Twenty minutes later, the only sounds in the cave were gasps, moans, and liquid schlicks. Each head bore a full floral wreath, the colors lurid in their intensity. Fingers, tongues, vines, and roots reached everywhere they could. The smells of sweat, sex, and pine were almost thick enough to taste.

Finally, all seven came together to pleasure one another. No words were exchanged. None needed to be. Bound together by the rudimentary plant mind, each girl knew the others’ most sensitive spots, where they wanted it most and where to leave off for a time. They worked together without shame, fear, or hesitation.

In short, they were in harmony.

And in a forgotten corner of the cave, a crystal formation that looked a bit like a stump began to glow.

Everything was going wonderfully. The troublemakers were confined, the bramble dome was in place, and Gloriosa was hard at work perfecting a highly specialized form of orchid that would have words with any troublesome bankers who couldn’t leave well enough alone.

Oh, and the campers were having fun. Couldn’t forget that. Sure, most of them had holed up in the crafting lodge, but that just meant they were in one place for the pollen to take care of things. Not that all of them were screwing each other. The principals were both surprisingly strong-willed, some had politely asked to return to their tents during the reorganization, and one girl had learned she was asexual in a way that she was sure to look back on and laugh.

That was Gloriosa’s story and she was sticking to it.

A few were unaccounted for—the two underclassmen, the grey girl who kept ruining the archery supplies, the blue girl with an ego large enough for five—but Gloriosa would get to them in time. Timber was the exception, of course. For one, ew, he was her baby brother. For another, he was an employee, not a camper.

pop

It was like walking up a set of stairs and putting her foot down on one that wasn’t there, especially since Gloriosa stopped floating and fell stumbling to earth. A sudden chill swept through her body from the base of her neck. She clutched at her necklace.

The geodes were gone.

“What!?” She looked around, seeing through the brambles like they were made of glass… even if that glass was getting increasingly tinted. No sign of where they could have gone. “No. Don’t tell me they just vanished. I haven’t worked as hard as I have just for them to crap out now!” Gloriosa’s volume rose as she ranted, until she found herself railing against the heavens, her hands clutching at the sky.

Then a low explosion, half-heard, half-felt, made her turn towards the cave where she’d stashed away those seven troublemakers, along with her prototype camper entertainment system.

The boulder blocking the entrance of the cave had been reduced to fine gravel, though that took a backseat to the beacon of rainbow light bursting out of the mouth.

Gloriosa blinked, and to her eyes, the dome became too opaque to make out more than glimmers of all colors slipping through it. “Oh. Well. That’s probably not good.”

“Yaaah!”

She didn’t even look behind her as vines grabbed her brother yet again. “Timber, if you keep charging at me with an axe, I might get the wrong idea.”

“Release my sister, demon!”

Gloriosa sighed. “Last time I was a nature spirit. Are you just going to guess mythical creatures until you hit the right one?”

A few seconds of silence passed, enough for her to turn and see Timber’s blush. “Maybe.”

She couldn’t help but snicker for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t have time for this. Those girls—“

At that point, the brambles turned to crystal and shattered into shards that vanished a moment later, revealing a septet of avenging angels clad in glory and not much else.

“Those girls?” said Timber.

“Yup.”

Then Gloriosa took a rainbow to the face.

“So.” Twilight cleared her throat as she sat on the shore of the lake. “This could’ve gone… better.” She kept her gaze pointed straight up. It was one of the few directions that wouldn’t have her looking at nearly bare skin. Thankfully, everyone’s towels had been spared the fiber-eating pollen, but those only did so much.

“It worked out in the end,” said Sunset. “Hold still, you’ve got a little…” She plucked another bit of ash that had once been a flower out of Twilight’s hair. “Can’t get into that shower tent soon enough.”

Twilight shrugged. “Rarity’s going to put together something for almost everyone. I’d say she earned getting first dibs.”

“And to think, we all laughed at how many supplies she brought.”

“Given the charity concert, she might not have had enough if Rainbow Dash couldn’t run back to Canterlot for her.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments, soaking in the happy sounds of their classmates swimming, kayaking, and performing… other activities. A lot of boundaries had come down while everyone had waited for the girls to sweep in and blast the bad guy, and the principals’ official stance was “We saw nothing; we weren’t here; we didn’t even get up this morning.”

Twilight wrung her hands. “So, about, um, us…”

“Oh. Right.” Sunset cleared her throat. “I mean, if you’d rather be with Timber…”

“Honestly, I’m not sure.” Twilight bit her lip. “I mean, he’s sweet, but you’ve been there for me practically since the day we met.” Tiny teal flames flickered into being at the corners of her eyes. “And I really doubt Timber knows how to use his tongue as well as—“ The flames winked out as Twilight slapped her hands over her mouth.

“I appreciate the compliment for what it is,” Sunset said with a smile. “Is Midnight cooperating aside from getting some words in edgewise?”

Twilight nodded. “I’m familiar with ‘She really needs to get laid’ as a narrative trope, but I didn’t think it would apply to my dark side.” She gave Sunset a side glance. “Though you’re not helping in terms of keeping her under control.”

Sunset just smirked, lounging bare on her towel like she was posing for a centerfold. “Not like anyone didn’t already get an eyeful when we saved the day. And I’m hardly the only one.”

Pinkie bounced by in every sense of the word, hauling more building supplies for the sixth attempt at rebuilding the camp dock. “Hi, girls!”

“Hi, Pinkie,” both chorused, watching her go and greet several couples who’d formed earlier in the day.

Twilight caught herself, cleared her throat, and averted her gaze again. “You’ll have to pardon me if I don’t want them to get another eyeful now.”

Sunset reached out and took a hand in hers, wearing a devilish grin. “Well, we could always head back to our tent for a bit…”

“Really? After everything we did in the cave, you’re still raring to go?”

“Is that a no?” said Sunset, raising an eyebrow.

A pause stretched out. Embers danced along the frames of Twilight’s glasses, her mouth moving in silent inner debate. Finally, she got up, secured her towel as best she could, and said, “Let’s at least put in some work on the dock first.”

“Deal.”

Author's Note

Shameless Author's Saving Throw? Shameless Author's Saving Throw. But let it never be said I don't listen to criticism.