//------------------------------//
// 3: Showing the Ropes 
// Story: Drops of Rain 
// by Ferntail12 
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“Get up, get up, sleepyheads!
Get out of your cozy beds!
It's the dawn of a brand new day!
Sound off! *crash crash*
Sound off! *crash crash*
Sound off!  One two three four!  One two!  Three four!
One! Two! Three! Four!”

“Ugh, Sunny. Do you always have to do that?” groaned Dash as she was jolted out of bed by reveille and Sunny Days’ follow-wake-up call. It was pretty obvious, as Sunny was Pinkie Pie’s second pegasus cousin. The first was Surprise, the Wonderbolt. Surprise and Sunny had the same exact routine in the mornings. Reveille, then the follow-wake-up call, which were exactly the same too. Deja vu….They were sisters though. Anyway, Dewdrop and Blossomforth would just be waking up, so Dash would give them some time before calling the entire team together for greetings and introductions. 
I’m gonna send a letter to Spitfire. She thought I was going home last night, she thought. Okay, quill, check. Parchment, check. Ink, check.

Spits,
I was gonna go home yesterday when I got back from Manehattan but I got a new team member. :D I had to get her settled in the barracks. By the way, her name is Dewdrop. I don't know who the team manager was who took over my team, but that stallion or mare was a total featherbrain, now I don't have a co-captain, because Thunderstrike’s gone. I'm probably gonna be home in the afternoon today, I have to get my team up and running. And yes, I work on Saturdays. Oh wait, you already know that. Sorry. My brain is kinda confuzzled today, I got back at 10 pm. By the way, thats a word I invented. Our next show is in five days, on Wednesday. Hope you started planning! Good luck on that, we need to do something extra-special for the third month anniversary. Happy planning! I’ll help you when I get home. 
❤Dashie

Dash rolled up the parchment after blowing on the ink to dry it as Princess Twilight had taught her, found wax and a seal in a drawer of her desk, sealed it, then went to mail it. 
“Is Derpy about? I have a letter to mail,” she asked the mare at the post office. 
“Hold on, I just saw her.”
“Sure.” Dash leaned against the counter, tapping a hoof on the Formica. Presently, a gray mare with derped eyes came up to her. 
“Hi Rainbow Dash! What can I do for you?” Derpy asked.
“Hey Derps. I need you to get this letter to… my house. And yes I'm mailing a letter to myself, it’s for Spitfire.”
“Ok! See you later, Rainbow Dash!”

Dash handed the letter to Derpy, who put it in her mailmare bag along with about thirty other scrolls and flew off. She glanced at her watch and, seeing that it was seven-thirty, headed back to HQ to do her greetings and introductions. Trotting through the halls, she found Crescent Sun and ordered him to gather the team with the exception of Blossomforth and Dewdrop on the training strip. She had told Blossomforth to end Dewdrop’s tour in the mess hall so they could get some grub. Ugh, I need some of that too, Dash thought, heading toward the green-doored mess hall. Pushing open the door, she saw Dewdrop and Blossomforth seated at the far corner table, talking animately. She clopped her hooves, saying,
“C’mon, girls! They're waiting on you outside.”

The two got up and followed Dash out to the practice strip. Blossomforth glided down to join her teammates on the cloud, while Dewdrop joined Dash on the balcony. 
¨Look alive, ponies! Officer on deck!¨ Dash shouted. The milling group of pegasi immediately snapped into an arrow-straight line with their hooves instinctively at brow height. 
“Sound off, team!”
“Blossomforth here!”
“Raindrops present!”
“Thunderlane present and accounted for!”
“Rainshine reporting in!”
“Blueberry Cloud present!”
“Hawthorne here!”
“Cloud Kicker present and accounted for, ma’am!”
“Cloudchaser here!”

Each pony called out their name in turn, except one. Dash rolled her eyes. Three, two, one… SURPRISE!~~~ Sunny Days leaped out from behind Dash and shrieked into her ear. Dash didn't even flinch, though Dewdrop leaped into the air with shock. 
“You know, Sunny, what would surprise me would be that you didn’t do that. Just get into line.”
“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Sunny replied, leaping off the balcony and spiraling down to join the line.
“Alright everypony. Do you know why I called you here?” asked Dash, prompting an outbreak of murmuring and shrugged shoulders. ¨As you all know, I´ve been gone for the last month to Manehattan. I brought somepony back with me. Who knows, she might arise to Thunderstrike’s level someday. Everypony, I want you to meet Dewdrop Morning.”

Dash moved aside to bring Dewdrop to the center of attention. 
“Hi everypony. I just want to say that what I’ve seen here so far greatly exceeds my standards. You all seem like very nice ponies, and I know I will have a good time here,” Dewdrop said. Dash tapped her shoulder and whispered:
“Let’s go down. I have to introduce you to everypony.”

The two leapt off the balcony and glided down to stand in front of the line of ponies. 
“Dewdrop, this is Raindrops. Raindrops, Dewdrop,” Dash said. “Dewdrop, Thunderlane. Thunderlane, Dewdrop. Dewdrop, Blueberry Cloud. Blueberry Cloud, Dewdrop.”

The two went down the line, introducing and talking. Finally, they reached the end where shy Lula was waiting. Dewdrop stood next to Lula, and Dash soared back to her balcony. 
“Alright everypony. Let’s give Dewdrop a show! 9/10 cloud clearing, on my mark! Three… two… one… MARK!” Dash yelled. The twenty-four ponies, including Dash, kicked off the cloud and formed their Dissipator V of V with Dash on point. As they did in daily drills, Thunderlane and his wing team peeled off to the first sector, Raindrops and her wing team peeled to the second sector, Rainshine and her wing team peeled to the third sector, Blossomforth and her wing team peeled to the fourth sector, and Dash and her wing team headed for the fifth. The sky was clear in ten seconds flat. 
“Okay, team! Cloud pushers, gather cumulus clouds. Thunderhead team, you”re gonna charge them up and fire them. Rain team, rain. On my mark! Three… two… one… MARK!”

Off they went again. Dash put her team through a normal day’s training, driving them with all the efficiency and command of a drill sergeant. She had guaranteed Dewdrop a show, and she was getting one hay of a show.

A few hours later, the weather team finally finished their routine, landing softly on the clouds. 
“Well, Dewdrop? What do you think?....Dewdrop?” asked Dash. Dewdrop´s jaw had hit the runway. “...Awesome. I don't think I can do that.”
“Oh, you will. Practice makes permanent!" Dash trotted away and called to her team, ¨Okay guys, you’re done for the day. Clean up around here and go home. Hell week starting tomorrow. Be ready. Dismissed!”