Rainbow Dash fell down on her side with a thud, successfully breaking the ponies out of their frozen state. "Rainbow!!" Windy said rushing forward. "What's wrong?! What's happening?!"
The father quickly rushed into the kitchen and grabbed some water while Spitfire ordered the Wonderbolts outside to fetch a medic.
"The....the spell," the pegasus said weakly. "Has....natural disadvantages." Buff grabbed a water bottle that he had, for some reason, stashed underneath his armor and popped the lid, pouring it into her mouth. While they were waiting, everyone was looking over the supposedly deceased daughter. She did not look good at all. She was frail and skinny, her mane was messy, her eyes were red and wet, and there were bags under them.
"What happened to you?" Scootaloo whispered, coming closer.
"Natural....repercussions....of....spell used," she said breathlessly. "Two ponies.....one body....one pony.....uses energy.......other.....doesn't." Before they could question what she meant, two ponies in uniform rushed into the house to take her to a nearby hospital.
Rainbow was hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor while resting at the large central hospital in Cloudsdale, regaining her strength after being extremely malnourished, according to the doctor. Her parents, Spitfire, Buff, and Scootaloo were all in the room, watching her as she slept.
"Where....where has she been all this time?" Her father whispered in confusion.
"She was painting," Scootaloo answered. "Rainbow Dash is Pencil Sketch."
"So she somehow merged with a pony?" Spitfire assumed.
"Not quite." They looked towards the big bodyguard still clad in his armor and keeping his eye on her. "Pencil Sketch was created by Rainbow Dash. I'm not sure on how, but she did. Whenever Rainbow couldn't do something, they'd switch out and Pencil would take over."
"So Rainbow Dash used magic," Bow assumed without taking his eyes off his daughter. "How can a Pegasus use magic?"
"I don't know, but she did."
"I don't care what she did as long as my filly's alive," the mother cried, nuzzling her sleeping daughter. The color maned pegasus shifted at the contact without waking.
"I knew she was alive," Scootaloo called, attracting their attention. "I went to her mansion in Manehattan and—"
"Oh my gosh, that reminds me...." Windy turned back to her daughter. "Rainbow's a millionaire and the most famous, and influential, pony in Equestria."
"Yeah, and her mansion when you walk in is really awesome," the filly told them.
"But why did she leave?" Spitfire asked, walking closer.
"The elements." They looked back towards Scootaloo, who was clearly angry. "The Elements of Harmony. They drove her away. She was already really really REALLY affected from the bullying in Flight Camp. Like REALLY bad. And they finished her off when they lashed out at her. So she left and started a new life. She was telling us on the way here."
"But now that the sadness and shock has passed," Buff explained. "Rainbow Dash is angry. So angry in fact that Nightmare Moon doesn't even describe what will happen if she sees those ponies again."
Scootaloo looked at him confused. "What?" She asked in confusion.
"When the Elements came to the mansion, they tried to convince her to come home. Pencil Sketch is Rainbow Dash's peaceful dark side. So she was peaceful. But whenever they said Rainbow Dash, I noticed she would lash out. The one named Applejack had actually been blasted with dark magic by her after she threatened to bring her back here."
"You're forgetting something," a weak voice said from the bed catching their attention. Rainbow was looking at them emotionless. Her muzzle containing a stoic expression. "Twilight had actually attacked me a few days ago. She came to my mansion and struck out because of my beliefs. She attacked me and I threw her around like a rag doll. She's no doubt limping for a few days. But I want her completely unmoving."
"Rainbow, how are you feeling?" Bow asked, pushing that little comment aside and quickly going over to her.
The pegasus sighed and sat up, looking around the room. "I'd feel much better if you three got rid of the waterworks. And you got rid of that beard, dad."
"Yeah, it doesn't look good at all," Scootaloo commented. The adults chuckled before Rainbow grabbed her number one admirer in her magic and set her down next to her on the bed. She got comfortable while Rainbow laid a wing over her.
"I'm so sorry I forgot about you, Squirt," she apologized, stroking her mane. "I really am. I just needed a change in views. Not to mention live my dream. The real one."
"But you'll come home now, right?" She asked, making Rainbow sigh. "I mean—"
"Squirt, if those ponies down there are still there, I will not be coming back." Scootaloo looked at her disappointed. "They taught me that friendship doesn't exist. That this is a 'Me, Myself, and I' world. And that everypony uses you. They barely apologized. And when they did, it was from Fluttershy. They used the shy Pegasus to try and make themselves look really sad. A bunch of Snakes in that grass." She pointed a hoof at the town in the distance in the window. "Therefore I'm not walking in it. But if it makes you feel better, you can come to my mansion—"
"I want you home, Rainbow!" The filly cried. She stood up and looked at her in desperation. "You don't belong in Manehattan, you belong in Ponyville!"
"Ponyville has made me look like a foal on more than one occasion," Rainbow explained calmly. "And I barely know anypony down there." She took her hair and draped it in front of her right eye, resuming the Pencil Sketch look. "Except you and....those deceivers. I will more than likely erase them from my memory in the future. But for now, I have work to do. Buff?" The stallion trotted towards her. She created a golden key from black smoke in front of her which she levitated to him. He grabbed it and put it in his suit. "Go in my office and grab my paperwork, please. Bring it here."
He nodded and left to fulfill the task. Rainbow was looking a lot better by this point. Instead of the frail pony that was dying, she was nearly back up to size. Her face just needed some fluffing. Besides the obvious color change, Windy could actually see Pencil Sketch while looking at her daughter. They sat the same, talked the same, looked at things the same, which was nonchalantly, and probably react the same. How did she not notice this before?
A doctor suddenly walked into the room, drawing her attention away from her daughter. He was holding a clipboard in front of his face while he made his way to the bed.
"Okay, Ms. Dash," he said. "Your vitals are stabilized and everything checks out. But we want to keep you overnight." He lowered the clipboard and offered a smile. "Any questions?"
"Yes, I need to setup an easel for my next painting. Can we move this couch?" She pointed to the furniture by her bed.
"Yes. Trying to impress Pencil Sketch?" He joked. He used his magic to move the couch before a bunch of black smoke filled the room, surprising its occupants. When it cleared, there was a full Art Studio setup where the couch was before. Complete with paint, brushes, a desk, and pencils. On top of the desk sat a very familiar diamond flooded necklace that she hooked around her neck.
The doctor was just staring at everything in shock before he turned to her in confusion. "I do not need to impress myself, doctor," she explained. "I have impressed billions already."
Buff returned half an hour later with her saddlebags, which contained mail, letters, and papers. Not to mention some books and office supplies. She was in the middle of a sketch, more than likely giving her parents, Scootaloo, and Spitfire a show. Drawing carefully and slowly, giving slow strokes. He carefully walked to the dresser by her bed and emptied out the contents. The visitors were quiet, watching with rapt attention, just like he was about to do. It was dark by this time, which meant the only source of light was the lamp on the desk, positioned over Rainbow Dash's drawing. It looked like an overhead image of Equestria. How she knew what it looked like was obvious. She flew up to those heights.
The next few hours consisted of more artwork which was....strange. instead of moving onto painting, she continued drawing. Drawing OVER Equestria. Windy glanced at her husband, who had the same confused look on his face. But after the drawing they finally figured it out. It was a face. More specifically, hers. She set down the pencil and checked it over for any blemishes before picking up a paintbrush. Looks like she was going to begin the process she was widely known for. Painting.
The birds outside the windowsill woke up the occupant of the large cloud home. It was a two story that was located close to the weather factory, obviously for them to get to work. She groaned and flapped her wings. Man, she hated the sun. Yeah it provided light and it was part of her name. But it was the most rude of awakenings. Her bed was positioned directly in front of the window. Which was facing the sun. So when it rose, the light would land directly on her eyes. That's why the yellow pegasus just threw a pillow at the window, hoping to block it. Sadly, it fell off.
She groaned and groggily opened her eyes. She had to get up. The clouds needed to be moved and as the new weather manager, Sunshower had to do it. So she kicked off the covers, muttered something about sunny annoyances, and went to get ready. After an hour of "Prepping to be Pretty", which included brushing her blue mane and tail, the blue eyed Pegasus stalked out the door and flew up to the area above Ponyville, where the rest of the team were waiting for her. Dressed and ready to move in the clouds behind them. It was fall, and while the ponies were doing the preparations for winter on the ground, they were pushing in clouds for the rain that's scheduled afterwards.
Her partner, Clear Skies, was looking at a document, more than likely the makeup of what the air was supposed to look like afterwards while the workers were talking and waiting for orders. "Morning, Clear!" Sunshower greeted. She stopped next to her and gave her a hug before taking a look at the map. "What are we dealing with?"
"Obviously we need clouds over Whitetail for todays Running of the Leaves," the assistant informed, pointing in the area over where all the townsponies were situated. "Then over Applejack's apple farm. And that's pretty much it. We have a light day today. Probably more intense tomorrow."
"Good. Okay, everypony!" The weather team gave Sunshower Raindrops their attention. "We need clouds over—" A sudden rush of wind over their heads cut her off, along with a high pitched scream and a very loud roar. The group of workers covered their eyes and flapped their wings to stay in position.
"Hey! Watch where you're flyin!" Clear Skies yelled, not registering the Rainbow trail behind them. She turned around, about to say something before she turned back. "OH MY CELESTIA!"
"What? Did the clouds break up?" Sunshower asked. The team were wondering the same, which was apparent on their faces.
"No! Whoever that was left a Rainbow Trail!" Sunshower looked over and gasped. There was a Rainbow trail in the distance, along with a lot of yelling. The tip of it arched up slowly. Yeah that was a Rainbow colored trail.
"WHAT?!" Sunshower yelled. The others were just as confused. "Is that....."
"You ready for the finale, Scoots?!" Rainbow asked. The filly was being held to her front by Rainbow's hooves as they completed the arch, heading back to Cloudsdale.
"Yeah! Yeah, do it!" Rainbow grinned her first genuine smile and activated the spell. Puffs of smoke on both sides caught Scootaloo's attention. There were five Rainbow Dashes on both sides that sped up faster, going ahead of them and forming an artistic spiraled tube with their trails. The two of them flew through it, of course with Scootaloo screaming in enjoyment, along with flailing her arms out, as if she herself was flying. Rainbow could feel Pencil Sketch inside of her smiling, obviously in joy. She was doing the same. Hopefully someday she'll actually be able to fly. Hopefully. And she'll be there for the squirt. If she could, or if she couldn't.
"Alright, Scoots!" She called, getting her attention. "We have to come back in for a landing. I have some more work to do, and you have to go with your friends."
"Awwww," she whined. The clones came back into the original, just because it looked good. In reality, she could've just made them blow up. But this looked better. "But I don't wanna!"
"What about for your friends?" The filly shrugged nonchalantly, making Rainbow click her tongue. "You're a mess. Alright we're coming in." Rainbow tilted towards the ground, totally missing the weather team watching the Rainbow trail disappear, along with the cyan dot at the front.
"Come on, we're checking this out!" Sunshower yelled. She and the rest of the team quickly followed after them, checking to see who that was. And if it actually was who they thought it was. Rainbow quickly shifted back into Pencil Sketch once they landed on the ground, right in the middle of her destroyed Cloudominium. The filly squirmed out of her grip and turned around to give her a hug. "I'll miss you, Rainbow."
"Squirt, Rainbow isn't gone. She's just hiding." Pencil let her go and looked in the distance at a bunch of ponies who were looking in the air. Probably spotted her trail and were trying to find out where it came from. Her hearing picked up some more noise behind her, causing her ears to twitch. "But I promise to return someday. At least to you. You're important to me. Pretty much my daughter. Okay?"
Scootaloo nodded before Pencil levitated the five hundred thousand bit necklace off her neck and place it over Scootaloo's. Somehow, it shrunk in size and fit her small form perfectly. "I'll be coming back for that."
"And I'll be waiting," she replied. Pencil ruffled her mane once more before she disappeared in a swirl of smoke, reappearing back at her parents' house, who were finally cleaning up. Scootaloo looked around and quickly ran away, hiding herself in the destruction. Rainbow Dash probably doesn't want to be discovered by everyone too early. Maybe by like a few ponies, but not those from Ponyville. She hid underneath a broken bookcase, and waited. Staying as quietly as she could as the fluttering of wings got louder.
Sunshower landed on the ground they were just at with the others, looking around anxiously. "That was her!" She said, looking at the hoofsteps Pencil left behind. "There is no other pony that has a Rainbow trail like that!"
"Are you sure?" One of the weather ponies asked.
"Absolutely," Clear Skies answered determinedly. "I know Rainbow and there is absolutely no other pony that can do that. But I'm confused about what all that design was. Those tricks. I've never seen anything like that before, not even by her. That's why I'm a little skeptical about that being Rainbow Dash."
"Then what other explanation could it be? I just..."Scootaloo was distracted from their conversation whee the board above her head broke from her movement and banged against her forehead. Her eyes popped open in pain before she jumped grimaced loudly.
"Ow!" She yelped, attracting attention. She rubbed her hoof against her forehead before the entire piece of furniture was lifted up by one of the pegasi.
"Scootaloo? What are you doing underneath a bookcase?" Clear Skies pondered.
"Uhh....I was....bye!" She turned around and quickly left. The necklace she was wearing flashed in their eyes, catching their attention.
"Hey! Wait, what's that?" Sunshower asked. Scootaloo didn't responded, too busy running away. "Scootaloo, stop! We just want to check out your necklace." Clear Skies quickly ran after and jumped in front of her. Scootaloo quickly slid to a stop and bumped into her hooves. Clear held out her hoof and grabbed her hooves, holding her still and taking a good long look at her necklace. It was a diamond flooded necklace...shaped exactly like Rainbow Dash's cutie mark. It was gleaming with the sun's rays, bouncing off the diamonds. "Where did you get this?! This is way too expensive for you! Your parents could not have bought this!"
"I'm not talkin' and you can't make me!" Scootaloo quickly rushed around her, making her way towards the town. More specifically Applejack's farm to hide. Clear Skies just let her run away while Sunshower came up behind her.
"What was that?" She asked, stopping beside her.
"It was...a necklace. That was shaped exactly like Rainbow Dash's cutie mark. I'll go see Twilight, she might know something. You go ahead and get this weather in motion." She handed her the map before taking off towards Town Hall, where Twilight would indubitably be at. She was organizing the Fall stuff. The Running of the Leaves, the Cloud covering, and the hibernation of the animals, which were directed by Fluttershy. Maybe she would have an idea on what was going on. Because that rainbow colored trail looked too much like Rainbow Dash's.
She flew over the buildings and spotted Twilight on the steps of Town Hall, busy looking over a checklist and checking with the rest of the ponies who were managing other things that Clear couldn't remember. "Twilight!" She called, catching her attention. She gave orders to the rest of the ponies before they shuffled off and she turned to the Pegasus with a gleaming smile.
"Good morning, Clear Skies!" She greeted. The Pegasus landed and walked up to her. "I hope everything is underway."
"Well it was about to be before we got interrupted."
"What? By how much time?!" She lifted up her pen and another notepad, preparing to do the calculations.
"Five minutes. But I'm not reporting to you because we were interrupted. I'm here to tell you by what." Twilight waved her hoof, motioning her to continue while she did the math. "It was by a massive air current...and a Pegasus with a Rainbow Trail." The lead on Twilight's pencil broke before she glanced up at Clear Skies. "They did a few tricks before landing here somewhere. We think...it might've been Rainbow Dash."
"What are you—"
"Scootaloo was nearby the landing scene wearing what looked like a diamond flooded Rainbow colored necklace. It had to cost thousands of bits. I asked her where'd she got it from because I thought she stole it. So I questioned her and she ran away. So I thought I'd tell you and let you know. We think Rainbow's still alive."
'And she is', Twilight thought, glancing at the memorial set up in front of the building. "Alright. I'll find Scootaloo and bring her to the library, we'll question her about it on our off time. In the meanwhile...why don't you ask...Windy if they noticed anything else strange going on? Maybe they could've seen it too."
Rainbow trotted into her home, sweating a little. A teleportation like that had drained her by a large amount. But she could still walk, so that's good enough. She closed the door behind her and looked around. The house was looking good. It was once again looking like her childhood home. Windy was currently at the sink washing dishes while her father was more than likely cleaning upstairs. And hopefully shaving. That beard could scare a bear.
"Hey, mom," she greeted, going over and giving her a hug with a wing.
"Hey, dear," she replied, nuzzling her daughter and giving her a peck on the cheek. "How was your flight?"
"Eventful. I might've given away that I'm still alive to the ponies below. Hopefully, nopony will come up and set me off. I'm still deeply upset with the Elements. And if I see them..." Windy sighed, feeling her daughter's dark magic spilling over into the kitchen. She placed the dishes back in the sink before turning to her daughter solemnly.
"Dashie, I don't want you feeling this way," she told her. "It's not good. And it's dangerous. You need to find a different outlet besides trying to tear those ponies apart."
"They'd deserve it," she spat out. "Seeing Twilight powerless, and begging for me not to hurt her? That is what I am looking for. But even then I won't make it that easy for them. The Princesses won't stop me and no one else. As long as they stay away, we'll have no issue."
"Sweetheart—"
"Where's dad? PLEASE tell me he shaved!" She said, quickly changing the subject. Windy sighed. She probably didn't want to talk about it anymore.
"He's upstairs and probably doing just that. Let's go see the aftermath." They started to trot towards the stairs before a series of knocks caught their attention. "Now who could that be?" Windy walked towards the door quizzically while Rainbow darted up the stairs. Windy opened the door and recognized the pony instantly with a start. "Good morning, Clear Skies! How are you?"
"I'm fine, Windy! Can I come in?" Windy opened the door a little wider, allowing the smiling purple pony inside. Once she was in, Windy peeked out the door and looked around before darting back in, closing it behind her. "I see you're cleaning up," she commented. "I seriously thought all hope was lost."
"Yeah, we uhh....decided to get tidy. I did my hair and Bow is shaving. Can I ask why you're here?" Windy made her way into the living room, intent on covering up Pencil's revealing painting. It was sitting right in plain view, still in the protective glass casing, but still out in the open. You could see it without even realizing.
"Well, this morning we saw a Rainbow trail," she explained, not questioning why she was walking behind her. "It was a moving object that was doing a lot of tricks that...well, your missing daughter would do. So, I just wanted to ask if you saw anything."
"Well, we just woke up," Windy lied. She and her husband had actually been up since five cleaning. And Rainbow was up since four, still painting. She had actually finished at six. When she finished, she put the painting inside the case and set it underneath the sun lamp to dry. Which it did in two hours. "We've been cleaning up."
"So I see."
"You really need to get everything off," a bland feminine voice said from up the stairs.
"But I need the mustache." Obviously Bow.
"Yeah.....you need to get rid of it." Bow grumbled while Clear glanced back at Windy, who was trying to avoid her gaze.
"Are you hungry, dear?" She asked, trying to distract her. "We haven't actually gotten anything to eat yet, so we can make you something too if you'd like."
Rainbow looked at the bottom of the stairwell while her father walked back down the stairs to say hello to Clear. "Sure, I'd appreciate it," she responded said. "The weather team had to get up a little early to prepare everything for today. You know, the beginning of fall and whatnot."
"Yes, I heard about that. Would you like some eggs?" Windy asked while preparing the stove
"Yes, please." While she was breaking open the eggs, Bow came down and gave her a greeting.
"Good morning," he said, giving Clear a much appreciated hug.
"Good morning, Mr. Hothoof," she replied, reciprocating the act happily. "I see you shaved. You got a clean face underneath all that strange hair. To be honest, you did NOT look good."
"I told you," a mare said upstairs. Why did they sound so familiar? "It is better for a stallion to shave than for them to look like a bear trying to impress a pony."
"Can you blame me?" He laughed. "I've been...crying. You know..." Chuckling came from up the stairs, which made Windy laugh too. A set of footsteps came down the stairs.
"Yes, but now you know. You have closure." The gray, long haired pony walked down the steps, completely taking Clear Skies off guard.
"P-P-Pencil Sketch?!" She asked. What was she doing here?! The painter smiled casually, making sure her hair was in front of her right eye before she greeted her.
"Hello, pony. What is your name?" Clear Skies quickly got up and shook her hoof.
"Clear Skies!"
"Nice to meet you, Clear Skies. I bet you're wondering why I'm here." She nodded her head Pencil walked around her, heading into the kitchen.
"A little bit, yeah. If you don't mind me asking." Pencil Sketch walked over to the stove and looked at the eggs sizzling while she glanced over at her mother, asking an unheard question.
Windy knew exactly what she wanted to ask. To tell, or not to tell? She must've been tired of hiding. "Well....I think you should. She's a friend of Sunshower. Who is a friend of yours. She must be trustworthy." Clear cocked her head to the side, a little confused. Sunshower?
"Wait, Sunshower knows you? Like personally?" She asked. "I thought you were like the hidden pony that holds like the most deepest of secrets."
"And I am," Pencil responded, turning around with her trademarked nonchalant look. "But I hold an even deeper secret than most ponies. And only a select few know it. Like Windy and Bow here. I am considering to show you the secret, but...can I trust you?"
"Of course! I promise not to speak a word!"
"No matter how critical it is?" She asked, approaching her carefully.
"Absolutely! You have my word, Ms. Sketch! It would be an honor to keep your secret!" Pencil chuckled at her friend's eager face, practically shaking in anticipation. She raised a hoof towards the living room and summoned her dark magic to remove the blanket that was covering the painting from last night.
"There is my secret. Try not to catch flies." She went back to the kitchen while Clear stared at her confused. It was in the living room? She turned towards the area to see a glass box holding what looked like a painting. Oh my god, it must not have been released yet! She quickly got up and trotted into the room, intent to look at it. Upon reaching it, she stared at it for awhile. Okay, it looked like it was a painting of an overhead shot of Equestria, with one head in the middle created by two faces. Half on the left, half on the right. One of them was obviously Pencil Sketch. Mainly dictated by the gray coat and eye, while the left was a painting of a pony with a Rainbow mane, cerise eyes, and a.....cyan...coat.....oh my Celestia.
Her mouth slowly lowered open, her eyes widening in realization. What....in...Equestria. She slowly turned around towards the painter who was staring back at her with her signature smirk. "You....you're....." She stuttered. The blue light shined brightly at Pencil's head before it descended down her body, revealing the Rainbow colored mane, cerise eyes, and cyan coat.
"Yes, I am," Rainbow replied. She turned around walked back in the kitchen, levitating the plates of scrambled eggs over to her spot and Clear's. "Now are you going to stand there, or are you going to come and have some eggs? Mom put cheese on these things!"