Jane

What Rosie said. I was at a family picnic yesterday, where I happily led my young cousins in a sing-along of Winter-Wrap-Up and BBBFF (wouldn't you know, little girls like the show, too!) my aunt, their mother, kept giving me weird looks and eventually said to her boyfriend "Jane's obsessed with My Little Pony. It's pretty sad." Yeah, she and I don't get along very well, and that's not the only reason. I guess my point is if your family takes issue with it, it's their problem, not yours. You aren't the only brony in the world, there are thousands of us. They just need to learn not to judge you based on what you like. Most people don't, and you may find that unless you annoy them constantly with chatter about ponies (which I do to my sister, but that's what sisters are for), they probably won't really care. Like, at all.

Alright, that would probably be good

I started on a first post a few days ago but got distracted by other things. I'll try to get something posted within the next few days. I'm sorry I'm taking so long.

Hey, welcome to our site! I hope you have fun here; I've found this to be an excellent place to meet other bronies.

Welcome to Canterlot, Rock! I love those three ponies as well and like you, I have a hard time choosing between the three of them. I hope you have fun here!

Stormwing kept his wings folded firmly against his body as they followed the young unicorn who introduced himself as Silt Treble through the wild forest, so as not to get his feathers caught on anything. He watched in partial wonder as the unicorn used his magical abilities to quite literally move the overgrown forest out of their path. It also proved useful as a light in the darkening woods. He had to admit, unicorn magic was pretty nifty, though he wouldn't trade his wings for the magical abilities of even Princess Celestia. He and the black mare kept Caymellow and her cloud positioned firmly between them as they moved, quickly and quietly as they could so as not to arouse the suspicion of any surrounding creatures; the group paraded through the forest until they came to a twisted old tree. To Stormwing's great astonishment, the unicorn lowered his head and lightly touched the trunk of the tree. When his glowing horn made contact with the tree, the twisted trunks began to rotate slowly, until a stairway was revealed leading down into the ground. Okay, that was pretty amazing. He was about to head down the stairway when he heard a rustle. He turned to see if any unsavoury creatures had been following, and to his great shock and amazement, his green eyes fell upon a? A? Well, he was stumped. It looked like a wolf - dog-like, with silver fur and . But it was wearing a bandana. And it appeared too intelligent to belong to a creature who was completely wild. Still, the red-maned pegasus was wary. "Get her out of here," he hissed to the others. But he didn't want to let go of the cloud, either - it was likely to try to float away with Caymellow still resting on it, and then there'd be more trouble. "Who-who are you?" he demanded. Or, at least, he hoped he'd sounded demanding - he was sure his voice was trembling just like the rest of him was. Breezyblue was right, he thought coming into these woods was a very foolish idea indeed.

"Interesting? Oh, yes, interesting things happen here all the time. We've been nearly destroyed by stampeding cattle, and definitely destroyed by bouncing baby bunnies. Then there was the rampaging dragon, and the draquonequus who more or less destroyed the place. We have winter wrap-up every spring, and the running of the leaves every fall. If you stick around, something ridiculous is bound to happen. I just can't show you anything like that right now."She paused, looking around. Minyara and the white one were shouting introductions and discussing sweet apple acres, and the sopping-wet pegasus was trying to shake whatever water was left on his coat and dry in the sun. "Sweet Apple Acres apple pie is good. I just baked some Cherry Pie last night, you're welcome to try some of that as well, if you like," she said to Cloud. "I'm actually needing to be getting home anyways. I have guests coming over for dinner tonight." ​[colour=#b4b4b4] ((Not my best RP post ever, but I'm tired. )) [/colour]

Though Cloudsdale was home to Whirligig, she still enjoyed travelling. She'd visited various cities in Equestria, from Stalliongrad to Ponyville. She wasn't really a globe-trotter, but every once in a while, the travelling bug would bite her for a weekend or so and she would suddenly decide to leave her home and see the world. It was such a wide, wide world.One evening, she was at a restaurant with some of her friends as a result of Eastra being back from University in Canterlot for her mid-semester break. She and some friends had been talking about their travels, and Merry Ray mentioned Las Pegasus. "I've never been to Las Pegasus before," Whirligig had said. Her friends stared at her, dumbfounded. "You, the travelling pony who adores clouded cities, have never been to Las Pegasus?" Merry Day exclaimed. "No," Whirligig replied, taking another sip of her cocktail. "Why? Is it really actually amazing?" "Yes!" three ponies answered at the same time. "You have to go!" Whirligig shrugged. "Alright, I'll go have a look. I'm free next weekend; does anypony want to go with me?" "I'll be back in Canterlot then." "Dizzy and I are going to Ponyville." "Sorry, I have to work weekends." "Would love to, but I have to babysit my little sisters." "Great, you girls are awesome," Whirligig replied sarcastically. "Come on you guys, it won't be any fun on my own! I travel solo enough as it is." But Whirligig still wanted to go. She had heard about the city and seen black-and-white photographs. She resolved to ask her brother to go with her, and was on her way to the post office with a letter inviting him along when she collided with a familiar yellow-maned weather pony. She recognized this pony as Flashbomb, a newcomer to Cloudsdale she had befriended a few days prior. When asked what her hurry was, she explained, in her usual fashion, much more than the pony needed to know. The conversation had ended with her inviting him to accompany her to Las Pegasus. Unlike her friends from earlier, he accepted the invitation. Plans were made, a route was decided on (fly down to Ponyville, then grab an overnight train from there. It was a long trip, after all), saddlebags were packed, and within a few days, the two ponies were headed south, on their way to Las Pegasus. "This is so exciting, Flashbomb! I've heard so much about Las Pegasus and I can't believe I've never been." Whirligig could barely sit down or contain her excitement. The train ride had been rather long and boring, but finally the engine rounded a bend along the southern tip of the Everfree Forest, and the city that was part cloud, part mountain came into view. Within due time, the train pulled into the mountainside station and the two Cloudsdaleites disembarked from the carriage, Whirligig chattering away ceaselessly. "Wow, this place is amazing! Did you see that rainbowfall from the train? It was just like the ones we have in Cloudsdale! And that big casino with all the neon lights. That looks like a huge shopping centre over that way. And look, over there! Unicorns and earth ponies walking on clouds! Oh, this place really is magical! I'm so glad you agreed to come with me, Flashbomb, even though we've only just met. It wouldn't have been quite as much fun all by myself! Oh, I'm so excited I don't even know where to look first! What about you? Where do you want to go? You decide what we should do first!" ​

Excitement had been swelling inside of Whirligig for days now, as she'd been looking forward to a girls-only con. She had wanted to bring her mother, Windygust, along and make a sort of mother-daughter thing, but Windygust had gone down with the feather flu a few days prior and was still recovering. Whirligig was going to cancel her own registration along with her mother's, but Windygust had insisted that her daughter head down to the small town to enjoy herself, even if her mother couldn't make it. None of her other friends had been able to come either, so that left Whirligig alone. Oh well, she thought to herself it's not like I've ever had any trouble making friends. I think I'll be able to enjoy myself anyways.It was a bit of a disappointment and certainly not a good note to start off on, but as the town of Ponyville came into view she put concerns about her mother behind her when she saw all the mares slowly making their way to town hall. The weather ponies in this particular town had a shining reputation, and Whirligig admired their work; indeed, there wasn't a stray cloud in the sky. The warmth of Celestia's sun on her back lifted her spirits further, so that when she finally came to a halt in the town square, she was positively giddy. Her hooves barely touched the ground before she was in the air again, choosing to fly close to the ground rather than walk along it. In this manner she made her way towards the tall, round brown building that was Ponyville's Town Hall and the venue for the first annual Equestria Girls Convention. She entered the building - the big ballroom was beautifully decorated. There were snack tables piled high with goodies and fruit drinks, and a spa area set up to one side. A small queue was forming near the registration table, so Whirligig fluttered over to them. She smiled widely at the green pegasus who seemed to be in charge of registration and introduced herself. "Good morning, bluebird. Or greenbird, I should say. Wow, you've done a great job getting everything organized - this room looks amazing. I can only begin to imagine all the work you put in to get this party started. My name's Whirligig!" ​ It seemed a bit silly to her, really. Town Hall was only a short trot from her front step, and yet here she was packing an overnight bag for a convention that would take place in the small town's building. Oh, well, she had done crazier things in her life than attend an all-girls convention, and was sure that crazier things were to come.She threw a few things together: a currycomb, a toothbrush and toothpaste, what little make-up she owned, a bathrobe and nightcap, some bath soap and a towel. She struggled to think of anything else she might need for the weekend. What did mares do when they were all together? Gossip and read magazines about the latest fashion trends in Canterlot? Cherry Berry didn't care much for those sorts of activities. Actually, she didn't have a clue in the world as to what she could expect from the convention. She slipped her green saddlebags over her shoulder to rest on her back and let herself out of the small house two-story house she was renting on a Ponyville side street. She locked the door behind her and set off for town hall. She could see ponies coming from all directions into the town. A blue unicorn trotted into the building, followed by a pony she recognized from the spa, though she had a hard time remembering which of the twins was which. A red-maned pegasus made a rather rough landing in the square in front of the hall before flying though the door. When she looked back she saw a number of ponies approaching from the direction of the train station. She smiled. It was only a small smile, and rather uncharacteristic, but it was a smile. In spite of herself, she was actually looking forward to this weekend and getting the chance to meet other mares. She climbed the steps of town hall, noting the sign welcoming her and urging to register, and entered the decorated ballroom. There were only a handful of ponies there at the moment, but she knew it wouldn't be long before a queue would form as more guests arrived. She took her place behind the chattering pegasus and waited for her turn to come. ​[colour=#b4b4b4]((Edited with permission))[/colour]

To say Stormwing was relieved to see the two other ponies arrive to help would probably be an understatement. He briefly wondered if he should indeed trust them; even though he was starting to see more and more black ponies around, he was still wary of them. It was such a strange colour for a pony and seemed to him a bit shady. The other pony, a Unicorn, looked rather wild and unkempt. This initially deterred him, but he later decided that he was this way for a reason, maybe he lived in the Everfree Forest? If this was the case, then his help would be invaluable. He claimed to know of someplace safe. This was encouraging; the storm above was brewing quickly and getting to shelter would definitely be a good idea. Like, a really good idea. When Stormwing heard the howl of a wolf, he decided he'd take wild-looking unicorns and black pegasi any day. "I'm Stormwing, and this pony's name is Caymellow. You have no idea how glad I am to see you! I can move her no problem once she's settled," Stormwing answered the Unicorn's inquiry. He looked the black pegasus over a second time and this time took note of the cutie mark: a cloud over a moon. Seeing the cloud was enough reassurance for him. "You look like you know how to manoeuvre a cloud - care to give me a hoof? Gently, of course, we have a passenger." He turned to the Unicorn. "Lead on, friend," he said with a nod, taking the cloud firmly in his front hooves.

Whirligig nodded. A protector, a fortress of security; She certainly liked the idea. And a father in the royal guard, how exciting! She wished she knew what sort of pony her own father was."That does sound like a bit of a bummer, though I don't think it'd be much different here. I don't know if I'd like it much in Canterlot. I mean, it's a nice city to visit, but I wouldn't really want to live there. I wouldn't really want to live anywhere other than here, actually - I love Cloudsdale, it's been my home for my entire life, and I like it that way. It's sad, a lot of my friends are leaving. My brother moved to Trottingham, my friend Skybright to Fillydelphia. I have a cousin in Ponyville and another friend is at University in Canterlot. Everypony seems to be in a hurry to get out of this place..." she trailed off. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to bore you. I'm usually more optimistic than this and I really have no reason to complain. I have everything I need and I'm well on track to achieving my goals. Anyways, have you had a tour of the town? I could show you around if you like. I work at the factory, and there's plenty of shops, restaurants and bars in town. There may be a flight show on at the Cloudeseum tonight; not the Wonderbolts, probably a lesser-known group. You could inquire about jobs there. Cloudsdale is a multi-layered city, so it's kinda easy to get lost. My name is Whirligig, by the way. What's yours?" ​

Whirligig was somewhat taken aback when the stallion forgave her so quickly. "Well, you've chosen a lovely place for your vacation, I'm sure. Cloudsdale is a beautiful city - I've lived here my whole life. But as for bodyguards and security I-I can't really think of anypony. I'm mostly just working class, don't know any of the big ponies who would need anything like that. Sorry, Bluebird." She stopped, wishing she could help him more. Folding her wings, she settled herself on the cloud below and tried to think. "The factory does have some security, but I'm fairly sure they're all hired through an agency of some sort. You could check out the Cloudeseum - they bring Celebs in all the time from around Equestria and I'm sure security agents are needed there. See, our main industry is, of course, the weather, and there's not much of that that needs guarding. We do have some royal guard ponies around town, though it doesn't sound like that's really what you're looking for..." she trailed off, noticing his cutie mark for the first time. "Or maybe it is?" she gestured vaguely at his cutie mark, a questioning expression on her face. "What's that about, Bluebird? What's your special talent?" ​

Whirligig had never been a strong flyer, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy it. She was a Pegasus, flying was and always would be a part of her. The problem was, she sometimes didn't pay attention to the rest of the world when she flew. The wind rushing through her mane was exciting, so sometimes she just closed her eyes and flew...Ooof! She came into contact with something solid and instinctively flapped her wings to steady herself. It was a pony; a Stallion, and a very good-looking one at that. He was tall and sturdy, with a deep blue pelt and a ragged-looking grey mane. And he had piercing blue eyes that Whirligig met awkwardly. She instantly felt frazzled and embarrassed. "Oh, I'm so, so very sorry I didn't see you there. I was on my way home from work and just so happy to be out of the dingy factory and I wasn't watching where I was going. I-I suppose I'll get out of your way now." She fluttered awkwardly to the side to let the stallion pass. ​

Stormwing frowned at the pained expression on the pony's face as he tried to think of something that would be less painful than walking. If only he had something like a stretcher that he could try to carry her on. He looked around to see if there was anything; maybe some sturdy branches and leaves? A vine that he could cut and fashion into shape? He couldn't see much except trees and undergrowth and the sky above, which was rapidly filling up with clouds. This scared him; he was a weather pony, yes, but weather ponies were powerless in Everfree. They may be able to kick around a cloud or two, but they couldn't create or prevent storms here. He loved storms, yes, but would this mare feel the same euphoria he felt when the sky opened up and rained down its stores of water and electricity? Storms were his thing, but not today. The clouds made him slightly anxious on this particular occasion deep in the Everfr- Oh. Right. Clouds. "Don't move, Caymellow, I promise I'll be back soon." He tore into the sky and spotted a cloud free of electricity. It was quite large, but that could be fixed. He kicked it effortlessly, imagining it breaking into two even halves where his hooves made contact. Then he did the same to one of the halves. The result was a small piece of cloud that was just the perfect size for a pony to rest on, yet still easily maneuverable for a pegasus of his physical stature. He quickly rushed back to where Caymellow was waiting. As he was rushing past, he thought he caught sight of something darker than the menacing clouds hovering above the trees, but he tried not to think about what it could be. In this forest, it could be anything. "We need to get you out of here. Can you try to climb onto this cloud? I'll be able to push you around on this." Stormwing said, reaching out his strong hooves to offer support to the long-maned pegasus. ((OOC: Makuzui, feel free to jump in whenever you see an opportunity. ))

Cherry Berry frowned again when the pegasus sneezed. "You may want to get that looked into," she said, adding on to the words of the white pegasus. She was trying to be a bit more gentle in her tone. She wasn't a grump on purpose, she just didn't like it when ponies were annoying idiots. Also, maybe she was still a bit upset about being stood up after all. She really just wanted to enjoy her evening with her friends and not think about everything else that was going. And as much as she loved Ponyville, she was feeling a little bit homesick for Dodge Junction. She turned her attention back to Cloud. "We're a pretty small town, so there's not a whole lot to see. Just some shops and markets, one or two restaurants and cafes. If you like cupcakes, Sugarcube corner is a good place to visit. There's also the theatre, but there's nothing playing there until this evening." she shrugged. "Ponyville's pretty small; you want sights? Try Las Pegasus or Canterlot, or Manehatten." Right. Manehatten. That was home too - no matter how much she tried not to, she still spoke with a pronounced manehattenite accent. And she still thought of the bustling city, the shining lights of the theatre district and, of course, her parents. She shook her head to clear it of these thoughts. She liked Ponyville. Ponyville was home now, she had friends and a life here, after all. She smiled faintly at the pegasus.

"Ponyville?" Whirligig asked. "I love that town! Such a cute little village, almost one of my favourite ground-towns to visit. My favourite is Trottingham; my brother lives there. Are you talking about Sugarcube corner? That's a nice sweet shop, they make good cupcakes there. I like the raspberry ones best. Raspberries are my favourite berries. I'm sorry, am I blabbering again? I never mean to blabber on like this, it's just that I get to talking and I can't stop."She stopped, looking around at her new friends with expectant eyes. ​

A tour of Ponyville? As much as she liked the town, she wasn't sure she would make much of a tour guide. I mean, what was there of any significance in Ponyville? It was mostly just shops and houses and parks. But the over-excited pegasus pony seemed to think that giving the show off (and bragger too, it seemed. He wasn't the first pegasus she'd heard claiming to be the fastest flyer in all of Equestria) a tour of the town was a wonderful idea. Chibsy shrugged, beginning to wonder why she'd bothered. Suddenly their conversation (if you could call it that) was interrupted by a loud splash. She turned to see Daisy, one of the three florist sisters, glaring at yet another pegasus (why were there so many of these winged ponies running around all of a sudden?) who had evidently just decided that the florist's front garden was an excellent location for a crash-landing. Daisy was dripping wet from the splash, as was the blue pegasus who was sheepishly trying to flee the scene of the crime. Unfortunately for him, Minyara decided at that particular moment to interrogate him on what had just taken place. "Surely those wings of yours aren't that difficult to operate, are they?" The question was half-directed at the dripping-wet pony, and half directed at the other pegasi who had surrounded her.

I just want to say that this guy sounds like a really fun pony to be around and I love this character. You did a really awesome job with this in my ever-so-humble opinion.

Thanks, QuickLime - I just discovered your guide a while ago and I've found it immensely useful, and this post is no exception. I typically just lurk in the Applications forum, but if and when I feel the need to post anything, I will definitely keep these guidelines in mind.

The best 45 minutes of my life was a whole year ago?

Here's a bit on how I think the weather works in Equestria; feel free to comment if you feel like something doesn't quite fit with canon or if your ideas differ greatly from my own. I figure that managing the weather for a gigantic nation like Equestria is no easy task. It's probably a huge operation composed of many teams and departments, and it's mostly government funded. The centre of these operations is Cloudsdale, though Canterlot has some say in the operations as well. First of all, the Pegasi don't have to control the weather. In Aquellia, for example, the weather is left to its own devices as it is in the Everfree Forest. The clouds do form naturally and move at will. But the Pegasi can control the weather due to ancient magic and have been doing so since the days of the three tribes. It started out that they just pushed the naturally-formed clouds around, but they later developed methods to create the clouds themselves. Sometimes being a weather pony involves collecting and arranging clouds to form showers, but a lot of the time, it also involves clearing the clouds. Sometimes these clouds were made in Cloudsdale and have just escaped the storerooms, but a lot of the time these are stray natural clouds that have formed and cause problems. Pegasi have access to magic of their own: the magic that allows them to fly, for example, also affects the weather. They can use this magic to slow or speed up winds, raise and lower the temperature of the air, and cause or prevent thunderstorms, hurricanes and tornados. Because the forces of the weather can be dangerous, there are various levels of teams involved in the management of the weather. At the top, you have the meteorological engineers. These are Pegasi who are highly skilled in weather magic as a result of having a university degree in the study of the creation and formation of meteorological phenomena; both how it works naturally as well as what Pegasi can do to modify these natural behaviours. My OC, Whirligig, dreams of one day becoming a meteorological engineer. And then you have the various teams beneath them; field weather ponies. A university degree is not required to be a field weather pony, but an apprenticeship is. If the meteorological engineers are the architects and designers of the weather, these guys are the carpenters, electricians and other manual tradesponies who make the weather happen. They are often broken into teams and sent to towns all across Equestria. Each team has a supervisor who makes sure everything runs smoothly, as well as five or six ponies who form the team itself, though the size of the team varies based on demand. Ponyville's weather team is supervised by Rainbow Dash, but there are other Pegasi underneath her who also help out, as seen in look before you sleep and Hurricane Fluttershy. My OC Stormwing is a field weather pony for the town of Trottingham. Then you have the weather factory and its workers (as well as various levels of management within the factory. Obviously there are going to be some Metorological Engineers overseeing operations here as well, and then department managers and quality control). A lot of Equestria's weather starts life in the factory. Here clouds of all types are made in addition to Rainbows, Snowflakes and electrical systems. There is also a great deal of testing and research done in the factory in close association with the University of Cloudsdale. This research includes the formation and operation of tornados, as well as the containment of storm systems. In between the factory and the field teams, there are also delivery ponies who work with the factory. These are teams of Pegasi who 'carry' the weather systems created in Cloudsdale to all the towns in Equestria. Clouds are usually corralled and transported that way, with special measures taken when it comes to electrically active clouds. Rainbows are tinned and carried in this manner. When a rainbow is to be used, a field weather pony has only to open the can and pour the liquid rainbow across the sky. The story of Snowdrop fits in nicely - snow began life in the same way rain did. It wasn't until Snowdrop came along that hoof-made snowflakes were introduced to Equestria. Clouds are made in the usual manner, then infused with hoof-made snowflakes before being sent out to the rest of Equestria. I'm still trying to work on my wind theories. I've read a few fanfics where there was a tornado creation section in the weather factory, but Hurricane Fluttershy suggests that Tornados can easily be made in the field with a lot of wing power. I'm thinking maybe tornados are made in the factory and then, like rainbows, somehow transported to the rest of Equestria when needed. I don't think they'd be needed often though, except maybe to assist with moving water when ponies aren't keen on breaking records by doing it the old-fashioned way. Obviously the use of more dangerous elements would be heavily monitored. Cloudsdale itself doesn't have weather systems the same way the rest of Equestria does. They don't have gardens so they don't need precipitation the same way, so they like keeping their clouds in tact (I figure a lot of rain in Cloudsdale would damage the clouds the city is made out of. Cloudsdale does have its own team of weather ponies, but their sole responsibility is keeping the stray clouds out of the city.) Anyways, I just felt like sharing this. I'm not trying to create lore for the WoE, and I don't expect everypony to agree with me on this, but this system will probably be referenced by OCs in some of my RP posts. - Jane