The sun was out and about, brightening the day with rays of its elegant light. But it wasn't a hot day like other days in Equestria. It was relatively warm and lightly breezing. A normal day for earth ponies and unicorns to go out and have a stroll, sit around, read a book or do just about whatever came to their minds. And an average day for pegasi just fly around, race or just relax on a cloud and get a tan. But for other ponies, it would also be a perfect day to explore.
And that's exactly what an alicorn mare did!
Humming a tune to herself and minding her own business away from solitude, a young mare roughly in her teens trailed down a path. She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care. She was old enough to go out on her own and explore; with a bubbly, go lucky smile to boot.
“I wonder where I should go?” The young mare asked herself curiously. There were so many places she could go to, it was hard to choose. Where could she go?
“Ponyville? No. That would be too obvious,” that was out of the question, but maybe later down the line. She wanted to go to places that seemed 'unique' to her.
“The Crystal Empire?” She stopped as her darkish-pink hued body shivered, fur standing in place, “Oh, heck no! I am not a cold fan,” likely the last place she'd go to. Though, best not to say that towards the crystal ponies – especially towards the royalty there. The last thing she needs is to get in trouble for just saying bad things.
“Griffonstone?” her family had mentioned that place growing up. But they were kind of vague about it. Was it a place? She didn't pay too much attention to her mother's teachings. She fell asleep through most of them, “A-Am I supposed to look for a statue of a griffon?” she stuttered a little, scratching the side of her head with her right wing, confused in her train of thought.
The decisions were vast and choosing just one place to go seemed near impossible. She was in a forest miles away from home. If she went back now, her mother would see her as a clueless teen. She snorted to herself to try and steer clear from those thoughts. Her mother would never disown her like that. But she still couldn't go back. The mere thought made her roll her eyes.
“No, No, Sakari. You told them you could handle this. It's time to prove them wrong,” she said in a determined tone. She stopped and pondered. Should she still wonder on hoof or...
She gasped, 'wait!' she thought as she spread her feathered wings. “Duh, I can fly.”
She snickered and mentally bonked herself on the head before she flapped her rosy-pink wings and lifted herself off the ground. Couple more flaps and she was up in the air. She flew up and through the thick wall of leaves and burst through with little effort, flying high above the forest down below. Though not higher than the mountains, she still got a glimpse of her surroundings.
Of the places she knew, Ponyville was in the Northwest; the Badlands was right behind her to the south; Baltimare was just a few miles North of where she was; the neighboring swamp said itself. She shivered at the thought of her uncle living there. Why he lived in a swamp near her home was beyond her -- She wasn't too fond of the swamp, but to each is own. She couldn't complain. The Celestial Seas, however, then came to mind. That place was glorious for stuff like lounging and sightseeing. Maybe she should start there?
Sakari smiled at the idea and flew towards the Celestial Seas. Maybe she can get an answer there.
“Oh, this is so exciting!” she exclaimed. “Out on my own, doing whatever I want. The possibilities are endless.” she kept an enthusiastic smile on as she finally made it to the Celestial beach. She took a nosedive and curved an upward, graceful turn before landing on the hot sand with ease. She sat down immediately to catch her breath.
“Next time, exercise the wings a little more,” she told herself. She wasn't the best flier around, so racing with other fliers was never in her agenda. She only flew just to help her mother and aunt around her home. “Come to think of it, I only have like a few Earth Pony friends in Baltimare.” But regardless, if she does make friends along her journey who can fly, then hopefully, they can help her out later done the line.
“Heh, you're talking to yourself, again, Sakari,” she giggled to herself. “hopefully, I can fix that, too.” Or maybe not, it was her quirk, after all. She did this when she was a foal growing up and she hasn't stopped since.
So, probably not.
She looked around and took a moment to take in the scenery. The Celestial Beach was so gorgeous that any tourist here would no doubt take many photos. With the sound of the calm ocean water being pushed by the gentle winds over the sand, it made it seem like paradise just being here. Even the sun itself gave the water a glistening shine; hardly any clouds could be seen around it. No wonder this beach was named after Celestia herself, it was very beautiful!
Sakari took as much time as she needed to bask in this wonderful view and take in the sun's rays of light. The only thing that was a little off was that there weren't any other ponies in sight. No one soul.
Sakari grew a little suspicious. Normally, when it came to a place like this, someone would bound to show up and have fun or just lay down for some sun. It didn't make any sense to her. Only the sound of flowing water and rushing wind can be heard. The sun was out, so it would be a perfect time to go outside.
“Where is everypony?” Sakari asked herself, suddenly getting a sickening feeling she was being watched.
Minutes passed and still no sign of any other ponies around, she wondered if this beach was either closed or restricted. Maybe she should look for someone? An idea she could've thought of sooner, but distractions a plague! She chuckled to herself and got up, but was immediately brought back down by a sudden gust of wind. Sakari let out a spooked “Eep” and closed her eyes so sand wouldn't get in them.
When the wind finally died down, Sakari opened her eyes to see five shadows fly above her. She shook her body like a dog before looking up and seeing five figures float in the sky. She could barely make out what they were due to some clouds hiding the light for a moment. Luck was on her side and the sun's light revealed who they were...
five teenage dragons hovered in the sky just minding their own business. They all look around as if they were trying to find something.
Sakari, however, tried really hard not to squeal at the sight of them. That must be the reason why no one was around!
'D-Dragons!' she mentally screamed as she tried not to move so they couldn't see her. Then again, she was out in the open. How they didn't see her was beyond her. But her heart was racing and her blood was flowing – she was excited. Of all the creatures to run into first in her travel, it had to be dragons. She smiled wide and almost thought about wanting to get their attention, but she had to calm herself down because these were not adult dragons.
These were teenagers. And teenagers were far more aggressive than the adults; unstable even, maybe? She recalled her mother telling her about how violent dragons can get, but at a young age would be a different story. Sakari had learned of dragons from her whole family, though they were stated as warnings, or stories, or rarely legend. But instead of fearing them -- as the fearsome reputation of these flying lizards claims that all should fear them -- she was actually fascinated by them, intrigued even. Her excitement came back to her as she also realized that this was going to be her very first encounter with dragons face-to-face!
Besides, she was an adult now. And she could make her own choices. Hopefully, some of her choices would get her a cutie mark; she tried a lot of things growing up, but luck was not on her side. She took a calm breath and was about to get their attention, but then one dragon on the far left points to a direction and all five of them zoomed away before she could get a word in.
“H-Hey, wait!” Sakari called out. “Don't leave!” But it was too late, the dragons were gone and out of sight. Sakari slouched and kicked the sand in frustration. “Darn it, there goes my one chance to experience something." Or so she thought. Even though she needed to rest, she had to go find them. A sight like this is something she could not pass up. She held her head up and looked at the sky with determination.
“Looks like I know what I want to do now,” Sakari grabbed her things and spread her wings. The thoughts of her mother saying not to go near dragons were heavily ignored.
Sakari flew to the sky and headed straight. Above the ocean and towards the dragons.