The Legend of the Everfree

by Shadowmane PX-41

Old Friends, New Enemies

"And you're sure the new machines will work, Svengallop?" Miasma held a phone to her ear as she leaned back against the chair in her office.

"Yes, Ms Miasma," Sven's voice was partially garbled through the phone. "The Chimera units are equipped to burn, shred, and blow up any trees that the team mark. That forest will be turned to dust within the deadline or your money back."

"It'd better be, Sven." Her eyes twitched. "You know what I do the employees who fail me."

"Worry not. Each machine also has a built-in DNA tracker, so if anyone who isn't one of the de-forestation crew tries to intervene, such as that girl from yesterday, the machines will alert us immediately, and we'll apprehend and identify them for you," said Sven.

"Very well, Sven. I am putting my faith in you." Miasma pushed a button on the phone and hung up on him.

All of a sudden, the massive TV screen behind Miasma flashed into life with a picture of a black silhouette shrouded in shadows. There were red streaks projected on the screen, with a logo of the planet on the top-right hand corner. Some source code was visible within the red lines, but just barely.

"Miasma!" The voice boomed. It was very distorted and completely unrecognizable. "What is the status on Project Inferno?"

"It's all going to plan, Grand Master." Miasma turned around quickly and bowed. "Svengallop has assured me that the forest will be destroyed by the end of the week."

"Why do you put your faith in your allies, Miasma?" the figure said. "Beings that cannot keep their promises have no place in New World, and if this so called Svengallop fails you, he will not survive the aftermath."

"I'm well aware of that, Grand Master." Miasma cracked her knuckles. "I have already warned him that if he fails, his life will be snuffed out in the blink of an eye.

"But I am not here to monologue about betrayal and heartache." The figure flexed their arms briefly before returning their gaze towards Miasma. "I am here to remind you that one of our other council members has already embarrassed our order, and another failure will force us to speed up the cleansing, and cut down on your leisure entirely."

"Grand Master. What could possibly defeat the most powerful de-forestation company in the world?" Miasma shrugged.

"These six girls." Six images appeared showing Sunset Shimmer and her friends, as well as their skeletal structures, blood types, and vitals. "One of the council has reported that they are a threat, and wield an otherworldly power that threatens the balance of order. If you see these girls, do not take them hostage. Rather, I want you to put them down before they poison your mind with friendship and talk of another way."

"I hardly see how six teenage girls are a threat, and I'm not sure whether or not you're starting to slip into dementia with this talk of otherworldly power..." Miasma raised an eyebrow.

All of a sudden, the images of the six girls were replaced with perfect recreations of the Fall Formal, Battle of the Bands, and Friendship Games battles, where the magic was on full display. As each video repeated over and over again, Miasma's jaw hung wide open.

"Destroy these brats by any means necessary, Miasma." The voice removed the videos from the screen. "If they ruin Project Inferno, then we'll simply have to begin Project Doomsday six months earlier."

"Those freaks will get everything they deserve, Grand Master." Miasma made her hand into a fist and shook her head. "I will personally crush their hopes and dreams before putting them out of their misery!"

"Very well. But I must warn you, that after the Friendship Games, failure is not an option..." The voice leaned in closer to the screen before it vanished, leaving nothing more than a blank rectangle.

---

The Rainbooms pushed a bush aside to reveal a huge campsite, all set up with tents, an outhouse, a stream, a fire, and more. Everything was very well kept, with very few sticks and leaves on the fabrics that had been laid out for each camper. The water that flowed went off into the deeper parts of the woods, and there was no clear sign of where it was going, where it stopped, and if got deeper or wider.

There were already a nimiety of teenagers at the camp, leaning against trees, playing games with each other, or just washing their faces with the stream water. Each one of them wore bright clothing, had smiles on their faces, and seemed to be having fun with the friends that they already had, and the new ones that they would be making.

"Well, here we are, Sunset." Twilight wrapped her arm around Sunset's shoulders and stretched the other one out to the side as she escorted her down towards the center of the campsite. "Welcome to Camp Everfree!"

"Wow," said Sunset, looking at how neatly everything was set up. "For a camp, this place sure seems organized..."

"Why, of course, Sunset." Rarity ran off ahead towards the campfire. "Camp Everfree has won a multitude of awards over the past few years. Some of which include 'Best Children's Vacation Spot', the 'Silver Star River Award', and most recently, 'Oldest Forest.'"

"With those kinda trophies, you can tell that this place is really, really fun!" Pinkie bounced towards the stream and dunked her face in it. She then pulled it out, flicking water towards a patch of grass.

"I'm starting to see why you girls always come here every year." Sunset chuckled briefly.

"It's not just that, Sunset." Rainbow walked over towards an empty tent and laid down her supplies. "Camp Everfree has some totally awesome things to do when you're not roasting marshmallows, sailing on the lake, or making arts and crafts stuff. And that's why I bought..." She reached into her bag and pulled out an orange plastic launcher loaded with foam darts. "These bad boys!"

"Ooh! Are those the new Sure-Shot guns from S.N.U.F.F.?" Pinkie ran over and gently rubbed the side of it. "Those'll be fun for games of dart tag later."

"Yep! I got the whole line-up!" Rainbow Dash reached in deeper and pulled out more foam dart guns, all of which were orange. One by one, they were thrown out and clattered into a pile by her tent. "I've got Rose and Thorns, Hurricane, Master Blaster, Laser-Eye, and the most expensive one of them all – and my personal favourite – The Eviscerator!" The last one was the biggest and longest one of all with a drum magazine fed into the massive contraption. "Make sure you don't lose the darts when we play with 'em. They're like, ten bucks each to get more."

"Sounds like someone's gonna have a little fun in the woods..." A girl with blue hair, both dark and light approached Rainbow Dash and the gang. She wore aviator goggles, golden earclips, white trainers, and a yellow shirt with a thundercloud on it.

"Indigo!" Rainbow came over and pulled her into a quick hug with back pats. "What're you doing here at Camp Everfree?"

"I figured me and my friends could use a break from the hustle and bustle of Crystal Prep life." Indigo peaked over Rainbow Dash's shoulder at the guns. "Didn't expect you and yours to be here either, I gotta say."

"Anyway, we were just setting up camp when you showed up out of the blue, Indigo." Rarity neatly laid out her folded clothes inside another tent and placed them beside her pillow. "I hear that Rainbow Dash says that you've changed a lot since the Friendship Games, am I right?"

"Yep! Sure did, Rarity!" Indigo put her hands to her side. "I'm not that rowdy, 'win-by-any-means-necessary' Indigo Zap now, and neither are my friends. We've all changed since Twilight moved to Canterlot High, and now that you're all here, I think you should swing by our tents and see how we're getting on."

"That would be lovely." Fluttershy put her bag down in her tent and pulled out a book on birdwatching. "I think it would be much better to get to know you girls rather than play against you."

"I hear that, Fluttershy," said Indigo.

After that remark, everyone burst out into a short giggle fit before they finished putting everything away in their own respective tents. Once they were done, they climbed out and followed Indigo to another part of Camp Everfree.

After a few seconds of walking, the group arrived at five tents where four girls were stoking the fire. They were of course Indigo Zap's friends: Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, Sunny Flare, and Sugarcoat, who had all shed their Crystal Prep uniforms for more casual attire. Lemon wore a simple pink shirt with pictures of lemon slices on it. Sour Sweet now wore an ocean blue dress with a heart emblazoned on the bottom. Sugarcoat, who had let her hair down for the first time in her life, was wearing a yellow and magenta t-shirt. And Sunny Flare, who had swapped out her bowl cut for pigtails, was now dressed in a pink skirt with a small leather jacket covering her arms.

"Hey, girls! Look who I found at Camp Everfree!" Indigo announced as she arrived back at the tents. "Sunset Shimmer and her friends from Canterlot High!"

"No way!" Lemon Zest immediately shot up from where she was sitting and ran over towards them. "Pinkie? I haven't seen you since that radical dance-off back at Club Neon!"

"Lemon Zest! Nice to see ya!" Pinkie Pie high-fived Lemon immediately, jumping as she did so. "Ya still looking for challengers on Dance-off Night?"

"Yeah, but they're never gonna be as fresh as you, Pinks." Lemon pulled Pinkie by the hips. "You've still got the best moves out of any Dance-off challenger I've ever seen at that club."

"Thanks, Lemon," Pinkie blushed.

"Applejack. How are you holding up at Sweet Apple Acres?" Sugarcoat asked with a smile on her face.

"I'm doing fine, Sugarcoat. What about you and your family?" Applejack readjusted her hat.

"Fine. Aside from Fudge Numbers getting good grades in kindergarten, there's not really been much change involving her, me, or my parents." Sugarcoat gently put one of the small logs onto the fire to try and intensify the flame.

"Hey, Fluttershy!" Sour Sweet ran over and gave Fluttershy a big, long hug. "How are you doing?"

"Oh. I'm doing well, Sour Sweet." Fluttershy pulled herself out of the hug and helped brush some dirt off of Sour's dress. "Are you still doing well with my lessons?"

"Yes. There is the occasional blip here and there, but other than that, I have to say that my life's changing for the better." Sour Sweet wrapped her arm around Fluttershy's shoulders and took her towards the tent she was sleeping in. "Mr Ted's with me, I've got my stress ball, and I'm still remembering to treat others as I'd like to be treated."

Fluttershy let out a tiny chuckle. "Good to know that my anti-bully lessons are still helping you out, Sour."

"Hello there." Rarity slowly walked towards Sunny Flare. "I don't think we've met outside of the Friendship Games. My name is Rarity, or Miss Rarity if you prefer, darling."

"Nice to meet you, Rarity. My name is Sunny Flare." She graciously stood up and walked over with the elegance of a lady. "I've actually seen some of your work involving the outfits you provided your friends at the Tri-Cross relay back at the Games. Very avant-garde if I do say so myself."

"Why thank you, darling. I do like to break off from the repetitive types of clothing now and again to deliver a truly sensational work of art to my best friends." She took Sunny's hand and walked to the stream with her. "If you'd like, I can schedule you a fitting back at the boutique once we finish our little vacation at Camp Everfree."

"That would be nice, dearie." Sunny Flare cracked a smile as she slowly dipped her hands into the water to wash off some of the mud that had gathered when she was collecting wood for the fire.

Comments

[RNBW]

This story really feels like a movie. I think that guy with Miasma is Sombra.

[DanceCentralPony2]

There is one thing I'm wondering about. What is the Legend of the Everfree? A Tree of Harmony?

[Shadowmane PX-41]

7046418 Only time will tell, my friend...

[Luna_Lovegood]

True that

[p61blkwidow]

another fabulous chapter! you really do know how to tell one heck of exciting story! each chapter is well worth the wait!!well done!!

[Tennis Match Fan]

And Sunny Flare, who had swapped out her bowl cut for pigtails,

I suppose she grew them out then. With magic.

[FourShadow]

Rather, I want you to put them down before they poison your mind with friendship and talk of another way."

"I hardly see how six teenage girls are a threat, and I'm not sure whether or not you're starting to slip into dementia with this talk of otherworldly power..." Miasma raised an eyebrow.

All of a sudden, the images of the six girls were replaced with perfect recreations of the Fall Formal, Battle of the Bands, and Friendship Games battles, where the magic was on full display. As each video repeated over and over again, Miasma's jaw hung wide open.

"Destroy these brats by any means necessary, Miasma." The voice removed the videos from the screen. "If they ruin Project Inferno, then we'll simply have to begin Project Doomsday six months earlier."

"Those freaks will get everything they deserve, Grand Master." Miasma made her hand into a fist and shook her head. "I will personally crush their hopes and dreams before putting them out of their misery!"

"Very well. But I must warn you, that after the Friendship Games, failure is not an option..."

Um... I don't really think they can do that. But then again, these guys seem like every evil greedy corporate bad guy from Captain Planet, so I'll let it slide.

And yay! The Shadowbolts are in this! Now this is what the Legend of Everfree should have. The five Bolts coming in and joining our heroes. You make me so happy!

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

And we find out that there's more than meets the eye with Miasma... She's not the true villain....