//------------------------------// // Camping // Story: Existence // by Spectar37 //------------------------------// Chapter 21 The moon hung high in the sky, surrounded by shining stars as we entered the clearing we used as a training area. The trees stood high around us with exception to the one that I cut down. The five of us walked around, many of us carrying something ranging from fire wood to marshmallows. I stopped in the middle of the clearing. Luna stood in front of me, a bit nervous about the situation. She probably isn’t used to being with so many ponies in a place like this. “Why are we here?” Tim asked, walking towards me from the pathway here. I dropped the wood on my back in the centre of the clearing, making sure there was plenty of space between it and the trees before I answered with a smile. “Campfire!” Cloe stopped by the fallen tree. “Let me guess, you want me to start the fire?” “Bingo!” “Why can’t you just do it?” Cloe complained. “Because I don’t know magic,” I countered. She groaned at my statement, knowing that she had lost. Cloe lowered her head, aiming the horn protruding from her head at the pile of wood next to me. My eyes widened as she used her fire spell, sending the wood up in flames and burning the hairs on the side of my hindquarters. I yelped in pain, jumping to the side as my leg got touched by the emerging flames. Cloe smiled as the others failed to stifle their giggles. “Happy now?” She asked teasingly. I narrowed my eyes at her before smiling. “Yes, actually. Now, operation nightly is in effect.” I clapped my hooves together as the rest of us dropped whatever they were carrying. Tony carried four bags of marshmallows in some saddlebags we borrowed from a local shop owner. He sat down next to the blazing wood, waiting for the rest of us to join him. Tim was carrying the twelve sticks we need to cook the marshmallows, which he dropped near the fire before joining Tony. Cloe wasn’t carrying anything so she just sat down next to Tony. I went and joined my friends, Tim to my right while Cloe sat to my left. Luna moved and sat between me and Tim. I grabbed the pile of sticks and started handing them out. “So who wants to hear a story?” “No!” everyone but Luna shouted as I handed a stick to Tony. They obviously object greatly to the awesome idea. “But it’s a brilliant idea,” I argue as I handed the next stick to Luna. “I ain’t sitting around doing nothing all night.” “Your story will probably suck,” Tim rebutted as I handed him a stick. I placed a stick in front of me before handing the rest to Cloe. She’ll probably burn all of them. “Too bad, you hear one anyway.” Everyone but Luna groaned at this before getting comfortable, pulling out one of the marshmallow bags and grabbing one each. “It can’t be that bad,” Luna said as she grabbed a marshmallow and stuck it on her stick. “See,” I call out as I stuck a marshmallow on my stick. “Someone thinks it’s a good idea.” “No,” Tim continued to object. I held my stick over the flame to cook my marshmallow as I continued. “Well, I’m telling you one anyway…” _________________________________________________________________________ I stood on a stone balcony, FAMAS assault rifle in hand as I overlooked the scene in front of me. The courtyard in the centre of the mansion was in disarray. The stone gazebo that sat in the middle of a large pond has been reduced to debris and a large hole was made off to the side, allowing easy access to the underground passage. The three doorways on each side of the square were somehow still intact even after all the explosive punishment that they took. The sounds of sporadic gunfire filled the air. A man in a dark Russian military uniform appeared from the door to the right, carrying an AUG A3 assault rifle. As soon as I saw him, he swung his weapon to point at me and fired. Faint music slowly took over my hearing as I ducked behind the door behind me, taking a round in the shoulder. Getting shot is not fun, but I needed to take down the enemy. The faint music continued as I swung around the door, flicking my assault rifle into a ready position before taking aim. The opposing soldier was in the process of moving closer to me, trying to get a clear shot. He never saw the hail of bullets that tore him apart. As his bloodied and destroyed body hit the floor, my vision became white… _________________________________________________________________________ “…and that is how I won my first close quarters match!” I concluded, gaining a face hoof from Tim and Tony. “Are you serious?” Tim asked. I thought about the story for a second. “No, I suck at games.” Tim groaned at my comment. I just shrugged and pulled my marshmallow on a stick out of the flames and took a bite. “Wow,” I blurted out in surprise, “this is good.” “Really?” Cloe asked sceptically, pulling her stick out of the fire as her marshmallow began burning. As the blue flame surrounded her food, Cloe blew it out near instantly before taking a bite. At least she didn’t throw it at someone. Her eyes widened as she tasted the blackened marshmallow. “Wow, this equestrian stuff is awesome,” she exclaimed. “Well I’m glad you like it,” Luna replied as she removed her marshmallow from the fire and ate it. I ate the last of my food before grabbing another. These marshmallows are awesome! “So who wants to tell a story this time?” Everyone went quiet. “So everyone wants me to tell another story?” “No,” Cloe answered. “Also you forgot to say everypony.” “Of course you would point that out.” She just smiled at that. Cloe can be mean sometimes. “Anyway, back to the point.” “What point,” Tim said irritably, finally taking his head off of his hoof. “We need something to do, so why not story tell?” Tim groaned again. He sure likes groaning. “Because only you want to.” Oh. “Well why didn’t you say so earlier?” I asked before pulling my stick out of the flames. Tim took his stick out of the fire and bit into his cooked marshmallow. “Because I didn’t think your story would suck that bad.” I deflated a little at that. “Well, I didn’t understand it at all but it wasn’t that bad,” Luna interjected. This cheered me up a lot. “Thanks,” I quietly said, smiling at the small compliment. “Hey Luna,” Tony spoke up, “Did you hear about the training program we set up for the guards?” “I have,” she answered. And so the discussion of how we’re gonna train the guards started. Luna’s knowledge of the average skills of the royal guard was extensive, being far greater than I guessed. A few hours passed as well as a few topics. We moved from talking about training to Magic: The Gathering cards to several other topics I can’t remember. The marshmallows have long since run out, the stick burnt down to mere twigs and the campfire is long dead. The others had fallen to sleep, leaving me the last man standing. My sleepiness was catching up to me but I’m gonna try to stick this out. “We haven’t looked at the stars yet,” I say to Luna, who is looking at the others. She seems a little nervous about something. Luna looked up and smiled. “Yes, we haven’t.” “Care to join me?” I asked as I stood up, my weariness almost making me fall over. She gave me a concerned look. “Aren’t you a little tired?” “Oh, I’m tired but I said I’ll stick this out.” This is easier with video games. Luna thought for a moment before deciding to join me. We walked outside the clearing to bear witness to the night sky, shrouding the world in stars. It was brilliant. “Brilliant, isn’t it,” I say absently as I turn to look at Luna. My eyelids are getting really heavy now. “Thank you,” Luna replied, a blush crossing her beautiful face. Wait, why am I thinking like this? “ts’alright.” My speech is slurring now. Don’t remember doing that when I’m tired. Damn magic and its random effects. My hearing faded out as I blinked, but my eyes didn’t open. I fell to the side as sleep overtook me, being stopped by a really comfortable and furry surface. I tried to think of what it could be but my conscious thoughts ceased. Sudden movement woke me from my slumber. My mind snapped to attention as my head contacted the dirt ground. Luna’s form crossed my vision as I began to make sense of what is happening. I yawned as I got to my hooves. “Oh,” Luna jumped as the world came into focus. “Sorry.” “About what?” “For waking you.” “Damn, I fell asleep,” I said, “Well at least whatever I slept on was real comfortable.” Luna suddenly turned her head but I already noticed what she was trying to hide. Her blush appeared before she could hide it successfully. As I put two and two together, my eyes widened. “That was you I was sleeping on, wasn’t it?” I said, my face reddened as I giggled nervously. “I am so sorry about that.” Then my wings sprung up. Our faces became an even darker shade of red. “Uh, I hate life sometimes.” I pointed a hoof towards the clearing as I continued to talk. “I’m just gonna go that way.” Luna nervously laughed. “Well, good night then.” I smiled despite the situation. “Good night, see ya tomorrow I hope.” Luna returned the smile before jumping into the air, flying back to Canterlot. I let out a breath that I just realised I was holding while I walked back into the clearing. The burnt pile of wood still sat where we left it. My three friends still lay sleeping next to it. This is gonna be fun. “GOOD MORNING!” I shouted, waking the three humans instantly. “Holy shit, don’t do that,” Tony shouted in response. “Come on, mission accomplished.” “Really?” Tim asked. “Yes, now let’s get to bed.”