Adventure at Canterlot High - Into the woods

Dawn came by early the next day, with everyone sleeping in their tents as the sun was starting to rise. In the Sapphire tent where Sunset and Twilight bunked in Twilight was tossing and turning with a look of discomfort on her face.

In Twilight’s dream, she was alone at the fire pit, roasting a marshmallow while in her camp uniform.

"Here I am!"

Twilight perked up, glancing around the area to find the source.

“Over here."

Twilight stood up while looking around with a fearful expression.

The flames beside her suddenly turned a dark purple, and from the sprung Midnight Sparkle, dashing out towards her counterpart, surprising her. "I'm always here!”

"No!" Twilight screamed out in terror while waking from her nightmare.

Sunset immediately leapt out of her bed, muttering with drool hanging from her mouth as she got into a fighting stance. "What happened?" she asked deliriously.

"Nothing!" Twilight responded as she sat up, a pinkish aura sparkling around her form and her divan. "Sorry, Sunset."

Sunset rubbed her eyes before finally opening them, noticing what was going on. "Uh, Twilight…" she said nervously, pointing upwards. "I think something happened…"

Twilight looks to see that almost everything on her side of the tent was levitating above the ground in a sparkling energy that appeared to emanate from her. Realizing this, she yelped loudly before everything fell downwards onto the floor with a loud thud.

"Twilight, we really have to talk about this." Sunset said, clearly worried for her purple friend.

"No, we don't!" Twilight responded.

Before her pal could say anything, Alex and Tristen entered the tent with worried looks.

“Everything alright?!” Alex asked in concern. “We heard screaming!”

"Nothing!" Twilight replied much to their surprise as they saw her glance away.

“You sure?” Tristen asked in concern

But then the Omnitrix then started beeping again, making Tristen and Alex glance towards the device. Suddenly, in a flash of purple light, Tristen changed into Amboeblot.

“Ok, what is the deal with this thing?!” Amboeblot groaned out in frustration.

“That thing has been wigging out more than usual.” Alex said in concern.

“Wait! For real?” Sunset asked, looking towards Amoeblot. “When has that started happening?”

“Yesterday evening.” Amoeblot said before he suddenly changed into Speed Demon. “Every moment or so, I shift to a different alien!”

Speed Demon then shifts to Thunderclap. “I'm telling ya, it's really pressing the crap out of me!” Thunderclap said before shifting into Carbon Copy. “I don't even know what to do about it!”

“Can't Cortana figure something out?” Twilight asked.

“I don't think I have a remedy for this.” Cortana spoke through the Omnitrix symbol as Thunderclap changed to Saw Horse. “I'm not sure how to fix this.”

“Well great!” Saw Horse said in exasperation before pressing the Omnitrix symbol, changing back into Tristen.

At the lake, Muffins and Sandalwood were out on one of the sailboats, sitting still in the center of the body of water as no wind was blowing.

Applejack, Fluttershy, Aria, Adagio, Rarity, and Pinkie were gathering wooden boards to complete the last section of the structure.

Sunset and Twilight trailed behind them, taking quick glances at each other before the former decided to speak up.

"Hey, I know you don't want to," Sunset began with concern, "but I really think we need to figure out what's going on with your magic. "If you could learn to control it-”

"But that's just it!" Twilight interrupted. "I'll never be able to control it!"

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard nearby, making them gasp to see that the sailboat on the water had crashed into the dock and tipped over, smashing about half of it into splinters as some of the people upon it lied down in shock.

“What the hell was that?!” Tristen called out as he ran to the scene, noticing the damages. “Holy crap! Is everyone alright?!”

“Yeah.” Sandalwood replied as he and Muffins got on the dock. "It was so weird… we were stuck in the middle of the lake with no wind, then all of a sudden, bam! The wind picked up, and we were pushed right into the dock.”

Timber walks with Sandalwood off the dock, and Tristen and Alex both walk on the dock to assess the damage.

“Man. That sucks.” Alex said, wincing upon seeing the splintered runway.

Suddenly, the Omnitrix beeped profusely again. And in a purple flash, Tristen had become another new alien. This one resembling a humanoid shadow with the only facial features being glowing indigo eyes and a mouth.

“Oh, what the hell?!” Tristen groaned out in frustration as he looked at the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. “How often is this going to happen?!”

As if whatever higher power heard that question, he was enveloped in another purple flash, becoming another new alien.

This one being a frail humanoid with a blush gray body white Tufts of fur in its head, legs and arms. His eyes were sunken and cyan in color, he had four cases on his hands, digitigrade legs with two claws toes, and had a loincloth as his only form of attire. And the Omnitrix symbol was on his right shoulder.

“Yikes!” Rarity winced in response to seeing the new alien. “That's truly a sight for sore eyes.”

A growling sound filled the air, the sound of which coming from Tristen’s stomach. “Man, I'm suddenly famished.” Tristen said before looking ahead into the woods to see a deer. Upon seeing the deer, his mouth began to water.

Fluttershy gasped in shock, knowing what Tristen was thinking. “Tristen, don't you dare!”

But Tristen’s hunger got the better for him as he sprints to the deer in a great burst of speed. The deer notices him and sprints off, resulting in a chance.

“Of for God’s sake!” Alex facepalms in response. “I'll go get him.”

And with that, Alex ran after him.

Rarity suddenly noticed something in the water. "What's that?!"

Everyone rushed over and saw a purple trail sparkling upon the water beside the destroyed dock. Everyone began chattering in concern over the situation.

"Let's salvage what we can out of the water." Sunset advised, catching everyone's attention, "Maybe we can still fix this." she suggested confidently.

"Hopefully.” Adagio chimed in.

"We have to try!" Rarity added desperately. "Camp Everfree needs a runway!"

"Dock." Applejack corrected.

(Meanwhile)

Twilight had wandered into the woods, a depressed expression visible on her face as she reached a small river with a waterfall.

♪It used to be so simple
It was a world I understood
I didn't know what I didn't know
And life seemed pretty good♪

As Twilight sang to herself, Willow was resting in a tree notch above. She was truly puzzled as to why Twilight sounded so distressed.

♪But now the darkness rises
From somewhere deep inside of me
Her power overtakes me
Can I keep this midnight from getting free?♪

Twilight was starting to see parts of Midnight Sparkle in her reflection, having to look back at herself to make sure she wasn't changing, standing back up.

♪If I can stay with the light
I know I'll be free
And I can start to be whole
I can start to be me
But instead I am struggling
With all that I see♪

Willow had a look of sympathy as she listened to Twilight’s Melody.

♪And these friends
Mustn't see the midnight in me
The midnight in me♪

She saw her evil counterpart within her reflection once again, shutting her eyes before placing her hand into the water and rippling it, making it go back to normal.

♪They mustn't see the midnight in me♪

Willow watched Twilight, truly surprised upon hearing Twilight's inner plight.

Back at camp, Alex is walking with Tristen, who is back to human form.

“Thanks for stopping me, dude.” Tristen said shamefully in embarrassment. “I dunno what came over me there.”

“Don't mention it.” Alex replied with a shrug. “Besides, that's a mess I would not want to clean up. And I doubt Fluttershy would want to get near you if she saw deer blood and entrails on you.”

“I don't doubt that.”

Tristen and Alex look ahead to see Sunset walk towards them. “Have you guys seen Twilight?” Sunset asked the two.

Tristen and Alex looked at each other in surprise. “She's not with you?” Alex asked her.

“Did you see where she went?” Tristen asked.

“No." Sunset shrugs in response. “Maybe she's in her tent.”

The three entered Sunset and Twilight's tent but didn't seem to find Twilight anywhere.

Tristen then noticed Spike was still asleep.

"So many squirrels…" Spike said in his sleep, making Tristen chuckle softly.

“Ok, that's cute.” Tristen said before approaching Spike, lightly scratching his ear. “Hey buddy. Wake up.”

Spike yelped out in surprise, now fully awake as he noticed Tristen. "Oh…Aw, man!" Spike yanked out, rubbing his eyes groggily. "I was having the best dream." Spike then widened his eyes as he remembered something before smiling deviously. "Wait… That dream could be a reality!"

"Before you run off to chase squirrels," Sunset began, stopping Spike "do you have any idea where Twilight could be?"

"What happened?" Spike questioned. "Did she do that lifting things off the ground thing again?"

“Wait! What?” Tristen asked, looking to Sunset. “What's he talking about?”

“I'll explain later.” Sunset replied. “I don't know if it was her. "But if it was, we need to deal with it head on.”

“What did he mean by that?” Alex asked with a furrowed eyebrow. “Is there something we should know about?”

Sunset, looking a little nervous, decides to fess up. “Look, just between us, Twilight has access to her magic.”

Alex and Tristen were flabbergasted by the reveal. “WHA-” Alex yelled out, but Sunset covered his mouth.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell us?!” Tristen asked.

“Because she's still beating herself up about what happened at the Friendship Games.” Sunset replied. “Look, we can argue about this later. Right now, we need to find Twilight.

"Lucky for us, I can track her down." Spike responded, ready to embark on the search.

(Meanwhile)

In the forest, Twilight was walking along a pathway, evidently stressed by the events that had taken place earlier.

"Keep it together… deep breaths." Twilight said to herself. "You are not a monster.”

All of a sudden, and out of nowhere, Timber came out from the tree she was passing, much to her surprise. Both screamed out simultaneously.

"Oh, hi." Twilight said sheepishly while recovering from the shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh..." Timber stuttered, looking around nervously before coming up with an answer. "Looking for you…" Timber replied flirtatiously, pointing at her with his index fingers, stunning her a little.

Twilight blushes a little bit in response. "Oh…” Twilight said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I just went on a nature walk and got a little lost."

"Let me show you the way." Timber suggested, "I'm kind of an expert at these woods. I've lived here my whole life.”

Unbeknownst to the two of them, Leshy was sitting on the top of a nearby tree, watching them.

"That must have been nice.” Twilight pointed out as she walked him. "Growing up at a camp."

"Yeah, though it has its downsides." Timber responds. "When I was younger, I wished we'd sell this place so we could live in a town like normal people."

Leshy was shocked by what he had heard, his eyes narrowing as his fists clenched angrily. “What?” Leshy whispered out, truly furious by the reveal.

"Really?" Twilight asked in surprise.

"I was ten, I really wanted to hang out at the mall.” Timber explained while putting his hands back in his pockets. "I've never told that to anyone." Timber confessed as he walked up to her. "You must be special."

Leshy, truly outraged, decided to act on his own accord as he tossed some seeds into the ground.

Twilight and Timber smiled at one another, blushing a bit. But suddenly, Twilight gets lifted by a plant-like tentacle, much to Timber’s shock

“Twilight!” Timber called out in worry but gets picked off as well. “Hey! What the…” Timber pulls out a pocketknife, but another vine tentacle grabs at it and yanks it from him.

“HELP!!!” Twilight Cried out.

“Let…go!” Timber growled as he tried to free himself from the vine.

Luckily, Alex arrived and conjured a machete. Then with one swing, he cuts down the vine that held Twilight. Twilight falls to the ground, but Sunset manages to catch her.

Alex cuts the vine tentacle that held Timber hostage, freeing him as well.

Leshy, smearing at this, extended his right hand before chanting.

A green magic seal then appeared on the ground, catching them by surprise. And from the seal emerged a large golem made out of what appeared to wood, stone, and crystal.

“Oh crap!” Tristen declared as the Omnitrix started beeping. And in a purple flash, he changed into the familiar shadow-like alien.

“Nightshade!” The newly named nightshade exclaimed in a rather haunting voice.

Timber was surprised by what he had just seen. “Whoa…”

Nightshade raised his right hand up, conjuring two shadowy tendrils from either side of him before sending them at the golem. Leshy, growling in frustration, tossed more seeds at Nightshade’s direction. The moment the seeds landed, a series of thick vines emerged and encased him in a cocoon.

“Tristen!” Twilight cried out in concern.

Luckily though, Nightshade simply phased through the vine cocoon before changing into the white furred humanoid.

“Wendighoul!” The newly named Wendighoul erupted before taking a deep breath and breathing out a gust of wind. As this happened, the golem was encased in thick layers of ice while the others watched on in awe.

“Man.” Alex muttered. “Talk about giving the cold shoulder.”

The golem was able to break from the ice, clearly showing no signs of surrendering.

“Haven't had enough, eh?” Wendighoul taunted with a confident smirk. But suddenly, in another purple flash, he had changed to Spyder.

“Oh, come on!” Spyder groaned out in frustration. “Make up your mind!”

The golem raises its foot and slams it onto Spyder, much to the horror of the others.

“NOOO!” Sunset cried out while Twilight covered her mouth in shock.

Leshy smirked wickedly but then gasped in shock when he saw a puddle of light blue slime seed beneath the golems foot. Timber was also shocked as he watched the blue slime slither up the golem until it reached its head. And moments later, the slime revealed itself to be Amboeblot.

“Surprise!” Amboeblot declared before hopping off the golem’s head.

In another purple flash, Amoeblot had shifted to Thunderclap.

“Aw yeah, bitch!” Thunderclap smirked as his hands sparked with electricity. “Better get ready to feel thunder! Because I'm about to bring in the storm!”

As this was happening, Willow was watching the scene unfold with shock and disbelief. Not wanting anyone to get hurt, she extends her hand at it while her eyes glowed green. “Disassemble!”

The golem emits a green aura momentarily before it begins to fall apart. Leaving a pile of stone, wood, and crystal shards. Leshy, growling furiously upon realizing what had occurred, retreats before he could get spotted.

“What even was that?!” Twilight asked in disbelief.

Timber said nothing, knowing exactly who was responsible. “You guys head back.”

“Huh?” Tristen asked in confusion. “Why?”

“I've got something to take care of.” Timber walked off while the others watched on with perplexity.

In the deepest part of the forest, Leshy was seething mad. So much so that he was standing at a nearby boulder, and with clenched fists, he delivered a punch powerful enough to leave a cracked dent in the boulder’s stoney surface.

“Hey!”

Leshy said nothing, nor did he turn around, as Timber walked up to him with an enraged look.

“What was all that about back there?!” Timber demanded, but Leshy didn't give him any answer. “I know you can hear me, Leshy!” Leshy still didn't answer as he walked off, further adding the fuel to Timber’s fire. “Hey! I'm talking to you man!” Timber followed after Leshy. “What? Don't feel like talking?!”

Willow walked in front of Leshy, her arms crossed as she glared at him. “Brother, you have gone too far!”

Leshy said nothing as he and Willow stared each other down.

“Don't make me ask again, Leshy!” Timber declared angrily. “Care to explain yourself?”

Leshy looks over to Timber, still angry. “Why do you care, boy?” Leshy asked. “Shouldn't you be shacking up with your beloved witch in spectacles?”

Timber raised an eyebrow at that claim. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, I think you know!” Leshy responded angrily. “I've heard everything during your little prattle with the purple one!”

Timber glared more intensely in response. “You were spying on us?!”

“I just had to know what had oh you so interested in that temptress!” Leshy shot back. “Then I hear you wanting to live a life in the city while wanting to sell this place!”

“Oh, well I'm so sorry you had to find out this way!” Timber fired back.

“When exactly were you planning on telling us this?!” Leshy demanded.

“I wasn't, actually!” Timber declared while motioning towards Leshy. “The reason why is because I knew you would get like this!”

If Leshy wasn't furious before, he certainly is known after hearing the confession from Timber. “This is the place your great-grandparents built! It's been passed down in your family the last two generations!” Leshy barked back furiously. “Do you not find any value in that?!”

“That is Timber’s decision to make, Leshy!” Willow butts in, getting between the two. “If it's what he wants, then so be it!”

Leshy was truly shocked and infuriated by what he had heard escape his sister's lips. “What?!” Leshy asked. “You're defending him?!” Leshy’s eyes began to glow the angrier he got. “We're dangerously close to losing this camp! The sanctuary we've lived in for centuries! Does that not matter to you in any way?!”

“I'm sure we'll come up with a solution!” Willow snapped back. “It just takes time!”

“Time that we do not have!” Leshy fired back in rage “It's bad enough that we have that wealth obsessed vermin hounding our homeland! But now we have the shapeshifter and his gaggle of witches, and now I learn that Timber wants to desert us during our most dire moment! And to make it much worse, you, my own sister is supporting his decision!”

“Leshy, we've done the best we can!” Timber replied. “Nothing lasts forever!”

Leshy had officially reached his breaking point after hearing that. With a low growl of fury, conjured a large vine and sends it towards Timber. Timber was too shocked to react as the vine knocked him off his feet.

“Timber!” Willow cried out in concern.

Leshy materialized his sword and rushed towards Timber.

“Brother! Stop!” Willow declared, conjuring vines to bind Leshy down. While her brother was blind, she rushed over to help Timber. Timber hissed in pain as he held his arm, which had a large cut. Willow, gasping in shock, held onto his arm. She then closed her eyes, a small tear falling down her face and onto the wound. And moments later, the wound on Timber's arm had quickly healed.

Leshy managed to break free from his binds before rushing towards them. Willow however was quick to react as she grabs Timber and jumps away to evade. With a glare, Willow whistled. And shortly afterwards, a wild ram rushed in and headbutted Leshy.

Leshy, still enraged, glared at Willow and Timber before scoffing. “Fine!” Timber barked disgruntled as he got back up. “Go! Do whatever you please, Timber!” Willow kept her glare as Leshy turned his back. “I thought you were our companion.” Leshy spat out bitterly. “But I guess my judgement was woefully misplaced.”

“Leshy!” Willow reprimanded while Timber grimaced at Leshy’s harsh words.

“I could care less what you decide, boy!” Leshy continued spitefully. “As of now, you are no longer my concern!”

Timber, truly hurt by what Leshy said, gets up and walks off while Willow watches on in concern.

“Timber, wait!” Willow called out. “He didn't mean any-” But Timber was already out of sight. Willow, enraged by her brother’s harsh words, looks at him in disappointment. “How could you?!”

“You said so yourself, Willow!” Leshy replied unabashedly. “It's his life to live!”

“I cannot believe you!” Willow barked angrily. “How can you even say that?!”

“You heard it from him!” Leshy protested. “If he wants to abandon us and live a life in the wasteland of concrete and steel, then let him!”

Willow, too furious to even speak to him, storms off angrily. When Leshy was alone, he clenched his eyes shut as tears began to form in his eyes.