> Return to Everfree
>  by Godslittleprincess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1:  Space Between
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Micro Chips muttered to Flash, who was sitting at the seat behind him.  The two of them were sitting in the left front two rows of the Rainbooms’ tour bus. However, the tour bus wasn’t quite being used for its intended purpose right now.

“I didn’t know who else to ask,” Flash retorted defensively, “and out of everyone I did ask, Sandalwood was the only guy who voluntarily said yes.”

As if on cue, the sleeping teenage boy with green dreads sitting next to Micro Chips let out a loud snore.

“Are you sure you couldn’t have begged anyone else?” Micro Chips continued to gripe. “What about Bulk Biceps?  He likes working with kids.”

“Work schedule conflict,” Flash bluntly replied.

Micro covered his face with his hands and groaned, “Flash, remember what happened the first and last time you and Derpy talked me into volunteering with you guys.  The kids wore me out so thoroughly that I fell asleep the moment I got in your car, and that was just after two hours.  How am I supposed to last a whole week?”

“Will you chill out already?” First Base piped up from next to Flash.  “I mean, the kids aren’t that bad.”

“That’s because YOU have the energy to keep up with them; I don’t,” Micro snapped.

Behind them, the sixteen residents of Chrysalis’s Home for Children were either quietly occupying themselves or chattering excitedly with their seatmates about what the week might have in store for them.  However, they were mostly just happy to be away from their current legal guardian, Ms. Chrysalis.

Ms. Chrysalis had to go out of town for some unknown business, leaving her assistant Thorax in charge of the children’s home.  Thorax took it as an opportunity to take the kids out for the closest thing that they’ll likely ever get to a vacation under the home’s care. Or at least, that was what he had been hoping to be able to do.

Thorax knew that Ms. Chrysalis kept the home’s finances under a close watch and a tight leash, so spending any money that didn’t come out of either his own salary or an outside donation was out of the question.  Thankfully, Flash, Derpy, and their friends were able to raise enough money for him to take the kids to Camp Everfree.  The Rainbooms even gave him and the kids use of their tour bus as transportation.

Across the aisle from the boys, sat the four female volunteers, Derpy Muffins, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and Pinkie Pie.  Derpy was, or at least appeared to be, staring blankly out the window at the changing scenery.  Twilight was reading something on her phone.  Sunset was playing a game on her handheld console, and Pinkie Pie was playing with her stuffed alligator and singing to herself.

“Will you be lost by time or be part of history?/Will your story be told or remain a mystery?” Pinkie sang.

Flash stole a glance at Twilight before letting out a sigh as he allowed his smile to falter for half a second.  Then, he popped his earbuds into his ears and leaned back into his seat, allowing the music to drown out the nagging worry that was poking at him from the inside of his head.

However, First Base noticed the change, however fleeting, in his brother’s expression and asked, “Hey, Bro, you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Flash lied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Base raised an eyebrow in suspicion before shrugging it off and looking out the window, watching the clouds drift by and change shape.


 
When the bus pulled up at Camp Everfree’s tiny parking lot, all the kids excitedly piled out of the bus, taking their meager belongings with them. Even Honey Bee had a hard time maintaining her usual sour attitude.  The female volunteers followed the children out while the male volunteers helped Thorax unload the rest of the supplies.

“Hey, kids!” Thorax called.  “Stay in front to the gazebo until I finish talking to the camp directors.  I don’t want anyone getting lost or hurt before the week has even started.”

“Yes, Mr. Thorax,” the children all chorused back.

Thorax then went inside a cabin near the parking lot, leaving the volunteers in charge.

“This is going to be so great!” exclaimed Robin, a six-year-old boy with green eyes, rusty red skin, and brown hair.  “A whole week without Ms. Chrysalis!”

His older sister Nightingale clapped her hands gleefully in agreement.  “I can’t wait to sing songs around the campfire. Mr. Flash, did you bring your guitar?”

“Sure did, Gale,” Flash answered with a wide grin, lifting his guitar case for emphasis.

Twilight giggled as she watched the eight-year-old girl squeal in excitement and capture Flash in a sudden hug.

“Is there anything else you kids want to do while we’re out here?” Derpy asked.

“You mean we get choices?” cried 5-year-old Missy as she bounced up and down with excitement.

“Uh, yeah, you get choices,” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing around with the little girl.  “You can make s’mores, roast hotdogs, make s’mores while you roast hotdogs, make cookies, make s’mores with the cookies you made, make floating lanterns, make floating lanterns out of marshmallows, etc., etc., etc.”

“Ooh, I want to make a kite that actually flies!” shouted Chitin, an 8-year-old boy with yellow-green skin and turquoise hair.

“Me too,” cried another boy his age with cream skin and dark blue hair.

“I want to go look for birds,” said Chitin’s younger sister Ala.

“I want to go swimming,” added 11-year-old Kit.  Immediately, all the other children when silent.

“We don’t own any swimming clothes, dumb-dumb,” Bee berated the younger boy. “Besides, you’re the only one who knows how to swim.”

Before Sunset Shimmer could scold the sharp-tongued girl, a cheerful feminine voice called out, “Attention, campers!  Is everyone ready for the best week of camp ever?”

Everyone turned their attention towards the gazebo where Mr. Thorax and two other people stood.  The one who called for everybody’s attention was a young, light pink woman with fuchsia hair and green eyes.

Everyone cheered in response to her question, well, almost everyone.  Bee simply shrugged her shoulders.  Flash clapped in agreement but didn’t make a sound otherwise.  First Base also could have sworn that he saw his brother’s eyes narrowing.  Base followed his brother’s gaze towards a teenage boy who was standing next the young woman.  The boy looked a few years older than Flash and had green hair and brown skin.  Base also noticed that Twilight also wasn’t cheering and had her face turned away from the gazebo.

“Hello, everyone, I’m Ms. Gloriosa the camp director,” the young woman continued before gesturing to the teen, “and this is my brother Timber Spruce.  Now, before we assign tents, we want to hear what you kids would like to do this week.”

The kids all began shouting out their answers at the same time, so Thorax had to raise his voice and get them to calm down.

“Kids! One at a time,” Thorax scolded. “Just raise your hands and wait. All of you will get a turn.”

Gale and Robby said they wanted to do campfire songs.  Missy wanted to make s’mores, roast hotdogs, make cookies, play hide and seek, play tag, etc., etc.  Chitin and Carpenter Pencil wanted to build kites, and Kit, of course, wanted to go swimming.

“We don’t have anything to go swimming in!” Bee once again yelled at orange-redhaired boy.

“Actually,” Thorax clarified.  “I did get you all something to go swimming in.  They’re not actually swim clothes, but they’ll do in a pinch.  I think now would be a great time for the volunteers to teach you guys some swimming basics.”

“Sweet!” cheered Kit before sticking his tongue out cheekily at Honey Bee. The blonde-and-black-haired girl only rolled her eyes in response.

“That’s perfect,” Gloriosa agreed.  “My brother just happens to be a trained lifeguard, so he can help your volunteers out with that.”

Flash inwardly groaned as he tried and failed to keep his left eye from twitching.

“Oooh! Don’t forget to tell the kids about the camp gift!” Pinkie Pie squealed.

“Of course,” Gloriosa chuckled.  “Every year, the campers all work together to leave something behind for future campers.” Then she pointed at various landmarks at the camp.  “Like this gazebo or that totem pole or that sundial.  Oh, and let’s not forget how the group from CHS fixed up the dock.”

“Then again, maybe we can skip the camp gift for this group,” Timber Spruce interrupted.  “I mean, no offense, but you guys are a little too young to be doing any kind of construction work, so I doubt you’d be able to leave anything useful behind.”

“Aww!” the kids all cried out as they hung their heads.  Thorax made a pained expression at the exchange before turning to and glowering at Timber.  Timber probably didn’t mean anything malicious by what he had said, but how dare he talk down at Thorax’s kids like that!

Flash felt off-put by the exchange as well.  On top of that, he was sure that Timber Spruce was completely and totally wrong.

“I think we can do it,” Flash spoke up.  The kids all lifted their heads and turned towards him.  “I know we won’t be able to do a lot of heavy work, but if we all work together, I know we’ll be able to leave something behind.  It might not be very big, but it will tell everyone who comes after us that we were here and that we had a good time, and that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed, “and you’ll have us helping you.”

The kids and Thorax all brightened at this.

“So, what exactly are we going to be leaving behind?” Bee pointed out the obvious.

“Uh,” Twilight stuttered as she turned to Flash, who turned to Micro Chips, who turned to Sunset, who turned to Pinkie Pie, who just obliviously stood there with a smile on her face.

“We’ll have plenty of time to figure that out,” Thorax quickly diffused the situation, “but for now, let’s get you your tent assignments.  Everybody, get together with your assigned buddies.”

Gloriosa let out another chuckle as the kids paired up, “Normally, we have each of you pull out a card and have you share tents with whoever has the matching card, but since your buddies are already pre-assigned, each pair gets to pick out one card, and whatever picture you get on the card is where you and your buddy will be staying for the rest of the week.  Girls, get your assignments from Timber.  Boys, you’re with me.”

Two by the two, the kids made their way to Gloriosa and Timber and pulled out a pictured card from the bags that the two of them were holding.  However, a bit of a scuffle broke out between Denim Jacket and Obsidian Chisel’s younger brother in the boys’ line.

“Hey, Sid and I were here first,” Cerulean Brush cried, shoving Denny.

“No, we were,” Denny shoved back.  A few other boys began to join in the shoving and screaming, causing Gloriosa to freeze in shock.

Flash quickly stepped in before anyone could come to blows.

“Hey! Hey!” he called out.  “Stop that!  Stop shoving.  Come on. You guys are better than this.” Once he had the boys’ attention, he began to direct them into an orderly line.  “Now, I want everyone to line up quietly.  No fighting, okay?”

“Okay,” the boys glumly agreed before lining up as they were told.

“Yeah, that’s right.  Just like that.”

Twilight giggled a bit as she watched Flash direct the boys.  There was just something about the way her boyfriend interacted with children that she just couldn’t help but find cute.  Unbeknownst to her, Timber Spruce was watching her watch Flash.  He looked from her to Flash, a scowl beginning to form on his face.  First Base noticed Timber’s scowl and raised an eyebrow in concern.


 
After Thorax and the volunteers helped the kids settle into their tents, they took their luggage to the two cabins at the end of the campsite.  The recently graduated high schoolers remembered that Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna stayed in one of them the last time that they came to Camp Everfree.  Thorax and the boys took the cabin closest to the rest of the camp while the girls took the cabin closest to the forest.

Upon entering, the first thing that the boys noticed was the super tiny living area to their right.  The living area was so tiny that it only had room for a couch and an end table. Directly in front of them was a flight of stairs, and to their left was a doorway to a small bedroom with two single beds.  Flash and First Base went up the stairs and found another bedroom with two single beds.

“Hey, guys,” Micro Chips said to the two brothers as they came back down. “You wouldn’t have by any chance found another bathroom upstairs, have you?”

The brothers shook their heads.

“Aww, great,” Micro groaned, facepalming.  “That means there’s only one bathroom and two sinks in this whole cabin. Ugh!  What were the people who built this place thinking?”

“It’s no big deal, dudes,” Sandalwood replied.  “We can each go a few days without a bath to save on water.”

Micro and Flash cringed at that while First Base cheered, “Man, do I like the sound of that!”

“Or we can just use the communal bathrooms on the other side of the campsite,” Thorax pointed out.

“That works,” Flash agreed.

“But it’s so far,” Micro Chips groaned again.

“Oh, quit your whining.”

“Are you still going through with your idea of skipping baths?” Base asked Sandalwood.

“He might be, but you’re definitely not,” his brother retorted.

“Oh, come on, Bro!”

“I’m with your brother on this one.  If your B.O. is anything like how Flash’s car smells after he picks you and Button Mash up from baseball practice, I think I want you as clean as possible,” Micro Chips added.

First Base simply crossed his arms and pouted.

“We’ll figure out the bathroom situation later,” Thorax called out. “Right now, we need to hurry up and settle in, so we can feed the kids and get the campfire ready for tonight. You guys can get your pick of the bedrooms.  I’ll just crash on the couch.”

“Are you going to be comfortable with that?” Flash asked in concern.

“Oh, yeah.  Totally.”

“Bro and I get the one upstairs!” Base called before rushing up the stairs.

“I guess Micro and I get the one with the bathroom then,” Sandalwood noted.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Micro cried in relief.


 
Later that night, after a quick yet lively dinner at the main lodge’s mess hall, Thorax, his volunteers, the kids, and Timber Spruce gathered around a warm, crackling campfire.  Flash returned with his plain brown, acoustic guitar and sat himself next to a cluster of kids.

“Okay, kids,” Flash said as he tuned his guitar.  “Do you guys have any suggestions on what to sing first?”

“I want to sing ‘Wind in My Hair,’” replied Gale.  “Please, Mr. Flash.”

“No!” Robby cried, shooting his sister an annoyed look.  “You always want to sing that song.  If it’s not that one, it’s something else with Disneigh princesses.”

“Maybe later, Gale,” Flash answered her.  “Let’s sing something that everyone can enjoy first.”

Gale looked at Flash with a small frown and big, glistening eyes.

“If enough people are okay with it, we’ll sing ‘Wind in My Hair’ at least once later this week, okay?”

“Okay,” Gale replied with a small smile.

“I’ve got a song,” said First Base before he cleared his throat.  Then, in his best Mickey Mouse impression, he began to sing, “Let’s gather around the campfire/And sing our campfire song/Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O—”

“Hey!” Pinkie interrupted.  “Mickey doesn’t sing ‘Campfire Song Song.’  Spongebob does.”

“Well,” Base replied, still talking in his Mickey voice.  “My Spongebob impression is trash, so you guys are getting Mickey today.  Oh boy!”

That elicited a laugh from Derpy and a few of the younger boys.  Base turned to Flash and motioned for his brother to back him up with the guitar.  Flash smiled and rolled his eyes before complying with the request.

“Let’s gather around the campfire/And sing our campfire song/Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song/And if you don't think that we can sing it faster then you're wrong/But it'll help if you just sing along”  Base paused dramatically.  “C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song/C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song/And if you don’t think that we can sing it faster then you're wrong/But it'll help if you just sing along”

As Base sang faster and faster, more and more of his audience began to laugh. Little Missy was on her back practically squealing with laughter.  Kit was doubled over clutching his stomach, and Bee was fake coughing in a desperate attempt to suppress her enjoyment of the performance.

“It'll help/It'll help/If you just sing along!/Oh boy!” First Base finished the song with an imitation of the mouse’s signature laugh.

Once Missy stopped laughing, she cheered as she clapped her hands. “Wow!  That was so good!”

“How did you get your voice to sound like that?” asked Arrow Swift, a 7-year-old boy with white skin and dark green hair.  “That’s so cool.”

“You didn’t eat Mickey, did you, First Base?” asked 6-year-old Minty with wide, frightened eyes.

“No, no,” Twilight assured the little girl.  “He just, uh,” Twilight paused.  How was she supposed to explain what voice impressions were to a little girl? “Uh, borrowed Mickey’s voice. That’s all.”

“Oh, okay,” Minty shrugged in satisfaction as Twilight sighed in relief.

“Hey, First Base, what other voices can you do?” asked Kit.

Base pressed his lips in thought as an idea began to take shape in his mind.  As the idea grew, a mischievous smirk slowly began to creep across his face.  “I’ve got a few other voices that I’m good at, but you’re going to have to wait for this next one.”

“Aue, aue,” Base sang in his Mickey Mouse voice.  “We set a course to find/A brand new island everywhere we roooooooaaaaam” With a cheeky grin, he changed his voice into his Donald Duck impression and continued, “Aue, aue/Te fenua te mālie/Nae ko hakilia/We know the waaaaaaaayyyy”  First Base lifted his hand and gave everyone a look that said “Wait for it” and exclaimed, still in his Donald Duck voice, “Hey, wait a second.  How come my part’s not in English?  Aw, phooey! Brrrr-rrrr-rrrr!”

Without missing a beat, Flash began laughing so loud and so hard that within seconds, he was doubled over and dry-heaving.

Base turned his smirk towards the rest of his audience and said, “Gets him every time.”

Once Flash stopped laughing, he glared sternly at his younger brother, “You know I can’t hold it in when you do that.”

“Oh, you mean this?  Brrrr-rrrr-rrrr!”

Once again, another wave of uncontrollable laughter burst out of Flash.

“That’s because your face gets silly when you do that,” giggled Missy.

“Oh, you mean thi—?”

“Stop!” Flash cried, waving his arms wildly in protest.  “Bro, if you keep doing that, I’m going to run out of air and keel over in front of everyone.  Just stop.”

Twilight stole a glance at Flash and giggled.  Her boyfriend was so cute when he was frantic.  Timber growled under his breath as he watched Twilight light up at Flash and Base’s antics.

First Base shrugged as he chuckled, “Oh well, that was fun while it lasted.”

“First Base, can you do Goofy?  Please?” Missy pleaded.  “He’s my favorite.”

“Sorry, Missy.  I can’t really talk like Goofy,” Base apologized as Missy’s face fell, “but I do know how to do the laugh and the yell.  Just give me a sec.”  He paused to clear his throat.  “Yaaah-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!!!  Ahyuck!”

Missy’s eyes immediately lit up as she clapped rapidly.

“Okay, I think that’s enough classic Disneigh for one night.  Who wants some Mare-vel impressions?”

“YES!” shouted Sid as he threw his hands in the air.  “Please tell me you know how to do Thor.”

“Eh, nope, but I can do Hulk.”

“Oh, alright, I’ll take Hulk.”

First Base cleared his throat and said in a heavy, deep voice, “No Banner, only Hulk!”

Twilight coughed a little as she felt a tickle in her throat.

“Hulk like fire, Thor like water.  Hulk like real fire.  Hulk like raging fire.  Thor like smoldering fire.”

Twilight’s little tickle suddenly exploded into a full-on laugh attack.

“Oh, oh, wow,” she managed to get out between laughs.  “I don’t know why, but there’s just something really hilarious about that voice coming out of you.”

“It’s because I’m short and skinny, isn’t it?” Based deadpanned in his normal voice.

“Can you do Loki?  I would just die of happiness if you could do Loki,” Kit gushed.

“One less thorn in my side,” Bee scoffed, earning her a raspberry from Kit.

“Hey, behave, you two,” Thorax scolded.

“Oh, I can do Loki alright,” First Base grinned cheekily before clearing his throat and donning his best Loki impression.  “Enough!  I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by—Boom!  Smash!  Smash!” Base finished with his Hulk impression causing Twilight to get yet another laugh attack.  “Puny god.”

“I think you did it wrong.  Kit’s still alive,” Bee flatly stated.  Meanwhile, Kit was wearing the biggest smile Thorax had ever seen on him and laughing like a kid at a theme park.

“Whew!” Base sighed.  “I think I’ve done all I can do for tonight.  My throat’s starting to get tired.”

“Hey! Mr. Thorax, weren’t we going to make s’mores tonight?” Lean pointed out.

“Oh yeah,” Pinkie exclaimed.  “Almost forgot about those, and—”  She paused, suddenly remembering something, “And I think we left the marshmallows and everything else in the kitchen.”

“I’ll get them,” Thorax volunteered, getting up.  “You guys just keep the kids entertained.  I’ll be right back.”

As soon as Thorax was out of sight, Timber addressed the whole group, “So, who’s up for a scary campfire story?”

“Uh, yeah, dude, we can’t tell the kids those kinds of stories,” Sandalwood replied.  “Thorax said we couldn’t.”

“Really?  Oh, come on. Doesn’t he want these kids to have fun this week?” Timber scoffed.

“Of course, he does,” said Flash, narrowing his eyes.  “That’s the whole point of this trip.  He just wants to make sure that the kids can sleep at night.”

Timber glared back at Flash, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by everyone else, especially Twilight and First Base.  “Well, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt anyone.  Besides, these kids aren’t babies anymore.  They’re cool.  They’re tough.  They can totally handle a scary story.”  Timber turned to the children.  “Right, kids?”

“Umm, I guess so,” Kit hesitantly answered along with a few slow nods from some of the older children.

“So, you not only want us and the kids to go behind Thorax’s back but also want us to lie to him about it?” Flash asked Timber in a challenging tone.  “Just what are you teaching these kids?”

“They’ll be fine,” Timber scoffed before beginning his tale.  It was the story of Gaea Everfree.  Sunset rolled her eyes.  She was 99.999% sure that Timber had just made up that story last year to cover for, well, long story short, his sister.  At the same time, she had no way of proving that Gaea Everfree didn’t exist before Gloriosa’s magical shenanigans.

Flash honestly couldn’t care less about the story.  He was too busy watching the kids’ reaction to it.  They were captivated by it; that much was certain. However, he could see some of the older kids shaking, and a lot of the younger kids’ faces were either scrunched up or twitching, possibly from trying to hold back tears.  Six-year-old Sage Leaf was clutching onto her sister Willow Blossom and whimpering while Lean was doing the same with Sid.

“Timber Spruce, stop,” he exclaimed, interrupting Timber before he could finish the story.

“What gives?  I was just about to finish,” Timber snapped.

“Look at them.  They’re getting scared.”

“Uh, no, we’re not,” Chitin tried to deny.  “We’re big kids, and big kids don’t get scared.”

Then, suddenly, a twig snapped.  Minty turned to the direction of the sound and saw a shadow approaching the group and began to scream and cry, which caused many of the other children to scream and cry.  Kit and Honey Bee even ended up clinging to each other in fear as they screamed.

“What the hay is going on here?” Thorax exclaimed as he and Gloriosa emerged from the shadows carrying the s’mores supplies.

Derpy, Sunset, and Pinkie immediately got to work calming the kids down while the remaining volunteers looked to each other, averting Thorax’s gaze.

Finally, Flash sighed, stood up, and spoke, “It was our fault, Thorax.  We told the kids a scary campfire story against your wishes, and now, the kids are terrified.”

“We?!” cried First Base before pointing at Timber Spruce.  “HE was the one who told the story.  Everyone else kept telling him not to, but HE went ahead anyway.”

Timber glowered in First Base’s direction and muttered under his breath, “Snitch.”

“Really, Timber?” Gloriosa deadpanned, looking at her brother in disappointment. “What were you thinking?”

“Uh, I was thinking that they could handle it and that it would be fun,” Timber replied defensively.

“Let’s just get back to the lodge.  You’ve done enough for one night.”

Timber reluctantly got up and followed his sister back to the lodge but not before giving Flash a stink eye.  Again, this action did not go unnoticed by First Base.

Thorax groaned as he put a hand to his face.  Thankfully, Derpy, Sunset, and Pinkie had been able to get the kids calmed. Kit and Bee quickly noticed what the two of them were doing and pulled away with a disgusted yelp.

“That, that never happened,” Bee emphasized.  “Are we clear?”

“Crystal,” Kit answered.

“Okay, everybody, let’s just all kick back and make some s’mores,” Thorax said as he passed around the supplies.  “Afterwards, we can start getting ready for bed.”

“Oh, but how are we supposed to sleep when Gaea Everfree might be in the forest waiting to come and get us?” Sage cried as she stuck a marshmallow at the end of her stick and held it over the fire.

Many of the other children voiced their agreements.

“Don’t worry.  There probably isn’t any Gaea Everfree,” Sunset reassured.

“Probably?!” Gale exclaimed, taking note of Sunset’s word choice.

“Uh.” Sunset looked to Derpy, who looked to Flash, who looked to Twilight, who looked to her shoes.  What to do?  What to do?

Then, Twilight remembered something.  “Have any of you heard the story of ‘Sir Flash Magnus and the Dragon’?”

All the kids turned her attention towards her with confused stares and shook their heads.

“You just made up that name, didn’t you?” Bee said with a raised eyebrow.

“Actually, that story’s been around for a long time,” Flash pointed out.  “My grandpa used to tell that story to my mom and my aunt back when they were kids, or so I’ve been told.”

“Back when I was a kid, my brother used to tell me that story whenever I got scared of thunderstorms,” Twilight continued.  “Maybe it will help you guys feel a little braver.”

“Letting the children hear about brave knights and heroic courage, huh?” Flash noted with a smile.

“Right,” answered Twilight, surprised but pleased.  “Anyway, once upon a time, in a far away land, lived a knight named Sir Flash Magnus.  He became a knight so that he could do good to others and protect his homeland. After a while, he had done all the good that he could possibly do for his people, and his homeland was at peace, so he decided to travel to other lands and see if he could do good somewhere else. One day, he entered the outskirts of a fortified city.  A beautiful maiden dressed in white was walking away from the city into the nearby marshlands.  Tears were streaming down her face.  Sir Magnus went up to her and asked her why she was crying.  The maiden said to him, ‘Sir, I am the princess of these lands, and a few months ago a ferocious dragon moved into the marshlands and has been attacking my people.  My father and I had demanded that it leave our people in peace, but it demanded a maiden in exchange, and I offered myself up as a sacrifice.’  Sir Magnus was so moved by the princess’s story and self-sacrifice that he picked her up, set her on his horse, and asked her to lead him to the dragon so that he could slay it.  The princess pointed the way to the dragon’s lair, and the two of them rode on into the marshlands.

“When the two of them neared the entrance to the dragon’s lair, the princess asked Sir Magnus to stop and dismounted.  ‘Let me approach the lair alone, so that I can draw the dragon out for you,’ she said.  Sir Magnus allowed her to walk towards the dragon’s lair but kept a close distance so that he could attack at the first opportunity.  The princess made the dragon aware of her presence, and the dragon lumbered out of the cave.  It was the size of a castle with long, sharp claws and even sharper teeth.  Its eyes glowed like hot coals, and its breath smelled like burning hair.  The princess stood unmoving before the dragon as it lunged at her with its open jaws. However, before the dragon could gobble her up, Sir Magnus hurled his spear right where its neck met its chest. The dragon screeched in pain and turned towards Sir Magnus, its eyes burning with rage.

“Sir Magnus drew his sword and put himself between the princess and the dragon. The two of them fought fiercely with Sir Magnus deflecting the dragon’s fiery breath with his shield.  After a while, Sir Magnus began to struggle under the heat of the dragon’s breath and the smoke that spewed out with the fire. Seeing that her champion was tiring, the princess tried to find a way to help him.  Thinking fast, she took off the ruby pendant that she was wearing and hurled it at the dragon, hitting it at the side of its face.  This distracted it long enough for Sir Magnus to rush forward and cut off the dragon’s head, killing it.

“Taking the princess and the dragon’s head, Sir Magnus rode back to the city, returned the princess to her father, and told the people the news of the dragon’s defeat.  The king was so grateful that he offered Sir Magnus half the gold in the kingdom.  Sir Magnus refused, happy to simply have done a good deed.  However, the king insisted on rewarding Sir Magnus, so the princess, having fallen in love with him, offered him her hand in marriage.  Well, it turns out that Sir Magnus had fallen in love with the princess as well and accepted.  The two of them were married in a grand wedding ceremony, and everyone lived happily ever after.”

At the story’s conclusion, all the children applauded, well, all the children except for Bee.

“How is a made-up story about a made-up knight killing a made-up dragon supposed to help us feel any braver?” Bee snarked.

“Gaea Everfree is probably made-up, and you still got scared,” Kit pointed out, earning him a smack from Bee.

“Okay, that’s it,” Thorax scolded.  “Derpy, can you sit between those two?”

“On it,” Derpy got up and parked herself between the two oldest children of the group.

“When Grandpa tells that story, the princess throws a belt that somehow wraps around the dragon’s mouth and stops it from breathing fire,” First Base said to Twilight.

“Well, it is one of those stories that everyone tells a little differently every time,” Twilight explained.

Thorax pulled out his phone to check the time.  His eyes widened when he saw how late it was.  “Kids, it’s time for bed.”

“Aww!” the kids groaned.

“But we only got to sing one song tonight,” whined Robby.

“Yeah,” his sister agreed

“We don’t want to go to bed,” added Arrow.

Thorax groaned in frustration as he pinched the bridge of his nose.  The volunteers once again looked to each other, unsure how to get the kids to sleep.

This time, it was Flash’s turn to remember something.  “Hey, Thorax, we have time for just one more song, right?”

“Fine, one song but that’s it,” the man in charge conceded.

“Okay, everybody, get together with your tent buddy and huddle together as close as you can,” Flash told the children as he tuned his guitar and began playing the opening bars of a song


 
Roughly 13 years earlier…

A baby’s cry resounded through the walls and rooms of Flash’s house. Four-year-old Flash Sentry groaned as he slowly got up.  He grabbed his favorite plush lion, slid off his bed, and went out of his room.  He groggily hopped down the stairs and made his way to his parents’ bedroom.

“Mommy?” he sleepily called out from the doorway.  His mother Lantern Heart looked up and turned towards the sound of his voice.  She was seated in a rocking chair with her youngest son, having just finished nursing him.

“Oh, hello, Little Prince,” she said to Flash with a sympathetic smile.  “Did Littler Prince wake you again?”

“Uh-huh,” Flash replied as he made his way to his mother’s side.  “Why does Baby Brudder keep waking up?  Does he get lots of bad dreams?”

“Oh, no, sweetheart, babies just take a while to learn how to sleep through the night.  It won’t happen as much when he’s older.”

Baby First Base cooed as he kicked his chubby legs and pumped his tiny fists. Clearly, the little guy wasn’t quite ready to go back to sleep.

“Did you feed him, Mommy?” Flash asked as he looked into his brother’s half-open eyes.

“Uh-huh,” Lantern Heart replied.

“Can I help feed him next time?”

Lantern giggled as she put her free arm around her eldest child.  “I’m afraid feeding is a Mommy-only job right now, Flashy, but do you want to help me sing him to sleep?”

Flash nodded before singing, “Baby mine/Don't you cry/Baby mine/Dry your eyes”

“Rest your head close to my heart/Never to part/Baby of mine,” Lantern Heart finished with her son.

A few verses later, not only was First Base sound asleep in his mother’s arms, but Flash had fallen asleep slumped over the arm of the rocking chair. Lantern smiled to herself as she got up, kissed the top of her baby’s head, and laid him inside his crib.

“Sleep tight, Littler Prince,” she said to him before turning her attention to his brother.  With the strength that only a mother could have, she picked Flash up and carried him back to his bed.

“Sleep tight, Little Prince,” she said before tucking him in and kissing his forehead.


 
Back to the present…

All the children who were younger than nine had fallen fast asleep leaning against their tent buddies.  That meant that Sid and Willow were pinned underneath their sleeping siblings and that Denny was curled up on Kit’s lap.  Micro Chips had fallen asleep as well.  Ten-year-old Gypsy Scarf had a glazed look in her eyes, and Sunset Shimmer looked like she herself was about to nod off.

Sandalwood shook Micro Chips awake and whispered, “Dude, we need you to help get the kids back to their tents.”

Micro Chips groaned and replied, “I don’t even know if I’ll be able to carry any of them.”

“Why don’t you try carrying Denny?” Thorax suggested.  “He’s the lightest.”

Micro forced himself to his feet and shakily lifted the younger boy off Kit. He unsteadily shuffled towards the tents while Kit walked with him and kept him steady.

Sunset got up and picked up one of the girls while Twilight used her magic to gently levitate several sleeping girls into the air.  The two of them also made their way to the tents with Sunset directing Twilight’s steps in order to keep Twilight’s concentration unbroken.  The remaining volunteers also got to work taking the sleeping kids back to their tents with Flash and Sandalwood carrying the heavier children.  The children who were awake simply walked back to their tents and climbed into their beds.


 
“Whew! That was a workout!” First Base exclaimed as he flopped onto his bed.  The volunteers had finally finished putting the kids to bed and were back in their cabins.  “I’m so ready for bed.”

“Get used to feeling like this at the end of every day because the week hasn’t even started yet,” Flash said to his brother as he turned off the light and crawled under the covers.

“Hey, Bro,” First Base said as he too slipped under the covers.  “You know that song that you just sang to the kids?”

“What about it?”

First Base paused as he turned his eyes towards the ceiling.  “Didn’t you and Mom used to sing that to me whenever I had trouble sleeping as a kid?”

At first, nothing but thoughtful silence answered First Base.  “Yeah.  We started singing you to sleep with that when you were a baby.  Now that I think about it, I remember Mom singing me to sleep with that since before you were born.”

“You remember those embarrassing pet names she used to call us back when we were kids?” Base chuckled.

“Little Prince and Littler Prince,” Flash replied with a smile.  “I remember that you really hated yours.”

Base chuckled again before he suddenly stopped, a small frown forming on his face.

“Funny,” he began somberly.  “Back then, I practically begged her to stop calling me Littler Prince.  Now, now, I’d give up any chance of winning the World Series just to hear her call me that again.”

Flash could only sigh as he stared at the ceiling.

“We really took Mom for granted while she was still around, didn’t we?” Base whispered.

“We didn’t mean to,” Flash replied turning towards Base’s general direction. “And we did love her.  So much.”

“I wish she was still here.”

“Me too, Little Bro.”

After a long, profound silence, First Base turned to Flash and said, “So, completely different topic, what’s going on with you and Timber Spruce?”

“What do you mean?” Flash replied as he pulled the covers up around him even more tightly.

“Come on.  Don’t give me any of that!” Base retorted.  “You’ve been looking at him funny since we got here, and he started looking at you even funnier when we all gathered around the campfire tonight.”

Flash groaned as he covered his face with his pillow.

“Come on, Bro.  Just tell me. You can talk to me about stuff.  I mean, I always talk to you about my problems.”

Flash uncovered his face, sat up, and crossed his arms.

“Is that why I didn’t find out about you having a bully until a few months ago?” he replied, glaring at his younger brother sternly.

Base sheepishly looked away.  “Well, I had already told the coach and one of my teachers about it, and they weren’t able to do much.  Besides, I had already decided that I was just going to suck it up and deal with it as best as I can.  I don’t see how telling you would have changed anything.”

“I would have known about it, and I could have helped you suck it up and deal with it,” Flash retorted back.

First Base sat up and met his brother’s eyes.  “I’d love to talk with you some more about this some other time, but for now, can we please just go back to you and Timber Spruce?”

Flash lay down and stared up at the ceiling before hesitantly answering, “Timber.” He sighed.  “Timber is Twilight’s ex.”

“What?” Base gasped.  “Wait. Timber Spruce is Twilight’s ex-boyfriend Timber?”

“One and the same.”

“That explains why you were looking at him funny, but why was he looking at you funny? I mean, does he know that you’re Twilight’s current boyfriend?”

“He probably just found out this afternoon,” Flash deduced.  “As far as I know, Twilight hasn’t contacted him since the two of them broke up.  My best guess is that Timber approached Twilight while we were settling in, and Twilight or one of the girls told him about the two of us.”

“What did Twilight see in him back in the day?” the younger boy scoffed as he lay back down.  “The guy’s a total hotdog.”

“Bro, you shouldn’t say stuff like that about people,” Flash admonished.

“Well, he is.  I mean, did you see how hard he was trying to make himself look all cool and hardcore to the kids?  Ha! Joke’s on him.  All that did was make them cry.”

“I just hope I can get through this week without any major problems involving him,” Flash groaned as he turned on his side and curled up.

Base smirked, “Hey, Big Bro.”

“What?”

“If he does give you problems, you know you can count on me to have your back, right?”

Flash couldn’t help but smile at that.  “Right.”  Then, he suddenly frowned.  “You know what I’m really worried about?”

“What?”

“What if Twilight breaks up with me and gets back together with him?  What if, what if being around him makes Twilight decide that I’m not good enough for her?”

First Base suddenly sat up, flung the covers off, and jumped out of bed.  He marched over to his older brother and punched Flash on the shoulder.

“Ow!” Flash cried as he sat up.  “What the heck?”

Base looked Flash in the eye with the sternest expression that anyone has ever seen on him.  “Don’t say that.  You are more than good enough for Twilight, and even if you aren’t, you’re ten times better that hotdog is or ever will be.  If your girlfriend actually does pick him over you, then she NEVER deserved you.”

Flash blinked at him in surprise.  “Okay, okay. I won’t say that anymore.”

“Good.”  Base went back to bed and curled up beneath the covers.  “G’night, Big Bro.”

Flash smirked to himself as he lay down and turned on his side.  “Good night…Littler Prince.”

He was answered by a rapidly thrown pillow colliding with his back.
> Chapter 2:  Dreams in the Sky
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day after breakfast, all the kids were at the picnic tables hard at work on something.  Twilight, Micro Chips, Sunset, and Sandalwood were working with a group of eight children building a massive kite while the rest of the volunteers were working with two kids each making smaller kites.

“Wow! These are all looking great, everyone,” Thorax exclaimed as he went from table to table, watching everyone work. “These are going to look so cool up in the air.”

Timber Spruce also arrived.  He smirked to himself when he noticed that Twilight and Flash were working in different groups.  He slicked back his hair and approached Twilight’s group.

“Watcha doin’?” he asked her in a flirtatious voice.

“Helping these kids build a kite,” she answered without even looking up.

Timber frowned at the fact that he barely got a response.  He furrowed his forehead as he tried to find another way to get Twilight’s attention.  Then, he smirked again as an idea came to mind.  He went over to where Carpenter Pencil was working and placed his hand over the dowel that Carpenter was about to pick up.

“Hey, why don’t I help you with that?” Timber said to the boy with a friendly smile.

“It’s okay, Mr. Timber.  I got it,” Carpenter answered as he pulled the dowel out from under Timber’s hand.

“Are you sure ‘cause I can totally help you out with that if you need it?”

“I’m sure.”

Timber’s smile faltered a bit before he forced it back on.  “Are you sure you’re doing that right?  Maybe I should show you how…”

“Timber, he’s got it!” Sunset snapped.  “If any of them are having trouble, they’d either say so or one of us would have noticed them struggling.  Right now, they’re fine.”

Timber Spruce pulled back like a kicked puppy before scowling.  “Fine then.”  He once again forced a smile and asked with feigned innocence, “So, have you guys gotten any ideas for your camp gift?”

“No,” groaned Chitin.  “We haven’t thought of anything.”

“All our ideas are either too easy, too hard, or too completely useless,” added Sid.

“What about my idea to build a birdhouse?” pointed out Ala.

“Too easy,” deadpanned her brother.

“We can make a bigger house for small animals to live in,” suggested Gale.

“Why would small animals want to move into a house near a bunch of noisy people when they’ve got the whole forest to themselves?” Kit countered.

“Or we can make a whole bunch of birdhouses and put them all over camp,” Ala continued.

“That’s not that bad of an idea,” replied Gypsy, “but it’s not that good either.  Let’s hold on to that as a back-up.”

“Hey, chill out, little dudes,” said Sandalwood.  “If we get an idea tonight, we’ll still have about four days to get it done, which is totally plenty of time.  Besides, stressing about it isn’t going to give us ideas.  All that does is make more bad vibes.”

“I don’t know what some of that means, but I guess you’re right,” replied Willow.

“Hey, Mr. Thorax, we’re done,” called Carpenter as they put the last of the finishing touches on the giant kite.

“That’s great,” Thorax replied as he made his way to their table and admired their kite.  “Wow! You guys made an elephant kite.”

“It’s not just any elephant kite,” beamed Sid.  “It’s Dumbo.”

“Hey, Flash,” Micro Chips called, “Can you help us get our kite up?”

“Only if you help my group finish up,” Flash called back.

“It’s okay, Mr. Flash,” said Lean, holding up a simple yet colorfully decorated diamond kite.  “Denny and I just finished.”

“Uh, why don’t I fly that kite for you?” Timber offered the group of eight children and their supervisors.

“That’s very generous of you, but we worked way too hard on this kite,” Sunset refused.  “The last thing we want is for Dumbo to crash and break, so we kind of need someone with a little more skill.  No offense.”

“None taken,” Timber grumbled with thinly veiled frustration.

“Flash is the second-best kite flyer in our neighborhood.  If anyone can get a kite in the air without crashing it, it’s him,” Micro explained.

“Wait. Second-best?” Twilight asked.

“The best is his grandmother.”

Twilight blinked a few times in surprise.  “That shouldn’t surprise me, yet it does.”

“Hey, Timber,” Flash suggested to the older teen.  “If you want, you can help Lean and Denny launch their kite.”

Timber forced his scowl to turn the other way as he took the kite from the two younger boys.  “Sure. I’d be happy to.”

Everyone who had finished their kites made their way to the clearing by the gazebo. Twilight and Micro Chips held Dumbo aloft as Flash ran against the wind.  The large kite caught the wind and began to rise.

“Come on, Dumbo, fly!”  Gale cheered.

“You can do it, Dumbo!” cried Ala.  Soon, all the other children began cheering for Dumbo as he flew higher and higher into the air.

“He’s flying!  He’s flying!” Chitin celebrated.

“Woo-hoo!” Carpenter exclaimed as he began passing high fives all around his group.

“Hey, kids!  Get over here,” Flash called, beckoning the group over.  Carpenter arrived first, so Flash handed the string off to him. Flash then bent down beside him and began giving him flying pointers.

“Hey, Big Bro!”  First Base called.  He, Derpy, Pinkie, and their groups approached the clearing, having just finished their kites.  “Can you help us get our kites up too?”

Timber, who had also managed to get Denny and Lean’s kite up, frowned jealously as he watched Flash help launch three more kites into the sky.  What does everybody seem to like about that guy? There’s absolutely nothing special about him.  Heck, that annoying brat that he calls his brother has more personality than he does!

“Uh, Mr. Timber, can Lean and I fly our kite now?” Denny asked, timidly.

“Sure. Knock yourself out,” Timber flatly replied as he carelessly handed Denny the string before storming off back into the lodge.

“Whoa! Denny, what are you doing?” Lean cried, seeing their kite dipping.

“I don’t know,” Denny cried.  “Somebody, help!”

“Pull the string a little bit,” Twilight called out as she rushed to help them.

Denny did as he was told, and the kite righted itself.  “Gee, thanks, Ms. Twilight.”


 
Later that afternoon, Thorax called the volunteers to a quick meeting with Gloriosa and Timber.

“Just to clarify, most of you have been here before, right?” Gloriosa asked uneasily.
The oldest volunteers voiced their agreements.

“So, most of you know that today is the day when we make the flying lanterns, right?”

Again, almost all the teens agreed.

“I’ve got bad news.  We won’t be able to do them this year.”

“What?!” cried Pinkie Pie.

“The National Park Service sent out a notice that floating lanterns are banned from wooded areas for being a fire hazard,” Timber Spruce explained.

“But, but I told Missy that we’d be making them, and she was so looking forward to that,” Pinkie whined.

“To be fair, she was kind of looking forward to pretty much everything,” Micro Chips pointed out.

“Maybe we can have them do something else instead,” Flash suggested.

“I know, but what?” replied Thorax.

“I’ve got it!” exclaimed First Base.  “You know those paper bag lantern things that the cancer research organization sells as a fundraiser?”

“You mean luminarias?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, those.  Maybe the kids can make them instead of the flying ones.  It’s basically the same thing without the flying.”

“That’s a great idea, Little Bro,” Flash praised before turning to Gloriosa. “Do we have all the stuff that we’re going to need for that?”

“Well, that depends on what you’re going to need,” the camp director replied.

“Candles and paper bags for sure,” Flash answered.

“And paint and markers for decorating,” Derpy added.

“We’re also going to need something to weigh down the bottom with so that it doesn’t fall over,” explained Sandalwood.  Everyone gave him questioning looks in response.  “I made one once back in elementary school.  I think my art teacher used dry sand.”

“Well, I always keep art supplies in stock for the campers, so we aren’t going to need to worry about those first few things.  It’s just that last one we need to figure out,” said Gloriosa.

“What if some of us went to look for dirt and small rocks over by the rock quarry?” Sunset suggested.  “That could work.”

“I’m way ahead of you, sister,” Pinkie cheered as she pulled out two beach buckets and two beach shovels from her hair.  Everyone stared at her in shock before shrugging the occurrence off as Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.


 
As the sun began to set, everyone was hard at work decorating their luminarias. Thorax and the volunteers were also making their own while helping the children with theirs.  Timber Spruce was once again among them, and once again, he was trying to find a way to get Twilight’s attention.  He saw her sharing a table with Derpy and four kids.  He also noticed that Flash’s table was quite a distance away from her and smiled.  Now, all he had to do was find a kid who obviously needed his help where Twilight can see and swoop in and save the evening.  To his luck, a girl at Twilight’s table was just sitting there doing nothing.

“Hey, there.  Need help?” he asked.

“Uh, no,” Bee retorted as she continued to just sit there.

“Uh, you sure?”

“Do I look like I need your help?” the 12-year-old snapped.

“Well, if you don’t need my help, then why aren’t you decorating your bag?” Timber answered back.

“Because I don’t want it decorated.  Duh!”

Timber was completely taken aback by the girl’s biting attitude.  “But your lantern won’t look as nice if you don’t decorate your bag.”

“You think I care.  It’s just going to get thrown out when we’re done anyway, so why bother?”

“Well,” Timber stuttered as he reached for Bee’s bag.  “I could decorate it for you if you don’t want to do it yourself.”

“I said that I don’t want it decorated,” Bee screamed, swatting Timber’s hand away.

“Timber, stop bothering her,” Twilight scolded.  “She doesn’t have to decorate her lantern if she doesn’t want to.”

Timber scowled as he rubbed his stinging hand, seeing his plans to impress Twilight go up in flames.  First Base and Micro 
Chips happened to be at a nearby table and witnessed the whole scene.

“Can you believe this guy?” Base said to Micro with his eyes.

Micro shrugged and rolled his eyes in agreement.

Timber looked around at the nearby tables for another chance at making himself look good.  To Base and Micro’s surprise, he started making his way towards their table, specifically towards Sid.

“Hey, kid, you sure you want your lantern that color?” Timber asked Sid as the boy continued to paint his paper bag black.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Sid answered.

“You know that the light isn’t going to show very well through black, right?”

“I know.  It’s all part of my design.”

“You sure you don’t want to use another color.  How about blue?  Or green? Do you like those?”

“I like them.  They’re just not what I’m going for.”  Sid began to scoot away from Timber, suddenly feeling uncomfortable about the conversation.

Timber could feel his frustration about to boil over.

“Well, what are you going for then?” he asked with forced composure.

“If you can get me a hole puncher or a really sharp stick, then I can show you,” Sid replied.

“Yeah, you can do something that simple, can’t you, Timber?” First Base taunted with a smirk.

Timber scowled, remembering that the younger teen had snitched on him last night. “Of course, I can.  I happen to know where my sister keeps the art supplies.”

“Then, go get it.”

Timber growled under his breath but went and fetched the desired implements anyway. When he returned to the table, he unceremoniously set them on the table.

“Thanks, Mr. Timber,” Sid said before turning to admire his handiwork.  He had painted his bag completely black, and the paint was already mostly dry.  He looked over the tools that Timber had brought and after much deliberation, chose the pointed stick.  Using the stick, he carefully punched out a series of holes in a starry sky pattern all over the bag.

“Wow, Sid!” First Base exclaimed.  “That’s going to look so cool lit up.”

“Yeah, it is!” agreed Micro.

Timber Spruce rolled his eyes at this.  How was he supposed to know that was what the kid was going for?  He sighed and went back inside the lodge to sulk.


 
The sun had almost completely sunk beneath the horizon when everyone finished decorating their luminarias.  Thorax and the volunteers filled the bottom with dirt and pebbles and placed a small candle inside each one.  One by the one, the children took their luminarias to Gloriosa for lighting before placing them around the gazebo.  Everybody stepped back as they admired the warm, colorful glow surrounding the gazebo.

“Maybe our kites and our lanterns can be our camp gift,” said Willow Blossom. “We’re already going to have to leave them behind anyway.”

“The kites and lanterns are made of paper,” pointed out Honey Bee.  “They’ll be trash before the next group of campers even get here.”

“It wasn’t a bad idea.  It’s actually a pretty good idea,” Gypsy said to Willow, making the younger girl brighten.

“Can I look at the lights from inside the gazebo, Mr. Thorax?  Please?” asked Gale.

“Me too,” cried Sage Leaf and Minty.  Soon, many other children were clamoring for permission to see the lanterns from inside the gazebo.

“Okay, settle down, everyone,” Thorax replied.  “The gazebo’s not going to be able to hold all of you, so you’re going to have to go in a few at a time.  Gale, you, Minty and Sage can go first since you asked first.”

The three girls excitedly rushed into the gazebo.  They gasped as they admired their surroundings.  It was like the three of them were wrapped in a cocoon of colored fire.

“It’s even prettier from the inside,” gasped Sage.

“Every night I lie in bed,” Gale began to sing as she slowly spun around the gazebo. “The brightest colors fill my head”

“A million dreams are keeping me awake,” her brother joined her.  “I think of what the world could be/A vision of the one I see/A million dreams is all it's gonna take”

First Base involuntarily sang along with them, “A million dreams for the world we're gonna make”  He quickly clamped a hand over his mouth when he realized what he just did.

“You like that song too, First Base?” Robby turned and asked him.  Aww, great!  He had been heard.

“I mean, I guess I do,” Base hesitantly answered.  “I just don’t like people knowing that I like that song.”

“Why not?” asked Missy.

“Well, it’s silly.”

“How is it silly?” Gale asked as she, Sage, and Minty walked out the gazebo and the next group of children went in.

“Well, it’s about pretty colors and dreams.”

“Wait. So, kids aren’t allowed to have dreams anymore when they grow up because dreams are silly?” asked Arrow Swift with wide eyes.

Base’s jaw dropped as he mentally facepalmed himself, realizing what he had just implied.  He looked to his brother and the older volunteers for help with a desperate, pleading look.

Flash bit his lip as he carefully thought of how to diffuse the situation.

“Some people do say that, yes,” Flash began to the shock of Thorax and all the other volunteers, “but I think those people are wrong.”

“Oh, well, why do people say that, Mr. Flash?” asked Lean.

“Because dreams don’t come true.  That’s why,” Bee huffed.  “I mean, sure, some people’s dreams come true, but other people just get theirs totally crushed, which is just so unfair!”

“Bee, honey, I know you’re upset, but please let Mr. Flash finish,” Thorax admonished the girl.

Bee crossed her arms and muttered, “Don’t call me that.”

“Actually,” Flash continued with a sigh, “Bee kinda got it mostly right.  I think people who say that dreams are silly probably gave up on dreaming because theirs never came true.  Maybe some of them have even had dreams broken.”

“What happens when a dream gets broken?” asked Minty.

“I don’t know I’ve never had a dream break before,” Flash paused as he suddenly remembered something.  “Oh, wait, yeah, you know what?  I think I have had a dream break before.”

All the volunteers except Micro Chips and Derpy turned towards him with wide, shocked eyes, especially Twilight.

Flash bent down so that he was closer to eye level with the kids.  “When I was your age, I had a dream that I’d have a normal, happy family with a mom and a dad like all the other kids.  When my dad went away, I spent years trying to call him and write to him, begging him to come back.  When I finally realized that that dream wasn’t going to come true no matter how hard I tried, a piece of my heart broke along with the dream.”

“Oh no!” exclaimed Gale.  Many other children frowned in agreement.  “Were you able to get your heart fixed, Mr. Flash?”

“I was,” Flash nodded with a smile.

“Did the dream get fixed too?” asked Arrow.

Flash pressed his lips together thoughtfully.  “Sometimes, broken dreams do get fixed, but mine, well, mine kinda just stayed broken.”

“Aww,” the children chorused in sympathy.

“Hey,” Flash reassured, “Don’t be sad about that.  The good thing about broken dreams that don’t get fixed is that they make room for new dreams, better dreams.”

“What’s your new dream, Mr. Flash?” asked Robby.

Flash smirked secretively.  “Do you wanna know?”

All the kids surrounding him nodded.

“Do you really wanna know?”

The kids nodded even harder.

“Do you really, really wanna know?”

“Yes!” the children cried impatiently.

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you,” Flash chuckled.  “My new dream is,” he paused, “is to grow up to be a good dad.”

“That’s it?!” Bee cried in disappointed bewilderment.  “All that build up, and all you want in life is to be a good dad?”

“You’d make a great dad, Mr. Flash,” exclaimed Gale.  All the other kids, except Bee, voiced their agreements.

Flash shook his head in amusement.  “You guys sure you’re not just saying that because you guys like me?”

“Of course, we are,” declared Denny.  “If we didn’t like you, you’d make a terrible dad.”

Flash burst out laughing, and Twilight and the rest of the volunteers soon followed.

“I’m serious,” Denny insisted.

Flash managed to stop laughing long enough to answer him, “Oh, I know, Denny. I’m just laughing because I’m happy.”

Twilight thought about talking to Denny about the gaps in his logic but decided that was a conversation better suited for another time.

“Anyway,” Flash continued as he straightened up.  “That’s enough talking about me.  What about your dreams?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” replied Gale.  “I want to marry a prince,” she paused, “and be a singer.”

“Oh, gee, Mr. Flash,” said Robby.  “I don’t think I have one yet.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Flash reassured him.  “I’m sure you’ll get one eventually.”

“Oh, I know,” added Carpenter.  “I want to build skyscrapers.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Chitin.  “Well, I want to build airplanes.”

“Oooh, oooh!” squealed Pinkie Pie.  “My dream is to break the world record for most cupcakes iced in one minute. Right now, my personal best is 15, and the record to beat is 20.  Oooh, I’m so close I can almost taste it.”  With that, Pinkie immediately pulled a cupcake out of her hair and ate it in one bite.

“What about you, Ms. Twilight?” asked Willow.  “Do you have a dream?”

“Oh, me,” Twilight replied, surprised.  “Well, when I was about your age, I wanted to win as many awards for science, technology, and math as humanly possible including the Nobel prize.” Twilight smiled in nostalgia before suddenly frowning.  “But now, I think I’ve changed my mind about that.”

“You can change your mind about dreams?” Missy exclaimed, shocked.

“Of course,” Sunset agreed.  “Sometimes, when you look back, some dreams just aren’t as nice as you thought they were. Back when I was younger, I wanted to be so powerful that no one could make me feel helpless again.”  She sighed.  “Let’s just say that that dream getting destroyed was the best thing that could have happened to me and everyone else.”

Everyone looked to Sunset and blinked in confusion.

“Let me explain it this way,” Derpy cut in.  “Remember how in Tangled, Flynn Rider’s first dream was to get really rich?”

“Oh, yeah!” Gale exclaimed.  “Then, he realized that having someone to love was better than having money.”

“Right.  Having dreams change is a lot like that.”

“Anyway,” Twilight continued.  “I used to think that if I got a lot of recognition for what I did, then that meant that I was good at what I did, and I want to be good at what I do.”  She shook her head.  “Now, I’m thinking that maybe the prizes don’t matter as much as I thought they did.  Maybe the whole point of getting good at what I do should be using what I’m good at to help people.”

“Like how you help us with our homework whenever you come over with Mr. Flash and Ms. D,” said Kit.

“Or how she helped us study for our final exams,” added Pinkie.

“Is that your new dream, Ms. Twilight?” asked Gypsy.

“You know what?” Twilight declared with a wide smile.  “I think it is.”

“So, I’m guessing you’ve gotten over not winning ‘Most Likely to Invent Cold Fusion’?” Micro Chips asked with a smirk.

“Don’t push it, Chips.”  Everyone else laughed as Micro recoiled at Twilight’s scowl.

“Well, my dream is to paint a picture with Flanksy,” said Lean.

“How are you going to do that?” Bee scoffed.  “NO ONE knows who he or she even is.”

“Well, actually,” Pinkie Pie began.  “I know who Flanksy is.  I ran into her by accident, but she didn’t want anyone to know who she really is, so she made me Pinkie promise not to tell anyone, so I can’t tell you who she is even though I really, really, really want to.”

Sunset cringed and put a hand on her forehead as she listened to Pinkie prattle.

“Wait. Flanksy’s a she?” Sid realized.

“Oopsies.”  Pinkie covered her mouth in embarrassment.

“Uh, hey, Lean,” Sunset interrupted.  “Why don’t you tell us some more about that dream of yours?”

“Well,” Lean started.  “I think it’d be really cool to be able to paint with Flanksy.  It’d also be great if I can have one of my pictures up on a wall for everyone to see.”

At Lean’s last sentence, Sunset’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped.  “Oh my gosh.”

“What?” asked Sandalwood.

“Okay, there’s 16 kids, eight volunteers, and Thorax in our group.  How are we just barely coming up with this?” Sunset exclaimed.

“You do realize that we have no idea what you’re talking about, right?” Base deadpanned.

“You know what?  It’s late. Let’s just get to bed for now. Meet me between the main lodge and the picnic tables tomorrow morning after breakfast.”
> Chapter 3:  Come Alive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning at breakfast, the volunteers took their seats at their personal table.  Somebody was noticeably missing.

“Where’s Sunset?” asked Flash as he and the male volunteers set their food down and took their seats.

“She just grabbed a slice of toast and said that she needed to talk to Gloriosa about something,” Twilight replied before downing a spoonful of granola. “We’re honestly just as in the dark as you guys.”

“Hey, Bro,” called Base.  “Thanks for bailing me out of that jam I got myself into last night.”  He groaned as he slumped forward, propping he head up with his left arm.  “Ugh. I can’t believe I told those kids that dreams were silly.  Why did I even say that?”

“You wouldn’t have said it if a part of you didn’t believe it,” his brother bluntly replied.  “The better question is when did you start believing it and why.”

“I don’t know.  Maybe around the time I started getting bullied.  As for why, I honestly don’t really know either.  Everything about me that wasn’t about getting good at baseball just started feeling really silly of a sudden.”  Base sighed.  “The goofing around, the mouth noises, auditioning for the school play, making other people laugh, even the dreaming.  All of it just felt silly and worthless.”

“Hey!” Pinkie cried in protest.  “Making people laugh is not silly!”  After receiving several confused stares from her friends, she continued, “Okay, fine. It’s silly.  It’s totally silly, but it’s not worthless.  I mean, who wants to spend their life being serious and laugh-less ALL the time?  Sure, you need to be serious to get stuff done, but if you’re serious ALL the time, you’re going to end up a horrible, meanypants party-pooper like Ex-Principal Cinch.”

“Or like Ms. Chrysalis,” Flash pointed out.

“Or like Sunset back when she was mean,” Micro Chips added, earning him glares from all the high schoolers at the table.  “She got better.”

“Look, Little Bro.  I think what Pinkie is trying to say is that all the stuff about you that you think is silly doesn’t make you worthless.  That bit of silliness keeps you from turning into a life-sucking blackhole that no one wants to be around.”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to say,” Pinkie agreed.

First Base smiled at that.  “Man, am I going to miss you guys when you leave for college.”

“Hey, I’m still going to be in town.  I’m going to be working with the Cakes as a baking assistant.  I’m going to be pretty busy though with two jobs and everything, but hey, at least you’ll see me around,” Pinkie rambled.

“Yeah, and Everton isn’t that far away,” Twilight pointed out.  “Flash and Sunset can still come down and visit every couple weekends or so.”

“Which is more than what Twilight and I will be able to do since the two of are going to school so far away,” Micro Chips added before putting a hand to his face. “Oh, my poor mother.”

“On top of that, I’ll try to call you and the family every week,” Flash reassured his brother.  “Come on. Let’s finish up.  We still have to see whatever Sunset was going on about last night.”


 
After everyone finished breakfast, Thorax, the kids, and the rest of the volunteers met Sunset Shimmer at the side of the main lodge that was facing the picnic tables.  A large tarp was spread on the ground, and several cans of paint and other painting supplies were strewn on top of it.

“Okay,” Sunset began.  “So, last night, Lean gave me a great idea for what you guys can do for your camp gift.”

“Is that what all this paint is for?” asked Minty.

“That’s exactly what all this paint is for because your camp gift for is going to be a mural that you’re going to paint right on this wall.”  Sunset gestured towards the empty wall emphatically.

“Wow! That IS a great idea,” Gypsy declared, genuinely impressed.

“It’s not too hard or too small, and everybody after us will know that we were here,” noted Chitin.

“But what are we going to paint on the wall?” asked Bee.

“That is what these are for.” Sunset made her way to a nearby table and picked up a sketchbook and a pencil.  “I’m going to have a certain someone come up with a design for our mural.”

“Who?” asked Robby.

“Lean.”

“Me?” cried Lean, who suddenly ducked behind his brother.

“Why not?  You said that you wanted one of your pictures up on a wall.  Now’s your chance.”

“But what if nobody else likes it?” Lean protested, still hiding behind Sid.

“Come on, Lean.  You’re the best drawer out of all of us,” said Sid, trying to pry his brother off him. “If anyone can draw a picture good enough to put on a wall, it’s you.”

“Besides,” Sunset continued, “if you do it, I’ll let you in on a little secret of mine.”

“What kind of a secret?”

“The kind that not even your big brother or best friend is allowed to know.”

“Oh, gee, I still don’t know, but I guess I can try.”  Lean let go of Sid, took the sketchbook and pencil from Sunset, and sat down.  “Okay, here I go,” he said as he opened the sketchbook and touched the tip of the pencil to the blank page.


 
Five minutes later, Lean was slumped forward on the table with the sketchbook sandwiched between his face and the tabletop.  “I can’t think of anything to draw!”

“You’re only five.  How can you be out of ideas already?” Kit cried, facepalming.

“I’ll never get a picture up on a wall,” Lean whined despondently.

“Hey, none of that,” Sunset scolded, pulling Lean upright by the shoulders and bending down to his level.  “Look at me, kid.  We are not gonna quit, and we are going to get one of your ideas up on that wall even if it kills us.”

“Uh, yeah, by ‘us,’ you mean just you, right?” Bee deadpanned.

“You know what?  Forget the sketchbook for now.”  Sunset pushed the sketchbook away from Lean.  “Just breathe in.”

“Why?” Lean asked.

“Just do it.  It will help. Trust me.”

Lean shrugged but did as he was told.

“Now, slowly let it out.”

Lean slowly exhaled.

“Okay, now, shut your eyes.”

Lean squeezed his eyes shut.

“And go to your happy place.”

Lean’s eyes popped open.  “What’s a happy place?”

“Oh, well, it’s the place in your head where you go to think about stuff that makes you happy,” Sunset explained.

“Oh, gee, I don’t know if I have one of those.”

Sunset scratched the top of her head in thought.  “Okay, I guess you can just start thinking about stuff that makes you 
happy then.”

“Okay, I’ll try.”  Lean once again shut his eyes.

After about a minute, Sid asked him, “You getting anything, Lean?”

“No, no yet.  Wait. I’m thinking of something.”

“What?”

“I’m thinking of,” Lean paused, “Gale singing.”

“You want to draw Gale singing?” Bee snarked.

“No, not really.  I just like listening to her sing.”  His eyes shot open as he gasped.  “Wait. What if listening to Gale sing helps give me an idea?”

“Well, if it will help, I’ll be glad to,” Gale agreed.  “What do you want me to sing?”

“Oh, uh, I guess whatever you want.”

Gale smiled triumphantly at her younger brother.

“No,” Robby whined futilely.  “Lean, why?”

“I’ll go get my guitar,” Flash offered.


 
“And I got the wind in my hair and a song in my heart and the fun's only started/I got a skip in my step and I haven't a care/That beautiful breeze blowing through/It's gonna carry me who knows where/But I'll take any dare/With the wind in my haaaaaaaaiiiiir!” Gale closed the song.  “I got a smile on my face and I'm walking on air/And everything life ought to be/Well, I know that it's waiting for me out there/And I'll find it, I swear/With the wind in my haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrr!”

“Please tell me you thought of something already,” Robby whimpered to Lean with his hands over his ears.

“Hmmm, nothing yet,” replied Lean with his eyes closed.  “Oh, wait.  I think I see something.  It looks like…a sun!”

“A sun?” repeated Sunset.

“Yeah.”  Then, Lean gasped and opened his eyes before grabbing the sketchbook and furiously sketching something.  He drew what looked like a sun in the upper right corner of the page.  However, its rays appeared to be made of little handprints. On the left side of the page, he drew a tree trunk with a single long branch.  On the top side, he drew two beautifully fluffy clouds.  Along the bottom, he drew what looked like handprints growing out of the ground with stems and leaves.

He showed the drawing to Sunset as he pointed to the corresponding places on the wall.  “We can put the sun up there and make the rays out of our hands.  We can also make flowers with our hands.  I didn’t know how to draw it, but I was thinking that we can make birds and butterflies with our hands too.”

“That’s brilliant, kid,” Sunset praised, ruffling Lean’s blue-tipped, black hair.  “I knew you had it in you.”

“Hey, everybody!” Sunset called to everyone else present.  “Lean just gave me the design for our camp gift, so this is what we’re going to do next.  I’m going to need a few helpers to help me paint on the background.  Ms. Gloriosa only had fifteen painter’s smocks, so not all of you will be able to help all at once.  Why don’t half of you help paint while the other half can do something else?”

Since no one objected, Thorax, Twilight, Micro Chips, and Sandalwood helped half of the kids put on the painter’s smocks while Flash, Pinkie, First Base, and Derpy sat with the other half at the picnic tables.

“So, what are we going to be doing while they paint?” asked Robby.

“Well, I’ve already got my guitar out,” Flash noted.  “We could sing a song.”

“Oooh,” Pinkie squealed.  “Let’s teach the kids the camp song.”

“There’s a camp song?” uttered Base.

“Yeah, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna taught it to us when we came here last year,” Derpy explained.

“How does it go?” Gale asked.

“Hit it, Flash,” Pinkie yelled.  Flash began playing the opening bars of the song as Pinkie sang.  “Will you be lost by time or be part of history?/Will your story be told or remain a mystery?/Will they sing your song, telling all that you have done?/Time to make your choice, only you can be the one”

“Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa,” Flash joined Pinkie.  “As you join in the Legend of Everfree!”

“Hey!” Derpy clapped along.

“Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa/As you join in the Legend of Everfree!”

“Hey! Hey! Hey!”  First Base began clapping along with Derpy.

Flash and Pinkie suddenly stopped when they heard somebody laugh.  They turned towards the sound and saw Gloriosa approaching their group.

“Nice to see that that old song is still around,” Gloriosa noted as she sat next to them.  “You know, I don’t say this to a lot of campers, but the camp gift tradition actually started with that song.”

“Really?” gasped Gale.

“Uh-huh,” Gloriosa nodded.  “The first group of campers that Camp Everfree ever had left that song behind to help future campers remember this place and what a great time they had here.”

“Wait,” said Flash as he pressed his lips together in thought.  “Didn’t you say that this place has been around since your great-grandparents’ time?”

“Wow!” Ala gasped.  “That’s a long time for a song to be around.”

The adult and teenagers all laughed at that.

“I wonder how long our gift is going to last,” Kit asked, looking towards the group that was painting.

“Well, maybe one day, when you’re all grown up and have kids of your own, you’ll be able to bring them here to see it,” replied Gloriosa.

“That’s a long time from now,” said Ala with wide, wonder-filled eyes.
> Chapter 4:  Far from the Shallow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You’re doing great, Sage” Twilight praised.  “Now, let’s try it without using the kickboard.”

“But I won’t be able to breathe if I put my face in the water,” Sage protested as she continued to kick herself across the water.

Thorax had decided that this morning was the perfect time for a swimming lesson and had the volunteers help the kids get dressed and in the lake.  Today, the kids were all wearing dollar store tank tops and shorts to use as makeshift swimwear, and Gloriosa and Timber had put up barrier floats to keep the kids from going to far out into the lake.  A short distance away from Twilight, Flash had already taught Arrow Swift and Lean how to front crawl while Pinkie was showing Ala and Missy how to blow bubbles into the water closer to the shore. All around the lake, the other volunteers were each working with a pair of kids, except for Micro Chips and Sunset who seemed to be working with only one child each.

Micro Chips was standing right at the shore with Denny, and both had water up to their ankles.

“Come on, kid.  Let’s try going knee-deep now,” Micro coaxed the little boy.  Denny stubbornly shook his head in response.  “There’s nothing to be afraid of.  I promise that I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“Ahh!” Denny screamed as he felt his shorts being pulled down.  Thankfully, all the kids were wearing underpants under their swim clothes.  He turned around and saw Missy laughing her head off.

“Missy, that’s not funny!” he cried as he shoved her, causing her to land on her bottom with a splash.

“Missy, no!” Pinkie scolded, rushing over as Micro helped Denny pull his pants up.

“Missy, what I did I say about doing that?”  Thorax rushed over from where he, Gloriosa, and Timber had been watching from the dock.

“No!  Mr. Thorax, don’t make me get out of the water.  Please,” Missy pleaded.

“I told you that if you keep doing that, I’m going to give you a time out for 5 minutes,” Thorax firmly stated.  “Out of the water.”

Missy hung her head as Thorax led her out by the hand.

“You know, I think I’m going to go over and talk to her about how to properly prank people,” Pinkie said to Micro.  “Can you watch Ala for me until I get back?  Great.  Thanks. See you later.”

Before Micro could even blink, he was given a second responsibility to look after while Pinkie rushed after Thorax and Missy.

“Um, so,” Micro said to the little girl with the slightest hint of nervousness. “I guess I’m watching you now. You mind helping me get Denny into the water?”

Twilight had seen the exchange from where she was and turned to ask Flash, “You think having Pinkie talk to Missy is a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Flash replied.

“You mean you see nothing potentially wrong with one prankster taking a smaller, more impressionable prankster under her wing?”

“Okay, I see your point,” Flash conceded.  “Look, Pinkie Pie might be a prankster, but she doesn’t just go around pranking people carelessly.  Maybe some of that will rub off on Missy, and Missy’ll learn how to think before she pranks.”

“I sure hope so,” Twilight said to Flash before turning back to Sage. “Okay, Sage, just watch me and Gypsy, okay?  We’re going to be holding our breaths and putting our faces in the water, and we’re going to be fine.”

Flash smiled at her before turning his attention back to his charges.  Timber watched the interaction with a deep scowl. Earlier that morning, Twilight had been blushing and trying to keep her eyes above Flash’s shirtless abs.  What even was the big deal?  The guy wasn’t THAT jacked.  Sure, he was well-toned, but he was still pretty skinny.

Meanwhile, Sunset had just finished getting Willow to let go of the dock and front float on her own.

“Great job, Willow,” Sunset praised.  “Why don’t you practice your strokes now?”  Then, she turned towards the part of the dock where her other assignment was sitting with her arms and legs crossed.  “Come on, Bee.  Get in.”

“No,” Bee retorted defiantly.

“Yeah, come on, Bee,” Willow added.  “Mr. Thorax wants us to learn to swim while we’re here, and you can’t learn if you’re just sitting there.”

“Well, I think this whole thing is waste of time, so I’m just going to sit here and waste time my way.”

“Cannonball!” Kit screamed as he jumped off the dock, flying past Sunset and Willow, and landed in the water, splashing water all over Honey Bee.  Once he resurfaced, he smugly smirked at Bee before swimming away effortlessly.  Being the only kid who already knew how to swim gave him a certain degree of freedom that he just loved rubbing in Bee’s face.  Bee’s scowl deepened as she sputtered.

Sunset smirked deviously as she insinuated, “You know that as long as you can’t swim, you’re giving Kit license to mock you every time you guys are near water, right?  You gonna let that keep going on?”

Bee sighed and slid off the dock and into the water.  “That was a cheap shot, and you know it.”

“It got you in here, didn’t it?”


 
After drying off and having lunch, everyone once again split into two groups. Flash, Twilight, Pinkie, and Sandalwood were with the group that got to help with the mural yesterday while the group that had to sit out were helping Sunset, Derpy, Micro, and Base with the mural today.  Sunset and her group had finished the background yesterday, and today, she was having her set of kids work on the handprint flowers and some of the larger details such as the tree trunk and the clouds.  Meanwhile, Flash went to the boys’ cabin to fetch his guitar while the rest of his team was occupying their group of kids with a game of 20 Million Questions.  Pinkie had insisted that teaching their new group the camp song was only fair.

Flash had almost returned to the gazebo when Micro Chips came running from the supply cabin.

“Flash!” he called.  “You’ve gotta come see this.  I need your help.”

Everybody turned towards them with quizzical expressions.  Flash could only shrug and follow Micro to the supply cabin. He could hear yelling and fighting going on inside.  He looked inside the cabin just in time to see his brother pin Timber Spruce to the ground and punch him several times while Timber shielded himself with his arms.

“Bro, stop!” Flash cried, dropping his guitar case and quickly restraining First Base.

“Let go of me, Bro!” Base yelled back struggling to free himself from Flash’s grip. “I’m going to beat that hotdog to a pulp!”

“Stop it!”  Flash tightened his hold and yanked his brother off Timber Spruce.

Micro Chips gingerly entered the cabin, picking up Flash’s guitar case with one hand and helping Timber Spruce up to his feet with the other.

“Micro, get Timber to Gloriosa and tell Pinkie that she’s going to have to teach the kids the camp song acapella,” Flash requested.  “I think my brother and I need to have a talk.”

“Got it,” Micro replied, leaving the cabin with Timber.  Once the two of them exited the supply cabin, Micro Chips glared at Timber disbelievingly and shook his head.  Timber just rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile inside the cabin, Flash turned his brother to face him.  First Base looked away with his arms crossed.

“What the hay was that all about?  I want the whole story,” Flash demanded sternly.

Base sighed and turned towards Flash with his head still hanging down.  “Micro Chips and I volunteered to get the ladder so that we can work on painting the clouds.  When we got here, Timber shut the door behind us and started telling me off for snitching on him the first night we were here.  So, I told him that if I hadn’t told on him, you would have made everybody take the fall for HIS mistake.  Then, the conversation turned into one about you and Twilight, and he said that there’s nothing about you that was worth liking and that you’re one of those people who look and act nice on the outside but are really nothing on the inside.”

“So, you hit him?”

“No. Then, I said that he must have gotten you confused for a mirror and that he’s only talking bad about you ‘cause he’s jealous that Twilight moved on from him with you.  Then, he said that I’d get jealous too if my ex-girlfriend replaced me with a downgrade.  Then, he started yelling a whole bunch of other stuff about you that were just so beyond insulting that I can’t even repeat them, and then I hit him.”

Flash let out a long sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in disapproval.

“Come on, Big Bro.  Don’t be like that with me,” First Base protested.  “He was talking smack about you.  What was I supposed to do?  Take it lying down?”

“No,” Flash answered, lifting his head and sternly meeting his younger brother’s eyes. “You were supposed to take it standing up with your head high, like a man.”

“Easy for you to say,” Base scoffed.

“Hey, I’m just telling you what Grandpa used to tell me back when I used to be in the same situation.”

Base turned and blinked at Flash in surprise.  “Wait.  What?”

Flash sighed as he uncomfortably wrung his hands.  “Back when I was ten or maybe eleven, I, uh, used to get into a lot of fights.  Other kids used to pick on Micro Chips, and whenever I defended him, things had a tendency to get a little, uh, physical.”


 
Roughly seven years ago…

“I cannot believe you got into another fight,” Lionheart scolded his grandson as he led him out the principal’s office by the hand.  “That’s the third time this week; it’s getting ridiculous.”

“Those other boys won’t stop picking on Micro Chips,” ten-year-old Flash protested. “That’s why I had to fight them.”

“Flash, I don’t care what the reason is.  You’re too old to be getting into these kinds of fights.  You’re better than this.”

“So, what?  Do I just let them keep picking on my friends?”

Lionheart stopped walking.  Then, he knelt and looked into Flash’s eyes, calm gray meeting fiery blue.

“Flash,” he said firmly, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulders.  “Listen to me and listen good.  The next time those boys pick on you and Micro Chips, I want the two of you to just walk away with your heads up.”

“But that’s the same as doing nothing!” Flash cried.

“Hey! Do you know what those boys want out of you and Micro Chips?  They want to get the two of you so low to the ground that you can’t even pick your head up. As long as you don’t give them what they want, you’re already winning the fight.  Just keep yours and Micro’s heads up.  You understand?”

Flash nodded.  “Yes, sir.”


 
Back to the present…

“I’ll admit that walking away with my head up and getting Micro Chips to do the same was a lot harder than just giving those bullies the beat down they deserved,” Flash recounted, “but they eventually gave up when they realized that they weren’t getting to us.”

“And I never knew this because?” Base asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I guess it just wasn’t important for you to know back then.”

“Bro, thanks for the story, but I don’t think Timber cares one way or the other about your dignity,” Base pointed out.

“He wanted something out of talking trash about me.  That much I know,” Flash noted.  “All I have to do is keep him from getting it, and I have a pretty good idea what he wants.”

Base raised his eyebrows in a paradoxical mix of understanding and confusion. “So, what are you going to do to keep the hotdog from getting what he wants?”

“Something terrifying.”


 
Flash and Base found the ladder in the supply cabin and delivered it to group working on the mural.  Then, Flash began walking towards the group in the gazebo and called to his girlfriend.

“Hey, Twilight,” said Flash.  “Look, I know we’re both kind of on duty right now, but can we talk?  It’s kind of important.”

First Base, who had been following Flash, realized what his brother was going to do, and his eyes popped out of their sockets in shock.

“Oh, umm, I guess we could,” Twilight answered, awkwardly rubbing her left arm, “but we can’t just leave Pinkie and Sandalwood to watch the kids by themselves.”

“I know,” Flash replied before gesturing to First Base.  “Which is why I asked Little Bro to cover for us.”

“Oh, well, does he know the camp song?  He’s going to need to know it if he’s going to help teach it.”

“Oh, yeah, he totally knows the camp song,” Pinkie Pie interjected.  “He learned it yesterday with the first group of kids.  You two just go and talk.  We’ve got this.”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Twilight said to Pinkie before going off into the woods with Flash.

“I’m related to a crazy person,” Base muttered to Sandalwood.

“Young love, little dude.  That’s what it does to ya,” Sandalwood replied, causing Base to cringe.


 
“So, what did you want to talk about?” Twilight asked as she and Flash sat down on a log next to a small pond in the middle of the forest.  It was the same place she used to go to last year whenever she wanted to be alone.  Something about sharing this place with Flash just felt safe and right.

Flash awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.  “Well, you see, it’s about Timber Spruce.”

“Oh,” Twilight exclaimed in surprise.  “What about him?”

“Have the two of you spoken at all since we came here?”

“Actually, we have.  On the afternoon that we got here, he came to our cabin while we were settling in to talk to me and asked me to take him back, apologizing for the breakup and promising to never flirt with another girl again no matter how bored he was.”

Flash could feel his insides icing over.  “What did you say to him?”

“I told him that I forgave him for what led up to the breakup and that I couldn’t take him back because I am already in a relationship with someone else.” She paused before continuing, “He asked me who my new boyfriend was, and I told him.  I thought he was fine with it, but after what happened that first night, I’m starting to think that he might be a little jealous of you.”

Flash hmphed.  “A little?”

“You’re not jealous of him too, are you?” Twilight asked, crossing her arms.

“Noooooo!” Flash initially exclaimed before backspacing.  “Well, okay, I guess I might be.  Okay, okay, I definitely am.  I’m jealous.”

“Flash!” Twilight gasped.  “I’m not going to just throw away everything that we’ve gone through these past few months because of whatever it is about Timber that you find jealousy-worthy.”

“I’m not jealous of Timber because of something that he has,” Flash clarified. “What I’m jealous about is something that none of us have any control over.”

Twilight blinked at him in confusion.

Flash continued, “I’m jealous of the fact that he was the first guy that you fell for instead of me.  I know that there wasn’t anything I could have done to make you like me or dislike him and that everything just happened the way that it did for some reason, and I’ve accepted it.  I really have.”

Flash looked away from her and sighed.  Twilight moved closer to him, placed her head on his shoulder, and wrapped her arms around him.

“Flash,” Twilight whispered tenderly.  “Timber may have been the first guy that I fell for, but he definitely wasn’t the best.  You are.”

Flash gave her a sad smile.  “Twi, you don’t have to lie to me to make me feel better.”

Twilight suddenly pulled away from him and struck his shoulder, protesting, “I wasn’t lying!”

“Ow!” Flash cried before he rubbed his sore shoulder.  “Okay, okay!  I believe you.  I believe you.”

Twilight huffed as she turned away from him with her arms crossed.  Flash closed the distance between the two of them and hugged her from behind.

“Hey, hey, don’t be like that,” he said to her.  “I just sometimes have a hard time believing that I’m the guy that you really want.  Base  just told me that Timber said that you replaced him with a downgrade, and I’m honestly having trouble not believing it.”

Twilight’s expression softened as she turned to face Flash.  “In what way are you a downgrade from Timber?”

“For starters, he’s older and likely more mature.”

“Ha!” Twilight scoffed.  “Is that why he just started a fight with an almost 14-year-old while you’ve been running yourself ragged breaking up fights between the kids?”

“Okay, maybe he isn’t more mature than I am, but he is older and taller.”

“Not by much.”

“Also, depending on who you ask, he’s probably better-looking.”

“Actually, to me, the two of you are about the same in the looks department.” Twilight smirked before reaching over and ruffling Flash’s hair.  “Your hair gives you a bit of an edge though.”

“Hey, quit it,” Flash giggled before finally breaking out into a laugh. Twilight laughed along with him. After a while, the two of them stopped laughing and just sat together in a comfortable silence.

“Okay,” Flash continued.  “Here’s the biggest reason why I feel like a downgrade compared to Timber.  He likes a lot of the same stuff that you like, and he knows how to talk nerdy to you.”

Twilight pursed her lips in thought.  “Okay, Timber is better at talking nerdy than you are.  I’ll give you that.”

“I figured,” Flash muttered.

“You want to know how you are definitely an upgrade from Timber?” Twilight smiled at him as she took his hand in both of hers.

Flash turned to her and met her eyes.

“Because you’re a guy who loves other people well and cares about them deeply,” she continued.  “I see it in you in the way that you treat people, in the way that you treat your brother, your friends, the rest of your family, the kids.  I even saw it in the way that you treated your mother back when she was still around.”

Flash just stared at her with his mouth agape.  A pressure built up behind his eyes as his heart swelled.

“Okay, I’ll admit it.  I find people who can talk nerdy to me incredibly attractive, and that’s how I got together with Timber in the first place, but you can’t build a relationship on attraction alone.  I know that now.  Maybe if I had known that then, I would have fallen for you first.”

“Twilight,” Flash said with a wide grin as his voice began to break.  “If you keep talking like that, you’re going to make me cry.  No joke.”

Twilight pulled him into a tight embrace, laying her head on his chest and closing her eyes.

“You can cry all you want,” she whispered.

Flash wrapped his arms around Twilight, returning her embrace, as two streams of tears flowed down his face.

“Hey, Flash,” Twilight said as she rubbed circles into his back.  “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course, you can.  It’s only fair.  I mean, I did just spill my guts to you,” Flash chuckled.

Twilight smiled as she pulled away from him before reaching in her pocket and offering him her tissues.  Flash took one of the tissues, thanked her, and wiped his eyes dry.

“Falling for you was like the first time that I found friendship,” Twilight began. “Back when I was in Crystal Prep, friends were just people you used to get ahead.  Since I refused to be used and didn’t need to use other people, I didn’t have any friends besides Cadance and Spike.  I thought that I could fill that void by looking for more discovery and with it more success and recognition, but then, I came to CHS and met the girls.  They showed me that friendship was giving the best of yourself to bring out the best in others without expecting anything in return, and I didn’t know how much I needed that until they gave it to me.”

Twilight looked into Flash’s eyes as she continued, “I thought Timber was everything that I would ever need in a boyfriend, smart, confident, charming, shared my interests, but with you, I found something deeper and more meaningful and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, and I want to hold on to it for as long as I can.”

Heart racing, Twilight lunged forward and kissed Flash on the cheek.

“If I hadn’t agreed to save our first kiss, you’d be getting a lot more than that,” Twilight smirked at the utterly dumbfounded look that Flash was giving her before she stood up.  “Come on. Let’s head back before everyone starts worrying about us.”


 
When First Base saw Flash and Twilight returning to the gazebo arm-in-arm, he took it as his cue to return to his team.  As he made his way to where the mural was being painted, he saw Timber Spruce standing right outside the main lodge, holding an ice pack to his jaw. First Base could tell that he had also seen Twilight and Flash together by the scowl he was wearing.  The two of them locked eyes with each other as Base passed by.

“You have lost,” First Base’s smug grin said to Timber.
> Chapter 5:  Somebody Who Cares
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Pinkie, are you sure it’s a good idea for you to be helping with the cookie-making group?” Micro Chips asked the next morning.

“Uh, duh!” Pinkie answered matter-of-factly.  “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“So, the exploding sugar clouds aren’t a concern for you?  At all?”

“Hey, as long as I handle the sugar very, very gently, the sugar won’t go boom.”

“What exploding sugar clouds?” asked Minty.

“Oh, well, you kids remember how Ms. Twilight can make things float?” Flash explained to the children.

The kids all nodded.

“Well, Ms. Pinkie can make sugar explode.”

Missy gasped in amazement.  “Do the sugar explosions still taste like sugar?”

“I, I don’t know,” replied Pinkie before her eyes widened in excitement, “but now, I really want to find out.”

“Maybe we should get started on making the cookies first,” Derpy suggested. “The group that’s out birdwatching is probably going to want a snack when they get back from their nature walk.”


 
After a while, everyone was at the mess hall quietly making cookies.  When suddenly, the unpredictable struck.

“Denny, what’s going on with your face?” Kit asked noticing the bright red splotches that were appearing on Denny’s skin.

“They’re on his hands too,” cried Sage.

Denny looked at his hands and screamed before he began to cough.  “Guys, I don’t feel so good.”

“What going on?”  Flash rushed over and scanned the surroundings, seeing a bowl of slivered almonds on the table.  “Denny, are you allergic to almonds?”

“I don’t know.  I’ve never had them before,” Denny choked out between coughs.

“Micro!  Pinkie! D!  Get over here!” Flash shouted, causing the other three volunteers to rush over.  “Denny’s having an allergic reaction.  Micro, call 911.  D, find a first aid kit and an Epi pen if possible.  Pinkie, stay with Denny.  I’m going to get Thorax and Gloriosa.”

“Got it,” Derpy replied as she scanned the mess hall for a first aid kit.  Micro pulled out his phone, and Flash rushed out as fast as he could.


 
“Gloriosa!  Gloriosa!” Flash shouted as he ran from the mess hall to the cabin where Gloriosa’s office was.

Timber saw him running and intercepted him, slamming a fist into his palm. “Hey, I think you and I need to have a little talk.”

“Not now!”  Flash pushed the older teen aside and continued to call for the camp director.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me.”  However, Flash wasn’t listening.

“What’s going on?” Gloriosa stepped out from the office cabin.

“A kid’s having an allergy in the mess hall.  We need an Epi pen, stat,” Flash hurriedly explained between pants.

Gloriosa’s eyes widened as she rushed into her office.  She came out with an Epi pen in hand and ran as fast as she could to the mess hall.  Seeing Gloriosa and Timber make their way to the mess hall, Flash quickly began looking for the hiking trail that led into the woods.


 
“Thorax!”  Thorax turned around at the sound of his name being called and saw Flash running towards him. Flash stopped running when he saw that he had gotten Thorax’s attention.  “Denny’s having a bad reaction to one of the cookie ingredients.”

Thorax’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.  “Kids, stay with Ms. Twilight, Ms. Sunset, Mr. Sandalwood, and First Base, alright?  I’ve got to take care of this.”

The two of them arrived back at the campsite to see Gloriosa climbing into a small jeep while Timber placed Denny on the back.

“Oh my gosh!  Is Denny okay?” Thorax frantically asked Gloriosa.

“Don’t worry.  He’s fine. I managed to give him the Epi pen in time.  I’m just taking him to the emergency clinic in town,” Gloriosa answered.  “You might want to come with us.”

Thorax climbed into the jeep next to Denny before turning to Flash.  “Flash, you’re in charge of the kids until I get back.”

“And you’re in charge of the camp,” Gloriosa told her brother.  “Don’t do anything crazy or stupid while I’m gone, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, just go already,” Timber replied.

Flash let out a sigh of relief as Gloriosa drove away with Thorax and Denny. “Man, that was close.”

Flash turned to make his way back to the mess hall when Timber once again intercepted him.

“So, now, that that’s been taken care of, how about that talk we need to have?” Timber said to Flash.

“Are you kidding me?” Flash deadpanned before suddenly shouting.  “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!  A kid almost died a few minutes ago, and you want to get on my case about Twilight RIGHT NOW?!”

“Why not?  We are alone, and the emergency’s been taken care of.”

“I don’t have time for this.”  Flash once again pushed Timber away as he went towards the mess hall, but Timber got in his way again.

“All you have to do is answer one question for me, alright?  Just one little question,” Timber stated with a disconcerting calmness.  “Why you? Out of all the guys Twilight could have picked for a new boyfriend, why did it have to be you?  That skinny twerp with the glasses would have been a step up from you, so why did she choose you, huh?”

Flash crossed his arms and looked away, clearly not wanting to have this conversation.  However, he also knew that the only way to get Timber Spruce off his case was to play along with his sick game.

Flash took a breath, looked Timber in the eye, and said, “I don’t know.”

Timber blinked twice in shock.  “What?”

“I. Don’t. Know,” Flash emphasized.  “I don’t know why Twilight chose me for her new boyfriend.  I don’t know why, out of all the guys in CHS, she asked me to go to the dance with her.  I don’t know why she agreed to go on that first date with me or why she agreed to keep going on dates with me.  I just don’t know!”  Flash took a breath to calm himself before taking a step closer to Timber and pulling Timber by the shirt.  “Here’s what I do know.  Twilight chose me to be her boyfriend for a reason, and only an idiot would take having her for granted.  I may not be very smart, but I’m not that kind of idiot.”

Once again, Flash pushed Timber aside as he made his way to the mess hall. Thankfully, this time, Timber didn’t try to stop him.  When Flash entered the mess hall, he found everyone either dumping cookie dough into the trash bins or scrubbing the tabletops.

“Hey, guys,” said Flash as he entered.  “What’s going on?”

“We’re scrapping the last batch of cookie dough and making the whole place as allergen-free as possible before starting a new no-almonds-whatsoever batch,” Pinkie Pie explained.  “Wowee, that was scary.  Good thing you kept your head on, Flash.”

“Good thing my mom used to make me and my brother go to those first aid workshops with her at the hospital,” Flash replied before picking up a rag and helping scrub down the tables.

“Hey, Flash, is everything okay?” Derpy asked, looking at her friend in concern.

“Yeah, Gloriosa and Thorax just took Denny to the emergency clinic in town, and they’ll probably be back in a few hours.  Why?”

“Your ears are red.”

Flash self-consciously covered his burning ears and turned away from Derpy.

“A certain someone got on your case, didn’t he?” Micro deduced.

“Yup,” Flash replied.  “Look, guys, don’t worry about it.  If he’s smart, he’d quit pressing the issue.”

“If he was smart, he wouldn’t have picked a fight with your brother yesterday.”


 
After sharing some almond-free cookies with the group that went birdwatching and spending the rest of the morning proving that sugar explosions do, in fact, still taste like sugar, the campers and the volunteers all lined up for lunch. While in the lunch line, Flash couldn’t help but notice that Twilight was standing closer to him than normal and maybe even clinging to his arm a little.  When the two of them sat down, Twilight sat so close to him that if she was any closer, she’d be right on his lap.

“Uh, Twilight,” Flash began.  “It’s not that I don’t enjoy having you in my personal space, but is something wrong?”

Twilight put on a forced grin.  “Why would anything be wrong?”

Flash raised an eyebrow at her.  She sighed as she turned away from him and shook her head.

“Okay, something is wrong,” she admitted, “but I can’t tell you in front of the kids.”

“Okay,” Flash replied, “why don’t you meet me where we were yesterday and tell me after the kids have gone to sleep?”

Rather suddenly, Twilight leaned into him and threw her arms around him.

“Okay,” she said with a nod.

Flash blinked a few times, thoroughly confused, before putting his arm around her. She seemed to relax a bit under his touch, so he started to gently rub her shoulder.


 
That night, Thorax, Gloriosa, and Denny managed to get back in time for a round of campfire songs, and everybody was over the moon to see that Denny was okay. Even Honey Bee was happy to see him, well, happy by her standards.  After celebrating Denny’s return with a few campfire songs and plenty of allergen-free s’mores, the volunteers put all the kids to bed, and Flash and Twilight snuck off into the woods together.

“So, what was going on with you during lunch today?” Flash asked as he and Twilight once again sat down on the log next to the pond in the woods.

Twilight took his hand and squeezed it.  “Don’t get mad, okay?”

Flash returned Twilight’s squeeze and replied, “No promises.”

“After you left with Thorax,” Twilight began, “a few of the kids needed to go to the bathroom, so First Base and I took them back to camp.  When we got to camp, we saw you and Timber arguing. After you went into the mess hall, I told Base to take the kids to the bathroom and went to confront Timber myself.” Twilight let out a shuddering breath before continuing, “I told him that if he didn’t get off your case, then he and I couldn’t be friends and that I would count him as a stranger for as long as I lived.”

Flash could have sworn that he heard the beginnings of a sob, however faint, coming out of Twilight.  “Keep going. I’m listening.”

“Timber stole my first kiss!” Twilight blurted out as her voice broke.

“Wait. What?”  Flash’s eyes popped open, and his jaw hit the floor.  The horrible, icy feeling was once again spreading over his internal organs.

“He just grabbed onto me and kissed me, so I pushed him away, struck him, and stormed off as quickly as I could.  That kiss was supposed to be ours.”  Tears began flowing down Twilight’s face as she turned away from Flash.  “I’m sorry, Flash.  I’m so sorry.”

Flash cupped Twilight’s face in his hands, lifted her head up, and turned her back towards him.

“Hey, hey,” he said tenderly.  “I’m not mad at you.  It’s not your fault.  It’s not your fault.”  He continued to reassure her as he pulled her into an embrace and she continued to cry. Then, in a dark tone, he said, “If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s Timber’s.”

“Flash,” she managed to get out between sobs.  “I know you’re upset, but please don’t make a scene, okay?  Just please don’t.”

“Okay, okay.  I won’t,” he whispered tenderly as she cried into his chest.

Twilight pulled away from him when her sobbing finally died down.  Flash rubbed the last of her tears away from her face with his hands.  Then, he brushed her hair back and kissed her temple.


 
When the two of them finally returned to the cabins, they found Thorax outside waiting for them along with Gloriosa and Timber.  Both Thorax and Gloriosa were scowling furiously while Timber was looking at the ground.

“Flash, Twilight,” Thorax greeted, his expression unreadable.  “Just who we needed to see.”

“What’s going on?” Flash asked, hesitantly, worried that he and Twilight had gotten themselves into trouble.

“Well, it would seem as if my brother,” Gloriosa continued, pushing Timber forward, “needs to apologize to the two of you for something.”

Timber slowly lifted his head and bit his lip as his intestines twisted into a knot. “Uh, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Gloriosa prompted.

“I’m sorry that I kissed Twilight against her will.”

Flash stepped forward so that he was between Timber and Twilight and looked Timber in the eye.  The blaze in his eyes caused Timber’s very bones to shake.  Then, to everyone’s shock, Flash drove his fist into Timber’s stomach, causing the older boy to double over in pain.

“Flash!” Twilight cried, stepping forward to restrain him.  However, instead of continuing to punch Timber, Flash took a step back and bent down to Timber’s level.

“That,” Flash said in a low tone, “was just a warning shot.  If I hadn’t agreed not to make a scene, you’d be getting a lot more than that.  Now, don’t you EVER mess with Twilight, my brother, the kids, or ANY of my friends again.”

Flash stood back up and walked away from the still-groaning Timber.  Then, he took Twilight by the hand and walked her back to her cabin.  Gloriosa helped her brother up to his feet and helped him walk back to their cabin, thoroughly relieved that that conversation went better than she thought it was going to.


 
Flash groaned as he flopped himself stomach-first on his bed, causing his brother to sit up and turn to him in concern.  Micro Chips and Sandalwood had followed Flash up the stairs out of concern and were standing by the stairway.

“Hey, man, is everything okay?” Micro asked.

“Fine, I guess,” Flash groaned as he flipped himself onto his back.

“So, uh, we kinda overheard Thorax talking with Gloriosa and Timber,” Sandalwood explained.  “How’s Twilight doing?”

Flash sighed, dropping his arms to his side.  “She was pretty upset, but she’s fine now.”

“So, um, how are YOU doing?” asked Micro.

Flash shook his head.  “I don’t know.  I mean, I’m honestly pretty mad at Timber for what he did, but at the same time,” he sighed again, “I can’t help but envy him.”

“You want to kiss Twilight against her will, get slapped across the face, and be utterly despised?” Base asked, thoroughly confused.  “Doesn’t that go against everything Mom and our grandparents thought us about how to treat women?”

“No!” Flash cried.  “I’m not envious about what Timber did.  I’m envious because, because I wish I was bolder when it comes to my relationship with Twilight.  I wish I can do something crazy and wild that shows her just how much she means to me.”

“And swallowing your pride and spilling your guts to her wasn’t crazy enough for you? What?  Are you going to ask her to marry you next?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

The jaws of every boy in the room who wasn’t Flash promptly dropped off the face of the earth.

“I was just kidding,” Base protested.

“F-Flash, slow down a little,” Micro stammered.  “The two of you have only been together for a couple of months, you just barely turned eighteen, and the two of you are about to go to different colleges.  How can you already be thinking about marriage?!”

Sandalwood shushed Micro’s outburst, “Dude, kids are asleep, the girls are next door, and the walls are thin.  Keep it down.”

Flash sat up and looked at his friends and brother.  “I know.  I know. It’s too soon for that.  It’s definitely too soon for that.”

He flopped back onto his bed and roared into his pillow.  “Gosh!  What is wrong with me?  Why can’t I shake off the feeling that I’m not good enough for Twilight?”

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that the two of you are about to leave for different colleges and that Twilight might end up meeting smart, attractive guys who share her interests while she’s away, would it?” Micro Chips inquired.

Flash pitched his pillow straight for Micro’s face and cried out, “Don’t remind me.”

“I’m counting that as a yes.”  Micro nonchalantly tossed the pillow back at Flash.

“Bro, why wouldn’t you be good enough for Twilight?” First Base retorted. “You’re a prince.”

Flash lifted his head up and stared at Base, his younger brother’s confusingly meaningful words having pierced through the shell of inadequacy that he had been hiding behind.

“At least, that’s what Mom said you were.  Mom may have been wrong about some things, and she may have even lied from time to time, but she definitely wasn’t wrong about that, and she definitely wasn’t lying when she called you that.”

Flash blinked a few times as Base’s words further sank in.

“And you know what, you know what?  If Twilight can’t see that in you, it’s her loss, not yours.”

Flash sighed as he turned over onto his back, “I think she does see that in me. She more or less told me so yesterday.”

“You know that she can see the prince inside of you and still break up with you, right?” Micro pointed out and was met with glares from everybody in the room. “Okay, forget I said anything.”

“You know what, dudes?  I think Micro and I better be going to bed already.  We’re going to need to be totally energized for tomorrow, ya know,” Sandalwood said as he and Micro began to head down the stairs.  “Oh, and dude, don’t freak over your lady, man.  She totally loves you.  Would she have slapped her ex for stealing your kiss if she didn’t?”

Once the two brothers were alone, Flash turned off the light and said, “Good night, Little Bro.”

“G’night, Little Prince,” First Base replied jokingly.  Flash’s pillow arced across the room before landing squarely yet gently on top of his younger brother’s face.
> Chapter 6:  Part of the Legend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, Flash,” Sunset called to the blue-haired rocker the next morning at the breakfast line.

“Hey, Sunset.  What’s up?” he replied.

“So, uh, Twilight told us about what happened yesterday or, in my case, showed me.”

Flash frowned as he picked up his milk and orange juice from the line.  “I see.”  He paused then continued, “So, how is she?”

“She’s fine, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”  Sunset collected herself, took a deep breath, and began, “Flash, I think I owe you a long overdue apology for something.”

“Sunset, don’t worry about it,” Flash said to her as they made their way to the volunteers’ table.  “I’ve already forgiven you for it.  Besides, if you hadn’t done it, I probably would have never realized how badly I needed to get out of our relationship.”

“I know, but still, I wish I had a way to give you back your first kiss.  I know back then we both assumed that I was going to end up having it anyway, but I shouldn’t have just taken it from you,” Sunset replied as they both took their seats.

Flash smiled to himself before replying with the slightest hint of mischief in his voice, “You know there is a way that you can make it up to me.”

“How?”

He leaned forward and whispered, “You can tell Lean that you already made his life’s dream come true.”

Sunset looked at him in confusion before her eyes widened in realization, “How did you—?”

“Sunset, I may not be very smart, but I do know how to add.”

“Yeah, well, I was going to be doing that anyway, so you just wasted an IOU. Jokes on you, Mister.”

Flash laughed as the rest of the volunteers joined them for breakfast.


 
“Try not to drop me, Ms. Twilight,” Lean said as he slowly rose up with a paintbrush in hand enveloped by a faint purple glow.

“I’m not going to drop you,” Twilight replied, carefully stopping Lean at the spot he had indicated earlier.  Lean reached out with his paintbrush and painted on the finishing details on a bright red handprint bird.  Twilight carefully maneuvered Lean around the mural as he detailed the rest of the birds and butterflies.

“Done,” he called down as he painted the last antenna on the last butterfly. “You can float me down now.”

Twilight laughed as she did just that.

“That looks great, you two,” Sunset exclaimed as she stepped back to admire their handiwork.  “We really outdid ourselves.  Now, we just have to put the tarp up for the big reveal.”

“Already on it,” Twilight answered as she levitated the tarp over the mural.

“Hey, Ms. Sunset, since we’re done, does that mean that you get to tell me your secret now?” Lean tugged at the hem of Sunset’s shirt.

Sunset smiled as she bent down to his level.  “Remember, Lean.  You can’t tell your brother, your best friend, Mr. Thorax, or anyone else, okay?”

Lean nodded vigorously.  Sunset cupped her hands around his ear and whispered something into it, causing Lean’s mouth to pop open in shock.

“Really?!” he cried.

Sunset nodded twice in affirmation.

“But then that means…” Lean trailed off with a gasp.

“Mmmm-hmmmm,” Sunset nodded again.

“Wow!” he cheered but then stopped.  “Wait.  So, what am I going to do now?”

“Well, like Flynn Rider from Tangled said, now, you get to find a new dream.”

“But what if I can’t find one?”

Sunset ruffled Lean’s hair.  “Oh, you will, kid.  You will.”


 
After a game of tag that ended with Flash at the bottom of a dogpile, everybody at camp gathered around in front of the recently finished and covered mural. Flash arrived last with his guitar case on hand.

“Okay, everybody, ready to see what your camp gift looks like?” Sunset announced. Most of the kids cheered in response while Bee cracked some semblance of a smile in approval.  With a dramatic flourish, Sunset yanked the tarp off the mural.

“Wow!” everyone gasped when they saw it.

“It looks better than what I had in my head!” Lean beamed in awe.

“Oh, all of you should be proud of yourselves,” Gloriosa praised.  “All our future campers will absolutely love it.”

“I can’t believe a kid thought of it,” Timber agreed.  “Well, I can, but I wasn’t expecting it to look this cool.”

“We’re just getting started,” Pinkie exclaimed.  “Okay, kids, line up!”

Flash took out his guitar as the kids lined up into two rows.  After the kids finished lining up, Flash began to play the opening bars of the camp song.

“Okay, Gale,” Pinkie directed.  “Take us away!”

“Will you be lost by time or be part of history?” Gale began.

“Will your story be told or remain a mystery?” Robby joined her.

“Will they sing your song, telling all that you have done?” the kids sang and clapped together.  “Time to make your choice, only you can be the one//Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa/As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey!)/Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa/As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey! Hey! Hey!)”

Gloriosa began to tear up as she continued to listen to the children sing. As a camp director, she lived for moments like this.  Granted, due to her relative inexperience, she didn’t get many opportunities to experience them.  Nevertheless, just this moment alone was worth all the stress and tears that she poured into keeping the camp going.

“Will you find your greatest glory?” the kids continued with the volunteers joining them.  “Will you be a falling star?/Here to learn what nature teaches/Here to learn more who you are//Will you be lost by time or be part of history?/Will your story be told or remain a mystery?/And when you go back home, everybody there will see/You were part of the Legend of Everfree!//Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa/As you join in the Legend of Everfree! (Hey!)/Oh, oh, oh-oh-whoa/As you join in the Legend of Everfree!/Hey!”


 
Since it was their last night at camp, everybody had fire-roasted hotdogs for dinner around the campfire.

“This has been the best week of my life,” Kit exclaimed before blowing on his hotdog.

“Yeah!” agreed everybody else.

“I wish we never had to leave,” said Denny.

“But what if you get allergic again, Denny?” Sage pointed out.  “If we stay here, we won’t be able to get you to a doctor real fast.”

“Oh, yeah,” Denny’s face fell.  “That was real scary.”

“I just wish we weren’t going home to Ms. Chrysalis,” Bee grumbled.

“Yeah,” Willow agreed quietly.  “Me too.”

“Hey, you kids still have me,” Thorax pointed out.  “Besides, if we don’t head back, we might not find your forever families.”

“We might not find our forever families even if we do head back,” Bee muttered.

“Well, at least, Mr. Flash, Ms. D, Ms. Twilight, and everybody else  will be going back with us,” Gale pointed out.

“Too bad they’re leaving in a few months.”

“Must you ruin everything?!” Kit yelled at Bee.

“Hey, hey, everybody, calm down,” assured Flash.  “I know a lot of hard stuff is going to be happening when we get back to Canterlot, but let’s try not to get down about it, okay?  We’re still here, aren’t we?”

All the kids nodded.

“I still wish you didn’t have to go,” said Gale.  The other children voiced their agreements.

“Kids,” Sunset spoke up.  “My friends and I wrote this song when we graduated because all of us were going to be splitting up.  Why don’t Ms. Twilight, Ms. Pinkie, and I sing it for you?”

“Uh, Sunset, don’t we need the whole band for that song?” Pinkie pointed out.

“We’ll just sing the first verse and the chorus.  We don’t need the rest of the band for that.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie, then.”

Flash passed his guitar to Sunset while Twilight began the song acapella.

“Nothing stays the same for long/But when it changes doesn't mean it's gone,” Twilight sang.  “Time will always get away/As it leaves behind another day”

“Things may come and things may go/Some go fast and some go slow,” Sunset sang as she strummed.  “Few things last, that's all I know/But friendship carries on through the ages”

“Things may come and things may go/Some go fast and some go slow,” Twilight and Pinkie joined Sunset.  “Few things last, that's all I know/But friendship carries on through the ages//Ohhh-oh, carries on”

“So, does this mean we’re all friends?” asked Robby.

“Yeah,” Flash replied with a smile.  “I think it does.”

“Hey, Ms. Twilight,” Gypsy asked, “can you tell us the story about Flash Magnus and the dragon again?”

“Of course, I can,” Twilight answered.

“And Mr. Flash, can you sing us to sleep again?” asked Minty.  “For old times’ sake.”

“That only happened a few days ago.  How is that for old times’ sake?” said Sid.

“What? Mr. Flash might not get another chance to do that again before he leaves for college.”

“Alright, alright,” Flash agreed.  “I’ll sing you guys to sleep again.”

Micro Chips inwardly groaned as he rubbed his lower back.


 
One story, one song, and a whole lot of lifting later, the volunteers began making their way back to their cabins.

“Oh, aren’t they just so cute and peaceful when they’re asleep?” Derpy remarked.

“Yeah, they are,” Micro agreed as he rubbed his sore muscles.  “Too bad I’m too sore to appreciate it.  Why’d you have to agree to sing them to sleep, Flash?”

“Hey, I’m not going to be around for them forever, you know,” Flash pointed out. “Might as well make the most of what we’ve still got, muscle soreness and all.”

Everyone but Micro laughed at that.  They stopped laughing and stopped moving when they heard footsteps approaching. Turning towards the sound, they saw Timber Spruce approaching them and immediately jumped into a fighting stance. Twilight and Pinkie Pie raise their hands, readying themselves to use their magic if necessary while Flash protectively stepped between Twilight and Timber.

“Back for more, huh?” First Base challenged, about to rush over and strike Timber before Sandalwood held him back with a hand on his shoulder.

“Relax, I’m not here to mess with anyone this time,” Timber answered, taking a step back defensively.

Twilight and Flash gave each other questioning looks before turning their attention back to Timber.

“Can I just talk to Twilight alone, please?” Timber continued.

The volunteers shared looks with each other before Flash and Twilight nodded. Then, everyone except Flash and Twilight slowly began returning to the cabins.  First Base was the last to leave but not before giving Timber an “I’m watching you” sign.

“Whatever you have to say to me you can say to both of us,” Twilight stated, noticing the nervous look Timber was giving Flash.

“Okay, look, I really am sorry about the kiss yesterday,” said Timber.  “I shouldn’t have done it, but I did, and I totally understand if the two of you are still mad at me.”  Timber paused and directly looked at Flash.  “And I’m sorry that I started a fight with your brother and bad-mouthed you and tried to make you look and feel like an inadequate loser. That being said, I still don’t get what Twilight sees in you.”

Twilight scowled and crossed her arms at that last statement.

“But,” Timber continued, “you obviously care about her a lot, and she really cares about you.”  He turned back to Twilight.  “I still don’t like that you’ve moved on from me, but I just thought I’d come here to let you know that I’m not going to be pressing the issue anymore.  So, are we cool?”

Flash and Twilight shared another look with each other.  Then, Flash nodded.  Twilight nodded back.

“Yeah, we’re cool,” Twilight replied.

“Same for me,” agreed Flash.

“Oh,” Timber blinked in surprise.  “Cool. Uh, I guess I’ll just be heading back now.”

Timber turned to leave but before he could, Flash called out to him.

“Hey, Timber,” Flash called.

“Yeah?” Timber asked, turning around.

“Here’s a tip for ya,” Flash continued.  “If you want kids to like you, don’t use them to suck up to a girl.”

Timber blinked as he studied Flash’s expression suspiciously.  Seeing no malice in Flash’s demeanor, he gave a small smile.

“Thanks,” he said.  “I’ll keep that in mind.”  Then, he turned around and left.


 
The next morning, Big McIntosh drove the Rainbooms’ tour bus into the camp parking lot to pick up the kids and the volunteers.  As the bus drove away from camp, the kids broke into another round of the camp song while the volunteers talked among themselves.

“See, Micro Chips,” Sandalwood said to his seat mate.  “That wasn’t so bad.”

“You know what?  You’re right,” Micro Chips agreed.  “I just spent a week in the middle of the woods, running around helping look after kids, and I’m not even tir—”  The sentence was left unfinished as Micro Chips slumped forward and fell fast asleep.

“Yeah,” Flash remarked.  “I saw that coming.”

Everybody else laughed in response.