TimberTwi Tales: First Impressions

by CapNTilfy

Three of a Kind

Within a matter of minutes, Sunset and Twilight met Gloriosa in the one place she felt their discussion could truly be private: her room.

Twilight and Sunset sat on the floor while Gloriosa sat on her bed.

"Why don't you come sit down here with us," Twilight asked as she patted the floor.

"I'm more comfortable on my bed."

Twilight glanced at Sunset, who shrugged.

"Fair enough," Sunset said. "So how do you want to start?"

Gloriosa took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Well..." She told Sunset and Twilight about the memories that surfaced during her long walk, then ended with the moment she hugged Timber. By the time she had finished, she was in tears again.

Twilight's jaw had dropped when she heard of Gloriosa and Timber's final moments with their parents, and tears were in her eyes as well.

"Please don't tell Timber I told you that story," Gloriosa said after a sniffle. "He's a little sensitive about it."

"I-I won't," Twilight said as she wiped away a couple of tears.

Sunset got up off the floor and sat on Gloriosa's bed, then put a supportive hand on the camp counselor's shoulder. "I'm all too familiar with those feelings of guilt and failure," she said softly. "Of course, I already told you my story so you already know that. My point is, I've been there."

Gloriosa heaved a long sigh. "You also said it took you months to recover from it." She looked at Twilight. "What about you?"

"Same," Twilight said. "Though my case was a little different from Sunset's. You see, I used to be from Crystal Prep."

Gloriosa blinked in surprise.

Twilight nodded, then told Gloriosa of her experience there and what happened during the Friendship Games, with Sunset adding her own perspective here and there. She then finished with the moments where she regained her confidence just earlier in the day.

"Wow..." Gloriosa was awestruck. "I didn't know you were going through so much, Twilight. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I didn't think anyone could help me."

"But, here we are," Sunset said. "Twilight and I are fully confident in ourselves now."

"So... what is it that I have to do," Gloriosa asked.

"The first step is to be able to forgive yourself."

"I don't know if I can."

Sunset smiled warmly. "It doesn't have to be right now. Take your time. This isn't something that can just be done overnight."

Gloriosa sighed as she got off her bed, then hugged herself as a vision of Timber's teary-eyed face entered her mind. "How... How did you live with yourselves," she asked as she walked over to the bedroom window.

"As best as we could, Gloriosa," Twilight said. "As best as we could."

Gloriosa shivered. "It... it hurts." She grit her teeth. "It hurts a lot. Almost as much as the night Timber and I lost our parents..."

"And how did you cope with that loss," Sunset asked.

Gloriosa turned around with sadness in her eyes. "Unfortunately, I didn't have the time for that. Not initially, anyway. The next round of Camp Everfree was a month after they died, so Timber and I had to pour pretty much all of our energy into adding on what our parents had planned out."

"And you had no outside help?"

"Timber and I had enough to go on, but it wasn't easy. You know, with the constant reminder of their untimely passing."

"I can only imagine," Twilight said in a hushed tone.

"There was one thing that I used to do before the magical geodes arrived..."

"And that is?"

"Well... I used to walk around the forest. Naked."

Sunset's eyes widened. "While people were camping?"

Gloriosa shook her head. "Only in the earliest hours of the morning. If I were to give it a time frame, I'd say maybe about an hour before the time I set for those early morning nature walks Fluttershy enjoys." She sighed as a smile slowly formed on her face. "You should both try it sometime, it's very liberating."

Twilight and Sunset glanced at each other, then blushed furiously.

Gloriosa snorted. "Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to."

"I can understand the appeal of naturism," Sunset said. "After all, ponies don't normally wear clothes."

Twilight's blush remained. "I-I don't want anyone to see me naked unless it's medically necessary."

Gloriosa nodded. "Fair enough."

"So... feeling better," Sunset asked.

Gloriosa smiled faintly. "A little, for now."

"Is there anything else you want to talk about with us," Twilight asked.

"Nah. I'm good." She walked up to Sunset and Twilight, then hugged them both. "Thank you."

Twilight and Sunset returned the hug, enjoying the warmth and love. After a few moments, they broke it.

"You're welcome," Sunset said.

"Call on us if you need anything, okay?" Twilight headed for the door.

"Of course," Gloriosa said as she waved goodbye. Twilight and Sunset left, and she resumed staring out the window, her thoughts swimming and processing the meeting she just had.

---

Twilight and Sunset exited the cabin, and Sunset stretched. "I think that went well, don't you?"

Twilight nodded. "That felt good, making Gloriosa feel better like that."

Sunset grinned. "Welcome to the team, rookie," she said as she gently punched Twilight on the shoulder.

Twilight laughed. "Thanks, leader."

Sunset smiled and rolled her eyes. "So what do you want to do now? Everything's pretty much set up in the cave, thanks to your organizational skills."

Twilight cupped her chin in thought. "I don't know. There's plenty of possibilities."

"Well, we could always go back to the Sapphire Tent and figure things out from there."

Twilight shrugged. "Eh, why not?"

Twilight and Sunset walked in companionable silence, enjoying the breeze and the occasional chirp of the birds.

Twilight sighed. Such serenity around her redoubled her determination to keep Filthy Rich from taking this outdoor paradise. It would be such a waste and a great shame to see it go.

Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer reached the Sapphire Tent, then went in...

...only to be attacked.

Comments

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

That ending. Oh boy.

This was... interesting. I kinda feel it skimmed over what could have been really interesting, seeing Sunset and Twilight tell Gloriosa a bit about their own experiences with magic and all, though on the other hand I do get that you probably didn't want to summarize stuff from the prior movies. So... yeah. Could go either way I suppose

Sure as hell didn't expect the naturism mention from Gloriosa either. Okay then! Is this gonna be some future thing I should be aware of for a story? XD

[CapNTilfy]

10217550
Not a story, but a chapter. The nudity won't be descriptive, if that's what you're worried about.

I'm assuming you figured out what's going to happen next chapter?

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

10217649
Ohhh, I see what you mean. XD
Nah, I wasn't worried per se, just surprised, that's all.

[talefortheages]

Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer reached the Sapphire Tent, then went in...

...only to be attacked.

...........by Spike.

Also I giggled at Gloriosa's little stress relief hobby (if you can call it that). I liked that she got to chat with Sunset and Twilight, though I feel like it could have been a bit more descriptive. But what do I have to complain about? I am reading a good story for free that you worked hard on.

Great work as always! Can't wait to read the next chapter!

[CapNTilfy]

10168497
"The happiest days of your life"? I'm curious, but I don't want to pry...

I'm the oldest of my siblings, and I love them to pieces!

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

"Well... I used to walk around the forest. Naked."

https://m.

...only to be attacked.

Uh oh!