//------------------------------// // Refraction // Story: Thirty Minute Express Train to Story Town // by Predhack //------------------------------// “Alright, Rainbow Dash, Truth or Dare?” Twilight asked, laying the grass with her friends. They were all taking a break from their pet play date to play a game, with the exception of Fluttershy who’d lain down for a nap and immediately become the approved snoozing site for all pets present. “Dare,” three ponies interrupted before Rainbow Dash could answer. “Hey,” Rainbow said to her friends, “I didn’t say anything yet.” “Yeah, but you always pick dare Rainbow Dash, figuring out what you’re going to pick is super easy,’ Pinkie Pie countered. “You are kinda a one trick pony RD,” Applejack affirmed. “Hey, I know lots of tricks,” Rainbow dash disagreed. “She meant, ugh, nevermind. So did you want ‘dare’ Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked. “Y’know what, I WAS gonna pick dare, but now I’m gonna pick ‘truth’. Hit me.” “Why would I do that? Wouldn’t that hurt?” Twilight asked. She blushed when she saw the look on her friends faces made it clear she’d misinterpreted something again. “Oh, um, truth. I’ll be honest I didn’t have anything to ask I was expecting you to pick dare too,” Twilight scratched her head, “Um, how about… What’s one skill you have that you haven’t told any of us about?” Rainbow stopped and looked at the sky for a minute considering. “Whatsa matter RD? Can’t think of anything?” Applejack joked. “No, I’ve got something. I’m just not sure I want to tell you guys,” Rainbow said. Her face was slightly twisted with discomfort. “If it’s something that bad you don’t have to tell us, dearie,” Rarity replied. “No, it’s not bad, I mean Fluttershy knows, I just don’t like talking about it,” Rainbow sighed, “I’m really good at art type stuff.” “What?” the others said incredulously. “My parents were artists so growing up they always made me practice all kinds of art stuff. They were pretty disappointed when I got my awesomeness cutie mark.” “Hm,” Apple jack said, rubbing her chin before dropping the hoof and shaking her head, “Nope.” “Nope? Nope what?” “Nope, I don’ believe you. I don’t mean to call you a liar, but I jus’ can’t see you as an artist, Rainbow.” “It is a little hard believe,” Rarity agreed reluctantly. “I believe her,” Pinkie chirped, “I mean she’s gotta be really creative to come up with all those awesome tricks she does, who’s to say she wouldn’t be good at art stuff too?” “Nope, I agree with you Pinkie but I need to see some evidence that she’s actually good at it before I’ll take it at face value,” Applejack returned. “Seriously? C’mon you guys,” Rainbow pled. “I dunno, Rainbow,” Twilight looked skeptical, “Can you give us some proof?” “Proof? Ugh, fine.” Rainbow looked around the sky for a second before spreading her wings and taking off. She zipped around the sky for several minutes stopping at clouds and testing them with her hooves before picking one twice her size and pushing it down to the ground. “What’s that for?” Pinkie asked, reaching to push her hooves into the cloud only for Rainbow to gently slap them away. “I’m gonna use this to show you guys,” Rainbow said, turning and rolling the cloud around until she appeared satisfied with it, and she began slashing most of the soft fluffy edges off the cloud with her wings. “Oh, you sculp?” Twilight said, surprised, “I guess that’s why you didn’t just ask for some of my paper.” “I can draw,” Dash replied, her tongue peaking out of her mouth as her wings began cutting away smaller chunks of the cloud, “I just felt like doing it this way. Now, shush.” The others settled into watch as the cyan pegasus kept chipping away at the ball of fluff with her wings, occasionally reaching in to reform part of the cloud with a hoof. Bits of discarded cloud were collected as they were removed and pushed into a ball to one side of where Rainbow Dash worked. Her subject quickly became clear as the lumps in the clouds remains aligned with Fluttershy’s and the pet’s sleeping forms. Time seemed to whip by as the ponies watched the pegasus work, occasionally they’d exchange quite words with each other until an annoyed grunt from Rainbow Dash would silence them. After one such grunt Fluttershy stirred. The animals around her immediately woke again and departed to their various activities and owners of choice. Only Opalescence deigning to remain exactly where she was and return to sleep. Fluttershy looked around and released a quite, ‘oh dear’ when she saw what Rainbow was doing. She quietly sat down with the others and was filled in by them. At this point the majority of the form of the pets and Fluttershy was obvious and Rainbows swift brutal cuts with her wings had become smooth gentle swipes that barely seemed to cut away anything at all. The ball of extra cloud was not proof from this as Rainbow would reach out with a hoof and spin it, shaping it with her hooves before skimming off a cloud of the consistency she sought. The excess cloud material was mostly used where the sculpture required a softer appearance, largely the primary feathers of the wings, the fur coats, and all of Fluttershy’s mane and tail ate up the excess. Finally, as the sun was reaching the far end of the sky and it began to color the clouds in the sky. Rainbow sat back from her work and proclaimed it done. She reached under it and placed it in the path of the streaming sunlight and like the other clouds the light passing through it changed its colors. The other girls ooh’d and ahh’d as the pegasus in the sculpture’s mane turned the same pink as the subject the coat changed to an orange that matched the pegasus in the fading light of day, around her were laying all their pets, their own colors also nearly correct due to careful application of cloud. “Wow, Rainbow,” Twilight gushed, staring at the cloud, “That’s beautiful. I can’t believe you aren’t doing something with your art if you can make something like this.” “Yeah, Dash. I certainly had you wrong,” Applejack agreed, looking around for the artist, “Rainbow?” The girls tore their eyes away from the work of art to find that the cyan pegasus had left while they were admiring her work. “She went home, “ Fluttershy supplied, “She doesn’t really like to talk about her art.” “But why, dear?” Rarity asked, shocked, “She’s so talented.” “Oh, um, I can’t really tell you. But she doesn’t enjoy doing art anymore. She only lets herself do cloud art occaisionally when she’s working with the weather patrol. And then only because cloud art doesn’t last long.” “Oh no,” Pinkie cried out, drawing all their eyes back to the cloud. Without the attention of the pegasus making it an errant wind had blown in and was beginning to mar the colors of the cloud as it drifted higher into the early evening sky. The other ponies stared at it forlornly and silently turned to ask Fluttershy, but she just shook her head and went to pick up Angel before flying home. Leaving four confused ponies behind to wonder.