"We're heeere!" said Applejack. The group cheered as the chariot landed in the middle of the clearing in the Crystal Lake Forest. Immediately, the ponies jumped out of the chariot and the two Pegasus ponies unhitched themselves. Twilight smiled and took a deep breath. She stretched and jumped up and down a little. She had to loosen her joints after sitting in that chariot for five hours.

"Oh Applejack, this forest is absolutely beautiful!" said Twilight in awe. Applejack grinned.

"That's why we come every year. The scenery is amazing, the lake is wonderful and the air is the cleanest in all of Equestria. It is almost impossible for a pony to not relax here," said Applejack.

"Oh I can totally understand that," said Spike. "It's awesome to get away from the library for a change." Twilight nodded in agreement.

"We couldn't have picked a better place to spend our week off, Spike," said Twilight. She turned to Applejack. "So, where do we set up camp?" she asked.

"The campsite is about five miles in that direction. It's about a three hour hike so we'll certainly get there before dark unless somethin' goes wrong," said Applejack. Twilight nodded and placed her saddlebags on her back. The other campers did the same and after a few minutes to secure the chariot, they were off.

The woods were even more beautiful and peaceful as the walk continued. The group chattered away excitedly and gave a noise of awe every time they saw an animal lounging around in the woods.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were running around the group happily and jumping up on each large boulder that the group came across afterwards they would strike an epic pose and mention something about 'Cutie Mark Crusader Campers' or something to that effect.

In addition to her saddlebags, Rarity had an umbrella placed on her back that she was using to shield herself from the sun's rays, something that irritated Rainbow Dash to no end. Every once in a while, Rainbow would quietly fly up over Rarity before swooping down in one swift motion and grabbing the umbrella from her back before taking off with a laugh. Rarity would yell at her a little bit but not out of too much anger. She was good-natured about it to a point and Rainbow usually returned the umbrella after a minute or so.

Somehow, Pinkie Pie spent every second of the hike bouncing up and down. Twilight was used to seeing Pinkie Pie use bouncing as her primary form of movement but to see her do it for hours on end was something that was impressive to her.

What was even more impressive was that she managed to converse with Fluttershy the whole way through about various things (often parties and Pinkieesque things of that nature) and the two seemed happy just talking to each other.

After a few hours, Applejack maneuvered herself next to Twilight. "We're almost there. You excited, Twilight?"

"Am I ever!" she said with a grin. "What will this week look like?"

"Oh we got plenty of stuff to do. We can hike around the woods, swim in the lake, there are a few paddleboats to rent, there's a simple miniature golf course in the area, a zip line, everything a good camp needs."

"All that out here in the woods?"

"Well there's the outdoor camping area where you can set up tents and such to sleep outside and then there's the main camp area, you know with the cabins and the mess hall, shower, bathrooms, stuff like that," said Applejack.

"That's where I'll be staying," said Rarity. Applejack gave Rarity an annoyed look that Rarity merely brushed off.

"I still think it's cheatin', staying in the cabins while the rest of us are out here," she said.

"Well, you can't expect me to sleep on the ground! My mane and coat will be ruined!"

"We're all sleeping on the ground and we'll be just fine," said Rainbow as she swooped in to join the conversation. Rarity rolled her eyes.

"Just fine for you maybe, but I have standards of beauty!" she said with her nose in the air. "I've brought all of the latest hair and coat beautifiers so I will look my best this whole week!"

At this, Applejack gave a mischievous grin which prompted a quizzical look from Twilight. However, she didn't question Applejack on it and she continued walking.

After another quarter of an hour, Applejack pointed out a small clearing that was coming closer to them by the second. "That's it! Twilight Sparkle, welcome to Camp Arawak!" she said happily.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders gave a squeal of delight and bolted towards the clearing, followed closely by Spike, much to the amusement of the rest of the group. They caught up with the four youngest members of their group after a minute or so and immediately got to work setting up camp.

Twilight used her magic to pull her tent out of Fluttershy's saddlebags and she was about to use her magic to set it up, but Applejack cut that idea short.

"No magic here Twilight. You're livin' this week Earth Pony style," said the farmer pony. Rainbow trotted up and gave a nod of agreement.

"She's right Twilight. Fluttershy and I aren't even allowed to fly unless we have to, or if it'll make something even more fun!" she said.

"Oh," said a surprised Twilight. "I guess I'll need help setting up the tent then."

"Well, I'm here to give you that help Twilight. I've become adept at settin' these things up over the years," said Applejack.

The two unfolded the canvas and put the support rods where they were supposed to go before spreading it out. The tent turned out to be medium-sized, only large enough to house a pair of ponies comfortably.

Applejack had to help Twilight do her half of the work but soon Twilight got the hang of it. Spike helped her position the spikes that would anchor the tent to the ground and Twilight grabbed the mallet in her mouth and hammered them into the ground.

The two ponies stepped back and admired their work.

"Not bad for a first-time tent raiser," she said with an impressed nod.

"Thanks! Although, I had a lot of help from you," said Twilight.

"I had a lot of help my first time too. It just takes practice."

"Well hopefully I'll get a lot more opportunities to practice...that is, if you guys want me to come every year."

"Are you kidding?" said Rainbow. "We might have to go camping more than once this year to get you caught up on all the years you weren't here." Twilight smiled.

"I'd like that," she said.

She turned to see where the other ponies were in setting up and saw Fluttershy unpacking a tent to set up. Applejack and Rainbow looked at the meek Pegasus as she unfolded the tent with an eager glint in their eye. Applejack nudged Twilight.

"I'd pay attention if I were you, this is impressive," she said. Twilight looked at Fluttershy quizzically. Fluttershy seemed to be organizing the tent parts in a way that would have made Rarity proud. She looked over the unmade tent to make sure that she had everything and seeing that she did, she gave a nod and began working.

Within seconds, the support rods were in the tent and Fluttershy had raised it up so that it looked like a tent. She worked like she was being held at knife point, the speed in which she set up the tent seemed impossible for Rainbow Dash to achieve, let alone Fluttershy.

The yellow Pegasus jammed the stakes in the ground and within seconds, she circled the tent with a mallet in her mouth and with one swing apiece, she hammered the stakes into the ground.

When the last stake was in, Fluttershy stepped back to admire her work. Rainbow, Applejack and Twilight walked up to her.

"Eighteen seconds Fluttershy, you put that up in eighteen seconds," said Applejack with a grin. To Twilight's surprise, Fluttershy looked slightly crestfallen.

"Oh...that means that I'm getting slower," she said sadly.

"HUH!?" said Twilight. "That was amazing! What’s wrong with eighteen seconds!?"

"Well, she got sixteen last year and twelve the year before that so she is getting slower," said Rainbow.

"But, I mean, HOW!?" said Twilight. Applejack shrugged.

"Dunno," she said. "Imagine our surprise the first year she came along. It was all we talked about for the entire week."

"it's not really that impressive...it just takes practice is all," said Fluttershy.

Before Twilight could question her on it further, Rarity joined in the conversation.

"Oh Twilight, please allow me to show you the main camp! I'm quite sure that you'll be impressed with it and I need to unpack in my cabin anyway," said Rarity.

"Sounds good to me," said Twilight.

'I'll come with ya," said Applejack. "I gotta talk to the camp head anyway."

"Uh, yeah, I'm coming too," said Rainbow with a sly grin that Applejack copied. Twilight once again looked at them quizzically. What were they up to?

Rarity nodded in agreement at this plan and after telling Fluttershy and Pinkie where they were going, the four of them trotted off towards the main camp.

"How far is it from where we're sleeping?" asked Twilight.

"Just over the hill," said Applejack. "We're only about five minutes away."

"Oh, I can't wait to get unpacked," said Rarity. "I need to fix my mane up a bit before bed." Twilight examined Rarity's mane and tail to find that they seemed to be as perfect as ever.

Within a few minutes, the four of them found themselves in the main camp.

The camp seemed to be set up in a circular clearing with buildings along the edges. Applejack began pointing out the buildings to Twilight.

"That there's the cafeteria," she said, pointing to a large wooden building in front of them. "Now right next to that is what we call the R&R room. It's got all kinds of games in there like air hockey, a couple of hoofballs to toss around, and even a decent stack of board games to name a few. Right next to that is a sort of gift shop. It actually does fairly well when there are large groups of campers 'round here."

"Will there be any large groups this week?" asked Twilight. Applejack shook her head.

"Not this week, but next week when summer starts there will be a decent number 'round here." She continued pointing out buildings like the medical station, the head counselor's office and the small miniature golf course.

"Where are the cabins?" asked Twilight.

"They're about a hundred feet behind the cafeteria," said Rarity. "We'll be there in just a moment."

Twilight nodded and rarity was soon proved right. They arrived at Cabin Nightshade and went inside.

The first thing that Twilight noticed was how nice the cabin looked. The floors were spotless carpet and the walls were made of solid oak. A trio of fans was running which did a lot to cool off the main room. Twilight saw a sink and small kitchen in one corner of the room.

Rarity led them through a door which led to the actual rooms themselves.

Rarity opened up the door to Cabin One and the four ponies stepped inside.

The room was a little small to hold four ponies but not so small that they couldn't maneuver their way around. There were a pair of bunk beds in the room and Rarity tossed her saddlebags onto the bottom bunk of the one to their left.

"Ah, home, sweet home for the next week," she said. "I hope you don't mind it if I freshen up a bit right now. I just need to touch up my hair and unpack a bit."

"Oh go right ahead," said Applejack "Don't mind us." Rarity nodded and opened her saddlebags.

She began using her magic to move the contents of her bags to the top bunk, something that removed the smile from Applejack's face.

"Rarity, you know the--"

"Yes I know," said Rarity, cutting her off. "I just need it to unpack and then I'll...hmm, where's my hairspray?"

She began digging through the contents of her bag uneasily. "Uh, uh, uh, please don't tell me I forgot it! Wait, where's my coconut-kiwi shampoo? And my special conditioner!? WHERE ARE THEY!?"

She wheeled around to face the rest of the group. "Please tell me where they are!" she said desperately.

"I know where they are," said Applejack calmly. Twilight could see a grin creep up on her face.

"Where? Where are they!?" said Rarity.

"As far as I know, they're right where I left them: In my room back at Sweet Apple Acres."

Rarity's left eye twitched as she registered this new development. "Back at...you...I...they're..." she said before turning back to her saddlebags, hoping that they were simply at the bottom. Finding nothing, she turned back to Applejack with a horrified expression on her face.

"Why?" she said with a horrified whisper.

"Because you aren't gonna cheat this year," said Applejack. "We've done this trip for a while now and you always insist that you cart around these beauty products and the like. You live pretty much the same way you do back at home only in a cabin. Well, not this year. This year you're gonna sleep outside, you're gonna use the basic soap that the camp provides and gosh darn it, you are gonna feel more relaxed and laid back then you ever have on this trip, I promise."

"Trust us Rarity," said Rainbow. "It's really not that bad."

Rarity's eye twitched once more.

"B...b...but...I..."

"No buts about it," said Applejack. "It's gonna happen whether you want it to or not."

To Twilight's utter surprise, Rarity packed her things back into her saddlebags and followed Rainbow out of the cabin.

As they walked back to their campsite, Twilight walked a little bit behind Rarity and Rainbow Dash to talk to Applejack.

"Don't you think that was a little harsh?" asked Twilight. "I mean look at her, she's devastated." Applejack gave a depressed sigh.

"I know," she said. "And to be honest it broke my heart to do it like that, but if I had just asked nicely she wouldn't have done it. I meant what I said when I told her that she would feel better just roughin' it without those beauty products. She'll thank me when all is said and done. She can do whatever she wants to herself when we get back home." Twilight nodded.

"I hope you're right," said Twilight. At this, Applejack managed a grin.

"Hey, I'm the Element of Honesty, remember? I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe that it was true."

At this, Twilight managed a grin too. "You know what? I'll bet you're right. She's going to have an awesome week."

"We all are Twilight, we all are."

A few hours later, the group had finished eating a bunch of s'mores that Pinkie Pie had made for them all. They were all staring at the fire contentedly, each of them looking forward to the fun times that the week had in store for them.

The group was silent for a few moments before Applejack spoke up. "Well y'all, I'd say that it's time for bed. We've got a lot of awesome stuff to do tomorrow and the sooner we fall asleep, the sooner we can do that."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement and they dispersed to their respective tents.

Twilight grabbed a bucket of water and put out the fire before walking towards the tent that her and Applejack had set up earlier that day. She would be rooming with Pinkie Pie for the week and she was shocked to peek into the tent to see that Pinkie Pie was already fast asleep. Twilight had stopped questioning Pinkie's behavior a long time ago, as amazing as it was sometimes. Only she could immediately fall asleep after eating a dozen s'mores.

Twilight was about to climb into the tent next to Pinkie Pie when she suddenly was struck with a powerful feeling of unease, almost as if somepony was watching them.

She looked into the pitch-black forest that surrounded their campsite and to her surprise, the feeling only increased when she looked into the forest.

She shook her head. She was merely being foolish. Nothing was out there to get them; the ponies who built this camp surely wouldn't be foolish enough to put it in any area where there was even a chance of danger.

Twilight smiled to herself and climbed into the tent. She zipped up the tent flap and crawled into her sleeping bag.

The feeling of dread had gone away and it was replaced with a feeling that this might just be one of the best weeks of her life.