How the Tables Turn

Cloudchaser sat in the office, her eyes fixed upon some papers at her desk. She was really beginning to respect Rainbow Dash, wondering how she did her job without being bored out of her mind, especially since she always wanted to fly around and have fun.

Cloudchaser had been appointed manager of the weather team, since Rainbow left for Trottingham on the weather exchange program. This decision was made by Rainbow herself as she thought Cloudchaser was right for the job.

She disagreed on instinct, pointing out that Cloud Kicker and Flitter were both more athletic than her. Rainbow simply told her that she would understand when the time came. And she couldn’t understand better.

Manager. That meant dealing with crop reports, ordering the right cloud shipments in the right amounts while accounting for the unexpected, and hardest of all, planning the weather, while keeping in mind wind speed and direction, two variables that were constantly changing, as well as how much rain they needed and where they needed it. And, to top it all off, any weather coming in from the Everfree Forest had to be staved off before it could cause any problems. It had only been one day and she was already going nuts.

And it didn’t help when an unfamiliar Pegasus knocked on the open door.

“Umm… Can I come in?”

“Sure. Have a seat.”

It was an orange Pegasus with a silver mane. She had a streamlined build and strong wings. Her legs were aerodynamic and skinny. All the telltale signs of a professional flyer.

“You look like you fly a lot. What do you do?” Cloudchaser idly wondered if this was a Wonderbolt friend of Rainbow’s who had been expecting a different face behind the desk.

“Well, that’s actually why I’m here. See, I’m from the Trottingham weather team.”

Cloudchaser’s eyes widened in shock as the realization sunk in. “Rainbow isn’t causing trouble, is she? I know she can be rash sometimes-”

“Well, why don’t we start with this. I’m pretty high up in Trottingham’s weather system. I gave my weather team the plans for their jurisdiction, then headed off. I was going to be the one to greet Rainbow Dash.”

Cloudchaser nodded her head in acknowledgement before it hit her. “What do you mean, ‘going to’?”

“Well, I was heading out to meet her halfway on her journey. Thing is, she never arrived. I got worried after about a half hour, so I just… kept flying. And, well, here I am. I don’t know if I missed Rainbow and she’s in Trottingham now, or what, but something seems to be a bit off here. We did plan on having her meet up with  me, right?”

“Of course, and it’s not like Rainbow to leave a pony hanging, friend or stranger. This definitely isn’t right. I’m fairly confident that nothing’s wrong, but I’ll send one of my weather mares out with you just in case. If she’s not in Trottingham, have her look for Rainbow.”

As if on cue, Derpy Hooves flew up to the window. “Any outgoing mail?”

Cloudchaser smiled pleasantly towards Derpy. Perfect timing. “No, but can you get Cloud Kicker in here for me?”

“Sure thing.”

“Thanks Derpy.” Derpy flew off. They shared a moment of silence as they waited. “What’s your name, by the way?”

“Sunbeam.”

“Nice name. I’m gonna go ahead and guess you’re a professional at moving just the right amount of clouds away from the sun?”

“Spot-on.”

“Sounds like a pretty fun job to me. I’m already going insane being a manager.

“Yeah, well… At least you’ll have your old job back when Rainbow gets back.”

Any further speculation on the subject was cut short by Cloud Kicker’s arrival. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yeah. Come in.”

She trotted in and sat down next to the Pegasus mare that she had never seen before in her life. “Cloud Kicker, this is Sunbeam. She’s from the Trottingham weather dept. She went out to greet Rainbow on her trip. Too bad she never came.”

“What? But Rainbow was dying to meet her. Why would she ditch out like that?”

“I don’t know. Which is why I’m sending you to go with Sunbeam to find out. If she’s in Trottingham, just report back. If not, then look for her. Rainbow is a great weather mare, and more importantly, our friend. If she got held up somehow, we’re gonna help her out. Kay?”

Cloud Kicker nodded. “Your orders, boss.”

“Anything else?” Nopony spoke up. “Guess I’ll see you later then, Kicker.”

“Yup.” The two of them walked out together. They left the building and took off for Trottingham. Sunbeam turned and noticed the concerned expression on Cloud Kicker’s face.

“You think she’s okay?”

“No.”

They continued on in silence for a few minutes, flying at a brisk pace as they watched the landscape for any sign of the rainbow-maned Pegasus. Cloud Kicker finally whipped up a conversation, hoping to make friends with the stranger.

“This isn’t like Rainbow. She would’ve met up with you. If she missed you, she would’ve gone back to look for you. If everything was okay, you would’ve met her by now. She’s too nice to blow somepony off like that.”

“Even so, I hope she’s in Trottingham. Sounds nice, the way you describe her.”

“The nicest around.”

“Meh. Now that’s doubtable. My sister had a friend in Cloudsdale Summer Flight camp. Well, okay, she wasn’t really much of a friend as they were acquaintances, but they knew each other. Her name was Fluttershy. She was the nicest around.”

“You know Fluttershy?”

“My sister does. Why, you know her too?”

“She lives in Ponyville. She and Rainbow Dash have been best friends since Summer Flight camp.”

“Really? Wow, I guess it really is a small world, huh? I’ll have to talk to my sister when I get a chance, see if she wants to meet up with Fluttershy, catch up on old times, you know?”

“I can’t see why that wouldn’t be a great idea. I’m sure Fluttershy would be glad to see a familiar face.”

The two of them suddenly came upon a small wooden shack. It was in the middle of a field of nothing but grass. It stood out as if it were the only thing for miles that wasn’t boring old grass. Cloud Kicker adjusted her flight path for the shack. Sunbeam followed, a little confused by the sudden change of plans. “Umm… Where are you going?”

“I have a hunch.”