> Flash Sentry Chronicles: The Legend of Everfree
>  by Banshee531
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Welcome to Camp Everfree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canterlot City...

The sun was barely creeping above the horizon as a new day was born, one which promised to be a day of great excitement for the students of CHS. Several months had passed since the Friendship Games, and the insanity that had occurred. Since then, life had pretty much returned to normal at the school, the only difference being the newest students, Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle.

The two found themselves fitting in pretty well, Flash quickly making friends with almost everyone and had been inducted into the Royal Knights band, having a blast being with them. As for Twilight, she had also gotten into a comfortable routine with her new friends. Though the school wasn't as well equipped as Crystal Prep, there wasn't a constant flow of stress from her fellow students trying to belittle her. Because of this, she was able to relax and it was easier for her to study while also being with the Rainbooms, enjoying the time with them while also trying out new things. They had even convinced her to join their band, allowing her to put her great singing voice the good use.

But despite all the fun Twilight had been having, there was a singular problem within her. A tinge of guilt had stayed in her mind, telling her how horrible she was for almost destroying her world after being transformed into the psychopathic Midnight Sparkle.

Currently, that young girl was in her bedroom, asleep under her covers. The light of the rising sun trickled into her room, but not enough to wake her up. At the foot of her bed, her talking dog Spike was also asleep. But as she slept, Twilight groaned while shuffling from side to side.

"No," she moaned, "It can't be...it isn't true...!" As she continued to have some kind of nightmare, she didn't hear a knocking at the door.

"Um, Twilight?" The voice of her friend Fluttershy drifted into the room. This appeared to awaken Spike, who barked excitedly, but Twilight remained asleep. That was until a much harder knock, more like a bang, echoed against the door and Rainbow called out.

"TWILIGHT!" The girl's eyes opened before she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "The bus for Camp Everfree leaves in ten minutes!" This statement got her wide awake, Twilight letting out a gasp before she reached out and grabbed her glasses.

"Oh, no-no-no-no-no!" She cried as she jumped out of her bed, "I can't believe I overslept!" Spike managed to unlock her door and allow the rest of the girls into the room, Sunset looking worried as she watched Twilight grab a suitcase from her closet.

"Me neither. That's not like you."

"I know!" Twilight replied as she put the case down and opened it up as Pinkie moved over to her bed.

"Don't you have a super-annoying alarm clock that goes AIR! AIR! AIR! AIR!" It was then she reached down and grabbed Twilight's pillow, picking it up to reveal the aforementioned alarm clock that was making that exact sound. As Sunset switched it off, Flash's voice called out from the hallway.

"I tried three times to get her up, but she wouldn't have it." The teen was leaning against the wall outside her room, not looking into it. It was a house rule that Flash and Twilight weren't allowed in one another's rooms, something the two never understood why Twilight's parents had enforced since Flash had moved in. Either way, it meant Twilight had to lock her door at night, keeping Flash from going in earlier and throwing her out of bed.

"It's gonna be fine," Sunset assured her before grabbing another suitcase from under the bed and putting it on top. "We'll help you pack." She opened it up and the girls quickly started throwing things into it. Flashlight, muffin, cuddly toy, a framed picture of...Rainbow Dash. Spike even placed his rope toy into the case.

It was then that Rarity took out an all too familiar dress, which caused Applejack to roll her eyes and let out a sigh, "We're gonna be out in the woods. When is she gonna need that?"

Rarity then rolled her eyes back, "If we were going to the moon, I'd insist she packed an evening gown. One never knows, darling."

Twilight and Rainbow finished packing her first case, Twilight smiling as Rainbow zipped it up. "Lemme just get changed," she replied as Rainbow picked the case up. She grabbed a shirt she had been given, which had the Camp Everfree Logo on it, that she took it over to the mirror on her wall. But as she looked at herself in the reflection, something appeared behind her. A pair of dark wings, both looking like they were about to come out her back.

But as soon as she saw them, the wing's true owner rose up and her full appearance was displayed in the mirror. Twilight spun around and gasped when she saw the creature now smiling at her, the rest of her friends yelling in unison, "MIDNIGHT SPARKLE!"

"How is this possible?!" Twilight screamed, backpedaling as Flash ran into the room, "Sunset Shimmer helped me defeat you at the Friendship Games!"

"You and your friends can never truly defeat me!" Midnight maniacally laughed, which caused the world around them to go haywire. The room began to dissolve around the teens, all of them trying to run away from her. But one by one, they began to vanish by turning into disappearing pixels. First Rainbow, then Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy. This was followed by Spike and Sunset as they all screamed while being erased from existence.

"TWILIGHT!" Flash yelled as he tried to run to her, reaching out a hand. But before Twilight could grasp it, he vanished as well. "NOOOOO!" His voice echoed into the approaching void, Twilight now backpedaling again.

And when her back hit the mirror, she felt something grip her shoulder and flinched away. Turning around, she saw Midnight within the mirror, a huge grin on her face as she pulled herself out. "Midnight Sparkle's a part of you!" She told Twilight before the teen girl accidently stepped out what remained of the room, now falling into the pink void. She floated there as the room completely vanished, leaving only her and Midnight. "I'll always be there," she said as she began to grow, "Waiting in the darkest shadows of your mind! I'll be back, Twilight!" She then vanished before reappearing behind Twilight at normal size, grabbing both her shoulders. "And this time, I won't stop until I have all the magic!"

"No!" Twilight yelled as Midnight phased into her, causing her to sprout the wings, horn and glasses her evil alter-ego possessed. "STOP!"





"Twilight," she heard as her mind returned to the waking world, "Wake up!" Twilight's eyes sprang open, gasping as she glanced around, only to see she was on the bus to Camp Everfree, Spike sitting in her lap.

"We can't stop, silly!" Pinkie giggled from the seat behind her. "We're not there yet!" Twilight began to adjust her glasses at this, now seeing Sunset sitting beside Pinkie while Applejack and Rainbow sat in front of her with Fluttershy and Rarity in front of them. To her left, Flash sat beside Iron Core with First and Heather in front of them. And all around them, more of their classmates sat around talking and laughing.

"Hey," Sunset spoke up, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Flash added with a nod, "It's not like you to have nightmares. I'd ask if you've been cheesing, but we all know how much you hate the stuff."

Twilight let out a low giggle, "I'm fine." Flash and Sunset shared a glance at this, only for Pinkie to poke her head between them.

"We're gonna have so much fun!" She exclaimed, "We're gonna roast marshmallows and eat marshmallows and sleep on marshmallow pillows!"

"Yeah," Rainbow laughed, "Probably not gonna do that."

"Maybe you're not," Pinkie chuckled before holding up a large bag of marshmallows that she hugged like a pillow. It even let out a squeaking noise, Flash and Iron sharing a glance until Principal Celestia spoke up.

"Attention, students." They turned to the front of the bus, which had Celestia and Luna there wearing purple girl-scout outfits. "Before we arrive, we just wanted to say how proud we are of you for raising enough money to go on this class field trip."

Vice-Principal Luna nodded at this, "When we were your age, we made some of our favorite memories in these woods, and we're sure you will too."

"Now," Celestia held up her arm, "Who's excited for Camp Everfree?!" This was met with a round of cheering from the students, all excited at the thought of the camp. Celestia then pulled out a stereo device and placed a CD inside, the woman quickly hitting play and causing the camp's anthem to start playing.

Twilight let out a sigh at this, looking away to stare out the window. She watched as the city landscape flew past them until they left the outskirts of Canterlot, driving off into the countryside. Several stray houses could be seen in the distance, along with a gas station for two every couple of miles. There was even a farm every now and again, many of the guys looking out to try and see if there was a tractor they could watch do its thing. But mostly, it was nothing but open fields, trees and mountains off in the distance.

And as the hours passed, the open fields became less and less open. The trees started getting closer, the bus soon entering a full-on forest. The students took this time to look out the window to see what kind of animals they could spot in the trees near the road, Fluttershy letting out squeals of joy every time she spotted something.

Heather started pointing out different plants, telling anyone who would listen to what they were while Rarity marveled at the sight of a passing waterfall. And eventually, the bus pulled off the main road and onto a more bumpy trail. Within a few minutes, the passengers spotted a wooden sign that had two words separated by the same logo that was plastered on their shirts.


Camp Everfree


Passing the gate, everyone was now able to see the camp that they would be staying at. It was basically two large clearings connected by a thin passageway, next to it being a larger clearing that was a giant lake, and the larger one had several buildings dotted around the place, along with a gazebo n the center. Some tried to see what was in the second clearing, but only Flash had the vision to see what looked like a bunch of tents. And as the bus came to a stop, the campers began to calmly file off the bus to collect their bags from the storage space.

"Isn't Camp Everfree just beautiful?" Fluttershy asked as Applejack and Iron tried to pull their bags out of the bus. "I can't wait until we have our first nature walk."

"I definitely wanna go on one of those," Spike added as he was now wearing a hat with the camp's logo on it.

"You wanna see all the adorable woodland creatures, too?" The dog happily nodded.

"Yeah! Specifically squirrels. More specifically, so I can chase 'em!" He let out a bark as Iron managed to pull his bag free, seeing the reason it was stuck was because it got tangled with Fluttershy's. He handed it to her as Fluttershy smiled back.

"Ah'm just lookin' forward to roughin' it," Applejack chuckled as she got her bag free, "Ah'm gonna make my own shelter, forage for food..."

It was at this moment that Rainbow Dash walked past her, "Uh, you know they provide us with food and tents, right?"

"Yup!" Applejack shined a big toothy grin, "Still gonna forage though."

The group moved around the side of the bus, now finding Rarity leaning against a large pile of cases and other boxes. She let out a sigh as she wiped her brow, "I'm just ready for some R and R. The past year has all been a bit too much for my tastes."

"I'll say!" Pinkie bounced around before counting off the insanities they had experienced recently. "We fought three evil sirens who tried to hypnotize everybody with their singing, one ridiculously competitive rival school, and two demon friends!" She gestured to Twilight and Sunset, only to see Twilight frown, "Uh, heh-heh, no offense."

"None taken," Sunset threw an arm around Twilight and pulled her close. "You'll get used to it."

"Yep," Applejack spoke up, "Canterlot High has become a regular magic magnet. Gonna be nice gettin' away to a place where we don't have to worry about that kinda stuff."

Flash took this moment to walk up to Twilight while holding her bag, "I'm just glad we got to come to begin with." He handed the bag to the bespectacled girl, "Crystal Prep would never waste its funds like this. Anything that couldn't earn them a trophy was considered a waste of space and time to Principal Cinch."

"Well, let's hope that now things can be a little bit more enjoyable over there." Heather added before turning to Twilight, "Didn't you say Dean Cadance took over?"

Twilight nodded back, "Not long after Cinch was forced to leave due to a 'stress induced mental breakdown.'" Everyone chuckled at this, remembering when they had heard about Cinch's dismissal. She had tried to get the school board to shut down CHS on the grounds of doing some kind of illegal student experimentation, accusing Celestia and Luna of using magic to create some kind of super solider student just to raise CHS's academic standing. Of course, none of the board believed her and both Cadance, Ruby and their principals had denied ever seeing magic used during the friendship games. The students of Crystal Prep had also denied the allegations, and Cinch went insane, screaming that it was all true. Eventually, the board forced her to step down for fear the stress was getting to her.

So now Crystal Prep was under Cadance's leadership.

"Cadance and Ruby have been talking nonstop about what they want to change in the school," Flash laughed, "Hopefully Lightning and the others can actually enjoy some of their high school life now."

Twilight nodded in agreement, only for the camp's PA system unleashed a loud feedback noise. Everyone cried out and covered their ears until it died down, a cheery female voice now speaking up, "Hey everyone! If you could start heading to the courtyard, that would be rad! It's time to start the best week of camp ever!"

"There's a voice that could get annoying," Iron groaned while rubbing his ears.

"Let's just hope it was the PA system that made her voice squeaky," Flash grumbled as the group began to head for the courtyard. The others followed behind, soon making their way through the camp while getting a better look at the place. It really did feel like somewhere one could find peace and quiet, filled with tons of fun activities.

The campers all gathered around a gazebo and saw two people standing in it. The first was a woman with pink skin and rouge hair, a daisy chain around her head and a necklace that had five different crystal gems on it. The other was a brown skinned teen with green hair, wearing a red Camp Everfree shirt.

"Hi everyone!" The woman cheered through a microphone.

"It wasn't the PA system," Flash and Iron moaned together.

"Welcome to Camp Everfree!" She continued, "I'm Gloriosa Daisy, your camp director! Think of me as your friendly camp and nature guide." She then gestured over to the teen, "And this is my brother, Timber Spruce!"

Timber smirked as he took the microphone from his sister, "Think of me as that awesome guy," he threw the microphone into the air and caught it with his other hand. "Who should always be invited to fun things."

Flash, Iron and First rolled their eyes, thinking he was trying way to hard. Unfortunately, the girls around them all seemed to giggle at this. "Oh brother," Flash whispered as Timber threw the microphone back to his sister.

"We aim to please, so before we hand out our tent assignments, we'd like to hear from all of you." Everyone smiled at this, each of the campers having their own idea about what activities they wanted to enjoy. "You're free to do whatever you like here."

"Uh..." Timber spoke up, "Except hike near the rock quarry. That's off-limits."

"Y-Yes," Gloriosa nodded. "But otherwise, your options are wide open. So what activities will make this the very best week of your lives ever?" She pointed the microphone at the crowd and Rainbow was the first to speak up.

"Ooh!" She raised an arm, "Rock climbing!"

"Done!" Gloriosa told her.

"Archery!"

"Of course!"

"Tetherball!"

"Naturally!"

Rainbow was about to say something else, but Sunset grabbed her arm. "Rainbow, I know you're excited, but maybe give somebody else a chance to make a suggestion."

"Arts and crafts!" They turned to a masculine voice, now seeing Bulk Biceps. He shrunk back at the stares, blushing, "My mom...needs new pot holders."

"I'll supply the looms!" Gloriosa assured him before Pinkie cried out with excitement.

"Cookie decorating!" She licked her lips while Gloriosa nodded.

"Oh, I do make a mean sugar cookie."

"What about rope courses?" Flash asked, getting a raised eyebrow from Gloriosa. "This place is surrounded by trees. You've gotta have a tree top assault course."

"Sorry," Gloriosa replied, "That honestly sounds a little dangerous."

"We'd wear harnesses," Flash grumbled as he crossed his arms.

Gloriosa just looked away, now pointing her microphone at Fluttershy. "Early morning nature walks?"

"With walking sticks for everyone!" Gloriosa exclaimed before Rarity held up and arm.

"Ooh! Me!" She stopped for a second before continuing, "Oh, uh...a fashion show! Where I design the most fabulous camp looks inspired by today's hottest trends and have them modeled by my classmates in a gorgeous outdoor setting!"

The others stared at her like she was insane, but Gloriosa just smiled, "A camp tradition!"

"Really?" Flash asked before hearing Timber whisper to his sister.

"We have literally never done that." Gloriosa shrugged before turning back to the campers. As she spoke up, Timber turned to Twilight, Sunset and Pinkie. He and Twilight locked eyes, with Twilight beginning to blush as he smiled. Pinkie, Sunset and Flash noticed this interaction, the girls smiling while Flash just frowned.

"What about the camp gifts?" They then heard Celestia ask Gloriosa, she and Luna over by a picnic table. "That was my favorite Camp Everfree tradition."

"The camp gift!" Gloriosa cheered, "Of course!"

"Really?" Timber asked, only for Gloriosa to glare at him.

"Yes, really."

Timber rolled his eyes, "Well, I just thought-"

"Then you thought wrong!" She interrupted in a quiet hiss.

Sunset turned to the others, "Anyone else picking up on a little tension between Gloriosa and her brother?" Twilight gave some half-hearted attempt to say she didn't.

"Maybe a little," Pinkie whispered as Flash shrugged.

"They're siblings. Siblings argue every now and again."

"I don't argue with Shining," Twilight pointed out.

"Only because you two have that Sibling Supreme contest going. If that hadn't been a thing, you two would be at each others throats."

Twilight was about to argue back, but Gloriosa spoke up again, "Every year, campers work together to create something useful. A gift for future campers. Working toward this common goal is key to forming the strong bonds that will last well beyond your time here at camp!" She put her hand on the microphone and glared at Timber as she spoke in a hushed ton. "Which is why it's so important!" She turned back to the campers, gesturing to the gazebo they were on. "This gazebo was a gift from last year's group." She started pointing to the others items around the place. "Oh, oh, oh, and the totem pole and the sundial were also made by campers!"

"The sundial was our year's gift!" Celestia spoke up, while Luna started coughing.

"Even though some people thought it was a little impractical, since the sundial can't be used at night."

"But I thought campers weren't allowed to wonder around at night," Flash pointed out, Luna then glaring at him, "Shutting up now."

The others laughed at this as Gloriosa continued, "You all seem like a-a really amazing group. So I'm certain you'll come up with something inspiring to leave behind."

The campers all cheered before Timber spoke up, "Speaking of leaving things behind, now's the time when we give out tent assignments so you can leave your heavy bags behind." He winked at the pun while Gloriosa shook her head, then moved over to one side of the gazebo and grabbed a bag.

"Um...girls will be getting their assignments from Timber. Guys, you're with me." Flash moved over and was one of the first in line, the teen reaching into the bag and grabbing what felt like a piece of a card.

He pulled it out and saw it had a picture of a black gemstone on it, "Err..."

Gloriosa laughed at this, "That's an onyx. That's your tent. Just look for the one with this picture on the front of it."

"Oh," Flash nodded and headed back over to the girls. Several of them had partnered up due to their tent assignments, Pinkie with Rarity, Rainbow with Applejack, and Fluttershy was with Heather.

He reached them as Sunset pulled out her card and looked it over. "Sapphire."

"Me, too!" They heard Twilight cheer. "I mean," she fiddled with her glasses, "I'm assuming I am. Heh-heh. Technically, sapphires aren't just blue. Heh-heh. They can be pink, purple, yellow..."

"Yeah, but they're mostly blue." Twilight jumped at the voice, only to turn and see Timber, "That's why they're named after the Latin word sapphirus." Twilight smirked at him and crossed her arms, Timber smiling before he started whispering. "That means blue."

"I know," Twilight whispered back. "But did you know that sapphires are just rubies without chromium?"

"What the heck is going on?" Flash asked, having never seen Twilight act like this with anyone.

First arrived at this point, now seeing them interacting. "But did you know that Sapphire Tent is the best one?" Timber asked, making Twilight raise an eyebrow.

"No. Why's that?"

"Because you're in it," Timber gave her a look that Flash guessed was supposed to be charming.

"Looks like the two are flirting," First told Flash, making Flash go wide-eyed at this. He felt something in his gut wrench as Twilight rolled her eyes at Timber.

"Oh," she took her card back from him, "I bet you say that to all the campers."

"Not true," Timber replied before turning to Bulk Biceps. "You're in the Ruby Tent?" He asked before crossing his arms, "Ha! That's the worst one!" Flash, First and Heather glared at him at this, though the others who saw this didn't seem bothered.

"Aw, man!" Bulk cried as he crushed his card.

Timber then held up his arms. "I'm just jokin', buddy. Ruby Tent is great. It's like a sapphire but with chromium." Bulk just blinked at this, unable to understand the joke, but Twilight giggled at it as Timber moved over to him. "But the Ruby and Coral Tents do look an awful lot alike to the undiscerning eye. I better show you where it is." The two began to walk off, though Timber then turned to Twilight and gave her a salute. "See ya around." With that, he was gone, and Twilight just smiled with a big blush on her face. However, she then heard some giggles and her redness disappeared as she turned to Sunset, Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity.

"What?"

"Heh," Applejack chuckled, "Nothin'."

"Ooh!" Rarity squealed, "That was adorable!"

"I don't know," Heather added, "It might have been a bit of a joke, but that was still a little mean what he said."

"It was just a goof," Rainbow continued.

"What was a goof?" Iron asked as he moved over while holding up a card to Flash, "Looks like we're in the same tent."

"Yay me. I'm with the metalhead." Flash joked before Iron threw his bag at him.

"Oh, don't be such a downer, or I'll make you carry my bag there." Flash caught it as Iron added, "And don't diss my music likes!"

"I'm no downer. And you can carry your own bag." He threw it back at Iron, the teen catching it. But as soon as he did, he suddenly dropped it and let out a hiss of pain.

"Oh," Fluttershy gasped, "Are you alright Iron?!"

The teen just shook his hands at this, "Don't know. That felt like...a jolt of electricity."

"Probably just static," Twilight commented while waving her hand.

"In the woods?" Sunset asked, Iron patting his bag and not feeling anything.

"Whatever it is, it's gone now." He picked the bag back up as Gloriosa blew a whistle.

"Okay everyone, go get settled in! We'll be meeting at the docks in fifteen minutes to go over some camp safety rules. Let me know if you need anything!" But as she said this, the sound of an engine caught their attention.

They turned to the entrance and saw a limo roll into the camp before coming to a stop right next to the gazebo. Seconds later, the door opened before a man stepped out into the camp. That man had bran skin and black hair, wearing a blue suit and red tie with a dollar sign on it. "I need somethin'," he said as he began walking into the camp.

"Why do I feel like I've seen him before?" Flash commented while scratching his head.

"Filthy Rich!" Gloriosa gasped as she walked up to him, "So nice to see you." She lead him back over to his car, then pushed him as she hissed, "What are you doing here?! Camp is just getting started!"

Filthy just smirked back at her, "Just takin' in the scenery, Gloriosa Daisy." He brought his face closer to hers as both glared at each other, "It's so...hmm...relaxin'." He then pulled back as Gloriosa put her hands on her hips.

"Well, you can look around when camp is over. Now, if you don't mind..." They glared at one another once again, Flash holding back a comment about the tension, cutting and knife.

Filthy Rich then looked at his watch, "Fine." The limo's engine started again as he climbed inside. The limo drove off, leaving a growling Gloriosa until she saw the campers staring at her.

"Filthy Rich is uh...an alumni of the camp." She put on a smile that everyone could tell was forced. "He likes to check on his old stomping grounds every now and again."

"Now I remember," Flash added as he snapped his fingers, "His daughter goes the Crystal Prep. I saw him when he came to cheer her on during a girls gymnastics competition."

"What were you doing at a girl's gymnastics competition?" Timber asked, raising an eyebrow as he walked up.

"Helping out with equipment," Flash replied, "I remember him because his daughter took first and he kept cheering when she received her trophy."

"Enough about him," Gloriosa told the campers. "Find your tents and put away your things. We've got the best week of camp ever to begin!" The campers all cheered in agreement and began to grab their bags, most looking forward to a week they would never forget.

And as Flash began to head for the onyx tenet, his eyes and body didn't notice the few stray sparks of static electricity that sparked around his fingers. The campers would soon learn that this week would be unforgettable, but for entirely different reasons.
> Gaia Everfree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash and Iron soon found their tent and headed inside, First joining them before going to his own tent. Despite this being classed as a camping trip, the tent looked more like a hotel room than anything else. They were as big as one, and had large beds that appeared to have been made out of the surrounding trees. There were also chests at the foot of the beds, tables beside them and a line to hang extra clothes.

Iron looked impressed, but Flash just sighed and threw his bag onto his bed before collapsing onto it. The other teens turned to him, "Problem?"

"I'm fine," Flash grumbled, "Just...doesn't matter."

"Ah," First spoke up. "This would not have anything to do with that Timber guy that Twilight was talking to, would it?" Flash tilted his head, showing one glaring eye, "So I am right."

Flash mumbled as he looked away, "I don't trust that guy. There's something about him that's just...I don't trust the guy."

"Ha!" Iron laughed as he sat down, "I don't think it's him you've got the problem with. I think it's who he was talking to that's got you all wound up." Flash raised an eyebrow at this as he slowly lifted his head, Iron and First smirking at him. "We've seen the way you look at her."

"Look at who?"

But before they could reply, the boys turned to see Heather step into the tent. "Hey guys, what's up?" Iron and First then pointed at Flash, Heather quickly catching on. "Oh, this is about Twilight and Timber."

"Yes," Flash nodded. "And I don't like that guy looking at Twilight like a piece of meat. I mean, he's too old for her. He's like, what...eighteen. She's a minor. And he works here. Isn't there a rule about administers not dating campers?"

The two guys went almost wide-eyed at how blunt Flash was being as Heather just giggled, "Possibly...but let's be honest here. If Timber was interested in anybody else, you wouldn't give it a second look."

"That's not true."

"So if he started flirting with Sunset or Rarity, you wouldn't care?" Iron asked, Flash not answering and just turning his head away. "Thought so."

"Face it," First added, "You are only annoyed because Timber is interested in Twilight. And it is obvious why that bothers you."

"You like Twilight," Heather finished.

"What?!" Flash sat up, "What are you talking about?!"

"We already said it," Iron said while rolling his eyes, "We've seen the way you look at her. Not like how someone would look at a friend or the person they consider a sibling."

"You have feelings for her," First continued, only to laugh as they saw Flash's face suddenly turn bright red.

"Ooooh, how cute!" Heather squealed, "I thought the other versions of you two made a cute couple, but something about you and her make's it even more cute. Maybe it's the glasses and hairdo."

"You guys are being ridiculous," Flash stood up. "There's nothing going on between me and Twilight."

"But you want there to be," Iron chuckled while Flash turned to glare at him. "Admit it."

First laughed, "Flash and Twilight, sitting in a tree."

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Heather continued.

"No, no, NO!" Flash yelled, "You guys are dead wrong." He pushed past First and Heather, striding out of the tent as his friends continued to laugh.

"Denial is the clinger!" Heather called out, "You're in love romeo!" Flash rolled his eyes as he continued to walk away, making Heather giggle, "Oh, the poor naive fool."

"He will never admit it to himself," First added, "And if he does not, he may miss out on something great. Twilight too."

"Maybe not," Heather smirked. "I think I know someone who can help us."





Meanwhile...

Sunset and Twilight were now getting settled into their tent. It was exactly like the boy's, though this one seemed to have a few more flowers in it. Twilight had just put Spike's bed down in front of her chest, and was sitting on hers while Sunset was rummaging through her bag. She pulled out a flashlight and checked to make sure it was working, the girl using it to make a spooky face. "Ooooooooooh," she chuckled before switching the light off. But when she put it away, she turned to Twilight, "Say...that was weird back there, right? With that guy, Filthy Rich?"

She waited for a response, but Twilight appeared to be lost in thought. That is, till Spike walked up to her, making Twilight turn to Sunset, "Huh? Oh. Uh, I guess so." She got up and started unpacking her bag, Sunset now taking out another shirt and hung it up.

"I just have this feeling that Gloriosa's hiding something." She then remembered Twilight's reaction to a certain someone and smirked at the teen, "Her brother''s pretty cute, though, huh?" Twilight was glad she had her back to Sunset, since she could hide the blush on her face.

Once she got it under control, Twilight glanced back at her. "He's okay."

"Ooooh," Sunset joked, "Now look who's trying to hide something-"

"No, I'm not!" Twilight snapped back, making Sunset turn to her and see a panicked expression on Twilight's face.

"Hey, you okay?" Sunset asked with a small frown, "You know...you seemed a little freaked out on the bus earlier. This isn't about that, right?"

"Probably had another one of her nightmares," Spike added before getting a pair of socks thrown into his face.

"I'm fine," she growled before putting a happy face on. "I mean, what do I have to complain about?" She jumped onto Sunset's bed. "Ever since I transferred here, everyone from CHS has been really nice and accepting, especially considering what happened at the Friendship Games."

Her face turned back to a frown, Sunset now sitting down beside her, "Twilight...that wasn't your fault." She put a hand on Twilight's shoulder, "Principal Cinch is the one who encouraged you to try and use all that magic to win the Games for Crystal Prep. You weren't ready to have that kind of power." She gripped Twilight's shoulder, making the girl glance over to her, "But it's over now. And if there's any group that's gonna forgive you for something that happened in the past, trust me, it's this one."

As she said that, Rainbow appeared at the tent's door, "You guys comin' or what?"

"Be right there!" Sunset stood up, Rainbow giving a thumbs up before walking off. "I just wanna put on some sunscreen." She reached into her bag, only to raise an eyebrow. "Huh. I coulda sworn I packed it." She continued to look until Twilight noticed something on the ground, the bespectacled girl seeing it was the tube of cream she was looking for.

"Found it!" But as she pointed it out, something completely unexpected happened. The sunscreen bottle began to glow a strange purple light before it started floating off the ground. Both girls went wide-eyed at this, Sunset looking shocked while Twilight looked absolutely terrified. Then, more light caught their attention and they saw several objects floating in the air. Towels, books, socks, and even Spike's bed were beginning to levitate. Sunset glanced around at all the items, her mind telling her it was Equestrian Magic, and she knew she wasn't the one causing it. She then turned to the only other person it could possibly be.

"Did you?" Twilight didn't reply, her eyes shrinking as she shrunk back, "How is this possible?"

"I can't believe this," Twilight almost cried out. "It's..."

"Amazing/Terrible!" As soon as they both said that, the light vanished and all the objects fell to the floor. Both flinched at this, but Sunset quickly recovered as she turned to Twilight.

"Are you kidding? This is great! I mean, we've all ponied up before, gotten the whole ears and wings and tail thing, shot magical rainbow lasers, but nothing like this has ever happened!" She stared at Twilight, "How...how did you do it?"

"I don't know!" Twilight yelped as she began to hug herself before looking away, "Maybe I didn't." She put her hands on her head, "Maybe it's her!"

Sunset raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Her who?"

"Nothing," Twilight pulled away, "Nevermind. Can we just not talk about it?! And could you please not bring this whole levitating thing up to Flash and the others?!"

"But...why not?"

"You heard Applejack," Twilight said as she went back to her bed, picking up some socks. "This is supposed to be the place where everyone can get away from magic." She put the socks away before turning back to Sunset. "I don't want them to know I brought some crazy new kind with me. And you know Flash. If he finds out something like this is going on, he'll wanna spend every waking minute keeping a close eye on me. He more than anyone deserves a break from that so he can have some fun." She put her hands together like she was going to pray, "Please!"

Sunset flinched at this, biting her lip as she replied, "Well...if you really don't want me to, I won't say anything."

"I really don't," Twilight added before heading for the door.

"Okay," Sunset called out as Twilight left, "But this isn't necessarily a bad thing!" She then looked down at the fallen sunscreen bottle. The pony turned human held her hands out and tried to make if float like when she was a unicorn, but the bottle remained where it was. She started making grunts and others sounds, but still had no luck. A long sigh came next as she put her fingers on her head and closed her eyes...only to open them and see it was still stationary.

Spike, who had been watching, glanced up at her, "I think you're just gonna have to pick it up."

"Awww," she moaned before reaching down to grab it. She started applying the lotion, heading out as she rubbed it into her arm. But she was so focused on that, she didn't notice she was moving toward someone until she bumped into them.

"Show up like that!" She looked up to see Gloriosa.

"What did you say?"

"I...didn't say anything." She glanced at the other campers, "Just here to make sure everyone is heading to the docks!" She then turned back to Sunset, "Did you need something?"

"Nope," Sunset replied.

"Because if there is anything I can do to make this week the best week ever, you just let me know." She pointed at herself, "I've got this!"

"Uh...thanks." Sunset barely responded, "I'm good." Gloriosa shined a big grin before walking off, leaving Sunset to talk to Spike. "People that chipper make me nervous." But as she said this, Pinkie hopped over and pulled Sunset into a hug.

"THIS IS GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN!" She screamed.

"I guess not all people." Pinkie let her go and began to skip for the docks, Sunset about to follow. But before she could, she was grabbed and pulled behind another tent, "WHOA!" She came to a stop, "What's the big-" she stopped when she saw it was the Royal Knights. "Oh. What's up?"

"We need your help," First replied, "You said our world and Equestria are pretty similar, right?"

Sunset blinked at this question before nodding, "Um...yeah? I mean, there are a few big differences, but it's mostly the same."

"Does that include couples?" Heather asked, making Sunset raise an eyebrow, "If everyone in our world has a doppelganger, then that means they must have the same parents. Which means the people and ponies in both worlds got together with the same pony."

"Uh...huh." Sunset responded, tapping her chin in thought, "I mean, I guess that could be true. Never really though about it." She crossed her arms next, "Why do you ask?"

The Royal Knights shined three big smirks, "Didn't you say that pony Flash and Twilight got together some time after the battle of the bands?"

Iron's question made Sunset go wide-eyed, only to glance over at Twilight before looking back at them, "Ooooh." She realised what they were getting at. "You think Twilight...and Flash."

"He likes her," Heather chimed in, "It's obvious to anyone who bothers to look. And I'm willing to bet Twilight would realize she likes him if we can get her to stop making goo-goo eyes at that Timber guy. So, wanna help us with them?"

Sunset grimaced at this, her mind going back to what had just happened to Twilight. That is, till the words Twilight had told her over relaxing and helping Flash. "Okay." Sunset nodded, "I'm in."

Over at the lake, most of the campers had arrived, now staring at the large body of water. Some campers were walking up the dock while others sat near some picnic benches. "Oh my," Rarity exclaimed while standing beside Fluttershy, Rainbow and Applejack, "It's beautiful, isn't it? It looks like a diamond shining in the sun!"

Fluttershy nodded, "It is lovely out here." She smiled as a gentle breeze blew past her. "The fresh air, the cool breeze." A tweeting sound caught her attention, making he look up to see a bird fly by. She held up a finger and the avian landed there, looking all so happy. "The birds that land on your finger."

Rainbow chuckled at this, "I think that only happens to you." Fluttershy shrugged as the bird chose to fly off, Gloriosa walking up to the lake next. Once the last of the campers showed up, Sunset and the Royal Knights, the woman began to explain several rules they would have to obey. This included no going into other people's tents without permission, no leaving their tents once lights out had been called, which nature trails they were allowed to use, and which ones were deemed unsafe and much much more.

"Lake activities are available every day until sunset," Gloriosa finished, "So if you want to canoe, sail, windsurf, or swim, just let me know." As she said that, Twilight was heading over to the docks. She was wearing a life vest, wanting to take this chance to try out everything she had read before about sailing.

At the same time, Flash had gotten into a conversation with Trixie until he noticed his best friend. That and he saw Fluttershy feeding the ducks and further up, Timber. Twilight passed by her, nodding at something she had said. But in that moment, something happened and she tripped over something, crying out as she fell back. Flash was about to run to her side, but stopped when he saw Timber manage to catch her.

"Whoa!" He heard Timber say as he helped her back up. "I know I'm charming, but you don't have to fall for me." Twilight blushed at this, Flash now feeling the gut wrenching sensation fill him.

In that moment, Sunset stepped up and saw the look on his face. "If the wind changes, your face is gonna be stuck like that."

"Very funny," Flash grunted before Sunset placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So, Heather and the others told me about the discussion you guys had before." Flash inwardly groaned with a roll of his eyes, "I think they might be right. You like Twilight, don't you?"

"No," Flash growled, "And what do you care? The way you were smiling when they talked earlier, I figure you'd be on Timber's team."

"I'm not on anyone's team," Sunset replied before correcting herself. "Actually, I am on a team. Twilight's team. And if there's something that can make her happy, I'm all for it." She then stared right in his eyes, making him blink.

"You're joking, right?" She shook her head, "You think I can make her happy?"

"Well, you've been her friend for years, so you already know everything she like and dislikes. You care about her, so you can easily be trusted not to take advantage of her. What else do I need to know to think you two would be a great couple?"

"Well it's not happening," Flash instantly responded, "Twilight and I are just friends."

"But you clearly want it to be more than that," Sunset countered, "And don't try to hide it." Flash opened his mouth to respond, but came to a stop before words came out, "See? Now is there really any shame in having feelings for her?"

Flash let out a long sigh, "Look, even if I did have feelings for her, and I'm not saying I do, because I don't, that doesn't mean she thinks about me in the same way. If I did care about her like that, and again, I don't, I couldn't risk expressing my feelings. If it turns out she doesn't like me, it could ruin our whole friendship."

Sunset raised an eyebrow at this, "That's a lot of denial. Though you do know there's a good chance she could have feelings for you. After all, the other Flash and Twilight are together."

"That doesn't mean anything," Flash grumbled as he looked away.

"Couples in both worlds seem to mirror each other. So if those two are together-"

"Well of course Twilight would fall for that Flash!" Flash snapped, making Sunset flinch, "I mean, who wouldn't? That Flash is practically a superhero!" He turned to her. "When I leapt into that portal, I saw what he's done! He's fought power mad tyrants, all powerful gods and monsters that would make the bravest man on earth weep like a baby. He's not only fought them without a hint of fear, but beat them all." He looked away at this, "Compared to him, I'm nothing special."

Sunset sighed at this, seeing what he was getting at. "Well...I guess you're right." Flash turned to her. "Compared to that Flash, you're pretty ordinary. I mean, you don't have any super powers or magical weapons to fight against evil." Flash stared to glare at her, only to hear her continue, "But despite not having any of that, you've done some pretty amazing things. You fought against killer plants to save Twilight, and even leapt into a magical portal even though you had no idea what would happen to you. And all without a hint of magical power."

"Well...yeah, but-"

"But nothing," Sunset patted him on the shoulder. "You're more amazing than you give yourself credit for. And Twilight's lucky to have you in her life, and even more lucky to have your affections." She then pointed at Twilight, who was still talking to Timber as Celestia, Luna and Gloriosa inspected the docks. "But do you know why she seems to like Timber?"

"No."

"Because she doesn't know you're an option." Flash turned to her with wide eyes, "The way I see it, you've got two options. Either tell Twilight how you feel and see where it goes from there, or don't tell her and find a way to get over your feelings for her. Because even if you're not willing to risk your friendship, getting jealous every time she shows interest in a guy isn't going to do it any good."

"Ouch," Flash added, "You're not pulling any punches."

Sunset playfully punched him in the shoulder, "Not really my style. Sorry." They looked back at the adults, the two seeing that Twilight had tripped over a broken board on the docks that someone could easily fall through and hurt themselves.

"This is a safety hazard," Luna commented, "I suggest we close down the dock for the remainder of the camp." The students all complained about this while Gloriosa stepped up and saw their disappointed looks.

"Oh, I'm sure it won't have to be for the remainder of camp. Just needs to be patched up a bit. I've got this!" However, Applejack and a few others could hear the sound of creaking and groaning. The sound was coming from the boards she was standing on, along with the ones the principals stood on.

"Or maybe we do!" Applejack chimed in, "If yah ask me, this whole dock needs to go." She kicked one of the support beams, only for the top to break off. "Building a new one could be our camp gift," she turned to the others. "Sure, it would benefit us, but a nice new dock would benefit future campers, too."

Everyone smiled at this, liking the sound of it. That is, till Timber spoke up, "I don't know. It's an awful lot of work." He moved over to Gloriosa, crossing his arms. "I wouldn't want you guys to miss out on doing other fun camp stuff because you're so busy building a dock for future campers."

He shot Gloriosa a glare when he said that last part, Glorisa glaring back as they were about to get into an argument, at least that's what Sunset thought, but Rainbow suddenly leapt over and slid in between the two. "I hear what you're saying, Timber." She leaned up against him, "But we're Canterlot Wondercolts! We've got a reputation to uphold!" She sprinted back to the other campers, "And there was no way we were gonna leave this place without contributing the most awesome camp gift ever!"

"Besides," Flash spoke up. "Where's the fun in doing something simple and easy." He walked up to the others. "I say we don't just replace this dock, we make it the best looking dock any camp has every seen! Lets make one so awesome that future campers will keep annoying Timber and Gloriosa by asking who made something so awesome!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Rainbow yelled, "Let's build the biggest, baddest looking dock the world has ever seen! What do you guys think?!"

The campers all cheered in agreement as Gloriosa smirked at her brother, "Looks like it's settled, then."

"Looks like it," Timber hissed while crossing his arms.

Sunset sighed at the sight, "That's some tension, all right."

And so, the Canterlot Wondercolts began their work on the new dock. Flash, Iron and some of the stronger boys began pulling to rooting the old dock apart as the girls began working on the design for the new one. One of the more artistic students, Watermelody, had offered to draw it while Heather and the Rainbooms gave their suggestions.

"We can reinforce the foundation," Twilight suggested.

"Make it nice and sturdy," Applejack added before Sunset spoke up.

"And we can add a wood-carved sign that says Camp Everfree."

Heather then made a suggestion, "We can make flower chains that we can wrap around the posts to give it a floral look."

"And add little boxes with food so you can feed the ducks and fishies," Fluttershy chimed in.

"Oh, and let's add lanterns so you can see at night!" Rainbow finished as Watermelody now had a rough sketch, which she then used to draw the actual design. When she was done, she held the notepad up for them to all see the T-shaped docks that had everything they suggested.

Rarity gasped, "It's stunning!" She then spun on the spot, "And will make an absolutely perfect runway for my camp fashion show!" She looked like a kid on christmas while the others rolled their eyes.

"More importantly," Applejack spoke up, "It will be a great place for docking canoes and feeding the wildlife."

"Oh," Rarity waved her off dismissively. "You say tomato, I say perfect place to showcase glamorous boho-chic stylings."

Twilight then turned to Celestia and Luna, showing them both the design. "What do you guys think?"

Celestia took a good look and nodded, "It's going to be a lot of work, but we can do it!"

"YES!" Pinkie screamed beside her, causing Celestia to recoil in fright. "Adult supervision!" The adults stared at her like she was a ticking time bomb, Pinkie's friends all laughing before they got to work. It took them another thirty minutes to get the old dock deconstructed, with not a single piece of wood deemed safe enough to be made part of the new one. After that, they spent the next hour and a half putting it together, using varnish on the wood to stop it from instantly rotting again, something Rarity, Heather and Fluttershy helped with, while the others gathered the wood along with the nails.

Flash and Iron continued to help with the removal of the old wood, though they still had no idea what to do with it. Iron had made the unfortunate mistake of suggesting they use it as firewood, so he and Flash had to suffer through a fifteen minute lecture from First and Heather about moisture absorption and the harmful toxins that the burning would release. It probably would have been longer if Luna hadn't told the group to stop lollygagging.

Despite the suddenness of the build, the dock quickly came together. The main shape got built, so all it needed was some extra reinforcements and the additions they had suggested. Flash smirked at this as he returned to grab another plank of wood, he saw Rainbow nailing a board down as Applejack walked up to her, "Huh," Rainbow looked up at her, "Nice hammer. Where did yah get it?"

"Uh..." Rainbow stood up stared at the tool, "The toolbox?"

"Hah!" Applejack laughed, "That's cool." She then pulled something out from behind her back, "I made mine." And sure enough, Applejack had made something out of a caveman exhibit: A large flat rock tried to the end of a stick.

"Ugh," Rainbow rolled her eyes while Flash chuckled. He looked away from the two and headed to the area they were storing the wood. But along the way, he spotted Timber sitting at one of the benches. He was working on something, and Twilight was beside him.

"Making lanterns out of solar-powered garden lights!" She exclaimed while moving closer to him, a smile on her face. "Pretty crafty there, Timber!"

Timber smirked as he put the lantern down. "You think that's crafty? You should see my macaroni art." He then whispered something Flash knew wasn't funny, through Twilight clearly found it because she started giggling.

Flash let out a growl, unconsciously tightening his grip on the wooden board. He remembered what Sunset had told him, wanting to not be jealous, but he couldn't help it. That is, till the plank in his hands suddenly exploded. He felt his hands touch as sawdust and large splinters scattered everywhere around him. The sound caught the attention of everyone around him, Twilight turning to him, "Flash?" She moved over to him, "Are you okay?"

"I...I'm not sure," he looked at his hands and saw they weren't hurt. Not a single splinter had pieced his skin, "The board just shattered."

"It must have been really badly rotted," Twilight commented while Timber picked up some of the wood.

"I don't think so," he responded, "In fact, this one doesn't appear rotten at all." He looked up at Flash, "How hard were you holding it?"

Flash opened his mouth to reply, only to stop himself as he wanted to make sure not to tell why he was gripping it so tightly. That is, till Twilight spoke up, "It doesn't matter how hard Flash was holding it. The board was pretty thick, so it would take a lot of strength to break it into this many pieces. Flash is strong, but not that strong."

Timber just shrugged and walked off to grab a broom and bucket they could use to clean the debris up. As he did this, Celestia spoke up, "All right now, you've all made a lot of progress, but it's going to be getting dark soon. We can pick this up tomorrow between our other camp activities."

Gloriosa nodded in agreement. "Everyone, get cleaned up and we'll gather by the fire pit at eight to share s'mores and scary stories!" Saying this caused Pinkie to jump out of nowhere, holding a bag of s'mores, box of crackers and chocolates.

"S'MORES!" She screamed.

After laughing at her antics, they all quickly tidied up and headed over to their tents to get some clean clothes and wash up at the showers. When the last camper had finished, the sun was almost completely set. They all headed for a small clearing where Timber and Gloriosa were lighting a fire-pit. When the flames got going and the sun was completely set, the campers began making their s'mores while they each told the best scary story they knew.

Flash managed to get a fright out of most of his classmates with a story Shining had told him once, even working in a shock scare by yelling bang at the end, causing Fluttershy to accidently leap into Iron's arms while Rainbow and Applejack hugged one another. Once they had settled down, a blushing Fluttershy scooted away from Iron while Rarity tried her hand at telling a story.

"And that's when she looked down and realised she was wearing purple socks with a burgundy dress!" Rarity let out a scream, but found she was the only one. "Purple and burgundy, darlings! The same color family!" She let out another scream, while the others just mumbled.

"Uh," Applejack tried to think of what to say, "That was a terrifying story."

Rainbow let out a chuckle, "Yeah, I'm terrified she'll try to tell it again."

They both looked like they were about to laugh, but Luna cleared her throat to grab everyone's attention. "Anyone else have a spooky story?" There was no reply, Luna now seeing everyone exchange silent glances.

But before she could bring the day to an end, Timber raised an arm. "I have one. But I'm warning you, you might as well hug a friend now. That's how scary it is!"

Spike leapt into Fluttershy's arms at this as Snips and Snail's clutched one another, only for Bulk to reach out and pull both toward him.

"It's time I told you about the legend of Gaia Everfree."

"Gaia Everfree?" Flash replied, getting a nod from Timber.

"Many years ago, my great-grandparents came to this forest. Seeing its beauty, they decided that it would be the perfect place for a camp. But once they started building, strange things started to happen. One pitch black night, when the wind was howling, a tree branch crashed through the roof of their cabin! They screamed and ran outside, only to see the giant creature rising from the earth! She had wild hair like the roots of a tree. Her mouth had jagged rock teeth and her eyes were pools of black tar. But her aura shimmered like diamonds. Anywhere she went, she left a trail of gem dust in her wake. Trembling, my great-grandparents asked who she was and what she wanted. In a deep and hollow voice, she told them that her name was Gaia Everfree, an ancient spirit who held domain over the forest, and that my great-grandparents were trespassing on her land. They begged her to let them stay and build their camp, to share this wonderful place with others. Gaia Everfree finally agreed but warned them that they would not be able to keep it forever. Someday, she will return and reclaim the forest as her own."

Flash had to admit, he had been pulled into the story. And glancing around, he saw that he wasn't the only one as Timber continued, "So if you see a trail of gem dust, you'll know that it is...GAIA EVERFREE!" As he screamed this, a pair of eyes appeared in the darkness behind him. The students all froze up, most screaming at the sight of those eyes.

That is, until the owner stepped into the light of the fire and revealed herself as Gloriosa. "Hey guys!" She walked up and patted Watermelody on the shoulder. "Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you!"

"Then why'd you come out of the bushes?" Sunset barked back.

"I..." Gloriosa tried to reply, "Took the scenic route, because the forest is beautiful at night." She then glared at the group, "But no one else should do it without a guide, kay?" Her face then turned back to the happy go lucky woman she appeared to be. "All right everybody, time to head to your tents." As she said this, Snips and Snails moved over to ask for a few things they forgot.

Flash didn't pay attention, more focusing on Fluttershy as she held Spike even tighter. "Fluttershy?" He cried with staggered breath, making her gasp and loosen her grip.

"Sorry Spike. I guess that story got to me."

"Why?" Applejack asked, "It can't be real."

"I don't know," Rainbow replied with a slight gulp, "Gaia Everfree could be some creature that got booted from Equestria and ended up in this world." She began to hug herself, "That's what happened with the sirens."

"What are the odds of that happening twice?" Flash added, "Even if that Star...swirly guy did like banishing evils to other worlds, he'd have to be a total idiot to send them all to one world. That's just asking for trouble."

Applejack nodded in agreement, "That whole story sounded more like something that Timber was makin' up just to scare us." She tilted her hat down, "At least I hope it was. Last thing ah want is to have camp ruined by some power-crazed magical creature."

"Oh, hear-hear," Rarity chimed in, "We've had to deal with more than our fair share of those. At the Fall Formal, our musical showcase, the Friendship Ga-" She quickly stopped herself as she saw Twilight flinch at her words, "Well, I mean, you know, everything turned out all right, of course."

She let out a nervous chuckle, Iron rolling his eyes. "Smooth," he told her before Twilight turned to walk off.

"Mmm. I'm kinda tired. I'm gonna turn in." She walked off for her tent, the others now frowning as they stared at her fleeing figure.

Sunset turned to the others. "Maybe lay off bringing up what happened at the Friendship Games? I think she's still pretty sensitive about it."

They all nodded as Pinkie grabbed a melted piece of marshmallow and covered her mouth with it. "Our lips are sealed," she giggled, though with her mouth plastered shut and full of marshmallow, it could have been anything.

Flash just stared at Twilight, a sigh leaving his breath as he remembered how much those events had affected her. That is, till Heather walked up and leaned against his shoulder, "So, you and Sunset were talking earlier. What was that about?"

"You know perfectly well what it was about," Flash grumbled as he jerked away, making her almost fall over.

"Alright," First continued. "So was she able to make you realize the truth about your feelings?"

"That's really none of you business," Flash growled back, "And even if I did have feelings for her, now's really not the time to act on them." He began to head for his tent at this, the others following. "Twilight's still struggling with everything that happened to her before, so it wouldn't be right to confuse her more by admitting I like her."

"So what?" Iron asked, "You're just gonna wait until she's over that whole fiasco?"

Flash didn't reply, making First chime in, "You realize something like that could take years to overcome. By then, it may be to late. She and Timber might be in an official relationship and you will have missed your chance."

"If that's what happens, so be it." Flash turned to glare at them, "I'm not gonna cause Twilight any more problems just to fix my own problems."

Heather let out a sigh and shook her head, "It's not wrong to be selfish every now and again. If you don't do something for you every now and again, you'll wake up one day and realize you're completely miserable." Flash hissed at her at this, but Heather just gave him a deadpan stare.

"Just...drop it!" Flash turned to run off, the other three staying where they were and sighing. The teen then stormed into his tent, grabbing a flashlight on the table next to the entrance due to how dark it was. But as he did this and flicked the switch, something happened.

As soon as the light came on, the flashlight's bulb exploded. Flash quickly dropped the device, making it hit the ground with the broken glass surrounding it. He stared at the destroyed tool in shock, soon walking around to reach a lantern, which thankfully didn't explode. The teen began to pick up the broken glass next, grumbling to himself as he finished the job right before Iron showed up.

He was so focused on this task, he didn't notice the sparks of electricity coming off his body. His mind was muddled, thinking about Twilight what had been happening just a few hours ago. Hopefully, things would get easier starting tomorrow.
> New Day, New Powers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as the sun was up the next morning, everyone was awake and ready to enjoy the day. Flash walked out of this tent, now seeing a bunch of campers already in the midst of a camp activity. He probably would have been the first to wake up, having always been an early bird, but last night wasn't so good due to recent events.

It was here that he saw several people were on the rock climbing wall while a boat was out on the lake. There he saw Sunset and Twilight walking up to the newly built dock, Flash deciding to see what they were planning to do today. He headed over, and as he got closer, he heard Twilight tell something to Sunset before she replied.

"If you could learn to control it-"

"But that's just it!" Twilight turned to her, "I'll never be able to control it!" Flash blinked at these words, about to ask what she was talking about until-

CRASH!

Everyone turned to the dock, now seeing the boat had somehow shot halfway across the lake and slammed right into it. The riders, Sandalwood and Derpy, were in the water while Timber, Fluttershy and a student named Captain Planet were on what remained of the dock. Flash ran over as Rainbow did the same. "What happened?!" The sporty Rainboom asked as Twilight let out a yelp.

"I didn't mean too!"

Flash and Rainbow turned to her, only to see Sunset place a hand on her shoulder, "We didn't see anything, so we don't know what happened." Rainbow looked back at the dock at this, but Sunset saw Flash now staring at them. But before he could inquire, the girls ran to the dock as Timber and Planet pulled the drenched campers out of the lake.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Sandalwood replied, "It was so weird. We were stuck in a middle of the lake with no wind, then all of a sudden, bam! The wind picked up and we were pushed right into the dock." Timber began to lead them off so they could go get dry while Pinkie let out a gasp and turned to Trixie that was beside her.

"You don't think it was the spirit, do you?!"

"No," Flash heard Twilight whisper to herself, "It was me."

He watched her walk off, but before he could follow, he heard Rarity gasp. "What's that?!" He turned to see Rarity, Heather and several others staring at the water. The water was filled with a strange purple liquid that glittered in the sunlight, its trail originating from the boat.

"Strange," Heather commented before grabbing Snips' hand when he tried to put in it the water. "Don't touch it. It could be carcinogenic." Snips raised an eyebrow at this while First ran over to a table he had placed his bag on, reaching inside and pulling out an empty glass vial.

"You brought scientific equipment to camp?" Iron asked when he returned and dipped the vial into the water, making sure to not get the stuff on his skin.

"You have your hobbies and I have mine," he removed the vial, squinting his eyes as he stared into it, "A little analysis should uncover what this stuff is."

As he said that, Rarity walked over to the destroyed dock as the rest of her band-mates stared at it. "Aw man!" Rainbow moaned, "All our hard work ruined!"

"At least the fishies are eating well," Fluttershy added as she pointed to the creatures currently eating whatever the shiny stuff was.

As they did this, Sunset turned to the others, "Let's salvage what we can out of the water. Maybe we can still fix this."

"We have to try!" Rarity exclaimed, "Camp Everfree needs a runway!"

"Dock," Applejack deadpanned with an exhausted frown.

"Dock," Rarity looked away, "Yes. That's what I meant."

They started collecting what they could, hoping to dry out the undamaged wood. Flash then turned to Twilight to ask her how hard it would be to repair what had been damaged, but she had completely vanished. "Twilight?" he whispered before seeing his best friend now walking into the woods.

He looked back at the group, now seeing them start to fix the dock. Slowly backpedaling at this, he walked away and entered the forest, looking down to see if he could find a sign of a tail. And after a few minutes of looking, he found some broken twigs and pines that looked like they had fallen due to being pushed past. As he followed this trail, he heard a voice in the distance. He began to follow it, the voice getting clearer by the second as he realized it was Twilight. She was...singing.

He couldn't make out the words, but he could tell it wasn't a happy song. And when he finally saw her between two trees, he managed to understand what she was singing.

"They mustn't see the midnight in me," she trailed off, the words sinking through Flash's mind.

"Midnight..." he whispered, his brain catching up. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the clearing the girl was at. "Twilight." The girl let out a yelp as she stood up from the log she had been sitting on, spinning around to see Flash, the sight making her lose balance.

"GYAH!" She cried as she began to fall back, Flash gasping at this. But as she fell, something happened. In the blink of an eye, time stopped. Twilight remained frozen mid-fall while Flash stood there moving at normal speed, the teen's brain completely stalling at this. But then he noticed that Twilight was still falling, just very slowly, and quickly ran up. Moving at relatively normal speed compered to everything else, he managed to reach her before she fell in the pond behind her.

But when he grabbed her wrist, everything around him began to speed up back to normal speed. "WHOA!" Twilight jerked as Flash held her above the water, the girl staring at him until he pulled her back up. But as he did this, he used more strength than needed, throwing her right on top of him, both losing balance.

"WHOA!" They both yelled as they fell, their faces coming within inches of one another. Both of them panted as they stared at each other, Flash doing everything in his power not to blush until Twilight realized she was laying on him.

"Sorry," she squeaked as she got off and sat on the log as Flash sat up.

"It's fine," he replied before getting onto the log as well. "Sorry for surprising you."

"That's alright," she responded, looking away. The two then sat in silence, something they had done comfortably many times growing up. But as they did this, Flash knew something was wrong.

"Twilight," she glanced at him, "Do you think you caused the boat to crash into the dock?" Twilight gasped and looked away.

"No," she lied, "Why would you think that?!"

"Because I heard you say it," Flash instantly replied, "Something's bothering you, and I have a pretty good idea what it is." Twilight stayed silent, making Flash sigh, "Midnight Sparkle." She flinched at the name, "You think she's gonna come back."

"She never left!" Twilight screamed as she turned to him. "She's a part of me, and is probably just waiting for another chance to break out and destroy the world!"

But as she stared at him, she saw a determined stare coming from the teen, "Twilight...Midnight's gone."

"No." She looked away again, standing up this time, "She's...she's still there. She's still part of me."

"Twilight..." he stood up as well, Twilight quickly walking away, "Twilight, you know that's not gonna happen." He reached out to grab her shoulder, but she jerked away before he could touch her.

"Don't."

Flash let out a long sigh, "Twilight, even if she's a part of you, she's just one small part. One that only came out because you were overwhelmed by the magic."

"And now it's happening again!" Twilight yelled, "You...you saw what I did with the boat."

"There's no proof that was you!" Flash instantly replied, "And even if it was, it's just one small incident. Its fine." But as he saw this, she looked back, now making Flash ask, "That was the first time, right?"

She glanced away again, "Yesterday, a bunch of things in our tent started floating and...and this morning, when I was having a bad dream about Midnight, I made my bed float."

"Twilight...why didn't you tell me?" Flash asked.

"I didn't want to you worry," she whimpered, "You're always doing so much for me that I didn't want to ruin your time at camp."

"Twilight..." Flash sighed as he walked up and patted her shoulder, "Please don't shut me out. If anything, that's going to cause Midnight to return faster. Don't forget, it was being alone that caused you to become her in the first place, and it was having us helping you that allowed you to be free from her."

Twilight looked down at this, "I just...I don't want to hurt you." But as she said this, Flash grabbed the girl, tightly hugging her. She let out an 'eep', only to feel a sensation of overwhelming comfort. And as she felt this, her mind told her to pull away, thinking she was about to hurt him.

That is, till he spoke up, "Twilight, I know you. You're a good person, and no matter what mistakes you've made in the past, you won't make that mistake again."

"How...how can you be so sure of that?!"

"Because you always learn from your mistakes. You lost control last time because you were wielding the magic you took from me and the others. All that power would be too much for anyone to handle."

"Sunset was able to handle it."

Flash felt himself stop for a second, "Well, she's...not human. Her pony genetics probably helped." He pulled away and looked her straight in the eyes, "The point being is that you shouldn't be afraid of using magic again. If it's just a little, I know you can handle it. And if anything happens...Sunset, the girls and me will be there to help you. Because we care about you, and we don't want Midnight Sparkle to return as much as you do. So please...don't shut us out."

The two stared at one another for several long seconds before Twilight showed a small smile and hugged him again. "What would I do without you?"

Flash chuckled as he hugged her back, "Luckily, you'll never have to find out." They hugged for a while longer before pulling away, Flash now wiping the tears from her eyes. "Now come on, let's get back to camp." Twilight nodded as the headed back, "Just remember, you can always come to me if you feel like your magic's about to go out of control. Just stay calm and we'll get through this."

"Right," Twilight nodded before taking a deep breath. "Keep it together...deep breaths. You are not a monster." Flash was about to add a quip in, only for someone to walk out from around a tree, making both yell. That is, till they saw it was Timber, making Flash scowl as Twilight said, "Oh...hi." She let out a chuckle, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh..." Timber fumbled on his words for a second before giving a charming grin, "Looking for you."

"Oh," Twilight replied, "Well um...we were just...on a nature walk. I got a little lost, but Flash found me."

"Then let me show you the way back," Timber said as he backpedaled, "I'm kind of an expert at these woods. I've lived here my whole life." Twilight walked up beside him as Flash followed with an increasing frown.

"That must have been nice," she told him. "Growing up at a camp."

"Yeah...though it has its downsides." He pushed a branch up so he and Twilight could walk under it, then let it go, causing it to twang right into Flash's face. The teen staggered back, but the other two didn't even notice. "When I was younger, I wished we'd sell this place so we could live in a town like normal people."

"Really?"

"I was ten," Timber stopped and turned to her. "I really wanted to hang out at the mall." They both giggled before Timber moved closer, a blush appearing on both their faces. "I've never told that to anyone. You must be special." The two stared at one another, Flash now feeling a rush of anger surging through him. But as he saw this, Timber reached out and pulled something out of Twilight's hair. "And not just because you have a tree branch in your hair."

"Ugh," Twilight moaned, "How long has that been in there?"

"Not long," Timber threw it away. "Just the whole time we were talking."

Twilight laughed before playfully elbowing him. "Well, why didn't you say something?!"

The two then walked off as Flash followed, now giving a slight death glare at Timber's back as a certain girl and dog were silently moving behind them.

"Poor Flash," Sunset whispered.

"What do you mean?" Spike asked. "Is something wrong with Flash?"

She ignored his question, instead commenting, "He does so much and yet..." She let out a long sigh before staring at the dog, the canine just staring at her, "Here. Let me explain..."





Back at camp...

Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity were now about to start rock climbing. Currently, Rarity was wearing a helmet and harness as she started climbing while Applejack held the line, Rainbow grumbling at the sight with crossed arms. Celestia was also there, telling them what they needed to focus on.

"Rock climbing is all about perseverance and trust. Rarity, you can trust that Applejack will spot you."

"Yeah," Rainbow added as the principal moved over to help another camper, "So you can totally go faster than you're going."

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack scolded her.

"Sorry," Rainbow shrugged, "I've been waiting to do this since we got here."

"Well, you'll have to wait a little longer, darling." Rarity replied as she started climbing, doing pretty well for a first timer. As she climbed, Flash, Twilight and Timber arrived back at the camp, Rainbow seeing them.

"Oh, good!" She waved them over. "Twilight, Flash, if one of you spots me, I can finally go. I'll go get another harness."

The athlete sprinted off, Twilight trying to respond, "Wait Rainbow! I'm sure Flash can-" she then felt a hand on her shoulder, turning to see a smiling Flash. The grin made her feel a wave of calmness, only for another hand to tap her other shoulder, making her spin around to see Timber.

"I better make sure my sister doesn't need anything. He then walked off before shooting Twilight a smile and a gun, "See you later?"

"Um...yeah." Twilight responded, feeling a small blush on her face. But despite feeling this, she feel no calmness, making her blink until she heard Sunset's voice.

"Twilight," she turned to her, also seeing Spike as they ran up, "There you are! I was looking for you!"

But before they could say anything else, the entire camp suddenly started shaking. "WHOA!" Flash yelped as he began to stumble, the others doing the same before the shaking came to a stop.

"Was that an earthquake?" Spike asked as Twilight corrected her glasses.

"We aren't near any fault lines."

"Hey!" They heard Bulk call out, the muscular teen pointing to the ground. "Who left this crystaly dusty stuff here?!" They all stared at the dirt, now seeing a large trail of pink glittery dust. Flash was about to comment, only to hear a scream.

They all looked up to see Rarity, now clutching her rope tightly. "I-I believe I'd like to come down now!" Applejack nodded and went to let out the rope, only to find it was stuck in place.

She let out several grunts, finding it wouldn't give, "Sorry," she yelled up to Rarity, "It's a little bit stuck."

It was here Flash noticed something: A faint green light beginning to radiate off of her hands. And when she yanked on the rope, Rarity suddenly shot all the way to the top of the rock climbing wall. She screamed as she flew up, closing her eyes in absolute terror. Applejack gasped at this, causing her to accidently let go of the rope. This caused Rarity to fall, still screaming as Applejack barely managed to grab the rope seconds before Rarity hit the ground.

"APPLEJACK!" The fashionista screeched at the cowgirl, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Is everything okay over there?" Celestia asked, the group now staring at Applejack.

"Uh..." she rubbed the back of her neck, "Ah don't know what happened. Ah didn't even pull dah rope that hard. It's like she was light as a feather all of a sudden."

"Did you girls see that?" Flash asked Twilight and Sunset, "Applejack's hands started glowing." This made both go wide-eyed as they turned back to Applejack.

"Applejack, I was scared half to death!" Rarity screamed while trying to remove her harness.

"It wasn't mah fault!" Applejack replied, "Here, let me help yah get yer harness off."

Rarity glared at her and put her hands up. "No, thank you!"

But as she said that, something appeared between them. It was a large flat hexagon that appeared to be made of pure white energy, the object looking very similar to a diamond. The shield hit Applejack, making her cry out before being pushed through some bushes. Seconds later, a splashing sound was heard. 

"Applejack," Flash called out, "You okay!?"

They didn't get an answer at first, but then Applejack walked through the bushes completely soaked and spitting out water.

"What in the world just happened?!" Celestia asked as she ran over, Rarity now staring at her hands.

"Oh, dear!" She looked up at Applejack, "I am so sorry! I uh...I think." She turned to the others, "Did I just do whatever that was?"

"I...don't think it was your fault," Twilight replied, Flash could tell what she was thinking, the girl quickly walking away. "I'm, gonna go get Applejack a towel."

Sunset turned to her, "Um...me too."

"Me three," Flash added as he ran over to the girls. As they began to walk side by side, Flash whispered, "Hey, I know about Twilight's little magic mishaps Sunset."

"You do?"

"Yeah. So what was that?" Flash asked as he pointed behind him.

"New magic." Sunset then patted Twilight's shoulder, "See? You're not the only one with a new kind of magic! Isn't that great?!"

Twilight came to a stop and turned to her. "No, it's not! Rarity and Applejack could have really hurt each other!" She began to hyperventilate, "Why is this happening?! I don't-"

"Hi, girls!" said another voice, turning to see Gloriosa, "And boy. Anything I can do for you?"

"Uh..." Twilight pointed to the rock climbing wall, "Applejack just fell into the lake!"

"Oh no!" She gasped, "She's gonna need warm towels, dry clothes, oh! And a hot cocoa!" Her eyes shined before running away, "I've got this!"

With that, Flash crossed his arms at the sight, "Is there anything that woman doesn't think she has?" He didn't get an answer as a loud scream rang out from the mess hall, Flash also hearing what sounded like an explosion. The three all recognized the scream instantly.

"FLUTTERSHY!" They yelled before running inside, quickly throwing the doors open and seeing the place was a mess. Large piles of cookie dough splattered all over the place, Fluttershy and Pinkie standing at a table while covered in the dough.

"Yikes," Flash grimaced, "Maybe a little less baking powder next time."

Sunset rolled her eyes at this as she then asked, "What happened?!"

"I don't know," Fluttershy whimpered, "We were just decorating cookies and-"

"And I was all, you need more sprinkles! And you need more sprinkles!" Pinkie threw her arms around as she yelled this, Sunset smirking and crossing her arms.

"So, standard Pinkie Pie stuff." Pinkie nodded.

"I was just tossing sprinkles to Fluttershy," she reached into the can and took out some, "When all of a sudden they glowed pink and exploded!"

She threw them into the air, all of them glowing pink and exploding. The entire room was filled with a pink puff of smoke, Flash accidently breathing some in and coughing up a storm until it faded away. "Just like that," Pinkie chuckled as Twilight patted Flash on the back. "Only earlier!" Flash then turned to see all their hairdos had been blasted straight up due to this.

"Oookaay." Sunset added as the others tried to fix their hair. She grabbed Pinkie's arms and moved them away, "Why don't you lay off touching stuff for a while?"

"Oh dear." Fluttershy gulped, "We really should clean all of this up." She moved over to a shelf that had the paper towels on the top, trying to reach up and grab it. However, she was just shy of the height requirement to reach it. "Can someone help me out?"

Flash was about too, but then a red bird flew into the room. It flew up and grabbed the paper towels, Flash's mouth dropping to the floor at the sight as the bird gives it to Fluttershy. It then landed on her finger, Fluttershy smiling at it. "Thank you, Mr. Bird."

"Alright...now I've seen everything." Flash sighed as the bird began tweeting at Fluttershy.

"Why, of course I can get you a little something to-" She stopped with a gasp, now staring at the bird, "Did you just...talk?" The bird chirped again, Fluttershy letting out another gasp, "But I don't speak chirp." Again, the bird tweeted back to her. "I don't know if you're the only bird I can understand." The bird chirped at Fluttershy, making her grimace, "Oh, no! Please don't call for your friends."

But it was too late. The sound of flapping made Flash turn to see a flock of different birds fly into the room. "WHOA!" He yelped as he matrix dodged an owl that flew over him. When he pulled himself back upright, he spun around to see Fluttershy now covered in birds on her arms and head. "Fluttershy, you okay?"

Fluttershy nodded as the birds chirped in her ear, the girl nervously smiling back. "It's nice to meet all of you too."

"Were you just talking to the birds?" Sunset asked, Fluttershy trying to nod.

"Um...yes?" But before they could say anything else, the doors slammed open and she screamed in surprise. Her new friends all flew into the rafters, allowing them to see Rarity along with a still soaked Applejack.

"Did yah tell them what happened?" Applejack asked, "So crazy! Ah hoisted Rarity up dah rock climbin' wall like it was nothin'! Like ah had way more strength than ah usually do."

Rarity nodded at this, "And I made a diamondy thing appear out of nowhere, which normally I'd be excited about. I mean, the facets were just perfect, and the-"

"Rarity!" Applejack interrupted.

"Oh," Rarity giggled, "Sorry. It knocked Applejack over, and then it disappeared!"

As she said that, Applejack showed a small frown, "Speaking of disappearing, has anybody seen Rainbow Dash?" The second she said that, the door behind her shot open as a rainbow colored blur zoomed past them and then hit a wall. A scream came out next, Rainbow appearing as she fell over.

"Ow..." she moaned as Flash ran over to help her.

"Whoa!" Applejack grimaced, "How'd yah do that?"

"I don't know," Rainbow groaned as she got up, "I started running to get the harness, and the next thing I knew, I was practically back in town!"

"Ooookay," Flash commented, "Now I've really seen everything."

Rarity then turned to Rainbow. "But if you have some sort of super speed, why you were gone for so long?"

"Because I lost it when I got far away," Rainbow pointed to her legs. "And then it came back when I got close to camp."

This caused Pinkie to gasp before giving them all her typical hyper happy grin. "Being at camp is giving us all new magical abilities!"

She jumped on the spot as Sunset frowned at her words, "Not all of us have gotten new abilities," she pointed to herself. "I haven't, but Twilight-" she stopped when she saw Twilight carefully shake her head, mentally begging her not to tell them. "Hasn't...either." Everyone turned to Flash, making him slightly flinch.

"I don't-" but then he stopped, letting out a hum, "Wait, earlier...something weird did happen. Twilight was about to fall into a pond and suddenly, everything around me slowed to a crawl. It was only for a second, but it was like someone had hit a slowmo button."

Sunset tilted her head at this, "Maybe things weren't going slow." She smiled at him, "Maybe you were just moving really fast."

"So he's got super speed like me?" Rainbow asked until Twilight spoke up.

"Wait..." they turned to her, "It's not just speed." She turned to Flash. "Remember yesterday, when you broke that board into splinters?"

"Yah think he's got super strength too?" Applejack added.

"What?! He has super strength too?! Why does he get more than one power?!" Rainbow pouted as Flash rolled his eyes at this.

"Hang on," they turned to him. "There's something else. Last night, I was using a flashlight when it suddenly exploded, like the bulb was overloaded with power."

"Power?" Sunset gasped before snapping her fingers, "Maybe that's it. Flash's power isn't strength or speed, it's energy."

"Energy?"

Sunset nodded, "Yeah. Maybe your magic's some kind of supercharger, which you can use the power up your body in different ways. I'm betting if you focus, you can use both speed and strength at the same time. Though it probably won't be as powerful as when you use it for one thing."

Twilight hummed at this, "I guess that makes sense. And he probably sent the energy into the flashlight by accident, causing it to overload."

Flash stared down at his hands, closing his eyes. He clinched them, grunting in response, "Come on...work!" The girls grimaced at the face he was making. "Power up!" He yelled, but still got nothing.

"I guess it doesn't just work at the flick of a switch," Sunset responded, "But I get the feeling it'll eventually come back and appear when you least expect it."

Flash sighed at this, Applejack doing the same, "So much for mah theory that leavin' CHS would mean leavin' any new magic business behind."

"Something at the camp must be making this happen," Sunset added, Twilight grimacing at this, only for Fluttershy to chime in.

"Um...Gaia Everfree?" As soon as she said that, the door opened and they turned to see a large figure hidden in the shadows that had an outline that looked exactly as Timber had described the creature. This caused Fluttershy to scream, only for the figure to step into the light.

"Applejack!" Gloriosa called out from behind a large stack of towels, Applejack's hat on the top. "I was looking for you!Here," She handed the towels to the drenched girl, "I brought you some towels and dry clothes." She put the hat on her head before seeing the mess in the hall. "Uh...what happened in here?"

"We're kinda trying to figure that out," Sunset replied, only to see a big grin force its way onto Gloriosa's face.

"Well don't worry about it, I got this!" But as she said that, Sandalwood and Derpy appeared at the door.

"Gloriosa," he called out, "I kicked my beanbag into the lake!"

They all saw her eye visibly twitch, "I'll get you another one!"

"And I'm all out of arrows!" Derpy held up a bunch of broken arrows, Flash wondering if she should really be allowed to do archery.

"Say no more!" Gloriosa gasped, "New arrows coming right up!"

But in that moment, Timber appeared at the door. "There you are!" He ran over and spoke in a hushed voice, "Filthy Rich is back. Do you want me to handle it?"

"Absolutely not!" Gloriosa whisper yelled back before smiling, "I've got this!" She stated running to the door, her elbow scraping against Sunset's as she did this.

Sunset then heard a scream, causing her to sigh. "Fluttershy, enough with the screaming!" But when she turned to Fluttershy, the girl just showed a frown.

"I didn't scream," she replied, Rainbow giggling.

"For once."

"Nobody did," Rarity added.

"Huh?" Sunset scratched her head, "But I thought I-"

"Attention, campers!" Celestia's voice suddenly called out through the P.A system. "Anyone who's interested in making floating paper lanterns, please meet us by the picnic tables."

After hearing this, Applejack turned to the others, "Ah don't know about dah rest of y'all, but ah've been lookin' forward to comin' here for a month. Maybe we forget about this new magic for a bit and just try to focus on enjoyin' our time at camp?"

Rarity nodded at this, "I was oh, so excited about designs I've come up with for the camp fashion show."

"And I've barely gotten to whoop anybody in tetherball," Rainbow added.

Sunset crossed her arms at this, "I still think we should try to figure it out."

Flash nodded in agreement, "I'm with Sunset. I don't want our powers to suddenly go off and make a disaster. What if Rainbow accidently goes super speed and runs off the edge of a cliff?" Rainbow went pale at that thought. "And I can't even access my powers right now." He glanced down at this hands, "Who knows what else I might accidentally blow up."

"Well it's not like we even know where to start looking," Rarity chimed in, "For all we know, the answers might just appear when we're not expecting it."

The others nodded as Sunset sighed, "Girls..." They all stared at her, showing big frowns, "Don't tell me you want to let this go."

"Sunset...we all wannna relax." Applejack replied, the girls nodding again.

Sunset and Flash shared a glance before Sunset shook her head, "Fine. If letting it go for now is what the rest of you want..." The girls all nodded as they headed outside, leaving Flash, Twilight and Sunset on their own.

Flash turned to Twilight, seeing her shaking as he put a hand on her shoulder, "Twilight," she looked up at him, "It's gonna be alright. We'll figure this out."

"I know," Twilight whimpered before walking out the door, shrugging his hand away. And when she was gone, Sunset and Spike turned to smirk at Flash.

"What?"

"Nothing," they replied in unison before following Twilight, Flash raising an eyebrow at the sight.





A few hours later...

As the sun began to set on the camp, Flash and the others were sitting at different tables working on their lanterns. Most of the day had again been spent fixing up the dock, replacing the damaged planks and nailing in some extra supports so it couldn't be smashed up again. Eventually, they managed to get it back to it's pre-smashed condition, ready to have the extras they had discussed added the following day. The only ones who hadn't helped were Twilight and First, First trying to figure out what to glittery stuff was that kept showing up.

Now the Rainbooms, minus Twilight, were all at one table while the Royal Knights sat at another working on their lanterns. Meanwhile, Twilight and Spike sat alone. Flash glanced back at Twilight, upset she chose not to sit beside him, but he knew that trying to sit with her would just make her leave. That and he knew that if his powers started up beside her, she would be convinced it was all her fault.

As for Twilight, she was halfheartedly decorating her lantern. Spike glanced over at Flash, then at the girls before turning back to his owner. "Hey Twilight, why aren't you with everyone else?"

Twilight put her paintbrush down before looking over at her friends. "Sunset said something at camp is causing the other girls to get new magic." She then lowered her voice to a whisper, "I think it's Midnight Sparkle. She's...she's still part of me. I can feel it. And I think her magic is infecting my friends."

"What are we gonna do?" Spike asked next, making Twilight look down at him. His face was showing the biggest frown, making her grimace. Despite this, he played along, knowing trying to dissuade her wouldn't do a thing.

"I...I don't know what I can do," Twilight sighed.

As she said this, Gloriosa called out, "Okay everyone! It's time to watch your lanterns fly!" The students all gathered the lanterns and headed for the dock, Twilight being the last one to stand up. As she did this, Timber walked up to her with his own lantern in hand.

"Hey, cool lantern!" He then held up his lantern, showing it had a goofy version of his face on it. "Mine's my face!" Twilight stared at him for a moment, a weird sensation now going through her. It wasn't the same one she had felt earlier, nor the one she had felt when she first met Timber. She had expected herself to find this little joke funny, even if her current mental state would have only allowed a force nervous laugh, but she didn't. She just stared at him.

Timber soon noticed her lack of response, the teen raising an eyebrow. "Uh...you okay?" Twilight did a slow nod, just robotically moving to the dock as Timber added, "You don't seem like yourself tonight." Twilight didn't respond as they reached the principals, who lit both their lanterns. When Twilight looked into them, something about it made her smile.

"Ready?" Gloriosa asked before throwing her arms wide. "And...go!" The students all released their lanterns, the laws of thermodynamics causing them to raise high into the air. The sight was truly one to behold.

Unfortunately, when Pinkie threw hers into the air, the weight of the marshmallows she had stuck to the side caused it to fall back to earth, crashing at her feet. "Awww!" Pinkie moaned before a smile appeared on her face. "Oh well! Now I get to eat it!" She reached down and grab hers, pulling the marshmallows off before throwing them in her mouth. "Yep...beautiful and delicious!"

Flash watched the lanterns fly, smiling when he saw Twilight's floating over to his and their friends. Maybe it was trying to tell her not to try and go solo. Alas, before it could reach the others, Timber's lantern flew over and hit it. The two bounced against one another and pushed each other apart, Twilight's lantern now floating in a different direction away from the others.

He shot Timber a glare, the camp administrator clearly not noticing.

They continued to watch as the lanterns disappeared into the night, eventually merging with the sky to look indistinguishable from the stars. And when that happened, Gloriosa and the principals announced it was time to hit the hay.





A little later...

The moon was high in the sky as the campers were fast asleep. Sunset was enjoying a rather nice dream about defeating all her high scores, only to be awakened by the sound of the flapping of her tent's doors. She flickered her eyes open, now seeing that Twilight's bed was now completely empty.

"Twilight?" She muttered out, getting out of the bed and heading for the door. She popped out her head outside and saw her friend running into the darkness along with Spike. "Twilight!" She cried just quiet enough to not be heard, then retreating back into her tent. A moment later, she jumped out in her camp clothes and was trying to tie her boots. "Where is she going?!" She quickly ran into the woods, going off the beaten trail so she could cut Twilight off. And as she got in front of her, she jumped onto the main trail, making Twilight gasp. "Twilight...what are you doing out here?"

"We're..." Twilight muttered out, "We're meeting a cab to take us home." Sunset raised an eyebrow, now noticing Twilight had her backpack on before glancing down at Spike.

"She thought you'd talk her out of it."

"Because I would," Sunset added before focusing on her friend. "Twilight," She placed a hand on her arm, "You can't leave."

But as she said that, her eyes suddenly glowed white, only to see something strange. It was Pinkie and Trixie, standing next to the destroyed dock. "You don't think it was the spirit, do you?!" Pinkie asked before whatever was looking at her panned away.

"No," Twilight's voice called out, "It was me." The view then panned down, Sunset now seeing Twilight's body from her perspective. Sunset was looking through Twilight's eyes.

The scene then changed, still showing Twilight perspective. This time she was looking at her lantern and then turned to Spike. "I think it's Midnight Sparkle. She's...she's still part of me. I can feel it. And I think her magic is infecting my friends."

It was at this moment Twilight pulled her hand free of Sunset's grip, causing Sunset's vision to come to an end. She remained frozen for a moment, shaking her head next as she blinked her eyes. Seeing she was back to normal, she saw Twilight frowning at her, "Twilight..." she placed a hand on her shoulder, "There's no Midnight Sparkle. There's only you."

This made Twilight jerk away, her mouth trembling as she asked, "H-h-how did you know what I was thinking?!"

"When I touched your hand, I could see things. I could understand why you were leaving." It was here Sunset went wide-eyed, now seeing what was going on. She was telepathic, and slightly empathic. "This is my new magic!" She gasped before staring at her hands, "Incredible!"

"No, it's not!" Twilight yelped as she began to backpedal, "I'm infecting you right now!"

"Twilight..." Sunset slowly said, "You need to stop looking at this as a bad thing."

"Easy for you to say," Twilight snapped back, "Magic turned you into something beautiful. The last time I tried to use it, it turned me into a monster." She turned away, shivering on the spot, "I'm just...I'm so afraid it's gonna happen again."

Those words made Sunset remember back to the Friendship Games. To the beast that Twilight had become and the angelic form she had taken to combat it. But then her mind went further back, to the first time she used magic and turned into that demonic form. "Yes, last time I turned into something amazing, but I've let magic turn me into a monster too." Twilight glanced back at her for a second, "Twilight...if anyone understands what you're going through, it's me." She moved up as she kept talking, "I can help you Twilight." She placed a hand on her shoulder, "And the rest of our friends can be there for you, too. But not if you run away."

Twilight wanted to shrug the hand away, but just stood there. Her eyes slowly went back to Sunset, seeing a calm smile on her face. The sight made her let out a sigh, "Alright. I'll stay," She then fixed her glasses. "But I still don't think it's a good idea for me to be near the rest of our friends right now. Not until we know why this is happening."

"Understood." Sunset chuckled, only for both to hear something. A loud rustling noise. "What was that?!" They turned to the noise, only to see a figure in the darkness in the woods, the being slowly moving toward them. Sunset wanted to scream and run, but knew Flash would kill her if she let anything happen to Twilight. So she grabbed both her and Spike and pulled them behind one of the larger trees, the three glancing around until the figure finally came into view. It was Timber, walking through the woods while carrying an axe and pulling a wagon of chopped wood.

Twilight and Spike both sighed in relief, but Sunset just squinted at the sight as she thought, 'Why is he collecting firewood right now? Its the middle of the night!'

Her mental question caused her to accidently step on a twig, causing a snapping sound that caught Timber's attention. The three quickly zipped behind the tree again, the teen glancing around, "Hello?!" He called out, "Anyone there?!" They kept silent, now hearing Timber get louder, "Whoever's out there, come out!"

They exchanged glances, both mentally telling the other they should reveal themselves, only for another to voice to speak up, "Over here." Everyone turned to the voice, all seeing Flash walk into the clearing, a giant frown on his face. The four stared at him, all wondering why he was out here.

"Hey," Timber muttered out, "Flash...right?"

"Yeah," the teen nodded.

"What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be in bed."

Flash crossed his arms at this. "I came to see you. We need to talk about Twilight." Both Timber and the girl in question raised an eyebrow, Sunset's eyes shrinking at this.

"What about her?"

Flash marched up to him at this, "I wanna know what your intentions are towards her. It's clear she likes you, so I wanna know if you really like her back, or are you just playing her around." Timber and Twilight went wide-eyed at this while Sunset and Spike looked at each other, knowing what this might mean.

"What's it to you?!" Timber asked, "What's your relationship to her anyway? You don't act like siblings."

"She's my best friend," Flash instantly replied, "She saved me from a life of being alone for who knows how long. That's why I wanna make sure your intentions towards her are perfectly pure. Because if they're not, and you do this with every pretty girl that comes to this camp, you'll be in serious trouble." Twilight put a hand over her mouth, Flash's words going through her head as her mind went over what was happening.

However, Timber just smirked at the sight, "Oh, I get it. You like her." This statement made Sunset and Spike turn to Twilight, her eyes going even wider. The bespectacled girl expected Flash to deny it, but he said nothing. "I'm right," Timber chuckled, "You're trying to scare me away because you're jealous."

Flash looked away, taking a deep breath. But as Twilight looked around the tree to stare at him, he glanced back at Timber. "Yes, I do like her. More than that, I really like her. I care about her more than anything in this world, even myself." Twilight's jaw began to drop at this, her entire world turning upside-down as he continued, "That's why I'm willing to let her go if she'd be happy with you."

Timber's smile got even bigger, "Well, you're too nice for your own good. I doubt I could do that." Flash growled at him, making Timber wave his hand, "Well don't worry kid, I have nothing but good intentions for our dear Twilight."

Flash gave him a long glare, his eyes narrowing as he saw Timber just calmly smile at him. "Good. I won't do anything to get between the two of you. But be warned that if you do anything to hurt Twilight in any way." He held his right hand up. "If you break her heart, I'll be on you like that!"

He snapped his fingers...and that's when it happened. A sudden bolt of light blue electricity exploded from between his fingers, firing right at Timber. The bolt then shifted just past him, striking the tree behind him. He, Spike and the girls all gasped at this, but didn't have the time to process it as a cracking sound caught their attention.

They turned to see that the tree Flash had struck had been blown half off, the rest now about to topple over...right on Timber. "AAAH!" He screamed, unable to move as the tree began to fall.

And as the girls saw this, something else suddenly caught their attention. Looking back at Flash, his entire body was surrounded by the same lightning he had shot at Timber, but they were only able to see him for a second before he shot up at blinding speed. In the blink of an eye, he reached Timber and shoved him out of the way before reaching out to grab the tree. With a sudden surge of strength, he managed to hold the tree in place above him...only to start struggling.

He turned back to Timber, the teen now on the ground with wide eyes, now seeing the lightning sparking teen holding up a twenty thousand pound tree with relative ease. "W-w-what...are you?"

Flash didn't answer, instead feeling the weight of the tree starting to push him down. "Augh!" he yelped, falling to his knees as the tree kept falling.

Timber screamed as he hopped to his feet and ran off, the girls watching him before looking back at their friend.

"FLASH!" Twilight yelled as she ran out from behind the tree, Sunset and Spike behind her. Her hands suddenly started glowing as she got closer, and before she knew what was happening, the tree glowed the same purple color and Flash suddenly felt the weight lift off his shoulders. He turned to Twilight as she stared at him in shock, but then the light around her hands and the tree vanished.

"WHOA!" He leapt to the side, clearing a good fifteen feet with barely any effort before landing on the ground as the tree crashed onto the forest floor. He panted as he sat up, lightning still sparking around him. He looked down at his hands before glancing over at Twilight, who was still staring at him with a mix of shock and worry. "Twilight..." he muttered out, his words slightly distorted, "How...how long were you here?"

"The whole time," Twilight answered almost instantly. "Flash...is it true?" She slowly asked as she began to move up to him, "Do you...like me?"

Flash looked away, biting his lip as his brain began to process what was happening. But as he did this, the lightning around him began to surge. The bolts shot off his body, hitting the ground around him, one bolt even hitting just inches away from Twilight.

"AHH!" She cried, staggering back as Flash's eyes went wide.

"Twilight!" He shot up and looked down at his hands, "No...stop!" But as he yelled this, another bolt shot out of him. "No!"

"FLASH!" Twilight yelped as she tried to move closer, but Flash leapt back.

"NO!" He yelled, "Stay away!" They locked eyes at this, Twilight now seeing pure fear in his. "I don't wanna hurt you." And as those words hit Twilight's ears, memories of their earlier conversation now struck her. The memory hit her brain like a truck, making her gasp as she knew what Flash was feeling at the time.

But before she could say anything, Flash turned and with a great jump, managed to leap onto a branch of a nearby tree. "FLASH!" Twilight yelled, but Flash jumped away. Leaping from branch to branch, he disappeared into the forest, the lightning disappearing into the night.

"Flash, come back!" Sunset added, both now yelling for him. But as Sunset called out his name again, she noticed Twilight had stopped. She turned to the girl, who was just standing still, vibrating in place. "Twilight?"

As she said that name, the girl suddenly ran off, heading for the camp. Sunset tried to say something, only to let out a long sigh, "Oh...what a mess."

"Yeah." Spike added. "What do we do Sunset?"

"I...I don't know." Sunset replied while rubbing her face, "I just-" her words came to a stop as she suddenly saw something in the corner of her eye. On the ground was a pile of glittering dust, Sunset picking it up and realizing it was the same stuff she had seen after the boat crash and earthquake. She blinked at the substance, only to realize the pile was where Timber had fallen over when Flash pushed him.

"I think I just found our Gaia Everfree."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked, Sunset then telling him what she meant. "But why would he work so hard to make us think she was real?"

"You heard what he said about wishing his sister would sell this camp. If nobody wants to come here because it's home to some angry ancient nature spirit, it sure would help his cause."

Spike nodded back before saying, "We should tell Twilight."

He began to run for camp, but Sunset's next words made him stop. "Not yet. She's obviously going through a lot with her magic, the Midnight stuff, and now finding out her best friend's been secretly in love with her." She let out a long sigh, "She's probably not in the best mind right now. Telling her the guy she likes might be a jerk who's trying to run everybody out of camp might be a bit too much." Spike nodded again while Sunset turned back to where Flash had vanished off too, "Flash...please be okay.
> The Secret of Everfree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Twilight was still in her tent with Spike. Sunset had tried to get her to come out, but found no such luck. The girl still didn't want to be around the others, now even more convinced that she was the cause of their magical infection. But that wasn't all, as the last night's events kept replaying in her head.

'Flash likes me...he said he likes me?!' she asked in her head, 'But...but why me?! Why would he fall for me and not like....Sunset or Rarity?! They're much better looking and I'm...I'm... She looked down at her hands, 'I'm nothing special. No one should like me, not even...Flash.' Her thoughts hesitated at that moment, a new question forming in her head, 'Wait...do I like Flash?'

She closed her eyes at this, a barrage of memories now flowing through. She remembered playing as kids, going to the movies and amusement parks together, eating at the mall and other food places. She used to see them as fun outings with her best friend, but then a new word hopped into her mind. Dates. And as she remembered them as that word, she saw what they meant to her.

She had fun, laughed and was able to unwind thanks to those times. And it wasn't just because of the activities they were doing, but because Flash was there with her. He was the one who made her laugh. He was the one who helped her whenever things got hard. He was the one who kept those trying to hurt her away. He had been acting as her boyfriend for years and he had been doing a pretty good job. "How have I not realized this?" She asked herself as Spike glanced up at her. He opened his mouth to respond, only for another voice to call out.

"Twilight?" Timber's voice said as he opened the tent, "You in there?" Twilight sat herself up as Timber poked his head inside. "Good. I was hoping I could find you before you leave."

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked as stared up at him, completely missing the frown Spike was throwing Timber's way.

"Listen, I need to talk to you about something. It's about your friend, Flash." Twilight's eyes went wide at the name, "Last night-"

"I know," Twilight interrupted while looking away. "I was there." Timber was now wide eyes at this, "I heard what you two were talking about and saw what happened."

"Oh..." Timber stumbled on his words, only to narrow his eyes, "Good. So, you know what he tried to do to me, right?" Twilight glanced back at him, raising an eyebrow as he continued, "You saw what he did. He somehow...shot a bolt of lightning at me! I don't even know how that's possible, but he almost fried me!"

Twilight grimaced at his words, seeing a tinge of anger now on his face, "Timber...that's not want happened," she replied, "Sure, he shot the bolt at you but he didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident."

"You don't just accidentally shoot bolts of lightning!" Timber barked back, "He tried to fry me! And after he missed, he tried to finish me off by crushing me under a tree!"

Now it was Twilight's turn to show a scowl, "Timber...he didn't try and crush you. He saved you from being crushed," she crossed her arms at this. "None of what happened last night is Flash's fault. He's just...being affected by something here. And he's not the only one. Some of my other friends are...experiencing weird abilities." Timber raised an eyebrow at this, "We...we don't know what's causing it, but it isn't their fault, just like Flash."

Twilight then saw Timber's eyes widen, only for it switch back to anger as he walked up and put both hands on her shoulders, "Twilight...I don't get what this is, but I do know one thing. Flash is really dangerous. You have to stay away from him."

Twilight almost gasped at his words, only to step back, out of his grasp, "Timber! I'm not gonna do that! Flash is my best friend!"

"Well, he's dangerous now! He'll hurt you if you're around him!"

Twilight shook her head, "Timber, I know his powers are a little...wild, but that doesn't mean I should abandon him." She crossed her arms again, "I know Flash, and I know he'll find a way to control his new powers."

"But what if he doesn't?!" Timber countered as he walked up and grabbed her again, "Or worse, what if he thinks he can and then he zaps you when he's right next to you?!" And as he said those words, Twilight's mind flashed back to last night, the look of fear on Flash's face shining through her brain. That is, till Timber said, "I'm just trying to do what's best for you Twilight. You need to stay away from him! Everybody needs to stay away from him!"

Twilight's eyes narrowed again at this, "You sound like you want him to be locked up somewhere far away, with nobody allowed near him or something." And as these words left her mouth, Timber showed the most agreeing look she had ever seen, making Twilight swat his hands away. "I think you should go."

"Twilight-"

"Leave!" The girl yelled, not noticing several objects around her to suddenly glow purple and begin to float in the air. Timber went wide-eyed at this, backpedaling as her began to tremble. And as he did this, Twilight saw what she was doing, closing her eyes as she tried to calm down. But as she did this, the items stayed suspended in air, only for the sound of footsteps to scrape under her.

She opened her eyes to see Timber running out of the tent, making Twilight sigh. Her magic faded at this, everything falling back to where it was as she slumped down onto her bed. She rolled over, her face now inches away from the wall of the tent, "Guess I'm dangerous too..." she whispered, feeling a small tear appear in her eye, "Flash..." She hugged her chest at this, "Where are you?"





Meanwhile...

Flash stood in a clearing with a large rocky cliff overlooking it and a bunch of trees behind him. He had run into this place after last night, finding it to be the spot Timber and Gloriosa stated not to go. Knowing it was the perfect place to hide out, he stood in the middle, trying to control his new abilities.

"Alright...you can do this. Your other version of you, who's basically a superhero, can do stuff like this...I can do it too!" Flash took a deep breath and closed his eyes. As he did so, the lightning reappeared around him. "Got it. Now..." He commented, glad that the past few hours had worked in terms of summoning the electricity, "And...off!" He yelled, but the lightning remained. "Off!" Still the lightning surged around him, "OFF!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. And as he did this, the lightning disappeared, making Flash fall over. "Augh!" He moaned as he laid spread eagle, having been doing this since the previous night. "Ugh...I wanna go to bed."

And as he said these words, he lifted himself back up, "Nope. Don't think that. I gotta get this under control." He hopped back to his feet as energy began swirl around him, "I can do this."





Back at the camp...

The remaining Rainbooms were working on the dock once again, with the exception of one. Fluttershy was picking up some wood when she heard a creaking noise, making her turn to see Rainbow slowly tiptoeing toward the dock. She was holding a large number of boards in her arms, but every step took about ten seconds due to the weight. At the same time, Applejack was carefully tapping the nail into the wood with her self-made hammer. She was tapping them so weakly it would take a hundred hits just to get halfway through. And as Rainbow reached the center of the dock, she breathed a sigh of relief before looking up to see Rarity sitting on a chair while sowing something. "Uh...you gonna give us a hand here, Rarity?"

"Oh," Rarity looked up from her work before glancing back down. "I'd love to, but I really need to get the stitching on this poncho done if it's going to make it into the camp fashion show." She then turned to the dock, "Though at the pace you two are moving, I don't know that the runway will ever be finished."

Applejack rolled her eyes at this, "The dock is our gift to the camp, and it's gonna get finished." She started hammering the nail again, now getting it in place before glancing over at the athletic Rainboom. "That is, if Rainbow Dash would hurry up and bring me more wood."

"I can't go any faster!" Rainbow told her, "I don't want to end up in the woods again!"

"Don't be silly."

"Really?" Rainbow asked before dropping the board and mimicking the gentle hammering Applejack had been doing, causing the farm girl to sigh and wipe her brow.

"Ah know ah said we should try to forget all about this new magic business, but ah can't." She clutched her hammer with both hands, "What if ah hammer the board into splinters?!" Rainbow, Fluttershy and Rarity nodded back, only for the farmer to say, "Aw, shoot! Ah'm all out of nails."

"Oh, here you go!" she turned to see Pinkie holding up a box. She pulled her arm back before throwing them into the air, the girls gasping as she did this.

"PINKIE, NO!" They cried as Applejack leapt to the ground, the box flying overhead. Rarity raised her arms and accidently created a bunch of shields that knocked Rainbow and Fluttershy over. The box bounced off the gems, hitting the ground, while Applejack waited for the inevitable explosion...only for nothing to happen.

She opened her eyes and stared at the box, seeing it was still normal. She then glared at Pinkie, "What?" She asked before gasping, "Ohhh, did you think the nails would explode like the sprinkles? Wow! Glad that didn't happen, huh?" Pinkie giggled as Rarity got the gems to vanish and ran over to Rainbow and Fluttershy, sighing as she gave them an apologetic look.

"Sorry girls, I didn't mean to." She grabbed their hands and helped them up, "I don't know how to control this."

"It's okay," Rainbow replied as Fluttershy let out a worried moan.

"None of us do."

"Which is why we shouldn't pretend this isn't happening," they turned to Sunset as she walked up.

"You have them now, too?" Rainbow asked, getting a nod from Sunset.

"It started last night. When I touch people, it's like I can feel what they're feeling and see their memories."

"Oooh, fancy!" Pinkie exclaimed before running over and grabbing her hand, "Try me, try me!" She slammed Sunset's hand onto her head and everyone saw the girl's eyes go white. It lasted several seconds, her eyes soon returning to normal as her arms dropped to her sides.

She looked like someone who had just discovered the truth of the universe. "That explains so much."

"Yep!" Pinkie nodded before pulling back.

"So now Flash and Twilight are the only ones who haven't gotten their powers to work?" Rarity asked before Sunset shook her head.

"No, last night something happened." She sighed, "I won't go into too much detail, but Flash unleashed a bolt of energy last night that almost fried Timber and blasted a tree over. Then, his entire body was surrounded by lightning and he uh...ran off."

"Ran off? Why?"

"He was terrified he was gonna hurt someone."

The group all grimaced at this, Fluttershy muttering out, "Oh...poor Flash."

"Any idea where he went?" Rainbow added.

Sunset shook her head, "No. I don't know where he is, but I have a feeling I know what he's doing. He's trying to gain control of his new abilities, which is what we should be doing too." She crossed her arms at this, "Girls, we can't just brush these powers aside because it doesn't seem like the ideal time to get them." She walked past them, moving to the edge of the dock as a thought appeared in her mind. "What if it turns out that they could actually make things better?"

The others turned to her as she glanced back at them, wondering what she meant. And she soon began to explain...through the power of song.





Back in the quarry...

"Raugh!" Flash yelled as a lighting bolt exploded out of his hands, the force knocking him back. He fell to the ground, sighing as he closed his eyes. "This is impossible..."

He let out another deep breath as he laid there, only for his ears to pick up something. It was some kind of music that was being carried on the wind. The sound continued to play while words appeared in Flash's head, giving him advice that he felt flow through him...the missing piece entering his head.

"I get it," he stood up and looked down at his hands. "This magic isn't something that needs to be controlled. It's not a weapon or a tool that I have to master." The lightning sparked around his body, only to not feel the fear from before. Instead, he took a deep breath, whispering, "Embrace the magic..."

The magic began to flow freely, streaming through him as he no longer rushed it. It was like a muscle, and like any muscle, it would follow his instruction. This wasn't a matter of focus, but will. 'If I can stop myself from breathing without thinking about it, I can do anything.' After taking a deep breath and letting the magic flow through his entire body, he spoke, "Off!"

And just like that, the lightning stopped.

He opened his eyes and panted in excitement at the success. "On," the lightning returned, energizing around him, "Off," it disappeared. "On," it reappeared. "I did it!" He cheered as the music continued to play on the wind, "but I'm not done yet. Just a little more trial and error."

The first was the shooting lightning. He reach his hand out and flicked his finger, causing a bolt to fire out and hit a nearby rock. He felt a bit of recoil, but only flinched at this. Remembering what he had just learned, he closed his eyes and imaged the lightning not shooting out of fingers. And when he snapped his fingers, only a small spark shot out. He tried again and a smaller spark shot out, then a smaller one before absolutely nothing.

He spent what felt like an hour practicing this, slowly getting more control as he growled, "No." He snapped his fingers, "No," he snapped again. "No," snapping one last time. "Yes!" He snapped as a bolt shot out of his fingers and hit a rock, "Yes...but not yet." He snapped his fingers one last time...and no lightning shot out. "YES!" He cheered, the lightning around him not doing anything else except spark around him. His outburst hadn't effected the power, the lightning just flowing around him.

He then looked down at his body, seeing the lightning spark and stream around me. "Nice." He then looked up at the top of the cliff, an idea appearing in his head as he shined a big grin, "Oh...yeah."

The teen clapped his hands together and pulled them apart, causing the lightning to spark between them before flying into his right hand and forming a ball. He then thrust it, firing it at the top of the cliff and causing it to explode. And as expected, several large boulders broke off and began to tumble toward him.

But Flash just smiled at the incoming boulders. Lightning supercharging around him, he charged at the rocks, going from zero to fifty in a millisecond. He reached the side of the diagonal cliff as the rocks rolled for him, Flash clenching his fist and tensing his arm muscles before pulling it back. And when the rock reached him, he threw it at the rock, shattering it to pieces...and Flash's fist didn't hurt at all.

"YES!" He exclaimed as next boulder came, this time kicking the rock to the side so it could fall away from him. He charged again, breaking two more boulders with his fists and kicking another one away. And when he did this, he glanced behind himself and saw the biggest rock yet falling for him. And instead of using his strength to hit the rock, he focused the power into his legs, then taking the biggest leap he could.

He shot straight over the boulder, now going airborne until he was right above the top of the cliff, the teen spinning through the air as gravity took over and pulled him down. And as he reached the ground, he thrust his legs down and landed on the top of the cliff. Sliding along the rock and spinning five hundred and forty degrees, he came to a stop before staring down at the base of the quarry.

The sight of the rocks he had destroyed, dodged or kicked away, coupled with how far he was able to get, made him smile the biggest grin of his life. "WOOHOO!" He screamed with his arms flung up into the air, his voice echoing through the forest. "WOOOOOOO!" And as this noise sounded out, a flock of birds shot out of the surrounding trees, startled by his cheers.





Meanwhile again...

Everyone at the camp was now marveling at the sight before them. With Sunset's help, the Rainbooms had embraced the magic, using their new powers to repair and complete the dock. Rainbow's and Applejack's abilities had been a big help in the construction and Pinkie had used her to do slight demolition and prepare the wood. Even Rarity and Fluttershy had found uses for their magic, Fluttershy having her new animal friends help decorate it with flowers while Rarity had saved Derpy when she fell off the boat and almost hit the water.

With their powers, the dock's completion had been an easy matter, now all admitting Sunset was right. "Okay," Rainbow chuckled, "That was pretty awesome!"

"And look what you managed to accomplish!" Sunset gestured to the dock, the thing now looking exactly like the sketch that had been made. A large sign gate at the entrance, lanterns like the one Timber had been working on sitting on every post, animal feeders and flower decorations. Everything was perfect.

Rarity then turned to the others and gave them all a pleading look, "Please, please, please can we do a run-through for the fashion show on it right this minute?"

"Thought ya'll weren't finished with the stitching on your poncho?" Applejack asked, leaning against one of the posts with her arms crossed and a smile of her face.

Rarity grabbed the poncho and picked up the needle, threading it through the fabric one last time. "I am now."

The others giggled at this, only for Sunset to walk away, "Get started without me. I've gotta go find Twilight. Seeing what we've been able to do here might make her embrace the new magic, too!" She came to a stop at this before adding, "Uh...not that she has any." She gave them a small smile before running away, the others shrugging as they got ready for the fashion show.

It was here that Sunset walked to the edge of the forest toward the tents, but as she did this, she passed by the boat house. That is, till she heard a voice, "I just wish you didn't tell them that ridiculous story!" She came to a stop, recognizing the voice as Gloriosa's.

She quickly snuck over to the building, putting her back to the wall before reaching the door. "Augh," she heard Timber yell, "This is all too much for you! You have to let it go!"

"I knew it!" Sunset hissed, "He wants her to get rid of the camp!" But before she could run off and tell someone, the door suddenly slammed open, pinning her between in and the wall. Gloriosa strode out with Timber behind her, neither noticing her through the window, but Sunset saw they did not look happy.

The two turned a corner and when they were gone, Sunset leapt out to follow Timber. But as she did this, she hit someone, "Sunset?" She turned to see it was the Royal Knights, all staring at her with raised eyebrows, "What were you doing behind that door?"

"Uh...nothing?" Sunset replied before coming up with a better excuse. "I...lost an earring." She then pointed to the ground, "there it is!" She bent down and grabbed a rock before they could really look, then shoved it into her pocket.

"Oookay." Heather slowly replied, "Have you seen Flash?" Sunset went wide-eyed at the question. "We can't find him anywhere."

"I woke up this morning and his bed didn't look like it's been slept in," Iron added.

"Err..." Sunset muttered out, biting her lip at this. The sight made the trio all glare at her.

"Sunset..." First crossed her arms, "What is going on?"

"Nothing," Sunset instantly responded. "Nothing at all."

"Oh please," Heather groaned while putting her hands on her hips. "We know that look. It's the same look you used to give us when you were pretending to be nice to us so Lightning would like you." Sunset's eyes darted away at that, remembering that certain memory, "Sunset...that's the look you use that says you're hiding something."

"So what is it?!" Iron finished.

Sunset began to backpedal, only to let out a long sigh, "Fine. Flash has been having...magic...issues."

"Magic?" Heather asked before turning to the dock. "Like the others?"

"Kinda," Sunset squeaked before looking away again, "His magic's a little more...wild."

"Does this have something to do with him leaping into that portal at the Friendship Games?" First asked next, "The magic he had after that appeared to be quite powerful."

Sunset opened her mouth, trying to respond as the question entered her brain. "Er...uh...huh. Well, considering he had been given magic from his other self, I guess that's not an out there idea."

"So where is Flash?" Heather chimed in.

"Honestly, no idea. But wherever he is, I'm sure he'll be back once he's gotten control over his powers." She let out a long sigh, "Right now I have...other things to worry about."

"What things?"

"More magical issues?" First added.

"No," Sunset shook her head, "It's..." she let out a long sigh, seeing the glares from the three before replying, "Okay, here's the deal. My friend really likes someone, but I don't think that someone is who she thinks they are. I don't wanna upset my friend by telling her what I think, because I also want to protect her, because if what I think is happening is really happening, then she deserves to know. You know?"

The Royal Knights exchanged glances at this, not having any clue, especially Iron as he lost her at the second sentence. That is, till First broke the silence, "Does this have anything to do with that glitter we found yesterday?"

"Glitter?" Sunset asked.

"Yes. I finished analyzing the stuff we found in the lake and on the ground. It is just common, everyday household glitter. The type you can find at any hobby store."

"And used in a whole bunch of camp arts and crafts," Sunset whispered.

"What?" Iron asked, Sunset shaking her head back.

But as she did this, Heather walked up and grabbed her shoulder, "Look, the way I see it, you have two options. Don't tell your friend anything and let them continue to like this other person, meaning they'll be heartbroken if they find out. Or tell them and let your friend decide to believe you or not. Then, if you're wrong, just say your sorry and there shouldn't be any harm done. But if you're right, at least your friend will have some form of warning so the truth shouldn't be too shocking."

"Huh." Sunset replied, "That...makes a lot of sense. Thanks." The Royal Knights nodded as Sunset then saw Timber behind them, slowly walking into the woods. "I gotta go!" She yelled before running past them, charging into the woods.

"That girl is weird," Iron grumbled.

"She is a pony from another world," First pointed out.

"Still weird." The Royal Knights then shrugged and walked away, all hoping this wouldn't lead to more magic insanity and giant portals to another world.

While that happened, Sunset ran through the forest, only to come to a stop as she saw Timber up ahead. She jumped behind a tree as he looked around, not noticing her as he kept running through the woods. Sunset kept chasing him, going further into the forest...only to lose sight of him. Her eyes darted around, staring at the trees and bushes, but couldn't find any trace of him.

She growled at this, only to feel the ground beneath her shake, "Whoa!" She yelped as she tried to keep her balance. But as she did this, she suddenly saw a pinkish-purple light coming from behind some trees. Running up to the light, she then found herself at a cliff-filled area, now seeing it was part of the rock quarry that Timber had told them to keep clear of.

And now she knew why. There was a cave in the rock-face, slightly covered by large boulders and vines. The light was seeping out of the cave, making Sunset hiss, "I knew it! He's definitely up to something!" She then took out her phone, "Sorry Twilight, but I've got no choice."





Back at the Sapphire Tent...

Twilight was still staring at the tent's wall, her swimming between Flash's confession and what Timber had told her. She thought she would feel some sort of anger against Timber, but her mind was elsewhere, going over Flash's confession again and again. Her brain was a complete mess.

But as she let out yet another sigh, she was pulled from her thoughts by her phone, playing Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Picking it up, she switched it on to find a text. "It's Sunset," she told Spike. "She says to meet her by the rock quarry."

"I thought we weren't supposed to hike out that far?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She says it's important." Twilight grumbled, staring at the phone, "Maybe its about magic." She put it away as her trusty companion hopped off the bed. 'If Sunset's found the cause of all this magic, maybe there's a way to remove it from me...at least, I hope so.'





Back in the woods...

Flash was now leaping to tree branch to tree branch, his enhanced strength and agility allowing him to make the distance with ease. "You can do this," he told himself after landing on another branch, running along it until he reached the end. "Let the power flow, but don't overdo it." He leapt off the end, about to land again, "I just need to stay calm and alert." But as he landed on the branch, his foot slipped off the side. "Whoa!" He yelped as he fell, slamming into the branch before falling through another branch. This was followed by several more branches, the boy screaming as he hit the ground a second later.

"GYAH!" He cried, a bush breaking his fall. "Ow..." he moaned, the lightning around him vanishing. "Okay...when jumping on trees...make sure the branch is good to land on." He tried to sit himself up, "I'll have to remember that."

And as he stood up, the sound of footsteps rang out. He leapt behind a tree and glanced around, only to gasp when he saw a certain girl walking around. "Twilight? What's she doing out this far?" He was about to walk up to her and ask, only for the memory of yesterday to instantly chime out in his head. He blushed before hiding behind the tree, doing a slight gulp.

As for Twilight, she began to glance around for Sunset, only for to spot a pinkish-purple light glowing above the tree tops. "What is that?" She asked, only to then run into a spiderweb. "GYAH!" She cried, pulling it off her. She kept screaming, only for a hand to suddenly slap over her mouth.

"Shhh!" Sunset told her, having somehow morphed to her side. She then grabbed Twilight's hand and pulled her along, Spike following behind. And as this happened, Flash stared at the sight, slowly tiptoeing to follow them.

Twilight and Sunset soon arrived at the treeline opposite the cave, the girls and Spike staring into the glowing opening. "What's going on down there?" Twilight asked Sunset.

"I think it's Gaia Everfree," she then glanced at Twilight. "Or rather, someone who wants us to think she's back. C'mon!" Twilight and Spike followed, the three walking into the cave, squeezing through the rocks and glancing inside. "Whoa..." Was all Sunset could say when they saw what was inside.

The cave lead to a short tunnel that opened into a large cavern big enough to fit a house in. The walls, stalagmites and stalactites were lined with gems, which were glowing the light that had attracted them. And in the center of the cave were a bunch a white spike-like rocks that were surrounding a larger central spike that had its top cut off. From the rock, a strange glow filled the air and illuminated the dust all around it. On the central rock's flat surface were eight small holes, and in three of those holes were some kind of strange crystal geode. There was a red one, a purple one and an orange one.

"This place is beautiful," Twilight whispered as kept walking, Sunset closing her eyes and opening herself up to the area, feeling an energy she knew all too well that filled the air.

"There's Equestrian magic here. I can...I can feel it."

"Wait..." they turned to Spike, "I thought Timber was just faking there was a magical nature creature. Are you saying it's real?"

"Timber?" Twilight turned to Sunset, "What does he have to do with any of this?" Sunset frowned at this, knowing what Heather had told her earlier was right. She took a deep breath, only for-

"Nothing," Sunset's words died in her throat at the sound of a female voice. The three turned to it and saw a figure in the shadows of a rock, "It's all me," Gloriosa revealed with a smile and a twitching eye that told them she had seriously gone cuckoo for cocoa puffs.

"Gloriosa?" Sunset asked, "But...Timber." She placed a hand on her head, "I was sure he was the one trying to make it seem like Gaia Everfree was back." She raised an eyebrow at this, "It was you who was trying to scare everyone away?"

"I would never try to scare anyone away from Camp Everfree," Gloriosa replied as she suddenly walked up and went past the pair. And as she did this, Sunset reached out and grabbed her arm. As soon as she did, her powers activated. In a flash of light, she was suddenly in Gloriosa's office with Gloriosa and Filthy Rich.

"My, oh, my," the wealthy man chuckled. "You fell behind on your payments, Gloriosa. I own the land now."

"Please," Sunset heard Gloriosa plead. "My great grandparents founded this place. It's been in our family for generations! You have to let the camp stay!"

"Instead of turning it into a spa resort that will line my pockets with more money than this camp ever could?" Filthy replied, "I don't think so."

"Please!" Gloriosa begged him, "I-I-I-I just need a little more time!"

"Fine," Filthy turned away, "I'll give you 'til the end of the month." He walked off, Gloriosa now crying into her hands.

The scene then changed, Gloriosa now in the woods. She was still crying, then stared out at the pond she was sitting next to. "What'll I do?" She continued to cry while staring at her reflection. But as she did, she noticed something fly past behind her. "Huh?" She turned around, now seeing a cloud of sparkling pink dust.

It flew through the air, doing several twist and loops before flying off in the direction of the quarry. Gloriosa followed it, soon reaching the area of the cave as the cloud flew inside, then exploding into a flash of bright light. The sight made her keep going, squeezing between the rocks before getting inside. "Wow!" She whispered at the sight before spotting a white rock in the center.

As she moved up to the central rock. This time, all eight holes were filled with a geode. Aside the ones Sunset had seen, there was a blue one, pink one, green one, yellow one and a white one. She walked up and before she could stop herself, placed her hand on five of the eight. As soon as she did, a bright light exploded out of them, making her gasp. Gloriosa tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't. She kept pulling and eventually, the geodes came loose. This caused the woman to fall back, only to hit something soft.

Looking behind her, Gloriosa saw a bunch of vines that had sprung out of the ground and caught her. She went wide-eyed at this, turning back to her hand and now seeing the five geodes she had pulled out. Those five glowed before floating above her hand, the woman's eyes going even wider as the scene changed.

In a flash, Sunset was back in the office with Timber glaring at her. "You don't know what those things are!" He yelled, Gloriosa now looking down and allowing Sunset to see the geodes she had placed in a necklace she was wearing.

"But I know what they can do!" Gloriosa replied before pointing her hands at some nearby hanging baskets. "I've been practicing!" The plants in the hanging baskets grew large vines that creeped down and wrapped around her laptop and coffee cup, lifting them up. "I can control their power now!"

Timber grimaced at the sight, only to slam his fist down on the table. "You don't know that for sure! I think they're dangerous!" Gloriosa crossed her arms and looked away, Timber sighing at this before turning to leave.

His sister glanced back, speaking up to stop him. "This is our camp, and it's being taken away!" Sunset suddenly felt a great amount of rage along with determination. "If this has to be our last week here, I'm going to use whatever it takes to make it count!"

With that, the scene changed again. This time, Gloriosa was staring out at the lake and saw the boat stuck out on the water. Seeing Derpy and Sandalwood not having any fun, she touched the geodes before pointing her hand at the boat. In doing so, a large vine came out of the water, giving the boat a good shove. Unfortunately, the shove was so powerful that it knocked the boat right into the lake.

The scene changed again, this time showing Gloriosa was watching as Trixie and Micro Chips arrived at the stream with some fishing rods. However, the stream was completely empty, Gloriosa then turning to where the river flowed from and saw a large amount of boulders blocking up the water. Once again using her magic, Gloriosa summoned a whole bunch of vines and threw the rocks out of the river's path. But in doing so, the rocks caused an earthquake while the stream filled back up.

The scene changed one final time, Gloriosa now in the boat house with Timber. "You were using magic all over the place!" Timber yelled, "I had to tell them something to cover for you! What did you want me to do?!"

Gloriosa turned to Timber, Sunset feeling large amounts of stress and anger as she barked back, "I just wish you didn't tell them that ridiculous story!"

She turned to leave, Sunset hearing Timber speak up. "This is all too much for you! You have to let it go!" With that, Sunset's vision finally ended as Gloriosa pulled her hand free.

Sunset staggered back, holding her head from the information overload, only to gasp, "Timber wasn't talking about letting go of the camp," she turned to the older woman. "He was talking about you letting go of the magical geodes!" Gloriosa spun around with wide eyes as Sunset pointed at her, "All those things you were doing to make this week the best week ever..." Gloriosa began to backpedal until her back was up against the white spikes. "Every time you used magic to do them, you caused another problem somewhere else!" And as she said this, her memories of Timber telling them about Gaia Everfree and why he was leaving that glitter all over the place now connected. "Timber was..." She glanced back at Twilight, "Covering for you!"

"How do you know about what I was doing with the geodes?!" Gloriosa asked, "How...how do you know about the magic?!"

"I can see things," Sunset replied, "Feel things. Because I have magic too." She gestured to Twilight, "And so does she. And so do our friends."

Twilight nodded, walking up as well. "Gloriosa, Timber wasn't wrong. Maybe you should stop using magic. Too much of it can be dangerous if you can't control it."

But as she said this, Gloriosa showed them a giant grin, "Oh, I got this." She turned to the last three geodes, "And I'm going to use it to save my camp! I just need more power!" She then grabbed the gems, the girls gasping.

"NO!" They screamed before charging at her, only for Gloriosa to reach out and use the magic. Before the girls could react, vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around the three. They cried out as the vines tightened, allowing Gloriosa to grip the three remaining geodes and pull them free. She then held them up to the other geodes, and in doing so, the eight all began to glow before morphing into a new necklace made of vines. Gloriosa allowed the magic to flow through her, Spike and the girls now seeing her levitate up as more vines appeared around her.

They completely wrapped around her, forming a cocoon that the light exploded out of the gaps. And then, the vines unraveled themselves to reveal...Gaia Everfree.

It was just like the story Timber had told them. Her skin had gone from pink to a more purplish color. Her eyes were black with a dark pink mask around them and bright green irises. Her hair was wilder, now being two different shades of blue, and she wore a green dress and long boots that were covered in different flowers. The girls could only stare in horror at the transformed woman, fearing what her magically drugged mind might do.

"Sorry girls, but I know what I need to do," she began to float past them as the two struggled. "But I feel like we're not on the same page, so-"

"So you're gonna let them go!" The four all turned to the mouth of the cave, a lone teen boy now standing there with a long glare.

"FLASH!" The girls exclaimed, smiling at the sight of him as Gaia let out a hiss.

"Another one?!" She growled before raising her hands, "Fine! You can just stay here with the other two." Several vines shot up in front of her and went for Flash, the girls gasping as they appeared to slam into him, causing a large cloud of dust. Gaia smiled at this, only for the grin to fade when the dust faded to show Flash was gone. "What?" She then noticed a light and looked up and the roof, now seeing Flash hanging from a stalactite while lightning sparked around him.

"You missed me," he told her before launching himself at Gaia. She threw several more vines at him, but Flash easily dodged them, landing as his hand became charged with energy that he launched at Gaia. She barely managed to raise a wall of vines in time to block it, the lightning bouncing off before she sent them at him. Flash's hands glowed as he held them flat, then swung his arms around in an X formation. Doing so unleashed twin blades of light, which struck the vines and ripped them to pieces.

"Wow..." Spike gasped as they watched Flash leap away from another barrage of vines, "He's really good!"

Sunset nodded at this, "He embraced the magic, and now has complete control over it." Twilight smiled at this, glad he was able to do so. She knew he could. After all, he wasn't like her.

"Raaah!" Flash leapt up to the ceiling, then kicked off and shot down at Gaia. The nature spirit growled and sent several more vines, but before they could hit him, Flash swung his leg around and unleashed a wave of pressurized air. The wind struck the vines, knocking them back at Gaia. She fell back at this, sliding along the ground and past the girls as Flash landed. The teen began to build up power again, readying himself to close the distance with a single leap.

Gaia saw him coming, fist pulled back to punch her lights out. She knew she only had one chance at winning, the woman holding her arm out. Twilight suddenly felt the vines holding her move, lifting her up and throwing her between Flash and Gaia. "Ahhhh!" She screamed, seeing Flash now about to collide with her. But his reaction time was enough, allowing him to throw his legs forward, skidding to a stop inches from Twilight.

"Whoa!" he yelped before hopping back, not noticing Gaia smirking as she summon several vines behind him.

"FLASH! BEHIND YOU!" Twilight cried, but it was too late.

The vines slammed into Flash's back, "AAAAAHHHHH!" He screamed in pain, the vines to wrapping around his midsection before spreading to his arms and neck. Once tightly gripping him, the vines retracted, pulling him down to his knees before everything but his face was surrounded by the vines.

"No," Twilight whispered as Gaia laughed.

"Well, that was fun." She floated back as Twilight's vines retracted and pulled her back to Sunset. Gaia then flew past Flash, who was trying to move, only to feel the vine constrict, pain surging through his body as Gaia added, "But I have a mission to complete. So if you kids wouldn't mind staying here, that would be great." With that, she flew out of the cave as the girls screamed out her former name.

And once she was outside, she turned back to the cave and summoned a bunch of vines and roots that grabbed the nearby boulders and moved them. The girls could only watch in horror as the exit was completely blocked off, "NOOOOOOOOO!"

Gaia smiled as their screams were silenced by sealing off the cave. All obstacles now removed, Gaia turned to the camp. If Filthy Rich wanted to take it from her, he would have to fight her for it. And with this power, it was a fight he couldn't win. It was time to stand for Everfree.
> Stand for Everfree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the camp, Rarity had handed out all the outfits, everyone now ready to start the fashion show. She was sprinting around, checking to see how everyone's fit and smiling at the results. That is, till she saw two certain people missing. "Where are Twilight and Sunset?" She then heard some slight grumbles, now turning to the others, "They're missing our dress rehearsal."

The rest of the girls on the dock all shrugged, Pinkie even giving an "uh-uh" to show she had no clue.

"I suppose we can get started without them," Rarity turned to Vinyl Scratch, who was setting up the music on the shore. "Whenever you're ready!" She nodded and pulled out a record, placing it on a player. The music began, and the girls all began to walk down the dock, though Rarity had to give Fluttershy a reassuring push. She then turned to Applejack, who was looking over the red shirt and blue skirt she had made for her. "Told you you'd like it."

"It's alright," Applejack rebutted while trying to hide a small blush, "Ah guess." She poked her fingers together before smiling at Rarity, "Ah do get to keep it after camp though, right?" Rarity did a quick nod before gesturing for Applejack to start strutting her stuff, the farm girl doing just that.

And once Applejack was gone, Rarity turned to a pair of wooden manikins that were wearing Twilight and Sunset's dresses. "Now...where are those two?"





Meanwhile...

At the cave, Flash continued to struggle against the roots holding him down. "RAAAAAHHHHH!" He yelled, trying to summon the energy again. But every time he began to build up power, the roots around him appeared to suck it right out. "AUGH!" He groaned, slumping over at this, "I can't...huff...it's no use. I can't build up the power fast enough."

Sunset grimaced at this, "Those Geodes were probably what gave you the power. The further away they are, the less powerful your magic is."

"Great," Flash sighed as he pulled on the vines again, only to feel them constrict, "Urgh! So what do we do now?!"

"I'm thinking. Just give me a minute." Sunset replied, her eyes turning to her other friend, "Twilight? Any ideas?"

The girl didn't respond, instead just staring at Flash. Her mind was a jumbled mess, her eyes twitching and bobbing as they kept on Flash, the memories of the confession now swimming through her brain. And before she could stop herself, her mouth moved and asked, "Flash?" he looked up at her, "I have to know. Did you really mean what you said yesterday?" She felt a slight heat on her cheeks, "You know...about having feelings for me?"

Flash went wide-eyed at this, only to look away as he began to blush, "You wanna talk about this now?!"

"Well...you know." Twilight responded with a slight mumble. "When is the right time."

"Yeah...I get it." Flash muttered out before letting out a sigh, "I'm...I'm sorry. You weren't meant to hear that."

Twilight felt her eyes expand at this, "Why?! Was it just a lie?!"

"NO!" Flash's voice echoed through the cave, glancing back at her, "It's just that...just that..." He looked away again, "I never thought anything could come of my feelings." He paused at this, expecting Twilight to respond. But as silence embraced the two, Flash let out a sigh, "I...I don't know when it happened. When I stopped seeing you as a friend and then saw you as something more. It just...kinda happened. One day I woke up and when I saw you, I had this feeling in my chest. Like nothing I'd ever felt before." His eyes slowly went back to her, his face a combination of serious and sadness, "Twilight, you're smart, kind, fun, loyal, honest, generous and...so many more things that would take way too long to list off. Any guy would have to be an idiot not to like you in that way."

Twilight felt herself going full red at this, "Flash...why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because...because..." Flash mumbled out, "I...was scared. I was so scared you would...you know. You wouldn't like me and...I didn't want to lose you like that." Flash let out a sniff, "I didn't want to lose my best friend."

"Flash..." Twilight barely said, her mind trying to find what to say next.

That is, till Spike spoke up, "Listen, I know this little talk is really important." They looked down at the dog as he walked over to Sunset, "But can we maybe save it until after we stop an out of control nature spirit from trapping everyone in an eternal forest trap?"

"Uh...yeah. That sounds good." Flash replied, only to raise an eyebrow, "Wait a minute. You were definitely tied up before. How'd you get free?" The puppy then bit into a root holding Sunset, pulling it with a slight tug. Within seconds he bit through, the vines loosening around the girl, the others smiling at the sight.





In the woods outside of camp, Snips and Snails were filling water balloons at a pump. But as they did this, they saw something in the corner of their eyes. Turning around, they saw a certain glowing Gaia Everfree floating toward them, Snips quickly kicked a bucket of water balloons away while Snails hid the newly full one behind his back. She floated past without a second glance, both sighing in relief before watching her fly away.

"She looks...different," Snail told Snips.

"Yeah," Snips added, "She looks...taller."

Over at the dock, Rarity was overjoyed at the sight of her designs being shown off. As this happened, she turned to the campers watching from the sidelines and let out a joyful laugh. "This is only a preview. I've got another entire line I'll debut at the real thing." But as she said that, the music suddenly cut out. Rarity turned to the dj at this, "Why did you stop the-" She then let out a gasp as she and everyone else saw something floating over, "Oh my goodness!"

Gaia Everfree floated into the center of the camp, a sinister smile on her lips as everyone focused on her. "Attention, campers!" She yelled as Trixie let out a scream.

"It's Gaia Everfree!"

"She's real?!" Heather yelped as Bulk Biceps did an even louder scream.

"We're doomed!"

It was at this moment Timber arrived, now staring at his transformed sister, "Gloriosa?!" He yelped as he pushed past the Royal Knights, "What are you doing?!"

"That's Gloriosa?!" Applejack yelled, glancing at the others. "Am ah goin' crazy, or are her feet not touchin' the ground?"

The others nodded as Pinkie added, "Freaky-deaky!" Had they been looking at her, they would have noticed the pink skinned girl was also doing the same thing.

"I have an announcement to make!" Gaia called out, "Filthy Rich wants this to be the last session of Camp Everfree." As she said that, the gems around her neck began to glow. "But don't worry, I've got this!" With that, the light flew up her arms and reached her hands as Gaia slammed them into the ground, causing the entire camp to shake.

The trees around the camp rocked until something appeared behind them, a barrage of giant roots that grew straight up. They formed a large wall that quickly encircled the camp before anyone could think to run for their lives. The Rainbooms saw this and looked at either side of the dock, seeing that the root wall coming from both sides. All they could do was leap off the dock, hitting the ground as the roots ripped it apart before joining together, forming a perfect ten meter circular wall.

The Rainbooms moaned as they rolled onto their backs, now seeing what had happened to the dock. "Oh, come on!" Rainbow barked, "We literally just finished building that!" They then turned to Gaia as she stood back up, her feet now back off the ground...and began to sing.



(Gaia)
I have waited for the day
To send this greedy wolf away
Now the magic is my salvation
Gather close in my protection

We...will...stand for Everfree!


As she sang this, her arms summoned the magic again, thrusting them up to unleash the power and make the wooden wall grow to thirty meters in height. The campers all screamed at this, many running whenever Gaia moved closer. She placed a hand on the totem pole, causing roots to start growing around it.


Behold the beauty of nature in all its glory


She moved over to a student who was frozen in terror and grabbed her by the chin.


No need to fear the vultures at the door


The student pulled away, running for the lunch hall where many other students were heading. Celestia and Luna ushered them inside, then noticed Gaia walking up to them.


Right here you have me to protect you


Celestia stood with her arms spread wide, about to tell Gaia to stop. But before she could, the woman raised an arm and caused another wall of thorny roots to shoot out of the ground, encasing the building.


Within these walls of thorns
Forever free, forevermore!


As this happened, Timber just stood there, not responding as he saw his sister become a crazed madwomen. He then noticed an axe in a nearby tree stump and ran for it, grabbing it before going for the wall. Gaia saw this, now seeing him try to cut through. But when he managed to cut one root, two new ones appeared, making the wall even stronger.


They have come into our domain
Here to seal our camp in chains


When Timber tried to swing again, he found something else grab the axe and hold it in place. He turned to see himself now face to face with his transformed sister.


But we have held it for generations
This is just a complication


She smiled as he tried to pull the axe away from her, only for a bunch of roots to fly out and grab the tool before lifting it and Timber into the air.


We...will...stand for Everfree!


As she sang that last part, her hands glowed green, and when she swung her arms around, the energy shot out in all directions. Doing so causing the wall to grow higher, the girl then turning to the campers that hadn't gotten to the lunch room, such as the Royal Knights that were in the gazebo with Trixie, Sandalwood and Bulk.


Trust in me, this is for your own good


She held up her glowing hands, causing vines to grow around the gazebo, even large flowers now beginning to bloom along the ground.


Don't be afraid, nature is our friend


She turned to the flower, showing a small smile before anger replaced her face, the woman now remembering what Filthy Rich wanted to do with her home.


All of this beauty that surrounds us
Every lovely bloom designed to defend


She thrust her hands out, the vines around the gazebo morphing into more roots, trapping the kids inside.


Let them come, just let them try!
I'm not about to say goodbye!


Vines appeared around the sundial, allowing her to stand atop it. She looked out at her home one final time, deciding then and there that nothing would take it away.


This camp will be here throughout the ages
Written into the history pages


She began to float upward, the geodes around her neck glowing brighter and brighter.


We...will...stand for Everfree!


The magic exploded out of her, causing one final large burst of growth from the roots. As this happened, the Rainbooms were watching everything from behind one of the beached boats. They were all staring with wide eyes, Fluttershy breaking the silence, "Oh..." she hid her head in her arms, "Why do these kinds of things always happen to us?!"

The others girls sighed as well, Rarity sitting back against the boat. "What are we going to do?" She asked, only for Rainbow to stand up.

"What we always do!" She held out her hand, "Save the day!" The girls stared at her for a moment before smiling and getting up, one by one placing their hands on Rainbow's while letting out cries of joy and agreement.

"Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy!" Pinkie cheered once they pulled apart. "This is gonna be so much fun!" She hugged Rainbow for a moment before gasping, "I only wish we had time to make superhero capes!"

"Oh, me too!" Rarity nodded whilst Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Enough about our wardrobe!" She groaned before pointing at the madwoman behind them, "We've got to stop Gloriosa from trapping everybody in here!"

They all nodded before turning to their opponent, the group quickly getting to work. The students were still screaming and running around, Gaia trapping them from any place to hide as the mad nature spirit continued to make the camp more overgrown. In doing so, she accidently knocked the totem pole over and it began to fall toward Lyra and Bon Bon, the girls seeing this, only for Rarity to jump in front of them.

The girl summoned the power of her magic, unknowingly causing her to pony-up as she raised her arms and created a giant wall of diamond crystals that blocked the totem pole. Rainbow then shot over to grab Lyra and Bon Bon, pulling them over behind some bushes where Fluttershy and some more campers were hiding.

Rainbow nodded at this, only to suddenly pony-up herself. She then shot off to find more people to save while Fluttershy found a hole in the ground. She knocked on the ground and several gophers broke out, looking up at her. "Um...hi. Do you think you can give us a hand-um, er, paw?" She stroked her hair as she ponied-up, "We could really use a way out." The gophers chattered in agreement and started digging one large hole that the campers could use to escape.

While this happened, Rainbow Dash...dashed around the place, trying to help anybody she could. As she did this, Applejack ran over to a nearby boulder and used her super strength to lift it right up. Doing so caused her to pony-up before she threw the rock straight up, then leaping up and punching it toward the wall. The force of the rock allowed it to smash through the roots, creating an opening as she landed.

But seconds after that happened, the wall sealed itself up. Applejack growled at the sight, rolling up her sleeves at the sight. "Alright. Time to do some good old weed whackin'!"

At the same time, Fluttershy's gopher friends had managed to dig under the roots and made their way back up. They broke through the surface and on the other side of the wall, then chattered into the hole. Fluttershy heard this, the rodents telling her to send them through. She nodded and gestured to Bon Bon, but before the girl could escape, roots began growing out of the hole and sealing it up. Fluttershy gasped and staggered back, looking over at Gaia and seeing she had spotted them. But before she could try and grab them, a bunch of pink flashes made her look around to see Pinkie throwing glowing sprinkles at her wall.

The girl ponied-up as she threw a handful, creating three holes while Applejack tried to stop them from sealing up by shoving a bench into it. The sight made Gaia growl, who then focused on that spot, causing the roots to crush the bench and make Applejack jump away. Pinkie saw this as Fluttershy and the others ran over to her. She prepared to throw more sprinkles, only for several roots to shoot out of the ground. Pinkie and Fluttershy leapt away, the other students not being so lucky as they were soon trapped in a plant bulb shaped coil of roots.

Pinkie fell over as she hopped back, several roots now reaching out to grab her. But as they tried this, Applejack tackled them. She tried to crush them in her arms, but they flailed around so much, she lost her grip before being thrown away. She let out a cry as she hit the dirt, more roots now appearing around her. And as this happened, Rarity arrived just in time to put up a shield around them. The roots tried to wrap around them, but she expanded the shield enough to break the roots.

The rest of the campers were much worse off, anyone not already trapped soon finding themselves captured by the root cages. Rainbow tried to save them, but her speed wasn't enough. It was here that she saw she was the roots next target and tried to escape, managing to avoid several attempts to grab her, only for a load of roots to appear in front of her. She couldn't stop in time, the vines grabbing her by the waist before getting lifted up, the girl crying out as she was hoisted into the air.

But as she began to flail around, an explosion ripped the roots in half, causing her to fall. She turned to see a smiling Pinkie as she tossed her sprinkle can up into the air, Rainbow catching it, only for the can to suddenly glow pink. She panicked for a second before playing hot potato with the can, then threw it at the wall. The rest of the girls braced themselves as it collided and exploded, cutting another large hole into the wall.

But once again, the roots grew back as fast as the girls could destroy them. Applejack sighed at the sight, turning to the others, "This isn't working! Her magic is too strong!" They all looked up at this, now seeing Gaia grinning at her victory.

"Oh...if only our friends were here." Fluttershy muttered as they saw Gaia summon more roots.





Back in the cave...

Spike had bitten through some of Sunset's bindings and a few of Flash's. Doing so allowed them to pull themselves free, and right now he was biting through Twilight's. As her roots became loose enough for her to wiggle out, she smiled down at Spike as Flash managed to pull himself free from the cocoon of roots holding him. "Nice work, Spike!" Sunset exclaimed, the dog wagging his tail at this.

The teen then went over to the rock sealing the exit, trying to push it away from the hole...but it wouldn't budge.

"Stand back!" Flash yelled as he began to build power again, no longer feeling it drain out of him. But before he could smash them out, Twilight leapt in front of him.

"No!" She held her arms out before pointing to the roots. "If you smash the rock away, the roots could pull some of the cave out and make the whole thing collapse!"

"But...then what do we do?!" Flash asked, Twilight giving him a frown in response.

She then felt a hand touch her shoulder, turning to see Sunset, "You'll have to use your magic!" Twilight went wide-eyed at this, letting out an 'eep!'.

"NO!" Twilight screamed, shaking her head before saying, "I-I-I mean...I don't think um...I don't think I can lift something that big."

"It's our only chance of getting out of here and helping our friends!" Sunset countered, only to see Twilight flinch back. But as she did this, she looked away, only for her eyes to see Spike glancing up at her. He gave her a nod, only for a new hand to pat her shoulder.

She turned to the hand, seeing it was Flash. His face was no longer showing worry or hesitation over earlier, instead showing a calm smile. "You can do this. We're here with you. If anything happens, we'll stop you before you go too far." The two stared at one another, Twilight now feeling a warmth in her chest that burned all the doubt and fear away. She nodded back, slowly turning to the boulder.

She held out her hands as they began to glow, the boulder doing the same. The boulder began to shake...but it didn't move. She began to grunt, thrusting her hands as a blue light began to appear on her head. Flash saw this, recognizing it to be similar to Midnight's horn, only to shake his head.

He patted her shoulder again, "You got this."

Twilight nodded as the rock began to move. It pulled against the roots holding it, the vines soon snapping and allowing Twilight to push the rock far enough away from the hole for them to leave. But as she did this, she began to fall over, only for Sunset and Flash to catch her. She smiled up at them, giving her a second to rest before the four headed out of the cave. And when they did, they were greeted with the sight of a giant wall of thorny roots that was growing larger by the second.

"Ooookay," Flash commented, "Now I've really seen everything." He turned to Sunset, "Does magic always do crazy things like this."

"No time! Come on!" Sunset yelled as she ran off, the other three chasing after her.





The Rainbooms had been trying to come up with a new plan, but found nothing as they now saw the insane camp councillor land on the sundial.

"Why are you fighting me?!" She screeched, "I'm doing this to save our camp! I'm doing this for you!"

Rarity let out a small chuckle as she answered, "Gloriosa, let's just think about this for a moment, shall we?" The others nodded. "I mean, I think Camp Everfree is absolutely delightful, but I just don't know that I'm quite ready to give up my weekly trips to the spa."

Those words made Gaia go wide-eyed, one of her eyes twitching as green lightning began to spark around her. "To the spa?!" She mimicked in a fake sweet voice, her voice quickly increasing in tone, "TO THE SPA?!" As she screamed, the lightning flew into the ground, causing it to shake as more roots flew out, all of them beginning to wrap around her waist.

And as they lifted her up, Rainbow tried to run up at her, only for Gloriosa summon a root to trip her up. "WHOA!" She yelped as she flying, accidently slamming into her friends, the almost sound of a bowling pin following this.

It was at this moment that Timber, who had managed to get himself free, ran over to his sister. He took a deep breath before yelling, "Gloriosa!" Gaia turned to him, "Stop it! This isn't the way!"

"I appreciate your concern, Timber." Her face grew more unhinged as she thrust her hands out. "BUT I GOT THIS!" The lightning flew out again, this time making a barrage of roots that instantly tackled Timber.

"Augh!" He cried as he felt himself be tightly, but not painfully, gripped. "No..." he moaned out, "You don't!" But Gaia ignored him, the power flowing through her making her now making her both blind and deaf to the truth.





On the other side of the wall...

Sunset, Twilight and Spike were now staring at the massive dome of roots, Flash now super running around the whole thing before racing back to them. "It's no good," he panted as he came to a stop, "I can't find an opening." He then turned to the roots and slapped his hands together before pulling them apart, lightning now sparking between them. He fired a long blast at the wall, zapping it for a few seconds. But as soon as he managed to burn through one of the roots, two more grew in to replace it.

"Aww..." Spike groaned, "What do we do?"

"Good question." Sunset sighed as she crossed her arms, "If we can't cut the roots...maybe we can move them." She turned to the bespectacled girl. "Twilight, do you think you can use your magic?"

She shook her head in response. "I uh...I don't want to use too much," Twilight looked away, twiddling her thumbs, "Midnight Sparkle could take over."

"Twilight!" Sunset yelled, making Twilight jump in place. Flash opened his mouth to stop Sunset, but the girl then grabbed Twilight's hands, a red energy flowing from them. The magic flowed through her and she suddenly ponied-up, paling at the sight as Sunset gripped her, making Twilight look at her directly, "Twilight...our friends are in there! We have to save them!"

Twilight stared at her, biting her lip as her whole face tensed up. But as she stared at Sunset, she saw a look of both fear and trust within the other girl. Seeing this, she did a small nod, "Okay..." Sunset let her go, Twilight walking up to the wall and placing her hands on it, a purple aura surrounding them. The roots in front of her glowed and shook, but remained where they were. She closed her eyes at this, grunting as she tensed up...but the roots wouldn't move. And as this happened, Flash saw the blue light on her forehead again, Twilight opening her eyes to see it as well.

"Ahh!" She gasped, making her stumble back, falling to her knees. Tears began to appear in her eyes as she looked up at Sunset, "I-I-I'm sorry. I can't."

"Twilight..." Sunset slowly responded, Flash now helping Twilight back up. As he did this, Sunset closed her eyes, tapping her foot as she began to think, "There's got to be a way to do this. If Twilight's power isn't enough, and neither is Flash's...wait. She has eight geodes."

"So?" Flash asked.

"Eight geodes. And eight of us have been granted powers." She turned to Flash, "What if each of us is only getting our power from one of them? That would explain why we can't overpower her magic."

"I...guess? So what do we do?"

Sunset let out a low hum, "If we were all together, we might be able to unite our powers and equal hers. But since we can't get together..." She looked up at the wall, seeing it now begin to bend and grow inwards, slowly forming a dome around the camp. It was here Flash went up to the wall, closing his eyes to let his power flow to his ears. Doing so allowed him to hear what was going on inside, now hearing the many screams of fear and pain, along with Timber's voice.

"Please, Gloriosa! What you're doing is crazy! You have to listen to me!"

"No!" Gaia barked back, "You never cared about this camp, so why should I listen to anything you have to say?!" More cries of pain filled his ears after this, making Flash cut off the power before turning to Twilight. He looked down at his hands, bits of lightning surging in them.

"Twilight," she glanced over at him, seeing him hold out his hand, "We have to work together." Twilight stared at his hand as he continued, "If we combine our powers, maybe mine can supercharge yours enough to let you break through these roots."

"What?!" Twilight yelped, instantly backpedaling at the statement, "I-I-I can't do that! If you do that, I won't be able to control it. Midnight Sparkle-"

"Is gone!" She flinched as he suddenly yelled, the girl continuing to go backward as Flash stood still. "Midnight Sparkle is gone Twilight. She only exists because you think she does."

"No, she isn't!" Twilight screamed, new tears forming in her eyes, "I know she's still there...she'll take me over if I let the magic flow! I...I can't do it!" She showed the biggest frown to the teen as she said, "I...I don't want to hurt you."

But Flash just shook his head, "Twilight...you won't hurt me." He held his hand out again, "Do you trust me?" Twilight stared at the hand, only to do a small nod, "Then trust that no matter what, I'll never do something that I think might hurt you. You can do this. You won't become Midnight Sparkle. You'll have full control of your magic."

Twilight kept her eyes on his hand, only to walk up and grab it. As she did this, Flash summoned the energy again. The lightning surged around the two, Twilight not feeling any pain. And as it happened, Flash ponied-up. But he didn't just grow wings and ears, as the energy began to solidify around his body, forming the same armor he had worn during the Friendship Games. Twilight gasped at the sight, only to stare down at his hand, 'Its so big...and so strong' The energy flowing around them grew brighter, Twilight now feeling her own power increasing. But she was too focused on Flash's hand. 'But most of all...'

"Let's do this!" Flash told her as they turned to the wall, Twilight nodding.

"Yeah!"

'It's comforting.' She lifted her free hand up, a mix of purple and gold light now appearing around the roots. This time though, they slowly moved aside until an opening big enough for them to pass through formed. Sunset smiled at this and headed inside as she heard Timber call out again.

"Please Gloriosa!"

"That isn't Gloriosa." Timber and the others turned to them, Flash and Twilight walking through the hole. As soon as they did, Twilight let the roots go, dispelling her magic before she could lose control. She pulled her hand from Flash's, but instantly regretted it as she felt the comfort vanish.

"Twilight!" She then heard Rarity cry.

"Sunset!" Applejack yelled as Rainbow stood up.

"And Flash! You're all okay!" They nodded before running over to Timber, Flash charging up his hands to try and cut through the roots holding him.

"That isn't your sister," Sunset added, "It's someone who's been consumed by Equestrian magic." They looked up at Gaia as her eyes grew completely green, more and more roots now growing around her.

Timber began to tear up while Flash burned through the roots. "Whoever you are, you have to let my sister go! Please Gloriosa, come back! I need you!" But Gaia didn't listen, her entire mortal form now consumed by the roots. "GLORIOSA!"

But as he did this, the roots suddenly surged, completely overtaking Timber. "NO!" Twilight yelled as Flash and the girls leapt back. The roots then started coming for them, the three running away at this. But as they did this, the root tower reached the top of the dome as it completely closed. When that happened, a flash of green energy flew throughout it before unleashing bolts of green lightning.

Whenever the lightning struck the ground, more roots exploded out as Flash and the Rainbooms joined up. Seeing this, Applejack yelled out, "Rarity!" The fashionista nodded and summoned multiple diamonds that formed a dome around them.

But as this happened, Flash leapt out before it completely formed, the girls gasping at this, "FLASH!" Twilight yelped, "What are you doing?!"

"Giving you the time you need to come up with a plan!" Flash replied before turning to the roots now flying at him. He held out his hands, the energy around him turning into a pair of swords made entirely of light. "Nice." He then charged at the incoming vines, slashing them all away. As he did this, he headed to the spot he believed Timber was. "Open wide!" He yelled before performing several slashes, cutting everything to ribbons and freeing the younger of the Everfree siblings.

Before Timber could say anything, Flash dispelled his sword before reaching out and grabbing him. Pulling the older teen up into the air, he swung his legs around to knock some more roots away before catching him. "Hang on!" He leapt away, dodging the roots while throwing Timber onto his back. With some amazing parkour skills, he leapt over the next series of roots before throwing Timber at the dome. Rarity saw this and opened a panel, allowing him to fall inside.

"Alright Timber, stay here and stay out of the way. You're not pretty enough to save twice." Flash added as he summoned two swords again, the teen slashing away at whatever vines he spotted getting closer to them. 

Rarity then grunted as she felt a bunch of roots slam into her shield, Flash taking down those vines a second later. "I can't keep this up forever!" She commented.

"Me neither!" Flash replied as he kept cutting down more roots. Considering he hadn't slept in over twenty four hours, it was a miracle he was even still on his feet. "Whatever you girls are planning, I'd appreciate you hurry it up!"

Sunset nodded before turning to Twilight. "It's up to you. You can use your magic to pull the brambles apart!

"No," Twilight shook her head, "There's too many of them. It would take too much magic. I can't!"

"It's the only way!" Sunset pleaded, "you have to embrace the magic inside you!"

Twilight began to hug herself. "But...what if she takes over?" Sunset saw tears beginning to form in her eyes yet again, the girl looking away. "I don't have Flash to give his magic to me! What if...what if instead of saving everyone, I turn into Midnight Sparkle and only make things worse?"

"That won't happen!" She glanced back at Sunset, seeing her and the rest of her friends giving big smiles, "We won't let it."

They all nodded, only to flinch as they heard a cry of pain. All turning to the yell, they saw the roots had grabbed Flash by the wrists, Flash yanking himself free, only for a barrage of roots to suddenly slam into him as he screamed, "Augh!"

"FLASH!" Twilight gasped as she saw her best friend get tackled by the roots. And as she saw this, she closed her eyes, summoning the power within her. Her head and hands again glowed as she reached out to try and push the roots away...only for them to not budge.

The root's grasp on Flash and the shield only loosened, but then redoubled and squeezed the dome tighter. "RAUGH!" Flash cried as he was pushed against the shield, making it crack and send a backlash that made Rarity cry out and fall over until Applejack caught her.

More and more cracks appeared on the shield, causing Timber to scream, "We're dead! We're all dead!" He put his hands over his head as he cried out, "I knew that magic stuff was bad! Its gonna doom us all!"

As those words entered Twilight's ears, she tensed up, shaking as Sunset stared at her. She tried to find the words, only for Flash to suddenly yell, "Don't listen to him!" Twilight stopped shaking as she heard this, Flash now saying, "You can do this!"

"He's right. Come on, Twilight!" Sunset reached out and grasped Twilight's arms, her hands glowing red as she connected to her. "You have to be stronger than she is!"

Twilight looked down at her hands at this, now feeling even power than what Flash gave her now flowing. But this time, he wasn't there to keep her calm. Instead, a horn appeared on her head as her glasses transformed into the same one Midnight had used.

Her eyes shot open, now glowing the same blue color as her horn and glasses. "Twilight!"





Inside Twilight's mind, she was once again in the pink void that housed Midnight Sparkle.

She floated there, alone and defenseless as a laughter filled the air. She began to glance around, only to suddenly see a giant face of her crazed alter-ego. "You will never control me!" She laughed while flying back to allow Twilight to see more of her giant form. "I will always be a part of you!" With that, Midnight morphed into a large cloud of green light.

The light flew into Twilight, the girl gasping as she felt it phase into her. Twilight tried to swat it away, but it refused to go away, now absorbing her. She started panting as a sudden large black wing sprouted out of her back. It was then followed by another, her glasses vanishing as they were replaced by Midnight's as the horn appeared on her head.

"NOOOOO!" She screamed, trying to curl herself up. But as she did this, a new voice rang out.

"Twilight," she heard Sunset's voice, "Listen to me!" A flash of red light appeared behind her, making her turn to see a ghostly red image of her friend. "You are in charge!" It was then that another flash summoned a ghostly purple image of Rarity next to Sunset.

"You are a light, darling!" She assured her, "A force for good!" The ghostly blue image of Rainbow then appeared beside Rarity.

"Yeah! You can kick the darkness's butt!" Another ghostly image, this time of Pinkie appeared.

"We're here for you, Twilight!" The green image of Applejack then formed.

"And we'll be here, no matter what!"

A yellow image of Fluttershy came next. "We believe in you!"

Then, between Sunset and Fluttershy, Flash appeared, glowing orange with a giant smile. He then spoke. "When Midnight Sparkle took over, it was when you were using magic completed devoid of any emotion. It was nothing but pure power. But this magic is different. Embrace it and you'll see, it's not like before." He gestured to the rest of them. "And this time, you're not alone. We're all here, waiting and believing in you."

Twilight continued to spin in a circle, seeing the smiling faces of all the friends that surrounded her. And as she did, Sunset yelled out, "You...are not...Midnight Sparkle!" Those words echoed through her mind as Twilight remembered everything she had been through since the Friendship Games. This wasn't like before. She wasn't alone, and she never would be ever again.

"No!" She screamed as her glasses returned to normal. "I...am...Twilight Sparkle!" Cracks began to appear along her wings. "And the magic I carry inside me is...the Magic of Friendship!" When she announced that, her wings exploded and horn vanished, a purple consuming her before exploding out.





Back in the real word, the roots had completely enveloped the dome, all about to crush Flash against it. But before they could, a purple light began to seep out from the gaps, growing brighter by the second. Then, the light exploded, ripping away the roots from the shield, freeing Flash.

He looked up to see a hole in the shield, and a certain someone flying out of it. It was Twilight with her own set of wings, ears and extended ponytail, now flying upward. He could only smile as he watched her, "Go get 'em!" Twilight nodded back before reaching the tower of roots, thrusting her hands out and making the roots glow as well. She then pulled her arms apart, ripping the roots at the same time.

Doing so revealed Gaia Everfree, the girl gasping at the sight. "No!" She cried as she tried to pull the roots back, but Twilight easily stopped her, "STOP! DON'T!"

And as this happened, and as if sensing that they had all accepted the magic they wielded, the geodes glowed, now beginning to fly away from Gaia. They quickly ripped themselves off of her necklace and floated down before splitting apart. Each gem then flew in a different direction, the purple one flying to Twilight while the yellow one flew to Fluttershy. The blue one floated over to Rainbow Dash and the green one went to Applejack. Pinkie got the pink one, Rarity got the white one while Sunset got the red one. The orange one floated over to Flash, the teen staring at it for a moment before reaching out and touching it, the girls doing the same.

As this happened, the eight were consumed by a bright light. One by one, they were all transformed into a new set of clothing. And when Flash's eyes adjusted to the light, he found he was still wearing his armor, only now he was dressed in overalls the same color as his hair, which the armor was on top of. He also wore black boots and black gloves and had a hood that went over his head. His upper arms, between his elbow and shoulder, had his emblem stitched into it. And on the front of his chest armor was where his geode sat. It that transformed into a coin shape, with a blue shield image engraved on the front of it.

He turned to the others and saw that most of them had all changed into new outfits, liking the looks of each. They all had their now coin shaped geodes woven into the fabric of their clothes. The only one still in her camp clothes was Twilight, but she soon grabbed hold of her geode and underwent the metamorphosis. He might have been biased, but he thought her's was the best one of all.

Back on the ground, Timber could finally open his eyes, looking up to see the eight teen all floating up in a line. The light from their geodes that spread around their bodies then exploded straight up into beams of light that mingled together to form a multicolored orb of energy. It floated in place for barely a second, then exploded out in all directions.

From outside the root dome, the light burst out of the gaps, forming new beams of light that shot straight to the sky. After a few seconds, the roots began to transform as well. They crystallized and morphed into a dome of pure white gemstone. But it didn't last long, for cracks began to form from the points the light was shooting out. And from those cracks, more light began to escape until the dome couldn't take it anymore.

KABOOM!

A brilliant explosion of rainbow light filled the air as the crystal dome was disintegrated. And as the light began to fade, Camp Everfree was revealed, the place now looking exactly as it had done before Gaia arrived. She had lost, and the camp and all its inhabitants, had been saved.
> Be the Legend You Were Meant to Be
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Specks  of green light rained down from the sky, the final after-burn of the the battle for Camp Everfree. The camp had been almost completely restored to its original state, though it was again lacking a dock...and needed a severe cleanup of roots and vines. But what was important was that the day had been saved, with those trapped now free from Gaia Everfree's clutches.

The doors of the meal hall opened with Celestia and Luna running out, followed by the rest of the students inside. They all breathed a sigh of relief as they saw everything was back to normal, especially seeing the students that had been trapped now free. Bulk was hugging Trixie and Sandalwood while the Royal Knights ran over to help those that had been trapped in the bulb cages.

Timber Spruce had recovered from his previous retina assault and now saw everyone was okay. And then, he spotted a familiar someone passed out on the ground, the teen quickly running over to his sister. He kneeled down and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Gloriosa?!"

He began to shake her, the girl not responding. But as he did this, one of the green specks of light flew down and landed on her head. It vanished, the woman's face glowing for a second before her eyes began to flicker open. "What..." She lifted her head, "What...happened?"

"It's okay," he replied before pulling Gloriosa into a hug. "It's gonna be okay." Holding her tightly, he then glanced up and saw the ones who had saved her and their home. Flash and the Rainbooms were staring at the camp, smiles on their faces before the magic that made them float began to wear off. They descended to the ground, the eight now seeing their fellow campers cheering for them.

Spike and the Royal Knights ran over to them, Spike leaping into Twilight's arms as the others took in their new looks. "You did it!" It was then that he noticed the geodes embedded into their clothing, the puppy commenting, "Whoa. Nice bling." The others looked down at the source of their new power, Applejack being the first to to ask the obvious.

"What...What are these?"

"I'm not sure," Sunset responded, "But clearly we have some kind of connection to them."

Iron reached out and put his fingers on Flash's, then held his hands up and grunted. The others raised an eyebrow until he stopped. "Just seeing if it could give me some powers."

The others laughed as Flash took it back. "I don't think these things will be giving anyone else any powers." He turned to the others, "Like Sunset said, they're connected to us."

They nodded in agreement, Rarity then chiming in, "I almost don't care what they are. They are gorgeous!" She then gasped as stars appeared in her eyes, "And will totally go with the other collection I was working on for the camp fashion show!" She giggled with excitement before looking around at the others, the group giving her deadpan stares, making her slump over, "That's probably cancelled, isn't it?"

The group turned to the camp, all seeing the mess from the battle, "This is gonna take a lot of cleaning up..." Flash commented as Rainbow let out a sigh.

"Come on!" she fell onto her butt. "We just saved the place! Can't we get a few minutes rest?"

"We helped break it," Applejack replied before moving over to the fallen totem ball. "We help rebuild it." She reached down and used her super strength to push it back up so it was standing upright. Flash chuckled and used his wings to fly above it, and as Applejack held it steady, he used a little of his power to increase his strength and stomped the totem down into the ground.

The others smiled at this and all began to get to work, the rest of the campers following suit. Soon enough, the camp was getting tidier by the moment. All the busted pieces of wood were quickly gathered while others swept the smaller pieces of wood into a pile. And by this time, Gloriosa had recovered and remembered what she had done.

She moved over to Celestia and Luna, showing a giant frown, "I am so sorry. I only wanted this to be the best week Camp Everfree has ever had." Celestia and Luna shared a glance as she continued, "And instead, I've made it the worst." Gloriosa looked away at this, "Maybe it's for the best that I'm losing the camp to Filthy Rich."

"No," Gloriosa turned to Celestia, the woman glaring at her, "It's not." She gestured to the surrounding area. "This camp has meant so much to so many people, my sister and me included."

Luna nodded at this, "Why do you think we wanted our students to come here?"

"We can't let Filthy Rich take this place away!" They turned to the voice, seeing Twilight standing with the rest of her magic wielding friends. "If camp meant so much to you two, maybe it meant as much to the other campers who came here in years past."

Sunset nodded, placing a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "And maybe we can get them to help save it!"

"Oh!" Applejack smiled, putting the giant log she was carrying down. "Like a fundraiser?"

"Or a ball?!" Rarity gasped, dropping the twigs she was carrying to hold her face.

"Our band could play!" Rainbow added as Fluttershy clapped.

"I could help write a new song just for the occasion!"

"Count me in!" Heather chimed in as Iron and First nodded.

"Me too."

"Me third."

"Haha!" Flash cheered, "This is gonna be sweet!" The rest of the campers all gave their own statements of agreement, all wanting to help save the camp that they had had so much fun at.

And as this happened, Gloriosa could only smile at this...only to frown, "Those are all good ideas, but where would we hold it?"

Sunset instantly replied with an idea, "We could hold it in the crystal cave!"

Rarity gasped at hearing this. "A Crystal Ball! I love it!"

"The place is already pretty looking," Flash added, "And with a bit of decoration, it'll be awesome." The others nodded, but Gloriosa grimaced at this.

"I admire everyone's enthusiasm. Really, I do." She then placed her hand on her head. "But I-I-I just don't know how we're going to plan a ball by tomorrow and just invite everyone." However, Flash and the girls all looked down at their geodes. If these gave them the power to build a dock and defeat a power mad nature spirit, they could do anything with them.

They all smiled at her before stating the same thing in unison. "WE GOT THIS!" Flash and the Rainbooms all turned to one another and placed their hands together, promising that they would make this ball work before getting to work.

It started with the rest of the students continuing to clean up the camp, Timber now showing Twilight a list of all their alumni from the last twenty-five years. Since they were on a time crunch, they excluded anyone who couldn't possibly make it to the ball by tomorrow night. And while that got rid of a lot of them, there were still more than enough in the local area they could invite. So, with her telekinesis, she began creating invites and placing them in envelopes ten at a time.

As that was going on, the others began working on cleaning up the crystal cave. Flash and Applejack's super strength came in handy, allowing them to pick up the bigger rocks blocking the cave. Iron, Bulk and a guy named Valhallen stared at them in amazement before looking down at the much smaller boulders they were struggling to pick up. Iron huffed at this and just threw his rock behind him.

Once the entrance was clear, they began clearing out the sharp and loose rocks that were either naturally formed or created because of Flash and Gaia's match. As that was happening, Fluttershy began working on a new song while Rarity started making dress clothes for everyone who didn't have one.

Meanwhile, Flash and Rainbow headed out to deliver the invitations. While not able to move as fast as her, Flash was still able to keep up as they entered the town and started shoving the letters in mailboxes. Flash even had the idea to put up a few posters, in case other people wanted to come and show their support for Camp Everfree. Once they were done, the sun was now beginning to set and they raced back to camp. Rainbow won of course, and headed off to go practice the song Fluttershy had written.

While this happened, Flash strode around the place, now seeing everything was now back to normal. The only thing it was missing was a dock, but other than that, it was perfect. He then spotted Gloriosa, standing at the edge of the lake and looking out at the forest and water, only to see Timber walking up to her and hugging her. Despite what Flash thought of him, it was clear Timber did care for his sister.

The next day, everyone began decorating the crystal cave. Fluttershy's animal friends were a big help in tidying up and flying the decorations up to hang from the ceiling spikes. Sunset directed everyone on where to set up the food, music, dance floor and anything else that might be needed, while Pinkie got to work making the food needed to make this the best crystal ball ever. Rarity then used her magic to create a crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling, which Flash hit with a bolt of energy. The two magics united, causing the chandelier to light up, but also the excess energy flew out and started charging up the rest of the crystals in the cave. The students inside were mesmerized by the sight, Flash blushing at the unintended beauty he had made.

But then he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to Twilight, the two smiling at one another before getting back to work. Eventually, everything was ready minus a few finishing touches. And since they had done about eighty percent of the work, the rest of the campers told Flash and the Rainbooms to enjoy the rest of the day while they finished up.

Not wanting to argue, the Rainbooms agreed and decided to spend the day doing several fun activities. This included fishing on the lake, a nature hike and simply laying on the grass, watching the clouds up above them. Eventually, it neared the time for the Crystal Ball, and they headed back to camp and got changed. Flash had to admit, his suit was pretty good, and when he saw the girls and the rest of his classmates in their attires, he couldn't deny that Rarity had outdone herself.

And as the sun began to set, multiple people began to arrive. People like Canter Zoom, a famous film director, arrived and was more the happy to help the camp he loved so much. And he wasn't the only one. Many people who once went to Camp Everfree arrived, each of them happy to help. It was here that the last of the invited guests arrived, the Rainbooms jumping onto a makeshift stage and began playing their many songs. Hours passed, with the camp alumni meeting the other former campers and trading stories about their time at Everfree. Every now and then, the girls would take the break, the Royal Knights there to fill in for them, and their songs were just as well received.

But eventually, the time came for the Rainboom's final song of the night, the one Fluttershy had written and they had all practiced in secret. And as they stepped on stage, Flash moved to the front of the cave near the entrance and smiled as he watched Twilight lead them as they started singing. All the fear, all the panic was completely gone. All that was left was joy, confidence and calm.


(Twilight Sparkle)
I used to think that stories were just that
Set in stone, concrete as a fact
It didn't dawn on me
That I could change history

(Sunset Shimmer)
Now I know I'm writing my own song
Fight my way to the ending that I want
I'll turn a tragedy

(Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle)
Into an epic fantasy

(The Rainbooms)
Hey, hey, hey
You can be a hero (hero) too
Oh-oh-oh
Take my hand, I'm here for you

Come away with me
Be the legend you were meant to be
You'll always be...Everfree

Oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah
To be the legend you were meant to be
Oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah
To be the legend you were meant to be

(Fluttershy)
There was a time when fear would hold me down
'Cause I let it chain me to the ground

(Rainbow Dash)
Look at me now, I'm soaring high
It's never boring in the sky

(Applejack)
When ah know ah've got friends on mah side
Whatever trials, y'all take them all in stride

(Rarity)
Together we will shine so bright
A radiant brilliance in the night

(The Rainbooms)
Hey, hey, hey
You can be a hero (hero) too
Oh-oh-oh
Take my hand, I'm here for you


Flash watched as almost everyone in the cave danced, either by themselves or with a partner. Timber and Gloriosa were dancing side by side, Heather and First too. Iron was like him, leaning against a wall but also bopping his head. It was clear everyone was having a great time.

If this didn't save Camp Everfree...nothing would.


Come away with me
Be the legend you were meant to be
You'll always be...Everfree

Oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah
To be the legend you were meant to be
Oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah, ah-oh, oo-wah
To be the legend you were meant to be!


And as the song came to an end, Gloriosa got up onto the stage and accepted a microphone from the girls. "Thank you all so much for coming!" She told everyone in the cave, who all cheered back. "And for helping us raise enough money to..." She waited a moment, making everyone hold their breaths until she exclaimed, "Save Camp Everfree!" The crowd cheered once again, ecstatic that they could save the camp that they loved so much.

The only one not happy was Filthy Rich, who let out a huff and stomped out the cave. Flash chuckled at the sight before turning back to see Gloriosa say something to the Rainbooms. "Thank you," she told the girls, "For everything." She let out a long sigh, "If I'd just asked for help in the first place..."

"Hey," Rainbow interrupted her, "Don't sweat it. It's kinda what we do."

They all nodded as Gloriosa gave them a giant smile, "Either way, thank you. All of you." She glanced around, "I should probably thank Flash as well. Where is he?" The girls stared at the cave, Twilight knowing she had seen him near the entrance, but they couldn't find him.

But as the girls got off stage, the light from the crystals around the room began to dim. It appeared the power Flash had given them was starting to die down. Twilight agreed to help put up some more lights, using her magic to lift them up and wrap them around the spikes in the roof. And when she reached the entryway to do the same thing, she saw Flash leaning against a tree outside, staring up at the stars.

She reflexively started to walk toward him, only to hesitate. Memories of the past few days now going through her head, she looked away, a big frown on her face. That is, till Timber's voice called out to her, "Not to brag or anything," She turned to see him walking up, "But it's pretty cool how I saved all those campers from those Rubus fruticosus." She didn't reply, now seeing a huge grin on Timber's face as he continued, "Blackberry brambles."

"I'm familiar with the genus," she replied, only to glance back at Flash. She saw he was now staring at them, a long frown on his face...only to slowly morph to a small forced smile. The sight made Twilight go wide-eyed, only for a hand to grab her shoulder.

"Hey." She spun around at this, "You okay?"

"I'm...not sure," she muttered out, looking away again. Timber followed her eyesight, now seeing Flash as he began to walk away. He glanced back at Twilight, now remembering what Flash had told him the other night. He saw the look on Twilight's face, also remembering Twilight going out of her way to defend him after the terrifying encounter that other night. He then saw her look away, taking this chance to clench his face up, trying to hide the giant frown on his face.

And as he fixed his face, he slowly said, "Twilight," she glanced back at him, "It's okay."

"Huh?" She barely responded.

"If uh..." His eyes darted away for a second, "If you want to be with him, then do it. I promise I won't be mad."

"Timber..." Twilight gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, "Are...are you sure? Yesterday you-"

"I admit I might have been a little too harsh on him before, but...he did save my life, helped free my sister and stopped our camp from being closed down. I guess he can't be all bad." Twilight slightly smiled at this as she saw an uncomfortable frown on his face as he continued, "Besides...it doesn't mean we can't still be friends. Maybe you, me, Flash and whoever else you wanna invite can hang out. We could all go to the amusement park...or see a movie."

"Um...yeah," Twilight replied with a small nod, "I'd really like that." The two smiled at one another, but then Twilight looked away almost instantly. She let out a whisper, "Thank you."

With that, she ran off into a sprint, making Timber sigh at the sight. That is, till Gloriosa walked up to him and said, "That was a very mature thing you just did."

"Yup," Timber smirked as he crossed his arms, "Mr. Mature right here." Gloriosa giggled. "I told Flash I probably wouldn't be able to give someone up, even if it would make them happier to be with someone else. Glad to know I actually can do that. Guess that puts us on equal moral ground." Now Gloriosa rolled her eyes. "Besides, they're young. Everyone knows high school romances never last. When the inevitable happens, I'll be right there to help her through the break-up. And a few weeks later, the two of us can finally get together and live happily ever after."

"Sure you will," Gloriosa groaned, "Now come on. There are some donors I really want you to meet. They were good friends with Mom and Dad." Timber nodded and let her pull him away, turning to give one final look at Twilight as she reached Flash.

The teen was fiddling with the geode that now hung from his neck, having transformed into a necklace when he reverted back from his superhero persona. Twilight found herself coming to a stop behind him, not moving as she saw him staring out into the distance. She felt her heart now racing, taking a deep breath as her brain began to go over scenario after scenario to get his attention.

That is, till she took another step and accidently tripped over a root. "Aah!" She yelped as she began to fall, staggering around before grabbing a nearby tree. The sound made Flash turn back to her, now seeing the blushing girl as she mumbled out, "Oh uh...hey."

"Hey," Flash replied as he saw get her balance back. Seeing this, he looked away, "I figured...you and Timber would be hanging out the rest of the night."

Those words made Twilight's blush go away, now showing a small smile as she walked up him. "Timber's fun, but I'd rather spend some time with my best friend."

"Best friend..." Flash repeated, still looking away, "Right."

Twilight's mentally smacked herself for her words, taking a deep breath as she responded, "Sorry. I don't...mean it like that. You are my best friend. But...maybe...it could...we could...I uh...um..." Flash turned to her at this, now seeing her stumble on her words. That is, till she started scratching the sides of her head, "Oh...why can't there be a book on this kind of thing?!"

"Twilight? You okay?" Flash asked.

"No!" Twilight barked back, making Flash slightly flinch. This made Twilight flinch as well, her blush returning as she said, "I mean...sorry. I didn't mean it that way, I just...um...want to be...with you."

Flash slowly raised an eyebrow at this, "What...are you talking about?"

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, only to sigh, her mind telling she should have known Flash would be slow on something like this, just like her. She took another deep breath, her face growing even redder as she mumbled out, "Flash...I don't want us to be just best friends." Flash blinked at her, his mind slowly turning gears as those words repeated in his head. And then, he began to blush as she continued, "I admit...I've been a little confused about how I feel about you since I heard you talk to Timber. But...you've always been there for me." She looked back up at him, now staring in his eyes, "You've protected me. Helped me when I'm down, and always know how to make me laugh. I just..." She glanced away at this, "I just wish I'd seen it sooner."

Flash's blush slightly went away as he replied, "Twilight...I didn't do any of that because I wanted to be with you." He looked away while scratching the back of his head, "I just...wanted you to be happy."

Twilight saw his expression, a big smile now forming on her face, "That just gives me more reason to pick you." She glanced back at the cave. "Timber and I have a lot in common, and we'd probably be really good friends and maybe more in another universe." She turned back to him, her smile now brightening up Flash's heart. "But it wasn't Timber that helped me throughout my life. It wasn't Timber that leapt into a portal to save me from myself, and it wasn't Timber who helped me find the courage to embrace the magic within me."

But as she said these words, Flash's brain was still slowly moving, making him just now ask, "You really...wanna be with me?"

Twilight did a slow nod, "I wanna try." She hesitated for a slight second, taking a breath as she knew this next part was something she had to word absolutely perfectly. "I...I don't know if what I feel for you is romantic love, but I do love you. And I wanna see what happens if we take our relationship to the next level."

Flash found himself fully blushing now, his mouth moving on its own, "I wanna see what happens too."

Twilight nodded again, only for her smile to vanish, "Just promise me something." Flash raised an eyebrow. "If...if our relationship doesn't work out that way, promise me that it won't ruin our friendship. Promise me that we can go back to how things were before now, and still be a part of each other's lives, even if it's just as friends."

Flash nodded back, "I promise. Nothing will ever stop us being friends." Twilight shined her smile again before walking up and hugging him, Flash embracing her back. The two held one another for several moments, basking in the warmth that they felt with one another. And as they did, several pairs of eyes were now watching.

"Ooooh," Heather squealed as she, First, Iron and Sunset all watched from the mouth of the cave. "It's happening!"

"Ha!" Iron laughed, "I can't believe he pulled it off."

Heather clapped her hands as the two pulled away. "Now come on...kiss!"

"I do not think it is that simple," First chimed in, "They just realised they like each other. It may take time before they are ready to move on to that stage of their relationship." Heather growled at this, only to hiss as she saw the two look away from one another.

"No!" she moaned before glaring at First, "You jinxed it!" First rolled his eyes while Sunset just giggled.

"So what now?" Twilight asked, "How do we do this whole...couple thing?"

Flash replied with a shrug, "We've still got a few days of camp left. We could spend some of it alone together. Then, when we get back home, we could go on a real date."

Twilight smiled and nodded one last time, "I like the sound of that." She grabbed hold of his hand and held it tight, then pulled him toward the cave. "Come on. Let's get back with the others."

"Actually," Flash smirked as he pulled his hand free, "There was something I was thinking of trying out before heading inside."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, now seeing him backpedal before looking up at the sky, then slapping his hands together before pulling them apart. The lightning surged between them before he thrust his hands into the air. The energy shot into the sky and eventually exploded, unleashing a surge of lights and cracks that gave them the appearance of fireworks. Twilight gasped at this, everyone inside and around the cave now running out to stare up at the light show.

Flash fired another blast, creating more and more fireworks. Though since his blasts were the same color, he risked boring the crowd, though luckily Pinkie and Applejack were on hand to help. Pinkie pulled out a cupcake and charged it up before handing it to Applejack, who used her super strength to throw it a good fifty feet in the air before it went off.

This coupled with Flash's explosions put on quite the show for the people watching. They all thought the Rainboom's song had been the perfect ending, but this was even better. Twilight watched the display and turned back to Flash, seeing the smile on his face as he saw everyone's mesmerized expression. That smile, created by making others happy, made Twilight's chest swell, knowing she had made the right choice.

The show went on for about a half an hour, with Flash getting exhausted while Pinkie ran out of cupcakes. "That was so fun," Pinkie said as they headed back into the cave so Flash could get something to eat and drink to replenish his energy.

"That was pretty cool," Sunset added.

"You know what else is cool?" Rainbow asked, then spoke up before anyone could try to answer. "Our awesome new superpowers!" She then zipped all over the cave, stopping between two groups of campers. "I handed out like, four hundred fliers!" she zipped over to the stage. "Set up the stage," she zoomed over to them, now holding a delicious smelling box. "And still had time to pick up pizza! I love my super-speed!"

The others all laughed, Sunset now staring at her geode, "About that...I think the crystals are the source of the superpowers."

"You're not gonna ask us to give them up, are you?" Fluttershy asked with a whimper, about to produce puppy dog eyes.

"No," Sunset replied, "In fact, I think maybe we were meant to have them all along."

"Me too," Twilight added while the others all gave their own cries of agreement.

"There's one thing I know for sure," Flash grabbed his. "These geodes might give us similar powers to our pony selves, but we're gonna use them in our own way. Because it's possible more Equestrian magic could show up..."

Sunset nodded in agreement, "And when it does, we'll be ready." They all nodded back, now knowing their destiny to protect their world from Equestrian magic. Even if they didn't want it to be, they were the only ones that could control the magic and not be consumed by it. So they would do whatever it took to stop any other type of magic from causing mayhem.

The hours passed and as more people began to leave the camp and head home, Twilight picked up and drink and looked over at Flash. He was talking to the Royal Knights, all having a fun conversation. Not wanting to ruin it, she chose to head over to the entrance where Sunset was leaning against one of the decorated boulders. As she reached her and drank her soda, Sunset's face became a frown. "There is one thing I'm still wondering about, though."

"What's that?" Twilight asked before Sunset stared up at the sky.

"Where did the magic that hit this cave come from?" Twilight looked up at the starry sky as well, unable to answer her question.





Canterlot High School...

Everything was calm in the city, as the currently deserted school appeared peaceful and serene. But despite this, the damage caused during the Friendship Games had yet to be fully repaired. The Wondercolts Statue, which had been completely destroyed during Midnight Sparkle's rampage, and was still missing. Mainly due to the fact that stone horses were expensive and near impossible for a public school to get more than once.

And so, the pedestal that also acted as the gateway to Equestria was left with nothing atop it. On the top of the pedestal, right where the horse statue once stood, a large crack ran down the stone. And from beneath this crack, a bright light seeped through into the human world. This was followed by another light of a different color, then another and another and another.

Eventually, the lights shot out of the crack and morphed into shining balls of energy that flew in multiple different directions. Equestrian Magic was once again free, now looking for something or someone it could empower. But would those people use the magic for good like the Rainbooms, or to fulfil their own selfish desires?





The next day...

Flash and the Rainbooms sighed in relief at the sight of the now completed dock, glad they had gotten it finished before leaving camp. "Third time's a charm," Rainbow sighed, "Or is it fifth? I've lost track."

Rarity smiled as she crossed her arms. "All that matters is that the runway is finished."

Applejack rolled her eyes, crossing her own arms. "Ah think yah mean...the dock?"

"Oh," Rarity waved her off, "To-mah-to, tomato." The others nodded as Pinkie pulled out a bunch of confetti and marshmallows.

"LET'S CELEBRATE!" She screamed before throwing the party stuff into the air. Flash chuckled at this, only to grimace as he saw the marshmallows now glowing as they landed on the dock.

"Oh no," was all he could say before-

KABOOM!

An explosion of pink filled the air and hit them in the face, the cloud soon fading to reveal a destroyed dock and several very distraught teenagers with windswept hair. Rarity broke the silence, letting out a cry of horror as she held out her hands. She then fell back, fainting while Flash let out a sigh.

"I'll go get the wood," he groaned as he walked off. Their time at camp had certainly been one none of them would ever forget, for more reasons than one. But where would life lead them from this point? Only time would tell.