Chicken Pot Pie

  It was all in all a wonderful night, the pink mare literally bounced into her bed at the top floor of Sugarcube Corner, where her room was still a mess from dragging all of her assorted knickknacks for the Goof-off earlier that day. She really pulled all the stops, and was practically shivering with joy at the recollection of Dash's face during the event. Particularly special for her was that it wasn't just one of her best friend's Birthiversary, but the very first co-party she's ever organized!

  "Woo! It'll be a while before I can throw together one quite as spectacular as tonight's, what a perfect party!" Pinkie spoke to the ceiling, her mind already abuzz with whatever hoedown or shindig she could make an excuse to throw the next day. She spent the whole evening laughing with her best friends until Dash passed out from too much cider, leaving Twilight to levitate her back home. There was still a rosy glow to Pinkie's cheeks, having had more than her normal share of the sweet cider herself. AJ had completely outdone herself, providing barrel after barrel of the stuff for her pegasus friend.

  Then a slight wave of melancholy washed over the pink pony.

  It was a wonderful party, and she had all her friends together, but at the same time there was something amiss. Did she forget to make sure there were as many blue balloons to go with the pink ones earlier? No. Did she mix the third and forth layer of the quintuple layered cake? That wasn't quite it either. Still, a strange tingling of regret had mozied its way into the pony's head and she sat up, throwing the blanket off of her to ponder.

  "I got to spend the evening with Rainbow Dash. I danced with Twilight, I drank with Rarity, I hoof wrassled AJ, I... fluttered with Fluttershy. What did I forget?"

  Pinkie slid out of bed, slipping on the banana peel she hilariously left by the bedside earlier and getting back onto her hooves began to pace.

  "I had a chocolate syrup chugging contest with Derpy, I listened to Octavia's newest medley, I wrote a letter to Celestia, I played Charades with Gummy... Why could it be?"

  A perplexing predicament for the party pony, perhaps the perfect party wasn't performed to perfection? If she were Twilight she would have had a checklist ready, but in her head she knew that everything on her mental 'Pinkie Patented Perfect Party Parcel' was checked off, so this should be the part where she falls asleep happy and ready to bring more smiles tomorrow. Maybe it was-

  "Twitch-a-twitch!", a shiver bolted down Pinkie's spine and rebounded off her tail, sending it shivering before her whole body immediately arched towards the window like an arrow.

  "My Pinkie Sense has never done this before!" Pinkie stammered as she began to effectively vibrate to her window and then trip and fall out of it. Luckily, her plastic beach ball (for ball related emergencies) was there to squeak as it caught her fall. Another shiver down the mare and her tail was now serving as an arrow, pointing towards the bridge of Ponyville. Always the first to rely on instinct, Pinkie half-bounced, half-twitched her way forward.

  It was late in the evening as she passed Twilight's library(the librarian's light was still on in the top floor, probably reading), the old Quill and Sofa shop, the Lotus Sisters' Spa, and finally the mess of shops died into the occasional house on the outskirts as the bridge between Ponyville and beyond lay beyond the horizon.

  Her tail erratically jabbed at the bridge one last time, giving Pinkie all the incentive she needed to take a bound forward with all the grace of a showmare, only to trip over something rubber and... boneless, tumbling six times before falling flat on her stomach right at the edge of the bridge where a shadowy figure stood at the opposite corner.

  "Miss Pie." a gruff voice addressed her, the small flare of a streamer sounding towards the end.

  Clop. Clop.

  The figure walked over, draped in tan leather and a black cowboy hat, before offering his hoof to the pink pony. Not bothering to take it, Pinkie's face developed into a wide grin.

"Oh! Cheese! Party Pony! It all makes sense now! See, I was sitting after the party and I felt I was forgetting something but I drank with Dash, danced with Twilight, wrassled AJ, fluttered with Fluttershy, but felt like I forgot something but thought I was just being forgetful then I started twitching andfelloutthewindowbutlandedonaballanditturnsoutIthinkInevergottosaygoodbyeandthat'sprobablywhyI'mhere! Deep breath!" Pinkie motored off, leaping back to her feet.

  "What a coincidence, I also felt my Cheese sense drag me back here even though I was en route to Manehatten, guess I needed to tie up loose ends."

  "A proper party pony parting?" Pinkie asked, Cheese nodded, and with a flick of his neck sent his hat into the river with a loud splash followed by the cloak. Cheese took a step towards the rosy pony, then another until he stood right before her, frazzled ponyfro whipping in the wind.

  "Wait, this isn't-" Pinkie began, about to take a step backwards only for Cheese to lean forward, muzzle close to hers, the strong scent of musky Parmesan greeting her nostrils.

  "Pinkie..." Cheese said, voice steady and frighteningly serious. Pupils wide all Pinkie could do was nod slowly as the impact smacked her.

Splat!

  "-Pie!" Cheese laughed hysterically as the banana cream soaked into Pinkie's face, tin foil bending from the impact of the pie. Pinkie broke into laughter of her own as she grabbed his front hoof in turn, setting off an old joy buzzer.

  His afro now even further frazzled that before, Cheese threw a hoof around the smaller mare's neck and started walking her across the bridge.

  "It's so good you came by, I don't really wanna leave Ponyville right away anyways, c'mon, I'll show you my place, it'll straight up blow your mind! - Watch out for those slinkies, I got a bit antsy waiting earlier."

  It wasn't a long walk before the two had arrived at what Pinkie assumed to be Cheese's personal party shack. The Party Tank parked beside it seemed indication enough; it was on wheels, one larger than the others and was painted with an array of bizarre patterns and optical illusions, a ring of hula hoops was tied by the door, and a tuba seemed to be halfway embedded into the roof, the grass around it was littered with confetti, soda bottles, cheese, mice eating cheese, and a copy of 'Everything You Wanted to know about Parties but are Too Afraid to Ask".

  Cheese gave three knocks on the door before answering, "Come on in!" and thanking himself for the invitation as he kicked the door open. The door instead fell flat-forward with a loud thud.

  "Oh silly me, I forgot to put the hinges on. C'mon in, I have some kiwi and Tabasco punch that'll make your tastebuds explode!" Cheese emphasized as Pinkie got a good look at his abode. It wasn't large but it definitely had its characters, pots of paint were scattered about where he had painted the walls with stripes and swirls, with photographs of prior planned parties plastered on the wall. Pinkie could have sworn saw another unframed photograph that looked very familiar, but it was quickly snatched by Cheese and slipped into a bright yellow workbench before she could inspect it. On the workbench lay hammers, screwdrivers, streamers, no less than seven wheels of extravagant cheeses, an actual wheel painted to look like cheese, and a garbage bin so overfilled it looked more like a garbage corner. A hammock sat in the opposite corner, weighed down with sketchbooks and masks ranging from absurdly silly to slightly creepy to slightly silly to absurdly creepy.

  "Wow! This place is... awesome!" Pinkie giggled, plopping onto the hammock.

"I'm glad you think so, because I think so," Cheese said, handing her a wooden mug filled with the punch. She took a deep sip, it was a perfect mix of the tangy sweetness of kiwi and the powerful zest of tobasco, she'd have to get the recipe. Cheese sat across from her after grabbing a nearby stool. It was missing a leg but Cheese's equilibrium was nothing to sneeze at, he wobbled with ease.

Leaning the stool backwards he poured himself a cup too, this one a plastic container reading "I <3 Mondays" with a twisting bendy straw that swirled into the shape of a pretzel. He raised his mug.

"A toast (the toaster by the workbench let out a ding) to the party pony that inspired my life's work." Cheese said, and with a shy giggle the two cups clacked together, some of the greenish-red fluid spilling onto the floor before they both took a long gulp.

"Wow, I was always wanting to get to talk one on one with you, I haven't been back to Ponyville since I was a colt, I really wanna mark this occasion the best way I know how."

  Pinkie tilted her head to the side as she leaned back in the hammock against the wall, the paint was still wet behind her.

"The biggest party in Ponyville is a pretty big occasion, what could possibly be more funciting than that?"

  "Oh, I can think of one thing, close your eyes and wait just a few moments..."

  "Oh wow, Cheese, I had no idea this is what you had in mind,", Pinkie panted, face flushed, "I hadn't played a game like this since I was a filly!"

  Cheese was also out of breath, chest heaving in and out, "Well, when you're with Cheese, I aim to please! Ha, I totally just made that up right now. Right hind hoof on Lemon Yellow and we're adding another plate!"

  The two were coiled over the only plastic mat, Pinkie tucked beneath the stallion, hooves tangled up in a way that would be painful for any other pair of ponies. The mat was not a rainbow, just sixty different shades of yellow, including sunflower yellow, yellow orange, banana yellow, sunny yellow, and mellow yellow. To further partify this party game, both were spinning plates atop their muzzles on sticks, Pinkie taking extra care to not smack her plate into Cheese's throat above her.

  "Psh, I was the champion at this when I was a filly, you're on!" Pinkie cried, deftly slipping her hind hoof around Cheese's and just barely reaching the spot without dropping the plate.

  "I see, but are you prepared for the ultimate challenge!?" Cheese laughed with a touch of mania before pulling a curious rope with his teeth, catching his falling plate with his rump after it slid down his back. The room began to vibrate, pots and tools falling to the floor as the Shake-o-Meter installed in the foundations of the wagon (a party prerequisite for those not in the know) began to violently shake it.

  Pinkie and Cheese just laughed as the plates fell and shattered as they both lost their balance and found themselves rolling around the shack, tumbling over each other until the indoor quake ended, leaving Pinkie tucked under the stallion who was using one hoof to keep from crushing the smaller mare.

There was a pause as Pinkie lay flat on her back, the weight of Cheese pressing lightly on her except for where his hoof was holding him up They were both mussed with sweat from the games, and Pinkie could only grin awkwardly as her face went pinker than usual. There was just the sound of the two breathing for a moment, surrounded by broken plates, splashes of paint, and the strong scent of cheddar and Monterrey jack, until Cheese spoke for the first time without a trace of goofiness in his voice.

"Pinkie, I hope this isn't... too weird.", and he kissed her.