//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Cheese Sandwich // Story: A Sparkle's Little Dusk II: The Shining Path // by Mister E-Nonymous //------------------------------// Chapter 17: Cheese Sandwich Pinkie Pie arose from her bed and the first thing she saw was her calendar. On today's schedule, the day was marked "Rainbow Dash's Birthday". She smiled widely, and headed over towards the area where the Tri-Pies were sleeping in their individual mattresses. They were all snoring, with Cherry inhaling, Blueberry exhaling, and Raspberry humming. Pinkie giggled at their antics, and went over to wake them up. "Up and at 'em, girls!" Pinkie said. "It's time to get up! We got a party to plan for Rainbow Dash!" Then the Tri-Pies got up and smiled. They jumped out of their beds and landed in front of Pinkie Pie, standing in attention. That made Pinkie Pie giggle. "Okay. Now, today is Dashie's birthday, and we must make this extra super-duper special! Okay girls?!" "Yes, Mom!" the Tri-Pies said in unison. "Good," Pinkie said. "You three are going to be a big part on helping out on Dashie's birthday party. Let's go!" Pinkie then rushed out. The Tri-Pies took a look at the calendar. Raspberry Pie leaned towards her sisters and asked, "Should we tell Mom that on this day, Dad comes to town?" Cherry and Blueberry thought about it, then just shook their heads, saying, "Nah." Then all three of them laughed and headed downstairs. Pinkie had prepared breakfast for the Tri-Pies and they all discussed on what they were going to plan for Rainbow Dash. Planning to make this the best party ever for her. Dusk, Nyx and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were walking through the streets of Ponyville. Scootaloo was holding a comic book in her hooves. A Power Ponies comic book. "Seriously?" Scootaloo asked. "You two, Spike, Twilight and her friends all got sucked into a Power Ponies comic book and got to be characters in there?" "Yep," said Nyx. "But it was way more intense than I thought it was going to be." "Yeah, especially when Fluttershy became a hulking beast," said Dusk. "I don't know who's scarier, Fluttershy as Saddle Rager, or the Hulk." "The what?" Apple Bloom asked. "The Hulk is a fictional character from my old world," said Dusk. "He was once a scientist named Bruce Banner, exposed to high level Gamma Radiation. And whenever he gets mad, he gets really big, really muscular, and his skin turns green. And the more angrier he gets, the stronger he gets. The military thinks he's dangerous and wants him taken down, but really, he's a hero, trying to help people." "Yeesh," said Sweetie Belle. "At least his heart is in the right place. Too bad nobody else saw it." "Well, people outside the military saw it," said Dusk. Then they looked around the place. "Wow. Pinkie and the Tri-Pies have done very well on planning this party!" "Well, at least the Tri-Pies aren't like the Pinkie Clones," said Scootaloo. Then all five of them shuddered. Sweetie Belle noticed Nyx shiver as well and asked, "Wait, you saw that, too?" "I saw it right after I got changed back into this size," Nyx said. She looked around and saw the decorations. She then saw Pinkie Pie, sad and alone. "Hey, what's Pinkie Pie doing over there?" The others looked towards Pinkie and were confused. "That's... odd," said Dusk. Then the five of them headed over towards Pinkie, who didn't hear them coming. "Hey, Pinkie? What's wrong? I thought you were going to plan Rainbow Dash's party." Pinkie looked towards Dusk, Nyx and the Crusaders, who were looking at her confusedly. Pinkie then responded with a fake happy tone, "Oh, nothing's wrong. I just came here to... to..." She wasn't fooling the five of them. She then sighed and said, "A new party pony has come to Ponyville, and is doing a better job than I am. He... even got everypony to help him out instead of me." The five of them looked over and saw a new pony in town. "Are you kidding me?!" Dusk asked. "There's a pony version of him?" "Of who?" Sweetie Belle asked. "In my world, there's a famous musician that looks like him. Al Yankovic was his name," said Dusk. "He enjoyed making parodies of different songs, ridiculous music videos, an even dressing up in ridiculous outfits." "Wow," said Scootaloo. "He sounds as weird as Pinkie." "No argument here," said Pinkie. "Well, his stage name is 'Weird Al' Yankovic," said Dusk. "And that pony over there looks like him from head to hoof. I'd be surprised if he had the same voice." "Come on, everypony!" came the voice of Cheese Sandwich. He was rolling through town on a giant wheel of cheese. "Let's continue decorating the town!" "Are you kidding me?" Dusk asked. "His voice, too?" "Wow," said Sweetie Belle. "What are the odds?" "I... I have to go somewhere," Pinkie said. She then started running away, without zooming like she usually does. Dusk, Nyx an the Crusaders were worried about Pinkie Pie. "Ah hope Pinkie Pie is gonna be okay," Apple Bloom said. "She seems to be down a lot." "She's just afraid of being replaced," came the voice of Cherry Pie. Dusk, Nyx and the CMC saw the Tri-Pies walking towards them. "She was really looking forward to planning Rainbow Dash's party," said Blueberry. "But things will get better later," said Raspberry. "Okay," said Nyx. "But, how do you know all of this?" "I get that they're from the future in an alternate Equestria," Dusk said, "but how much do you know about this day?" "Our father told us about this day," said Raspberry. She then pulled a picture out of her mane and said, "Here's a family photo when the three of us were babies." The group took a look at the photo and were surprised on who was in there. "Cheese Sandwich is your father?!" Dusk, Nyx and the Crusaders asked in unison. The Tri-Pies responded by nodding vigorously. "Wow," said Nyx. "You three must've been hard to handle when you were babies." "You got that right," said Cherry. "One baby is fine. Twins are troubling. And triplets are extremely difficult." Nyx whispered into Dusk's ear, "Just be glad you were the only pony that Twilight gave birth to at the time." Dusk smirked and nodded. "So, when are ya going to tell Pinkie that he's yer pa?" Apple Bloom asked. "Maybe tonight, before we go to bed," the Tri-Pies said in unison, and smirking. Dusk, Nyx and the Cutie Mark Crusaders rolled their eyes, smiled and shook their heads. Dusk then said, "Hopefully, things will get better." Later that day, Pinkie had challenged Cheese Sandwich to a Goof Off. Which made it more difficult for Pinkie to make Rainbow Dash smile, since she was the judge. Pinkie had forfeited just because she wasn't making Rainbow Dash smile. But, when Pinkie Pie was about to leave, hoping that the Cakes would take care of the Tri-Pies, Cheese Sandwich, the rest of the Mane 6, Dusk, Nyx, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the Tri-Pies were there. But then Cheese Sandwich started explaining something he kept from Pinkie all day. Then the two of them started planning the party together, making the party the best party Rainbow Dash had. But later that night, Pinkie was given Cheese's rubber chicken, Boneless. But when Cheese Sandwich left, Pinkie made a joke, saying that she never got his name. But then the others reminded her, angrily. But then, she and the Tri-Pies went into her bedroom in Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie was about to tuck the three of them into bed, but then they said something first. "Mom, there's something else you need to know about Cheese Sandwich," said Cherry Pie. "What is it, girls?" Pinkie asked. "Show her, Raspberry," Blueberry said. "Okay," said Raspberry. She then pulled the baby picture of the Tri-Pies from her mane, and showed it to her. Pinkie was surprised at what she saw. "Cheese Sandwich is your father?!" Pinkie shouted very quietly. That made the Tri-Pies nod. "Wow. That would be something I would have to look forward to." "You have no idea," said the Tri-Pies in unison. "Well, I should see him again sometime," said Pinkie Pie. "If I knew where he lived." "He doesn't live anywhere yet," said Cherry. "He's always travelling," said Blueberry. "It'll be a while until he settles down somewhere," said Raspberry. "Well, okay," said Pinkie, kissing the three of them on the head. "Hopefully, things will be back to normal soon. Good night girls." "Night, mom!" said the Tri-Pies in unison. Then the three of them got into their beds, and fell asleep. Pinkie then got into her own bed, and went to sleep.