Camp Twilightby Follow FocusChaptersThe Great OutdoorsTerritoriesHappy CampersThe Great OutdoorsThe wonder that is Whitetail Woods. There was not a single pony in Equestria that could deny the beauty of this enchanted forest. One hundred acres of majestic trees, winsome flowers, and babbling brooks; a land untouched by pony civilization. What better place to set up camp? Twilight cantered across the now bustling field, gazing across the crowd of ponies that had formed at the edge of the tree line. After months of research and preparation all the pieces were finally set in place, and Twilight's summer camp was about to begin. She made her way to the gathering ponies, a shiver of excitement shooting down her spine. Never before had she been given the chance to teach Ponyville's children about the wonder of the natural world; she was certain that after this adventure, everypony would be yearning to learn more. “Spike, is this everypony?” Twilight asked, addressing the dragon beside her. Her eager eyes never leaving the tree line as families gave their goodbyes to their favorite little campers. “Sure is!” said Spike, his trusty checklist in hand, he went down the list of campers, “We got Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Junior-” Twilight’s ears perked at the unfamiliar name “Which one is Junior?” she asked. “That would be Bulk Biceps’ son.” he said, pointing towards the father and son, who were currently flexing their muscles and giving each other their strongest “YEAH!” “Other than that we’ve got the Crusaders, Button Mash, Pipsqueak, and Twist!” Spike said, reaching the end of his list, “We’re only waiting on Rainbow Dash now.” Twilight couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Of course we are.” Rainbow Dash had been the only pony to volunteer to be a camp chaperone with Twilight, and while she hadn’t exactly been the best role model at times the kids all seemed to look up to her. Which is why she was perfect for the job. Rainbow Dash’s captivating nature coupled with Twilight’s organizational skill was all the groundwork they needed to form an unstoppable team. That was assuming that Rainbow Dash would even show up. “Howdy Twilight!” Applejack waved from one end of the field, accompanied by Applebloom and Scootaloo. Twilight eagerly made her way towards them, Spike trailing close behind her. “Hey Applejack!” Twilight said, turning her attention to the fillies beside her. “Are you girls ready for a great three days of camping?” The fillies nodded vigorously “Heck yeah we are!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Great!” Twilight said now noticing the trio’s missing member, “Where’s Sweetie Belle?” “She’s having a fight with Rarity.” Applebloom answered. “Applebloom! They are not havin’ a fight!” Applejack interjected, “Rarity is just… concerned is all!” Spike could hear the faint traces of Rarity’s voice echoing across the trees. He could barely make out the sentence “At least take the hair curlers!” He resisted the urge to facepalm. “Why don’t you girls go play,” Applejack offered, “Ah’m sure Sweetie Belle will be back soon.” Applebloom and Scootaloo exchanged a glance before darting off into the field, eager to begin their next adventure. Applejack shouted after them, adding "And remember to watch out for bears!" before they could get out of earshot. She smiled as she watched them gallop off into the field. “Ah can’t thank ya enough for doin’ this, Twilight.” Applejack said, looking back at Twilight. Twilight smiled warmly. “My pleasure, I’ve been reading this new book on outdoor activities and I’ve been itching to test what I’ve learned! We’ll get started as soon as Rainbow Dash shows up.” Twilight turned her attention to her trusty assistant beside her. “Until then, I think we’ve got everything under control. Why don’t you take a break? Say hello to some of the other campers.” Spike saluted dutifully, “With pleasure!” he replied, happily accepting the command, he strolled off into the field. He was there as Twilight’s assistant, her number one assistant he mentally added, which simply meant that he was there to do whatever she wanted him to do. But even with his added responsibility he was still more or less an average camper. So if he wanted to have any fun this trip he would have to make new friends just like everypony else. At the moment, that was something that was easier said than done. The Crusaders had disappeared somewhere deeper into the forest, and the rest of the campers appeared to still be parting with their families. Spike certainly wasn’t going to say hello to the campers if there were none of them to say hello to. Fortunately Spike did notice one filly who didn’t appear to be doing anything; he made his way to her. “Hey Twist!” He called. The filly had been sitting idly on a fallen tree, mumbling inaudible words to herself. She jumped at the sound of her own name, she hadn’t been expecting the company. “Oh! Hey Spike!” she said, forcing a smile. “Mind if I join you?” he asked, noting the strange overacted smile. She nodded before promptly scooting down the tree, making room for Spike. “So are you excited to get started?" "You bet!” She said, her braces sparkling in the light. "I absolutely love camping!" "Glad to hear it." Spike replied, flinching away from the light reflecting off her teeth. Twist closed her mouth quickly. "Sorry," she said, avoiding eye contact with Spike. "That happens a lot with my stupid braces." "Aw don't worry about it." Spike said reassuringly. He looked up to see a rainbow passing over the trees and descending towards the camp site. Spike looked back at Twist, who immediately reformed a halfhearted smile. "Looks like Rainbow Dash is here! I guess we better head over!" He stood up from the tree, a grin dawning on his face. He turned to Twist giving her an energetic "This is going to be great!" before racing off to rejoin Twilight. With Spike gone, Twist's smile slowly faded, bringing forth a face heavy with melancholy. A sad feeling began to flow through her, weighing her down as she struggled to leave her seat. Her hooves finally touched the ground and slowly she made her way towards the group. A heavy sigh left her lips. "I hope so." TerritoriesThe last of the parents had left the forest, leaving Twilight and Rainbow Dash alone with the campers. They lined up dutifully on the edge of the field, most of them wearing eager faces. Twilight couldn't help but look upon the foals and see nothing but a troop of perfect students for her to teach. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof saw something different. It was easy enough for her to glance at the order that he campers had taken in line and see that several cliques had already begun to form. Twilight cleared her throat, "Good morning everypony!" She announced, doing her best to fit the "fun teacher" roll. "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and welcome to the best three days of your life!" Her enthusiasm was met with an awkward silence, with the exception of a few cricket chirps and Junior clearing something out of his throat. Twilight continued immediately. "Anyways," she began, hoping that the silence would be forgotten, "let me introduce you to Rainbow Dash, who is also a chaperone!" "Sup." she replied simply, immediately invoking an enthusiastic cheer from the campers. Twilight did her best to keep her eye from twitching. Rainbow Dash didn't hold the spotlight for long, instead she turned back to Twilight and motioned for her to continue. "A-as I was saying," Twilight began awkwardly, "we have a fun three days for you prepared, and before we jump right into it does anypony have any questions?" Diamond Tiara wasted no time in raising her hoof. "Where are the bathrooms?" The look upon her face suggesting that she dreaded Twilight's answer. "There aren't any." Twilight answered. Diamond Tiara gasped, her worst fears being realized. Pipsqueak quickly raised his hand as well. "Yes Pip?" "But what if we have to tinkle?" He asked, causing Button Mash and Junior to instantly facehoof. "You just go in the woods!" Rainbow Dash said, receiving several groans from some of the campers. Twilight waited for another hoof to come up. "Any more questions?" She asked, looking around for any looks of confusion. "Well alright then! Let's get started!" Twilight took a step back, allowing Rainbow Dash to take center stage. "Take it away, Rainbow!" "Right!" Rainbow Dash began, making her voice as authoritative as possible. "If you want to survive in the woods, then the first thing you're going to need is shelter!" She paced back and forth down the line, looking each camper in the eye as she passed them. She caught sight of the admiration in Scootaloo's eyes, causing her to smile smugly. "You're going to learn a lot about wilderness survival over the next few days, but the first we're going to teach you is how to build a tent." * * * For many of the campers the task of setting up a tent was proving to be incredibly difficult, but not for Spike. He had had plenty of time to practice with Twilight weeks before camp even started. The evidence was in his efficiency; the other campers continued to struggle with the tent's basic set up, while Spike stood before a perfectly erected tent. He had inspected every element of the tent twice already, and he was certainly going to inspect it a third time. After all this was the tent that he and Twilight would be sharing, it had to be absolutely perfect. Twilight had been busy patrolling around the camp, inspecting each and every tent diligently. As frustrating as it was for the campers to see their tents fail inspection it was too important to allow inadequate tents to stand. She could tell that the tedious process had already put many campers on edge, and perhaps even brought out the competitive side of a few of them. "Ha!! We won!" Button exclaimed, admiring the absolute butchery of rope and canvas which he proudly proclaimed a "tent". He and Junior had slaved away on the tent for nearly twenty minutes now, and with his masterpiece completed he felt the insatiable urge to gloat. "We totally beat you guys!" He declared to the Crusaders as they tied the knots on the base of their tent. "What do you mean?" Asked Sweetie Belle curiously, her confusion only feeding Button's ego. "We finished our tent before you did!" He exclaimed, presenting his tent with a motion of his hoof. Junior nodded in agreement, wearing a similar smug expression upon his face. The fillies examined the jumbled mess they had presented. "You call that a tent?" Scootaloo asked, causing the colts' complacency to evaporate. "Of course it's a tent!" He replied angrily, "What else would it be?" Applebloom pondered over this for a moment. "It kinda looks like mah granny's old bonnet." "Yeah, or a garbage can." Scootaloo added. "It does not!" shouted Button as he noticed a particular purple alicorn approaching. "Just ask Twilight!" Twilight arrived at the scene, levitating her checklist close beside her. "What's going on?" She asked them politely. "Twilight, does this look like a garbage can to you?" Button asked, making sure to sound as victimized as possible. "Of course it doesn't," Twilight said assuringly, Button happily stuck his tongue out at the Crusaders, "but it would never pass as a tent I'm afraid." Twilight continued, adding a few notes to her checklist, "I recommend that you work on the base first and then build up." Button could feel his pride sinking away into his stomach. "What about ours, Twilight?" Applebloom asked, Twilight inspected the base the Crusaders had created. "Very good girls, it's perfect so far!" Twilight exclaimed, Button Mash could feel the oncoming heart attack. "Maybe after you're finished you can help the boys with their tent!" * * * Recess couldn't come soon enough for most of the campers. After spending most of an hour building and rebuilding the same tents over and over again, most of the campers had found themselves at their limit. Emotions ran high for some of the more extreme cases, and Twilight knew that a little time to themselves would be the perfect medicine. Spike's tent had just passed Twilight's inspection, and now the dragon was off to join the other ponies on their break. The campers had been quick to divide into groups and disperse across the entire field, each group placing themselves as far away from each other as possible. Spike wasn't sure where to begin. He wandered down the field, carefully observing the groups that had formed. The closest group in proximity to Spike consisted of Button Mash, Pipsqueak, and Junior all of who were standing around in a circle, and appeared to be discussing matters of great importance. The anger on their faces was evident. Spike began making his way over to them, making eye contact with Pipsqueak, whose expression quickly shifted into a friendly smile. "Hey Spike!" He shouted, "Wanna join our club?" He was immediately greeted with Button and Junior's angry eyes, Junior Shoved him angrily. "Shut it, Pip!" He shouted, Pip mumbled his apologies quietly. Spike stopped in front of the group, which had now reformed their circle into a defensive line. "You guys have a club?" Spike asked, Button stepped forward, assuming command. "Yeah!" He exclaimed, "It's a very exclusive club, only the coolest ponies get in. And no girls allowed!" Spike looked at him curiously. "Why's that?" He asked. "Because no one wants to hang around a bunch of stupid girls!" Button sneered, his words were heavy with spite, Spike wasn't sure why. "But that's not true at all." Spike said, "it's not fun unless everypony is included." Those words had once been Twilight's. Many years ago, Twilight had shut ponies out of her life in favor of books and studying, but after coming to Ponyville for the first time she learned that friendship was the most magical gift of all. And being Twilight's number one assistant, Spike had learned that lesson with her. "Not this time," Button replied, shaking his head, "this club is exclusive." Spike could tell that he would be holding on to that excuse, he sighed softly. "So does this club have a name?" Button shifted his gaze between Junior and Pipsqueak before adding "It's a secret." "We haven't thought of one yet." Pip answered truthfully, instantly becoming reunited with Button and Junior's venomous glare. "Shut up Pip!" Junior shouted, and with that Spike had had enough, he turned around and walked away. He scanned around the field, hoping that he could spot the crusaders. They were nowhere to be found, knowing them they had most likely gone off into the woods, trying to get their cutie marks in either tree climbing or fly fishing. Spike looked around, he only had a few options left. He could either go back to camp and stay with Twilight, who would probably just tell him to go back out there and "interact", or he could try his luck with the few ponies that were left. Those ponies happened to be Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Nope! Spike was definitely not that for friends, defeated, he started to make his way back to camp when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A lone white pony sitting on a fallen tree. Spike smiled, Twist was a much better option than hanging out with either the "boys only club" or the diabolical duo. "Hey Twist!" He called, evoking the same jumpy reaction that she had had before. Once again she quickly scooted over and made room for Spike to join her. "Oh, hey." She said nervously, Spike took his seat beside her. "What are you doing way over here?" Spiked asked, Twist shied away turning her attention towards the ground. "Nothing... I guess." Spike could tell that this conversation was going nowhere fast, her searched his mind for another subject. "So what tent are you staying in?" He asked with a smile, inviting her in to what he hoped would be a pleasant conversation. Twist shied away even further. "I guess I never found a partner to stay with, so they put me with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." Oh. Spike couldn't help but grimace, Spike was happy that he was spending the nights with Twilight, he couldn't imagine what it would be like being forced to sleep next to them. He made the mistake of mentally picturing himself in that situation, with a shudder he quickly expelled the thought from his head. "Wow, I'm really sorry to hear that." He said, acknowledging the fact that there were few fates worse than that. She shook her head softly in return. "It's fine." She lied, Spike could tell that talking about it had made her even more upset about it. A touch of guilt began to form inside of him, he desperately tried to think of a way to remedy the situation. "Well if it will make you feel better," Spike began, an idea forming in his head, "I brought a kite with me to camp! It's in my tent now if you're interested." Twist looked absolutely shocked, as if she had just received an invitation from Celestia herself. "Do you mean it?" She asked, a lingering hint of doubt was present in her eyes. "Of course! We still have like twenty minutes left of recess! If we go get it now that will give us plenty of time!" A smile formed on Twist's face, and for the first time Spike could tell that it was a genuine one. "Ok!" She said, the doubt in her eyes slowly fading away. They both stood up from their seat on the tree and together they made their way towards the camp. Spike looked at Twist, noticing that her smile hadn't left her face yet. A good feeling began to grow inside Spike, and it was slowly warming his entire body with sunshine. To his surprise, it was Twist who broke the silence between them. "Sooo..." She began, finally comfortable enough to start a conversation. "Do you like candy canes? Because I love candy canes!" * * * Night had fallen over the campground, the sky had turned from blue to a rich shade of purple under the light of Luna's night sky. Twist was curled away in her sleeping bag, peacefully resting inside of her tent. Body was still, but her mind was more awake than ever before, the filly relived happy memories over and over again behind her closed eyes; her smile was still present on her face, it hadn't faded since recess. It was almost as if she could still feel the kite's spool in her hooves, the blowing wind in her mane, and of course the gentle smile that Spike always gave her. That she could never forget. It had been a long time since she had felt this happy, and even longer since she had had a reason to smile. She smiled because she knew that she could see Spike again, and she would have a whole new day to spend with him just as soon as the morning came... "Gosh Twist! Could you take up any more room?!" ... That was assuming she could last the night. Twist poked her head out from under her sleeping and noticed Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing in the tent's entrance. Their figures were silhouetted by the light of the moon, only their menacing eyes were visible. "O-oh, sorry." Twist said nervously, the happy memories quickly disappearing, yielding to the insecurities that were flooding into her heart. She quickly shifted over to the far side of the tent, giving most of the space to new-come bullies and leaving little room for herself. "That's more like it." Diamond Tiara said with a smirk. The two entered the tent and tucked away into their sleeping bags. "Now if we're going to be in the same tent you'll have to follow a few rules." Silver Spoon couldn't help but giggle from the look on Twist's face. "Rule one, stay on your side of the tent! Rule two, don't bother us while we're sleeping! Rule three, absolutely no snoring, got it?!" Twist was doomed, she already knew that she snored like a bear. A shiver was running up and down her spine as thoughts of the rumors they would spread in the morning began to flow into her mind. "A-actually," she began, a bead of sweat beginning to run down her forehead. "I think I'll just sleep outside tonight." Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exchanged a wicked smile, before returning their gaze to Twist. "Sounds like a great idea!" Twist bunched up her sleeping bag and carried it outside, she found a comfortable spot in the grass outside the tent and curled away into her sleeping bag. The night air was cold and the wind was cutting through her bag. She shivered from the cold as she tried to turn her mind towards happier thoughts. She tried thinking of Spike, and all the fun they would have in the morning. The thoughts would come, but would quickly fade away. As much as she wanted to look forward to the next day, she could only bring herself to dread the next night. Fear was worming its way throughout her body, working side by side with the cold wind to make her as miserable as possible.Happy thoughts, Twist. she reminded herself, Happy thoughts. She shivered in her sleeping bag, her every muscle in her body felt frozen in ice. She sighed heavily to herself. "At least it isn't raining." Happy CampersThe sun was bright in the sky, and the forest was beginning to come back to life. All of the colts and fillies in the field were up and about already, thanks in part to the "Morning Wake Up" trumpet solo that Spike had played at sunrise. The forest had always looked beautiful, but today was a special occasion, today the leaves and grass were shimmering from the light of Celestia's sun. Apparently it had rained heavily during the night, luckily everypony had been protected inside their tents. Today Twilight decided to teach the campers about knot tying, and had already begun a workshop for all the campers to practice. Spike grabbed the rope in front of him and began twisting and weaving it in various places until he had crafted a perfect knot. He studied the knot in his hands, inspecting it for any flaws whatsoever. He already knew that he had tied it perfectly, but when Twilight was the inspector he could never be too careful. He was so engrossed in his examination that he almost didn't notice a white pony sitting down next to him. "H-h-h-hey S-spike." Spike turned and almost gasped, Twist looked as though she was suffering from pneumonia. Her body was shivering uncontrollably, and her teeth chattered with every word she spoke. "Are you ok, Twist?" He asked, she quickly nodded. "Y-y-yeah, I'm f-fine." "Are you sure?" Spike could already tell that she didn't want to talk about it, but it was very unsettling to see her like this. "Y-yeah." She answered again. "C-can you help me w-with this?" She was pointing to the rope in her hooves, it looked like she had already made several attempts to tie it. "Oh, ummm, yeah!" Spike said, trying to look past Twist's miserable condition. He took the rope in his hands and began tying the knot, "First you just cross the rope here, twist it down here, bring this part through here..." Spike trailed off as he became focused on the knot itself. A few moment's later he was holding another perfectly tied knot. "And tada!" "W-wow!" Twist marveled at Spike's handy work, "H-how did you do that?" Spike couldn't tell if her enthusiasm was exaggerated or not, or perhaps it was a product of the strange state she was in. "It's really not that hard," Spike told her, "here, let me teach you." Turns out that Twist was not the only pony struggling to tie the knot. Button Mash and Junior were frantically working on theirs, hastily looping the rope in random places and praying that it would come out right. "Hurry up!" Button told Junior anxiously. "We can't let them beat us." He said, motioning towards the crusaders, who were working together to figure out the knot. The two quickened their pace, warping and contorting the rope in all manners of ungodly positions. Soon Button found himself with a large ball of interconnected coils, he anxiously tried to untie the knot, but he had no idea where to even begin. "Great job, girls." Button heard Twilight's voice nearby, he looked up to see Twilight examining the knot that the Crusaders had put together. "Just a few more steps and you'll have it perfect!" Button cried out in rage as he angrily pummeled his rope ball into the dirt. * * * "Alright, listen up!" Rainbow Dash shouted to the line of campers. "Now that you have learned how to tie a knot, it is time for us to put those skills to the test!" Most of the campers began whispering eagerly amongst themselves, anticipating what challenge Rainbow Dash had for them. "Today we're going to test the strength of you knots, as well as the strength of your hooves, with a good old fashion game..." Rainbow Dash paused for the dramatic effect, "of Tug-of-War!" Her words were met with mixed reactions, Junior cried "YEAH!", Diamond Tiara groaned, and Button Mash began to smile deviously to himself. Spike and Twist on the other hoof, said nothing. Twist had finally stopped shaking after about an hour into the rope-tying session. She had now reached the point where she could smile again, and Spike was more than happy to see it. "Well this should be fun!" She said to Spike, who simply nodded in agreement. "What are you waiting for?" Rainbow Dash began, flying closer to the crowd and catching them all directly in the eye, "Let's get started!" * * * The crusaders had been the one chosen to tie the Tug-of-War ropes together, much to the dismay of Button and his clubmates. However when Rainbow Dash assigned the teams, they could not have been happier. Boys versus girls would be the name of the game, and Button Mash was absolutely sure that they would win. "This is our chance to show those girls once and for all!" He said to his team as they huddled together on the edge of the field. He and Junior both wore a face of eager determination, Pipsqueak on the other hoof, seemed to be a little worried. "But the girls out number us." He explained, Button Mash was quick to dismiss it. "Yeah, but we have Junior on our team!" He said, motioning towards the colt who was currently flexing his muscles. "They don't have anypony who is as strong as he is!" Spike looked around the group, noting the fire in his teammates eyes. Although he personally didn't care who won and who lost, he could tell that a victory would mean a lot to the boys. They broke from their huddle and quickly moved to their side of the field, the girls had been ready for some time now, and were eagerly awaiting the start of the game. Rainbow Dash descended from the clouds above, a faint trickling rainbow following behind her. "Alright everypony! This is it! The battle of all battles! The Tug-of-War to end all Tug-of-Wars!" Rainbow Dash's words seemed to rally the battle-ready children, they cheered as they took their positions on the rope, Twilight however, couldn't help but facehoof. Button Mash grabbed his end of the rope, making sure that his hooves were firmly gripped to it. "This is it boys!" He exclaimed, "Get your war-face on!" Spike took his end of the rope and waited for Rainbow Dash's signal. "We start on my mark!" Rainbow Dash began, watching as the campers gripped the rope a little tighter. "Three... Two... One and a half... One and two quarters..." Button Mash was trembling, like Rainbow Dash had said, this was the battle of all battles. There was too much at stake in this competition, and Rainbow's endless countdown was eating at his nerves. "Zero and a half... Zero and two eighths... GO!!!" Immediately the campers tugged at the ropes, digging their hind legs deep into the dirt. The rope was pulled tight in both directions, and the knot that held it together was strained under the pressure. The two sides grunted and groaned as they each fought for the upper hand, yet the rope remained still, the teams were locked in a stalemate. "Pull you guys! Pull!" Button yelled to his team, Spike could hear Scootaloo shouting something similar. Each team pulled harder then before, not willing to relinquish a single inch to the enemy. Spike heard something behind him, a string of powerful grunts fueled by a boiling rage. Junior Was getting angry, and now he was about to make his move. Spike felt himself being pulled backwards by a terrifying amount of force, he could see the other team begin to collapse under the young colt's unnatural strength. "We're gonna win guys!" Button said, his voice strained from exertion. Spike looked back to the other team, their resolve was failing quickly, he could see the disappointment beginning to form prematurely on their faces. Except for Twist. There was no disappointment on Twist's face, no look of sadness or grief. Instead she was looking at Spike, sporting a happy grin as her team was pulled closer and closer to the center. His eyes locked with hers, and in that moment her grin turned into a bright smile. The sun reflected perfectly off her braces, flashing brightly into the eyes of the other team. Spike flinched away from the light, as did his entire team. He felt Junior Drop the rope behind him, and he was suddenly pulled forward from the combined might of the other team. The remaining boys were flung to the ground, and were dragged across the dirt with the greatest of ease. Button Mash looked at the other team in shock, his fur now coated in dust. "Looks like we've got a winner!" Rainbow Dash cheered! Button watched as she quickly flew over to the girl's side, giving Scootaloo a well deserved hoof bump. "I always new you had it in you champ." She said to her. Button's blood was beginning to boil. "They cheated!" He shouted, objectively pointing his hoof at the other team. Rainbow Dash looked at the raging colt curiously. "And how exactly did they cheat?" Button was scrambling for an explanation, "They... they used... I don't know!" He was at a loss for words. "They just did!" Rainbow Dash smirked. "Cheer up kid, there's always next time." Spike watched as Button Mashed got up and angrily stomped away. Spike shook his head, he could tell that Button wasn't going to let this go. The Crusaders were now celebrating their victory, the rest of the girls didn't really seem to care. He noticed Twist walk away from the victory circle and began making her way to him, he tried to pick himself off the ground. Before he could Twist extended a helping hoof towards him, her bright, sun-filled smile beaming at him; he gratefully took her hoof and let her help him to his feet. "Well that was fun!" She said happily, Spike smiled in return. "It sure was." He replied, noticing Button Mash storming off into the distance, a worried feeling flickered in his gut. "It sure was..." * * * The sun had set behind the mountains, yielding to the darkness of Luna's night. Spike watched as the moon began to rise over the trees, basking the land in a brilliant white light. Today had been a long day, and Button's attitude had become more sour as the day progressed. His jealousy and temper had been trying Twilight's patience, everypony in the camp could tell that Button was working on Twilight's nerves, and by extension, the nerves of her number one assistant. Spike needed a break, a chance to sit down and cool off, and this was the perfect place to do it. Spike sat alone upon the fallen tree, a can of root beer was clutched tightly in his hand. He took a sip from the can, letting the sweet liquid slide down his throat and drown the tension in his body. It felt nice being alone, and the wooden seat was surprisingly comfortable, no wonder Twist enjoyed it here so much. A soft breeze blew across the forest, and fireflies flickered in the night. Everything here was peaceful, here he could relax and be alone with his thoughts as he watched the twinkling of the night sky. "Hey Spike!" So much for being alone, Spike turned to look at Pipsqueak, who was standing beside Junior and Button Mash. Spike groaned, knowing that his moment of meditation was gone forever. "What do you guys want?" He asked before downing half his can of root beer. "We're going to shoot spit balls into the girls tent!" Button Mash said, "If you help us you can join our club." "You mean your exclusive boys only club that doesn't have a name?" Spike said unimpressed. "It does have a name!" Button replied sharply, "It's just a secret!" Spike saw Junior give Pipsqueak a mean glare before he could say anything, Spike cocked an eyebrow. "Fine, I guess someone is just scared of getting in trouble!" Button said. Unaware of the blue pegasus hovering just behind him. "And just what are you troublemakers up to?" Rainbow Dash said, causing Button to nearly jump out of his skin. He turned around quickly, staring into her dark, judgmental eyes. "Nothing!" He said abruptly, sweat was already beginning to trickle down his forehead. Rainbow Dash eyed him menacingly, "Oh pa-lease, I can smell trouble from a mile away." She turned to look at Junior and Pip, giving them each a turn to look her in the eye. "So, let's hear it!" Pipsqueak burst, "We were going to shoot spitballs at the girl's tent!" Button and Junior didn't bother to glare at him, they already knew it was too late. Spike couldn't help but smile, it was fun watching these punks dig themselves into a hole, he took another sip of his root beer. "Spitballs?" Rainbow Dash looked at them disappointingly, "Nun-uh! We will have none of that!" Pipsqueak was beginning to tremble. "We're so sorry!" He said. "You should be!" Rainbow Dash said, she reached over her back and started digging around in her saddlebags. "Here, use these instead!" She pulled out an unopened bag of water balloons and tossed it to them. Spike nearly choked on his root beer when he saw this, Button could only stared at the bag in disbelief. "F-for real?" He asked, looking her in the eyes. Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest, "Of course! Those will work a lot better than those derpy spitballs! Now go fill them up in the stream over there!" She said pointing her hoof towards the woods. The boys didn't wait to say thank you, they simply took the bag and ran off as quickly as they could. "Why did you do that?" Spike asked, "You know you shouldn't be encouraging them!" Rainbow Dash looked back at Spike. "Are you kidding? I've been dying to see a good prank up here! You sure you don't want to join them?" Spike turned his head, unwilling to look at Rainbow Dash, "I'll pass." He said flatly. "Suit yourself." Rainbow Dash shrugged "Oh and remember, hush hush." She said, bringing a hoof to her mouth, she then took off and flew above the trees and disappeared into the night sky. Spike grumbled to himself, he knew that his meditation would be gone forever. of all the dirty tricks that Rainbow Dash could have pulled, this was by far the dirtiest one. Spike took a heavy sip of his root beer, hoping that the fizzy drink could dispel the anger he was feeling. "What was that all about?" Spike turned, already prepared to see another pony out to ruin his day. To his pleasant surprise, it was Twist. She approached him from the field, this time it was Spike's turn to make room on the tree. "Don't ask." He sighed, Twist looked at him curiously as took her seat. "But I suggest that you stay away from your tent tonight." Twist simply shrugged, "That's fine, Diamond Tiara kicked me out anyways." "Wow, I'm sorry to hear that." Spike said, offering her one of his root beer cans. "It's fine," she replied, accepting the can and then opening it with her hooves. "What about you, why are you out here?" Spike puzzled for words, "I guess I just needed a moment to cool off." Twist nodded and took a sip of her root beer. Spike looked at her, he couldn't contain the smirk that followed. It was funny really, just a moment ago he had been a ball of condensed anger. He was angry at Button for causing Twilight so much trouble, and he was angry at Rainbow Dash for helping him cause even more chaos. He thought that what he needed was to be alone, and yet here he was with Twist, and he just couldn't help but smile. He and Twist were different from the rest of the campers, they were outcasts. Everypony else had had a group that they belonged to, a posse that they could rely on. But he and Twist didn't have a group, they simply couldn't fit in, maybe that's why they got along so well. He looked back up at the moon as it shimmered in the night sky, he smiled, tonight was a beautiful night. He looked back to Twist, mentally correcting his last thought. Tonight was a beautiful night to share.
The Great OutdoorsThe wonder that is Whitetail Woods. There was not a single pony in Equestria that could deny the beauty of this enchanted forest. One hundred acres of majestic trees, winsome flowers, and babbling brooks; a land untouched by pony civilization. What better place to set up camp? Twilight cantered across the now bustling field, gazing across the crowd of ponies that had formed at the edge of the tree line. After months of research and preparation all the pieces were finally set in place, and Twilight's summer camp was about to begin. She made her way to the gathering ponies, a shiver of excitement shooting down her spine. Never before had she been given the chance to teach Ponyville's children about the wonder of the natural world; she was certain that after this adventure, everypony would be yearning to learn more. “Spike, is this everypony?” Twilight asked, addressing the dragon beside her. Her eager eyes never leaving the tree line as families gave their goodbyes to their favorite little campers. “Sure is!” said Spike, his trusty checklist in hand, he went down the list of campers, “We got Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Junior-” Twilight’s ears perked at the unfamiliar name “Which one is Junior?” she asked. “That would be Bulk Biceps’ son.” he said, pointing towards the father and son, who were currently flexing their muscles and giving each other their strongest “YEAH!” “Other than that we’ve got the Crusaders, Button Mash, Pipsqueak, and Twist!” Spike said, reaching the end of his list, “We’re only waiting on Rainbow Dash now.” Twilight couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Of course we are.” Rainbow Dash had been the only pony to volunteer to be a camp chaperone with Twilight, and while she hadn’t exactly been the best role model at times the kids all seemed to look up to her. Which is why she was perfect for the job. Rainbow Dash’s captivating nature coupled with Twilight’s organizational skill was all the groundwork they needed to form an unstoppable team. That was assuming that Rainbow Dash would even show up. “Howdy Twilight!” Applejack waved from one end of the field, accompanied by Applebloom and Scootaloo. Twilight eagerly made her way towards them, Spike trailing close behind her. “Hey Applejack!” Twilight said, turning her attention to the fillies beside her. “Are you girls ready for a great three days of camping?” The fillies nodded vigorously “Heck yeah we are!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Great!” Twilight said now noticing the trio’s missing member, “Where’s Sweetie Belle?” “She’s having a fight with Rarity.” Applebloom answered. “Applebloom! They are not havin’ a fight!” Applejack interjected, “Rarity is just… concerned is all!” Spike could hear the faint traces of Rarity’s voice echoing across the trees. He could barely make out the sentence “At least take the hair curlers!” He resisted the urge to facepalm. “Why don’t you girls go play,” Applejack offered, “Ah’m sure Sweetie Belle will be back soon.” Applebloom and Scootaloo exchanged a glance before darting off into the field, eager to begin their next adventure. Applejack shouted after them, adding "And remember to watch out for bears!" before they could get out of earshot. She smiled as she watched them gallop off into the field. “Ah can’t thank ya enough for doin’ this, Twilight.” Applejack said, looking back at Twilight. Twilight smiled warmly. “My pleasure, I’ve been reading this new book on outdoor activities and I’ve been itching to test what I’ve learned! We’ll get started as soon as Rainbow Dash shows up.” Twilight turned her attention to her trusty assistant beside her. “Until then, I think we’ve got everything under control. Why don’t you take a break? Say hello to some of the other campers.” Spike saluted dutifully, “With pleasure!” he replied, happily accepting the command, he strolled off into the field. He was there as Twilight’s assistant, her number one assistant he mentally added, which simply meant that he was there to do whatever she wanted him to do. But even with his added responsibility he was still more or less an average camper. So if he wanted to have any fun this trip he would have to make new friends just like everypony else. At the moment, that was something that was easier said than done. The Crusaders had disappeared somewhere deeper into the forest, and the rest of the campers appeared to still be parting with their families. Spike certainly wasn’t going to say hello to the campers if there were none of them to say hello to. Fortunately Spike did notice one filly who didn’t appear to be doing anything; he made his way to her. “Hey Twist!” He called. The filly had been sitting idly on a fallen tree, mumbling inaudible words to herself. She jumped at the sound of her own name, she hadn’t been expecting the company. “Oh! Hey Spike!” she said, forcing a smile. “Mind if I join you?” he asked, noting the strange overacted smile. She nodded before promptly scooting down the tree, making room for Spike. “So are you excited to get started?" "You bet!” She said, her braces sparkling in the light. "I absolutely love camping!" "Glad to hear it." Spike replied, flinching away from the light reflecting off her teeth. Twist closed her mouth quickly. "Sorry," she said, avoiding eye contact with Spike. "That happens a lot with my stupid braces." "Aw don't worry about it." Spike said reassuringly. He looked up to see a rainbow passing over the trees and descending towards the camp site. Spike looked back at Twist, who immediately reformed a halfhearted smile. "Looks like Rainbow Dash is here! I guess we better head over!" He stood up from the tree, a grin dawning on his face. He turned to Twist giving her an energetic "This is going to be great!" before racing off to rejoin Twilight. With Spike gone, Twist's smile slowly faded, bringing forth a face heavy with melancholy. A sad feeling began to flow through her, weighing her down as she struggled to leave her seat. Her hooves finally touched the ground and slowly she made her way towards the group. A heavy sigh left her lips. "I hope so."
TerritoriesThe last of the parents had left the forest, leaving Twilight and Rainbow Dash alone with the campers. They lined up dutifully on the edge of the field, most of them wearing eager faces. Twilight couldn't help but look upon the foals and see nothing but a troop of perfect students for her to teach. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof saw something different. It was easy enough for her to glance at the order that he campers had taken in line and see that several cliques had already begun to form. Twilight cleared her throat, "Good morning everypony!" She announced, doing her best to fit the "fun teacher" roll. "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and welcome to the best three days of your life!" Her enthusiasm was met with an awkward silence, with the exception of a few cricket chirps and Junior clearing something out of his throat. Twilight continued immediately. "Anyways," she began, hoping that the silence would be forgotten, "let me introduce you to Rainbow Dash, who is also a chaperone!" "Sup." she replied simply, immediately invoking an enthusiastic cheer from the campers. Twilight did her best to keep her eye from twitching. Rainbow Dash didn't hold the spotlight for long, instead she turned back to Twilight and motioned for her to continue. "A-as I was saying," Twilight began awkwardly, "we have a fun three days for you prepared, and before we jump right into it does anypony have any questions?" Diamond Tiara wasted no time in raising her hoof. "Where are the bathrooms?" The look upon her face suggesting that she dreaded Twilight's answer. "There aren't any." Twilight answered. Diamond Tiara gasped, her worst fears being realized. Pipsqueak quickly raised his hand as well. "Yes Pip?" "But what if we have to tinkle?" He asked, causing Button Mash and Junior to instantly facehoof. "You just go in the woods!" Rainbow Dash said, receiving several groans from some of the campers. Twilight waited for another hoof to come up. "Any more questions?" She asked, looking around for any looks of confusion. "Well alright then! Let's get started!" Twilight took a step back, allowing Rainbow Dash to take center stage. "Take it away, Rainbow!" "Right!" Rainbow Dash began, making her voice as authoritative as possible. "If you want to survive in the woods, then the first thing you're going to need is shelter!" She paced back and forth down the line, looking each camper in the eye as she passed them. She caught sight of the admiration in Scootaloo's eyes, causing her to smile smugly. "You're going to learn a lot about wilderness survival over the next few days, but the first we're going to teach you is how to build a tent." * * * For many of the campers the task of setting up a tent was proving to be incredibly difficult, but not for Spike. He had had plenty of time to practice with Twilight weeks before camp even started. The evidence was in his efficiency; the other campers continued to struggle with the tent's basic set up, while Spike stood before a perfectly erected tent. He had inspected every element of the tent twice already, and he was certainly going to inspect it a third time. After all this was the tent that he and Twilight would be sharing, it had to be absolutely perfect. Twilight had been busy patrolling around the camp, inspecting each and every tent diligently. As frustrating as it was for the campers to see their tents fail inspection it was too important to allow inadequate tents to stand. She could tell that the tedious process had already put many campers on edge, and perhaps even brought out the competitive side of a few of them. "Ha!! We won!" Button exclaimed, admiring the absolute butchery of rope and canvas which he proudly proclaimed a "tent". He and Junior had slaved away on the tent for nearly twenty minutes now, and with his masterpiece completed he felt the insatiable urge to gloat. "We totally beat you guys!" He declared to the Crusaders as they tied the knots on the base of their tent. "What do you mean?" Asked Sweetie Belle curiously, her confusion only feeding Button's ego. "We finished our tent before you did!" He exclaimed, presenting his tent with a motion of his hoof. Junior nodded in agreement, wearing a similar smug expression upon his face. The fillies examined the jumbled mess they had presented. "You call that a tent?" Scootaloo asked, causing the colts' complacency to evaporate. "Of course it's a tent!" He replied angrily, "What else would it be?" Applebloom pondered over this for a moment. "It kinda looks like mah granny's old bonnet." "Yeah, or a garbage can." Scootaloo added. "It does not!" shouted Button as he noticed a particular purple alicorn approaching. "Just ask Twilight!" Twilight arrived at the scene, levitating her checklist close beside her. "What's going on?" She asked them politely. "Twilight, does this look like a garbage can to you?" Button asked, making sure to sound as victimized as possible. "Of course it doesn't," Twilight said assuringly, Button happily stuck his tongue out at the Crusaders, "but it would never pass as a tent I'm afraid." Twilight continued, adding a few notes to her checklist, "I recommend that you work on the base first and then build up." Button could feel his pride sinking away into his stomach. "What about ours, Twilight?" Applebloom asked, Twilight inspected the base the Crusaders had created. "Very good girls, it's perfect so far!" Twilight exclaimed, Button Mash could feel the oncoming heart attack. "Maybe after you're finished you can help the boys with their tent!" * * * Recess couldn't come soon enough for most of the campers. After spending most of an hour building and rebuilding the same tents over and over again, most of the campers had found themselves at their limit. Emotions ran high for some of the more extreme cases, and Twilight knew that a little time to themselves would be the perfect medicine. Spike's tent had just passed Twilight's inspection, and now the dragon was off to join the other ponies on their break. The campers had been quick to divide into groups and disperse across the entire field, each group placing themselves as far away from each other as possible. Spike wasn't sure where to begin. He wandered down the field, carefully observing the groups that had formed. The closest group in proximity to Spike consisted of Button Mash, Pipsqueak, and Junior all of who were standing around in a circle, and appeared to be discussing matters of great importance. The anger on their faces was evident. Spike began making his way over to them, making eye contact with Pipsqueak, whose expression quickly shifted into a friendly smile. "Hey Spike!" He shouted, "Wanna join our club?" He was immediately greeted with Button and Junior's angry eyes, Junior Shoved him angrily. "Shut it, Pip!" He shouted, Pip mumbled his apologies quietly. Spike stopped in front of the group, which had now reformed their circle into a defensive line. "You guys have a club?" Spike asked, Button stepped forward, assuming command. "Yeah!" He exclaimed, "It's a very exclusive club, only the coolest ponies get in. And no girls allowed!" Spike looked at him curiously. "Why's that?" He asked. "Because no one wants to hang around a bunch of stupid girls!" Button sneered, his words were heavy with spite, Spike wasn't sure why. "But that's not true at all." Spike said, "it's not fun unless everypony is included." Those words had once been Twilight's. Many years ago, Twilight had shut ponies out of her life in favor of books and studying, but after coming to Ponyville for the first time she learned that friendship was the most magical gift of all. And being Twilight's number one assistant, Spike had learned that lesson with her. "Not this time," Button replied, shaking his head, "this club is exclusive." Spike could tell that he would be holding on to that excuse, he sighed softly. "So does this club have a name?" Button shifted his gaze between Junior and Pipsqueak before adding "It's a secret." "We haven't thought of one yet." Pip answered truthfully, instantly becoming reunited with Button and Junior's venomous glare. "Shut up Pip!" Junior shouted, and with that Spike had had enough, he turned around and walked away. He scanned around the field, hoping that he could spot the crusaders. They were nowhere to be found, knowing them they had most likely gone off into the woods, trying to get their cutie marks in either tree climbing or fly fishing. Spike looked around, he only had a few options left. He could either go back to camp and stay with Twilight, who would probably just tell him to go back out there and "interact", or he could try his luck with the few ponies that were left. Those ponies happened to be Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Nope! Spike was definitely not that for friends, defeated, he started to make his way back to camp when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A lone white pony sitting on a fallen tree. Spike smiled, Twist was a much better option than hanging out with either the "boys only club" or the diabolical duo. "Hey Twist!" He called, evoking the same jumpy reaction that she had had before. Once again she quickly scooted over and made room for Spike to join her. "Oh, hey." She said nervously, Spike took his seat beside her. "What are you doing way over here?" Spiked asked, Twist shied away turning her attention towards the ground. "Nothing... I guess." Spike could tell that this conversation was going nowhere fast, her searched his mind for another subject. "So what tent are you staying in?" He asked with a smile, inviting her in to what he hoped would be a pleasant conversation. Twist shied away even further. "I guess I never found a partner to stay with, so they put me with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." Oh. Spike couldn't help but grimace, Spike was happy that he was spending the nights with Twilight, he couldn't imagine what it would be like being forced to sleep next to them. He made the mistake of mentally picturing himself in that situation, with a shudder he quickly expelled the thought from his head. "Wow, I'm really sorry to hear that." He said, acknowledging the fact that there were few fates worse than that. She shook her head softly in return. "It's fine." She lied, Spike could tell that talking about it had made her even more upset about it. A touch of guilt began to form inside of him, he desperately tried to think of a way to remedy the situation. "Well if it will make you feel better," Spike began, an idea forming in his head, "I brought a kite with me to camp! It's in my tent now if you're interested." Twist looked absolutely shocked, as if she had just received an invitation from Celestia herself. "Do you mean it?" She asked, a lingering hint of doubt was present in her eyes. "Of course! We still have like twenty minutes left of recess! If we go get it now that will give us plenty of time!" A smile formed on Twist's face, and for the first time Spike could tell that it was a genuine one. "Ok!" She said, the doubt in her eyes slowly fading away. They both stood up from their seat on the tree and together they made their way towards the camp. Spike looked at Twist, noticing that her smile hadn't left her face yet. A good feeling began to grow inside Spike, and it was slowly warming his entire body with sunshine. To his surprise, it was Twist who broke the silence between them. "Sooo..." She began, finally comfortable enough to start a conversation. "Do you like candy canes? Because I love candy canes!" * * * Night had fallen over the campground, the sky had turned from blue to a rich shade of purple under the light of Luna's night sky. Twist was curled away in her sleeping bag, peacefully resting inside of her tent. Body was still, but her mind was more awake than ever before, the filly relived happy memories over and over again behind her closed eyes; her smile was still present on her face, it hadn't faded since recess. It was almost as if she could still feel the kite's spool in her hooves, the blowing wind in her mane, and of course the gentle smile that Spike always gave her. That she could never forget. It had been a long time since she had felt this happy, and even longer since she had had a reason to smile. She smiled because she knew that she could see Spike again, and she would have a whole new day to spend with him just as soon as the morning came... "Gosh Twist! Could you take up any more room?!" ... That was assuming she could last the night. Twist poked her head out from under her sleeping and noticed Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing in the tent's entrance. Their figures were silhouetted by the light of the moon, only their menacing eyes were visible. "O-oh, sorry." Twist said nervously, the happy memories quickly disappearing, yielding to the insecurities that were flooding into her heart. She quickly shifted over to the far side of the tent, giving most of the space to new-come bullies and leaving little room for herself. "That's more like it." Diamond Tiara said with a smirk. The two entered the tent and tucked away into their sleeping bags. "Now if we're going to be in the same tent you'll have to follow a few rules." Silver Spoon couldn't help but giggle from the look on Twist's face. "Rule one, stay on your side of the tent! Rule two, don't bother us while we're sleeping! Rule three, absolutely no snoring, got it?!" Twist was doomed, she already knew that she snored like a bear. A shiver was running up and down her spine as thoughts of the rumors they would spread in the morning began to flow into her mind. "A-actually," she began, a bead of sweat beginning to run down her forehead. "I think I'll just sleep outside tonight." Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exchanged a wicked smile, before returning their gaze to Twist. "Sounds like a great idea!" Twist bunched up her sleeping bag and carried it outside, she found a comfortable spot in the grass outside the tent and curled away into her sleeping bag. The night air was cold and the wind was cutting through her bag. She shivered from the cold as she tried to turn her mind towards happier thoughts. She tried thinking of Spike, and all the fun they would have in the morning. The thoughts would come, but would quickly fade away. As much as she wanted to look forward to the next day, she could only bring herself to dread the next night. Fear was worming its way throughout her body, working side by side with the cold wind to make her as miserable as possible.Happy thoughts, Twist. she reminded herself, Happy thoughts. She shivered in her sleeping bag, her every muscle in her body felt frozen in ice. She sighed heavily to herself. "At least it isn't raining."
Happy CampersThe sun was bright in the sky, and the forest was beginning to come back to life. All of the colts and fillies in the field were up and about already, thanks in part to the "Morning Wake Up" trumpet solo that Spike had played at sunrise. The forest had always looked beautiful, but today was a special occasion, today the leaves and grass were shimmering from the light of Celestia's sun. Apparently it had rained heavily during the night, luckily everypony had been protected inside their tents. Today Twilight decided to teach the campers about knot tying, and had already begun a workshop for all the campers to practice. Spike grabbed the rope in front of him and began twisting and weaving it in various places until he had crafted a perfect knot. He studied the knot in his hands, inspecting it for any flaws whatsoever. He already knew that he had tied it perfectly, but when Twilight was the inspector he could never be too careful. He was so engrossed in his examination that he almost didn't notice a white pony sitting down next to him. "H-h-h-hey S-spike." Spike turned and almost gasped, Twist looked as though she was suffering from pneumonia. Her body was shivering uncontrollably, and her teeth chattered with every word she spoke. "Are you ok, Twist?" He asked, she quickly nodded. "Y-y-yeah, I'm f-fine." "Are you sure?" Spike could already tell that she didn't want to talk about it, but it was very unsettling to see her like this. "Y-yeah." She answered again. "C-can you help me w-with this?" She was pointing to the rope in her hooves, it looked like she had already made several attempts to tie it. "Oh, ummm, yeah!" Spike said, trying to look past Twist's miserable condition. He took the rope in his hands and began tying the knot, "First you just cross the rope here, twist it down here, bring this part through here..." Spike trailed off as he became focused on the knot itself. A few moment's later he was holding another perfectly tied knot. "And tada!" "W-wow!" Twist marveled at Spike's handy work, "H-how did you do that?" Spike couldn't tell if her enthusiasm was exaggerated or not, or perhaps it was a product of the strange state she was in. "It's really not that hard," Spike told her, "here, let me teach you." Turns out that Twist was not the only pony struggling to tie the knot. Button Mash and Junior were frantically working on theirs, hastily looping the rope in random places and praying that it would come out right. "Hurry up!" Button told Junior anxiously. "We can't let them beat us." He said, motioning towards the crusaders, who were working together to figure out the knot. The two quickened their pace, warping and contorting the rope in all manners of ungodly positions. Soon Button found himself with a large ball of interconnected coils, he anxiously tried to untie the knot, but he had no idea where to even begin. "Great job, girls." Button heard Twilight's voice nearby, he looked up to see Twilight examining the knot that the Crusaders had put together. "Just a few more steps and you'll have it perfect!" Button cried out in rage as he angrily pummeled his rope ball into the dirt. * * * "Alright, listen up!" Rainbow Dash shouted to the line of campers. "Now that you have learned how to tie a knot, it is time for us to put those skills to the test!" Most of the campers began whispering eagerly amongst themselves, anticipating what challenge Rainbow Dash had for them. "Today we're going to test the strength of you knots, as well as the strength of your hooves, with a good old fashion game..." Rainbow Dash paused for the dramatic effect, "of Tug-of-War!" Her words were met with mixed reactions, Junior cried "YEAH!", Diamond Tiara groaned, and Button Mash began to smile deviously to himself. Spike and Twist on the other hoof, said nothing. Twist had finally stopped shaking after about an hour into the rope-tying session. She had now reached the point where she could smile again, and Spike was more than happy to see it. "Well this should be fun!" She said to Spike, who simply nodded in agreement. "What are you waiting for?" Rainbow Dash began, flying closer to the crowd and catching them all directly in the eye, "Let's get started!" * * * The crusaders had been the one chosen to tie the Tug-of-War ropes together, much to the dismay of Button and his clubmates. However when Rainbow Dash assigned the teams, they could not have been happier. Boys versus girls would be the name of the game, and Button Mash was absolutely sure that they would win. "This is our chance to show those girls once and for all!" He said to his team as they huddled together on the edge of the field. He and Junior both wore a face of eager determination, Pipsqueak on the other hoof, seemed to be a little worried. "But the girls out number us." He explained, Button Mash was quick to dismiss it. "Yeah, but we have Junior on our team!" He said, motioning towards the colt who was currently flexing his muscles. "They don't have anypony who is as strong as he is!" Spike looked around the group, noting the fire in his teammates eyes. Although he personally didn't care who won and who lost, he could tell that a victory would mean a lot to the boys. They broke from their huddle and quickly moved to their side of the field, the girls had been ready for some time now, and were eagerly awaiting the start of the game. Rainbow Dash descended from the clouds above, a faint trickling rainbow following behind her. "Alright everypony! This is it! The battle of all battles! The Tug-of-War to end all Tug-of-Wars!" Rainbow Dash's words seemed to rally the battle-ready children, they cheered as they took their positions on the rope, Twilight however, couldn't help but facehoof. Button Mash grabbed his end of the rope, making sure that his hooves were firmly gripped to it. "This is it boys!" He exclaimed, "Get your war-face on!" Spike took his end of the rope and waited for Rainbow Dash's signal. "We start on my mark!" Rainbow Dash began, watching as the campers gripped the rope a little tighter. "Three... Two... One and a half... One and two quarters..." Button Mash was trembling, like Rainbow Dash had said, this was the battle of all battles. There was too much at stake in this competition, and Rainbow's endless countdown was eating at his nerves. "Zero and a half... Zero and two eighths... GO!!!" Immediately the campers tugged at the ropes, digging their hind legs deep into the dirt. The rope was pulled tight in both directions, and the knot that held it together was strained under the pressure. The two sides grunted and groaned as they each fought for the upper hand, yet the rope remained still, the teams were locked in a stalemate. "Pull you guys! Pull!" Button yelled to his team, Spike could hear Scootaloo shouting something similar. Each team pulled harder then before, not willing to relinquish a single inch to the enemy. Spike heard something behind him, a string of powerful grunts fueled by a boiling rage. Junior Was getting angry, and now he was about to make his move. Spike felt himself being pulled backwards by a terrifying amount of force, he could see the other team begin to collapse under the young colt's unnatural strength. "We're gonna win guys!" Button said, his voice strained from exertion. Spike looked back to the other team, their resolve was failing quickly, he could see the disappointment beginning to form prematurely on their faces. Except for Twist. There was no disappointment on Twist's face, no look of sadness or grief. Instead she was looking at Spike, sporting a happy grin as her team was pulled closer and closer to the center. His eyes locked with hers, and in that moment her grin turned into a bright smile. The sun reflected perfectly off her braces, flashing brightly into the eyes of the other team. Spike flinched away from the light, as did his entire team. He felt Junior Drop the rope behind him, and he was suddenly pulled forward from the combined might of the other team. The remaining boys were flung to the ground, and were dragged across the dirt with the greatest of ease. Button Mash looked at the other team in shock, his fur now coated in dust. "Looks like we've got a winner!" Rainbow Dash cheered! Button watched as she quickly flew over to the girl's side, giving Scootaloo a well deserved hoof bump. "I always new you had it in you champ." She said to her. Button's blood was beginning to boil. "They cheated!" He shouted, objectively pointing his hoof at the other team. Rainbow Dash looked at the raging colt curiously. "And how exactly did they cheat?" Button was scrambling for an explanation, "They... they used... I don't know!" He was at a loss for words. "They just did!" Rainbow Dash smirked. "Cheer up kid, there's always next time." Spike watched as Button Mashed got up and angrily stomped away. Spike shook his head, he could tell that Button wasn't going to let this go. The Crusaders were now celebrating their victory, the rest of the girls didn't really seem to care. He noticed Twist walk away from the victory circle and began making her way to him, he tried to pick himself off the ground. Before he could Twist extended a helping hoof towards him, her bright, sun-filled smile beaming at him; he gratefully took her hoof and let her help him to his feet. "Well that was fun!" She said happily, Spike smiled in return. "It sure was." He replied, noticing Button Mash storming off into the distance, a worried feeling flickered in his gut. "It sure was..." * * * The sun had set behind the mountains, yielding to the darkness of Luna's night. Spike watched as the moon began to rise over the trees, basking the land in a brilliant white light. Today had been a long day, and Button's attitude had become more sour as the day progressed. His jealousy and temper had been trying Twilight's patience, everypony in the camp could tell that Button was working on Twilight's nerves, and by extension, the nerves of her number one assistant. Spike needed a break, a chance to sit down and cool off, and this was the perfect place to do it. Spike sat alone upon the fallen tree, a can of root beer was clutched tightly in his hand. He took a sip from the can, letting the sweet liquid slide down his throat and drown the tension in his body. It felt nice being alone, and the wooden seat was surprisingly comfortable, no wonder Twist enjoyed it here so much. A soft breeze blew across the forest, and fireflies flickered in the night. Everything here was peaceful, here he could relax and be alone with his thoughts as he watched the twinkling of the night sky. "Hey Spike!" So much for being alone, Spike turned to look at Pipsqueak, who was standing beside Junior and Button Mash. Spike groaned, knowing that his moment of meditation was gone forever. "What do you guys want?" He asked before downing half his can of root beer. "We're going to shoot spit balls into the girls tent!" Button Mash said, "If you help us you can join our club." "You mean your exclusive boys only club that doesn't have a name?" Spike said unimpressed. "It does have a name!" Button replied sharply, "It's just a secret!" Spike saw Junior give Pipsqueak a mean glare before he could say anything, Spike cocked an eyebrow. "Fine, I guess someone is just scared of getting in trouble!" Button said. Unaware of the blue pegasus hovering just behind him. "And just what are you troublemakers up to?" Rainbow Dash said, causing Button to nearly jump out of his skin. He turned around quickly, staring into her dark, judgmental eyes. "Nothing!" He said abruptly, sweat was already beginning to trickle down his forehead. Rainbow Dash eyed him menacingly, "Oh pa-lease, I can smell trouble from a mile away." She turned to look at Junior and Pip, giving them each a turn to look her in the eye. "So, let's hear it!" Pipsqueak burst, "We were going to shoot spitballs at the girl's tent!" Button and Junior didn't bother to glare at him, they already knew it was too late. Spike couldn't help but smile, it was fun watching these punks dig themselves into a hole, he took another sip of his root beer. "Spitballs?" Rainbow Dash looked at them disappointingly, "Nun-uh! We will have none of that!" Pipsqueak was beginning to tremble. "We're so sorry!" He said. "You should be!" Rainbow Dash said, she reached over her back and started digging around in her saddlebags. "Here, use these instead!" She pulled out an unopened bag of water balloons and tossed it to them. Spike nearly choked on his root beer when he saw this, Button could only stared at the bag in disbelief. "F-for real?" He asked, looking her in the eyes. Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest, "Of course! Those will work a lot better than those derpy spitballs! Now go fill them up in the stream over there!" She said pointing her hoof towards the woods. The boys didn't wait to say thank you, they simply took the bag and ran off as quickly as they could. "Why did you do that?" Spike asked, "You know you shouldn't be encouraging them!" Rainbow Dash looked back at Spike. "Are you kidding? I've been dying to see a good prank up here! You sure you don't want to join them?" Spike turned his head, unwilling to look at Rainbow Dash, "I'll pass." He said flatly. "Suit yourself." Rainbow Dash shrugged "Oh and remember, hush hush." She said, bringing a hoof to her mouth, she then took off and flew above the trees and disappeared into the night sky. Spike grumbled to himself, he knew that his meditation would be gone forever. of all the dirty tricks that Rainbow Dash could have pulled, this was by far the dirtiest one. Spike took a heavy sip of his root beer, hoping that the fizzy drink could dispel the anger he was feeling. "What was that all about?" Spike turned, already prepared to see another pony out to ruin his day. To his pleasant surprise, it was Twist. She approached him from the field, this time it was Spike's turn to make room on the tree. "Don't ask." He sighed, Twist looked at him curiously as took her seat. "But I suggest that you stay away from your tent tonight." Twist simply shrugged, "That's fine, Diamond Tiara kicked me out anyways." "Wow, I'm sorry to hear that." Spike said, offering her one of his root beer cans. "It's fine," she replied, accepting the can and then opening it with her hooves. "What about you, why are you out here?" Spike puzzled for words, "I guess I just needed a moment to cool off." Twist nodded and took a sip of her root beer. Spike looked at her, he couldn't contain the smirk that followed. It was funny really, just a moment ago he had been a ball of condensed anger. He was angry at Button for causing Twilight so much trouble, and he was angry at Rainbow Dash for helping him cause even more chaos. He thought that what he needed was to be alone, and yet here he was with Twist, and he just couldn't help but smile. He and Twist were different from the rest of the campers, they were outcasts. Everypony else had had a group that they belonged to, a posse that they could rely on. But he and Twist didn't have a group, they simply couldn't fit in, maybe that's why they got along so well. He looked back up at the moon as it shimmered in the night sky, he smiled, tonight was a beautiful night. He looked back to Twist, mentally correcting his last thought. Tonight was a beautiful night to share.
