Rolling in Beaches

by Bico

Ponies of the Sea: Daypony Beach

Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath through her nostrils and sighed contentedly. The salty air of Daypony Beach was invigorating. “I’m really glad we were all able to go on this vacation.”

“I do concur, Darling,” Rarity said, wearing a very wide brimmed sunhat, large sunglasses, and an outfit that did not look fit for swimming. “And the shopping in Foalando was amazing.”

“I wish we could have spent more time at the Hayseed Swamps. The animals there were so exotic,” Fluttershy said.

“Never thought we’d agree on something,” Rainbow Dash said. “I want to wrestle a croc like Daring Do did in Ring of the Marengeti!”

Pinkie Pie bounced up and down in the sand. “To Hades with that, we need to find ourselves a good beach party, girls.”

“Aw, I dunno about that,” Applejack said. “I think I’d rather just enjoy soakin’ up this sun and relaxin’.”

“Oh, dear, don’t you think you spend enough time in the sun as it is?” Rarity commented. “You’re going to be as wrinkled as Granny Smith before you know it.”

“Hey, those wrinkles were hard-earned!” Applejack said, glaring at the violet-maned unicorn irritably.

Spike, meanwhile, smiled ecstatically as he took in the glistening waters and tried to imagine what it would be like for the waves to crash against him as he swam through the ocean. He had never been to an actual beach before, so this was a bit difficult. Well, he was about to rectify that. He began to waddle swiftly toward the shoreline, but he suddenly felt something tugging him back by the tail. He looked back and saw that Twilight Sparkle had grabbed him with her magic.

“Spike, don’t get too excited.” Twilight levitated a pair of colorful floaties in front of him.

“Aww, Twilight!” Spike said, scandalized by the bright pictures of the three hairless apelike creatures in red, blue, and green dresses that every yearling filly in Equestria was going bananas over. “This isn’t very stallionly.”

“Spike, I dunno if you’ve noticed,” Rainbow Dash said with a smarmy grin. “But you’re not exactly a stallion."

Spike’s expression turned glum. “Yeah, well… then it’s not very dragonly.”

“And you look positively adorable with them on,” Rarity added.

“Well…” Spike said, reconsidering. “I guess…”

“Good,” Twilight said, slipping the floaties on his arms. “Now, you go have fun, Spike. And most importantly, be safe.”

Spike smiled and waved as he retreated to the water. He was happy that Twilight cared about his well-being of course, but he did wish she’d stop treating him like such a foal. After all, he wasn’t that much younger than she was. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t seem to be growing as quickly as some other dragons.

Spike reached the edge of the water and let it wash over his toes. He giggled madly and ran away before coming back and repeating the process. It didn’t occur to him that this wasn’t the best way to convince Twilight or the other mares not to think of him as a foal. He was unaware as he delighted in his new ocean experience that the waves were becoming much larger much more quickly. Before he could recognize the peril, a wave four times his size loomed over him. He saw the wave mere moments before it crashed, and all he got out was, “Twi—!”

Twilight’s ears flicked in the direction of the brief cry, and she was moving before she even knew what was wrong. When she saw the huge waves lapping up the shore, she gasped and cried out. “Spike! Spike, where are you?!”

Already far from shore, Spike’s purple head popped to the surface for a moment and he gasped, filling his lungs with air. “Twiliggh—!” and then he disappeared below the surface before she could use her telekinesis to lift him out.

Applejack tackled Twilight from behind before she could dive into the ocean herself. “Twilight, stop! The waves are too violent. Even I'd get myself killed goin’ in there. Let Dash go after him. She won’t have to go into the water to get him out.”

Twilight calmed herself as she saw the blue pegasus soaring over the waves. However, Applejack’s words unheeded, Rarity charged past the two of them screeching, “Spikey-wikey! Nooooo!”

“Rarity!” Applejack shouted. “Will ya listen… nah… she won’t listen…”

Rarity and her perfectly coiffed mane dived into the sea, and a moment later she emerged from the wave screaming as if she’d been burned. “My maaaaane!” she cried. “Oh. Right,” she said more calmly as a thought occurred to her. “And I can’t swiiiiiiim!”

Applejack rolled her eyes and pulled her rope out, tossing a lasso toward her friend and dragging her back to the shore. As the soaking wet mare panted and bemoaned the ruining of her manedo, she rolled her eyes. "Well, that was sure helpful, Rare. Now Spike's too far to even see. Hopefully Rainbow can get to him before..."

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was skimming close to the surface, doing her best to avoid the wild waves as she searched for Spike. She knew she would find him soon. She knew the little guy wouldn’t drown. After all, he had those floaties, so he would have to pop back up to the surface no matter how rough the waves. Then she gasped as she saw those same floaties bobbing in the waves. She swooped down and grabbed them before rising out of reach of the tall whitecaps. She hung for a long moment in the air with tears threatening to spill as she stared at the flotation devices. She shook her head and whispered, “No… not Spike. Not Spike.” She looked back toward shore and knew she couldn’t face Twilight without finding the small, purple dragon. “Spiiiiiiike!” she shouted as she zipped along the water anew. “If you don’t get your scaly tail up here right now, I’ll put my hoof so far up…”

Spike couldn’t hear the desperate screams. He had been pulled down into the depths of the green ocean. He imagined that he could hear something, though. Movement. Forms swimming around him. He could see them, too, at the edge of the darkness. It was a lot darker than he’d imagined, though he knew he couldn’t be that deep. It kept getting darker, too, as he felt himself, starved of oxygen, begin to lose consciousness. Before he did, he could have sworn he felt somepony grabbing him in their hooves.

When he regained consciousness, he heard his rescuers before he saw them, his eyes feeling heavy as lead.

“But he’s a dragon Wavedancer,” a soprano voice exclaimed through the haze.

“Don’t be such a tuna, Sealight,” another voice said boisterously. “It’s just a little dragon.”

“And it’s my fault, Seawinkle,” a delicate voice said close to Spike’s face. He cracked one eye open to see who his savior was. The pony he saw hovering above his face had a coat of pale green that seemed to glisten as if wet. Given where he had been before this, he imagined this was probably the case. Her mane was a light violet and gently curled, and it sparkled like she had tiny diamonds in each strand of hair. Then she turned, and he found himself staring into her deep, amethyst eyes. She let out a tiny gasp and she squeaked, “He’s awake!”

“Swim awayyy!” the high pitched voice Spike identified as Sealight squealed and he heard a splash. There was another splash and then the violet-maned pony disappeared from his field of vision. He tried to get up to see his savior more clearly, but all he saw was a scaly green serpent’s tail disappearing beneath the waves.

“Wait…” Spike said. “What was…?” He looked around him and realized he was lying on a large rock. Beside him was a clamshell which seemed to gleam in the same color as that pony’s mane. The light glistening on the shell seemed to create a small rainbow. Right after he picked it up, he heard a shout from the distance.

“—iiiike! Spiiiiiiiike!”

Spike hopped up and gave a toothy grin at the five ponies who were galloping up to him as well as the one who was speeding toward him like a bullet. Actually, Rainbow Dash was going a little faster than—was about as far as Spike got before the rainbow blur tackled him and they rolled across the ground before coming to a stop.

“Spike!” Rainbow growled. “You know how worried we all were? Don’t ever do that to us again.” She lifted off of him as the other ponies gathered around him with smiling, crying faces. They all started speaking at once.

“Spike, we thought you’d…”

“… reckoned you’d kicked the…”

“… Darling, I don’t even want to think…”

“… and that’s how everypony in Ponyville became princesses!”

The others gave Pinkie Pie a brief sidelong glance before wisely dismissing her random statement. “Spike, I think we should get going to the hotel,” Twilight said. She looked out to the sea, which still looked very choppy. “It looks like today isn’t the best day for the beach. It’s alright, though, we have a whole week here. I’m sure it will be calm before we have to leave.”

“The sea will never be ca-a-a-alm.”

The six ponies and one dragon stared with surprise at the old goat at the hotel front desk. Twilight spoke up, “Well, sir… not that we asked, but… why would you say that?”

“Call me Gruff,” the old goat said. “I been here since I was a kid, and I ain’t ever seen them so angry.”

“’Them’?” Twilight asked.

“Them!” Gruff reaffirmed. “Them’s the ponies of the sea. The lords of the currents. The hippocampi.”

“’Hippoca—“

“You just gonna keep repeatin’ everything I say, filly?” Gruff asked irritably.

“Sorry.”

“What’s a hippocampi?” Rainbow Dash inquired.

Gruff frowned at her, his jaw set stubbornly. Twilight, however, answered her question. “You know how pegasi control the weather in the sky, right?”

“Duh,” Rainbow said.

“Hippocampi are said to do the same, but for the sea. They move the currents of the ocean and create the waves,” Twilight said. “However, there hasn’t been a single recorded case of anypony being able to actually study a hippocampus. Some ponies think they’re just legends.”

“T’ain’t no legend!” Gruff said. “Me grandsire saw one, himself!”

“Did…” Spike started softly. “Did your grandsire get rescued by a hippocampus?”

“Aye,” Gruff said with a toothy grin. “The hippocampi are a fickle lot, but they’ll save a drownin’ sailor if they favor ‘im.” His expression became enigmatic. “O’ course, Sailor beware if she favor ‘im too much…”

“Right, but that’s probably all they are,” Twilight said. “Stories.”

“Believe how you want,” Gruff said. “I’m sayin’ the hippocampi are angry. Someone’s offended ‘em, and the seas won’t calm until their rage is soothed.”

The seven tourists were issued their room keys without any more comment. Rarity and Fluttershy had the first room, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had the second, and Twilight and Pinkie would room in the third. Spike, as the sole male in the group, had the privilege of having his own room.

As they made their way to their rooms, Spike caught a glimpse of an earth pony standing at the end of the hallway with a curly violet mane and amethyst eyes which looked so familiar. She disappeared into the shadows before he could get a better look at her, however. Spike glanced at the other mares who didn’t seem to have noticed anything, and he shrugged it off.

“So,” Twilight said way too casually for Spike's taste as she and Pinkie made it to their room. “What happened out there at sea? Do you… know how you got back to shore?”

Spike glanced away and said. “Um… no, Twilight. I must have just washed up somehow.”

Twilight looked skeptical. She knew how unlikely it was for a pony—or dragon in this case—to wash back onto the shore after having been dragged out to sea. Not only that, they had found him on a rock which jutted out a good distance above the wave peaks and had been, aside from the water pooled directly around his body, completely dry. If he had regained consciousness on that rock as he said, there was no way he could have simply washed up there. If her assistant didn’t want to tell her, she wouldn’t press him for now. She would still figure out what had really happened, eventually.

Spike shrugged and went into his room, next door. He dropped his luggage and sat on one of the soft beds. “Ahh, this is pretty nice.” He lifted a claw and sniffed it. Then he licked his arm. “Huh… still a little salty from that dip in the ocean. Maybe I should take a bath before we go to the party tonight.”

He hopped off the bed and waddled to the restroom. When he opened the door, he was dazzled by a bright rainbow colored light that washed over him. Eyes adjusting, he saw a distinctly reptilian—he might even say draconic—tail hanging out of the bathtub. Then something burst from the water, gasping in air.

To be continued…