>The familiar whine of cicadas echo throughout the afternoon air as you slowly fill an inflatable pool with water.
>The hose pressure was minimal at best, but you were well on your way now.
>Inside the pool floats a sun-bleached rubber duck you were given by a friend of Olive's, which you used to gauge how high the water was while you step away for a moment.
>As you make your way across the yellowing grass, you spot Olive under the shade of the porch awning, applying sunscreen to her nose.
>Her mane and tail were done up in loose, amateurish pigtails like usual, but what caught your eye almost immediately is that she was actually fairly exposed.
>Ever since you met her, Olive insisted on wearing the most modest clothing you've ever seen on a pony, long skirts that nearly consumed her hindlegs, fluffy sweaters that were clearly too big for her, and a myriad of long socks which covered her hindhooves if you ever got so much as a glance of them...
>And here she was, practically naked- or well- by her standards she might as well be. 
>From her nervous expression and fidgety hooves, you imagine she wasn't entirely comfortable without proper protection, but seeing as she insisted on wanting to try swimming in the pool, you guess she had no other choice.
>As you step up onto the cool concrete of the shaded porch, you can hear Olive mumbling to herself as she sits hunched over, slathering sunscreen on her hindlegs.
>"Wonder if I'll need more... What if I put too little on and get baked l-like a potato? If that happens you might as well mash me up and put me inna side-dish with extra butter..."
"And a dollop of sour cream?"
>"BWA!"
>Olive nearly jumps at your voice, the sunscreen bottle slipping from her hooves and clattering to the ground.
>"O-oh uhm- uh- H-heya... Ahnon..."
>She stammers and sputters out a greeting, her entire body scrunching up as she tries her best to cover up every inch of herself as she can.
>It was almost as if she was trying to imitate a startled pillbug.
"Is… something the matter?"
>"Whuh- I mean- uh- N-no! Just uh-" She clears her throat and unfurls herself, a not so subtle blush forming on her face as her ears pin back. "Just didn't realize you heard me... talking to myself."
>Her voice lowers down to a whisper as she averts her gaze. “Being a weirdie as per usual… Sorry.”
>You give her a gentle, encouraging pat on the head, making her breathing hitch slightly.
"We all do it, Ollie. Some more than others! No need to be so harsh on yourself."
>”I know, I know… I-I’m workin’ on it!”
>You smile.
“I know you are.”
>As you pull away, she shifts her weight back and adjusts her glasses, unconsciously giving you a peek at her 'swimsuit' as she psyches herself up some more.
>“I’mma force to be reckoned with… D-don’t mess with *this* Ollie, no sir!”

“That’s the spirit! But uh… Are you sure you wanna get your underoos all wet?”
>Olive pouts. “T-they’re not ‘underoos’, but I can see how you could be mistaken…”
>She awkwardly hooks a hoof under the elastic band of her ‘swimsuit’ and gives it a prideful little tug. “These just LOOK like underoo- ah- p-panties! The mare online said they’re super water-resistant and have uh… some kinda quick drying wicking… thing.”
>She continues to tug a little, narrowing her eyes. “They kinda just feel like what I usually wear, though…”
>As she pulls her hoof out from under the elastic band, it snaps back into place, making Olive yelp.
>”Ow…”
“They seem like normal cotton ones to me… Maybe you got scammed?”
>Olive huffs. “Oh c’mon, Ahnon… The ponies on the internet don’t lie… Everypony knows that!”
>You shake your head and leave Olive to her innocent outlook on [A Series Of Tubes] for now, and instead point to the cooler she was sitting next to.
“Did you grab everything from the freezer?”
>”Huh? Oh!” She jumps up to her hooves and shuffles over to the cooler. “I also stuffed a few sodas in there too since we had a few left over… Is that okay?”
“Perfectly fine! Actually, I was about to ask if you could grab some… But that saves us a trip.”
>Olive puffs her chest out. “Ehe… I can be useful when I want to~!”
>You can’t quite tell if that was supposed to be self-depricating or not.
>”...Uhm.”
“Hm?”
>You notice Olive’s ears swivel towards the yard, and she glances over.
>”I think Mister Mallard is about to go overboard…”
“What do you mean by- Ohgod-”
>As you turn your head to where she was looking, you realize that the pool was dangerously close to overflowing, the rubber duck you left inside bobbing against the edge of the pool as water sloshes closer and closer to the top.
>”Guess we gabbed a bit too much, ahaha…”
“Hey uh… Do you mind grabbing some popsicles while I deal with that?”
>“Sure thing! Did you want, like… blue or red?”
”I think I deserve a purple one after all that hard work...”
>“Aw mare… I wanted purple…”
>As you power-walk over to an imminent summertime ‘flood’, you shout back-
“Just like- bite the tip off and leave me the butt!”
>”I like the butts, too!”
>Maybe you should have splurged for a big pack…
>As you approach the pool, you pick up the foam step ladder you had thrown onto the grass earlier today and set it up beside it.
>Without delay, you pluck the hose out of the pool and toss it aside, not worrying about the water that pours onto your poor dying grass.
>It definitely needs it.
>With that taken care of- all that remains is to pour out some of the excess water…
>It might not be too much for you, but Olive didn’t uh… know how to swim.
>Or has ever been in a pool period.
>You’d much prefer it if she didn’t accidentally drown herself…

>God, you should have gotten her some arm floaties…
>”...Whuhtha Doehn?”
>You pause, and then turn to see Olive standing by your side, a purple popsicle sticking out of her mouth.
>She cranes her neck. “Ah thurned awf tha wahthur.”
“Huh?”
>She plops down on the grass and pops the popsicle out of her mouth, a string of saliva briefly connecting the two as she holds it in her hooves.
>She gives the popsicle another tentative little lick. ”I said- I turned the water off! …Also this isn’t grape- its acai.”
>You check the hose- and lo and behold- she really did.
“Wait- acai in dollar store popsicles?”
>Olive shrugs. “Might have been overstock…?”
“Truly a mystery… Oh- and I’m gonna go drain some water.”
>”But isn't that kinda counterproductive…?”
>You gently press down on the lip of the pool and a stream of water splatters close enough to Olive to get her foreleg wet, making her flail, but not enough for her to drop the popsicle.
>Some things take priority, after all.
>“A-ah! Th-that’s cold y-you jerk!”
”As you can see… If I don’t drain it a smidge- when we both get in it’ll probably pour all over the place… Might as well drain it where I want instead of indiscriminately, eh?”
>Olive scoots away from the pool, licking the wet from her forehoof like a cat- only for her to scrunch her nose as she tastes sunscreen. “Blegh… Y-you made your point…”
>You stifle a laugh as you climb up the stepladder, but pause to stare into the blue expanse of un-clorinated water, courtesy to the cutesy dolphin pattern on the inside of the pool.
>If Olive made such a stink about it being cold… you just know this is gonna suck.
>As the sun beats down on your back, you make up your mind.
>Better in there then out here…
“Alright… Here I- ACK-”
>You lose your footing on the stepladder and majestically bellyflop onto the rim of the pool with a groan.
>For a brief moment, you can hear Olive cry out your name in concern, but it’s quickly drowned out by you sliding head first into the pool with a loud splash.
>Thankfully, you manage to take a deep breath beforehand. But it doesn’t change the fact that your body felt like it was in shock after what felt like an ice bath in the middle of the desert.
>You quickly right yourself after getting used to the cold and surface with a gasp.
“Iiiii’m alright! I’m- gah- alright.”
>You trudge through the water and over to the rim near where Olive was. Looking down in the water, you see a chunky plug at about the ‘perfect’ height.
“You might wanna uh… Go over there.”
>You shoo away Olive, who very quickly gets the memo as she notices the hole directly in front of her face.
>“Ah.”
>She stuffs the popsicle into her cheek like a chipmunk and trots briskly over to the middle of the yard.

“...Maybe I should just let her have the whole thing at this point.”
>You unceremoniously twist the plug off and a jet of water shoots out of the pool.
>As the water drains, you roll your eyes as you watch Olive not so sneakily nibble on the popsicle with her back to you.
“Gee, it’s almost like she doesn’t intend on sharing anyways…”
>Greedy little dork.
>Feeling like the pool was sufficiently drained, you plug it back up and let out a sigh of relief.
“Alright… So far so good! Just gotta grab Ollie.”
>As you start looking around for a way to get out, you realize that you only have one ladder.
>...Meaning you might have to just crawl over the edge.
“I don’t think Ollie could manage that… I might need to check the box and see if it came with anything.”
>Surely it comes with SOMETHING… At least some attachable plastic loops, right?
“...Anyways!”
>With all your strength, you push against the flabby rim of the pool and squirm your way half-way out the pool.
“Almost…”
>With one final shove you-
“GAH”
>...Skid across the rim and find yourself dangling just shy of the grass below.
“...Okay then.”
>Carefully, you use your hands to get solid footing on the ground.
>...Or would it be ‘handing’?
>With a chuckle, you use your hands to crawl away from the pool, slowly pulling your lower half away without falling.
>Finally, you feel your feet slip away from the rim and flop onto the grass with only a *gentle* thud.
“Phew…”
>Well that wasn’t so bad.
>Maybe if all else fails, you can just lift Olive in and out of the pool?
>You hop to your feet with a stretch, a warm breeze enveloping your dripping body as you pick up the hose and begin to saunter over to the spout by the house.
“The pool's ready! Just gotta put this away…”
>As you near Olive, her ears perk up and she lifts her head from her popsicle, but doesn’t turn around right away as she lets out a nervous little laugh.
>”Gosh… I’m kinda stoked… I’ve never been in a pool before! Hey Anon? Was it really… really… c-col…d…?”
>She trails off as you pass her and doesn’t make a peep as you tuck away the hose into the milk crate you keep it in.
“Don’t worry, Ollie. It’s not as bad as it seems! But I might need to figure out how to get you out… I think the stepladder might float since it’s made of foam so uh… can’t use that.”
>You turn to face Olive with a triumphant grin and cross your arms.
“Ready for some fun in the sun?”
>Fruit juice drips from her chin as she shakily holds the half-eaten popsicle in her hooves, her eyes slowly trailing down your body as her lip quivers.
>”Y…yehhh…” Unable to form words for some reason, her eyes dart back up to meet yours as she nods rapidly.

>You tilt your head.
“Huh… Maybe you were right about not using enough sunscreen… You look like you’re burning up all of a sudden.”
>Olive lets out a noise between a squeak and a bark as you turn and  bend over to grab a towel near the edge of the porch.
“Here… Lemme clean you up- You’ll get sticky if you let it set.”
>Olive tries to scoot away, stammering protests as you approach, but you close the gap too quickly and start to rub away the berry juice on her face.
“Geez… It’s like you’ve never eaten a popsicle before.”
>”h…h-haven’tdonea-ah-alotofthingsb-bb-before…”
“What was that?”
>Suddenly, Olive springs to life and grabs hold of your face with her forehooves, a wildly flustered expression hidden behind foggy glasses.
“Woah uh- woah there cowgirl.”
>You lock eyes with her for what feels like ages before she very forcibly turns your head towards the pool.
“...Ah.”
>Lying limping on the rim of the pool is your… shorts.
>As you come to that realization, you can hear Olive try to say something.
>”i uhm… y…yourbutt…isuhm…n-nnice…? e-ehehe…ahehhh…”
>Having hit her limit, Olive’s shaky grip falters and she crumples face first into your chest.
“Wh- Shit- Ollie!”
>Being an earth mare, having her put her weight on you- even by accident, doesn’t exactly bode well.
>Immediately, you tumble onto the grass with Olive drooling on your bare chest.
>You’d rather not look too far into her dopey open smile and the way her leg twitches after she faints.
“I guess I’ll just uh…”
>Very VERY gently, you wrap your arms around Olive and gingerly roll her off of you.
>Thankfully, you found yourself under the lengthening shade of the awning, so you don’t need to worry about her getting sunburnt while you go make yourself decent…
>As you get up, you can't help but look back at Olive and let out a soft laugh as you take note of the state of her ‘swimsuit’.
“Water-resistant, huh…”
>Friggin’ dork.