//------------------------------// // 10: Camp Situation // Story: Road to Harmony // by Artthriller94 //------------------------------// It was still night in Camp Everfree, but dawn was coming up pretty soon. Back in the Mess Hall of Camp Everfree, Sunset was still asleep, along with her friends, but the effects of the sleeping gas were wearing off. She began to slowly open her weary eyes and yawned. As she looked at her surroundings, she saw Applejack, Twilight, Spike, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Starlight Glimmer, David, and Lily waking up as well; however, while her friends were still tied up in rope, Sunset noticed that she, along with David, Lily, and Starlight, were wrapped up in the same situation. She struggled around to break free, but to no avail. The remaining members of Team Furious, including Starlight, tried to do the same, but no one could escape out of their containment. "Seriously?!" Sunset complained. "We came all this way to rescue our friends, only to get captured by somebody who's already under the Sirens' control!" "I know," David agreed, "we're definitely falling into a rut." "I guess all we can do is wait for our friends out there to rescue us." Spike sighed. "What I wanna' know is who could be responsible for trapping us here?" Starlight asked. As much as they want to guess who, no one answered. They all didn't know who was the culprit, until Lily finally spoke up. "I think I know who did this, but I'm not sure if you guys will believe me." "What is it, Lily?" Twilight asked quickly. "Who did this?" "Weeeelllll…" Lily trailed off for a second, then she gave an unsure expression. "Maybe it was Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Spruce, since they do run this camp." "What?!" Twilight questioned. She was a little upset when Lily "accused" the very people, particularly Timber Spruce, who agreed to keep them safe, until the rest of Team Furious, and Rainbow Dash, arrive to the camp. "But that's ridiculous! They've agreed to keep us hidden here from everyone who's under the Sirens' spell! Why would Gloriosa and Timber do something like this? Maybe it was someone else." "I mean no disrespect, dear," Rarity implied, "but the Sirens' spell have probably been spreading throughout the Everfree Forest, even before we took shelter here. It would make sense that the spell has already infected Gloriosa and Timber to trick us into trusting them." Twilight was trying to think of another excuse, but decided not to say anymore. She had feelings for Timber, ever since she first camped out at Camp Everfree. When she first met him, they had the same knowledge of gemstones, and during the Crystal Gala fundraiser, they had a little moment of almost kissing. It was like the two of them were meant to be together, but now Twilight was starting to think like it wasn't. "Don't stress yourself, Twilight." Sunset sympathized. "As soon as Charlie and the others get here, we'll all find a way to get Timber and Gloriosa back to their old selves." Twilight smiled a little, knowing that her friends are there to help her in any circumstances. "Thanks, Sunset." Just then, the double doors of the mess hall opened, and two figures walked into view, as their eyes glowed green. Sunset, Twilight, and the others gasped at who they were. "Timber?" Twilight gasped. Sure enough, Timber and Gloriosa stood in their presence, each giving an angry expression. "So, you girls decided to visit our camp again." Gloriosa remarked. "Unfortunately for you, we aren't having any kind of activities that involves hanging out with friends." "Then... w-what are you... g-g-going to do to us?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "Let's just say that the people we're working for have plans for all of you." Timber smirked. "And it's gonna be one heck of a party!" "Ooohh!" Pinkie squealed, "What kind of party!?" "Trust me, Pinkie," Applejack said sternly, "ya' don't wanna' know." "Timber!" Twilight shouted. "This isn't you! Those people are using magic to control you and your sister! You two have to realize that!" But Timber was not convinced, nor was Gloriosa. "Sorry to disappoint you, Twilight, but nothing you say will help you out of this jam. You might consider us enemies now, but we're only doing our job." Twilight began to shed tears. "Now," Gloriosa began, as she and Timber walked out the doors, "if you will excuse us, my brother and I must prepare ourselves for your other friends." Then, to the Rainbooms utter surprise, Gloriosa raised her right hand, and green vines suddenly wrapped around the entire mess hall building, trapping the Rainbooms, Spike, Starlight, David, and Lily inside. "Okay, this is really bad, guys." Starlight panicked. "T-this... this is impossible!" Twilight exclaimed. "How did Gloriosa get her ability to control the plaints again?! She doesn't have a single geode on her!" Everyone else didn't have a clue of how Gloriosa's ability, to make every plant in the forest bend to her will, returned. The reason that she controlled them was because she discovered the magical geodes in a crystal cave. When she took all six of them, she transformed into an overprotective monster, and tried to trap the campers for "their own good." It was thanks to Twilight for embracing the magic within her, stopping Gloriosa, and reverting her to normal. "Maybe something else is giving her the power to do that?" Spike asked. "But what? And how?" Applejack questioned. "Ugh," Sunset grumbled. "I wish I knew! If I hadn't abandoned my studies in Equestria, I would know every kind of magic that would do this sort of thing." "Another matter for another time." David interrupted. "Right now, Charlie and the others are on their way here, and they have know idea what's really going on. We need to warn them somehow. But how?" After that comment, Twilight suddenly remembered something. It was something that she read from her Spectrometer. "I think I know how you and Lily can that!" Everyone looked towards Twilight. "I'm not sure about us, but they can communicate with the others telepathically, remember?" "Of course!" Rarity gasped. "From that purple device back in Twilight's basement! We all know of Team Furious' special abilities, so it just might work." "Well, why don't we give it a try?" Sunset asked. "I'll do it." Lily cheerfully volunteered. She close her eyes and tried to think of the rest of their friends. Secretly, David copied her and started to concentrate. The Everfree Forest was very dark, even with sun almost rising, and Team Furious were driving carefully, with their cars' high beams on, through the lonely road to Camp Everfree, and were looking at every direction, to make sure that nothing got the drop on them. Rachael, Rainbow Dash, Bobby, and Sam had met up at the rendezvous location, while Vinyl Scratch volunteered to drive the rest of the Sirens' army away from them. She reassured the team that she'll catch up later, but Charlie didn't join up with them. They thought that he must have taken another direction, or had been captured. Even so, they all hoped that he will show up at some point. "Do you think that Charlie is trying to throw the Dazzlings off his trail?" Sam asked through the CB microphone. "Maybe." Bobby replied. "I just hope he knows where to meet us." "Uh, by the way," Rainbow spoke up and pointed to Bobby's vehicle, "what happened to your Skyline, Bobby?" During their chase with the Dazzlings in the railroad yard, Bobby switched his usual '99 Skyline GT-R with his alternative car, a clean yellow and black striped '74 Camaro, while Sam swapped his '69 Camaro Yenko for the iconic General Lee. The only one who didn't rode in their alternative car was Rachael, since she figured that she should wait a little longer, until the time was right. "Well," Bobby answered, "remember back in Twilight's basement, when she used her Spectrometer to read our special abilities? That device showed us our alternative vehicles that we can switch anytime we want. And I used the weapons mine carried to get myself out of trouble." Rainbow thought hard to remember from that moment, then... “Oh, yeah! I remember! I guess that thing does tells us everything.” She turned to Rachael. “You didn’t change your car yet, though.” Before Rachael can reply, she heard a voice calling from inside her head. It was a voice she recognized instantly, but it was also calling her friends, as well. Charlie! Rachael! Bobby! Sam! Can you hear me!? At that moment, the three friends answered the name of the voice in unison. “Lily!?” Suddenly, they all remembered that they can talk with their minds, when they heard another familiar voice. “Guys, this is David! We got a situation over in Camp Everfree!” Sam was the first to answer vocally. “David? Lily? Was that you two?” “Of course it’s us, silly!” Lily replied, happily. “Well, what’s going on over there? Are our friends okay?” That question belonged to Rainbow Dash, who was hearing the conversation in her head the whole time. “Wait,” said Bobby, surprised. “Rainbow can hear what we’re hearing, too?” “We’ll have time for other questions later.” interrupted David. We’ve got bad news! Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Bruce of Camp Everfree are under control of the Sirens. They took us by surprise and now we’re all tied up in the mess hall! “Well, that’s not good,” sighed Rachael. “But that’s not all!” Lily added. “Gloriosa used some magic to control plants again to seal us in, without any geodes!” “WHAT?!” Rainbow shouted in shock. “B-but that’s not possible! Are you saying that Gloriosa suddenly has her own magic now?!” “We don’t know for sure that she can use magic to stop us,” answered David, “but you guys have to be careful when you get here. She and Timber can try to set traps to capture you, as well!” “Don’t worry, David. We’ll keep an eye out.” A third voice, from out of nowhere, replied. Rachael, Rainbow, Sam, and Bobby looked all around the Everfree Forest to see who it belonged. There was no one there. “Charlie?” Sam asked. Suddenly, bright headlights appeared from within the right side of the forest. Everyone turned their heads to where the lights are coming from. Then, unexpectedly, a certain black ‘70 Charger jumped out of the trees into view, and landed onto the road in front of Team Furious’s vehicles. Knowing who it was, everyone smiled. “About time.” Rachael smirked. “So,” asked Bobby, ”where have you been?” “Eh, had to take a little detour for a while.” Charlie smiled. “But I did hear what was going on, and it looks like we’re gonna’ have to be on our guard on this one.” “I’m so glad you’re still alive, Charlie.” David answered. “Please be careful. We’re counting on you guys!” “We’re on our way, David.” Charlie assured. “And please bring some snacks afterwards.” Lily suggested. “Cause I’m getting hungry.” Everyone rolled their eyes, knowing that Lily is exactly like Pinkie Pie. With that, Charlie led his friends deeper into the dark forest towards their destination. It took Charlie's team 10 minutes to finally approach the dirt road leading to Camp Everfree. As Charlie led his friends past the gate, they drove at a steady 25 mph, so they can see what is in front of them. What they didn't see, as they drove deeper on, was Gloriosa hiding behind a tree, as they went past her. "Sorry to do this, but camp is closed!" She then lifted her right hand slowly, and suddenly, the ground began to rumble. The unsuspecting team of drivers were quick to feel the small quaking and stopped their cars. "What's that!?" Bobby asked nervously. "An earthquake!?" "I hope not!" Sam replied. Before they could figure out what was going on, they suddenly saw some old roots popping out of the ground, and making a wall in front of their cars, blocking their path to the camp. "Oh man!" Rainbow started to sweat. "It's Gloriosa! She's doing this all over again! What're we gonna' do now!?" To make matters worse, the path behind them was also blocked by the roots. There was no other way they can escape. As everyone started to get slightly scared, Rachael began to growl loudly. "This racer is NOT gonna' be anyone's prisoner!" Rachael had an idea. She has decided to bring out her secondary car, but she needed Rainbow Dash to get out of her '97 RX-7 first. She looked at Rainbow, who was panicking just a little. "Rainbow. I need you to step out for a moment." "What!?" Rainbow squeaked. "I'm going to change my car with Christine. You know, my other car. Don't worry, I got your back." Rainbow didn't really want to step outside. She was afraid that Gloriosa would capture her in the process. But, if Rachael has a plan to get through the wall, then she can trust her. "Um, okay." Rainbow said, as she opened the passenger door to climb out. After Rainbow looked at her surroundings, she turned to look at Rachael, only to see a small ring of fire passing through the front bumper of the RX-7, which then passed through the middle, until it disappeared at the rear end. As she looked at the vehicle again, there was a shocked expression on Rainbow's face. What she saw was a cherry red, white topped, and white striped 1958 Plymouth Fury, sitting right in front of her. As she tried to find out what had happened, the Fury's right door opened to reveal Rachael, sitting in the driver seat unharmed. "Come on, hop in!" Rachael called out. As Rainbow quickly climbed in, and shut the door, she looked at the interior of the car. The ceiling was all white leather, the dashboard was both chromed and gloss red, with a white and chromed skinny steering wheel. The seats were mostly red with no headrests anywhere. The vintage car was impressive, but somehow Rainbow had an uneasy feeling about it. "Well, this is... nice." "Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet." Rachael replied. Charlie allowed Rachael to park in front of him, as she went around his Charger. The '58 Fury was now set in neutral, and she began to rev its V8 engine. Suddenly, the front end of the car was set on fire, while Rachael set her eyes on the blockage ahead of her, imagining it to be destroyed. Rainbow, on the other hand, thought the car was going to explode by the fire, but without any warning, the fire quickly flew over to the vines like a missile, and blasted the obstacle on impact. Everyone cheered and Rachael a small smile. Even though she can be quite a tough rebel, somehow Rachael still had enough loyalty to help her friends through any situation. With scorched marks simmering within the huge hole, which was wide enough for the cars to pass through, Team Furious slammed down on their pedals, and drove faster towards Camp Everfree. Gloriosa was both surprised, and upset, at this spectacle she had witnessed. "Not on my watch!" Gloriosa growled silently, as she ran to the camp. Finally, Team furious and Rainbow Dash arrived at the campsite, and they could immediately see the mess hall all covered in vines, branches, and roots. Charlie began to use his mind to communicate with David. "David, we're here!" "Oh, thank goodness." David sighed heavily. "It's about time, too. We all heard that rumbling sound." "Is everyone okay?" Rainbow asked, telepathically. "We're alright, Rainbow." Sunset replied. "We're just glad you're okay, too." "We can see that's there's a lot of roots covering one of the buildings." Rachael described. "Is that the mess hall, where you guys are trapped in?" "Yes, that's the mess hall." Twilight confirmed. "But did you guys run into any trouble?" "We sure did." Sam answered. "Gloriosa tried to trap us with her magic, but Rachael used her fire power to get us past her!" "What about Timber?" "We haven't seen him yet," said Bobby, "but I guess he's hiding somewhere around here." Suddenly, they were interrupted by the sound of vehicle engines, rumbling in the distance. That could only mean one thing, and that's the Sirens, and their mind controlled army, following their trail, and getting closer. "I think I can hear the bad guys coming!" Sam exclaimed. This quickly worried the whole team, as a big confrontation could cause property damages to Camp Everfree. So, they decided to get their friends out of the mass hall, and leave this place alone, but they still have to figure out how to break Gloriosa and Timber from the Sirens' spell. "How are we going to get Gloriosa and Timber back to their normal selves, if we have to fight off the Dazzlings, as well?!" Rainbow asked nervously. "We'll worry about those two later!" Charlie called out. "We have to rescue our friends, and get out of here now! We don't want the Dazzlings ruining the camp while we're here!" "I'm with Charlie!" Rarity agreed. "It will take forever to repair the whole place! Especially the dock for the camp!" "Ugh! Don't remind me!" Rainbow groaned in disgust. "Then what are we waiting for?" Rachael asked. They all got out of their cars and Team Furious used their magic on their cars to put them in storage, in case they need to summon them later. They all ran towards the mess hall, when they heard a low growl coming out of the bushes on their right. A big angry wolf jumped out and ran towards the group. They were surprised of this, but Bobby was quick to react, as he turned his right arm into a plasma cannon, and blasted the wolf down to the ground. It then faded away in nothing, and Team Furious, and Rainbow, were all relieved. Charlie was puzzled, though. "That wolf shouldn't have disappeared like that. I think someone is summoning animals to stop us." "Oh, great." Rachael grunted. "Now we have to fight wild animals, too. Let's just hope Fluttershy doesn't notice." "Well, come on!" Sam insisted. "We better hurry!" Everyone continued to run to get to their friends, but every time they got closer, they were blocked off by various wild animals. They had to fight them off, until they all disappeared. Charlie used his imagination to create powerful guns and riffles, loaded only with fire plasma, to fight and protect his friends. Rachael used only her fists, feet, and her fire power to punch and kick the animals left and right. The only thing Rainbow Dash could do was to use her geode to run at very fast speeds to lure any bear or tiger to her, then trap them into a corner, and Rachael would finish them off violently. "I'm really glad Fluttershy isn't around to see this," Rainbow said sincerely. Meanwhile, Sam and Bobby arrived at the mess hall, while the rest of their friends were still fighting. "I'll shoot, you cover me." Bobby told Sam. He is going to try to blast away all the roots and vines, while Sam would watch out for any enemy animals. Sam agreed and summoned his plasma bow out, and sure enough, more wolves and a panther prowled towards them. Inside the mess hall, Sunset, Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Starlight, David, and Lily can hear fighting noises outside, as well as the roars and cries of the defeated animals. "Our friends are out there fighting wild animals!" Pinkie cheered. "Yippee!!!" "Oh, I hope they don't actually hurt them." Fluttershy whispered. "The animals, I mean." David tried to wiggle out of his rope. "We gotta' get out of this and help them!" Suddenly, they heard the sound of explosions, which sound really close. Bobby was destroying the roots little by little, and Sam protected him and himself from various wolves jumping at them. "Almost there!" Bobby shouted, and he shot one last powerful plasma energy, and the hole he created show the entrance of the mess hall. Oddly enough, the roots began to sink into the ground and disappeared. Sunset and the others cheered with joy when they saw Bobby and Sam. "We did it!" "About time, too!" Sam sighed. He called out to the others to regroup at the entrance. "That... was... AWESOME!!!" Rainbow shouted out loud. "I'm loving this adventure a lot!" Rachael chuckled. "So am I." No more animals appeared, and they all entered inside. Timber Spruce was hiding in the forest, and he groaned with frustration, when Gloriosa came up, who was not happy with him. "Oh, let me guess," Gloriosa sympathized sarcastically, "you couldn't use your new magic to stop them with animals!" "Hey, I've tried, okay?!" Timber objected. "They were using magic to fight, too! Don't worry, our bosses will be here." Finally, Team Furious freed the Rainbooms and their friends, and they all were so glad to be together again, they grouped hugged. But now was not the time to celebrate, as they tried to figure out a plan to stop the Sirens, Gloriosa and Timber, from trapping them in the camp. Then, the girls noticed that Team Furious were wearing the Cutie Mark necklaces, that Princess Twilight gave them before leaving Equestria, as Charlie gave David and Lily the Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie necklaces. "Why, Team Furious, you're all wearing such marvelous charms around your necks." Rarity complimented. "Where did you get them?" "Princess Twilight gave them to us." Bobby answered. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna made these Cutie Mark necklaces for us to wear them in our world." "So, whenever we want to use our magic," Sam added, "we can use these to activate 'em." "But, how come Charlie has two of them?" Twilight asked. "Princess Twilight says that this one can open a portal to Los Angeles, Canterlot High, and Equestria, whenever I like." Charlie explained, as he show them his Sunset Shimmer necklace. "That's very Impressive." Sunset smirked. "But, I thought I was the one who open the portal that brought you guys here." Starlight lamented. "We know you are." Charlie assured. "I guess they made this one, so that we can travel between worlds at ease." "Well, that's all good and well, but how are we gonna' get everything back to normal?" Applejack asked. "We don't know who or what gave the Sirens, and Gloriosa, their magic back." "I don't know." Sunset sighed, "It's not like we could all sing together, since we don't have our instruments with us. There's gotta be a way to figure this out!" "Well, I still have this harmonica!" Pinkie pulled out a harmonica from her hair and played it. The others rolled their eyes. "Maybe we can examine their gems and figure out the source..." Twilight suggested, when she suddenly slumped. "...which means we have to get their gems away from them." "And that would mean fighting them and everyone else, too." David added. Fluttershy twiddled her fingers nervously. "Oh, I don't about this. I don't like the idea of fighting any of our friends. It seems dangerous and mean." "To be honest," Applejack rubbed her right arm, "ah' agree with Fluttershy. We have saved our friends many times, but not by punchin' and kickin' them. I don't want to hurt anyone, either." "I concur, as well." Rarity joined in. "Fighting isn't a proper way for a lady to settle a score. Besides, I do NOT want to ruin my dress in the middle of a fight!" "There has got to be a better way to fix this." Spike sighed. The girls had decided that hurting their friends wasn't the answer, and even Rainbow Dash and Spike seemed to agree on this. Starlight Glimmer, on the other hand, was pondering on how the Sirens influenced the students of Canterlot High to be very offensive toward the Rainbooms. Perhaps they wanted to get revenge on them by any means necessary, or maybe someone else told them to enchant the students, in exchange for their services. "That last message in Sunset's journal told us about the Sirens' new boss." Starlight spoke out loud, getting everyone's attention. "Maybe that person told them to do this, and in return, they would help their boss in some way. I don't know if its's Chrysalis, or... Ugh, I wish we knew who it was!" As everyone started to think, Charlie interrupted their train of thought. "Maybe Sunset can find out about that. Her geode can look into anyone's thoughts and feel what they are going through. So, I think we should split up in two teams." "Teams?" Pinkie asked. "Ooooh! I like where this is going!" "You girls can be the defense team, while we be the offense. That means you can protect yourselves, and watch our backs, while we fight off the enemy, and protect you. We'll make sure we don't get too rough, though. I know we don't have much options left, but we're not letting Chrysalis, or anyone else, take over any worlds!" "That reminds me." Lily looked at Starlight. "Starlight, you can use your magic, too." Starlight was confused of this. "Me? But how? I don't like to hurt anyone, either." "I know that, silly! But you have a lot of experience in advanced magic. Maybe you can help Sunset find out what the Dazzlings are up to, and who their boss is!" "Huh, you know," Starlight smiled, "I like that idea, actually." "Alright, guys," Sunset said, "looks like we've got a battle ahead of us, but let's do it!" "No matter what the situation is, we'll face it together!" Twilight added. Everyone cheered. Suddenly, they all heard sounds of vehicles stopping and doors slamming out outside the mess hall. And to quickly add to Team Furious and the Rainbooms' nervousness, they heard Adagio's voice calling to them. "Oh, Rainbooms! Team Furious! Come out to play!" Adagio sang in a teasing tone. David gulped. "I just hope we've got what it takes! So much for getting outta' here!"