Chapter 2 – A Storm on the Horizon
Windy stretched her wings, as she tried to sleep in her bed. While it wasn’t as fluffed and fancy as her bed back home, she still preferred it over sleeping in a giant empty mansion. Windy had opted to move out of her father’s luxurious home in the clouds, to a simpler abode in Cloudsdale. She wanted to shake off the rich mare persona, and just try to be like everypony else. Even her apartment itself wasn’t all that fancy. It wasn’t a big suite, but she wasn’t just sleeping on a random cloud either.
She rustled back and forth under her sheets, but couldn’t seem to lull herself to sleep. “Erm…argh…gah! Darn that Cloudy! Why can’t I stop worrying about what he’s getting himself into? And to talk to me the way he did? I was only trying to help. Add on that, Mrs. Drizzle wants me to give a seminar on my research with cumulonimbus clouds, and how their incorporation into modern weather science could cut back on the dependence of water below for the rainy season. Sigh, I’m getting too stressed out. Come on Windy, just take deep breaths. One. Two. One. Two.”
Being the top research Pegasus at the (CWRF) had been taking its toll on Windy from time to time. She had always been at the top of her class in weather school, thanks to the help of her father and his business. Windy knew just about all there was to know about clouds and the weather phenomenon of Equestria, but she always found herself wanting to know more. She joined the (CWRF) to further enhance her knowledge, and to be able to help her father’s business, and eventually take over when he passed. Even in her short time at the facility, having only joined a few months before Cloudy, she had already risen to the title of top weather pony, and was on her way to becoming a Research Manager, just like Mrs. Drizzle.
All this was fine and good, but Windy often times found herself with more colleagues than friends. While she was dedicated to her work like Cloudy, she still had a bit of a social life, with traveling around Equestria, meeting new ponies, and seeing new things. There was also the fandom that she had gathered with the male ponies she met, making her a bit of a celebrity, but she didn’t really care about that. She was just glad to be able to learn as much as she could about weather, and how it affected the lives of all the ponies of Equestria.
“One. Two. One. Two. One…this isn’t working. Sigh, maybe I should get some fresh air. I’m not doing myself any good just laying here worrying.” Windy got out of bed and headed for the door. Once outside, she spread her wings and took off into the night’s sky. She flew around for a bit, before her mind started to wander again. She would look at the clouds that she flew by, and occasionally see images from her childhood. Her sitting on her father’s back while they both looked out over the balcony at the Thunderclap factory in the distance. Her playing with other fillies at school down below. And, just for a moment, she remembered lying in her old bed, and listing to her mother sing her to sleep.
“Momma.” She said softly to herself. It had been a long time since Windy had remembered her mother. The warm feeling, made her decide to fly over to visit her father, which she hadn’t done in a while. Windy changed direction and headed over to her father’s mansion. As she approached, she took in the sight of it. A giant three-story mansion made of clouds, sitting atop a gigantic cloud. The style of the architecture was based on buildings from the Reneighssance. Windy landed in front of the golden gates that were erected around the mansion, and was greeted by one of her father’s night guards, Coffee Break.
“Ah! Ms. Windy, so nice to see you again. Yawn. Haven’t seen you around here in a while, not since you made top weather pony at the (CWRF).” The Pegasus said, trying to hold back another yawn.
“Good to see you too Coffee Cup.” Windy replied. She always gave a cute name to all the staff that worked for her father, to try and make them feel more welcome. “Is my father in?”
The guard chuckled at the name before answering. “Heh heh. Yes, he’s still here for the night. He had already returned from his trip to the factory before I took shift.” He then opened the gate for her to walk through.
Windy was glad to hear that her father was in. “Thank you Coffee. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying for tonight.” She said to the guard as she walked through the gate. She walked up to the main entrance and knocked on the door. Doorbell, her father’s butler who had worked for him for years, answered the door.
The old Pegasus answered in a slow voice, while opening the door, just as slowly. “Ah…good…evening…Ms.…Windy. Your…father…is…in…his…study.”
“Good evening to you too Knock Knock, and thank you.” Windy said to the old Pegasi as she walked in. She then proceeded to head up the stairs and down one of the halls to her father’s study. She entered the room to find it just as it always was, not a book out of place, save for a few spaces that had been occupied by the books her father was currently reading at the time. “Good evening father! I’m sorry I didn’t let you know I was coming.” She called aloud in the giant room.
From behind a giant chair by a small fireplace in the corner of the room, rose an equally tall Pegasus pony. “Wandy! So nace of you to drop by after so long.” Windy’s father, Stormy Thunderclap, spoke to her, with his southwestern accent. It was difficult at times to tell what he was saying, since his accent seemed to replace every ‘I’ with an ‘a’. Stormy Thunderclap had been born and raised in San Palomino, where he developed his business tycoon mentality, before moving to Cloudsdale, where he learned the weather portion of his family’s business. “What brangs you by thas late at naght pumpkan. Everythang alraght?”
“Yes father I’m fine. I was just out for a flight to clear my head, and decided to drop by to say hello.” She replied to her father, trying to hide the worry that kept her up.
“Oh come now sweetae. You know A can tell when somethangs botherang you. What’s on your mand?” Her father replied back with. He had always been able to tell when something was bothering his little filly, and even age hadn’t slowed him down.
Windy gave in, and began to tell her father about what was troubling her. “It’s just work father. I’ll be giving a big seminar on my research in a couple days, and the thought of it was keeping me up.”
Her father didn’t seem convinced that was the only thing bothering her. She was never one to break under pressure, and she was a Thunderclap, so he knew it wouldn’t be something trivial. “Hmm. What about that one Pegasus pony? The one you’re always tellang me about. What was has name agaan?
Windy blushed a little at her father’s question. “Who him? Oh, uh, no. He’s just, being his stubborn self as usual. I keep trying to offer him a job at your factory, but he keeps turning it down.”
Stormy still wasn’t convinced. “You sure he and those other stallaons aren’t botherang you?”
“No father, the stallions aren’t a problem. They still keep flirting with me all the time, but Cloudy just….” She answered hesitantly.
“Dad that lattle squart say somethang to you!? Why, A’ve got half a mand to go and teach that lattle…!” Her father started with.
“No father wait! He just yelled at me today, that’s all. Another one of his devices failed again, and I think I just caught him at a bad time. He didn’t mean to do it, I’m sure of it.” She reasoned back.
Her father calmed down a bit, but still seemed concerned. “Well, alraght. But why do you keep hangang around that pony anyway? From what you keep tellang me, he sounds lake a lost cause. Can’t seem to buald anythang raght, and keeps agnorang you. Why not assocaate wath some of the other weather ponaes at the facalaty, or try gavang some of my busaness partners’ young stallaons a try?”
“Because! Because…he’s trying to do something different.” Windy replied. “He’s not like the other weather ponies. He’s trying to find new ways to help Equestria’s weather, just like I’m trying to learn more about it. Even if he seems like a lost cause, I just don’t feel like I should give up on him. I think too many ponies have already. That, and I’m worried about him. These devices of his seem to get more dangerous and unstable with each design. I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself.”
Stormy Thunderclap seemed to understand a bit more, why his daughter was concerned so much about this one Pegasi that she always told him about. “Well, A can understand not wantang to back down from a challenge. Stall though, what exactly are these devaces that he’s tryang to make? They don’t sound as straaghtforward, as the machanes that we have at the factory. Where’s he comang up wath these desagns?”
Windy gave her father a puzzled look as she answered him. “I’m not sure myself. He’s never told me where he got his designs from, or if he came up with them himself. Although, they do seem like the fireworks stands that the Earth ponies use below. It almost seems like he’s trying to do some kind of cloud seeding with these devices. Trying to make something that he can shoot into the clouds, but I’m not sure why. Weather ponies already plant seeds in the clouds from time to time, to help make it rain in extremely arid areas, but it seems like he’s trying to complicate the process?
Stormy replied with a puzzled look of his own. “Hmm, that does sound strange. Anventave, but strange. A’m not one to say that machanes haven’t helped Equestraa to become what at as today, but there are somethangs that machanes just can’t do.” Stormy looked on as his daughter still had a puzzled, but concerned look. He began to clear his throat, as he tried to make his little filly feel better. “But A’m sure the lattle buck wall fagure at out, af he’s as clever as you say he as. Now, enough worryang for tonaght. Why don’t you spend the naght here, and rest you’re lattle head?”
Windy smiled, glad that her father was trying to cheer her up. “I guess it couldn’t hurt for one night. Thank you father.”
Stormy smiled at his daughter’s smile. “Tas no trouble at all, my lattle pumpkan.”
The two of them walked out of the study, and down the halls to Windy’s old room.
“I also stopped by, because I thought of mother again.” Windy said to her father, as she closed her eyes, and rested her head on him while they walked.
“A know sweetae. A mass her too.” Stormy replied back, wrapping his hoof around her as they walked, to comfort her.
The next day, Windy waved goodbye to her father, as she spread her wings, and flew away from the gates of her father’s mansion. She would have to hurry, as she was now twice as far away from work as before, and she also had to stop by her apartment to get a few things. Windy was always the first pony to punch in for work at the Research Facility, and she didn’t want to break that streak now.
Sure enough, as she landed in front of the building, there wasn’t a single pony around yet. She pulled out the key that she had been given, so that she could let herself in and out, and opened up the front door. As Windy approached the punch machine, she was startled to see that there was already a card in the “IN” box. Curious to see who had beat her to work, she reached to see who it belonged to. It was also strange, that the card had been punched, when the doors were still locked. She pulled the card out just enough to read the name, and was shocked at who it belonged to. It was Cloudy’s!
Quickly, Windy dashed down the halls, and into the Weather Technology Developments’ wing, to Cloudy’s stall. As she pulled around the corner of the stall, she could see Cloudy standing over his work table, blocking the view of what he was looking at.
“It’s done. It’s finally done. My greatest creation ever.” Cloudy said aloud, although, half asleep.
“What are you doing here so early Cloudy? Did you ever even go home?” Windy tried asking him.
Cloudy realized that somepony was behind him, as he turned his head to see who it was. Still half asleep, he couldn’t make out who it was, and the machinery work he had just finished still drowned out his hearing a bit. “Ha. We’ll see who the airhead…is now….” Cloudy collapsed back on top of his newest device, finally falling asleep.
“Cloudy!” Windy jumped to see if he was alright. Seeing that he had just fallen asleep, she gave a sigh of relief. It was then that she noticed what he had been making. Although Cloudy was still covering the majority of it with his body, she could make out that it was another type of cannon device. This one however, seemed shaped a bit differently on the end that she could see. It was like somepony had placed a hollowed out bowl on the end of a tube. Windy looked up at Cloudy’s blueprint board, to see what he had been making.
The sketching was mediocre at best, but the title was pretty clear: Javelin. She had never heard of the name before, and the so-so drawing only added to her confusion. She decided that she wasn’t going to get any information out of Cloudy right now, so she took off the cape portion of her uniform, and draped it over him. She then turned off the light to his stall, and closed the curtain to the stall behind her. The other weather ponies knew that Cloudy kept most of his devices secret, so leaving him in his stall like this wouldn’t look so suspicious. Windy then left for her own office in the Weather Research Developments’ portion of the building.
Sometime towards the middle of the day, Cloudy finally woke up in his stall. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes a bit, before putting them back on. “Yaaaawwwn. Good thing I punched myself in when I came back in this morning. Otherwise, Mrs. Drizzle would’ve rained on my parade already.” Cloudy felt a rustling on his back as he stood up from his work table. He flexed one of his wings out, and could make out what looked like somepony’s jacket. “Ugh…Why’s it so dark in here? I thought I left the light on in my stall?” Cloudy let the makeshift blanket hit the floor as he walked over to the light to his stall, turning it on. “Hmm? Somepony closed the curtain as well? Huh? My device! Is it still here!?” Cloudy quickly turned back around and hurried to his work table. “Ah, good. It’s still here. Whoever it was that stopped by must’ve just seen me asleep on the table. Guess they knew better than to look around my stall.”
Cloudy took a step back to admire his completed work, now that he was awake. It was essentially a cannon, which could be mounted on a harness, and attached to the back of a pony. Its lightweight frame made it easy to pick up and mount, but the real genius came in the firing mechanism. A button on the side, which need only be pressed, to cause a spark at the back of the cannon, igniting the powder and chemicals in the back, to fire out whatever’s inside the barrel. This way, he could save the time of waiting, and just push the button when he’s ready, to fire the device.
Cloudy’s stomach began to rumble, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten anything since last night, while he had flown out to pick up some parts he needed. He walked out of his office, and up to the break room, where an assortment of coffee and muffins were usually there. Cloudy walked in as a few Pegasi were talking on the other side of the room, and a few others were helping themselves to the muffins.
“So there I was, sitting at a table with Milky Way, and you could totally tell that she wanted me. So we both left for my place, and let’s just say, there were a few noise complaints that night.” It was Red Rocket, the pony who had mocked Cloudy the other day, telling the story. The other ponies were chuckling at his story.
Having finally completed his latest device, and after downing a quick cup of coffee, Cloudy felt like giving the cocky Pegasus his own two bits. “I guess I can understand the noise complaints. I mean, I’m sure I’d get some too, for excessive laughter from my partner, for how quick it was, and for me crying myself to sleep. I wonder though, can you really call it quick, when all it takes is for some mare to rub your belly?” Cloudy said aloud for the whole room to hear.
The whole room immediately burst into laughter, while Red Rocket turned an even redder shade than he already was. “Hey! Who the hay asked you, Airhead! I should say that ‘I’m’ surprised that you can even show your face, after that pathetic failure yesterday.” The Pegasus responded, trying to turn the joke back on Cloudy.
“Well I’m happy to say, and I’m sure you’ll be disappointed to hear, that I’ve finally completed my greatest device yet.” Cloudy said, as-a-matter-of-factly.
“Oh we’ve ALL heard this dog and pony show before.” Red Rocket replied, getting a couple laughs for his side.
Cloudy felt like it was time to put this pony in his place, and to prove himself to the other weather ponies. “Well how about I show you? High-noon today! Out at the clouds edge!”
A silence filled the room. The ponies in the room looked at each other, and then back at Cloudy, before Red Rocket spoke up. “Yeah…you mean the high-noon that was two hours ago?” A few more laughs come out this time for the Pegasi.
Cloudy stood there for a second, before checking his watch on his hoof. It was already two in the afternoon! A slight embarrassment came over Cloudy, for not checking the time before he left his stall, or before making his challenge. He quickly collected himself and tried again. “Right…yeah. I mean, the end of work today! Bring everypony in the facility to watch! I’ll show you all that I’m no airhead!”
There were still some chuckles in the room, but Red Rocket just clapped his hooves together. “You got it. The ENTIRE facility staff. We’ll ALL see you then.” He said, a big grin on his face.
Cloudy took off out of the break room, still hearing some laughter from behind. He headed back down to his stall, to make sure that everything would be ready for his grand unveiling. He worked hard the rest of the work day, making sure that everything about the Javelin would go off without a hitch. Cloudy knew that if he wanted to show that the Javelin was capable of firing something, he of course, needed something to fire. He hadn’t made any grooves in the barrel to slide something specific in, so he looked around his stall for something that he could shoot out of it, and possibly retrieve later if he had to. While looking through the rest of his scrapped devices pile, he found one of his small rockets, which he had tried to fire from a previous device. He loaded it into the barrel, covered the entire device, and then wheeled it out to the clouds edge.
Cloudy’s jaw dropped when he saw the turnout at the clouds edge. Red Rocket hadn’t been joking when he said that he’d get EVERYPONY in the facility to show. Cloudy must’ve really hit the nail on the head with his joke, if he made the Pegasi THIS serious to get a turnout. Weather ponies from each of the different departments were here for the unveiling, including all the Research Managers, cleaning staff, and even the head of the (CWRF), former Wonderbolt, “Dusty” Rain Gauge. Cloudy wheeled his device to the edge of the cloud, just as he’d done numerous times before, and turned to the crowd of Pegasi.
Windy looked out from the group of Research Development ponies. She could see that Cloudy looked a little nervous, standing in front of this massive crowd from the entire facility. “Good luck Cloudy.” She said to herself.
Cloudy cleared his throat, before speaking aloud to the crowd. “Mares and Gentleponies! Accredited staff, and facility officials! It is my great privilege to present to you today, what will become the future of weather manipulation in Equestria!” Cloudy ripped off the cover of the device, causing oohs, and ahhs, throughout the crowd. “I present to you! The Javelin!” The ponies familiar with Cloudy’s failures just looked on in boredom, while the rest of the Pegasi all looked intrigued. Even “Dusty” Rain Gauge raised an eyebrow.
Cloudy continued to speak, as he assembled the device, and strapped it to himself. “With this device, all of the manual labor required by weather ponies will be a thing of the past! No longer will Pegasi have to traverse dangerous weather to reach a destination! No longer will we weather ponies have to jump from cloud to cloud, just to plant seeds for the arid lands below!” Cloudy then took aim at a cloud in the distance, before wrapping up his speech. “The future of weather manipulation is as easy as: 3. 2. 1!” On the count of one, Cloudy pressed the fire button on the side of the barrel. Almost immediately, the device gave a slight kick back, and the rocket on the inside came blasting out.
He had done it. He had finally created a working device, all thanks to the plans that Tanner had been too afraid to use. Cloudy, and the rest of the Pegasi looking on, watched, as the rocket went screaming through the air, towards the cloud that Cloudy had shot at. The rocket almost reached the cloud, before it violently jagged off course. It zigzagged through the air, going in all different directions, before it finally straightened out on its new course…towards the crowd. By the time the ponies realized where the rocket was heading, they all spread their wings and took off as fast as they could. However, one Pegasus didn’t move, too shocked to even spread her wings. Windy. She just couldn't believe that it happened again, and that this time, it was the possible worst.
By the time she realized what was going on, she had just seconds to get away before the rocket was upon her. She quickly spread her wings and escaped to the air, seconds before the rocket impacted the spot she just occupied. Upon impact, the rocket exploded, sending pieces of metal and cloud seeds in every direction. Windy was pelted by the seeds, and scratched by a few pieces of metal, before falling back to the cloud. Cloudy could only look on in horror, as he had failed yet again, and this time, hurting somepony else in the process. “I…I just don’t know…what went wrong?...”