The Legend of the Everfree

by Shadowmane PX-41

The Festival

Hours before Gaia Everfree cast the spell, the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts were greeting men, women, and their families to Camp Everfree, where the festivities would be held to raise money to stop Miasma's attack on the forest. They met each and every person with a smile, and they watched each of them donate their money to the cause.

There were much more people than they had expected, and they had also attracted a media circus, as well as a number of big name celebrities who loved the Everfree Forest. Such names as Sapphire Shores, Countess Coloratura, and the Wonderbolts arrived on the scene to pledge their support to the forest.

Past the gate and down the path, the camp was already starting to get overcrowded with people, with stands all set up doling out food, drink, and merchandise to everyone who was willing to spend their money. Every penny went towards overturning the bankruptcy papers that Miasma had on the forest, and with two-hundred thousand dollars to raise, the girls were almost halfway towards meeting their goal.

"Can you believe this?" Rarity smiled as she looked at all of the money that the camp had raised towards nullifying the papers. "The story about Miasma murdering people is blowing up on Mystable and Facebook! The news is already estimating that thousands more people are coming, to the point where almost the whole city's gonna be practically deserted!"

"This is great!" Lemon Zest squealed as she handed out shirts and buttons. "If the whole city's coming to support us, then it's safe to say that Miasma and her cronies are done! We win!"

"Now hold on, girls." Applejack walked through the crowds to meet up with Lemon Zest and Rarity. "We're not done with this yet."

"Yeah. Gloriosa did mention the Trial of Hope is still in play, and that we still have to complete it and use the Power of the Everfree to stop Miasma once and for all." Sci-Twi came up to the girls dressed in one of the shirts that the girls had been handing out.

"Miasma's just a pushover now that we've got these powers." Indigo Zap rubbed her fingers together, generating a tiny shock. "And I don't know about you, but I'm definitely getting the hang of this lightning magic."

"Honestly, I think that the Trial of Hope is just about done." Sugarcoat walked up to the girls with a big smile on her face. "Everything looked bleak, but we've pulled through in the end. If it weren't for the girls capturing the footage of Rainbow Dash almost getting herself killed, then we wouldn't have even attracted this crowd to the forest."

"Yeah. Whoever snapped that footage really saved our skins." Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head and chuckled.

"Hey, girls!" Gloriosa jumped down from the trees and landed in front of the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts. "Gotta say, the place looks great!"

"Yeah." Pinke walked up to Gloriosa and put her hand on her shoulders. "The forest's already attracted a few thousand, and it's drawing a few extra more with the story on Miasma trying to kill Dashie. Safe to say, the forest is safe."

All of a sudden, Gloriosa's pocket glowed, and she pulled out the Gatekey, which was now starting to glow a faint blue colour as the interior of the orb started to fill up with bright white magic. "And just when I thought you girls couldn't surprise me anymore." She smiled and rubbed the Gatekey gently. "The magic in this forest is already beginning to resurface. It's almost time for the Gatekey to open up the Gate again!"

"Awesome!" Sunset Shimmer smiled at Gloriosa's happiness. "So that's the Trial of Hope done?"

"Just raise enough money to overturn the papers, and the Gatekey's power will be fully restored." Gloriosa nodded and put the Gatekey away. "And when that happens..."

"It's bye-bye, Miasma De-forestation Co!" Rainbow Dash uppercutted thin air and jumped up high.

"Keep everyone's spirits high, make them buy and donate, and that should be all that she wrote." Gloriosa was about to turn away, when she was stopped by Pinkie's hand.

"Wait, Glori!" Pinkie Pie's hand cupped on the girl's shoulder. "Aren't you going to stay and support the camp?"

"I know I'm happy, and as much as I want to support you, Gaia Everfree usually tends to go insane without someone like me or daddy to keep her in check." Gloriosa looked back at Pinkie and gently took her hand off of her. "If I'm not with her, she could have one of her berzerk tantrums."

"Berzerk tantrums?" The girls all chorused.

"Yeah. Turns out that Gaia Everfree goes completely furious and becomes a savage and mindless beast if I'm not there to keep her in check." Gloriosa gave the girls a sad nod before she went through the crowds. "I'll stay with her for as long as I can, but I'm definitely coming back to see how you're doing."

"It's fine, Pinkie Pie." Applejack held on to Pinkie's arm tightly as Gloriosa left. "Gloriosa's got her own business, and we've got ours."

"Yes. The Crystal Gala might be going smoothly, but we should be the ones who are aiding and assisting the guests most of all." Sci-Twi looked out at all of the stalls, packed to the brim with lines longer than they had seen before. "We were the ones who came up with it, after all. It'd be a shame if we didn't keep the crowd happy, right?"

"Yeah! With all of these super-duper people, it'd break my heart to see any of them sad..." Sweet came up with Sour.

"Anyone except me." Sour gruffly puffed at her fringe, crossed her arms, and looked away.

"And besides, everyone's in such high spirits. Why wouldn't we want to help out?" Pinkie jumped through the crowd with the others close behind her. "C'mon, everyone! Let's get to it!"

The sun is setting on a brand-new chapter
I feel like now's our happy ever after
It's been a long hard road
But as the legends had foretold
We were born to save the day, and Save the Camp!

Pinkie Pie started to sing with the rest of the girls joining in as they quickly took their places at the kiosk and stalls. To the beat, they handled each and every customer's request and gathered the money.

After the chaos back at Canterlot High
All of these smiles do bring a tear to my eye
These many supporters
Who kindly took our words
They all came to save the day, and Save the Camp!

Applejack took over the song, and was soon joined by Sunny Flare and Rarity, before the other Rainbooms and Shadowbolts finished the verse.

Together, the twelve of us can win
Together, the twelve of us will strive
If we all stand together, if we all believe hard
then the forest's magic can be revived!

Together, we'll overcome the dark
Together, we'll beat the enemy
As our bonds grow ever stronger, and the lights shine ever longer
We're the heroes that the camp truly need!

When the girls made it to the chorus, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Sour, and Sweet were now busy managing food service, shelling out the proper orders to the right people, nimbly chucking things to each other and catching them to speed up the process. Fluttershy and Sour remained behind the counter while Sweet and Pinkie were handing the food out and taking care of the mess.

The forest's purity is worth preserving
All the activites are worth observing
When those things come under fire
And taint what we desire
Then we'll come to save the world, and Save the Camp!

Rarity was busy with not only the distributing of the T-shirts, but also showing off a wide array of forest-themed dresses and outfits. There were things similar to what Gloriosa had been wearing on display, as well as a few unique pieces that Rarity had covered with jewels.

The race is on, my friend, I'm gonna beat'cha
At the finish line I'll be there to meet'cha
Oh, it's a bet is it?
A Shadowbolt don't quit
It's a race to save the world, and Save the Camp!

Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap were racing against each other in a make-shift track, the two of them able to restrict their powers during the race so that it was fair. They cast each other smirks as they picked up the pace around the track.

Together, we'll triumph over her
Together, we'll fight to save our home
As the clouds all fly away, it starts a brand new day
For the forest's campers to freely roam!

Together, Miasma's plans will fail
Together, the machines will fall apart
The words we have our strong, if you'll listen to our song
And believe in the twelve us of with all your heart!

In the next chorus, the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts were all white-water rafting together in the same raft, holding on tight while also keeping control of their ride. There were six rows of seats, and each of the Rainbooms was sitting next to the Shadowbolt who was the most like them, with Sour watching from the side, turning away and scoffing when she saw them all smile.

As all our hard work does pay off
And everyone has a great time
I couldn't care less about the future
Or what's to come for us down the line

Sci-Twi sang with the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts making a chorus in the background. The spectacled girl put her hand on her chest and looked up to the sky as she sang.

But with the darkness still inside of me
And with Miasma's actions being quite awry
I might not be able to win against Midnight
But I definitely won't say I didn't try...

During the second half, she saw Midnight and Miasma appear in her vision, but when she spoke the last two lines, a smile crossed her face again, and the figures vanished on the wind as she rejoined the Rainbooms.

All of our long, hard work has been quite taxing
That's why Camp Everfree's been so relaxing
Crystal Prep and Canterlot High
Friends, families, you and I
We're all here to save the world and Save the Camp!

Sugarcoat begun the third verse, giving smiles as she and her friends showed off their powers in a magic show. Together, their unique powers wowed the crowd, and when Sour and Sweet came on with their bit, the audience couldn't help but laugh at their shenanigans.

The world around this place is really tranquil
And we're not gonna put those trees through the sawmill
United we stand strong, and we shall sing our song
As we've come to save the world, and Save the Camp!
As we've come to save the world, and Save the Camp!
As we've come to save the wooooooooooooorld, and Save the Caaaaaaaaaaaamp!

The show resumed, with the other Rainbooms and Shadowbolts taking to the stage as they performed all of their magical powers at once, before Sugarcoat fired a volley of fireworks into the sky which all burst seconds later, illuminating the night sky with all kinds of alluring colours and bright patterns. As they finished the song, they all took a bow, not noticing that all of them—even the Shadowbolts—had grown their pony ears, tails, wings, and horns. It quickly disappeared once they got back up, though.

---

Meanwhile, Miasma's Cerberus mech was charging down the road towards the forest with a few other logging machines in tow. The beast's massive metallic feet made craters in the ground with each step, and the heads all roared as Miasma pushed on a few buttons inside of the cockpit.

"Target identified. Everfree Forest within firing range." The Cerberus' AI system spoke to Miasma as a targeting reticle appeared around the forest, which was outlined by a bright white line. "You may feel free to attack, Miasma."

"Good..." Miasma slammed on another button, sending out a barrage of missiles out towards the forest that would destroy a good few acres of the forest.

Mere seconds before the missiles could hit, though, the forest suddenly grew a massive wall of thorns that blocked out all of the trees, wildlife, and sky behind it. Some of the thorns that stuck out of the forest fired back at the missiles, destroying them instantly before the wall suddenly transformed into a dome, covering the whole forest in the sharp foliage.

"What the?!" Miasma's jaw dropped as the missiles were destroyed. "Grr! Fire second volley!" She hit the button again.

Just like the last time, the missiles were fired, and then immediately destroyed by the thorns as they shot out at the flying ordinance.

"Miasma!" the screen suddenly changed to the image of the Grand Master of New World, identifiable by the blackened silhouette and red pixels on the bottom and top of the screen. "Cease your fire. The forest is guarded."

"Guarded?!" Miasma fumed. "That's impossible! It's just a pathetic little forest! It can't have some kind of magical bubble protecting it!"

"The Rainbooms are craftier than we anticipated, Miasma." The Grand Master began scratching their chin. "Inside the forest is a powerful magical source. Find it and destroy it. Only then will you be able to tear it down."

"Magic?" Miasma parroted.

"Yes. The very same that caused a stain on Abacus Cinch's reputation, and almost had her kicked out of New World." The Grand Master leaned forward, revealing a mouth and some of the figure's hair. The skin around it was yellow, and the hair was red and yellow, just like Sunset Shimmer's hair was. "Do not let me down, Miasma. And do not let this magic destroy you as it did her..." The screen returned to normal.

"So that's your little game, is it, Rainbooms?" Miasma cracked a small grin as the Cerberus took a few steps towards the protected forest. "Well, you're soon going to learn that magic isn't meant to be hogged, and it certainly isn't meant to be used by some impudent little babies who don't even know what it's truly capable of.

"When we obtain the secret to your little magic, it shall prove greatly beneficial to New World's plans, and will make us truly unstoppable when the purge destroys everything on this miserable planet." Miasma saw the forest begin to sink into the ground and get replaced with a barren wasteland of road, grass, and trees. The Cerberus walked to the middle of where the forest used to be and began to drill heavily into the ground. "Glory to the Grand Master! And to the new world that they shall create!"

Comments

[Stardust_Shade]

So human sunset is the big bad? O.of bruh....

[FourShadow]

Oh boy, this isn't gonna be good. And I can only pray to the gods that human Sunset Shimmer isn't the villain behind this...

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

7559121 7750406

I don't think that's Sunset.....