//------------------------------// // Ch.1) A Weather Pony's Mundane Routine // Story: To Be A Wonderbolt // by Genki Griffon //------------------------------// Where to even begin with my life. Baby steps, I guess I’ll start by telling you who I am and what I do. My name is Heavy Rain, I’m a mare in my early twenties, single, not interested in mingling and I’m known to be ‘No-good Rainy’ for being an eccentric day ruiner. I tend to have a bit of a mood that some ponies would deem as off-putting, I’m shy, don’t have many friends but I do make an effort to include myself. I’m a bit of a...background pony I will admit; it’s a sorta nickname I gave myself for not being too noticeable in a crowd, not that I mind, I try my best to make myself known, through no other way but good old fashioned hard work. Hard work pays off in the end, after all, not to mention puts food on my table. Considering I live by myself, I am a single, independent pony who strives to better myself day by day. I work off a branch business from the Weather Factory. I’m a Weather Control Pegasi, meaning I don’t make the clouds, my job is to move them, change them, or just get rid of them plain and simple. Each employee is in charge of certain weather and with those weather patterns, certain pegasi will have to work together in order to produce the outcome of the weather needed for that specific day. Though our job is mundane, it plays a big role in Equestria’s ecosystem. Just imagine it, in a desert without one day of rain, or even a season, will cause a drought. Too much rain will cause the soil to become too damaged to bear fruits, at worse, a flood. As a weather control pegasi, I have a duty to make sure that the weather is presented to a location day by day, on the mark, not more or any less so. As you would know the weather between Ponyville and Canterlot gets fair weather most of the time year-round this means we usually have a limited staff and volunteers to help keep Equestria’s weather in balance and up to snuff. We get the most help from a mare named Rainbow Dash. She’s practically the fastest mare in all of Ponyville and can do all our jobs twice in a heartbeat if she wanted to. She is our most active, most helpful volunteer and we of the WCP are grateful, I personally could do without that inflated ego which is annoyingly justified because she’s a Wonderbolt. She is awesome, begrudgingly I am to admit. We also have Flitter and Cloud Chaser, they’re part-timers and help Clear Skies and Open Skies. Usually, work in pairs and it gets the job done twice as quick. Shockingly enough, another mare, who is as fast as Rainbow Dash, helps me with cumulonimbus clouds. Her name is Storm Cloud and she’s a Wonderbolt working as a part-time WCP. I don’t really know her, she...intimidates me so I never really held a conversation with her. She has this calm yet assertive demeanor about her and well she’s probably just bored and has nothing better to do but her help is really appreciated, I’m far too weak to handle rain clouds of their size and even if I control heavy rain, the shock-induced by these clouds are very dangerous. If I’m not careful I can get electrocuted and be put into the hospital; I can’t afford a medical bill with no aid. That’s probably why they have a Wonderbolt assisting me when my heavy rain clouds become thunderheads. My fellow employees of Weather Control include Clear Skies, she is in charge of the clear sky weather. It is her job to make sure that there are no clouds whatsoever as far as the eye can see. This allows the sun to give way and feed the plants across Ponyville to Canterlot to help them grow; as well as letting ponies enjoy the weather making it the ideal day for outdoor activities. Next is Open Skies, not to be confused with Clear Skies, most ponies fail to see the difference in their job description. For you see Open Skies, unlike Clear Skies, is in charge of opening up and separating the clouds from bulk so they don’t end up colliding with each other and forming Asperitas. Considering he specializes in the separation of clouds, not like the demolishing of them, Clear Skies’ duty. It’s not about clearing the skies, it’s about opening the clouds up so everypony can enjoy looking up at both the clouds and their sea of blue. That way everypony can also enjoy the shade on long summer days and makes for good relaxation. Sunshower is a bit of both Open Skies and I. Sometimes, well often really, the Weather Factory will release clouds that have a bit too much excess water in them causing condensation. This means water droplets collide and coalesce with other droplets, eventually becoming heavier than the uplift of the air around them, at which point it becomes Sunshower’s job to have them fall down through the clouds creating sunshowers. Sunny days with a chance of light rain hence the name sunshowers. These occurrences are not supposed to happen so sometimes it becomes a minor inconvenience to the ponies down under. Sometimes she gets flak for that and I understand it all too well but she doesn’t let it bother her as much as I. As my name suggests, I am in charge of heavy rain clouds, nimbostratus clouds to be exact, rarely cumulonimbus if you know your clouds. My position is a bit unique, since Equestrea is not a place that gets rained on daily we are short staffed with a selective few ponies with rain attributes. Meaning I am personally in charge of ruining pony’s day wherever they may be, not limited to Ponyville to Canterlot. Vacation, trips, day-offs just places where ponies can relax and have fun enjoying the fruits of their own labor, I ruin those days for them. Why? Because it’s my job, because I get paid to do it, nothing more but it’s not like I enjoy it. Ponies should get the pleasure of enjoying their past time spent but when Equestria needs water somepony has got to do it and so I’m the pony to do the deed over and over. Pony’s know me too because of it, kinda got a bad reputation for my honest work; kinda why they call me a ‘No-good Rainy’ but they know full well that I need to do this for their sake. Doesn’t stop them from name-calling me though...I’m used to it. Our boss is Fluffy Clouds, just like the rest of us, he is in charge of stratus clouds. The clouds everypony loves and the ones that are most prominent throughout our home. He has his work cut out for him but he is a kind fellow if not a bit too sensitive. I still remember when he cried when some stallion took his seat at some event. I wouldn’t know the details, I was too busy moving rain clouds to ruin the day for Las Pegasus ponies. He really is a good boss and cuts us some slack, unlike our higher ups. That would be the Ponyville Weather Control Pegasi Division boss, an employee at the Weather Factory named Ether Skys. Cold, cynical, calculative, she see a pony’s worth just by looking at them when it comes to their usefulness but she could never truly see how any of us feels. Also known to be a spiteful pegasus. To her, we’re just another cog in the Weather Factory’s cloud pumping machine. We always have to give it our all around her. I make sure I show how useful I am. If there is anything I like to show that I am valuable, something I learned in fillyhood... If you skipped my introduction to my coworkers, that’s okay. I don’t pay them any mind too much myself. I tend to just focus on my job, I’m not...really the social sort. I don’t think I mentioned where I live so please allow me to fill you on that info as well. I live in a little town called Ponyville, though I was born in Cloudsdale my job had me relocate there due to the fact that Weather Control’s main HQ is located there rather than Cloudsdale. It is because Ponyville is just below, or rather near, Cloudsdale. It is here I make my home in a small house fit enough for one pegasi mare such as myself. Here I am the queen, that being of a comfy couch, fresh produce, and a warm bed. It is such a benefit to be living near the farmstead so my health is quite fine, thank you very much! My home is rather empty, I’m a minimalist who doesn't take much pleasure in the necessities of everyday living. A brush, a mirror, tv, couch, a house, and food that’s all I need...and all I can actually afford with my income. Besides I’m not a shut-in, life is worth enjoying every moment with each passing minute promotes newer possibilities of fun as well as experience. My favorite hobby to do on my days off is to sit on a bench and pony watch, it...sounds a little odd I know but it is a healthy hobby and nothing wrong with seeing other ponies go about their own business. As a “background pony” It feels nice to sit down and just think of my life or often question others. What are they doing, what are they up to, is there going to be a Pinkie Pie party today? Is somepony new coming to town, what’s the latest gossip? You tend to wonder about these things by simply observing others but one does not obsess over another’s life more than their own. That is when pony watching gets odd, after all, I live a content life like any other pony that there is no need to fantasize about being in another's hooves when there is nothing wrong with my own. There you have it, that’s my everyday life. I hope it wasn’t too boring for you, sorry it wasn’t as glamorous as you hoped it’d be. Sometimes ponies just live normal lives.