On Light Hooves I Tread

by AdamThePony

Chapter 2: Iron Pegasus

It was roughly....six in the morning when I left from Sugar Cube Corner this morning. I would consider this the time of day when Princess Luna goes to bed, leaving Princess Celestia to awaken and begin the day. Although, while I certainly knew a lot about many ponies here, and much of the geography, I wasn't sure how religion or time worked. I was almost unsure on what time it was, until I noticed that orange-yellow glow in the sky. With this, I also gained a mild sense of direction.

Let this be a word of advice to anypony who ends up in my horseshoes: The best way to tell your direction if you do not have a compass on hoof is to look at the sun's brightness. Typically, when it's less intense, it's usually morning, then when it glows brighter, it is afternoon. Take a good luck at it when you get a chance. Also, if you remember basic astronomy, its direction never changes much. But, this isn't quite relevant.

Not many ponies were out on the street this morning. Well, aside from the Royal Guard, nopony. I would have possibly engaged in small talk, but given the stern expression marking all of their faces, my conscience told me otherwise. Regardless, I was a colt on a mission; getting to Cloudsdale for my first lesson from Rainbow Dash on the wonders of flight. I have no idea why she saw that it be mandatory, other than the fact that I was most likely marring the good name of the Pegasus race. Then again, she was a pony obsessed with coolness, and not every Pegasus is a natural-born flier, myself notwithstanding.

As I approached the doorstep of Twilight Sparkle, knocking upon the door, I heard a very audible yawn cut from upstairs.

“Coming!" Called the violet pony from the balcony.

After some hurried galloping, she came to the door, her mane raggedy, her face barely any more worse for wear.

“Oh, did I wake you?I asked, tilting my head.

“No...I just haven't had time to straighten myself up, much less have breakfast.Twilight hummed, yawning between words.

“I understand...should I wait, or...”

“No! You can come in, if you'd like! Spike's making breakfast.”

I nodded, smiling, before walking in, thanking her.

Now, I had the opportunity to look into the library for the first time since I had come here. Rather than being organized from the Dewey Decimal System, things were organized alphabetically. Owlowiscious was fast asleep as I heard a sizzling sound. After a few moments, Spike, clad in an apron and chef's hat, emerged from the kitchen. He wiped the sweat from his scaly brow as he clapped his hands together in a sliding motion.

“Breakfast will be ready in just a few min-...Twilight, who is that?" He asked, pointing to me.

“That's Morning Haze. You know, that Boy Pinkie Pie Introduced to everypony yesterday?” Twilight pointed out.

“Ah, yeah! What's he doing here, anyway?”

“Well, I was supposed to take him to Cloudsdale, and it seems he showed early. In any case, you wouldn't mind fixing him something to eat, too?”

Spike thought it over for a moment, but nodded.

“Yeah. I guess I can. We've got plenty! But...I'm gonna need to know I can trust him. When you get back, I want you to tell me what all you know so far!” He demanded, pointing a finger at me like he was a defense attorney.

I nodded, and went to take my seat at the table.

As Spike had promised, breakfast was made. Toast with Jam, with a side of eggs. An interesting mix of food, but not the worst of them. It was appropriate enough for me, I suppose. As I began to eat it, I was amazed at the way the toast tasted with the grape jam as I drank the tea that was served along with it. Normally, I would drink soda pop almost constantly, but this drink was a marvelous blend in and of itself, which I pleased myself in drinking.

Twilight couldn't help but crack a smile and chuckle.

“So, I'm guessing you like the breakfast?” She asked.

“Yes! It's great!I exclaimed, smiling.

“Well, it's nice to see somepony likes my cooking.” Spike groaned.

“Oh, come on, Spike. It's just that it's just been the same for a while.”

“Right, Right.”

After a quarter hour of breakfast, which included some small talk about ourselves, the two of us made for the hot air balloon, ready to begin the intended task I had assigned from Rainbow Dash yesterday...

As air began to fill the balloon, Twilight turned to me.

“So why is it Rainbow Dash wanted to train you, anyway?" She asked.

“My guess is, she thinks I'm a stain on the good name of the Pegasus race.”

Twilight scoffed. “Typical Rainbow Dash. Proud and Arrogant.”

I rolled my eyes. “I just hope I can endure it.”

“From what I heard, you managed to take a fall from maybe 2000 feet, landing onto a Pegasus who broke the sound barrier to save you. If you can take that, I'm pretty sure flight training should be an easy feat.” Twilight noted, a smug look on her face.

I gulped down the knot in my throat and nodded.

“Don't worry, Haze. I'm sure you'll be fine.”

With that, we boarded the balloon and began our ascension to Cloudsdale, our ascent coinciding with the rising sun at the horizon of Ponyville.

Much like Ponyville, Cloudsdale was essentially a ghost town at this point, with only the mail ponies awake at the hour. Nighttime was still here in Cloudsdale, mainly due to the elevation the aerial city was resting, but in time, the sun would catch up. The balloon soon made its way to the pillow ground, landing daintily. The door flung open, and I was soon escorted out.

“If you need me to come back and get you, just have somepony send the message down. But, for now, enjoy your stay up here. I've got clerical work to do, and I don't want to be behind on it. So, I'll see you later! Is that okay?” Twilight asked.

I nodded, shutting the door. “It's fine, Twilight. But, I think I'll be in this for the long haul.”

Twilight Sparkle then nodded, gassing the balloon and making her descent to the ground.

At the moment, there was silence, leading me to walk uninterrupted, until I ran into Ditzy Doo, who was making her rounds delivering mail. She didn't talk much, but having bumped into her, I had inadvertently caused her to drop some packages, which I was kind to help her get sorted again. Surprised and grateful, Ditzy smiled, and while not saying many words, she muttered vague semblances of words to show her gratitude for my kindness, and implored me to wait a moment. I nodded, and Ditzy laid her saddlebags down, scrabbling through them until she pulled out a small box.

“Hewe. Fow helping me with my bawkeses.” She said, in a tone of voice akin to that of a Kindergarten student.

I stood confused a moment, but opened the box moments later, which revealed itself to be a muffin! I smiled, saying thank you as I began to eat it.

“You'we welcome.” She murmured back, before flying away.

Her speech impediment was odd, but keeping in mind that she had a daughter, I didn't want to judge the wall-eyed pony any.

The muffin finished, I decided to occupy my morning with sightseeing. Now, I didn't have much knowledge of many of the famous buildings of Cloudsdale, but I could entertain myself well enough with the marvelous architecture of this city in the sky. Where Ponyville was like a German hamlet, Cloudsdale was more Greek in appearance. Tons of marble constructions, gold and silver statues, and quite a few dozen monuments. Then I came upon a stadium with a gaping hole in the center. This was, as far as I could recall, the famous Colosseum where the Best Young Fliers Competition took place every year. My mind slowly began to drift into a fantasy...

“And next up in this year's Best Young Fliers Competition is Number Eleven! Everypony, give a big round of applause to our latest newcomer, Morning Haze! Pupil of last year's champion, Rainbow Dash, Morning Haze is ready to defend the title of his teacher on his behalf! Let's all cheer him on for this performance!”

There I stood, facing down the large hole where my routine was to start. I was standing in for Rainbow Dash, with the intent on defending her honor as the champion of the Young Flier's Competition. As I stared down the starting drop, I gulped nervously, but, after shutting my eyes and banishing the fear from my mind, I slid my flight goggles on, cracking an ever cocky grin as I took a few hoofsteps back. I heaved a deep breath.

“This is it...Glory or Disgrace...First Round...LET'S DO THIS!”

“There you are!”

My daydreaming was cut short by the call of Rainbow Dash, which made me jolt and collapse like a fainting goat.

“I was wondering where you were. I heard ya showed up, so I started looking around.”

The rainbow-maned Pegasus then took a look at where my gaze was originally fixed, and chuckled.

“Got your heart set on the competition, eh? I don't blame ya. But before you can even think about that, we need to make sure you can act first. C'mon. I'll show ya where I go to practice, and we can get to work!”

I was still pretty frozen from Rainbow Dash having inadvertently triggered my foible again. I wasn't able to move until moments later.

“Ugh. Come on! I don't have all day! Get up!” Dash demanded, delivering a swift buck to the flank, which made me leap to my hooves and dart off like my flank had been set aflame!

“Hey! Wait up!” Dash shouted, dashing off to pursue me. “Well, at least he's going the right way...”

And so began a chase throughout Cloudsdale, with myself being the instigator. I have to admit, I was going fairly fast, despite Rainbow Dash being dangerously close behind. Where I just left dust, Dash left a rainbow-colored trail in her wake. Whatever was going on, we were putting on a show for the locals. Well, up until I slammed right into a column, face-first.

“Hehe...looks like you win, Haze. I couldn't quite keep up with you!“ Dash said, helping me off the column and onto my hooves.

“Just remember. It's not just those legs that count. It's your wings, too.” She said, flapping her wings.

“Which brings us to your first lesson in 'Rainbow Dash's School of Flight': Wing Control. ”She explained. “See, ever since I saved ya the other day, I haven't seen those wings of yours come open once. So, we're gonna take it step by step. First, close your eyes.”

I nodded, closing them lightly.

“Tighter.”

I shut them tighter.

“Little more...”

I shut even tighter.

“Good...now focus on what I'm saying, and concentrate: Picture, for a minute, a Rosebud. Picture its petals slowly opening up as it blooms...think of that rose as your wings...and let those wings unfurl...”

And so that picture did come to my head, and as it unfolded before me...so did my wings!

“There! See? We're making progress already!” Rainbow Dash cheered, digging her hoof into the clouds.

I grinned, As I turned to my opened wings, ecstatic.

“Now, close those eyes again...now picture a tree...picture it swaying in the wind....imagine the boughs of that tree as your wings...and let them move to the rhythm of the wind...”

That serene image entered my head as I began to feel the wind against my fur...the imaginary willow in my mind's meadow, swaying to the gentle breeze, each branch acting as a different feather in my two wings, and with this thought, I began to move my wings in a fanning sweep, focusing on the motion itself to better get an idea on what I was doing...

“Alright! Looks like you're learning quick! Seems you're getting the right idea on what to do, too. Get used to the motions of your wings. Once you figure out how to control it on your own, we'll be able to get onto the real juicy stuff!Rainbow Dash cheered, hovering on a cloud above me.

I nodded, keeping the image of the willow of my wings in my head, as I began to progressively fade it out of mind, calmly opening my eyes as I began flapping my wings in a quick enough pace to where I felt satisfied enough. With this, the cyan Pegasus hopped down, staring me down with her fuchsia eyes, then nodding in approval. She then guided me to another part of Cloudsdale...

“First," Dash said, pacing like a drill instructor, “We'll start off with something simple. It's not exactly flying, but it's a decent starting point.”

“And what would this be?” I asked, stretching.

Suddenly, the Pegasus let out an unsettling smirk as she whispered in my ear:

“The Leap...of Faith...”

I gulped that moment, repeating her phrase in an inquisitive tone, almost like a parrot.

“Yeah...you heard right. It's an old custom dating back to not just ancient Pegasus culture, but Griffon culture as well. Fillies would leap from their clouds with their parents, hoping each time to be able to open their wings so that they could soar through the sky. A lot of birds use this technique, so it should work for you, too!” She explained, as an attempt to instill confidence in me to actually attempt this crazy idea.

I stared at the edge of the cloud, seeing the town square of Ponyville lying just below my hooves. It left an uneasy feeling in my stomach, and a knot which I had to force down my throat. Was I really about to do this? Was I really so completely insane, I would risk my life jumping from a height of a few thousand feet just for the sake of learning to fly on a wing and a prayer? I was almost tempted to turn tail and run, but as I began to back away from second thoughts, a hoof around my neck made me think otherwise.

“Don't worry, Haze; If you can't open your wings in time, I promise, I'll catch ya. After all, I never leave my friends hangin'! Or, in this case, fallin'.” She said, chuckling as she began to push me off nonchalantly.

“After you, my friend!”

With this, I began to hear rushing air only, but Rainbow's voice cut through the air.

“Alright! Now try to work your wings against the wind and see if you can pull up! If anything, it'll slow ya down!”

I kept my eyes shut as I tried frantically to will my wings to open, hoping to open them flat so that I would slow down to where Rainbow would shoot past me, but my wings felt like they were glued together. Every time I tried to unfurl my wings, it felt like a strong rubber belt was keeping them held shut. I tried to focus my resolve to open them, but before I knew if, I felt myself atop Rainbow's back, and as I looked to her, I pouted and furrowed my brow. And yet, as I did so, Dash smiled at me.

“Don't worry, Kid. This is just the first try. It's not like getting a Cutie Mark. You can't always get it done in one shot. Well, unless you're me, anyway.” She joked, lifting me back to the starting point.

“Now, let's see if we can try again!”

I looked to the large drop once more. Was it just me, or was the height twice as great as it was originally?! I looked to what I saw, but then blinked thrice, banishing the illusion from my eyes. This restoration of the reality of my situation lessened the gravity of what I was to now as I cleared my head a bit.

I took a few paces back, inhaling the air with a shallow breath. There wasn't much a scent to the air, what with Cloudsdale being near the Ozone Layer, but while tasteless, it was cold and dry. With this, I shut my eyes, ready to make the second descent as I inhaled a deep breath and charged off the cloud, hopping off the edge like a mule possessed. This time, I began to fan my legs out as a way of slowing my velocity as I dropped down. Learning my mistake from last time in panicking, I calmed my mind, slowly opening my wings...

But, as I did so, the air only rushed harder. I had not noticed originally, but I was actually increasing my velocity, as my wings were pointed straight down.

Rainbow Dash, taking quick notice, gasped.

“Oh, no...he's gonna crash!” She murmured, before shooting off to catch me, just barely having saved us both from injury by roughly 5 feet near the ground. When it came to her realization she had saved me, she let a huff of relief.

“Phew...you were about to go splat for a moment, there. Thank Celestia I managed to catch ya. You're getting better, though. You got your wings opened at a good time. But, the goal was to slow down, not speed up.”

With this, we returned to the starting point once more, where Dash smiled to me.

“I'm sure you'll get it right this time. I have my faith in you...” She hummed, saluting me, to where I saluted back, preparing my third--and hopefully final—descent.

I gazed at the glaring difference between heights once more. If the last jump was anything to go by, I had a clear idea in my head the stakes. If I got this right, I'd get a free bird's-eye view of Ponyville. But, if I botched this up, my face could say hello to some pavement, or at least, a ton of grass. While I'm pretty sure this wouldn't kill me, it would certainly hurt. A lot. Anyhow, I cleared my head one last time, taking three good breaths of that cold, crisp air before inching myself into what I considered a favorable position.

Then, with one last part of resolve, I took a deep inhale and darted off the cloud, taking a genuine leap of faith. Much like before, I fanned my legs to help slow myself in my drop, while not by much, but to a degree where I could understand what I was doing. I then brought to my mind a cherry blossom. One of the most beautiful of trees from my world. I saw it beginning to bloom before me, and as it did, I saw the serene breeze blow away the petals of the blossom...

This imagery soon came into play as I felt the winds begin to quell as I opened my eyes...and my, if you could see the very image on my face...

I had done it. Through digging deep and utilizing my sheer force of will, I had successfully not only stopped myself in the air, but I had gained a basic dexterity of flying. For a few moments, I simply marveled at the much-improved vista of Ponyville my height now provided for me...then smiled wide.

“Oh...my...gosh! Yes...yes...YES! Oh, man! Did you see that, Rainbow?!” I asked, hoof-pumping for a moment, then trying to search for the Technicolor Pegasus, only to find her in the oddest of places.

She was still at the starting point, lounging on a cloud, whistling absentmindedly. Realizing I was calling her, she turned. “Oh? Looks like the third time really is the charm. Good work!”

She then floated to me and put a hoof on my shoulder.

“You're ready for Phase Two of the Rainbow Dash school of flight: The Take Off. Sure, you know how to get flying from a jump, but what if you're terra-firma? What if you don't have a jump to fly from? That's what we're going to learn here.”

I nodded to her as we went back to the clouds, then cantering with her to a location that was a bit far-off in terms of location....

The locale of Rainbow's so-called Phase Two was what appeared to be an abandoned aerial bases, and the dilapidated clouds were a sure sign of its disuse over what must have been many years. There was what appeared to be asphalt in a pair of strips, much like any airport you or I may have seen, but many hoof prints marred the surface where Pegasus Ponies made their landings, deployments, and basic flight training. It was a mildly chilling scene, to be frank. However, it was better than anything else I could consider (which was a resounding nothing at all). With this, I stood with Rainbow Dash, taking a deep breath as I took in the scenery.

“Yeah, I know...doesn't look like much, does it?” Murmured Dash derisively.

“Yeah...it's not much for appeal.” I concurred, taking a walk about.

“Well, the good news is that since this place is abandoned, we can use it as much as we like! So, when you're done with sightseeing, we've got work to do, Kid.”

I nodded, walking back into line with my pale-blue proctor.

“Alright, now...remember that bit of advice I gave you when we first started? Try to take that to mind when you're doing this. A running take-off requires a decent amount of momentum, and just a bit of careful movement...see, to get into flying from on the ground, you have to slowly take the weight off of your hooves and let your wings start carrying you...The thing is, though, that you have to do it carefully. Otherwise, you're just gonna fall right on your face. You keepin' track so far?” She explained, demonstrating a few motions on her own.

This in mind, I nodded and walked to where Rainbow was to have me start. Rainbow took what appeared to be a pail of rainbow-colored liquid and with it, made markings to indicate what I was to do at each stage to perfect my running take-off. It was, essentially, a series of boxes cut along the strip with different instructions: Run, Wings Out, Wings Flapping, Run More, Lift Hooves, and finally, in capital letters, in as bold and as large a print as possible, LIFT OFF.

It was a very crude set of instructions, but it made sense enough for me to get started. Before starting on my long, narrow training course, I did a few stretches to get my legs into proper condition, doing a few hops to assure they were ready for this task. Afterward, I gave the road a glare, then smirked with determination.

I was ready. So with this, I started for the long path I was drawn, first with a walk...then a trot...then a canter...then, with as much energy as my youthful body could possibly muster, I burst into a full gallop like a pony possessed. As the “Run” strip began to end, I extended my wings. I kept my gallop, using the wings to hasten myself by cutting down on the drag of the air. Then, upon seeing the next instruction, began to flap my wings and shift gears to a faster gallop than before. Then, near the final few feet, I lifted my hooves slowly from the ground, almost tripping, and thus losing momentum, but I managed to soar like a bird with what little remained. I gasped a bit at my trip, but realizing I was back in the air mitigated that anxiety.

Dash flied up to me, and nodded to me.

“A bit of a rough finish, but you managed to recover quick enough to get a good take off. You pass this portion of the Rainbow Dash School of Flight but, I seriously recommend that you work on it a bit more.”

She then led me down to the ground once more.

“Last, but not least, we're going to do a standing take off. This isn't exactly hard, but it takes practice to accomplish.” The pale blue pegasus told me, as I nodded, jotting mental notes in my head.

“It's similar to the running take off, but we omit just a few of the main steps. It goes like this: First, we get our wings into flapping. Then, we slowly lift our front hooves, until we can keep ourselves up on them. Then, we put just a bit more oomph into the wings as we lift the rear ones very carefully...like this, see?” Dash asked, as she demonstrated each step.

“Yeah, that makes sense. Care to give me some air, then?” I asked, to which she chuckled and paced away from me.

With this, I began to crane my neck down, keeping a firm look on my hooves and the ground just beneath them. I got my wings into slow beats as I began to lift myself off the ground, haphazardly balancing my hooves as I began to use my wings as if I were upon a trapeze, and they were my balancing pole. Once I had a good enough balance, I started to beat my wings harder, slowly plucking my rear hooves from the clouds under them, then managing to slowly hover above the ground. I was risking falling flat on my face in moments, but that subsided once I gained balance over my hovering.

“Hah! Nice! You're doing great! That's basic training finished!” Dash said, marking off the end of a checklist.

My eyes shot wide. This was only beginner's stuff?! Did that mean that she had more for me than this?!

“Don't worry: The Advanced Stuff is mainly just covering weather control. We've got plenty of time before you go to the Weather Control Center for a job.”

“A-A job?”

“Yeah! What, you think you can just live your whole life doin' nothin'? Nah. Everypony gets a job 'round here. Besides, controlling weather is loads of fun!” She noted.

“But...She yawned, covering her mouth with her hoof, “We'll get to that later. C'mon! I'll take you to my house and get a bed set up.”

What only seemed minutes was only a couple of hours, but it seemed both I and the competitive Pegasus were still feeling the pangs of sleep deprivation. Okay, maybe not that, but it was certainly a tired feeling. The hovel that Rainbow Dash called home, while nice, was almost completely littered with papers of flight plans, possible tricks, and all throughout the house was paraphernalia of something called The Wonderbolts. I was curious as to who or what they were, so I did the obvious:

“Hey, Dash. What are the Wonderbolts?”

Dash stopped dead in her tracks, then turned directly to me, looked at me with a cocked brow, and groaned.

“You're kidding, right?” She asked, as I shook my head. “Have you been completely living under a rock?! The Wonderbolts are, like, the coolest aerial team to serve for Princess Celestia! They're the best fliers in all of Equestria, and it's been my dream to become one of them! I last saw them at the Grand Galloping Gala, but I didn't get much out of it. So, now that I've got a protege, Getting into the Wonderbolts should be easy-peasy for me!”

I nodded, turning to examine the numerous posters. They reminded me of those circa 1940's World War II posters that featured propaganda for the US Air Force. Maybe that's part of what they were? After all, judging from their design, they were based on the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds. If I ever got to meet them, I'd probably be bothered enough to ask. However, as I saw the straw bedding on the floor, I followed my natural instinct to lay on the mat and sleep...

This time, I was in a void of white, flying through an unending expanse of blank terrain. As far as dreams went, there wasn't much to it. So, I naturally saw what happened next coming. This time, her Majesty, Princess Celestia, was flying beside me, this time, neither a shadow or a shape, but rather the glorious ivory-coated mare everypony was vividly familiar with. She chuckled at the sight of my gliding through the air and smiled.

“Flight...'tis a wonderful gift, is it not? What you lost in your ability to alter the world, you gained in the ability to see it in all its glory without ever stepping hoof on the ground but to rest...Seeing you finally learn to harness that gift of yours brings me happiness...” She said, coming closer in on me, allowing me a visage of the mark which denoted her first and foremost status as the deity of the sun.

I smiled, but I was a bit weary. “Do you think we could change the scenery a bit? All this white is starting to hurt my eyes...”

The Princess of Daylight chuckled, telling me “That can be arranged.” as she set her horn aglow with holy energy, the blank slate transmogrifying into the topography of the castle which sat as the cornerstone of a grand kingdom...

“Where are we now?” I asked lowering altitude to better inspect the castle, being mindful not to come in contact with it.

“Oh, this? This is Canterlot. You could call it the mecca of sorts of politicians. It is also where the School of Magic is located. However, that would only be for if you were a Unicorn...perhaps some other time.”

I chuckled away her last comment, saying “Oh, you!”

A stroke of curiosity came upon me moments later...I knew I was to seek employment later, but what did controlling the weather even entail? Fancy Magic? Acrobatics? Lots of machines?The question bounced about in my head, and the ideas came about as well. Then, much like her younger sister, Celestia had somehow peered in my mind...wait, how can one peer into the mind of somepony while already in their mind? Oh, never mind that. I'll just hurt my mind wondering.

“You wonder what Pegasus ponies do for a living? Well, one of the most common is working in Weather Control. Unlike Canterlot, Ponyville has to manually alter the weather. Thanks to the advent of special machines, we can produce clouds, and with gestures and maneuvers, they control the different weather patterns. For example, kicking them generally summons lightning. Circling causes whirlwinds to build. Stomping a dark cloud starts rain, and so on...It's mainly a matter of intent. So long as you know what you want and how to produce it, you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly.” The Silver Steed of the Sun explained smoothly.

I nodded, committing it as best I could to my weak memory, and the Monarch took landing just outside the gates of an ornate castle, its details much like something only J. R. Tolkien could have produced himself.

“Well, now is the time we take our leave...I expect to see you here soon. We have good plans for you...” Celestia noted, stoking my mane. “Now, wake up.”

With that, in almost a split second, my dream ended, and my eyes shot wide like as saucers. I wasn't sure if that was the doing of the Princess, my body, or my force of will, but whatever the cause, I was awakened. I lay in a stupor for about 5 minutes before rustling out of my bed, staggering to my hooves again. Rainbow Dash was stretching out, a bit more perky than she was a few hours ago.

“Ah, great! You're awake! C'mon! I'm gonna take ya to the Weather Factory and show you around! That's where most of my work starts.” The Cyan Cavalier explained, flying off, myself in pursuit as I clumsily took flight myself. I was still a bit of a weak flier, but I could keep up just well enough to where I wouldn't be patronized for being too slow.

The factory itself was an odd sight. Sure, it was a large building, but it didn't have things like smokestacks, like a factory back home did. I could, however, note a dam-like structure at the base of the building, through which pure, liquified rainbow oozed out like the waterfall of chocolate from the Wonka factory. At the door, I was given a full-body white outfit and hard-hat. Standard-uniform, I guessed.

“This is where everything about weather here is made! It's not always easy, though.” Rainbow explained, taking me to stop numero uno, which, as soon as we entered, felt like I had just crossed into an Artic camp in winter. I saw several mute-colored Pegasi inspecting snowflakes through partway-frosted magnifying lenses. At least, that's what I was able to make out whilst shivering profusely.

“H-How can y-y-you s-s-s-stand this c-c-c-old?” I shuddered, shaking like a leaf in Autumn.

“You get used to it. We aren't gonna be here long. This is the Snowflake creation branch of the Winter R&D Department. See, snowflakes are handcrafted by artisans. It's not a job for the lighthearted or clumsy types...so, only the most serious of ponies take this job..let's get a move on!” She called, as we walked carefully across the cold floor.

The next room was, thankfully, a lot warmer than the snowflake room. Here, fountain after fountain of rainbow-colored liquids drained into a small pond.

“This is where we make the rainbows that appear after a rainstorm. Usually, we just scoop buckets full and throw out the liquid when it's time. The after-rain mist usually keeps it held in place afterward. You're free to give it a taste, but I warn ya. It's some spicy stuff!”

I looked to the pond of rainbow juice, dipping my hoof into it before licking it like a lollipop. In hindsight, that was a stupid idea. Within a few seconds, I glowed a multitude of colors, having a very psychedelic experience as my mouth burned like a dozen matches before calming down. On the bright side, while my taste buds were fried, my sinuses were cleared. I tell you, I can't even remember when I last was able to get a smell or taste of good air. As I turned, I saw Rainbow Dash laughing her flank off profusely, rolling about on the cloud floor.

“Oh, man! You actually did it!” The Pale Blue Pegasus shouted, in-between several fits of laughter. “That was so awesome! You should've seen the look on your face! Ha!”

When she was done, she picked herself up and wiped away the tears of joy before taking me into the third main portion of the Cloudsdale Weather Center; The Cloud Room.

What I saw in here was more like an actual factory than roughly 66 percent of the rest of the factory itself. Pegasi were fluttering above large furnaces, tossing bucketfuls of water into it, which flash-evaporated into steam, forming the myriad-shaped clouds everyone was so fond of.

“This right here is one of my favorite parts of the job, because I get to make them as big or as small as I want! This is the Cloud Room, where we make all the clouds to put up in the sky! When we've made them, we top them off with a little water and bada-bing, bada-boom! We got ourselves some rain just ready to fall! If we hurry, we might just be able to get that water Applejack was wanting over her fields today!” Rainbow Dash explained, dragging me along through a narrow hallway. Before me stood a large set of doors, which read:

I gulped another knot down my throat, shaking as cold sweat dripped down my coat. This was the first time I'd ever even attempted apply for a job. I wasn't even allowed to hold one in my own world, on account of my studies taking priority to the matter. Usually, from what I learned growing up, when the boss of a company has an office that has two doors, that's usually a sign that either A): They're lavishly rich, B): They mean serious business, and/or C): They were very cutthroat. I didn't bother asking any questions as my blue brute knocked on the door.

Next to the door was a tiny microphone, not unlike the kind you would find standing at the door of an apartment complex in a big city. From it blared a tinny, gruff voice:

“Yeah?! Who is this?!”

“It's Dash! I got somepony who wants a job 'ere!”

“Yeah? Tell 'im to get lost! I don't need any more of your Fan Club fillies interrupting durin' work hours! And besides, ain't you supposed to be workin', too?!”

“Yeah, yeah. I was trainin' this guy so he could actually do something.”

The bickering paused for a full 5 seconds before the gruff voice I had assumed was Evening Monsoon responded.

“You'd better be goin' somewhere with this guy. If he don't deliver, it's comin' outta your payroll, missy.”

Within moments, the double doors opened, revealing the office of my soon-to-be employer, a black-coated colt who was showing considerable balding (presumably from stress), bearing the cutie mark of a tsunami. He was chewing on what seemed to be a cigar as he reclined in his chair, clad in a pinstripe vest and hat.

Well, isn't this just gonna be the most wonderful meeting ever?

To my own surprise, the meeting went by a lot smoother than I had imagined. He seemed a bit more patient of me as he explained my job's basic tasks. I would work for a minimum wage of 5 bits a day, with an extra 2 bits for doing a job that he was particularly pleased by, and, on top of basic insurance, an extra 3 bits when dealing with extreme climate control. So, on the worst of days, the best case scenario would be, I'd make 10 bits a day. The worst case would be I'd be as beaten as a rented mule.

“So, when do I get started?” I asked, signing the contract as best I could with my teeth.

“Ya get started the minute the door hits ya in the flank on the way out. Don't slip up anything, or you're gonna get your pay docked! You're lucky I didn't Pink-Slip Rainbow, and that's only 'cuz while she's a lazy punk, she does a good job, and she's got tenure for it! Now get outta here!”

With that, we nodded, trotting out, the door indeed hitting me in the arse on the way out.

Right, so before I stop writing in this log for the night, I'll recount my first day on payroll. As Rainbow Dash had explained to me, we were going to be moving storm clouds to Sweet Apple Acres to provide rainwater for the crops. Since it was nearing harvest season, this would need to be a pretty big collection of clouds to give enough rain for the orchard.

“Alright, so I showed ya all you have to do to work with the clouds, now let's see if we can't trim this thing down to size!” She instructed, blowing a whistle as we both took to opposite sides of the cloud. The process of clearing clouds was actually quite simple. While at first, charging headfirst into clouds to break them didn't seem like a good idea, but, in realizing that clouds were often quite soft, and could also be broken with a good bucking, this proved to be an easy task. I even had a lot of fun with it! It was like I was playing Arkanoid, and I was the ball, bouncing off an invisible paddle. Either that, or it was like Pilotwings.

Once it was a considerable size smaller, the two of us heaved the mass of cumulonimbus to the designated point on the orchard, before standing atop the clouds together.

“And now, we go to the Piece de Resistance! To make it rain, we just gotta give the clouds a good stompin'! Ready?”

I nodded, taking to my personal half.

“One...Two...Three...GO!”

The two of us romped about on the clouds with glee, myself attempting to (mind the pun), Riverdance upon the stage of clouds. I have to admit, Rainbow Dash was right; While our boss was a bit of a Nag, the job was actually pretty fun! Sure, it'll be tedious at some points, but I think this is the only job I've ever seen where having fun with your work is part of the fun of actually doing it. Plus, it was worth it to provide useful water to the crops.

Working for the Climate Company was, to my understanding, a job that worked on a “when called upon” basis. Meaning, like emergency services, we'd often have slow days, with only meager pay to show for it. But, that also meaned we could have fun with the clouds, too! I remember Rainbow showed me a classic prank she pulls, where she'll strategically place a cloud over somepony, then buck it, shocking them. While it isn't exactly the nicest thing, it's really funny to see ponies' reactions to getting zapped and running off.

Dusk fell on Ponyville. As I neared the rendezvous point where Twilight dropped me off, she looked quite happy to see me.

“Hey, Haze! How'd your day with Rainbow go? Did you....*snicker* get your wings?”

I snickered myself a bit, but smiled and nodded.

“Yeah...she also got me hooked up with a job in working with the weather, too!”

“Really? That's great! Hey, since you have your wings working now, you can go on ahead and fly down. I can see that-”

“Actually...” I interjected, stopping her long-winded explanation, “I'm gonna need the Blimp. My wings are beat from all this work.”

Twilight chuckled, but allowed me in.

“Say...do you need more help at the Library? I know it must be tiring at night.”

“You...really want to work in a Library?”

“Well...yeah, actually. I have a lot of experience with books!”

“Well...okay! Sure! I could always use a helping hoof!”

With this, the two of us descended to Twilight's library, where I hoped to rest for the night...