Chapter 8: Clouds, Clouds, and more Clouds
Three days later, Shadow stood in front of his new home, marvelling at his work. It had been a mere three days and he had already completed the majority of his home. It was simple in design, and looked very militaristic in style. A main tower housed the living quarters and rooms of importance, while four separate buildings on all four corners of the cloud housed other secondary utilities. All of these buildings were connected by an enclosed walkway to the main tower.
Satisfied, Storm decided to go for a joy flight. After storing his glasses and uniform inside, he placed his flight goggles across his eyes, and gingerly pulled the strap behind his head. He trotted outside onto the road, and began his flight.
Spreading his wings, he took flight, soaring high into the sky. The air beneath his wings was glorious. As he began to beat them heavier and heavier, he began to feel himself slipping away into weightlessness. A smile smeared across his face as he straightened into a flight position. He quickly gained speed, the wind flowing past him like water. He suddenly veered upward, speeding up intensely. As he ascended, he spun majestically and skillfully. As he levelled out, he realized just how high he was.
He could see all of Ponyville and its surrounding lands, and could see Canterlot castle to his left. It was a magnificent sight to behold. After a last glance, he took a breath and dove back down. He flattened his front legs and wings to his body, letting gravity pull him downward. As he neared the ground, once more, Storm unfurled his wings. He levelled out while rolling.
He was now directly over Ponyville, and was just barely above the rooftops. A quick adjustment brought him down to street level. Avoiding the bustling Earth and Unicorn ponies, he sped along at top speed. It had been so long since he had flown this aerobatically. His station in Appaloosa, while important for morale, was a slow and boring one.
He slowed down as he reached town square and slowly decreased altitude. He spread his hooves out, and landed on the ground, his wings widely spread. Shadow sighed with happiness. It had been so long since he had flown without an objective or some form of worry.
"Nice moves, Hotshot."
Immediately, Shadow knew the voice and the nickname. He turned to see Rainbow Dash standing nearby, her mane slightly flowing in the wind. He grinned, ecstatic from his flight.
"Thanks, that's why I do what I do," answered Shadow, "You're not too bad yourself. I heard about the performance at the Flyer's Comp, Sonic Rainbooms are pretty hard to accomplish."
Dash smiled, and replied, "Not when you've got skills like me."
"Ah, yes. Indeed."
"So you never did tell me what the rest of the Wonderbolts are like," Rainbow asked, after a brief pause.
Shadow took a moment to consider the sudden question.
"Well, you met the majority of us at the Royal Wedding."
"True true... wait... you were there weren't you?" Rainbow quickly responded.
Shadow smiled, "Indeed I was. We met actually, and talked for a few minutes. Soarin' seemed pretty smitten by you..."
Dash seemed to gain a bit of happiness from this comment.
"Really?"
"You didn't notice the fact that he spent the majority of the night talking to you?"
"No..."
"Yeah, unfortunately I wouldn't take it too seriously though," added Shadow, smiling awkwardly, "He and Spitfire had just broken up so, he kinda went a little... mare crazy."
"He and Spitfire had a... thing?"
"Oh yeah... worst part was, I got caught in the middle of it. Three days after they broke up, Spitfire suddenly gets all super friendly with me…"
Dash looked surprised and intrigued by this notion, and investigated further, "How did it go?"
"It went fine," Shadow answered in a light hearted manner, shrugging, "She wanted to pursue a romantic engagement butt was obvious she was just trying to make Soarin' jealous. A week later they were back together."
"Wow. A 'romantic engagement'? What are you? A robot?" Dash commented, chuckling
Shadow chuckled a bit, and said, "Hey, she could have tried to at least make herself seem interested in me."
Dash laughed a little, and shuffled a bit closer to Storm, nudging the blushing colt with her knee.
A though burst into his head, and Shadow quickly asked Dash, "So what can a flyer do around here for work?"
Dash looked at the ground and thought for a few moments, before responding.
"Well, there's always cloud management, and farming. Aside from that, nothing."
"Cloud management?"
"Yeah, pretty much keep the skies clear of heavy cloud cover, stop renegade storms, that sort of thing. I'm head of it myself," answered Dash proudly.
Storm grinned, "Really... you wouldn't happen to have an opening would you?"
Rainbow returned his grin, and stated, "I think we can find a place."
After working out the details, and a quick hoof shake the two parted ways.
'Finally, something to keep me occupied,' thought Storm, glancing back to see the bright blue pegasus flying away.
As much as Shadow didn't want to admit it, deep down he was appreciating Dash's company. For once, he found someone who somewhat cared about what he had to say. She was different than most mares he had met in the past
The next day, Shadow reported bright and early to a field that Rainbow had indicated. He arrived about five minutes before the rest of the group, to find Rainbow preparing for the day's work. The two talked idly, until the others arrived. About five other ponies arrived, of varying colour and appearance. As Storm's comrades piled in, he proceeded to stand at attention, ready to be briefed, although the others looked at him oddly.
"Okay, listen up!" yelled Rainbow, gaining the attention of the nearby ponies, "Today is gonna be a walk in the park. Both groups will do a basic weather patrol, nothing special. Clear?"
"Yes ma'am," Shadow stated with a mock salute.
Rainbow grinned at Shadow, and said, "If you haven't noticed, we have a new recruit. Lieutenant Shadow Storm will be flying with group two. I'll give you guys a few minutes to get acquainted."
The ponies split into two groups. One group motioned Shadow over. Group two consisted of a black stallion with a silver mane, and two purple furred mares, one with a bright silvery blue mane, the other with a cyan.
"Hi, glad to have you with us," said the purple and silver pony, "I'm Cloudchaser."
The other mare added, "I'm Flitter."
"And I," the stallion remarked, "am Thunderlane. I'm group two's leader."
"Leader leader or de facto leader?" asked Storm.
Thunderlane looked at Storm, confused. He glanced back at Flitter who just shrugged.
"Nevermind," Shadow muttered, resting his face in his hoof.
Thunderlane frowned, but was never given the chance to say any response.
"Hooves up in thirty seconds!"
Hearing this, Shadow Storm instantly placed his flight goggles over his eyes. The polarized lenses glowed from reflections of the early morning sun.
Cloudchaser looked over and noted, "I... don't think those are necessary."
"Old habits die hard," responded Storm, smirking.
"Launch!"
With Rainbow's command, Storm catapulted himself into the air, his wings beating quickly. Lazily, his comrades followed. Shadow soared ahead of his squad, quickly assessing the skies. He cleared a few clouds out, but everything appeared clear. He slowed down, and came alongside Thunderlane.
"Come on people, you call that flying?" Shadow shouted at the other ponies.
Cloudchaser frowned, and yelled, "What's the point, it's just weather patrol."
"Come on!" Shadow replied, "The faster we get the skies clear, the faster we can just cruise around. You guys are seriously that lazy?"
Silence.
"Buckin' hay," Shadow murmured, relaxing all his muscles.
The day progressed with Storm flying limply alongside the other ponies, clearing a few clouds out of the way. When the day's work ended, they regrouped at the field they had met in. After a quick goodbye, the ponies separated ways. As Storm walked away he heard Rainbow Dash call his name.
Dash quickly closed in from behind, her mane fluttering in the evening breeze. She came alongside Shadow and matched his speed.
"So," Rainbow started, "How was your first day?"
"It was... alright..." Shadow stated in a disappointed tone.
"What's up?" Dash asked, noting his countenance.
Shadow sighed, and answered, "Nothing. It's just… I'm used to the RAF. Nopony here even resembles a RAF flyer… to put it bluntly, they're all lazy."
Rainbow giggled, "I know right?"
Shadow glared at Rainbow, "You knew they were lazy?"
"Yeah, I guess I did. I wanted to see if you were lazy or not. Don't worry. Tomorrow you'll be in my flight. Cool?"
"Yeah, cool cool cool."
