Welcome to Camp Everfree
Twilight’s POV
I was seeing nothing more than an endless void and fog. Overwhelmed with that sense of vertigo as I stumbled in the darkness for what felt like an eternity. My anxiety skyrocketed and I felt helpless in the void. This nightmare again… I’m having it too often lately. While awake, I try to keep my mind busy, trying to have happy thoughts to subvert that horrid nightmare. I think about my family, my friends, about Spike, and my Aria… but nothing works. These nightmares are driving me crazy! I want it to stop!
“Why are you still struggling? Just imagine what we can achieve together. Didn’t you like the taste of power?"
“What? Wait...” I pointed into the void. “You’re that monster who took over my body at the Friendship Games!”
"'Took over your body?' Oh, Twilight, how can you be so smart, but so naive?" I started to run in the opposite direction, but the voice kept echoing on the surroundings, sounding like I made no distance between us.
“Why do you run, Twilight? Don’t you like magic? Don’t you like the taste of power?” The voice mockingly asked me.
I kept running as the voice kept enticing me. “Why won’t you accept my offer? Think of the advancements you could make with the knowledge and power we would have together!”
“No! I don’t want anything to do with you!”I screamed. “I won’t ever work with you again!”
The voice laughed maniacally.
"You don’t get it, do you? I am not some entity who possessed you!" I ran through the fog until I bumped into someone, I fell on the floor and my vision became blurry. I quickly realized that I dropped my glasses so I put them on before looking up at who I collided with and gasped. Wait. This can't be right. That's...
"I AM YOU!"
Me!? The person in front of me wasn’t the monster I recall who stole my body. She looked like me, but with an evil glare and dark shadows surrounding the eyes. The evil me leaned down to place her index finger under my chin to make me look into her eyes.
"Come on, Twilight, don't lie to yourself! You enjoyed seeing Cinch and the Shadowbolts cower in fear! To see our bullies finally be on the receiving end of the torture they put us through!"
“N-No! That’s not true!” I cried as I crawled backwards, away from this entity. “I’m no bully! I want nothing to do with magic!”
The other me chuckled, waving her hand in a circle as another figure slowly started to form before my eyes. I instantly recognized the figure as my evil counterpart laid her hands on their shoulders giving me a seductive look. “Not even Aria Blaze?” She continued to chuckle, rubbing the phantom Aria’s shoulders. “You do realize what SHE is right? A being of magic from another world not our own?”
Powerless, that’s how I felt right now. Powerless. As the darker me circled the phantom Aria, I felt anxiety and anger swelling inside of me.
“Aria is a siren, a magical beast of song and sea. Might and majesty. With me and you working together we can accomplish anything! You have the power within, you just need to learn to harness it! Once you do that nothing can stop you! Then you can protect her,” She looked at the phantom Aria, rubbing a finger seductively under her chin. “You can protect your alpha from this cruel world, and then punish those who hurt you or her in the past.”
She walked away from Aria and I watched as she was engulfed by a large shadow beast that breached the darkness like a shark, swallowing Aria whole. I cried out of instinct while trying to reach for her, despite knowing it wasn’t really her, or was it? My sense of reality warped as my mind tried to comprehend everything being thrown at me. I cried, gripping my head, and collapsed to my knees wishing Aria was here, if nothing else to prove to me she was alright.
"Like it or not, magic is already part of you, of us.” The other me said as she walked towards me, with her hands stretched outwards. As she approached, her body changed again, this time to look as the monster I remember. Dark feathered wings, sickeningly dark skin and a fiery passion in her eyes for knowledge and power. “We can have the universe at our mercy! All the knowledge and power we could ever desire! We could even turn our beloved Aria Blaze into the Goddess she deserves to be!"
Oh, no. Not Aria. She already had to deal with dark magic. She can’t get involved again! Gaining courage, I frowned and stood up, pointing a finger at my evil counterpart as I funneled my anger to keep Aria safe from this monster. “You stay away from her! I won’t let you-” I was cut short when, in the blink of an eye, Midnight appeared right in front of me. I gasped in fear as she smiled maliciously.
“You can’t keep me away from our girlfriend. I love her just as much as you do, for we are the same.” She said before raising her hand and frowning angrily. “And you’ll do well to remember that!” After saying the last, she shoved her hand into my chest. I cried in terror, a familiar sense of vertigo overtook me, and then-
“Twilight! Twilight!”
A familiar voice called me. I opened my eyes, looking frantically around, and I realized that I was on the floor. I quickly sat upright on the floor when Spike jumped onto my lap and placed his front paws on my chest. So, he was the one calling me...
“Twilight, are you alright?”
“Y-Yes, I’m fine...” I said as I rubbed my head. I hit it hard when I fell off the bed. “This will leave a bruise, though.”
“The bruise is nothing compared to your nightmares, Twilight. Look!” Spike said as he pointed at my bed with his head. “You have been sweating again. You got all your sheets wet!”
“I told you that I have them under control!” I said, slightly annoyed. I then stood up and wrapped all of my sheets, including the pillow cover. “They’re just dreams, Spike! They can’t hurt me.” I headed towards the laundry room with Spike following me.
“That’s not true! You’re not sleeping well, which is not healthy at all. Plus, you keep turning, talking and screaming in your dreams. You can’t keep this to yourself. You have me, your family, your friends. Aria!” I was about to turn around to argue with my pet, but I crashed into a door frame.
“Ouch, that hurt!”
“See? You can’t even concentrate while you walk!”
I ignored the pain and glared at my dog. “That wouldn’t be an issue if you would stop hounding me, Spike. This is my issue! I won’t drag anyone into this!” I said as I kicked open the laundry room out of frustration. “Especially Aria!”
“But she’s your girlfriend!”
“That’s why she can’t know!” I said as I threw all the sheets inside the washing machine. “She already did so much for me. I don’t want to become a bother to her.” Closing the machine’s trap door, I pointed at Spike. “Now, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m going to take a shower.”
My pet sighed. “Yes, Twilight...” I felt bad for yelling at him, but I’m not in the mood.
After taking a quick shower and getting changed into my camp outfit, my phone started to ring. I checked who it was before answering. It was Sunset. “Hello?”
“Twilight, where are you?! The bus leaves in 20 minutes!”
“What?!” I glanced at the alarm clock next to my bed and saw that Sunset was right. “Oh, no, I overslept! Thank you for calling, Sunset, I’ll be there as soon as I can! Try to buy me some time!” Without waiting for her reply, I hung up, picked up my bag and rushed to the kitchen, where my parents were having breakfast.
“Hey there, kiddo.” My dad smiled. “How did you sleep?”
“I slept for too long! Dad, can you take me to school? The bus heading to the camp will leave soon, I won’t make it on my own!”
My parents exchanged looks before looking at me again.
“Sure.” My dad said as he stood up to look for his keys.
“Are you feeling okay, dear?” My mom asked. “It’s not like you to oversleep like this.”
“Yes, I’m feeling fine, mom...” I said between my teeth, which caused my mom to open her eyes widely. Before she said something else, I faked a smile. “I was just so excited for the camp that I didn’t sleep properly, that’s all.”
“Oh.” My mother smiled, but I had the feeling that she wasn’t entirely convinced. “Okay, dear.”
“I got the keys!” I heard my dad say from the other room.
“Coming!” I said before hugging my mom and kissing her cheek. “Goodbye, mom! I promise to call often. Come on, Spike!” My pet came running and I picked him up.
“Have fun, Twily.” My mom said as she watched me leave. I walked away from the room and followed my dad to the car, hoping that the change of scenery would ease my mind. Unfortunately, it barely did. My mind wandered and all I could think about was what my counterpart said. Were we really the same? Was she a manifestation of my subconscious mind and desire? I really hope not, I thought as I dozed off while my dad drove.
“Here we are!” My dad said as he pulled over behind the bus parked in front of my school, startling me awake. Yes, I made it in time!
“Thank you, dad!” I said before kissing his forehead. “I love you. Bye!”
“Don’t miss us too much!” My dad said as he waved at me. The principals, who were by the bus' door, greeted me with a smile.
“Twilight Sparkle, there you are!” Vice-Principal Luna said.
“Wonderful, that’s the last of them.” Principal Celestia said next before smiling at me. “You made it just in time, Twilight.”
“I’m so sorry for keeping you waiting.” I said as I stood in front of them. I could see some of my friends watching me from one of the bus' windows.
“Don’t worry, we weren’t going to leave without you.” The Vice-Principal said. “That’s why we asked one of your friends to call you.”
I smiled. “I appreciate it.” The principals nodded and I entered the bus. As I headed to an empty seat, I waved at my friends. Pinkie Pie waved back excitedly, Applejack nodded, Rainbow Dash smirked and Rarity, Trixie and Fluttershy smiled at me. But Sunset was looking at me with concern. If I sit near her, she’ll surely ask me what’s wrong. To avoid that, I sat with Fluttershy, who had a free seat by the window and was the one farthest from Sunset.
“Hey, Fluttershy.” I greeted my friend with a smile. “Mind if I join you?”
“Hi, Twilight.” My friend’s soft tone was calming and relaxed me a bit. “You can sit with me.”
“Thanks.” I said as I sat next to her. Spike immediately went to Fluttershy’s arms. Once comfortable, I sighed and pulled out my phone. I had no missed calls nor text messages from Aria. I haven’t heard from her for two days now. I thought she would at least text me to wish me a good trip. Whenever I called her in the past few days, she either didn’t answer her phone or our conversations were short. The same happened with any text message I sent. It was frustrating, to say the least. If she got busy, she could have told me. I could have called her sisters, but I didn’t want to speak ill of Aria behind her back.
What are you up to, Aria Blaze?!
“Twilight, Fluttershy!” I was woken from my thoughts by the high-pitched voice of my friend Pinkie. She was sitting on the row in front of me and was currently grinning at me. “Are you excited for the camp? I have the feeling it will be super-duper exciting!”
“Y-Yes, I’m ready.” Fluttershy commented as she stroked Spike’s head. “I can’t wait to spend the days surrounded by trees and cute critters!”
“I’m excited for the night.” I said, smiling a bit. I could use this distraction. “The view of the stars will surely be amazing.”
“You should come to mah farm at night, Twilight.” Applejack, who was sitting behind me, said. “The nights are beautiful from there.”
“She’s right, darling.” Rarity said. She was sitting with Applejack. “The stars look marvelous from her home.”
“Really?” I grinned. “I need to check it out! Thanks!”
“Yer free to come whenever you want.” The farmer said with a smirk.
“Something I’m not looking forward to are the mosquitoes.” Rarity commented with a sigh. “At least I brought more than enough bug repellent.”
As if to punctuate her point, my friend pulled out three bottles of bug repellent from her bag and showed them to us with her signature grin.
“Come on, Rarity, don’t be so dramatic.” Rainbow Dash joined the conversation. She was sitting on the other side of the corridor, behind Sunset and Trixie. “You knew what you were getting into when you decided to come. Of course there will be bugs at the camp! Maybe even spiders!”
“S-Spiders?!” Trixie cowered in fear. “P-Please, don’t say that!”
“I agree with Trixie.” Rarity made a disgusted expression. “Eww!”
“Enough with the wildlife!” Sunset intervened, smiling. “Think on the activities instead! We could do craftsmanship and even go canoeing across the lake!”
“I-I think I’ll pass on that.” I said, feeling a bit uneasy. “I’m afraid of deep waters since I can’t swim.” Aria said she could teach me, but other things kept happening and we had to postpone it, and now… she’s avoiding me. When I get back, we’ll have a serious talk. She has some explaining to do! Wait, that's not me. What am I thinking?! She must have a good reason for not calling me… not even once!
"I-I want to do birdwatching." Fluttershy commented, giving me a chance to pause my awful thoughts. “I hope it’s one of the activities available.”
“I think it was in the brochure.” Trixie said as she scratched her head. “I don’t remember. I last read it before spring break.”
“There was a brochure?” Rainbow Dash asked, scratching her head.
We didn’t have the chance to reply to her because Celestia and Luna entered the bus and called for our attention.
“My dear students! Thank you for being so patient. We’re now ready to go. Destination: Camp Everfree!”
My friends and classmates cheered as the driver started the engine and the bus started to move. I smiled but didn’t cheer along. Instead, I laid my head on the window beside me, where my eyes started to feel heavy. I was so tired…
The excited chatter of my friends started to fade as my eyes closed. We should be arriving at the camp in a couple of hours. If I can... sleep the entire way… it would be… more… than I slept… last night…
“Twilight… Twilight!”
Huh…? I was woken up by someone calling me. I was also being shook. I opened my eyes and when I recovered my vision, I saw that Rarity was the one calling me while Applejack was the one shaking me.
“Twilight, are you okay?” Rarity asked with concern.
“Ah didn’t take you as the kind of person who would sleep on the bus.” Applejack said. She was concerned too.
“Yeah, that’s Sunny’s job!” Pinkie Pie said with a bright grin.
“Hey, I’m awake!” Sunset frowned.
“And that’s shocking!” Trixie said before she and Rainbow Dash chuckled. They did so until Sunset stopped them when she softly slapped Trixie on her arm and glared at Rainbow.
I felt a sickening feeling in my stomach as I watched them laugh together. I looked back at my phone wondering why Aria never called me or messaged me back. I really hoped nothing happened that made her upset with me. I looked back at my friends as they talked among themselves. The girls laughed at a joke Dash made and I smiled, until Applejack and Rarity glanced at me again, still looking concerned.
“Are you sure that yer feeling okay, sugarcube? Ah can see that yer eyes are red.” Applejack asked.
I was starting to get annoyed. Why is everyone asking me if I’m okay? I’m okay!... Woah, calm down, Twilight. That's not you. Take deep internal breaths, like Cadence taught you.
Once I felt a little bit better, I replied.
“I’m fine. I just went to bed late because I was doing a final revision of my equipment.” My friends blinked, apparently believing me. Spike, on the other hand, shook his head disapprovingly. He knew it was a flat lie.
“Oh.” Rarity smiled. “I see. But Twilight, darling, you shouldn’t have ignored your sleep schedule. It’s just a summer camp to have fun.”
“I-I know, and I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” I offered them a fake smile. “I’ll catch up tonight. I promise.” I hope I was able to fulfill this promise. The lack of sleep is making me think bad things.
Applejack and Rarity looked at each other before glancing back at me. They nodded and Applejack spoke next.
“Alright, as long as you have a proper night of sleep today.”
I nodded back but said nothing else. I’m sure that if I spoke, I would sound too aggressive.
“I see the camp!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she pointed out the window. I blinked, confused, and I followed her finger. Sure enough, the bus was going through the entrance of the Camp Everfree. My friends and classmates got excited as the bus started to park. Some of my classmates were already excitedly heading towards the exit.
“Please, remain in your seats until the bus has completely stopped.” Principal Celestia said. Everyone obeyed her and sat back down in their places. When the bus halted completely, the driver opened the door. Principal Celestia and her sister walked out. I could see a woman with pink hair approaching them. They talked for a brief moment before the Vice-Principal walked back into the vehicle.
“Please, make a line and calmly exit the bus.” No one disobeyed her. We all walked out as we were asked for. We formed a line outside too, where the woman with pink hair approached us and did her best to smile, but I could see red circles around her eyes. Has she been crying…?
“Hello, and welcome to Everfree Camp students of Canterlot High. I’m Gloriosa Daisy. I own this camp and I’m happy to have you all here.” Oh, she’s Gloriosa Daisy?! So that means that she’s the one whose brother… oh, no… that explains those red circles.
“We’re happy to be here too.” Principal Celestia said as she clasped her hands together.
“Yes, this forest is as beautiful as I remember.” Vice-Principal Luna added. “Is the solar clock my sister and I made still around?”
“It is...” Gloriosa’s smile seemed genuine, although I still noticed a hint of sadness. “But we also brought a regular clock to tell the time during the night.”
“Ha! See? I told you that it wasn’t entirely a good idea!” The Vice-Principal said as she turned to her sister. Principal Celestia sighed and shook her head, but said nothing.
“This place is really important to my family. The Camp counselor spoke again. Follow me, let’s start getting you settled.”
We followed Gloriosa to a field in the middle of the camp while I looked at the surroundings. Besides trees, I could see cabins and the lake, but I didn’t see any tents around. Will we have to arm them ourselves? Normally I would be excited to build anything, but now I’m too tired to do so. The woman led us to what looked like a small stage.
“Umm, excuse me.” A classmate asked. “Can I ask where are we going to sleep?”
“I was just about to get to that.” Gloriosa said before turning around and smiling a little. “I’m about to assign each one of you a token with the carving of a gemstone in it. The gemstone shows the tent you’ll be getting.” The woman said as she took a bag from a nearby table. “Now, please, get pairs and form a line-” The Camp Counselor was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. We all looked in the direction of the sound and we saw a well-dressed man with a moustache, walking towards Gloriosa and with his hands on his back. “Miss Daisy, a word, please?”
“Daddy...” I glanced at the direction of the person who just talked to find Diamond Tiara, pinching the bridge of her nose, visibly annoyed.
“You promised...” The man insisted.
Gloriosa Daisy’s eye twitched before faking a smile and turning to the man. “Yes, Filthy Rich. Just let me call my helpers and I’ll be with you.” Filthy Rich nodded and Gloriosa put the bag back on the table before taking her walkie talkie.
“Anybody available?” She asked.
“Yes! We just finished the task you gave us.” A female voice I didn’t recognize spoke through the device.
“Good, I need you both here to give away the gemstone cards.” Gloriosa said.
“We’ll be right there!”
Gloriosa put away the walkie talkie and crossed her arms. She purposely gave her back to Filthy Rich so he didn’t see her frowning.
Around a minute later, I saw someone approaching, but the sun didn’t let me see their face as I tried to cover my eyes to see them. They were tall, that was for sure.
“I thought the two of you would arrive at the same time.”
“Your cousin had something else to do so she sent me ahead.” Wait… that voice…
Just then, a cloud blocked the sun, allowing me to see this person. As soon as I saw that face, I gasped and blocked my mouth. Were my eyes deceiving me? Right there, next to Gloriosa, stood my girlfriend, Aria!
She was wearing a uniform which consisted of a t-shirt with the logo of the camp, boots a-and… sh-shorts! I-I could see her legs! Now I was blushing madly!
Aria glanced towards my direction and smirked. I heard multiple gasps from my friends and classmates too. I wasn’t surprised that some of them were uneasy. I ignored them and focused my attention on Aria. I can’t believe that she’s here! Wait, what is she doing here?!
And so, here we are! Camp Everfree! 
While I'm going to try to keep some things close to the canon, I'm going to take some liberties too. I hope you enjoy it 
I want to thank Windsor, Quantum Logic and Zalla661 for proofreading and editing this chapter before its release
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Hey Twilight. Maybe that is why she hasn't called or replied. Terrible phone reception out in the wilderness and all that
Oh man I can't wait to see how this camp adventure will turn out for these two.
Wait....Aria’s working at Camp Everfree?! Oh, this is gonna get good!
10543567 You have no idea how hard it was to keep myself from revealing this sooner
10543655
I can only imagine. Though, honestly, I love the idea of her working there. I just wonder how the trip is going to go now that Aria is here.
10543674 It will be different, I can assure you
10543812
Oh, I can't wait to see how it goes.
10544180 It's her weakness. It's almost impossible to her
Also, please, use the spoiler tag. Thank you
Aria works with Gloriosa Daisy at Camp Everfree as a camp counselor!?
In all seriousness, that's awesome! Now Aria and Sci-Twi will see each other a lot during the trip!
But I'm concerned about the way Twilight was acting, and you-know-who waiting to take control of her!
10544223 Yup! We have planned this for a while and I almost spoiled the surprise a few chapters back
Yeah, the camp will be an interesting experience for them
Yeah, and it's just the beginning...
10545295
Yeah, this is never a fun event.
I swear, all I did was breath in. And bam! Choking and coughing.
I love the way Rarity teases Applejack too, I may have to steal, um, er, I mean barrow from that for a side project of mine.
10545433 Go ahead!
10545450
They are one of two major ships in the story. So, every little bit helps.
I just would be happy to have more ideas for it.
Now, to get through this last 10,000 plus word chapter. They take so long to read.
Though writing them is more of a slog in my experience.
10545464 I hear you
10545472
I've got two words for you, never again.
My brain shut down for four days afterwards. My stream of consciousness, was reduced to a trickle.
I think it even caused me to burn out too.
Don't burn out, it's not fun.
As for the chapter, that pic at the end nearly killed me with how cute it was.
And in regards to this.
It was in this moment, Aria knew, she done goofed up.
10545565 Thanks! The pic is indeed cute
10545606
Yes, yes it is.
10547059
It's not worse, so there is that.
10547733
It's possible, but far from easy
A lot of "the oldest trick in the book" moves still work.
How about that huh?
You, and Chaotic Ink both.
And hot damn. Sonata in a sundress, with ribbons, and bows. I am so there for that.
10547783
I do like good clichés and stuff like that
You're welcome
10548349
Well, cliches are everywhere and we can't escape them.
So, yeah, that.
And Sonata is cute, so why not run wild with it every so often?
10548799
Yeah, I know how you feel.
And, it is so easy to make while being nearly impossible to avoid.
10549114
As I said, this a problem I know well.
Hence, the frustrated outburst.
On the upside on my end. I have been waiting for a game to download from the Playstation store for a while and it has aloud me to catch up with this story.
10549184 I noticed and I'm glad. I always like to read comments. They're like my fuel. They keep me going
10549204
What can I say? Actual feedback is helpful.
10549245 True
Phew, finally, fully caught up.
Thank the sisters.
10549331 It was a long way but you're finally with us now
10549720
I know, right?
10549725
It was, it really was.
Now, just how cute is Twily's surprise going to be?
I am filled with curiosity.
10566578
Thats true but i think mlp cant do romance well in general but at least timber wasnt as bad or as forced as flash but your right he is completely pointless although it could have been better i mean they're siblings he could of played a role like spike in friendship games
10566588 Maybe, but... I just hate Timber so much that I also had Timber killed in Mysteries of Love, a fic in which Twilight doesn't appear until the epilogue with a small role. I can't give Timber another role that isn't feeding the worms, but if it makes you feel better, I won't have any character disrespect Timber's death. I keep my feelings and the characters' feelings separated.
10566604
Oh i couldn't care less about timber either i have many mlp characters that i feel deserve death but just sayin ya hate who ya hate im fine with him dead more room for yuri
10566613 Oh, okay then
I do have a rule, and that's not to kill canon characters. I don't like reading fics where a canon character dies or is dead. But since I don't consider Timber a canon character...
10566619
I agree with that bo
10568563
Bad English huh? You should hear me try to talk sometime.
It's pretty bad sometimes. I have trouble stringing together a sentence occasionally.
So don't worry about it much.
This line makes no sense. I thought it was Aria who could not swim, and Twilight even bought her swimming lessons.
10685494 Twilight doesn't know how to swim. She mentioned so before, and Aria did take swimming lections. Since she used to be an expert swimmer, Aria learnt fast. Aria was supposed to teach Twilight to swim, but was unable to do so.