The waves sound odd this morning.
That was Sunny’s first thought as she woke up.
Usually, it was “What should I make for breakfast” or “Maybe today will be the day I meet a unicorn… or a pegasus!”
For a few months now, “I miss Dad” had been the uncontested champion.
All things considered, “The waves sound odd” was a new one.
Sunny rolled out of bed, untroubled by her wild morning mane, nor the mess of sheets tangled around her legs.
After being reminded that the latter did need addressing at the cost of her chin getting intimately acquainted with the floor, Sunny thundered up the stairs to the lighthouse’s lantern room and pressed her muzzle against the glass for a good look at the sea.
The sun was only just rising, but the sea glittered like the night sky had sunk below the waves. Could it be a unicorn ship? A flight of pegasi? This had to be a sign of something.
Her eyes lit up like the waves had, and she stood there, mesmerized beyond action. She had only one word to describe the phenomenon:
“Wow.”
By the time Sunny had brushed and tied her mane, grabbed her saddlebag, and erupted out the front door, the sea was back to normal.
Of course, Maretime Bay being Maretime Bay, just about everypony else had slept through the event. This included good old Sprout who, being on night watch duty, should obviously have been awake.
As usual, Hitch and the townsfolk dismissed her testimony: “Maybe you dreamt it.” “Let me guess, seaponies this time?” “Are you sure you’re feeling okay, dear? If things are getting difficult alone in the lighthouse, you know you’re always welcome to drop by.”
Well, then, she’d have to take matters into her own hooves. If something—or somepony—interesting had washed up, she wanted to be the first to find them.
Mystery Beach, here I come!
She’d expected the beach to be quiet, but was surprised to find it completely deserted. Admittedly, it was still early in the day—was the sand always this cold in the morning?—but it was a surprise, if a welcome one, to have the whole coast to herself. All the better to go beachcombing for washed-up treasures.
That sparkly tide had to mean something. It just had to. The thought drove Sunny forward as she began perusing the beach a little bit at a time.
“Seashell. Flat rock. Seash—whoa! Hermit crab. Sorry for bothering you! Ooo! That… is just driftwood.”
Eventually, though, something caught her attention. Half-buried in the sand nearby, there looked to be a small disk, or, upon further investigation, the wooden screw-on lid of a cosmetics jar.
Applied on polished faux-mahogany was a waterlogged label portraying a grinning mustachioed apple in a boater hat flamboyantly brandishing a cane at some truly extravagant text.
🍎 Flim and Flam’s Magnificent Mustache Miracle Mousse 🍎
Sunny giggled to herself and tucked the lid away. Hitch would have had a fit if he’d found litter like this on the beach. Who had even come up with a brand like this?
It looked like that was about the last of it, though. To her great disappointment, it didn’t seem like the unusual tide had brought anything of interest. Nothing by the seaside, nothing under the trees, and nothing by…
Splash! “Oof!”
Sunny leaped to attention. “Hello? Is everything okay? Who said that?”
There was no one around. The beach was quiet.
“Aw man, my board!”
That time, she’d heard it. Faintly. Somewhere amidst the tall grass and bushes right by the coast, a stallion sounded like they’d had quite the spill. Whoever that was, he sounded just a little like Hitch.
Sunny quickly swept the plants aside. This didn’t sound like anypony in town. Maybe. Just maybe. Probably not, but just possibly maybe this was definitely a unicorn or a pegasus. Who else would suddenly turn up on a beach like this, right?
Bingo! The entrance to a small cave made itself known to her. Slick with moss, a low-to-the-ground entrance opened up onto a small cave dominated in its center by a circular tide pool, isolated from the nearby sea. Likely, this cave had caught some shallow waters from when the tide rose, then trapped it when the tide fell back.
The cave itself was dimly lit, allowing in only a little bit of light from Sunny’s makeshift entranceway and a hole through the roof casting sunlight directly onto the pool. The whole place was covered in moss from floor to ceiling, with the pool at its sole exception.
That pool, of course, was what had caught Sunny’s attention first. The water within faintly reflected the same starlight she’d seen in the tide that morning, but it also held something a lot more interesting.
A young stallion, about her own age, was looking back from within the reflection. Judging by the raised eyebrow, he was as puzzled as her, but what a sight to behold!
His mane was a little messy, but in an “I’m relaxed” way, not in an “I don’t care” way. Sunny struggled to tell if he really was this strikingly green, or if the cave lighting was fooling her eyes. His jaw was stunningly strong for a teenage colt, and if Sunny’s imagination was anything to go by, she bet those emerald eyes of his were lovely when they weren’t so puzzled.
Judging by his necklace, a simple piece of string holding a small crystalline seashell, he even knew how to accessorize.
It was undeniable. On the other side of the pool’s reflection, there was a very cute stallion curiously looking around the cave while holding a mildly scratched-up surfboard.
What there wasn’t on the other side of the pool was her reflection staring back at her.
Wait. Waaaaaait. Wait a minute.
Why was there even another side?
Why was there somepony on that other side?
“Hello?” Sunny called out.
“Huh,” The stallion snapped out of his fascination. He turned towards her general direction.
“Hello?!” Sunny called out louder. “Can you see me? Can you hear me?”
“Glowy water. Weird,” He carefully placed the surfboard on his back and made his way out of the cave. He hadn’t been looking at her.
“Wait! Hey! You! Green mane! With the surfboard! Please don’t go! I can see you! I can hear you!”
He’d left. He hadn’t noticed her. Sunny was alone with her thoughts once more.
She sat in that cave watching that pool for an unreasonably long time.
On the other side, she could see the same cave she was in, though it looked very different. The hole in the roof was similarly formed, but it let in starlight rather than sunlight. The walls were aligned the same, but there was no moss to be found, save for the very rim of the tide pool.
And, of course, there was no Sunny on that side looking back at her.
The water slowly trickled away until the pool dried off, but no more signs of the surfer colt made themselves known.
Who was that pony? Where was that pony?
She had so many questions she wanted to ask him.