//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: A Gathering Storm // by BritBrony //------------------------------// Storm Shadow stepped out into the warm afternoon sunshine, leaving Rainbow Dash some privacy to discuss her mother’s death with her friend.  Storm Shadow had only learned the basics from Thunderhead that morning, although she had taken the opportunity to call by her father’s office at the Academy before leaving Cloudsdale.  At first, Cirrostratus had been reluctant to discuss the matter with her, but after she revealed what she knew and why she needed to know, he had opened up a little about his old friends, both about the mission where Chroma Key had died, and the after effects. “Rainbow Dash was devastated by her mother’s death, as I’m sure you can understand,” her father had said, “But so was her father.  The two are just too much alike, they’re both stubborn and strong willed, unwilling to face their feelings.  A tragic event like Chroma Key’s death should have brought them together, but instead it drove them apart. “Rainbow’s acting out got her kicked out of Flight School; I did my best with the headmaster but even I couldn’t protect her after some of the stunts she pulled.  She fought with her father continually, and eventually upped and left Cloudsdale entirely.  I don’t think they’ve spoken in years.” Storm Shadow had nodded and looked down at the personnel file in her hooves, complete with CONFIDENTIAL stamped on the cover in red ink.  They spoke of angry and violent outbursts as an adolescent, expulsion from Flight School, and requiring completion of Weather Management training via correspondence course.  Just looking at the paperwork, Storm Shadow could see why the Bureau was worried about Rainbow Dash’s stability, but contrasting against that was her actual exemplary performance as Ponyville District’s Weather Captain – no mean achievement earning that promotion onsidering her record – and of course as one of the Elements of Harmony.  Could these two really both be the same pony? Storm Shadow shook her head and brought her attention back to the street she was wandering along, heading for the centre of town.  She had to fire off a quick report to headquarters, and with the local weather office out of action, the simplest solution was to catch the afternoon mail to Canterlot. A quick stop at the local bakery/cafe - a brightly-coloured structure decorated to look like a gingerbread house - gave her the opportunity and privacy to write a quick note to Thunderhead reporting her progress so far. In Ponyville.  Initial impressions good.  Will evaluate thoroughly during the fill phase.  Further reports to follow.  Storm Shadow. She sealed the note in an envelope and addressed it before turning back to the remaining sheets of paper.  After a few moments, she picked up the pen in her mouth and started to write again, this time to her father.  This note was significantly longer.  While Cirrostratus was not particularly senior in the grand bureaucracy that was the Royal Equestrian Weather Service, he had a surprising amount of pull with the higher-ups from his long tenure of teaching, both at the University and the Academy, as well as significant experience on the practical side of weather control.  When Storm Shadow had announced her intention to follow a career in weather management, he could not have been more proud, but like any good father he occasionally stuck his nose into her affairs.  Now it was time for Storm Shadow to take advantage of his desire to interfere in her business, and she made several requests of him that could help her out, starting with one she knew he wouldn’t be wild about - she needed a Dawn Patrol scout who she could trust. After she was done, she found the post office just where Twilight’s slightly freakishly in-depth directions had predicted. She dispatched the two letters to Canterlot courtesy of a curly-maned earth pony working behind the counter. Deciding to give Rainbow a little more time, Storm Shadow wandered around the market in the square outside the post office and bought an apple to snack on.  She was trying to place the oddly familiar-looking earth pony with the Stetson hat who had sold her the fruit, when she heard a gasp from her left and blur of pink flicked across her vision and down an alleyway, leaving a wake that would have made a wind specialist pegasus proud. “What the hay was that?” she asked a passerby, a cream-coloured earth pony who seemed utterly unperturbed by what had happened. “Oh, that was just Pinkie,” replied the passerby.  “Don’t worry about it, if you think about it too much it gives you headaches.” “Headaches?” asked Storm Shadow, puzzled. “Migraines.  Bad ones,” was the cryptic reply as the passerby wandered off. Storm Shadow finished her apple, and, with a shake of her head, set off back to the library.     She tapped on the door and stuck her head inside.  Rainbow and Twilight looked up from the table. “Come on in, Storm Shadow,” said Rainbow Dash. She stepped into the library, closing the door behind her with her tail. “Did you find the post office?” asked Twilight, brightly. “Yes, thanks, and I sent in a quick report,” responded Storm Shadow. Rainbow’s visage darkened momentarily at the prospect of being reported on, but she shook it away and turned back to the map. “OK, so we need a big Tornado Lift – presumably to Cloudsdale?” Storm Shadow nodded as she approached the table again.  “Twilight, could I perhaps trouble you for another cup of that excellent tea, please?” Twilight shared a look with Rainbow Dash, and, at the latter’s almost imperceptible nod, smiled brightly at Storm Shadow. “Sure thing!  I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said, magically lifting the drained cups and teapot back onto the tray and carrying them back out into the kitchen. “You understand now why I was sent down here,” said Storm Shadow once Twilight was out of earshot. Rainbow nodded.  “At first I thought it was because I’d been to see the Doc last month,” she replied, “but not quite in that way.” “Central needs to know that you can do this, Rainbow,” said Storm Shadow.  “You’ve seen the figures; mishaps are rare but you of all ponies know how difficult this can be... if you feel you can’t do it, I can lead this one.” “That’s not really the Bureau way, though, is it?” asked Rainbow, slightly acidly. Storm Shadow grimaced.  Rainbow Dash was right, the Bureau definitely tried to work in an advisory role, not a replacement one – they sent representatives to assist in-place teams, providing specialised knowledge where needed.  Replacing a pony already on the job was extremely unusual, and doing so when it was one of the Elements of Harmony would be very... messy politically.  Dr Thunderhead had been very clear about that in her brief that morning. “No, I’m here to advise and help; my main job on the day will be to observe and take the official wingpower records,” she replied. “Anyway, we can’t lift out of any of the major water bodies in the area, not right now.  First thing we need to do is top them up, and for that we’ll need a major storm.” Rainbow looked up from the papers on the table and met Storm Shadow’s gaze.  “We’re not scheduled for a major thunderstorm for another three weeks, and that’s supposed to go all the way over the southern fields.” “Taking water out of the existing cycle won’t do us any good,” she replied, “We need to pull some more in from an external source.  That’s why Ponyville was selected.” “The Everfree Forest.” “Exactly.” Twilight returned with fresh tea a few minutes later to find the two pegasi poring over a larger scale map and discussing prevailing winds and likely paths for rainstorms.  She quickly picked up on their discussions. “Why horse around?” she asked, “Why not pick the next big cloud pattern that blows in from the Bay and push it up here?” “Brute force approach, huh?” said Rainbow Dash, “We’d need too much horsepower to get it up here.  We’re talking about relay teams of pegasi to push something large enough to make a dent in our requirements.” “I see,” said Twilight, rubbing her chin with a hoof, “So you need something a little more subtle?” Storm Shadow smiled and extended her wings a little, giving her feathers a shake.  She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “Ms Sparkle, my name is Storm Shadow, I don’t do subtle.”     A few hours later, helped by Twilight’s prodigious knowledge of and access to the information resources of the library, the two weather pegasi had thrashed out a general plan.  As Rainbow had pored over the long-range weather patrol reports that Storm Shadow had brought along with her, she had dispatched Spike with a small stack of notes to arrange with her team to meet the following morning.  The little dragon had eyed Storm Shadow warily as he left, clutching the pieces of paper in his claws. “If we’re going to pull this one off, we’re going to need a few good hooves to help out,” Rainbow explained. Storm Shadow had nodded at that one.  “How many ponies do you have in your team?” “Not many,” replied Rainbow Dash, “I’ve only got sixteen full-time pegasi plus myself.  I can call on a bunch of part-timers to bring us up to nearly a hundred if needed.” “Wait a minute – you run this district with just seventeen ponies?” asked a surprised Storm Shadow. “The part-timers help out a lot,” replied Rainbow Dash.  “You’ve got to remember, Ponyville is primarily an Earth Pony town; there aren’t actually that many pegasi living here.” Storm Shadow idly scratched an ear with her wing.  So much for plans A, B and C. “There’s no way we can do this easily with that few ponies,” she said.  “You realise that most districts have more full-timers on shift than you can call on in total?” Rainbow looked up at her and smiled.  “Don’t count us out just yet,” she replied.   “We just need to be a little smarter.” At that, the library door opened and Spike walked in, chewing on a small blue gemstone. “All delivered,” he reported.  “By the way, Rainbow, I ran into Pinkie. She said ‘The usual, small, twenty minutes’.”  “OK, thanks, Spike,” said Rainbow, returning her attention to the charts as he wandered off into the kitchen. “What was that?” asked Storm Shadow. “Don’t worry about it,” replied Rainbow Dash.  The two worked on for a few minutes in silence before she spoke again. “Hey, are you hungry?  I think we’ve got the basics sorted here, let’s go get something to eat.” Storm Shadow nodded her assent and took a moment to gather her papers into the saddlebags by her hooves.  She shrugged them on and followed Rainbow Dash out of the door. “See you later, Twi!” called Rainbow over her shoulder as the pegasi stepped out of the library. Storm Shadow opened her wings, ready to take to the skies, but folded them again as Rainbow Dash trotted off along the path.  She hurried to catch up. “So, where do you recommend?” asked Storm Shadow as they turned into another street. “There’s a good place a few blocks over, it’s not too far.” The two trotted in silence, making frequent turns and on at least one occasion, Storm Shadow was sure, crossing their own path.   “Uh, Rainbow, do you know where we’re going?” asked Storm Shadow, pausing to stare down the cross-street for a moment before hurrying to catch up. “Hmm?  Yeah, of course, it’s just around this corner,” replied Rainbow, turning into a narrow alley and leading them out onto a moderately busy main street.  Opposite was the large, brightly-coloured cafe that Storm Shadow had visited earlier that afternoon. “This is Sugar Cube Corner,” explained Rainbow Dash.  “My friend Pinkie would love to meet you.” With that, she pushed open the door and stood to one side, gesturing for Storm Shadow to enter first.  By this time the sun was nearly set, and while the sky above was still bright, the shadows were long.  Storm Shadow paused as she stepped across the threshold, surprised at the darkness inside.  She pushed aside the niggling at the back of her head that the name Pinkie sounded strangely familiar. “Uh, hello?” she said, “Are you open?” The response was a large pink cannonball exploding in her face like a firework. “SURRPPRRIIISSEEEE!!!” Storm Shadow came around to find herself staring up at the ceiling of the cafe, lying on her back with all four hooves sticking in the air like an upended table.  Surrounding her view were a series of pony’s faces, looking down in concern. “Are you alright, darling?” asked a white unicorn. “An’ she chases after storms, ya say?” commented a more familiar orange face topped with a brown Stetson hat. “Oh, dear, that was so startling,” said a yellow pegasus.  “Were you startled?  I know I was.” “OhmyI’msorryIjustwantedtothrowyouasurprisepartysinceyou’renewintownandeveryponyshouldgetawelcomingpartyand-“  That was the pink explosion in pony form, her curly mane bouncing even more than the head it sat atop, and that was saying something.  Thankfully she was cut off by a familiar voice. “Girls, step back and give her a moment,” said Twilight. “Pinkie, you really shouldn’t go full-on welcome mode like that...” Storm Shadow shook her head and climbed to her hooves. “I, uh, hi.  Sorry, I think I might have passed out a moment there...” “Don’t worry about it,” said Rainbow, holding out a glass of something brown and potent-looking with one wing.  “That’s a surprisingly common reaction to being surprised by Pinkie at a party.” Storm Shadow took the proffered drink and took a good slug as Dash introduced her friends, trying not to let the burning sensation of the alcohol cause a breakout of coughing.  Bringing her attention back to Rainbow Dash, Storm Shadow could feel her grin crystallising into a rictus about halfway round when she realised that these were the other Elements of Harmony. Yikes, she thought, so much for a nice, easy first assignment. She looked around the cafe at the streamers and decorations, then back to the thankfully small group in the room who were welcoming her to town. This is going to be a long night.   Storm Shadow awoke as she usually did, to the sun shining on her face.  With a stretch and yawn, she rolled over and felt the cloud bed give slightly.  It took a moment before she opened one eye, suspiciously. Where did I find a cloud bed in Ponyville? She sat up and looked around at an unfamiliar room.  The cloud bed was in fact a cloud sofa, and was placed in the centre of an airy open-plan living space.  The cloud structure looked similar to her house in Cloudsdale, but she was sure she didn’t recognise the place.  She padded over to the large window that dominated the eastern wall and looked down.  Ponyville was spread beneath her like a blanket, the sun just clearing the horizon behind it. “It’s not a bad view, is it?” Storm Shadow turned to see Rainbow Dash float down from the floor above, not bothering to use the stairs. “Where am I?” she asked, already suspecting the answer. “My place,” said Rainbow.  “You needed a place to stay and I’ve got plenty of room.  You weren’t really in a state to argue last night.  Anyway, we’ve got a bit of time.  You want a coffee before we head down to meet the others?” “Do you have any tea?” said Storm Shadow, following Rainbow over to the kitchen area. Rainbow rolled her eyes.  “You’re as bad as Twi,” she commented, busying herself with the coffeemaker before lifting a sloshing kettle onto the hotplate to make a tea for Storm Shadow. “So, you seemed to enjoy yourself last night,” said Rainbow with a sly grin as she savoured her coffee. Storm Shadow froze as her memory replayed the previous evening, or at least as much as she could remember of it. “Uh,” she said slowly, “I seem to have a few gaps...” “Let me see.  Pinkie threw a surprise party for you at Sugar Cube Corner.” “I remember.  I seem to recall walking across Ponyville for fifteen minutes to get there, when the last time I made that journey it took less than five.” “Yeah,” said Rainbow Dash, bashfully, “I needed time to let Twilight and Spike get there before us.  Trust me, I hated going that slow...” “I also remember almost having heart palpitations when she jumped out like that.” “That’s fairly common at Pinkie’s welcome-to-Ponyville-surprise-parties.” “And... let me get this straight... that was a small party by her standards?”  “Just us, the rest of the girls and Spike,” confirmed Rainbow.  “Her big parties usually involve the entire town.  Anyway, we got to the party, and then you had a few drinks.” “A few?” “You seemed to be a little intimidated by meeting the rest of the Elements of Harmony.” “Well, forgive me.  You guys have saved Equestria on at least two separate occasions,” replied Storm Shadow, gratefully accepting the hot cup of tea that Rainbow had prepared. “Eh, three if you include the Dragon.  But that one was mostly Fluttershy.” “What, the yellow pegasus?  The one who heard I was a Chaser and then hid behind her own mane for the rest of the evening? Didn’t she spend half the party cowering under the table?” “Yeah, that’s her.  She’s very sweet, really, but don’t cross her.  You don’t want to be on the receiving end of her Stare, trust me.” “Riiiggghhhtt.  What else happened?  I seem to recall a drinking contest...” “Yes, with Applejack and Rarity, of all ponies.  Don’t be ashamed of your performance, you kept up surprisingly well, but Applejack has her own still and as for Rarity... well, I’ve not seen any other mare who can down so many Martinis and still keep her wits about her enough to cut amorous stallions to shreds.  Still, be glad Fluttershy wasn’t involved.  That girl can drink a grizzly bear under the table.  Literally.” Storm Shadow fixed Rainbow with a disbelieving eye as she sipped the tea. “OK, you’re pulling my cannons, aren’t you?  What else happened?” “You bet Twilight you could climb the wall of Sugar Cube Corner using only your lips.”  “OK, now I know you’re lying.” Rainbow Dash laughed.  “Yeah, OK, you got me.  You were well behaved for the rest of the evening.  Drink up, we’re due to meet the rest of the team in fifteen minutes.” With a nod, Storm Shadow drank the rest of her hot tea and the pair headed toward the front door.  The two pegasi stepped out onto the cloud outside Rainbow Dash’s front door, taking a moment to breathe the fresh air.  Rainbow pointed to a wide-open green field in the park. “The team should be there in a few minutes,” she explained.  “I need to swing by Sugar Cube Corner for a moment, I’ll meet you there?” Storm Shadow nodded and leapt into the air, headed towards the park.  The sun had only been up for an hour or so, but already the little town was showing signs of life, with several of the market ponies setting up their stalls for a day’s trade.  She banked and landed by the athletics track, spotting a few earth ponies and unicorns out for a morning canter or to walk their pets, but no pegasi. She had turned back towards the town centre, picking out the tower of the town hall in order to get her bearings, when she heard the stallion’s voice behind her. “Heeeyyyyy...” She turned to see another grey pegasus, this one with a striped blue-grey mane in a mohawk and matching short-cropped tail. “Hello?” she said, unsure. “Hi, you must be the new weather team member,” said the stallion, looking her up and down.  “I’m Thunderlane, it’s a pleasure to meet such a beautiful mare...” Storm Shadow narrowed her eyes; she couldn’t recall being hit on quite so early in the morning - and definitely not feeling quite so hung over.  She missed out on what was surely going to be an awesome follow-up line (at least in his opinion) when he was interrupted by another voice. “I wouldn’t let Flitter hear you talk that way.” The two ponies looked up to see another pegasus land nearby and trot forward.  She had a pure white coat, her straight mane and tail striped a jarring pink-and-green. “Flitter knows me,” said Thunderlane, slightly huffily.  “I’m a creature of the air, I can’t be tied down.” The white pony raised an eyebrow.  “That’s not what I’ve heard,” she said, archly. “Uhh...” “Yeah, that’s right, smartass, mares talk.  Remember that.”  She rolled her eyes and turned to Storm Shadow. “Hi, I’m Blossomforth,” she said, raising a hoof to shake.  “Please forgive Thunderlane, he’s an idiot.” “Hey!” Storm Shadow stepped forward and shook her hoof. “Storm Shadow,” she said, introducing herself.  “You’re Rainbow’s deputy?” “One of them, yes,” said Blossomforth.  “I lead one of the teams, Cloud Kicker has the other.  The boss leaves most of the day-to-day stuff to us.  That said, she does get involved with some of the more exciting stuff.” She looked over the unfamiliar mare for a second. “Let me guess, a Storm Chaser?” Storm Shadow noted Thunderlane’s ears pricking up at that.  “I can see why you’re her deputy,” she said with a smile. Blossomforth smiled at the compliment.  “So, we’ve got a special job coming up?” “I think Rainbow Dash wants to brief the whole team at once,” replied Storm Shadow. “So, you’re a Storm Chaser then?” asked Thunderlane, stepping forward.  “I’ve been practicing my thundercloud handling, I was thinking about applying to join...” Storm Shadow looked him over. “How old are you?” she asked, curious.  “Aren’t you a little young to be a Weather pony?  You look like you should still be in high school.” “Hey!” replied Thunderlane, a little annoyed.  “I graduated last year.” Any further discussions were cut short by the arrival of another pegasus, a midnight-blue stallion with a constellation cutie mark. “Hey, Star Hunter,” said Blossomforth, “this is Storm Shadow.  Looks like we’re in for some fun.” The stallion was tall and most definitely not just out of high school.  He flicked his head toward her in greeting, and to shift an errant lock of mane from his eye. “Hi,” he said, “Welcome to Ponyville.” “Rainbow pulled you off night duty, Star?” asked Blossomforth with a frown. Star Hunter nodded and stifled a yawn, using a hoof to cover his mouth. “Excuse me.  Yeah, I was until a couple of nights ago.  She gave me last night off but I’ve not quite reset onto day shift timelines.”  He paused a moment, scanning the skies.  “Speak of the devil...” Rainbow landed with her usual exuberant style, practically screeching to a halt from a near-vertical dive.  She greeted the assembled ponies and then with a nod led Storm Shadow off to one side.  “I didn’t think to warn you about Thunderlane.” “Don’t worry about him,” said Storm Shadow, “I think Blossomforth arrived just in time to prevent him from saying anything truly stupid...  Still, he’s kind of young for this team, isn’t he?” “What can I say, I like guys with talent,” replied Rainbow Dash, “But yeah, he does need a little experience.  Also, I need to warn you about–” She was cut off by the surprise in Storm Shadow’s widened eyes and the loud crash from over her shoulder that the grey mare was clearly looking at.  A blur had careened into the waiting weather team ponies, leaving them in a tangled heap on the ground. “What the hay was that!?” exclaimed Storm Shadow. “That was almost certainly the fourth member of the team,” said Rainbow Dash, without looking around. “Ooops, my bad!” came a voice from the tangle of ponies behind Rainbow Dash. “...yep, that’s her.”  Rainbow Dash brought a hoof up to the bridge of her nose, rubbing it as she seemed to gather her thoughts.  “Come on, I’ll introduce you.” She led Storm Shadow over to the pile of ponies, which was just starting to untangle itself.  Star Hunter helped Blossomforth up before Thunderlane, revealing a slightly lighter grey mare at the bottom of the pile.  She was a pegasus, grey with a blonde mane, and she looked up and made eye contact with Rainbow Dash and Storm Shadow simultaneously... “Hey,” said Rainbow.  “I wanted to introduce you to somepony.  Ditzy, this is Storm Shadow, Storm Shadow, this is-“ Rainbow didn’t get a chance to finish the introduction properly, as the blonde mare leapt forward, grabbed Storm Shadow’s forehoof in her own and started shaking it. “Hi-I’m-Ditzy-Doo-It’s-nice-to-meet-you-as-we’ve-never-met-before-ever-and-my-friends-call-me-Derpy-Hi!” she blurted in what had to be a single breath. Rainbow watched, baffled. “Uh, Derpy, I think she’s going to need that hoof back.” “Oh, sorry,” said Derpy, letting go.  She looked up into Storm Shadow’s eyes, golden irises pleading. “Um, it’s nice to meet you, Derpy,” said Storm Shadow, “Since you’re right, we’ve never met, you know, before.” “Oookaayyyy,” said Rainbow, looking at the two grey mares curiously.  “If we can step away from freakytown for a moment...” She looked around at the whole team.  “Storm Shadow is a Chaser, she’s here to help us with a major unscheduled storm.” “Oooh,” said Derpy, fixing both eyes on Storm Shadow.  “Sounds like fun.”   She seemed to remember something, and looked around, spotting a bag on the ground.  She hurriedly grabbed the handle in her mouth and held it up, proudly. “Anyway, more importantly, I brought muffins!”