Scarlet let out a long yawn as she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she was greeted by were the gentle sounds of Silver snoring next to her, followed by the sounds of birds chirping outside. As often as she had done this, she still never got tired of it, and always looked forward to the start of her night. A few orange rays of sunset shone through the heavy curtains, but otherwise it was still nice and dark in her cozy cabin, just the way she liked it. A smile slowly spread across her face as she rolled over to greet the blue stallion that was groggily starting to open his own eyes. Something about his messy bed mane and sleepy smile just made him look so peaceful, and in turn that made her happy.
She waited a few moments until he wiped the sleep out of his eyes and returned a smile of his own. In a soft voice she greeted him with a cheerful, “Evening Silver, sleep well?”
Silver slowly nodded his head as he sat up, “You know it. How about you?” he asked with a long-drawn-out yawn.
“Oh, I slept wonderfully. I’ve never really had a bad day of sleep here, especially not since you showed up.”
“That’s always great to hear,” Silver replied as he lazily rolled out of bed and groggily trotted toward the bathroom. “So what’s on the agenda for tonight then?”
Scarlet sat up in bed and brushed her own mess of a mane back, “The usual I guess. I kinda wanted to do some stargazing later, but that’s not high on the priority list right now, why? Did you have an idea or something?”
“I might have,” Silver called out over the sound of the running sink.
Scarlet’s grin slowly twisted into a sly smirk, “Oh no, that’s dangerous.”
“Har har,” he stuck out his tongue, “but yes, I had an idea.”
“Well, let’s hear it.”
“I was kinda thinking, well, what if we went camping today?” he suggested, turning off the faucet and doing a few stretches.
“Camping?” She raised an eyebrow, “You know we’re already kind of doing that, right?”
“Can we really call this camping though? Sure we’re in a campground but we’re sleeping in a nice cozy cabin all day. I’m talking about roughing it out in the great outdoors, sleeping under the sun, that sorta stuff.”
Scarlet reflexively cringed back slightly at Silver’s mention of the sun, “Isn’t that going to be… you know, bright and sunny?”
“Not if we build ourselves a nice little tent to sleep away the day in,” he replied back. “Plus, there’s plenty of trees around, we’ll be golden if we find a nice shady spot to set up shop in.”
“You mean build a tent out of blankets? Like the ones we just washed yesterday?”
“Yeah,” he replied back with a nod, “that’s exactly what I had in mind.”
“Silver, we just washed those, I don’t want to get them all dirty again. You know how much of a hassle laundry is.”
The stallion shrugged, “Well, you asked if I had any ideas, and that’s my idea. If you’re worried about the blankets I’ll gladly wash them again tomorrow. By myself too, I won’t even make you help with that.”
“All by yourself?” she asked with a laugh. “So, you’re really not going to ask for help or leave them out for days?”
Silver nodded, “Yep! If it means we get to have a fun break from the norm then sure, I’m fine taking on that burden. What’s a few hours of laundry compared to a day of making fun memories with my best friend that I’ll cherish forever?”
Scarlet couldn’t help but smile, at his reply. His whole idea was dorky and probably more work than it was really worth, but something about just spending quality time together out in the wilderness put a smile on her face. The stallion might have been a bit goofy at times, but he genuinely meant well, and Scarlet was overjoyed that he felt so comfortable around her and considered her such a close friend. The two were almost inseparable at this point, and if Silver wanted to do something fun, she’d be more than willing to go along with it.
She hopped out of bed and trotted toward the small stove, flipping it on while carefully grabbing a couple of eggs from the fridge, “Alright, well I’ll let you lead the charge on this then, Camp Ranger Silver.”
“Fine by me. So while I’m getting everything packed away, is there anything you want to bring along? Maybe some games? Some music? A few of those raunchy novels we like making fun of?..”
She considered this for a moment before turning back toward him, “Music sounds pretty nice. You think you could fiddle around with your old tablet too? That wouldn’t be a bad thing to bring along.”
“Why?” He raised an eyebrow, “You up for some movies or something?”
“If it isn’t a bother. I know it’s probably not the easiest thing to do, but I have a stylus you can borrow if it helps.”
“Sure, it’s not too much of a bother if you’re fine lending me the stylus. Just might be a bit awkward to navigate. You know, I still want to make something that works way better than that, something a little more elegant than just holding it in my mouth or tying it to my leg.”
“Well I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it. Now do you want one egg or two?”
“I’ll take one.” He let out a small laugh, “I still don’t know how you manage to cook those without getting them everywhere.”
A small smile spread across Scarlet’s face as she carefully cracked an egg open with the small contraption one of the inventors had come up with a while ago, “Patience and lots of practice… plus this little tool helps keep the shells out of the pan.”
“I still think that’s really cool. Where’d you even get that anyways?”
“Where do you think?”
“Those two inventors?” He asked.
She gave a small nod, “They were on this whole ponies helping ponies kick a while ago. Went around town coming up with all of these goofy gadgets that were supposed to make our lives easier. Some worked, some didn’t.”
“That’s sweet of them… To tell you the truth, I’d love to start doing stuff like that sometime.”
“Cook eggs?” she asked with a confused look.
Silver shook his head, “No, no, I mean helping other ponies out. You know, making little tools like that. Stuff that lets them get by more on their own.” He trotted over to the bedside table and rummaged around for a moment before holding up a makeshift tool he had made, which resembled a hook strapped to his forehoof, “Stuff like this, remember how easy it made hanging up the laundry line the other day?”
She nodded, “Mhmm, it was pretty nifty. I guess it did save some of the hassle.”
“And it’ll save some of that hassle when I make our awesome tent!” he cheerfully replied back.
“Right, well I guess I can see why you’d want to do something like that. I mean you should have seen me before I got this thing,” she joked as she held up the little leg mounted tool.
“Was it bad?”
She let out a laugh, “Oh it was bad. We’re talking lots of broken eggs and frustrated mornings levels of bad.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a real pain in the flank. I guess it’s a good thing that you’re so good with that tool. I still can’t figure out how you hold it so well.”
“Lots of practice and patience, like I said. Don’t feel bad though, you do a good enough job with your lunches and dinners, I’m fine with you sticking to those.”
Silver shrugged as he started rounding up a few blankets and folding them into tight squares, “A good enough job? You mean a great job, right?”
Scarlet carefully slid a couple of eggs out of the pan and onto a nearby plate with carefully practiced moves, “Your meals come from the heart so I think that says more than enough, unless you’re looking for a confidence boost or something.”
“I definitely try my best, and I think that’s a good enough answer for me.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m not exactly a five star chef either,” Scarlet carefully turned off the stove with her muzzle and gently grabbed the plate in her mouth, sliding it onto the nearby table, “You don’t mind sharing a plate right? I don’t feel like digging one out of the cabinet.”
“Not at all,” Silver replied back as he trotted over to the table and took a seat across from her. “So I was thinking we could go camp out in that little meditation spot I showed you the other night. I think it’s like the perfect place out here.”
Scarlet took a few bites of her breakfast and nodded, “You mean the one that’s kinda far away?”
“Mhmm,” he nodded, “it’s just such a nice peaceful spot, and there’s that section with the trees that we can set our tent up in, and the little pond with the waterfall nearby. It’s so secluded that we won’t have to worry about anypony bothering us out there.”
“It does sound pretty peaceful when you put it that way. We’re just going to have to lug all out stuff over there. I guess it’s not really that much, but I don’t want to make you drag everything over if it’s going to be a hassle.”
“It shouldn’t be. I might just need your help with strapping some of it to my back. There really isn’t a whole lot to bring along anyways. Just our blankets and saddlebags.”
“And my telescope I’m guessing?”
Silver nodded, “Of course, how else are we going to get into that?”
“Well we could always just look up at the sky the old fashioned way.”
“We could, but I love zeroing in on all the stars too, it’s just so cool. And maybe you could even teach me all about the constellations some more.”
“You actually liked all that?” She paused for a moment, “I didn’t realize you really took that kind of stuff to heart.”
He took a few bites and smiled, “Yeah, it’s just so relaxing and I love learning more about it from you. You’re a great teacher for that kind of stuff.”
Another small grin spread across her face, “Buttering me up eh? I’m definitely fine with that, but is there anything else you want to do? Or is it just going to be the Scarlet’s hobby power hour?”
“There’s not a whole lot of hobby stuff I can really do out there. As much as I’d love to try and go into that waking dream thing again, I want to just spend time with you tonight. Besides, I’m starting to really get into astronomy too.”
“For real though? You’re not just saying that to be nice?”
He shook his head, “Why would I? It’s right up my alley and I love doing it with you. I wouldn’t have gotten back into it if it wasn’t for you, and you just have such a great way of explaining everything.”
“You’re too nice. If it really means that much to you then I’ll have to think up some actual lessons. Stuff that isn’t just the regular old trivia and facts, you know?”
Silver nodded, “I’m sure you’ll figure it all out. I’m not too picky, and I’d be happy enough with the regular stuff if you really don’t want to put all that effort into it.”
“Nah it’s fine.” She shrugged, “This gives me an excuse to dig up some more advanced stuff. Who knows, maybe you’ll be an astronomer yourself someday.”
“With a teacher as good as you, that’ll probably be sooner rather than later.”
She nodded and stood up, trotting toward her telescope’s case, “You realize we don’t really have a whole lot of camping supplies either, right? Not that I’m not onboard with this, but we’re not gonna be roasting marshmallows by the fire and fishing in the creek.”
“Oh I know, and that’s fine. Maybe it won’t be an authentic textbook camping trip, but it’ll still be a fun little getaway for the day.”
“Just the day? You don’t want to do more?”
Silver shrugged, “I’m definitely down to do more, I just suggested it so we could take a break from our regular routine. Change things up a bit, you know?”
“Which is fine by me. If you don’t have any other objections then I think we’re set.”
“Do you know the way or do you need Camp Ranger Silver to lead the way?”
“Camp Ranger Silver can lead the way if it’s going to really get him into the camping spirit,” she laughed. “Just don’t make me sing those dorky campground songs, alright?”
“You have a problem with those?” he jokingly asked.
“Yes, I do. They get stuck in my head for days and it drives me crazy.”
Silver gave a mock pout before breaking out into a few cheerful laughs, “Oh alright, I won’t torture you with the dorky campground songs… as much as I want to.”
Scarlet simply replied with a big grin followed by a stuck out tongue, earning another laugh from Silver.