Partly Educational

by Brass Polish

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Original Character, Mystery, Comedy, Random
Length: 4644

Applejack and Pinkie Pie are called to Cloudsdale by the Cutie Map. What purpose might two earth ponies fulfil in a cloud city?

Applejack and Pinkie Pie are called to Cloudsdale by the Cutie Map. What purpose might two earth ponies fulfil in a cloud city?

Published 2017-03-11 16:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-03-11 16:20:01 UTC

1 Reapplication

Cheerilee was a little late getting to the Ponyville schoolhouse, and by now, her students were inside waiting for her.

“Where’ve you been?!” called Day Star, flying down from the bell tower.

Before Cheerilee could answer, they heard screaming. Cheerilee looked up, and was shocked to see Applejack and Pinkie Pie falling out of the sky.

“Catch them, Day Star!” she exclaimed.

Day Star shot upwards and grabbed each of the falling earth ponies by their tails, one in each hoof.

“Thanks, Day Star,” sighed Applejack. “You okay, Pinkie?”

Pinkie hadn’t been screaming during their decent. Her face was blank. It seemed she’d been scared stiff, but once Day Star had lowered her and Applejack to the ground in front of Cheerilee, they all saw that her expression was that of utter confusion.

“How did that happen?” she said.

“I was just about to ask that,” said Cheerilee.

“Twilight just put the spell on us,” Pinkie went on. “Why didn’t it work?”

“Did Twilight give you two wings and they burned off?” asked Day Star.

“No, no,” said Applejack. “See, me and Pinkie have a mission in Cloudsdale, and…”

“Cloudsdale?! Oh, no! My son’s already causing trouble, isn’t he?” groaned Day Star.

“Oh, I forgot that today’s the day Polar Star starts Flight Camp,” said Cheerilee. “Did you say causing trouble? I’ve never had any trouble from him. He’s a good student.”

“That’s because you don’t have a flight class,” frowned Day Star. “He’s such a nitpicker when he watches pegasi his age flying around.”

“We’d go visit him,” said Applejack, “but first we gotta find out why the cloud-walking spell didn’t work.”

And off she and Pinkie went.

“You’re done already?!” exclaimed Twilight when Applejack and Pinkie Pie came bursting into the castle for the second time that morning. “That’s got to be a record!”

“No, no, we ain’t even started yet,” said Applejack. “The pair of us fell right through the clouds.”

“What? That’s impossible!” cried Twilight. “It worked perfectly the last time.”

Starlight waddled sleepily down the stairs. “What’s the fuss?”

“Me and Applejack just went skydiving,” said Pinkie Pie. “Without parachutes.”

“I can understand you trying that, but not you, AJ,” smirked Starlight.

“The Cutie Map called these two to Cloudsdale,” Twilight explained. “So I cast a cloud-walking spell on them. But it didn’t seem to work.”

“Want me to try?” Starlight grinned.

“No, no,” said Twilight quickly. “I’ll just try again. Maybe my aim was off or something.”

“Well, third time’s a charm,” shrugged Pinkie.

“Third? You’ve done this before?” asked Starlight.

“Yeah. We went to cheer for Rainbow Dash a while ago, back when I was a unicorn,” explained Twilight, “and I put a cloud-walking spell on these two and myself.”

“Did you take it off afterwards?” asked Starlight.

There was a pause, then Twilight smacked her forehead with enough force to shatter the gates of Tartarus.

Before long, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were on their way to Cloudsdale again.

“At least one good thing came out of us falling outta the sky,” said Pinkie Pie as the hot air balloon carried them upwards. “We’ve got us a lead.”

“You mean what Day Star said about her son starting Flight Camp today?” asked Applejack. “I’ve heard Apple Bloom talk about Polar. She said he’s a nice enough guy.”

“I’ve heard Scootaloo talk about Polar Star,” said Pinkie Pie. “She said he said something kind of a backhooved to her when she was trying to fly once. Something about picking a place to go.”

Applejack remembered that Day Star mentioned Cheerilee not having a flight class.

“If he’s a jerk to young flyers, this probably is what the Map called us for,” she agreed. “Okay. We’ll try the camp first.”

Pinkie Pie noticed Applejack’s face light up when she said the word “camp”.

“You liked that summer camp you went to where you met RaRa, didn’t you?” she asked.

“Heck, yeah I did,” smiled Applejack. “I made quite a few friends there. RaRa was far from the only one. It didn’t get its nickname for no reason, you know. Did you ever go to camp as a filly?”

“Yep,” grinned Pinkie. “Me and all my sisters. We got to make lots of awesome friends as well. And the camp directors’ foals were so cool… although one of them was kinda annoying. She kept saying ‘I got this’ over and over. And she hardly ever did. She was a bit of a bungler. And come to think of it, the other one was kinda hammy. But still, me, Maud, Marble, and Limestone liked them. And heck, where else were we gonna make friends our age? We never went to school as fillies. Ma and Pa taught us everything.”

“Huh. Me and Big Mac didn’t go to school either,” said Applejack. “We were always needed on the apple farm, just like you and your sisters were always needed on the rock farm. But me, Big Mac, and Granny Smith agreed that Apple Bloom oughtta get to go to public school. The farm’s doing just fine with the three of us doin’ most of the work.”

“That’s because apples are lighter than rocks,” remarked Pinkie. “I mean, you never see anypony bobbing for rocks, do you?”

When they got to Cloudsdale (and found they were able to walk on the clouds this time), they spotted Spitfire and decided to ask her for directions to Junior Speedster’s Flight Camp.

“Why am I always being interrogated for you guys’ friendship missions lately?” chuckled Spitfire. “Though I’ll bet I know what the problem is.”

“How do you know Polar Star?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Uh… I don’t,” shrugged Spitfire.

“But you know somepony who might be having a friendship problem?” asked Applejack.

“Snowdrop.”

Applejack and Pinkie Pie exchanged glances. The fuss of a nationwide icon seemed to have died down lately, and now it seemed all was not well with the famous returnee.

“She’s been living in my house ever since the knighting ceremony, and I don’t think she’s ever left,” Spitfire told Applejack and Pinkie. “Since she didn’t choose to be resurrected, I think she feels she’s being unfairly pressured to start a new life for herself. I’ve been trying to make good on my vow to help her adjust to modern-day Equestria, but she’s making it hard for me.”

“What could she be afraid of?” wonder Pinkie Pie. “She’s got eyesight now. She can do things she never could in her time.”

Applejack frowned.

“I don’t mean because she has to,” said Pinkie quickly. “I mean just because she can.

“That’s pretty much what I’ve told her,” said Spitfire. “But she just keeps telling me she’s not ready to enrol in public school or Flight Camp.”

“Speaking of Flight Camp,” said Applejack, “we’re gonna need directions. We wanna start there. Got a tip from a friend of ours in Ponyville.”

“One of us could talk to Snowdrop while the other visits the camp,” suggested Pinkie Pie.

Applejack shook her head. “I’d rather we stuck together for now.”

“Flight camp’s closer than my house,” said Spitfire, pointing the way. “Maybe it’d be better if you two visited in an hour or so. I’ll be back home by then. Snowdrop’ll probably be more comfortable with me there. We are pretty close now, even though I do sometimes make her nervous.”

Applejack’s and Pinkie Pie’s journey to Flight Camp was interrupted when a pegasus filly burst from a house and stopped right in front of them, causing them to stop jerkily.

“How are you two earth ponies walking on clouds?” she asked.

Pinkie Pie overbalanced trying not to fall forward and squash the interloper.

“How about a little tact, kid?” she grumbled, prompting Applejack to roll her eyes. “Don’t stop jump out and stop in front of ponies when they’re walking. Especially if you don’t know them. You gotta introduce yourself first.”

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know,” said the unabashed filly.

“That being said,” said Pinkie, picking herself up and forgetting her annoyance instantly, “I’m Pinkie Pie, this is Applejack, and we’ve got a spell on us so we can walk on clouds.”

“Oh. Okay,” said the filly. “I’m Hyssop.”

And she promptly turned tail and headed back towards her house.

“Hey! Aren’t you even gonna say bye?!” called Pinkie. “Man! Don’t you have any social skills?”

Applejack felt dizzy.

PINKIE PIE is lecturing someone on social skills, she thought.

Hyssop turned back towards them.

“I never knew there were requirements for just talking to ponies,” she said, showing no sign of embarrassment or regret.

Applejack saw that in the doorway, a stallion who could only be Hyssop’s dad was looking embarrassed and regretful.

“I should’ve expected this,” he groaned, stepping outside.

He introduced himself to Applejack and Pinkie Pie as Impatiens, and told them that his daughter Hyssop was a homeschooled foal.

“Oh. I’d never have guessed,” remarked Pinkie.

“Me neither,” said Applejack. “I mean we were both homeschooled, but we… well, I don’t know about her, but I had plenty of social skills when I was Hyssop’s age.”

“So did I. I was just telling you,” said Pinkie. “I went to summer camp, just like you, so I got plenty of experience interacting with ponies my own age.”

Impatiens sighed. “Camp. Oh, how I’d like to send my Hyssop there.”

“But you can’t afford it?” ventured Applejack.

“No, he’s just scared to send his daughter off into the world to discover for herself what a cruel place it is,” scoffed Pinkie Pie. “Come on, AJ. It’s obvious.”

Applejack’s jaw dropped when Impatiens nodded.

“I know I can’t keep my little filly cooped up in that house forever. But you’re right,” he said. “I’m terrified at what the wicked world is going to give her.”

Applejack pulled herself together and said “You know, Snowdrop’s starting Flight Camp soon. It’d be a perfect time to enrol Hyssop.”

Impatiens and Pinkie looked to Applejack.

“I wondered,” said Impatiens, cracking a smile, “if Snowdrop would go to Flight Camp.”

“And I doubt you don’t know her story,” said Applejack. “She overcame teasing from ponies her age and went on to make history.”

“She’d be a good influence on any bullies in Flight Camp,” nodded Impatiens.

“So am I going to Flight Camp, or what?” asked Hyssop.

Impatiens scratched his head for a second, and then said “Yes. I’ll enrol you at once.”

“Pinkie,” Applejack said as the two earth ponies made their way through Cloudsdale, “I can tell when you’re holding something in. Your face is all comically distorted.”

“No, it’s not,” lied Pinkie with a misshapen mouth.

“Come on. Spit it out,” insisted Applejack.

“I don’t want to,” Pinkie groused. “It’s getting old.”

“Oh. That,” frowned Applejack. “Well, the thing is, the Map obviously wants us to convince Snowdrop to go to Flight Camp. It came to me right after Hyssop jumped out at us. Here we have a foal with no… what’s the word Rarity uses?… decorum, another foal who criticizes others, and a national treasure with plenty of life experience who still has a lot to learn.”

“Okay, so just to be clear,” said Pinkie Pie, “that wasn’t really a lie?”

“No,” said Applejack flatly. “It’s just jumpin’ the gun a bit. We’ve got a duty to convince Snowdrop to give this millennium a try.”

“Alright, good,” grinned Pinkie. “Cause like I said, this was getting really old.”

Applejack and Pinkie Pie were surprised and glad to find that Spitfire and Snowdrop were waiting for them outside Spitfire’s house.

“Wow. We never had earth ponies in Cloudsdale in my day,” smiled Snowdrop.

“How…?”

Pinkie Pie gave Applejack a subtle kick to stop her from asking how Snowdrop knew there were never any earth ponies in Cloudsdale if she could never see them.

“A lot’s changed in over a thousand years,” Pinkie said quickly. “But if you don’t experience it for yourself, you’ll end up like a sheltered homeschooled foal.”

“Oh, dear,” Snowdrop gulped. “I’d hate to be a social outcast all over again.”

“So what do ya say, Snowdrop? Will ya sign up for Flight Camp?” asked Spitfire.

“Well… I think you should sign me up,” Snowdrop suggested.

“Oh, come on. I’m not your mom. You’re practically still an adult,” said Spitfire. “You’ve got all your memories from your life as the head of snowflake production. You’re only the size of a foal.”

“But there’s so much I’m going to see for the first time and a great big world I’ve never known, that I might as well be a filly all over again,” insisted Snowdrop. “You may not be my mother, but you look after me like one. I’ll leave it all to you… for now, anyways.”

Spitfire sighed. “Alright. I’ll sign you up.”

Applejack and Pinkie Pie brohoofed.

Author's Note

After I came up with those last two Map quests and realised AJ and Pinkie were left, I knew I wanted to send them to Cloudsdale.

2 Buddying Up

Before long, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Snowdrop, Hyssop, and Polar Star were all at Junior Speedster’s Flight Camp. Applejack and Pinkie Pie had told the Coach about their royal duties, and they all agreed that the two earth ponies would be allowed to supervise the foals.

“We’ll hang back to start with,” Applejack said to Pinkie, “and see how things go.”

So they watched as the Coach went down the line-up of young pegasi and instructed each one to introduce themselves.

“Keep it brief,” he said. “Give your name, your background, and your ambition.”

One by one, each camper said who and what they were. Polar Star was the first of the three foals Pinkie and Applejack were concerned with to be addressed by the Coach.

“I’m Polar Star, I’m from Ponyville, and I like to find ways to improve,” he said.

“He’s a subtle one,” Pinkie whispered to Applejack. “He didn’t exactly say ways to improve himself, did he?”

Applejack didn’t know if she was standing on her hooves or her head.

The Coach reached Hyssop.

“I’m Hyssop,” she said, “I’m homeschooled, and I want to introduce something to Cloudsdale that’s never been seen in the sky before.”

There were a lot of raised eyebrows.

“At least she’s got a goal in mind,” Applejack said quietly to Pinkie Pie.

“Do you think she only just got that idea after meeting us?” asked Pinkie.

Applejack shrugged as the Coach carried on down the row. Snowdrop was the second to last. As expected, all eyes were riveted on her. If she was nervous though, she was doing a good job of disguising it.

“I’m Snowdrop,” she said calmly, “I was brought back by King Sombra… and… I…”

Ponies leaned in, ready for what she’d settle on as a goal.

“And I want to watch others rise to great heights the way I did in my time.”

Once introductions were done, the Coach announced a free period, where the campers could mingle and showcase their abilities. Neither Applejack nor Pinkie Pie knew how to feel when Hyssop, Polar Star, and Snowdrop buddied up. On one hoof, it was very coincidental. On the other, they had all three of the foals they wanted to keep an eye on in one corner of the camp. They watched as the three foals flew around a small circle of hoops. Snowdrop was taking her time, passing through each hoop carefully and looking intently at the infinite string of clouds as she passed in the middle of them. Polar Star wasn’t going much quicker than Snowdrop, but he mostly looked straight ahead as he navigated the hoops. As for Hyssop, she kept brushing the bottoms of the hoops with her tail even though she was flying faster than her two partners.

“Look at Polar,” Applejack said to Pinkie. “He’s trying not to look at Hyssop.”

“Looks like Impatiens was right,” said Pinkie Pie. “With Snowdrop around, no one will want to poke fun at anypony. That means Polar Star’s trying not to bash Hyssop’s lousy flying skills.”

Applejack frowned a bit. “Hopefully he’ll be able to keep it up.”

Then, without warning, Hyssop flew away from Polar Star and Snowdrop, and headed towards Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

“She still needs to work on her tact,” said Pinkie quietly.

“I’m having fun here,” Hyssop said to Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “Snowdrop and Polar are fun to be with.”

“So why’d you just leave them without saying anything?” asked Pinkie.

“I wanted to ask you two something,” answered Hyssop.

“You could at least tell your friends that you’re gonna leave for a minute and that you’ll be right back or something,” advised Pinkie Pie. “Like we said before, it’s kinda rude to just up and leave.”

“Oh. I forgot,” said Hyssop in her unabashed way.

“So what did y’all wanna ask?” Applejack prompted.

“What else besides earth ponies do you have down on the ground that we don’t have up here in Cloudsdale?”

Applejack chuckled. “We heard y’all say you’d like to introduce something new to Cloudsdale, but you don’t wanna jump the gun.”

“That’s rich coming from you, AJ,” sniggered Pinkie.

Applejack opted to quickly change the subject.

“My granny discovered the only Granny Smith tree in Fillydelphia when she was about your age,” she said.

“A tree!” exclaimed Hyssop.

“Uh, yeah,” said Applejack, slightly taken aback. “Until she came along, they thought all they had were golden delicious apples growing on their trees. They never knew the slightly discoloured ones were actually green.”

“My sister discovered something when she was a filly too,” Pinkie Pie chimed in. “An edible kind of rock that you can make candy necklaces out of.”

“Oh. We have rocks you can eat up here in Cloudsdale,” said Hyssop.

And off she went.

“Looks like it’ll take a while for her to learn to say something before she leaves,” sighed Applejack.

“They have edible rocks up here? I didn’t even know they had any rocks up here,” Pinkie pondered.

“Here.”

Pinkie and Applejack jumped.

“Try this,” Hyssop passed a golf ball-sized bright blue rock to Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie did so, and instantly regretted that first bite.

“What kind of rock is this?” she choked.

“It’s a hail stone,” answered Hyssop.

Polar Star and Snowdrop walked up as Pinkie Pie was nursing her sore jaw.

“Did I just see Pinkie eat a flag pole holder?” asked Snowdrop.

“A flag pole holder?” repeated Applejack.

“Well, they can’t stick their marker flags into the clouds. They’d just sink through,” said Polar Star. “So they cut hail stones in half, poke holes in the flat parts, and that way they can sit on the clouds and hold up the flag poles.”

Applejack remembered something. “When I was in Las Pegasus, I wondered what the walkways and buildings were made of. I didn’t find out until after we left what Las Pegasus has that Cloudsdale doesn’t.”

“What is it?” asked Hyssop, whose face was now right in front of Applejack’s.

Applejack backed up a few steps. “They build their buildings and walkways outta painted hailstones.”

“Oh! That’s why Las Pegasus is compatible with all three races of ponies,” grinned Hyssop. “Uh… do they have trees in Las Pegasus?”

“Mostly indoor plants or hanging plants,” said Applejack. “I didn’t see no trees.”

Hyssop was positively beaming.

“What’s with the look?” inquired Polar Star.

“I know what I’m gonna introduce to Cloudsdale,” smiled Hyssop.

“You wanna plant trees up here?” Pinkie had recovered from her icy surprise by now.

“Yeah! Just like Applejack’s granny introduced Granny Smith trees to Fillydelphia,” said Hyssop happily.

Applejack was about to correct Hyssop that technically, they always had Granny Smith trees in that town and just didn’t realise it, but she saw that Polar Star was biting his lip. She was sure he wanted to say he thought it was a rotten idea, but didn’t want to in front of Snowdrop. So she opted to encourage the homeschooled filly.

“Well, I think that’s just dandy, Hyssop,” she said.

“But how are you gonna plant seeds up here in the clouds?” asked Pinkie Pie. “They’d sink through the clouds just like marker flags.”

Hyssop ran off again, and came back a minute later with more marker flag holders made of half hail stones.

“These hail stones can cradle the seeds when I plant them into the clouds,” she said happily. “They’ll get plenty of water and sunlight, and if I can get big enough ones, there can be plenty of soil in them as well.”

Now Pinkie also saw Polar Star looking like he was chomping at the bit yet holding his tongue.

“You’re a genius, Hyssop!” she exclaimed. “But, uh, don’t you think the camp’s gonna need those?”

She indicated the flag holders.

“Oh. Well, maybe not anymore,” said Hyssop, unabashed.

Much like Polar Star, Applejack and Pinkie Pie kept quiet when the Coach asked around about the missing marker flags. When Hyssop showed him the flag holders, he concluded that the flag must’ve just blown away.

“Now where am I gonna get more hail stones?” asked Hyssop when the Coach had gone. “The Weather Factory doesn’t sell the ones they make.”

“Wherever this camp gets its flag holders, I guess,” Pinkie Pie suggested.

“Any variety store ought to have those,” said Hyssop.

“What about the seeds?” ventured Snowdrop. “I doubt there are any shops in Cloudsdale that sell those.”

“Leave that to me,” said Applejack. “I’ll head back home and get some of our best quality Granny Smith seeds for ya!”

Hyssop bounced up and down excitedly.

“I’m gonna reach my goal!” she exclaimed in delight.

Polar Star was trying to look pleased, but his teeth were gritted and he wasn’t making eye contact.

“Uh, before I go,” said Applejack, “where are we gonna do this?”

Polar Star spoke up at last. “We?”

“We can all help Hyssop make her dream come true,” insisted Pinkie Pie.

Applejack nodded. So did Snowdrop. Polar Star inclined his head a little bit.

“Yay! Thanks, everypony!” beamed Hyssop. “My dad knows what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m sure he won’t mind if we plant a few trees in our backyard.”

“Alrighty then,” said Applejack. “I’ll meet y’all there in about an hour.”

It took longer than an hour for Applejack to take a balloon back to Ponyville, run to Sweet Apple Acres, grab a small bag of Granny Smith seeds, and take a balloon back to Cloudsdale, but she was so enthusiastic about Hyssop’s idea that it didn’t seem that long to her. It did tire her out a little, though.

“I hope that’s the last time I have to make a round trip to Ponyville,” she chuckled.

Soon, she found her way back to Hyssop’s house. Pinkie Pie, Hyssop, Polar Star, and Snowdrop were just walking up the road towards it. Applejack saw that Polar Star was looking a lot calmer now, albeit with a bit of a forced smile. She wasn’t worried that Hyssop would catch on if she noticed since she wasn’t good at social interaction, but she did wonder if Polar been nitpicking Hyssop’s unusual idea while she was away.

“Howdy!” she called. “I’ve got the seeds.”

“Great! We’ve got the flag holders,” Pinkie Pie showed her the plastic bag full of hail stones cut in half. “We’re just gonna ask Impatiens in we can plant those trees in his backyard.”

She and Applejack led the way towards the house.

“Polar Star hasn’t been makin’ fun of Hyssop’s idea, has he?” Applejack whispered.

“Nope,” replied Pinkie quietly. “He’s definitely learned to keep his rude comments to himself. And it’s all thanks to Snowdrop.”

“Polar Star, you look like you want to say something,” said Snowdrop.

Pinkie Pie and Applejack spun around, alarmed.

“Uh, no, I’ve got nothing to say,” lied Polar.

“You’ve been wincing ever since Hyssop told us she wanted to plant trees up here in Cloudsdale,” said Snowdrop. “If you think there’s a problem with it, you should speak up.”

“No, no! It’s a brilliant idea!” said Pinkie quickly.

“Yeah. Just because it’s never been done before, don’t mean it ain’t no good,” added Applejack.

“Polar Star,” said Snowdrop, “you said at camp that you want to find ways to improve.”

Polar’s face relaxed a little. “That’s right.”

“So how can Hyssop’s plan to use hail stones to plant seeds be improved upon?” asked Snowdrop.

“Well, I don’t see how we can improve this rotten idea,” said Polar Star.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie grimaced. And then they noticed that Impatiens was watching their conversation from his front door. They were both sure they’d failed in their mission.

“What’s gonna happen when the tree grows?” demanded Polar Star. “Its roots won’t have anything to hold onto and the tree will weigh the stones down slowly until it slips through the cloud and falls outta the sky.”

Hyssop stared. “I didn’t think of that.”

“Why didn’t you bring this up before?” asked Snowdrop.

Polar Star gulped. “My mom says I need to stop pointing out flaws. And a lot of my friends say I’m rude for doing that too. This filly back in Ponyville named Scootaloo…”

“Oh, I know Scootaloo!” smiled Snowdrop. “It was one of her feathers that was added to the Reverse Cremator so I could be brought back to life. What about her?”

“Well, she’s been trying to fly for a long time,” said Polar Star, “but all she does is hover above the ground a little. I mean, how can she expect to fly anywhere if she has no particular place to go. But whenever I tell her she needs to pick up destination if she wants to fly properly, she and her friends get mad.”

Snowdrop smiled. “Your way of trying to help your friends may be blunt, but I think you’re a very upright colt.”

“Me too,” said Hyssop. “I’m glad you stopped me before I sent a bunch of trees raining down on some poor unsuspecting earth ponies.”

Applejack and Pinkie Pie exchanged awkward glances as Impatiens stepped out of his house towards them

“Oh, I don’t want to stop you,” said Polar Star. “I like the idea of trees in Cloudsdale. But I just don’t see how we can grow them in those tiny little hail stones.”

“What’s this about planting trees in hail stones?” asked Impatiens.

Hyssop and Polar Star told him about the idea to plant Granny Smith trees in hail stones so they could grow up in Cloudsdale.

“We’ll have to make larger hail stones,” said Impatiens. “And even then, we’ll probably only be able to plant one tree in each one so they don’t get too heavy for the clouds to support.”

“Can we make larger hail stones?” asked Snowdrop.

“Well, I know the head of production in the Weather Factory’s hail department,” said Impatiens. “I’ll see if I can pull some strings and put an order through for large, flat oval-shaped hail stones for us.”

“So you like my idea?” asked Hyssop.

“Of course I do,” said Impatiens. “Did you come up with it at camp?”

“Yep,” nodded Hyssop happily. “And it was all thanks to my new friends.”

She pulled Polar Star and Snowdrop into a hug, and looked at Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

“Thanks to you, I’ve found something I can share with the whole town, instead of just imagine something in my house,” she smiled.

With that, Applejack’s and Pinkie Pie’s cutie marks buzzed and glowed.

“You know,” said Pinkie, “if planting trees in Cloudsdale catches on, that verse Spike made up at the Equestria Games won’t sound so stupid.”

Author's Note

For a while, I thought this was gonna be the lousiest story in the batch. I think it actually turned out okay.