Long Night at Camp Everfree

Long Night at Camp Everfree

By

Wolftamer54

The gravel crunched as tires passed over it, the loose grains yielding to the tough rubber. The friction tossed up clouds of miniscule particles to dust the air behind the wheels, hovering for a few moments even after the event had passed. These particular tires belonged to a pickup truck, painted bright red and the bed was filled with various tools and equipment -- axes, shovels, shears, bags of soil, and whatever other items the truck’s owner might need. It was driven by a teen girl with blonde hair in a ponytail.

Outside of the truck itself, there was a dense layer of trees on either side of the road, casting their shadows along it in the still rising sun. The road itself was barely wide enough for two cars to pass by each other without scraping paint, so the driver was glad she was currently alone. Quite some hours had passed since she first began the journey, and further time since last seeing any building other than a barn. Now she drove along through the woods, ever nearing her destination.
This was close at hand, as a turn in the road ahead was accompanied by a simple wooden sign with carved letters painted in yellow:

CAMP EVERFREE

The driver dutifully put her blinker on and turned down the side road to the camp. Along this new path, the trees cleared up enough that fields of grass could be seen, dotted with wooden buildings and snaking dirt trails. She drove through a metal gate, wide open to travelers and further on to a small parking lot. Pulling into a space in the corner of the lot, she put the truck in park and turned off the ignition. Opening the door and climbing out, she took in the surroundings with a greater freedom than she could from within the vehicle.

Already the scene was dotted with some familiar sights, the station wagon and compact electric cars that she recognized as belonging to some of her friends. And even now, the distant chatter of voices could be heard leaking out of the building in front of the lot. An aggressive rasp, a refined and proper tone, and an energetic squeal among others. Recognizing these, the girl walked the short cobblestone path to the building’s open doorway.

Inside was a large mess hall, the long tables and benches pushed against the walls to make floor space and decked out every inch with regalia of past campers. But more importantly to the new arrival, there was a circle of people converged in the rough center of the room. An array of late-teenage girls, and a single teen boy, whose colorations and fashion choices ranged from bright pink to simple brown and green. At the moment, they were talking hurriedly amongst themselves, phrases such as “lesson plans”, “food supplies”, and others being thrown around.

The new girl knocked on the door frame lightly, politely but quickly gaining the attention of the group inside.

A bright pink girl with frizzly hair immediately turned 180 degrees and was still for a split second as she saw who had knocked. The freeze was broken as recognition split across her features and she exploded into movement and sound.
“Ohmygosh, Applejack! You’re finally here! We’ve been waiting for you so much! We missed you!” she squealed, bounding over to the cowgirl and grasping her hands excitedly.

“Heh, it’s good to see ya too, Pinkie,” Applejack said with a smile. She also looked beyond Pinkie to see the rest of her friends. Twilight, glasses perched on her nose and straight purple hair cut short. Rarity, purple hair curled up in a tight bun and with a stylish jumper. Rainbow Dash, jeans and jacket scuffed with dirt and grass stains, grinning from ear to ear. And Fluttershy, whose long pink hair was falling across her face and sundress. Each said hello in their own way, rasing hands in greeting or whispering a small “Hi”.

Beyond this familiar gather stood two more figures. Gloriosa and Timber, the sibling pair already clad in the camp outfits of t-shirts with a lakeside logo and shorts. They were still a few paces back from the group, not quite as familiar with them all.

“Hello, Applejack, we’re glad you made it. Though now that everyone is here, we should be getting to work,” Gloriosa said, turning to another door and gazing out across the campgrounds. “There’s still a lot to be done before the camp is ready for the season, and there’s only so many of us to work.”

“Exactly. We were just going over everyone’s assignments before you got here, so let’s finish up,” Timber added.

The group around Applejack broke formation and turned their attention back to the owners.

“I’m leading the arts and crafts center, including painting, sculpture, and carving,” Rarity said.

“Sports and other physical activities, to be coordinated in the main even field,” Rainbow Dash added.

“Zoology at the nature cabin,”

“Leisure time and cabin activities,”

“Biology and geology at the science lodge,” the other girls listed off one by one.

“And that just leaves me, I guess,” Applejack said, “Horticulture and botany at the greenhouses.”

“Excellent. Everyone knows their jobs, so we can get back to work. Remember, we’ll meet back here at 6 for dinner and a campfire,” Gloriosa said.

The assembly dispersed, each going off in a different direction to find their work area and prepare it.

The sun was approaching its apex when Gloriosa and Timber set off through the camp. Having spent most of the past hours filing paperwork and stocking supplies in the main lodge, it was about time to check up with the rest of the councilors. Having set aside their work for the moment, each pulled out a clipboard and began the trek. They didn’t have to go far to meet up with the first of the others, Pinkie Pie being under an awning just outside the lodge. Boxes were strewn about, each piled high with knick knacks and toys. Flags, ropes, whipped cream, confetti, and other items could be seen. The girl herself was currently rummaging through a box of compasses and maps.

“Hi, Pinkie. How’re things going for you?” Timber asked, coming to a stop just behind her.

“Well, things would be a teensey bit better if I could find all my costumes. I’m trying to set up a scavenger pirate hunt for the campers, and can’t find my hat or hook or anything!” she said, bouncing upright in a way that made her hair frizzle out even more than usual. “Fortunately, I’ve got all the supplies for the inter-cabin competition. Designing a cabin symbol, tug of war, skits, all sorts of stuff. It’ll be a lot of fun! Especially the raffle at the end where the winners get to smash us in the face with a pie!” she squealed, raising her arms in the air in excitement.

“Okay, sounds good. We’ll look around through some of the other boxes and see if your costumes got mixed up anywhere,” Gloriosa replied, making notes on her clipboard.

“Fluttershy and Twilight next,” Timber said, pointing to a wooded hill off to the left.

Gloriosa nodded in response, and they moved off together.

“Say hi to Flutters and Twiggles for me!” Pinkie called out from behind them.

The nature and science cabins were situated almost directly next to each other, nestled within a secluded part of the woods with plenty of shade. It was a short climb up to them along the rise that formed one of the camp’s borders. The pair trekked up the path no problem, their strong boots making the rock paths easier to traverse. After a short wooden bridge, the path split between the two buildings. Going left first, they walked up to the nature cabin.

Outside of the cabin itself, there were several pens and enclosures for the animals to make home. Some birds, a pair of otters, a snake under a hot lamp, and an ant colony were among the fauna that Fluttershy would teach about and care for. Fluttershy herself was nowhere to be seen though, and not wanting to startle the shy girl, Gloriosa called out sofly, “Fluttershy? We’re just here to check in on how things are going.”

“I-I’m here,” a voice responded, emanating from somewhere in front of them though the speaker still couldn’t be seen. “I saw you coming up the path, I’m just working on making sure all the animals are nice and comfortable so they don’t get upset while we talk.” At this, Fluttershy finally showed herself, her yellow head peeking out from behind the cabin wall.

“Hi,” Gloriosa said as she waved gently at the girl. “So, what have you been planning? Is there anything you still need?”

“Um, right. If you come on back here I can show you…” Fluttershy trailed off as she went back behind the cabin. Gloriosa and Timber followed, emerging to see Fluttershy gesturing to the various enclosures.

“Mr. and Mrs. Clamcracker are ready to teach the campers,” she said as she indicated the otter pair. “They’ll be part of the course on local wildlife and ecosystem. They’ll give the campers a demonstration of how they hunt and their social structure.”

Over by a large wire mesh cage filled with birds, she continued. “There are avians of all types, songbirds, woodpeckers, raptors, and more. Some of the older campers will even get the chance to feed them. Oh, that reminds me, I do still need some more birdseed. I could only find a small bag at the store on my way over.”

“Okay, we’ll get you some more on one of our supply runs,” Timber agreed, marking down a note on his clipboard.

Now Fluttershy sat at a picnic table in the middle of the area. She pulled out some papers encased in plastic and regarded them. “The final course will be about some of the less easily encountered wildlife. We’ll have to use written information for bears, cougars, etc. I don’t want to scare any of the kids with anything too big.”

“Um, speaking of, is that snake safe?” Timber asked, pointing to the reptile still lounging under its heat lamp.

“Oh, Mr. Smiles? He’s perfectly tame. He mostly just likes to snooze, and only eats small bugs and rodents. He’ll pose no harm to the campers. It’ll actually be more of a challenge to get them to treat him well,” Fluttershy admitted. She looked a tad saddened by this prospect, clearly caring for her scaly friend.

“Okay then, it seems like you’ve got everything under control. We’ll just go check on Twilight and then see you later,” Gloriosa said, patting Fluttershy gently on the shoulder as a goodbye. She and Timber started walking away, across the short path to Twilight’s nature cabin. Fluttershy waved her goodbye from behind.

Unlike with their previous encounter, it was immediately obvious where this councilor was located. As they approached the door, a variety of sounds could be heard emanating from inside. The clatter of footsteps, whispered instructions, and the hiss of fire.

Not wanting to disturb Twilight too badly, Gloriosa knocked on the door gently to get the councilor’s attention.
“Just a minute!” a voice shouted from inside, sounding rushed and pressure.

The pair outside dutifully waited, and it was fortunately a mere minute before Twilight came to the door. She now had a lab coat on over her councilor uniform, rubber gloves on her hands, her hair was tucked up in a bun, and her glasses were slightly fogged up. She opened the door and began to explain. “Sorry for the wait, just had to turn off the hotplate and put away some ingredients.”

“It’s no problem,” Gloriosa said reassuringly as they entered the cabin behind Twilight. In contrast to the humble wooden construction, the interior of the cabin was decked out in gleaming white surfaces, sterile and smooth for conducting experiments easily. Along the counter tops were beakers and vials filled with liquids of various colors, dishes of sediment and plant life under a window, and the aforementioned hotplate. As Twilight moved around, she grabbed a few different containers and put them away into a mini fridge tucked underneath the counter.

“I know why you’re here, and to answer your questions, yes, everything is going perfectly well,” Twilight said as she worked, not even pausing to turn back to look at the others. “I’ve already begun prep work for the various lessons, so all the ingredients and experiments will be ready by the time the campers arrive. Any variables that might cause more issues are more likely to come from the campers themselves. The younger ones especially may grow impatient, and find distaste in the slower nature of scientific work. I’d expect them not following the given directions to cause me more problems than any lack of materials.” At this, she finally turned around to face Gloriosa and Timber, smiling nonchalantly.

“If there is any trouble with a particular camper, I will let you know. But that will be an issue for when they actually arrive, and at the moment I don’t think I particularly need anything from you both. Still, thank you for checking in. I look forward to the campfire tonight,” she finished, waving goodbye even though they hadn’t moved at all yet.

“Um, okay, well thanks. It looks like you have everything under control,” Gloriosa said abruptly, realizing that she was finally allowed to talk again.

“We look forward to tonight as well,” Timber added, and they both bustled back out the door, mere seconds after they had arrived.

Both councilors in the immediate area having been met already, the pair started off back down the trail to the main campsite. As they moved, a slight rustling could be heard from the path off to their left. Timber stopped for a second to peer into the foliage, wondering what had caused it.

“Don’t worry, its probably just some squirrel. There’s nothing around here that Fluttershy doesn’t know about, and even less that she couldn’t get along with,” Gloriosa called back.

Shrugging, Timber turned back to the path and followed her.

Neither happened to notice the pair of eyes peering at them from behind a tree, or the long slender fingers that grasped around the trunk.