Rainboom.

Chapter 9: Double rainbow.

It started to drizzle as Rainbow flew out from the cave, the clear droplets absorbing into her fur and mane.
"Great. Just great." she cursed under her breath. As she carried on, the drops became bigger and bigger, until they pelted Dash's straining wings, drowning her eyes and nose.
It was no use. She would have to land. Dash had no idea where she had landed, but there was no time to gather bearings. The street was barren and empty. She had to find shelter from the storm. She had to-
"Rainbow!"
A faint voice echoed out, but where from?
"Rainbow!"
Closer now, but-
"RAINBOW DASH, FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE, MOVE YOUR SORRY FLANK!"

Spinning around, Dash finally saw the source of the voice. Vinyl Scratch was waving frantically from a doorway to her right. Cantering over, Vinyl grabbed a hold of Dash and practically dragged her to the large, dull coloured house. Bundling her inside, Vinyl slammed the sturdy wooden door behind them.
Rainbow turned, starting to ask what was going on, when the words caught in her throat. Inside the dingy, unlit house, were hundreds upon hundreds of ponies, staring straight back at her.
"Holy crap." she whispered in shock.
"Yep." Vinyl nodded next to her.
"Ponies from everywhere are here. Ponyville, Canterlot, Trottingham, New Pegasus. You name it, they're here."
"But - why?" Rainbow pondered.
"Why are they here?"
Vinyl took a sharp intake of breath.
"Of course! You flew off before the warning was issued!"
She span around and pulled out a leaflet from a drawer nearby.
"There's a storm inbound. And it's gonna tear Equestria right down the middle."

A large gasp escaped Rainbow dash's now dry throat.
"B-but why is everypony here?"
Vinyl looked lost in thought for a moment, but snapped back into reality at the question.
"Oh, yeah! Well it's because this house isn't really a house. It's a freakin' goliath. This baby can survive almost any natural disaster. Hell, it's even stronger than the Canterlot palaces! And so, everypony flocks here for safety."
"Wow."
Vinyl nodded.
"Yup. And-"
She looked down, embarrased.
"Never mind."
"No, tell me." Rainbow pressed.
"Well, I was talking to some ponies, and I found some who might be able to help with your dad."
It felt as if a large weight had crushed Rainbow's heart. The mere mention of... Him- brought tears to the corners of Rainbow's magenta eyes.
"I- I'm gonna go find my friends." she murmured, and walked slowly off. As she was walking past a sea of curious eyes, she noticed something. Somepony was matching her hoofsteps completely. She paused- and so did the other pony. Rainbow twisted around to see a pink pegasus standing directly behind her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I scare you? I didn't mean to, oh, I feel so bad an-"
Rainbow stopped her by placing a hoof on her shoulder.
"Hey, it's fine. So, why were you following me?"
"Oh, well, Vinyl told me that you were having problems with your father, and I thought I could help. You see, I've gathered a group of ponies who have similar problems to you. Come with me!"
Suddenly she stopped.
"Um, please?"
Rainbow Dash got a sick feeling in her stomach as she realised who this pony reminded her of. Fluttershy. Fluttershy, who hadn't talked to Rainbow since the night Pinkie died.
She was shaken out of her flashbacks by the pegasus' hoof shaking her by the shoulder.
"Oh, yeah, coming." Dash mumbled and followed after the leading pegasus. They stopped at a small group of figures. Rainbow was surprised to see a gryphon perched in the middle of his peers, who consisted of three unicorns. Two of them seemed to be arguing.
"No, you can't!"
"But Ruby!"
"We don't even own a dog!"
"I'll find one of the street!"
"NO MANGO!"
The Pegasus that originally found Rainbow cleared her throat.
"Um, guys?"
The four looked up. First to greet Rainbow was the gryphon. He extended his talons in a friendly gesture.
"Name's Murkfeather. Nice to meet you."
Dash gingerly took his claws and shook them. Murkfeather grinned and backed away.
Next up was one of the arguing unicorns, who had a startlingly dark coat, and purple and orange mane. He grinned, and shook Rainbow's hoof energetically.
"Heyit'sreallynicetomeetyouandIhopewecanbefriendsandomigoshyou'rerainbowdasharen'tyouandIhearyou'rehavingproblemswithyourdadIcantotallyrelatean-"
The other unicorn, a light grey mare, placed a hoof over his mouth. She rolled her eyes, and then spoke with an elegant british accent.
"If you managed to get any of that, you'll have realised that this is Mango Quill."
She removed her hoof from Mango's mouth.
"I, for one, am Rubix whip. Nice to meet you."
Rainbow managed a meager grin.
"I'm Splasheart."
Rainbow jumped a little at the voice, but soon realised it had come from the pink pegasus behind her, the one who had brought her here.
"Now that we're all introduced, maybe I should tell my story first." grinned Murkfeather. Rainbow got the impression that he was quite the party animal.
All traces of this, however, faded from his beaked face as he started to tell his story.
"So, basically, my parents abandoned me. They thought I was an accident due to the fact that my wings are... Well, see for yourself."
With a mighty wooshing sound, he opened his mighty wings, exposing the feathers underneath. He gestured towards them.
"Feel."
Gingerely, Dash ran a hoof over the black and white underside. She gasped and flinched as she felt that the feathers were razor sharp.
"I- I don't understand. Why would they abandon you just for that?" Rainbow asked.
Murkfeather bit his lip and glanced around.
"Well, no just that. I was also premature. It's a miracle that I managed to live