Lustre Dawn skipped down Ponyville’s high street, aglow with happiness. Ponies stopped to smile and nod to her, and she had a bright smile and a kind word for each of them.
She was heading for Pinkie Pie’s Party Emporium, and her heart was singing. Six more dates had followed her first with Little Cheese, and each had been better than the last. Every time they met, she felt more at home with the buttermilk-yellow mare, grew to know every twist of her bouncy mane a little better. Every time they talked they discovered new similarities; they both loved walking in the forest, they both loved romance novels (and Cadance was a guilty pick for both of their favourite princess, despite their mutual love for Aunt Twilight), and Little Cheese loved to cook fine foods just as much as Lustre Dawn loved to eat them. Little Cheese’s cheesecakes were pretty much Lustre’s idea of what heaven tasted like, and Little Cheese had even professed a hidden love for The Phantom of the Perilous Peak. Lustre Dawn had purchased her second recent set of tickets to see the play. She was confident that this time would be vastly superior to the time she had seen it with Sparkling Wine, who had droned on about the different ice cream flavours available in Yakyakistan for half of the first act.
The only slight hiccup was her grandparent. On being informed of her choosing to go on a second and third date with an earth pony, as non-magical as they came, her grandparents had gone a little off the rails. Jackpot and Big Bucks had been as supportive as they always were, of course, but Firelight had turned his nose up and refused to discuss the matter any further.
Even Twilight Velvet and Nightlight, though they barely counted as her grandparents, had exuded a stiff sense of disapproval on her last visit with them. Lustre Dawn had left the coffee shop near their Canterlot residence with a sour taste in her mouth, promising herself internally that she would not return until they had apologised.
But it was Stellar Flare and Sunspot that had really fallen in the deep end — angry letters to Princess Celestia, to Lustre herself, to Starlight and Trixie, to anypony who would listen. It had taken a curtly worded letter from Starlight, reminding them that they were only step-grandparents, to finally shut them up. Sunburst had apologised over and over, until Lustre Dawn had eventually told him to just let it go. He was a wonderful father, in his way — but always so nervous, so afraid of losing her. He was so conscious of their not-quite-normal bond that it made Lustre hyper-aware of it as well. It always made her feel a little on edge.
Lustre Dawn rounded a corner and saw the gleaming fuchsia front of Pinkie Pie’s shop, the window displays stuffed to bursting with balloons and cakes. The cheery sight dispelled the lingering worries about her ridiculously complex family life and she hastened her step, her thoughts turning to Little Cheese once more.
They were as different as could be on paper — a mage and a baker, the personal protege of Equestria’s monarch and the daughter of a party planner — but in every way that mattered they were as alike as two peas in a pod.
Little Cheese even shared Lustre Dawn’s closeness with a small group of friends; she was very close with Pound and Pumpkin Cake, despite their age gap, and she understood Lustre’s fierce devotion to her friends.
And today, the seventh date, Lustre Dawn planned to combine her two worlds. Carrot Bran, Yurik, Grayson and Leaftail were all waiting for her in their favourite Ponyville diner, and she and Little Cheese would meet them there. She couldn’t wait to see what her friends thought of Little Cheese, and what Little Cheese would think of them. She was certain they would all love one another. And then maybe next time, Little Cheese could introduce her to the Cake twins. And then they could take both groups and do a group picnic or something. A future of rosy intertwined friendship groups swam before Lustre Dawn’s eyes, and a dreamy smile spread across her face as she pushed open the door to Pinkie Pie’s vibrantly pink shop.
A small party blower sounded as she went in, and a little stream of confetti sprinkled down over her head to tangle in her mane.
“Hello!” sang a high-pitched voice. “How are you today?” Pinkie Pie popped up from behind the counter, clearing it in a single bound, and landing in front of Lustre Dawn, bouncing on the spot. “Oh wow! Lustre Dawn! Hi! How lovely to meet you! Little Cheese hasn’t stopped talking about you in weeks! I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you! I was planning a ‘meeting the parents’ party for you, but here I am, caught all off guard! Never mind—” she seized a party hat from a nearby shelf and jammed it onto Lustre’s head. “—I’ll have to improvise!”
Lustre Dawn, surprised and a little dazed by Pinkie’s energy, as she always was, raised her hooves in supplication. “Aunt Pinkie, hi! But — I’ve already met you and Cheese Sandwich.”
“But not like this, silly!” Pinkie Pie squealed, draping strings of brightly coloured crepe around Lustre Dawn’s neck. “This is a real occasion! My baby bringing home a girlfriend! I’m so excited to meet you this time! Not that I wasn’t last time, of course — but this time I really am!”
Lustre Dawn fended off Pinkie’s efforts to put another, larger party hat atop the first, laughing as she did so. “Auntie Pinkie, come on! I’m meant to be meeting Little Cheese here. Can you call her down for me?”
Pinkie paused at last. “Huh. Weird. I haven’t seen her all morning. I wonder where she could be!” With a skip and a hop, she vanished entirely from Lustre Dawn’s vision and reappeared out the top of a box on the other side of the shop. “She’s not in here!” She ducked down again, the drawer of the cash register pinged open, and Pinkie emerged, beginning to look puzzled. “Or in here.” She scrambled out of the drawer and hurried round the shop, lifting up piles of confetti and streamers to look for her daughter. She stuck her head into each of her party cannons, one by one, until Lustre cleared her throat.
“Um, Auntie Pinkie?”
“Yes?” Pinkie’s voice echoed from deep within one of the party cannons.
“What if you checked upstairs in the flat?”
“Good idea!” Pinkie burst out of a pile of brightly coloured teddy bears and bounded up the stairs at the back of the shop, only to remerge moments later. “She’s not up there, Lustre. I’ve no idea where she could be!” She cocked her head. “Which is definitely suspicious, because I haven’t seen her leave.” She brightened once more. “You should ask Cheese!”
“Good idea,” Lustre Dawn agreed hastily, grateful for a reason to escape as much as anything else. She loved her Auntie, of course, but conversing with Pinkie Pie on her own…she found it to be a lot.
Waving goodbye to Pinkie, she ducked back out the door, accepting the second confetti shower as the price that must be paid in order to find Little Cheese. She trotted a few steps along the street and ducked into the next shop along. A large sign above the door painted with Cheese Sandwich’s face declared it to be Cheese Sandwich’s Silly Supply Store.
Cheese Sandwich’s door did not set off a confetti cannon, but it did make a noise like the honk of a rubber chicken. Glancing up, Lustre caught sight of a rather deflated yellow chicken with a large number three daubed onto its side.
“Howdy!” cried Cheese Sandwich, looking up from the bouncy balls he was stacking. “What can I do you for, Lustre Dawn? Any silly supplies you need, we got ‘em!”
“No silly supplies today, thanks, Cheese Sandwich,” Lustre said, waving his offer away. “I’m just here looking for Little Cheese.”
“Can’t help you there!” Cheese Sandwich answered cheerfully, returning his attention to the pyramid of rubber balls. He carefully lowered the next one into place. “I think she’s with Pinkie.”
Lustre Dawn felt the beginnings of a headache building. “Auntie Pinkie told me to ask you.” She hoped that this wasn’t the beginning of some wacky prank or elaborate surprise party. She just wanted to take Little Cheese to meet her friends, and for everything to go smoothly.
“Hmm,” Cheese Sandwich’s attention was clearly on his pyramid; he cradled the newest ball in both hooves and inched it closer to the top. “Have you tried Pound and Pumpkin Cake? Little Cheese is in and out of there like a ventriloquist’s hoof in his dummy.”
Lustre Dawn winced inwardly at the strange simile, but was content that Cheese Sandwich’s shop had at least absorbed less of her time than Pinkie Pie’s. “Alright. Thanks! See you later.” She let the door honk shut behind her without waiting for his answer.
She strode back the way she had come, past Pinkie’s bright fuchsia doorway and into the more sedate space of the bakery. Pound Cake was standing behind the counter, calmly putting the finishing touches to a batch of cupcakes.
“Pound Cake, have you seen Little Cheese?” Lustre Dawn cut right to the chase. If she didn’t find Little Cheese soon they were going to be late for brunch.
Pound Cake glanced up. “Oh hey, Lustre Dawn. Feels like I’ve been hearing your name a lot lately.”
Lustre coloured. “In a good way, I hope?” She suddenly felt a little nervous. She knew Little Cheese must confide in Pound Cake in the same way she shared secrets with her own friends.
Pound Cake chuckled and rustled his wings comfortably against his white chef’s coat. “Of course. Nothing but good things.”
“Is Little Cheese here?” Lustre Dawn persisted. “Her parents haven’t seen her.”
Pound Cake shrugged. “Nor have I. I’ve not seen her or Pumpkin all morning. I think they must have gone out for a walk or something.”
Lustre Dawn’s heart sank. “But she was supposed to come with me to meet my friends.”
Pound Cake looked up from his cupcakes for the first time, and his expression softened. “I’m sorry, Lustre Dawn. I’m sure it must have just slipped her mind. Or maybe she already went to meet you there?”
Lustre Dawn seized onto that one small remaining hope. “Yes. Yes, you’re probably right.” She imagined Little Cheese sitting with everypony, waiting for her, and turned at once to leave. She had wanted to be there, to carefully smooth over any awkward introductions herself. But no matter. Little Cheese was confident enough, in her own way. She was probably making a great impression.
She left the bakery and trotted swiftly back towards the Hayseed Diner, moving swiftly enough that it was almost a tölt. Her mane bounced against her neck as she moved. By the time she slowed to a walk outside the diner, she was slightly out of breath, but tried hard to modulate the movement of her barrel. She didn’t want to walk in there looking like she had sprinted the whole way.
She smoothed her mane down one last time and then pushed open the door and went inside. It took her only a moment to spot her friends, seated at their usual table in the far corner, and another moment to realise that Little Cheese was not with them.
Hope crumbled, and the world suddenly seemed a little greyer. Her head drooping low, Lustre Dawn made her way over to the table.
“Lustre Dawn, hey!” It was Leaftail that spotted her first, but her wave of greeting soon turned tailed off. “Are you okay?”
“Where’s Little Cheese?” Grayson demanded, his claws splayed on the table before him.
Lustre threw herself into the booth beside Leaftail and buried her face in her hooves. “No, and I don’t know. I couldn’t find her anywhere, and nopony seems to know where she is.”
Instantly, her friends were all concern, leaning in to touch her shoulders and offer consoling words.
“Thanks, guys,” Lustre said miserably, her face still firmly on the table. “I think…I think Little Cheese stood me up.” As she spoke the words, she felt the black pit of despair opening up its gaping jaws to receive her. She had genuinely begun to care for Little Cheese. She had noticed herself looking forward to their dates, daydreaming about Little Cheese when they weren’t together, humming stupid little songs as she went about her day. She had noticed all the danger signs, and she hadn’t thought to catch herself or exercise any caution. She had encouraged herself in her affection. It had felt so right. So natural.
“Surely not!” Carrot Bran sounded scandalised. “It was all going so well.”
Yurik dropped his weighty hoof onto the table like a brick. “Pony a very stupid pony if she ghosts Lustre Dawn.”
“How dare she!” Leaftail’s voice was full of poorly-suppressed anger, and Lustre Dawn lifted her head at last to look at her friend. Her eyes widened in concern; Leaftail was beginning to look a little crispy around the edges.
“Cool it, Leaftail!” she cautioned. A nirik outburst was the last thing they needed in the middle of the diner.
Leaftail jumped and then offered an apologetic grin. She shifted her weight a little sheepishly, but at least the smoke curling up from her mane ceased. “Whoopsie.”
“What should friends do?” Yurik asked gently, his eyes full of concern. “Lustre Dawn want Yurik to smash silly party shop into smithereens?”
Lustre Dawn smiled a watery smile. Even in the depths of her misery, her friends were still here for her, trying to make her laugh. For a long time, such a close, loving group was more than she had ever dared to hope for. But after knowing the effortless ease and intimacy of spending time with Little Cheese, for the first time, it didn’t quite feel like enough.