Sarosian

Chapter 2: Clouds

“So, Twilight… If Sarosians have lived for centuries, how come we’ve never seen any of you?”

I turned to face Rarity. “Well, before Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon, we did live across Equestria. Since we’re nocturnal, our military ranks acted as Princess Luna’s Nightguard. But when the war happened, most of us were wiped out since we are loyal to the moon. So, we fled. Thankfully, Princess Celestia didn’t spite us for our beliefs, and offered for the survivors of the war to live deep within the mountain under Canterlot. And we’ve stayed there ever since. I’m sure there are more colonies of us across Equestria, under mountains, in caves and all that, but… We won’t know for sure unless they surface.”

“So why did you come out now?”

“Well, mostly because I didn’t want to live underground. We all knew what was happening on the surface when Princess Luna regained her throne, mainly because the Nightguard was called upon once more, and I thought that if they were allowed on the surface… Why can’t I?”

“So one day, you just… Left?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yep, gathered all my bits and moved here. Ponyville is the closest small town to Canterlot.”

“Oh, I hope your family was alright with you coming out here.?” Fluttershy asked; but once I turned to face her she hid behind her mane again. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“It’s fine, really.” I glanced back around to the rest of the ponies, certain that merely looking at her made her anxious. “The Keepers allow anypony to go once they finish school.” The group gave me a puzzled look.

“Keepers?” Rarity asked, for what I assume was the whole group. “You mean your parents, right?”

“Uhh, no… The Keepers…” I rubbed the back of my head. “Isn’t it the same out here?”

The princess pulled out a quill and scroll. “Why don’t you tell us what it was like for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, uh, Twilight. Normally ponies who are born stay with their parents until they are old enough to support themselves.” Rarity once again spoke for the group.

“Oh.” I lowered my head, staring at the edge of the table. “Sarosians don’t actually know their parents.” I lifted my gaze. “As each one of us are born, we’re moved so that all the foals are together, watched over by the Keepers until we’re able to support ourselves. But until then we just live in the same room as each other.”

I was immediately swept up in a hug by Fluttershy. “Oh you poor thing. You mean you never met your parents?”

“Uhh, maybe? I don’t know. I mean, stack Ponyville on top of itself about five times, and that’s the size of my previous home. There were a lot of us, but it always felt cozy.”

“How can you live like that?” Rainbow quipped, but immediately shrunk back as I noticed a glare from every other pony around the table staring at her. “I mean, with wings and such, haven’t you ever felt the need to fly and just be free? I can’t stand being inside for longer than a day or two, let alone my entire life.”

“Rainbow, ya have trouble being inside for an hour, heck, A’hm surprised you ain’t left yet for a quick zip around town.” Applejack commented, getting Rainbow’s attention.

“Hey, I’m greeting the new pony- err, Twilight.” Rainbow paused and glanced at me. “Is it alright if I call you a pony?”

“Ya can’t just ask her somethin’ like that!”

“Why not? I don’t know what’s normal for her!” I watched the two ponies argue with each other, then glanced around the table noticing the others just talking quietly amongst themselves. Apparently, this was normal.

“So? Ya don’t have ta be rude about it.”

“I wasn’t being rude, it was an honest question!”

“Girls!” The princess shouted, getting both their attention. “Rainbow, sit down.” She immediately did so. “Applejack, you have every right to yell at Rainbow. However, keep in mind that virtually every record of Sarosian existence disappeared with them a thousand years ago.”

“So then how did you know about them?” Rainbow asked in return.

“Do you really have to ask?” Applejack quipped.

I tuned out of the conversation, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash arguing amongst themselves while the princess tried to keep order between the two. Rarity and Fluttershy talked amongst themselves civilly while Pinkie Pie just watched the others.

Hours passed in basically that same fashion until outside was only lit by the moon and the stars. Stories were told, and jokes were made. “So what do you girls do for a living?” I figured that since this was to become my circle of friends, I may as well try and get some work out of it.

“I run Ponyville library.” The princess started. “Applejack and her family own the apple orchard on the outskirts of town; Rainbow Dash is the manager of the local weather patrol; Pinkie Pie works here as the baker and cashier; Fluttershy feeds and takes care of the local wildlife and Rarity runs her own boutique not three buildings down,” Twilight tapped her muzzle with a hoof. “But, since you’re new in town, and you can fly, I’d say Rainbow is probably your best bet for a job.” How did she know that was my intention?

“Say what now?” Rainbow glanced between myself and the princess. “You think she can be a weather pony?”

The princess shrugged. “Why not? She can fly, it gets her off the ground and away from everypony, if this evening’s reaction wasn’t enough, and you always complain that there aren’t enough on your team, so, why not?”

“It would mean a lot to me.” I spoke appreciatively.

Rainbow stood up from the table and walked around beside me. “I guess we could always use another pair of hooves. But my question is, can you do the job?”

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“What do you mean, what do I mean? You said you’ve lived underground your entire life, do you even know what a cloud is, let alone how to move one?” I bit my lip, seeing Rainbow’s point immediately. “You have the right equipment at least, being able to fly is usually the only barrier. But if you’ve never handled a cloud before, or can’t tell the difference between rain clouds and thunderheads, then that might be the problem.” I turned back to face the table, before feeling a hoof against my side. “I have the day off tomorrow, so we can have a test run to see if you can. Although we’re scheduled for clear skies, I can get a few clouds together to teach you the basics.”

“Thanks a lot Rainbow.”

“Eh, don’t mention it. But you’d better be able to keep flying all morning. And sometimes all day. But I guess we’ll find that out tomorrow.” Rainbow Dash left my side, glancing out the window behind me. “Anyway, it’s getting late, I’ll see you tomorrow Twi.” She opened the door and prepared to take off. “Catch ya’ later girls!”

“I, too, believe I shall be off. While the party was nice initially, something’s telling me that Twilight will have a harder time fitting in than a manticore.” Rarity trotted towards the door. “We must do this again soon though, there’s something exciting about learning a culture quite unlike ours. Are we still good for the spa tomorrow afternoon, Fluttershy?” The yellow pegasus nodded quickly in response. “Good, then I’ll see you tomorrow and the rest of you girls later on.” A chorus of goodbyes were spoken as Rarity left, and Fluttershy followed not too far behind saying as little as possible.

“Welp, Ah reckon Ah should be off too.” Applejack spoke, leaving her seat. “Have fun cloud wrangling with Dash tomorrow. And don’t take her too seriously, she’s pretty bad at meetin’ new ponies.” Applejack turned back before she left the building. “Even though she is a bit insensitive at times, she’s a great friend, ya learn to love her.”

Only Pinkie Pie, the princess and myself remained. “Uhh, princess?”

She sighed to herself. “Please, stop calling me that.” She flexed her wings and watched them herself. “I’m no different from anypony here. Sure, I have a unicorn horn and pegasus wings, but I’m still just the local librarian. Call me Twilight.”

“No different? You’re the most talented unicorn in the entire town! Probably only second to Celestia herself!” Pinkie Pie jumped out of her seat.

“And that’s what I’m trying to avoid.” Twilight spoke. “But I’m going to join you moving clouds with Rainbow tomorrow.”

“Really?” Both Pinkie Pie and myself said.

“Yes. I don’t know if anyone has told you, but I haven’t had wings for very long. And it is something that I want to learn.” Twilight looked at me and gave a half-smile. “Besides, if you’ve only been living in Ponyville for three days, the sun isn’t going to do your wings any favours if you’re out there all morning.”

I glanced back at my wings, understanding fully what the princess meant. “It is pretty hot out there.”

“I moved here from Canterlot about three years ago, and it was much warmer than I was used to, but that’d be nothing compared to living underground.” Twilight got up from her seat and walked around to my side. “Besides, I’m just as intrigued about you as Rarity is.”

I blushed slightly from the comment. “Am I really that interesting?”

“To us, yes. And I’m sorry for that, but... Well, surely you understand. Sarosians haven’t been part of the population for almost a thousand years. There have been sightings around Equestria since then, but nothing like this.” Twilight crossed her forehooves and took a step back. “I hope all this attention isn’t going to be annoying.”

I couldn’t help but give a chuckle. “From what I’ve seen, I won’t be talking to many ponies around town.”

“Oh, yeah.” Twilight turned her head away.

“But I can solve that!” Pinkie Pie jumped between the two of us. “Everypony knows me, and if I’m friends with you, then they’ll just know you’re a good pony.” I leaned back slightly at Pinkie Pie’s unnatural ability to always feel nearby. “They just need a good party.”

“Pinkie, this was her party.”

“Well, yeah. But I didn’t know she was a Sa- Sara-” I watched her sit down and stare at the ceiling, either trying to work it out, or remember the name.

“Sarosian?” I offered.

“Ooh! Yeah! That one!” She immediately returned to her former giddy self. “But now that I know she’s different, I can set the proper decorations!”

“Pinkie Pie, I-”

“Oh, don’t you worry Twilight-two. Pinkie Pie knows how to party.”

“Twilight... Two?”

“Yeah! Well, I needed a way to tell apart who I was speaking to. And since I knew Twilight-one first, that would make you Twilight-two.” Pinkie Pie turned around. “Anyway, I’ll have to close up shop here, so I’ll say goodnight to both Twilights and see them later.” Pinkie Pie then zipped behind the shop display counter and started packing away everything. “You two head on out, I’ll fix it all.”

I turned back to the princess as she just nodded in agreement. I followed her out the door as it was shut behind us by Pinkie Pie. “So, when are we moving clouds tomorrow?”

The princess shook her head. “I don’t know, although this is exactly like Rainbow. Set something up, and then never give anypony a time to start.” We began walking across the town square, Luna’s moon lighting the way like I was always told. “Do you know where the library is?”

I glanced back towards the princess, then tried to orient myself off the town hall. “Isn’t it two streets that way?” I pointed directly opposite the direction we’re heading.

“No, not quite.” The princess unfurled her wings. “If we fly above the town I can point it out to you.” I followed her actions and took to the sky, the cool night air against my wings was refreshing. Floating just above town hall, Twilight pointed off in the distance. “It’s the tree three houses up on the east side of town.” She suppressed a laugh. “It’s the only inhabitable tree in town, so you can’t miss it. If you want, we can meet up there tomorrow, since I’m sure Rainbow doesn’t know where you live, she’s bound to come looking for you, and it’s much easier to spot Rainbow than it is to find you.”

I looked at her quizzically. “Isn’t it just as hard to find anypony?”

“Not exactly. Rainbow doesn’t really understand subtlety… You’ll understand tomorrow.” Twilight held out a hoof, which I took and shook quickly. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Certainly.” We both hovered in the air for a while, I was taking in the sights of the town, getting a better layout of everything, since the moonlight wasn’t as harsh as the sun. “Well, goodnight your high- I mean Twilight.” I rubbed the back of my head at my mistake.

Twilight chuckled to herself a little. “See you tomorrow.” We both started flying towards our own homes, leaving myself with my own thoughts.

I was happy that I went to the party. I made six friends, the possibility of a job, and all I had to do was turn up to a party. Sure, everypony now knew who, and what, I was, but Pinkie Pie said all she’d need is another party, and yet strangely, I believed her.

*

Morning came all too quickly as the sun beat down on my still-closed eyelids. More than bright enough to stop my sleep in. Rising from my bed, I moved to the kitchen to prepare myself breakfast.

A quick bowl of egg salad later and the sun had just left the horizon. I contemplated heading to the library now, but wasn’t sure how early was too early. Deciding that I could use the extra time to explore the town, I started to prepare for a morning walk. Tying my ears into my mane was much easier now than when I first started, taking no more than a moment to hide the extended points, searching for my saddle-

I checked the bedpost where it normally sits, but found it surprisingly clean of any accessories. I moved to the lounge room and found that void of any accessories too. Come to think of it, I didn’t pick it back up after I took it off at-

The party.

My first job for the day suddenly planned, I left my home and stepped outside into the cool morning air, the sun hidden behind my home, locked the door, and started on my walk around town. I headed towards Town Square since it was easily the most recognisable location. It also helped that Sugarcube Corner was in the centre of town.

However, upon reaching the first turn on my trek, I noticed a group of mares staring at me. Their eyes, widened, jaws almost hanging open-

My wings! I turned around and ran back home. avoiding eye contact with every mare, stallion and foal I passed. Getting back inside my house, I was free to breathe again.

I paused for a moment, how was I supposed to make it to the centre of town without bringing attention to myself? It didn’t even take a minute of walking before a single- no, a group of ponies to stop what they were doing, and stare… Just stand there and state…

No! It’ll be fine… Just ignore them… They wouldn’t do anything during the day…

Would they?

I rubbed my eyes with my hooves. It was nonsense, nopony would do anything to me just because of my wings. The princess had said it herself, Ponyville was an accepting town… Just a little scared of a race that has been underground for the past thousand years…

I wasn’t going to walk… I couldn’t walk. That’d take too long… I stretched out my wings and tried to cool myself down. I could just fly, that’d be much faster, less ponies would see me… Yes, I would fly… It would save time and lower the risk of being seen…

I turned around and took a deep breath. All I had to do was fly to the centre of town and get to Sugarcube Corner, that’s all…

It wasn’t hard…

Was it?

I opened the front door slowly, peering outside to see if anypony was there. Thankfully the road was clear, so I could step outside, close my door, and take to the skies.

Flying was easier than walking anyway, but being above the town was much safer. The skies were completely clear. Neither cloud nor pegasi were visible within Ponyville airspace, which calmed my nerves somewhat. And from the ground I’d just look like any other pegasus. Except that my wings were translucent in the sun… I spotted my destination and quickly pulled into a dive, wanting to get out of the open as soon as possible.

Reaching Sugarcube Corner, the door was already open and all the decorations from outside taken down. Reaching the entrance, a bell rang, and instantly Pinkie Pie came from out the back.

“Oh, hi Twilight-two! Are you here for the morning taste-test?”

“Morning taste… Test?”

“Yeah! See, everything in Sugarcube Corner is cooked, baked and pressed every morning! And it’s up to the Ponyville public to make sure every treat is just as scrumptious as the last! So, the first customer every day gets to try a cupcake to make sure the mix is juuuust right. After the incident of the baked bads we had just after Twilight-one moved in...” Pinkie Pie disappeared behind a wall to where I assumed was the kitchen, then returned with a single cupcake covered in chocolate icing. “Go on! Try it!”

“Actually, Pinkie Pie, I’m just here for my saddle.”

The pink mare immediately sprang into the air and put the cupcake down. “Of course! I was wondering who owned that, here was me thinking that somepony dropped it when everypony left after you took off your saddle. But when I looked at it, it looked like an earth-pony saddle, but now that I think about it, you were using it to cover your wings so nopony knew you were a Sar- Saro-”

“Sarosian?” I offered again.

“Ooh, yeah! That!” Pinkie Pie lifted the saddle above the counter and onto my back. “I’ll learn that word one day.” Pinkie Pie returned to behind the counter as I did up the buckle under my body. “So will you try the cupcake? Please!” Pinkie leaned over the counter, holding the treat out in her hooves. A pleading look in her eyes and her bottom lip pouted out. How could I say no to that?

I held out one of my hooves, picking up the cupcake. “Alright, I will.” A triumphant ‘yippee’ left the pink pony as I took a bite. Immediately I couldn’t help myself but take another. The cupcake was delicious and moist, blending perfectly with the smooth chocolate icing.

“So, do you like it?”

I mumbled in the best sounding way I could, only swallowing so I could take another bite of the cupcake. Before long, the treat was eaten and I could only lick my hoof for the remnants of flavour. “If every cupcake tastes like that, it’s no wonder you’re a great baker.”

“Thanks! Sometimes, I wonder if my cutie mark was meant to be a cake, but while baking is fun, nothing beats throwing a massive party!” Pinkie Pie returned to a standing position behind the counter. “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”

I shook my head. “No, I’ll drop this off at my place and then go see Twilight.”

“Oh, that’s right… You’re going flying with her and Dashie aren’t you?”

“Yep! And hopefully find myself a job.” I turned to leave the shop, turning my head back as I left. “Thanks again, Pinkie Pie!”

“You’re welcome!” I heard Pinkie shout from the inside as I trotted away. I couldn’t help but shake my head and chuckle as I left Sugarcube Corner. As little as I knew about Pinkie Pie, she was always in high spirits, and her joy was nothing short of contagious.

A quick stop-off at home to drop off the saddle and the sun was much higher than I had originally planned on heading to the library. I guess I spent a little too much time with Pinkie Pie.

I unfurled my wings and took to the sky, heading towards where Twilight had pointed last night. The only inhabitable tree in town. It didn’t sound like a hard place to spot. And I was right, in the daylight, I could spot the library from above town square. Setting my course, I casually drifted on the winds.

The sky was completely clear, just as Rainbow Dash had said was forecasted, but if she said there were clouds around, I was in no position to doubt her. The sun was gaining strength, what was a pleasant warmth had now escalated to almost uncomfortable. It was still manageable, but much hotter and it would become unpleasant. At least the winds were cool and fresh. I tilted my wings forward, beginning my descent towards the library. Flying in lazy circles above the oversized tree I picked up the massive scale of the plant. It was hard to believe at first, a tree you could live in, but seeing it really put things into perspective.

Landing at the front door, I knocked twice, hearing a slight scuttling on the other side, before the door opened and a small purple dragon with green spines emerged. “Hi, I was wondering if Twilight was in.” I spoke, unsure of who the dragon was.

He immediately turned around and shouted. “Twilight, it’s for you!” Before turning back to face me. “Twilight shouldn’t be too long, depending on what she’s reading. Come in, take a seat. It is the public library after all.” The purple dragon opened the door wider, and held a claw out gesturing for me to enter. I took a few steps inside and looked around the library, it really was- “Aah! What happened to your wing?”

I glanced at the dragon, then back at my wings. Oh no, not again. “Listen, I can ex-”

“I mean your wings aren’t like a normal pegasus… They’re all bare and… Is that what they look like with no feathers on?”

“Well...”

“No wonder you came looking for Twilight, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pegasus lose all their feathers before.”

“Spike! Don’t be rude!” I looked up the staircase seeing the princess standing at the top where the door was, entirely grateful that I didn't have to explain myself.

“But Twilight- seriously, I haven’t seen anything like this before.”

“Yes, Spike, that’s because she’s a Sarosian.” The princess made her way down the stairs, stopping a few hooves before me.

“A Sarosian? You mean like Princess Luna’s guards Sarosian…”

“Exactly right.” The princess shook her head for a moment. “I’m sorry, Twilight, this is Spike, my assistant. Spike, this is Twilight Sun. She’s new in town.”

“Oh, so you’re the one Pinkie threw the party for last night.” Spike stepped past Twilight and myself and picked up a stack of books, proceeding to return them in the countless shelves lining the outer walls.

“So how are we supposed to find Rainbow Dash?” I asked, turning back towards the door in preparation to start the search.

The princess fluttered her wings and trotted towards the door. “If I know Rainbow, she’ll either be enjoying her day off by sleeping in, or working on a new trick. So the first stop is her place.” We both stepped outside, Twilight scanning the skies. “Now if only Rainbow’s home was tethered to the ground.”

“Her house just floats around wherever it wants to?”

Twilight frowned. “No. Well, the house itself doesn’t choose where to go. Rainbow lives in a cloud home, and while it is magically tethered within Ponyville’s town limits, there is no exact spot where it stays. The good news, is that the only thing that does move it, besides Rainbow herself, is the wind.” Twilight took to the skies and I immediately followed her, turning the way of the breeze, sure enough, was a giant blob of cloud in the distance. “And there we go.”

The princess flew at a casual pace, occasionally fumbling with her flight, but was stable enough to look comfortable flying. The closer we came, the more details I could make out. There was a rainbow fountain at the top of the home, and several off-shoots which I assume made rooms from the interior. Flying up to the front door, we both landed and stepped up to the door. The breeze in the air was quite cool, countering the heat from the mid-morning sun perfectly. Twilight knocked three times, then turned to face me. “Well, the only real requirement to be a weatherpony is to be able to physically contact the clouds, and it looks like you passed that.”

I lifted a hoof and pressed it back down into the spongy surface. A series of muffled moans were heard from the other side of the door, the sound of a bowl skittering across the floor, a half-restrained shout in pain. Eventually, the door opened, just enough for a dishevelled Rainbow Dash to emerge from the inside. “Hey Twilight,” she paused. “And Twilight.” Rainbow Dash yawned into a hoof. “What brings you both here this early?”

I glanced towards Twilight, noticing her glare at Rainbow Dash. “Do you remember what you said last night?”

Rainbow Dash yawned again, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. “Yeah, I remember… Although I don’t know why you’re here.”

“Twilight said she wanted to join in, wanting to learn the skills, if I remember correctly.” I spoke for the princess.

Rainbow Dash gave a flat look. “So how many books have you read about weather management?”

Twilight seemed to tense up at the question. “Only four… The library didn’t have many books on the subject.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes then eyed me up and down. “Well, it looks like you pass the first step.” The pegasus stepped between us and closed the door behind her. “Well, let’s get to work. Give me a while so I can gather up some clouds from the weather station and we’ll meet up in the western fields.” Before either the princess or myself could utter another word, Rainbow took off into the sky.

“Is she always that fast?” I asked, turning back towards Twilight.

“No, that was a casual take-off for Rainbow. Usually there’s a stronger updraft in her wake.”

*

The princess and I took refuge from the morning sun under a large tree in the fields. It hadn’t taken us long to arrive since Rainbow Dash’s house was on the western side of town, but it was more than a short wait for Rainbow Dash to arrive, but with three clouds considerably larger than herself in tow, I wasn’t going to blame her.

With a quick swing of her hoof, Rainbow cut one of the clouds in half, and moved them several hooves apart. Flying down to where we sat, Rainbow Dash landed before us. “So, we’ll start at the start. Basic manipulation. The first thing you need to learn what to do is to move clouds. If you apply too much pressure, you’ll burst the cloud and you’ll get a face full of vapour. A good way to wake up in the morning, but not so great for your sinuses.” Rainbow Dash took to the air again. “Well come on, let’s get the boring stuff over with.”

Twilight and myself took to the skies, sizing up each of our respective clouds. Mine was about pony-sized, probably slightly on the large size, but once I lay a hoof against it, I couldn’t believe what it was. So soft and malleable, I grabbed a hoof-full from the cloud and separated it from the original blob. “This is awesome!” Both Rainbow Dash and Twilight looked at me, holding the small glob of cloud in one hoof and poking at it with another. “What?”

Rainbow Dash’s features brightened. “Alright, we have a natural.” She then flew to my side and observed the hoof-sized cloud I held. “Lift it above your head.” I did so. “Now remove your hoof.” I moved a few hooves back from the cloud, leaving it suspended in the air. “Alright, that was simple enough. Now punch it.”

“Punch it?”

“Yeah, like you’re in a hoof-fight with somepony. Break it apart.” I pulled a hoof back and slammed it into the small cloud, bursting the object into a puff of vapour. “Excellent. Well, that’s the basics covered right there. Just on a much smaller scale. Try moving around the larger one for a while, get the hang of it. The clouds themselves won’t move unless you physically make them… Or the wind from another cloud system forces it to.”

“But there are no clouds today.”

Rainbow Dash smiled at me. “There were clouds today, it’s just the weather team already cleared them out. That doesn’t mean the winds have gone.” As if to prove Rainbow’s point a light breeze flew past us. “Just because there aren’t any clouds now doesn’t mean there won’t be soon.”

I started practising with the larger cloud, moving it’s location, pulling out other globs of cloud as before and stuffing them back in after a short while. Eventually, I figured I had the hang of moving the cloud and my wings were starting to tire just hovering in the same location for so long. Sitting down on the cloud, I watched Twilight perform just as I had been. Shifting the clouds location by pushing and pulling, finding the right balance of power and grip to not lose hold of the cloud or tearing off smaller chunks. It was nice to have somepony else around, rather than just Rainbow Dash and myself. At least it didn’t feel like a test as much as I thought it should’ve.

Taking a seat on top of the cloud turned out to be a bad idea. The sun was well and truly stronger than it was before we started, and sitting so far above the ground only intensified the feeling of burning. I left the cloud and opted to hover underneath it, figuring the pain of flying was better than the pain of burning. At least while flying I was exercising, and Rainbow Dash said if I got the job I could be flying all day at times. Oh dear Luna I hope not.

“Alright, now that you both know how to move the cloud, let’s break these ones apart,” Rainbow Dash flew above the two of us. “Come up here, you’ll need as much speed as you can get.” Both Twilight and I flew towards Rainbow Dash, hovering at least a hundred hooves off the ground. “Okay, you know how you punched that smaller cloud?” We both nodded. “Well, this one is going to need a bit more force than that. Which is why we’re up here. Observe.”

Rainbow Dash shot into a dive, lining up the two other clouds she’d towed in when we started. Her acceleration was incredible, I hadn’t seen anypony fly that fast. Within moments Rainbow Dash had slammed into the two clouds, breaking them apart without even slowing down. A quick loop back and before I knew it she was next to me again.

“How did you do that?” I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Rainbow blushed slightly, and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “Aww, it’s not that hard. If you’ve been training as long or as hard as I have, then it’s easy.”

I grew skeptical. “How often do you train?”

“When I’m not working I usually get at least all morning or afternoon every day.” She obviously noticed my slack jaw and wide eyes. “What? You have to train that hard -no- even harder if you want to become a Wonderbolt.”

“A Wonderbolt?”

This time, it was Rainbow’s turn to be stunned. “You mean you’ve never heard of the Wonderbolts?” I shook my head. “They’re like, the greatest flyers in Equestria! The fastest, most unreal pegasi you’ll ever meet!” She paused for a moment. “Well, until I become one anyway… But right now, you have a cloud to smash!”

“So how fast do we have to be to break the surface?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow stared at her for a moment. “Honestly, I don’t know. Each cloud type has it’s own requirements before bursting. Like, to break apart a rain cloud the exact same size as those, you’d need twice as much force. But, it’s safer to go all out with every cloud.”

It was my turn to be confused. “Wouldn’t it be better to save your energy if it’s a long day?”

“That’s why there’s a whole team of us on patrol each day. I can’t really explain how hard each cloud is, it’s something you learn over time. But whatever you do, don’t undercook it. If you don’t have enough speed to break through the cloud, it’d be like flying into the ground, head first.” Both the princess and I gulped. “But these should be easy. The last two bits of advice I will give you is that the ground is still down there, so once you hit the cloud, pull up as quickly as you can. And use your hooves to brace the impact. Other than that, have fun!”

I glanced towards Twilight, who was looking at me at the same time. “I’ll go first.” I said, looking down at the cloud below. Pull up after contact, keep your hooves out. Easy.

I flapped my wings once more, then turned into a dive, pointing straight towards the cloud. I kept my wings straight, flapping them occasionally to increase in speed. I braced locked my hooves forward, pointing straight at the cloud… Contact in 3… 2… 1…

-Poof-

Contact… I broke through! I-

Pull Up!

I strained my wings, forcing the wind underneath me to start pulling my body back into the sky. Well, that wasn’t so hard. I flew around at a leisurely pace, after a while realising that I’d been holding my breath the entire time.

Panting, I returned to the other two. “That wasn’t… So hard…”

“I’d rather hope not. Because if you’re that worn out after a single dive, then you might need to start training with me.”

That thought alone was enough to scare me. “Oh no… I’m fine.. I just haven’t hovered in the same space for so long, the whole morning is catching up to me.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t look convinced, but let the issue drop. “Alright Twi, you’re up.”

I watched Twilight follow the same method I’d used. One final flap of her wings, then a straight dive, and she was off. I watched the princess as she held out both her hooves, although she didn’t seem to be going as fast as I was. Either way, she made contact, and the white cloud exploded, causing a small rainbow for a second. Not a moment later Twilight had looped back around and returned to the two of us in the sky.

“Alright, you both pass basic weather manipulation,” Rainbow Dash turned around to face me specifically. “And I suppose since this is basically all the work weather patrol involves, you’re hired.” On the inside I jumped with joy. “However, since there are a few finer details, I’ll task you with the rain teams so you can learn that side too. The wet season is approaching so you’ll need to know how to handle a rain cloud.”

“Thank you, Rainbow.”

“Eh, don’t mention it. As Twilight said last night, we’re always looking for extra hooves.” Rainbow Dash yawned into a hoof. “But if you don’t mind me, I have a bit of sleep to catch up on.” She looked to take off, “Later Twi’s.” And with that, she was gone, leaving a rainbow-hued trail in her wake.

“So, do you have any other plans for today?” The princess asked me.

“No.” My stomach then made itself known with a growl. “But I could do with some lunch.”

Twilight laughed, then gestured for me to follow her. “Lunch it is, then.”

*