//------------------------------//
// Fireside Chat 
// Story: TimberTwi Tales: First Impressions 
// by CapNTilfy 
//------------------------------//

Rainbow Dash gazed into the fire, bent over as she held her chin with her hands. She stared at the flames as they crackled, then turned her head as she heard footsteps approach her. "Hey, Twi."

"Mind if I sit here?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Knock yourself out."

Twilight sat next to Rainbow, who grinned. "So, you gonna ask him out," she asked, gesturing to Timber.

Twilight felt heat rise to her face, and Rainbow chuckled. "We can all tell you like him."

"W-What about you," Twilight asked, eager to shift attention away from herself. "Aren't there any cute guys you like?"

Rainbow snorted as she put her hands behind her head. "I'm not into guys."

Twilight blinked. "You're a lesbian?"

"Yup."

"Do the other girls know?"

"Yup."

"Does the whole school know?"

"Pretty much." Rainbow raised an eyebrow as she looked at Twilight. "Why'd you ask those questions?"

"Everyone back at Crystal Prep for the most part kept their sexuality to themselves. The only exceptions I'm aware of is that Lemon is bisexual and I think I heard that Indigo French-kissed a girl in the hallway."

"Huh," Rainbow said with a hint of surprise.

"So... did you think any of the Crystal Prep girls were attractive?"

"They were all kinda hot, really. Just not the type I'd date."

It was now Twilight's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"First off, Indigo Zap was annoying. I mean, before all that crazy shit went down she ran around playing airhorn noises on her phone! When she wasn't doing that, she got into shouting matches with Bulk Biceps!" She scoffed. "I think my ears are still ringing from that!"

"Second," Rainbow continued as she returned her arms to their original positions, "Sunny Flare was just a bitch. 'Sorry, dearie, but these games aren't about being nice'", she said, mocking the student. "Seriously, it's called the Friendship Games," she almost shouted as she rolled her eyes. "And don't get me started on her bullying." Rainbow clenched her teeth, then took a deep breath and exhaled, calming herself.

"Lemon's okay, it just bothers me that she keeps her headphones on like all the time."

Twilight blinked. "But Vinyl does too."

"Yeah, but I know Vinyl. She's cool. I don't know enough about Lemon to say anything else, really."

Twilight shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"Sour Sweet... well... I don't know what to say. She's kinda crazy."

Twilight frowned. If Rainbow only knew what happened back at Crystal Prep, she might think differently. 

"I'm pretty sure Sugarcoat's straight and taken. You saw how she was all over that guy with the sunglasses!"

Twilight held back a laugh. "Yeah, they're both all over each other." She sighed. "So what about Canterlot High?"

Rainbow made a noncommittal noise and shrugged.

Twilight blinked and gave Rainbow a confused look.

"Don't get me wrong with that, Twi," Rainbow said as she rolled her eyes. "It's not like I'm attracted to every woman I see. I mean, okay, I find several girls at CHS sexually attractive, but none..." she paused, as though lost in thought for a moment, then snapped her finger. "But none of them are emotionally attractive to me. Like I can see myself hanging out with them, but not actually doing any of that mushy crap."

"Does that bother you?"

Rainbow gave Twilight a funny look. "Look, I'm not the kind of girl who likes to talk about her feelings. Let's just say if I find someone, great! If I don't, it's not the end of the world."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that was a touchy subject for you."

"Eh, it's okay. You didn't know." Rainbow looked back into the fire, then turned to Twilight. "What was Crystal Prep like?"

Twilight took a deep breath, then sighed. "It was a madhouse. Everyone was at each other's neck nearly all the time."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Twilight laughed mirthlessly. "Many students there referred to it as a hellhole, Rainbow, and I'd be inclined to agree with them. I went there for years, and coming to Canterlot High was such a huge transition!"

"I bet."

"CHS and Crystal Prep are polar opposites when it comes to values. I don't know how I would've gotten along without Lemon."

"Oh, yeah... I remember seeing you two talk just before the Shadowbolts had to leave."

Twilight sighed again, then frowned. "I didn't like leaving her behind like that, but I stand by my decision." She smiled. "You girls have been so great to me, and I can't thank you all enough!"

Rainbow grinned. "It's what we do."

Now if I could just get rid of this Midnight problem without telling anyone about it...

"All right, everyone," Timber said, gaining everyone's attention. "Who's up for some stories?"





Gloriosa heard Timber's voice a few feet away as she returned from the rock quarry.

"Gaea Everfree!"

She stepped out in the open, scaring the campers. "Hey, guys," she said cheerfully. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Then why'd you come out of the bushes," Sunset asked, gesturing in the direction she came from.

Gloriosa racked her brain. "I... took the scenic route because the forest is beautiful at night. But no one else should do it without a guide, 'kay?" She walked closer to the fire to be seen better. "All right, everybody, time to head to your tents."

Snips walked over to Gloriosa and put a hand on her shoulder. "Uh, hey Gloriosa. Do you have any extra toothbrushes? I forgot mine." He pointed to his teeth, which had a piece of lettuce stuck between them.

"Sure do! I'll get one for you."

Snails ran up to Gloriosa, shivering. "I'm scared of the dark! Do you have flashlights?"

"Of course," she said. "I've got this!" She walked off with the two, leaving Twilight with her friends.

Spike thrashed about it Fluttershy's arms. "Fluttershy," he said in a strained tone.

Fluttershy loosened her grip. "Sorry, Spike. I guess that story got to me."

"Why," Applejack asked with a laugh. "It can't be real."

"I dunno," Rainbow said doubtfully after she popped a marshmallow in her mouth. "Gaea Everfree could be some creature that got booted from Equestria and ended up in this world. That's what happened with the sirens."

Applejack made a noncommittal noise. "Sounded more like something that Timber was makin' up just to scare us." She paused for a moment. "At least, I hope it was. Last thing I want is to have camp ruined by some power-crazed magical creature."

Twilight glanced at Sunset, who smiled and rolled her eyes. Twilight hugged herself as memories of herself as Midnight played through her head.

"Oh, hear-hear," Rarity said as Twilight felt her heart sink. "We've had to deal with more than our fair share of those. At the Fall Formal, a musical showcase, the Friendship Ga-" She stopped mid-sentence upon seeing Twilight's face. "Well, I mean, you know, everything turned out all right of course." She laughed nervously.

Twilight heaved a sigh. She wasn't going to live that incident down, was she? "I'm kinda tired," she said, turning away in the hopes that her tears would be unseen. "I'm gonna turn in." She walked back to her tent with Spike not far behind, and the first day at Camp Everfree drew to a close.