Cheerilee trotted down the dirt track that led from Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres. She'd considered turning around once or twice, but this was it. She had come to a decision. Sure, that whole mess with the love potion had been an incredibly awkward experience that at the time had been something that she'd wanted to repress and never think about again. It wasn't like Big Macintosh wasn't a fine stallion, and he had always been a pony that she'd been happy to have as a part of her life as a friend. He'd just never come across as an exciting prospect as a romantic partner. At least that was what she had thought until she'd heard that incredible voice raised in song. If she’d have known about that incredible talent back on the last Hearts and Hooves day, then she wouldn’t have given those clever little girls chores, instead they’d have been getting straight A’s for the rest of the time that they were in her classes.
She was just dreaming of what her fourth foal would look like, a pretty pegasus filly, she’d decided—Cheerilee had always hoped that she’d be able to have not just earth pony foals regardless of the father, thanks to a pegasus grandfather on her mother’s side—when she realised that she was not trotting along the path alone.
“Where are you going?” Pinkie Pie asked, as she bounced along aside Cheerilee with her eyes wide and sparkling in the sunlight.
It did cross Cheerilee’s mind that heading in this direction there literally was only one possible destination in Sweet Apple Acres, as the road out was on the other side of town, but figured it was just Pinkie being Pinkie. That usually explained a lot.
“I’m going to tell Big Macintosh how I feel about him!” Cheerilee said, her heart singing. She was resisting the urge to skip along like a filly with her first crush she was so happy.
“I thought you were just friends!” Pinkie asked guilelessly, being the mare that knew about every single relationship in town. “What changed, and can I throw a party when he says yes?”
“I know, I know, but hearing him sing!” Cheerilee said. She still felt weak at the knees just thinking about it, and fanned herself with a hoof. “Everything is different now.”
A darkness crossed over Pinkie’s eyes, and extinguished the sparkles, as the sides of her mouth twitched upwards. “Oh, didn’t you know?”
“What?” Cheerilee said, her head snapping round to look at Pinkie properly.
“Big Macintosh lost his voice, and that was Fluttershy doing the singing from behind the stage,” Pinkie explained. “It’s how her voice gets when she’s on the poison joke.”
“Oh...” Cheerilee slowly came to a halt. The voice that had captured her heart wasn’t attached to Big Macintosh, it wasn’t even attached to a stallion at all, but to a mare that she really didn't know all that well. Her ears flattened and her head dipped, the music that had been playing within her completely extinguished by Pinkie's words.
“Just thought that you should know,” Pinkie said, and then bounced away. “La di la di la,” she sung aloud tunelessly, until she disappeared out of sight.
“Thanks,” Cheerilee said to the empty grass around her, and turned to trudge slowly back to Ponyville.
~~~
When Cheerilee had a moral crisis, she did what she normally did, and promptly went to moan about it to her sister.
“Well, I don’t see the problem,” Berry Punch said, lifting a tankard to her lips for a big gulp. “If I wasn’t happily married I’d have tried to have hit up that choice flank ages ago.” She wiped some wine from her lips and grinned. “Then she does tend to squeak and hide when I’m around so that might have been a bit tricky,” she admitted, and looked thoughtful. "I think I might intimidate her."
Cheerilee favoured her sister with her long-practiced death glare that all younger sisters swiftly perfect. Especially for elder siblings that already have partners while you remain depressingly single, and your mother mentions it every single bloody time that you see her.
“It’s not that simple,” Cheerilee protested. “I barely know her, anyway I like stallions!”
“She did used to be a model, y’know,” Berry replied, and leered.
“Stallions, stallions, stallions!” Cheerilee shouted, putting her hooves in her ears, and then swiftly removing them when she realised her chant had attracted the presence of her sister’s daughter Pinchy, who was now giving her a very odd look.
“How long have you been single by the way?” Berry asked helpfully.
Cheerilee muttered something unintelligible from her new position with her head buried in her hooves on the table.
“And you know how much happier I’ve been since I finally tied the knot with Colgate,” Berry said. “This is only my third one of the day,” she added proudly, waving the tankard.
Pinchy nodded in support to back up her much more sober than previously mommy.
“Have I ever mentioned how much I preferred it when I was the successful teacher, and you were the town drunk?” Cheerilee asked, from her position face down on the table.
“C’mon, up and at ‘em, tiger,” Berry said, and tapped her sister on the head until she finally moved.
~~~
Having left her sister’s house, Cheerilee spotted the Carousel Boutique, and decided that it wouldn’t be the worst of ideas to talk to one of Fluttershy’s friends first.
She pushed upon the door setting the little bell above it to jingle.
“Coming!” Rarity called out. She appeared from a doorway sporting a pair of red glasses, and several bits of fabric trailing in her aura behind her. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic—” Rarity broke off her normal patter as she recognised her old classmate from back when they’d both been blank flank fillies. They'd been close friends once when they'd been younger, even if they'd drifted apart somewhat after leaving school. “Hello, Cheers,” she said, recalling the nickname that'd always annoyed her old friend so much. ”I hope that you're not planning to take out another one of my walls again?" she added teasingly, with her eyes dancing.
“Hey, Rares,” Cheerilee said, wandering in and flopped straight down on Rarity’s fainting couch. “You’re still straight, right?”
Rarity choked, but a mare of her social graces was never nonplussed for long. “Last time I checked,” she replied with a grin full of happy memories. “Why do you ask?”
‘You wouldn’t think of changing your mind if you met the right mare?” Cheerilee said, face down once more. “Say the kind of mare that, as it turns out, can make your insides go all gooey with just her voice?”
“That’s a very specific question, Cheers,” Rarity said, raising an eyebrow.
Not hearing any response, she thought about it for a bit. “I’m not sure I ever could myself, but it sounds like you very much could,” Rarity finally said.
Cheerilee rolled off the couch and back on to her hooves, with her jaw set in determination. “Right,” she said. “Thanks, Rares.”
Rarity watched Cheerilee heading out, and headed back to contest with the dress that had been resisting her efforts all morning. “I wonder what that was about?” she idly said out loud to her cat Opal, and then got back to work. She'd have plenty of time to look into this mysterious crush, and of course, mine every single inch of juicy gossip that she could find later.
~~~
She had been all set to march straight in the direction of the cottage to sort this whole mess out in her head, but catching the sight of a familiar large red mass moving through the market, prompted an immediate change of plans.
Big Macintosh had just been hoofing over some bits for a new box of nails when Cheerilee caught up with him.
“Big Mac!” she said, gasping slightly after her mad gallop through Ponyville.
His face lit up as he turned to greet his old friend. “Why hello there, Miss Cheerilee,” he said, dipping his head respectfully.
“Big Mac, I need you to sing something for me!” said Cheerilee, looking manic enough that it was beginning to draw attention in the crowded market.
“Ee-what?” he said, giving her a look.
“Please,” Cheerilee asked. “Don’t ask why, but it’s important.”
Big Macintosh looked like he was going to argue, but a life time dealing with his sister and her friends, not to mention that Wonderbolt that kept following him around, meant he was well used to irrational things coming from the mouths of mares. Compared to attempting to buck the entire orchard solo, or pretending to be a farm pony to win over some out-of-towner nutcase, a random song request was pretty low down on the scale.
“Heya, Noteworthy,” he called out, “can you give me some backup here?”
The blue stallion wandered over, and not needing to be asked twice to show off his talents, launched straight into a smooth acapella that had several nearby mares quickly giving him impressed looks.
Big Macintosh started belting out one of the Ponytones songs and soon the whole market had been brought to a complete halt as they turned to listen to the wonderful bass singing tone ringing out across the town.
Cheerilee let herself listen to the music, and waited for the swoon that sure to be coming. Anytime soon... anytime... and nothing. She was enjoying the performance of course, as Big Macintosh had an amazing set of lungs on him, and she had no idea Noteworthy could vocalise so well on top of playing the sax, but compared to that voice that had been so incredibly alive with the sheer joy at the act of creating music that had knocked her flat on her back, it just wasn’t doing anything for her.
She let out a frustrated scream, spun on her hooves and stormed off out of the market towards the woods, her tail lashing behind her.
Noteworthy and Big Macintosh watched her go as they brought their song to an end.
“Mares be crazy,” Noteworthy said, getting several annoyed looks from the same ponies that had just been enjoying his performance.
“Eeeyup.”
~~~
Cheerilee had been standing in front of Fluttershy’s cottage to the point that the bear in the garden was beginning to take an interest. Eventually she decided there was nothing for it and knocked. Anyway, any longer and the many birds around would have come in to a new roost.
“Mind if I come in?” she said, inwardly hoping that Fluttershy might be out.
The top part of the door swung in and Fluttershy’s face appeared. “Oh, Cheerilee!” she said, and opened the other part of the door. “Of course, I’ve just finished feeding all the animals. Would you like some tea?”
“Not now, Fluttershy...” Cheerilee said, slowly walking into the yellow lion’s den. “Do you mind if we both sat down?”
“Okay,” Fluttershy said, a little uncertainly, and beckoned for Cheerilee to join her on her sofa.
Cheerilee breathed in and out a few times. “Pinkie told me that you were singing for Big Macintosh as part of the Ponytones?”
“Yes, um, she’s not around is she?” Fluttershy asked, looking around the cottage to make sure no pink ponies had followed the teacher in, or indeed might be hiding somewhere. “I’m sure she doesn’t mean it, not Pinkie Pie, but she said such terribly hurtful things, and I...” Fluttershy ducked below her mane. “I might be avoiding her,” she added so quietly that Cheerilee had to strain to hear it.
“No, it’s just me,” Cheerilee said, smiling reassuringly. “Your performance was like something I’ve never heard before,” Cheerilee said excitedly, giving into the urge to gush a little. "I had no idea that you could be so passionate."
Fluttershy's eyes glowed at the praise. “Thank you. I guess, if it’s just you, and nopony else,” she said, and visibly steeled her nerves. “I think I’d be okay to give you a repeat performance, of course only if you want me to, on the stage my friends set up out back. I’ve still got some of the poison joke mixture that Zecora mixed up. It wouldn’t sound anywhere near as good if it is just me and without Rarity, Torch Song, and Toe Tapper singing along though,” she admitted.
Cheerilee’s head screamed ‘yes!’ and started to do the most enthusiastic and/or embarrassing dance that she could remember from her youth, luckily her lips and the rest of her body were a lot more sensible. “Not right now,” she said, raising a hoof reluctantly. “You see I found myself quite... moved by your performance in a way I’ve never thought of before. Please, I have to ask, are you seeing anypony?”
Fluttershy leaned back on the sofa and flushed pink. “No, why..." The pink swiftly burned into crimson, and the mare shook herself a few times. When Cheerilee was beginning to think that she'd broken the other mare entirely by asking such a forward question, she said, "Why do you ask?” Her voice was timid, but Cheerilee had just enough wits left to notice that the other mare’s eyes were currently tracing the contours of her cutie mark.
“Err...” Cheerilee failed to say anything. She’d never been any good at this.
“Are you sure you don’t want that tea?” Fluttershy asked, her wings had flared and she was clearly looking for an opportunity to bolt, as far as Cheerilee understood pegasus body language.
Cheerilee pulled her eyes away from the white bunny that was doing gestures behind Fluttershy’s head that she was sure that no civilised rabbit should know. “I was wondering... I was thinking..." She paused. "Maybe you’d like to go dancing sometime?" she blurted out quickly in one unbroken sentence.
“Really?” Fluttershy replied after all of about two seconds. “Oh yes, very much so, if you really wouldn't mind” Fluttershy said, putting her hooves around Cheerilee’s neck and pulling her into a hug. Fluttershy's forehead creased. "Um... not that I want to intrude or anything, and it's totally alright if you don't want to say anything about it... but, aren't you getting married to Big Macintosh?"
Cheeriee stared at Fluttershy with her mouth hanging open.
"I mean I really, really think that I could like you," Fluttershy said quietly, with her eyes hooded. "But I'd hate to upset Big Macintosh, he's such a nice, gentle stallion. Applejack would be mad too, and ponies would say such nasty things behind our backs." She sighed. "Oh Fluttershy, you naughty home-wrecker you," she added softly to herself.
"Fluttershy," Cheerilee said seriously, still holding the other mare in her hooves. "I'm not with Big Macintosh. He really is just a friend."
Fluttershy's lips pursed, and the light of hope came back into her eyes. "And you do like mares..." she flushed scarlet again. "Y'know, that way?"
"I don't," Cheerilee said, and then quickly added, as she saw Fluttershy's face start to fall, "But for the mare that can sing like that... That disguised voice may have got my notice, but it turns out that it was the joy of performing that I fell for, and for a mare who can do that, now her I'm certainly willing to give a chance."
"Oh, that's wonderful," Fluttershy said excitedly. “Twilight’s always saying how clever you are, and you seem so nice to the foals at the school, so I’m sure that you’ll get along well with all my nature friends.”
Cheerilee reluctantly pulled away as she felt her heart twist inside her. “Maybe this won’t work after all.”
“But why?”
“I’ve always wanted foals of my own,” Cheerilee said, her eyes distant. “My sister has Pinchy and now she’s got her life together I barely get to dote on her at all like I used to. I know we could adopt, but...”
“Oh,” Fluttershy said, and shook her head, “that’s not a problem at all!”
“What?”
“I was just talking to Twilight about this last week actually,” Fluttershy said, growing more and more excited. “Trixie wants to wait, as she’s on the road with her shows so much as it is, and Twilight does have her new responsibilities as a princess that she’s still getting used to, but they’ve already picked out a spell to allow them to have a foal of their own for when they’re ready. I think Twilight said that they’d already decided on the name of Midnight, so they’ve clearly put some thought on it.”
“Back up a second or so there, please,” Cheerilee said, as her brain attempted to translate that combination of words into something that related to reality as she knew it. “You did say Trixie, right? That itinerant magician, fond of talking in the third pony, almost destroyed the town twice? That Trixie?”
“She really is very nice when you get to know her,” Fluttershy said, smiling softly.
“And Twilight is convinced that’ll work?” she said, completely stunned inwardly that such a thing was possible. Even with freaky unicorn magic involved, that sounded right at the top of the scale for freakiness. A thought crossed her mind that maybe the spell involved gifted parts, and then a certain combination of that particular thought, plus Fluttershy, and along with that voice appeared in her mind’s eye and the room suddenly got a whole lot warmer.
“Very much so, yes,” Fluttershy replied certainly.
Maybe it really could work out, Cheerilee thought, as she leaned in and stole a kiss from Fluttershy’s lips. There was an utterly adorable noise somewhere between a squeak and a gasp, and then Fluttershy lunged forward so fast for a kiss of her own that they both fell off the sofa and onto the floor giggling.
“OH COME ON!”
It was loud, it was considerably annoyed, it was Pinkie Pie, who had just extracted herself from out of a bird house that seemed far too small to contain her pony frame.
“Pinkie Pie!” Cheerilee and Fluttershy exclaimed together in clear surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Pinkie threw a savage kick at the bird house behind her, crumpling it with a crunch, and sending its inhabitants fleeing with an annoyed chirp.
“You’re supposed to be getting upset at not having the non-existent stallion of your dreams!” Pinkie said, pointing an accusing hoof at Cheerilee. “And you should be crying again,” Pinkie said, rounding on Fluttershy. "As since when can you deal with any form of attention?”
Fluttershy gasped. “You’re... You’re not Pinkie! What have you done with her?”
The pink mare’s grin twisted into something feral. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she said, and let out a giggle that had absolutely nothing to do with humour.
“What are you?” Cheerilee said, moving forward to stand protectively in front of Fluttershy. “Are you a changeling?”
“Do me! Do me!” the pink mare laughed, and then her smile disappeared entirely. “Nope, try again,” she said, in a sing-song voice.
“You’re from that pool,” Fluttershy whispered.
“Bingo!” the Pinkie shouted, causing Fluttershy to cringe back. “Somepony get that mare a muffin.”
“But why?” Cheerilee asked. “Surely Fluttershy didn’t do anything to you?”
“She didn’t have to,” the Pinkie said darkly. “I was lucky, I’d seduced Fancy Pants and had been taken back to Canterlot while all my sisters were being banished on back to that boring dank cave. When I got back, and found out what had happened... well, I might have got a little upset,” she said, the fires of total insanity dancing in her eyes. “I couldn’t hurt Pinkie. She doesn’t care anything for herself, she’d barely even notice if I went after her, the silly mare, but going after her friends though, now that’ll hit her where it really hurts!”
“Why are you telling us all this?” Fluttershy asked softly, clinging closer to the reassuring presence of Cheerilee.
“Because you’ll never know!” the mirror pony said, and cackled. “Anytime ol’ Pinkie Pie is acting just that little bit off then it just might be me. Or maybe it’s just Pinkie being Pinkie. Who knows!” A calculating look formed on her face. “In fact with that Flutter-suit of hers that she whipped up for the crystal empire, then I could even be you, I could be any of your friends in fact, just acting that little bit out of character to make you all completely miserable. BWA-HAHAH!” She let loose a truly maniacal laugh. “And you’ll never stop me! NOPONY CAN STOP ME!”
“Ahem,” came a voice from Fluttershy’s doorway.
It was Twilight Sparkle and her horn was already glowing bright as a half-formed spell danced upon it. Standing next to her was another Pinkie Pie, this one crouched low and growling like a diamond dog who had just had a very bad day and was about to inflict it on as many soon-to-be bodies as was physically possible.
The mirror clone turned. “Oh, bugger,” she said, seeing the look on Twilight’s and Pinkie’s faces.
“Anything you’d like to say?” Twilight asked, her horn tracking the mirror pony’s every movements.
She just giggled in response, shrugged in resignation, and then started to expand outwards. There was a pop and a blue light flashed out of the room through an open window. There was the faintest sound of laughter as it went, and then it was gone like it had never been there in the first place.
There was a moment of silence as the four ponies in the room exchanged looks.
“I’m going to have a long talk with Rainbow Dash,” Twilight muttered, as she let the spell that she’d kept ready harmlessly fade away. “She assured me repeatedly that she’d got them all.”
“She didn’t hurt you, did she?” Pinkie asked, her eyes glistening now that whatever the danger was had passed.
“No,” Fluttershy said, her voice shaking a little. “Um... do you think that she’s gone for good? You did seal off that mirror pool, didn’t you?”
“Her magic should just disperse if she can’t get through that boulder. Just in case, we’ll just have to watch out for her,” Twilight said. “After all, the price of friendship is eternal vigilance,” she added solemnly, and then laughed at herself. “Hey, that’s not bad. Maybe I can get a good journal entry out of that.” She pulled out a scroll and quill from her satchel, and started jotting down notes.
“Where have you been, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked.
“I went to visit my sisters back at the rock farm for a week. Inkie was pregnant and I wanted to be there to see the new addition to the Pie family. The little foal is so cute, she looks just like one of my sisters." Pinkie's face went unexpectedly grim. "The one that we never talk about." She quickly snapped out of it, and was back to her usual happy smiles, and continued her story. "When I got back I bumped into Twilight, and when I asked how things had been going her eyes near popped out of her head.”
“That was when we realised things were wrong,” Twilight said, picking up the thread. “Connected a few dots and we came right here.” Twilight blinked a few times, as if finally noting the fourth pony in the room. “Cheerilee, what are you doing here anyway? Do you need some help on animal care for a class, because I have got textbooks back at the library, y’know?” she added, a little accusingly.
“Um, no,” Cheerilee said, wishing she had the long mane to hide behind like Fluttershy.
“We were just going to get back to what we were doing before we were interrupted, if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy said kindly, but firmly. “Have a nice day you two,”
“Oh, oh!” Twilight said her eyes widening. “C’mon, Pinkie.”
“But we just got here?” Pinkie said, her tongue sticking out in her lack of comprehension.
“I’ll explain on the way back to town,” Twilight said, and shepherded Pinkie out of the room with the skill born of long practice. “Lets just say I think you’ll have the opportunity to throw a party very soon.”
“Woo! I love surprise parties. Okay, normally I love throwing surprise parties, but I’m sure that throwing a party for a surprise reason would be just as good...”
Fluttershy and Cheerilee listened for a while as the sounds of the real Pinkie’s stream of consciousness faded away into the distance.
“You really want to just pick straight up where we left off?” Cheerilee said, leaning in close to the other mare.
Fluttershy took Cheerilee’s face between her hooves and kissed her hard.
When Fluttershy finally pulled away, leaving them both breathing heavily, she asked “What do you think?”
Cheerilee smiled back, as she figured that maybe this just might work out nicely after all, and willingly leaned in for another.