//------------------------------//
// Forever Free 
// Story: Confessions 
// by Mystic Sunrise 
//------------------------------//

Gloriosa floated onto the stage, her feet not even touching the ground. That drew shocked looks from all of the students and staff from Canterlot High. That wasn't normal. 

"Attention, campers!" She announced in a booming voice. "I have an announcement to make. Filthy Rich wants this to be the last session of Camp Everfree. But don't worry. I've got this!"

She looked to Twilight Sparkle, who shrank under the gaze. Gloriosa's gaze drifted down to something hidden underneath Twilight's camper outfit. "Twilight Sparkle. Can you please join me?"

Twilight looked to Sunset with a pleading look, but Sunset only shook her head. Sighing, Twilight walked over to where Gloriosa was standing. Something was very wrong here, she could feel it.

Gloriosa's smile grew as Twilight came close. "I have waited for this day, to send the greedy wolf away," she said in what sounded like a song, her eyes beginning to glow. "Now the magic is my salvation, and you have the final piece."

Before Twilight could respond, vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around Twilight's arms and legs. A wall of vines shot up in front of the stage, blocking the view of the audience beyond.

"Twilight!" Came the muffled sounds of her friend's voices, but Twilight couldn't respond as she watched Gloriosa transform into something new and terrifying, something that Twilight knew, even if only by name.

"Gaia Everfree. You're real," she whispered.

Gaia laughed as she floated in front of her. "Give me that necklace girl! You have no right to use it. It is wasted on you. I will use it for something more than just hiding!"

Even as she said it, Gaia's hand rushed forward, aimed straight for the necklace at Twilight's throat. Twilight tried to pull away but was held fast by the vines.

"Twilight. It's up to you. You can use your magic to pull the brambles apart!" Sunset cried from behind the wall of vines.

Twilight shook her head. "No. There's too many of them. It would take too much magic. I can't!"

"It's the only way! You have to embrace the magic inside you!" Sunset replied.

Twilight's head fell. "What if she takes over? What if instead of saving everyone, I turn into Midnight Sparkle and only make things worse?"

"That won't happen! We won't let it!" Rainbow replied.

"Come on, Twilight! You have to be stronger than she is!" Sunset added.

Whimpering, but seeing no other choice, Twilight closed her eyes.

***

When she opened them again, she found herself floating in the dream space she had come to know all too well. 

In front of her Midnight took form, and laughed. "You will never control me! I will always be a part of you!"

Twilight shook her head. "Noooo!"

Midnight sneered as she came closer. "You're pathetic. All that time you spent in Equestria, and you throw it all away the first chance you get. You kept me from Equestria once before, but not this time." She laughed. "Maybe I'm doing the princess a favor by taking over. She'll get far more out of me than she ever did with you."

Twilight shrank back and whimpered, even as her tears fell. She was pathetic, wasn't she? All she and Princess Twilight had done, the dance they had shared, and for what? She was no better now than she had been during the Friendship Games.

"Twilight, listen to me! You are in charge!" Came Sunset's voice out of the void, making Twilight jump.

"You are a light, darling A force for good!" Came Rarity's voice.

"Yeah!  You can kick the darkness's butt!" Added Rainbow Dash.

"We're here for you, Twilight!" Came Pinkie's voice.

"And we'll be here, no matter what!" Came Applejack's voice.

"We believe in you!" Came Fluttershy's voice.

But it was the last voice that cut deeper than any of the girls, a voice Twilight had almost forgotten about. A voice that she had once placed her trust in, and had been shown a world she could never have imagined.

"You are not Midnight Sparkle. You are stronger than she is. You have friends now. Real friends. Go to them. They will help you no matter what," came the voice of Princess Twilight, as kind and gentle as it had been on that day on Mount Aris.

And then came the song. The same song they had shared that day. It filled the void around them. It filled Twilight with the same awe and love it had done once before. It wrapped itself around her, comforting and warm.

And Twilight felt her resolve harden, as she clasped her hands around the Pearl Necklace around her neck. "No! I... am... Twilight Sparkle! And the magic I carry inside me is... the Magic of Friendship!"

All at once, the necklace glowed with awesome power, filling Twilight with its light and warmth, transforming her into something new. She smiled as she felt her friends, all of them, in both worlds, around her, cheering her on.

Midnight backed away, a look of fear now on her face, as she faced down the newly revitalized Twilight Sparkle, who only looked at the dark demon with a look of pity.

"You're right Midnight. You are a part of me, and I can't control you. But I don't need to. I know that now. You prayed on my weakness because I forgot what Princess Twilight taught me. No more. From here on, I'm in control," Twilight stated, raising her hand.

Immediately, chains wrapped themselves around Midnight's legs and wrists. She struggled to free herself, but the chains would not budge. "You fool! Without me you're nothing!"

Twilight shook her head sadly as she floated closer to her other half. "No Midnight. It is you who are nothing without me. But I will not throw you away. That is cruelty that I won't do. You are nothing now. A horrible memory that I will carry with me forever. But a memory that led me to something better."

With that, Midnight seemed to fade away into a sphere of light, one that Twilight soon absorbed into herself. As it faded, she could still feel Midnight inside of her, but now in a way that she no longer worried about losing control of herself.

Suddenly remembering what was going on outside though, Twilight closed her eyes again.

***

When she opened them, Gaia was just about to grab her Pearl Necklace, her hands only a few inches away from the pearl itself. But Twilight was faster.

With an effort, she broke free of the vines holding her arms. One-shot forward and grabbed Gaia's own, who soon gained a look of shock. But Twilight's other hand aimed for something else.

Grabbing a hold of the geodes around Gaia's neck, Twilight frowned. "No Gaia. This is my magic. A friend gave me this necklace, and I will not let you tarnish it or her by stealing it. You were weak enough to think you could handle this, that you could control this magic."

With an effort, Twilight broke the choker that held the geodes around Gaia's neck and pulled them closer to herself. "But you were wrong, and now Camp Everfree is paying the price."

Gaia looked at her in horror as the vines around them shattered, even as she herself began to change. "No! Stop!"

Even as she said that the vines completely shattered, revealing the camp beyond. The crowds beyond cheered as they could what was going again. The Rainbooms all wore a relieved look as they saw Twilight, who just smiled sheepishly at them.

To everyone's surprise, though, the geodes in her hand began to glow. Six of them shot out, and clasped around the neck of one the girls, while one wrapped around Twilight's own neck, settling next to the Pearl Necklace, which glowed slightly as they came in contact.

As Timber Spruce ran up to check on his sister, Twilight joined her friends, who were all eyeing their new geode with confusion. "What... What are these?" Applejack asked.

Sunset shook her head. "I'm not sure. But clearly we have some kind of connection to them."

Rarity bounced in place happily. "I almost don't care what they are. They are gorgeous!" She gasped as a thought came to her. "And will totally go with the other collection I was working on for the camp fashion show!" Everyone gave her a deadpan look. Rarity giggled a little. "That's probably canceled, isn't it?"

With help from Timber, Gloriosa joined them. "I am so sorry. I only wanted this to be the best week Camp Everfree has ever had, and instead, I've made it the worst. Maybe it's for the best that I'm losing the camp to Filthy Rich."

Principal Celestia shook her head. "No. It's not. This camp has meant so much to so many people, my sister, and I included."

Vice Principal Luna nodded. "Why do you think we wanted our students to come here?"

Twilight nodded, her newfound confidence at an all-time high. "We can't let Filthy Rich take this place away! If camp meant so much to you two, maybe it meant as much to the other campers who came here in years past."

Sunset smiled as an idea came to her. "And maybe we can get them to help save it!"

"Oh! Like a fundraiser?" Applejack asked.

"Or a ball?!" Rarity added.

"Our band could play!" Rainbow added.

"I could help write a new song just for the occasion!" Fluttershy squeed.

The students all agreed, but Gloriosa still looked doubtful. "Those are all good ideas, but where would we hold it?"

Sunset and Twilight shared a knowing look. "We could hold it in the crystal cave!" Twilight said.

Rarity gasped. "A Crystal Ball! I love it!"

Gloriosa did look more convinced now, but not totally. "I admire everyone's enthusiasm. Really, I do. But I-I just don't know how we're going to pan a ball by tomorrow and invite everyone."

The Rainbooms all shared a knowing smirk before replying. "We got this!"

***

By the next evening, the Crystal Ball was in full swing. The cave was full too overflowing not only campers but many campers from years past. With all the girls had done to promote the ball, Camp Everfree was safe. For now. But that was something no one paid much mind too, too busy enjoying the party.

Sunset finally found Twilight at the cave entrance, a drink in her hand, and her eyes on the stars in the sky. Needing a break herself, Sunset joined her. "So. Did you tell Timber that you're taken yet?" She asked with a smirk.

Twilight nodded, looking back to find the boy in question. He was moping by the stage, with Gloriosa by his side, trying to cheer him up. It didn't seem to be working. "Yeah. I told him. I mean, even if I wasn't, it just isn't right that he was coming onto me like that. I'm pretty sure he's older than me, and I'm not old enough yet for that. I don't think he meant any harm. But that's been shot down."

Sunset's smirk grew as she placed an arm around Twilight's shoulder. "Awe. Our little Twilight is growing up!" Twilight just stuck her tongue out at her. They both laughed at that, before falling silent for a time.

Sunset though turned serious as she looked again at Twilight. "Twilight. What happened in there? You're nothing like how you used to be."

Twilight sighed. "I got the kick in the pants I needed. For too long, I'd been running away from my problems that I." She sniffed as she held her Pearl Necklace. "That I completely forgot why I have this. Everything I did.  No more. Midnight is still a part of me. But she is in the past now, and my past is not today."

Sunset smirked as she punched Twilight's shoulder. "Hey. That's my song. No stealing."

The two of them giggled at that, but another question was on Twilight's mind at the moment. "There's something I'm worried about though. Where did all of the magic in the cave come from?"

Sunset thought about it for a moment, and she didn't like where her thoughts were going. "The magic from the portal must've reached out here. And if it did..."

Twilight nodded. "Then where else could it have gone? And who else might end up with it?" She looked at Sunset. "You don't have the Journal with you, do you?"

Sunset shook her head. "No. I didn't think to bring it. I didn't think I needed too." She smiled. "I know that look in your eyes Twilight. This isn't just about warning the princess and Equestria about all of this, is it?"

Twilight shook her head. "No. It's not the same just talking back and forth over the Journal. I've wanted to visit Equestria again ever since that first time, and not have to worry about something. Is that too much to ask for?"

Sunset's smile grew as she placed a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Don't worry Twilight. The first thing we'll do when we get back is to ask Princess Twilight if we can visit. I'm sure she won't mind."

Twilight nodded but frowned. "What do you mean, 'We'?"

Sunset flinched, but the look she was getting said she needed to explain it. "There are things I need to tell Princess Twilight. Personal things. Somethings I've held in too long as it is. Not anymore."

And that was that Sunset would say on the matter, as she returned to the Ball going on inside. Leaving Twilight to wonder what she meant by all of that.