Losing Makes Part of Winning

"Well, if it isn't the great and egocentric Rainbow Dash."

"Yeah, yeah, nice to see ya too Kicker. Do me a favor and don't call me like that again. I don't need to be reminded of Trixie."

"Whatever you say boss."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she took a seat across the table were the purple pegasus has been waiting for her to arrive. Normally the blue daredevil wouldn't choose to come to a public spot like this one to discuss work. Yet Rainbow couldn't help but decide to join Cloud Kicker at a familiar spot that both mares had shared many friendship moments.

Dash knew how awkward this could be, it's been so long since she hang out with Kicker, or any other pony that not the Mane Six for that matter, aside her job. She felt guilty for distancing herself from her old friends, they were the reason she choose to stay at Ponyville, aside Fluttershy living at the very same.

Kicker was still carrying that chilling, laid off expression of hers. Dash hadn't forgot how naughty the other pegasus tends to be when discussing anything else that not work or family.

"So....what brings you here? It's been a while since we....hang out," Kicker added with a wink. Rainbow snorted.

Same old Cloud Kicker. Dash couldn't help but be glad she didn't change that much. The blue mare served herself from a bottle of cider that Kicker had previously ordered.

"Needed a second opinion on a recruit. We need somepony to cover on the thunderstorms."

"Again? I thought we had enough pegasus to cover that," Kicker responded, surprised that Rainbow was still worried about covering that spot.

"I'm telling ya, it's not like we could arrange more of those thunderstorms without somepony that knows how to deal with the thunder clouds. Ya know how iffy things have been since we had that problem with Derpy. I found a stallion that can fit the spot just fine."

"Wouldn't I know that? I nearly got my rump roasted for that trouble. Besides it ain't like you to just hire a stallion without even knowing his antecessors. Who knows what kind of weird stuff he might be into?“

"Look who's talking. Ya ain't the most normal and innocent pony around the entire Equestria no doubt. Just cut me some slack on this one and try not to scare the guy away. Can you do that for me Kicker?“

"Sure, I can try. No promises Dash."

Rainbow Dash groaned in annoyance while serving herself of another drink.

Perhaps bringing Cloud Kicker for another interview regarding a promising new member for the Weather Control team wasn't the best idea, but nopony was better at seeing others throught than the devious purple mare.

Besides, Sun’s Flank is one of the only exclusive indoor eateries in Ponyville, so they were a lot less likely to be spotted by Pinkie Pie while having snacks with a new pony. The sugar maniac would only make things even more awkward between them.

Sure, Kicker wasn't the worst company she could have at the moment but it didn't mean that her 'kinks' wouldn't make things awkward pretty quick.

Rainbow Dash frowned as she stared at the bottle of cider laying in between her and Cloud Kicker. A huge plate filled with hayfries served moments ago along with their drinks.

It's been a long time since she came at this particular establishment with one of the first friends she made when she came at Ponyville for the first time. The purple pegasus was one of the very few ponies that stood as 'incredibly cool' in Dash's opinion. Kicker's antics(and other things) were well known across the whole town, especially among other mares.

Despite going through a lot of crazy and amazing stuff together, including these unforgettable times in Weather Control, Rainbow felt guilty about coming back here with Cloud Kicker. Ever since she formed new friendships, and became a member of the Elements of Harmony, all her other friends from before were kinda left forgotten.

Rainbow Dash never went out again with any of the other Weather Control team members for parties or any other good stuff. Pinkie Pie replaced Cloud Kicker as her best friend in Ponyville, including spending time with her and doing fun stuff.

Cloud Kicker never said anything regarding Rainbow's sudden change of routine(and friends). Sure, she could understand Rainbow having new friends, but she never said anything about the fact that the cyan mare didn't talk much with them again aside work.

"So being the old you as always ?“ Rainbow asked inadvertently. Could Kicker felt her smile waver for a second before catching herself up pretty quick.

"Well....if you really wanna get to that path first, be my guest. Just don't forget to eat some hayfries, Berry increased the prices a bit since the last time you were here. Guess her business went a lot better once our town got a cute princess to live by," Kicker said with a grin plastered across her muzzle. She was eagerly awaiting for the day she could have a chance for a more 'particular' conversation with that purple alicorn.

Rainbow nodded while clearly ignoring Kicker's weird adressing regarding Twilight Sparkle.

An air of awkward silence paired between the both of them. Cloud Kicker wasn't the kind of pony to feel uncomfortable about talking with others, but things between her and Rainbow Dash became distant. It was hard to think on anything to say related to recent events they both shared.

Unless....

"So....how's the whole 'becoming a Wonderbolt' thing coming around for you?“ Kicker asked gently as possible, she really didn't want to make Rainbow feel like a total stranger by sounding too disregarding about it.

"Oh! It's coming around just fine, I hope. I-I mean....I sent my application a few days ago. Now I gotta wait until they answer me back. Then I will know if I got accepted," Rainbow replied while trying to maintain her confident posture, though Kicker could sense some anxiety beneath her words.

Kicker was internally debating if telling Rainbow Dash that she also applied for the Wonderbolt Academy would make the cyan mare more relaxed or freak her out completely. The purple mare wasn't too concerned of passing through the trials and becoming a Wonderbolt, but rather on how many sexy and athletic ponies she could bang before the trials were over.

Heck, some instructors and a few Wonderbolts would make the trip there all worthy.

Yet the bang-driven maniac couldn't bring herself to say anything in regards of how off it felt to talk about that with Rainbow Dash after such a long time of absence. Hay, Kicker still had no idea why the rainbow mare insisted on bringing her for this interview in the first place.

"Do you know who we should be expecting anyways? I don't feel like talking with somepony without even knowing his name first," Kicker pointed out while having a hunch of her hayfries.

"I wonder if knowing names is really the first thing that crosses your mind," Rainbow retorted dryly.

Ouch, really subtle Rainbow Dash. Kicker couldn't help but smile while pondering the subject with unusual insight.

"You're right. If only you could see the things I'm thinking about."

"Whatever!“ Rainbow regretted saying anything. Kicker was already making her feel uncomfortable again, something that the purple mare raised an eyebrow at.

Did Rainbow Dash forget this is how Kicker normally behaves? Did the cyan mare spent so much time with the Mane Six that she forgot what her other friends were like?

"In case you were actually having pure innocent thoughts, which I don't believe for a second, his name is Thunderlane. I think," Rainbow muttered while checking a scoreboard she brought with her for whatever reason. "It doesn't say much on his file. He's a good worker, very sociable but a bit lazy regarding getting things done on his own. Never had any issues with drinking, he does have a young brother but that's as far I received of his family stats. Enjoys flying through storms, taking a nap on random clouds, very sarcastic when in a good or bad mood and oddly quiet when feeling nervous."

"That's some accurate appointments for a simple file gathering," Kicker mused as she took the scoreboard with her curiosity rather evident. "Wow, that's a lot of detail regarding the stuff he likes to do and the way he acts around other ponies. Did you got a good bang with somepony back at the HQ?“

Rainbow shoot an unamused glare towards the other mare before snatching the wooden board from her hooves.

"Do me a favor and don't make this weird for him, ok?" Rainbow Dash pleaded while ignoring Kicker's light frown. "I really need somepony who can take care of the thunder clouds. I won't find anypony else in time before tomorrow! I really don't want to have houses set on fire or somepony in the hospital because of the lack of experience. I might be able to work those clouds but I need somepony else to lead the rest of the team through the process. I....I can't do it alone Kicker," Rainbow admitted while averting her eyes away in embarrassment.

If there's something that could make Kicker really uneasy it was when Rainbow 'Prideful' Dash would start begging her to behave. Normally she would joke around and be herself as usual, but since this was very important for the Weather team as a whole, maybe Kicker would comply with the effort of not scaring the newbie off.

"Oh!I think that's....him?“ Rainbow Dash stared off into distance, her jaw hanging slightly open while her eyes widened in pure astonishment.

Kicker instantly turned her head around.
Whatever could make Rainbow 'Awesomeness' Dash lock on like that had to be either impressive or incredibly embarrassing.

'Oh my Celestia. Forget Rainbow. I'm so banging him tonight.'

Standing few meters off at the entrance was a pegasus with dark-grey fur, his mane a gigantic mohawk with stripes of light blue and silver, his tail followed the same color pattern but it was unusually short for a pegasus. Even at this distance it was possible to see the outline of his well proportioned muscles. His eyes shining with warmth while scanning around the establishment in pure curiosity, his golden iris similar of those from a predator but his relaxed stance and friendly expression betrayed that.

Wait....

Did Rainbow Dash just got knocked off of her hooves by an stallion?!

Kicker slowly returned her face towards the other mare. Rainbow Dash, after few seconds of unconscious staring, finally broke off from her trance with furious blinks. Her magenta eyes quickly directing themselves towards the purple pegasus sitting across her table. The rainbow mare became self aware that she probably looked incredibly stupid.

" Wow, heh....I mean....I guess we can finally start this interview and get this over w-

"Excuse me, are you Rainbow Dash?“ Asked a soothing voice that interrupted Dash's attempt at restoring some of her dignity.

"No! I mean-yes! That's me! Hehe, you must be T-Thunderlane, right?“

Cloud Kicker calmly enjoyed the cyan mare going through a nerve-wrecking moment while the stallion seemed somewhat amused at her reaction. Perhaps this happened more often with him than normally it should?

"Yes, that's me. You're the one who required me for a job here, right? I gotta say that I'm looking forward to work in Ponyville, things back at Cloudsdale were getting old quick," Thunderlane replied while sitting in between Rainbow and Kicker. He eyed the plate of hayfries with longing. "Do you mind if I have some? I haven't eat anything since I left home an-

Before he could finish Rainbow Dash pushed the plate on his way with a quick and subtle motion of her hoff. She did it so fast that even Kicker had to wonder how she didn't notice her hoof moving at that sudden push.

"Suit yourself, we can order some hayburguers if you want," Rainbow offered with much more enthusiasm than it would be required. For a brief moment she seemed scarily similar with Pinkie Pie.

Thunderlane blinked at the way she nearly throw the plate at him. He smiled sheepishly while serving himself.

"Huh, thanks....I guess some hayburgers would be nice."

Rainbow smiled, but it was that smile that shifted between embarrassment and anxiety. Kicker rarely saw the cyan mare so off herself for no good reason, at least definitely not because of a stallion.

"Hey Berry! Gotta make a new order," Kicker waved a hoof so the earth pony that was currently trotting between tables could notice her. Berry Punch wasted no time and made a bee line towards the small group. Her eyes widened at their new company, she rarely saw stallions around both Kicker and Rainbow Dash.

Thunderlane seemed to catch up with the fact that every single pony in the establishment aside him was a mare. He felt his stomach sink as the earth pony eyed him with clear astonishment. Maybe stallions weren't a common sight here at all.

"What will you be ordering?“ Berry asked while keeping her eyes trained on the stallion. He smiled apologetically in return, apparently guilty that he was somewhere he should not be, Berry smiled in return to make him at ease. Stallions were a rare sight at her establishment. They only came here for two reasons: To get wasted or bang.

"Three hayburguers and another plate of hayfries, anything to drink?“ Kicker turned around towards the stallion expectantly.

"Oh, huh....do you have orange juice?“ Thunderlane asked unsuredly.

All the mares eyed the stallion in genuine surprise. Carrots, Apples, Berries, Strawberries, the holy Cider! Yet this stallion ordered for the very few of the fruits they did not provide. Berry Punch felt a ting of frustation for not being able to provide what he wanted, she never saw this stallion around before(gosh, he's hot) and she was already going to let him down.

"Sorry hun, we got pretty much everything else instead," Berry replied softly. Thunderlane nodded in acceptance, he was ready for a negative answer.

"Yeah, like...who needs orange juice? That stuff is for foals, you could use something more spicy," Rainbow commented with a satisfied smirk. Thunderlane eyed her warily before replying.

"Well, I'm not really thirsty and the juice was meant for my brother," He said calmly, yet the way his posture became more stiff betrayed that apparent calmness.

Cloud Kicker mentally facehoofed at Rainbow's little mess up. It really seemed strange at first that the stallion would ask for orange juice, until when she reminded that the stallion's file mentioned him having a brother.

"Oh....right. Your brother..." Rainbow's ears were flaming red once she realized that small detail she should know already. "...hum....where is he?“

"I had to find somepony that would do foalsitting before coming here. This place didn't seem the kind that you should bring foals inside. No offense," Thunderlane quickly added as he looked at Berry Punch. The mare merely chuckled in approval.

"You're not wrong. Lots of stuff around here for a young foal to trash his youth away. The farther from here the better. Did you find a foalsitter?“

"I did, two actually. One was Flitter and the other was Cloud Chaser, I think." The stallion said while focusing on remembering their names. "Chaser had a really neat mane."

If Kicker didn't know any better she would've sworn she saw Rainbow Dash pout for a second, but in the blink of an eye Dash was back to that self-assured expression of hers.

"Well, yours is pretty awesome too," Rainbow Dash said without hesitation.

Thunderlane was surprised at the compliment, but not as much as Kicker. Who was this cyan mare and what did she do with the real Rainbow Dash? It would take saving the entire town and beating her on a race for Rainbow Dash to consider anything but herself awesome. Also she was giving compliments towards the stallion's appearence, when she ever did that to anypony else?

"Uh, thanks?“ Thunderlane ran a hoof across his mane sheepishly. It seems such compliments towards his mohawk were a weak spot of his. Something that Cloud Kicker was eager to use to her advantage.

"I'll be right back with your order," Berry announced with some amusement before trotting away to the nearest costumer. Kicker watched the earth pony as she left, her eyes locked on the mare's swinging rump, she licked her lips in wishful thinking.

Both Rainbow and Thunderlane took notice of it but refrained from saying anything. The stallion was far from being the judgemental type of pony, yet he couldn't deny that Cloud Kicker made him a bit edgy. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof was clearly embarrassed by Kicker's behavior, she really was dead set on making a good impression for the stallion and Kicker was making her look bad.

"So....huh....Thunderlane! Ehhh.....do you have anywhere to stay? I assume you're just staying for few days since we will run you through a week's trial before we can decide if we're keeping you or not. But I'm sure you'll do it just fine. Do you have a place in mind to move in?“ Rainbow asked, her voice sounded stranded as if she was trying hard to sound casual and relaxed about the whole ordeal. Also she was sending a weird message by saying the stallion would run through a test but without worrying about not reaching expectations.

Thunderlane picked on her strange talk but remained impassive about the whole ordeal, but he did reply to her questions regarding where he would be staying.

"I rented a small house at the edge of town. The folks back at HQ are covering for me until I settle in. It's no biggie, just me and my brother after all," Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Why did brought him by the way? Shouldn't you have let him with your parents?" She asked genuinely confused.

The stallion glanced towards the wooden table with sudden interest, his expression became awfully blank, his eyes lost that intense brightness from seconds ago.

"They.....are not around anymore."

Several alarms rang inside Kicker's head as this information sunk deep into her with incredible strenght. She threw a quick glance towards Dash, the rainbow mare was clearly flabbergasted by what she just heard. Much to her credit she still managed to say something after few seconds of awkward silence.

"I....I'm sorry....I didn't know...." Rainbow's voice sounded meek but the intention was genuine. Cloud Kicker shared her feelings about the matter, she could never wish such unfortunate events for even the most undesirable pony.

"It's okay," Thunderlane replied with a dismissive shrugh. It was clear that he was still pained by it, those events probably were somewhat recent.

Cloud Kicker was about to say something but the sound of hooves slamming over the table shut her off. Rainbow Dash stood fiercely while glaring down at the stallion as if he was insane.

"OKAY? NO! ITS NOT OKAY! ITS NEVER OKAY!“

The whole establishment went silent as every pony present stared in concern towards the cyan mare. Berry Punch came out from behind the balcony seemingly ready to snap at somepony. Her eyes widened considerably as she saw Rainbow Dash glaring down at the handsome stallion in between her and Kicker. It was hard to tell what caused Rainbow to yell at him but she seemed more frightened than angry.

Thunderlane was taken aback for a second, he expected a reaction but nothing like this, his eyes wandered around in a futile attempt to avoid facing Dash and having to endure a conversation through this delicate subject.

"She's right. You can't bottle that up. It's gonna catch up with ya. Eventually," Kicker said in an attempt to ease the stallion's anxiety. There was a time to be playful and a time to be serious. Right now this stallion really could use some friendly hooves and not flirty ones.

For now.

Thunderlane nodded but avoided eye contact as much as possible. Rainbow slowly sat back on her haunches, she was staring really hard at the stallion, it was almost like she was trying to make her mind about something.

"Hey, is this stallion being a bummer?“ A mare with an annoyed voice asked as she approached their table. Kicker heard that voice many times to know it well that it belonged to no other than Bon Bon. It was unusual to see the cream coated mare without Lyra being somewhere around.

"At ease Bons. Dashie here just overreacted a bit, our gentlecolt was just telling about family....complications," Kicker didn't feel like spoiling something so personal to other ponies. Yet Thunderlane didn't appreciate how she managed the explanation.

"Complications? I have no problem dealing with the fact that my parents are dead. You are the ones making a big deal out of this," He said with some irritation. Bon Bon raised both her eyebrows in pure astonishment.

"Seriously? This is why you snapped at him?“ Bon Bon asked while directing herself towards the cyan mare. "Rainbow Dash, you're not one to go bashing at others and judging them for how they cope with loss. I still remember how you acted when you lost that sparring match to Applejack."

Rainbow visibly winced at that memory, definitely not one of her proudest moments. Yet she refused to be treated as the villain in this situation.

"But...this is family! It's....it shouldn't...is not okay to...just be okay with it..." Rainbow muttered more to herself than anything but the others heard her clearly enough. The mare felt the touch of a comforting hoof on her shoulder, she raised her head only to find that it belonged to the stallion near her.

Thunderlane remained in silence, his eyes locked on hers, a huge ammount of respect and sympathy flowing through that brief connection. He admired her reaction to it, to see how much she cared for somepony else and how they felt, even if her way of caring was a bit eccentric.

"No it's not," Thunderlane said, his voice sounded distant. "But given time it will be. I will get over it, I....I have to. My brother needs me, just as I..." He paused in reflection to his words before he could finish. "....just as I need friends that will be there for me. This is why I came here and I know I made the right choice. It's not like I was forced to anyways. HQ offered me the spot since you were desperate and I saw an opportunity. I didn't have many friends at Cloudsdale..."

Thunderlane felt a lump on his throat, his voice was bound to crack if he kept on it for much longer. His hoof slowly left Rainbow's shoulder as he returned to his previous stance.

Much to the stallion's surprise he felt a wing enveloping around his back, his eyes quickly darted towards the purple mare that came out from her spot to provide some comfort to him, for once her intentions were clearly and genuinely friendly.

"Hey, you can count on us to be there for ya. You really should stay around, Ponyville is a great place to live and you will find amazing ponies all over the town. I'm pretty sure you will settle in just fine and make tons of friends. Just give it a fair chance, okay?“ Cloud Kicker said with a huge amount of sincerity and softness that surprised even Bon Bon. It was a real rare sight to see this side of Kicker, she reserved that kind of treatment mostly towards her family and best friends.

Thunderlane was at a loss of words, he couldn't think of anything to say in return. It felt surreal to him that ponies he just met would be so caring for a newcomer, an stallion nonetheless. His expression revealed a bit of concern regarding his new co-workers. Would those mares expect him to be extremely interactive? He wasn't much of a social type of pony, he liked having conversations once in a while but going around with gossips, parties and stuff wasn't his thing.

"Hey, cheer up! Kicks got a point, you gonna have a great time here, normally new ponies always have since P-

Rainbow paused as a sudden realization sunk in. Her eyes widening at the possibility of a familiar pink mare popping out of nowhere. Kicker and Bon Bon shared her sentiment as they looked around apprehensively. Though Kicker took advantage of the distraction to get a better look at the stallion's appearance. While she felt bad for his predicament it made her mind at ease that the stallion was through it without further complications. She would not dare to mess with him if he was going through some sort of trauma or conflict.

"Is there something wrong? “ Thunderlane asked as he easily took notice of their discomfort but failing to see Kicker's eyes staring towards him longer than usual.

"Well, considering you're new in town we should warn you about our welcome service that comes throught a rather overly happy pink pony," Kicker said while studying Thunderlane carefully, her eyes filled with strong desire, a predatory grin hiding at the sides of her mouth.

"Huh?“ Thunderlane replied confused, all that the purple mare said made little sense for him, also the way she stared was making the stallion feel very exposed.

"Yeah, about that, our friend Pinks likes to receive newcomers by throwing huge p...huh, celebrations," Rainbow corrected herself at the last second. The mention of the word 'party' worked as a trigger button that would summon the happy earth pony in the blink of an eye.

"Ok?...and that's a bad thing because?..." Thunderlane asked in bewilderment. Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to smack the stallion upside his head. He was a newcomer after all, it's not like he would understand what, or who, Pinkie Pie tends to be.

"Just trust me, you won't be ready for her just yet. Now how about we finish this interview so everypony can go mind their own business?" Rainbow said with certain irritation. Thunderlane wasn't sure of why the cyan mare got upset all of sudden, he merely nodded in agreement.

Cloud Kicker stared at Rainbow Dash with some intrigue. It was unexplainable for her to see Dash get worked up for no real reason, at least a reason that Kicker herself couldn't pinpoint exactly the possible cause of it. That aside, this probably was the weirdest lunch she shared with her boss. Except for that other time she got wasted and Lyra and Applejack were making out right next to her.

"You look like you're around Dash's age," BonBon commented while looking in between the stallion and the cyan mare. "You gonna try for the Academy too?"

"You mean the Wonderbolt Academy? Yeah....I applied not long ago. My brother insisted for me to try it out," Thunderlane said, his face reddening at the memories regarding his brother's insistence. "Not that I'm worried about being top flyer or anything. I guess just making part of the experience would be enough."

Rainbow's frown was still present on her face, but she seemed more thoughtful than just plain angry.

"What? You don't think you can make into the Wonderbolts? Come on dude, you didn't even seem like you know what's gonna happen. I'm pretty sure you have enough wing power there to put up a good show."

Cloud Kicker was trying, and failing miserably, to understand Rainbow's sudden change of attitude. First she was angry, then supportive, then angry again and now she was being supportive without even bragging about herself once!

"Of course that nopony can ever hope to be better than me. It will be nice to see they try anyway."

Nope, bragging was still on point.

Thunderlane chuckled at his boss egocentric remark. He saw way too many ponies like her to feel bothered by it.

"If you say so. I guess we're settled then? When do I start?" The stallion asked eagerly, he really wanted to get away from Kicker. The purple mare was scratching his hind legs with the tip of her wing for the last two minutes and it was making him nervous.

"Oh, we gotta introduce you to the rest of the team! Think ya can show up at the HQ at the end of afternoon?" Rainbow asked, she took notice of the stallion's squirming, yet she could only wonder what the struggle was.

"S-Sure thing. I'll be there. Nice to you meet you two, same for Bon Bon," Thunderlane added in regards to the cream coated earth pony still nearby.

"Don't be a stranger Thunderlane. You seem a fairly decent guy. Don't worry about visiting the Sun's more often. The place isn't strictly for mares." Bon Bon replied with a fond smile. " Gota see what Lyra is up to. Celestia forbid me of leaving her alone for too long. Later folks."

"See ya Bons," Kicker said as the earth mare trotted away from the group. "Lyra must be wasted somewhere in the corner."

"Alright. See you two later then. I gotta pick my brother." Thunderlane saud as he stood up. "Thanks for the snacks and for the kind reception. I will do my best."

"Sure do. See ya later Thunder," Rainbow waved at him as the stallion turned around and trotted towards the exit. Once he finally reached outside Rainbow Dash's friendly expression turned into an scowl. "You had to ignore me and make him nervous, isn't that right Kicker?"

"Yeah, I really gave up on trying. You gotta admit he's a hottie though. Even you got high up on your hooves about him," Kicker replied smugly.

"Pffff! Me?! As if! He's cool and all but not my type," Rainbow replied, she refused to allow Kicker to tease her about a potential love interest.

"Ah come on Dashie. You two will become Wonderbolts together, soon there will be a squadron of little Wonderbolts of your own."

"Shut up Kicker!"

**************************************************************************

"So..... where is he? "

"I don't know. He's late. "

"You're not gonna yell at him on the first day, are you? "

"What? No! Of course not. I aint such a douchy boss. "

Cloud Kicker raised an eyebrow as a way to express her disbelief. It's been a day since Thunderlane's introduction to the rest of the team. At first everything went rather well, despite Rainbow growing aggravated by seeing how affectionate Cloud Chaser has been towards the stallion during the whole encounter. Rainbow offered to show him the rest of Ponyville, much to the bewilderment of the whole team.

Thunderlane seemed quite happy with the ponies he met and eager to start his job. Rainbow and Kicker explained to him most of the basics and the schedule he would follow for the next two weeks.

There was still the matter of deciding on the team that the stallion would be performing along. Cloud Chaser, much to Rainbow's irritation, wasted no time asking Thunderlane to join her squad. At first it seemed the stallion would accept if not for Rainbow Dash, with a certain edge to her voice, reminding Chaser that such matters were up to the Weather Captain to decide.

They also met Thunderlane's young brother. A little gray colt by the name of Rumble. At first he seemed like any other colt until he started talking. Literally every single mare awed at the little dude and demanded to hug him. Even Rainbow had to admit he was really sweet.

Thought one thing Rumble said made Thunderlane really uncomfortable yesterday.

"My brother is really a great flier. I really hope he tries for the Academy! It would help him to forget about mom and dad a bit. "

Rainbow Dash frowned as she remembered how Thunderlane flinched at the comment and became rather evasive through the rest of the day. It was apparent he still was grieving on the inside but didn't want to talk about it.

"Do you think Rumble grew old enough to recognize his mom and dad? I think Thunderlane raised him since foalhood. " Rainbow Dash wondered aloud towards her co-captain.

Cloud Kicker's eyes went wide as the size of dinner plates. Her mouth hang open for a second before she could process her own thoughts.

"What are you talking about? " Kicker asked while glaring at Rainbow Dash as if she was some kind of stranger. Rainbow huffed in frustration.

"I'm talking about how Thunderlane probably has been raising his brother all by himself. No wonder he seems so anxious about getting this job. "

"Huh. Never thought I would see the day in which you would be considerate of somepony you just meet. Especially a stallion. " Kicker said with a mischevious grin, the teasing in her voice clear as water.

Rainbow acknowledged the purple pegasus by flicking her tongue at the blonde mare.

The sounds of wings flapping caught the attention of both mares. As they turned their heads around they saw a familiar black coated stallion landing softly few meters away from the office.

Most of the other Weather members were already dispatched to their designated functions. Cloud Kicker decided to stay behind for the sole reason of seeing how Rainbow Dash would chew the new worker.

Both figuratively and literally speaking of course.

"Hey, Rainbow! Listen, I'm sorry for being late! I was dropping my little bro at school and I got stuck with his teacher. I think her name was Cherokee or something like that and... "

Rainbow Dash listened patiently while Kicker laughed at the way Thunderlane adressed Cheerilee's name. Dash was tempted on scowling the stallion for slipping up at first day but she reminded herself that the stallion has a kid to watch over, she couldn't hold that over his head.

"Don't worry Lane. I know it takes time to settle in and stuff and everypony will drag conversations to know you better. I will let this one slip, but ya better don't mess it up again, ok? " Rainbow replied while shaking her hoof dismissively.

Thunderlane seemed extremely relieved and thankful that she spared him from an earful. Kicker, on the other hoof, was clearly shocked by the outcome.

"What? Not even an angry pout or a curse word? I am truly disappointed boss. " Kicker remarked, her face being unmistakably faked sadness.

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow towards the blonde but said nothing in regards to her reaction. Rainbow groaned in annoyance before adressing the stallion once again.

"Don't mind her. She's upset she got no tail last night. To deal with that problem she goes around annoying the hay out of me." Rainbow said while feigning ignorance at Kicker's angry huff. "Ya be working the south part of the town today. Sunshower will give ya the lead on things when ready. "

"Alright. " Thunderlane replied with a bit more of enthusiasm than usual.

He was about to bolt outside but Rainbow stopped him by placing a hoof over his back. The stallion craned his neck around in confusion at the sudden gest.

"Before ya go, there's.... some stuff ya gotta answer. It's.... protocol, ya know? So... yeah. "

It should be normally fine if wasn't for the clear hesitation in which the rainbow mare dragged the words along. Thunderlane had mixed feelings about what he was going to be asked. It couldn't be anything of bad, could it? He was pretty sure his record was clean.

"Uhhh, sure. What is it? " He asked before sitting on his haunches.

Rainbow fidgeted with her papers before looking at the stallion in the eyes. She couldn't help but feel the apprehension taking over with a suffocating hold, blocking the words she dreaded to say outloud.

"Hum.... I need you provide current adress, age, the name of your relatives and few other stuff. " Rainbow replied, thankfully without stuttering.

Thunderlane narrowed his eyes. A sense of uneasiness paired over him while he thought on how answering those requests. He saw Cloud Kicker nearby, her eyes studying him carefully. There was no trace of playfulness or naughty on her face, but pure genuine concern instead.

The stallion wasn't really keen on giving all the answers but it was clear that they cared about his feelings enough to feel worried about asking such. With a resignated sigh he decided to give it away.

"Adress would be Cloudsdale. I'm yet to find a house in Ponyville that I will be settle in. Age? I'm around a year older than you Rainbow, I thought ya knew that since.... "

Rainbow nodded despite Thunderlane's sudden silence. She knew at what the stallion was implying despite Kicker's puzzled expression. It's been years since she saw the colt back at Flight Camp. They never talked which each other despite sharing many camp activities.

"Yeah. I remember Flight Camp. " Rainbow said without much joy as Thunderlane would expect. It was only because of Kicker's barely perceptive eye twitch that the stallion remembered of the incident back at Camp.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. Didn't mean to bring that back up. " Thunderlane apologized in advance once he took note of the discomfort between both mares.

"Don't worry. Ain't ya fault. The quicker we get through this, the better." Rainbow quickly replied before shifting her hooves over the desk she was currently standing nearby. "Your....huh....relatives names?"

Thunderlane paused. It took him few seconds to muster enough resolve to answer her.

"My brother's name is Rumble as you all know. My....mother was Swifty Tornado and my father was....Storm Volt."

Rainbow Dash did a double take once she heard Thunderlane's father name. She stared at the stallion with wide eyes, her face one of pure amazement and disbelief.

"Storm Volt? As in....THE Storm Volt?!" She asked in bewilderment and expectation. Thunderlane nodded unenthusiastically.

"No way." Kicker said seemingly impressed and surprised too. "Never thought somepony like Storm Volt would have time to raise a family. All things considerate."

Rainbow Dash stood a bit perplexed while staring at the stallion in front of her. The son of a Wonderbolt legend. There was so much she heard about Storm Volt when he was at the peak of his career but the fact he raised a family was never brought into public.

"He always said that being the son of a Wonderbolt like him would be difficult if it ever reached the press. He didn't want to raise us with the pressure status of a celebrity. I always told him I wanted to be a great flier someday, but that changed as time went by." Thunderlane said. His eyes seemed to be staring into distance, his mind overflowing with past memories of happier times.

He could feel the mares sympathy as they stared at him even if they didn't say anything. It was never easy to bring memories, there wasn't much to look in the past that would make him feel better.

"There was an accident and....well. I had to take care of Rumble ever since." He finished with an air of extreme awkwardness around him.

"See?! Told ya!" Rainbow said grinning while gesturing her hoof at the purple mare. Kicker merely rolled her eyes before looking back at the stallion.

"Don't mind Dash. She's been thinking stuff more than usual. It's a miracle there's no vapor coming out of her ears." Cloud Kicker said as she noticed that Thunderlane was confused about Rainbow's sudden gesture.

The rainbow mare narrowed her eyes at the blonde before checking some paperwork. She could handle many things while doing her job, but an antagonizing Cloud Kicker wasn't one of them.

"Make sure ya check on Raindrops as soon you get to your sector. I gotta do this paper stuff. All that managing bucking routine I have to do cause I'm the 'responsible' one." Rainbow said looking none too happy about dealing with the office part of her work.

"I bet this would be a lot funnier if there was some epic Daring Do adventure to read along the way. Isn't that right Dash?" Kicker commented with a knowingly smile. A mischevious glee in her eyes a clear sign of danger.

Rainbow froze. Her hoof still, laying over a few papers at the balcony. She seemed very distressed as she glanced towards the stallion nearby.

Thunderlane wasn't sure at what Cloud Kicker was trying to get at, but he definitely knew about Daring Do adventure books. Rumble loved those.

"Yeah, my little bro never gets tired of having me reading her books. They are really fun to be honest."

Thunderlane's response seemed to have an instantaneous impact on both mares. Rainbow seemed extremely relieved and happy to know such while Kicker visibly deflated as her mocking attempt suffered a clear dismantle.

"Ain't ya a big grow up to be liking that stuff?" Kicker asked. Sure, she could understand Rainbow 'Dislikes Reading' Dash to find some joy in adventure books, but a grow up stallion? No wonder he was still single.

Thunderlane seemed unfazed by her comment though.

"Nopony is ever too old to enjoy things we wished we could do instead. I mean....it's not like any of us will ever be out exploring through forests, fighting monsters or discovering mythical artifacts and.....what?"

The stallion stopped as he saw both Rainbow and Kicker sharing a strange look.

"Can I tell him?" Kicker said with clear eagerness.

"No! None of that stuff! I remember last time ya happened to share too much stuff!" Rainbow retorted with clear panic. Her face was reddening considerably.

"Did I miss something?" Thunderlane asked, glancing at both mares with a confused expression.

"Nah." Kicker said with a shrugh. "But if you really wanna know I think I wouldn't be surprised if I happened to see Rainbow in a Wonderbolt uniform someday while using a Daring Do hat."

Thunderlane chuckled at the bizarre mental image. Though his amusement died quickly when Rainbow slammed a hoof full of papers over the balcony. Her face redder than a tomato.

The blonde mare chuckled. She still has lots of cards to play under her hooves, she wouldn't mind pushing Rainbow's nerves but she knew better than trying her luck too many times.

After what seemed an incessant ammount of Daring Do gibberish, exclusively exchanged between Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane, all pegasus finally departed to their respective occupations.

For the most part of the day Rainbow Dash patrolled in between the zones to make sure all the delivered tasks were tight on schedule. She was happy to see that Blossomforth and Kicker were doing just fine together considering that Blossom was recruited just few weeks ago.

Cloud Chaser, Helia and Star Hunter were performing as expected. At least they were managing to keep the wild clouds coming from the Everfree away from the farmlands. Rainbow wouldn't be looking forward to get an earful from Applejack again after the thunderstorms incident.

Clear Skies, Open Skies and Sunshower Raindrops managed to concentrate rain clouds on the targeted areas without much of a hassle. Except for the fact that Open and Clear skies still were having communication issues every time they talked about weather with each other.

So far so good.

But where was Thunderlane?

Rainbow just realized she yet had to find the charcoal pegasus. Despite flying throught all the designated zones she failed to see him anywhere.

"Where did he go?" Rainbow asked herself after flying in circles around Ponyville a couple of times. "Great. How does a dark coated pegasus dissappears into the bright sky?"

As if on cue for an answer a feather floated aimlessly in front of the mare towards the vast ground below. Rainbow blinked while staring at it before raising her head upwards.

Several meters above her a thin layout of clouds hovered peacefully. A quick glance at it wouldn't suggest anything out of the ordinary. But a further look revealed a dark spot among the sea of white.

Rainbow frowned in confusion before flying upwards at the suspiciously familiar dark mass. Just what the hay Thunderlane was doing all the way up there? He was supposed to be getting rid of the thunderclouds!!

She reached at the cloud level in only few seconds before contemplating the scene in front of her.

Thunderlane was literally laying on his back. His head being supported by both his front hooves while his hind legs were shamelessly spread apart, giving Rainbow Dash a front row seat to all his lower regions.

The cyan mare found herself stuck on a glare at the region between his hind legs, her face heating up tremendously before she managed to break free from this unpleasant view. She somehow managed to turn that embarrassment into righteous anger. She made a slow, but steady, intake of air.

"THUNDERLANE!!!!"

The stallion woke up in a startle. His limbs scratching all over the cloud in mildly panic. His eyes fully erected in alarm as he glanced around without much focus.

Rainbow calmly watched as the stallion fought down his senses to get a better understanding of what was happening around him. The cyan mare smirked as he stared right at her with wide eyes.

"Oh....hey Dash. Do you need anything?"

The way he spoke was so casual that Rainbow Dash almost lost her cool again. She prayed that Celestia could give her enough strenght to endure whatever was coming next.

"Yes! Or better yet! What are you doing up here when you should be clearing up the thunderclouds?! Since that's your bucking job! Or ya forgot that already?!"

Thunderlane shrugged. Rainbow's fierce attitude didn't faze him as much as it would most other ponies.

"I already did that."

Rainbow Dash stood petrified. The absurdity of what the stallion just said made her wings stop flapping for a second. She quickly caught herself before she started falling and glared at the other pegasus as if he was insane.

"What?! You think I believe that for a second?!"

"If you don't believe me you can ask Chaser, or Sunshower, or the Skies."

"B-But....that's impossible! Thunderclouds take few minutes to clear up! I know that cause I'm the fastest thing ever!" Rainbow said while stuffing her chest, a self assured smile on her face. Thunderlane merely rolled his eyes at her egocentric display.

"The fastest maybe, not the brightest for sure."

Thunderlane instantly regretted those words as soon they left his mouth. Rainbow pounced on him like a hungry beast, pinning him against the cloud with both hooves, her face stood inches away from his, an angry snarl coming out of her, her magenta eyes reflecting on Thunder's golden irises.

"Maybe I don't need a showoff of a stallion to work for me. Ya better tell me exactly how you got rid of the clouds or I will kick your sorry flank out of this team today."

Thunderlane knew she wasn't joking around. An infuriated Rainbow Dash was one thing, but a completely mad one definitely wasn't worth the risk. He seriously doubted playing the sympathy card would work in this situation.

"Fine, I will tell you. Would you mind getting your hooves off my chest? It's kinda hard to breathe with all that weight a-

Rainbow gasped. She slammed a hoof down into his belly in pure irritation. Thunderlane winced a bit but managed to restrain a painful yelp from escaping his mouth.

"Did you just call me fat?!"

"W-What?! No! That's not what I meant! Gez Rainbow, calm down a bit. If you want me to cooperate at least lay off a bit."

With a great ammount of hesitation the cyan mare slowly went off to the side. Thunderlane turned back on his hooves, at least he could talk without feeling awkwardly exposed. He inspected his wings and saw that few feathers were missing, probably from the moment when Dash assaulted him.

He could tell she was extremely upset. Also her temper was one of a kind he never saw before, the stallion couldn't grasp on any reason of why this mare would be so violent towards things.

"Now about the thunderclouds. I imagine your methods of busting thunderclouds required more time due you spreding them into thinner layers. This way you would avoid undesirable eletric discharges." Thunderlane calmly inquired. Rainbow merely huffed. He was right but she didn't feel like telling him that. "Well, you can actually get rid of them without busting any clouds."

"What?!"

Rainbow Dash forgot momentarily about being angry at him for the sake of curiosity. She never heard of any other techniques for thundercloud busting.

"Yes. It's actually something you learn in Flight Camp. I believe it was the Air Density class. You don't remember that?"

"Well, huh....I didn't....I don't remember all of it." Rainbow said while scratching the back of her neck with one hoof. She tried to play it cool but her nervous actions were betraying her.

"Ok. Let's have a reminder then. What do you think?" Thunderlane offered with a smile. Rainbow shrugged.

"Yeah, whatever, go ahead."

"Most thunderclouds die after about twenty minutes, when the air precipitation causes more downdraft than updraft, causing the energy to dissipate. If there is enough solar energy in the atmosphere, however, on a hot summer's day, for example, the moisture from one storm cell can evaporate rapidly, resulting in a new thundercloud forming just at distance from the former one. This can cause thunderstorms to last for several hours."

"Which is why we gotta get rid of them really fast before more settle in. Ya still didn't explain to me how you did it though." Rainbow remarked impatiently.

"Well. I'm not sure if you noticed but we are currently standing on a former thundercloud."

Rainbow blinked. Her eyes went around, quickly studying the puffy white cloud they were standing on.

"But.....how?!" She asked in bewilderment.

"Magic." Thunderlane replied with a smug face. "OK!Ok! I will tell you!" He quickly added as soon Rainbow raised a hoof in order to hit him again.

"Ya better. It's your first day and I'm already getting sick of ya." Rainbow said sounding distressed.

Thunderlane's ears fell flat, his eyes casted downwards, clearly embarrassed and disappointed at the same time.

"Sorry. I just wanted to show you something different. I didn't know you would be this upset because of it."

Now it was Rainbow's turn to feel guilty. Perhaps she did overreact to an extent, still she wasn't letting him getting out of this one so easily.

"Just tell me how ya do it. It would help us a lot knowing how to deal with the thunderclouds. Perhaps I didn't have to fire a friend of mine because of it."

Thunderlane swore inwardly. Hay, he didn't know Rainbow Dash had a tough call because of this whole issue. He could understand a bit how she felt now. Seeing a stallion perform so easily a task that one of her friends used to struggle with must truly suck.

"So...huh...like I was saying...in general, thunderclouds require moisture, an unstable air mass, and a lifting force, which is heat, in order to form."

"Yeah. Spreading them thin is a way to keep them out of enough accumulated energy to form up." Rainbow said in a matter of fact tone.

"Which works just fine but takes more effort to cover from cloud to cloud. What I do is elevate the clouds through an air current all the way up before they can gather enough heat and moisture to grow. The higher they go the colder and thinner is the air around them. They might turn into simple rain clouds but they lose their dangerous elements and turn into regular clouds. The higher air currents will spread them thin without me having to do it by myself."

Rainbow stood in silence for few seconds while trying to understand everything Thunderlane said. After a whole minute she finally understood the process.

"So....you push them all the way up and let the higher currents to do the spread apart thing?" She said half-assuredly. Thunderlane nodded. "That's...kinda really helpful to be honest."

"You're still mad at me?" Thunderlane asked jokingly.

"Well, I wanted to but....fine! Sorry for snapping at ya, ok?! I thought you were slacking already. It shouldn't be that hard to push some clouds up a bit after all." Rainbow said in an attempt to justify herself.

"Actually it takes some effort. I said this method was faster, not less demanding." Thunderlane replied while streching his wings. "It's been a long time since I had to give out so much to do my job. This place sure has it's challenges."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good job and all of that. Get back to work." Rainbow said while feigning annoyance. Truth to be told the cyan mare was impressed but she would rather eat manure than complimenting somepony for being better than her at weather related stuff.

"Right away Dash. Say....you don't mind if I teach some stuff to others, right? I don't feel like stealing your thunder after all." The stallion asked with a devious smirk.

"You're not my-

Rainbow's eyes widened once she realized her slip up. Thunderlane laughed at her face before jumping off of the cloud.

"GET BACK HERE THUNDERLANE!!! I'M SO GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!"

It was the start of a very promising friendship for both these pegasus.