//------------------------------// // Something Resembling A Summer Fling // Story: Ocean Eyes // by Soothing Stone //------------------------------// Ember’s eyes didn’t want to open up. It was too much after such a long day of anxiety, work, and discovering that a big, tall dragon was shy about his ice breath powers. The dreams she had that evening were scatterbrained, not making sense even by dream standards. She was pretty sure bangs were developing under her eyes just from her dreams. At least, that’s what it felt like. Her body had enough and that was that. And then she woke up...and realized she was actually feeling restful for the first time in weeks, months or even years. Her eyes were still slow to peel themselves open, but the wonderful mattress on her back was giving her the relief she deserved, the likes of which she didn’t know were possible. Her hooves stretched and cracked a bit, and she was thankful to herself for keeping the curtains on the windows closed for that evening. Hesitant to go through with it, she still used her magic to open the curtains up. Her house was pointing over to the west, so she wasn’t blasted with the rays of the sun, thank Celestia’s skies. She was treated to a wonderful landscape of the ocean and beach, and she could see a few eager ponies already frolicking on the sand. None of them were close to the villa, but she could see them just fine.  “And that’s what I call a good night’s sleep.” Ember rolled out of bed and yawned. Even her legs felt more full of energy than they had in a while. Her hindlegs got a nice stretch, and she used her magic to get herself a nice cup of coffee with plenty of cream and sugar. As she headed to the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. The pony that greeted her that day looked well rested, relaxed, and ready for anything. And then she remembered what she promised to Frigid last night. “Oh, buck. I almost completely forgot.” The next thing she knew, she had a toothbrush, hairbrush, and other stuff hovering in the air around her face with the magic of her horn. If she looked well rested before then, she was full of life now. A few drinks of coffee would finish her morning routine, and she was ready to go. As she headed out the door, the sunny skies and sandy beaches suddenly took on a new tone for her. The first time she felt the sand on her hooves, she was irritated and just wanted the next open bed. This time, the combined sounds of seagulls, rolling tides, and ponies enjoying the sun were positively delightful to her. One more arch of her spine later, and she was ready for anything. “Now, where’s that dragon at...oh come on, Ember. Like it’s gonna be hard to find somepony--err, someone like him.” She went down the way to Equus Town proper, and it would take five minutes, at most, to get there. As it was early in the morning, it wouldn’t be as crowded as it was last night, but she knew it would pick up in intensity around the lunch rush. It always did in vacation spots like this.  Once she arrived at the town, she was looking for any signs whatsoever that Frigid was around. Given his powers, she expected a sign of snow or ice around. Still, he didn’t seem to be in the area. She started to wonder if he flew back home or something like that, or if she should have gone back to the place they first met.  And then she felt a cold breeze roll down her spine. It made her shiver, and she turned around to catch the source of it. He wasn’t directly behind her, but she could feel a cold wind cut through the summer heat in front of her. It would lead to the beachfront directly ahead of the town, and she could hear some ponies chattering their muzzles off. Bingo.  The closer she got to the source of the sounds, the more she found out why she felt a cold breeze in the air. As it turned out, Frigid made another ice fortress by the beach. It wasn’t the towering structure of the one he created before, but he made up for it by having it cover a larger area of beachfront. Ponies and griffons were already enjoying it by resting on the ice benches he made, and the dragon was lounging on one of said benches like this was nothing at all.  A timid little filly came up to the dragon and held up a cup of soda in front of him. “Excuse me, but are you okay if...um...you make my soda colder?” Frigid looked down at her, not a single trace of emotion to boot, and he casually picked up the drink and blew his ice breath on the bottom of the glass. After a mere second of his breath, it was frosted and well chilled. He handed it back to her, and the filly was delighted by the results. “Wow, you’re so cool--oh no...that’s a dad joke…I’m too young for that...”  Rather than complain, he shrugged and remained rested on the ice bench. “If it makes you happy.” He rolled back onto the bench with his belly up, and he made himself comfortable. Before he could fall asleep, he noted the pink and green mare coming up to see him. That was enough for him to get off and stand back up. “It’s you again. Ember Spark, right?” “Yeah, that’s me. First and last name and everything. At least your name is a lot easier to remember. Frigid. Just one word.” Ember took a look around the ice fortress, and there were around a dozen ponies and griffons combined in there. “Heh, you’re already popular around here and you just showed up. I take it that things went really well when you explained things to everypony.”  “Well, yes and no.” Frigid was in the mayor’s office, a simple but sturdy room. The mayor had her hooves on the desk, waiting to see what this supposed ice dragon was all about. He tilted his head up and blew enough snow to coat the ground in it. The mayor shook her head and sighed. “Okay, if you help me clean up all this ice and snow, we won’t have any issues. I’m gonna need a coat down here…”  “...huh. Yeah, government types can be like that. It’s not every day in Equestria that you have someone that can spew ice like that, and it’s not from magic…” Ember didn’t want to laugh from the picture she had of the mayor’s office covered in snow, but it sure was tempting.  “But you have fire powers. It’s on your flank.” He pointed right at Ember’s cutie mark. “Why is that different from having an ice breath?”  For once, she wasn’t irritated that he was kinda-sorta pointing at her ass, knowing he really was just noting her cutie mark. “I don’t know. I guess it’s because it’s still weird to see this in the middle of summer.” She came up to the nearest wall of ice, and she could see her own face within the surface. It was already warmer outside than it was last night, but the snow and ice weren’t melting whatsoever. Before she knew what she was doing, she pushed her face right into the surface. “Ahhhh….that’s some nice relief from the sun…” Frigid tilted his head from the sight. He had heard that ponies could be weird, from hugging to spreading the word about friendship, among other things. Not once was he warned that they could be so eccentric. He looked around the ice fortress, and he noted that he was still getting a lot of attention from others. “Do you wanna hang out somewhere less crowded? I’m not used to getting these kinds of stares.” “Huh?” Ember peeled her face off the cold surface, and she noticed all the stares Frigid got as well. “Yeah, sure. It’s a big town. We could hang out anywhere we want, and you can fly, right? You wanna go somewhere more secluded so we can actually hear ourselves talk? It’s only gonna get crazier in an hour.” “Sure.” He offered Ember a hand. “I’m a fast flier, though. Do you get airsick?” “Airsick? Pfffffft, nah. I’m totally okay with--” “AHHHHHHHHH!” Ember thought she could never, ever have a fear of heights or anything like that. And then she was on Frigid’s back, traveling at a blazing speed around the island. Her cheeks were practically peeling around her jawline, and her eyes watered from the speed Frigid was putting her through.  By the grace of the princesses, Frigid saw she was about to hurl and slowed down from there. “Sorry. I know it’s a lot to take in for someone that’s never flown before.” His pace was far more gentle, no faster than a simple trot on solid ground. “Thank...you…” Ember was about to throw up her breakfast before he cut down the pace, and her stomach settled down from there. Then she got her first real look at the island from the heights, and she was blown away. She could see so many pegasi, birds, griffons, and other airborne creatures drifting into the skies below them. The jungle was spread out below her, and she was astonished by it all. “I didn’t think it could look so good up here…” “It’s nice,” he stated as a matter of fact. “It’s quiet.” He drifted along to another part of the vast beach, and he picked out the perfect landing spot. It was right in the middle of the white sandlines, and a few rocks were far off into the waters. It created a breathtaking sight of waves crashing against the rocks, splashing into the air before they landed back to the boundaries of the blue horizon. When Ember finally landed on solid ground, her legs were practically made of jelly, and she had to take a moment to steady herself. “How in Equestria do you do that all the time? How? I did that for like ten minutes and I feel weak in parts I didn’t know I had.”  “Sorry about that.” Frigid used his ice breath to make another sculpture, one resembling a couch. He picked her up and gently put her on her side. “Does that help? I know it’s getting hot out here.”  Once Ember got the feeling back in her bones again, she couldn’t deny the sensation. “Yeah. It’s actually really nice. It’s just that…” She didn’t want to say what she was thinking, given that Frigid was being so considerate of her. “Just that what?” He tilted his head again, remaining stoic with his facial expressions. It amazed her that he was so calm about this, given he was flying almost as blazing fast as Rainbow Dash. “I don’t know…” She sat up on the icy sofa. “You probably figured out that I’m a really blunt mare, and I’ve been looking forward to this vacation for months.  It’s just that I had a set image in my head about how this vacation would go, and the reality is so different.”  “What do you mean?” He went to sit with her, looking at the crashing waves against the jagged rocks.  And now she was starting to feel worse about her own issues. “I don’t know. I broke up with a stallion last week that I thought was perfect, but he was a pain in the flank. Then I had this job as a nurse in Equestria, and that’s been so draining lately. I really wanted to spend this week relaxing and kicking back. Then I hear this thing about an evil sea monster, and the stuff with you last night…” She stopped when she realized how that sounded. “Not you you, but everypony freaking out about you.”  “I see.” Frigid didn’t show a trace of emotion, but she swore she saw a flash of understanding in his eyes. “You want the kind of vacation where you do nothing but sit around, watching pretty oceans and having a drink.”  “Yeah. Something like that. I think you’re a nice dragon, for what it’s worth. But man...what a crazy last couple of days. And it’s still hot outside…” A drop of sweat rolled down her face, and the ice bench only did so much for her.  “Hold on. I can do something to help with that, something better than blowing more ice around.” He got up from the bench and headed to the palm trees behind the beach. It gave Ember a brief moment to think to herself. “Don’t be a stick in the mud, Ember. He’s nice. You just dumped a stallion that was anything but nice. Don’t be a stubborn mule to him just because you’re bitter…” She was about to continue her train of thought, but she was cut off from hearing a massive amount of wood get pulled off from the ground.  She turned around to see what was going on, and her jaw dropped to the floor from the sight greeting her. Frigid carried an entire palm tree in his hands, fresh roots hanging from its bottom and all, and he walked to the beach like he was holding a feather. Not only that, but there was a grace in his step while he went through sandy floors on the way to their little spot.  Ember’s eyes were as big as saucers when Frigid brought the palm tree next to her. He observed the shadows carefully, and he stuck the tree into the beach at just the right spot to block the sun. A good few seconds were spent embedding the roots inside, and it didn’t take any effort at all for him to do so.  After all that was done, Frigid dusted his hands clean and sat down with Ember. “There. That should give us some shade. If we stick around any longer, I can just pick it up again and move it so we still have some cover. Does that help?”  She had no words for the sight she just saw. Her breath was taken away, and she shook her head. “How did you do that so easily? It was like you were picking up a foal! That must have weighed hundreds of pounds. Do you work out or what?” “No, not that much. Dragons are naturally strong. I just figured it would make you happier.”  “What--” She shut herself up before she could snark or snap at him again. “Yeah. That’s actually considerate of you. I just had no idea you were that strong, I guess. Could you pick up a house if you wanted to?” “If I needed to.” He lounged back into the bench and observed the waves once again. “I don’t like showing off just to show off.” He tilted his face over to Ember, and she saw something else in his eyes. “Sorry about worrying you last night.”  She sighed and nearly tilted her head back. “That wasn’t you doing all that. It was a bunch of scaredy cat ponies freaking out about nothing. If anything, you’ve been nice and considerate since the moment we met. There’s just one thing I wanted to say, though.” Deep down, she wasn’t looking forward to what she was about to do, given how generous he was.  Frigid tilted his head again. “And what’s that?”  “I…” Ember stopped and kicked the sand around them with a foreleg. “I don’t really wanna date anyone so soon after breaking up with that plothole. I just wanna relax and not think about a dating situation. It has nothing to do with you, but more that my ex was that much of a pain in my plot.”  To her amazement, he didn’t shift around or seem to react at all. It was creeping up in her mind that this might just be the way he was. “Why are you mentioning that to me? I haven’t asked you out or anything.”  “Well, if I have to be honest, it feels like you’re doing all of these things for me because you really like me. As in, maybe even like-like me. I’m just warning you that I’m not dating anyone right now.” The more she continued, the more she felt like the plothole she just broke up with.  She felt worse when she caught a brief flash in Frigid’s eyes, one that she swore was out of pain. “That’s okay. Ponies are known for friendship. We can just be friends like that.” And yet, the wince in his gaze remained.   “Right. We can still hang out while I’m down at the beach. If Princess Twilight was here, she’d be saying that friendship is magic and all that jazz.” Stupid stupid stupid… Still, she kept her gaze out into the ocean for the time being. “It’s a great spot you picked out, too.”  “Yeah. It really is.” The dragon watched over the ocean with her, doing his best to relax. Despite that, he fidgeted a little more against the icy sofa, more than he had done in a little bit. Still, once he got comfortable, he joined her in enjoying the vistas around them while the moment was still fresh, however long that would be.  * * * * * Back in Equus Town, everything seemed normal and peaceful at first glance. The flags of the nations were flapping in the gentle breeze, fillies and colts were enjoying the beaches, and the restaurants were buzzing from the lunch rush, all the way into the night. But that was the thing about situations like that. Everything looks normal unless you take a closer look.  The cracks in the surface showed themselves with a few panicked ponies on the main street. “Has anyone seen my friend?” a pegasus asked around. “She was just here.”  “You too?” a unicorn inquired. “My brother...oh horsefeathers. He has to be around here somewhere. We should go look for them together.”  “Right. I'll help you out.”  What they didn’t know was how their friends weren’t that far away from there. They were down at the beach in a little corner that few knew about. Just the way a certain presence wanted. They wouldn’t be alone, either. A couple of other ponies would follow them in a daze. A lovely song would implore them to follow along to a spot where there would be a cave along the cliffs, and a shimmering orange light would guide them inside.  The cave itself was damp and easy to see, given the holes here and there along the ceiling. They were guided to a natural pool in the midst of it, where an orange lady would be resting along the rocks. Her song continued until they were within her temporary home’s confines. “Come in, come in,” she sang to them, clearing her throat once it was clear they wouldn’t leave. “I know you’ve all been lonely, haven’t you? That’s why you came to me.”  “Y-Yes…” one mare trembled. “My friend...she’s seeing another pony...I wanted to ask her out first, but I didn’t have the courage…” “My marefriend just broke up with me,” a stallion continued. “It’s all my fault, but it still hurts so bad. I-I don’t know what to do right now…”  He felt a humanlike hand trace his chin, and he was greeted by a pair of eyes that were seemingly full of love and attention towards him. “That’s okay. I know a thing or two about losing someone valuable in your heart. But that’s why we’re here. We’re all broken-hearted.” She stood up among them and gave every pony a kiss on the cheek. “And we’re here to heal up.”  Despite being in a trance, one mare was nervous about it. “And what do we do? I just...I don’t know! I want the hurt to go away…” “And it will fade in time. I promise you that.” The lady kissed the mare on her forehead and stood back. “There is something you can all do for me. Among you, there are two unicorns, a pegasus, and an Earth Pony. You could all do so much...but we need more if we’re going to start the healing process. Of taking back what was once ours.” “A-And what would that be?” the mare asked with a blush. “Well, I did notice a dragon in this town…”