An Unexpected but Pleasant Surprise
The most horrendous sound blared through Rainbows skull before her unconsciousness slammed a hand down on the offending object, effectively shutting it up. Her eyes shot open and whispered, “Oh no…” She quickly did a once over on her alarm clock mentally checking off points on a visualized list. “Buzzer, check. Face, check. Watch hands moving…? Check.”
“Well it looks fine. Phew.” Stretching out the sleep from her body, she crawled out of her bed and walked over to her computer desk. She sighed to herself “Man… I’ve already destroyed so many of those stupid things that the manager at Clocks, Cuckoos and more knows me personally…” Hopping on her computer chair, she looked up when the sun would rise for that morning, “5:35 a.m. Its not even 4:40 yet, plenty of time,” She thought.
Rainbow automatically started on her morning checklist: Quick warm up – Jumping jacks and simple stretches, check. Running clothes – A black running jacket with reflectors on the arms, loose black sweats, wrist watch and sunglasses, check. Hair – She looked through the mirror in her washroom and watched as the girl in it started tying their own frazzled bed hair up into a simple braid. Before long, Rainbow’s own hair was tied in the same fashion as the girl in the mirror had done. Check. Morning breakfast shake? She made her way to the kitchen, stopping to poke her head into the fridge to grab some milk, yogurt and frozen berries. She also stopped by the cupboard to grab a scoop of her favourite protein supplement. After throwing everything into the blender, she gulped down the mixture, smacking her lips and smiling “Check.”
She looked herself over in a hallway mirror, adjusting her sunglasses on her nose and patting her hair down, making sure the elastics were secured. Kneeling down to tie up her shoelaces, she glanced at her watch, “4:50, I have plenty of time.” She smiled to herself and made her way to the door when she stopped mid step, her hand hovering over the doorknob, “Wait… I haven’t even been awake 20 minutes and I’ve already completed two checklists… How long has this been going on…? Welp, that bookworm must seriously be rubbing off on me.” Rainbow shrugged it off and grinned to herself before heading out for her morning jog.
Rainbow sighed as she set her usual pace. She looked at her surroundings and wondered to herself just how many times she had run this route by herself. All of her friends took her as an early sleeper, late waker type of person, but this wasn’t really true. It always just kind of bothered her to talk about her mornings rituals. Of how she actually enjoyed waking up really early just to watch the sunrise and then maybe make something for breakfast. She always thought sunrises were always so very beautiful, so she naturally just felt uncomfortable talking about them. She has a reputation after all. So in turn, she never bothered to correct anyone who thought she woke up 20 minutes before school started, or how she would go to sleep super early. After all, these runs were her ritual, her secret. Rainbow had already run this route so many times, she could do it blindfolded.
That being said though, it did kind of bother her that she never got to share these experiences with someone else.
Rainbow sighed again and slowed her pace to a brisk walk. “You know…” She looked up at the thin wisps of clouds, floating lazily through the sky, as though they haven’t a care in the world. She playfully reached up and tried to grasp at one of the smaller lone ones. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to do these jogs with somebody else. Maybe someone who can keep up with me? Or maybe even someone I can race?” Rainbow grinned, looking back at the street in front of her. “Yeah right. If I find someone that can keep up with me, I’ll treat them to a 5 star meal.” She picked up her pace again and ran through one of the many fields on her route, following a well-worn, well-known path.
Exiting the field, Rainbow spotted a girl a few blocks ahead of her, walking down the street. She thought to herself, “Now who’s dumb enough to go out for a walk when it’s this late and dark out…?” She blinked. “Oh… Right.”
Quickening her pace, she tried to catch up to the girl. Rainbow swore she recognized something about her. As Rainbow got closer, she grinned as she noticed the long, dark purple hair with a pink and purple lock running down the center of her back.
Less than a block apart, Rainbow called out, “Twi! Wait up!” She heard Twilight shriek and jump. Rainbow immediately started laughing and holding her chest, slowing her pace to a walk until she was beside Twilight.
“Rainbow Dash! That isn’t funny! I almost had a heart attack!”
“Bahaha! Yeah! I saw!” Rainbow was still clutching her stomach until she glanced up at the source of her laughter.
Twilight was glaring daggers at Rainbow. She actually thought she felt pricks on her skin.
Rainbow swallowed, “Err… Eheheh, ahem.” Rainbow straightened up and motioned for Twilight to keep walking. “So… What are you doing out this early? It’s awfully dark still.” Rainbow looked over Twilight and noticed that her hair was done in a double ponytail style, one knot over the other. Rainbow also noticed that her hair was heavily frazzled, much like her own, but that didn’t prevent it from looking quite pretty. Twilight wore a dark pink sweater with a loose pair of light blue sweat pants. And dangling around her neck were a pair of… “Binoculars?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “And what’s with the military grade ‘noculars?” Rainbow watched them sway as Twilight walked.
Twilight scowled, “I could ask you the same thing, Rainbow.”
Rainbow pouted and sighed, letting her head droop low. “I’m sorry for startling you Twi. I figured you would have heard me running up behind you.”
Twilight’s expression immediately softened, “Well, it’s okay Rainbow Dash. I am actually surprised I didn’t hear your footsteps either. I guess I was just too absorbed in the instructions Principal Celestia asked of me.”
Rainbow cocked her head at that and glanced at her watch, “5:17, Lot’s of time.”
“Principal Celestia told me that I should consider meditation one of these days. It’s supposed to help me relax so I can deal with school work, the student counsel and such. I looked up different ways of meditation and the one I found most intriguing was watching the sunrise.” Twilight brightened up with excitement. “Oh Rainbow, I haven’t seen a sunrise in years! …Even though on most weekends I am awake around this time doing projects, I usually have the curtains drawn.” Twilight grinned sheepishly at Rainbow, which she replied with an ‘I didn’t say it’ smirk.
“I figured I’d bring the binoculars along in case I needed them. I wanted to bring a notebook too, but I wasn’t sure how I would carry it.”
“Pssh.” Rainbow waved a hand through the air, “That’s pretty typical of you Twi.”
Twilight stuck out her tongue, “Well it’s better to be prepared for anything you know. And what, pray tell, are you doing out here?”
Rainbow felt goosebumps rise up her back. She never felt comfortable talking about her mornings. “Uhh, well…” She replied, scratching at her arm.
Twilight cocked her head but smiled patiently at Rainbow.
“I usually go for jogs around this time most mornings. Need to stay fit if I want to stay on the soccer team right?” She replied quickly.
Thankfully, Twilight didn’t press the issue. She smiled and said, “That’s quite wonderful Rainbow. Jogging is good for your health after all.”
Rainbow sighed a breath of relief and gave Twilight a small smile. Rainbow wasn’t sure why she didn’t just tell Twilight that she liked watching the sunrise in the mornings. It’s not like Twilight would make fun of her… Right?
As they walked and talked about school and homework, Rainbow kept stealing glances at Twilight through her sunglasses. She was fully prepared that Twilight would bring up the issue of her mornings again, but thankfully, she never did. Rainbow actually felt a little guilty that she thought Twi would insult her for her daily habits and secrets like she thought. She also felt guilty that she could lie to one of her best friends like that. “Well… I didn’t technically lie…Did I?” The corners of her mouth bent down into a small, tight frown and she slowly turned her gaze back to the sidewalk in front of her.
“-This way, Rainbow. Bye!”
“Huh, what?!” Rainbow barely registered Twilight walking into Granulas Park. She whipped her head towards Twilight.
Twilight giggled, “I said I’m heading this way. The hill in this park is pretty big, I think I’ll be able to get a good view of the sun from there.”
Rainbow knew of this park. Of course she should, she ran through it a couple times in the past and even used the hill Twi was talking about as one of her first lookout points for the sun. Although the hill was pretty big, the view was shunted by a thick layer of trees surrounding the park. Rainbow tapped at her chin.
“Wait, Twi! Follow me, I know a better spot we can go to see the sunrise.” Rainbow grabbed Twilights hand and led her out of the park, taking the route she uses for her runs.
“So Rainbow, what else do you do in the mornings? It’s still like, another 4 hours before school starts. Do you go back to sleep?”
“Hmmm… Well I make myself breakfast then I shower… Just, you know other random stuff to kill my time. Sometimes I’ll try and take a quick nap, but it is awfully hard when your blood is heated up after a workout. Heh heh. You know, you ought to try my famous ‘Cloud-Cakes’ sometime. I swear, they’re so fluffy and soft, you’d think they would float right out of the pan and onto your plate.” Rainbow grinned at Twilight, “Only to fly away again so they won’t get eaten!”
Twilight giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Huh… I didn’t even need to think about not telling her about that… It felt… Kind of natural actually. You know, Twilights actually a pretty good listener.” Rainbow smiled, listening to the soft titter of Twilights laugh.
Rainbow looked up at the clouds and tried to reach them with a huge stretch of her back. She also noted the previous lone cloud, although it had changed shape, had found a friend and floated beside it. “Hey Twilight? What do you think it’s like on those clouds? You think they are fluffy and soft like you read in fairy tales and cartoons and stuff?” Rainbow stared at a jet stream travelling across the sky.
Twilight cocked her head at Rainbow, then at the thin wispy tuffs of cloud high above them. “Well… Technically no, it’d be near impossible to sit on clouds you know. Since clouds are basically 99% water vapour, if you landed on one, you would just fall through to the other side.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes but smiled at Twilight.
“If you wanted to sit on clouds, you would need some sort of magical property that would allow you to suspend yourself on water vapour. I’ve read tales and myths of such creatures: Pegasi and Unicorns actually! Apparently in some myths they have the power to control the weather, certain elements, oceans and even the earth or planets!” Twilight said giddily.
Rainbow closed her eyes and crossed her arms, trying to imagine what she would look like as a Unicorn or a Pegasus, like the ones she read about in fairy tales when she were a kid. Opening her eyes, she looked straight at Twilight, “Nah, I doubt that. Besides, there’s only room in this universe for one Dash,” She grinned broadly.
Twilight giggled and retorted, “Oh you are absolutely right Rainbow. I mean, can you imagine what would happen if there were two you’s on this planet? The universe itself may very well implode from such large amounts of ego.”
Rainbow scowled at Twilight as she turned her head to giggle into her hand. Rainbow looked away but smiled as she listened to Twilight’s soft laughing.
They eventually made it to Vimy Fields and as Rainbow was checking the time, she heard Twilight squeak beside her.
“Rainbow, look!”
She turned her head to her friend, then followed her figure as she ran into the field.
Rainbow smiled as she took in the site. The field was covered in a layer of fog. She watched Twilight play and run around in the field, kicking up the thick layer of mist that hung lazily above the grass as she left a trail wherever she ran.
“Twi! Come on!” Rainbow walked over to the soccer goal posts. There were a set on each end of the field. Rainbow waited until Twilight was beside her again. Rainbow swiftly jumped and pulled herself up to the top of the goal post. While sliding herself over to the corner of the post where she could sit down comfortably, she heard Twilight struggling. Looking down at her friend from her perch she chuckled silently.
“Rainbow… Help me?” Twilight frowned at Rainbow.
Rainbow knew that frown. It was that same adorable little frown where the corners of her mouth would scrunch down in the most subtle of ways. It was the same kind she gave test papers whenever she was thinking through a problem.
Rainbow blinked. Then gave a tiny frown of her own. “Why do I know what she looks like during a test?” She reached down to grab Twilight’s wrists and yanked her up.
“Thank you.” Twilight had bent the corners of her mouth into a tiny smile and skooched herself beside Rainbow.
The two continued to gaze at the horizon, waiting for that moment when the first sliver of sun would peek out from behind the tree line. Rainbow glanced at Twilight and was shocked to see her looking through her binoculars.
“What are you doing?”
Twilight turned her head, still looking through her binoculars, “BAH!” She quickly set them back down against her chest as Rainbow laughed. “What do you mean ‘What am I doing’?”
Rainbow pointed at the binoculars. “You know… Using binoculars can really limit what you experience. It’s not so much as looking at a specific thing during a sunrise as it is looking at the whole picture. The beauty of a sunrise isn’t just the sun itself, but the way the light bounces off the clouds, painting them a beautiful orange and red. The anticipation and excitement while waiting for the sun to slowly inch itself over the tree line. The way the wind blows the trees and leaves around while gently licking at your face. The view of the birds scattering across the horizon while singing their gentle songs. The smell of dew on the grass and the insects chirping. Even the way the fog settles across the grass.” She motioned at the misty dew. “All of this and more is what makes a sunrise a sunrise…” Rainbow flashed a small gentle smile at Twilight.
Then she paused, shut her mouth with a click and went wide eyed. “When was the last time I said that out loud? Oh right, I’ve never said that out loud…”
Pausing, Twilight cocked her head as she seemed to regard Rainbow. Then she smiled and nodded, carefully dropping the binoculars to the ground by holding onto the leather neck loop. “You know what? You’re right Rainbow, that’s true. Thank you.”
Rainbow felt her chest and lungs tighten. “Err… Sure, no prob Twi.” She chuckled and scratched her arm. “What was that? I don’t think I was running that rough…”
Rainbow felt the temperature in the air slowly rise and she checked her watch, “5:37… Just like always the weather guys were a tiny bit late on the sun. Whatever I guess…”
Rainbow nudged Twilights shoulder, “You ready Twi?” She said, grinning in anticipation.
“Hmm? What do you mean?” Breaking her gaze from the horizon, Twilight looked at Rainbow.
“Look!” Rainbow pointed at the tiny sliver of sun, inching itself over the tiny lining of trees.
Rainbow heard Twilight gasp as the glowing orange orb seemingly phased into existence from below the tree lining.
The scene itself was… Magical, to say the least. Rainbow herself experienced a sensory overload as all of her very being took in the majesty of such a painting. The smell of dew and freshly cut grass from the night before. The beautiful contrasts of colours from the sun and the clouds. Rainbow breathed in a deep breath of crisp morning air and closed her eyes as she imagined a sentient hand and arm resembling the winds pulling at her braided hair, almost as if it were tempting her to follow after it. Opening her eyes, she was assaulted with a gorgeous sea of reds, oranges and pinks, bouncing off of the clouds and washing the blue sky away in a tide of majesty and colour.
Chancing a glance towards Twilight, Rainbow gasped. She noticed how the deep dark crimson sky had washed over her purple hair and smooth white skin, seemingly making it sparkle like a moonlit lake. She also noticed that Twilight had a small twinkle in her eyes as she took in the canvas Mother Nature had painted for them. Looking down at the grass, she grinned.
“Twi,” Rainbow whispered, “look down.”
“Look down?” Twilight's jaw dropped. The blades of grass still had a small amount of moisture around them and the rays of light seemingly bounced off of them, creating patches of colour that looked like miniature rainbows all across the field. The areas that didn’t have rainbows bounced the light back up into the sky creating tiny pillars of light where dew and moisture in the air had been suspended.
Both Rainbow and Twilight sat silently, absorbing and committing the glorious, magical scenery to memory. “Truly, a sight one may only see in their best of dreams….” Rainbow thought to herself.
But for some reason, Rainbow felt… Uneasy. Anxious. This sensation she felt somehow managed to overpower one of the most glorious sunrises she’s seen to date. She was hyper aware of another person there with her. A girl, whom she admits is one of her closer friends already, that she’s been able to talk to like no other person before. Rainbow truly felt that Twilight would be able to understand her and her secrets or rituals. Rainbow was also suddenly hyper aware of how the beautiful girl beside her, whose skin shines like the waters of a still lake, was inching herself closer to her and into the crook of her arm and side. And how Twilight had sighed and laid her head onto her shoulder.
Rainbow sighed and draped her arm around Twilight’s side. She was fine with such a sensation, being able to share her secrets with another person that can respect her quirks and rituals.
“Why do you know about this place?” Twilight sighed.
Rainbow continued to gaze at the rising sun, “Ehh… The Wondercolts sometimes do practices here. I’ve actually known about this for a while, even before the Wondercolts. In the mornings, if I can make it, I like watching the sun when I’m taking a break from my jog.”
“That’s truly wonderful Rainbow. It’s great to have such a wonderful hobby.”
Being in a sense of sensory overload, the two girls had lost track of time. It almost felt as though a whole eternity had passed before the powerful glowing sphere of fire had made itself present and known to the mortal inhabitants of earth.
“Hey Twi? We better get going now, otherwise it’ll get too hot.”
“Hmmm…? Mmmm, Okay…” Twilight nodded reluctantly as Rainbow let go of her and swiftly jumped down to the grassy floor below.
Stretching her legs out, Rainbow looked up to see Twilight struggling to get down. “Grip the post with your arms and hands and let your body drop down. I’ll catch you if you fall, don’t worry.”
Doing as she was told, Twilight let her body droop off of the goal post and dangled above the grass for half a second before her hands slipped. Twilight yelped and fell for what felt like a year until she landed into Rainbows arms.
Rainbow took a step back to compensate for the sudden weight change. "Whew. See? Nothing to it." Rainbow took a breath and was assaulted by a scent of wild berries and cherry blossoms. Rainbow felt her cheeks warm up as she realized that Twilight smelt... Nice.
She quietly took another breath when she felt something patting her hands and arm.
"Rainbow? You can let me go now, thank you."
Rainbow jerked her hands away from Twilight and turned her head away from her. "S-sorry."
"It's okay Rainbow, I don't mind. Well, shall we head home then?"
Rainbow bowed down, arm across her belly and gestured to the gate. "Ladies first."
Twilight simply raised an eyebrow, "You're a girl too Rainbow."
"Well you know. Just thought I'd try being respectful.... or something..."
"C'mon, I'm not Rarity. You don't have to put up a farce to amuse me."
Rainbow tried to mimic Rarity's soft regal voice. "Oh heavens no darling! I wouldn't dream of thinking something like that. Besides, whatever were you thinking climbing up onto that dirty pole?! Look at yourself, now you've gotten dust and grime all over your lovely, clean and pressed attire." Rainbow finished by pointing her nose into the air.
Twilight giggled into her hand and Rainbow stuck her tongue at her.
Yep, I like her laugh, that's for sure.
As the two reached the fence, Rainbow glanced back at the goal post and the surrounding fields. She cocked her head slightly and gave it a small smile. Leaving the fields with Twilight beside her, she set the pace to a brisk walk as she lead the way to Twilight’s house.
A calming silence overtook the two girls as Rainbow listened to the patter of two sets of feet against concrete. As she went over the sunrise she just experienced in her minds eye, she realized that that was truly magnificent because of Twilight. Suddenly, the image of how Twilight looked when the sky had bounced off of her skin pushed itself to the forefront of her mind. Rainbow felt her face heat up and unconsciously touched her cheeks with a hand. “Maybe…”
“Hey… Twi?” Rainbow looked out of the corner of her eye as she saw Twilight look in her direction. “Thank you, Twilight… For, uhh… Well, for this morning I guess. I don’t normally, you know, talk about my mornings and my hobby’s a whole lot when I’m with you guys. I only ever really talk about the soccer team…” She chuckled nervously, “But today was… Well, this morning was truly magical. And I think it was because I was able to share it with a very close friend.” She reached up to touch her hot cheek again as she looked at Twilight. “So thank you, for not laughing at such a weird ritual of mine.”
“Oh Rainbow, you know I would never laugh at you. Especially if it has to do with a hobby of yours that you hold dearly.”
“It’s just well, I mean, I used to mock you for reading all the time right…? I guess I was just a little afraid one of you guys may do the same. That’s why I kept this little morning ritual of mine a secret.”
“But ever since I showed you the wonders of a good book, you don’t mock me anymore, right?”
Rainbow nodded guiltily.
“You know, It’s okay to have a secret every now and then, but sometimes its much more enjoyable to be able to share that secret with another person. I mean, I know I enjoy my time reading with you a lot more than if I were studying by myself, Rainbow.” Twilight turned to Rainbow, “And I really do hope you enjoyed this morning as much as I did learning about this side of you.”
Rainbow turned her head towards Twilight and saw that she was giving her a blush covered smile that also caused her own face to grow hot.
“I… Y-Yeah, I really did Twi.” Rainbow delved back into her train of thought as she turned her head and gave an empty gaze back towards the concrete sidewalk. “Yeah… I really, truly did, didn’t I? Maybe, it’s not so much as it is winning a race, as it is to be able to compete with a person who can admire the competition as much as I do.” She stole a glance behind her sunglasses at Twilight. “Afterall, being able to share my love and passion for a race with someone else who can understand and respect the idea of a competition definitely beats winning it.”
“Maybe… With you, I’m more than willing to slow down and wait…” “If it means I can run beside you.” Rainbow whispered to herself.
“Rainbow? Did you say something?”
Rainbow yelped, ”N-No, just thinking aloud…” She gave her a goofy grin and scratched her arm.
Rainbow looked up to see that they had arrived at the front of Twilight’s house. An empty pit had formed itself inside Rainbow’s stomach.
“Hey Twi? Again, just thanks for the company today. I really enjoyed it. And you know? You’re surprisingly a very good listener. So thank you.”
Twilight smiled gently at Rainbow and took her hands in her own. “You’re very welcome Rainbow Dash. And you know what? I enjoyed myself too. Although running itself may not be a passion of mine, I am, however, honoured to be able to share your secret morning ritual with you.”
Rainbow looked at Twilight through her sunglasses and her breath caught in her throat. Sunlight reflected off of dust and moisture in the air, causing it to sparkle and glimmer around Twilight. Her chest tightened as she tried to stutter out a response, “W-would you like to watch the sunrise tomorrow too?”
“I’d love to Rainbow.” Twilight gave Rainbow a quick hug and retreated to the front door of her home, entering and giving Rainbow a small wave good-bye.
A goofy, giddy smile was plastered on Rainbow’s face as she turned around and jogged the rest of her way home.
As Rainbow reached her front door, her hand hovered over the door knob as it felt like a thousand oceans came crashing down on her. “‘Yeah well, imagine if there was another person who was as large a bookworm as you are. No one would be able to rent out books from any library because you and your doppelganger would have ransacked everything!’” “That’s what I SHOULD have said!” She kicked her door as she entered her house.