“Ring ring ring”
It was the sound one could hear cutting through the silence of the room. Darkness covered the room except for the small rays of morning sun slipping past the curtains. The ringing sound of the alarm clock was soon accompanied by the sound of rustling sheets and annoyed groaning. With a swift move of a hoof the alarm was silenced. 'Peaceful quiet swept over the room, and the stallion that continued to lay in the bed looking at the clock to this right.
Sounds of displeasure and annoyance escaped his mouth as he stretched and moved about his bed. His eyes slowing opened and shut, and couldn't seem to decide which one they'd rather rest upon. It was a decision that he had to make every morning due to his love of sleeping and comfort of his bed and for the fact he hated mornings with a passion . He rolled out of his bed and onto the floor. The sunlight that had been peeking through had gotten stronger as Celestia finished raising the sun to begin the day. Bright sunlight alone was not enough to be a good reason to give up just a few extra minutes of rest, but today was an important day for his unit, and he had work he needed to get done before everything kicked off.
'Getting out of bed had one distinct pleasure; stretching his wings. After having them folded all night, they were cramped and stiff. As his wings expanded one could see that they were different the other pegasi. They were different not due to their shape, but due to their color; his were stripped. In fact his entire body had strips. While it may have seemed out of place among the other pegasi for him it was perfectly normal. Rave Darkness was a Half zebra, Half pegasus hybrid.
His father, a zebra named Low Swing, had served in the royal guard where he met Rave’s mother, Sound Thought. His mother, a pegasus, was a teacher in Canterlot who also worked as a trainer with the royal guard. That was how they meet or so the story went. Rave really didn’t care much about how his parents met as old stories didn't matter much when the day was asking for his attention right now.
After he finished up his morning stretches, Rave headed to the bathroom to take a shower. His flank showed a colored cutie mark,a rare development for half zebras that inherited a stripped pattern. The mark showed three glow sticks; green, red, blue; arranged to form an ‘A.’ He had gained it when he learned about his special talent of dancing. He could easily pick up all different types of dance from ballet to b-boying. The mark added color to his gray shaded color scheme which is a staple of zebras.
He entered his shower, still groggy from the fact that he had just awoken, and turned on the water. Rave had forgotten that it took some time for the water to heat up to a pleasurable temperature thus he was blasted by a stream of cold water. Teal eyes covered his face as the cold water hit his body. By instinct, he quickly jumped out of the water stream to the back of the shower. He stood at the back of the shower and periodically check the water for the correct temperature. Once the water reached the correct temperature, equitable to a pleasant summer day, Rave resumed his shower.
Looking at Rave, one would assume that he had just stepped out of an old black and white movie. His light gray coat was interrupted by darker gray stripes that tracked over his body in an organized pattern. His muzzle was colored the same as his stripes and had a distinctive pattern at the point where it met the lighter coat color as if someone painted a star on it. The fronts of his ears were also stripped. One stripe at the base of his neck curved in a complete circle, which always struck him as familiar to the necklace Princess Celestia wore. On his body the stripes resembled claws when looked at from the side, and each leg had three stripes evenly spaced apart. Fitting with this zebric heritage, his mane was jet black...usually. At times, the tips of his hair would turn white. It was something that baffled doctors, he went to as a child for check ups, to the point that they were convinced that he dyed the tips. He liked for his hair to lay flat, but occasionally he would spike it along with his tail.
Rave turned off the water and flapped his wings hard to dry off. He then stepped out of the shower and continued his morning routine which included putting on his uniform. He joined the Equestria’s Royal Air Force a little over two and a half years ago. Ever since he first saw the Wonderbolts perform when he was a child, he dreamed of joining the best flyers of all Equestria. The Wonderbolts were a division of the Royal Air Force; although, to the masses the entire Royal Air Force was called the Wonderbolts. What few of the common ponies knew was that the RAF also did specialty weather detail, Air Recon, and even air support for the Royal Guard, among other duties. A three flier cell went up against a Dragon in Ponyville a few months back.
Back when Rave first joined, he was part of the 82nd Air Support Group, where he specialized in Recon and personnel recovery; however, his new job, which he started today, tasked him as a support personnel to the 1st Flight Team. Being on the 1st Flight Team was one of the most prestigious positions a pony could have in the RAF. they were known to all as the best flyers in all of Equestria. The 1st Flight Team’s Commander Spitfire was a sight to behold even when she was on the ground. She was fierce yet graceful, and Rave had heard many stories about her. The Vice Commander Soarin’, was also the epitome of flying greatness. Rave had almost fainted when he heard that he was chosen to be support personnel to Spitfire and Soarin' directly. It was a position many sought but only a few opening for.
Rave checked his uniform one more time. He was to wear the blue top suit for the day, but was also given a signature blue flight suit the resembled the “Wonderbolts” own minus the patch over his cutie mark. Rave found himself smiling from ear to ear as he walked about his apartment making sure he had everything he needed. Pausing at the front door, Rave smacked the side of his face; killing anything else bouncing around in his skull other than his game face. He looked over to the clock and his once happy expression turned into one of pure panic. He was ten minutes behind schedule. Rave quickly gathered his things before blasting through the door in a dead flight toward his new RAF hangar on the flight line.
As Rave flew out of his apartment two unicorn stallions looked on.
“It seems like he is running late as usual.”
“That's what he thinks. I set his clocks ahead fifteen minutes last night," laughed the taller of the two.