//------------------------------// // Floating on air // Story: Tales of the Rainmaker // by BleedingRaindrops //------------------------------// “It is important to note that the shapes of larger cloud systems can alert you to the location of thermal updrafts and downdrafts,” Ms. Meadowbloom called to a wide circle of pegasi fillies and colts. "None of you are strong enough to fly on your own yet, so if you happen to fall, you'll need to use them to support yourself while a teacher fetches you. Now then, who here knows how to float on an updraft?” Her students were gathered in various resting positions on the nearby clouds. Some sat forward on their front hooves, while others lay back sunning themselves on the open clouds. Nopony responded at first, then a dark grey colt stumbled forward, shoved from behind by one of the colts next to him. “Stormfeather knows how to do it.” “Yeah, I saw him yesterday. he’s really good at it.” Stormfeather looked around sheepishly at his classmates, then gathered himself up and laughed. “Haha, well I guess I do know how. It’s not too difficult.” He stepped forward. Ms. Meadowbloom smiled and gestured with her hoof “Please demonstrate.” Stormfeather let out a snort as he boldly stepped up to the edge of the cloud. An excited grin spread across his face as he peered over, wings spreading slowly. When his small wingspan was fully extended, he simply stepped out onto the open air… and floated. Very far in the back, under the shade of an overhead cloud, a bright orange filly let out a quiet gasp. He was actually floating on air. His mane bristled in the rising air current and he hung in place. His confident smile combined with the apparent ease of his levitation was… breathtaking. She got up from her seated position and took a few steps closer. Then, just as quickly as the spectacle had begun, Stormfeather tilted his wings and slid forward out of the updraft, planting his hooves on the cloud on the other side. The whole class clapped as he folded one wing over his chest and lowered his head, smiling proudly. “Thank you, Stormfeather,” Ms. Meadowbloom said, nodding her approval. She scanned the class briefly again, then blinked as she noticed that the filly in the back had gotten to her hooves. “Oh, Rainstream. Would you like to try?” Oh no. All heads turned suddenly toward her, and she shrunk quickly to the cloud beneath her. Wings strapped themselves tightly to her side as she peered out from behind her mane and gently but vigorously shook her head. “Oh come now, dear. You’re never going to get it if you don’t take a leap of faith. The weather team has scheduled calm winds for today, and there are plenty of clouds beneath us to land on if you lose lift.” Rainstream buried her face into the cloud beneath her. She could feel all of them staring at her, like a thousand little needles all pressing against her skin. She wiggled against the white fluff, hoping to sink into it, but with no progress. For something so soft, clouds could be frustratingly solid. Some of the students started laughing. “Aw, she’s crying. Look at the little crybaby.” “Now, now!” Ms. Meadowbloom’s voice cut them off sharply. “We’ll have none of that.” After a moment, she called out again, gentler this time. “Rainstream, I’d like you to try, even if you don’t like it.” Every one of Rainstream’s muscled tensed up at once, to the point that she began shaking. All of the air left her lungs, as though somepony was squeezing it out of her She tried to pull more in, but it only came in short, wheezing gasps. “See? She can’t do it. What kind of pegasus doesn’t want to fly?” All sound stopped at that point; her ears felt ready to pop. She was shrinking, as the world around her grew tighter and tighter, crushing her entire body. The other ponies gathered around her, staring with laughing eyes. They were laughing at her, and why shouldn’t they? She was useless, and she never should have come here. Rainstream felt a wing descend on her back, and shivered beneath it. She just focused on the cloud beneath her, and prayed that her lungs would come back soon. It might have lasted ten seconds or ten hours, but when her world returned to normal, everything was quiet. Then Ms. Meadowbloom’s voice broke the silence. “It’s alright. Just leave her be, I’ll handle this. Everypony, take turns floating on the updraft until I come back.” Ms. Meadowbloom’s voice was much closer than before. Rainstream could breathe easier now, but shivers still wracked her body. Neither of them moved for several minutes, meanwhile Rainstream’s breath came in shallow gasps. Then, when her chest loosened a bit, and the needles left Rainstream lifted her head just enough to peer to the side. She could see Ms. Meadowblooms bright yellow hooves next to her, and looked up until she met her smiling gaze. “Are you alright, dear?” Rainstream didn’t answer. Her heart was still beating painfully. Her lip trembled violently. “Would you like me to bring you to the nurse?” Rainstream nodded slowly. “Alright. Whenever you’re ready.” For a moment, neither of them moved. Rainstream fought to break through the paralysis that bound her limbs, meanwhile Ms. Meadowbloom sat calmly next to her. Then, slowly, battling shaky legs that would much rather return to their cradled position, Rainstream stood, turned, and began walking toward the far end of the cloud. Ms. Meadowbloom matched her step by step, staying just a wingtip beside her. Rainstream reached the end of the cloud, looked back at the class, where Stormfeather was helping a filly keep her balance, then returned her gaze forward. She gave her wings a few stretches to test them out. They seemed to be responding well enough, but she was too tired for a launch. Rainstream let out a sigh and simply leaned forward until she fell off the edge of the cloud. She flared her wings after a few seconds of free fall, and felt the familiar snap of her feathers pressing into each other to catch the wind. Ms. Meadowbloom appeared just below and ahead of her, primaries flared out fully to create the eddies that would allow Rainstream to piggyback on the same wind she was using to fly. The two of them pulled slowly out of the dive, and began gliding down toward a large cluster of clouds near the mountains. It didn’t take long to reach the school, but it was enough time for Rainstream to find control over her body again enough to land on her own. A few quick wingbeats brought her to a halt above the edge of the school “grounds” just outside the infirmary building. Ms. Meadowbloom came to a stop a few meters beyond and walked softly toward her “Are you alright, dear?” Rainstream nodded silently, shifting her head to let her mane fall in front of her face again. She stepped forward sluggishly, and Ms Meadowbloom ushered her inside. They stepped into a small room with several soft cloud benches lining the wall to the right. To the left was a desk, about chest height for an adult pony, but it came to just eye level with Rainstream and she had to strain to see over it. Behind the desk sat a young orange stallion with bright yellow mane, leaning back in his chair, reading a Daring Do novel. He looked up as they entered and quickly stood up, setting the book down next to him. “Good afternoon, ladies,” he said with a cheerful bounce. “Hello, Sunspot.” Ms. Meadowbloom replied. “What can I do for you?” Sunspot responded, leaning on the desk. He smiled down at Rainstream so warmly the corner of her own lip twitched a bit. “How is my favorite little filly doing today?” he asked. He held out a hoof across the desk, but Rainstream wasn’t feeling up to returning it. He lowered it, frowning slightly, and turned back to Ms. Meadowbloom. “She had another attack in class today, ” Ms. Meadowbloom said, quietly. “Aw no, another one?” He said in a silly tone, turning back to Rainstream with an enormous fat lip. She almost smiled. “Well we’ll just have to give the little filly something to calm down.” He reached behind the desk and brought out a lollipop, holding it out toward Rainstream. She took it and quickly popped it into her mouth. It tasted very sweet, like apples. She smiled. Doctor Sunspot smiled. He then stepped out from behind the desk and crouched low to meet Rainstream on eye level. “How are you feeling? Do you want to just sit here for a while?” Rainstream nodded, grateful not to be sent straight back to class. She moved to one of the seats nearby while the Doctor spoke to Ms. Meadowbloom quietly. Rainstream sucked on her lollipop and pretended not to hear them. “How has she been doing?” “Well enough. She’s been alright sitting in the back, but I’ve been trying to encourage her to participate. When she stood up today I thought perhaps she might be ready but… I guess not.” “Best to let her take it at her own pace. Has she been in touch with her family?” “I’ve offered to contact them but she doesn’t want me to. I’m beginning to worry about her emotional state.” “If she doesn’t want to contact them, there might be a reason. I would speak to Zephyrus about it, but for now, we should look about moving her into private classes, at least until she becomes more comfortable around the other students.” “How about right now? I do have a class waiting, and they shouldn't be unsupervised for long. Should I bring her back or would you like to watch her?” “I think she’s done for today. I’ll go ahead and write up a form for her. You head on back. I’ve got this.” “Thank you so much.” “It’s what I do.” Ms. Meadowbloom hugged Doctor Sunspot for a long moment, then pulled away. She gave a quick smile to Rainstream on her way out, and then disappeared through the door. Rainstream continued to suck on her lollipop and focus on the wall opposite her. It was white, just like the clouds outside, but of a slight shade of blue that reminded her of the sea near her home. There were no pictures hung on the wall, but the cloud itself held many swirls and deeper shades of blue that seemed elusive at first. The longer Rainstream stared, the more detail she saw. “How we doing?” Doctor Sunspot broke through her concentration with a gentle tone. She turned toward him. He held a small piece of paper in his hoof. “I’ve written you a pass for the day. You can go back to your room if you’d like, or you could just sit here if that would be more comfortable.” Rainstream’s eyes flashed to the door. Her heart began racing, but not out of fear. She looked back at Doctor Sunspot, who smiled wider. “Do you need me to take you or can you get there fine on your own?” Rainstream nodded. Doctor Sunspot chuckled. “How about I just follow you to make sure you get there safe? I know you already know the basics, but I’d hate to have you fall out of the sky if you have another attack. How about it?” Rainstream nodded again, then got up and moved toward the door. “Alrighty then. We’re off. Into the wild blue yonder.” ~ ~ ~ Dear Diary, We practiced floating on updrafts today. Stormfeather was the first to try it out. Celestia! why did Ms. Meadowbloom have to pick the thing that would make him look the hottest?! Floating there, suspended in space, magnificent wings outstretched, wind blowing up through his mane. The sun was even shining. He looked so dreamy I actually stood up. And then Ms. Meadowbloom thought I actually wanted to participate, and the whole class was staring at me. I had another panic attack. I think I survived. It was really scary. I thought I’d died, but Ms. Meadowbloom made sure I was fine. What’s wrong with me? Why am I so broken? I wish colts weren’t so dangerous to look at. If I could just stare at Stormfeather without almost dying that would be amazing. Maybe he might even talk to me. Doctor Sunspot was nice. He gave me a lollipop, and even let me fly back on my own without help. I wish Ms. Meadowbloom would let me practice on my own. I don't understand why she doesn't think I can fly on my own. I flew all the way here without help. She should know I know how to fly. I’m supposed to stay in my room but the weather is just so nice. I’m going to go make some rain to see if that helps. Rainstream set the quill down on her desk and closed her diary, then carried it over to her bed and slid it beneath the pillow. “Don’t worry. I’ll come back later.” She smiled at the pillow, then turned and headed for the door. It was bright and sunny outside. Great weather for most ponies, but not Rainstream. It was in her name, after all. Rain was her element, and she needed some of that right now. She shut the door carefully and peeked around the corner. Nopony around. She crept slowly to the edge of the cloud in front of her and looked down, and around. Nopony flying anywhere. They wouldn’t mind. Rainstream gave her wings a few quick stretches, then wiggled her rump. Her heart raced with anticipation as she stared down through the clouds. Just a little jump. She rocked forward on her hooves and leapt into the air. There was now nothing beneath her but the open sky—and of course the ground several miles below but that was irrelevant. Rainstream’s stomach climbed into her throat as gravity took over. Shivers ran through her whole body as the adrenaline started pumping. Half a year of flying and the launch still made her nervous. Rainstream wasn’t sure if she was more excited or terrified. The wind rushed up to greet her and eventually drowned out any internal screaming she might have been doing. She was tempted to close her eyes, but she knew better now. Rainstream willed her wings open and let them fill up with air, then gave a strong push downward. The air piled up beneath her wings and caught her, lifting her higher into the sky. Now fully engaged in her flight, she turned and angled herself toward the back of the school, where nopony would really bother her, or even care much about what she did with the weather. Rain clouds tended to be higher up, so she flapped harder to produce altitude, making sure to use her whole body for the upward propulsion. Once she was high enough, she glanced around for clouds. She would need a lot of water for this. She found a nice thick cloud before long. She gave it a poke, and it jiggled, nice and full. Good. She flew around and pushed it back to where she wanted to start her rainstorm, then went in search of more clouds. When she brought some more back, she noticed her first cluster of clouds was drifting apart. She hastilly stuffed them back together, then went back out. She found a few more, and brought them back to her central point. Each time she went out, she had to go farther and farther, until she found herself flying well outside school grounds. She was so dead if she got caught. Now she had collected quite the cluster of clouds, nearly enough for a small thunderhead. She eyed her creation for a minute. There weren’t any other clouds close enough for her to fly to. It would have to do. It was falling apart again, so she flew a tight loop around it to cement the outside into one cloud formation, then took a break. “Whoo! Gathering up clouds on a clear day is… haaaard.” Rainstream said the last word as a whine, collapsing onto the mountain of fluff she’d amassed. Okay, rainclouds gathered. Now to just make it rain. Rainstream had seen other weather ponies make it rain just by kicking the clouds they were in, or jumping up and down on them. Rainstream tried stomping her feet as hard as she could, but all she did was kick up some loose cloud dust. She let out a huff and fell backward onto the cloud in defeat. She spread her wings out into the thick fluffy cotton and stared up at the cloudless sky she’d created, chest rising and falling in heavy labored breaths. At least she wasn’t in class anymore. Ugh, that was so embarrassing! Rainstream was a far better flier than any of the other students. She could actually fly on her own! Some of them couldn’t get themselves off the ground if they tried. They’d been carried here by their parents, and moved around the school on clouds—watched closely by the teachers. Stormfeather could fly. Rainstream had seen him practicing behind the school one day. It had taken him nearly half an hour to venture out over the open sky, but he’d done it, and oh what a show that was. Rainstream had almost fallen off the cloud she’d been lying on that day. Rainstream grabbed a puff of cloud and hugged it to her chest. If only she could find a way to get him to talk to her without her dying of embarrassment. She let out a sigh, then her smile faded, and she threw the puff of cloud away, where it melted harmlessly into the cloud bed she was on. If only her wings didn’t lock up when he got near her, she could just fly for him. He’d be so impressed if he just saw her fly. But she couldn’t. It was a nightmare trying to get through class every day. Oh, why did Miss Meadowbloom have to call her out like that? Rainstream already knew how to float on an updraft. That wasn’t the hard part.The hard part was finding them. Of course she didn’t want to participate, it was that stupid… Rainstream sighed, rolled over, and buried her face behind her hooves. She peeked one eye out, and looked south, past the Unicorn mountains, to the Whitetail woods on the horizon. Just beyond that horizon were the Applewood hills, and on the far side of that… home. Well, the only home she had left, anyway Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, and her body began to shake. Standing with false strength, Rainstream trotted stiffly to the edge of her cloud, glared straight down through eyes that would much rather cry, and kicked off in a nearly vertical descent. As she got near the middle of the massive cloud she snapped open her wings and dealt the cloudwall a hefty kick, then pumped hard to propel herself forward. She flew tightly around the cloud, pressing against it, hoping to squeeze the water out of it. She’d come out here to make rain anyway, and now she really needed some, and this cloud was going to give it. She pressed harder into the wall of white, flying sideways now so that she could use her full wingspan. Bad idea. With no wind gliding over the top of her wings Rainstream began to slide downward through the air. Alarm bells went off as her brain registered the sudden and rapid drop in altitude. She arched her back to thrust herself away from the cloud, but it fell on open air as she slid past the bottom of the cloud body. Her legs kicked uselessly at open air and her right wing curled under her, pressed upward by the rushing wind. As her wing curled, it caught wind on the outside of it, and turned her onto her back. Rainstream was now watching the enormous thunderhead she’d built rushing away from her as she fell through the open sky. But then, she wasn’t really just falling, was she? As Rainstream took stock of her situation, she realized that her coverts were letting wind through, but at a steady and balanced rate. She wasn’t tumbling, and her legs weren’t kicking anymore. She was floating on her back. Now if only she could glide into an updraft. Acting on a momentary inspiration, Rainstream tucked her right wing again, which began a roll, she folded her left wing as well but left it slightly untucked, so that when she brought her right wing out again the air caught and pulled her left wing out at the same time. Extending both wings all the way out, and turning her primaries up to catch the wind, Rainstream pulled herself up to a much more controlled flight. Then, pumping her wings hard, she looked back up at the cloud high above her, and climbed. And somehow, it was easy. The air around her grew warmer, lending strength to her tired wings. Each wingbeat brought her far higher than she would have thought possible. The cloud was also getting larger much more rapidly than it should have. She blinked. It wasn’t falling apart, but the top was sort of… spreading out, somehow? A few moments later, she got her answer. The center of her cloud glowed, as though lit from the inside, then sunlight burst through, shining directly onto her. Somehow, some invisible force had drilled a hole right through the center of her cloud body. But she was the only pony out here? What could have made a hole in her cloud? As the base of the cloud rushed up to greet her, Rainstream slipped through the middle. The air inside the cloud was even warmer than the column of air she’d rode up on. Was it possible she’d build her thunderhead on a thermal? It would make sense. That was how most thunderheads got spread out. A smile spread across Rainstream’s face and she kicked all for hooves at the cloud in front of her, shooting across the gap to the other side, where she turned and kicked off of that too. Rainstream bounced her way up through the thermal vent she’d built until the jiggly clouds started dripping rainwater. She came to a stop at the top and settled onto the ledge then looked down. Reaching out below her massive cloud was a lot and a lot of water, just dripping and spewing out of the soaked clouds she’d gathered earlier. Rain. Rainstream stared down at it in disbelief for a good minute. She’d done it. She’d actually built a stormcloud and gotten rain to come out of it. Her smile spread wider until she was staring open mouthed down at her creation. An energy rose up in her chest and Rainstream followed it, leaping high into the air flipping over onto her back. She spread her wings out at the height of her jump, and the thermal caught her. The sky became the ground for a moment as Rainstream lay there in place, floating on hot air, staring out at the school behind her. Then her gaze shifted to the space between her and the school, then to the edge of the cloud she was on, and then finally she remembered the reason she’d come out here in the first place. Rainstream stretched her neck and stared backward at the rainfall below her, watching how it shifted and swirled as it fell. As she looked further, her body started to tilt, and she let it. Folding her wings slightly, and tilting her primaries, Rainstream slid further and further until she was falling straight down in a near perfect dive. The warm air rushed up past her as the end of the tunnel grew closer. Her heart pounded in her chest as her tertiaries twitched in anticipation. There was a sound like air being forced through a funnel, growing louder and louder until the soundwaves collected on a single point. As she reached that point, Rainstream passed fully through the cloud, and into the rain fall. All around her, large drops of water hung in the air. If not for the howl of the wind and the whip of her mane, Rainstream could have been floating. She reached out to one of them, and found herself drifting into their path, until they melted into her coat. She had thought they’d be cold. They were warm. Little pockets of warm water and air that she could reach out and cling to as they clung to her. Rainstream shifted her primaries and spun in place, twirling downward with her fellow raindrops. A glance upward told her she’d fallen pretty far, so she turned inward and entered a spiral. The wind pressed against her wings harder and harder, gradually taking more and more of her weight as each loop got shallower and shallower. Finally, she was going up again, a curtain of rain marking the outer limit of her now upward spiral. She dipped a wing tip into the downpour, directing a spray of mist inward. She laughed as it hit her face. Pumping her wings again, Rainstream soared higher up through the downpour, riding the updraft most of the way. As she got closer to the cloud, she began making more and more passes through the stream of rain. The feel of it on her back and across her feathers was very soothing. Rainstream could feel it soaking up her stresses and washing them away as each drop of water rolled off her back. It was even better than the day she’d gotten her cutie mark. When the rain finally ran out, and the cloud drifted apart, Rainstream was forced to abandon her fun and head back to her room. Well, it couldn’t last forever. She turned toward the school and gave a few strong flaps, then simply glided. She would be back tomorrow.