All It Takes Is A Camping Trip
It was a sunny day in Ponyville. The birds were chirping and there were barely any clouds up in the sky. This was the perfect day for camping and Pinkie Pie had made sure to inform all her friends about the camping trip in the Everfree forest on this specific and wonderful day. All the friends had gathered outside the town hall, waiting for Twilights arrival from Canterlot.
"You guys have no idea how excited I am!!" Pinkie bounced up and down as she opened up her saddlebag and took out a chocolate chip cookie which she ate up in less than a second. "I've been waiting sooo long!" she grinned excitingly and looked up at the sky, waiting for Twilight's carriage to appear in the sky.
"Ah' must say ah' agree with ya Pinkie. Campin' might not be everypony's thing but it sure is a great way to spend time with friends" Applejack nodded and smiled, patiently waiting for Twilight.
"Well, it sure isn't everypony's thing! I for example do not enjoy the muddy hooves and yucky insects and mosquitoes everywhere!" Rarity grimaced and ran a hoof through her mane. "But I am coming, only for you girls! I might not fancy a forest, but I do love to spend time with all you darlings" she added.
The five friends chattered on until a silhouette of a large carriage appeared in the sky. They all watched as Twilight's carriage landed gently in front of them, eventually coming to a halt. Twilight's smile got wider as soon as she saw her friends and stepped out of her carriage, bringing all the girls into a hug.
"It's so amazing to see you all again!" Twilight said with joy. She used her magic to levitate her things and put them on her back. "Shall we head to the forest now?" she asked.
"Oh, I am so ready! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Rainbow Dash insisted and started flying in the direction of the forest with the rest following right behind.
For the moment, this camping trip seemed like a casual get-together but for Rainbow Dash and Applejack, it would be change things and definitely not be like any other camping trip.
"Ah!! Mud and insects everywhere, get off, GET OFF!!" Rarity waved with her hooves and tried to get rid of the insects on her.
"I bet it's because of that weird perfume you have, Rarity" Rainbow Dash chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Sooo, I think it's your own fault they're after you" she sat down on a log near the newly lit campfire beside Applejack.
They had reached their camping site at around evening, later than expected so it was getting darker, and the air was getting chillier. They had run into a few problems on the way, like noticing how half their tents and sleeping bags were gone. They had searched for maybe an hour or so without any luck, so the friends figured they had to solve the problem another way.
"Yeah Rarity, ya really don't always bring the right things for campin" Applejack agreed and laughed a little. She eyed Rainbow Dash who sat beside her and smirked. Rainbow Dash responded with a cocky grin as they both waited on Rarity's reaction to the statement.
"WRONG THINGS?! Ugh! If I am going camping, I must do it with style!" Rarity insisted and groaned. She stood up and started setting her tent up. "Fluttershy darling! You'll be sharing tent with me!"
Fluttershy nodded and went to Rarity to help set the tent up. Pinkie had already decided to share tent with Twilight since her own was gone, probably lost somewhere in the forest with some of the other things they had thought of bringing. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had also lost their sleeping bags and tents on the way which is why they had to share with the other friends.
Rainbow Dash watched as Applejack got up to set up her own tent and as much as she had been wanting to be able to sleep in an open space, because of the lack of sleeping bags, that wouldn't be the happening. On the other hoof, Rainbow didn't mind sharing a tent with Applejack. They got along pretty well, and it was way better than sleeping with Rarity who would probably complain all night about how much she hated camping.
"Ya gonna help me set this tent up or do ya wanna sleep outside on the ground instead?" Applejack said to Rainbow Dash in a playful tone. Rainbow Dash groaned as she lazily got up and walked up to where Applejack had opened up the tent.
"Yeah yeah, this better not take too long, but would you really make me sleep outside if I didn't help with the tent huh?" Rainbow Dash faced Applejack and smirked. Applejack rolled her eyes and smirked back, giving Rainbow a small push to the side, which only seemed to encourage her more.
"Would youuu?" Rainbow Dash continued, raising an eyebrow while still keeping a smirk on her face.
"Oh please" Applejack sighed and chuckled. "No, ah' would not" she finally replied. Rainbow Dash snickered and took a few steps back from the tent.
"Guess I don't have to do anything at all thennn..." Rainbow Dash teased, whistling a random but playful tune.
"Alriiight then, cause ah' thought you'd be awesome at settin' up this tent but seems like you have no idea on how to do it and that's why you're findin' excuses to not help me" Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash and flashed her eyebrows at her. Rainbow Dash stopped whistling and gasped in annoyance.
"Oh yeah? I'll show you how awesomely I can set this tent up, in TEN seconds FLAT!" Rainbow Dash scoffed and gave Applejack a confident and competitive grin before zooming around the tent. All Applejack could see was a bunch of rainbows engulfing her tent. She smiled to herself as she watched Rainbow Dash do all the work in order to prove her awesomeness. Finally, the zooming stopped, and Rainbow Dash landed right in front of Applejack, pointing to the tent fully set up.
"Nice, nice, guess ah' didn't have to help at all" Applejack said and winked at Rainbow.
"I know, I'm so awe- WAIT, did you just make me do all the work?!" Rainbow Dash glared at Applejack as she realized. Applejack looked at her with a smug expression until she burst into laughter. Rainbow Dash couldn't stay serious either and she too started laughing. They laughed for a while until Applejack cleared her voice and took out the sleeping bag from the wagon. She went inside the tent and rolled out the sleeping bag onto the floor.
"There! Too bad the rest of the sleeping bags somehow disappeared, ah wonder who took them" Applejack said as Rainbow Dash stepped in, looking around.
"Dunno, it's also weird how we couldn't find them. Things don't just disappear into nowhere" Rainbow Dash put her saddlebag to the side and looked at the one and only sleeping bag on the floor. It wasn't a very big one and Rainbow Dash wasn't sure how they'd be able to sleep in there. "Uhhh, how are we supposed to sleep in there?" she asked.
Applejack furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the sleeping bag. Its size was only enough for one pony or maybe one and a half, which sounded weird but there wasn't any other way to describe it. In order for them both to fit, they probably had to sleep really close to one another. Applejack felt her heart skip slightly at the thought, but then directed her attention to Rainbow Dash.
"We'll figure it out" Applejack replied as she put her saddlebag down next to Rainbow's.
"YOU GIRLS WANNA EAT SOME S'MORES?!"
Rainbow and Applejack looked to the opening of the tent and saw Pinkie Pie stand there, holding some marshmallows, happily grinning.
"Yep, we're comin!" Applejack said as she placed down a pillow in the sleeping bag. Now the tent was set up from the outside and inside.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash headed out after Pinkie Pie and joined the rest of their friends near the campfire. It was cold, but the fire heated the surroundings up enough to make it comfortable. They took their turns on telling campfire stories while enjoying the s'mores, eventually also bringing up the topic about where in Equestria their sleeping bags and tents had disappeared into.
"Well, at least we don't have any less tents than now, or it would definitely become a problem" Twilight stated as she took a bite out of her s'more.
"I think it's like a super fun sleepover party! It's sooo much better sleeping with friends!!" Pinkie Pie grinned as she stuffed her mouth with loads of marshmallows.
"Of course, darling! But it does get a little cramped and a lady like me needs space to be able to have her beauty sleep!" Rarity said. "But Fluttershy, I know you won't be much of a problem, so I do not mind your presence in my tent!" she added as she smiled and nodded toward Fluttershy.
"It's a shame half of our things are gone, otherwise I really wouldn't have had to bother you" Fluttershy replied softly, taking a small bite out of her corncob.
"Well I'm okay sharing my tent with Pinkie, and it seems like Applejack and Rainbow Dash don't have anything against sharing tents either" Twilight looked in the direction of where they were sitting and winked. "Just don't decide to start some sort of competition while we're all trying to sleep" she laughed a bit.
"I can't promise that, if I get challenged, I have to prove that I'm a winner!" Rainbow Dash said and grinned mockingly.
"Then ah'll make sure to not challenge you" Applejack smirked as she opened up a bag of potato chips. Rainbow Dash was quick to snatch some chips from the bag to which Applejack reacted to by moving the bag of chips further away.
"Hey! Sharing is caring" Rainbow Dash snickered as she ate the chips she had taken from Applejack.
"And stealin' is wrong" Applejack laughed, but moved the bag of chips closer so that both she and Rainbow could reach it. For a moment, they both made eye contact, not saying anything to each other, just looking into the eyes of one another. And for that moment, it felt as if it was only them two, alone, near the calming sounds of the campfire.
A quiet giggle broke the moment of silence. Rainbow Dash and Applejack quickly looked away, and at the source of the giggling. It was Rarity and Fluttershy who were looking at them, covering their mouth in an attempt to hide their smiles while Twilight and Pinkie were clearly smiling at them.
"What?" Rainbow Dash asked, slightly flustered.
"Oh nothing at all darling, nothing at all" Rarity said innocently, still giggling a little.
Applejack rolled her eyes at Rarity. She and Fluttershy always had to ruin moments like these, well, not exactly ruin, but cut them short. Sure, the staring was unintentional but the way it made her feel was different and it didn't happen quite often. Most of the times, she and Rainbow were too busy proving themselves to one another instead of taking it easy and talking about life. They did that sometimes, but it wasn't enough to bring up the topic on how they felt for each other. However, they both knew deep inside, that something about being with one another made their day complete.
"SO CAN WE TELL MORE CAMPFIRE STORIES NOW?!!!" Pinkie Pie shouted and the moment of awkwardness broke. The others laughed and nodded.
The rest of the time spent near the campfire consisted of telling stories, eating snacks and just enjoying each other's company. Eventually, it had gotten late enough for the friends to feel tired, and they all decided it was time to head inside the tents and get some sleep.
Applejack stepped inside her tent first, taking off her hat and put it aside near the sleeping bag. She then moved to the sleeping bag and zipped it open. Rainbow Dash entered the tent shortly after.
"Ya goin' in first or should I?" Applejack asked as she fidgeted a little with her ponytail. She wasn't exactly nervous, but the butterflies in her stomach remained.
Rainbow shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me, you could go first" she answered.
Applejack nodded and moved inside the sleeping bag, scooting to the side as much as she could in order to give Rainbow Dash some space. Rainbow Dash moved into the sleeping bag and closed up the zip. They laid in silence for a bit until Rainbow Dash burst into laughter while trying to get comfortable.
"I cant move" she wheezed and tried to push Applejack further away to get some space. "You're taking up all the space" Rainbow shuffled around some more while Applejack just snickered, also trying to make the sleeping bag more spacious.
"No, you're the one taking up all the space with those damn wings" Applejack teased and pushed Rainbow Dashes wings away from her own face. Rainbow Dash grunted and tried closing her wings, but the sleeping bag was so small it was nearly impossible.
"Oh come on!" She shouted in frustration, then used her hoof to force her wings shut. "Finally"
Applejack just smiled in amusement, then faced away and adjusted herself into a more comfortable position. Even though the sleeping bag was warm and thick, it wasn't enough to keep out the cold from reaching in. It was almost fall so it made sense for the nights to get colder. The day had been relatively warm with the sun shining, but now that the sun was down, the chilly fall breeze had taken over.
"Is it just me or is it gettin' kinda cold in 'ere?" Applejack turned back around to face Rainbow Dash who seemed to be wide awake still.
"I thought I was the only one" she replied and looked around in the tent. "No extra blankets?"
Applejack shook her head. She had thought that the sleeping bag would've been enough to keep her warm, but now that there was two of them, it would've been better if they had grabbed some extra blankets and pillows, which they hadn't thought about before. It also got colder since both Applejack and Rainbow Dash were on either side of the sleeping bag, which only allowed cold air to get in between them.
"Maybe if we uh-" Applejack moved a little closer to Rainbow Dash who suddenly started to smirk.
"Get closer?" Rainbow Dash interrupted as she too, moved a little closer.
"Heh, yeah why not" Applejack chuckled a bit. It was working, because all of a sudden it felt warmer and Applejack smiled at the comfort and closed her eyes to finally get some rest.
"Pssst!"
Applejack opened up her eyes again and looked at Rainbow Dash who was now almost sitting up, looking straight down at her. Applejack raised an eyebrow in response.
"Don't sleep yet, I thought we were gonna stay up late" Rainbow Dash complained.
"Ah' never said that, what even is there to do?" Applejack asked as she yawned. One downside of sharing tent with Rainbow Dash was that she usually did not go to sleep early. If the time was before 10 PM, there was no way she would, and right now, it was 9.30 PM.
"I don't know, anything" Rainbow Dash laid back down beside Applejack. "I just can't sleep yet"
"Sure ya can, just close your eyes" Applejack replied, looking at Rainbow Dash who just furrowed her eyebrows and rolled her eyes in return.
"No, it's not that, I don't want to sleep right now"
"Why not?"
Applejack didn't get a reply. Instead, she got pulled into a kiss. Applejacks eyes widened in surprise but she didn't pull away. Instead, she closed her eyes and wrapped her hooves around Rainbow. The surge of emotions swept over them as they made out until Rainbow Dash pulled away in order to catch her breath. Applejack had to do the same and as they laid there, both breathing heavily, there was a feeling of relief present in both of them.
After a while, Applejack turned around to face Rainbow Dash and pulled her into a hug as she smiled. Rainbow Dash sighed in relief and wrapped a wing around Applejack, also smiling.
"So that's why ya didn't want to sleep, huh?" Applejack finally broke the silence and smirked at Rainbow Dash.
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that" Rainbow Dash snickered. "I just wanted it to be at the right moment"
"Ah think this was the perfect moment" Applejack smiled warmly. "Ah had been thinking for a while about us maybe bein' more than friends, but ah didn't know how to start the topic"
"Same, but then I just thought I'd go for it" Rainbow Dash laughed and nuzzled Applejack a little. "You're warm"
Applejack nuzzled back and closed her eyes. "So are you, ah' guess we just solved both problems at once"
"Oh yeah?"
"We were cold, now we're not, the sleeping bag was too small, now it's not" Applejack opened up her eyes and smirked.
Rainbow Dash laughed. "You're right, this is perfect" she winked at Applejack. "We can sleep now"
Applejack hummed in agreement and closed her eyes again. She was so happy, so filled with joy there was no doubt this had become the best camping trip ever. It was the same for Rainbow Dash and neither of them even cared about not having so much space to sleep. They just laid there in silence, in each other's embrace with their eyes closed, finally starting to fall asleep.
However, what they hadn't noticed was how the window of their tent wasn't closed. Rarity and Fluttershy stood outside the window, looking inside the tent, smiling widely. They had known all along that there was something going on between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and tonight, they had finally gotten the answer. Rarity and Fluttershy nodded to each other and walked away from the tent, toward their own.
The following morning, Rainbow Dash woke up from the shuffling nearby. She groaned and opened up her eyes, seeing Applejack awkwardly trying to get out of the sleeping bag. Applejack noticed that Rainbow Dash had woken up and muttered something in disappointment.
"Sorry, ah' was tryin' to get out of here without havin' to wake you up, but now that you are, could ya unzip the bag?" Applejack asked.
Rainbow Dash yawned and sat up. "What time is it?" She asked as she unzipped the sleeping bag, moving a little to the side so that Applejack could get out.
"Around 8 in the mornin', that's why ah didn't want to wake ya up" Applejack leaned down and planted a kiss on Rainbow's forehead. "Goodnight for now" she smiled.
"Goodnight, we'll hang out more later" Rainbow Dash replied, smiling slightly, then closed her eyes again in order to continue her sleep.
Applejack headed out of the tent. Rarity was busy doing her daily morning routine while Fluttershy was talking to some critters she had stumbled upon in the forest. Pinkie Pie seemed to still be asleep and Twilight had just gotten out of her tent, preparing her morning coffee. As the friends saw Applejack, they started grinning.
Applejack furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What??" She asked.
"Applejack darling! You simply must tell us everything!" Rarity said with excitement. "You know, about last night?" she smirked. Applejack blushed slightly and rolled her eyes. Of course Rarity had somehow found out, that could also explain why she had been so giggly yesterday.
"Ahm not sayin' anything" Applejack said, but kept a small smile as she went to prepare her own morning coffee.
Around noon, the friends decided to leave the campsite and return back to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had woken up a while before and just like Applejack, Rainbow Dash was met with Rarity's giggling and loads of questions to which she just laughed and gave short replies.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash weren't embarrassed about being together but they didn't think of it as a big deal. Ponies like Rarity however just made everything awkward so they both avoided answering any of Rarity's curious questions on how they finally decided to get together.
"It just happened, you know?" Rainbow Dash shrugged as they walked down the path toward Ponyville.
Rarity rolled her eyes. "No! That's not detailed enough! I want answers" she whined as she said something inaudible to Fluttershy walking beside her.
"Look Rarity, ah' appreciate ya bein' curious about us, but honestly, we'd rather talk about somethin' else" Applejack explained. "It really ain't a big deal for us"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Exactly, I mean, it's nothing different, we just didn't realize when we became more than friends" she smirked at Applejack. "Which means we might've been dating for way longer than we know"
"Maybe so, but ah'd like to call this official" she chuckled. "Ah' know we teased around a lot before this, but at least now it's pretty much clear what we are"
Rarity and Fluttershy sighed in disappointment. It was too difficult getting them both to speak about it, so they thought it would have to wait till next time.
The friends were around 15 minutes away from Ponyville when they stumbled upon their missing things.
"That's my tent!!" Pinkie Pie shouted and ran toward it. However, she got stopped by a big hairy arm that came in the way. "Huh?!"
"Oh my-" Fluttershy looked up at the hidden creature blocking their path. "Uhm, hello kind sir, could we please get our things back? We've been looking for them" she said calmly.
The creature stepped forward, revealing itself. They all gasped. In front of them stood a very tall gorilla of some kind. Apparently, it had taken their stuff on their way to the campsite and was now refusing to give them back. It took a while for the friends to convince the gorilla to give their things back, he just wasn't willing to at all! They probably spent around 30 minutes explaining how important it was for them to get their camping things back. However, the friends ended up paying for their own things since the gorilla refused to give them without some sort of exchange. After that, they continued on the path, toward Ponyville.
"Ugh I can't believe I had to pay for getting my tent back that I already paid for when I bought it!" Rainbow Dash facehooved but was glad to have her things back. It had been nice staying in the same tent as Applejack, and there was no doubt it wasn't the last time, however, sleeping in the same sleeping bag could get tiring especially since they're usually so small. Maybe they could buy one that is meant for two.
"That there sure was somethin' weird, ah' mean, a gorilla wantin' camping stuff? What was he even gonna do with them?" Applejack laughed. The others laughed too now that they thought about the experience. It wasn't everyday you'd stumble upon a greedy gorilla!
The friends finally arrived at Ponyville and it was time for Twilight to head back to Canterlot.
"This camping trip was amazing! I'm so glad you decided to plan it Pinkie Pie" Twilight smiled and hugged her friends one more time before stepping into her carriage.
"Aww! It was nothing, I'd love to come help decorate for the Grand Galloping Gala too!" Pinkie Pie said with excitement.
Twilight laughed and nodded. "And you're more than welcome, you all are, I can't wait to see you all again" she said as her carriage set into movement. The friends waved goodbye to Twilight and then talked a little bit about the upcoming gala.
"Hey! How about you all come to my boutique now so I can start designing those dresses?!" Rarity suggested. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie nodded. Rarity looked toward Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "What about you two, want to come?" she asked.
"Actually- ah' think we could come tomorrow instead, we're headin' over to the farm" Applejack smiled and looked at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash snickered. "Yeah, we just wanna hang out some more today, we'll come tomorrow"
Rarity smiled. "Totally fine darlings, you're always welcome tomorrow!" she giggled.
"CYA LATER!!" Pinkie Pie shouted and grinned.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash said goodbye to their friends and started heading toward the farm. It was a great day today too. The sun was shining, the leaves were showing slight shades of yellow and red, it was a beautiful sight. Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy watched as Applejack and Rainbow Dash got further and further away.
"Awwww, oh how adorable they are together" Rarity sighed happily and wiped some tears from her eyes. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie agreed as they too, watched their two dearest friends together with great joy.
Neither Applejack or Rainbow Dash had known a casual camping trip would end this way, but none of them regretted any of it. In fact, they were so glad that it had happened. This camping trip would never be forgotten by them, ever.
Rainbow Dash looked at Applejack and smiled as they made their way up the path to the farm. Applejack smiled back and for the moment, they both felt as if they were the luckiest ponies in all of Equestria, it wasn't exactly a lie, because that was how they felt. After all these years, they had finally found who they really belonged with and there was nothing better than the happiness of knowing that the pony you loved so much, loved you back just as much.
"I really love you Applejack"
"Ah' love ya too sugarcube"