The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Splash

The bathhouse certainly proved to break up the wild, circular nature of the town, Starlight thought, staring as Maple's destination came into view. Rather than a tall, round tower like most every other building she could see, it was squat and appeared to be shaped like a peanut. The filly squinted. "Is that two houses turned into one?"

"Three, actually," Maple replied, her step light and tone cheery. "But you can't see the third from here. They wanted to get as much ground room as possible, since it's hard to elevate a waterproof basin. The upper floor has a salon, as well as Sycamore and Frond's house."

"Who are they?" Starlight asked, stubby legs scurrying to keep pace.

"The owners. And friends of mine. Especially Sycamore. You'll see!" Maple winked back at her.

A bell rang as Maple trotted across a short patio and pushed the door open. "Coming!" a voice sounded from above, followed by a clatter of hoofsteps as a gangly teenage filly tumbled down a brightly-lit staircase. "Hey, what can I do for..." Her eyes widened before she even finished getting up, and a grin appeared on her face. "Hey moooom! It's auntie Maple! And she's got the river filly!"

Starlight drew closer to Maple's side, standing in her shadow but not quite hiding behind or under her. "Auntie?" She raised a questioning eyebrow. "Her mom is your sister?"

Maple smirked back. "Not quite. As best as anyone can tell, Sycamore and I are second cousins, but we were friends growing up. And in this town, memories count for more than ancestry."

A saloon door in the back of the room quickly swung open, and a middle-aged mare with a pristine, deep purple coat strode through, broad face widening in a welcoming smile. "Maple!" she exclaimed, rushing to hug the mare. "How's it going? Is this little Starlight?"

Starlight stared her straight in the eye, doing her best to maintain a poker face. "Hi."

"Hi, Sycamore," Maple gasped, flailing for air in the older mare's grasp. While Sycamore wasn't abnormally sized and could probably fit into a normal mare's clothing, her muscles were so toned that she dwarfed a grown stallion in force of presence alone.

"You're so cute," Sycamore hummed in a deep baritone voice, dropping the frazzled Maple and turning entirely to Starlight. "And by 'cute' I mean a disaster in need of fixing up!" She edged a thick eyebrow at Maple. "That's why you're here, I presume?"

"That we are!" Maple smiled as she regained her breath. "Out and about, touring the town, you know..."

"Well, if you're looking to go soak yourself," Sycamore began, motioning for Starlight to hang her bags on a rack, "Amber's been hogging the main tub for two hours, and you're more than welcome to make her share the place. I, for one, need to go grab a bite before tackling a knot like that. So make yourselves at home, m'kay? Frond, be nice to our guests! Later!"

Starlight and Maple watched as the purple mare barged toward the door, shoving it open with her chest and strolled out onto the glassy streets. It swung closed behind her with a whoosh.

There came a yawn from the staircase, where Frond was still standing. "So, how long will you two be staying?"

Maple shrugged. "As long as it takes. Certainly not before Sycamore's back. Why?"

"Oh." Frond swallowed and turned around. "Well, don't leave before I get to meet the river filly! But right now, I'm... I'm gonna go back to bed... Next time, don't come so early, okay?"

They watched her vanish around the lip of the ceiling, and Maple rolled her eyes. "Some ponies... Oh well. Come on, Starlight. Let's get you cleaned up."

The doors swung open before Maple's hoof, revealing that the interior of the building was actually an open-sky courtyard lined with a stone floor and several pits of clear, rippling water. The air was warm and incredibly moist, and puddles of condensation lined every available surface.

"Yoohoo!" A mare in the middle pond waved frantically, indiscernible except by voice through the light haze of steam that enveloped the room. "Maple? Starlight? Over here!"

Maple rolled her eyes again. "Hi, Amber. Mind sharing the water?"

No response. Maple's eyes narrowed as she paced closer, Starlight at her side. Amber's head lowered through the steam until her eyes and nose were barely above the water, peering out like a crocodile as the two stared down from above. "...Amber?" Maple asked, readying a hoof.

"Welcome to my domain," Amber rumbled, deepening her voice to subterranean levels without raising her head.

Maple snorted. "Oh, really, now? Is that-"

Amber's head broke further above water, and she was grinning like a lunatic. "Have some of this!"

Splooosh! She heaved a blob of water with both forelegs at Maple, who wasn't able to dodge out of the way in time. Starlight shrieked and jumped to the side, moisture spattering her coat, but Maple took the blast full-force, standing and dripping and snarling down at her friend.

"Uhhh..." Starlight backed away, raising a hoof.

"Oh, it is so on!" Leaping and tucking in all four legs, Maple cannonballed at the pool, vanishing on top of Amber with a huge splash. Several moments later, they both resurfaced, laughing uproariously and flinging more splashes at each other.

From a safe distance away, Starlight raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Amber stuck her tongue out. "What the water was meant for! Having fun!"

"Come on in," Maple added, beckoning and splashing with a hoof. "It's really warm!"

Starlight dubiously eyed the water, the two waving mares in it fading into the background of her conscience. For a split second, her vision went gray, and the pool was transformed into a raging river, which then slid sideways as gravity changed, falling endlessly without direction until it hit a storm-tossed ocean, her head separated from it only by a pitch-black sky... She shook her head frantically, trying to clear the vision. This was exactly what she didn't want to happen. It was practically a hot spring! And there were other ponies nearby. She'd never be in danger of freezing here.

Still, she gulped. The pool was there... and her friends were in it. And if she was honest with herself, she really did need a real bath. Besides, there was no way she wanted to live her life being afraid of water.

That did it. Picking up her hooves and moving them one by one, Starlight stomped toward the pool, overcoming her own stubbornness with even more stubbornness. At last, she reached it, dipping a forelimb in... and finding that Maple hadn't exaggerated about the temperature. Blankets and warm hugs aside, if she was still frozen from earlier, this would be a great way to fix that. Idly wondering if the hot water would do anything for her horn, Starlight slipped herself in, shivering warmly at the contact.

Maple grinned at her from across the tub. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's nice," Starlight admitted hesitantly. "But I don't know if I really aaack!"

Amber's cheeks deflated as she blew a jet stream of water at the filly. Smirking playfully, she raised an eyebrow, daring Starlight to retaliate.

"Grrrrr!" Starlight floundered at her, reaching for the bottom of the pool with her hooves to find purchase so she could fight back. Maple stood to the side, laughing at each subsequent blow until an errant wave swamped her and forced her into the melee. A mixture of shrieks and laughter floated skyward as the three playfully assaulted each other, splashing on into the morning.

Comments

[Hap]

You have a talent for writing "adorable."

[Texus]

I think some other comments are at fault that I now hope this town isn't sectetly a creepy place.

[PropMaster]

Amber is a cuteie. Excellent stuff!

GRDC: 3

[AppleTank]

100% female? curious

[Rupple]

Well, there goes that, I suppose. Maybe I should burn for wishing her to have some sort of water-related PTSD, but it could've been interesting.

[Merula]

Ahhh, this is nice!

[Walrusesarecute]

Slice of life