The Everfree Giant

At Canterlot High

Sunset and her friends were all gathered around their usual table and discussing what they could do with their new powers. After the incident at Camp Everfree last year, they decided that they needed to discuss how they should go about using magic.

"We could become superheroes! Like the Power Pals!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed while striking a dramatic pose.

"While that is certainly an interesting idea, darling, perhaps we should consider our education before becoming heroes. We are still in high school, after all" Rarity stated.

"Rare's right, y'all. We're still students. We can't just run off every time something bad goes on" Applejack says.

"Besides, the SAT's are coming up. For now, we have to focus on that" Twilight said.

"But we have MAGIC now, Twilight!", Pinkie exclaimed. "What's the point of having magic if we're not going to use it to fight evil?!"

"While the idea of using our powers to be heroes is tempting, we should leave the majority of the crime-fighting to the police and other law enforcement agencies" Sunset said.

"Aaaww! But why?" Pinkie asked.

"Because, Pinkie. That's their job to stop bad guys. They have families to support, as well. If we use our powers to stop every bad guy we see, they'll be out of a job".

Pinkie seemed to relent at that reasoning. "Okay, I get it. If they have to support their families, I won't use my powers"

Rainbow didn't seem to want to back down from wanting to be a hero, but the look in her eyes indicated that she was at least willing to compromise.

"So what if we don't go after the regular criminals? What if we go after things that the regular police can't handle?" she asked in suggestion.

"Like what, Rainbow?" Rarity asked.

"Like magical problems! Magical supervillains and vicious monsters! The regular cops can't handle those kinds of threats! We'll be the ones who respond to them!" Rainbow replied.

The rest of the group looked off into space in thought. What with what happened with Gloriosa Daisy at Camp Everfree, perhaps they were the best ones suited to fight off magic-related threats.

"Maybe we could do that. Only facing magical threats while leaving normal criminals to the police seems like a normal idea to me" Fluttershy said.

"That may be true, but how often do these threats come up? It's not like we're going to get a call saying that there's a mysterious incident that may involve magic or monsters that we need to look into" Sunset said.

As if on cue, Sunset's phone started vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw the name "Timber Spruce" on the screen. She swiped her phone screen to answer him.

"Timber? What's up?" Sunset asked her former counselor.

"Sunset, there's a mysterious incident that may involve magic or monsters that I need you to look into" Timber replied.

Sunset slowly looked at the other girls, who had been listening in on the conversation. "The odds of this happening are astronomical"

At Camp Everfree-Saturday

Timber and Gloriosa stood inside the main office building in the camp with a large map of the campgrounds and the surrounding forest.

The map was marked with circles and various paper notes and photographs pinned to the sides of the board upon which the map itself was pinned.

Some of the photos contained destroyed rocks, toppled trees, and the mangled remains of deer and other large animals. Other photos showed large inhuman footprints. There were some rough sketches of what their campers reported seeing.

The circles on the map were the areas where the sightings were reported and the dates when these sightings took place. First sighting took place on May 3rd, near the base of Mt. Everfree. One of the campers wanted to hike an abandoned trail deep in the forest and spotted what looked like a "female giant" staring at him from the cover of the trees. The second sighting took place on July 13th, near Sidewinder Trail. Two campers saw what they described as a "giant" walking through the forest as if it didn't know the campers were even there. The third sighting occurred on August 4th, near some of the outhouses. A girl saw the silhouette of a "giant" looking at her from the woods. The fourth and latest sighting occurred on August 6th, near the clearing. The clearing was the one closest to the lake next to the main camp site.

Timber was the first to speak up. "Hey, Glory. What do you notice about the placement of the sightings?"

Gloriosa looked at the map with firm concentration. Eventually, her eyes widened in realization.

"The sightings are occurring closer and closer to the camp. You think whatever this creature is is going to come to the camp?" she asked her brother.

"All I can say about the creature is that it's probably curious. Or it's running out of it's usual food in the forest and may decide to eat the campers. Either way, this creature is getting bolder. We'll see what the girls think about this matter as soon as they get here" Timber replied.

As if to answer his response, the siblings heard the sound of a van pulling up to the main office of the camp. They want outside to see the girls coming out of their van and started walking towards the counselors.

"H-hey, Twilight! How have you been?" he asked in greeting.

Twilight's only response was to look away from him with a scowl. The air around them suddenly became very awkward.

Their relationship hadn't ended well. Twilight caught Timber Spruce cheating on her with a random cheerleader from Crystal Prep. Timber had respected Twilight's decision to break up with him, but he didn't her to hold such a grudge. He was at least thankful that the rest of the Rainbooms had forgiven him for it.

"So... what are we dealing with here, Spruce?" Applejack asked.

"Right. Just follow me" Timber said before turning around and walked towards the main office.