The Friendship Express was rolling along its tracks through the center of Equestria as Aria Blaze began to stir from her deep, restful slumber. The sun was rising in the distance, its golden light shining in the private room Sunset Shimmer had gotten for them for the trip back to Ponyville. But wait... something was wrong. The trip from Canterlot to Ponyville was only two hours, and they had been riding all night. Had they both fallen asleep and missed their stop?
"Hey, hey Sunset Shimmer." Aria pulled herself off of the fluffy couch and across the floor to nudge her companion's sleeping flank with her muzzle. "I think we missed our stop."
Sunset waved one leg dismissively at her. "No we dint... I told 'em ta... wake us when we git thar..." She snored loudly.
Aria growled, then opened her toothy jaws and clamped down on Sunset Shimmer's hindleg. Sunset's eyes shot open and she reflexively sprang up like a cat, but she quickly slammed face-first into the wall of the tiny compartment and collapsed to her back on the couch. "Ow! Sunova... what in the world!?"
"Don't brush me off." Aria scuffled over to her again. "We've been riding way too long, I think we missed our stop in Ponyville."
"Oh..." Sunset rubbed her head gingerly as she sat up. "We're not going to Ponyville."
"We're not?"
"Nope." Sunset glanced out the window with a smile. "In fact it looks like we're almost there."
Aria pulled herself up onto the couch beside Sunset with a grunt so she could see out the window. Trees were rushing past outside, but the forest was soon left behind. Grassy plains stretched out before them, ending in a strip of yellow sand before giving way to a sparkling ocean. Little specks of white sails drifted across the blanket of blue. She could see train tracks further ahead, turning toward the water and leading into a small town that was nestled right on the coastline. There weren't many buildings, and some of them were even built right out over the water's surface.
"What are we doing here?" Aria turned back to Sunset suspiciously. "We won't have time to get back to Ponyville unless we leave immediately."
"Nope."
"Won't you miss school on Monday?"
"Yep."
Aria narrowed her eyes at her for a moment, then began to relax somewhat. "You didn't have to do this. I can deal with not getting what I want."
"It's one day, after having a perfect record and grades for several years. I think I can take the hit." Sunset floated Aria's collar up to her to snap it into place. Aria jerked slightly as she was suddenly lifted into the air, and floated freely out into the center of their private room. "Come on, let's go get some grub before we pull into the station."
Breakfast was quick and light, as the two of them sat in friendly silence. By the time they finished, the train had reached its destination, and they emerged onto the tiny station platform. Only a few ponies came out with them, and even fewer were waiting to board in their place. The salty sea smell washed over them as they paused for a moment to take in the view. The port town wasn't much to look at, and one might be surprised to learn that a large portion of the continent's fish was funneled in through the little fishing village known as Ponyfish.
"Not the most creative name, is it?" Sunset asked wryly, her muzzle pointed at the sign above to the ticket office.
"And Ponyville is?" Aria pointed out.
"Point taken."
Sunset led the way through the village, following the narrow dirt roads around the plain, wooden buildings that littered the area. Of the ponies they passed, most were earth ponies, and all of them greeted the two travelers with warm smiles and nods. Unlike the unicorns in Canterlot, they didn't pay Aria a second glance. Living this close to the ocean, they probably encountered sea ponies way more often than most of those living in the center of the continent.
In no time at all, they'd reached the shoreline. From the dirt streets sprang a sprawl of docks, reaching out into the waves to greet the incoming ships. Sunset and Aria turned away from them, travelling along the beach a short distance from the town.
"I've never actually been this close to the ocean before..." Sunset lifted a hoof from the sand to block out the sun as she stared out across the water. "It's really something."
"It's been a while for me too..." Aria pushed herself out over the water, though the collar kept her floating above the surface. "Uh... little help?"
"Right." Sunset's horn pulsed, and as soon as the collar clicked loose, Aria found herself dumped into the ocean waves.
She held her breath at first, but Aria soon remembered that her gills would take over. For several minutes, she allowed the ocean waves to engulf her, sweeping her back and forth under the water as she waggled her fins against the sweeping tides. But some instincts would never die, and her tail fin began to push against the current, driving her forward. Her fins steered her back and forth through the water as the fin rising from the top of her head down her back kept her stable.
Like a dream she forgot several lifetimes ago it came rushing back to her, until she was zooming through the water, between the reefs on the ocean floor and around several slower schools of fish. An involuntary grin split her lips as she suddenly turned back towards the sky, breaching the surface as top speed and soaring into the air with her fins spread out to her sides. She caught sight of Sunset Shimmer watching with wide eyes from the sandy shore, just before gravity yanked her back down into the water.
Aria broke the surface again facing the beach. "Are you coming out here or not?"
"Oh! I... never learned how to swim." Sunset Shimmer blushed, her ears drooping and muzzle dipping slightly.
Aria smirked. "Come on. Am I gonna let you drown?" Sunset Shimmer just stared at her for a disturbingly long time. Aria's smirk faded. "No. No I'm not. Besides, how would I get home to Adagio and Sonata? I'll make sure you won't drown. Trust me."
"Well, I guess it can't hurt to have a little fun." Sunset Shimmer took a couple steps out into the water, stopping to shudder for a second as the cold waves lapped at her hooves. She took in a breath and marched ahead, her tail being washed against and away from her legs with the motion of the ocean. She stopped once the water reached her chest, shivering in place as Aria swam up to her. Sunset winced and pulled a foreleg up from the water after she felt something brush past it, but a look down didn't reveal anything through the wash of white froth and sand.
Aria reached her as Sunset dropped her hoof back down. "Hold still. I haven't actually done this before." Aria tugged at Sunset with her fins, pulling her deeper into the waters. She then popped her head from the water and pressed her lips to Sunset's. She felt the unicorn freeze in her fins as she took a deep breath in through her nose, then exhaled it through her mouth and between Sunset's lips.
As she pulled back Sunset's cheeks were bright crimson with her mouth hanging open. A few soft squeaks emanated from her throat as she stared in shock, trying to get words out. "I... wh... why did you..."
"Don't flatter yourself," Aria said dismissively. "It was a sea pony water breathing spell."
"O-oh..." Sunset coughed. "Did it work?"
"One way to find out." Aria grabbed Sunset around the waist and yanked her away from the shore, ferrying her out into the ocean before turning suddenly downward straight towards the bottom.
"Aaaugh! What're you... I mean..." Sunset gaped and gulped for a few seconds before her chest began to rise and fall more normally again. "You know I'd be dead if it didn't work!"
"Nah, I told you I wouldn't let you drown." Aria smirked, her eyes bearing a twinkle that Sunset had never seen before. "Now come on, it's been a thousand years. Let's go see if anything's changed..."