Act I
Rainbow Dash slept in a fit of snores when a rooster crow sounded off. At once the pegasus popped up in shock, nearly flying straight onto the floor. Luckily the tragedy had been averted, but she still grumbled over that accursed rooster alarm clock she had received as a gift from Fluttershy. It was by far the worst gift she had ever received, right next to the 1001 Easy Ways To Keep Tidy book Twilight and Rarity once gave her, but at least that was serving her well as a door stopper. And at least it didn't scream at her every morning.
Yet Rainbow Dash didn't let it bother her too much. For the first time since getting back from Manehattan, she actually felt well-rested and happy. The fingers of Celestia's sun were seeping through the blinds of her bedroom window. She almost instantly opened up the blinds to gaze at the morning sun. Birds were chirping outside and a cool, fresh breeze blew right at her face.
Yeah, I'm feelin' REALLY good today.
Only the sound of a running record player interrupted her. She twisted around to see it still running, with the occasional papery crack. With a smile, she removed the needle off the record and then started walking out of the room.
However, the pegasus stopped midway through her walk into the kitchen. The thought struck her as really odd. For all of her life she had NEVER been a morning pony unless something was on the line, like her job or the opening day of Apple Cider sales. But today was just a regular day. All she had planned in fact was her work shift in Ponyville and a visit to Twilight's library.
But she couldn't ignore the mood she was in. She had to admit that. It almost burst out of her like an overflowing well.
“Good morning E-quest-ria!
What an awesome day it must be!
Can't wait to get moving,
Get some food,
To start it out right.
I just can't wait to begin this day!”
Rainbow paused for a moment and raised her eyebrow.
What was that? she thought. She tried mentally groping for answers, but nothing seemed to come up. All that seemed to be on her mind was...
Breakfast.
“It's an awesome morning, all the way!
Can't diddle-dally mate,
Better get to chewing,
So I won't run late,
I just can't wait to begin this day!”
She stopped once more, holding a bowl of oats in her hooves. This time she thought she could hear a piano playing in the background. She poked her head out of the front door and looked around. She then cried out, “Hey, whoever's playing the piano, give it a rest already!”
She then slammed shut the door. A second passed by and then she slammed her hoof into her face.
What's wrong with me? I don't have any neighbors up here!
Still, she had plenty to do, and a quick check of her clock confirmed it for her. Rainbow Dash had only ten minutes to get to work.
Quickly scarfing down the bowl of oats, she took a swig of mouthwash, spat it out, and after a hasty shake of her mane, sped out of the cloud house. The breeze flowing through her cyan mane and the exhilarating pace at which she was going at made her forget her troubles, and for a moment, she cracked a smile.
“I love this awesome morning day!
Flying hard, flying fast,
Busting clouds, kicking flank,
Making names, going past, -"
She narrowly dodges a speeding bird who angrily curses at her. Rainbow Dash returns the gesture.
"Whatever!
I just can't wait to begin the day!
So prepare for-”
Rainbow Dash stopped mid-sentence. Stopping on a cloud right above Sweet Apple Acres, she turned up towards the sky, confusion crossing over her face. Something didn't feel right at all. And she still heard that stupid piano playing all-too enthusiastically.
“Knock it off, you stupid hayseed! I swear if I find you I'll-”
“Rainbow Dash!”
The rainbow pegasus looked down from her fluffy sanctuary to see Applejack's hat bobbing across a cornfield. She quickly laid flat against the cloud and began whistling. Strangely enough, the piano had stopped playing when she started whistling.
“Uh, hey there, AJ. I...”
“What's all the ruckus up there for? You nearly woke up Granny Smith from her midday nap!”
The pegasus didn't want to respond. She tried looking away towards the lush apple orchard, but the swaying branches and the shiny, delicious apples dangling on the trees made her lungs fill up with joy. And her whistling began to gain a jaunty pace.
“RD? Are you really up this morning? What's the occasion?”
And then her voice burst out.
“You ask me if I'm all right,
Like I'm up to no good?
Well I'll tell you what's going on!
I'm just sitting and whistling, okay?”
Applejack's head was on a swivel as she peered all around the sky. Her knees were instinctively moving up and down, but she was more perplexed by Dash as she lifted off from her cloud and began slowly moving over the orchard. Applejack huffed and followed right after her with her bobbing head.
“What in the hay is going on?
Is that a guitar playing, Dash?
You better explain this soon,
Or I'll be knocking you in, capeesh?”
The moment gave way to Dash's whistling, which perfectly balanced in with the merry guitar playing. Rainbow Dash looked worriedly at Applejack, a thousand thoughts passing through her mind. What was going on? Why was she singing, and why did Applejack suddenly join in? And more importantly, how did she learn to whistle?
“You ask me if that's music!
That's coming out of me?
I'd certainly spill the beans to you!
If I only had a single clue, you see?”
Rainbow Dash's whistling smoothly fell in line with the merry guitar-playing, occasionally mimicking the tune. Applejack's head continued to bob, much to her own disdain. She opened her mouth right as Rainbow Dash joined in too.
“Ain't this a pickle now?
Now I've joined in with you too?
For Celestia's sake we gotta can it,"
In an instant, both joined in unison.
"Sooo let's solve this case, pronto!”
Dash's whistling suddenly grinded to a halt, along with Applejack's little dance. The guitar finished with a long note and then faded out, leaving two creeped out ponies in the middle of the apple orchard. How they had managed to get this far away from the barn was beyond both of their imaginations.
“Was I really singing?” Applejack responded with a simple nod.
“This is awkward...”
Dash was about to continue when a lasso suddenly wrapped around her muzzle. With a solid yank, she came crashing down onto the ground next to Applejack. The earth pony held the rope within her teeth.
“Don't say ANYTHING, Dash. Come on, we gotta find Twilight before it all starts up again!”
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