Generations-Chapter 7
Generations-Chapter 7Wysteria stood on the bow of the sailboat, her nose in the air, smelling the salty sea breeze. The sun was warm and the sky was blue, and the wind flowed through her beautiful hair. She marveled at how clear and green the water was, and laughed at some dolphins jumping in the distance.
"Sweetsong! There it is! Butterfly Island is just ahead," she shouted excitedly.
"Promise?" Sweetsong moaned. She was lying on one of the benches on the deck, clutching to a rope, and looking rather green. Wysteria failed to notice her friend's misery.
On shore, two young stallions were warming themselves in the afternoon sun.
"What is that?" Bowtie peered into the horizon. Waterfire squinted in the same direction. It was obviously a boat, but Waterfire wasn't one to state the obvious. He just laid his head back down on the sand.
"Hello!!" Waterfire was startled awake again by Bowtie's call. He was rearing up and waving a hoof at the approaching vessel. Waterfire rolled his eyes; he couldn't believe his friend was making a spectacle out of himself.
From the boat, Wysteria heard the call and leaned far out over the bow to shout 'hello' back. The sound reverberated in Sweetsong's ears and made her dizzy. Why wouldn't the rocking stop? Wysteria nudged her excitedly.
"You were right! Ponies do live here, and they're friendly!" Sweetsong just blinked and pulled her face away from Wysteria, who had come too close to her.
As they approached the shore, the white pony dashed out into the water chest high. "Hey, throw me a rope!" Wysteria did, and then jumped out to help him pull the boat in. Sunshimmer joined them when the boat came to a stop. The white pony helped them both out of the water.
"Well, we don't see many visitors here; how do you do? My name is Bowtie and this is Waterfire." Waterfire stood up and shook the sand off his coat. He gave a slight nod of his head, but said nothing. He showed no emotion in his face, and just stared at the newcomers. Bowtie, however, seemed very affable and likable. Wysteria immediately felt comfortable around him.
"My name is Wysteria, and we're from Dream Valley. This is Sunshimmer, he's from Jewel City, a coastal city just east of here." Sunshimmer shook hooves with Bowtie, but Waterfire remained back a distance and just gave another nod of his head. Wysteria went on, "Sunshimmer was kind enough to let us stay with him, and then gave us a ride to the island. We've been at sea for three days."
Bowtie looked confused. "Who is 'we'?"
"Oh, this is my friend Sweetsong." Just then, Sweetsong tumbled out of the boat and landed with a big splash in the shallow water. The four on the shore just stared at her. She got to her feet and walked toward shore, but her legs were shaking violently. She reached the shore, but the thick sand got stuck in her feet and she tripped again. This time Wysteria caught her, and Sunshimmer also came to her aid.
"Hey are you ok?" Wysteria finally noticed she wasn't feeling well.
"She just needs to get her land-legs back," Sunshimmer spoke for her.
"Can we let her lie down at your place Waterfire? It's the closest," Bowtie asked, and without waiting for an answer, led them off in that direction. Waterfire just followed.
Sweetsong didn't remember much about the walk there, or about the house they entered. When they laid her down on the soft bed, she still felt the room spinning.
"Maybe it was something she ate this morning..." came Wysteria's voice.
"She hasn't eaten since this morning? No wonder she feels faint..." Bowtie added.
"No, you don't want to give her food. It will just make her sick..." Sunshimmer advised. They argued for a few moments more. The voices echoed in Sweetsong's head.
"She needs to be left alone to rest." The three fell silent and just stared at Waterfire. It was the first he'd spoken since they'd arrived. His voice was quiet, but firm. He still showed no emotion in his face, and looked like a rock.
After a moment, Bowtie turned back to Wysteria and Sunshimmer. "Yes, of course. Perhaps the two of you would like a tour of Butterfly Island while your friend recuperates?" He whispered. The three quietly left the room.
Sweetsong breathed a sigh of relief. Waterfire was still in the room though. Sweetsong had her eyes closed, but she could feel him staring at her in that rocklike, emotionless way. What was his problem? Before she could dwell long on it, she fell asleep.
Sweetsong slept the entire afternoon and all through the night. In the morning, she felt better, but when she stood up, her legs were still a little weak. She sat back on the bed and looked around the room. It was large, with large stately furniture, and elegant decor. Sweetsong noticed little details like the lace draperies, expensive carpet, and plush bedcovers. Waterfire must be rather wealthy.
Sweetsong stood again and peeked out into the empty hallway. She made her way from room to room and was very impressed with what she found. He was, indeed, wealthy, and had classic taste. As she peeked into the bathroom, she bumped into Waterfire walking out.
"You must be feeling better," he said in his matter-of-fact tone. She knew he had caught her snooping, and was embarrassed.
"Yes, thank you." As she answered him, she wondered if his statement was meant to be rhetorical. He brushed past her and went down the stairs. She hadn't realized how tall he was before. The top of her head reached just above his shoulder.
She followed him downstairs and saw a breakfast laid out. He helped himself, and went to the table. Sweetsong paused. There was plenty there, but she hadn't been invited to eat. Was she supposed to? She was very hungry, so she grabbed a plate and served herself a small portion. She wanted to take more, but she didn't think she should. She sat across from him at the table.
Waterfire stared at her and her plate. She very slowly took a bite, maybe she wasn't supposed to eat...
"It's good that you're not eating too much too fast. It's best to work your way up slowly." Sweetsong nodded. Whew! At least she hadn't made the wrong assumption.
She continued to stare at her plate while she ate, and he continued to stare at her. At first she tried to come up with something to say to him. 'Good morning,' 'Did you sleep well?' 'Lovely day today,' but she thought he would not be the type for small talk. They continued to say nothing. Geez, and she thought she was a quiet pony. With the two of them, they'd be lucky if they had a complete conversation over the course of a full day.
"Thank you for allowing me to stay in your house. It was very generous of you." Waterfire just nodded. "A-And this breakfast is wonderful, thank you." He nodded again and continued to stare. It wasn't lustful; it wasn't hateful or curious or concerned; it was just him looking at her. She found it impossible to read his countenance, and she was getting annoyed.
Why hadn't Wysteria come to see her? She hadn't stopped by since they all left yesterday afternoon. And here she was, stuck in a huge house with some guy that would not quit staring at her. Maybe that's what it was. He was so rich, and he lived in this big house all by himself and he wasn't used to people. Or at least not people that weren't as rich as him.
Sweetsong suddenly felt indignant. He couldn't even manage a 'your welcome' at her gratitude earlier. She didn't need to stay with him. She didn't need his disdainful charity. She was done eating, and she got up from the table. He stood at the same time as her.
She was surprised by the ritual, but collected herself quickly. "I'm going to go see Wysteria."
"She stayed with Bowtie last night. It's a long walk over there, and you're not strong enough for it yet," He advised.
'How dare he tell me what I can and cannot do!' She thought, but she sat back down anyway. She knew she was still a bit weak.
"If you're anxious to see her, I'd be happy to go get her." Sweetsong just nodded, and he left. As he shut the door, she noticed he had left half his breakfast to get cold.
"Geez, he couldn't wait to get away from me," she said aloud. "What a jerk!"
Sweetsong waited for Wysteria on the porch. Waterfire had a comfortable swinging bench and a beautiful view of the beach. Though her host was not exactly as pleasant as she could have hoped, she had to admit how beautiful this island was. White sand beaches, crystal clear water, palm trees swaying gently in the breeze. This was truly paradise, well worth her getting sick to get here.
She heard laughter from down the path, and the figures of Wysteria, Bowtie and Waterfire appeared. They came up onto the porch. Bowtie immediately came up to her. "You're looking much better. I'm sorry we never got a proper introduction. I'm Bowtie." Sweetsong shook hooves with him and introduced herself. "I trust you've enjoyed your stay in Waterfire's company?"
"Yes, he's been very generous." Sweetsong looked at him. He stood on the opposite side of the porch, looking out at the beach, and said nothing. Well, she was going to be polite even if he wouldn't.
After some small talk, the two stallions went inside to allow the girls to catch up. Sweetsong noticed Wysteria smiling after Bowtie. She finally turned to her.
"Oh my gosh, isn't he handsome?"
"Yes, very handsome. He's seems very personable."
"Oh, he is the kindest, sweetest stallion ever. He was the perfect host and a perfect gentleman."
Sweetsong raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Oh really?" She'd never seen Wysteria so excited about a stallion before. "So, where is Sunshimmer?"
"Hmm? Oh, he went on the tour of the island with us, but then he had to leave. He said they were voting on some important issues in the town meeting or some such. He seemed really impressed with the island though. No one in Jewel City ever knew it was here either."
"Tell me more about the tour."
"This island is amazing..." Wysteria's eyes were wide and dancing with delight as she talked. "There are two kinds of ponies that live here, Dazzle Bright and Shimmer. I know you love history, so I asked, and they descended from the Tropical Ponies the book mentioned." She went on to talk about the many things to do on the island, from hiking and scuba diving, to the amusement park and thriving night life. "I was talking to some ponies in town last night. Did you know that Waterfire is the richest pony on the island? He owns his own air balloon! How crazy is that?"
"Yeah, but he's completely conceited and arrogant," Sweetsong scoffed.
"Really, that's not what Bowtie says about him..."
"Well, that's because Bowtie is his friend. I'm telling you, you got the best of the bunch for a housemate." Wysteria blushed. It was obvious she already liked him as more than a host and housemate.
They spent the rest of the afternoon making plans for the next couple days. With everything there was to do on this island, they didn't want to miss a thing!