The Day of Love

by Rose Quill

Laid Back Meal: Adagio Dazzle and Sandalwood

I swished my hand in the water idly, the light mist blowing back against me. This fountain had a lot of memories for me, about a third of them sad.

But lately, more and more happy memories were cropping up, even if I didn’t live in Canterlot City proper anymore. At least once a year I wound up by this fountain waiting for a certain easygoing fella. He’s smarter than a lot of people take him for, but he can still be something of a lunkhead.

But he’s my lunkhead.

But this fountain sat in the middle of the park, and though everyone knew it was there, the hedges and topiaries surrounding it made for a rather great visual barrier to the exterior. It made it rather private, and that had suited my sisters and I rather well when we missed the water but didn’t have time, inclination, or funds to visit the sea proper.

It also made for a subtle - and private - location for a small picnic. I had brought the blankets and the enhancements to the scenery; four candles and myself. But I seemed to be missing…

“Been here long?” a mellow voice asked from behind me.

I turned smoothly so that I was laying along my side on the marble edge of the fountain, a smirk slithering along my face as I faced my husband’s figure, a wicker basket in his hand.

“Just long enough to consider going for a dip,” I purred, letting a hand drape across my hip to accentuate the swell from my waist.

Sandalwood’s eyes roved my figure and even after a few years of marriage, this unlikely guy still got my motor revving in a way that no one else in…well, ever, had. It’s strange that after a few years as more or less mortals, most of us had settled down. Aria was the most unlikely considering how far she had fallen after we lost our old Songs. I never pictured her with that fluffy pink baker.

But then, I never pictured myself running a B&B with this laid back guy either. Weird how things go, isn’t it?

“Well, if you do, you’ll have to spend the drive home sopping wet,” he teased with a gin. “Because that would be the moment our usual private spot becomes the hottest place in town. I know how you have trouble staying quiet in the water.”

“It was one time!” I growled. He would bring up the first time I swam in the waters of the cove by our bed and breakfast. I couldn’t help but sing as the waves crashed over me. I had also forgot that we didn’t quite transform in the water anymore. Sure, we had regained a lot of the powers we had lost - minor flight, being able to induce emotional states, and breath underwater - but we didn’t get the same benefits our former enemies got from their introduction to Equestrian magic. But Harmony, could we swim! It was almost like how it was in the old days, we my sisters and I were barely out of the hatchery.

“Twice,” he said, setting the basket down and starting to pull out covered plates. “Both times without so much as a swimsuit. Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”

I slid down off the fountain to join him on the ground, taking the bottle of champaign from him and pouring it into the two cups he placed out.

“So, what are we celebrating this year?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “Just a regular Valentine’s Day? Or something else?”

He reached over and dropped a strawberry into my glass. “Just Valentine’s Day.” He took a bite from a strawberry of his own. “We come here enough on our anniversary.”

I nodded, smiling as I sipped my drink and caught the berry in my teeth. After clearing my mouth, I pulled the covered dishes away from the basket and revealed our dinner: various berries, fruits, and a few bits of fresh sushi. I smiled, but not my smug one. Though Sandalwood was a hardcore vegetarian, he had made sure to cater to my particular tastes as well.

And there, by the fountain where we had first met, we spent a relaxing picnic just in each other’s company. Not saying much, but speaking volumes about how far a person can come. A laidback meal with my best friend.

One among many.

Author's Note:

More on this pairing is soon to come!