//------------------------------//
// Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree (Part 3) 
// Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria 
// by Codex92 
//------------------------------//

The next morning, once everyone was motivated to start day three at Camp Everfree, Sunset gathered Sora, Ventus, and Kairi, taking them through the nature trail so she could talk to them without any ears listening in on them. Sora was carrying his and Kairi's traveling packs, though Kairi lightened her punishment on Sora after getting blindsided by Rainbow Dash yesterday with her new magical speed.

"So, Timber plans on selling the camp, huh?" Ventus asked after Sunset explained what she saw when she and Twilight bumped into Timber last night. "I knew that dust had no magical properties. Plus, if there was a Gaea Everfree, I think the spirit would take matters in her own hands instead of causing collateral damage or scaring intruders on her land."

"I don't think Timber's the kind of guy who would want to give this place up," Kairi said. "Neither does Gloriosa with how desperate she is trying to satisfy everyone's requests."

"Kind of a nutcase when she keeps spouting 'I've got this', yet she's running around like a chicken with its head cut off," Sora added.

"I'm not sure, either, but we don't really have much evidence to prove Timber's trying to run us out and sell the camp the Filthy Rich," Sunset said. "I had to tell you guys about this, but don't let the girls know. I don't want that to ruin their time here when they wanted to get away from magic."

"And yet our vacation wasn't important to keep this hidden from us?" Sora asked skeptically.

"Sora, even when we relax, something bad always goes wrong, so why are you complaining?" Ventus asked.

"...Eh, fair point," Sora said.

"But aside from the possibly bad news, there's some good news in all of this," Sunset continued, stopping in front of the trio of wielders, temporarily pausing their "nature walk". "When I stopped Twilight from leaving, I found out why she was so down yesterday. I found my magic power last night: mind reading!"

"...Uhh, reading people's minds is your magic power?" Ventus questioned.

"I know it sounds weird, but it made sense before I even figured out what it was!" Sunset said excitedly. "I touched her hand, and I was able to see what she was feeling yesterday. And those times where I thought I was hearing things, like Fluttershy screaming, I think that was my power working, and they happened when Gloriosa bumped into me."

"You heard Gloriosa screaming internally yesterday when you thought you heard someone else scream," Kairi mulled over curiously.

"Yup. She went cuckoo with all the problems yesterday if that's the case," Sora said. Curious, he approached Sunset and held out his hand. "If you can really read thoughts and see memories, tell me something you see exactly how I remember."

"Ok then." Sunset took Sora's offered hand, showing him, Ventus, and Kairi what her powers could do. Her eyes glowed white upon contact, her mind reading done within seconds as she let go and her glowing eyes returned to normal, though she grimaced at the odd memory she saw. "...Were you a merman underwater in a palace of other merpeople, singing a song with talking ocean creatures in what looked like a musical number, two of those creatures strange cross hybrids that shouldn't even remotely exist: one being a sea turtle with the head of a doofy-looking dog and the other a white duck with its lower half blue octopus tentacles?"

"Indeed I was," Sora said proudly, impressed by Sunset's newfound magic. "Those two odder creatures you mentioned are my friends Donald and Goofy, and we both took part in a little musical in the world of Atlantica. Incredible, huh?"

"...I don't know what your definition of the word 'incredible' means, but that song I was listening to you all singing was just...cringy." Sora wilted with a groan, staring at Sunset as if she just insulted him.

"Come on. 'Swim This Way' wasn't all that bad for my first start at getting to sing," Sora argued.

"Sora, I cringed hearing that song years ago," Ventus said. "The chorus every single line was the exact same verse, and it got even more grating the longer it went on. If you liked listening to that song in the musical before it officially began, you have a very strange taste in music."

Sora leered at Ventus for his criticism, then looked back at Sunset while Kairi shook her head in exasperation. "Ok, so you can see quite a ways back in people's memories. You're not going to abuse that power, are you?"

"If the old me found out about this, I would have, so you don't have to worry about me overdoing it," Sunset promised. "...Unless I was overly curious, like how Pinkie's mind works."

The Keyblade wielders looked at each other, all three of them agreeing in wonderment over what goes on inside Pinkie's head that isn't fully expressed in her wild and crazy antics. "...Ok, if you can do that, you better tell us what's inside that crazy girl's mind."

"Deal," Sunset promised.

They hurried along down the rest of the trail back to camp now that Sunset was done telling Sora, Kairi, and Ventus about Timber Spruce trying to cover the mysterious events that had happened yesterday. Upon returning to the campground and Sora dropping off his and Kairi's bags, they saw the rest of their friends working on the dock, though Twilight was nowhere to be seen. The only ones trying to fix up the deck were Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie, Rarity sitting in a beach chair working on her designs for her fashion show, and Fluttershy was looking around warily for any birds who might want to talk to her. Sadly, the work was going slowly with Rainbow Dash slowly tip-toeing with a few planks in her arms, and Applejack was tapping on the nails on the placed boards as gently as possible with her crafted hammer.

"Looks like the girls seem a bit nervous about accidentally using their magic," Ventus noted. He looked at Rarity and Pinkie, the latter too busy with preparing for her camp activity while the latter just stood around humming a random tune. "Well, most of them."

They walked onto the deck, Sora passing by Rainbow Dash with a smirk. "If you got in a raise with a snail, I think the snail would beat you at the end of the unfinished dock at this rate," he teased.

"Shut up, Sora," Rainbow grumbled. She looked at Rarity, grumbling more with her friend's lack of help. "You gonna give us a hand, Rarity?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but I really need to get the stitching on this poncho done if it's going to make it in the camp fashion show," Rarity said. "Though, at the pace you're moving, I don't think the runway will ever be finished."

"The DOCK is our gift to the camp, and it's gonna get finished," Applejack said, emphasizing the correct term and getting Rarity to get her mind out of fashion in the environment their in. "That is, if Rainbow Dash would hurry up and bring me more wood."

"I can't go any faster!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I don't want to end up in the woods again!"

"Or run over the water and stop in the middle of the lake, getting soaking wet when you fall in," Sora added.

"Don't be ridiculous, Rainbow," Applejack chided. Rainbow gave her a blank stare, putting down the boards and miming out the farm girl's weak hammer taps. Applejack looked at her barely struck nail still sticking out, letting out a sigh with her point proven. "Ah know Ah said we should forget about all this new magic business, but Ah can't. What if Ah hammer the board into splinters?"

"Yeah, she's got a point," Ventus said. "We're trying to fix the dock, not tear it down forever."

"I'll deal with the hammering while you get some more boards," Sora offered. Applejack nodded, handing Sora her makeshift hammer and stood up to get more boards, moving much faster than Rainbow was with her fear of speeding off if she so much as walked normally. Getting down on his knees, Sora was about to finish Applejack's work, but he didn't find anymore nails to hammer down the board currently being worked on. "Is there anymore nails? I don't see any."

"Ooh! I got it!" Pinkie said, grabbing the box of nails beside her and tossed them to Sora. "Catch!" Everyone screamed, Sora, Kairi, and Ventus quickly summoning their Keyblades to cast a barrier around everyone while Rarity instinctively held out her hands, casting her diamond shield around herself to protect her. They expected an explosion of nails and fire, but there was no magical aura around the box when Pinkie tossed it, the nails hitting the ground and scattering out of the box on the dock. Slightly relieved that Pinkie's magic only seemed to work on sprinkles so far, the wielders dismissed their weapons, lucky Timber or Gloriosa didn't see a possible explosion or their Keyblades. They soon glared at Pinkie, realizing her magical exploding powers as she grinned sheepishly. "Oh. Right, I forgot about my magic. Heheh. Lucky the nails didn't explode like the sprinkles."

"Hands. Pockets," Sora glowered, the girl quickly obeying nervously. "And that's why we don't know the extent of your magic, because THAT could have been a disaster!"

"I think we're safe to assume the exploding items only involve something sugary, since the magic seems to fit the girls well with their personalities," Kairi pondered. "But, please, Pinkie, don't throw anything else in case I'm wrong."

"Ugh. I don't know how to control this," Rarity muttered, looking down at her hands.

"You get used to using magic when you first learn it," Sora assured. "Trust me, when Donald first showed me how to cast Fire, I was surprised I was able to learn how to do magic at all. I practiced aiming on a few unlit candles until I had perfect accuracy and could aim it at Heartless. Used up a lot of mana to exhaust me from casting, so I mostly just stick to swordplay combat."

"I think Sora has a point," Sunset said. "We shouldn't just pretend the magic doesn't exist and practice using them to get better at controlling it."

"You have magic now?" Fluttershy asked.

"It happened last night," Sunset said. "When I touch people, I can hear their thoughts and see their memories."

"Oooh! Try me! Try me!" Ignoring Sora's warning keeping her hands in her pockets, Pinkie grabbed Sunset's hand and brought it to her forehead.

Sunset's magic kicked in as she saw the inside of Pinkie's mind, and it was nothing not even a little kid could make up if it was considered their job to be imaginative as possible. In Pinkie's head, she saw her skipping across a brown sugar-coated road in a candy-filled mountain range, a plethora of odd cartoonish creatures and living candies bouncing around on the sides of the road. Sunset pulled her hand away after watching Pinkie pulling a piece of taffy from one of the edible candy creature's hair and eat it, blinking a couple times as her own brain processed what she just witnessed.

"...That explains so much," she said.

"Well? What's in Pinkie's head?" Sora asked curiously.

"A candy-coated world made up by the mind of a five-year-old girl." Sunset's description boggled Sora, looking at Pinkie while she nodded in agreement.

"...Ok. I expected a lot worse," Sora said, accepting the answer with a shrug. "Maybe pony Pinkie has an even crazier mind..."

"Anyway, distracting myself from Pinkie's head, we can't brush these powers aside because it doesn't seem like the ideal time to get them," Sunset continued. "What if it turns out that they could actually make things better?"

"Pinkie's exploding sprinkles utilized to make things better?" Sora questioned, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Yeah, I don't think that'll be helpful to any-" He then slumped over, getting a feeling in his gut that Sunset's going to convince them to practice using their new magic and put them to use in fixing the dock faster. "-and I'm sensing a musical montage coming on..."

[Sunset Shimmer]
So you have magic
And it's not that great
But when it found you
You know it was fate

And it might seem scary now
But it can be wonderful, too
So how about we embrace the magic
And make the magic part of you?

"Looks like we're tempting fate with Pinkie's magic in rebuilding the dock," Ventus said, letting out a small laugh as he grabbed the pouting wielder's arm, dragging him off to help gather more supplies. "Maybe it'll be a good thing for them to get some practice if something else goes wrong in this world."

Sora let out a heavy sigh, following Ventus, Kairi following after him while rubbing his shoulders. "Come on, Sora. We're here on vacation, not babysitting. Even if Pinkie does need to be watched carefully with any sprinkles in her hands."

"...Fine, but if she blows up the dock, don't say I didn't warn you." Sora looked back, gesturing with his hands he was going to be keeping an eye on her magic abuse, but Pinkie assured him by crossing her heart, flapping her hands like wings by her sides, then placed her palm over her eye.

He was a little surprised seeing this Pinkie do a Pinkie Promise, though he wouldn't put it past him if she made up that promise similarly to the bubbly pony in Equestria. A light shove from Kairi snapped him out of his slight stupor, leaving the girls to practice their magic while they assisted in carrying the materials over. Other students came over to help or watch while others continued their activities, Sora, Kairi, and Ventus returned with more supplies, even a jar of sprinkles for Pinkie, to Sora's chagrin, eagerly taking it and using them on a few boards laid out in front of her.

You take a little dash of magic
And you let it ignite

Testing them on one of the corners, she sprinkled some and made them blow up, creating a small hole big enough for a nail to pound in, and with a sudden expertise from doing it once, she made more holes evenly spaced out on the rest of the boards she was working on.

Mix things up a little bit
And it might start to go right

In just five seconds flat
How the story has changed

Rainbow was up next, holding a hammer tightly in her grip and ran at blinding speeds around the pile of boards. Teaming up with Pinkie, who threw more exploding sprinkles toward her, picked up each fresh board, made more holes with each pass, and in a matter of seconds, she built a bench for campers to sit and enjoy the view of the lake. The two teens high-fived at their combined efforts, feeling confident in their magical abilities and continued practicing while helping finish their group's camp gift.

All 'cause now you've embraced the magic
And it just got better in every way

I say embrace the magic
No more holding back, just let it out
If you can take the magic
And learn a little more what it can do
Once the magic is part of you

Next up for the dock was the posts to hold up the sign they planned out. Flash, Bulk Biceps, and another male highschooler struggled to lift one of the posts up, let alone carry it. Sora and Ventus helped them out, pushing it up into place even though one of them could easily do that for them. Applejack handled the other post, carrying it over her shoulder like it weighed as light as a staff, shocking the other boys as they gawked in awe while they felt their masculinity drift away.

What's standing in your way
That you can't move today?
You've got the strength in you
To make your dreams come true

Applejack set down the second post on the other end with ease, clearly the easiest one out of the girls to get a handle on her new magic as long as she remembered how lighter every other ordinary thing that took some effort would be now. Out on the lake, Derpy was back out on the water in a boat with a different student, hanging off the mast, but her grip began to fail her and she was about to fall overboard. Rarity noticed while carving out a fish on a small post for the deck to tether the boats to, quickly standing up and created one of her shields, sending it skimming swiftly over the water's surface toward Derpy.

No need to shield yourself
From the magic that can help
Protect from any harm that might come

Derpy landed on the shield, Rarity keeping her from getting wet as she gave a thumbs up to her boating buddy, letting them know she was ok. The last one to get some practice in her magic was Fluttershy, though she worked in silence, making a flowery streamer to hang under the sign the boys were finishing setting up. Seeing how nervous Fluttershy was communicating with animals, even though it was a dream come true for someone who loves animals, Sunset came over to her to help reassure her that her unique magic power she discovered isn't all that bad.

So you have magic
And it's not that great
But when it found you
You know it was fate

So if you listen close
You might make a new friend
And together we can make it!

Fluttershy thought back to when she first talked with the bird yesterday when she first began to really understand animals. Ironically enough, her little avian friend came back, landing on her shoulder. It was a bit startling at first, but all her life, she had wanted to know what her little animal friends would say if they could speak. She asked the tiny bird if he could help set her handmade streamer up under the sign, who gladly chirped in agreement, taking it in his talons and flew over to the newly built sign. Flying through the tiny gaps between the upper sections of the posts, perfectly hanging underneath the sign to add some nature to it.

I say embrace the magic
No more holding back, just let it out
If you can take the magic
And learn a little more what it can do
Once the magic is part of you
Once the magic is part of you
Once the magic is part of you

Once the magic is part of you

The dock was finally finished, sign, deck, and all, Sunset having gathered the girls, feeling proud seeing them mastering their newfound magic. "Ok, that was actually pretty cool," Rainbow said.

"And look what you managed to accomplish!" Sunset said, pointing out their completed camp gift they stood on.

"Please, please, PLEASE can we do a run-through for the fashion show on it right this minute?" Rarity begged.

"Ah thought ya weren't finished with the stitchin' on your poncho," Applejack said.

Rarity grabbed the unfinished poncho, pulling the needle through once. "I am now."

Sora facepalmed. "Seriously? Just one more stitch???"

"Why don't you guys start without me? I've got to find Twilight," Sunset said. "Seeing what we've been able to do here might help her embrace the new magic, too!"

The others looked at Sunset oddly, confused by Twilight having any magic when Sunset confirmed the other day she didn't have any. "Embrace the magic as nothing dangerous!" Kairi quickly corrected. "That's what Sunset meant to say. Right?" Sunset flinched, nodding her head quickly, silently thanking Kairi for the save from her slip-up. "Anyway, we'll go look for her."

"You're going with Sunset?" Sora asked. "I thought we could windsurf together now that the dock's finally done."

"We still have plenty of time until we leave," Kairi said, gently pushing Sunset so they could find Twilight. "Why don't you practice on your own and we'll have a little race later, ok?"

"Uh...ok, I guess." Sora scratched his head as he watched Kairi walk off with Sunset. "What was that about?"

"No idea, but I think Sunset and Kairi know something we don't," Ventus said.

As soon as Kairi and Sunset were far enough away from their group, stopping in front of the boathouse, Kairi turned Sunset around and gave her a deadly glare. "You couldn't have kept your excitement down to a minimum to almost reveal Twilight's magic after we promised her we wouldn't tell the others?"

"I-It was a slip of the tongue," Sunset said, holding her hands up in defense. "But she needs to let go of the past and embrace her magic. And it's just basic levitation, so it's not even all that harmful."

"Then lead her into it slowly, and without bringing up the past!" Kairi exclaimed. "Did you feel better after you lost control of yourself with the power you had when you were still obsessed with it and realized just how dangerous the darkness in you was!?" Sunset grimaced, her saddened expression giving Kairi the answer she wanted. "And it didn't feel good being reminded what horrible things you've done when the sirens came around, did it?"

"I know..." Sunset sighed, regretting her choices back then and what she turned into. It also reminded her how alone she felt with the school keeping their distance from her, even after she changed. She even felt bad for shifting back into her old habits with Twilight during the Friendship Games over the magic unleashed from her device that was out of her control, probably scarring the reserved teen for the rest of her life from who was supposed to be a former bully. "...I get it...None of that felt good at all...I just want to help Twilight get used to this new magic we all have now."

"Right now, she needs us to support her and feel better, and that means NOT slamming down how amazing something is that she finds terrifying," Kairi reiterated. "She'll get used to it when she decides to learn to control it. On HER terms, not yours. Got it?" Sunset nodded silently. "Good. Now, let's actually find Twi-"

"I just wish you didn't tell them that ridiculous story!" Kairi and Sunset turned their heads to the wall of the building, hearing Gloriosa yelling about something.

Curious, both girls approached the door, peeking in through the window to see Gloriosa arguing with her brother, Timber Spruce. "This is all too much for you!" Timber yelled back. "You have to let it go!"

"I knew it. He wants her to get rid of the camp," Sunset said, her guess about Timber was right all this time.

Kairi wasn't so sure about her theory, though. Seeing Gloriosa storm away from her desk, Kairi quickly grabbed Sunset and leapt up onto the roof, avoiding getting hit by the door and spotted after they eavesdropped on the siblings' argument. Sunset was a little startled from being carried and jumping several feet off the ground up to a roof, but they at least didn't get caught. They watched Gloriosa storm off, Timber walking out a moment later toward the nature trail.

"Ok, I seriously doubt Timber's that interested in selling the camp, even if it sounded like he does from what we overheard," Kairi said.

"But it's true, isn't it? The fake story about Gaea Everfree, trying to make it look like she's real with that dust he carries around, and adding him practically begging Gloriosa to sell the camp proves he isn't interested in staying her anymore," Sunset said. "If Twilight found out about this..."

"Sunset? Is that you up there?" Both girls looked down, clearly not hidden well enough as they saw Flash looking up at them. "And...with Kairi? What were you two doing?"

"Looking for a lost earring," Kairi blandly said.

"...On the roof of a building?" Flash asked quizzically.

Kairi let out a disgruntled sigh, helping Sunset down to the ground. "It was a joke. None of us are wearing earrings right now," Kairi said.

"Then what were you doing up there?" Flash asked again.

"We overheard Gloriosa and Timber arguing and Kairi found an...interesting spot for us to hide when they left," Sunset said.

"Better than getting the door smacked in your face," Kairi muttered.

"What were they arguing about?" Flash asked. "I know those two don't seem to get along well, but is what they were bickering about serious?"

Sunset looked at Kairi, silently asking if he should know as well. Kairi rolled her eyes, finding no point in keeping this a secret for much longer if Gloriosa was about to shout it to the heavens with the stress she's going through.

"Sunset thinks Timber is responsible for the strange things that happened yesterday, pretending it was the work of Gaea Everfree to scare us off and sell the camp to Filthy Rich," Kairi summarized. "And with this world's Twilight liking him, she thinks Twilight's going to be more hurt if she finds out he wants to get rid of Camp Everfree. Which sounds implausible with how badly Timber and Gloriosa are fighting to keep this camp."

"And standing here talking isn't going to help us when he's walking off into the woods," Sunset reminded Kairi, pointing at Timber just as he disappeared down the trail.

"Do you want me to help?" Flash asked. "I might not be as tough as you or Kairi, but if this might be the end of Camp Everfree, I want to keep this place from being sold. It's actually quite nice here."

"I appreciate the help, babe, but if it gets too dangerous, I don't want you getting hurt," Sunset said. Flash wilted, feeling helpless as something not as unnatural was happening. She gave him a peck on the cheek to cheer him up a little. "Just try to have fun and let us worry about this."

"Ok," Flash said.

Sunset and Kairi hurried after Timber into the woods before they lost sight of him. Sadly, with all the shrubbery and lack of knowledge of the area, they lost track of him on the trail.

"Darn it," Sunset muttered. "Where'd he go?"

While wandering the woods, Kairi heard something that was off the trail. "You hear that?" she asked Sunset. Stepping off the trail, they pushed their way through the foliage, finding what looked like the rock quarry Gloriosa and Timber warned everyone not to go near. There was a cave blocked slightly hidden by a few boulders, though they looked separated enough for someone to squeeze through, and in the mouth of entrance, they saw a glowing aura of magical light coming from inside. "Ok, that definitely doesn't look like a natural rock quarry. There really is magic in this forest."

"I knew he was up to something." Sunset pulled out her phone, texting Twilight to meet her where they are. "Twilight needs to know her potential boyfriend has been pulling the wool over all of our eyes."

"You're texting Twilight about this!?" Kairi exclaimed. "Why!? What did I just say!?"

"I know, but don't you think it'd be better for her to know the truth now instead of wait later to have her heart broken!?" Kairi growled in frustration, but she gave up with a heavy huff, focusing on the rock quarry.

"You know what? Fine. Bring Twilight here. Don't blame me if she bawls her eyes out and all of your theories turned out to be pointless guesses," Kairi grumbled.

Sunset and Kairi waited for Twilight to show up, Kairi keeping a close eye on the entrance to make sure Timber, if he was in there, decided to leave. A few minutes later, they heard Twilight approaching, struggling to get through the foliage on her own with Spike following after her. She ran into a spider web, about to shriek before Sunset caught up with her, clasping a hand to her mouth to keep them from getting heard by whoever was in the quarry.

"What's going on over there?" Twilight asked as she saw the magical lights coming from inside.

"I think it's Gaea Everfree. Or rather, someone who wants us to think she's back," Sunset said.

"Sunset, I'm not sure if that ominous light is just for show," Kairi said. Taking the lead, she approached the quarry with Sunset, Twilight, and Spike following behind her. Being cautious, they made their way inside the cavern, most of the darkness filled with faintly luminescent purple gems. At the end of the cave was where it was brightest; a skylight of sorts shining light down on a mound of crystal stalagmites, one of them formed into a pedestal of sorts where a purple and red gem sat in two of seven indents, the five other gems meant to sit in the empty spots missing or taken. "Wow...What a quarry."

"There's Equestrian magic here," Sunset said. "I can...feel it."

"Wait, I thought Timber was faking there was a magical nature creature," Spike said, shocking Twilight as her own dog revealed who they believed was responsible for the odd mishaps the other day. "Are you saying it's real?"

"Timber? What does he have anything to do with all this?" Twilight asked.

"Nothing." Startled, the girls and canine turned to face the voice hiding behind one of the natural stone columns. Walking out to reveal themselves, to their surprise, was Gloriosa, not Timber. "It was all me."

Despite being eerily calm for a brief moment, she gave them a creepy grin, her eye twitching as if she was showing off an insane side of her she's repressed since they arrived here. "Gloriosa? But...I thought Timber was the one trying to make it look like Gaea Everfree was back."

"I told you you were off," Kairi chided Sunset, then looked at Gloriosa warily. "So does that mean you're the one responsible for trying to scare everyone off, but you had your brother do the dirty work for you?"

"I would never try to scare anyone away from Camp Everfree," Gloriosa said, walking toward them as she made her way to the pedestal of crystal with two gems.

Kairi stood in front of Twilight and Sunset, unable to trust the camp counselor in the state she was in. Sunset, however, wanted to know what she was doing here, grabbing Gloriosa's hand and using her magic to look through her memories.





Sunset watched what appeared to be possibly several days before they had arrived at Camp Everfree, where Gloriosa was at her desk in the main office, and on the opposite end was Filthy Rich. "My, oh, my," the sleazy businessman teased. "You fell behind on your payments, Gloriosa. I own the land now."

"Please," Gloriosa pleaded. "My great grandparents founded this place. It's been in our family for generations! You have to let the camp stay!"

"Instead of turning it into a spa resort that will line my pockets with more money than this camp ever could?" Filthy laughed in amusement, only caring about making money than preserving anything of historical value. "I don't think so."

"Please! I-I-I-I just need a little more time!" Gloriosa exclaimed, practically begging for Filthy to reconsider.

He relented, turning away while straightening his business jacket collar. "Fine. I'll give you 'til the end of the month."

Filthy walked out, promising his return until the month's end for the expected payment. As relieved as Gloriosa was, she began to cry, having no idea what to do to help raise more money to keep Camp Everfree from getting torn down into a strip mall. The memory flashed forward, Sunset now seeing Gloriosa out in the woods, mulling over what she was supposed to do now. Something unexpected happened while she was alone out there, hearing a magical noise flying above her. Looking up, she gasped in awe as she saw a glimmering magical aura soar overheard, her curiosity over the strange phenomenon causing her to follow it all the way to the abandoned rock quarry. Squeezing through the boulders and into the cave where she saw the magic fly into, she found the crystal stalagmite mound and the pedestal with the crystals. Along with the red and purple gems, the other missing gems were there, too, colored pink, white, yellow, blue, and orange.

"Wow," Gloriosa uttered in awe.

She then approached the gems curiously, reaching her hand out to touch them. When she made contact, a strange, magical energy shocked her, trapping her hand on the five gems she manage to grab. She grunted and pulled her arm back hard, taking them and flying back with a yelp, but instead of landing on the hard ground of the cave, she was caught by a small bed of vines that popped out from the ground. She looked down at the mysteriously appearing flora, filled with magic that she was able to sense that came from her. Stunned and still in shock from what happened, she opened her hand, watching the five gems she took floating above her hand, getting an inspiration on how to save Camp Everfree from Filthy's hands.

Another flash forward, back in the main office where Gloriosa was showing Timber the magical gems she found. She wore those gems as a necklace, in plain sight, no one even bothering to notice she was even wearing one with how they looked like handcrafted stones painted to look like gems. In the office, Gloriosa controlled the roots and vines of the potted plants in the room, Timber obviously the voice of reason as he didn't find this new magic as exciting as his sister.

"You don't know what those things are!" Timber said.

"But I know what they can do!" Gloriosa argued. "I've been practicing! I can control their power now!"

Gloriosa continued to emphasize her point, making the vines reach out, wrap around different objects, and hold them up. Timber didn't approve, heavily wary with this mysterious power his sister found in a cave out by the quarry.

"You don't know that for sure," Timber said.

His words weren't getting through to Gloriosa as she leered at him. He huffed and turned away, dropping the subject as he made his leave. Infuriated by her brother's dismissal of something she believes could help save their family's camp, she stood up from her desk, grabbing his hand and turning him around right as he reached the door.

"This is our camp, and it's being taken away!" Gloriosa exclaimed. "If this has to be our last week here, I'm going to use whatever it takes to make it count!"

The moment faded when Gloriosa touched the gems on her necklaces, flashing brightly and sending Sunset to the next few memories that involved the mysterious events from the other day. Out in the forest, Glorisa spotted Derpy and her boating buddy out on the lake, the blonde, ditsy-eyed teen blowing on the sail to try to get them moving. Using her new magic, Gloriosa summoned a vine from lake, rising up enough to not be seen, giving them just a slight push to move them forward. Unfortunately, the push was more like a harsh shove, sending the boat crashing into the dock, which explained how there was a sudden gust of wind that caused them to crash. The next one was the mysterious earthquake. Gloriosa saw Trixie and one of the the nerdy students together with fishing rods, wanting to try fishing at a stream that flowed to the lake, but the riverbed was dried up, to their disappointment. Gloriosa found the problem, a rockslide of boulders blocking the water from flowing through properly like a dam. Summoning her magic vines, she forced them to push the rocks aside, sending them crashing hard to the ground, creating a small, harmless tremor while releasing a torrent of water that was blocked rushing down once-empty river.

The next flash brought Sunset to what just recently happened moments ago, where Gloriosa and Timber were fighting in the boathouse. "You were using magic all over the place!" Timber exclaimed. "I had to tell them something to cover for you! What did you want me to do!?"

"I just wish you didn't tell them that ridiculous story!" Gloriosa shouted irritably.

"This is all too much for you!" Timber groaned as his sister turned her back on him, brushing him off after all he did to keep everyone from learning about her new magic powers. "You have to let it go!"





Surprised, Gloriosa swiped her arm away from Sunset, cutting off the fiery-haired teen's magic, but she saw enough to see how different the story was now. "Timber wasn't talking about letting go of the camp," Sunset uttered, rubbing her head as she reviewed the events that transpired from before they arrived at Camp Everfree up to now. "He was talking about you letting go of the magic gems on your necklace." Gloriosa balked, quickly clutching her gems with her hand, failing to hide them now that she, Twilight, Spike, and Kairi knew her necklace was more mystical than it seemed. "All those things you were doing to make this week the best week ever. Every time you used magic to do them, you caused another problem somewhere else...Timber was covering for you!"

"How do you know what I was doing with these gems?" Gloriosa questioned. "How do you know about the magic?"

"I can see things. Feel things. Because I have magic, too," Sunset admitted. "So do Twilight, Kairi, and the rest of our friends."

"Gloriosa, Timber might be right," Twilight said. "Maybe you should stop using magic. Too much of it can be dangerous if you can't control it."

"Oh, I've got this," Gloriosa assured, looking back at the last two gems left to be taken. "And I'm going to use it to save my camp. I just need a bit more power!"

"No!" Twilight, Sunset, and Kairi shouted, but Gloriosa grabbed the two gems, power coursing through her as she raised her other hand at the trio, casting her magic on them.

Vines shot up from the ground beneath he girls' feet, Kairi managing to leap out of the way, calling her Keyblade and slashing the ones that tried to grab her. Sunset and Twilight weren't as agile as the Princess of Heart, constricted by the vines and held in place. Gloriosa didn't even seem phased at Kairi's escape, bringing the last two gems to join her collection, her string necklace turning into a vine, keeping all seven crystals secured tightly together. She floated in the air and began to transform from all the magical gems' power, ethereal green vines sprouting from behind her and wrapping themselves around her. Her clothing and footwear turned into a dark, nature-like outfit, something that fit perfectly with Timber's description of the made up Gaea Everfree with its dark green colors and dark purple-red leaf and darker green vines accenting her new appearance. Her magenta hair turned into an evergreen shade with lighter green highlights, the flowery wreath on her head turning into a headband that almost looked like the root of a tree. Her skin darkened slightly, a dark magenta around her eyes making it look like she wore a mask, and when she opened her eyes, they were as black as tar with green irises, just like the fictional spirit.

Looking down at the girls who discovered her secret, she gasped in shock when she finally noticed Kairi was unbound, holding a weapon she never saw before, or even knew she brought with her. "What!? Why aren't you trapped like them!?"

"I have my own kind of magic," Kairi said, holding her Keyblade firmly. "And as impractical as it may look, it's sharp enough to cut through wood."

Gloriosa growled, hovering back down to the ground, her feet levitating a few inches from the cave floor. "Just who are you?"

"Someone who's trying to enjoy a nice vacation with her fiance, and your desperation to use magic to keep Camp Everfree from being sold is about to ruin our relaxation," Kairi said. "I'm only going to give you one chance, Gloriosa. Hand over those gems before they corrupt you anymore than it already has."

"I'm trying to save this camp, and I'm not giving these up for anything until I get rid of that greedy sleazeball of a man! So get out of my way and let me handle this!" Raising her hands up, Gloriosa summoned more vines to ensnare Kairi, several of them surrounding the Keyblade wielder and growing thicker to strengthen their hold.

Kairi leapt backward from an incoming vine, quickly turning to slash through the ones behind her. They followed after her like snakes, slithering faster than she expected as one of them managed to grab her leg, tripping her up and crashing to the ground. Keeping a hold of her Keyblade, she yelped as she was lifted up in the air and flung around like a ragdoll, Gloriosa trying to make her lose her weapon before she cut through more of her magical flora. Kairi took aim as she flailed about, unleashing a Firaga spell that incinerated the vines from the blast, which writhed in agony before shriveling to ashes. Gloriosa stared in shock, watching Kairi land on her feet.

"You clearly have no idea how to deal with saving your camp if you're resorting to scare everyone off!" Kairi said, pointing her Keyblade at the nature-transformed Gloriosa. "I'm not asking for those gems again. I'm going to take them by force!"

Gloriosa growled, her gems glowing brighter, despising how she destroyed her vines with deadly fire. Not getting an answer from her, Kairi charged forward, readying her Keyblade to slash off the vine connected to Gloriosa that held the seven gems hanging from her neck. Just as she was about to swing, a wall of thorns quickly shot up around Gloriosa, shielding her as Kairi struck the barricade. On contact, the thorns shot out from the heavily thick vines, deflecting Kairi's blade and striking her, sending her skidding back with a cry of pain. Feeling lucky she didn't get run through by the enchanted thorns, Kairi's luck would run out fast when the thorns sank back into the ground and began shooting up underneath her. They appeared randomly, sometimes rising in the direction she was avoiding an earlier one.

"Damn, there's no end to these things!" Getting completely overwhelmed, Kairi was in desperate need of backup. She was about to contact Sora and Ventus through her enchanted earpiece, but as she sidestepped another vine, she screamed as something bit her leg. Looking down, she saw a sizeable venus flytrap latching onto her foot, which looked more monstrous with a pair of black eyes like Gloriosa's as it glared at her. "W-Where did this-!?"

"You harm the forest, it'll harm you," Gloriosa mocked, making her trap plant sink its teeth harder in Kairi's foot as she struggled to pull her leg away. Kairi burned the monstrous flytrap with Fire, letting out a shrill shriek as it finally relented and let go. Kairi backed away, wincing as she looked down at her foot, her boots tough enough from the sharp fangs, but it left her limping with how painful its bite was. "I don't know what kind of magic you wield, but if you plan to use that to destroy Camp Everfree with that wild and reckless fire, you're only going to get burned RIGHT BACK!"

Gloriosa raised her arms, summoning thousands of vines, surrounding Kairi and trapped her in a giant ball of plant life. Kairi tried to slash her way out, but the vines inside her cage whipped her all around the small space, sending her crashing into every vine as thorns popped out to prick her with each impact she made. Sunset and Twilight could only watch on terror at Gloriosa's power, the seven gems enhancing her abilities far more than they realized. The whipping finally stopped as the vines began to shrink, spitting out Kairi's Keyblade with a clatter while wrapping around her tightly, keeping her immobilized. Gloriosa chuckled, floating over toward the bound princess, the flytrap plant that caught Kairi pulling its roots out of the ground and ran toward Destiny's Embrace, chomping on the blade, shaking it with a growl, then delivered it to its master.

"Gloriosa, stop!" Sunset called out. "You've gone mad with power! You have to let go of those gems!"

"Sorry, girls, but I know what I need to do," Gloriosa said, picking up Kairi's Keyblade from her flytrap's mouth and observed the mysterious weapon.

"Y-You're not going to kill her, are you?" Twilight asked nervously.

"I'm not that heartless, even if someone was this defiant keeping me from saving my family's home that lasted for generations," Gloriosa said, tossing the Keyblade aside to Sunset and Twilight's feet. "So...if you have something like that, as well as dangerous magic like you used on my vines, I'm going to assume your fiancee and his little brother have the same weapons and skills you do?"

"You'll make a big mistake fighting against Sora," Kairi said, mostly warning her knowing how skilled Sora is compared to her. "You don't need to resort to using magic to save your camp. Not like this. If you told us all the truth, we would have gladly helped you, even if it was supposed to be all about us and our fun this whole week."

"Oh, don't you worry about any of this. I've got this," Gloriosa said, gently patting Kairi's cheek. "Now, why don't you just...relax. Like you wanted." From the vines around Kairi, a yellow poppy bloomed, radiating an enchanted aura around its petals. Gloriosa gently plucked it, held it up to Kairi, then blew the pollen in her face. Kairi winced as the scent of the flower hit her senses, her eyes beginning to droop heavily as the magical spores sent her into a deep sleep. Kairi soon passed out, unable to fight back against the powerful magic flower's spell. "Again, I apologize for this, but I feel like we aren't on the same page. So, I think you all need a little timeout."

Gloriosa's little pet snickered and nodded its head, climbing up to her shoulder as she hovered toward the cavern entrance. "No, Gloriosa, stop!" Sunset said, unable to move with the vines keeping her and Twilight in place.

Leaving the girls inside, Gloriosa used her magic vines to move the boulders outside the cave and barricading the entrance, keeping them trapped. Even though Kairi could use whatever magic she had to destroy the boulders, she would be out of commission with the sleep spell she placed on her. Looking out to where the camp was, Gloriosa decided to make her grand debut, permanently keeping her camp with her new magic and show Filthy Rich not to mess with her family's home and attraction for future campers.





Ventus sat on one of new benches of the fully built dock, watching Rarity getting the girls into her outfits for the fashion show. He shook his head, still unable to believe that this was still going to happen. He looked out at the lake, expecting Sora to be out practicing his windsurfing, only to see him walking back from the boathouse with a nervous grimace.

"Done already?" Ventus asked.

"I got a bit impatient waiting for Kairi," Sora said. "Where the heck is she? I thought her and Sunset were off to find Twilight. They were supposed to be back by now."

"You know, Sora, you get a bit too clingy around Kairi nowadays," Ventus uttered.

"I'm not clingy!" Sora argued. "I'm just worried something bad might happen to her."

"We're in the human version of Equestria. There's no Heartless, Nobodies, or even Unversed that could appear here unless they go through that portal." Sora gave Ventus a blank stare, then pointed at the girls as they practiced the rehearsal for the fashion show.

"If there's doubles of them in an alternate world, who's to say that there might even be doubles of us in this world, as something else, and Heartless could appear here one day?" Sora questioned.

Ventus opened his mouth to respond, but the more he thought about Sora's theory and the human doubles of the ponies they knew back in their world, there was a pretty high possibility that somewhere beyond this world lied others, including alternate versions of their homes and foes. "...You know, we should try to explore outside of this world...but when we're not busy dealing with Xehanort and his new group of vessels."

The music playing for the fashion show scratched to a halt, Vinyl Scratch as the DJ staring in shock at the other end of the camp. "Why did you stop the music?" Rarity questioned irritably after her strut down the "runway".

"Uhh, because of that!" Vinyl exclaimed, pointing at the thing coming toward them.

Everyone turned to look, gasping in shock as the transformed Gloriosa made her presence. "Attention, campers!" Gloriosa announced, her flytrap pet mimicking the motions of its master's grand entrance.

"It's Gaea Everfree!" Trixie screamed.

The other campers shrieked as the magical spirit really did exist. Sora, Ventus, and the other girls were surprised hearing Gloriosa's voice come from the mysterious, magically-empowered being. Timber came out of one of the buildings to see what the fuss was about, his jaw dropping as he recognized his sister turned into something monstrous.

"Gloriosa!? What are you doing!?" Timber exclaimed.

"That's Gloriosa!?" Applejack questioned.

"What the hell happened to her?" Sora asked.

"Apparently, there's some kind of magic going on if Gloriosa turned into that," Ventus said. "And by the way she looks, it's clearly not good."

"I have an announcement to make!" Gloriosa said, ignoring the shocking expressions of the students, her brother, and the principal and vice-principal of Canterlot High. "Filthy Rich wants this to be the last session of Camp Everfree. But don't worry. I'VE GOT THIS!!!!!!"

Holding out her arms, Gloriosa's magic surged from the gems to her arms in a crackling green aura. She then slammed them down into the ground, causing a more devastating earthquake than the last one. Suddenly shoot up around a wide perimeter of the camp, vines towering several stories high rose up and circled the area, Gloriosa planning to keep everyone here in and Filthy Rich out forever. Sora and Ventus watched the vines begin to reach the lake, they saw vines beginning to grow from the ground and begin wrapping around every part of it.

"Look out!" they both shouted, quickly rushing forward and pulling everyone near the dock away before it was destroyed by the vines.

"Oh, come on!" Rainbow complained. "We literally just finished building that!"

"How about you be grateful you aren't getting constricted by enchanted nature!?" Sora exclaimed at Rainbow's whining.

[Gloriosa]
I have waited for the day
To send this greedy wolf away
Now the magic is my salvation
Gather close in my protection

We...will...stand for Everfree!

Gloriosa floated around the camp, flaunting her power as roots and vines began to encase everything she walked past and scaring the CHS students as they fled from her.

Behold the beauty of nature in all its glory
No need to fear the vultures at the door
Right here you have me to protect you
Within these walls of thorns
Forever free, forevermore!

Many of the students ran into the mess hall, where Celestia and Luna had gathered them to keep them from Gloriosa. As the enchanted counselor got closer, Celestia stood before the doorway, keeping her students and sister from being harmed by the madwoman. Her effort was all in vain as magical vines and roots rising up around the building, barricading them in regardless. Timber snapped out of his shock, needing to stop this and save everyone from his magically maniacal sister's power. Spotting an ax, he ran over and grabbed it, then headed toward the section of the huge barricade around the camp and began chopping through.

They have come into our domain
Here to seal our camp in chains

Each swing Timber made barely made a dent through the wall of thorns, and more kept growing where he chopped, only strengthening the wall. Gloriosa approached him, her living plant monster snatching the blade of the ax with its teeth mid-swing, startling Timber when the mobile flytrap growled at him, then summoned roots to grab the dangerous tool and hoist it out of his grip.

But we have held it for generations
This is just a complication

We...will...stand for Everfree!

Gloriosa approached the gazebo, where Trixie, Bulk Biceps, and the dreadlocks eco teen stood, cowering in fear as the Gloriosa approached them.

Trust in me, this is for your own good
Don't be afraid, nature is our friend

She used her magic to actually create something beautiful to emphasis her point on how important nature was. The gazebo had thinner vines hanging down from the roof, more friendly in appearance compared to the rest of Gloriosa's dark, dangerous plants she summoned. Her display was not winning over the trio, huddling together as they stayed away from the vines. She bloomed a blue, red, and yellow flower from the ground and gently plucked it, holding it in front of her.

All of this beauty that surrounds us
Every lovely bloom, designed to defend

Her idea proving to them how nature is everyone's friend fell flat when she used her power to encase the gazebo with more dangerous roots and vines, trapping the trio inside.

Let them come, just let them try!
I'm not about to say goodbye!
This camp will be here throughout the ages
Written into the history pages

We...will...stand for Everfree!

While Gloriosa continued spreading more nature all over the camp and trapping everyone, Sora, Ventus, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie hid behind the sailboat, keeping out of Gloriosa's sight. "Ok, she's gone a bit too mad with power," Ventus said.

"Why do these kinds of things happen to us?" Fluttershy groaned miserably.

"Join the club. We've got jackets," Sora sarcastically said.

"What are we going to do?" Rarity asked.

"What we always do; save the day!" Rainbow answered enthusiastically.

"Guess our vacation's cut a bit shorter than we expected," Ventus said. "Let us handle Gloriosa. You girls focus on getting the others out of here before we're overrun with magic weeds."

"What about Kairi, Sunset, and Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.

"If Kairi's with them, I think they'll be ok...At least, I hope so," Sora said. He slowly reached his hand up to his ear, but he stopped himself before he tapped his magical communicator and contacted Kairi. As overprotective as he can be with her, especially after the many possibilities that could have happened to her if he were to have perished in his past adventures, he knew she could take care of herself and anyone else she was with. Shaking his head, Sora lowered his hand. "No. I'm sure they're fine. They probably got far enough away from the wall of vines around the camp."

"And maybe Kairi can go back to Equestria and ask the others to help stop Gloriosa," Ventus added.

"Then we'll be the replacements! Keyblades, please!" Pinkie held out her hands, eagerly waiting for Sora or Ventus to grant her the ability to use a Keyblade. Both boys gave Pinkie a blank stare, silently shaking their heads. "Aww, fine. I guess our new magic will do. If only we had the time to make superhero capes."

"Ooh! Me, too!" Rarity agreed.

"Enough about what our wardrobe should be!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Save friends now, fashion later!"

"Right. Come on, Ven!" Sora said, Ventus giving a nod as both wielders ran out from their cover toward Gloriosa, leaving the girls to help rescue everyone. Calling forth their Keyblades, they stood before Gloriosa in their battle stances. "Gloriosa Daisy, stop this right now!"

Gloriosa turned to face the two wielders, eyeing their Keyblades as they bore the similar style of sword, though differently designed. "I'm not your enemy. Don't you all worry. I've got this."

"You know, that phrase is really starting to bug me!" Sora said. "You've clearly lost your mind, Gloriosa, and whatever kind of magic you're using, you better stop right now before you have to deal with us!"

"Oh, I am quite sane," Gloriosa assured. "But, if you really want to stop me, and lose Camp Everfree to that money-grubbing wolf, then you leave me no choice." She tapped her little plant pet's muzzle, then pointed at Sora and Ventus. "Sic them."

The flytrap let out a snicker, then shrieked as it leapt off Gloriosa's shoulder, flailing its roots and leaves in a threatening manner. Ventus raised a brow in confusion, but Sora sputtered out laughing.

"Seriously!? All the magic you showed off, and you're planning on using an ankle biter to stop us!?" Sora guffawed, turning his back from the little plant monster, wiping the tears from his eyes as he looked at Ventus. While pointing his thumb back at the flytrap, he didn't see it plant its roots in the ground, and with a little help from Gloriosa's magic affecting the soil around it, the little floral monster began to grow bigger and bulkier. "I've seen worse creatures that were smaller than that thing that were more dangerous!"

"Uhh, Sora?" Ventus tried to interrupt, backing away as he watched the venus flytrap turn into a beast.

"I'm more afraid of one tiny bee than a harmless little plant that eats bugs the moment it lands in its mouth!" Sora continued taunting. His laughter began to die out when the now fully grown flytrap was as big as a Behemoth, its massive, dark green body casting its shadow over Sora, and let out a low grumble, looming over the Keyblade wielder with a sickly sweet drool oozing from its now sharper maw. "...She just made it bigger and it's hovering over me about ready to chomp me, isn't it?"

"Gee, what do you think!?" Ventus exclaimed.

Slowly looking up, Sora gulped as he stared down, or more likely staring up at the black-tar eyes of the monstrous plant. "...Wow. Uhh, heh. What kinda fertilizer do you prefer to grow that big, huh?" The flytrap behemoth roared in response, drenching Sora in its drool. "You're still mad about the ankle biter comment, huh?"

Gloriosa's giant pet lunged down to gobble Sora whole, but Sora dove out of the way, sinking its teeth into the earth instead. "You done teasing with that thing so we can kill it?" Ventus asked irritably.

"Yeah, I'm done," Sora said, wiping off the oddly sweet saliva the flytrap showered him with. "But should I be disgusted with this surprisingly aromatic drool or try to make a perfume out of it for Kairi?"

"Ask her later when we aren't going to be plant food." The flytrap pulled its head up, pulling out a piece of the ground, then munched it to pieces while leering at Sora and Ventus.

While the two wielders fought the Behemoth Flytrap, the girls got busy helping their fellow Canterlot Wondercolts from Gloriosa's never-ending infestation of "protective" plants. The human Lyra and Bon Bon screamed as they were about to be attacked, but Rarity jumped in front of them, using her diamond shield to fend them off. As she summoned her new magical shield, her pony ears, tail, and ethereal horn appeared, enhancing her power as she pushed back against the vines. Rarity didn't see the ones coming from behind them, but Rainbow did, dashing toward them at lightning speed and saving them before they got caught. She transformed as well after setting them down, her pegasus wings helping boost her speed up as she ran off to help the others.

Fluttershy saw a hole in the ground nearby, tapping on the ground near the entrance, where a little gopher poked its head out curiously. "Um, hi," Fluttershy greeted, two more gophers burrowing upward to see who their friend was talking to. "Do you think you little gophers can give us a hand - er, paw? We could really use a way out."

She began to transform into her pony form, too after speaking with the gophers. The little critters nodded and scurried in their holes, burrowing quickly to build an escape tunnel to help Fluttershy get the others out of the camp. The flytrap's roar startled Fluttershy, watching it try to slam its muscular leaf arms down on Sora and Ventus. They were a lot faster than it, easily avoiding its slams, but it didn't help having Gloriosa's roots lunging up to try to trip them up or trap them in a cocoon of vines. They tried to use Fire spells to burn the monstrous plant, and even though it was effective with its roars of pain, that only made it go berserk and charge into them.

"Ok, Fire is NOT a good idea with this thing!" Ventus said, yelping as he narrowly rolled away from the enraged floral beast. He turned and prepared to try using Blizzard to calm it down, only to watch it sink into the ground from its roots much faster than he or Sora expected it to move on the surface, hiding underground. "Oh great. Where's it going?"

Sora and Ventus looked around, trying to feel any vibrations coming from the ground to sense where it was going to pop up. They didn't expect several thorns to shoot up around them, trying to trap them inside a small space as they closed in. They quickly leapt out of the cages, but from Sora's, the Behemoth Flytrap breached out from the thorny cage, opening its mouth to bite down on him. Thinking quickly, Sora placed his Keyblade perpendicular to the flytrap's jaws, keeping it open as it bit down while holding on for dear life while being shaken around.

"Why do you want to eat me!?" Sora asked the plant monster. "I'm skin and bones! I'm all gamy!"

Ventus took advantage of the distraction, casting Deep Freeze, summoning a harsh blizzard that blinded the trio for a brief moment. The harsh cold affected the Behemoth Flytrap, encasing its body in ice. Sora broke free and shifted into Limit Form, his new outfit still the same style with its design like his older clothes, then performed Ragnarok; smacking the frozen beast in the air, then hovered back, aiming his Keyblade as it built up a huge sphere of energy, and fired at the right moment to send several beams homing in on it that blew up on impact. The last shot shattered the ice, staggering the Behemoth Flytrap in the process.

"Yeah, ice is definitely going to help us out," Ventus said as Sora reverted back to normal.

Using Blizzard spells at a fair distance, alternating from attacking the Behemoth Flytrap and avoiding Gloriosa's vines, they kept their distance and tried to avoid enraging the beast. The others continued saving the other campers and finding a way out, Applejack deciding to use her new strength to brute force their way out while also transforming into her pony form. Picking up a nearby boulder, she hoisted it over her head and gave it a hard throw into the thorn barricade. She broke through it easily, but it began to reform faster than she tore through it. Fluttershy's new gopher friends had managed to burrow a wide enough tunnel beneath the magical vine blockade for everyone, but their efforts were in vain, roots rising up from the hole and sealing it off.

Gloriosa chuckled at the foolish attempt at escaping as she sealed their exit, but as she turned back to watch her "little" pet take down Sora and Ventus, she heard explosions coming from another section of her wall. Pinkie kept the jar of sprinkles used to help practice her magic while building the dock, using that same colorfully explosive magic to blow holes in the wall, being the last to pony up. Applejack grabbed a picnic table and used it through one of the sizable holes for it to fit through, hoping to keep it opened longer if something could pry it open. Starting to get irritated by her campers trying to leave, and some of them wielding magic she didn't know about, she forced the hole back shut, snapping the wooden picnic table to pieces.

"This is crazy!" Pinkie exclaimed. "We can't find a way out no matter how hard we try! Maybe I should use more sprinkles!"

Right as Pinkie tried her crazy idea, Gloriosa stopped that from happening by bringing forth several roots from the ground and whacking her. Fluttershy warned Pinkie too late, the pink-haired partier yelping as she was pushed down, dropping her ammunition. Reaching out to them, she didn't see a few roots rise up and prepared to lunge at her. Luckily, Applejack tackled and wrestled them down, only to get sideswiped and fall into a circle of enchanted roots waiting to trap someone. Rarity saved her, jumping in and pushing the roots back with a domed diamond shield.

Rainbow Dash ran as fast as she could to help her other fellow students, but almost all of them were getting trapped faster than she was able to move. They soon began to go after her, speeding off around the camp avoiding the vines shooting up to snag her, getting caught when she turned around at the worst moment. She struggled to break free as she was lifted up, but luckily, she was saved by a blast of explosive fireworks courtesy of Pinkie Pie and her enchanted sprinkles. Smugly tossing her jar of ammo in her hand, she accidentally began to spark the entire jar with her magic. Yelping in surprise, she fumbled with it until she threw it over toward the Behemoth Flytrap's mouth, lunging toward Sora to bite him. Landing in its mouth, the floral beast chomped, grunting in confusion before the jar exploded, its cheeks puffing comically while smoke billowed out of its maw.

"Thanks for the assistance, Pinkie," Sora said. The Behemoth Flytrap shook its head, snapping out of its slight daze as the exploding pieces of pastry topping did nothing but make it even more mad. "Although, next time, don't use up all of it when we might need it." The beast roared and continued pounding its arms on Sora as it chased him around. "Like right now!"

"Nothing's working!" Applejack said. "Gloriosa's magic is too strong!"

"And so's her little pet," Ventus added, watching Sora flee while avoiding getting eaten by the Behemoth Flytrap. "Where are Twilight, Sunset, and Kairi?"





Back in the cave, Spike growled and tugged hard on the roots with his teeth, managing to loosen Sunset enough to break her out of the magical vines. "Luckily, Gloriosa forgot about me," Spike gloated.

Sunset grunted, pulling herself free and ripping the remaining vines off her. "We need to find the others, fast," she said. Picking up Kairi's Keyblade, she gave it a test swing, getting a feel for how the Keyblade's weight was, then faced Twilight. "Hold still, Twilight."

"You sure you know how to use that?" Twilight asked nervously.

"I've taken fencing before, so it shouldn't be that different compared to a foil," Sunset said.

"Weapons like foils are meant for thrusting, not slashing!" Twilight stated. Sunset rolled her eyes, not in the mood for a lecture she already knew and just swung, startling Twilight as she flinched. Sunset cut through the roots without hitting her friend, freeing her, but she still shook nervously as she almost got cut. "Warn me before you do that again!"

"I said to hold still," Sunset reiterated. "Now stop whining and hold Kairi up so I can cut her free." Twilight grumbled irritably, but held onto Kairi, who was still tied up while unconscious from Gloriosa's spell. Twilight braced herself as Sunset swung Kairi's blade through the vines, freeing her as she began to fall over, but Twilight held her up, wishing she took more gym classes since she wasn't as physically fit muscle-wise as the rest of her old classmates at Crystal Prep. Sunset helped Twilight, tearing away the weakened vines from Kairi and set her down on the ground gently. "Ok, now to wake her up and find a way out."

"I know the perfect solution!" Spike said, clambering onto Kairi's chest. "This works on Twilight when she sleeps in and I'm hungry or want to go outside." Spike began yipping and jumping on Kairi's chest, licking her face repeatedly to wake her up and get her attention. Sadly, even with her face covered in puppy slobber, she barely flinched or grunted from the little canine's idea. "Wow, that never fails. That must have been a pretty powerful flower."

"I think Gloriosa used a poppy, if what I learned from botany classes are accurate," Twilight said. "With that magic Gloriosa has from all those crystals, those spores might have been enchanted to put Kairi into a deep sleep."

"Great," Sunset groaned. She looked back at the entrance, the boulders clearly too big and heavy for either her and Twilight to push out together. And with neither of them gaining magical powers that can help remove the spell on Kairi, they were trapped in here. Sunset did know a way they could get out, but it involved Twilight using her telekinesis. As much as she didn't want to pressure Twilight with her fears of Midnight Sparkle coming back, they had no choice when Gloriosa is probably scaring the living daylights out of everyone at camp and holding them hostage. "Twilight, you have to use your magic!"

"I don't know if I can lift something that big," Twilight uttered nervously.

"It's our only chance to get out of here. I know you're afraid of using it, but you're stronger than Midnight Sparkle. We have to help our friends." Sunset's encouraging words helped calm Twilight a little, but the thought of helping their friends gave her the confidence she needed to face her darkness if it began to grow in her heart.

While Twilight approached the sealed entrance of the cave, Sunset lifted Kairi up, carrying her on her back while Spike carried her Keyblade, which was surprisingly light for the small puppy. Twilight faced the boulder, taking in a deep breath, then held her arms out and began focusing her magic. Her palms began to glow, grunting with effort as she encased the blockade in her purple aura and forced it hard out of their way. She began to sweat, hoping her magical strength was stronger than her physical strength, struggling not to focus on Midnight Sparkle taking over, even as her forehead began to glow with a blue aura, nearly forming her darkness's ethereal horn.

With a strong push, Twilight succeeded in breaking them out, rolling the boulder and snapping away the vines helping keep it in place. She felt faint after using that much magic, but she stood strong, shaking her head, relieved to still be herself. Now that they were free, Sunset, Twilight, and Spike hurried off back to camp to help the others stop Gloriosa and take away the magic gems she's abusing.





Sora yelled, flailing around while holding onto his Keyblade, which he used to block the Behemoth Flytrap's jaws from chomping him, and now having flashbacks to Cerberus while not trying to lose a limb from the sharp teeth he's blocking. "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!?!?!?!?!?" Sora screamed.

"Because you're a great distraction!" Ventus said, leaving Sora to fend the living floral monster to help the girls with the other campers.

Thorns suddenly shot up in his path, Gloriosa standing on a platform of roots as they moved closer, clearly agitated from their defiance. "Why are you all fighting me!?" Gloriosa exclaimed. "I'm doing this to save our camp! I'm doing this for you!"

"How is this saving your camp when you're scaring the hell out of everyone!?" Ventus questioned. "Stop and think about what you're doing, because it's clear Camp Everfree is gonna be condemned if Filthy Rich sees this overgrowth all over the place!"

Ventus spun and slashed through the thorns that got in his way, the remains falling over and revealing the other girls he was trying to reach. "Y-Yes, let's just have a little thought for a moment," Rarity agreed. "I mean, I think Camp Everfree is absolutely delightful, but I just don't know that I'm quite ready to give up my weekly trips to the spa."

Upon hearing the poor choice of words from Rarity, the Behemoth Flytrap stopped, staring at her along with Gloriosa as she gave her a creepy, wicked grin with her head tilted slightly. "...To the spa...?" she said, mocking Rarity's tone. The flytrap let out a demonic growl, growing even bigger as Gloriosa unleashed more magic. Sora helplessly watched, hanging from his Keyblade as the behemoth was another head taller, more muscular, and its pupils shrunk to emphasis its disdain toward Rarity's comment. "TO THE SPAAAA!?!?!?!?!?"

In her rage, Gloriosa summoned more roots around the girls, grabbing Rainbow and throwing her into her friends, bowling them over hard. The Behemoth Flytrap flung Sora as well with a sharp flick of its neck, sending him crashing into Ventus as both wielders tumbled, landing in the dogpile of girls with a groan.

"Way to go, Rarity," Sora sarcastically said. "Now she's even more ticked off, along with her giant demon plant."

Gloriosa summoned her roots to begin surrounding her, growing thicker as they started at her feet and rose up in a spiral. She also strengthened her hold around the captured campers, spreading more roots throughout the campground. The Behemoth Flytrap roared, charging toward its master, and once it reached the base of the growing roots, its body merged with it, becoming Gloriosa's mount that carried her "throne". Timber felt helpless watching his sister after losing the ax, desperate to get her to stop before she's far too gone with the power she held. He ran toward her, only to get caught by the Behemoth Flytrap's grasp, encasing him in roots as he struggled to get out.

"Gloriosa, this isn't the way!" Timber shouted.

"I appreciate your concern, Timber, BUT I GOT THIS!!!!!!!!!!" Gloriosa roared, green energy crackling like electricity as it coursed through her growing mountain of roots, vines, and thorns.

"No, you don't!" Timber said, but she was already long gone as the magic began to consume her and go out of control, her black eyes replaced by a green glow.

Sora, Ventus, and the CHS girls quickly got back up, ignoring the pain and backed away from Gloriosa's rooted spot in the center of the campground. The barrier of vines around the campsite began to rise and slowly close up the dome of skylight above. Outside, Sunset, Twilight, and Spike caught sight of the huge wall of vines, getting closer despite the enchanted plant wall beginning to close up and trap everyone inside for good. Spike tried to gnash his way through the roots like he did with Sunset's bindings, but they were too thick for his canines to bite through.

"Twilight, you think you can use your magic to get us through?" Sunset asked, unable to do much while carrying Kairi.

"I-I don't want to use too much," Twilight said. "Midnight Sparkle might take over."

"Twilight, our friends are in there!" Sunset pleaded.

She grabbed Twilight's hand, ponying up from the Equestrian magic that was unleashed by the other girls on the other side. Sunset knew she was pressuring Twilight, but everyone's lives were at stake inside the massive wall. Twilight gulped nervously and nodded her head, approaching the wall and used her magic again. She had to use more magic this time, tearing open a hole wide enough for them to walk through. Luckily, their friends were close to where they entered, surprising them as they turned around.

"Sunset! Twilight!" Applejack called out, Twilight letting go of her magical hold after she, Sunset, and Spike made it through, still in control of herself, but not willing using anymore magic again.

"There you girls a-" Sora said, only to gasp when he saw Kairi on Sunset's back, unconscious and injured. "Kairi!" He ran over to them, taking Kairi off Sunset and gently lowered her to the ground. "What happened to her!?"

"We found out Gloriosa was the one responsible for the earthquake and the boat crashing into the docks," Sunset said. "She was able to use magic thanks to the gems around her neck, trapped us in the cave where she found them, and knocked Kairi out with an enchanted poppy that put her in a deep sleep."

Sora growled as he looked at Gloriosa, hearing his fiancee was attacked and put under a spell upsetting him. "She's gonna pay for this."

"It's not her fault; it's Filthy Rich's," Sunset explained. "She was pressured from him buying the camp and giving her a time limit to make enough to keep it. So, after finding those gems, she resorted to using their magic-" Sunset looked at Gloriosa, who was still rising higher with more roots swirling around her. "-and it's consuming her mind."

"So she just attacks you three and puts Kairi under a spell?" Ventus asked. "I would rather say she went completely nuts and went mad with power than believing those magic gems she has is taking over her body."

"And we could barely stop her with that thing keeping us on our toes," Sora said, pointing at the merged Behemoth Flytrap glaring at them. Holding his Keyblade over Kairi, he used Esuna, hoping the ailment curative spell would be enough to wake her. Thankfully, it was enough to rouse her from her deep slumber, Kairi letting out a groan and squinted her eyes open. "Kairi, are you alright?"

"...If you give me any flowers as presents, I'm going to burn them," Kairi grumbled, making Sora laugh a little, simply glad to see she was alright and not too seriously harmed. She rubbed her eyes as Sora helped her up, only to groan in disgust as she felt the dried dog slobber from Spike's attempt to wake her. "What licked me?"

"That was me, but my plan didn't work well," Spike said, delivering Kairi her Keyblade like a stick while playing fetch.

She took back her weapon and stood up, shaking away the remnants of the sleep spell Gloriosa put her in. "Please, Gloriosa!" Timber shouted, alerting the others back to the overgrown roots under Gloriosa's control. "What you're doing is crazy! You have to listen to me!"

"Timber!" Twilight called out, both her and Sunset running over to help try to free Timber from the Behemoth Flytrap's grip as roots began to surround him.

"That's not your sister," Sunset said. "She's being controlled by Equestrian magic."

Timber wasn't the least bit surprised that the magic his sister used would have dangerous consequences, but losing her to the magic upset him as he looked up at the madwoman. "Whoever you are, you have to let my sister go!" he pleaded to the magical energy, but his words went unheard as Gloriosa was being wrapped in a cocoon of roots. "Please, Gloriosa, come back! I need you!" Tears began to well up in his eyes, then looked down at the monster keeping him hostage as he was about to be trapped in another cocoon of roots like the others. Unfortunately, the Behemoth Flytrap showed no sympathy, even as Gloriosa's creation, continuing encasing Timber while Sunset and Twilight backed away before they shared Timber's fate. "GLORIOSA!!!!!"

"No! Timber!" Twilight cried out, both girls quickly fleeing back to their friends as the Behemoth Flytrap roared, then unleashed more unnatural nature around the group still standing.

"Alright, the kid gloves are coming off!" Sora said. "I'm gonna prune that giant weed and grind it into mulch!"

As the roots got closer, Sora unleashed his Harmony Form, the pulse of light pushing the roots back as he transformed. The Keyblades of Harmony appeared around him, along with his pony ears, tail, and wings with their black and white highlights, and the Kingdom Keyblade changing to his Ultima Keyblade. Ventus joined Sora, no need to hold back, using his D-Link with Sunset, giving him his pure white armor, pony ears, tail, and wings, and turning his Wayward Wind into a longer blade made of light, surprising Sora as it seemed to dwarf Sephiroth's signature blade.

"Kairi, can you still fight?" Ventus asked.

"I'll live," Kairi said. "I'll stay with the girls and protect them from the vines."

"Let's just hope Gloriosa doesn't make anymore poisonous flowers," Sora said. "Let's go, Ven!"

Ventus nodded and both boys took flight, dodging thorns that seemed to be created by the Behemoth Flytrap, taking over for Gloriosa while she remained safe in her protective vines. Despite the distraction, it didn't stop the roots from closing in around the girls. Rarity thought quickly, surrounding them all in a large barrier of ethereal diamonds, but their relentless assault began to crack the shield, making her struggle to keep it held.

"I don't think I can keep this up forever!" Rarity said, Kairi preparing her magic to fend off the roots when Rarity's shield falls.

"I hope Sora and Ven beat that chomp happy bug muncher before we get overwhelmed by roots," Kairi muttered.

"It's never going to end unless they get to those seven gems around Gloriosa's neck," Sunset said. She looked at Twilight, her magic far more powerful than any of their other classmates, and if she unleashed every ounce of it, she could possibly pony up as well and take the gems from Gloriosa. Even if Kairi would scold her for pressuring her, it might be too late for them to do anything if all of them were trapped underneath the dome of plant life. "Twilight, we need more of your magic. You have to help take away the magic gems on Gloriosa."

"I-I can't!" Twilight said, shocking Kairi with Sunset's plan. "There's so many vines. It would take too much magic."

"Sunset!" Kairi chided.

"You can yell at me later, Kairi, but we need Twilight's magic more than ever, and you know it!" Sunset interjected.

Kairi grunted, but as she looked outside Rarity's shield, watching Sora and Ventus trying to take down the Behemoth Flytrap. Sora's attempt to go after Gloriosa first failed when the roots around her unleashed a barrage of thorns as a defensive measure, protecting her even more thanks to her pet's aid. They had to keep avoiding roots shooting up underneath them like spikes, the jaws of the monster as its neck began to extend a few extra feet from the base of the still-growing throne, and, something Sora hoped wouldn't happen, avoiding purple flowers blooming from the base that unleashed a poisonous spore cloud every so often. The only way to stop these plants was to take away the magic, and with the boys trying to weaken the floral beast to get closer, Kairi reluctantly agreed, time running out with how many more roots Gloriosa keeps summoning.

"Sunset's right," Kairi said. "As much as I don't want you to be put under a lot of pressure, you have to embrace your magic and use it."

"But what if she takes over? What if instead of saving everyone, I turn into Midnight Sparkle and only make things worse?" Twilight asked, starting to panic as her fears kept being brought up.

"That won't happen," Sunset assured. "We won't let it happen." The others nodded in agreement, even Kairi as she gently rested her hand on her shoulder. The shield began to crack more, Rarity letting out a grunt and nearly falling over in exhaustion, Applejack quickly catching her before she lost her footing. "Come on, Twilight. You have to be stronger than her!"

Sunset gently grabbed Twilight's arms, a red aura forming around her hands. With time running out, Twilight tapped into her latent magical powers, Midnight Sparkle's ethereal horn forming on her forehead, her glasses shifting to the ethereal blue eye mask her darkness had, and her eyes began glowing the same blue as her horn and mask. While Sunset used her magic to delve into Twilight's mind to help her so she didn't face her darkness alone, Kairi's ring began to shine as well.

"Huh?" Confused, she looked at her ring, the enchanted diamond emanating a strange magical power that called out to her. "What is this?"

She gasped when the glow pulsed, feeling light flowing through her body from the special enchanted gem. Her eyes shut, then opened as they glowed white like Sunset's, mimicking her unique magic power as her light dove into Twilight's heart.