On the way to the news office, Randy was thinking about that pink pony he bumped into just a few moments ago. It was strange seeing somepony who looks exactly like a friend of his, in both looks and even voice.
'Maybe she has a twin sister?' Randy thought to himself as he walked along. 'Nah, I've known her for too long to know she doesn't have any siblings.'
Thinking more about it, Randy realized something, 'Wait a minute, I hardly even know if she has any relatives.'
It's true actually, Pinks has never really told anypony about her family or even if she does have one. Another thing she hardly mentions is where she came from.
"You know what, I'm gonna ask her about it if we ever meet again." Randy said to no one in particular except for himself, though he might forget about asking either way. Speaking of forgetfulness, I wonder why Randy can remember about Pinks yet forget about his best friend Penny's name? That's odd if you ask me. ;D
And speaking about Pinks as well, the pink mare was still in a conversation with Cheese while walking to their destination to meet Randy.
"So let me get this straight, you have a Cheesy Sense that senses parties that are needed to be planned?" Pinks asked as she trotted along the orange stallion.
"Eeyup. Though I'm not the only one who has one." Cheese responded.
"Who else has it?"
"Well Pinkie of course. The original that is."
"Wait she has a Cheesy Sense too?" Pinks asked, quite surprised by this, "If she has one then why don't I have it too?"
"She calls it Pinkie Sense since it is her own ability by the way and I'm guessing you didn't fully copy Pinkie's attributes." Cheese
Pinks just shrugged at this and continued on walking.
"For a clone, you sure don't act like the original." Cheese stated while walking.
"Can we use a word other than clone? It makes me feel bad." Pinks asked which Cheese replied with a simple nod of understanding.
The rest of the walk was filled with silence between the two. Finally some silence between them too. Upon reaching the news office, Cheese noticed that Randy hasn't gotten there yet. He knew that he was probably early so he decided to wait, along with Pinks.
A few minutes passed, and soon enough a brown stallion was now nearing the office.
"Heya!" Randy smiled and greeted as he came closer. Cheese smiled back warmly while Pinks just looked at the stallion with a raised brow.
"Wait, we're meeting this Randy?" She asks as she looks at the stallion as if studying him.
"What were you expecting?" Cheese asked now bearing a questionable look.
"Well, this Randy is the Randy I know who is quite friendly to other ponies and helps out a lot too, including me. I didn't expect the Randy you were talking about who was Penny's friend to be the same Randy I knew. I knew that name sounded familiar."
"Pinks, why do you usually forget that I'm Penny's best friend. It's been 3 years now." Randy chimed in.
"Hey, there are things that a pony can forget at times." Pinks retorted. Randy then diverted his gaze towards Cheese.
"I'm guessing you bumped into her along the way?" He asks.
"Well-"
"Nope! I met him last night at the diner! Not on the way by the way." Pinks jumped in, "He told me how I looked like a friend of his and told me that he was going to go meet Penny. I decided to hop on and join in for the fun of it."
"Uh huh." Randy plainly said.
"Okay then," Cheese cleared his throat, grabbing the other two's attention."Well Randy, now that you're here, can you please show me the way over to Penny's place?"
"Oh sure thing. Come follow me." Randy replied and headed off from the group. Pinks looked at Randy then over at Cheese who walked after the stallion, then soon followed the two.
As the trio walked along the streets of Manehatten over to their destination, Randy decided to stir up a conversation since the mood was getting quite boring.
"So Cheese," Randy started as he looked over towards the said stallion, "Tell me, how long are you staying here in Manehatten?"
"Eh, probably a couple of days or so. I'm a travelling party pony, so I don't really stay in one place for too long."
"So you're leaving once the party's over?" Randy asked. Pinks just listened attentively to the conversation curious as to where this is going.
"That's initially the plan, yes."
"Mhm." Randy then stayed silent for a couple of seconds before speaking up again, "So, since you're a travelling party pony that doesn't stay in one place for too long, what was the last party you planned before heading here?"
"Oh, the last party?" Cheese repeated, "The most recent party I had was back over at Ponyville."
"Over at Ponyville?" Randy asked, "I've heard Ponyville's a nice place to stay in."
"It sure was a blast when I went there."
"How so?" Randy asked, curious to hear the story. Pinks on the other hand already knew about this since Cheese told her about it back at the diner.
"For one, the party I put together went off quite well. Second was that I got to hang out with one of my pals there."
"Mhm." Randy briefly said as they walked.
"So, Penny's apartment is just a few more blocks from here. I'd love to keep showing you where but I still have some errands to run. Pinks can still show you where though." He added as they stopped near an intersection.
"I don't think I remember exactly where it is." Pinks said making Randy just look at her with a small groan. Pinks smiled sheepishly at him.
"You know what, never mind. I can reschedule some things anyways." Randy continued on walking.
As the three continued on walking with Randy in the lead, Cheese leaned over to Pinks.
"Wait, you don't know where Penny lives?" Cheese asked.
"I may know that mare but that doesn't mean I know where she lives." Pinks replied. Cheese just looked at her before diverting his attention back at Randy.
A few seconds later, Randy stopped in front of an average sized building. Fairly decent and was still in good shape, the building seemed to home apartments for ponies to stay in, and judging by this, Cheese took it as a sign telling him they have arrived at their destination.
"Here we are." Randy stated, confirming what Cheese was thinking, "Penny's apartment is on the third floor, second room you'll encounter."
"Thanks Rand." Pinks smiled warmly at the stallion who in turn smiled back.
"Anyways, I'm off to buy some stuff at the market. Catch you both on the flip side." With that, Randy left the two. Pinks watched him leave as Cheese watched the building right next to them.
As soon as Randy was out of sight and out of earshot, Pinks leaned over to Cheese.
"So, are we gonna go inside or are you gonna just keep standing here and stare at the building all day long?" Pinks asked the orange stallion.
"Oh right, yeah, let's keep going." Cheese stated as he trotted inside, with Pinks right behind him.
As the two just entered the building, Pinkie on the other hand back at the diner just finished her breakfast. After paying for the meal (this time), she then decided to go grab something sweet to eat or at least as a snack. Her sweet tooth couldn't help itself now can it?
Knowing only one store which had candies and sweets in it, Pinkie decided that that would be a good place to go grab a sweet or two- or five; maybe eight.
Trotting down the streets of Manehatten along with Boneless, the city was starting to become more alive again. From having only small groups of ponies from time to time to now getting smaller crowds in which turns to bigger ones, the city was starting to bloom. At least the crowds doesn't really affect somepony's time that much, unlike in the real world in some cases.
Few minutes in the walk, and Pinkie finally got to the Sweet Tooth again. Something was different though, that being a small banner upfront just above the door stating that it's the thirty-fifth anniversary of the shop.
'It's the shop's anniversary today?' Pinkie thought to herself, 'That explains the deal on the candies.'
"Wait a minute, shouldn't it better if I thought on planning to host a party for the anniversary instead of thinking about the deal?" Pinkie asked aloud.
Well to answer that question, no Pinkie, for it conflicts with the plot I currently have. I know it seems like a better choice and whatnot but let's just do this for plot convenience okay? Now please get back in character and don't mind this. Pinkie shrugged at this and continued on inside the shop.
Upon entering, a little bell rang above the door signaling a new customer has entered or a customer has left. Charlie the old stallion heard the bell and looked towards the door to see the pink mare.
"Ah, welcome, welcome!" The stallion greeted, "It's nice to see you again, what is it that makes you come back here on this fine day?"
"Oh just here to satisfy my sweet tooth again." Pinkie replied as she neared the counter.
"Well there's a reason this shop is called the Sweet Tooth." Charlie smiled. "Now, what can I get ya?" He continued as he prepared a paper bag.
"Hmm, maybe a few candy bars, gumdrops, and chocolates will do, like three of each please." Pinkie replied as she gazed at the different sweets.
"Hm, that's quite an equal division." Charlie stated as he placed the exact amount of sweets Pinkie asked for plus the extra two for each candy as stated by the deal. "Alrighty, here's the order you asked for." The old stallion said as he placed the now closed paper bag containing sweets on the counter top. Pinkie paid for the candies and placed the paper bag on her back right in front of Boneless.
"Say, did an orange stallion who goes by the name Cheese Sandwich happen to come here again?" Pinkie asked with hopes that Cheese was still near the area she's in.
"So far, you're the only one who came to the store. Sorry." Charlie replied which made Pinkie's ears drop a bit, but that wasn't enough to keep her down of course. Pinkie looked around the shop for a moment, thinking of something else to say when she noticed that the store seemed to have a little too much of sweets that it doesn't really feel right.
"May I ask, how often do people buy from here?" The pink mare asked now returning her gaze back to the old stallion behind the counter.
"Funny you asked, this place used to be filled with ponies. Fillies and even grown ponies all happily bought sweets and enjoyed gazing at them as well. It was such a great time." Charlie replied as he thought about those days, "Nowadays, there's usually two to four ponies at most who visit here. The Sweet Tooth isn't really getting much attention now."
Pinkie looked back at the sweets around the place. It's sad seeing as how this place used to be a spot little fillies and adults alike spend time to buy some candy. Why would people not visit a place like this anymore?
"Anyways," Charlie continued on which got Pinkie's attention back at him, "It's been fun talking to you miss. If there is anymore sweets that you need to satisfy your sweet tooth, you can come back here anytime you wish."
"Okie dokie." Pinkie said as she looked around the place one more time before trotting towards the exit, "I'll see you around then."
After the pink mare exits the shop with the sound of the door bell ringing, Pinkie began trotting along the road with her mind preoccupied thinking about the shop. As she did this, Boneless leaned a bit which got her attention.
"I know Boneless, it's sad the store isn't getting much attention." Pinkie started, "But what can we do about it? Ponies change overtime and so does their tastes."
Boneless just remained silent as they both carried on walking. Pinkie looked at Boneless in surprise.
"That's it!" She exclaimed, "It's the shop's anniversary today! All we have to do is host a party that'll surely bring back some attention to the shop!"
'Geez about time I thought about it.' Pinkie thought to herself. She then continued to walk along the street with a big smile on her face. Where's she going? Nobody knows...
...like seriously I really didn't plan out where she's heading off to.
Back with Cheese and Pinks, the two were both in front of the door leading to Penny's apartment room. They both stayed silent for a short while until Pinks spoke up.
"Alrighty then, let's go meet her."
"Okay." Cheese exhaled a bit before knocking on the door.
A few seconds passed with no response from the other side. Cheese knocked again while Pinks looked around.
Still no response came.
"H-Hello? Is anyone in there?" Cheese asked through the door as he placed his ear on it. Silence was the only thing that came.
"Try knocking again." Pinks suggested.
"I already knocked twice, I don't think a third knock would help."
"It doesn't hurt to try."
"I think she's not home." Cheese said as he took his ear off of the door. Pinks just looked at him with a blank expression until some noise was heard from the inside.
"Ugh... I'm coming..." Said a voice that sounded very tired. Then comes numerous sounds from the room: a thud, a crash, then a groan.
A few seconds later, a mare poked her head out of the door first setting her tired gaze on Cheese. By the looks of the horn, this mare was a unicorn (Hey that rhymed).
"Yes? What is it?" The mare yawned.
"Um hi, do you happen to be the mare named Penny?" Cheese greeted as Pinks just realized who they were talking to.
"Penny?" The mare asked as she rubbed her right eye.
"Yes, Penny, the daughter of the candy shop owner."
The tired looking mare looked at Cheese for a few seconds before lazily opening the door revealing herself.
The unicorn looked quite untidy though that's probably due to her just waking up. She was a yellow pony with a chocolate brown mane. Her mane itself was tied up like a ponytail behind her head and she had blue eyes. Pretty much a normal pony by any means. Oh and her cutie mark seemed to be a camera and a piece of paper.
"She's out doing some errands or something. I don't really know." The mare replied as she yawned once more.
"Wait, so you're not Penny?" Cheese asked, tilting his head a bit to the side. Pinks just listened to the two's conversation though it looked like she was out of the tired mare's view; that or its because she's just sleepy to even bother look at Pinks.
"Not one tiny bit." The yellow unicorn answered, "Why are you asking anyways?"
"Oh I happen to be planning the anniversary of Penny's father's candy shop and I was just wondering if I can talk to her to aid me with this." Cheese explained. Pinks remained silent, a little too silent as if she doesn't actually wanted to be noticed.
"Uh huh." Came the response of the unicorn with an uninterested look on her face. "Well, sorry Mr, but the mare you're looking for isn't here right now."
"It's Cheese Sandwich by the way and do you happen to know when she'll come back?
"Eh, probably after a short while. I don't know really, she left when I was half asleep." The unicorn scratched her foreleg.
"Oh."
A few seconds of silence passed by the stallion and mare when Cheese remembered about Pinks.
"Oh I also brought a friend with me. I think you probably know her." Cheese stated as he moved a bit to show more of Pinks who looked like she didn't want to be seen by the unicorn. Though it was no use since the unicorn already saw her.
The yellow mare seemed to have narrowed her eyes at the pink mare and soon her face glared once she realized who it was.
"What's she doing here?" The unicorn asked with a bit of annoyance in her tone. Pinks just smiled anxiously at her.
"Heyyy..." Pinks uneasily greeted, "How's it goin?"
"I take it that both of you have met." Cheese joined in as he watched the two.
"Ha met? I hardly know this pony." The unicorn said as she looked away in disgust from the pink mare. It was obvious there was tension going on between this mare and Pinks.
"Look, you don't have to hold a grudge on me forever you know." Pinks spoke up.
"Not after what you did? I don't even want to see you."
"I could tell..." Pinks whispered to herself. Cheese just watched the tension, not knowing on what is exactly going on here. The yellow mare then looked over to Cheese.
"I'm afraid I have important work to do, please don't come disturbing this place again, especially with her."
"By work you mean sleep." Pinks said under her breath, though it was still heard by the unicorn who just glared at the pink pony before heading back inside and closing the door shut. Cheese looked at the door, then over to Pinks, then back over to the door again.
"Welp, that just happened." He started.
Now on to the pink mare who has a rubber chicken. Yes, I'm talking about Pinkie and not Pinks.
The pink mare was trotting down the street towards a more familiar one. A street that has quite the amount of shops primarily for fashion and clothing. It was none other than Saddle Row of course.
Why was she heading there you ask? Well, upon having no idea on what to do for now, Pinkie decided to go check on Rarity at her boutique. In related news, I just thought about this a few minutes ago.
As Pinkie trotted down the road and passed some shops of different colors and styles, she kept her eye out for the boutique though that didn't took long enough to find.
Walking up to the boutique, Pinkie then entered with the sound of the door bell ringing signaling the employees that a pony has just entered or left.
"Good morning ms-" A familiar voice started, "Ah Pinkie, fancy meeting you here. What brings you to the boutique, darling?"
"Heya Rarity, I just stopped by here since I had nowhere else to go." Pinkie replied, "I also have no idea on what to do."
"Aren't you going to continue looking for that Cheese Sandwich fellow?" Rarity asked.
"Eh, I don't feel like doing it right now; especially without having a clue on where to start looking first."
"I see." Rarity looked over to the other ponies who were helping out with the boutique, "Well, feel free to do whatever you want darling, just as long as it doesn't interrupt with the business nor mess with the dresses."
"Okie dokie lokie; also, I'm not really going to stay in the boutique for that long." Pinkie replied as she grabbed some pieces of candy and ate it from the paper bag she brought. Rarity looked at the bag out of curiosity.
"Say Pinkie, where did you get the candy?" Rarity asked. I know it may be an odd question since Pinkie does tend to bring snacks on trips especially candies but Rarity hasn't noticed Pinkie bringing any sort of snack for the trip for once.
"Hm? Oh these? I bought them from a candy store nearby." Pinkie replied as she chewed the sweets. She then remembered something.
"Oh yeah! I almost totally forgot!" Pinkie swallowed the candy in her mouth, "Today is the candy shop's thirty-fifth anniversary and I was planning on throwing a party for the owner and the shop."
"That sounds like a nice gesture Pinkie but have you asked the shopkeeper if that's okay with him?"
"Nope, not yet."
"Well, you can't just throw a party for the shop without the owner's consent. I suggest you go ask first before going with your plan."
"But I planned it to be a surprise. It wouldn't be a surprise party if the pony knew about it already."
"Darling, this is Manehatten. I doubt anypony here would appreciate a surprise party unlike back in Ponyville."
Pinkie stood silent. Rarity was right, the city is a busy place and by the looks of it, nopony would have time for surprise parties especially one by hers. They'll just think she'll be annoying and be wasting their time. Yet, Charlie looked like one of those kind old stallions who would appreciate a gesture like this. After all, it is his shop's anniversary and it wouldn't be an anniversary if nopony else celebrated it. Speaking of celebrations, Pinkie wondered what that old coot is planning for the anniversary. Surely that one small banner upfront is not what he planned to do for the anniversary right?
Right?
"Pinkie, is something wrong?" Rarity's voice caught the pink mare's attention, "You seem to be staring silently into space. That's like the third time I've seen you do that."
"Oh just thinking about the party for the candy shop, that's all."
Rarity looked at her for a few seconds before a thought came into her mind.
"Say, if the candy shop you said was going to have an anniversary, that's probably the reason why Cheese went here in the first place."
This immediately got Pinkie's attention.
"You're probably right!" Pinkie thought about it, "The candy shop owner even said that he met a stallion named Cheese Sandwich. Good point Rarity! I bet he'll be there so I think it's best that I wait for him there too!"
With that, the pink mare zoomed off in a puff of smoke. Rarity was about to say something but knew the mare was long gone.
"Pinkie sure is excited." Rarity said to herself as she looked at the time, "And it's not even near lunch yet."
True, the pink party pony seemed too excited to even realize that there's still a day ahead of her. But let's save the rest of the journey for the next chapter.