Trouble in the Mountains

"Come now, Spikey-Wikey," Rarity chided, walking at a leisurely pace, " we're losing daylight." The unicorn stopped at the top of the last in a series of foothills before the mountain pass. She looked back, searching for her companion. The pair had made good time, all things considered...

Spike crested the hill. "Right-- behind you," he gasped out, the cart pulling up behind him as he stopped. Rarity had prepared for what seemed like every possible emergency, if the fashion police were to arrive. She had brought other gear as well, but it was rather obvious she hadn't gone camping much in the
past. Other than the times when he ran away or hung out with other dragons, which in his mind probably didn't count, Spike hadn't been camping at all. It wasn't by sleeping under the stars that the dragon had become Twilight's 'Number One Assistant'.

The two friends looked up at the nearest peak of Unicorn Range towering over them. The evergreens rose up to meet the foot of the mountain, anchoring it to the plains below. The pass meandered lazily up the mountainside, taking the easiest route Nature could offer.

Rarity levitated a chaise lounge chair with wheels attached down from the top of the supply cart. "I am soo tired from this walk! I suppose we shall have to rest here for the night," she sighed. Her chair gently touched down and she stretched out across it languidly. The simple action stirred a previously unknown feeling in Spike, one that made his eyes linger on the mare's figure just a single second too long.

When Rarity met his eyes with a questioning gaze, he shook his head and cleared his throat. "Sooo... Did you bring a tent or something? I didn't realize this was going to take more than a day. I sure hope Twilight won't get upset." It was then that it dawned on him that there was a second, more terrible possibility. "Oh no! Wh-what if she replaces me this time? I've heard her say how great Owlowicious has been doing with her late-night studies!" The dragon started to pace, wringing his claws.

Rarity stood and walked over, resting a dainty hoof on his shoulder. "Relax, Spikey. I had planned this trip for weeks; I told Twilight last Tuesday that I would require your services for two or three days. You should have seen her eyes light up when I asked her to pack your things, she pushed me out the door just so she could start on her checklist!"

Spike looked up at her, and a small smile turned to a chuckle. "That is so like Twilight. You two are so much alike!"

"I beg your pardon?" A delicate vein popped out on the unicorn's forehead.

Spike hastily added, "I meant that you think of everything! Thank you, I never thought about what I needed to bring."

"Oh, think nothing of it dear." Rarity smiled. One perk of being the Element of Generosity was that gratitude for even the smallest of gifts filled her with joy nopony would suspect. A few seconds of silent happiness between giver and receiver passed before she spoke. "Now, would you please set up the tent? I believe it was one of the first few items I packed." She then went back and reclined in her chair.

Spike fell backward as he looked at the gear piled up in the cart. "It's under all that?" he squeaked. He quickly regained his composure, saying, "Don't worry Rarity, I'll get that tent up in a jiffy! Where's my tent, I can set that up too."

As Spike started bringing down the first items (a coat rack and a suitcase with several grooming items), Rarity enveloped several more items and levitated the lot to a small clearing on their left. Four relatively parallel trees marked the boundaries of the site. To these, the unicorn tied a large tarp to keep out the rain that was sure to come. It was nice having a weather pony as a friend, Rarity thought to herself; one could always know what was coming up and plan accordingly.

"Don't worry about a second tent, mine is plenty large enough," the mare said, unloading another full rack dedicated solely to bathrobes, " it should be just under the case of..."

"I got it!" Spike hopped down holding a neatly folded purple parcel. He set it down in the middle of the clearing. Then Rarity's words sank in quite suddenly. "Wait. Did you just say wuh--we're--"

"Sharing a tent?" Rarity interrupted, noticing the drake's somewhat flushed features. "Yes. There are two stories: you'll take the downstairs portion, and I, naturally, will retire upstairs. A lady does need her privacy after all, darling. Now, if you just pull that cord there..." she gestured with a perfectly hooficured foreleg.

Spike gave the cord a mighty tug, jumping back as the rather massive tent inflated itself, complete with a little flag on the top. It just barely cleared the underside of the forest canopy. "Whoa! Rarity, this thing is huge!" the dragon exclaimed, his large eyes taking in the sight.

Rarity chuckled softly at the sudden outburst of awe from the little dragon. After nearly three years of encountering one crazy, supernatural, or enormous entity (or in Discord's case, all three) after another, it surprised her that something as simple as a tent, albeit inflatable, could rouse such excitement in him. "All right, Spike," she said, "that's quite enough of that. Be a dear and help me bring all our things in? It's going to rain in just a few moments!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Spike said, pushing the rolling chaise lounge inside as Rarity winced inwardly at his use of a title she usually reserved for mares much older than herself.

"Mademoiselle, darling, if you please!" she said as she waved her hoof as though the action would erase the dragon's faux-pas. She levitated all the supplies into the spacious tent, except for the wheelbarrow, which she turned over to keep safe in what seemed to be the longest, wettest rain in the history of Equestria. "And right on schedule, too... I really must thank Rainbow Dash for her warning, I don't think I could stand to be out in that dreary mess!" Rarity began to plan out a new rainbow-themed ensemble for her pegasus friend just as the first drop hit the tarp above.

Plip.