Once the sun went down, the campfire was lit again. This time, Quibble Pants and Daring Do – free to take off her disguise – joined the royals. Even though the two were reluctant to be near each other, they only did it for their friends.
Rainbow Dash said spookily, “…And they were never heard from…ever AGAIN!”
Discord saw the shocked silence as an opportunity to make some mischief. He swayed his tail behind him and caused the fire to crackle. The kids – and Fluttershy - screamed in fright before they hugged their loved ones and chuckled.
Rainbow whispered to her brother-in-law, “Nice touch.”
Discord smirked as he fist-bumped with her, “I aim to frighten.”
Whirl Wind, having been scared with the rest of the kids, composed himself and said, “That was a really scary story, but I wasn’t frightened. After all, my mother’s the best at telling ghost stories.”
Discord asked slyly, “Ooh, is that a challenge I smell?”
Quibble chuckled, “You better believe it, and I’m taking it.” He then asked the royals, “Do you know the legend of the Two-Legs?”
The family nodded and answered, “Uh-huh. Sure. We’ve heard of it.”
“Oh. All right, then. Do you know what it looks like?”
This intrigued the kids and one of them asked, “You know what the Two-Legs looks like?”
“Well, I may not have seen it, but other ponies have. This is what they saw.” He gave a growl and some of the kids shrieked at that. He gave a few more growls and scared the other kids and some of their parents. He began to sing, “Like yellow parchment is its skin…a great black hole serves as the nose that never grew…You must be always on your guard…or it will catch you and keep its tight hold on you…”
Many of the royals oohed at that, but Sunset felt uncomfortable hearing such things about the creature that saved her life.
Daring Do saw this and sang to Quibble as she approached him, “Those who speak of what they know…find, too late, that prudent silence is wise…Quibble Pants, just hold your tongue…” When her face met his, she then hissed with a creepy smile and widened eyes, “…or it will burn you with the heat of its eyes!”
The kids both gasped and laughed.
Gemstone asked in worry, “Does the Two-Legs really burn ponies with the heat of its eyes?”
Daring Do said as she stepped away from Quibble, “Not that I know of…” She turned to face Quibble as she continued, “…but it’s better not to add anything to legends when you don’t even know them.”
Sunset gave a small smile, reassured to hear that.
Quibble scowled, “Yeah? Like I don’t know you the way I thought I did?”
Daring Do gave a scowl and slapped him with her tail.
After she left the group, Discord muttered, “Ooh. Major tension between the two. No wonder they broke up.”
The others who didn’t know that Daring Do and Quibble had dated turned to Discord and said in confusion, “Huh?”
“Long story.”
At Sunset’s insistence, Daring Do had moved her bags into the unicorn’s tent to be tent buddies.
The Pegasus growled as she paced back and forth, “Aargh! That colt is so insufferable! He’s loud-mouthed, bigheaded, know-it-all…”
Sunset asked, “If you think he’s that bad, then why did you date him in the first place?”
Daring Do pointed at her and scowled, “If you’re thinking of matchmaking me with that pompous, smart-aleck chatterbox and make us a couple again, don’t.”
Sunset threw her hooves up in surrender as she said, “Okay, I was just wondering.”
“Wondering what?”
“What happened between you two.”
Daring stood silent for a few moments until she scoffed, “That doesn’t matter now. You can’t change the past. What’s done is done.”
Sunset softly said, “I’ll let you cool down for a few minutes.”
After she was outside for a few moments, Sunset heard grumbling near the forest. She turned to see Quibble Pants muttering angrily while kicking a pine cone with his hoof.
The unicorn came up to him and asked, “Hey, Quibble. Is something wrong?”
He scoffed, “There are lots of things wrong, especially with her books and Daring Do herself.”
“What happened between you two anyway?”
He put his hoof near his eyes and said, “Please don’t ask that. I don’t want to talk about it. If I do, I’ll just go on another long-winded, needless rant like she says I do.”
“She said that?”
“Yeah!” He sat down and continued, “She also said that I was big, stupid, ugly…”
Sunset pointed out, “And you’re sitting in poison ivy.”
His eyes widened as he looked at his flank. He began yelping as he ran back and forth. He asked in alarm as he scooted on his rear, “Are you sure that’s poison ivy?!”
Sunset lit up her horn and inspected the leaves. “’Leaves of three, let them be.’ Yep. It’s poison ivy.”
Quibble groaned, “Oh, terrific. This was supposed to be a relaxing trip for me, but everything just went downhill like my relationship with Dare!”
Sunset was surprised by what Quibble had called Daring Do. “’Dare’? Is that your nickname for her?”
“It was, but that was when we were dating. It doesn’t matter anymore.” When he was walking back into the forest, he said, “I’m going to bed now. Good-night.”
Before he disappeared into the woods, Sunset waved her hoof and said politely, “Good-night, Quibble.”
She was concerned about her friends’ emotional welfare, but if they didn’t want her doing anything to help them, then she was at a loss. She went back into her tent in defeat and climbed into her bed.
Just as Sunset was pulling the covers over her, Daring Do – who was already in her bed – said softly, “For the record, I never said that Quibble was big, stupid, or ugly.”
Sunset was surprised that Daring Do could’ve heard the whole conversation the unicorn had with Quibble. She was about to ask something, but decided against it. She chose to wait with the topic and went to sleep.
The next morning was so peaceful and serene that almost no pony wanted to sleep in. The sun’s rays glistened on the lake and a gentle wind softly blew through the grass and trees. Sunset thought everything was beautiful in the bright morn, but her heart felt somewhat heavy knowing that Quibble and Daring Do still had some serious hurt between them. Why did they break up? And why did they fall in love in the first place? Sunset wished she knew.
Just then, she saw Timber Spruce sitting at the end of the dock. He looked downtrodden, so she decided to go to him.
She asked, “Hey, Timber. What’s up?”
Timber sighed, “Nothing, really. My sister is kind of mad at me.”
“Why?”
“She…doesn’t think the Two-Legs is all that good.”
Her brow furrowed and she asked, “Why? It saved my life the other night.”
“I know. You told me, but Gloriosa doesn’t believe it.”
“Why wouldn’t she?”
Here we go.
There it was again. Timber’s voice. Sunset knew that his mouth definitely didn’t move that time. For her sake and his, she didn’t bring it up.
Timber answered, “She’s afraid that the Two-Legs is going to come out into the open and hurt somepony. But the truth is she doesn’t really understand the Two-Legs. I’m not sure if she wants to.”
Sunset consoled, “A lot of ponies are afraid of things they don’t understand. They’re even afraid to the point that they’re angry. Gloriosa might just be afraid of getting to know the Two-Legs because she’s worried it might be dangerous instead.”
“But you know that’s not true, right?”
She chuckled, “Yes. I know for a fact that the Two-Legs might just be good. I don’t suppose you’re going to go look for it again tonight, are you?”
Timber flashed a small smile, “Yes, and maybe if I find it, I’ll prove Gloriosa wrong.”
Sunset smiled as she stood up, “Okay, then. I wish you the best of luck tonight.”
As she left the dock, Timber looked down at the water. He looked at his own reflection and wondered what Sunset would think of his other side.
“Hi, Timber.”
The voice broke his trance and he turned to see Twilight Sparkle coming onto the dock with fishing gear.
He stood up and bowed before her as he said, “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Twilight chuckled, “You don’t need to do that. I came here for a vacation, not a royal summit.” Suddenly, one of the boards gave way underneath her hoof. She yelped as she began to fall, “Whoa!”
Timber caught her as he said, “Gotcha!”
Twilight said as she stood upright, “Thank you. I don’t know what happened there.”
“Well, the dock could use a little bit of fixing after so many years. Sorry you almost got hurt because of it.”
“That’s okay. You did catch me before I fell. You’re a good colt, Timber Spruce.”
He blushed at the compliment and said, “Oh, wow. No one ever said a nice thing like that to me before. Thank you, Your Highness.”
Twilight gently told him, “Please, just ‘Twilight’ will do. I want to treat you like a friend, not a subject.”
“Right. Sorry.”
As she sat down at the edge of the dock, she asked, “Why don’t you fish with me? It’ll give us a chance to know each other.”
“Okay.” He then sat down beside her.
After an hour of fishing and talking, Twilight said, “You’re a really interesting colt, Timber Spruce. Any mare would be lucky to have you.”
Timber nodded, “Yeah. Too bad that mare isn’t you.”
She nodded in understanding, “That’s true. I’m very content with how my life has turned out. I’ve got a wonderful husband, two sweet children…”
“And now you’re the queen of Canterlot.”
“Well, yes. That, too. But being a queen isn’t easy. Luckily, I have my sisters, brothers-in-law, husband, and kids to help me out.”
“Whoa. That tough, huh?”
Twilight nodded again, “Very. Uh, Timber, if you want to look for somepony to share your life with…” She eyed Sunset and said to Timber with a smirk, “…I think Sunset would be a good mare to include in your love life.”
Timber chuckled, “That’s a really good idea, Your – I mean, Twilight. I’ll hang out with her for a while.” In truth, he was chuckling because he had planned to get close with Sunset. He had already felt the spark when she first came here, so maybe it was some sort of sign.
“We’re only here for less than a week now, so I suggest you spend as much time with us – and her – as possible.” The reason she said she wanted Timber to also spend time with the family was because she wanted both sides to be close if the Earth colt was indeed the one for Sunset.
“Oh, don’t worry. I plan to. Gloriosa wants the campers to have fun while they’re at Splendor Woods, but she forgets to have fun herself.”
“Well, maybe we can help her have a good time with us.”
Timber gulped and thought to himself, Oh, boy. Gloriosa said not to get attached. But I don’t want to disappoint the royals, especially Sunset. He found himself looking at the amber unicorn when he thought about her. He was becoming certain that she would be his world, the world he wanted to see ever since he was a small child.
Just then, Gloriosa came up to them and said, “Hey, you guys! How’s it going here?”
Twilight answered, “We’re having a great time, Gloriosa! Your brother even taught me a few tricks to get more bites.”
“That’s wonderful! I’m glad you two are having so much fun. Oh, say! Why don’t either of you try out archery for a while? The others are doing it.”
Twilight said, “We’ll be along.”
Timber nodded, “Yeah. We’ll definitely try it next.”
Gloriosa smiled, “Great! Maybe Timber can give you some tips. After all, some of Equestria’s greatest archers have camped here before.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up as she said, “No kidding!”
Timber rose up and then helped Twilight stand up as well. He said to her, “Yeah. Would you like me to show you?”
“Sure. I’ll get Sunset, too.”
At the glade where several targets were set up, some of the royals were already there shooting arrows. They were also arguing about what the best way to shoot was.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, “Nuh-uh! You gotta use your wing to draw the arrow back and your hoof to hold the bow.” She demonstrated this as she said that. “Then you let her fly!” She released the arrow and it hit the bull’s eye.
Applejack rolled her eyes and said, “Yeah, if you’re a Pegasus. The best way for us Earth ponies to get a bulls’ eye is to put the bow on the stand and pull the arrow back with your mouth.” She did so and then released the arrow, which hit the bull’s eye as well.
Fancy Pants said, “If you think that’s how unicorns should do it, then you are sadly mistaken. We just use our magic to take the bow and arrow and then shoot the target.” He used his magic to levitate the bow and arrow and drew the arrow back. The arrow then flew into the bull’s eye like the previous two.
Discord chuckled, “No, no. I’m sorry, but you’re ponies. You have hooves. I, however, have hands, so that makes me a master marksman.” He flashed on Robin Hoof attire at that moment.
Rainbow patronized, “Oh, really? Well, master marksman, show us what you’re made of.”
“Gladly.” He drew his arrow back until the tuft reached his face. The feathers on the back end of the arrow then tickled his nose. “Ah…ah…ah…AH-CHOO!”
To his surprise, his sneeze blew down many trees behind the targets. The ponies and even he were shocked that this happened.
Applejack asked, “Discord, what did you do?”
He sputtered, “It was an accident! I swear! My sneezes are usually much more controlled than this!”
Whirl Wind said as he pointed to Discord’s arrow, “Well, at least he got a bull’s eye like you guys did.”
Discord leaned haughtily on his bow and put one hand on his hip. “Ha! And I did it while sneezing. Try to beat that.”
Before Rainbow Dash could retort, Timber, Twilight, and Sunset arrived at the glade. The three were in shock of the fallen trees before them.
Timber asked in alarm, “What happened here?!”
Discord raised his paw and admitted, “My fault. I accidentally sneezed the trees to the ground.”
Fancy Pants affirmed to Timber, “He’s right, old chap. When he usually sneezes, it’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
Timber sighed, “Well, I suppose I can let this slide for now. I don’t know how to clean up the mess, though.”
Discord said, “Well, I would help, but I’m afraid that my magic might be acting a bit wonky at the moment. I don’t want to take any chances until I know what’s going on.”
Sunset volunteered, “We’ll help.”
Twilight raised her hoof and said, “Count me in.”
The twin sisters lit up their horns and began lifting a few trees.
Timber said in awe, “Wow. You girls are amazing!”
Suddenly, the rest of the fallen trees began levitating with either Sunset’s or Twilight’s auras enveloping them.
Whirl Wind said breathlessly, “Whoa. Now that’s really something.”
Sunset grunted uneasily, “It isn’t us!”
Twilight agreed, “Our magic’s getting out of control!”
Discord said, “Well, don’t stop now! Plant the trees in the ground while you’re still levitating them all!”
As per Discord’s suggestion, Sunset and Twilight thrust the trees into the ground and re-weaved the roots through the dirt. Unfortunately, it got out of control when the roots made their way to the targets and wrapped around them. The ponies and draconequus were astonished by this unforeseen event.
Discord chuckled to lighten up the mood, “Well, heh, at least I’m not the only one with wild magic now.” He then muttered, “Thankfully.”
In the cafeteria lodge, Sunset apologized as she grabbed the cocoa Timber gave her, “I’m so sorry about the roots. I don’t know what happened. My magic seemed perfectly fine when my family and I got here.”
Timber said as he sat down beside her, “I know you weren’t trying to do what you did. You just wanted to replant the trees, that’s all. It’s not like you were trying to show off.”
“Neither was my sister. She’s looking through every book on magical fluctuations in her tent right now. She had Discord teleport them here, but then she got buried in a pile of books.”
Both of them laughed at that.
Sunset said, “Thanks for finding cinnamon for my hot cocoa.”
Timber shrugged, “No problem. My sister and I always do our best to make sure our campers have a good time here.”
“Then do you know what’s happening with our magic?”
He shook his head, “I honestly don’t. In all my years at Splendor Woods, nothing like what happened this afternoon ever really happened before.”
“How long have you been running this campsite?”
“Practically my whole life. Well, it was my parents and then Gloriosa and me. The point is we lived in Splendor Woods all of our lives.”
“Do either of you get the chance to go traveling while the other runs the camp?”
Timber rubbed the back of his neck while he looked down and said, “Yeah, not really. My sister and I have never left Splendor Woods for…reasons.”
“What kind of reasons?”
He cringed before he said, “Um…Gloriosa…doesn’t like setting a hoof further than the tree line separating Splendor Woods from the rest of Equestria. She’s more at home here than I am. I actually want to see the world someday. It’s a dream I’ve had ever since I was small.”
Sunset smiled in comfort, “It’s my dream, too. You’re actually not the only one who’s been in one place for a really long time. My guardian kept me from leaving the manor for many years until I decided to venture out in secret. That’s how I found my family and rediscovered who I was.”
Timber leaned closer to her as he said, “Okay, now this is a story I want to hear.”
Sunset grinned, “Sit tight. It’s going to be a long one.”
Unbeknownst to them, Gloriosa was outside peering in through a window. She was happy seeing her brother so joyful. She knew that Sunset was the best mare Timber could ever be with, but she felt sad knowing that their future together was impossible to attain.