Today was the normal, boring Saturday in Ponyville. The town was bustling, and for those who were not working the day away, it was neverending. The fact that the town wasn’t preparing for any events or anything was unusual, seeing as how the town every other week was busy for the next big thing. But today was different. Today was a very relaxed day. In fact, it was so relaxed to the point where the ponies could have slept the week away and it would not have made a dent in the world.
Take for example, the ever tired, ever bored, and ever lazy Rainbow Dash. She lay upon a cloud without a care in the world. Having finished her daily duty of moving the clouds around the sky, performing a few stunts and loops, and then finally raining over the fields of Sweet Apple Acres, she was able to finally lay back and get some shut-eye from the comfort and quiet of the clouds. The mare was very restless though today. She had been unable to sleep comfortably for the last few nights. No particular reason, but it really took up time that she could have been napping during the day.
As she lived day by day, it seemed she had become less and less of her excited self. She was still the same fighting competitor that she always was, but the fire in her seemed to be dying ever so slowly. It wasn’t something that anyone who knew her generally would have even noticed, but to her friends, it was something noticeable. She hadn’t really been around her friends. In fact, she would often say the slightest “Hello” to her group, but zoom off to do Celestia only knew what. Often time, it shouldn’t come to a surprise that she just wanted to distract herself with speed. But that was about it. Her friends would greet her, but she would be gone.
Rainbow looked over the cloud to see her friends, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack, walking below her, talking. She wanted to talk to them, but for some reason, her body wouldn’t move. So out of laziness, she called out from above them, “Twilight, Applejack, what are you guys up to today?”
Twilight looked around, and then up to see the rainbow mane poking out from the cloud. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, all is well. How are you today?”
“Ah, you know, same ol’ same ol’.” Rainbow Dash squirmed on the cloud, trying her damnedest to get comfortable. But the moving was in vain, as she sighed and dropped from the cloud onto the ground in front of her friends. Applejack and Twilight, in the same way, tilted their heads.
“Rainbow, I must say you look absolutely terrible today.” Applejack said bluntly, scanning over the messy mane and bags under the mare’s eyes. “Everything ok, Darlin’?”
Rainbow scoffed, shaking out her mane and rubbing her eyes with a free cyan hoof. “Of course, who do you think I am? Rainbow Dash is always amazing!”
“Have you been sleeping ok? You look totally exhausted.” Twilight asked, a sincerely worried look plastered on her face.
“I told you, I just haven’t been sleeping much. Practicing some new tricks, and I guess I am getting a little bit obsessed.” Rainbow lied. She hadn’t really been practicing anything. She just wanted to feel better then she was. But to tell her friends she needed help was just plain stupid. She looked up to the sky and thought for a moment to get out of the awkward conversation.
“I’m thinking about going to Cloudsdale today, ya know, to go visit some old friends and get some practice in.” she smiled her normal confident smile. Applejack and Twilight knew they wouldn’t get what was really wrong out of her today, so they just nodded and smiled in return.
“Just don’t work yourself too hard.” Applejack patted her friend on the back. The two mares passed her right by as Rainbow took flight straight into the sky. She was thinking about bed. She was thinking about sleep. She didn’t know why she couldn’t sleep, but whatever the reason, it was sucking her dry right now. She shot straight up into the clouds and in view, she could see her home of Cloudsdale in the distance. It was a bright and wonderful place that any Pegasus could be proud to call home, especially the proudest and best flyer in all of Equestria. The mare looked around her home, studying her surroundings, since she rarely ever spent time on Cloudsdale and would leave in a hurry to stay in Ponyville. It was rare she ever saw the sunny and bright home. It was almost always dark when she was there. She continued to study the area, not looking at any Pegasus as they passed her by on the streets. And that pretty much included anyone who was in front of her. She didn’t notice the pony who wasn’t watching where she was going either.
*BLAM!*
Two ponies collided. Papers and bags went flying as they recoiled themselves. Rainbow looked up and saw the pony she had fallen into. The bright red of her coat was almost too much for her to bear.
“Hey, watch it!” Rainbow said, a mixture of lack of sleep and irritation was what caused the mean words to spill from her lips.
“My apologies, I should have been watching where I was going.” The mare said, gathering her papers and books with her mouth and placing them in her saddle-bags. Her clear water blue eyes met Rainbows and she smiled as she continued to put papers into her bag. For some reason, Rainbow didn’t fly away, but just watched the tall, ruby colored Pegasus continue her work.
Suddenly, the mare met her eyes again and spoke out. “I know you. You are Rainbow Dash, right?”
Rainbow smiled and nodded. “The one and only and Equestria’s best flyer.” She was never too tired to boast about her greatness to anypony.
“I could only recognize you by that…mane of yours.” The mare looked at her sheepishly. “I remember you back in school.”
Rainbow was suddenly confused. She would think she’d remember anyone from school. She was competitive, but never really forgot any faces in school, since almost anyone challenged her and failed greatly against her. But then again, many ponies didn’t challenge her. She was too good. Or at least that’s what she thought.
“Sorry, but I don’t think you ever challenged me to anything, so I really don’t remember you.” Rainbow spoke out bluntly.
“I understand.” She met Rainbow’s gaze again. “It’s not like we were best friends or anything. I wasn’t really a great flyer anyways. I was often on the sidelines cheering on ponies. I remember you very well for your abilities, and I must say I am still very impressed. I was there at the competition where you saved the Wonderbolts. Very good job.”
“Ah, it was nothing. Nothing any good nature pony wouldn’t have done.” She said, trying so hard to be modest. She didn’t even know why. Maybe what the other ponies had said about her needing to be modest was starting to take effect on her. She looked at the pony’s bag and instantly her mouth opened. “What’s with all the papers and everything?”
The bright mare smiled. “Sketch work, art supplies, I am an artist. A starving artist though…” She said, nudging open her pack so Rainbow could take a peek inside. “I was actually looking for work today. I want to start my own art shop, but I don’t think Cloudsdale is ready for me yet.”
She looked down and kicked the cloud with her hooves. Rainbow just looked at the mare with such intrigue. She was interesting. She barely said anything to Rainbow, but this pony was very much like her friends. She could see her and her friends getting along. And the fact that she wanted to be an artist and start a shop of her own, Rainbow thought she might be able to do one good deed today and help her out. But as she was in her state of thinking, the mare was already walking away, brushing her short blonde mane aside from her eyes. Rainbow scrambled to stop her from leaving.
“H-hey! Wait a second!” Rainbow yelled out and the mare turned to face her yet again.
“Sorry, I’m in a hurry. Jobs won’t find themselves, you know.” She said. Rainbow trotted over to her and smiled.
“How about I help you out a little bit with your venture. You ever been to Ponyville?” She asked. The mare shook her head. “Well today is your lucky day. I know someone who might be able to help you out and maybe get you a place to start working.”
“Really? Wow that’s amazing!” The mare grinned excitedly. Rainbow smiled.
“But first, you gotta tell me what your name is. So I can introduce you properly to my friend.” Rainbow said, seriously curious to meet this pony more thoroughly.
The mare looked her right in the eye. “My name is Etcha Sketch.”
Rainbow opened her mouth, repeating her name, letting it slide off her tongue like water from a fresh spring. “Well like you said, jobs won’t find themselves. Let’s get you down to Ponyville, like now!”
Before Etcha could even take off, Rainbow was already off the cloud and heading down. The ever fast Rainbow Dash…what a turn her day had already taken.
