Adventure at Canterlot High - Into the woods

Applejack and Rarity were walking over to their respective tents, engaging in a small conversation.

"I'm all for learning safety rules, but I do hope I can get started on my designs for the camp fashion show sooner rather than later." Rarity stated with a confident expression.

“I still can't believe you talked Gloriosa into havin' a fashion show." Applejack said, still baffled. "We're in the middle of the woods for cryin' out loud! We're s'posed to be roughin' it!"

“Oh I don't know, Applejack.” Adagio said as she approached the two. “I for one think it's a great idea. Besides, it's clear from Gloriosa's own wardrobe that she appreciates a well put together look. Even if we are in the middle of the woods."

"Fair enough." Applejack nods before walking off to her tent. "Just as long as you don't put me in one of your fancy pants outfits." Applejack added with narrowed eyes towards Rarity, who had a smirk "Yer gonna, aren't ya?"

"No…" Rarity said before looking towards Adagio. "Yes!" She chuckled and looked back to Applejack. "Don't worry, It'll absolutely speak to your personal sense of fashion."

Meanwhile, Sunset and Twilight were getting settled.

“That was weird back there, right?” Sunset asked Twilight. “With that guy, Filthy Rich?”

“Huh?” Twilight looks at Sunset. “Oh. Uh, I guess so.”

“I just have this feeling that Gloriosa's hiding something.” Sunset said, then flashes a teasing smirk. “Her brother is pretty cute, though, huh?”

Twilight blushes instantaneously in surprise as she turns around to face her with an embarrassed expression, still having pink-tinted cheeks. "He's okay…" she confessed.

"Ooooh…"Subset cooed, clasping her hands together, "now look who's trying to hide something!"

"No, I'm not!" Twilight declared a panicked tone, quickly going over to put her clothes away while Sunset leader looked on worriedly.

"Hey, you okay?" Sunset asked. "You seemed a little freaked out on the bus earlier."

"Probably had another one of her nightmares," Spike chimed in, only to have a pair of purple socks flown onto his head.

"I'm fine." Twilight reaffirmed defiantly. "I mean, what do I have to complain about? Ever since I transferred here, everyone from CHS has been really nice and accepting. Especially considering what happened at the Friendship Games…"

Sunset to look over at her in concern. "That wasn't your fault." Sunset replied. "Principal Cinch is the one who encouraged you to try and use all that magic to win the games for Crystal Prep. You weren't ready to have that kind of power." As Sunset said this, she sits herself beside her bespectacled friend on the bed. "But it's over now. And if there's any group that's gonna forgive you for something that happened in the past, trust me, it's this one."

Rain bow suddenly peeks her head into their tent. "You guys comin' or what?"

"Be right there! I just wanna put on some sunscreen." Sunset then began rummaging her hands through her duffel bag for it while Rainbow left. "Huh. Coulda sworn I packed it."

Twilight too looked around before finding the item in question. "Found it!" Twilight down towards the floor.

But as Sunset was about to get it, she and Twilight widened their eyes upon seeing the tube of sunscreen floating upwards with a sparkly, purple glow around it.

And to make it even more bizarre, they see multiple other objects doing the same thing.

“Did you…” Sunset asked, looking towards Twilight. “How is this possible?”

“I can't believe this.” Twilight said. “It's…”

“Amazing/Terrible!” Both Sunset and Twilight said simultaneously before everything hovering fell downwards.

“Are you kidding?" Sunset asked rhetorically. "This is great! I mean, we've all ponied up before, gotten the whole ears and wings and tail thing, shot magical rainbow lasers, but nothing like this has ever happened! How did you do it?"

"I don't know!" Twilight replied, clearly freaking out. "Maybe I didn't! Maybe it's her!"

"Her who?" Sunset asked.

“Hey guys?’ Alex chimed in as he entered the tent.

“Alex.” Twilight said in surprise.

“Everything alright?” Sunset asked.

“We've got a situation.” Alex said as he motioned for them to follow him before exiting.

Twilight and Sunset look at each other in confusion before following him.

Alex and the girls had met up near the tent he and Tristen were running in.

“Everything alright, Alex?” Applejack asked before looking around, noticing Tristen was absent. “Hey, where's Tristen?”

“Let's just say he's been cut down a size.” Alex said before outstretching his hand to the girls.

In his hand stood a humanoid arachnid that measured to be about three inches in height.
Its face was blue with red markings, six eyes, four spider-like limbs protruding from its ribs, a tuft of orange hair on its head, khaki fuzz on its legs and arms, three clawed fingers, two toes, and a jagged mouth with a fang protruding from the corners.

The girls were truly flabbergasted, but Sunset then took notice of the all-too-familiar Omnitrix symbol on its midsection. “Wait!” Sunset gasped in realization. “Tristen? Is that you?”

“Unfortunately.” Tristen replied with a nod, his voice incredibly high pitched.

Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Sonata were immediately drawn by the cuteness of Tristen’s current form.

“Oh! My! GOSH!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“You look so cute!” Fluttershy squealed out.

“Never seen that one before.” Rainbow added with perplexity. “What happened to ya?”

“Well…” Alex trailed off while scratching his chin’ “It happened like this.”

Earlier

As Tristen and Alex were getting settled in, Tristen looks to see that the Omnitrix is still wigging out.

“The hell is up with this thing?” Tristen asked. “It's been doing that since we got here.”

As the Omnitrix flashed between green and purple more profusely, a surge of electricity surged, making Tristen yelp out in pain. And moments later, the Omnitrix changed to the purple setting before beeping profusely. Then, Tristen was enveloped in a bright purple flash.

“Whoa! Tristen?” Alex asked, but then noticed Tristen was absent. “Oh crap!” He began to panic as he looked around. “Dude? Where are you?”

“Down here!”

Surprised, Alex looked down on the ground. Eventually, he found that Tristen had changed to the miniscule arachnoid alien.

“Tristen?” Alex asked, completely baffled as he kneeled down. “Dude, what just happened?”

“Hey! You're guess is as good as mine!” Tristen replied with a shrug.

Present Day

The girls were absolutely surprised upon hearing Alex's explanation.

“Ok~?” Applejack shrugs her shoulders. “So, any ideas on what this guy can do?”

Tristen didn't respond to that verbally. Instead, he jumps a great distance from the palm Alex's hand and onto Rarity’s shoulder.

“GAH!” Rarity yelled out in disbelief before Tristen jumped over onto Spike’s snout.

“For starters, he can jump incredibly good.” Tristen replied before extending his right arm to Twilight's right foot, firing a strange of green goo at her foot before jumping towards her. “He can fire webs made of green slime.”

Suddenly, a bird flies down and attempts to perch at Tristen, clearly mistaking him for a bug. Luckily, Tristen shrinks himself down before the bird could eat him. Not seeing Tristen anywhere, thinking he may have ran off, the bird flew away. And suddenly, Tristen grew back to his three-inch size.

“And even shrink himself down to smaller sizes.” Tristen explained. He then fired a green web strand on Spike’s back and hops onto the canine’s back.

“Ok then.” Adagio replied with a puzzled expression. “Though I'm not sure how useful that can be in combat.”

Sunset too was puzzled, but then she had an idea. “Maybe it's not supposed to fight.” Sunset pondered. “Maybe it's useful in intelligence-gathering or espionage.”

“You mean like a spy?” Aria asked.

“Pretty much.” Sunset replied with a nod.

Tristen examined his new form. “Perhaps you're on to something there, Sunny.” Tristen said, chuckling. “A tiny super spy. I’m… Spyder!”

“Spider?” Pinkie asked with a confused look. “You're just naming it after a web spinning, eight-legged bug.”

“No, no. Spyder! With a ‘y’.” Tristen, or Spyder, corrected.

Aria deadpanned at that explanation. “Seriously?” Aria asked. “A mix of spy and spider?”

“Hey! I think it's a clever play on words!” Spyder said as he hopped off Spike’s back. Then, in a green flash, he reverted back to human form.

“Everything alright here?”

The gang look over to see Gloriosa approach them.

Upon seeing Gloriosa, Tristen blushed profusely. “Oh, uh, just having idle chat.” Tristen replied. “Nothing to worry about, gorgeous.” Gloriosa blushed in response from hearing that, and Tristen realized his mistake. “I mean Gloriosa!” Tristen blushed even more out of embarrassment.

Gloriosa, still blushing, chuckled sheepishly. “R-Right…” Gloriosa cleared her throat. “Anyways, if there is anything I can do to make this week the best week ever, you just let me know. I've got this!”

And with that, Gloriosa walks away while Tristen smiles. “S-Sure thing. Will do.” Tristen said, still embarrassed. ‘Wow! Way to make a jackass outside of yourself!’

“Oooooh!“ Pinkie cooed while Applejack flashed a knowing smirk.

“Looks like somebody's got bitten by the love bug.” Applejack chimed in, snickering a little.

Tristen blushed even more now, if that was even possible. “W-Wh-What?” Tristen stammered out. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh come on, man.” Alex replied with a smirk. “I can smell horny from a mile away.”

Twilight winced a bit in disgust. “Ew! Really Alex?”

“Oh, don't go give me that, little miss hypocrisy.” Alex replied knowingly. “I've seen how you've been eyeing up Timber.”

Tristen was taken by surprise by that. “Wait!” Tristen looks at Twilight in surprise. “You're hitting on…” Twilight, out of reflex, punched Tristen in the gut in quick succession. “ACK!” Tristen coughed out in light agony, clutching his gut as he got into his knees. “What... the hell, Twi?!”

Twilight realized her mistake and helps him up. “I'm so sorry, Tristen.” Twilight apologized. “Don't know what came over me there.”

“Ugh… damn woman!” Tristen groaned out. “For a science nut, you've got a good punch.”

(Meanwhile)

Perched on one of the trees, Willow and Leshy were watching the campsite while staying hidden.

“Oh my Terra!” Willow beamed with a smile. “It looks like Timber and Gloriosa finally found their match!” Willow rested herself in the branch.

Leshy however didn't seem so enthused as Willow was. He eyes Tristen and his friends, his eyebrows narrowing slightly.

Willow looks at her brother. “Leshy?” Leshy said nothing as he hops towards another tree, leaving Willow alone.

Willow was surprised, but she thought nothing of it as she looked down towards Tristen and his friends. Her attention to Tristen and Twilight respective. “Oh, if only Old Spice and Dove were around to see this “

“Oh, it's beautiful, isn't it?” Rarity said in awe at the lake. “It looks like a diamond shining in the sun!”

“It reminds me of home.” Sonata said with a sigh of reminiscing.

“It is lovely out here.” Fluttershy agreed. “The fresh air, the cool breeze,” Fluttershy sees a bird flying towards her and allows it to perch on her finger, “the birds that land on your finger."

“I think that only happens to you.” Rainbow replied.

Leshy snuck his way to the main building of the campsite. He walks over to the computer desk and types furiously on the keyboard.

Willow snuck in through the window and climbed on, noticing Leshy at the computer. “Leshy? What are you doing?”

“There is something about that particular boy.” Leshy said to himself as he grabbed a remote. “He and those who follow him.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Willow asked in confusion.

“Do you not mind anything out of the ordinary about them?” Leshy asked as he did some web surfing. “Something is peculiar about them, and I fear that it could mean trouble.”

“I'm sure you're just overthinking it.” Willow replied as she walks to the mini fridge. “And even if there is something strange about them, I'm sure they mean no ill intent.” Willow opens it and grabs a bottle of water.

“I know there is something going on with them?” Leshy looks towards Willow. “And I want to know what!”

Willow rolls her eyes. “Whatever you say.” Willow walks her way back to the window. “Just be sure to eliminate your search history this time.” Willow advised. “You know how Gloriosa and Timber get when you use the computer without their knowledge.”

With that said, Willow exits the window and closes it.

As Leshy did his research, he ultimately stumbled upon a news article about a bank heist being stopped by some strange creature. With piqued curiosity, he clicks into the news site to gain some information. Sure enough, the news article was about the same bank heist that Tristen busted a few days ago as Sunstone. He then looked at an image of Sunstone looking over the criminals, noticing something on the crystal alien’s chest. That being the Omnitrix symbol.

But sure enough, Leshy stumbled upon other news articles about various other strange criminals. Each article he found told of them performing acts of heroism, ranging from fighting crime to rescuing people from disasters. But one thing he noticed is that despite the differences the strange heroes had in terms of appearance, they all shared the same exact hourglass shape insignia that was the Omnitrix symbol.

“That sigil!” Leshy murmured as he examined the hourglass symbol. “It looks like the one on the watch that one boy holds.”

“Alright, alright. I'll be sure to do that Gloriosa.”

Leshy looks over to the door, realizing he had little time to make an escape.

Eventually, Timber made his way in. Luckily, Leshy was hidden to avoid detection. Timber looks around before grabbing a soccer ball. And once Timber lets himself out, Leshy comes out of hiding and makes his way out through the window.

(Later)

Everyone had gathered near the docks as Gloriosa began explaining the camp guidelines.

“Lake activities are available every day until sunset, so if you want to canoe, sail, windsurf, or swim, just let me know.” Gloriosa said.

Tristen looked at the Omnitrix, which was still flashing between green and purple while beeping.

“The watch is still malfunctioning?” Twilight asked as she examined the Omnitrix. “Is Cortana sure that there aren't any glitches?”

“She ran the system check multiple times.” Tristen replied. “And still, no hiccups.”

Twilight then had a puzzled look. “Hey Tristen?” Tristen said nothing as he gave her his attention. “You said those transformations are hybrids, right?” Twilight pondered. “As in, genetic mixtures?”

Tristen nods. “Pretty much. Though their DNA combinations are so complex that they are essentially their own unique alien.” Tristen then brought up a sketchbook and opened it. “Take Thunderclap for example.”

Twilight looksto see a rough sketch of Thunderclap, along with the sketches of two other aliens. The first depicts a humanoid ape-like creature with electric bolts on its neck and the backs of its hand. The other depicted a short stocky humanoid with enormous hands.

Tristen points to the ape-like sketch. “He's basically a mix of a Gimlinopithecus, a race of electrically charged Sasquatches,” he then points to the big handed figure, “and an alien named Slapstrike, whose species info I do not know, who is capable of sonic clapping.”

Twilight nods as she looks to another sketch of Big Bang on the adjacent page. “What about this one?”

“Big Bang?” Tristen replied. “Well, for one, he's comprised one third To’kustar," Tristen points to a sketch of a man with fins on his forearms and head, “a race of cosmic giants born from cosmic storms.” He then pints to the image of a humanoid dinosaur. “As well as one third Vaxasaurian, basically alien dinosaurs with immense physical strength that can increase their size,” He then points to a bulky robot with forearms that resemble canisters, “and one third of an unidentifiable species with nuclear powers. Basically, living nuclear warheads.”

Twilight was further intrigued. “What about your newest one?” Twilight asked. “Spyder, was it?”

“From what I was able to gather, he is the combination of four aliens.” Tristen flips through the pages before finding the rough sketch of Spyder and his components. “One-fourth human/nanochip hybrid, one-forth arachnochinp, basically alien monkey/spider hybrids, one-fourth Galvan, hyper intelligent miniscule space frogs, and one-fourth of an unarmed insectoid species capable of firing green plasma balls that can explode.”

Twilight was truly baffled by how well her male friend was capable of knowing such information. “How do you even know all of that?”

“Whenever I get a new transformation, all the information about it is dumped into my head. From what aliens its mad of, what its powers are, even its weaknesses.” Tristen replied, pointing his head to emphasize his point. “It's quite an information overload, but it works in handy when I get a new alien.”

Unbeknownst to them, Leshy was listening in on the whole conversation. His hardened gaze was directly towards Twilight.

“This fool could be trouble in the long run.” Leshy murmured to himself before looking towards the lake, an idea suddenly popping up in his head.

Fluttershy was on the docks, overlooking a bunch of ducks. "Aren't they just the cutest?"

Suddenly, one of the boards beneath Twilight splintered, causing her to stumble back, falling while letting go of the paddle in her hands. Luckily for her, Timber was able to catch her.

"Whoa!” Timber uttered in surprise as Twilight smiled bashfully. "I know I'm charming, but you don't have to fall for me." Timber said jokingly.

Flash saw this and sighs out sadly. “Guess I can't get too jealous, right?” Flash murmured. “After all, she isn't my Twilight. Not that the other Twilight was mine! But we were... you know.”

Sunset, feeling sympathy towards Flash, walks to him. “Yeah. I get it.” Sunset added. “But your Twilight is a princess in Equestria. Hate to break it to you, but that's where she's gonna spend most of her time.”

“So, you're saying I just need to get over her?” Flash asked.

Sunset nods in response. “Kinda, yeah.”

Perched on one of the trees, Willow was watching the blossoming romance between Twilight and Timber, a genuine smile gracing her face.

“This is a safety hazard.” Luna said as she motioned towards the dock. “I suggest we close down the dock for the remainder of the camp.”

The students however were not very pleased about that

“Oh, I'm sure it won't have to be for the remainder of camp.” Gloriosa replied. “Just needs to be patched up a bit. I've got this!”

“Or maybe we do!” Applejack suggested. “If you ask me, this whole dock needs to go. Building a new one could be our camp gift. Sure, it would benefit us, but a nice new dock would benefit future campers, too.

The other students cheered in response, showing that they were on board.

“I don't know. It's an awful lot of work.” Timber chimed in. “I wouldn't want you guys to miss out on doing other fun camp stuff because you're so busy building a dock for future campers.”

“I hear what you're saying, Timber, but we're Canterlot Wondercolts.” Rainbow replied. “We've got a reputation to uphold! And there was no way we were gonna leave this place without contributing the most awesome camp gift ever! I'm with AJ.”

Aria and Adagio were also on board. “Building a new dock is definitely it!” Aria agreed while looking towards the others. “What do you guys think?”

They responded to that by cheering again.

Tristen was working with Flash, Microsoft Chips, and Bulk Biceps on dismantling the old dock.

Meanwhile, Sunset and the other girls were going over designs, which were drawn by a student who provided the design layouts.

"We can reinforce the foundation." Twilight pointed out to the drawer.

"Make it nice and sturdy." Applejack continued.

"And we can add a wood-carved sign that says "Camp Everfree"." Sunset added.

"Oh!" Rainbow yelped in realization, "We'll add lanterns so you can see at night!" she suggested excitedly with outstretched arms.

With a few more adjustments, the artistic student working on the blueprints holds up her notepad to show the group.

Rarity gasps in awe. "It's stunning! And will make an absolutely perfect runway for my camp fashion show!"

"More importantly," Applejack retorted with a deadpan expression to Rarity, "it will be a great place for docking canoes and feeding the wildlife.”

"Oh, you say "tomato", I say "perfect place to showcase glamorous boho-chic stylings". Rarity said with a dismissive wave.

"Really?" Aria deadpanned.

"Don't dampen her enthusiasm, Aria." Adagio replied with a jab to Aria’s side.

"What do you guys think?" Twilight asked the three faculty members.

"It's going to be a lot of work, but we can do it!" Celestia said with a smile.

"It's going to be a lot of work, but we can do it!" Celestia said with a smile.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the lake, Leshy was well hidden while glancing at Tristen.

“It’s now or never.” Leshy said before extending his hand towards the lake, his eyes glowing green, and a magic seal appeared in his hand.

Deep beneath the lake, a green magic seal formed in the lakebed, and a large lump of sediment began to form. A bunch of materials like wood planks, stones, whatever was available began to gravitate towards the mound as it grew in size.

Tristen was about to unload the next set of boards, but he accidentally steps over the edge and falls over into the water in a big splash

“You ok, dude?” Flash asked as Tristen surfaced.

“I'm good, man.” Tristen replied as he shook his head to dry his hair. “Man, this river feels really nice.” But suddenly, Tristen felt something grab at him. “Whoa! What the-” Suddenly, he gets sucked under the surface.

“Tristen?” Flash asked out in worry.

Under the water, Tristen was struggling to break free from whatever it was that grabbed him. But when looks down, he only saw a pair of green glowing eyes looking at him. Whatever it was, it was enormous.

Eventually, Tristen managed to break free and began swimming his way to the surface. When Tristen breached the surface, Sunset and Adagio grabbed onto him and pulled him to the shore.

"Are you alright?" Sunset asked in concern.

Moments later, something else breached the surface. It was a large mass of mud with two tentacle-like arms and massive eyes that glowed bright green.

“Oh crap!” Tristen muttered out in disbelief.

Willow gasped in shock at seeing what was happening.

The mud monster had its sights on Tristen as it sent its right arm at him. Tristen evaded the attack, only to get struck by the other, being enveloped in mud in the process.

Willow, realizing who was responsible for this, decided to intervene. With a glare, she extends her hand towards the mud monster. “Disperse!”

Before the mud beast could deliver another attack, the monster lost its glowing eyes as it began to collapse back into the water. Leshy, realizing that Willow stepped in, growled angrily before receding into the woods.

“Tristen!” Sunset and her friends walk up to Tristen, who pokes his head out of the mud. “Are you ok?”

Tristen had a look of disgust. “Ugh! This mud stinks like dammit!” Tristen groaned as Applejack pulled him out of the mud pile.

“EW!” Pinkie plugs her nose as Rarity backs up a bit. “That does stink!”

Gloriosa was still surprised at what happened, but she then had a good idea who was responsible for it.

Deep in the forest, Gloriosa was wading through the underbrush with a scowl on her face.

"Leshy!" Gloriosa called out. "I know you're out here!"

Not too long afterwards, Leshy appeared from a nearby tree.

“What was that?!” Gloriosa demanded.

Leshy, rather than denying or coming up with excuses, gave her the straightest face he could muster. "I was doing my task!”

"BY ATTACKING ONE OF MY CAMPERS?!" Gloriosa barked furiously. "Just what are you trying to pull?!”

“What were you thinking, brother?!” Willow chimed in as she approached her brother.

"That boy is nothing but trouble!" Leshy declared.

"How is Tristen trouble?!” Gloriosa shot back. “He's not harming anybody! You don't even know him!"

"Know him?!” Leshy repeated in anger. “KNOW HIM?! I don't have to know him!” Leshy yelled back. “And don't go pretending that you know him as well!"

“Don't turn this around, Leshy!” Willow fired back. “What you just did was unnecessary!”

“Our goal is close at hand!” Leshy protested. “That boy is going to ruin it all if left alone!”

“I'm done talking about this, Leshy!" Gloriosa declared with a scowl. "If you ever pull a stunt like this, we're going to have a problem!”

And with that, Gloriosa stormed out, leaving an angry Leshy glare at her direction.

“Seriously, Leshy! What has gotten into you?!” Willow demanded as she got in front of him. “You've never acted this way before!”

“I'm just doing whatever it takes to protect this sanctuary!” Leshy declared in his defense. “It's bad enough that Filthy Rich is hounding this place, and now we have those heathens to worry about!”

“Those ‘heathens’ are not hurting anybody!” Willow shot back. “You are just lucky that I was there to diffuse the situation!”

“I did not ask you to, Willow!” Leshy barked back. “I am the one who gives orders! Not you!” Leshy looks at Willow’s chest. “I am tasked with fending off any threats that come here while you are responsible for tending to the defenseless!”

Willow was truly furious by now. “I’m not going to argue with you anymore!” Willow declared. “Not anymore! I don't even know who you are!” Willow then storms off, leaving Leshy alone.