The sun was bright in the sky, and the forest was beginning to come back to life. All of the colts and fillies in the field were up and about already, thanks in part to the "Morning Wake Up" trumpet solo that Spike had played at sunrise. The forest had always looked beautiful, but today was a special occasion, today the leaves and grass were shimmering from the light of Celestia's sun. Apparently it had rained heavily during the night, luckily everypony had been protected inside their tents.

Today Twilight decided to teach the campers about knot tying, and had already begun a workshop for all the campers to practice. Spike grabbed the rope in front of him and began twisting and weaving it in various places until he had crafted a perfect knot. He studied the knot in his hands, inspecting it for any flaws whatsoever. He already knew that he had tied it perfectly, but when Twilight was the inspector he could never be too careful. He was so engrossed in his examination that he almost didn't notice a white pony sitting down next to him.

"H-h-h-hey S-spike." Spike turned and almost gasped, Twist looked as though she was suffering from pneumonia. Her body was shivering uncontrollably, and her teeth chattered with every word she spoke.

"Are you ok, Twist?" He asked, she quickly nodded.

"Y-y-yeah, I'm f-fine."

"Are you sure?" Spike could already tell that she didn't want to talk about it, but it was very unsettling to see her like this.

"Y-yeah." She answered again. "C-can you help me w-with this?" She was pointing to the rope in her hooves, it looked like she had already made several attempts to tie it.

"Oh, ummm, yeah!" Spike said, trying to look past Twist's miserable condition. He took the rope in his hands and began tying the knot, "First you just cross the rope here, twist it down here, bring this part through here..." Spike trailed off as he became focused on the knot itself. A few moment's later he was holding another perfectly tied knot. "And tada!"

"W-wow!" Twist marveled at Spike's handy work, "H-how did you do that?" Spike couldn't tell if her enthusiasm was exaggerated or not, or perhaps it was a product of the strange state she was in.

"It's really not that hard," Spike told her, "here, let me teach you."

Turns out that Twist was not the only pony struggling to tie the knot. Button Mash and Junior were frantically working on theirs, hastily looping the rope in random places and praying that it would come out right.

"Hurry up!" Button told Junior anxiously. "We can't let them beat us." He said, motioning towards the crusaders, who were working together to figure out the knot. The two quickened their pace, warping and contorting the rope in all manners of ungodly positions. Soon Button found himself with a large ball of interconnected coils, he anxiously tried to untie the knot, but he had no idea where to even begin.

"Great job, girls." Button heard Twilight's voice nearby, he looked up to see Twilight examining the knot that the Crusaders had put together. "Just a few more steps and you'll have it perfect!"

Button cried out in rage as he angrily pummeled his rope ball into the dirt.

"Alright, listen up!" Rainbow Dash shouted to the line of campers. "Now that you have learned how to tie a knot, it is time for us to put those skills to the test!"

Most of the campers began whispering eagerly amongst themselves, anticipating what challenge Rainbow Dash had for them.

"Today we're going to test the strength of you knots, as well as the strength of your hooves, with a good old fashion game..." Rainbow Dash paused for the dramatic effect, "of Tug-of-War!" Her words were met with mixed reactions, Junior cried "YEAH!", Diamond Tiara groaned, and Button Mash began to smile deviously to himself. Spike and Twist on the other hoof, said nothing. Twist had finally stopped shaking after about an hour into the rope-tying session. She had now reached the point where she could smile again, and Spike was more than happy to see it.

"Well this should be fun!" She said to Spike, who simply nodded in agreement.

"What are you waiting for?" Rainbow Dash began, flying closer to the crowd and catching them all directly in the eye, "Let's get started!"

The crusaders had been the one chosen to tie the Tug-of-War ropes together, much to the dismay of Button and his clubmates. However when Rainbow Dash assigned the teams, they could not have been happier. Boys versus girls would be the name of the game, and Button Mash was absolutely sure that they would win.

"This is our chance to show those girls once and for all!" He said to his team as they huddled together on the edge of the field. He and Junior both wore a face of eager determination, Pipsqueak on the other hoof, seemed to be a little worried.

"But the girls out number us." He explained, Button Mash was quick to dismiss it.

"Yeah, but we have Junior on our team!" He said, motioning towards the colt who was currently flexing his muscles. "They don't have anypony who is as strong as he is!"

Spike looked around the group, noting the fire in his teammates eyes. Although he personally didn't care who won and who lost, he could tell that a victory would mean a lot to the boys.

They broke from their huddle and quickly moved to their side of the field, the girls had been ready for some time now, and were eagerly awaiting the start of the game. Rainbow Dash descended from the clouds above, a faint trickling rainbow following behind her.

"Alright everypony! This is it! The battle of all battles! The Tug-of-War to end all Tug-of-Wars!" Rainbow Dash's words seemed to rally the battle-ready children, they cheered as they took their positions on the rope, Twilight however, couldn't help but facehoof. Button Mash grabbed his end of the rope, making sure that his hooves were firmly gripped to it.

"This is it boys!" He exclaimed, "Get your war-face on!" Spike took his end of the rope and waited for Rainbow Dash's signal.

"We start on my mark!" Rainbow Dash began, watching as the campers gripped the rope a little tighter. "Three... Two... One and a half... One and two quarters..." Button Mash was trembling, like Rainbow Dash had said, this was the battle of all battles. There was too much at stake in this competition, and Rainbow's endless countdown was eating at his nerves. "Zero and a half... Zero and two eighths... GO!!!"

Immediately the campers tugged at the ropes, digging their hind legs deep into the dirt. The rope was pulled tight in both directions, and the knot that held it together was strained under the pressure. The two sides grunted and groaned as they each fought for the upper hand, yet the rope remained still, the teams were locked in a stalemate.

"Pull you guys! Pull!" Button yelled to his team, Spike could hear Scootaloo shouting something similar. Each team pulled harder then before, not willing to relinquish a single inch to the enemy. Spike heard something behind him, a string of powerful grunts fueled by a boiling rage. Junior Was getting angry, and now he was about to make his move. Spike felt himself being pulled backwards by a terrifying amount of force, he could see the other team begin to collapse under the young colt's unnatural strength.

"We're gonna win guys!" Button said, his voice strained from exertion.

Spike looked back to the other team, their resolve was failing quickly, he could see the disappointment beginning to form prematurely on their faces. Except for Twist. There was no disappointment on Twist's face, no look of sadness or grief. Instead she was looking at Spike, sporting a happy grin as her team was pulled closer and closer to the center. His eyes locked with hers, and in that moment her grin turned into a bright smile. The sun reflected perfectly off her braces, flashing brightly into the eyes of the other team. Spike flinched away from the light, as did his entire team. He felt Junior Drop the rope behind him, and he was suddenly pulled forward from the combined might of the other team. The remaining boys were flung to the ground, and were dragged across the dirt with the greatest of ease. Button Mash looked at the other team in shock, his fur now coated in dust.

"Looks like we've got a winner!" Rainbow Dash cheered! Button watched as she quickly flew over to the girl's side, giving Scootaloo a well deserved hoof bump. "I always new you had it in you champ." She said to her. Button's blood was beginning to boil.

"They cheated!" He shouted, objectively pointing his hoof at the other team.

Rainbow Dash looked at the raging colt curiously. "And how exactly did they cheat?"

Button was scrambling for an explanation, "They... they used... I don't know!" He was at a loss for words. "They just did!"

Rainbow Dash smirked. "Cheer up kid, there's always next time."

Spike watched as Button Mashed got up and angrily stomped away. Spike shook his head, he could tell that Button wasn't going to let this go. The Crusaders were now celebrating their victory, the rest of the girls didn't really seem to care. He noticed Twist walk away from the victory circle and began making her way to him, he tried to pick himself off the ground. Before he could Twist extended a helping hoof towards him, her bright, sun-filled smile beaming at him; he gratefully took her hoof and let her help him to his feet.

"Well that was fun!" She said happily, Spike smiled in return.

"It sure was." He replied, noticing Button Mash storming off into the distance, a worried feeling flickered in his gut.

"It sure was..."

The sun had set behind the mountains, yielding to the darkness of Luna's night. Spike watched as the moon began to rise over the trees, basking the land in a brilliant white light. Today had been a long day, and Button's attitude had become more sour as the day progressed. His jealousy and temper had been trying Twilight's patience, everypony in the camp could tell that Button was working on Twilight's nerves, and by extension, the nerves of her number one assistant. Spike needed a break, a chance to sit down and cool off, and this was the perfect place to do it.

Spike sat alone upon the fallen tree, a can of root beer was clutched tightly in his hand. He took a sip from the can, letting the sweet liquid slide down his throat and drown the tension in his body. It felt nice being alone, and the wooden seat was surprisingly comfortable, no wonder Twist enjoyed it here so much. A soft breeze blew across the forest, and fireflies flickered in the night. Everything here was peaceful, here he could relax and be alone with his thoughts as he watched the twinkling of the night sky.

"Hey Spike!"

So much for being alone, Spike turned to look at Pipsqueak, who was standing beside Junior and Button Mash. Spike groaned, knowing that his moment of meditation was gone forever.

"What do you guys want?" He asked before downing half his can of root beer.

"We're going to shoot spit balls into the girls tent!" Button Mash said, "If you help us you can join our club."

"You mean your exclusive boys only club that doesn't have a name?" Spike said unimpressed.

"It does have a name!" Button replied sharply, "It's just a secret!" Spike saw Junior give Pipsqueak a mean glare before he could say anything, Spike cocked an eyebrow.

"Fine, I guess someone is just scared of getting in trouble!" Button said. Unaware of the blue pegasus hovering just behind him.

"And just what are you troublemakers up to?" Rainbow Dash said, causing Button to nearly jump out of his skin. He turned around quickly, staring into her dark, judgmental eyes.

"Nothing!" He said abruptly, sweat was already beginning to trickle down his forehead.

Rainbow Dash eyed him menacingly, "Oh pa-lease, I can smell trouble from a mile away." She turned to look at Junior and Pip, giving them each a turn to look her in the eye. "So, let's hear it!"

Pipsqueak burst, "We were going to shoot spitballs at the girl's tent!" Button and Junior didn't bother to glare at him, they already knew it was too late. Spike couldn't help but smile, it was fun watching these punks dig themselves into a hole, he took another sip of his root beer.

"Spitballs?" Rainbow Dash looked at them disappointingly, "Nun-uh! We will have none of that!" Pipsqueak was beginning to tremble.

"We're so sorry!" He said.

"You should be!" Rainbow Dash said, she reached over her back and started digging around in her saddlebags. "Here, use these instead!" She pulled out an unopened bag of water balloons and tossed it to them. Spike nearly choked on his root beer when he saw this, Button could only stared at the bag in disbelief.

"F-for real?" He asked, looking her in the eyes.

Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest, "Of course! Those will work a lot better than those derpy spitballs! Now go fill them up in the stream over there!" She said pointing her hoof towards the woods. The boys didn't wait to say thank you, they simply took the bag and ran off as quickly as they could.

"Why did you do that?" Spike asked, "You know you shouldn't be encouraging them!"

Rainbow Dash looked back at Spike. "Are you kidding? I've been dying to see a good prank up here! You sure you don't want to join them?"

Spike turned his head, unwilling to look at Rainbow Dash, "I'll pass." He said flatly.

"Suit yourself." Rainbow Dash shrugged "Oh and remember, hush hush." She said, bringing a hoof to her mouth, she then took off and flew above the trees and disappeared into the night sky. Spike grumbled to himself, he knew that his meditation would be gone forever. of all the dirty tricks that Rainbow Dash could have pulled, this was by far the dirtiest one. Spike took a heavy sip of his root beer, hoping that the fizzy drink could dispel the anger he was feeling.

"What was that all about?" Spike turned, already prepared to see another pony out to ruin his day. To his pleasant surprise, it was Twist. She approached him from the field, this time it was Spike's turn to make room on the tree.

"Don't ask." He sighed, Twist looked at him curiously as took her seat. "But I suggest that you stay away from your tent tonight."

Twist simply shrugged, "That's fine, Diamond Tiara kicked me out anyways."

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that." Spike said, offering her one of his root beer cans.

"It's fine," she replied, accepting the can and then opening it with her hooves. "What about you, why are you out here?"

Spike puzzled for words, "I guess I just needed a moment to cool off." Twist nodded and took a sip of her root beer. Spike looked at her, he couldn't contain the smirk that followed. It was funny really, just a moment ago he had been a ball of condensed anger. He was angry at Button for causing Twilight so much trouble, and he was angry at Rainbow Dash for helping him cause even more chaos. He thought that what he needed was to be alone, and yet here he was with Twist, and he just couldn't help but smile.

He and Twist were different from the rest of the campers, they were outcasts. Everypony else had had a group that they belonged to, a posse that they could rely on. But he and Twist didn't have a group, they simply couldn't fit in, maybe that's why they got along so well. He looked back up at the moon as it shimmered in the night sky, he smiled, tonight was a beautiful night. He looked back to Twist, mentally correcting his last thought. Tonight was a beautiful night to share.