The young campers began to dismantle the entire pier. At a nearby table, Sunset’s group gathers and with Sugarcoat they talk about the construction of the new pier.
“Well, if everyone is so determined, I can’t refuse.” Says the girl with the platinum hair. “But if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right. Strong supports and a solid foundation will be needed.”
Coco Pommel sits at the table with a notebook and pencil, listening to the chatter of the older campers.
Indigo is the first to comment. “Let’s expand it out to both sides, so there’s room for the boats.”
Sunset gives the second opinion. “And we can put up a sign that says ‘Camp Everfree.’”
Sunny thinks for a second. “It could have food baskets on the sides. That would attract wildlife.”
Twilight gets an idea. “And streetlights! So that it can shine during the night.”
As she listened to all the ideas, Coco draws a design in the notebook. She shapes it, corrects it a bit, evaluates it with her eyes, and then shows the final sketch. Everyone except Sugar smiles at the image.
“It looks perfect!” exclaims Indigo Zap. “And it will look better when we have built it.”
The emerald-haired woman walks over and looks at the sketch as well. “Impresive design, but are you sure you can do it?”
Chrysalis’s voice almost sounds defiant, as does the smile she gives them.
“Not only can we, we WILL do it!” Assures our girl with googles.
Among all of them collide their palms in determination. Chrysalis can’t help but smile at the sight of them.
~Shadows Among Everfree~
A few hours had passed, and to surprise and delight, the pier was well underway in its construction.
Timber works on one of the lanterns that were going to be put up.
“Does the garden lamps run on solar energy?” Our young scientist asks when she walks over and sees that flashlight.
Timber smiles at her. “Indeed. With all the sun that gets here, the batteries charges all day and run all night.”
“Wow! Timber, you are very resourceful.”
“What can I say? I like to take care of the environment.”
Twilight smiles at him, and Timber smiles back at her.
Cadence speaks loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Attention please! Everyone has done an excellent job and we have been able to make a lot of progress. But soon it will be dark, so I propose that tomorrow we continue with the project together with the other activities of the camp.”
Gloriosa approaches and also speaks with those present.
“Everyone go clean up and get some rest, I’ll meet you at eight for a campfire, marshmallows and scary stories!”
There are no objections from anyone, soon everyone ceases construction.
~Shadows Among Everfree~
At night, the forest is covered in shadows. The moon and her star daughters extend their kingdom on high.
Sunset admires that image from her place, sitting on an old fallen log.
“Sunset. Sunset”
“Huh?” Sunset reacts to her name being called and sees Sunny Flare is speaking to her. “What… what’s wrong?”
“I said if you want marshmallows.” Sunny offers her a stick with a marshmallow out of it.
“Oh, sure. I’m sorry.” Sunset smiles a little sadly and takes the stick, placing it near the fire as the others do.
Campers gather around a bonfire, which provides light and warmth for everyone. They talk to each other, roast marshmallows and some a couple of sausages.
Lemon and Sonata had eaten so much that the candy spilled into their mouths, which they don’t seem to mind.
Sunny begins to share the view of the sky with Sunset. “It’s beautiful, in the city you can hardly see the stars. Here they shine as much as beautiful diamonds.”
“Umm… yeah, I guess it is. In a way it reminds me of… Equestria.”
The comment gains the interest of Sunny and her other close friends. Lemon asks her a question. “Sun-Shim, what is your world like?”
They all look at her, denoting their interest in the answer. Sunset is a bit surprised, so she has to think about how to respond. “Well…it’s hard to explain. It is like-“
Timber’s voice interrupts their conversation and everyone else’s.
“Allright! It’s time to have fun, who knows a good horror story?”
His voice carries a certain emotion that spreads to several around. Telling scary stories is always entertaining.
~Shadows Among Everfree~
A couple of stories are told around the fire. There are ghosts, monsters, and what you’d expect from stories like that. Each narrator does his own thing emphasizing reactions and scares.
Many have fun with the stories, there are a couple of scares but mostly it’s just plain fun. There are also those who doesn’t seem very impressed.
“Well, the stories are fine. I suppose.” Lighting Dust comments with some disdain. “But I’m waiting for something that really makes me shiver in terror. Who knows a truly scary story?”
Many seem to share the opinion, they want a scarier story.
“Sun-Shim! Tell some story!” Suddenly Lemon Zest exclaims. And Sunset, who had a marshmallow in her mouth, is a bit surprised by the green-haired girl’s request.
“Mh, hm, hm?”
“Tell us a story from your world,” Lemon announces. “Surely in your world there are interesting stories! Tell us one!”
Lightning seems to agree with that. “Yes, it sounds fine. But make it really terrifying.”
Sunset chews some and manages to swallow her marshmallow to talk.
“Umm, a story?”
“Yes! What kind of monsters are on your planet?” Lemon asks excitedly. “Perhaps giant bears! Or a corrupt goddess! Or a headless horse!”
Indigo shoots hee a reproachful look. “Lemon, that sounds stupid.”
Sunset thinks about it for a bit. “Um, well… I think I have one. I don’t know if it’s scary, but it scared me when I first heard it.”
“If it scared you, it must be really terrifying.” Indigo comments with considerable interest.
“It was when I was little, so no-“
“Drop the drama and talk at once, Shimmer.” Lighting says with some frustration at the delay.
All the campers in the place encourage Sunset to tell the story. Her friends do too and give her smiles.
“Fine, fine, I’ll tell you.”
Everyone around applauds and cheers at it. Then they shut up, and wait impatiently for the exequine to start telling her story.
“It is a very old story. It’s about the origin of an entity feared by the ancestors, 'The Windigo'.”
Sunset looks into the fire focused on remembering the story.
...
"Long ago, two youngers – brother and sister – were lost deep in a distant snowy forest.
They had been lost for days wandering aimlessly, they had survived by melting snow in their mouths to drink and eating berries as well roots of the place, but the winter was getting colder, and even it was getting harder to find food; although there was enough for them to survive, there was nothing that could calm the hunger they felt.
The cold and hunger ravaged both of them. The sister kept complaining, constantly blaming her brother for the situation. The brother tried to put up with his sister’s yelling and complaining, in order to start an argument. But he was so hungry, it was very difficult to keep calm.
Every day the cold got worse, every day they had less to eat, and every day the tension between them increased.
The sister didn’t stop screaming, insulting him, blaming him for everything, complaining about how hungry and how cold she was. The brother’s patience was slowly wearing thin.
A strong blizzard arrived, the wind and snow attacked furiously making it impossible for them to move forward. Fortunately, they managed to take refuge in a cave… but said fortune was just an illusion that didn’t last long.
Although they took shelter from the wind, the cave was so dark it only made them feel colder. They tried to light a fire to keep warm, but the wood in the forest was frozen by the snow. It became impossible.
They were separated, taking refuge in themselves, shivering with cold. The wind outside seemed like the roar of a beast who threatened to find them.
The brother was frustrated… tired… and very hungry.
His sister only made everything worse with her constant complaining and insults. She said that everything was his fault, that he was useless, she accused him and claimed they were both going to die because of him.
Each word, each complaint, was consuming the brother’s sanity. And though he tried, he couldn’t keep calm, his sister’s voice became like sandpaper scratching her ears.
He couldn’t take it anymore, he demanded that she shut up; expressed that he was also desperate and didn’t want to continue listening to her. But that only made her angrier. She came closer and started screaming, and screaming. He couldn’t take it anymore.
They began to fight, releasing all the despair they felt about each other. The wind seemed to roar, along with his cries of fury and pain.
He managed to hit her, smash her head against a wall, leaving her stunned. The brother took advantage of the moment to take a large rock from the place, and then…"
With her hands, Sunset breaks the branch she used to cook her marshmallows. The sound emphasizes the story, and everyone knows what it meant.
Sunset is still focused on the fire, she doesn’t notice the shocked look on the campers’ faces.
“…silence filled the cave. Only the wind could be heard outside; it took him a long time, before he realized what he had done…”
"Dejected, he looked at his sister lying limp on the ground.
The brother is filled with terror, panic. In a reflex he picks up the rock again repeating his action over and over and over again; an involuntary reflex, seeking to calm his anxiety and his fear.
He finally finishes it off, dropping the rock to the side. His whole body collapses, victim of exhaustion. His mind blurs, he doesn’t want to think about what he just did… but instead his stomach reminds him how hungry he is.
So… hungry.
Days without eating enough, days walking. His strength ran out long ago. He was hungry, too hungry. He needed to eat something… anything.
Looking at his sister, his stomach couldn’t take it anymore. He needs to eat."
A series of expressions make the exequine look up for the first time since she had begun to narrate the story. She could see everyone’s looks, full of astonishment… and disgust.
Sunset didn’t need to explain the story any further, they seem to have understood. So she just continues.
“The brother satisfied his hunger as much as he could, and then he could only wait…”
"He waited for the storm to end… waited… and waited.
All alone, the falling ice was all he could see, the roar of the wind was all he could hear.
The brother felt he would go crazy. In his head, hr relived everything that happened in those days being lost.
Remembering the aimless walk made him feel more and more tired, remembering the hunger only made him want to eat more, and remembering his sister, she made him more and more angry…"
Sunset keeps talking totally focused on her story. “He tortured himself with those thoughts. And as he got colder and colder, he could feel the ice covering him, and he knew… he knew he was going to freeze in that cave… to death…”
She paused to look at everyone. Each pair of eyes watched with wonder and interest, keeping a firm silence, leaving the narrator to tell the rest of the story.
“…And so it happened. He soon got so cold, the entire cave froze, covering everything inside with ice. Including him…”
"… His body was lying on the ground, covered in ice. His body, and his soul, frozen to death.
He died… but he didn’t leave.
He felt dim, but soon his body moved again…stiff as ice. He got up, part of his skin and flesh stuck to the frozen ground… but he didn’t feel anything anymore.
His body was totally made of ice, but he was able to walk, and get out of the cave.
The little consciousness he had left only made him remember his anger. His rage. His hunger.
His body no longer felt anything, it was just a shell that the strong wind tore from his being.
His mind felt only hate. There was no room for feelings or thoughts, just…hate.
His soul was now ice, consumed by that hatred, and that hunger.
He was no longer a living being. He was a spirit, a demon…or something else…"
“…The ancestors call it, 'The Windigo…'”
As if it had been planned, when naming it, a breeze was felt crossing over everyone in the place. The fire that burned intensely and warmly shook, and more than one felt a chill run through their entire body.
Sunset felt Sunny’s grip on her hand tighten, and on the other side she could see Twilight reaching out and clinging to her.
She paused, as if waiting for someone to say something, but no one speaks, so she just goes on.
“Since then, the Windigo wanders between storms and snow looking for what to feed on. It doesn’t devour meat or food, what it consumes are souls… warm souls that it freezes into ice, causing hatred and conflict.”
There is some confusion as Sunset pulls a marshmallow out of a bag and begins squeezing it in her hands.
“If you are in the forest, and you feel a cold breeze or hear a whisper that makes your blood run cold… you must remember: 'Keep in your heart love and good feelings'.”
Opening her hands, Sunset shows she shaped the marshmallow into a heart. It’s not perfect, but she hints at the shape.
“'Keep your friends, your families, your loved ones close, and always remember how much you love them and how much they mean to you. As long as hearts burn in the fire of that affection, the Windigo will have no power. If you don’t, it will sow hatred and contempt in you; and your souls… shall be consumed'.”
Sunset throws the marshmallow into the fire and the flames melt it.
“The Windigo will freeze your hearts, consume your lives, and you too will become a Windigo.”
The faint wind that was blowing dissipates. Silence is maintained throughout the place, listening only to the burning of the campfire. Nobody speaks, when Sunset looks around her, only she sees them stunned, quite surprised by what they heard.
The silence makes her a little nervous… to her surprise, Lighting Dust is the first to speak.
“And that’s it?”
“Eh, what?”
“There’s no more?”
Sunset is surprised and a little flustered at such a question. “Um… well… yes. That’s the whole story.”
Lemon blinks for a moment, snapping out of her surprise.
“… wow, good story Sun-Shim.”
“A story in the style of an urban legend.” Sunny comments with a soft smile. “Well narrated and set. Congratulations.”
“Mh mh, mh mh mh, jm mh mh mh!” That’s what Sonata says, her mouth full to bursting with marshmallows.
Lightning doesn’t seem satisfied. “Meh. I was expecting something really scary.”
“Hi guys!”
Gloriosa screams and suddenly appears behind Lightning Dust, giving her a small heart attack.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you having fun?”
Timber looks at her intrigued. “Gloriosa, what are you doing here so late?”
“Just making sure everyone enjoys camp. Well guys, I think it’s time for bed, please go back to your tents. Another day of pure fun awaits us tomorrow.”
With that warning from the camp manager, everyone prepares to head back to their tents.
~Shadows Among Everfree~
“Well, that’s how camps does looks like.” Sunset comments already dressed in her pajamas, and she fixes her pillow a bit. “They are entertaining.”
Her friend with glasses is sitting on her own bed, also dressed in pajamas, undoing her ponytail letting her hair fall.
“Have you never been to a camp?”
“To be honest, no. And you?”
“Well… not really.”
They both laugh a little.
“It’s funny,” Sunset says after laughing. “Honestly, being here reminds me a bit of Equestria.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It brings me some nostalgia so much nature around. Don’t get me wrong, the internet and electricity are great, but…well…”
Twilight doesn’t hold back another small laugh. “I understand. Sometimes it’s hard to forget who we were. ”
For a moment both have memories of what they left behind… moments of loneliness… and regret.
Sunset shakes her head, almost scolding herself. She sets her pillow aside and sits next to her friend.
“Hey, it’s okay. The past can hurt sometimes, but-“
“'The past is not today'?”
“That’s my kitty. And today we are here, we have friends, you have me and I have you.”
Twilight smiles at her friend. “Today and always.”
They smile at each other, hug each other and laugh once more. But when Twilight breaks away from her, she pokes her lightly on the arm.
“But don’t call me kitty!”
Sunset just laughs and gets up to lie down on her own bed.
“I’m going to sleep, goodnight Sparky.”
“Good night Sunset, sweet dreams.”
One more smile, the former equine gets between the sheets, lets out a yawn, and soon she seems to fall asleep.
Twilight just smiles, she sees her puppy at her feet and goes to her bed to sleep.
The scientist, for her part, also gets under the covers but instead of sleeping she decides to read a little. In complete silence she enjoys her book.
~Shadows Among Everfree~
Her hooves resonate on the ground, the wind it generates blows her mane into fierce flames. The moon gives her light, lighting her way through that wild land.
She gallops fast, strong, breaking chains that she did not know oppressed her.
She makes her way through the trees, crosses the streams and rivers, climbs the mountains, nothing stops her.
A light shines in front of her, an intense light, full of heat. The light comes from a cave.
From her she enters, feels her whole body tremble. The radiance completely covers her being, and then…
The little dog’s tongue soaks her entire face.
“Mmmh! Ugh, yuck… enough, enough!”
A familiar chuckle is heard, Sunset feels the puppy being removed from her face and hears her friend’s voice.
“Okay Spike, that’s enough. He he.”
Sunset gets up and wipes her face a bit. “Ugh… I have puppy saliva all over my face…”
Twilight just laughs at her reaction. “He he. I’m sorry, but nothing woke you up. Come on Sunset, it’s almost breakfast time.”
The former equine’s only response is a big yawn and a spurt.
“…um, okay. Just give me something to clean myself with.”
Sunset’s eyes close from the sleep she still has, she soon feels something against her cheek. When she rolls her eyes, sees the scientist handing her a towel. Sunset takes it and wipes her face with it.
Twilight seems somewhat intrigued. “What were you dreaming about?”
Sunset looks up from the towel a little. “Mh, what?”
“You moved around a lot and whispered something I couldn’t understand. Were you dreaming?”
Sunset looks intrigued, then confused. “…I…uh…I don’t remember…”
Although the moment leaves them both intrigued, hearing the call from their friends announcing breakfast they both decide to drop the matter and prepare for the new day.