"Sweetie Belle!" a white filly's eyes snapped open from the loud knocking at the bedroom door. "Hey, Sweetie Belle! Ya gonna wake up or what?"
The young unicorn filly sat up and rubbed her eyes with her hooves. "What is it, Apple Bloom? It's still so early!" she protested.
"Early?!" the voice behind the door shouted indignantly before opening it and entering, revealing a frowning yellow earth pony filly, her cherry-colored mane tied back with a large pink bow. "It's already past noon! Everypony told ya not ta stay up all night!"
"But I wanted to help Rarity with her work!" Sweetie Belle replied, rubbing her eyes again as she tried to adjust to the light in the cabin bedroom. "How else am I gonna learn how to be a seamstress like her?"
Apple Bloom facehoofed. "Have ya forgotten? We were gonna try mountain explorin' cutie marks after lunch! Ya shoulda been up an hour ago so ya ain't draggin' yourself around like a slug!"
"Okay, okay. Gimme a moment," Sweetie Belle muttered as she climbed out of bed and stretched herself out.
"Ah'll be outside. Big Mac, Twilight, and Spike're already out there gettin' ready fer our picnic." With that, Apple Bloom, turned and left, bounding down the stairs and seconds later Sweetie Belle heard the front door close. Sighing and slightly embarrassed that her stubbornness cost her some sleep, the filly trudged downstairs and into the main room, where a white unicorn with a well-styled purple mane was humming to herself at the stoves.
"Morning, Rarity," Sweetie Belle said, managing a smile as she fought off the last of her drowsiness.
"Don't you mean afternoon, Sweetie Belle?" the older unicorn asked with a hint of sternness. "You were close to missing lunch!" The moment she turned, however, a look of utter horror appeared on her face and she let out a shudder.
"Rarity, what's wrong?" Sweetie Belle asked, confused.
"Sweetie Belle, you get right back upstairs and brush out that mane! You're not going outside looking like a porcupine got stuck to your head!"
Looking over at the mirror on the wall, Sweetie Belle blushed in embarrassment, realizing her sister's critique was pretty true. Rushing back upstairs, Sweetie Belle floated a brush from the vanity table and brushed out her mane till it was presentable enough that she was certain it'd pass her sister's approval and returned downstairs.
"Much better!" Rarity said with a smile. "Now do run along while I finish preparing our lunch."
Relieved by her older sister's satisfaction, Sweetie Belle rushed outside to go find her friend.
~
"Over here, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom called out. "We're gonna have a real doozy of a story to tell Scootaloo when we get back!"
"I just wish she could have made it," Sweetie Belle replied as she walked over and joined her friend.
"You know she's got that crazy explorer trainin' goin' on an' all, Sweetie Belle. Her aunt's been really workin' her!" Apple Bloom replied. "An' then there's Applejack..." The filly rolled her eyes. Despite Big Mac's best efforts, Applejack had been insistent it was her turn to handle harvest and stubbornly refused to let him just take care of everything instead, so in the end it had been him who had joined them to visit Twilight's mountain retreat. And then there was Scootaloo's aunt, who wouldn't budge about scheduled explorer training so the crusading trio was down to two.
Luckily a replacement was available there as well.
"So... uh, girls... what did you need me for?" Spike asked, nervously approaching the two fillies.
"If we're gonna be mountaineers, we gotta be ready ta conquer anythin' that comes our way!" Apple Bloom said with a big smile.
"Which means...?" Spike got more uneasy, having a feeling what this was leading to.
"We're gonna try an' wrestle ya down!" Apple Bloom finished.
"...Is Rarity sure she doesn't need any help inside?" Spike asked.
"Come on, Spike. Just humor the girls for a little while," Twilight said with a smile as she and Big Macintosh approached the small group.
"Aw, okay," the young dragon said, sighing as he took several steps away and assumed a fighting stance. "Grrr. Come at me." he deadpanned halfheartedly.
"Charge!" Apple Bloom cheered as she galloped at the dragon, leaping into the air and tackling him to the ground. The two tumbled a few feet away before coming to a stop, with Apple Bloom on his back pinning him. "Ha! Ah win!"
Twilight chuckled in amusement while Spike just groaned, drumming his claws on the ground impatiently.
"Wow! That was great, Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle cheered.
"You next!" Apple Bloom said, climbing off the dragon and looking over expectantly at her friend.
"Alright, I'm ready this time!" Spike declared, smirking as he took a more defensive stance but was immediately tackled again, this time by Sweetie Belle.
"Eenope," Big Mac remarked.
"Yeah, well the sun was in my eyes!" Spike muttered as Sweetie Belle climbed off of him.
"So, anything?" Sweetie Belle asked as she and Apple Bloom both turned and inspected their flanks. A moment passed and both were as blank as before.
"Awww..." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom sighed in unison.
"Not even something for dragon wrestling," Sweetie Belle remarked.
"Well, there's probably more to mountaineerin' then just goin' up against tough critters," Apple Bloom said.
"So long as none of it involves me again," Spike said.
"Now, now, Spike. It was a valiant effort!" Rarity said, announcing her presence as she emerged from the cabin levitating two picnic baskets and a blanket with her. "Now, I believe lunch should be ready!"
"Smells delicious, Rarity!" Twilight said.
"I aim to please, darling. My talents aren't solely restricted to fashion, after all!" Rarity replied as she let the blanket unroll itself. "And of course, something for little Spikey-wikey for playing nice with my dear little sister!" she added, floating out a nicely-sized sapphire gemstone from one of the baskets.
"Oh, thanks so much, Rarity!" Spike licked his lips and grabbed the gemstone, devouring it instantly and memories of his previous embarrassment long gone.
"I wish you could stay longer," Twilight said as she helped Rarity float out the different meals that had been prepared and lay them out, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle wasting no time to gorge on theirs.
"I know, darling, I know," Rarity replied. "But we do have a long trip back, and honestly you should consider moving into the village with us."
"I know, but I like it out here," Twilight said. "It's peaceful, and quiet and there's a lot of gems in these mountains so somepony needs to help get some for the village and save you all the trips when you have your own business."
Twilight's ears drooped in embarrassment. "Th-that is to say it's not that I don't like seeing you girls, it's just... well we all got our own places we're comfortable with. I love seeing you whenever you have time for the trip. And then there's Fluttershy... she's always so busy watching over all the forest creatures we hardly ever see her these days."
"Yes, we will need to sit her down and convince her to come and join us as well the next time she comes by the village," Rarity mused, rubbing her chin with her hoof.
"Well, at any rate, these grilled sandwiches look delicious!" Twilight said with a smile. "Why don't we eat up before it gets cold?"
"Eeyup," Big Mac agreed.
~
Dear Applejack...
Oh, where ever to begin?
Rarity sat on the front porch as she tapped her chin with her quill, thinking over how to word the next part of her letter.
I suppose I'll simply be blunt about this. You missed out on a simply divine picnic and some delightful time with Twilight, myself, and Spike. You need to outgrow that stubborn streak and be a little more flexible with your activities. Big Macintosh is happy to cover for you if it means spending time with friends you don't see often and expects you to take it easy for a while when he returns. Your little sister was quite distraught not to have you here to teach her some more roping tricks as she wanted to attempt mountaineering of all things to earn a cutie mark. Fortunately, Sweetie Belle and her have been able to have enough fun that it hasn't gotten to her. But please do have a word with Scootaloo's aunt about letting her join us next time.
Anyway, we are all doing well, and Twilight sends her regards and looks forward to the chance to catch up with you again. She hopes we can all make it up here one day, and enjoy some time together.
We will be on our way back to Tazfilly Village this evening as soon as we finish loading the new gem supply for the trip back.
See you soon!
Your friend, Rarity
"Oh, Spike! Be a dear and send this to Applejack?" Rarity called out, the young dragon rushing over and giving a salute.
"Anything for you, Rarity!" Spike said with a smile, taking the letter and giving a deep breath and immolating it in a puff of green flame, sending it away to its intended recipient.
"Thank you so much, Spikey-wikey!" Rarity said, nuzzling the dragon and causing him to swoon to the point of nearly toppling off the porch.
"Aww, it was nothing!" Spike said with a nervous laugh as he turned and began to walk away.
"Wherever are you going, Spike?" Rarity asked.
"Oh, I just wanted to check the spot where we got those gems. You know, see if there's any more I can grab for dessert! I'm a growing boy, after all!" the young dragon said proudly.
"Very well, do be careful, darling," Rarity replied as the dragon nodded and rushed off down the path.
"Well, better go check on Twilight and Big Macintosh, make sure we're ready to go..." Rarity mused as she got up and prepared to go back inside.
The unicorn paused, however, when she heard an odd humming sound. Turning and looking off in the direction she'd heard it, Rarity cocked her head and noticed an odd shape hovering up above, high in the sky. As its shadow crept across the ground and it drifted ever closer, Rarity got a better look at the peculiar shape it had; that of a gigantic, silvery pointed hat with a wide brim, and the strange music that seemed to be blaring out of it as it passed by overhead and off into the distance...