Ponywatching

by ThunderTempest

Prompt #360-Working Holiday

To a normal pony, a year was a long time. A pony’s life could change radically over the course of a year. They might gain and lose several jobs. They could fall in and out of love. They could have fights, make up, fight again, and make up. They could make many new friends.

To Princess Celestia, it seemed like all she had to do was blink, and a year would pass. There were times when the alicorn almost envied the average pony. Being the immortal avatar of the sun had its own downsides. Ponies had grown accustomed to her constant, unchanging presence, relying on it as a source of comfort. That even though they might die tommorow, the day after, Celestia would still raise the sun, and then lower it and raise the moon. And Celestia would. She would repeat the cycle until her sister came back. However, it came to pass that one day, after raising the sun one Summer Solstice, that the Princess had vanished from the castle, leaving only a cryptic note.

‘See you in a year’

For an entire day, the courts and nobles of Canterlot Castle, which was still under construction, had run around like headless chickens, desperately trying to find any clue, any pony who knew what had happened to the Princess, and would the Sun even rise the next morning?

In all the confusion, nopony noticed a young, demure white pegasus mare with a pink mane slip out of the castle, and head for the weather centre.

***********

“Name?” intoned the large brown pegasus sitting behind the desk at the Canterlot Weather Centre.

“Cloudy Skies.” Stated the white pegasus.

“Experience level?”

“Average.”

The brown pegasus made a thoughtful noise as he consulted a roster of duties.

“You’ll be on long-range weather control. That means you’ll be taking care of the weather outside of the bounds of Canterlot airspace.”

“Oh, thank you!” grinned Cloudy Skies, moving to hug the larger pegasus, who moved away.

“You’re a freelancer for the moment. Work hard, do good and we’ll bump you up to permanent member. We’ll have your pay waiting for you here every seventh day. And as for accommodation, you’ll be bunked in the temporary pegasus housing, just inside the wall. Hope you like close quarters,” explained the brown pegasus. Cloudy Skies nodded, collected the bits of information she needed, and flew off.

“Next!” called the brown pegasus.

**********

Cloudy Skies shivered and chattered as she bucked the winter storm clouds coming out of the Everfree. No pony had told her that long-range weather control had meant dealing with whatever that despicable forest spat out on occasion. She’d been up here for five hours, bucking and bucking with nary a moment’s rest, and only two other pegasi to help her.

**********

Cloudy swooped down through the streets of Canterlot, making sure that everything was squared away in preparation for her first actual thunderstorm in Canterlot.

“All Clear!” she yelled, and the weather captain sounded the start.

**********

“Oh hey, the Summer Solstice is coming up again. Hey, Cloudy, you reckon the Princess is going to come back?” called one of Cloudy Skies’ coworkers on the long-range patrol as they bucked a few clouds into oblivion.

“She might. She might not. I kinda hope she does. But I don’t know, do I, Silverstreak?”

“Yeah, I hope she comes back too.”

************

As the sun rose on the morn of the Summer Solstice, Ponies looked on with wide eyes and open mouths as Princess Celestia strode down the wide halls of the still unfinished Canterlot Castle, and took her throne once more. When asked where she had been for the last year, Princess Celestia had simply smiled, and replied that she’d been, ‘Just clearing the clouds in my head, and getting a new perspective on things.’

Author's Note:

Written for Prompt #360-‘A Year In The Life’
The Prompt: How do you measure a year in the life? … How do you measure the life of a woman or a man? In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried, in bridges he burned, or the way that she died …” (“Seasons of Love,” from Rent)