The doors to Sugarcube Corner opened and Pinkie hopped in excitedly, as Maud and Spike followed in after her. Over by the counter was Flurry, waiting patiently for them.
“Flurry!!” Pinkie shouted. “Ooooh, I really wish you could have been with us at the rock fair! We had such fun! Look! I got a pet rock!”
“Aw! It’s shaped like a heart!” Flurry said.
“Yup! Maud named her Pebbles! She’s already best friends with Boulder! Oh, and before I forget, here’s a rock plushie I got you!” she said, handing Flurry the rock plushie with googly eyes. “I call him Alejandro! I know rocks are technically food for snails, but I thought he’d look really cute with Whammy!”
“Thanks, Pinkie!” Flurry said, hugging Alejandro. “He’ll get along great with Whammy! Oh, Maud! How’s it going?”
Flurry went over to hug Maud as she put all her shopping bags down.
“Long time no see, Flurry.” Maud replied, smiling a bit.
While Pinkie was distracted, Flurry flew over and whispered something in Spike’s ear. He seemed worried at what she said.
“Well I hope you guys didn’t feel too bad about missing the fair, but it’s going all week if you’re interested!” Pinkie said.
“Actually it’s funny you should mention us not being there today.” Flurry said.
“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side.
“Well, there’s actually a reason we needed to not go today.”
Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Cake came out of the living room to speak with Pinkie.
“Hey there, Pinkie.” said Mr. Cake. “Cheese is waiting in the living room and would like to speak with you when you get a moment.”
“Oh. Thanks, Mr. Cake. Is everything okay?”
“Well, why don’t you go in and ask him?” Mrs. Cake told Pinkie as they both parted to allow Pinkie access.
Pinkie curiously walked in to the living room to see tons of random standees and props all over the floor in front of the stage they used earlier that morning. She looked around curiously at them, wondering what was happening while she was gone.
“Wow, what happened here?” she asked. “I recognize some of these props. I think Cheese has used them before. Aw, is this that picture of me and Cheese during Dashie’s birthday party a while ago?”
Pinkie looked over to one of the standees that was shaped like a bush. She saw a photo was still taped onto it of her and Cheese when they first met. Just then, Pound and Pumpkin appeared from behind the standee.
“Hey Pinkie.” said Pumpkin.
“Oh, hey guys! What were you doing this whole time? Playing a game?” Pinkie asked.
“Actually, we were helping Cheese get something set up, but it kinda fell apart.” Pound said, crossly.
“Oh no! Was everything okay?”
“Yeah, we got it fixed now, just not how we wanted to.” Pumpkin added.
“But what was it you were doing?”
“Well, Cheese can tell you up there.” Pound said, pointing to the stage as Cheese walked out.
“Cheese! Hey, sorry we took so long out there! We got distracted by a lot of cool things! Maud got me a pet rock!” Pinkie said to Cheese, showing him Pebbles.
Cheese smiled big as he looked at Pebbles and sat down on the stage.
“Glad you had fun out there, Pinkie.” he said in a happy yet very deep and thoughtful voice.
“Is everything okay, Cheese?” Pinkie asked as she walked up onto the stage to sit next to him.
“It’s been a rough day for me, but I’m doing fine now.”
“What happened?”
“Well, I had some big plans for today and it just didn’t work out too well. Ever had one of those days where you wake up and say to yourself that you’re going to get something done and then it all just falls apart and you get nothing done at all?”
“Pffft! Tell me about it! I’ve had days like that many times! You just overthink it and then you’re all like ‘AGH! I can’t do this anymore!’ and you just give up.”
“Yup, that’s about the size of it.”
“Did it have something to do with all of the props down there?”
“That’s right. I had big plans. I really wanted to please someone special.”
“Someone special?”
“I was setting this all up for you, Pinkie.”
“For…for me?”
“Yeah. When things started going wrong, I tried making a backup plan. That didn’t work either. I just stressed myself out, but then I got to thinking, it doesn’t have to be this way for Pinkie to love it. That’s one great thing about you Pinkie: you’ve always been satisfied with our relationship and you’ve been so positive with everything I do for you.”
Pinkie had a warm smile on her face as Cheese continued to talk to her. A few yards away, Flurry, Pound, Pumpkin, Spike, Maud, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake all watched attentively. They did their best not to make a sound and let Cheese do all the talking.
“I wanted this to be the biggest surprise for you with some music and streamers and party cannons and everything, but in the end, I knew none of that mattered.”
Cheese stared deeply into Pinkie’s eyes and Pinkie lifted his hoof and held it over hers.
“Aw Cheese, I never needed you to work way too hard to please me. I mean you’ve surprised me for my birthday before plenty of times and we’ve planned some awesome parties, but just having you with me is all I want. I love you, Cheese.”
Cheese’s smile grew even wider as she spoke in a nervous but confident voice. He then closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and reached into his shirt for something.
“Well…then I guess now is as good a time as ever to do this.”
Pinkie looked a bit confused at first, but then realized what was happening. She gasped loudly and covered her mouth with both hooves as Cheese pulled out a small box and opened it up. Inside was a wedding band necklace with a small blue gemstone. Her eyes widened and she began to tremble a bit. She glanced quickly at the others. She now understood why they needed her gone for so long, because Cheese needed to plan this all out.
“You…you were tr-tr-trying to propose to me this whole time?” she said with tears forming in her eyes.
“It was supposed to be a lot crazier and wacky at first. Kinda like the two of us…hehe…but all I needed was for you to be right here and for me to open this box and ask: Pinkamena Diane Pie, will you marry me?”
Pinkie’s lips quivered and tears began to stream down her cheeks. She started to nod her head up and down as she sniffled. Finally, she leapt into his arms and hugged him tightly.
“YES!!!!! YES, I WILL ABSOLUELY MARRY YOU, CHEESE SANDWICH!! I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO ASK!!” she said, crying as she continued to hug him tighter.
Cheese used his one hoof to wrap around her soft, pudgy body and balance the box in his other hoof. He lay his head down on top of her curly, pink hair and kissed her on the head. Everyone else in front of the stage began to smile huge and cry tears of joy. The kids danced around and whooped. Mr. and Mrs. Cake hugged each other while watching. Spike began to cry and tried wiping away his tears, while Maud handed him a box of tissues. She too had tears in her eyes and a smile that was bigger than she was accustomed to. Maud was so happy for her sister. She hadn’t felt this happy since the day she and Mudbriar were married. Pinkie and Cheese finally stopped hugging and Cheese took out the necklace and carefully put it around her neck. She wiped away her tears and they both went in for a passionate kiss on the lips. The thought of Cheese proposing to her was still so hard for her to believe. Her happiness was turning into zeal and she began to shake from excitement.
I’m getting married…I’m getting married! I’M GETTING MARRIED!!!!” she squawked.
Cheese suddenly stretched his arms off to the side and pulled in a random army helmet to put on, as the energy began to build up in his fiancé.
“Get ready, guys!” he called.
Pinkie vibrated around on the ground and finally took off, bouncing all over the room like an out-of-control ball. She reflected off of the ceiling, walls and floor while screaming.
“EEEEEEH! CHEESE PROPOSED TO ME!! I’M GONNA BE A WIFE!!! I’M SO HAPPYYYYYYYYY!!!!”
She finally slowed down her bouncing and landed on the ground in front of everyone else. They all came over to congratulate her.
“I’m so happy for you, Pinkie.” Maud said, giving her a hug.
“You’re going to be an aunt soon, Maud!” Pinkie told her sister.
“BRO, WE DID IT!!” Pumpkin said as she and Pound went in for a hug from Pinkie as well.
Flurry watched as everyone gathered around Pinkie and Cheese. She wiped away a small tear from her eye and sighed contently. While things didn’t go as expected, she was so happy to finally see Cheese do what he set out to do and propose to Pinkie. The day had indeed ended on a high note.
That night, everyone gathered around in the dining area of Sugarcube Corner for craft-making with rocks that Pinkie, Maud and Spike brought home. They also began working on a few things to use for Pinkie and Cheese’s wedding. Flurry took a short break from all the fun to go off and write her first official friendship report letter to Twilight:
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Today I’ve learned, that sometimes we try too hard at pleasing others and planning for things to be perfect. Whether it be a birthday party, a special gift, or even a wedding proposal, if we overthink it, we only end up burdening ourselves. If that special one in your life really loves you, they should have faith in the thought that counts. It’s more about the message you want to convey than the execution. Sometimes less really is more.
Your niece,
Flurry Heart
After she finished writing her letter, she rolled it up into a scroll and handed it to Spike.
“There’s my first letter to Twilight, Spike. I can’t wait for her to read it!” she said.
“Oh Spike! Before I forget, could you send this letter to Twilight too? I’d love it if she’d officiate for me and Cheese at the wedding!” Pinkie said, handing Spike a scroll of her own.
“Sure thing, Pinkie! Twilight’s going to be so excited when she hears about you guys!” Spike said, combining both scrolls and then blowing his fire at them.
The scrolls disintegrated and flew out the window, up to Canterlot.
Inside her castle, Twilight was discussing a few things with Tarsus and Tibia: changeling delegates that Thorax had sent. Tarsus was a male changeling who was tall and green and resembled a praying mantis while Tibia, the female, was shorter and resembled a ladybug. She was seated at her throne while they spoke to her.
“Pharynx has doubled our guard around the borders of the castle. The Queen wouldn’t dare come that close.” Tarsus said to Twilight.
“And with your permission, we’re sending sentinels to keep an eye on any weddings taking place this summer. We don’t want to have a repeat of the Canterlot Wedding Invasion.” added Tibia.
“Thank you, both of you.” Twilight said, gratefully.
“It was our pleasure, Princess.” Tarsus said as they bowed to her. “Scutellum is relentless, but he’s a fool to underestimate the Equestrian armies.”
“I would be a little more concerned about him if he is reunited with Chrysalis, but I am confident that we…oh?”
Twilight looked to the side to see a scroll appear right next to her. She grabbed it with her magic and took a quick look at it.
“Oh my goodness! Flurry’s sent her first letter! Oh, I’m sorry, you two. It’s just my niece is going on a bit of a friendship quest and she’s sending me letters about her findings.” Twilight said to the changelings.
“That’s fine, your highness. We’re done with our business here anyway.” Tibia said as she and Tarsus got ready to leave.
“Thank you for your time and tell Thorax I’m very happy for all the hard work he’s done for us!” Twilight called to them as they smiled to her and waved.
She then drew her attention to the letter in her hand and read it to herself, smiling as she went. She put her hoof over her heart and sighed contently.
“That’s a great lesson you learned, Flurry.” she said. “That’s definitely something a lot of ponies can…oh, what’s this? A second letter? Oh, it’s from Pinkie Pie. She’s…wait…she and Cheese are getting married?! AND THEY WANT ME TO PRESIDE OVER THE WEDDING?!?! AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!! PINKIE, I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!”
Twilight leapt from her chair and flew around in midair, screaming in delight. Suddenly, two of her guards burst in through the door to see what the commotion was about.
“PRINCESS!!! Is everything alright?!” the first one asked.
“We came as fast as we could!” the other one said.
“Oh, sorry, guys.” Twilight said, bashfully. “It’s just another one of my friends just told me she’s getting married and they want me to officiate!”
“Oh, Princess. Dreadfully sorry. We thought something had happened to you.” The first guard said, putting his hoof behind his head.
“Something did happen.”
Twilight looked down at a small photograph of Pinkie and Cheese with the Cakes, Maud, Spike and Flurry that was included in the letter.
“Something wonderful.”
The End