The "Season 11" Project! -- Camp Harmony! (And What Is Patriotism?)

by starponys87

#9 - Camp Magic

Author's Note:

As always, I am happy to receive input from collaborators. I don't want this to be just my project. I want it to be yours, too!

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Many background ponies are recycled as students for the School of Friendship. You can look them up here: https://mlp.fandom.com/.

(Slight update -- 1/29/2022, 9:44 a.m.)

Section #1:

In a big lecture hall, 100 students sat in the benches surrounding the teaching area. Ten of them were Royal Guards, including Shining Armor. Prince Blueblood sat beside him. Blueblood was feeling kind of bored.

There were six gryphons, six dragons (including Charcoal), six changelings, three kirins, six yaks, and six hippogriffs. There were also two deer, one buffalo, and two Breezies. In total, there were 39 non-pony students, including Striper, the little zebra boy. (Pony students also included Sandbar's family and Wind Sprint.)

Charcoal (gray dragon boy with blond hair) sat with five other dragons. Two were twice his height (boy and girl, named Firebomb and Pyroclast). One was the size of Garble (girl, Lavastream). One was as big as Smolder (Ash, a boy), and one was as small as Spike (girl, Claws). All of them had wings.

The foreign creatures sat mainly in their own groups, islands in a sea of ponies. The dragons sat between the changelings and the yaks. Some of the pony students were nervous around these creatures.

The benches were soft and cozy, forming a half-circle, bounded by a wall covered with bookshelves. This was Twilight's usual teaching area.

But now the teachers were Sandbar and Apple Bloom. On the little stage, they stood behind the podium. Striper sat in the middle of the front bench, straight in front of the teachers. Two Royal Guards sat beside him.

"As you know," said Sandbar, "Princess Twilight is very busy with her Princess duties."

"But she ain't abandoned you," assured Apple Bloom. "She'll come by to visit. She misses you, too!"

"So," asked Sandbar, "is everycreature ready to begin our class?"

The room stood silent.

"I'll take that as a yes!"

Section #2:

Above the chalkboard hung a projector screen, rolled up into its container. Sandbar pulled down the screen. Apple Bloom turned on a slide projector.

"As you also know," said Sandbar, "Princess Twilight was not always a ruler. She was not always an alicorn."

"Long ago," said Apple Bloom, "she was a unicorn who loved to keep to herself."

Pressing a button on the projector, Apple presented the first slide. The first slide was a drawing of Twilight lost in her studies. She was surrounded by a fortress of books. (Spike sat next to her.)

"Twilight was lost in her books," explained Sandbar. "Oftentimes, she didn't like other ponies' company. She sometimes got angry when another pony wanted her to join them."

The second slide was another drawing: Twilight snapping at a stallion wearing glasses, who was looking into her fortress of books.

"Twilight wasn't always nice to her baby dragon, either."

The third slide was Twilight snapping at Spike; her horn was glowing with anger. He had accidentally burned one of her books, and he was feeling ashamed and a little afraid.

"Hey!" called Firebomb, raising his hand. "Who said it was HER dragon?"

"Dragons are not pets!" shouted Ash, holding up a fist.

"Yeah!" called Claws, standing on the bench. "Nopony owns me! And nopony owns him!"

"We admire your feelin's, everydragon," assured Apple Bloom. "Y'all really care about our dragon friend. That's great! Thin's are much better now, we assure you."

Charcoal cleared his throat. Facing Firebomb, he said, feeling a little nervous, "Can we ... let the little ponies finish their presentation?"

For the moment, the dragons calmed back down.

Apple Bloom moved to the next slide. The fourth slide was a photo of (then-Princess) Celestia and Shining Armor hugging Twilight, feeling warmed by their affection.

"Even in her worst moments," said Sandbar, "Twilight had at least two ponies she loved: Her former mentor, Celestia -- and her big brother, Shining Armor -- who is sitting right here in the audience!"

Sandbar pointed in Shining Armor's direction. With a proud smile, Blueblood wrapped one arm around Armor.

"Yak prince once hate blue-and-white unicorn," said Rustler, who was Prince Rutherford's younger brother (my fanon for "Unnamed Yak #2" in "Party Pooped"). "But now realize he perfect as pony. No need to be yak."

Nervously, Shining Armor said, "Yes ... I've learned to just be myself. I can't be a perfect yak, so I shouldn't even try."

Rustler gave Shining Armor a big hug, knocking the wind out of him.

"As many o' y'all know," said Apple Bloom, "Celestia used to be the Princess of Equestria."

The fifth slide was Celestia sitting on her throne, wearing her crown.

"For many years," continued Apple Bloom, "she dreamed o' havin' a student who could someday take her place. When Celestia discovered Twilight, she saw somethin' very special."

The sixth slide was a photo of little Twilight with newly hatched Spike sitting beside her. Spike was sitting on fragments of his eggshell, with one on top of his head. Celestia was looking at both of them with a warm sense of affection.

"But," said Apple Bloom, "it would take a lotta love -- and a lotta pushin' -- to turn Twilight into the friend Celestia dreamed of."

"So," asked Button Mash (the brown earth pony colt with the propeller beanie), raising his hoof, "how did Twilight get that dragon egg?"

Section #3:

The classroom turned dead silent. Sandbar's and Apple Bloom's expressions turned blank.

"Yeah!" called Lavastream, holding up a fist. "I wanna know!"

"Hold on, sister," said Pyroclast. "Let the teachers explain."

Apple Bloom and Sandbar stood nervously.

"I'm ... I'm sorry ... ," said Sandbar. "I really don't know. We'll have to ask Celestia. She was the one who gave Twilight the egg."

"She stole a baby dragon!" called Ash, hovering and pointing toward the photo of Celestia.

"And turned him into her slave!" called Claws, also hovering and pointing fingers.

"I wanna burn her flank!" shouted Lavastream, hovering in the air and blowing a big flame.

The non-dragon creatures gasped.

One of the changelings jumped up and hovered above the classroom.

"Wait! Stop!" she cried. This changeling was a "filly" named Shellamar. She looked toward the dragons.

"What do you want, bugpony?" demanded Lavastream.

"Spike is one of our heroes!" said Shellamar. "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be here today!"

"That's right!" added another changeling (a "mare" named Dot). She flew up beside Shellamar. "We would still be hungry and miserable."

"Thorax really wanted a friend," continued Shellamar. "He was tired of stealing love to stay alive. He wanted a better way to live."

As Shellamar spoke, Dot descended toward the teaching area. She landed just in front of the little stage. Shellamar hovered above the teaching area.

On the floor, Dot turned into pre-reformed Throax.

"Thorax really wanted to make friends with the ponies," said Dot. "But he feared they would reject him if they knew he was a changeling."

A third changeling (a "colt" named Chris) landed next to Dot.

"One day," said Chris, "when visiting the Crystal Empire, Spike discovered him."

Chris transformed into Spike without wings. "With Spike's encouragement, Thorax came out of his shell. This was not an easy task for Spike. Long before he was a hero for us, he was already a hero to the Crystal Empire."

A fourth changeling (a "stallion" named Spots) hovered above the teaching area. He transformed into the statue of Spike holding the Crystal Heart.

"For him to take sides with a changeling," continued Chris ... "that put his great reputation at risk. For a moment, Spike was a coward, and failed to stand up for his new friend. This betrayal nearly caused Thorax to give up on friendship."

With angry tears in his eyes, pretend Thorax (Dot) turned his back on pretend Spike (Chris).

"But then," said Shellamar. "Spike saw that he had done great evil. He had failed to be a friend for a creature who needed one the most."

Pretend Spike was full of regret. With sad tears in his eyes, he sat on the ground, looking up toward pretend Thorax.

Shellamar continued, "When Spike admitted he had no excuse, Thorax regained hope. In turn, Thorax proved that he believed in the power of forgiveness."

Pretend Thorax turned back toward pretend Spike. He hugged pretend Spike, and pretend Spike hugged him.

"Thanks to Spike," said Dot, "Thorax found a new way to feed his hunger for love. Never more would he have to steal others' love -- because he now had his own love to share!"

"One day," said Spots, "Thorax showed us what he learned."

Spots turned into Queen Chrysalis.

"But," said Dot, "Queen Chrysalis didn't want to do things the good way. She wanted to stay evil. So we told that tyrant she could buzz off!"

As Dot spoke, she turned into reformed Thorax. Pretend Thorax (Dot) flew up to pretend Chrysalis. His horn and antlers glowing, he gave her an angry stare and pointed as if pointing toward a door. Pretend Chrysalis flew off, but she looked back, grinding her teeth.

"I don' know how Spike ended up with Celestia," said Apple Bloom. "But I know this: Spike is dearly loved by every pony who helped raise him. The love he learned from them -- he has shown to every other creature!"

As she spoke, Apple Bloom skipped to Slide #81. It was a photo of Spike (before wings) riding on Luna's back as she flew in the sky. Slide #82 showed Spike (before wings) sharing a hug with both Celestia and Princess Twilight.

Slide #83 showed Spike (with wings) playfully chasing both Cadance and Flurry Heart in the sky. And Slide #84 showed Spike (with wings), Ember, and Thorax playfully chasing one another in the air.

The changeling students sat back down.

"Spike is no slave," said Sandbar. "He is a valued member of Twilight's family. But for most of his life ... no other dragon loved him. He could not have survived in the Dragonlands. There were many dragons who'd have loved to kill or kidnap him."

Slide #85 showed Shining Armor shielding Spike from a gang of teenage dragons -- and scaring them off! This was not Garble's gang; it was a different group of thugs, who were three times Garble's size. All of them were girls!

The dragons sat silently. Charcoal hung his head.

"I confess," he said ... "I was one of those dragons. These dragons who are sitting with me ... they seem kinder than I ever was. They've never even met Spike, but they already seem to love him as one of their own. I had my own gang and all ... but we'd have sold each other out if we'd thought it would benefit us. So, no ... I can't say that I've ever had a friend. At least ... not until recently."

Firebomb took another look at Slide #85. He gasped.

"Sulphur! My big sister! I didn't know she was a big thug! She was fairly gentle with me."

"Professor Smolder," said Charcoal, "had a similar reaction about her big brother ... who was the leader of my gang."

"I think dragons are widely misunderstood," said Firebomb. "Until recently, most dragons didn't believe in kindness. That much is true. Even so, most dragons had at least one loved one."

"Unfortunately," said Pyroclast, "good dragons had no voice in that cruel world. They would be seen as weak -- or as troublemakers. Most of our friends left the Dragonlands for other countries."

"You know those dragons who live in the Everfree Forest?" said Ash. "And some of the mountains in Equestria? Most of them are not that bad. But they're lonely, and they get angry at feeling they don't belong. I think Spike met one of them. And I think Twilight and her girlfriends met one other. They both want to say they're sorry for turning evil on you."

"The Mane 6 apologize if they did anything wrong," said Sandbar. "And so does Spike. Maybe we can arrange a field trip for the Professors to reconcile with them?"

"I think it can be safely done," said Firebomb.

"They're much happier now that we've arrived!" said Claws.

"So," said Charcoal, "do we agree that Spike is not a slave? And even if he were, most dragons would have been far crueler to him?"

Lavastream hung her head with embarrassment. "I'm sorry about jumping to conclusions. I'm very proud to be a dragon. ... I sometimes forget that most dragons have not shared my sense of honor."

Lavastream, Ash, and Claws sat back down.

Section #4:

"There are many beautiful stories about friendship," said Sandbar. "So many stories that deserve to be retold. Princess Twilight would love us to write them down -- so that they won't be forgotten!"

As Sandbar spoke, Apple Bloom turned to Slide #25. It was a photo of Twilight writing a letter with her horn, with Spike sitting beside her.

"When Twilight was still Celestia's student," said Apple Bloom, "Celestia had 'er write regular letters about her friendship adventures -- and the things she learned along the way!"

Slide #26 was Spike burning a sealed scroll to send it off. Slide #27 was Celestia receiving a letter and opening it up.

"Therefore," said Apple Bloom, "we wish each o' you to keep a diary."

A treasure chest lay in front of the small stage. As she spoke, Apple Bloom opened it, revealing a whole stash of blank books.

From the podium on the stage, Sandbar pulled out his own diary.

"Ever since I met my foreign friends," he said, "there have been so many precious moments -- starting from the very first day! And I don't want to forget a thing!"

Sandbar flipped through his book. It was full of writing, doodles, and photos. "And that's just the first three months!"

Half the students groaned.

"What's wrong?" asked Apple Bloom.

"I hate homework!" protested Diamond Tiara.

"Yeah!" said Silver Spoon. "It'll take all the fun out of friendship!"

"I don't like writing," said a kirin (Winter Fire, a "colt").

"This class stinks!" protested a gryphon (Gary).

"Don't worry," said Apple Bloom. "You don't have to write somethin' every day. All ya need is a few sentences per week. Or a few photos or doodles."

From the podium, Apple pulled out her own diary. She showed a very brief entry for "Week 25", with only three sentences: "More an more, I realize frenship is messy bizness. It's offen chaotic and umperdictable. Frenship ain't for the faint o heart -- but it's what makes life worth livin!"

For "Week 26", there were just three photos: One was Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara hugging after both got covered in mud. The second was Apple drinking milkshakes with Button Mash, Featherweight, and Tender Taps. The third was Snips and Snails smiling and hugging, their tears drying (with Apple Bloom smiling in the background).

"Week 27" was a doodle of Apple and Scootaloo gliding in the sky -- being pulled by Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash, respectively.

Silver Spoon laughed. "I didn't think you had it in you, Diamond!"

"My friend was stuck in quicksand," said Diamond Tiara. "It was the one time I'd get my hooves dirty for anything."

"This is about the memories that you want to keep," said Sandbar. "Things you would love to share with friends in the first place! How does that sound?"

Silver Spoon scratched her chin. "Diamond and I have had a lot of adventures. But many of them are things most ponies can't afford."

"Hey!" said Blueblood. "I think we've met before!"

Silver Spoon paused. "Aquapulcolt? ... Scuba diving? ..."

Blueblood scratched his chin. "I remember helping two fancy fillies find their way out of Corral Cave."

"That blond white unicorn seemed quite nice," said Diamond. "He feels a lot like me!"

Blueblood blushed again, laughing a little. "I couldn't let a little filly get lost underwater -- even if she's a common pony. Aunt Celestia might banish me to the moon."

Diamond and Silver both gave him a hug. Blueblood hugged them in return.

"I almost wish you three were assigned to Camp Generosity," remarked Button Mash. "Then you'd have to invite us to your fancy adventures!"

The rest of the class laughed.

"So, Prince Blueblood," asked Sandbar, "would you like to give all the students their diaries? I imagine you have some of that royal magic, too."

Blueblood activated his horn. "I'll try!"

He fired his horn at the books in the treasure chest. With a big flash of light, every student had their diary sitting on their lap! The Breezies received tiny diaries, a convenient size for them.

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Diamond Tiara.

Silver Spoon clapped. "Good show!"

"So, students!" said Apple Bloom. "If there's an adventure ya wanna remember, your diary will help ya remember! If there's a problem ya wanna solve, yer diary will help ya get yer thoughts on paper! An' if you wanna write a letter, yer diary will help ya figure out how to write it!"

"Even after Twilight became a Princess," said Sandbar, "she continued to write about her friendship lessons. This is not for a grade. These are your notes -- for you to learn and grow!"

"I used to dream o' bein' an alicorn princess," said Apple Bloom. "But I had no idea what a hard job it really is."

Button Mash raised his hoof again. "So what does Prince Blueblood do? Since he's a prince but not a ruler."

Section #5:

Sandbar and Apple laughed nervously.

"So," said Sandbar ... "what job do you have, Prince Blueblood?"

Blueblood stood on his bench. He faced the class with a proud smile.

"Many ponies say that I am lazy. My life may be easy, but my job is just as important. I am a diplomat. I bring together the elite members across Equestria and beyond. I help them work out their problems. Even Shining Armor and Celestia look up to me. My greatest achievement, I believe, was securing peaceful relations between the Crystal Empire and Yakyakistan!"

Blueblood showed a photo of Prince Rutherford giving him a big hug. The yak students stomped their hooves, their equivalent of clapping hands.

"Yak prince like pony prince almost as much as pink pony!" said one yak (Horner, a boy about Yona's age).

Blueblood blushed nervously. Again, he wasn't quite expecting this much praise.

"Blueblood," said Shining Armor with a low voice (now standing beside Blueblood), "this friendship stuff may be easier than you think. You already have some new fans!"

"Well," said Blueblood, feeling slightly nervous ... "I certainly don't want to let them down."

Inside, he was thinking, it would be a diplomatic disaster.

"So, students," asked Sandbar, "do you have any more questions?"

"I suppose I have spoken my piece," said Blueblood, sitting back down. "Continue at your leisure."

Shining Armor also sat down.

"Professors," asked Button Mash, raising his hoof again, "can I write to Celestia, too?"

"Me, too!" said another colt (Skeedaddle, a background unicorn in "Marks and Recreation"), raising his hoof, too.

"Me, three!" said Amethyst Star (light grayish magenta unicorn mare), also raising her hoof.

Many ponies raised their hooves.

"I wanna write to Luna!" said Chipcutter (gray pegasus colt, background pony), standing on his bench.

"So do I!" said Dark Moon (dark gray male unicorn, background pony), his horn glowing.

A few other ponies raised their hooves (mainly colts and fillies).

"Cadance!" called Crystal Beau (light bluish gray Crystal Pony, a male background earth pony). "Will you let me write to Cadance?"

All the Crystal Ponies raised their hooves. Shining Armor seemed a little nervous.

"I wanna write to Shining Armor!" exclaimed Sunshine Splash (earth pony mare from "Games Ponies Play", a Crystal Pony), standing on her bench.

Several ponies raised their hooves, both male and female. Shining Armor felt even more nervous.

"I don't think he gets enough credit," added Night Knight (light grayish blue earth pony, from the episode "The Crystal Empire", a male Crystal Pony). "He saved our kingdom, too!"

Shining Armor started to smile again!

"Please let me write to Twilight!" called Star Tracker (from "Once Upon a Zeppelin"), raising his hoof. "I'd really love to hug her again!"

Many of the students raised their hands or hooves -- including some of the foreign students.

"Can I write to Blueblood?" asked Diamond Mint (light blue mare, a background unicorn).

Several mares raised their hooves. Blueblood blushed.

"And Spike!" called Crystal Beau. "I wanna write to Spike!"

All the Crystal Ponies raised their hooves.

Sandbar blew a whistle. "We will talk with the entire royal family -- including Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood. I am sure they would love to hear how you all are growing as friends! But we must make sure we have their permission. It would not be friendly to send them unwanted mail."

"You're right, Shining Armor!" whispered Blueblood. "I really love my new fans. They make me feel so important. I think I shall enjoy this school!"

"I'm happy for you, Blueblood," said Shining Armor, wrapping an arm around him. "I really am!"

Shining Armor had never felt so important before. Every Crystal Pony loved Cadance, along with Spike. To see that he had a cult following himself ... it made him feel like former Princess Luna!

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Pretty nice.

What will happen next?

[PhoenixFlambe]

Finally, a story that happens post season 10. It's not that bad compared to the Grogar twist.