An office, a library, and two close calls
Oui. For Cloud Breaker it had been a long night but at least it was over. He stumbled into the kitchen as Serenity made breakfast and Sunny Rays read the morning edition of the Ponyville Express newspaper. The other two pegasi immediately picked up on the green stallion’s issue; some of their worries about him were subsiding but not all of them.
“You look like you were run over by the Friendship Express,” Sunny said.
“It’s not the first time I’ve had that feeling,” Cloud responded. “I had a bit of nightmare last night.”
“You get the one where Princess Luna is hanging out in your house for no apparent reason too?” Serenity asked.
“What?” Cloud responded. “No. I think it’s just some post-transformation stress. I’ll shake it off, I think.”
“I wouldn’t know what that’s like but I can’t imagine it’s pleasant,” Sunny said.
Serenity placed two plates of toast and scrambled eggs on the table then went back for a small bottle of grape jelly. As he put a third plate down for himself Sunny put down her newspaper, the headlines were mainly still about the aftermath of the Canterlot attack and an equally serious piece about a “Cash for Sun” scandal expanding in Las Pegasus.
“Either of you want a coffee or a Red Pegasus?” Serenity asked. “It’ll perk you up.”
“Coffee is fine,” Sunny said. “Two sugar cubes please.”
“I’ll also take a coffee,” Cloud said. “Black please.”
Serenity presented the two cups and an additional one for himself. Cloud stared at the front page of the paper.
“What is the “Cash for Sun” scandal?” Cloud asked.
“A bunch of pegasi on all levels in Los Pegasus got nailed taking bits under the table to assure perfect weather for all the big events and movie shoots out there,” Serenity responded. “They also scheduled rain on some that didn’t. Lots of heads rolled and a whole bunch of pegasi got canned over it. That’s left a lot of positions open and a lot of the young talent fresh out of school is going there to get them.”
“It’s why Rainbow’s had trouble filling positions here,” Sunny noted before everyone’s attention turned to their food.
After a quick bite to eat the conversation quickly turned to the day ahead.
“For once I can’t wait to punch the clock,” Serenity said. “After the consistent strangeness that was this weekend I just want it done and over. Give me the weather map and a raincloud bound for Dodge Junction over all this weirdness any day.”
“Three bits says Rainbow Dash brings up the whole “I saved Equestria” thing within three sentences at the morning briefing,” Sunny wagered. “That’s her third time saving all ponykind now I believe.”
“I’m not taking that bet,” Serenity said. “It’s a sure thing she will. She came to work for a week wearing that gold crown thingy after she won the Best Young Flyer competition you went to watch in Cloudsdale.”
“What should I do today while you are both at the office?” Cloud asked.
“I suggest you come along for the first part,” Sunny said. “You can see the office, meet some of the crew, and pick up your job application.”
“After that I’d head for the library,” Serenity added. “You’ve got to cram about 10 years of weather studies in about a week. You apply today and R.D. will probably have you tested by the end of the week. I’ll try and see if I can get you up in the sky for some practice tomorrow, maybe a little cloud busting on the edge of the Everfree.”
Cloud thought about going to the library and immediately gulped. No doubt Twilight Sparkle would be back on the job and he did actively make an attempt on both her and her friends’ lives over the weekend. That usually wasn’t the best way to get on her good side. Of course that thought reminded him of his other goal this week.
“And in that time I’ve also got to make up my role in the attack to those I hurt,” Cloud said with a hint of dejection. “For Princess Cadence and now Prince Shining Armor I figure I’ll just have to write them a letter or something, maybe mail them a belated wedding gift. No way would I be able to get near them after everything that went down.”
“Sounds like a good start,” Serenity said. “How many of the Elements did you hurt in that fight?”
“I only actually managed to land a single punch on Applejack,” Cloud responded.
Serenity openly chuckled at that.
“Yes, I admit I more or less got my flank kicked,” Cloud said.
“I wouldn’t worry about getting Applejack’s forgiveness too much,” Sunny said. “She’s actually pretty quick to forgive from what Rainbow says. I’d make sure to do her a favor though, she’ll probably have you kicking apple trees for an hour or two, maybe wash her dog.”
“Or cut out the middle pony and just buyout her apple cart,” Serenity said. “There’s no quicker way into her good graces than that.”
Serenity looked at the clock. It read 8:51 a.m., time for the morning commute.
“Up for an early morning flight?” he asked.
“You know it,” Sunny responded.
The breakfast dishes were quickly moved to the sink as the three pegasi made for the door. With a short gallop all three shot skyward for a quick flight across town. Cloud just followed the others; it was an uneventful flight minus a rather tight buzzing of city hall by Serenity that was no doubt just him showing off.
---------
Within about three minutes they all came in for a landing in front of a three-story building built with a slightly more Cloudsdale-esque look than most of Ponyville. It was decorated with two small white columns around a double-glass door front entrance. On the roof were various pieces of weather equipment including a fancy radar system. This was the Ponyville's Weather Management Bureau.
“Wow” was all Cloud could say as he, Serenity, and Sunny joined with the other pegasi all walking through the door. His hosts and the other ponies immediately clocked in their timecards and headed through another set of doors to get ready for the morning briefing.
“Want to see the briefing room before you go Cloud?” Sunny asked.
“You bet,” Cloud responded as he followed the others into the room.
Oddly for a meeting space it appeared to be modeled on a locker room. The walls were lined with interchanging green and brown lockers and they weren’t just decorative. Each had a bar labeled with the name of pegasus it belonged to and their position in the organization.
“Dash likes a “pep talk” environment for the briefing,” Serenity said. “It works out well, everyone needs a place to put their stuff and the old meeting room was kind of cramped.”
The room was just a basic locker room and yet Cloud felt a little in awe as he looked at the lockers and the various names on them, changelings had no equivalent. A few pegasi had their lockers open; one was a black stallion whose locker was labeled “Thunderlane.” As Cloud trotted by he watched Thunderlane looking through its contents and noted the locker contained both work equipment and a few personal effects. Thunderlane’s seemed to be decorated with pictures of him having all kinds of fun with a younger grey colt and a couple purple mares.
One of the last green lockers especially caught his attention; there was no name just a simple label as “Jerkwater Weather Pony.” He thought just for a second “maybe" then turned to trot out before the meeting started.
“See you later,” Cloud said to Sunny and Serenity. “I’m off to the library.”
Cloud left the locker room and walked toward the door. With no ponies now using the time clock he noticed a corkboard next to it. As he approached a folder labeled “Applications” came into view next to a list of job postings. His green reflection shined in the front doors, except for just the briefest moment he thought he saw Drone 9417 looking back at him again. He shrugged it off and took one of the applications. He was just about to leave when he heard one of the doors open.
“Hey newbie, what are you doing here?”
He knew that voice and he knew what was coming now. He gulped again and turned around to find himself face to face with a blue mare adorned with a signature rainbow-colored mane. Rainbow Dash stood before him munching a Gala peach she held in one hoof. The expression on her face definitely showed she recognized him. Cloud froze in fear, how could the jig be up this quick?
“You’re Sunny’s room renter aren’t you?” Rainbow said. “Cloud Bunker or something.”
Whew, dodged a bullet there.
“Cloud Breaker actually,” Cloud responded. “I, ah, I want to apply for that job in Jerkwater I heard was open. I have something of a soft spot for that railroad town.”
He had heard once ponies make hiring decisions in just a few seconds. He needed something to make sure this conversation was memorable in a good way. He didn’t want to seem suspicious from his actions at the wedding. That’s it, the wedding.
“And I wanted to congratulate you on your performance this weekend saving the royal wedding and all of Equestria,” Cloud said. “You were awesome in that fight with all those changelings, err, from what I’ve heard.”
Rainbow’s face lit up at the last two sentences.
“I know, best wedding ever right!” Rainbow responded. “I totally kicked those changelings’ flanks. I’m pretty unstoppable on my own but with my friends backing me up those invaders never stood a chance. And that sonic rainboom I pulled on demand afterward was incredible wasn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Cloud said, he had no idea what she was talking about but knew he’d best play along.
Rainbow took another bite of her peach but kept talking.
“I probably drank way too much of Pinkie Pie’s Tutti-Frutti Sherbet Sugar Punch at the reception though,” Rainbow said. “Things get really wild, really fast when you party with her.”
She finished off her fruit.
“I’d love to stay and chat about my feats of greatness but I’ve got a morning meeting to run,” Rainbow said as she started to hover down the hall. “Hey good luck with the application, I’d love to have that position filled. Catch ya later Cloud Breaker.”
Cloud smiled. Wow, did he really just make a good first impression? Maybe he could pull this off.
Rainbow Dash flew into the locker room and darted right to the front. She began her meeting.
“Alright I’m back, did everypony have a good weekend?” Rainbow asked. “I certainly did because I attended the royal wedding and saved all of Equestria again!”
“Two sentences, told you that was a sure thing,” Serenity said to Sunny quietly.
---------
After a quick trip back to Sunny’s house to get his saddlebag Cloud continued his journey with a quick flight over to Ponyville’s signature Golden Oaks Library. Oh boy, this is where it got tricky.
He’d been here before. While he left the investigation of Twilight mainly to the others on the spy mission he’d still be here a few times. During his mission he’d occasionally come in and check out a random fiction book or something. It was just an excuse to walk around the library and gauge her up. As he prepared to open the door he suddenly had a flashback to the Canterlot fight where disguised as Fluttershy he got a full-power blast of her magic. The pain practically came back to him. He opened the door anyway; he only hoped she didn’t remember him.
The interior of the library was quiet as one might expect. A quick look around revealed bookshelves upon bookshelves packed with thousands of books. And of course, at the podium was the Twilight Sparkle with a stack of them reading away as always. Cloud trotted toward the non-fiction section as quietly as possible, hopefully she wouldn’t see him. He made it all of five steps before she did.
“Hello Cloud Breaker,” Twilight said casually. “Great to see you again.”
How did she remember him? They didn’t even interact much!
“Oh hey Ms. Sparkle,” Cloud responded. “I, ah, didn’t want to disturb your research.”
“Oh it’s fine and please call me Twilight,” Twilight responded. “I was just reading some about the Bahamares Islands. What an interesting place, a cool island pony culture.”
She closed her book and trotted over to him.
“Are you here to check out more of the Detective Drafthorse series or another Cleveland Bay Adventure?” she asked.
“Huh?” Cloud responded.
“I keep lists tracking all the books everyone checks out from here,” Twilight said. “You checked out several of the books from those series before, I thought you might want to see more of those series.”
And that’s no doubt how she remembered him. Cloud wondered how much OCD this mare had.
“Actually I want to make the switch to non-fiction,” Cloud responded. “I’m going to try out for a job with the weather service and I need pretty much anything you have that can make me a better weather pony.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that,” Twilight said. “I’ve got plenty that are just what you need.”
POMP!
Cloud watched as the purple unicorn teleported to another part of the library and grabbed a book off the shelf with her magic.
POMP!
She did it again. And again. And again. And again. Cloud figured she must not get to do the librarian thing nearly as much as she probably wanted to. Finally she was done and presented him with a stack of texts on the topic.
“Here you are,” Twilight said. “There’s Weather 101: Back to Basics, The Art of Storm, Unnatural Occurrences: The Everfree Mystery, Wind Riders: The Ultimate Guide to Weather Creation, Mastering the art of Tornado, The Definitive History of the Cloudsdale Weather Factory, and a few others for good measure. If you need more just read those and bring’em back for an exchange.”
Cloud’s jaw hit the floor at her efficiency.
“Thanks Twilight,” Cloud responded.
One trip to the library checkout desk later and Cloud had all the information he needed. He went back to the house and started reading like crazy. Now this is where it would start to get difficult…
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Well you did pretty good with no proofreader, though you are not unstoppable. Let us see the mistakes I found, then we'll move onto what are my highlights.
That question mark is utterly unneeded.
With these it isn't a mistake as much as a matter of preference. I prefer to use the word ten instead of 10, but whichever you prefer. And that's really it as far as 'mistakes' go.
Now to highlights.
Sounds like a bulls eye on that one!
Holy books... O.O
I don't know about anyone else, but that's my dream/nightmare, except replace Luna with Slender Man...
2773237
The number 10 thing probably relates to my day job. I'm a newspaper reporter and that's Associated Press style sneaking through (I literally have the AP Stylebook on my desk although I don't use it for lighthearted stuff like this). In college when learning AP style you are taught to spell out one through nine and use numbers for 10 and up; it simplifies it for readers.
20 bits he nails the job because of that AWESOME introduction... STROKE THAT EGO MAN!!!!!
So Cloud Breaker is essentially being a kiss-rear-end to Rainbow Dash.
...
Yeah, I could see that working well for him.
2773278
Okay.
2774616>>2774571
His research of her pays off...Of course Rainbow's so upfront with her ego he'd hardly need it to figure out that's she likes to have it stroked.
Ahhh, Twilight. You know, she's probably the only one who'd be able to see if he really was a changeling or not.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Durning the ending I heard the Rainbow Factory in my head.