//------------------------------// // Beach Day // Story: Domestic Drabbles of Discord's Dimension // by GeekCat //------------------------------// The sun was beating down on Discord's back. He wiped the sweat off of his brow, his tongue rolling out as he panted heavily. Hot, white sand burned at his hoof and toes. With herculean strength, he brought his fingers together to snap. With a flash of light, he created two towels (one pony-sized, yellow, and covered in butterflies, and a longer one with a neon and pastel quilted pattern) a large purple-and-pink parasol, and a sky-blue cooler. He sighed and laid down on the patchwork towel, adjusting the parasol so both towels had an equal amount of shade. As he started to rummage in the cooler, he heard hoofsteps approach and lifted his head. Fluttershy sat down on her towel, a sweet smile on her face, even as she carried a small cloth bag in her mouth. She was wearing a teal tankini, a two-piece swimsuit that covered more of her fur than a bikini. A pink blush formed on his cheeks, and his claw reached up to grab at his beating heart. She was adorable. He hid his head in the fridge, rummaging around before pulling out two bottled ice teas, his heated face cooled off. "Care for a cool drink, my dear?" She smiled, setting down her bag. "Not right now, thank you. And thank you for setting everything up!" She looked around the beach. "This is a great spot!" He opened up a bottle of tea and took a long drink. "I still think it's a little hot for a beach day," he said. "And that's probably why it's so empty here." She smiled. "Hot days like this are the best time to go swimming! The water is cool and fresh, and them you can dry off in the sun..." She smiled, her eyes glittering as her mind drifted away on the waves in her thoughts. He chuckled. "I guess you're going to go swimming now, then?" "Yes, but first..." She reached into her cloth bag and pulled out a bright yellow tube with a pink cap. "Sunscreen!" She squeezed a little on her hoof, and began rubbing the white goo into her coat. She handed the bottle to Discord, working her way up her torso. He squeezed a heap of the goop into his paw, globbing into onto her back. A shudder traveled down her spine. He began to gently rub the sunscreen around on her back and shoulders, being especially careful as he rubbed it onto her wings. "Thank you, Discord," she said as she dabbed some trace amounts onto her face. "Do you need any help putting it on?" He waved her off. "Oh, no need for that. I can do anything, remember? Even reach all parts of my body. You just run along and have a nice swim." A pair on sunglasses appeared on his face. "I'll join you in a little. I just have to chill here first." She giggled, and raced towards the deep blue ocean waters. He watched as she dove in, happily paddling around. With a smile, he took off his sunglasses and turned away, focusing his magic on the tube of sunscreen. He pointing it straight up and squeezed. A fountain of sunscreen shot straight up, before slowly wrapping around him, tightening and spreading evenly across his skin. He capped the tube and tossed it back in her bag, leaning back as his sunglasses floated back over his eyes. The sand underneath his towel piled up underneath his head so that he could relax and watch the beach at the same time. He spied Fluttershy's bright yellow coat in the water as she rapidly swam through the waves, chasing a school of silver fish. Every so often, she lifted her head above the water, a wide smile on her face. His gaze drifted towards other parts of the beach. He hadn't been kidding when he said the beach wasn't busy. There were only a few families around, plus a small group of teenage ponies goofing off in the waves. Most families were at nearby picnic tables, setting out food. He noticed that one kid, a unicorn, was making a large and elaborate sand castle. He also noticed that it was fairly close to the water, as the kid grabbed more wet sand in his magic to build with. The waves were creeping ever closer to his creation. With a sigh, he snapped his fingers. He got onto his feet and stretched, feeling much cooler than a few minutes ago. He rushed for the water, diving in with a splash next to Fluttershy. She shielded herself with her hooves, laughing. "Discord! There's a coral reef here!" she happily told him. He stuck his head under the water, keeping his eyes open. Sure enough, there was a coral reef, filled with vibrant colors and teeming with life. He pulled his head back out. "Shall we get a closer look?" he asked, pulling a packet of mints out of a pocket in his fur. He popped one mint into his mouth and offered the container to Fluttershy. "Breath mints," he explained, giving the box a rattle. "C'mon, let's go exploring!" She held out her hooves, and he shook a mint into them. Dropping the box back into the pocket, he dove beneath the water. The mint in his mouth was fizzy and tingly. He took a deep breath, and instead of water, minty air poured into his lungs. Fluttershy's head slowly sank beneath the surface, looking at him. He took an exaggerated breath, gesturing towards her. Her nose twitched as she took a tiny breath, and her eyes widened. A large grin spread on his face, and he dove deeper, closer to the coral. With a beat of her wings, she was at his side, right above the coral. The two swam slowly over, spooking some schools of fish, watching crabs scurry about, and seeing how turtles drifted by lazily. Discord noticed a coral with a hole under it and poked his head near it. The two moray eels inside glared at him. He pulled away and caught up with Fluttershy. She appeared to be making friends with a large stringray. She carefully stroked its back as it swam away, searching the sands for food. She watched it go, but her smile fell when her eyes focused on something else. He followed her gaze. Stuck between two branches of coral was some kind of bottle. She swam towards it, a sad look on her face. She tried to wriggle it out, but had no luck. He snapped his fingers, and the bottle was teleported into her hooves. She pointed to the surface, then swam up. He followed. Once they were in the open air, she held the bottle out. The label had worn off. "Coral's really delicate," she told him. "And this sort of thing never goes away. It only breaks into smaller pieces." She frowned. "Who knows how much damage this trash could do to this reef, or those sweet creatures..." He frowned, eyes narrowing at the bottle. He snapped his fingers. The bottle shivered, hovering in the air in a purple aura. A few seconds later, splashes came from all around them, other bottles and wrappers lifted up in the same purple aura. One by one, they all disappeared with a soft popping sound. "I sent them to our dimension. One of the junk rooms," he said when she gave him a questioning look. "That should take care of all the trash here. Oh, and for good measure..." He snapped again, and the water all around them rippled. "What was that?" she asked. "Oh, just an enchantment to make sure the reef stays trash-free." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the teenage ponies heading away from the water and to their towels. One tossed an empty bottle over his shoulder, talking with his friends. The bottle hit the surface of the water. Instead of splashing in and sinking, like it would have done, it instead bounced. It flew away from the water, cuffing the litterbug on the back of his head. While he whipped around, looking for the offender, the bottle traveled forward, neatly landing in a recycling bin. Discord snickered, then dove beneath the surface again. He and Fluttershy explored the reef, meeting more eels, a few octopi, and even a small shark! They waved the shark goodbye as it peacefully swam away, and he brushed his tongue against his mint. Realizing how thin it was, he pointed upwards, and they paddled up to the surface. Fluttershy crawled onto the beach, flopping down on the hot sand. Discord fell beside her, his limbs turning into bundles of noodles as they spread out. "Discord?" she said quietly. "Do you want to build a sand castle? I'm not hungry enough for lunch yet." He nodded, the noodles condensing and returning to his normal limbs. His tail feathers snapped, and a bucket and shovel appeared in front of each of them. She managed to lift herself into a sitting position, and began shoveling damp sand into her bucket. "We'll carry these further up the beach, so the waves can't get our castle," she said. He glanced over at the unicorn colt, who pranced excitedly around his detailed sand castle, which the water was parting to avoid. A smile flickered over his face, and he began to fill his own bucket with sand. They worked together to build a towering castle, three buckets tall and two buckets wide. They filled in the empty spaces, and Discord used his claws to carve a brick pattern along the sides, adding a set of doors and several windows. Fluttershy dug out a moat (complete with a sand bridge) and filled it with some sea water. As a finishing touch, Discord pulled a small flag out of thin air. It was red, and had a picture of him with one arm wrapped around Fluttershy, the other throwing up a peace sign. He held it out to Fluttershy, and both of them stuck it in the top together—slightly off-center, and slightly crooked. He turned to her and beamed. She beamed back, but blushed slightly as her stomach gurgled. He chuckled. "I suppose that means it's time for lunch?" he teased. She nudged his shoulder, grinning, and trotted towards their towels. She lay down, sighing as she curled her back legs into the shade. He snapped his fingers, summoning a fan next to her, and she sighed in bliss. He smiled, then stuck his head in the cooler, fishing around in the heaps of ice. Several ice cubes were tossed over his shoulder as he searched. Finally, he found a smallish pink bundle. He grabbed it and emerged from the ice area, showing his prize off to Fluttershy. She sat up, and he placed the bundle on top of the cooler. With a flourish, he undid the bundle's knot, and it flew off somewhere behind him before disappearing in a flash of light. On top of the cooler were two large watermelon slices (one seed-free, another heavily seeded), two bottles of ice tea, and two orange popsicles (still in their wrappers). She grinned and grabbed the seed-free watermelon, taking a large bite. Discord took the other and began working his way evenly down the length, back and forth. After a few minutes of quiet munching, she spoke up. "Do you like watermelon seeds, Discord?" He chuckled (mostly because of the red liquid on her chin she hadn't noticed yet). "Oh, they're alright. There are better seeds to snack on, in my opinion." He took another bite. "But I'm not eating these, actually. I'm...saving them." She gave him a puzzled look, her head tilting slightly in that adorable manner. He pursued his lips and looked around the beach, searching for a demonstration. His eyes landed on the teenage ponies. One, the same pony who tossed the bottle, was about to step on a tiny sand castle, carefully but crudely crafted by tiny hooves. Rolling his tongue, he spat out a seed. It smacked the teen's hoof, making him jump up and away from the castle. One of his friends laughed at him. Another seed was spat, striking him on the forehead and making him stumble backwards. He snickered as the group looked around, trying to find the source. "Discord, that's not very nice," she said, her tone holding a hint of harshness. He turned to face her. "Hey, I saved some foal's creation! Besides, the seeds don't actually hurt. It's just like using a rubber band." He spat a seed at his own arm, remaining unmoving as it bounced off of him. "See?" She seemed unconvinced. He sighed. "May I show you...well, how it feels to be on the receiving end?" She hesitated, but nodded and held out a front hoof. Rolling his tongue, he spat a seed. She jumped slightly as it bounced off of her, but by the look on her face, it was more out of surprise then anything. She looked at her front hoof, then back at him. She sighed. "It seems kind of mean...but if it doesn't hurt anypony, I suppose..." She narrowed her eyes at him. "But no hitting foals! Or anypony's eye!" He nodded, making a swift crossing motion over his heart. They continued eating their watermelons, though Discord spat seeds at a few litterbugs or ponies who didn't look out for sand castles. Minutes passed by, and Fluttershy set down her rind, a hoof placed over her stomach. He summoned a small napkin and handed it to her, which she quietly thanked him for before cleaning her mouth and hooves. He polished off his melon and rind, then reached for a popsicle. Her hoof stopped his hand, and he lifted his head up to look at her. Before he knew it, she had placed the napkin on his mouth and was wiping at his muzzle. He pulled away, grinning, and she followed, also grinning. They tumbled in the sand as she tried to pin him down, dropping the napkin in the process. He spat a few seeds at her, several of them missing her, and she laughed. After a few seconds of struggle, they may beside each other in the sand, laughing. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. She pouted and tried to wipe the sticky red liquid off of her head, but only succeeded in smearing sand into it. He chuckled and waved his paw. The sand and juice on both of their coats trickled down and off. He offered her his hand as he got back onto his feet, and the two went back to their towels and nibbled on their popsicles. The sun was now much lower in the sky. After lunch, they'd added a tiny garden to their sand castle, before diving in the water and exploring the reef and nearby caves. Fluttershy taught him a few games ponies played at beaches, while he used his magic to create interesting new toys for the water. From a cannon that shot a ball of water (which she actually managed to catch him off-guard with in a sneak attack) to a surfboard that sped through water by itself (and made her cling to him the whole time they were on it), he had come up with some interesting ideas, which he filed away for another beach trip. As they swam, time quickly sped by. Ponies slowly filtered out of the beach, until they were the only two left. They had crawled back to their towels and were leaning against each other, watching the orange sun slowly sink below the horizon. "Discord?," he heard her say quietly. His head tilted down to look at her. "Thank you for today. I know you weren't sure about coming to the beach, but I had a lot of fun." She softly pecked his lips. "Thank you for indulging me." He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I had fun today, too. Thank you for convincing me to do this." He whispered in her ear, "Besides, I'm your husband. Indulging you is my job." She giggled and kissed him on the cheek before snuggling into his side, leaning even closer against him to watch the sunset. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her, looking around for the first stars to appear.