//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Tent Assignments // Story: Mystery Of Everfree // by FourShadow //------------------------------// At the parking spot, students were unloading their bags from the carrier hold and looking around at the scenery around them. There was a massive crystal clear lake up ahead with a wooden dock, hooked to some sailboats and canoes. "Oh my gosh, Camp Everfree is beautiful," Fluttershy said in awe. "Huh. Didn't peg you for a nature type, Fluttershy," Rainbow observed. "I like animals, don't I? Besides, nature is so peaceful," she answered, looking up to see birds flying through the air. "I cannot wait until we have our first nature walk." Spike adorably barked, and his tail wagged with excitement. "Aww, does someone like going on walks?" "He does, but knowing him, he'll want to go chase after squirrels," Twilight playfully rolled her eyes, and squatting down to scratch behind Spike's ears. "Well I've been lookin' forward to this all summer. Build my own shelter, forage for food..." Applejack clapped her hands together. "You know they have a working kitchen, right?" "I know. Just sharin' my excitement, that's all," Applejack explained. "I for one am very much looking for some well deserved R&R. Just anything to get away from Equestrian magic for a change, it's all exhausting," Rarity expressed with a dramatic hand to her forehead. "Even though so far we've only had like two crazy events with Equestrian Magic so far?" Rainbow pointed out. "Well, I. Well... you know what I mean! It's just nice to do something normal for a change," Rarity said, rubbing her shoulders. "I'll say! We befriended a 20-something year old girl who turned out to be a psycho unicorn lusting for power, got blackmailed and transformed into a five-headed Hydra monster to obey her will, fought a three-headed monster made from three immortal but super hot sirens, got hated by almost the entirety of our school, and simultaneously saved everyone from a demon friend!" Pinkie summed up, counting every event with a finger extended. But she quickly noted how guilty Twilight was expressing, as if the frown and hunched shoulders wasn't enough. "Heh, heheh, no offense." "It's okay," Twilight brushed off, rubbing her shoulder. "That's quite a list." "No argument here," Applejack hollered. "Though I gotta say Rarity, I would have thought your hair would have grown back by now. Its been a few months already." "Oh it has, but honestly, I think I'm rather okay with keeping my mohawk the way it is," Rarity said, running her fingers through the tops of her spikes. "Its punk, but lively and friendly." Just then, the loudspeaker connected to one of the cabins turned on, almost piercing everyone's ears. "Hey everyone! If you could start heading to the courtyard, that would be rad! It's time to start the best weeks of Camp Ever!" Fluttershy looked at her friends with a deranged look. "Who says 'rad' anymore...?" Everyone shrugged, but they walked to the main courtyard as the announcer asked. In the courtyard, the two principals took a seat on some of the benches while everyone else just stood around. They didn't feel like sitting after spending all those hours on the drive there. And in the gazebo, there were two teenagers walking inside. One was a boy with adobe-sand colored skin and dark green hair, wearing a pair of shorts, and an official red Camp Everfree shirt, with a beanie on top. The girl coming next had light pink skin with some freckles on her face, a headdress made of flowers, a yellow flowy t-shirt and a pair of blue shorts and sandals. She got onto the gazebo and held a microphone so everyone could hear her. And looking out in the crowd, she could see it was a small class for this week. No problem, she could still accommodate. Though when the group for next week arrives, it was gonna be even bigger, for sure. In the crowd, she could see everyone was wearing a Camp Everfree t-shirt, with their own choice of colors. And she could see some of the students had their own personal additions to their clothes, as shown by a few girls who had some punk additions to their Everfree clothes. "Welcome to Camp Everfree everyone! My name is Gloriosa Daisy, your camp director! Think of me as your friendly camp and nature guide! This is my brother Timber Spruce." The boy next to her accepted the microphone and spoke. "You can think of me as that awesome guy, who should always be invited to fun things," he said, doing a little trick with the microphone. Gloriosa just playfully rolled her eyes. “We aim to please, so before we hand out our tent assignments, we’d like to hear from all of you! You’re free to do whatever you like here!” “That is except for steal, do drugs, hike alone without a guide, and go near the rock quarry. Been a few accidents there I’m afraid,” Timber Spruce interjected, correcting her. “Oh, well, of course! But aside from that, your options are wide open! So what activities will make this the best two weeks of your life, ever?” “Rock climbing!” Rainbow threw out. “You betcha!” “Archery!” “Of course!” “Tetherball!” “Naturally!” And before Rainbow could say another word, Applejack yanked her off to the side to stop her. “How about you let someone else say somethin’, Rainbow?” Applejack glared. “Arts and crafts!” Derpy said, raising her hand up. “… My mom needs new potholders.” “I'll supply the looms!” “Cookie decorating!” Pinkie squeaked. “I do love a good sugar cookie.” “Karaoke night?” Thunderbass suggested. Everyone looked at him confused. “What? I love singin’.” “We can definitely do that!” "Can we go on nature walks?" Fluttershy asked with an excited grin. "With walking sticks for everyone," Gloriosa agreed. Rarity threw her hand up, ready to pitch an idea. "--Rarity, I swear if you pitch a fashion show--" "--What about the tree-climbing obstacle course you have set up over there," Rarity asked, pointing to the marked area for the obstacle course. Rainbow's finger drooped. "I stand corrected." "We can definitely incorporate that into our plans! I'll be taking requests the rest of the time you're here, so if there's anything you like to do, anything you need, just ask! Especially our intern who's right over there," Gloriosa pointed to the girl standing far from them. A pale-skinned girl with auburn hair, a headdress with a small black horn sticking in the middle, pale-green shoes, a yummy yellow sleeveless vest, and a pale-green shirt and skirt. "What about the camp gift? That was my favorite Camp Everfree tradition," Principal Luna objected. "The camp gift, of course!" "Really?" Timber rolled his eyes. "Yes, really." "I just thought--" "Then you thought wrong!" Gloriosa mutter-yelled. "Anyone else picking up on some tension between those two?" Applejack whispered. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash just shrugged. "I have moments like that with my brother. It's just natural," Fluttershy said, passing by. "Every year, campers work together to make something useful! A gift for future campers, working toward this common goal is key to forming the strong bonds that will last well beyond your time here at camp!" She then glared at her brother. "Which is why it is so important." But then she dropped the angry look and went straight back into that happy face. "This gazebo was a gift from last years group-oh oh oh, and the totem pole, and the sundial were also made by campers!" "The sundial was our year's gift!" Vice-Principal Celestia announced. Clearing her throat, Principal Luna spoke up. "Even though some people thought it was impractical since the sundial can't be used at night." "You all seem like a-a really amazing group, so I am certain you will all come up with something inspiring to leave behind! But before we get started with today’s activities, we’ll let you all get settled into your quarters! Girls are with Timber, boys are with me!” Gloriosa announced. The girls walked over to Timber and pulled out single card slips that were in the satchel he opened up. Once everyone had picked one up, they flipped them over to see who got what. Twilight flipped her card around. “I got blue.” “Me too!” Fluttershy grinned. Twilight couldn’t help but smile at that little fact. “Who's got a red diamond?” “That’s crimson, darling,” Rarity shouted. Applejack just rolled her eyes. “Actually, that’s me!” Rara said. The apple farmer smiled. She was gonna be sharing a tent with her childhood friend! Rarity whimpered, seeing that she wasn’t going to be in a tent with her friend. But the warm pat from Derpy made her feel a little better. And hey, it looked like she would be sharing a bunk with her. That's not so bad. And Rainbow and Pinkie found out that they would be sharing a bunk with each other. Everyone was dismissed after getting their tent assignments and so they lugged their bags over to their assigned tents so they could unload for a little bit. All the while, Rarity and Applejack were having their own little conversation... "Eh. I'm all for learning safety rules, but I do hope I can get started on my designs for the summer line real soon. I've been dying for inspiration." "Rarity, we're in the middle of the woods for cryin' out loud. We're supposed to be getting away from the city," Applejack exclaimed. "I know, but I'm coming up with so many ideas. Besides, it's summertime now, at the very least I could..." Rarity stopped and gasped. "IDEAAAAA!!!!" "What?" "I have to get started right now!" And Rarity dashed away to her camp to get some pencil and paper. Applejack didn't even get another word out. A finger fell down and her face drooped. "... You're gonna put me in one of those outfits, aren't you?" Applejack deadpanned. "Yes!" Applejack just rolled her eyes and just walked to her tent to unload. Twilight opened her suitcase on the bed, going through her supplies and taking them out. Standard items like toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash were set on the drawers on her side. And little additions of deodorant, a hairbrush, hand sanitizer, etc. Fluttershy had the same assortments as well, but had a few extra stuff with her. Some fiber pills, headache meds, a bat hairclip, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc. “Wow. I think you came better prepared than I have,” Twilight observed. “I have some moments here and there,” Fluttershy said, sitting on her bed and taking off her boots. Spike jumped up onto her bed looking at her, tail wagging and tongue hanging out, panting. “Spike come on, get off Fluttershy’s bed,” Twilight said, snapping her fingers. “Oh it’s okay Twilight. I like Spike, he’s okay,” Fluttershy reassured, petting Spike’s head and giving little scratches behind the ears. “Well it’s not so okay when he sheds on you,” Twilight said, putting a few other small items on the stand. Fluttershy could feel a hint of animosity in her voice. “Twilight? Are you okay?” The Crystal Prep student paused midway. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” “Well, it’s just… I worry about you. If I’m making you uncomfortable, I can always talk to the girls to switch bunks—” Twilight stopped her, waving her hands up. “No, no, no, you’re not making me uncomfortable, not at all! It’s just, I…” Twilight scrunched her nose. “I don’t know. I haven’t been on a trip like this before, it’s making me nervous.” “Never? Not even when you were little?” Twilight shook her head. “I wasn’t much of an outdoorsy person. I did go to the park and play with Cadence a few times, but aside from that, I never really did any camping per say. I guess I’m just… I don’t want to ruin this trip for any of you.” Fluttershy softly smiled and gave Twilight a hug, resting her head on her shoulder. “It’s okay. You’re not going to ruin anything for us.” For a moment, Twilight felt a little better. Even moved herself around to give Fluttershy a proper hug. “Thanks.” Over in Applejack's tent, the farmer and the celebrity singer were unloading their stuff on their dressers and beds. Clothes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairbrushes, everything basically. Although some passer-byes might think Rara had all of the expensive and only the best materials since she was a big celeb. But that stereotype was disproven, she just had basic stuff just like everyone else, she didn't need anything super fancy or anything. She was still that same ole friend that AJ knew. "Hey AJ, can I say something?" Rara asked. "Of course. What's up?" Applejack replied, setting her toothbrush and toothpaste on the nightstand. "Well I wasn't sure if I should say anything, but I think now would be a better time than ever. After all of these months of being in Canterlot High, and getting accustomed to everything... I was actually wondering about possibly staying and finishing the rest of high school here." "What do you mean?" Applejack asked. "I mean, I want that break to go on longer. I want to stay here in Canterlot, and actually, honestly graduate. I love making music and making my fans happy, I really do. But Svengallop's been wondering about me getting back out there on the road and performing across the world, and, I would love to continue to do that, but... I just don't want to stop being me." Applejack turned around and smiled at her. "Rara, what you do is up to you. Svengallop may be your manager, but you're the one who has to call the shots. And if you wanna stay here and finish high school, I say do it." Rara was feeling a little hopeful. "You really think so?" "I do. Whatever your choice is, I'll support ya." When everyone had finally gotten their suitcases unpacked, everyone went out into the main courtyard again to meet up. It was time for the first activity, and Gloriosa had it picked out; nature walk! Everyone was given a hiking stick, and now they were just making sure everyone was accounted for. The intern did a quick head count, making sure all 12 students were here; luckily everyone was here, now they just had to wait for the principals. The intern looked at Gloriosa and Timber, giving emotionless solid nods. "Okay, great!" And then they saw the principals coming their direction. "Great, everyone's here! Now I'm just saying this for camper safety, stay with the group, and don't wander off into the woods without a guide! So come on, grab a hiking stick and follow us everyone!" Gloriosa announced. The silent intern gave everyone their own hiking sticks, and Gloriosa and Timber led them into the hoods, taking them onto the path. The students looked around as they walked, taking in the nature scene around them. So peaceful and calm, a nice change from the chaos and people packed in the city. Birds chirped in the air, flying around to catch up with whatever friends they had in the air. During the walk, Fluttershy looked around, catching her eye on some adorable little woodland creatures who passed by, doing their own thing. Occasionally a few of them stopped and waved at her, and she waved back. The class still found it weird that Fluttershy, a GOTH girl of all people, enjoyed being outside and gushed at every little animal she saw. Taking a short stop, Fluttershy squatted down to scoop some acorns in her hand and enticed a squirrel to come close. One soon saw her, and skittered over to her, and everyone was kind of enough to stand back and let Fluttershy do her thing. They knew she had control. And they had to admit, it was cute to see the squirrel take some acorns from Fluttershy's hand for food. "Aww..." Fluttershy squeaked. "Isn't he just the cutest thing?" "Maybe to you. I hope for your sake, he doesn't have any rabies," Thunderbass called back. "Doesn't work, she's literally a fairy tale princess!" Pinkie giggled. "Ha. Ha," Fluttershy deadpanned. "But still, aren't they adorable?" "They are." "Yeah..." "..." "Where's Rarity?" The girls blinked. They looked behind them, but Rarity wasn't with them. "Oh no. You stay with the others, I'll go find Rarity. I hope she didn't wander too far off..." Applejack went back, while the rest of the hikers just kept on walking. Applejack skipped past a few trees, managing to dodge a few rocks and avoided stubbing her toes. “Rarity? Rarity, where are you?” Applejack dashed past another tree, going across the paved path when out the corner of her eye she saw a familiar mohawk. She turned herself around, going right back on the path and stood close to Rarity who didn’t even flinch at her arrival. “Rarity, thank goodness. Why’d you run off like that, you scared me!” Applejack didn’t get a reply. “Rarity?” “Applejack, look…” Rarity pointed. Applejack looked at where Rarity’s finger pointed, and suddenly she saw what she meant. “Oh my goodness… would you look at that. Looks as shiny as the mornin’ sun,” Applejack gasped. “I don’t suppose you brought any lanterns with you?” “You kiddin’ me? We Apples always come prepared,” Applejack grinned, setting her bag down. "But wait, aren't we not supposed to be near here? I think this is the rock quarry." Rarity just shrugged it off. "Oh come come, we'll be in and out, no one will even know we were gone. Come on!" Digging into her sack, she pulled off two headlamps for the two of them. Rarity adjusted the headlamp around her forehead, making sure it didn’t mess up her mohawk. And Applejack just set hers on top of her hat. With the lamps on, the two girls wandered inside the cavern. They were still in awe at the interior. There were so many gems and shimmering crystals in this place; it was enough for Rarity to make a whole line of new ensembles and designs! It was practically a gold mine! “Oooh, look at this, a bit of jade,” Rarity grinned, managing to pull a small fragment from the wall. “Did you know Adagio has a pair of chained blades made out of jade?” “I think so. I don’t remember when she told that story,” Applejack shrugged, yanking a bigger piece of jade from the wall. “Well according to her, she was able to forge them into blades for weapons in both China and Japan!" "Cool, I guess. Just hope she isn't usin' them for weapons now," Applejack said, picking another gem off the cavern walls. “Wait… what’s that?” Rarity pointed. The two girls looked to the left. There was a bigger cavern just ahead, but it looked like it was as far as it went; with some light coming in from the outside shining within. And in the center of the dwelling with the attention from the outside light, there was a few sets of stones arched; but it looked like it was holding something. More crystals, but these gems looked… different. There was six of them, each of them different in color. “Oh my… look at that,” Rarity gasped. “What in blazes is that? I can’t say I ever seen any gems like that,” Applejack said, bending over to take a closer look. “Whatever these are, they look beautiful…” Rarity said in awe. Just then a light bulb flickered over her head, “Iddddeeeeaaaaa!” She quickly snatched the gems and tucked them away in a blue sparking satchel she had slinged over her side. “Arts and crafts was an idea thrown at the camp announcements. If I can get the right materials, I could turn these into beautiful necklaces!” “That… actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Applejack smiled. “I know!” Rarity squeed. “Come on, we have to show them!” Rarity and Applejack turned around and dashed out of the caves, right back to the outside—and were shocked to see the camp’s intern standing there waiting for them; unchanged from the emotionless robot stance. “AH!” Applejack jumped. “My gosh!” Rarity yelped. The silent intern that they had seen from the camp was standing there, looking at her expressionless. “Oh, uh, I’m sorry, we just… we shouldn’t have wandered off, I’m real sorry. Y-You’re not gonna tell the principal, are you?” The girl just responded with shaking her head, still no change in her face. “Really? … You’re not even gonna question why we were here?” No response other than her tilting her head in confusion. Applejack grunted in frustration and slapped her hat down. “Oh for land’s sake! Can’t you say somethin’!?” Applejack snapped, losing it. Her head drooped in defeat, and Rarity just patted her shoulder. She didn’t even see the grin on the other girl’s face. “Gotcha!” She chuckled. “Sorry, sorry, but that was too good,” she said, placing Applejack’s hat back on her head. “Oh you don’t know how much I missed jokes, high-larity, am I pronouncing that right? Some words I haven’t said in a will—while! While. Hi, I’m Autumn Blaze!” She shook both Applejack’s and Rarity’s hands while their jaws were dropped on the ground. “I know you two just arrived and maybe you’re hungry or perhaps you’re reflective and want to sleep ohh!” She yanked the two girls in for an out of nowhere hug, which quite frankly made them a bit uncomfortable. “Oh it’s been so long since I talked with another girl, I mean talking with Gloriosa’s nice and her brother’s okay, but I can finally talk with some people I’ve never met before! You must tell me everything about you, there’s so much to say, so much to do-oh!” She hopped over the rock, in a very majestic manner. “Oh look at me, I’m going on and you haven’t seen—wait, have you seen, oh what am I saying of course you haven’t so just I ja-I will-uh, follow me, I’ll take you both back to the rest of the group!” Applejack and Rarity stood there; confused, disturbed… mostly confused. “That… was…” “That was somethin’, alright,” Applejack said, unsure.