The day couldn’t have been more beautiful for a nice time at the beach. The sun was shining, the waves were perfect. Everyone was having a good time relaxing and playing. The sounds of both adult and young ponies rang out as Zhou laid under the large umbra that he had sat out for an area for all his friends to join. Since all he had to do was slide some swim trunks on, it didn’t take him long at all to get ready and get out to find a decent spot before the beach was out of good places to set up. He laid comfortably on a beach towel he had brought with him. The sounds and the wonderful breeze was comfortable enough to make him fall into a light sleep.

“Oh my….look at him. He is definitely a creature I have never seen before. But he is sooooo handsome…”

Whispered a random mare who was passing by with her friends. Zhou really didn’t pay much attention, nor did he really care. The group of mares was about to walk over to him to engage in conversation with him when his friends showed up, both Rarity and Applejack glaring at the approaching mares with a look of ‘Dont. You Think about it.’ This made chills run up their spines and just as quick as they started to approach, they turned away with a look of fear on their faces.

“Hey Z! We are here! ANd ya picked uh good spot too!”

“Indeed, this is quite the perfect place indeed. Thank you for getting everything set up as well, sweetheart~.”

Said Applejack and Rarity. Zhou opened up his eyes slowly as he sat up and turned to look at the approaching group. What he saw was a amazing sight. They all looked so very nice in their swimwear. Even Twilight and Fluttershy who usually wore more reserved clothing looked amazing. But his gaze fell on both Applejack and Rarity. They both looked amazing indeed. But he then noticed Twilight with a book in her hands and couldn’t help but laugh.

“You all look amazing. But seriously Twi? Are you reading a book even on vacation time? Come on now.”

“Hey, this is leisure reading. It doesn’t count as studying~.”

She said before sticking her tongue out at him in a playful manner. He places his hands up in an ‘okay you got me there’ manner. He stood up and came out of the shade of the umbra. All six of them went wide-eyed as they saw Zhou’s exposed upper body in the sunlight. Rarity and Applejack especially entranced by his muscular but not overly so physique. And how was he able to keep his skin such a fine pale with how much he worked in the sun? Even Twilight couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

“Oh my...I knew those would look good on you...VERY good. Hehe.”

“Umm...where are the girls?”

“Oh, Scoots and the others said they were gonna check out the water park Before they met up with us. They’ll be here in a couple of hours.”

Said Dash as she got herself settled on her own towel, sliding on her cool shades and looking cool just for the sake of cool. She was about twenty percent cooler now. Zhou nodded and made his way back to his towel and sat down on it and got comfortable again. Noticing that Rarity was quick to make her spot on his right side. Perhaps a statement to Applejack claiming to be at his right hand at all times? However, Applejack was quick to sit on his left. Zhou could feel the tension between them both And it was rather unsettling.

“Darling, you look tense. How about I give you a good massage with some lotion?”

Zhou arches a brow and looks over at her. Wasn’t he supposed to offer that?”

“Um, that should be my job shouldn’t it?”

“Oh no, it would mess up my fur! However...you don’t have any. And you need to make sure that lovely pale skin of yours is well protected from the rays of the sun. Please, I insist. It is the least I could do for all you have done for me…”

Zhou didn’t want to cause any more tension between the two mares. But Rarity’s hopeful gaze and words had definitely won this round. She is just….so adorable. He lowered his head a bit and gave a soft smile to her then gave a nod.

“Alright. Thank you for doing this Rarity. It is kind of you to offer.”

He said before rolling onto his front and resting his chin on his arms. Rarity carefully climbed onto him and sat on his lower back. She dabbed lotion on her hands and rubbed them together. Her eyes trailing down his well toned back and looked at her with his muscular legs. She was going to lather him up good, that was certain.

I will take good care of you, my gallant knight. A proper lady should treat her savior and friend to something special. And I can do this...for now.

She thought to herself before she placed her hands on his back and began rubbing him down. And she liked what she was feeling. Though the poor guy was so very tense in places. She could feel knots here and there and could swear that he was overworking himself. Applejack was a little peeved that she hadn’t offered it first to him, but then she notices a sign near them that said ‘Sand Castle Contest Today!!!’ She chuckled internally as looked down at the now relaxed human.

“Oh, darling...you need to take it easy every now and then. Your muscles are as tight as a drum. So many knots. Don’t you worry, momma’s gonna make sure that you are well taken care of.”

“Yeah well, after you are done with that, I know somethin’ you are gonna like even more, Z. There is uh sand castle contest here today. Sounds like your kind of contest. Wouldn’t ya say?”

That certainly did appeal to Zhou. This was going to be the easiest contest to win ever. The rules said no magic. But Zhou doesn’t use magic now does he? Nope, he uses earthbending. And if he can bend metal, he can certainly bend sand. He gave a nod to Applejack and chuckled.

“We got this one in the bag. And I already know what I am going to make….oh..a little higher please..right there. Mmmmh.”

“That’s right Zhou. I am going to give you the full massage you so deserve. Somepony has to look out for your well-being when you work so hard…”

Applejack took that as a shot at her and arches a brow down at Rarity who had a knowing smile on her muzzle. She crosses her arms and grumbled lightly to herself.

“He only overworks because he doesn’t know how to stop. Ah, know he pushes himself. But that’s what he does. He wants tuh get as strong as he can for those he cares about after all. Especially his family.”

Applejack said with a proud smile. Knowing that she was fully right. Zhou smiled at Applejack and nodded to her in agreement.

“You know me too well AJ. But someone’s gotta make sure things get done on time. You and Mac and Applebloom and especially Granny can’t do everything by yourselves.”

After Rarity finished rubbing down Zhou, she was satisfied just as much as he was. She got to feel his powerful form all over and took her time doing it. And it made her want him even more. In her mind, he was definitely the perfect lover for her. He is so kind to her. Not because she is pretty or well known for her work. But because he has gotten to know her for her. That combined with his strong yet soft touch made the fashionista long for a more...intimate relationship with the human. In her mind, no other stallion would do. Zhou stood up and stretched out his body and smiled down at the mare.

“Thank you again, Rarity. I really really needed that more than I thought. I will most certainly desire to repay the favor soon. But for now, time to go win a contest with ease.”

Applejack stood up and went with him as he walked off. But Rarity didn’t care. She would definitely accept his offer and tonight was going to be the night that she’d make her move on him. But Applejack had to same intent as well, however. And she wasn’t going to give in easily.

--The Contest Begins--

Zhou sat there in a rather relaxed state as he watched ponies young and adult begin making their castles Applejack and the others watched on in curiosity as they wondered what Zhou was planning. The last thirty seconds of the timer was counting down. He stood up and cracked his knuckles and made sure there was plenty of room for his creation. He slams his hands into the sand has with one swift motion, the sand sinks into a perfect replica of the Earth Kingdom city that he had grown up in. The ponies watched in amazement as they scaled structure seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“Hey, that’s not fair! He used magic!”

Called out one of the contestants who seemed pretty upset that her hard work was outdone by another entry. Zhou chuckled lightly and placed a finger up, lightly waging it side to side.

“If you remember, an anti-cheating spell was cast before the event started. One that wouldn’t allow magic for the duration. And had I used magic, it would have gone off. So you need to calm down there. I used earthbending. No kind of magic.”

The mare seemed like she wasn’t buying his answer. The thought of losing to someone who built his creation within seconds didn’t sit right with her. She did not notice that the judges were actually looking over his creation and seemed to be rather impressed by it. So she took matters into her own hands and levitated a bucket of water over the scale model and drowned it in water until it was ruined. She gave a smirk and crossed her arms as if she was proud of what she had down. Everypony gasped and started whispering at how much of a sore loser she was being.

Disqualified!”

Shouted one of the judges as he pointed to the mare. She gasps and starts to act as if she is the victim in all this. Zhou walked up to her with a feign angered looked and his fists balled up. She grins up at him and arches a brow with a ‘you can’t touch me, I am a mare’ look in her eyes. She was right. He wasn’t going to touch her, but his hands aren’t what she had to worry about. Rarity, however, was being held back by Applejack who wanted to give the mare a piece of her mind.

“It doesn’t matter how he made it! He didn’t use magic! It was a beautiful work of art and you went and ruined it you jealous sore losing-!”

Rarity’s mouth was covered by Fluttershy as she wasn’t sure if that name-calling would go rather...untamed for young ears. However, Zhou had this well in hand. A wicked smile comes across his face as he stomps into the sand, a small hole swallowing the mare up to her shoulders in sand. Zhou looked down at the now wide-eyed mare and lifted a hand in departure.

“I don’t need to touch you to get back at you. I will let the sand take care of it. Have fun digging yourself out.”

He walked over to the judges and rubbed the back of his head slightly, looking a bit embarrassed by all this.

“Sorry about this. Just...go ahead and give the prize to the runner-up. I mainly joined in on this for the fun anyways.”

“HEY, you can’t just leave me here like this! What about high tide?!”

He turned his head back to the yelling mare who frantically thrashed. He chuckled lightly.

“You better get to digging then miss priss.”

He walked back over to Applejack and the others with a big smile on his face. Moving them along back to there spot on the beach.

“Come on girls, let’s go back to enjoying ourselves. Hey Dash. I bet I can hold my breath underwater longer than you can!”

“Oh, you are SO on!”

--Later At Dinner--

Zhou and the others sat at the table in the resort restaurant eating and talking about the day’s event and what a good time they had. It certainly was a fine day to start out with on a vacation. Things were going great. He was happy, and Rarity and Applejack were happy as well. Nothing could ruin this vacation time and the time he was spending with his friends and family. Suddenly the lights went out in the whole entire resort. Every single one. Was it a power failure? No, it certainly was not

“Alright boys, get everypony down onto the ground and make sure none of them try to escape! If they do, hurt’em. Bad.”

Soon the place was overrun with ponies in black tactical military-grade gear and their faces completely covered to hide any chance of identifying them. Zhou, however, was quick enough to go for the girls that were sitting close to him. He knew the mares would be alright if they stuck with each other. But he wasn’t about to leave Apple Bloom and the others alone.

“W-what’s goin’ on?!”

“Zhou...I am scared…”

Said Applebloom and Sweetie. Zhou pulled all three of them close through the darkness, bringing them to the others who were under the table. Once safely with Rarity and the others. Zhou peeks out from under the table cloth and scans what he could. He looked back to the girls and moved his hand up and down as if saying ‘stay here. And don’t move.’. It was time that Zhou put his new gift to use to protect those he held dear. The gift of the Wraith.

Author's Note

Time for things to get interesting!

May the darkness grant you peace.