In the Heat of the Moment

Months later…

Raindrops and Trixie trotted into the Whitetail Wood. It was taking slight effort to simply trot and not jog, like they normally did – but then, their destination wasn’t Raindrops’ clearing, and they weren’t here for exercise. “How do you know so much about the Whitetail, anyway?” Trixie asked.

Raindrops shrugged. “Weather management policy is to air out any clouds we’re gonna use for a day before we use them,” she said. She and Trixie both had saddlebags laden with foodstuffs, and Raindrops additionally had a rolled-up blanket balanced between her wings. “Weather factory is good at making clouds, but they sort of…smell, when we first get them. Too much ozone.”

“I never noticed anything…” Trixie noted.

“When you’re around them all day long, trust me, you notice it. Anyway, we air them out over the Whitetail. Means we get a lot of time to look the forest over.”

“And that’s how you found the lake?”

“Well, I think it’s on any map of the woods, too. But yeah, I never noticed it ‘til I was carting some clouds over it a few months ago.” Raindrops smiled gently. “It’s surrounded by willows if you need to wait out the Sun, has this big, flat rock on its east side that’s good for getting warm on before or after…”

Trixie smiled at the description. It was summer by now, hot enough that Trixie had left her cape back at her home and was walking through the forest without her hat on. A refreshing dip in a private lake was sounding really good right about now, even for Raindrops, who as a pegasus had a resistance to extremes of heat and cold. Spending it with Trixie sounded even better.

On a whim, Raindrops stepped closer to Trixie, extending a wing over Trixie’s withers. In spite of the heat, Trixie smiled, moving closer to Raindrops as well. She really liked it when Raindrops gave her a wing-hug, the pegasus had discovered.

Dating Trixie – or at least, doing anything more than talking with or eat with her – had been a delicate exercise for Raindrops, and she was not a pegasus who prided herself on being delicate. It really didn’t help that Trixie was the first pony she’d ever dated, either, though the fact that Trixie had never been with anypony herself at least meant that both of them were treading unknown waters together.

It had taken time, but Raindrops had been able to discover Trixie’s boundaries. She didn’t mind being touched in general, and kisses were fine, too, as was nuzzling. Raindrops had found that she didn’t mind other signs of affection, either, as long as they didn’t get too rough or go on too long – a nuzzle at the neck here, a nibble on the ear there, that sort of thing didn’t set her off or repulse her. They had even slept together, in a literal sense – fallen asleep on Trixie’s couch one evening, Trixie curled up under Raindrops’ wing.

It was fine by Raindrops. Despite their Worst Start Ever, as their friends called their first kiss and the chaos that had followed, the two of them had so far been working out great. Trixie was a mare that Raindrops could open up to, who knew that Raindrops was more than just anger and hate, though that had taken some work too, several months previously.

It had been rocky, but what relationship wasn’t at times? Raindrops decided that they’d simply gotten all their rockiness out of the way at the beginning, and from here on out there would be smooth sailing…

Trixie stopped. “This is it?” she asked, her voice off for some reason.

Raindrops looked down at the lake, a smile starting to form on her face. “Yeah, that’s – wait, what?”

Raindrops blinked several times in rapid succession, but doing so did not change what she saw: a lake, about half a mile across, mostly surrounded by willow trees. A broad rock on one shore that was perfect for sunbathing if you had a taste for that sort of thing. A tri-masted galleon with its sails tucked away and anchor down, its masts waving a curious mixture: the naval ensign of Equestria, and a black skull-and-crossbones pirate flag, though the latter seemed almost cartoonish in appearance. The ship’s stern had the name RES Hispaniola written on it in powerful, proud letters.

“What?” Raindrops asked, as she trotted forwards. “What - What?

“I take it the ship’s new,” Trixie ventured as she followed.

“What is this?” Raindrops demanded. She was about to take to the air, when a pair of ponies appeared at the side of the ship. One was an earth pony stallion, tall and somewhat thin, though his muscles were well-toned. He was predominantly white, but had splotches of brown across his body, including over one eye, while his mane and tail were both brown. His mane was held out of his eyes by a bandana, and his cutie mark was a compass.

The other pony was a unicorn mare, gray with a slight lavender tint, with a yellow mane and tail and yellow eyes. Her mane was tied back with a pink bow, and her flank, meanwhile, displayed a cutie mark of five four-pointed sparkles, one big one with the other four arranged around it in a slight crescent.

The mare’s eyes glanced over Raindrops, then to Trixie. “Trixie!” she exclaimed, eyes wide as her horn glowed. In a flash and lavender-tinted pop, she disappeared from the ship’s deck and re-appeared on the ground in front of Raindrops and Trixie, causing the two mares to stumble backwards in surprise. “Trixie, thank the Stars I found you!”

“Dinky?” Trixie exclaimed, whinnying in surprise as she backed away.

Raindrops looked between Trixie and the new mare, blinking in confusion. “Wait, what?” she asked. “That’s – Trixie, that’s not Dinky.”

“I’m not your Dinky,” the mare explained, making a cutting motion with one hoof. “I’m Dinky from the future – look, it’s a long story! Trixie, you have to come with me!”

“Wait!” Trixie exclaimed, stepping closer to Raindrops. “Wait, hang on – me and Raindrops just came here, we’re supposed to be on a date – what about Raindrops?”

“She can come too!” Dinky said, horn glowing. Raindrops’ world was a lavender flash for a moment, and when it cleared, she found herself standing on the deck of the ship, looking at the splotch-coated stallion.

“Hullo,” he said, his accent Trottinghamish. “Name’s Pipsqueak. Have we met yet?”

Raindrops ignored him, looking instead to Dinky and Trixie. “Dinky,” Trixie said, “what’s going on? Does something happen to me in the future?”

Dinky shook her head, as she took up a wide-hooved stance, horn glowing brightly as she began to pull up the ship’s anchor. “No, Trixie, you’re fine, Raindrops too – it’s your kids! Something has to be done about your kids!”

Raindrops whickered and reared back in surprise at that. “WHAT?!” She demanded.

“We’ll explain everything once we get to the future,” Pipsqueak said as he trotted over to the wheel of the ship, getting behind it comfortably. “Ready when you are, Dinks.”

“Okay,” Dinky responded, horn glowing brighter lavender and a matching glow beginning to wash over the ship.

“This is insane,” Raindrops said, stomping one hoof. She glanced over the side. “You’re in a completely land-locked lake! There isn’t any water to sail down!”

“Sails?” Dinky asked, casting a bright smile at Raindrops. The ship began to shudder, and Raindrops suddenly felt as though she were rising – which, a glance over the side of the ship confirmed that they were, lifting off into the sky like the ship was being pulled up by a balloon.

Dinky’s smile brightened at the look on Raindrops’ face. “Where we’re going, we don’t need sails,” she said, as she ship launched itself into the sky.