The crowd was deathly silent. Every pony leaned over the edge of their cloud stadium box seats staring down at the earth below. Two Wonderbolts had been knocked unconscious by the white unicorn they had flown after to save. The tension was at its highest point when they heard the words “Don't worry Rarity! I'm coming for ya!High above the crowd. A streak of rainbow followed directly behind the cyan pegasus mare. Her tail and mane appearing to extend forever in the rich blue sky. The moment that she caught the three falling ponies, a large boom echoed across Cloudsdale. The bright glow of a circular rainbow expanded out at the point that the boom came from. Soon, the cyan pegasus had curved around over the top of the stadium landing perfectly with the three in tow. Rainbow Dash had performed her second Sonic Rainboom of her career. Rainbow Dash went on to win the Young Fliers Competition and earned the respect of the Wonderbolts she had saved.
For one pony in attendance it was a defining moment in her life. From their seating at the highest wall, a family of two daughters, a mother, and a father watched the entire event unfold. They cheered as loudly as the others when the mare rescued the ponies. One of the daughters, Color Copy, took the image of the cyan pony rising up from the ground to her heart. This was two months ago.
Now, laying on her cloud bed in her bedroom, Color Copy pictured the scene over and over again in her mind. Though, instead of Rainbow Dash, she saw her self doing it all. She fantasied receiving the praise for the Sonic Rainboom and saving the Wonderbolts. Mares crowded her throwing flowers and blowing kisses as she pumped her hooves to the air. The fantasy was just that; a fantasy. The reality of the situation was mundane.
Color Copy was a twenty year old pegasus with no job still living with her parents. Her mane, tail, wings, and coat were all pure, snow white in color. Her eyes would have been white if not for the glimmer of silver in the iris. Her cutie mark was often the source of scorn from other ponies. Accusations that she drew it on everyday with a black marker stayed with her even after school ended and she was fired from her first job. Her cutie mark was considered plan and unoriginal. It was the outline of a faceless mask with only an emotionless mouth present. Her special talent is what let her stand with her peers after their tormenting ended. Color Copy could mimic the voice of any pony perfectly. She might have even been able to do other things but never tried. If she was given ten minutes to observe a pony, she could even copy their attitude and mannerisms. This gift saw her expelled from three educational schools, flight camp, and the loss of four jobs.
In her room, her front legs beneath her head, she laid on her back staring up at the cloud ceiling. Her room was nothing as a mare's room should have been. There were wall to wall posters of various celebrity fillies. Among the posters were Fleur-De-Lis laying casually on a bed of lilies, the Wonderbolts captain Spitfire staring seductively over her shoulder as she lowered her uniform, regal portraits of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and various other mare models. On her ceiling were the images of an up and coming model. Her shy demeanor, her canary yellow coat, pastel pink mane, and innocent eyes. The pegasus in the portraits always appeared in her fantasies of heroism each day. Yes, the room should have belonged to a teenage colt, but in fact was Color Copy's.
“Hey, Marker Butt! Mom says breakfast is ready!” The sound of Color Copy's younger sister, Lilac Breeze, howled from behind her door. Copy groaned in annoyance at having her fantasy time broken yet again.
“Shut up, Flower Butt, I'll be down in a minute!” All four legs and hooves pointed skyward, flailed in tiny circles, then dropped back down pointing in four different direction. “Brave as Rainbow Dash...” Voice muttered softly thinking back to her dreams. She had a secret she hadn't revealed to her family. It was something she felt certain would get her kicked out! Disowned! Assassinated! Whipped! Or even dunked in frosting for! Telling them would be a step in the direction she needed to go. She thrust her body upwards sitting up on the bed. Frazzled bedhead mane jutting out every which way around her. “I'll do it!”
Off her bed and onto all fours, Color Copy rushed out her bedroom. The cloud door slammed against the wall sending whiffs of fog out. A fast trot brought her down the steps where she froze up instantly. Her eyes became dreamy, a goofy smile on her lips. She leaned her head back sniffing the air taking in the sweet aroma of fried dandelions and eggs. Ah it was so nice living at home. She hustled into the kitchen gazing at the usual scene for the morning.
Copy's father, Thick Mist, sat at the head of the table in the kitchen. He was a stout, muscular stallion that would caused intimidation just being in a room. He was a head over most other males. He was referred to as a gentle giant. Someone who was imposing but wouldn't harm even a fly. He bore a scruffy, thick bread a dark pink color. His mane and tail salmon and his coat vanilla. His cutie mark depicted foggy weather over town setting. In his normal position, he sat with his hooves holding a newspaper apart glancing over the articles. The sound of a grunt was the only offering he knew Copy had entered the kitchen.
Healing Gust, Copy's Mother, stood in front of a sizzling frying pan over a hot stove. Lightning clouds could do amazing things for cooking if only unicorns and earth ponies knew how to use them. A nurse at Cloudsdale General, Gust worked long hours, came home to fix the house, then went right back again. The sisters feared her punishment far more than their father's. Whenever they would hear 'Just wait till your mother gets home', it sent them into frenzies. Lemon mane, kept in a bun considering her work, played off lime green coat. Her cutie mark was simple two adhesive strips placed in a X formation on her flank. Front hooves worked the pans in front of her and the accompanying flipper. “Mornin, Snow.” Gust spoke part of Color Copy's nickname when she came in.
Finally, there was Copy's youngest sister, Lilac Breeze. The filly was four years Copy's minor. The youngest of 3 siblings she encompassed the very nature of a bratty, baby sibling. Her hair was orchid purple styled in a spiky, every which way fashion. She claimed it was the in look for ponies her age who were rebels. She cut her tail short adding extensions to change the color from the normal orchid to Prussian blue. Copy thought it looked hideous. Lilac's coat was colored maroon. It had an odd clash with her mane but this only fit her attitude of wanting to be seen. Lilac got her cutie mark at a younger age than either of her sister's. She was experimenting with her mother's perfume, something that would have had Copy and her sister's hides tanned for, and discovered a smell that caused her mother to receive quite the attention from colts at work. This brought the marking of lilacs blowing in the wind on her flank.
“I am a fillyfooler! I love mares! I kiss girls!” Color Copy stomped her front hooves against the ground demanding the attention of her family. Her mother simply nodded. Her father lowered the paper a moment, arched his eye brows, kept one eye partially closed and the other open, then returned to his paper. Her sister only shrugged sipping from a glass of orange juice. “I... I said I'm a fillyfooler...” She squeaked out wondering about the reaction.
“We heard you, dear.” Her father finally chimed. Mist folded his newspaper up lowering it down in front of him. Gust brought over his plate of food, balancing it on one hoof and one for Lilac on the other. “But we've known for sometime. It isn't a big deal.”
“But.. how?”
“For one there are those posters in your room. When I lived at the dorms for my private school those were the posters colts had up.” He gave a brisk nod munching on a butter fried flower.
Color Copy felt hollow. She was going to have a large triumph and feel liberated. Now, she only felt that her big coming out was for nothing. “Just having posters doesn't prove a thing!”
“Remember when I took you to meet Fleur-De-Lis to get her autograph? Your wings shot up fast enough they knocked somepony out.” Mist glanced up to his disheveled daughter motioning a hoof for her to sit down. “Sit and eat your breakfast.” He ordered when Gust brought over the last two plates.
“That... That was an accident!” Her cheeks became inflamed, glowing off the snow white of her coat. She shuffled her hooves over the cloud floor dropping down onto a chair at the table. She spied her sister, Lilac, snickering each time she exchanged the look.
“Of course I also pay your sister ten bits a week to read your diary. Keeps me in the loop.”
The white pegasus fell face first into the plate of breakfast. She ate a quick share, tallying her thoughts to retort what her dad had said. Copy had done the same thing to her oldest sister so it shouldn't have been a surprise that Lilac did it to her. There was only one final offensive move she could muster to battle back. “Mom!” She whined raising up her head again staring at her peaceful mother.
Gust hadn't said much since the announcement. She was even less surprise than the other two. “It's good you've finally decided to tell us dear. There is this wonderful mare, a wing doctor!” She exclaimed nibbling at one of the yellow flowers. “Not one of those cosmetic surgeons but an actual surgeon. She likes younger fillies, in her forties, good amount of bits. She'd be able to take care of you dear! It isn't like you can hold down a job so perhaps you can hold down a nice, stable mare?” Healing Gust meant no ill with her words. She wasn't trying to be mean nor bring her daughter down. She cared but in a dysfunctional manner.
Nothing more was said. There wasn't anything more that could be said. Nothing else was said on the subject of her preference for love interest, her mother's suggestion, or anything else that might make her want to crawl into a storm cloud. Pushing past her sister's constant snickers and kicks from beneath the table, Color Copy went to retreat back to her bedroom. Back to her bed she resumed the position laying on her back staring at the pictures of the canary yellow model.
She closed her eyes retreating again back into her fantasy. This time the images of being cheered upon, loved by all, and being the center of attention were thrown aside and filled with ponies simply knowing what she did but not caring. It was a hard way for your brain to laugh at you. “Fine!” She shouted at her self. The first step she had taken was to come out to her parents. Now she would make her dream of becoming like Rainbow Dash a reality. The rest of the day was spent collecting blankets, sewing needles, thread, and snack foods. She cut, tore, and mismatched the various fabrics together.
Minutes turned into hours, hours into nightfall when she finally completed the makeshift uniform. It looked horrendous but it would due. Once she applied dye to her body no one would know she wasn't the pony that won the young fliers competition. Her plan was to leave the moment it was done, but her body had other plans. She dropped back again to her bed. Color Copy ignored the calls for dinner earlier, she had skipped lunch before that, and now she was too tired to worry about either. The image of the pegasus model over head, she remembered that she was to appear in Cloudsdale in a few days. If she left home to pursue her new life she would miss out on meeting her latest infatuation. “I'll go after that...” She murmured drifting back into slumber.
The meeting would never take place. Rumors spread that the model simply quit a day before her she was to appear without a single foreword. It would be several more months before Color Copy left to pursue her plans. That story is to be told elsewhere.