Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever
Rarity fully justified Pinkie’s confidence in her. The half-mile long brocade runner, trimmed with jewels and magically enhanced to unroll itself, was completed by early afternoon. It was stunning, but it had taken all of her gifts to bring it about: inspiration, drive to work towards a deadline, serendipitous finding of lovely materials, and formidable skill in social networking. The task certainly couldn’t have been finished without the influence and assistance of the Lord Chamberlain (Spike) and the Lord Chancellor (again, Spike.) After some initial designing at the Carousel Boutique, and the realization that, of course, she didn’t have the supplies necessary for a half-mile long brocade runner, she sent an urgent message to Fancy Pants. Fancy Pants replied graciously, as he always did, and placed all of his social and economic clout at her disposal. She also used every contact she had in the Canterlot garment district: textile merchants, trim salesmen, notions suppliers, and seamstresses. Most of them seemed to feel as she did; while it was an insane request, they also didn’t want to miss the opportunity to provide work for a royal occasion.
Finally she decided to take one of Pinkie’s more cryptic suggestions: “just go look in the castle, silly.” She galloped off at top speed, and entered the castle, not knowing what she should be looking for. At first, she looked in sensible places for sensible things, and then she remembered the source of the advice and began trotting up odd little staircases and opening up random doors. As she did so, she began to understand exactly why Pinkie Pie wanted the runner and why it was such a brilliant idea, even if it was also completely insane. Suddenly, it wasn’t a question of having not enough material, but too much. Fortunately, there were always stallions willing to put aside nearly anything they were doing to assist Rarity in moving heavy objects.
The Cakes reacted as Rarity’s Canterlot contacts had. Providing several large ceremonial cakes in a matter of hours was impossible, but since it was for Twilight, who was both a princess and a friend, and since Pinkie Pie had asked, they did it anyway. Rainbow Dash had been put in charge of air transport and Applejack pitched in with providing food, so it was up to Fluttershy to keep Twilight occupied and out of the castle. Pinkie was adamant that while Twilight knew that there was going to be a party, the details should come as a complete surprise.
As the final touches were placed on the runner, and the Great Hall’s crystalline columns were festooned with coordinating decorations in elegant fabrics, Rarity heaved a sigh of relief, and allowed herself a satisfied smile.
She was Rarity. And she had pulled it off.
~~
Pinkie and Cheese had no difficulties with adequate supplies. She had already located the castle’s bubble blowers and slides on her previous explorations. Fondue fountains, piñatas, pinwheels, giant punchbowls, and the notorious party bomb were located and deployed with no delay. It was the contents of one of the punchbowls that narrowly missed becoming a disaster.
They had never planned a party together from the beginning before, and at first, it was ridiculously easy. If she didn’t have something stashed away, he certainly did, and while her tastes ran more toward streamers and balloons and his to light-up dance floors, that was easily resolved by having lots and lots of both. And then they came to the giant punchbowl and what ought to go in it, and a simple discussion became a tense clash of serious artistic differences.
Cheese felt strongly that what ought to go in it should have a lemonade base. It was summer, it was warm, they would be doing a lot of walking, Q.E.D. Pinkie, on the other hoof, kept insisting on apple cider, which from his point of view flew in the face of common sense.
“Apple cider is a fall beverage, Pinkie,” Cheese said, leaning on the punchbowl and frowning down at the bottom. “There’s no getting around that.”
“But if it’s cold apple cider, it doesn’t have to be,” Pinkie said, bouncing into the punchbowl and out in one giant bounce. “Everypony loves cold apple cider.”
“Well, I don’t,” said Cheese, pulling on a beret to indicate a sophistication he normally didn’t claim to have. “Not in high summer. I’ll drink it if I have to, but that doesn’t make it my first pick as a party drink. I’ve had plenty of experience to—”
“And so have I, Cheese!” retorted Pinkie, jabbing her hoof towards her chest.
“Outside Ponyville?” said Cheese, lifting one eyebrow. “Seriously? Ponies all over Equestria will tell you that—”
“Ponies who don’t know you wouldn’t even BE a party pony if it weren’t for me!” Pinkie shot back.
He inhaled sharply. “That is a low blow. Fine. My reputation stands, and I’m saying lemonade.”
“Apple cider!”
“Lemonade!”
“Apple cider!”
“Lemonade!”
“Lemonade!”
Cheese’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, no you don’t, Pinkie. I know how this one goes. I’m supposed to say ‘lemonade,’ and you say ‘apple cider,’ and I say ‘lemonade’ again, and you say ‘lemonade,’ and I say ‘apple cider,’ and you say ‘okey-dokey-lokey.’ Nice try, but no dice. Don’t try to pull schtick on a schtick artist. I know it cold.”
Pinkie absolutely glowered at him, but he knew he was right. Why the heck was she being so pig-headed about apple cider? He wasn’t going to blow his reputation as a party planner serving substandard beverages. He was sticking to his cannons on principle, and he was gonna win this thing.
Then it dawned on him: there was no possible way for him to win this thing. He’d been down this road before, and it led nowhere good. He’d actually “won” last time, and it felt terrible. He’d driven Pinkie Pie to tears, and she’d already cried once today: because he was going away, and because she seemed to—to care about him, anyway. And here he was, having a fight with her? Over lemonade? Was he insane?
He remembered a piece of advice the Great Ponyacci had once given him, and said the three little words that fix everything:
“Maybe you’re right.”
Pinkie looked as startled as though she’d missed a step on a staircase and tumbled all the way to the bottom. “Huh?”
“No, maybe you’re right, Pinkie. I still think lemonade would be better because of the season and because it’s warm, but you’ve got to have a good reason for insisting on apple cider, so sure. Let’s go with apple cider.”
She muttered something he couldn’t quite hear. “Excuse me?”
“I said . . . I said, I think lemonade is better, too. Honestly, Cheesie,” she said, wide blue eyes pleading, “I’d really, really rather have strawberry lemonade, ‘cause the strawberries are really nice right now and it’d be such a pretty pink. But, see—this is Ponyville, and there’s Sweet Apple Acres, and everypony’s so used to having apples in everything. And Applejack’s apple cider is the bestest, really, and—well, and honestly, if we don’t have it, her feelings will be hurt. So it has to be apple cider. Do you understand?”
He more than understood. He understood parties and laughter, but she really understood friendship and why it came first. She was right after all.
“And I’m sorry for saying you wouldn’t be a party pony except for me.”
He smiled at her. “Why? It’s the truth. I wouldn’t be.”
“And you are better at—”
He snorted. “Haypuckey. You know that’s not true. And I wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine myself. I’m sorry too.” She hugged him. “It’s ok, Pinkie. I’m not that great at friendship sometimes, but I’m trying, and it’s over on my end.”
And I know it’s over on yours, he thought, as she smiled the best smile in the world at him, because you can’t stay mad at anypony.
In fact, she’d already moved on to the next thing, which was filling the punchbowl. She tapped her chin with her hoof. “Hmmm. The more I think about it, the more I think we really ought have strawberry lemonade, but it should have something apple-y in it. I don’t think apple cider’s gonna work. Apple juice? Nah.”
He made a wild guess. “You say you’ve got apple everything here. Do you have apple soda?”
She looked up at him, surprised. “You mean apple pop? Sure. Why?”
“Something a bit tart?”
“Wait a minute . . . yeah, we do! That’ll be perfect! It’ll make it all fizzy—
“And lemony—”
“And cool on a hot summer day, and all it needs is the secret ingredient! I’ll go get Gummy!”
~~
At last everything was ready. The enormous carpet sat at the entrance to the castle, and Princess Twilight stood in front of it. Behind her, all of Ponyville and a number of ponies from Canterlot were lined up, eager both to see the castle and to start the party.
“What is this, Pinkie Pie?” said Twilight, poking at the carpet with her horn. “And what am I supposed to do with it?”
“Not . . . just . . . yet,” Pinkie replied, scanning the skies. Two winged figures flew across the sun, briefly casting shadows on the castle grounds. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna soared over the crowd and glided to a graceful landing. The ponies in line sank into deep bows, and so did Cheese, but Pinkie simply remarked, “Yep! It’s yet!”
Rarity muttered something under her breath about her stress levels reaching maximum, but Princess Celestia and Princess Luna simply bowed back to the crowd and stood on either side of Twilight. Twilight thought for a moment, and then sent a very small jet of magic into the center of the carpet—the tiniest possible push.
The massive carpet slowly unrolled down the Great Hall, followed by Twilight, the other princesses, and a very long line. It came to a stop at the threshold of the Circle of Friendship, completely blocking the door.
“Well, that was unexpected,” said Spike, “but I hope we can get it moved. I was enjoying having my own chair.”
The giant roll of carpet began to rise slightly off the floor, and all at once, Rarity knew precisely what she had to do. She cast a spell at the fabric, slicing it cleanly off. The end of the carpet folded in on itself, forming a golden rod, and the rest of the roll rose further and flew over the heads of the crowd, who worried about it audibly.
“What was that all about?” said Cheese.
“Dunno,” said Pinkie, and shrugged. “I guess the castle doesn’t want it to cover something on the floor back there. I guess we’ll find out about it sometime. Oo! Look at it now!”
The carpet came to rest at the foot of a staircase, folded over on itself again, forming another golden rod, and slowly began to roll up the stairs. Twilight followed it, doubling back along the crowd, and the line re-formed.
What happened next amounted to a solemn procession through the castle as the carpet slowly unrolled. Each time it stopped, the door beyond it revealed something unexpected: armor for a pegasus guard unit, an observatory with multiple telescopes, bags of seeds that Applejack immediately recognized as those of unusual or rare apples, the golden wires and sunny windows of an aviary, and some of the storerooms of rich fabric and precious gems Rarity had found before. Finally, the carpet came to its halt before a wide set of oaken double doors. Twilight paused just before opening them.
“Is the castle creating this, or were these things already here?”
“They must always have been here,” said Princess Luna.
“They must always have potentially been here,” Princess Celestia replied, “but they required you and your thoughts to give them substance.”
Princess Luna rolled her eyes, clearly thinking that age did not reduce the basic nerdiness of her elder sister, but said nothing.
“What she said,” Pinkie agreed, bouncing in place. “Just go looking for stuff and boop! There it is! Or there it isn’t, but something else that’s really cool is there. Like bubble blowers!”
Twilight opened the doors, and they swung wide, revealing an enormous library, at least as large as the one in the Crystal Empire. Two floors of bookcases with sliding ladders encircled a vast room. Laid out on large oak tables were atlases, illustrated volumes of Birds of Equestria, and materials for looking at rare old books: cotton hoof covers and heavy rolls to hold pages open.
Twilight stood there, jaw dropped. “I had no idea this was here,” she said finally. She trotted forward into the library, while the others hung back. Her eye fell on a stack of books on one table. “What’s this?” She levitated each book in turn: a battered set of Daring Do novels; A Visitor’s Guide to Ponyville, with “Note to self: only first five pages relevant”; The Noble Dragon Code: Fact or Fiction?
“They’re . . . they’re the books I brought back from the Rainbow Falls Traders’ Exchange,” she murmured. “They’re . . . they’re my books. They’re my books.” She burst into tears.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna joined her. “I don’t know if you’ll find everything you lost,” cautioned Princess Celestia. “Some things that are lost are simply lost.”
“But there’s new, cool stuff, too,” Pinkie pointed out. “Like bubble blowers.”
Twilight turned to the crowd waiting behind the doors. “What are you all waiting for?” she cried. “The library is open again!”
Everypony cheered.
During the next hour, everypony in Ponyville, including Twilight’s closest friends, toured the library, finding books on everything they found most interesting: cookbooks, books on agriculture, books on the history of fashion. . . .
“Nothing on party ponies in there?” Cheese asked Pinkie, as she trotted back to join him at the door.
“Noperooni!” she chirped. “Posilutely nothing on party ponies at all!”
Cheese sighed. “Good,” he said, and they clicked hooves.
~~
The party went off without a hitch. The punch was particularly popular. Twilight saw Rarity relaxing and sipping a cup of punch under a tree strung with brilliant paper lanterns, and trotted over to join her.
“Rarity,” Twilight said quietly, “is anything going on?”
“I’m sorry, darling, you’ll have to be more specific,” Rarity murmured, and sipped her punch.
“I mean . . . I mean, that,” said Twilight, and swung her head in the direction of the castle grounds. Pinkie was leading a group of fillies and colts in an oink song, while across the lawn, Cheese somehow managed to play the accordion and juggle at the same time. They weren’t anywhere near each other; they weren’t even looking at each other. And yet . . .
“I know,” said Rarity. “Almost visible, isn’t it? One could swear that there was some sort of golden thread shimmering there.”
“Do you know what exactly . . .” Twilight began again, and hesitated.
“I’m not sure they know ‘what exactly.’ I haven’t asked.”
They both sat and watched Pinkie and Cheese as they raced from one side of the party to the other, like a set of twin whirlwinds catching up the guests in their wake.
“Pinkie said something about the party having to be today, because they knew it had to be today.”
“Yes,” said Rarity. “And while she didn’t elaborate, I think that means that he won’t be here tomorrow. Other parties to plan, no doubt. She sounded a bit sad about it.”
“I’ve got the perfect idea,” said Twilight. “After all, Pinkie just found my library, and I’d like her to be happy. I’ve got to find Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Spike. Will you get Pinkie and Cheese and come to meet us under the big oak?”
She bustled off before she could hear Rarity say, “One thing a designer learns, Twilight, is when to stop.”
~~
“And so we thought,” said Twilight some time later, as they all stood together, hidden from the rest of the crowd, “we really ought to have a royal party planner in Canterlot, and why not Cheese? There are always plenty of parties there. It’s not that far from Ponyville. I’ve thought it all out and compared social calendars.” Spike unfurled a massive pair of scrolls with dates marked on each. “It will work perfectly.” Pinkie and Cheese said nothing, but stood and looked uncomfortable, not looking at Twilight or each other. “What’s the matter?”
“Darling,” said Rarity, “you’re taking rather a lot for granted.” She turned to Pinkie and Cheese. “What Twilight means to say, Mr. Sandwich, is that you’ve provided a great deal of valuable assistance and that your expertise would be an asset in the royal seat of Equestria . . .”
Pinkie and Cheese began to giggle. “I was unaware that I had said anything amusing,” continued Rarity, “but I should like to clarify that Princess Twilight is speaking of a professional position without reference to any personal relationships whatsoever.”
“Isn’t she supposed to be the Princess of Friendship or something? Can she even do that?” whispered Cheese.
“Shh,” said Pinkie.
Everypony’s eyes turned to Cheese, except for Pinkie’s. “Well?” said Twilight.
Cheese opened and closed his mouth several times, eyes wide with panic. He glanced wildly over at Pinkie.
“I think Cheesie is trying to say no without hurting anypony’s feelings,” said Pinkie, “but my feelings aren’t hurt at all, silly. He can’t. Isn’t that right?”
Cheese nodded frantically. “It would be . . . like cheating. It wouldn’t be fair. I don’t think they’ll understand, Pinks.”
“They might. You can tell them some of it.”
He sighed. “It’s like this. Pinkie makes ponies smile. We both do. We have to make other ponies happy.”
“But if Cheesie’s always in Canterlot, making royal ponies happy . . .”
“What about all the other ponies? What if there’s a birthday party in Manehattan or a hoedown in Appleloosa I couldn’t throw? Who’s going to do it if I don’t? I go where I’m needed,” he said, instinctively looking at the princesses of the sun and the moon, although he had no idea why they’d understand a simple party pony. “Just in case . . . in case somepony really needs to laugh.”
Princess Luna lowered her head so that she could look him directly in the eye. “You are aware that the royal court of Canterlot has traditionally kept an amusing pony permanently in residence? That is, I think, the office Princess Twilight wishes us to revive.”
“Yes!” said Twilight. “Thank you. That’s exactly what I meant.”
There was an uncomfortable silence. Finally, Cheese said, “Fillies having birthday parties in Hooflyn need to laugh sometimes, too.”
“I see,” said Princess Celestia. “I have to admit that I don’t quite understand the details of party pony magic.” Cheese brought his head up sharply, and she raised a hoof. “I’m not asking to know,” she added soothingly, “but I understand enough. You’re quite right. Laughter has to be free. I do have a favor to ask of you, however. You may be aware that later in the year, we will be celebrating the anniversary of the founding of Equestria and the beginning of the reign of the two sisters. It’s going to be a very extensive celebration and it will bring back many memories for us. And I’d be honored if you’d help plan it for us.” She looked Cheese directly in the eyes. “I hope you can understand how much I do really need for you to be there.”
Cheese looked back, and he must have seen something in her eyes—lingering sadness over a millennium old, and perhaps new sadness that he really couldn’t understand. He remembered something Pinkie had said about how other ponies had real problems—problems that kept them separated forever. He saw enough to be able to say, “yes. Yes, I think I can promise that one.” Sometimes the pony who needs a laugh most is the senior princess of Equestria. She deserves the chance, too.
Pinkie’s nose began to twitch. “Um . . . um, if you’ll excuse us, we have to get back.”
“To the party?”
“Sorta.”
She got behind Cheese and pushed him well out of sight, just before the Cheesy Sense kicked in.
~~
“Thanks for coming with me this far, Pinkie.”
“No problem,” she said cheerfully. “Have a good time. I hear Fillydelphia’s really nice!”
“It is.”
They’d reached the border: the place where Ponyville became not-Ponyville. He stopped, adjusted his serape, and took off his hat. It was hard to think of what to say. “Well.”
“Uh-huh?” said Pinkie.
“I—I—um . . .” He picked up her hoof in his own, and again heard the voice saying, “Now. Ask her to go with you now. Or at least say something. Say something, you idiot!”
“Well.” This isn’t going to get easier, he thought. She was right. This time, it’s going to hurt.
“I know,” she said, “but I’m happy you’re out there anyhow. And if you’re not out there, you can’t come back, can you? And I like it when you come back. Cheesie?”
“What?”
“I’m glad you have some of my magic. I mean, if I’m going to share magic with anypony, I’m really glad he’s a nice pony like you. Promise to make lots of ponies happy for me, ‘k?”
“Swear on Camembert,” he said, and smiled. He’d been doing it for years without knowing it, but now it was different and better. He was making other ponies happy—and he was doing it for her. “I guess it’s time,” he added. “Say goodnight, Pinkie.”
“Goodnight, Pinkie,” she said.
He burst out laughing—and then pulled her in for one last kiss. When he stopped, Pinkie was glowing, such a radiant pink that the light cast a rosy shade down the road that would lead him away from her. She smiled at him.
That was enough. He bounded down the road, all of Equestria in front of him, and Pinkie Pie, the Joy Bearer Herself, waiting for him, happy, knowing that someday he would be back. He stopped at the curve of the road for one more wave goodbye, and was off, because more than ever before, he needed to share the pure Joy that there was a Pinkie Pie, and that he was entirely hers.
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I'm glad that you explained just how Rarity was able to make the half-mile long brocade runner. She did it in classic Rarity style -- hard work, determination, social contacts, and roping in everypony she could convince to help her. I giggled at this line
and thought that these ones emphasize that Rarity is Awesome.
This bit
makes me think that it's sort of a variant on the Room of Requirement. I like that!
That is in particular beautiful.
They like being sui generis.
By the way, nobody's come up with any Cheese emoticons yet.
That is beautifully put, both literally and as a metaphor for love.
The perfect ending.
Well you've done it, once again, putting these two party ponies in the perfect situation. And I have to say, no, it wasn't what I was expecting to what I had in my previous comment. It was close though. I was actually expecting Pinkie to start wallowing and crying about his departure, possibly even going a little wacky that Cheese wouldn't ever not come back. It was a crazy idea I guess. I'm glad she didn't break down here. Sort of ended it like me with Twisting the Cheese, where she knows Cheese more than anyone, and what's gonna happen. Knowing that he'll return will always bring her happiness, or in my case, his density. At least, that's what I picked up.
But did Cheese take Boneless Two with him there? I didn't see a mention of him. He got his attire, so I guess he took the chicken with him during that description. Eh, that's probably just me being nit-picky.
There was one other thing I was going to mention in my previous comment, but didn't, saving it for this. I'd love to see you take a crack at a RariPie. The way you write these two is perfect, whether it's put into a CheesePie + Rarity or anything else. I think you'd be able to pull it off well. But of course, lesbians and all that, just my opinion.
And do I even need to say it? Of course I'm looking forward to the continuing story! Bring on the Cheese... and the Pie!
Think you're missing an 's' there. Sorry. I wasn't browsing for typos, but this caught me a bit. But when I look at it, it's not necessarily a typo. It's still right in Cheese's point, so I'm stumped if it's actually intentional. ...My mind's now telling me it isn't a typo. I don't know.
Awwww, I both love you and hate you for making Pinkie's and Cheesie's relationship progress sooooo slooooooooooooooow. If you continue like this, it will take like... 10 more stories until they get married. On the other hand, you are giving their relationship such a depth and such a beauty that I have never seen on Fimfiction (and this includes all romance stories, not just the CheesiePie ones).
Simply ineffable
4747283 I imagine Celestia would have some of the same issues as Queen Elizabeth (as she probably was historically, as opposed to the sexpot she's often portrayed to be.) Whatever her personal relationships, you have to give it to that woman for her discipline, intelligence, and rigid self-control. Tack on a thousand years and add magical powers, and you've got Celestia. This is why in The Glass Council, I had Good Sombra absolutely quash the idea that the King must be kept happy for the country's sake. Once he went down that road, it might never stop.
4747323
The stigma on that is just barely wearing off in our culture. Barely. And I've always agreed with you that Pony culture is closer to that of fifty to a hundred years ago (give or take.) Of course, you've mentioned that some of your families, Earth Ponies especially, marry what we'd consider as "late." (What's more, my students don't believe me when I tell them this, but median age at marriage hasn't really changed much from Shakespeare's time to this: about age 22-24.) So Rarity's age shouldn't be an issue, but ---but you can't get around the fact that her daydreams DO involve marrying some kind of Prince Charming! I'm very reluctant to kill off poor Fleur de Lys, but I imagine Rarity as friends with both her and Fancy Pants, and if something did happen to Fleur de Lys, I could see an interesting romance developing, with a lot of emotional obstacles to overcome.
As for Rarity surmounting flaws--that's what makes her such an interesting and complex character. They all are, really.
4747394 "I've always admired the work ethic of earth ponies." Except, notably, Cheese, for the most part. He utterly misses it that Cheese and Pinkie's weird comic abilities are basically a refinement of earth pony powers anyway. Like most infatuations, it's based on projection.
I've been rather impatient with fan art showing Rarity and Applejack falling in love at the end of "Simple Ways" and leaving Trenderhoof shocked. I've got no issues with Rarity/Applejack fics, but I think it's a cheap ending. No one seems to have considered that "You're ok, but I'm not interested in your gender" is actually easier to hear than "meh, I just don't find you attractive." At least with the first, the person can tell themselves, "phew! At least it's not just me!" That's why Braeburn gave Trend that double answer in Slice of Life: I'm not interested in stallions, and even if I were, I wouldn't be interested in you (only rendered all sweet and Braeburn-y.)
Actually, Trend does ask her what the real Applejack thinks, but he doesn't take the real answer, which is "I have real work to do, and you better go do yours."
4750062 Thank you!
4755316 Yes, in the middle of her self-pity/worry session, Rarity briefly lost sight of the fact that she can charm pretty much any stallion in Ponyville into doing hard labor for her. I'd extend that, and say that includes the married and gay ones. She's just charming, period. So yes, we had full return to fabulosity.
It probably does reflect the Room of Requirement--unsurprising, since I teach Harry Potter and I'm in the middle of my annual re-read--but also the end of The Last Battle, where the real world is further in, and the inside is bigger than the outside, and all the dear things have been preserved. I got all Neo-Platonic there. It happens.
As for no party pony things in the library: there's a reason for that, which is that party ponies and their function is a Mystery, with a capital M, one that Princess Celestia reassures Cheese that she's wise enough not to attempt to understand. When Ponyacci pulls you aside and says, "now listen, sonny, I don't show everyone this trick, but here's how you do X," he's initiated you into a small mystery of party ponies. And if you're a young stallion, barely more than a colt, you listen, and you do not have to be told, "don't tell anyone, and for heaven's sake, don't write it down." Cheese is a smart pony, and I think he wouldn't be naturally hostile to books, but he's suspicious of anything that rips the heart out of laughter, or "kills the joke." He'd have been freaked out as heck by Twilight's attempt to understand Pinkie in "Feeling Pinkie Keen," whereas Pinkie, who simply is Laughter, doesn't have to worry about that (and probably doesn't have to think about it at all.)
And thank you!
4755463 Well, that wasn't going to happen, because in my stories, Pinkie can "hear" Cheese. She actually knows where he is, because of the magic that connects them. She MISSES him, but she doesn't fear his non return. He doesn't trigger her abandonment issues. Fortunately.
Note that this does not magically insure against accidents or relationship screwups. Heck, they actually just had a minor spat!
Cheese took out his accordion during his little performance in front of Rarity, as well as Boneless 2. They got safely stowed afterwards. I don't always write Boneless 2 into everything, or Gummy, because it becomes kind of annoying after a while, but I try not to forget they're around (and in Gummy's case, Pinkie doesn't take him everywhere.) But Cheese didn't leave Boneless 2 behind!
Well, of course that's not going to happen, BUT, in a way, it does. I try to take the friendships between the Mane Six seriously, as individual friendships. And I'm aware that they can be read with shipping goggles, and that's cool. I don't know if you're reading The Looking Glass World of Cheese and Pie, but with shipping goggles strapped on, it's possible to see PinkieDash, FlutterDash, FlutterCheese, DashDust, and even hints of Cheese/Trixie (or, as one of my favorite Tumblrs describes it, CheeseWiz.) Pinkie is Dash's biggest supporter and fan, and to Dash, she's a sort of good luck charm. She flat out does not play as well if Pinkie's not watching. Fluttershy is the closest to Cheese emotionally. She's the one most likely to observe that stuff is going wrong and the most likely to defend him. They're lab partners, for crying out loud, which is like the most cliche set up for high school romance ever. Cheese did say Trixie is good looking, because she is.
Why don't I go there? Well, I'm trying to avoid all the most annoying tropes of high school rom-com, and I don't want to piss off readers by having stealth ships everywhere and love triangles around every corner. But I also don't ruthlessly expunge those overtones and undertones when I catch 'em.
If Pinkie suddenly hooked up with Dash, my EG Cheese would be disappointed, but not angry. Pinkie and he are friends, and he has no right to get possessive about it. If that happened in my regular Equestria, he'd be heartbroken and avoid Ponyville and Pinkie as much as equinely possible. And THAT would be nasty, because they still have a magical connection, whether they like it or not. Luckily for him, it's not gonna go there.
Nope. "He knew he was right" wasn't a typo.
This fic is so wonderful and so cute at the same time! I really like how you can make out the differences between the two of them and how Cheese knows Pinkie almost better than she knows herself, and vice versa. These two are absolutely perfect together in the weirdest way and it's wonderful.
I can clearly see the analogy there. Elizabeth had problems Celestia doesn't (her society was not normally at all matriarchal) but on the other hand, Celestia has probelms Elizabeth doesn't (nobody actually wanted to worship Elizabeth as a goddess, so her power was less likely to go to her head). Like Elizabeth, Celestia is a theoretical autocrat who actually must mediate between political factions and keep them happy to retain peaceful control over her Realm.
Celestia has a different set of problems where love and marriage are concerned than did Elizabeth. She's immortal, and few of her potential suitors would also be immortal. Aside from emotional issues, for her to seek a husband or offical lover would mean a big political contest for her affections (which was exactly one of Elizabeth's problems, brought to minor tragedy with Robin Dudley and major tragedy in the person of Essex). At least in Celestia's society, nopony would expect to be her master.
Yes. Because Earth Ponies, especially in some families, tend to be very long-lived, and fertile for half or more their long lives. Applejack is in my fanon by the end of Season Four 26 years old and with no potential husband in sight (the chapter I'm about to publish of Divine Jealousy and the Voice of Reason goes into the reason for and her thoughts on that at one section) but she will probably still be highly fertile into her forties, and reasonably fertile thereafter, so she has plenty of time to find a husband and have children. (In fact for the Apple mares one major problem is having too many children for their lands -- the situation is different for Sweet Apple Acres because they have wide lands and a dangerous forest nearby).
Applejack's opinion of Fluttershy is probably going to tick some fans off. It's not that AJ despises Fluttershy -- she loves her as a friend -- it's more that the direct and forthright Applejack is well aware that all the problems in Divine Jealousy got started primarily due to Fluttershy's indecisiveness and lack of clarity in communication. AJ would never have made Fluttershy's mistakes (she makes her own set of mistakes when she screws up) and hence she is a bit annoyed by the situation.
Rarity's a Unicorn rather than an Earth Pony, she's 22 by my fanon at the end of Season Four, and while she doesn't actually have to marry all that soon, she really wants to -- both to show the world that she is desired, and because she has both a high sex drive and fairly strong morals. She in my fanon has a slowly-growing attraction to Spike, but he's 14 and aside from the interspecies issues, she would find it embarrassing (and awkward for her friendship with Twilight) to marry him until he was around 21 -- by which point she'd be 29. Plus she has no guarantee that what might just be a precocious crush will last that long.
She has less problems in this regard (in my fanon) than she realizes, but she has absolutely no way of knowing that she's likely to Ascend herself in time. And she would be pretty darned arrogant to assume that any such thing was likely to happen. And it's not assured to happen: Ascension is very much based in part on life experiences and personal choices.
It's skewed in Romeo and Juliet by two factors. The first is that Shakespeare was deliberatly going for emotional appeal, so of course he makes his couple (especially Juliet) young and innocent. The second is that Romeo and Juliet are from the gentry, which is a class likely to marry young because they want to secure their lines and because they eat high-meat diets and hence have an early age of onset of physical adolescence. (And besides, Juliet wasn't supposed to marry yet -- the whole point of the plot is that it's about an elopement!).
(*nods*) Indeed, Fancy Pants would be close to her ideal mate -- if he weren't already married to or involved with (depending on fanon) somepony else. He's wealthy, smart, sophisticated and apparently a pretty nice guy.
Yes. Oh, Trenderhoof's not alone -- a lot of Ponies and fans seem not to get that Cheese and Pinkie work hard. Cheese has to travel from place to place, gain a quick understanding of the local emotional dynamics and figure out what to do (and then do it) to please the locals. He's sort of an "anti-con-man," in that he must be perceptive, smooth and quick-thinking to do good to his "marks." I assume that he sets up some sort of recompensation or support to at least meet his travel and living expenses, and that too can be difficult -- I've spend most of my working life in various sorts of sales positions, and it's not easy to convince people of even mutually-beneficial arrangements.
As for Pinkie, she helps the Cakes run their bakery and caters parties for the whole town. Yes, she has fun doing this, but I see no way for her to be doing this without working at least 10+ hours per day. Fans also miss that, for all Pinkie's plushy bounciness, she was raised a tough farm girl and she's probably a pretty tough town girl today, with lots of muscles under her curves and considerable endurance. For that matter, bouncing around like she does takes a lot of energy.
First of all, if they were going to fall in love, Rarity and Applejack would probably have done so by now -- they've known each other for years and years. Secondly, neither of them act lesbian or particularly interested in each other even if they were -- the most that anyone's ever shown me of this supposed attraction was Applejack being really nice to Rarity at the end of The Crystal Empire (yeah, but she's really nice to all her friends, including displays of physical affection, and I don't think she's secretly lusting after them all -- AJ's just really nice). Thirdly, it would rather cheapen any such love if they displayed it just to teach Trenderhoof a lesson (what lesson, "Give up on girls, they're all lesbians?")
That's a good point. And Trend's implicit reply, "work's not important compared to us paying attention to each other," is the sort of philosophy least likely to impress Applejack!
(*nods*) Being truly in love does not preclude fighting. In fact the more one actually loves someone else, the more likely one is to occasionally fight, because the more one actually cares about the opinions and actions of that other person. It's much easier to fake content with the actions of someone about whom one really doesn't care!
I sometimes have arguments with Rosanna. We just always make them up in the end.
With reference to Pony rather than Humanoid Trixie, Wisedreamer said that the fact that she was "lovely" was part of the problem, because she was very well aware of her own beauty and this only further swells her ego.
Though Wisedreamer sees her as a surrogate daughter-figure rather than an object of romantic love, he's not completely immune to Trixie's beauty either.
The (she thinks fictional) character with whom my Pony Trixie strongly identifies, "The Nightingale" aka Luthien, is canonically the most beautiful female Elf in the history of Tolkien's world. Though not as arrogant as Trixie -- at least they both share the virtue of great courage.
There's a strong bond between Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, I think because they have similar senses of humor. Rainbow feels protective toward Pinkie, and Pinkie thinks Rainbow is a lot of fun. In my version of the Winningverse, where Pinkie becomes Tainted by the Winning Entity, the one good thing from Pinkie's POV is that Rainbow loves her -- and the reason why in the other worldlines Pinkie feels compassionate toward Cloud Kicker after defeating the Winning Entity is that she knows that the Tainted Cloud Kicker nudged them together as an act of kindness.
In my main continuity it's very unlikely that Pinkie would be seriously attracted to anypony else after having met Cheese Sandwich, unless something horrible happened to him. Her next most likely love object might be Big Mac, who by the end of my Season Four has become a good friend of Pinkie's. But Pinkie knows that Cheerilee really loves Big Mac, and would not feel comfortable messing that up.
Wow
This is definitely one of my favorite stories of your's. Absolutely beautiful
The ending is what sealed the deal for me.
That was the most perfect ending ever
Lovely job as always
-hootscootaloo101
PERFECT Absolutely perfect sequell please * gives puppydog eyes*
I finally sat down and read all the stories in this continuity. They are quite good, so I added most of them to my recommendation group. I also created a folder for them, titled "scoot2's CheesePieVerse". (though I would prefer an "official" name if you have one)
Are you referencing Reflections by any chance?
Does that make him Pinkie whipped?
...I'm sorry. That was really bad.
4756696 Thank you! Yep, it's really nice when you're aiming for something and someone tells you you nailed it.
4755975 Oh, thank you! Yeah, who knows how long this could take? You're going to get some more jumps forward to some possible alternative futures for them, too, one of which you've already seen, I think (Triple Threat.) Yeah, that's really quite a compliment.
4755991 Thank you! I'd like to think Aziraphale would approve.
4757790 Thank you! That's the longest bit I've ever written for Rarity, and certainly the only bit from her POV, so I'm glad it came off well. And I'm glad you like the ending!
4759395 On its way. Really. It's going to be called "Command Performance."
4762322 Wow, thanks! I have a 'verse now! Eeee! Hmm--I'll have to think this one over!
Oh, yes. I definitely was referencing Reflections. I'm crazy about that arc.
He kind of is, but he doesn't mind. Actually, it's not so much that he's Pinkie-whipped, as that he made an important discovery: don't sweat the small stuff. Next week, what's going to be important: what was in the punch bowl, or that you finally got to kiss the mare of your dreams and maybe she even lo--likes you, and you immediately acted like a jerk? Especially since they're both pretty sure he'll be leaving tonight for who knows how long. And the second he drops his guard, she's able to admit that he's got a point and why it matters to do it her way anyhow. This really works. Not 100% of the time, since some people are too focused on winners and losers to care, but it's such an aikido move that it really surprises people and disarms fights. And since it's about being friends and making ponies happy, it seems like a party pony strategy to me.
Anyway, I'm thrilled that you took the time to read all of that and that you liked it.
Beautifully done from start to finish. Between party power and the magic of friendship, the impossible is relatively straightforward. Especially interesting is that the castle seemed to be in on the performance. That, or Pinkie Sense functions on the same wavelength as whatever quasi-awareness Twilight's castle might have.
In any case, you served up another wonderful slice of CheesePie. Thank you.
Ok screw it [youtube=Z_Dd58zBdao] These comments are too D*mn BIG! funnyasduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/funny-fuck-this-horse-jumping-building-balcony-pics.jpg
I'M OUT
(I'm using that pic way too much)
Ps.How dare you put out an entire story without me knowing! I thought I had been following you! *checks* FUDGE!
4804752 Thank you! And lucky you to share a birthday with Pinkie!
4767674 Thank you! I think the castle only needed to be given a chance. It seemed logical that if you celebrate what you've got, you start to discover all kinds of wonderful things you didn't know had. I wish I could say I was this kind of universally upbeat in my own life, but I'm sure it fits Pinkie!
4769653 Um--sorry?
Don't apologize for the horse picture. I think it's hilarious, as long as it doesn't mean my story pissed you off.
4787966 mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw1325_woohoo2.png
Sooooo adorable!!
I will have to watch a lot of horror movies to get this smile off my face. I don't think it will work though. I guess this makes you another Party Person, I guess.
4851979 Thank you!
4857612 The Super-Duper Party Person, That Person Is Me!
Well, I can write sad stuff, too, so if you need to come down off the happy, you can try Triple Slam. But happy is good! And thanks!
Hi!
This story needs something to make it ~20% cooler...
i.imgur.com/6MrWqNZ.png
There. Fixed.
~Twi
4964034 Thank you! And yay!
And again, an adorable fanfic
I guess the first one was my favorite chapter, but duno, the whole story is awesome, so don't ask me
After reading your stories, I'm always grinning from ear to ear
Thanks for that
I find long distance relationships sad because half of the time they are a disaster and an utter failure. I know i've been there I dated someone from all the way in caili once and it only lasted six months because like i said long distance is hard and how cheese and pinkie are managing it is a miracle in itself.
But what was the secret ingredient?
5106443 Thank you!
5439265 From Swear on Camembert, Pinkie: ". . . and the secret ingredient is Gummy, 'cause he tastes like gum, duh . . . "
This is why I can't read these stories! Here I am at work on my lunch break, all teared up and getting stared at.
5578437 Aw. Well, I'll just assume that's a good thing.
5578580
Haha, yeah. I actually just realised I didn't compliment the story.
It was wonderful, much like the rest of the series so far, but I just have to take care where I choose to read them, as they usually get me a little teary.
I've started reading Command Performance now.
You can has review!
7399153 Absolutely. It's truly a dreadful prospect.
I also thought of Twilight having the library reinstated in her castle! Frankly, I'm disappointed that the show hasn't thought of that.
LIBRARIES ARE IMPORTANT DARN IT!
Reminds me of a day in middle school. I was on the last step of the last staircase when, all of a sudden my ankle slipped on the edge of it and I fell, landed on my ankle and basically was in crutches for 2 weeks. Fun time, if ya ask me!