Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane shoved the last of the clouds into place, forming a blanket of thick and dark cloud cover over Ponyville. Rainbow looked out over the tops of the clouds, seeing the rest of the weather team putting the finishing touches on the snowstorm that they’d been constructing.
One by one, various parts of the team began to sound off that their tasks were complete, and soon enough, the storm was ready. Rainbow raised her hoof, and every pegasus flew a meter upwards, all watching Rainbow for the final hoofsignal. Rainbow let her hoof drop, and twenty pegasi instantly folded their wings, dropping down onto the clouds and starting the storm.
“Alright, nice work guys,” said Rainbow, “That’s basically it for today. You can all go home if you like, but seeing as we now have a nice thick layer of cloud cover...” the team all instantly got what Rainbow Dash was saying, and several pegasi broke off to construct a set of goal posts from some of the leftover cloud. Rainbow herself left the construction of the feild to her team, and shot back down through the cloud layer and the rapidly thickening snowstorm, out to Fluttershy’s house.
Knocking on the door, Rainbow waited. And waited. And then she knocked again, and finally, Fluttershy answered the door.
“Come on, Fluttershy! We need our ref!”
“Oh, is it that time already?”
Rainbow Dash just stared at Fluttershy, her expression flat.
“I’ll just be a minute,” said Fluttershy, a blush rushing across her face with a nervous smile, before she disappeared back into her house. True to her word, Fluttershy emerged out from her house a minute later, a black and white striped shirt draped over her, and a whistle around her neck. Not willing to wait for Fluttershy to try and make it through the cloud cover on her own, Rainbow grabbed Fluttershy, and tore off for the sky, punching through the thick snow clouds, and only pausing briefly to fix the hole that she had made.
Two minutes later, the twenty weather patrol members were arrayed in two teams, with Rainbow Dash leading one, and Thunderlane leading the other. Thunderlane’s team were all wearing red head bands, while Rainbow’s team was going without. Fluttershy stood inbetween the two teams, a ball of condensed cloud infused with rainbow under a wing.
“Right. You all know the rules, right?” she asked, and got a wave of nods.
“Okay. Now remember, the referee’s decision is final, and Rainbow Dash, you aren’t allowed to go too fast.” Rainbow grumbled, but nodded.
“Okay. Take positions!” A flutter of wings, and the two teams arranged themselves on top of the snow storm clouds, some flying, some staying on the cloud bank. Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane stood near the centre of the field, and Fluttershy walked up to the direct centre, whistle now in her mouth. Taking the cloud ball in her front hooves, she tossed it upwards as far as she could, and then blew her whistle. Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane took off at the same time, heading for the ball.
And so began the first game of the Ponyville Weather Patrol Winter Cloudball Season.