Seasaddle Bay Soothing Waves, Cool Sands, Warm Smiles (Spring Shimmer)

[Lilia]

Sandy settled in for the dawn mists to finish rolling back into the sea of Seasaddle Bay, her light pink eyes scanning the horizon for any signs of trouble. The young mare had been back to her teaching for almost two seasons now and was pleased to see the fillies and colts progressing so rapidly. She smiled as she watched the sun climb its way higher into the sky, the sparkle of light on the water setting her heart racing. She loved her home. She rose when the sun had reached the point where the light began to reflect into her face, calmer on this day than any before. She had no idea why she was so mellow, but she was rolling with the punches and going with it. Her ears flicked back at the sound of the waves crashing against the shores. She hid a grin of delight, trying to maintain the cool demeanor she had picked up since she had come back from her adventure. The first chipper voice immediately broke her composure however.

"Miss Sandy, Miss Sandy! Good morning! I know I'm early but I wanted to help you set up for class. Is that all right with you?" a jade-green unicorn filly asked, running up to the pale blue mare's side with a gleam in her eyes. This was Nova Scotia, one of Sandy's assistants.

"It's perfectly fine with me, Nova. I have a great idea...today, you are the only one of your class who could make it...and we have a bunch of younger fillies and colts who need help. Why don't you plan out their day? I'll still be in charge, but you get to actually teach what I taught you." Sandy responded, eyes bright when the filly bobbed her head up and down in the positive.

[Winter]

Spring Shimmer sat in the sand at the beach of Seasaddle Bay, treacherously close to the waves crashing down. She payed no heed to them, instead marveling at how the hot sun and cool breeze felt on her coat. Working back at the farm, the days gave her only the former, and nights forced upon her the latter. This vacation is exactly what I needed she thought to herself, reflecting on the turn of events that led her here. Her new friend had generously offered to watch the farm for her for a few days while she took a long postponed trip to the beach. There was just one problem: she didn't know how to swim. Sure, some may argue that swimming is an imtegral part of beach enjoyment, but Spring figured she could have just as nice of a time, if not better, sticking to basking in the radiance of the sun with a cool, misty sea spray being the wettest she gets. Her thoughts were interrupted by the tip of a wave meeting her hoof and sending a small chill through her leg. The grey mare shot to attention and flailed in surprise before realizing how silly she must look. A bashful grin spread from ear to ear as she looked around to make sure nopony saw her fright.

[Lilia]

Sandy hazarded a glance along the beach, spying the mare flailing when the water touched her hoof. Instantly, she was on alert. Nopony that ever visited the beach had ever reacted like that to the water, and she was greatly concerned for the well-being of the mare.

“Nova, dear, stay here and greet the fillies and colts that arrive. I’ll be just a few moments.” She said softly, turning to approach the mare before pausing to glance down at the little filly. “Remember! These are beginners, so no diving techniques! We’ll start with the simple dog-paddle and go from there…” She added, making sure it was clear that the young colts and fillies would only be doing what they were capable of first. She turned and dashed to the mare, who had stopped flailing, rose eyes intent on helping out.

“Miss? Are you alright?” She called when she was close enough, trying not to startle the white earth mare.

[Winter]

After a second of looking around, Spring was content with her findings and leaned back into the sand. Thankfully nopony had noticed her display and she could avoid an awkward conversation. A soft sigh and a light stretch accompanied Spring's descent into a relaxed nap. A sudden thought jerked her back to the present almost immediately. If one wave could come up this far, surely there could be more. Two white hooves pushed into the sand and moved the mare back along the beach. Sand worked its way into her tail and mane in the rushed process, but the safety of a few more feet from the tide line was worth it to the vacationing farmer. Spring wriggled her way back into the comfort of the warm sand and was just about to doze off when a nearby voice interrupted her.

“Miss? Are you alright?”

Spring groaned inwardly. Of course somepony had to have been looking and seen her display. She averted her eyes towards the rocking ocean and away from the stranger, hoping to hide any remnant of fear they may betray. She stammered out a response, "Y-yes, I'm fine. Just... doing my stretches. Oh, and-and enjoying the beach! Yeah." Her voice got quieter and more strained throughout the reply to the point of being barely audible by the time she gave her reassuring "yeah."