Java
Rainbow Dash gazed tiredly into her mug. The lukewarm liquid stared back at her, reminding her that it was no longer at its peak drinking status.
Now she had to get up and make some new coffee. She sluggishly pulled her limp body up from the kitchen chair and shuffled over to the coffee maker, wings dropping at her sides and dragging along on her fluffy cloud floor. Her hooves gently sank into her floor and felt the softness of the clouds gently massage her aches away. The bed was on her mind, and what a thought it was. A soft, warm, poofy blanket with the sheets wrapped around her like a mummy. Her head would hit the pillow soon, and her eyes would droop past that state of in-between that everyone feels; the state that's not quite sleep, but not quite being conscious either. Her muscles relaxed as she thought about this, all but forgetting about the almost empty cup sitting in front of her.
Once she reached the coffee maker and pulled out the pot, she saw the spots littering the side of it from past brews made. She sighed, letting her shoulders drop at the unruly sight. She proceeded to take out the pot, and flew briskly over to the sink. Making another pot of coffee this late probably wasn't the greatest idea, seeing as how she already got yelled at that day for being late due to sleeping in. However, as she saw the can of coffee beans sitting temptingly by the refrigerator, she smiled a little and returned to her task. She turned on the sink and rinsed out the pot under some warm water in the sink for a few seconds. She swirled the water around in it to lightly cleanse it, only to put it back in the coffee maker. She got out her favorite scoop, and scooped two precise scoops of Equestrian Morning Brew. Once the filter was tucked snug into the pot's top, she closed the lid, and pressed the button, and thought back to her day.
She had woken up late that morning. The sun was already high in the sky, and the rays penetrated her blinds, making her stir groggily in her sheets. She then proceeded to shoot up from her bed, gasp, and fly like mad out the door. Or, rather, through it.
So strike one was already against her.
She didn't even have time to eat. When she finally arrived at her job on an empty stomach and sweat matting down her mane from her hasty flight, her supervisor found it proper to remind her how valuable his time was, and how lowly she had regarded him for her tardiness. After that, her day was like any other: contending with faulty clouds, barking out orders to the team she led, and avoiding her boss at all costs. Rainbow just did what she was told, and told others what to do. She didn't go beyond that as far as speaking was concerned. Every time her boss got near her, her chest grew tight - as if someone were winding up her diaphragm and crushing it. Once it was time for her to punch her time card, she flew home.
She flew through the hole where her door used to be, mail in hoof, and sat at the kitchen table. She had received a letter from Scootaloo, expressing how sorry she was for not seeing her beloved surrogate sister as of late. It seems that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were busier than ever, between harvesting honey and other miscellaneous tasks throughout the town the little troublemakers seemed to delve into. However, the letter, no matter what it said, was signed with an affectionate, "Love, Scootaloo." She sighed, and tossed the paper to the other end of where she sat.
Here we see Rainbow at her prime. Two daisy sandwiches, a few fizzy beers, (paired with some reality television), and a pot of coffee later, rested the end result of a hard day. She looked at the mini clock on her stove,
11:49 PM
The coffee was almost done, according to the clock. Sure enough, as that thought passed through her mind, she heard the coffee maker stop its brewing, and let off whatever steam it had left in it. She flew over with a smile on her face, and hastily poured the dark liquid into the stained, "#1 Sister" cup. She took a sip as soon as she had finished pouring it in, feeling her tongue get fuzzy with the heat. She grimaced at the bitter taste, forgetting to put milk in it. She flew sluggishly to the refrigerator and got out some milk, and poured it into the cup. She took another sip. The flavor being more tolerable, it slid down her esophagus. She smiled ear to ear as she licked her lips, and flew lazily through her house, catching a glass door in her sights.
Looking to compliment the warmth growing inside her, she strolled over to her balcony she had recently built on as an attachment to her living room. The cool air kissed her cheek as she settled down next to the windowsill, gazing up at the starry night. She saw the various constellations that Twilight had tried to teach her: Orion, Taurus, and she thought she saw the Big Dipper. Then, as she stopped and held her breath, she could have sworn she saw the cosmos moving all around her. Luna had done an especially spectacular job that evening of aligning the stars to the point of creating a stellar quilt; the sky the tapestry, and the stars the diamonds intertwined with untamed natural beauty. Her magenta eyes shimmered as she looked upwards into the sky as she felt a small lump form in the back of her throat.
She sighed as she took a sip of her slightly cooler coffee. She grimaced briefly at the bitter taste and continued to look on. The events of the day that had passed flashed through her mind. Thoughts of how her boss had yelled at her, of how she rushed out the door just to be met with trouble, and how she had been jolted awake that morning seared in her brain. Her pride scorned at such thoughts. But then, another thought visited her; a thought of her dream of being in the Wonderbolts, and how it seemed to grow farther and farther out of reach as time went on. She felt her heart sink at the thought of being stuck in the reserves. Years of empty promises of flying with the group littered her thought pattern, causing her blood to start boiling. all of the congratulations and fans she had accumulated over the years would be in vain. However, this offered her no solace as she looked at her wings; her wings that carried her form through the endless waves of sky day after day. She hung her head, and stared blankly into her cup.
She took another sip, and looked slowly back up to the sky.
Other events throughout the day had come back to haunt her. The letter Scootaloo had written her was etched in her mind's eye, and she was re-reading every word from her memory's library. She thought about how Scootaloo had always seemed to look up to her no matter what the circumstance was, and how Rainbow did her best to keep her calendar cleared out for special, "Sister time", as Scootaloo had deemed it. Rainbow had stopped questioning the reasons why Scootaloo would pick her of all ponies to aspire to. Rainbow often had trouble logically fabricating a reason for Scootaloo's persistent clingy nature. All Rainbow did was manage the local weather team, and sleep. Eating was tough to fit into her busy schedule, but somehow she always managed to find the time. Equestria has not been under any immediate danger lately, everyone seems to simply be carrying on with life; so there was really no reason to go out and 'save the world'. Still, she tried so hard to keep up her charade of awesomeness around the little filly - she couldn't bare the thought of letting down her number one fan.
She took another sip.
Rainbow's life aspirations had even found their way into her friend's conversations. Questions like, "When are you gonna settle down for good?", or, "What about meeting a nice stallion?" That question always seemed to sting a little deeper every time it was asked. It was as if someone kept re-opening a would she wished would heal over. She'd developed an eye for Soarin, noting how sleek he seemed to look in the skies above her, and how she dreamed of having her own intimate moments with the stallion in question. However, once he made it clear that they were on a "Professional" basis only, she backed off. Ever since then, whenever dating would come up in conversation, she would merely sit quietly, waiting for a subject change so she could bounce back in. She looked down again, staring at the last of her coffee. She figured she had one more big gulp left.
She took another sip, and looked back to the sky. An empty mug now in her hooves, and stars winking at her from above.
As she gazed into the sky and washed down the last bit of bitter taste of stale coffee with her saliva, she hung her head. The thoughts that raided her soul were not there for merely a moment; they seemed to request a more permanent stay. This would be her life, wouldn't it? An empty home with broken dreams, and an eternity of hope fleeting from her grasp.
She sniffled.
But, as she fought the urge to go back indoors, she looked up once more. A shooting star had streaked across the sky, leaving behind it a contrail of white, more brilliant than any white she had ever seen. She looked around her house towards the heavens as she drew in a deep breath. A meteor shower had followed in the comet's wake, igniting the sky with streaks of glimmering and fading light. She looked back down at her mug, and back at the illuminated sky. She thought about flying up there, aching to know how it feels to touch where the heavens hung. Her mind made up, she flared her wings and burst into the night sky.
She felt the air hit her face and tears stream from the corners of her eyes as she shot through the air. Faster, and faster still she flew, desperate to catch one of those heavenly orbs flying so brightly in the night. As she went higher, she felt the air get thinner. Her lungs weren't getting the oxygen she so desperately needed; she had no choice but to reluctantly back off. As her velocity slowed to a halt, she paused. Looking up, the lights seemed to just pass overhead as she saw the flaming rocks whistle on by. What really gave her a thrill though, was when she looked down. She was in the upper portion of the Stratosphere, looking down as though guarding the world. She saw her house, and how it was a little white speck in the distance. She could barely make out AJ's farm, and even Ponyville for that matter. As she went through all of this, she then thought about all of the hardships she had gone through. Her job, the Wonderbolts dream, and all of her relationships. She didn't know whether or not it was the lack of oxygen or something else, but she felt lighter on the inside, and gently descended back down to the world beneath her.
She reached her balcony where she had begun her journey that evening. She saw her cup, how it was sitting where she had left it. She grabbed it and headed back into her kitchen to put it in the sink, along with whatever else she had to clean up. She looked back to the stove in her kitchen, squinting slightly to see the clock that was far away on her stove,
12:30 AM
All of the sudden, her body and mind alike grew tired. She went to her room and opened up her window next to her bed before plopping down into the soft clouds waiting for her. She looked out towards the sky once more, smiling up at it as she felt her lids grow heavy as sleep carried her away in its embrace for the night.
Author's Note
It's very late, so I'm sorry for any errors. Anyways, I was thinking a lot about life tonight, so I hope you all enjoy this little one-shot.
