Unimpeded night sky rolled ahead, trillions upon trillions of stars were up there. The longer she looked, the more Twilight could spot. Far from the city lights she could see into the universe. Adjusting her glasses and reaching for her binoculars, (the telescope had been vetoed for camp, her Mom said it was too expensive to take) Twilight wondered how clearly she could see the moons of Jupiter with them out here.
“Maybe I was wrong to try and get out of this.” Twilight made a mental note to tell her parents that at least the stargazing made the experience worth it. She had argued, petitioned, prepared an essay and attempted to give a presentation as to why a fortnight at a summer camp was a bad idea.
It hadn't worked and she had been packed off onto a bus with Moondancer to a collection of cabins by a lake called “Camp Friendship.” It was a non-specific camp, there were the usual activities one could expect; crafts, outdoor pursuits, nature trails and too many others her age.
Twilight was not a people person. Moondancer was one person she could call a friend, but they both seemed to agree that intellectual colleague was a better fit. Not that it counted for much. It was their first day and at lunch Moondancer had bumped into a guy who was reading the same book as her. Now her one familiar face was sitting off with this Sunburst as they discussed a book series Twilight had not been taken with.
Still looking up at the sky, Twilight pulled a sour face. “My mom says if you scowl and the wind changes, it'll stick that way.” A girl's voice interrupted her isolation. “And that'd be a shame. From what I can see, you're pretty.”
'What?!' Twilight sputtered mentally. She could not have heard that right. She set aside her binoculars to look at the intruder. The girl who had joined her was pale under the moonlight, her hair was striped and looked to be very colourful.
“Excuse me?” Twilight tried not to sound too outraged, Cadey had begged she try and make friends.
“You don't want to get your face stuck in a scowl.” The girl grinned. She was sat cross-legged across from Twilight. The shirt she wore had a big number six on the front.
'A jock, great.' Was Twilight's immediate thought. She braced herself mentally for teasing at the least. “What do you want?” Twilight asked, it sounded harsh but she was defensive around jocks.
The girl seemed undeterred. “Can you see the surface of the moon with those things?” She pointed to the binoculars with interest.
Twilight was surprised, most interactions she had with the athletically inclined were negative memories. Even a few mental scars. “Yes actually.” Twilight sat up to talk to the girl. “When conditions are right I can see the Galilean Satellites.” She paused a beat. “Some of the moons around Jupiter.”
“That's awesome!” The girl grinned again and Twilight couldn't help but smile back. The girl stuck out a hand. “Rainbow Dash. Nice to meet you.”
Twilight took the hand and shook. “Twilight Sparkle.”
“So is it just planets you look at or do you aim for the stars?” Rainbow shifted to sit next to Twilight. “My grandpop taught me about navigating using the stars.”
“Really?” Twilight didn't object to Rainbow sitting by her. It looked like the girl would be worth talking to.
-*-
A day at camp was only enjoyable if you had interest in the activities. Twilight sulked, today had been worse than yesterday. The camp counsellors had placed her group on a cooking activity. She had chosen the wrong bowls twice, melting the plastic with the chocolate. When she had finally got that right, she had still gone wrong and ruined a batch of crispy cereal treats.
The camp helpers had been nice, but the rest of the kids had been very mean.
She could run all kinds of chemistry experiments, but never ever cooked anything successfully. She was lucky to get a sandwich right.
Dumping herself on the hilltop, Twilight looked up at the sky. It was a clear night again. She opened up the binocular case and sought out a spot in the sky to look at.
Behind her she could hear someone climbing the hill. Hoping it was someone friendly, the scratchy voiced “Hey Twilight.” was welcome.
“Hello Rainbow Dash.” Twilight's voice still held her doleful mood. Rainbow sat down beside her.
“You okay egghead?” She sounded concerned, but still used the nickname she'd given Twilight the night before.
“Not really.” Twilight sighed. Inquisitive rose eyes looked at her and Twilight related her disastrous day to a hopefully sympathetic ear. Part-way through her telling, Rainbow shifted closer. “And they had put me in a group of people I didn't know. Moondancer got in with her new friends.” Twilight tried not to sound bitter about that.
“That sucks.” Rainbow leaned against Twilight, their arms pressed together. “Tomorrow do you want to ask if you can come on in my group? Thunderlane went home with 'flu today.”
The contact from the other girl was warm against her. Twilight blushed. “Um, yes. That sounds good.” Even being friends with one person in the group would be a help.
“So, what are we gonna look at tonight?” Rainbow kept close to Twilight as the navy haired girl started to point out the stars.
-*-
“Are you sure it is okay to keep sneaking out?” Moondancer watched as Twilight picked up her binocular case again. Every night for the whole trip her friend had slipped from the cabin, returning up to two hours later.
“I don't go to the boy's section, the creek or the lake.” Twilight shrugged. Those were the major ground rules, she was only breaking curfew.
“Okay.” Moondancer left it at that. In truth she was feeling a bit guilty; Sunburst and his friend Starlight had occupied her time at camp. She'd spent little of their trip with Twilight.
“I'll see you later. If they catch me, I'll say you never knew.” Twilight slipped out the back window of the cabin and made her way the short distance to the hilltop. Knowing that Rainbow would join her soon.
She didn't sit in anticipation, more like expectation. Rainbow had become her friend and knew a decent amount about astronomy. Twilight had enjoyed being in her group for camp activities; she helped on the nature trail “quest” and the team won the event. Rainbow had stopped her falling in the lake as they canoed and when they both fell in later on, just laughed joyously.
“Twi!” Rainbow jogged up the hill, she dropped down to the grass next to Twilight and gave her a quick one-armed hug, like she gave her teammates and friends. “Only one more night at camp.” She said it with a slight hint of emotion, one Twilight had not heard from the athletic girl.
“I know.” Twilight had been trying not to think about it. She had started to look forward to their nightly stargazing. She would certainly miss it when they went back to their homes.
“Can we try for Mars today?” Rainbow moved to pick up the binoculars. Twilight held onto them though.
“I have a question first.” The scholarly girl needed to ask this, or risk tainting her memories for these moments with wrong conclusions.
“A pop quiz? I thought we got out of those in the summer!” Rainbow tried to joke, but Twilight looked serious.
“Why did you come up here on the first night?” Twilight had mulled the thought over in her mind. Some times she decided that Rainbow had meant to tease her or do something mean. Getting to know the girl had dissuaded that thought, but then she worried theirs was only a 'pity friendship', what one of the meaner campers had claimed when they had been apart one day.
Rainbow looked confused, her face scrunched up in a quizzical expression. “When I can't sleep I go for a run. Then I saw you were looking at the sky. I love looking at the stars and planets.” Rainbow looked about her as if checking anyone was spying on them. “I've never told anyone this, except my grandpops.” She paused and looked Twilight in the eye. “I want to be the first woman on Mars.”
Twilight was taken aback by Rainbow's conviction and felt admiration grow inside her. It was an amazing goal to have. Grinning to her friend, she pulled out the binoculars and handed them over. “Lets find it then.”
-*-
Tonight was the last night of camp. Earlier in the day, the both girls had scrawled contact details on paper to take home with them. Rainbow lived in Cloudsdale, Twilight was in Canterlot. Now was their final chance to stargaze together for who knew how long.
Twilight was fourteen now, she wasn't a kid, she knew that they might not see each other ever again. But it was nice to have a friend like Rainbow, if only for a short while.
Slipping out again, Moondancer was not there to worry, she had elected to stay at the last night cookout with her friends until the curfew got actually enforced, Twilight walked to the hill. Rainbow was already at their spot.
“Beat me to it.” Twilight said, sitting down by Rainbow, the athlete uncharacteristically quiet. “What're we going to look for?” She didn't want to mention this was the last time. She wanted to pretend they had a tomorrow night and another. Even another.
“You asked me a question last night. Can I ask one tonight?”Rainbow looked at Twilight, a sort of desperate earnest look for her friend.
“That's fair.” Twilight blinked, wondering what it could be.
“Why did you let me stick around that first night? And the next.” Rainbow looked genuinely worried. “All the really smart kids at school? They think I'm just a dumb jock. That's why I never told anyone I want to be an astronaut. They would all just laugh me off.” Rainbow was looking at her hands, not Twilight.
Twilight could only blink once more. Rainbow had been super cool and completely confident for the whole time at camp. That she had similar worries to Twilight was a real surprise. “You told me that your grandpa taught you about Celestial Navigation. Most times someone who... who is a bit of a jock type, they only talk to me for homework assignments to copy or notes for exams. Or to just steal them...” Twilight hugged herself a moment. “You were actually interested in spending time with me.”
Bright rose eyes looked at her and a hand grabbed hers. “Thanks for giving me a chance Twi'. I have learned a lot about stars and astronomy from you.” Rainbow smiled, seemingly cheerful again. Still holding hands, Rainbow picked up the binocular case from the grass. “Can we look at the moon tonight? It was the biggest step we made so far.”
They passed their hour looking at the moon, sometimes unaided, other glances with the binoculars to get a little more detail. They held hands the entire time and Twilight felt so comfortable.
Down in the camp, the flashlight beams of the helpers and counsellors looking for any curfew breakers stopped their sky-gazing. They both slid down the hillside as quietly as possible, reaching the back of the cabins without being spotted.
“I kinda have one more question.” Rainbow whispered. Looking Twilight in the eye.
“Yes?” Twilight replied, feeling the girl take her other hand.
Quickly like her namesake, Rainbow darted in and pressed a kiss to Twilight's lips. “Don't forget me?”
Dumbfounded, Twilight was only capable of nodding as Rainbow flashed a smile and ran off to her cabin.
It took Moondancer tugging at her collar for Twilight to climb into her cabin before she could be caught.