I roll my shoulders, and hear a drumroll of popping. My body pillow must need replacing. I groan as I wipe some crud out of my eyes. I yawn, and stretch my legs and arms. When I open my eyes, I am immediately greeted by a face hovering inches above my own.
"It's Christmas Eve, Dashie."
Pinkie Pie's dimpled cheeks are pulled into an eager smile. Despite the two of us being blanketed in darkness, her sweet blue eyes twinkle merrily. She bobs gently up and down, practically shaking with anticipation. Clearly, one would think, something big must be going on today for her to be so excited.
I don't react. I've had a month to get used to this routine. It started on the 30th of November, when I awoke to find Pinkie in this exact same way. The only difference is she whispered, "Winter is coming," in a suspenseful voice. Every morning after that, it was, "Winter is here," "It's starting to snow," "We're snowed in," or whatever else made the day different from the last.
Wait...
"Whoa, déjà vu," Something is off about that. I rub my forehead, as if coaxing the words out of my head. "Only Christmas Eve? Wasn't it Christmas Eve yesterday?"
"It's 11:50." Pinkie sheepishly explained.
"Oh," For some reason, I'm slightly annoyed that Pinkie woke me ten minutes early, when I know she's gonna prod me again as soon as it hits midnight. I let it slide, though. She's just being Pinkie. "Okay... you're sitting on me, you know."
I squirm underneath Pinkie Pie, who then giggles as she flops down beside me. "Sorry."
"It's fine," I dismiss, trying to settle back into sleep. "Try to get some sleep, Pink. Christmas isn't running away anytime soon."
"Oh, I know. I'm just so excited!" Pinkie wiggles excitedly, causing the bed to shake a bit. I hold back a sigh.
"Me too, Pink. Let's try to save it for the wakie-wakie time, okay?"
"Sorry," Pinkie Pie apologizes. "...You're excited, right?"
Uh oh. That tone came out of nowhere.
"Yeah, I'm excited," I turn to face Pinkie. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I dunno," Pinkie shrugs at me. "I just... I feel kind of nervous. Still excited, but really nervous... They should really come up with a word for that."
I frown in confusion. "Why? I mean, why be nervous?"
We are playing tomorrow for the holiday festival. That's the only thing that comes to mind. But Pinkie has never been nervous for our performances. If anyone should be nervous, it should be me. I still don't know how the gals are gonna react to the changes I made to Jingle Bells.
"Well," Pinkie gives me this look as if the answer is obvious. "It is our first Christmas together."
What?
"What?" My mouth repeats my thought. "No it isn't."
"I didn't mean like that," Pinkie shifts as she worms her way under the covers. "Look where we are. This is our own apartment, with no parents, no siblings, no roommates. Just us."
I scratch my head, still not seeing the point. "O-kay?"
"I mean it's finally our first Christmas. We could set traditions here that last for like, forever and ever. That doesn't that make you nervous?"
I think about that for a minute. "Not really. I was never big into tradition in the first place."
Pinkie seems to take this into consideration. I hope I didn't say the wrong thing. "We've always had traditions in my home. For everything, pretty much."
I bite my lip. I said the wrong thing.
"Well, we can still have some. Some fun ones, though."
Pinkie Pie raises an eyebrow at me. "Oh yeah? Such as?"
"Uh, I dunno. We could combine a couple traditions. My folks always had us watch a bunch of Christmas movies. And we can hide the presents like we did at your old house."
"Ooh, that does sound fun," Pinkie nods in approval. I can practically see the gears in her head turning as she already begins her scheming. "You wanna watch It's a Wonderful Life? I just borrowed it from Marble today."
I don't recognize the title, but I nod anyway, breathing an internal sigh of relief over dodging that bullet. "Sure. I'd be down for that."
"Sweet. Oh! I almost forgot!"
I grunt in discomfort as Pinkie rockets out of bed at an impossible speed. She bolts out the door and disappears from sight. Seconds later, she returns.
"What was that about?" I groan.
"I had to hide your present," Pinkie grins evilly at me. " And I picked the most genius spot."
"I'm sure you did," I yawn. "Now, let's get some sleep, okay?"
I roll onto my back again, and shut my eyes. I crack one open once more when Pinkie doesn't re-join me.
"Aren't you gonna hide mine?" She cocks her head at me.
"Well, as far as I know, it hasn't arrived yet. So technically, it's already hidden."
Pinkie makes a mock pouty face at that. "Aw. Bummer. That's a lot of post offices to break into."
I snicker. She's just joking. Probably. "Blame Amazon Prime."
Finally, Pinkie crawls back into bed. She snuggles up to me, and I snuggle right back, grateful for the extra warmth. I exhale, ready to doze back into a peaceful sleep. Right before sleep takes hold, Pinkie gingerly taps my shoulder.
"Hey Rainbow Dash?"
I roll my eyes under their lids. "Yes Pinkie?"
I open my eyes and turn my head to look at her. Pinkie slowly smiles mischievously at me, little phantom lights once again illuminating the joy in her eyes. I get the urge to turn over and look at the alarm clock, but I don't have to.
"Merry Christmas." Pinkie Pie whispers warmly after planting a small kiss on my forehead. I give her a little smooch on the tip of her nose in return.
"Merry Christmas."
I hug Pinkie closer, and she welcomes my embrace. As the snow falls outside, we silently cuddle. I'm comfy, cozy, and have the best girlfriend in the world in my arms. Not a bad way to start Christmas. It would even be perfect, except for one small thing that just popped into my head.
"You hid the present in your hair, didn't you?"