Tales of the Rainmaker

Chapters

Floating on air
Gathering clouds
Chasing a storm
Cry of the tempest
Broken
Flight of the Raindrop
On Eagle's Wings (Part 1)
Cleaning out the closet

Floating on air

“It is important to note that the shapes of larger cloud systems can alert you to the location of thermal updrafts and downdrafts,” Ms. Meadowbloom called to a wide circle of pegasi fillies and colts. "None of you are strong enough to fly on your own yet, so if you happen to fall, you'll need to use them to support yourself while a teacher fetches you. Now then, who here knows how to float on an updraft?” Her students were gathered in various resting positions on the nearby clouds. Some sat forward on their front hooves, while others lay back sunning themselves on the open clouds. Nopony responded at first, then a dark grey colt stumbled forward, shoved from behind by one of the colts next to him.

“Stormfeather knows how to do it.”

“Yeah, I saw him yesterday. he’s really good at it.”

Stormfeather looked around sheepishly at his classmates, then gathered himself up and laughed. “Haha, well I guess I do know how. It’s not too difficult.” He stepped forward.

Ms. Meadowbloom smiled and gestured with her hoof “Please demonstrate.”

Stormfeather let out a snort as he boldly stepped up to the edge of the cloud. An excited grin spread across his face as he peered over, wings spreading slowly. When his small wingspan was fully extended, he simply stepped out onto the open air… and floated.

Very far in the back, under the shade of an overhead cloud, a bright orange filly let out a quiet gasp. He was actually floating on air. His mane bristled in the rising air current and he hung in place. His confident smile combined with the apparent ease of his levitation was… breathtaking. She got up from her seated position and took a few steps closer.

Then, just as quickly as the spectacle had begun, Stormfeather tilted his wings and slid forward out of the updraft, planting his hooves on the cloud on the other side. The whole class clapped as he folded one wing over his chest and lowered his head, smiling proudly.

“Thank you, Stormfeather,” Ms. Meadowbloom said, nodding her approval. She scanned the class briefly again, then blinked as she noticed that the filly in the back had gotten to her hooves.

“Oh, Rainstream. Would you like to try?”

Oh no.

All heads turned suddenly toward her, and she shrunk quickly to the cloud beneath her. Wings strapped themselves tightly to her side as she peered out from behind her mane and gently but vigorously shook her head.

“Oh come now, dear. You’re never going to get it if you don’t take a leap of faith. The weather team has scheduled calm winds for today, and there are plenty of clouds beneath us to land on if you lose lift.”

Rainstream buried her face into the cloud beneath her. She could feel all of them staring at her, like a thousand little needles all pressing against her skin. She wiggled against the white fluff, hoping to sink into it, but with no progress. For something so soft, clouds could be frustratingly solid. Some of the students started laughing.

“Aw, she’s crying. Look at the little crybaby.”

“Now, now!” Ms. Meadowbloom’s voice cut them off sharply. “We’ll have none of that.” After a moment, she called out again, gentler this time. “Rainstream, I’d like you to try, even if you don’t like it.”

Every one of Rainstream’s muscled tensed up at once, to the point that she began shaking. All of the air left her lungs, as though somepony was squeezing it out of her She tried to pull more in, but it only came in short, wheezing gasps.

“See? She can’t do it. What kind of pegasus doesn’t want to fly?”

All sound stopped at that point; her ears felt ready to pop. She was shrinking, as the world around her grew tighter and tighter, crushing her entire body. The other ponies gathered around her, staring with laughing eyes. They were laughing at her, and why shouldn’t they? She was useless, and she never should have come here.

Rainstream felt a wing descend on her back, and shivered beneath it. She just focused on the cloud beneath her, and prayed that her lungs would come back soon. It might have lasted ten seconds or ten hours, but when her world returned to normal, everything was quiet. Then Ms. Meadowbloom’s voice broke the silence.

“It’s alright. Just leave her be, I’ll handle this. Everypony, take turns floating on the updraft until I come back.” Ms. Meadowbloom’s voice was much closer than before. Rainstream could breathe easier now, but shivers still wracked her body.

Neither of them moved for several minutes, meanwhile Rainstream’s breath came in shallow gasps. Then, when her chest loosened a bit, and the needles left Rainstream lifted her head just enough to peer to the side. She could see Ms. Meadowblooms bright yellow hooves next to her, and looked up until she met her smiling gaze.

“Are you alright, dear?”

Rainstream didn’t answer. Her heart was still beating painfully. Her lip trembled violently.

“Would you like me to bring you to the nurse?”

Rainstream nodded slowly.

“Alright. Whenever you’re ready.”

For a moment, neither of them moved. Rainstream fought to break through the paralysis that bound her limbs, meanwhile Ms. Meadowbloom sat calmly next to her. Then, slowly, battling shaky legs that would much rather return to their cradled position, Rainstream stood, turned, and began walking toward the far end of the cloud.

Ms. Meadowbloom matched her step by step, staying just a wingtip beside her. Rainstream reached the end of the cloud, looked back at the class, where Stormfeather was helping a filly keep her balance, then returned her gaze forward. She gave her wings a few stretches to test them out. They seemed to be responding well enough, but she was too tired for a launch. Rainstream let out a sigh and simply leaned forward until she fell off the edge of the cloud.

She flared her wings after a few seconds of free fall, and felt the familiar snap of her feathers pressing into each other to catch the wind. Ms. Meadowbloom appeared just below and ahead of her, primaries flared out fully to create the eddies that would allow Rainstream to piggyback on the same wind she was using to fly. The two of them pulled slowly out of the dive, and began gliding down toward a large cluster of clouds near the mountains.

It didn’t take long to reach the school, but it was enough time for Rainstream to find control over her body again enough to land on her own. A few quick wingbeats brought her to a halt above the edge of the school “grounds” just outside the infirmary building. Ms. Meadowbloom came to a stop a few meters beyond and walked softly toward her

“Are you alright, dear?”

Rainstream nodded silently, shifting her head to let her mane fall in front of her face again. She stepped forward sluggishly, and Ms Meadowbloom ushered her inside. They stepped into a small room with several soft cloud benches lining the wall to the right. To the left was a desk, about chest height for an adult pony, but it came to just eye level with Rainstream and she had to strain to see over it.

Behind the desk sat a young orange stallion with bright yellow mane, leaning back in his chair, reading a Daring Do novel. He looked up as they entered and quickly stood up, setting the book down next to him.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said with a cheerful bounce.

“Hello, Sunspot.” Ms. Meadowbloom replied.

“What can I do for you?” Sunspot responded, leaning on the desk. He smiled down at Rainstream so warmly the corner of her own lip twitched a bit. “How is my favorite little filly doing today?” he asked. He held out a hoof across the desk, but Rainstream wasn’t feeling up to returning it. He lowered it, frowning slightly, and turned back to Ms. Meadowbloom.

“She had another attack in class today, ” Ms. Meadowbloom said, quietly.

“Aw no, another one?” He said in a silly tone, turning back to Rainstream with an enormous fat lip. She almost smiled. “Well we’ll just have to give the little filly something to calm down.” He reached behind the desk and brought out a lollipop, holding it out toward Rainstream. She took it and quickly popped it into her mouth. It tasted very sweet, like apples. She smiled. Doctor Sunspot smiled.

He then stepped out from behind the desk and crouched low to meet Rainstream on eye level. “How are you feeling? Do you want to just sit here for a while?”

Rainstream nodded, grateful not to be sent straight back to class. She moved to one of the seats nearby while the Doctor spoke to Ms. Meadowbloom quietly. Rainstream sucked on her lollipop and pretended not to hear them.

“How has she been doing?”

“Well enough. She’s been alright sitting in the back, but I’ve been trying to encourage her to participate. When she stood up today I thought perhaps she might be ready but… I guess not.”

“Best to let her take it at her own pace. Has she been in touch with her family?”

“I’ve offered to contact them but she doesn’t want me to. I’m beginning to worry about her emotional state.”

“If she doesn’t want to contact them, there might be a reason. I would speak to Zephyrus about it, but for now, we should look about moving her into private classes, at least until she becomes more comfortable around the other students.”

“How about right now? I do have a class waiting, and they shouldn't be unsupervised for long. Should I bring her back or would you like to watch her?”

“I think she’s done for today. I’ll go ahead and write up a form for her. You head on back. I’ve got this.”

“Thank you so much.”

“It’s what I do.”

Ms. Meadowbloom hugged Doctor Sunspot for a long moment, then pulled away. She gave a quick smile to Rainstream on her way out, and then disappeared through the door. Rainstream continued to suck on her lollipop and focus on the wall opposite her. It was white, just like the clouds outside, but of a slight shade of blue that reminded her of the sea near her home. There were no pictures hung on the wall, but the cloud itself held many swirls and deeper shades of blue that seemed elusive at first. The longer Rainstream stared, the more detail she saw.

“How we doing?”

Doctor Sunspot broke through her concentration with a gentle tone. She turned toward him. He held a small piece of paper in his hoof.

“I’ve written you a pass for the day. You can go back to your room if you’d like, or you could just sit here if that would be more comfortable.”

Rainstream’s eyes flashed to the door. Her heart began racing, but not out of fear. She looked back at Doctor Sunspot, who smiled wider. “Do you need me to take you or can you get there fine on your own?”

Rainstream nodded.

Doctor Sunspot chuckled. “How about I just follow you to make sure you get there safe? I know you already know the basics, but I’d hate to have you fall out of the sky if you have another attack. How about it?”

Rainstream nodded again, then got up and moved toward the door.

“Alrighty then. We’re off. Into the wild blue yonder.”

~ ~ ~

Dear Diary,
We practiced floating on updrafts today. Stormfeather was the first to try it out. Celestia! why did Ms. Meadowbloom have to pick the thing that would make him look the hottest?! Floating there, suspended in space, magnificent wings outstretched, wind blowing up through his mane. The sun was even shining. He looked so dreamy I actually stood up. And then Ms. Meadowbloom thought I actually wanted to participate, and the whole class was staring at me.

I had another panic attack. I think I survived. It was really scary. I thought I’d died, but Ms. Meadowbloom made sure I was fine.

What’s wrong with me? Why am I so broken?

I wish colts weren’t so dangerous to look at. If I could just stare at Stormfeather without almost dying that would be amazing. Maybe he might even talk to me. Doctor Sunspot was nice. He gave me a lollipop, and even let me fly back on my own without help. I wish Ms. Meadowbloom would let me practice on my own. I don't understand why she doesn't think I can fly on my own. I flew all the way here without help. She should know I know how to fly.

I’m supposed to stay in my room but the weather is just so nice. I’m going to go make some rain to see if that helps.

Rainstream set the quill down on her desk and closed her diary, then carried it over to her bed and slid it beneath the pillow.

“Don’t worry. I’ll come back later.” She smiled at the pillow, then turned and headed for the door.

It was bright and sunny outside. Great weather for most ponies, but not Rainstream. It was in her name, after all. Rain was her element, and she needed some of that right now.

She shut the door carefully and peeked around the corner. Nopony around. She crept slowly to the edge of the cloud in front of her and looked down, and around. Nopony flying anywhere. They wouldn’t mind.

Rainstream gave her wings a few quick stretches, then wiggled her rump. Her heart raced with anticipation as she stared down through the clouds. Just a little jump. She rocked forward on her hooves and leapt into the air. There was now nothing beneath her but the open sky—and of course the ground several miles below but that was irrelevant.

Rainstream’s stomach climbed into her throat as gravity took over. Shivers ran through her whole body as the adrenaline started pumping. Half a year of flying and the launch still made her nervous. Rainstream wasn’t sure if she was more excited or terrified. The wind rushed up to greet her and eventually drowned out any internal screaming she might have been doing. She was tempted to close her eyes, but she knew better now.

Rainstream willed her wings open and let them fill up with air, then gave a strong push downward. The air piled up beneath her wings and caught her, lifting her higher into the sky. Now fully engaged in her flight, she turned and angled herself toward the back of the school, where nopony would really bother her, or even care much about what she did with the weather.

Rain clouds tended to be higher up, so she flapped harder to produce altitude, making sure to use her whole body for the upward propulsion. Once she was high enough, she glanced around for clouds. She would need a lot of water for this.

She found a nice thick cloud before long. She gave it a poke, and it jiggled, nice and full. Good. She flew around and pushed it back to where she wanted to start her rainstorm, then went in search of more clouds.

When she brought some more back, she noticed her first cluster of clouds was drifting apart. She hastilly stuffed them back together, then went back out. She found a few more, and brought them back to her central point. Each time she went out, she had to go farther and farther, until she found herself flying well outside school grounds. She was so dead if she got caught.

Now she had collected quite the cluster of clouds, nearly enough for a small thunderhead. She eyed her creation for a minute. There weren’t any other clouds close enough for her to fly to. It would have to do. It was falling apart again, so she flew a tight loop around it to cement the outside into one cloud formation, then took a break.

“Whoo! Gathering up clouds on a clear day is… haaaard.” Rainstream said the last word as a whine, collapsing onto the mountain of fluff she’d amassed. Okay, rainclouds gathered. Now to just make it rain. Rainstream had seen other weather ponies make it rain just by kicking the clouds they were in, or jumping up and down on them. Rainstream tried stomping her feet as hard as she could, but all she did was kick up some loose cloud dust.

She let out a huff and fell backward onto the cloud in defeat. She spread her wings out into the thick fluffy cotton and stared up at the cloudless sky she’d created, chest rising and falling in heavy labored breaths.

At least she wasn’t in class anymore. Ugh, that was so embarrassing! Rainstream was a far better flier than any of the other students. She could actually fly on her own! Some of them couldn’t get themselves off the ground if they tried. They’d been carried here by their parents, and moved around the school on clouds—watched closely by the teachers.

Stormfeather could fly. Rainstream had seen him practicing behind the school one day. It had taken him nearly half an hour to venture out over the open sky, but he’d done it, and oh what a show that was. Rainstream had almost fallen off the cloud she’d been lying on that day.

Rainstream grabbed a puff of cloud and hugged it to her chest. If only she could find a way to get him to talk to her without her dying of embarrassment. She let out a sigh, then her smile faded, and she threw the puff of cloud away, where it melted harmlessly into the cloud bed she was on. If only her wings didn’t lock up when he got near her, she could just fly for him. He’d be so impressed if he just saw her fly.

But she couldn’t. It was a nightmare trying to get through class every day. Oh, why did Miss Meadowbloom have to call her out like that? Rainstream already knew how to float on an updraft. That wasn’t the hard part.The hard part was finding them. Of course she didn’t want to participate, it was that stupid…

Rainstream sighed, rolled over, and buried her face behind her hooves. She peeked one eye out, and looked south, past the Unicorn mountains, to the Whitetail woods on the horizon. Just beyond that horizon were the Applewood hills, and on the far side of that… home. Well, the only home she had left, anyway

Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, and her body began to shake. Standing with false strength, Rainstream trotted stiffly to the edge of her cloud, glared straight down through eyes that would much rather cry, and kicked off in a nearly vertical descent.

As she got near the middle of the massive cloud she snapped open her wings and dealt the cloudwall a hefty kick, then pumped hard to propel herself forward. She flew tightly around the cloud, pressing against it, hoping to squeeze the water out of it. She’d come out here to make rain anyway, and now she really needed some, and this cloud was going to give it. She pressed harder into the wall of white, flying sideways now so that she could use her full wingspan.

Bad idea. With no wind gliding over the top of her wings Rainstream began to slide downward through the air. Alarm bells went off as her brain registered the sudden and rapid drop in altitude. She arched her back to thrust herself away from the cloud, but it fell on open air as she slid past the bottom of the cloud body. Her legs kicked uselessly at open air and her right wing curled under her, pressed upward by the rushing wind. As her wing curled, it caught wind on the outside of it, and turned her onto her back. Rainstream was now watching the enormous thunderhead she’d built rushing away from her as she fell through the open sky.

But then, she wasn’t really just falling, was she? As Rainstream took stock of her situation, she realized that her coverts were letting wind through, but at a steady and balanced rate. She wasn’t tumbling, and her legs weren’t kicking anymore. She was floating on her back. Now if only she could glide into an updraft.

Acting on a momentary inspiration, Rainstream tucked her right wing again, which began a roll, she folded her left wing as well but left it slightly untucked, so that when she brought her right wing out again the air caught and pulled her left wing out at the same time. Extending both wings all the way out, and turning her primaries up to catch the wind, Rainstream pulled herself up to a much more controlled flight. Then, pumping her wings hard, she looked back up at the cloud high above her, and climbed.

And somehow, it was easy. The air around her grew warmer, lending strength to her tired wings. Each wingbeat brought her far higher than she would have thought possible. The cloud was also getting larger much more rapidly than it should have. She blinked. It wasn’t falling apart, but the top was sort of… spreading out, somehow? A few moments later, she got her answer.

The center of her cloud glowed, as though lit from the inside, then sunlight burst through, shining directly onto her. Somehow, some invisible force had drilled a hole right through the center of her cloud body. But she was the only pony out here? What could have made a hole in her cloud?

As the base of the cloud rushed up to greet her, Rainstream slipped through the middle. The air inside the cloud was even warmer than the column of air she’d rode up on. Was it possible she’d build her thunderhead on a thermal? It would make sense. That was how most thunderheads got spread out.

A smile spread across Rainstream’s face and she kicked all for hooves at the cloud in front of her, shooting across the gap to the other side, where she turned and kicked off of that too. Rainstream bounced her way up through the thermal vent she’d built until the jiggly clouds started dripping rainwater. She came to a stop at the top and settled onto the ledge then looked down.

Reaching out below her massive cloud was a lot and a lot of water, just dripping and spewing out of the soaked clouds she’d gathered earlier. Rain. Rainstream stared down at it in disbelief for a good minute. She’d done it. She’d actually built a stormcloud and gotten rain to come out of it.

Her smile spread wider until she was staring open mouthed down at her creation. An energy rose up in her chest and Rainstream followed it, leaping high into the air flipping over onto her back. She spread her wings out at the height of her jump, and the thermal caught her. The sky became the ground for a moment as Rainstream lay there in place, floating on hot air, staring out at the school behind her. Then her gaze shifted to the space between her and the school, then to the edge of the cloud she was on, and then finally she remembered the reason she’d come out here in the first place.

Rainstream stretched her neck and stared backward at the rainfall below her, watching how it shifted and swirled as it fell. As she looked further, her body started to tilt, and she let it. Folding her wings slightly, and tilting her primaries, Rainstream slid further and further until she was falling straight down in a near perfect dive. The warm air rushed up past her as the end of the tunnel grew closer. Her heart pounded in her chest as her tertiaries twitched in anticipation.

There was a sound like air being forced through a funnel, growing louder and louder until the soundwaves collected on a single point. As she reached that point, Rainstream passed fully through the cloud, and into the rain fall.

All around her, large drops of water hung in the air. If not for the howl of the wind and the whip of her mane, Rainstream could have been floating. She reached out to one of them, and found herself drifting into their path, until they melted into her coat. She had thought they’d be cold. They were warm. Little pockets of warm water and air that she could reach out and cling to as they clung to her. Rainstream shifted her primaries and spun in place, twirling downward with her fellow raindrops.

A glance upward told her she’d fallen pretty far, so she turned inward and entered a spiral. The wind pressed against her wings harder and harder, gradually taking more and more of her weight as each loop got shallower and shallower. Finally, she was going up again, a curtain of rain marking the outer limit of her now upward spiral. She dipped a wing tip into the downpour, directing a spray of mist inward. She laughed as it hit her face.

Pumping her wings again, Rainstream soared higher up through the downpour, riding the updraft most of the way. As she got closer to the cloud, she began making more and more passes through the stream of rain. The feel of it on her back and across her feathers was very soothing. Rainstream could feel it soaking up her stresses and washing them away as each drop of water rolled off her back. It was even better than the day she’d gotten her cutie mark.

When the rain finally ran out, and the cloud drifted apart, Rainstream was forced to abandon her fun and head back to her room. Well, it couldn’t last forever. She turned toward the school and gave a few strong flaps, then simply glided. She would be back tomorrow.

Gathering clouds

“I thought you said you couldn’t fly without the rain.”

Rainstream blinked, and snapped her attention back to List. He had set down his cocoa, frowning at her from across the small table between them.

“You sound like you could already fly,” he said, and tilted his head to the side.

Rainstream smiled, stepping away from the window and settling back down onto the couch. “I didn’t really mean it like that. I could fly, but not the way I liked to. Just listen. You’ll understand.”

He took another sip of his cocoa and curled back up on the couch next to her. He stiffened as a clap of thunder shook the house, but a few brushes from Rainstream’s wingtips on his back released the tension in his muscles. Rainstream’s chest fur stood out, and she looked back up at the rain outside.

“I hadn’t realized it yet, but my cutie mark had appeared sometime during the making of that rain.” List gasped, at which Rainstream smiled even wider. “Mrs. Meadowbloom made a big deal about it and I almost broke down again, but I knew it was what I was meant to do, so a few weeks later, they got me the advanced private classes I needed, and boy did that make a difference.”

Rainstream could feel tingles spreading all the way to her wingtips. “My tutor was a Wonderbolt pick. She’d be heading out to training just as soon as she finished classes. Really clever too. I’ll never forget the lessons she taught me.” She stared up at the storm outside and smiled as she recalled the memory.

~ ~ ~

Rainstream’s wings strained as they matched her heart’s rapid pace beat for beat. Beads of sweat formed on her brow but were quickly swept away by the wind. Her eyes were drawn to tight slits as she ripped through the air like butter. In reality it was a lot more like swimming through syrup than slicing butter, but she was still a lot faster than almost everypony else. The roar of a nearby wind current splitting itself around another pony’s wings tickled at her ears. Almost.

At this speed, Rainstream had to constantly pump her wings just to continue at the pace she was going, and the strain on her lungs was tremendous, not to mention how tired her chest was. The howl of her pursuer’s wind drew steadily closer. Rainstream’s wings burned as she urged them to beat faster, but she was still losing ground.

So fast.

She chanced a look over her shoulder and felt a moment of panic wash through her. The other pony was gaining on her. Fast.

Rainstream returned her gaze straight ahead and pumped her wings as hard as she possibly could, eyes pressed so tightly they were nearly closed. Her vision narrowed to almost nothing as she pushed with all her might.

“Hey watch out!”

Something smacked into Rainstream like a freight train, stopping her dead and punching the air completely from her lungs. The world spun around Rainstream’s head like a cyclone and her stomach threatened to leap out through her throat. She held onto whatever was in front of her for a few painful moments until the nausea passed, then took note of her surroundings.
It turned out “it” hadn’t smacked into her, rather she had smacked into it. And it was a large (and normally very fluffy) cloud.

“Hey, come on, watch where you’re going.” The high scratchy voice of her private tutor brought Rainstream back to something resembling reality. “It’s no fun beating a filly who crashes into every cloud she passes.”

Rainstream groaned, pulling her head from the cloud and glaring back at the mare mocking her. She was floating just a few yards back, blue coat and white mane nearly blending into the sky behind her. If not for the brilliant fuchsia glow of her eyes, Fleetfoot could have hidden in plain sight easily.

“Weren’t you supposed to be teaching me or something?”

The older mare rolled her eyes. “Oh please, you’re way ahead of the curve. By next week you’re supposed to be able to recognize updrafts, smoothly pull out of a dive, and glide for a hundred yards. Kid stuff. Anyone who’s anyone knows you flew here on your own without your parents, so there’s no way you don’t know that.”

She gave a few lazy flaps of her wings and landed on her back on the cloud next to Rainstream.
“I’m just here because I need the credits if I’m going to be eligible for the Wonderbolts to snatch me up once I get out of here. It was this or weather duty, and I hate playing with clouds. You’re basically saving me from a few months of torture, kid.” She closed her eyes and folded her forelegs behind her head.

Rainstream landed delicately on the open space next to Fleetfoot and frowned at her.

“But, can’t you show me some of the things you know? I want to learn to fly like you.”

Fleetfoot opened one eye. “Fly like me? Please. I’m Wonderbolt material. It would take you years to catch up to me.”

Rainstream’s lip curled.

Fleetfoot opened both eyes and sat up, leaning back on her elbows. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re a great flier for your age. I’m actually pushing to get Headmaster Zephyrus to put you on an accelerated learning program just so you’re not bored all the time.”

Rainstream’s chest fluttered. Really?

“But you’re nowhere near my level, and like I said, you’re already way ahead of the curriculum, so let’s just hang out for today. It’s supposed to rain later, and I’m liking the sun right where it is right now.”

Fleetfoot closed her eyes and returned to the laid back position she was in earlier.

Rainstream laid back next to the older mare and glanced over. Fleetfoot’s legs were just sort of sprawled out in front of her. Her chest rose and fell gently, and little feathers twitched as the breeze brushed them. Her wings hung loosely at her side, folded but not tucked. Her neck was supported by her hooves, and her head fell back onto the cloud beneath it, pressing in slightly. Her eyes were closed peacefully, and her muzzle held a neutral smugness that bellowed its contentment to the world.

Rainstream took care to match her body position, glancing over several times to make sure she had it right, but she had trouble getting her wings to just relax. It took a few tries, but eventually she was snugly laying down next to Fleetfoot. Satisfied with her body position, Rainstream closed her eyes, and tried to smile.

Oh. This was very nice. The first thing she noticed was the warmth of the sun on her belly. it built slowly, spreading out until her whole body was a balmy blanket of heat. Now her wings relaxed, opening enough to allow the the breeze to blow through her wing pits. It tickled her coverts and brought a welcome chill that balanced the heat from the rest of her.

Was this what all the best fliers did in their free time? Rainstream opened her eyes and looked back over at Fleetfoot, still peacefully lying there with her eyes closed. Fleetfoot was the best flier in the whole school. Everypony knew that. She was even better than some of the instructors. When Rainstream had been assigned to her as a student, it had been the best thing since arriving here. To learn from somepony with who had won the Cloudsdale circuit twice while still in flight school, and the best young flyer competition the only year she’d tried out. Rainstream had expected Fleetfoot to be the best teacher she’d ever had.

But so far she hadn’t learned anything. Fleetfoot only seemed interested in getting credit for teaching her, just so she could go join the Wonderbolts. It had been a week and all they’d done was race around the school a few times and sleep on clouds. Rainstream frowned. Maybe somepony that good didn’t need to practice. Maybe she just listened to the wind or something. That made sense. Rainstream had gotten here just by doing what her instincts told her. Maybe if she could learn to hear the wind better, she’d know how it was moving, and she could move through it better.

Rainstream laid her head back down and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly, focusing all her concentration on just listening to the wind. If Fleetfoot wasn’t going to show her anything, she’d just have to learn her own way. She focused on the small whisper running through her mane. It flicked a few hairs onto her snout, which tickled. She wrinkled her snout and shook her head to brush them aside, then lay still again.

Listening through the wind, she could hear it moving around the cloud they were on, and by straining just a bit further, she could hear the air just beyond the edges of the cloud. The air was open, moving freely. Try as she might, Rainstream couldn’t make out anything beyond the edges of her cloud. She frowned. It had been easier when she’d made that large rain cloud.

Rainstream opened her eyes again, and sat up. Rain. It had been several weeks since she’d made that big rain cloud. She’d been meaning to ask somepony about weather making but hadn’t found anypony approachable who knew.

She glanced over at Fleetfoot, still lying peacefully on the cloud, looking for all the world like she owned it. Would she know anything about weather making? Rainstream reached out a hoof to nudge her, then stopped.

Fleetfoot didn’t really seem to care about her much. She actually reminded Rainstream very much of her own parents, too busy with their own self interests to pay much attention to her. Would Fleetfoot even bother? Rainstream set her hoof down.

But she had said something about weather duties, so surely she must know something.

Just then, Fleetfoot snorted loudly, making Rainstream jump. She took another look at Fleetfoot. Her lips were parted slightly, and flapped together as she exhaled. Her inhales came in loud, broken snorts and whistles.

She was… snoring. Fleetfoot had actually fallen asleep.

Rainstream’s lip trembled. Should she wake her up? Rainstream couldn’t be sure if she actually knew anything about weather, and she might be mad if Rainstream woke her up for nothing.
Thoughts of what the older pony might do to her began to flood Rainstream’s mind, and she backed away slowly along the cloud. She curled up on the ground and fought back shivers as she slowly stroked her own mane. It would be a very bad idea to wake up Fleetfoot.

Rainstream’s breathing now came in quick and strangled gasps. As Rainstream fought back viscous memories of her old home life, she focused on the one thing that had saved her back then. Rain. That day when she’d finally flown. The day she’d run away, into the hills outside the city. Where she’d watched the storm. Watched as the rain fell, so slowly from so far away, and how the distant rumble of thunder soothed her fear. The gentle patter of the raindrops as they reached her and drove away her troubles.

Rainstream’s breathing slowed and became easier, and she turned to look down at her flank,, where three large blue raindrops sat surrounded by a stream of mist. That was the day she’d decided to come here. The day she realized she needed to learn about weather making, so that she could show everypony else what she’d seen.

Rainstream looked again at Fleetfoot, still snoring. She wasn’t Rainstream’s father, and Rainstream could fly now. Besides, Rainstream had come here for a reason, and Fleetfoot was supposed to be her tutor. She may as well teach her something, even if it wasn’t flying. But how to approach her?

Rainstream reached out a hoof to poke Fleetfoot again, then stopped. Her chest tightened up, and she swallowed as a lump formed in her throat. Rainstream tried to press her hoof forward but it wouldn’t budge. If only it were raining, then maybe she could touch her. Rainstream put her hoof back down and stared at it. This was more difficult than it should be.

Somewhere in the distance, Rainstream heard the low rumble of thunder. She blinked, gazing upward. The clouds were gathered thickly overhead, blocking out the sun. Was it raining already?

No. Not yet. But it was just about to. Rainstream could feel the damp air gathering around them as the clouds above prepared to release their stores of rainwater. She looked back down at Fleetfoot, set her jaw, and gave the older pony a firm poke.

“Fleetfoot?”

“Huh?” Fleetfoot’s legs flailed as she jerked awake. She looked around, then relaxed when her eyes fell on Rainstream. “Oh it’s just you, what’s up?” She closed her eyes and laid back down, but her ears were swiveled in Rainstream’s direction.

“What do you know about weather making?”

“Ugh, way too much.” Fleetfoot sat up and opened her eyes, staring angrily out at the open sky. “My mother made me learn when I was a filly because she wanted me to join the weather factory just like her.” She rolled her eyes. “I hate it, but it’s come in handy from time to time. Why do you ask?” She tilted her head toward Rainstream with a frown that wrinkled her face all the way to her forehead.

Before she could answer, a raindrop landed on Fleetfoot’s snout with a soft *plop*. Fleetfoot looked up at the gathered clouds.

“Huh? Already? I thought it wasn’t supposed to rain until later.”

Fleetfoot sat there staring for a moment, and Rainstream took that moment to breathe in deeply. She could hear the rain coming down, more so than the wind. She felt a few raindrops strike her back, and soak into her fur. She closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, then opened them.

“Can you please teach me to make rain?”

Fleetfoot looked back at her with wide eyes, then quickly shook her head.

“Rain? Seriously? Why would you want to make rain? Besides, it’s already raining; there’s no point right now.”

Rainstream stared straight into her eyes, unflinching. This was her chance. She’d come here for this, and it would start right here. She could hear the rain shouting its approval as her fur became even wetter. “Can you?” she said, without emotion.

Fleetfoot took a step back. “Well, I mean, yeah, I can—my mother made me learn—but really why bother? We have weather ponies for that, and everypony hates the rain anyway. It’s only good for watering the ground. That’s why we don’t schedule it often.” She took a brief glance up at the rain and then back down at Rainstream, who was trotting in place.

Rainstream took another breath, breathing in the sweet scent of ozone the rain had always brought with it. She gave Fleetfoot a gentle smile and spoke with a chest full of confidence she had not realized she had. “I don’t hate the rain. And I would like to learn. Can you please teach me?”

Fleetfoot froze in place, staring at Rainstream as though she’d just suggested life on the ground would be better than the sky. Her mouth opened and closed several times, until finally she just kept it shut. The rain was coming down at a decent pace now, and her mane was utterly soaked. She looked up at the clouds again and mouthed ‘why me?’ then looked back at Rainstream with a defeated glower.

“Alright fine. We should really head in, but you’ve got another hour of ‘class’ and Headmaster Zephyrus won’t fault me for being over motivated.” She snapped open her wings and shook them a few times, then crouched into a ‘ready for takeoff’ stance. A grin spread across her face as she raised her wings. “This’ll actually look good on me as a leader anyway. Extra points toward being a Wonderbolt. Alright, let’s go.” She launched herself straight up with a powerful thrust of her wings. In seconds, she was nearly a hundred feet above Rainstream, who almost forgot she was going to be following as she stared upward in awe. A second later she remembered herself, and vaulted into the air after Fleetfoot.

~ ~ ~

Flying in the rain was nothing like flying through just air. The water cooled the air so that it sank, rushing downward along with the rain. It was like trying to swim upstream in a river. Rainstream fought for every inch of altitude, and this time she had no open air thermal shaft to rest on if she got tired.

By the time she got halfway to the clouds above her, Rainstream found herself almost completely out of breath. Her lungs burned, along with her wing muscles, making her chest just one large agony zone. She coughed and sputtered as she helplessly gulped down wet lung-fulls of air.

The higher she got, the more labored and slow her wingbeats became, until she was falling nearly as far as she rose with each wingbeat. Then, she wasn’t gaining any altitude at all. And then she began to fall.

Panic wasn’t quite the right word. Rainstream was too tired to panic. It felt more like someone had stabbed her through the chest. The wind began to rush upward and her wings just hung uselessly above her as the cloud quickly grew farther away. Unless she was lucky enough to land back on the cloud beneath her, Rainstream knew she was going to die. A chill spread through her that had nothing to do with the rain.

Rain! As she fell, Rainstream became like the rain again. Just like that day. she wasn’t falling through the rain. She was falling with it. The rain wasn’t cold. It was warm, tickling her fur, and telling her that she was going to make it. Then she heard… something, in the rain.

She swiveled her ears, searching for the difference in the sound of the rain falling. Yes, there it was. There was something in the rain, close to her, closing in on her. Rainstream’s heart fluttered, and she looked around for the source of what she had heard. Then something caught her. Firm, wet hooves wrapped around her, halting her descent immediately, and bringing her back up.

But this time she wasn’t held down by the force of it. She was rushing upward, held by the strong hooves of whoever had found her. The rain had been right. She was going to make it. Then the two of them burst through the cloud layer, and the wet hooves released her. She fell for a brief moment, then landed on a thick, dense cloud.

The roar of the rain was muffled dramatically by the cloud layer, and replaced by the sputtered coughs of a wet and exhausted filly. Rainstream coughed up several mouthfuls of water, fighting to bring precious air down into her lungs. As she slowly found her breath, Rainstream took stock of her surroundings. She was on top of the cloud layer, safe, dripping dry. And Fleetfoot was standing over her, her expression unreadable.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Fleetfoot exclaimed, shaking her head. “How do you expect to ever manage rain if you can’t even fly in it?”

Rainstream didn’t respond. Her mouth worked but no sound came out. All she could do was blink the water away from her eyes. Fleetfoot was right. She was silly to think she could just make rain because she wanted to. Rain was dangerous. it made your wings wet and heavy, it cooled the air so you would sink, and it was nearly impossible to see through. She’d almost died just now. If Fleetfoot hadn’t caught her...

Rainstream’s breathing became very rapid, and her lungs, for all of their working, found themselves squeezed of the very air they were trying to take in.

Fleetfoot shook her head again. “We did this way too fast. You need to be familiar with rain and what it does to the air before you try to fly in it. It’s not the same as normal flying.”

Rainstream collapsed against the cloud beneath her and began to wail.

Fleetfoot was instantly at her side “Whoa, hey now, stop that. I’m sorry.”

Rainstream didn’t respond. If anything, her wails grew louder.

“Ugh this is hopeless.”

Great, now her tutor had left her. After all of the screw ups she’d done, at least somepony had been there to hold her. Now she’d become so much of a nuisance that her tutor didn’t want to be around her. Self doubt had caused Rainstream to think bad of herself before, but to actually have somepony else confirm her fears was a knife in her heart. Rainstream lay there for several minutes before her wails died down to a whimper, and she lay crying into the cloud beneath her.

“You done yet?”

Rainstream’s eyes snapped open. Kneeling comfortably on a cloud not ten feet in front of her, with her wings folded neatly at her sides, was Fleetfoot, who looked back at Rainstream sideways in a way that suggested she was more confused than impatient. Rainstream’s tears dried instantly as she stared open mouthed at her tutor.

“Y-you’re still here?”

The silence dragged on for a moment, then Fleetfoot slowly grinned. “I’m a Wonderbolt to be, kid,” she said, getting up and moving over next to Rainstream. “I’ve got to be a strong example of their ideals, and Wonderbolts are ponies of honor, not just skill. I’d be a pretty poor example if I just abandoned a filly who was having a crying fit in the middle of a storm. Of course I stuck around.”

She wrapped a wing around Rainstream and pulled her into a tight side hug as she knelt down next to her. “I’m sorry I upset you. I guess I just got stressed out because of this whole Wonderbolt thing. Tell you what. If you can promise not to drop out of the sky again, I’ll teach you how to make rain.”

Rainstream’s chest filled with warm air as she stared up at her tutor, unable to form words.

“But don’t think it’s because I like you or anything,” Fleetfoot teased, hopping into the air and booping Rainstream in the nose while on the wing. “I have to get a good eval if I’m gonna get those extra credits, or I won’t graduate ‘till next year, and then no Wonderbolt uniform for this sky sweeper. So make sure you give me a good rep at the end of the year, got it?” Fleetfoot grinned warmly at Rainstream and hovered over the cloud layer, wings beating majestically and kicking up a light mist.

Rainstream was on her hooves at once, all previous doubt forgotten in the wake of her practically buzzing wings. In the wake of her cutie mark, she was going to recieve lessons on how to make rain, from possibly the top student in the whole school. A squee may or may not have escaped her throat. Fleetfoot chuckled. "Alright then, little miss rainmaker, let’s get some clouds."

~ ~ ~

There were already plenty of clouds nearby due to the scheduled storm, so it didn’t take them long to create a sopping mass of clouds the size of a small house. One of the official weather ponies tried to shoo them away after realizing they were messing with his clouds, but Fleetfoot handled him, mentioning something about ‘important lessons’ and ‘wouldn’t affect anything down below anyway’.

Rainstream sped in circles around the massive wet ball they’d built up in the sky, endlessly murmuring ‘ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh’ through her hooves as Fleetfoot attempted to rein her in

“Yeah, alright, calm down!” She exclaimed, snatching Rainstream out of the air with her front hooves as the filly made another pass. “It’s great that we’ve collected all this raincloud, but we still need to spread it out. Now come on, I’ll show you how to mold the clouds.”

Rainstream stared back with a face that nearly killed Fleetfoot with how cute it was. The older pony smiled with rosy cheeks as she carried Rainstream up to the side of their little cumulus and let her go. Rainstream’s buzzing wings held her aloft, so Fleetfoot gestured toward the cloud next to them

“Now, I want you to think of the cloud like…” Fleetfoot paused, scratching her head with a hoof. “Don’t suppose your parents ever let you play with modeling clay as a kid?” She asked hopefully.

The puzzled expression on Rainstream’s face gave Fleetfoot her answer.

Fleetfoot rolled her eyes. “Alrighty then, no idea what clay even is. Super. Ever make mud castles?”

Rainstream frowned.

“You know, after it’s rained and the ground is all soggy. Have you even been to the ground?”

Rainstream’s wingbeats slowed nearly to a halt as her mild frown twisted into an expression that made Fleetfoot regret she’d even mentioned it.

“You know what, nevermind all that. Here just— do this.”

Fleetfoot reached out a hoof and touched it to the edge of the cloud, then dragged it along the edge of the cloud, creating a depression in its wake and pressing up a thick ball of cloud in front of it.

Rainstream watched intently as Fleetfoot repeated the process, drops of liquid building up on her forehead. Rainstream reached out a hoof, and dragged it along the surface of the cloud. The cotton-like surface scattered, but didn’t build up into a ball the way Fleetfoot’s had. She tried again, but was unable to do much more than push it out of the way. She let out a grunt of frustration and swatted at the cloud, accomplishing nothing new.

“That’s alright; you’re learning,” Fleetfoot reassured her. “Try it again, but this time, squeeze with the soft pad on your hoof, like you’re trying to pick something up.”

Rainstream frowned at her, then turned back to the cloud, lips pressed tightly together. She pressed her hoof against the cloud, squeezed it, and then pulled sideways. A small bit of cloud stuck to her hoof and separated from the rest of the cloud mass with a soft tearing sound.

Fleetfoot let out a small snort “Heh, my fault I guess. That happens sometimes. Let’s see.” She tapped her forehead a few times with her hoof. “Oh, the day you got your cutie mark, you said you’d been pushing clouds around. What did you do then?”

Rainstream looked down at the ball of cloud on her hoof. It wasn’t solid, by any means, she could tell that much. It felt… different. She could hold it even though it shouldn’t be there. Last week she’d pushed bunches of it around just by thinking about it. But how had she done that?

Rainstream placed her other hoof on the other side of the ball of cloud. Her hoof… connected, somehow. Like as soon as it got close to the cloud, the cloud became something that could be touched, and attached itself to her hoof. She could feel what should not be there, somehow solid between her hooves.

But how solid? She gave it an experimental squeeze, pressing her hooves toward each other. The surface around the sides bulged out, while the spots her hooves were touching moved inward. Rainstream started a small rolling motion with her hooves, and the cloud responded, almost like the rubber ball she’d had as a filly. But that ball had never been this squishy. Rainstream pressed her hooves firmly together, squeezing the cloud further and further. Just as her muscles began to strain against the semi solid cloud, it burst in her hooves, popping like a balloon and disappearing into the air.

“Okay, maybe don’t squeeze it so hard next time,” Fleetfoot cut ini, watching Rainstream closely. “Here, try it again. This time, see if you can stretch it like silly putty.” She reached out and snatched another puff of cloud from the mass in front of them and held it out to Rainstream, who gingerly pressed a hoof onto it.

It was… Spongy. That was a good word for it. Not quite solid, but clearly not just vapor. It was still pretty wet though. A few drops ran down her hoof and soaked into her fur. She felt the odd connection attach the cloud to her hoof, and then felt it detach from Fleetfoot’s. Fleetfoot pulled her own hoof away, and returned to staring at Rainstream’s hooves.

Rainstream placed her hooves on either side of the cloud once again and gave it a soft squeeze. Then pulled her hooves apart. The ball bulged in the opposite direction this time, getting narrower in the middle and longer at the ends. But then the middle got too narrow, and with a soft tearing sound, the cloud separated into two smaller balls, one in each of Rainstream’s hooves.

Letting out a small snort, Rainstream almost smashed the two clouds, but caught herself. Forcing herself to relax at least somewhat, Rainstream pressed the two clouds together. Her face crept closer to the two white puffs, and her eyes narrowed to tight slits as she carefully pressed, willing the two clouds back together.

She’d nearly lost patience with waiting when the two clouds finally smooshed back into one mass with a soft poofing noise. But she didn’t pause to enjoy it. Immediately she rolled it in her hooves, and stretched it again, trying to feel how the strange cloud substance played in her hooves. She thought about how she’d moved so many clouds around last week. It had been so easy to shape them then. What was different?

The cloud tore again, and Rainstream smashed it together like she had the first time without hesitation. She was going to get this. Again, she pulled at the cloud, her face moving closer and closer to it as her eyes squinted in concentration.

Come on, stretch!

Rainstream pictured the cloud stretching like gum, extending between her hooves in a long, fluffy bridge.

“There you go, now you’ve got it.”

Rainstream blinked. Stretched between her hooves was the cloud she’d been working with, covering a distance much further than it had before, and it hadn’t torn. Her mouth fell open in realization, and she turned toward Fleetfoot, eyes wide in amazement.

Fleetfoot smiled. “Different isn’t it? Most pegasi take a few years to figure out how to properly channel their magic into the cloud, but you seem to be a quick learner.” She grabbed her own hoofful of cloud and stretched and twisted it a few times before returning it to the main mass.

“And yes, Pegasi have magic,” She went on, seeing Rainstream’s puzzled expression. “All ponies do, really. It just works differently for pegasi and earth ponies. It’s how we’re able to control the weather, and since you’ve asked me to show you how to make the most difficult weather there is… well, it’s a good thing you’re a quick learner.”

Fleetfoot rubbed the top of Rainstream’s head. Rainstream smiled up at her, and stuck her chest out. Her tail even waggled a bit.

“But first we’ve got to work on cloud shaping. Now that you’ve figured out how to get your magic to affect the cloud, we can get started on basic cloud theory. You normally wouldn’t learn this until your junior year, but it’s kinda necessary for what you’re doing, and we’re already here. Start with your wings.”

Rainstream extended and curled her wings a few times, staring back at them, and then back to Fleetfoot. “Wings?”

Fleetfoot nodded. “Yep, wings are the most instinctual part of a pegasus’s body that channels magic, and because of that they’re the easiest to use for moving or shaping clouds, if you know what you’re doing, of course.” She gave Rainstream a wink, then gave a powerful thrust with her wings and kicked off the cloud they were both on in a very fast vertical takeoff. She arched her back and dove backward over the cloud they’d just made.

Rainstream stared intently as part of the cloud pressed inward, just beneath where Fleetfoot had flown. A few seconds later, Fleetfoot appeared under the cloud, flying so close to it that her wingtips were almost touching the edge, and where her wingtips passed, the cloud pressed inward, creating a small channel that wrapped around the whole cloud. In addition, the sides of the cloud had extended outward, as though the whole thing were a kind of putty. Fleetfoot made two or three more passes around the cloud this way, moving over each time, until she had stretched the whole cloud out to a long and thin shape, instead of a big round ball like they’d had.

Fleetfoot returned and settled down next to Rainstream with a few soft flutters. “Now, I don’t want you trying that just yet; that was just a demonstration. You’re still new at this and you could wind up hurt, but there is another way to use your wings, and I’d like you to help me with this next one.

Rainstream gasped. She wasn’t just going to show her, Rainstream was actually going to move the clouds herself. Her wings fluttered rapidly of their own accord and she lifted off of the cloud floor a little bit. Fleetoof beckoned for Rainstream to join her, and the filly obliged.

“Now, all we’re going to do is create a gentle breeze to push the cloud,” she said, looking at Rainstream, and then nodding toward the cloud as she spoke. “Just use your wings, and pretend you’re sending waves of air at the cloud. Remember how different it felt when you used pegasi magic to mold the cloud?”

Rainstream nodded sharply, a determined grin on her face.

“Good. It should be just like that, but you’re going to push the air, and the air—not you—is going to move the cloud. Ready?”

Rainstream nodded again.

“Okay, here we go. Do just like me.”

Fleetfoot stood straight up in the air, and flapped her wings in a forward to backward motion. No, wait… Backward to forward. Right, she was supposed to be pushing the air forward. Rainstream copied her motion, or tried to. It was difficult to balance at first, and she ended up doing a backflip a couple of times before she got it right.

Once she was able to balance herself, Rainstream moved her wings in the same back to front motion Fleetfoot was doing. And it worked. The cloud was moving away from her. Rainstream smiled wide. She was doing it after all.

Fleetfoot looked back at her with a tight smile, then stopped and flew over to Rainstream.

“Not quite, but you’ve got the right idea.” She put a hoof on Rainstream’s shoulder. “You’re just flying backward right now, which is a useful skill, but you’re triyng to move a cloud. You have to find your magic and push it out through your wingtips. Just like with your hooves, but it’s your wings this time.”

Rainstream frowned. Hadn’t she been doing that?

“Come on, let’s try it again.”

She gave Rainstream’s shoulder a tug, and the filly followed. They caught up to the cloud, and started again.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Don’t just flap your wings. Just try to push the magic out through your wingtips, and think forward. Your body should do the rest.” She winked, and turned back to the cloud, slowly flapping her wings as she had before.

Rainstream copied her again, thinking hard about what Fleetfoot had said. Don’t just flap your wings. Push the magic out through your wingtips. Think forward. She looked down at her wingtips, just like she had looked at her hooves earlier.
Just like with your hooves, but it’s your wings this time.
Her hooves had felt different. Maybe if…

Rainstream closed her eyes, and visualized kneading the cloud with her hooves, except she was using her wings. There! She felt something. Sort of like a tickle at her primaries. She dared not open her eyes. She had to focus. Rainstream concentrated on that little tingle, and willed it to spread to the rest of her primaries. Then when she could feel it spread all the way across her wingtips, she pushed it forward, streaming out away from her, and began moving her wings.

“That’s it! Just like that, you’re doing it!”

Rainstream opened her eyes. The cloud was moving away from her again, but Fleetfoot was still right next to her this time, and smiling wide at her.

“Nice job, kid. Alright, now keep up.”

Fleetfoot put on a burst of speed and raced toward the cloud. Rainstream put a little less effort into the tingling, and a little more into pushing herself forward. The trick worked. She could still feel that tingle, but she was moving forward after Fleetfoot at a decent pace. When they’d caught up, she put more into pushing the cloud, and less into moving forward, but she still kept some of her forward motion, so she could stay with the cloud.

“Alright, you keep that up, I’m going to help a bit from the bottom, and we’ll spread this out into a proper cloud ceiling. Come on.”

Fleetfoot dove under the cloud, and started making the same motions as before, but she was on her back, and pushing the air upward. Rainstream blinked. She hadn’t known that was possible, but there it was. Her momentary amazement did not distract her for long though, and Rainstream returned to pushing on the cloud.

As they moved along, Rainstream happened to look down and noticed they were well above the cloud floor they’d been standing on before. Furthermore, the cloud she was pushing was getting wider. A lot wider. The current she was blowing across the top of it was working with the updraft Fleetfoot had created to lift and spread the cloud into a higher cloud ceiling, and still dripping with water.

A smile appeared on Rainstream’s face, and only grew bigger and bigger as she realized what they were doing.

“Alright stop,” Fleetfoot called.

Rainstream cut off the magical tingle in her wings and just hovered. A few moments later Fleetfoot appeared from under the cloud, wiping sweat from her forehead.

“Whoo, that wore me out. I forgot how exhausting cloud shaping is. I don’t know how the weather ponies keep it up all day.” She hovered for a few seconds, catching her breath, then turned back to Rainstream.

“Alright, it’s getting late and I’m tired, so we can’t stay long. But I did promise, so here we go.”

Fleetfoot didn’t move as powerfully as she had before. Instead, she just glided over to the cloud until she bumped into it. “Hokay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “First things first. Before I show you how to actually make the rain, I need to be sure you’re not going to fall out of the sky when you fly through it, and you will need to fly through it at some point if you’re going to make a habit of this, so…” She looked down at the cloud floor beneath them, then at the underside of the cloud the two of them had just pushed up there. She looked at Rainstream, gave a slow nod, and then kicked out lazily with a hoof, striking the cloud and sending a shock through it.

Rainstream could feel… something. Something was different about the air, and there was definitely something happening to the cloud. Where before it had simply been wet and heavy, now it looked as though it were liquefying. The white cotton color had faded to a deep gray, and she could almost see the water dripping out of it. Actually she could. Water was now steadily dripping from the entire cloud at once, and increasing in volume. Water was falling underneath the cloud she’d just shaped. Rain.

It was raining beneath the cloud.

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long. I moved to Japan, and there was a whole bunch of induction issues and then I had to get over the shock of being in a new place and there was just a whole bunch of complications, and on top of that I've been hitting writer's block. But I should be back into the swing of things, so I apologize for the wait and hope you all don't hate me for cutting it off before the rain scene. It was just getting so long and I've kept you waiting long enough. Hopefully the next chapter will not take so long.

Chasing a storm

There’s probably nothing more frustrating and disheartening than discovering that you have no skill whatsoever in the one thing you’re supposed to be good at. Rainstream couldn’t decide if she loved or hated this. On the one hoof, she was surrounded by rain. It soaked into her mane and ran soothingly through her fur. It smelled fresher and cleaner than the finest cloud pillows, and the sound sent tingles up and down her small frame. She wanted to be nowhere else.

But her wings, lungs, and heart thought otherwise. Flames of exhaustion crackled and burned through all three, and threatened to spread to her whole body. Rainstream had lost count of how many times she’d fallen straight to the cloud floor below her, only to look back up with fierce determination and beat her wings even more furiously than before. Fleetfoot’s comment after her first attempt kept repeating in her head every time.

”If you can’t fly in the rain, forget about making rain for a living, never mind for fun. If you can’t do this, you’ll never be a weather pony."

Never be a weather pony? Forget about making rain? She had rain for a cutie mark for Celestia’s sake! What else was she supposed to do? And she’d known ever since that day—the day she’d left home—that this was what she had to do. Rain had helped her then. Rain had been her friend, and she’d known it would always be her friend, so she had to learn to make it.

But right now it was not being helpful in the slightest. Rainstream coughed up another lungful of wet air, unsure if there was saliva mixed with it. Each wingbeat felt as though she were moving the whole sky and earth with it. The air was thick and heavy and cold. Not like the warm, light air she’d learned to fly on.

But she’d chosen this. The edge of the rainstorm they’d built was just to her right. Rainstream turned to look at it. Not thirty feet in front of her was the edge of the rain, and beyond it lay bright—dry—sunny skies. It would be so easy to just fly over there, and rest on the drier clouds—maybe even glide a little on warm air currents.

But there would be no gliding for her today. Rainstream had come out here to learn to make rain, and darn it, she was going to learn if it killed her—which it nearly had an hour ago. Rainstream gave a snort and turned back into the center of the rain field.

The act of turning lost her a lot of lift, and Rainstream barely pulled up in time before smacking into the cloud floor. But she couldn’t get back up. She screamed as she willed her wings to work harder, but they simply wouldn’t. The burning had spread so much she couldn’t even feel them anymore, and her wingbeats grew slower, causing her hooves to touch down on the cloud beneath her. ver

You’ll never be a weather pony.

Rainstream hung her head and let her wings drop. She didn’t even bother folding them, so they hung loosely on the cloud. What if Fleetfoot was right? What if she couldn’t do this? All weather ponies had to fly in the rain sometimes, so how could she do this if she fell every time she went through rain? Thunder rolled by underneath her hooves, complementing the rain over her head.

No. She’d gotten all the way to the school on her own. She’d been assigned a private tutor. She’d just learned cloud molding in record time. She could do this. She just had to try harder. She glanced up, squinting her eyes against the rain at the very small bit of light, high above her where Fleetfoot was watching from, directly in the center of the cloud. If she could just fly through that opening, she could go home. Rainstream narrowed her eyes, lifted her wings and drove them down with as much force as she could. The resulting wet slap against the cloud beneath her told her just how useless that notion was right now. Despite her best efforts, Rainstream was grounded.

She wanted to cry. Nopony would notice right? It was raining. Something that had been building up for the past hour burst forth, and fresh tears mixed with the raindrops streaming down Rainstream’s face. She clenched her eyes shut and tucked her head into her shoulder.

“Hey, kid!”

Rainstream could barely hear her tutor’s voice through the rain. She didn’t even bother to look up. Rainstream folded her wings, ignoring their protests, and sat down hard on the wet cloud beneath her.

Forget about making rain.

“Kid! Hey, Rainstream!”

Her voice was much clearer this time. Rainstream heard a splash, and a felt brief gust of wind against her back. She opened her eyes and turned around. Fleetfoot stood behind her with one hoof raised slightly, as though she wasn’t sure whether to step forward or not.

"Hey what’s wrong? You give up or something?”

Fleetfoot almost looked scared, but Rainstream couldn’t imagine why; the roar of the rain had dropped to just a loud pattering on the saturated cloud floor. Rainstream lowered her head and stared down at the floor. She could taste her own tears on her lips, and was glad that the rain could hide it from Fleetfoot. She didn’t seem the sympathetic type.

“You know, I was actually starting to be impressed.”

Rainstream looked up.

“Yeah, really. I’ve never seen a filly try so hard after failing that many times. It was almost inspiring.”

Rainstream’s lips parted in a small gasp.

“I mean, you still suck. But it was better than I expected.”

Any joy that had been building in Rainstream’s chest was quickly extinguished.

“Anyway, we need to head back. If you keep going you won’t be able to fly on your own in hot, dry air, and I’m not really in the mood to carry you. Plus the storm was supposed to end a half hour ago. Weather Chief’s shut us down.”

The pattering of the rain died to a trickle, silent except for a few drops here and there. The cloud overhead was already separating, so that the sun grew warm again on Rainstream’s back. Rain sighed, too tired to feel miserable. It turned into somewhat of a groan, and Fleetfoot laughed.

“Don’t beat yourself up. You’ve made amazing progress for the short time you’ve been working on this. Honestly I never expected you to get this far. I am so getting extra points for this.”

Fleetfoot did a few loops in celebration, then sped off toward the school. Rainstream followed her, but at a much slower pace. Her wings flapped lazily and her head drooped the whole way. She was definitely looking forward to her bed, but she had a diary entry to complete first.

~ ~ ~

Dear Diary,
I did it. I made it rain on my own today! Fleetfoot finally showed me and for once something she taught me was actually easy. I love flying in the rain now, and I’m doing a lot better at it. I don’t get as tired anymore, and today I didn’t even touch down once before the weather chief said we had to stop. Fleetfoot says I shouldn’t be too proud, because she’s still way better than me, but she also tells me I’ve progressed a lot in the last few weeks. I don’t think she likes me very much. She teaches me stuff so she can get credit for it, but every time I ask her if we’re going to make rain today she whines about missing her nap. I still don’t understand how napping makes you a better flyer but Fleetfoot never wastes an opportunity to lie down.

I miss the class. I haven’t seen Stormfeather in weeks. I still get nervous around everypony, but maybe if it was raining it wouldn’t be so bad. I wish it could rain every day, but I don’t think Fleetfoot would like that. I think I’m going to just make my own rain behind the school where nopony can complain from now on. I like the rain. It makes me feel better about myself, and I feel like I can do things I couldn’t otherwise. I like it a lot.

~ ~ ~

The whistle of the wind spoke to Rainstream as she raced through the sky.

Almost got it. Just a bit closer.

Blood pounded through Rainstream’s head as her muscles screamed at her to let up. Her back ached as she held it in a tight arch, her partly folded wings strained from pressing against the air around her. Hooves were tucked against her barrel, eyes squeezed shut beneath the whipping of her wet mane, ears perked for any sounds on the wind, and her nose wrinkled at the scent of the cloud at her back.

Almost there.

High in the upper stratosphere, not half a click from Cloudsdale Flight School, Rainstream twisted tightly around a medium sized cumulus group.

It’s working!

Guided by the magical manipulations of a young orange pegasus, the clouds pressed together, forming one big cloud. Rainstream pumped her wings, causing the surrounding sky to blur as she sped around the cloud in a very tight pattern. She could feel the tingle on her wingtips reaching into the cloud behind her, influencing its shape and movement. Her windstream cut into the cloud, and made a long trough that twirled around the cloud like a candy cane.

Was that how Fleetfoot had done it? Rainstream tried to remember. It was so long ago. She had definitely flown around the cloud a lot, and squeezed it like… puddy. Rainstream’s head began to ache as her eyebrows pressed together. Her lungs burned from pumping so much air, wrenching Rainstream’s attention away from what she was doing.

With an exasperated groan, Rainstream pulled out of her tight maneuver, barrel rolling off to the side until her speed dissipated. It was easier to hold these tight loops now that her wing muscles had matured, but she still lacked the incredible stamina her old tutor had possessed. She spread her wings to their full span and glided on whatever air currents were in the area, and then took a look around.

To her left was the open sky, with some scattered clouds here and there, but mostly untouched. Below was an open plain stretching wide with open meadows, breaking into trees in the north, and farmed fields in the south. Due west to the horizon was a mountain range Rainstream was unfamiliar with.

To her right was the school. The sky was clear over the school for most of the day, but now that evening was settling in the weather team was thickening the clouds. Rainstream watched them for a few minutes, remembering what Fleetfoot had taught her about gathering clouds out of open air. It wasn’t easy, and you couldn’t just make the whole sky out of nothing or there would be no need for the weather factory. But there was always enough cloud dust in the air around Cloudsdale that adding to what clouds were already in the sky was doable for any competent weatherpony.

She glanced down. The school was empty of most activity. The odd instructor or two were rounding up the clouds they used to ferry new students to teaching arenas with, but the school was otherwise dark. A gentle rain fell on the surrounding area, adding to the growing shadows. Lights flickered on over the whole campus as the clouds overhead cast a shadow over the school. They were preparing for the sun to go down.

Rainstream tilted her wings and glided down in a slow gentle arc toward the dormitories. Fleetfoot had gone back to her room to nap hours ago, but Rainstream was content to fly until her wings hurt. Flying was just the most amazing feeling. Complete freedom. No obstacles, nothing holding you down. You could fall nearly forever, and climbing? That was simply the limit of your own body. Rainstream had no interest in climbing higher than the clouds. It was cold up there, and very hard to breathe, and there was never any rain.

Rainstream pulled up with a few quick flaps of her wings, landing lightly on the cloud ledge at the end of her dorm building. She flicked her wings to clear them of any remaining droplets before folding them tightly against her body, then let out a long sigh. She would have to thank the weather team for this rain. It was especially nice this evening.

“That was amazing.”

Rainstream’s entire body tensed. Eyes snapped all the way open, ears strained to pick up signs of what the rain had not told them about. Terrified of what she knew she would find, but compelled to look all the same, Rainstream swiveled her head painfully slowly toward the voice.

Twenty feet from her position, slack-jawed and gawking, muscular shoulders rippling over his lowered head, dark grey coat shining in the rain, stood the pony who always made her heart flutter. Rainstream couldn’t decide if she wanted him there or not. Her mouth opened and closed several times, and her whole body trembled as her mind fought to make a decision. Then he stepped closer, speaking once again.

“I’ve never seen anypony fly like that. You’re really amaz—hey, come back.”

Run! Fly! Hide! Rainstream’s body and mind had reached an agreement, and her legs kicked off powerfully as she dove straight down over the cloud edge and under the building, arching up through the courtyard, on the other side. Rainstream flipped onto her back to halt her vertical ascent, then flipped back over and landed on her feet. She gave a quick search of the area, then rushed into her room, locking the door behind her.

Rainstream hoof slipped the bolt into place with a loud click, and at last she let out a long breath. She strode toward the center of the room, coat dripping. Her breath came in heavy gasps as the last two minutes caught up to her.

She’d been flying, practicing a cloud-shaping technique Fleetfoot had shown her. Then, she’d flown closer to the school, and somepony had seen her. But not just anypony. Stormfeather. And he’d spoken. To her.

Rainstream’s cheeks drew up into a large smile at the thought of Stormfeather’s soft smooth baritone voice. His lethal smile, and the way his eyes sparkled in the twilight.

And she’d run away from that. Rainstream let out a huff of air through her nostrills as her smile instantly switched to a glower. She sat back on the ground and threw her forehooves over her head. Ugh that was so stupid, why did she run away? She’d always wanted him to talk to her, and she’d run away.

Rainstream sunk completely to the floor. Crawling toward her bed in the corner. Her fur felt very hot and her breathing quickened. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster, but the more she willed it to slow down, the faster it got, until it felt as though it were about to explode. Daggers pierced her skull and a roar filled her ears that seemed to have no source. Her entire body began to shake, and she could do nothing but hold on to the floor and hope she didn’t die.

This lasted for several minutes, obscuring Rainstream’s perception of how much time had actually passed. At last the roar quieted until it became the breeze outside, and Rainstream’s shivering slowed to she point that she could make out the room around her. She looked up, rubbing her eyes and realizing that she’d been crying.

She blinked the tears away and studied her room, mostly to distract herself. Her bed was covered by a thick light blue blanket, and pressed against the northern wall of her room. The lamp to her left was unlit, but unbroken. She reached with a hoof and switched it on. There were three posters on the wall, one of lightning, one of rain, and one of a sunset. The last one had a full spectrum of color, even green near the horizon. The west wall was mostly blank, except for a window with the blinds drawn. Her desk was pressed neatly against the opposite wall, crumpled papers spread across its surface. An inkwell held three quills, and a fourth one lay dripping on the desk.

Rainstream continued scanning, and her eyes fell upon a paper near the door that hadn’t been there before. She rushed to pick it up. Somepony must have slipped it under her door. She snatched it up and examined it, then threw it away just as quickly, backpedaling with a short squeak.

The note said very little but it was from…

Rainstream.

I saw you flying, but you ran away before I could talk to you. Could I meet you by the Candy Cloud tomorrow at 6:00?

Stormfeather

Stormfeather.

And he wanted to meet her. Like, on a date.

Rainstream tensed as realization struck. A date! He’d wanted to ask her out on a date, and she’d totally blown it by running way.

Rainstream could feel her earlier panic returning as she struggled to make sense of what was happening. The Candy Cloud was a popular spot in Cloudsdale for students who had passed their junior flying test to hang out. It was a short flight, and could be seen from the far east edge of the school. They mostly sold sugary sweets, but there were drinks as well, and nearly everypony went there on Hearts and Hooves day for dates or to buy something for their date.

She stumbled over to her writing desk. This was definitely the worst day ever. Her chest throbbed as she settled herself in front of the desk and plucked a quill from the inkwell with her teeth and flipped open the little book she kept next to it.

Dear Diary.

I’ve died. Stormfeather just asked me out on a date. I didn’t even know he liked me! I was just practicing a cloud shaping move Fleetfoot taught me and then he was there and I totally ran away. That was so stupid. I can’t believe I did that. He even wrote me a little note. I have no idea what I’m going to do about this. I can’t go on a date! I can’t even go out in public! This is such a disaster. How am I going to do this?

She tossed the quill aside. It was a good question. A colt had just asked her out on a date. How was she supposed to respond?

HOW was she supposed to respond? The last time she’d tried to speak to him she’d nearly fallen out of the sky out of sheer embarrassment. There was no way she’d be able to meet him at all even to tell him no. It was an impossible situation.

The throbbing in her chest grew to a sharp twinge, and her lungs heaved raspy breaths. Her head suddenly felt very heavy, and she barely had time to notice how dark the room had gotten before everything went black.

~ ~ ~

She never made it to the cafe. She couldn’t. There were too many ponies over there. She wasn’t made for the city. And it reminded her too much of home.

Casting a glance southward, then snorting sharply, Rainstream had fled back toward the school after getting only halfway to Cloudsdale proper.

When she drifted into the courtyard on autopilot and touched down, she discovered that she had not flown to her own room, but rather had ended up near Stormfeather’s. She blinked, trying to formulate thoughts.

She hadn’t wanted to see him, had she? He would be at the Candy Cloud by now, certainly. Why would she come here?

But she had wanted to see him, just not for him to see her. Not yet. She placed a hoof on the door. Would he be in there? No. It didn’t matter. She hung her head and turned away from the door, then trotted a few steps to the edge of the cloud.

She stopped. Turned around. She couldn’t just leave like that. What if he never spoke to her again? This could be her one chance to let him know how she felt, and she knew he would feel the same way, because he had already said it. But… She couldn’t.

Rainstream stood parallel to the cloud’s edge, her gaze shifting between the door and the open sky. This was impossible. Rainstream slumped into a sitting position and let her head hang. She didn’t want to leave a note. It was embarrassing, the thought of him actually reading something she wrote down. Her thoughts, laid out for him to pick apart. She shivered as a breeze passed.

Some rain would be really nice right about now.

Rainstream blinked. Rain! She looked up. It wasn’t scheduled to rain tonight, but… maybe a small cloud? She closed her eyes and listened. It was a calm night, with a gentle breeze. Nopony was moving around much. They probably wouldn’t notice. A spark ignited in her chest, spreading warmth through her body and, as it reached her face, pushed her cheeks up into a wide smile.

Yes, this would definitely work! He wouldn’t have to read her thoughts and he would definitely know it was from her. Rainstream almost giggled aloud as excitement welled up in her. She spread her wings and leapt sideways off the platform, twirling downward away from the courtyard.

There were a few stray clouds below that nopony had bothered to clean up. Perfect. She tilted her wings and arced off to the side, swooping in from the side and snatching up the little cloud puffs. They were small, but very wet. Yes these would do nicely. She packed them together as they flew, collecting a growing puff of wet cloud.

The air was very saturated, and a fine mist collected on her coat as she flew back upward to position her cloud. Rain. She’d made it so many times it was second nature to her now. She let her thoughts drift back to yesterday as she’d been molding the cloud.

Her hooves pushed and pulled at the soft cottony vapor, painting it like a brush across the sky. Her windswept aerial canvas, now to be the host of her masterpiece. She could hear thunder roll through gathering clouds overhead. The rumbles sent tremors and tingles through her body. She wriggled in delight as the waves of sound tickled her fur. Tufts of cloud brushed her under her wings, delicately caressing her coverts—almost like the touch of another pony.

Rainstream bit her lip.

~ ~ ~

The soft hiss of hundreds of raindrops pierced her daydream as Rainstream gave her newly formed cloud a soft kick. She was finished. A small pang of regret wound its way through her chest as she realized she had to stop. It was getting dark, and Stormfeather would probably be heading back now, realizing she’d stood him up.

She rolled off the cloud and drifted under it. Hanging on the heavy air. The familiar embrace of the soft rain cooled her thoughts, letting her breathe easier. She found a gentle rhythm with her wings to keep her airborne while she thought about what to do.

She should just leave the cloud and run, and hope he figured it out. Oh of course he would. Nopony else would make something like this. But what if she stayed?

Rainstream looked up toward his door. Her whole body shook. What if she just waited for him to come back, and hid under a cloud? She could watch him discover her gift, and see his reaction. Yes that would be nice. She’d wait for him, and watch to see if he liked it or hated it. And she’d never have to let him see her.

Rainstream put more strength into her wingbeats to gain altitude, flying up out from under her cloud formation. Turning toward Cloudsdale, she floated out toward it and scanned the sky for the silhouette of a pegasus. Her heart fluttered as she searched for him. She had little hope of catching his dark grey coat against the darkening sky but she hoped perhaps…

The click of a door latch opening behind her nearly made Rainstream’s wings lock up. Her whole body tensed as she whirled around to face the noise, and found Stormfeather standing outside his door, staring at her gift with a look of awe.

The sight of him made her squeak, and her wings really did lock up this time. They gave a few jerky flutters and then stopped providing lift at all. He turned at the sudden noise, and his face switched instantly to alarm. He took a few running steps toward her before she fell beneath the cloud floor.

Rainstream’s heart beat so fast it was painful. Terror gripped her as she fought to reclaim her wings from their sudden mutiny. If she could just get her wings back open she would be fine, but they were stuck. She screamed as she fell, but the sound was torn away by the rushing wind.

Wait. The wind! Rainstream stopped screaming, closed her eyes and focused on listening to the wind. Her breathing was hard, but that didn’t matter. She could hear the swirls in the wind. She could hear it swirling around the rain near her. And she could hear something getting closer to her. Very close.

Rainstream stopped falling nearly all at once as a pair of soft hooves wrapped around her chest. She opened her eyes, and found that she was looking down at the night covered earth below. Somepony was holding her up, because her own wings hung limply at her sides.

“Gotcha,” a soft, masculine voice said just behind her.

His breath tickled her mane. Her heart continued to beat furiously but she was not afraid. She heard his strong wingbeats and felt the subtle rise and fall as he pulled her back up toward the clouds. His chest fur felt warm on her back, and she could feel his heart beating against it.

Was this a dream?

Rainstream’s only thought as the two of them flew back up toward the school was utter disbelief. This couldn’t possibly be happening. She must have fallen asleep while flying and fallen to the ground and died. Stormfeather wasn’t supposed to be home. He was supposed to be in Cloudsdale. Had she even left her room?

He set her down on the cloudwalk outside his door and she let herself fall to a comfortable kneeling position. She let out a soft moan of dismay as his warm hooves left her, and turned to look after him.

His concern faded into a smile after seeing she was alright. “Glad I caught you,” he said.

It was the silliest line she’d ever heard, and yet it was so smooth, her heart thumped hard for a few beats. Rainstream put a hoof on her chest. This had to be a dream, but it wasn’t one Rainstream wanted to wake up from.

Stormfeather looked over at her raincloud, and she followed his gaze. Three separate clouds hung just a few feet beyond the cloud ledge, each formed into a teardrop, and each pouring out a gentle stream of rain.

“I never picked you for such an artist, but it really is beautiful.” he said in his soft, smooth voice that tickled her ears in the most amazing way. She shivered, but it felt good.

His eyes flicked to his door, then back to her. He blushed visibly, then opened his mouth to speak.

“Would.. Um… Would you like to come inside?” he asked, pointing toward the door.

Rainstream’s face grew hot as her eyes grew wide.

He recoiled, seeing her reaction. “It’s fine. You don’t have to I just… “ He sighed, and his shoulders drooped. He looked sadly toward the three raindrops next to them. “I like you. I saw you flying yesterday, and the way you reacted I just… wasn’t sure if you liked me too. I almost didn’t give you that letter, but I had to at least try, you know?”

He swallowed and looked back at her. Rainstream couldn’t move. Her mouth hung slightly open, unsure whether to close or not. All she could do was stare. All this time, he’d been watching her too.

He got up, and walked back toward the door. “Sorry I asked.”

What? No! Her jaw opened and closed rapidly. He was walking away. She had to stop him. This was her one chance and she was blowing it. She reached out a hoof toward him

“No. Wait.” It was barely audible. Rainstream wasn’t sure he would hear, but he stopped, and then turned. His face was stuck somewhere between hope and worry.

She wanted to follow him. She wanted to leap into his hooves and nuzzle up against his warm chest. But she was a coward. She’d come all this way, and he was right in front of her and she just couldn’t do it. She just wasn’t as strong without the rain.

Rainstream blinked. Rain. She looked back at her rainclouds, then back at Stormfeather. He stood sideways in the doorway, hope overtaking the worry on his face. She gave him a pleading look, then turned and leapt out onto the open air. Her wings worked faithfully this time, and she gave a few quick wingbeats to steady herself. She reached out and placed a hoof against one of the rainclouds, and pushed it gently over toward Stormfeather.

He raised an eyebrow, then flicked his eyes inside and back to the raincloud. Then he relaxed, and smiled. “Would you like to come inside?” he asked again, sounding more confident this time.

Warmth filled Rainstream’s chest, and she nodded with a smile.

He held the door open and gestured inside with one hoof. Rainstream stepped slowly and carefully so that she wouldn’t fall over from sheer disbelief, and pulled the little raincloud along behind her.

Cry of the tempest

Author's Note

This chapter switches between story and flashback a lot, and not all of it is actually being said. I've placed all of Rainstream's flashbacks in italics. Hope it helps.

Cry of the tempest

“Um… Rain?”

Rainstream blinked, then glanced around. List had the most curious expression on his face. He sat sideways on his seat with one eyebrow raised, his snout was scrunched up, and his head was tilted back as though he were trying to lean away from her—which he was.

“What?”

“You were just staring at the ceiling and making a really weird face.”

Rainstream looked down at herself. Her wings were extended, and stiff, and she was lying on her back against the back of the couch. “Oh.” She felt herself blush as she sat up and worked her wings back into their folded position. “Sorry about that.” She brushed her hooves over her wings to smooth them out, took a quick sip of her cocoa, and straightened her posture.

“Where did I leave off?”

“You followed Stormfeather into his room.”

Rainstream’s cheeks pushed up into her eyes. “Oh, right… That.” The last word lost its enthusiasm, and Rainstream nearly lost her smile. But she held on, and hoped List hadn’t noticed.

“Yeah, I spent the night and—”

“You slept with him?”

Yes. Rainstream’s cheeks grew hot, and a pain grew in her chest. She forced a smile, and swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

“N— No… He didn’t want me.” Rainstream turned her face away so he wouldn’t see the tear escaping her eye. She stood up and stepped toward the window, gazing out at the rain.
Thunder crashed outside, causing a yelp from behind her. Rainstream’s whole body shook, and fresh tears poured down her face.

~ ~ ~

On most days, a rainstorm would have meant a good day for Rainstream, and a bad day for everypony else. Most days, she would be found happily frollicking in the meadow beneath the darkest clouds, or rolling with the thunder through the swirling torrent. Most days, she made rain because it was fun. She had made friends with the rain a long time ago, and it shared her happiest memories. The rain had always comforted her, made her feel at home, and never failed to lift her spirits.

And she desperately needed that right now.

Her hooves made what would have been loud splashes through the pooling rainwater. Rainstream watched the ripples spread out until they were too thin to be seen among the thousands of tiny impacts made by the rain. So strong at first, and yet, gone so quickly. She stopped in place, staring at the broken surface of the water between her front hooves.

Broken.

Life was so fragile. So precious. So sweet. And so short. Ponies could break so easily, so suddenly, without warning. And in more ways than one. Thick, heavy drops of water poured down over her mane, dripping through onto her face. Rainstream sniffed, breathing in the sharp scent of wet grass. One of the most comforting things about rain was that it could hide any number of tears. No matter how hard you cried, nopony would know. Rainstream could taste the salt as one of the drops on her cheek found its way to her lip and seeped inside.

Thunder crashed overhead, speaking what Rainstream’s chest could not summon the strength to say. Love was stupid. Rainstream stomped hard, splashing mud on her face, and took off at a run. It only took her a few strides to reach a full gallop, sending up nearly as much water as was coming down to meet it. She clenched her eyes shut, and told herself it was because of the rain. She didn’t need to see anyway. She knew where she was going.

The meadow ended and became trees. Her coat became crusted with mud as she ran on. Stupid. She should never have opened up to him. She knew she’d just get hurt again. She always got hurt. Even when she wasn’t really hurt.

The trees ended and Rainstream found herself running through thick, tall grass. It fell beneath her hooves and parted as she nosed her way through it, feeling the ground carefully with her hooves. The grass broke and her softened hoof falls became sharp clicks on the stone beneath them as she ran up onto an outcropping. Rainstream leapt into the air as she crested the rock, letting the cool wet air catch her. Gliding aloft, Rainstream opened her eyes and scanned the hills below.

Just beyond the foothills lay the sleepless city of Las Pegasus, streetlights stealing the night from the stars, and casting a shadow on the shoreline below. Rainstream ignored them. Her eyes snapped to the hills, scanning for one small light in the darkness.

There.

Having found her target, Rainstream angled down toward it. The rain bounced sharply off of her wings, tickling her feathers with its thousands of impacts. The cool night air collected beneath her, telling of currents in the storm, guiding her wingtips and directing her toward one lonely patch of grass in the forest.

Rainstream gave one strong beat of her wings to slow her descent, then landed hard in a small meadow, sending up mud and grass into her face. She took a minute to catch her breath, staring down at the water around her fetlocks.

Here.

Rainstream strode forward, staring straight down the whole time. She knew where it was. She’d never forgotten. The puddles became shallow, then fell away, marking her destination. She came to a stop and looked up. There it was, just like she’d remembered it. Her little cabin in the woods.

She reached up with her hoof and brushed it along the doorframe. The paint was new, the walls had been re-stained and smoothed off, and there was a shiny black door handle on what looked like a brand new oak door. Rainstream’s lip curled, in a half smile. She turned and walked around to the side.

She jumped up and hovered just outside the window, placing her hooves gently on the clear glass. Inside were three pegasi. Two adults and a filly, sitting around the fireplace. The father was reading a storybook to his daughter, while the mother stroked the filly’s mane. Rainstream’s chest tightened, and she let out a stuttered breath, cheeks still smiling.

Lightning flashed somewhere behind her, lighting up the whole outside of the cabin. When the light left, so did the light inside. Rainstream’s smile vanished, along with the filly, her parents, the fire place, and everything else inside the cabin. Rainstream sobbed through a cracked window pane at what should have been her most cherished memory.

Her hoof trailed the glass as she lowered herself to the ground. Thunder rolled through, drowning Rainstream’s quiet sobs as she trudged through the mud toward the door. She gave it a nudge. It didn’t move. She put her head down and pressed her way inside, the door grinding against the rough floorboards.

It was quieter in here, sheltered from the wind. The water from Rainstream’s mane fell like raindrops on the dry floorboards. They creaked slightly beneath her hooves as she slowly walked over to the wall opposite the window and knelt down. She curled onto her side and cried into her hooves, staring out at the storm through the broken glass.

Lightning flashed again, and brought with it light. Rainstream blinked. There was no water in her mane, there were lights on inside, the window was undamaged, and the house was warm. She looked around. She was standing in her living room, near one of the floor vents, and there was a young gray stallion with a red mane sitting on her couch, draped in a thick warm blanket, and staring incredulously at her.

“Rain,” he said, voice cracking. “Are you alright?”

Rainstream’s mouth worked rapidly, but produced no sound. Her throat and chest tightened to the point that she had to do something or she was going to suffocate. She threw herself at List, pulling him into a tight hug, wetting his shoulder with her tears.

She heard him gasp, but he relaxed after a moment and rubbed her back. His fur felt really warm.

“Promise me,” She sobbed into his shoulder.

“Huh?” he responded, still embracing her.

“Promise me you’ll never leave me.”

“W-what?!” List pushed her back out of the hug to hold her at a hooves length causing the blanket to slide off his back onto the couch. Rainstream let him. He looked almost terrified, but excited and confused at the same time. His cheeks were flushed bright crimson, his mouth hung open but threatened to snap shut at any moment, and his eyes visibly shook, eyelids held firmly open with all the force the muscles that controlled them could produce.

Rainstream went on. “I really care about you, and I know I travel a lot, but I would never ever leave you behind, and I need you to promise me the same thing because I don’t ever want to lose you.” Her whole body shook as she forced the words out, and her heart felt like it might beat right out of her chest, but her watery eyes held him fixed in her gaze.

“I…” he croaked.

“Promise me!” she pleaded, stomping her hoof and causing several tears to fall.

List squinted hard, and filled up with tears of his own. His lips trembled, and the color left his face. Rainstream’s heartbeat slowed, and her tears dried up instantly. He was no longer staring at her. He was no longer staring at anything. It was as though he were looking right through her, trapped somewhere behind his own eyes. His whole body shook, and tears steadily flowed from his eyes like a faucet.

Rainstream felt very cold. She knew exactly what was happening, and seeing it from the outside was nearly as terrifying because she understood. She rushed forward and pulled him back into a tight hug. He shook more violently, and his head hung limply on her shoulder.

“List.” She said, trying to hide the worry in her voice. “List, it’s okay. I’m here. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe.”

She could hear him sobbing.

“List, I really care about you, and I would never abandon you. I’m not going anywhere, just relax. You’re safe.”

His shaking slowly went away, but when it was gone, he was still crying into her shoulder. She gave him a squeeze, and rubbed his back slowly.

“Sorry,” He finally said. It was more of a sob, but hearing it brought a small flicker of warmth to Rainstream’s heart, and she hugged him tighter, smiling at last.

“It’s alright,” she laughed. “Just promise me you’ll never run away without telling me.”

He shivered for a moment, then responded. “I promise.”

Rainstream could hear the smile in his voice. She let go of him, and the two smiled at each other for a moment. Then List yawned. Rainstream laughed.

“Yeah, me too. I think that’s enough for one night anyway.” She crawled up onto the couch next to him, picked up the blanket with her teeth and threw it over him.

“Don’t you need it?” List asked, frowning at her. Oh, bless his heart.

“Nah,” she said, flaring her wings. “Pegasus feathers are warmer than any blanket. I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ve got the heat on.” She curled up on the couch next to him and smiled at him.

He blushed visibly. “U-um, R-r-rain?” He stuttered.

“Hmm? What is it?” She asked, suppressing a giggle.

“I— I’ve never—”

“Hmm?”

He swallowed. “I’ve never felt your wings before. I— Could I— Could I sleep under them?”

Oh. List’s face got even redder than before, and Rainstream felt her own face grow hot. She giggled. “Not tonight.” She smiled and reached out a hoof to boop him in the nose. His face when she did that was very silly.

She curled up and put her head down, staring out the window at the falling rain. She could hear List settling down as well.

“Rain?”

“Hmm?”

“I think I like the rain. The sound it makes is very calming.”

Rainstream’s entire body filled with warmth. “Me too,” she replied softly. The two of them lay there and listened to the gentle patter of rain on the roof until they fell asleep.

~ ~ ~

The first thing that Rainstream noticed when she awoke was that it had stopped raining. The second thing she noticed was that she was not alone. Somepony was snuggled up next to her.

Rainstream’s eyes snapped open. Somepony was in her bed. With her. She looked down. His hoof was draped over her chest lovingly. She could feel his head pressed into her shoulder, and his hind legs wrapped protectively around her own. Rainstream glanced across the room. It was dark, but she could make out the faint blue of the sky through the window to her left.

Wait, the window should be to the right of the bed. Rainstream blinked. Actually, the window should have been directly to the right of the bed. Why was the bed in the center of the room? Why was the sky light outside? Her window faced west. She shouldn’t be able to see the sun come up.

Rainstream was not in her own bed.

She looked slowly down at the stallion wrapped around her. Rainstream barely contained the shriek that fought to escape her lips as she realized it was Stormfeather who was wrapped so lovingly around her. His face was relaxed and peaceful.

Cold shivers shot up and down her whole body as Rainstream recalled the events of the previous night. It hadn't been a dream! She’d gone to see him, then chickened out, then left him—she spun her head around to where she’d left her raincloud the previous night. It lay on the floor, light and fluffy, its rain spent. The rest of her gift outside must also be gone by now. Why had she come inside? This was a mistake.

But of course the rain had made her feel strong. She’d wanted to come inside. Wanted him to hold her, wanted him to…

Rainstream glanced back over at him, barely breathing in or out. Blood pounded in her head as all the embarrassment she had not felt last night threatened to collapse on her all at once. She had to leave. Very carefully, Rainstream removed his hooves from her, and slid gently off the bed onto the soft floor. She pressed her hooves against the doorknob, and, more carefully than she had crafted his gift last night, cracked open Stormfeather’s door, and slipped out into the night.

~ ~ ~

Rainstream gave a quick glance back at List, sleeping peacefully on her couch, before she gently nudged the door closed with a click, cloaking herself in the dim light outside. Somewhere in the trees nearby, a bird tweeted happily as it woke. Rainstream closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose, inviting in the sweet scent of dew on wild grass. A light breeze tickled her fur, but when she listened, it whispered of calm air far above her.

Rainstream smiled. It was a beautiful morning, just like it had been for nearly every other day this summer. She stretched out her wings, groaning as the joints popped and loosened. She gave two quick flaps to shake them out, and she was ready. Looking up, she could see Luna had already lowered the moon. She had time, but she shouldn’t dawdle.

Rainstream leapt up powerfully and transitioned smoothly into propelling herself upward with wingpower. She flapped faster and faster, elation building in her chest as she headed for the moist upper air where she could put her hooves to work once again. It was time to build the framework for her latest masterpiece before Celestia’s sun gave it the life only the light of a summer dawn could. It was Rainstream’s favorite part of the day.

~ ~ ~

Wind whistled in Rainstream’s ears as her wings pumped faster than they had in her last race with Fleetfoot. She needed to get out ahead before the weather patrol got to the sky. She’d helped them with rain in the past, and they usually didn’t mind her intervening as long as she told them about it first, but there was no time this morning. Whatever their forecast had been before, Rainstream had just changed it. Mostly cloudy, with a heavy chance of thunderstorm.

She rocketed out past the still forming pockets of moist air, dragging a long trail of cloud behind her. Tears spilled out the sides of her eyes as she held them open, snout twitching into a snarl here and there. Her hooves were all fully extended, forward and back. She could hear the high pitched whistle she made as she flew on, arcing all the way around the rain field she’d spent the last two years learning about. She was going to need all of it for this.

Rainstream angled herself, and shot magic through her wings with the force of a sonic boom. Clouds began to pile up behind her and against her back, forming a small cloud at first but rapidly gaining size. As she came back around toward the east side of the field, near the school, Rainstream could see the orange light of the sun creeping over the distant horizon. She was running out of time. Her wings felt none of their usual exhaustion as she sped on, this time encompassing the whole of the school grounds in her sweep. This would be her biggest storm yet.

~ ~ ~

Rainstream paused as she was just about to slide the last puff of cloud into place. The horizon was glowing brighter now, which meant the sun was just about to come up. She looked down at the cabin, nestled snuggly between a few sheltering trees. She thought about List, resting soundly beneath her blanket, belly full of warm cocoa. He really had managed to fall asleep to the rain. She smiled. Maybe she’d give him a bit of rain to wake up to as well.

She surveyed the cloud she’d nearly finished crafting, checking to see that it was the proper thickness, so that the light would scatter properly and produce the right colors. She stuffed the last tuft of cloud into place and curled up into a short twirl, then dove for speed and pulled up toward the cabin.

She’d revealed a lot more of herself than she’d first expected last night, and she hadn’t even made it to the Best Young Fliers competition. A pang of guilt shot through Rainstream’s heart as she thought about the lie she’d told List. It wasn’t fully a lie, but it was the wrong truth. She lazily scooped up some cloud from the moisture in the air, feeling it tug at the other water droplets in the area as she sent tendrils of pegasus magic through it.

She should have just told him the truth from the start. List was a good friend, and he would never hurt her; there really wasn’t any need to keep lying to him. Rainstream let out a long sigh, then winced as her heart twinged with new pain. But there was a reason she was avoiding the truth. Rainstream looked to the north, over Applewood ridge. She didn’t really want to remember.

~ ~ ~

Thunder shook the air as lighting filled the darkness created by the massive cloud blocking the morning light from reaching the school. With a swift and powerful kick, channeled with all the remaining energy she had left, Rainstream started a cascade that rippled around the entire storm cell. With a rumbling groan, water began to seep from everywhere at once, quickly gaining speed and drowning the school in a torrent within moments.

Rainstream’s chest heaved, pumping large amounts of air for her burning lungs. Her task complete, Rainstream finally noticed her exhaustion, and began to slip through the now cold and wet air. She made no effort to stop it. She didn’t have the strength anyway. She just watched the stormcloud overhead slide away from her.

She had done too much. Too quickly. She was so stupid.

Memories of last night’s activities washed over her again. It was all just one big mistake. Fresh tears streamed upward from her face. Her throat tightened up. The rain had betrayed her. Perhaps now it would make last night go away. She had let her walls fall too far. Let him get too close. She should never have followed him inside.

“Rainstream!”

Her ear twitched. Of course. She could hear his voice calling to her through the rain. He was coming for her again, just like he had before. She didn’t care. Let him come. She couldn’t run forever.

As Rainstream fell, she listened to the rain, how it whispered of Stormfeather drawing closer and closer to her. The thought struck her that she was holding her breath, waiting, anxious. She wanted him to catch her, just like she’d wanted to be with him last night. She gasped, the sudden realization adding just enough strength to her wings for them to flare open. It didn’t stop her in the air, but it controlled her fall, slowing and angling it toward a cloud she knew would still be there. The one she always left up, and repaired whenever it fell apart.

Stormfeather slid into view above her, his wings pumping furiously to catch up with her. His expression seemed frantic, which made Rainstream chuckle slightly. Couldn’t he hear the rain? She was going to be fine.

~ ~ ~

Rainstream touched down lightly on the soft ground outside her cabin, the rain pattering softly on her back. She glanced up at the sun piercing the horizon in the east, catching her clouds just the way it was meant to, and lighting up her beautiful sunrise. Good morning, Applewood.

She nudged the door, and it swung inward easily. List was still sleeping peacefully beneath the blanket she’d given him. She trotted past him with a smile and headed toward the kitchen. She found some oatmeal in the lower cabinet and pulled it out. Her mouth filled with drool as she rummaged for a pot to cook it in. As Rainstream started moving pots around, List stirred.

“Mmm, huh? Rainstream?” He sat up, rubbing his eyes. The blanket fell on the floor beside him.

“Oh, hi. Good morning,” Rainstream replied, briefly looking up.

“Are you making breakfast?” List asked.

“I was making oatmeal. Do you want some?”

List nodded. Rainstream poured more oats into the pot and left it to bowl on the stove, then reached up to get another bowl from the cabinet.

“Rainstream?’

“Huh?” She stopped trying to grab the bowl and turned to look at him. The sleep was gone from his eyes, but Rainstream couldn’t tell if it was worry or confusion in his eyes. She tensed, mind searching for something she might have done that would worry him.

“You never finished your story.”

Rainstream relaxed. Oh, is that all?

“What happened with Stormfeather?”

Oh. Rainstream turned away and focused on grabbing the bowl in front of her. What could she tell him? She looked outside. It was raining just outside the cabin. Rainstream bit her lip.

~ ~ ~

“Rainstream, what’s wrong?”

Rainstream turned away from him, staring at the sopping wet cloud beneath her hooves. She said nothing, letting her tears roll down her face and mix with the rain as they fell. What was wrong with her? She wanted to be with him, and then she didn’t. Then she wanted him to follow her, and then she didn’t. And now she wanted him to be here, and yet…

“You know, I almost couldn’t find you,” Stormfeather called out over the roar of the downpour. Rainstream could tell he had taken a step closer. “It’s funny,” he laughed. “You have a real knack for blending in, even with that beautiful orange coat of yours.” His wing descended across her back, enveloping her back and shoulders with warm, dry feathers.

“You probably never noticed, but I always envied you for that.”

Rainstream’s breath caught in her throat, and she looked up at Stormfeather, unsure how to respond. His face was gentle, pleading even. The dark fur on his face was a perfect match to the cloud wall in the background behind him. She focused on his eyes, highlighted by the white in them. He gave a brief smile, and looked off toward the school.

“I still remember that first week. You just showed up out of nowhere. Nopony knew where you’d come from, or how you’d gotten here on your own. Most fillies have their parents fly them—my parents flew me up here. But not you. You were like some prodigy, and I knew I would have to pay close attention if I was going to learn anything from you.”

Rainstream’s heart skipped a beat. He’d been watching her even then.

“It’s funny though, it only took two days for everypony else to forget you. Like you’d cast some sort of spell on them. You were always in the back, staring off into space, not a care in the world. No, everyone wanted to see me, the colt who figured out the use of his wings faster than anypony else. Ha! If they’d only paid attention, they would have realized I learned it from you.”

What? Rainstream’s mouth fell open.

“Yeah, remember when Ms. Meadowbloom gave the class on thermals and how to float on them? They all said they saw me do it. What they didn’t know was that I had been watching you. This insane orange filly who nopony knew, who somehow already knew everything we were about to be taught, who floated just by leaning out over the cloud and riding the wind that blew through her beautiful blue mane. All I did was copy her, and I didn’t even leave the cloud. But I’m the one who gets noticed.”

He ran a hoof gently through her mane. She shivered at the contact, but never took her eyes off of his. The rain grew hot on her coat. Stormfeather smiled and flicked his eyes to her mane.

“I thought it was pretty cool when you dyed it. Red is a very warm color. Like the sunrise.”

A very warm shiver ran up Rainstream’s spine.

“Mmmm,” she murmured, searching for her voice. “S-sunrise.” She looked east, past his shoulder. He followed her gaze, and nodded at the clouds blocking the sunrise.

“It’s really impressive, you know. I knew you were in advanced lessons, but this?” He shook his head. “I just can’t understand why anypony pays any attention to me, when you can do all of this.” He raised his hooves and gestured to the storm as a whole. “Magnificent.”

“My coat even matches the clouds, but everyone always knows where I am, and expects to see me do something like… this.” Stormfeather hung his head, still holding his hooves up. “I can’t do anything like this. I’m just starting weather basics right now, and if I don’t pass…” Raindrops poured down his face.

Rainstream let out a quiet gasp that barely concealed a sob.

“You know my dad works at the Cloudsdale weather factory?” he said. The pain in his voice cried louder than the rain. “Yeah, he’s right over there. Hi, dad.” Stormfeather waved a hoof roughly at the wall of clouds toward the southeast. He held a mock smile for a few seconds, then let his hoof fall and glowered at the cloud beneath them.

“Probably thinks I built this storm, for all the so called pride he has for me. Mom’s even worse. She’s constantly asking me how my classes are going, and wondering why I’m not top of the class.” Stormfeather rolled his eyes, then looked directly at Rainstream with such pain in his eyes that it took her straight back to the day she left home.

“You’re lucky,” He said, looking down at her hooves. “You don’t have any parents, always pushing you to do better, and even when you’ve given your best it’s not enough. You know I’m failing—”

“Stop it!” Rainstream shrieked. Stormfeather stopped mid phrase and gaped at her. Rainstream just stared at him and… cried. His eyes widened, and he rushed forward to pull her toward him in a tight hug. She threw her head into his shoulder and cried. No amount of rain could hide these tears. She shook against him, and turned her head south. He had no idea how lucky he was to have parents who believed in him. Parents who cared enough to be bothered by his grades. Parents who didn’t fight. Parents who remembered his birthday.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was soft, but not completely stable. He rubbed her back, and she could feel the stiffness of his hooves.

“When I watch you fly, it’s like… a free soul, doing what she loves, because she loves doing it. You look so happy, so full of joy. You’re flying because you want to, and not because somepony makes you. You look so beautiful I just… I had to meet you, so when I saw you flying on Thursday… I thought I’d say hi.”

He pulled back, and when he looked into her eyes, he was smiling. “And then you said yes.” He leaned in to nuzzle her nose, but she pulled away, twisting out of his embrace and trotting a few paces away. He didn’t try to stop her, but she could feel his hoof lingering stretched out toward her.

“I— After last night, I thought—”

Rainstream tossed her head “Don’t.” She looked back at him with the most pleading eyes she could, real tears gathering in them. “Please.”

Rainstream closed her eyes and listened to the rain to clear her mind. Then she took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, letting the rain pull all of the tightness out of her chest. When she was fully relaxed again, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Last night was a mistake. I’m sorry.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she knew he heard her. Then she turned and trotted to the end of the cloud, facing due south. She heard him scuffling after her.

“Wait. Can I just ask you to fly with me in the Best Young Fliers Competition then?”

“Why?” She turned to face him again, standing sideways with her wings poised, ready to take off at any moment. She was questioning his motives, and at the same time hoping he would say… something. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to hear, but her heart wished for it all the same.

“Because my parents expect me to fly in it,” he said, and Rainstream could see the tightness in his throat as he wished with all of his heart that she wasn’t about to fly away. “And I don’t want to disappoint them, and I know I won’t be able to unless I can learn to fly like you do. I need you to teach me that joy you find when you fly, because I’ve never seen anypony look so free, so at peace with themselves. You look so beautiful when you fly, and I know if you fly with me, we’ll win for sure, and then maybe my Mom would think I’m worth something.” His voice nearly broke at the end, along with Rainstream’s heart.

She swallowed, fighting back tears, fighting back the shivers, and fighting back the vice that threatened to bind her limbs in place. Slowly, she shook her head, then she continued more rapidly, and took a step toward the edge of the cloud.

“I… I can’t. I’m sorry. Not now.”

He stepped toward her and reached out a hoof. “Well then, please. At least consider it.” Now it was he who wore the pleading look. As though she now held his entire fate in her hooves, and could destroy him if she so chose. But to accept....

She shook her head harder. “I—not now. I—I’m sorry. I need to think.”

Before he could respond, she leapt sideways off the cloud and dove with the rain. After a few hundred feet, she tilted her ears back. He hadn’t followed her. She opened her wings and pulled up, flapping hard to gain back altitude and flew back toward the school. Rain. Rain was what she needed. Lots of rain.

~ ~ ~

“Rainstream?”

Rainstream spun around, nearly dropping the bowl in her hooves. List stared perplexedly up at her, standing at the edge of the kitchen tile.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

She nodded in time with her wingbeats as she lowered herself to the ground. She touched down with three faint clicks on the tile, then hugged the bowl to her chest.

“What happened with Stormfeather, when you followed him into his room? You said he didn’t want you, but what happened?”

Steeling herself, Rainstream forced a smile and looked up confidently at List, hoping he would buy it. “Like I said, nothing really happened. He asked me if I could watch him perform at the Best Young Fliers Competition, so I said I’d think about it. But then the idiot broke his wing trying to show off for some mare he liked.” She rolled her eyes. “He never got to fly.”
She left off ‘ever again’, and hoped he hadn’t seen how close she was to tears.

She spun around and poured oats into the two bowls in front of her as she swallowed the lump quickly forming in her throat. List was silent behind her.

“I’m sorry.”

Rainstream sucked in a gasp, and tried to blink back the tears. His hoofsteps retreated back to the couch, and Rainstream let out a ragged breath.

She should have made more rain.

Broken

“What about the Young Fliers Competition? You have those trophies, so… You must have won?”

Rainstream turned, tears already drying on her face. Somehow, the thought of what had actually happened that day allowed a smile to force its way onto her face. She let out an easy breath, and passed one of the bowls of oats to List, then trotted back to the couch.

“Well, like I said. The idiot broke his wing. He was showing off for some silly mare and well, she kinda left him hanging after that. So I looked after him.”

With the lie finished, Rainstream felt the elation of the month following her big storm come rushing back to her.

~ ~ ~

The rain was her element. In it, she was at home, free, unmatched. She sliced cleanly through the heavy wet air from the storm. The wind became a roar in her ears and whipped her mane as she dropped like a bullet. Her initial burst of energy subsided, and her wingbeats slowed to an easier pace, until she was gliding down toward the lower edge of the storm.

It wasn’t her biggest storm. That was last week, and that one had gotten her suspended for a week, and a spot on the weather team. Rain chuckled as she recalled Cloud Vent defending her unmatched skill at cloud forming to Headmaster Zephyrus. Something about a storm that only she seemed able to contain, and that her level of ability would significantly lighten the load on the rest of the team. The Headmaster had decided weather duties would be a fitting punishment for her. Idiot. He didn’t realize she loved it.

It was only a week later another storm was scheduled, and Rainstream seemed to be the only one eager to put it together. Cloud Vent had helped her with it, saying that all storms had to be supervised by the weather chief, which was him. He shot down a lot of her ideas for rolling updrafts and side winds, and especially her big idea to make the storm spin. He was a bit of a killjoy, but at least she had her rain. That made it all bearable. The rain allowed her to lose herself in it. Sometimes too much. She got carried away a number of times and Cloud had to reign her in—which always seemed to leave him exhausted and out of breath.

Now it was the next day, and time to clean up. Cleaning up a storm was always dull, but Rainstream just left the rainclouds at the top for last so she could at least somewhat enjoy herself.

A few of the clouds near the bottom were still saturated, and flying pretty low. She gave each of them a swift jab as she flew by, releasing the magic that bound them together so they could dissipate. They dissolved with a splash and she continued on her way.

Her ear twitched upward. A noise on the wind. Someone was falling, fast. She glanced upward to see a dark grey blur headed right at her, at an alarming speed, and at a very close range. A quick flick of her wing tips pulled her sharply to the side, just enough that the diving figure slid past her. She reached out to catch him as he did, and thrust down hard with her wings to slow their descent. His momentum pulled her roughly toward the mountain peak just below, and her wings felt like they might tear off. But Rainstream knew they wouldn’t. This would hurt, but not that much.

The mountain rushed up to greet them, and with the other pony’s massive weight Rainstream couldn’t maneuver properly. They were going to crash.

“Fold your wings NOW!” she shouted, hoping he would respond in time. He did. The two of them tucked their wings tightly against their sides at the last moment before impact. Rainstream’s wings cried in relief as the pressure against them was released.

“Oof!”

The two of them slammed into the rock beneath them, though at a far less considerable speed than they would have if Rainstream hadn’t been pulling so hard. The other pony hit the ground first, on his back, with his wings—thankfully—tucked low on his midsection and out of the way. Rainstream then slammed into him from above, smooshing his belly and whatever air had been in it. She bounced, and landed in the dirt next to him.

He immediately sat up coughing and clutching his stomach. When he tried to breath in, it was like something was stuck in his throat. The rain felt cold on Rainstream’s back. What could she do? She couldn’t breathe for him. His face turned white. Rainstream tensed up, unsure whether to rush to his side or… She rushed over and put both front hooves on his shoulders.

He looked up, and Rainstream saw that it was Stormfeather. Immediately his coughs slowed. He was almost smiling. He put a hoof up to cover his mouth, and spent the next five minutes recovering. His other hoof remained across his belly. When he finally recovered, he looked up at her with a really stupid smirk on his face.

“You Di-idn’t have t-o d-o that. Yo-ou kno-ow,” he coughed.

She raised an eyebrow.

“Nngh, I was go-oing to miss you a-anyway. And I knew the mountain was The-ere.” He groaned and rubbed his stomach. “Ugh, that one really took the wind out of me for a second.” The hoof on his belly moved to his shoulder. He rubbed it a bit, rolled the shoulder twice, then set his hoof down and stood up.

“I was just trying to buzz you, silly. I knew you were out here cleaning up and I wanted to surprise you.”

Rainstream hit him, gently. “And look how that turned out you big dumb idiot.” She couldn’t resist letting her hoof slip to his side, where his wing muscles were. They’d grown so tough lately. He was turning into an impressive stallion. She grinned, imagining him wrapping her up and just holding her. But she shook the thought away a moment later. “And what do you mean, surprise me? What were you up to?”

He laughed and turned bright red. “Oh, well since you couldn’t come to our date, I thought I’d bring it to you. See if I could make your community service hours a bit more fun.” He grinned sheepishly. And squeed.

Rainstream took a step back, heart fluttering. She placed a hoof over it, then composed herself and straightened up. Rainstream rolled her eyes, but smiled wide and gave him a gentle shove. “I’m cleaning up a storm, dummy .It’s pouring rain, and I’m flying. It’s not like I’m cleaning the bathroom stalls.” Then she raised an eyebrow. “And what do you mean date? When did this happen?”

Stormfeather grinned sheepishly and tried to look anywhere but at her. She sharpened her gaze. He began sweating a bit.

“Oh, you know. Just now. If you were to be so kind as to just say yes?” He managed to stare at her with the sweetest smile she’d ever seen.

Oh, gosh. Her breathing quickened and her face grew very hot. She stared wide eyed at him. Oh she desperately wanted to say yes, but… She frowned. There was no reason not to. Why was she holding back? Her thoughts ran back to last week, and the night they’d shared. The night she wished they hadn’t had. She felt sick as she remembered. It wasn’t a bad night, but… it was a mistake. She shouldn’t have said yes then.

“Stormfeather, I… I can’t—”

His bottom lip curled, and he looked at the ground. “Yeah, I figured that, after last week.” He let out a long sigh, then looked up, blushing a bit. “I just um… I wanted to see you.”

“Storm…”

“A-and away from other ponies,” Stormfeather went on. “You get kinda shy around others, and I… I really like this you. When you’re in the rain. You’re… different, in the rain.”

He… Oh. Rainstream’s heart skipped a few beats.

“And I wanted to hang out with you while it was still raining. To see that more confident side of you. The one that comes out when you’re in the rain. I thought she might be more playful.”

Rainstream could not form words, let alone a response. She opened her mouth several times, then shut it. Oh that sly devil. He knew he could get her by mentioning playing in the rain. She placed a hoof on her chest and stepped back. Should she? Could she? She didn’t want to get hurt again but… He really was sweet, and as long as things didn’t move too quickly… She glanced up at the storm. Cloud had given her an hour to clean it up. She could probably get it done in half the time. She could spare a few minutes. She looked up at him and tried to find a response. Then, there was nothing left to think about and her body decided for her. She nodded slowly.

His smile grew instantly. “And maybe after this, you could consider going steady?”

Her heart skipped several beats. He stiffened, panic rising in his face.

“You m-mean like…”

“Would you like to be my marefriend?” He said, trying to look confident but betraying complete nervousness.

She visibly melted, and when he leaned in, she practically threw herself around him. Yes! Their lips met and her heart exploded in a thunderclap that continued to roll until the kiss ended. This was the kiss she had wanted last week. The one she moved into wholeheartedly, without holding back. The one where she didn’t feel sorry because of what led up to it, or what happened after. She was simply lost in the moment, and she never wanted it to end. She chuckled so low it was nearly a moan, grinning up at him with all the composure of a limp noodle.

He smiled down at her. “There, see. That’s the Rainstream I love.” Storm gave her another quick peck on the lips, then just stared at her warmly while the rain trickled down his face. His mane clung to his face and for some reason it just made him look that much more… delicious.

“Have you even flown in the rain before?” She asked, pressing forward to nuzzle his shoulder.

“Oh, sure I have,” he protested, but she could tell from his tone that he was joking. “I followed you that day, remember?” He leaned down toward her again. She laughed, but leaned up to kiss him.

“I would hardly call that flying,” she said between kisses.

Then he grinned really wide and stepped backward. “Well, then. I guess today’s the day I really learn." Stormfeather spread his wings out to their full extend and puffed out his chest. The way the rain flew from his wings as they snapped open really added a neat effect. Rainstream hummed.

His left wing jerked inward quickly. He moved the other one to match it, but the reaction was different. He reached up and rubbed his shoulder near the base of his left wing. Rainstream’s excitement vanished, but Stormfeather was still smiling at her.

“Ready to show me a thing or two?” He had turned his back to her, but she was focused on his left wing.

“Storm, are you sure you’re up for a flying session in the rain?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “It’s harder to fly in the rain and your left wing looks a little tense. You’re massaging it pretty hard, too.”

He turned to look at her, then looked down at his hoof on his shoulder. He quickly set it down. “Oh, what, this? Nah, I’m fine.” To demonstrate he stretched his wings all the way out again for a moment, then folded them again. “See? Come on, let’s go.” He crouched, and extended both his wings. His left one held, and Rainstream shook her head.

“Fine. Just don’t get hurt, please.” She had a bad feeling about this.

He smiled. “You just try to keep up.” Then he launched himself into the air.

~ ~ ~

“Rainstream?”

Somepony was poking her.

“You’re doing that weird face again.”

It was List’s voice.

“Hey, Rain. Come on, tell me what happened next.”

“Huh?” Rainstream blinked until List came back into focus, then dropped her head. She’d been staring blankly into space again. “Oh, um… where did I leave off?” she asked sheepishly.

“You were cleaning up the storm when you saw Stormfeather practicing for the competition near a mountain ridge. You were worried he was going to crash into it.”

Had she really skipped that much? “Oh, right. Sorry. Yes, he was practicing for the Best young flyers competition, and well, he sorta clipped his wing a bit, so I had to come rescue him.

~ ~ ~

Rainstream had not flown this close to solid earth since the day she’d left home. The air flowed differently when it could not move about freely. It dipped suddenly over cliffs, turned sharply when it met a rock face, and flowed swiftly between small gaps.

It was different, but Rainstream welcomed the challenge. The rain had taught her much, and it became her guide once again. Her ears became her eyes, directing her wings, tail, legs, head—her entire body listened through her ears to the sound of raindrops on a rocky ridge.

Stormfeather held tight behind her as he chased her down the mountainside, hugging the face like she did, but with far less confidence than Rainstream. He had not made friends with the rain. The wind tossed him slightly side to side, and she could hear him gasping every few seconds as he fought for control. He probably didn’t remember how to fly near the ground. Neither did she, for that matter, but she didn’t need to.

There was a big drop off coming up. Rainstream could hear how the rain called through the open air. She rolled over onto her back, stared back at Stormfeather over her belly, then just as she reached the edge, leaned her head back and dove down over the cliff. Her ears were turned fully back, listening to the echo of the rain off the rock face that was but a few feet away.

Her heart pounded in her chest and shivers ran through her whole body. She was actually flying blind. Well, not really blind. A laugh started, low in her chest, growing stronger as she smiled back at her friend. This was probably the most fun she’d ever had in her entire life. His dark fur was nearly invisible against the storm above him, but she could still see where he was. Right on her tail, not a full body length back, where he ought to be. But further from the cliff face than her.

Rainstream leaned her head back to stare ahead where she was going, and spotted a gap between some trees coming up. She angled her wings, squeezed her pectorals, and caught the wind rolling up over the ridge. She pulled tightly around the tree, just missing the tips of its branches, and sailed between two more with her wings tucked.

Stormfeather probably wouldn’t be able to follow her through that. He didn’t have the skill with acrobatics she had. He hadn’t practiced nearly as much as she had, nor flown through winds as strong as she had. He hadn’t—

“AAAAGH!”

There was a crack like a whip, followed by a splintering snap. Rainstream didn’t need to turn around. She could feel him spinning, hear his scream. But his scream was exactly why she did turn around. A glance back showed her a dark blue blur wrapped around a small tree, and the large one she’d just spun around was missing a branch.

Rainstream beat her wings hard, propelling her straight up. She arched her back and continued to press, tightening her loop beyond where gravity would have left it. Then she tucked a wing and rolled out of the apex of her flight. The other followed suit and she was speeding down toward Stormfeather with incredible speed after a near perfect half 8 maneuver. On her approach, she flared her wings out to slow her descent, and flapped hard at the end to come to a stop next to him.

“Oh no.”

He wasn’t conscious. He was draped over a thick branch, with a broken one still supporting his back legs. Both wings hung loosely, but his right wing was… there was no word broken enough for it. It was torn and bloody and hanging at an angle that should not be possible, and bent in places where Rainstream knew there were no joints. It was a crumpled bloody feathery mess. Rainstream cringed at the sight. He must have passed out just from the pain.

“No, no nonononononono.” Rainstream shook her head and raised her hooves to her temples. This was bad. This was very bad. She looked around. They were out in the middle of nowhere, she still hadn’t cleaned up the storm, there was nopony else around, and Stormfeather definitely couldn’t fly.

She had to get him up to the infirmary. And in the rain. Rainstream’s muscles twitched with sudden fatigue. Thunder shook the sky overhead.

No. It was raining. Rainstream looked back at Stormfeather’s limp form. The rain was her friend. She could do this. She flew closer, and nudged him gently. He didn’t move. Good. She’d rather he not be awake. She landed as lightly as she could on the branch, and grabbed his hoof.

“I’m really sorry about this, Storm.”

She pulled his arm across her back, and began beating her wings hard. They slapped against the branches above and below her, and she threw pine needles everywhere, but after a few stinging wingbeats, she gained enough lift for the both of them and she was able to slide Stormfeather more comfortably onto her back.

“Okay, just hold on, Stormy. I’m gonna get you to the hospital.”

~ ~ ~

Several hours later, Rainstream and Doctor Sunspot sat in a mostly quiet waiting room, listening to the sounds of ponies trotting about the clouded hallways of Cloudsdale Hospital. Rainstream had eyes only for the floor. She sat silently, not moving, not looking up at anything. Her skin felt clammy. Her breath was slow, but shaky. Sunspot put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Hey, it’s alright. You got him here. I’m sure he’ll be just fine. And all thanks to you spotting him.”

Rainstream shifted so that his hoof fell away.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Rainstream didn’t answer.

“Well, hey. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in my office. How’ve you been?”

It had been more than two years. Rainstream hadn’t felt the need to see Doctor Sunspot in over two years, because she had found comfort in the rain. She had initially told him about it, but she didn’t realize he would remember. Most of the last two years had been spent learning to make and control weather, and studying acrobatics. Other than that, she’d been a shut in. She had avoided social contact, focused on her diary, and on her reading. She always sat in the back of class because she already knew everything they were trying to teach her. She never spoke to anypony, and nopony spoke to her much either. She was very good at avoiding attention.

But then Stormfeather had found her. He’d shown an interest in her, and suddenly hiding hadn’t been such a good idea. She’d opened up to him, regretted it, and then he’d made her fall in love with him all over again. She’d even made it onto the weather team. The past week, Rainstream’s life had been wonderful. Right up until…

“It’s my fault.” Rainstream murmured it mostly to herself, but it must have been audible, because Doctor Sunspot replied.

“What, that Stormfeather got hurt? Don’t say that. You got him to the help he needed. You’re the reason we knew something happened.”

Rainstream squeezed her eyes shut, releasing a few tears, then opened them again. Her lip trembled.

“But it’s my fault he was out there. I was supposed to be cleaning up the storm.”

“Come on, you can’t blame yourself for everything. H—”

“His wing was hurt when we started flying,” Rainstream said, bursting into sobs. She put her face in her hooves and cried into them. “I had weather duties, so he came to cheer me up. But I thought he needed help and he hurt his wing as he landed and I… I shouldn’t have let him fly. It’s my fault. He told me he was fine but I knew he wasn’t fine. It’s my fault he got hurt like this.”

She closed her eyes and curled up into her chair, burying her head in her hooves.Sunspot put a hoof back on her shoulder. She didn’t bother removing it this time. She should have been more careful. Should have realized he wouldn’t be able to make that turn. Now Stormfeather’s life was in danger, and it was all her fault. She let out a fresh sob.

“Hey, um—” Sunspot began, but he was rescued by a nursepony walking up to them

“Miss Rainstream? Your friend is waiting for you in the ICU. I can take you to him.”

Rainstream’s head shot up, eyes wide. “Is he okay?! How bad is it?” She pressed her hooves against the nurse’s chest. She blinked, but otherwise didn’t respond. Rainstream dropped her hooves. “He’s never gonna fly again is he?” New tears started to form.

The nurse put on a broken smile. “Why don’t you just come with me, and you can talk to him. Does that sound okay?”

Rainstream nodded slowly and trudged after the nursepony. Sunspot hopped up and followed closely behind. The nurse led them down a long hallway and around a corner, then slid open a glass door and ushered them inside. Sunspot opted to wait outside, leaving Rainstream some time with Stormfeather. He lay wrapped up in white blankets on a cot, hooked up to a couple of machines that beeped at regular intervals.

“Stormy!”

Rainstream leapt at him, but caught herself mid leap and managed to only gently hug him. He winced at the shift in position required but let out a satisfied groan when she let him back down. The cot had slots in the back where his wings could slip through. One of them was folded up and bound to his side, but the other extended backward and was held up by a series of slings. Rainstream winced.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Stormfeather laughed. “They’re giving me lots of morphine for the pain. I almost can’t even feel it.”

“His left wing suffered minimal damage,” the nurse chimed in. “Dislocation at the shoulder and a small transverse fracture along the humerus. We’ve set it and it should heal up in about six weeks.” Rainstream turned toward her as she flipped a page and continued. “However, his right wing has suffered a comminuted fracture of both the ulna and the and radius, and his metacarpals have disconnected entirely. And the surrounding muscle has been torn to shreds.” Sunspot let out a low whistle. “He also suffered minor injuries to his skull, and there is evidence of a concussion.” The nurse closed the folder and gave them a very stern look.

“Is… is that bad?” Rainstream asked, knowing it was.

“It will be a long road to recovery, probably a year at least before he’s flying again, and even then he won’t be ready for whatever sort of high speed antics got him into this mess. She dropped the glare and adopted a smile again “I hope this will be a lesson in proper caution when flying. Your wings are fragile, and you’re not supposed to bang them into things. I’ll leave you two alone.” She left and closed the door, then immediately started talking to Sunspot, who smiled brightly at first, but then his expression grew serious, concerned even. He flashed a worried glance at Rainstream and quickly returned his attention to the nurse.

Rainstream didn’t linger. She turned back toward Stormfeather. Her earlier elation at seeing him alive faded. She looked at him and he just looked… broken. Rainstream knew a lot about flying, so she’d only needed to pay attention in one class. Anatomy. She knew what two of the bones mentioned were, and they were pretty important if he wanted to fly. This was bad.

She wanted to say something. Tell him she was sorry, that it was her fault, that she could’ve prevented it if she’d known but… no words came. Rainstream just stared at him, as though her desire to see him whole again would magically make it so. He saw her look and forced a smile.

“Heh, bit of a crummy date, huh?”

Rainstream let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Tears filled her eyes and laughter filled her lungs. She refrained from hugging him and resorted to nodding and unsuccessfully trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.

“What happened?”

Rainstream's heart stopped. “You don't know?”

Stormfeather shook his head. “Last thing I remember is heading over to your room to see if you were there. I guess something happened between here and there?”

Ice filled her chest, trailing out to the rest of her body. He didn’t… remember?

“Rainstream?”

She shook her head in tiny movements, but growing in intensity. She took a few steps backward and crouched to the floor.

“Rainstream? Are you alright? You’re scaring me.”

No. Their first date. Their first kiss—sober kiss—gone. Stolen by fate. Rainstream’s breathing quickened. Her skin grew hot and cold at the same time. She could feel tiny needles pressing into her skin. The world grew silent beneath the roar of her own blood rushing through her ears. Rainstream put her hooves over her head and curled up on the floor. She felt sick. Her stomach wanted to leap out of her throat. The world was spinning.

No. No, it’s not fair! No, nonononono NONONO!

She was screaming. Her hooves were smacking the floor. Somepony was holding her. She let them. The world kept spinning, but if she just focused on whoever’s hoof was on her shoulder, she knew that she wasn’t. The roar in her ears began to subside, the spinning slowed, her stomach settled back into her gut. She stopped screaming. She could hear somepony calling her name.

“Rainstream. Come on are you alright? Rainstream are you okay?”

She let out a low whimper.

“Rainstream?” It was Sunspot’s voice. He spoke softly and slowly, and rubbed her back.

“Hey, look it’s alright. We’re both here. Everypony’s safe. Nothing’s happening right now. Why don’t you tell us what’s wrong, when you’re ready.”

Rainstream sniffled. Nopony moved, or said anything. She took in a few ragged breaths, then let them out.

“Rain?” Stormfeather said quietly.

She didn’t want to look up at him. She didn’t want to look at what she’d done to him.

“It’s not fair,” she murmured, just audibly.

“What’s that?” Sunspot asked.

“Rainstream, what’s wrong?” Stormfeather asked.

“You,” she sputtered out. “You’re what’s wrong.” She said it softly, but her anger and frustration rose quickly through her chest, and she couldn’t keep her volume below a normal speaking voice. "You’re not supposed to be broken like this. You’re supposed to win the Best Young Fliers competition and make your dad happy. How are you supposed to fly now?”

It wasn’t fair. He was supposed to fly in the competition. He was supposed to win, and make his parents proud, so they could give him the praise she never got. She wasn’t supposed to steal that from him. And she wasn’t supposed to ruin their first good memory together.

A long sigh came from the hospital bed. “I...guess I won’t,” Stormfeather said dejectedly.

Rainstream flinched, taking in a quick gasp and inciting more sniffles. She heard a groan from the bed.

“What even happened, anyway? It’s not like I could get hurt crashing into a cloud. And why can’t I remember anything after this afternoon? It was raining, so I went to see how you were doing and then… there’s a nurse asking me if I’m alright. What happened?”

Rainstream’s chest tightened. You asked me to be your marefriend and then I nearly got you killed. “You hit a tree,” she said, staring down at the wheels of his bed.

“A tree? What was I doing low enough to hit a tree?”

Following my stupid flank. “Training for the competition,” Rainstream sighed. “There’s a mountain range not far from the school, and you were dodging trees.”

“Heh, sounds about right. Wow, I’m an idiot.”

Sunspot tapped her on the shoulder. Rainstream looked up at him, and he nodded toward Stormfeather. Rainstream’s heart twinged. She slowly turned to look at Stormfeather. He was… smiling. At her.

“Sorry for worrying you. I’ll bet it looked pretty bad.”

Rainstream forced a smile for a moment, then let it go. “C-can we talk about something else? What about the competition? What’s your dad going to think?”

Stormfeather rolled his eyes. “Well, my dad’s actually on his way here, so we’ll find that out pretty soon. The competition though...” He tapped his chin for a moment. “I guess you’ll just have to fly in it.”

Rainstream found her feet very quickly, but backed into the door before she could stop herself. “What?! Me?”

“Please?” He asked with a really dumb looking fat lip “You’re honestly the best flyer within a hundred miles. You’d destroy the competition.”

Rainstream let out a squeak. Her. Performing in front of… hundreds of ponies.

Stormfeather must have seen the look on her face because his turned to panic. “Okay, okay, maybe not, but could you please think about it.” Wow, he looked really upset. “I really want to see you fly.”

Rainstream started to shake her head

“Come on, do it for me?” He had that stupid fat lip again. Rainstream frowned. He was right. If she didn’t have such a crippling fear of crowds she could blow everypony out of the clouds and then some. And she really owed this to him, more than he knew.

Dammit.

“Fine.”

“Yes!”

“But…”

“But… ?”

It was one thing to say she could do it. It was another thing entirely to actually do it. But she had to. She had to find a way. She would make this up to him, and win this thing, for him. She just needed one thing;

“How am I going to handle performing for a real crowd?

Author's Note

Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been so busy lately it's amazing I've gotten anything done at all. The next one might be a while as well, but hopefully I'll have chapter 9 out by the end of January.

Flight of the Raindrop

“That’s amazing,” List said.

“Hmm?”

Rainstream looked over to see List staring at her open mouthed and wide eyed. Cripes, he was actually on the edge of his seat. Oh no, how much had she told him?

“You carried him all the way to the hospital?

“I… yeah.” Somehow she smiled.

~ ~ ~

Rainstream squeezed her way past the crowd of ponies piling into Stormfeather’s room, her eyes fixed on the Hostpital’s exit. The competition was in just a few hours, and she needed some extra practice time. Plus, her stomach was tied up in a huge knot. There were way too many ponies here.

At last she escaped the suffocating confines of Cloudsdale Hospital and dove from the edge of the cloud without even checking to see if anypony was there. Her stomach leapt up into her throat as she pulled herself into a very steep dive.

The next few hours went by in a blur. Small dips, big loops, long twirls, steep dives, and wide graceful spirals. Rainstream forgot if it had been raining when she’d started, or if she’d made it rain at some point, but it didn’t really matter. She was out of time, and still felt just as sick to her stomach.

She needed to get to the arena.

It was an hour before the competition was supposed to start when Rainstream touched down and headed straight for the nearest restroom. She almost didn’t make it to the toilet before depositing her entire breakfast of hospital vending machine snacks into the once glistening bowl.

“Nervous, huh?” Somepony called from the sink. Rainstream couldn't look up. “Yeah, me too. My coltfriend came all the way from Trottingham to watch me fly. I just know I’m going to screw this up somehow.”

Rainstream wiped her mouth, tried not to add to what was in the bowl just by looking at it, and quickly flushed the toilet. She staggered her way over to the sink, and ran water over her face, still just as nauseous. She tried drinking some of the water, but it tasted really metallic. She turned it off and just rubbed her head.

“I shouldn’t even be here,” Rainstream groaned.

“Let me guess, you were press ganged into this by a friend too?” The other mare, an auburn pegasus with a light magenta mane asked.

Rainstream nodded, clutching her stomach.

“Oh I’ll bet he’s just ravishing. Don’t worry. Just relax and be yourself. I’m sure he’ll notice you.”

She left Rainstream alone in the bathroom after that. Rainstream slumped onto the wet countertop.

Ugh. So her best friend who was supposed to be her coltfriend but couldn’t remember their first real kiss because she was a total idiot and led him through a tight maneuver she knew he wasn’t ready for because she thought he was totally hot and stupidly let him follow her, was in the hospital and couldn’t fly, or come watch her fly for him, all because of her stupid flank.

Rainstream bonked her head on the countertop once, then stopped because it made her head spin.

And then, she had agreed to fly for him because it was totally her fault in the first place and she didn’t even want to fly and now she was about to fly in front of a crowd of ponies which she had never done before, ever, who would all be watching and judging her and… and…

Rainstream slumped onto the cloudy floor of the bathroom and clutched at her chest, which was currently trying to collapse under its own weight. Her breathing started accelerating out of control as she just stared at the opposite wall and tried not to hear the entire cloud crumbling into dust. Was it possible to have an earthquake in the sky? Her skin felt really clammy and there was so much pressure on her head she had to clutch it to keep it from bursting. She laid back on the ground and prayed this would not last long.

It did. Rainstream definitely actually died several times before the rumbling finally stopped. As her brain started working again, she noticed somepony was shaking her. A sea green pegasus, with a teal mane. She was shouting something, but Rainstream couldn’t hear yet. She blinked, and suddenly the sound was back on.

“Rainstream! Hey! Come on are you alright? Oh, whew, there you are. It’s the last call for sign in. You’re one of the contests, right? Rainstream?”

Rainstream nodded slowly.

“Well come on, we’ve got ten minutes before the competition starts. Are you okay to fly?

NO!

Rainstream nodded again.

Feather brain!

With the other pony’s help, Rainstream got to her hooves and slowly shuffled outside into the hallway. It wasn’t really a hallway, more of a… half covered walkway? One side was open to the arena, and there were a lot of ponies out there. Rainstream could already feel her lungs clamping up again, but her attention was thankfully directed elsewhere by the mare helping her.

“Come on, sign in is just over here.”

Rainstream followed the other mare toward a crowd of pegasi with numbers taped to them.

“Rainstream, hey!” Stormfeather’s voice called out.

Rainstream’s ears, eyes, face and entire body really, snapped toward the dark blue pony with the bandaged wings who looked really happy to see her. He was in a wheelchair for some reason, but he was here.

“Stormy!”

Her hooves found new energy, and she quickly outpaced the pony who had just been dragging her along. Her hooves weren't fast enough, so she opened her wings and closed the remaining distance in a single bound.

She very nearly tackled him, but when she saw his cast she pulled up. His wing was fully encased in bandages, and held perfectly still by a frame and some strings which mounted on the chair he rode in.

“Stormy, oh my gosh. How are you here? I thought you couldn't leave the hospital.”

“Whoa slow down, hold up there. Go sign in. I'll tell you about it it afterward.”

Signing in was a very simple process. Rainstream had signed up the two weeks prior, so they simply needed to confirm that she would indeed be flying. She did her best to ignore the annoyed look on the registration pony’s face as she stamped her hoof on the sign in sheet. Her hoof had barely left the paper when she turned and bolted back to Stormfeather.

She wanted to leap at him, but he looked so fragile. Her legs tensed and twitched in indecision as she fought with her instincts. Eventually she leaned forward into the most awkward hug ever conceived, before rolling back onto her hooves. She released a satisfied hum.

He laughed. “I wasn’t going to miss you flying. I’m here for you, Rain. Since, you know, you’re sort of here for me. Eheh!”

It was a twisted sideways smile but somehow it still melted her heart.

“Plus I can't wait to see your amazing routine. I'll never get tired of watching you fly.”

Rainstream blinked.

Fly.

Oh.

Oh no.

Rainstream still hadn't thought of a routine. She'd been too busy worrying about how she was going to fly… in front of… everypony.

“Rain?”

The concern in his voice could have shattered a cloud.

“Are you alright?”

No. She was not alright. She couldn't breathe, and if she couldn't stop thinking about everypony watching her fly—oh hello ground.

“Rain?! Hey, she needs help!”

Somepony was trying to help her up but she couldn't find the ground. Stormfeather’s soft, strong voice called out to her from across the void.

“Rain, hey, Rainstream. Listen to my voice. Rain. Think of the rain, rain drops falling down. Listen to the sound of raindrops falling on a cloud. You always liked the rain, right?”

Rain.

Rainstream closed her eyes as tightly as she could and imagined rain.

Everything stopped. There was no movement. She was hovering above a vast field of dark gray clouds. The rain fell heavy on her back and through her wings. She moved them slowly, like she didn't need much lift.

There was no sound either. No wind. Just the rain. It was like the world had been turned off and she left alone with the rain, so it could carry her like it always had.

“Rain?”

Rainstream opened her eyes. She was sitting on the cloud floor in the hallway, Stormfeather was right in front of her, and they were both smiling.

“Well I guess that worked,” he laughed. “Glad to have you back. I guess this means you'll be flying after all?” He smiled warmly at her.

Yes. Rainstream nodded.

She knew exactly what her routine would be now. The same as it had always been.

~ ~ ~

There were a few rules to keep the competition standard, but since it was a display of flying ability, contestants were given the freedom to tailor their routine to their strengths. Each contestant had five minutes to perform. If you wanted music with your routine (which was recommened) you had to provide it yourself. You could rearrange the provided clouds in the arena if you wanted to, but they had to be incorporated into the routine in some way, so you couldn’t remove them entirely, and you couldn’t modify the arena itself.

Judges would be scoring based on creativity, style, use of provided cloud material, and difficulty of technique. Points would be taken away for damaging the stadium, failing to use the provided clouds, or messing up a technique. Stormfeather pointed out, however, that since the routine could be kept secret until the actual performance, Rainstream could hide any mistakes by twirling or adding flair to them in some way, and the judges would not know the difference.

Stormfeather sat with her while the rest of the contestants ran through their routines. Despite the rules, most of them managed to remain creative and unique. Several ponies crashed a few times. Rainstream winced at each impact, but Stormfeather reminded her that they were clouds, and couldn’t actually damage pegasi. Rainstream even saw the Auburn mare from earlier. Her act involved pulling rain from the little clouds she was given, and her music was a beautiful orchestra piece that perfectly complemented her surprisingly athletic aerial acrobatics.

Rainstream sat down hard. She couldn’t follow that. It would look the same. It would—

“Nervous, Rain?” Stormfeather’s voice broke her panic before it started. Rainstream looked up at him. He smiled back. “Tough act to follow, huh?’

Rainstream nodded slowly, a small whine replacing her words.

“You can do it.” He said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “That was nothing compared to what I’ve seen you do. I say go big. Go REALLY big.” He cast her a wicked grin that she couldn’t help but match. Of course. Nopony knew rain better than her. All she needed was a little boost. Rainstream stood and shook out her wings.

A few more routines went by, and then finally it was Rainstream’s turn. Her bold stance had left her, but she held on to Stormfeather’s advice.

I just need to make it rain, and rain hard.

She took in a breath, closed her eyes, and leapt from the platform.

The arena was silent. Rainstream’s ears trained hard on the wind, and it became her eyes. She flew to the first little cloud, and gave it a push. Already ponies were whispering.

"Is she flying blind?"

"How can she see?"

"No music? What’s she thinking?"

"Why is she gathering all the clouds together?"

"Maybe she just needs to set up first?"

"Well she’d better hurry up, she’s only got five minutes."

Having made one large cloud from the many smaller ones, Rainstream flew under it and pushed it up hard and fast. She started spinning about halfway up, then released the cloud about a hundred or so feet above the arena. As fast as her wings would carry her, Rainstream flew out to the surrounding clouds in the area. Her wings protested, but she didn’t have time to worry. She needed rain, and a lot of it, and she didn’t have much time.

She picked a 100 yard radius and gathered all of her pegasi magic to her wingtips, drawing every bit of moisture from the surrounding air as she could, and pushed herself onward. The arena spun beneath her as she flew circle after circle, as fast as a bullet. Finally, the air started to form into cloud. It trailed behind her at first, but as she caught up to her own trail, she started pushing it toward the center, still listening on the wind to know where it was.

After two minutes it was complete, and Rainstream gave her enormous cloud a massive kick before speeding back down under it. She gave it another one from beneath just to add a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder to her performance, then folded her wings and fell.

She gathered some clouds as she fell, forming little puffs so she could use them in a moment. She could feel the rain beside her, and a large smile formed on her face. Showtime.

Finally, as she reached the arena floor, she opened her wings, and was met with an instant shower of rain. The wind howled above her from the massive swirling stormcloud she’d made. She opened her eyes and looked up. It was perfect. It covered the arena and then some, but didn’t entirely block out the sun, which still shone around the side of it.

Several ponies cried out in protest of the sudden downpour, but Rainstream ignored them. She had maybe two minutes left to wow the judges, and she still needed her music.

Rainstream quickly positioned the little puffs of cloud at seemingly random points throughout the arena, then climbed just a bit so she could start the show. Probably should have just used the given ones and then made the big cloud, but whatever, it’s done now

She gave her highest cloud a kick, and it let loose a lightning bolt straight up into her large stormcloud. Twirling as she arced away, Rainstream kicked the next two in rapid succession. A thunderclap accompanied each lightning flash, and she began a rythym. One flash, aerial tecnique, two quick flashes, check the wind. One flash, aerial technique, two quick flashes, check the wind. Twists, loops, flips, rolls, stalls and falls. Rainstream showed off every aerial maneuver she’d ever learned, even pulling out of a dive upside down (a massively difficult feat without lots of practice.).

Slowly, the whispers and murmurs turned from confusion to awe.

"Celestia’s mane, she’s using the weather to make music."

"That is one special filly"

"Did you see how fast she made that huge raincloud?"

"Did you see how fast she flew to make that huge raincloud?"

"Look at all those flips and loops! Flawless."

Rainstream smiled. It was time for the finale. She gave a massive push with her wings and kicked off of her lowest cloud, shattering it to mist, as she pushed upward. She hit them all in perfect rythym, one after the other until the whole arena was filled with a long wispy trail of mist. She placed her hooves onto the edge of the stormcloud and pulled away, twirling as she pulled a long trail of cloud with her. Rainstream kept her wings tucked as she fell in a super tight spiral, twisting the cloud in her hooves like a long piece of taffy. Above her, the cloud unraveled as she continued pulling it in a long trail behind her.

"I taught her that."

Rainstream actually recognized her old tutor’s voice, but she smirked as she remembered that Fleetfoot hadn’t quite taught her this. No, this was her own design, and it was just about to be brilliant.

Rainstream closed her eyes and used the remaining wind and rain to guide her now as she turned her twirling form into a tight spiral, which slowly grew wider. Gasps rang out from the crowd, which Rainstream ignored. Finally, it was time to pull her spiral tighter and tighter. Her wings strained as she reached the end of her descent and released the cloud. She pulled one tight loop and then slammed into the end of the cloud and delivered a massive kick, then kept on kicking. A bell sounded just as she connected, but Rainstream kept going. Lighting shot through the whole thing, spiraling up and up and illuminating her creation through the mist: a massive raindrop, drawn using cloud, now made of lightning. The lighting trailed all the way up to the now considerably smaller raincloud and arced out in all directions, creating a spinning disc of lighting, accompanied by a long roll of thunder that sounded the end of her routine.

As her legs grew tired, Rainstream let the lighting die away, revealing a completely clear arena, save for one exhausted pegasus. She looked over to the judges, who simply stared slack jawed at her. For a full minute, the arena was silent. Then somepony clapped. Then another, and then another, and the whole stadium erupted into roars and cheers.

As the rain died down, Rainstream noticed once again just how many ponies were watching her. Her chest grew tight and she searched frantically for the platform Stormfeather was standing on. Her stomach’s protests from the last five minutes caught up to her, and Rainstream fled the arena without even glancing at the judges’ final score.

Ten minutes of dry-heaving into the same toilet later, Stormfeather met her outside the little fillies’ room.

“Never make me do that again!” She exclaimed as she stumbled out into the hallway. She leaned on his wheelchair to steady herself.

He chuckled “Oh come on, don’t tell me you enjoyed it?”

Rainstream responded by planting a hoof behind one of the wheels of his chair, then hauling backward on the handles.

“Whoa, Rain—hey!”

She held him at a 45 for a few seconds, then put him back down. She gave him a playful glare, then went in for a nuzzle.

“How bad was it?” she groaned.

Stormfeather sucked in a breath. “Well, I mean, you lost points for going over the time limit…”

Rainstream hung her head and let out a small whine.

“Buuuut, you pretty much got top marks on everything else, so…”

No way. Rainstream looked up and stared at him, eyes wide.

“I mean having a friend on the judging panel may have had something to do with it…”

Rainstream gave him a light shove and raised an eyebrow.

“You won,” he laughed. “They’re calling you to the judges’ stand so they can present the trophy.”

Rainstream’s ears drooped. Oh no. She looked over at the arena again. There were still lots of ponies in the stands. She took a few steps back and shook her head.

“Do you want me to tell them to give it to you in private?”

Rainstream nodded slowly. Her stomach felt all queezy again.

Stormfeather smiled. “Alright, wait here. I’ll let them know.”

~ ~ ~

The rain outside had nearly stopped. There was now just the soft drip of it running off the trees. Rainstream sat down and got to work on finishing her oatmeal.

“So… you won?”

Rainstream looked up at List, then nodded. “Yeah. Apparently Fleetfoot was on the judging panel, and she was so floored by my ability she convinced the other judges that despite going over the time limit, I still deserved to win. I guess I did fly better than the others. My head still spins when I think about that tight spiral I did.”

Rainstream put a hoof to her head and went back to her oatmeal.

List looked at the golden cup in his hooves for a bit longer, then set it down.

“So what happened after that?”

Rainstream choked on her oatmeal.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, guys. Life is busy. I hope you won't hate me for making my OC OP, but I kind of feel like she's earned it :twilightblush: This is the end of the first story I hoped to tell. I have more, but I'm curious which one you guys would like to hear about. Let me know in the comments and I'll start making an outline for the next chapter. Thanks for reading, and I hope you're enjoying this as much as me.

On Eagle's Wings (Part 1)

Blue skies stretched for miles over the scattered clouds of the Equestrian landscape. Rainstream’s wings beat tirelessly, propelling her forward through the upper troposphere. She had been flying for an hour, but Rainstream felt no more tired than the moment she’d launched herself from the deck of the school auditorium.

The sun rose high, illuminating the landmarks Rainstream would need to find her way. Or rather, had needed. Below her stood the coastal city of Baltimare, surrounding its unmistakable horseshoe bay. A tingling fire built up in Rainstream’s belly as she sped onward, forcing her lips to curl upward in a wide grin. Rainstream blinked, and she was no longer over land. With the shoreline beneath her, Rainstream’s only guide now was the sun at her back to tell her she was headed in the right direction. She looked up toward the horizon.

Hello, tomorrow.

Rainstream glanced back over her shoulder at the retreating shoreline. Cloudsdale. Stormfeather. Fleetfoot. Dragon? Rainstream frowned. Surely she’d made more friends than that? Oh well. She liked solitude anyway, and she was about to get a lot of it. Rainstream smiled wide and turned back toward her destination.

Goodbye, Equestria. I’ll see you in a month or so. Here I come, Griffonia.

~ ~ ~

Several weeks earlier

Rainstream barely made it to the end of the stadium hallway before she was ambushed by her former tutor, Fleetfoot.

“Hey, you forgot something!” The older mare slid gracefully in front of Rainstream, stopping her dead in her tracks, and holding out a golden cup with wings for handles. Fleetfoot smirked, then took a few steps forward.

“Well the award is usually a day with the Wonderbolts, but when Stormfeather came to pick up the trophy instead of you, well… just color me surprised. What gives? You don’t want to hang out with your awesome old tutor and be best buddies again?”

Fleetfoot brushed past Rainstream and ran a wing down her back, then filed up next to her. Rainstream shivered slightly at the touch, but Fleetfoot she was used to. In response, she tucked her shoulder up against her face, hiding mostly behind her mane, and looked down.

Fleetfoot scoffed. “What, you’re not still shy in front of crowds are you? Come on, you totally just wowed all of them. That was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen, and I’m a wonderbolt!”

Rainstream rolled her eyes and kept walking. Fleetfoot could get pretty full of herself at times. Maybe she’d talk herself out of time. The exit was close.

“I guess we can’t getcha to join when you graduate then, huh?”

Rainstream shook her head slightly without pausing.

“Oh come on. Captain Windrider’s all over that… cool lightning thing you did. You’ve really been working on your weather magic huh? Creativity like that is exactly what the wonderbolt shows really need. You should totally join up. Then you’ll be best buddies with the rest of the crew too.”

Rainstream stopped, turned and spoke softly. “I appreciate the praise, but I don’t like attention. I did this for Stormfeather. That’s all.” She did her best to give Fleetfoot a pleading look, but she couldn’t stop herself and quickly turned quickly toward the nearby cloud edge.

“Rainstream wait!”

Rainstream paused, wings already unfurled, and turned just her head back. Fleetfoot wore the most mixed expression Rainstream had ever seen. Pride, in herself for what she had achieved. Pride, in Rainstream, for her achievement. Regret, but for what Rainstream could not tell. Longing, perhaps that Rainstream might stay with her. Anxiousness, for something… soon. And loss, or perhaps just the fear of it. And one more Rainstream couldn’t quite place.

Rainstream put her hoof down, and offered a patient—but not too patient—expression.

“Just… good luck out there. I know the year’s not over yet but… I’ll see you around, right?” She held the trophy out for Rainstream to take.

Hope. Hope that she would say yes. Rainstream smiled fondly. She took the trophy with one of her hooves.

“Maybe someday. Thanks for everything.”

Rainstream launched herself from the cloud and held her hangtime for as long as she could, savoring the playful grin Fleetfoot gave her in response. The older mare offered a brief salute, before turning swiftly around. Then Rainstream disappeared beneath the cloud.

She flew for a long while; it felt good to get away from everypony, and really free her wings. She didn’t do many acrobatics this time. Just basic gliding, and enjoying the sensation of being carried by rising wind currents. Little swirls of air gently pressed up against her coverts. She felt safe and secure on their capable... hooves?

Rainstream came to rest on a cloud near where she had told Stormfeather to meet up with her. This would be a good spot. She leapt up one more time to quickly gather some clouds together, and pressed them into a tight ball, then gave it a soft kick. It sprang to life instantly, spilling out a gentle stream of rain onto the cloud she would be resting on. Rainstream then returned to the little cloud beneath the rain and spread herself out.

Fleetfoot had always enjoyed basking in the sun. Rainstream liked the rain as well. Here, with her little raincloud, she had the best of both worlds. Rainstream closed her eyes and listened to the swirling song of the upper air as it lulled her off to sleep.

Her ears stayed awake, though, and the wind woke her up as it carried the familiar wingbeats of the only pony she wanted to see right now, right to her. He’d come from the south instead of the arena, probably to sneak up on her, but Rainstream had keen ears, she smiled triumphantly as she suddenly rolled over to greet him.

“Hey, Stormy! Did you—huh?”

Instead of Stormfeather, a gray pegasus mare with a bright fushia mane was rushing toward her. The other mare pulled up at the last second, buffeting Rainstream with her surprisingly large wings. Rainstream dropped to a crouch and covered her head with her hooves, burying her face in the cloud.

“Oi, whoa there. Easy, mate. Ye startled me. Funny little raincloud ye got here. ‘Was just gonna ask if ye knew where the flyin’ competition was.”

Rainstream opened one eye. The other pony had settled down on the cloud a few feet back and folded her enormous wings. Rainstream couldn’t help but stare for a few moments. Goodness those were huge. She stood up, gaping. The other mare must have noticed her staring, because her eyes widened and she lifted one

“Wha—oh is it the wings? Yeah I get a lot of comments about those. I think I get ‘em from me mother. Name’s Dragon—Dragomena, really, but all me friends call me Dragon. Nice to meet ye, mate.”

Rainstream opened her mouth to comment on the strangeness of the pony’s name, but then she saw the other mare’s cutie mark beneath her wing. A piece of parchment crossed with a quill!

Rainstream’s mouth hung open as she looked up at this strange mare who came out of nowhere.

“Oi, you’re freakin’ me out, mate. Ye’alright?” Dragon waved her gray hoof in front of Rainstream’s face for a moment. When Rainstream continued to stare, Dragon gave up.

“Eh whatever. Anyway, I’m a traveling novelist. I heard there was a young filly with some extraordinary weather capabilities up here, so I came to check out the flying competition. I was going to ask for directions but then I saw ye lying under a raincloud and figured if anypony knew where to find this filly it might be you. So, how about it. Ye got any ideas, miss….?”

Rainstream opened and closed her mouth several times. not panicking not panicking oh is that the back of the cloud oh my gosh say something say something

“T-t-t-t-the arena’s back that way!” Rainstream pointed, never taking her eyes off the mare. Finally her legs gave out and she collapsed, dangerously close to the edge of the cloud. Not that it was actually dangerous because she could fly but it was really close and oh thank goodness there’s Stormfeather

“Stormy!” Rainstream called out, dancing in place as she willed him here faster. She should have known he wouldn’t be flying. He was still hurt from that stupid accident. A nursepony was pushing a small cloud that held up his wheelchair. So much for privacy.

Rainstream all but leapt on him when he finally got close enough.

“Whoa, Rainstream, hey, how’ya doin’? Relax I’m fine. Who’s this?” He pointed toward Dragon, who was still standing on the other end of the cloud. Dragon straightened her stance immediately and extended a hoof.

“Dragomena, Traveling novelist. Pleased to meet ye, mate. Came up here about a weather making prodigy I heard might be at this competition. Ye haven’t seen her have ye?”

Rainstream would love to have slapped Stormfeather for the face he made next, which looked like he was trying to blush and swallow a laugh at the same time. His dark blue coat turned crimson very quickly, and he grinned at her as he snickered silently.

“Yeah, I’ve seen her around. She finished her routine about a half hour ago. Best use of lightning I’ve ever seen. It’s a shame you weren’t there.”

It would have been a great cover up if the idiot could have kept a straight face, but by the time he finished, Stormfeather was struggling so hard to keep from laughing it was a wonder he could even breathe. Dragon certainly noticed, offering a very sideways glance and a raised eyebrow instead of answering immediately.

“What are ye on about, mate? Do ye know where she is or what?”

At this, Stormfeather burst out laughing, the Nurse rolled her eyes while staying just outside of the stream of rain, and Rainstream could feel the water evaporating off of her back while she tried very hard to be very small.

“Oi! Come on now, what’s the joke. What are you loonies on about?”

Rainstream all but melted into the cloud, meanwhile Stormfeather struggled to keep from falling out of his wheelchair, a feat that gave the nurse quite a bit of concern.

“Oh, sorry. Sorry it’s just… the irony!” Stormfeather sputtered out as he wiped a tear from his eye. “You’ve been standing next to her this whole time, and it’s even raining!” He didn’t make it any farther than that before another fit of laughter overtook him. It was enough though. Dragon blushed a bit, but turned immediately to Rainstream.

“Oi, what? This young mare here? And here I thought I was looking for a filly. You’re a real gem, mate.” She turned back toward Rainstream. “Mind if I ask ye a few things about the weather ye make?”

Rainstream could feel her heart racing already. She wasn’t going to last much longer beneath this onslaught. Fortunately Stormfeather came to her rescue.

“Now’s probably not a good time, sorry.” He wheeled himself between her and Dragon. “Rainstream’s just a little exhausted and needs to get back to her room. Come visit me by the hospital tomorrow, Ask for Stormfeather. I’ll see if I can convince her to show up.”

Rainstream made note of how much Dragon looked Stormy up and down before she answered with what almost looked like a sultry sneer.

“Oi I’ll certainly do that. Ciao for now.”

The gray pegasus beat her wings once, and banked away out of sight. Rainstream hugged Stormfeather as she left, glaring after her with the heat of the sun.

Only after the other mare had left did Rainstream notice Stormfeather wincing beneath her.

“erm. Rain. Wings. Pain. Leggo.”

Rainstream looked down. She'd completely forgotten about his wings. Her forelegs were wrapped tightly around his shoulders, just over the sensitive wing joints.

“ohmygosh I'm sorry!” she said flinging herself from him. She cowered under the disapproving gaze of the nurse, then winced as she saw Stormfeather trying and failing to rub his own back. She lowered her head and opened her wings, preparing to take off, when Stormfeather stopped her.

“Hey, Rain, it's okay. It's just sensitive. I'll be fine in a minute. Why don't you help me back to the hospital? That performance was awesome and I'd love to hear it from your side.”

~ ~ ~

Joy lent strength to Rainstream’s wings as she soared over the open ocean. The Celestial Sea wasn’t much of an ocean really. More of a very large lake, according to most maps—including the one Rainstream had taken with her—but it took about a day to cross by wing, so it could be called an ocean.

It was sad that Stormfeather couldn’t join her on this first trek of hers. She would have loved him to come along, but there was no getting around it, and he had insisted. Up ahead, a squall was forming. Rainstream laughed out loud to the open air as she sped toward it as fast as her wings could carry her. Nothing could ruin this day.

~ ~ ~

The nurse taking care of Stormfeather stubbornly refused to ‘let a pegasus knowingly prone to panic attacks escort her charge back to the hospital unattended, no matter how great of a flyer she was’. Rainstream wasn’t disappointed though. It just meant a little more time enjoying the sky with Stormfeather. Few ponies realized just how much Rainstream really loved just being in the sky. Nothing below you, or nearby, you can just see for miles, and the cloud formations that took shape on their own if somepony let them be were nearly as breathtaking as the ones Rainstream herself created. She never got bored of it. Not once.

Upon return to the hospital, Stormfeather was taken straight to the same ICU room that he’d been in earlier, but there were a lot less ponies this time. Which was just fine. Rainstream was more comfortable away from crowds. After the nurse got Stormfeather plugged back in to a bunch of softly beeping machines, she left the two of them alone and closed the curtain.

Rainstream collapsed onto the couch in the room, and laughed. It wasn’t a hearty chuckle like when something is particularly funny, or a giggle, like when something is silly. No, this was a slow, labored laugh one might use when they’ve finally finished a long day.

“Tired, huh?’

Rainstream nodded, closing her eyes.

“Well don’t go to sleep yet, you’ve still got to tell me how you made that big raincloud. Come on, out with the details.”

Stormfeather obviously wasn’t tired, but then again, he hadn’t just flown for a competition. Rainstream groaned in response, wiping a hoof over her brow.

“Come on, you made a promise. I’m going to be up for hours. Who’s going to keep me from going crazy from being stuck in this chair?”

Rainstream shot him a feigned look of annoyance, then rolled over and sat up.

“It wasn’t hard, really. Fleetfoot taught me how to gather clouds two years ago. It’s just second nature to me, now. Same way I made that big storm last month.”

Stormfeather laughed nervously, and reached for the cup of water on the tray the nurse had left.

“I should teach you someday.”

Stormfeather stopped with the cup halfway to his mouth, still open. He stared back at her, eyes wide. A smile slowly grew on his mouth, pulling it wide into a look of excitement and joy.

“You mean it?”

Rainstream shrugged. “How else is your dad gonna be proud of you?” She smiled, curling one side of her lip into a lighthearted smirk.

Stormfeather dropped his cup, remaining frozen in place, hoof halfway to his mouth, still hanging open, all despite the now growing wet stain on his sheets.

Rainstream continued smiling for a moment, then suddenly felt like she’d been punched in the gut. No, no no no she had not just said that. Rainstream stuffed her hooves in her mouth, but there was no taking back the words that had already left. Tears built in her eyes as she watched Stormfeather visibly deflate, dropping his now empty hoof and staring down at his wet sheets. She leapt off the couch, grabbing his hoof and holding it to her forehead.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that was stupid I’m so sorry please forgive me I shouldn’t have said that.”

Stormfeather didn’t respond. He let out a low sigh, barely above a whisper. Rainstream’s breath caught in her throat, forming a solid lump that pressed against it. Her mouth hung open, but her eyes did the talking, screaming her apology as loudly as they could.

When it seemed that Stormfeather had gone catatonic, Rainstream slumped against his legs and just cried into the sheets. They were wet anyway, so it wouldn’t make a difference.

Stormfeather’s hoof moved to the back of Rainstream’s head, and rubbed at her mane. She looked up. His expression hadn’t changed much, but there was depth to it now. He looked… defeated, like all hope had left somehow.

“S—”

“Do you ever feel like running away?”

His question pierced the silence, cutting off her next attempt at words. She stared unblinkingly at him, unable to say anything if she wanted to.

Her brain fought to find an appropriate response.
He should know she had done exactly that. What a jerk! Why would he bring that up? Didn’t he know how badly she wanted to avoid that topic?
But what if he just needed a friend right now? What if she hurt him by getting angry? She should be hugging him.
Maybe he’s suggesting something? Should she be considering the notion of actually running away with him?
Maybe he’s looking for someone to open up to. She should tell him about the time she ran away.
How she probably hurt somepony when she left.

She hadn’t even asked about the anonymous donor who had paid for her schooling.

…

What had her parents thought when she’d run away?

“Sorry.”

Stormfeather broke her reverie with a single word. He was staring at her with concern now, all of the defeat from earlier gone.

“That must be a touchy subject for you. I was just thinking, you know. My parents never really seemed to want anything for me, for me. I thought—”

“Please, Stormfeather, just stop it.” Rainstream spoke softly. She wanted to punch him, and hug him, and slap him, and cry with him, and talk at him, but her net emotion finally became zero. She got up off the bed and faced the window.

“You don’t understand what you have.”

It should be raining outside. It wasn’t. Rainstream closed the blinds, and pretended it was.

“When I was a little filly, I ran away from home because my parents cared so little about me, I knew they’d never notice.” She sniffed, running a hoof through the layer of dust that had collected on the window sill. “The nobles in Pegasus society aren’t what the Unicorns of Canterlot are, but they do a great imitation. If my dad thought being friends with someone could raise his status or wealth, they were over for dinner the next day. There were alway so many people in the house, I couldn’t even reach the table some nights. I had to hide in the kitchen or in my room, and that’s if there were no Unicorns in the group. On a good day, Dad just thought of me as an annoying pet that my mom kept around. On the worst…” Rainstream rubbed behind her ear. She could still feel the scar from where she’d hit her head on that mantle. She shook the rest of that awful memory away. “If Eyrie hadn’t taken care of me, I might not have... I might have never… learned...”

The next words caught in Rainstream’s throat, which then knotted up. A dam had burst, and there was no stopping the tears that came gushing out in the next second. Rainstream held herself upright through sheer determination as she turned and cried broken words at Stormfeather.

“At least your parents notice you! At least they want you to succeed! I’ll bet they even bothered to teach you how to fly instead of holding it over your head for half a year until you finally had to ask your butler how it worked!”

As the words left her, Rainstream’s strength finally left her legs and she collapsed to the floor. Stormfeather stared open mouthed and unmoving as Rainstream’s tears dripped from her cheeks.

“I never even said goodbye.” She sobbed into her hooves. Eyrie Plum had been so kind to her. He’d held her when she cried. He’d given her dreams of other places. He’d rescued her after that… thing.

She should have at least said goodbye.

“Rain I… I didn’t know.”

Rainstream didn’t look up. “Yeah, I know,” she sighed. “Eyrie used to tell me stories, about another cloud city, about the Cloudsdale weather factory. He left the back gate unlocked during a rainstorm one day. I got to watch the rainfall from the hills nearby. I’d never seen anything so beautiful.”

She looked up, smiling through fresh tears. Her voice grew strong, and she stood up, placing her hooves on the bed.

“Eyrie Plum is the reason I came here. He said I could learn to really make weather here, and that nopony had ever shown so much love for the rain as I had. He said I could see the world from up here. Travel anywhere, meet anypony. Nopony had ever inspired so much adventure in me. He was too old to make such a trip, but he said he knew I’d make it here someday. And here I am, and I feel like I can do anything now. I want to fly across the sea and see the griffons. And it’s all because he believed in me, like my parents never did.”

Rainstream spoke more softly now, but not from timidness. “Your parents have always thought you could be great. That’s why they push you. You don’t realize what you have, and I hate how you keep hating them. They just want to see you be the best you can be. You should really thank them.”

Rainstream crawled up onto the bed, laying across the open area near Stormfeather’s feet and smiling with pride at him. Pride for the love she hoped he now realized he had. Pride for who she’d become, and pride for how far he had come.

He finally closed his mouth, and looked down at his own hooves. He let out a sigh.

“You should just leave me here.”

Rainstream looked up in alarm, then rushed to hug her friend. “What? No, I could never—”

“Rain, I can’t fly. I don’t know if I’m ever going to fly again, and you can’t just drag a cloud with you to Griffonia for me to lie on. Besides…” He looked down, smiling warmly at nothing.

“I think you might be right. I should spend more time with my parents.”

Something broke inside Rainstream’s chest in that moment. She wanted to hug him, because she didn’t want to go if he was staying, but she wanted him to come with her. She wanted to hug him and never let go, because he needed a friend. Because he was her friend. Because he had listened to her, because… oh forget it.

Rainstream hugged him, and then laughed, and cried, caught somewhere between joy and grief. The pain in her chest grew more potent by the second, but Rainstream didn’t care. Right now she just wanted to remember the scent of his mane, the feel of his chest fur, the sweet soothing sound of his voice.

He caressed her feathers and she hummed into his neck. The seconds became minutes as she listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. The minutes became hours as his breathing matched with hers, and they fell into a slumbering embrace.

~ ~ ~

The sea was quiet as evening fell. No screaming squall to ravage her ears, no soothing toss of the waves below. The air was cool, tickling her coverts as she glided onward. The salty scent of the sea wafted up to where Rainstream flew just ten meters above it, filling her nose and reminding her of an old myth she’d heard about pegasi’s rather unique pony diet. She could almost taste the fish below.

On the dark horizon, a small bump stood out from the flattest of surroundings. There, the far shore. Rainstream’s destination was close, which sent a warm shiver through her belly. She beat her wings harder and raced on, eager to arrive.

Suddenly, Rainstream twitched. There was a disturbance on the wind. It was almost too easy to hear amidst the silence of the sea, the subtle whistle of wind over wingtips. Rainstream swiveled her ears, searching for the sound. But it seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. But that could only mean…

Rainstream folded her wings and dove swiftly, snapping them open just in time to kick off the water, and corkscrew skyward. The sound of wings followed closely behind. Rainstream rose quickly, flying higher and higher, as fast as she could go. The horizon grew, until she could make out lights on the distant shore, and still she climbed, the sound of heavy wingbeats following close behind her.

Kicking off the bottom of a cloud, Rainstream thrust her wings upward to propel herself straight down, just glimpsing a massive dark shape rocketing past her as she changed directions. A long, thin tail whipped her across the face as she went past, confirming that this was not her imagination. Rainstream pulled up and banked hard around a cloud.

The soft whoosh of an object passing by a cloud sounded not a few meters off her tail. Huh, whoever this is is pretty agile. Well, they won’t be able to keep up with this

Rainstream banked around another cloud, hugging it tight with her wingtips. She then extended her magic to sort of grip the cloud, and pressed on the speed. Faster and faster she flew, using the cloud to pull her in a tighter and tighter circle. The blood drained from her head. Her wings grew heavy, but Rainstream would not budge.

Slowly, slowly, the fuzzy tip of a whip-like tail came into view. Rainstream had never actually met a griffon before, but judging by the curve of her flight path, this griffon was fast, but far less agile than most pegasi. Or at least me Rainstream allowed herself a satisfactory smirk, and pulled the loop tighter until the tail came into reach. She grabbed it with her hooves and put the brakes on, hard.

There was a sound somewhere between the screech of an eagle and the roar of a lion, and the two fliers went spinning apart. Rainstream recovered instantly, of course, but her… pursuant?

“CRAAAHHHOW-wowowowow, WHY would you do that?” the griffon barked. Now that Rainstream could get a decent look at her, she realized just how young this griffon was. She wasn’t much larger than a filly; her wingspan was barely wider than Rainstream’s own. Her wings and tail feathers were a rich, chocolate brown, while her head plumage was a light, silvery gray. Rainstream also noticed that the tips of her primaries were the same silvery gray. Her beak and talons were dark grey.

She glowered at Rainstream while massaging her rump. “That really hurts, you know. I was just trying to say hi.”

Rainstream’s lip curled. Part of her was screaming to run and hide, but her lungs and wings were too tired to respond. Rainstream flicked her eyes to a nearby cloud. Perfect. She folded her wings and fell, rolling over and sliding backward through the sky. She watched as the young griffon’s eyes widened.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?”

She folded her wings and fell after Rainstream like a bomb. Rainstream laughed silently. No need, I’ll just—oof!

Rainstream landed on the cloud, just like she’d planned, but she forgot to spread her wings to catch herself, and hit harder than she’d expected. Clouds were, by nature, soft, so it didn’t really hurt. It just startled her. But Rainstream didn’t get much chance to process that before the griffon landed next to her and placed her claws on her shoulders.

“Hello? Are you—Ooh! Stop that!”

Rainstream couldn’t help it. Those talons were sharp, and the griffon girl just invaded her very personal space! She kicked out instinctively and caught her right in the beak.

“What is wrong with you? You just see a stranger and attack them? What’s the deal? Who even are you? Where did you—”

“STOP!”

Rainstream let out a cry, then covered her face with her hooves. Her whole body was trembling, her heart was beating way too fast. Rainstream grabbed the cloud and focused on the softness of it. Yes, soft cloud. Not sharp… claws....

Rainstream’s head was spinning. She was falling. The cloud was falling. She was looking through a cloudless night sky into the abyss. She was too high. There was no air. Rainstream pumped her lungs but no air came in. She was falling through an endless sky with no wind and no air, and there was a sharp taloned griffon chasing her.

A long, slow wail escaped Rainstream’s mouth that quickly became a scream.

A set of talons clamped down over Rainstream’s face, cutting off her scream.

Rainstream’s eyes snapped open. The crazy griffon was trying to kill her and eat her. She screamed harder through her new gag and kicked up with her legs, using her wings to lift her body off the cloud. Her rear hooves missed the griffon’s head entirely, but they gave her enough leverage to twist out of her attacker’s grasp.

And roll right off the edge of the cloud. A quick jab with her hooves sent Rainstream away from the griffon and out into the open air.

Normally, falling would not be a problem for a pegasus; Rainstream was a very skilled flyer, and had already shown she could outfly this young griffon. But for some reason her wings weren’t responding. She kicked her legs uselessly as she spun through the unusually silent air. She couldn’t even trust the wind right now, and there was no rain to reassure her. This is it. This is how I die.

As the world spun around her, Rainstream closed her eyes and listened for the ocean to finally swallow her as she plunged into it.

~ ~ ~

The thickening silence of an early summer afternoon was finally pierced by the shrill ring of a school bell. Cheers rang out. Papers flew. Teachers groaned. And students fled the classroom as fast as their wings would take them. Well, most of them anyway. An orange mare and a dark blue stallion lagged behind.

“Well, another year down, huh?”

The stallion groaned as he stood, stretching his legs and back. The mare smiled and remained sitting.

“That was our last year, you know,” he said, walking over to her. “No more classes, no more being stuck in the big city. You can actually go travel now, like you’ve always wanted to.”

The mare got up, beckoned by some unseen force, and trotted toward the front of the classroom with an eerie grace. She continued on out the door without pausing, down the hall, and outside, stopping only when she reached the edge of the cloud. There she stood, facing the open sky. Before her, Equestria’s plains, Canterlot Mountain, Unicorn Ridge, the distant horizon.

“Three years,” she said. The only indication of emotion was she slight smile on her face as she gazed at the southern horizon. The dark blue stallion trotted up next to her, staring at her at first, but then following her gaze.

“Are you going home?” he asked. It was a neutral question. He said it as though curious, but there was concern on his face, and worry.

“Yeah,” she said, stretching her wings. “And no. There’s somewhere I have to go first.”

He chuckled slightly. “You gonna take Dragomena up on her offer to visit her wacky friends down south?”

The mare shook her head. She folded her wings and looked sideways at him. “I’m nervous.”

“Why?” he asked.

“I don’t want to leave you behind,” she said, frowning at him.

He smiled back, and nudged her with his hoof. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be staying with my parents, remember? Dad’s gonna help me get a job at the weather factory, which I’ll be able to do thanks to your lessons. Heck, maybe by the time my wings heal I’ll have my own house and you can move in with me.”

“Really?” she asked, tears forming in her eyes.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling warmly at her. She smiled back, and wiped a hoof under her eyes. Then she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

He got up and stumbled back. His cheeks turned her favorite color of the sunset as he rubbed the spot where she’d kissed him and stared back like she were some dream he wasn’t sure he was really having.

“Rain I…”

She giggled, grinning with delight.

He cleared his throat, then stepped one hoof forward like a stallion on a mission.

“Rainstream, I don’t know exactly how to tell you this, but I…”

The mare’s heart skipped a beat. Her mouth parted as her lips became dry, her wings flared out on their own, and her lungs became incredibly light.

“I—I think I… I think I love you. A-and I’d like to be with you wherever you go a-nd… but I don’t want to keep you from your trip because I know you really want to go and I can’t really fly and I’m not really sure where I was going with this but could I maybe just like… do you want to be my special somepony? Please?” He swallowed hard and rubbed the back of his neck furiously. “I know it’s a really awkward time to say it but I feel like… when you kissed me a moment ago...did you—”

Rainstream took a step forward, silencing him as their lips met. She felt him relax against her. She felt the softness of his lips, felt their warmth. She could almost hear his heart beating. Or was that her own? Her wings flapped several times in that moment, and when she leaned back, there was an electricity in the air, like the moment right after a bolt of lightning strikes, vaporizing the rain and leaving that static tingle.

For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, each enjoying the crimson flush to their cheeks, or the deep sky blue color of his eyes. The rugged shape of his muzzle, or the cute tuft of fur that sat funny on his nose. Or—

Rainstream’s thoughts were cut off as Stormfeather leaned forward and kissed her, holding the back of her head with a hoof. She pressed back into him, heart beating a thousand times in the ten ~~seconds~~minutes she spent locked in his embrace. There was no other thought than the soft lips pressed against her own, the warm fur against her chest, and the gentle hoof in her mane. This time as they parted it was like waking up from a dream, to find that the pony you were dreaming about was lying there in front of you, and you didn’t really have to leave.

She smiled giddily at him, admiring the tone of his shoulders and the tossing of his short mane as the wind caught it. The rose in his cheeks held a special affection for her, and she had no doubt her own face looked similarly starstruck.

“Yes,” she said, leaning in for one last quick peck, before sitting back and just looking at him.

He let out a sigh, smiled even wider, then laughed. “You know, I never thought I’d get the chance to say that before you left.”

“Why not?” she asked.

He rubbed the back of his head “I wasn’t going to say it. But then you kissed me and well… I don’t know, I guess I just decided I should finally say something.” He put his hoof back down and smiled proudly at her.

She laughed, “Well, I think I’ve got a story for you when I get back. So you have to be here to hear it, okay?”

“Okay,” he laughed. “So you decided then?”

“Decided what?”

“Where you’re going.”

Rainstream turned eastward, past Canterlot. Past Neighagra Falls, past Foal Mountain and the distant horizon. Her smile widened, becoming one of joyful anticipation and excitement.

“Griffonia.”

“Griffonia?”

Rainstream flared her wings “Yeah.”

The little orange pegasus threw herself from the main cloud ledge of Cloudsdale Flight Academy, spread her wings, and soared eastward, toward the Celestial Sea.

I’ve always wanted to meet a griffon.

~ ~ ~

The first thing Rainstream noticed when she came to was that she was no longer falling. She could hear the whistle of wind in the lower troposphere, but she could tell she was still well above the ground.

The gentle rise and fall of gravity and the altitude told her she was flying. But her wings weren’t moving. Rainstream looked down. There was enough moonlight to see the ocean flying by beneath her hooves. Yep, definitely flying. But how? Rainstream looked up, and screamed. The griffon girl had her in her talons, and was carrying her back to her nest.

“Ugh, no stop screaming. Relax. I’m a friend. Hey. Come on. Calm down!” The talons holding her, suddenly squeezed tighter, causing a bit of pain. Rainstream instantly curled up, pinning her wings to her sides and pulling her hooves tight to her chest.

“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you.” the griffon said, exhasperatedly. “I’m really sorry about the talons, but you sort of passed out or something and I’m not sure how best to carry you. Do you think you can fly on your own if I let go of you?”

Rainstream focused on her breathing, focused on the salt on the air, and its taste and smell. She focused on the sound of the wind, and the way it felt on her hooves. She focused on the moon’s reflection on the water, and how it shimmered in the night. She let out a long sigh, then nodded.

“Mmhm.”

“Okay.” The talons released her, and Rainstream spread her wings. The familiar embrace of wind under her wings relieved some of the stress Rainstream had felt in her chest. She flapped to regain altitude, and reassessed her new... companion in the sky. The two of them hovered in place. The griflet wasn’t even remotely out of breath, nor was Rainstream, but this was not a conversation for the air. Rainstream pointed to a nearby cloud and angled down toward it.

The griflet followed her and the two of them landed gently on the cloud. For a while neither of them said anything. Rainstream focused on lowering her heartbeat, meanwhile the griffon sat and fidgeted, obviously waiting for something. Finally she rolled her eyes, and reached forward with a talon.

“Hi. I’m Gwen.”

Author's Note

Yeah, this chapter's not really over. I wanted to get to the second half of it as well but it was so long by this point, and I was really excited to push this out. I'm already starting on the second half of this, and will release it... hopefully soon. This next one's a doozy.

Cleaning out the closet

Leaves crunched beneath the three ponies’ hooves as they made their way down the moonlit path. Crickets chimed a sweet symphony along with the rustle of swaying branches. Two of the ponies were fully engaged in a conversation, ignoring the serene silence of the night. Only it wasn’t silent. Quiet was a better word, away from the hustle and bustle of the cacophony of loud noises and rude ponies occupying far too little space for the sheer number of them—often referred to as a city. Rainstream was decidedly on the other side of the path from the two city ponies, mostly due to the unicorn.

“I just can’t believe the rain actually held out so we could have the show,” The earth pony said to the unicorn next to him.

“Oh, I know, right? That would have been a disaster.”

Rainstream blinked. The sounds of the night shut off as her ears picked up the conversation her companions were having. Rain? Disaster? She frowned, then smiled wickedly. She flapped her wings once, sending up a bit of dust from the ground, then let them rest on her side again.

“Yeah, and—*ack* Rain?! what gives!”

Rainstream smiled lightly, then giggled. “What are you guys talking about?”

The two ponies stopped walking. Rainstream’s wings pressed very tightly against her sides. The unicorn rolled her eyes. “The outdoor showing of the new Power Ponies movie? Duh! You were just there with us, weren’t you?”

Rainstream shrank back a little bit. “Actually I was just showing you the way back to the city. You said you were lost, and I was really hoping to get back to my stargazing.”

Both unicorn and earth pony glanced upward.

“It’s overcast tonight. How can you see anything?” The unicorn asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rainstream’s chest tightened and she backed away slowly, crouching low to the ground “W-well I… t-the city’s just up ahead, you can’t miss it.” She pointed down the path where the trees were thinning out. Just ahead was a dimly glowing streetlamp, beyond which the gravel path turned into cobblestone.

Seeing the beacon of their kind, the two city ponies vacated the misty wood with surprising haste. Rainstream watched them go, content that at last she could return to her peaceful night. Once they were gone, she let out an enormous sigh and nearly collapsed to the ground. “Alone at last.” she sighed, glancing upward at the gathering clouds and headed back into the wood.

~ ~ ~

After a brief walk, the trees opened up to reveal an open field peppered with little white bulbs. Ah, the meadow. Rainstream closed her eyes, and lifted her nose to the captivating aroma of the lilies of the valley. Here in her little garden, the city couldn’t touch her. She ran to the center and threw herself onto the grass, shivering as droplets of water fell onto her coat. Rolling over onto her back, Rainstream spread out her wings, feeling them brush against the wet grass. Her eyes closed on their own as she melted into her midnight meadow.

Somewhere near the trees, a twig snapped.

Rainstream’s eyes snapped open. Her ears twitched, searching in different directions. She faintly heard the sounds of something shuffling through the leaves. Rolling onto her hooves, Rainstream lifted her head above the flowers and scanned the treeline. At first, there was nothing, but the moon broke through the clouds again, lighting up the woods. A small face poked around the edge of a tree.

Rainstream squinted, using her heightened pegasus eyesight to zoom in on whoever it was. She could make out a red mane, two bright red eyes, and a very dark gray coat. She blinked. She’d met this pony before. She quickly trotted through the meadow over to the trees where he was hiding.

The pony staring back at her gave a small yelp and quickly ducked back behind the tree. As she got closer, and rounded the tree, she found him crouched low to the ground. Surely he was not afraid?

“List?” she asked.

The cowering pony blinked at the sound of his name. He looked up at her with a mixture of surprise and adoration on his face. But the moment passed, and his features melted into a frown. He hung his head low with a sigh.

“Sorry.”

Rainstream couldn’t hold back a silent giggle. He was pretty adorable when he got like this, and he wouldn’t notice her smiling anyway.

“What are you apologizing for, silly?” She quickly regained her composure, but kept enough of a smile that he wouldn’t think she was mad.

“I made you mad.” His lip curled, and a tear threatened to escape his glistening eyes.

Rainstream took a step back. “What?! Mad? No, I just… I was just wondering why you were hiding in the trees, you goof.”

She knelt down in the grass in front of him, and lowered her head so she could look up into his eyes. When he avoided her gaze, she reached out a hoof and gently guided his chin back toward her.

“What are you doing out here anyway?”

If he had been coming back from being close to tears, he took another step toward them again as more tears began to form. His lower lip quivered as he tried to look away. “I’m sorry,” he said again, shutting his eyes and squeezing out a tear. Well, Rainstream was having none of that.

“Hey, whoa, sh-sh-sh. Relax. You don’t have to keep apologizing. I’m not mad. I’m just curious. What brings you out here?”

He sniffed, and let out a long sigh. Rainstream could see him relaxing as he slowly let out air. He swallowed, then looked up at her with the saddest eyes Rain had ever seen.

“I was just feeling lonely again. And I knew you’d be here.”

Rainstream’s heart could have melted right then. Her mouth moved silently for a moment, then she just laughed, and scooped List up in a tight hug.

“Oh you dear thing you. C'mere.”

After a few groans from her unfortunate hug victim—there were always casualties in a Rainstream hug—she set him down.

“Come on, you can stay at my place tonight.”

She beckoned with her head, and led him back across the meadow. List followed silently.

Rainstream’s ears flicked as a clap of thunder rolled overhead. The two of them stopped in the middle of the field and stared at each other wide eyed. Rainstream’s mouth was held open in an excited gasp, but List’s lips quivered as he stared back at her with a “please tell me that wasn’t what I think it was” look.

His silent question was answered when raindrops began to fall, quickly growing heavier until the two ponies were standing in a downpour. It wasn’t long before List’s mane was completely soaked through. He just stood there, staring blankly ahead with a quivering lip, as though hope alone could make it all go away. If possible, he looked even more cute and huggable than he had before.

“I hate this,” he finally said, hanging his head.

Rainstream extended a wing over him. “Oh come on, it’s not so bad.” She pulled him into a side hug with her wing. “Don’t you just love the chance to play in the rain?”

“No.” It sounded like it wanted to be grumpy, but was too defeated to find the gusto.

Rainstream threw her head back and closed her eyes.“Oh but rain is great! It’s so cool and refreshing and when it runs down my coat I can feel all my stress and worries just washing away. It’s magical.”

“I just think it’s cold and wet,” List mumbled.

Rainstream smiled. “Well, Mr. Grumpypants, we’ll just have to head back to my place and get you some cocoa. But I don’t see why we can’t enjoy ourselves along the way.

~ ~ ~

Despite several puddle splashes, or aerial displays of moving the rain with wingpower, Rainstream was unable to change List’s mind about the rain. No matter what you did with it, it was still just cold and wet.

Thankfully, his mood improved when they got to Rainstream’s house. It wasn’t her favorite one, but most earth ponies had difficulty just getting to, let alone walking around on the fluffy white cloud floors of her floating mobile home. Her guest house acted as both her physical mailing address and a nice location to bring guests who lacked a set of wings.

Rainstream opened the door and trotted inside. List quickly followed, fleeing from the rain as though it might make his coat melt. The living room was just as she’d left it: Wide couch near the window for lying down or sitting on, coffee table nearby for setting things on, and curtains drawn so she could look out at the rain. Rainstream chuckled silently to herself and invited List to sit on the couch. He quickly obliged, and she headed into the kitchen. Nothing was particularly dusty since Rainstream kept it relatively maintained, but it was cold. She shivered slightly and moved to switch on the thermostat.

The sound of the pouring rain on the roof resonated throughout the otherwise silent house. Rainstream found it relaxing, and saw no need for further sound, but List seemed to have grown bored of the couch.

“Rain?” he called out as he walked into the kitchen. Rainstream heard him inhale sharply as he stepped on the cold tile floor.

“Hmm?” she grunted in response. Her head was buried in the spice cabinet, searching for the elusive jar of powdered chocolate. She hadn’t been here in a while, and had forgotten where it was supposed to be, which wasn’t helped by the haphazard method she’d used to stuff various mismatched jars of unassorted ingredients in here. One might as well tip over an entire aisle of spices at the market, and then attempt to find a single specific item. She really needed to reorganize.

“What do you do when it rains?”

“Huh?” The question broke through her scattered thoughts, snapping her back to reality. She zoomed in on the chocolate container in question and extracted it from the twisted confines of her cabinet. She set it down and turned toward List, who was standing in the middle of the sky blue tile floor, staring at her like a filly asking for cookies. “Oh, um… what do you mean?”

It was mostly to stall for time, but List’s question had been rather vague. She switched on the stove and reached under the counter for a pot.

“I mean, when it rains, what do you usually do?”

The same question. Of course. Rain pulled out her desired cooking pot with a clang and a clatter of neighboring metal containers. She shook her head and closed the cabinet, then placed the little pot in the sink to fill it up.

“Well it really depends on the day. Sometimes if I’m really excited I like to fly in it.”

“Fly in it?”

“Yeah, like, step outside, take to the air, and just ride the winds up and up into the storm. Swirling around with the rippling clouds and twirl with the swirling winds. Flying through a rainstorm is like… swimming through the air. I feel just like a raindrop, it’s heaven.” Rainstream looked up at the ceiling, remembering her dream from last week. Oh to be a cloudsdale weather pony.

“Um, Rain?”

“Hm?” she looked down from her reverie at List, who was looking past her with concern.

“You’re flooding your sink.”

“Huh?” Rainstream looked down. The pot was floating in a sink half full of steaming water. “Oh, heh.” She blushed, and pulled the pot out of the water. She set it down on the now hot stove, where it sizzled as the water on the outside evaporated, then poured some cocoa powder in after it.

“Anyway, some days I just like to sit and watch the rain fall on my window, or stare out at the flowers as they get a nice shower. Cinnamon stick?”

She held up two sticks of cinnamon over the now boiling pot. List nodded, and Rainstream set them down on the counter.

“What about you?” she asked, walking to the cabinet to grab two mugs.

He didn’t answer. She glanced up at him and realized he’d zoned out. His eyes were wide, his face was pale, and he was shivering. She smiled.

“The house takes a while to heat up. Lemme get you a blanket,” she said with a sigh.

List blinked. “Huh?”

Rainstream suppressed a giggle and headed into the bedroom, setting the two mugs on the counter next to the cinnamon sticks. “A blanket,” she replied. “I don’t normally need them, warm feathers and all, but this is a guest house. Hmm…” She scratched her head, glancing around the closet. She heard his soft hoofsteps on the carpet behind her.

“Why don’t you have a fireplace?”

“Huh—ooh!” Rain’s head shot up, colliding with the shelf above her head. A cascade of nick-nacks came tumbling down, knocking her backwards onto the floor. There were some small, hard objects, and some heavy cloth. The blankets! Wings folded themselves instinctively, leaving her to land hard on her back beneath what felt like wool. Yep, good old dusty comforters.

“Rain! Are you okay?”

Rain grunted in affirmation, and pain. She rolled her hooves under her and stood up, dislodging the blankets, and shifting the rest of the mess with them. She rubbed her head, still groaning.

“Are you alright?” List asked again.

Rainstream nodded, looking around at what had fallen. Immediately she recognized three thick wool blankets; a silver dress with sky blue trim, white sequins and diamond studded lace; two of her old diaries; her writing folder; and her flying trophies! Oh no! She rushed quickly to stuff the trophies and the books back into the closet. List was at her side in an instant, instantly grabbing her Best Young Fliers trophy before she could hide it.

“NO, STOP!”

List froze, staring at her incredulously. She gave him a pleading look, pulling the trophy from his hooves and holding it protectively behind her. For the look he gave her in response, you might think she’d just kicked his favorite pet—or rather, he had. Her heart clenched painfully, and she bit her lip. He was her friend. She could trust him. She let out a hard sigh.

She brought it in front of her, hugged it tightly to her chest, then slowly relaxed. “Here.” She held it out to him and continued stuffing her old dress back into the closet, and forcing the door shut.

He took the trophy and stared at it, still looking for all the world as though he’d kicked a puppy. Rainstream picked up the blanket she’d pulled out and threw it over his back, then trotted out toward the kitchen. He looked up as the weight descended over his back, quickly set the trophy on the dresser beside him, and followed her out.

“I— Rain I...”

“Look just forget—”

“I’m sorry.” It was barely distinguishable amidst the sob.

Rainstream stopped just before she reached the stove and stared wide eyed at him. Cripes there really were tears forming now. His lip was trembling dangerously. Ponyfeathers. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out. She looked back at the stove. there were two cinnamon sticks still sitting there where she’d left them. She quickly stuffed them into the two mugs she’d left out and reached for a small coffee tray.

“List please don’t—”

“No, I’m just… I always do this.”

She dropped the tray next to the mugs and ran to him, wrapping her forehooves around his withers.

“No,” she said, softly. “No it’s alright. I’m not mad.”

He sniffed. “Then why did you… yell at me?”

Rain smiled painfully, recovered, then leaned back so she could look him in the eyes. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry I yelled at you.” A tear escaped her own eye. “Some of the stuff back there is just very special to me.”

His lip was still trembling. “I’m sorry,” he said, staring down at his hooves.

“Hey.” She put a hoof under his chin and lifted it. “You don’t have to be sorry. It’s my fault.”

“But—”

“It’s alright.” His eyes wanted to cry, but she was determined to bring him back from the endless tears. She smiled into his eyes while his eyes trembled, never once wavering. Then, finally, his face relaxed, and regained a mostly neutral expression. Rainstream let out a small breath. “There, that’s better. How about you go sit down, and I’ll tell you all about the trophy over cocoa?”

“Sorry,” He sniffed.

Rainstream rolled her eyes and gave him a small shove “Go sit down, silly. I’ll join you in a moment.

She placed the two mugs onto the tray and carefully poured the cocoa, then scooted it onto her wing and walked it over to the couch. She set it down on the coffee table and climbed up next to the window.

It was only then that she discovered List on the far end of the couch, wrapped up in the blanket she’d given him and staring over his hooves at the window.

She suppressed a few giggles. He really was adorable when he got like this. “You really don’t like rain do you?”

He shook his head. Rainstream scooted over to him and nudged their mugs closer as she did.

“Well, you might not like my Best Young Fliers story, then. I only won because it was raining.”

“Because the others couldn’t fly in the rain?” He asked, appearing for all the world like a child being tucked in for bed. Rainstream smiled fondly.

“Not exactly. More like I couldn’t fly without it.”

His eyes widened with a look of wonder, and she knew now that she had his full attention. Rainstream picked up her mug and took a sip of cocoa. List did the same, and she began her tale.

“It all started back when I was just a filly.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed. This is going to be an ongoing series with no planned end, so if you hit that favorite or upvote button, be sure to hit the tracking button as well. This will be just a hobby I'm using to develop Rainstream's backstory, and current canon. I will not have a set schedule but as this is a live character that I use often I will definitely make an effort to update regularly so, always stay tuned for more.