//------------------------------// // Chapter one: The Truth About the Past // Story: Summer Camp Fun // by FireworksPOP //------------------------------// “Sunset, where are you?” “Hi Flash.” She replied. They were at a bus stop where dozens of kids were running around with their suitcases and backpacks. “There you are, it’s time for the bus to camp to leave.” “Finally, we've been here for two hours, it’s four in the morning, and it’s so loud that Ray crawled into my backpack and refused to come out.” “The leopard gecko thinks it’s too loud? His ears are hardly visible.” “I know, weird right? Anyway, I can’t believe we get to be counselors together.” “Yhea, finally we don’t have to worry about anyone finding out about us, at least for two months.” “Thank goodness, hey did you get your list of cabin mates yet?” “Yes, I got Riptide, Canoe Tipper, strange name, Rocket launch, and a C.I.T named Sunburst.” Flash listed as he read from his clipboard. Sunset looked at her’s, “I got Camouflage, Violet, and… this says I have a third camper, but there’s no name.” “Strange, maybe we can ask later, the bus leaves in two minuets.” They grabbed their suitcases and climbed onto the bus, which was not in the best shape. Sunset looked back at Flash. “Did you say you have a C.I.T named Sunburst?” “Yhea, why?” “Cause I think you got Starlight's friends counterpart.” “You mean that girl from Equestria that stayed in town for a few days?” “Yep, never met him though.” “Why?”  “He’s a wizard, and when I was there visiting Starlight he was in the Crystal Empire trying to teach Flurry Heart how not to set everything she touches on fire.” “How does a baby set everything she touches on fire?” “Baby alicon who has more power than Celestia, which I used to think was impossible.” “Why would it be impossible?” “Celestia told me herself when I was her pupil, I used to believe everything she told me, which was a big mistake.” “Not gonna argue with that.” They both sat next to each other in a seat at the back of the bus. “You bring your guitar?” Flash said. “Yep, although I think the camp director asked us to bring our guitars so she wouldn't have to pay any extra money.” “Probably, looking at this bus, I’m not surprised.”  “Ray, you can come out now.” A little gecko peaked out of her bag. “Hey Ray, long time no see, glad you're allowed to come with us.” Flash leaned over and kissed Sunset’s cheak. “Nice to have you along with us.” Sunset smiled at him. “Flash, I'm glad we get to go to camp together.” “I am too, you realize we're going to be on this bus with a bunch of seven to thirteen year olds for three hours, right?” “Yes, this is going to be a long ride.” “Hey, did everything go okay with your friends?” “What do you mean?” “Well, I know you didn’t tell them until yesterday that you got a job as a counselor at Glacier View.” “Yeah, at first, everyone was sort of mad at me for not telling them until the day before I was leaving, then I pointed out how they have been so busy lately and how i've been trying to tell them, then they all started to look down at there shoes like they were guilty or something, and Rainbow Dash said and I quote, “Enough with the guilt fest! Let’s go have a ton of fun before Sunset leaves for two months!” then I pointed out that the camp closes every two weeks for kids to go home and see their family’s, oh Flash, the back of the paper with the campers names explaines that, any way, then Rainbow made us watch the whole Daring Doo movie series, then Pinkie turned on Stormy With a Chance of Pudding.’’ “Didn’t you guys get to be minor characters in one of those?” “Daring Doo and the lost treasure, yeah we did, I didn't find it as exciting as Rainbow Dash did, and Juniper Montosh hated us until when we were going to the premer, and she trapped us inside a enmagiced mirror, then almost sent us into an eternity of falling through a mirror dimension when she almost broke it, Starlight helped us, and bing bang boom, we had two new friends and made it to the movie, although, I haven't told anyone this, I actually had been in a mirror dimension before.” “You have? Now you have to tell me that story.” “You want me to? It’s also the reason I have no idea who my parents are.” “Could you tell me the whole true story from as far as you can remember? I mean, if you feel alright telling me?” “You're not gonna tell anyone are you? ‘Cause if Twilight finds out about the parts I didn’t tell her, which is a lot, have you seen how mad she can get? Once while I was visiting her, a book fell off the shelf, when she put it back in, and a different book fell out, and the same thing happened five or six more times and she bent a metal pipe in half.” “I promise I won’t tell a soul. You know where I sleep.” “It’s a long story.” “Good thing this is a long bus ride.” “Okay, here it goes. I was three years old when Celestia chose me to be her pupil. I was really excited at the time. My mother had planned out my life to ensure success, so I was happy to be doing something that finally made her proud. My dad was always trying to get rid of all the life plan stuff, and loved to get me goofing off and having fun, and I wanted to come back for all of the different holidays, but that's not what Celestria had in mind.”  “So, the first few days I was allowed to explore the castle, but instead of finding my way around, I left and found a big park where I tried to make friends. I met a few others there, but when they saw me, they stomped off like they were mad at me, so when I  asked what was wrong, they started to grumble or yell at me about something about me being Celestia’s student.”  “The next day, Celestia called me to one of the highest towers in the castle, which is built into the side of a mountain, so it was pretty high, anyway, when I finished climbing up the steps, she hit me with a big magical blast and I flew out the window. Then I fell on the ground and teleported myself back to the tower. She then told me that I had to do that until I could teleport back to her exactly from one hundred feet off the ground. Same thing happened over and over for the next week, until I finally was able to do it anytime I needed to. Although, I don’t think I ever needed to do it exactly a hundred feet of the ground. So, for the next three years, stuff like that continued, my life was in danger all the time. By then, I had hit my head on so many things I could hardly remember what my home looked like, and Celestia had me staying inside a library studying spells and history during holidays, so I never saw my family. To tell the truth, I feel like I missed my dad more than my mother. All I can remember about her is the fact that she always had a schedule, and was always disappointed. It had been another two years, I begged Celestia to let me go home but she wouldn't have it. Then something hit me and I ended up in a mirror dimension full of pitch black darkness and misery. I walked in every direction, it just goes on like space does, forever. I started to lose all memory of my family. When she-” “Whow, whow, whow. Didn’t you tell me that you made up with Celestia and apologized when Wallflower found that magical stone and you had to stop her?” “Yes, while I was there, I figured out that she seriously over exaggerated the story, I went along with it, for the sake of, well, keeping the whole thing a secret, also, while I was there the creepiest thing happened.” “What?” “I ran into other you garding a library.” “Did you literally run into him? ‘Cause that happens to us all the time, it’s a wonder no one’s found out about us yet.” “No I did not, that would be weird, and Twilight freaking out because Celestia told her about a hidden section of the library was weird enough, and she made me read every book in there.” “On that note, I would like to apologize.” “About what? You have nothing to be sorry for.” “Yhea, I do. Ever since we got back together, and I finally remembered it, I've felt so guilty.” “Okay, spill, you got that look on your face you make when you have been trying to tell me something important but you're scared to mention it.” “You can tell when I feel that way?” “You're really bad at hiding your feelings.” “Okay, maybe I am. So, when the sirens were here and we were under their spell, do you recall what I said right after Rainbow Dash got shoved off the stage?” “Oh… that. Yes I do, and I really wish I could forget.” “Was that the spell, curse thing saying it, or did I really feel that way?” He looked down at the floor. “Look, the whole school was under a curse, everyone said things that they regret, all we can do about the past is put it behind us.” “I guess you're right, want to finish your story?” “Oh, right. Sure, when Celestia let me out, all the sudden I didn’t care anymore, I didn’t care whether I saw my family again, I didn’t care that I couldn’t remember their names or their faces. All I cared about was going on with my studies, and it went the same for about two years until…” “Until what?” “Until I found the portal, I found it in a room on one of the days Celestia had to listen to problems and find solutions. I looked into it, and saw this world, and I went through it. I figured out how to walk and wandered around until I was in a park that looked kind of like the one in Canterlot.” “Makes sense, the two are parallel worlds aren't they? The same with some differences, we literally live in a place called Canterlot City.” “Exactly, that was when I made my first friend. I had been standing by a tree when someone fell out of it and landed next to me. We became friends and when I went back to the castle that night, I found a book about the mirror hidden away in the library. I found out it would only be open for the next two days, and that it would be almost a more than a year before I could go back, so for the rest of the night, I studied different time spells until I had created my own, which should have kept it open for nearly three years, and I figured before it would close again I could just cast the spell again. I went back whenever I could, seeing my friend, getting to be here worry free, no Celestia to constantly endanger my life. But, after a little more than a year, it closed because I had cast the spell wrong, and I was stuck in Celestia’s castle. I started to grow as cold and bitter as Celestia after everything that had ever happened started to catch  up with me. I waited thirty moons, and ran through the portal the last minute it was open so no one could go after me. Then Twilight ended up as Celestia’s student, and me leaving must have made her realize something and everything else just went downhill for me from there.” Tears started to roll down from her eyes. “I was such an awful person.” She buried her head in her hands. Flash put his arm around her and let her lean closer to him. “Sunset, I don’t think any of what happened is your fault, it sounds more like Celestia’s, and like you said, there’s no use dwelling on our past, what’s important now is we have hope for the future.” Sunset looked up at him. “I guess you're right, were going to this camp together to have fun and not half to worry about anyone finding out about us, so let’s have as much fun as we can before  we have to go back to school.” “Sounds like a plan to me. I can’t wait to spend the summer together, this will be fun.”