My Little Season Fairy: Weather is Magic

by Nyperold

Chapter 2

"So, I hear you can make clouds," said Dr. Stable Nimbus, looking at the two fairies, "but you need some help with the local details?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Salt.
"You see, Dr. Nimbus," said Turmeric, "back home, all clouds are expected to do practically is provide intermittent shade, and, when rain fairies play the music for it, make it rain."
"But here, they support buildings?"
"Well then," said the scientist, smiling, "we should start by examining the differences between one of our clouds and one of yours." She went over to a large reinforced glass box with a number of scientific instruments around it. It reminded him of one of Phil's inventions.
"You gonna make an aurora with that?"
Nimbus chuckled. "What? No, no, this allows us to study a cloud under controlled conditions. The instruments around it let us look at it in many different ways: microscopically, spectrographically... if it's a way to look at clouds, we can do it here! And we can print out what we see, so we can show somepony else without making them come here!" The gray mare was grinning broadly by the time she finished, but with a blush, she managed to calm herself down. "Ahem. At any rate, Mister... Turmeric, was it? I'd like you to make a cloud appear inside this box, and try to keep it smaller than the box. Other than that, make it as you normally do."
"Yes, ma'am." He began to play his cello with the usual tune, stopping just before it reached the limits of the box.
"Ah, lovely, both the tune and the cloud." She went around to the various instruments and looked, making printouts and "hmmm" noises on each one. "Yes, most fascinating," she continued. "It's different in almost every way. Unfortunately, I believe it wouldn't even support the weight of a pegasus feather."
To test this hypothesis, she plucked a loose feather from one of her own wings and gently placed it atop the cloud. The feather drifted through almost as easily as if the cloud were not there.
"Awww..." said Salt, seeing the feather resting on the bottom.
"Now, now, no need to feel bad on your friend's behalf. This gives us a place to start from."
"Is the cloud at least good for rain?" asked Turmeric.
"I would have to run tests with plants to find that out, but I would hypothesize that the water from a cloud like this would not be good for the plants of Equestria." She pulled a file folder from the shelves. "Come look." She opened the folder and spread some pictures out. "This is what it looks like when you have the type of cloud that can support buildings." The fairies looked at them while she gathered the other printouts. She brought them over and laid each near its normal counterpart. "You see? Different in almost every way. Now then, Turmeric, does how you play the instrument affect how the clouds come out?"
"It seems to, on a superficial level. I'm afraid I've never examined them they way they're being examined here, and I've definitely never tried to make them hold things up."
"Well then," said Dr. Nimbus, eagerly, "we shall be doing both. Quite possibly a lot of both. If you're willing to help, that is."
"I am."
"And so am I!"

*~*~*

"Well, here we are, sugarcube, Sweet Apple Acres. Mah home an' the home a' the best apples this side a' Appleloosa! My, uh, cousin lives there. Anyhoo, the clouds're all ready up there, so if'n you would, Miss Ginger..."
"Certainly, Applejack." Ginger flew up into one of the trees and sat on a branch. She played her usual tune through to the end, but to her disappointment, not even one drop fell during the entire song. She furrowed her brow. She didn't want to give up so easily.
"I'm gonna try playing this a few different ways and see what happens."
"Well all right, but if'n you feel like givin' up at some point, Ah won't hold it against ya."
The rain fairy nodded and went back to playing.

*~*~*

"Well, I'll certainly appreciate the help if it comes, Rarity," said Fluttershy, "so I guess we'll see... Oh! Here she comes now!"
Twilight landed near Fluttershy. Not the most graceful of landings, but that would improve with practice, and nothing was damaged in the process, so it was overall a good landing.
"Hello, Twilight!"
"Hey, Fluttershy!"
"So what's the news?" asked Rarity.
Sugar's tiny head popped up from Twilight's mane. "The hospital staff said they have enough access to ice, so--" Twilight started to explain, only to suddenly find herself getting an unexpected close-up of Fluttershy's chin.
"Awwwwwww, she's so cute! So you're a fairy? I'm Fluttershy!"
"Yep!" Sugar giggled. "I'm Sugar, the snow fairy! I'm here to make snow for cold packs!"
"Well," said Fluttershy, getting out of Twilight's face and walking over to an injured badger, "it just so happens that we have a patient who could use that very thing. Whenever you're ready, Miss Sugar!" She prepared a cloth container for the collection of cold crystals to come. Sugar went over to it, then withdrew her flute from her pocket and began to play a lively tune. A snowflake formed and materialized as before, landing in the cloth.
A few seconds of silence.
"That was very pretty, both the snowflake and the music, I mean, but -- and I mean no offense -- if you make the snow one snowflake at a time, it'll take far too long to make one that does any good."
"Huh," said Sugar. "Usually when I play like that, I get a nice snowball. Funny, because when I was an apprentice, I was making snowballs all the time when I was trying to make snowfall, until I got the hang of it."
"This is just conjecture, Sugar," offered Twilight, "but our weather is usually made by a different process, so maybe you need to modify your technique a bit to compensate."
"...Huh?"
"Play a little bit differently, darling," said Rarity. "It might work better."
"Oh, uh, right!" Sugar said, and played the way she normally would if she were trying for snowfall. This time, two snowflakes appeared. The three ponies sighed.
"Well, it's progress." Twilight prepared to take off again. "Keep trying! I'm gonna see if I can find Rainbow Dash. Maybe they're having an easier time."

*~*~*

Pepper flew around, looking for ponies to cool with a breeze and light debris to gather. She spotted an earth pony operating a broom and struggling with getting debris into a dustpan.
Pepper brought out her harp. "Oh, allow me, sir!"
"You?" said the stallion, incredulous that a little bitty... whatever-it-was had just offered to help him.
"Blow, wind, blow," chanted Pepper as she strummed a pretty tune on her harp. A breeze came and blew the debris he was struggling with directly into the trash can he was transporting, bypassing the dustpan entirely. Satisfied, she turned to go on her way -- and nearly flew smack into a pair of tangelo eyes belonging to a very light aquamarine unicorn who was eyeing her intensely.
"Are you... a human?" said the awestruck voice.
"Eep!" said Pepper, startled and unnerved by the ocular proximity. "Um, no, sorry." The mare looked crestfallen. "I can see why you might think that, though!" Pepper hastened to add. "We fairies are similar in structure, albeit much smaller and with wings, which humans don't have."
"So you know about them! That's wonderful! The name's Lyra Heartstrings. I've been interested in humans for years! Perhaps you could tell me as much as you know about them...?" The mare looked at her pleadingly.
"Sh-sure, as long as I can help out around here at the same time. I'm Pepper, by the way!"
"Nice to meet you, Pepper Bytheway!" She shook Pepper's tiny unproffered hand, fully shaking her from head to toe.

Author's Note:

Those of you also on Coloholics may recognize the name "Stable Nimbus". I actually wrote this story long before I made her a character there, but I didn't fully name her in the story until after I had done so.