The sun had risen exactly one hour and seven minutes prior, and once again Celestia had outdone herself with another beautiful sunrise, rich with streaks of crimson and scarlet that poured across the clouds of the sky above. Those clouds had since cleared, though, and the sky was clear and blue. A slight chill ran through the air, but only enough to make the morning invigorating and quiet.
In accordance with the normal tolerances of her schedule, Sparkler had already sat down to breakfast. This breakfast, as per usual, consisted of a single large muffin. She was in the process of pealing it when the quiet of her morning was interrupted by a rather thunderous sound of hoofsteps on the stairs in the rear of her house. Her roommate, it seemed, had awoken far earlier than normal.
Berry Punch entered the kitchen and immediately walked to the icebox. As usual, she passed over the wide variety of breakfast foods available to her and instead took out only several plates of various fruits, which she condensed onto a single plate. Then, humming, she set this down on the kitchen table and produced a bottle of punch.
“Isn’t it a little early for punch?” asked Sparkler, taking a small bite from her muffin.
“What kind of a question is that? It’s never too early for punch!” Berry poured herself a glass and sat down.
“And I should have expected that,” said Sparkler. She was not especially annoyed by it; she herself rather detested especially sweet foods. Punch was not her favorite beverage, and what Berry ate and drank was her own business. However, Sparkler levitated a small paper bag onto the table. “My mother came by earlier today. She brought muffins.”
“Muffins?” Berry’s eyes lit up, and she opened the bag. With some difficulty- -as an earth-pony, her dexterity was limited- -she removed one of the muffins. She raised an eyebrow and looked to Sparkler. “Blueberry?”
“Close. Serviceberry. And the other one is loganberry.”
Berry smiled and seemed to visibly salivate. “Oh, mane! Your mother has taste!” She looked over at the one that Sparkler was eating. “And what did she bring you?”
“Bran. Sugar free. No raisins.”
Berry winced. “Well, that certainly sounds like it has…um…fiber.”
“It does.”
“Are you sure you don’t want a loganberry? Oh, wait, no. I forgot. Fruit makes you gassy.”
Sparkler groaned, and tried to change the subject. “So, you’re awake early.”
“Of course I am!” cried Berry, nearly jumping up. She reached toward a pile of papers and pulled out one. She passed it to Sparkler, who immediately recognized it as a train schedule. Seeing that, Sparkler immediately sighed. “You’re taking the train again, I see?”
“I am! But look a little closer!”
Sparkler did. She did not see anything out of the ordinary. It was an ordinary timesheet, although a bit worn in odd ways. It also had a strange smell that she found strangely unpleasant but could not place. Of course, belonging to Berry, that was not entirely unusual.
“They opened a new time slot!” said Berry, nearly jumping from excitement. Sparkler had not seen her this overjoyed since her family had begun sending muscadine shipments to Ponyville.
“Where?”
“On the back!”
Sparkler flipped the page over, scanning down the page. Nothing looked unusual until Berry preempted her search by pointing out a timeslot far down at the bottom.
“One fifty to Canterlot…wait, AM?!” She looked up. “Why in Equestria would they need a train to Canterlot at that time? Is the station even open?”
“I didn’t think it was either!” giggled Berry. “But it turns out it is! I already bought tickets!”
“Wait, you? YOU? You’re going to be awake at two in the morning? To ride the TRAIN?”
Berry’s expression suddenly became deeply serious. “Sparks- -”
“Don’t call me ‘Sparks’,” sighed Sparkler.
“You should know more than any pony how much I love riding the train. And this new line? It’s something of a secret.”
“Secret? Berry, that doesn’t make any sense. Why would anypony want to keep the train a secret?” She turned around, facing where she knew the tracks were. “I hope it doesn’t blow the whistle…I have work early for the rest of the week.”
“They didn’t even advertise it. Most of the train schedules don’t even list it because it’s so knew.”
“Or because ponies don’t really need to go to Canterlot that early. Do you even need to- -oh, what am I saying, of course you don’t. You’re riding round trip. Again.”
“Of course. Why would I want to go to Canterlot? I mean, aside from the elderberries.” Berry motioned with her hooves. “Half the doors have those weird round handles…”
“Knobs.”
“Excuse me?”
“They’re called ‘knobs’.”
“Do you know how hard they are to operate with hooves? No, you don’t. Because you got a horn. How, I have no idea.”
“I stole it from you in your sleep.”
Berry reached for her forehead, and Sparkler smiled. Berry frowned. “Don’t do that. I can’t tell when you’re being sarcastic.”
“It still doesn’t explain why you’re awake right now.”
“Because I’m excited? I mean, come on, NEW TRAIN! So I figured I would get up at six, and then be ready to go by one.”
Sparkler raised an eyebrow. “You realize it’s six twenty two AM, right?”
Berry’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
“No. Not this time.”
“So you’re not eating dinner?”
“No. This is breakfast.”
“GAH!” cried Berry. “I got so psyched, I woke up at the wrong six!” She slammed her head down on the table, covering it with her hooves but not before rolling a grape toward her mouth. By this time, Sparkler had finished her muffin and stood up.
“Well, I suppose you have more time to prepare. Or to get some work done, for once.”
“Or eat blueberries until I burst.”
“Or that. Preferably not, because I don’t want to clean it up. Again.” Sparkler opened the kitchen window, allowing the cool air to enter. She took a deep breath, smelling the air. “I’m going to go to work now. Enjoy your train, Berry.”
Berry lifted her head from the table. “When have I ever NOT enjoyed a train, Sparks?”