After a shower and a change of clothes, I regrouped with Blaze, Rapids and Sunset. Sunset had a little bit of free time before dinner after the hike, so that gave us a chance to do a bit of exploring. We followed her to the edge of the forest, and yeah, I definitely felt more magic coming from there. It was at least some comfort knowing that whatever was causing this wasn't in the camp itself, since that lessened the chance that one of the campers would randomly run into it considerably.
Or, you know, that Kristen would run into it when I wasn't around. That could be disastrous on so many levels. In any case, back to Sunset.
"How far into the forest have you gone?" I asked.
"Not terribly far," Sunset replied, taking another step toward the treeline. "With how much magic I feel coming out of it, I felt like it was a bad idea to do a ton of exploring without actual backup. Twilight and the rest of them are good friends in a bind, but they are a little bit out of their league when it comes to concentrated magic that I can only guess is Equestrian."
"Smart move," I said. I frowned and tapped my jaw in thought. "Though I have to admit that I haven't felt magic like this before. It has a vague hint of familiarity, but nothing that I can pinpoint."
"Whatever it is, it's giving me the creeps," Blaze chimed in. "The vibration is getting louder, like... in my bones, if that makes sense."
"It wouldn't if I wasn't feeling it too," Rapids replied. "Not gonna lie, I've got a bad feeling about this, Prince Antares, especially since you can't use magic."
"Well I can!" a voice from behind me said. "Do you know what we're fighting yet?"
I turned around and slightly grimaced when I saw Kristen walking up to us. She'd gotten a lot better at controlling her powers, but if she was possessed by magic of unknown origin, we might need some serious firepower from the other side of the portal to take her down. She'd never do anything like that on purpose, but chaos magic could be... you know, chaotic.
"Y-yeah," I said, looking back to the trees. "Sure. I guess you can tag along." I took a deep breath to steady myself. "I guess we're going in."
"Guess so," Blaze said with a grin. "Once more into the fray, into the last good fight I’ll ever know. Live and die on this day, live and die on this day! Isn't that how you said it goes?"
"I'd rather this not be our last fight, but I get your point," I replied before turning to Sunset. "Are you coming? I don't know how long we'll be gone, and they actually care about where you are. I'm not a student, and I think at this point Celestia knows that if I'm sniffing about, I should probably be left up to my own devices unless I have to punch her in the face or blast evil emotion-eating sirens with a shotgun."
"Which has happened more than she'd probably guess," Rapids said thoughtfully.
Sunset nodded. "Yeah, you seem to be in tune enough that you have a general idea of where to go. I think we only have another twenty minutes of free time before dinner, so I should probably get back before they notice that I'm gone."
"Sounds good," I said. "I'll catch you up on anything that I find."
With a last little nod, the four of us went into the forest. I wasn't terribly different from the other forests I'd been in, especially the ones from when I was this age and went to camp. The trees weren't too close together, so we didn't have any issues with the branches blocking out any sunlight we'd use to see. All the while, I felt the magic growing stronger and stronger. Yeah, there was definitely something here that shouldn't be. I just needed to find out what as quickly as possible.
"Okay, yeah, I know I haven't been the chaos lord for very long, but this is starting to weird me out," Kristen said, examining a tree. "I don't like the idea that we don't know what we're going to do if we see something bad."
"Depends on what it is," I replied. "If it's some kind of artifact, I might want to contact our Celestia and/or Luna. Us not being able to use magic in this world will be a problem for them too, though."
"Though it would also be hilarious to have two Celestias Lunas, and Antareses running around," Kristen pointed out to the approving nods of Blaze and Rapids.
"For pete's sake," I grumbled to myself. Good to know they were all taking this seriously.
...
Okay, it might be a little funny.
Either way, I did my best to follow the vibration while Blaze and Rapids marked the trees we passed so that we could find out way back to camp. It wouldn't do to just wander around long enough to get lost in this forest with nopony that could fly and no magic to help us find our way. If we got lost badly enough Kristen would be able to provide some food to take the edge off of things, but nothing that would actually sustain us for a long period of time. Chaos magic. Isn't it fun?
After an hour or so of walking, we hit a bit of a clearing where I could feel everything around me vibrating. I was sure that if I was still an alicorn, my internal magic would be going absolutely crazy.
"Do you guys think this is relaxing, or do you feel like you're going to throw up," Rapids groaned, leaning against a tree.
"Both," Blaze muttered. "I don't like this, Prince Antares. "I'd feel a bit better if we could use our magic, but since that's not an option, I feel like we're kind of like sitting ducks out here if it was a magical entity instead of just some magical artifact."
"True," I said. "We should probably be heading back anyway. It's late, and I'd rather not be out here with some unknown magic when it's dark out. I'll borrow Sunset's journal and send a message to Celestia to get some advice on what to do. I don't think she'll want to send an army of scientists and mages out here to try and deal with it, but it's worth at least asking."
The others grunt in agreement, and we begin making our way back to the main campsite. As we make our way back, I can feel the magic growing weaker and weaker. Tomorrow morning, we'll have all day to explore the forest and get advice from Celestia about everything. For now, though, we should get some rest and maybe something to eat. I want to be at full strength tomorrow when we really get going.
The sun has pretty much set by the time we make it back to camp, and I don't see anybody around. It's not terribly late in the evening, so I don't think that they all went to bed. After doing some exploring, we see that the camp has gone a little out of the way into the woods and are all gathered around several campfires roasting marshmallows for smores. Fun. I saw the fire that Sunset's group was hanging around, and walked up to sit next to them with Blaze and Rapids taking positions behind me in case something attacked, or something. Kristen had disappeared again.
Fun.
"Hey, guys," I said, nabbing a stick and a marshmallow for myself. "How have things been today?"
"Nothing to really report," Sunset said. "We didn't have anything weird happen while you were gone."
"Unless you count running out of chocolate pudding in the dining hall during lunch," Sonata grumbled, glaring at Pinkie Pie and crossing her arms.
Pinkie blushed and rubbed the back of her neck with an uneasy smile. "Sorry about that, Sonata. It's just that the pudding here is so good and I--"
"Nothing to report on my end either," I responded, putting my hand over Pinkie's mouth before she could really get going. "There's definitely powerful magic out in the woods, but I wasn't able to find it before we had to come back so we weren't out there after dark."
"Makes sense," Twilight said with a nod. "If what you guys are telling me about this feeling is true, it's a real concern that you'd rather get out of the way as soon as possible."
"Definitely," I said. "If I can figure it out in a way that doesn't disrupt the week you guys are having here, that would obviously be ideal. I can do that, right?"
The girls around me all exchanged uneasy looks, with a few of them even giving mutters of "yeah, sure. Of course." I'd be lying if I said I could blame them. Every time I came into this world, I tended to... shake things up a little bit. Always for the better, of course. None of them could deny that things were better off now than if emotion-eating sirens were ruling the world, but I hadn't managed much subtlety.
Eh. You do what you gotta do to win. Simple as that.
The group moves to talk about random things for a few minutes before one of the head councilors stands up. The male one. The female one and Adagio are looking around the group in a way that makes me nervous. Both of them look like they're up to something, and if they are, I need to prove what. Until then, the male looks like he wants to switch things up a bit.
"Alright you guys, listen up!" he begins. "Now that you've all enjoyed your smores, I think it's time for another camp tradition." He grins evilly and begins rubbing his hands together. "A scary campfire story!"
The campers break out into excited chatter and all turn to face him. I smirk and put another marshmallow on a stick. I too like a good scary campfire story. Given that I've lived in Equestria for the past six or seven years, I haven't heard any really good ones. Ponies tend not to tell particularly gruesome horror stories. I haven't even seen a good horror film since coming here. While some of them aren't bad, I'm pretty sure that The Exorcist would traumatize the nation. In any case, I hoped that this one was actually good.
"You're not going to tell the stupid Gaia Everfree story again, are you, Timber?" the female lead counselor groaned.
Timber scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Come on, Gloriosa, it's tradition!" He cleared his throat and grabbed a flashlight, turning it on so that the beam flashed directly under him, illuminating his face in a spooky manner. Adagio and Gloriosa both rolled their eyes, but neither of them said anything further.
"Anyway, as I was saying, this is the legend of Gaia Everfree, a forest spirit that haunts these woods, looking for campers to snatch away if they wander too far off!"
"Oh, one of those stories, is it? I can't help but roll my eyes a little bit.
"She used to be a benevolent spirit," Timber continued, "but construction in her woods caused her to go mad and turn evil!" A few of the campers gasped. I for one thought that this guy needed some notes from Carpenter about building atmosphere. "She was angered by the destruction of her beloved trees that they used to build this very camp. She was so angry that she threatened to unleash a plague of disasters on this camp the likes of which no summer camp has ever seen before!"
Right. Do we need to put lamb's blood on our tent flaps? If so, I might actually admit that this situation is creepy.
"Now she walks the woods bemoaning her lost trees. They say that unknown magic follows her wherever she goes, and on certain nights, you can even feel it in the air."
Wait... huh? Sunset and I exchange a frown. All myths are based a little bit on truth, even if it's only one percent, so the talk of magic in the air is more unsettling than anything else he's said. Hmm. That might be worth looking into a little bit. Obviously I couldn't just walk up to Timber and ask "hey, tell me more about that magic in the campfire story you told tonight." That would make me look like a loon.
I mean, I am a bit of a loon, but not in that way. Most of the time.
"So on a dark night, if you find yourself alone in the forest, watch out for glittering gem dust, for if you see it, she is near!"
Gem dust? What is she, Tinkerbell?
"And if she is near, you'd better hope and pray that she doesn't see you, for if she does..." Timber turns the flashlight off, bathing him in darkness. Or at least, as close as he can get with the campfires going on. Before anybody can say anything else, Timber lunged forward and grabbed one of the campers. "SHE GETS YOU!!!
A few of the campers screamed in fright, while most of the other ones laughed. Eh, as far as scary campfire stories go, it's not the worst one I've ever heard. That would be the one about the leaves, Twizzlers and the evil tent. Funniest and dumbest scary story I've ever heard. In any case, I lean in close to Sunset.
"You seen any of that pixie dust flying around?"
Sunset shook her head. "Not that I know of. I'll keep an eye out for it, but it could all just be part of the story."
"We'll make sure to tell you if we spot any," Twilight said, eliciting nods from the others in the group.
"And I promise that if you do see any, it won't be me," Kristen added.
I nodded back. "Yeah, be sure to..." I did a double take. "Kristen? When did you show back up?"
Kristen frowned and tilted her head. "I was only gone for like fifteen seconds. I heard that whole stupid story. Magical gem dust? What is she, Tinkerbell?"
"That would be a surprise," I said. Guess as siblings we still think alike in some ways. Regardless, the campers all seemed like they were getting ready to turn in the night, as they were standing up while Adagio, Gloriosa and Timber grabbed buckets of water to start putting the fires out. A few campers had flashlights, which others were using to light their way back to camp. Our group followed one of them until we got to the main campgrounds where we said goodnight to everyone before heading back to our truck.
"Okay, so who's sleeping where?" Rapids asked.
"I"ll grab the truck bed," Kristen said. "I can sleep anywhere, and if it starts raining, it won't bother me."
"Sure," I replied. "I'll take the front seats."
"Guess I'll be on the floor while Rapids gets the back seats," Blaze said.
Good enough. Somehow there were some blankets and pillows in the truck when we got there. Kristen's doing, no doubt. If she decided to use them as a prank in the middle of the night, I was going to have Blaze and Rapids hold her down during the entire drive home and toss her back through the portal to get Celestia and Luna to babysit her while we figured out what was going on here.
It was only when I actually laid down that I realized how exhausted I was from the day. It wasn't more than a few moments before I was fast asleep.
* * * *
I awoke to the sound of people walking around and chatting with each other. I sat up to see the campers all heading in the direction of the mess hall. I stretched as best as I could before sliding out of the car to stretch for real. Blaze, Rapids and Kristen were all still asleep, and I decided that I wasn't going to bother them. They'd get up soon enough. I opened up the back door and gingerly slid my backpack out from beside Blaze. I didn't pack a ton of clothes, but I erred on the side of caution and packed a few outfits just in case we couldn't get all of this settled in one day. Looks like it was a wise move on my part.
I slung the backpack over my shoulder and headed in the direction of the showers. Hopefully if the campers were at breakfast, I wouldn't need to worry about waiting in line for one. However, as I passed by the front office, I heard what sounded like two people talking to each other in a not so friendly tone. As I listened closer, one of them sounded like... Filthy Rich? Huh, I've seen Diamond Tiara in this world, so it makes sense that he'd be here, too.
Now, it would probably have been a good idea not to snoop, but I was here to find out if there was anything going on in the camp. If I gleaned nothing from it, well, there you go. If they were talking about something that could help my investigation, though...
I quietly moved to beside the window and listened in as best as I could. Sure enough, my initial guess was right, and they didn't sound happy with each other.
"--Rich, I know that you think you're owed money, but be reasonable!" I heard Gloriosa say. "We just need to have another good summer or two and we'll get right back on track with our payments."
"You said that last summer," Filthy Rich said. "In fact, I've heard that a lot from your family. Your grandfather may have built this camp, but it seems like you're no better at running it than that old fool."
Wow, jerk much?
"My grandfather wanted to build something great that would let children from all over the state come here and have the time of their lives! It's not our fault that we had a bad summer and had to borrow from you!" Gloriosa snapped. "And for the record, we're making enough to keep this camp going, and we'd be making enough to pay you back if you didn't have a thirty percent interest rate on that loan!"
"Business is business," Filthy Rich said snootily. "If you didn't read the contract well enough, that's your fault."
"I read it fine. You just cheated," Gloriosa growled. "If we had lawyers like yours--"
"But you don't," Filthy Rich said with a light laugh. "I'm tired of having this argument with you, so I'll spell it out: you have two weeks to get me my money or I'll own this property and do what I wish with it."
"But--"
"End of story." I heard a chair squeak, which meant that Filthy Rich had probably stood up from the chair he was sitting at. "Good day to you, Miss Daisy."
I heard him walk over to the door, and I just managed to turn the corner of the building when he walked out. I peeked around the corner and watched him get into his car with a frown. The Filthy Rich in Equestria was an aggressive businessman to be sure, but he was never cruel. He focused on growing his business, but would never say stuff like that to a pony, partially because he wasn't like that, and it would be bad for business, especially in a town like Ponyville.
Now Spoiled Rich on the other hand...
I watched Filthy drive away as Gloriosa slowly walked out of the main office, her head low and tears brimming in her eyes. I grimaced as I watched her walk away. As a prince, I'd seen this kind of thing before. It wouldn't be fitting for me to use Equestria's money to save every small business, but maybe here...
I was about to follow her when somebody tapped me on the shoulder.
"Antares? What are you doing?"
I turned around and saw Sunset standing behind me. I grunted and jerked my head in the direction Gloriosa had gone. "Just overheard her talking with Filthy Rich. Seems like the camp has some money troubles and he's not being very nice about it."
Sunset grimaced and nodded. "Yeah, I've been hearing about stuff like that. I haven't heard the whole story, but from what I have heard, it sounds like Filthy screwed them over on a bad loan. Nobody I've talked to about it has more information than that as far as I can tell. It's not like Timber or Gloriosa put something in a bulletin or anything like that."
"Right. Sounds like it's a big problem with them, though."
"Definitely," Sunset said, following me in the direction of the main camp. "I wonder what's going to happen with that. From what Principal Celestia has told me, this camp has been around long enough that even she went here when she was our age."
A wry smile crossed my face. "Which if she was my Celestia, that would mean the camp has been around for several thousand years."
Sunset snorted and rolled her eyes. "I don't think that Principal Celestia is that old."
"You never know," I pointed out."
"I have a pretty good guess," Sunset responded.
When we reached the main area of the camp, the main group was already changed and out of their tents. They all nodded to me when I reached them, and I gave them a two-finger salute back. "Hey, guys. You all sleep well?" I asked.
"Pretty good," Twilight said.
"Yeah, after a full day of camp yesterday, I kind of crashed," Rainbow said.
Applejack smirked at her. "You Rainbow Crashed?"
Rainbow narrowed her eyes at Applejack while Pinkie began laughing. "Careful. We have a lot of competitive activities today, and you wouldn't want me to go too hard on you."
Applejack snorted. "As if."
"While I'm certain that it would be fascinating to hear the two of them bicker like this, I think we should finish getting ready," Rarity said, motioning to Twilight. "Some of your hair is sticking up a bit."
Twilight patted her hair and groaned when she felt a few hairs out of place. "You're right. Let me get my brush."
Instantly a hairbrush shot out of Twilight's tent, and she only barely managed to catch it before it hit her right in the face. Everybody around us instantly froze, staring at Twilight like she'd just grown another head. I flashed back to when I was on Earth and I did the same thing with the salt shaker in front of my family. In lieu of another explanation... Twilight had just done magic.
"Uh..." I blinked and shook my head. "That's not good."