“Hey, Flash,” Sunset called to the blue-haired rocker the next morning at the breakfast line.
“Hey, Sunset. What’s up?” he replied.
“So, uh, Twilight told us about what happened yesterday or, in my case, showed me.”
Flash frowned as he picked up his milk and orange juice from the line. “I see.” He paused then continued, “So, how is she?”
“She’s fine, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about.” Sunset collected herself, took a deep breath, and began, “Flash, I think I owe you a long overdue apology for something.”
“Sunset, don’t worry about it,” Flash said to her as they made their way to the volunteers’ table. “I’ve already forgiven you for it. Besides, if you hadn’t done it, I probably would have never realized how badly I needed to get out of our relationship.”
“I know, but still, I wish I had a way to give you back your first kiss. I know back then we both assumed that I was going to end up having it anyway, but I shouldn’t have just taken it from you,” Sunset replied as they both took their seats.
Flash smiled to himself before replying with the slightest hint of mischief in his voice, “You know there is a way that you can make it up to me.”
“How?”
He leaned forward and whispered, “You can tell Lean that you already made his life’s dream come true.”
Sunset looked at him in confusion before her eyes widened in realization, “How did you—?”
“Sunset, I may not be very smart, but I do know how to add.”
“Yeah, well, I was going to be doing that anyway, so you just wasted an IOU. Jokes on you, Mister.”
Flash laughed as the rest of the volunteers joined them for breakfast.
“Try not to drop me, Ms. Twilight,” Lean said as he slowly rose up with a paintbrush in hand enveloped by a faint purple glow.
“I’m not going to drop you,” Twilight replied, carefully stopping Lean at the spot he had indicated earlier. Lean reached out with his paintbrush and painted on the finishing details on a bright red handprint bird. Twilight carefully maneuvered Lean around the mural as he detailed the rest of the birds and butterflies.
“Done,” he called down as he painted the last antenna on the last butterfly. “You can float me down now.”
Twilight laughed as she did just that.
“That looks great, you two,” Sunset exclaimed as she stepped back to admire their handiwork. “We really outdid ourselves. Now, we just have to put the tarp up for the big reveal.”
“Already on it,” Twilight answered as she levitated the tarp over the mural.
“Hey, Ms. Sunset, since we’re done, does that mean that you get to tell me your secret now?” Lean tugged at the hem of Sunset’s shirt.
Sunset smiled as she bent down to his level. “Remember, Lean. You can’t tell your brother, your best friend, Mr. Thorax, or anyone else, okay?”
Lean nodded vigorously. Sunset cupped her hands around his ear and whispered something into it, causing Lean’s mouth to pop open in shock.
“Really?!” he cried.
Sunset nodded twice in affirmation.
“But then that means…” Lean trailed off with a gasp.
“Mmmm-hmmmm,” Sunset nodded again.
“Wow!” he cheered but then stopped. “Wait. So, what am I going to do now?”
“Well, like Flynn Rider from Tangled said, now, you get to find a new dream.”
“But what if I can’t find one?”
Sunset ruffled Lean’s hair. “Oh, you will, kid. You will.”
After a game of tag that ended with Flash at the bottom of a dogpile, everybody at camp gathered around in front of the recently finished and covered mural. Flash arrived last with his guitar case on hand.
“Okay, everybody, ready to see what your camp gift looks like?” Sunset announced. Most of the kids cheered in response while Bee cracked some semblance of a smile in approval. With a dramatic flourish, Sunset yanked the tarp off the mural.
“Wow!” everyone gasped when they saw it.
“It looks better than what I had in my head!” Lean beamed in awe.
“Oh, all of you should be proud of yourselves,” Gloriosa praised. “All our future campers will absolutely love it.”
“I can’t believe a kid thought of it,” Timber agreed. “Well, I can, but I wasn’t expecting it to look this cool.”
“We’re just getting started,” Pinkie exclaimed. “Okay, kids, line up!”
Flash took out his guitar as the kids lined up into two rows. After the kids finished lining up, Flash began to play the opening bars of the camp song.
“Okay, Gale,” Pinkie directed. “Take us away!”
“Will you be lost by time or be part of history?” Gale began.
“Will your story be told or remain a mystery?” Robby joined her.
“Will they sing your song, telling all that you have done?” the kids sang and clapped together. “Time to make your choice, only you can be the one//Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa/As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey!)/Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa/As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey! Hey! Hey!)”
Gloriosa began to tear up as she continued to listen to the children sing. As a camp director, she lived for moments like this. Granted, due to her relative inexperience, she didn’t get many opportunities to experience them. Nevertheless, just this moment alone was worth all the stress and tears that she poured into keeping the camp going.
“Will you find your greatest glory?” the kids continued with the volunteers joining them. “Will you be a falling star?/Here to learn what nature teaches/Here to learn more who you are//Will you be lost by time or be part of history?/Will your story be told or remain a mystery?/And when you go back home, everybody there will see/You were part of the Legend of Everfree!//Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa/As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey!)/Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa/As you join in the Legend of Everfree!/Hey!”
Since it was their last night at camp, everybody had fire-roasted hotdogs for dinner around the campfire.
“This has been the best week of my life,” Kit exclaimed before blowing on his hotdog.
“Yeah!” agreed everybody else.
“I wish we never had to leave,” said Denny.
“But what if you get allergic again, Denny?” Sage pointed out. “If we stay here, we won’t be able to get you to a doctor real fast.”
“Oh, yeah,” Denny’s face fell. “That was real scary.”
“I just wish we weren’t going home to Ms. Chrysalis,” Bee grumbled.
“Yeah,” Willow agreed quietly. “Me too.”
“Hey, you kids still have me,” Thorax pointed out. “Besides, if we don’t head back, we might not find your forever families.”
“We might not find our forever families even if we do head back,” Bee muttered.
“Well, at least, Mr. Flash, Ms. D, Ms. Twilight, and everybody else will be going back with us,” Gale pointed out.
“Too bad they’re leaving in a few months.”
“Must you ruin everything?!” Kit yelled at Bee.
“Hey, hey, everybody, calm down,” assured Flash. “I know a lot of hard stuff is going to be happening when we get back to Canterlot, but let’s try not to get down about it, okay? We’re still here, aren’t we?”
All the kids nodded.
“I still wish you didn’t have to go,” said Gale. The other children voiced their agreements.
“Kids,” Sunset spoke up. “My friends and I wrote this song when we graduated because all of us were going to be splitting up. Why don’t Ms. Twilight, Ms. Pinkie, and I sing it for you?”
“Uh, Sunset, don’t we need the whole band for that song?” Pinkie pointed out.
“We’ll just sing the first verse and the chorus. We don’t need the rest of the band for that.”
“Okie-dokie-lokie, then.”
Flash passed his guitar to Sunset while Twilight began the song acapella.
“Nothing stays the same for long/But when it changes doesn't mean it's gone,” Twilight sang. “Time will always get away/As it leaves behind another day”
“Things may come and things may go/Some go fast and some go slow,” Sunset sang as she strummed. “Few things last, that's all I know/But friendship carries on through the ages”
“Things may come and things may go/Some go fast and some go slow,” Twilight and Pinkie joined Sunset. “Few things last, that's all I know/But friendship carries on through the ages//Ohhh-oh, carries on”
“So, does this mean we’re all friends?” asked Robby.
“Yeah,” Flash replied with a smile. “I think it does.”
“Hey, Ms. Twilight,” Gypsy asked, “can you tell us the story about Flash Magnus and the dragon again?”
“Of course, I can,” Twilight answered.
“And Mr. Flash, can you sing us to sleep again?” asked Minty. “For old times’ sake.”
“That only happened a few days ago. How is that for old times’ sake?” said Sid.
“What? Mr. Flash might not get another chance to do that again before he leaves for college.”
“Alright, alright,” Flash agreed. “I’ll sing you guys to sleep again.”
Micro Chips inwardly groaned as he rubbed his lower back.
One story, one song, and a whole lot of lifting later, the volunteers began making their way back to their cabins.
“Oh, aren’t they just so cute and peaceful when they’re asleep?” Derpy remarked.
“Yeah, they are,” Micro agreed as he rubbed his sore muscles. “Too bad I’m too sore to appreciate it. Why’d you have to agree to sing them to sleep, Flash?”
“Hey, I’m not going to be around for them forever, you know,” Flash pointed out. “Might as well make the most of what we’ve still got, muscle soreness and all.”
Everyone but Micro laughed at that. They stopped laughing and stopped moving when they heard footsteps approaching. Turning towards the sound, they saw Timber Spruce approaching them and immediately jumped into a fighting stance. Twilight and Pinkie Pie raise their hands, readying themselves to use their magic if necessary while Flash protectively stepped between Twilight and Timber.
“Back for more, huh?” First Base challenged, about to rush over and strike Timber before Sandalwood held him back with a hand on his shoulder.
“Relax, I’m not here to mess with anyone this time,” Timber answered, taking a step back defensively.
Twilight and Flash gave each other questioning looks before turning their attention back to Timber.
“Can I just talk to Twilight alone, please?” Timber continued.
The volunteers shared looks with each other before Flash and Twilight nodded. Then, everyone except Flash and Twilight slowly began returning to the cabins. First Base was the last to leave but not before giving Timber an “I’m watching you” sign.
“Whatever you have to say to me you can say to both of us,” Twilight stated, noticing the nervous look Timber was giving Flash.
“Okay, look, I really am sorry about the kiss yesterday,” said Timber. “I shouldn’t have done it, but I did, and I totally understand if the two of you are still mad at me.” Timber paused and directly looked at Flash. “And I’m sorry that I started a fight with your brother and bad-mouthed you and tried to make you look and feel like an inadequate loser. That being said, I still don’t get what Twilight sees in you.”
Twilight scowled and crossed her arms at that last statement.
“But,” Timber continued, “you obviously care about her a lot, and she really cares about you.” He turned back to Twilight. “I still don’t like that you’ve moved on from me, but I just thought I’d come here to let you know that I’m not going to be pressing the issue anymore. So, are we cool?”
Flash and Twilight shared another look with each other. Then, Flash nodded. Twilight nodded back.
“Yeah, we’re cool,” Twilight replied.
“Same for me,” agreed Flash.
“Oh,” Timber blinked in surprise. “Cool. Uh, I guess I’ll just be heading back now.”
Timber turned to leave but before he could, Flash called out to him.
“Hey, Timber,” Flash called.
“Yeah?” Timber asked, turning around.
“Here’s a tip for ya,” Flash continued. “If you want kids to like you, don’t use them to suck up to a girl.”
Timber blinked as he studied Flash’s expression suspiciously. Seeing no malice in Flash’s demeanor, he gave a small smile.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Then, he turned around and left.
The next morning, Big McIntosh drove the Rainbooms’ tour bus into the camp parking lot to pick up the kids and the volunteers. As the bus drove away from camp, the kids broke into another round of the camp song while the volunteers talked among themselves.
“See, Micro Chips,” Sandalwood said to his seat mate. “That wasn’t so bad.”
“You know what? You’re right,” Micro Chips agreed. “I just spent a week in the middle of the woods, running around helping look after kids, and I’m not even tir—” The sentence was left unfinished as Micro Chips slumped forward and fell fast asleep.
“Yeah,” Flash remarked. “I saw that coming.”
Everybody else laughed in response.