//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Cheese Pie // Story: Twisting the Cheese // by Derpator //------------------------------// When Cheese Sandwich awoke the next morning, he was met with what must have been one of the chirpiest renditions of Pinkie Pie he’d ever seen. She was all over the place. Her bouncing, while always full of energy, contained more spring than usual. She was high on her endless energy. He had an inkling it was because of the kiss. The kiss got him more active too. He found himself smiling at a lot more things, or just in general. Even when faced with Maud at breakfast, he managed to hold an actual positive conversation with her. He wasn’t scared of her image or her stare. He thought about giving her a staring contest, but it crossed from his mind. Marble wasn’t shouting at him either. She retained her eccentric ways, especially after Pinkie had a conversation with her. She sparked up light a light bulb after that. She gently nudged Cheese a few times at the table too, hinting at something. He didn’t fathom what it was exactly, but in his good mood, he didn’t mind. Sugarcube Corner had a livelier atmosphere than normal, he could tell. Pinkie and Marble accounted for over half of it anyway, but there was more than one hundred percent in the building. The way he saw Maud also came across to him like some pressure was lost. She had that same look and stare, but he could see past it. She was an interesting mare, as well as a sister. Pinkie made breakfast, and it was just as scrumptious as usual. She never failed to please Cheese. He had to know her secrets, her talent. And if it meant giving her a kiss every time in return, then he would do it. Although... he wouldn’t mind changing the location of the kiss from her cheeks to somewhere else... Images, frames of photos came to him a lot. They recurred within his sleep too. The pink mare clogged up quite a part of his mind on often occasions. Usually, he would have pushed them back or simply ignored them to focus on the things that happened in front of him, but after the previous night, he didn’t fight them. He allowed the images to stay, and they were all beautiful. He didn’t want to admit it to Pinkie in case she found it creepy in any regard, but he thought of her quite a bit. The morning felt like a rush. He was still high on energy, as well as life. He would have the day to himself and Pinkie, but the sisters had to go back to their respective homes. He would have liked to get to know them a bit more, especially Maud and her interesting ways, but he was no stranger to leaving. It was always hard to say goodbye to Pinkie each week, but he knew deep inside, that they would meet again. He kept that thought as the party of five made their way across Ponyville and towards the train station. A happy thought to keep, just knowing he’d find sanction with the mare again and again. Her friends were bundles of fun in their own way too, and he would always set up a party—most of the time collaborated with Pinkie—to the lucky pony in Ponyville. He became more popular around Ponyville as his visits increased, and many ponies sounded like how Marble was. Something about Pinkie. Had they noticed a change? The group came to a stop as they arrived at the station. The three departing sisters all looked around for their ticket, taking a gander in Maud’s personal bag. It would all be fine, but the traditional Pie departure hadn’t been fulfilled. Cheese grabbed the saddlebag Pinkie wore, opening its pocket. Within the clutches of his hooves, three large necklace objects came out. The rock candies dangling on them made a little chinking sound as they collided together. Looking at the three sisters, who were looking back at him, he went over to each one, placing the necklace over the respective sister. Taking part in the rock candy exchange was something he already liked. All three of the sisters checked out their necklaces, even showing them to each other, revealing the many efforts Cheese went to for each one. It looked just like an expert made them, but he had Pinkie to thank for that. Whistling sounds as well as chugging could be heard from the distance. Its volume increased exponentially over a short amount of time. The puffs of smoke were visible to the naked eye as the train arrived into the station. It was time for the farewells. He sighed as the doors opened while the station attendant shouted the trademarks words. He heard a similar sound from each of the Pies, though Maud’s was quieter. One by one, they turned to Cheese. And one by one, they approached him. Marble was the first to jump in front of him, or rather, crash into him with her open hooves. He should have expected the sister to act most like Pinkie to... act like Pinkie. The hug lasted a while, though Cheese wasn’t in the mind-set to complain. When the mare broke away, she prodded him uneasily a few times. “Look after Pinkie okay?” “Of course,” he replied with no doubt. Marble nodded before she brought out her rock candy necklace. Wittingly, she practically threw it over Cheese. He openly caught it as she jumped over to Pinkie. Limestone was the next to step forward. She stood in front of him for a while, not exchanging a word. She wore a warm smile. She likely had a few things to say, but couldn’t come out with anything. She played with her lips a bit before blurting out, “Oh, to hay with it!” and charging forward. She wrapped her hooves around Cheese as quickly as she could. Cheese didn’t know what to think. He happily returned the hug, but Limestone wasn’t an insctinctive hugger. He had witnessed that with her arrival. But she was warm, and a nice hugger. Why didn’t she do it more often? She smiled sheepishly when she pulled away, a little blush forming on her cheeks. But like Marble, she brought out her rock candy necklace and slowly bestowed it upon Cheese. “You’re a nice guy Cheese Sandwich. I’m glad to have met you.” “Likewise,” he replied as Limestone gave him a final look and made her way to Pinkie. There was one sister left, and she stood still as a rock. Rocks... Maud crept towards him with the same look as usual. He tilted his head slightly as she stood and did nothing. Showing off his teeth, he opened up his hooves, openly inviting the oldest sister to a hug. Maud blinked her eyes. Still without what looked like a care, she walked forward and entered the warming embrace. “What!” Pinkie blurted out as she observed the pair. “Maud?! You’re hugging Cheese?!” “Yes,” she replied dully, still with her same expression. Cheese didn’t care about the little banter between the three other sisters. He just knew that Maud was an incredibly hugger, a natural. Huh. They must all be good at hugging. When Maud broke apart, Cheese didn’t want her to. He had just unlocked some form of benevolence from her, but it was over. She had a firm grip too, hard as a rock. And speaking of rocks, he wished Boulder a safe trip and life. That message came relaying from Boneless Two. Like her sisters, Maud picked out her rock candy necklace and offered it to Cheese, placing it over his head and around his neck. And then she smiled. An actual smile. From Maud. Cheese’s jaw dropped. A real smile from Maud. So she wasn’t a robot! Maud interacted with her others sisters. With a final departing slide of comments, the three mares trotted their way towards the carriage. They turned back with a final wave as one by one, they disappeared from Cheese’s and Pinkie’s line of sight. The two party ponies waved every single second that passed, all up until the train had fully left the station. When it was over, they both took a sigh. “They were nice,” Cheese commented. He couldn’t find any other words on the spot to sum it up better. Admittedly, he loved the day he spent with them. They were all good entries for his list of great ponies. But nice was all he could come out with. “Yeah,” Pinkie replied cheerfully. “Shame that they’ve gone though.” The pair slowly made their way back to Sugarcube Corner. They reminisced over the enjoyable events that took place with the sisters, even though it was less than twenty four hours ago. Pinkie somehow managed to gobble up every one of her rock candy necklaces while she talked. She even commented on some of Maud’s more ‘wacky’ tales, including a story of her dancing. Maud dances? Cheese couldn’t get the image of Maud doing a robot dance out of his head. When they re-entered Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie bounced over towards the counter. “So what shall we do today Cheesie? We’ve got all day to ourselves!” She kept her grin as she placed the saddlebags on the counter. Cheese’s eyes blinked. He... didn’t know. A rush of energy was present in him earlier, and it still remained, but he just... faded out. So many possible activities. “Just us huh?” he replied with a cheeky grin. He took off the rock candy necklaces and put them next to the saddlebags. Pinkie nodded her head. “Yep!” She jumped up over the counter, realising something. “Oh, speaking of which...” She walked over towards him, only a few inches in front of him. “I wanted to tell you something.” “Pinkie?” Pinkie faced downwards. “I sort of... have this thing...” Cheese acted, picking up Pinkie’s head with his hoof. “To tell you...” she finished, staring right at him. Cheese didn’t know how to go forward. Pinkie seemed down, if only temporarily. He didn’t like to see her that way, but he got the impression that it wasn’t depression. She was just worried about something. It could have been minor for all he knew. “I-I...” Pinkie’s lips quivered. She was trying to formulate words, something to get a message across, but all of her attempts failed. Cheese got sympathetic, and he knew the solution. Not even questioning his solution, he took a step forward and pulled Pinkie into a comforting hug. The fourth Pie sister was in his hooves, and out of all of them, he loved the pink one the best. He loved a lot of things about her. He really loved her lips the night before. Would it be wrong for him to steal another kiss sometime? Pinkie sighed as she laid into his fur, welcoming herself to his body. It was warming right at the touch, and she could hear and feel his chest working as he breathed. It calmed her immensely to the point where she was comfortable to wrap a hoof around his barrel. She was happy. “I love you,” she whispered, nuzzling into his body. Cheese’s eyes shot wide open. Pinkie just said something, but he hadn’t heard. He looked down at the mare with curiosity. “Pinkie? Did you say something?” Pinkie quickly realised that the numbskull hadn’t heard her. And even though he didn’t, she still loved him. Maybe she didn’t have to reveal it yet. Maybe she could continue with her hints. Perhaps she could sneak in a few kisses until he finally picked up on her feelings. Cheese could be really dense at times. And every time he was, Pinkie only found it adorable. He was the cutest for behaving the way he did. Though deep down, she could sense something within him. She knew he loved her. She could feel it without a doubt. But she wouldn’t pressure him. She knew precisely how to handle it. And when it was time, he would come clean and announce it. She would only have to push further to that ending. She knew he was bottling it up or hiding it, possibly even in denial. No friend would ask for kisses from helping with cooking, or a kiss on the lips before bed, or even sleep in the same bed. Cheese Sandwich was a dolt sometimes. But he was her dolt. Pinkie looked up into Cheese’s emeralds. Widening her smile, she gazed deep into him. “Cheesie, let’s play Twister.”