With Her Head in the Clouds
By: Nickel Bristle
“So Pinkie, did you have fun with Applejack in seeing if you were really related to the Apple family?” Twilight asked as the pink pony pronked her way into the library with a smile on her face.
“Of course! I mean, I didn’t exactly find out if I was an Apple or not, but I still enjoyed the trip and spending time with the Apple family, even if they aren’t really related to me!” Pinkie replied, stopping in front of another pile of scrolls and books. Twilight returned to the scroll that she was reading at her desk, making notes in her own personal notebook.
“That’s wonderful to hear, Pinkie. I entrusted Applejack to write the lessons she learned in the diary but you’re welcome to add some things for yourself once she’s done.”
“I don’t think I say anything better, besides,” she added, pulling the scrapbook from the journey from her poofy pink mane and placing it on the desk in front of Twilight. “A bunch of pictures can make up a book just fine!”
“I’ll be sure to keep it with the diary, safe and sound.” Twilight smiled, moving her hoof to pick up the book before Pinkie’s tail flipped it up in the air and back into her mane.
“Nah, I can keep it safe just fine. Besides, I don’t want the book to get all dusty in this old library.” Pinkie smiled at her friend as Twilight turned to look around at the bookshelves. They had gotten quite dusty over the past few months. Maybe it was time for Spike to do another round with his feather duster, as long as he made sure not to burn any more books on accident.
Twilight nodded, returning to the scroll as she made more notes in her notebook on the genealogical information between certain pegasi that live in Cloudsdale and Ponyville.
“I still like genealogy though!” Pinkie hopped on over to another pile of scrolls. “Even if it’s not as reliable as my Pinkie sense, it’s still fun seeing what ponies are related to each other!”
“Well you are certainly welcome to look for any more connections, Pinkie.” Twilight commented, before Pinkie started unraveling another scroll, tying it up all around her as she paced back and forth to read it on the floor of the library. Suddenly, a loud gasp was heard from the mummified Pinkie, her eyes being the only thing not covered up by the scroll around her. Twilight turned over to look for a second as she twirled herself free from the scroll, laying the top, middle and every part but the end on the ground.
“I found another family relative!” Pinkie announced happily, rushing over to Twilight with the scroll in hoof.
“That’s great, Pinkie! Who are you related to this time?” Twilight asked as Pinkie rolled the long piece of parchment back into a neatly wrapped scroll.
“I have to tell Dashie!” she squealed, placing the scroll on the top of her mane just enough to stick out as she ran out the library door to find Rainbow Dash.
The skilled pegasus was where she always was in the middle of a lazy afternoon, taking a nap on her favorite tree branch at the edge of Ponyville Park. With her dreams of flying off at one of the Wonderbolts’ show as their lead captain, Rainbow Dash was soon awakened by her close pink pony friend. And by close, she was pretty much standing on top of her in the middle of the tree branch.
“Rainbow Dash! Wake up! You have to help me with something!” Pinkie shouted, shaking her friend from her midday nap. Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes with a yawn, this not being the first time that she experienced a Pinkie alarm clock.
“What is it, Pinkie?” She yawned again, cracking her back as she spread her wings out to sit up on the branch. Pinkie nodded her head back and forth until the scroll fell out of her mane and held it in her hoof, letting the top end of the parchment fall over to the ground underneath the tree that they were perched over.
“It says, right here, that I am related to a fourth cousin, once removed by an uncle from the second generation of a famous family of pegasus fliers! And one of them is a Wonderbolt!” Pinkie explained, pointing her hoof to the text that said that she was related to who she said she was.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up at the last part, taking the scroll from Pinkie’s hooves as she squealed in happiness. “Whoa, this can’t be for real! I mean, having a friend like you is one thing, but now you’re related to one of the Wonderbolts?”
“Ooh, I know right! We should totally go to Cloudsdale to find her!” Pinkie smiled as wide as she could, her head filled with dreams of flying along side with her cousin in the clear blue sky.
“Umm, there’s just one problem with that idea, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash began, already noticing how excited that her friend was getting. “You’re not a pegasus so how are you going to get there?”
Pinkie’s dream bubble popped at the realization of her wingless situation. “Oh! What about Twilight? She’s given ponies wings before!”
“Yeah and do you remember what happened to Rarity? She fell out of the sky and almost became a beautiful crater in the ground! Sorry, but I’m not going to risk your life or any of my friends like that again.”
Pinkie pondered another solution, her hoof held under her chin in a thinking pose. “What about your flying machine thingamajig?” Rainbow Dash suggested, remembering one of the times that she saw her friend flying around in the sky.
“No, that’s all broken up from that time that I crashed into ground. Ooh! How about the hot air balloon?” Pinkie smiled at her friend before Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“Cherry Berry isn’t letting anymore ponies borrow her balloon after all the times it’s gotten lost, broken, caught in a twister and everything.”
The pink pony sighed for a second until a spark went off in her eyes, coupled with another loud gasp. “I have the perfect idea!”
“Pinkie Pie, you really need to lay off the cupcakes!” Rainbow Dash struggled as she flew towards the floating city of Cloudsdale, with Pinkie in tow behind her floating behind with her standard party balloons tied to a string around her.
“I’m not that heavy, silly! It was a great idea to borrow the lasso from AJ and then have Twilight cast that cloudwalking spell on me,” she commented, swimming without a care in the clear blue sky as Rainbow Dash pulled her forward into Cloudsdale.
The two friends soon found themselves at the entrance to the Cloudesseum, one the major attractions in Cloudsdale and the well-known place of the Wonderbolts training center for when they aren’t doing shows all over Equestria. Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, the training center isn’t exactly open to just anypony to walk in and talk to the superstar flying team.
“Please Mister Big-Scary-Pegasus-Guard, you have to let me and my friend in to see the Wonderbolts! It’s a family emergency!” Pinkie pleaded, holding her hooves on the burly guard’s chest as she looked up at him with big, like really big eyes.
“You’re related to one of the Wonderbolts?” he scoffed, brushing the pony off of him. “Yeah right! And I’m a nephew to Princess Celestia.”
Pinkie stepped back defeated, looking down at the ground in front of her as Rainbow Dash quickly stepped into her place, pointing her hoof at the pegasus blocking the door. “Listen here buddy! If my friend says she’s related to one of the Wonderbolts, then she is! Got it?”
“Oh yeah? Says who?”
“Says me!” Rainbow Dash replied confidently as the two locked eyes in a tense staredown before a familiar yellow pegasus with a fiery orange mane walked towards the door.
“Rainbow Dash? Is that you?” she asked as the guard stood perfectly still, noticing the captain of the Wonderbolts standing behind the rainbow-maned pegasus.
“Spitfire! Ma’am, these ponies were trying to go into the center to speak with one of the members of the team. And clearly the rules say-”
“I’m quite aware of what our rules are, thank you.” Spitfire cut him off, smiling at Rainbow Dash. “Hey there, it’s been a long time since the Academy.”
Instinctively, Rainbow Dash stood up straight and saluted in the present of her former drill captain at the exclusive Wonderbolt Academy. “Yes ma’am.”
The yellow pegasus laughed for a second. “You’re not a cadet anymore, Rainbow Dash. And I’d like to think that you’re pretty much a friend with all the times we’ve ran into each other.”
It took all the willpower that Rainbow Dash had to not do a fangirl squeal at the captain of the Wonderbolts saying that she was a friend to her. “And this must have be your friend that you spoke so much of at the Academy.” Spitfire continued, looking at the pink pony who still had her party balloons tied to her with a piece of string. Pinkie looked at her with a great, big smile as Rainbow Dash cleared her throat.
“Listen Spitfire, my friend, Pinkie Pie, believes that one of the members on your team is related to her. Something about her being a fifth generation of a twice removed or something.” Rainbow Dash explained as Pinkie pulled the genealogy scroll from her mane and gave it to Spitfire to read.
“Well, I’m pretty sure there’s no Pie in my family. Fleetfoot, she came up from no history of elite fliers in her family.” Spitfire continued to read the scroll as Pinkie let out another happy squee.
“Ooh, this is so exciting! I can’t wait to meet another cousin! What do you think she’ll be like? Ooh, do you think she’ll like parties?”
Spitfire looked up from the scroll at Pinkie, hearing that last part of what she was rambling on about. “Did you say something about parties?”
Pinkie nodded happily and smiled as Spitfire lead the two friends into the training center, much to the guard’s disapproval. “There is one of our members that knows how to throw the best parties. She always throws one after each and every one of our shows.”
“That sounds like Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow Dash added, wrapping a hoof around the shoulder of her friend.
“Hey Surprise? Can you come out here?” Spitfire asked, opening the door to the locker room to talk to the team. Shortly after, a dazzling white pegasus still wearing her blue and yellow uniform stepped out, combing back her yellow mane with her hoof.
“What is it, cap?” she asked in a voice that sounded like a mixture of a high-pitch with a low tone from experience. Pinkie saw the mare standing in front of her and knew for sure.
“Cousin!” she squealed, grabbing the Wonderbolt in a tight hug. Spitfire and Rainbow Dash stood off to the side, smiling at the reunion.
“Surprise, meet your fourth cousin, once removed. Pinkie Pie.” Spitfire introduced as Pinkie let go from her hug. The white pegasus lifted up her signature Wonderbolt goggles, looking at the pink pony with balloons attached to her waist with her deep purple eyes, a rare occurrence for her to ever break uniform, even when she isn’t training.
“Well I’ll be a unicorn’s niece, you look like me back when I was in the Wonderbolt Academy!” Surprise rest both of her hooves on Pinkie’s shoulders.
“And you look like me if I was a super-awesome-amazing flying pegasus pony!” Pinkie commented happily with a wide smile. Surprise leaned to the side to a good look at Pinkie’s cutie mark before taking her into a big hug.
“I think we’ll be the best of friends, cuz.” she smiled, ruffling Pinkie’s poofy pink mane as as a few piece of glitter and confetti fell out.
“Do you think we could go flying together?” Pinkie asked with a wide smile on her face. Surprise looked up at the party balloons that her cousin had attached to her, one of them being a pink heart shape next to a purple star.
“Sure thing! I’ll teach you everything I know!” Surprise replied back, leading Pinkie off to the flying grounds of the training center, holding the rope in one of her hooves. Rainbow Dash and Spitfire smiled as the two cousins walked off out of the hall.
“It’s great when families come together, isn’t it?” Spitfire commented, wrapping a hoof around Rainbow Dash’s shoulder.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Come on, I’m sure you want a tour of the place, don’t you?” she suggested with a smile. Rainbow Dash had to hold herself back, but even then she couldn’t help to be excited.
“You know it!” Rainbow Dash replied, doing a quick backflip before following Spitfire down the hall. Off to the side, a picture of the classic team of the Wonderbolts hung on the wall. Everypony except for Surprise had their faces revealed, with a pink pegasus with a messy blue mane wrapping her hoof around the pony in uniform, smiling happily as the picture was taken.
