[i]“This ain’t no picnic,”[/i] Commander Wind Shear had said to the summer camp junior cadets this morning. [i]“This is the Weather Patrol!”[/i]

Six hours, two blue eyes, and one accidental rainstorm into her first patrol, Raindrops was trying not to hyperventilate as she stood at attention.

“This,” Commander Wind Shear bellowed as he swept a forehoof toward the sopping wet family standing in the middle of the sunny park, [i]“was[/i] a picnic!”

The ground squished around her hooves as she squirmed. [i]Ponyville was supposed to be the easy patrol, for first-time junior cadets.[/i]

Wind Shear flew slowly back and forth in front of her, never breaking what must have been a withering stare from behind his mirrored aviators. “And what is your name, Cadet?”

She squeaked, then cleared her throat. “Raindrops, sir.”

“Raindrops, huh?” He landed and stepped closer. “Can you tell me, [i]Raindrops,[/i] what was today’s forecast?”

She took a deep breath. “Perfect Picnic Weather! Warm sun, lazy drifting clouds, and just enough breeze to tease your mane.”

“That [i]is[/i] the copy we sent the newspapers!” He leaned back and raised one eyebrow. “And do you know what you did wrong?”

“I kicked when I should have bucked!” She remained at attention, studying his stonelike expression for a full ten seconds. “I, uh, bucked when I should have kicked?” She gulped. [i]I got distracted by a cute stallion…[/i]

Wind Shear bent down and stuck his muzzle in Raindrops’ face. “Look at that family.”

Raindrops closed her eyes and exhaled, then leaned to the side and peered around her commanding officer-slash-camp counselor. Two foals were splashing around in the grass, cackling in delight. A stallion and a mare began chasing them around a soaked picnic blanket, but soon it was unclear who was chasing whom. Meanwhile, a stallion about her age was flipping his wet bangs from one side of his face to the other, grinning at Raindrops in between each flip.

She didn’t realize she was smiling back until Commander Wind Shear took a deep breath and hollered, “Does this [i]AMUSE[/i] you?”

Her ears immediately folded back. “N-no! No, I—”

“Do those soggy sandwiches look [i]delicious[/i] to you?”

She glanced back to the picnic. The saturated white bread looked like it had melted in the sun. The same sun that was sparkling off the young stallion’s coat as he winked at her with a sly grin on his muzzle.

Raindrops bit her lip and tried not to smile. She jumped as Wind Shear got in her face again and shouted, “Do you [i]ENJOY[/i] waterlogged potato salad? Do you understand how serious this is?”

“No, sir! I-I mean, yes, sir! I—”

The young stallion moonwalked behind the Weather Patrol Commander, splashing water behind each of his hooves as he slid backwards across the grass.

Raindrops stifled a giggle.

“Is this [i]FUNNY[/i] to you, Cadet?” He was so close, Raindrops could see her blushing reflection in his sunglasses.

“No, sir! The stallion behind you is trying to make me laugh.”

Commander Wind Shear worked his jaw, then turned around. The young stallion quickly looked away, whistling and swinging a hoof idly. Wind Shear turned back around and scowled. “Oh, yes. That guy is [i]hi[/i]-larious.”

Raindrops huffed and stomped her forehoof with a splash. The stallion turned back around and winked at her again.

“This is serious, young lady! You have…”

She found it hard to pay attention to the commander, as her eyes followed the young stallion. He trotted away from his family’s picnic, then planted his hooves and started galloping toward the pair of weather ponies. He leapt forward, keeping his forward momentum through his landing, skating across the slick grass with his legs all stiff as boards. He slid just behind Commander Wind Shear, blowing a kiss to Raindrops as he passed.

Raindrops turned back to Wind Shear with wide eyes just in time to hear, “…and what are you going to do to make it right?”

She stood tall and saluted. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ve let you down. I’m going to buy him lunch. Them lunch. I’m going to buy [i]them[/i] lunch and apologize.”

The commander nodded. “You see that you do. Oh, and Cadet?”

“Yes, sir?” From the corner of her eyes, she could see the young stallion pumping his forehooves in the air.

He lifted his sunglasses with one wing and gave her a tiny smile. “Try not to rain on any more picnics.”