“Okay, guys. Lightning’s in charge till your dad and I get back. Don’t get in trouble, you hear me?”

”Yes, Mom!”

”Yes, Mrs. Dash!”

Paint Swirl, Firework, and Lightning Bolt waved their mother goodbye, with Storm Strike and Feather Fieldgoal following suit. With both of their parents away on a Wonderbolts mission, it was just the kids for a few hours. And Lightning was in charge indeed…

“‘Kay, kids. I’m gonna go call up some friends and get ready for tonight’s party. You know what that means, you gotta keep it down!” Lightning flew upstairs almost immediately, paying no attention to his babysitting duties.

“But bro!” Firework called out. “Mom said you gotta babysit us! I’ll tell her you’re slackin’!”

”I’ll pay you 20 bits to shut up!”

”Okay,” Firework shrugged. He turned to Storm Strike. “So whatcha wanna do?”

Storm smirked. “We could look through those magazines you showed me last week.”

”Oh yeah~” A suggestive grin crawled across Firework’s face. “Feather, you’re good with Paint, right? We’re gonna be awhile.” He led Storm up the stairs before waiting for a response.

Feather sighed. “We all know what they’re doing…”

”What are they doing?”

”Oh!” Feather laughed nervously. “Nothing, Paint. Teenager stuff. So…” She changed the subject. “What would you like to do?”

Paint looked down at her hooves. “I-I wanna play with Roy…”

”Well, I don’t think your mom wants us having anypony over right now. Maybe we can do that later?”

”But Lightning and Firework have friends over all the time. I-I never get to play with my friends…”

“Lightning and Firework have…different kinds of friends…” Feather suddenly brightened up. “I have an idea! How about we do some painting?” She picked up her saddlebag and started taking a bunch of cans and boxes out.

”Painting?”

”Yeah! It’s fun!” Feather laid out sheets of paper, paintbrushes, and other art supplies before her. “It’ll be a great way to pass the time. You might like it!”

Paint hesitantly picked up a paintbrush and stuck it in a can. The paint was so thick and gooey, even unlike the kind used in school projects. Yet, it was kind of fascinating. Definitely worth a try.

And it was. Stroke after stroke, Paint watched the colors manifest before her. She went in for more brushes, more colors, and the splatters on the page became more vibrant. It felt…right. Paint put down the paintbrush and dipped her hooves in, getting lost in the zone as she worked on her masterpiece.

”Woah! Paint, that’s beautiful!”

”Huh?” She was snapped out of her thoughts. She hadn’t even realized what she was making, she was so lost in herself. All those splotches of paint came together in a colorful, almost abstractly floral scene. It really was beautiful.

”Yeah Paint!” Storm flew up behind her, having come back downstairs somewhere during Paint’s art session. “That’s so cool!”

“Th-thank you!” Paint smiled, practically glowing. She had never been complimented like this before.

“You know what else you can do with these?” Firework swooped in and snatched up a paint can. He sucked some into a straw and shot it straight at Storm.

“Paintball!”

Just like that, the room erupted into a storm of flying paint. Storm grabbed a straw of her own, and soon enough she and Firework were flinging paint without them. Feather scolded them as everypony and everything became covered with colorful splotches. And, of course, Lightning was nowhere to be seen. A good time was now ruined, and all Paint could do was bury her face in her hooves and try to block out the noise…

“ENOUGH!” Everypony froze as Rainbow Dash appeared in the doorway, wings spread angrily. “What is going on in here!?”

”Mrs. Dash!” Feather stammered. “I…I was just entertaining Paint! Honest! I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

Rainbow looked over at Storm and Firework. “Who started it?”

She facehoofed as they pointed at each other, looking equally guilty.

“And where’s Lightning?”

“Upstairs!” Firework blurted out. “But don’t tell him I told you! He said he’d pay me 20 bits!”

”Did he now?” Rainbow’s face turned red with anger. “LIGHTNING CUMULONIMBUS BOLT!”

”Whaaat?” A voice called from upstairs.

”YOU’RE GROUNDED!”

Everypony bursted into chaos, with Rainbow, Storm, and the boys all yelling. Feather tried to remain calm as she helped Paint clean up. Her masterpiece was ruined by the paintball match, but Paint wasn’t too disappointed. This was only the first of many beautiful artworks she’d make. She had truly found her passion!

Feather gasped and nudged her. ”Paint! Your cutie mark!”

Paint turned her head just in time to spot a bright flash on her flank.