//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Rainbow Tide // Story: Adventures in the Weather Patrol // by Blade Star //------------------------------// I was sitting down at one of the outdoor tables outside a café in Ponyville. It was Wednesday and I was back on duty again. In fact we all were; we were scheduled to manage a major storm this week, so we’d all gathered here to meet up over breakfast and talk tactics. Well, we would, if we were all here. At present, we were short one pony.      “I say she’s napping on a cloud somewhere,” Thunderlane said, taking a bite out of his dandelion sandwich.      “No way, Flight,” Flitter replied, shaking her head. “Ten bits says she’s off fangirling around the Wonderbolts. You hear they’re in town for a show this week? Ever since she got that reservist spot, she’s been more obsessed than ever.”      Ah yes, the Wonderbolts. They’re Equestria’s answer to the Red Arrows; a highly trained and highly skilled pegasi display team. They do shows all over Equestria, as well as acting as a rapid response force when needed. Based out of Cloudsdale, which is where their HQ and training facilities are located, they fly all over Equestria, taking part in displays, races, and even helping out with weather work at times. Not too long after I arrived here, Rainbow joined the Wonderbolt Reserves; they aren’t part of the squadron, but they are on the list for promotion whenever they do open the books.       “I think you’re both wrong,” Cloudchaser broke in. “I think she’s been getting all sweet on Soarin and…” Now I jumped in.       “Actually, you’re all wrong. She’s just over there, heading straight for us.” I pointed out with a hoof, prompting the others to take a look.      You could just barely make her out as a small speck in the distance. Thank goodness for my pegasi eye sight. She was certainly hauling ass; I guess she knew she was late. To everypony’s surprise though, as she drew nearer, she actually accelerated. I watched as the air pressure began to form a cone just ahead of her. That meant she was close to the sound barrier.      As she began to roar over the town, we watched as her form seemed to stretch out. All of a sudden, the cone moved backwards behind her and she shot forward. In an instant, the sky was lit up by a huge circular rainbow and there was an almighty bang as she broke the barrier.      “Cover your ears!” Thunderlane yelled. We barely had time to before the sonic boom, which was louder than a thunderclap reached us. Behind us, a couple of the café’s windows blew out from the overpressure.      Dash shot over us at a speed faster than a bullet from a gun, trailing a rainbow coloured wake behind her. It wasn’t until a few seconds after she passed overhead that we heard the signature whooshing jet sound of a pegasus in high speed flight.      After passing over us, Rainbow banked hard and dropped back below supersonic. Fishtailing all the way down to lose speed, she eventually touched down just in front of us. We were all silent and no doubt had surprised looks on our faces. Dash just stood there grinning.      “Yeah, I get that a lot,” she said casually. Thunderlane was the first to come to his senses.      “Rainbow,” he said calmly. “I’m going to ask you a simple question. What…the buck…is wrong with you?! What in the name of Celestia are you doing a rainboom right over town for; you must have blown out half the windows in Ponyville!”      The smug look on Dash’s face now quickly disappeared. She took a quick look around and saw how quite a few windows were blown in.      “Oh…er….oops?” she offered meekly. Thunderlane however, wasn’t finished.      “You’re damn right ‘oops’! You’re lucky you didn’t blow out somepony’s ear drums! Why were you going that fast anyway?” Dash now rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.      “Well, I kinda got some good news just now,” she said.      “What’s that then?” I asked. Dash now recovered a little and broke out into a grin.      “I just talked to Spitfire. They want me in the show this week!”      “Does that mean…?” Flitter asked. Rainbow nodded.      “Hell yeah it does!” she exclaimed “I’m in the Wonderbolts!” The five of us all fell into stunned silence while Rainbow kept grinning. Dewdrop was the first one to come to his senses.      “You got into the Wonderbolts? How?!” he asked excitedly. Dash threw her mane back in an effort to look cool before replying.      “Simple,” she answered. “One of the ponies on the squadron is retiring next month, and my name just happened to be top of the list.”      To be fair, she was a damned good flyer. Apart from one or two minor incidents on her record, and one major one involving a giant snowball last winter, she seemed like a good candidate for the ‘Bolts. Dash is not only fast, as we’d all just seen, but she can turn on a tanner as well. You need speed and agility to get into the Wonderbolts. Well, that and the innate desire to fly harder and faster than anypony else in the sky. That seemed to suit Rainbow down to a T.      “Wow, congratulations, Dash!” I said, prompting everypony else to follow suit. “So when do you start then?” Dash explained her new schedule.      “Training should start tomorrow at Wonderbolt Headquarters,” she said. “We’ve only got a couple days before the show here in Ponyville.”       “Hang on a minute though!” Thunderlane broke in. “If you’re going off with the Wonderbolts, doesn’t that mean you’re leaving the Weather Patrol?”      Almost at once, everypony’s joy and excitement turned to sadness. Rainbow had been the boss for more than a few years. We’d all be sad to see her leave Ponyville.” Luckily, Dash quickly explained that worry away.      “Chillax, guys,” she said reassuringly. “I’m staying with the patrol, and I’m not leaving Ponyville. But we are going to have to work out who’s gonna run things here when I’m away on shows.” Thunderlane puffed out his chest.      “I’m sure I can look after things for you, RD,” he said, sounding a little prideful.      “Hey, what makes you think you’ll be in charge, Thunderlane?” Flitter demanded. He turned to face her, scowling a little.      “I’m the next most senior officer, Flitter,” he replied. “If Dash isn’t around, then the book says I run the show.”      “Oh please, Thunderlane,” Cloudchaser replied. “You could barely handle that bad rainstorm last month. How are you supposed to run an entire patrol?” Thunderlane barred his teeth in annoyance.       We had a bit of a problem. Flight was correct in what he said. According to the regs, if Dash wasn’t around; either off ill, incapacitated, or KIA, formal authority passed down to him as the patrol flight sergeant. Below that you had Flitter and me, who were patrol officers first class, and then Cloudchaser, who was second, and then Dewdrop, who was third class. On the other hoof though, while he was a good flyer, he wasn’t the best leader. He could manage a calm day or the odd rain cloud, but if we had to deal with a major storm, he might have trouble. Rainbow stepped in to try and settle the argument.      “Hey, hey, hey, shut the hay up, the lot of you!” she barked, stopping our arguing. “Thunderlane, you’re going to be in charge, as per Weather Patrol regulations.” Thunderlane smiled at that, flashing a grin towards Flitter and Cloudchaser.      “However,” Dash went on, promptly wiping the smile off his face. “You’re going to work jointly with Lizzie. She’ll back you up on all decisions.”      “What?!” Thunderlane shouted. I merely found myself blushing. Dash explained.      “You’re a good flyer, Thunderlane,” Dash said. “But I don’t feel comfortable leaving you on your own. Lizzie has learned a lot in the short time she’s been here. In particular, she’s good at flying in storm weather and coordinating the team. So you’ll work together to get things done.”      “But I’m the senior officer!” Thunderlane said, almost pleadingly.      “Yes, you are,” Dash replied. “But Lizzie’s better at dealing with rough weather. You do see how ‘better’ trumps ‘senior’, right?” I heard Dewdrop giggle. Thunderlane grumbled.     “Fine,” he said at last, still scowling.      “Good,” Dash said, returning to a more friendly tone. “Trust me, it’ll be good for the both of you. Anyway, I’ve gotta get over to see Spitfire. I’ll catch you guys later.”      Grabbing a slice of pie for herself, she took off back into the air and was quickly out of sight. We were all quiet for a few moments. There was tension in the air. Thunderlane looked pretty miffed, and was glaring in my direction. He seemed to wage a mental battle for a few moments before coming to his senses.      “Alright, everypony,” he said. “You heard what Dash said. As now me and Lizzie are in temporary command of the patrol. Everypony on board?” We all nodded. “Good, then let’s finish up here and get to work.”     Dash had left the weather schedule for the next couple of days in Thunderlane’s mailbox. The two of looked over it together. For the most part it was simple enough. Light cloud cover today, light rains tomorrow, all building up to a major storm the day after that. It would be a bit tough being a man down with Rainbow away, but I figured we should still be able to do it.      “Doesn’t look too bad,” Thunderlane commented, after looking the charts over. “Apart from this major storm at the end of the week we should do fine.”       “Yeah, but that storm looks pretty rough,” I replied. “Heavy rain and thundercloud coverage, multiple lightning strikes, and winds aloft above forty five knots easterly. Hell of a thing to fly in, Flight.” Frowning, Thunderlane nodded.      “Between the two of us we ought to manage though, eh?” he offered. On the flight over to RD’s little mansion, I’d noticed him soften up a bit. With any luck, we’d actually do quite well working together.      “Oh sure,” I agreed with a nod. “It’s just gonna be a bit weird without Dash around.”     Putting the schedule in his saddlebags, Thunderlane headed back to the café, with me following behind. Flitter, Cloudchaser, and Dewdrop were waiting there for us. Touching down a few feet away, Thunderlane passed out copies of the day’s schedule (that’s the SOP for a patrol; everypony gets their own copy of the plan for the day) and began to give us a briefing, something Dash usually did.      “Okay, everypony,” he began. “We’ve got a nice easy day for our first day without Rainbow. Just some light cloud cover to build up, starting at Fluttershy’s cottage, and stretching across to Sweet Apple Acres. From there we’ll let it drift across town and start forming the basis of the storm due this week.      “Now, I’ll take the lookout two thousand feet above you all. Lizzie, I want you to work with Flitter and Cloudchaser to work up the ground fog into the clouds. And Dewdrop, you’re on rear guard; keep an eye on the Everfree and make sure no rogue weather comes our way. Sound good?”      Flitter and Cloudchaser nodded in agreement. Dewdrop however, looked a little nervous. I found myself a little concerned too and as we all took off, I raised my concerns with Thunderlane.      “Flight, don’t you think it’s a bit dicey putting Dewdrop on rear guard? I know he’s picked up a lot since he started, but dealing with Everfree weather on your own even made Dash sweat a couple of times. Maybe I should take that spot, and then Dewdrop can work on the ground fog with the girls?” Thunderlane sighed and put a hoof to the bridge of his nose.      “Really?” he said, turning to me. “I’ve been in charge five minutes and you’re already questioning my decisions?” Oh great.      “I’m just saying the kid’s a little inexperienced for that kind of work, that’s all. Dash asked me to help out and give you advice. I’m just saying what I think.” Thunderlane snorted.      “The kid’s got to do some of the heavy lifting some time,” he replied. “I can’t just keep relegating him to easy work, otherwise we’ll be down two flyers instead of one when the chips are down.” He had a point I suppose, still I didn’t like it. But, it wasn’t dangerous, so there was no way I was going to countermand him.      We soon reached and began to orbit Whitetail Wood. At this time of year, particularly in early morning, you could find quite a bit of fog and mist here that could be whipped up into clouds. It was just a case of gathering it all together to increase its density. When that was done, you effectively had a ready formed rain cloud.      The only trouble is that it’s back breaking work. Because it’s so thin when it’s a mist, you can’t manipulate it with your hooves like you would a cloud. You have to use your wings and tail instead to try and force it all into a single mass. And since the mist wants to dissipate again, it’s constant work to keep the thing together. By the end of it, you’ve worked up a pretty good sweat.      That was precisely what happened to me, Flitter, and Cloudchaser after a couple hours. We managed to form three clouds before half ten, which wasn’t too bad. We could have done more, if I or one of the others hadn’t had to break off every now and then to help Dewdrop.      Like I said before, being the rear guard to the Everfree can be a demanding job. The last thing you want when you’re producing clouds, or otherwise forming a weather pattern, is for random stuff to come flying through, potentially upsetting things. And when it comes to the Everfree Forest, the weather can be a pretty bad hazard.      Thunderlane was right when he said Dewdrop needed to learn to do some more difficult tasks, but this was like dropping him into the sea after a couple of swimming lessons in the shallow end. He did his best, but I still had to peel off every now and then and help him get a cloud heading back into the forest. He didn’t do a bad job by any means, but I could have done better, and he’d have been more help on the ground whipping up the mist.      I just felt that it was a bit irresponsible of Thunderlane, considering that Everfree weather can get quite dangerous if left unchecked. Maybe we just have different styles of working? Either way, I didn’t want to get on Flight’s bad side or cause friction with anypony else, so I kept my mouth shut for the time being.      Eventually, around midday, we had the clouds we needed up in the air and under control. For the time being, we moved them over towards Fluttershy’s cottage and pinned them there, tagging them with those daft ‘Not to be moved’ tags that we have to slap on whenever we pin a cloud somewhere that isn’t its spot in a pattern.      All in all, we’d done okay. Everything was sorted for tomorrow’s storm now. Thunderlane thanked us all for a job well done and then dismissed us. I simply dived down to the cottage while everypony else headed back to town.      I found Fluttershy outside, talking with a couple of squirrels. For the life of me, I can’t stand those tree rats, ever since one of them bit me on the arm when we were on holiday and I had to get a rabies shot in the gut. Swooping down towards the trio, the two squirrels darted up a tree as I touched down.      “Hey Fluttershy,” I said as I folded up my wings. “Have you heard the news about Rainbow?” Fluttershy and Rainbow were childhood friends, and I imagined that she’d be interested to hear the news of RD getting accepted after all this time.      “I heard about it this morning,” Fluttershy replied, wearing an extra wide, Pinkie Pie smile. “Oh I’m so glad she’s finally been able to join the Wonderbolts properly. I’ve even been practicing my cheer for when she does her show; watch.”      To my delight, the pegasus reared up on the hind legs, before plunging back down and…ahem…’yelling’ out a barely audible yay. It was fecking adorable. I managed to stop myself from giggling though.     We both went inside and talked about what had happened. Dash was apparently already off at Wonderbolt HQ for practice. I didn’t doubt that she’d be fitting right in with the rest of them. Dash might have the appearance of a slouch, what with her frequent napping and all, but when it came to her work, she was a real professional. She hadn’t ended up as an element of harmony by accident after all. I did however explain my concerns about Thunderlane to Fluttershy over tea.      “I don’t know what to say, ‘Shy,” I said as I stirred in a bit more sugar. “He’s not a bad leader, but I’ve seen him wobble when we’ve been in a tight spot, you know, make a bad call in the heat of the moment. I just want to help out, but every time I do, it feels like I’m taking the reins off him, and that makes him feel daft.” Fluttershy nodded in understanding.      “That does sound like a bit of a difficult situation,” she agreed. “Maybe you could talk to Twilight; she’s been looking for a new friendship problem to work on.” I considered that. Twilight did have a knack for these sorts of problems. Before I had a chance to act though, Fluttershy’s other friend joined us.      There was a bright flash over by the sofa, and a moment later, that damn Discord was sitting there, reclining and grinning like the smug bastard he is.      “Ooh, do I smell some chaos cooking?” he asked curiously, looking in my general direction. I resisted the urge to snap at him. Fluttershy says that it interferes with his reformation if I’m always yelling at him.      “Actually, you just dropped in on a friendship problem, Discord,” Fluttershy replied sweetly, pouring him a cup of tea as he spoke.      “Ah yes,” Discord went on. “Little Miss Control Freak here doesn’t like somepony taking a different approach to her beloved Rainbow.”      “I’m not a control freak, Discord,” I replied testily. “I’m just worried that something’s going to go wrong.” Discord rolled his eyes.      “Oh for goodness sake,” he said, sitting upright. “If you want to start your little revolution, don’t hide it. Just come out and tell him you think he’s an ass.” Snapping his fingers, Discord produced a red beret and Che Guevara t-shirt.      “He’s not an ass!” I shot back. “He’s a damn good flyer!”      “Then what’s the problem?” Discord asked. “Pick a side, sister! Either he’s good at his job and you should follow him, or he isn’t and you should replace him. It can’t be both.”      I pondered that as the draconequus sipped at his tea. As crazy as he is, he tends to come out with something useful. I was playing a bit of both sides wasn’t I? I respected Thunderlane, but I’d rather one of us were in charge. As it is, I feel like I’m stepping on his toes whenever I question his decisions. Fluttershy now spoke up.      “I think I have an idea of the problem, Lizzie,” she offered. “I think you both have different ways of working. To you Thunderlane’s methods seem a bit risky. But on the other hoof, to him your views seem to be playing things too safe at the cost of efficiency. They both have their merits, but like Discord said, you have to pick one. You can’t have two ponies at the top.”     I nodded in understanding. Fluttershy had summed it up pretty well. Maybe I was taking this all too seriously. After all, what it all boiled down to was me thinking ‘if I was in charge, I wouldn’t have done that’. The fact of the matter though, was that I wasn’t in charge, I was second in command and meant to offer advice. Whether Thunderlane wanted to follow that advice was another story. I decided that, unless something went seriously off the rails, I’d let things lie. I’d still offer advice, but I wouldn’t keep countering Thunderlane at every little decision.     The next day was the day we’d actually be forming the storm. This afternoon, we’d set the whole thing off and watch it drift down the valley. I tell you, it’s quite a sight to behold, you feel proud of the fact that you helped create the thing too. Just as long as you’re at a safe distance. They may just drop rain and the odd bolt on the ground, but in the air, big storms can be seriously dicey. There’s heavy windshear, poor visibility, the driving rain, and the risk of getting hit by a stray bolt of lightning to worry about. Any pegasus with half a brain doesn’t fly in one if they can help it.      We’d gathered up the basics of the storm yesterday, in the clouds that we’d pinned up above Fluttershy’s cottage. Today, we’d be adding the water to them to fatten them up, and then charge them up with lightning, thus creating a thundercloud. Tie them all together and boom, you’ve got a thunderstorm at five o’clock sharp, as per schedule.      Given that the clouds were pinned right above where I lived, I had a bit of a slower start today, since I didn’t need to fly out to Ponyville. Still, Fluttershy was sure to give me a good breakfast. I’d probably be too busy for lunch today.      Taking off, I quickly climbed up to be level with the clouds we’d made and sat myself down on one while I waited for the others to arrive. I didn’t have to wait too long. Thunderlane and the others came streaking in and soon settled themselves down on some of the other clouds. Dewdrop glided down and sat himself next to me. Once we were all settled, Thunderlane began his briefing.      “Alright, everypony,” he began. Today we’re aiming to get this storm underway. That means filling up these clouds with water from the lake, and charging them for lightning strikes. We’ll tow them over the lake to save a bit of time. Ideally, I want this done by four, and the storm active by five. Sound good?” Everypony nodded.      Once again though, that little voice in my head was concerned. It might have been quicker to move the clouds over the lake, but it was a bit dicey. Over water, the clouds could potentially send lightning into the water, rather than simply being earthed when they hit the ground. In addition to frying any fish in there, it could also hurt anypony who was taking a dip, something that wasn’t uncommon in warmer weather.      But, I said to myself, this was Thunderlane’s show. It might not have been exact procedure, but it wasn’t dangerous either. As long as you were careful, and made sure the clouds didn’t start up, we ought to be fine. So, I followed everypony else as we took position behind the clouds.      “Okay, everypony take a cloud and make for the lake in town,” Thunderlane ordered. “Once we’re there, Flitter, Dewdrop, and Cloudchaser, start bringing water up with buckets and fill the clouds to brim. Lizzie and me will then start charging them up. Watch your backs, and be careful not to earth yourselves on the clouds. Let’s go.”      We all headed for the lake in Ponyville. The going was a little slow. Contrary to popular belief, clouds can actually be quite heavy things to move. Celestia knew how tricky it would be to put all of these together and get them moving on course when we were done.     There are times when I find myself wishing that Discord had turned me into an earth pony instead of a pegasus. The increased strength and stamina sure would help out with the heavy duty work. Heck, I’ve seen Big Mac knock down an entire tree in one kick. This was certainly one of those times. The cloud I was pushing was heavier than sin. I was amazed the damn thing could float at all and didn’t just sink down to the ground. And they were only going to get heavier when the water was added. I guess it explains that heavy oppressive feeling you get when a thunderstorm rolls close.      Huffing and puff, we eventually reached the lake just outside Ponyville. Annoyingly, the very same momentum we’d all worked so hard to create, now worked against us as we tried to stop the clouds and hold them in place. Ever try to stop a car that’s already begun to roll down a hill? It’s that kind of feeling.      Still, we got there in the end. Dewdrop, with Flitter and Cloudchaser on each wing dived down for the lake some thousand feet below. We’d brought a few pails with us. They’d essentially do what those firefighting plans do. They’d skim across the water and load up their pails with water, then circle back up and deposit them in the clouds.      And here was the first problem with Thunderlane’s plan. Usually, we’d have the clouds stand off somewhere from where we’d eventually need them. Once you’d picked up the water, which was damn heavy itself, you had a fairly steady climb back to altitude. But with them positioned directly over the lake, Dewdrop and the others had to work upwards in a long climbing spiral, taking far more effort and arguably more time.      As Flitter dumped a few gallons into the cloud before me, Thunderlane called over to me.      “Well don’t just sit there, Lizzie,” he said. “Get started charging the cloud!”      Now, again, this wasn’t against the rules. I know for a fact a lot of weather pegasi do the same thing. But charging a cloud that’s still being loaded isn’t best practice. If you have problems with the cloud, like it starts to sink earthwards, you also have to contend with the fact that the cloud’s live and hot. As it’s still in the air, it ought to be fairly safe. An airborne pegasus isn’t the quickest path to ground. Still, RD always discouraged the practice.  Frowning, I bit my tongue and set about pounding at the cloud, while Thunderlane did the same on his. Before long, they turned from the grey of a raincloud, to the menacing black of a storm cloud. I followed procedure and called down to the pegasi still collecting water below us.      “Head’s up down there! Hot clouds in your area! Keep clear!” I yelled out      It was a safety thing, warning any pegasi around not to fly directly below the storm clouds. Potentially, they could shorten the path to ground enough for the energy in the cloud to jump. The upshot of that is the same as what happens when electricity arcs from an overhead cable on the railway. It ain’t pretty.      Before long, Cloudchaser had dumped the last fill of rainwater. The storm clouds looked heavier than ever, and even flying close caused my mane to stand up from the static. Now came the hard part; forming the whole thing into a storm, and pushing it off on its intended course. Carefully, we began to connect up the clouds. Usually, nothing was simpler. But you needed to be careful with storm clouds; a solid jolt could set them off.      I was pushing my own cloud towards the centre mass when things started to go sideways. It started when Flitter called out a warning.      “Hey, guys!” she called out. “This cloud’s starting to sink, lend a hoof!”      Turning to look, I saw that Flitter’s cloud was slowly sinking down. The thing was overloaded, and since the rain hadn’t been triggered yet, the only thing for the cloud to do was obey the laws of gravity. I began to head over to help, as did Thunderlane.      “Don’t start it up, Flitter,” he ordered. “It’ll take ages to get it under control. Hold tight and I’ll help you stabilise it. Once it’s in the main storm, it should hold fine.” He then dived down and headed under the cloud.      Now, ordinarily, this is what you do. Because, usually, the cloud isn’t charged up yet. That happens, if you go by the book, when the whole storm is put together. But because of the way things had gone, the cloud was now live.      It suddenly, and horrifically clicked in my mind. The cloud was hot. Thunderlane was heading underneath it. He’d present an ideal place for the lightning to arc, and from there a path to the ground. He was going to get fried!      Everything seemed to slow down. I remember I called out to Thunderlane, warning him to stop. But by the time I did, he was already underneath the cloud. So, I did what I’d done with Dewdrop just a few weeks back up in Vanhoover. I flapped as hard as I could, made myself as aerodynamic as possible, and ploughed straight into his side.      I saw stars for a moment before my vision came back. I was tumbling end over end though the sky. Following what Dash had taught me, I found the horizon and levelled off again. Looking around, I saw that Thunderlane was doing the same. Despite his dark grey coat, he looked white as a sheet. So did everypony else for that matter. All the flyers were hovering, with looks of astonishment on their faces. Looking down to the ground, I saw a dark charred spot of land. That was where the bolt of lightning had struck. I looked back to Thunderlane.      “Sweet Luna,” he muttered. “Thanks, Lizzie.”       Three days later, and I was in Cloudsdale. And, to borrow from a certain Kubrick film, I was in a world of shit. Well, me and Thunderlane were. The two of us were standing at attention before a panel of three highly experienced flyers. And we were about to get the telling off of a lifetime.      After I saved Thunderlane’s neck, the whole operation had to be abandoned. The sinking cloud sank into the lake, and the rest of the storm had to be put on hold. A near miss like that means an automatic investigation, hence our current situation.      I knew one of the ponies on the panel personally, and two by reputation. The one I knew was Rainbow Dash, now a member of the Wonderbolts. The other two were Viper; a Wonderbolt Academy instructor, and Spitfire, the Wonderbolts’ current CO. All three of them were staring at us with an extremely unforgiving gaze. Spitfire, at the head of the panel, spoke first.      “Alright,” she began, eying us through her tinted shades. “We’ve heard your testimonies on what happened, and from your fellow patrol members. I think we’re now ready to make our recommendations for further action.” My stomach tightened.       “The near miss occurred for one simple reason. The two most senior officers did not work together to control the situation, with the second in command unwilling to speak up when she noticed unsafe practices being used, and the flight leader refusing to abide by established safe practice procedures. As a result Flight Sergeant Thunderlane moved into a position beneath a hot cloud, allowing for the possibility of a strike to occur. It was only due to prompt action by Patrol Officer Elisabeth that nopony was hurt. You were both very lucky.” Spitfire paused for a moment.      “You will both receive an official reprimand on your records. However, you will be permitted to continue to perform your duties in regards to weather control flying. Patrol Captain Rainbow Dash will return and take command of the section for the foreseeable future. That is all. Dismissed.”      We both saluted, as was proper, and quickly hurried out, before Spitfire could change her mind. I’d say we got off lightly, certainly Flight. He could have been busted back down the ranks. As we walked out of the building and onto the streets of Cloudsdale, I turned to him.      “Is this the part where you say ‘I told you so’?” Thunderlane asked. I shook my head.      “No,” I replied. “This is the part where I say I’m sorry.” Thunderlane smiled kindly.      “Yeah, me too,” he said. He pulled me into a friendly hug. I was glad that there was no bad blood between us.      Suddenly, we were startled by a new voice joining us.       “If you two are done hugging it out,” Rainbow said. “We better bet back to Ponyville. We’ve got a storm to build up.” The three of us quickly took to the air and began the flight towards home.      “Say, RD,” Thunderlane said as we dropped below the clouds. “How come the ‘Bolts are letting you come back all of a sudden. Didn’t you just do your first show in Ponyville?”      I’d missed the Wonderbolts display, as had Thunderlane. We were both too damn depressed after what happened, and too shook up. As it turned out, we weren’t the only ones who’d recently gotten a bollocking from Spitfire. I spotted an official looking letter hanging out of RD’s saddlebag.      “You guys didn’t hear?” Dash asked as we passed over Sweet Apple Acres.      “Hear what?” Flight asked. Dash suddenly froze up for a moment.      “Oh…er…nothing, Thunderlane. Just be happy that I’m back for at least a month.”      She then put on a burst of speed and pulled away from the two of us. The letter fluttered out of her saddlebag. Grabbing it, I was about to call out and try to catch up with her, when I saw the subject line.      Spitfire had put her on month long probation.      I guess we weren’t the only ones who’d had a close shave.