The Legend of Everfree Page 6

  Twilight noticed the light coming from the cave.

  “What’s going on down there?” she whispered.

  “I think it’s Gaea Everfree—or rather, someone who wants us to think she’s back. Come on,” she urged.

  Carefully, they made their way down the side of the cliff toward the cave.

  “Who is it?” growled Spike.

  Sunset glared at him.

  “Oh,” he apologized, slapping his paw over his mouth.

  They were at the dark open mouth of the cave. Sunset held up her hand to stop them. She turned to Twilight. “Before we go in, there’s something we need to talk about.”

  Twilight was confused. “Okay.”

  Sunset Shimmer took a deep breath. “You know how sometimes you think you know someone but really it turns out you don’t because they have this deep, dark secret they’ve been keeping from you?”

  Twilight’s face fell. “Are you sure you’re not talking about me?”

  “No, definitely not you,” said Sunset Shimmer. “But…” She just didn’t know how to say it. She hated to break Twilight Sparkle’s heart. She didn’t want to tell her what she suspected about Timber Spruce.

  They ducked inside the cave. They were totally unprepared for what they saw. It wasn’t dank and gloomy; it was breathtaking. It was like being inside a kaleidoscope—glimmering crystals of all different colors decorated the walls. In the center of the cave were seven pillars—each festooned with sparkling gems and glittering geodes. It was awe-inspiring!

  “This place is beautiful,” whispered Twilight Sparkle.

  “There’s Equestrian magic here,” Sunset Shimmer noticed. “I can feel it.”

  “Wait,” barked Spike. “I thought Timber was just faking that there was a magical nature creature. Are you saying it’s real?”

  “Timber?” asked Twilight. “What does he have to do with any of this?”

  Sunset was about to reply when someone else answered for her.

  “Nothing.” It was Gloriosa Daisy! “It’s all me!”

  Out-of-Control Geodes

  Sunset Shimmer was confused. What was Gloriosa doing in the cave? Also, something seemed to be the matter with her. She was different, not herself… not cheerful at all.

  “Gloriosa? But… Timber. I was sure he was the one making it seem like Gaea Everfree was back. It was you who was trying to scare everyone away?”

  Gloriosa looked shocked. “I would never try to scare anyone away from Camp Everfree!” she protested. “Never!”

  Gloriosa pushed past Sunset Shimmer to get to the crystal pillars. Her touch triggered Sunset Shimmer’s telepathy. Sunset Shimmer could see Gloriosa’s thoughts—and what she saw completely surprised her.

  Gloriosa was in a business office—and Filthy Rich was sitting on her desk. He was scolding her. “You fell behind on your payments, Gloriosa. I own the land now.”

  Gloriosa was almost in tears. “Please,” she begged. “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?” scoffed Filthy Rich as he stood up. “I don’t think so.”

  “Please,” Gloriosa pleaded. “I just need a little more time.”

  Filthy Rich’s eyes narrowed. He chuckled. “Fine. I’ll give you till the end of the month.”

  Gloriosa collapsed on her desk in tears.

  Sunset Shimmer’s eyes were shut. It made it easier for her to see the scenes from Gloriosa’s life unfolding in her mind.

  Gloriosa was running through the woods. She was crying. She didn’t know what to do. A glowing bolt of magic from far away, from the direction of Canterlot High, arched over the forest—and landed right on the cave. Gloriosa stepped into the cave. She saw the seven glowing pillars. She touched one of the geodes, and magic light burst forth from it, bouncing off the walls, this way and that way, and hitting Gloriosa. She staggered backward. She was about to fall—but vines grew up from the ground of the cave and caught her. The pillars pulsed with light. Gloriosa reached out and pulled one of the geodes off a pillar.

  Now Sunset Shimmer saw Gloriosa in the camp office arguing with Timber Spruce. She’d shown him the geode.

  “You don’t even know what those things are!” her brother had said.

  Gloriosa had broken the geode into pieces and made a necklace of it. It glowed.

  “But I know what they can do,” Gloriosa fought back. “I’ve been practicing. I can control their power now.”

  Timber shook his head. “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “This is our camp,” Gloriosa yelled. “And it’s being taken away. If this has to be our last week here, I’m going to use whatever it takes to make it count.”

  Gloriosa grabbed the camp microphone. Her voice echoed through the camp—and inside Sunset Shimmer’s head. “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!”

  And Gloriosa was using her new magic to make sure that it was.

  When she saw a few campers stranded in their sailboat in the middle of the lake, she touched her necklace and pushed her hands forward. A gust of wind blew up and sent the sailboat crashing toward the dock.

  When a group of campers tripped over a rock on the trail, she touched her necklace and made the earth rumble. The rock shook free and rolled into the woods. The campers thought there had been an earthquake.

  Timber Spruce was furious at her for playing around with magic. That’s what their fight in the boathouse had been about. He had invented the story of Gaea Everfree to cover for his sister. He didn’t want the campers to suspect anything. But Gloriosa thought it was a ridiculous story.

  Sunset Shimmer’s eyes blinked open. She understood everything now. “Timber wasn’t talking about you letting go of the camp. He was talking about you letting go of the magical geodes,” she realized. “All those things you were doing to make this week the best week ever, every time you used magic to do them, it caused another problem somewhere else. Timber was… covering for you!”

  Gloriosa was stunned. How had Sunset Shimmer figured out all this? “How do you know about the magic?”

  “I can see things,” explained Sunset Shimmer gently. “Feel things. Because I have magic, too.”

  She pointed at Twilight. “And so does she. And so do our friends.”

  Spike shrugged. “I got nothin’.”

  Gloriosa startled. “Your dog can talk?”

  “Okay,” admitted Spike. “There’s that. We usually try to keep it under wraps. Tends to freak people out.”

  Twilight approached Gloriosa. “Gloriosa, Timber wasn’t wrong. Maybe you should stop using magic. Too much of it can be dangerous if you can’t control it.” The last thing she wanted was the camp director to suddenly turn into some crazed creature—just like she had.

  “Oh, I got this,” Gloriosa said confidently. “And I’m going to use it to save my camp. I just need more power!” She reached out her hand to grab more gems from the pillars.

  “No!” Both Twilight and Sunset tried to stop her.

  But Gloriosa used her magic to conjure a mess of creeping vines to tie up the girls. Gloriosa grabbed two more gems and added them to her necklace. Now there were seven crystals hanging there—one from each of the pillars.

  The air was shimmering. Vines were creeping up Gloriosa’s dress. Flowers were blooming in her hair. Where her eyes had been were swirling green orbs. “Sorry, girls,” she sang in a mesmerizing voice. “I know what I need to do. But I feel like we’re not on the same page, so…”

  Sunset and Twilight struggled to free themselves from the vines. “No!”

  But Gloriosa ignored them. She stepped out of the cave. She waved her hands. A boulder slid in front of the entrance. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer were trapped.

  A Fashion Show Fiasco

 
Back at camp, the rest of the girls were getting ready for the fashion show. They were parading back and forth down the dock in Rarity’s fashions. Rarity was the one who first noticed that Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer were missing. She had two outfits picked out especially for them.

  “They’re missing our dress rehearsal,” Rarity fretted. She called for them. “Whenever you’re ready.” But there was no response.

  But none of the other girls seemed concerned. They decided to start without them. DJ Pon-3 was spinning a record. Rarity made some final adjustments to the outfits. Applejack was admiring the stylish belt she was wearing.

  “Told you you’d like it.” Rarity laughed, pleased with her work and Applejack’s reaction.

  “It’s all right, I guess,” Applejack commented, trying to play it cool. “I do get to keep it after camp, though, right?”

  Rarity grinned and sent Applejack strutting down the runway. Who’d have thought she’d be a natural model? But she was.

  The girls were all too busy to notice the strange creature floating toward the camp courtyard. Ivy trailed from her dress. Weeds tangled in her hair. It was Gloriosa. She was floating above the ground. She drifted past Snips and Snails.

  “She looks different,” noted Snips.

  “You think so?” Snails asked, scratching his head.

  More and more campers were heading down to the dock to watch the fashion show rehearsal. Timber was there, too.

  “This is only a preview,” Rarity told them. “I’ve got another entire line I’ll debut at the real thing.”

  The record scratched to silence. “Why did you stop the…” Rarity’s voice trailed off as she saw Gloriosa approaching. DJ Pon-3 was wide-eyed with amazement.

  Campers started screaming.

  “It’s Gaea Everfree!”

  “She’s real!”

  “We’re doomed!”

  Gloriosa grabbed the microphone from DJ Pon-3. “Attention, campers!”

  Timber was in a state of shock. “Gloriosa? What are you doing?”

  “That’s Gloriosa?” Applejack couldn’t believe it. “Am I goin’ crazy or are her feet not touching the ground?”

  Pinkie Pie tilted her head sideways to get a better look. “Freaky deaky!”

  “I have an announcement to make,” warbled Gloriosa, her voice strangely altered. “Filthy Rich wants this to be the last session of Camp Everfree… but don’t worry. I got this!”

  Gloriosa dropped the mic and pressed her hands to the ground. Red light spread out from her fingers, creating a huge circle around the entire campgrounds. Thorny brambles sprouted up, creating a defensive wall. They spread their branches, and their roots overturned tents and ripped down the just-built dock!

  “Come on!” yelled Rainbow Dash. “We literally just finished building that.”

  Gloriosa was triumphant—and scary. “I’ve been searching for a way to keep the sharks in suits at bay! Magic has been my salvation, and now I can see that it’s the only way to keep my camp with me!”

  The campers were terrified and backing away from her. They tried to push through the wall of brambles, but it was too thick and prickly. They were trapped!

  With a quick nod of agreement, Luna and Celestia charged toward Gloriosa. But she was ready for them. Vines sprang up, wrapped around them, and suspended them from a tree!

  Gloriosa’s green eyes sparkled. She was out of control! “I can feel nature agree. The camp should stay with me. But how to keep those tyrants out? A bramble fortress to surmount…”

  Timber had found an ax and was chopping at the thorn bushes. For every branch he cut off, two more grew. The wall was bigger and stronger than before.

  Gloriosa was ranting and raving. “We’ll be safe in your thorny walls. And Camp Everfree will never ever fall. Nature, hear my plea; enshroud my camp for me!”

  The brambles rose higher and higher—higher than the trees.

  The campers were terrified!

  What would she do next?

  A Thorny Problem

  Gloriosa hovered in the air. Her arms were raised over her head. The brambles were taller, thicker, and darker. They cast huge shadows over the camp.

  Fluttershy trembled. “Why do these kinds of things always happen to us?”

  “I’m startin’ to think it ain’t Canterlot High that’s the magical element. It’s us,” said Applejack.

  “What are we gonna do?” Rarity cried.

  “What we always do,” announced Rainbow Dash grimly. “Save the day.”

  The girls’ eyes met. What else could they do?

  Only one person was excited. Pinkie Pie. “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy,” she gushed. “This is gonna be so much fun! I only wish we had time to make superhero capes!”

  “Me too.” Rarity sighed. “I guess these incredibly chic ponchos will have to do.”

  “Enough about our wardrobes,” Rainbow Dash snapped. “We’ve got to stop Gloriosa from trapping everybody in here.”

  The girls threw on their “capes” and leaped into action. Ears sprouted from their heads; their manes swished back and forth. The pony magic was on!

  Rarity used her crystal shield to protect a group of campers from a twisting vine of brambles. Applejack summoned her mighty strength and hurled boulders through the wall. But it only grew back thicker than before. Rainbow Dash began running in ever-faster circles around Gloriosa, trying to confuse her. Pinkie Pie decorated the wall with exploding sprinkles. But no matter how many holes she opened, they grew back in a second. Gloriosa’s magic was just too powerful.

  Fluttershy called out to a crew of groundhogs. “Um, hi,” she whispered to them. “Do you think you can give us a hand, er, paw? We could really use a way out.”

  The groundhogs nodded and began digging a tunnel under the brambles. Fluttershy quietly ushered kids over to it so they could escape to safety. Too late. The brambles filled the hole.

  Gloriosa rose into the air. She rose above the whirl of dust Rainbow Dash had stirred up. She surveyed the campgrounds. She directed vines to stop Applejack. But Rarity protected her friend with her shield.

  Next Gloriosa tried to stop Rainbow Dash. But Pinkie threw sprinkles on the attacking vines and Rainbow Dash scooted to safety.

  But Applejack was worried. “None of this is working. Her magic is too strong!”

  Campers huddled together, terrified.

  The brambles were climbing higher and higher. They were arching toward one another. They were creating an enclosed dome of brambles. The campers were more trapped than ever. This was terrible. This was the worst thing that had ever happened to the Canterlot High kids. Gloriosa was the worst monster of all.

  Embrace the Magic!

  Spike was gnawing through the vines that imprisoned Twilight and Sunset.

  “Nice work, Spike,” said Sunset, wriggling free. She studied the blocked entrance. “Twilight, you have to use your magic.”

  “I don’t think I can lift something that big. Even if I can, I don’t know for how long.”

  “It’s our only chance of getting out of here and helping our friends,” Sunset Shimmer pleaded.

  Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated on the boulder. It wobbled. It shook. It lifted a tiny bit off the ground. Twilight concentrated even harder, with all her might. She got it up another foot. It was just high enough for the girls and Spike to slide under. It slammed down to the ground behind them when they were out.

  Relieved, the girls hugged each other. The snap of a branch made them whirl around. It was almost as if they could hear the plants and the trees and the vines of the forest growing. What was that strange noise coming from near the lake?

  Back at camp, each geode on Gloriosa’s necklace was glowing. The brambles blocked the sun.

  “Why are you fighting me?” she wailed. “I’m doing this to save our camp. I’m doing this for you.”

  The girls pretended to be listening. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was sneaking up behind Gloriosa.

  “Glorios
a, let’s think about all this for a moment, shall we?” Rarity was stalling for time. “I mean, I think Camp Everfree is absolutely delightful, but I just don’t know that I’m ready to give up my weekly trips to the spa.”

  “To the spa?” screeched Gloriosa.

  “Oh dear,” Rarity whimpered. “What did I say?”

  Rainbow Dash sped toward Gloriosa, but she couldn’t reach her. She was too high above them. She flew backward toward her friends.

  Timber was trying to talk to his sister. “This isn’t the way!”

  “I appreciate your concern, Timber,” Gloriosa bellowed. “But I got this!”

  “No, you don’t!” cried Timber.

  The bramble bushes were still growing. They were creeping toward the campers. They were getting closer and closer. Soon there would be nowhere left to stand.

  No one could get through to Gloriosa. She was transformed by desperation and by magic. Her eyes glowed vibrant and green.

  Sunset and Twilight were stunned when they returned to camp—and couldn’t get in. This was the sound they’d been hearing. It was the brambles getting bigger and bigger. Spike tried to gnaw a hole for them to get through, but it was no use.

  “Twilight, do you think you can use your magic?” asked Sunset.

  Twilight hesitated. “I don’t want to use too much. Midnight Sparkle could take over.”

  “Our friends are in there,” Sunset Shimmer reminded her.

  Twilight focused her energy on the brambles. She concentrated. She shut her eyes. Slowly, a gap widened. It was just big enough for the girls and Spike to crawl through. But it closed right back up once they were through.

  The first thing they saw was Timber begging his sister to stop. “Please, Gloriosa. What you’re doing is crazy. You have to listen to me!”

  “That isn’t Gloriosa,” Sunset Shimmer whispered to Twilight. She ought to know. Magic had turned her into a monster before, too.