Saturday morning...
After arriving a couple of minutes before time and being shown around the Weather Factory, Storm was ready to start his new job on the cloud-busting team. He looked over the platform on which he was standing on and through a truly massive glass door, which he presumed would open to allow the cloud-busting team to fly out of the building. It was a rather cloudy day, with rain showers or thunderstorms forecast to hit Cloudsdale later on in the day. In other words, it was perfect weather for some cloud-busting. Just then, his supervisor, Lightning Fast came over to a large podium, which stood between Storm and another pony, and tapped the microphone, before clearing his throat.
"Alright, folks." he begun, looking to see some weather ponies gather around him. "As most of you will know, our first thunderstorm in two weeks will happen today, and as you will all know, thunderstorms cannot happen if the sky is already cloudy, plus, we still want ponies to enjoy what's left of summer. So, I would like you all to clear up the sky over Cloudsdale and the towns which surround our beautiful city. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir!" they all replied in unison, including Storm.
"Good." he replied. "In a few minutes, I will open this door and you will all fly out and clear up every cloud over the entire area. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir!"
"Alright." he said. "In the meantime, I would like you all to prepare yourselves. This will most likely take you all at least a couple of hours, so I would like you all to get ready. You'll be tired as hay by the time you get back. Also, we have a new recruit today on the cloud-busting team. His name is Stormfire and I want you all to make him feel welcome."
"Yes sir." they all replied, watching Lightning Fast walk off the podium and into his office. Storm gulped, peering over the platform on which he was standing on, before looking around and noticing the other weather ponies around him preparing themselves. He looked outside again, noticing the sky becoming grayer and grayer every second, and he started to shiver in fright, thinking that the thunderstorm had hit Cloudsdale earlier than he expected. However, he then remembered what Lightning had said about thunderstorms not being able to form if it is already cloudy, and sighed in relief, coming to the conclusion that there was little-to-no chance of being struck by lightning, at least right now.
Just then, the massive glass door opened, and an air horn sounded, echoing through the weather factory. Storm gulped as he watched the other weather ponies prepare for takeoff, before remembering that he was here to prove himself and impress his supervisor.
"Alright." Lightning spoke through the loudspeakers. "You all ready?"
"Yes sir!"
"Alright." he grinned, sounding the air horn again. "Off you go!"
Suddenly, practically every Pegasus in this part of the Weather Factory flew out of the open door and up into the sky, including Storm, who stayed far behind the rest and watched them clean up the sky, completely awestruck.
"Hey, recruit!" shouted a voice from a cloud above Storm. "A little help up here?!"
"Oops, sorry!" he said, flying up towards the cloud. The stallion which stood on it was Lightning Fast's assistant, a rather small, yet buff middle-aged Pegasus named Tornado. He had a yellow-brown coat and a very light yellow mane, which was slowly becoming grayer and grayer with each passing month. "Yes... sir?"
"Get to work." he growled. "Now."
"Alright..." replied Storm, who flew high into the sky, before suddenly pausing in mid-air. "Question. How do you cloud bust?"
"You simply fly through the cloud." replied Tornado. "Now, off you go!"
"Yes sir..." Storm gulped, before flying towards a patch of cloud, around a mile from where he was, that was untouched by the Pegasi. He stopped, and touched the cloud, which disappeared after Storm touched it. His eyes widened in shock, before a grin formed on his face, and suddenly, he shot through the cloud and begun to virtually erase it off the sky. Minutes passed, and most of the cloud over East Cloudsdale had disappeared, leaving a nice blue sky in its wake. Storm grinned and prepared to turn back and fly back to the others, when somepony tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, and to Storm's shock, it was Tornado.
"What do you think you're doing?!" he asked, with an angry tone in his voice.
"Clearing up the sky...?" Storm asked rather awkwardly.
"Cloud-busting is a team effort, you dunce!" shouted the stallion, watching Storm's previously proud grin disappear completely off his face and being replaced by a rock-hard glare. "You're sitting this one out!"
"You could have told me this earlier!" he shouted.
"Silence!" replied Tornado in a booming voice. "Get back to the factory, now!"
"Sheesh." groaned Storm, before flying back to the factory.
Storm sat at a lunch table in the factory cafeteria and stared out of the window. Thanks to the hard work of the cloud-busting team, the sky was becoming more and more blue every second. Storm sighed deeply, finally realizing his mistake. Cloud-busting is a team effort, and Storm was not being part of a team, nor was he trying to be. While he waited for his supervisor to come and lecture him on teamwork (or possibly suspend or fire him), he begun to notice a cyan Pegasus with a dark blue mane approach his table.
"You know..." begun the Pegasus, coming over to him. "Lunch break isn’t until an hour."
"Who the hell are you?" asked Storm, turning to look at him with a scornful glare.
"My name's Blue Skye." the Pegasus replied, sitting right next to Storm.
"Nice, nice," Storm snarked. “Kind of suits you well.”
"Yeah, well. I just wanted to ask, what are you doing here? Aren't you on the cloud-busting team?" he asked.
"Isn't everypony here?" scoffed Storm.
"Uh, I'm not." Blue replied. "I used to be but they moved me to the cloud-manufacturing team."
"I just wanted to ask you, why are you sitting beside me?" asked Storm. "I don't even know you."
"I've seen you before." replied Blue.
"You have?" gasped Storm. "Where?"
"You go to my school." he replied. "We’re in a couple of classes together."
"I don't remember seeing you or anypony who looks remotely similar to you in ANY of my classes." replied Storm.
"You go to my physical education class." he groaned. "And to my physics class. And lemme guess... you're Stormfire, right?"
"Yeah..." replied Storm. "Wait, now I remember you…you’re going out with Summer Skies’ twin sister, right?”
“How’d you guess?”
“I used to go out with Summer for a while…then she dumped me, so there’s that.”
“Oh,” Blue responded. “Well, anyways. I'm just wanting to ask why you're sitting here."
"Does it concern you in any way?" countered Storm.
"No..." sighed Blue. "But I'm just curious."
"Ugh, fine. If it gets you off my back..." sighed Storm. "Your supervisor's assistant removed me from today's cloud-busting schedule."
"Tornado can be like that sometimes." he replied. "But once you get to know him, he can be quite a nice guy."
"You wanna know why?" asked Storm. "Because I wasn't working in a team. Last time I checked, in this society, it's every stallion for himself when it comes to work."
"True, but that doesn't mean that you can't work as a team." he replied. "In fact, in many jobs, you simply have to."
"I guess so." sighed Storm. "What's your supervisor gonna do? Fire me?"
"My dad wouldn't do that unless you do something really wrong." explained Blue. "He would most likely give you a short lecture on how to act as a weather pony."
"Lightning Fast is your dad?" asked Storm.
"Yep." Blue grinned proudly.
"Are you and your dad the only ponies in your family who work here?" asked Storm. "Both my parents work here."
"Nope. Me and my dad aren't the only members of our family who work as weather ponies. Both my parents work here as well. They aren't the first members of my family who work here, and most likely they aren't the last." Blue replied. "Weather is something that runs in the family, at least for six generations."
"Wow..." gasped Storm. "Don't you maybe think it's time for a change?"
"What?" Blue Skye gasped, looking at Storm with an expression of shock. "Absolutely not."
"Suit yourself." Storm shrugged.
Just then, the door to the cafeteria opened and Lightning Fast stepped into the room, Storm knowing very well why he was there.
"Hi dad." said Blue.
"Hey son." replied Lightning. "Aren't you meant to be at work?"
"I've done my job for the day." he replied. "They let me go back home earlier."
"That's good." replied Lightning. "You head on home now, alright?"
"Yeah. Bye." said Blue Skye, before leaving the cafeteria.
"See you, son." he replied, before turning to face Storm, wearing a scowl on his face. "Why are you not outside doing your job?"
"He... sent me back here." replied Storm.
"I'm not stupid, Stormfire." growled Lightning Fast. "What did you do wrong?"
"Lack of teamwork." sighed Storm.
"I see." he replied, still retaining his scowl. "You know, a job in weather is something that requires you to interact with different ponies. Teamwork increases productivity, and productivity is something that's unfortunately been slipping here over the past couple of years. Teamwork is key to your success as a weather pony, Stormfire. This is NOT a one-stallion job, nor will it ever be. Understand?'
"I understand, sir." replied Storm.
"That's a good thing." said Lightning Fast. "Anyways, since you're new here, I'm going to give you a warning. I see you on your own one more time, and I'll personally see to it that you're cleaning restrooms. Alright?"
"Yes sir." sighed Storm. "I'll work with the others."
"Good." he smiled. "Now, I want you to get back to the others."
"Fine..." he sighed, before making his way down to the platforms, where, unfortunately, Tornado was waiting for him.
"There you are..." he smirked, watching Storm walk up to his platform. "I expect much better from you this time. You understand?"
"Yes sir." Storm said in an emotionless voice.
"Alright." he replied. "Now remember. If I catch you doing something you're not meant to be doing, I will personally see to it that you're off this team and outta here. I don't give a crap about what Lightning Fast thinks of you, you understand? I am his superior, which also means I am your superior, and you must do exactly as I say."
"Yes sir." Storm replied, preparing himself for whatever he was going to do next.
"Don't 'yes sir' me!" replied Tornado. "It's 'yes, Mr. Tornado, sir!'."
"Yes, Mr. Tornado, sir." grumbled Storm.
"More enthusiasm please."
"Yes, Mr. Tornado, sir!"
"Alright." he grinned proudly, before walking up the podium and clearing his throat into the microphone. "Alright, you lazy bums! You see what's going on outside?!"
Storm looked through the glass door, which was now closed, and gasped. It was raining heavily outside, and the sky was much, much darker than usual. A sudden flash of lightning shone into the weather factory and a rumble of thunder echoed through the building, causing most of the weather ponies to shiver in fear, except Storm, who was both mentally and physically preparing himself for whatever he was going to be doing.
"Yes sir." the weather ponies replied in unison.
"Alright." smirked Tornado, before turning to look at a mare on the team. "Misty?"
"Yes sir?"
"Tell me what the weather is like outside."
"Stormy, sir."
"Excellent." said Tornado, turning away from her to face a stallion. "Storm Blaze?"
"Sir?"
"Tell me the most important thing about flying through a thunderstorm."
"Fly slowly, and close to the ground."
"Great." smiled Tornado. "I would like you all, including you, Stormfire..." he fixed his eyes on Storm, who backed away slightly in fear. Some of the mares and stallions on the team chuckled to themselves, which made him even more uncomfortable than he already was. "...to make it so that there is not even an inch of blue sky left."
Storm turned to look out of the glass door again, and noticed a patch of blue sky in the distance, which was untouched by the stormy clouds, before turning back to look at the other weather ponies, who were all preparing themselves for what they were going to be doing; making the entire sky gray. He gulped, not knowing exactly how he was going to do it, before raising his hoof.
"Yes?" asked Tornado.
"Uh... sir?" asked Storm. "How exactly are we going to make the entire sky gray?"
"Bucking newbie..." muttered Tornado under his breath, turning away from Storm, before turning back to face him. "Uh, I was hoping somepony will show you."
"Who?"
"Storm Blaze?" asked Tornado, turning to look at the stallion.
"Yes sir?"
"Can you teach the recruit how to darken the sky?"
"I'll sure try, sir." said the stallion, in a slightly southern accent. Storm gulped yet again, watching the glass door in front of him slide open. Within seconds, it grew noticeably colder in the factory and rain blew in from outside, which pleased Tornado; he liked to watch his team attempt to withstand the elements.
"Oh, and tell me what he's been doin'. Alright?"
"Yes sir."
"Alright!" shouted Tornado through the microphone. "You all better be bucking ready! I want you to cover any last inch of blue sky over Cloudsdale up with thick gray cloud. This thunderstorm will not be a success if there are still patches of blue sky visible, and we really need the rain." He then pulled out an air horn and pressed the button, causing the sound to echo through the factory building and in everypony's ears, including Storm's. "Get going!"
Suddenly, all the weather ponies on the team flew out of the factory, including Storm, who trailed behind them all. He had never flown during a thunderstorm before, but he could tell that the other weather ponies have. In fact, it seemed as though they were built to withstand such conditions. Rain lashed at him from every corner of the sky and he was beginning to want to turn back, however he then remembered that if he flew slowly and close to the ground, he had a chance of making it through the thunderstorm safely. He then nosedived towards the ground, before pulling up just a couple of feet before he reached the ground and following the others towards the patch of blue sky, which was over the Cloudsdale Arena, a place he used to frequent as a colt. The rain seemed to calm down the closer the weather ponies got to the arena, which for Storm, was a good thing.
"So, you ready?" asked Storm Blaze, who was flying ten-twenty feet before him.
"Yeah..." replied Storm. "Sorta."
"Relax, dude." he said. "This is actually one of the easiest things you can do as a weather pony."
"Really?"
"Yep." he replied. "All you have to do is just drag the cloud with your hooves."
"It's that easy?" Storm chuckled to himself.
"Yep." he replied, before turning away from Storm to look at the weather ponies before him, who flew up into the air and begun to fill in the hole in the clouds. "Just do what I'm doing, alright?!"
"Okay." replied Storm, watching him fly up into the air to join the others. Storm Blaze then begun to drag the cloud with his hoof and begun to cover what remained of the sky with it.
"Why don't you try it?" asked Storm Blaze.
"Well, okay..." he replied, flying up into the air and dragging the rest of the cloud over. "Wow... this is easy."
"Well, no shit." chuckled Storm Blaze.
Maybe I still have a chance at this... Storm thought to himself, his confidence slowly beginning to grow. A grin formed on his face, and he dragged every remaining inch of cloud over the blue sky, and helped the others fill in the gap in the clouds. In fact, with Storm's help, it had taken the weather ponies far less time to fill in the sky than usual. He did not expect himself to be so good.
Eventually, the sky over the Cloudsdale Arena was fully covered with thick, gray cloud, and a rumble of thunder sounded overhead. A moment or two later, lightning flashed several times over the city skyline several miles in the distance, before it begun to rain over the Arena. The group of weather ponies cheered, having done a good job with darkening the sky.
"That was great!" said Storm Blaze. "The boss is gonna be really proud. Especially of you, Storm. You did exceptionally well, and to think that you're a beginner."
"Really?" Storm gasped.
"Yeah, really!" he grinned.
"Thanks dude."
"No problem." replied Storm Blaze. "We should all be heading back now. This storm's gonna get really ugly."
The Local Weather Administration in Cloudsdale has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for all of Cloudsdale County. As of right now, the storm is moving eastwards towards Ponyville County at around ten miles per hour, and while it isn't tornadic, it is very dangerous and energetic, with heavy rains, damaging winds, lightning and possible hail reported on the outskirts of town and at the airport. If you are outside anywhere in the Cloudsdale area, I would suggest getting inside and waiting for the storm to pass. Thank you for listening and please stay tuned for further details.
Lightning Fast switched off the radio in his office, and sipped on some hot chocolate. He looked outside through his window and noticed that the storm had really kicked off. Rain battered the window relentlessly, and lightning flashed outside, illuminating the inside of the factory.
"Where the buck are they all?" he murmured to himself, wondering where the cloud-busting team was.
Just then, the glass door to the factory opened and the weather ponies flew in, drenched in rainwater, especially Storm, who trailed behind the rest of the group.
"That... was bucking awesome!" grinned Storm, shaking the rainwater off his body like a wet dog.
"I agree." replied Storm Blaze. "It's one of the best things about being a weather pony; you get to fly anywhere you want."
"That was good, y'all." said Tornado, walking up to the microphone on the podium. "I must say, we're doing better than I expected us to. Storm Blaze?"
"Yes sir?"
"Has Stormfire been working with the team?"
"Yes sir. He sure has. In fact, he's been doing the most."
"He helped us fill in the gap in the cloud." said one weather pony.
"And he did it in record time too!" said another.
"Alright..." replied Tornado. "Hm... If Stormfire is so good... how about we move him to a higher rank?"
"What do you mean, sir?" asked Storm, nervousness growing inside of him. "I mean, I just joined."
"I mean, move you to the cloud-manufacturing department... just to see how well you're doing." he smirked.
"How--how do you make clouds though...?" asked Storm, shivering slightly.
"You'll learn eventually." he smirked. "Be here next Saturday, 9 AM sharp. I'll personally show you that being a weather pony is not just about flying through clouds and clearing up the sky. You have a hay of a lot to learn, recruit."