"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Pinkie happily shrieked, bouncing up and down in excitement!
"Pinkie, not so loud, please," Mrs. Cake cautioned. "You'll wake the twins."
Pinkie ceased her excited prancing, and reluctantly toned down the volume as she apologized. "Sorry, Mrs. Cake. I'm just so excited, Cheese Sandwich is coming back to Ponyville for a while! He just told me in one of his letters, he'll be here by tomorrow morning!"
"Oh, well I'm happy to hear that, dear," Mrs. Cake smiled. "Cheese is a wonderful stallion. But do remember you're not the only pony here."
"Right, I'll try to keep it down next time," Pinkie nodded, then she suddenly let out a gasp! "I have to tell the girls about this! Especially Starlight, this is totally gonna freak her frizz!" Scooping up the letter, Pinkie zipped out the front door of Sugarcube Corner and disappeared in a pink blur.
Mrs. Cake only let out a faint chuckle, as she made her way back upstairs. "She reminds me a lot of myself when I was her age, and dating Carrot," She thought to herself. "Speaking of which, I have to finalize plans for our upcoming anniversary. Married for twenty years already, my how the time flies."
Pinkie raced straight to Twilight's castle, not stopping for anything. In a matter of moments, she had reached her destination and was energetically knocking on the castle doors. They swung open but a moment later, courtesy of Twilight. "Hey Pinkie," She greeted, quickly taking notice of her friend's exceptionally bright smile and seemingly endless amount of excited prancing. But then again, Pinkie tended to be like a lot, it was like she never truly ran out of energy. "Got something you want to talk about?"
"Boy do I ever!" Pinkie happily replied, nodding her head. "Are the girls all here?!"
Twilight nodded. "Yup, Starlight was just about to tell us something important involving her and Sunburst."
"Good, everypony's here!" Pinkie smiled, rushing away without another word. She quickly burst into the throne room, announcing loudly. "Hey everypony, good news!"
"In a moment, darling," Rarity lightly shushed, as she motioned for Pinkie to take a seat. "Starlight is talking. She said she has something she wants to share."
"Oh, okay, but it better not take too long." Pinkie lightly complained, sitting down in her throne as Starlight was clearing her throat.
"So, you all know about the fact Sunburst and I are..." Starlight paused, blushing a bit as she added. "A couple."
"Of course, darling, we've known for a long time," Rarity happily replied, and then encouraged. "Please, do go on."
"Well, our anniversary's coming up." Starlight explained, her blush stubbornly remaining on her face.
"What? Anniversary? But you two haven't been together that long," Rainbow teased. "That is, unless you've been using time spells."
Starlight shook her head. "It's not that kind of anniversary, though our relationship is celebrating an important milestone," The unicorn proceeded to explain. "It's the anniversary of when we first became friends. It just happens to fall on the six month anniversary of us being in a relationship."
"Oh, well congratulations," Fluttershy encouraged. "Are you and Sunburst doing anything special to celebrate?"
"Well... yeah," Starlight nodded in reply. "And that unfortunately means I'll be leaving for the Crystal Empire later today. Sunburst won't tell me what he has planned, he says he wants it to be a surprise. I just hope his surprise isn't him roping me into foalsitting Flurry Heart again. I swear I don't know how he's so good with foals, Flurry Heart always drive me crazy and she's not even out of diapers yet."
"Oh come on, you know Flurry Heart doesn't intentionally mean to give you a hard time," Twilight cooed. "She just loves playing with her Auntie Starlight, that's all."
Starlight said nothing, she just coughed into a hoof. "So, I'll be away for a couple of days, a week tops."
"Aw, that's not fair!" Pinkie complained. "That means you're not gonna be here when Cheese Sandwich comes to town."
"Wait, he's actually coming back to Ponyville?" Starlight asked. "I thought he went wherever that 'Cheesie Sense' of his directed him."
"Probably better to show you than tell you. Lucky for all of you, I kept the letter I got this morning." Pinkie smiled, setting it down on the table as she read it aloud. The letter read as follows:
Dear Pinkie Pie,
How have you been? Do you miss me, because I've missed you.
I know we agreed to a long distance relationship, and I've been having a blast travelling all over Equestria, throwing parties and making new friends. But lately, I've been feeling a bit lonely.
Since I can't just uproot you from Ponyville and take you on the road with me, I figured the next best thing to do would be to take a little break from party planning and come to Ponyville for some rest and relaxation. Don't worry, my 'Cheese Sense' has been quiet lately, I don't foresee it firing back up again anytime soon.
As I'm writing this, I've already made travel arrangements. Boneless Two and I should be back in Ponyville by tomorrow morning, hope the Cakes won't mind if we borrow the guest bedroom for the duration of our stay.
Hope to see you again soon,
Your special somepony, Cheese Alfred Sandwich
"Well, I'll be a donkey's uncle!" Applejack exclaimed. "Sounds like you're awfully lucky, Pinkie Pie. Hope you've been keepin' Cheese Sandwich up to date on everythin' that's been happenin' since he was last here. A lot has changed."
"I've been trying my best, the life of a party planner and baker is never easy," Pinkie replied with a giggle. "I've made sure to tell him about all the important stuff. Oh, and Starlight, I know I already told you this, but he again sends his condolences that he couldn't attend your award ceremony."
Starlight just shook her head. "I already told you, I'm okay with that. I understand he's busy and doesn't always have time to drop everything just to attend an event for the friend of his special somepony. I hope he'll stick around for a while, so I have a chance to see him when I get back from the Crystal Empire," Putting a hoof to her chin she pondered. "Maybe you and Cheese Sandwich could go on a double date with Sunburst and I?"
"I'd have to talk Cheese into coming to the Crystal Empire, unless Sunburst gets cleared from his royal crystaller duties," Pinkie replied. "That double date idea sounds like something to try in the future, if we can ever get around to planning it. You and Sunburst enjoy each other's company though, and be sure to write back telling the girls and I all about your date."
After Starlight departed for the Crystal Empire, Pinkie returned to Sugarcube Corner, and the rest of her day flew by in the blink of an eye. Even playing with the Cake Twins couldn't keep her mind from thinking about Cheese Sandwich. Heck, she even said to the twins. "Just wait until Cheese sees how big you two are getting. Pretty soon, you probably won't even need your Auntie Pinkie Pie to foalsit you. You're growing up too fast, you know that?"
Pinkie woke bright and early the next day, immediately rushing to the train station (after a quick breakfast of course)! When she saw the familiar coat of light brilliant gamboge, green eyes, and brown colored mane and tail similar to her own, she immediately tackled the stallion into a hug! "Cheese Sandwich!" She happily exclaimed, tightening the hug. "Oh, how I've missed you!"
"I've missed you too, Pinkie," Cheese Sandwich replied, gasping for air. "Though, if you wouldn't mind, you're hugging me a bit too tightly here."
"Sorry," Pinkie apologized, loosening the hug ever so slightly. "But it's just been so long since you were here. And communicating back and forth with letters just isn't the same as seeing you in pony."
"I know, I felt the same way. Not a day went by where I didn't think of you," Cheese said to Pinkie, as she slowly ended the hug. "But, I'm here now, and hopefully I'll be staying here for a while," He then gave Pinkie a small kiss on the cheek. "Think of that as an early birthday/anniversary present." He told her.
Pinkie could feel her heartbeat accelerating ever so slightly, and her cheeks radiating warmness. Oh, how she'd missed that sweet tone of voice and the handsome stallion to whom it belonged. "Oh Cheese, you don't know what you've been missing out on," She said to the stallion, as she led him away from the train station. "I mean, I know I shared all the important developments in my letters, but there are still so many things you just have to see for yourself. In fact, I think now would be the perfect opportunity for you to finally meet my big sister, Maud!"
"Maud?" Cheese asked, hoping he'd heard right.
Pinkie nodded. "Yeah! If you've read my letters, you should know she's been living in Ponyville for some time now. I mean technically it's Ponyville adjacent, but it's close enough to where I can see her almost everyday!"
Cheese's happy mood suddenly faded, all of a sudden he found himself worrying, worrying about Maud. "Have you... told her about 'us'?" He asked Pinkie, wishing he'd had the foresight to probe for those details when he was just writing letters to her.
Pinkie stopped right in her tracks upon being asked, and then suddenly she gasped! "Oh my gosh, I knew something was slipping my mind last time I spoke to her! Which is weird, 'cause I didn't think my mind was slippery, and it certainly didn't feel slippery. I guess it's a good thing you brought that up, or I'd have totally forgotten! Though, considering Maud, I think she would've found out anyway. Still, this is the perfect opportunity for you two to meet," She beamed happily, as she added. "If all goes well, maybe I could even see about taking you to Ponypalooza to meet the rest of my family. They're kind of odd, but once you get to know them they're the nicest ponies you could ever ever EVER meet!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Pinkie," Cheese nervously cautioned. "Let's just visit Maud and see where things go from there," In his mind, Cheese wondered. "What will she think when she sees me? Has Pinkie told her anything about me at all, even just a passing mention? Will she approve of the fact that I'm dating her sister, and it's a long distance relationship?" But he kept those concerns to himself as he simply asked Pinkie. "So, where exactly does your sister live?"
Playfully ribbing Cheese ever so lightly, Pinkie laughed. "Oh Cheese, I thought you'd never ask," Then, trying to keep her giggles under control, she added. "Come on, follow me. It's not that far from here, actually. And trust me when I say, my sister totally has the most beautiful place you could ever imagine."
Cheese soon discovered that Pinkie hadn't been joking in the slightest. Maud's home (which was underground) featured the most breathtaking scenery Cheese had ever seen anywhere in Equestria. Connected to the above ground world by a series of caves full of magnificent gems of every color imaginable, Maud's "house" (if you could call it that) consisted of a simple bed, surrounded by a gorgeous lake and waterfall, two small wooden docks, and a small opening that allowed sunlight to shine through. Near the bed rested a simple pair of pajamas and matching slippers, as well as a small rock that seemed to be tied up on a leash for some odd reason.
"Hello, Pinkie," Greeted a flat sounding voice, that soon revealed itself as belonging to a blueish-gray coated earth pony mare that seemed not much older than Pinkie Pie. The mare had light turquoise colored eyes with grayish blue violet eye shadow, a similarly grayish blue violet mane and tail styled completely flat, and a blueish green colored shirt with a brown strap across the middle, which seemed to cover up the mare's cutie mark. "I see you brought a guest." The mare commented, turning her attention to Cheese Sandwich.
Pinkie struggled to keep her smile from growing too wide, as she happily replied. "I sure did," She proceeded to push Cheese Sandwich forward and explained. "Cheese Sandwich, meet Doctor Maudalina Daisy Pie, otherwise known as Maud Pie, my amazing big sister!" Then to Maud she explained. "Maud, this is Cheese Alfred Sandwich, my special somepony, but he goes by Cheese Sandwich, or sometimes just Cheese."
"Um, nice to meet you, Maud Pie. Or can I just call you Maud?" Cheese sheepishly asked, as he offered a hoof to Maud.
"Since you know my little sister so well, I see no reason why you need to be formal," Maud replied, her tone of voice not changing at all even as she shook Cheese's hoof. "It's nice to meet you, Cheese Sandwich."
"So, what kind of doctor are you?" Cheese asked Maud, looking around. "I take it this isn't your office."
"I'm not that kind of doctor," Maud replied, seemingly sounding a bit offended but with her tone of voice and expressions, it was hard to tell if that was true. "I'm an official graduate of rock studies, I got my rocktorate a while back and since then I've mostly been living here. Fortunately, I have Boulder to keep me company."
"Who's Boulder? Is he your special somepony?" Cheese inquired.
"No," Maud replied, as she trotted over to her bed and untied the leash. She returned shortly with the rock that Cheese had seen tied up. "This is Boulder, my pet rock. I've known him since I was a filly."
"Oh, kind of like Boneless Two and I!" Cheese realized. "Except he's more of a travel companion than a pet."
"What about Boneless One?" Maud asked in a seemingly innocent tone (with the way she spoke and expressed it was hard to tell just what emotions, if any, she was conveying).
"Gave him to Pinkie, though he technically was hers to begin with," Cheese answered. "Haven't seen him since, but Pinkie says he's been put to good use, whatever that means."
Even though Maud and Cheese were only making small talk, Pinkie found herself growing more and more excited by the moment! Her awesome big sister, and her special somepony, were both talking to each other and apparently hitting it off so well. And this time, she wasn't going to get in the way of their bonding, she'd learned her lesson from last time.
"Well, while you two are getting to know each other and becoming friends," Pinkie began. "Why don't we..." But just then, she felt something. A faint twitch just under her chin, followed by her knees knocking a bit. It was her 'Pinkie Sense' giving off one of its combos. She didn't tend to get this one often, but she was still aware of what it meant. Her help was needed back in Ponyville. "Sorry, something's come up. I have to go," She apologized. "Cheese, you can find your way back out on your own, right?"
"I... think so. If not, I can wait til you get back," Cheese answered. "You won't be gone long, right?"
Pinkie nodded, before her 'Pinkie Sense' flared up again. "I shouldn't be. In the meantime, why don't you and Maud get to know each other better? After all, you're both likely to see each other a lot in the near future." And then she turned and departed, leaving through the very same caves by which she'd accessed Maud's place.
Now alone with Maud, Cheese couldn't help but feel just a little bit intimidated. Largely because he still couldn't read Maud's expressions, and her way of conversing with others didn't offer a lot of hints. Supposedly, she was friendly towards him, but with a pony like Maud who could know for sure?
"Are you hungry?" Maud asked all of a sudden, catching Cheese off guard.
"Excuse me?" Cheese replied, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.
"Are you hungry?" Maud asked again. "I wasn't expecting company, but I could make some rock soup just for the two of us. It doesn't take long to make, and it's a Pie family specialty. Boulder and I ate it all the time when I was studying for my rocktorate."
"Oh," Cheese realized, and quickly shook his head. "No thank you, I ate before I came over here. Sorry."
Maud didn't seem to be bothered at all by Cheese's decline, she just said. "That's alright, I wasn't hungry either. I just thought I'd ask."
"So, uh... when did you and Boulder meet?" Cheese inquired. He wanted to say more, but he was still not that comfortable around Maud, and her seemingly narrow fields of interest didn't help.
"It's quite a long story," Maud cautioned. "I could give you a shortened version if you'd like. Most ponies tend to enjoy the shorter version," She then narrated. "It was a dark and stormy night on the rock farm, little did I know that my life was about to change forever."
For a "short" story, Maud's tale went on for quite a while. Cheese struggled to maintain interest throughout, as he didn't want to seem rude or inconsiderate. At last, Maud finished her tale. "And that's how Boulder and I met, we've been inseparable ever since. We'll actually be celebrating the anniversary of when we first met in a couple of weeks, don't tell Boulder though, he doesn't like being told that he's getting old."
"Well, if it makes him feel any better, he looks pretty young for his age." Cheese replied with a nervous laugh, not even questioning how it might be possible for a rock to have feelings. "How can she and Pinkie be so close?" Cheese couldn't help but wonder. "They seem to be almost the exact opposite of each other in personality. I can't even tell if I'm really getting to know Maud or not, or what she thinks of me."
As if she could sense that Cheese Sandwich was worried about something, but wouldn't tell her what that something was, Maud locked eyes with the traveling party pony, and asked him directly. "Is there something you want to talk to me about?"
"W-whatever do you mean?" Cheese sheepishly asked, trying to back away. "What's there to discuss? I... uh... best be leaving now! It was nice meeting ya though, bye!" But in his rush to exit, Cheese ended up misjudging a step and he stumbled to the ground.
Maud was quick to offer Cheese a hoof and pull him up, the party pony brushing the dirt off his bright yellow jacket. "You don't have to lie to me," She told Cheese, her expressions and tone of voice changing ever so slightly. "I've learned how to read ponies, and sense things that they're trying to keep hidden. Usually I don't pry, but I can tell that this has something to do with me. Since we've been left alone, you've been acting odd."
"Are you a detective or something?" Cheese half teased/half wondered, before his mood changed to one of seriousness. "I guess if you've figured out this much, there's no harm in telling you. I just don't know what you think of me, or if you approve of your sister and I being a couple. I know you and Pinkie have a close bond, and I don't want to complicate that if you're not okay with me as her special somepony."
"So, that's what this is all about?" Maud asked, though her tone of voice indicated not one of contempt or disappointment, but rather one of concern. "Look, Cheese, my sister is old enough to be her own pony and make her own decisions. You don't need my approval to date her, as long as she's happy with you that's fine by me. It's not my place to tell her who she can and can't be with. All I care about, is knowing that my sister's romantic partner cares about her as an individual and will treat her well. So as long as you do that, you don't have to worry about getting my approval. Just know that if you hurt my sister at all, for any reason, I will make you regret it. Is all of that clear?"
Even though Maud's last line unnerved him, Cheese managed to avoid a gulp as he nodded. "Yes, crystal. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
"It's okay, I know most ponies find me a bit... different..." Maud confessed, her voice appearing to contain a hint of sadness.
"Well, I could say the same for your sister, or for myself," Cheese quickly replied. "Being different isn't always a bad thing."
"I know, I've made peace with that fact long ago," Maud said, as she gave off what seemed to be a nod of some kind. "And I've gained a couple of friends who understand me for who I am. In fact, one of them was part of the reason why I chose to stay here in Ponyville adjacent," Changing the subject, she then asked. "Do you like kites?"
"Yes, though I've never really stayed in any one place long enough to have time for it. Such is the life of a traveling party pony." Cheese confessed.
Maud gave off something of a smile, as she said to Cheese. "Well, my friend Starlight Glimmer introduced me to kite flying, and it's a lot of fun. We could go fly kites above ground, there's usually a breeze on a nearby hill."
"But, I didn't bring a kite with me." Cheese reluctantly protested.
"That's okay, you can borrow Boulder's kite," Maud offered, as she retrieved two custom made kites from beneath her bed. "Starlight helped show me how to make them, but Boulder likes activities where he's firmly on solid ground."
Maud and Cheese were still flying kites when Pinkie ran into them later that afternoon. She almost didn't want to disturb them when they seemed to be enjoying themselves so much.
Fortunately, Pinkie didn't have to. Maud spotted her from afar, and waved her over. "Hello, Pinkie Pie. Are you here for Cheese Sandwich?" She asked. "We're just about done flying our kites for the day."
"Oh, you are? I don't want you to cut the fun short just because of me," Pinkie insisted. "It's not sundown yet."
But Cheese and Maud both set their kites down anyway. "It's fine, Pinkie. We can always come back and do this tomorrow," He proceeded to ask. "Just what was it that kept you away for so long? I hope you didn't go off and throw a party without consulting me."
"Cheese, you know me well enough to know I'd never do that," Pinkie playfully ribbed. "Turns out The Cakes needed me to watch the twins, and they were gone for longer than they expected. Nothing I couldn't handle. So, how did you and Maud fare while I was gone? Seems like you two really hit it off."
Cheese smiled as he nodded. "We sure did, your sister's totally different."
"Hey!" Pinkie protested.
"I meant that in a good way," Cheese quickly replied. "I've never met a pony quite like her, but I can see why you two are so close to each other," With a fond sigh the stallion added. "Makes me wish I had a sibling, older or younger. I never had one though, I was an only child."
"Well, I'm happy to share my sister with you," Pinkie offered, leading Cheese away. "And one of these days I've got to introduce you to the rest of my family. I'm sure they'd like if they got a chance to get to know you as well as I do."
Cheese gulped a bit. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Pinkie," He cautioned. "For now, I'm happy to just know your sister and be a friend of hers."
Author's Note
I'd almost forgotten about this fic idea for a while, even though I considered it as far back as "A Great and Powerful Apology" back in early May. The Starlight and Sunburst ship fic prequel is recommended, but not required for you to read, though I feel that much like CheesePie, StarBurst is a ship that practically ships itself given what we've seen of the two.
Yes, I know I'm not the only one to write a fic involving Cheese meeting Maud, but the other one is currently on hiatus and hasn't updated in a long time.
