Sunlight cascaded down onto the meadow where Cheese Sandwich stood. He was expertly balancing on a circus ball and juggling a few cheese wheels. Sure he had done this trick a multitude of times before, but this was the first time he had attempted it in over a month. He could not help but smile at how easy it was coming back to him.
"Hiya Cheesie." Once again, Pinkie Pie materialized before Cheese. She was sporting that perfectly honed grin of hers and had two large saddlebags slung over her back. From what Cheese could gather, they were stuffed to busting with paper and drawing utensils.
"Well good morning Pinkie." Cheese grinned back, as he did a perfect backflip off of the ball and landed in front of Pinkie. Inwardly, his legs cried out in protest. "I was wondering when you'd come."
"Hehe. Sorry about being late Cheesie. But it'll be worth it, I promise." She drew out a large bit of parchment from her saddlebag. "I was thinking. Since we had such an amazing party yesterday, why don't we plan another one for later?"
"Sounds great. Which one are we planning?"
Pinkie giggled and hopped up and down. "Twilight's coronation-versary! It's still three months away but I want it to be the best party she's ever had."
"Neat. So you have any plans?"
Pinkie unfurled one of the rolls of paper, revealing a hodge-podge of colorful drawings and scribbled notes. She frowned at the paper, "I've got way too many Cheesie. I don't know which to choose."
"Hmmm." Cheese looked down at Pinkie's plans. "Seems to me you need to pick a direction. What does the Princess enjoy doing?"
"Well, she likes books. No, more like loves books! She reads them all the time. She's always having me help organize her library. History's her favorite, especially anything with Star Swirl the Bearded. He's her idol."
Cheese chuckled, "Well now. That makes it hard to plan a party."
"You bet. She always likes the parties I throw her but, I can't help thinking I can do better. You know that feeling Cheesie?"
"Yeah, there was this one foal shower in Trottingham… Well, anyway I think what we need to do is take elements from what she likes and put a fun twist on them."
"Oooh, that sounds so fun. How should we start?"
"What if we made a masquerade ball?"
"Oooh, like a Nightmare Night costume party?"
"Well sort of. Everypony would have to dress up as a historical character."
"Then we can have a contest to see who's most historically accurate."
"Now you're thinking Pinkie! And, what if we had a research contest?"
"That doesn't sound too fun Cheesie."
"Hear me out. Ponies would have a race to see who could find a piece of information in a book. Whoever finds it first wins. Besides, we can make them fun books, maybe about parties of the past?"
"Oooh, what about a slip and slide with pudding at the end?"
"Yum. And a karaoke contest on stage with Twilight's favorite songs? We can make the stage like this…" Cheese drew out a pencil and started sketching a wonderfully detailed blueprint.
Pinkie leaned in closer, eyes wide. "Wow Cheesie. How did you learn to draw plans like that?"
Cheese chuckled and flushed, "Well, it's sort of my hobby. I really like to build things, especially with wood. So, drawing up a little stage is nothing for me."
"Cool. I never knew you like building. That's so fun! Can you build houses too?"
"I dunno, maybe? I've never had the chance. Mostly it's just what I need for parties."
"Could we add a secret compartment on the top?"
"Huh? Why would we need that?"
"Well, to drop confetti on the winner of course."
"Good thinking. But, we'll have to be careful not to compromise the support beam…" Cheese happily continued to scribble on the blueprint while Pinkie watched with fascination. Neither of them noticed when a lilac mare landed in front of them.
"Pinkie Pie there you are."
"Here I am! What?" Pinkie could not help but stare at Twilight. The alicorn looked anything but her usual self. Her neck glistened with sweat and her sides were heaving with exertion.
"I've been looking all over town for you two."
"What's going on?" Cheese looked with concern at the harried mare.
"We've got a problem in Ponyville. A colt's gone missing. Snails came to me this morning saying he and Snips got into an argument last night. Neither Snails nor Snip's family knows where he is. The whole town's out searching."
Pinkie gasped and Cheese looked very serious. "What do you need me to do?"
"Well, I was hoping that since Pinkie has her Pinkie sense and you have your Cheesie sense, perhaps you might 'sense' where Snips is."
"I don't think my Cheesie sense works like that. But, I'll look all over Equestria to find that colt."
"Me too. Where do we need to go Twilight?"
"I want you both to search the outskirts of the Everfree forest. See if you can't find Snips there. We'll meet back at the bridge at three o'clock, even if we can't find him. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Good luck you guys." Twilight spread her wings and took to the sky.
"Let's get going." Cheese was already walking down the road.
"Right behind you."
Pinkie was one of the fastest mares in Ponyville but even she was having difficulty keeping up with Cheese. She had to gallop to match Cheese's long strides as they neared their destination. In no time at all, she was lathered with sweat and panting even more than Twilight. "Hey…Cheeseie….can we maybe…slow down just a smidgen?"
Cheese paused. "Sorry about that Pinkie. I guess I forgot you were back there."
"It's…fine." Pinkie collapsed to the ground. "Just let me sit for a bit okay?"
"All right." Cheese looked very anxious and glanced at the forest in front of them. "Say, is this is the forest you were telling me about the other day Pinkie? The one with the poison joke?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm, do you think Snips would have gone in here?"
"No way, Snips is kind of a scaredy pony. Besides, he wouldn't go too far without Snails. They're bestest friends, even if they did have a fight."
"Oh, I see." Cheese started to paw the ground, impatient to get started. "We need to find him Pinkie. He's got to be scared to death."
"We will Cheesie, or at least somepony will. It'll be fine." She hopped to her hooves and grinned at Cheese. "Ready."
The pair set off, Cheese setting a marginally less grueling pace around the perimeter of the forest. They looked in every conceivable place Snips might hide. Cheese could not believe the variety of terrain around Ponyville.
"Boy this is a lot of rocks." Cheese was cautiously stepping through a field of loose rocks piled along the edge of the forest.
"Naw there's not that many."
"What?" Cheese hoisted himself up onto a particularly large boulder and looked around at the sea of rocks. "Looks like plenty to me."
"Oh, there's lots more back home on the rock farm."
"You grew up on a rock farm?" Cheese looked incredulously at Pinkie.
"You bet ya Cheesie!" Pinkie practically glided across the uneven rocks. "Me, my three sisters, and my parents all lived there together."
"Why did you leave?"
"Well, after I got my cutie mark I decided it'd be best to explore. Didn't I tell you how I got my cutie mark Cheesie?"
Cheese shook his head.
"Well, it's a great story…" Pinkie happily told her tale, as the pair maneuvered around the rocky obstacles. Once, they thought they saw a trace of Snips, but it turned out to be an oddly colored rock.
Though Pinkie was as graceful as ever, Cheese found himself struggling to keep solid footing. As he crossed over a loose patch of shale, he felt his legs go out from under him and he tumbled to the earth. He winced and made to stand, only to discover a new pain in his right hind leg.
Pinkie hopped over to him. "Oh my gosh. Are you okay Cheesie?"
"Maybe. My leg feels wrong." Cheese struggled to his hooves, shaking slightly. "I'll be okay. We're here to find Snips, let's get going."
They made their way out of the rock patch, and onto solid ground. For the next few hours, the pair searched to no avail. Cheese grew increasingly agitated, and quickened his pace considerably. "Where could he be?"
"Hey Cheesie, it's almost time, let's go back to the bridge."
"But we haven't found Snips yet. Let's keep looking." Cheese cantered forward, Pinkie galloping behind. His leg was screaming out in pain, but he did not care. Something deep in his mind kept telling him that he could not give up.
"Cheesie, slow down." Pinkie was panting very heavily, running as fast as she could.
With a crash, Cheese stumbled over a root and fell to the ground. He stood cautiously, buckskin coat glistening with sweat, and sides heaving. I've got to find him. He started to move on, when Pinkie Pie stood in front of him.
"What's wrong Cheese?"
"I'm just trying to search. You should be too." Cheese started to push Pinkie out of the way. To his surprise, she pushed back.
"We have been trying. We've been trying for hours. Let's go back, we told Twilight we would."
"But, we've got to find him Pinkie! He'll be all alone, and scared-"
"Cheese. That's enough!" Cheese had never seen Pinkie look so serious before. Her blue eyes stared, flickering with concern. "The only scaredy pony here is you. Look at yourself! You've been running around like crazy for the past hour. I know you Cheese, this isn't you. It's like you're running away from something. So what is it?"
"You wouldn't understand Pinkie." Cheese pushed weakly against Pinkie's side.
Pinkie stared hard into Cheese's green eyes. "Try me."
Cheese slowly bent his head low. "It's not something a kind pony like yourself should hear. Please Pinkie, don't make me say anymore. I'm sorry. You're right, I've been acting crazy." He leaned forward and gently nuzzled Pinkie's neck. "Thanks for stopping me Pinkie."
"Coming?" Cheese called back from where Pinkie stood rooted to the spot. She trotted up, and they slowly moved back towards Ponyville. Cheese began to realize how badly he had hurt himself. Each step was becoming agony, and it was all he could do to keep up with Pinkie's relaxed walk.
Pinkie looked concerned and went to stand by him. "You okay Cheesie?"
"It's my leg, I must have hurt it worse than I thought."
"We'll walk together then." Pinkie stood next to Cheese, and they continued down the road. Though they did not speak, Cheese was inexplicably comforted by the mare's presence.
The sun was low in the sky by the time they reached the bridge. Cheese's leg was now so painful that he was unable to put any weight on it. He hobbled next to Pinkie and stared at the nervous group of mares by the bridge.
Twilight cantered over, "Pinkie, Cheese, what on earth happened?"
"While we were out looking, Cheese hurt his leg."
"Oh no."
The rest of the conversation was a blur to Cheese. The radiating pain seemed to amplify and settle in his head, drowning out the mares' words. He had never felt so sick in his life, and what little strength he had left began to leave his body. Before he knew what was happening, he was lying sprawled on the ground.
There was an awful ringing in his head, and he felt something tugging at him. His vision was clouded over, and all he care about was the immeasurable pain overwhelming his senses. Somehow, out of all the confusion he heard Pinkie's voice. She wanted him to stand, but it was so hard, too hard. I'm trying Pinkie, really I am. A dark cloud enveloped him and he thought no more.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Unfamiliar voices drifted in Cheese's head. "The muscle's badly torn, he'll need surgery."
"I'll prep him now doctor."
By the time he awoke, all was silent. He felt a comfortable warmth and slowly opened his eyes. He was lying in a dimly lit hospital room, the sun was long set and moonlight streamed through the window. He winced and glanced down at his leg, now wrapped in heavy bandages. Moaning, he turned over and was startled to see Boneless 2 lying next to him. How?
He picked up the chicken and held him for a moment, savoring that familiar smell, and something else, bubblegum? A small piece of paper fell from the chicken and he opened it. There was a note, scrawled in very girly writing.
Heya Cheesie!
This is Pinkie if you weren't able to guess already silly. We all wanted to stay to be there when you woke up but the doctors made us leave. Meanies! You tore your muscle really bad and they say you need to stay in the hospital. Anyway, I didn't want you to feel lonely when you woke up so I brought Boneless 2 to keep you company. I hope you don't mind! When I told Twilight you liked to build things, she brought you a book on construction. It's really big, but it has lots of pictures so I thought you'd like it.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that Snips was found safe and sound. He was hiding out in Applejack's storage shed. He sure scared Applebloom when she went to get a rake. His parents were super grateful for everypony's help and Snips seemed just fine. He even made up with Snails. Isn't that great?
Feel better soon.
Your friend,
-Pinkie
Cheese smiled to himself. Is she a mind reader? She really is the most considerate mare in all of Equestria. I wish I could repay her somehow.