//------------------------------// // Princess On The Beach // Story: Princess Twilight Meets New Friends // by Lonely Fanboy48 //------------------------------// At the beach, the Shadowbolts brought their surfboards, ready to hit the waves. Gloriosa Daisy, however, was lounging on the beach with her brother. She was busy applying an extra layer of sunscreen, while her brother was simply lying still. It was hard to tell with his sunglasses on, but it was possible he was asleep. On her other side, Juniper and Wallflower were busily setting up their respective umbrellas to keep the sun off of their delicate skin. Periodically, Gloriosa would scan the nearby surroundings for any sign of a new arrival. It had been almost a half hour since they arrived on the beach, and she was anxiously awaiting the royal arrival. When her perlustration yielded no consequence of percept, she glanced to her side, she saw Juniper and Wallflower both scoping their surroundings. A glance to her other side, and she saw her brother’s brow twitch underneath his sunglasses. They all were waiting for the same thing, and Gloriosa had a feeling that it would soon culminate to fruition. Sunset’s car cruised up to the parking lot, and Twilight disembarked the vehicle. “This is it,” Sunset said, “Welcome to your vacation spot.” Twilight surveyed the oceanfront terrain, before responding, “It looks like a nice enough place. Who am I looking for again?” “I already sent you some pictures to your phone. Just look for any of them when you get changed,” Sunset answered. “Alright. Where’s the changing room?” Sunset nearly answered, but was diverted by a sudden text message. “Sorry. That’s Rarity saying they’re almost ready to go. Have fun,” Sunset answered, before accelerating her car away. “Well, I guess this is it,” Twilight said to herself, before walking away to find a changing room on the beach. Indigo had just finished surfing, and ran back to regroup with her friends with her surfboard under her arm. “Is she here yet?” Indigo asked, excitement clearly apparent in her voice. “Not yet,” Gloriosa said. “My brother took his post on the lifeguard tower. He said he’d text if he saw anyone who looked like our guest.” “What do you think she’s like? I bet she’s nice,” Daisy said. “Of course she’s nice. Sunset said she was the princess of friendship, after all,” Lemon Zest. “Do you think she’s nicer than our Twilight? I bet she is,” Sunny said. “That remains to be seen,” Sugarcoat said, placing a hand on her hip. “Well, they are supposed to be kind of the same person. And our Twilight is really nice. And a lot of fun. Especially during beach days,” Juniper said. “And me and Indigo have already decided we’re going to teach her how to surf,” Sour Sweet smirked. “But, girls: Sunset told us that Princess Twilight doesn’t know what happened to our Twilight. About how she corrupted herself,” Wallflower reminded the others. “And the thing is, she wants to know everything that happened since she was gone.” “I think she’ll be too busy having fun with us to worry about things like that,” Sour said. “So, Juniper: what do you plan on doing when the princess gets here?” “Ummmm,” Juniper hadn’t thought much about what she would do when Princess Twilight arrived, but answered as best she could, “Maybe talk about the new Daring Do movie?” “You’re going to talk to her about a movie for the whole day? Lame,” Sunny said. “Hey! Daring Do is a lot of things, but she is not lame!” Juniper defended. Well, in any case: I’m going to take her out for a swim in the ocean.” “Do you think she can swim at all?” “I’m sure they have beaches and swimming pools where she’s from.” “Hey! Over here!” There came a voice that everyone was familiar with. When they looked to see, they saw their friend Twilight Sparkle, dressed for the beach in a sparkling blue swimsuit. Just as Sunset said, she was identical to their Twilight in every way. Only, her hair was let down, and she didn’t have her glasses on. “That must be her,” Gloriosa said, standing up to meet their new arrival. With an air of silent ecstasy, and all of the friends gathered on the beach greeted the newcomer. “Hey! You must be Twilight Sparkle. Um, other Twilight Sparkle. Princess Twilight,” Indigo greeted her. “Just Twilight’s fine,” Twilight answered. Twilight observed the group of new friends, not knowing what to expect. But, the cheerful expressions of the people before her augured well. And it got better when Indigo Zap strutted forward to take Twilight by the arm. “So, you up for some surfing?” Indigo said, holding up her surfboard. “Uh,” Twilight answered. She would have finished, if not for Sour Sweet taking her other arm. “Let me tell you: nothing beats surfing,” Sour said. Twilight gently wriggled her arms to relinquish the grip of her compatriots. “It’s really nice meeting you all, but I think I’d like to get better acquainted first. I don’t even know your names yet,” she explained. “She’s right. We never introduced ourselves,” Sunny said. “I’ll take the floor first: I’m Sunny Flare.” “I’m Sour Sweet.” “Lemon Zest. I listen to music.” “Sugarcoat.” “And I’m Indigo Zap.” “It’s nice to meet you all,” Twilight said. “So, Sunset told me that you’re members of a sport team?” “You know we are,” Indigo said. “The baddest, best, most skilled team this side of the school district.” “Speaking of school: if you ever wanted to, we can take you on a tour of Crystal Prep,” Lemon suggested. “Sorry, but I’m just here for a day at the beach. But, I can do it some other time if you want,” Twilight answered. “Then, it’s settled. We’ll spend part of the day at the beach, and visit the school later today,” Sunny presumptuously said. “Which means we should start adjusting our schedule,” Lemon said. Twilight immediately felt a connection to Lemon Zest. If there was anything that Twilight lived for, it was organization. But, before she could explain what was wrong with the suggestion, another girl took the attention away from Lemon. “Hey! What about us?” Juniper shouted. “Oh, right. These guys,” Sugarcoat said, indicating the others as she rolled her eyes. Behind the Shadowbolts were more people that Twilight recognized from the pictures Sunset gave her. “Hi. I’m Juniper Montage,” the new girl introduced herself, after approaching Twilight. Twilight suddenly found herself in a tight grip of a handshake, which steadily grew faster. Too fast for Twilight’s comfort. “I’m sorry, but can I meet the others, please,” Twilight said. “Sorry!” Juniper said, quickly letting go of Twilight’s hands. “It’s alright. I like someone who’s eager to make new friends,” Twilight said, making Juniper giggle and blush. Next to Juniper was another girl. A friend that Twilight had recently heard about from Sunset’s reports. “You must be Wallflower Blush. Sunset’s told me so much about you.” “She has? Oh, that’s…” Wallflower trailed off into an excited giggle. Already, after making one new friend, she was making so many more so quickly. “She says you like gardening. Maybe on my next trip here, you could show me your garden?” Twilight suggested. Wallflower burst into another fit of stifled giggles. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle too. This was what made all of her responsibilities as a princess worth it. To see the happy faces of new friends. “Alright. I think Twilight wants to meet the rest of us. Hi, I’m Gloriosa Daisy,” Gloriosa introduced herself. “Nice to meet you too,” Twilight answered. Twilight had already heard about Gloriosa from Sunset’s reports, and found it so hard to believe that this smiling, affable, gregarious girl was any kind of threat. Not wanting to bring up any kind of unpleasantries, Twilight decided not to mention the Camp Everfree business. “Now, I know you want to meet the rest of us, but I have to know: where did you get that amazing swimsuit,” Gloriosa asked. “This? It was made for me by Rarity. That is, Sunset’s Rarity,” Twilight answered, modestly modeling the swimsuit she was wearing. “Now, don’t be such a shrinking violet. You look wonderful in that,” Gloriosa said, before an idea occurred to her. “In fact, I know someone who would love to see you right now.” “Who?” Twilight asked, before she was led away by Gloriosa taking her by the wrist. “Follow me, and you’ll see,” Gloriosa melodically answered. Twilight was led away, much to the chagrin of the others. “Hey! We still have surfing to do!” Indigo called. A short distance away, Timber Spruce was sitting on his lifeguard tower, keeping a close watch on everyone. “Timber! Guess who’s here!” Called the voice of his sister. Timber turned to see Gloriosa Daisy merrily trotting toward him, while a girl he recognized as Twilight Sparkle stumbled behind him. “Coming down!” Timber said, with a sunny smile. He slid down the ladder on his tower, and met his sister and their visitor partway. “Here we are. Feel free to introduce yourself,” Gloriosa said, with a mischievous giggle. Twilight didn’t know why Gloriosa would be acting that way, but took the suggested courtesy anyway. “Hi. I’m Twilight Sparkle. I suppose you’ve already heard I’m the Princess of Friendship,” Twilight said. Timber didn’t say anything. The only response he gave was look Twilight from head to toe. “Uh, so you’re Gloriosa’s brother? Timber Spruce?” Twilight said. Timber said nothing. “Is he okay?” Twilight wondered. “I’m fine,” Timber said. “Just...I don’t really know how to say this, but...Has Twilight always looked this good?” “What?” Twilight said, turning a shade of red. “Nothing. Just that our Twilight and my brother here share a certain *ahem* special friendship,” Gloriosa said. Taking the hint, Twilight quickly tried to change the subject. “So, since I’ve met everyone: what do we do first?” she wondered. Well, right now I have to get back to my lifeguard duties. I’ve probably already slacked off for too long. A lot can happen if you’re not vigilant,” Timber said, before returning to his lifeguard tower. Twilight was about to speak, but became aware of a presence behind her. Turning to look, there were the Shadowbolts, each of them holding a surfboard under their arms. “So, Twilight: you wanna surf, or not?” Sour Sweet called. Not wanting to delay her new friends’ enjoyment any longer, Twilight readily joined them.