Sky and Lyra sat on a bench outside a small ice cream shop, each enjoying a refreshing treat. Sky had gotten cookies and cream, his usual favorite, while Lyra had gone for mint chocolate chip. Sky put his arm around Lyra. "I gotta tell you, I really needed that vacation after everything that happened on Friday."
Lyra put her arm around Sky and nodded in agreement. "Me too, Sky. Me too."
The first day of the Friendship Games had been normal, but on the second day, all hell had broken loose. Luckily, no one was injured in the calamities, and the Games ended with the Wondercolts and Shadowbolts being declared joint winners by Principal Celestia. When the students of Canterlot High went home that evening, spring break officially began for them.
On Saturday morning, Sky and Lyra headed north across the state line for their respective vacations. Lyra went to the famous island city of Manhattan, while Sky went to the beautiful Sapphire River Valley just north of it. They both enjoyed getting out of their element for a few days, seeing new sights and exploring some fascinating places. Nonetheless, they missed each other during their time away from Canterlot, and were very happy to see each other again when they came home. It was now Thursday afternoon, and they were enjoying another warm spring day together.
"I think going to the Crystaller Observatory was my favorite part of the trip!" said Lyra. "You were right, Sky. Cities do look even better after sunset, and the higher you go, the prettier it gets!"
Sky smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed that. You went on Monday night, didn't you?"
"Yep! We rode a special glass elevator up to the 79th floor. The whole city was lit up in different colors, and we got to see everything from up there! We stayed there for about an hour before going back to our hotel."
"Sounds like an awesome night!" said Sky. "I really want to go there myself one of these days."
"Maybe you can take me with you!" Lyra suggested. "I wouldn't mind going there a second time."
"That would make it even better," Sky replied with a smile.
Lyra giggled and leaned in closer to Sky. "Anyway, what was the best part of your vacation? Those landscape pictures you sent me looked amazing."
"Yeah, the Sapphire River Valley does have some incredible scenery," Sky agreed. "I think my favorite part was touring the Ivory Brushstroke Mansion on the west riverbank. She was not only a great painter, but a great landscape architect too!"
"That sounds fun! Brushstroke... is she related to Vermilion?"
Sky's eyes lit up. "You know, I didn't think about it when I was there, but now that you mention it, she could be! I'll have to ask Vermilion when we go back to school on Monday."
Lyra nodded. "Good idea. I think Vermilion said something about having a famous relative once, but I don't remember exactly what she said. You should definitely ask her!"
"I definitely will! What a neat coincidence that could be!"
At that moment, a transit bus with the words "39 - MARINA PARK" on its destination board drove past, giving Lyra an idea. "Hey, do you want to go to Marina Park tomorrow?" she asked.
"Ooh, yes!" said Sky. "I love Marina Park! And I'd love going there with you even more."
Lyra giggled. "Same here. We could walk along the causeway together, sit on the benches together, lay down under the trees together..."
"Those all sound wonderful to me!" agreed Sky. "We should go there in the morning. Spend as much time there as we can."
"That's a great idea! There's nothing better than spending a day with you."
Sky just smiled and leaned his head on Lyra's shoulder.
When they were finished with their ice cream, Sky and Lyra tossed their cups and spoons into the trash. Lyra looked at Sky with a playful expression. "Hey, Sky... you've got some ice cream on your lip..." She didn't give him time to respond. Instead, she pulled him in and gave him a firm kiss on the lips. When their lips parted, Lyra was smiling and giggling with a twinkle in her eye.
Sky gave Lyra a knowing smirk. "So do you..." He put his arms around her and kissed her back. They kissed for a bit longer this time, and when they finished, they were still smiling and laughing together. "I love you so much, Lyra!" Sky whispered.
"I love you so much too, Sky!" Lyra giggled. It sure was good to be home.
At around 9:30 on Friday morning, Sky and Lyra arrived at the bus stop just down the street from the ice cream shop. While they sat on the bench and waited for the bus to arrive, Sky pulled out his phone to show Lyra some more pictures.
"Sugarcoat sent me a bunch of Duke pictures last night," Sky explained. "Seems like she really enjoyed having him over at her house while we were gone."
"Well, who wouldn't like having a dog for a few days?" Lyra chuckled.
"Exactly!" Sky pulled up a picture of Duke poking his snout at the hinges of Sugarcoat's back door. "The doors at Sugarcoat's house open from the opposite side as the ones at my house, so she says Duke kept waiting at the wrong side whenever she took him out for a walk."
"Oh no!" Lyra giggled. "Well, I guess you can't really explain how a door works to a dog."
"I guess not. What's even funnier is that Duke apparently got it right one time, and then went back to doing it wrong again!"
Lyra laughed. "Aw, man! Did he get along with Sugarcoat's cats while he was there?"
"He sure did! I mean, Duke gets along well with just about everyone." Sky pulled up a picture of Duke sleeping next to Alaric. "See? Everyone likes Duke."
"Aww! You should bring him over to my house sometime. I bet Artemis would like him too."
"I can definitely do that!"
Just then, a transit bus pulled over and came to a stop. "All right, here we go!" said Lyra. The doors swung open, and she and Sky climbed aboard. They scanned their transit cards and found a pair of seats near the window. The doors swung shut, and the ride began.
As the bus drove down the street, Sky and Lyra continued looking at pictures on each other's phones. "This was the state of our hotel room after the pillow fight," Lyra giggled.
"Oh, jeez!" Sky laughed. "How many pillows did you and your sister have?"
"Honestly, too many! There were five of them on each bed, and a few more in the closet too. So Minty and I just went at it, because why not?"
"That is fair! I mean, what else are you supposed to do with extra pillows?"
Lyra grinned. "Exactly! Hotels always give you way too many, so you may as well have some fun with them!"
"It would have been hard to do, but imagine if you'd filmed your pillow fight," Sky chuckled.
"I wish!" Lyra laughed. "I totally would have sent it to you."
"And I would have been watching it on repeat."
"We should have a sleepover one of these days..."
Sky smiled. "I would love that."
Sky and Lyra snuggled up to each other and looked out the window together as the bus passed by several familiar locations on its route into the city. Soon it reached an intersection with State Route 83. Instead of continuing east toward the seaport district, the bus made a right turn onto Route 83 south. Neither Sky nor Lyra noticed this at first. However, as time went on, Sky started to get impatient. "Is it just me, or is this bus taking a really long time to get to the waterfront?" he asked.
Lyra thought for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. It feels like we should have gotten to Marina Park already. We've hardly hit any traffic."
As the bus continued along its route, the scenery alongside the road began to look suspiciously unfamiliar. "I don't recognize these buildings," Sky remarked. "Do you?"
"Me neither," said Lyra. "It doesn't look like we're getting any closer to the coast."
Eventually, the bus stopped in an old-looking neighborhood. "Feldspar Road at Sable Street," said the voice on the PA system. "Next stop, Cobalt Avenue Bus Depot."
"Should we get off here?" Sky asked.
"Yeah, probably," Lyra replied. "I think we might have gotten on the wrong bus."
When the doors opened, Sky and Lyra hopped out onto the sidewalk. The doors then closed again, and the bus pulled away. As it left, Sky noticed that the rear LED board was showing the number 38. "Yep, we got on the wrong bus. I think we were supposed to take the 39."
Lyra looked up and noticed the number as well. "Well, that would do it. My bad. I must have gotten the numbers mixed up."
"Don't worry about it," Sky said kindly. He put his arms around Lyra and gave her a hug. "It happens. I didn't check the number before we got on, either. In any case, we should probably figure out where we are." He pulled out his phone and opened up Boogle Maps. When the map finished loading, he showed it to Lyra.
"Hey, we're just a few blocks north of the interstate!" said Lyra.
Sky nodded. "Yep!" He zoomed in on Interstate 99. "Looks like we're halfway between Route 83 and Quartz Street." He then zoomed back out again. "Man, that's going to be a long walk..."
"Well, are there any other buses that we could take?" Lyra asked. "I promise I won't get us on the wrong one again!"
Sky chuckled, and opened his web browser to find a map of the Canterlot bus system. "Hmm, let's see... how about the 66? It stops just a couple blocks east of where we are, and it'll get us to within a few blocks of Marina Park."
"Close enough!" said Lyra. She took Sky's hand and they set off down the street together. They found the bus stop that Sky had noticed on the map, and sat down on the bench.
"This neighborhood looks like it's seen better days," Sky remarked as he looked around.
"Yeah, this is definitely one of the poorer parts of the city," Lyra agreed. "Although the sketchy parts of Manhattan look way worse than this."
"I can imagine that. You know, this reminds me of Octavia's story about her cousin getting her on the wrong subway train."
"Now that you mention it, yeah! I'll have to tell her about this later."
At that moment, a bus with the number 66 on its destination board pulled up in front of them. "Is this the one?" Lyra asked. "Just making sure!"
"Well, it's a number 66 bus headed for Cerulean Avenue, so yes. Rest assured, we're definitely heading to Marina Park this time!"
For the second time that morning, Sky and Lyra boarded the bus together, scanned their transit cards and sat down together near the window. The doors swung shut, and the bus pulled back onto the road.
Before long, Sky and Lyra were out of the old rundown neighborhood. Grimy and overgrown tenement houses gave way to bright and colorful storefronts. "We're definitely getting closer to the seaport now!" Sky remarked.
"Yep!" Lyra agreed. "Not gonna lie, sometimes I forget how big Canterlot is."
"Me too. I know some parts of the city by heart, but there are other parts that I've never even seen before. I think the whole city covers about ninety square miles, which is huge."
"That sounds about right. What's your favorite part of the city?"
"That's a great question," Sky said thoughtfully. "There are a lot of good choices for that. I think I'll go with the area up by the Mistmane River. It's just really nice up there. What about you?"
"Hmm... probably the whole area around the mall. There's always something fun happening there."
"Ooh, I like that area too! The Emerald Parkway is a nice road. I love how it's lined with trees all the way into the city."
"Me too!" agreed Lyra. "I think it's my favorite road in Canterlot. My parents get annoyed at the lights sometimes, but I don't mind them. Sometimes it's nice to stop and look at the scenery."
"Oh, absolutely! Canterlot's got a lot of amazing scenery, no matter where you look. And no matter how long you've lived there, there's always some hidden gem that you haven't seen yet."
"Like the big hill at Meadowbrook Park," Lyra said with a smile.
Sky smiled too. "Yep, just like that. Did the view from the top of the Crystaller Building remind you of it?"
"Sort of, but you weren't there, so it wasn't quite as special."
"Aww... thanks, Lyra. Going on vacation was fun, but it's good to be home again."
"Yeah... we sure make a great pair, don't we, Sky?"
Sky gave Lyra a peck on the cheek. "The best pair. I can't wait to let all of our friends know."
"Me neither, Sky. But right now, I think I might take a nap. All this sitting around on buses has been making me tired."
"I understand. If you do, then I'll be happy to act as your pillow."
"Thanks, Sky." Lyra let out a soft yawn and leaned her head onto Sky's chest. It wasn't long before she was asleep. Sky remained as quiet and still as he could, enjoying the soft touch and sweet minty aroma of Lyra's hair. Luckily, the bus was fairly quiet too since it was outside of rush hour. Within a few more minutes, Sky found himself falling asleep too.
Sky and Lyra were awakened by the sound of seagulls squawking outside. They opened their eyes to find that one of the bus's windows had been opened, allowing the scent of ocean water to waft in. "Looks like we're here!" said Sky.
"Finally!" Lyra laughed. When the bus came to a stop, they got up and stretched before hopping out onto the sidewalk. The entrance to Marina Park stood at the end of the street, only a few blocks away.
"Well, we took an unexpected detour to get here, but we made it," said Lyra. "I guess you're a better navigator than me, Sky."
Sky shrugged. "I've always liked looking at maps," he said modestly. "It's just what I do. Anyway, a beautiful day at the seaside awaits, and I can't wait to spend it with you."
Lyra's eyes twinkled, and she slowly interlocked her fingers with Sky's. They quickly walked past the remaining three city blocks, and passed through the open metal gate together. Sky took a deep breath. "Ah... this ocean air just hits the spot, doesn't it?"
"It sure does," Lyra agreed. "You want to take a walk on the causeway?"
"I would love to!" said Sky. They set off down the paved pathway toward the ocean.
Marina Park was famous for its half-mile causeway that connected the south and north ends of the park. As Sky and Lyra walked along it, ocean waves rippled and splashed against the rocks, and a gentle sea breeze fluttered around them, keeping them cool. Out on the water, sailboats and cargo ships could be seen moving in and out of Canterlot Harbor. "It's always so nice to just walk along the coastline and let your mind wander," Sky said thoughtfully.
Lyra nodded. "Mm-hmm. Whenever I'm near the ocean, I always end up thinking about where I want to be in the future."
"That's usually what I think about too," Sky agreed. "Not big career plans or anything like that, but just things that make me happy. Like spending time with my favorite girl in the world."
"Well, you don't need to fantasize about that anymore, do you?" Lyra teased.
Sky smiled warmly. "Nope."
As Sky and Lyra continued their leisurely stroll, they passed by several other people walking or jogging in the opposite direction. Some of them were fellow Canterlot High students, who smiled and waved as they passed by. Sky and Lyra returned their friendly gestures. It was a perfect day for a visit to the waterfront.
At the north end of the causeway, there was a small pier that jutted out into the water. Sky and Lyra walked out to the end of it, which was just wide enough for two people to stand on. From there, they could see the gantry cranes of Canterlot Harbor to the south, some lush green islands to the north, and the wide open ocean beyond.
"I could stay here for a while," said Sky. "Just watching the boats and listening to the waves."
"Me too," said Lyra. "This pier's in the perfect spot, and so are we."
"Right next to each other?"
Lyra gave Sky a wink. "Right next to each other." She pulled out her phone and turned on the front-facing camera. "Want to take a selfie? I'll post it on SnapGab afterward."
"Sure thing!" Sky replied. "Can you send it to me, too?"
"Of course I can. You really should create a SnapGab account, though. I bet you'd get a bunch of followers in no time!"
"Probably, yeah. I just never had any reason to use that site until now. I mean, up until a couple months ago, my only real friend was Sugarcoat."
"That's understandable. I mean, I don't post anywhere near as much as some people at our school, but it's a fun place to share stuff with your friends." Lyra held her phone up and leaned in so that her face was right up against Sky's. "Say cheese!"
Sky gave the most photogenic smile he could, and Lyra hit the capture button. "Now that's a cute selfie!"
"Indeed!" agreed Sky. "Going to post it now?"
"I sure am!" Lyra opened up the SnapGab app and uploaded the selfie that she and Sky had just taken. She added a filter to enhance the colors a bit, and typed in a short but sweet description: Just spending a day at the ocean with Sky 💙. She then published the picture. "There we go!"
"I'll be sure to create an account there when I get home," said Sky. "But for now, let's just enjoy being here together."
"Of course," said Lyra. "There's no better way to live than in the moment with your favorite people."
Sky wholeheartedly agreed. Getting on the wrong bus hadn't been ideal, but getting to spend the day with Lyra more than made up for it.