Reflection

Everfree Forest campsite - A common hangout for ponies, and a place to tell tales. The warm glow of the fire provided heat and light to contrast the dark and damp atmosphere of the Everfree Forest. The campsite housed three tents, all of which were occupied. The trees stretched far above, branching over them in a way that the sun is completely blocked out.

 

The group of ponies sat, intently watching the storyteller as every detail was revealed. Currently Cinnamon Swirl was sharing her experiences in Equestria, while everypony else watched with interest. Eventually she finished and the baton was passed to Cirrus, who began to share his adventures as a young colt.

 

--

 

"C'mon Stratus, It'll be fun!" Cirrus and his sister Stratus were at their home, getting ready to go out.

"I'm not sure if this is a good Idea," Stratus replied, still reluctant to go with him.

"If you don't come with me now, you'll probably never see what's in there." A few days before Cirrus had been talking to his friends about the weather factory, and how it would be fun to sneak into the forbidden areas. For the past half-hour he had been trying to persuade his sister Stratus to come with him.

"Maybe it could be fun." Cirrus smiled, happy that he had been able to persuade her to go.

After a short flight, they had arrived at the weather factory. Cirrus signalled Stratus to follow him around to the back end of the building, where they would work out a plan and look for a viable entrance. After nearly giving up, Stratus notices an air vent  big enough that they could both fit into, before commenting on how Cirrus gives up too easily. After they finished the resulting verbal exchange,  the pair realised that they faced their next conundrum: removing the hatch.

 

"No Cirrus, blunt force doesn't always solve everything."

"Pffft, I know exactly what I'm doing."

"Then why haven't you done it yet?"

"I need more time." Cirrus was becoming increasingly agitated as Stratus questioned his actions.

"Is it because you can't do it?" Stratus found it hard to hide the smirk on her face.

"...Yes." She burst out in laughter, much to Cirrus' dismay.

 

Stratus stepped up to the grate and said to Cirrus, "This is how you do it."  She placed her hooves on one of the screws and began to twist gently. Soon after it came out with relative ease. "Your turn." She stepped back and in front of the hatch stood Cirrus, confident that he could still better his sister. To his frustration, and the amusement of his sister, he ultimately failed, miserably. the screw didn't loosen at all, likely even tightened. Cirrus stepped away from the grate mumbling something to himself while Stratus took control of gaining entry once again.

 

After what had seemed like forever, Stratus managed to loosen the final screw, giving access to the air vents of the weather factory. The tunnels twisted and turned, not much different to a labyrinth. The cool touch of the metal coupled with the constant flow of air gave a good emulation of winter weather, minus the clouds. It was in midsummer, and the work staff had turned on the air condition to keep the temperature reasonable.

 

After getting lost several times, the duo eventually found themselves above the rainbow department. Looking through another horizontal grate, Cirrus couldn't help but be amazed by the sight of large pools of pure rainbow stored in massive vats. Stratus also looked down at the rainbow in awe after curiosity got to her.

 

Cirrus didn't think to step off of the grate, his mind too focused on the rainbow. He was just so drawn to it, almost hypnotised.  Stratus could make out the sound of the hatch buckling under the pressure of the young colt standing on it, but hesitated to warn him, noticing that he was directly above the pool of rainbow. She just looked on with a growing smile on her face, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

 

Eventually the grate could last no longer, the screws snapped out and soon fell Cirrus, screaming. The shock of sudden falling rendered him incapable of flight. Immediately Stratus burst into a fit of laughter that echoed through the facility. Cirrus landed straight into the pool, causing a large amount of liquid rainbow to be displaced, some even landing on the workers.

 

Cirrus quickly surfaced, and was met with many stern looks from the staff, one of them happened to be a friend of his father. "Cirrus, what do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, uh,  hello Swift."

"Do your parents even know you're here?"

"...They're out."

"They will soon enough." Cirrus' heart sank. He could almost feel it falling through the floor and plummeting towards the ground below. What would his parents think of him? Would they still like him? What about Stratus? All these questions rushed through his mind like a swarm of angry bees trapped in a shaken jar. "Your parents have always been kind and forgiving, that probably won't change today, either." Cirrus felt only slightly relieved, he was still shaking with fear that he'd gone off the deep end.

 

The journey home was silent. Stratus was caught not long after Cirrus, given away by the distinct laughter that nearly the entire factory heard. Their parents, Breeze and Nimbus were home now, waiting for them. The pair entered the house while Swift left, presumably back to the factory  - his workday wasn't over yet.  Cirrus and Stratus were led into the living room, where Nimbus began to speak.

 

"You know what I'm going to talk to you about, don't you."

"...Yes," they both said, almost in unison.

"You know you shouldn't be in there, but you went in anyway."

"Y-yeah, it kinda was a bad Idea," Cirrus replied. "Although I am interest in knowing more about how weather works now."

"Oh?"

"Yes, after seeing that rainbow, I really became inspired to learn everything I can about weather, clouds, anything really."

"Maybe I could show you a few things I know."

"You can?"

"Not today, but yes." Cirrus was ecstatic at this point. The idea of learning from his father was an excellent thought. It gave him hope for the future. His parents didn't think any less of him either. Stratus was happy for him too, knowing that he had found an interest that could possibly earn him his cutie mark.

 

--

 

"Aww, that's a really nice story!" Cinnamon exclaimed, after making sure that Cirrus was finished. The light of the campfire continued to burn, still providing the atmosphere making for perfect storytelling.

"Just you wait till you hear my cutie mark story!"