Chapter 19 - Preparation
While the Princesses were talking with the Elements, Pencil Sketch was busy levitating all the boxes of special necklaces into the mansion where they would be kept in the vault until Sketch It All! studios was complete and opened to the public. So far, she has gained a lot more bits. So much in fact that she could buy a second house. That five hundred million has gotten her really far. But she needed to do some marketing for Sketch It All. So far, the one in Ponyville is complete. They were going to send her a bunch of keys in the future for workers and more.
Hmm.....that reminds her.
She raised a hoof to her chin, deep in thought. Rainbow Dash was busy resting right now, but this was important. She quickly walked inside and shut the door behind her, locking it before she closed her eyes and concentrated. When she reopened them, she was in the black void once more. She spotted Rainbow laying on a cloud, doing exactly what she thought. Sleeping. Pencil rolled her eyes and walked towards her. "Rainbow Dash." The Pegasi's ears twitched, but she didn't moved. "Rainbow. Dash." She mumbled something incoherent before she turned over and laid on her back, getting more comfortable than she already was.
Pencil groaned and bopped her chin, finally getting her to at least yelp and fly up. She gasped and looked around. "What, what, who....Pencil!"
"I hate to ask, but...we will eventually need teachers and staff for the studios. So how do we decide on how to choose them?"
Rainbow landed in front of her and looked up in thought. "You raise a good point," she commented, pointing at her. "How about this. Write down all the ideas you think would help, and I'll write my own. Meet me back here tonight for our chess game and—"
"Rainbow, I beat you in chess every time," Pencil commented with a roll of her eyes.
"Don't ruin this for me. I'll write down my ideas and we'll see which ones will be more beneficial. And then we'll choose two. One for a primary, and one for a secondary, a backup. Got it?"
Pencil stared at her unamused before she chuckled and shook her head. "And you say you're not an egghead."
"I'm NOT!" Pencil laughed and turned around.
"Very well, I'll have my list ready by tonight. I hope you will as...." She looked back to see Rainbow had somehow already written hers down and was back on her cloud sleeping upside down. Pencil rolled her eyes before closing them. Then reopened them a second later to see her staring down at the marble flooring of her mansion. She lifted her head, along with the boxes of necklaces. She had to carry these things to the vault and prepare that list. Not to mention read that mail. There was so much.
***
Twilight and company landed back in front of the library by chariot, totally missing a certain purple themed pegasus glaring at them from the side. Clear Skies was onto these ponies. She was gonna be watching their every move and........nah, that's too much. That was Rainbow's, or Pencil's, beef, not hers. But she was going to glance at them every now and then.
She shrugged and looked behind her at the new studio that was just finished in town. It was big and long. It had to be Pencil's or......Rainbow's? That whole concept was so confusing. So was Pencil Sketch Rainbow Dash, or was Rainbow Dash Pencil Sketch?
Clear Skies sat down and looked at her hooves, trying to figure it out. "Something wrong with your hooves?" She looked back up into the light blue eyes of her friend and superior, Sunshower. Who had a smirk on her face.
"Uh, no...." She quickly put her hooves down. "I was just thinking of something." She rose up and began to walk away with Sunshower hot on her tail.
"And that something is...." She pushed.
"Don't worry about it," Clear Skies appeased her. "It's just a personal thing."
"Oh okay. Well you wanna hit Sugarcube Corner? Pinkie's supposedly creating a new recipe and I wanna see what all the fuss is about." Clear Skies shrugged and allowed herself to be dragged along towards wherever she wanted to go. They've been best friends for so long. Ever since flight school actually, having met each other while working on a project together.
She led her into the shop, allowing their nostrils to be assaulted by the smells of icing, cake, and so so SO much chocolate. Pinkie needs to stop hanging around sugar all the time. It could cause a problem.
Clear glanced down in front of her, spotting the Cutie Mark Crusaders talking about something, all dressed up with their little capes and whatnot. She caught Scootaloo's eye and made a mouth-zipped-closed motion with a wink, letting her know......that she knows. Scootaloo gawked at her for a second before abandoning her friends, grabbing her hoof, and roughly dragging her outside. The other three just looked at each other and shrugged before going back to what they were doing.
Scootaloo tugged Clear Skies around the corner of the shop before she turned around and faced her, wait for an explanation. "I know about Rainbow Dash," Clear whispered, making her gasp.
"What? How?"
"I sort of...bumped into her at her parents house recently. I was a little surprised.....okay, actually I was very surprised."
"Okay, well don't say her name around here if you talk about her. Just call her Skittles or something." Scootaloo looked around nervously while Clear just chuckled.
"I'm not sure if PS, or RD, would like to be called 'Skittles'."
"Well it's more inconspicuous than....you know what," Scootaloo pointed out while keeping a close eye out.
Clear rolled her eyes then nodded. "Okay, fine. So what's the deal on these Sketch It All studios? I know you know, Scootaloo. Don't hold out."
"It's obviously Pencil's way of giving back to the community," she groaned, like it was plainly obvious. "But that's all I know, Skittles knows the rest."
"She is gonna be so irked when she knows what we're calling her." Scootaloo shrugged.
"Eh. She'll be fine. Now is there anything else?"
"Nope. Just wanted to let you know I know." Scootaloo saluted at her before trotting back into the bakery before she followed along. When they walked in, Clear was immediately pushed back out by Sunshower.
"Did she tell you anything?" She whispered quickly.
"Uhhhh nope. I had to tell HER something."
"Oh? Which was what?" Sunshower asked suspiciously.
"Don't worry about it. Just had to tell her something." Sunshower squinted her eyes at the suspicious Pegasus, making Clear a little nervous. Great. Now she knew she was hiding something.
"Alright," Sunshower said slowly before going back into the shop. Clear watched her walk in, only sighing relief once the door was fully shut. She was definitely onto her. Had to be more careful in the future. Had to cover Rainbow, er..... Skittles' secret.
Clear shook her head at the name, finally walking in after.
Pencil sat down with a relaxed sigh at her desk, finally able to read through all the fan mail. And more. She placed the giant stack on the desk and used her magic to put them into categories. Museums over here, large gigantic fans over there, bills on the right, and requests from schools over.....wait....
She picked up the letter and looked at the address. "Manehattan Upper Academy?" she muttered before ripping it open and pulling out the letter. She flipped it open and read it out loud. "'Dear, Ms. Sketch. On behalf of Manehattan Upper Academy's esteemed faculty, workers, administration, and it's hard working students, we are asking if you'd be willing to answer questions from our students and do a speech. We have a class of seven hundred thirty seven who have requested to meet you.' Wow I am so popular. Buff, you can get out of that hall now, I know you're there."
A voice mumbled something outside the doorway before the stallion walked in with a disappointed look on his face "I was hoping to scare you."
"And that would've ended badly....for you. Have a seat." She went back to reading her letter out loud. "'We are hoping you accept. Yours truly, Dean Mighty Scroll.' What do you think Buff? Should I take this opportunity?"
The stallion squinted his eyes and rubbed his chin in thought. "Yeah, sure."
"You are so helpful, rough stallion,"she commented, shaking her head with a chuckle.
"I try. But seriously? I think you should." He got up and walked over to her, turning her chair around to face him. Pencil laughed when Rainbow decided to replace her, making her body full of color. Including the blush that appeared on her cheeks. "You could teach those foals and colts all types of things. You've had some experiences in your life, you know. Share them."
Rainbow smiled before she reached up and stroked his cheek with a hoof. After awhile she sighed. "You sure do have a way with words."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You're supposed to."
"My mother thinks otherwise." Rainbow chuckled before leaning in and giving him a kiss.
"Hey.......is it illegal to date your boss?" He asked playfully.
"I'm an entrepreneur. Anything goes in my business....until I get some more workers and painters in. Not to mention teachers. Then there's going to be rules and regulations."
Buff cocked his head to the side. "Are you opening up a school? I'm pretty sure you need a license for that."
"I'm not teaching anypony anything about how to paint like I do. It's my secret." She winked at him, making him blush and for her to laugh. "You are too easy."
"Is that a challenge?" He asked, smirking down at her.
Rainbow chuckled. "Yes it is. I dare you..........to not stare at my flank for three days."
"What?! No fair! You have the best flank in....." Rainbow gave him a deadpan glare.
"Seriously?"
"You can't blame me. You're the sexiest mare in here." Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"I'm the ONLY mare in here, you rough stallion." She bopped him on his muzzle.
"Even if there was another one in here you would stick out in my mind."
"My my, Buff. Are you hitting on me?" She asked, wrapping her hooves around his neck.
"I think I already did that, Ms. Sketch."
"You might wanna stop....or something may happen."
He chuckled and leaned in close, giving her a sultry look. "Oh? Like what?"
"Like this." She pulled him into a kiss, pushing her body close to his. He chuckled before they parted two minutes later.
"I might have to do it more often then." Pencil and Rainbow both rolled their eyes.
Back in Canterlot, the Princess of the Sun and Moon were currently in the throne room listening intently to what the Royal Guards had to say about their scout mission in Appleloosa and Dodge Junction. "What have you learned, Sergeant?" Celestia asked a white coated pegasus stallion in armor. He stepped forward and saluted.
"Your highness. We have discovered that the creatures have increased to the size of a minotaur, have fangs that could rip a being to shreds....and have done so already." The two princesses glanced at each other while he continued. "We discovered a handful of deceased creatures in the woods around each city. Deer, dog, bear, all were eaten by these creatures."
"Have they attacked anypony?" Celestia asked gravely.
"No. Just animals that we've seen so far."
"That is still not good," Luna said while she folded her hooves together. "We need to see some of these creatures for ourselves, sister. So we know what we are dealing with."
"I agree," Celestia responded. "Sergeant, have you or your men noticed any patterns surrounding these......things?"
"Nothing important yet, your highness. But we are watching them day and night. We did notice though that in the day they stay in the woods and keep quiet. But at night, they feed on animals. They also grow in size after they eat."
"At least, that's something."
"Carnivorous animals," Luna muttered. "Dark magic?"
"No, it cannot be dark magic. But they are dangerous. Do they have a shape? Fur? Anything?"
"They are too black to tell. So black in fact that they absorb light," the sergeant informed them.
"Blacker than the night?" Luna asked in wonder.
"So it seems."
"Alright." Luna turned to Celestia who dismissed the guards. They bowed and filed out of the room, leaving the two princesses inside with their own personal guards by the foot of the thrones. "I believe these creatures could be the work of a new foe."
"Maybe. But there's no way to actually tell. The only thing we can do now is put guards around Appleloosa and Dodge Junction, as well as watch the creatures' movements. There is no telling whether they will go for a pony walking around at night. But I also suspect.....these creatures are not just eating just to be eating. I think they are trying to grow. The sergeant told us that they grew up in size after eating."
"They could be a threat in the future."
"They are already a threat," Celestia clarified. "We need to be careful with the cities. Not shut them down per se, but be very secure with them. We can't have those creatures nearing any town or city. They are already very vicious apparently."
"So we mobilize the guard?"
"Yes. As well as the EUP. We need to contain these things. Now."
***
The wind blew across the campus of a nearby school, mostly known for its excelled academics. Not to mention pricing. It was a prestige academy that had a large property and grounds size. It would be the size of a state fair if you could compare it to that. It had three buildings that Pencil and her bodyguard could see, all big enough to be a warehouse. There could be more. They were made out of brick and had a Roamanian type front, with columns and more. The Roamans were excellent ponies of architecture. They inspired the Canterlot castle design that the Princesses reside and rule from. Pencil stared at the grounds with her bodyguard right beside her, who was just gawking at the place. They were across the street, having gone to a nearby store for a moment before traveling this way. "I wonder if they have a gym in there," Buff muttered.
"If they did you would have to be a student to use it...or a very buff gym teacher," Pencil commented with a chuckle. "Now why are we here again?"
"You have a meeting with the administration of the school as well as art teachers interested in your work," he answered. "Not to mention probably pass out invitations to the grand opening of your first art studio and 'school' in five months. You're here to discuss how everything will happen."
"It is not a 'school', Buff," Pencil corrected him with a playful look on her face. "It is a place of interest and a resource for ponies who want to expand in their creativity."
"Ergo....a school." Pencil grunted in annoyance, turned and bucked him into the tree beside them. He yelped at the impact while Pencil just chuckled and helped him back up. As well as brush off the leaves from his muzzle.
"You." He pointed a hoof at her. "Owe ME. A drink later. Because I had to go through the torture that is your hooves."
"Whatever, rough stallion. Come on, we have teachers to meet and greet." She adjusted the golden and colorful rainbolt diamond covered necklace around her neck before she approached the grounds, having bought a second one because she hoofed the other one over to her favorite little filly. Buff chuckled before he walked after her, sticking to her side.
"Why don't you hire a second bodyguard?" He asked her as they walked across the street. Pencil could tell these kids were an eccentric studious group. There was not a soul outside. Completely entranced in their work in the classrooms.
"Because I think I like MY Buff enough to let him, and only him, try and protect me so it can boost his self-esteem." Buff scoffed. "Besides, I am stronger than you. I can defend myself if it comes down to it."
"Oh no, we're doing this again," he groaned before Pencil rolled her eyes.
"I proved it to you time and time again," she told him as they walked onto the sidewalk of the school's property, heading straight for the main building. "One time in Ponyville, a second time at my home when the Elements arrived, and at......where else?"
"Yeah, only those two times. To convince the Rough Stallion, you have to do it three times."
"Okay. Wing wrestle later. With Rainbow, who is practically screaming in my head saying she can take you on." Buff chuckled and held out a hoof.
"Deal." The two, or three, shook on it before Buff walked forward and opened the door for her, allowing her inside. There were some more students in the foyer that looked towards the door when it opened and just froze. All noises ceased, except the ever so casual shuffle. Pencil sighed. The shocked faces thing has gotten so old.
"Excuse me," she said to one of the younger fillies in a uniform. "Can you point me towards the office? I would greatly appreciate it."
Everyone stared at the child for a second before she nodded. "Y-Yes, follow me." She turned around and led the two down a hallway, filled with more students that were casually talking. Must've been the high school side of things. Nopony seemed to notice her yet, which was—
"Oh my Celestia!"
Spoke too soon. She continued walking trying her hardest to ignore all the stares and murmurs amongst all the clopping they were doing with their hooves. "Th-the office is right here," the little filly in front of them stated, pointing towards a double doored room.
"Thank you," she said down to her as Buff opened the door. She walked inside and up to the receptionists desk, where there was a violet colored unicorn with a silver mane, working on a document. "Excuse me." She looked up and widened her eyes at the visitor.
"Oh, M-Ms. Sketch!" She greeted as she stood up and walked around the desk to her. She reached out her hoof and shook hers. "Thanks so much for coming. I was informed that you would be coming but I wasn't expecting you so soon."
"I like to be organized and show up early to events to prepare. As well as get to know the place I am attending."
"Oh, well the Dean did say to give you a tour of our facilities. If you would like to that is. The meeting is not for an hour and I would be delighted to show you around."
"If it is of no trouble, I would greatly enjoy it."
"Great." She turned around and wrote a note with her magic on her desk to let the staff know where she is before she grabbed a walkie talkie nearby, somehow clipping it to her flank. "Just follow me and I'll show you around."
They walked out the office and followed the receptionist down the hall while she spoke. "Manehattan Upper Academy is one of Manehattan's prestigious schools. It's considered to be the twin brother and sister of the School of Magic in Canterlot, just for basic learning."
"So it is expensive," Buff guessed.
"It is a little pricey for the middle class," the receptionist answered. "You can look into some of the classrooms if you'd like." Pencil glanced up at Buff before the two looked through a window on the side. It looked like a college in there! Complete with high rise benches.
"And what class is this?" Pencil asked
"It looks like trigonometry," Buff answered, shocking Pencil.
"How in Equestria do you know that?" She asked in disbelief with a smirk. "Are you some type of math genius or something?"
"Actually I know a lot of geometry, basic math, and advanced mathematics. I'll show you later."
"Buff here has been keeping secrets. I'm lowering your salary," she teased giving him a wink. He was confused for a second before he figured it out.
"Aw."
Pencil turned back to the hall and they continued on with the tour. "Over here is our science hall," the receptionist told her. "Oh! I never told you my name, I apologize. My name is Serene Winds."
"Hello, Serene. This is Buff." She gestured to the giant stallion behind her, looking around at all the rooms. She knew exactly what the musclehead was looking for. "Does this campus have a weight room?"
"Yes, it is in the gym building. In the back," Serene answered.
"Alright. See, Buff? Now you can stop dying inside." He sighed in relief making the two mares chuckle. "You are such a musclehead." They continued with the tour, checking out the different halls and such. Eventually they came to one on the second floor they thought she might like.
"This here is our arts hall," Serene said proudly. "We have a lot of students that come here ever since you yourself came on the art scene. From music to painting."
"Oh really?" Pencil asked. Rainbow was also a little curious. She woke up from her cloud and trotted to her eyes, peering out at the rooms. "I am intrigued. Are they in class?"
"Yes." She nodded and looked through the windows, seeing the students watching the teacher at the front go over vocabulary and history. There were also drafting tables in the back that has piqued her interest. It was a lot bigger than hers!
"What kind of drafting tables are those?" She asked, motioning through the window. The receptionist walked forward and looked through the window. Buff was standing to the side, wondering how in the world did nopony notice them looking through the window.
"I am not sure. I've never seen those before. They must be new additions. Would you like to ask?"
"Yeah, sure. Buff? Go in and ask."
The only stallion in the hall looked at her flabbergasted. "Pfffttt, WHAT?! I don't think...." He stopped when he saw Pencil pouting at him. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Aww...fine." The receptionist chuckled and knocked on the door, stealing the students' attention from the teacher. The stallion walked forward and waited for the teacher to open it. It opened up a second later by a mare with a friendly smile.
"Can I help you?" She asked him.
"Yes, I'm Buff Battalion. What type of drafting tables are those in the back? I'm only asking because SHE is too chicken enough to go in and check herself." He pulled in his lips in amusement as he motioned to the appalled face of Pencil Sketch behind him.
"Why I never!" She protested. "I will just go in and check myself!" She strode past the disbelieving face of the teacher and into the room before freezing. She sighed and looked back towards Buff nonchalantly. "You. Tricked. Me."
"And you fell for it," he laughed, pointing at her. "You're not good at this, Madam Sketch."
"When I get home, you are going to reorganize my book catalog to a system that even a librarian can't do." The stallion gulped loudly before she turned around. "Hello, students. Sorry for interrupting your class. Does anypony know what type of drafting table that is?" She motioned to the back at the three sided studio.
"I-It's a Futura 200 Drafting Table," one student said excitedly. "Are you here to talk about things?"
"I am actually only taking a tour," she responded, looking at the glass table. It had trays as well as removable palettes. "Interesting. I will have to research this Future later on. Thank you for informing me of this." She began to walk away towards the entrance before a mare walked out in front of her.
"Are you coming to speak to the school next week?" She asked excitedly.
"Er.....I'll leave that decision to your administrative board," she responded. "But I will, more than likely. Have a good day now." She patted the teenage filly on the head before she briskly walked out.
"Thanks for stopping by, Ms. Sketch," the teacher said. She waved behind her head while Buff wrote down a note on a notepad he kept in his wing.
***
After a few more minutes of touring, and of Buff gazing at the work out rooms in the gym, they walked back to the office to come to the meeting. There were a few more staff waiting for them in there who instantly smiled at their arrival. "Hello, Ms. Sketch," one of them said. She was a pegasus with a snow white coat, and a silver mane and tail. Her eyes were a light blue that just burned into your soul. "I'm the Dean, Mighty Scroll. Thank you so much for coming."
"Your welcome. Your invitation sounded very exciting, so I decided to appease your sweats and worries that I would not except. I just never heard of this school before." The two shook hooves before the other faculty strode forward and greeted her.
"Yes, we are like Manehattan's version of the School of Magic in Canterlot. Manehattan revolves mostly around technology and entrepreneurship."
"So I've noticed."
"Well if you'll follow us, we'll take you to the meeting room and tell you the basics of the event." Pencil followed the group with Buff by her side as they walked through the office, looking at everything that was happening. "It's not everyday we have a celebrity willing to speak to a school. And that's all over Equestria."
Pencil nodded and commented, "Yes, most are either too busy with their own work or are either too up there in the clouds to care about those below them."
They all took their seats at the table with Pencil at one end and the Dean at the other. "Yes. So we've heard."
"Let me guess. Hoity Toity?" Pencil chuckled.
"And more," she agreed with an eyeroll. "Now we are hoping you can tell us what you can bring to the table when you speak next week."
"Well besides inspiration, I can bring you ideas, experiences, as well as resources. I know a handful of companies all over Equestria looking to branch out towards the younger communities. And the first place to start at would be the schools. Not to mention...this would actually be the first time of me having a public speaking that was not at a museum. At all."
"Really?!" One of the teachers asked. "You've never spoken at a place besides the Manehattan Art Museum?" Pencil shook her head.
"Most of the ponies ask me to come to a few shows and tell them about myself. But I'm not a fan of all that publicity. And I do not going back to memories of where I came from. So a school, simple or not, that is full of youth that I can branch out and tell my story to that will not make it such a big deal is a relief in itself. So, of course. I am willing to speak and answer questions here."
"Thank you so much, Ms. Sketch. Now is there anything you want in return?" Dean Mighty Scroll asked.
"Yes, I would like to have the contact information of...." She looked towards Buff standing beside her. He pulled out the notepad and looked at it. "Futura."
"Ah, yes. They donate most of their art tools to us. We are an official partner with them. Here's how it works. Our school has a store on campus. Before in the past, a few companies discovered our school and, discovering that we were a school that has a great and excellent rating, asked if we would be an official retailer for them. We of course said yes, and they have allowed us to use some of their products in our classrooms. Futura is just one out of ten we have partnered with." Pencil raised an eyebrow and nodded in realization. An interesting idea. A very interesting idea indeed.
***
An hour later, the deal was made that Pencil would tell her story and past to the students here, as well as give them advice that she herself would think would be beneficial to them. And they would give her the contact information to the companies they have partnered with.
"Let me guess," Buff said once they were off campus. "You're going to contact the companies and ask if they would be willing to donate some—"
"Nope." Buff looked at her confused. "I will simply buy their items if I need to. I am close to becoming a millionaire that is no issue to me. I was going to ask if I can have a moment to see what they sell. And then ask if I can borrow their marketing team to market and promote my studios. Sketch It All! studios would become a small time branch with their companies that would benefit the both of us. Not to mention promote their products at the studios themselves if they ever need it."
Buff blinked at her. Then glanced another way and muttered, "I....was not expecting that."
"Like how you're not expecting what I am about to do to you right now." Before he could ask, Pencil turned into Rainbow and bopped him on the muzzle. Good thing nopony was out. "Hope you know your math. Time to reorganize my library."
"Ah buck."
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Aww, Rainbow's code name should have been, 'Skittles'
8889396
😂 I am so changing it!
One question where is Tank during all of this?
I ship it
!
Poor Buff
!
I don't think so. But Gibb's Rules: no dating coworkers.