Flurry Heart's Story: Cheesy as Pieby AleximusPrimeChapters1. A Surprise Visit2. Time to Pop the Question3. Setbacks4. Time for Plan C5. Cheese Proposes1. A Surprise VisitChapter 1 Flurry Heart walked through the streets of Ponyville, accompanied by Spike and Silverstream. They were on their way to Sugarcube Corner where they would introduce Flurry to some new friends, just as the teachers had promised they would do. “I can’t even remember the last time I went to Sugarcube Corner.” Flurry told them. “I feel like it was years ago back when Pinkie just invited us over for some desserts when I was visiting Ponyville. I don’t think the Cakes were even present.” “Well Pound and Pumpkin are charming little ponies, Flurry.” said Silverstream. “Do you ever remember meeting them before?” “No, but Spike said I made a pretty weird first impression back when I was still a baby.” “Yeah, you should have seen it.” added Spike. “Twilight once left her with them while she was getting an order from Pinkie. Flurry tried breaking up a fight they got into over a toy, but she kinda made things worse and they started throwing cupcakes at her.” “Aw. I hope they aren’t still holding a grudge.” Silverstream replied. “Eh, they were babies. I’m sure they forget it even happened.” Spike told her. They continued on until they finally reached the large building that resembled a giant gingerbread house. Sugarcube Corner was a confectionary where ponies would come to buy all sorts of sweets. Pinkie Pie used to live and work there. Her room upstairs and her “party cave” in the cellar below were still reserved for her when she would stay in Ponyville, but Pinkie was away right now with her boyfriend, Cheese Sandwich. Pinkie dealt so well with Flurry when she was born, so they were both very close. Flurry really wished she could see Pinkie now, but Spike promised her that she and Cheese would both be visiting soon. They walked on up to the front door and Spike opened it for Flurry and Silverstream. Flurry walked in and saw a young pegasus colt behind the counter. He had a light beige coat with brown, curly hair and his cutie mark was a small chocolate cake with a slice taken out of it. This was undoubtedly Pound Cake, the older brother of the Cake Twins. He was kneading some dough for his mother, Cup Cake. She was a blue earth pony with swirly pink hair that resembled cupcake icing and wore glasses and an apron. She had just come in with a pan for the dough that Pound was using. “Good job there, dear.” said Mrs. Cake. “Now in a few minutes, I’ll have the chocolate mousse ready for…ooooh! Princess Flurry Heart! We’re so sorry you caught us in the middle of something.” “Aw, that’s fine, Mrs. Cake.” Silverstream said. “Flurry’s happy to be hear regardless!” “Hey there, Mrs. Cake.” Flurry said. “Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, Princess.” Mrs. Cake said, bowing her head. “This here is my son, Pound Cake.” “Flurry Heart, great to finally meet you!” Pound said, as he flew in the air, spinning the flattened dough around on top of his hoof. He then wadded it back up in his hooves and rolled it around in a circular fashion while talking. “I’m Pound Cake. As you can see, the dough’s my specialty around here. My sister works with the flavoring and spices, of course she’ll work with anything when it comes to-” “AAAAGGGGHHH!!!” A young female pony yelled in the room behind them. She then burst through the door and ran out before skidding to a halt, right beneath Pound. She was a light shade of yellow, had orange, fluffy hair, and wore a cerulean bow in her mane that was a bit smaller than Flurry’s. Her cutie mark was a pumpkin, thus giving away that this was Pumpkin Cake. “Bro, you didn’t tell me she was gonna be here this soon!” she squawked before turning to Flurry. She then grabbed one of Flurry’s hooves and shook it very fast. “Anyway, hey, Princess! I’m Pumpkin Cake! I love sweet stuff and I love mixing it in with other sweet stuff and making it super tasty so everypony who comes here has the best treats ever! You’re gonna have so much fun here and we might even bake you a special guest cake! Ooooh, that would be awesome, wouldn’t it, Pound?!” While she continued running her mouth, she finally let go of Flurry’s hoof. Flurry continued to vibrate out of control until Spike walked up behind her and put his finger on top of her head to get her to stand still. The vibration went through his arm, but was absorbed by his dragon chub and quickly wore off. “Hehe, thanks Spike.” Flurry told him as he giggled a bit. Just then, their father, Carrot Cake walked in. He was a taller, more slender earth pony who wore an ice cream parlor hat and an apron like Mrs. Cake did. His coat and mane colors were very similar to Pumpkin’s. “You’ll have to forgive Pumpkin.” Mr. Cake said as he stood next to his wife. “She takes after her favorite babysitter, Pinkie Pie.” “Well hey, Pinkie’s like an aunt to me so I’m totally cool with that.” Flurry replied. “Oh, and don’t worry about the old toy hot-air balloon. We grew out of that thing fast.” Pound told Flurry as he landed in front of her. “Er, wait, you guys remember that?” “Nah, we were babies. Pinkie just told us.” “She tells us everything.” Pumpkin added with a big smile on her face. “Well it’s great to meet you guys.” Flurry continued. “Silverstream said you’d keep me company during my stay in Ponyville this summer.” “Yeah, sounds like you’re already having quite an adventure. We heard about what happened the other night with that big red rhino thing that turned out to be a changeling.” Pound told her. “That must’ve been crazy! Silverstream, is it true you guys are the new Elements of Harmony?” Pumpkin asked, excitedly. “Hehe, I guess we are.” Silverstream gigged while shrugging. “We’re not sure when we’ll ever need to use those things again, but we’re trying to not worry about it too much. We kept the Elements back in a vault in the crystal castle. But hey, we have Flurry to thank for figuring out it was us who were the ones to stop General Scutellum.” Silverstream put her talon around Flurry’s shoulder as Flurry blushed. “Well guys, I’d better go.” she said as she walked towards the entrance. “Gallus and I have some plans for the day so I’d better go get ready! Have fun, Flurry!” she said, waving. “Bye Silverstream! Thanks again for bringing me over!” Flurry called back as everyone else waved to Silverstream. “So, Pound, Pumpkin, you guys wanted to show Flurry something?” Spike said to the twins. “OOOOH! YEAH YEAH YEAH!!” Pumpkin said with widened eyes. “Pound, everything’s ready over in the living room! Should we take her in right now?” “Oh right! Yeah, let’s do it now while we still can!” Pound said, flying over to the next room. Flurry looked confused, but Spike motioned for her to follow them. Eager to know what the surprise was, she went into the living room next door to see a small makeshift stage that had been set up. Pumpkin sat down in front of the stage and patted the ground next to her for Flurry to come join her. Flurry sat down and Pound turned off the lights in the room and pulled the shades. He then walked over to a spotlight behind them and shone it on the stage. The buildup of drums could be heard from a nearby boom-box and a familiar voice began to speak. Flurry instantly recognized the voice. It belonged to Cheese Sandwich. “Fillies and gentlecolts, thank you for joining us today! We’re as excited to be here as you are to see us! So now, to our super-special guest from the remote land of the Crystal Empire, Princess Flurry Heart, we welcome you to Ponyville!” The sound of an accordion could be heard and the curtains parted to reveal Pinkie’s party canon in the center of the stage. It was lit from behind and appeared to be a little bigger than usual, almost as if something big and round was inside of it. Suddenly, it exploded and spat out a chubby, pink pony with fluffy magenta hair. She was wearing the same exact bow Flurry had and her cutie mark was three colorful balloons. It was Pinkie Pie! Pinkie flew up in the air out of her canon and landed on the edge of the stage, right in front of the Cake Twins and Flurry. Flurry gasped and made the biggest smile she could possibly make. Pinkie began to sing as Cheese continued to play his accordion in the background. Pinkie: We welcome you Hope you have fun We’re going to party and make merry Till the day is done Now there’s no time to waste Let’s make your stay worthwhile Flurry Heart, get ready to smile! “Take it away, Cheesie!” Pinkie called as a silhouette of Cheese with his accordion could be seen walking in from the side of the stage. He jumped right in where the spotlight shone next to Pinkie and sang. Cheese: We’re here to entertain you We’re here to make you laugh It won’t be just a piece of cake But more like half Pinkie: Oh, yummy! Cheese: We’re so anxious to get started Brightening your day Sit back! Relax! Enjoy your staaaaay Both: Flurry, we’re so happy To see you want to learn The friendship lessons Twilight taught Now it’s your turn Your time right here in Ponyville Will be the perfect start Gooooooo get em, Fluuuuurryyyyyy Heaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaart! Cheese stood tall and played the final notes on his accordion as Pinkie slid on her knees in front of him. She stretched her arms out and leaned her head back with her mouth open wide as they both sang the final note. Several mechanized, miniature party canons rolled in on both sides and spat out confetti and fireworks as a large banner that said “WELCOME, FLURRY HEART!!” unfurled from the top curtain. The music and singing finally came to a stop. Spike and the Cake twins all started clapping loudly. Flurry jumped in the air and flapped her wings while squealing. She flew towards the lovable, plump mare to get a hug. “PINKIE PIE!!!” she squealed as she dove in and wrapped her arms around Pinkie’s neck and cushioned herself against her plump, soft belly. “FLURRY!! HOW’S MY LITTLE MATCHING-BOW MARE?!” Pinkie shouted, hugging her tenderly. Author's Note The tune to the "Welcome, Flurry Heart" song can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j7bbX5ScAzTzXAeGHQgRbUociYwCuuvw/view?usp=sharing 2. Time to Pop the QuestionChapter 2 “Pinkie, I’m so happy you and Cheese are here!” Flurry squealed as she continued to hug the plump, pink pony. “As soon as I heard you were coming to Ponyville, we had to visit!” Pinkie replied. “I couldn’t possibly miss a chance to hang out with my little Matching-Bow Mare!” “Cheese! I haven’t seen you in a while!” Flurry said as she went over to hug Cheese. “Haha! I know, right?! We’re only sorry we couldn’t have been here to see the battle the other night with that changeling! Must’ve been one heck of a fight!” Cheese replied, setting her down gently. “Spike, did you know they were coming?” Flurry asked Spike. “Sure did!” he replied. “I’ve been holding it in too long now, but here we all are!” “Spiiiike! Long time no see!” Pinkie said as she leaped off the stage and tackled Spike to the ground. “Pinkie, great to see…WHOA! AAAGH!!” “C’mere big guy! I’m gonna getcha!” Pinkie began tickling him as he flailed his legs around and laughed uncontrollably. She then jumped on top of his large belly, pressed against it with her lips and blew as hard as she could. Spike laughed even harder and tried pushing her off. “NOOOO!! AHAHAHAHA!!” Pound and Pumpkin rolled on the floor laughing at the sight until they finally recollected themselves. Cheese and a rather giggly Flurry jumped down from the stage and everyone joined up on the floor. “Alright, alright, ya got me! Hehe…heh.” Spike said as he tried his best to stop laughing while standing back up. “I’m so super happy we’re all here!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Twilight sent me and Cheese a letter saying Flurry was coming for the summer, and I absolutely HAD to make this trip! And it’s even better now to know you’re staying the whole summer! Why, I’m so excited, I haven’t been this excited before! Well I mean there was that one time when I first met Twilight: she was all like ‘Um…hello?’ and then I realized she was new and hadn’t made any friends yet, so then I was like HUUUUUUUUUUUUU…” Pinkie threw her head back and took a long gasp to reenact the moment she met Twilight in Ponyville over a decade ago. She gasped so hard, her entire body began to lose its chubbiness and she slowly reverted back to her thinner physical appearance. She finally stopped gasping and quickly inflated like a balloon back into her plump self. Cheese giggled and rolled his eyes at his silly girlfriend as she continued blabbering on. “And then I got everyone I knew in Ponyville to help make a welcome party for her! Oh my gosh, it was soooo weird seeing Twilight be all reclusive back then, but we made friends with her quickly after we beat Nightmare Moon! I know this is kinda off-topic, but hey, if it weren’t for that moment, we probably wouldn’t all be here like this now! SUCH MEMORIES!!” Flurry, Pound, Pumpkin and Spike snickered at Pinkie’s antics and could not stop smiling. “That’s our number-one babysitter, eh bro?” Pumpkin said, hugging Pinkie. “You said it, sis!” Pound replied as he and everyone else joined in one big group-hug. Later in the dining area of Sugarcube Corner, the six of them all joined each other for milkshakes at a large round table. “Pinkie and I have done parties in several different cities in Equestria so far this year. We’ve already hit Las Pegasus, Fillydelphia and Manehattan. We’re trying to get up to Vanhoover at some point.” Cheese explained to the kids. “Don’t forget our rock-fest we did for Maud’s birthday earlier just outside of my family’s rock farm, Cheesie!” Pinkie added. “We had such a blast! Maud was so happy!” “Are you guys gonna stick around in Ponyville for the whole summer this year?” Pound asked. “Well we’ve definitely wanted to take a bit of a break and especially spend some time with Flurry.” Cheese continued as he put his arm around Pinkie. “I don’t know about you, sweetie pie, but I could really use some vacation time in the quaint little town I first met you in.” “When you put it that way, I wanna do the same! Anything for my Cheesy Weezy!” she said to him as they both began rubbing their noses together and giggling flirtatiously. Flurry smiled as she saw Pinkie and Cheese being sweet on each other. She felt so happy that they were in such a good relationship. Pumpkin giggled to herself as she watched them while Pound just smiled, smugly. Flurry noticed that Spike was looking at the clock and then seemed to signal to Mr. Cake who was peaking his head out of the kitchen door. Spike walked over quietly to speak with him. They were whispering so Flurry could not hear, but she wondered what they were talking about. “Well those were some tasty shakes, Pinkie!” Pumpkin said after she slurped up the last of her milkshake. “So what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” Pound asked. “Well, Pinkie and Spike were going to go meet Maud in town for a little rock fair they’ve got going on down there.” said Cheese. “I was thinking you kids and I could stay here to catch up and also help me brainstorm for my next performance…if that’s all right with you, Pinkie?” “Aw, no probsy, Cheesie!” Pinkie replied. “The fair’s going on throughout the week, so you guys can come by later if you want. I really need to catch up with Maud. It’s been so long since we last talked. Oh and when we’re done, I’ll bring her over here and she can join in the fun and we can all make some rock candy necklaces and play some games and stuff!” “WOOOO! Yay for Maud! We gotta see her again!” Pumpkin said, hopping around on the floor. “Hey, Pinkie, you ready to go to the fair now?” Spike said, walking over to her. “Sure am, Spike!” Cheese, you gonna be good over here with Flurry and the Cakes?” “Sure as sugar am!” Cheese said, hugging her one last time before she took off. “Okey dokey lokey! Let’s bounce, Spike!” Spike held the front door open for her and she hopped out while humming. He looked at Pinkie and then back at Cheese. He smiled nervously and gave thumbs up to him as Cheese nodded his head up and down. “Give us about three hours, got it?” Cheese whispered. “Got it.” Spike whispered back. Spike closed the door and Cheese crept over to the window to watch them both leave. Flurry, Pound and Pumpkin looked curiously at him, wondering what was wrong. “Cheese, you okay?” asked Pound. “Oh I’m fine, just…really nervous.” Cheese replied with some tension in his voice. “What’s the matter?” Flurry asked as the three of them gathered around him. “Well, there’s a reason I really needed Pinkie out of the house for the next few hours.” Cheese motioned for them to move in closer and he began to whisper in their ear. “I’m…I’m actually gonna try and propose to her later tonight.” Flurry, Pound, and Pumpkin all gasped loudly and froze for a second. Pound covered his mouth with both hooves as Pumpkin screamed in delight and zoomed around in circles at blinding speeds. Flurry just stood there with her eyes huge and her smile reaching from ear to ear. “OH MY GOSH!” Flurry cried. “CHEESE, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!” “AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!!! HE’S GONNA PROPOSE! CHEESE IS GONNA PROPOSE TO PINKIE!!” “SSSHHHH!! Pump, let’s not give him away!” Pound said, stopping his sister in her tracks by placing his hoof firmly into her mouth. “Don’t worry. Your parents both know.” Cheese replied. “I just wanna keep it as secret as possible. I was wondering if you kids wanted to help me figure out how I’m gonna do it. Pinkie and I brought along our stage and a bunch of other fun equipment to do that surprise for you, Flurry, but I also brought it cuz I wanted to try making some big presentation right as I propose to her.” “Aw! We’d love to help you out with that, Cheese!” Flurry said, delightfully. “YES YES YES!!! Count us all in!” Pumpkin said as she jumped in right next to Flurry. She then stretched her arm out to pull Pound in right next to her and used her other arm to pull Flurry in closer. “And we’ll do what we can to help out as well, Cheese.” said Mrs. Cake as she came in with her husband. “Believe me, we’re just as happy to hear our favorite employee is going to finally be married!” “Glad you’ve all got my back.” Cheese said, gratefully. “I just hope Spike can keep her distracted long enough out there. I’d hate for her to come back when I’m not ready yet.” Just then, the door burst open and Pinkie appeared. Cheese jumped in the air and his mane and tail stood on end for a brief moment as he looked horrified. “Oopsie doopsie loopsie! Forgot my shake!” Pinkie said as she hopped back in to pick up her milkshake from the table. Everyone stood frozen in place with shocked looks on their faces. Spike was in the doorway looking really nervous, but thankfully Pinkie didn’t appear to know what was going on. She grabbed the milkshake with her prehensile bangs, and kissed Cheese on her way out. Cheese blushed and watched nervously as she exited. Spike exhaled deeply and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Don’t worry, I'll keep her distracted.” he quietly told Cheese as he finally left them all to their business. Everyone walked over to the window to watch Spike and Pinkie until they finally disappeared behind a building in the distance. Cheese slid down the wall and exhaled in relief. “Phew! That was close.” he said. 3. SetbacksChapter 3 Pinkie and Spike walked through the streets of Ponyville to get to the rock fair on the other side of town. She joyfully bounced up and down next to her dragon friend as he was reading a flier about the fair to figure out what he and Maud should do to keep her distracted long enough. “Oh Spike, I’m so excited for this rock fair! Maud’s gonna be in her element here!” Pinkie said. “Well Pinkie, as soon as we find Maud, I think we should head to the geode exhibit first.” Spike replied as he looked carefully at the map in the flier. “Hehehe, you would wanna go there for the snacks, silly!” she teased. “What? Oh no, I wouldn’t dare eat any of the set pieces! Although those rock candies on a stick do look pretty tasty.” “Hey guys.” called a monotonous voice from several yards away. They both looked over to see a grey pony with purple straight hair, wearing a dark aqua frock. She had her hair in a bun and was wearing some small glasses and a wedding necklace of a golden twig and stone. It was Pinkie’s sister, Maud Pie. Her face had a somewhat blank look on it because she did not use facial expressions to convey emotion, which caused her to not fit in too well with others. Despite this, Pinkie was always somehow able to tell what Maud was thinking, and right now, Maud had a slight smile on her face, indicating that she was very happy to see her sister. “MAUD!!!” Pinkie screamed as she ran over to hug her. “Ah, Maud, there you are! That didn’t take long!” Spike said. “I thought I’d never find you guys.” Maud replied as she took out a small round stone from her frock. “Boulder was starting to get a little impatient.” “Aw, don’tcha worry, Boulder! We’re here!” Pinkie said, petting Boulder. “Well hey, I’m so happy that they finally listened to you and made a rock-themed fair in Ponyville! Now everypony will love rocks!” “I’m glad to see quite a few ponies showed up. There are a lot of kids saying they want to become geologists now. Equestria coulduse more geologists.” “It could also use more of those delicious, mouth-watering mountain gems!” Spike said as he rubbed his belly and drooled. “Now now, Spike.” Maud replied. “The rocks here are for show only, but I’ll see if I can find some cheap ones for you to snack on.” “Also we need to save some to make necklaces and then we’ll bring them to Sugarcube Corner so Flurry and the Cakes can make some with us! Oh you should have seen the look on Flurry’s face when Cheese and I surprised her back there! I haven’t seen her smile that big since the day I gave her that bow for Hearth’s Warming Day!” Pinkie babbled on as they began to walk along. Just ahead was the rock fair. There were tents and stands set up near a paved path for villagers to walk along. At each stand were some ponies and even a few other non-pony citizens selling rare rocks and sculptures. The bigger tents had shows and exhibits inside. Spike studied the map until he had a plan set for the day. “Alright ladies, I think we should just take this time to browse around for any gifts and snacks first cuz the geode exhibit doesn’t open for another hour.” Spike told them. “And after the exhibit we can go to the fashion tent where you get to judge some of the rock-themed dresses Rarity helped make for the show, Maud.” “They better be good.” Maud said flatly. “She’s locked and loaded for some super serious critiquing! Hehehe!” Pinkie snickered. “Oh man this fair’s gonna be great! I just wish Flurry could see all this…” Spike had a nervous look on his face after Pinkie mentioned Flurry. He was worried Pinkie might try to go back to Sugarcube Corner to get Flurry to come over and interrupt Cheese’s planning. He and Maud exchanged glances and Maud tried to take Flurry off of Pinkie’s mind. “Well hey, Flurry’s gonna love those rock necklace rocks when you bring them back.” she said. “We’ll just stick to the schedule and make sure I’m not late for the fashion show. After that, there are plenty of other exciting things we can do here.” “Oh abso-tutely-lutely, Maud!” Pinkie replied, saluting. “Alright, well who’s up for some rock candy!? Last one to that stand over there is a moldy cupcake!” Pinkie zoomed off at high speeds, leaving behind pink and aqua streak marks and a cloud of dust from the ground. She went in front of a stand to wait in line while bouncing up and down on her hooves. Spike and Maud looked at each other while she was distracted. “Well that was close.” Spike said. “You think she’ll last for three hours?” “She should.” Maud said. “It’s pretty easy to distract my sister. Just so long as Cheese gets his supplies he ordered to Sugarcube Corner.” “Oh, those haven’t come yet?” “Not yet. He said they’re supposed to arrive today.” “Darnit. Well, Flurry can message me with a scroll in case things get hairy.” “HEY, YOU SLOWPOKES WANNA MUNCH ON SOME ROCKS OR WHAT?!” Pinkie teased. “Whoops…COMING!” Spike called back as he and Maud hurried over to the concession stand to wait in line. Back at Sugarcube Corner, Cheese began setting up tons of decorations on the stage that he and Pinkie used earlier. He had several of Pinkie’s mechanized mini canons scattered throughout the room to shoot confetti the moment he would propose to Pinkie and a huge sign that read, “Pinkie, will you marry me?” that would hang down at the same time. Meanwhile, Flurry, Pound and Pumpkin were in the kitchen, making some special crafts and artwork of Pinkie and Cheese to use during the proposal. “What do you guys think so far?” Pumpkin said, holding up a crayon drawing of Pinkie and Cheese with a heart over their heads. “I thought I’d go with something kinda minimalistic!” “That looks great, Pumpkin!” Flurry complimented. “I think I’ll just go with the picture I made earlier and try to help Cheese with some of the music. How about you, Pound?” “I thought I’d do something different and go into the next dimension. How do you guys like these?” Pound said, holding up two paper-crafts that looked like Pinkie and Cheese. “Oooooh! Nice idea, bro! Make em kiss, make em kiss!” Pumpkin said, eagerly. Pound moved the paper-crafts towards each other and made them kiss and began to speak out of the side of his mouth to make them talk. “Mwah, mwah! Pinkie, I love you so much! Will you marry me? OMIGOSH, YES!! I TOTALLY WILL CHEESE!! Mwah, mwah!” “Hehehe! So cute! And then when the wedding comes around, we can dress them up and use them as the cake toppers!” “Not a bad idea! What do you think Flurry? Flurry?” Over to the side, Flurry was going through some sheet music and was deep in thought and didn’t realize she was being talked to at first. “Oh, sorry guys.” she responded. “I was just going through some possibilities for a soundtrack to play while this all happens. I thought it would be cool to have the tune of the “Party Planner” song playing as she steps in. She and Cheese sang a reprise of that back when she found out that she was what inspired Cheese with his special talent. It’s such a happy little tune and I think it goes great with all of this. Oh, and Cheese could propose to her in the tune of his “Confession” song when he told her his backstory. Maybe I should run this by him first though in case he’s got something else planned.” “I think it sounds good!” Pound told her. “Me too! Go tell him!” Pumpkin added. Flurry got up and flew into the living room where the stage was. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were setting up some party supplies everywhere and some little standees of bushes and trees with a little pathway could be seen. Everything was decorated so splendidly and would definitely catch Pinkie’s eye. There were arrows on the pathway that would tell Pinkie where she’d need to go. As Flurry walked along the pathway, several little stones she stepped on triggered photos of Pinkie and Cheese to come out of the bushes as well as small confetti shooters. Flurry eventually made it to the stage where Cheese was looking at a clipboard and checking things off with the pen in his mouth. “Hey Cheese, how’s everything going?” she asked him. “Pretty good so far.” Cheese said while carefully reading his clipboard. “I’ve got pretty much everything I need here. All that’s left is to get a few more decorations around and then set up the sound system and the big-screen monitor in the front. I’ve got a short movie to play for Pinkie while she sits up here with me at this table. The monitor’s on its way in the mail. I would’ve brought the one I have stored back in Manehattan, but my cousin’s borrowing it right now. Besides, I was starting to get a little worried that Pinkie would figure out what I was up to if I took too many things with us. She thought we were just going to put on that little welcoming show for you, but I was able to hide some of these things in the crates they were transported in.” “Is that why you used these standees for the decorations?” Flurry asked. “Yup. Thin, easy to package and they can slide right in out of sight next to everything else. She doesn’t suspect anything.” “What music are you gonna be playing for her while it happens?” “I was gonna use some emotional music right around the time I’m ready to show her the ring box. I’m not too sure it’s going to work though. You’re welcome to give ideas.” “Well I noticed you and Pinkie keep sheet music of some of the songs you’ve sung throughout the years, and I think these two would be great to play. You can do an instrumental of Party Planner while she’s walking in and then after you show her the movie, you can do the Confession Song instrumental.” Flurry flew up on the stage and handed him the sheet music. He glanced at them real quick and then started to smile. “Ooooh, these old songs! We sang them on the day we met back during Rainbow Dash’s birthday party. Yeah, they would go great as background music and I’m sure it’ll give her a little nostalgia hearing it. Great idea, Flurry!” “Yo Cheese…” called Pound as he flew in with his paper crafts. “I made these. You want me to hang them from the ceiling or something?” “Wow, those are adorable, Pound! Yeah, go ahead and put them wherever you want. And you guys can put any artwork and photographs on the pop-ups behind the bushes. Pinkie really loves pop-ups.” “This is going to be so exciting!” Pumpkin squealed with delight. “Mom, Dad, you guys done with your stuff over there?” “Well we’re almost done, Pumpkin…” Mr. Cake replied, “…except your mother and I are having a little trouble with these cords.” “Yeah, the instructions are easy to follow, but I can’t help but feel we’re missing something.” Mrs. Cake added. Everypony suddenly had concerned looks on their faces. Cheese hopped down from the stage to go see what was wrong. “You’re missing one of the cords?” he asked the Cakes. “Yeah, the speakers over here aren’t going to work without that cord.” said Mr. Cake, pointing to the instructions. “That cord? Oh cheddar on ciabatta, I forgot that one!” Cheese said putting his hooves on both sides of his face. “Darnit all, I knew there was something telling me to go back and triple-check the crates!” “It’s okay, Cheese. The hardware store might have something like that down the street. Want me to go check?” Pound asked. “That would help out a ton. Here, take these instructions and show them this one right here.” “Got it. Mom, Dad, can I borrow some bits?” “Sure, dear. Go ahead and take a few out of the piggy bank up in our bedroom.” Mrs. Cake told her son. “On it!” Pound replied, saluting. He then sped off up the stairs to get the money needed for the cord. “Don’t worry, Cheese.” Flurry said, patting him on the back. “Pound will find the cord, and if we can’t get one, I’m sure we can use that entertainment system over there.” “That might work. Carrot, does it play CDs?” Cheese asked Mr. Cake. “Eh, unfortunately no. Cup and I are a bit old-fashioned. We’re still using vinyl.” Mr. Cake said, nervously. “I have a CD-player up in my room!” Pumpkin chimed in. “It’s all pink and has flowers on it, but Pinkie will appreciate that design.” “I guess we can use that as a last resort option.” Cheese said with relief. “I just hope that monitor I ordered arrives before Spike and Maud bring her back. It’s supposed to come today so we shouldn’t have anything to worry about…I hope.” “It’ll be ok, Cheese.” Flurry said. “Once the monitor gets here and Pound brings the cord, we should be good.” “Alright guys. I got the bits. I’ll go see if they have that cord down at Hoofers Hardware Store.” said Pound as he hovered around, carrying a small bag of bits and the instructions in his hooves. He flew into the dining room in Sugarcube Corner and out the front door to make his errand just as the wall-eyed mail-mare, Derpy Hooves walked in front of the door to knock on it. After a few seconds, Mr. and Mrs. Cake opened up. “Oh, hey there, Derpy.” Mr. Cake said to her. “Hello, Mr. Cake.” she replied, using one of her eyes to make contact with him and using the other one to look at the letters she was handing him. “I’ve got your mail here, but I have some bad news. You were supposed to get a large package today, but it’s been delayed.” “WHAT?! The package won’t make it today?!” Cheese said as he pushed through to get to Derpy. “It should be here tomorrow though. Is that going to be a problem?” “A problem?! It’s going to be a HUGE problem! That monitor was supposed to get here today! Oh brie on brioche, I knew I should’ve ordered that thing days in advance!” “Sorry. We’re not sure what the hold up is, but it hasn’t reached the post office yet.” said Derpy as she looked very empathetic for Cheese. “Well hey, I’m sure whatever you needed it for can wait another day or two, right?” Cheese could not react to Derpy’s comment; he just sat on the doorstep and pulled his lower eyelids down with his hooves while groaning. “Sorry again, it’s just part and parcel of the packaging industry. Oh, hehe, pun not intended.” “We’ll be okay, Ms. Hooves.” Mrs. Cake said, patting Cheese on the back. “We were just really needing that thing today for something important that Cheese wanted done, but we’ll manage.” “Take care!” The pegasus mail-mare took off, flying to the next house to deliver some letters. Cheese continued to sit on the doorstep, looking rather worried. Flurry and Pumpkin just came out, having overheard the conversation. They did their best to comfort him. “Well that’s a real bummer.” said Pumpkin. “Without that monitor, that’s going to ruin the biggest part of what I had planned!” Cheese said. “I had that really awesome video planned for her and it’s not going to work on your guys’ TV. Well, I guess we can just show the vidoe for the wedding anyway, but still, I was really anxious to show it to her right before I propose!” Just then, Pound flew in, holding a bag and the instructions. He landed in front of Cheese and pulled an item out of the bag. “I got the cord, everypony!” he said, panting. “They were running low so I was just in time! Did the monitor come yet? And what’s the matter, Cheese?” “Thanks, Pound, but the monitor won’t be making it today. The package got delayed and won’t be here till probably tomorrow.” Cheese told the young pegasus colt. “What?! Aw shoot! What are we gonna do now?!” “It’s okay, Pound.” Cheese stopped pouting and stood tall and confident. He took the package with the cord and opened it up carefully; examining it to make sure it was the right kind. “Now that I have this cord, I actually just realized something I still can do. It’s time for Plan B.” “What’s Plan B?” “What Cheese Sandwich does best: musical performance! Flurry?” “Yeah, Cheese?” Flurry said, walking right next to him. “Can you send Spike a letter from here?” “Yeah, what do you need me to tell him?” “Tell him to keep Pinkie distracted for three more hours if possible. I’ll be needing as much time as I can get to prepare the most amazing musical number to sing to Pinkie.” “Okay, three hours. You think that’ll be enough?” “It should be.” Cheese said in a very grim voice. “Pinkie and I have written and composed many songs in record speed; sometimes even right on the spot. Three hours is all I’ll need to write this song for my love!” 4. Time for Plan CChapter 4 Spike, Maud, and Pinkie walked on through the rock fair after several hours of enjoyment. Pinkie licked away at some rock candy ice cream she held in front of her, using her long, curly bangs. Spike had just finished eating some rock candy on a stick, while Maud was carefully eying a geode she bought at the gift shop. “I dunno about you guys, but that fashion show sure rocked! Hehehe!” Pinkie giggled. “That’s some knee-slapping comedy right there, Pinkie.” Maud replied. “Rarity’s dresses did look pretty nice! I’ll bet Limestone would like one for Hearth’s Warming Day later this year.” Spike said to Maud. “Oh I’ve got a lot in mind for gifts for my sisters, Spike. This geode is going straight to Marble.” she said, placing it in the inner pocket of her frock. “Daw! Marble’s gonna love that, Maud! Well guys, think should we head on back to Sugarcube Corner now?” Pinkie asked. “Well it has been…um…three? Yeah, three hours. I think now’s a good time to go…urgh…UGH!!” Spike started clenching his chest as his cheeks puffed up. He opened his mouth to let out a loud belch of green fire. A scroll appeared and dropped to the ground. “Ooooh! We’ve got mail!” Pinkie said as she went forward to pick up the scroll. Spike got scared and grabbed the scroll first, thinking it might contain information about Cheese’s proposal. “Oh, it’s okay, Pinkie! I got it!” he said. He quickly opened the scroll and turned away from Pinkie, reading the scroll close to him so she could not see the contents. It read the following: Spike, we’ve got a bit of a situation back here. Cheese is missing a few important items and had to rethink everything at the last minute. He’s working it out, but we might need you guys to distract Pinkie for at least another two hours. Send a reply as soon as you get this so we know you got it. -Flurry Spike’s eyes widened and he looked nervously at Maud and Pinkie, wondering what to say. “What’s it say?” Maud asked. “Did Twilight send that message? Oooh! Is Twilight taking the rest of the day off to come visit us?!” Pinkie asked, jumping up and down. “NO! Er, no, it’s not Twilight, it’s Flurry.” Spike replied. “She…um…she told me to remember to get something at the rock fair. I have to get…more…more gems!” “More gems?! You already got gems earlier, silly. They were in your bag, now they’re in your belly!” “Yeah, but…these…are a different kind of gem! They’re the ones I use for my special cake I bake every so often. They’re not like the ones in this bag. They…uh…uh…” “They don’t taste as good out of the bag because they need to be mixed in with the batter to get their flavor. They’re actually kind of salty if you eat them as is and he doesn’t like the taste. It keeps him from accidentally eating all of them before he makes the actual cake.” Maud added. “YEAH! Yeah, what she said. Thanks Maud.” “Oh yeah! I remember you always used to eat the gems before making the cake, Spike! You just couldn’t help yourself! Hehehe!” Pinkie giggled. “Heh…you know me.” Spike said, hiding the scroll behind his back and blushing. “Well anyway, they’re selling those gems over at a different stand, but Maud, why don’t you show Pinkie some of the rock sculptures over there. Oh, and then you can take her to the pet rock zoo.” “Oooh, they’ve got pet rocks over there?! I want one! LET’S GO, MAUD!!” “Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you about the pet rocks. Yeah, we best go now before they close or something.” Maud replied to her sister. Spike walked by Maud and quickly whispered in her ear that they needed more time for Cheese. Maud winked at him and continued in the other direction, with Pinkie bouncing up and down while humming a happy tune. Spike looked back and waved until they were far enough away. He then took the scroll out from behind his back and began writing a response on the lower half of Flurry’s scroll. Once he was done, he rolled it up and blew his green fire on it. The scroll faded away into ashes and flew through the air, back to Sugarcube Corner. “Hang in there, Cheese. We’ll keep her a bit longer.” he said. Flurry paced back and forth in Pound and Pumpkin’s bedroom. Pound was playing a small handheld video game on his bed while Pumpkin was playing with a paddle ball. Flurry was still waiting for Spike’s response. Suddenly some green fire flew in through the opened window in the bedroom and moved towards her. It swirled around and then puffed into smoke. The scroll appeared as she caught it with her magic. “Oh good! Spike responded!” she said as she opened it up and began to read. “He says he’s found a way to keep Pinkie out there a little longer and that she hasn’t figured it out yet.” “Sounds good!” Pound added, turning off his video game. “You think Cheese is done with his song down there?” “I hope so. He seemed a little worried.” “Ah, don’t worry, Flurry.” Pumpkin added as she leaped down from her bed. “Cheese is a musical wiz. He’s got this!” “We’d better check on him just to be safe though.” Pound said as he flew over to open the door. The three of them walked out into the hallway and down the stairs. Once they got to the living room, they saw tons of crumpled up papers all over the ground. In one corner was Cheese with his keyboard, singing to himself while playing and trying to get his lyrics right. He kept messing up and starting over again. There was a lot of tension in his voice. Flurry, Pound, and Pumpkin looked very concerned. “Oh dear.” Flurry said. “Think we should help him out?” Pumpkin whispered out of the side of her mouth to Pound. “I’ll go ask him.” Pound said as he cautiously hovered over to Cheese. “Hey Cheese, everything alright?” “PINKIE, I WAS JUST…oh, Pound, it’s you. Sorry.” Cheese said as he spun around quickly with his chest pumping air in and out. He was so on edge; he thought Pinkie had already arrived. His hair was frazzled and he had dark bags under his bloodshot eyes. “Cheese, have you even finished your song yet?” Flurry asked, cautiously. “Uh…YES!! Er, I mean I almost have! I’ll be done before Pinkie gets here! Trust me, it’s all going totally fine! Heheh…heh…” Cheese smiled bashfully, but it did not good to convince them. His eyes darted back and forth until his smile dropped and he leaned his head down. He pulled his eyelids down with his hooves and began to finally tell the truth. “UUUUGGGGHHH!!! I can’t do this! I’m under too much pressure! Everything went wrong at the last minute and the stress is keeping me from being able to make rhymes off the top of my head!” “It’s okay, Cheese. Everypony gets stressed out at times.” Flurry said. “I don’t get it.” Cheese continued. “I’ve always been able to complete all these parties I’ve planned in the past right on schedule with only a few hiccups. I guess since this is a big life-changing thing for me, it’s caused my brain to go haywire till I just can’t get the right words out!” “Should we tell Spike and Maud to keep Pinkie out there a little longer?” Pumpkin suggested. “No. It’s no use. There’s not much time left and we’ve already kept her out there too long.” “So does this mean you’re not going to be proposing to her today?” Pound asked. “I guess not. I really wanted to go through with all of this, but it’s not working. Maybe I’ll try another day.” Cheese walked over to fetch a nearby broom and began to sweep the papers on the floor into a dustpan. The kids all looked at each other, worriedly. They had no idea what to do. “I guess this means I’ll have to tell Spike that they can come over now.” Flurry said, pulling the scroll and feather out from underneath one of her wings. “Hold on, Flurry.” Pound said. “Don’t send the letter just yet. I have an idea.” Pound walked over to Pumpkin and whispered something in her ear. Pumpkin’s eyes widened a bit and she smiled. “Oh! Good idea!” she whispered back. “We’ll be right back, Flurry.” The Cake Twins scampered off into the kitchen to speak with their parents, while Cheese continued to sweep up the papers. Flurry watched him as he threw the papers away in a trash basket and lay down against the wall in misery. “Sorry if I got you all excited for tonight, Flurry.” he told her. “It’s okay, Cheese.” she replied. “I might have given you too much to work with those songs. You can always do it another day, right?” “Maybe. It’s just, I was hoping to propose to her today since she was all so happy about you coming over and seeing us. I just wanted to give Pinkie the best day and the best time for me to propose to her. I had everything planned, but I just ended up going into creative burnout.” “Well hey, I can help with it again if you’d like me to.” “I wouldn’t bother. After today, I’m wondering if I’m even ready to propose to her yet.” Cheese stood up and walked to the kitchen with his head down. He pushed open the double doors and plodded in towards one of the tables. Flurry followed after him, watching as he sat down with his head resting on top of his crossed arms. She felt so bad for him, but she could tell he needed to be left alone. She walked away until she saw Pound and Pumpkin enter with their parents. “Cheese, the kids told us everything.” Mr. Cake said. “You’re not actually thinking of calling off proposing to her, are you?” Mrs. Cake asked him. “Well I’m certainly not going to be able to do it today.” Cheese replied. “I’m already too stressed out to finish what I had planned. It’s no use continuing.” “Perhaps you were rushing things a bit, dear?” Mrs. Cake asked. “I was starting to wonder if you’d be able to get it all done in time without any problems.” “Yeah…” Mr. and Mrs. Cake sat down in the chairs next to Cheese. Pound and Pumpkin stayed behind with Flurry and watched from a distance. “You know, when Carrot proposed to me, he didn’t have much planned, but I said ‘yes’ anyway.” “That’s right, Cheese. I didn’t know how I’d do it outside of just the proposal itself. I didn’t have a big set or props or music or a TV screen or anything.” “You didn’t?” “Nope. We were at a dance one night and I was walking her back home when I took her aside and we talked for a few minutes, and that’s when I finally popped the question. No spectacle needed to be made. All I had to do was ask.” “Wow. See, being a party pony, I can’t really see myself doing anything ordinary for Pinkie. She and I are all about throwing parties and having a grand old time. I want her proposal to be super special.” “Cheese, all that’s special right now is that you and Pinkie are in love and you want to spend the rest of your life with her.” Mrs. Cake said, putting her hoof on top of his. “When Carrot proposed, that was all I was thinking about.” “Does Pinkie love you, Cheese?” Mr. Cake asked. “Oh, definitely! I’ve made her happier than she’s been in ages. I have no doubt she’d say yes.” “Well then there you go. If Pinkie loves you, you don’t need to make some big presentation or sing a song right on the spot or throw in any other bells and whistles.” “You can still propose to her today, you know. All you need is that little box and the right words to say.” Cheese sat still for a moment and pushed his eyebrows down as he though hard. The realization finally hit him. “You know what…you guys are right!” he said. “I don’t need any of that stuff we brought over. Pinkie won’t care if I don’t use any of it. She and I have spent time in the quaintest of places before and she was still happy to be around me. She knows how to stay positive, and she’ll be happier than ever if I propose to her, even if it means not making a big deal out of it. Forget Plan B! I now have a Plan C!” “So what are you going to do now?” Mrs. Cake asked. “ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!” Cheese stood up on the table in a heroic pose, accompanied rays of light emanating from him and some random pop music for some reason. He looked over and saw Pumpkin, holding a boom box in the air with her magic. She realized she was playing unfitting music. “Whoops! Wrong track. My bad.” she said as she switched it over to play some more triumphant music. Cheese posed again with the new music. He then jumped down from the table, reached into his mane and pulled out the box with the proposal necklace for Pinkie. “This is all I need! I’ll just sit around and wait for her to come to me! Flurry?” “Yeah, Cheese?” Flurry said, rushing over to him. “Tell Spike we don’t need anymore time at all! I’m ready!” “…ready to go back to Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie squealed with excitement. “WAIT!” Spike called. “Wait.” Maud said. “We…um…haven’t shown you…the uh…” Spike said, trying to find an excuse to keep Pinkie away from home. “The rock plushies over by the pop rocks stand.” Maud added. “Yeah, they’re adorable! You’d love one!” “But we already bought one, guys.” Pinkie said, pulling out a small stuffed animal in the shape of a rock with googly eyes. “Oh…yeah, you’re right.” Spike said, nervously. “Well, uh…did you get to taste any of those rock candy-coated apples? Oh, wait, we just did that too. Okay well…uh…uh…” Spike and Maud looked at each other, trying to find something to say that would keep Pinkie at the rock fair longer. They still needed her there for another hour, but they had already visited the entire fair by now. Pinkie dropped her smile and looked suspicious. “I see what’s going on here…” she said, closing her eyes halfway and staring deeply at them with her face scrunching up. Spike started chomping on his fingernails at high speeds as purple clippings flew off in all directions. “Uh oh.” Maud said. Pinkie continued staring and then suddenly her face went back to looking smiley and joyful. “You guys forgot to help me name my new pet rock that Maud got me earlier!” she said, taking out a small heart-shaped rock. “YES!!! Yes, that’s exactly what I was going to say!” Spike said. “I think we should name her Pebble.” Maud said, carefully eying the rock in her sister’s hoof. “PEBBLE IT IS!! Pebble, you’re going to be such a great addition to the family! Just wait till Cheese sees you!” Pinkie said as she snuggled Pebble up against her cheek and then put her back into her tote bag. “Alright, now you guys ready to go home?” “One more thing, Pinkie!” Spike said, looking around nervously. “Yeeees?” Pinkie said, slowly stretching her neck in next to Spike. “Uh…well…I…I wanted to…uh…JUST WANTED TO DO THIS!” Spike then picked her up and held her in his arms with her facing him. He pressed his lips onto her large, round belly and and blew against it like she did to him earlier. “AHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!! NOOO, STOP!! AHAHAAAAA!!!” she said, laughing uncontrollably. “Revenge is sweet, Pinkie!” he said before blowing again. “HAHAHA! THAT TICKLES SO MUCH!!!” Maud stood motionless and looked around to see a few random ponies giggling at what they were seeing. It was awkward, but at least they were still keeping Pinkie distracted. Spike finally let Pinkie down, but the awkwardness was not over yet. “Alright, now do Maud!” Pinkie demanded. “What?” Maud said with her eyes widening a little. “Uh…Maud?” Spike said, cautiously. “Yeah! Do Maud! Come on Maud, you’ll love it!” “Please don’t.” Maud said to Spike. “Uh…Pinkie, I dunno if I should…” “Pleeeeeease?” Pinkie said as her pupils grew and she whimpered like a puppy. Maud rolled her eyes and Spike carefully lifted her up. He slowly pressed his lips onto her belly and blew, though not quite as hard as he did with Pinkie. “Hahahaha.” Maud said, closing her eyes and smiling a bit. “Alright, stop Spike. Seriously, that’s enough.” “HAHAHA! Do it again!” Pinkie said, rolling over on the floor and laughing. “No, Pinkie, please.” Maud begged her sister. Spike continued to blow on Maud’s belly as the other ponies around them continued enjoying the spectacle. Maud did not look very impressed, but she could not help laughing and smiling as he did it. Suddenly, his cheeks began to puff up and his belly grumbled. Spike quickly let her down and barfed up green fire that contained a scroll once again. “EEEEH! More mail! Somepony loves us today!” Pinkie giggled. Spike grabbed the scroll quickly and read it to himself. His eyes widened at what he saw and then he rolled it back up. “Oh…uh, that was Flurry saying we can…come back now?” he said, quizzically. “Omigosh, that’s right! Flurry must be worried!” Pinkie said, shocked. “Good rhyme, Sis.” Maud replied. “Hehe, thanks!” “Alright guys, I think we’ve spent more than enough time here. Yeah, we’d better get back to Sugarcube Corner so we can spend some time with Cheese, Flurry and the Cakes.” Spike said, putting the scroll in his bag. “Alrighty! Let’s go!” Pinkie said, bouncing off. “I’m guessing everything is fine?” Maud whispered to Spike. “She didn’t say.” Spike replied. 5. Cheese ProposesChapter 5 The doors to Sugarcube Corner opened and Pinkie hopped in excitedly, as Maud and Spike followed in after her. Over by the counter was Flurry, waiting patiently for them. “Flurry!!” Pinkie shouted. “Ooooh, I really wish you could have been with us at the rock fair! We had such fun! Look! I got a pet rock!” “Aw! It’s shaped like a heart!” Flurry said. “Yup! Maud named her Pebbles! She’s already best friends with Boulder! Oh, and before I forget, here’s a rock plushie I got you!” she said, handing Flurry the rock plushie with googly eyes. “I call him Alejandro! I know rocks are technically food for snails, but I thought he’d look really cute with Whammy!” “Thanks, Pinkie!” Flurry said, hugging Alejandro. “He’ll get along great with Whammy! Oh, Maud! How’s it going?” Flurry went over to hug Maud as she put all her shopping bags down. “Long time no see, Flurry.” Maud replied, smiling a bit. While Pinkie was distracted, Flurry flew over and whispered something in Spike’s ear. He seemed worried at what she said. “Well I hope you guys didn’t feel too bad about missing the fair, but it’s going all week if you’re interested!” Pinkie said. “Actually it’s funny you should mention us not being there today.” Flurry said. “What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side. “Well, there’s actually a reason we needed to not go today.” Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Cake came out of the living room to speak with Pinkie. “Hey there, Pinkie.” said Mr. Cake. “Cheese is waiting in the living room and would like to speak with you when you get a moment.” “Oh. Thanks, Mr. Cake. Is everything okay?” “Well, why don’t you go in and ask him?” Mrs. Cake told Pinkie as they both parted to allow Pinkie access. Pinkie curiously walked in to the living room to see tons of random standees and props all over the floor in front of the stage they used earlier that morning. She looked around curiously at them, wondering what was happening while she was gone. “Wow, what happened here?” she asked. “I recognize some of these props. I think Cheese has used them before. Aw, is this that picture of me and Cheese during Dashie’s birthday party a while ago?” Pinkie looked over to one of the standees that was shaped like a bush. She saw a photo was still taped onto it of her and Cheese when they first met. Just then, Pound and Pumpkin appeared from behind the standee. “Hey Pinkie.” said Pumpkin. “Oh, hey guys! What were you doing this whole time? Playing a game?” Pinkie asked. “Actually, we were helping Cheese get something set up, but it kinda fell apart.” Pound said, crossly. “Oh no! Was everything okay?” “Yeah, we got it fixed now, just not how we wanted to.” Pumpkin added. “But what was it you were doing?” “Well, Cheese can tell you up there.” Pound said, pointing to the stage as Cheese walked out. “Cheese! Hey, sorry we took so long out there! We got distracted by a lot of cool things! Maud got me a pet rock!” Pinkie said to Cheese, showing him Pebbles. Cheese smiled big as he looked at Pebbles and sat down on the stage. “Glad you had fun out there, Pinkie.” he said in a happy yet very deep and thoughtful voice. “Is everything okay, Cheese?” Pinkie asked as she walked up onto the stage to sit next to him. “It’s been a rough day for me, but I’m doing fine now.” “What happened?” “Well, I had some big plans for today and it just didn’t work out too well. Ever had one of those days where you wake up and say to yourself that you’re going to get something done and then it all just falls apart and you get nothing done at all?” “Pffft! Tell me about it! I’ve had days like that many times! You just overthink it and then you’re all like ‘AGH! I can’t do this anymore!’ and you just give up.” “Yup, that’s about the size of it.” “Did it have something to do with all of the props down there?” “That’s right. I had big plans. I really wanted to please someone special.” “Someone special?” “I was setting this all up for you, Pinkie.” “For…for me?” “Yeah. When things started going wrong, I tried making a backup plan. That didn’t work either. I just stressed myself out, but then I got to thinking, it doesn’t have to be this way for Pinkie to love it. That’s one great thing about you Pinkie: you’ve always been satisfied with our relationship and you’ve been so positive with everything I do for you.” Pinkie had a warm smile on her face as Cheese continued to talk to her. A few yards away, Flurry, Pound, Pumpkin, Spike, Maud, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake all watched attentively. They did their best not to make a sound and let Cheese do all the talking. “I wanted this to be the biggest surprise for you with some music and streamers and party cannons and everything, but in the end, I knew none of that mattered.” Cheese stared deeply into Pinkie’s eyes and Pinkie lifted his hoof and held it over hers. “Aw Cheese, I never needed you to work way too hard to please me. I mean you’ve surprised me for my birthday before plenty of times and we’ve planned some awesome parties, but just having you with me is all I want. I love you, Cheese.” Cheese’s smile grew even wider as she spoke in a nervous but confident voice. He then closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and reached into his shirt for something. “Well…then I guess now is as good a time as ever to do this.” Pinkie looked a bit confused at first, but then realized what was happening. She gasped loudly and covered her mouth with both hooves as Cheese pulled out a small box and opened it up. Inside was a wedding band necklace with a small blue gemstone. Her eyes widened and she began to tremble a bit. She glanced quickly at the others. She now understood why they needed her gone for so long, because Cheese needed to plan this all out. “You…you were tr-tr-trying to propose to me this whole time?” she said with tears forming in her eyes. “It was supposed to be a lot crazier and wacky at first. Kinda like the two of us…hehe…but all I needed was for you to be right here and for me to open this box and ask: Pinkamena Diane Pie, will you marry me?” Pinkie’s lips quivered and tears began to stream down her cheeks. She started to nod her head up and down as she sniffled. Finally, she leapt into his arms and hugged him tightly. “YES!!!!! YES, I WILL ABSOLUELY MARRY YOU, CHEESE SANDWICH!! I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO ASK!!” she said, crying as she continued to hug him tighter. Cheese used his one hoof to wrap around her soft, pudgy body and balance the box in his other hoof. He lay his head down on top of her curly, pink hair and kissed her on the head. Everyone else in front of the stage began to smile huge and cry tears of joy. The kids danced around and whooped. Mr. and Mrs. Cake hugged each other while watching. Spike began to cry and tried wiping away his tears, while Maud handed him a box of tissues. She too had tears in her eyes and a smile that was bigger than she was accustomed to. Maud was so happy for her sister. She hadn’t felt this happy since the day she and Mudbriar were married. Pinkie and Cheese finally stopped hugging and Cheese took out the necklace and carefully put it around her neck. She wiped away her tears and they both went in for a passionate kiss on the lips. The thought of Cheese proposing to her was still so hard for her to believe. Her happiness was turning into zeal and she began to shake from excitement. I’m getting married…I’m getting married! I’M GETTING MARRIED!!!!” she squawked. Cheese suddenly stretched his arms off to the side and pulled in a random army helmet to put on, as the energy began to build up in his fiancé. “Get ready, guys!” he called. Pinkie vibrated around on the ground and finally took off, bouncing all over the room like an out-of-control ball. She reflected off of the ceiling, walls and floor while screaming. “EEEEEEH! CHEESE PROPOSED TO ME!! I’M GONNA BE A WIFE!!! I’M SO HAPPYYYYYYYYY!!!!” She finally slowed down her bouncing and landed on the ground in front of everyone else. They all came over to congratulate her. “I’m so happy for you, Pinkie.” Maud said, giving her a hug. “You’re going to be an aunt soon, Maud!” Pinkie told her sister. “BRO, WE DID IT!!” Pumpkin said as she and Pound went in for a hug from Pinkie as well. Flurry watched as everyone gathered around Pinkie and Cheese. She wiped away a small tear from her eye and sighed contently. While things didn’t go as expected, she was so happy to finally see Cheese do what he set out to do and propose to Pinkie. The day had indeed ended on a high note. That night, everyone gathered around in the dining area of Sugarcube Corner for craft-making with rocks that Pinkie, Maud and Spike brought home. They also began working on a few things to use for Pinkie and Cheese’s wedding. Flurry took a short break from all the fun to go off and write her first official friendship report letter to Twilight: Dear Twilight Sparkle, Today I’ve learned, that sometimes we try too hard at pleasing others and planning for things to be perfect. Whether it be a birthday party, a special gift, or even a wedding proposal, if we overthink it, we only end up burdening ourselves. If that special one in your life really loves you, they should have faith in the thought that counts. It’s more about the message you want to convey than the execution. Sometimes less really is more. Your niece, Flurry Heart After she finished writing her letter, she rolled it up into a scroll and handed it to Spike. “There’s my first letter to Twilight, Spike. I can’t wait for her to read it!” she said. “Oh Spike! Before I forget, could you send this letter to Twilight too? I’d love it if she’d officiate for me and Cheese at the wedding!” Pinkie said, handing Spike a scroll of her own. “Sure thing, Pinkie! Twilight’s going to be so excited when she hears about you guys!” Spike said, combining both scrolls and then blowing his fire at them. The scrolls disintegrated and flew out the window, up to Canterlot. Inside her castle, Twilight was discussing a few things with Tarsus and Tibia: changeling delegates that Thorax had sent. Tarsus was a male changeling who was tall and green and resembled a praying mantis while Tibia, the female, was shorter and resembled a ladybug. She was seated at her throne while they spoke to her. “Pharynx has doubled our guard around the borders of the castle. The Queen wouldn’t dare come that close.” Tarsus said to Twilight. “And with your permission, we’re sending sentinels to keep an eye on any weddings taking place this summer. We don’t want to have a repeat of the Canterlot Wedding Invasion.” added Tibia. “Thank you, both of you.” Twilight said, gratefully. “It was our pleasure, Princess.” Tarsus said as they bowed to her. “Scutellum is relentless, but he’s a fool to underestimate the Equestrian armies.” “I would be a little more concerned about him if he is reunited with Chrysalis, but I am confident that we…oh?” Twilight looked to the side to see a scroll appear right next to her. She grabbed it with her magic and took a quick look at it. “Oh my goodness! Flurry’s sent her first letter! Oh, I’m sorry, you two. It’s just my niece is going on a bit of a friendship quest and she’s sending me letters about her findings.” Twilight said to the changelings. “That’s fine, your highness. We’re done with our business here anyway.” Tibia said as she and Tarsus got ready to leave. “Thank you for your time and tell Thorax I’m very happy for all the hard work he’s done for us!” Twilight called to them as they smiled to her and waved. She then drew her attention to the letter in her hand and read it to herself, smiling as she went. She put her hoof over her heart and sighed contently. “That’s a great lesson you learned, Flurry.” she said. “That’s definitely something a lot of ponies can…oh, what’s this? A second letter? Oh, it’s from Pinkie Pie. She’s…wait…she and Cheese are getting married?! AND THEY WANT ME TO PRESIDE OVER THE WEDDING?!?! AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!! PINKIE, I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!” Twilight leapt from her chair and flew around in midair, screaming in delight. Suddenly, two of her guards burst in through the door to see what the commotion was about. “PRINCESS!!! Is everything alright?!” the first one asked. “We came as fast as we could!” the other one said. “Oh, sorry, guys.” Twilight said, bashfully. “It’s just another one of my friends just told me she’s getting married and they want me to officiate!” “Oh, Princess. Dreadfully sorry. We thought something had happened to you.” The first guard said, putting his hoof behind his head. “Something did happen.” Twilight looked down at a small photograph of Pinkie and Cheese with the Cakes, Maud, Spike and Flurry that was included in the letter. “Something wonderful.” The End
1. A Surprise VisitChapter 1 Flurry Heart walked through the streets of Ponyville, accompanied by Spike and Silverstream. They were on their way to Sugarcube Corner where they would introduce Flurry to some new friends, just as the teachers had promised they would do. “I can’t even remember the last time I went to Sugarcube Corner.” Flurry told them. “I feel like it was years ago back when Pinkie just invited us over for some desserts when I was visiting Ponyville. I don’t think the Cakes were even present.” “Well Pound and Pumpkin are charming little ponies, Flurry.” said Silverstream. “Do you ever remember meeting them before?” “No, but Spike said I made a pretty weird first impression back when I was still a baby.” “Yeah, you should have seen it.” added Spike. “Twilight once left her with them while she was getting an order from Pinkie. Flurry tried breaking up a fight they got into over a toy, but she kinda made things worse and they started throwing cupcakes at her.” “Aw. I hope they aren’t still holding a grudge.” Silverstream replied. “Eh, they were babies. I’m sure they forget it even happened.” Spike told her. They continued on until they finally reached the large building that resembled a giant gingerbread house. Sugarcube Corner was a confectionary where ponies would come to buy all sorts of sweets. Pinkie Pie used to live and work there. Her room upstairs and her “party cave” in the cellar below were still reserved for her when she would stay in Ponyville, but Pinkie was away right now with her boyfriend, Cheese Sandwich. Pinkie dealt so well with Flurry when she was born, so they were both very close. Flurry really wished she could see Pinkie now, but Spike promised her that she and Cheese would both be visiting soon. They walked on up to the front door and Spike opened it for Flurry and Silverstream. Flurry walked in and saw a young pegasus colt behind the counter. He had a light beige coat with brown, curly hair and his cutie mark was a small chocolate cake with a slice taken out of it. This was undoubtedly Pound Cake, the older brother of the Cake Twins. He was kneading some dough for his mother, Cup Cake. She was a blue earth pony with swirly pink hair that resembled cupcake icing and wore glasses and an apron. She had just come in with a pan for the dough that Pound was using. “Good job there, dear.” said Mrs. Cake. “Now in a few minutes, I’ll have the chocolate mousse ready for…ooooh! Princess Flurry Heart! We’re so sorry you caught us in the middle of something.” “Aw, that’s fine, Mrs. Cake.” Silverstream said. “Flurry’s happy to be hear regardless!” “Hey there, Mrs. Cake.” Flurry said. “Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, Princess.” Mrs. Cake said, bowing her head. “This here is my son, Pound Cake.” “Flurry Heart, great to finally meet you!” Pound said, as he flew in the air, spinning the flattened dough around on top of his hoof. He then wadded it back up in his hooves and rolled it around in a circular fashion while talking. “I’m Pound Cake. As you can see, the dough’s my specialty around here. My sister works with the flavoring and spices, of course she’ll work with anything when it comes to-” “AAAAGGGGHHH!!!” A young female pony yelled in the room behind them. She then burst through the door and ran out before skidding to a halt, right beneath Pound. She was a light shade of yellow, had orange, fluffy hair, and wore a cerulean bow in her mane that was a bit smaller than Flurry’s. Her cutie mark was a pumpkin, thus giving away that this was Pumpkin Cake. “Bro, you didn’t tell me she was gonna be here this soon!” she squawked before turning to Flurry. She then grabbed one of Flurry’s hooves and shook it very fast. “Anyway, hey, Princess! I’m Pumpkin Cake! I love sweet stuff and I love mixing it in with other sweet stuff and making it super tasty so everypony who comes here has the best treats ever! You’re gonna have so much fun here and we might even bake you a special guest cake! Ooooh, that would be awesome, wouldn’t it, Pound?!” While she continued running her mouth, she finally let go of Flurry’s hoof. Flurry continued to vibrate out of control until Spike walked up behind her and put his finger on top of her head to get her to stand still. The vibration went through his arm, but was absorbed by his dragon chub and quickly wore off. “Hehe, thanks Spike.” Flurry told him as he giggled a bit. Just then, their father, Carrot Cake walked in. He was a taller, more slender earth pony who wore an ice cream parlor hat and an apron like Mrs. Cake did. His coat and mane colors were very similar to Pumpkin’s. “You’ll have to forgive Pumpkin.” Mr. Cake said as he stood next to his wife. “She takes after her favorite babysitter, Pinkie Pie.” “Well hey, Pinkie’s like an aunt to me so I’m totally cool with that.” Flurry replied. “Oh, and don’t worry about the old toy hot-air balloon. We grew out of that thing fast.” Pound told Flurry as he landed in front of her. “Er, wait, you guys remember that?” “Nah, we were babies. Pinkie just told us.” “She tells us everything.” Pumpkin added with a big smile on her face. “Well it’s great to meet you guys.” Flurry continued. “Silverstream said you’d keep me company during my stay in Ponyville this summer.” “Yeah, sounds like you’re already having quite an adventure. We heard about what happened the other night with that big red rhino thing that turned out to be a changeling.” Pound told her. “That must’ve been crazy! Silverstream, is it true you guys are the new Elements of Harmony?” Pumpkin asked, excitedly. “Hehe, I guess we are.” Silverstream gigged while shrugging. “We’re not sure when we’ll ever need to use those things again, but we’re trying to not worry about it too much. We kept the Elements back in a vault in the crystal castle. But hey, we have Flurry to thank for figuring out it was us who were the ones to stop General Scutellum.” Silverstream put her talon around Flurry’s shoulder as Flurry blushed. “Well guys, I’d better go.” she said as she walked towards the entrance. “Gallus and I have some plans for the day so I’d better go get ready! Have fun, Flurry!” she said, waving. “Bye Silverstream! Thanks again for bringing me over!” Flurry called back as everyone else waved to Silverstream. “So, Pound, Pumpkin, you guys wanted to show Flurry something?” Spike said to the twins. “OOOOH! YEAH YEAH YEAH!!” Pumpkin said with widened eyes. “Pound, everything’s ready over in the living room! Should we take her in right now?” “Oh right! Yeah, let’s do it now while we still can!” Pound said, flying over to the next room. Flurry looked confused, but Spike motioned for her to follow them. Eager to know what the surprise was, she went into the living room next door to see a small makeshift stage that had been set up. Pumpkin sat down in front of the stage and patted the ground next to her for Flurry to come join her. Flurry sat down and Pound turned off the lights in the room and pulled the shades. He then walked over to a spotlight behind them and shone it on the stage. The buildup of drums could be heard from a nearby boom-box and a familiar voice began to speak. Flurry instantly recognized the voice. It belonged to Cheese Sandwich. “Fillies and gentlecolts, thank you for joining us today! We’re as excited to be here as you are to see us! So now, to our super-special guest from the remote land of the Crystal Empire, Princess Flurry Heart, we welcome you to Ponyville!” The sound of an accordion could be heard and the curtains parted to reveal Pinkie’s party canon in the center of the stage. It was lit from behind and appeared to be a little bigger than usual, almost as if something big and round was inside of it. Suddenly, it exploded and spat out a chubby, pink pony with fluffy magenta hair. She was wearing the same exact bow Flurry had and her cutie mark was three colorful balloons. It was Pinkie Pie! Pinkie flew up in the air out of her canon and landed on the edge of the stage, right in front of the Cake Twins and Flurry. Flurry gasped and made the biggest smile she could possibly make. Pinkie began to sing as Cheese continued to play his accordion in the background. Pinkie: We welcome you Hope you have fun We’re going to party and make merry Till the day is done Now there’s no time to waste Let’s make your stay worthwhile Flurry Heart, get ready to smile! “Take it away, Cheesie!” Pinkie called as a silhouette of Cheese with his accordion could be seen walking in from the side of the stage. He jumped right in where the spotlight shone next to Pinkie and sang. Cheese: We’re here to entertain you We’re here to make you laugh It won’t be just a piece of cake But more like half Pinkie: Oh, yummy! Cheese: We’re so anxious to get started Brightening your day Sit back! Relax! Enjoy your staaaaay Both: Flurry, we’re so happy To see you want to learn The friendship lessons Twilight taught Now it’s your turn Your time right here in Ponyville Will be the perfect start Gooooooo get em, Fluuuuurryyyyyy Heaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaart! Cheese stood tall and played the final notes on his accordion as Pinkie slid on her knees in front of him. She stretched her arms out and leaned her head back with her mouth open wide as they both sang the final note. Several mechanized, miniature party canons rolled in on both sides and spat out confetti and fireworks as a large banner that said “WELCOME, FLURRY HEART!!” unfurled from the top curtain. The music and singing finally came to a stop. Spike and the Cake twins all started clapping loudly. Flurry jumped in the air and flapped her wings while squealing. She flew towards the lovable, plump mare to get a hug. “PINKIE PIE!!!” she squealed as she dove in and wrapped her arms around Pinkie’s neck and cushioned herself against her plump, soft belly. “FLURRY!! HOW’S MY LITTLE MATCHING-BOW MARE?!” Pinkie shouted, hugging her tenderly. Author's Note The tune to the "Welcome, Flurry Heart" song can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j7bbX5ScAzTzXAeGHQgRbUociYwCuuvw/view?usp=sharing
2. Time to Pop the QuestionChapter 2 “Pinkie, I’m so happy you and Cheese are here!” Flurry squealed as she continued to hug the plump, pink pony. “As soon as I heard you were coming to Ponyville, we had to visit!” Pinkie replied. “I couldn’t possibly miss a chance to hang out with my little Matching-Bow Mare!” “Cheese! I haven’t seen you in a while!” Flurry said as she went over to hug Cheese. “Haha! I know, right?! We’re only sorry we couldn’t have been here to see the battle the other night with that changeling! Must’ve been one heck of a fight!” Cheese replied, setting her down gently. “Spike, did you know they were coming?” Flurry asked Spike. “Sure did!” he replied. “I’ve been holding it in too long now, but here we all are!” “Spiiiike! Long time no see!” Pinkie said as she leaped off the stage and tackled Spike to the ground. “Pinkie, great to see…WHOA! AAAGH!!” “C’mere big guy! I’m gonna getcha!” Pinkie began tickling him as he flailed his legs around and laughed uncontrollably. She then jumped on top of his large belly, pressed against it with her lips and blew as hard as she could. Spike laughed even harder and tried pushing her off. “NOOOO!! AHAHAHAHA!!” Pound and Pumpkin rolled on the floor laughing at the sight until they finally recollected themselves. Cheese and a rather giggly Flurry jumped down from the stage and everyone joined up on the floor. “Alright, alright, ya got me! Hehe…heh.” Spike said as he tried his best to stop laughing while standing back up. “I’m so super happy we’re all here!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Twilight sent me and Cheese a letter saying Flurry was coming for the summer, and I absolutely HAD to make this trip! And it’s even better now to know you’re staying the whole summer! Why, I’m so excited, I haven’t been this excited before! Well I mean there was that one time when I first met Twilight: she was all like ‘Um…hello?’ and then I realized she was new and hadn’t made any friends yet, so then I was like HUUUUUUUUUUUUU…” Pinkie threw her head back and took a long gasp to reenact the moment she met Twilight in Ponyville over a decade ago. She gasped so hard, her entire body began to lose its chubbiness and she slowly reverted back to her thinner physical appearance. She finally stopped gasping and quickly inflated like a balloon back into her plump self. Cheese giggled and rolled his eyes at his silly girlfriend as she continued blabbering on. “And then I got everyone I knew in Ponyville to help make a welcome party for her! Oh my gosh, it was soooo weird seeing Twilight be all reclusive back then, but we made friends with her quickly after we beat Nightmare Moon! I know this is kinda off-topic, but hey, if it weren’t for that moment, we probably wouldn’t all be here like this now! SUCH MEMORIES!!” Flurry, Pound, Pumpkin and Spike snickered at Pinkie’s antics and could not stop smiling. “That’s our number-one babysitter, eh bro?” Pumpkin said, hugging Pinkie. “You said it, sis!” Pound replied as he and everyone else joined in one big group-hug. Later in the dining area of Sugarcube Corner, the six of them all joined each other for milkshakes at a large round table. “Pinkie and I have done parties in several different cities in Equestria so far this year. We’ve already hit Las Pegasus, Fillydelphia and Manehattan. We’re trying to get up to Vanhoover at some point.” Cheese explained to the kids. “Don’t forget our rock-fest we did for Maud’s birthday earlier just outside of my family’s rock farm, Cheesie!” Pinkie added. “We had such a blast! Maud was so happy!” “Are you guys gonna stick around in Ponyville for the whole summer this year?” Pound asked. “Well we’ve definitely wanted to take a bit of a break and especially spend some time with Flurry.” Cheese continued as he put his arm around Pinkie. “I don’t know about you, sweetie pie, but I could really use some vacation time in the quaint little town I first met you in.” “When you put it that way, I wanna do the same! Anything for my Cheesy Weezy!” she said to him as they both began rubbing their noses together and giggling flirtatiously. Flurry smiled as she saw Pinkie and Cheese being sweet on each other. She felt so happy that they were in such a good relationship. Pumpkin giggled to herself as she watched them while Pound just smiled, smugly. Flurry noticed that Spike was looking at the clock and then seemed to signal to Mr. Cake who was peaking his head out of the kitchen door. Spike walked over quietly to speak with him. They were whispering so Flurry could not hear, but she wondered what they were talking about. “Well those were some tasty shakes, Pinkie!” Pumpkin said after she slurped up the last of her milkshake. “So what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” Pound asked. “Well, Pinkie and Spike were going to go meet Maud in town for a little rock fair they’ve got going on down there.” said Cheese. “I was thinking you kids and I could stay here to catch up and also help me brainstorm for my next performance…if that’s all right with you, Pinkie?” “Aw, no probsy, Cheesie!” Pinkie replied. “The fair’s going on throughout the week, so you guys can come by later if you want. I really need to catch up with Maud. It’s been so long since we last talked. Oh and when we’re done, I’ll bring her over here and she can join in the fun and we can all make some rock candy necklaces and play some games and stuff!” “WOOOO! Yay for Maud! We gotta see her again!” Pumpkin said, hopping around on the floor. “Hey, Pinkie, you ready to go to the fair now?” Spike said, walking over to her. “Sure am, Spike!” Cheese, you gonna be good over here with Flurry and the Cakes?” “Sure as sugar am!” Cheese said, hugging her one last time before she took off. “Okey dokey lokey! Let’s bounce, Spike!” Spike held the front door open for her and she hopped out while humming. He looked at Pinkie and then back at Cheese. He smiled nervously and gave thumbs up to him as Cheese nodded his head up and down. “Give us about three hours, got it?” Cheese whispered. “Got it.” Spike whispered back. Spike closed the door and Cheese crept over to the window to watch them both leave. Flurry, Pound and Pumpkin looked curiously at him, wondering what was wrong. “Cheese, you okay?” asked Pound. “Oh I’m fine, just…really nervous.” Cheese replied with some tension in his voice. “What’s the matter?” Flurry asked as the three of them gathered around him. “Well, there’s a reason I really needed Pinkie out of the house for the next few hours.” Cheese motioned for them to move in closer and he began to whisper in their ear. “I’m…I’m actually gonna try and propose to her later tonight.” Flurry, Pound, and Pumpkin all gasped loudly and froze for a second. Pound covered his mouth with both hooves as Pumpkin screamed in delight and zoomed around in circles at blinding speeds. Flurry just stood there with her eyes huge and her smile reaching from ear to ear. “OH MY GOSH!” Flurry cried. “CHEESE, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!” “AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!!! HE’S GONNA PROPOSE! CHEESE IS GONNA PROPOSE TO PINKIE!!” “SSSHHHH!! Pump, let’s not give him away!” Pound said, stopping his sister in her tracks by placing his hoof firmly into her mouth. “Don’t worry. Your parents both know.” Cheese replied. “I just wanna keep it as secret as possible. I was wondering if you kids wanted to help me figure out how I’m gonna do it. Pinkie and I brought along our stage and a bunch of other fun equipment to do that surprise for you, Flurry, but I also brought it cuz I wanted to try making some big presentation right as I propose to her.” “Aw! We’d love to help you out with that, Cheese!” Flurry said, delightfully. “YES YES YES!!! Count us all in!” Pumpkin said as she jumped in right next to Flurry. She then stretched her arm out to pull Pound in right next to her and used her other arm to pull Flurry in closer. “And we’ll do what we can to help out as well, Cheese.” said Mrs. Cake as she came in with her husband. “Believe me, we’re just as happy to hear our favorite employee is going to finally be married!” “Glad you’ve all got my back.” Cheese said, gratefully. “I just hope Spike can keep her distracted long enough out there. I’d hate for her to come back when I’m not ready yet.” Just then, the door burst open and Pinkie appeared. Cheese jumped in the air and his mane and tail stood on end for a brief moment as he looked horrified. “Oopsie doopsie loopsie! Forgot my shake!” Pinkie said as she hopped back in to pick up her milkshake from the table. Everyone stood frozen in place with shocked looks on their faces. Spike was in the doorway looking really nervous, but thankfully Pinkie didn’t appear to know what was going on. She grabbed the milkshake with her prehensile bangs, and kissed Cheese on her way out. Cheese blushed and watched nervously as she exited. Spike exhaled deeply and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Don’t worry, I'll keep her distracted.” he quietly told Cheese as he finally left them all to their business. Everyone walked over to the window to watch Spike and Pinkie until they finally disappeared behind a building in the distance. Cheese slid down the wall and exhaled in relief. “Phew! That was close.” he said.
3. SetbacksChapter 3 Pinkie and Spike walked through the streets of Ponyville to get to the rock fair on the other side of town. She joyfully bounced up and down next to her dragon friend as he was reading a flier about the fair to figure out what he and Maud should do to keep her distracted long enough. “Oh Spike, I’m so excited for this rock fair! Maud’s gonna be in her element here!” Pinkie said. “Well Pinkie, as soon as we find Maud, I think we should head to the geode exhibit first.” Spike replied as he looked carefully at the map in the flier. “Hehehe, you would wanna go there for the snacks, silly!” she teased. “What? Oh no, I wouldn’t dare eat any of the set pieces! Although those rock candies on a stick do look pretty tasty.” “Hey guys.” called a monotonous voice from several yards away. They both looked over to see a grey pony with purple straight hair, wearing a dark aqua frock. She had her hair in a bun and was wearing some small glasses and a wedding necklace of a golden twig and stone. It was Pinkie’s sister, Maud Pie. Her face had a somewhat blank look on it because she did not use facial expressions to convey emotion, which caused her to not fit in too well with others. Despite this, Pinkie was always somehow able to tell what Maud was thinking, and right now, Maud had a slight smile on her face, indicating that she was very happy to see her sister. “MAUD!!!” Pinkie screamed as she ran over to hug her. “Ah, Maud, there you are! That didn’t take long!” Spike said. “I thought I’d never find you guys.” Maud replied as she took out a small round stone from her frock. “Boulder was starting to get a little impatient.” “Aw, don’tcha worry, Boulder! We’re here!” Pinkie said, petting Boulder. “Well hey, I’m so happy that they finally listened to you and made a rock-themed fair in Ponyville! Now everypony will love rocks!” “I’m glad to see quite a few ponies showed up. There are a lot of kids saying they want to become geologists now. Equestria coulduse more geologists.” “It could also use more of those delicious, mouth-watering mountain gems!” Spike said as he rubbed his belly and drooled. “Now now, Spike.” Maud replied. “The rocks here are for show only, but I’ll see if I can find some cheap ones for you to snack on.” “Also we need to save some to make necklaces and then we’ll bring them to Sugarcube Corner so Flurry and the Cakes can make some with us! Oh you should have seen the look on Flurry’s face when Cheese and I surprised her back there! I haven’t seen her smile that big since the day I gave her that bow for Hearth’s Warming Day!” Pinkie babbled on as they began to walk along. Just ahead was the rock fair. There were tents and stands set up near a paved path for villagers to walk along. At each stand were some ponies and even a few other non-pony citizens selling rare rocks and sculptures. The bigger tents had shows and exhibits inside. Spike studied the map until he had a plan set for the day. “Alright ladies, I think we should just take this time to browse around for any gifts and snacks first cuz the geode exhibit doesn’t open for another hour.” Spike told them. “And after the exhibit we can go to the fashion tent where you get to judge some of the rock-themed dresses Rarity helped make for the show, Maud.” “They better be good.” Maud said flatly. “She’s locked and loaded for some super serious critiquing! Hehehe!” Pinkie snickered. “Oh man this fair’s gonna be great! I just wish Flurry could see all this…” Spike had a nervous look on his face after Pinkie mentioned Flurry. He was worried Pinkie might try to go back to Sugarcube Corner to get Flurry to come over and interrupt Cheese’s planning. He and Maud exchanged glances and Maud tried to take Flurry off of Pinkie’s mind. “Well hey, Flurry’s gonna love those rock necklace rocks when you bring them back.” she said. “We’ll just stick to the schedule and make sure I’m not late for the fashion show. After that, there are plenty of other exciting things we can do here.” “Oh abso-tutely-lutely, Maud!” Pinkie replied, saluting. “Alright, well who’s up for some rock candy!? Last one to that stand over there is a moldy cupcake!” Pinkie zoomed off at high speeds, leaving behind pink and aqua streak marks and a cloud of dust from the ground. She went in front of a stand to wait in line while bouncing up and down on her hooves. Spike and Maud looked at each other while she was distracted. “Well that was close.” Spike said. “You think she’ll last for three hours?” “She should.” Maud said. “It’s pretty easy to distract my sister. Just so long as Cheese gets his supplies he ordered to Sugarcube Corner.” “Oh, those haven’t come yet?” “Not yet. He said they’re supposed to arrive today.” “Darnit. Well, Flurry can message me with a scroll in case things get hairy.” “HEY, YOU SLOWPOKES WANNA MUNCH ON SOME ROCKS OR WHAT?!” Pinkie teased. “Whoops…COMING!” Spike called back as he and Maud hurried over to the concession stand to wait in line. Back at Sugarcube Corner, Cheese began setting up tons of decorations on the stage that he and Pinkie used earlier. He had several of Pinkie’s mechanized mini canons scattered throughout the room to shoot confetti the moment he would propose to Pinkie and a huge sign that read, “Pinkie, will you marry me?” that would hang down at the same time. Meanwhile, Flurry, Pound and Pumpkin were in the kitchen, making some special crafts and artwork of Pinkie and Cheese to use during the proposal. “What do you guys think so far?” Pumpkin said, holding up a crayon drawing of Pinkie and Cheese with a heart over their heads. “I thought I’d go with something kinda minimalistic!” “That looks great, Pumpkin!” Flurry complimented. “I think I’ll just go with the picture I made earlier and try to help Cheese with some of the music. How about you, Pound?” “I thought I’d do something different and go into the next dimension. How do you guys like these?” Pound said, holding up two paper-crafts that looked like Pinkie and Cheese. “Oooooh! Nice idea, bro! Make em kiss, make em kiss!” Pumpkin said, eagerly. Pound moved the paper-crafts towards each other and made them kiss and began to speak out of the side of his mouth to make them talk. “Mwah, mwah! Pinkie, I love you so much! Will you marry me? OMIGOSH, YES!! I TOTALLY WILL CHEESE!! Mwah, mwah!” “Hehehe! So cute! And then when the wedding comes around, we can dress them up and use them as the cake toppers!” “Not a bad idea! What do you think Flurry? Flurry?” Over to the side, Flurry was going through some sheet music and was deep in thought and didn’t realize she was being talked to at first. “Oh, sorry guys.” she responded. “I was just going through some possibilities for a soundtrack to play while this all happens. I thought it would be cool to have the tune of the “Party Planner” song playing as she steps in. She and Cheese sang a reprise of that back when she found out that she was what inspired Cheese with his special talent. It’s such a happy little tune and I think it goes great with all of this. Oh, and Cheese could propose to her in the tune of his “Confession” song when he told her his backstory. Maybe I should run this by him first though in case he’s got something else planned.” “I think it sounds good!” Pound told her. “Me too! Go tell him!” Pumpkin added. Flurry got up and flew into the living room where the stage was. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were setting up some party supplies everywhere and some little standees of bushes and trees with a little pathway could be seen. Everything was decorated so splendidly and would definitely catch Pinkie’s eye. There were arrows on the pathway that would tell Pinkie where she’d need to go. As Flurry walked along the pathway, several little stones she stepped on triggered photos of Pinkie and Cheese to come out of the bushes as well as small confetti shooters. Flurry eventually made it to the stage where Cheese was looking at a clipboard and checking things off with the pen in his mouth. “Hey Cheese, how’s everything going?” she asked him. “Pretty good so far.” Cheese said while carefully reading his clipboard. “I’ve got pretty much everything I need here. All that’s left is to get a few more decorations around and then set up the sound system and the big-screen monitor in the front. I’ve got a short movie to play for Pinkie while she sits up here with me at this table. The monitor’s on its way in the mail. I would’ve brought the one I have stored back in Manehattan, but my cousin’s borrowing it right now. Besides, I was starting to get a little worried that Pinkie would figure out what I was up to if I took too many things with us. She thought we were just going to put on that little welcoming show for you, but I was able to hide some of these things in the crates they were transported in.” “Is that why you used these standees for the decorations?” Flurry asked. “Yup. Thin, easy to package and they can slide right in out of sight next to everything else. She doesn’t suspect anything.” “What music are you gonna be playing for her while it happens?” “I was gonna use some emotional music right around the time I’m ready to show her the ring box. I’m not too sure it’s going to work though. You’re welcome to give ideas.” “Well I noticed you and Pinkie keep sheet music of some of the songs you’ve sung throughout the years, and I think these two would be great to play. You can do an instrumental of Party Planner while she’s walking in and then after you show her the movie, you can do the Confession Song instrumental.” Flurry flew up on the stage and handed him the sheet music. He glanced at them real quick and then started to smile. “Ooooh, these old songs! We sang them on the day we met back during Rainbow Dash’s birthday party. Yeah, they would go great as background music and I’m sure it’ll give her a little nostalgia hearing it. Great idea, Flurry!” “Yo Cheese…” called Pound as he flew in with his paper crafts. “I made these. You want me to hang them from the ceiling or something?” “Wow, those are adorable, Pound! Yeah, go ahead and put them wherever you want. And you guys can put any artwork and photographs on the pop-ups behind the bushes. Pinkie really loves pop-ups.” “This is going to be so exciting!” Pumpkin squealed with delight. “Mom, Dad, you guys done with your stuff over there?” “Well we’re almost done, Pumpkin…” Mr. Cake replied, “…except your mother and I are having a little trouble with these cords.” “Yeah, the instructions are easy to follow, but I can’t help but feel we’re missing something.” Mrs. Cake added. Everypony suddenly had concerned looks on their faces. Cheese hopped down from the stage to go see what was wrong. “You’re missing one of the cords?” he asked the Cakes. “Yeah, the speakers over here aren’t going to work without that cord.” said Mr. Cake, pointing to the instructions. “That cord? Oh cheddar on ciabatta, I forgot that one!” Cheese said putting his hooves on both sides of his face. “Darnit all, I knew there was something telling me to go back and triple-check the crates!” “It’s okay, Cheese. The hardware store might have something like that down the street. Want me to go check?” Pound asked. “That would help out a ton. Here, take these instructions and show them this one right here.” “Got it. Mom, Dad, can I borrow some bits?” “Sure, dear. Go ahead and take a few out of the piggy bank up in our bedroom.” Mrs. Cake told her son. “On it!” Pound replied, saluting. He then sped off up the stairs to get the money needed for the cord. “Don’t worry, Cheese.” Flurry said, patting him on the back. “Pound will find the cord, and if we can’t get one, I’m sure we can use that entertainment system over there.” “That might work. Carrot, does it play CDs?” Cheese asked Mr. Cake. “Eh, unfortunately no. Cup and I are a bit old-fashioned. We’re still using vinyl.” Mr. Cake said, nervously. “I have a CD-player up in my room!” Pumpkin chimed in. “It’s all pink and has flowers on it, but Pinkie will appreciate that design.” “I guess we can use that as a last resort option.” Cheese said with relief. “I just hope that monitor I ordered arrives before Spike and Maud bring her back. It’s supposed to come today so we shouldn’t have anything to worry about…I hope.” “It’ll be ok, Cheese.” Flurry said. “Once the monitor gets here and Pound brings the cord, we should be good.” “Alright guys. I got the bits. I’ll go see if they have that cord down at Hoofers Hardware Store.” said Pound as he hovered around, carrying a small bag of bits and the instructions in his hooves. He flew into the dining room in Sugarcube Corner and out the front door to make his errand just as the wall-eyed mail-mare, Derpy Hooves walked in front of the door to knock on it. After a few seconds, Mr. and Mrs. Cake opened up. “Oh, hey there, Derpy.” Mr. Cake said to her. “Hello, Mr. Cake.” she replied, using one of her eyes to make contact with him and using the other one to look at the letters she was handing him. “I’ve got your mail here, but I have some bad news. You were supposed to get a large package today, but it’s been delayed.” “WHAT?! The package won’t make it today?!” Cheese said as he pushed through to get to Derpy. “It should be here tomorrow though. Is that going to be a problem?” “A problem?! It’s going to be a HUGE problem! That monitor was supposed to get here today! Oh brie on brioche, I knew I should’ve ordered that thing days in advance!” “Sorry. We’re not sure what the hold up is, but it hasn’t reached the post office yet.” said Derpy as she looked very empathetic for Cheese. “Well hey, I’m sure whatever you needed it for can wait another day or two, right?” Cheese could not react to Derpy’s comment; he just sat on the doorstep and pulled his lower eyelids down with his hooves while groaning. “Sorry again, it’s just part and parcel of the packaging industry. Oh, hehe, pun not intended.” “We’ll be okay, Ms. Hooves.” Mrs. Cake said, patting Cheese on the back. “We were just really needing that thing today for something important that Cheese wanted done, but we’ll manage.” “Take care!” The pegasus mail-mare took off, flying to the next house to deliver some letters. Cheese continued to sit on the doorstep, looking rather worried. Flurry and Pumpkin just came out, having overheard the conversation. They did their best to comfort him. “Well that’s a real bummer.” said Pumpkin. “Without that monitor, that’s going to ruin the biggest part of what I had planned!” Cheese said. “I had that really awesome video planned for her and it’s not going to work on your guys’ TV. Well, I guess we can just show the vidoe for the wedding anyway, but still, I was really anxious to show it to her right before I propose!” Just then, Pound flew in, holding a bag and the instructions. He landed in front of Cheese and pulled an item out of the bag. “I got the cord, everypony!” he said, panting. “They were running low so I was just in time! Did the monitor come yet? And what’s the matter, Cheese?” “Thanks, Pound, but the monitor won’t be making it today. The package got delayed and won’t be here till probably tomorrow.” Cheese told the young pegasus colt. “What?! Aw shoot! What are we gonna do now?!” “It’s okay, Pound.” Cheese stopped pouting and stood tall and confident. He took the package with the cord and opened it up carefully; examining it to make sure it was the right kind. “Now that I have this cord, I actually just realized something I still can do. It’s time for Plan B.” “What’s Plan B?” “What Cheese Sandwich does best: musical performance! Flurry?” “Yeah, Cheese?” Flurry said, walking right next to him. “Can you send Spike a letter from here?” “Yeah, what do you need me to tell him?” “Tell him to keep Pinkie distracted for three more hours if possible. I’ll be needing as much time as I can get to prepare the most amazing musical number to sing to Pinkie.” “Okay, three hours. You think that’ll be enough?” “It should be.” Cheese said in a very grim voice. “Pinkie and I have written and composed many songs in record speed; sometimes even right on the spot. Three hours is all I’ll need to write this song for my love!”
4. Time for Plan CChapter 4 Spike, Maud, and Pinkie walked on through the rock fair after several hours of enjoyment. Pinkie licked away at some rock candy ice cream she held in front of her, using her long, curly bangs. Spike had just finished eating some rock candy on a stick, while Maud was carefully eying a geode she bought at the gift shop. “I dunno about you guys, but that fashion show sure rocked! Hehehe!” Pinkie giggled. “That’s some knee-slapping comedy right there, Pinkie.” Maud replied. “Rarity’s dresses did look pretty nice! I’ll bet Limestone would like one for Hearth’s Warming Day later this year.” Spike said to Maud. “Oh I’ve got a lot in mind for gifts for my sisters, Spike. This geode is going straight to Marble.” she said, placing it in the inner pocket of her frock. “Daw! Marble’s gonna love that, Maud! Well guys, think should we head on back to Sugarcube Corner now?” Pinkie asked. “Well it has been…um…three? Yeah, three hours. I think now’s a good time to go…urgh…UGH!!” Spike started clenching his chest as his cheeks puffed up. He opened his mouth to let out a loud belch of green fire. A scroll appeared and dropped to the ground. “Ooooh! We’ve got mail!” Pinkie said as she went forward to pick up the scroll. Spike got scared and grabbed the scroll first, thinking it might contain information about Cheese’s proposal. “Oh, it’s okay, Pinkie! I got it!” he said. He quickly opened the scroll and turned away from Pinkie, reading the scroll close to him so she could not see the contents. It read the following: Spike, we’ve got a bit of a situation back here. Cheese is missing a few important items and had to rethink everything at the last minute. He’s working it out, but we might need you guys to distract Pinkie for at least another two hours. Send a reply as soon as you get this so we know you got it. -Flurry Spike’s eyes widened and he looked nervously at Maud and Pinkie, wondering what to say. “What’s it say?” Maud asked. “Did Twilight send that message? Oooh! Is Twilight taking the rest of the day off to come visit us?!” Pinkie asked, jumping up and down. “NO! Er, no, it’s not Twilight, it’s Flurry.” Spike replied. “She…um…she told me to remember to get something at the rock fair. I have to get…more…more gems!” “More gems?! You already got gems earlier, silly. They were in your bag, now they’re in your belly!” “Yeah, but…these…are a different kind of gem! They’re the ones I use for my special cake I bake every so often. They’re not like the ones in this bag. They…uh…uh…” “They don’t taste as good out of the bag because they need to be mixed in with the batter to get their flavor. They’re actually kind of salty if you eat them as is and he doesn’t like the taste. It keeps him from accidentally eating all of them before he makes the actual cake.” Maud added. “YEAH! Yeah, what she said. Thanks Maud.” “Oh yeah! I remember you always used to eat the gems before making the cake, Spike! You just couldn’t help yourself! Hehehe!” Pinkie giggled. “Heh…you know me.” Spike said, hiding the scroll behind his back and blushing. “Well anyway, they’re selling those gems over at a different stand, but Maud, why don’t you show Pinkie some of the rock sculptures over there. Oh, and then you can take her to the pet rock zoo.” “Oooh, they’ve got pet rocks over there?! I want one! LET’S GO, MAUD!!” “Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you about the pet rocks. Yeah, we best go now before they close or something.” Maud replied to her sister. Spike walked by Maud and quickly whispered in her ear that they needed more time for Cheese. Maud winked at him and continued in the other direction, with Pinkie bouncing up and down while humming a happy tune. Spike looked back and waved until they were far enough away. He then took the scroll out from behind his back and began writing a response on the lower half of Flurry’s scroll. Once he was done, he rolled it up and blew his green fire on it. The scroll faded away into ashes and flew through the air, back to Sugarcube Corner. “Hang in there, Cheese. We’ll keep her a bit longer.” he said. Flurry paced back and forth in Pound and Pumpkin’s bedroom. Pound was playing a small handheld video game on his bed while Pumpkin was playing with a paddle ball. Flurry was still waiting for Spike’s response. Suddenly some green fire flew in through the opened window in the bedroom and moved towards her. It swirled around and then puffed into smoke. The scroll appeared as she caught it with her magic. “Oh good! Spike responded!” she said as she opened it up and began to read. “He says he’s found a way to keep Pinkie out there a little longer and that she hasn’t figured it out yet.” “Sounds good!” Pound added, turning off his video game. “You think Cheese is done with his song down there?” “I hope so. He seemed a little worried.” “Ah, don’t worry, Flurry.” Pumpkin added as she leaped down from her bed. “Cheese is a musical wiz. He’s got this!” “We’d better check on him just to be safe though.” Pound said as he flew over to open the door. The three of them walked out into the hallway and down the stairs. Once they got to the living room, they saw tons of crumpled up papers all over the ground. In one corner was Cheese with his keyboard, singing to himself while playing and trying to get his lyrics right. He kept messing up and starting over again. There was a lot of tension in his voice. Flurry, Pound, and Pumpkin looked very concerned. “Oh dear.” Flurry said. “Think we should help him out?” Pumpkin whispered out of the side of her mouth to Pound. “I’ll go ask him.” Pound said as he cautiously hovered over to Cheese. “Hey Cheese, everything alright?” “PINKIE, I WAS JUST…oh, Pound, it’s you. Sorry.” Cheese said as he spun around quickly with his chest pumping air in and out. He was so on edge; he thought Pinkie had already arrived. His hair was frazzled and he had dark bags under his bloodshot eyes. “Cheese, have you even finished your song yet?” Flurry asked, cautiously. “Uh…YES!! Er, I mean I almost have! I’ll be done before Pinkie gets here! Trust me, it’s all going totally fine! Heheh…heh…” Cheese smiled bashfully, but it did not good to convince them. His eyes darted back and forth until his smile dropped and he leaned his head down. He pulled his eyelids down with his hooves and began to finally tell the truth. “UUUUGGGGHHH!!! I can’t do this! I’m under too much pressure! Everything went wrong at the last minute and the stress is keeping me from being able to make rhymes off the top of my head!” “It’s okay, Cheese. Everypony gets stressed out at times.” Flurry said. “I don’t get it.” Cheese continued. “I’ve always been able to complete all these parties I’ve planned in the past right on schedule with only a few hiccups. I guess since this is a big life-changing thing for me, it’s caused my brain to go haywire till I just can’t get the right words out!” “Should we tell Spike and Maud to keep Pinkie out there a little longer?” Pumpkin suggested. “No. It’s no use. There’s not much time left and we’ve already kept her out there too long.” “So does this mean you’re not going to be proposing to her today?” Pound asked. “I guess not. I really wanted to go through with all of this, but it’s not working. Maybe I’ll try another day.” Cheese walked over to fetch a nearby broom and began to sweep the papers on the floor into a dustpan. The kids all looked at each other, worriedly. They had no idea what to do. “I guess this means I’ll have to tell Spike that they can come over now.” Flurry said, pulling the scroll and feather out from underneath one of her wings. “Hold on, Flurry.” Pound said. “Don’t send the letter just yet. I have an idea.” Pound walked over to Pumpkin and whispered something in her ear. Pumpkin’s eyes widened a bit and she smiled. “Oh! Good idea!” she whispered back. “We’ll be right back, Flurry.” The Cake Twins scampered off into the kitchen to speak with their parents, while Cheese continued to sweep up the papers. Flurry watched him as he threw the papers away in a trash basket and lay down against the wall in misery. “Sorry if I got you all excited for tonight, Flurry.” he told her. “It’s okay, Cheese.” she replied. “I might have given you too much to work with those songs. You can always do it another day, right?” “Maybe. It’s just, I was hoping to propose to her today since she was all so happy about you coming over and seeing us. I just wanted to give Pinkie the best day and the best time for me to propose to her. I had everything planned, but I just ended up going into creative burnout.” “Well hey, I can help with it again if you’d like me to.” “I wouldn’t bother. After today, I’m wondering if I’m even ready to propose to her yet.” Cheese stood up and walked to the kitchen with his head down. He pushed open the double doors and plodded in towards one of the tables. Flurry followed after him, watching as he sat down with his head resting on top of his crossed arms. She felt so bad for him, but she could tell he needed to be left alone. She walked away until she saw Pound and Pumpkin enter with their parents. “Cheese, the kids told us everything.” Mr. Cake said. “You’re not actually thinking of calling off proposing to her, are you?” Mrs. Cake asked him. “Well I’m certainly not going to be able to do it today.” Cheese replied. “I’m already too stressed out to finish what I had planned. It’s no use continuing.” “Perhaps you were rushing things a bit, dear?” Mrs. Cake asked. “I was starting to wonder if you’d be able to get it all done in time without any problems.” “Yeah…” Mr. and Mrs. Cake sat down in the chairs next to Cheese. Pound and Pumpkin stayed behind with Flurry and watched from a distance. “You know, when Carrot proposed to me, he didn’t have much planned, but I said ‘yes’ anyway.” “That’s right, Cheese. I didn’t know how I’d do it outside of just the proposal itself. I didn’t have a big set or props or music or a TV screen or anything.” “You didn’t?” “Nope. We were at a dance one night and I was walking her back home when I took her aside and we talked for a few minutes, and that’s when I finally popped the question. No spectacle needed to be made. All I had to do was ask.” “Wow. See, being a party pony, I can’t really see myself doing anything ordinary for Pinkie. She and I are all about throwing parties and having a grand old time. I want her proposal to be super special.” “Cheese, all that’s special right now is that you and Pinkie are in love and you want to spend the rest of your life with her.” Mrs. Cake said, putting her hoof on top of his. “When Carrot proposed, that was all I was thinking about.” “Does Pinkie love you, Cheese?” Mr. Cake asked. “Oh, definitely! I’ve made her happier than she’s been in ages. I have no doubt she’d say yes.” “Well then there you go. If Pinkie loves you, you don’t need to make some big presentation or sing a song right on the spot or throw in any other bells and whistles.” “You can still propose to her today, you know. All you need is that little box and the right words to say.” Cheese sat still for a moment and pushed his eyebrows down as he though hard. The realization finally hit him. “You know what…you guys are right!” he said. “I don’t need any of that stuff we brought over. Pinkie won’t care if I don’t use any of it. She and I have spent time in the quaintest of places before and she was still happy to be around me. She knows how to stay positive, and she’ll be happier than ever if I propose to her, even if it means not making a big deal out of it. Forget Plan B! I now have a Plan C!” “So what are you going to do now?” Mrs. Cake asked. “ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!” Cheese stood up on the table in a heroic pose, accompanied rays of light emanating from him and some random pop music for some reason. He looked over and saw Pumpkin, holding a boom box in the air with her magic. She realized she was playing unfitting music. “Whoops! Wrong track. My bad.” she said as she switched it over to play some more triumphant music. Cheese posed again with the new music. He then jumped down from the table, reached into his mane and pulled out the box with the proposal necklace for Pinkie. “This is all I need! I’ll just sit around and wait for her to come to me! Flurry?” “Yeah, Cheese?” Flurry said, rushing over to him. “Tell Spike we don’t need anymore time at all! I’m ready!” “…ready to go back to Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie squealed with excitement. “WAIT!” Spike called. “Wait.” Maud said. “We…um…haven’t shown you…the uh…” Spike said, trying to find an excuse to keep Pinkie away from home. “The rock plushies over by the pop rocks stand.” Maud added. “Yeah, they’re adorable! You’d love one!” “But we already bought one, guys.” Pinkie said, pulling out a small stuffed animal in the shape of a rock with googly eyes. “Oh…yeah, you’re right.” Spike said, nervously. “Well, uh…did you get to taste any of those rock candy-coated apples? Oh, wait, we just did that too. Okay well…uh…uh…” Spike and Maud looked at each other, trying to find something to say that would keep Pinkie at the rock fair longer. They still needed her there for another hour, but they had already visited the entire fair by now. Pinkie dropped her smile and looked suspicious. “I see what’s going on here…” she said, closing her eyes halfway and staring deeply at them with her face scrunching up. Spike started chomping on his fingernails at high speeds as purple clippings flew off in all directions. “Uh oh.” Maud said. Pinkie continued staring and then suddenly her face went back to looking smiley and joyful. “You guys forgot to help me name my new pet rock that Maud got me earlier!” she said, taking out a small heart-shaped rock. “YES!!! Yes, that’s exactly what I was going to say!” Spike said. “I think we should name her Pebble.” Maud said, carefully eying the rock in her sister’s hoof. “PEBBLE IT IS!! Pebble, you’re going to be such a great addition to the family! Just wait till Cheese sees you!” Pinkie said as she snuggled Pebble up against her cheek and then put her back into her tote bag. “Alright, now you guys ready to go home?” “One more thing, Pinkie!” Spike said, looking around nervously. “Yeeees?” Pinkie said, slowly stretching her neck in next to Spike. “Uh…well…I…I wanted to…uh…JUST WANTED TO DO THIS!” Spike then picked her up and held her in his arms with her facing him. He pressed his lips onto her large, round belly and and blew against it like she did to him earlier. “AHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!! NOOO, STOP!! AHAHAAAAA!!!” she said, laughing uncontrollably. “Revenge is sweet, Pinkie!” he said before blowing again. “HAHAHA! THAT TICKLES SO MUCH!!!” Maud stood motionless and looked around to see a few random ponies giggling at what they were seeing. It was awkward, but at least they were still keeping Pinkie distracted. Spike finally let Pinkie down, but the awkwardness was not over yet. “Alright, now do Maud!” Pinkie demanded. “What?” Maud said with her eyes widening a little. “Uh…Maud?” Spike said, cautiously. “Yeah! Do Maud! Come on Maud, you’ll love it!” “Please don’t.” Maud said to Spike. “Uh…Pinkie, I dunno if I should…” “Pleeeeeease?” Pinkie said as her pupils grew and she whimpered like a puppy. Maud rolled her eyes and Spike carefully lifted her up. He slowly pressed his lips onto her belly and blew, though not quite as hard as he did with Pinkie. “Hahahaha.” Maud said, closing her eyes and smiling a bit. “Alright, stop Spike. Seriously, that’s enough.” “HAHAHA! Do it again!” Pinkie said, rolling over on the floor and laughing. “No, Pinkie, please.” Maud begged her sister. Spike continued to blow on Maud’s belly as the other ponies around them continued enjoying the spectacle. Maud did not look very impressed, but she could not help laughing and smiling as he did it. Suddenly, his cheeks began to puff up and his belly grumbled. Spike quickly let her down and barfed up green fire that contained a scroll once again. “EEEEH! More mail! Somepony loves us today!” Pinkie giggled. Spike grabbed the scroll quickly and read it to himself. His eyes widened at what he saw and then he rolled it back up. “Oh…uh, that was Flurry saying we can…come back now?” he said, quizzically. “Omigosh, that’s right! Flurry must be worried!” Pinkie said, shocked. “Good rhyme, Sis.” Maud replied. “Hehe, thanks!” “Alright guys, I think we’ve spent more than enough time here. Yeah, we’d better get back to Sugarcube Corner so we can spend some time with Cheese, Flurry and the Cakes.” Spike said, putting the scroll in his bag. “Alrighty! Let’s go!” Pinkie said, bouncing off. “I’m guessing everything is fine?” Maud whispered to Spike. “She didn’t say.” Spike replied.
5. Cheese ProposesChapter 5 The doors to Sugarcube Corner opened and Pinkie hopped in excitedly, as Maud and Spike followed in after her. Over by the counter was Flurry, waiting patiently for them. “Flurry!!” Pinkie shouted. “Ooooh, I really wish you could have been with us at the rock fair! We had such fun! Look! I got a pet rock!” “Aw! It’s shaped like a heart!” Flurry said. “Yup! Maud named her Pebbles! She’s already best friends with Boulder! Oh, and before I forget, here’s a rock plushie I got you!” she said, handing Flurry the rock plushie with googly eyes. “I call him Alejandro! I know rocks are technically food for snails, but I thought he’d look really cute with Whammy!” “Thanks, Pinkie!” Flurry said, hugging Alejandro. “He’ll get along great with Whammy! Oh, Maud! How’s it going?” Flurry went over to hug Maud as she put all her shopping bags down. “Long time no see, Flurry.” Maud replied, smiling a bit. While Pinkie was distracted, Flurry flew over and whispered something in Spike’s ear. He seemed worried at what she said. “Well I hope you guys didn’t feel too bad about missing the fair, but it’s going all week if you’re interested!” Pinkie said. “Actually it’s funny you should mention us not being there today.” Flurry said. “What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side. “Well, there’s actually a reason we needed to not go today.” Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Cake came out of the living room to speak with Pinkie. “Hey there, Pinkie.” said Mr. Cake. “Cheese is waiting in the living room and would like to speak with you when you get a moment.” “Oh. Thanks, Mr. Cake. Is everything okay?” “Well, why don’t you go in and ask him?” Mrs. Cake told Pinkie as they both parted to allow Pinkie access. Pinkie curiously walked in to the living room to see tons of random standees and props all over the floor in front of the stage they used earlier that morning. She looked around curiously at them, wondering what was happening while she was gone. “Wow, what happened here?” she asked. “I recognize some of these props. I think Cheese has used them before. Aw, is this that picture of me and Cheese during Dashie’s birthday party a while ago?” Pinkie looked over to one of the standees that was shaped like a bush. She saw a photo was still taped onto it of her and Cheese when they first met. Just then, Pound and Pumpkin appeared from behind the standee. “Hey Pinkie.” said Pumpkin. “Oh, hey guys! What were you doing this whole time? Playing a game?” Pinkie asked. “Actually, we were helping Cheese get something set up, but it kinda fell apart.” Pound said, crossly. “Oh no! Was everything okay?” “Yeah, we got it fixed now, just not how we wanted to.” Pumpkin added. “But what was it you were doing?” “Well, Cheese can tell you up there.” Pound said, pointing to the stage as Cheese walked out. “Cheese! Hey, sorry we took so long out there! We got distracted by a lot of cool things! Maud got me a pet rock!” Pinkie said to Cheese, showing him Pebbles. Cheese smiled big as he looked at Pebbles and sat down on the stage. “Glad you had fun out there, Pinkie.” he said in a happy yet very deep and thoughtful voice. “Is everything okay, Cheese?” Pinkie asked as she walked up onto the stage to sit next to him. “It’s been a rough day for me, but I’m doing fine now.” “What happened?” “Well, I had some big plans for today and it just didn’t work out too well. Ever had one of those days where you wake up and say to yourself that you’re going to get something done and then it all just falls apart and you get nothing done at all?” “Pffft! Tell me about it! I’ve had days like that many times! You just overthink it and then you’re all like ‘AGH! I can’t do this anymore!’ and you just give up.” “Yup, that’s about the size of it.” “Did it have something to do with all of the props down there?” “That’s right. I had big plans. I really wanted to please someone special.” “Someone special?” “I was setting this all up for you, Pinkie.” “For…for me?” “Yeah. When things started going wrong, I tried making a backup plan. That didn’t work either. I just stressed myself out, but then I got to thinking, it doesn’t have to be this way for Pinkie to love it. That’s one great thing about you Pinkie: you’ve always been satisfied with our relationship and you’ve been so positive with everything I do for you.” Pinkie had a warm smile on her face as Cheese continued to talk to her. A few yards away, Flurry, Pound, Pumpkin, Spike, Maud, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake all watched attentively. They did their best not to make a sound and let Cheese do all the talking. “I wanted this to be the biggest surprise for you with some music and streamers and party cannons and everything, but in the end, I knew none of that mattered.” Cheese stared deeply into Pinkie’s eyes and Pinkie lifted his hoof and held it over hers. “Aw Cheese, I never needed you to work way too hard to please me. I mean you’ve surprised me for my birthday before plenty of times and we’ve planned some awesome parties, but just having you with me is all I want. I love you, Cheese.” Cheese’s smile grew even wider as she spoke in a nervous but confident voice. He then closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and reached into his shirt for something. “Well…then I guess now is as good a time as ever to do this.” Pinkie looked a bit confused at first, but then realized what was happening. She gasped loudly and covered her mouth with both hooves as Cheese pulled out a small box and opened it up. Inside was a wedding band necklace with a small blue gemstone. Her eyes widened and she began to tremble a bit. She glanced quickly at the others. She now understood why they needed her gone for so long, because Cheese needed to plan this all out. “You…you were tr-tr-trying to propose to me this whole time?” she said with tears forming in her eyes. “It was supposed to be a lot crazier and wacky at first. Kinda like the two of us…hehe…but all I needed was for you to be right here and for me to open this box and ask: Pinkamena Diane Pie, will you marry me?” Pinkie’s lips quivered and tears began to stream down her cheeks. She started to nod her head up and down as she sniffled. Finally, she leapt into his arms and hugged him tightly. “YES!!!!! YES, I WILL ABSOLUELY MARRY YOU, CHEESE SANDWICH!! I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO ASK!!” she said, crying as she continued to hug him tighter. Cheese used his one hoof to wrap around her soft, pudgy body and balance the box in his other hoof. He lay his head down on top of her curly, pink hair and kissed her on the head. Everyone else in front of the stage began to smile huge and cry tears of joy. The kids danced around and whooped. Mr. and Mrs. Cake hugged each other while watching. Spike began to cry and tried wiping away his tears, while Maud handed him a box of tissues. She too had tears in her eyes and a smile that was bigger than she was accustomed to. Maud was so happy for her sister. She hadn’t felt this happy since the day she and Mudbriar were married. Pinkie and Cheese finally stopped hugging and Cheese took out the necklace and carefully put it around her neck. She wiped away her tears and they both went in for a passionate kiss on the lips. The thought of Cheese proposing to her was still so hard for her to believe. Her happiness was turning into zeal and she began to shake from excitement. I’m getting married…I’m getting married! I’M GETTING MARRIED!!!!” she squawked. Cheese suddenly stretched his arms off to the side and pulled in a random army helmet to put on, as the energy began to build up in his fiancé. “Get ready, guys!” he called. Pinkie vibrated around on the ground and finally took off, bouncing all over the room like an out-of-control ball. She reflected off of the ceiling, walls and floor while screaming. “EEEEEEH! CHEESE PROPOSED TO ME!! I’M GONNA BE A WIFE!!! I’M SO HAPPYYYYYYYYY!!!!” She finally slowed down her bouncing and landed on the ground in front of everyone else. They all came over to congratulate her. “I’m so happy for you, Pinkie.” Maud said, giving her a hug. “You’re going to be an aunt soon, Maud!” Pinkie told her sister. “BRO, WE DID IT!!” Pumpkin said as she and Pound went in for a hug from Pinkie as well. Flurry watched as everyone gathered around Pinkie and Cheese. She wiped away a small tear from her eye and sighed contently. While things didn’t go as expected, she was so happy to finally see Cheese do what he set out to do and propose to Pinkie. The day had indeed ended on a high note. That night, everyone gathered around in the dining area of Sugarcube Corner for craft-making with rocks that Pinkie, Maud and Spike brought home. They also began working on a few things to use for Pinkie and Cheese’s wedding. Flurry took a short break from all the fun to go off and write her first official friendship report letter to Twilight: Dear Twilight Sparkle, Today I’ve learned, that sometimes we try too hard at pleasing others and planning for things to be perfect. Whether it be a birthday party, a special gift, or even a wedding proposal, if we overthink it, we only end up burdening ourselves. If that special one in your life really loves you, they should have faith in the thought that counts. It’s more about the message you want to convey than the execution. Sometimes less really is more. Your niece, Flurry Heart After she finished writing her letter, she rolled it up into a scroll and handed it to Spike. “There’s my first letter to Twilight, Spike. I can’t wait for her to read it!” she said. “Oh Spike! Before I forget, could you send this letter to Twilight too? I’d love it if she’d officiate for me and Cheese at the wedding!” Pinkie said, handing Spike a scroll of her own. “Sure thing, Pinkie! Twilight’s going to be so excited when she hears about you guys!” Spike said, combining both scrolls and then blowing his fire at them. The scrolls disintegrated and flew out the window, up to Canterlot. Inside her castle, Twilight was discussing a few things with Tarsus and Tibia: changeling delegates that Thorax had sent. Tarsus was a male changeling who was tall and green and resembled a praying mantis while Tibia, the female, was shorter and resembled a ladybug. She was seated at her throne while they spoke to her. “Pharynx has doubled our guard around the borders of the castle. The Queen wouldn’t dare come that close.” Tarsus said to Twilight. “And with your permission, we’re sending sentinels to keep an eye on any weddings taking place this summer. We don’t want to have a repeat of the Canterlot Wedding Invasion.” added Tibia. “Thank you, both of you.” Twilight said, gratefully. “It was our pleasure, Princess.” Tarsus said as they bowed to her. “Scutellum is relentless, but he’s a fool to underestimate the Equestrian armies.” “I would be a little more concerned about him if he is reunited with Chrysalis, but I am confident that we…oh?” Twilight looked to the side to see a scroll appear right next to her. She grabbed it with her magic and took a quick look at it. “Oh my goodness! Flurry’s sent her first letter! Oh, I’m sorry, you two. It’s just my niece is going on a bit of a friendship quest and she’s sending me letters about her findings.” Twilight said to the changelings. “That’s fine, your highness. We’re done with our business here anyway.” Tibia said as she and Tarsus got ready to leave. “Thank you for your time and tell Thorax I’m very happy for all the hard work he’s done for us!” Twilight called to them as they smiled to her and waved. She then drew her attention to the letter in her hand and read it to herself, smiling as she went. She put her hoof over her heart and sighed contently. “That’s a great lesson you learned, Flurry.” she said. “That’s definitely something a lot of ponies can…oh, what’s this? A second letter? Oh, it’s from Pinkie Pie. She’s…wait…she and Cheese are getting married?! AND THEY WANT ME TO PRESIDE OVER THE WEDDING?!?! AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!! PINKIE, I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!” Twilight leapt from her chair and flew around in midair, screaming in delight. Suddenly, two of her guards burst in through the door to see what the commotion was about. “PRINCESS!!! Is everything alright?!” the first one asked. “We came as fast as we could!” the other one said. “Oh, sorry, guys.” Twilight said, bashfully. “It’s just another one of my friends just told me she’s getting married and they want me to officiate!” “Oh, Princess. Dreadfully sorry. We thought something had happened to you.” The first guard said, putting his hoof behind his head. “Something did happen.” Twilight looked down at a small photograph of Pinkie and Cheese with the Cakes, Maud, Spike and Flurry that was included in the letter. “Something wonderful.” The End
