It was always so much more then a television show for Eric. Other people couldn't really understand, minus a rare few who he considered his true friends. He liked being a brony because of what a brony stood for; harmony, on the web and in real life. And yeah, ridicule was part of the package, but the treasure was too sweet to have anyone else sway his choice. In fact, as he sat on the generic polyester-ish bus seats of his current, extremely yellow and packed ride, he couldn't be happier he was who he was. His iPod was playing tunes especially picked for this occasion. He'd been dreaming about this trip for a whole month now.
Eric looked out the window and felt his heart soar. On a far-off hill, he saw it.
Camp Brony!
He'd read the Equestria Daily updates. He'd been watching the construction Livestreams. He'd known he wanted to attend this camp with all his heart.
When the buildings were finished, the contest arrived. First off, you had to be between the ages of 15 and 25 to enter (Eric just squeaked by at 16), or 26 through 35 to be on the staff. Next, you had to have a reason, a plan, or something you knew you could get out of the Camp Brony experience. Finally, you had to go through an interview process with the approvers to make sure you are what you say you are.
Eric had written a very personal letter about his experience within the community. He loved the art, the music, and the stories; just to get a chance to be around great bronies excited him more then anything else. He'd said he could contribute to the camp as a performer, and explained his "special talent" was stage presence. He was a bit timid in normal conversation, but the one thing that made Eric special was the way he shined on stage, in front of an audience. It was a skill that shaped the pony character he'd created to represent himself, Lead Role.
The letter got through and he reached the interview part. They had called him over Skype and talked to him in person. The two guys asked Eric questions about himself, each he answered completely honestly.
The e-mail came a week after that. It was amazing! He'd been allowed to attend the camp! Eric pulled his iPod out of his black hoodie (the jacket had a picture of Rainbow Dash across the front, of course) just to read the e-mail again:
To Eric,
Congratulations! Your application to the first summer Camp Brony program has been accepted! You will be one of 1,200 bronies to attend this modern sleep-away event. Fares are completely paid for, thanks to the community's generosity; all you have to do is show up. We only ask you be ready to do whatever it is you do best, and be ready do it often. Warm up your voice, pack up your best pencils, and prepare your typing fingers, cause regardless of what you like to do, you'll be doing a lot of it.
As I'm sure you know, Camp Brony is a huge accomplishment for our community. At no less then a million strong, and growing, the bronies are a force undeniable. And this camp is the best of the best when it comes to bronies. We're flying people in from every corner on the globe because, for the first time, we have a place to call our own. You're getting your chance to show the world what bronies truly are, so please don't mess it up for us.
There will be food, there will be beds, and (most importantly) there will be internet. The main-er events will be broadcasted to the world via Livestream, but for the most part it's just a summer camp with summer activities like kickball, arts and crafts, cook-outs, and all that jazz. But ponyfied.
Everybody attending will be separated based on two things. In certain events, you'll be grouped based on your "cabin". These "cabins" can hold a lot of guys, though, so expect a team of 50. In other events, you'll be separated by which of the Mane 6 you believe to be "best pony". This is up to each individual camper, but cannot be changed later, so choose wisely. Regardless of which teams you are on, remember that everybody at camp is as much of a brony as you are, and that you shouldn't show disrespect in a serious, non-friendly way.
You'll be seeing faces you'll know and people you're gonna wanna fanboy or fangirl all over. We ask that you don't, but we also understand that it can be hard to contain yourself. Try to keep it to a manageable, "Hey, can I have your autograph?" level.
And hey, brony, number one rule is have a blast. We rule this place; it's Camp Brony after all. And if something goes wrong, try to think about it like the Mane 6. Be honest, generous, kind, loyal, and fun. Because only when we have all five elements can the magic of friendship truly appear.
See you there!
-Sethisto
Eric couldn't imagine doing anything but make friends. He'd be around people like him, people who'd get him better then probably anybody else.
Camp Brony was located on top of a mountain in the state of Washington. It was quite the trip for Eric, but so worth it. The winding road along the mountain trail reached another cliff and he got a second distant view of the camp.
The buildings were all new and shiny white, rising up from the mountainside beautifully. They almost looked like marble deposits sticking up from the ground they were so cream and glistening. The structures were very large and clustered, and surrounded by even more buildings; it looked more like a city then a camp. Some were tall, others wide, but all were shiny new. Much like the town of Ponyville, the camp had a huge forest off one of the sides. The other sides were too steep for tall vegetation to grow. That part almost worked like Canterlot, because of the way a lot of the edges had a bit of a drop to them. But that's what the rails and fences are for.
The bus drove through a tunnel, and Eric lost sight of the camp. His excitement didn't deteriorate at all, however. He wondered who his roommates would be, how the food was, if the beds were comfy, who he'd recognize, and so much more. Something similar to a Pinkie Pie monologue was going through his head, just a stream of unfiltered ideas leading from one topic to the next, but still all revolving around the camp.
"Camp Brony... wow..." he sighed.
A tap on his shoulder made him jump a bit. He unplugged himself from his ear buds and looked to his left.
Unknown to Eric, at some point a girl had taken the seat next to him. She was a bit on the shorter side, with just-past-shoulder-length brown hair that had a wave at the ends. Her eyes were brown and her face was a bit angular, but overall she looked no older then him.
"Hey, you know when you think and other people can hear you, it's called talking, right?" she asked, grinning. One of her eyebrows was arched.
"Uh, yeah. Probably known that since I was three," he responded. He couldn't quite tell what to make of her.
She held her hands up in surrender. "Hey, man, 's just a joke. Nice to meet ya, I'm Cat, with a 'C'. It's short for CatCall, my Ponysona." She held out her balled-up hand.
"Um, hi, I'm Eric," he smiled, bumping her hand with his own in the universal brohoof.
"Great! It's a pleasure, Eric." Despite himself, Eric guessed she was from a more southern part of America. She didn't have the drawl, like Applejack, but the way she said some of her words still brought the farmer pony to mind.
"I've never been out west this far," Cat sighed. "It's a big adventure for me."
"Me too," agreed Eric. He played with his bangs a bit. It had always been a habit of his, a habit he couldn't break unless he realized what he was doing.
"I'm from Florida, the farthest you could be from Washington while still being in the States. Figures, right?" She nudged him with her elbow, causing him to jump a bit.
"Yeah," he said.
"Hmm, you don't talk much, do you? Fine by me. Fluttershy doesn't talk much, but she can still carry her weight." Cat nodded and smiled, then examined Eric. "Okay, average height, slim, blonde-ish hair-"
She stared at his eyes, like many people did. They were a piercing ice blue, practically shining. He liked to think they were like Fluttershy's or Pinkie Pie's, but those ponies' eyes were cyan blue. His looked like ice.
"Freakin' awesome eyes! Can't believe I didn't notice that before." Eric was shocked. She actually liked his eyes, instead of off-put by them. That was new.
"Okay, all of that before plus ice-blue eyes, jeans, a hoodie... Wait, jeans and a hoodie? This might be Washington, but it's still summer, you know," she smirked. It was the same smirk she'd done before, with the same raised eyebrow.
"The jacket's the only brony thing I own," Eric sighed. "I just really wanted to wear it."
Cat rolled her eyes. "Dude, I'm not gonna stop you, or think of you any less. It's just a jacket. And I think you wanting to wear it is super cool."
"Oh, thank you," smiled Eric. That was really nice of her to say.
"Great, my new friend Eric. You're going right up on my blog!" she nodded.
The speakers attached to the bus's roof blared to life, loud enough to be heard over all the conversation on the bus, and always just loud enough to be annoying. A young man's voice came on, and although his words were practically mangled by the microphone system, he still broadcasted his message to his passengers: "Final stop, Camp Brony! Is everybody ready?"
A chorus of “yeah”s rang through the vehicle. Most were deeper, causing the cheer to sound like a football team 'break'ing. But among the male voices, females could still be heard and distinguished.
The tunnel ended and the bus drove up a road passing through the forest Eric had seen earlier. His excitement mounted as the bus came upon the crest of a hill, giving all the bronies aboard a final look at their temporary home before they arrived. A second cheer, this one louder then the last, erupted from everybody in the bus, which eventually faded into a chant of "Camp Bro-ny! Camp Bro-ny!" Eric and Cat joined in, too, and much like the way the crowd of ponies got louder as the Flim Flam brothers made their cider, the chant's volume increased continually until it reached a point where nobody could hear their own voice in the crowd.
The bus stopped in front of the gates, and the passengers all exclaimed in joy. Eric noticed he had a gigantic grin plastered on his face, and although feeling rather goofy, decided it was there for a reason and let it stay.
The bronies began to file out of the bus row by row. When it was his turn, Eric grabbed his bags and followed Cat off the bus. A woman with a clipboard was waiting to greet them all, but so far hadn't said a word. When everybody had acquired their things and left the bus, she addressed the gathered group.
"Hello, everybody, my name is-"
"Phoe!" the group finished for her. Phoe's voice was instantly recognizable in any situation, which was probably the reason she had kept silent until she could talk to everyone at once. Eric personally thought her voice was awesome; it's not every day you meet a woman who could call a pizza joint and make them believe she was seven. That would probably be the best prank ever, now that he thought about it.
Phoe cleared her thought. "Yes, yes, I'm Phoe, now-"
But somebody in the audience spoke up. "Can you say it for us, Phoe?" they asked. Everybody in the audience got quiet and faced her, waiting.
She sighed. "Fear my squeaky voice!"
The whole crown burst into cheers, Eric included. Phoe was probably his favorite Equestria Daily blogger, namely because he was also a Lyra fanatic, but also because he honestly liked how she wrote the best. Seth is great, Cereal is cool, but when he sees that Phoe wrote a post, nine times out of ten he'll read it, no matter what.
"Okay, okay, come on now, guys," she told the crowd. They all simmered down after a few seconds. "Right, everybody here has their verification number, correct?"
Whatever these ID numbers were, the camp made them really important. They had been sorted at the airport based on their numbers and told which bus to ride on. Eric took out his iPod and pulled up the acceptance e-mail again. At the bottom, it told him his verification number: 011863
"When I say your number, step forward and come sign this sheet, please. First, zero-one-one, eight-zero-three."
From the crowd of bronies, a single guy walked up and signed the sheet. He was given a key card, told not to lose it, and was allowed to return to the group.
The list went on, pulling people one-by-one to the sheet so they could signature and receive their ID card. At one point, it became obvious only males were being called up, but maybe that had to do with the way the numbers were ordered.
Phoe called Eric's number, and he walked up. He took the pen and signed his full name next to his identification. Phoe handed him his card.
"Thank you, Miss Phoe. I'm a huge fan." smiled Eric.
"Please, just Phoe is fine," she grinned back. "And thank you!" Eric nodded and returned to the crowd.
The rest of the guys went up, and eventually the girls, too, until everybody had been called. "Great, that was easy," smiled Phoe. "Okay, bronies, with that out of the way, we can proceed to the fun part!"
The famous blogger pointed to the gate. "Go ahead, swipe your card and enter the camp, bronies!"
Needless to say, the group made it to the gate in ten seconds flat. Which was pretty good considering the gate was about 60 meters away from Phoe.
The placed looked amazing from a distance. It was plain unbelievable up close.
Buildings were spaced around paved paths and grassy parks. People walked around everywhere, all sporting some kind of brony apparel. Eric guessed there were other busses that got there first. He didn't think his smile couldn't get any bigger when he saw the well-known full-body Derpy suit in the crowd. But as he made his way to the main plaza, he was proven wrong.
It looked like a modern city square, just miniature. Buildings rose up from the ground to a max of five stories high, many of them with pictures of ponies plastered on their walls or pony signs hanging off their sides. The plaza itself had flowerboxes and a grassy park, with a stage set up on the far end. Bronies were everywhere, as would be expected.
Eric thought to himself, this is the brony capital of the world. Literally, no place was this permanently dedicated to bronies anywhere else. And he was included in the first group to take part in it.
A four-tone string of bells played over horn intercoms that were perched atop long poles. There were four Eric could see in the plaza alone. A voice followed the notes: "All new arrivals, be sure to put away any personal belongings before you take the time to explore. And remember, the free Camp Brony App, on both the App Store and Marketplace, is a great way to optimize your experience here. Thank you!" Eric recognized the voice as one of the Equestria Daily staff members, the one who's Ponysona looks like a fox, but his name for some reason didn't feel like being remembered. Xylo... Phone? Xero-tone? He felt like he really should've known, and wanted to really badly, but he once again found himself a victim to his own forgetfulness.
Eric grabbed his iPod out of his pocket and opened the Camp Brony App he had already downloaded. He inputted his number and was given instructions on how to get to his dorm.
"Hey, Eric," Cat said. "Is your dorm 'Cabin 18'?"
"Yeah," he smiled.
"Hey, mine too!" she exclaimed. "Awesome!"
They both made there way to their building, following the maps on their devices. Eventually, they found it.
Eric's building was one of the ones along what the signs called "Rainbow Dash Road". It had a sign on the outside that said "Cabin 18"; however, the building was anything but a cabin. It was modern white and steal, three stories high, and perfectly new-looking.
"Wow," he heard Cat say.
"Yeah," he agreed.
They went through the front door and looked for the rooms. Eric realized there were only two rooms, rooms "0" and "1", on the first floor, plus a lobby/TV/kitchen room open for everybody. They climbed up the stairs only to find the second floor had rooms "2", "3", "4", and "5", none of which were Eric's. They reached the third floor, still dragging their bags, and Eric finally saw the door with the large number "6" on it.
"This is my stop," he said to Cat.
"I think my room's actually a floor below this." she laughed, climbing back down the stairs. Just before she disappeared around the next flight, she turned around and smiled. "Hey, I'll see ya around, okay?"
"Yeah, definitely," Eric grinned.
Eric made his way to his door. Pressing his key against the electronic lock and hearing the confirming beep, he turned the handle and opened the door, pushing into his room.
But he wasn't the first there. A guy was at his bed already (there were five beds in the room), unpacking his stuff. He was taller then Eric, looked to be about 18, had strait and brownish-blonde hair, and a thin pair of glasses over his brown eyes.
"Well, hello there!" he greeted, stopping his unpacking and smiling at the new arrival. His voice was very Scotish, but naturally so, so Eric guessed he'd been one of the more foreign winners.
He continued. "My name is Steven; it's nice to meet you! And you?"
"Hi, I'm Eric," he smiled. Hand held out in a brohoof, he awaited the informal greeting to be returned.
He wasn't left hanging. Steven brohoofed him back almost immediately. "Great! Well, I guess I'm one of your new roommates for the summer. Beautiful place, this is. First time I've been in the States."
"I've only been to the west coast once before," Eric shared. "But that was when I visited Los Angeles. Right now, we're a bit too far away from the beach to do any coastal stuff."
"If water sports are you thing, like they are for me," smiled Steven, "there's a whole building just for an indoor swimming pool. Heck, I'm probably gonna be there every morning, if I can!"
"I'm not really an exercise kinda guy," blushed Eric. "But did you hear about the arcade?"
"Heard about it? There's been no break from it on the forums!" The two shared a chuckle until they heard a knock on the door.
Except the knock didn't stop. It kept going in a rhythmic pattern that repeated itself a second time before it ended. A few seconds later, the electronic key lock beeped and the door opened to reveal an average-height, brown hair-ed, green eyed boy with a lot of luggage that looked about Eric's age.
"Heh, forgot about the key," he smirked.
The kid threw his stuff onto the bed closest to the door and did a short wave, moving his right hand close to his head and making one swift wrist movement outward. His head moved a bit, too, rotating the opposite way then his hand did. "Hey, I'm Arts. Nice to meet 'cha!"
Eric grinned. By this kid's big smile and overall energetic charge, it was easy to determine who his favorite pony was. "I'm Eric."
"Wait wait wait, Arts?" interjected Steven. "As in, Artsofallkinds?" Eric could tell right off the bat it was a username.
"Yeah, guess so," Arts shrugged.
"Dude, it's me, Archfiend!" Steven said, his shock obvious.
"Archfiend? What, really? But, I thought you lived in Scotland!" Arts exclaimed.
"I won the contest and they flew me over here, free!" The foreigner laughed. "Who would've guessed?"
"Man, that's great," the newest arrival smiled. "I can't believe I got to meet you in person."
The two shared a brohoof before Arts turned to Eric. "And one for you, too!" he smiled. Eric rolled up his fist and bumped it with his second-known roommate.
"Well, c'mon everypony! Let do some exploration!" cheered Arts as he opened the door and held it there with his foot. Eric and Steven went through, Eric finding walking much easier now that he didn't have to lug around his bags.
"Ah, just to fill you in," began Arts, "Archfiend and I are both part of an RP thread. It's a pretty basic one, based in canon Equestria. He's a really good writer, ya know!"
"Not that good," smirked Steven.
"Better then me," shrugged Arts.
"Liar."
"Modest!"
"That's not even an insult!"
"Oh, were we arguing? I'm sorry."
"Don't you throw a quote at me!"
They both stared each other down for a second before Arts stuck his tongue out and they both smirked.
Steven sighed. "At least now I know it really is you."
Eric decided not to ask. Maybe that argument was scripted, or something?
"Anyway," Arts said, rolling his eyes, "we've got a few hours before the opening ceremonies. Wanna go somewhere?"
"You make it sound like the Olympics!" laughed Steven. "Hmm, I don't know, anything sound good to you, Eric?"
"I'm good with whatever," he shrugged.
"Looks like I'm the leader, then!" exclaimed Arts. "Let's go, follow me!" He bolted out of the not-very-cabin-like-Cabin 18's front door, the other two following.
Steven sighed. "And yet somehow his favorite pony is Fluttershy."
Eric looked over. "Really? I would've guessed it'd be Pinkie."
"Oh, she's his second," smirked Steven. "But I've always guessed he likes Flutters 'cause he has-"
"You guys coming or what?" called Arts. He was waving from down a path leading to the main cluster of buildings.
Steven sighed. "I'll tell you later," he said, before running off after his online friend. Eric wondered what he was about to say, but decided he'd figure it out later and followed his two roommates.
Back in the main square, Eric realized there was a bit more of a structure to things. He checked his iPod for verification, and, after looking at the overhead map, found the camp's main streets were in fact built perpendicular and parallel to the cardinal directions. The entrance was in the north, dorm buildings were on the east and west sides of camp (Cabin 18 was in the east), and the rest was contained in a thick and intricately-designed strip. He compared it to the winding roads of Central Park, New York, just with buildings. And also like the park, the whole camp was very green and full of flowers and plants seemingly wherever the designers could fit some. All of the plants were supposedly native to Washington, so they were better for the environment. Eric wondered if Washington was known for having pretty flowers like the one's he'd seen.
The roar of the crowd was nearly defining, but Art's voice was loud, too. "C'mon guys! The auditorium is this way!" he said, while making his way through the crowd.
Eric tried to keep up, but Arts and Steven must have had better luck getting through the crowds, because soon he'd realized he'd lost them. He tried standing on his toes and looking above the mob of people, but he couldn't make out his newfound friends' heads.
Although he did recognize a very large amount of bronies he did know. He noticed Ilysabeth, EuroBeat Brony, and MicTheMicrophone in the crowd, the later completely swarmed by fans. He strained his eyes and also saw MandoPony sitting on the edge of a concrete planter playing his, well, Mandolin.
In fact, there were many bronies sitting here or there playing music, the most crowded one by far being The (instantly recognizable) Living Tombstone. But Eric also noted RainbowCrash88 (with a speaker blaring 8-bit music) and who he assumed was Neon Lights performing his trademark Pony Rock Anthem. He wondered how many of the well-known bronies that stayed faceless were here, too.
Shaking his head, Eric remembered he'd have plenty of time to get autographs later. Right now, he had to catch up to his friends.
Checking his map, he tapped the auditorium and was instantly given directions on how to get there. He walked around and through crowds of people to a more southern part of the campus, and finally made his way into the carpeted front entrance of the Camp Brony Auditorium. Eric took one look at the architecture and saw it was meant to resemble the Opera House from Final Fantasy 6. Or perhaps it was a tribute to one of the first ponyfied video games available for download, Pony Fantasy 6. Hard to say.
He walked through the empty lobby and towards the actual auditorium area. Even under sneakers, Eric could tell the carpet was sponge-y and thick. The wood was polished and the curtains were made of fabric Rarity would die for. The whole place screamed fancy, even if it was noticeably smaller then its video game counterpart.
The doors were open, so Eric tip-toed into the nearly silent stage room. It was dark, but there were lights illuminating the stage. Despite the silence, as Eric took a seat, he realized he wasn't the only one in the room.
On stage, a girl stood stalk still. She looked over the aisles of seats with apprehension, even anxiety. Her hair was brown and tied in a ponytail, which reached to her shoulder blades.
She sighed, and began to sing.
"I can save my lonely soul for you...
But the feeling in my heart can't follow through..."
Eric recognized the song right off the bat. Namely, because it was Rainbow Dash's anthem and Rainbow was his personal "best pony", but also because of the fact that it was one of the more famous brony songs in existence.
"You can give your broken heart to me..."
Even in the few lines she'd sung, whoever she was, Eric knew she was a singer. Sure, she might not seem like the most comfortable on stage, but if she sung like she sounded then... Who knows? Maybe the world would have a new pop star or something. She was certainly good enough.
"'Cause you know that I'll stay with you,
that's why they call me-"
She turned her head down. Eric thought he could still see her mouth moving, but the sound couldn't reach his ears in the back of the auditorium. Regardless, she was clearly scolding herself, talking in a way not unlike Fluttershy would.
Eric didn't know what to do. Her singing was good, amazing even, but she was punishing herself for... something. He couldn't figure out what.
She walked stage-left until she reached a small staircase leading from the raised stage to the audience area. She continued down the aisle that Eric was sitting on the left of with her head down. She briskly walked right by him without even noticing there was someone there.
Eric waited until she had left the auditorium before even moving. He got up and went out to the lobby. Maybe... Eric wanted to tell her she was good, but was afraid to get off on the wrong foot.
However, when he entered the lobby, she was nowhere to be found.
It was like she'd disappeared into thin air. Maybe she bolted for the door? Or could she have gone to the bathroom instead of leaving?
It was at that moment Arts and Steven decided to walk in. Arts waved at Eric and made his way over, holding a big cone of cotton candy in each hand.
"Sorry we're late," Steven said. "Arts here saw a cotton candy stand and had to take five minutes deciding on a flavor."
"Whut? 'S gud!" argued Arts via quote, mouth full of the wispy candy. He held out the larger cone to Eric and smiled. "F'r eue," he said.
"Thank you," Eric smiled back, taking the treat. He was about to have a bite, but stopped himself when he realized he and Arts were the only ones with the candy. "Steven, did you get one?"
"Nah, I never really liked the stuff," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "It's a bit overrated, if you ask me."
"Suit y'rslf," shrugged Arts, who was making rapid progress on his cone.
All three of their pockets started ringing all at once. They pulled out their respective devices to see the Camp Brony app had sent a notification: The Opening Ceremonies would begin in 10 minutes. Each boy looked at the other two excitedly before bolting off to the central park, where they knew all of the important stuff like this would happen. Eric thought about the girl for a second as he ran and tried to finish his cotton candy at the same time, but decided that she'd be fine, and he'd probably see her later anyway. But still, he couldn't help to be worried for her.
The day was ending, the sky pastel red and orange to their right and a fading blue to their left. The way-too-large-to-be-true crowd gathered around the medium-sized raised platform. The sheer amount of people made Eric uncomfortable, but the fact they were all bronies set him at ease.
All, that is, but the large number of news crews.
Scattered along the back of the crowd, Eric could tell most every news station in the country would want a segment on the strange boys and strange men who built their strange camp dedicated to a children's TV show. He was too far away to tell, but the reporters were probably spouting some nonsense about how this was some kind of... Eric didn't even know the newest excuse they'd come up with.
A man walked on stage, headed towards the microphone, and the crowds quieted a little. He had short brown hair and looked to be about 32-ish. He wore jeans, a black T-shirt, a blue cape with white stars, and a blue pointed hat best described as one a wizard would stereotypically be seen with.
His identity was obvious. Who wouldn't recognize the Trixie-adoring Sethisto right off the bat?
Cheers began to grow as more and more of the crowd noticed his arrival and chanted "Seth-is-to! Seth-is-to!" By the time he reached the microphone, Eric couldn't hear his own voice. The cheer continued until the man himself raised his hand to silence the crowd.
He cleared his throat and opened his mouth. Everybody leaned in anticipation.
"Trixie is best pony."
The following roar was deafening. It was a mixture of loud laughing and loud cheering that basically summarized how Eric felt about that statement: that it was funny, expected yet unexpected, agreeable to a certain extent, and it set the perfect tone to start camp out on.
Seth held his hands up. "Everybody, I welcome you to the three most pony-filled weeks of your summer this year! Camp Brony!" The cheers switched to full-on blast mode.
"I'm your head councilor, Sethisto! I run the show around here, and I've proven I can handle a leadership role by heading the staff at Equestria Daily!" The cheers didn't die at all, and only kept up as he continued to talk.
"To all the campers, staff, and others here tonight, I welcome you! To all viewing at home on the Everfree Radio Livestream," he pointed to a camera atop a tall tripod about thirty feet away from center stage, "I welcome you, too! Last I checked there was an astounding 10,000 of you guys!"
Eric, once again, got the feeling he was very lucky. There were 10,000 bronies around the world that would do anything to trade places with him right now.
"For those who don't know who we are," he addressed the back row of reporters and cameras, "we are the bronies. We're older people who enjoy My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the newer one. The old stuff is, in my opinion, outdated. But the new stuff is great! If you haven't seen it already, check it out, you won't be disappointed."
He turned to the crowd. "Right?"
One thousand, two hundred voices cheered in response.
"So, are we gonna have a heck of a summer camp?" Seth smiled, pumping his fist into the air.
Eric joined the chorus of "Yeah!"s.
"Great! Then I believe I can safely say Camp Brony has officially begun!"
"My problem," said Arts past his mouth full of food, "is that Twilight breaks down easily, and for weird reasons at that. Equestria about to be plunged into chaos? Oh yeah; calm, cool, and collected. Can't think of a friendship letter? Holy Pony Feathers, freak out!"
"Yeah, like Fluttershy doesn't flip at everything," Steven rebutted. "She can't even stand up to a bunny."
"Dude, Angel is sca-a-a-ry. I'm convinced he's a stubborn bunny who was sick and just didn't feel like leaving after Flutters took care of him."
"He's a bunny. That's not scary."
Arts arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, then neither was the rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
Steven stopped chewing. He looked up at Arts with a glare, while the glare-ee was smiling confidently.
Eric smiled nervously. "Okay, guys? The battle for best pony won't be decided, ever. Can't you just... I don't know, talk about your favorite musician or something?"
Those two had been at it for the last half hour. After the opening speech, dinner was served at the dining hall. So, of course, everybody ran there. Luckily for Eric, Steven, and Arts, the line was moving fast. They had gotten their food and sat down at the classic high-school lunch table, clearly labeled "18-6".
"You know, you'd figure our other two roommates would be here already," Arts said before plopping a big chunk of Jell-O in his mouth. Eric had wondered where the two other guys were, too.
"Hard to say. More then likely, they're stuck in that monster of a line," Steven said.
Eric sighed. It was too easy to get lost at this camp. They could be at the arcade for all he knew.
Arts swallowed his half-solid-half- liquid, then perked up. "Okay, the event you're looking forward to the most," he said.
"Oh, uh... Hmm... I dunno," sighed Steven.
Arts rolled his eyes. "There's gotta be something!"
"I guess the Legends of Equestria Guild Tournament. I'll be the only live representative for my team, so I'll do a lot of the showboating. And who doesn't like showboating?"
Arts gave a thumbs up. "I don't exactly have, how you say, a steady income," he explained in a fake Russian accent. "No pony MMOs for me."
"I personally can't wait to audition for the play," grinned Eric. "They're doing the Royal Wedding, but gender swapped so there are more male roles. I'd really like to get the part of King Metamorphosis."
He was stared at by his two friends. "You, Eric, are going to try out for the, um, villain?" Arts asked.
Eric responded with skepticism at his friends', well, skepticism. "Yeah. It would be, uh, amazing."
Steven shrugged. "Sure, as long as you want to do it, I've got your back."
"Just make sure you practice your evil laugh!" Arts pointed out. "All villains need a good one."
"Noted," giggled Eric. "And you, Arts? What's going to be your favorite part?"
Arts practically beamed. "Okay, I've been practicing ever since forever for this. It's gonna be the best thing... well, ever!"
Steven rotated his hand clockwise in a 'continue' gesture. "Go on, what is it?"
"The Fighting is Magic tournament, of course! I'm gonna tear it up as Pinkie!" Arts did a small-scale fist pump, showing his excitement.
"Oh, yeah!" Eric beamed. "That's gonna be amazing! Do you wanna have a warm up match later tonight?"
"Like I need any reason to play that game!" Arts smirked. "You are so on."
All three boys shared a full-hearted laugh. Eric noticed each of their laughs was different: Arts guffawed with his head thrown back, Steven was hunched over with his eyes closed, and Eric giggled small and with a hand over his mouth. And yet a laugh was a laugh, and they all shared it effortlessly. They'd already become very close friends.
From behind Eric, someone gave a singular "Ha!" The boys seated turned to see two guys standing there. Both were pretty tall, with rounded faces, green eyes, and strait, brown hair.
But other then that, they were completely different. The boy on the left wore shorts, a blue, zipped up sweater, and a tan backpack. The boy on the right had a brown T-shirt and jean shorts on, plus thin glasses over his eyes.
The boy on the right smirked. "Neither of you could even come close to beating me."
"Oh really?" Arts frowned. "Is that a challenge?"
Eric didn't like the guy on the right. Right off the bat, he seemed to ooze... Well, Trixie-ness. He had an air of "Anything you can do, I can do better", and even his very first sentence was a challenge. The worst part was, none of it seemed like an act.
"Of course, if you're up for it," he snorted.
The boy on the left had his head down and his right hand was fidgeting with his belt. He seemed to want to distance himself from the situation as much as possible.
Arts straitened in his seat. "Any time, any place, buddy." The weird thing was that Arts didn't seem to get mad, despite the annoyingness of the new arrival. What he displayed was more curiosity, maybe even a dash of unease, but not anger. If Eric could caption his friend's face right now, it'd say "Come at me, bro".
"Then what about now?" said the high-and-mighty newcomer. "Brother, set up the computers."
The other boy opened and reached into the tan bag, pulling out two identical laptops. He set each down across from each other, so neither could see the other's screen. Both computers starting up, the brother looked at Arts with a look that seemed to say "I'm sorry".
Both laptops logged on, and the match was set up. Eric looked at both contestants' faces: Arts sat in silent contemplation, while the other guy still wore that annoying, smug grin. Arts chose Pinkie Pie in her Surprise-like coloration, and the other boy picked the Rarity with the crystal mane.
The announcer counted off the start of the game, and the match began.
Eric watched from Arts's screen as he basically wailed on the Rarity whenever he could, using the getaway tactic if things became too unfavorable for him. The other kid's strategy looked to be trying to attack the yellow and white Pinkie from afar. Arts, however, knew what he was doing.
He'd fire from the Party Cannon, then teleport either right above the Rarity or on the other side of it, launching into a devastating combo. "I call 'em Combos!" said the Pinkie on screen. Chrystal Rarity was barely holding on to the last of her health, but regardless launched a crystal assault, utilizing one of her power bars to summon a basically undodgable attack. Arts was hit hard. But he retaliated quickly, finishing off the Rarity with a final foam-finger combo.
Both of the brothers stared at the screen with their eyes open. The annoying one's eyes were wide in disbelief and rage. The sweater-ed one looked at the screen again, then at Arts with nothing short of admiration.
"Round Two!" demanded the opponent.
And round two ended the same way, except with a super-creepy Pinkamena segment. The kid threw his arms in the air and yelled in frustration.
He glared daggers at Arts. "I... I'll remember this, you..." He decided not to finish the sentence. The kid slammed his computer shut and took it with him as he stormed off.
But the brother stayed put. Eric looked at him, and could immediately tell this kid was the practical embodiment of Fluttershy. He didn't even move. He just had his head down and his hand around his bag's strap. Every few seconds, he'd glance up to see if the other boys were still watching him. He almost looked like he was crying.
Arts raised an eyebrow after at least a minute of this. "Uh, do you wanna have a seat?" he asked.
The boy in the blue sweater walked around to an empty seat and sat down.
"Are you in our group?" Eric asked, cautiously.
"Y-yeah," the kid said. "My brother, too, but I think he's going to go... change that."
"Wow, tough sibling," Steven exhaled.
The new kid looked up at Steven with almost fright. Eric realized he actually had been crying. "I'm so sorry about him! Daniel's always like that, being a big bully. I know I really should tell him to stop, but he can get scary sometimes..."
"Hey, man," Arts consoled, "It's cool. We wouldn't blame ya for what your brother did. Just like how we don't blame Luna for what Nightmare Moon did. What's your name?"
The kid shuttered a bit, still visibly distraught, but in the stage where you're okay with being forgiven, but still crying. "I-I'm... Jack," he said.
"Well, Jack," Arts smiled, "I'm Arts, this is Eric, and this is Steven. I guess we'll be your bunkmates."
"Hello, and nice to meet you all," Jack said. "I'm sorry if I'm timid."
Eric shrugged. "We've all got some Fluttershy in us. Is she your favorite pony?"
Jack shook his head. "Not really. If I had to pick, I guess I look up to Rarity the most, because she's not afraid to live her dream. I... would like to be like that."
Eric looked around his table. Arts, Steven, and now Jack sat around him, more-or-less smiling. Sure, they each had their faults, but all of these guys were people Eric realized he could have been friends with naturally. Internally, he giggled at his own fortune. Great friends, ponies, and way too much to do?
This was going to be one heck of a summer camp.
