//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Space Between // Story: Return to Everfree // by Godslittleprincess //------------------------------// “I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Micro Chips muttered to Flash, who was sitting at the seat behind him. The two of them were sitting in the left front two rows of the Rainbooms’ tour bus. However, the tour bus wasn’t quite being used for its intended purpose right now. “I didn’t know who else to ask,” Flash retorted defensively, “and out of everyone I did ask, Sandalwood was the only guy who voluntarily said yes.” As if on cue, the sleeping teenage boy with green dreads sitting next to Micro Chips let out a loud snore. “Are you sure you couldn’t have begged anyone else?” Micro Chips continued to gripe. “What about Bulk Biceps? He likes working with kids.” “Work schedule conflict,” Flash bluntly replied. Micro covered his face with his hands and groaned, “Flash, remember what happened the first and last time you and Derpy talked me into volunteering with you guys. The kids wore me out so thoroughly that I fell asleep the moment I got in your car, and that was just after two hours. How am I supposed to last a whole week?” “Will you chill out already?” First Base piped up from next to Flash. “I mean, the kids aren’t that bad.” “That’s because YOU have the energy to keep up with them; I don’t,” Micro snapped. Behind them, the sixteen residents of Chrysalis’s Home for Children were either quietly occupying themselves or chattering excitedly with their seatmates about what the week might have in store for them. However, they were mostly just happy to be away from their current legal guardian, Ms. Chrysalis. Ms. Chrysalis had to go out of town for some unknown business, leaving her assistant Thorax in charge of the children’s home. Thorax took it as an opportunity to take the kids out for the closest thing that they’ll likely ever get to a vacation under the home’s care. Or at least, that was what he had been hoping to be able to do. Thorax knew that Ms. Chrysalis kept the home’s finances under a close watch and a tight leash, so spending any money that didn’t come out of either his own salary or an outside donation was out of the question. Thankfully, Flash, Derpy, and their friends were able to raise enough money for him to take the kids to Camp Everfree. The Rainbooms even gave him and the kids use of their tour bus as transportation. Across the aisle from the boys, sat the four female volunteers, Derpy Muffins, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and Pinkie Pie. Derpy was, or at least appeared to be, staring blankly out the window at the changing scenery. Twilight was reading something on her phone. Sunset was playing a game on her handheld console, and Pinkie Pie was playing with her stuffed alligator and singing to herself. “Will you be lost by time or be part of history?/Will your story be told or remain a mystery?” Pinkie sang. Flash stole a glance at Twilight before letting out a sigh as he allowed his smile to falter for half a second. Then, he popped his earbuds into his ears and leaned back into his seat, allowing the music to drown out the nagging worry that was poking at him from the inside of his head. However, First Base noticed the change, however fleeting, in his brother’s expression and asked, “Hey, Bro, you okay?” “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Flash lied with a dismissive wave of his hand. Base raised an eyebrow in suspicion before shrugging it off and looking out the window, watching the clouds drift by and change shape. When the bus pulled up at Camp Everfree’s tiny parking lot, all the kids excitedly piled out of the bus, taking their meager belongings with them. Even Honey Bee had a hard time maintaining her usual sour attitude. The female volunteers followed the children out while the male volunteers helped Thorax unload the rest of the supplies. “Hey, kids!” Thorax called. “Stay in front to the gazebo until I finish talking to the camp directors. I don’t want anyone getting lost or hurt before the week has even started.” “Yes, Mr. Thorax,” the children all chorused back. Thorax then went inside a cabin near the parking lot, leaving the volunteers in charge. “This is going to be so great!” exclaimed Robin, a six-year-old boy with green eyes, rusty red skin, and brown hair. “A whole week without Ms. Chrysalis!” His older sister Nightingale clapped her hands gleefully in agreement. “I can’t wait to sing songs around the campfire. Mr. Flash, did you bring your guitar?” “Sure did, Gale,” Flash answered with a wide grin, lifting his guitar case for emphasis. Twilight giggled as she watched the eight-year-old girl squeal in excitement and capture Flash in a sudden hug. “Is there anything else you kids want to do while we’re out here?” Derpy asked. “You mean we get choices?” cried 5-year-old Missy as she bounced up and down with excitement. “Uh, yeah, you get choices,” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing around with the little girl. “You can make s’mores, roast hotdogs, make s’mores while you roast hotdogs, make cookies, make s’mores with the cookies you made, make floating lanterns, make floating lanterns out of marshmallows, etc., etc., etc.” “Ooh, I want to make a kite that actually flies!” shouted Chitin, an 8-year-old boy with yellow-green skin and turquoise hair. “Me too,” cried another boy his age with cream skin and dark blue hair. “I want to go look for birds,” said Chitin’s younger sister Ala. “I want to go swimming,” added 11-year-old Kit. Immediately, all the other children when silent. “We don’t own any swimming clothes, dumb-dumb,” Bee berated the younger boy. “Besides, you’re the only one who knows how to swim.” Before Sunset Shimmer could scold the sharp-tongued girl, a cheerful feminine voice called out, “Attention, campers! Is everyone ready for the best week of camp ever?” Everyone turned their attention towards the gazebo where Mr. Thorax and two other people stood. The one who called for everybody’s attention was a young, light pink woman with fuchsia hair and green eyes. Everyone cheered in response to her question, well, almost everyone. Bee simply shrugged her shoulders. Flash clapped in agreement but didn’t make a sound otherwise. First Base also could have sworn that he saw his brother’s eyes narrowing. Base followed his brother’s gaze towards a teenage boy who was standing next the young woman. The boy looked a few years older than Flash and had green hair and brown skin. Base also noticed that Twilight also wasn’t cheering and had her face turned away from the gazebo. “Hello, everyone, I’m Ms. Gloriosa the camp director,” the young woman continued before gesturing to the teen, “and this is my brother Timber Spruce. Now, before we assign tents, we want to hear what you kids would like to do this week.” The kids all began shouting out their answers at the same time, so Thorax had to raise his voice and get them to calm down. “Kids! One at a time,” Thorax scolded. “Just raise your hands and wait. All of you will get a turn.” Gale and Robby said they wanted to do campfire songs. Missy wanted to make s’mores, roast hotdogs, make cookies, play hide and seek, play tag, etc., etc. Chitin and Carpenter Pencil wanted to build kites, and Kit, of course, wanted to go swimming. “We don’t have anything to go swimming in!” Bee once again yelled at orange-redhaired boy. “Actually,” Thorax clarified. “I did get you all something to go swimming in. They’re not actually swim clothes, but they’ll do in a pinch. I think now would be a great time for the volunteers to teach you guys some swimming basics.” “Sweet!” cheered Kit before sticking his tongue out cheekily at Honey Bee. The blonde-and-black-haired girl only rolled her eyes in response. “That’s perfect,” Gloriosa agreed. “My brother just happens to be a trained lifeguard, so he can help your volunteers out with that.” Flash inwardly groaned as he tried and failed to keep his left eye from twitching. “Oooh! Don’t forget to tell the kids about the camp gift!” Pinkie Pie squealed. “Of course,” Gloriosa chuckled. “Every year, the campers all work together to leave something behind for future campers.” Then she pointed at various landmarks at the camp. “Like this gazebo or that totem pole or that sundial. Oh, and let’s not forget how the group from CHS fixed up the dock.” “Then again, maybe we can skip the camp gift for this group,” Timber Spruce interrupted. “I mean, no offense, but you guys are a little too young to be doing any kind of construction work, so I doubt you’d be able to leave anything useful behind.” “Aww!” the kids all cried out as they hung their heads. Thorax made a pained expression at the exchange before turning to and glowering at Timber. Timber probably didn’t mean anything malicious by what he had said, but how dare he talk down at Thorax’s kids like that! Flash felt off-put by the exchange as well. On top of that, he was sure that Timber Spruce was completely and totally wrong. “I think we can do it,” Flash spoke up. The kids all lifted their heads and turned towards him. “I know we won’t be able to do a lot of heavy work, but if we all work together, I know we’ll be able to leave something behind. It might not be very big, but it will tell everyone who comes after us that we were here and that we had a good time, and that’s all that matters.” “Yeah,” Twilight agreed, “and you’ll have us helping you.” The kids and Thorax all brightened at this. “So, what exactly are we going to be leaving behind?” Bee pointed out the obvious. “Uh,” Twilight stuttered as she turned to Flash, who turned to Micro Chips, who turned to Sunset, who turned to Pinkie Pie, who just obliviously stood there with a smile on her face. “We’ll have plenty of time to figure that out,” Thorax quickly diffused the situation, “but for now, let’s get you your tent assignments. Everybody, get together with your assigned buddies.” Gloriosa let out another chuckle as the kids paired up, “Normally, we have each of you pull out a card and have you share tents with whoever has the matching card, but since your buddies are already pre-assigned, each pair gets to pick out one card, and whatever picture you get on the card is where you and your buddy will be staying for the rest of the week. Girls, get your assignments from Timber. Boys, you’re with me.” Two by the two, the kids made their way to Gloriosa and Timber and pulled out a pictured card from the bags that the two of them were holding. However, a bit of a scuffle broke out between Denim Jacket and Obsidian Chisel’s younger brother in the boys’ line. “Hey, Sid and I were here first,” Cerulean Brush cried, shoving Denny. “No, we were,” Denny shoved back. A few other boys began to join in the shoving and screaming, causing Gloriosa to freeze in shock. Flash quickly stepped in before anyone could come to blows. “Hey! Hey!” he called out. “Stop that! Stop shoving. Come on. You guys are better than this.” Once he had the boys’ attention, he began to direct them into an orderly line. “Now, I want everyone to line up quietly. No fighting, okay?” “Okay,” the boys glumly agreed before lining up as they were told. “Yeah, that’s right. Just like that.” Twilight giggled a bit as she watched Flash direct the boys. There was just something about the way her boyfriend interacted with children that she just couldn’t help but find cute. Unbeknownst to her, Timber Spruce was watching her watch Flash. He looked from her to Flash, a scowl beginning to form on his face. First Base noticed Timber’s scowl and raised an eyebrow in concern. After Thorax and the volunteers helped the kids settle into their tents, they took their luggage to the two cabins at the end of the campsite. The recently graduated high schoolers remembered that Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna stayed in one of them the last time that they came to Camp Everfree. Thorax and the boys took the cabin closest to the rest of the camp while the girls took the cabin closest to the forest. Upon entering, the first thing that the boys noticed was the super tiny living area to their right. The living area was so tiny that it only had room for a couch and an end table. Directly in front of them was a flight of stairs, and to their left was a doorway to a small bedroom with two single beds. Flash and First Base went up the stairs and found another bedroom with two single beds. “Hey, guys,” Micro Chips said to the two brothers as they came back down. “You wouldn’t have by any chance found another bathroom upstairs, have you?” The brothers shook their heads. “Aww, great,” Micro groaned, facepalming. “That means there’s only one bathroom and two sinks in this whole cabin. Ugh! What were the people who built this place thinking?” “It’s no big deal, dudes,” Sandalwood replied. “We can each go a few days without a bath to save on water.” Micro and Flash cringed at that while First Base cheered, “Man, do I like the sound of that!” “Or we can just use the communal bathrooms on the other side of the campsite,” Thorax pointed out. “That works,” Flash agreed. “But it’s so far,” Micro Chips groaned again. “Oh, quit your whining.” “Are you still going through with your idea of skipping baths?” Base asked Sandalwood. “He might be, but you’re definitely not,” his brother retorted. “Oh, come on, Bro!” “I’m with your brother on this one. If your B.O. is anything like how Flash’s car smells after he picks you and Button Mash up from baseball practice, I think I want you as clean as possible,” Micro Chips added. First Base simply crossed his arms and pouted. “We’ll figure out the bathroom situation later,” Thorax called out. “Right now, we need to hurry up and settle in, so we can feed the kids and get the campfire ready for tonight. You guys can get your pick of the bedrooms. I’ll just crash on the couch.” “Are you going to be comfortable with that?” Flash asked in concern. “Oh, yeah. Totally.” “Bro and I get the one upstairs!” Base called before rushing up the stairs. “I guess Micro and I get the one with the bathroom then,” Sandalwood noted. “Oh, thank goodness!” Micro cried in relief. Later that night, after a quick yet lively dinner at the main lodge’s mess hall, Thorax, his volunteers, the kids, and Timber Spruce gathered around a warm, crackling campfire. Flash returned with his plain brown, acoustic guitar and sat himself next to a cluster of kids. “Okay, kids,” Flash said as he tuned his guitar. “Do you guys have any suggestions on what to sing first?” “I want to sing ‘Wind in My Hair,’” replied Gale. “Please, Mr. Flash.” “No!” Robby cried, shooting his sister an annoyed look. “You always want to sing that song. If it’s not that one, it’s something else with Disneigh princesses.” “Maybe later, Gale,” Flash answered her. “Let’s sing something that everyone can enjoy first.” Gale looked at Flash with a small frown and big, glistening eyes. “If enough people are okay with it, we’ll sing ‘Wind in My Hair’ at least once later this week, okay?” “Okay,” Gale replied with a small smile. “I’ve got a song,” said First Base before he cleared his throat. Then, in his best Mickey Mouse impression, he began to sing, “Let’s gather around the campfire/And sing our campfire song/Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O—” “Hey!” Pinkie interrupted. “Mickey doesn’t sing ‘Campfire Song Song.’ Spongebob does.” “Well,” Base replied, still talking in his Mickey voice. “My Spongebob impression is trash, so you guys are getting Mickey today. Oh boy!” That elicited a laugh from Derpy and a few of the younger boys. Base turned to Flash and motioned for his brother to back him up with the guitar. Flash smiled and rolled his eyes before complying with the request. “Let’s gather around the campfire/And sing our campfire song/Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song/And if you don't think that we can sing it faster then you're wrong/But it'll help if you just sing along” Base paused dramatically. “C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song/C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song/And if you don’t think that we can sing it faster then you're wrong/But it'll help if you just sing along” As Base sang faster and faster, more and more of his audience began to laugh. Little Missy was on her back practically squealing with laughter. Kit was doubled over clutching his stomach, and Bee was fake coughing in a desperate attempt to suppress her enjoyment of the performance. “It'll help/It'll help/If you just sing along!/Oh boy!” First Base finished the song with an imitation of the mouse’s signature laugh. Once Missy stopped laughing, she cheered as she clapped her hands. “Wow! That was so good!” “How did you get your voice to sound like that?” asked Arrow Swift, a 7-year-old boy with white skin and dark green hair. “That’s so cool.” “You didn’t eat Mickey, did you, First Base?” asked 6-year-old Minty with wide, frightened eyes. “No, no,” Twilight assured the little girl. “He just, uh,” Twilight paused. How was she supposed to explain what voice impressions were to a little girl? “Uh, borrowed Mickey’s voice. That’s all.” “Oh, okay,” Minty shrugged in satisfaction as Twilight sighed in relief. “Hey, First Base, what other voices can you do?” asked Kit. Base pressed his lips in thought as an idea began to take shape in his mind. As the idea grew, a mischievous smirk slowly began to creep across his face. “I’ve got a few other voices that I’m good at, but you’re going to have to wait for this next one.” “Aue, aue,” Base sang in his Mickey Mouse voice. “We set a course to find/A brand new island everywhere we roooooooaaaaam” With a cheeky grin, he changed his voice into his Donald Duck impression and continued, “Aue, aue/Te fenua te mālie/Nae ko hakilia/We know the waaaaaaaayyyy” First Base lifted his hand and gave everyone a look that said “Wait for it” and exclaimed, still in his Donald Duck voice, “Hey, wait a second. How come my part’s not in English? Aw, phooey! Brrrr-rrrr-rrrr!” Without missing a beat, Flash began laughing so loud and so hard that within seconds, he was doubled over and dry-heaving. Base turned his smirk towards the rest of his audience and said, “Gets him every time.” Once Flash stopped laughing, he glared sternly at his younger brother, “You know I can’t hold it in when you do that.” “Oh, you mean this? Brrrr-rrrr-rrrr!” Once again, another wave of uncontrollable laughter burst out of Flash. “That’s because your face gets silly when you do that,” giggled Missy. “Oh, you mean thi—?” “Stop!” Flash cried, waving his arms wildly in protest. “Bro, if you keep doing that, I’m going to run out of air and keel over in front of everyone. Just stop.” Twilight stole a glance at Flash and giggled. Her boyfriend was so cute when he was frantic. Timber growled under his breath as he watched Twilight light up at Flash and Base’s antics. First Base shrugged as he chuckled, “Oh well, that was fun while it lasted.” “First Base, can you do Goofy? Please?” Missy pleaded. “He’s my favorite.” “Sorry, Missy. I can’t really talk like Goofy,” Base apologized as Missy’s face fell, “but I do know how to do the laugh and the yell. Just give me a sec.” He paused to clear his throat. “Yaaah-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!!! Ahyuck!” Missy’s eyes immediately lit up as she clapped rapidly. “Okay, I think that’s enough classic Disneigh for one night. Who wants some Mare-vel impressions?” “YES!” shouted Sid as he threw his hands in the air. “Please tell me you know how to do Thor.” “Eh, nope, but I can do Hulk.” “Oh, alright, I’ll take Hulk.” First Base cleared his throat and said in a heavy, deep voice, “No Banner, only Hulk!” Twilight coughed a little as she felt a tickle in her throat. “Hulk like fire, Thor like water. Hulk like real fire. Hulk like raging fire. Thor like smoldering fire.” Twilight’s little tickle suddenly exploded into a full-on laugh attack. “Oh, oh, wow,” she managed to get out between laughs. “I don’t know why, but there’s just something really hilarious about that voice coming out of you.” “It’s because I’m short and skinny, isn’t it?” Based deadpanned in his normal voice. “Can you do Loki? I would just die of happiness if you could do Loki,” Kit gushed. “One less thorn in my side,” Bee scoffed, earning her a raspberry from Kit. “Hey, behave, you two,” Thorax scolded. “Oh, I can do Loki alright,” First Base grinned cheekily before clearing his throat and donning his best Loki impression. “Enough! I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by—Boom! Smash! Smash!” Base finished with his Hulk impression causing Twilight to get yet another laugh attack. “Puny god.” “I think you did it wrong. Kit’s still alive,” Bee flatly stated. Meanwhile, Kit was wearing the biggest smile Thorax had ever seen on him and laughing like a kid at a theme park. “Whew!” Base sighed. “I think I’ve done all I can do for tonight. My throat’s starting to get tired.” “Hey! Mr. Thorax, weren’t we going to make s’mores tonight?” Lean pointed out. “Oh yeah,” Pinkie exclaimed. “Almost forgot about those, and—” She paused, suddenly remembering something, “And I think we left the marshmallows and everything else in the kitchen.” “I’ll get them,” Thorax volunteered, getting up. “You guys just keep the kids entertained. I’ll be right back.” As soon as Thorax was out of sight, Timber addressed the whole group, “So, who’s up for a scary campfire story?” “Uh, yeah, dude, we can’t tell the kids those kinds of stories,” Sandalwood replied. “Thorax said we couldn’t.” “Really? Oh, come on. Doesn’t he want these kids to have fun this week?” Timber scoffed. “Of course, he does,” said Flash, narrowing his eyes. “That’s the whole point of this trip. He just wants to make sure that the kids can sleep at night.” Timber glared back at Flash, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by everyone else, especially Twilight and First Base. “Well, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt anyone. Besides, these kids aren’t babies anymore. They’re cool. They’re tough. They can totally handle a scary story.” Timber turned to the children. “Right, kids?” “Umm, I guess so,” Kit hesitantly answered along with a few slow nods from some of the older children. “So, you not only want us and the kids to go behind Thorax’s back but also want us to lie to him about it?” Flash asked Timber in a challenging tone. “Just what are you teaching these kids?” “They’ll be fine,” Timber scoffed before beginning his tale. It was the story of Gaea Everfree. Sunset rolled her eyes. She was 99.999% sure that Timber had just made up that story last year to cover for, well, long story short, his sister. At the same time, she had no way of proving that Gaea Everfree didn’t exist before Gloriosa’s magical shenanigans. Flash honestly couldn’t care less about the story. He was too busy watching the kids’ reaction to it. They were captivated by it; that much was certain. However, he could see some of the older kids shaking, and a lot of the younger kids’ faces were either scrunched up or twitching, possibly from trying to hold back tears. Six-year-old Sage Leaf was clutching onto her sister Willow Blossom and whimpering while Lean was doing the same with Sid. “Timber Spruce, stop,” he exclaimed, interrupting Timber before he could finish the story. “What gives? I was just about to finish,” Timber snapped. “Look at them. They’re getting scared.” “Uh, no, we’re not,” Chitin tried to deny. “We’re big kids, and big kids don’t get scared.” Then, suddenly, a twig snapped. Minty turned to the direction of the sound and saw a shadow approaching the group and began to scream and cry, which caused many of the other children to scream and cry. Kit and Honey Bee even ended up clinging to each other in fear as they screamed. “What the hay is going on here?” Thorax exclaimed as he and Gloriosa emerged from the shadows carrying the s’mores supplies. Derpy, Sunset, and Pinkie immediately got to work calming the kids down while the remaining volunteers looked to each other, averting Thorax’s gaze. Finally, Flash sighed, stood up, and spoke, “It was our fault, Thorax. We told the kids a scary campfire story against your wishes, and now, the kids are terrified.” “We?!” cried First Base before pointing at Timber Spruce. “HE was the one who told the story. Everyone else kept telling him not to, but HE went ahead anyway.” Timber glowered in First Base’s direction and muttered under his breath, “Snitch.” “Really, Timber?” Gloriosa deadpanned, looking at her brother in disappointment. “What were you thinking?” “Uh, I was thinking that they could handle it and that it would be fun,” Timber replied defensively. “Let’s just get back to the lodge. You’ve done enough for one night.” Timber reluctantly got up and followed his sister back to the lodge but not before giving Flash a stink eye. Again, this action did not go unnoticed by First Base. Thorax groaned as he put a hand to his face. Thankfully, Derpy, Sunset, and Pinkie had been able to get the kids calmed. Kit and Bee quickly noticed what the two of them were doing and pulled away with a disgusted yelp. “That, that never happened,” Bee emphasized. “Are we clear?” “Crystal,” Kit answered. “Okay, everybody, let’s just all kick back and make some s’mores,” Thorax said as he passed around the supplies. “Afterwards, we can start getting ready for bed.” “Oh, but how are we supposed to sleep when Gaea Everfree might be in the forest waiting to come and get us?” Sage cried as she stuck a marshmallow at the end of her stick and held it over the fire. Many of the other children voiced their agreements. “Don’t worry. There probably isn’t any Gaea Everfree,” Sunset reassured. “Probably?!” Gale exclaimed, taking note of Sunset’s word choice. “Uh.” Sunset looked to Derpy, who looked to Flash, who looked to Twilight, who looked to her shoes. What to do? What to do? Then, Twilight remembered something. “Have any of you heard the story of ‘Sir Flash Magnus and the Dragon’?” All the kids turned her attention towards her with confused stares and shook their heads. “You just made up that name, didn’t you?” Bee said with a raised eyebrow. “Actually, that story’s been around for a long time,” Flash pointed out. “My grandpa used to tell that story to my mom and my aunt back when they were kids, or so I’ve been told.” “Back when I was a kid, my brother used to tell me that story whenever I got scared of thunderstorms,” Twilight continued. “Maybe it will help you guys feel a little braver.” “Letting the children hear about brave knights and heroic courage, huh?” Flash noted with a smile. “Right,” answered Twilight, surprised but pleased. “Anyway, once upon a time, in a far away land, lived a knight named Sir Flash Magnus. He became a knight so that he could do good to others and protect his homeland. After a while, he had done all the good that he could possibly do for his people, and his homeland was at peace, so he decided to travel to other lands and see if he could do good somewhere else. One day, he entered the outskirts of a fortified city. A beautiful maiden dressed in white was walking away from the city into the nearby marshlands. Tears were streaming down her face. Sir Magnus went up to her and asked her why she was crying. The maiden said to him, ‘Sir, I am the princess of these lands, and a few months ago a ferocious dragon moved into the marshlands and has been attacking my people. My father and I had demanded that it leave our people in peace, but it demanded a maiden in exchange, and I offered myself up as a sacrifice.’ Sir Magnus was so moved by the princess’s story and self-sacrifice that he picked her up, set her on his horse, and asked her to lead him to the dragon so that he could slay it. The princess pointed the way to the dragon’s lair, and the two of them rode on into the marshlands. “When the two of them neared the entrance to the dragon’s lair, the princess asked Sir Magnus to stop and dismounted. ‘Let me approach the lair alone, so that I can draw the dragon out for you,’ she said. Sir Magnus allowed her to walk towards the dragon’s lair but kept a close distance so that he could attack at the first opportunity. The princess made the dragon aware of her presence, and the dragon lumbered out of the cave. It was the size of a castle with long, sharp claws and even sharper teeth. Its eyes glowed like hot coals, and its breath smelled like burning hair. The princess stood unmoving before the dragon as it lunged at her with its open jaws. However, before the dragon could gobble her up, Sir Magnus hurled his spear right where its neck met its chest. The dragon screeched in pain and turned towards Sir Magnus, its eyes burning with rage. “Sir Magnus drew his sword and put himself between the princess and the dragon. The two of them fought fiercely with Sir Magnus deflecting the dragon’s fiery breath with his shield. After a while, Sir Magnus began to struggle under the heat of the dragon’s breath and the smoke that spewed out with the fire. Seeing that her champion was tiring, the princess tried to find a way to help him. Thinking fast, she took off the ruby pendant that she was wearing and hurled it at the dragon, hitting it at the side of its face. This distracted it long enough for Sir Magnus to rush forward and cut off the dragon’s head, killing it. “Taking the princess and the dragon’s head, Sir Magnus rode back to the city, returned the princess to her father, and told the people the news of the dragon’s defeat. The king was so grateful that he offered Sir Magnus half the gold in the kingdom. Sir Magnus refused, happy to simply have done a good deed. However, the king insisted on rewarding Sir Magnus, so the princess, having fallen in love with him, offered him her hand in marriage. Well, it turns out that Sir Magnus had fallen in love with the princess as well and accepted. The two of them were married in a grand wedding ceremony, and everyone lived happily ever after.” At the story’s conclusion, all the children applauded, well, all the children except for Bee. “How is a made-up story about a made-up knight killing a made-up dragon supposed to help us feel any braver?” Bee snarked. “Gaea Everfree is probably made-up, and you still got scared,” Kit pointed out, earning him a smack from Bee. “Okay, that’s it,” Thorax scolded. “Derpy, can you sit between those two?” “On it,” Derpy got up and parked herself between the two oldest children of the group. “When Grandpa tells that story, the princess throws a belt that somehow wraps around the dragon’s mouth and stops it from breathing fire,” First Base said to Twilight. “Well, it is one of those stories that everyone tells a little differently every time,” Twilight explained. Thorax pulled out his phone to check the time. His eyes widened when he saw how late it was. “Kids, it’s time for bed.” “Aww!” the kids groaned. “But we only got to sing one song tonight,” whined Robby. “Yeah,” his sister agreed “We don’t want to go to bed,” added Arrow. Thorax groaned in frustration as he pinched the bridge of his nose. The volunteers once again looked to each other, unsure how to get the kids to sleep. This time, it was Flash’s turn to remember something. “Hey, Thorax, we have time for just one more song, right?” “Fine, one song but that’s it,” the man in charge conceded. “Okay, everybody, get together with your tent buddy and huddle together as close as you can,” Flash told the children as he tuned his guitar and began playing the opening bars of a song Roughly 13 years earlier… A baby’s cry resounded through the walls and rooms of Flash’s house. Four-year-old Flash Sentry groaned as he slowly got up. He grabbed his favorite plush lion, slid off his bed, and went out of his room. He groggily hopped down the stairs and made his way to his parents’ bedroom. “Mommy?” he sleepily called out from the doorway. His mother Lantern Heart looked up and turned towards the sound of his voice. She was seated in a rocking chair with her youngest son, having just finished nursing him. “Oh, hello, Little Prince,” she said to Flash with a sympathetic smile. “Did Littler Prince wake you again?” “Uh-huh,” Flash replied as he made his way to his mother’s side. “Why does Baby Brudder keep waking up? Does he get lots of bad dreams?” “Oh, no, sweetheart, babies just take a while to learn how to sleep through the night. It won’t happen as much when he’s older.” Baby First Base cooed as he kicked his chubby legs and pumped his tiny fists. Clearly, the little guy wasn’t quite ready to go back to sleep. “Did you feed him, Mommy?” Flash asked as he looked into his brother’s half-open eyes. “Uh-huh,” Lantern Heart replied. “Can I help feed him next time?” Lantern giggled as she put her free arm around her eldest child. “I’m afraid feeding is a Mommy-only job right now, Flashy, but do you want to help me sing him to sleep?” Flash nodded before singing, “Baby mine/Don't you cry/Baby mine/Dry your eyes” “Rest your head close to my heart/Never to part/Baby of mine,” Lantern Heart finished with her son. A few verses later, not only was First Base sound asleep in his mother’s arms, but Flash had fallen asleep slumped over the arm of the rocking chair. Lantern smiled to herself as she got up, kissed the top of her baby’s head, and laid him inside his crib. “Sleep tight, Littler Prince,” she said to him before turning her attention to his brother. With the strength that only a mother could have, she picked Flash up and carried him back to his bed. “Sleep tight, Little Prince,” she said before tucking him in and kissing his forehead. Back to the present… All the children who were younger than nine had fallen fast asleep leaning against their tent buddies. That meant that Sid and Willow were pinned underneath their sleeping siblings and that Denny was curled up on Kit’s lap. Micro Chips had fallen asleep as well. Ten-year-old Gypsy Scarf had a glazed look in her eyes, and Sunset Shimmer looked like she herself was about to nod off. Sandalwood shook Micro Chips awake and whispered, “Dude, we need you to help get the kids back to their tents.” Micro Chips groaned and replied, “I don’t even know if I’ll be able to carry any of them.” “Why don’t you try carrying Denny?” Thorax suggested. “He’s the lightest.” Micro forced himself to his feet and shakily lifted the younger boy off Kit. He unsteadily shuffled towards the tents while Kit walked with him and kept him steady. Sunset got up and picked up one of the girls while Twilight used her magic to gently levitate several sleeping girls into the air. The two of them also made their way to the tents with Sunset directing Twilight’s steps in order to keep Twilight’s concentration unbroken. The remaining volunteers also got to work taking the sleeping kids back to their tents with Flash and Sandalwood carrying the heavier children. The children who were awake simply walked back to their tents and climbed into their beds. “Whew! That was a workout!” First Base exclaimed as he flopped onto his bed. The volunteers had finally finished putting the kids to bed and were back in their cabins. “I’m so ready for bed.” “Get used to feeling like this at the end of every day because the week hasn’t even started yet,” Flash said to his brother as he turned off the light and crawled under the covers. “Hey, Bro,” First Base said as he too slipped under the covers. “You know that song that you just sang to the kids?” “What about it?” First Base paused as he turned his eyes towards the ceiling. “Didn’t you and Mom used to sing that to me whenever I had trouble sleeping as a kid?” At first, nothing but thoughtful silence answered First Base. “Yeah. We started singing you to sleep with that when you were a baby. Now that I think about it, I remember Mom singing me to sleep with that since before you were born.” “You remember those embarrassing pet names she used to call us back when we were kids?” Base chuckled. “Little Prince and Littler Prince,” Flash replied with a smile. “I remember that you really hated yours.” Base chuckled again before he suddenly stopped, a small frown forming on his face. “Funny,” he began somberly. “Back then, I practically begged her to stop calling me Littler Prince. Now, now, I’d give up any chance of winning the World Series just to hear her call me that again.” Flash could only sigh as he stared at the ceiling. “We really took Mom for granted while she was still around, didn’t we?” Base whispered. “We didn’t mean to,” Flash replied turning towards Base’s general direction. “And we did love her. So much.” “I wish she was still here.” “Me too, Little Bro.” After a long, profound silence, First Base turned to Flash and said, “So, completely different topic, what’s going on with you and Timber Spruce?” “What do you mean?” Flash replied as he pulled the covers up around him even more tightly. “Come on. Don’t give me any of that!” Base retorted. “You’ve been looking at him funny since we got here, and he started looking at you even funnier when we all gathered around the campfire tonight.” Flash groaned as he covered his face with his pillow. “Come on, Bro. Just tell me. You can talk to me about stuff. I mean, I always talk to you about my problems.” Flash uncovered his face, sat up, and crossed his arms. “Is that why I didn’t find out about you having a bully until a few months ago?” he replied, glaring at his younger brother sternly. Base sheepishly looked away. “Well, I had already told the coach and one of my teachers about it, and they weren’t able to do much. Besides, I had already decided that I was just going to suck it up and deal with it as best as I can. I don’t see how telling you would have changed anything.” “I would have known about it, and I could have helped you suck it up and deal with it,” Flash retorted back. First Base sat up and met his brother’s eyes. “I’d love to talk with you some more about this some other time, but for now, can we please just go back to you and Timber Spruce?” Flash lay down and stared up at the ceiling before hesitantly answering, “Timber.” He sighed. “Timber is Twilight’s ex.” “What?” Base gasped. “Wait. Timber Spruce is Twilight’s ex-boyfriend Timber?” “One and the same.” “That explains why you were looking at him funny, but why was he looking at you funny? I mean, does he know that you’re Twilight’s current boyfriend?” “He probably just found out this afternoon,” Flash deduced. “As far as I know, Twilight hasn’t contacted him since the two of them broke up. My best guess is that Timber approached Twilight while we were settling in, and Twilight or one of the girls told him about the two of us.” “What did Twilight see in him back in the day?” the younger boy scoffed as he lay back down. “The guy’s a total hotdog.” “Bro, you shouldn’t say stuff like that about people,” Flash admonished. “Well, he is. I mean, did you see how hard he was trying to make himself look all cool and hardcore to the kids? Ha! Joke’s on him. All that did was make them cry.” “I just hope I can get through this week without any major problems involving him,” Flash groaned as he turned on his side and curled up. Base smirked, “Hey, Big Bro.” “What?” “If he does give you problems, you know you can count on me to have your back, right?” Flash couldn’t help but smile at that. “Right.” Then, he suddenly frowned. “You know what I’m really worried about?” “What?” “What if Twilight breaks up with me and gets back together with him? What if, what if being around him makes Twilight decide that I’m not good enough for her?” First Base suddenly sat up, flung the covers off, and jumped out of bed. He marched over to his older brother and punched Flash on the shoulder. “Ow!” Flash cried as he sat up. “What the heck?” Base looked Flash in the eye with the sternest expression that anyone has ever seen on him. “Don’t say that. You are more than good enough for Twilight, and even if you aren’t, you’re ten times better that hotdog is or ever will be. If your girlfriend actually does pick him over you, then she NEVER deserved you.” Flash blinked at him in surprise. “Okay, okay. I won’t say that anymore.” “Good.” Base went back to bed and curled up beneath the covers. “G’night, Big Bro.” Flash smirked to himself as he lay down and turned on his side. “Good night…Littler Prince.” He was answered by a rapidly thrown pillow colliding with his back.