A Cold, Bright Morning

Twilight sighed.  She had done it again.  Forgotten to close the curtain.  What a pain.  Even though her head was curled against her flank under her blanket, she could still feel the burn of the early morning sun against her eyelids.  Every single morning she promised herself that when she went to bed that night, she would close the curtains so she wouldn't have to wake up like this every. Single. Morning.  Sometimes, in her early-morning stupor, she almost believed that the Princess did it deliberately.  She would, of course, recognize the absurdity of the idea that Celestia would utilize her vast magical power for something so petty, as soon as she roused herself.  Each morning she chided herself for having such silly thoughts bouncing around in her head.  

She poked her head out from under the covers and immediately regretted it.  All the light pouring through the window failed to warm up the chilly morning air, which poured under the cover.  And the light was all but assaulting her eyes.  That stupid curtain.  She would have to have Spike add it to the checklist.  When he woke up, at least.  He always slept in.  He needed the sleep far more than she did.  She wouldn't wake him up for another- how much longer did he have?  She squinted, trying to keep enough of light out of her eyes that she could see the alarm clock on her end table.  Two minutes.  The clock clicked as she flipped the alarm off.  The sound of the alarm was quite possibly an even more rude awakening than the light.

This was the worst part of the morning; getting "over the hump" as it were.  Twilight took a deep breath as she mustered up her resolve.  With gritted teeth, she flung the blanket aside.  A moment later, she stood next to the bed, shivering slightly at the sudden cold.   Maybe today she could find a spell to light the fire automatically.  Something else for the checklist.  That thing never stopped growing.  One of these days she would have to get around to actually getting a few things checked off.

Her train of thought was rather rudely interrupted by the door of her room, which she failed to realize was directly in the path of her stumbling steps.  A loud thud echoed through the library.  She rubbed her head with a foreleg.  Her eyes had finally adjusted to the brightness.  Or rather, this room was still dark enough that her eyes could actually focus.  She could now see that she had somehow blundered her way onto the landing at the top of the stairs leading down to the main hall of the library.  She could hear Spike snoring softly below her.  He wouldn't be for very long.

A purple, magical aura surrounded the door on the cast iron stove next to the sleeping dragon.  It swung open with a metallic squeal.  Spike twitched at the harsh sound, but in moment was back to snoring.  Twilight rolled her eyes.  That dragon could sleep through anything.  The glow transferred to Spike's bed, rocking it gently back an forth.  Quite naturally, the actual effect of the action was the exact opposite of what was supposed to happen; Spike snuggled deeper into his pillow.  Twilight sighed, and the gentle rocking became a rough shake.  Spike managed to squeak out a "Whoa!" before he tumbled out of the bed onto the cold floor.

"Hey!  What was that for?  I was having such a nice dream!  I was in the Carousel Boutique, and-"  He thought better about going into detail and settled for glowering at Twilight as she came down the stairs.

"Good morning to you too."  She said.  Spike's comment would have merited a laugh, but she was too intent on warmth to pay much attention.  There was a flash of purple inside the stove; as it faded, it left a crackling fire in its wake.  Twilight slammed the door and turned her attention to the cabinet.  "Would you like some oatmeal, Spike?"

"I think I'll pass."  He said, wrinkling his nose as Twilight mixed a bowl of the stuff, "Rarity went out gem hunting yesterday and said I could have all the imperfect stones after she sorted through them."

"Suit yourself."  Twilight answered.  She took a deep breath.  This oatmeal might be the thing that finally set the morning going in the right direction.  It still needed something.  Maybe some brown sugar.  That would really hit the spot.