Rolling in Beaches

by Bico

Ponies of the Sea: Wavedancer

Spike screamed and retreated from the room, slamming the door. In mere moments, his six friends burst into his room.

“Spikey-wikey!” Rarity bellowed. “Are you alright, Darling?!”

“Bathroom!” Spike said. “Light… dragon… bathtub!”

Just then, the door to the bathroom opened and an adolescent earth pony walked out. She had a gently curling violet mane and a light green coat. On her flank was a cutie mark of three rainbow-colored pearls. Her eyes were a striking amethyst color. She smiled politely at the assembled group, who stared back in return.

“Oh…” Rarity moaned swooning over to the bed. “Oh, of all the worst things that could possibly happen…”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “What happened, Sugarcube?”

Spike took a deep breath. “Um… I just opened the bathroom door, and… she was in the bathtub.”

“Oh, the scandal!” Rarity said, fainting onto the bed.

“Rarity, I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding.” She turned to the earth pony and said, “I’m sorry about all this. I’m Twilight Sparkle, and you are…?”

The lavender haired pony opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She looked confused momentarily, but then closed her mouth dejectedly. She shook her head.

“Um…” Twilight said.

“What’s the matter?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Cat got your tongue?”

“You leave Opalescence out of this!” Rarity said. “She only did that once, and she was sorry!”

“Uhh…” Fluttershy squeaked nervously. “I… I might be wrong, but… I think she’s… mute?”

“Oh!” Pinkie Pie said. “We should turn her volume up, then. Where’s the knob?”

“It means she can’t talk,” Twilight corrected her pink friend. She turned to the green mare. “Is that right?”

She snorted with annoyance, but nodded. She touched a hoof to her throat and seemed to try to get a sound out, but only a choking sound emerged.

“Maybe her name is ‘Rainbow Pearl’?” Pinkie said. The mare’s eyes widened in shock, but then she shook her head quickly. “Or ‘Pearly Light’.” Negative. “How about ‘Precious’?” The green pony rolled her eyes.

“Wavedancer?” Spike said in a soft voice.

She smiled and pointed her hoof at the small dragon. Then her expression fell as she got a good look at him. Spike could see the recognition in her eyes, but then she turned her head away, as if trying to pretend she had never seen him. He could also see she wasn’t much of an actress.

“Wow, Spike,” Twilight said. “That was… an oddly specific and accurate guess. Do you… know this filly?”

“Um…” he glanced at the green pony, who shook her head with a frantic look on her face. “Nnnnno. No, I’ve never seen her before in my life. Wavedancer just seemed to fit.”

Twilight regarded him dubiously. “Alright… well, Wavedancer, let’s go to the front desk and maybe we can sort this out.”

The friends escorted their new acquaintance to the lobby, and brought the situation to the old goat's attention.

“Sorry,” he responded with a decidedly unapologetic tone when they finished telling him of the unfortunate faux-pas. “She’s on the register as belonging in that room. This is the height of the tourist season, too, so there aren’t any other rooms available.”

“But… but…” Rarity said. “Why would you put a young mare in a room with a boy dragon?”

“Well…” Gruff said. “It is a might odd… cain’t rightly say how that happened. In fact, I don’t even remember her being on there when I checked you in, but… well, the books don’t lie.”

“Oh, how will we resolve this?” Rarity wondered aloud.

Wavedancer eyed Spike shyly and then pointed at him with her hoof before pointing back at herself.

“You… want to be roommates with Spike?” Twilight asked.

“No way!” Rarity fumed. “Absolutely not. It would be highly inappropriate for a lady and a gentlecolt… er… gentledrake… to room together.”

“Rarity, Spike’s a dragon,” Twilight said. “I… don’t think we have to worry about anything happening between him and a pony.”

Spike wasn’t exactly appreciative of the implications of that statement, but he couldn’t exactly argue with it. He imagined to a beautiful pony it would be like kissing a frog. How could a beauty like Rarity or Wavedancer ever learn to love a beast? He was glad that his friends missed his briefly dejected expression.

Wavedancer then pointed to herself and then to Twilight. After that she pointed to Spike and then to Rarity.

“Stay with me?” Twilight asked. “And… have Spike stay with Rarity?”

“Well…” Rarity said. “That… might not be so bad. I mean, after all, Spike and I are good friends so obviously I wouldn’t do anything to exploit the poor dear. Oh, he could heat my bathwater!”

“I gotta say, Rare,” Applejack interjected. “That sounds a might inappropriate.”

“Not to mention hypocritical,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’m shocked you even know such a word, Dash,” Rarity said.

“Wait, wait,” Spike said. “It’s not a problem, really. Wavedancer can have my room. It’s not like I’ve never slept outside before. Actually, they have a nice hot spring out back…”

“That’s very generous of you Spike,” Twilight said. “But maybe we can resolve this without putting anyone out. Let’s have Rarity stay with Wavedancer. I can stay with you, Spike. After all, Spike and I have slept in the same room since he was a hatchling. And I think you might make good friends with Wavedancer, Rarity.”

“Well,” Rarity said incredulously. “She does have good hair, I suppose.”

“Alright, Miss Wavedancer,” Rarity said haughtily. “I suppose if we’re to be friends, we should sit down and have a talk…” she looked at the earth pony’s troubled expression and immediately backpedaled. “I… I mean… I suppose ‘heart-to-heart’ would be a better term…”

Wavedancer smiled and picked up a brush in her mouth and looked at Rarity expectantly.

“Oh,” Rarity said in surprise. “You… you want to… brush my hair? Well, I suppose that is fairly… though I don’t really like anypony messing with my… but then again what could it…” She stopped confabulating and sat on her haunches in front of the vanity mirror, allowing the earth pony to stroke her mane. “Well, where to start… I’m Rarity, though I suppose you already knew that. I’m from Ponyville and I own a boutique there where I make dresses. I specialize in finding gemstones, which I use to make them.”

Wavedancer nodded vigorously and pointed to her flank.

“Oh!” Rarity said. “You… have a talent for finding pearls? Well, that is fascinating. You know, I’ve never used pearls in my designs before. Perhaps we could discuss it… well… I suppose we can’t, really.”

Wavedancer smiled sheepishly and continued to brush Rarity’s hair.

“Well, anyway… I often design dresses for my friends. It just always feels so good, doing things for others. Spike obviously knows that, too. I mean, he’s always doing things for me all the time. He’s really so generous… I mean, aside from that one time, but that wasn’t really him.” Her eyes became wistful and distant. “Really, it’s so tragic there aren’t more stallions like him. Why if he weren’t a dragon… and so young, of course...”

Wavedancer peeked out from behind Rarity to stare at her with calculating eyes from the mirror. Rarity wondered just what it was that she thinking. Why would she have such a shrewd look in her eyes? “N-n-now…” Rarity stammered. “Now let’s make one thing clear! I have no interest in Spike, of course. As I said, he’s a dragon. I mean, I know it’s happened, a pony and a dragon, but… what would people think? Besides, he’s still a baby, right? Well, I guess if he were a pony colt he would have earned his cutie mark by now, but that’s still a bit young. Okay, a couple years and he’d be a proper stallion, but what kind of filly do you take me for? I certainly would never engage in some kind of… of husband husbandry!”

Wavedancer grinned at her through the brush handle.

“Now, listen here,” Rarity protested. “You had better not lay a hoof on him. I may not be interested, but… but he’s my good friend and I won’t have anypony taking advantage of him. After all, I hate to break it to you, but…” she puffed her chest out with pride. “He’s completely infatuated with me. I doubt he’d give you the time of day.”

Wavedancer hooded her eyelids and flicked a glance up and down Rarity’s body. The white unicorn blushed and sucked in a breath. “How… how dare you? I am not some old nag! If you think you can seduce poor Spikey-wikey with your youthful body, you have another thing coming, filly. He would never be so shallow.”

Wavedancer raised an eyebrow and shrugged, continuing to brush Rarity’s purple mane as the unicorn flushed deeply from her outburst. “Yes, well… could you perhaps go get my compact? I left it in the lavatory.”

Wavedancer nodded and set down the brush before heading into the restroom. Rarity watched her go and then sighed, giving herself a once-over in the mirror. “Really… as if I’m getting old. I haven’t even hit the big one-oh.” She fluttered her eyelashes seductively at herself and gave the mirror a winning smile. “Looking fabulous, Rarity. Looking quiiiite fabulous.”

Later that night Pinkie homed in on the nearest beach party and dragged her fellow Ponyvillians and Wavedancer along for the fun. The waters were still too rough for any but the bravest swimmers, but she was already doing her best to liven the celebration up, and had done a great job of it. She was currently performing a routine with the fire dancers that she had choreographed herself.

Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy were nursing cups of punch on the sidelines. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been approached by a couple stallions for a dance, and they had enthusiastically agreed, though the stallions had apparently been a bit intimidated by their gusto, and the mares were now doing an impressive swing dance with each other. Rarity, of course, was approached by several stallions, and made sure she gave equal time to each of her admirers.

Spike sighed. He didn’t really have the courage to ask Rarity to dance. He was sure she would say no even if he did. Or, worse, she would say yes and he would be given the same allotted time as the other stallions. He was broken out of his reverie by the sound of a splash. He looked over and saw a familiar pony with her face in the punch bowl.

“Hey,” Twilight said. “I know you.”

“Oh, hey Twilight,” Berry Punch said after lifting her dripping face out of the bowl. “I come to Daypony Beach every summer. It’s got some of the best parties. Well, actually, I went to this one place for Mardi Cheval and… well, let’s just say Fillies Gone Wild has never gotten better material.”

“Oh… kay,” Twilight said, wishing she had been fast enough to cover Spike’s ears.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me,” Berry said. “I’ve got some drink to punch.” With that, she dove back into the bowl.

Spike slowly raised his cup to his lips as he regarded the strange pony, but Twilight knocked the cup out of his claws. “I don’t think you should be drinking that, anymore,” she said. Spike shrugged and turned away to look back at the dance floor, but found his vision filled instead by a face full of filly.

“Gyah!”

Wavedancer grinned and gestured with her head toward the dance floor.

“You want me to dance with you?” Spike asked, amazed. He looked back at Twilight.

“Go on, Spike,” Twilight said. “You deserve to have a little fun, too.”

Spike followed her out onto the dance floor. She turned to him and she gave him a smoldering look from half-lidded eyes. They began to dance a fairly simple four step dance—more dancing across from one another than with one another—but Wavedancer quickly began to step up her moves, prompting Spike to interact more with her. Soon, their dancing was as full of vigor and skill as Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s swing dance had been, though Wavedancer and Spike danced with consideration for the other, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack danced more as if they were trying to subtly buck each other’s flank. Spike managed to perform moves that would have been more suitable for a pony twice his size due to his superior draconic agility and Wavedancer moved with the sinuous suppleness of a serpent. When the song ended, Wavedancer was in Spike’s arms, held inches from the floor and staring into his reptilian eyes.

Everypony else’s eyes were also on them, staring in awe at the display. Spike and Wavedancer separated with surprise as they heard the assembled ponies clop their hooves on the ground. Wavedancer blushed and smiled at Spike and grabbed his claw with her hooves. She gestured back toward the hotel and gave him a pleading look.

“You… want me to go back with you?” Spike asked.

She nodded.

Spike flushed red underneath his scales. Why would she want him to go back to the hotel? He shook his head. He was letting his imagination get away from him. “Um… alone?”

She flashed a wide grin.

This was looking more and more suspect, Spike decided. Still, he couldn’t let a new friend down, could he? Besides, he was a big dragon. Well… sort of. “Alright. Let’s go.”

“Spiiiike!” Rarity called out as she trotted her way through the crowd. “Spikey-wikey, you danced divinely, and I finally got away from those fawning colts, so I wanted to ask you if you wanted to da—” she slowed to a stop as she saw Spike walking away from the party with Wavedancer by his side. They were awfully close together, as well.

“Rarity,” Twilight said beside her. “You just missed Spike. He and Wavedancer were going back to the hotel together.”

Rarity’s right eye twitched. “’Together,’ Twilight? Alone?”

“Well… yeah,” Twilight said.

“Oh…” Rarity said with a quaver in her voice. “Oh, the horror…”

Spike’s tiny form recoiled from the blow as he landed demurely on the bed. “Wavedancer… no!”

“Muahahahaha!” a wild haired Wavedancer laughed with eyes cold and leering. “Those other ponies completely fell for my ruse, Spike!” She pinned him to the bed by his shoulders and loomed over him menacingly. “Now… you’re all mine!”

“Stop right there!” a clarion voice called as the door shattered inward. A glorious white unicorn stood in the door frame, a halo of purity surrounding her as her perfectly styled mane blew in the breeze even though they were indoors. “You will unhand that innocent dragon, vile temptress!”

Wavedancer hissed and leaped off of Spike, her hooves shielding her from Rarity’s glory. “No! I can’t stand such brilliant fabulosity which gleams like a perfectly cut diamond!” She howled and fled, crashing through the window.

“Rarity!” Spike cried, running toward his savior. “My hero!”

“Oh, my little Spikey-wikey!” Rarity replied. “I would never let any harm come to you!”

They fell into each other’s arms and embraced as the world faded to white…

“Umm…” Twilight said as she tried to pry Rarity’s forelegs off of her. “Rarity? Hello?”

“Twilight!” Rarity said, suddenly snapping to attention. Her eyes bore into her purple friend’s with a dangerous gleam. “I… will… destroy her!”

Twilight remained speechless for a moment. Then she said, “I… I have to say, Rarity… that seems a bit inappropriate.”

To be continued…