//------------------------------// // Gathering clouds // Story: Tales of the Rainmaker // by BleedingRaindrops //------------------------------// “I thought you said you couldn’t fly without the rain.” Rainstream blinked, and snapped her attention back to List. He had set down his cocoa, frowning at her from across the small table between them. “You sound like you could already fly,” he said, and tilted his head to the side. Rainstream smiled, stepping away from the window and settling back down onto the couch. “I didn’t really mean it like that. I could fly, but not the way I liked to. Just listen. You’ll understand.” He took another sip of his cocoa and curled back up on the couch next to her. He stiffened as a clap of thunder shook the house, but a few brushes from Rainstream’s wingtips on his back released the tension in his muscles. Rainstream’s chest fur stood out, and she looked back up at the rain outside. “I hadn’t realized it yet, but my cutie mark had appeared sometime during the making of that rain.” List gasped, at which Rainstream smiled even wider. “Mrs. Meadowbloom made a big deal about it and I almost broke down again, but I knew it was what I was meant to do, so a few weeks later, they got me the advanced private classes I needed, and boy did that make a difference.” Rainstream could feel tingles spreading all the way to her wingtips. “My tutor was a Wonderbolt pick. She’d be heading out to training just as soon as she finished classes. Really clever too. I’ll never forget the lessons she taught me.” She stared up at the storm outside and smiled as she recalled the memory. ~ ~ ~ Rainstream’s wings strained as they matched her heart’s rapid pace beat for beat. Beads of sweat formed on her brow but were quickly swept away by the wind. Her eyes were drawn to tight slits as she ripped through the air like butter. In reality it was a lot more like swimming through syrup than slicing butter, but she was still a lot faster than almost everypony else. The roar of a nearby wind current splitting itself around another pony’s wings tickled at her ears. Almost. At this speed, Rainstream had to constantly pump her wings just to continue at the pace she was going, and the strain on her lungs was tremendous, not to mention how tired her chest was. The howl of her pursuer’s wind drew steadily closer. Rainstream’s wings burned as she urged them to beat faster, but she was still losing ground. So fast. She chanced a look over her shoulder and felt a moment of panic wash through her. The other pony was gaining on her. Fast. Rainstream returned her gaze straight ahead and pumped her wings as hard as she possibly could, eyes pressed so tightly they were nearly closed. Her vision narrowed to almost nothing as she pushed with all her might. “Hey watch out!” Something smacked into Rainstream like a freight train, stopping her dead and punching the air completely from her lungs. The world spun around Rainstream’s head like a cyclone and her stomach threatened to leap out through her throat. She held onto whatever was in front of her for a few painful moments until the nausea passed, then took note of her surroundings. It turned out “it” hadn’t smacked into her, rather she had smacked into it. And it was a large (and normally very fluffy) cloud. “Hey, come on, watch where you’re going.” The high scratchy voice of her private tutor brought Rainstream back to something resembling reality. “It’s no fun beating a filly who crashes into every cloud she passes.” Rainstream groaned, pulling her head from the cloud and glaring back at the mare mocking her. She was floating just a few yards back, blue coat and white mane nearly blending into the sky behind her. If not for the brilliant fuchsia glow of her eyes, Fleetfoot could have hidden in plain sight easily. “Weren’t you supposed to be teaching me or something?” The older mare rolled her eyes. “Oh please, you’re way ahead of the curve. By next week you’re supposed to be able to recognize updrafts, smoothly pull out of a dive, and glide for a hundred yards. Kid stuff. Anyone who’s anyone knows you flew here on your own without your parents, so there’s no way you don’t know that.” She gave a few lazy flaps of her wings and landed on her back on the cloud next to Rainstream. “I’m just here because I need the credits if I’m going to be eligible for the Wonderbolts to snatch me up once I get out of here. It was this or weather duty, and I hate playing with clouds. You’re basically saving me from a few months of torture, kid.” She closed her eyes and folded her forelegs behind her head. Rainstream landed delicately on the open space next to Fleetfoot and frowned at her. “But, can’t you show me some of the things you know? I want to learn to fly like you.” Fleetfoot opened one eye. “Fly like me? Please. I’m Wonderbolt material. It would take you years to catch up to me.” Rainstream’s lip curled. Fleetfoot opened both eyes and sat up, leaning back on her elbows. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re a great flier for your age. I’m actually pushing to get Headmaster Zephyrus to put you on an accelerated learning program just so you’re not bored all the time.” Rainstream’s chest fluttered. Really? “But you’re nowhere near my level, and like I said, you’re already way ahead of the curriculum, so let’s just hang out for today. It’s supposed to rain later, and I’m liking the sun right where it is right now.” Fleetfoot closed her eyes and returned to the laid back position she was in earlier. Rainstream laid back next to the older mare and glanced over. Fleetfoot’s legs were just sort of sprawled out in front of her. Her chest rose and fell gently, and little feathers twitched as the breeze brushed them. Her wings hung loosely at her side, folded but not tucked. Her neck was supported by her hooves, and her head fell back onto the cloud beneath it, pressing in slightly. Her eyes were closed peacefully, and her muzzle held a neutral smugness that bellowed its contentment to the world. Rainstream took care to match her body position, glancing over several times to make sure she had it right, but she had trouble getting her wings to just relax. It took a few tries, but eventually she was snugly laying down next to Fleetfoot. Satisfied with her body position, Rainstream closed her eyes, and tried to smile. Oh. This was very nice. The first thing she noticed was the warmth of the sun on her belly. it built slowly, spreading out until her whole body was a balmy blanket of heat. Now her wings relaxed, opening enough to allow the the breeze to blow through her wing pits. It tickled her coverts and brought a welcome chill that balanced the heat from the rest of her. Was this what all the best fliers did in their free time? Rainstream opened her eyes and looked back over at Fleetfoot, still peacefully lying there with her eyes closed. Fleetfoot was the best flier in the whole school. Everypony knew that. She was even better than some of the instructors. When Rainstream had been assigned to her as a student, it had been the best thing since arriving here. To learn from somepony with who had won the Cloudsdale circuit twice while still in flight school, and the best young flyer competition the only year she’d tried out. Rainstream had expected Fleetfoot to be the best teacher she’d ever had. But so far she hadn’t learned anything. Fleetfoot only seemed interested in getting credit for teaching her, just so she could go join the Wonderbolts. It had been a week and all they’d done was race around the school a few times and sleep on clouds. Rainstream frowned. Maybe somepony that good didn’t need to practice. Maybe she just listened to the wind or something. That made sense. Rainstream had gotten here just by doing what her instincts told her. Maybe if she could learn to hear the wind better, she’d know how it was moving, and she could move through it better. Rainstream laid her head back down and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly, focusing all her concentration on just listening to the wind. If Fleetfoot wasn’t going to show her anything, she’d just have to learn her own way. She focused on the small whisper running through her mane. It flicked a few hairs onto her snout, which tickled. She wrinkled her snout and shook her head to brush them aside, then lay still again. Listening through the wind, she could hear it moving around the cloud they were on, and by straining just a bit further, she could hear the air just beyond the edges of the cloud. The air was open, moving freely. Try as she might, Rainstream couldn’t make out anything beyond the edges of her cloud. She frowned. It had been easier when she’d made that large rain cloud. Rainstream opened her eyes again, and sat up. Rain. It had been several weeks since she’d made that big rain cloud. She’d been meaning to ask somepony about weather making but hadn’t found anypony approachable who knew. She glanced over at Fleetfoot, still lying peacefully on the cloud, looking for all the world like she owned it. Would she know anything about weather making? Rainstream reached out a hoof to nudge her, then stopped. Fleetfoot didn’t really seem to care about her much. She actually reminded Rainstream very much of her own parents, too busy with their own self interests to pay much attention to her. Would Fleetfoot even bother? Rainstream set her hoof down. But she had said something about weather duties, so surely she must know something. Just then, Fleetfoot snorted loudly, making Rainstream jump. She took another look at Fleetfoot. Her lips were parted slightly, and flapped together as she exhaled. Her inhales came in loud, broken snorts and whistles. She was… snoring. Fleetfoot had actually fallen asleep. Rainstream’s lip trembled. Should she wake her up? Rainstream couldn’t be sure if she actually knew anything about weather, and she might be mad if Rainstream woke her up for nothing. Thoughts of what the older pony might do to her began to flood Rainstream’s mind, and she backed away slowly along the cloud. She curled up on the ground and fought back shivers as she slowly stroked her own mane. It would be a very bad idea to wake up Fleetfoot. Rainstream’s breathing now came in quick and strangled gasps. As Rainstream fought back viscous memories of her old home life, she focused on the one thing that had saved her back then. Rain. That day when she’d finally flown. The day she’d run away, into the hills outside the city. Where she’d watched the storm. Watched as the rain fell, so slowly from so far away, and how the distant rumble of thunder soothed her fear. The gentle patter of the raindrops as they reached her and drove away her troubles. Rainstream’s breathing slowed and became easier, and she turned to look down at her flank,, where three large blue raindrops sat surrounded by a stream of mist. That was the day she’d decided to come here. The day she realized she needed to learn about weather making, so that she could show everypony else what she’d seen. Rainstream looked again at Fleetfoot, still snoring. She wasn’t Rainstream’s father, and Rainstream could fly now. Besides, Rainstream had come here for a reason, and Fleetfoot was supposed to be her tutor. She may as well teach her something, even if it wasn’t flying. But how to approach her? Rainstream reached out a hoof to poke Fleetfoot again, then stopped. Her chest tightened up, and she swallowed as a lump formed in her throat. Rainstream tried to press her hoof forward but it wouldn’t budge. If only it were raining, then maybe she could touch her. Rainstream put her hoof back down and stared at it. This was more difficult than it should be. Somewhere in the distance, Rainstream heard the low rumble of thunder. She blinked, gazing upward. The clouds were gathered thickly overhead, blocking out the sun. Was it raining already? No. Not yet. But it was just about to. Rainstream could feel the damp air gathering around them as the clouds above prepared to release their stores of rainwater. She looked back down at Fleetfoot, set her jaw, and gave the older pony a firm poke. “Fleetfoot?” “Huh?” Fleetfoot’s legs flailed as she jerked awake. She looked around, then relaxed when her eyes fell on Rainstream. “Oh it’s just you, what’s up?” She closed her eyes and laid back down, but her ears were swiveled in Rainstream’s direction. “What do you know about weather making?” “Ugh, way too much.” Fleetfoot sat up and opened her eyes, staring angrily out at the open sky. “My mother made me learn when I was a filly because she wanted me to join the weather factory just like her.” She rolled her eyes. “I hate it, but it’s come in handy from time to time. Why do you ask?” She tilted her head toward Rainstream with a frown that wrinkled her face all the way to her forehead. Before she could answer, a raindrop landed on Fleetfoot’s snout with a soft *plop*. Fleetfoot looked up at the gathered clouds. “Huh? Already? I thought it wasn’t supposed to rain until later.” Fleetfoot sat there staring for a moment, and Rainstream took that moment to breathe in deeply. She could hear the rain coming down, more so than the wind. She felt a few raindrops strike her back, and soak into her fur. She closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, then opened them. “Can you please teach me to make rain?” Fleetfoot looked back at her with wide eyes, then quickly shook her head. “Rain? Seriously? Why would you want to make rain? Besides, it’s already raining; there’s no point right now.” Rainstream stared straight into her eyes, unflinching. This was her chance. She’d come here for this, and it would start right here. She could hear the rain shouting its approval as her fur became even wetter. “Can you?” she said, without emotion. Fleetfoot took a step back. “Well, I mean, yeah, I can—my mother made me learn—but really why bother? We have weather ponies for that, and everypony hates the rain anyway. It’s only good for watering the ground. That’s why we don’t schedule it often.” She took a brief glance up at the rain and then back down at Rainstream, who was trotting in place. Rainstream took another breath, breathing in the sweet scent of ozone the rain had always brought with it. She gave Fleetfoot a gentle smile and spoke with a chest full of confidence she had not realized she had. “I don’t hate the rain. And I would like to learn. Can you please teach me?” Fleetfoot froze in place, staring at Rainstream as though she’d just suggested life on the ground would be better than the sky. Her mouth opened and closed several times, until finally she just kept it shut. The rain was coming down at a decent pace now, and her mane was utterly soaked. She looked up at the clouds again and mouthed ‘why me?’ then looked back at Rainstream with a defeated glower. “Alright fine. We should really head in, but you’ve got another hour of ‘class’ and Headmaster Zephyrus won’t fault me for being over motivated.” She snapped open her wings and shook them a few times, then crouched into a ‘ready for takeoff’ stance. A grin spread across her face as she raised her wings. “This’ll actually look good on me as a leader anyway. Extra points toward being a Wonderbolt. Alright, let’s go.” She launched herself straight up with a powerful thrust of her wings. In seconds, she was nearly a hundred feet above Rainstream, who almost forgot she was going to be following as she stared upward in awe. A second later she remembered herself, and vaulted into the air after Fleetfoot. ~ ~ ~ Flying in the rain was nothing like flying through just air. The water cooled the air so that it sank, rushing downward along with the rain. It was like trying to swim upstream in a river. Rainstream fought for every inch of altitude, and this time she had no open air thermal shaft to rest on if she got tired. By the time she got halfway to the clouds above her, Rainstream found herself almost completely out of breath. Her lungs burned, along with her wing muscles, making her chest just one large agony zone. She coughed and sputtered as she helplessly gulped down wet lung-fulls of air. The higher she got, the more labored and slow her wingbeats became, until she was falling nearly as far as she rose with each wingbeat. Then, she wasn’t gaining any altitude at all. And then she began to fall. Panic wasn’t quite the right word. Rainstream was too tired to panic. It felt more like someone had stabbed her through the chest. The wind began to rush upward and her wings just hung uselessly above her as the cloud quickly grew farther away. Unless she was lucky enough to land back on the cloud beneath her, Rainstream knew she was going to die. A chill spread through her that had nothing to do with the rain. Rain! As she fell, Rainstream became like the rain again. Just like that day. she wasn’t falling through the rain. She was falling with it. The rain wasn’t cold. It was warm, tickling her fur, and telling her that she was going to make it. Then she heard… something, in the rain. She swiveled her ears, searching for the difference in the sound of the rain falling. Yes, there it was. There was something in the rain, close to her, closing in on her. Rainstream’s heart fluttered, and she looked around for the source of what she had heard. Then something caught her. Firm, wet hooves wrapped around her, halting her descent immediately, and bringing her back up. But this time she wasn’t held down by the force of it. She was rushing upward, held by the strong hooves of whoever had found her. The rain had been right. She was going to make it. Then the two of them burst through the cloud layer, and the wet hooves released her. She fell for a brief moment, then landed on a thick, dense cloud. The roar of the rain was muffled dramatically by the cloud layer, and replaced by the sputtered coughs of a wet and exhausted filly. Rainstream coughed up several mouthfuls of water, fighting to bring precious air down into her lungs. As she slowly found her breath, Rainstream took stock of her surroundings. She was on top of the cloud layer, safe, dripping dry. And Fleetfoot was standing over her, her expression unreadable. “You have got to be kidding me!” Fleetfoot exclaimed, shaking her head. “How do you expect to ever manage rain if you can’t even fly in it?” Rainstream didn’t respond. Her mouth worked but no sound came out. All she could do was blink the water away from her eyes. Fleetfoot was right. She was silly to think she could just make rain because she wanted to. Rain was dangerous. it made your wings wet and heavy, it cooled the air so you would sink, and it was nearly impossible to see through. She’d almost died just now. If Fleetfoot hadn’t caught her... Rainstream’s breathing became very rapid, and her lungs, for all of their working, found themselves squeezed of the very air they were trying to take in. Fleetfoot shook her head again. “We did this way too fast. You need to be familiar with rain and what it does to the air before you try to fly in it. It’s not the same as normal flying.” Rainstream collapsed against the cloud beneath her and began to wail. Fleetfoot was instantly at her side “Whoa, hey now, stop that. I’m sorry.” Rainstream didn’t respond. If anything, her wails grew louder. “Ugh this is hopeless.” Great, now her tutor had left her. After all of the screw ups she’d done, at least somepony had been there to hold her. Now she’d become so much of a nuisance that her tutor didn’t want to be around her. Self doubt had caused Rainstream to think bad of herself before, but to actually have somepony else confirm her fears was a knife in her heart. Rainstream lay there for several minutes before her wails died down to a whimper, and she lay crying into the cloud beneath her. “You done yet?” Rainstream’s eyes snapped open. Kneeling comfortably on a cloud not ten feet in front of her, with her wings folded neatly at her sides, was Fleetfoot, who looked back at Rainstream sideways in a way that suggested she was more confused than impatient. Rainstream’s tears dried instantly as she stared open mouthed at her tutor. “Y-you’re still here?” The silence dragged on for a moment, then Fleetfoot slowly grinned. “I’m a Wonderbolt to be, kid,” she said, getting up and moving over next to Rainstream. “I’ve got to be a strong example of their ideals, and Wonderbolts are ponies of honor, not just skill. I’d be a pretty poor example if I just abandoned a filly who was having a crying fit in the middle of a storm. Of course I stuck around.” She wrapped a wing around Rainstream and pulled her into a tight side hug as she knelt down next to her. “I’m sorry I upset you. I guess I just got stressed out because of this whole Wonderbolt thing. Tell you what. If you can promise not to drop out of the sky again, I’ll teach you how to make rain.” Rainstream’s chest filled with warm air as she stared up at her tutor, unable to form words. “But don’t think it’s because I like you or anything,” Fleetfoot teased, hopping into the air and booping Rainstream in the nose while on the wing. “I have to get a good eval if I’m gonna get those extra credits, or I won’t graduate ‘till next year, and then no Wonderbolt uniform for this sky sweeper. So make sure you give me a good rep at the end of the year, got it?” Fleetfoot grinned warmly at Rainstream and hovered over the cloud layer, wings beating majestically and kicking up a light mist. Rainstream was on her hooves at once, all previous doubt forgotten in the wake of her practically buzzing wings. In the wake of her cutie mark, she was going to recieve lessons on how to make rain, from possibly the top student in the whole school. A squee may or may not have escaped her throat. Fleetfoot chuckled. "Alright then, little miss rainmaker, let’s get some clouds." ~ ~ ~ There were already plenty of clouds nearby due to the scheduled storm, so it didn’t take them long to create a sopping mass of clouds the size of a small house. One of the official weather ponies tried to shoo them away after realizing they were messing with his clouds, but Fleetfoot handled him, mentioning something about ‘important lessons’ and ‘wouldn’t affect anything down below anyway’. Rainstream sped in circles around the massive wet ball they’d built up in the sky, endlessly murmuring ‘ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh’ through her hooves as Fleetfoot attempted to rein her in “Yeah, alright, calm down!” She exclaimed, snatching Rainstream out of the air with her front hooves as the filly made another pass. “It’s great that we’ve collected all this raincloud, but we still need to spread it out. Now come on, I’ll show you how to mold the clouds.” Rainstream stared back with a face that nearly killed Fleetfoot with how cute it was. The older pony smiled with rosy cheeks as she carried Rainstream up to the side of their little cumulus and let her go. Rainstream’s buzzing wings held her aloft, so Fleetfoot gestured toward the cloud next to them “Now, I want you to think of the cloud like…” Fleetfoot paused, scratching her head with a hoof. “Don’t suppose your parents ever let you play with modeling clay as a kid?” She asked hopefully. The puzzled expression on Rainstream’s face gave Fleetfoot her answer. Fleetfoot rolled her eyes. “Alrighty then, no idea what clay even is. Super. Ever make mud castles?” Rainstream frowned. “You know, after it’s rained and the ground is all soggy. Have you even been to the ground?” Rainstream’s wingbeats slowed nearly to a halt as her mild frown twisted into an expression that made Fleetfoot regret she’d even mentioned it. “You know what, nevermind all that. Here just— do this.” Fleetfoot reached out a hoof and touched it to the edge of the cloud, then dragged it along the edge of the cloud, creating a depression in its wake and pressing up a thick ball of cloud in front of it. Rainstream watched intently as Fleetfoot repeated the process, drops of liquid building up on her forehead. Rainstream reached out a hoof, and dragged it along the surface of the cloud. The cotton-like surface scattered, but didn’t build up into a ball the way Fleetfoot’s had. She tried again, but was unable to do much more than push it out of the way. She let out a grunt of frustration and swatted at the cloud, accomplishing nothing new. “That’s alright; you’re learning,” Fleetfoot reassured her. “Try it again, but this time, squeeze with the soft pad on your hoof, like you’re trying to pick something up.” Rainstream frowned at her, then turned back to the cloud, lips pressed tightly together. She pressed her hoof against the cloud, squeezed it, and then pulled sideways. A small bit of cloud stuck to her hoof and separated from the rest of the cloud mass with a soft tearing sound. Fleetfoot let out a small snort “Heh, my fault I guess. That happens sometimes. Let’s see.” She tapped her forehead a few times with her hoof. “Oh, the day you got your cutie mark, you said you’d been pushing clouds around. What did you do then?” Rainstream looked down at the ball of cloud on her hoof. It wasn’t solid, by any means, she could tell that much. It felt… different. She could hold it even though it shouldn’t be there. Last week she’d pushed bunches of it around just by thinking about it. But how had she done that? Rainstream placed her other hoof on the other side of the ball of cloud. Her hoof… connected, somehow. Like as soon as it got close to the cloud, the cloud became something that could be touched, and attached itself to her hoof. She could feel what should not be there, somehow solid between her hooves. But how solid? She gave it an experimental squeeze, pressing her hooves toward each other. The surface around the sides bulged out, while the spots her hooves were touching moved inward. Rainstream started a small rolling motion with her hooves, and the cloud responded, almost like the rubber ball she’d had as a filly. But that ball had never been this squishy. Rainstream pressed her hooves firmly together, squeezing the cloud further and further. Just as her muscles began to strain against the semi solid cloud, it burst in her hooves, popping like a balloon and disappearing into the air. “Okay, maybe don’t squeeze it so hard next time,” Fleetfoot cut ini, watching Rainstream closely. “Here, try it again. This time, see if you can stretch it like silly putty.” She reached out and snatched another puff of cloud from the mass in front of them and held it out to Rainstream, who gingerly pressed a hoof onto it. It was… Spongy. That was a good word for it. Not quite solid, but clearly not just vapor. It was still pretty wet though. A few drops ran down her hoof and soaked into her fur. She felt the odd connection attach the cloud to her hoof, and then felt it detach from Fleetfoot’s. Fleetfoot pulled her own hoof away, and returned to staring at Rainstream’s hooves. Rainstream placed her hooves on either side of the cloud once again and gave it a soft squeeze. Then pulled her hooves apart. The ball bulged in the opposite direction this time, getting narrower in the middle and longer at the ends. But then the middle got too narrow, and with a soft tearing sound, the cloud separated into two smaller balls, one in each of Rainstream’s hooves. Letting out a small snort, Rainstream almost smashed the two clouds, but caught herself. Forcing herself to relax at least somewhat, Rainstream pressed the two clouds together. Her face crept closer to the two white puffs, and her eyes narrowed to tight slits as she carefully pressed, willing the two clouds back together. She’d nearly lost patience with waiting when the two clouds finally smooshed back into one mass with a soft poofing noise. But she didn’t pause to enjoy it. Immediately she rolled it in her hooves, and stretched it again, trying to feel how the strange cloud substance played in her hooves. She thought about how she’d moved so many clouds around last week. It had been so easy to shape them then. What was different? The cloud tore again, and Rainstream smashed it together like she had the first time without hesitation. She was going to get this. Again, she pulled at the cloud, her face moving closer and closer to it as her eyes squinted in concentration. Come on, stretch! Rainstream pictured the cloud stretching like gum, extending between her hooves in a long, fluffy bridge. “There you go, now you’ve got it.” Rainstream blinked. Stretched between her hooves was the cloud she’d been working with, covering a distance much further than it had before, and it hadn’t torn. Her mouth fell open in realization, and she turned toward Fleetfoot, eyes wide in amazement. Fleetfoot smiled. “Different isn’t it? Most pegasi take a few years to figure out how to properly channel their magic into the cloud, but you seem to be a quick learner.” She grabbed her own hoofful of cloud and stretched and twisted it a few times before returning it to the main mass. “And yes, Pegasi have magic,” She went on, seeing Rainstream’s puzzled expression. “All ponies do, really. It just works differently for pegasi and earth ponies. It’s how we’re able to control the weather, and since you’ve asked me to show you how to make the most difficult weather there is… well, it’s a good thing you’re a quick learner.” Fleetfoot rubbed the top of Rainstream’s head. Rainstream smiled up at her, and stuck her chest out. Her tail even waggled a bit. “But first we’ve got to work on cloud shaping. Now that you’ve figured out how to get your magic to affect the cloud, we can get started on basic cloud theory. You normally wouldn’t learn this until your junior year, but it’s kinda necessary for what you’re doing, and we’re already here. Start with your wings.” Rainstream extended and curled her wings a few times, staring back at them, and then back to Fleetfoot. “Wings?” Fleetfoot nodded. “Yep, wings are the most instinctual part of a pegasus’s body that channels magic, and because of that they’re the easiest to use for moving or shaping clouds, if you know what you’re doing, of course.” She gave Rainstream a wink, then gave a powerful thrust with her wings and kicked off the cloud they were both on in a very fast vertical takeoff. She arched her back and dove backward over the cloud they’d just made. Rainstream stared intently as part of the cloud pressed inward, just beneath where Fleetfoot had flown. A few seconds later, Fleetfoot appeared under the cloud, flying so close to it that her wingtips were almost touching the edge, and where her wingtips passed, the cloud pressed inward, creating a small channel that wrapped around the whole cloud. In addition, the sides of the cloud had extended outward, as though the whole thing were a kind of putty. Fleetfoot made two or three more passes around the cloud this way, moving over each time, until she had stretched the whole cloud out to a long and thin shape, instead of a big round ball like they’d had. Fleetfoot returned and settled down next to Rainstream with a few soft flutters. “Now, I don’t want you trying that just yet; that was just a demonstration. You’re still new at this and you could wind up hurt, but there is another way to use your wings, and I’d like you to help me with this next one. Rainstream gasped. She wasn’t just going to show her, Rainstream was actually going to move the clouds herself. Her wings fluttered rapidly of their own accord and she lifted off of the cloud floor a little bit. Fleetoof beckoned for Rainstream to join her, and the filly obliged. “Now, all we’re going to do is create a gentle breeze to push the cloud,” she said, looking at Rainstream, and then nodding toward the cloud as she spoke. “Just use your wings, and pretend you’re sending waves of air at the cloud. Remember how different it felt when you used pegasi magic to mold the cloud?” Rainstream nodded sharply, a determined grin on her face. “Good. It should be just like that, but you’re going to push the air, and the air—not you—is going to move the cloud. Ready?” Rainstream nodded again. “Okay, here we go. Do just like me.” Fleetfoot stood straight up in the air, and flapped her wings in a forward to backward motion. No, wait… Backward to forward. Right, she was supposed to be pushing the air forward. Rainstream copied her motion, or tried to. It was difficult to balance at first, and she ended up doing a backflip a couple of times before she got it right. Once she was able to balance herself, Rainstream moved her wings in the same back to front motion Fleetfoot was doing. And it worked. The cloud was moving away from her. Rainstream smiled wide. She was doing it after all. Fleetfoot looked back at her with a tight smile, then stopped and flew over to Rainstream. “Not quite, but you’ve got the right idea.” She put a hoof on Rainstream’s shoulder. “You’re just flying backward right now, which is a useful skill, but you’re triyng to move a cloud. You have to find your magic and push it out through your wingtips. Just like with your hooves, but it’s your wings this time.” Rainstream frowned. Hadn’t she been doing that? “Come on, let’s try it again.” She gave Rainstream’s shoulder a tug, and the filly followed. They caught up to the cloud, and started again. “Oh, I almost forgot. Don’t just flap your wings. Just try to push the magic out through your wingtips, and think forward. Your body should do the rest.” She winked, and turned back to the cloud, slowly flapping her wings as she had before. Rainstream copied her again, thinking hard about what Fleetfoot had said. Don’t just flap your wings. Push the magic out through your wingtips. Think forward. She looked down at her wingtips, just like she had looked at her hooves earlier. Just like with your hooves, but it’s your wings this time. Her hooves had felt different. Maybe if… Rainstream closed her eyes, and visualized kneading the cloud with her hooves, except she was using her wings. There! She felt something. Sort of like a tickle at her primaries. She dared not open her eyes. She had to focus. Rainstream concentrated on that little tingle, and willed it to spread to the rest of her primaries. Then when she could feel it spread all the way across her wingtips, she pushed it forward, streaming out away from her, and began moving her wings. “That’s it! Just like that, you’re doing it!” Rainstream opened her eyes. The cloud was moving away from her again, but Fleetfoot was still right next to her this time, and smiling wide at her. “Nice job, kid. Alright, now keep up.” Fleetfoot put on a burst of speed and raced toward the cloud. Rainstream put a little less effort into the tingling, and a little more into pushing herself forward. The trick worked. She could still feel that tingle, but she was moving forward after Fleetfoot at a decent pace. When they’d caught up, she put more into pushing the cloud, and less into moving forward, but she still kept some of her forward motion, so she could stay with the cloud. “Alright, you keep that up, I’m going to help a bit from the bottom, and we’ll spread this out into a proper cloud ceiling. Come on.” Fleetfoot dove under the cloud, and started making the same motions as before, but she was on her back, and pushing the air upward. Rainstream blinked. She hadn’t known that was possible, but there it was. Her momentary amazement did not distract her for long though, and Rainstream returned to pushing on the cloud. As they moved along, Rainstream happened to look down and noticed they were well above the cloud floor they’d been standing on before. Furthermore, the cloud she was pushing was getting wider. A lot wider. The current she was blowing across the top of it was working with the updraft Fleetfoot had created to lift and spread the cloud into a higher cloud ceiling, and still dripping with water. A smile appeared on Rainstream’s face, and only grew bigger and bigger as she realized what they were doing. “Alright stop,” Fleetfoot called. Rainstream cut off the magical tingle in her wings and just hovered. A few moments later Fleetfoot appeared from under the cloud, wiping sweat from her forehead. “Whoo, that wore me out. I forgot how exhausting cloud shaping is. I don’t know how the weather ponies keep it up all day.” She hovered for a few seconds, catching her breath, then turned back to Rainstream. “Alright, it’s getting late and I’m tired, so we can’t stay long. But I did promise, so here we go.” Fleetfoot didn’t move as powerfully as she had before. Instead, she just glided over to the cloud until she bumped into it. “Hokay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “First things first. Before I show you how to actually make the rain, I need to be sure you’re not going to fall out of the sky when you fly through it, and you will need to fly through it at some point if you’re going to make a habit of this, so…” She looked down at the cloud floor beneath them, then at the underside of the cloud the two of them had just pushed up there. She looked at Rainstream, gave a slow nod, and then kicked out lazily with a hoof, striking the cloud and sending a shock through it. Rainstream could feel… something. Something was different about the air, and there was definitely something happening to the cloud. Where before it had simply been wet and heavy, now it looked as though it were liquefying. The white cotton color had faded to a deep gray, and she could almost see the water dripping out of it. Actually she could. Water was now steadily dripping from the entire cloud at once, and increasing in volume. Water was falling underneath the cloud she’d just shaped. Rain. It was raining beneath the cloud.