//------------------------------// // Where it all started. The beginning. // Story: Cutie Mark Camp Blues // by Moonbeam Thought Writes //------------------------------// Incident report: 032A To: Grand Chancellor of the Council For The Betterment Of Equestria’s Youth, Applebloom Re: Site 001: Everfree Grand Chancellor, I hope this report finds you well. Ever since the Supernatural Being Equality Act, we have been required to take on some such beings in the name of equal employment opportunities. I understand that those we employ are just as worthy of tolerance respect as the next pony, but it makes me nervous having literal vamponies and werewolves around young children. My worries were often described as ‘irrational’ or ‘xenophobic’ by my co-workers, but my fears were justified, unfortunately, with the latest incident we at The Everfree Cutie Mark CampTM, have had to deal with. In summary, two of my employees behaved in a manner inadequate for dealing with children, and harboured a very inharmonious and unprofessional rivalry, which led to the endangerment, and eventual harm, of a hoofful of their wards. It is in our best interests to I believe that the best course of action would be to court martial their sorry arses bring the offenders before The Supreme Court Of Harmony. I eagerly await your Twilight-damned reply already response, Yours, Citric Quartzite Three weeks before. “Gonna miss it, gonna miss it!” Chanted a voice from behind me, sounding suspiciously smug at my negligence to pack my bags until the hour before I had to leave. “Ugh, Neb, can’t you just leave me alone? I’m packing! And you’re just friggin’ salty that you’re not old enough to go.” Nebulous Thought snickered, before continuing his chant of ‘gonna miss it’. No. I was not ‘gonna miss it’. There was still an hour til I had to go, and the train station was a five-minute walk at worst. But even as I packed various toiletries and warm clothes, my frustration rose. Why had I waited to the last minute to pack?! I was usually ahead of the curve in packing for camp! Granted, it had previously just been school camps, and this was different. A glance back at my flank reminded me of the reason I was going: no cutie mark, no direction in life. Secretly, I hoped it would be in something cool, like interior design. “Gonna miss it, gonna miss it!” Yeah, being away from Nebulous and earning my cutie mark? This would be a dream come true. I tucked away the last of my stuff into the suitcase and zipped it up, before hauling it off my bed and dragging it over to where the first suitcase sat. All prepared, I took a moment to breathe, which was rudely interrupted by Neb. “So. I’m not going to miss you, let’s just say that. Mum’ll make me say I do though. Just so you know: I won’t miss you.” “Pff yeah, not going to miss you either. You know Mum, she’ll get me to say I’ll miss you” I replied. “Are you ready, Moonbeam?” Called a voice from the hallway. “Yeah all ready to go, Mum.” “Good. It took you long enough.” I took one last chance to glare at Neb and remind him not to go in my room, before grabbing my suitcases and dragging them out of my room. Nebulous followed behind me, making snide comments about my height, and how, ‘if I was strong like him, those suitcases would be light as a feather’. He stopped when Mum came within hearing range of him. Vibrant Thought looked frazzled as always, her curly mane sticking out at odd angles and the various pieces of jewellery she accessorised with sitting crooked where they hung. I gratefully let her take one of the suitcases, and I let the other one drop from my grasp as I ran to say bye to Dad. When I returned to gather my luggage and head out, I found Nebulous lifting one of the suitcases in the air with his magic. Show off. “Well, if you can lift it, I guess you can carry it.” I smiled at him. He scowled back. And with my other things taken care of, all I had to carry was a small day pack with a water bottle and some snacks in it. I slung it over my back, taking care not to disturb my wings, and with that, we were set to leave. The station was a five minute walk at worst, but Mum insisted on taking the scenic route, which took us past the beach she so adored. That turned the five minutes more I had to spend in the company of family into an irritating seven minutes. The sooner I could be around ponies my own age, the better in my opinion. That is to say, none of my friends from school were going on this camp. Half of them had their cutie marks already, and the other half were of a species that couldn’t get a magical symbol on their flank. Which meant making new friends. How absolutely lovely and not awkward at all. When we finally (finally) arrived at the station, I noticed there wasn’t a whole lot of ponies my age. There was a few younger ones pumped at the prospect of getting their cutie mark, and a hoofful of older fillies and colts who looked like they’d just given up already. I was a late bloomer, to be sure, but Twilight forbid late as some of them seemed to be. The only others who looked to be around my age were already talking and undoubtably forming friendships already, and I didn’t want to butt in. Or make them hate me or anything. I glanced over at the station clock, my heart falling a little. Twenty-two and a half minutes before the Twilight-damned train arrived. Hopefully it came early. Hopefully. “Hey guys, guess who brought coffees!” The reddish-brown earth pony declared as she pushed the door open. A tray of bitter-smelling beverages was balanced precariously on her back. She walked further into the room, letting the door click shut behind her. “You get a coffee! You get a coffee!” She pointed at a bright turquoise pegasus and a dark, almost black griffin, who perked up at the idea of liquid caffeine. “I’ll pass.” A dour unicorn grumbled from the far side of the room. “Yeah. Didn’t get you one.” The earth pony’s tone dropped from cheerful to grumpy almost instantly. She slid the tray carefully from her back onto the glass coffee table in the centre of the room, before selecting one of the cups and taking a large sip. The two other creatures collected their coffees, muttering their gratitude to the earth pony. “If you didn’t get me one, then why is there still one left, Foggy Bramble?” “Nope. Not for you. The last one’s for me, you old grump.” Foggy said through clenched teeth. “Could you guys cut it out? We have straws to draw here.” The pegasus snapped. “Uh-uh, not while Crimson’s still wearing that delightful charm bracelet.” “Over my burnt body while Foggy still wears that wretched necklace.” The turquoise pegasus rolled his eyes before turning to the griffin. “Gybh, would do the absolute honour of drawing straws for these two?” “Ok! Those sourpusses’ll probably end up next to each other though!” She giggled. “No promise of avoiding each other allllll camp!” “I don’t mind if you do it for me, Gybh.” Foggy chuckled. “Yeah whatever. As long as I don’t have to come any closer to Bramble.” Crimson replied. The pegasus carefully selected a straw from a mismatched pile on the coffee table, Gybh following suit and picking up three. The pair put the straws back down, away from the pile, and started measuring them. When the results were in, the pegasus grinned victoriously, and the griffin smiled hesitantly. “Well, what’s the verdict?” Foggy Bramble could barely stop herself from going over and taking a closer look. “Heh. Ah, well, Foggy, you’re not gonna like this…” “Shoot.” Foggy muttered. “Don’t tell me-“ Crimson started, before being cut off by the pegasus. “HA! HA HA! Hahahahahahaha ohhhhh this is FUNNY! You guys are right next to each other! That’s right! Foggy gets the Birch Cabin! Crimson gets the Mahogany Cabin! You two are NEIGHBOURS! And in a lucky twist of fate, I get the Oak Cabin! BRIGHT STREAM FOR THE WIN BABY!” “Oh, it’s not so bad. I mean, you could’ve gotten the Palm Cabin, like me. That place is built for summer in the middle of winter!” Gybh tried. “Yeah. Whatever. I’m going to go move my stuff into my cabin.” And with that, Crimson Thorn opened a window and stepped out. “*sigh* Whelp. If you need me, I’ll be moving my bags into the Palm Cabin. See you guys!” “I would stay and gloat, but the fabulous Oak Cabin calls! Buh-bye!” “Yep. Yep. Goodbye.” With no-one else in the room, Foggy sat down and sighed deeply. This was probably going to be Tartarus. “Home sweet home, I suppose” Crimson muttered as she hauled her duffel bag into the staff bedroom of the Mahogany Cabin. True to it’s name, the Mahogany Cabin was made up mostly of mahogany wood. The floors, the roof, the support beams sticking out of the walls, all hewn from the same dark wood. Under any other circumstances, Crimson would have smiled and said this was her favourite cabin. In truth, it was. But her neighbour in the Birch Cabin was surely going to make this unbearable. Crimson Thorn still remembered when she first met Bramble. Back then, Crimson had been a lawyer. Oh how she had hated her job with a fiery passion. But hey, work was work, and it was hard to find when your special talent was in cartography. Most of Equestria was explored and mapped, and she had never been very comfortable being someone’s ‘saviour’ or ‘rescuer’, so a job in search and rescue was out of the question. Even without all these factors, it was hard to get a job just being what she was. It was not the first criminal case she had worked, but it was her first time defending an arsonist with too much evidence against her. That unlawful fire-starting mare had been none other than Foggy Bramble. After she lost in court, Foggy had developed a dislike for Crimson, and due to this, Crimson had likewise developed a mild hatred for Bramble. Which made it all the more annoying when both of them applied for the same job, and were both accepted due to staff shortages, and a request from the higher-ups. Something about ‘diversity’. Looking around the room, she could see it hadn’t changed much from her last stay, with the exception of the bed, which had moved from the right wall to the left. The curtains were still a heavy, floral, dark red material, and the rug in the middle of the floor was still an off-white half circle that always seemed to be off-kilter, no matter how you arranged it, or how many times you arranged it. Leaving the duffel in the bedroom, she stepped into the mini ensuite bathroom through a door to her right. Crimson smiled when she saw that nothing had been changed here either, the grime-edged red-and-white tiles, the terrible shower with only cold water, the cracked mirror and square washbasin. It felt like coming home after a vacation, albeit a vacation with nicer ensuite bathrooms, to be sure. Walking back through to the bedroom, Crimson decided to take a look through the window, which stared directly out to the Birch Cabin next door. When she opened the curtains enough to see a pair of dark green eyes staring back from the other cabin. Crimson yanked the curtains shut again with her magic. No, she would not like a reminder of that wretched mare. With a sigh, she turned and flopped back onto the bed. Scratchy woollen sheets tore at her back, and the springs audibly screeched at the sudden weight. Sure enough, this was not going to be an easy camp.