Camp Friendship
By: Crystal Heart
"You'll take care of yerself now wontcha?" Granny Smith asked the young orange filly. Applejack nodded her head rapidly. She had been dreaming of this day for what seemed like eons!
Today was the day when she would start her first day at Camp Friendship.
Camp Friendship was a summer camp where little fillies and colts would come to do various activities together. These included hiking, hunting, music, games, arts and crafts, plus many more! And Applejack, being the outgoing filly she was, was more than excited to attend!
Sure, she didn't know anypony there, as Big Mac had just grown out of the age limit of the camp, but she was absolutely sure she could make a few friends along the way! And Applejack was very happy.
Of course, she was a little disappointed to find out that she would have to part from her family, but it was all in good fun! She would see them again in a few months.
"Yes, Granny! I'll be fine! Do you have any more of those delicious apple fritters you gave me earlier?" Applejack asked the much older mare. Granny Smith frowned, but then smiled down at the young filly. She went back inside the large red barn, and came back with a steaming hot container.
"Here ya go!" She said, tossing the box into Applejack's bag. Big Mac gave a hearty 'Eeyup.'
Applejack giggled, as she waved goodbye to her family, heading off to Camp Friendship for an eventful summer.
Coloratura was frazzled. She had just woken up, and realized that she was going to be late for the bus ride to Camp Friendship! Her parents had decided to enroll her in some of the music courses there, and she was very nervous.
Coloratura loved to sing! And she did it all the time! But to do it in front of ponies watching her... It was a little too much. Luckily, Coloratura only got before show jitters. Once she stepped onto the stage, she could shine as bright as a diamond!
"Bye, honey. Have a wonderful time!" Coloratura's mother exclaimed, as she waved to her daughter. Colorature gave her a small smile, as she boarded the bus.
The bus was quite large. It had about thirty rows of seats, two seats to each row, with two ponies sitting on each sat. Coloratura looked around for an empty seat, but since her stop was one of the very last, there were none! Well, besides a couple open spots next to other ponies. Coloratura gulped. She was never good in social places.
She looked in front of her, where a young filly around her age was sitting in a seat. She had an open container, and was munching on the warm treats inside. Coloratura quickly slid into the seat beside her.
The filly had an orange coat, and a long, blonde mane which was neatly tucked into a ponytail. She had three small freckled underneath her large, green eyes, and was wearing a brown cowpony hat on her head. She looked up at Coloratura.
"Well, howdy! Mah name's Applejack! Want an apple fritter?" She asked casually. Coloratura looked at the pony's hoof, and saw the apple treat being offered. She politely declined.
"No thank you. I had a big breakfast." She said, right before a gurgling sound came from her belly. Applejack snorted.
"Big breakfast, huh? Here, take one. I insist." She said, placing the sweet fritter into Coloratura's hoof. She gave her a weak smile, and nibbled at the edge of it, slightly gasping at the taste.
"Woah! These things are good!" She exclaimed. Applejack nodded.
"Yup. Told ya so! They're mah Granny Smith's secret recipe! Hey... Didn't quite catch your name there!" She said, tilting her head to Coloratura's. Coloratura blushed, and hid her face.
"My name's Coloratura." She said quietly. Applejack gave her a look, before starting to brainstorm nicknames.
"Wow... That's an awfully long name! I think I'm gonna shorten it! Hm... How 'bout Rara?" She suggested. Coloratura looked at Applejack with a confused look, before shrugging.
"Eh. You can't really get worse than Coloratura. So, Rara it is! And if you get to give ME and nickname, I should give YOU a nickname as well! Hm... Applejack... How about... AJ!?" Coloratura said happily, stomping her hooves at the end. Applejack smiled.
"Sure! Some of my friends call me that! AJ is fine!" She said. Coloratura grinned, and quietly stole another apple fritter.
"Oops!" She said, before popping it into her mouth. Applejack snickered.
"Hehe... Nice."
Applejack and Coloratura both arrived at their dorm room. They had requested to share one, which the dorm manger gladly accepted. So AJ and Rara got settled in.
"Hey, Rara! Check out our schedule!" Applejack exclaimed, shoving a piece of paper into her roommate's face. Coloratura was surprised, but read through the schedule.
"Tug of war! I love tug of war!" She said happily. Applejack nodded.
"And look! After tug of war, we get to eat lunch! And that means APPLES!" Applejack said excitedly. Coloratura rolled her eyes, but nodded.
"Wait... Tug of war is scheduled for 3:30 pm... AJ... That's in five minutes!" She said, glancing at the clock hurriedly. The two mares instantly began to panic, as they quickly put on their Camp Friendship vests, and ran out the door, pushing each other lightly along the way.
"Alright, my little ponies! Let's play some simple rounds of tug of war! Applejack and Coloratura will be a team, against these two over here! Are you ready?" The camp counselor asked them all. Applejack and Coloratura looked at each other with determined faces, and nodded.
"Yes!" They said, as they put the rope into their mouths. The counselor nodded.
"Great! Three... Two... One... GO!" She said, as the two teams started to pull at the rope.
The game lasted for only a few seconds, before Applejack and Coloratura both got pulled into the mud in front of them. They frowned, as the other team cheered.
The two mares looked at each other for a few moments, before bursting out laughing. They were both coated in mud!
"Woah Rara! You have mud all over your mane!" Applejack exclaimed, giggling to herself. Coloratura smirked.
"And you have mud all over your face!" She said. Applejack grimaced, as she wiped some mud off herself. Just to end up in fits of laughter in the end,
The camp counselor came up to them with a smile.
"Okay, girls. I think that's enough mud play for you! Why not take a dip in the lake before lunch to wash off?" She suggested. Applejack and Coloratura both nodded, before climbing out of the mud pit they were previously in. They headed off to the lake nearby.
"Alright. Wanna jump in?" Applejack asked her light blue coated friend. Coloratura nodded excitedly, before starting the countdown.
"YEAH! One... Two... Three!" She said happily, before breaking into a sprint. The two fillies both jumped off the harbor, and into the lukewarm water. They both screeched, and burst out laughing, engaging in some fun water play.
"Alright, everypony! Since there are only a few more days of Camp Friendship, we thought we could host a camp talent show! Doesn't that sound like fun?" One of the counselors asked the large crowd of fillies and colts before him.
It had been a crazy few months, but Applejack and Coloratura had a blast. They had played, talked, and simply enjoyed in each other's company. The two had become wonderful friends.
"Anypony can participate! All you need to do is come up with a performance, and you can show off your skills at the talent show in two days! You may pair up with another pony if you want, or you can go it alone! Now, go off to your rooms, and figure out what you want to do! And if you're not participating, help sompony who is!" The counselor said, waving his hooves to signal them all to go off.
Applejack and Coloratura looked at each other simultaneously.
"We should participate!" They both said at the exact same moment. They giggled to themselves, before becoming serious once again.
"We should make a musical performance! I'm pretty hoovsey with various instruments, and you have a beautiful singing voice, Rara!" Applejack said excitedly. Coloratura instantly backed away.
"Me? Sing? What? No!" She stammered. Applejack shook her head.
"Oh come on, Rara! I've heard you sing! Your voice is beautiful! Please?" She pleaded to her friend. Coloratura sighed, and slowly nodded.
"Oh... Okay fine. But don't blame me when we completely mess up!" She told Applejack in a 'I told you so' voice. Applejack grinned in response, and gave her friend a huge hug.
"Yay! Thanks, Rara!" She said happily, before heading towards the rooms. Coloratura followed shortly afterwards.
"Okay... What instrument should I play?" Applejack questioned, as she stared at the many instruments before her. She had taken a few from the camp music room. Coloratura trotted up to her.
"What about the piano? Or the guitar?" She suggested. Applejack brightened up, grabbing the two stringed guitar.
"I'll play this!" She said, strumming a few chords. Coloratura nodded, and went back to her notepad, where she was writing some lyrics down for her singing part.
"I was thinking I could sing something patriotic! Maybe a song on Equestria?" She mused. Applejack instantly nodded.
"Yes! That would sound really good! Hey, how 'bout this?" She asked, strumming a melody on her guitar. Coloratura beamed, and jumped up happily.
"That sounds beautiful! Hm... Equestria... The... Place I love? No... Land? Yeah! Equestria, the land I love! A land of... Friendship? No..." She said, trying to make up some words to go with the melody Applejack had provided.
"How about harmony?" Applejack suggested. Coloratura gasped, and took her pencil in her mouth, crossing something out, and writing something new.
"Yes! That's perfect! Equestria, the land I love! A land of harmony! Oh AJ.... It's beautiful!" She said, singing a few lines of the song. Applejack grinned.
"Awesome!"
"Oh, AJ! I don't know if I can do this!" Coloratura said nervously. Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder.
"Relax, Rara! You'll do brilliantly! I just know it!" She said, trying to help her friend. Coloratura shook her head.
"But how do you know that?" She whined. Applejack just shook her head.
"Because I know you, Rara! And I know you'll do great! Just take a deep breath, and rehearse the song a few times in your head! That's it! Are you ready?" She asked. Coloratura took a few large breaths, and nodded.
The camp counselor motioned for them to climb onto the stage. They did, and Applejack set up her guitar, strumming a few times to make sure she was in tune. She winked at Coloratura, who in return, smiled.
They both looked to the audience, which consisted of a row of fillies and colts, since most of the camp was getting ready for their own performance. But the audience was too busy with their books, and little games. Applejack and Coloratura could tell the acts before them were boring, and they audience was getting tired.
They needed to wow them.
"Okay girls, whenever you're ready!" The counselor told them. Coloratura nodded, and cleared her throat. Applejack started to play the guitar the second after she started singing.
"Equestria,
The land I love,
A land of harmony,
Our flag does wave,
From high above,
For pony kind to see!
Equestria,
A land of friends,
Where ponykind do roam,
They say true friendship,
Never ends!
Equestria,
My home!"
Coloratura finished singing in a strong voice. She glanced at the crowd below her, who were all cheering madly. Applejack went to the triangle, and gave it a light tap, signaling the end of the song.
Coloratura looked back at Applejack, who was grinning to her. She got up, and gave her friend a big hug.
"See? I knew you could do it!" She told her, once they broke apart. Coloratura blushed.
"Thanks, AJ!"
Though everypony was sad, Camp Friendship finally came to an end.
Applejack and Coloratura exchanged addresses, so they could write to each other.
"I'm gonna miss ya, Rara!" Applejack said, giving her friend one final hug. Coloratura nodded.
"Me too, AJ!" She said returning the hug. Once they broke apart, Coloratura turned to the orange filly with a serious look.
"Promise to write?" She asked her. Applejack nodded.
"I promise. And you know I never break promises!" She said. Coloratura grinned, as she started to trot to the carriage being drawn by her father.
"Bye, AJ!" She said, as she waved to her friend. Applejack waved back.
"Bye, Rara!"
