Zephyr and the Real Girl

by CoffeeMinion


1: Beach Fun

Sunset Shimmer splashed through the shallows near the beach, laughing and kicking up a fine spray of surf as she fled her pursuer. A hasty glance backward showed him first running, then diving to tackle her. She whooped and dodged to the side, letting his momentum carry him face-first into the cool water. New waves rippled outward from his point of impact—strong enough, for a few moments, to overpower those sweeping in from the ocean.

Seeing a chance to put some distance between them, Sunset giggled as she backpedaled through the thigh-deep water toward the shore. But she’d only made it a few steps before a telltale shock of straw-colored hair emerged from the surface. She playfully shrieked again and turned away, pumping her legs as quickly as she could, given the water below and the practical limitations imposed by her black halter-top bikini. But behind her, she heard still more splashing. And a quick glance back revealed—

“Gotcha!”

The touch was just a brief brush of her left hip, and it was followed by another big splash from another overly-theatrical dive. But the momentary contact was enough to make Sunset feel much more aware of that hip, and of the sun’s warmth on her exposed skin. She blushed, covering the moment of sensation with a disarming laugh.

Turning back, she watched as her pursuer pushed himself up slowly from the water. It cascaded off his tall, slim pale-green frame, and dripped in long streams off the blond bun tied at the back of his head. It clung here and there to his perpetual five-o’clock shadow, and it added to the shine of his vivid cerise eyes. Sunset felt a smile overtake her, matching the one she saw on his face as he rose fully to his feet. She shook her head while studying him, taking in the full sight of his bare chest and orange trunks.

“I got you, babe,” he said, winking and giving her a finger-guns gesture.

Sunset shook her head, but maintained her smile. “I guess you do.” Then she dropped down and splashed him with more water, sending him recoiling backward and laughing.

“Hey, no fair! You better watch it, or The Zephyr ain’t gonna want to bring you back out to the sweetest beach in all of Canterlot county.”

She grinned at his fake threat. “Y’know, it’s funny; I’ve lived here in Canterville for years, but I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually been out to the beach.”

He shrugged, and took a nonchalant look at his manicured fingers. “Maybe you just never had a reason?”

“Oh, definitely.” She shook her head again. “Zeph, thank you. This is just what I needed. This so beats fighting monsters, or sealing dimensional rifts, or any of the crazy stuff that happens in what passes for a ‘normal’ day anymore.”

His eyebrows climbed. His nonchalance melted. And Sunset winced. “Sorry. I know that side of me can be a lot to take in sometimes.”

“No, it’s all right, babe,” he said, affecting a smile—but his eyebrows were still a little too high, and the corners of his lips a little too tight. “Ol’ Zephyr is always a cool customer, no matter what dimension he’s shopping in.” He paused, and his eyes briefly flicked downward from Sunset’s own before returning. “But hey, good lookin’, if you’re having a cool time, how’s about a picture to remember it by?”

Sunset felt heat rise in her cheeks. “Sure. Why not?” She raised a hand toward him… then hesitated, remembering the reason why she shouldn’t… but after a moment’s reflection on his slim frame and cocky grin, she held it out fully. “Help me back to shore?”

Her fingers tingled as they intertwined with his, and she drew a sharp breath as—in the back of her head—Sunset felt the crawling, shivering, near-desperate urge to reach out with her power and look into Zephyr’s mind.

NO! she thought with all her might, hoping to suppress both the power and the urge to use it.

If Zephyr noticed her internal struggle, he didn’t show it, instead returning the smile that Sunset hastily applied to try to cover her sudden gasp and shiver. Instead, he simply turned and started leading her through the surf.

Sunset took another few deep breaths as the urge battled back, and sought something—anything—to force it back down. She let her mind wander through feelings of gladness that her adopted hometown of Canterville was in easy driving distance of North Amareica’s west coast. She reflected on the cool ocean breeze that kept the waters a bit chilly for much of the year, and how there were a few days during midsummer when warmth penetrated the cool coastal waters, bringing crowds of people of all ages out to frolic by the water’s edge.

She broke contact as they reached the dry, sandy beach, and focused on the soft heat that went shooting through her toes as she and Zephyr made their way up to the towels and tote bags that they’d left. The crowd was thicker here, with people of every color in the rainbow either laying out, or walking somewhere else, or playing.

As Zephyr bent down to root around in his bag for his phone, Sunset took the opportunity to do the same. There was one text message, from Fluttershy, which she’d sent just a few minutes before:

At the bathrooms. Need to talk. Don’t tell Z. Important, please.

Sunset’s brows furrowed, and she looked further up the beach, back toward the set of concrete-block buildings next to a large playground and the massive parking lot beyond. She squinted, looking from face to face—

And there, sure enough, she saw a familiar downturned expression on a butter-yellow visage, framed with locks of pink, and accentuated by a timid hand-wave.

“Hey, you ready?”

“Uh… yeah!” Sunset said, pinning on a smile and turning back to Zephyr.

His brow furrowed over his smile, and he fidgeted with the phone in his hand. “Something wrong, babe?”

“No, of course not. Where do you want to take it?”

He shrugged, looking disaffected. “I dunno… I thought you looked pretty cool out there in the water, coming right up out of it like a modern-day Venus de Miloat.”

“Got it.” Sunset padded down the beach quickly, and not just because of the baking sand that threatened unprepared feet. Shy wouldn’t be out here looking for me without a good reason. So much for a day off with my guy…

“That’s good, babe!”

Sunset sighed, but then put on her best sultry smile before whipping back around and winking at him. The smile widened as he blinked and almost dropped his phone. She started walking back toward him slowly, sometimes touching her hair, sometimes giving her swimsuit slight adjustments, all while acutely aware of the contrast between the rising temperature of her skin, the cool water against her legs, and the wet sand beneath her feet.

By the time she reached him, he was chuckling slightly. “Oh wow. I don’t even… good golly, I am at a loss for words at the sight of your beauty!”

She gave him one final wink. “Hey, are you good for a minute? Gotta hit the little fillies’ room.” A blink and a short pause later, she corrected: “Little girls’ room. Sorry.”

His chuckle turned a shade toward nervousness. “Heh. Yeah, horse world thing? No biggie. Fear not: The Zephyr will be right here waiting, maxing and relaxing for his lady’s pleasure when she returns.”

With a playful eye-roll, Sunset turned away and headed back up to retrieve her flip-flops, then made her way up through the crowd toward the building with the bathrooms. Fluttershy was indeed still waiting, shuffling her weight back and forth between the heavy-looking sandals beneath her long green sundress. As their eyes met, Fluttershy nodded once, then retreated behind the corner of the building.

Sunset frowned and picked up the pace a little. In moments, she also rounded the building. And what she found was not only Fluttershy standing there looking meek in the shade of the overhead awning, but Rainbow Dash as well, pacing back and forth in a trim blue tracksuit.

Finally!” Dash blurted, approaching her. “Sunset, you need to listen and listen good: that loser you’re dating is a no-good cheat. You gotta ditch his butt, like yesterday.”

“W… what?”

“It’s true,” Fluttershy said in a clear voice despite having wrapped her arms around so she could hold her elbows in a death-grip. “We’ve—all of us—tried to be respectful of your decision to date my brother—”

“Even though he’s a scuzzy, no-good, uncool cheat,” Dash interrupted.

Fluttershy nodded. “But I don’t feel good knowing something like this when you don’t.”

Sunset’s face twisted into an uncertain frown. “Look guys… you’ve already made it pretty clear what you think about Zephyr. But I’m telling you, the guy I’m dating? Yeah, he’s got a sense of humor. And yeah… maybe sometimes he isn’t the most confident, and he fakes it to cover that up. But c’mon, people grow. Why not give him a break?”

Fluttershy and Dash met eyes, before Fluttershy glanced down at the floor.

“You gotta tell her,” Dash urged.

With a nod, Fluttershy said, “I’ve… kinda wondered for a while if he might have…” She blushed. “Maybe someone who he talks to. Y… y’know. On the phone.”

Dash nodded vigorously. “If y’know what I mean,” she said, moving a fist back and forth in front of her belly for emphasis. “Oh, and I wouldn’t put it past him, either. You remember how I told you about Shy finding his ‘stash’ one time?”

“So many tentacles,” Fluttershy whispered, as a shiver wracked her frame. Sunset felt a particularly hot blush rising in her cheeks as well.

“But that’s not the worst of it,” Dash continued. “Go on, Shy, tell her the other thing.”

Fluttershy glanced up for only a split-second. “It wasn’t just him talking, this time. I heard another voice, too.”

“Some floozy,” Dash spat.

Sunset blinked once, twice, three times. She took a tentative step backward, and touched a hand to the side of the building for support. Slowly, she turned away, and took a long look back down the beach. There lay Zephyr on his towel, with both hands raised to help support his phone.

“I mean, you know what he’s gonna use those pics of you for,” Dash said, suddenly at Sunset’s ear.

“Girls…” Sunset glowered at them. “Seriously. Why can't you just leave well enough alone with me and Zephyr?” She paused. “I don't want to think that you’d be lying about this, but you’ve made it crystal clear that you don't think Zephyr’s ‘worthy’ of me, or some garbage like that.”

“Well, duh,” Dash said. “’Cuz he’s a no-good, dirty—”

Sunset snapped a finger right up underneath Dash’s nose, causing her to recoil. Then she turned her gaze on Fluttershy, who shrunk back without moving. “He’s your own brother, Shy! Don’t you know he has a hard enough time struggling with feelings of ‘worthiness’ as it is? Do you really have to drag that same baggage into his love-life as well?”

Both other girls went agog at the mention of the word “love.” Sunset folded her arms. “Yeah, you heard me. And just for the record, even though it’s really not your business, we’re taking it slow. So if you’re worried that your ‘skeezy’ brother’s going to just swoop in and break my heart—”

Dash held up her hands disarmingly. “Look, okay, I get it that we’ve kinda poisoned the well here. But that’s why we wanted to come together. We know you might not trust us on this, but I know you know that we both care about you. And maybe seeing both of us together would remind you of that?”

“He’s just very immature,” Fluttershy said with a quiet intensity. “It’s not that he would have to be a bad guy. It’s just… sometimes I think he doesn’t know what to make of all the things that us and the other girls get mixed-up in. Sometimes he’s not sure of his own place with that and… I guess… sometimes when he gets stressed or worried—”

“Or just horny,” Rainbow broke in.

“—We honestly don't know if he’ll do the right thing and be open about how he’s feeling, instead of just… trying to take care of it himself.”

“If y’know what I mean,” Dash reiterated.

Slowly, Sunset nodded. “All right. Thank you girls for caring enough to remind me that I should take care of my heart, even if it's been nice just taking it easy and keeping things light. Because I know if this keeps working out, it can’t stay ‘light’ forever.”

“Yeah, heh.” Dash actually blushed a little. “We heard about how you and Flash used to get on. Or get it on.”

Distracting thoughts streamed through Sunset’s head; memories of days long past, when touch could simply be enjoyed without worrying about imposing herself into someone’s inmost thoughts. Sunset closed her eyes, and focused on her breathing for a moment, trying not to let those thoughts throw her off-course. “I was pretty immature back then, too, you know. I was literally just using Flash. Tell me that’s not worse than whatever Zephyr’s past looks like! If I get to have a second chance, why can’t he?”

Fluttershy kicked at the ground. “I don’t know. I thought… maybe I didn’t hear what I thought I did. I don’t know. I mean, I guess we shouldn’t worry too much, since you’ve probably read his mind and all.”

Sunset frowned. “I haven’t, Shy.”

Dash and Fluttershy exchanged wide-eyed glances. “Are you kidding?!” Dash blurted. “Why wouldn’t that be the first thing you’d do with him?!”

“Because it isn’t!” A knot of discomfort roiled in Sunset’s gut. “Don’t you realize what a crazy big responsibility I have, being able to read people’s minds just by touching them? What a temptation it is to abuse that power? And for a relationship—” she frowned, watching Dash gag “—what kind of trust foundation would there be if I could always know everything that’s happening on both sides?”

“That’s very admirable of you,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“And mature,” Dash added. “Like if Zephyr there had those powers? I guarantee, give him ten minutes flat to figure ’em out, and he’d be skeezing for any chick who’d lay him under any circumstances—and then he’d just mind-read the circumstances.”

Sunset’s frown deepened. “Guys… Shy… he’s your brother. Yes, I should probably talk to him about his… habits. Or, really, what they might mean for our relationship, if we decide that we want to get more physical at some point. But for right now, if you respect me, please respect my space with this.”

“Pssh, fine. C’mon Shy, we tried.” Dash hooked Fluttershy’s elbow with her own and turned the other girl back toward the parking lot. “Sunset, I get it that you’re trying to be all noble, but think twice if you really wanna waste dat booty on a loser who's cheating on you and using your pics to groom his whack stack. I mean, what you’re saying sounds alright, but what happens if you’re wrong about him?”

Despite struggling to keep up with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy managed to turn her head back and call, “If nothing else, you never know what you might catch from him.”

Sunset turned away, and stalked back toward the beach with deep-furrowed brows. How could they be so… mule-headed?! Her flip-flops kicked up copious amounts of sand as the concrete sidewalks near the bathrooms gave way to the beach proper. Why isn’t it enough that I work side-by-side with them to keep Canterville safe from all the crazy stuff that Equestrian magic throws at it? She shouldered past slower-moving people, whose presence suddenly seemed less festive, and more oppressive, than it had mere minutes before. Why can’t they just trust me to know what my own needs are, and to do what’s right for me to help get them met?!

“Whoa, uh… hey there, Sunshine. Penny for your thoughts?”

She looked down, and blinked, as she registered the concerned-looking smile of Zephyr staring up at her from a nearby sand-sprinkled blanket.

“I…” She swallowed, trying and failing to dispel the frown that had overtaken much of her face. “I’m sorry. Killer line for the bathrooms.” Seeing Zephyr’s eyebrows raise at this, her tension finally broke, and she chuckled. “No, look, I’m… having a disagreement with a friend. But that’s a problem for another time. Right now, I’m just having a great day with you, and that’s all I want to keep doing.”

Zephyr scratched at his stubble. “I don’t know, babe… I don’t mean to pry, but are you sure that everything’s all right?”

“Yes,” Sunset said quickly. “This right here is perfect.” She walked the few paces to her beach blanket and lowered herself down onto an elbow. “Though I guess… maybe one of these days, when we have time… maybe it’d be good to talk a little more about some things.”

“Things?”

She sighed, and laid down fully on her back. “Look, no pressure, right? I know this is all still pretty new for both of us, and I'm good… I’m really, really good… with just having fun. But I like you Zeph, and… maybe it’d be good to talk a little about where we think it’s going? And… as much as I’m glad we’re taking it slow… maybe we should could talk a bit about physical stuff, too?”

Sunset felt her heart sink as she looked at Zephyr’s eyes. Though they were wide with a smile, it didn’t take a mind-reader to see how much anxiety filled them.

“Sure, babe,” he said, slowly rolling over onto his front—perhaps to keep her from seeing his eyes. “Anytime’s a good time for The Zephyr.”