//------------------------------//
// Pinkie: Clouds Above Manehatten 
// Story: Chosen Love 
// by Just A Random Pegasus 
//------------------------------//

Pinkie woke up to the sweet smell of pancakes drifting throughout the room. She lifted into the air, out of her sleeping bag, hovering while savoring the smell. She opened her eyes and saw the source of the aroma: Cloud Nine was cooking pancakes in the kitchen. As swift as ever, Pinkie quickly freshened up and ran into the kitchen, immediately taking a seat and drooling at the pancakes.

Cloud giggled at the sight. "Do they look good?" She asked, an inquisitive tone to her voice. 

Pinkie nodded. "Oh, yes. Also, do you have whip cream, chocolate chips, and blueberries?" She asked, her eyes widening.

Cloud rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, hold on." 

After a minute, Cloud threw the three toppings Pinkie desired on the table. "Just don't take every-"

Cloud couldn't speak fast enough. Pinkie had already started pouring almost all of everything onto her stack of pancakes. Cloud blinked.

"Uh... okay then," she said, putting a few of the remaining toppings on her own pancakes. All was quiet until Pinkie dug into her pancakes, making a complete mess. 

Cheese entered right when Pinkie was loafing down her pancakes, walking past her like this was a completely normal sight. He sat at his seat and eyeballed the pancakes in front of him. He then looked to the middle of the table.

"Are there any toppings left?"

Cloud picked up the can of whipped cream and shook it. "Only a bit of whipped cream left. Pinkie took everything else." 

Pinkie gave Cheese the most innocent smile she could muster. "Sorry!" She said with a giggle. 

Cheese rolled his eyes. You're lucky you're so cute. He took the can of whipped cream and managed to get the rest of the cream on his pancakes, which really wasn't that much. Even so, they were very good pancakes. 

"Thanks for breakfast, Cloud!" Pinkie said, patting her stomach. "I'm full!" 

Cloud nodded. "No problem! Though, now I'm gonna have to go buy more blueberries, chocolate chips, and whipped cream... oh well," she said as an amused smirk played on her lips. Pinkie shrugged and gave Cloud the innocent smile she gave Cheese.

"Sorry!" She said, earning another smirk from Cloud. Cheese was just now finishing the pancakes, wishing to savor them for longer than Pinkie did. He looked to Cloud.

"Yeah, thanks for the pancakes. They're really good."

Cloud smiled again. "Once again, no problem!" 

Pinkie looked between the two. "So... where all are we going today?" She asked, putting her head in her hooves.

Cloud rose from her seat. "Well, I was thinking I would just take you around Manehatten in the morning, meet up with a certain cousin of mine for lunch-"

"Citrus?! Yes!" Pinkie exclaimed, jumping up from her seat.

Cloud nodded. "Yep."

Cheese rose from his seat as well. "Well, that sounds like a great idea! Citrus is a fun guy!" 

Cloud waved her hoof. "That's questionable. Anyways, after that, I was thinking we could maybe go to the park or arcade or something and hang out for a while. However, I gotta go to work at 6, so I won't be able to take you guys to dinner."

Pinkie smiled. "Sounds great! And it's fine, Cheese and I can figure something out."

Cheese nodded. "Yep!" 

Cloud smiled. "Alright! So... should we get going?" 

"Yeah!" The two party ponies cheered at once. Then, after the two grabbed their sleeping bags and stuffed them in their manes to Cloud's amazement, the three were off into the big city. 





"Oh! And here's my favorite: the Three Tribes Statue. It was made to pay tribute to our ancestors!" Cloud said as she pointed to a statue where a unicorn, earth pony, and pegasus were engraved. 

Pinkie looked to it with wide eyes. "Ooh! I like it!" She said, looking closer at the detail. Whoever carved this statue was quite the artist, that's for sure.

Cheese nodded in agreement. "Yeah! I rarely ever to get to look at statues. I'm always on the move!"

Cloud looked over to him. "Well, that's disappointing!"

Cheese shook his head. "Not really. I mean, planning parties is totally worth it!" 

Cloud smiled. "Well, I guess that makes sense."

Pinkie nodded. "You betcha!" A loud rumbling sound was then heard, Cheese and Cloud turning to Pinkie. Pinkie flushed and covered her stomach.

"Hehe... I'm getting a little hungry..." She said, giggling. Cloud snorted.

"That's obvious. And Citrus is about to go on his lunch break. Let's meet him outside his building."

Cheese smiled. "That sounds good! I'm getting a little hungry, too." 

Pinkie bounced into the air. "Well then, let's go!"





Citrus had expected to deal with ponies complaining to him during his work day. He has to deal with that often, and is used to it. What he didn't expect to happen, however, was his cousin to be standing outside his building with Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich, apparently waiting for him. 

He eyed them up and down. "Uh..."

"Hi!" The three chorused. Citrus let out a brief laugh. 

"Let me guess: you want to go with me on my lunch break?"

Pinkie gasped. "How did you know?!" 

Citrus shrugged. "Well, you three are pretty predictable." He started walking, gesturing for them to follow him. "Come on, I'm going to a really good sandwich place today."

Cheese hopped forward. "That sure sounds good! I'm gonna get a bunch of cheese on my sandwich! Get it?" He said, nudging Citrus. While Pinkie burst into giggles, Citrus rolled his eyes. 

"You're impossible," he said after a slight chuckle. 

"Well, you laughed!" Cheese replied, smiling. 

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, normally you would snarl at someone for making a joke like that. Just like a cat!" 

Citrus turned to her and growled. He then smirked. "Is that catty enough for you?"

Cloud giggled. "Yes, in fact it is. Now, let's focus on getting to that restaurant. I'm hungry." 

The other three agreed, picking up their pace a little bit. On the way there, Cloud started up a conversation with Pinkie. 

A gust of wind blew, causing Pinkie to shiver. "That's a cold breeze!" She exclaimed. Cloud nodded. 

"Yeah, the wind here is pretty cold," she said. Cheese, who was walking behind them, saw as Cloud extended a wing from her side and hovered it above Pinkie's back for a second. She harshly restrained it from touching the other mare, however, and snapped it back to her side. Pinkie didn't notice a thing. 

Cheese raised an eyebrow, feeling a small bit of possessiveness at what he saw. He shook his head.

Calm down, Cheese... it was just a friendly gesture to help a cold friend.  Even though he told himself this, he still had a suspicious feeling in the pit of his stomach. He continued walking, trying to ignore it. 

When they finally reached the restaurant, they got in line for a sandwich, waiting for about five minutes. 

Pinkie was eyeing the toppings with wide eyes. They were all under a glass case in bins, much like an ice cream shop. The time passed slowly before it was finally her turn. Cheese had gotten a lot of cheese and a few olives, and Pinkie had found that pretty funny. However, now it was finally her turn to choose toppings. 

"What would ya like?" The stallion behind the counter asked in a strong, Manehatten accent. Pinkie looked between him in the toppings.

"Well, I would like... five banana peppers, twenty olives, five pickles, two tomatoes, three pieces of lettuce..."

The three watched in awe as Pinkie continued to order toppings, and the sandwich was soon overflowing with them. Pinkie smiled as she finished, paying, and taking the sandwich with her. There were a few toppings spilling off onto the floor as she walked. 

"What are you guys looking at?" She asked as she walked past, catching their stares. Cheese started laughing as she made her way to a table, dropping her sandwich onto it. The three followed her and sat down, confused on how and why she wanted to eat all those toppings. 

"Why do I have a feeling toppings are your favorite thing?" Cloud asked as she started eating her sandwich. Pinkie shrugged.

"I'm nah sure," she replied while she was chewing her sandwich. Cloud blinked before continuing to eat her own. 

Cheese swallowed his bite. "Man, this stuff is good!" He exclaimed as he continued eating. Citrus nodded.

"Isn't it? This place is my favorite place to go for my lunch break."

Cloud wiped her lips. "Doesn't your building serve lunch?"

Citrus snorted. "It's not good lunch. I just go to a restaurant to get something to eat. It's much more worth the price." 

Cloud nodded. "That makes sense."

Their conversation was interrupted as Pinkie and Cheese were both seen stuffing the entirety of their sandwiches into their mouths and downing them in one bite. The two stared at each other.

"I totally beat you!" Cheese remarked. Pinkie gasped. 

"You did not! I counted; I beat you by five milliseconds!" 

Cheese folded his hooves. "That's not what I counted." 

Pinkie threw her hooves up into the air. "Whatever! That was a good sandwich!"

Citrus and Cloud stared at them with wide eyes.

"Party ponies are weird..." Citrus said under his breath.





After saying bye to Citrus, as well as forcing him into a group hug which he obviously despised, the three went to the park and hung out. They threw Frisbees, played a round of volleyball, and the party ponies even challenged a group of colts to a game of basketball. Pinkie and Cheese were obviously outnumbered, but they almost won. Currently, the three were sitting on a bench, and Pinkie had her head in her hooves. 

"I can't believe we lost!" She exclaimed, throwing her front hooves out.

Cloud nudged her with her shoulder. "Well, you were still good. They seemed pretty hard to beat."

"Eh..." Pinkie mumbled in response. Cloud smiled and turned to Cheese, a light blush spreading across her face. She seemed to wait a moment for something.

"Um... Cheese?" She asked with hesitation. Cheese perked up at the mention of his name.

"Yeah? What's up?" 

Cloud's pupils shifted from side to side. "Can I... talk to you for a moment? In private?" She asked. Cheese eyed her with confusion before nodding.

"...Sure?" He replied, rising. "Well, let's go over here, then." He and Cloud made their way to a remote area of the park, leaving Pinkie confused.

I wonder what they're up to... And why can't I know?





"What's on your mind, Cloud? And why did you need to talk to me about it? In private, no less?" Cheese asked. Cloud's face grew more red as he questioned her.

"Well... I... have a question," she started, keeping her glance to the ground. 

Cheese raised a brow. "Yes?"

She took a deep breath and went for it. "Well, since I need to go to work soon, I need to do this now. How... would I ask Pinkie out?" 

Cheese's brain nearly stopped working. "...huh?"

Cloud shakily nodded. "Y-yeah... I want to ask her out. She's... really cute. I-I don't think she's taken... but I need to know the best way to do it. You're her friend, so... maybe you can give me advice?" 

Cheese gave her a blank stare, leaving Cloud awkwardly fidgeting. The possessive feeling from earlier started growing inside him again. 

"Uh... Cloud... I'm sorry, but she's taken." 

The words seemed to cut through the pegasus. "Oh well... thanks for telling me, though. I'm happy I didn't get too ahead of myself," she said with a light grin. "Though... who is she dating? I've never heard her mention someone." 

Cheese's eyes shifted. "Me. She's... with me." 

Cloud's wings shot out. "Oh! Well, I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

Cheese shook his head. "It's complicated, but... I actually, uh... plan to ask her out tonight..."

Cloud smiled. "Well, congratulations! You are one lucky guy!" She replied, nudging him with a wing. 

"I'm sorry," Cheese replied. Cloud waved a hoof.

"It's fine. I'll find someone someday." She smiled. "Now, I gotta say goodbye to Pinkie, cause my shift starts in a few." 

Cheese nodded, following after the mare. "Alright," he replied, deep in thought. 

You've waited long enough for me to come around, Pinkie... He thought, slightly smiling.