Lesson: never leave a job to somepony else
The weather in Ponyville was perfect. The warmth of spring set in motion, the birds singing, and the trees in bloom with flowers and more coating the fields in arras of color.
A breeze blew as one pony walked along a dirt trail, heading to Canterlot Mountain. Should she be trying to reach Canterlot, the journey would take days, but she was heading to the base, only a few hours form Ponyville itself. The trail was there, once beaten down by hundreds of hooves, but now fewer went and grass was trying to reclaim it.
She arrived soon, a large cave in the base of the mount. A young brown pegasus was lazing atop the stones, and perked up as she came closer.
“Hey Applejack!” the pegasus cried, flying down to meet her.
“Hey…” Applejack frowned, always having trouble with her name. “My-rage?”
“Mirage.”
“Mi-ridge.”
Mirage shrugged, giving up. Her name was not normal by pony standards, but she would have no other.
“What’s up Applejack?”
“I wanted ta talk ta Kitty. Get a weather check.”
Mirage hesitated. “You can ask, but I don’t know…”
“Its jus weather. What’s askin about th weather gonna do?”
Applejack heading into the cave, the floor smoothed flat. The walls were mostly flat as well, and covered in writing and pictures. Carvings made with a steady hand, or rather, a steady claw. Kitty loved to write on the walls.
She saw him, resting in one corner. A giant cat, ten times the size of a pony, with two massive brown wings folded on his sides.
Applejack and the others had met him just a little over a year ago. They had made fast friends, Applejack appreciating his strength on the farm. He was far stronger than even Macintosh, and had a dexterity and skill to really help where ponies would have a hard time. That and he was big enough to reach the barn’s roof by himself.
She bumped him, and one eye opened slightly, regarding her.
“Hey Kitty. I wanted ta know somethin.”
Kitty yawned, showing his fangs off. Applejack didn’t even notice, well used to him. He would never even dream of actually biting somepony.
“The past is off limits after Pinkie’s idea.” He muttered.
Applejack nodded in understanding. Pinkie had asked him to send her back, just a day, and he had without really thinking about it.
One cake had turned into twenty, and Kitty says that he had to do a lot to prevent Pinkie form causing some kind of cake paradox that day.
“I wanted ta know th future actually.”
Kitty eyed her, sitting up. “You know that I will not tell you. It is too dangerous.”
“Yeah, I know, but how about th weather? Somethin perfectly harmless, right?”
Kitty thought about it. The future was somewhat visible to him. Important events, and warning to him and him alone. Knowledge of those events only caused them to change, and nearly always get worse. Change was not a good thing to do to time, past or future.
But it was just the weather. What could happen?
“Date?”
“I was thinkin four days from now. Everypony might be free fer a picnic.”
Kitty closed his eyes, and Applejack waited.
“The sky is clear.” He said. “But understand. I do not guarantee that.”
“Shoot, weather ponies kin tell me th weather too ya know. I jus wanted ta be absolutely certain. Thanks Kitty, an kin we bring… Mi-roge with us?”
Kitty chuckled at the mispronunciation and nodded. Applejack left, humming to herself happily, already making plans.
Four days later, the six bearers, the CMC, Spike, and Mirage were in the fields near Canterlot Mountain. The sun was shining strong, and they were happy as they talked and ate.
They talked about what had happened lately, and about what had happened a while ago. Mirage told stories from the past, having visited there often with Kitty.
“And that’s how Commander Hurricane lost a mountain.” She finished, leaving most of the group in laughter.
“Really!?” Rainbow said, “He… he really fell for that!?”
Mirage nodded as Rainbow fell over in laughter.
Twilight smiled. It was always nice to just meet together, and not have to worry about anything. It hadn’t been very long ago that the changelings had attacked, and then everypony had seemed to have some trouble or another. The picnic was the first chance they had had to actually get together, and really relax.
Rainbow had even taken a day off from weather pony duty for it.
Sometimes life was a touch too chaotic for her. Sometimes, it felt like anything could would come out of nowhere, and with little warning. Kitty certainly had, and had scared them all for four days until they figured out that he was friendly.
Everypony makes mistakes, and Kitty had been forgiven, and forgave. The mistakes of the past no longer held sway over them anymore.
And then Spike looked up, and said, “That’s an odd cloud.”
“What’s an odd cloud Spike?” Twilight asked, looking up. Then all of their eyes shrank, and their ears folded back.
Because rushing toward them was a massive thunderhead.
Kitty was ready to take his midday nap when he heard it. A thunderous boom, and then a torrential downpour on what had been a sunny day only a second ago.
He stared outside with wide eyes. He never liked thunder, and had a hate of water. He really hated getting wet.
So he moved farther inside his den, and then heard yelling, coming closer.
Rainbow made it first, mostly blind because she was trying to hold the blanket and most of the food. She crashed into the wall, and Kitty winced as cupcakes went flying.
Then the others made it, soaked and tired from their sudden run. Kitty smirked a little at some of them. A few looked very different when unexpectedly soaked, particularly Rarity, whose curls and normal elegance had been lost.
“Kitty!” Applejack yelled, blowing her sodden mane out of her face, “I thought ya said ‘clear skies’ an not sudden thunderstorm!”
“I also told you that it was not a guarantee. The future is far too easy to change to be safely known.” And then he couldn't help himself.
“May that be a lesson to you all.”
They all frowned, and Mirage flew over to him. And then she shook herself like a dog, and he yelled as water hit him.
And a short while later, Kitty was just as unhappy as the rest of them. They were soaked and while a few others had mimicked Mirage, most of them just leaned on him, his fur absorbing the water easily.
He just glowered in response.
“Come on Kitty.” Mirage said from atop him. “You have got to learn; you don’t get to make stupid cracks about other ponies.”
“Fine.” He muttered. “You’re right, as always Mirage.” She beamed from his praise, and he looked at the others.
“I’m already wet. You may use me as something to dry off on, and wait here until the storm passes.”
Pinkie went to the fallen food, and collected some of it. She regarded it, and then nodded.
“These are still good.”
Then she whipped the blanket up, and tossed confectionary over most of the group. Kitty groaned, one cupcake stuck on his nose, and everypony else was less than happy with the development.
“Pinkie!” Twilight yelled, “What are you doing!?”
“Well, Kitty says he licks ponies clean, so I thought we could have a cleaning picnic! Kitty can join in!”
She stood in front of him, waiting. Kitty hesitated, and then stuck his tongue out and gently licked Pinkie. Then he thought about it and nodded.
“Strawberry.”
After a while they were clean and laughing again. Being cleaned by Kitty was a unique experience, and left them a little happier. Rarity wasn’t, her mane and tail ‘ruined’, but they were less wet, clean, and at least some cupcakes hadn’t been ruined or thrown by Pinkie.
What had started as a simple picnic outside turned into a cave party. The rain remained, and they had ended up electing to spend the night with Kitty and Mirage. Kitty was soft, and warm, and Mirage swore he was better than any bed and blanket.
So they climbed atop him, or next to him, Kitty draping a wing over them as they nestled into his sides and back. Kitty yawned again, and the sound of the rain outside helped them all to fall asleep.
And though it had not gone as they had expected it to, not one of them thought that their ‘thunderstorm picnic’ had been a bad thing.
And why the rain? Remember Rainbow taking the day off? Only rookie weather ponies were left to drive a thunderstorm to its proper location.
Rookie weather ponies are a threat to everypony around them sometimes.
