The Weather Team

by Maxis122

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Thunderlane, Other, Original Character, Flitter and Cloudchaser, Rainbow Dash, Comedy
Length: 11595

Weather control seems to be a simple job, right? Well, at least that's what Max was told.

Being on a weather team doesn't normally show itself as a hard job. Apparently any pegasus with half a brain and a standard education can do it. At least that's what Max was told when he needed a job and had no memories of his past life. So, how hard could it be?

This will have some stuff about clouds and their names here and there. But this is about weather control - so why not :3

Published 2012-08-17 17:34:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-23 19:24:33 UTC

Nothing

The Weather Team
Chapter 1 : Nothing

The sun began to set over the vast fields of Apple Acres as the light wind carried the sweet smell of apples across it. The field swayed in the air and the leaves rustled in the breeze. Apart from that the occasional tweet from a bird could be heard as the relaxing setting remained silent. It was near perfection when it was like this, the perfect place to spend some time relaxing and thinking about the current events. Perfect.

But, throughout this perfection of a scene there was something that wasn’t right. Something that had altered somepony’s life. This pony was a pegasus who lied on a bed inside the Apple’s house. He was strong, his wings showed that he did a lot of flying. He was also in a good physical condition - that wasn’t really a surprise for a pegasus thought as most of them loved to exercise and fly around. But this one was different - very different.

A earth pony who worked on the farm - called Applejack, entered the room with a bowl of water on her back. She had been caring for this pony for the last few hours after rescuing him from the river. It was odd for a perfectly fine pegasus to just be floating around in a river without showing any signs of life. Or to be unconscious for that matter.

But after saving the pegasus and confirming her suspicions - she was able to take him home and give him a bed. Then, with the help of the others on the farm, they were able to wrap the back of his head with a bandage as this area had a red mark on it. Supposedly this is how he became unconscious. With this done they then let him rest.

But now it had been about twelve hours and Applejack thought that it would be a good idea to check on their guest. With the water in one hoof she propped the head of the pegasus up - who showed a few more signs of life as a slight grunt came out of him. She sighed in relief as he was still alive, but he was still very weak. She then tipped some of the water into the pegasus’s mouth, there was no immediate reaction to begin with. But then he swallowed the water and moved his tongue around his dry mouth as he tried to get rid of the dry taste that lingered inside of it.

She then tipped a little more water into his mouth and again he swallowed it. His eyes moved around a bit and tried to open - but he was still weak. Applejack set the water bowl aside and sat beside the bed with this pegasus in. She began to examine his face, trying to figure out where he came from. He couldn’t be from Ponyville - because she had never seen him before. For who he was, she would have expected Rainbow Dash to mention him if he lived in Cloudsdale. So, he could be from Canterlot, Manehatten, or pretty much anywhere. Her desire to know who be quenched when he could speak again.

The thing that had confused her the most so far had been his cutie mark. Mainly because she couldn't think about what it would represent. It almost looked like a double pointed lightning bolt. But then it was blue - so the question still remains: what does his cutie mark mean. Again - she would find out later.

Then there was the matter of his name - what kind of name would he have. Something to do with flying, his colours or maybe just a unexpected name. For one he did look rather cute- well, relatively speaking. Anyway, the only thing that he had on him was his goggles. These were sitting on his head at the time that she pulled him out of the water, but now they were put aside to make everything a bit more comfortable.

After doing the initial checks of his temperature and checking that he was still alive, she then picked the bowl up again and walked out of the room. After she closed the door the room became silent again. The slow breathing of the pegasus was the only thing that could be heard. Then the pegasus sniffed to get some air into him, then he exhaled and began to open his eyes.

He lazily looked around his surroundings, not really thinking about what was going on or where he was. He looked to his sides and saw that the room was rather empty - almost like it was a guest bedroom of some kind. He then propped himself up and he looked around the room in a bit more detail.

A single thought lingered inside of his head as he looked around. ‘This isn’t my room’ he thought as he examined the covers and pulled them around, feeling the silky softness of them. He frowned at this idea of not being where he should be, but that lead onto another thought, which was quickly dismissed as he looked out of the window.

He looked at the many apple trees that lied in the ground and stood up tall. The vast amount of apple that were just waiting there to meet their inevitable destination. His stomach then rumbled a little as the thought passed his mind but he quickly dismissed that thought as well. But because of that his thoughts came over the one thing that wouldn’t leave his mind. And that thing was - nothing.

He tried to think about himself but he had no memories in his head. There was nothing that he could refer to. He knew about speaking and writing. He even knew what he was and how to fly. But he had no ability to say where he lived or even...

“Oh...” the pegasus let out as he came to a conclusion. He knew nothing about himself. He didn’t know who he was, who his family was. He didn’t even know where he had come from. The more he thought about it the more scared he became.

“You ok?” a voice said which immediately took the attention of the pegasus. The pegasus looked up at the mare who stood at the door that she had come from.

“What?” the pegasus said in confusion.

“Ah said, you alright?” the mare repeated.

“What?” the pegasus repeated. The mare rolled her eyes and approached the pegasus. The pegasus jumped from the bed and stood on it. “WHOA, what are you doing?!” the pegasus shouted as he kept his distance from the approaching apparent danger.

“What in the hay is wrong with you?” the mare frowned.

“I could ask you the same thing!” the pegasus said as he frantically looked around.

“Is this the thanks I get for me saving you?” the mare said as she attempted to go around to the other side of the bed.

“Saved me? You took my memories!” the pegasus said frantically as he jumped over the bed to the other side.

“Why are you so active all of a sudden?” the mare asked.

“I’m not active! I’m hysterical!” the pegasus shouted as he fidgeted and kept moving. The mare then grabbed the bowl of water on the floor and threw its contents onto the frantic pegasus. He stopped for a moment with a blank look on his face.

“I’m wet...” he said with the blank look changing into a shocked look. “I’M WET!” the pegasus shouted as he then ran around the room. The unamused mare then sighed, of all the ponies she could have saved - she had to get the insane one.

“JUST STOP!” she shouted at the pegasus who deserved to be put in a insane asylum. The pegasus froze as he was halfway to colliding with a dresser. He then blinked a couple of times and suddenly snapped out of the initial shock that he was in.

“I’m.. sorry about that. I was... umm” the pegasus was lost for words as he looked at the extremely annoyed mare. She sighed and considered the fact that he had just been in a life threatening accident and he would be very confused.

“Alright, but please don’t act like that again” she said calmly.

“I give you my word” the pegasus said in a very posh way. Almost in a Canterlot or Trottingham like way.

“Right, are you ok?” the mare asked with a slight grin on her face from the last thing that the pegasus had said.

“I think so...” he said as he aimlessly began to gaze around the room. When his face met the floor the mare couldn’t help but put her hoof to face and groan.

“Why?” she sighed and walked over to him. She prodded him and waited for a second as he got up and sat in front of her.

“Yes?” he said in a cheeky way. She then slapped him across the face and waited for him to come back to his senses. For a moment he was left in shock, as he took in the fact that his head was now bearing a red mark on its front now. He then shook his head and came back to his feet, along with his senses.

“Are you alright now?” she asked with a devilish tone to her sentence.

“Yeah, I needed that” he said as he rubbed the sore part to his face, he almost felt like letting out a continuous stream of tears, but he really did need to get snapped back into reality. Literally.

“Now that we have got you back on your feet, how about we move on to other matters” she said. The pegasus raised a eyebrow to the statement.

“Like?” he said as he cocked his head to the side.

“Your name?” she asked. The pegasus looked up for a moment in thought before returning to looking at the mare.

“Don’t have one, what’s yours?” he said quickly. The mare pulled back and looked at the pegasus with a odd look.

“Wait, you don’t have a name?” she said as she tried to compute what he was saying.

“Oh...” the pegasus let out as he realised what he had just said. He then felt so empty and lonely all of a sudden. He sighed as he lowered his head and glumly looked at the floor.

“Hey, it’ll be alright” the mare said as she put a hoof on his shoulder. He looked up to see a warm smile.

“Thanks” he then stood upright and raised his head. He tried to crack a smile for himself, but it didn’t really come out as he expected. It was more of a nervous smile then anything.

“Anyway, my names Applejack” said the mare who had the name of Applejack.

“Right, Applejack” said the pegasus as he stored the name and face into his blank database. The pegasus then looked out of the window to see the apple trees again.

“I’m guessing you would like to know where you are too” said Applejack. The pegasus nodded as he walked over to the window to get a larger vision of the area. “Right now, we are in Sweet Apple Acres. I own this place” Applejack said proudly.

“Cool, I guess” the pegasus said as he continued to gaze upon the land. “You wouldn’t perhapse know where I come from, would you?” the pegasus asked as he looked at Applejack.

“No, ah don’t. But from your accent and fancy talk ah almost thought you were from Canterlot or something” Applejack explained. The pegasus shaked his head in dismissal.

“Canterlot doesn’t ring any home bells” the pegasus said.

“Well, that’s all ah got” Applejack said as she sighed at the lost pegasus. Then a sudden thought sprang to her mind. She then dashed over to the table and grabbed the goggles that were lying on it. She then presented them to the pegasus. The pegasus took the goggles and held then in his hooves. “They were the only thing on you when ah found you” she said.

“The only thing... right” he said as he then turned the goggles over so he could see the insides of them. He looked over them and found that something had been inscribed on the inside of the rim. The pegasus closed in on this and read the two present words. “...Max...Plasma” thought about it as the two words seemed to make something in his head work.

“Max Plasma? Is that your name?” Applejack asked. The pegasus searched his head but it seemed like the feeling was familiar. It was like he knew what it meant for a very long time.

“I think it is” Max said as he acknowledged that it had to be his name. It was that or he called his goggles Max Plasma. Which was unlikely.

“Well, it’s all we have to work on for now” Applejack said with a sigh of relief, knowing that something had been accomplished.

“At least I can tell others who I am now, instead of going with another name. Like... Blue” Max said as he looked to his hoof for inspiration for a name. Applejack rolled her eyes and then smiled at Max.

“Yeah, and now I can actually call you something rather than Mr Insane Asylum” Applejack said. Max glared at her for a second and then chuckled.

“I guess I was a bit on the crazy side” Max said as he remembered what he was like a few minutes ago.

“I think this is the part where you now need to get a life” Applejack said.

“Get a life?” Max said as he gave Applejack a confused look.

“You know, a job, a house” Applejack listed. Max then remembered the situation he was in, yes he had no memories. But at the same time he had no work. He had nowhere to stay.

“Damn...” Max muttered under his breath as a whole new wall of problems just hit him face first. Applejack noticed the stress wave that he was about to endure so she decided to take some of the weight off him.

“You know what, if you need somewhere to be a base until you get back on your hoofs - then you can stay in this room for a little longer” she said. Max’s ears pricked up at the offer and a large smile of relief and happiness spread across his face.

“Thank you, that would be really helpful” Max said. “Now I just need to get some work” Max continued on as he tried to think about what he could do to overcome that obstacle.

“There is one job you could do” Applejack said. Max turned his attention to her as a grin crept across her face. “and it shouldn’t be too hard for a pegasus like you”

Day One

The Weather Team
Chapter 2 : Day One

Max found himself walking into a room that had a giant glass dome as its roof. There were pegasi flying around everywhere as they made their way in and out. In front of Max was a big main desk with several pegasi ponies sitting behind it - dealing with various different kinds of paperwork as they talked with the pegasi that asked questions.

From what Max was told - this would be the best place to find a job for, as Applejack would put it, a pegasus of his type. Whatever that was meant to mean was oblivious to Max, but work is work - and he needed it. So he quickly trotted over to the large desk and stood in front of it.

“I was told that I could get a job here?” Max said in a questioning way.

“Yes, honey. You can get a job in the weather department” She said as she continued to write and stamp things.

“Good, I’m lo-” Max began before he was cut off by the mare.

“We have jobs in cloud making, rainbow factory, weather team and desk work” She explained as he continued to stamp and write. Max thought about what Applejack told her - then again he was curious about the rainbow factory part. No, he was going to go for what he came for.

“Did you say... weather team?” Max asked.

“Yeah, now is there any area you would prefer to be stationed in?” She asked. Her voice was so monotone that Max was getting somewhat bored by all of this.

“Umm, Ponyville?” Max said. Like it was rehearsed - the entire place went silent. The pegasus at the desk lowered her glasses and looked at Max for the first time.

“You sure you want that honey?” She asked. Everypony was hanging on Max’s answer, it was almost like it was a test. Max leaned forward and narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, I’m sure” Max said quietly. Then the place came back to life as if nothing happened. ‘Crazy ponies’ Max thought as he looked around. This place was freaking him out a little.

“Ok, so what’s your name?” she asked.

“Max Plasma” Max answered promptly. The pegasus filled in a form quickly and then ripped the top page of the form off. But the other pages had what she had written on to the top one - magic.

“There you go, just go to the weather team overloads desk for the last few things. That’s to the right, up the stairs and the first door on the right. It has A201 written on the door” She said as she handed the page to Max.

“Thanks” Max said and he walked away. After following the instructions he found himself at the A201 door. He knocked on the door and he heard somepony from the inside shout for him to enter. He walked inside and closed the door behind him. Another pegasus mare was sat in the office and was filling in some forms as Max entered.

“Why are you here?” the pegasus asked.

“I..umm, I’m here about my being employed” Max said.

“Really? But you’ve always worked here” She said.

“Excuse me?” Max said as he narrowed his vision and put on a confused face.

“Oh, i’m sorry. You just sounded like somepony that I knew” She said as she turned to look at Max.

“It’s alright” Max said as he smiled.

“So, you’re paperwork?” the mare asked as she held out a hoof.

“Oh, yes. Sorry” Max stuttered as he handed over the paperwork. She read through it rather quickly and picked out the main detail. She smiled at some parts of it and popped a chuckle in at one particular point.

“So, Max. You want to work with Equestria’s finest?” She asked.

“If you mean the weather team, then yes” Max said.

“Good, now let’s just give you a quick check over” She said as she stood up and began to circle Max. She occasionally picked up one of his wings and then let it drop. After she had seen Max all over she then returned back to her desk and grabbed one of the stamps. She quickly pressed it into one of the boxes and then filed the paper away.

“So?” Max said as waited for a result.

“You’re on the team” She said. Max wasn’t sure if this was a amazing achievement but now he had what he really needed. A job. But for the sake of him being happy he smiled.

“Awesome, thank you!” He said happily.

“Thank yourself, you look like you can do the job” She said. Max thought about it for a second - but shrugged off the thought and continued to smile.

“But, for the sake of it - thank you” Max said.

“No problem. Anyway - you’re team leader is Rainbow Dash” She said.

“Right...” Max was about to dash away but he then thought that it would be a better idea to find out who Rainbow Dash was. “So, what does she look like?” Max asked.

“Well, you can’t miss her. She has a rainbow mane, cyan coat and magenta eyes” She answered. “Good luck!” She said.

“Thanks” Max said cheerfully as he then trotted out of the room. The pegasus mare sighed at the fate that she had bestowed upon that poor pegasus.

“You’ll need it” she muttered as she returned to her work.

Max was now flying in the sky looking for his new boss. Problem was - he had no idea where to find her. Which was odd as she was probably the most unique pegasus around. For a weather pony he would have expected to find her in the sky, but the sky was empty. Was it a day off or something?

‘Damn, this is going to be a long day...’ Max thought as he cruised along the light warm breeze. He was becoming tempted just to take a nap somewhere and wait till later to look for his boss. Max thought that if he couldn’t find his boss now that he should do some more intense flying. Due to the fact that he needed to get used to it again.

He then pulled up and did a backflip in the air so he could then dive down. He gained speed as he plummeted down to earth and then he pulled up. His wings expanded to give him more lift and he flew across the land. It was all flatgrass at the moment, so there was nothing in his way.

For a moment he lost himself with the speed that he was going. Everything seemed to slow down and he was able to see everything. ‘Speed... speed... need to go faster...’ Max thought as he exhaled and then pushed himself further.

Max was now flying at blistering speeds as the grass parted to show his path. A slight smile spread across his face as he let one of his legs drop to feel the grass below him. The soft grass welcomed his speeding hoof. Everything was so relaxing. Everything.

Max then allowed himself to close his eyes and just rely on the feeling and sounds. The wind in his face, the scent of blooming flowers - and he loved it. This lasted for about ten seconds when Max then opened his eyes and pulled up. The sudden pull stressed his wings a little, causing him to spasm a little, but he was able to recover.

With his flight experimenting over it was time for him to resort to other methods of finding the rainbow pegasus. Max hovered for a moment as he looked around the area, with the same thought repeating thought his mind. ‘Where the hell is she?” Max thought as and circled a couple of times to get a idea of where to look.

“Maybe she’s napping” a voice said. Max considered the thought for a moment and then realized that it was the most logical conclusion.

“Yes, that’s right! She must be napping somewhere... but where?” Max asked himself, while being completely oblivious to what was going on behind him.

“She could be in a cloud” the voice suggested.

“No, i’ve already checked there” Max said to himself.

“A tree maybe?” the voice questioned.

“But there are so many, it’s going to take forever to look” Max said dishearteningly.

“How about that tree over there” pointed out the voice and Max felt his head get pointed in a direction. Then a pick hoof appeared and pointed him at a tree. Max looked at the area harder and caught a glimpse of something rainbow coloured in a tree.

“Wow, you’re right. Thanks” Max exclaimed. It then hit Max that he wasn’t talking to himself - in fact he was actually talking to some other pony. Max turned his head to where the voice had been coming from to see a pink earth pony with balloons strapped to her waist.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie!” She said in her playful voice. Max recoiled back a little to take in this new entity. But he couldn’t help but store her name and face in his memory. Scarred.

“Hi...” Max replied in a nervous way.

“Are you new here? Because I have never seen you before and you are a pegasus! Oh! I have loads of pegasus friends - like Rainbow Dash!” she said in a quick paced voice without even stopping to breathe or anything.

“Yeah, I’ve been looking for Rainbow Dash” Max stated. But before Max could say another thing she was off again.

“You’re looking for Rainbow Dash! She’s like that coolest pegasus in all of Equestria and she is fast. Wow, when she goes by it’s like, WOOSH!” She said in a excited matter. She seemed to love talking about, well, pretty much anything.

“Yes, heh, you said she was over there, didn’t you?” Max asked as he pointed over to the area that Pinkie has shown him.

“Uh huh” Pinkie responded.

“Thank you, I must be off now” Max announced as he turned away, only to be spun back around.

“Wait! You haven’t told me who you are yet! And I need to throw you a welcome party. Have you heard about my parties! Everypony says that they are the best in Equestria - but I don’t know, because you see-” Pinkie said before Max sighed at the fact that he wasn’t getting anywhere. Pinkie then noticed that he was acting annoyed. “So, what was your name?” Pinkie asked - without another word.

“Well, my name is Max Plasma. And I really need to find Rainbow Dash because she is my new boss” Max said calmly.

“Ok, Max Plasma. It was nice meeting you” Pinkie said with a smile across her face.

“It was nice meeting you too, Pinkie Pie” Max said, but he couldn’t help but grin at the fact that this pony was so cheerful and happy. “Anyway, I must be off now. Thank you for helping me” Max said as he turned around again, only to be turned back to face the pink pony.

“I’ll see you around then!” She said.

“Sure...” Max concluded. Max then decided that he should just fly backwards so he didn’t get spun around again. He would rather keep his breakfast today. When Max was far away enough he then turned around and flew over to the area where he had been pointed to. This time he was going to get there.

Pinkie watched him fly away and she put her hoof to her chin in thought. After a second she shrugged and then turned around and began to float away - very slowly.

Max eventually came into the area of trees and he landed on the ground. The cyan pony had to be here, he could feel it - not literally. Max trotted towards the tree that he thought the pegasus should be and he began his search there. From here she could be anywhere - or she could have woken up and flew away. And that would mean that Max would have to go back to the all knowing pink floating pony.

After a couple of seconds of scanning the trees he found his target. Just a couple of trees away, the rainbow pegasus was sleeping on one of the branches. The next part of his quest was going to be a bit harder than the rest of it. Because he needed to get his work on, but should he just wake up a sleeping pegasus?

It would be a easy feat, just a couple of nudges should wake her up. But then she might get angry that her nap time had been disturbed. Max stood there for a minute as he tried to think of the best plan of action. Wake her up and get her annoyed. Or wait and get accused of being a pervert. Option A was seeming to be the best for Max at the current moment.

So Max took off and flew up to where the sleeping mare was. And now, he had to do what had to be done in order for him to meet his new boss. So he raised his hoof and prodded the pegasus in her side. A couple of seconds passed and the only response Max got was a snort.

“Hello?” Max tried to wake her up with him talking to her, yet this seemed to have no effect on her either. Were all pegasi this hard to get out of their sleep. Maybe, maybe - but Max was yet to meet one that could stay asleep through shouting.

“HELLO?!” Max shouted. There was a pause for a few seconds. Everything went silent as the breeze passed by and moved the branch a little. She then opened her mouth and... exhaled. She was still asleep. Max then pulled a face that the internet would have loved to see as he thought ‘are you kidding me?’

So far Max had only been doing things that were on then off. Maybe he needed to be a bit more continuous. Shaking is continuous - that could wake her up. So Max put a hoof on her and shaked her lightly. He did this for a few seconds and then stopped. Max waited and then sighed. What was wrong with this pegasus?

“What do you want?” groaned the pegasus. Words had finally came out of the rainbow pegasus as she continued to stay half asleep. Max then sighed in relief as he finally got some kind of response.

“I was told that you are Rainbow Dash” Max said.

“The one and only” Rainbow said smugly and she continued to daze off, “What do you want?”

“I was told that you were my new boss” Max respond. The pegasus then shaked her head and rose up to show her magenta eyes.

“What?” Rainbow said as she looked at Max, still being half asleep.

“I work for you now” Max explained, “On the weather control team”

“Really?” Rainbow said in a slightly confused manner.

“Yeah” Max replied as he tilted his head. Rainbow shrugged and then stood up on all fours. Then she stretched out a little and then actually looked at Max properly. After seeing what she needed to see she then yawned.

“I’ll be right back, just gotta get myself more awake” Rainbow yawned as she spread her wings and shot away at blistering speeds. Max was left there, partially stunned as he waited for her return.

“Wow!” Max chuckled as he stood there alone. He had no idea what he was in for. All he knew was that this would be some work to get his life on track. Then, he would begin to look for his past when his life was stable. It was all very soon, going from a patient to a working pony. Maybe too soon.

“Alright!” Rainbow said as she flew back over to Max, now awake. “So you think you got what it takes to be in my team, chump?”

“Umm, yeah. I suppose” Max stuttered.

“WRONG!” Rainbow shouted. “You don’t suppose you got it, you know it”

“Ok...” Max mumbled.

“So, have you got it in you?” Rainbow asked as she rose and looked down upon Max.

“Yes!” Max exclaimed.

“I said, have you got it in you?” Rainbow shouted as she tried to get Max psyched up.

“YEAH!” Max yelled as he got a bit more adrenaline running through him. Rainbow smirked and then came down a bit to get level with him.

“Well, I can give you one thing. You have guts” She admitted as she jabbed his side. Max recoiled a little from the attack but took it as a friendly gesture and just smiled. “Now, it’s time to see what you can do” she announced.

“Alright, I’m ready” Max said intently as put on his game face.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Rainbow inquired. Max simply replied by giving her his ‘Well duh!’ face. She understood and the two then flew up into the sky.

“So, what’s first?” Max asked as he flew alongside Rainbow Dash, who was processing the fact that she had a new rookie on the team now. Or should, if he passes her expectations.

“Well, as you may or may not know. As a weather controller you will have to deal with a lot of different types of weather” Rainbow explained, “Some you can control solo, and others you will need to work together”

“So, I guess this is cloud control 101 then?” Max implied.

“Close to it” Rainbow replied as she found a area of uncleared clouds. “What we have here is a group of Cumulus. Most of the time we just get rid of these by kicking them” Rainbow then turned around and bucked one of the clouds out of existence.

“Cool...” Max simply said as he watched the simple action take place.

“Now you try” Rainbow ordered. Max took this as the first test, the kind where if you screw up - you’re dead. Max then flew over to one of the clouds and mimicked what Rainbow Dash did to it. Like when Rainbow did it, the cloud disintegrated. “Not bad, for a rookie that is” Rainbow admitted.

“So, what next?” Max asked.

“Now, you get rid of the rest of the clouds” Rainbow answered with a grin on her face.

“Alright” Max said as he began to work. He found the first cloud easy, so maybe the rest was going to be just as easy. Maybe Applejack was right - this is a easy job.

For the next hour Max was thrown just about everywhere. Continuously kicking clouds and moving others to their required places. He wasn’t sure if this was how it was going to be forever - with Rainbow Dash just napping on a cloud, occasionally checking on his progress. But work was work.

There were some clouds that Max had no idea what to do with so he spent a good long time attacking them in the same kicking method. But eventually he was told otherwise by his sleeping supervisor - luckily. From what he gathered - cumulus and stratus clouds weren’t going to be the end of it.

When it came to the time when Max was completely worn out, Rainbow told him to take a break on a left over cloud while she told him a bit more about the different clouds that they might encounter.

“When we go higher, we are going to find some more clouds that will need more than a buck to deal with them” Rainbow explained, “They are called cirrus clouds”

“What do we do with them then?” Max asked as he became a bit more stable and recovered.

“Normally we just move them along by flying past them, because there really isn’t any real way to get rid of them” Rainbow answered swiftly as she showed her knowledge of the sky.

“Sounds simple enough” Max responded. “What else is there?”

“Well, sometimes when we haven’t had much rain in a long time - we have to create a storm” Rainbow explained, “This works by piling loads of cumulus together to make a Cumulonimbus” Max raised an eyebrow in confusion to this long new word. “Basically it’s a thunderstorm cloud” Rainbow stated in a unamused way.

“Oh, right. Sorry” Max babbled as he realised his stupidity. Rainbow rolled her eyes and continued.

“The thing with a cumulonibus is that we can easily lose control of it because of its size and power. So in that event we normally have to take cover and wait for it to blow over” Rainbow explained.

“Makes sense” Max agreed. Then a thought passed Max’s mind, “What happens if its a mega cumulonibus, like the ones that can create tornados and destroy entire towns?” Max asked. There was a moment of silence as Rainbow thought about the question.

“Why do you ask?” Rainbow questioned.

“Curious, that’s all” Max responded.

“Fair enough” Rainbow admitted as took a breath. “In that event, we would try and break up the cloud. But normally that can be very dangerous” She paused for a second to think about her next sentence. “Inside a cloud like that, there is static everywhere. And if you get grounded then you will get fried - and you will die...” She stated coldly.

“I guess there is strong air inside them - I mean the stuff that can ground you” Max added. Rainbow nodded.

“Exactly, even I could get grounded from flying in one of those things” she admitted as she rubbed the side of herself. Max then replayed what just happened in his mind - when she talked about herself getting grounded, potentially, she also rubbed a part of herself. This made Max think.

“Have you ever been grounded by a cumulonisbus?” Max asked softly. She looked away for a second - from what Max could gather, she didn’t like things dropping her ego. Then again - she was supposed to be the fastest flyer in Equestria. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“No it’s ok” Rainbow cut Max off. “Yeah, once I was flying a bit too close and I got pulled in” she then closed her eyes as she remembered what she could of the moment. “Apparently I got just far enough away from it before I hit the ground. The doctors said that my wing got damaged and I got temporary amnesia. That’s why I can’t remember what happened when I was inside it” she explained. Max had a pretty good idea what it was like to not be able to remember things - or anything for that matter.

“Wow, doesn’t sound good” Max said. Then a silence fell as the two thought about their separate matters, where only one hadn’t been told. But it would be better if people weren’t worrying about himself, Max thought. After about twenty seconds Rainbow broke the silence.

“Anyway, break times over, back to work” Rainbow said quickly. ‘And she’s back’ Max thought as he stood up and stretched out. Then he jumped up and flew up. Now they were going to the higher troposphere to deal with the cirrus clouds. ‘Just fly past them, sounds simple enough’ Max thought as he came to the right level - where his colourful supervisor was waiting for him.

Max then took a deep breathe and he backflipped in the air to get some speed. Then he soared towards the clouds. He was going rather quickly at this time and he was dead on target. He then shot through the clouds and came out the other end. But when he turned around the clouds were simply parted. He then turned to his giggling boss.

“Not like that silly” Rainbow giggled as she smiled at his incompetence. “Maybe I forgot the most important part”

“And that is?” Max asked as he crossed his hoofs, giving a unamused look at Rainbow Dash.

“Well” Rainbow Dash smirked, “When you are just about to get to the cirrus, you need to open your wings and fly up. I’ll show you” Rainbow then flew away and then came soaring back, as Max did. But then when she got to the cloud - she opened her wings and back flipped out of the new made current. Then the air pushed the clouds along.

“Awesome” Max mumbled as he saw how it was meant to be done. Rainbow then flew back over to Max and hovered next to him.

“Now you try!” she insisted. Max then put on his game face as he flew to a good point and then he banked towards the clouds that were his target. ‘Pull up - got it!’ Max thought as he flew towards the clouds with great speed. When he finally got to the cloud he extended his wings like he saw, but instead he got a less desired result. When he tried to fly up he got stuck and was pushed into the array of clouds that he was trying to move.

“OH SHI-” Max shouted as he lost control and dashed forward. When he was out of the air stream he then recovered and flew back to see Rainbow laughing her flank off. Max rolled his eyes as he reproached her. “Something else you forgot to mention?” Max asked with a unamused tone to his voice. Rainbow took a little while to recover as she was still laughing.

“Ha ha, sorry” she managed through her laughing, “You have to be really quick when you stop and get out of the way - or else you will get winded” Rainbow then returned to her giggling, she probably didn’t get this out of the rest of the team that much. So picking on the rookie was going to be the best route.

“Shall I try again?” Max asked.

“If you want to fail again - be my guest!” Rainbow sniggered. Max then narrowed his eyes and flew away again. ‘This time, this time’ Max thought as he repeated the routine, only to be left with the same result. He just needed practice - that was all. And he bet that Rainbow Dash would be happy to sit down and watch him. After about seven tries Rainbow told Max that it would take a bit of time before he could do it like the others. Max agreed and called it quits on that adventure of failing.

The two then flew back down to ground level and landed. It had been a long afternoon of continuous work - well, for Max that was. After wiping his forehead of sweat he took a deep recovery breathe.

“Not bad for a rookie” Rainbow admitted as she gave Max a pat on the back. “But you are going to take a lot to be a master” She said in a deeper voice.

“Yes, Master” Max replied in a similar deep voice. The two then shared a laugh for a couple of moments before Max asked the question that he had been wondering for a while. “So, am I in?”

Rainbow turned to Max and gave him a warm smile,

“Sure, rookie. You’re on the team”

Meet The Team

The Weather Team
Chapter 3 : Meet The Team

‘I did it!” Max thought to himself as he woke up the next morning. It felt like it was just a few minutes ago when he accepted into the team by Rainbow Dash. Feelings of pride and happiness spread across him as he lied in his bed. Max then turned his head to see what the time was.

“Just seven in the morning” Max mumbled to himself as tried to fight the dazed feeling that he had. After shaking his head he fully opened his eyes and looked outside to see that the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon. His first day - he was ready.

Max jumped out of his bed and trotted over to the table where his goggles were sitting. He hung them on his neck so he had them - just in case he needed them. Even though it was still early and his work didn’t begin for another hour or so - he thought that it would be a good idea to get a head start on his day.

So he quickly consumed the breakfast that was left out for him and made his way out of the house. Maybe he could have been a bit slower eating his food as he now felt a little sick, but that was his mistake. And he was hungry after all.

His journey of flight took him into the main area of the town - where it was beginning to fill with life. It looked like it was the merchants getting their stalls ready to sell their goods. Maybe it was market day or something. And everypony wanted to claim their territory.

When he came to land he landed in the middle of a cross roads, he found himself looking around for something to consume his time with. For a moment he had no idea what to do - after all he didn’t want to do something that would overrun his work. And being late on the first day of work would be horrible on his reputation.

A idea then passed his head to maybe do some research into the clouds that he could be dealing with. Books normally had the second best information in them - then actually being taught by the experts was the best. He turned around once to come face to face with a house, which was shaped like a tree. He looked to the sign next to it and saw that it was the library. By pure luck he had stumbled upon it.

He then trotted up to the door and knocked on it three times. There was a couple of seconds in silence before he saw the entire door get shrouded in a purple mist and pulled open. In the doorway was a purple unicorn. She seemed to be perfectly awake - was she was a early bird too?

“Hi, I was hoping that I could find a book” Max asked with a cheerful tone in his voice.

“Oh, yeah, sure” She answered. “Come in!” She then stepped back and invited Max inside. Max was now in the wake of a mass collection of books ranging from a variety of subjects. As the door closed behind Max the unicorn came back into view. “So, what are you looking for?” She asked.

“I’m looking for a book on clouds” Max answered, “Preferably directed towards weather ponies”. The unicorn then nodded and began to levitate books from all over. Max could say that his mind was blown - but he guessed that most unicorns could do this.

“So... are you new around here?” the unicorn asked as she searched her library.

“You could say that” Max responded.

“Live around here?” she pressed.

“Sort of” Max said while turning his head away from the working unicorn. She raised an eyebrow to his statement but continued to look, regardless. Eventually she found what she was looking for, and she signalled this by letting out a “AH HA”.

“Here you go” She said as she gave the book to Max.

“Thanks!” Max exclaimed as he flicked through the book.

“You can either stay here and read it. Or you can rent it out” the unicorn explained, Max then snapped out of the book and made his decision.

“Is it ok, if I can stay here?” Max asked.

“Course it is” the unicorn exclaimed. “Anyway, I’m Twilight Sparkle” She then smiled warmly at Max.

“Hi, I’m Max Plasma. I believe I will be helping to maintain your skies for the foreseeable future” Max announced as he put a hoof to his chest and did a little bow. Twilight giggled as she watched Max bow.

“Why, haven’t seen some pony do that to me in a long time” Twilight giggled. The thought then passed Max’s head for a second.

“Where was that pony from?” Max asked intently. Twilight recoiled from the sudden question but then put a hoof to her head in thought.

“I believe that colt was from Trottingham, or some place close to it” Twilight explained, “He was in Canterlot for the day, showing off his magical skills” Twilight then decided to do some pressing of her own. “What made you curious?” She pressed.

“Well, I...” Max tried to think of the best way to avoid talking about his amnesia. ‘Come on, Max think!’ Max thought as a droplet fell from his forehead. “I just wanted to know where the pony that did that came from - just curious, really” Max managed. Twilight wasn’t really satisfied by his answer.

“You’re gonna run on that?” She asked, unamused.

“I guess I am” Max smirked. “Anyway, I have reading to do!” Max then walked over to a corner and sat down - opening the book in the process. Twilight shrugged and then walked back into the private bit of her library. Max then looked over the book and sighed in relief. ‘Few, that was a close one’ Max thought as he then turned his attention back to his book. ‘Right, a guild about clouds’ Max began to read in his mind.

About fifty minutes had passed since Max began reading and now Max had a bit more knowledge about the many clouds in existence. Max glanced over his book again for the first time since he started reading and he looked at the clock.

“Seven fifty five” Max read from the clock. Max then sat up and walked back into the middle of the room. “Hey, Twilight. Shall I leave the book on your table?” Max asked with the book in his mouth.

“What?” Twilight asked as she trotted back into the room. Max let go of the book and tried again.

“What shall I do with this book?” he asked again.

“Oh, just leave it with me” Twilight answered as she held out her hoof. Max then gave the book back to Twilight and flapped his stiff wings.

“I better get out there now” Max admitted as he stretched his wings out. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle” Max said as he nodded and then trotted out of the library.

“No problem” Twilight called after him as he exited the library. When Max left she then replaced the book back into the slot that it came from. Then she replayed certain points of her meeting with Max back in her mind. She began to think about how he acted - and when does a pegasus of his age not know much about clouds. It’s normally in their blood to like the sky, well - unless you are Fluttershy.

Twilight just couldn’t put her hoof on how he was acting, it just seemed so... odd. She passed it along that it was early on in the morning, so that was probably how some ponies would act at that time. Twilight shrugged the thought off and continued her day.

Max was soon at the place that he was told to go to by Rainbow Dash the day before. So far, when he arrived, the place seemed rather quiet. The building had some kind of large table spanning across the entire side of it - with varying items behind it. ‘This is a meeting point?’ Max thought as he looked around.

After a couple of minutes Rainbow Dash finally appeared from the sky and landed next to Max, with her mane still being a little damp. Max smiled at the arrival of his leader.

“You’re early” Rainbow pointed out as she walked into the meeting place.

“Need to make a impression on my first day” Max stated as he followed Rainbow inside. They then came to a larger circular table - which had five chairs surrounding it.

“We’re gonna need another chair, one moment” Rainbow observed as she wandered off in search of a extra chair. Max stood awkwardly beside the table as he waited for Rainbow to return with the chair. Rainbow Dash then gave him an odd look as she saw he was still there. “You gonna sit down?” She asked as she placed the chair down.

“Oh, yeah” Max stuttered as he pulled out one of the chairs and sat on it.Rainbow continued to look at him in a odd way until she shrugged and sat next to him.

“You ok?” She asked.

“Fine, just fine” Max replied calmly. His expression maintained a calm look as he waited with Rainbow. A minute passed until Rainbow became bored of the silence and wanted to be a bit more social.

“Cool goggles, where did you get them?” She asked, looking down to his chest - where his goggles were hanging.

“Made them” Max said - he then processed what he said. Did he just remember something? He just thought it was a natural reaction but when he closed in on the thought - it was true. Suddenly he could recall crafting the frame and assembling the goggles. He could then remember cutting himself on his hoof, after the memory burst was over he looked down to his hoof and felt over the area that he could remember. There was evidence that he had been cut.

“Oh, cool. Was it hard?” She continued.

“Hurt myself in the process” Max admitted as he let his hoof fall back down.

“Well, sometimes you need to give a little to get something” Rainbow quoted.

“And my goggles wanted my blood” Max added.

“Sure, cause that makes them yours by blood then” Rainbow concluded.

“Yeah” Max chuckled as a smile grew across his face. Another small silence occurred after that, which was yet again broken by the talking rainbow.

“Where do you come from?” She asked, looking at him with a smile.

“Far away” Max answered swiftly, leaving no room for extra questions. He then looked away and rubbed the sore part of his neck. Still, not knowing where it came from. Thanks to this Rainbow was able to find another subject to press him on.

“What did you do to your neck?” She asked as she lifted Max’s hair to get a better look at his injury.

“It’s nothing” Max stuttered as he batted Rainbows hoof away.

“Hey! What gives?” Rainbow pressed in a playful tone.

“Well” Max replied as he paused for a second, “It’s something I would rather not talk about - to any pony” Rainbow took the hint and backed off the subject.

“Morning Dash” called a voice from behind the two pegasi. They both turned to see the owner of the voice. Standing in the doorway was a white pegasus with light blue hair. She took off her goggles and swished her hair in the air - brilliant. The sun even emphasized her hair as it returned to its shape.

“Morning Bolt” Rainbow replied as she waved at the pegasus. The pegasus then walked over to the table and sat opposite the two. She looked between the two, knowing one - and wanting to know about the other.

“Who’s the new guy?” Bolt asked, maintaining her friendly face.

“Oh, this is Max Plasma. Bolt - Max. Max - Lightning Bolt” Rainbow introduced. “He’s the new rookie”

“Awesome, nice to meet you Max” Bolt exclaimed, offering a hoof out to shake.

“Nice to meet you, Lightning Bolt” Max said, shaking the hoof in the process and letting out a smile of his own.

“Just call me Bolt” Bolt giggled as she sat back in her seat. “So, you gonna be working with us for the future”

“I believe so” Max answered. Bolt raised a eyebrow and put on a more mischievous smile.

“Well, you better believe it. Or else this won't last” Bolt smirked. Rainbow then shot her a look, as if to say ‘Back off’. Bolt then rolled her eyes and sat back. “Anyway, don’t sweat. If Rainbow let you in - then you must be good” said Bolt assuringly.

“Yeah, like she said” Rainbow agreed, still shooting looks at Bolt, resulting in funny reactions. “You got past me - so you’ll be fine”

“Thanks” Max sighed as he lied back a little.

“You still got to impress me though” jeered somepony from behind. Rainbow then revealed her most unamused face as she instantly recognised the voice.

“Go water your peace lily Thunderlane!” Rainbow shouted back at the pegasus, who was now called Thunderlane.

“Ha!” Thunderlane let out as he walked over to the table and patted Rainbow on the back. After she fought him away, he walked next to Bolt and sat on her left. She too was giving him looks of annoyance. Then again, from Thunderlanes first impressions - he was a little bit of a jackass.

“I take it that you are the new guy?” Thunderlane smirked as he took his seat.

“That’s me” Max admitted as smiled nervously, “Max Plasma”

“Thunderlane, second in command of this group” Thunderlane announced.

“More like, leader when Rainbow Dash is off” Bolt chanted, “And that’s, like, never” The two girls laughed, Thunderlane rolled his eyes and crossed his hoofs.

“Chill out Thunderlane” Rainbow chuckled, she seemed to be getting some revenge from something that he did. Max tried to not play a part on this inside joke - since it could only go wrong for him.

“How can I chill out with you two always in my hair” Thunderlane huffed.

“Common, you know we’re just playing around” Bolt assured Thunderlane as she nudged him.

“Yeah right” Thunderlane mumbled. The mare’s continued to think of new ways to attack their grudge against Thunderlane. But they were interrupted by the entrance of the final members of the team.

“Heya everypony” one of them called out. Max and Rainbow turned around to see who had come in, even though Rainbow already knew who it was.

“Hey Cloudchaser, hey Flitter” She called out to the two pegasi. They then came and sat to Max’s left - where the last spaces were. With Cloudchaser nearest to Max. Oh boy - here we go.

“Who’s this guy?” one of them asked while pointing at Max and looking at the others. The other one sighed and pushed her hoof down.

“You could just ask him, Flitter” Cloudchaser stated before returning to look at Max. She too probably wanted to know who he was.

“Oh, right. Who are you?” Flitter asked in a more direct way this time.

“I’m Max Plasma” Max answered with a slight grin on his face.

“I’m Flitter, and this is my sister-” She began before being cut off by her sister, who put her hoof in front of her mouth.

“Cloudchaser, it’s nice to meet you” Cloudchaser said while trying to keep Flitter quiet.

“Cloudchaser, Flitter - it’s nice to meet you too” Max responded calmly. Rainbow Dash then looked around to confirm what she knew, then she began.

“Now that everypony is here, here are the weather reports for today” Rainbow declared as she passed some sheets of paper out. When Max’s one came to him, he examined it for a second. It was pretty simple to understand - as it said what the weather should be during the day. And then it said what state to leave it in for the night.

Today it was clear skies all day, followed by a shower over night. That meant that they would be getting rid of the clouds all day - and then getting rain clouds from Cloudsdale later. Simple enough.

“Right - Cloudchaser, Flitter and Bolt - you can take the west and south sectors. Thunderlane and Max - you take the north sector. And I will take east” Rainbow announced.

“Cool... wait what?” Thunderlane stuttered, “Why am I with the new guy?”

“Because I said so” Rainbow smirked.

“Oh fuck...” Thunderlane grunted as he dug his head into his hoofs.

“Am I really giving you that impression” Max exclaimed, “I’ve only been on the team for a day you know”

“It’s not that” Thunderlane sobbed, “It’s just that you will be asking questions all the time because you’re new and stuff”. Max rolled his eyes at the pathetic pegasus.

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing” Max assured Thunderlane.

“Whatever...” Thunderlane groaned. He then received a pat on the back from Lightning Bolt for being so pathetic. Deserved and earned. Rainbow, Bolt and Thunderlane then engaged in some more conversation - leaving Max to either try and join in. Or, more likely, talk with the others - who didn’t seem to be that bad.

“So, why did you choose the weather team?” Cloudchaser asked. Decision taken.

“Somepony suggested it to me, because it seemed like the thing I would enjoy” Max replied, letting of a slight smile at the end.

“Alright, cool” Cloudchaser responded. Time for Max to be a bit more socal.

“So, how is it on the weather team?” Max asked Cloudchaser.

“Depends what’s going on. Sometimes it can be fun, tiring, or even plain old boring” Cloudchaser explained. “Normally, it’s a good workout though. Keeps us all in good shape”

“Suppose” Max said. “Plus it gives you things to think about”

“For example” Cloudchaser questioned looking over at Max suggestively.

“Well, about how you are going to control all the different types of weather” Max replied. Cloudchaser giggled and rolled her eyes.

“Not really, it becomes second nature when you do it for long enough” Cloudchaser explained. Max considered the idea, then saw it as realistic. Besides - these ponies had been working here longer than he could remember. Literally.

“Right” Max replied. Cloudchaser then shuffled a little closer to Max.

“How long are you planning to stay on the team?” She asked intently.

“As long as I need to” Max stated. Cloudchaser then smiled and moved a little closer.

“Good, cause then we can get to know each other a little better then” Cloudchaser said softly as she moved even closer. Max then turned his head to be almost face to face with Cloudchaser, who was smiling warmly at him.

“Right...” Max managed as he leant back. Cloudchaser then smiled innocently and then turned away from Max to talk to Flitter. ‘Damn’ Max thought as he put two and two together. He then turned back to the group that he seemed to get along best with - without being made uncomfortable.

Another few minutes of idle chit chat went on until Rainbow announced that it was time to get to work. And, with that in the air, the team began to split off. Max followed the group until he realised that he was leaving something behind. He turned to see the pathetic pegasus still sobbing in his seat.

“Come on Thunderlane, he’s not all that bad - trust me” Rainbow called out before she then shot into the sky.

“Fine!” Thunderlane puffed, he then stood up and walked over to Max. His eyes were still rather lifeless as he stood in front of Max. Max gave him a disapproving look as he then turned around and walked out of the door. When he was ready to go he looked back to the still rather lifeless pegasus.

“Well, you coming?” Max asked. Thunderlane sighed and then walked over to Max again. After spreading his wings he looked up to the sky and took in some of the fresh air.

“I hate being cooped up in there when i’m sober” Thunderlane stated as he stretched and then flapped his wings a couple of times to get them loose.

“And you’re sober now?” Max asked sarcastically.

“Ha ha... very funny” Thunderlane replied in a similar sarcastic tone. “Anyway, you’re under my wing today - so behave!”

“I can behave” Max grunted as he too flapped his wings.

“I’m glad we have an understanding” Thunderlane smirked as he shot into the sky, only to be closely followed by Max. Within a minute they arrived at their work area. It was covered in clouds from the last rainfall, lots of clouds.

“Looks like we have our work cut out for us” Max admitted as he scanned the area.

“Yup, clear skies are needed” Thunderlane agreed as he too looked around. “Better get to work”

“How do you want to do this?” Max asked. Max then remembered why Thunderlane was so annoyed about working with him, so he quickly said “Oh, sorry about the question”. Thunderlane then gave Max a look and rolled his eyes.

“It’s cool, really” Thunderlane chuckled. “I’ll take the north west, you take north east”

“Right” Max responded. Max and Thunderlane then went to their separate sectors. The job seemed to be pretty simple - just buck every single cloud out of existence. Easy as pie. Because pie is easy- right?

About five hours had passed since the team had began to work. Each of the separate sectors were maintained and kept clear. The weather was correct - and that made it a nice day. After all, with no clouds in the sky - the sun can flow through and create a cosy atmosphere.

And since the work was mostly done the team decided to slow the work down a little and enjoy the sun. Each in different ways. Rainbow would normally take a nap on a leftover cloud. Others would sunbath in the clouds or just plain old relax. For Max and Thunderlane - they just found some leftover clouds and decided to float around aimlessly. The clouds soft texture made them comfortable to lay on, therefore they were able to relieve the stress of whoever was lying on them.

It didn’t take long for Max to figure this out, as Thunderlane mentioned it numerous times as he got tired. “Hey, I’m just gonna take a minute off. Oh - these clouds are super relaxing” He would go on as they worked. Max, on the other hand just kept on working - even though he was told that he could break with Thunderlane.

Eventually it came to that time when Max was totally worn out, and since the work was done the two took some time to relax. This was the great thing about being a pegasus - being able to use clouds as you please. Well, that was as long as you were on the weather team. Or you knew how to use them.

“This is the life” Thunderlane exclaimed as he floated past Max.

“Sure is” Max agreed as he seeped back into the cloud a little more.

“I could almost say that I love this job” Thunderlane admitted as he bit his lip.

“Well, why don’t don’t you marry it if you love it so much” Max suggested sarcastically. There was a long silence after Max made his last comment. This wasn’t the best silence that could happen, so Max sat up and looked at his colleague. “Thunderlane?”

“What?” Thunderlane huffed.

“What’s up?” Max asked as he walked over to Thunderlane’s cloud.

“It’s nothing” Thunderlane grumbled. Max then raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”

“If I said something to upset you - I’m sorry” Max apologised, letting his head drop. Thunderlane sighed and sat up.

“It’s no problem mate” Thunderlane assured. “Just leave me be when I give you the silent treatment”

“Alright” Max acknowledged as he then stood up and walked back onto his cloud. Then he dropped down onto his back again, relaxing again in the process. Exhaling the suspenseful air from his lungs - he returned to the relaxed state that he enjoyed.

“I’ve got to admit” Thunderlane began, causing Max’s ears to lift up. “You’re not half bad”

“You’re not half bad either” Max responded. “You never know, one day we might be friends”

“Not for a while mate” Thunderlane chuckled.

“Fair enough” Max replied, sustaining a slight smile on his face. Even though Thunderlane could be annoying, and a bit of a jackass. He still offered a character that Max would be happy to work with. Maybe not friends - but still working buddies. Or something like that.

Another few minutes passed until the sun came to the point where it was time for the final part of the day. Shower time, for the land that is. Max jumped onto his feet and bucked the cloud that he was on to disintegrate it. Then he glided over to Thunderlane and he gave him a tap.

“What?” Thunderlane groaned as he rolled over from his disturbed nap time.

“Time for the overnight shower” Max stated.

“Really?” Thunderlane said as he sat up and looked to see that time really had been on the move. “So it is” The two then flew over to Cloudsdale where the clouds for the shower were being pumped out. There already was Cloudchaser, Flitter and Bolt. They were waiting on the rest of the team to arrive.

“Have you seen Rainbow?” Bolt asked as the two arrived.

“No, have you?” Thunderlane replied, annoyed, as he flew past the group and waited near the clouds. Bolt rolled her eyes at him, knowing that he was still holding a grudge against Rainbow. She then turned her attention back to Max, who was waiting with them.

“So, how are you finding it?” Bolt asked Max.

“It’s great, better than I expected” Max replied happily as he continued to flutter in the air.

“Good” Bolt smiled with relief. It was then when their attention turned to the multi coloured object flying towards them. “Finally”

“Sorry I’m late guys, had a little problem back there” Rainbow apologised as she took a short break in the air. She then looked behind the group to see Thunderlane waiting. “He still like that?”

“He was when he got here” Cloudchaser explained as she took a look back at Thunderlane.

“I just think he’s a little tired after working today” Max suggested, as he had been working with him today.

“Normally Thunderlane isn’t that put off” Rainbow stated as she shrugged. “Well, that’s Thunderlane for you” The team stuck to that and then flew over the the cloud mass. It was going to take a lot to move it, as there were so many clouds. But the idea was simple enough - take one, place it and repeat. Easy, right? Well, at least that was what Max thought.