Cherry leaned, the side of her face pressed against the glass of the window as the town came closer. She could see the glittering hints of the sea that they were drawing closer to and she felt a tension in her chest. She'd forgotten how much she missed home, and being so close to all that water, even just the hint of its shine, was a painful reminder. "It's alright if I get a little swim in while we're here?"
Twilight perked, looking up from her book. "Hmm? Of course that's alright. Our first priority is finding your friend, though that assumes he came here." She tapped at her chin. "That's not a guarantee."
Spike hiked a thumb at the beach. "Taking a swim might be a really good idea. If he got nervous about coming ashore, seeing his friend will bring him right out of hiding."
"Excellent thought, Spike." Twilight smiled with an almost maternal pride. "This is our stop. Let's get that pool returned, then it's off to the beach!" She hopped down from her chair as the train came to a smooth halt. They had arrived.
Together, they all piled off the train, drawing curious looks as they went. A little colt dashed up to them with a big smile. "You're back!" he squeaked with great energy. "And you brought it back! I knew you were a nice pony."
Cherry surrendered the pool to the colt. "Your pool really saved my hide. Thanks for letting me borrow it."
Twilight gave a soft cluck of her tongue. "We really should get one of those for ourselves. Your friend won't be as acclimated to these conditions as you are."
"What?"
Spike hiked a thumb at Twilight. "She means he won't be used to being as dry."
"Oh!" That made perfect sense to her. "Good idea. I didn't like being dry at all. It's still kind of icky, but you get used to it, right?" She glance towards the sparkling ocean. "Maybe we can talk him into going home instead? Then we won't need a pool at all."
Twilight thrust a hoof at the beach. "I'll see about getting one, just in case. In the worst case, you'll have one for yourself. Spike, go ahead with Cherry. You're good at swimming and the sea ponies are familiar with dragons, right?"
Cherry threw one of her forelegs around Spike and hugged him. "He's not like other dragons, he's way better."
Spike was caught in an uncertain place. "What's wrong with other dragons?"
"They're not you." Cherry released him, smiling. "Let's go swimming."
Spike nodded and they faced towards the waterline together. With her new trotting gait, Cherry made a respectable showing. She was still not the fastest creature on land, and the sand beneath her was more difficult to navigate than cobblestone or dirt. It all changed as they splashed into the water and it rose rapidly to the point that she gave a powerful full-body twitch and propelled herself into the water in a dart of speed.
Trailing behind her and staying at the surface, Spike paddled out away from the shore until Cherry popped up beside him, glistening with water and smiling brilliantly. "I forgot how this feels!"
Spike gave an emphatic thumbs up. "You look like you're having fun. Did you want these?" He offered the flippers Cherry had made and she squealed with joy, grabbing them.
Soon she had them on her metal hooves and did a quick spin in place. "Wanna race?"
Spike gave a skeptical look. "I'm pretty sure I'd lose that one."
"Awww, but trying's the fun part, isn't it?" Cherry splashed water at him, giggling. "Come on!"
Spike returned splash for splash, and the race was forgotten for a short time as they splashed and splished at one another in a fruitless battle to make the other more wet in the middle of the bay.
Cherry barely got a squeak out before she vanished under the surface of the water and Spike blinked in surprise. He dunked under it and caught a glint of light off of her metal hooves far deeper in the water. He came up for air, took a deep breath then dove after his aquatic friend as best he could.
He stroked through the water as it grew darker around himself. Just how deep had she gone? He didn't have Twilight's bubble spell for second breaths and began to lose hope he'd find her when he saw her facing another sea pony, a boy.
"What were you thinking, just grabbing me like that?" Cherry crossed her forehooves and looked quite annoyed with the other sea pony. "I thought I was being eaten by a squid."
The other rubbed behind his head with a hoof. "Sorry about that. He's always a bit, uh, eager. So... you alright?"
Spike had a feeling the two were fine, and he needed to breathe, so he kicked back up towards the surface, leaving Cherry to catch up with her friend.
Indigo glanced towards where Spike swam away. "It worked! We're too deep for dragons to bother us here."
Cherry huffed softly. "Indie... He's a friend."
Indie raised a brow. "I didn't know dragons had friends."
"That one does! I'm one of them. Look, you should go home before your parents lose their fur with worry."
Indie stuck out his tongue. "Don't try to sound like my mom, you're way too young for that. Besides, they know."
Cherry blinked softly. "They know? And they allowed it?"
"Well, I told them I was coming to help you, and you you're my friend. It's my duty, as a friend, to help you. They let me go."
Cherry put a hoof to her face. "I'm not in danger. See, look, I'm fine." She did a twirl in place. "All safe and sound."
Indie smiled brightly in the gloom of the water. "Good, then I can come with you. I want to see it too."
Cherry stiffened. She had made it seem too harmless. "You can't!"
"Why not? You're alright, right?" Indie tilted his head a little. "Oh! Did you figure out what those are for?" He pointed to her metal hooves. "You're still wearing it, so I guess you did?"
A new idea came to Cherry and she smiled. "A race."
"Hmm?"
"A race. If you can beat me in a race, you can come with me, otherwise you go back home."
Indigo hiked a brow up. "Why are you so eager to send me home? Are we not... friends anymore?" His face fell with sadness. "Was it something I did? I didn't mean to tease you before."
Cherry's eagerness shattered under the hurt feelings of her friends. It wasn't working, not at all. "It's not that... Look, let's go up and talk to Spike, the dragon. He's a friend, so you should meet him, alright? If you can't manage that, then you really should go home, 'cause he's hardly the strangest thing you'll find in The Dry."
"I can handle one little dragon!" Indie saluted sharply before darting up towards the surface, Cherry just a moment behind.
Spike gasped in surprise as two sea ponies broke the surface fast enough that they arced through the air and landed on either side of him. He looked between Cherry and Indie. "Is everything alright?"
Indie reached out and poked Spike in the chest. When he wasn't roasted for his impertinence, he smiled. "You really are a friendly dragon."
Spike smiled a little. "Indigo, was it? Hi, my name is Spike."
Indigo looked at the offered claw a moment before offering a hoof out for spike to grip and shake a little. "Um, hi Spike. I hope Cherry hasn't been annoying for you."
Cherry went a dark red swiftly. "Indie!"
Spike waved it off. "Her? No way. She's a great guest. You're a friend of hers, right?"
Cherry elbowed Indie. "We've known each other since we were little guppies. He shares my stubborn streak and he won't go home."
"Not until I see what she's been doing all this time." Indie smiled hopefully. "That's alright, right?"
Spike glanced towards the beach, but couldn't pick out where Twilight was. "So long as you follow our instructions, it should be... alright. We want you both to be safe."
Cherry pointed to the beach. "Have you been to The Dry yet?"
Indie paled faintly. "N-no..."
Cherry put her hooves at her hips. "Why not? I thought you were going to follow me."
Indigo swallowed softly. "I was kind of hoping you'd be there, with me..."
Cherry shook her head. "And if I didn't come back here to find you?"
Indie broke into a bright smile. "I was sure you'd come if I wrote about it... Guess it worked, here you are!"
Cherry sagged a little. If she had just not come back, her friend would have been entirely safe. "You're not going to be convinced, are you?"
"Please?" Indie swam a little closer. "I'll do what you say, promise. The Dry isn't that bad, is it? I mean, if it was, you'd come home yourself, right? I want to see what it's like."
Cherry felt defeated utterly. "Alright... Twilight, she's a dry pony, is getting a thing to hold water for you to stay in while we go back to Ponyville."
"This isn't Ponyville?" Indie peered at the coastal city.
"That? Nah. Ponyville isn't near the beach." Spike shook his head in the negative.
Indie paled a little. "It's far away from the water?"
"It's not too late to change your mind." Cherry smiled hopefully.
"No way! If you managed it, I will too." He began slowly approaching the coast. "The dry ponies are alright with you, right?"
Spike shrugged as he swam after them. "Twilight explained the whole thing last time. I think more ponies are curious about you than anything else. Just don't start nibbling on them and they'll be alright."
Cherry swam up beside her friend. "The dry ponies eat mostly vegetables and strange stuff, not fish. I mean, they eat some fish, but not a lot. They have flat teeth too."
"Weird!" Indie exposed his sharp incisors. "Though I guess we're just as strange to them, so I'll try not to stare too hard."
Spike nodded at that. "Good idea. Most ponies are pretty nice, if you're polite to them."
The party approached the beach, the water beneath them becoming shallow as they began to leave the home of the water and began to infringe on The Dry.