//------------------------------//
// The Same Routine  
// Story: The Blessings and Misfortunes of Frosty Glow and her Tribe of Vacuous Associates 
// by az123456 
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       It was seven thirty in the morning. The entire household was asleep. Well, except for one pony. A mare was trekking the rooms, getting ready for work. Her daily routine involved a morning shower, dental hygiene and brushing her hair. The last part of the routine is where she normally started to question her life. While brushing she always stared at the mirror, greeted by her reflection – purple, tired eyes, a white exhausted face covered in blue freckles and a half open mouth with a bluish spot engulfing her muzzle. Her horn glowed in a light shade of blue as she levitated her brush. Every morning was the same. She would get prepared for a job she disliked, buying the same breakfast and coffee from the same diner on her way to work, where she would eat the now tasteless bagel and cold coffee, while waiting for the same employees, who all worked for the same wage. For them the pay might be enough, but not for Frosty Glow. She had to support herself and her other five roommates, who couldn’t find a steady job on their own due to a combination of laziness, authority problems and lack of any practical skills.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. One of her housemates – Boxwood, was a gardener. A hedgemage at that, but instead of regularly paying him, they just offered him a room in the house.
The house was quite big. It had four more free rooms for new, potential housemates, but the mere thought of that sent shivers down Forsty’s spine. Five was more than enough. Why did she even take them in? Boxwood was their personal gardener, so he had a decent alibi, although they only got a garden for the sole purpose of hiring him. It was all part of Breezy’s plan to seduce him, even though she seemed oblivious to his sexual preferences. That was a good word to describe Breezy Loop. Oblivious. Absent-minded. Perma-cheerful. She was a grown mare and still acted like a child. Then again for somepony who’s fur was a neon shade of lemonish yellow (her curly mane - a neon shade of grassy green, her eyes - a neon shade of pink) one would be forgiven to not expect them dwelling on the values of moral and the forces that govern the universe. Neon. That was also a good word to describe Breezy. Or rather neonic. A word to complement her quirk for thinking up of new words. All things said, she was Frosty’s oldest and dearest friend so she was an exception. 

But what about the rest? Cloud Hopper, or Cloudy for short. A dark-grey pegasus, with a white mane and sky-blue eyes, and an iron cross with a pair of wings for a cutie mark. She was an odd case in Frosty’s life. One day the unicorn found her in the forest, right after she crash landed into a tree.  She had to drag her to her house and nurse her back to health. And considering the unicorn’s boney, undernourished stature and the pegasus’ muscular build, it was a very hard feat. Fortunately her plan succeeded and unfortunately Cloudy became Frosty’s newest housemate. She was very stubborn and very lazy. A slob even, but she did keep it mostly to herself.

But it’s still a mystery how she managed to convince the unicorn to get Cloudy’s brother to live with them. Grass Hopper, better known as Dopey because of his constant expression. A dusty green earth stallion with a grayish, straight mane, always wearing a black beanie hat. About two years younger than his sister, he was one of the mellowest ponies Frosty had ever laid eyes on. His eyes were always half closed and his half-backed smile – always present.

In reality he had more of a resemblance to his friend who also managed to get into the household – Sun Beam, or Sunny for short. A light brown earth pony, with a long dark brown mane and tail, braided into dread locks. His eyes were green and he always wore a rastacap. He was as mellow as Dopey. His eyes - always half closed and his half-backed smile – always present. They were like brothers. Their cutie marks were even almost identical. Sunny had a peace sign with rays emitting from it, resembling a sun, while Dopey’s – a peace sign with something that looked like a bed sheet ghost wrapped around it. Sunny claimed to be from Draughtalamh. Some land somewhere in the northern part of Equestria where they spoke with a very distinct accent. 

Frosty was still brushing her mane when she noticed the clock on her cupboard. She was going to be late if she didn’t leave now. She got up and quickly put on her saddle bag, containing her waitress uniform. She ran through the hall and down the stairs. The house was quiet in the morning. She didn’t expect anypony to be up this early. But when she approached the door, she heard a raspy and yet feminine voice from behind her:

“Frosty…”

She turned to see Cloudy, her hair was still in a mess and she held a brown paper bag and a thermos. Frosty was caught off guard. No pony should have been up at this hour.

“Um…yes Cloudy?”

“I figured that you might have gotten sick from all the crummy diner bagels and cold coffee, so I decided to prepare you a breakfast.”

Cloudy walked to Frosty, opened her saddlebag and carefully put the bag and thermos in. 

“Um…thanks Cloudy…I…um…really appreciate it.”

“It’s the least I could do. I think you should get going if you don’t want to be late.”

“Ah, yes…late, yes, thank you again…” the unicorn mumbled before she opened the door and trotted on her way. 

She took a faster route this time towards the job she disliked, where she would meet the same employees, who all got the same wage. But today at least she had a decent breakfast .