There was only one way to describe the morning today; cold. Barely anypony would be awake right now, given how early it was, and all over Ponyville there could be seen this thick blanket of mist, with the sun only just starting to creep over the horizon. And yet, in spite of this, there was somepony actually up and about right now and, strangely enough, it was the one mare nopony would ever expect to see at this hour; Rainbow Dash. Though famed for her speed and energy, she was notorious for sleeping in, and to see her at such a time was practically unheard of. However, if one were to look closer, they would see, as she began her descent from the skies above Ponyville, that she was clad in her Wonderbolt uniform right now. As she drew nearer to the ground, her face was very clearly one of annoyance and discomfort, and she grumbled under her breath.

"Ugh! Stupid all-night Wonderbolt training sessions! Stupid awesome team! Stupid me for wanting to be an awesome member! Stupid...stupid!"

Clearly, her mind wasn't into it if that was the level of complaint she could think of right now. But, at the very least, she could see her home now, and so a small smile began to creep onto her face. However, just as she was getting closer to her destination, she noticed some movement upon the ground in the corner of her eye, prompting her to turn her gaze downwards. She squinted, trying to see through the mist that still covered everything, and before long, she saw him. Even though she'd never seen one before, she knew, from Twilight's descriptions at least, what a human looked like. And there was one right now, and he appeared to be jogging along the outskirts of the town. Gaining a sense of curiosity, Rainbow briefly glanced back to her home, before sighing and instead flying towards Ponyville's latest resident.

For a time, she didn't say anything, just hovering silently a good distance behind him. From the looks of things, it just appeared to be a bit of general exercise on his part, with him maintaining a constant pace as he made his way all around the edge of the town. Nopony else was around right now, so there was no risk of him bumping into anypony, and yet, Rainbow couldn't help but start to get just a little bit tired of following him like this. So, in a somewhat tactless move that could only have come from Rainbow Dash, she flapped her wings hard, darting forward so that she was now right alongside this newcomer.

"Er...good morning?"

Immediately, her arrival onto the seen had the expected effect, as the human halted dead in his tracks, looking utterly shocked at this unanticipated mare who now hovered beside him. That, coupled with the fact that he'd been jogging for some time now, resulted in him having to stop and take a few deep breaths. Rainbow, probably understanding immediately that she might not have been as delicate as she should have been, took on a somewhat embarrassed look, chuckling nervously.

"Hehe...um...sorry?"

Having finally caught his breath, Jay looked to the floating mare, then, perhaps from his experience with his last pony interaction, stood upright, cleared his throat, and began to speak calmly.

"...Hi."

Seeing a chance, Rainbow stretched out a hoof to him.

"Nice to meet you! Name's..."

"Rainbow Dash?" he answered pre-emptively, taking her hoof and giving it a quick shake.

Naturally, Rainbow was a little taken aback by that.

"Wha...how did you...?"

But the human simply pointed to her mane, after which, Rainbow looked to him in that same nervous way as before.

"Oh...right...that."

Looking pleased that he'd gotten some ground in this, Jay spoke up again.

"Heard about you around town. Name’s Jay. A pleasure."

Nodding, Rainbow returned to her earlier smile before replying.

"So...what are you doing out here? It's pretty early."

Jay folded his arms as he answered.

"Yeah...I always wake up pretty early. Starting the day with some exercise is fairly common with me."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"When'd you wake up?"

Jay opened his mouth, then closed it again as he considered that.

"Er...what time is it now?"

Looking around, Rainbow squinted through the mist to look for the town's local clock tower. After finally spotting it, she answered his question.

"Six-thirty."

"In that case, I've been at this for an hour," Jay answered.

Rainbow's head snapped in his direction.

"Seriously?!"

Jay rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, I know, it's weird getting up that early, but...I can't help it. If I wake up at that time, I'm not gonna get back to sleep. So, might as well get out for a bit."

He then frowned.

"Besides...you’re up pretty early too."

To that, Rainbow took on a look of slight pride.

"Well, not to brag, but I'm kind of a big deal. You're talking to a bonna fide Wonderbolt after all."

Jay blinked slowly and, in a move that nopony would have recommended he did right now, he spoke his mind.

"Er...what's a Wonderbolt?"

Much like she'd done the last time somebody had asked her that, Rainbow gasped, looking completely flabbergasted.

"You...you don't know what a Wonderbolt is?!"

Jay shook his head, prompting Rainbow to continue.

"They're only the most awesome fliers in all of Equestria! Every pegasus colt and filly for hundreds of years have dreamed of being part of them!"

Taking that in, Jay looked towards the centre of town.

"Wait...are they the guys who have all those posters out around the shops, asking for recruits?"

Rainbow smiled at that.

"Yep! They’re the ones! They're pretty cool!"

Nodding, Jay looked back to her.

"Well...maybe I'll check them out one day, see what they're like."

Chuckling, Rainbow gave him a playful punch in the arm.

"Trust me, you'll love them!"

But Jay just frowned a little, now holding onto the spot of his arm where Rainbow had hit him.

"Um...ow?"

Rainbow cleared her throat in uncertainty.

"Er...sorry."

Sighing, Jay returned to his smile.

"It's fine. I'm used to ponies being enthusiastic around me. Like that Pinkie girl from the other day."

Rainbow now looked to him with interest.

"Oh? You met Pinkie already?"

Jay nodded.

"Yeah. I got a...rather unexpected housewarming from her. You're friends?"

Rainbow chuckled.

"Yeah, we're pretty close. Known each other for years now. Helped save the world with her and my other friends a few times now, not that I want to sound like I'm boasting or anything."

Jay seemed surprised by that.

"...Saved the world?"

Placing her hooves upon her hips, Rainbow's chest swelled up a little, and she tried to look as "heroic" as possible with her current level of tiredness.

"Yep! Maybe I'll tell you about it someday!"

The human sighed.

“Well...thanks for saving the world...I guess?”

Realising that probably wasn’t the smoothest line delivery of his life, Jay looked around somewhat awkwardly. Then, after a few moments of silence, he looked back to the path he'd been jogging on, then back towards the mare he'd been speaking to. He considered his options, then, trying to sound as friendly as possible, spoke up again.

"So...would you like to join me for the rest of my jog?"

Rainbow thought about that, but, before she even had the chance to speak, her body functions betrayed her, and she let out a massive yawn.

“Ah! I'd love to! But, I'm pretty pooped right now. I was actually heading home when I caught sight of you."

Jay nodded, understanding.

"Say no more. Get yourself home then. Rest up. You look like you need it."

Chortling a little, Rainbow nodding, turning around slightly.

"Yeah...no argument here."

But, she then paused for a moment, looking over her shoulder and giving a little salute.

"Enjoy the morning, Jay. I probably won't see it. Deep sleeper and all that."

Jay nodded back, and stood back as Rainbow let loose an almighty flap of her wings. He watched her fly off fast, straight towards her home, which he only now noticed hovering in the sky nearby. For a time, he stood there, hands on hips, taking in deep breaths of the cold air around him. Then, as he finally began his jog again, albeit at a slightly slower pace, he couldn't help but give a small laugh.

"Deep sleeper? Yeah...wouldn't that be nice every once in a while?"

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