Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes as the light from the window got brighter. She rubbed her eyes and turned around, repeating "5 more minutes...." over and over again. Rainbow opened one of her eyes and looked through the window. Of course, it was still snowing, so the sun wasn't there to wake Rainbow up instantly. She finally got up and stretched, looking around her room.
It was nearly the New Year, and Rainbow could sense that it would be a heck of a year, since she's got two new friends. She usually only hung out with Pinkie Pie and her friends from the girl's soccer team, and all the other jocks. Suddenly, Rainbow's phone rang. Her vision was still not clear, but she managed to pick up her phone and answer.
".......'ello?" She said with a yawn.
"Hey, Rainbow, were are you!?" Pinkie shouted from the other end of the phone call. "You're late for school!"
Rainbow's tiredness wore off as she sprang up. She looked at the clock, and it was already 9:00 AM. The teacher would've skinned her alive by now. She hurriedly got ready and ran to school.
As soon as she got to the front gate, she leaned down and caught her breath. Rainbow wiped off her sweat and looked up. "Pinkie....I'm-I'm here! Is our teacher mad? Did she say anything!?!" She asked, shaking Pinkie.
Pinkie then giggled and put Rainbow's arms down. "Silly, Rainbow!" She laughed even louder. Rainbow looked at her, confused. "Did you already forget? We're still in winter vacation!" She laughed continuously, causing Rainbow to become more confused.
"Wait, what!?" Rainbow said, hastily taking out her phone to check what day it was. Winter vacation started on December 25, on Monday. It ends somewhere in January. Today was still December. Rainbow put her phone back in her pocket and looked up at Pinkie, who was still bursting with laughter. "So.....why did you call me and tell me I was late?"
Pinkie stopped laughing and cleared her throat. "Well, I thought you'd know!" She explained. "I wanted to test and see if you forgot already, and then you hung up before I could tell you, so I waited here to tell ya."
Rainbow groaned and went back home with Pinkie to change out of her school uniform and into her normal clothes.
As soon as Rainbow Dash finished changing her clothes, she came out of her room. Pinkie, who was waiting, was grinning widely. "So, where're we going?" Rainbow asked. "You told me on the way here we were going somewhere.
Pinkie giggled. "Well, I thought we could go shopping for some kimonos!" She said. She peeked into Rainbow's room. It was very messy since she just trashed the room, looking for some clothes. There was obviously one kimono, but it didn't look like it would fit Rainbow anymore.
Rainbow tilted her head. "What do we need kimonos for?" She asked. "What's the occasion?"
Pinkie laughed and snorted. "Rainbow, didn't you forget?" She said, trying to stop her laughter. "It's almost New Years, and we're going to go to the shrine with Soarin! And possibly Lightning Dust."
Rainbow sighed and turned around, scanning her room. It's true, the kimono she'd usually wear is too small for her now. "Well, I guess....but shouldn't we just wear normal clothes there?"
"Rainbow, this is a once a year occasion! It's better to do it in a kimono!" Pinkie said. Suddenly, she stepped closer to Rainbow and whispered in her ear. "Plus, I'm sure Soarin would love to see you in a kimono."
Rainbow blushed and pushed Pinkie away. "Fine, let's go." She said, walking down the hallway. Pinkie jumped in happiness and followed her.
As soon as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie arrived at the mall, they rested a bit at the canteen and started looking for kimonos to wear. Since New Year is just days away, there were lots of shops selling kimonos and having kimono sales.
"So um..." Rainbow said, looking at all the shops with kimonos on sale. "Where are we gonna buy a kimono?"
Pinkie jumped from one window of a shop to another, examining all the clothes on display. "I dunno, they all look so cute!" She squished her cheeks and followed up with Dash. "You pick."
Rainbow thought about where to go, but she had no talent in fashion, so she had no idea which shop to go to. But she gave up and entered a random shop. "C'mon, Pinkie. There's so many sales, that I think we should just go to a random shop."
As soon as they got out, Pinkie fell silent. Rainbow looked at her, concerned. "What?" She asked. "Pinkie sense again?"
Pinkie's expression stayed the same. "Yup. See ya!" She smiled for a second and ran away so fast Rainbow didn't see where she went. Rainbow shrugged it off and went home.
Pinkie groaned as she paced to and through the shopping district. Her Pinkie Sense was telling her that she was really close to where she needs to go, but she couldn't find where it was leading her. She has visited all the shops, and none of them were suspicious and nothing was out of place.
"C'mon, you can't hide for long!" Pinkie grunted. She peeked into one of the diners. It looked fairly normal. She turned around and noticed; there was a shop that she haven't visited yet. She cheerfully ran to that shop as quickly as she could.
As Pinkie was about to enter the shop, she read the sign aloud. "Jade's Jewels?" She said, tilting her head. "Never heard of that shop before. It's probably new. Come to think of it, that old antique shop used to be here, and it was closing down. I guess it's because of this!"
Pinkie nodded to herself and entered. The chime distracted Pinkie, making her hum to the tune. She then snapped out of it and looked around. There were lots of accessories and jewels of all kinds. She slowly wandered around, hoping she'd find what her Pinkie Sense was telling her.
Suddenly, her Pinkie Sense went wild inside of her. Pinkie turned around the corner and saw someone. It looked like a high schooler her age. He was holding a small necklace that had rainbow colors. Pinkie was certain that this guy was buying a gift for Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie panicked. What if he steals Rainbow away from Soarin? Pinkie couldn't allow that to happen. But if she did, his happiness would go away. Pinkie could't allow that either. She had to come up with a very good plan that wouldn't hurt anybody.
And there were only few possible ways to do that.
Rainbow blew through her mouth as she opened the front door. It was very cold and snowy, so she wanted to move fast. Rainbow quickly walked towards the mailbox and took the mail. She noticed that one of them was not a bill or a postcard from Granny. She ran inside as she thought about it.
"Mom, mail's here!" Rainbow shouted across the house. She took her shoes off and ran to the living room. "Mom!?"
Rainbow's mom finally came out from the kitchen holding a basket filled with laundry. "Sorry, I was busy doing the laundry." She explained, setting the basket aside. "Mail's here?" She asked, picking up the mail on the table. She quietly muttered something as she examined all the letters and envelopes until she noticed one that didn't belong to her.
She lightly smiled and put the envelope on the table in front of Rainbow. "Looks like this one's yours." She grinned and went back into the kitchen.
Rainbow picked up the letter. It's true, it was addressed to her. She ripped it open as confetti came out and read:
Hey, Dashie!!!
Time moves so quick, doesn't it? Well, It's almost New Years! Can you believe it?
I've decided for all of us to meet up at the shrine. You know, the one we visited
last year? That one! Don't forget to wear a kimono! See you there!
Love,
Pinkie Pie
P.S. If you're wondering which "us" I'm talking about, I invited Soarin and
Lightning Dust too. You better wear that cute kimono you bought to win him
over! Teehee!
Rainbow paused and smiled sheepishly as she read the last words and walked up the stairs. But little did she know that there was a small surprise waiting for her in her bedroom.
"Heya, Dashie!" Pinkie turned the chair around as Rainbow came in her room. "Welcome home!"
Rainbow jumped back. "P-Pinkie!? When did you get in here!?" She suddenly glared at Pinkie. "Did mom let you in?"
Pinkie giggled. She got up and pulled Rainbow in as she closed the door. "Silly Rainbow, do you not know what it is to have a best friend climb the wall and enter your bedroom through the window to poke around? Come on!" She giggled again.
Rainbow facepalmed and put the letter on her desk. "Is that how I got this?" She asked, pointing at the letter. "Whatever, anyways, what did you come here for?"
"I came to remind you about the letter in case you didn't read it yet!" Pinkie answered and jumped onto Rainbow's bed. "That's all!"
Dash rolled her eyes and sat next to Pinkie. "I did. Anything else?" She asked.
"Yeah, kind of." Pinkie's tone suddenly came a bit more serious. "I know you really don't want to tell me. But today, I really need a straight answer."
Rainbow raised her eyebrow at Pinkie. "Shoot." She said.
"Do you really, really like Soarin?" Pinkie asked as she sat up.
Rainbow paused. There was definitely no way out of this and Pinkie sounded very serious about getting the answer this time. She sighed and got up. "Yes." She muttered. Rainbow's face blushed intensely as she answered and looked away. "Anyway, is that all?" She hastily asked to avoid anything else.
Pinkie nodded and jumped off the bed. "Yup!" She grinned and opened the window. "Now it's time for me to make my grand exit!" She giggled one last time and climbed down. Rainbow watched as she did so, and noticed the rope hanging down from the window.
A few days later came New Years. Rainbow still couldn't forget what happened a few days ago. She tried shrugging it off, but it didn't work. She quickly changed into her kimono and walked out the house, hoping she'd forget by the time she arrived at the shrine.
As soon as she did, she still couldn't erase it from her mind. Until a certain someone hugged her from behind. "Dashie, you finally came!" Pinkie giggled and snorted.
Rainbow made Pinkie let go and continued walking inside. "Why, was I late?" She asked worriedly.
Pinkie shook her head and waved her hand at Soarin, whose arm is being hugged by Lightning. "Hey, you two! Get over here!" She shouted. The two walked towards Pinkie and Rainbow.
"Oh, so I was late?" Rainbow smirked at Pinkie. Pinkie laughed.
"No, you all came at the same time actually!" She replied. "Anyways, come on! Let's go!" She said, pulling Lightning Dust in with her.
"H-hey, let go!" Lightning demanded. Rainbow and Soarin were left alone.
"So, um.....happy New Year." Soarin greeted and rubbed the back of his head. "Y-you look......great in a kimono." He blurted out.
Rainbow blushed and looked away. "I-idiot!" She yelled. She crossed her arms and blushed even more.
Soarin snickered. "What, don't like compliments?" He teased as he stepped a little closer to her, making Rainbow blush a little more. "Fine then. You look terrible."
Rainbow got even angrier. "H-hey!" She said, turning her head at Soarin. She blushed as she looked at him and looked away again. "Well, thanks anyway." She mumbled, although Soarin could understand what she said. The two entered the shrine without a word.
After the four of them prayed, they all took their fortunes.
Pinkie jumped up and down. "Yay! Mine says middle blessing!" She continued giggling with happiness.
Rainbow and Soarin laughed. "My turn!" Rainbow said as she shook the box and took a stick. She put the stick back after she read the number and took a fortune that had the same number. "Mine says........great blessing! Aw yeah!" She sprang in joy.
Lightning rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. I bet I'd get something better!" She claimed, taking her fortune. She cleared her throat and read out loud. "Mine says.........small curse!? WHAT!?!" She roared with anger and surprise. "W-what the hell do I do!?" She said, hastily looking around.
"My Granny said that if you get a bad fortune, you should tie it to a pole, tree, or between a door. And you're supposed to leave it at the site of the temple!" Pinkie explained, pointing at the many bad fortunes tied to a pole.
Lightning quickly ran to the pole and tied it there. "That should do it." She sighed and wiped her sweat off. Afterwards, she ran back to her friends and hugged Soarin's arm.
Soarin groaned as he took his fortune. "Hey, Lightning, could you let go?" He asked. "I can't do this properly if you're hugging me."
Lightning giggled as she let go of Soarin. Soarin then took a deep breath and read his fortune.
"Haha!" He laughed quietly. "I got great blessing too! High-five, Dash!" He raised his hand. Rainbow did a high-five with him as both of them laughed.
Lightning huffed, jealous of Rainbow being able to have fun with Soarin. Pinkie then patted her on the head. "Don't worry, Lightie! You'll get a different guy soon!" Pinkie grinned.
Lightning moaned a little. "WHY WOULD I EVER WANT THAT!?!" she shouted, although nobody other than Pinkie and a few people near them heard her.
"Hey, look over there! Love fortunes!" Pinkie yelled, pointing at some people taking love fortunes at the other side of the site. "Let's go get some!" She giggled and ran ahead. The other three tagged along.
Before Pinkie could take hers, Lightning sped up. "Me first!" She said, grabbing a fortune. She read it to herself first before she read it out loud. "It says future blessing! Yes! Beat that!" She happily cheered.
Dash rolled her eyes and took her fortune. "Hey, wow. It says great blessing again!" She laughed harder and louder than last time. Pinkie giggled, somewhat knowing why that is.
"Stop keeping me waiting, my turn!" Soarin chuckled. He cleared his throat as both he and Pinkie read, "Great blessing." Soarin laughed as he hugged Rainbow. "Hey, we both got great blessing again!"
Rainbow blushed. "L-let go of me!" She yelled, pushing Soarin away. The two fell silent.
Pinkie giggled and started reading her fortune. "Anyways, mine just says blessing. At least it's not a curse!" She laughed. After the four explored a bit, they ate some food before leaving the shrine.
"So, what did ya wish for, Dashie?" Pinkie asked and chuckled.
Rainbow paused and put her hands in her pockets. "Why would I even tell you?" She said. "Besides, are we even aloud to tell each other?" She asked.
Pinkie shrugged. "Some people do, some people don't." She sprang up and looked for something in her bag. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
Lightning snickered. "And what're you looking for?"
Pinkie made a mysterious laugh. "I wanted to spice things up a little this year." She gave a small grin. "But, we'll have to wait until after the fireworks."
Soarin looked up at the sky. "Speaking of which, when are they sta-"
Before Soarin could finish his sentence, the fireworks started. They started bursting loudly and beautifully. It made everyone feel happy, no matter what fortune they got. Some fireworks were blue, yellow, orange, and many others. After the fireworks, the sky looked a lot more lighted up than before.
"So, what was it?" Rainbow asked, peeking behind Pinkie. But Pinkie stepped back.
"Ah-ah-ah!" She scolded. "I bought the legendary...........firecrackers!" She screamed, showing off the packets of firecrackers. There were four of them; one was emerald green, one was pink, one was light blue, and one was dark blue.
They all ran to the nearest park and started playing with them. It wasn't as fun having only four people, but it was definitely worthwhile. Until it was late night, the four rested while waiting for the firecrackers to stop.
"Man, I could go days without getting tired of this!" Rainbow laughed. The other three laughed along.
Soarin was the last to stop laughing. "It's pretty rare of anyone to do this, right?" He asked.
Pinkie giggled again. "Doesn't make it any less fun!" She beamed.
"You're such an optimist." Lightning said, playfully and lightly punching Pinkie. The four laughed and shared stories about the past year, before saying their goodbyes and heading home.
A few days later came school. Rainbow Dash wasn't very excited about it, but she was still pumped about the new things that could possibly happen. Acting cool, she got up and got ready for school.
However, it was just like any other school day.
So Rainbow decided she should fix that and do something fun after school. For no reason at all, at least, Rainbow thinks there's no reason, she decided to hang out with the person she spotted right in front of her in the hallway.
"Ey, Soaaaarin!" She cheerfully yelled, running towards him. "Wanna hang out today?"
Soarin raised his eyebrow and blushed. "W-what?"
Rainbow paused. "D-don't get the wrong idea! We're just going as f-friends! Cuz that's what we are........right?" She stammered. Dash tried to calm down and chill. "Anyways, I need your help with a little something."
Soarin tilted his head. "And what 'something' are you talking about?"
Rainbow made a mischievous laugh. "You'll see."
Suddenly, someone yelled after Rainbow from behind them. "H-hey, Rainbow Dash!"
"Eh?" Rainbow said, turning around. "Oh, it's you. Quibble, right?" She took a wild guess, trying to remember his name. "Sorry, it's been a while since I last saw you. Was I right?"
Quibble hesitated. "Oh, um, yeah you're right. The full name's Quibble Pants actually." He shook his head. "A-anyways, I need tell you something."
Rainbow raised her eyebrow. Soarin just cleared his throat and said, "Well, I guess I'll wait for you outside school." He said to Dash. Rainbow nodded as Soarin continued walking.
Rainbow turned to Quibble. "So, what did you wanna say?"
Quibble froze. "Oh, right." He blushed and looked away. "I just wanted to thank you again for the book." He turned to face her again. "Nobody's ever went out of their way to buy me that Daring Do book. I wanted to know how I could repay you."
Rainbow rubbed her chin. "Well, I dunno." She laughed. "Make it a surprise!" She turned around and continued walking a little. "Besides, a surprise gift from a friend is one of the best things someone could do." She laughed, thinking of the time Pinkie told her that.
Quibble paused for a minute and followed after her. "W-wait!" He yelled across the empty hallway. "I-I.......I think I like you!"
The five words caused Rainbow to stop. She didn't how to react. She then turned around. "Oh, uh........"
It was very quiet. There was thankfully nobody else in the hallway, so nobody else could hear or see what was happening. Deciding to break the silence, Rainbow cleared her throat. She didn't know what to say, but she didn't want this to last forever either. She didn't have the same feelings for Quibble, but she had to say something.
"S-sorry, Quibble, but...." She tried her hardest to continue the sentence. "I already like somebody else!" She blushed real hard as she turned around. She didn't want to see his reaction.
Quibble froze. He wasn't as devastated, but he had to answer. "Was it that guy from earlier?" He asked. "The one that was talking to you?"
Rainbow nodded. "His name's Soarin." She hushed.
"Well, you're not together yet, are you?" Quibble asked curiously.
Rainbow blushed a little more at the thought of it. "N-no, we're not."
Quibble made a small chuckle and cheered up. "Well, I guess since you're not together yet, I still have a chance, right?" He asked happily. Rainbow fell silent.
"At least let me be your friend for now, okay?" He said. "See ya!" He hurriedly ran off. Rainbow watched as he left and exited as well.
Meanwhile, somewhere at the corner of the hallway...
"Hehe, I heard everything." They said. They took off their hoodie, revealing her true identity as Lightning Dust. "Wow, I didn't see that coming. Actually, I did, since she's pretty popular.....even to girls......" She shook her head. "Anyways, this is perfect. Now I can finally ave Soarin to myself." She made a quiet, evil laugh as she ran away.
To be continued...