CHAPTER THREE
"It Only Rains On Mondays"
Applejack awoke earlier than usual. Sliding carefully out from underneath her soundly snoring partner, she jumped into the shower, quickly scrubbed herself down, and dried herself off with an old towel. On the way out of the bathroom, she tossed the towel into the hamper, stepped inside her bedroom long enough to grab her hat, and was down the steps in two bounds.
She could smell the fried apples before she had passed the dining room table. A moment later, Applebloom came out of the kitchen, balancing a large tray of apple fritters, and a jug of apple juice. In her mouth she held four large, wooden mugs, with handles made just so for a pony's hoof.
She sat the burdensome breakfast on the table and turned toward Applejack. "Herphahish!" the young filly exclaimed before realizing she still had the mugs in her mouth. Blushing slightly, she tossed the mugs up onto the table, and repeated herself.
"Hey, sis!" she called with her usual exuberance. Unlike many others, Applebloom was a morning pony. In general, the Apples were morning ponies anyway, since they had to be, whether they wanted to be or not, but for most of the family it came naturally.
Applejack smiled, and ruffled her sister's mane. "Heya, Applebloom! You're up bright n' early as always! I'm-a guessin' ya had fun sleepin' over at Rarity's last night! Ya'll didn't get inta any trouble, now, didja?" She said, casting an appraising eye at her younger sister's cherubic expression.
"Ah sure didn't, sis!" Applebloom said without guile. "In fact, Miss Rarity was so pleased with our behavior this mornin', that she invited us back again tonight!"
Applejack could recall on one hoof the number of times Rarity could be considered a morning pony, and even being the Element of Generosity didn't really extend to such a quality at 6 o'clock in the morning. Still, Applejack wasn't one to pry, so it was none of her business as to why her friend was so charitable so early in the day.
Still...
"Did Rarity seem like she was feelin' okay, Applebloom?" she asked the young filly. "Ah mean, she weren't feelin' sick or nothin'?"
Applebloom shook her head with a smile. "Nope!" she exclaimed, "she was feeling so good, she made us breakfast, and she was hummin' some kind of mushy love song!"
Applejack's right eyebrow slowly raised as she absorbed this tidbit of information. Still...
"Alright, then. Ya can stay all night tonight. Ah've got work ta do today, anyway. There ain't no more apples ta harvest, but we still have ta get supplies together for the comin' winter. If'n ya would, go wake up Rainbow, and Violet, so they can get some breakfast 'fore they leave fer Cloudsdale."
At the mention of Dash's sister, Applebloom began jumping in place. "Violet's here?! Ya mean she's actually here?!"
Applejack laughed. "She sure is, little pardner. Came in last night while you were with yer friends over at Rarity's. Ah'm sure she'll be happy ta see ya."
Before she could finish, Applebloom charged up the steps and out of sight.
"Ya might want ta wait til' she wakes up!" Applejack called out behind her, before chuckling to herself and sitting down to breakfast.
Applejack ate in silence. She knew that at that very moment, Applebloom would be giving Violet a surprise wake-up call, and that any second, Dash would come trundling down the steps, looking for breakfast. She took the moment greatfully. It's not that she didn't love her fiance, or her sister, or her sister-in-law to be, but sometimes she missed the more lazy days of the farm, when it was just her, Applebloom, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith. She wouldn't trade her new life with Rainbow Dash for all the bits in Equestria, but sometimes, it was nice to remember the way things used to be. For a pony like Applejack, change could be a blessing, and a curse.
She hoped very much, and with all of her heart, that this change was a blessing.
A few moments later, as reliable as a summer rain, she heard the heavy steps of her lover tromping down the stairs. As she entered the dining room, Dash stopped, yawned, and stretched her legs. She ambled over to Applejack, and gave her a peck on the cheek.
"Morning, AJ," she said as she scratched her flank, and sat down at the table, placing two fritters on her plate.
Applejack hid a smile behind her mug of applejuice. "Mornin' Rainbow. Didja sleep well?"
Dash started digging in to her food with gusto, and only nodded her head as an affirmative to Applejack's question.
"So," Applejack asked, "it's past sunrise now, when are ya all gonna head off ta Cloudsdale?"
Dash, her plate already empty, finished gulping down her juice, and wiped her mouth with her foreleg. "I figure we can take off in about half an hour. That should be plenty of time for Violet to get ready, at least if she's as fast as I am."
***
Fifteen minutes later, Dash and Violet were standing in front of the Apples' home. Violet was buckling her saddlebags, with the help of Applebloom, and Applejack was giving Rainbow Dash last minute instructions.
"...and don't stop fer strangers. What with all that changelin' business we done saw the past year, ya don't know who might be what. Ya just go straight to Cloudsdale, help Violet find a nice job on the weather team, and get on back here."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yes, mom," she replied, her voice taking on the tone of a young teenage filly.
Applejack smirked. "Ah ain't yer mama," she said as she leaned in closer, "you ain't no school filly," she said, her voice growing quiet, "and I like it that way." Her voice took on a husky quality. "So let's be sure ya get back soon, ya hear?" She licked Dash lightly on the cheek.
Dash's eyes grew wide, and she turned around. "Well, kiddo, time to go! Let's get to Cloudsdale!" She took off like a shot, leaving a confused Violet and Applebloom in her wake.
Applebloom looked over to Applejack. "What was that all about?" she asked, and then noticing her older sister, amended it. "Are you blushin'?"
***
It was another beautiful day for flying. The Sun was high above, and shining down upon the green swaths of grass, criss-crossed with golden patches of wheat and peppered with dots of color; apple, and orange groves; white snow capped purple mountains, and glistening, still blue waters that made up the land she called her home. As she pushed herself just a touch faster through the air, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and felt the Sun warmed wind, mixing with the cold air from their high altitude, caress her muzzle and whip through her mane, following a rapid course along the soft cyan fur of her body, culminating in the fluttering of her tail. It gave her a shiver of delight, and it made her feel alive and happy. Even moreso, and without any effort, she could also hear the strong, measured flapping of smaller wings not far off, the beats coming from her right. That, too, made her happy.
"Do you ever get tired of this?" she heard from the position to her right.
Rainbow Dash, brought out of her meditation, opened her rosemary eyes and glanced sideward at her younger sister. "No way, kid. I was born to fly, and you were, too."
There was a momentary silence between them. Violet took this as a chance to talk to her older sister.
"Rainbow Dash, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, kid. You can ask me anything," she replied, and then amended, "unless it's about math or science, or something totally uncool like that."
In truth, Rainbow Dash liked math and science, but it was the height of uncool to talk about all that stuffy kind of egghead talk, especially with other pegasi, no matter how much she loved her study and reading sessions with Twilight. She had an image to maintain.
Violet took a deep breath. "What would you do, um, hypothetically speaking-"
"Hypa what?" Dash interrupted.
"Hypothetically," Violet replied, "it's another way of thinking about your actions if something were to happen."
Dash frowned. "Oh. Okay."
Violet continued. "Anyway, supposed, hypothetically, that someone you knew didn't want to be a stunt flyer?"
Dash thought that over for a moment, scratching her chin even as the wind flattened her fur against her face. "You mean, like, someone who said they wanted to be a stunt flyer, but then changed their mind later on?"
Violet nodded.
Dash shrugged her shoulders, "I'd say that's fine. You gotta know your limits, ya know? Not everypony can be awesome like you or me."
She didn't notice Violet cast her eyes downward. "Yeah, I guess not."
Rainbow Dash looked over to her sister. "What's up, squirt? Is this something one of your friends was talking about? Is it that Ernie whosits fella?"
Violet gave Rainbow Dash a curious stare, until light dawned on her. "Norbert Whitegrass?"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, that's the one."
Violet giggled. "No, Dash. I don't even like Norbert Whitegrass. He's all uptight, annoying, and he likes to pretend he's smarter than everypony else."
"So you're saying you don't have a crush on him?"
Violet's eyes went wide. "A cr-, a crush?! On Norbert Whitegrass?" She stuck out her tongue and pretended to gag on her hoof. "No! Oh dear Celestia, no! He's mean, and rude! Where did you get that idea, and how did we get on school crushes?!"
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I just figured this was one of those heart to heart moments I see in those after school plays. You know, like that one where the crazy mare kept smacking eggs with a skillet?"
Violet shook her head. "No, not-"
"That was cool, by the way."
Violet stopped for a second and tilted her head. "What was cool?"
"That mare with the skillet. I tried that, and I still don't know what it was all about. It was fun, though."
While Violet attempted to sort out what just happened, Dash interrupted her thoughts with an exclamation.
"There it is straight ahead, kiddo! Cloudsdale!" She took off faster, making a beeline for the metropolis.
Violet turned her head upward, and looked in the direction of Dash's rainbow trail.
She was floored by the view, and it was only on natural instinct that she didn't forget how to flap her wings right then and there. The view was amazing. She could see massive pillars, and titanic cliffs, rainbow falls flowing downward into the foggy mists at the bottom. She could see the Cloudsdale transport hub, where airships traveling back and forth all across Equestria could be seen docking and departing. To her left, she could see Cloudsdale Stadium, where the Wonderbolts performed every other week to crowds of thousands, and all about her pegasi, gryphons, and other flying creatures, going to and fro in the city, outside of the city, beyond the city. It was all a huge, roaring, sky high spectacle, and she was about to follow her sister down into it, in order to find her calling, to find a job, to find Celestia knows what else.
Excitement shivered down her spine as she poured on the speed, eager to catch up to her sister.
A few moments later, they were zipping along downtown Cloudsdale. Violet took note of all of the buildings she saw as she passed them by, zipping up and to the side to avoid the large, floating sign that read "Crazy Cloud Runner's Coffee & Couture."
Traffic was a lot more streamlined than she had imagined. While she had envisioned ponies flying everywhere in a cloud city, it appeared that most kept to designated flying lanes. She didn't see much more in the way of signage, but she kept close to Dash so that she wouldn't be the cause of any major pile-ups. It wouldn't do well to get in an accident while trying to apply for a position on a precision weather team.
"It's up this way, Violet," Dash called out behind her. Sure enough, Violet could see the cloudy outcropping of what appeared to be an administrative building. She pulled up next to her sister as they alighted on the cloud walk, landing gently in front of the complex.
"Is this the weather factory?" she asked Dash.
"Nah," her sister replied, "the weather factory is much bigger. This is just the place where all the weather team leaders come to get their work orders for the day. They built it inside the city hall."
Together they ascended the steps, butterflies in Violet's stomach as they walked through the lobby. Violet was looking around, when she noticed something odd. "Rainbow?" she asked her older sister.
"Yeah, kiddo? What's up?" Dash said she flashed her badge to the security pony at the front desk. He nodded and they continued down a long hallway.
"I saw a pegasus back there, and she was talking to a unicorn!"
"Uh-huh."
"Doesn't that seem odd?"
"Um, I hate to tell ya kiddo, but pegasuseses-"
"Pegasi."
"Right. Pegasi talk to unicorns all the time. What's weird about that?"
"Well, it's not so much that they were talking, but that the unicorn wasn't falling through the floor."
"Oh! Gotcha. Yeah, well you can thank Twilight for that one. A couple years back she found some kind of cloud walking spell, and now any unicorn who wants to work in Cloudsdale can get here by airship, and walk on clouds. Not many ponies outside Cloudsdale know about it, though. Twilight said she didn't want to get a big head or something. If it were me," Dash said, pointing a hoof to her chest, "I would have told everypony. Twilight just doesn't know how to be cool like that, I guess. Not that she can't be cool."
Violet smiled to herself. Of course Twilight would have to be involved in something so quietly groundbreaking, and then deny any recognition for it. She hoped to visit Twilight later on, so she filed away that tidbit of information, making sure she would ask the brilliant unicorn about it later.
"Here we are," Dash commented as she stopped and turned a door handle, "the Meteorology & Weather Services Office."
They both stepped inside, and walked up to the secretary's desk.
"Hey, uh, I'm here to see Sunny Storms."
The secretary looked up from her desk. "Hello, and your name is, Miss?"
"Uh, Dash, ma'am. Rainbow Dash. Ponyville Weather Team Manager, and Fastest Flier in all of Equestria."
"Ah, of course. Hello Miss Dash. May I ask your business with Mr. Storms?"
"Oh, yeah. I need to talk to him about getting my sister here a part time job with the Ponyville weather team."
The secretary smiled politely, and asked them to take a seat while she consulted the Cloudsdale Regional Weather Director.
"I'm a bit nervous, Rainbow Dash." Violet whispered as they sat next to one another in uncomfortable office chairs.
Dash patted her sister's foreleg. "Don't worry, kid. Sunny's always been a pretty cool stallion. I bet he'll take one look at you, and say "that's the pony I want working on my weather team."
***
"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, but I can't hire her."
"What?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she jumped to her hooves. They were sitting in Sunny Storm's cluttered office, Violet was sitting next to Dash, and across from them, behind his messy desk covered in papers, and knick knacks, was the Regional Weather Director for Cloudsdale, Canterlot, and Ponyville.
"I can't hire her." Sunny said, apology imbued in those words. "It's not that I don't want to, she seems like a smart, young, filly, and I know that being your sister means she's probably fast, and agile, and that's what I'd love to have on our team, but there simply are no positions."
Dash put her hooves on the table and leaned over Sunny's desk. "Darnit, Sunny? Why not?! Three pegasuses-"
"Pegasi." Sunny interjected quietly.
"Right. I know that! Pegasi, were let go last week because they were injured in some kind of freak wind storm south of the Everfree forest. Can't she fill in for those guys?"
Sunny sighed. "I'd love to, Dash, but the fact is that the department has been letting pegasi go for a while, now. It's a budgetary issue," and he looked at Violet, who had taken on a despondent air, "it's nothing personal, Miss Tempest. It really isn't. You seem like a wonderful mare, and I don't doubt your abilities, but with the budget issues we're facing, and with the increased risk around the Everfree forest, I just can't hire anypony else until that problem has been relieved. I am sorry, I truly am."
Dash pounded the desk, and was ready to say something else, when Violet put her hoof on Dash's foreleg. "Don't Rainbow," she said with sad finality, "it's not his fault. Bureaucracy gets in the way of the best intentions, even when it claims them for itself."
Dash let her anger fade. She looked to her sister, and looked back to her boss. "I'm sorry, Sunny. I shouldn't have snapped at you."
Sunny nodded. "It's okay, Rainbow. If it were my brother, I would have voiced just as much passion." He paused for a moment, then continued, speaking to Violet. "Look, I'll keep an eye out for any Ponyville opening. If I see one, I'll notify you before anypony else, is that acceptable?"
Violet smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, Mr. Storms, that's more than acceptable."
Sunny returned the smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Very good, then. I'll let you know what I hear when I hear it. Until then, you lovely mares please have a good day, and I'll see you next week, Dash, for your latest assignments."
With a final nod, Dash and Violet left the office of the Regional Weather Director, and made their way back down the hall toward the lobby entrance.
"I'm sorry that didn't go like I planned, kiddo." Dash said after they had walked in silence for some time. "I coulda swore he had something for ya." Dash stopped for a moment, and hung her head.
Violet patted her big sister on the back. "Hey, at least he'll be looking around for me. That's almost as good. I'm sure he'll find something, you know? There's always going to be weather, and they're going to need ponies, so it will work out, I think."
Dash smiled, and pulled her sister into a hug.
Violet giggled.
"What's so funny, kiddo?"
Violet rubbed the back of her sister's mane. "You, giving me a hug in public."
Dash chuckled. "Yeah, I'm getting to be a softie in my old age."
Violet smirked. "Oh, don't worry. If anypony says anything, we'll blame it on Applejack. We'll say she's rubbing her uncoolness off on you."
Dash pulled away from the hug with a smile. "Sounds fair to me, sport! Now," she said, patting Violet on the shoulder with a hoof, "what's say we get something to eat? I'm starving!"
***