//------------------------------// // Welcome to Camp Everfree // Story: Flash Sentry Chronicles: The Legend of Everfree // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// Canterlot City... The sun was barely creeping above the horizon as a new day was born, one which promised to be a day of great excitement for the students of CHS. Several months had passed since the Friendship Games, and the insanity that had occurred. Since then, life had pretty much returned to normal at the school, the only difference being the newest students, Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle. The two found themselves fitting in pretty well, Flash quickly making friends with almost everyone and had been inducted into the Royal Knights band, having a blast being with them. As for Twilight, she had also gotten into a comfortable routine with her new friends. Though the school wasn't as well equipped as Crystal Prep, there wasn't a constant flow of stress from her fellow students trying to belittle her. Because of this, she was able to relax and it was easier for her to study while also being with the Rainbooms, enjoying the time with them while also trying out new things. They had even convinced her to join their band, allowing her to put her great singing voice the good use. But despite all the fun Twilight had been having, there was a singular problem within her. A tinge of guilt had stayed in her mind, telling her how horrible she was for almost destroying her world after being transformed into the psychopathic Midnight Sparkle. Currently, that young girl was in her bedroom, asleep under her covers. The light of the rising sun trickled into her room, but not enough to wake her up. At the foot of her bed, her talking dog Spike was also asleep. But as she slept, Twilight groaned while shuffling from side to side. "No," she moaned, "It can't be...it isn't true...!" As she continued to have some kind of nightmare, she didn't hear a knocking at the door. "Um, Twilight?" The voice of her friend Fluttershy drifted into the room. This appeared to awaken Spike, who barked excitedly, but Twilight remained asleep. That was until a much harder knock, more like a bang, echoed against the door and Rainbow called out. "TWILIGHT!" The girl's eyes opened before she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "The bus for Camp Everfree leaves in ten minutes!" This statement got her wide awake, Twilight letting out a gasp before she reached out and grabbed her glasses. "Oh, no-no-no-no-no!" She cried as she jumped out of her bed, "I can't believe I overslept!" Spike managed to unlock her door and allow the rest of the girls into the room, Sunset looking worried as she watched Twilight grab a suitcase from her closet. "Me neither. That's not like you." "I know!" Twilight replied as she put the case down and opened it up as Pinkie moved over to her bed. "Don't you have a super-annoying alarm clock that goes AIR! AIR! AIR! AIR!" It was then she reached down and grabbed Twilight's pillow, picking it up to reveal the aforementioned alarm clock that was making that exact sound. As Sunset switched it off, Flash's voice called out from the hallway. "I tried three times to get her up, but she wouldn't have it." The teen was leaning against the wall outside her room, not looking into it. It was a house rule that Flash and Twilight weren't allowed in one another's rooms, something the two never understood why Twilight's parents had enforced since Flash had moved in. Either way, it meant Twilight had to lock her door at night, keeping Flash from going in earlier and throwing her out of bed. "It's gonna be fine," Sunset assured her before grabbing another suitcase from under the bed and putting it on top. "We'll help you pack." She opened it up and the girls quickly started throwing things into it. Flashlight, muffin, cuddly toy, a framed picture of...Rainbow Dash. Spike even placed his rope toy into the case. It was then that Rarity took out an all too familiar dress, which caused Applejack to roll her eyes and let out a sigh, "We're gonna be out in the woods. When is she gonna need that?" Rarity then rolled her eyes back, "If we were going to the moon, I'd insist she packed an evening gown. One never knows, darling." Twilight and Rainbow finished packing her first case, Twilight smiling as Rainbow zipped it up. "Lemme just get changed," she replied as Rainbow picked the case up. She grabbed a shirt she had been given, which had the Camp Everfree Logo on it, that she took it over to the mirror on her wall. But as she looked at herself in the reflection, something appeared behind her. A pair of dark wings, both looking like they were about to come out her back. But as soon as she saw them, the wing's true owner rose up and her full appearance was displayed in the mirror. Twilight spun around and gasped when she saw the creature now smiling at her, the rest of her friends yelling in unison, "MIDNIGHT SPARKLE!" "How is this possible?!" Twilight screamed, backpedaling as Flash ran into the room, "Sunset Shimmer helped me defeat you at the Friendship Games!" "You and your friends can never truly defeat me!" Midnight maniacally laughed, which caused the world around them to go haywire. The room began to dissolve around the teens, all of them trying to run away from her. But one by one, they began to vanish by turning into disappearing pixels. First Rainbow, then Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy. This was followed by Spike and Sunset as they all screamed while being erased from existence. "TWILIGHT!" Flash yelled as he tried to run to her, reaching out a hand. But before Twilight could grasp it, he vanished as well. "NOOOOO!" His voice echoed into the approaching void, Twilight now backpedaling again. And when her back hit the mirror, she felt something grip her shoulder and flinched away. Turning around, she saw Midnight within the mirror, a huge grin on her face as she pulled herself out. "Midnight Sparkle's a part of you!" She told Twilight before the teen girl accidently stepped out what remained of the room, now falling into the pink void. She floated there as the room completely vanished, leaving only her and Midnight. "I'll always be there," she said as she began to grow, "Waiting in the darkest shadows of your mind! I'll be back, Twilight!" She then vanished before reappearing behind Twilight at normal size, grabbing both her shoulders. "And this time, I won't stop until I have all the magic!" "No!" Twilight yelled as Midnight phased into her, causing her to sprout the wings, horn and glasses her evil alter-ego possessed. "STOP!" "Twilight," she heard as her mind returned to the waking world, "Wake up!" Twilight's eyes sprang open, gasping as she glanced around, only to see she was on the bus to Camp Everfree, Spike sitting in her lap. "We can't stop, silly!" Pinkie giggled from the seat behind her. "We're not there yet!" Twilight began to adjust her glasses at this, now seeing Sunset sitting beside Pinkie while Applejack and Rainbow sat in front of her with Fluttershy and Rarity in front of them. To her left, Flash sat beside Iron Core with First and Heather in front of them. And all around them, more of their classmates sat around talking and laughing. "Hey," Sunset spoke up, "You okay?" "Yeah," Flash added with a nod, "It's not like you to have nightmares. I'd ask if you've been cheesing, but we all know how much you hate the stuff." Twilight let out a low giggle, "I'm fine." Flash and Sunset shared a glance at this, only for Pinkie to poke her head between them. "We're gonna have so much fun!" She exclaimed, "We're gonna roast marshmallows and eat marshmallows and sleep on marshmallow pillows!" "Yeah," Rainbow laughed, "Probably not gonna do that." "Maybe you're not," Pinkie chuckled before holding up a large bag of marshmallows that she hugged like a pillow. It even let out a squeaking noise, Flash and Iron sharing a glance until Principal Celestia spoke up. "Attention, students." They turned to the front of the bus, which had Celestia and Luna there wearing purple girl-scout outfits. "Before we arrive, we just wanted to say how proud we are of you for raising enough money to go on this class field trip." Vice-Principal Luna nodded at this, "When we were your age, we made some of our favorite memories in these woods, and we're sure you will too." "Now," Celestia held up her arm, "Who's excited for Camp Everfree?!" This was met with a round of cheering from the students, all excited at the thought of the camp. Celestia then pulled out a stereo device and placed a CD inside, the woman quickly hitting play and causing the camp's anthem to start playing. Twilight let out a sigh at this, looking away to stare out the window. She watched as the city landscape flew past them until they left the outskirts of Canterlot, driving off into the countryside. Several stray houses could be seen in the distance, along with a gas station for two every couple of miles. There was even a farm every now and again, many of the guys looking out to try and see if there was a tractor they could watch do its thing. But mostly, it was nothing but open fields, trees and mountains off in the distance. And as the hours passed, the open fields became less and less open. The trees started getting closer, the bus soon entering a full-on forest. The students took this time to look out the window to see what kind of animals they could spot in the trees near the road, Fluttershy letting out squeals of joy every time she spotted something. Heather started pointing out different plants, telling anyone who would listen to what they were while Rarity marveled at the sight of a passing waterfall. And eventually, the bus pulled off the main road and onto a more bumpy trail. Within a few minutes, the passengers spotted a wooden sign that had two words separated by the same logo that was plastered on their shirts. Camp Everfree Passing the gate, everyone was now able to see the camp that they would be staying at. It was basically two large clearings connected by a thin passageway, next to it being a larger clearing that was a giant lake, and the larger one had several buildings dotted around the place, along with a gazebo n the center. Some tried to see what was in the second clearing, but only Flash had the vision to see what looked like a bunch of tents. And as the bus came to a stop, the campers began to calmly file off the bus to collect their bags from the storage space. "Isn't Camp Everfree just beautiful?" Fluttershy asked as Applejack and Iron tried to pull their bags out of the bus. "I can't wait until we have our first nature walk." "I definitely wanna go on one of those," Spike added as he was now wearing a hat with the camp's logo on it. "You wanna see all the adorable woodland creatures, too?" The dog happily nodded. "Yeah! Specifically squirrels. More specifically, so I can chase 'em!" He let out a bark as Iron managed to pull his bag free, seeing the reason it was stuck was because it got tangled with Fluttershy's. He handed it to her as Fluttershy smiled back. "Ah'm just lookin' forward to roughin' it," Applejack chuckled as she got her bag free, "Ah'm gonna make my own shelter, forage for food..." It was at this moment that Rainbow Dash walked past her, "Uh, you know they provide us with food and tents, right?" "Yup!" Applejack shined a big toothy grin, "Still gonna forage though." The group moved around the side of the bus, now finding Rarity leaning against a large pile of cases and other boxes. She let out a sigh as she wiped her brow, "I'm just ready for some R and R. The past year has all been a bit too much for my tastes." "I'll say!" Pinkie bounced around before counting off the insanities they had experienced recently. "We fought three evil sirens who tried to hypnotize everybody with their singing, one ridiculously competitive rival school, and two demon friends!" She gestured to Twilight and Sunset, only to see Twilight frown, "Uh, heh-heh, no offense." "None taken," Sunset threw an arm around Twilight and pulled her close. "You'll get used to it." "Yep," Applejack spoke up, "Canterlot High has become a regular magic magnet. Gonna be nice gettin' away to a place where we don't have to worry about that kinda stuff." Flash took this moment to walk up to Twilight while holding her bag, "I'm just glad we got to come to begin with." He handed the bag to the bespectacled girl, "Crystal Prep would never waste its funds like this. Anything that couldn't earn them a trophy was considered a waste of space and time to Principal Cinch." "Well, let's hope that now things can be a little bit more enjoyable over there." Heather added before turning to Twilight, "Didn't you say Dean Cadance took over?" Twilight nodded back, "Not long after Cinch was forced to leave due to a 'stress induced mental breakdown.'" Everyone chuckled at this, remembering when they had heard about Cinch's dismissal. She had tried to get the school board to shut down CHS on the grounds of doing some kind of illegal student experimentation, accusing Celestia and Luna of using magic to create some kind of super solider student just to raise CHS's academic standing. Of course, none of the board believed her and both Cadance, Ruby and their principals had denied ever seeing magic used during the friendship games. The students of Crystal Prep had also denied the allegations, and Cinch went insane, screaming that it was all true. Eventually, the board forced her to step down for fear the stress was getting to her. So now Crystal Prep was under Cadance's leadership. "Cadance and Ruby have been talking nonstop about what they want to change in the school," Flash laughed, "Hopefully Lightning and the others can actually enjoy some of their high school life now." Twilight nodded in agreement, only for the camp's PA system unleashed a loud feedback noise. Everyone cried out and covered their ears until it died down, a cheery female voice now speaking up, "Hey everyone! If you could start heading to the courtyard, that would be rad! It's time to start the best week of camp ever!" "There's a voice that could get annoying," Iron groaned while rubbing his ears. "Let's just hope it was the PA system that made her voice squeaky," Flash grumbled as the group began to head for the courtyard. The others followed behind, soon making their way through the camp while getting a better look at the place. It really did feel like somewhere one could find peace and quiet, filled with tons of fun activities. The campers all gathered around a gazebo and saw two people standing in it. The first was a woman with pink skin and rouge hair, a daisy chain around her head and a necklace that had five different crystal gems on it. The other was a brown skinned teen with green hair, wearing a red Camp Everfree shirt. "Hi everyone!" The woman cheered through a microphone. "It wasn't the PA system," Flash and Iron moaned together. "Welcome to Camp Everfree!" She continued, "I'm Gloriosa Daisy, your camp director! Think of me as your friendly camp and nature guide." She then gestured over to the teen, "And this is my brother, Timber Spruce!" Timber smirked as he took the microphone from his sister, "Think of me as that awesome guy," he threw the microphone into the air and caught it with his other hand. "Who should always be invited to fun things." Flash, Iron and First rolled their eyes, thinking he was trying way to hard. Unfortunately, the girls around them all seemed to giggle at this. "Oh brother," Flash whispered as Timber threw the microphone back to his sister. "We aim to please, so before we hand out our tent assignments, we'd like to hear from all of you." Everyone smiled at this, each of the campers having their own idea about what activities they wanted to enjoy. "You're free to do whatever you like here." "Uh..." Timber spoke up, "Except hike near the rock quarry. That's off-limits." "Y-Yes," Gloriosa nodded. "But otherwise, your options are wide open. So what activities will make this the very best week of your lives ever?" She pointed the microphone at the crowd and Rainbow was the first to speak up. "Ooh!" She raised an arm, "Rock climbing!" "Done!" Gloriosa told her. "Archery!" "Of course!" "Tetherball!" "Naturally!" Rainbow was about to say something else, but Sunset grabbed her arm. "Rainbow, I know you're excited, but maybe give somebody else a chance to make a suggestion." "Arts and crafts!" They turned to a masculine voice, now seeing Bulk Biceps. He shrunk back at the stares, blushing, "My mom...needs new pot holders." "I'll supply the looms!" Gloriosa assured him before Pinkie cried out with excitement. "Cookie decorating!" She licked her lips while Gloriosa nodded. "Oh, I do make a mean sugar cookie." "What about rope courses?" Flash asked, getting a raised eyebrow from Gloriosa. "This place is surrounded by trees. You've gotta have a tree top assault course." "Sorry," Gloriosa replied, "That honestly sounds a little dangerous." "We'd wear harnesses," Flash grumbled as he crossed his arms. Gloriosa just looked away, now pointing her microphone at Fluttershy. "Early morning nature walks?" "With walking sticks for everyone!" Gloriosa exclaimed before Rarity held up and arm. "Ooh! Me!" She stopped for a second before continuing, "Oh, uh...a fashion show! Where I design the most fabulous camp looks inspired by today's hottest trends and have them modeled by my classmates in a gorgeous outdoor setting!" The others stared at her like she was insane, but Gloriosa just smiled, "A camp tradition!" "Really?" Flash asked before hearing Timber whisper to his sister. "We have literally never done that." Gloriosa shrugged before turning back to the campers. As she spoke up, Timber turned to Twilight, Sunset and Pinkie. He and Twilight locked eyes, with Twilight beginning to blush as he smiled. Pinkie, Sunset and Flash noticed this interaction, the girls smiling while Flash just frowned. "What about the camp gifts?" They then heard Celestia ask Gloriosa, she and Luna over by a picnic table. "That was my favorite Camp Everfree tradition." "The camp gift!" Gloriosa cheered, "Of course!" "Really?" Timber asked, only for Gloriosa to glare at him. "Yes, really." Timber rolled his eyes, "Well, I just thought-" "Then you thought wrong!" She interrupted in a quiet hiss. Sunset turned to the others, "Anyone else picking up on a little tension between Gloriosa and her brother?" Twilight gave some half-hearted attempt to say she didn't. "Maybe a little," Pinkie whispered as Flash shrugged. "They're siblings. Siblings argue every now and again." "I don't argue with Shining," Twilight pointed out. "Only because you two have that Sibling Supreme contest going. If that hadn't been a thing, you two would be at each others throats." Twilight was about to argue back, but Gloriosa spoke up again, "Every year, campers work together to create 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 put her hand on the microphone and glared at Timber as she spoke in a hushed ton. "Which is why it's so important!" She turned back to the campers, gesturing to the gazebo they were on. "This gazebo was a gift from last year's group." She started pointing to the others items around the place. "Oh, oh, oh, and the totem pole and the sundial were also made by campers!" "The sundial was our year's gift!" Celestia spoke up, while Luna started coughing. "Even though some people thought it was a little impractical, since the sundial can't be used at night." "But I thought campers weren't allowed to wonder around at night," Flash pointed out, Luna then glaring at him, "Shutting up now." The others laughed at this as Gloriosa continued, "You all seem like a-a really amazing group. So I'm certain you'll come up with something inspiring to leave behind." The campers all cheered before Timber spoke up, "Speaking of leaving things behind, now's the time when we give out tent assignments so you can leave your heavy bags behind." He winked at the pun while Gloriosa shook her head, then moved over to one side of the gazebo and grabbed a bag. "Um...girls will be getting their assignments from Timber. Guys, you're with me." Flash moved over and was one of the first in line, the teen reaching into the bag and grabbing what felt like a piece of a card. He pulled it out and saw it had a picture of a black gemstone on it, "Err..." Gloriosa laughed at this, "That's an onyx. That's your tent. Just look for the one with this picture on the front of it." "Oh," Flash nodded and headed back over to the girls. Several of them had partnered up due to their tent assignments, Pinkie with Rarity, Rainbow with Applejack, and Fluttershy was with Heather. He reached them as Sunset pulled out her card and looked it over. "Sapphire." "Me, too!" They heard Twilight cheer. "I mean," she fiddled with her glasses, "I'm assuming I am. Heh-heh. Technically, sapphires aren't just blue. Heh-heh. They can be pink, purple, yellow..." "Yeah, but they're mostly blue." Twilight jumped at the voice, only to turn and see Timber, "That's why they're named after the Latin word sapphirus." Twilight smirked at him and crossed her arms, Timber smiling before he started whispering. "That means blue." "I know," Twilight whispered back. "But did you know that sapphires are just rubies without chromium?" "What the heck is going on?" Flash asked, having never seen Twilight act like this with anyone. First arrived at this point, now seeing them interacting. "But did you know that Sapphire Tent is the best one?" Timber asked, making Twilight raise an eyebrow. "No. Why's that?" "Because you're in it," Timber gave her a look that Flash guessed was supposed to be charming. "Looks like the two are flirting," First told Flash, making Flash go wide-eyed at this. He felt something in his gut wrench as Twilight rolled her eyes at Timber. "Oh," she took her card back from him, "I bet you say that to all the campers." "Not true," Timber replied before turning to Bulk Biceps. "You're in the Ruby Tent?" He asked before crossing his arms, "Ha! That's the worst one!" Flash, First and Heather glared at him at this, though the others who saw this didn't seem bothered. "Aw, man!" Bulk cried as he crushed his card. Timber then held up his arms. "I'm just jokin', buddy. Ruby Tent is great. It's like a sapphire but with chromium." Bulk just blinked at this, unable to understand the joke, but Twilight giggled at it as Timber moved over to him. "But the Ruby and Coral Tents do look an awful lot alike to the undiscerning eye. I better show you where it is." The two began to walk off, though Timber then turned to Twilight and gave her a salute. "See ya around." With that, he was gone, and Twilight just smiled with a big blush on her face. However, she then heard some giggles and her redness disappeared as she turned to Sunset, Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity. "What?" "Heh," Applejack chuckled, "Nothin'." "Ooh!" Rarity squealed, "That was adorable!" "I don't know," Heather added, "It might have been a bit of a joke, but that was still a little mean what he said." "It was just a goof," Rainbow continued. "What was a goof?" Iron asked as he moved over while holding up a card to Flash, "Looks like we're in the same tent." "Yay me. I'm with the metalhead." Flash joked before Iron threw his bag at him. "Oh, don't be such a downer, or I'll make you carry my bag there." Flash caught it as Iron added, "And don't diss my music likes!" "I'm no downer. And you can carry your own bag." He threw it back at Iron, the teen catching it. But as soon as he did, he suddenly dropped it and let out a hiss of pain. "Oh," Fluttershy gasped, "Are you alright Iron?!" The teen just shook his hands at this, "Don't know. That felt like...a jolt of electricity." "Probably just static," Twilight commented while waving her hand. "In the woods?" Sunset asked, Iron patting his bag and not feeling anything. "Whatever it is, it's gone now." He picked the bag back up as Gloriosa blew a whistle. "Okay everyone, go get settled in! We'll be meeting at the docks in fifteen minutes to go over some camp safety rules. Let me know if you need anything!" But as she said this, the sound of an engine caught their attention. They turned to the entrance and saw a limo roll into the camp before coming to a stop right next to the gazebo. Seconds later, the door opened before a man stepped out into the camp. That man had bran skin and black hair, wearing a blue suit and red tie with a dollar sign on it. "I need somethin'," he said as he began walking into the camp. "Why do I feel like I've seen him before?" Flash commented while scratching his head. "Filthy Rich!" Gloriosa gasped as she walked up to him, "So nice to see you." She lead him back over to his car, then pushed him as she hissed, "What are you doing here?! Camp is just getting started!" Filthy just smirked back at her, "Just takin' in the scenery, Gloriosa Daisy." He brought his face closer to hers as both glared at each other, "It's so...hmm...relaxin'." He then pulled back as Gloriosa put her hands on her hips. "Well, you can look around when camp is over. Now, if you don't mind..." They glared at one another once again, Flash holding back a comment about the tension, cutting and knife. Filthy Rich then looked at his watch, "Fine." The limo's engine started again as he climbed inside. The limo drove off, leaving a growling Gloriosa until she saw the campers staring at her. "Filthy Rich is uh...an alumni of the camp." She put on a smile that everyone could tell was forced. "He likes to check on his old stomping grounds every now and again." "Now I remember," Flash added as he snapped his fingers, "His daughter goes the Crystal Prep. I saw him when he came to cheer her on during a girls gymnastics competition." "What were you doing at a girl's gymnastics competition?" Timber asked, raising an eyebrow as he walked up. "Helping out with equipment," Flash replied, "I remember him because his daughter took first and he kept cheering when she received her trophy." "Enough about him," Gloriosa told the campers. "Find your tents and put away your things. We've got the best week of camp ever to begin!" The campers all cheered in agreement and began to grab their bags, most looking forward to a week they would never forget. And as Flash began to head for the onyx tenet, his eyes and body didn't notice the few stray sparks of static electricity that sparked around his fingers. The campers would soon learn that this week would be unforgettable, but for entirely different reasons.