Welcome Back!by LynchristinaChaptersChapter 1: Welcome Back!Chapter 2: Shop,Talk,and WalkChapter 3: The Crystal EmpireChapter 4: Getting it Done, or AlmostA Date!Chapter 1: Welcome Back!It was a start of a new day in Ponyville, the light of the bright sun shined through a window of Sugarcube Corner. A pink pony felt the warm sunshine on her face, she smiled and dragged herself off the bed. The sleepy pony yawned,"Good morning Celestia, the sun is looking extra bright! It must be a special day today, I can feel it, don't you?" The mare beamed, she walked towards her bathroom and heard a book fall down to the wooden floor. She looked at where the sound was, she saw a book. It was her scrapbook. She plopped down on the wooden floor and flipped through the pages. She saw many pictures of her friends on adventures. Once she flipped through the next page, she stopped. She stared at the pictures within the page, it was full of her with...... Cheese Sandwich. Pinkie sighed, and placed her hoof on the pictures,"That was a super awesome day, it's been like forever." There was a knock at the door,"Pinkie, I need you to take care of a shift for me. Carrot Cake and I need to bring an order to this wedding. We thought it was tomorrow, but apparently they moved it up to today. Why don't you come down and eat breakfast?" Pinkie closed the book,"I'll be there in a sec, don't worry Mrs. Cake!" ...................................................................................................................... The happy squeals of delights from the fillies echoed around the small living room. Wrappers, crumbs, and confetti littered the floor, but for once nopony cared. It was the best birthday party any of them could remember. Matrix trotted over to the poncho clad stallion in the corner. "Thanks so much for this, Mr. Sandwich. It's the best party my sister's ever had." The stallion grabbed his poncho hat and placed it on his head,"Your welcome little filly, it's my job to make everypony smile." The mare giggled,"You remind me of this mare that my cousin wrote in her letters, she does the same thing you do, you should go visit her. I think my cousin said she lived in Ponyville or something." Cheese Sandwich chuckled,"Maybe.... someday." The mare waved her hoof goodbye and watched the party pony leave to the sunrise. Cheese Sandwich walked through the rough path to who knows where. He turned to the rubber chicken resting comfortably on the saddle. "Well, Boneless 2, where do you think we're going next?" The rubber chicken's head sunk lower. Cheese nodded thoughtfully, as though an unspoken conversation had just occurred. "You want to go to Ponyville?" His emerald eyes sparkled in excitement. "Hehe, I guess we can go for a while. But, when the Cheesy sense comes, we'll have to leave. I'm a traveling pony after all." Cheese began to trot his way to Ponyville. ................................................................................ Pinkie Pie took the dirty dishes to the sink,"So,when will you two be back?" Mrs. Cake pushed the cake through the door,"Tonight!" Mr.Cake waved to Pinkie,"Take care of the foals!" Pinkie waved back,"Don't worry!" Pinkie walked to the counter and rested her hoof on it,"I wonder when you'll be back, you never told me. I guess I should have asked you before you left." The store's bell ranged, a purple alicorn came through that door and went towards to Pinkie,"Hello Pinkie." Pinkie jumped,"Hiya Twilight, what are you doing at this hour?" Twilight smiled,"Well, I was hoping if your not too busy, you would want to plan a party for somepony I know." Pinkie squealed,"A party, for who exactly?" Twilight flew up in excitement,"It's for Cadence and Shining Armor,....... They're having a foal!" Pinkie gasped,"A party for Cadence's foal! That's great!" Twilight flew down and pranced around like a little filly,"I know, I'm going to be an aunt! So will you do it?" Pinkie jumped,"Of course! This is going to be the biggest party ever!" .............................................................................................. Cheese hummed a happy tune while he walked through the dessert. Then he stopped, he started to feel a doozy coming up. Everything shook, his cutie mark started to make music. Cheese hopped,"Wow! Now that was a doozy. That's weird, it's saying to go to....." Cheese gasped," Ponyville!" Cheese leaped happily to the air,"Yes! Now I have a reason to go! And there's going to be a party there too, a big one." ................................................................................. Twilight trotted with excitement towards the door,"Well, I'll leave you to it Pinkie, thanks." Pinkie hopped happily towards the kitchen. Alright, lets get baking. I just need to find those cooking utensils, and some ingredients, I should probably go to the market. ................................................................................. Cheese looked up to see a sugary sweet like building. So this is where Pinkie lives in, I wonder if this place is made up of real sweets. The stallion went up to the pink wooden steps and opened the door to smell the sweet aurora of the shop's sweets. He looked into different directions to see that nopony was there. Cheese noticed a small bell, he tapped on it to see if somepony was there. Pinkie heard the bell, "Just a minute!" Cheese's ears perked up high.That sounds like Pinkie's voice. Pinkie grabbed her utensils,"Here they are." Pinkie Pie grabbed her cooking utensils and walked to the counter to meet the customer,"Okay, so what do you....." Cheese took off his poncho hat and smiled at the Pinkie,"Hi Pinkie Pie." Pinkie jumped in excitement," Cheese, I can't believe your here, I never thought you'd come back because your a traveling pony and all. But who cares, your here in Ponyville!" Cheese's smile grew wide as he watched the pink mare jump up and down talking to him. Look at her, so full of energy, sometimes I forget how she even does that. Pinkie stopped at mid-air,"Wait, why are you here?" Cheese dragged his hoof around Pinkie and pointed his other hoof to the distance,"Well my pink friend, I was going to visit you, but then I felt my cheesy sense pointing that their was a party being planned here." Pinkie was overjoyed to hear that he was going to plan the party with her,"So that means your going to plan the foal shower with me?" Cheese was thrilled at the thought of working with Pinkie this time. And this time, they're not going to battle with each other. Cheese slightly nodded at Pinkie,"Yepadoodles!" Pinkie bounced and smiled at the stallion,"That's great, I was going to pick some ingredients at the supermarket after the Cakes come back, do you wanna come?" Cheese nodded,"Sure." Author's Note This is my first romance story, no it's not. My first one, I deleted it. I hope this one is better than the first one. This is the tune that Cheese was humming. Chapter 2: Shop,Talk,and WalkNight had fallen into Ponyville. As if governed by some unspoken ritual, hundreds of crickets began to sing by the creek bed. In town, a silence had fallen. All down the street, lights were blinking out as ponies made their way to bed. However, some ponies were still awake. In Sugarcube Corner's darkened interior, moonlight spilled in from the window, casting an outline of two ponies. Pinkie turned the chair around in a mysterious manner. A thick pipe was clasped in her hooves,"State your name stranger." A stream of tiny bubbles spewed from the pipe. Cheese Sandwich wore a fedora hat with a suit that blended in the dark room."Names Cheese Sandwich." Cheese pulled out a blue document from his right pocket,"Here are the documents, it's all there." Pinkie Pie swiped the documents and looked at the markings and structures,"Hmmm, this is missing things. Do you expect us to do this?" The paper slammed on the wooden desk. Pinkie stood up,"Don't worry, everything will be fixed after I'm done with you." Cheese was about to object in their little play till they heard foals crying from the other room. Pinkie turned her neck to the hallway,"Oh, the foals are awake. Don't worry, we'll get back to our plans. Just let me put them back to sleep." Pinkie walked as she threw her pipe and coat. Cheese chuckled as he took off his suit,"I hope that was all the voices we need for those little crusaders to use." Cheese's hooves struck a soft tattoo on the wooden floor of the hallway. Peering inside the nursery, he watched Pinkie tuck the foals in bed. One of his ears perked up when a soft sound drifted to his ears. Pinkie? Curious, he poked his head into the room. The soft, sweet song was nothing like Pinkie had ever sung before. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. For what felt like an eternity, he stood, enraptured by Pinkie's lullaby. Pinkie softly sang her lullaby to the twins,"Stars and moons and air balloons, fluffy clouds to the horizon, I'll wrap you in rainbows, and rock you to sleep again..." Cheese made a soft smile. She sounds.... so.... beautiful. I've never saw her sing like this. Usually she sings something fun and could bring the whole town in it. But this, it's something that I never saw in Pinkie. At least, not till now. Cheese backed up a few steps to hear a squeak from a small a toy from the back of him. Automatically, Cheese swiftly tip toed to the counter. Phew. Pinkie walked towards the kitchen and turned the lights on,"Cheese?" The stallion gulped,"Hehehe.....Yeah?" Pinkie chuckled,"You silly billy! Why didn't you just turn on the lights than walking through the dark?" Just then a tall yellow stallion and a blue mare went through the door to see two ponies in the kitchen. Mrs. Cake yawned,"Sorry for coming a tad late dear." Pinkie made a soft smile,"It's okay Mrs. Cake, everypony comes in late sometimes when they're having fun at a wedding." Mr. Cake rubbed his big chin,"Hey, aren't you that Cheese Sandwich guy that hosted that amazing party for Rainbow Dash?" Cheese slightly nodded at the stallion,"Yes, yes I am." Mr. Cake placed his bags on the counter,"So, are you here to plan a party?" Cheese slightly nodded at Mr. Cake,"Yeah, me and Pinkie are throwing a party for Princess Cadence's foal." Pinkie jumped,"Hey Cheese, where are you going to sleep tonight?" Cheese scratched his head,"Huh, I must have forgotten about that. Well, I was going to rent a hotel. Are there any hotels here?" Mrs. Cake chuckled,"No need for a hotel dear, you can sleep over here for a while if you want." Pinkie squealed in delight,"You can stay in my room Cheese. I can lend you a sleeping bag." Cheese smiled,"Well alright then, i'll be glad to stay here." Pinkie quickly dragged Cheese to her room. Immediately she went to her closet to find the sleeping bag. Cheese looked around the room. He felt nice carpeting beneath his hooves. It felt soft and fuzzy. He wandered around the big room and observed the beautiful colors that brighten the dim room. He went up the wooden stairs to see pictures hanging from the wall. He looked at each of them, one by one he smiled at the thought of what other things happened at that time. Slowly he went up the stairs to the balcony. He opened the doors to the outside and felt a cool breeze coming to him. Cheese looked at the night sky, it was full of twinkling stars. They all brighten up the whole sky. Pinkie smiled and swiped the sleeping bag,"There you are sleeping bag. Hey Cheese you'll be slee......." Pinkie looked around to see where Cheese went. She looked up and down and all around till she felt a shivering breeze flowing through her coat. Pinkie trotted to the balcony to see Cheese staring at the stars. Pinkie went towards him,"Hey, um... Cheese?" Cheese turned around to see a pink mare in front of him,"Oh, sorry Pinks, I was just looking at the stars. They're really beautiful this time of night, aren't they?" Pinkie looked up as well,"Yeah, they are." She made a soft smile. "Come on Cheese, I don't want you to get cold." Cheese nodded at the pink mare and closed the doors,"So, you found your sleeping bag?" Pinkie grinned,"Yepadoodles, here." She tossed the bag to Cheese. "You can sleep by my bed." Cheese unrolled his sleeping bag by Pinkie's bed and placed his bags with Boneless two,"Hey, where's Boneless by the way." Pinkie showed Boneless to Cheese,"Here, he's been a really good chicken after you left." Cheese held his friend,"Hello old buddy." Pinkie yawned,"You should probably get to sleep Cheese. I mean, I would have a big slumber party with you right now, but we need all the energy we need tomorrow." Cheese tucked himself in the sleeping bag,"Yeah, your right. We need to start getting ingredients and start our plans. Goodnight." Pinkie leaned over to turn off the lights,"Goodnight Cheese." .................................................................................................. Pinkie woke up to hear the sounds of birds chirping. She rubbed her eyes, they were still blurry from her sight. When trying to get up, her foreleg was tangled in the blanket. She fell off the bed to be inches away from Cheese's muzzle. Cheese suddenly woke up to see a mare's muzzle inches away from his own,"Gahh!" Pinkie's pupils shrank and immediately got off Cheese as fast as she could. She tried to hide her bright blush from Cheese,"I'm so,so,so sorry Cheese!" Cheese looked at the shy pink pony,"It's o-okay Pinkie, it was just an accident." Pinkie stared at the door,"Well, ehem, I'll meet you at breakfast, we have a big day today." She rushed to the door and immediately closed the door. Pinkie slowly slid down the door. Oh my gosh, we were so close to each other. I feel so embarrassed. We'll just pretend it never happened. ............................................................................................ Cheese was still stunned."Wow. I've never been that close to a mare before. It felt......nice." Cheese got out of the sleeping bag,"Well, I better get downstairs." .............................................................................................. Pinkie looked down at her food, still thinking of what happened. Mrs. Cake looked at Pinkie,"Is there something wrong?" Pinkie looked up at Mrs. Cake,"Well......I, uh." Cheese trotted to the chair next to Pinkie,"Umm...good morning everypony." Mr. Cake flipped through the pages of the newspaper," So are you ponies going shopping?" Pinkie nodded,"Yeah, we need materials for our party." Mr. Cake folded the newspaper,"Well you better get going. The earlier you get there, the more time you'll get for planning." Pinkie smiled,"Your right Mr. Cake, enough talk, time is candy." Cheese finished his last bite and walked out the door with Pinkie. He look down at Pinkie,"Hey, uh... Pinkie." Pinkie looked directly at Cheese,"It's okay Cheese, let's just enjoy our day together, okay?" She smiled. Cheese smiled at Pinkie,"Okay." ...................................................................................... Cheese and Pinkie arrived at the supermarkets. It was full of ponies from every direction of each market. Ponies were lining up to get food or supplies there. The two party ponies went down the list to each thing on their list. From confetti, to cooking utensils, to balloons, and to the banners, they checked it off one by one. Pinkie looked down at her list to find one last thing. She gasped,"Oh I almost forgot the main attraction! The fireworks! You can't end a great party without fireworks! Let's go find Sparks, she's a great firework maker." Cheese nodded,"Okay, lead the way. Pinkie made her way to a colorful stand. It was full bright colors, the colors popped out like fireworks. Even though it was a fireworks stand. Pinkie waved to Sparks,"Hiya Sparks!" Sparks plopped down a ton of fireworks in front of Pinkie,"Hi my little party pony!" She looked at the stallion next to her,"Oh, starting to settle down with a nice coltfriend, that's sweet Pinks. He looks perfect for you!" Pinkie and Cheese blushed crimson red,"No, it's nothing like that!" Pinkie rubbed her hoof,"He's just my partner, hehe." Cheese scratched his head until he heard crying from behind him. There was a filly crying by a balloon stand. Cheese tapped Pinkie, "Hey, you go on and buy the fireworks, I'll be right back." Pinkie nodded,"Okay." Him and me? Together? Nah, I'm not really that kind of pony that would be perfect for him. Sparks giggled,"Aww! That's so adorable." Pinkie looked up at Sparks," Sparks, can I get some rainbow fireworks please." Sparks covered her mouth,"Oh okay, we'll just keep it as a secret. Don't worry, my lips are sealed." Pinkie sighed,"There's nothing going on between me and him. I like him as a friend, that's all. Being in a relationship with him would be kinda weird. Plus, I'm not looking for love. Partying is my love!" Sparks grabbed a bunch of fireworks,"Well okay, but it will still look cute though. Twenty bits please." Pinkie dug into her saddlebag and placed the bits in Spark's hooves,"There." Cheese walked to the balloon stand to find a filly crying,"Hey are you okay?" The little filly cried,"Waaaaaaah!" The filly's mother tried to comfort the little filly,"Oh I don't know what's wrong with her. She won't stop crying." Cheese smiled as he reached into his saddlebag to grab a small balloon. "Watch this little one." He began to blow into the balloon into a fun shape. It was turning into a pony balloon. "There you go." He handed the pony balloon to the filly. "Say thank you to the nice stallion Sherbert." The Mother smiled as she slowly walked away. "Thank you for the balloon sir." "Hey Cheese, I have the..." Pinkie looked at Cheese. She saw the stallion give the balloon to the filly. Aww he's so sweet. "Thank you Mister." Sherbert galloped to her mother,"Goodbye!" Cheese waved back to the foal and smiled. Pinkie went towards him,"That's really sweet Cheese." "Oh, um...thanks. We are party ponies after all, we have to make everypony smile." Cheese walked along by Pinkie's side. Pinkie looked at her list,"Hmm.... it looks like we're done. Pinkie gasped,"Hey, I just had a great idea, how about we discuss things by my favorite place on top of the hill!" Cheese nodded,"Okay, let's go." .............................................................................. The two trotted to the top of the grassy hill. Pinkie dropped her saddlebag on the grass. She pulled out a notebook and a pencil and handed it to Cheese. "So what do you think?" Cheese looked at the beautiful scenery. It was full of fresh green grass and flowers that showed the beauty of the plain. "It's beautiful. Hey, maybe we should do the party here." "Hmm.....I guess, but how will the train hold that many crystal ponies? I mean they can go one by one but that will take too long." Cheese scratched his head in confusion,"Crystal ponies? Are you talking about the Crystal Empire? I've never been there before." Pinkie gasped,"What! You've never been to the Crystal Empire before?" Cheese shook his head,"Nope, I've never been called to plan a party there either. I've always wanted to go, but my Cheesy sense always goes off when I think about it" "Hey, how about we do it at the Crystal Empire then! The crystal ponies will be glad to celebrate their princess's new foal there. Plus, you'll get to plan your first party there!" Pinkie clapped her hooves. Cheese nodded as he wrote in the notebook,"Mhmm." Pinkie pondered,"And uh, we can serve their favorite foods. Oh, and of course Cadence's favorites, and Shining's! Bright colors for the banners and balloons. Oh it's going to be so fun!" Cheese chuckled as he spat out the pencil from his mouth,"I got it all here." "Alright, let me see." Pinkie took the notebook and looked at the page. It was a picture of Pinkie and Cheese with streamers and crystal ponies by their side. It read Best Buds. Pinkie giggled at the picture, and so did Cheese. They laughed as they rolled like little fillies. Cheese rolled next to Pinkie,"This has been the best day ever Pinkie. I'm glad that we can spend some time together." Pinkie giggled,"I'm glad that too Cheesy." Author's Note Long! Oh, and this was the song that Pinkie was singing: It's such a cute song! Chapter 3: The Crystal EmpireAuthor's Note Hello! Sorry for the really long update, there's been a lot of schoolwork in my hands. But I'm back in business my friends! Two upcoming chapters of The Princess and the Dragon are coming soon! And at the same time, a new story, but it's a one shot story. That's all the updates for now. Enjoy the chapter! Chapter 3: The Crystal Empire Cheese crawled out of his sleeping bag to be greeted by the “morning blur” as he liked to call it. Squinting he attempted to bring his surroundings into focus. Closing one's eyes was quite difficult when starting a new day. He was distinctly reminded of those old glasses he used to wear. They were so large they had made him more closely resemble a dragonfly than a colt. Wearing them back then made him look like a fool. But it was the only way to see where he was going. Wish I had them now. The blur began to clear up through his constant blinking. Much better. Finally he struggled to his hooves, noticing the pink mare still sound asleep in her bed. He chuckled softly to himself. Adorable. Without ceremony, he prodded her in the ribs, "Pinkie, it's time to get up." Pinkie moaned, squinting back at him, "Mmph, alright, I'm up." After tossing off the blankets, she grabbed the blueprints with her tail. Together they trotted downstairs. "So, I guess we should tell Twilight and Princess Cadence that we're going to hold the party at The Crystal Empire then." Just as Cheese was about to respond, the distinct call of trumpets drew their attention to the courtyard below. What’s that about? Cheese and Pinkie scurried down to the kitchen, and nearly ran headlong into Twilight and Princess Cadence sipping tea at the table. Twilight lowered her cup, "Well hello, Pinkie. Oh, hello, Cheese, I didn't know you would come." Pinkie yawned, "Yeah, he's going to help me plan the party." Twilight smiled, "Well that's great! Cheese, this is my sister-in-law Princess Cadence." Cheese immediately knelt down in front of the princess. He looked up at Pinkie, nudging her pointedly in the side. "Pinkie, kneel," he hissed. Princess Cadence chuckled, "No need to bow, a friend of Pinkie's is a friend of mine." Seemingly undeterred by his screw up, Twilight teleported a scroll and a quill to her side, "Cadence and I were just discussing about the preparations of the foal shower. We were thinking of holding it at the Crystal Empire instead." "Well that was a coincidence, I was going to tell you the same thing!" Pinkie leaned in as she took a bite of her hay sandwich. "Great! That's one thing check off the list." Twilight’s quill met the paper, neatly checking one of the boxes. "Why don't we get your supplies and head to the Empire? We can rest when we get there." "Swure." Little pieces of her hay sandwich spat out as she spoke. She swallowed, "Let's go, Cheesie." The two party ponies trotted back to the upstairs to gather their belongings. Twilight directed her focus to Cadence. Well she was awfully quiet. She shrugged. Meh, must be some kind of relaxing tip. "So Cadence, I think you should head towards the train station while I tell my other friends to pack. Yes?" No response. It was like she was in Lalaland. "Cadence?" She waved her hoof across her face. Nothing. "Cadence, hello?" Cadence shook her head, "Huh? Oh, sorry Twilight. I was just . . . in the zone, you know? Hehe." "Alright, so umm, I'm going to go. After I take you to the train of course." Twilight leaped off her seat as she lent her hoof to Cadence. Cadence sighed, "Oh, Twilight, you don't have to be so careful. The due date is not until two weeks from now. I can walk to the train station myself. Besides, I have the guards to help." Twilight sighed, she was acting like her brother when he was being frantic. "Alright, alright. But be careful." Cadence leaned over, gripping her into a tight hug. Her soft giggle was all the reassurance Twilight needed. "Don't worry Mom, I'll be fine." The girls chuckled as they headed towards the outside of Sugarcube Corner. ........................................................................ The train came to a screeching halt, sending a large puff of smoke towards the ponies gathered at the station causing more than a few to cough. Spike started hauling the luggage to the crystal train. These are so heavy! Twilight trotted to the dragon, levitating half of the luggage inside. "There you go Spike." Spike shot her a grateful smile, "Thanks, Twilight." Everypony boarded the train, resting on the crystal seats. Cheese glanced around him. The chandeliers that were in every compartment were made up hundreds of miniscule crystals that caught the light like some fantastic kaleidoscope. The light bouncing off of Pinkie was especially captivating, magnifying the beauty that she already possessed in spades. Celestia she’s something else. Twilight sat next to Cadence, whispering something in her ear. Twilight didn't understand what she was going to do, but she decided to wing it. Clearing her throat, she addressed the ponies in the compartment, "How about you take a look at the crystal caboose? It’s definitely worth a visit." Everypony seemed to agree, trotting briskly over to the other cart. Cheese’s eyes fell on Pinkie’s decidedly stationary position. "Wait, what about Pinks? If she doesn't go then I can stay with her." Twilight shoved Cheese to the other cart, "No need, we want you to have a nice time here. Pinkie is going to uh, help Cadence." "Wait, for w-" The door slammed before he could finish. Pinkie strode over to Cadence, "So, is there anything you need for you and your little foal?" Cadence levitated a seat for Pinkie as she sat across her. "Yes, I need you to answer some questions for me, Pinkie. Is that okay with you?" Pinkie smiled, "Sure! I would be obliged to uh, answer questions I guess. What kind of questions?" "It's about Cheese." "Oh, okay!" Cadence lifted an eyebrow, "Okay." Weird, she's not reacting. Let me see. "So, that Cheese fellow, he's cute huh?" A light blush brushed before her, "Well, I guess yeah. I think. Umm." Cadence smiled at the blushing filly, "It's okay Pinkie, you could tell me. I am the Princess of love. I like to see ponies be together in happiness. And you and Cheese look cute together. Plus, I could see how he really cares about you." The heat began to leave Pinkie’s cheeks. She knew that she could trust the Princess at any cost. Twilight would probably do some kind of science research. Fluttershy might just accidentally blurt it out when being pressured. Applejack, would probably do the same thing as Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash might just go and tell him. And Rarity will just give her a bunch of magazines about romance. Cadence was the only hope. She sighed, "Well, to tell you the truth, I do kinda maybe like him. But the thing that kinda hurts is that, what if I'm not good enough? I feel that Cheese deserves somepony that lives up to his expectations. He's a party pony that travels, I'm just a pony who stays in one place! Even if I do go with him, things wouldn't work out. Ponyville needs me as their ray of sunshine. Without me, Ponyville would be a mess. Trust me." Cadence lifted her chin up, "Pinkie, you need to stop doubting yourself and start believing yourself. That's how love takes off. If you just believe in yourself, everything will smooth things out, you'll see." Pinkie smiled, "Thanks, but I think I'm just going to take it slow. I don't really feel like I want to be in a relationship." Cadence nodded in response, "That's okay Pinkie, love will always take time. But if you need any help, just come to me." A door slammed opened from the caboose. A group of ponies walked out of it. Twilight walked towards Cadence, "Did everything go well?" Cadence nodded, "Yes, Yes it did." The train immediately stopped as the speaker spoke, "Attention passengers, we have now arrived at The Crystal Empire." Cadence rose from her seat, "This is it, let's go." The ponies carried their belongings off the train, eyes darting around the crystal city. It seemed even more captivating than before. Cheese on the other hoof was too focused on the crystallized buildings and ponies. Crystallized ponies? Awesome! Cadence opened the doors to the castle as a white stallion rushed to greet her. "Shining Armour!" "Cadence." Shining gave his wife a quick hug. He looked down to the unborn baby, "Is the foal alright?" Cadence gave a quick chuckle, "It's fine, Shining." She pointed to the stairs of the palace. "You can find your rooms in there." The ponies trotted up to the crystal stairs as they made their way up to a narrow corridor. They all went to deposit their belongings in their respective rooms. Pinkie and Cheese hastened to gather their party supplies, then quickly moved to throne room. Cadence and Shining were seated on their high backed chairs, looking up as they entered the massive chamber. "We have some plans for the party. Everything should be decorated by tomorrow." Pinkie pulled out the blueprints from her saddlebag. Cadence levitated the blueprints, inspecting them with a small smile. "Well I think the plans look great. But I think we should add more of the crystal pony food traditions, just to make it fun for the Empire." "Yes, great idea. We'll add that in for you, your highness." Cheese grabbed his pencil as he wrote it in his blueprints. Shining Armour took in a deep sigh. "I think we should be fine tomorrow." He yawned as he smiled softly at his wife. "We should get some rest, don't want to keep the foal up." Shining placed the blueprints inside his saddlebags. "We can get started tomorrow." Cheese and Pinkie got up as they waved goodbye to Shining and Cadence. Pinkie watched the brilliant sunset through the impossibly large window. Yawning, she followed Cheese towards his room. "Cheese, do you think the party will go out fine?" Cheese chuckled, "Of course! With you by my side, nothing will go wrong." He sat down on the floor, pulling her into a tight hug. Pinkie couldn’t stop the blush from stretching across her face at the sudden contact. She rubbed her eyes, yawning loudly. Cheese smiled, "Hey, do you want some juice? I could pour some for us." "Sure." Cheese went to the kitchen as he poured a glass of juice. Upon returning, he found Pinkie sound asleep on the floor. "Awe, look at that," he whispered to himself. Placing the glasses down on the table, he gently carried the mare to his bed. As quietly as possible, he pulled the blanket over her. The sight of Pinkie curled up fast asleep made him feel warm all over. She’s like a kitten. He planted a kiss on her forehead, "Goodnight." Chapter 4: Getting it Done, or AlmostThe two party ponies rushed down the spiral staircase to attend the preparation of the foal shower. Everything was going to be perfect. Pinkie took out her check list as she read the things she had planned. The party was only in a week till the baby comes. Pressure was building on. Cheese looked at Pinkie with a comforting smile, "Hey, don't look like that. Between you and me, this party is going to be as big as Rainbow's Birthaversary! I promise." Pinkie felt reassured after the pep talk. Cheese always knew what to say, it just made her heart flutter. "You're right! Let us go throw a party!" The two ponies began to share out their plans to the local ponies in the Crystal Empire. Ponies gathered around as they took all the materials to hang around the whole empire. After a few hours of decorating, the final product began to come together. As Cheese walked down the glassy street, he stood and looked down. Suddenly realizing that his own reflection stretched upon the crystal floors. Wow, I guess the Crystal Empire can get shinier. After his thought he went back to check list plan. He tilted his head up to see many red ribbons and balloons tied to every lamp. Dining tables were being put up by the stallions near the castle entrance. The crystal fair was setting up too as well. It was surely going to be a blast. He smiled and began to trot along the sidewalks to check with his favorite party mare. At the castle, Pinkie sat down with Shining Armour in the kitchen placing many ingredients on the table. "Alright! I think we have all the ingredients we need. Me and Apple Jack should be ready to bake them later in the afternoon. We have to at least finish decorating the Crystal Empire." Stated Pinkie. Shining Armour grinned, "Alright then, I can't wait for this to be done. You have really outdone yourself Pinkie." Pinkie blushed, "Awe, it's nothing really. But Cheese mostly did the work too. With two party ponies, you seem to get things done a lot quicker!" Shining chuckled, "I can see that." As the ponies chuckled, Cheese made his way to the door. He trotted proudly to Pinkie and Shining Armour. "Alright Pinkie all the decorations should all be in order!" Cheese smiled. "That's fantastic Cheese! Wow, I guess we can maybe get started with the food then!" Exclaimed Pinkie. Shining struck a small smile,"Haha, well I'll leave you two to it." Pinkie and Cheese waved as they walked to the back counter of the kitchen. Every ingredient for the traditional crystal foods were all there. From corn, crystal berries, fritters, everything! Pinkie walked towards a shelf with a book. She reached up and grabbed the over-sized book. Geeze, this thing is enormous! The pony sat down on the crystal floor as she turned to a random page of the huge book. Cheese took his head out of the ingredients shelf to see the cooking book that Pinkie held. He squinted behind her to catch a glimpse of the page, "Crystal Funnel Cake huh? I think we can get started with that." "Okie Dokie! Aj will be here to help us prep after she's done helping Fluttershy with the Ewe's." The two ponies high-hoofed each other as they started to rush towards the ingredients shelf. The two of them grabbed all the supplies and walked back to lay them on the table. After an hour of baking, Pinkie brought the 3 Crystal Funnel Cakes to the oven. The tired pony sighed as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Afterwards she walked back to the front as she laid flat on the couch. Cheese walked over to the pink filly with a bowl of icing. He smiled as he dove a spoon in the bowl to Pinkie. She made a warm smile to Cheese as she took the spoon of icing and stuffed it into her mouth. After a overwhelming afternoon, a bowl of icing always manages to cheer her up. And with Cheese there, it just made the day a whole lot better. Her cheeks began to turn a slight pink. What am I thinking? Cheese is only a friend, just a friend.. As her train of thought continued, a hoof was planted on her muzzle. She snapped back into reality as she noticed it was Cheese's hoof. Cheese chuckled silently, "Sorry there's a lot of frosting on your muzzle." Pinkie began to heat up, "Oh." She said quietly. Cheese was suddenly very close to Pinkie. It was like being cramped in a room with one pony. But this time, it just felt different. After swiping off the stack of frosting off her muzzle, Cheese directed his vision to her blue bejeweled eyes. He always loved looking at them. Whenever he got the chance, it just melts his world. Sometimes he wishes he could look at them forever. Without consulting what he was doing, he slowly slid his hoof down from her muzzle to her cheek. Pinkie was crimson red. She just couldn't move. She wanted to say something, but nothing came out. It was just complete silence. As she began to explode a pony burst through the door. Cheese shook his head as he turned around. A tired orange farm pony fainted to the ground. She managed to open her eyes, "Sorry ya'll, all them ewes are really hard to herd! It just took longer than expected, but I'm here." Pinkie shook her head as she trotted to her friend, "Oh it's okay Aj, me and Cheese managed to make 3 Funnel Cakes for today!" Apple Jack struggled to get up, "How about we just call it a day, we can start over tomorrow." Pinkie sighed in relief, "Hehe..yeah, I think we all need a rest." Cheese slowly walked to the two fillies and nodded slightly, "Alright, well I'm just gonna go double check check our list. Just in case." The fillies nodded and went back outside to their rooms. Apple Jack looked up on Pinkie, "Did something happened when I was gone, you two seem a little quiet." Pinkie shot up a fake smile, "What? No nothing happened! Hehe! Let's get you some rest AJ, I can tell you need it!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cheese walked through the town, quietly thinking to himself. What happened back there? His head ducked down in shame. I feel so embarrassed. I maybe it was her beautiful eyes. I guess that's just what happens when a guy is in lo-. His train of thought stopped. His face angered. No I can't. We're just friends, that's all she will see me as. I can't let our relationship go like this. Suddenly Cheese bumped into Shining as he fell to the crystal floor. He glanced up, "Oh I'm sorry Shining, I didn't notice you here. I was just, in thought. Shining looked down, "Hehe, it's okay Cheese." He lifted the lanky stallion up to his hooves. "Are you okay Cheese? You seem a little down." Cheese sadly lifted his head, "It's nothing, I'm just a little confused." "About what?" Asked Shining. Cheese looked down. Shining made a small smile,"Oh come on, you can tell your old buddy Shining! We're guys! I promise I won't tell. Guy's honor." The stallion sighed, "Well, I just have mixed feelings with...Pinkie." "Ah, so you like her huh?" Cheese blushed, "If you put it that way....I guess I do. But it's just that I don't think she'll feel the same! We have a perfect relationship together, and I don't want to break it!" Shining put his hoof around the blushing stallion, "Look, I know this is hard. And I won't lie, it is! But don't you want to strengthen that friendship?" "Yeah.." "Well then do it! You never know unless you try Cheese. Maybe she sees you as more than a friend, she just doesn't want to say it. That's love." Cheese hesitated, "But what if she doesn't accept it?" "Hey, I know Twilight's friends, and I know that Pinkie would never leave you like that. And if she doesn't love you, she'll still accept you as her friend." Shining reassured. "You make a good point." Shining chuckled, "Mhmm! And to start this off, why not ask her on a date tomorrow?" Cheese stuttered, "A date? I-I don't know, we have to set the party and the food has to be done an-" Shining interrupted, "Hey, don't think too much, we'll take care of it. This party won't be as fun with my best party planners being sad!" "I guess so." "That's my boy. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. And don't forget to bring flowers!" Shining nudged him. Cheese smiled as he went up the crystal stairs, "Asking Pinkie out on a date... Welp, let's see how this will go." A Date!Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 1: Welcome Back!It was a start of a new day in Ponyville, the light of the bright sun shined through a window of Sugarcube Corner. A pink pony felt the warm sunshine on her face, she smiled and dragged herself off the bed. The sleepy pony yawned,"Good morning Celestia, the sun is looking extra bright! It must be a special day today, I can feel it, don't you?" The mare beamed, she walked towards her bathroom and heard a book fall down to the wooden floor. She looked at where the sound was, she saw a book. It was her scrapbook. She plopped down on the wooden floor and flipped through the pages. She saw many pictures of her friends on adventures. Once she flipped through the next page, she stopped. She stared at the pictures within the page, it was full of her with...... Cheese Sandwich. Pinkie sighed, and placed her hoof on the pictures,"That was a super awesome day, it's been like forever." There was a knock at the door,"Pinkie, I need you to take care of a shift for me. Carrot Cake and I need to bring an order to this wedding. We thought it was tomorrow, but apparently they moved it up to today. Why don't you come down and eat breakfast?" Pinkie closed the book,"I'll be there in a sec, don't worry Mrs. Cake!" ...................................................................................................................... The happy squeals of delights from the fillies echoed around the small living room. Wrappers, crumbs, and confetti littered the floor, but for once nopony cared. It was the best birthday party any of them could remember. Matrix trotted over to the poncho clad stallion in the corner. "Thanks so much for this, Mr. Sandwich. It's the best party my sister's ever had." The stallion grabbed his poncho hat and placed it on his head,"Your welcome little filly, it's my job to make everypony smile." The mare giggled,"You remind me of this mare that my cousin wrote in her letters, she does the same thing you do, you should go visit her. I think my cousin said she lived in Ponyville or something." Cheese Sandwich chuckled,"Maybe.... someday." The mare waved her hoof goodbye and watched the party pony leave to the sunrise. Cheese Sandwich walked through the rough path to who knows where. He turned to the rubber chicken resting comfortably on the saddle. "Well, Boneless 2, where do you think we're going next?" The rubber chicken's head sunk lower. Cheese nodded thoughtfully, as though an unspoken conversation had just occurred. "You want to go to Ponyville?" His emerald eyes sparkled in excitement. "Hehe, I guess we can go for a while. But, when the Cheesy sense comes, we'll have to leave. I'm a traveling pony after all." Cheese began to trot his way to Ponyville. ................................................................................ Pinkie Pie took the dirty dishes to the sink,"So,when will you two be back?" Mrs. Cake pushed the cake through the door,"Tonight!" Mr.Cake waved to Pinkie,"Take care of the foals!" Pinkie waved back,"Don't worry!" Pinkie walked to the counter and rested her hoof on it,"I wonder when you'll be back, you never told me. I guess I should have asked you before you left." The store's bell ranged, a purple alicorn came through that door and went towards to Pinkie,"Hello Pinkie." Pinkie jumped,"Hiya Twilight, what are you doing at this hour?" Twilight smiled,"Well, I was hoping if your not too busy, you would want to plan a party for somepony I know." Pinkie squealed,"A party, for who exactly?" Twilight flew up in excitement,"It's for Cadence and Shining Armor,....... They're having a foal!" Pinkie gasped,"A party for Cadence's foal! That's great!" Twilight flew down and pranced around like a little filly,"I know, I'm going to be an aunt! So will you do it?" Pinkie jumped,"Of course! This is going to be the biggest party ever!" .............................................................................................. Cheese hummed a happy tune while he walked through the dessert. Then he stopped, he started to feel a doozy coming up. Everything shook, his cutie mark started to make music. Cheese hopped,"Wow! Now that was a doozy. That's weird, it's saying to go to....." Cheese gasped," Ponyville!" Cheese leaped happily to the air,"Yes! Now I have a reason to go! And there's going to be a party there too, a big one." ................................................................................. Twilight trotted with excitement towards the door,"Well, I'll leave you to it Pinkie, thanks." Pinkie hopped happily towards the kitchen. Alright, lets get baking. I just need to find those cooking utensils, and some ingredients, I should probably go to the market. ................................................................................. Cheese looked up to see a sugary sweet like building. So this is where Pinkie lives in, I wonder if this place is made up of real sweets. The stallion went up to the pink wooden steps and opened the door to smell the sweet aurora of the shop's sweets. He looked into different directions to see that nopony was there. Cheese noticed a small bell, he tapped on it to see if somepony was there. Pinkie heard the bell, "Just a minute!" Cheese's ears perked up high.That sounds like Pinkie's voice. Pinkie grabbed her utensils,"Here they are." Pinkie Pie grabbed her cooking utensils and walked to the counter to meet the customer,"Okay, so what do you....." Cheese took off his poncho hat and smiled at the Pinkie,"Hi Pinkie Pie." Pinkie jumped in excitement," Cheese, I can't believe your here, I never thought you'd come back because your a traveling pony and all. But who cares, your here in Ponyville!" Cheese's smile grew wide as he watched the pink mare jump up and down talking to him. Look at her, so full of energy, sometimes I forget how she even does that. Pinkie stopped at mid-air,"Wait, why are you here?" Cheese dragged his hoof around Pinkie and pointed his other hoof to the distance,"Well my pink friend, I was going to visit you, but then I felt my cheesy sense pointing that their was a party being planned here." Pinkie was overjoyed to hear that he was going to plan the party with her,"So that means your going to plan the foal shower with me?" Cheese was thrilled at the thought of working with Pinkie this time. And this time, they're not going to battle with each other. Cheese slightly nodded at Pinkie,"Yepadoodles!" Pinkie bounced and smiled at the stallion,"That's great, I was going to pick some ingredients at the supermarket after the Cakes come back, do you wanna come?" Cheese nodded,"Sure." Author's Note This is my first romance story, no it's not. My first one, I deleted it. I hope this one is better than the first one. This is the tune that Cheese was humming.
Chapter 2: Shop,Talk,and WalkNight had fallen into Ponyville. As if governed by some unspoken ritual, hundreds of crickets began to sing by the creek bed. In town, a silence had fallen. All down the street, lights were blinking out as ponies made their way to bed. However, some ponies were still awake. In Sugarcube Corner's darkened interior, moonlight spilled in from the window, casting an outline of two ponies. Pinkie turned the chair around in a mysterious manner. A thick pipe was clasped in her hooves,"State your name stranger." A stream of tiny bubbles spewed from the pipe. Cheese Sandwich wore a fedora hat with a suit that blended in the dark room."Names Cheese Sandwich." Cheese pulled out a blue document from his right pocket,"Here are the documents, it's all there." Pinkie Pie swiped the documents and looked at the markings and structures,"Hmmm, this is missing things. Do you expect us to do this?" The paper slammed on the wooden desk. Pinkie stood up,"Don't worry, everything will be fixed after I'm done with you." Cheese was about to object in their little play till they heard foals crying from the other room. Pinkie turned her neck to the hallway,"Oh, the foals are awake. Don't worry, we'll get back to our plans. Just let me put them back to sleep." Pinkie walked as she threw her pipe and coat. Cheese chuckled as he took off his suit,"I hope that was all the voices we need for those little crusaders to use." Cheese's hooves struck a soft tattoo on the wooden floor of the hallway. Peering inside the nursery, he watched Pinkie tuck the foals in bed. One of his ears perked up when a soft sound drifted to his ears. Pinkie? Curious, he poked his head into the room. The soft, sweet song was nothing like Pinkie had ever sung before. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. For what felt like an eternity, he stood, enraptured by Pinkie's lullaby. Pinkie softly sang her lullaby to the twins,"Stars and moons and air balloons, fluffy clouds to the horizon, I'll wrap you in rainbows, and rock you to sleep again..." Cheese made a soft smile. She sounds.... so.... beautiful. I've never saw her sing like this. Usually she sings something fun and could bring the whole town in it. But this, it's something that I never saw in Pinkie. At least, not till now. Cheese backed up a few steps to hear a squeak from a small a toy from the back of him. Automatically, Cheese swiftly tip toed to the counter. Phew. Pinkie walked towards the kitchen and turned the lights on,"Cheese?" The stallion gulped,"Hehehe.....Yeah?" Pinkie chuckled,"You silly billy! Why didn't you just turn on the lights than walking through the dark?" Just then a tall yellow stallion and a blue mare went through the door to see two ponies in the kitchen. Mrs. Cake yawned,"Sorry for coming a tad late dear." Pinkie made a soft smile,"It's okay Mrs. Cake, everypony comes in late sometimes when they're having fun at a wedding." Mr. Cake rubbed his big chin,"Hey, aren't you that Cheese Sandwich guy that hosted that amazing party for Rainbow Dash?" Cheese slightly nodded at the stallion,"Yes, yes I am." Mr. Cake placed his bags on the counter,"So, are you here to plan a party?" Cheese slightly nodded at Mr. Cake,"Yeah, me and Pinkie are throwing a party for Princess Cadence's foal." Pinkie jumped,"Hey Cheese, where are you going to sleep tonight?" Cheese scratched his head,"Huh, I must have forgotten about that. Well, I was going to rent a hotel. Are there any hotels here?" Mrs. Cake chuckled,"No need for a hotel dear, you can sleep over here for a while if you want." Pinkie squealed in delight,"You can stay in my room Cheese. I can lend you a sleeping bag." Cheese smiled,"Well alright then, i'll be glad to stay here." Pinkie quickly dragged Cheese to her room. Immediately she went to her closet to find the sleeping bag. Cheese looked around the room. He felt nice carpeting beneath his hooves. It felt soft and fuzzy. He wandered around the big room and observed the beautiful colors that brighten the dim room. He went up the wooden stairs to see pictures hanging from the wall. He looked at each of them, one by one he smiled at the thought of what other things happened at that time. Slowly he went up the stairs to the balcony. He opened the doors to the outside and felt a cool breeze coming to him. Cheese looked at the night sky, it was full of twinkling stars. They all brighten up the whole sky. Pinkie smiled and swiped the sleeping bag,"There you are sleeping bag. Hey Cheese you'll be slee......." Pinkie looked around to see where Cheese went. She looked up and down and all around till she felt a shivering breeze flowing through her coat. Pinkie trotted to the balcony to see Cheese staring at the stars. Pinkie went towards him,"Hey, um... Cheese?" Cheese turned around to see a pink mare in front of him,"Oh, sorry Pinks, I was just looking at the stars. They're really beautiful this time of night, aren't they?" Pinkie looked up as well,"Yeah, they are." She made a soft smile. "Come on Cheese, I don't want you to get cold." Cheese nodded at the pink mare and closed the doors,"So, you found your sleeping bag?" Pinkie grinned,"Yepadoodles, here." She tossed the bag to Cheese. "You can sleep by my bed." Cheese unrolled his sleeping bag by Pinkie's bed and placed his bags with Boneless two,"Hey, where's Boneless by the way." Pinkie showed Boneless to Cheese,"Here, he's been a really good chicken after you left." Cheese held his friend,"Hello old buddy." Pinkie yawned,"You should probably get to sleep Cheese. I mean, I would have a big slumber party with you right now, but we need all the energy we need tomorrow." Cheese tucked himself in the sleeping bag,"Yeah, your right. We need to start getting ingredients and start our plans. Goodnight." Pinkie leaned over to turn off the lights,"Goodnight Cheese." .................................................................................................. Pinkie woke up to hear the sounds of birds chirping. She rubbed her eyes, they were still blurry from her sight. When trying to get up, her foreleg was tangled in the blanket. She fell off the bed to be inches away from Cheese's muzzle. Cheese suddenly woke up to see a mare's muzzle inches away from his own,"Gahh!" Pinkie's pupils shrank and immediately got off Cheese as fast as she could. She tried to hide her bright blush from Cheese,"I'm so,so,so sorry Cheese!" Cheese looked at the shy pink pony,"It's o-okay Pinkie, it was just an accident." Pinkie stared at the door,"Well, ehem, I'll meet you at breakfast, we have a big day today." She rushed to the door and immediately closed the door. Pinkie slowly slid down the door. Oh my gosh, we were so close to each other. I feel so embarrassed. We'll just pretend it never happened. ............................................................................................ Cheese was still stunned."Wow. I've never been that close to a mare before. It felt......nice." Cheese got out of the sleeping bag,"Well, I better get downstairs." .............................................................................................. Pinkie looked down at her food, still thinking of what happened. Mrs. Cake looked at Pinkie,"Is there something wrong?" Pinkie looked up at Mrs. Cake,"Well......I, uh." Cheese trotted to the chair next to Pinkie,"Umm...good morning everypony." Mr. Cake flipped through the pages of the newspaper," So are you ponies going shopping?" Pinkie nodded,"Yeah, we need materials for our party." Mr. Cake folded the newspaper,"Well you better get going. The earlier you get there, the more time you'll get for planning." Pinkie smiled,"Your right Mr. Cake, enough talk, time is candy." Cheese finished his last bite and walked out the door with Pinkie. He look down at Pinkie,"Hey, uh... Pinkie." Pinkie looked directly at Cheese,"It's okay Cheese, let's just enjoy our day together, okay?" She smiled. Cheese smiled at Pinkie,"Okay." ...................................................................................... Cheese and Pinkie arrived at the supermarkets. It was full of ponies from every direction of each market. Ponies were lining up to get food or supplies there. The two party ponies went down the list to each thing on their list. From confetti, to cooking utensils, to balloons, and to the banners, they checked it off one by one. Pinkie looked down at her list to find one last thing. She gasped,"Oh I almost forgot the main attraction! The fireworks! You can't end a great party without fireworks! Let's go find Sparks, she's a great firework maker." Cheese nodded,"Okay, lead the way. Pinkie made her way to a colorful stand. It was full bright colors, the colors popped out like fireworks. Even though it was a fireworks stand. Pinkie waved to Sparks,"Hiya Sparks!" Sparks plopped down a ton of fireworks in front of Pinkie,"Hi my little party pony!" She looked at the stallion next to her,"Oh, starting to settle down with a nice coltfriend, that's sweet Pinks. He looks perfect for you!" Pinkie and Cheese blushed crimson red,"No, it's nothing like that!" Pinkie rubbed her hoof,"He's just my partner, hehe." Cheese scratched his head until he heard crying from behind him. There was a filly crying by a balloon stand. Cheese tapped Pinkie, "Hey, you go on and buy the fireworks, I'll be right back." Pinkie nodded,"Okay." Him and me? Together? Nah, I'm not really that kind of pony that would be perfect for him. Sparks giggled,"Aww! That's so adorable." Pinkie looked up at Sparks," Sparks, can I get some rainbow fireworks please." Sparks covered her mouth,"Oh okay, we'll just keep it as a secret. Don't worry, my lips are sealed." Pinkie sighed,"There's nothing going on between me and him. I like him as a friend, that's all. Being in a relationship with him would be kinda weird. Plus, I'm not looking for love. Partying is my love!" Sparks grabbed a bunch of fireworks,"Well okay, but it will still look cute though. Twenty bits please." Pinkie dug into her saddlebag and placed the bits in Spark's hooves,"There." Cheese walked to the balloon stand to find a filly crying,"Hey are you okay?" The little filly cried,"Waaaaaaah!" The filly's mother tried to comfort the little filly,"Oh I don't know what's wrong with her. She won't stop crying." Cheese smiled as he reached into his saddlebag to grab a small balloon. "Watch this little one." He began to blow into the balloon into a fun shape. It was turning into a pony balloon. "There you go." He handed the pony balloon to the filly. "Say thank you to the nice stallion Sherbert." The Mother smiled as she slowly walked away. "Thank you for the balloon sir." "Hey Cheese, I have the..." Pinkie looked at Cheese. She saw the stallion give the balloon to the filly. Aww he's so sweet. "Thank you Mister." Sherbert galloped to her mother,"Goodbye!" Cheese waved back to the foal and smiled. Pinkie went towards him,"That's really sweet Cheese." "Oh, um...thanks. We are party ponies after all, we have to make everypony smile." Cheese walked along by Pinkie's side. Pinkie looked at her list,"Hmm.... it looks like we're done. Pinkie gasped,"Hey, I just had a great idea, how about we discuss things by my favorite place on top of the hill!" Cheese nodded,"Okay, let's go." .............................................................................. The two trotted to the top of the grassy hill. Pinkie dropped her saddlebag on the grass. She pulled out a notebook and a pencil and handed it to Cheese. "So what do you think?" Cheese looked at the beautiful scenery. It was full of fresh green grass and flowers that showed the beauty of the plain. "It's beautiful. Hey, maybe we should do the party here." "Hmm.....I guess, but how will the train hold that many crystal ponies? I mean they can go one by one but that will take too long." Cheese scratched his head in confusion,"Crystal ponies? Are you talking about the Crystal Empire? I've never been there before." Pinkie gasped,"What! You've never been to the Crystal Empire before?" Cheese shook his head,"Nope, I've never been called to plan a party there either. I've always wanted to go, but my Cheesy sense always goes off when I think about it" "Hey, how about we do it at the Crystal Empire then! The crystal ponies will be glad to celebrate their princess's new foal there. Plus, you'll get to plan your first party there!" Pinkie clapped her hooves. Cheese nodded as he wrote in the notebook,"Mhmm." Pinkie pondered,"And uh, we can serve their favorite foods. Oh, and of course Cadence's favorites, and Shining's! Bright colors for the banners and balloons. Oh it's going to be so fun!" Cheese chuckled as he spat out the pencil from his mouth,"I got it all here." "Alright, let me see." Pinkie took the notebook and looked at the page. It was a picture of Pinkie and Cheese with streamers and crystal ponies by their side. It read Best Buds. Pinkie giggled at the picture, and so did Cheese. They laughed as they rolled like little fillies. Cheese rolled next to Pinkie,"This has been the best day ever Pinkie. I'm glad that we can spend some time together." Pinkie giggled,"I'm glad that too Cheesy." Author's Note Long! Oh, and this was the song that Pinkie was singing: It's such a cute song!
Chapter 3: The Crystal EmpireAuthor's Note Hello! Sorry for the really long update, there's been a lot of schoolwork in my hands. But I'm back in business my friends! Two upcoming chapters of The Princess and the Dragon are coming soon! And at the same time, a new story, but it's a one shot story. That's all the updates for now. Enjoy the chapter! Chapter 3: The Crystal Empire Cheese crawled out of his sleeping bag to be greeted by the “morning blur” as he liked to call it. Squinting he attempted to bring his surroundings into focus. Closing one's eyes was quite difficult when starting a new day. He was distinctly reminded of those old glasses he used to wear. They were so large they had made him more closely resemble a dragonfly than a colt. Wearing them back then made him look like a fool. But it was the only way to see where he was going. Wish I had them now. The blur began to clear up through his constant blinking. Much better. Finally he struggled to his hooves, noticing the pink mare still sound asleep in her bed. He chuckled softly to himself. Adorable. Without ceremony, he prodded her in the ribs, "Pinkie, it's time to get up." Pinkie moaned, squinting back at him, "Mmph, alright, I'm up." After tossing off the blankets, she grabbed the blueprints with her tail. Together they trotted downstairs. "So, I guess we should tell Twilight and Princess Cadence that we're going to hold the party at The Crystal Empire then." Just as Cheese was about to respond, the distinct call of trumpets drew their attention to the courtyard below. What’s that about? Cheese and Pinkie scurried down to the kitchen, and nearly ran headlong into Twilight and Princess Cadence sipping tea at the table. Twilight lowered her cup, "Well hello, Pinkie. Oh, hello, Cheese, I didn't know you would come." Pinkie yawned, "Yeah, he's going to help me plan the party." Twilight smiled, "Well that's great! Cheese, this is my sister-in-law Princess Cadence." Cheese immediately knelt down in front of the princess. He looked up at Pinkie, nudging her pointedly in the side. "Pinkie, kneel," he hissed. Princess Cadence chuckled, "No need to bow, a friend of Pinkie's is a friend of mine." Seemingly undeterred by his screw up, Twilight teleported a scroll and a quill to her side, "Cadence and I were just discussing about the preparations of the foal shower. We were thinking of holding it at the Crystal Empire instead." "Well that was a coincidence, I was going to tell you the same thing!" Pinkie leaned in as she took a bite of her hay sandwich. "Great! That's one thing check off the list." Twilight’s quill met the paper, neatly checking one of the boxes. "Why don't we get your supplies and head to the Empire? We can rest when we get there." "Swure." Little pieces of her hay sandwich spat out as she spoke. She swallowed, "Let's go, Cheesie." The two party ponies trotted back to the upstairs to gather their belongings. Twilight directed her focus to Cadence. Well she was awfully quiet. She shrugged. Meh, must be some kind of relaxing tip. "So Cadence, I think you should head towards the train station while I tell my other friends to pack. Yes?" No response. It was like she was in Lalaland. "Cadence?" She waved her hoof across her face. Nothing. "Cadence, hello?" Cadence shook her head, "Huh? Oh, sorry Twilight. I was just . . . in the zone, you know? Hehe." "Alright, so umm, I'm going to go. After I take you to the train of course." Twilight leaped off her seat as she lent her hoof to Cadence. Cadence sighed, "Oh, Twilight, you don't have to be so careful. The due date is not until two weeks from now. I can walk to the train station myself. Besides, I have the guards to help." Twilight sighed, she was acting like her brother when he was being frantic. "Alright, alright. But be careful." Cadence leaned over, gripping her into a tight hug. Her soft giggle was all the reassurance Twilight needed. "Don't worry Mom, I'll be fine." The girls chuckled as they headed towards the outside of Sugarcube Corner. ........................................................................ The train came to a screeching halt, sending a large puff of smoke towards the ponies gathered at the station causing more than a few to cough. Spike started hauling the luggage to the crystal train. These are so heavy! Twilight trotted to the dragon, levitating half of the luggage inside. "There you go Spike." Spike shot her a grateful smile, "Thanks, Twilight." Everypony boarded the train, resting on the crystal seats. Cheese glanced around him. The chandeliers that were in every compartment were made up hundreds of miniscule crystals that caught the light like some fantastic kaleidoscope. The light bouncing off of Pinkie was especially captivating, magnifying the beauty that she already possessed in spades. Celestia she’s something else. Twilight sat next to Cadence, whispering something in her ear. Twilight didn't understand what she was going to do, but she decided to wing it. Clearing her throat, she addressed the ponies in the compartment, "How about you take a look at the crystal caboose? It’s definitely worth a visit." Everypony seemed to agree, trotting briskly over to the other cart. Cheese’s eyes fell on Pinkie’s decidedly stationary position. "Wait, what about Pinks? If she doesn't go then I can stay with her." Twilight shoved Cheese to the other cart, "No need, we want you to have a nice time here. Pinkie is going to uh, help Cadence." "Wait, for w-" The door slammed before he could finish. Pinkie strode over to Cadence, "So, is there anything you need for you and your little foal?" Cadence levitated a seat for Pinkie as she sat across her. "Yes, I need you to answer some questions for me, Pinkie. Is that okay with you?" Pinkie smiled, "Sure! I would be obliged to uh, answer questions I guess. What kind of questions?" "It's about Cheese." "Oh, okay!" Cadence lifted an eyebrow, "Okay." Weird, she's not reacting. Let me see. "So, that Cheese fellow, he's cute huh?" A light blush brushed before her, "Well, I guess yeah. I think. Umm." Cadence smiled at the blushing filly, "It's okay Pinkie, you could tell me. I am the Princess of love. I like to see ponies be together in happiness. And you and Cheese look cute together. Plus, I could see how he really cares about you." The heat began to leave Pinkie’s cheeks. She knew that she could trust the Princess at any cost. Twilight would probably do some kind of science research. Fluttershy might just accidentally blurt it out when being pressured. Applejack, would probably do the same thing as Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash might just go and tell him. And Rarity will just give her a bunch of magazines about romance. Cadence was the only hope. She sighed, "Well, to tell you the truth, I do kinda maybe like him. But the thing that kinda hurts is that, what if I'm not good enough? I feel that Cheese deserves somepony that lives up to his expectations. He's a party pony that travels, I'm just a pony who stays in one place! Even if I do go with him, things wouldn't work out. Ponyville needs me as their ray of sunshine. Without me, Ponyville would be a mess. Trust me." Cadence lifted her chin up, "Pinkie, you need to stop doubting yourself and start believing yourself. That's how love takes off. If you just believe in yourself, everything will smooth things out, you'll see." Pinkie smiled, "Thanks, but I think I'm just going to take it slow. I don't really feel like I want to be in a relationship." Cadence nodded in response, "That's okay Pinkie, love will always take time. But if you need any help, just come to me." A door slammed opened from the caboose. A group of ponies walked out of it. Twilight walked towards Cadence, "Did everything go well?" Cadence nodded, "Yes, Yes it did." The train immediately stopped as the speaker spoke, "Attention passengers, we have now arrived at The Crystal Empire." Cadence rose from her seat, "This is it, let's go." The ponies carried their belongings off the train, eyes darting around the crystal city. It seemed even more captivating than before. Cheese on the other hoof was too focused on the crystallized buildings and ponies. Crystallized ponies? Awesome! Cadence opened the doors to the castle as a white stallion rushed to greet her. "Shining Armour!" "Cadence." Shining gave his wife a quick hug. He looked down to the unborn baby, "Is the foal alright?" Cadence gave a quick chuckle, "It's fine, Shining." She pointed to the stairs of the palace. "You can find your rooms in there." The ponies trotted up to the crystal stairs as they made their way up to a narrow corridor. They all went to deposit their belongings in their respective rooms. Pinkie and Cheese hastened to gather their party supplies, then quickly moved to throne room. Cadence and Shining were seated on their high backed chairs, looking up as they entered the massive chamber. "We have some plans for the party. Everything should be decorated by tomorrow." Pinkie pulled out the blueprints from her saddlebag. Cadence levitated the blueprints, inspecting them with a small smile. "Well I think the plans look great. But I think we should add more of the crystal pony food traditions, just to make it fun for the Empire." "Yes, great idea. We'll add that in for you, your highness." Cheese grabbed his pencil as he wrote it in his blueprints. Shining Armour took in a deep sigh. "I think we should be fine tomorrow." He yawned as he smiled softly at his wife. "We should get some rest, don't want to keep the foal up." Shining placed the blueprints inside his saddlebags. "We can get started tomorrow." Cheese and Pinkie got up as they waved goodbye to Shining and Cadence. Pinkie watched the brilliant sunset through the impossibly large window. Yawning, she followed Cheese towards his room. "Cheese, do you think the party will go out fine?" Cheese chuckled, "Of course! With you by my side, nothing will go wrong." He sat down on the floor, pulling her into a tight hug. Pinkie couldn’t stop the blush from stretching across her face at the sudden contact. She rubbed her eyes, yawning loudly. Cheese smiled, "Hey, do you want some juice? I could pour some for us." "Sure." Cheese went to the kitchen as he poured a glass of juice. Upon returning, he found Pinkie sound asleep on the floor. "Awe, look at that," he whispered to himself. Placing the glasses down on the table, he gently carried the mare to his bed. As quietly as possible, he pulled the blanket over her. The sight of Pinkie curled up fast asleep made him feel warm all over. She’s like a kitten. He planted a kiss on her forehead, "Goodnight."
Chapter 4: Getting it Done, or AlmostThe two party ponies rushed down the spiral staircase to attend the preparation of the foal shower. Everything was going to be perfect. Pinkie took out her check list as she read the things she had planned. The party was only in a week till the baby comes. Pressure was building on. Cheese looked at Pinkie with a comforting smile, "Hey, don't look like that. Between you and me, this party is going to be as big as Rainbow's Birthaversary! I promise." Pinkie felt reassured after the pep talk. Cheese always knew what to say, it just made her heart flutter. "You're right! Let us go throw a party!" The two ponies began to share out their plans to the local ponies in the Crystal Empire. Ponies gathered around as they took all the materials to hang around the whole empire. After a few hours of decorating, the final product began to come together. As Cheese walked down the glassy street, he stood and looked down. Suddenly realizing that his own reflection stretched upon the crystal floors. Wow, I guess the Crystal Empire can get shinier. After his thought he went back to check list plan. He tilted his head up to see many red ribbons and balloons tied to every lamp. Dining tables were being put up by the stallions near the castle entrance. The crystal fair was setting up too as well. It was surely going to be a blast. He smiled and began to trot along the sidewalks to check with his favorite party mare. At the castle, Pinkie sat down with Shining Armour in the kitchen placing many ingredients on the table. "Alright! I think we have all the ingredients we need. Me and Apple Jack should be ready to bake them later in the afternoon. We have to at least finish decorating the Crystal Empire." Stated Pinkie. Shining Armour grinned, "Alright then, I can't wait for this to be done. You have really outdone yourself Pinkie." Pinkie blushed, "Awe, it's nothing really. But Cheese mostly did the work too. With two party ponies, you seem to get things done a lot quicker!" Shining chuckled, "I can see that." As the ponies chuckled, Cheese made his way to the door. He trotted proudly to Pinkie and Shining Armour. "Alright Pinkie all the decorations should all be in order!" Cheese smiled. "That's fantastic Cheese! Wow, I guess we can maybe get started with the food then!" Exclaimed Pinkie. Shining struck a small smile,"Haha, well I'll leave you two to it." Pinkie and Cheese waved as they walked to the back counter of the kitchen. Every ingredient for the traditional crystal foods were all there. From corn, crystal berries, fritters, everything! Pinkie walked towards a shelf with a book. She reached up and grabbed the over-sized book. Geeze, this thing is enormous! The pony sat down on the crystal floor as she turned to a random page of the huge book. Cheese took his head out of the ingredients shelf to see the cooking book that Pinkie held. He squinted behind her to catch a glimpse of the page, "Crystal Funnel Cake huh? I think we can get started with that." "Okie Dokie! Aj will be here to help us prep after she's done helping Fluttershy with the Ewe's." The two ponies high-hoofed each other as they started to rush towards the ingredients shelf. The two of them grabbed all the supplies and walked back to lay them on the table. After an hour of baking, Pinkie brought the 3 Crystal Funnel Cakes to the oven. The tired pony sighed as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Afterwards she walked back to the front as she laid flat on the couch. Cheese walked over to the pink filly with a bowl of icing. He smiled as he dove a spoon in the bowl to Pinkie. She made a warm smile to Cheese as she took the spoon of icing and stuffed it into her mouth. After a overwhelming afternoon, a bowl of icing always manages to cheer her up. And with Cheese there, it just made the day a whole lot better. Her cheeks began to turn a slight pink. What am I thinking? Cheese is only a friend, just a friend.. As her train of thought continued, a hoof was planted on her muzzle. She snapped back into reality as she noticed it was Cheese's hoof. Cheese chuckled silently, "Sorry there's a lot of frosting on your muzzle." Pinkie began to heat up, "Oh." She said quietly. Cheese was suddenly very close to Pinkie. It was like being cramped in a room with one pony. But this time, it just felt different. After swiping off the stack of frosting off her muzzle, Cheese directed his vision to her blue bejeweled eyes. He always loved looking at them. Whenever he got the chance, it just melts his world. Sometimes he wishes he could look at them forever. Without consulting what he was doing, he slowly slid his hoof down from her muzzle to her cheek. Pinkie was crimson red. She just couldn't move. She wanted to say something, but nothing came out. It was just complete silence. As she began to explode a pony burst through the door. Cheese shook his head as he turned around. A tired orange farm pony fainted to the ground. She managed to open her eyes, "Sorry ya'll, all them ewes are really hard to herd! It just took longer than expected, but I'm here." Pinkie shook her head as she trotted to her friend, "Oh it's okay Aj, me and Cheese managed to make 3 Funnel Cakes for today!" Apple Jack struggled to get up, "How about we just call it a day, we can start over tomorrow." Pinkie sighed in relief, "Hehe..yeah, I think we all need a rest." Cheese slowly walked to the two fillies and nodded slightly, "Alright, well I'm just gonna go double check check our list. Just in case." The fillies nodded and went back outside to their rooms. Apple Jack looked up on Pinkie, "Did something happened when I was gone, you two seem a little quiet." Pinkie shot up a fake smile, "What? No nothing happened! Hehe! Let's get you some rest AJ, I can tell you need it!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cheese walked through the town, quietly thinking to himself. What happened back there? His head ducked down in shame. I feel so embarrassed. I maybe it was her beautiful eyes. I guess that's just what happens when a guy is in lo-. His train of thought stopped. His face angered. No I can't. We're just friends, that's all she will see me as. I can't let our relationship go like this. Suddenly Cheese bumped into Shining as he fell to the crystal floor. He glanced up, "Oh I'm sorry Shining, I didn't notice you here. I was just, in thought. Shining looked down, "Hehe, it's okay Cheese." He lifted the lanky stallion up to his hooves. "Are you okay Cheese? You seem a little down." Cheese sadly lifted his head, "It's nothing, I'm just a little confused." "About what?" Asked Shining. Cheese looked down. Shining made a small smile,"Oh come on, you can tell your old buddy Shining! We're guys! I promise I won't tell. Guy's honor." The stallion sighed, "Well, I just have mixed feelings with...Pinkie." "Ah, so you like her huh?" Cheese blushed, "If you put it that way....I guess I do. But it's just that I don't think she'll feel the same! We have a perfect relationship together, and I don't want to break it!" Shining put his hoof around the blushing stallion, "Look, I know this is hard. And I won't lie, it is! But don't you want to strengthen that friendship?" "Yeah.." "Well then do it! You never know unless you try Cheese. Maybe she sees you as more than a friend, she just doesn't want to say it. That's love." Cheese hesitated, "But what if she doesn't accept it?" "Hey, I know Twilight's friends, and I know that Pinkie would never leave you like that. And if she doesn't love you, she'll still accept you as her friend." Shining reassured. "You make a good point." Shining chuckled, "Mhmm! And to start this off, why not ask her on a date tomorrow?" Cheese stuttered, "A date? I-I don't know, we have to set the party and the food has to be done an-" Shining interrupted, "Hey, don't think too much, we'll take care of it. This party won't be as fun with my best party planners being sad!" "I guess so." "That's my boy. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. And don't forget to bring flowers!" Shining nudged him. Cheese smiled as he went up the crystal stairs, "Asking Pinkie out on a date... Welp, let's see how this will go."
