Safely aboard the train, Cherry parked herself beside the pool. "This is the train I was talking about. Isn't it amazing? This whole thing moves, using the very power of The Dry, making dry things so hot they release some of their magic which makes its mechanical parts work."

Indigo sat up in the water. "It is a little scary to think of, but I trust you and our new friends that it's perfectly safe. I'm sure you were scared of my friend and had plenty of reason to think he could harm you, but you trusted me. Have you learned how this, um, train works already?"

"Are you kidding?" Cherry leaned towards her friend. "These things are as valuable as they are large to the dry ponies. Even Twilight, a princess, can't just give me one."

Twilight tilted her head slowly. "Actually..."

Cherry's ears perked bolt upright. "You can get one?!" She scrambled to her hooves and rushed for Twilight. "Please please please get one! I'll be careful with it and put it all back together when I'm done."

Twilight decided to take a risk with a slow nod. "Alright, how about this... You create something to get Indigo around and I'll see what I can do about--" She paused as the ground lurched and the train began to move. "About your train."

Spike hiked a brow curiously and leaned in closer to whisper, "Can you really get one?"

Twilight replied in a harsh whisper, "I should be able to get an old and retired train. I'll look into it while she's working."

While they were talking about that, Cherry had rushed back to her friend. "Indie, did you hear that?! I'm going to get a train all to myself to work with! Ooo, which part would I look at first? I think I'll save the Dry magic core for last, and I'll see how everything leads back to it. Oh, waves above, the pieces must be so huge and powerful to make something this big move so smoothly. I can't wait!"

While she rambled excitedly, Indigo nodded patiently with every few words. When she finished, he rolled a hoof. "I know you'll have fun with that, but aren't you dry? We're safe now." He moved to the side, making as much room as there would be in the small pool. "You'll have those hooves made in no time."

Cherry cringed with renewed worry, but a sudden thought tickled at her and she looked at Twilight. "Twilight? What do dry ponies do if their back hooves aren't working? I mean, you know, if they get hurt."

Twilight blinked owlishly before she brought a hoof up to her face with a groan. "Of course! We usually give them supporting wheels so their front legs can pull them while their back legs are healing. I'll see about that when we're back in Ponyville."

Satisfied, Cherry took a slow step over the lip of the pool and joined her friend in the comforting embrace of the water there. She sank down into it with a happy sigh, nose twitching faintly as she detected the soft tang of sea water. However hard Twilight tried to make her room a new home, that smell could not be perfectly replicated.

Indigo watched her with a mild blush. A voice whispered quietly to him, "You should tell her." He looked towards the source quickly and saw Spike grinning at him toothily.

"Tell her what?"

Spike shrugged. "That you like her. It's kind of obvious. You don't want to follow her around like a love-sick puppy. Go on, tell her." He entirely missed any connection to his own enduring and one-sided love life. "Maybe she likes you too, or would, if you do."

Indigo settled into the water, gazing at his friend fondly a moment before he cleared his throat. "So, you like it?"

"Like what?" Cherry looked over towards him.

"This, The Dry?" Indigo waved a hoof out of the water. "I imagine you're having fun or you would have already come home. You don't do things you don't like for long."

Cherry colored a little. "There's so much to see and do... And all the dry ponies are nice to me, after the first little problem but we got that sorted out. Oh! Did you see Sandy?"

"Your mom's friend?" Indigo tilted his head. "I don't talk with a lot of sirens, but I did see her when she came back to tell us all where you swam off to. I didn't believe her at first, but your mom did, so I kinda did too after a while."

Cherry bobbed her head. "I'm glad she's alright." She pointed to a window. "Take a look. See all the places we're going past? I want to explore all of it some day."

Indigo glanced about with building nervousness. "I could... go with you?"

Cherry tilted her head at her friend. "I thought you didn't like doing scary things, besides talking to things like that friend of yours."

"I-it'd be... you know... worth it." Indigo forced a sheepish smile as he sank up to his snout in the water. "Show me what makes The Dry special."

She giggled with undisguised joy and threw a leg around him in a hug. "I will! Once we get back, I'll show you my new room, and introduce you to some of my new friends. You'll like them, promise. Starlight's nice and lives with Twilight. She's a little less super cheerful, but really, she is nice, just a different kind of nice."

The train began to slow and Twilight rose to her hooves. "I doubt Pinkie will tolerate missing throwing a party for both our visiting seaponies, so expect her to show up. Are you alright with energetic celebrations?"

Indigo opened his mouth to reply when his vision was obscured by pink and he squeaked, recoiling as a new dry pony fell into the water with him and Cherry. "Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie and you're a new pony." She leaned in. "Let me guess, you never had cake either?" When he shook his head, she began to giggle. "Alright! We're gonna have a cake-tasting and welcome to Ponyville party and you're gonna have so much fun you won't even know what to do with yourself!" She hopped free of the pool, hooves slapping the ground with the large flippers she was wearing. "I'll meet you up at Twilight's castle and bring some guests, be ready!" She was gone without waiting for a single word in edgewise from any of the ponies present.

Twilight cleared her throat as she slowly hefted up the heavy pool. "That was Pinkie, one of my friends and soon, one of yours. Let's get moving."

Author's Notes:

He isn't the only one headed home. It's time for me to get back home as well! Convention successful! I made so many typos this weekend.