Campfire After Dark

The campers got to work right away. Both Celestia and Luna were keeping a close eye on safety, making sure no one misused any of the tools. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had pulled off the rotten boards and were hammering new ones onto the supports.

This was just the kind of project Applejack loved best. She looked over at Rainbow Dash. “Nice hammer,” she said. “Where’d you get it?”

“Duh,” answered Rainbow Dash. “The toolbox.”

Applejack grinned and held up her hammer proudly. “That’s cool. I made mine!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

Fluttershy and Rarity were painting the little boxes that would hold fish and bird food.

With a happy flourish, Rarity put a last dab of paint on hers. “Voilà! Poisson!” she said in French, pointing at the decorated fish she had designed. It wasn’t exactly designing couture, but it was still fun.

Pinkie Pie was supervising teams of campers carrying long planks over to the docks. She was skipping back and forth, shouting encouragement. “Come on! We can do this!”

Sunset Shimmer was panting, trying to keep up with her. “I wish I had some of your energy, Pinkie.”

“I know!” squealed Pinkie delightedly. “Wouldn’t that be amazing? If I could just touch you and you’d be all GO, GO, GO like meeeee!” She galloped forward.

Sunset Shimmer stopped to catch her breath. “I take that back. One Pinkie Pie’s more than enough.”

Twilight was sitting at a picnic table, putting together a lantern. Timber was offering her tips on how to keep it lit.

“Making lanterns out of solar-powered garden lights? Pretty crafty, there, Timber,” complimented Twilight Sparkle.

“You think that’s crafty?” Timber joked. “You should see my macaroni art. I’m like the Picasso of noodles.”

Twilight laughed delightedly. In addition to being smart, Timber was so funny.

“Hey, everyone,” announced Celestia. “You’ve 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 Daisy joined her. “Everyone get cleaned up, and we’ll gather by the fire pit at eight to share s’mores and scary stories.”

“S’mores!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. Was there anything better than chocolate and marshmallows? This was what she’d been waiting for.

By the time everyone had gathered together again around the fire pit, the stars were twinkling in the sky. The moon was reflected in the glassy surface of the lake. The flames of the fire sent sparks into the darkness.

Pinkie Pie had a stack of s’mores and was toasting another marshmallow while she listened to Rarity finish up a ghost story. Only Rarity’s tale of terror wasn’t very terrifying.

“And that’s when she looked down and realized she was wearing purple socks with a burgundy dress!” concluded Rarity. She looked from camper to camper expectantly. Why wasn’t anyone screaming? It was a horrifying story—to her, anyway.

“Purple and burgundy are in the same color family,” she explained.

Still, no one said a word. Snips and Snails clapped politely, but they had no idea what she was talking about.

Applejack stifled a giggle. “That was a terrifying story.”

“Yeah,” teased Rainbow Dash. “I’m terrified she’ll try to tell it again.”

Vice Principal Luna invited the other campers to tell stories but no one jumped in—until Timber spoke up. “I have one,” he said. “But I’m warning you, you might as well hug a friend now. That’s how scary it is.”

Fluttershy trembled. “Oh dear.” She pulled Spike onto her lap and held him tightly.

Timber cleared his throat and waited until all eyes were on him. “It’s time,” began Timer Spruce, his voice deep and hushed, “to tell you about the Legend of Everfree.”

The fire crackled. An owl hooted. The campers listened, goose bumps prickling their arms.