1. A Humble Request
Summertime Madness
Chapter 1
A Humble Request
Twilight blinked. once. Then twice. Surely she’d simply misheard. As politely as she could, the girl cleared her throat and leaned a little closer. “Pardon me, Principal Celestia, but could you repeat that please? You want me to… what, exactly?”
The air in the small, cramped office was hot and smoggy, a direct result of the rapidly rising summer temperatures. A quick glance out the window revealed many other students hanging around outside, idling away their last lunch hour of the last day of school.
Celestia, a pale skinned woman with a gentle cascade of long pink hair, dressed smartly in a simple brown business suit and a skirt that ended just below her knees, sat behind a small wooden desk, over-flowing with various papers and other stationary. She gave her most promising student a warm smile. “I’d like you to spend a few weeks this summer at Camp Everfree, Twilight.”
Nodding slowly, Twilight leaned back. “Th-that’s what I thought you said…” she trailed off uneasily, a little shell shocked about what she was being asked. A few of her previous teachers had recommended she go to summer camp, but it had always seemed an absurd notion. Even now it seemed far fetched, despite coming from the one woman Twilight admired and respected almost as much as her own mother.
“As a counselor, of course,” Celestia added, opening one of her desk drawers and rummaging around for a second before extracting a sheet of paper with a small noise of success.
Now Twilight knew she had to be joking. Her, a camp counselor? Perhaps if she’d died, and this was her own personal, eternal punishment in Tartarus. Punishment for getting a B minus on her second cumulative math exam, perhaps.
“I know this is a bit different from what I usually ask you do to,” Celestia said, sliding the piece of paper across her desk and flipping it around for Twilight to read. “But I really do think you’ll enjoy it, Twilight. You’ve always had a talent for leading, and this will be no different, simply in an environment outside the classroom.”
Twilight tried to keep herself from frowning at the paper. It was a flyer for Everfree Summer Camp, advertised as a ‘fun, engaging learning experience’. “Are you sure about this?” She asked, failing to hide her skepticism. “I mean… me, a camp counsellor?”
“Just give it a try? It’s only four weeks, and we could always use more counselors. Not only would this be an excellent learning experience, but it’ll give you a great opportunity to make some friends as well,” Celestia said encouragingly, only managing to make Twilight's frown slightly deeper.
Sighing, the girl reluctantly took the paper off the desk, her eyes only very briefly scanning across it. “I don’t see why that’s so important,” she muttered under her breath, wincing as she realized she’d said it outloud. She looked up hesitantly to see the mildly disappointed look her principal was giving her.
“It is important, Twilight.”
Twilight rolled her eyes internally. She was doing just fine without friends, as far as she was concerned. Her grades had been nothing short of stellar, and she was settling down nicely after her family had moved to Canterlot. Trying to make friends only brought more problems; activities that took up valuable study time, awkward situations, arguments. She shuddered; who wanted that? Especially after moving to a new city?
Celestia leaned forward across her desk, giving her student an almost pleading look. “Just one chance, Twilight. That’s all I’m asking for here.”
She didn’t want to do it. Every neuron in her head told her not to even entertain the idea. And yet, part of her wanted to, at the very least to appease her principal, the very woman who had helped her settle in ever since she came to this city. In that moment, Celestia was not her principal, but rather, a caring mentor, and the closest thing Twilight had to a friend.
With a slightly defeated sigh, Twilight’s shoulders sagged. “Alright, I’ll do it.”
Celestia smiled brightly, standing from her chair. “Thank you. And who knows; you may even find that you enjoy it.”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath,” Twilight mumbled as she stood as well, folding the camp flyer and tucking it safely in her pocket. Right on cue the bell rang and the sound of a crowd filtering through the hall outside filled the office. Celestia walked the pair to the door, picking up and offering the young girl her bag.
“Have a good day, Twilight. I’ll call your parents tonight and make arrangements with them.”
Twilight nodded absentmindedly, returning to her classes with her head hung and eyes focused on her purple sneakers. Until she walked straight into someone else. “Oof!”
“Hey, watch where you’re going, egghead.”
With a start Twilight looked up to see an unfamiliar girl with rainbow coloured hair standing above her, dressed in a simple sports jersey and shorts. “Egghead?” She echoed curiously.
The girl, taller than Twilight by at least five inches, just shrugged. “Yeah, egghead. Everyone around here knows you're the principal’s favourite.”
Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Whatever, sorry about walking into you,” she grumbeld before hurrying off down the hall, quickly merging into the slowly moving flow of other students.
A rickety, rundown school bus shook and shuddered as it traveled, sounding about ready to fall apart at a moment’s notice. Trees lined the dirt path that only barely passed the minimum requirements to be considered a road, blocking out the view of the city that was only a few miles away. Inside the long yellow tube of a vehicle only two people sat among the rows of empty seats, one with an ever-present frown as she looked at the passing scenery and the other with a barely contained grin.
Twilight gave another long, tired, bored sigh as she caught sight of a skyscraper for barely a moment through the rapidly thickening grove of trees. She jerked back as a particularly hard bump knocked her head straight into the glass of the window. “Ow…” she muttered, rubbing her forehead tenderly. Her eyes narrowed when she heard the snickering.
“Oh, hardy har, laugh it up,” the girl growled, turning and glaring at her sister-in-law. "Why, exactly, did you feel the need to take a bus? There’s only two of us here!”
Cadence was a tall, pink-ish skinned woman in a simple, light pink t-shirt and matching shorts, each patterned with faint rose petals. Her hair was two-tone pink and white, held up in a simple bun behind her head. “It’s all part of the genuine camp experience, Twilight,” she said with a small laugh. “Usually you’d be riding up with the rest of the counselors but we had to make an exception due to your... extra-curricular activities.”
The sarcasm was not lost on Twilight as she shot the woman another venomous glare. “Hey, reorganizing the community library is important! I couldn’t up and leave for four weeks and just leave it in that state. You know it’s always a mess at the end of the year.”
Holding her hands up defensively, Cadence nodded quickly. “I know I know, I’m just saying, it would have been nice to get your orientation done a few days earlier, rather than the day before all the campers show up.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, holding back an exaggerated sigh and instead decided to turn the conversation off of herself. “How did you, a marriage counselor of all people, become the director of such an… unruly place, any way? It hardly seems like something a ‘proper lady’ would do,” she said, doing her best imitation of a stuck-up Canterlot accent she’d heard from the popular girls around her school. An accent Cadence herself often slipped into.
Fighting of a small bout of giggles, Cadence gave Twilight a sly smirk. “You’d be surprised at how unruly love can be, Twilight. With any luck you’ll experience that first hand one day.”
Lacking an adequate response, Twilight simply rolled her eyes and peered out the front window just in time to catch a small clearing approaching. On either side of the road a large wooden pillar, carved to look almost Greek, stood supporting a sign. In fading and chipped paint were the words “Camp Everfree”.
Just past the sign the road widened into a sort of makeshift parking lot, and the bus shuddered to a slow stop. “We’re here!” Cadence announced with a childlike giddiness, practically flying out of her seat and racing to the door, sharing a few words with the bus driver before the doors parted with a rusty squeak. “Come on! I want to introduce you to everyone before lunch!”
With a heavy sigh and a final glance back down the road they’d traveled, Twilight threw her backpack over her shoulder, grabbed a small suitcase in her hand, and made her way off the bus. The doors slammed shut behind her and with a puff of black smoke and a thunderous groan the beast turned and retreated into the woods, adding a sense of finality to Twilight’s situation.
The dirt road ended at the top of a small hill in the center of the clearing. Carved into the other side was a moderately sized amphitheater. The stones were cracked and worn from age, discoloured from years of sitting out in the sun. On the stage a series of picnic tables had been set up around a large fire pit.
“This place has seen better days,” Twilight noted unenthusiastically as she noticed an old, rundown building sitting on the very edge of the treeline.
Cadence sighed. “That it has, Twilight…” she looked across the crumbling stone and rotted wood tables with a small frown, before spotting a small group of people approaching the stage and grinning. “Come on; the girls can’t wait to meet you.”
Grabbing Twilight by the wrist Cadence excitedly lead Twilight down the cobblestone steps and past the many rows of benches. Twilight managed to slip from her sister-in-law’s grasp as they hit the end of the stairs and stopped even as Cadence rushed forward to meet the group of girls. She was met with warm welcomes and the odd hug, as she chattered happily.
Twilight looked across the five other girls, noting the same rainbow-haired girl from her school with a frown. The rest were unfamiliar to her; either coming from different schools or people she simply hadn’t seen in her own. They all wore simple beige t-shirts with the words “Camp Everfree” proudly written in large letters textured to look like wood and simple, light-coloured shorts.
“And this,” Cadenced announced proudly, taking a step back from the group and motioning towards Twilight, “is Twilight Sparkle, my sister-in-law and the new head of Harmony cabin.”
With all eyes suddenly focused on her Twilight blushed and bowed her head. “Hi…” she offered simply. From the corner of her eye she noted the rainbow-haired girl snicker quietly.
Two girls, one with skin as pale as Celestia’s with elegantly styled purple hair and the other with a light pink complexion not unlike Cadence’s and what could only be described as cotton candy atop her head, ran up and greeted her with large smiles.
“Why hello, darling!” The white one gushed in a thick Canterlot accent. Twilight couldn’t keep her nose from curling, though she was quickly whisked away as the other girl grabbed her by the shoulders and swung her around in circles, babbling excitedly.
“Oh my gosh! You’re Twilight! Cadence told us so much about you and now you’re finally here and I can get to know you and I’m so excited to be able to make a new friend!”
Twilight world stopped spinning with a merciful lurch as Pinkie was practically peeled away from her. “Umm… yes, quite. I’m Rarity Belle, and my… over-excited friend here is Pinkie Pie,” the girl said, holding Pinkie back by the shoulder and offering a small smile.
“H-hi…” Twilight offered again, head still spinning slightly as she tried to focus in on any one of the three blurry Rarity's in front of her.
“Say, do you go to Canterlot High School? I feel like I’ve seen you before…” Rarity trailed off, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
Nodding slowly, Twilight managed to set her vision straight again. “Um… yeah, I’m usually in the library, so you might have seen me there…”
Rarity snapped her fingers, eyes lighting up with recognition. “I have! You’re the nerdy one who always sits alone in the corner and-” the girl slapped a hoof over her mouth, cheeks tinging red. “Oh, I said that out loud... I am so very sorry dear, it’s just… well, never mind that. Though forgive me for saying it, but you don’t exactly strike me as the outdoorsy type.”
“Yep!” Twilight said, choosing to ignore Rarity’s rather honest comment and instead focus on the question. “That’s me! I just love…. the… outdoors and… nature… stuff… ah-heh…” she trailed off as she noted the raised eyebrows of the girls looking at her and sighed. “No, not really.”
It hardly even seemed to phase Rarity, though, as she sidled up next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Well, whatever the reason, let me be the first to officially welcome you to our little corner of the woods. If I’m being honest, I’m not exactly enthralled with the outdoors myself, but, well, it is rather beautiful out here. I fell in love when my sister dragged me out here one year, and they do have proper showers, at the very least."
Before Twilight could offer a response she was swept away yet again by a pink blur, though her spinning was mercifully short this time. “We’re super-duper happy-riffic that you’re here this summer, Twilight! It’s gonna be a aweso-mazing month!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing in place as though the floor were too hot to stand on.
“Cadence tells this uber funny stories from when she used to babysit you! Like one time she told us how you spilled the chocolate pudding? She said it got down your pants and all over your-”
“That is quite enough, Pinkie,” Rarity huffed, slapping a hand across the girl’s mouth before the story could be finished, though if the muffled mumblings were any indication, Pinkie kept trying. “We certainly did enjoy that particular story, but if I recall Cadence told is slightly different… and with much more tact and a little theatrics as well… in fact, if I remember correctly, she even used props once.”
Twilight’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson as she tried to hide her eyes behind her bangs, while Cadence just smiled sympathetically between her own chuckles. She motioned with a hand and the other three girls came closer, each giggling under their breath.
Rolling her eyes, Rarity removed her hand from Pinkie’s mouth as the trio approached. “-underwear!” Pinkie shouted, as though nothing had happened at all before giggling happily and moving in to form a semicircle with the other girls around Twilight.
“You know… that’s not what I expected her to say,” Rarity admitted with a raised eyebrow.
Twilight nodded in agreement. “She seems… odd. A bit like a loose cannon, of sorts.”
“Oh, all the time, darling,” Rarity confirmed. “But we love her all the same.”
Cadence stifled the last of her giggle fit as she stepped into the group, pointing to Pinkie as she bounced around happily. “Pinkie’s the head of Rocky Cabin-”
“Oh! Oh! I picked the name myself! It remind me of home… well, and ice cream. You know, like rocky-road?” She licked her lips hungrily.
Smiling softly, Cadence continued, ignoring the interruption that, Twilight assumed, happened fairly regularly. “She’s also out events planner, and she helps in the kitchens when she can. If you have any questions about our summer events, talk to her.
“Rarity’s the head of Sapphire Cabin, as well as the one who designed our shirts. She’s our newest counselor besides yourself.”
“Do come to me if you have any questions about the camp, darling; I’m more than happy to help,” Rarity offered.
Cadence turned and pointed at a small, yellow-skinned girl with a long pink hair that obscured half her face from view. “This is Fluttershy, leader of Angel Cabin and our resident nature expert. Direct any and all questions about the local flora and fauna to her.”
“Umm… hi…” Fluttershy offered quietly, retreating further into her hair.
Twilight smiled kindly and waved gently. Fluttershy returned her smile, though she shuffled to the side so she was partially hidden behind a girl with range skin and blond hair tied into a ponytail. A stetson rested atop her head, adding yet more height to her already tall body.
“That’s Applejack, head of Apple Cabin - and before you ask, yes; she named it herself.”
“Howdy,” Applejack offered, tipping her hat. “I’m the head chef around here as well, just give me a holler if y’all need some grub.”
Finally, Cadence turned to the only familiar girl in the group. “And this is Rainbow Dash, former head of Harmony Cabin and our athletics director. She’s in charge of planning everything from canoe races to soccer games.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Former head?”
“Yep! Aunty Celestia said you’d be good in a leadership role, so we decided to make you a cabin head. Of course, since it’s your first time here we can’t exactly just let you off on your own, so we reached a sort of compromise. Rainbow’s normally the head of Harmony Cabin, but this year she’s offered her position to you,” Cadence explained. “She’ll still be there, of course; think of her like an assistant of sorts, showing you the ropes and all that. If you ever need any help, she’ll be your first stop.”
Rainbow smiled. “‘Sup, Egghead? Looks like we’re gonna be roomies.”
Twilight sighed, no small of irritation carried with her breath. “Please stop calling me that.”
“Hmm…” Rainbow frowned, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, before shrugging. “Sure, but I’m gonna need another nickname for ya; ‘Twilight’ is just way too long.”
Surprised by the girl’s response, Twilight smiled at her small victory. “Well, I’ve always wanted an assistant.”
Cadence chuckled. “You mean like that poor boy you tutour? What’s his name… Spike, I believe?”
Twilight blushed. “I don’t use him like a slave!” she shouted defensively, her blush growing deeper as she noticed the eyes watching her. “I… I mean… um…”
“Oh, there is definitely a story there,” Rainbow laughed. “Spill it; he’s your ex-boyfriend, isn’t he?”
“W-what!?” Twilight sputtered incredulously. “N-no! Of course not. He just finished seventh grade! I just help him with math and science… and he occasionally helps me around the library… and maybe my home...” She added the last part in a lower tone.
Cadence snickered. “If by ‘occasionally’ you mean every chance you get to bring him with you.”
“He likes helping me.” Twilight said shortly, crossing her arms. “That’s all.”
Rainbow snapped her fingers suddenly. “Sparky!”
“Sparky?” Twilight echoed, lifting an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s your new nickname!” Rainbow announced proudly, as though it were the best idea she’d ever had. Which was entirely likely, Twilight supposed. “You know, like Sparkle, just… shorter, not to mention a heck of a lot more awesome.”
Twilight frowned. “Um… no. Just… just no.”
It was at that moment that an unexpected guest appeared at the top of the amphitheater stairs with fiery red and yellow hair with light gold skin. She wore the same shirt and shorts as everybody else, but it was mostly hidden behind a leather jacket that ended just above her waist. She skipped down them two at a time, her already tattered bag bouncing of each step roughly. She approached the group, a sour look on her face. Twilight just stared at her former high-school rival in shock.
“Alright,” She announced, tossing her bag on the ground unceremoniously. “I’m here.”
Cadence couldn’t hide her sigh, but she did manage to keep her own voice level, if not upbeat as it had been. “This is three years in a row, Sunset.”
Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes. “Well I wouldn’t be here every year if Celestia could take a joke,” she said, her voice dripping in contempt for the Principle.
“You set off a firework in the hallway, Sunset,” Rainbow deadpanned with a sneer. “That’s hardly a joke. I’m the local prankster, and even I don’t go that far.”
“Girls, please,” Cadence said, stepping between the two before it could grow into the shouting match she knew was coming. “We have a new counsellor this year, and this is not the impression we want to make. However, there is going to be a change.
“Sunset, this year you’re going to be staying in a cabin. Harmony Cabin, to be specific.”
Sunset snorted. “Oh great, you’re sticking me with little miss sporty over here.”
Rainbow’s jaw clenched slightly, but before she could say anything cadence shook her head. “Actually, the new cabin head is our new counsellor, my very own sister-in-law, Tw-”
“Twilight Sparkle,” Sunset growled, just now taking notice of the new girl in the group. Twilight returned the glare with an equally venomous one.
This was going to be the worst summer ever.
KBBSNO-IVGH-WMOPV-HKI-LYZO-HUMAXKVS
Hint #1 Vigenere
Hint #2 Don't wear it out
They're gonna get tougher after this.