Rainbow Dash is great. Really. She’s funny, loyal, and motivated beyond belief. But she’s also got a nasty habit of speaking without thinking, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t annoy the hell out of me sometimes.
Like today, for example: We’re about to leave school, and Rarity mentions that she has to finish packing for the trip to Camp Everfree tomorrow. And Rainbow just has to laugh and say, “I’m surprised you’re not making us all some fancy new outfits to wear to camp!”
That’s why, for the third time this month, we’re now all crammed into Rarity’s bedroom/studio so she can take our measurements. All of us except for Twilight, that is — I suppose if anyone’s smart enough to escape this sort of trap, it’s her.
And to be fair, Rainbow doesn’t look all that happy about the situation either. Rarity saved her for last, and now she’s splayed out across the bed, glowering while Rarity holds a tape measure against her legs.
“You know, Rarity,” Fluttershy says, sitting over in the corner with Opal on her lap, “you sew so many wonderful dresses for us, I’m surprised that you don’t have our measurements memorized.”
“Don’t be silly,” Rarity says, scribbling numbers into a well-worn notebook. “Of course I have them memorized! And recorded across multiple spreadsheets.” She tips up her nose and smiles. “But it’s like Applejack says: ‘Measure twice, cut once!’”
Leaning against Rarity’s nightstand, Applejack blushes. “It’s true, I do say that!”
“Are you sure about this?” I ask. I’m swallowed up in a velvet-lined beanbag chair. “Not that we don’t love your outfits, but we’re going camping in the woods, and it’s gonna be super humid this weekend. I dunno if it’s the best situation for a Rarity Original.”
“And we’ve already got camping clothes,” Rainbow says, sitting up. “Remember the Camp Everfree shirts they sent us? Y’know, the ones that we had to pay twenty bucks for?”
Rarity scoffs. “The Camp Everfree trip is a treasured junior year event! I’m not about to miss this chance to show off Canterlot High School’s superior style.”
Rainbow just groans and flops onto her back again.
Rarity’s eyes sharpen, but after a breath, soften again. She turns away from Rainbow and towards the rest of us. “Now, where is Twilight? Once I measure her, I’ll be ready to start.”
“She told me she’d be by in a little bit,” I say, pulling up my lengthy text thread with her. “Said she had to get something ready first.”
“Good.” Rarity flips open her notebook again and giggles. “There’s a design that I’ve been dying to try out, and I think Twilight may have the perfect complexion for it!”
“Does it have a bow tie?” Pinkie asks. “She loves bow ties!”
“Not quite.” Rarity serves Rainbow a lethal dose of side-eye. “But I’m sure she’ll appreciate it all the same.”
Someone knocks at Rarity’s bedroom door, and a moment later, Twilight peeks her head into the room. “Did someone say my name?”
Pinkie raises her hand up high. “Ooh, ooh! Rarity did!”
Rarity gasps and runs to Twilight. “Thank goodness you’re here! We have important work to do.”
“We do!” Twilight grins. “How did you know?”
“Hm?” Rarity frowns. “What do you mean, darling?”
Twilight moves over to Rarity’s bed, drops her bag, and pulls out a thick stack of papers. One-by-one, she hands each of us a packet that’s got to be about fifteen pages long.
I skim the first page; it’s a long checklist, filled with items like ‘Compass,’ ‘Standardized First Aid Kit,’ and ‘Extra Supply of Allergy Medicine.’
“Uh, Twi?” Applejack asks after a long silence. “What are we looking at?”
“My Ultimate Camp Everfree Preparation Guide!” Twilight says, beaming. “I put together a handy checklist of essential supplies you’ll want to bring; guides on how to perform CPR, treat snake bites, splint a limb, and build shelter in the woods; and even a detailed breakdown of all the native flora and fauna we should expect to see!”
Fluttershy gasps and skips ahead to that section.
I spend a few seconds trying and failing to come up with a response. In the end, all I can manage is, “Thanks?”
“It’s my pleasure,” Twilight says, taking off her glasses to rub her eyes. For the first time, I notice the bags under them and the wrinkles in her clothes. She looks like she’s been sleeping on the street. As I study her, she goes back to her bag and pulls out six tan tubes. “I went ahead and bought each of you an ample supply of my favorite sunscreen. You’ll want to apply it liberally in the morning, and every two hours afterwards — there’s more info in the packet.”
Applejack takes a bottle of sunscreen from Twilight and looks at it with skeptical eyes, but says, “This is mighty kind of you.”
“Every two hours?” Rainbow repeats.
“Yep!” Twilight says, still shining bright. “Same goes for the tick & mosquito spray.”
“Yeah, nuh-uh.” Rainbow tosses her packet down on the bed. “This is cool and all, but putting on that much spray and ointment is, like, against my religion.”
Applejack lids her eyes. “Rainbow, you’re Jewish.”
“And? Which one of us went to Hebrew school, huh?”
The edges of Twilight’s smile start to sag. “It’s just a matter of safety,” she says, pointing to the fine print on her sunscreen tube. “Even a single sunburn can substantially raise the risk of skin cancer as an adult. Especially for girls.”
Pinkie frowns. “That doesn’t sound very fun.”
“C’mon, it’s not that serious.” Dash waves a lazy hand in Twilight’s direction. “I’m going on this trip to chill out, not follow more rules.”
“Y’know,” I start, raising my voice without meaning to — Goddess, I really need to work on this — “even if you’re gonna ignore it, you could at least thank Twilight for putting all this together.”
By this point, Twilight is gripping her sunscreen bottle so hard I’m scared she might pop it. “I didn’t mean to get anyone upset,” she says, looking between us.
“I’m not upset,” Dash says, laying back down. “I’m chilling.”
“You’re something alright,” Applejack mutters.
Twilight’s still fussing with her bottle, but before I can invite her to sit down, Rarity grabs her arm. “Now that that’s all done, are you ready to pose for your new outfit?” Rarity giggles. “No one else seems to be very excited, but I’m sure you’ll be thrilled when you see what I have in mind!”
“This is for Camp Everfree?” Twilight asks. She offers Rarity an earnest smile. “I’d love to, but don’t we already have camp uniforms? I’m a big fan of uniforms.”
All the hope drains from Rarity’s face. “Of course you are,” she says, dropping Twilight’s arm.
Twilight legit flinches at that, like she’s been pushed.
I try to glare at Rarity, but she’s already turned her back to us, stomping over to a closet filled with reams of fabric. “No matter,” she says, sifting through the colorful piles. “I have a vision, and I intend to make it reality!”
That leaves Twilight standing pigeon-toed in the middle of the room. I hop to my feet and grab a pillow from Rarity’s bed, softly tap Twilight’s shoulder to get her attention, and lead her over to the beanbag chair I’d been sitting in. I take the pillow and offer her the beanbag — she takes it without protest.
She’s staring at Rarity, wringing her hands like she always seems to do when she’s stressed.
“Ignore them,” I whisper, leaning in close enough that I can hear her breath. “We’ve been getting on Rarity’s nerves all afternoon. And if someone told Rainbow she could ride to space strapped to the side of a rocket, she’d probably do it.”
“I’m fine,” Twilight says. Her voice is steady, monotone even, but she doesn’t look at me or loosen her hands. The bags under her eyes haven’t gotten any better.