Fillydelphia. Fourth most populated megacity of Equestria. Favorite destination of tourists, popular for its beaches of pinkish sand and translucent waters with ideal waves for those in love with nautical sports.
In reality, downtown was miles away from the real beach which was actually surrounded by what formerly was a nice town of fishermen. Because a lot of famous people had made a trendy and glamourous destination out of it, it was the village more than the metropolis itself that was visited.
Apples’ secondary house was in this small town like a paradise for People Press magazines. Their grandmother and her late husband had bought this charming house of six hundred square meters, back at the time when the place still was an oasis of calm hidden of everyone’s eyes, unawares that years later, the capital gain of their possession would skyrocket.
And since the family was very wealthy, they seemed not to mismatch with the rest of the population. However… When the small vans had stopped in front of the gate, the neighbors around had all lifted their curtains or lowered their sunglasses with a puzzled face. It really contrasted with the alluring convertibles, sport cars and limos parked in the pathways bathed in the sun.
It hadn’t got better when the small gang had climbed off the cars, with their suitcases and bags. Applejack’s Stetson probably had turned more than one stomach. For sure, she hadn’t much in common with the other heiresses of her age, and it was the same thing for Rainbow Dash.
Rarity, of course, immediately felt at ease in this universe of luxury, where every new house was lovelier than the last one, with their cameras and their coats of arms at the top of gates. She could already picture herself mixing with la crème de la crème, the elite of Equestrian show-business that she would dazzle with her style and grace… And who knew, maybe she could find new investors to finance her brand at a bigger scale.
And she still had surprises in store! Right from the entrance, the house really blew them away… The ground was as immaculate as snow in winter and overlooked a gap where a gorgeous grand piano was taking center stage. On the right side, were stairs made of marble and on the left, it was easy to have a glimpse at the huge main living-room. Decorated with the best of taste of white, beige and grey, it contained a false fireplace half rustic half modern, and was furnished with large couches, accompanied of painting masterpieces and an immense table.
And it wasn’t over yet since the ground floor also had a summer kitchen, a private auditorium, a billiard room and a television corner as wide as a theater – or at least, that was what it seemed to those not used to such a splendor.
The floor possessed not less than three bathrooms looking like private spas and seven bedrooms. Even Rainbow Dash’s house hardly stood the competition… and she didn’t care at all. What would she do with a secondary home, even near the ocean? Wandering around like a lost soul with the sole company of cleaning ladies and butlers addressing her formally? At least, Applejack could come here with her family…
Quickly, it was decided that the three Crusaders would sleep in the same place, which still left nine persons to settle into the six remaining bedrooms.
It appeared obvious that, despite what he deeply coveted, Zephyr would stay in presence of his coworker and now friend Big Macintosh. He was disappointed, of course, but he couldn’t decently be settled with one of the girls, even if there were multiple beds. And Fluttershy wanted to make the most of her friends instead of staying with him, which was easy to understand.
They could have parted and take one room each. Nonetheless, they wanted to make the most of the trip and to spend nights having fun and laughing even when there wouldn’t be parties on the beach… The distribution was at random and gave the following configuration: Twilight and Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy, then Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash in the master bedroom. Two rooms still were free, in case one of them chose to be alone for one night, or if a last minute guest had to stay – many things could happen during those famous parties.
The advantage of the house, that a lot in the village were envious of, was that it had the peculiarity to have a back garden directly overlooking the beach that was only a few inches away.
Everyone unpacked in cheerfulness and racket, then the whole gang met in the summer kitchen to devour watermelon and juices. There were no house employees, only persons to clean the place three times a week, since the Apples refused to pay people to be at their service. If they had a cook at home, it only was to help out Granny Smith, who wasn’t that young now.
Before making the most of the beach, they went back with their cars to do the grocery shopping for the week to come. With such a heat, no one wanted to cook complicated things, so they all chose fresh fruits and vegetables, vegetal sausages for a potential barbecue, and most importantly enough beers and alcohol-free beverages to be hydrated and to satisfy everyone during the parties and nights.
Just like she’d dreaded, wherever she went, Rainbow Dash was obliged to bear with Zephyr. As soon as she talked about something with her friends, he tried to voice his opinion, even when he didn’t know the topic. He always wanted to impress her, boasting about things she didn’t care about at all.
She didn’t really know what he was thinking, but according to her, it was a very bad way to spend his energy. Since the beginning, she couldn’t help but imagining how it would have felt if what she had seen, she had seen it with Soarin. It even was a bit annoying.
First thing she did when they arrived at the beach was to take information about surfing lessons. A shop of supply rent, that was near the main road, proposed an initiation, payable in advance, and made of two hours a day, with an adaptable flat rate.
It was required to subscribe and to wait for a teacher to be free. Thankfully, one of the instructor had a last minute withdrawal and was available right now. Rainbow Dash leaped at the chance. Without hesitation, she rented the necessary supplies, and gave an appointment to the young man, hardly older than she, at the spot where her friends and her were settled.
“Hey, guess what… I can do my surfing initiation right now”, she said, darting into the sand the blue surfboard decorated with hibiscus flowers she had just rented. "Isn’t it awesome?”
“Fabulous, darling”, Rarity declared while she smeared her body with oil.
Applejack looked at the oldest with a smirk, and took off her hat that she put on the sand. All the girls already were in bikinis, and while Rarity and Twilight looked determined to loaf on their towels – one of them in order to read a novel – Pinkie Pie had already brought Sunset Shimmer towards the waves. They both were busy wetting their arms before going to swim.
“Dya wanna come?” the lovely blond girl asked Fluttershy, who already had entrenched herself under Pinkie Pie’s gigantic pink sunshade.
“Oh, no, I’d rather not… I… I can’t swim.”
They all opened their eyes wide in direction of Zephyr, as if he had been the one to make this odd confession. He answered by shrugging.
“I’ve tried to teach her many times, but she’s too scared.”
“I could try to do this after surfing”, Rainbow Dash declared, as she was now busy spreading total sunblock on each visible part of her body. “I’m a really good swimmer.”
It wasn’t a lie. Like in every other sports, the young woman was also excellent in swimming, although it wasn’t a devouring passion.
But Applejack had a much better idea. She felt that the shared journey of her brother and Fluttershy hadn’t helped much to get them closer, and she still tried to find a way so that Big Macintosh, busy watching the bathers in the waves, would realize how her friend was pretty, sweet and adorable.
Since they were both shy, she sincerely thought they needed to get another little help from destiny.
“Why waitin’? Big Macintosh swims pretty good and he’s patient. He could teach Fluttershy.”
“Eeyup”, he said with a lot of pride.
“Well… I’m not sure”, the young woman answered, her cheeks the color of salmon.
“Don’t ya fret, he’ll be very carin’ or else Ah’ll pull his eyes out of his sockets!”
“I’ll do that too”, Rainbow Dash confirmed.
“Well… Why not?”
Fluttershy got up and dusted dawn sands on her pinkish thighs. She was wearing a one-piece swimming suit a bit retro, with a zipper in the front, hidden by a light baby pink sarong that reminded the soft color of her hair, loosen on her shoulders. If Big Macintosh didn’t have a crush on her by the end of the day, something was wrong, she thought.
When the two young people went together to the water, not even daring looking into each other’s eyes, Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged a friendly pat of the hands, under Zephyr’s puzzled glance, since he was trying to ignore what they were up to.
All that mattered to him, to be honest, was to delight in Rainbow Dash wearing a bikini. For now, he was a bit disappointed… She was wearing a surfing suit that covered her forearms, neck and a part of her legs. And she barely looked at him, acting as if he wasn’t here, or almost.
Indeed, it started real slow. But he still had two weeks in front of him to achieve his ends. Two weeks without having to worry about a spoilsport athlete from university. With a bit of skill and patience, it could work.
“Rainbow Dash, are you ready?” a young man he had never seen before asked, wearing a surfing suit as well, and holding a board and all the rest.
He felt as if all his plans were drowning under the rollers of the ocean. Was he… the surfing instructor? Damn! This guy was tall, and build like a top-level athlete, with curly raven black hair, a face with handsome yet masculine features and eyes of an almost translucent blue.
It was totally the kind of guy to make every girl go crazy, without the slightest effort. He looked like a movie star, or worse, like one of those playboys driving Ferraris and partying with champagne a few inches away. And Rainbow Dash would be alone with him for many hours during the weeks. Torment and trouble!
From her towel where she was settled in order to go brown, Rarity lowered her heart-shaped sunglasses, and detailed the newcomer from head to toe. She felt her throat going dry. He was her kind. To leave him alone with Rainbow Dash who never looked at anyone, and only had eyes for her absent boyfriend anyway, it was such a waste.
Suddenly, she really felt like learning how to surf…
“Can I have lessons too?” Zephyr asked abruptly.
Even Twilight jumped hearing him doing this request. It was clear he had nothing of a sportsperson, just by looking at the thinness of his arms and legs, his chest smooth and flush. No one ignored why he suddenly felt like confronting with the waves… And one person in question held herself from screaming, only tightening the grip around her rented surfboard.
“Well, I think I’d like it as well”, Rarity claimed.
This time, Rainbow Dash thought she was about fall back on the sand. Rarity… surfing? Was it some kind of joke? Then, by herself, she sighed and resigned, relaxing her shoulders. They could do what they want, after all, and, to have Rarity would help her to make sure Zephyr wouldn’t try to be stuck to her back like glue.
The young instructor scratched the back of his head, a bit puzzled. Nothing forbid him to do the lesson for three persons at the same time, but there were a few details to settle down before.
“Alright, why not? If it doesn’t bother Rainbow Dash… But you need to rent supplies before we get started.”
A few moments later, as everyone was now busy, the improvised quartet was finally able to attack the waves. Well, sort of. The initiation started by how to stand back up on the board, how to paddle, and the rules of security necessary in order not to get hurt.
Listening carefully to her instructor’s advices, Rainbow Dash was quickly able to understand how things should be done, to the extent that he promised her she could practice on a small wave by the end of the session. Quite unexpectedly, Rarity wasn’t that bad neither. She wasn’t as strong as her friend, but she was more delicate and displayed a great agility.
As far as Zephyr was concerned, he was cursing himself for deciding on a whim to learn this discipline, and that he let jealousy guiding him. It was clear his heart’s desire only cared about the instructor when he taught her something about surfing. Probably because she was thinking about some other boy. It didn’t change the fact that here he was stuck beside this damn board in the middle of the ocean (alright, maybe not) for two long hours.
At the end of the session, when the young instructor left the group on the sand, Zephyr fell flat on his towel, breathless. Every part of his body hurt, and his throat was drier than a desert by dint of swallowing salted water.
Every of them was back on the sand, and Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Sunset Shimmer had started a Texas Hold’em with candies, under the huge hot pink sunshade, while Fluttershy and Twilight were talking about a book they both had read, and Big Macintosh was actually reading under his own sunshade.
“Ah, now, it’s time for sun worship!” Rarity claimed, stretching like a cat.
There was no way to ignore the glances of boys passing them by when she was behaving this way. It made Rainbow Dash roll her eyes, while lowering the zipper of her surfing suit.
Immediately, Zephyr stand back up on his elbows, his eyes flickering. This time, it was Big Macintosh who rolled his eyes. It was incredible to be that maniac. Alright, it was always pleasant to have a glimpse at a beautiful girl in swimsuit, but it wasn’t either something like a global event.
At the same time, he let his eyes wander to his right. Fluttershy was laughing softly, placing a strand of hair behind her ear, delicate in every circumstances. Another laugh resounded above, heavier, less reserved. More high-pitched also. Pinkie Pie was winning, and rose her arms in the air swiftly. Big Macintosh smiled.
Meanwhile, Zephyr couldn’t take his eyes off Rainbow Dash, pretending not to see him, in order not to explode from rage and stuff his bun inside his throat. She took off a sleeve, then another, lowered the neoprene to her ankles.
The young man felt all his strength leaving him when he realized she wasn’t wearing a bikini, as he’d hoped. Her swimsuit was two pieces, but it was a top that looked like a sports bra, and a bottom that were in fact boyshorts. The whole was burgundy-colored, and the only trace of feminine traits were two discreet pink hibiscus flowers on the side.
He let himself fall against his towel, before claiming he was thirsty. When he stood back up, Rainbow Dash spoke to him… Only to throw a coin at him, and to ask him to bring her a sugar-free soda. He obeyed, head low.
Though the surfing lesson had her bursting with energy, the young woman decided to rest as well, in order to spare herself for the first party of the stay, which would take place at night. She grabbed her bottle of total sunblock, and smeared her body with a generous layer, not forgetting her feet and the back of her nape. After this, she took the sunglasses in her bag, and lied down to take a small nap.
She was starting to drowse when she heard three little voices she knew well, screaming to the whole beach names of drinks and pastries. Rainbow Dash stood back on her elbows, and lifted her sunglasses.
Zephyr then appeared back in her field of vision, and he wasn’t alone. The three young Crusaders were here, with big coolers hanging at their shoulders, against their stomachs.
So this was the reason why they’d disappeared as soon as they’d all arrived at the beach, and that no one had seen them ever since. Without telling anyone, they had started to look for a job they could do during their stay, and that would help them finding their special talent.
There were things that weren’t about to change, whether they were on a beach in Fillydelphia or in the Grand Rue of Canterlot!