Long Night at Camp Everfree

Along the sunbaked dirt paths, snaking like veins across the green grass fields of the camp, Timber and Gloriosa continued looking for the other counselors.

Up ahead, one of the largest fields was dotted with various objects that were clearly not a part of the environment. Cones, nets, balls, and other devices were scattered around. There was a wooden pen in the shape of a hexagon for playing gaga ball, a sand pit for volleyball, and a rectangle blocked out in cones for soccer. Everything in the main sports field was neatly set up, the equipment stowed and prepared, yet there was no one around. Whoever had done the work had clearly moved off before the inspection.

Fortunately, the errant counselor’s whereabouts were given away rather quickly. The large, empty and flat spaces of the main camp let sound travel far, and so Timber and Gloriosa could hear the distant crack of splashing water.

The waterfront was just a short ways past the sports field, and they were able to jog over in a few seconds. On the approach, they could see the telltale outline of a girl on the dock, diving into the lake to create the splashes that they had heard and then pulling herself back out. Closer inspection identified her as Rainbow Dash, her multi-colored hair slicked back and darkened by the water. She was now clad in her characteristic skin-tight bathing suit with pink bottoms and a black top with a splash of color across the chest. As she shook her head and water splattered off onto the dock, she managed to notice the pair running to meet her.

As Gloriosa and Timber plodded down the wooden planks of the dock, Dash pulled on her hair to wring it out. “Hey guys, whatcha doing out here? Wanna jump in for a bit?” Dash asked.

“We’re fine. But what are you doing out here? You were supposed to work on the sports field and be ready for inspection,” Gloriosa said.

“Oh that? I finished that ages ago. Got it done in about 10 minutes flat, and didn’t see why I should sit around. Came out here to cool off,” Dash said. She walked past the other two and back towards a bench on the beach. Grabbing a towel from the seat, she rubbed the fluffy item all over herself to dry off.

“Okay then. Was there anything you found an issue with? Anything to report?” Gloriosa asked, Timber and her following behind Dash.

“Nah, like I said, I got that all locked down just fine,” Dash said, a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

“Okay. So I guess we’ll just see you at the campfire later,” Gloriosa said, hoping to retain some relevance to the arrogant girl.

“Oh yeah, I’m looking forward to it. I’ve got some thing I’m especially looking forward too.”

“Well, that’s good to know I suppose,” Gloriosa said, bit off put by Dash’s dismissive attitude.

Dash finished drying herself off with the towel and grabbed her clothes off the bench. “See you guys later!”

Though still a bit annoyed, neither Gloriosa or Timber could find a reason to argue. Turning away from the beach, they plodded down the dirt path.

Gloriosa and Timber drew near to a cabin this time, though now situated within a clearing rather than in the woods. The carved and yellow painted letters on the cabin’s sign spelled out “Art”, but that was the only real indication of the building’s purpose from the outside.

As they had done with Twilight, Gloriosa and Timber approached the door and knocked gently.

“Mhmmm, just a minute, please!” a singsong voice leaked from inside. “I’m quite busy at the moment!”

The pair looked at each other, and Timber shrugged. He also angled himself to try and look through the small window in the door, and see what the cabin’s occupant was doing that was so important.

Inside he could see Rarity, her back to the door and shifted around ever so slightly in place. Every so often her arms would dart out to the side to grab something off the table in front of her or somewhere else in the cabin. But mostly they were kept in front of her as she feverishly worked on, whatever it was. Though rapid, her movements were clearly calculated and precise, the picture of an artist absorbed in their craft and absolute in their determination.

Despite Rarity’s words, it was in fact several minutes before her work inside came to an end. At long last, her observers saw her hands come to her side and rest. Turning around from her mystery project, she approached the door, noticing the all too obvious audience that she had received.

“Now, there’s no need for that darlings. I told you I would open the door for you eventually. I am a woman of my word, am I not?” she asked rhetorically, pulling open the wooden door with a creak of springs.

“Rarity, that was ten minutes,” Gloriosa pointed out, indicated her watch to the fashionista.

“Oh. Dear. I must have lost track of time. Such mundane things tend to slip my mind when concentrated,” Rarity responded, slightly befuddled.

“What were you working on, anyway?” Timber asked, sliding around Rarity to look at her workbench.

Atop the table stood a clay figurine, about half a foot in height, still being molded and sculpted. Arranged around the board that the figure sat on was a collection of tools, including knives, loops, sponges, and other things. More interesting, however, was the statue itself. Although small, the key details could still be made out. A worn hockey mask, set aside of a feminine face. A stained machete held casually in one hand, an axe in the other and rested across a shoulder. Clothes torn and tattered to reveal a firm musculature, bleeding wounds, and appealing curves.

“Why is Jason a girl now?” Timber asked in confusion. The edifices of the horror icon were clear, but the female body was causing significant cognitive dissonance to the character’s original appearance.

“For one thing, in the original movie, the killer was not him but his mother, but mostly it’s because I can. Already you’re demonstrating the difference in psychological reactions to a known character in a decisively different appearance. The danger of a serial killer, offset with the sexual appeal of an attractive woman. Besides, it’s just a fun artistic exercise,” Rarity explained nonchalantly, smiling with satisfaction at Timber’s surprise and confusion.

“I take it you’ve finished preparing for the campers then?” Gloriosa asked from off to the side, also bemused by her brother’s reaction.

“Oh yes. The supplies for each course are sorted, agendas planned out, and all I need now are some pupils to teach them too,” Rarity affirmed.

“Good, good,” Timber said, finally turning to face Rarity. “So that means Applejack is the only one left to check in on,” he said to his sister.

“Yep. Alright, let’s go give her a visit,” Gloriosa said.

The pair took their leave of Rarity, waving goodbye to the girl as the went out the door and she turned back to her sculpture.

The sun was already beginning to set by the time Gloriosa and Timber were approaching their final destination. It’s orange glow was becoming more muted by the minute, bathing the environment in a warm yet soothing light as compared to the stark illumination from earlier in the day. The camp greenhouses still shone in the light, their reflective surfaces making them the brightest objects in the area.

The councilor running them however, was actually outside at the moment. Applejack was bent over in a garden just aside of the greenhouses, gouging into the dark soil with a hoe. Sweat glistened on her face and her characteristic wide-brimmed hat kept the sun out of her eyes. As she reached the end of the row she was working on, she straightened up for a moment and called out towards the greenhouses.

“Hey Rainbow, did ya find the seeds yet?”

“I’m working on it! All these bags look the same!” Dash called back from somewhere inside the glass building.

“Remember, it’s on the bottom shelf and has blue text.” At that moment, she also noticed the two who had been approaching. “Oh hey there, glad to see you finally got around to me in the inspection.”

“Nice to see you too Applejack. I see Rainbow Dash has joined you,” Gloriosa said.

“Hell yeah, I wasn’t going to just sit around and wait for another hour before the fire. I figured I’d come and help,” Rainbow Dash said from behind them, emerging from the greenhouse door carrying a large bag over her shoulders. She brought it over to Applejack and set it down next to her. “There, I think I got the right one.”

“You did fine, Dashie. And now we can get to plantin’ em,” Applejack said. She took out a pocket knife and carefully cut open the top of the bag.

“Okay,” Dash said, quickly reaching in and grabbing fistfulls of large black seeds. She immediately set to putting them in the ground, though without much care or effort. Mostly just dropping them in casually as she went down the row of soil Applejack had tilled.

With her helper once again occupied, Applejack was free to turn her attention back to the inspection. “Things are going mostly okay in terms of the pace of progress. The greenhouses and gardens are up in working order and most of the plants are healthy and ready for the campers. The only real problem is with supplies. C’mon, I’ll show you,” she said, gesturing for Gloriosa and Timber to follow her.

They went inside of the greenhouse, with its stifling heat from the sun throughout the day, and rows and rows of blossoming and growing plants. Towards the back of the building were several silver wire racks stacked with every item the building needed.

“We’re low on both fertilizer and some of the plant seeds I was hoping to use. The closest store that might have any more is miles away, and ordering them for delivery would probably take several days for them to arrive,” Applejack explained, pointing out all the empty spots on the shelves.

“Actually, we were planning a supply run out of camp tomorrow anyway. Some of the mess hall supplies were low, too, so we can grab everything we need at once,” Timber said.

“That’d be great. I know it’ll be a lot better to have different things to grow and teach the kids about,” Applejack replied.

Gloriosa finished writing down another not on her clipboard before looking up.
“Well, that covers all of the inspections. Since it’s getting close to dark anyway, why don’t we all go to the campfire together?”

They didn’t notice the metallic twinkle from the undergrowth.