and had the suits levitated over to her in short order. The removal of the suit had just as much of a shocking sensation for the stallion as it had when he put it on. He wondered if he'd ever really get used to it.

Cadance wasn't going to stray from her course, however. This was her cutie mark, after all. She approached the mare. “Come on, dear. Talk to me. Would you like to talk to me away from Shiny?”

The sweetness of the alicorn's tone was not lost on Oxygen, but she didn't want to upset the resort directors if they found out that her personal affairs had gotten tangled up with their most important clientèle.

“Forgive me, Cadance,” she began. “Though I would trust your judgment, I cannot let my personal matters interfere with your vacation. This time is for you and your husband – not me. Please just enjoy yourself.”

Cadance wilted a bit. “Very well,” she sighed. “On the condition that we have a private chat sometime.”

It was a compromise but Oxygen didn't want to argue with the guests. “Whatever you wish,” she relented.

They left the room after they were fully dry and it was after they parted ways with Oxygen Rush at the Center's front door that Shining Armor addressed his wife more bluntly.

“Oh, come on,” Cadance defended as they stepped back into the cleanly lit interior of their ship. “I just can't bear the thought of her being alone. Or anypony for that matter. I can picture her working hard every day and even working into the night all by herself. And you noticed how tired she was, right? It's just so sad!”

“Not everypony wants or needs a special somepony, Cady,” the prince put the matter direct but gentle. He grabbed the wheel after they entered the forward cockpit.

Cadance proceeded to produce a series of clicks and blurts of disapproval. “Maybe for a select few, but I could see the emptiness in her eyes. She's definitely the type to want and need a special somepony. Don't you trust my destined talent, dear husband?”

He felt the fine coat of her face nuzzle into his side as he concentrated on steering the ship out. “Of course I do,” he soothed. “I just don't want you to put any stress on her when she's already under pressure. I was thinking we'd give her some space by not calling on her too much for a while.”

“Hmm,” Cadance hummed. “Well I won't give up that easily. I promise that whatever I do, I won't burden her. That's the opposite of what I want to do.”

“Did you have anything in particular that you wanted to do today since we've got the diving basics down?” he switched topics and set the ship in a gentle curve towards their island. The hydrofoils were barely starting to rise above the water due to the speed and the currently calm water of the bay split evenly around them as they cruised across it. The forward glass wall that he was viewing through must have had some manner of tinting because he knew that the water was reflecting a bright late morning sun that should have been near blinding.

“If this is our only day before the official resort opening,” the pink princess mused, “then perhaps we should do something at our island, since we might end up busy at all the places that open up tomorrow. You already arrived at the same conclusion based on our heading.”

“You noticed,” Shining replied flatly.

“It was either that or you wanted to get me somewhere alone and private again,” his wife remarked suggestively while running a hoof up his spine. It made him shiver.

“Alright,” he feigned, waving her off and keeping his eyes on the water in front of them. It was admittedly hard to steer and handle Cadance at the same time. “Maybe a little both. You were messing with me the whole time Oxygen was trying to teach us.”

The mare giggled. “Of course. But I didn't make any trouble for her and we both learned exactly what we needed to.”

“About that,” Shining started suspiciously. “Are you sure you've never done any diving before?”

Cadance laughed nervously.

“I thought so.”

“The resort should be getting a lot of traffic tomorrow by what Oxy told us,” she switched tracks. “We could take advantage of the attractions already open today but then again...”

“Everything will open tomorrow and we'll probably end up spending all our time at them rather than our island...yes,” her husband re-iterated for her.

Shining didn't anticipate it because he was still focused on steering the Star to the fast approaching center island. Perhaps that was why Cadance took the lapse in alertness to place the kiss on the back of his neck. It was one of the spots she knew to be particularly sensitive. With a chill going up his spine again, Shining almost jerked the wheel.

“No fair!” he complained weakly.

“What?” Cadance played innocent while she hung off his neck. “I was just saying that you read my mind.”

Shining Armor slowed the ship as it came up to their dock. It locked into place. “I'm glad I still can. It took me a while to do it after we first met.”

Now free of distractions, Cadance pulled on her stallion so their faces were mere breaths apart. “And when you did, you found out the only thing I wanted was to get inside your head.”

“Was that a doubl-”

Shining's words were cut short when his wife locked her lips on his. The kiss was deep but very brief.

“You keep this up and we'll miss lunch,” the unicorn male grinned like a foal.

Cadance stepped back from him and started out of the cockpit. “I wasn't really hungry anyway...”

Shining Armor awoke just in time to see the sun setting out of their bedroom's glass wall. A groan escaped his lips, but it was not an altogether unhappy one. He promised himself that, one of these days on the resort, he'd be the one to start something with his wife. With a mild case of his family's trademark inquisitiveness, he wondered what had brought this particular playfulness upon Cadance.

“Honey,” he whispered into her ear. It was right in front of his mouth.

She giggled and then tried bringing the sheets up over their heads. The attempt failed since the sheets were already entangled with them. “I'm not awake yet,” she faked a mumble into the pillow.

A second passed.

“You called me 'honey,'” Cadance added in realization. She must have found something amusing about it because she giggled again and cuddled up to him, which was pointless because they already had cuddled up.

“What's gotten you so...provocative lately?” he asked directly but with tenderness in his voice. He really was simply curious.

“You don't like it?” she turned her face to him and revealed a hint of worry.

“No!” Shining denied instantly. “I love it! It's just....I was curious.”

Cadance found a smile again. “I'm just relaxing – like you should. Come on, Shiny. We're on vacation.”

The stallion sighed. It was true. He was still using his head too much when he was supposed to be kicking back.

“I love you,” Cadance tacked on while placing small butterfly kisses on his neck. “That's all there is to it.”

The sensation made Shining quiver in delight. He resolved to himself that he'd never stop feeling overjoyed at hearing those words or being kissed by his mare for that matter. There was also a certainty that he'd kiss her back and tell her that he loved her just as much, which he did.

“We should get up,” he declared after they separated from another kiss, such a thing now so common that it was hardly even worthy of notice. “Or we won't be able to sleep tonight and our days will be off.”

“I don't mind being a night owl with my lover,” Cadance returned.

With both of their heads laying sideways against the pillow, it would take an equal amount of effort for them to get out of bed, nevermind how tangled up they already were with the sheets and each other. The prince tried leading by example.

“Oof!” Cadance exhaled as her stallion flipped her over himself, slipping her out of the entanglement in one move. He threw the sheets up, spun in place, grabbed Cadance to move with him, and suddenly they were both standing beside their bed. “How do you do that?”

“Guard training,” he smirked. “After the first year, you get really good at getting out of bed before the sergeant finds you a half-second late to the whistle.”

“So you fake it when you act like you're have a hard time getting out of bed?” she raised a brow.

“Only when you're in it with me,” he answered with a chaste kiss to her cheek.

Cadance blushed and, though it was imperceptible to most ponies due to her pink coat, Shining could tell. She leaned into him and stuttered with her first words. “W-why do you have to say things like that?” she tried sounding more joking than serious. “You make me think it couldn't possibly be true to have you – like it's all some dream I'll wake up from and then cry because it's not real.”

“Hey,” he held her. “I'm not perfect. I just try to do everything I can for my perfect princess.”

Cadance regained her composure. “It's been a while since you've called me that.”

“Then from now on, I'll call you my princess.”

The mare leaned back again from him and relished the feeling of his warm coat against hers before it was gone. She stared him in the eyes. “But I don't want you to be my servant. I want you to be my husband.”

“Oh,” Shining kept going back to a smirk. “I didn't mean 'my princess' as in 'I'm your servant.' I meant 'my princess' as in 'you're my personal property.'”

Cadance playfully punched him as she laughed. “Very well,” she snorted at the end of her laugh. “What does 'Master' wish me to do?”

Shining Armor put on a painfully fake accent of high-brow royalty. “Accompany him to the cove, of course, where she will find him a most unique seashell to be kept as a memento of this quite excellent voyage!”

The princess saluted with a stern expression.

“No, no,” Shining corrected. “You're not my inferior officer. You're my pet!”

“Woof!” Cadance pretended to bark.

Shining facehoofed. “No...nevermind. Let's just go.”

“Woof!” his wife barked again and followed him to the room's sliding glass door that lead out into the back garden.

“You know,” he commented to her as they stepped out, “Cady the Dog has a pretty cute bark.”

The two purple irises of the following alicorn lit with a fire. “Meow!” she mewled in contest to his claim.

Shining Armor froze just where the path began leading to the cove-like area of their island. He turned around slowly. “Ca...dy?”

“-the Cat,” she finished for him and started nuzzling him not unlike the way a feline might. She meowed again.

Shining failed to continue towards their destination.

“What's the matter, Master?” Cadance pretended to enunciate her words in the most feline manner she could. “Cat got your tongue?”

Just as he opened his mouth to reply, the mare stole her chance. She kissed him hungrily, not missing the opportunity to play on her own words about the tongue. When she finally slipped hers out of his mouth, she licked his face.

“Do I make a good cat?” she purred.

“Forget cats and dogs,” he breathed heavy before kissing her back just as strongly. It was a good minute before he let them separate again.

“We-” Cadance panted for air, “we're never going to get to that cove are we?”

“Possibly not,” he panted back. “But it can go pound sand. I'd much prefer kissing my beautiful princess.”

“Not your pet anymore?”

“Baby,” he half-lidded his eyes, “you could never be a pet to me.”

“Even if I wanted to be?” she returned his expression with her own.

The stallion sighed and then swept his wife up in a single swing of his forehooves. She gave an “eep” in surprise. “Do we need to go back inside?” he laughed.

“No, no,” she played coy. “Take me to the cove. I really do want to see it. It looked interesting – by what I can see from the lounge anyway.”

He didn't argue, but he did toss her up to land on his back. “Hold on,” he warned her in his normally strong voice as he reared up and started galloping down the path to the cove.

Cadance locked her forehooves around his neck and extended her wings to stabilize herself. Lush ferns and emerald green shrubs passed them by on the sides along with tall palms and thick trees. The air was humid enough to be a little on the side of uncomfortable, but Shining's speed gave them a cool refreshing breeze. As he bolted them further down the path, the sunset continued into its orange-purple stage. It was dark enough that the magic lamps set about along the path began to flicker on and cast their calm white glow onto the darkening cobblestone.

The princess had no doubt in her mind that an evening alone with her handsome husband was all she needed to forget the last of her worries, assuming a few managed to exist. And there was certainly no chance in Equestria she would let him be the sole adventurer. Nopony could outwit her when it came to a little friendly fun...or romantic fun for that matter.

6 - Water At Night

The sun was gone. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza tried not to think that, somewhere in Equestria, her aunt had lowered it to make room for Luna's moon. That was quite easy to forget considering how she was currently engaging her husband in some friendly waterlogged hide-and-seek. He was failing badly, but that was to be expected. The pink princess had been hardened into a veteran through her foalsitting years with Twilight.

The cove, as they referred to it, was a small but not tiny inlet of water that stretched towards their cottage from the west side of the island. It fell short by several hundred hooves, however. It was remarkable in that it had a naturally formed mini-labyrinth of half-submerged caverns just beneath the ground, allowing one to paddle leisurely through the maze.

Shining Armor had discovered it by mistake when they had been randomly splashing each other with water. They had been swimming along and he fell back into a waterfall that happened to have a hidden alcove behind it. That alcove also acted as an entrance to the maze. At first, Cadance had clung to him tightly in remembrance of her imprisonment in the Canterlot Caverns. But he relieved her fears as he always did, albeit in a terribly goofy manner.

The seawater was cold when they first got in but, then, most large bodies of water were cold like that. They warmed up to it and hardly noticed the temperature afterwards. Actually, it began to feel a little chilly when their soaked coats rose too high out of the water. Gentle currents wafted in from the bay to lap against them as they played.

A cyan-tinted moonlight reflected up from the water's surface. It cast back up as a marbled light onto the rough water-worn walls of the shallow but still underground maze. Cadance was near the entrance, which was the only reason why she had any natural light at all from the moon. She delved back into the twisting half-submerged corridors with the help of her pink magic light from her horn. It made an almost purple hue in combination with the water. She swam on.

This was going to be easy, she thought, as she turned a slightly slimy corner. The air was thoroughly wet, humid, and close. Moss grew at first on the walls and then gave way to algae further in. The water was too deep to touch bottom unless one dunked a few hooves distance below the surface. It was far from deep enough, though, for her to worry about drowning – assuming she was not comfortable with her swimming abilities.

She was already zeroing in on her unicorn stallion. It was all simply because she had picked up his trail from the start. He had a unique scent that no mass of algae, saltwater, or wet soil could screen from her nose. Some may call it cheating, others might call it creepy, but Cadance was proud of it. She had a mate and he could never hope to hide from her.

She may have also stuck an incantation on his flank that left a magic trail she could follow. It wasn't cheating and it totally wasn't the real reason she was having such an easy time. Totally not the reason. She had learned the spell ages ago because, as a responsible foalsitter, she knew to take precautions when playing hide-and-seek with a genius little filly. A few times she had actually had to use the magic trail against Twilight when she failed to find the filly and worried that something bad might have happened to her.

Shining Armor was around the last turn, hiding in a minor pocket in the wall. She had dimmed down her horn light and slowed her paddling so that he wouldn't know she was sneaking up on him. It was evident by his breathing that he must have thought himself to be alone. With utmost care, she slipped beneath the surface of the water and torpedoed herself around the turn, the barest amount of magic from her horn telling her where to go.

The dark and slightly murky water didn't care much for her pink light, but she was determined to ambush her husband. She wasn't that bad at holding her breath either. The earlier lesson they had from Oxygen Rush in diving had refreshed her swimming skills, making her the predator in this situation. Perhaps she could even get him to fetch her ice cream tomorrow as punishment for losing in their game of hide-and-seek. Not that she needed to win it from him. He'd get her whatever she wanted anyways.

Cadance exploded from the water, launching up and colliding with...nothing. She splashed back into the water. A second later, her head came up and her horn lit the entire passageway with a magnificent pink. She looked this way and that almost fast enough to give herself neck pain. There was no stallion around. There was, however, a magical inscription in the wall she thought Shining was nestled against. She got closer to read it.

“Beware...underestimating Sparkles...and sharks...? Huh?” she stared dumbly.

Then, without warning, something grabbed her back hooves beneath the water. She was dragged under and her light temporarily went out from the shock. By a fraction of a second, she managed to avoid swallowing any water. That, however, didn't last long. Her horn relit underwater and she would have panicked as to what had dragged her down if not for the fact that she knew the feeling of those hooves.

He was behind her now, tickling her sides to make her mouth open reflexively. Bubbles went up in volume as she lost her oxygen and writhed in hysterical laughter. No more! She wanted to say her thoughts desperately, but had no air for it. So she raced to the surface again and sputtered water out of her mouth when she reached it.

Shining Armor hugged her from behind when he joined her. They were both still panting for breath when she started her complaining.

“...had this one...coming...Cady,” Shining panted into her ear. “As if I wouldn't notice that tracking bug. Cheater.”

“...what if...you were drowning?” she tried defending.

Shining Armor laughed and shook his head in an attempt to get his wet blue mane out of his eyes. “I'm a Sparkle, remember? Teleport? Not to mention a dozen other tricks I could use...”

“I'd prefer you use those tricks on me rather than any attempt to keep yourself from drowning.”

“But I'm already drowning...in your love,” he whispered and licked her ear.

Immediately, Cadance jabbed him in the side with the back joint of a foreleg. He grunted even though it hadn't been hard enough to hurt. “I'm going to have to start writing these down,” she snarked. “The World Encyclopedia of Shining Armor's Terrible Pick-Up Lines.”

“It's not a pick-up line if you're already my wife,” he countered with a smirk. “Excuse me. I meant my princess.”

The princess turned in his grasp so that she was face-to-face with him. “Smooth,” she came back with half-lidded eyes.

“As ice,” he added. “Except if it's those jagged glaciers from the northern tundra...ask me how I know about that.”

Cadance denied him the question and instead leaned her head in against his until their foreheads met and their horns touched. She moved just enough for her horn to scrape against his. The contact began an ever-brightening glow between the spiraled protrusions. Without any reservation, she repeated the action.

“Ah,” he almost whimpered. “Cady...”

“Be careful?” she asked almost mockingly in an over-sweet tone of voice. “Oh, I remember what happens when our horns meet. True love may be our greatest weapon...but it's also...”

The mare slowed her words, making Shining forget they were floating in water in some underground maze. He had difficulty making anything out of what his senses were telling him. Cadance was moving her horn across his in gentle motions. But there was still the faint sound of grinding as each indent in the spirals scratched each other. The light intensified.

“...so very...pleasurable...” she continued.

He moaned and then forced her away.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked quickly and in concern.

“No,” he replied. “But you were making me forget how to swim,” he tacked on with a chuckle. “We'd best get somewhere we won't sink.”

Cadance nodded, kissed him quickly on the lips, and followed him out of the watery tunnel. They broke back out from behind the waterfall, the beating water refreshing their focus. The moon was now a bright full globe directly overhead, casting its serene glow upon the jungle cove.

They swam over to a part of the water near a short cliff side. It was a section on the opposite shore of the trail leading to their cottage. The water shallowed enough to be only a few hooves deep, smooth rock beneath the surface acting as the underwater flooring. A much smaller and calmer waterfall trickled down the cliff wall next to them.

“This better?” Cadance inquired. “Not going to drown here?”

Shining answered by grabbed her around the midsection and leaning her into the trickling waterfall. The cool liquid rinsed through her mane, which had already been soaked and hung limply down from her head. The water also washed over the front of her face, making her close her eyes in reflex. She felt her husband press against her, hugging her. His horn clashed with hers again, but more roughly this time. He ground it down hers.

The entire cove area was caught in a supernova of light, an even more intense version of what had occurred at their wedding. A magic aura bathed them along with the water, tendrils of the ethereal energy dancing around them happily. His face nuzzled hers while the horns slid to create sparks. Their light continued to grow until the very water immediately around them started to lift in tiny levitating droplets.

Cadance tried to let her voice come out. She wanted to tell him how much he was making her light-headed and drunk with love, but his mouth covered hers before she had the chance. This kiss was far more hungry than the others had been. Far more immediate. Far more passionate in the raw sense. It lasted an eternity.

If the princess knew what the consequences would have been for her next actions, she might have toned them down first. But she didn't know and so she stretched her wings around Shining Armor. They had already sprung out some time ago. Her forehooves locked around his neck and tried pressing him in tighter. Their horns finally slid against each other tip-to-tip and something loud rang out within the magical aura around them.

They both fell back from each other in worry.

“What was that?” the mare panicked, only now truly realizing they were surrounded in a purplish-pink magic sphere. Drops of water remained suspended in the air around them while streams of it poured down her back still pressed into the tiny waterfall.

Shining Armor paused for the wonder around them. Then he giggled like a young colt. “I think that sound was the rock. Look behind you, Cady.”

She did glance behind. What she saw was a massive crack in the cliff side that hadn't been there before. “Oops,” she joined his giggling.

“Maybe we shouldn't mess around with our weaponized love magic,” he broke into full laughter.

Cadance grabbed him again in argument. “Not a chance. It feels way too good. Let's continue.”

“We might destroy our entire island,” he grinned and rebalanced his back hooves beneath the water. The ripples echoed out into the night.

“Or put on a light show for everypony across the bay,” she returned.

His grin disappeared as he brought his face back to hers. Perhaps it was the rising temperature of his own body or the magic around them, but he felt that it wasn't as cold as it had been before. In spite of the warmth of the humidity, the contrast to the water was almost chilly. He hardly minded the temperature, though, because he was too busy with his wife.

Cadance wasn't shy in the least. She returned the kiss deeply, taking a detailed account of the inside of his mouth with her tongue. It was not, by far, the first time they had kissed like this. He matched her with his own ministrations. Rather than break for air, they carefully regulated their breathing through the exchange. They didn't need to separate for anything but their own whim.

Eventually, it did break. Shining Armor made one last scratch of his horn against hers, flicking her tip playfully at the end. “Come on, beautiful,” he breathed his words to her softly. “It'd be a waste to come here and spend all our time making out like newly weds.”

“We'll always be newly weds,” she panted back. “No matter how many anniversaries we go through.”

Shining leaned up towards her ear and felt the waterfall splash his wet mane back over his eyes. It was a little cold but somehow managed to feel good. At this point all he could see was the pink-purple glow of their magic and the blue of his mane. “Got that right,” he said. “You know where I want to be for our next anniversary, babe?”

“Hm?” she hummed in contentment against the crook of his neck.

“Wherever you are.”

She sighed in a good way and managed to peek out from one side of the water and wet mane that trailed over her face. The view she received was that of her husband's shoulder and the clear night sky behind it, bathed in their magical light. “Even in Tartarus?”

“I wouldn't even know if we were there because I'd be looking at you the whole time.”

“I can't seem to beat you at this,” she smiled.

“There's no competition when it comes to true love,” he leaned back from her, cleared the water and mane from his eyes, and beheld her beauty. A wet beauty, but he treasured her in every mode. “Maybe a little bit of fun, but never any real competition. I could never defeat you anyways.”

“No need to, Master,” she flicked her horn playfully upon his again.

“We really should get some of that swimming in before we leave,” he chuckled. “Just to say we did it in case anypony asks.”

“Quite,” Cadance agreed in joking tone and sneaked out from his position against her. She almost missed the feeling of water when she left the trickling waterfall. Curiously, the bright magic aura around them failed to disperse as she belly-flopped into the deeper part of the cove's mini-lake.

She emerged into a slow backstroke across the surface. Shining joined at her side, backstroking in perfect timing. The two kept on like that for a while, just looking up at the stars above and the moon ruling over them. The sounds of the night had quieted to the chirping of a cricket or two. The waterfalls trickled, ran, and did nothing to disrupt the peace.

Eventually, one of them broke the silence. They had bumped into each other by purpose and settled back into an upright swim. Neither was tired after all they had done.

“I almost forgot,” Shining Armor spoke up, “that we have an empire to manage when we get back.”

“That's a good thing,” Cadance added and dragged herself in against him. They were in the middle of the cove's miniature lake. “I forgot too. Let's not remember it until we leave the resort.”

The stallion leaned his head in to hers and then angled it up to the side of her horn. He breathed in near her mane and, though it was wet and heavy, he could still faintly make out the aroma she usually had about her. It was not a scent easy to describe because sometimes he thought it smelled like one thing and then the next day like another. Right now it reminded him of hibiscus. Probably had something to do with their island.

“I'd like that,” he replied and dragged her with him in the water. He was pulling her towards the shore where the cobblestone path laid. “And I want to love you more, so tell me how.”

“Keep holding me,” she answered, paddling along to assist in their swimming. “And never let go.”

“You know,” he turned thoughtful when they were halfway to the edge. “I heard of a saddle once that was made to tie two lovers together during sleep. It would keep them from separating in the night.”

“That's quite the corny story,” Cadance giggled. “But sweet.”

“It's not a story,” Shining pursed his lips. “It's real. I saw one in a store in Canterlot.”

The mare lost her words and then returned to her playful half-lidded expression. “What was my Shining Armor doing at that kind of store?”

“Huh?” he looked lost. “It was a specialty store that Twilight wanted to show me because one of her friends had a scarf that had been featured there. Apparently it was a pretty big deal.”

“Aw,” Cadance pouted at losing her jest. “Wait. You were in a specialty store with Twilight?”

The stallion obviously didn't catch why his wife was snickering. “Yeah. Why?”

“I don't know,” Cadance glanced away from him. “Must have been just a tad embarrassing. I can imagine how much you blushed when she lead you past the mare's section.”

Shining, however, was too good to be played with. “I think you need some nap time,” he rose to her jest. “You're getting all cranky. Do I need to put you to bed?”

“In the worst way,” Cadance nuzzled him.

“Some day I'll get used to that,” he grinned. “But I hope it's not any time soon.”

They both reached the shore. Unfortunately, they failed to get up to the cobblestone path before getting wet soil and loose grass on themselves. Their cottage had a shower that would take care of that and the saltwater on their coats. But before they reached the house, they had to walk back along the moodily lit path.

The island jungle around them seemed like a dark void tempting to suck them in should they fall off the walkway. Strange sounds echoed from the invisible depths of the island, one almost loud enough to scare Cadance. The princess' husband was more than supportive, though, and took every opportunity he could to rile her up only to get her to cling to him more.

They were back inside the King's Land cottage in short order. It was a good thing that the shower was big enough for two. Cadance waged war with him over the soap bar and it was best not even to mention the massacre that occurred over the shampoo bottle.

7 - Boardwalk

Shining Armor awoke with a groan. He knew it was very late in the morning because the sun shone maniacally through their bedroom window wall. It had a massive curtain that could be dragged from either side, but neither of them had closed it before going to bed. And they sure as Tartarus weren't going to get up to close it right that second.

The bed felt just as nice as it had the previous night. Resort staff had obviously cleaned the sheets because they hadn't lost a molecule of freshness. Not that he payed that close attention to their smell. His face was currently pressed into his wife's neck. That was where he had last left it. Probably. She was criminally soft, so he didn't pursue the point.

“What time is it?” Cadance mumbled groggily with eyes closed.

“Do you care?” he asked in reply.

Her answer was non-hesitant. “Not one bit.”

Shining yawned and pulled himself away from her so that he could stretch. His body was too rested to sleep any more. “I think it's time for breakfast...or lunch...it's time for a meal. That's what I'm trying to say.”

Cadance's pink coat and feathers made a pleasant accent to the snow white sheets and pillows. Shining felt too much like he blended in. He wasn't trying to camouflage himself. It reminded him of a particular incident in his youth involving a pillow fight with a miniature Twilight Sparkle. Cadance had taken the filly's side in the war.

The pink alicorn princess gave a disappointed moan due to his removed warmth. She somehow managed to convince her sleepy body to roll over onto him. “Yeah, I could eat,” she told him from her new position above, her eyes finally half open.

The slightly more awake husband blew upwards to get her messy mane out of his face. “If you get off, I can go into the lounge and order us some food.”

“Will you feed me once we get it?”

Shining gave a short chuckle and cocked a brow. “Why? Are your hooves broken?”

She smiled but laid her head down across his chest. “Yeah, I think they are.”

“No problem,” he patted her back. “I can spoon feed my poor little princess.”

“No,” she denied. “No spoon. Mouth to mouth.”

The stallion finally laughed and proceeded to dump her off of himself. She rolled across the mattress and cocooned herself in the sheets while in the process. He got himself out of bed and started towards the door to the lounge. “That's embarrassing even when we're alone,” he commented.

“Hey, Shiny!” Cadance called to him from her self made prison of sheets. “Look!”

Shining turned back for a moment to look. What he saw was all of the sheets tightly wound around his wife. Only her pink head and multi-hued mane were stuck out of one end. Her tail was sticking out the other side.

“I'm a love burrito,” she said with half-lidded eyes and in an entirely serious mood.

Prince Shining Armor facehoofed.

The food was served to them by a resort employee who arrived ridiculously fast after Shining had placed their meal order. They both expressed their thanks and Cadance prevented her husband from tasting any of the delicious-looking food before the employee left. The meal choice itself was Shining's idea. It was an exotic dish they had once tried and liked, though neither could remember the foreign country where it came from. It had a bizarre name.

They were alone again, both seated at the lounge counter. The hot food sat before them on two plates. Somehow, Shining Armor guessed the plate separation would hardly be relevant. Cadance was looking to him expectantly and was obviously under the impression that the food conveyance method was still on.

“Mouth to mouth,” she repeated. It wasn't necessary.

“I know,” he sighed in relent.

To make things easy, she was seated on his side of the counter and already had her mouth slightly open. It unnerved him a bit even though they were married. No matter how much he had kissed those irresistible lips, the idea of transferring food that way just made his face burn red. She had meant for him to use only his teeth to hold the food, so it was hardly a stomach-turning method. The crisped apple slices wouldn't even really be touching his mouth...

He turned to the plate. The specially prepared circular apple slices were laughing at him. At least they seemed to be laughing at him. They were making fun of him because he couldn't do something that should have been far less embarrassing than a hundred things he had already done with his wife.

Cadance kept her expectant if patient look and he leaned down to the plate to oblige her. Careful not to touch the slice with his mouth and only grab it with his teeth, he took the closest one. This was the easy part. Now came the hard part. He had to get in her face as if they were kissing...only transferring an apple slice instead.

He had once played a party game like this. It had been at one of Twilight's birthdays. The young filly had insisted they play and he only suspected afterwards that his little sister had planned the whole thing as a romantic setup for him and Cadance. He tried not to remember her creepy scheming laugh again.

Was he sweating? His focus was wobbly and his heart was pounding. More than anything else, it was probably due to the fact that he wasn't practiced at this. They had kissed so many times that he was confident in it - perhaps even arrogantly so. But he was now feeling the nervousness of their first kiss. What if he messed up? He'd feel so ashamed.

Their faces were nearly touching nose-to-nose. He angled his mouth slightly upwards and felt a vague tug. The piece of apple had been grabbed and was in her mouth now. She munched and swallowed as if it were the most casual thing on the planet. They backed away from each other again.

“Thanks, honey,” she beamed. “But you don't have to do that again. I had no idea it would make you freak out like that.”

His face still felt hot. “Sorry,” he mumbled almost incoherently.

“For what?” she almost moaned the question. “For being adorable?”

Shining Armor gulped and fidgeted his forehooves together. He couldn't take it any more and so dove his attention into their meal, eating it normally. It was delicious and especially so because it gave him a distraction from his own embarrassment. It had been a while since he had this kind of food. The exotic seasoning was savory, making his mouth water up for the next bite.

Cadance did the same, though it was hard for her to come down from her emotional high. She stared at her husband while she ate. There was no need to remind herself how much she loved him and certainly no need to avoid eye contact like some shy filly with a crush. She loved him and he knew it. Perhaps some would call it redundant, but she never did. Love was a part of her cutie mark - her destined talent. She never grew bored of it, just as she never grew bored of looking at her stallion.

“Something on my face?” he finally asked with a half-full mouth.

“Yeah,” she stuck out her tongue after she finished her meal. “You.”

“Ha ha,” Shining faked a laugh. “What did you want to do today?”

The mare closed her eyes for a second in concentration. “Didn't you owe me something from yesterday...?”

The blue-maned prince scrunched his face up. He didn't remember anything like that. “I don't-”

“Ice cream!” Cadance almost shouted upon recollection. Her eyes shot open and she leaned over to her husband. “You owe me ice cream!”

Shining looked one way and then the other for the missing punchline. “For what, honey? Did I lose a bet or something?”

She flicked his horn with her forehoof.

“Ow,” he flinched.

“You're supposed to butter me up with ice cream. That's how you win a girl's heart,” she lectured.

“By buying ice cream?” he doubted.

“Yes.”

“But I already have your heart,” he argued. “And I can butter you up whenev-”

Cadance saved her reasoning by sticking her forehoof in his mouth. That quieted him. “How about we just take a leisurely stroll around the boardwalk and plaza. We can both have ice cream.”

He nodded from beneath her hoof. Just as she removed it, he gave the underside a quick kiss. It made her shudder due to the unexpectedness and, before they left the cottage, she managed to return the gesture.

They had parked the Hydro Star at the Beach 6 dock, which was packed with boats. The Plaza had everything from restaurants to a shopping center. A wooden boardwalk stretched out to the bay and had various vendor stands set up along it. A few sold ice cream, which was their first stop.

“Isn't it a little early for ice cream?” Shining Armor asked as they walked up to one of the small stands along the side of the over-the-water walkway.

“It's almost noon,” Cadance countered. “We need to spoil our lunch so we won't spend a bunch of money at one of those restaurants.”

“But everything is free for us,” he remarked.

Cadance stopped in her tracks, causing him to do the same. She pursed her lips. “Why do you keep killing my arguments? It's almost as if you're the smartest stallion in the world or something.”

Shining picked up on his wife's humor without even thinking about it, grinning in the process. He got closer to her so he could grab her and drag her towards the ice cream stand. “Let's just get your ice cream, my little arguer.”

There was a peach-coated unicorn at the stand wearing an apron. She smiled in that completely business-oriented manner, though a tick of nervousness wavered at the corners. She had noticed, after glancing a few times at the approaching couple, that they were the rulers of the Crystal Empire. No sweat. She just had to make this sale go flawlessly. Well, technically it wasn't a “sale” since the product was free for special guests such as them...

Shining Armor was foremost to the metal counter of the stand, his wife just a tad further back at his side. He glanced at the available flavors displayed on the counter beneath the glass topping. The initial exchange of “hello” had already been made and the sales mare was going into some talk about new flavors and top favorites.

Cadance smiled at her and decided that she rather liked the curly style of her orange mane. It was cute and it went well with her slightly freckled face. The blue apron didn't blend with her as well, but it was just typical business attire anyways. The unicorn mare's horn lit with an orange-yellow magic as she readied a pair of ice cream cones.

“Let's go with some fruit flavors for now,” Shining began as he finished scanning the options. “Real Strawberry and Tangerine Tangent. One scoop each.”

“R-right up,” the young mare confirmed in a slightly country voice.

Cadance looked to her stallion. “Which one do I get?”

“Whichever one you want,” he smiled. “I thought fruit would be lighter and keep us from any stomach aches before lunch.”

“Order,” the unicorn nervously blurted as she placed the finished cones on the counter top. Red and orange. Cadance had to admit that they looked delightful. Each scoop was perfectly round and perched atop each cone.

When Shining began to take them up in his blue levitation magic, the orange-yellow glow of the mare's almost didn't release in time. One of the cones nearly tipped the scoop onto the ground. Almost.

“S-sorry,” she practically teared up.

Cadance was first to reassure the girl. “It's okay, sweetie. Thank you very much for getting these for us.”

The mare nodded, apparently too embarrassed to reply.

The two royals walked away with their final thanks and Shining couldn't help but remark when they were out of earshot. “She sure was young. Summer job?”

“No doubt,” Cadance responded. “The poor girl. She looked ready to cry.”

“She'll be fine. It always cheers me up when you smile at me.”

They both walked side by side towards the end of the long wooden boardwalk. They got farther out over the water of the bay and the sea breeze continued to strengthen and freshen. The sun may have been high over their heads, but it wasn't as hot on the walkway as it was down on the beach. They both were careful to tend to their ice cream cones before any melted and drizzled down the sides.

“Mm,” Cadance hummed as she licked around the sides of the strawberry ice cream levitating in her grasp. “It's been a while since I've had some that wasn't artificial flavoring. There are real fruit pieces in this.”

“Good?” Shining asked as they slowed and stopped at the final edge of the boardwalk. They could look down to the deep water below.

Cadance hummed again to express her answer while her husband continued tending to his tangerine ice cream. At some point several licks later, she extended one of her wings to Shining's back. One of her hooves slid over to his as well.

“Are we going to walk down the beach or something?” she later asked, half done with her cone.

“I was thinking we'd walk around the shops first.”

That was when Cadance took first conscious notice of the number of ponies around the plaza. She looked back and saw what had to be at least a few hundred walking around the shopping plaza. Dozens were on the boardwalk, milling about and visiting some of the vendor carts. She was thankful she didn't recognize any of them. This was a vacation and she didn't want to go into any formalities.

“Your highnesses,” said a voice from her other side.

Cadance almost dropped her ice cream. She saw, upon turning to face the pony owning the voice, that her hope had been crushed. It only made sense that some of the ponies visiting the resort would be crystal ponies. Shining Armor was already handling the male subject.

The green-coated crystal pony bowed to the prince, who exchanged words with him and blessed him on his way. Whoever it was seemed very happy when he left, almost as if he had gotten an autograph from somepony famous.

Shining Armor shook his head. “I wonder if this is going to happen often,” he commented.

“I'll handle any mares if it happens again,” Cadance offered. “Thanks for deflecting that so quickly, by the way.”

“Yeah, but I don't think it's a skill I'm proud of,” he leaned in to peck her on the cheek. “Your ice cream is dripping.”

Cadance swung her head back sharply at the cone hovering just a hoof from her side. Any closer and it would have dripped on her feathers. “Oh, right,” she went back to finishing it.

An audible crunch was made when Shining bit into the cone, all ice cream depleted. There was a thin wrapper around the bottom that he removed so he could eat the rest of it. Said wrapper was caught in a sudden upturn of wind and escaped his low-level magic grip. Cadance went wide-eyed at first as the wrapper started out to sea and then grinned when she saw a pinch of magic alter its course. It twirled on the breeze and landed in a trash can on one side of the boardwalk.

“Score,” the stallion beamed to himself.

Cadance finished her snack and more carefully transported her wrapper to the can. “Come on, Shiny,” she beckoned. “We have ground to cover.”

The prince's heavy hooves made a beat against the wooden planks when he followed energetically after her. Cadance noticed, when they passed it the second time, that the ice cream stand they had gotten their snack from was now swamped with ponies. The young mare behind the counter was frantically providing for orders.

This was the time that Oxygen Rush had talked about when she mentioned the opening rush. There were unicorns, pegasi, Earth ponies, griffons, and mules about in great number and color. As the royal couple came down from the slightly raised level of the boardwalk, it was apparent that the streets were even more closely packed than they had seemed at a distance. Shining lead the way and had to almost squeeze them through to get to the other side.

The day seemed to get hotter due to all of the warm bodies and there was less breeze now that they were off the ocean and beach. Great cobblestone pathways made a spiderweb through the plaza and were obviously well worn from travelers treading upon them. In front of them, besides the many ponies, was a useful directory board. Others crowded around it and pointed at various points of interest.

“Should we just let ourselves be dragged around by the current?” Cadance laughed.

“I don't want to end up in a lingerie shop, thank you,” he joked back. Then he looked more seriously to the directory. “Second left will be a nice stroll around the plaza. It's the scenic route, so there aren't as many ponies there.”

His wife put in her agreement. She honestly hadn't meant to visit any place in particular. There was plenty enough time in their stay to go anywhere they wanted. It would probably be best to try the shops after the initial rush was over. That was how she reasoned it anyways.

Shining Armor shouldered his way through the crowd with his wife close behind. After breaking out of the thickest portions, they found their way onto the lesser-worn cobblestone path that circled around the plaza on the outside. It rose to an incline and they could see that it eventually got high enough in relation to the plaza to give a far-reaching view of it.

As they walked down the far less busy walkway, Cadance stretched her wing over Shining's back again. Side by side they strolled without a care in the world. Well, without any care besides each other, that is.

8 - Going Out

Days went by and, though sunrise and sunset blended together in a vague sense, neither of the royals thought it was a bad thing. They were having the time of their lives in a paradise without the smallest worry to bother them. This was actually the first time that either of them had felt so free. Shining Armor had grown up nearly as much a perfectionist as his little sister and always worried about his duties in the Royal Guard. Cadance had likewise always worried about her princess-related obligations and political performance.

The two were having as much fun as could likely be possible at the Hello Tropics resort. Currently, the two were engaging in an activity that would have been ill-advised should it have been any other pair. They were paddleboarding near Beach 5 and were doing so atop a special two-pony board. The resort staff had warned that it was incredibly difficult to master due to the scientific balance required, not to mention the teamwork involved.

Shining Armor was laughing himself silly as they paddled further out from the beachfront. The day was bright, the air was invigorating, and the water was cool. He and his wife were sporting a pair of goggles that had come with their diving suits, though they weren't wearing the suits presently. Reflected light from the water's surface was easily filtered out by the shading on the goggles they both wore.

Cadance tried to get more comfortable, but they were sandwiched so close together that movement had to be calculated or else they'd dump themselves off the board. “What's so funny?” she asked, her voice stiff from concentration.

“We're acing this, Cady!” he replied enthusiastically. “Loosen up. You're tense.”

“I wonder wh-” the alicorn mare stopped and righted herself before she could slip off the side of the board. “They weren't kidding when they said it was hard. Maybe we should have started with the single boards.”

“Single?!” Shining gawked. “We're married, Cady. I'm not leaving you.”

Though Cadance rolled her eyes, she did crack a small smile at his obsessive loyalty. “Nor I, but we may have bitten off more than we can chew.”

“Marriage isn't supposed to be a walk in the park.”

“No,” she rolled her eyes as she continued to stroke her right hoof through the water to propel them. “I meant the paddleboard.”

Shining Armor dismissed the notion and stroked the water on his side. “I've got an alicorn princess with me. What could go wrong?”

“Being an alicorn makes the situation safe? I'm not seeing your logic,” she said and wanted to nudge him. The action was put on hold since it would have dumped them over the side. “I suppose you think auntie would be incapable of falling off one of these.”

“Princess Celestia,” Shining Armor beamed. “Yeah, imagine her and Luna trying to do this.”

Cadance couldn't hold back the giggle-inducing thought. “That would be the most priceless thing to happen in the history of Equestria.”

In an effort to distract themselves from their gradual loss of confidence, Shining proceeded with the topic. “They'd have to make...” the stallion trailed as they fought to recover from a near capsize. “They'd have to make a paddleboard just for them. Since the Princess is so big and all.”

The pink pony licked her lips subconsciously as her hoof moved through the cool deep water. The rick blue and decline of transparency was testament to how far out they had gotten. Though the wind and water were mostly calm, a few drafts continued to threaten their balance.

“Big? You calling auntie fat?” Cadance played.

“I mean 'big' as in 'tall,'” he corrected. “She has a very nice...”

The mare caught that he trailed again because he was focusing on stabilizing against a small wave. Still, she couldn't help but tease. “Nice what? Have you been looking over my aunt?”

“Never,” he retorted quickly. “You know I only have eyes for one alicorn at a time. By the way, we're losing this thing.”

“Yeah,” Cadance admitted along with him. “Here comes a big wave. You ready to swim?”

“Wait! I've got an idea!”

She knew that tone in his voice. It always meant he had some silly couldn't-possibly-work scheme racing through his mind. Temporary increases to ego were common in such circumstances, especially with the more ridiculous ideas.

“No time to explain,” he continued. “Come closer to my side until you're in the center of the board.”

“But-”

“Quick!”

She did as he instructed, fully believing they would topple even before the wave reached them. As far as waves were concerned, this coming one was tame almost to the point of not being a wave. However, their lack of raw skill didn't allow them to endure much. She moved and found that he shifted when she did so.

A thin spray of seawater came up at her face and goggles as she moved to the center of the board. The sensation that she took greater note of, though, was Shining Armor's body moving atop hers. It was a very familiar sensation, but she noticed more for the fact that his body warmth was a contrast to the cool waters. She would have hummed in contentment if it weren't for the rocking of the paddleboard and the imminent doom they faced.

“Spread your wings,” the prince commanded the princess.

Having nothing better planned besides flailing off the board - which they would probably do anyways - she obeyed his instruction even while he settled his hooves around her. Two pink wings with purple tinting were stretched to either side above the water. There was a lightening feeling coming from a blue magic aura that Shining had begun forming around the board.

“Hey,” Cadance called out from below. “I thought we weren't going to cheat.”

“It's not cheating if you don't know proper water-handling spells.”

Her husband's words only began to register in her mind when the wave hit them. The blue magic encasing them glowed a little brighter and seawater washed through it as their board tilted up from the rolling hill of liquid. The taste of it became prominent in her mouth when she opened it at the wrong moment, easily catching water from her position at the board's tip.

“What's that supposed to mean?” was her question that was lost in the sound of the crashing water and Shining Armor's holler of excitement.

The prince stretched his forelegs outwards when their board tipped to the peak of the wave. Momentum from the collision allowed his weight to begin lifting from the board and Cadance's back, which almost caused him to fall into the water. The mare relented to herself that the surge really was invigorating.

“Woohoo!” he shouted to the sunny sky.

Just as Cadance began opening her mouth to add her voice in, the blue magic flickered and then frizzed out entirely. Shining Armor only managed half a curse before everything went to pot. The stallion fell away from the board towards the right, the mare tumbled off to the left, and the board itself shot from beneath them like a rocket.

Two loud splashes and a more reserved skipping sounded off as the three items found their places in the ocean. A moment of quiet serenity passed, seagulls squawking in the sky without a care in the world. It passed quick, though, and was interrupted by two heads bursting back from beneath the surface. One was pink and the other white. They both began laughing.

“We're pretty terrible at this, huh?” Shining laughed and half-choked on seawater.

“Practice makes perfect,” she added in. “Maybe if we perfect that spell of yours. It was working well until the end.”

“I don't know,” he doubted and began splashing her with water while keeping himself afloat. “You called me a cheater.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

The wet and swimming mare turned back to her go-to half-lidded expression. “I know you never cheat on me, Shiny. Not when I always give you everything you want.”

Shining Armor's mouth opened a bit, but no sound came out.

Cadance smirked, swam up to his face, and placed a warm kiss on his lips. “We should probably get the board before it's too far away.”

Shining shook his head to clear it and joined her in heading towards the disloyal paddleboard that had dumped them. “I'd forget the board if it meant another minute to kiss.”

“But you're guessing we'll do plenty of that after getting back tonight,” his wife finished his unspoken thought. “Drowning certainly doesn't improve the duration of our future private time.”

The physically larger stallion bumped her side as they swam next to each other. “What happened to having innocent fun?” he chuckled. “What are we supposed to tell ponies when they ask us what we did on our vacation?”

“Lie,” she said simply and calmly.

The evenness of her tone made him laugh even harder as he grabbed the drifting board and attempted to climb it. His mare read his moves and timed her climb from the other side. Soon the white and pink royals were battling once more to balance the board with them on it.

“Seriously,” she smiled at him, a mere hoof's distance from his own face. “We've done plenty and will do plenty more 'innocent' things before our stay is up.”

“Like what?” he narrowed his eyes in concentration as they paddled in opposite directions to turn the board towards the shore. They almost flipped themselves off of it for the millionth time.

“Like paddleboarding,” she answered and managed by sheer skill to flop her wet tail over his.

“Successful paddleboarding,” he returned. “We'll lie and leave out the part where we cheated and failed.”

“That's my hubby,” Cadance beamed.

After the large board was returned to the Beach 5 center, the pair was sufficiently tired and ready for a relaxing lunch. Feeling the need to melt into a nice sit-down place, they wound up going to Hello Tropic's niche restaurant pavilion at Beach 6. It was a short drive on their custom mini-ship, so Shining thankfully didn't pass out.

The walk was perhaps a tad long, but the end point was worth it. The restaurant they went into was the one that seemed most low-key with dim natural lighting and open air. It was on the far side of the plaza, where the artificial paths bled off into natural rock and beach sand. The dining location was nestled into a crack that a beach cliff had adorning it. They were lead by the “front-door” waiter through the open sky canyon, passing little trickles of water pouring down the sides and filtering back along the edges towards the ocean.

Ferns somehow managed to knife themselves into the crags along the cliff walls. Small tropical trees waved overhead in the breeze at the top edges of the canyon, casting gentle shadows on the ponies below. A colorful exotic bird was jumping from branch to branch on the plants, following them along the path and singing a cheerful but calm tune. All in all, it was just the kind of serene atmosphere they both needed after being defeated by the sea.

“We,” the blue-vested waiter continued his talk, “have reserved the best tables for such esteemed guests as yourselves. Would you like the alcove or the terrace?”

Cadance glanced to her husband.

“The terrace,” Shining shrugged. He figured both would be nice and he liked the sea breeze, so the higher-up terrace would likely be a refreshing place to be seated.

“Perfect,” the server stallion soothed in a tone tinted with corporate training. “If you would simply follow me.”

They took a turn to the right a few steps ahead and entered a cave entrance in the canyon side. Or, at least, it looked like a cave entrance at first. It turned out that it only seemed dark because the outside was so bright from the midday sun. The tunnel-like place was lit sufficiently by theme-oriented torches along the walls. A craggy stone stairwell came up quickly, which they climbed in a spiraling direction.

Natural light flooded their eyes when they reached the top of the stairs and exited back out of the canyon wall. Their hooves were now clopping against the raw rock of a raised outcropping. In a way, it really was like a terrace. It was part of the beach canyon side that reached out and hung over the ground-level path below. The distance seemed to be a good two-stories or so up in the themed restaurant, which was now recognizable as such. Tables previously hidden from sight could be seen below, filled with ponies, griffons, mules, and others.

The bird that had followed them before was now resting on a branch of the sole tree nestled on the edge of their terrace. It was barely on the inside of the stone railing along the lip, which was all shaped to appear natural. The table and chairs were likewise, though the mass of plush cushions couldn't manage it. The restaurant was apparently willing to relent on the theme in the interest of keeping top clientèle comfortable.

“Please make yourselves at home,” the waiter gestured to the seats, which the royals took slowly due to their fatigue. “A waitress will be with you shortly to take your drink orders.”

They both thanked him courteously before he left back into the tunnel-like stairwell that was the only way to the terrace. When the couple fully sank into the massive ocean blue cushions, they both sighed in relaxation. Their tone and timing was so similar that they couldn't help but stare and then laugh at the moment.

“They say married couples that are close for a long time eventually end up identical to each other,” Cadance smiled and then looked to the menu before her on the smooth stone table.

“Can't argue,” he commented and also looked at the menu. “Especially when you make my face turn pink all the time.”

A long moment passed as they both scanned the listed lunch items.

“Everything looks good,” Cadance sighed again when she found she was indecisive. “I don't know what I want.”

“I recommend the Seasoned Seaweed,” a tiny female voice drifted over the air and startled the two royals.

The prince and princess looked to the side of the table to find a small fuchsia unicorn mare standing with an order notepad levitating in a near-pink magical aura. She was small enough that she could have passed for a teen on the left side of the age scale. There was, however, a white apron on her with the restaurant's rocky emblem on it.

“Um,” Cadance blinked. “Are you...”

“Your waitress?” the small mare finished in her equally quiet and small voice. “Yes, ma'am. I'm just petite, not underage for work. I get that question a lot.”

The waitress' attached smile made the couple relax.

“The Seasoned Seaweed is baked into a crispy perfection with spices and butter that will make you want seconds. I've had it myself on several occasions. But you can keep looking at the menus if you want because I'm just here to take your drink orders. Take as much time as you need.”

“Wow,” Shining rose a brow. “Well then. How about two orders of that and some strawberry lemonade for drinks. Tea with the meal. Just normal black.”

“Done,” the miniature mare beamed. “I'm Star Reach, by the way. You can call me anytime by pushing that button over there.”

Cadance followed her pointing hoof to a button on the terrace railing. “Sophisticated,” she remarked.

“I'll go get your drinks,” she concluded while a pen finished writing on the floating notepad via magical grip.

The couple watched in awe as she left as soundlessly as she had come.

“Must be very light,” Cadance concluded.

“She is small,” Shining added.

Cadance returned her attention to her husband and closed her menu on the table. “How'd you know I wanted all the same stuff as you?”

“Remember what you just said about becoming identical?”

The pink alicorn stuck her tongue out and flippantly waved a hoof at him. “Silly me.”

Their accompanying bird on the tree limb decided the moment was right for a change of tune. It chirped a slightly more energetic song that matched with the sound of the wind and waves they had gotten used to. The creature appeared to brighten even more when Cadance tossed it a warm smile.

“I wonder if it's trained,” Shining's mouth line turned lop-sided in thought.

“No doubt,” his wife agreed. “Could be one of those birds Fluttershy trained. Remember the ones at our wedding?”

“How could I forget?” he shook his head. “It was one memorable moment.”

Cadance's mood fell a bit, but she tried to perk it back up. “The music was lovely, though.”

“Indeed,” he saw her caring look and kept himself from turning sour in remembrance. “They were beautiful at it.”

“Drinks,” came the small voice from before.

This time, Shining Armor nearly fell out of his seat from surprise. “Great Celestia,” he let slip.

Cadance blurted as she held back a laugh. “That was...immediate,” she directed her words to their returned waitress.

The unicorn levitated two large strawberry lemonades to their places on the table. “I try to be timely.”

“I think you gave my poor Shiny a heart attack,” Cadance grinned.

“My apologies, sir,” she bowed.

Shining tried gesturing for her not to do so. “No, no. I just didn't hear you come up. Did you have to run to get back here? I mean, that was really fast.”

“This restaurant prides itself on a revolutionary new kitchen and delivery system that makes modern use of unicorn magic,” she explained. “I would certainly not run up any stairs with drinks in hoof - or magic. Your food is cooking and will be ready soon.”

The pair gave their thanks before the waitress left again. The bird had continued singing throughout, though it respectfully lowered its volume whenever conversation was ongoing. The sun coming down into the elegant beach canyon kept their cushions warm so that every movement they made let them discover a freshly heated part of their seating.

Cadance took a sip of her lemonade and squealed conservatively at the perfection of it. Shining, on the other hoof, looked at his forlornly.

“What?” she asked after leaning back.

He turned sad. “I was kind of hoping for one of those straws that spirals into a heart. So we could share...”

That only made his mare coo. It was nice to hear something romantic from him every now and then. He really was a softer stallion than most ponies realized. All the better since he was all hers anyways. “I can still take a sip from mine and share it with you mouth-to-mouth.”

Now he blushed.

“Sorry,” she backpedaled. “I forgot it makes you nervous. How about we think of something else? Like what we're doing tonight, for example.”

The pink drained a bit from his cheeks, but Shining Armor didn't hesitate too much with his response. “How about we try the hot springs? We've got a private pool and I bet it's super relaxing under the stars and lamplights.”

“I think 'romantic' would be more the definition,” Cadance rested her head on her forehooves she had propped back onto the table. “I couldn't imagine anything better. Let's do it.”

9 - Bubbles

They waited until it was well enough into the night for the sun's afterglow to be gone and the stars to be bright pinpricks of light. It was one thing to drive the Hydro Star during the day and it was quite another to steer it by night. Shining Armor felt a tad uncomfortable at first, but gained confidence after a solid minute. The exterior lights were more than sufficient and the forward viewing glass on the cockpit was so large and clear that he could see everything with maximum clarity.

Few other craft were out on the water and the ones he did see were properly lit with running lights. They were all very far away, anyhow. The waves of the night were not much different than those of the day, but the current seemed more pronounced for some reason. It must have been a trick of the lighting. The moon was bright and helped cast a pale glow over the tropical bay.

“I hope I don't fall asleep while we're in,” Cadance commented while nuzzling him on the cheek. It made him want to stop the ship so that he could focus on returning the affection rather than steering the craft.

“I'll make sure you don't. I've still got a good amount of energy,” Shining Armor nodded in self-assurance. “Dinner was invigorating.”

“I'll admit that the Saddle Arabian entrées were a tad spicy,” she smiled at the recollection. Her lips were still faintly burning from the intensity.

The white stallion steered the ship carefully against the dock and heard the mooring click. “Not as spicy as you,” he grinned and bumped her flank with his own.

“Let's go before I ravish you the way I did that glass of water after I took the first flaming bite,” she said while using a wing to stroke her husband's back. He shivered and gave his own coltish giggle at the mental imagery.

The two exited their ship while laughing at their own humor. It was all they needed.

The hot springs were just as they had seen them upon the orientation, but the nighttime only served to give the ruined-theme building a more striking appearance. The jungle-like look that crowded around the ancient stones was dramatic in the darkness and moonlight. Vines stretching across the rock seemed ominous and yet less than scary.

The rulers of the Crystal Empire walked happily through the ruin's wooden door and found the lighting inside to be a little better. Candles were burning on saucers mounted into the walls. Hardly noticeable in the daytime, they now served as islands of light in the dark sea of each room.

Shining Armor hadn't forgotten the general direction of the place and so they quickly got to the half-outside area that was home to the hot spring stalls. A few ponies were about, making the place less eerie than it would have been had they been completely alone. Nevertheless, they'd have their privacy in their sectioned off high-quality stall. It was really more of an entire open-air room. The term “stall” did it no justice at all.

The soil came beneath their hooves again as they stepped around the hilly area. Cobblestone flooring kept appearing and disappearing along with the ruin's walls. It was hard to tell that the grass was green due to the mix of darkness, moonlight, and candlelight. It waved in the night air and crunched beneath their hooves all the same.

Shining Armor took a deep breath of the clean hot spring scent while he opened the door to their area. Cadance accepted the offer to go in first but grabbed her stallion with her magic the second he closed the door behind them. She kissed him immediately on the lips.

“Ah, ah,” Shining waved at his lips when they parted.

“I didn't lick my lips because I wanted to give you a little surprise,” Cadance laughed and kept holding him. Her magic had dissipated, but she still secured their bodies together because her forelegs locked around his neck.

“You're cruel,” Shining stuck his tongue out. The hot spices from their dinner had been partially transferred from her lips to his, a playful but rather deadly trick on Cadance's part. “Why'd I have to marry such a beast?”

“Oh, I'm the beast?” the princess' right eye winked at him. “We'll just see about that.”

Shining Armor took his revenge by lifting his wife's entire body in his blue aura. Her face went blank wondering what he was going to do. Though she had been moved over the hot bubbling pool of water, she didn't worry about coming into contact with it. The hot springs would be carefully regulated by the resort staff to prevent scalding temperatures.

“The night is young and so are we,” he waxed poetic with eyes lowered in a suggestive manner.

He stepped up to the edge of the dark stone of the pool. It angled downwards gently, but he still watched his hooves as he walked in. Cadance was lowered with his magic until she was released to her own hooves again. They didn't make a sound as they touched the deep bottom of the hot spring. She had been handled as carefully as her husband always handled her.

“I thought you were going to drop me,” she pouted with her head above the surface. She had said it almost as if she had wanted him to do it.

“I considered it at first,” he answered and waded over to her. It wasn't deep enough for him to have to swim, but the water still came up to the spot a little over halfway up his neck. “Then I reconsidered. I didn't want even the smallest chance that you'd be hurt, dear.”

“Call me that again,” Cadance beamed and wrapped her forehooves around his neck once more. The combined temperature of the water and their close-proximity was nearly to the point of being feverish. She didn't mind the warmth at all.

“My one and only,” he said instead, voice dripping with cheesy flattery.

The pink princess cooed. “I usually wouldn't mind if others heard it...but I'll admit that it would be really embarrassing if anypony found out what we talk about when we're alone.”

“Why?” Shining Armor grinned his signature look. “Too cheesy?”

That was one more of a thousand reasons she loved her stallion. He had no illusion regarding the way his words sounded.

“Cheesy words from an honest heart,” she remarked, “are better than flawless prose from a lukewarm soul.”

“Now who's being poetic?” he laughed. Before she could respond, he dove in for another kiss. He held it and Cadance had to gasp for air when their wet mouths parted.

“I didn't prepare that line ahead of time,” she disclaimed.

“I figured as much,” Shining tossed his head one way to get his wet strands of mane off his face. “You're just perfect without even trying to be.”

The portion of the female alicorn that was exposed above the water – mostly her head – was starting to get a tad too warm. The blushing probably wasn't helping. She lead her Shining Armor halfway out so that she could feel the night air refresh her. That was the moment that they both laid down next to each other, the water being shallow enough to allow it without their heads dunking beneath the surface.

Shining looked to the clear night starscape and the steam of their hot spring wafting up towards it. “This is incredible,” he commented in a tone of awe.

Cadance, on the other hoof, was directing her attention to the neatly kept tropical plants decorating their walled hot spring. The lit lanterns scattered about were casting a romantic glow on everything in addition to the natural moonlight. She sighed in contentment and leaned heavily against her strong stallion's side.

“Yes, it is,” she agreed simply. “It reminds me of our little cove back at the island.”

“Except it's not so cold,” he smirked at her.

“Yes. This place is hot,” she agreed once more. Her eyes shifted into a sultry mode that Shining knew all to well. “Incredibly hot...”

Shining rolled his eyes playfully. “You have no right to be calling me cheesy,” his forehoof reached up out of the warm bubbling water and bopped her on the end of her muzzle. He added a vocal “boop” to the tap.

“Hey,” she feigned a complaint and frowned. “You can't just steal my foalsitting moves. That's only for Twilight.”

“I stole your heart,” he fake pouted. “Why not everything else too?”

Both of their expressions broke after a healthy silence. They both giggled and chuckled at the ridiculousness.

“I take back what I said,” Cadance shook her head with a smile. “I have nothing to be embarrassed about if somepony were to overhear us. We can't stay serious to save our lives.”

“Alright,” Shining decided with a renewed voice of determination. “I'll get serious,” he added a self-assuring nod.

The princess was doubtful. “How?”

“By justifying that 'Do Not Disturb' sign I put on the door when I closed it,” he smirked more evilly this time.

“Oh-?” Cadance opened her mouth just in time for Shining to take it with his. This kiss was deeper than the last. Her husband had meant his words.

Shining Armor moved his hooves against the stone beneath the water. What he wanted was a more commanding position with his wife, which is what he got. She let him grab her around the midsection and roll her back so that they were embracing with their sides submerged in the bubbling hot spring. Cadance could feel the fizzing pop of the water's surface near her face.

It was a moment of bliss. Though it felt somewhat like their experience in the cove, there was a more refined romance to it. Shining wasn't as heavy-hoofed this time. His grip was enough to hold her, but it was gentle. Those strong forelegs she had come to know so well were cradling her as if she were his most precious possession. She knew through his true and honest words that he considered her his all.

She returned his caresses with her own even while she felt her body melt in the warm bubbly water. Her husband's tongue explored her mouth only after hers had done as much to his. Perhaps what made her relax as much as she had was the fact that their marriage removed any concern of modesty. This stallion was hers as much as she was his. Nopony in the world could argue it. Not with the unbreakable power of their love they held for each other.

Princess Cadance felt safe. She had felt that way ever since they had gotten settled into the resort, but this moment shined as much as she believed her husband did. At some point, her tail had managed to wrap around his. Perhaps they had only tangled together by accident. Her mind hardly cared because it was drifting about in that happy place that existed within Shining Armor's embrace.

“You fell asleep on me,” Shining made a coltish giggle.

Cadance's eyes felt droopy and she had a hard time orienting herself. She had heard his words but was still half asleep. Where was she? It didn't feel like she was in water...

The pink pony princess jolted up, eyes wide and alert. “What?!”

Shining Armor cocked a brow but didn't seem surprised. He was laying sideways with his head propped against one of his forehooves. “Good morning, my princess,” he smiled, obviously more expressive than her due to his already-been-up status. “You can relax, babe. I got us back to the villa no problem, but you were out like a log. I must have hit your switch without realizing it.”

They were both tucked into the sheets on their bed back on King's Land isle. The plush spotless sheets were a far cry from the warm bubbly waters of their hot spring. However, none of the comfortableness made her feel any better. The reality of what she had done only made her heart sink like a lead ship full of holes.

“The hot spring...” she trailed and grew a disappointed frown. She looked intensely at her stallion. “I'm so sorry, Shiny. It must have been because I was tired and it was so relaxing...I didn't even realize I could knock out like that.”

He waved his hoof once, as if it wasn't even worth mentioning. “Don't feel bad. It was an incredible experience. Actually, I'm kind of glad you fell asleep.”

“Why's that?” she raised a brow but settled back down onto the bed. Her body cuddled up to his.

“Because,” Shining got a sparkle in his eye and held his wife close, “I got to relax for a while in that awesomely calming and romantic place with my beautiful wife sleeping soundly in my hooves.”

Cadance blushed and nuzzled against his chest. “I guess we're not dropping the poetic visage yet, huh?”

“Visage?” Shining almost chuckled at that. “That's an odd word. You get that one from Twily?”

“Yep,” the mare responded upon snapping her head up to meet his gaze. “She spent over a year carting around a dictionary and a thesaurus. Other foals had dolls. She had books.”

“Except for Smarty Pants. But then, she made the poor thing read the books along with her.”

Cadance shook her head at the fond memory. “So what do I owe you for falling asleep?”

“How about I get to choose what we do today,” Shining Armor suggested.

“But we've always decided mutually. That doesn't seem like too much of a payment.”

The prince smirked almost evilly. “Well, the term 'today' happens to also include 'tonight.'”

“Ooooh,” Cadance droned out and then kissed him on the lips. “Still not a payment. I let you do whatever you want all the time.”

“It would help,” Shining turned deadpan, “if you pretended as if that weren't the case.”

“Roleplay?” Cadance stuck her tongue out.

Her husband rolled them over so that he was atop her. The sheets got tangled in various ways, but he found himself not caring. His adorable pink wife was nestled below him with her two dainty forelegs curled against her chest in her most convincing display of innocence.

“We'd better get going before I take you up on that,” he said.

“Ah, I thought that's what you wanted,” she stuck her lips out in a pout.

“I save the best for last,” he leaned down to her ear and whispered it in. “That's why I always hold you before I fall asleep.”

Cadance saw once again why she had fallen asleep at the hot spring. Her husband's love made everything in her life too perfect. Nowhere else but in his hooves did she feel so complete.

“Bad idea number two!” Shining Armor exclaimed as they swam as fast as they could from the shark.

“I'll take partial blame!” Cadance put in as she desperately convinced her wings not to try spreading out. They wanted to instinctively pop open and fly her to safety. But she was currently in her diving suit and, even if she wasn't, the feathers would be wet anyhow.

They were deep underwater, their view decently clear but still darkened by sheer depth. A fast agile creature of the ocean was darting towards them with unbelievable speed. The unicorn and alicorn both tried to use their magic to help their swimming quicken in speed, but their water spells hadn't improved much since the paddleboarding failure.

Their diving suits gave them as much speed as they could hope for and all the colorful style that they weren't concerned with at the moment. Oxygen Rush laughed hysterically, far enough away that the two didn't hear her. There might have been some advantage to telling them that they were safe, but she saw greater amusement in keeping the temporary secret.

Oxygen Rush had been happy to hear earlier in the day that the royal couple had been enjoying themselves extensively at the resort. It was no overstatement to say that her job was riding on the line. The resort owners wanted the Crystal Empire rulers to have a flawless visit and that was that. Thus, they had maneuvered employees around to allow the normally busy Oxygen Rush to personally tend to the couple's diving expedition.

And then there was the matter of her and Cadance's talk...

“Mares first,” Cadance suddenly shouted as she tugged on Shining's back leg to give her an extra boost. The stallion lost his rhythm and was sent careening back while his wife rocketed ahead.

“Gah!” Shining panicked.

The underwater creature of death was now upon him.

A moment of fearful squirming and then disbelief.

Oxygen Rush kept laughing as she casually swam over.

“Wait a second,” Shining's face contorted in realization behind his breathing mask. It was colored in his wife's hue just as his suit was. “That's not a shark.”

The large thing that looked like a shark at first was continuing to happily swim around the stallion. It made some kind of beeping chirp noise as it did so. There was a general glee to the thing that spoke of a natural playfulness.

“Quite right,” Oxygen told him as she got close enough for her words to reach him through the water. Her mask was working just as well as his to transfer the sounds, though there was still a bit of gurgly distortion. “Meet Jenny, Hello Tropic's prankster dolphin.”

Cadance came swimming back to them with a smirk on her face.

“You knew,” the prince huffed at her.

“Of course I did, honey,” she bopped him on the shoulder. “I would never push my hubby into a shark's mouth.”

“I was the only one,” Shining lowered his head in depression.

“Oh, don't feel bad,” Oxygen encouraged. Her exotic accent hadn't lessened any since their last time together, though she seemed more energetic. “Jenny is very good at mimicking a shark's swimming pattern. She knows how to swim sideways to make it seem she's a fish rather than a mammal.”

The dolphin chirped and swam up to rub her face against Oxygen's side. The pegasus pony gave her a short pet in return.

“She's so cute,” Cadance enthused.

“Yeah, sure,” Shining deadpanned.

Jenny swam back to the prince and gave him the same that she had given Oxygen.

“She likes you,” the pegasus guide beamed. Her white diving suit was as fitting on her as Cadance's was, though it lacked the additional blue accents.

The pink alicorn swam closer so she could pet the dolphin. “She's so friendly,” she remarked.

“That's our Jenny,” Oxygen Rush answered and directed the royal couple to a place away from their current spot. “I think she'll be joining us for our little adventure. You two ready to see the underwater ruins?”

“You bet!” Prince Shining Armor replied with excitement.

Princess Cadance nodded and held onto Jenny's top fin as the creature swam her alongside the others.

10 - Music and Love

King's Land island was far from the royal couple at the moment. It had been a few days since their underwater scuba diving expedition and Cadance had managed to set up an appointment with Oxygen Rush. They were going to meet up the next day in private to talk about a special somepony.

Being the Princess of Love, Cadance had the special ability to detect love and nurture it. Thus she had every intention of connecting Oxygen Rush to that special somepony and end the mare's life of solitude. Being single was fine for some, but Cadance knew Oxygen was not that kind of pony.

The pink alicorn's mind was not currently on that matter, however. Instead, she was wrapped up in the moment with her husband. The two of them were walking along a well-lit cobblestone path leading into the resort's signature dance venue, Club Tropic. The sign was large, expertly stylized, and illuminated in a rainbow of colors.

It was late enough at night for the stars and moon to be out, but not late enough to be midnight yet. Shining Armor gallantly opened the door for his wife and let her in first. As soon as the door opened, Cadance's coat tingled with the air vibrations that emanated from the open doorway. The music was loud and charged with bass. Even as her heart picked up its pace, she entered the unusual building.

She would have spoken something to her spouse if the music was not so loud that her voice would have been lost anyway. Just as any other location at the resort, Club Tropic was spectacular both in quality and in design. To call it an indoor club would have been criminally inaccurate. The side that they had entered through certainly made it look like a building, but it was anything but that. Once inside, it became obvious to them that they were not inside at all.

A massive stage made of traditional boardwalk wood occupied the far right of the club. It faced the left side, which was really nothing more than an impressive collection of pools, hot tubs, and snack bars trailing out to the open sea. Indeed, the air above them was open to the night sky and only the wall behind them was any obvious barrier between the club and the “outside.”

Cadance had heard the club's music from a distance but was wondering why it sounded so much louder on this side of the club's false wall. A quick glance up and behind her revealed the answer. The wall was fitted, on their current side, with sound deadening panels. The topmost part had a faintly glowing wire that she had never seen before. What she did recognize was that the glow was from magical energy. The wire was probably another sound deadening device to keep the club's music from bleeding into the rest of the plaza that didn't want it.

Multicolored lights flashed back and forth over the crowd. The mass of ponies clustered near the snack bar and dance floor were moving to the thunderous beat. As for the pony on the stage and behind the center turntable...

“Wow!” Vinyl Scratch magically managed to make her voice heard over her electronic beats. “This many ponies already? It's only pre-show, dudes!”

A cacophony of cheers and gleeful hollers came to her from the enthusiastic crowd.

The white unicorn superstar grinned and adjusted her signature purple sunglasses, which she wore even though it was night. “I'll need somepony to hit on me before the end of the night. Tavi's been getting kind of cold and I need to stir up some jealousy to get her interested again.”

The crowd roared with chuckles, snorts, and whistles.

“I'm going to kill you, Vinyl Scratch!” cried a uniquely accented mare beside the stage.

“I love you too!” the DJ bellowed out a hearty laugh.

The massive array of the club's audio speakers began to belt a change in tune. Beats came at a more rapid pace than before, inciting many of the ponies to dance themselves into a frenzy. The royal couple soon found themselves at one of the lighted pools outside the energized crowd. Cadance had more or less led Shining Armor there.

“Not ready to dance yet?” the stallion asked his mare.

“I forgot how intense Ms. Scratch's concerts could be,” she admitted and tried to keep thinking over the wave of sound coming over the dancing crowd. “I don't think either of us will be in any condition to drive back to our island after we're done.”

“Yeah, Oxygen told us it was DJ Pon-3 Weekend,” he nodded his head. “Maybe we should have our resort hostess take care of the details.”

Cadance's gaze shifted to a second snack bar further from the wall of ponies. It, like the others, was very much like a kiosk or a booth island in the middle of the maze of rainbow-lit pools. There was a resort service phone on the side of it, which was what she needed.

“I'll make the call. Get dancing and I'll jump in,” the pink princess concluded and then kissed her husband quickly on the lips.

Shining Armor had no reason to argue and so he trotted back over to the jumping crowd, all the while not helping to keep a skip from his stride. The music had already started to take him over. Every thump and rumble of bass made his heart beat wild. The power of the music vibrated through the night air, the cool grass beneath his hooves, and the rainbow lights that cut through the darkness.

Further towards the bay there was traditional beach sand, but closer to the stage there was actual grass. Walked on extensively it may have been, but it was still green grass. The softness of the ground only made it easier for him to jump and spin without his joints taking as much of a beating as they would from harder cobblestone. In short order, he was as lost in the rhythm of the hard club music as everyone else in the group around him.

He had always liked this sort of music even though his parents didn't think highly of it. There would be times when he and Twilight would blast beats like this when their parents were away. Between the two of them, Shining had always been the better dancer. Though, he made sure not to let Twily know that.

A mango-colored mare bounced over to him while the hard electronic waves of sound held his attention. She had seen him enter the fray of dancers and couldn't help but marvel at his physique. Not realizing he was Prince Shining Armor, she made the simple assumption that he was just a very well built stallion with a faint-inducing level of attractiveness.

Shining Armor felt a bump against his flank as the mango mare collided into him and took his forehoof in hers. “I like your moves,” she commented just loud enough for the words to reach his ears across the booming music.

The prince's hooves missed a beat upon realizing that a young and undeniably good-looking mare had drafted him into a two-pony dance. His body followed along for the first few beats that followed, but he wasted no time in worrying about how they might look. What if Cadance thought he was flirting with some other mare?

His years of public visibility gave him the temperament necessary to keep smiling. It wasn't until the beat-bouncing young female began to wrap her hooves around his neck that he lost his remaining cool. He had to push her away but, just as soon as the mare began dancing her way into a kiss, she was pulled back by another pony. A pink alicorn to be exact.

“Hey there, beautiful,” Cadance grinned evilly at the mango-coated pony she had just grabbed. “Looking for love?”

Shining couldn't make out what the mare said in return, but her lips trembled and her posture betrayed her shock. Perhaps it was because Cadance had fully embraced the other mare from behind and then spun her around so they were facing each other at an intimate distance. The royal princess had all the while never lost the beat, her hooves moving to every thump and electronic spin.

“Get him,” Cadance laughed and spun the mango mare off to another stallion dancing nearby. Her horn sparked with a pink glow, illuminating the mare and the other stallion for a fraction of a second.

“Another love setup?” Shining guessed. He slipped into his wife's hooves now that the other mare was gone.

“Can't have some random mare getting a piece of my stallion,” she whispered directly into his ear. “You're mine and I don't feel like sharing.”

Shining's heart beat a little faster, though not because of the music. He sped up his moves, twirled Cadance around in his hooves, and then took to some more daring spins once she too picked up the pace. DJ Pon-3 had worked the turntables up to a feverish rhythm, spurring the dancers to spend the rest of their energy in a frenzy of moves.

Cadance flapped her wings for two beats to get some momentum before Shining Armor flipped her into the air, caught her two rear hooves, and swung her around even as he pivoted on only one rear hoof. The princess was laughing like a filly, completely caught in the adrenaline and aerobatic fun. The final bass drop hit just as he let go and she rolled to a safe finish on the ground.

Shining Armor fell onto his back and laughed as hard as his wife while the ponies around them hooped and hollered praise at the DJ. It was obvious the crowd had tired themselves as much as the royal couple, though. The mango mare and her new male partner were tiredly dragging their hooves to the nearest snack bar, a move others soon copied in search of drinks.

“We're not going to do this all night are we?” the prince spoke and was still catching his breath. He followed his princess to one of the less pony-swamped bar islands.

“Tired already?” she teased with a shake of her flank. “That was fast.”

“No, I was talking about your...uh...playfulness,” he said while trying and failing to keep a straight face.

The pink pony giggled. So he had indeed noticed all the unnecessary caressing she had been doing through their dance. That was good. She wanted him to notice.

The royal stallion came up next to his wife's ear and copied her whispering from earlier. “We didn't have to come out here if you just wanted your hooves all over me.”

Cadance blushed and stuck out her tongue as a sign she had been caught. “But I wanted to hear Vinyl play. She was so good at our wedding and she's only here for this one weekend.”

They both took a pair of seats at the bar's counter, ordering up some tropical drinks to rehydrate while they sat down. Though the music had died to a passive hum, the club hadn't gotten much quieter. The mass of ponies were all talking, shouting, whistling, and being loud in every manner one might expect in a high-energy venue.

“Good to see you're doing well, sir,” a stallion sitting on Shining Armor's right spoke up, breaking his gaze from his own drink cradled in his hooves.

The prince turned momentarily from his wife on his other side and rose a brow. He didn't immediately recall the male's name, but he knew the mannerism and tone of voice. The light gray stallion was a heavily built Earth pony that could only be one of the royal guards from Canterlot.

“Nice to see somepony from the old city,” Shining returned the pleasantry. The bartender slid his drink over to him and he took a sip. “Enjoying yourself?”

“Like never before,” the unarmored guardpony laughed. “It feels weird to be on vacation, though. Kind of nice.”

Cadance leaned forward to look at the guard. “I hope you have a special somepony to enjoy it with.”

“Do I ever,” the deep-voiced guard smiled in return. “I'm going to have to find her soon. Got lost in the dance.”

“Darn,” Cadance whispered to herself. Only Shining caught it.

“What is it?” he leaned the other way and whispered to his spouse.

“I'm looking for an opportunity for Oxygen Rush,” she pouted into her colorful drink.

They didn't have enough time to finish their exotic fruity mixes, however. The DJ was stirring up a louder beat, encouraging ponies to gather back towards the stage and dance the night away. Cadance was first to jump up from her seat and pull at her husband to follow her.

“Come on,” she pranced in place. “We're far from done here.”

Shining Armor and Cadance practically limped over to the dock they had parked the Hydro Star at. Leaving Club Tropic had been much like breaking the surface after a prolonged scuba diving expedition. The sudden lack of noise and general tiredness was a perfect encouragement to crash back into their soft bed back at the island.

The lighting was low and dim closer to the ocean. None of the bright lights of the club or plaza shined in this direction, so only the simple street lamps illuminated the way. One pony was visible on the pier next to their ship's entry ramp. It was a pegasus they had become very familiar with.

Oxygen Rush greeted them with the same happy smile she had since they first met. Unfortunately, she also had that eternally exhausted look about her. Cadance had learned she often spent hours teaching scuba diving at the H2pOny center in addition to the massive collection of duties she had around the rest of the resort.

“Did you two have a good night?” she asked with her accent that was as exotic as the resort paradise. She sounded as if she was trying to hide her own tiredness, though.

Shining managed to beat his wife to an answer. “Oh, yeah! The club was practically on fire. Unfortunately, I think my head is now as well.”

“Huh?” Cadance slowly looked from Oxygen to her husband and back again. Her eyelids were drooping and she kept straightening her posture every time her body fell back into a slump.

Oxygen lead them into their vessel and gestured for them to remain in the rear lounge while she told them that she would steer the ship to their island. The interior lights were obscenely bright as far as the royal couple was concerned. Oxygen quickly moved to dim them when she saw her charges wince at the intensity. It didn't take her long to catch onto the fact that they might have had a tiny bit too much of the club's adult beverages.

“Just relax and I'll get take care of everything,” the blue resort mare assured them before disappearing down the ship's corridor.

“I think she's right,” Cadance giggled and almost slurred her words. She haphazardly fell onto the plush lounge sofa. Her husband followed suit and laid himself against the princess.

“You don't hold your liqueur as well as I do,” he giggled back at her.

“It's not liqueur,” she argued, suddenly turning very serious. “It's vol...vil...not much alcohol.”

Shining groaned in an amused manner. The pink mare's coat and feathers felt incredible in his grasp. He wanted so much more, but the minute lurch of the craft reminded him that Oxygen was currently getting them across the bay. There would be plenty of time to cuddle with his beloved after they were safely in their bed. Honestly, even his slightly intoxicated mind had to admit the possibility of them staying conscious for much longer was not likely. They'd probably both fall asleep five minutes after getting under the covers.

“Tomorrow morning,” he sighed, “you're mine.”

“I'm already yours, you goof,” Cadance growled playfully and started giving small kisses on his neck.

What came next, Shining Armor didn't know. He had fallen asleep and was awoken by Oxygen Rush. The late hour must have taken its toll on him because he felt as if he had just skipped a part of his life. Sleep was odd in that one did not always remember having fallen asleep in the first place.

“Should I get some others to help?” Oxygen quietly asked the prince, careful not to speak too loud because of his apparent headache. “I'm afraid I can't lift you up on my own.”

“No,” Shining shook his head slowly to keep it from hurting. “No, I'll manage. Thanks, Oxygen.”

“I'm happy to help,” the mare backed away and started for the ship's exit door. “Call me again if you need me.”

If there was anything attractive about the way Oxygen Rush carried herself out of the docked vessel, it wasn't on Shining Armor's mind. He had chosen quite some time ago to let Cadance handle whatever plan she had in store for getting a special somepony for her. Speaking of the princess, it took focus for him to stay awake and use his magic to levitate his sleeping wife in midair. Apparently, she had also knocked out.

The subtle hum of the Hydro Star's engine had already been silenced and the interior lights automatically extinguished when Shining Armor walked out with his wife in tow. He might have been able to wake her, but he didn't want to disturb her. Especially not when all he wanted to do was bundle up with her under their glorious bedsheets and sleep into noon the next day.

For that reason, Shining Armor didn't remember much about the trip from the island dock to their villa's bedroom. He only remembered the satisfaction of getting his wife safely beneath the sheets and then joining her in the world of dreams. It was a world almost but not quite as perfect as their own.

11 - Together

A knock on their villa's front door made Cadance race to it before Shining Armor could reach it. They were both in the living area, where the glass front of their vacation home made it obvious who it was that knocked on the clear door. Oxygen Rush had been expected. After all, Cadance had been the one to call her.

The time had come for the Princess of Love to finally put her meddling in motion. She beamed like a filly inside at the prospect of setting up a relationship. Especially one that would be perfect in every way.

“Oxy,” Cadance greeted the mare in a sweet voice after opening the door.

The resort mare looked a little bit less certain than she usually did, likely because Cadance's enthusiasm was almost creepy. She kept her professional cheer, however, and did not hesitate in entering the villa and matching her charge's smile.

“I must admit I was a little confused when you wouldn't tell me what you wanted over the phone,” Oxygen Rush mispronounced the “L” in every word as usual. Cadance tried not to giggle at the other mare's accent. She thought it was adorable, but she didn't want to seem rude.

“I figured something out,” the princess led the ocean-loving pegasus to the rear of the home, where the sliding doors led to the backyard and the path to the cove. “I couldn't bear spending my last days here without making your dreams come true.”

“My dreams?” Oxygen furrowed her brows. She wanted to ask how the princess knew anything about her dreams but knew better than to question a customer. Especially a high profile one that the resort executives had told her to baby like no tomorrow. “You refer to our talk? About my having a special somepony?”

“Of course!” Cadance nearly whirled back onto the other mare as she led her back outside and across the tidy cobblestone path. “I happen to know a few things about true love. Matching ponies is a specialty of mine, you might say.”

Oxygen Rush tried to keep her skepticism from showing. “Where are we going?”

Cadance knew that Oxygen was well acquainted with the resort's special guest island and was not really asking where they were going. She was asking why they were headed down the path to the cove. She got the answer when they shortly arrived.

The air was warm but just below the point of being uncomfortable. There was a hint of a breeze rustling through the tropical treetops, though it was hard to feel closer to the ground. A mix of afternoon sunlight and jungle-like shade bathed the protected cove of King's Land island. Most notable was a loud splash that sounded off near the edge of the pool.

A crystal pony stallion erupted from the water, his wet mane doing its part to shower the surrounding soil with a spray of droplets. Judging by outward appearances, he was neither strong nor weak-looking. Rather, he was a fit male that would look right at home in a line-up of guards that made a point of staying in shape. His light purple coat and well-matched azure mane suited him well.

“Your highness,” the stallion saluted as he approached Cadance. “I'm afraid to report that there are no black pearls on the cove's floor. I was, however, nearly stung by a sea urchin, eaten by a shark, and strangled by a large eel. All threats have been eliminated by relocation. I was careful not to hurt the animals, as per your instructions.”

The pink alicorn smiled sweetly in spite of Oxygen's confused expression. She tried suppressing a giggle at the male's seriousness. “Oxygen Rush, meet Coastline. He's a member of Shining's expeditionary guard force.”

“Good day,” Oxygen nodded politely.

“Miss,” the guard nodded back and kept his serious face.

“Oh dear,” Cadance feigned surprise. “So formal. I do believe the two of you are at the disadvantage of having to attend to my every whim.”

Coastline didn't seem bothered at all by the words, but Oxygen Rush shifted her hooves. She hadn't a clue where the princess was going with this. She did, however, notice the gleam in the pink alicorn's eye. It was kind of creepy. Oxygen didn't dare entertain the thought of refusing Cadance's wishes because doing so might cause a suddenly unexpected ejection from employment. The resort's executives were very adamant about pampering the royal couple.

“My order to you, Coastline,” Cadance addressed the guard with a mischievous smile, “is to relax and take off your armor.”

Even as Cadance turned back to Oxygen Rush, the guard was complying with the command. The metal plates of his armor sounded quite heavy when they clanked against the cobblestone path. Had he really swam with all that on? Perhaps his physique was deceptive and he was actually far stronger than he appeared.

“And you, Oxy,” Cadance was outright smirking at this point. “You will forget about pleasing me and my husband for the day. Instead you will focus only on Coastline. Use seduction. Be sexy, but be sensual. I hear that's what he likes.”

Oxygen's eyes might have popped right out of her head. Had Cadance just said that? The perfect and reserved Princess Cadace...? Well maybe she wasn't necessarily reserved, but still. Before Oxygen could offer a response, Cadance quickly glanced to Coastline and gave another order.

“Stay with her until morning,” Cadance spoke quickly. “Protect her as you would me, except don't be shy. Try having some fun in the water first and then do whatever you want as long as it's fun. Now grab her!”

The small-framed water-loving pegasus mare unfurled her wings reflexively as the guard dived towards her faster than she had seen anything move before. Not the seagulls in the sky nor the dolphins in the ocean moved as fluidly as he did.

Oxygen had no recollection, at least in recent memory, of being grabbed by a male before. From time to time, she would guide stallions through underwater training courses. But she was always the one doing the grabbing, not the other way around. Her heart raced in a way she hadn't felt before...except perhaps for that one time a tiger shark tried taking a bite out of her.

“Eep,” Oxygen squeaked out in shock.

Cadance giggled at the sight of her guard snatching the resort guide and hauling her towards the cove's pool. She knew she'd have to vacate the area before he truly felt at ease and she only hoped he would be casual with the mare. Therefore, she took off down the path back towards the villa, safely leaving the two out of sight. The last she heard of them was a splash as they both dove into the water together, Oxygen still cradled in Coastline's forehooves.

Of all the special talents, Cadance's was love. She knew when two ponies could work out as a pair, which was why she had selected Coastline and had him flown in via Equestria's special super-speedy Express service. There were some definite advantages to being a rich royal.

The princess was proud at her accomplishment when she waltzed through the glass doors attached to the villa's rear-facing bedroom. Coastline was the perfect stallion for Oxygen Rush. He was serious on duty, but a complete sweetheart when he was off-duty and felt at ease. He also had a love for the water, as his name certainly implied. That was crucial for any match for Oxygen.

Just as the stallion was good for the mare, the reverse was also true. Cadance was no simple-minded matchmaker. She didn't only consider the needs of the female in the relationship. Healthy long-term relationships required balance and just as much concern for the stallion as the mare.

It had become apparent to Cadance, as she spent time with Oxygen, that the mare put a lot of importance on doing her job well. Not only well, but actually exceeding expectation.

She also had a repressive attraction drive, which was precisely what Coastline had as well. That would normally spell doom for a relationship. Both ponies couldn't have that. It was bad enough for just one to have it since it typically required some form of counseling to address after it had wrecked the relationship.

Repressive attraction drive was a term used for ponies who did not actively have an interest in intimate activity until after it had been initiated – a complex conundrum in any serious relationship. Cadance was not much into psychology except where it intersected with her special talent. Neither Coastline or Oxygen Rush would look to have a relationship with each other, even though they were a perfect fit and would be hard to separate once they had that bond. The Princess of Love was, therefore, just giving them a shove in the right direction.

Not all ponies were like that. It was merely a matter of individuality. Different ponies had different personalities. The parts of Coastline and Oxygen's personalities that didn't work well together were offset by the parts that did. The pairing would work. Cadance was certain, or else she would not have made the attempt.

“You look very pleased with yourself,” Shining Armor said to his wife once she trotted into the living room. He had caught the contagious smile on her face.

“I'd love to show you why,” she fluttered her eyes and joined him on the plush sofa, “but it'd ruin their alone time.”

Oxygen Rush was skeptical. How could she not be? On the other hoof, the first few minutes had been an icebreaker between them. Coastline had an obvious love of the water. She knew that look of joy that rested beneath the surface of so many colts and fillies when they finally got a vacation on the beach. It was there, pooled in Coastline's magenta irises.

Coastline knew how to take orders even if they were basically orders not to take orders. To be honest, he had reveled in Cadace's task of searching the cove's bottom. It had been fun. The only drawback being that he was alone. As a guardpony, he was used to being alone but, given the opportunity to choose, he would never do anything by himself. He liked company.

The two of them were swimming in the cove's underground and underwater cavern system. When they breached the surface in the dark cave-like space, Coastline made to comment. They had a source of light that the crystal pony hadn't expected to have. Indeed, it was the only reason that they had made it so far into the cavernous tunnels to begin with.

“What is that?” Coastline asked after catching his breath. He continued to paddle around to keep from sinking back under.

The resort mare smiled, though it was a warmer and less because-I-have-to smile. “Some parts of the bay are dark,” she explained as she whipped her wet mane out from the front of her face. A bright light was shining from the vest she was still wearing. Apparently, the form-fitting piece of apparel was waterproof. “I used one of your empire's magic crystals to power this tiny light. Fixing it to my vest or swimming suit means I can always swim wherever and whenever I want.”

Coastline wasn't used to her unique accent, but he found it made her even more endearing. He didn't believe in fate nearly to the extent that Princess Cadance seemed to, but he trusted the princess and knew there had to be something to her suggestion. Spike may have saved the Crystal Heart, but Cadance was the one that kept it alight with the power of the crystal ponies. That and Oxygen Rush was cute.

“What is it?” Oxygen tilted her head when Coastline had been looking at her for a minute without giving any response.

The crystal guard never had a problem being in the company of another mare before. This was different only because Cadance, his ruler and royal charge, had specifically suggested that he and Oxygen be a romantic pair. That notion stayed in his head and kept him from keeping his usual cool.

“Don't tell me,” Oxygen tripped up badly on her “L”s but didn't wince at the result. Instead, she swam close to the stallion. “Cadance's little bit of fun has you worried?”

He didn't know exactly how innocent Oxygen really was. Therefore, her hoof touching his shoulder felt very much like a seductive approach. She was really only trying to calm him down, just as she did with the resort guests she was often in charge of. Where he normally wouldn't see a mare and have romantic thoughts, he now couldn't help but drown in them nearly as much as the very water around him.

“She was only trying to be-” Oxygen tried to explain before he finally spoke up, his soft voice intriguing her. It had sounded so much more powerful when he had been in guard-mode.

“Princess Cadance is never wrong when it comes to love,” he said. “Maybe she makes a few ponies stumble through a beginning relationship, but I've seen a dozen marriages in the Empire that happened because of just a few words coming out of her mouth. I mean marriages that are over a year old and still going strong.”

“It must be nice to be surrounded by so much love,” Oxygen let her eyes drift down. She didn't realize until she said it how much those words stung her own heart. She had never told anypony, but she had forfeited much of her free time to work because she was afraid of reaching out to somepony for a relationship. Little did she know that he felt much the same.

The off-duty guard made her look back up to him when his forehoof reached up and touched her hoof that was still on his shoulder. An almost teal light from Oxygen's vest was the only thing illuminating the underground space, glowing off the rough rock walls and the pale green algae that grew on them. Neither was aware of the many romantic ventures the royal couple had already made through the very same space.

Worries were in both of their minds regardless of whether or not the other knew. Both had desires, but both also feared the unknown. Could Cadance be wrong? Could the other pony be a monster beneath the innocent exterior? A small candle of hope was the only thing that got them past the fear...

“You're very beautiful, Oxygen Rush,” the male stated. A nervous tick in his tone betrayed his fear at her response.

She held his gaze even though her heart picked up pace. A million questions went off in her head. What did she say to that? She liked compliments, but this was clearly more than professional feedback. He was interested in her.

A long moment of uncomfortable silence went on. The only sound beside their breathing was the gentle wish-wash as the water around them rippled with their stay-afloat paddling. Oxygen bit her bottom lip, dropped her gaze back to his chest, and leaned into it.

“You're very handsome, Coastline,” was her teary response.

“That was why you had him reassigned to 'Private Resort Security Detail,'” Shining Armor grinned at his conniving wife that was laying with him in their bed. Night had fallen and neither had seen Coastline or Oxygen Rush. Thankfully, Cadance's tracking magic had given them assurance that both were in no physical danger.

The pink mare growled in agreement as she nibbled on her stallion's ear. She loved the moans he made when she did that. It didn't take long, though, for him to push her back and do the same to her. The female's forehoof moved up to pet his mane while he moved down from her ear to nuzzle her cheek.

“I may have given them a little magic courage before leaving them,” she admitted in a sigh.

“I'm sure they'll thank you for it later,” he said after kissing her. Then he kissed her again.

“He's staying here, you know,” she said after their lips reluctantly parted. “When we leave in a few days, he won't.”

“Got the island permanently at our call,” Shining rested on the pillow so they were facing each other not even a hoof's distance apart. “Don't see why we shouldn't have a security force here as well. That way, the two of them get to see each other as much as they want. Only one problem.”

“What?” Cadance asked with raised brows and tone. She thought she had covered everything about Oxygen's new relationship.

Shining's grin took on a smug look usually used by his wife. “A guard's pay can't afford a fancy paradise resort wedding.”

Cadance caught the suggestion and matched his grin. “I think I might just accidentally drop that second wedding ring you haven't gotten me yet.”

“And I think,” the prince went on, “the Crystal Court ruled two months ago for us to have a marriage renewal wedding. It's still in the budget even though we only said we'd consider it.”

The couple broke into a fit of giggles. Shining Armor didn't use to be so much of a schemer. His wife's personality really rubbed off on him. After the two had spent their laughter and agreed to a plan of action, they bet on how long it would take for the guard and resort mare to want marriage.

They enjoyed the rest of their vacation as much as they enjoyed the first few days. It was hard for them to get into any semblance of routine when there were so many different things for them to do every day. They hardly did anything twice even though they very much wanted to. The only comfort towards that end was that they could come back and enjoy the resort as much as they wanted.

It was much later on, a few months after they made their second visit to Hello Tropics that Cadace's matchmaking bore significant fruit. Coastline and Oxygen Rush turned out to be rather restrained in their commitment-giving because it was practically a full year before the proposal was made with the expensive “dropped” ring. By that time, both Cadance and Shining Armor had forgotten the bet. Not that it mattered. They always had fun at the paradise retreat.

After all, it was a special place where love was always in bloom.