Renown Composition slowly blinked herself awake to the smell of breakfast cooking in the kitchen. It wasn't an out of place experience; most days she woke up to breakfast being cooked while she stayed in bed. Sometimes she considered getting up to meet the mysterious ponies who cooked for her every morning, as she did now. However, she ditched the idea like always, deciding that she didn't care enough to meet whoever it was. Maybe it was Princess Celestia herself.
It certainly wasn't the stallion still sleeping quietly next to her, Sound Solace. He was a very attractive stallion with a beige and sand colored coat, along with black hair and blue eyes. He was a smidge on the taller side, and was built extremely well, in more ways than one. Strong for a pegasus, nice and kind, funny, energetic– it was about what she expected Celestia to provide for her on her vacation, and probably what she would have built herself if given the option. He was perfect. Just perfect.
Eventually, Composition forced herself to get up and out of bed, just in time for breakfast to be finished and the cook to have disappeared again when she got to the dining room. It was okay though, since it gave her time to wake up some more before Solace got up. Many things were laid out on the table before her to choose from; parfaits and frittatas and quiches and belgian waffles and whatever else she could have possibly wanted. Today though she just opted for oatmeal and fruit, along with a couple of mugs of coffee. Something simple would do her good for a change.
She yawned as she carefully cut up the fruit and stirred it into her bowl, staring at pictures that sat on the shelves just across from her in the living room while she ate. The frames contained scenes of adventure and excitement– snow capped mountains and deep sea snorkeling and tents set up in deep forests and a host of other adventurous activities. There were also social things captured, like a scene of she and Solace winning bits at a casino and a bonfire party somewhere outside of Equestria and visiting the ruins of something or other. Skydiving and strobe light parties and ziplining and everything else she could think of. Every day was something new, and brought her something else exciting. It was all wonderful and perfect, and helped her to enjoy this vacation.
Just perfect, it was, perfect enough that she imagined two ponies who were close to her would love doing all of these things, too.
A little sigh escaped her, and she closed her eyes for a moment before going back to her breakfast. Once she was finished, she flopped back into bed next to Solace, who turned over and wrapped his hooves around her waist. She wiggled in close to him and closed her eyes to exist in the moment for a few minute before he decided it was time for him to get up, too. With his getting up and out of bed, Composition figured it was time to actually start getting ready for another exciting day of doing who knew what. She certainly didn’t, opting to let the stallion decide most days.
She took a quick shower, and by the time she was out of the room again, Sound Solace was sitting on a sofa, already finished with breakfast. He smiled up at her, the same as he always did. It was more like an excited grin actually, one that said he had already come up with an idea for the day.It was a task he never failed at.
“We haven’t gone sailing yet, have we?” he asked. “We should do that today. We're gonna be landing near a lake, I think. It would be fun. Or windsurfing."
Had they gone sailing? It seemed hard to believe that they didn't, but no such memory came to her. It certainly sounded like fun, she thought. Windsurfing even more so.
A quick look out the window to the deck of the ship showed a pristine, crystal blue sky and a bright yellow sun shining down on them. A perfect day, just as it had been for the last however many weeks. There were no clouds below them, the ground now visible as the ship approached landing, settling itself onto a dock by a large, blue lake. It was a little early in the morning to be going outside, the sun having just risen from the location they landed at. Composition stretched her limbs again and let out another yawn.
“What are we doing after that?” she asked. “I know we went to the casino last night, but what if we went again? That was fun.”
The stallion smiled confidently back at her, a look that Composition returned to him. “That sounds good to me, if you wanna.”
Yes, that sounded like it would be another wonderful day. An absolutely perfect one to her, just like every other had been so far on this vacation.
How am I still depressed? she wondered silently, keeping anything she felt off of her face, leaving her expression blank. This is the adventure of a lifetime. What the heck is wrong with me?
She was certain he was oblivious to her feelings as he flopped onto the sofa next to her and pressed his coat into hers. She closed her eyes for a second and shook her head clear of those things, taking the chance to press into him. It felt nice to exist like this for a moment.
What even was Sound Solace to her though? A stallion friend? A friend with benefits? She didn’t know, but she imagined he was just somepony to fill the void during this vacation. Maybe he’d be somepony close to her after this adventure was finished. She couldn’t say. She did know though that he would never be able to…
She stopped herself right there, and decided to put that thought away for now. She was on vacation. He was absolutely perfect for her. Just perfect.
The meantime was spent with her sitting next to her companion and jotting down ideas for drawings, as well as something to write later. The stallion looked over her shoulder every so often and asked questions, and occasionally gave suggestions. Most of them were not great, but some were better than ideas she had, and she kept them. She enjoyed the company he offered, even in a small moment like this.
It wasn’t terribly long before both she and Solace were stepping out of their room on the ship. There were a hundred other ponies already out, laughing and talking as they took in the sun and the bright blue lake. The air smelled nice and sweet, and a nice warm breeze hit her coat as she stood next to her friend. She’d been windsurfing once before a few years ago, and the day was just like this. This would be great.
“Are you ready?” Sound Solace asked with a large grin. It was one she saw every day, and a question she’d heard from him many times.
“Ready as always,” she replied, returning a grin of her own.
She absolutely was ready for the day that was planned, one that gave her familiar thrills as she received those new experiences. Her board glided across the water as she stood firm atop it, the wind rippling through her mane and hitting her face. This was what it was all about. A new day with new things to do. It was perfect.
Just perfect.
It was a morning spent doing just that, and after a quick bite of lunch, she and Solace spent their afternoon swimming and watching other ponies continue on their board. The water was a bit cooler than she expected, but it was okay because the air was hotter in the afternoon. The sun warmed up her back and mane, and seemed to catch Solace’s coat at a particularly nice angle. It brought to her thoughts of the evening, where they would try their luck at the poker table this time before they headed back to their room to enjoy another nice night in each other’s company.
This is so fucking selfish. I’m treating them like shit.
The longer this vacation went on, the more she realized that this wasn’t satisfying her– not in the way she wanted it. Momentary satisfaction was found, sure, but did Celestia really think this was a good idea? How could avoiding her problems bring any sort of happiness?
She didn’t know, but the thought left her mind when Solace splashed her playfully. This was supposed to be a vacation from all of those things, nothing more. The presumption of satisfaction coming from this was silly to think about, and she knew it. She was only taking a break. She would get back to it after this. Eventually.
She hoped her friends weren’t missing her too badly.
She met a mare while she swam who she talked to about art, and another pony after that who went on and on about all of the businesses he wanted to open after this air cruise. Both were nice, and could be added to the list of friends she made while here, although she wondered if any of these were relationships that would last. Even Sound Solace. Would she know him when…?
It was a few hours she spent swimming around the lake with him, laughing and chatting up other ponies before they finally pulled themselves out and dried off. They and most of the rest of the ponies on the cruise with them watched the sun set before they headed back on board. Just a little while after that, they found themselves at the casino on the deck, sitting at a poker table with many chips in hand. Solace only watched Composition play, but it was still a good time for both of them. She lost some bits, but it wasn’t a big deal, because Solace laughed with her, and the free drinks kept coming around. It was another good time she had.
She could say the same for the night she spent with Sound Solace once they got back to her room. He changed things up, did some things she liked more, and a few things he enjoyed better. That was one of the things that made this better than she expected. There were things he liked that she wasn't really into, which helped him to feel more like a real pony. It was perfect.
Just. Perfect. Almost unnaturally so. Was there even a flaw about him, outside of being so frustratingly well created? Not one that Composition could think of, something she wondered about as he held her close after a long night before they fell asleep.
Another new day came, Renown Composition opening her eyes to the smell of breakfast, like she always did. This time though, she didn’t get out of bed. Instead, she pulled the blanket over her head to block out the light and dilute the delicious scent. What was the point? Everything was great, except for her. All of these things brought her joy, but any happiness received from them felt empty.
It wasn’t terribly long before Sound Solace was getting out of bed, which forced her to get up. She ignored breakfast while he ate, and sat on the couch, staring ahead at nothing. What would today bring her? Probably nothing but perfection, she assumed. It was all so perfect, as it had been for the last two months.
Was Composition being selfish? She didn’t know. It certainly felt like she was.
“We’re stopping in the mountains today,” Solace said when he finally joined her on the couch. “I was thinking we could try climbing them. We’d need gear and stuff to get to the top, because they said it’s cold up there, but I bet we could do it.” He had the same confident smile he always did, and it forced Composition to put on one of her own.
“Yeah, that sounds good,” she agreed. “Let me get some breakfast first though.”
She only took a single step before she spoke again. “Actually, I changed my mind,” she told him without turning around. “I don’t think I wanna do that today.”
“Oh?” He didn’t sound disappointed to Composition as he walked up behind her and looked over the mare’s shoulder. “What would you rather do then?”
She closed her eyes and let out a long breath. “I’d rather go back home and see my friends.”