Author's Note

It's Fireflower again with the seventh installment of my first My Little Pony fanfic going beyond the typical oneshots I'd made from before and already using canon characters as human beings instead of their normal forms; however, this is nonetheless a Mature fimfic despite this chapter being tame compared to future ones.

In addition, I would like to take this time to dedicate this chapter to the (good) people whom had perished from the Chinese Communist Party's Wuhan Coronavirus since the December 2019–2020 period; given the fact that Xi Jinping has been nothing more than egocentric elitist with murderous delusions of granduer, I figure he can thank himself for allowing his blundering to kickstart the madness, especially since I'd some better planned with it.

In any case, My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic, including its settings and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; however, only this concept of my fanfic still belongs to me so I will say this line one time: please do not steal this story or I will sue.

Air

Light in and of itself was capable of traveling to and from anywhere throughout the whole wide world rather almost instantaneously; in addition, it also was accompanied by the warmth as well since it was the only way of how it’d worked out for all the aspects making up the very reality interchangeably. At the very least, its absolute presence alone had served to provide a sense of identity for all the corporeal dimensions; after all, the fact it can be seen by all of its lifeforms in general was good enough to serve as a provider for every single environment hither and yonder the entire realm so to be speaking of. Now, it’d seemed just about anything and everything could be discovered almost immediately, irregardless of whatever importance and/or lack thereof, all thanks to a wholesome slew of colors painting them all in many different hues and shades crying out with life in every single emotion known of so far. Given the very situation at hand, it was best to assume, for the most part, today had already just begun for many of them up and running about on all parts within the sphere of influence alone, already rotating upon its own axis at one set speed whilst revolving around another distant star at a different other.

In any case therein, it was about time to set the stage in essence, especially considering how much of the work was already getting done by virtue of sheer commonality, relatable to a fault. The upper atmosphere had been colored in the brightest shades of the starriest sapphires, shining about thanks to the golden sun completely illuminating it all with just powerful rays of photons. Traveling across the log horizon with these crashing skies were gentle breezes already carrying on various debris and scents composed of both light and heavy materials, known and unknown. A series of chatters filled the oxygenated air, lacking in harmony but otherwise harmless since they’d unaffected the sound barriers for those ready, willing, and/or able to pick up on them now. There were multitudes of sand strewn throughout the way, lying between the vast concrete jungles on one side and the singular fluid ocean on the other, all of which were devoid of flora. To say that crowds were currently filling the finite yet far from final space simply served as an understatement; after all, they were the predominant source of noise compared to the stray bird.

Out of the many people traversing about the uniformed plane of existence, one singular man was found to be lost in the crowd: eyes, hair, and board shorts were all colored in shamrock, despite the variation of shades between themselves for others to see; his lightweight body was tinted in a peachy bleachy scheme, heated by the sun but nevertheless unharmed as of this moment in time.

“It’s a beautiful day outside: birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and Celestia’s sun is shining; I wish we’d seen more times like this…” he’d exhaled whilst quickly taking in all the sights and sounds of the sizeable scenery he was already apart of with a small smile plastered upon the visage.

The jaded man wasn’t even alone in his choice of attire, presented with innumerable yet finite amounts of peers in the area: each of them had possessed their own similarities and differences alike as shown from the hot and heavy atmosphere therein; as far as he could see right now, a vast majority of them were liberal to a fault but nonetheless modest in terms of clothing overall. As he’d walked amongst the grainy terrain, there was nothing but calmness both inside and out, something many can relate to; after all, his summary was the general consensus of many found out and about alongside him due to the environment altogether: happiness wasn’t even restricted to the likes of a warm blanket but the textures alone were soft and subtle all the same either way. Needless to say, the jaded man was more than ready to seize the day as far as everyone else was concerned about it all no less: all in which he had to do was look for someplace within the sands with both eyes balanced right in between wide and narrow; afterwards, it was up to him to do whatever he’d felt like was fitting for the occasion, especially since that’s what others are doing.

Sure enough, he could hear one voice in particular making its way through the solid sea of people, “샌드바아⋯ 저곳⋯!”

“어⋯ 얘들아, 너 어디 있어 사실, 우리는 어디에 있습니까?” was all that the jaded man had said as he’d started looking around through his peers for the source thereof, “나는 이 해변을 가로질러 겨우 길을 찾을 수 없다⋯”

“우리는 근처에 있습니다, 형님⋯” the same distant voice spoke to him again, this time more louder than before so he can hear it clearly.

It didn't take much for the jaded man to follow it all the same, already blending in with the crowd due to his minimalistic yet modest attire heretofore. Of course, the nominal yet strange journey he'd begun to take wasn't as easy as he'd initially thought, given the population density all throughout. To simply believe otherwise was disingenuous since the sun, surf, and sand happened to be the key components for beachgoers like the jaded man. Anyways, he had to try all the same; after all, no man is an island unto themselves and he was no different: the same can be said for the females too. Still, the jaded man was confronted by the abundance of other individuals like him, despite the utter lack of conflict and contempt alone altogether.

His passive resistance was needed in order to find the source and everyone else was too busy to oppose him directly overall; nevertheless, the time and effort he'd spent soon paid off as both ears were treated to the rather particular noise amongst all: besides, he was already on the verge of collapse while cerebrating, "almost there, now where exactly are they at…?"

“보세요, 엄마 아빠, 오빠이 바로 우리 앞에 있습니다⋯” were all that had just echoed in the very distance were the jaded man was walking, helping the lone listener along the way, “샌드바아⋯ 저곳⋯”

Almost immediately, he’d turned his attention towards at least three people in particular occupying a large blue cloth plastered across its grains of the burning sand beneath themselves. They were all residing onto the fabric within clear view as far as the jaded man could see at once, taking shelter from the sunlight with an enormous red umbrella angled to provide them all shade. Each of them had been dressed in similar clothing like everyone else in attendance, colorful to a fault yet snug enough to protect each and any part of their wearers from the elements at large.

Of course, the very commonalities between the trio had come to an end; any and all significant differences they’d personally happened to share amongst each other were on display. In any case, another male lain across the textile: like the bystander, his skin was peachy yet the thick hair and worn eyes were cold; however, the former wore matching blue shorts. Nearby the lounger was a shapely lemony woman with warmer hair flowing freely clad in a thick matching bikini combo: a raspberry top and a peachy bottom, all with white outlines. Kneeling past the corner onto the sand was a young peachy girl already donned in a frilly shamrock studded maillot matching her eyes and half the tresses from the same head.

It wasn’t even long when the jaded man had finally met up with the three beachgoers in particular, walking over to the older thirds immediately as they met each other at even eye level.

“안녕, 모두들, 여기무슨일이야⋯이곳이 정확히 무엇이며 우리는 어디에 있는가?” the standing observer asked quickly with both eyes shifting about in a fraction of the same speed thereof.

Smiling warmly, the elder female answered the jaded man at once, “저런, 솔직히 기억나지 않아, 아들⋯? 우리는 휴가에 피리델피아에 있어요. 당신의 아버지는 이번 주말에 우리 모두를 해변에 데려가고 싶어했고 날씨는 맑았어야 했습니다. 그는 당신이 방 안에서 모든 시간을 보내는 데 너무 익숙해지고 있다고 말했다. 고랄도 가고 싶어했기 때문에 우리 모두는 이것이 옛날을 위해 집에서 나갈 수있는 좋은 기회라고 생각했습니다.”

“여기가 피리델피아입니까⋯더 일찍 잠들었나봐기억이 흐릿할 텐데: 생각해 보니, 엄마, 우리가 여기 온지 얼마나 됐어요?” the young observer stuttered about, earning a nod from the lemony woman as far the others were concerned, “이 해변은물론이고 이 도시에있는 해변을 기억조차하지 못합니다.”

“샌드바, 우리는오늘 아침 일찍출발했기 때문에 오전 9시부터여기에 있었습니다⋯ 이것은전쟁이 끝난 후몇 년 전에열린 새로운 해변중 하나입니다.” the elder female said, leaving the jaded man’s eyes widened with shock.

A full beat of silence escapes the young listener as he’d started surveying the area from left to right, uncertain to a fault with ruminations, “this can’t be right: the only beaches that exist in Fillydelphia are nearby lakes and rivers, but not the Celestial Sea itself; as a matter of fact, their rivers have to go either to Horseshoe or Delmarva first before making their way out to sea. Even if it were a new beach, I highly doubt everyone would be in such a mood to celebrate after what had happened years ago: the war alone had been more than enough to keep us all on edge, especially considering what had happened in Canterlot no less; after all, to think they’d be spies among us here en masse was a nightmare on its own, not to mention the preceding bombing run. Now, it seems that people are so quick to forget what had been done to them, much less act like that the war was just a memory: I’ve heard accounts from survivors about the series of unfortunate events that had taken place over those years here and there; I’ve been even writing reports about it for years and how it parallels to other wars out of Equestria up to the present…”

“Heads up…!” cried another distant voice, albeit more masculine compared to the first that took refuge in the jaded man’s ear; at that moment, a stray plastic sphere ended up landing onto his older counterpart’s lap for the rest to see as plain as this day: though predominantly white, there were regions of red, blue, and yellow slathered about, “sorry about that…!”

“It’s alright, no harm, no foul: I know you want this volleyball back as much as the next guy; after all, they don't call me Beachcomber for nothing, you know…” the aforementioned lounger said warmly as he'd retrieved the item in question now firmly within possession looking for its true owner almost immediately so to speak.

As far as they were all concerned, presentation was inevitable the second someone spoke up to the whole family in advance mere minutes ago. The approaching speaker was revealed to be another jaded man with bright skin; unlike them, his paler face was filled with freckles on his cheeks. One additional deviation from themselves was the unrelated bystander's hair being slightly puffed up at the side and bottom yet net anyway. Madder shorts were the only thing that struck out between them, reaching down towards their owner's kneecaps and riding up past the waist.

Almost instantaneously, the man in red was more than ready to speak to them already, "thanks for not holding a grudge about the whole thing: this is honestly the first time my family and I have went to the beach on vacation; in fact, it's my first time playing volleyball with the others. By the way, my name's Pistachio Cornetto and we're farmers from the heartland of Equestria itself: we have an acorn farm called Sweet Acorn Orchards; my parents are on a honeymoon and since I'm an only child that meant having all the free time in exploring the beach. Now, I can also see that you're new as well despite being vacationers: it seems that the new beach that opened up in Fillydelphia has been fated to get such a turnout over the years; after all, summers are extremely great when it comes to sunny skies and warm water."

"Are you kidding me; am I the only one out there who sees what's wrong with the whole ordeal: as a matter of fact, why the happiness?!" screamed the man in green lost in space filled with his own thoughts despite being found having done so in regards to his own family, "I just remembered Equestria going to war seven years ago and the atrocities committed against us! People should be up in arms about what happened that time, not just to us commoners alone that's for sure; I know that the Element Bearers also got a raw deal for the services they'd provided ever since they'd stopped Nightmare Moon: to think the women would be treated like this has been enough to make our skin crawl to this day, especially regarding that other farmer! Not only that, even the royal family was attacked as well: we lost Cadance in what should have been her most happiest day of her life before our very eyes, especially those who knew her best; Princess Celestia had to watch her own niece burn to death and the whole place ended up getting swarmed with a new kind of enemy hiding among us. We'd have lost the war if it weren't for her allies stepping in to save the day and even they had their own problems; if anything, we were one loss away from becoming slaves in our homeland to whatever enemy that would've conquered us: anything which had happened to the girls would be so much worse for the rest of us!"

"Pardon me, sir, but can we please have our volleyball back…?" yet another voice made its way into the bystander's ears, this time a balance between the young girl and their mother; speaking of which, the listener was finally found to be of the same class as the likes of both him and his compeer.

At first glance, it'd seem that another bright skinned person would be enough to raise questions about their collective similarities; on the other hand, the sheer identity was more in tune with both the youngest and oldest of the women in their group was enough: her long solid hair made it to the waistline and a face full of freckles were something her brown eyes could see very clearly. In addition, her attire was a lot like the mother's bikini in terms of functionality so to speak of, despite their differences thereof; in the younger counterpart's case, it was more uniform and much colder in shading, but the stripes alone were simplistic as is: either way, it's wearer's own curvaceous body was on display for the family amongst other beachgoers like the one in red too.

Needless to say, the jaded young woman happened to be the only individual so far to snap her primordial correspondent back to reality almost instantaneously, switching out his inner voice with an external tongue like before, “of course, you can have it back; come to think of it, you must one of his cousins or something: it’s almost rather strange that we meet in a place like it. I’m Sandbar by the way and this is my sister Coral and our parents; it seems to me you must be on vacation to this new beach, although I highly doubt you’re alone: where are your folks anyways…?”

“You mean my parents…?” the middlemost maiden had mildly muttered miserably in merely a minute before her small audience, “they’re not here anymore: I’ve been living alone ever since the Canterlot Tragedy; I’d recalled escaping to the gardens the day the wedding was stormed by invading interlopers and imposters alike so to speak.”

“Oh my, that’s awful... we’re honestly sorry to hear that from you: we haven’t been anywhere even near the capital when it’d all when down but we did read about it in the newspapers since the war had ended; I’m High Tide anyway and you must be…?” the lemony listener lamented lightly at what her jaded younger counterpart had said before the former’s introduction no less.

Despite all this, the middlemost maiden found the strength to answer the eponymous matriarch, “Wallflower Blush, but everyone calls me Wallflower if anyone can bother to remember: I’ve been living alone as the founding gardener for the Academy’s club before the event; despite my talents, even my job as an assistant groundskeeper is barely enough to keep me afloat yearlong.”

“Speaking of jobs, our Sandbar hasn’t been able to find a job because of his schoolwork lately even since he’d started recently…” the lemony lounger responded to the titular traveler almost immediately, prompting her son’s eyes to bulge a bit before contorting, “he’s always been burying himself in all the assignments he’d been bringing home ever since that day no less. Initially, we didn’t pay it any mind since we’d always expected what’s best for and from him at such a young age so to speak; soon, it ended up reaching a point where he'd stay inside his room all day and night after as well as before school respectively: one time, he'd locked himself up in his own room when everyone else was enjoying a snow day before the semester had ended.”

“Look, mommy, there’s an airplane in the sky…” the little girl said, pointing towards a small fleet of machines flying about from across the ocean from where the others can see alongside her at once.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the pedestrians to stop whatever it was they were doing just now and partake in bearing witness to what Coral said recently, no matter how far away they were. Uniformity was their game as their formation was devoid of variation in terms of sight, sound, and speed alike, darkened like the night and devoid of the moon and stars within the sky therein. The collective whirring was growing more loudly every passing second these identified flying objects had still approached the large crowd staring adjacently from the shoreside Sandbar stood. As if their presence alone wasn’t enough, a series of dark clouds loomed from abaft, filled with the smog and cinders from them as they’d all threatened to encroach the otherwise big blue sky.

As far as the jaded young man could see, a wave of unease enveloped him as well as everyone else when the waters underneath the airplanes had become stilled and lifeless whilst saying, “where did they all come from all of the sudden…?”

Soon enough, many other beachgoers were asking similar questions, great and small, when the rise of the machines had grown closer towards themselves without any obstruction whatsoever; eventually, it’d all come to pass as the golden sun high above within the heavens became hidden away by the dark clouds for all of the witnesses to see clearly as the day still present in spite of it. Despite this, it’d seemed that everything else would resume as is, especially since the identified flying objects had flown away; however, all was still not well as far as the environment was concerned, along with the fact some new sounds were being heard: what had started as a distant cough became an enormous percussion of dissonant acapella devoid of harmony gold overall.

“Ack…!” hacked Beachcomber as he’d struggled to breathe, smelling the achromatic vapors invasion, “someone…”

“Guys…!” his son choked out, watching helplessly as the whole family’s eyes became reddened by the acrid aroma, heavy water leaking from their corners while the lids narrowed about afore.

This was the same sentiment shared by everyone else, not just the middlemost maiden and her masculine correspondent, many of whom were struggling to flee the scene but to no avail at all; eventually, there was nothing more but silence from the flora and fauna therein, freezing in place after movement began to delay, regardless of the positions they were once in ever since the start.

Despite the growing silence, a raspy hiss made its way throughout all, “bittersweet but fitting…”