The day of the trip finally arrived and nobody was more excited than Pinkie Pie which was literally jumping up and down with her friends laughing alongside her while Frost was blended in the background. Everybody got in the school bus and they finally began their journey. All things went smoothly and a lot of students took some shut-eye including Twilight who woke up at some point because of a nightmare, but Frost sat at the back of the bus and he could see that it wasn't just a nightmare, that girl is at war with herself and this would mean a total breakdown of her conscious. Frost's thought was interrupted when principal Celestia started to talk.
"Attention students! We're almost there, but before we arrive we just wanted to say how proud we are of you for raising enough money to go on this class field trip." Celestia announced before Luna started speaking.
"When we were your age we made some our favorite memories in these woods and we're sure you will too." she said.
"Now, who's excited for Camp Everfree!" shouted Celestia who was accompanied by a busful of students cheering except for Frost who was sitting motionless at the back.
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After a few hours they finally arrived at Camp Everfree. Everybody examined the place before they unloaded their bags from the bus. Fluttershy said something while Frost was sitting on a bench and watching her.
"Isn't Camp Everfree just beautiful? I can't wait until we have our first nature walk" said Fluttershy.
"I definitely want to go on one of those." approved Spike the dog.
"You wasn to see all the adorable woodland creatures too?" asked Fluttershy.
"Yeah, specifically squirrels, more specifically so I can chase them." finished Spike before he barked two times.
"I'm just looking forward to ruffin' it. I'm gonna make my own shelter, forage for food..." started Applejack before Rainbow Dash interrupted her.
"Uhh you know we're provided with food and tents, right?" Rainbow asked.
"Yep, still gonna forage though." replied Applejack.
"Hm, I'm just after some R&R. The past year was all but a bit too much for my tastes." sighed Rarity.
"I'll say: we fought three evil sirens who tried to hypnotize everybody with their singing, one ridiculously competitive rival school and two demon friends... Uh haha, no offense." Pinkie Pie said.
"None taken, you'll get used to it." Sunset Shimmer tried to cheer Twilight Sparkle up.
"Yep, Canterlot High has become regular magic magnet, gonna be nice gettin' away to a place where we don't have to worry about that kind of stuff." stated Applejack before a boy came running to Twilight with her bag in his hand.
"Here you go Twilight." he said.
"Thanks, it's Flash right?" Twilight asked him after she thanked him.
"Yep, that's me and you are you, and we don't know each other very well... cool story bro." Flash Sentry answered losing some of his confidence.
"Right, I guess I'll see you around." finished Twilight and they both parted ways.
"You know how there's that girl who looks just like you when she's here but lives in another dimension and she's a pony princess?" Sunset stated.
"Aha" Twilight replied.
"Flash kinda had a thing for her." she revealed.
"Oooh." was all Twilight could utter before a sharp noise pierced the air.
"Hey everyone! If you could start heading to the courtyard that would be rad! It's time to start the best week of camp ever!" the voice from the loudspeaker announced and soon everybody did as it instructed.
Everyone was gathered and they were welcomed by a girl and a boy.
"Hi everyone! Welcome to Camp Everfree! I'm Gloriosa Daisy, your camp director, think of me as your friendly camp and nature guide and this is my brother Timber Spruce!" the girls presented herself and her brother before he snatched the microphone from her sister. Frost has been on too many overwatch missions and he could see that things weren't going very swimmingly for the two.
"Think of me as that awesome guy who should always be invited to fun things" he interrupted before handing the mic back to Gloriosa.
"We aim to please so before we hand out our tent assignments, we'd like to hear from all of you! You're free to do whatever you like here."
"Except hiking near the rock quarry. That's off limits."
"Yes, but otherwise, your options are wide open, so what activities will make this the best week of your lives ever?" Gloriosa asked before listening to some suggestions.
As some of the campers spoke their peace, Frost was drawn to the necklace that Gloriosa was wearing and he could feel the psionic energy oozing from it. This meant that he was really close to what he came here for, but it was as if the necklace was lacking in power, maybe there are more pieces to be added. Frost decided to keep a low profile until he can have the opportunity to obtain the full artifact and continued to listen.
"What about the camp gift? That was my favorite Camp Everfree tradition." added Celestia.
"The camp gift, of course!" replied Gloriosa
"Really?" whispered Timber.
"Yes, really!"
"Well I just thought..."
"Then you thought wrong!" now Frost was certain that the two siblings had some internal struggle and this time it wasn't just him that saw it.
"Anyone else picking up on a little tension between Gloriosa and her brother?" Sunset asked.
"Ehh little." Twilight and Pinkie responded.
"Every year campers work together to create something useful. A gift for future campers. Working towards this common goal is key to forming the strong bonds that will last well beyond your time here at camp which is why it's so important. This gazebo was a gift from last year's group. Oh oh and the totem pole and the sun dial were also made by campers." Gloriosa spoke.
"The sun dial is our year's gift" added Celestia.
"Even though some people thought it was a little impractical since a sun dial can't be used at night." coughed Luna.
"... You all seem like a really amazing group so I'm certain you'll come up inspiring to leave behind." Gloriosa finished and loud cheering started from the campers. Frost found this boring since it was very hard for him to be inspired because he continued to switch sides during the wars between the Terran powers, but maybe he could have inspired somebody from his victories against all odds and that he returned from suicide missions.
"Speaking of leaving things behind, now is the time when we give out tent assignments so you could leave your heavy bags behind." Timber winked.
"Girls will be getting their assignments from Timber. Guys, you're with me!" Gloriosa announced.
Frost ended up with no pair in the topaz tent, but this didn't bother him. In fact, he found it kind of calming since he was most of the time alone during missions.
"You don't have to worry about being alone, you can visit other campers anytime and I also dig the attire." said Gloriosa.
"I don't mind it. Actually, the silence soothes me." replied Frost.
"Just don't forget to have fun!" she said before blowing her whistle to let everyone know that she has an announcement to make. "Ok everyone! Go get settled in, we'll be meeting at the docks in fifteen minutes to go over some camp safety rules. Let me know if you need anything!" she finished after she heard the engine of a limo nearby.
"I need something!" the voice of a millionaire was heard from the limo and the person started walking towards Gloriosa Daisy.
"Filthy Rich! So nice to see you" Gloriosa said while pushing him back to the limo and trying to be as calm as possible before she started whipering "What are you doing here? Camp is just getting started!"
"Just taking in the scenery Gloriosa Daisy." said Filthy without even making an attempt to keep the conversation from prying ears and was actually looking kind of smug to Daisy. "It's so ... relaxing."
"Well, you can look around when camp is over! Now if you don't mind..." Daisy gave up her whispering and was know in a staring contest with Filthy Rich to see who breaks first.
"Fine..." Filthy conceded and got in his limo and drove off.
"Filthy Rich is aan alumni of the camp, he likes to check on his old stomping grounds every now and again. But enough about him! Find your tents and put away your things, We've got the best week of camp ever to begin!" she announced with newfound excitement.
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Frost was in his tent alone and put the little things he had on the bed. He lied on the bed in deep thought, This place is full with the energy he needs to get back to the Koprulu Sector, but one question burns his mind: Why is he here out of all places? He decided not to go to the debrief because he couldn't be bothered after being in a constant war for almost ten years, he gave in and took an extra dose of Stim just to help him relax after what seemed a millennia. He hid the syringe beneath his bed with almost careless movement and got off the bed to put whatever he has somewhere else to free the bed and after he finished he stood for a whole minute staring at the entrance before he thought:"To hell with it!" and lied back on the bed for the rest of the day.
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At daybreak, Frost was rejuvenated thanks to the Stim and since he was likely the first one awake at this time he decided to do some morning training to use up his energy. He made sure that his suit would be well hidden beneath his clothes and started training in the sunrise by the docks.
Later, when more of the campers started waking up, they saw the creepy new guy doing push ups in the morning light and having a fist fight with the bark of a tree that seemed like it was about to break.
"Wow! Who knew this guy is so strong?" said Bon Bon astonished.
"He is good! I'd like to arm wrestle him! Hey, new guy, I'd like to arm wrestle you!" shouted Bulk Biceps getting the attention of some campers.
Frost stopped doing his training and made his way to Bulk Biceps eager to measure his strength to his.
"Well then, let's get a table and we're on." Frost said before he spotted an empty table and sat in it followed by Bulk.
The two got in position and their hands were tied together by Lyra. The scene was full with suspense and Frost and Bulk hadn't even started the duel. Bon Bon started the countdown.
"Three...two...one... GO!" she announced and the two started struggling for dominance while the crowd was cheering.
It had taken a minute for Frost to get the upper hand, but when he did, he showed what his training transformed him into. Bulk sat speechless like everybody else who witnessed what seemed like the impossible to them. Bulk Biceps was defeated at arm wrestling and after a minute of silence everybody started cheering Frost, including Bulk himself.
"You really are tough Florian! This was the best arm wrestle in my life!" Bulk congratulated Frost before the winner made his way out of the crowd and saw inside the sapphire tent for a split second. Twilight's bed was levitating among other small objects. This has proven Frost that the energy here is stronger than anything he has witnessed before in Equestria and he realized that power like that cannot be contained by an untrained master forever.
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After a few hours, Frost was at the docks trying to listen on Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer without looking too suspicious, he sat on the ledge with his feet almost touching the water and started eavesdropping.
"-we need to figure out what's going on with your magic. If you could learn to control it-" Sunset was clearly trying to calm Twilight down and help her find a solution no doubt to her overflowing energy before she was interrupted.
"But that's just it! I'll never be able to control it!" Twilight replied with a panicked look when Frost observed that a boat was racing towards him so he jumped out of the just in time before it hit the docks, he managed to land on the unaffected part of the docks, saving his clothes from getting wet and blowing his cover.
"What happened?" arrived Rainbow Dash in the nick of time.
"I didn't mean to!" Twilight assumed that it was her doing.
"We didn't see anything so we don't know what happened." Sunset saved the situation for Twilight trying to assure her that it wasn't her doing.
Frost was assuring everyone that he was alright when he saw Twilight wandering into the woods, perhaps this was a good time to take a closer look at her.
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Frost followed Twilight to a clearing with a pond in the middle with a couple of logs on the ground with Twilight walking with a guilty conscience towards the scenery, but just as Frost was about to come out of the bushes to confront her, she started to sing. Frost was kind of annoyed, but he still allowed her the moment to get it out of her system.
After the song was over, Frost walked up to Twilight, scaring her and making her think that he heard her singing about her sorrows.
"Florian? What are you doing here? You didn't hear anything, right?" she asked flustered.
"You know? It is better to drown your sorrows, not sing about them." Frost ignored her questions and threw a canteen at her that she caught.
"What do you mean?" she asked again.
"Sit with me. And drink." Frost said.
Twilight sat back down on the log feeling a little embarrassed that she actually was heard by somebody and worst of all, it was the new student, she thought of how she looked in his eyes now.
"Drink." Frost repeated calmly.
"Oh ok!" Twilight jumped a bit after Frost pulled her from her thoughts and took a big jug of the canteen that made her cough. "What is in this thing?" she asked as if she was poisoned.
"It's something I brought from home. It's called an Umojan Mai Tai, do you like it?"
"Like it? I almost choked to death because of it."
"Well, it was the first time you drank alcohol, if I'm not mistaken."
"Alcohol?!" Twilight stood up in shock. "Why would you give me this?"
"To help you with your problem." Frost tried to calm her.
"What do you mean 'my problem'?" she sat down again, intrigued about what Frost knows.
"You have a lot of energy within you, but you are weak and I feel that something around here is causing your power to spill."
"How do you know about my magic? You weren't here-"
"I saw you in your tent floating in your bed this morning."
"You saw? Please tell me you didn't tell anybody else!"
"I kept it to myself."
"Thank you! But how do you know so much about my magic?"
"It really wasn't that hard. I saw inside you a darkness created by your own hand."
"What do you mean?"
"You are afraid that you will hurt your friends again and you doubt that you are strong enough to contain your energy. These led to your current state."
"How can I get rid of it it?"
"You can't." This answer almost shattered Twilight.
"But there must be something. Anything." said Twilight on the verge of tears.
"You misunderstood me. You can't get rid of the darkness inside of you because it is part of you and you must accept it as one of you and seek balance. Otherwise, you will end up destroying your mind, body and spirit."
"But then how can I accept something that I am not?" Twilight asked skeptically to Frost's statement.
"There is an old saying written down millennia ago: 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.' I'll leave you alone to think about it." Frost finished before he stood up and made his way back to the camp, leaving Twilight with a confused look that sat like a stone lamenting on his words.