A Summer for Couples

by BlackWater

2 - Orientation

He'd never seen anything like it before. It had sharp corners but also managed to have a roundness to it. It was sleek, it was curvaceous, it was alluring, and most of all it looked fast. Very fast.

“I think I'm in love,” Shining whispered through his breath.

Cadance snickered as they came up to the boat's entry ramp.

“The Hydro Star is exclusively for the use of you two,” she pointed at the couple. “So you get the keys after the tour. Have either of you ever driven a hydrofoil?”

She looked at them both but Cadance looked to Shining Armor, who looked back to her.

“I'll give you the one-two while we make our way to Beach 2,” Oxygen reassured them as she stepped up onto the ramp. Instead of leading to an open-air deck, the ramp led to a closed hatch-like door in the side of the vessel. She opened it and beckoned them in.

The inside could have been from one of those sci-fi novels that Twilight had urged Shining to read in the past. Cadance was thinking the very same thing because every inch of the space was as shiny and new-looking as the dock had been. The compartment they had walked into was some kind of recreational room, a small kitchen and lounge complete with a loveseat secured into the wall. A passageway led along the inner side of the ship to some forward section and they only noticed after a while that most of the wall for the compartment was made of glass. It was hard to tell at first because something was shielded over on the outside to prevent a view of the outside.

“You can take her out to sea and relax here in the lounge if you want,” Oxygen continued the ship's portion of the tour. “And this,” she poked a button on a control panel on the other side of the room, “will open the blinds.”

Just as she pushed the button, there was a clicking noise and the outer non-glass walls of the room started pulling away out of view. What was left was the interior glass wall that provided them a crystal clear view of the dock they had just walked from. Cadance stared on in awe while Shining looked back and forth between the glass dome and Oxygen Rush.

“I've never even heard of anything like this existing before,” he told her in surprise.

The light blue pegasus nodded minutely. “Because this is the only one as far as I know. Latest and greatest. About half of the ship's design I did myself.”

She started traveling down the forward passageway before either of them could discern what she had said.

“Wait,” Cadance stepped up to get by her side, which there wasn't much room for in the narrow corridor. “You designed it?”

“Barely half,” Oxygen admitted with a tinge of embarrassment. “Mostly the lower equipment like the hydrofoils, engines, water sensors, adjustment gyros. I don't get all of the upper wiring. The diagrams scare me,” she giggled and stuck out her tongue, half-joking at the last part.

“You're so young,” Cadance peered on at the mare in admiration. She had meant it in an amazed sort of way because she had met engineers twice her age that hadn't accomplished half as much.

“Aw,” Oxygen blushed. “Now I've said too much. I don't want you thinking about me when you're here to relax with him. Forget I said anything.”

“Well, I won't,” Shining spoke up from behind them just as they entered the pilot's cabin. “This is amazing!”

Cadance shook her head. “You should have seen him when somepony suggested they start using armored wagons in the Royal Guard. He's obsessed with these kind of things.”

Oxygen laughed politely and came up to the pilot's wheel. Like the back part of the ship, the cabin also had the retracting walls and interior glass. The outer shielding retreated as soon as the pegasus tapped something on the wheel.

“The Hydro Star has automatic shifting and mooring,” she explained and beaconed the alicorn and unicorn closer. “I'll try to keep it simple and not use too many seafaring terms on you. Here are the toggles for the forward and rear lights,” she gestured. “The side and underwater lights....the cabin blinds....and here's the light that tells you whether or not the ship is secured to the dock. Just pull it in close enough and it will automatically moor when you come to a full stop. I'm sorry, 'moor' means the ship is hooked to the dock so it won't drift away. It will automatically unhook when you start accelerating away. And here are the toggles for speed. Up and down. Other than that, there's just the wheel for steering.”

Cadance looked on thoughtfully.

“I have to admit,” Shining spoke up, “I did some basic seafaring classes in the Guard but I've never dealt with these powered boats before.”

“Just watch me as we go from place to place,” Oxygen encouraged them. “You'll see what I mean by it being easy. By the end of the day, you'll be plenty capable enough to zip around the bay in it. If, by any chance, neither of you is comfortable with driving it then no worries. I'll be your chauffeur anytime you want.”

With that, Oxygen Rush prodded at the acceleration toggle gently and the mooring light flashed red. With a demure little hum, the craft started inching forward. Nowhere was the sound of a blasting engine furnace or grinding turbines. Just that quiet hum.

Cadance walked closer to the forward glass of the cabin and could almost look straight down at the water that the ship was splitting to both of its sides. As they came away from the dock, Oxygen started steering the vessel to the right to follow the shoreline.

“First stop,” she announced as she turned up the acceleration to a moderate pace, “Beach 2. Hot Springs and Gift Shop.”

The ship pulled up to the dock with an elegant grace. It was clear their pegasus guide was as used to driving it as she was to using her own hooves. There was a clicking sound as the moor light went green and something clacked against the ship's side. They filed out onto a different dock by Oxygen's lead.

“Each stop along our beach has a big sign,” she pointed up to what was indeed a large sign towering above them where the dock gave out to the cobblestone land path. “So you always know what each place is even without a map – you can see it as you're out on the waves.”

This particular sign read “2” with bold text below that read “Hot Springs” with “Gift Shop” below it. Shining Armor crossed one thing off his list of worries. There was no way in Tartarus he was getting lost around here.

“By the way, there's a big colored map in the Star's cabin. It's pinned to the back wall in case you didn't see it.”

“Why is there a gift shop here?” Cadance asked politely as she followed the mare towards a vine-covered stone building set into the swarm of lush tropical vegetation. Even though the beach was clean with smooth banks of white sand and see-through pushes of water, the plant life took on a hasty dominance some seventy hooves distance in.

“Oh, that's for the visitors that come just for the hot springs,” Oxygen answered and opened the old wooden door for them. “Ponies can access it from an adjacent road – the one from Fillydelphia. We actually get a lot of traffic that way. Not just ponies either. We've had lots of griffons and other visitors.”

They went in and got another tour no less engaging than the previous one. This building had nothing of the shiny newness of the Welcome Center they first came to but it did have an old serenity to it. Perhaps it was the fact that it was all stone and old wood or perhaps it was the fact that the stone walls and ceiling had crumbled in certain places to give it that jungle ruins feel. It was obvious enough that the ruin-like appearance of the place was just a facade, though, for a themed business.

Oxygen Rush stopped them after they went through a stone archway. They seemed to be standing in front of a hillside choked with ferns and low-hung plants. The stones of the building bled away so that it was hard to tell where it ended and the jungle began. But amongst the greenery, there were cobblestone paths winding up the hill to enclosures made from wooden walls that looked to be the newest thing around. She led them to one at the end of the path farthest to the right. It zigzagged up a steep incline to an enclosure removed from the rest and much larger too.

“This is your own personal hot spring,” she beamed for them and opened the rickety door to lead them in. “Come whenever you want. The lanterns are lit every night so you can come as late as you want to. Just don't stay in for over two hours or you might pass out,” she giggled.

Cadance walked in while Shining Armor just poked his head around the door frame to see. There was a generous amount of space between the wooden walls and the edge of the water, which was held in pools ringed with smooth stones. All of the soil was rich and dark with small well-kept plants and flowers occupying the space against the walls. There were lanterns spread about on the ground in these areas as well that would presumably give enough light to the place at night. Even now, the steam could be seen coming up from the water's surface.

“We'll obviously do this later, but I really can't wait,” the princess clopped her hooves and looked over to her husband and Oxygen Rush.

“Oh yeah,” the stallion nodded smugly at the spring.

“There are towels, lotions, and all the extras over here,” Oxygen motioned to a small cabinet stand near the door. There was a hamper next to it as well. “Any questions or are you ready to move on?”

“None here,” Shining started but then his wife poked him and whispered something in his ear. “Oh! Um...about the gift shop. Does it have any books?”

It was a good thing Cadance was around, Shining thought jokingly to himself. She usually had ideas that were good but somehow escaped his own incredible intellect. Again, he was kidding to himself but he was not kidding about how grateful he was to have a book now sitting on a side table back in the Hydro Star's lounge area.

His mare had suggested getting the souvenir early so he wouldn't forget or worry about it. And there was certainly no doubt in his mind that Twilight would love a book all about how hot springs got their heat through volcanic vents. It was just the sort of nerdy thing she would engross herself in for an entire afternoon. That was, of course, assuming she didn't already know. There was no telling what odd subjects she had already investigated thoroughly.

“Beach 5,” Oxygen declared from the wheel. They had managed to cover “Beach 3: Fishing and Water Gliding” and “Beach 4: Medical” in a relatively short period of time. This stop seemed to make their guide more excited, however.

“Diving?” Cadance read the marker on the cabin map.

“H2pOny Diving Center,” Oxygen confirmed. “I've got something special here for the two of you.”

“I don't know,” Shining shook his head. “It's all been pretty special already.”

Cadance nodded at that as they exited onto the dock and entered another building that looked much more like the Welcome Center except for the fact that half of it was hanging over the water. As always, Oxygen opened the door for them and then rejoined them inside.

Something buzzed and Shining Armor looked around curiously to where the noise came from.

“Sorry,” Oxygen apologized. “It's just my earpiece. My superiors are telling me I need to pick it up and stop wasting your time.”

“You're not wasting our time,” the couple expressed simultaneously.

“We're very grateful for you showing us around,” Shining Armor added in.

“Thank you,” Oxygen replied shyly. “Just bear with me a little longer.”

“But what do you mean by 'earpiece?'” Cadance asked while they entered a large locker room with what appeared to be a deep pool in the center. The edges were carefully roped off.

“It's like a small headset in one ear,” she answered. “It gives me notifications so I can keep up with all of the visitors and talk to them no matter where I am.”

“I didn't even notice it,” the alicorn peered to the side to try to see if there was something in Oxygen's ear.

“You're not supposed to,” the mare smiled in return.

She proceeded to show them the Center's training and equipment room, which they were now in. They went over to one locker in particular that had a single blue star imprinted on the riveted metal and she opened it to retrieve two suits hung on the inside.

“I really wanted to show you these before you got settled in,” she lifted up a suit in each hoof, which the two ponies levitated up to look over. “Special diving suits I made just for the two of you. I had to hurry when I got the notice of reservation but I really put my heart into them.”

Shining Armor blushed as he looked his over and glanced at Cadance's. They were designed to be skin tight and each was styled to the other's colors. Hers was white with striking blue accents while his was light pink with purple and yellow accents that matched his wife's mane. And yet both of them shared the same symbol on the flank, which was a perfect combination of their two cutie marks – a crystal shield with his stars and her embroidery. At the bottom of the right back hoof was tiny print that read “H2pOny” in clean type just a shade off from the surrounding color.

Cadance looked to him and cooed. “Oh, they're perfect. We have to go diving in them.”

Oxygen looked excitedly between them. She had secretly worried whether or not they would like them.

“Definitely more than once before we leave,” the stallion unicorn agreed before his cheeks could warm up any more than they had.

Their guide took the suits and stored them again. She kept talking as she lead them out of the Center. “I'll show you everything there is to diving when you choose to start, so don't worry about a thing. It's where I got my cutie mark, you know.”

“Really?” Shining asked curiously by Oxygen's side.

“Yep,” she gleamed, her accent insisting on softening and warping every “l” her tongue happened across. “I love the water.”

“You sure work in the right place for it,” he poked her playfully in the side and grinned.

She laughed again. “That I do. And it's a blast, I have to admit.”

After they boarded the Star again and set out along the deep end of the shoreline's curve, she heard a stomach grumble and managed to get them to confess what they wanted to have. It was the middle of the afternoon, so both Cadance and her husband agreed they'd want something of a late but light lunch. The pegasus repeated their orders a bit louder than her normal tone and gestured to one of her ears before either asked. She confirmed for them that the chef was on it and they'd have a fresh meal at their cottage as soon as they were dropped off.

“Beach 6: Plaza,” Oxygen declared to continue the orientation, guiding the ship gently past the sign. “We won't stop because I'm quite certain you don't need my assistance in getting around that place. The restaurants, shopping center, and Club Tropic are all there. If you want to eat out, there's everything from exotic dishes to a tried and true hayburger with fries. If you want something that you can't get at one of our restaurants then you just tell me and I'll get it for you.”

“You're a chef too?” Cadance went wide-eyed.

Oxygen laughed harder than she had all day. “Goodness, no. I couldn't use a microwave if my life depended on it. I'm just the req girl. The pros at our restaurants do all the fancy work.”

“It's hard to tell with you,” the pink mare praised and gave her a complimentary expression.

“For shopping,” Oxygen continued with a slight blush, “we've got everything you'd see in a normal mall plus some specialty stores. The Tropic's bar is for adults only but I don't think we need to worry about age here,” she winked back at her two royals. “We recently got a new DJ as well. Over the summer, we get guest DJs that'll show up for a night or even a week. DJ Pon-3 is scheduled to drop by for the first weekend.”

“Oh!” Cadance lit up. “She played at our wedding!”

Oxygen Rush looked genuinely surprised for the first time that day. “Wow,” she exclaimed. “Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy her show then.”

“Yeah, she was pretty good,” Shining agreed. “Who usually plays music?”

“Neon Lights,” the pegasus replied. “We managed to nab him last season when our old DJ retired. He's new blood but really good.”

“What about the last stop?” Cadance asked from where she now stood in front of the map on the back cabin wall. “Water Park?”

“Beach 8 is closed right now because they're getting ready for the day after tomorrow. That's the Arcade and Water Park,” she waved over to the map, not looking back because she was steering the ship around the bay. “I don't think you'll have any problem finding your way around those if you go to them. I can show you around after they open if you desire. Remember that everything is already included with your stay so I don't want you thinking about money during your visit.”

“If you insist,” Shining gave in with a mix of happiness and guilt due to the lack of worry and the feeling of taking advantage, respectively.

“I haven't noticed anypony besides us and those two stallions,” Cadance observed.

The pegasus was understanding in her answer. “You came at a bit of an odd time. Oh, no. Don't feel bad. It's just that we're preparing for the next seasonal flux – facility cleaning and that sort of thing. We get a big crowd this time of year and we still have another day before we start receiving again. Actually, you might want to savor the time because it'll get packed after tomorrow. The Royal Cottage is always prepared before everything else so it was ready upon your arrival.”

“Why are we moving away from the beach?” Shining broke in with his own thread of thought. He was watching the gentle waves of the ocean around them through the exposed glass front of the ship. The hydrofoil blades started becoming visible as the vessel picked up speed and ascended upwards from the water. However, they had been steered far enough away from following the beach for the line of sand to be out of view now. Instead, they were headed towards the island he had seen earlier from the Welcome Center.

“As I mentioned before,” Oxygen responded coolly as she casually steered the ship towards an inlet on the small island's beach. “The Royal Cottage is our best lodging. King's Land, the island, is just for the occupants.”

“It's on the island?” Cadance enthused with giddy excitement.

“It's all yours,” Oxygen confirmed and pulled up to a small dock not too unlike the others at each tour point they had visited. They came to a full stop, the moor light went green, and she turned to them with a bit of pride at successfully pleasing the guests the whole way. “Follow me to complete your orientation for the day.”

They came out to what, on closer inspection, was decidedly a much more private-looking dock. Design-wise it was the same, but there was only space for the Star rather than outcroppings for multiple craft. There were also lanterns on the ground every so many hooves distance and a cobblestone path similar to the ones back at the hot springs.

The air radiated with a close summer humidity and only the breeze from earlier prevented any sweating. The vegetation was already thick so close to the water and it seemed more like a jungle mistakenly dropped onto the ocean rather than a real island. Oxygen leaped out in front of them after letting them leave the ship first. She landed square on all four hooves and flicked back her short mane that had managed to flip in front of her eyes.

“This way,” she instructed and lead the way down the otherwise pleasant path. It didn't take long for the cottage of question to come into view. It was an impressive two stories high with a spire rising from the center and stretching into the sky above the treetops. The building was pristine white like many of the others had been and had as much glass for walls as well. A respectful amount of space had been cleared between it and the overgrowth so there was room for a trimmed grass lawn all around the perimeter.

“Welcome,” Oxygen announced as she trotted up to the front glass door, “to your Royal Cottage.”

Comments

[OmniFox]

By the time those lovebirds are along in that cottage they'll make out.