Summertime Madness
Chapter 2
Sleeping Arrangements
Twilight Sparkle walked sluggishly down the tree-lined path deeper into the woods. An energetic Rainbow Dash practically skipped along ahead of her, having no problems navigating the rocky trail. Meanwhile, an annoyed (and slightly annoying) Sunset Shimmer trailed along behind, kicking angrily at any pebble that dared cross her. Or trip her, as the bigger ones seemed to do.
She sighed, crossing her arms and trying to ignore the sweat already forming on her brow, the trees providing only a little shade. As if the fact that she’d have to spend her summer at a camp outdoors wasn’t enough, she’d also have to spend it with this rainbow-girl and Sunset Shimmer, of all people. It didn’t help that her cabin - “Harmony Cabin”, she thought with a huff - was apparently in the middle of a forest in the middle of nowhere.
“Come on, slowpokes!” Rainbow called from somewhere ahead, having disappeared around a bend in the path. “You gotta keep up! We’ll never make it at the rate you two are going!”
Begrudgingly, Twilight forced herself to walk a little faster. Though she wasn’t exactly excited to reach the cabin, she also didn’t want to be left behind in unfamiliar territory. Especially in a forest of all places. There had been so much to get done over the summer, too; projects to be done, books to read, experiments to conduct. Now? Now she’d be lucky to get any reading time to herself, if Rainbow Dash’s… enthusiastic description of camp life during the first ten minutes of their hike was anything to go by.
One word, one favour for Celestia and an entire four weeks had been lost to this place.
“I know how you feel,” Sunset Shimmer muttered, her sudden comment making Twilight jump and look over to the girl who’d stepped up next to her. “This isn’t exactly the ideal place to spend a month.”
Twilight raised a questioning eyebrow at the girl. “Then why do you keep coming back?”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I have a choice. I’m only here because of the massive stick Celestia has lodged up her ass.”
“Don’t say that!” Twilight gasped, offended on her principal’s behalf. “Celestia is the kindest, most caring-”
“I’m gonna go ahead and stop you there,” Sunset said haughtily, holding up her hand. “I already know you’re her favourite lapdog, so we can skip the righteous indignation or whatever it was you were going for.”
Twilight’s mouth hung open, staring wildly at the sheer contempt that radiated from the fiery haired girl. While it was true that Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle were two names usually said in the same breath, it was only because they were both well known to be the smartest girls in Canterlot High. Though Sunset’s delinquent attitude had resulted in more than one failing grade, her test scores had always come back right at the top alongside Twilight’s own. Usually second place - a fact that Twilight often prided herself on. The two spoke to each other about as seldom as possible, but despite this the school as a whole seemed to decide they were bitter rivals, battling for intellectual supremacy. Twilight had always thought the notion silly; she was aware of Sunset, of course, but she cared more about her own scores than how she compared to others. Sunset, on the other hand, seemed to buy into it, if the aggressive aura she gave off every time their eyes met in the hall was any indication.
“I suppose there are some perks to being in the middle of nowhere with next to no supervision,” Sunset said almost absentmindedly, drawing the other girl out of her reverie. She smirked, her voice dropping conspiratorially. “Especially at night.” With that vague comment left open for interpretation, the girl straightened her back and picked up her pace, leaving a confused Twilight behind her.
Twilight honestly wasn’t sure how to interpret anything she’d just heard. It had… almost sounded like a sort of invitation. To what, she didn’t think she wanted to know. She found the thought disconcerting, to say the least, but she didn’t have much time to dwell on it as a small cabin emerged from the dense foliage ahead. Rainbow Dash pushed through into the clearing ahead with an extra burst of speed Twilight was once again forced to keep up with, and she could already feel a slight burning in her lakes from the rough trail they’d traveled.
She was going to die, and physical exertion at this POW-camp was going to be the cause.
Giving a final lunge, Twilight emerged from the forest and took a proper look at the cabin. Which, admittedly, wasn’t much of a sight; just a wooden building. In the middle of the woods. It had a decently sized porch attached to the front, and what looked like a fire pit surrounded by long, skinny benches in front of that. A smaller hut stood about thirty feet away, with stalls and an open shower area.
“Nope. Not a chance. Fuck no,” Sunset yelled, motioning to the stalls that, even from Twilight’s distance, she could see had no doors. “You think I’m using these?”
Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes from the deck. “Suck it up, Sunny,” she said, grinning as Sunset glowered at the nickname. “Welcome to Harmony Cabin. We don’t all get to stay at the rec center when we’re naughty.” Twilight could’ve sworn she saw the back of Dash’s heald smouldering from Sunset glare as the rainbow haired girl turned away.
Then, much to her surprise, Sunset wheeled around on Twilight. “Can you believe this?” Her gaze was cooler than the one Rainbow had been met with, but it was no less pissed. “I mean, no stall doors! The shower’s aren’t even separated!” She stormed off towards the cabin, mumbling to herself about perverts and lawsuits.
Twilight had to admit the complete lack of privacy was a little… well, a lot awkward, but she’d been half expecting it. Spike often told her stories from his time at the Dragon Scout camp, with shockingly similar scenarios. Despite her hesitance, she trudged up to the cabin after Sunset, opening the door to find a dusty room with rows of bunk beds lining both walls. The air smelled stale and musty, and some small part of her was comforted by the familiarity of it; the public library had a very similar odour. Well, with the addition of the head librarian’s overly-scented perfume.
There was an open door against the back wall, through which she could see Rainbow Dash unpacking. Sunset had set her own bag down on the bed right next to the door - which also just-so-happened to be the bunk closest to the only air conditioning unit in the cabin - and was grumbling away about every little annoyance she could find to complain about. Twilight didn’t really care to hear what. She paced her way through the isles, idling wondering which bed she should claim as her own. She was tempted to bunk near Sunset, if only because of the blessed relief promised by the AC. Then again, it would mean bunking near Sunset, and… she shuddered. That was not something she really wanted to deal with.
Torn between possible proximity to the delinquent and the promise of a more comfortable temperature, Twilight eventually decided on the bunk across from Sunset. At the very least she wouldn’t be sharing, and hopefully the air conditioner was strong enough to lend her some form of comfort. Just as she set her bag down, however, Rainbow poked her head out the door.
“Yo, Twister; you’re in here,” she said, slipping back around the corner.
Twilight raised a single eyebrow. She shared a glance with Sunset, and noted the surprisingly jealous look she received. Despite herself, Twilight smirked at the girl as she picked up her bag and entered the back room, the aggravated sigh music to her ears, as much as she hated to admit it. She’d never considered herself particularly vindictive, but… well, she couldn’t deny the satisfaction of seeing the high-and-mighty Sunset brought down a peg.
“Welcome to the counselor room!” Rainbow chirped, throwing her arms out wide and grinning.
Twilight took one look around the room, nodded, and turned around. “Nope,” she said, throwing her bag back on her previously-selected bed. The so-called ‘counselor room’ was significantly less glamorous than she’d first hoped. So much less glamorous that it contained only one (admittedly double-sized) bed, currently covered in Rainbow Dash’s stuff. If there was one thing Twilight Sparkle refused to do, it was share a bed with that idiot. Especially if said idiot was going to continue to come up with progressively worse nicknames.
“Jeez, Twister,” Rainbow muttered as she stepped into the main room. “You’re at summer camp; you can lighten up a little. You can either sleep in the counselor room, with me: a mature adult-” both Twilight and Sunset raised their brows skeptically “-or you can sleep in this room with Sunset, a bunch of teenagers that really don’t want to be here - at least for the first few days - and an air conditioner that barely works.
“Twister?” Sunset asked, seemingly ignoring the rest of the conversation.
Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose. “Not my choice,” she said, giving a pointed look to Rainbow Dash, who merely shrugged. She sighed, weighing her options. One one side, a private room away from the noise of the camp kids and - perhaps more importantly - away from Sunset Shimmer. On the other… she looked at Rainbow Dash, narrowing her eyes slightly as the girl leaned casually against a bunk. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.
“Wait, did you say the brats are going to be sleeping here too?” Sunset asked indignantly, her jaw dropping as Rainbow nodded. “Oh hell no!” She cried. “I am not sleeping with a bunch of prepubescent imbeciles who can only think with their worthless, two inch-”
“Girls, Sunsent,” Rainbow cut, sighing exasperatedly. “This isn’t a co-ed. It’s an all-girls camp… how do you not know that? You’ve been here, like, every year.”
Sunset shrugged. “I don’t pay attention to the suckers Cadence scams out of their money. I just chill in the rec center; they have AC.”
Rainbow folded her arms. “Seriously? How did...” she trailed off as she saw Twilight wander into the counselor’s room. “So, you finally- what the hell!?”
Twilight grunted, throwing Rainbow’s full-to-bursting bag onto the bunk that once had her own luggage on it. Dusting her hands of, twilight looked at her. “What? I’m taking the counselor’s room; I’m the counselor this year, right? You can sleep out here with the campers.”
“What!?” Rainbow stomped over and snatched her bags off the bed. “There is not a chance in hell I’m sleeping out here with that crappy air conditioner. I sweat, Twilight.”
“Serves you right,” Sunset butted in with a smirk. “Trying to force the poor girl to sleep with you.”
Both Twilight and Rainbow paused, looking to the spunky teen.
“Since when were you on my side?”
“Since when were you on her side?”
The two statements rang out at the same time, both equally surprised at the sudden defence of what was, supposedly, her bitter rival.
Sunset blushed under the intense looks, scratching the back of her head. “What? I don’t hate her, or anything; it’s not like we’re rivals.” She shrugged. “We’re not even in any classes together.”
Twilight balked at the girl. At first, on the walk here, she’s assumed Sunset was just trying to get to her, making the arguably lewd suggestions she did. But now, she was second guessing herself. Sunset seemed… different from how Twilight remembered her in school. Almost as if she’d grown up, for lack of a better description. Taking a breath, Twilight blew it out slowly as she let go of her own reservations about the girl. She hadn’t really realized it until she was faced with this situation, but a part of her had bought into the public view of them. On some level, she really had considered Sunset a rival.
Now, though, it was time for her to be a little more grown up as well. ‘If she doesn’t hate me, why should I hate her?’ she thought to herself. Giving Sunset a small smile, Twilight quickly went back to her task as she collected another of Rainbow’s bags and threw it out of the counselor’s room.
Dash shook her head, forcing herself to adjust to the sudden change in atmosphere. “Come on, Twilight!” She cried, carrying her stuff back into the room as fast as the purple haired girl could remove it. “Why can’t you just sleep, like, facing away from me or something? It’s too hot out there!” Her done grew dangerously close to whining.
“Because it’s weird!” Twilight replied. “Weird and awkward! And smart people avoid awkward situations, because they’re smart. You see how this works?”
Sunset rolled her eyes, watching the two cross back and forth in front of her, their paces growing untill they were sprinting in and out of the room with Rainbow’s belongings. She sighed, holding her arm out and blocking off the door, they were forced to stop on either side of the passageway, both looking at her expectantly. “Why don’t you just build a wall of pillows between you then? You don’t even have to see each other.”
The two girls looked at each other, trying to get a read on the other’s expression. Eventually, it was Twilight who spoke first. “I… guess I would be okay with that,” she said slowly, glancing to rainbow for her approval. The cyan girl just shrugged.
“I’m not the one with the problem.”
Sunset was about ready to roll her eyes right out of her head as the two other girls accepted the arrangement, bringing both their bags into the counselor’s room and unpacking. At the very least she wouldn’t have to listen to them arguing anymore. She went back to her own bags now that the situation had been sorted.
By time they had all finished unpacking it was late in the afternoon, the hike from the entrance to the camp had taken longer than Twilight realized, and the sun was already nearing the horizon. Twilight stretched languidly as she stepped back into the main room of the cabin, noting a distinct lack of Sunset Shimmers present. Until she took a closer look at the girls’ bunk and noticed her laying atop the sheets, thoroughly passed out.
Twilight raised an eyebrow at the girl as a few quiet snores escaped her partially opened mouth. She fell back onto the bunk opposite Sunset, idly watching the girls’ chest rise and fall with her steady breaths. She frowned, eyes unfocusing as she drifted back into her own thoughts. Every interaction she could remember with Sunset Shimmer had been, at the very best, unpleasant. Which wasn’t strange; being the school’s most well-known delinquent, Sunset had an attitude to match. But every time the school-wide testing came around, her name would be right there on the listing, just under Twilight’s.
Everyone in school assumed the two were competing. In reality, Twilight couldn’t have cared less who came in second place; as long as she came in first. It wasn’t her fault if Sunset had wanted to consider her a rival. The girl had always been aggressive in school, but Twilight had always seen it be the worst right after the test results came out. Though they didn’t share any classes, she remembered to give Sunset a wide berth in the halls, and always received a nasty glare when their paths crossed.
Now, though, it seemed Sunset had let go of their perceived rivalry. If it had even been there in the first place - Twilight honestly wasn’t even sure. But what else could explain the hostility Sunset usually displayed?
“Hey Twilight!”
Twilight shrieked, jumping off her bed - and straight into Rainbow Dash’s chest. She stepped back, holding a hand to her thumping heart. Rainbow was stood there, snickering at her. She scowled. “What?”
“I was asking if you wanted to wake her up or if you were gonna just keep watching her sleep,” Rainbow said with a smirk, jerking her head back towards Sunset.
“I-I wasn’t-.. It’s not…” Twilight stammered, shaking her head and forcing her mind to focus on the world outside her own thoughts.
Rainbow rolled her eyes, glancing to an old, dusty clock hung above the front door. “Shoot; we’re gonna be late for dinner.” She rushed out the door, shouting over her shoulder; “Wake sleeping beauty for me!”
Groaning and burying her blushing face in her hands, Twilight kicked the side of Sunset’s bunk. The bed shook, but the sleeping girl didn’t so much as twitch. Sighing, Twilight rubbed the heat from her face and reached down, shaking Sunset’s shoulder. “Hey, wake up.”
The girl rolled over with an especially loud snore, Making Twilight jump back. “Huh?” Sunset grunted, her eyes opening blearily. “Wazzapening?” She sat up with a yawn, languidly stretching her arms out the side of the bunk.
“Dinner?” Twilight said uncertainty. She glanced out the front door Rainbow had left open in her hasty retreat.
“We’re already late!” The girl’s voice shouted from outside.
Sunset’s eyes widened as she jumped out of bed. “Oh crap!” She swar, hastily throwing on her jacket and running out, just as panicked as Rainbow had been. “We gotta go!”
Watching the dual reactions, Twilight couldn’t help but feel she was missing something. What did it matter if they were a few minutes late for dinner? She didn’t really understand, but she didn’t have time to think about it either as Rainbow came running back in and grabbed her by the wrist. “Get a move on! AJ’ll kill us!”
Soon Twilight was being dragged forcefully along the wooded trail, Sunset leading the charge as Rainbow continued to hang onto her arm.
“Come on!” Rainbow urged, giving Twilight’s arm another tug and threatening to pull it out of its socket. “We’re gonna miss Applejack’s famous apple chili!”
Twilight could practically feel her face growing green. Apple… chili? She didn’t want to know.