"Is there anyway to make this balloon go faster?!!" Twilight Sparkle screeched the question. Despite it being her balloon and having knowledge of how it worked, her panic was leading her to seek alternatives. Upon hearing the question, Pinkie leaned over the side and began to blow in the opposite direction the balloon was traveling. After a few moments, she was exhausted.
Just then, Twilight got an idea. "Rainbow Dash, get out and-"
"Giant." her friends echoed an answer to her notion.
"Fluttershy, can you try to-"
"Giant. Also, she's who we're looking for." Another group reply followed by Pinkie explaining. Twilight groaned in frustration and slumped to the floor of her balloon.
"Maybe we could try the wing spell?" Rarity suggested enthusiastically. Of course she would jump at the opportunity to look fabulous.
Twilight held her head in her hooves. "With what? You see any materials I can use to make wings in this balloon?"
"I still have some leftover cheese." Pinkie mentioned, holding a combat helmet filled with chunks of formage.
Rarity recoiled at the idea. "Cheese wings?! Wings made of... cheese? On me?!" she trembled as she contemplated the notion of using wings made of... cheese.
"How would that even work? First, your cheese has holes in it. Second, there's not enough to make to wings for all of us. Third,-"
"Cotton candy!" Pinkie shouted and pointed a hoof behind Twilight.
"Cotton candy? That would be even worse! It would melt if it got exposed to-" Twilight didn't see behind her that the balloon was heading into a patch of clouds, a patch of cotton candy clouds. She was knocked to the floor as the balloon stuck into the bright pink fluff.
"Oh no," Twilight said as she got to her hooves. "Cotton candy clouds? Oh no... that means..."
"Discord got out again." Rarity and Pinkie echoed the unfortunate truth.
Twilight prodded one of the clouds adhering to her balloon with a hoof. It stuck to her hoof and then sprung back. The clouds were holding the craft in place.
"It's okay." Twilight said with releif. "I can just use a spell to clear all this up." Twilight's horn glowed and she unleashed a magic beam at the nearest cloud. The beam exploded in a flash but the cloud remained. Twilight's heart sank. "Oh no," she said mournfully.
"The clouds resist magic? If only we had a pegasus here who could-" Rarity was about to finish that sentence when a glare from Twilight stopped her. The glare quickly turned into a trembling lip. Twilight looked as though she as about to break into tears.
"What are you blubbering for maggot?" Pinkie asked. She know wore the combat helmet and it seemed to have changed her into a minature pony George S. Patton. She marched over to the cotton candy cloud.
"We're not staying stuck to this cotton candy for another cotton candy-pickin' moment! There's only one way out of this!" Pinkie declared as she opened her mouth wide and took a bite out of the nearest cloud. She followed that bite with another and then another. Before long, an entire cloud disappeared.
"Tastes like victory!" Pinkie said, patting her stomach. She continued trying to eat the craft free of the cotton candy bank of clouds. This attempt lasted about another minute and a half before the pink pony slumped to cabin of the balloon, covered in pink cotton residue from mane to tail.
"I can't... I can't make it sarge." Pinkie said to Twilight who stood by her, perplexed. "It's too much. I didn't sign up for this." she gasped. Instantly, she'd changed from confident and courageous general to shell-shocked and traumtized footsoldier.
"It's okay Pinkie," Twilight said, trying to comfort her friend despite her own confusion. "You... you did your best. We couldn't ask for anything more."
"Why, yes." Rarity agreed. "You gave those clouds your all. That one never stood a chance, why, you walked all over it."
That gave Twilight an idea. "The cloudwalking spell! Of course! We can use that to walk the rest of the way to Canterlot!"
"You mean... I didn't have to eat all those clouds?" Pinkie asked.
"Um... I guess not." Twilight admitted.
Pinkie's gaze dropped to the floor. "We had bad intel. All those men lost... for nothing."
Twilight didn't know what to say. She decided once again that nothing would be exactly the thing to say. Looking over to Rarity, she saw that she had chosen to do the same.
"So, give me a moment to cast the cloudwalking spell and we can get going." Twilight said.
Pinkie got up off the floor slowly. "It's just like they told us back at the academy. War is hay."