Cheese Sandwich kept playing it again and again in his mind, rewinding every time like a tape recorder. Was Pinkie Pie making some kind of advances on him? Why didn’t he back off? And why didn’t he release her hoof straight away?
She was a beautiful mare, yes, but he couldn’t wrap his head around it. The entire ordeal seems familiar though. The same tingly feelings he’s gotten when he threw those other parties. The lack of Pinkie Pie’s presence at them. That keeps coming back to him, a similar sensation to what he just went through in her bedroom.
Could it be possible? Does he feel something for her?
In truth, he doesn’t know. Never once has he been involved romantically with another pony; his job and passion has always been his top priority. It’s not like he wasn’t open to the idea of romance, but he generally wasn’t ever interested. And it was a valid reason he found too. He travelled too much to settle down in one place and for one mare, in his own mind.
But Pinkie Pie...
Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her? The way she looked, the way she talked, the way she rubbed her hoof across his skin...
He liked it, and as hard it is admitting it, a voice in the back of his head told him he wanted her to do it again. But as he’s always told that same voice many times in varying situations over the previous weeks, it’s wrong to think like that.
He groaned, slapping his head with his hoof, trying to get rid of the mixed thoughts. It wasn’t helping his current situation in the slightest. He was in Ponyville for larger matters right now, and he was determined to remain focused in order to see those matters through.
He finally managed to make his way to the open door, telling Boneless Two to look after the bedroom in his absence, only to be met with a frowning Pinkie Pie standing in the hallway. He almost jumped when he spotted her, not at all expecting her. He would have thought she’d have already rushed downstairs to start her own party, but there she was, waiting for him instead.
“Is something wrong Cheese?” she asked him, concern in her voice.
He squandered around in his mind again. Yes something was wrong, and it was bugging him deeply. But that isn’t what he’s here for. It’s her birthday, and she deserves the best one ever. The fact that it was his birthday was meaningless at this point; he wanted Pinkie Pie to be happy rather than himself.
“No” he stated bravely, trying to pass off the denial. He lied, but it was a lie he didn’t want to be expanded on.
But that wasn’t the problem. He was faced with Pinkie Pie, who it seemed could see right past his disguise. He was seriously hoping the eyebrow she had raised was only a temporary thing. The seemingly never-ending situation was even starting to make him a little uncomfortable, which was really the last thing he would have wanted.
Pinkie Pie closed the gap separating the two of them, Cheese Sandwich even backing up a bit. It was a tense moment for him, but she controlled her way through it with no trouble. He couldn’t see where he was going, the pink mare grabbing the constant attention of his eyeballs all the time. He ended up backing up into a wall, grinding to an abrupt stop. Pinkie Pie only inched nearer towards him, before she stopped in her progress too, standing just a couple of feet in front of him.
“Is this about what happened back there?”
The way she asked it. The look she had whilst asking. It was almost like... she was worried herself.
“...No” he managed to get out, desperate to change the subject.
Pinkie Pie didn’t believe him. She wished she could have, but she could read him just like an open book. Something was bothering him, and she feared it was what she did just a moment ago that got him this way. Like the same way he felt towards her, the last thing she wanted was to make Cheese uncomfortable.
But in her eyes, she failed. She did something that keeps on growing, filling her with regret every time she was reminded of it. Was she being too forward?
She shouldn’t be feeling this way. It was her birthday, and she would think Cheese would probably be the most active pony in town for this day. After all, he stole the show early on when it was Rainbow Dash’s birthiversary, determined to throw the biggest party ever. She wasn’t selfish in thinking that, but she would have thought he would have been downstairs as soon as Applejack came in, throwing the best birthday bash he could muster.
She saw that he wasn’t paying attention again. He looked confronted in his mind, likely thinking over the same exact things that had him bothered in the first place.
She hit herself mentally. She felt responsible for having him jumbled up like this, and she couldn’t stand it. She shouldn’t have done what she did. Jeopardising their friendship just because of the way she acted towards him. Now she fears he won’t ever want to see her again, which the very idea went deeper than anypony else thought it did.
She didn’t want that, no matter what. She had to do something. They had to do something, and the primary solution of that was to enjoy her birthday and put it off behind them. But still deep inside her, heavily locked up to anypony else, she wanted to continue. It was a heated moment for her, and she wanted it to last. But she had to refrain herself.
Pinkie Pie edged closer, right towards the side of the frozen stallion. With her hoof, she picked up one of Cheese Sandwich’s and held it with her own. It was something that had finally dragged him back, bringing him to attention. Neither of them looked like what their common interpretation was of a party pony. In fact, both of them seemed rather eccentric, and nopony would likely know it was all because of a few seconds.
Cheese Sandwich trailed his eyes to follow the soft hoof touching his, going even further along to see Pinkie Pie’s sparkling eyes. It looked like she was pleading to him, telling him not to worry.
“Cheese... let’s enjoy the party.”
He couldn’t say no. It was what he was here for anyway, and if she wanted to move on from their little predicament, then he should too.
He gave a little nod, giving Pinkie Pie free reign to smile again and carry on down the hallway. His hooves started to follow her, getting more excited by the second for the party. It was back; his smile.
Pinkie Pie vanished around the corner of the hallway in the blink of an eye, and in honesty, he couldn’t blame her for her sudden speed.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY PINKIE!”
The voices caught him off guard. In all of his years of party planning, he should have been prepared pre-emptily for the shouting crowd. But somehow, in all that time and experience, he had never gotten used to it. Every time the cheers came, it felt new, like it was the first one he’d heard. It was something he secretly liked too, as it gave him a more ‘in the party moment’ feel.
The other thing about the voices was that it was so loud it could have likely caused a small earthquake. The loud shouts followed by the cheering easily pierced through his ears, as he was fairly certain he wouldn’t not be able to hear what he just did anywhere else in the building.
But he was wondering; just how many ponies were there to celebrate her birthday? It must have been the entire town. Seeing as how he spotted countless amounts of ponies when he made his way inside Sugarcube Corner, and that he saw the tremendous outside activity through Pinkie Pie’s window, he wouldn’t be surprised at what they cooked up.
He could hear much chatter, various conversations going on all at once. Nonsense dribble that couldn’t be made out. But more importantly, he could make out Pinkie Pie’s voice from all of the endless bickering. He sighed, carrying on his way towards the stairs and the bubbly voice. For some reason, Pinkie Pie’s voice felt so soothing to him, even standing out in front of a crowd.
He almost reached the top of the stairs, still not visible to the townsfolk yet, when he heard her voice, only louder and clearer.
“Cheese?”
Did she... just call out for him? In front of all the other ponies and at her own birthday? No pony ever did that when he threw a party. The birthday pony was always tangled up with their friends. It might have been considered rude to some, but he couldn’t blame the pony. It was their time to celebrate after all.
He sped up his movement, even the more curious, finally making himself present at the top of the stairs. He could finally look down and see the scene laid out before him.
The foyer of Sugarcube was crowded side to side. Ponies took up almost every visible space, leaving only some small gaps to prevent the overflow. He didn’t recognise the majority of them, given that he wasn’t really introduced to them on his previous visit. He knew a certain group of five though, standing out from all others.
He could spot them; all standing right nearby Pinkie Pie herself. Her closest circle of friends was all standing in a line, looking thrilled to be there. Pinkie Pie though was looking up the stairs anxiously, until she spotted him, when it turned to a smile within a split second.
She was positioned in front of her five friends, who looked like they could be the front of the ‘pack’, with row after row of ponies behind them chatting to each other. Twilight and Fluttershy looked rather stunned to spot him compared to the other three. It was likely because none of the others had mentioned his unexpected visit to them, probably more busy setting up the party. Rainbow Dash was no longer sporting her construction helmet either, as amusing as she had looked before with one.
He made a move down the stairs, taking it a step at a time. He was surprisingly nervous, even though he shouldn’t be. At any other party, he’d be the main face in the crowd. But here, it felt different, like he was an outsider.
But he figured out why immediately.
He hadn’t set up this party. He was the party planner himself, notorious for throwing parties, so he was always in charge and responsible for the good times. This time however, he had no input whatsoever, so he felt rather left out. He never really experienced that before.
It certainly didn’t help when he spotted the large table with presents plastered all over it in a corner. It was a huge rounded table, looking like it was placed there just for this occasion. On it were stacks upon stacks of presents of varying sizes and shapes, piled on top of one another. He couldn’t mentally count how many there were; some were ridiculously hidden.
He didn’t get Pinkie Pie a present. The party he threw for any birthday pony was always the present enough by itself, so he never really had to buy anything. But now that he was at a party he wasn’t responsible for throwing, he felt kind of empty.
He said it to himself. She deserved a present from him.
But he didn’t know what to get her. He had no clue what everypony else had gotten her on this day, so a duplicate was likely possible. Where to even start too? Throwing a party was always enough, but now to actually think of a physical object to hand over to her. It was a concept new to him.
But he felt determined. At some point, he’d get her a present. He’d just have to think of something and give it to her at the right time.
He had finally descended the entire staircase whilst he had remained in his thoughts, Pinkie Pie in front of him again. She revealed her teeth for a brief moment before jumping back into her friends and the crowd, ready to start the party. Twilight and Fluttershy approached him.
“I didn’t know you were here” the alicorn spoke, raising her voice so she could get it across from all the hollering in the background.
“Yeah...” he replied, a bit dry. “I got a doozy. Found out its Pinkie’s birthday.”
“Well it’s nice to see you Cheese Sandwich. I hope you’ll stay around.” Twilight finished off by presenting a warm smile, Fluttershy following suit right after.
Cheese Sandwich nodded. “I plan on it.” Without much hesitation, he made his move past the two familiar mares, ready to check out the party before him. There weren’t many other parties he’s ever come across where the entire town worked together on it. Perhaps this would make its way towards the top of that imaginary list. This was Ponyville after all; definitely one of the kindest towns in Equestria. That town with the griffons could honesty rot in Tartarus.
He stopped his brisk walking amidst the crowd when he spotted an icon in another corner, a form of trophy regarding what day it was. In the moment that his eyes laid upon it, everything else seemed to fade out to him as his eyes stared down the creation, his jaw hanging wide open.
It was a birthday cake. Not just any cake, but a huge one, big enough to reach the ceiling. It was easily just as big as the one made for Rainbow Dash on her day, but it had some aesthetic differences. There were traces of Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark placed all around it, there seemed to be more icing present, and there was a great big number on the top, the same number of candles placed on the many layers it held.
“Twenty one...” he muttered to himself, still ignoring everything else around him. The cake looked delicious and inviting yes, and he would certainly love a slice or two later, but it was the number itself that got to him the most.
That is how old he was too, not just Pinkie Pie. The badge he had on his poncho reflected the same figurative digits too, but it was only when he saw the giant creation placed in front of him that it hit him. And it hit him hard. It must have been years ago to the exact day that he...
No! He can’t remind himself of that. It’s just a scarred memory of a wound, fated to never heal. He never wants it brought up, and sometimes he wishes he didn’t have to remember it. It was the entire reason he never considered his birthday important.
He felt a hoof tap him on his shoulder. He twisted his head, Fluttershy and Twilight standing behind him. They didn’t say anything, but they wandered out of Sugarcube Corner with glee, fully inviting him to join in the party. He agreed obediently, even though it was only an open invitation.
He headed his way outside of Sugarcube Corner, navigating through the tight spaces of free room he could squeeze his flexible body through. Years of practising floppy dances had given him enough experience to fit in tight spaces. He was rather proud of that.
He found himself outside of Sugarcube Corner and in the town of Ponyville, now finally spotting the entire party. There were only a limited number of ponies inside of Sugarcube Corner anyway, but the streets of Ponyville were occupied by so many more. The ponies were spread around everywhere, but there was no doubt every pony that wasn’t in Sugarcube Corner must have been outside.
Decorations to celebrate Pinkie Pie’s birthday hung on buildings, balloons set up all around the place, streamers laid out properly. He wandered into the street, gasping in awe at the very well set up party. It wouldn’t compete on his or Pinkie’s calibre of course, but somepony had been taking a lesson or two about throwing a well-designed party.
Music started to play a bit in the distance, and it was music he became drawn too very quickly. It was festival style music, suited for every audience, very upbeat, but from looking at the booth set up, a DJ would no doubt be playing later in the evening. He had worked with a few in the past, even getting his name published in a magazine regarding music once, so he wouldn’t want to miss whatever Ponyville’s DJ could accomplish.
His smiled widened. Looking at and being part of a party wouldn’t ever bring him down. He first learnt that at the first one he encountered, courtesy of Pinkie Pie. His head constantly gazed in the round everywhere, just shocked at the hard work the ponies had put into it.
His attention was caught by a whooshing noise. He went back to eye-level as a blur passed him, leaving a trail of pink past it, as well as a dragging wind. That pony must be having a good time, he thought.
The pink blur went speeding past him again, again and even more within the span of mere seconds. This pony couldn’t keep still. First it headed to what looked like the refreshment area, the next it was by the dance floor that was set up. He grinned at this super-charged display of agility.
The pink blur revealed itself to him when it came colliding with him a few seconds later, knocking him down to the ground. He was going to give the pony a piece of his mind for the carelessness, but that dropped when it was revealed that the pony was Pinkie Pie herself. He really should have seen that coming.
She stood over him in what looked like the most positive and cheerful way he’d ever seen. It looked like she might explode just from excitement alone. “Cheese!” she shouted, incredibly stimulated, “This party is so... is so...”
She couldn’t finish her sentence. There were too many words for her to choose from to sum up how beautiful it all was, but he knew one. With a knowing grin, he raised an eyebrow. “Epic?”
Pinkie Pie gasped, before nodding her head repeatedly like a foal on a sugar rush. “Come on!” There was no time to react as Pinkie Pie grabbed his hoof with her own, picking him up and speeding off in a blur again, this time a trail of yellow mashed in with the pink.
When they stopped at their destination, a bouncy castle set up for the foals, he had to place his hoof on his head just to stop the spinning. That experience was rather... new to him. He wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to try supersonic Pinkie Pie style transport again. It would surely save on his trips across Equestria though if he had his own personal Pinkiemobile at his command. But on the other hand, he would likely lose Boneless Two within seconds.
The bouncy castle was currently occupied by fillies. Straight away, he questioned why there was a bouncy castle at a full-grown mare’s birthday in the first place, but then again, the entire town helped set this up. The fillies probably wanted to repay her as well, and he knew Pinkie Pie played childish games at times. She would likely join in anyway.
He checked out the bouncy castle. It was rather large for its size, just as he liked them. He never really took part on them, but they were a blast for the kids. Although some didn’t think they were important, they were, in fact, very important. If the pony whose birthday it is has kids and he doesn’t set up a bouncy castle for them, he might as well just send them a lump of coal. Or at least, that’s how he saw it.
Pinkie Pie shook vigorously next to him, watching the fun action all the fillies were partaking in. A few parents were nearby to keep an eye on their children, some even waving over to Pinkie Pie to wish her a happy birthday. He could tell she wanted in on the bounciness, even more so when she looked at him with pleading eyes. He simply nodded, although he wasn’t clear on why exactly she needed some form of permission to enjoy herself.
Pinkie Pie revealed her teeth for the faintest time, before launching herself like a cannonball into the center of the bouncy castle. The nearby fillies laughed from the sudden impact of a Pinkiebomb, the mare herself giggling some unintended snorts too. She looked over towards Cheese Sandwich, before making a motion with her hoof for him to join her.
His eyes bulged at the implication. Him on a bouncy castle? He wouldn’t ever dream of it. But Pinkie Pie really seemed excited, and he wouldn’t want to disappoint her...
He couldn’t move. He couldn’t go through with it. He didn’t have anything against bouncy castles, but they just weren’t for him. They were probably the only party-related thing he didn’t partake in. He loved to set them up and observe the kids enjoying themselves, but he couldn’t bring himself to take part.
It seems Pinkie Pie noticed his exact opinion, jumping from the blown-up crazy contraption to join him, looking a bit sympathetic. “Not your thing?” she asked, heart-warmingly.
He let off a little chuckle “Sorry.”
Pinkie Pie joined him with a tiny giggle. “It’s ok; we’ll just go do something else.”
He pondered that in his head for a moment. Did she just say ‘we’? Does she want him to join her throughout her party? He couldn’t figure it out soon enough, as he was grabbed and sped off like a rocket again through the town.
He felt warped from the giant speed change. How did Pinkie Pie do that? How wasn’t she worn out at all? He knew party ponies had tremendous amounts of energy, but Celestia, she blew it out of the park.
Pinkie Pie’s new destination led them towards a large balloon, sticking out amongst others. Scattered around the small area were many tables, a big bowl on each one containing what looked like punch. It was a casual area for general conversation, overlooked by a ginormous Pinkie Pie balloon. Some ponies were gathered around in small social groups, talking amongst themselves, but Pinkie Pie had her prize on something else.
A giant blown-up balloon of herself, similar to the one of Rainbow Dash at her birthiversary, only it was Pinkie Pie. When Cheese Sandwich looked up at it, a small fraction of it all seemed rather scary. He knew Pinkie Pie was known to be random at times, even hearing about times regarding physics, but something about that balloon seemed off.
He kept getting the feeling that at some point, it would become sentient and join in the party, as crazy as it sounded.
He smacked himself, groaning. How could he have possibly thought something as silly as that? But looking back up at it, it was very well made. It captured the beauty of Pinkie Pie excellently, almost as gorgeous as the real thing standing next to him.
“Quite marvellous isn’t it?” a voice asked them from behind. Both the party ponies turned around to see the fashionista Rarity, levitating a full cup of liquid with her magic.
“I love it!” screamed Pinkie Pie, before grabbing and hugging Rarity in a fraction of a second. The white unicorn almost spilt her drink as her friend effectively crushed her in a close embrace.
“That’s wonderful Pinkie” Rarity replied, breaking their shared hug.
In an instant, Pinkie Pie bolted off towards the small casual area, taking in what she could. Rarity joined next to Cheese Sandwich. “It sure is a surprise seeing you here. We weren’t expecting it.”
“I go where the party calls me" he stated, grinning.
“I set up this portion of the party myself,” Rarity revealed, “Even the balloon.”
Cheese Sandwich raised his eyebrow. “Really? All of this?”
“Mhmm” Rarity responded, “It took me weeks to design that balloon. I set up all the tables here and even made the punch myself. You should try some.”
He thought about it for a short while, even witnessing Rarity sipping some of her own. “Alright.” He walked over towards a nearby table, Rarity following. The table contained a large bowl of purple-lilac coloured liquid, not unfamiliar to him. He had made punch bowls on a much larger scale; even big enough to swim in at his parties, but it was still nice to see.
He picked up the ladle with his mouth, getting a good scoop of the tempting liquid. Placing it into a cup, he raised it up to give it a taste test. Rarity stared at him with anticipation, holding high hopes. After all, he was a party planner, so this taste testing could mean something for her when it came to creating little soirées.
He took a taste of it, bubbling his lips as the liquid traversed through his mouth, the taste coming to him. Swallowing the contents, his smile from the result gave Rarity the response she was hoping for. “Very nice” he complimented.
“Thank you” Rarity replied, blushing a little from the positive feedback.
Both of them drew their attention from the loud giggling, coming from the direction of the balloon. Both of them trailed their heads to see Pinkie Pie standing and bouncing on top of the giant version of herself. How did she even get up there? Cheese asked himself.
Pinkie Pie waved at the pair below them, receiving the exact same gesture shortly afterwards.
“She talks about you, you know” Rarity said, now putting her hoof down.
Cheese Sandwich furrowed his brow, turning his gaze towards Rarity. “She... does?”
“Yeah. She’s been waiting for you to come back to Ponyville. I guess it’s a good thing you came today.”
“What? Really?” Cheese asked, raising his eyebrow.
Rarity nodded again. “So. Has she asked you yet?” she wondered, pouring punch into her mouth.
“Asked me what?” Cheese replied flatly.
Rarity paused. Her cheeks bulged from the punch, her eyes darting left and right like she had just realised something. She swallowed the punch shortly afterwards, presenting a nervous chuckle. “Oh. I uh... guess I said too much...” she got out, backing away as she did so. She paused in her retreat briefly, forcing a smile. “Enjoy the party ok?” Without giving Cheese Sandwich any time to say anything, she walked away, almost looking like she was scarpering.
Cheese Sandwich was confused at the unicorn’s behaviour, and even more so at what she was getting at. Pinkie Pie wanted to ask him something? What was the problem with a simple question? And why did Rarity effectively run away from the slightest mention?
He shrugged his shoulders. Whatever it was Pinkie wanted to ask him, she would probably do it later. Until then, he’d just have to wait.
He took another swig of the delicious punch, taking in its taste. Placing his empty cup on the table, he turned to find Pinkie Pie’s muzzle and face right in front of him, smiling. “Ah!” he screamed, jumping back.
Pinkie Pie giggled, before dipping her entire head inside of the punch bowl. A few bubbles emerged at the surface. Over a short course of time, the top level of the punch bowl descended in height, as Pinkie Pie slurped a lot of it up.
Pinkie Pie’s head came splashing out of the punch bowl seconds later, some of it flying in many directions. Her face was covered in drops of the liquid. She licked her lips, and whatever else she could reach with her tongue. “Yummy!” she declared.
Cheese Sandwich couldn’t help smiling at the display. It was actually rather adorable to him. During Rainbow Dash’s birthiversary, she had decided to go for a short snorkel trip in the giant punch bowl he set up at some point.
She really likes punch, he concluded, pursing his lips.
Pinkie Pie grabbed ahold of his hoof again in short time, a slight blush coming over her. He knew exactly what was about to happen, as he prepared for the inevitable.
A faint scream could be heard as Cheese Sandwich was jerked again through Ponyville, only lines of pink and yellow visible to ponies who could see the supersonic couple.