Chapter 2: First Impressions
Air Heart stood in front of a mirror, looking at the mare staring back. This was the first time she had seen what she looked like. She could definitely see the family resemblance to Rainbow Dash. Her magenta eyes shone with the same fiery determination as Dash’s. But it was her rainbow colored mane and tail that most certainly stood out, making it obvious to anypony that the two were related. But whereas Rainbow possessed a fine cyan colored coat, Air Heart’s was bright orange. She unfolded her wings, stretching them out to their maximum wingspan. She couldn’t really look at them while lying in bed. Beautiful orange feathers covered her wings, matching the color of her coat. Spreading them out somehow felt…strange. She refolded her wings, pressing them tightly against her body. Her eyes wandered further. She noticed her lean body, like most pegasi, but she also possessed more muscle mass than a typical pegasus mare. Something didn’t look right though. She turned slightly to get a better view and a heavy frown spread across her face. She had a blank flank. No cutie mark. She was a mare who had yet to have her life-altering revelation.
Knock knock.
A voice called from the other side of the door. “Miss Heart? Are you ready?”
“Yes.” She stopped looking in the mirror and turned to the door. It was time to leave the hospital….
***
Air Heart received her final paperwork before being discharged. It was rather scant given her concussion, but she took it with her anyways. She walked into the lobby to see Rainbow Dash sitting there waiting for her. “Good morning Air.”
“Good morning Rainbow Dash.”
“Ready to head to the Ponyville Weather Station?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to miss any more work.”
“Cool.” Rainbow Dash stood up and handed Air some saddle bags. “Here, take these for your stuff.”
“Thank you.”
“So let’s go!”
The two stepped outside the hospital and began trotting down the paved walkway that led to the center of town. The sun shone brightly above as it climbed higher into the morning sky. A gentle breeze blew about the two mares. It truly was a beautiful day, easing Air’s apprehension, but just a little.
Air Heart walked along silently, taking in all of Ponyville. Not remembering the town, if indeed she had ever visited, she wanted to take mental notes of everything about her new home. Most of the houses were plain timber-framed structures, with simple thatch roofs. Other buildings, mostly businesses, featured elaborate decoration and façades. Everywhere ponies of every type stood talking to friends or went about their business.
After they passed through the center of town, Air turned to Rainbow Dash. “So – um, Rainbow?”
“Yeah?”
“Before we get there, I need to ask you a few things.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Well, first, do I have any other family? Any brothers or sisters?”
“You were an only foal.”
“So, no other family?”
“No.”
“Oh.” Air’s heart sank. “Rainbow?”
“Yeah?”
“I, um, was looking at myself in the mirror –”
“Yeah?” more interest pervading Rainbow’s voice.
“Well, I noticed that I don’t have a cutie mark.”
“And?”
“Shouldn’t I have my cutie mark by now?”
“Well, you didn’t have one before you got here. Maybe you’ll get it here.”
“Is that why I came to Ponyville?”
“Oh, sure.”
“Okay. So how far is it to the weather station?”
“Not much farther.” After another minute of walking they reached a low two story building. Rainbow Dash trotted up to the front door and stepped inside. Hesitantly Air Heart followed her into the weather office.
In the lobby there was plenty of open space. A large counter bisected the room, behind which a gray pegasus with a white mane busied himself with paperwork. As Rainbow reached the counter he looked up, “Hello Rainbow Dash. Back from the Wonderbolts? D’you pull another crazy stunt and get yourself kicked off the team?”
“Ha-ha, very funny Tailspin. No, I’m here helping my cousin Air Heart. She’s gonna be working here.” She pointed to her right, only to realize that Air wasn’t standing next to her. She looked around behind her and motioned Air to come to the counter.
“New weather pegasus eh? I don’t remember hearing about a new employee.”
“Well, the paperwork is still getting processed.”
“Well hello Miss –” He stopped as he saw Air Heart and her rainbow colored mane. “Your cousin? How could anypony tell?” he said with a slight laugh.
“Well, I wanted to introduce Air Heart to the boss.”
“Yeah, boss is here. Should be in her office.”
“We’ll just show ourselves back.”
“Sure you won’t get lost? You’ve been gone being a Wonderbolt a long time.”
“Ha-ha,” she said in a mocking tone. “Only a few weeks.”
Rainbow lifted the gate and the two mares disappeared into the back. They reached the office of the chief and Rainbow Dash knocked on the door. “Come in,” came a voice. Rainbow opened the door and the two mares stepped inside. The commander lowered the report she had been reading and looked at the two of them.
“Hello Storm Front,” said Rainbow Dash.
“That’s Chief Storm Front to you. You think I’ll cut you slack for being a Wonderbolt?” she said, failing to strangle the smile on her face.
“Yes Ma’am!” Rainbow stood at an overstated attention and gave an exaggerated salute.
“Oh relax Dash. So is this our new weather pegasus?”
“Yeah, this is my cousin Air Heart.”
“Hello Chief Storm Front,” said Air Heart.
The Chief stood up at her desk to examine Air. “Rookies call me Chief Front,” she said, fighting to strangle her smile.
“Yes Chief Front.”
“Well, how much experience do you have with working the weather?”
“Actually, she hasn’t done weather duties before,” interjected Dash.
“Hmm…no weather experience. What did you do before?”
“I – ”
“She did, you know, this and that.”
Chief examined the new pony to the station. “Ponyville is an easy first assignment. We have local pegasi working here along with some transfers. Even some from Cloudsdale who come here looking for plenty of time off to train for the Wonderbolts.” She shot a glance at Rainbow. “Still, we’ll have to spin you up. Come with me.”
Chief Storm Front led the two mares upstairs to a door. She opened it, revealing a small tunnel. “I’d like you to go strap yourself in so we can measure you.”
“Okay….Chief Front, what is this room?”
“You’ve never been tested in a wind tunnel before?”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Ah Chief, she kinda hit her head on the way to Ponyville and lost her memories,” explained Rainbow Dash.
“Eh? You cousin’s not another Derpy is she?”
“Derpy?” asked Air.
“Local pegasus who causes all sorts of destruction,” stated Chief Front matter-of-factly.
“No she isn’t. Just got hit by a gust of wind down in Ghastly Gorge.”
“Ghastly Gorge? I noticed right away that you two look like you’re related; now I know that you two are related. Only somepony related to Dash would be crazy enough to fly through there.” She laughed for a moment. “Miss Heart, if you would,” said Chief Front as she motioned for Air to enter the wind tunnel.
Air stepped inside and looked around. A fan capped one end of the tunnel while the other end widened before twisting upwards. She looked down and saw for leg straps attached to the floor. Carefully she slipped one onto her leg. “Miss Heart, the other way.” Air turned towards the fan and slipped the straps on and tightened each. Chief Front seemed satisfied and closed the door. Then a voice came from a speaker, “When you are ready.”
She began flapping her wings, creating a gentle breeze in the tunnel. Grudgingly the fan began to spin at a slow rate. She flapped her wings with a little more force, causing the fan to turn slightly faster. “Miss Heart, we need maximum effort,” came a voice across the speaker. Air beat her wings harder. A powerful gust swept through the tunnel, spinning the fan even more rapidly and blowing her mane back. Feeling the sting of the wind in her eyes, she closed them to focus on her motions. Up down, up down. Something deep down told her this was unnatural, that she shouldn’t be doing this. Overriding those feelings with a wave of determination, she began to find her rhythm. She thrust her wings down, hitting maximum force midway through, then easing up just a little towards the end, finally pulling her wings upward with as little resistance as possible in preparation for the next downward stroke. She strained to create as high a wind speed as possible. “Faster! I know how fast – Dash give me that mic!” She pressed herself. She poured more force into each flap, pounding the air as hard as she could. The fan spun at a high rate. Still she pushed herself! She beat her wings faster and faster until she thought they would break off. She threw everything she had into each flap. The straps became incredibly taut as she drove herself to the very limit of her strength and endurance.
Chief’s voice came loudly over the speaker. “That’s enough.”
Air Heart slowed down. The wind slowly started to subside. The taut leg straps found slack. After a few moments she could stand without the draft blowing her over. The fan came to a slow rotation. Air slipped the straps off her legs, glad to rid of the shackles. The Chief opened the door and Air stepped out. “So, uh, how was I?”
“You had fifteen wing power,” stated the Chief.
“Is that good?”
“Well, your cousin over there has a sixteen point five.” She smiled. “But with some practice you could probably beat her.”
Rainbow Dash jumped in, “Hey, nopony is better than me!”
“Relax Dash,” said the Chief.
“Yeah,” said Dash calming down.
“So now what?” asked Air.
“Well, we have briefings for the next day at four. Today’s duties have already been assigned, so there’s not much to do until then. Come with me though.” Chief Front led the two mares downstairs to a small room. She rummaged through it until she produced five books. “Here. Read these to get started learning the basics of weather operations.”
Air Heart took the books. “Thank you.”
“So, I’ll be seeing you at four?”
“Count on it,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Well, I’ll see you then,” said Chief Front.
Rainbow Dash led Air Heart back towards the front. “See you later, Rainbow Crash,” prodded Tailspin.
“Yeah, that’s my official Wonderbolts call sign,” retorted Rainbow.
The two mares found themselves standing in front of the weather office. “So, where are we going?” asked Air.
Rainbow looked off into the distance at the clock tower. “Well, it’s late morning. How about an early lunch?”
“Sounds good to me.”
The two ponies trotted off to the center of town. Having traveled through Ponyville once, Air had a vague idea of where she was going. As the two mares passed through the market, they came across a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. “Hello Rainbow Dash,” she said.
“Oh, hi Fluttershy,” responded Rainbow Dash.
“Who is this?” asked Fluttershy.
“Ah, this is my cousin Air Heart.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you Air Heart.”
“Nice to meet you Fluttershy.”
“Are you visiting Dash?”
“Actually, I’ll be taking Dash’s job at the Ponyville Weather Station.”
“Oh Rainbow Dash, you didn’t tell me your cousin was coming to town.”
“It was kinda a short notice.” Rainbow Dash awkwardly ran her hoof through her mane.
“Have you met many ponies since coming here?”
“Well, I met Chief Front and Tailspin at the weather office.” She hesitated. “And I met the staff of the Ponyville Hospital.”
“The Hospital?”
“Yeah, I kinda got hurt on my way here.”
“Oh my. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Except I lost my memories.”
“You lost your memories? Poor dear. Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“Well I don’t think so. Doctor said my memories may not come back.”
“That’s terrible! Well, perhaps you would like to come to my house for tea? I’m meeting Discord today but I don’t think he’d mind.”
“Who’s Discord?”
Fluttershy gave her a surprised look. “You don’t remember Discord?” Perhaps she can be a new friend who won’t have any preconceived notions thought Fluttershy. “Oh he’s really funny and nice. He’s just a big sweetheart.”
Rainbow Dash snorted audibly. “Actually we were going to get lunch.”
Fluttershy looked at Dash. “Oh, okay. Perhaps another time. It was nice to meet you Air Heart.”
“Nice to meet you too Fluttershy.”
“See you around later,” said Dash, waving to her friend.
As they walked away, Air turned to Dash. “So, is Discord another pegasus?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know….”
***
The two mares shared a booth at the Hay Burger. As they enjoyed their lunch of burgers and fries, Air Heart listened attentively as Rainbow Dash explained weather duties in great detail. Rainbow talked about the different types of clouds and how to identify them. She explained what each cloud was used for and the best techniques for employment. She moved on to the weather station, thoroughly covering the workings of the shop and all the positions. Then Dash discussed additional duties, such as guiding the birds back to Ponyville during Winter Wrap-Up. Finally, she eagerly shared a story or two from her time with the Wonderbolts. All the while Air had a strange feeling. She couldn’t remember anything, but it all seemed familiar. Her memories were down there somewhere, she just needed to find some way to access them.
Before leaving the restaurant, Rainbow Dash made sure Air took the medication Dr. Horse prescribed. Air swallowed two red pills with water to alleviate the pain from her concussion. She also consumed two special supplements. The first, a large orange pill, was to help build up her flying muscles. The second, a blue pill, was to help increase her endurance while flying. Dash noted that Air’s less-than-successful flight through Ghastly Gorge proved that she needed supplements to help her become a better and stronger flyer.
After lunch Rainbow Dash decided to show Air around town. First she showed her the other nearby restaurants and cafés in the area, letting her know they were all pretty good, but to stay away from The Upper Crust as it was extremely expensive. Rainbow also led Air to her favorite coffee shop, one that she would often frequent to get her morning caffeine kick. They turned the corner and came across the bowling alley, where several interesting stallions walked out. One, sporting a beard, wore a green shirt and possessed a briefcase for a cutie mark. Accompanying him was a light-brown-and-gold-maned pony with a goatee and, strangely, a rug for a cutie mark. The two mares walked on, with Rainbow pointing out the town’s theater.
Suddenly Air noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she caught a glimpse of a pony with pink bow entering a building across the street. An orange colt with a purple mane followed closely behind. “What is that building?” she asked.
“Oh, that’s the dance studio run by Hoofer Steps. She teaches foals but also adults.”
“Oh, okay.”
The two continued onward until they reached Ponyville’s business district. Passing by the hardware store, Air noticed inside stood a large red stallion with a horse collar. He remained silent as the pony behind the counter rambled on about something. Gosh, he is handsome. I’ve always liked red. And he looks so strong. I should introduce myself to him after I get settled....
After they passed the blacksmith shop, the two mares came upon a small Optometry clinic. As they entered, Air was surprised at the range of products the store stocked. On one wall there were, of course, glasses. These ranged from those with large lenses to small fashionable pairs to plain reading glasses. Some possessed small metal frames while others were large plastic BCGs. Dozens of sunglasses of every style filled another wall. On a third wall hung flying goggles and other protective eyewear.
“You’ll need some goggles before starting tomorrow,” said Rainbow Dash.
Air trotted over to the wall and examined her choices. She tried on several pairs but none seemed to fit quite right.
“Here, try these,” said Rainbow Dash, holding out a pair of brown goggles.
Night took the pair and slipped them on. They didn’t quite fit her, but they were better than the other pairs. “These seem to work.”
“Yeah, it’s the same kind I used when I trained for the Wonderbolts.”
Rainbow led Air to the cash register. “Rainbow, I, uh, don’t have any bits.”
“That’s alright. I’ll buy you this pair.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“You need a pair for tomorrow. Just, ah, think of it as a late birthday present.”
“Oh, okay.” So I just had my birthday. It must have been – hey, Dash didn’t get me anything!?
The cashier came up to check them out. “Will this be all?”
Air looked around. “Uh, if you don’t mind Dash, I’d like to get a pair of sunglasses.”
“Oh sure.”
Air walked over to the wall, examining the different pairs. She found a solid black plastic pair and slipped them on. She didn’t know why, but they felt right. She removed them and walked over to the checkout. The salespony rang up the order and Dash handed over the bits. The transaction complete, Dash and Air stepped outside.
Rainbow and Air continued down the street. Soon Air caught the sweet smell of fresh flowers. They walked by a small shop overflowing with flowers of every kind and color. Half a block down the scent of fresh bread wafted from the bakery. Turning a corner, Air noticed a rather peculiar store. “What’s that?”
“That’s the quills and sofas store.”
“What do they sell?”
“Quills and sofas – duh.”
“What else?”
“Nothing else.”
“Just those two things?”
“Yeah.”
"That’s kinda weird.”
“Believe me, you’re not the only pony to say that.”
They walked a little further and came upon a what looked like a real-life gingerbread house. The first floor, shaded a light tan, featured dark wood inlays while two pink-and-white striped columns supported the portico over the front door. A large brown roof, trimmed with what appeared to be white frosting, dominated the second floor. A series of purple chimneys protruded from the left-most gable. In the center of the building, a tower rose four stories, capped by a pink-frosted cupcake with three lit candles. “Dash, what is that?”
“Oh, that? That’s Sugarcube Corner. They’ve got really great stuff. I’ll take you by –”
“Omygosh!Omygosh!Omygosh!Anewponyintown!RainbowDashwhydidn’tyoutellmesomeponywasmovingtotown!?Howlonghaveyoubeenhere?IwillhavetothrowyouaWelcometoPonyvilleparty!”
“Pinkie Pie, calm down!”
Air was happy for a pause. She was still on “…someponywasmovingtotown!?” Seriously, when did this pony breathe? And she just met me. How can she be so excited to see me that’s she’s hopping up and down?
“Oh, yeah, I’m Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s number one party planner! I will have to start working on your party right away!”
“My party?”
“Your Welcome to Ponyville Party silly! I throw one for everypony who moves to town. Ooo – what’s your favorite kind of cake? Yellow with chocolate frosting? Chocolate –”
“Pinkie.”
“– with white frosting? White –”
“Pinkie.”
“– with chocolate frosting? What about –”
“Pinkie!”
“Yes Dashie?”
“I don’t think you should have the party right away.”
“Why not?” She seemed a little taken aback at the request.
“She just got here and hasn’t even settled into her house.”
“Ohhhhhhhh.” She smiled and gave a wink at Rainbow Dash.
“No Pinkie, you’re not going to throw her a surprise housewarming party.”
“Ohh,” whined Pinkie, obviously disappointed. There was an awkward silence for a moment.
“My name is Air Heart.” She reached her hoof forward. Pinkie took it and was rewarded with a vigorous hoof shake. Even after Air let go Pinkie’s foreleg continued going up and down.
“Ni-ni-nice to meet you Air Heart.” She forcefully stopped her foreleg from shaking. She stared at the orange mare, making Air feel uncomfortable. “Hmm. Pegasus. Rainbow-colored mane.” The wheels turned. “Are you two related?”
“Yeah. She’s my cousin.”
“Ooo. That’s great! I know what it’s like to have a cousin in town. Applejack is my cousin!”
“Applejack?” queried Air.
“You haven’t met Applejack yet!?”
“No. I’ve been showing her around town and the weather station. Air here is going to be taking my old job.”
“Wow that’s great!” Pinkie paused and her eyes narrowed. “Ohhhhhhhh.”
“No Pinkie, you’re not going to throw her a surprise new-job party.”
“Ohh,” wined Pinkie again.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for you to throw me a party. I mean, I can’t even tell you what my favorite kind of cake is.”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!?”
“No?”
“Air hit her head and lost her memories.”
“That’s awful!”
“Doctor Horse thinks my memories could come back after a while.”
“Well, when they do, I’ll throw you a getting-your-memory-back party!”
“Count on it.”
“We’d better get going. I want to finish showing Air around town before the daily weather briefing.”
“Okay, but bring her by Sugarcube Corner. I’ve been baking again!”
“As long as it’s Grandma Pie’s triple-chocolate marjolaine and not your strawberry cinnamon cilantro cupcakes.”
Pinkie giggled. “I only made those cupcakes once.”
“We’ll see you later Pinkie.”
“It was nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you Air.” Pinkie waved as the two mares continued their tour of Ponyville.
When they were out of earshot, Air turned to Dash. “So, is Pinkie always so…?”
“Hyper? Yeah. I think it’s all the sweets she eats.”
“And is she always so…obsessed...”
“With parties? Yeah, that’s kinda her thing. Nothing she loves more than to throw a party. That is how she got her cutie mark you know.” A look of sadness spread across Air’s face. “Hey, don’t worry. You’ll get your cutie mark.”
The two continued walking on in silence. They came upon the town’s post office, and Dash got an idea. “Hey, let’s set up your mail.”
“Okay.”
The two entered the small building. Dozens of post office boxes lined the left wall, with a dark red earth pony checking her mail. She bore a cutie mark of smiling flowers. Mounted on the opposite wall was a shelf filled with various forms and paperwork. A long counter ran from the left to right walls, separating the lobby from the mail room in the back. Behind it stood a yellow-maned gray pegasus. Her brownish-golden eyes contained traces of green and were, strangely, crossed. “Hey Rainbow Dash.”
“Oh, uh, hello Derpy. I thought you would be out delivering the mail.”
“We don’t have a lot of mail today.”
Is she looking at me? Or Dash? It’s so hard to tell.
This is Air Heart. We came by to set up her mail.”
“Oh hi Air. Are you two related?”
“Hello. Rainbow is my cousin.”
“You two look a lot alike. You want the green form on the shelf,” said Derpy, motioning to the right.
Rainbow and Air went over to the shelf and picked out a green form. Air took a pen in her mouth and began filling out the paperwork:
New Resident Form
Start Mail: _X_ Immediately ___ On Date __________
This Is For: _X_ Individual ___ Business
Business Name: ______________
Name: Air Heart______
Address: ______________
______________
“Uh, Dash, what is my address?”
“Oh, it’s one-one-two Skyway.”
Address: 112 Skyway____
Ponyville______
“What is the Zip Code?”
“Four fifteen seventy-one.”
Address: 112 Skyway____
Ponyville, 41571
Number of Individuals at Address: _____
“Dash, do I have…uh…”
“You’re single.”
Air’s heart sank a little.
Number of Individuals at Address: __1__
Is This a Temporary Address? ___ YES _X_ NO
Address Until: __________
Permanent Address: ______________
______________
Please fill out this form and turn it into your local Post Office.
Air put the pen down and gave it to Derpy. After looking it over, she said, “We’ll start your mail tomorrow.”
“Okay. It was nice to meet you Derpy.”
“Nice to meet you. Bye Dash.” She waved her foreleg.
“Bye Derpy.”
The two mares left the Post Office and continued walking down the street. After a moment of silence, Air asked, “So, that was Derpy?”
“Yeah.”
“She doesn’t seem so bad.”
“She’s okay sitting behind a desk. But when she’s out flying around, she crashes into all sorts of things. We had to rebuild our Town Hall because of her.”
“Oh. And her –”
“Eyes? Yeah, they’re always like that.”
They turned a corner and started walking down another street. Air saw a richly decorated two-story building. Its paint scheme consisted of blues, pinks, and purples, with gold trim. Yellow and gold striped awnings shaded the first story windows. A sign with a carousel pony hung above the main entrance. “That’s Carousel Boutique. Rarity owns it and lives there.”
“You said she’s helping somepony with my new house.”
“Twilight. Don’t worry, Rarity is great at decorating.”
After a while the two finally reached the Town Square. In the center stood the Town Hall, recently rebuilt after a certain gray pegasus accidentally demolished it. It featured a wrap-around portico and a large second-story balcony. A third floor with a small balcony overhung the second, while a cupola topped the structure. The two mares continued walking around the square. They walked by a happy pair of ponies conversing. One, an aquamarine unicorn with a harp for a cutie mark talked and laughed. Meanwhile her companion, a beige pony with a pink streak down the center of her mane and tail, laughed as well, but also gave Dash and Air an awkward glance. On their right Rainbow and Air went by a fountain with a Pony sculpture in the center. Air spotted a building that looked similar to tents. “Dash, what’s that?”
“Oh, that’s the spa.”
“Do you go there?”
“Yeah. I go there for a deep tissue sports massage. I don’t get any of those froufrou spa treatments.”
“Oh, okay.” Somehow Air expressed doubts about Dash’s conviction.
Dash looked towards the clock tower. “It’s almost four. We better head back to the weather station for the daily briefing.”
The two mares walked back to the weather station. They passed numerous ponies, some of whom waved at Rainbow Dash. Finally, Air turned to Rainbow Dash. “So Dash?”
“Yeah?”
“How many pegasi work at the weather station?”
“Uh, let me think. There’s thirty, but not everypony shows up. There’s always somepony on leave or out sick or doing training. Also, we have a number of standbys we can call upon for large ops.”
The two reached the station. Air hesitated when she saw a sign hanging on the door that read “CLOSED”. “It’s okay. They close every afternoon for the weather briefing,” explained Dash. They entered the building and, to Air’s relief, Tailspin was nowhere to be found. Rainbow led Air to the back and up the staircase. They walked past the wind tunnel and into a large briefing room.
“It’s about time you two showed up,” reprimanded Chief Front as the two entered.
“What’s a Wonderbolt doing here?”
“That’s right Tailspin, a Wonderbolt is here!” Turning to the Chief, Rainbow Dash apologized, “Sorry we’re late. I was showing Air around Ponyville.”
“Everypony, this is Miss Air Heart, our new weather pegasus. She’s Rainbow Dash’s cousin. She’s new to weather duties, but we’ll get her spun up. If she’s like Rainbow, she’ll be a great addition to the office.” She shot a glance towards Dash. “So long as she doesn’t pick up her cousin’s habit of arriving late to meetings.”
“I’ll be on time Chief Front,” assured Air.
The two walked to a bench in the back of the room and sat down. Chief Front started addressing the staff, “Now that everypony is here, we can begin. Tomorrow is relatively straightforward. Ponyville’s going to have clear skies all day. Wind Gust, your section will be responsible for clearing the clouds first thing in the morning. Tailspin, you’ll be in charge of stopping any systems coming out of the Everfree Forest. Rose submitted a special request. Seems she’s getting ready for the Canterlot Flower Show and wants rain for her flower beds. Thunderlane, I want you to run that at 10. Finally, the Apples need a heavy afternoon downpour to water their trees. Thunderlane, I want you to start assembling the storm at 11. And Prandtl, you’re running the office tomorrow.” A groan emanated from a black pegasus with a white main. “Prandtl, I want you in the office tomorrow. No late show or an early lunch. As for our new recruit, tomorrow’s time for some on-the-job training. I want you to help Wind Gust tomorrow morning and then work with Thunderlane over at Sweet Apple Acres. In the afternoon you can come here and get into the books. For our section chiefs, I want you to get Air spun up as fast as possible. Teach her the basics and make sure she gets plenty of practice. Any questions?” When nopony responded, she declared, “Dismissed!”
A dozen pegasi came over to greet Air. They welcomed her and noted how much she looked like her cousin. They peppered her with questions about her past, forcing her to explain about her loss of memories. In the meantime, Rainbow Dash headed to the front to talk to Chief Front.
***
After spending some time meeting her new coworkers, the weather station emptied as everypony departed for the day. Air and Rainbow stepped outside, leaving Chief Front to finish some paperwork in her office. Celestia’s sun, though still shining brightly, slowly descended towards the far horizon. Local shops were closing up, with customers and owners alike leaving to go home for the evening. “Now what?” asked Air.
“I’ll take you by your house. Twilight and Rarity should have it all set up for you by now. Follow me.” Rainbow took off into the sky.
Air pursued Rainbow Dash into the air. She felt awkward, uneasy. She tried to think back to all the times she had flown before, but couldn’t. Actually, this was the first time she remembered flying. Well, unless one counted her time in the wind tunnel, but she was only a few inches off the floor and was tethered in place. This was her first time soaring high into the sky, like all pegasi should. The wind flowed through her coat and around her feathers. She could feel tiny vortices coming off the tips of her wings, spiraling behind her like tiny, horizontal cyclones. Her forelegs naturally reached far in front of her, while her back legs splayed next to her tail whipping in the wind. Air struggled to catch up with Rainbow Dash, who seemed to forget how fast she really was.
After a short flight Air saw something in the distance. Perched upon a small cloud stood a one-story cottage. Windows flanked the front door while twin Tuscan columns supported the front portico. A cloud yard floated to the right, with a small stream of rainbow colored water flowing off into a beautiful prismatic waterfall. A pinkish-purplish hot-air balloon was tied up on the left. Air spotted Rainbow flying from around back, landing near the front door. Dash looked out and waved to the orange mare. Air pressed forward and in a moment stood next to Dash. “Ready to see your new home?”
“Ready as ever.”
Rainbow opened the door and Air stepped inside. She stood in a living room, populated with three chairs and a black coffee table in front of a red couch. A painting of Ponyville hung on the wall. Air heard rustling in the back and a purple alicorn walked in. “Rarity?” asked Air.
“Yes darling?” came a voice from the other direction and Air saw a white unicorn with a perfectly coiffed purple mane enter.
“You must be Air. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
“Good afternoon Twilight.”
“And I’m Rarity. How do you do Miss Heart?”
“Hello Rarity, nice to meet you.”
“The place looks great,” said Rainbow Dash, trotting up next to Air.
“Well, let us show you around dear,” said Rarity. “This is the sitting room. Rainbow said you like striking colors, so I decorated it in red and black. As you don’t have a guest room, we selected a pull-out sofa. It’s both beautiful and practical. I do hope you like the drapes, they accent the furniture wonderfully.”
Air looked at the drapes. “Very nice.”
“Back here is the kitchen,” said Rarity, motioning for the Air to follow her from the direction Twilight came. Air stepped through a doorway and into a small kitchen. In the center stood a sink, flanked on the right with a stove and oven, and on the left by a dishwasher installed underneath a small countertop. To her immediate right sat a refrigerator/freezer combination. Beyond that lay a table and two chairs. “I selected a set of fine china for your dishware. And Twilight purchased a complete set of cookware for your use.” Rarity stepped back through the doorway. “And this way is your bedroom.” The group followed her back through a short hallway. “Twilight found this nice bedroom suite on sale, and I knew it would be perfect for you. I added some touches, such as the lamps and drapes. Ooo- and the quilt is vintage. Back over there is your bathroom.”
“You did all this for me?”
“Of course dear.”
“And you haven’t seen the back yard,” added Twilight. She led the group back to the sitting room/foyer, and opened a door directly across from the main entrance, revealing a small cloud back yard, with a few flowers growing.
“So, what do you think about your new home?” asked Rainbow. There was a long pause as Air looked away.
“Miss Heart?” prodded Rarity.
“Air?” queried a concerned Twilight.
Air turned back to the three of them, her eyes a little moist. “I just don’t know what to say. You did all this for me and you don’t even know me.”
“Think nothing of it dear. It was our pleasure.”
“When Rainbow told us what happened, we wanted to do everything we could to help make your move to Ponyville as easy as possible,” said Twilight.
“Thank you. All of you.” Air felt herself choking up.
“How about we celebrate with some grub?” asked Rainbow.
“That sounds like a great idea,” noted Twilight.
“I agree,” concurred Rarity.
“Yes,” said Air. “I am a little hungry.”
***
The four mares sat at a table in the local café. Waiting for their orders, they found time to talk with Air about her day. “So Air,” asked Rarity, “what are your impressions of Ponyville?”
“It’s uh, very nice.”
“Oh?” pressed Rarity, raising her eyebrow.
“Well, I, don’t remember anyplace else, so this is all I know.”
“It’s a shame about your memories. I simply cannot imagine going through life without being able to remember my past.”
“Doctor Horse thinks my memories could come back after a while.”
“He also said they may not come back at all,” corrected Dash.
“Rainbow Dash, that’s a terrible thing to say,” admonished Rarity. “We all hope Air will get her memories back soon, isn’t that right Twilight?”
“Yes.”
“Well, there is an upside to not remembering,” said an unemotional Air.
“What is that dear?”
“Well, I, uh –” Air paused for a moment. “Dash told me what happened to my parents, and that is something I’d rather not remember.”
“She did?” asked a surprised Twilight.
“No I didn’t. I mean, I just confirmed that her parents had died.” Twilight gave Rainbow a glare.
The mares sat in a tense silence for a moment.
“Well, I understand,” started Rarity. “But you should be able to remember the happy memories you had with your parents.”
“Yeah. But if I don’t remember how they died, that would be okay with me.”
Again, silence.
“So I showed Air around today,” began Dash. “I pointed out all the sights – the weather station, Town Hall, the Hay Burger, my favorite coffee shop, the spa – ”
“The spa?” asked Rarity, giving Rainbow a smirk.
“Uh, yeah. Air is like me, a great athlete. She’ll go there for deep tissue sports massages.”
“And none of those froufrou spa treatments?” pressed Rarity.
“You were saying you showed Air around town?” asked Twilight, trying to redirect the conversation back to topic.
“Yeah. Sugarcube Corner, the Post Office, the theater. You know, all the important places.”
“Hmph. You didn’t show her Carousel Boutique?”
“We walked by there,” said Air to Rarity.
“What about the town library?” asked Twilight.
“Well, I think she can find a giant crystal castle on her own,” said Rainbow sarcastically.
“Did you meet any interesting ponies today?” asked Rarity.
“Yeah. I met the staff of the weather office. Fluttershy, who said I need to meet this Discord – ”
“Kaou –” Twilight choked on some of her water.
“And Pinkie Pie, who said I should meet her cousin Applejack. Oh, and Derpy.”
“I bet Pinkie wanted to throw you a Welcome to Ponyville party?” asked Twilight.
Yeah, but I convinced her that Air needed some time.”
“Miss Pie does love to throw parties,” added Rarity. “But you should have one so you can meet all the ponies in town.”
“Well, that will be hard with her cloud house,” noted Dash.
Rarity thought for a moment. “Perhaps we could hold it at Sugarcube Corner?”
“You’ll have to talk with Pinkie about that,” observed Twilight.
“I’m sure she will me more than happy to host it,” replied Rarity.
“Well, when Pinkie found out about my new job, she wanted to throw her a party for that,” added Air.
“I’m not surprised,” said Twilight.
Rarity turned to Air. “When do you start?”
“I will be helping clear the clouds with, uh, who was it again Rainbow?”
“Wind Gust.”
“Oh, right. Then I will be helping Thunderlane set up for a downpour at Sweet Apple Acres.”
Twilight jumped in. “You’ll be working at Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow? Isn’t that, uh, a difficult job for a new member?”
“That’s what I told Chief Front,” said Dash. “Said you should spend your time in the books.”
Air was surprised. “You did?” Twilight gave a similar expression of surprise.
“Well, it is a bit advanced for a somepony who has never done weather duties before.”
“Chief thinks that on-the-job training is best.”
“Well, Chief doesn’t know everything.”
Just then, the waiter arrived with the mares’ dinner. He placed a plate down before each of them. Air looked down at her plate. On Twilight’s recommendation, she ordered a daffodil and daisy sandwich with a side of hay fries. Though she didn’t have many memories, she remembered fondly her fries from lunch. The four of them began eating and made small talk in between bites….
Air dipped the last of her hay fries in sweet red ketchup. She bit down on the crispy, greasy, salty treat. Swallowing, she sat back satisfied. She glanced around at the other three, who also seemed satisfied. They sat there in silence. Finally, Air began, “Twilight? Rarity? I need to thank you all again for setting up my home. I don’t know what I would have done coming into an empty house. I wish there is some way I can repay you.”
“What are friends for?” asked Twilight.
“Think nothing of it dear. I am just glad you like it. It’s just sad we couldn’t add a few of your personal momentos to make it feel more like home. Maybe Rainbow Dash will find them at the bottom of Ghastly Gorge.”
“I looked around there a lot and couldn’t find her missing saddlebags. They may be gone forever.”
The waiter arrived with the check. “Ladies, the bill,” he said.
Four hoofs reached for the check.
“I’ll get this,” said Rarity.
“No, it was my idea,” responded Dash.
“Well, I’m a princess so I should pick it up.”
“You all have been so nice to me. I need to take it.”
Dash turned to Air. “Uh, you don’t have any bits.”
“Oh, right.” Air removed her hoof. She watched as the three argued over the bill, noticing how lucky she was to know the three special ponies.
***
Air lay in bed. Her bed. In her home. Her new home. In Ponyville, her new hometown. She stared at the ceiling, reflecting on the day. She needed to get to sleep, for she faced an early start with the weather team in the morning. But before that, she was going over to Dash’s for breakfast as Air had no food in her kitchen. But she couldn’t stop thinking:
It was nice of Dash to show me around town today. I never could have found my way around without her. Ponyville is such a nice little town. Unlike, well, unlike whatever towns and cities it’s not like. But it’s nice here. The ponies seem friendly, if odd. Pinkie Pie, obsessed with parties. Barely even knows me and she wants to throw me a party. A welcome party. Or a housewarming party. Or a new job party. And what was with the jumping? She’s hyper. I think Dash is right. If she works at Sugarcube Corner then she has access to all sorts of sweets. She must eat them all day. No wonder she’s practically bouncing off the walls. She’ll probably develop diabetes one of these days. That’s terrible! But if she eats sweets all day, then what can you expect? And then there’s Derpy. She seems odd as well. Maybe it’s just those eyes. But everypony seems to think she’s a walking disaster zone. Apparently she destroyed the Town Hall. But she seems harmless to me. And then there’s this “Discord” Fluttershy mentioned. Don’t know who he is, but Dash dislikes him. And apparently Twilight....
Air let out a small laugh.
....She practically choked when I mentioned his name. But at least Twilight and Rarity seem normal. Oh, and Fluttershy too. Another pegasus besides Dash and my co workers. I’ll have to get to know her. Maybe invite her over to my house. My house. I owe Twilight and Rarity a lot for organizing my house. They did a great job. My living room and kitchen and bedroom are all set up. No unpacking or organizing or anything, everything is perfect. I should do something for them. But what? I don’t have any bits. Well, I’ll just have to earn some bits from my job. My job. Tomorrow I start weather duties. First I’ll help clear the clouds around town, then I’ll help Thunderlane set up a rainstorm over Sweet Apple Acres. Clearing clouds sounds easy. But what about the the rainstorm? Dash thinks it is too advanced for me. Maybe she’s right. I’ve never done weather duties before. And she knows me better than I know myself. Ugh, why did I have to fly through Ghastly Gorge? I could have gotten here safely without losing my memories. And my possessions. I lost them all in the gorge. I don’t even have a photo of my family to hang on the wall. I wonder what they looked like. Were they both pegasuses, or was one an earth pony or a unicorn? And where did we live? And what happened to them? Well, I don’t really want to know what happened to them. They’re gone. I have to move on. Maybe that’s why I came here. To get away from my past. But I don’t remember. Today and yesterday are all I remember. Maybe I should worry less about the remembering the past and make new memories. The doctor said my memories may never come back. But I have these feelings. Feelings that I can’t explain. They’re my memories. Somewhere down there are my memories, I know it. They’ll come back. I just have to wait. Just work my job, and make new friends, and wait for my memories to come back. Ugh, it’s late. I have an early start tomorrow. I’m meeting Dash for breakfast and then my first day of weather duties....
Air rolled over and closed her eyes. She cleared her mind and focused on her breathing. Slowly she drifted off to sleep….
Author's Note
Good Evening,
So, my first new material in quite a while. I hope it was worth the wait.
As I've said before, we've only scratched the surface. But I dropped clues in this chapter.
I plan on publishing Chapter 3 sometime in September. I think you'll like what I have in store. In the meantime, I plan on publishing a new one-shot story sometime in the next couple of weeks. Be on the lookout!
Keep Writing,
Dreadnought
Chapter 3: First Day on the Job
Blackness. Total blackness. Intangible, intransitive, infinite blackness. Everywhere and nowhere emptiness. Blackness filling the void with…nothing. Nothing filling everything. Nothing and everything, everywhere and nowhere, distinct and the same.
‘Air Heart.’
‘Rainbow Dash.’
‘Vintage.’
Twilight Sparkle.
‘Rainbow-colored mane.’
‘Sixteen point five.’
‘Welcome to Ponyville.’
Rainbow Dash.
‘On-the-job training.’
‘Town library.’
‘You’re related.’
Pinkie Pie.
‘Discord.’
‘One-one-two Skyway.’
Chief Front.
‘Applejack is my cousin!’
‘Didn’t tell me.’
Carousel Boutique.
‘My cousin Air Heart.’
‘Wonderbolts.’
A pony with a pink bow.
‘Rainbow Crash.’
‘Destroyed the Town Hall.’
Crossed eyes.
‘Rainbow Crash!’
A large red stallion.
‘Don’t have a cutie mark.’
‘May not come back at all.’
‘May not come back at all.’
Air looked out and in the distance saw two figures. She galloped towards them but they didn’t get any closer. Air didn’t know who they were, but she knew she had to reach them no matter what. She ran as fast as she could but the figures slipped farther away. Desperately she tried to take flight but her wings wouldn’t work. The figures shrank to mere specks at the end of a tunnel. To her horror the specks faded away into nothing. Suddenly Air could no longer run. She looked down to see herself shackled to the floor. Struggling, she looked around to see blackness. The blackness consumed her –
Air bolted upright. Her head throbbed, filled with an intense mind-splitting ache. She reached up to rub her pounding head only to find her coat drenched in sweat. Panting heavily, she tried desperately to figure out what was happening. Air opened her eyes to near total blackness. Through her pain, she forced her eyes to focus to the meager light. Dark, shadowy forms emerged from the night. At last Air could tell she was lying in her bed at 112 Skyway.
A nightmare. I had a nightmare. Just a nightmare. Nothing real…except...those figures. I know them. I don’t know who
they are, but I know them. It was like a memory, but not. It was a dream wrapped around a piece of a memory.
Air rubbed her aching head.
This is the last time I forget to take my medication! My head hurts so much I can barely stand it!
Air rolled out of bed onto the floor. The cloud floor was not quite rigid, but felt like walking on a stretched tarp. Everywhere she stepped the floor yielded a little, bending and deflecting but never breaking. Air’s headache overrode any concern she might have for the structural integrity of the floor. She walked in a daze to where she remembered leaving her saddlebags. She pulled them off of the floor and threw them onto one of the living room chairs. Rummaging through the sacks, she found the three bottles. She staggered to the sink and reached up to a cupboard for a glass. Air found the cupboard filled with pots and pans and mixing bowls and even a colander. “Ponyfeathers,” she muttered to herself. Opening the next cupboard, she found a glass. She ran it under the faucet until it was two-thirds full. She opened the bottle containing the pain medication and took two red pills with a large gulp of water. Pausing for a moment, she then consumed the blue and orange pills. Air stumbled over to the couch and flopped down.
Ugh. I feel like shit. It’s this damn headache. I will never forget to take my pain medication again! I just hope this goes
away before I meet Dash. What time is it anyways?
Air looked around and saw a clock on the mantle.
Three fifteen? It’s bucking three fifteen in the morning!? Ugh. I only got five hours of sleep. I need get more sleep before
work. Maybe I can go to sleep here? But this bucking headache will keep me awake. Well, maybe if I just lay here long
enough....
***
Air laid on the couch for over two hours, trying desperately to go back to sleep. But her mind kept replaying events from the day before…walking around town with Rainbow Dash…reporting to Chief Front…her encounter with Pinky Pie who couldn’t wait to throw her a party…meeting Twilight Sparkle and Rarity…seeing her beautiful new cottage…lunch with Rainbow Dash at the Hay Burger…her time in the wind tunnel, flying as hard as she could…seeing the big red stallion standing in the hardware store…leaving Ponyville Hospital…buying flight googles and sunglasses at the optometry clinic…having dinner with her two new friends…talking with Fluttershy in the market…discovering she was a blank flank, a mare without a cutie mark…hearing Dash express doubts about her ability to perform weather duties….
Air’s mind frequently turned to her new job. She wondered what it would be like to be a weather pony. She questioned if she was capable of performing her duties, or whether she was not ready for such an important job. She hoped she would finally earn her cutie mark. But most of all, she feared failing. Not so much for herself, but of letting down her cousin who was her only family.
Finally, about five thirty, Air got off the couch. She felt really tired, but at least the throbbing pain had diminished. She trudged back to her bathroom and flipped the switch. Air winced under the glare of the bright, harsh light. After taking a minute to relieve herself, she splashed cold water onto her face to wake herself up. Looking up, she examined herself in the mirror. She was an absolute mess. Picking up a comb, she quickly brushed her mane removing any tangles, but still leaving it in the disheveled style of Dash. As she began combing her tail, she noticed something different about herself. Turning to get the best view in her mirror, it appeared that she had put on some weight. No, that wasn’t quite it. She appeared a little bulkier, more muscular, but just a little. Evidence of the supplements at work? She shrugged and continued brushing her tail. Then she began preening her two wings, making sure to smooth out her feathers and removing a few broken ones. Satisfied, she left the bathroom, turning off the light as she left.
Air walked through the darkened house to the kitchen. She gathered her pill bottles and moved to her saddlebags. Ensuring she had everything she needed for the day, she made her way to the front door. Immediately upon opening it she was greeted by a rush of cool air. Stepping out onto the porch and shutting the door, she closed her eyes and spread her wings to fully experience the moment. The air blew freely though her mane and pulled on her crisp feathers. The breeze hit her still damp face, cooling her warm head and refreshing her. She breathed the sweet morning air and felt the last wisps of her headache slip away. Air felt her sapped energy return, the reinvigoration and exhilaration that all pegasi feel when they step forth from the ledge and into the sky….
Air could feel the rush of the wind. She dove rapidly, much faster than she should have. Opening her eyes, she quickly gauged her situation. Hastily she flapped her wings to regain lost altitude. Each flap took much more effort than it she expected. After a bit of an effort, she achieved level flight. Taking a moment to evaluate her flying, she turned towards Dash’s house, descending a little in the process.
Equestria lay still and quiet below. Shadow blanketed the land. No ponies moved about, no movement at all could be seen. The only sound came from the soft rustle of wind through the trees and the sporadic hoot of an owl. In Ponyville the occasional street lamp silhouetted the dark shapes of buildings. In the east the sky brightened, announcing Celestia’s sun would soon rise. In the west, darkness spread out to the far horizon.
Ahead Air could see a dark form floating in the sky. More vertical than horizontal, it looked somewhat like a tower, with various parts emanating from the core. Flying in close, Air read the address and confirmed that it was indeed Dash’s house. She circled around and landed at the front door. Knocking, she could hear noises coming from the inside. After a moment the door swung open, revealing Rainbow Dash.
“Right on time! How are you doing Air?” asked Dash.
“Mornin’ Dash. I’m feeling alright.” Air choose not to worry her cousin with news of her terrible nightmare or awful headache. Rainbow moved aside and Air stepped into the foyer.
“I hope you’re hungry. I’ve got plenty for breakfast.”
Air hadn’t really paid much attention, but now her neglected stomach made its presence known with a loud growl. “Breakfast sounds pretty good.” Air decided she must swing by the market that afternoon and stock her empty cupboards. She didn’t want to have to keep relying on Dash for every meal.
“Great. Follow me to the kitchen.” Rainbow led the way. Stepping into the kitchen, Air noticed its clean modern design. It featured all the amenities, including a refrigerator/freezer combination, stove, oven, dishwasher and plenty of counter space. Rainbow obviously took care to keep her kitchen neat and tidy. Except for a pan soaking in the sink and a few appliances sitting out, nothing seemed out of place.
Air and Rainbow sat down at the small kitchen table. Air took a look at the spread. Each had a plate full of scrambled eggs and buttered toast. Extra toast sat on a plate in the center of the table, accompanied by a plate with crescent shaped rolls. Finally, both mares also had a glass of orange juice.
“Dig in. The toast and rolls will get you loaded on carbs, while the eggs get you your protein – the breakfast of champions!”
Both mares began eating. Air ate a few bites of the scrambled eggs. Mmm…cheese melted on the eggs with just the right amounts of salt and pepper balancing each other. She picked up the buttered toast and began piling on the eggs, eating the two together. Mmm…even better. Air looked over at Dash and noticed she did the same thing. Air scarfed down the eggs and toast. She reached over and grabbed two more slices.
“Here. Try some of this.” Dash slid over a jar of red jam. Air scooped generous spoonfuls onto her toast before taking a bite. Mmm…the warm toast and melted butter combined with the cold jam made it taste so…wonderful? Yes it tasted good. But also a bit…odd. Air couldn’t put her hoof on it. Perhaps Dash bought the local brand instead of name brand?
Soon all the plates lay bare. Dash turned to Air, “So, you full?”
“Yeah. Well, actually, do you have any apples?”
“No. Don’t have any apples.”
“Oh. I just had a craving for an apple. Perhaps I can buy some at the market later today.”
“The apple stand won’t be open when you get off shift. I’ll swing by and pick some up for you.”
“Oh, okay.” Air seemed a little down.
“But hey, I will totally come and help you today. You’ve got a lot to learn about being a weather pony.”
“Yeah. I started looking over the books Chief Front gave me, but I felt so tired that I went to bed.”
“Hey, you had a long day. Happens to all of us.”
“There’s so much to learn. All the different types of clouds, weather fronts, winds. Not to mention the paperwork. You mentioned AAs and –”
“AARs – After Action Reports.”
“AARs and AWACS and TPS reports –”
“Ugh. Don’t get me started on TPS reports.”
“Well, there’s just so much to learn.”
“You’ll get the hang of it. Just study the books Storm gave you and pay attention to the OTJ and you’ll be okay.”
“I guess.”
“Hey. We’re family. Would I lie to you?”
“No.”
“Good. We’ve got to get going.”
***
The two mares flew towards the meeting location for Wind Gusts’ team. Air feigned being a slow flyer, allowing Rainbow Dash to take the lead, who was eager to do so. In fact, Air desperately wanted Dash to fly ahead of her. The last thing she wanted was for Dash to see her struggle with flying. Flying straight and level still took more effort than it should, and her turns lacked the expert coordination displayed by Dash. Air pondered if she should add flight dynamics to her weather studies.
Very shortly the two arrived at the predetermined assembly point. The eight other weather ponies were already there. The ten ponies gathered into a circle on a cloud somewhere near the town square. Air took a moment to observe her surroundings. Below Ponyville lay in shadow beneath overcast skies. But up here, one enjoyed an unobstructed view of Celestia’s brilliant sun, its rays warming Air’s coat and feathers. The tops of the clouds beautifully reflected the colors of the early morning sun. Air scanned the horizon. In every direction a vast ocean of clouds stretched out as far as she could see, devoid of any features save the gently rolling landscape of the fluffy clouds. In the air rose the aroma of freshly baked bread from the town bakery. Under her hooves the cloud deflected a little from her weight.
With everypony present Wind Gust, a blue pegasus with a fiery red mane, addressed the group. “Ponyville is to have clear skies this morning. It’s pretty straightforward, so let’s get it done quickly. Autumn Breeze, Spring Breeze. I want you two to work north. Sunshower, Blossomforth, work to the south. Patchy, Streamline, go west. I and Open Skies will take the east.”
“What about us?” asked Dash.
“Well, if you’re not busy, I figured you could show your cousin the ropes. Teach her about busting clouds. When she gets the hang of it, she can join us clearing the skies.”
“Got it!” replied Rainbow Dash.
The pegasi began clearing the skies, working outwards towards the horizon. Dash commandeered the patch of clouds near the one the team met on. Air stood listening intently as Dash began instructing. “So, let’s start out with the basics. A cloud may seem solid to us pegasi, but sky clouds can be easily broken up.…” In the background Air could see the weather team demolishing the overcast, allowing sunshine to cascade onto the town, first only in small streams, then growing into a blinding torrent. “…foundation and construction clouds, not so much. Now, notice these clouds.” Dash motioned around to what they were standing on. “They’re white.” Air nodded in agreement. “These are the easiest clouds to bust. So are the dark ones. But the black ones are the hardest. If you try busting those like you do the white ones, you’ll get hit with a lightning bolt.” The way she stressed this fact made Air suspect Dash spoke from experience. “Now the simplest way to bust a cloud is to fly straight through it.”
“Really?” asked a skeptical Air.
“Yeah. Just head-butt it.”
“Won’t that, like, hurt?”
“No, not really. Here, let me demonstrate.” Dash flew around and straight for an isolated cloud. She busted right through like it was nothing. “See? Easy. Now you try.”
“Okay.” Air pulled her goggles over her eyes and took off. Finding a cloud, she came around. She flew down towards the cloud, getting closer and closer until white filled her vision.
Wuff!
Air bounced right off the cloud! She struggled to regain control then managed to make it back to the cloud Dash stood on. “What did I do wrong?”
“First, you have to hit the cloud head on. Second, you can’t just fly up to the cloud and expect to bust it. You have to smash through the cloud. If you don’t do those two things, you’ll bounce right off. But you wanna know what the secret is?” She paused for dramatic effect, letting Air hang, waiting for the wisdom from the experienced pegasus. “You have to have confidence. You have to show that cloud who’s boss. Try it again.”
Air hesitantly took off and circled back around to her opponent for a rematch. Starting off a long distance away, she carefully lined up to the cloud. When she was sure she had the right angle, she flew towards the cloud. She prepared herself for another defeat, but then, remembering Dash’s words, laid on a bit of speed at the last second. She hit the cloud, but didn’t bounce. She didn’t drive through like Dash either. She flew through the cloud, without any pain, but plenty of resistance. Going through the cloud felt like swimming underwater against the current. Eventually she made it to the other side and flew up to where Dash was. She took a much needed moment to breathe before looking back on her work. There wasn’t nothing there, like when Dash demonstrated. Instead, the cloud had fractured into several smaller pieces.
Dash looked over and saw Air’s despondent expression. “Don’t worry – uh – now we have more clouds to practice with. I want you to bust those clouds too.” Air took off and repeated the process. The smaller clouds were easier to smash than the large one she first attempted, though two large pieces broke into smaller pieces rather than disappearing. It still felt weird to swim through the clouds, but Air chalked it up as just being par for the course. After a few minutes, no trace remained of her foe. Dash smiled. “Now you’re getting the hang of it. Okay, now I’ll teach you another way to bust clouds.” Dash took off and hovered on her back next to a cloud. “You just kick it with your legs.” Dash reared back and kicked the cloud square and it disintegrated. “Piece of cake. Give it a go.”
Air took off and found a nice small cloud. She hovered next to it, attempting to hide her effort at staying aloft. She reared her legs back legs and kicked. The cloud broke apart into smaller pieces. Something felt right about this, yet also wrong. Without Dash telling her to, she approached another cloud and paused. She flipped to face away from the cloud and shot her rear legs backward. The cloud disintegrated under her kick. That felt better. Air flew up to Dash. “I like bucking these clouds more than flying through them.”
“Well, you use them in different ways. Flying through them allows you to keep your momentum, so you can bust a lot of clouds and clear the sky quickly.” Air noticed this technique being used by the weather pegasi. “But for precision work, bucking the clouds is the way to go. You could also dive bomb through the cloud from above, or hit it like a rocket from underneath. Both of those ways give you precision and are pretty cool. But dive bombing can be dangerous if you’re going fast and it’s low cloud cover. I’ve done it, but they didn’t make me a Wonderbolt for nothing!”
“Anything else?” asked Air.
“Well, there are some more advanced techniques I’ve mastered. One is to fly up to a cloud and use you’re wing power to blow them apart. And if you’ve got several pegasi, you can create a tornado that sucks up all the clouds.”
“That sounds dangerous,” noted Air.
“It can be, unless you’re a highly trained flyer like me.”
“So now what?”
“Well, practice on busting these clouds, then we’ll join the others.”
Air took off and flew up to the next cloud. She turned around and thrust her legs backward, pounding the cloud into nothing. Smiling, she moved to the next cloud, and bucked it with ease. Then the third, and the fourth, and the fifth.
“Air, you got the hang of bucking the clouds. I want you to smash through these last two.”
“Okay.” Air took off and flew around her target, looking for what she thought would be the weakest part of the cloud. Not finding what she was looking for, she nevertheless lined up and began her approach. As the cloud grew closer, Air didn’t hesitate and increased her speed. Striking the cloud, the thick mass slowed her momentum considerably, but she plowed onwards and emerged from the other side. She turned around to see that the cloud had fractured into many small pieces. In an instant she flew through them, leaving nothing but an empty patch of sky. She smiled in satisfaction at her hoofiwork. She looked around and saw the last one. She felt a twinge of sadness, for it was upon this cloud Dash had instructed Air in the art of cloud busting. It almost felt wrong to destroy this last cloud.
“What are you waiting for?” called Dash.
Air began circling the cloud, looking for the right spot. She saw a small rift on one side. Guessing she found the cloud’s weak spot, Air flew far out before lining up. This time she would annihilate the cloud in one blow. She began flying with all her might, pouring everything she had into her wings. The distance closed rapidly and Air closed her eyes.
Air hit the cloud. She could feel her speed slow down, the cloud straining to hold her back. But this time, instead of swimming underwater, Air could feel the cloud fracturing all about her, breaking into small chunks that her wings instinctively beat into thin air. Air burst forth from the far side. She slowed down and turned. She caught a brief glimpse of the remaining wisps of the cloud before they faded into nothing.
Air heard cheers and looked down to see the weather pegasi flying up to meet her. “I think you’ve got the hang of cloud busting,” noted Wind Gust.
“She did have the most awesome teacher in Equestria!” retorted Dash, flying up to join the group.
“So, where should I go to help out?” asked Air.
“We’ve already finished clearing the sky.” Air gave a brief glance around and noticed nothing but clear skies. She must have had a dejected expression, for Wind Gust said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s your first day on the job and you needed to learn the basics. Next time I’m in charge of clearing the skies I’ll make sure you’re on my team.” Air smiled a little bit. Wind Gust looked around at the assembled group, hovering in a rough circle. “Well team, we did a pretty good job this morning. Be sure to make it to any other duties you have today. Otherwise, you’re free to go.”
Dismissed, the group began to disperse. Some began flying down to town, while others headed out to the cloud homes scattered in the skies around Ponyville. Two pegasi flew up to Air. Air had spoken to them the day before at weather briefing. One was Spring Breeze, a blue pegasus with a white mane and a cutie mark of wind lines blowing. Her sister, Autumn Breeze, was a dark yellow pegasus with a red mane and possessed a cutie mark of fall leaves swirling in the wind.
“Air Heart,” called Spring.
“Yes?”
An eager Spring continued. “I was wondering if you would like to have breakfast with me and my sister.”
Air shot a glance to Dash, trying to gauge her opinion.
Apparently noticing this, Autumn said, “Rainbow Dash can join us if she wants.”
“That’s alright. Go ahead Air. I’ve got to fly Tank and take care of some errands. Would you two mind taking her over to the weather station when you’re done with breakfast?”
“Sure thing,” replied a smiling Spring.
“I’ll see you later Air,” said Dash before she shot away.
“Bye Dash,” called Air.
***
Air sat at a round table eating breakfast with the Breeze sisters. Well, technically second breakfast. The meal consisted of bagels with jam, mixed fruit, and, to Air’s delight, donuts. Air hadn’t arrived really all that hungry, but when the food was served, she found herself chowing down.
“Have another donut,” offered Spring.
“No. I’ve had two already.”
“Come on, third time’s a charm,” said Spring cheerfully.
“She said she’s had enough,” interjected Autumn.
More surprising than her appetite were her two hosts. Though twins, each enjoyed a personality as distinct as their color scheme. Spring Breeze, the younger sister by a matter of minutes, possessed a happy, outgoing personality. She was a talker, though thankfully did not nearly approach the level of Pinkie Pie. Autumn, on the other hoof, was a bit more distant. She talked less but listened intently. And though reserved, with perhaps a trace of bitterness lurking underneath, Air suspected that she hid a softer side and with time the two could become great friends.
“So Air, since you’re new in town, have you met Pinkie Pie?” asked Spring.
“Yes, I met her yesterday at Sugarcube Corner.” A slight smile spread across Spring’s face. “She really wanted to throw me a welcome party but Dash convinced her not to.”
“Rainbow Dash did what?”
“Dash thought I should get settled first.”
“Well that makes sense,” replied Autumn. “You just got out of the hospital, have a new job and a new house.” She took another sip of her coffee.
“I forgot about the new job and new house,” said Spring. “I’m surprised she didn’t want to throw you a new job party and a housewarming party.”
“She did, but Dash said those should wait too.”
“Well, still I think you should have the party. The sooner the better. I’m sure Pinkie Pie will invite half the town.”
Autumn looked over at her sister. “Air has a lot going on in her life now. She doesn’t need to be overwhelmed by a party with a bunch of strangers.”
“It’s a good way to meet ponies. You could make a lot of friends. Maybe a handsome stallion?” said Spring teasingly. Autumn rolled her eyes.
“I do want to make new friends here.” Air paused. “But I can’t remember, so maybe I’m making old friends.”
“I haven’t seen you around Ponyville, so I’m sure most everypony here you’ll be meeting for the first time. Well, you know–” Knock knock. “I’ll get it!” called Spring as she enthusiastically bolted to the front door.
Now that it was just the two of them, Air could better get to know Autumn. “So Autumn, what do you do for fun around here?”
“Work can keep me pretty busy–”
“Weather duties?”
“No, I do weather duties part time. I’m really a CPA.”
“CPA?”
“Certified public account. I maintain records for the town government and local businesses. Every April I file ponies’ taxes. But this is a down time for me.”
“So how do you spend your free time?”
“Usually I get dragged into whatever Spring does.” A look of dejection came across Air’s face. “I didn’t mean it that way. It’s nice to have you over, but Air gets me involved in almost all of her activities.”
“You don’t sound too happy about that.”
“I love my sister. But I’m not the extrovert she is. I have few friends, but they are all very close. And my idea of a how to spend an evening is reading a good book or doing some writing.”
“Writing?”
A look of discomfort spread across Autumn’s face. “Did I say writing?”
“Yes.”
“Well, er – I do like to write.”
“Write what?”
“I’d rather not say.”
“Oh.”
“It’s nothing vulgar, I don’t really feel comfortable having others read my work.”
“Have you been published?”
“No. I write for my enjoyment. I don’t really want the attention. Besides, I’m no Neighspeare.”
“Could you publish under a pen name? The author of Daring Do publishes under a pen name.”
“A.K. Yearling? How do you know that?”
Air, surprised, thought for a moment. “I don’t really know. Dr. Horse said I lost my memories, but things come to me like that.”
“Honestly I hadn’t given it any thought.”
“Well, even if you write for yourself, maybe some other ponies would like to read your work.”
“Maybe…. But besides those two activities, I don’t really have any other hobbies.”
“I wish I knew what I liked to do. But right now I’m just trying to get my life together.”
“That’s sensible. Get things in a semblance of order before adding things like friends and hobbies into it.”
“Well, I do want to meet ponies. And do fun stuff. It’s just…so much is going on.”
“Take your time. Ponyville will still be here in a few days or weeks when you’re ready.”
“Yeah. But what about Dash?”
“What about her?”
“Will she still be here?”
“She is a member of the Wonderbolts, but she’s still here a lot of the time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. She even went to Manehattan to help Rarity start her new store.”
“I wonder how she does it?”
“For one thing, she can fly faster than any pegasus I’ve ever seen. I’m sure you’ve heard of the sonic rainboom?”
“Yes…no. I mean, I feel like I know what that is, but I can’t remember. What is it?”
“You should ask Rainbow Dash. She loves to tell the story of her first sonic rainboom – or her second. Ask her. It’ll make her day.”
“I’ll have to do that. Have you ever done a sonic rainboom?”
“Me? No. Dash is the only one who can do it.”
“It must really be somethin’ then?”
“I’ve only ever seen one, but it was really impressive. It’s not just – well, Rainbow Dash should tell you. I’d just rain on her parade.”
“Okay.” Air paused for a moment. “Say, I’d like to ask you something personal. Well, not really all that personal. But if you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”
“What is it?”
“Dr. Horse gave me these pills, supplements actually. An orange and a blue one. Do you take them?”
“Supplements? No.” She thought for a moment. “The only ponies that I know that take supplements are foals or the elderly. What are they for?”
“One is to help me become a better flyer, and the second one is to help me become stronger.”
“Really? Hmm. Maybe I ought to ask Dr. Horse about them. Scootaloo should probably be taking those supplements if she’s not already on them.”
“Scootaloo?”
“Scootaloo. She a filly who lives in town. You might have seen her and not known who she was. She flies about town on her scooter.”
“And not in the air?”
The seriousness returned to Autumn’s face. “No unfortunately. She has been unable to fly. Spring has told me how much she wants to fly, and how hard she’s worked to get better. But so far, she can barely hover for a few moments.” Her face became extremely grave. “Please don’t spread this around, but many ponies don’t think she will ever fly.”
“That’s terrible. Don’t all pegasi fly?” Air paused for a moment. “I mean, uh –”
“Our father could fly before the accident. But Scootaloo has never been able to fly.”
“Maybe we should do something. I would but my flying –”
Air thankfully did not have to finish her admission as Spring bounced into the room.
“That was Rose. She wanted to make sure we would still be on for dinner. And then we started talking about the upcoming gala.”
The third surprising fact was that this pair of pegasus sisters shared not a house in the clouds but a comfortable cottage on the ground half a block from Town Square. Earlier the sisters, well mostly Spring, had related their history. Fraternal twins, they spent their first years in Cloudsdale. Then their father broke his wing on the job and could no longer fly. Learning that Ponyville, a settlement built by and for earth ponies, was in need of construction workers, their father moved the family to town. There they joined the small but ever growing community of pegasi. When the sisters moved out of their parents’ house they chose to make their home on the ground. They admitted the view from a cloudominium was better, but with having pony and unicorn friends it made more sense for a house built on the ground.
“The gala?” asked Air.
“You don’t know? Well, of course you don’t. It’s the Ponyville Princess Promenade! Princess Twilight Sparkle will be holding it in her castle in a week-and-a-half. It will be similar to the Grand Galloping Gala Princess Celestia holds in Canterlot, but this is just for Ponyville! Me and Autumn volunteered…” Air could swear she saw Autumn roll her eyes. “…to help Pinkie Pie on the Party Committee. Ooo. Perhaps you would like to volunteer for the Party Committee as well?”
“Maybe you should tell Air about the different committees she could choose from if she decides she wants to volunteer?”
“Oh, right. Well there’s the Party Committee me and Autumn are on. We are in charge of organizing the entertainment and the different party events and hiding the party cannons –”
“Party cannons?”
“Um, well, I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but you’ll love them! There a blast!” She giggled for a moment. “What else? There’s the Decorating Committee headed by Rarity.”
“I know Rarity likes to decorate. She fixed up my home yesterday.”
“She did? Well, she is the Element of Generosity. Maybe you’d like that? But then there’s the Catering Committee run by Applejack. You can bet it’s going to include lots of apple-related foods. Fluttershy is in charge of the activities for the younger ponies. Hmm…let me think. Rainbow Dash is helping Cherilee with the Advertising Committee. Rose is in charge of the Floral Committee. Who else? There’s also the set-up crew run by Amethyst Star and the clean-up crew run by Clean Sweep. And Princess Twilight is overseeing it all.”
“Perhaps I should ask if Dash needs some help.”
“Okay. But if she doesn’t, or even if she does, you’re more than welcome to join the fun on the Party Committee!”
“Thanks.”
“So do you think you will go?”
“To the Promenade?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it sounds like fun. But I don’t know what my schedule will be.”
“Well, Chief Front indicated she was planning clear skies all day and next morning, so none of us will have to work.”
“But nothing is free,” noted Autumn. “At some point we will have to make up for it in the weather schedule.” She took another sip of her coffee.
“It will be worth it!” replied Spring.
“I think I’d better head over to the weather station. I need to start studying for the weather exams.”
“We did promise Dash to take you to the weather station. We can take you over there now if you’re ready. Perhaps a donut or two to help you study?’
“Sure.”
“You two go ahead. I will clean the dishes,” said Autumn.
Within minutes Air found herself slowly making her way to the weather station. Spring frequently stopped to introduce Air to other ponies or to chat with them about this and that. First, Spring introduced Air to the real Cloud Kicker. She was a pale blue pegasus with a beautiful amber mane.
“Nice to meet you Cloud Kicker,” stated Air.
“Nice to meet you Air Heart.”
“I’m taking Air to the weather station. Today is Air’s first day as a weather pegasus. She did a really great job helping us clear the skies above town.” Air blushed a little at the praise.
Cloud Kicker looked up at the sky. “I see. You’ve made it a beautiful day in Ponyville.”
“Are you a weather pegasus?”
“Only a reserve member. I mainly help with Winter Roll Out and Winter Wrap Up.”
“Winter Roll Out and Winter Wrap Up?”
Spring jumped right in with an explanation. “Ponyville was founded by earth ponies, so the changes of season are done by hoof without magic. Every year we spend time creating winter in Ponyville and a few months later we clean it up. Hence Winter Roll Out and Winter Wrap Up!”
“Don’t forget about the Running of the Leaves,” added Cloud Kicker.
“Oh yeah. Every fall we run through the forest! It’s a lot of fun. We knock down the leaves from the trees and the winner gets a medal! I placed tenth last year.”
“It can be an exhausting race. I ran way to fast in the beginning and barely managed to finish.”
“Didn’t Rainbow Dash run in the race?” asked Air.
Spring replied, “Yes. She tied with Applejack.”
“Tied for what?”
Spring and Cloud exchanged glances. Cloud Kicker finally answered, “Well, she – uh – tied for last.”
“Dash and Applejack finished last!? I can’t believe it. How did that happen?”
Spring stepped up this time. “Those two held a competition –”
“An Iron Pony competition?”
“Yes, exactly. Anyways, that didn’t settle it, so they competed in the Running of the Leaves. But then they started, uh, how would you describe it Cloud?”
“They tried to sabotage the other’s race.”
“Yes, that, and they were so busy trying to stop the other, that every other runner beat them.”
“That threw a bucket of cold water on their rivalry…for a while. But they still go at it sometimes.”
“But now their good friends,” stated Air.
“Yes. All of the Elements of Harmony are good friends.”
It became quiet for a moment. “I don’t want to hold you two up,” said Cloud.
“It was nice to meet you Cloud.”
“Good meet you Air.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch,” called Spring. “You can join me and Autumn.”
“Sounds good.”
The two continued down the street a short distance. Air was busy looking to her right when she heard Spring say, “Hey DJ Pon!” She glanced left to see Spring waving at a pony nodding her head in response. The cream colored unicorn with a two-tone blue mane sported black framed sunglasses with purple lenses. Air could have sworn she heard a faint beat escaping from the headphones the unicorn wore over her ears.
“Air, this is DJ Pon-3. DJ Pon-3, this is Air Heart. She is new in town.”
DJ Pon nodded her head.
“We were just on our way to the weather station. Don’t you think we did a good job clearing the clouds this morning?”
DJ Pon nodded her head.
“I heard that Pinkie Pie arranged for you to perform at the Ponyville Princess Promenade.”
DJ Pon nodded her head.
“That’s great! I know you did a really super job at Shining Armor and Princess Cadence’s wedding!”
DJ Pon nodded her head.
“Will I be seeing you at the club tonight?”
DJ Pon nodded her head.
“Cool. Well, we’ve got to get to the weather station. Bye!”
DJ Pon nodded her head. Air and Spring walked towards the station while DJ Pon continued on her way, nodding her head the whole time.
“DJ Pon-3 creates awesome jams at parties,” explained Spring.
“She, uh, seems really into music,” replied Air.
“Well, she does have music notes for a cutie mark.” Air felt ashamed at the blank flank, but Spring seemed not to notice.
Before walking more than half a block Spring called out “Hey Dr. Hooves!” to a brown stallion running down the street, trailing a rather long scarf. He paused for only a minute. “Terribly sorry. I’m due at Town Hall two minutes ago. But it was –. You look familiar Miss,” he said to Air.
“Air Heart. I’m Rainbow Dash’s cousin,” explained Air.
“Ah, that’s probably it. Well, got to go,” he said before running down the street.
“He seems…nice,” said Air.
“Yes, the Doctor is great. He’s always in a hurry though.”
The two walked further down the street, the weather station just coming into view. Just a few feet in front of her though, Air saw an aquamarine pony loaded down with saddlebags. She recognized the unicorn as the same she passed by the day before.
“Hey Lyra!” said an enthusiastic Spring.
“Oh hello Spring. How are you doing today?”
“Great as always! This is Air Heart she’s new in town. I’m taking her to the weather station.”
“I saw you yesterday. Are you and Rainbow Dash family?”
“She’s my cousin.”
“Yes, I could tell.”
“Where are you off to?” asked Spring.
“Well, I was just in the market buying some imported oats.”
“Ooo. That sounds expensive.”
“Yes, they are….
And then Air was ambushed.
“There you are!” yelled Pinkie Pie. Before anypony could react, Pinkie grabbed Air and dragged her over to a colorfully painted wagon. “I have to give you my special welcome to Ponyville! I even built this wagon to help me!” She pushed a large red button and the top popped open, revealing horns and flags and kazoos and sweet treats. It started to play a dainty little tune. Pinkie Pie began singing and dancing:
Welcome welcome welcome
A fine welcome to you
Welcome welcome welcome
I say how do you do?
Welcome welcome welcome
I say hip hip hurray
Welcome welcome welcome
To Ponyville todaaaaaay!
Wait for it!
Ding! The oven on the wagon burst open shooting a stream of confetti over the two mares.
Sploosh! The kazoos shot a large amount of goo upwards, before hitting apogee and falling down to earth, coating the two mares in a sticky mess.
“Oh, silly me! I must've put the confetti in the oven and the cake in the confetti cannons! Again! When will I ever learn?” Giggling, Pinkie Pie stepped forth clean from the cake batter and in one bite ate the whole thing. “Mmm, that’s good!”
Air looked at herself covered in a sweet mess.
“Air, are you okay?” asked Lyra.
Spring turned to the pink mare. “Pinkie, did you put the cake batter in the confetti cannons again?”
“Yep! Yep! Yep!”
The two mares giggled. Air, meanwhile stuck her tongue out and tasted the gooey batter. It was mighty tasty.
“Let’s get you to the weather station and cleaned up,” said Spring, helping Air up. The two started walking to the office.
“It was nice to meet you Air,” said Lyra.
Pinkie Pie waved as the two mares departed. “Welcome to Ponyville Air!”
***
After a half hour, Air stepped forth from the bathroom. She could still feel bits of the dried batter in her fur and among her feathers, but at least she didn’t look like some creature from Froggy Bottom Bog. She looked up at a clock. Ten-thirty. Not long until she would be helping with placing the rainstorm over Sweet Apple Acres.
“You look better,” said Spring.
“I feel a lot better,” replied Air.
“Chief Front wasn’t too happy when she saw a trail of cake batter leading into the station, but I explained we had no choice. Once I said ‘Pinkie Pie’, she completely understood.”
“I think I’d better start doing some studying.”
“Okay. I’m going to give Prandtl some company. He doesn’t like flying a desk.”
Air walked to the lounge, a small room located in the back corner of the first floor. In the center a few chairs surrounded an old wooden table. A variety of inspirational posters were taped to the walls along with a chart of the area. A large brown couch lay along the right wall, and in the corner next to it sat a record player with some miscellaneous albums including a few by Sassy Shores and Countess Coloratura. A window in the center of the back wall let in some daylight. To its left hung a dart board embedded with a few darts. In front of the left wall sat a small refrigerator filled with cool drinks, a cabinet with snacks for purchase, and a bookcase filled with novels and magazines. Air smiled as she knew Twilight would gravitate to the bookcase, Pinkie Pie to the snacks, Dash and Applejack to the dart board, and Rarity would wail about the poor state of the decor.
Air sat down on the couch only to realize she had left her book-laden saddlebag at Dash’s. Wanting to fill the time, she got up and walked over to the bookcase to see if there was anything weather related she could study. She looked briefly but none of the books appeared to be related to weather duties. She began scanning the titles looking for something good to read…Tales of Nightmare Night…The Mare Who Knew Too Much…Lawmare of Arabia…Historic Pommelrania…The Coltsburgh Murders…The Mare in the Iron Mask…Born Identity…You’ve Got Mare…Flankenstein…The Legend of Neigh Kelly…Behind the Castle Walls: The Inside Story From a Palace Guard…Gone with the Whinny…. Eventually Air settled on a beat-up paperback copy of Daring Do and the Griffon’s Goblet.
She sat down on one of the chairs and began reading:
Chapter 1
Biting, cold raindrops stung Daring-Do's face, body, and wings as she dove at the speeding train. She lowered her head to
shield her face from the elements’ onslaught with her wide-brimmed pith helmet. The red taillight of the train was the
only thing she could make out clearly in the pitch blackness of the stormy night....
The words came slowly at first. But then she read faster and faster. Maybe it was the action and adventure, Daring Do struggling to get on the train, running into a gang of thieves, using her wits to escape danger lurking around every corner. But Air couldn’t help but feel that there was something else. It seemed…familiar. Though she couldn’t remember the plot, the characters, the setting…it felt as if she had read this book before, perhaps multiple times.
...With slow steps the adventurer walked towards the stone, her eyes big, staring in awe. Carefully she placed one hoof on
the surface as if to test if it was real. When it turned out to be solid –
“So I see you’re already diving into the Daring Do books,” said a familiar voice.
Air looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing in the door. “Yeah it’s pretty good.”
“Pretty good!? It’s awesomely amazing! Daring Do is undeniably, unquestionably, un-put-down-able! I’ve read the whole series like a hundred times.”
“Maybe I could borrow them from you?”
“Sure, but first we need to take care of the weather. Come on. The others are waiting for us outside.”
Getting up from the couch, Air walked over to the bookcase and crammed her Daring Do paperback amongst the others that filled the shelf. She was definitely going to have to finish that book, preferably sooner rather than later. She stepped into the hallway joining Rainbow Dash, and together the two mares made their way outside. Air looked around at the group of pegasi milling about. She of course recognized the Breeze sisters. Also there was team leader Thunderlane, a charcoal gray pegasus with a light blue mane in a Mohawk style. She also knew Sunshower, Clear Skies and Open Skies. Joining them were four pegasi that Air didn’t know but was sure she would become acquainted with over the coming days.
Seeing the group assembled, Thunderlane addressed them. “Okay team. We’ve got a fresh shipment of rainclouds in today. They were left floating over the Mill Pond Waypoint. We’ll fly there and move the clouds to Sweet Apple Acres. We’ll have to make several trips, but we need to ensure the whole orchard is covered. When we get to Sweet Apple Acres, Raindrops will be acting as our HPO. Any clouds we have left over we need to move to the North Holding Pen. Any questions?” A hoof went into the air. “Yes Clear Skies?”
“Do we need to collect the dry clouds after the shower?”
“Boss didn’t say anything about it. I’m sure she’ll have a crew out there tomorrow to collect them. We’ll find out at the four o’clock brief. Any other questions?” When nopony raised a hoof, he said, “Let’s go!”
Eleven members shot into the sky, leaving Air behind. Quickly she took off and pushed herself to catch up with the group. Dash flew in close to talk to Air. “D’you catch all that?”
“Kinda.”
“We put in orders for rainclouds to the factory in Cloudsdale. They’ve got a delivery service that will drop off cloud orders at specific points. We’re going to the waypoint over Mill Pond.”
“Where’s that?”
“There’s an old gristmill north of here. We’ll move them to Sweet Apple Acres and Raindrops will tell us where to place them.”
“She’s an HPO?”
“Yeah, another TLA to learn. HPO is short for some mouthful of a job. You should talk to Raindrops about it. She’s the blue one with an orange mane. But after we get the clouds placed we’ll see if we have any left. Cloudsdale gets real pissed off if we have a lot of clouds left over.”
“Why?”
“It takes a lot of effort to fill their reservoirs, and if everybody is padding the orders, they’ll run out. We often have some left over, but usually not much. We put the clouds in holding areas until we need them. We always have a little bit for ad hoc taskings, like watering Rose’s flowers. Not big enough of an order for Cloudsdale, but we had some on hoof to use.”
“Okay. I think I’ll go talk to Raindrops.”
Air pushed herself hard to reach Raindrops. She could see the blue pegasus with an orange mane flying behind Thunderlane. As she got closer, she could make out her cutie mark, a dark could spurting several blue raindrops. Air got up next to the mare before beginning. “Raindrops?”
“Hey, you must be the new weather pegasus, Air Heart? Your Rainbow Dash’s cousin?”
“Yes.”
“Nice to meet you. I didn’t get to meet you yesterday because I was at a dental appointment.”
“Yesterday was my first day on the job.”
“Getting it all figured out?”
“Yeah. There’s a lot to learn.”
“After you work in a weather station for a while, it will get to be secondhoof. It’s the reserve members that have a hard time. They only get it every now and then and have to study on their own.”
“I’ll be working full time.”
“We’ll have plenty of opportunity to get to know each other.”
“So I wanted to ask. You’re an HPO?”
“That’s me.”
“And what is an HPO?”
“Hydrological Positioning Officer. It’s my job to make sure the clouds are in the right place so that the rainstorm will meet the order. We have to make sure they get enough rain, but not too much. We also need to take into account the lay of the land – we don’t want to cause localized flooding. Furthermore, we want to make sure that we use our clouds efficiently. If we’re watering apple trees, like we are today, there’s no point in putting a lot of rain over the adjoining fields. We can also put more rain clouds on the higher ground so the runoff will water the lowlands. So there’s a lot of things an HPO must do to set up for a rainstorm. Does that answer your question?”
“Yes.”
“You interested in getting qualified?”
“Maybe.”
“I’m not going to lie, it takes a lot of study and training to be an HPO. But it’s one of the most important jobs in the weather service.”
“Okay. I’ll watch what you do today.”
“Sounds like a plan. Hey, there they are.” Raindrops pointed ahead.
Air looked and saw a mass of large, black clouds looming a mile in front of them. Eerily they just hung there motionless, like a spider waiting for some unsuspecting fly to get caught in the web. If Air didn’t know any better, she would think them menacing, shrouding some dark ancient secret. Below lay a small pond fed by a creek, which ran over a waterwheel, turning the machinery of an old mill perched upon the bank.
Soon the team reached the clouds. Thunderlane circled around it, examining the delivery fresh from Cloudsdale. “Okay, we need a manageable piece. Half of you start at the top, half of you on the bottom.”
Air flew up with Raindrops, Spring Breeze, Autumn Breeze, Sunshower, and a pegasus she didn’t know. Not seeing Dash, Air realized she must be at the bottom of the cloud mass. “So what do we do?” asked Air.
“We need to break off a piece we all can move. So we’re going to have to shear the cloud.”
“How do we do that?”
“Simple. We just use our hooves to rip the cloud apart. But we need to work together so it doesn’t break into small pieces. Six of us will tear from this end, and the other six from the bottom, and when we meet, we’ll have a cloud we can move to Sweet Apple Acres.” Raindrops looked around at the other pegasi. She yelled out, “Thunderlane, we’re ready up top.”
“Okay. Start shearing!” came a voice from below.
Air imitated the other pegasi. She sunk her forelegs down into the cloud then, pulling them apart, saw the cloud tearing. She found her rip joined up with those of the other five members of the team, creating a large rift in the cloud. Air dove her forelegs in again, pulling more of the cloud apart. Repeating the process several more times, the rift cut deeper and deeper into the cloud.
Raindrops took off and flew over to the side of the mass of clouds. “Hey Thunderlane, our shears are lining up! Just keep going up and we’ll keep going down!”
“Copy all.”
Raindrops returned to her position and worked faster to catch up with the others. After a few more rips, Air could hear the sounds of the other half of the team coming through the cloud. Then she found a blue foreleg in her face. The cloud tore apart and Air found herself face to face with Rainbow Dash.
“Hi Dash.”
“Funny meeting you here,” joked Rainbow.
“Everypony, take your moving positions!” called Thunderlane.
Air gave Dash a confused look.
“Uh, we need to spread out. If we don’t spread the load across the cloud, we could break it apart. It’s a lot more work to move a bunch of small clouds than one large one,” explained Dash.
Air moved off by herself.
“Alright, we need to separate it! On three!” yelled Thunderlane. “One…. Two…. Three!” Everypony began pushing against the cloud and slowly the fissure widened, until it was a good fifty feet across. “Everypony stop!” commanded Thunderlane. Everypony stopped pushing and the cloud came to a halt.
Air looked around. She called out to Dash, located about thirty feet away. “What are we doing?”
“Probably getting a bearing,” responded Dash.
Sure enough, Air heard Thunderlane. “Clear Skies, Spring Breeze. I need you to move over here….” After a minute of waiting came the command, “Alright everypony, on three! One…. Two.… Three!” Every member of the weather team began pushing and the cloud began to move again. Air noticed they were heading a little to the right. That must be what Dash meant when she said they were taking a bearing. After fifteen minutes of pushing the cloud came the order, “Everypony stop!”
Exhausted, Air found a nice little cloud ledge just big enough for her to lie down on. Breathing heavily, wings aching, she couldn’t remember flying so much in all her life. But her respite lasted only a minute. Eventually Thunderlane called out, “Everypony on top!”
Air saw everyone heading to the top of the cloud. She took off, forcing her tired wings to lift her higher and higher. She reached the crest and landed amongst the group.
Thunderlane briefed the assembled weather team. “Raindrops has it all worked out. Everypony will listen to her until this cloud is used up.” He stepped aside to give the floor, or in this case the cloud, to Raindrops.
Raindrops began. “So this is how we’re going to do it. Each of you break off a piece of the cloud and bring it to me and I will direct you in its proper placement.”
Raindrops leaped from the cloud and flew to the middle of the orchard. Everypony else took off from the cloud. Air watched captivated as the pegasi, almost instinctively, began breaking off pieces of the cloud and taking them to the HPO.
“What are you waiting for?” called Dash.
Air snapped back to the moment and climbed into the sky. From her vantage point she examined the team’s hoofiwork. Large gashes scarred the cloud, indicating where the pegasi gouged out large chunks. Every moment the pegasi hacked off another piece, leaving the once proud cloud a mere shadow of its former self. Air flew in and, using her forelegs like she had earlier, broke off a good sized piece from the cloud. She pushed it over to where Raindrops hovered. Before her in line was a light yellow pegasus with a two-toned mane.
“Where to?” asked Sunshower, holding a light gray piece.
“Put it down by the southwest corner,” said Raindrops as she pointed to a flat, low-lying area on the edge of the orchard.
“Hey Raindrops, where do you want this piece?” asked Air.
“That’s a dark piece with a lot of rain, put it over near where Thunderlane is.”
Air looked and saw Thunderlane adding his fragment to a newly assembled patch over the highest part of the orchard. Air pushed her chunk over and added it to the ever-growing mass.
She flew back to the ever-diminishing source and broke off another piece. She pushed it back to Raindrops.
“That doesn’t have much rain. Put it over in the southwest corner.”
Air placed it next to Sunshower’s piece. She flew back to see the last of the cloud split in two by Rainbow Dash and a purple pegasus with an orange mane. Raindrops examined their pieces and they maneuvered the pieces to the directed spots.
The team formed up around Thunderlane. “Good job everypony. Let’s go back and get a second cloud.” He flew north, leading the rest of the team.
After a minute Raindrops flew up next to Air. “So, is it starting to make sense?”
“Yeah. Thunderlane and I had a dark piece with a lot of rain, so we put it over the highest part of the orchard. My second piece didn’t have a lot, so I put it next to Sunshower’s along the edge.”
“The southwest corner is the lowest lying area of the field. All the runoff will pass through there, so it doesn’t need a lot of rain. But you seem to be picking it up pretty quick.”
“Well, I want to get good at my job.”
“Don’t worry, you’re doing fine.”
Air could see the cloud mass over Mill Pond. It looked smaller, and less intimidating, than before. She and Raindrops along with Sunshower, Clear Skies, Open Skies, and another pegasus she didn’t know flew to the top of the cloud. Upon the command, they began tearing the cloud apart, splitting it in two. The weather team pushed the cloud to Sweet Apple Acres. In short order they had the cloud broken into small pieces and distributed over the orchard. By this time most of the orchard had cloud cover, ready to release the life-giving rain upon the trees. The team flew back to the waypoint and split the small cloud in two. Thunderlane dispatched Clear Skies, the Breeze sisters, and two other pegasi to take the remnants to the holding pen. The other seven team members pushed the cloud to Sweet Apple Acres. Very quickly the cloud was broken, and the pieces allocated to fill in the remaining gaps in cover. Air climbed into the sky, discerning the pattern of the clouds. It reminded her of a terrain map she had seen, but when she couldn’t recall. The darkest clouds corresponded to the highest elevations. She could make out the rolling nature of the land. Raindrops had even made a dark patch over the small knoll in the southeastern corner. Eventually the clouds became paler until the lightest clouds at the southwest corner.
The other members of the weather team lay lazily upon the clouds. Air flew down but before she could talk to Rainbow Dash, the mare flew off at high speed. “Where is she going?” asked Air.
“I, uh, forgot the rain catalyst,” replied Thunderlane guiltily.
“What’s the rain catalyst?”
“Well, instead of jumping up and down on the clouds to make it rain, we use rain catalyst. It causes the them to rain without any work on our part.”
“Where does she have to go?”
“Just back to the weather station. But she’s the fastest flyer in town, so she should be back shortly.”
Air walked over and found a nice spot. She laid down and sank a little into the fluffy cloud. It was soft and refreshing, like lying in a bed with cool sheets. She felt as if she could….
“Hey Air, wake up.”
Air opened her eyes to see Rainbow Dash. “Huh? What’s going on?”
“You fell asleep, but we’re ready to start the rain.”
Air stood up and saw eleven pegasi. Sheepishly she joined the assembled group. With everypony present, Thunderlane addressed the team. “We’re going to start the rain shortly. After that, everypony is dismissed until the four o’clock tag up.” All the pegasi climbed into the sky, with Air following suit. Thunderlane took a small bottle, dripping its blue liquid over the orchard. Everywhere a drop hit the cloud, a shockwave passed through it and the adjoining clouds, causing them to start raining. After the all the clouds were raining, the group dispersed.
A blue pegasus with a silver mane approached. “Hello. I’m Silver Lining,” he said.
“I’m Air Heart.”
“So, I was wondering, if you don’t have any plans, if you’d like to get some lunch?”
“Actually, we’re having lunch with Princess Twilight,” interjected Rainbow Dash.
“We are?” asked Air.
“Yeah, I talked with Twilight when you were at breakfast and she asked us to come over.”
“Oh, okay. Maybe some other time?” said Silver Lining. He turned and began flying off towards Ponyville.
“Come on, lunch should be ready,” said Dash. She and Air both flew towards the crystal castle in the distance.
***
Air marveled at the ornate dining room she found herself in. The smooth walls featured an elegant pattern, an interplay of light and dark purple hues. Pillars of solid crystal framed each wall. Light refracted off the crystal, casting each facet a different shade. Paintings and tapestries decorated the walls. Elsewhere in the room stood Ionic columns made of pure white marble, each supporting a vase overflowing with flowers.
Air sat at a large round table dressed in a golden table cloth. To her left sat Rainbow Dash. To her right, a highly inquisitive Twilight Sparkle. Near them stood a small purple dragon, waiting for instructions.
“So Air Heart, we weren’t sure what you were going to like, so we prepared different sandwiches. We have daffodil and daisy; basil, lettuce and tomato; and carrot and oats.”
“I’ll have the BLT,” said Rainbow Dash. Twilight shot her an annoyed glance, which Dash didn’t pick up on.
“I’ll have the same,” said Air.
“For you Twilight?” asked the dragon.
“I’ll have the daffodil and daisy sandwich Spike,” replied the alicorn.
“Coming right up,” said Spike before trotting out of the room.
“So Air Heart, how are you feeling today?” asked Twilight. She ignored the annoyed glance Rainbow Dash shot her way.
“I’m feeling alright. Just a little tired from weather duties. I don’t think I’ve ever flown so much in my life.”
“And, uh, how are you doing from your head injury?”
“I take some pain medication when it starts to hurt.”
“You don’t take it on schedule?”
“For the most part.”
“You need to take your medication or it won’t help you. Aren’t you supposed to be taking some at lunchtime?”
“Oh, I, uh, forgot my saddlebags at Dash’s.”
“No problem,” said Rainbow Dash as she stood up. “I’ll be back in a flash.” She shot out of the room just as Spike was entering carrying three plates.
“Where’s she going?” he asked.
“Air forgot her medication at Rainbow Dash’s house, so she went to go get it.”
“Okay.” He placed the three plates at their respective place. Air looked down at her sandwich. She could see the green lettuce sticking out from between the slices of white bread.
“Thank you Spike,” said Twilight.
“No problem, I’ll come by when you all are done.” He headed for the doorway.
“Dr. Horse says you need to be sure to take your pain medication and your supplements.”
“You talked with Dr. Horse?”
“Rainbow Dash told me what he said.”
“Oh, okay.”
“So how was your first day on the job?” she asked, levitating her sandwich and taking a bite.
“Good. I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.” She took a bite of her sandwich.
“Rainbow Dash is a good teacher.”
“You’re right about that!” said Rainbow Dash, hauling Air’s saddlebags. She passed them to Air before sitting down to eat lunch.
Air rummaged through her bags and found her medication. She took her pain medication before taking her two supplements. Then she went back to eating her sandwich.
“So how was working the rainstorm at Sweet Apple Acres?” asked Twilight.
“It wasn’t too hard. We moved the clouds from the waypoint and then we broke it up into smaller pieces that we placed over the orchard. I got to see how an HPO does her job.”
“Yes, the HPO. Quite an important position. I’ve learned all about it. I can even loan you several books if you would like to read up on it.” Air caught Dash rolling her eyes.
“Thanks, but I think I have enough to study at the moment. I want to be able to pass the qualifying tests.”
“You’ll do fine,” said Dash. “I passed them no sweat.”
“I thought you passed them by one question?” asked Air.
“No, I totally got high marks.”
“So Air, how do you like your sandwich?” asked Twilight.
“It’s good.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty hard to mess up a BLT,” said Dash, polishing off the last of her sandwich. She let out a loud belch.
“Rainbow Dash!” admonished Twilight.
“Geesh, give me a break. Rarity’s not here.”
“Are you guys done?” asked Spike as he trotted into the room.
“Almost,” replied Twilight.
“Would you all like some dessert?” he asked.
“Sure, what do you have?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Let me think…we’ve got carrot cake…ice cream…cookies….”
“Do you have any pie?” asked Air.
“Actually I think we have a leftover piece of the pie Applejack brought when she came over.”
“You don’t want that,” said Twilight. “I think there’s only a small slice left.”
“Actually, we had an extra pie, that, I, uh, kinda ate most of,” admitted the young dragon.
“I’ll have some cake,” said Rainbow Dash.
With a sigh, Twilight said, “I’ll have the cake as well.”
Spike collected the empty plates and trotted out the door towards the kitchen.
“Have you made any new friends?” asked Twilight.
“I had breakfast with the Breeze sisters this morning.”
“Breakfast? I thought you and Dash were going to share breakfast?”
“Second breakfast,” explained Dash.
“I understand now.”
Air continued. “They’re pretty nice. Spring is really friendly.”
Spike came in with three plates filled with dessert. In front of Rainbow Dash and Twilight, he placed slices of carrot cake, and in front of Air he laid a large piece of apple pie.
“I’ve chatted with Spring,” remarked Twilight.
“Yeah, but her sister is also really nice.”
Air took a bite of the pie. It was bucking amazing! It was so awesomely good! The amazing apples. The wonderfully crisp crust. The perfect apple pie!
“…rather reserved. Did you spend a lot of time talking with her?” inquired Twilight.
“Oh, we talked for a bit. Did you know she’s a CPA?”
“Yeah, I never look forward to going to see her,” said Dash.
“Why’s that?”
“Because I always have to pay taxes! How about you Twilight?”
Twilight gave an embarrassed look, then sheepishly replied, “Princesses don’t, uh, pay taxes.”
“They don’t?”
“No, since we get a royal stipend, it doesn’t make any sense. The money would just go to the Treasury and then would come back to us.”
“That’s not fair,” complained Rainbow Dash.
“Well, it’s how Princess Celestia set it up.”
Air polished off the rest of her pie. She was definitely going to have to meet this Applejack.
“…not something I can change,” continued Twilight.
“I thought you were a princess!” protested Rainbow Dash.
“Of Friendship. The government is run by Princess Celestia.”
Rainbow Dash sat unhappily in her chair. Air thought it best to get to the weather station before their argument continued. “So I need to get to the weather station. Dash, are you ready to go?”
“Oh, you go ahead. Twilight and I still have some things to talk about.”
“Okay,” she said as she donned her saddlebags. “Thanks for the lunch.”
“Come again,” said Twilight.
“See you later,” said Dash.
Air walked out of the dining room.
“Where are you going?” asked Spike.
“I’m going to the weather station.”
“You’re going the wrong way. I’ll show you the way out. Starlight Glimmer still gets lost here,” he continued.
“Starlight Glimmer?”
“She’s Twilight’s personal student. But Twilight sent her to the Crystal Empire to work on her friendship with Sunburst. There’s the front door,” he said, pointing to the doors on the other side of the large foyer.
“Thanks Spike.”
“Don’t mention it.”
***
Air sat at the table in the lounge. She stared at the array of books in front of her…A Beginner’s Guide to the Weather…Encyclopedia of Weather Terms…The Weather Shop…The Weather Pony’s Handbook…How the Weather is Made. She had spent the last few hours staring at the books, but she couldn’t seem to focus. She tried, she really did. But she just found reading manuals to be so…boring. She knew that she needed to study to pass the exams, but she felt as though she’d hit a brick wall. Her mind kept wandering back to Daring Do. And apple pie.
Finally, around three thirty, Air gave up. She trotted over to the bookcase and grabbed a familiar paperback. She hid the smaller book within the larger encyclopedia. She began reading:
With slow steps the adventuress walked towards the stone, her eyes big, staring in awe. Carefully she placed one hoof on the surface as if to test if it was real. When it turned out to be solid under her hoof, she hurried, and took out a flashlight from one of her many pockets. Holding it in her mouth, Daring turned it on with her hooves, and waved it a few times to the sky from horizon to horizon, before finally settling on the stone artifact. She squinted her eyes in an effort to make out the tiny details in the torch’s light....
Air was once again enraptured by the plot. Daring always found danger around every corner, yet she always came out on top. She was unquestionably the most awesome pony in all of Equestria....
“So, hitting the books?” asked Chief Front.
Air tried her best to hide the inner book from the chief. “Yes ma’am.” Strangely those words came with great difficulty.
“Well, it’s time for the daily briefing.”
“Okay,” said Air, getting up from the table. Sadly she was going to have to finish the Daring Do adventure some other time.
Air followed the chief up the steps into the briefing room. Most of the pegasi were already present. Air took a seat in the second row. She looked at the clock – three fifty-nine and fifty seconds. The Chief took her place at the front of the room just as the clock ticked past four o’clock. “Good to see everypony here. Now before we get started, I would like to recognize Air Heart. It was her first day out in the skies and I heard she did a good job. I would also like to acknowledge those who really helped her learn the ropes – Raindrops and Rainbow Dash. Dash? Where is Rainbow Dash?”
Air heard a voice coming from the back, most likely Tailspin’s. “She’s late again!”
Chief responded, “She technically doesn’t work here anymore, so we can’t give her a hard time. Still though, she said she would be here. Nevertheless, those two mares really helped her with her training today. Now then on to tomorrow’s schedule. First –”
The door swung open. “Sorry I’m late, I was working on some of my moves for the Wonderbolts,” said Rainbow Dash.
“It’s about time Rainbow Dash.”
“Rainbow Crash!” came the same voice from the back.
“Yeah, yeah.” Rainbow Dash made her way back and sat in the open seat next to Air.
“Now, as I was saying, for tomorrow I need a crew to go out first thing and collect the dry clouds from Sweet Apple Acres. Thunderlane, I want your crew to handle that. Put the clouds over in the Junction Holding Pen.” She heard a groan coming from somepony in the room. “Does somepony have a problem? We can discuss it in my office after the briefing,” she said sternly. She gave the room a thorough scowl. Hearing nothing, she continued. “Absolutely no cloudbusting – that’s an order. We may need some cloud cover next week, so keep them in good working order. Now then, Wind Gust, you’ll be in charge of stopping any rogue systems from the Everfree Forest. Keep an eye out, though. We’ve been having an unusual number of weather phenomenon coming out of that place. Other than that, we’ve got a rainstorm over at Haystack’s slated for 3 PM. I’ll be running that as I need some HPO time. Any questions?”
“Chief Front, where do you want me?” asked Air Heart.
“I want you to work with Tunderlane’s crew at Sweet Apple Acres in the morning. In the afternoon, you’ll help with the rainstorm at Haystack’s. When you’re not on weahter duties, you can spend time studying for the qualifying exams. Any other questions?” Not seeing any raised hoofs, she declared, “Dismissed!”
The briefing room began to empty. Rainbow Dash turned to Air, “You ready to go? Or do you want to study those boring books some more?”
“I think I’m ready to go.”
They got up and headed downstairs. Air stepped into the lounge and put the books into her saddlebags. She also slipped in Daring Do. She didn’t think anypony would mind her borrowing it for a few nights.
She walked down the hallway and outside, where Dash was already waiting. “So, where to?”
“Your house.”
“Okay. Then where to for dinner?”
“I dunno.” Rainbow gave a wry smile before launching herself into the sky. Air quickly took off after her.
***
Air flew through the sky, her wings still aching from morning weather duties. She hoped not every day would leave her so sore. But Chief Front had said that today’s schedule was pretty straightforward. Air could only guess that other days would include far more events. And from what Rainbow Dash had told her, some days involved rainstorms for all of Ponyville, not just a single orchard.
Up ahead she could barely see her cloud house. She squinted and saw a blue dot standing in front…Rainbow Dash. Air put on a bit of speed to catch up. Finally she landed next to Dash, doing her best to hide her exhaustion. Air opened the front door and the two mares stepped inside. Air dropped her saddlebags onto a chair. “So, what should we do for dinner?” she asked.
“I think you should cook something.”
“Me? But I don’t have anything to cook. And even if I did, I’m not sure I know how to cook.”
Rainbow Dash only replied with a wry smile.
“Dash?” Air turned and stepped into her kitchen. On the counter stood a half-dozen books. She wandered over and read the titles…Mastering the Art of Prench Cooking…The Pioneer Pony Cooks…Cooking for Athletes…Thirty Minute Meals…Healthy Eating…Cooking for Dumb Ponies.
Well, that would tell her how to cook. But with what? She opened a cupboard. To her surprise she found cans and boxes and bags of food. She opened another one and found all sorts of spices. She took a look at the variety…cinnamon…ginger…nutmeg…pepper…quassia…saffron…all neatly organized alphabetically. Air turned to her refrigerator. Inside she found bottles of milk, cheeses, butter, pops, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, celery, peaches, oranges, pears, and strawberries. Opening her freezer, she found frozen foods and ice cream.
Air walked out to the sitting room to see a smug Rainbow Dash. “Did you buy me all that food?”
“Yeah, Twilight and I ran to the market. She also got you the cooking books.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Well, you need food. And Applejack thought you would feel more at home if you could do your own cooking.”
“Applejack?”
“Uh, she, uh, yeah.”
“But she doesn’t even know me.”
“Well, I told her about you moving to town and all, and she said nothing makes her feel better than a nice home-cooked meal.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
“Don’t worry. By June 1st you’ll be getting a big fat paycheck. Just, uh, make sure they deduct your taxes. Otherwise you might find yourself having to write a big check to the Imperial Revenue Service. You do not want to mess with them. They’re all real jerks.” Air could tell the IRS really hit a nerve with Rainbow Dash.
“So, what should I make for dinner?”
“Whatever you want. I’ll just lie here and take a nap. If you need any help just holler.” Rainbow Dash stretched out on the couch and found a comfortable spot.
Air walked back into the kitchen.
I can do this. Just make something simple. “Mastering the Art of Prench Cooking?” Sounds like a lot of work. “The
Pioneer Pony Cooks?” Don’t know what that is about. “Cooking for Athletes?” Maybe. “Thirty Minute Meals?”
I’m getting pretty hungry – don’t want to wait thirty minutes. “Healthy Eating?” Next time. “Cooking for Dumb
Ponies?” Yeah, that’ll work. Let’s see. What is something simple? Hmm.... Spaghetti looks easy. And I know
I saw sauce and pasta in the cupboards. Which cupboard were they in again?... There they are. Okay now what?
Fill a large pot with water. I know I have a pot – I found it while I was looking for a glass this morning. There it is!
Fill it with water. Now what? Bring to a boil. What level should I set the stove at? “High” should work. So what
can I do while until it boils? Oh, I can heat the tomato sauce. There’s the sauce pan. How much sauce? Hmm…
I’ll cook it all! Okay, what level for the sauce? “Medium.” Okay, now I just wait....
Air stood there and waited for the water to boil, stirring the sauce as it started to bubble.
Now the water’s boiling. Okay. I need to add the noodles. Those look kinda big for the pot. I’d better break them
up. Now then, I need to add some salt. Oh, it’s starting to boil over! Better turn down the heat.
Pop!
Oops. Better stir the sauce some more. Maybe that should go on “Low”? Okay. What does the box say? Twelve minutes
to cook.
Air kept a watchful eye on the clock, along with the sauce and boiling pasta. Finally, it was all ready….
Air didn’t need to call Dash to the table. The smell of spaghetti had wafted into the sitting room and roused the sleeping pegasus. “So, spaghetti. That’s a good one to start out with.” Dash took a seat at the table, a plate of steaming spaghetti smothered down with red sauce in front of her.
“I wanted something simple and quick. And, well, I wasn’t sure how good of a cook I am.”
“You’re okay… I think.” Air returned a confused look. “I mean, I’ve never had any of your cooking before.” Rainbow began shoveling the spaghetti into her mouth.
Air began eating as well. Its warmth filled her mouth. The beautiful tomato sauce provided just the right amount of sweet and bitter. The noodles she slurped up, leaving red lips and a little trail down her chin. Finally, after two loaded plates, she felt full. “I feel better.”
“It was your first day on the job. You worked hard so you should have been hungry.”
“Well, I’m pretty sore from today. Maybe those supplements will help me get stronger. Say Dash?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you take supplements?”
“Me? Uh, no. I’m, uh, already an awesome flyer.”
Air felt a little despondent. Was she the only pegasus mare who took supplements? Did she not develop as a normal pegasus should?
“So, you’re going to be cleaning up after the rainstorm at Sweet Apple Acres. That starts at dawn. How about I fly over here and we can go together?”
“Okay.”
“I’ve got to get home and fly Tank. You good for the night?”
“I’m just going to study for the weather exams.”
“Yeah? Didn’t I see you slip that Daring Do book into your saddlebags?”
“Uh.”
“That’s okay. I broke into the hospital to finish reading the first book.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Daring Do is awesome!”
“Well, I think I might read a few pages.”
Dash returned a wry smile. “Later Air.”
“I’ll see ya tomorrow.”
Air sat alone in the kitchen. Studying and Daring Do awaited her.... Right after she clean up from dinner. And take her medication.
***
Air set Daring Do on her nightstand. As much as she wanted to keep reading, she couldn’t. She was too tired. All she wanted to do was roll over and go to sleep….
Air reluctantly rolled out of bed and walked to her bathroom. After taking a moment to relieve herself, she pulled out a toothbrush and began scrubbing her teeth. Satisfied, she walked back to her bed and flopped down. Time to go to sleep. Except, now her mind started racing. She replayed the events of the day:
So, first day of weather duties down. It wasn’t so bad. I learned how to bust those clouds. Just got to plow straight
ahead. I got the hang of it. But I much prefer bucking them. It’s so much easier and it feels so natural. Like I’ve
done it hundreds of times. But Dash says you have to use both techniques. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of practice. Wind
Gust even said he wants me on his team next time he has to clear the skies. But what about the rainstorm at Sweet
Apple Acres? It wasn’t so bad. I mean, placing the clouds over the orchard was easy. Just break off a piece and
listen to Raindrops. But moving that cloud? Geesh it was hard. I felt exhausted after moving the first cloud. Then
we had two more. Well, the third wasn’t so big. But the second was big as the first. My wings felt like they would
fall off! Maybe I do need to take those supplements? To get big and strong? But why am I the only one who
seems to need them? Dash doesn’t take them. Neither do Autumn or Spring. I’m taking them and I can fly.
Autumn didn’t think Scootaloo took them. And she really needs them. A pegasus who can’t fly? That’s so sad.
Maybe Dr. Horse will prescribe them for her? I’ll have to ask Autumn.
Yawn.
It’s getting late. I’ve got to get to sleep so I can get up tomorrow morning. I stayed up way too late reading “Daring
Do”. I mean I did try to study. But those books are so boring. I think I’ll have some time to study tomorrow. And if
I don’t, then the next day’s Friday. I should have some time this weekend. Or will I be working the weather on
Saturday and Sunday? I guess I’ll find out at Friday’s weather briefing. Maybe this weekend I can go out and meet
some ponies? Who knows, maybe Pinkie Pie will be throwing me a Welcome to Ponyville party? Wouldn’t that be
somethin’? I don’t know who would enjoy it more. Me or her. Well, I really need to get some sleep. Sure I would
like to finish that “Daring Do” book. But I really need some sleep. Oh, but it’s so good. No, you can’t let down Dash.
You need to be well rested for weather duties. You can’t screw up your second day on the job.
Air rolled over and, after a while, drifted off to sleep….
Author's Note
Well, I had this chapter done way back in August. But I was hesitant to publish until I got Chapter 4 complete. However, between writer's block and my limited leisure time, I've only managed to get three thousand words into it. So I decided to go ahead and publish this chapter, while I continue to whittle away at the next chapter. As I've said, I've got the overall plot down but have been filling in the chapters as I go. For instance, the whole part on the Breeze sisters was just me trying to flesh it out. I didn't even know who they were until I started trying to add more detail and I came up with their whole backstory on the fly. Similarly, I started making some interesting turns with Chapter 4. I'll keep pressing and get it out as soon as I can.
BTW, the text of Darrng Do and the Griffon's Goblet is the actual text from Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet by Sebbaa. It's a great story.
I appreciate any and all feedback you might have. Good. Bad. Ugly.
Dreadnought
