Party Pony Partners

by Jan Damz

Stay A While

"So, what treat would you like sweetie?" Charlie showed the different candies and treats on the wall and on the counter. All of the candies made Pinkie's mouth water. There were many different flavors to choose, so many choices.

"Uh... I want that one!" Pinkie pointed at a jar but then changed her thought, "No wait, that one!" She pointed at another.

"Oh there are so many I like I just can't choose!" She placed both her hooves on her head.

"There there, there's no need to rush. Take all the time ya need, I'll be patient." Charlie chuckled as he leaned on the counter with the cash register.

Pinkie looked at all the different kinds of candies. Gumballs, jawbreakers, mints, lollipops, chocolates, gummies, there were tons and were in different shapes and sizes. For a candy store, this one surely has a lot to it.

After some thinking and some more looking around, her thoughts were distracted when she saw on a large table near the corner, a chocolate fountain. Not just any ordinary fountain though, it was shaped like a watermill!

"Oooh that looks cool!" Pinkie pointed at the fountain in the corner. Charlie looked at where she was pointing and smiled

"Ah yes, the fountain that Caramel and I made when we celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of this shop." Charlie slowly got near it, "Surprised this still works after all these years."

The fountain was quite nice to be honest, but what's even more awesome was the fact the long table didn't just hold the fountain, but some sort of miniature candy land with a little chocolate river. I'm surprised Pinkie didn't notice it first, probably because it looked like a normal candy display and the fountain was the only thing that stuck out from afar.

"Woah." Pinkie made her way near the table with the little candy land. Lollipops were used like trees, gumdrops like boulders, and tiny houses made from various candies.

"I see you're also interested of the mini candy land." Charlie picked up a lollipop tree from the display, "I just did this a few days ago. I thought that the fountain needed something to give it a little more oomph, ya know?"

"Anyways, this right here isn't finished nor would be given up for sale so I recommend you to keep looking for something you like that's not from this display." Charlie trotted back to the counter as Pinkie watched.

"Say, who's Caramel?" Pinkie wondered as the name was mentioned in helping make the fountain.

"Hm? Oh well you see she's my wife."

"Cool! Can I meet her? It'll be fun to get to know her more, well both of you in fact, since you two did create the fountain and-"

"She's gone to a better place." Charlie cut-off Pinkie with a sad tone and the latter understood what the candy shop owner meant.

"Oh."

A couple seconds of complete silence swept by the area. This silence was broken once Pinkie cleared her throat.

"I uh... I think I'd just order some gumdrops."

Charlie pushed the thought of his wife away and got back to his normal, cheery attitude.

"You got it, one order of gumdrops for the lady." He opened the jar containing the said candy and placed it on the counter. "How many do you want miss?" he added.

"I'd like just about eight in a pack." Pinkie smiled warmly then felt Boneless from her back lean a bit closer to the back of her head, "Make that ten in a pack for Boneless here."

'Boneless? Now where have I've heard that name before?' Charlie thought once he heard that name. He looked at the pink mare and saw what was indeed a rubber chicken on her back. Thinking he didn't hear well due to his old age, he decided to ask.

"Wait, are you saying that rubber chicken's name is Boneless?" Charlie looked at the rubber chicken while he prepared a small paper bag.

"Yupty do. My friend gave it to me back in Ponyville before he left."

"Funny. I just met a stallion who said he had a rubber chicken named Boneless whom he gave to one of his best friends." Charlie said as he placed gumdrops in the previously mentioned small paper bag, along with an extra two for one gumdrop like what the promo he made up says. Pinkie caught notice of what the stallion said especially the "stallion who had a rubber chicken named Boneless" part.

"If by any chance, was that stallion orange with a sandwich as his cutie mark?" Pinkie asked, thinking that she now has a clue as to where to find her stallion pal. That thought waa just enough to make her smile.

"Yup, well, his name was Cheese Sandwich though I didn't get to see his cutie mark properly." The light brown stallion placed one last gumdrop before sealing the bag. "Wait, are you that friend he was talking about?" He added as he placed the paper bag full of gumdrops on the counter for the pink mare.

Pinkie nodded as she smiled and took the paper bag.

"Yup, I'm that friend."

Charlie smirked a bit at the thought of this being a coincidence as Pinkie handed... I meant, hoofed over the payment for her order. He then took a good look at the rubber chicken behind Pinkie's back.

"So, when did he actually gave you his first rubber chicken?"

"It was I think a couple of months ago, not entirely sure but it was during a birthaversary party of one of my friends."

"Birthaversary?" The old stallion asked, wondering what kind of event is this.

"A birthday and anniversary." Pinkie replied which made Charlie put two and two together.

"Ah, birthday plus anniversary. I get the word play there. Anyways miss, is that all you need for today?"

"This'll do. Thanks for the candy! And call me Pinkie!" Pinkie said goodbye as she trotted out of the shop along with Boneless on her back. Charlie could've sworn he saw Boneless lean forward a bit as if the chicken too was saying goodbye. That or the old coot is imagining things up in his noggin.

Once Pinkie got out of the store along with Boneless, it was still bright out meaning that they still had plenty of time to do stuff before dinner. By plenty of stuff, it'll probably be just Pinkie roaming around in hopes to bump into Cheese or something interesting to keep her busy. With the recent news that Cheese was just in the street she was in, he might not be that far and can lessen the time of her even bumping into the stallion. Pinkie continued on trotting down the street with a smile plastered on her face.

---

"Alright Boneless Two, we're nearing the news office. Now phase one of the plan would be done and dusted with."

Cheese trotted down the street along with Boneless Two, the news office just a few meters away. It was quite a walk from the candy shop and wasn't that big of a building. Another thing worth mentioning is that the journey took quite a bit, mostly for asking directions since Cheese didn't exactly know where the office was at that time.

Boneless Two tilted a bit which was followed by a sigh from Cheese.

"Yes Boneless Two. We had a plan remember?" The orange stallion glanced over his shoulder to look at his rubber friend. Not much did the chicken do other than stare at Cheese who just continued on trotting towards their destination.

Once Cheese and B2, short for Boneless Two, got up close and front of the news office, they both immediately noticed something particularly off. The building looked decent, it was in a decent spot as well, but the one thing off was the abundance of working ponies. Today wasn't a holiday, that Cheese knew of, so it should be open and ponies should be working at this time. Well, there was one pony, a light brown stallion that is, on the site though that pony looked like he was just about to leave the area. Cheese decided to go ask this pony about the office seeing how he just came out of the building.

"Excuse me sir, but do you mind if I ask on why is the news office closed?"

"Huh? The news office?" The stallion took notice of Cheese, "Ah, you see the office is closed due to renovations. I just came by to do a last minute check on stuff I may have forgotten."

"Renovations?"

"Yes, you heard me right. Renovations. Nopony is working as for today. I could tell you more but I have to be somewhere right now." With that, the pony left without another word.

"Great." Cheese groaned a bit as he looked at the closed news office, "Looks like it's not going to be as easy as I thought it'd be."

The only hint as to where Charlie's daughter was is at the news office but that being closed for renovations means that Cheese has no other clue as to where to begin searching again. Maybe he could have asked that pony who just left? Yeah, that sounds like a logical answer. Cheese then turned to go catch up with the stallion he recently talked to, only to see the stallion was long gone already.

'He couldn't have gotten that far already.' Cheese thought to himself as he started to gallop towards the direction he last saw the stallion walk off to.

Manehatten is quite a huge place; not just a place but a city too. Being a big city means tons of ponies which may look alike around and this is going to affect Cheese's search for that stallion. It would sure help if the stallion he was looking for didn't look like some other ponies. The most distinct thing Cheese can remember about the stallion though was that he was carrying a brown satchel and was wearing a yellow scarf.

'It isn't really cold here is it?' Cheese thought to himself but then shook that thought away.

"Focus Cheese, now is not the time to think about the temperature here."

Cheese looked everywhere for the stallion. He peeked at every corner, looked in every alley, and even mistaken some other ponies as the stallion he was looking for, even a mare! Don't blame him, the mare looked more masculine from afar.

"Oh cheese niblets." Cheese said to himself as he grew tired of looking for the stallion, "I could've just spent all my time looking for him and use it to go look for Charlie's daughter instead."

Boneless Two just layed limp on Cheese's back, not saying nor creating a sound. It was already five o'clock and the sun was going down. Cheese must've been busy looking for the stallion that he lost track of time.

"This isn't going well as I hoped it would be." The orange stallion said with a sigh.

Then Cheese saw something on the corner of his eye. By sheer luck and pure coincidence and definitely not plot convenience whatsoever, Cheese saw the stallion he was looking for just walking near a news stand across the street. Cheese immediately crossed the road, almost getting run over by some carriages, to go talk with the stallion.

"Excuse me sir..." Cheese spoke up as he walked up and along with the stallion.

"Oh nice meeting you again. What is it do you want? I told you I need to be somewhere you know."

"I just want to ask if you know a certain pony named Penny."

"Penny?"

"Yes, Penny."

"Penny, Penny, Penny..." The stallion pondered to himself as he continued on walking while Cheese followed.

"Nope, doesn't ring a bell." The stallion shrugged as he continued walking, "Sorry if that wasn't the answer you were looking for."

"It's alright." Cheese replied as he trotted along with the brown stallion, "Say, out of curiosity, where are you going? Sorry if it's invading on your personal business."

"Nah it's fine. I'm heading over to the orphanage not too far from here." The stallion replied.

"Orphanage?"

"Yeah, you know, the place where you can find little ones who were abandoned by their guardians."

"I know what an orphanage is but what are you going to do there? Are you adopting somepony?"

"Oh no. I'm not adopting anyone, you see, I visit the orphanage every day to help out with all the little foals. It's sorta like my part time job. Working at the news office is my real job though."

"Well, isn't that nice of you."

"Hey, not all ponies in Manehatten are bad." The stallion smiled, "May I ask, do you want to help out too?"

Cheese thought about this offer. Yeah he is quite busy right now trying to find Charlie's daughter and plan an anniversary party, he even is getting sidetracked as of the moment, but helping little foals is something Cheese would like to do too. Plus, he could entertain some of them due to him being a party pony and all. He could go help out just this once.

"Yeah, I think I could spare some time to go help out with some fillies and foals."

---

Pinkie Pie and Boneless were both trotting down the streets of Manehatten as other ponies trotted in different directions and the buildings passed by her. The two don't really have an idea as to where to go from this point. The city sure is huge too, so Pinkie hasn't really visited every spot even if she has been in Manehatten before; take that candy shop she just visited a couple of hours ago as an example. Still, it felt quite nice seeing all the ponies and buildings in the city, that is, if you were actually looking at and noticing them go by.

Pinkie hasn't finished eating the gumdrops she bought at The Sweet Tooth due to her thoughts keeping her busy. She ate like only one gumdrop so far and it looks like she isn't planning to eat another. Her train of thought was briefly cut off when Boneless moved a bit from a sitting position to a limped position.

"There's nothing bothering me Boneless." Pinkie spoke up as if Boneless actually asked her is something was bothering her, though maybe he is but we just can't hear him and only Pinkie can. Continuing on, Boneless didn't do much after Pinkie's statement, though it looked like he spoke to Pinkie due to Pinkie's reaction in the next part.

"I'm serious, Boneless. Nothing is really bothering me." The pink mare sounded like she was getting annoyed by this point, yet even though how many times she thinks there's nothing bothering her, something was definitely bothering her even if she denies it. Too bad Boneless didn't speak up again, to Pinkie that is, judging by how the next few minutes was spent in silence.

It was already getting late whilst Pinkie and Boneless were traversing the city streets. It was quite unlucky for Pinkie to not bump into Cheese again while she roamed the city though. Now that I've mentioned it, that probably was bothering her during her roam. Pinkie decided to head back to the hotel since night was dawning over the city, after all, she did promise to be back before dinner plus it's an all you can eat buffet tonight at the hotel which is something Pinkie would definitely not want to miss. She sighed a bit though at the thought of not being able to see Cheese today in the city, especially after being told she was in a street Cheese was a few minutes ago. At least she's still has about a day in the city with Rarity, maybe she'll bump into her party pony friend by then.

By the time Pinkie and her rubber chicken friend got back to the hotel, Rarity was already at their room. The white unicorn looked like she just arrived too seeing as how she was just near the doorway as if she just entered.

"Oh Pinkie, looks like you've made it in time for dinner, just like me." Rarity turned to look at the pink mare who just arrived, "So, how was your day in the city?"

"It was fine actually. I bought some gumdrops though there's only a few left since Boneless ate most of them." Pinkie replied while she entered. She then took out the paper bag full of gumdrops and laid it on a counter. She was right when she said there were little gumdrops left in the bag for there were about four left when they arrived. It's either Pinkie ate those gumdrops but didn't tell or that she was saying the honest truth about Boneless eating most of the candy. Anyways, let's not dive into that topic, we have a story to get along with!

"So..." Rarity started off, "Did anything good happen while I was checking the boutique?"

"Nothing really important happened during that time." Pinkie replied as she sat down, though her tone tells something was bothering her. Rarity noticed the tone too. It wasn't the same normal cheery tone Pinkie usually has, it sounded a bit more flat and didn't have the Pinkie-like ring to it. Rarity decided to not poke on this subject and move on to another topic though.

'I'm guessing she didn't get to see Cheese today.' Rarity thought to herself. Wow, she sure is hopping into the ship here.

"Well, good to hear that." Rarity cleared her throat, "I have some news too... I-Uh... and it's regarding on our stay here in Manehatten. Yes, that's it."

"What about it?" Pinkie got curious upon hearing this, especially since Rarity paused mid-sentence for some reason.

"Well you see, after I checked on my boutique and seeing how some things needed to be arranged with my help, I've decided to extend our stay for a couple of days."

"You mean we're going to stick around here longer?" Pinkie asked as joy was slowly creeping into her tone.

"Yes. That's what I said."

"That's great news!" Pinkie hopped up in delight. It was a sudden change of tone I'd say, but at least it sounded like the old cheery Pinkie tone we hear most of the time and Rarity noticed this too.

"You seem very happy about this."

"Of course I am!" Pinkie smiled but then realized that she was enjoying this a bit too much. "I mean, I would love to see the city more and having a few more days here is just great!"

"Uh huh." Rarity looked at Pinkie, though it may not be that visible, you could see the white unicorn smirk a bit.

'Well, that did the trick to cheer her up.'

"So, are we going to head to the buffet or what?" Pinkie asked as she was already nearing the door.

"Let's not keep the food waiting then shall we?." Rarity replied as she headed out of the door first, Pinkie soon hopped out along with her.

Pinkie was feeling quite delightful as of the moment. A little to delightful to be honest. Extending their stay sure brightened up Pinkie's day. Hey that rhymed.

"I sure hope the food isn't like those food in those restaurants we've visited in Canterlot." Pinkie chimed as she hopped along the hall.

"I can assure you Ms. Pie that the food here isn't like the food there in Canterlot."

"Hey Rarity, why do you address me as Ms. Pie sometimes? You know we've been friends for a long time now right?"

"It's for formality, Pinkie. Ponies like me do this to look formal."

"Well we aren't heading to a formal buffet now are we? Wait, are we?"

"No we are not."

"Then there's no need for formality then is there?"

"It becomes a habit, Pinkie, once you get used to it."

"Okay then." Pinkie shrugged at this and continued with the unicorn to the all you can eat buffet.

---

Cheese was already heading back to the hotel after helping out that stallion and the orphanage. And his time wasn't wasted as well since the stallion he was with remembered on who Penny is when they were at the orphanage. Turns out that he's actually best friends with mare, though I wonder why he didn't remember when he was asked who she was. Probably has memory loss or something.

The conversation went out like this:

Once the two reached the orphanage, the two helped out with the work and entertained the children. Cheese had to follow the brown stallion's lead since the stallion had been doing this for quite some time now. Entertaining the children was Cheese's specialty so he needed no help on this.

While the two were busy with helping, Cheese decided to ask more about the stallion.

"So, what's your name?" Cheese asked as he sat on a chair nearby to take a break.

"The name's Randy, Randy Random." The stallion replied.

"Well isn't that one random name." Cheese joked.

"Hah, puns. How 'bout you, what's your name?"

"My name's Cheese Sandwich, a traveling party pony."

"Party pony huh? Never really got to meet a lot here in the city."

A couple seconds of silence swept by the two.

"So Randy, are you sure you don't know a mare named Penny?" Cheese broke the silence, hoping to at least get some more information on Charlie's daughter.

"Hmm..." Randy pondered again, "Well, the name does sound familiar."

Then a couple of minutes of silence swept by the two as Randy thought about it once more. Then, it dawned on him.

"OH PENNY!" The brown stallion remembered, "She's my best friend."

"Wait, so you mean to tell me you didn't remember your best friend's name was Penny until now?"

"Hey, I don't have a good memory you know. Plus I've got lots of stuff to do most of the time. I just remembered now that Penny is my best friend I work with at the news office."

'Jeeze you could've told me sooner' Cheese thought, "So you do know her? Say, can you tell me where she lives? I need to tell her something."

Randy eyed the orange stallion with a questionable look.

"Why do you need to see her? Are you like hosting a party for her or something?"

"Well sorta, you see, I met her dad at a candy store who told me that he was going to celebrate the store's anniversary tomorrow but he was going to do it alone, so I decided to plan a party for him. That being said, he also told me that the only family member he has that lives in the city was Penny, so I decided to go and tell Penny about this so that she and I can plan the party for the old man." Cheese explained though from the look of Randy, he didn't catch everything.

"Okay... Well, she lives in an apartment near the train station. Why don't I show you where tomorrow morning?"

"That sounds like a great idea! So, where do you want to meet up?"

"Why not at the news office at around eight in the morning?"

"Great! Thanks for the help pal!" Cheese exclaimed as he held out a hoof to shake which Randy happily complied.

And that's about how it went on how Cheese found out where Penny is. Now he just has to meet up with Randy in the morning and everything is going to fall into place.

Author's Note:

That 'bout it.
Took some time since I am busy with artwork.
Now I've got some plans ahead :D

Edit: I realized I forgot to add some hr lines in this due to me being busy.
Gosh darnit. At least I fixed it.