Glorified

Prism

It was the first time we’d been back to Grandpa Hang Glider’s house since the big move. Of course, ‘we’ was just me and Dad. Mom wouldn’t go anywhere without Haze, and he couldn’t be in the sky with the rest of us. Sometimes, I wondered what it would be like if Haze could fly. But, then he really wouldn’t be Haze anymore.

Haze is Haze, I’m me, Dad’s Dad, Mom’s Mom. Just like that. Simple, the way it should be. I wonder if Grandpa got any blocks since the last time I was here? Ugh, I’m gonna be so bored.

The sky from above Ponyville was different every time I was in it. It was like all the clouds would get pushed up just a little more every day. Blue as blue could be, never too crowded, all the layers in the air sitting easy on top of each other like big blankets of butter. Cut with feathers, they were smooth and easy to glide through. Wind could get annoying, but a little twitch and a tiny turn, and that too would melt to butter.

Flying was fun, but more than that, I liked looking at the city. The big buildings were my favorite. The one with all the round edges and the gold letters and the big windows always looked like it was on fire late in the day. Then there was the tree castle, which was kinda cheating since it was just magic, but it was shiny and colorful too. Auntie Applejack always likes to talk about how ugly it is, but it wasn’t as bad as some of the other buildings in Ponyville.

For instance, they were in the middle of building something that looked like a gigantic pee-pee. It was round and had these two big domes on top of smaller parts of the building, and it already stretched up and up and up into the sky. It’s hard to not laugh at it. Then I did laugh at it.

“Prism, buddy, fly straight,” Dad said.

I flipped back over and beat my wings to catch up. “Yes, sir.”

He raised a brow at me. “Are you excited to see Grandpa Hang?”

“Does Grandpa have blocks?”

Dad put a hoof to his dark blue beard. “Uh, maybe?”

“Then, maybe!” I flew ahead and watched as the outskirts of Ponyville faded from white, gray and black to green and brown. The city just sorta melted into the forest slowly, then quickly. Green treetops and white and black spotted trees, little dirt roads with hoof paths where the paved roads hadn’t gotten yet. Could a road be built to Cloudsdale? Maybe Haze could come to Grandpa’s house if it could be.

Dad caught up. “Why maybe? Do… do you not like Grandpa Hang, Prism?”

Do I like Grandpa Hang? He was an old pegasus who could fly really well. If Dad was the kinda pegasus who could fly forever or sometimes even in his sleep, Grandpa Hang was more the kind who could fly in any weather no matter how bad it was. But when he wasn’t flying, it was like he never wanted to do anything. He’d rather ride an easy wind than actually push himself to do something fun. He used to play with me more. “Well, I don’t not-like Grandpa Hang. Grandpa Bow is more fun though. He’s always got blocks!”

“I guess I need to get Dad to invest in blocks…” Dad mumbled. “Hey, I know we’ve talked about this, but don’t tell him that, alright?”

What was the word Mom would always yell at me? “Fray-zing?”

Dad made a bunch of funny faces like he didn’t know how to make words. “Yeah, ‘phrasing.’ Keep it to yourself.”

“Kay!” The sun was at that sort of low point where the sky was really blue, but not all the way blue. Lunchtime was a little while away. I want to build that tower again. “Hey, Dad, are we gonna be there for long?”

He scratched his cheek. “I mean, we’ll have lunch, but I don’t…” He lowered his brows at me, but not like he was mad. “Are you sure you don’t ‘not like’ Grandpa Hang?”

“Yeah.” I was pretty sure.

“Alright then. I guess we won’t stay too long. Is there something you wanna do, buddy?”

“I wanna build the tower!” I could see it in front of me. “I wanna try and get all the windows right, and maybe cut the letters out of paper and stick them on somehow. I don’t wanna mess up the blocks, but if I could push the tower back just a little so I can set them there… ooh! Dad, do we have gold paint?”

Dad tilted his head. “Probably not.” He did a thing with his lips like he wasn’t sure about something. “Tell ya what, be good for me while we’re at Grandpa Hang’s house, and we can go to the art store on the way home.”

“Yes!” I wanted to spin, so I thought about the kind of spins Dad and Mom used to do in their Wonderbolt routines. The really twisty one where they go around and around, then fall and swoop back up. That was Mom’s best trick, especially when she had the rainbow gas to match her tail. What does she do?

I made a big push with my wings and used one to push harder to start the turn. The sun on my left, Ponyville on my left, the sun, Ponyville, the sun, Ponyville. Spread my wings out so the sky is totally blue and above me, then fall, head first. Just when it feels like I’m about to go too fast, I turn my wings and bank up. Just like Mom!

My head was a little dizzy, but I heard Dad clapping a little behind me. “Hey, that was pretty good! Did you practice that, buddy?”

“No, I just thought it would be fun to try. It was!”

He stopped smiling. “Oh, geez.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

He caught up and flew in tandem with me. “No, no, it was great, really! But, uh, if you do any more Wonderbolt tricks, and ponies see you, tell them you practiced it, alright?”

As if she were right there with us, I heard Auntie Applejack. “Now listen here, boys, Ah’d better not catch ya lyin’ ta me again. Lies’ll get ya in more trouble than it’s worth. Ponies’ll be madder if ya lie ta them than if ya tell the truth.”

“But Auntie Applejack said—”

“I know what Applejack says, but this is important. You’ll understand when you’re older, but, please tell ponies you practice flying, okay?”

This didn’t feel good. But it’s Dad, so… “Okay.”

He let out a deep breath. “Cool. We’ve still got a while to go before we get to Grandpa Hang’s house. You wanna race?”

“Ooh! Ooh! I’m gonna beat you this time!”

His lips curled. “Oh, are you? Go on, I’ll give you a head start.”

“I’m gonna beat a Wonderbolt!” With everything I had, I shot off. The ground raced by and the sky became stickier and stickier the further away we got from Ponyville. There was a big lake under Cloudsdale, and there was always an icky wet feeling above it. Going higher made it harder to breathe, but it was better as long as I could beat Dad. I could feel smoother parts, and there was a tailwind if I moved a little to the right.

Looking back, I didn’t see Dad anywhere. I can win! Harder and harder, higher and higher! The sky was silkier the higher I flew. I could see Cloudsdale now, and still no sign of Dad. Where is Grandpa Hang’s house again? Cloudsdale was such a big place too. Oh, I wanna win, but I don’t know where Dad went!

There was a big park with a rainbow fall at the edge of Cloudsdale, right next to a sign that said ‘Welcome to Cloudsdale, Equestria’s biggest sky city.’ When I passed the sign, I turned around. Oh, come on, where did he go? “Dad!?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

My heart felt like a popped balloon. “Oh.” But then I was mad. “Hey! Where did you go? I didn’t see you anywhere!”

He was breathing a little hard and his cheeks were kinda red. “I was above you the whole time.”

I looked up into the even darker sky. It was so much bluer in Cloudsdale that it was kinda purply if you looked all the way up. Sure, it was easier to fly here, but it was hard to breathe too. “Above me? All the way up there?”

He nodded. “Here’s your first tip if you ever want to be a racer some day: It’s easier to go down than up. Get as high as you can, then push and fall. That’s how Mom does her special trick.”

I’d seen it once on TV. There was some kind of celebration and Mom was a lot younger, and she broke the sky into colors by the castle. Auntie Twilight got a crown or something, but Mom made this huge explosion thing. She was going so fast, too. “Is that how she does it? By falling?”

Dad’s eyes widened. “Uh, yeah, but don’t go trying something like that, you could hurt yourself really bad. Your Mom tore her wing doing that once. She couldn’t fly for almost a year.”

A whole year? “But that’s so long! She couldn’t fly at all?”

“No flying at all.”

“That’s awful!” I hugged my wings. “I don’t wanna tear my wings.”

Dad patted my mane. “Well, don’t go crazy when you fly, and you should be fine.” He looked at a watch he was wearing. “Let’s go, Dad and Sweet Wing are waiting for us.”

“Okay.” We started walking on the fluffy streets of Cloudsdale when something felt weird to me. I call Mom 'Mom'. I call Dad 'Dad'. Dad calls Grandpa Hang ‘Dad’ sometimes too. “Hey, Dad?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“Why don’t you call Grandma Sweet Wing ‘Mom’ or ‘Grandma?’”

Dad’s feathers rose like a cat’s fur when you scare it. “B-because that’s her name, Prism!”

“Oh. Okay.” I wonder why he reacted like that? Weird. I guess Dad is just weird.

“Y-ya know, I bet Grandpa Hang made your favorite food today.”

“Mac and cheese!?”

“Yes! I’m sure of it! It’s probably ready now, we should gallop to his house!”

Now that would make the trip worth it! Mom and Dad always make me eat those icky little tree things! Dad didn’t wait for me, so I chased after him. Mac and cheese, mac and cheese!

Grandpa Hang’s house was in the middle of a bunch of rows of little cloud houses a little ways away from the center of the city on the south side. There was a pool in the back, a pointy fence around the front, some chairs and a fire pit in the yard, and a big bench swing on the porch.

The house itself was about the same as every other house around here: a single floor, two windows on the front and back, a chimney on the east side, molding all around the roof, and a gabled peak. It was comfy, but they all looked the same for the most part. It was boring. Grandpa Bow and Grandma Windy’s house was a lot more interesting since it had two floors and more windows, but it was on the other side of the city. Even if I made it look really close to the same, I could build this house with my blocks in a few minutes.

Some people dyed their houses too, but Grandpa Hang’s house was just as plain white as most of them around here. Basic cloud with no extra details whatsoever. Boring, boring, boring! “I really hope that mac and cheese is ready…”

“Yeah, me too, buddy,” Dad sighed. He knocked on the front door.

It opened to an older white pegasus mare with a dark blue mane and tail and green eyes like mine and Dad’s. She wore a headband to keep her mane all behind her ears, where it came down and curled up toward her cheeks.

“Hey! Come on in, guys!” she said, stepping out of the door for us.

I trotted in, sniffing the air for that salty, cheesy smell that I was told would be nearby.

“I hear little hooves!” a deep, smooth old voice said. “Are they hungry?”

How weird. “Dad, do hooves eat? I’ve never fed my hooves…”

“Prism, buddy, hooves are part of you, you eat. He’s asking if you’re hungry.”

“Oooh. I’m hungry Grandpa!” What a weird way to ask me a question. Maybe Grandpa is weird too.

Grandpa Hang came out of the kitchen wearing a blue apron. He was an old yellow pegasus stallion with a dark brown mane and tail. Grandma Sweet Wing had pretty small wings compared to the rest of us, but Grandpa Hang had huge wings that were even bigger than Dad’s. He kept his face shaved, unlike Dad, and he had a lot of lines on his face too.

“Well,” Grandpa began, “I got a tip that somepony here likes mac and cheese. Is it you?”

“Yes, yes! It’s me!”

“Then go wash your hooves and get to the table.”

“Woo!” I hopped and spun in the air toward the bathroom. Gliding down, I washed my hooves, then hovered back to the living room.

“Hey, Prism, buddy,” Grandpa said.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t be flying in the house. We’ve got things you could knock over like that.”

I do hate it when Haze knocks over my towers. I always get so close and then the little brat comes and knocks it over! “Yeah, okay, Grandpa.”

He patted my mane. “That’s a good colt.”

Grandpa’s house was mostly white as it was pretty much all cloud save a few things that were made up here. Little toys or ‘decorations’ that I’m not allowed to play with on shelves, a bouncy couch that shouldn’t be bounced on, a TV that looks old even though TVs are kinda new, lights in glass cases, windows that sit on the clouds like everything else up here. It was about as boring as every other house. No colors, no wood, no metal, just clouds and glass.

We sat at the table, held hooves, Dad said a prayer, and then we got to eat. They’d made a lot of food, but all I cared about was the big bowl of mac and cheese. Grandma Sweet Wing gave me a lot, so I went at it.

“Got a… little flier there, huh, Soarin?” Grandpa said.

Dad had been eating a salad but just about dropped his fork. “He’s… just a kid, Dad. He does things because they’re fun.”

In between spoons full of macaroni, I looked up to see Grandpa’s face. He had a sort of… mean look. It felt mean, anyways. Grandpa never looks mean, and I don’t think mean ponies look like Grandpa either, but the way he was looking at Dad seemed mean.

“You did things because they were fun when you were a kid too, remember?”

Dad rolled his eyes. He does that when Mom does something weird, too, but this wasn’t in, like, a funny way. “So I did. What about it?”

Everypony had stopped eating. I was about done, so I thought I should too.

Grandpa put his hooves together over his food. “What’s your plan exactly, son?”

“I did not come here to do this today.”

Grandma Sweet Wing shook Grandpa’s shoulder. “Hang Glider.”

Grandpa drifted over to her, but never took his eyes off of Dad. “Stay out of it. This is between me and my son, Sweet.”

Grandma sighed, then turned to me. “Prism, sweetie, are you done eating?”

There was a lot more mac and cheese I could eat still on the table, but it was too weird now to start again. “Yeah…”

“Well,” she said, getting up, “we heard from your other grandparents that you liked blocks, and we got a set. Would you like to play with them in the other room?”

“Yes!” I jumped out of my seat, but then Grandpa looked at me really nasty, so I sank back down to the ground. “I-I would.”

She came beside me and put her wing around me. “Good, let’s go play then.”

Grandma was pushing me out of the room more than anything. I trotted along because I kinda had to, but I looked back at Dad and Grandpa one last time. They both had mean faces on. Nopony was smiling.

After we got to the guest room where I’d slept once before, she took out a big bin full of blocks of all kinds of colors, shapes and sizes. I'd never seen these kinds before, but there were a lot of triangles instead of squares like I’m used to.

“What do you want to build Prism?” Grandma asked. Grandma was always nice, but even last time we were here, it was me and her playing outside. Dad and Grandpa stayed inside then too…

Still, I had blocks now, and a tower to build. “There’s a tower in Ponyville that has gold letters on it. Do you know it?”

Grandma thought for a minute. “It wouldn’t be the Goldmane Hotel, would it?”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s build that!”

“Well, alright. Can you show me how?”

When we’d gotten it mostly assembled, Dad came into the room. “Alright, buddy, let’s head on back home.”

It’d been awfully quiet while we were building the tower, but I was pretty focused on it and I think Grandma had to clap to get my attention a few times. “Oh, okay. Did you talk to Grandpa?”

Dad frowned. “Yeah. Just… don’t fly around this house, alright?” Then, he noticed the tower we’d built. He came by and sat down with us. “Wow. Is this the Goldmane Hotel?”

“Oh, yeah!” I sat back down to explain it to him. “We don’t have these sorta triangle kinda blocks back in Ponyville, but I can make a lot of shapes with them! If you put them a little off each other, you can make it look kinda like they curve.”

Dad inspected the tower from a few different angles before standing back up. “That’s pretty cool. Guess we’ll have to look into blocks like this on the way home.”

Grandma stood up too. “Mrs. Windy told me about them. I figured we ought to have some since he likes them so much.”

He really looked like he didn’t want to smile at Grandma at all. Dad’s always kinda weird around Grandma. “Thanks, Sweet Wing.”

“I’m sorry, Soarin.”

Dad shook his head, then put a wing over me. “Don’t worry about it. You should come to us next time. He only gets like this when it’s just me and Prism.”

“I’ll talk to him about it. Please don’t be a stranger.”

This time, Grandma was making a face like when Mom really wants something from Dad. Only, hers was kinda sad, and Mom’s is always weirder.

“We’ll see.” He pushed me up to standing. “Come on, say goodbye to everypony.”

He took us through the door and back into the living room where Grandpa was waiting. He didn’t seem mean anymore, just sleepy. Grandpa smiled at me, at least. “Hey, buddy. Did you have fun?”

“Yeah! Your blocks are really neat, Grandpa!”

He took me into a hug, and I hugged him, but he still felt… sleepy. Like he wasn’t really all that happy. “That’s great, buddy. I’ll help you build something next time.”

“We’ll see,” Dad said again. He definitely wasn’t smiling. They never got loud like Mom and Dad sometimes do, but they looked like they were hitting each other, just without the hooves.

“Sure, Son. Tell Rainbow and Haze we said hi.”

“Will do. Bye, Dad.”

He started pushing me to the door, but I hadn’t said bye yet. “Bye Grandpa, bye Grandma!”

Grandpa put one of his big wings over Grandma and they both waved. They both smiled without smiling too. “See ya later, buddy.”

Then, we were out the door.