//------------------------------// // The Secret of Everfree // Story: Flash Sentry Chronicles: The Legend of Everfree // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// The next day, Twilight was still in her tent with Spike. Sunset had tried to get her to come out, but found no such luck. The girl still didn't want to be around the others, now even more convinced that she was the cause of their magical infection. But that wasn't all, as the last night's events kept replaying in her head. 'Flash likes me...he said he likes me?!' she asked in her head, 'But...but why me?! Why would he fall for me and not like....Sunset or Rarity?! They're much better looking and I'm...I'm... She looked down at her hands, 'I'm nothing special. No one should like me, not even...Flash.' Her thoughts hesitated at that moment, a new question forming in her head, 'Wait...do I like Flash?' She closed her eyes at this, a barrage of memories now flowing through. She remembered playing as kids, going to the movies and amusement parks together, eating at the mall and other food places. She used to see them as fun outings with her best friend, but then a new word hopped into her mind. Dates. And as she remembered them as that word, she saw what they meant to her. She had fun, laughed and was able to unwind thanks to those times. And it wasn't just because of the activities they were doing, but because Flash was there with her. He was the one who made her laugh. He was the one who helped her whenever things got hard. He was the one who kept those trying to hurt her away. He had been acting as her boyfriend for years and he had been doing a pretty good job. "How have I not realized this?" She asked herself as Spike glanced up at her. He opened his mouth to respond, only for another voice to call out. "Twilight?" Timber's voice said as he opened the tent, "You in there?" Twilight sat herself up as Timber poked his head inside. "Good. I was hoping I could find you before you leave." "Is something wrong?" Twilight asked as stared up at him, completely missing the frown Spike was throwing Timber's way. "Listen, I need to talk to you about something. It's about your friend, Flash." Twilight's eyes went wide at the name, "Last night-" "I know," Twilight interrupted while looking away. "I was there." Timber was now wide eyes at this, "I heard what you two were talking about and saw what happened." "Oh..." Timber stumbled on his words, only to narrow his eyes, "Good. So, you know what he tried to do to me, right?" Twilight glanced back at him, raising an eyebrow as he continued, "You saw what he did. He somehow...shot a bolt of lightning at me! I don't even know how that's possible, but he almost fried me!" Twilight grimaced at his words, seeing a tinge of anger now on his face, "Timber...that's not want happened," she replied, "Sure, he shot the bolt at you but he didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident." "You don't just accidentally shoot bolts of lightning!" Timber barked back, "He tried to fry me! And after he missed, he tried to finish me off by crushing me under a tree!" Now it was Twilight's turn to show a scowl, "Timber...he didn't try and crush you. He saved you from being crushed," she crossed her arms at this. "None of what happened last night is Flash's fault. He's just...being affected by something here. And he's not the only one. Some of my other friends are...experiencing weird abilities." Timber raised an eyebrow at this, "We...we don't know what's causing it, but it isn't their fault, just like Flash." Twilight then saw Timber's eyes widen, only for it switch back to anger as he walked up and put both hands on her shoulders, "Twilight...I don't get what this is, but I do know one thing. Flash is really dangerous. You have to stay away from him." Twilight almost gasped at his words, only to step back, out of his grasp, "Timber! I'm not gonna do that! Flash is my best friend!" "Well, he's dangerous now! He'll hurt you if you're around him!" Twilight shook her head, "Timber, I know his powers are a little...wild, but that doesn't mean I should abandon him." She crossed her arms again, "I know Flash, and I know he'll find a way to control his new powers." "But what if he doesn't?!" Timber countered as he walked up and grabbed her again, "Or worse, what if he thinks he can and then he zaps you when he's right next to you?!" And as he said those words, Twilight's mind flashed back to last night, the look of fear on Flash's face shining through her brain. That is, till Timber said, "I'm just trying to do what's best for you Twilight. You need to stay away from him! Everybody needs to stay away from him!" Twilight's eyes narrowed again at this, "You sound like you want him to be locked up somewhere far away, with nobody allowed near him or something." And as these words left her mouth, Timber showed the most agreeing look she had ever seen, making Twilight swat his hands away. "I think you should go." "Twilight-" "Leave!" The girl yelled, not noticing several objects around her to suddenly glow purple and begin to float in the air. Timber went wide-eyed at this, backpedaling as her began to tremble. And as he did this, Twilight saw what she was doing, closing her eyes as she tried to calm down. But as she did this, the items stayed suspended in air, only for the sound of footsteps to scrape under her. She opened her eyes to see Timber running out of the tent, making Twilight sigh. Her magic faded at this, everything falling back to where it was as she slumped down onto her bed. She rolled over, her face now inches away from the wall of the tent, "Guess I'm dangerous too..." she whispered, feeling a small tear appear in her eye, "Flash..." She hugged her chest at this, "Where are you?" Meanwhile... Flash stood in a clearing with a large rocky cliff overlooking it and a bunch of trees behind him. He had run into this place after last night, finding it to be the spot Timber and Gloriosa stated not to go. Knowing it was the perfect place to hide out, he stood in the middle, trying to control his new abilities. "Alright...you can do this. Your other version of you, who's basically a superhero, can do stuff like this...I can do it too!" Flash took a deep breath and closed his eyes. As he did so, the lightning reappeared around him. "Got it. Now..." He commented, glad that the past few hours had worked in terms of summoning the electricity, "And...off!" He yelled, but the lightning remained. "Off!" Still the lightning surged around him, "OFF!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. And as he did this, the lightning disappeared, making Flash fall over. "Augh!" He moaned as he laid spread eagle, having been doing this since the previous night. "Ugh...I wanna go to bed." And as he said these words, he lifted himself back up, "Nope. Don't think that. I gotta get this under control." He hopped back to his feet as energy began swirl around him, "I can do this." Back at the camp... The remaining Rainbooms were working on the dock once again, with the exception of one. Fluttershy was picking up some wood when she heard a creaking noise, making her turn to see Rainbow slowly tiptoeing toward the dock. She was holding a large number of boards in her arms, but every step took about ten seconds due to the weight. At the same time, Applejack was carefully tapping the nail into the wood with her self-made hammer. She was tapping them so weakly it would take a hundred hits just to get halfway through. And as Rainbow reached the center of the dock, she breathed a sigh of relief before looking up to see Rarity sitting on a chair while sowing something. "Uh...you gonna give us a hand here, Rarity?" "Oh," Rarity looked up from her work before glancing back down. "I'd love to, but I really need to get the stitching on this poncho done if it's going to make it into the camp fashion show." She then turned to the dock, "Though at the pace you two are moving, I don't know that the runway will ever be finished." Applejack rolled her eyes at this, "The dock is our gift to the camp, and it's gonna get finished." She started hammering the nail again, now getting it in place before glancing over at the athletic Rainboom. "That is, if Rainbow Dash would hurry up and bring me more wood." "I can't go any faster!" Rainbow told her, "I don't want to end up in the woods again!" "Don't be silly." "Really?" Rainbow asked before dropping the board and mimicking the gentle hammering Applejack had been doing, causing the farm girl to sigh and wipe her brow. "Ah know ah said we should try to forget all about this new magic business, but ah can't." She clutched her hammer with both hands, "What if ah hammer the board into splinters?!" Rainbow, Fluttershy and Rarity nodded back, only for the farmer to say, "Aw, shoot! Ah'm all out of nails." "Oh, here you go!" she turned to see Pinkie holding up a box. She pulled her arm back before throwing them into the air, the girls gasping as she did this. "PINKIE, NO!" They cried as Applejack leapt to the ground, the box flying overhead. Rarity raised her arms and accidently created a bunch of shields that knocked Rainbow and Fluttershy over. The box bounced off the gems, hitting the ground, while Applejack waited for the inevitable explosion...only for nothing to happen. She opened her eyes and stared at the box, seeing it was still normal. She then glared at Pinkie, "What?" She asked before gasping, "Ohhh, did you think the nails would explode like the sprinkles? Wow! Glad that didn't happen, huh?" Pinkie giggled as Rarity got the gems to vanish and ran over to Rainbow and Fluttershy, sighing as she gave them an apologetic look. "Sorry girls, I didn't mean to." She grabbed their hands and helped them up, "I don't know how to control this." "It's okay," Rainbow replied as Fluttershy let out a worried moan. "None of us do." "Which is why we shouldn't pretend this isn't happening," they turned to Sunset as she walked up. "You have them now, too?" Rainbow asked, getting a nod from Sunset. "It started last night. When I touch people, it's like I can feel what they're feeling and see their memories." "Oooh, fancy!" Pinkie exclaimed before running over and grabbing her hand, "Try me, try me!" She slammed Sunset's hand onto her head and everyone saw the girl's eyes go white. It lasted several seconds, her eyes soon returning to normal as her arms dropped to her sides. She looked like someone who had just discovered the truth of the universe. "That explains so much." "Yep!" Pinkie nodded before pulling back. "So now Flash and Twilight are the only ones who haven't gotten their powers to work?" Rarity asked before Sunset shook her head. "No, last night something happened." She sighed, "I won't go into too much detail, but Flash unleashed a bolt of energy last night that almost fried Timber and blasted a tree over. Then, his entire body was surrounded by lightning and he uh...ran off." "Ran off? Why?" "He was terrified he was gonna hurt someone." The group all grimaced at this, Fluttershy muttering out, "Oh...poor Flash." "Any idea where he went?" Rainbow added. Sunset shook her head, "No. I don't know where he is, but I have a feeling I know what he's doing. He's trying to gain control of his new abilities, which is what we should be doing too." She crossed her arms at this, "Girls, we can't just brush these powers aside because it doesn't seem like the ideal time to get them." She walked past them, moving to the edge of the dock as a thought appeared in her mind. "What if it turns out that they could actually make things better?" The others turned to her as she glanced back at them, wondering what she meant. And she soon began to explain...through the power of song. Back in the quarry... "Raugh!" Flash yelled as a lighting bolt exploded out of his hands, the force knocking him back. He fell to the ground, sighing as he closed his eyes. "This is impossible..." He let out another deep breath as he laid there, only for his ears to pick up something. It was some kind of music that was being carried on the wind. The sound continued to play while words appeared in Flash's head, giving him advice that he felt flow through him...the missing piece entering his head. "I get it," he stood up and looked down at his hands. "This magic isn't something that needs to be controlled. It's not a weapon or a tool that I have to master." The lightning sparked around his body, only to not feel the fear from before. Instead, he took a deep breath, whispering, "Embrace the magic..." The magic began to flow freely, streaming through him as he no longer rushed it. It was like a muscle, and like any muscle, it would follow his instruction. This wasn't a matter of focus, but will. 'If I can stop myself from breathing without thinking about it, I can do anything.' After taking a deep breath and letting the magic flow through his entire body, he spoke, "Off!" And just like that, the lightning stopped. He opened his eyes and panted in excitement at the success. "On," the lightning returned, energizing around him, "Off," it disappeared. "On," it reappeared. "I did it!" He cheered as the music continued to play on the wind, "but I'm not done yet. Just a little more trial and error." The first was the shooting lightning. He reach his hand out and flicked his finger, causing a bolt to fire out and hit a nearby rock. He felt a bit of recoil, but only flinched at this. Remembering what he had just learned, he closed his eyes and imaged the lightning not shooting out of fingers. And when he snapped his fingers, only a small spark shot out. He tried again and a smaller spark shot out, then a smaller one before absolutely nothing. He spent what felt like an hour practicing this, slowly getting more control as he growled, "No." He snapped his fingers, "No," he snapped again. "No," snapping one last time. "Yes!" He snapped as a bolt shot out of his fingers and hit a rock, "Yes...but not yet." He snapped his fingers one last time...and no lightning shot out. "YES!" He cheered, the lightning around him not doing anything else except spark around him. His outburst hadn't effected the power, the lightning just flowing around him. He then looked down at his body, seeing the lightning spark and stream around me. "Nice." He then looked up at the top of the cliff, an idea appearing in his head as he shined a big grin, "Oh...yeah." The teen clapped his hands together and pulled them apart, causing the lightning to spark between them before flying into his right hand and forming a ball. He then thrust it, firing it at the top of the cliff and causing it to explode. And as expected, several large boulders broke off and began to tumble toward him. But Flash just smiled at the incoming boulders. Lightning supercharging around him, he charged at the rocks, going from zero to fifty in a millisecond. He reached the side of the diagonal cliff as the rocks rolled for him, Flash clenching his fist and tensing his arm muscles before pulling it back. And when the rock reached him, he threw it at the rock, shattering it to pieces...and Flash's fist didn't hurt at all. "YES!" He exclaimed as next boulder came, this time kicking the rock to the side so it could fall away from him. He charged again, breaking two more boulders with his fists and kicking another one away. And when he did this, he glanced behind himself and saw the biggest rock yet falling for him. And instead of using his strength to hit the rock, he focused the power into his legs, then taking the biggest leap he could. He shot straight over the boulder, now going airborne until he was right above the top of the cliff, the teen spinning through the air as gravity took over and pulled him down. And as he reached the ground, he thrust his legs down and landed on the top of the cliff. Sliding along the rock and spinning five hundred and forty degrees, he came to a stop before staring down at the base of the quarry. The sight of the rocks he had destroyed, dodged or kicked away, coupled with how far he was able to get, made him smile the biggest grin of his life. "WOOHOO!" He screamed with his arms flung up into the air, his voice echoing through the forest. "WOOOOOOO!" And as this noise sounded out, a flock of birds shot out of the surrounding trees, startled by his cheers. Meanwhile again... Everyone at the camp was now marveling at the sight before them. With Sunset's help, the Rainbooms had embraced the magic, using their new powers to repair and complete the dock. Rainbow's and Applejack's abilities had been a big help in the construction and Pinkie had used her to do slight demolition and prepare the wood. Even Rarity and Fluttershy had found uses for their magic, Fluttershy having her new animal friends help decorate it with flowers while Rarity had saved Derpy when she fell off the boat and almost hit the water. With their powers, the dock's completion had been an easy matter, now all admitting Sunset was right. "Okay," Rainbow chuckled, "That was pretty awesome!" "And look what you managed to accomplish!" Sunset gestured to the dock, the thing now looking exactly like the sketch that had been made. A large sign gate at the entrance, lanterns like the one Timber had been working on sitting on every post, animal feeders and flower decorations. Everything was perfect. Rarity then turned to the others and gave them all a pleading look, "Please, please, please can we do a run-through for the fashion show on it right this minute?" "Thought ya'll weren't finished with the stitching on your poncho?" Applejack asked, leaning against one of the posts with her arms crossed and a smile of her face. Rarity grabbed the poncho and picked up the needle, threading it through the fabric one last time. "I am now." The others giggled at this, only for Sunset to walk away, "Get started without me. I've gotta go find Twilight. Seeing what we've been able to do here might make her embrace the new magic, too!" She came to a stop at this before adding, "Uh...not that she has any." She gave them a small smile before running away, the others shrugging as they got ready for the fashion show. It was here that Sunset walked to the edge of the forest toward the tents, but as she did this, she passed by the boat house. That is, till she heard a voice, "I just wish you didn't tell them that ridiculous story!" She came to a stop, recognizing the voice as Gloriosa's. She quickly snuck over to the building, putting her back to the wall before reaching the door. "Augh," she heard Timber yell, "This is all too much for you! You have to let it go!" "I knew it!" Sunset hissed, "He wants her to get rid of the camp!" But before she could run off and tell someone, the door suddenly slammed open, pinning her between in and the wall. Gloriosa strode out with Timber behind her, neither noticing her through the window, but Sunset saw they did not look happy. The two turned a corner and when they were gone, Sunset leapt out to follow Timber. But as she did this, she hit someone, "Sunset?" She turned to see it was the Royal Knights, all staring at her with raised eyebrows, "What were you doing behind that door?" "Uh...nothing?" Sunset replied before coming up with a better excuse. "I...lost an earring." She then pointed to the ground, "there it is!" She bent down and grabbed a rock before they could really look, then shoved it into her pocket. "Oookay." Heather slowly replied, "Have you seen Flash?" Sunset went wide-eyed at the question. "We can't find him anywhere." "I woke up this morning and his bed didn't look like it's been slept in," Iron added. "Err..." Sunset muttered out, biting her lip at this. The sight made the trio all glare at her. "Sunset..." First crossed her arms, "What is going on?" "Nothing," Sunset instantly responded. "Nothing at all." "Oh please," Heather groaned while putting her hands on her hips. "We know that look. It's the same look you used to give us when you were pretending to be nice to us so Lightning would like you." Sunset's eyes darted away at that, remembering that certain memory, "Sunset...that's the look you use that says you're hiding something." "So what is it?!" Iron finished. Sunset began to backpedal, only to let out a long sigh, "Fine. Flash has been having...magic...issues." "Magic?" Heather asked before turning to the dock. "Like the others?" "Kinda," Sunset squeaked before looking away again, "His magic's a little more...wild." "Does this have something to do with him leaping into that portal at the Friendship Games?" First asked next, "The magic he had after that appeared to be quite powerful." Sunset opened her mouth, trying to respond as the question entered her brain. "Er...uh...huh. Well, considering he had been given magic from his other self, I guess that's not an out there idea." "So where is Flash?" Heather chimed in. "Honestly, no idea. But wherever he is, I'm sure he'll be back once he's gotten control over his powers." She let out a long sigh, "Right now I have...other things to worry about." "What things?" "More magical issues?" First added. "No," Sunset shook her head, "It's..." she let out a long sigh, seeing the glares from the three before replying, "Okay, here's the deal. My friend really likes someone, but I don't think that someone is who she thinks they are. I don't wanna upset my friend by telling her what I think, because I also want to protect her, because if what I think is happening is really happening, then she deserves to know. You know?" The Royal Knights exchanged glances at this, not having any clue, especially Iron as he lost her at the second sentence. That is, till First broke the silence, "Does this have anything to do with that glitter we found yesterday?" "Glitter?" Sunset asked. "Yes. I finished analyzing the stuff we found in the lake and on the ground. It is just common, everyday household glitter. The type you can find at any hobby store." "And used in a whole bunch of camp arts and crafts," Sunset whispered. "What?" Iron asked, Sunset shaking her head back. But as she did this, Heather walked up and grabbed her shoulder, "Look, the way I see it, you have two options. Don't tell your friend anything and let them continue to like this other person, meaning they'll be heartbroken if they find out. Or tell them and let your friend decide to believe you or not. Then, if you're wrong, just say your sorry and there shouldn't be any harm done. But if you're right, at least your friend will have some form of warning so the truth shouldn't be too shocking." "Huh." Sunset replied, "That...makes a lot of sense. Thanks." The Royal Knights nodded as Sunset then saw Timber behind them, slowly walking into the woods. "I gotta go!" She yelled before running past them, charging into the woods. "That girl is weird," Iron grumbled. "She is a pony from another world," First pointed out. "Still weird." The Royal Knights then shrugged and walked away, all hoping this wouldn't lead to more magic insanity and giant portals to another world. While that happened, Sunset ran through the forest, only to come to a stop as she saw Timber up ahead. She jumped behind a tree as he looked around, not noticing her as he kept running through the woods. Sunset kept chasing him, going further into the forest...only to lose sight of him. Her eyes darted around, staring at the trees and bushes, but couldn't find any trace of him. She growled at this, only to feel the ground beneath her shake, "Whoa!" She yelped as she tried to keep her balance. But as she did this, she suddenly saw a pinkish-purple light coming from behind some trees. Running up to the light, she then found herself at a cliff-filled area, now seeing it was part of the rock quarry that Timber had told them to keep clear of. And now she knew why. There was a cave in the rock-face, slightly covered by large boulders and vines. The light was seeping out of the cave, making Sunset hiss, "I knew it! He's definitely up to something!" She then took out her phone, "Sorry Twilight, but I've got no choice." Back at the Sapphire Tent... Twilight was still staring at the tent's wall, her swimming between Flash's confession and what Timber had told her. She thought she would feel some sort of anger against Timber, but her mind was elsewhere, going over Flash's confession again and again. Her brain was a complete mess. But as she let out yet another sigh, she was pulled from her thoughts by her phone, playing Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Picking it up, she switched it on to find a text. "It's Sunset," she told Spike. "She says to meet her by the rock quarry." "I thought we weren't supposed to hike out that far?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow. "She says it's important." Twilight grumbled, staring at the phone, "Maybe its about magic." She put it away as her trusty companion hopped off the bed. 'If Sunset's found the cause of all this magic, maybe there's a way to remove it from me...at least, I hope so.' Back in the woods... Flash was now leaping to tree branch to tree branch, his enhanced strength and agility allowing him to make the distance with ease. "You can do this," he told himself after landing on another branch, running along it until he reached the end. "Let the power flow, but don't overdo it." He leapt off the end, about to land again, "I just need to stay calm and alert." But as he landed on the branch, his foot slipped off the side. "Whoa!" He yelped as he fell, slamming into the branch before falling through another branch. This was followed by several more branches, the boy screaming as he hit the ground a second later. "GYAH!" He cried, a bush breaking his fall. "Ow..." he moaned, the lightning around him vanishing. "Okay...when jumping on trees...make sure the branch is good to land on." He tried to sit himself up, "I'll have to remember that." And as he stood up, the sound of footsteps rang out. He leapt behind a tree and glanced around, only to gasp when he saw a certain girl walking around. "Twilight? What's she doing out this far?" He was about to walk up to her and ask, only for the memory of yesterday to instantly chime out in his head. He blushed before hiding behind the tree, doing a slight gulp. As for Twilight, she began to glance around for Sunset, only for to spot a pinkish-purple light glowing above the tree tops. "What is that?" She asked, only to then run into a spiderweb. "GYAH!" She cried, pulling it off her. She kept screaming, only for a hand to suddenly slap over her mouth. "Shhh!" Sunset told her, having somehow morphed to her side. She then grabbed Twilight's hand and pulled her along, Spike following behind. And as this happened, Flash stared at the sight, slowly tiptoeing to follow them. Twilight and Sunset soon arrived at the treeline opposite the cave, the girls and Spike staring into the glowing opening. "What's going on down there?" Twilight asked Sunset. "I think it's Gaia Everfree," she then glanced at Twilight. "Or rather, someone who wants us to think she's back. C'mon!" Twilight and Spike followed, the three walking into the cave, squeezing through the rocks and glancing inside. "Whoa..." Was all Sunset could say when they saw what was inside. The cave lead to a short tunnel that opened into a large cavern big enough to fit a house in. The walls, stalagmites and stalactites were lined with gems, which were glowing the light that had attracted them. And in the center of the cave were a bunch a white spike-like rocks that were surrounding a larger central spike that had its top cut off. From the rock, a strange glow filled the air and illuminated the dust all around it. On the central rock's flat surface were eight small holes, and in three of those holes were some kind of strange crystal geode. There was a red one, a purple one and an orange one. "This place is beautiful," Twilight whispered as kept walking, Sunset closing her eyes and opening herself up to the area, feeling an energy she knew all too well that filled the air. "There's Equestrian magic here. I can...I can feel it." "Wait..." they turned to Spike, "I thought Timber was just faking there was a magical nature creature. Are you saying it's real?" "Timber?" Twilight turned to Sunset, "What does he have to do with any of this?" Sunset frowned at this, knowing what Heather had told her earlier was right. She took a deep breath, only for- "Nothing," Sunset's words died in her throat at the sound of a female voice. The three turned to it and saw a figure in the shadows of a rock, "It's all me," Gloriosa revealed with a smile and a twitching eye that told them she had seriously gone cuckoo for cocoa puffs. "Gloriosa?" Sunset asked, "But...Timber." She placed a hand on her head, "I was sure he was the one trying to make it seem like Gaia Everfree was back." She raised an eyebrow at this, "It was you who was trying to scare everyone away?" "I would never try to scare anyone away from Camp Everfree," Gloriosa replied as she suddenly walked up and went past the pair. And as she did this, Sunset reached out and grabbed her arm. As soon as she did, her powers activated. In a flash of light, she was suddenly in Gloriosa's office with Gloriosa and Filthy Rich. "My, oh, my," the wealthy man chuckled. "You fell behind on your payments, Gloriosa. I own the land now." "Please," Sunset heard Gloriosa plead. "My great grandparents founded this place. It's been in our family for generations! You have to let the camp stay!" "Instead of turning it into a spa resort that will line my pockets with more money than this camp ever could?" Filthy replied, "I don't think so." "Please!" Gloriosa begged him, "I-I-I-I just need a little more time!" "Fine," Filthy turned away, "I'll give you 'til the end of the month." He walked off, Gloriosa now crying into her hands. The scene then changed, Gloriosa now in the woods. She was still crying, then stared out at the pond she was sitting next to. "What'll I do?" She continued to cry while staring at her reflection. But as she did, she noticed something fly past behind her. "Huh?" She turned around, now seeing a cloud of sparkling pink dust. It flew through the air, doing several twist and loops before flying off in the direction of the quarry. Gloriosa followed it, soon reaching the area of the cave as the cloud flew inside, then exploding into a flash of bright light. The sight made her keep going, squeezing between the rocks before getting inside. "Wow!" She whispered at the sight before spotting a white rock in the center. As she moved up to the central rock. This time, all eight holes were filled with a geode. Aside the ones Sunset had seen, there was a blue one, pink one, green one, yellow one and a white one. She walked up and before she could stop herself, placed her hand on five of the eight. As soon as she did, a bright light exploded out of them, making her gasp. Gloriosa tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't. She kept pulling and eventually, the geodes came loose. This caused the woman to fall back, only to hit something soft. Looking behind her, Gloriosa saw a bunch of vines that had sprung out of the ground and caught her. She went wide-eyed at this, turning back to her hand and now seeing the five geodes she had pulled out. Those five glowed before floating above her hand, the woman's eyes going even wider as the scene changed. In a flash, Sunset was back in the office with Timber glaring at her. "You don't know what those things are!" He yelled, Gloriosa now looking down and allowing Sunset to see the geodes she had placed in a necklace she was wearing. "But I know what they can do!" Gloriosa replied before pointing her hands at some nearby hanging baskets. "I've been practicing!" The plants in the hanging baskets grew large vines that creeped down and wrapped around her laptop and coffee cup, lifting them up. "I can control their power now!" Timber grimaced at the sight, only to slam his fist down on the table. "You don't know that for sure! I think they're dangerous!" Gloriosa crossed her arms and looked away, Timber sighing at this before turning to leave. His sister glanced back, speaking up to stop him. "This is our camp, and it's being taken away!" Sunset suddenly felt a great amount of rage along with determination. "If this has to be our last week here, I'm going to use whatever it takes to make it count!" With that, the scene changed again. This time, Gloriosa was staring out at the lake and saw the boat stuck out on the water. Seeing Derpy and Sandalwood not having any fun, she touched the geodes before pointing her hand at the boat. In doing so, a large vine came out of the water, giving the boat a good shove. Unfortunately, the shove was so powerful that it knocked the boat right into the lake. The scene changed again, this time showing Gloriosa was watching as Trixie and Micro Chips arrived at the stream with some fishing rods. However, the stream was completely empty, Gloriosa then turning to where the river flowed from and saw a large amount of boulders blocking up the water. Once again using her magic, Gloriosa summoned a whole bunch of vines and threw the rocks out of the river's path. But in doing so, the rocks caused an earthquake while the stream filled back up. The scene changed one final time, Gloriosa now in the boat house with Timber. "You were using magic all over the place!" Timber yelled, "I had to tell them something to cover for you! What did you want me to do?!" Gloriosa turned to Timber, Sunset feeling large amounts of stress and anger as she barked back, "I just wish you didn't tell them that ridiculous story!" She turned to leave, Sunset hearing Timber speak up. "This is all too much for you! You have to let it go!" With that, Sunset's vision finally ended as Gloriosa pulled her hand free. Sunset staggered back, holding her head from the information overload, only to gasp, "Timber wasn't talking about letting go of the camp," she turned to the older woman. "He was talking about you letting go of the magical geodes!" Gloriosa spun around with wide eyes as Sunset pointed at her, "All those things you were doing to make this week the best week ever..." Gloriosa began to backpedal until her back was up against the white spikes. "Every time you used magic to do them, you caused another problem somewhere else!" And as she said this, her memories of Timber telling them about Gaia Everfree and why he was leaving that glitter all over the place now connected. "Timber was..." She glanced back at Twilight, "Covering for you!" "How do you know about what I was doing with the geodes?!" Gloriosa asked, "How...how do you know about the magic?!" "I can see things," Sunset replied, "Feel things. Because I have magic too." She gestured to Twilight, "And so does she. And so do our friends." Twilight nodded, walking up as well. "Gloriosa, Timber wasn't wrong. Maybe you should stop using magic. Too much of it can be dangerous if you can't control it." But as she said this, Gloriosa showed them a giant grin, "Oh, I got this." She turned to the last three geodes, "And I'm going to use it to save my camp! I just need more power!" She then grabbed the gems, the girls gasping. "NO!" They screamed before charging at her, only for Gloriosa to reach out and use the magic. Before the girls could react, vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around the three. They cried out as the vines tightened, allowing Gloriosa to grip the three remaining geodes and pull them free. She then held them up to the other geodes, and in doing so, the eight all began to glow before morphing into a new necklace made of vines. Gloriosa allowed the magic to flow through her, Spike and the girls now seeing her levitate up as more vines appeared around her. They completely wrapped around her, forming a cocoon that the light exploded out of the gaps. And then, the vines unraveled themselves to reveal...Gaia Everfree. It was just like the story Timber had told them. Her skin had gone from pink to a more purplish color. Her eyes were black with a dark pink mask around them and bright green irises. Her hair was wilder, now being two different shades of blue, and she wore a green dress and long boots that were covered in different flowers. The girls could only stare in horror at the transformed woman, fearing what her magically drugged mind might do. "Sorry girls, but I know what I need to do," she began to float past them as the two struggled. "But I feel like we're not on the same page, so-" "So you're gonna let them go!" The four all turned to the mouth of the cave, a lone teen boy now standing there with a long glare. "FLASH!" The girls exclaimed, smiling at the sight of him as Gaia let out a hiss. "Another one?!" She growled before raising her hands, "Fine! You can just stay here with the other two." Several vines shot up in front of her and went for Flash, the girls gasping as they appeared to slam into him, causing a large cloud of dust. Gaia smiled at this, only for the grin to fade when the dust faded to show Flash was gone. "What?" She then noticed a light and looked up and the roof, now seeing Flash hanging from a stalactite while lightning sparked around him. "You missed me," he told her before launching himself at Gaia. She threw several more vines at him, but Flash easily dodged them, landing as his hand became charged with energy that he launched at Gaia. She barely managed to raise a wall of vines in time to block it, the lightning bouncing off before she sent them at him. Flash's hands glowed as he held them flat, then swung his arms around in an X formation. Doing so unleashed twin blades of light, which struck the vines and ripped them to pieces. "Wow..." Spike gasped as they watched Flash leap away from another barrage of vines, "He's really good!" Sunset nodded at this, "He embraced the magic, and now has complete control over it." Twilight smiled at this, glad he was able to do so. She knew he could. After all, he wasn't like her. "Raaah!" Flash leapt up to the ceiling, then kicked off and shot down at Gaia. The nature spirit growled and sent several more vines, but before they could hit him, Flash swung his leg around and unleashed a wave of pressurized air. The wind struck the vines, knocking them back at Gaia. She fell back at this, sliding along the ground and past the girls as Flash landed. The teen began to build up power again, readying himself to close the distance with a single leap. Gaia saw him coming, fist pulled back to punch her lights out. She knew she only had one chance at winning, the woman holding her arm out. Twilight suddenly felt the vines holding her move, lifting her up and throwing her between Flash and Gaia. "Ahhhh!" She screamed, seeing Flash now about to collide with her. But his reaction time was enough, allowing him to throw his legs forward, skidding to a stop inches from Twilight. "Whoa!" he yelped before hopping back, not noticing Gaia smirking as she summon several vines behind him. "FLASH! BEHIND YOU!" Twilight cried, but it was too late. The vines slammed into Flash's back, "AAAAAHHHHH!" He screamed in pain, the vines to wrapping around his midsection before spreading to his arms and neck. Once tightly gripping him, the vines retracted, pulling him down to his knees before everything but his face was surrounded by the vines. "No," Twilight whispered as Gaia laughed. "Well, that was fun." She floated back as Twilight's vines retracted and pulled her back to Sunset. Gaia then flew past Flash, who was trying to move, only to feel the vine constrict, pain surging through his body as Gaia added, "But I have a mission to complete. So if you kids wouldn't mind staying here, that would be great." With that, she flew out of the cave as the girls screamed out her former name. And once she was outside, she turned back to the cave and summoned a bunch of vines and roots that grabbed the nearby boulders and moved them. The girls could only watch in horror as the exit was completely blocked off, "NOOOOOOOOO!" Gaia smiled as their screams were silenced by sealing off the cave. All obstacles now removed, Gaia turned to the camp. If Filthy Rich wanted to take it from her, he would have to fight her for it. And with this power, it was a fight he couldn't win. It was time to stand for Everfree.