Chapter 26
“Applejack, we need to talk.”
Applejack’s smile slowly faded as Cloud Kicker’s words hung heavy in the air between them. Licking her lips, she slowly nodded, a serious expression on her face as she asked, “Alright, whatcha need to talk ta me about?”
Taking a deep breath, Cloud stepped up to Applejack’s fruit stall and said, “I wanted to speak with you and see how you were doing since the... Discord incident. I’ve heard that you’ve been taking it pretty hard, and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”
Applejack blinked, surprised by the sudden turn the conversation had taken, as she had been fearing that she’d done something to upset Cloud. Letting go a relieved sigh, she chuckled and gave Cloud Kicker a happy smile. “Ah shoot, Cloud, ya had me worried there fer a moment, thought I’d done something to offend ya. What with you coming up ta me all serious looking like that.” Leaning a foreleg on her countertop, she breezily replied, “But guess I just read ya wrong there fer a moment. Sorry bout that,” when Cloud gave a nod of acceptance, Applejack continued, “but naw, I’m doing alright, all things considered.”
Now it was Cloud’s turn to blink in confusion. Though after a moment, she narrowed her eyes at Applejack and replied seriously, “That’s not what I’ve heard lately.”
Her smile vanishing like a droplet of water on a hot skillet, Applejack quickly straightened up and brusquely said, “Well then maybe ya aught ta tell me what it is ya heard about me rather than beating around the bushes like ya are.”
Nodding, the pegasus replied, “I heard that you were upset with our newest resident human, because of what Discord did to your farm, and that Rainbow might cause problems for him on your behalf. Now, you and I know how she can get when she feels one of her friends has been hurt, and I don’t want this getting out of hoof, so I’m here on behalf of Allen to try and figure out what’s going on and to head off this potential trainwreck before it leaves the station.”
Applejack stood there jaw agape in shock. “Y-ya think that I’m sore at him, and that I’m gonna set Rainbow on him like some kind of attack dog?! I ain’t even met the feller yet, and yer saying he’s already accusing me and Rainbow of making trouble for him?! Why I oughta buck him inta next week!” she said, her expression livid and face red with anger.
Sensing that she hadn’t chosen her words with as much care as she could have, Cloud hastily waved her hooves in front of her and quickly said, “No! That’s not what happened at all! Allen heard from Twilight at his party that you and Rainbow might be upset with him because of Discord, and that made him concerned about retaliation from you two. So when we were talking earlier today, he told me about what Twilight told him, and I offered to talk to you and get your side of things! He doesn’t want any trouble, he just wants to make sure you and Rainbow aren’t gonna hurt him, that’s all!”
The anger in Applejack’s face had subsided by now and she let loose an irritated huff. “Figures Twilight would go sticking her snout into this. Landsakes, don’t git me wrong, Cloud, I adore that mare, but sometimes she lets her imagination run away thinking about how things can go wrong and ends up making a mountain out of a molehill.”
Seeing that she’d managed to salvage the conversation, Cloud nodded in agreement and replied, “Oh I know, I still remember how she nearly went crazy trying to figure out how Pinkie Pie’s, Pinkie Sense works.” Both mares shuddered at the memory of what poor Twilight went through in her quest to solve the mystery that was Pinkie Pie.
Deciding to quickly move on, Applejack replied, “Right, well in any case, you can go and tell yer friend that he’s got nothing to worry about from me. While I’m beyond angry at what that... varmint Discord did ta mah farm, I know better than to take it out on Allen. Though, he might be right ta be worried bout Rainbow. Bless her heart, but sometimes that mare doesn’t think before she acts.”
“You said it,” replied Cloud Kicker with a long-suffering sigh as she thought back on Rainbow’s... colorful past of shenanigans. “Speaking of her, you wouldn’t happen to know where I could find her, do you?”
“If she ain’t at home, you might try looking in one of my apple trees, fer some reason she’s decided that they make great places to sleep,” replied Applejack after she thought for a moment.
Giving a nod of thanks, Cloud readied herself for takeoff, however before she leapt into the air, she looked back over her withers and asked, “I know that you said that you didn’t have a personal grudge against Allen, but would you be willing to swing by and talk with him tomorrow, with me? It would go a long way, I think, of putting him at ease if you spoke with him directly.”
Sighing, the farm mare nodded and said, “I reckon I can spare a few minutes in the morning. Probably fer the best that I help put the record straight after what Twilight told him. Then I reckon I better go and have a word or two with her about spreading unfounded rumors around town. It’s already bad enough that Rarity does it, I don’t need more ponies gossiping bout things they don’t know anything about as well.”
Giggling, Cloud nodded. “I’ll be sure to let him know to expect you first thing tomorrow morning then. Say, a bit after sunrise?”
“I reckon that’ll be fine,” replied Applejack easily as she tipped her hat back slightly. “Might be a bit late depending on Applebloom, I swear that filly could sleep through a tornado.”
Laughing at the thought, Cloud Kicker said, “Well alright then, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning then,” and with a final wave, she took off into the afternoon sky.
Winging her way over Ponyville, she decided to stop by Rainbow’s cloudominium first. Spotting it in the distance, she adjusted her wings and set course for the floating cloud mansion. Touching down on the front cloud steps, she felt her hooves sink slightly in the cushy cloud material. Glancing around, she noted that Rainbow had been busy adding to her cloudominium since she had last been here.
Looks like she’s added another floor, and some more rainbow pools since I was here last, looks nice, she thought as she admired the romane architecture and flowing rainbow waterfalls. Giving her head a shake, she refocused herself on why she was here and quickly rapped a hoof three times against Rainbow’s front door. She waited for a minute and when Rainbow didn’t respond, she knocked again louder this time. Again, Rainbow failed to appear.
Deciding that she wasn’t home, Cloud took off and made for Sweet Apple Acres, intent on finding her friend before she did something that everyone would regret. Flying just above treetop height, she began looking around for any sign of the rainbow maned mare. Thankfully, due to Rainbow’s colorful coat and mane, she was relatively easy to spot, and today was no exception as, within a few minutes of starting her search over the apple orchard, she spotted Rainbow.
She was perched in a tree on the border with Allen’s property and had a pair of binoculars pressed up against her face as she observed Allen’s farm from a distance.
Guess I was right to worry about that featherbrain doing something dumb, grumbled Cloud to herself as she circled around Rainbow’s tree a few times. Deciding to just get this over with, Cloud came in for a landing next to her friend.
One of Rainbow’s ears swiveled to track Cloud as she approached the branch that she was sitting on, and without taking her eyes away from her binoculars, she said in a somewhat distracted voice, “Hey Cloud, can’t talk right now, kinda busy with a little project of mine.”
“If that project involves causing trouble for Allen, then I’m afraid you’ll have to put that on hold,” replied Cloud, a no-nonsense look on her face.
“And why should I?” replied Rainbow as she finally tore her gaze away from Allen’s farm to glare at Cloud Kicker with a defiant expression.
Cloud returned Rainbow’s defiant glare with a raised eyebrow that said, ‘seriously?’
Letting the binoculars fall from her hooves to rest around her neck, Rainbow crossed her forelegs and pouted. “I wasn’t gonna do anything illegal, just... kinda in the gray area.”
Cloud facehooved. “Rainbow, can you just for once in your life actually think before you do something?”
“Hey!” exclaimed Rainbow, a look of outrage prevalent on her face as she threw her forehooves wide, “I do think about things, alright! He’s got it coming to him! I mean look what he did to AJ’s farm!”
Grabbing Rainbow and pulling her so that they were practically muzzle to muzzle, Cloud ground out. “Allen didn’t do anything to AJ’s farm Rainbow, you and I both know it was Discord that is responsible for this mess!”
Pushing Cloud away, Rainbow fluffed her wings in agitation and shot back, though she didn’t sound as confident this time, “Okay, but how do we know he isn’t working for that monster or something? Doesn’t it seem weird that right after we beat Discord, that this weird alien shows up and just so happens to destroy part of Applejack’s farm, a very important and meaningful part of it, I might add? The one where her parents planted that special tree all those years ago?”
Taking a deep breath to calm and re-center herself, Cloud replied, “Yes, Rainbow, I know what it looks like. However, unlike you, I’ve actually gotten to know Allen a little bit by, you know, talking to him, and he hasn’t said or done one thing to make me feel he’s in league with Discord. If anything, he’s just as angry at Discord for what he did to him as the rest of us, maybe even more so, and before you say that he could be lying to me, I have it on good authority that neither he nor anything on his farm is actively radiating chaos magic. That’s not to say that Discord didn’t bring him here for no reason, but until we have solid evidence otherwise, we need to treat Allen as though he is nothing more than a victim of Discord and his magic, the same as anypony else.”
Rainbow sat sullenly on her part of the tree branch and lashed her tail angrily behind her. Opening her mouth, she made to argue, but Cloud wasn’t having it, putting a hoof up and cutting her off saying, “And before you say that maybe Discord is controlling him or has put a hidden spell on Allen directly, need I remind you what happened during Discord’s short reign when he used his magic on you and your friends? Should we assume that you girls are dangerous now because you might have some sort of hidden spell on you that’ll just randomly activate sometime in the future?”
Rainbow’s head hung low in shame, and she squeaked a quiet, “No.”
Seeing that her words were having an effect on the hot-headed mare, Cloud quickly changed tactics and softened her expression. Opening up her forehooves, she quickly pulled her friend into a hug, even going the extra mile of wrapping her wings around Rainbow. She’d heard what Discord’s spell had done to the bearers, and how it had twisted their elements to be the opposite of what they were supposed to be. Honesty, to dishonesty, kindness, to meanness, generosity to greed, laughter to anger, friendship to estrangement, and in Dash’s case, it had turned her into a traitor to her friends and caused her to abandon them in favor of keeping ‘Cloudsdale’ safe from Discord’s magic. Cloud knew that Rainbow liked to make ponies think that she wasn’t affected by the event, but she knew that it was tearing the prismatic mare up inside to think that she had betrayed her friends and left them hanging when things got tough like she did.
Rubbing a hoof down Rainbow’s back, she quietly waited as Rainbow let some of her frustration and fear out in the form of quiet sobbing. Though if anypony were to ask, Rainbow would just say she was suffering from allergies, and Cloud wouldn’t contradict her.
Giving a final sniff, Rainbow signaled that she was good and Cloud released her from the impromptu hug. Rubbing a hoof over her face to wipe some of the tear tracks away, she gazed morosely out across Allen’s fields and quietly said, “It’s been over a month, and I still have nightmares about it. He came so close to driving all of us apart, if it wasn’t for Princess Celestia sending Twilight all those old friendship reports, then...” she trailed off, though Cloud knew where she was going and internally shuddered at the thought of Discord being permanently in charge.
“But she did, and you and the rest of the bearers beat him,” replied Cloud gently, a soft, encouraging smile on her face, “I know it’s not easy moving on from something like that, Rainbow, but there are ponies out there that are willing to listen and help you work through it.”
Rainbow didn’t reply as she continued to stare at Allen’s farmhouse in the distance, a faraway look on her face.
“Rainbow, look at me please,” asked Cloud gently, like a mother trying to comfort a distressed child.
Turning to face her friend, Cloud could see Rainbow’s eyes had become puffy and red from the crying and it broke her heart to see her normally confident friend being reduced to this. I swear, if I ever get my hooves on that creature, I’ll make him regret ever being born. Cloud angrily thought to herself, however, she didn’t let her inner thoughts show and instead said softly, “You might not think there is nopony out there who will understand what you went through, but you’re wrong. There are at least five others who know exactly what you went through because they went through it too.”
Rainbow’s eyes slowly widened in the realization of what Cloud was saying. Seeing that she was getting through, Cloud pressed her advantage. “I have a friend in the Royal Guard who specializes in helping ponies who have experienced traumatic events while on deployment, she’s very good at what she does and is very discreet. I think you and your friends should go and meet with her, either individually or as a group.”
“I’m not crazy Cloud, I don’t need to see a shrink,” replied Rainbow, an almost angry expression on her face.
Cloud quickly shook her head. “I never said you were, Rainbow, and Clear Mind isn’t a shrink, she’s a counselor. I’ve gone to her myself, and she helped me.”
Rainbow blinked in confusion. “Why would you go and see her?”
Cloud’s expression darkened as memories she’d rather forget resurfaced, and she debated about telling Rainbow about her final deployment to the New Mareland frontier with the Kingdom of Wingbardy. Finally, she decided to give the short version, taking a deep breath, she explained, “It was on my last deployment to New Mareland, before I became a reservist. We had received reports that there had been a large increase in bandit activity along the border with Wingbardy. Command decided to increase the frequency and size of our patrols in an effort to counter the bandits and to help out the local authorities. There was a small village called Pleasant Point that my company was assigned to protect, it was a busy crossing point between New Mareland and Wingbardy and was fairly well off, which made it a prime target for bandits. The local police force was insufficient to cover that section of the river and we were tasked with patrolling it instead. When we first arrived, everything went smoothly, the local ponies and griffons were out and about and very friendly, and they were glad to see us, as it meant that they could sleep easier at night with us there to protect them,” she paused as she gazed up at a passing cloud overhead, more memories flashing through her mind.
“We were there for a couple of weeks, and hadn’t seen any large bandit groups, and the few we did see were quickly taken care of. It was then that somepony in command decided to extend our area of responsibility, probably as a way to cut costs and look good on their next evaluation report, I don’t know. But it meant that we became over-extended as we were only a company, and they wanted us to guard an area that would have required a brigade to properly protect. But, what command wants, command gets, and so we followed our orders and extended our area. Too bad that was what the bandits were waiting for. I wasn’t in Pleasant Point when they attacked, if I had been, I doubt I would be here today, as, by the time we heard that the village was under attack, it was already too late. Every single pony and griffon in that village was killed, along with the ten guardsponies who were assigned to watch the village,” a couple of tears started trickling down her cheeks, “when the main group got back... it was... terrible. Dead bodies everywhere, burned or burning buildings, and the stench, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that stench for as long as I’m alive.”
She sighed, wiping her tears away with a hoof, while Rainbow looked on horrified. “When word got out, a lot of ponies lost their jobs, it was a big scandal, I think a few ponies even ended up being court-martialed over it. In the end, it was decided to increase the number of troops along the border and to change some of the rules of engagement to allow our troops to chase bandits into Wingbardian territory if they were engaged on the New Mareland side of the river first. Wingbardy complained of course, at least until Princess Celestia told them that they could either help us stop the bandit problem or she would assume that they were secretly supporting the bandits and that we would go to war to secure the border. They wisely chose the first option and from what I’ve heard, things are improving over there.”
She sighed, a sad look on her face as she continued to watch the cloud drift further away. “I lost several very good friends that day, ponies that I had been with since basic, and seeing what those bandits did to their bodies and the bodies of the villagers... well, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty and leave it at that. When I got back from deployment I was a mess, and if it hadn’t been for Clear Mind, I don’t know where I would have ended up.”
Turning to look at Rainbow, she said with a sad smile, “So that’s why I went to see her.”
“Do... do you still have nightmares about...” asked Rainbow hesitantly.
Cloud nodded sadly. “I’ll probably have nightmares for the rest of my life, but they are not as bad as they used to be, and I don’t have as many. I still visit Clear Mind every so often, especially if I have a bad one, so don’t feel as though you’re ‘too cool’ to go and get help Rainbow.”
Rainbow chewed on her bottom lip as she thought about Cloud’s words. Finally, she gave a small nod and said, “I’ll... talk to the girls about it, and I promise, I’ll really think about it.”
Cloud nodded in return. “That’s all I can ask, if you want to go, just let me know and I’ll help you get in touch with her. If you don’t want to go to Canterlot to see her, I’m sure she’d be willing to come to Ponyville instead.”
Rainbow just nodded, unsure what to say in response, so she just elected to sit quietly and look out across the green fields at nothing in particular.
Cloud Kicker was in much the same boat, as she couldn’t quite figure out what to say next, and so the two ponies simply sat quietly in their chosen tree and watched the world slowly go by in silence. After a time, however, Rainbow finally asked, “So... were you just passing by when you saw me, or were you actually looking for me?”
“I was looking for you. Didn’t want you to do anything dumb on account of Applejack’s situation, so I flew out looking for you to nip that in the bud,” replied Cloud simply.
Letting loose a huff of minor irritation, Rainbow grumbled, “Wasn’t like I was gonna do anything bad, maybe just a little downpour on his head when he isn’t expecting it. So who tipped you off that I was up to something? Was it Pinkie?”
“It was Allen actually,” seeing Rainbow’s alarmed expression, she snickered and explained, “Twilight mentioned to him at his ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party that she was concerned that AJ was going to hold a grudge against him and that you would do something dumb to him as a way to ‘help’ Applejack get even with him.”
“Ugh, that egghead really needs to learn to keep her muzzle shut,” groaned Dash as she rubbed her face with her hooves in aggravation. “She can be such a goodie four hooves sometimes.”
Cloud just laughed. “Well, that ‘goodie four hooves’ just saved you and Applejack, to a lesser extent from looking like bullies, so maybe you should be thanking her instead.”
Dash just folded her forehooves across her chest and pouted.
Rolling her eyes good-naturedly, Cloud continued, “In any case, I’ve already spoken with Applejack on the matter, and she and Allen are going to meet tomorrow morning to talk things over in a reasonable and mature manner. I want you to be there as well so that you and Allen can work things out between yourselves, alright?”
“Eh, how early are we talking about here?” asked Rainbow.
“Applejack and I decided that just after sunrise would probably be best, I was planning on letting Allen know tonight about the meet-up after I finished talking with you,” replied Cloud Kicker.
“Ugh, no thanks, that’s waaaay too early,” complained Rainbow, “can’t we have it around lunch or something? You know, when normal ponies get up?”
Shooting her friend a deadpan look, Cloud replied, “Rainbow, normal ponies are already up by lunch. You’re the one who likes to sleep late.”
Rolling her eyes, Rainbow was about to fire back a retort, when she spotted a lone bipedal figure strolling up the road. Pointing a hoof, she said, “Well, looks like we can just go and talk with him right now, and I won’t have to get up at an insane hour tomorrow, race ya over there!”
“What, wait, Rainbo-!” said Cloud as she tried to stop Rainbow, but she was too slow and Rainbow was already speeding off towards the distant figure of Allen. Growling under her breath, Cloud quickly spread her wings and took off in pursuit.
Rainbow, I swear I’m going to wring your neck one of these days!
~oOo~
Walking along, Allen lazily kicked a rock and watched as it bounced into the grass at the edge of the dirt road. Taking a deep breath, he enjoyed the clean air and felt a small smile tug at his lips as he looked up at the nearly cloudless sky, and watched as a solitary white puff of a cloud drifted lazily across it.
Continuing forward, he thought quietly to himself. I should probably figure out what I’m gonna have for dinner tonight. I’m thinking a nice medium-rare steak, mashed potatoes, and sweet corn, yeah, that’ll do. He felt saliva pooling in his mouth at the thought of that delicious meal in his near future and quickened his pace.
He had just passed the final row of apple trees that signaled the border of Sweet Apple Acres and his land when he heard a distant shout and the rapid beating of wings. Looking to his left, his eyes grew wide and he threw himself to the ground as a rainbow blur sped over him. Angling his head up from his prone position, he watched the rainbow blur turn into a pale cerulean-colored pegasus that was currently in a hard left turn to come around for another pass at him.
Panicking, he quickly looked around for any kind of cover, but other than the wooden post and rail fence next to him, there wasn’t anything that he could shelter in. Levering himself up, he sprinted for the fence line, hoping that it would be enough to dissuade this crazy pony from dive-bombing him while he made a break for the tree line behind him. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it, as in his haste to move, his feet got tangled together and he face-planted several feet from his goal. Hearing her wing beats get closer, he did the only thing he could think to do and curled up into a protective ball with his hands covering the back of his neck and his elbows over his face in preparation for the rain of hoof blows to soon follow.
However, the expected hoof blows never came, and instead, he just heard the steady beat of wings hovering for a moment, followed by four hooves touching down next to him.
“Uh, are you okay? Sorry if I startled you back there. I guess I was going a little faster than I thought,” said a raspy voice sheepishly.
Cracking an eye open, Allen cautiously glanced up at his supposed attacker and saw that she was giving him an apologetic look and sheepishly rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.
“Uh, do you need a hoof getting up?” she asked as she offered him her hoof.
Uncurling from his position on the ground, Allen shook his head mutely as he stood up and dusted himself off. Fixing this mystery mare with an unhappy look, he opened his mouth to berate her when somepony else beat him to the proverbial punch.
“Rainbow Dash!” exclaimed an unhappy-looking Cloud Kicker as she came in for a quick landing next to Allen, having finally caught up with the rainbow speedster. “I know you have a hard time using your head for anything other than softening your crash landings, but seriously? What in Equestria made you think that dive bombing the person who already thinks you’re out to get him is a good idea?”
Turning to Allen, she quickly started fussing over him, checking for injuries and wiping the dirt that he’d missed off as best she could. “Are you alright, Allen? I’m so sorry, I tried to stop her, but she took off before I could do anything.”
“Uh, yeah, I’m alright Cloud,” he replied, giving a sideways glance at the other pegasus pony whose attention was now firmly fixed on the ground and sheepishly kicking it with a hoof like a scolded child, “I’m assuming that this is the pony Twilight was warning me about yesterday?”
Flicking a blade of grass from his jeans, Cloud nodded. “Yes it is,” she replied with an exasperated sigh, pointing a hoof at Rainbow she said, “Allen, this is Rainbow Dash, weather manager of Ponyville, and the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty.” Looking at Rainbow, she said, “Rainbow this is Allen Ross, the person we were just talking about.”
Rainbow gave Allen an embarrassed smile and a nervous wave in response.
“I know you wanted to wait to talk to her tomorrow,” explained Cloud, “but unfortunately, Rainbow here isn’t much of a morning pony and has the patience of a three-year-old. So when she saw you walking by she decided to move up our timetable, without warning my beforehoof, I might add.”
“Well considering the fact that she isn’t pounding my face into the dirt right now, I assume that you’ve had a chance to talk her down then?” asked Allen, his arms folded across his chest.
Cloud nodded in confirmation. “I have, and she understands that this situation has been... shall we say, misunderstood by several parties involved?”
Cloud shot Rainbow a warning look, and Rainbow quickly nodded saying, “Yep, completely misunderstood, heh, so uh, sorry I... uh, don’t want you to think I’m gonna do anything to you in revenge for something that isn’t actually your fault, so... yeah,” she finished lamely.
Glancing down at Cloud, he gave her an unsure look and Cloud replied, “You don’t need to worry about Rainbow here doing something dumb, Allen. She gets that you had nothing to do with AJ losing part of her farm and are just as much a victim of the current situation as she is.”
Taking a deep breath, Allen gave a single nod and said, “Alright, so long as we’re cool, then I guess we can just put this misunderstanding behind us and move on.”
Hearing that, Rainbow’s ears perked up and she quickly jumped into the air to hover in front of Allen and quickly said, “Well that’s great, guess I can go no-herk!” Her attempt at escaping was foiled when Cloud grabbed her by the tail and yanked her back to earth.
“Not so fast Rainbow, there’s one last thing you need to take care of,” said Cloud, a stern expression on her face.
Picking herself up and dusting herself off, Rainbow looked at Cloud Kicker and whined, “But I already apologized to him, what more do you want me to say?”
Rolling her eyes, Cloud replied, “First of all, that apology was pretty weak Rainbow, and second off, you need to go over the new resident orientation weather briefing with him and don’t try and weasel out of it this time. I did it for the last three ponies to move in, and it’s supposed to be part of your job in the first place.”
“But you’re so much better at it than me!” shot back Rainbow.
“I know! Because you make me do it all the time! That’s not the point, you’re the one who is supposed to go over orientation with a new move-in and fill out the paperwork!”
“But paperwork is boring, and I hate doing it!” whined Rainbow.
“And you think I do!?” screeched Cloud Kicker, her face bright red, and for a moment Allen thought he saw steam shooting out of her nostrils.
Stepping between the two arguing ponies, Allen held up his hands and said, “Ladies, ladies, please! Let’s all calm down here,” turning to Cloud Kicker, he calmly asked, “Now, what’s this about a ‘weather orientation’?”
Taking a deep breath and smoothing out her mane with a hoof, Cloud Kicker explained, “When a pony moves into a new area, the weather manager or someone officially delegated by the weather manager, is required to meet with, and go over any weather anomalies that are unique to that area. In addition, they need to get the new arrival up to speed on the local weather schedule and what they need to do to be compliant with local weather ordinances and regulations. That is in addition to filling out needed paperwork for a new resident.”
Allen groaned at the thought of yet more paperwork. “Do I have to fill it out?”
“Unfortunately,” groaned Rainbow in commiseration. “Without we won’t know how much and what kind of weather to order from Cloudsdale, and we won’t know who we have to provide weather services for either.”
Cloud nodded, happy to see that Rainbow was finally being somewhat professional now. “That’s right,” she said, “this paperwork, while tedious and boring though it may be, is critical in making sure that we are able to provide accurate weather for various needs throughout the community. For instance, since you’re a farmer, you’ll need more rain than a pony living in the middle of town will. If we didn’t have you on file, then we run the risk of you slipping through the cracks and being forgotten, and if that happened then your farm would suffer.”
Allen nodded as Cloud explained. “I guess that makes sense. So what about warning me of ‘anomalous weather’?”
Rainbow piped up. “Some regions in Equestria are very difficult or impossible for weather ponies to manage. The Everfree Forest is one of those areas, the wild magic creates conditions that allow for chaotic weather patterns, these weather patterns will often spill over into the surrounding area. That’s why we have to talk to new ponies about it, so they can be prepared in case bad weather hits. I mean we’ve had times when freak weather spilled over and caused problems. We’ve had times when the temperature would be so cold in the morning that there would be frost on the ground in late spring, before then getting hot enough to feel like summer in the afternoon. Then there was the time we had a rogue rainstorm that turned into a blizzard and then back to a rainstorm, with ice!”
Sounds like home, thought Allen to himself, but from the way Rainbow was getting worked up, he figured that it was best to keep that thought to himself.
“Alright, so... anything else I should be worried about?” he asked, an unperturbed look on his face.
“Other than some major windstorms that threatened to turn into tornados, rogue rainstorms and or blizzards, along with the odd temperature fluctuation, that should about cover the hazardous weather aspect,” replied Cloud simply.
“So... do I need to sign anything right now?” asked Allen hesitantly.
“I didn’t think to bring any paperwork with me, as I was more concerned with finding Rainbow at the time. I’ll be sure to bring the paperwork tomorrow for you to look over and sign. Don’t worry, it won’t take but a few minutes at worst,” she replied reassuringly.
“Alright, well if that’s it, I’ve gotta fly so see y-herk!”
“Not so fast Rainbow,” said Cloud as she stood on Rainbow’s tail to keep her from taking off.
“Will you stop doing that!” exclaimed Rainbow, annoyed at having her tail be yanked on a second time that day.
“Not until you properly apologize to Allen,” shot back Cloud Kicker.
Rainbow opened her mouth to argue, but a stern look from Cloud made her close her mouth with an audible clop. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face Allen fully and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you worry that I was up to no good or that I was going to make trouble for you on account of my friend Applejack, and I promise you won’t have to worry about that in the future. So... we cool?” she asked as she held out a hoof.
Taking her hoof in his hand, Allen gently shook it and said, “Yeah, we’re cool, I forgive you... so long as you didn’t do anything yet.”
Rainbow quickly shook her head. “I didn’t even get past the planning stage before Cloud caught me!”
Allen chuckled. “Well then no harm done, and hopefully we can put this nonsense behind us, I’ll even forgive you for making me eat dirt earlier with that dive-bombing stunt you pulled.”
Rainbow had the good graces to blush in embarrassment and mumble out another apology. Turning to regard Cloud with an unamused look, Rainbow asked, “Am I finally free to go?”
Lifting her hoof off her friend's tail, Cloud nodded. “I guess so, but I expect to see you at the office when I get done talking to Allen here in a minute, if not, I will find you and drag your flank there and sit on you till you get that paperwork filled out.”
Rolling her eyes she let loose an annoyed sigh and said, “Fine, I’ll go and fill out the stupid paperwork already,” giving a wave to Allen she said, “see ya later,” and with that, she took off into the gathering twilight.
Watching her go for a moment, Allen said, “Well, that went better than I thought it would, thanks for being here.”
“Don’t mention it, as I said earlier, when she puts her mind to it, she’s a damn good weather manager, but she’s still got some bad habits to iron out.”
“Makes you wonder how she got the job in the first place,” replied Allen quietly.
Cloud rolled her eyes. “She got it because nopony else wanted the position, and Hazy Days was retiring the following year, replacement or no replacement. All things considered, I feel it’s worked out well enough. Doesn’t hurt that I’m able to ride herd on her when she starts misbehaving like that,” she sighed, “the perks of being an old mentor and the assistant weather manager I guess.”
Chuckling, Allen nodded and asked, “You wanna walk and talk for a bit more? It's getting late, and I haven’t eaten since this morning.”
Cloud nodded, a happy smile on her face. “Sure, I can keep you company for a bit longer, what’d you want to talk about?” she asked as she fell in alongside Allen as he started back towards his house.
“Well, how did you get to be the assistant weather manager?” he replied, asking the obvious question first.
Cloud shrugged. “I needed to get away from Canterlot after I came home from my final deployment. When I saw the advertisement for the position in the paper, I figured I’d give it a shot. Didn’t know I would be working with Rainbow at the time. When I applied, Hazy Days was still in charge, and it wasn’t until after I’d already signed the contract that she told me Rainbow would eventually end up being my boss.”
Allen laughed. “Bet that was a shocker.”
“You have no idea,” replied Cloud dryly. “Though, looking back on it now, it was probably a good thing I was there for her. The first few months after Hazy retired were... difficult for everypony. Rainbow wasn’t and still isn’t, to a certain degree, the best when it comes to dealing with employee relations and the problems that come with it. She’s gotten a lot better, but her impatience can get the better of her sometimes, that or her ego,” she muttered quietly at the end, though not quietly enough, as Allen still caught it, however, he decided not to comment on it.
Instead, he asked the next obvious question on his mind, “So you’re still in the Royal Guard then?”
“Reservist actually,” she corrected, “I’m currently assigned to the local Ponyville guard, but if need be I can be reactivated. My mother is the captain of the Canterlot garrison and my father is in military intelligence. Most of my extended family is either in or works with the guard in some way or another. I guess we Kickers just get a kick out of serving our country,” she said with a wide shit-eating grin.
Allen groaned at the horrible pun. “That pun was terrible, and you should feel terrible.”
Cloud stuck her tongue out and merrily replied, “But I don’t, so nah.”
Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Allen simply kept walking. “You know, Blueblood and Red Tape tried to get me to join the local guard force.”
Raising an eyebrow, Cloud looked at him. “Oh, and how did that work out?” she asked.
Allen’s mouth turned down in a frown. “I haven’t decided yet, the only reason they pressured me in the first place was because I didn’t want to give up my guns. In the end, they decided to give me a special dispensation for them, instead of trying to force me into doing something I didn’t want to do.”
“That was smart of them,” replied Cloud Kicker, though she too had a slight frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. “I’ve found ponies that don’t want to be in the guard are generally a hazard to both themselves and others and are better sent home before they hurt somepony.”
“Yeah, funny how that works, isn’t it?” replied Allen dryly.
Cloud gave a wordless nod and turned her attention away from Allen, instead choosing to focus on the darkening countryside around them. After several quiet moments, she said, “If you don’t want to join, you shouldn’t feel obligated to. What those two tried to do was wrong, pressuring you like that, and if you want, I can see that word reaches the right ears about what they did.”
Allen shook his head. “Naw, that’s alright, though I do appreciate it. While it was annoying at the time, they felt they had good reasons. That doesn’t mean I like what they tried to do, but they came around to my way of thinking in the end. Besides, I don’t want to close that particular door of opportunity just yet. The pay and benefits might come in handy in the future.”
“Fair enough,” replied Cloud, “but you shouldn’t feel bad just because you said no, Allen. You didn’t choose to come here, and it wouldn’t be right to make you feel that you have an obligation to defend this land just because you are here.”
Allen paused next to his weathered mailbox, and out of habit, opened it up to see if there was any mail inside. Seeing that there wasn't, he closed the door carefully and quietly replied, “Sometimes, we have to do things that we don’t want to do, not because we have some sort of obligation to duty or because it is expected of us. But because if we did not do it, we would cause undue suffering on the part of innocent people by our inaction. I might not want to join the local guard, but I won’t run and hide if there are people in danger. Evil only triumphs when good people do nothing, and I’ve seen too many evil people win because good people were too afraid to step up and face them,” turning to face Cloud fully, he continued, “if there is a time when Ponyville or even Equestria is in danger, I’ll do what I need to do to defend it. I might not have come here willingly, but I’m here now, and I won’t stand idly by if I see an injustice being committed. To do otherwise would, in my opinion, make me an ungrateful coward. Besides, if this place gets overrun by evil forces, I’d suffer along with everyone else, so I might as well do my part if push comes to shove.”
Cloud stood there and regarded Allen with an unreadable expression, finally, after several quiet moments, she relaxed and let a small smile shine through. “Nice speech, I couldn’t have said it any better myself I think. Are you sure you wouldn’t want to join? I might be able to pull some strings and get you a commission,” she said half teasingly, half-seriously.
Allen laughed, shaking his head at the same time. “No thanks, I might be able to give a good speech, but I’d probably end up taking two steps and falling flat on my face if you put me in charge of anything. But thanks for the offer though,” he said with a smile. Glancing around at the darkening countryside, he gave a wave of his arm and said, “You should probably get going unless you want to stay for dinner?”
Cloud Kicker shook her head at his offer. “Thanks, but I better get going and make sure Rainbow isn’t goofing off,” turning she made ready to take off when she suddenly remembered, “Oh! I almost forgot, I spoke with Applejack earlier and she’s willing to clear this whole thing up with you tomorrow morning, just after sunrise.”
“She is? I find that kind of hard to believe after what Twilight said,” replied Allen, as he scratched his head in disbelief.
“Turns out Twilight might have been slightly over exaggerating Applejack’s reaction at the time. Turns out, while AJ is upset, it's not directed at you, though don’t be surprised if she’s a bit curt with you at first. That part of her orchard had a very special tree that was planted by her parents, and it was really special to her and her family, so its loss really hurt.”
Allen nodded, a distant look in his eyes. “Yeah, I know exactly what she’s going through right now, except I lost my whole world, not just a few acres and a special tree,” he gave himself a shake and giving Cloud a wave said, “Well anyway, I’ll be sure to be ready to meet her tomorrow, you just bring her around when you’re ready. If I’m not in the house, then you can probably find me in one of the barns.”
Giving Allen a concerned look, Cloud thought about asking him if he was alright, but at the last moment, decided to let it go for now. It would be a silly question anyway, of course he’s not alright. He just said he lost everything, I doubt even the princesses would be able to brush something like that off and be unaffected.
Giving her head a shake, she instead fixed him with a smile. “Well, you take care then Allen, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning then,” she said as she spread her wings and took off into the gathering night sky.
Waving goodbye, Allen called out, “Sounds good, have a good night!”
“You too!” she called back over her withers as she winged her way back towards Ponyville. The beautiful night sky unblemished save for that single solitary cloud that she and Allen had seen earlier.
Probably blew over from the Everfree, she thought idly to herself, I wonder if I should bust it up or leave it alone? She debated for a few minutes, but in the end decided against it, Meh, it’ll be fine, it’s only one cloud, so it won’t cause any harm, besides, it looks like it’s about to dissipate soon anyways, and with that she turned her attention away from it and back to her flying, paying the random cloud no further thought.
Though if she had watched it for just a minute or two longer, she would have seen something impossible happen. A cloud, vanishing in mid-air in an instant, nopony around, and barely a breeze to disturb it. Just one moment it was there, and in the next, it was gone, as if it had never been there.