Chapter 1; The Hot Day
Sweetie Belle drummed her fingers in frustration as she swigged her chocolate milk chug. Just three days prior, Canterlot High had let out for Spring Break and she wanted nothing more than to get it started in earnest. But…the universe had other plans. These particular plans didn’t include her having fun. Rather, they only led to boredom and the occasional grunt of anger. Why did life always have to be so difficult?!
She was originally going to ask Scoots and Bloom if they wanted to go somewhere and do something fun. Just a simple excursion any average teenage girl would be interested in; like going to the mall to hang out, talking about the latest gossip, and drinking overpriced smoothies. Unfortunately, that was not to be so.
Scootaloo was too busy practicing her skateboard tricks with Rainbow. While the aforementioned activity was not unusual for the sisterly duo, the circumstances behind the practice were. The annual Equestrian Extreme Sports competition was nary a week away, so there was no chance in Tartarus that she was going to be available anytime soon.
Apple Bloom, on the other hand, was occupied with helping her siblings harvest an unusual bumper crop of watermelons. Since the spring had been so warm, the melons grew far faster than expected. Hence, the Apples needed to sell them off quickly before they spoiled. As much as Sweetie hated that Bloom was busy, she knew that it meant her friend’s family was making a hefty profit.
With few other friends to turn to, Sweetie naturally went straight to her sister. Yet again, she was only met with further frustration. Back when they were younger, the two sisters would often do things together during the summer. But ever since Rarity opened her own tailoring business, she increasingly devoted more and more of her spare time towards the business instead of bonding with her sister…or parents for that matter.
All of these factors led to one thing: a very bored Sweetie Belle. After she finished the remaining swig of her milk chug, the curly haired girl tossed the container in the recycle bin and plopped onto the floor.
“Ugh, So boooooorrrrrred!”
Rarity, upon hearing her sister’s declaration, was drawn into the kitchen from her work room. When she came upon her sister, she found that the teenager was sprawled on the floor, kicking her arms and legs about like a fish out of water. Needless to say, Rarity was quite annoyed.
“Sweetie Belle, get off the floor this instant! That is not behavior becoming of a young lady!”
Sweetie rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah. But it still doesn’t change the fact that I’m bored.”
“I know that most of your friends are busy, darling but you can’t possibly expect me to entertain you.”
“I guess not. But you’re always so busy, Rarity! We don’t ever do stuff together anymore.”
Rarity frowned. “I suppose you’re right about that. However, I have a business to run and I can’t just put everything on hold on a whim. Tell you what: if you help me deliver a few of my dress orders, we can go to the Aloe & Lotus for a deluxe treatment. How does that sound?”
“Oh! You mean that place in town with the big hot tub?!”
“Erm…it’s called a spa, darling. But yes, you are essentially correct.”
Sweetie’s eyes sparkled. “Does that mean I can get one of those deep tissue massages Fluttershy always talks about?”
“I don’t see why not. Wait a second, when did Fluttershy mention a massage? She’s usually so quiet when we go there.”
“Like all the time! Whenever we go visit the shelter to play with the animals, she always talks about some guy named Mr. Biceps with a weird look on her face. I guess he must give some really awesome massages, huh?”
Rarity smirked. “Oh I imagine he does~ In any case, would you mind helping me?”
With an enthusiastic nod, Sweetie followed her sister into the work room. She was expecting there to be a ton of orders, but oddly enough there were only a handful. In fact, Rarity only handed her a single box. Sweetie just stood there, utterly dumbfounded as to why her sister made such a big deal out of what seemed to be a few, measly orders.
“I thought you said you had a lot of orders! There’s only like five boxes in here. What gives?”
Rarity crossed her arms. “Five is a lot! Especially considering that I have to deliver most of them myself. Shipping is expensive, you know.”
“If you say so. Who’s dress am I gonna deliver?”
“My good friend, Sunset Shimmer. Not to worry, she doesn’t live terribly far from here. It should only take you about an hour or so on foot. A little quicker, if you use your bike.”
Sweetie cocked her head, “The bacon-haired lady with the super powers?”
“Yes. But please don’t call her that. I don’t believe she’d be overly fond of such a…unique nickname. Just call her Ms. Shimmer.”
“I wasn’t really gonna call her that! Jeez…you always act like I’m still a kid.”
“You do have a tendency to be somewhat naïve at times, dear sister.”
“AM NOT!” Sweetie squeaked.
“Well, I beg to differ. Yes, I seem to recall that you were quite enthralled by my collection of naughty magazines. In fact, I couldn’t stop laughing at how embarrassed you looked when I caught you. Your cheeks could have easily replaced the red carpet at that gala!”
Sweetie blushed. “I—that wasn’t my fault! Mom never got around to telling me about that kind of stuff. The other girls at school started talking about it a-and I got curious! Dumb hormones…”
“Relax, Sweetie. All of that is part of growing up. I went through a similar phase when I was your age.”
“But you’re only like three years older than me!”
Rarity waggled her finger. “Still older, still wiser. Now, it is very important that you do not crumple the box. I don’t want Sunset to receive a wrinkly dress. So, be very careful when you carry it. Other than that, you just have to give it to her. She’s already paid for it.”
“Where does she live?”
“Oddly enough, she lives in a cabin near the edge of town. It’s right by a quaint little lake. Although…I can’t help but feel that it clashes with Sunset’s personality. Perhaps she just prefers the solitude of nature? I shall have to ask her sometime.”
“Sounds easy enough to find. I’ll be back in a while. Just remember your promise!”
Rarity waved. “I will, darling. Have a safe trip.”
“She doesn’t live terribly far from here,” Sweetie panted through clenched teeth, “Rarity, I'd really like to hear what your definition of a walk around the block is!”
She brought the bike to a stop just outside of what she hoped was Sunset’s Cabin. After riding for a good hour and change in this spring humidity, the poor teenager was understandably tired. The worse part was the fact that she was dripping with sweat and it was dampening all of her clothes.
“Dammit,” She swore under her breath as she took a small break. After gaining back a lot of her strength she gave herself a look over. The redness of her skin wasn’t terrible and she could easily hide it, but that didn’t excuse the fact that it was there. Well at least the dress was alright.
“I hope that massage is worth this.” She said as she picked up the dress and headed towards Sunset’s house.
Taking a deep breath, Sweetie looked around. For someone whom in one year went from the High School Bully to High School Pep leader, Sunset sure did live in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t as deep in the forest as Fluttershy’s Cottage, but it was far enough from town that it made Sweetie wonder. Why would Sunset be this far out in Whitetail woods? Then she took a good look at the lake.
The water was crystal clear and the trees around it looked extremely beautiful. It was almost like an artist painted this picture as his magnum opus, the lake side was just that gorgeous. Then Sweetie noticed a small beach leading from Sunset’s house to the waterfront. While she didn’t have the clearest of looks, what she saw made her smile. The sand was a light beige color and it looked really soft and comfortable. If only Sweetie had brought her bathing suit and a towel, then she’d probably stick around for a bit to do some tanning and a short swim. But she of course didn’t have it, so that plan was out the window.
Walking up to the door, Sweetie shifted the dress in her arms and rang the cabin’s door bell. The bell chimed for a moment and Sweetie heard it echo throughout the building. Shifting her feet, Sweetie waited with the package. But no response came from the cabin.
“Oh great, Rarity forgot to call Sunset again!” Sweetie Belle sighed.
The last time her older sister forgot to tell a client a delivery was coming, Sweetie ended up standing outside a stranger's house for about a half hour. So she rang the doorbell again and knocked on the door just for good measure.
“Ms. Shimmer, it’s me Sweetie Belle. I’m here with your dress from Rarity.”
There was no response. With a grunt Sweetie again shifted her posture. The humidity was now getting to be unbearable. Her clothes thankfully were made out of a polyester/cotton mix so it wasn’t brutal as pure cotton would have been. Rarity always knew how to make clothes fashionable and comfortable in any weather. But that didn’t help on this day. Honestly if it wasn’t so embarrassing, Sweetie would have just ditched her clothes and gone for a dip in the lake.
“Ms. Shimmer, are you even home?” Sweetie asked through a groan.
Once again, there was no response. Sweetie walked over to one of the windows and peered in. Just her luck, the house was dark and there were signs of Sunset having stepped out. Sweetie also noticed plastic over most of the furniture.
“Huh, maybe she’s a germaphobe.” Sweetie muttered. But she had her answer at least as to why Sunset wasn’t answering, “All the better for me then, 'cause now I can go get that deep tissue massage without having to actually talk to her.”
She made her way back to her bike. Putting the dress back on the carriage, Sweetie now had a free hand to reach for her phone. When she saw that her message alert was blinking she frowned.
Rarity: Sweetie, I’m terribly sorry but a customer asked for me to personally measure her for a new dress and it’s taking longer than I hoped. I’m afraid I’ll have to cancel our plans today and postpone them for tomorrow.
“OH, COME ON!” Sweetie shouted slamming her phone back down.
Well, there went Sweetie Belle’s plans for the day. Now irritable, Sweetie mounted her bike and strapped the dress box in place. Before putting up her kickstand, she took one last look at Sunset’s cabin, and once again got a view of the lake. The water looked so clean, blue, and refreshing that she really felt sorry that she had to leave. But it wasn’t a good idea to stay on other people’s property without letting them know.
She was about to kick up her stand and set off when she felt the heat radiate over her skin on her again. The sun was now midway through it’s daily trek and the heat was more intense than ever. And furthermore, a ride back home would take too long and the poor girl was already exhausted and sweaty. She stared at the lake longingly.
“Maybe I'll just dip my feet in. Only to cool down a little bit.” She said.
She didn’t have her swim suit on underneath her clothes, so she couldn’t actually go swimming. And even if she did, it was Sunset’s property and Sweetie wasn't entirely certain that Sunset would allow it. So dipping her feet in the lake was the best option. She moved her bike closer to the lake front so that she could make a quick exit when she felt she had enough. Upon reaching the lake, she took off her shoes and socks and stepped in. The water was, in fact, very cool to the touch and extremely refreshing.
“Oh my gosh that feels soooo good!” Sweetie Belle sighed as she waded in up to her knees.
Thankfully the area was still vacant, so Sweetie didn’t have to beat a hasty retreat. She put both of her hands into the water and it felt even better. As she waded her way through the shallow end of the shore, the temptation to submerge her entire body persisted. Still, the fact that she didn’t have any bathing suit with her made her hesitant to continue. Then again, the sun was bright and warm enough that if she did get her clothes wet, she could easily lay them out to dry.
But that meant Sweetie would have to take them off. Rarity once warned her that drying your clothes while wearing them was not a good idea. Her already wet skin would slow the process down and the damp clothing would continue to keep her skin wet. All of that combined would make for a rather uncomfortable ride home. So if she did want to go in, she would have to take her clothes off.
Sweetie stopped moving around for a moment as she pondered that. Should she just take off her clothes and swim in her underwear instead? It wasn't a terrible idea considering that a normal bikini was just underwear you could swim in. The more she thought about it, the more the idea appealed to her, and the heat was becoming near impossible to deal with. Furthermore, Sunset was still away and the area was completely devoid of human life. There really wasn’t much of a risk of getting caught.
“Eh what the heck, I’ll do it.” Sweetie assured herself.
She waded back over towards the shore near her bike. She took one last look around to make sure that no one was around. After she was satisfied that nobody else was there, she grabbed the hem of her shirt. But as she pulled it off, a stray thought entered her mind.
“…I seem to recall that you were quite enthralled by my collection of naughty magazines…” Rarity's voice echoed.
“Why am I…?”
Then realization struck her like a sledgehammer. Sweetie’s face went red when she realized that her brain was associating her stripping down at the lake like she had while reading those magazines. She shook her head and tried to shake off the naughty images forming in her mind.
“Stop it brain, this is nothing like that.” Sweetie Belle said and pulled on her shirt.
But of course, any teenager is going to have to wage war with their hormones. And Sweetie’s impure thoughts locked right back in place as the shirt cleared her head. She struggled to clear her mind while she slid out of her shorts and placed her clothes neatly by the bike. Walking back over to the lake, Sweetie felt much comfier. The sun was now shining directly against her bare skin.. At least she didn't have to worry about getting her clothes wet anymore.
Well not all of her clothes. Her bra and panties were still going to get wet. As she reached the water, she thought about that; if they got wet she was going to have to remove them and then ride back home commando. Worse yet, she would have to dry her underwear quickly. Otherwise, she was going to need to place them underneath the dress box which left her a grim set of choices: get the dress wet, or expose her privates to the world if she moved the wrong way.
And for a girl at the tender age of fourteen, it was not a prospect she even wanted to consider. But she certainly couldn’t just swim naked, right? Well, some of those people in the magazines were swimming naked, and they seemed to be enjoying it. As she weighed her options, the sun decided to answer her question by increasing its intensity.
“Ugh why does today have to be so hot?!” Sweetie grimaced.
It was either takeoff her undies and swim, or continue wading around to avoid embarrassment. Or forget this whole thing entirely, put her clothes back on, and go home. But it seemed the universe, and her senses, had other plans. The heat finally got to Sweetie Belle, and all she could think about was how amazing it would feel once she started swimming.
“Well, there’s no one around…” she muttered.
In a flash, off came the bra and panties. Now fully nude, Sweetie Belle felt a gentle breeze brush over her skin as if to signify that she had made the right choice. She still wasn’t quite so sure that this was a good idea, but at least now she could swim without worrying about her clothes getting wet. She ran towards the water and jumped in.
Instantly, the cool water flowing over her relieved all the pent up anger she had towards her sister, the universe conspiring against her by not allowing her friends any free time with her, Sunset not being home to receive her package, and the day being too damn hot. Swimming underwater, she found that the lake soon became much deeper. So, she dove further just to see how deep the water actually went. Reaching the bottom, she soon ran out of air and made her way back up to the surface. Sweetie pushed a strand of wet hair out of her face when she emerged.
“Oh this feels so good! Thank the creator this water is so cool!” she sang.
Floating onto her back, Sweetie looked up at the sky with a smile. She was enjoying this very much. The water was cold; there was no wind so her skin didn’t tingle as the water lapped against it. Furthermore, with the heat she could just rest on the shore line and dry off fairly quickly. But there was something else to it as well. She was swimming naked, an idea that most people would find risque.
This was definitely something Rarity would find uncouth, as would most people. But there was no getting around the fact that Sweetie was very much enjoying her state of undress. As one wise person once said, ‘Rules are meant to be broken.’ She honestly didn't mind breaking the rule that you should wear a bathing suit when you went swimming.
Now content with her decision, Sweetie resumed swimming. After a while, she decided to try something all swimmers eventually try: swimming across the lake underwater. Sweetie was a good swimmer, but she had never dared to try anything as tricky as this. But thankfully, both Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash taught her an interesting trick. Reaching a shallow section opposite from Sunset’s house, Sweetie began taking very deep breaths.
“Okay,” she said between breaths, “Here we go!”
With one massive breath of air, Sweetie dove under water. Kicking with all her strength, she raced towards the other side. In no time at all, she had made it halfway. With no garments to weigh her down, Sweetie was actually going faster than she normally did, but only by a little. Soon enough she had reached the other side. Sweetie was amazingly proud of herself as she reached the shallow end.
But just as she surfaced, her pride vanished.
“Sweetie Belle!” said a familiar voice, “What are you doing here?”
With a gasp and a gulp of water, Sweetie looked up to see a very stunned Sunset Shimmer standing over her. The expression on both their faces was the same despite the cause being entirely different: Shock.