Sunny with Scattered Clouds

The Canterlot High students poured off the bus. They unloaded all their bags and suitcases under the direction of Principal Celestia. The sun glimmered on the lake. Birds were singing. The woods didn’t feel scary anymore at all.

Fluttershy felt like she was in heaven. “Isn’t Camp Everfree just beautiful?” she enthused. “I can’t wait until we have our first nature walk.”

Spike wagged his tail. “I definitely wanna go on one of those.”

“You want to see all the adorable woodland creatures, too?” she asked him sweetly.

“Yes!” yipped Spike. “Specifically squirrels. More specifically, so I can chase them.”

Applejack exhaled happily. “I’m just lookin’ forward to roughin’ it. I’m gonna make my own shelter, forage for food…”

“You know they provide us with meals and tents, right?” Rainbow Dash laughed.

“Yep,” Applejack answered. “Still gonna forage, though.”

Rarity was looking forward to sunbathing. “I’m just after some R and R.” She sighed. “The past year has all been a little too much for my tastes.”

“I’ll say,” Pinkie Pie agreed. “We fought three evil sirens who tried to hypnotize everybody with their singing, one ridiculously competitive rival school, and two demon fiends!”

Oops! Pinkie Pie slapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say that about Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle. “No offense,” she added.

“None taken,” said Sunset Shimmer.

But Twilight Sparkle looked upset.

“You’ll get used to it,” Sunset Shimmer whispered to her.

Applejack stepped in. “Canterlot High has become a regular magic magnet. Gonna be nice gettin’ to a place where we don’t have to worry about that kind of stuff.”

“You said it!” Spike barked. “We definitely aren’t going to have to worry about anything strange happening here.”

The Equestria Girls all looked at the dog. The talking dog.

Spike shrugged. “I mean besides the whole I can talk even though I’m a dog thing.”

The handsome Flash Sentry headed over to the cluster of girls, a backpack on each shoulder.

“Here you go, Twilight,” he said shyly.

Twilight smiled. “Thanks. It’s Flash, right?”

Flash’s face fell. “Yup,” he said, trying to hide his disappointment. “That’s me. And you’re you. And we don’t know each other very well.” He stepped back, embarrassed. “Good story,” he muttered to himself.

Twilight was confused. Why was he so upset? What had she done? “Right. I guess I’ll see you around.”

Sunset Shimmer pulled her aside. “You know how there’s that girl who looks just like you when she’s here but lives in another dimension where she’s a pony princess?”

Twilight nodded, listening.

“Flash kind of had a thing for her,” Sunset Shimmer explained.

“Oh!” Twilight’s eyes widened.

The PA system was crackling. “Hey, everyone,” called out a soft, relaxed voice. “If you could start heading to the courtyard, that would be rad. It’s time to start the best week of camp ever!”

Tents and the mess hall surrounded the main courtyard. There were picnic tables on the lawn, a gazebo, a sundial, and a totem pole. A bell rang and the campers headed over to the gazebo, where a young woman was standing on a platform.

Gloriosa Daisy looked cheerful and down-to-earth. With a clipboard in her hands, she also looked very organized. “Hi, everyone!” she said. It was her voice that had come over the PA. “Welcome to Camp Everfree. I’m Gloriosa Daisy, your camp director. Think of me as your friendly camp and nature guide! And this is my brother, Timber Spruce!”

A cute goofball of a teenage boy stepped up to join Gloriosa. He waved at the campers. “Think of me as that awesome guy who should always be invited to fun things.”

Gloriosa smiled. “We aim to please, so before we hand out your tent assignments, we’d like to hear from all of you. You’re free to do whatever you like here—”

“Except hike near the rock quarry,” interrupted Timber Spruce. “That’s off limits.”

“Yes,” agreed Gloriosa, her smile a little less genuine. “But otherwise your options are wide open. So what activities will make this the very best week of your lives?”

Rainbow Dash’s hand shot up. “Rock climbing,” she announced.

“Done!” exclaimed Gloriosa.

Rainbow Dash’s hand shot up again. She didn’t wait to be called on. “Archery!”

Gloriosa nodded, her smile still on her face. “Of course.”

“Tetherball!” added Rainbow Dash.

“Naturally!” said Gloriosa, but the other girls could tell that she was a little bit irritated.

When Rainbow Dash raised her hand again, Sunset Shimmer gently pulled it down. “I know you’re excited,” she whispered. “But maybe give somebody else a chance to make a suggestion.”

Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash lowered her hand.

Gloriosa called on Bulk Biceps. “Arts and crafts!” he said enthusiastically. “My mom needs some new pot holders.”

“I’ll supply the looms,” Gloriosa promised. She pointed at Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie was jumping up and down. “Cookie decorating!”

Gloriosa laughed. “I do make a mean sugar cookie.”

Fluttershy was called on next. “Early-morning nature walks,” she suggested quietly.

Gloriosa looked pleased. “With walking sticks for everyone.”

“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,” blurted out Rarity.

Uh-oh, thought each of the girls. Was Rarity going to be disappointed?

She wasn’t. Gloriosa was beaming. “A camp tradition,” she explained, to Rarity’s delight.

Timber Spruce scratched his head, confused. “We have literally never done that.”

“Best week of camp ever, remember?” hissed his sister under her breath. Her cheerful smile never left her face. She looked out over the campers. “I’ll be taking requests the rest of the time you’re here, so if there is anything you’d like to do, anything you need, just ask. I’ve got this!”

Principal Celestia, who was standing at the back of the crowd of her students, raised her hand. “What about the camp gift? That was my favorite Camp Everfree tradition.”

“The camp gift!” Gloriosa clapped her hands. “Of course!”

Timber Spruce was even more confused. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” whispered Gloriosa through clenched teeth.

“I just thought—”

Gloriosa glared at him, and he stopped midsentence. “Then you were wrong.”

Sunset Shimmer had been noticing the brother and sister’s whispered exchanges. “Anyone else picking up on a little tension between Gloriosa and her brother?”

The girls shrugged. Not really. They were too excited for all of the activities that were about to begin.

Gloriosa was finishing up her introduction. “Here at Camp Everfree, our motto has always been ‘Leave the world a little better than you found it.’ 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 glared for a moment at her brother, Timber Spruce. “Which is why it is so important. This gazebo was a gift from last year’s group. And the totem pole and the sundial were also made by campers.”

“The sundial was our year’s gift,” Principal Celestia explained to her students.

“Even though some people thought it was a little impractical, since a sundial can’t be used at night,” added Vice Principal Luna, her lips pursed.

“That may be true,” Principal Celestia said curtly. “But if some people had a better attitude about it, they wouldn’t have been sent to the Moonstone tent.”

“Luckily, some people were eventually forgiven for their rash behavior.”

The girls listened, wide-eyed, as their teachers sparred. It was easy to forget that they had once been campers just like them.

Gloriosa Daisy cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “You all seem like a really amazing group, so I’m certain you’ll come up with something inspiring to leave behind.”

The campers cheered.

“Yeah, we will!” hollered Rainbow Dash.

“Darn tootin’!” Applejack shouted.

“We certainly will,” agreed Fluttershy.

“Speaking of leaving things behind,” added Timber Spruce, “now’s the time when we give out tent assignments, so you can leave your heavy bags… behind.”

Gloriosa glared at him.

“What?” Timber Spruce protested. “That’s one of my better segues.”

“Girls will be getting their assignments from Timber,” Gloriosa continued. “Guys, you’re with me.”

Everyone shuffled over to get his or her cards. Each card had a matching gem on it. Each gem color was a special tent.

“Yay!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I’m in the Emerald tent!”

“Me too!” Rarity smiled.

“Same here!” Rainbow Dash fist-bumped Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

Fluttershy looked a little disappointed when she held up her Amethyst card. None of the other girls were in her tent. She gulped. But at least DJ Pon-3 would be with her. She was always friendly—and she was sure to play great music. DJ Pon-3 gave her the thumbs-up and Fluttershy smiled.

Sunset Shimmer was in the Sapphire tent. Twilight held up a blue card.

“Me too!” she exclaimed, delighted. “I mean, I’m assuming I am. Technically, sapphires aren’t just blue. They can be pink, purple, yellow—”

“But they’re mostly blue,” interrupted Timber, who overheard her. “That’s why they’re named after the Latin word saphirus. That means blue.”

Twilight Sparkle looked at him in amazement. It wasn’t often that she met someone who was as smart as she was. “I know,” she said playfully. “But did you know that sapphires are just rubies without chromium?”

Timber Spruce smiled, impressed. “No, but did you know that Sapphire tent is the best one?”

“No,” Twilight Sparkle answered. “Why is that?”

“Because you’re in it.”

Twilight Sparkle blushed. “I bet you say that to all the campers.”

Timber Spruce shook his head, laughing. “Not true.”

Bulk Biceps was holding up a red card, looking confused. Timber Spruce went over to him. “You’re in the Ruby tent? That’s the worst one!” He winked at Twilight.

“Aww man!” Bulk Biceps sighed.

“I’m just joking, buddy,” said Timber Spruce. “Ruby tent is great. It’s like the Sapphire tent with chromium.”

Twilight Sparkle laughed. Timber Spruce was so clever.

Timber Spruce draped an arm over Bulk Biceps’s muscled shoulder. “The Ruby and Coral tents do look an awful lot alike to the undiscerning eye. I’d better show you where it is.”

He glanced back at Twilight. “See you around.”

Twilight watched him as he headed toward the tents. A second later, she realized that all her friends were grinning at her.

“What?”

Applejack giggled. “Nothing.”

“That was ah-dorable,” gushed Rarity.

Gloriosa was hurrying everyone to his or her tent to unpack. “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!”

“I need something.” A hulking businessman with bad hair stepped out from behind the gazebo.

Gloriosa rushed over to him, smiling. “Filthy Rich! So nice to see you!” She hastily pulled him away from the campers.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed when they were out of earshot. “Camp is just getting started.”

Filthy Rich grinned, pleased with himself. “Just taking in the scenery, Gloriosa Daisy. It’s so relaxing.”

“Well,” spat out Gloriosa, “you can look around when camp is over. Now, if you don’t mind…” She practically pushed him into his waiting limousine.

Filthy Rich got in angrily. “Fine,” he sneered.

Gloriosa realized that some of the campers were watching her. She plastered a smile back into her voice. “Filthy Rich is an alumnus of the camp. He likes to check on his old stomping grounds every now and then,” she explained. “But enough about him! Find your tents and put away your things! We’ve got the best week of camp ever to begin!”

She clapped her hands, and the last campers headed to their tents. Only after everyone was gone did she stop smiling.

Gloriosa Daisy was not happy. She was not happy at all.