It was a bright and sunny day in Ponyville, and just the thought of it was enough to make Rainbow Dash cringe. From her aerial position, she could see ponies strolling through the streets, talking, shopping, or otherwise just going about their day-to-day business. However, a good number of them carried umbrellas and kept glancing at the sky. After all, today’s storm was supposed to have started nearly half an hour ago.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and tried to will away her growing headache. Already, she could imagine the mountain of paperwork being delivered to her home once the Cloudsdale Weather Bureau got wind of this slip-up. She knew she had to try to remain calm, though, since shouting would only increase the pain in her head. If she was going to sort out this mess, then she needed the answer to one very important question.
“How?” Rainbow Dash asked as she slowly flapped her wings to stay afloat. She stared down at three ponies, who were sitting at the cafe table outside of Sugarcube Corner. Derpy, Pinkie Pie, and Sweetie Belle looked up from their milkshakes but continued to suck at their straws. A fourth milkshake sat by its lonesome, waiting for its owner, but Rainbow Dash refused to drink it out of principle.
Irritatingly enough, the rest of the weather team had decided to join in on the fun and occupied the remaining tables along with their own refreshments. As much as Rainbow Dash would like to blame them for not sharing in her mood, she knew it was the captain’s responsibility to take care of any problems, foreseen or otherwise.
A loud slurping sound came from Pinkie’s glass as she finished the last of her milkshake. “How what?” she replied innocently.
“Don’t give me that, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said with a groan. “You know what I’m talking about. You’ve already told me that the three of you were involved. The weather team busted their rumps getting today’s storm ready on time. How is it that the entire skies’ worth of storm clouds went missing during the ten-minute break we spent inside Sugarcube Corner? Especially since you were with me for half of that time, Pinkie! I just don’t see... I mean—gah! Only one of you is even a pegasus!”
Derpy, Pinkie Pie, and Sweetie Belle looked between each other and then back to Rainbow Dash.
“Come on, Dashie,” Pinkie said with a nonchalant wave, “it was just a teeny, little mistake. No need to get so worked up over it.”
“Yes there is! I’m the captain of the Ponyville weather team. Which means that when I have to write the report about how today’s thunderstorm went, I’ll have to say that there wasn’t one. And do you know what the weather managers up in Cloudsdale are going to say about that?”
Pinkie tapped her pursed lips and hmmed loudly before saying, “That there’s been too much rain lately, and we should use this opportunity to have a picnic party instead?”
Derpy’s face lit up. “That I’m the best temporary weather pony and should be allowed to move up to tornado duty?”
Sweetie Belle sighed into her milkshake. “That I couldn’t get a sunshine cutie mark today either?”
Rainbow Dash placed a hoof against her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. “No. They are going to ask me why there was no thunderstorm. Then, I’ll have to tell them that a pegasus mailmare, an earth pony baker-slash-party-thrower, and a unicorn filly somehow cleared the sky out from under the noses of the entire weather team. And what do you think they are going to say about that?”
The three guilty ponies sat in silence with their faces scrunched up in thought. Rainbow Dash waited, but when no answer came—except for several loud hmms from Pinkie—she sighed and let herself drop to the ground.
“Okay, look,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling out her chair to join the others at the table. “Mistakes were made, and I can forgive that. I may be a little upset, but I’m not angry. Just confused. Really, really, confused. Can somepony please explain to me just what the hay happened so that we can try to undo it?”
Derpy’s hoof shot into the air and frantically waved around. “Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!” Her hoof continued to rise ever higher thanks to her flapping wings.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Fine. Derpy, we’ll start we you. Since you’re the only one that was even able to fly.”
“Yes!” Derpy shouted as she dropped back into her seat with a thud. She placed a hoof under her chin and looked off into the distance. “Let’s see… where should I begin?”
Rainbow Dash pulled her milkshake closer and took a sip. Somehow, she didn’t think this explanation would be acceptable to her superiors. Since she was doomed anyway, she was at least going to enjoy the creamy taste of strawberries and bananas.
Derpy's Explanation
I think I should begin about an hour or two ago, after I woke up this morning.
I had just finished baking some breakfast muffins when I realized we were out of orange juice. Now, we still had some grapefruit juice—which I think tastes nasty, but Dinky likes it, and it’s supposed to be good for you, so I keep buying it for her, even if it does taste like socks. Anyway, it looked like my choice was between water or sock juice, so I grabbed a glass and went to the sink.
However, before I got my water, there was a ring at the doorbell, and it turned out to be some of Dinky’s friends. They wanted her to come over and play at their house today. I said it was okay just so long as they stayed inside since there was a storm scheduled for later.
After hugging Dinky and waving goodbye, I decided that there was enough time to trot to the market and back before my muffin got cold. That way, I could get my orange juice, since it didn’t taste like socks.
On my way to the market, I looked up at all the pegasi pushing around the clouds. Storm clouds are a lot of fun! Sometimes, I kind of wish I had signed up as a full-time member of the weather team instead of only temporary help. But it’s okay, since I really like my job at the post office. I mean, who wouldn’t want a job where their special talent was so useful every day?
Anyway, I noticed you flying around and shouting out orders. You sounded a little stressed, so I decided to call out to you and see if you needed any help.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash!” I called.
You looked down at me and said, “Forsooth, Lady Derpy, purveyor of packages and mistress of mail. Verily, what is thine enquiry?”
And I sa—
Rainbow Dash had to cough out her milkshake to keep herself from choking. “Whoa, Derpy. Stop.”
“Aww, why did you interrupt?” Pinkie asked. “The story was just starting to get good.”
Rainbow Dash coughed a few more times while shooting a glare at Pinkie. Finally, she shook her head and turned back to meet Derpy’s eyes. “I do not talk like that.”
Derpy blushed and looked away. “I know, but... well... whenever somepony is upset, I like to pretend they talk silly. It makes them seem less threatening.”
“You’re pretending I’m talking weird right now, aren’t you?”
“Aye aye, Captain!” Derpy said with a salute.
Rainbow Dash slumped in her seat. “Urgh, fine. Just keep telling the story.”
“Anyway, so like I was saying...”
I said to you, “You need any help?”
And you said, “Nay, Lady Derpy. Though our task be ardru... ar-ardo... uh, difficult, ye olde weather patrol be... uh...”
Um, okay. Basically, you said ‘no,’ and I said, ‘please,’ and that went back and forth until you finally sighed and said it would be okay if I looked over the clouds to make sure there were no thin spots or holes.
So, with my breakfast task completely forgotten since I got to play with the storm clouds—uh, I mean, work with them—I took to the air and started helping.
I went to a big patch of storm with nopony else in it. I didn’t want to get in the way, but I also wanted plenty of room for myself.
It was fun swooping back and forth, smoothing out the thicker clouds and feeling my feathers tingle with static electricity. Or at least it was until I stopped spacing out and realized I had gotten a spot too thin. I tried to move some clouds around to make it more lumpy again, but that only caused a hole to form!
I knew I was in trouble since you said to make sure there weren’t any holes, so I tried to close it, but, well, er... I made another. Two actually.
Eventually, there were a lot of holes, and I was starting to panic. Then I got the great idea to fix all the little holes by combining them together into one big hole!
That plan had a flaw in it.
So, there I was, standing on the edge of the giant hole and trying to figure out what to do next, when I noticed Pinkie on the ground below me. She was sitting on this weird looking thing—kind of like a bike but with a spinning doodad on top. She looked a little nervous, so I asked her if she needed any help.
That’s when... er...
Rainbow Dash watched as Derpy scratched her head, fidgeted in her seat, and looked up. When it became apparent that the story had stalled, she asked, “That’s when what?”
“It’s... kind of hard to explain,” Derpy said with a sheepish grin on her face. “I’m really not too sure what happened next myself, and I was there. I remember it was kind of crazy and a little weird. Then it got really scary but also a bit exciting. All together, it was fun, though.” She scratched her head again. “I guess maybe...”
“It was super-cra-weird-zy-scare-a-citing-fun-o-rific?” Pinkie suggested.
“Yeah! That’s it!” Derpy exclaimed and beamed widely.
Sighing into her hooves, Rainbow Dash counted to ten before looking up and asking, “Can anypony explain what happened without using made up words?”
Derpy frowned and quickly looked at Sweetie Belle, who shrugged, and then towards Pinkie.
“I think,” Pinkie said as she sat up straight, “that maybe it’s time I took over the story. If it's okay with Derpy, that is.”
Derpy’s grin returned as she nodded quickly. She then relaxed into her seat, pulled her milkshake close, and stared at Pinkie with intent eyes.
On a hunch, Rainbow Dash glanced to her sides and noticed that the rest of the weather team was looking their way. A few quickly turned back to staring nonchalantly into the distance, but they still had at least one ear cocked in Pinkie’s direction.
Knowing that Pinkie was likely waiting for a cue, Rainbow Dash waved a hoof towards her and said, “Alright, go ahead. My report couldn’t possibly make any less sense at this point.”
Pinkie made a show of clearing her throat and then announced, "Listen closely, my pony friends, for I am about to tell 'The Tale of the Missing Storm.' It is a serious story filled with excitement... danger... and baked goods."
"You're going to tell a serious story?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Tut, tut," Pinkie scolded. "As my Grammy Pie used to say: 'Story telling is serious business. Just like coconuts and wrapping paper.'"
Rainbow Dash blinked as she tried to make sense of the phrase. "...Right," she finally said. "Okay, then."
Pinkie smiled and said, "Our tale begins like this..."
Pinkie Pie’s Tale of Excitement, Danger, and Baked Goods
It had been a glorious morning in Ponyville for about the first hour, but with the sun steadily rising, it was time to get to work, and no other ponies were working harder than the weather team.
Clouds streaked across the sky, propelled forward by mighty pegasus wings. They came together, first a few, and then many. The clouds piled up and up as they slowly but surely covered the entire town in a gloomy half-light. The storm rumbled and groaned, ready to burst, but the pegasi kept it contained. They knew what they were doing, for they were under the leadership of the one, the only, the incredible Rainbow Dash!
In practically no time at all, the storm was finished. All that remained to be done was to give it a solid buck to get it going. However, the weather team had finished early. Ten minutes early, to be exact. While they could have started the storm then and there, Rainbow Dash had a better idea: a celebratory break at Sugarcube Corner to reward her team on their outstanding performance. There, they could feast upon the cornucopia of freshly baked donuts and cupcakes, drink long of the sweet, flowing nectar that is homemade ice cream milkshakes, and finally, when it came time to head home, the wet and sogginess of the storm wouldn’t matter, for they would leave with a belly full of delicious deliciousness that had been made with not just one extra scoop of love, but five.
The front door’s bell jingled, alerting Pinkie to the presence of her latest customers. It had been a slow morning—most days with a storm were—but that did little to curb her ever-present enthusiasm. With a friendly smile on her face and a skip in her step, Pinkie turned around from setting out the latest batch of cookies and was pleasantly surprised to see her good friend Rainbow Dash entering, followed by at least a dozen other pegasi.
Pinkie stepped up to the counter and welcomed everypony by saying—
“Hold it!” Rainbow Dash said, putting a hoof up. She ignored the hushed complaints coming from the other tables. “Why are you telling the story like that?”
Pinkie tilted her head to one side. “Like what?”
“Like... like that! Why are you telling it like you’re a character in it?”
“Oh, silly Dashie,” Pinkie said with a giggle. “I am a character in it.”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond, but then slowly closed it again. She held a hoof to the ever increasing pressure in her forehead. “My brain can’t even come up with a way to argue with that. You can continue.”
Pinkie welcomed everypony by saying, “Welcome, everypony! I hope you’re hungry because almost everything is fresh from the oven!”
This news was met with immediate excitement as all the hard-working pegasi rushed forward to place their orders. It was a brief moment of chaos, but soon, everyone was satisfied. Everyone except for one, that is.
Rainbow Dash still stood at the display counter, looking over each and every delectable delight. A slight worry came over Pinkie. While her friend may have sometimes taken a while to decide which baked good she wanted mostest of all, it had never gone on this long before.
Pinkie could feel a bead of sweat slowly sliding down her brow. Had she somehow lost her baking touch? Was she no longer able to make pleasantly presentable pastries to please her pony pals? Was Rainbow Dash just not hungry? These questions and more flooded Pinkie’s head as she watched for second after agonizing second of her friend just staring through the display glass.
Then, it happened: the moment Pinkie knew would one day come, yet always prayed it wouldn’t be until far, far in the future.
Rainbow Dash raised her head, looked Pinkie in the eyes, and asked, “Hey, Pinkie, does Sugarcube Corner ever make cloud cakes? I know I’ve never seen them here. It’s just that, after my last visit to Cloudsdale, I’ve really had a craving for one.”
Time seemed to freeze as the question wiggled its way through Pinkie’s head. The answer was simple, yet horrifying: no. No, Sugarcube Corner has never made a cloud cake. Pinkie has never made a cloud cake either. Those cakes were the one, single, semi-solid baked good out there that, no matter how hard she had tried, she had never be able to create. And now, somepony wanted to purchase one.
Didn’t Rainbow Dash know what she was asking? Didn’t she realize how many sleepless nights had gone by with Pinkie staring at her ceiling, trying desperately to come up with a way to make the impossible possible? Didn’t she know the reason why Pinkie couldn’t make cloud cakes? Didn’t she? Didn’t she?
Pinkie was leaning across the table, her face mere inches from Rainbow Dash’s.
Hesitantly, Rainbow Dash looked to the side, then back at Pinkie. “Er, i-is this part of the story, or are you actually asking me?”
Pinkie threw her forelegs up in the air. "It was because Pinkie Pie was an earth pony and therefore unable to work with clouds in her bare hooves without the aid of a magic spell!" She settled back in her seat. "And before you try to interrupt the story again, cloud cakes can’t be made with magic either. Seriously, I learned the hard way that magic makes those cakes taste nasty. Blech.
"Anyway..."
Despite knowing the futility of the situation, Pinkie refused to give up. If her friend wanted a cloud cake, then by golly, her friend was going to get a cloud cake!
“Of course,” Pinkie said with a smile, even though her heart was sinking. “You just wait five minutes, and I’ll whip one up lickety-split.”
Pinkie quickly turned around and exited into the kitchen, all the while hoping Rainbow Dash hadn’t noticed the look of dread in her eyes.
Pinkie knew the dangers of biting off more than she could chew—she had even read Twilight’s friendship report on the subject—but she was a mare determined. Somehow, in some way, today would be different. Today, she was going to make that elusive cloud cake. Especially since, on this day, Pinkie had a special assistant with her: an excitable, little filly named Sweetie Belle!
Upon hearing her name, Sweetie Belle quickly sat up, then squeaked when she noticed that Pinkie had her forelegs out, presenting her, and that everypony was looking her way. She blushed and slowly waved a hoof at her audience.
“Wait. Sweetie Belle was helping you today?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously, eyeing her milkshake, which was now half empty. “Are you sure that was a good idea? Rarity always says that her cooking is—”
Realizing that the pony she was talking about was right there, Rainbow Dash whipped her head in Sweetie Belle’s direction. The little filly looked up at her with hopeful eyes that could easily start filling with tears, depending on what word came next.
“...delicious,” Rainbow Dash finished with a forced grin.
Sweetie Belle’s eyes shined brighter as she made a squeeing noise. She quickly turned to look at her flank. Instantly, her smile vanished and she hung her head.
Pinkie reached around Sweetie Belle to put a hoof on her shoulder, then lifted her chin. “Turn that frown upside down! Don’t be upset you didn’t get your cutie mark. You were still a big help today. The only problem was everything you made was so good that we both ended up eating it before we could sell it. Keep trying. You’ll get it one day.”
“Thanks, Pinkie,” Sweetie Belle said as she was pulled into a hug.
A snuffling sound came from Derpy, who was dabbing her eyes with a big hankie. She smiled at Rainbow Dash and said, “It’s such a touching moment. It reminds me of when Dinky asked me when she was going to get her cutie mark.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow Dash could make out general sappy looks on the rest of her team. “Yes. The feelings are overwhelming,” she deadpanned. “Now, can we get back to the story? What happened next?”
“Oh, right! Where was I...”
Since the Cakes and their foals wouldn’t be back from visiting family until that evening, Pinkie had really lucked out to have Sweetie Belle with her that day. After all, they were on the clock, and it would take at least two ponies to prepare the cloud cake in time.
With her special assistant ready to help with anything, Pinkie sprang into action like a rubber ball thrown really hard at a trampoline that was also already bouncing on an even larger trampoline. Ingredients were called out. Instructions were given. Batter was tasted. Soon, all the preparations were complete, and only one ingredient remained: a cloud.
It’s a well-known fact that cloud cakes get their incredible fluffiness from having a cloud mixed in with the batter, but what many ponies didn’t know was that the type of cloud played an equally important part in its creation. For example, trying to use those thin clouds from way up high would only produce a crumbly mess, while something from way down low, like fog, would make the cakes too chewy. That was why ordinary cumulus clouds were the Cloudsdale standard; they were at the height that was just right to make each bite a true delight!
However, something even fewer ponies knew was that the best tasting cumulus—and the most dangerous to bake with—were the ones that contained a storm. Just a nibble of the statically charged cake would produce a flavor explosion that could knock a pony straight onto their haunches and leave them begging for more.
And as luck would have it, there was a whole sky of those clouds right outside! All Pinkie had to do was find a way to get one of them into the kitchen.
After a quick trip to her room to get her whirly-copter-ma-jiggy, Pinkie bid Sweetie Belle farewell and reminded her to keep the oven preheated. Once outside, Pinkie opened a compartment on the side of her copter and pulled out a special device she had created for just this occasion.
It looked like a pile of metal bands stuck together into a tube shape because, well, it was a pile of metal bands stuck together into a tube shape. The special thing about these bands was that they were all attuned to a very specific magnetic field. The end result being that, instead of metal, these magnets could attract clouds.
Twilight had tried to explain to Pinkie how such a device was scientifically impossible, and while Pinkie respected Twilight’s seemingly endless knowledge, she knew that there were some things that even the world’s smartest pony didn’t know. The cloud-attracting properties of magnets were, apparently, one of them.
There was just one teensy, little problem with the cloud-attracting device. Well, three of them, actually: the magnets would only keep their charge for a little while after being activated, she had to be very close to a cloud for it to do anything, and even when it wasn’t activated, the device would still attracted lightning as if it were a lightning rod that was made out of a whole bunch of smaller lightning rods.
Pinkie climbed onto her copter and put on her safety goggles. She knew what she was doing was crazy. She knew that she should go back to Rainbow Dash, tell her that they were all out of cloud cakes, and offer something else. But a part of her also knew that she had to do this. That this would be the first step that set her on the path to fulfilling her destiny of becoming the greatest baker Equestria has ever known.
Still, she hesitated. She needed a sign, something to tell her she was doing the right thing by taking this risk.
That’s when the clouds opened and a beam of sunlight shone down upon Pinkie Pie.
Caught in that soft, warm glow, Pinkie couldn’t help but think that maybe somepony had been listening to her prayers. Looking up, her gaze fell upon a smiling face surrounded by a mane that glowed gold like the sun behind it. A hush fell over the world as the being spoke to Pinkie: “Hey! You look a little nervous. Need any help?”
Derpy fluttered down through the clouds to land next to the copter. Pinkie knew this was her chance and quickly explained her situation. Derpy listened intently and even agreed to the plan where she would try and safely lead Pinkie around the inevitable lightning strikes.
Afterwards, Derpy said, “You know, if all you need is a cloud, I could get one for you.”
“Thanks, Derpy, but no,” Pinkie answered. “No ordinary storm cloud will do. I’m only going to get one shot at this, so I’m going after the most powerful cloud of them all... the Heart of the Storm!”
The Heart of the Storm was said to be a myth, a legend passed down from one pegasus to the next. Nopony has ever actually seen it, or at least lived to tell the tale. Every storm cloud was supposed to have one, and it was also supposed to be a literal heart, beating and pulsing with the energy that fueled the storm around it. If a normal storm cloud made a delicious cloud cake, then the Heart of the Storm would make a cake at least ten times as delicious.
Derpy didn’t believe in the existence of the Heart, and Pinkie couldn’t blame her. Most of Grammy Pie’s stories seemed pretty far out there, but they always had a seed of truth to them. If the Heart did exist, then Pinkie would find it. Failing that, there were plenty of other scrumptious storm clouds to choose from.
Pinkie inserted her hoof into her magnetic band and, with a click, locked it into place. She started pumping the pedals on her copter, causing the blades to rotate faster and faster. Soon, she was airborne.
Derpy flew ahead and scanned the cloud line for a safe way in. She pointed to a spot and Pinkie nodded. Together, they flew forward and were engulfed by the storm.
“Alright, Pinkie, hold on,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m sorry to interrupt again, but I can’t stay silent on this point. You were only gone for five minutes. Five. Minutes. I know because I was watching the clock so we that didn’t miss the storm’s starting time. So, I have to ask: how could you have possibly had the time to do all this?”
Pinkie smirked and giggled into a hoof. “Oh, don’t be such worry-wart. These were an extremely long five minutes. You’ll see. The story will fit into them perfectly.”
“But—I... that doesn’t make any sense!”
Derpy snorted and quickly buried her mouth in her forelegs to muffle her laughter.
“Stop pretending that I talk weird!”
The grumbles from the crowd were growing in volume, so Rainbow Dash sank into her seat and motioned for Pinkie to continue her wild tale.
The world had become a confusing sea of gray. The winds threatened to send Pinkie careening off course, while the lightning nipped uncomfortably close to her tail. It was only thanks to Derpy’s warnings of where the lightning was preparing to strike that Pinkie hadn’t been blown out of the sky long ago.
They seemed to travel for hours, but it was actually only for one extremely long minute. Then, the storm opened up into a great cavern filled with cloudy stalactites. Or were they stalagmites? Maybe both? Whatever they were, there were pointy clouds everywhere.
The air there was thick with the smell of ozone, and the wind howled like a pack of timberwolves on the hunt. Pinkie could feel her hair standing on end, and it wasn’t only because of the static. The clouds had darkened until they were almost as black as night, and the only way either of them could even see at all was due to the cavern walls crackling with veins of electric power.
While the sight of this cavern alone was enough to take away anypony’s breath and make them question if they really knew anything at all about meteorology, the most stunning thing was the cloud in the center. It may have only been big as a pony’s head, but it pulsed a steady rhythm that sent sparks traveling along the thin, wispy strands that connected it to the cavern walls.
It was then and there that Pinkie knew she had finally found the Heart of the Storm.
Also, she knew this because the cloud was shaped like a heart. And we’re not talking about one of those Hearts and Hooves Day fake hearts. This one was the real deal.
Pinkie stared in awe, a smile pulling her lips ever wider. However, the smile vanished in an instant as she realized that the storm had her exactly where it wanted her.
Derpy tried to shout out a warning, but no warning could have come fast enough to prepare Pinkie for what was to come.
Lightning shot out from every stalag-thingy, and it all struck at the exact same spot!
What happened next was all a blur for Pinkie. She remembered the strange feeling of weightlessness moments before the pull of gravity returned. She remembered the molten pieces of metal, the remains of her copter, falling beside her. And she remembered the Heart, seething with anger for having its domain violated. As Pinkie closed her eyes, all she could think was the silly thought of how the Cakes were going to be upset with her when she didn’t show up for work tomorrow morning.
Then the falling stopped and Pinkie found herself jerked awake. Derpy was there, her forelegs wrapped around Pinkie’s midsection while she flapped her wings furiously to stay aloft. An ordinary pegasus would have chosen that moment to head to the safety of the ground before her wings tired from the increased load. However, Derpy was no ordinary pegasus. Years of lugging around a heavy mailbag had strengthened her wingpower to the point that carrying another pony was hardly even an inconvenience.
Derpy shouted something, likely asking Pinkie what to do, but the sounds of the storm were too loud for them to hear each other. That didn’t matter, though, because there was only one thing they needed to do: capture that Heart!
Pinkie pointed and Derpy nodded in understanding. Together, they shot forward, dodging left and right as the Heart redoubled its efforts to destroy the intruders. Twisting, twirling, corkscrew-urling, Derpy evaded every attack. The Heart was right in front of them. It looked like they were going to do it. But then, a wall of electricity came forth and blocked their path!
Derpy pulled up into a ninety-degree turn. Even with her conditioned strength, the extreme flying coupled with Pinkie’s slightly-higher-than-average weight was beginning to take its toll. Her breathing had become labored and her grip slick with sweat. Still, she didn’t give up, and continued to climb higher and higher as she flew parallel to the vertical streaks of lightning.
Upon reaching the top of the cavern, Derpy did a backflip and went into a dive. The wall of lightning collapsed downward, chasing after the fleeing pegasus. But as Derpy spun and dodged the strikes, the Heart must have realized its folly, for Pinkie was no longer there.
The lightning stopped. If the uncaring Heart felt any emotions at that moment, it must have been confusion. Where had Pinkie gone? Had she finally given up? What had her friend done with her?
Well, in reverse order, the answers were: she threw her; not on her life; and waaay up in the air.
The simple fact was that Pinkie Pie was an earth pony and therefore unable to hold clouds in her bare hooves without the aid of a magic spell. That meant that when Derpy had reached the ceiling and let go, Pinkie continued upward, through the clouds and out into the sunny skies above. Once she reached the top of her arch, Pinkie went into a dive with her magnet-covered hoof stretched out before her.
Down, down, down she fell. Her vision was briefly obscured as she once again passed through the clouds, but then she was back in the cavern and directly above her prey.
The Heart was crafty. All Hearts of the Storm had to be. How else had they been unnoticed all these years? But this Heart hadn’t been able to figure out in time what Pinkie’s plan was. After all, Pinkie was cleverly making it up as she went along.
Nevertheless, it stubbornly refused to quit and was going to end this foolish game once and for all by sending forth its final attack: a bolt of crimson lightning, filled with pure malevolence, straight from the Heart itself!
Pinkie smiled. She had been waiting for this mistake.
With a quick twist of her hoof, the magnets spun into position. Perhaps then, the Heart had realized what the device strapped to Pinkie’s foreleg truly was, but it was too late, for once fired, it was impossible to recall the lightning.
The bolt struck the magnets, providing the power needed for Pinkie to activate their secret technique.
With a fierce shout because she hadn’t taken the time to come up with a cool battle cry, Pinkie lashed out, reversing the flow of negative energy and sending out her own lightning. The bolt of blue struck true. How could it not? For it was powered by Pinkie’s burning desire to never disappoint her friends!
Instantly, the power of the magnets took over. The Heart writhed as it was ripped free of its wispy tendrils and dragged upwards to Pinkie’s waiting hoof. Then, with the storm’s power stolen, the constant rumbling and gusting winds came to an end.
Pinkie had done it. She had accomplished the impossible. She, an earth pony, held a cloud on the end of her hoof.
She was also falling, and quite fast too, but luckily, with the storm no longer trying to zap them, Derpy was able to swing around and snatch Pinkie out of the air.
Together, the heroes exited the clouds. They didn’t speak at all on the return trip. Likely because the giddy excitement either of them felt would have made any attempts at speech all giggly and squeaky. Still, they were both thinking the same thing. They had conquered a legend, and now, they would get to eat it.
Back outside Sugarcube Corner, the heroes realized the cost of their actions. With the Heart no longer there to provide its power, the storm clouds above were breaking apart and letting rays of sunlight poke through. Pinkie and Derpy knew that they were both going to get in really big trouble after all this, but hopefully the cloud cake would be delicious enough for everypony to forget all about it.
Inside the kitchen, Sweetie Belle greeted them with a thousand questions about where they went and why were parts of them scorched black and what was that weird thing Pinkie was holding, but Pinkie hushed the curious filly by simply saying that they needed to finish the recipe.
Since she was such a good little helper, Sweetie Belle ran to prepare the oven while Pinkie headed towards the bowl of batter. With the moment of destiny upon them, Pinkie held her breath and plunged the Heart into the mixture. She then shook off her singed magnets and went to grab a spoon.
Once. Twice. Three times Pinkie stirred. The secret to cloud cakes was to use as little agitation as possible. With the preparations complete, Pinkie grabbed the biggest cake pan in the kitchen and poured the rich, golden batter out. Any of the three could easily have snuck a hoof-lick to get tiny hint of the taste sensation to come, but the thought hadn’t even crossed their minds at the time. This was a special event, and it couldn’t be rushed.
With some help from Derpy, Pinkie moved the ginormous cake pan into the oven and Sweetie Belle closed the door. It wouldn’t take long at all for the cake to bake, which was a good thing, as the five minutes were almost up.
The timer dinged and the moment of truth had arrived. Together, the three ponies opened the oven and peaked inside.
That was when Pinkie remembered a property of cloud cakes she had forgotten until now. While normal cakes grew larger as they cooked, cloud cakes shrank. The result being that, instead of having one giant cake they could cut up and serve to everypony, they now had something about the size of a tiny cupcake.
Still, Pinkie had done it. Even if it was only a single serving, she had finally made the one baked good that had eluded her all these years.
However, Rainbow Dash would never get to taste that cake, for it was then that the unexpected happened.
Pinkie fell silent and shut her eyes. A smile came to her lips as she leaned back in her chair.
Rainbow Dash waited as patiently as she could, but the sudden silence was deafening to her ears. “Well?” she asked. “Don’t leave us hanging. What happened next?”
A chorus of agreement came from everypony listening.
“I think,” Pinkie said slowly, her smile growing in intensity, “that I’ve said enough. After all, Sweetie hasn’t had a turn yet.”
“Me?” Sweetie Belle squeaked. Her eyes darted out to the crowd, then she slouched into her chair as if it could hide her from sight. “How am I supposed to follow that?”
Pinkie giggled as she opened her eyes. “Don't be silly. Just tell the story. It doesn’t matter how good or bad it is, just so long as it’s yours.”
Sweetie Belle gulped and took a long breath. “Okay. Here goes...”
Sweetie’s Story
I ate the cloud cake.
Um... the end?
Rainbow Dash blinked. “You what?”
Sweetie Belle’s ears drooped as she cast her eyes down at the table. “Telling a story is hard,” she whined. “I’m not good at this like Pinkie is.”
“It’s okay, Sweetie,” Pinkie said. “You just started too close to the end. You need to go back a little earlier and build up some tension before reaching the climax. What you need to do is...” Her voice dropped to a whisper as she leaned down to Sweetie Belle’s ear.
Sweetie Belle nodded her head and rhythmically said things like “uh huh” and “yeah.” Then her eyes widened. “Oh! Okay. I can do that.”
Pinkie returned to her place and motioned to Sweetie Belle, who proceeded to dramatically clear her throat until she actually began to cough.
“Urgh, sorry. Here’s my story...”
Me, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo were going to meet up at Sugarcube Corner today. We had to get there before the storm since Scootaloo had some big idea that involved kites and keys. I wasn’t really listening to the plan, but she said we’d get our cutie marks for sure this time, so it sounded good to me.
I waited for a really long time, but nopony else was there besides me and Pinkie. Oh, and a few other ponies buying things that looked really tasty. My tummy was getting grumbly, and I was starting to wish I hadn’t skipped breakfast. That’s when Pinkie gave me a muffin. It was so good. It even had chocolate chips in it!
While I ate, she asked me who I was waiting for, so I told her about the plan. Or what I remembered about it, at least. When I finished, she told me that Applejack was securing the barn doors for the storm and probably got Apple Bloom to help. That made sense, and then I remembered that Scootaloo said she would need to sneak out of her room today since she was grounded. She probably got caught. She’s not very sneaky. We once tried to get a cutie mark for it, but Scootaloo ended up knocking over this huuuge stack of plates. There was broken glass everywhere, and everypony had to jump out of the way, which caused them to drop their trays and bump into other things and make an even bigger mess! I still can’t go to that restaurant without the waiter giving me a mean look.
Wait... where was I? Oh yeah!
Since I wasn’t going to get any crusading done by myself, it looked like I’d have to spend another boring, rainy day at home. I thanked Pinkie for the muffin and was about to leave when she asked me if I wanted to be a baker’s assistant today.
I remember Apple Bloom talking about the time she tried that. It didn’t turn out too well for her, but I like to cook at home and didn’t have anything else to do, so I said ‘yes.’
We made a lot of really good treats, and the best part was that we got to eat everything we made! Except for the things that caught on fire. Those didn’t taste so great. I didn’t get my baker’s assistant cutie mark, but I still had a lot of fun.
Pinkie was taking some cookies out front when it got noisy. That must have been when Rainbow Dash showed up. I didn’t know what we were baking next, so I decided to clean up a little while I waited. That didn’t work too well. I couldn’t get the mop out of the bucket, and I was pulling really hard too! I think we must have needed to change the mop water, because it didn’t even spill out when I accidentally tipped the bucket over.
When Pinkie came back, her face was so pale and her pupils were all tiny. I wondered if somepony was telling ghost stories and wanted to listen too, but then Pinkie needed me to help get a whole bunch of ingredients together and mix them in a bowl. She went upstairs and came back with this weird machine that she dragged across the kitchen. I had never seen anything like it and wanted to follow her, but she stopped me and said she was proud of me and to keep the oven ready.
She sounded a little scared, so I gave her a hug and said I would.
I waited by the oven and watched the little needle that says how hot it is slowly move up. I was getting a little worried since I had no idea what was going on. But then Pinkie returned and had Derpy with her. Pinkie was wearing some broken goggles and parts of her mane looked almost as burned as our bad baking attempts. I tried to ask them what happened and why Pinkie was carrying that thumping cloud thing on her hoof, but Pinkie told me we had to finish the recipe. I could tell by the way she was grinning that this was something important.
She quickly mixed the cloud in the bowl and poured it into the biggest cake pan I’d ever seen. Then, she and Derpy put it in the oven, and I helped too by closing the door. It baked really fast. I barely had time to blink before the timer dinged. When we opened the oven, I was so surprised. All that batter had turned into one little cupcake. I had no idea cupcakes could be made that way.
We had been baking like this all morning, and I thought this was just another one of our test recipes. Since it was my turn to get the first sample, I waited for it to cool, then grabbed the cupcake, and ate it.
It... it was the best tasting thing ever. It was better than birthday cake. Better than ice cream. It was even better than my mom’s pancakes that have whipped cream and bananas on top! And I love those! I don’t think I know how to describe it good enough, so I’ll just say it was the bestest, most yummiest thing in the whole world.
The end.
Um... please don’t tell my mom I said it was better than her pancakes.
With her story finished, Sweetie Belle put on a smile, but her eyes kept darting between the members of her silent audience. After a few seconds of no response, she gulped, and her ears drooped slightly.
Rainbow Dash knew she should say something encouraging, however, it was Derpy and Pinkie who broke the silence first by frantically clapping their hooves together and shouting out their praise.
Seeing her opportunity, Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her lips, tweeted a whistle, and added her own applause. Soon, everpony present was clapping and yelling their approval.
Sweetie Belle smiled even brighter and gave a half-bow from her seat.
“Great job, Sweetie,” Pinkie said as the applause died down. “You’ve brought the story to a satisfying conclusion. Although, I do think you should have taken my advice to have had ninjas attack the bakery. It would have added suspense and helped round out the third act. Still, that was really, really good for a beginner. With a little practice, I think you might one day be even better at storytelling than my Grammy!”
“Maybe you’re right,” Sweetie said, then gasped. “That gives me a great idea! Cutie Mark Crusaders storytellers! I can’t wait to tell the girls.”
“Well, you three,” Rainbow Dash said as she got up. She rolled her neck to get the cricks out and gave her wings a quick flap to loosen them up. “I have to say that was entertaining. However, I can’t put any of that in my report without my managers thinking I’ve gone insane.”
“It’s not that unbelievable, is it?” Derpy asked.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Come on, Derpy. You can’t tell me you actually believe in that Heart of the Storm legend. As awesome as it would be, clouds are only water vapor. I should know. I’ve created a bunch of them. I think I would have noticed if something inside them was beating.”
“And just so you know, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said as she turned to her friend, “when I was talking about cloud cakes, I was referring to those little fluffy cakes that kind of look like clouds. Remember? You had one when you visited me in Cloudsdale. The store was only playing a prank when they told you the cakes were made from real clouds.”
Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Oooooh, you mean those imitation cloud puff things? Well, shoot. I wish you told me that earlier. I can make those easy peasy. Now I feel silly for going to all that trouble to get a cloud when all I needed to do was quadruple the amount of butter.”
Rainbow Dash eyes grew wide. “Wait, seriously? They have that much butter in them? But I used to—ugh... my stomach suddenly feels bad. I think I understand why most bakeries don’t make them now.”
With a flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash took to the air and hovered above her friends. Seeing that story time was over, the weather team began to break off into groups to go about the rest of their day’s business.
“Well, anyway, thanks for the story,” Rainbow Dash called down. “I’d stay and chat some more, but I better get started on that report and request some replacement clouds.”
Pinkie frowned. “Um, Rainbow? You’re not going to get in trouble for this, are you?”
“Nah. I’ll just blame the storm disappearing on the Everfree Forest. The weather managers usually don’t question that excuse, just so long as I don’t use it too often.”
With a final wave, Rainbow Dash turned around and was about to take off when she heard a loud hiccup from behind her.
“Uh, Dashie?” Pinkie said. “You might want to see this.”
“Why? What's...”
Freezing in mid turn, Rainbow Dash watched the small storm cloud floating away from Sweetie Belle’s mouth. A tiny spark of lightning shot out of the cloud, zapping one of the milkshake straws.
Rainbow Dash fluttered down to the table and poked at the cloud. In response, it began to sprinkle rain into the empty glass. She turned to Sweetie Belle, who had both hooves over her mouth and was staring wide-eyed at the storm cloud.
“That’s so cool!” Derpy said as she moved in closer. “How’d you do that?”
Sweetie Belle dropped her hooves. “I don’t know. I just—hup!”
As she hiccupped, a wisp of cloud shot out of her mouth. The vapors swirled together until they thickened and formed into another gray cloud, identical to the first. Sweetie Belle squeaked and covered her mouth again.
Pinkie held a hoof under the rain and giggled. “Neat. I bet Twilight will want to see this. Then I can tell her I was right about what would happen if you ate a super-powered, mega cloud.”
Rainbow Dash felt a smile coming to her lips as the gears turned in her head. “Sweetie Belle! Quick! Hiccup more!”
“I can’t—hup!—just make my—hup!—self hiccup whenever I—hup!—want to—hup!”
Rainbow Dash cackled gleefully as she scooped up all the newly formed clouds and mashed them together. She then beamed at the normal-sized cloud before her. “I don’t believe it. This just might work. Derpy!”
Derpy snapped into a salute.
“Go find the weather team, and tell them to get back here. They couldn’t have gotten far. It looks like today’s storm is going to happen one way or another!”
As Derpy took to the skies, Rainbow Dashed turned towards her ticket to avoiding paperwork. “Sweetie Belle? How would you like to be a junior member of the weather team for a day?”
“Okay! Wait... what do I—hup!—have to do?”
Rainbow Dash grinned. “I need you to hiccup about a thousand more times.”
Sweetie Belle gulped. "Oh...—hup!"
