It’s been two months since me and my sister started the next chapter of our lives. We are retired princesses, and we are now living at Silver Shoals, a retirement home for old ponies. The employees at the complex host a bunch of activities, bingo, exercises, painting, making music, you name it. But, what me and my sister do most of all is going to the beach. And I reminded myself that if I’m going to take a snooze under the sun, I have to have sunscreen on. That one time when I didn’t, I got a sunburn and I had to take myself to the hospital, and let me tell you, it was brutal.
When we go to the beach, we either just lounge on our beach chairs, swim in the ocean, or take walks along the shoreline. But, there’s one activity that I’ve always wanted to try, being buried in the sand. It was a common thing to do on the beach, I’ve seen fillies and colts do it to each other, and they’ve done it to their parents too, also couples do it to each other.
And now that we’re at the beach at this moment, it would be the perfect opportunity to ask her to bury me. But, I feel hesitation grow inside me. What if she thinks I’m childish? What if…
“Luna?” I hear my sister’s voice snap me out of my worried trance. “Is everything alright? Aren’t you happy to be at the beach?”
I bit my lip, looking at my sister’s concerned expression. “Oh, uh, yes, sister. Very happy.”, I chuckled nervously.
My sister smiled and shrugged. “Very well then.”, she said. “Come along now, let’s continue our trek along the shore.”
I started to follow my sister down the shoreline. As I did so, I looked around at several ponies who were enjoying their time. Grown ponies were taking their time to relax, laying on their beach towels, getting tans, and eating food, while the children played in the sand. A couple ponies noticed us and waved. In response we waved back. I turned to my sister with a raised eyebrow. “Do you just love taking these walks just for ponies to notice us as the princesses we once were?”, I asked.
Celestia froze in her tracks. She rolled her eyes playfully. “Oh, Luna.”, she said smiling. “Just because we’re not princesses anymore doesn’t mean we can't be recognized. It’s kind of like making the beach our new kingdom.”
I gave a sly grin. “And therefore, I thought you were trying to make Silver Shoals our new kingdom.”
Celestia turned to me. “Oh, little LuLu.”, she said between giggles. She turned around and gave my nose a gentle prod, adding a vocalized “boop”, before turning back around and continuing the journey.
I rubbed my nose with a hoof before catching up to Celestia. She was used to being recognized back when we were princesses. Though, she got the most recognition before my one-thousand year exile. And since I got to Earth after that long time period, I thought to myself to let that be in the past. And now that we’re not princesses anymore, there’s no way bitterness will get in the way of our retirement. But, still enjoy the recognition while it lasts.
A couple fillies waved to me and I waved to them back. They were sitting by a big sand mound. It was to my surprise when a stallion’s head poked out from behind the mound. That stallion was a lot older than the fillies, so it was probably their father. They buried him in the sand up to his neck. It reminded me of what I wanted my sister to do. It felt the hesitation come back to me.
Celestia looked back and noticed that my timidity was back. Her walking was put to a pause and she turned back to me. “Luna, that look again. What’s the matter?”, she asked me.
I was once again snapped back to reality. “O-oh, my-my apologies, sister.”, i quickly apologized, hoping my sister would buy it again. But, this time, she didn’t.
“Can you tell me what’s on your mind, sister?”, she asked. “If there’s something on your mind, you can tell me.”
I looked down at my hooves, this was it for me. My sister deserved to know the truth on why I was acting like this, and she wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer. And if I told her what I truly wanted to do, she’ll think I’m childish. But, there was no backing out. I took a deep breath and spilled everything. “You see, sister. There was just something that I’ve always wanted to try, ever since we started coming to the beach often.”
“Yes?”, Celestia asked, waiting for more information.
Knowing that my sister could catch me if I tried to run like a coward, the one and only activity that I’ve always wanted to try was the first thing I blurted. “Celestia, can you bury me in the sand?”, I asked. My eyes widened when I felt my secret spill out of my mouth. I stared into my sister’s bewildered expression, at some point in a minute, she’ll call me childish. I closed my eyes and hung my head low in shame. It wasn’t until a second later when she started laughing, but to my surprise, it wasn’t a laugh to make fun of me, it was a laugh of joy.
“Oh, Luna, why didn’t you say so?”, Celestia said joyfully.
I blinked in bewilderment. “You don’t think it’s childish?”, I asked.
“Childish? Oh pish posh, sister.” Celestia chuckled. “Of course not. I think that idea is wonderful. As a matter of fact, I was hoping one day you would fall asleep on the sand, so I can sneak up on you and cover you up while you weren’t seeing it coming.”
I felt my heart leap out of my chest, the one activity that I’ve always wanted to try is what I’m about to experience, and my sister was happy to oblige. “So, you’ll cover me up to my neck?” I asked.
Celestia nodded as her horn began to glow a yellowish hue. A shovel and pail appeared in a poof of magic. She sat down on her haunches. “Why don’t you make yourself comfortable, sister?”, Celestia offered, as she began filling her pail with the tiny grains.
I turned around and slowly sunk to my back, exposing my belly to the pailful of sand in my sister’s hooves. My elbows kept my shoulders and head elevated.
“Are you ready, Luna?” Celestia cooed.
“Yes.” I said, snuggling my back a little deeper in the ground beneath me. “Bury me, sister!” I watched as my sister poured the sand on my underside, starting from my tummy up to my chest. My smiling mouth was agape, the sand felt wonderful. It closed as I looked up at my sister who was filling up her pale with shovelfuls of sand again. I looked back at my sandy torso as Celestia poured the next pailful, my winged sides being encased.
Celestia giggled, shoveling more sand into her pail and spilling it back out onto my thighs.
I looked up at my giggling sister, shoveling in more sand, and down at my naked back legs again. “By the stars, this feels amazing, Celestia!”, I chirped, as my sister packed sand on my legs. “And I see you’re having the time of your life.”
“Almost as much as you are, Luna.”, my sister chuckled. “Come to the beach with me the next time we take a walk and you’ll be begging me to cover you up again.” She began giggling again, as she packed more sand down my lower body. The more sand was packed on my legs, the more I started losing control of them. My smile widened as I watched my hooves submerge in the pouring pailful of sand, along with my tail in the process.
“I dare say, you’re quite the natural, sister.”, I complimented, watching Celestia pour another pailful of sand on the center of the mound of sand that cocooned my body.
My sister gasped in disbelief, she’s never received such appraisal from me like that before. “Why thank you, Luna.”, she said gleefully, as she shoveled sand in her pail. “You’re a natural as well, of course, of letting me bury you.” Giggling once again, she poured the sand on the center of the mound.
Thinking of the compliment my sister paid me back, she was right, I was a natural at this. Being buried in the sand felt good. And the sand mound that housed me, it made me feel safe from stress, although I’m not a ruler of Equestria anymore. It was surely something to ease off everything I’ve gone through. With everything covered up, I didn’t think I had to keep myself elevated much longer. So, I locked my eyes shut, leaned my head back against the sandy ground, and relaxed my forearms against my buried sides.
Celestia grinned from ear to ear as she continued to pack more sand. “Aw, is Little Sandy LuLu falling asleep?”, she teased me, with a hint of baby talk in her voice. I may look like I’m asleep from her perspective. But, in mine, I was pretending. And if I was asleep, then that would mean I would miss out on the wonderful sound of falling sand, the falling sand that spills out from my sister’s pail. So, I thought it's best to just savor the rest of the moment by facing skyward with my eyes closed and my ears open for what’s next to come.
“Adorable.”, Celestia whispered in a sweet sing-song voice as she began to pack sand on my right foreleg. It seems my forelegs were the next parts to be covered. It wasn’t a second later that she started humming. It sounded enchanting, it was like she was singing me a lullaby while tucking me into bed, just like when we were younger. The warm sand mound that housed me and the sweet tune from my sister was starting to make me feel drowsy, but I still kept the act up to sense my sister’s every move. I wanted to fall asleep all together, but I would miss out on what’s yet to come, so I decided it wasn’t time for that yet.
My right shoulder was now encased in sand. Celestia then got started on my left foreleg. My sister was nearly done burying me, and once that happens, I’ll lose full circulation of my body. But, I wouldn’t mind it at all, because this was something I’ve always wanted to try. Indeed, it felt relaxing, and this was the most relaxed I’ve ever been while on the beach. I guess I didn’t know why I ever thought my sister would think I’m childish if I asked her to do this to me, it was clear that my sister loved me almost as much as she loved Equestria. If she really loved me, then she would do anything I wanted her to do, and this was it. On the inside, I kind of envied her, I hoped maybe I’d get the upper hoof and bury Celestia in the sand myself. Maybe do it when she takes a snooze on the sand and I’ll tiptoe near her close enough and start covering her up. But, that would have to wait for another day, right now, I’m the victim here.
It was at this moment that my sister encased my left shoulder in sand. There I was, buried in the sand up to my neck. Celestia’s shovel and pail disappeared in a poof of magic and she patted down the mound with her hooves, from the lower end and up to my chest. “Ok, Luna, all covered up.”, she cooed softly. To her surprise, I didn’t open my eyes to look at my buried self, I still kept them closed as I continued my charade. “Oh, I guess I really did put my sister to sleep.” She stood up on her hooves. “Well then, sweet dreams, Little Sandy LuLu. Now that this is over, I can continue walking along the beach, but I think I’ll go the different direction since I think I’ve already gone far down this one.” She summoned a piece of parchment paper in her magic with some writing on it. “I think the next few things on my list after I complete my walk are helping a few fillies build a sandcastle if I see any try to build one, then take a swim with them, then maybe find some patches of seaweed and drape them all over me so I can play a beach monster. I maybe should’ve added burying my sister in the sand, if I knew I was gonna do that today, but I didn’t.” She began walking down the shore in the other direction, leaving me behind in my sandy cocoon. “Ha, my list is twice as long.”
I hear the pitter patter of hoofsteps growing quieter. My eyes finally flutter open and look over the sand mound covering my body, watching as my sister’s form gets smaller and smaller. It wasn’t like she was leaving me to be completely helpless, just for me to have some me time while I chill in my sand mound. I lowered my head down a little further to let my eyes explore the mound without nearly destroying it. It was just about the same size as my own body, like when a caterpillar encases itself in its chrysalis. With myself all alone, I thought the best thing for me to do was just relax. It was a good thing I put on sunblock before we arrived at the beach. I’ll get my sister back soon for abandoning me after I try to dig myself out, or if she comes a little while later she’ll help me out. But for now, I could take the time to sleep. So, I leaned my head back, once again closing my eyes and let my mind enter the world of dreams.
