//------------------------------// // Arriving in Ponyville // Story: Seeing Pink // by Alto Spark //------------------------------// Cheese Sandwich had just arrived on top of a hill above Ponyville and was watching the sleeping town from afar. The thatched rooftops could only be seen when the dim moonlight was set upon them. Cheese didn't know the time, but he was guessing it was near 2 am. Why had he come back again to the source of his inspiration? He thought he had gotten his closure last time he came here. Regret filled the lanky stallion, who was dressed in a grey hat and a poncho, patterned with different shades of grey. "Should we turn back, Boneless Two? ... Nah, it's no use going back now", Cheese said to his rubber chicken on a tiny saddle, or rather to himself, since his companion was just a rubber chicken. A while ago Cheese was still sleeping under a tree near Las Pegasus after a long day of walking, planning epic parties and partying in said parties. Suddenly his Cheesy Sense had gone off and woken him up to tell him to go to Ponyville, but this wasn't the usual kind of doozy he gets for parties in the middle of planning. Cheese had never gotten that kind of spasms before in his life. They were more mild and nudging than jittery and jumpy. This caught the stallion's curiosity and he headed immediately towards Ponyville. He was having a really weird dream and wanted to get out of it anyways. And now he was standing on top of the hill, really tired and contemplating whether to give up or give in. Cheese somehow managed to get his hooves going after a long time and eventually accelerated to trotting, since the hill was quite steep. Of course nopony was up at this time, but Cheese could just wait under a tree or something for the break of dawn. Celestia's rising of the Sun is quite beautiful. All the lights were out of the wooden buildings in Ponyville. A sign at the front of the town said: "Ponyville ~ Where ponies come together" Cheese chuckled at the rather corny slogan. Cheese liked Ponyville. He liked its quiet nights and busy days. He liked how the ponies were friendly and welcoming. The houses looked cozy and homely. If the stallion would ever settle down, it would probably be in Ponyville. Though he likes to think he never will. Cheese looked around for a moment. There were lots of trees to sit under. He chose to sit under one with a good view to the horizon. The stallion sat on his haunches and sighed. "Why am I doing this?" he groaned. "What did the sense even mean?" Cheese looked back at Boneless Two. It made him think of Pinkie Pie. Actually, he thought about her pretty often nowadays. There was tingling in his stomach. He felt something weird, but he couldn't quite put his hoof on what it was. In the distance Cheese could barely see a clock tower. Somehow he managed to see the time. It was 3 am. Surely some early bird would wake up soon and tell him if there was a big party coming up or anything out of the ordinary. "Hi!" Cheese jumped a few feet off the ground startled from the high-pitched voice suddenly near his ear. He came down using his poncho as a parachute with a goofy expression on his face. His hat had jumped from his head as well, revealing his poofy dark brown mane. His crests settled on the both sides of his neck. Somehow Boneless Two stayed on its little saddle. Cheese turned around to see Pinkie Pie standing there with a huge happy-go-lucky smile on her face. "Whoa, Pinkie, I, uh, didn't see you there." Cheese's cheeks burned up, either from embarrassment or... "Oops, sorry if I startled you, Cheesy!" The mare obviously couldn't hold in her excitement. "When I saw you I became just so so so excited and I couldn't hold it in!" There was an awkward silence with Cheese still blushing. "Soooo... What're you doing here?" Pinkie asked, rolling her eyes. "M-my Cheesy Sense told me to come. Is there a big party coming up?" Cheese put on a confused look and moved his glance at the ground. He had never stuttered before. "Hmm..." Pinkie tapped her chin. "Well, not anything super-duper big..." Now Cheese turned to look at Pinkie for a moment. The scarlet on his face grew larger. He was at a loss for words. "What's the matter?" Cheese feared he would blurt out something stupid and turned his head away from Pinkie. "I don't know." Pinkie was very confused then. Cheese wasn't shy. Or was he? Pinkie thought about this for a moment, looking at Cheese with her brows lowered. "What are you doing up this early anyways?" Cheese managed to say finally. Pinkie giggled with a snort. "Just when I was going to bed, my Pinkie Sense told me something great is gonna happen tonight! So I ran out of the house immediately and I've been hopping all around Ponyville" – she started hopping – "waiting for the thing to happen!" Pinkie stopped hopping with her hooves spread. She smiled brightly, her big blue eyes looking at Cheese full of excitement. Cheese made a big mistake by looking at the mare. He gasped. Pinkie's perfectly poofy and bouncy mane waved in the slight wind. Her eyes were shiny and bright like dew drops on leaves. And that smile was just so beautiful. She was beautiful. Pinkie stood normally and tilted her head. "Seriously, what's up?" Cheese picked up his hat quickly and hid his face behind it. "Nothing." Pinkie didn't believe it but she didn't think more asking would make him answer properly. "Anyways, since you're here and all, why don't you stay for a while? It would be super fun having you here! You could stay at Sucarcube Corner and we could have a pajama party and... Oh, oh! Tomorrow we could throw a really big party and invite all of Ponyville there!" Pinkie flailed her hooves on the last sentence. *squee* Cheese still had his hat in front of his face. "That sounds great..." "You don't sound very excited", Pinkie mentioned. "Believe me, I am", Cheese murmured to himself so quietly that Pinkie couldn't hear what he said. Pinkie shrugged. "Let's go then!" She started hopping towards Sucarcube Corner. She stopped for a moment to say: "Also, I think you are the great thing that was gonna happen to me tonight." Then she continued hopping away. Cheese started following her walking slowly and put his hat on his head, revealing his fully red face.