A Crystal Ball

There was a lot to clean up. But everybody was ready to help—especially Gloriosa. She was devastated with what she’d done. “I am so sorry,” she apologized to everyone. “I only wanted this to be the best week Camp Everfree has ever had, and instead I’ve made it the worst.” She hung her head. “Maybe it’s for the best that I’m losing the camp to Filthy Rich.”

“No, it’s not,” said Principal Celestia. “This camp has meant so much to so many people. My sister and me included.”

“Why do you think we wanted our students to come here?” Vice Principal Luna added.

“It’s an absolute tragedy that future generations won’t get to experience it,” said Celestia.

Twilight heard what they were saying—but she couldn’t accept it. “No!” she blurted out. “We can’t let Filthy Rich take this place away!”

Everyone looked to Twilight.

She took a big breath. “If camp meant so much to you two, maybe it meant as much to the other campers who came here in years past.”

Sunset Shimmer’s eyes lit up. She got it. “And maybe we can get them to help save it!”

“Like a fund-raiser or a benefit?” asked Applejack.

“Or a ball!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Our band could play,” suggested Rainbow Dash.

“I could write a song just for the occasion,” said Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie started jumping up and down. “I could make cupcakes with sprinkles! Just regular sprinkles, not the exploding kind.”

Gloriosa couldn’t believe it. “Those are all good ideas, but where would we hold it? The mess hall isn’t big enough!”

Sunset Shimmer grinned. She had just the solution. “We could hold it in the Crystal Cave!”

“A Crystal Ball?” punned Rarity with a grin. “I love it!”

Still, Gloriosa wasn’t sure. “I admire everyone’s enthusiasm. Really, I do. But I just don’t know how we’re going to plan a ball by tomorrow and invite everyone.”

The girls glanced at one another, smiling. “We got this!”

And they did. It was just going to take a little extra Friendship Magic.

“I used to think that stories were just that.

Set in stone, concrete as a fact.

It didn’t come to that I could change history.

Now I know I write my own,

Fight my way to the ending that I want.

I’ll turn a tragedy to an epic fantasy!

Hey, hey, hey.

You can be a hero, too.

Take my hand; I’m here for you!

Come, come away with me.

Be the legend you were meant to be!

You are and always will be Everfree!

There was a time when fear held me down.

I let it chain me to the ground.

But now I’m soaring. Life is never boring!

I’m as awesome as I wanna be.

But I’m more than I believed.

Faster than lightning and more exciting,

We’ll be a sight you can’t miss,

Just trust in us ’cause we got this!

We’re always sure to win. If we harness the power that’s within.”

Back in the mess hall, Pinkie Pie was dancing from here to there getting campers to help her with the baking and snack-making. She couldn’t resist charging up a few sprinkles with magic and having them explode like fireworks. They were so pretty, and they rained down on the cupcakes, decorating them perfectly. Everyone clapped. Pinkie Pie took a bow.

They each had their special talents, and they were learning how to use them. Sunset had empathy—she understood what people were thinking and feeling. Fluttershy could connect with the animals and talk to them. Rainbow Dash was like a superhero. She had speed! Rarity was a force of protection, and Applejack was mighty! Twilight could move anything with her mind, and Pinkie Pie was Pinkie Pie! She was explosive! Together they made a team.

Soon the stars were out and the moon had risen. Lots of people had heard about the Crystal Ball. They began arriving in their ball gowns and tuxedos. Everything looked so magical. Just outside the cave was a donation box (that looked a lot like one of the fish-food boxes from the dock).

A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling of the cave, lighting up the crystal and the gems and the pillars. At the back of the cave was a stage. The Sonic Rainbooms were tuning up their instruments and getting ready to play.

Rarity thrummed her keytar. Fluttershy shook her tambourine. Applejack let loose with some power chords from her bass. They were ready to rock!

“Come, come away with me.

Be the legend you’re meant to be!

You are and always will be Everfree!”

The audience clapped wildly. More people dropped donations into the box. Gloriosa took the stage. “Thank you all so much for coming. And for helping us raise enough money to save Camp Everfree!”

There were cheers and more clapping. No one noticed when a scowling Filthy Rich turned on his heels and slunk out of the cave.

Gloriosa looked with gratitude at the Sonic Rainbooms. “Thank you. For everything. If I’d just asked for help in the first place—”

“Don’t sweat it,” interrupted Rainbow Dash cheerfully. “It’s kind of what we do.”

Later on in the evening, DJ Pon-3 spun some discs and people danced the night away. Twilight used her magic to restring some twinkly lights that had fallen. Timber came up beside her.

“Not to brag or anything,” he said, “but it’s pretty cool how I saved all the campers from those Rubus fruticosus.” He noticed Twilight’s blank expression. “Blackberry brambles.”

Twilight smiled. “I’m familiar with the genus. It’s just a little weird you’d say you saved the campers. I thought I saved them.”

“Yeah,” said Timber playfully. “But I saved you from falling on the dock so that you could save the campers. So, technically, it was all me.”

Twilight burst out laughing. “I’m really glad I met you.”

“Uh-oh.” Timber sighed.

“What?”

“That sounds like a good-bye, and here I was hoping we’d still be able to hang out. Maybe get dinner and catch a movie?”

Twilight’s face lit up. “Yeah. I’d really like that.”

“Oh good,” said Timber. “I was hoping that’s what this meant.” He pointed to the string of lights—they were all floating in the air! Twilight blushed.

“This is awesome!” Timber reassured her.

“It kinda is, isn’t it?” admitted Twilight.

Gloriosa interrupted them. “Oh, uh, sorry. I need to borrow Timber. There are some donors I really want him to meet. They were good friends with Mom and Dad,” she explained to Twilight.

“Save me a dance, okay?” asked Timber.

Twilight nodded happily.

“Adorable!” gushed Rarity, who’d seen everything.

“He does seem like a pretty cool guy,” Sunset Shimmer said.

“Know what else is cool?” Everyone looked at Rainbow Dash. “Our awesome new superpowers. I handed out, like, four hundred fliers, set up the stage, got all our instruments, and still had time to pick up a pizza. I love my super speed!”

Sunset Shimmer nodded. “About that. I think the crystals are the source of those superpowers.”

Fluttershy reached up and touched her necklace protectively. “You’re not gonna ask us to give them up, are you?”

“No. In fact, I think maybe we were meant to have them all along.”

“Me too,” agreed Twilight unexpectedly.

A flash of anxiety crossed Sunset Shimmer’s face. “There is one thing I’m still wondering about, though…”

“What’s that?” Twilight asked.

“Where did the magic that hit this cave come from?”

But nobody knew the answer.

Nobody knew that after the Friendship Games, the portal between the worlds wasn’t really shut all the way. A tiny sliver was open between Equestria and Canterlot High—and through that tiny, almost invisible thread of a portal, colorful wisps of magic were pouring into the world of the Equestria Girls.

Every day Canterlot High was becoming more and more magical. What would happen next?!