The Cruise (Pt1 by:BC)

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>Day eight of Twilight's work-rampage.
>She hadn't slept in as long, trying to get Ponyville up to scratch for the Winter Solstice.
>There were so many things she wanted to change, so many other things she wanted to strive to keep the same...
>Spike had long given up on sleep in her room, and had dragged his bed downstairs.
>You didn't have that option.
>You yourself hadn't slept in two days, but your entire species' thing was endurance.
>Her's...wasn't.
>Being that you were Twilight's "Special Somepony", you had to bear the brunt of the alicorn practically tearing herself apart.
>It was heartbreaking.
>Her eyes were bloodshot, she was hearing things that weren't there, her muscles were tense, her magic had failed two days ago...
>You sighed.
>"WHAT?!" Twilight roared, turning on the spot and affixing you with a murderous gaze.
>Oh yeah, and there was that too.
>Mood swings and intense irritability.
"Nothing, Twi."
>"Awful loud over nothing!" The mare groused, before turning back to her desk...
>...and slumping over.
>You sighed again.
>Third time in an hour.
>You went downstairs, where Spike was still reading his comics.
>You had a letter in hand, marked for Celestia.
>The sun had only just gone down, so she should still be awake.
"Hey, Spike." You said, and the baby dragon snapped his attention to you.
>"Yeesh dude, you look rough."
"I know, I intend to change that."
>You held up the letter.
"Can you send this to Celestia? Twilight is taking a week off, effective immediately."
>"Yeah man, no pro-"
>The dragon stopped as he gagged, then coughed a bright green flame.
>On the floor was a letter and two tickets.
>In Celestia's pretty manuscript was your name.
>Curious.
"You okay?"
>"Y-yeah, never done three things at once."
>You paused, deciding if you could take that shot.
>The dragon likely wouldn't understand...
>...or WOULD, and that scared you intensely.
>You popped the letter open.
>"Dear Anonymous,
>My dear Twilight Sparkle...well...
>There's no polite way to put this, I'm afraid."
>You arched an eyebrow at this, still reading.
>"She's driving us insane. Two or three letters A DAY?
>Anonymous, I implore you.
>Make her relax.
>With this letter are two tickets to the most luxurious cruise liner in the region.
>I want you to DRAG her to this ship, kicking and screaming if need be.
>It leaves tomorrow.
>Yours Truly;
>Princess Celestia."
>Underneath her name was her cutie mark, finishing off the letter.
>Inside the envelope were two train tickets.
>You picked up all four tickets, went upstairs, and started packing a large duffel bag.
>You then picked Twilight up and headed out.
---
>"Anon, let me leave. I've got letters to write, things to approve..."
"Nope."
>She tried to push past you, only for you to block her at every turn.
>Her horn lit up and immediately fizzled out from the mare's exhaustion.
>She beat her wings to get passed, and you grabbed her by her tail and slung her over your shoulder like a purple shoulderbag.
>"Stop, lemme go!"
>Twilight pounded ineffectively on your shoulder with her marshmallow hooves, getting all of nowhere for her efforts.
>You handed the tickets to the giggling mare at the stand and boarded the ship.
>A crewman showed you to your room.
>As Twilight was royalty, she got the biggest room on the ship.
>What a room it was.
>It overlooked practically the entire ship, windows letting in light from every direction.
>It was almost like they had installed a five-star hotel room into the ship.
>You threw the duffel bag onto the floor by the bed, and then tossed Twilight lightly onto the mattress.
>She didn't feel it.
>The mare was already snoring.
>The horn for the Cruise Liner announced its departure from the port, but Twilight didn't hear it.
>She was effectively dead to the world.
>You laid down next to her, happy to get some sleep yourself.
>You pulled the quilt over the two of you, giving her horn a light kiss.
>She giggled sleepily, clutching onto your right arm with both forehooves.
>Twilight pulled herself closer, before sighing and going into a deeper sleep.
>You decided to join her.
---
>The two of you had practically slept the entire first day away.
>That was good for two reasons.
>One: Both of you were well rested now.
>Two: Twilight had no idea how far out into the ocean you were, meaning she couldn't reliably teleport or fly away.
>It was currently day two of the cruise.
>Day three and four, the Liner was docked at a small resort town for souvenirs.
>Day five and six were spent heading back to Ponyville.
>And Day seven was spent going home and unpacking.
>Hopefully Twilight would be fully unwound by then.
>You were, currently, lounging on a poolside deck chair, an orange/mango drink in your hands.
>The pool was a private one attached to the VIP room, overlooking the public one on the main deck.
>Pretty sweet digs.
>Had a semi-personal attendant too.
>Twilight...was chewing on her wings in nervousness.
"Twilight."
>She froze mid-chomp, looking at you.
"Relax."
>"I can't."
>You gave the mare a flat look.
"Why not?"
>"There's so much paperwork I need to do, and it's just going to pile up..."
"Worry about that when you get home."
>She sighed.
>"I-I just..."
>Twilight resumed chewing her wings when words failed her.
>You reached over and booped her nose with a finger, and the mare recoiled with a sneeze.
>"H-hey!"
"Stop."
>You instead grabbed her and plopped her on the chair next to you, then motioned for the waiter.
>"Yes sir, what can I get you?"
"Well Twilight? What can he get you?" You asked.
>You smiled at the mare, who's defenses were finally being battered down.
>"A-a glass of water is fine..."
>"On it, Princess."
>A bow, and the waiter was off.
>You reached over and began scratching her head, and she gave a content sigh.
>Your fingers hit her scalp and she began leaning into it, humming in approval.
>"Any more of this and I may have to make you "Royal headscratcher"..."
>Chuckling, you grabbed the glass of water from the waiter.
>He bowed and left to attend to other cruise-goers, leaving the two of you alone.
>You stood and began stripping, Twilight watching with interest.
>You knew, because her wings were beginning to spring up.
>"Wh-what are you doing?"
"Going for a swim." You replied simply, plunging in without any further words.
>Resurfacing several seconds later, you chuckled at Twilight's soaked coat.
>She hadn't prepared for the splash and had actually stood to watch.
>"When I get my hooves on you..." She menaced, a playfully evil grin decorating her face for the first time in a while.
"All talk, Ms. Sparkle!" You taunted, donning your own smirk. "I wanna see some action!"
>She plunged into the pool after you, surfacing moments later.
>Her mane was soaked, covering her eyes before she cleared it with her hooves.
>You splashed her a few times, the mare squealing in joy and returning fire.
>The impish grin never left.
>"Oh Anonymous~!" She said musically, horn alight.
>You quirked an eyebrow...and a shadow settled over you.
"Oh no..."
>Looking up, a gigantic orb of water was rippling and undulating several feet above your head.
>It was being held with a magenta aura...and then suddenly, it wasn't.
>Several hundred gallons of water crashed down on your head, sending you sputtering to the edges of the pool.
>You held up a hand, and Twilight paused so you could catch your breath.
>Trap was set.
>"What's wrong, Anon? Don't dish it out if you can't take it~!" The lavender mare teased, and you waved her off with a grin.
>She drew nearer, smile vanishing as you didn't reply.
>"Anon?"
>Twilight came within grabbing distance.
>Trap was sprung.
>You lunged, grabbing the mare by the horn and dunking her.
>Hooves met ribs, and you let go, suddenly unable to breathe.
>The mare resurfaced, seriously annoyed again.
>You were gasping on the side of the pool.
>"No dunking. Seriously. Shining Armor did it to me as a filly. I didn't like it then." Twilight said with a certain finality that made you shiver.
>Or would have, if you could have done anything but breathe with intense difficulty.
>Twilight got nearer.
>"I don't like it now."
>You merely nodded in response.
"O-okay, okay. No more dunking."
>"Good."
>With that, the mare swam over and rested in your lap, resting the back of her head on your shoulder.
>Her mane was sticking to you, but neither of you cared at the moment.
>The mare's tail drifted over your right thigh, resting there as she floated.
"Feel better?"
>"Much."
"Good. The ship has a stop at a port tomorrow, plenty of shopping we can do."
>"Oooo, foreign literature..."
"I figured you'd like that."
>She snuggled into your grip, noticing your fingers were getting wrinkled.
>"What a strange phenomenon..." The mare said quietly, inspecting your digits.
>"Why do they do that?"
"Extra grip in the water." You replied.
>You pulled the mare closer into your chest.
"The easier to hold you with, my dear."
>She giggled.
>"Anon, I think...I want to go downstairs.
"Mm?"
>"There's more to do downstairs, and I think I want to get something to eat too."
"Heh, alright. Let's go then."
>The next several hours were spent on the main deck mingling with the other ponies, though most kept their distance from you.
>Ponyville was used to you...these ponies were not.
>The only reason they didn't outright panic was because they had seen Twilight sticking very close to you.
>You didn't imagine there would be any trouble though.
>Everyone here was here to relax and have fun.
>You and Twilight explored the inner parts of the Liner, shocked to see it essentially had a mall inside it.
"Whoa."
>"An...Emperor's Barn...?" Twilight asked with wonder, staring pointedly at the bookstore.
>The mare spread her wings and essentially floated over to it, abandoning you on the other end of the platform.
"H-hey!"
---
>The two of you went back to your room, happy and exhausted.
>Twilight was swooning over the dozen new books she had to read, and you had a few nicknacks to give to the others back home.
>Twilight placed the bag of books on the duffel bag, then settled into bed.
>She hummed happily as she jumped into the bed.
>"I...I'm glad you didn't let me leave." The mare said after a moment.
"Oh?"
>"Yeah. I'm actually having fun, and...I needed this. I really did."
>Twilight smiled a bright heart-melting smile, nuzzling into your side as you joined her on the plush, comfortable bed.
"I know you did. No work, no worries, just you, me, and relaxation."
>"Mmm...just you and me, huh...?" She grinned.
>She came in for a kiss, and the rest of the night was spent in ecstasy, two lovers enjoying their first night in weeks together.