//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Maud and Cheese // by rhony //------------------------------// For the first time since she had arrived in Baltimare, Maud felt as if her life was in order. She leaned back in her desk chair and surveyed her small but private dormitory room in the Graduate Student Hall at the University of Mareland. Her desk was ready, pencils and supplies in drawers and textbooks lining a single shelf. A clock hung from a hook above the shelf, and her pet rock Boulder had its own place of honor in a depression in the upper left corner of the desk’s surface. Her knapsack was ready, a small grey bag leaning against the desk, containing her notebooks and schedule for next week. Beside the desk, her cot was made up with the sheets and quilt gifted to her by her parents – the quilt had been lovingly constructed by her mother in shades of grey. A tiny closet completed the room. Finally, quiet, she thought to herself, as she reviewed the past few days in her mind. Her new… acquaintance, Cheese, had insisted on flagging a taxi for her and accompanying her to the University of Mareland when she had arrived in town. He’d finally let her be when the orientation counselors took over, showing her to her new living accommodations and burdening her with a thick scroll outlining her orientation schedule—all mandatory. After that, there had been non-stop activity, from tours of the campus to departmental welcome socials to residence hall getting-to-know-you games. None of it was really Maud’s cup of tea. Well, she had found out about a poetry club on campus during the activities fair. And she did get to meet some of her professors for her classes. And… in the background, somehow, through it all, was Cheese Sandwich. Whenever it had seemed like she might have a little downtime, he had magically appeared, as if he was carrying around his own copy of her schedule. At the cafeteria during lunch, she would sit by herself in a secluded corner… and Cheese would walk up out of nowhere, peppering her with questions about her activities so far. He claimed he was “researching,” learning what the new students were doing so he could design the best wrap-it-all-up ball possible. “Aren’t there any other ponies you could ask about orientation?” she had asked on the second day. “Nope! Haven’t met anyone else!” he had replied with his ever-present cheerfulness. Maud had then weighed the unpleasantness of having to continue answering his questions against the daunting task of introducing him to some of her fellow students. Which led to her agreeing to meet him for lunch again the next day. There was something about Cheese that made her smile, even though he was nothing like anyone she had befriended before. Or cared about. Really, nothing like anyone else she knew at all… sometimes he was just too loud, too fast, too vibrant for her to stand. Other times, he seemed… different. Calm, patient, with those amazing eyes that captivated her. She found herself telling him things about herself, her family, the rock farm, her dreams… things she didn’t share lightly. Some things she had never shared with anyone. But then the boisterous, party-loving animal would surface again, acting like a complete idiot. Sometimes he was even waving a rubber chicken around. What is the point of a rubber chicken, anyway? Why does such a thing even exist? Maud thought about Cheese for a moment longer, trying to figure him out like a puzzle. The pieces just didn’t fit together in a way that made sense to her. She shook her head and decided to think about something else. It was almost over. One more day of orientation activities tomorrow, culminating in the New Student Orientation Ball. The Ball was most assuredly optional, to her relief – but Cheese had asked her every single time he saw her whether she had changed her mind about attending. Of course she hadn’t, but he seemed determined to wear her down. Silly pony, she thought. Rocks don’t wear down that easily. As a child, she had been teased by the other fillies, who liked to tell her she was as dull as a rock so she must be a rock. What they didn’t understand was that to Maud, this was a complement. A grumbling from Maud’s mid-section interrupted her reverie, and she checked the clock on the wall of her room. It was dinnertime. With a sigh, she rose from her chair and exited her small sanctuary, locking the door behind her. A few flights of stairs later, she was outside, enjoying the warmth of the last days of summer as she sauntered across campus toward the cafeteria. Along the way, she contemplated the different paving stones used to create the pathways between the campus buildings, trying to guess which ones came from which part of Canterlot. It was when she was in this state that she started to hear a far-away cry, getting closer at an alarming rate…. “Maud? Maudie-pie! MAAAAUUUUUD!!!!!” Suddenly, she was flying through the air and landing on her back with an OOOMPH, a tangle of pink mane and tail dancing on top of her. She managed to catch her breath long enough to get out one hoarse word: “Pinkie?” ... In the dining hall, she no longer had the luxury of a quiet corner to herself and Cheese. In fact, suspiciously, Cheese was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she was sitting next to her boisterous younger sister, who had attracted a rather large crowd of students to their table. Pinkie babbled on in a chipper Pinkie voice about her trip from Ponyville and what had brought her to visit her sister so quickly after Maud had last seen her. “And then I got a letter from my friend Cheese, asking me for MY help putting together the New Student Orientation BALL! ME, he wanted ME to help! Isn’t that great? So of course, with you being here and everything I HAD to say yes, and now I get to see my FAVORITE big sister and help set up the BIGGEST party on campus… I mean, I’m so EXCITED I can hardly STAND IT!” The stream of words ran past Maud… wait a second. “Um, Pinkie, you know Cheese? Cheese Sandwich?” “Of, COURSE, silly! Don’t you remember that letter I sent you about Rainbow Dash’s birth-iversary?” Maud couldn’t remember the letter, honestly, but then again Pinkie always had so much to say… “Anyway, this is going to be the best, the biggest, the most SPECTACULAR New Student Orientation Ball E-VER! With me and Cheese planning it, there’s no way it can’t be! You are coming, Maud, RIGHT?” Pinkie faced her with those large sky-blue Pinkie eyes that began to shimmer when she saw the doubt in Maud’s face. “Oh, Maud, you HAVE to come… please oh PLEASE?” Pinkie stared at Maud, waiting expectantly. Around Pinkie were a dozen of her new friends (ponies whose names Maud had already forgotten), and they were staring at her expectantly too. It was a nightmare, and there was only one thing she could do to end it. “Of, course, Pinkie, I’ll be at the Ball. But I don’t have a dress.” Pinkie let out a whoop and sprung out of her chair, landing on Maud and pushing her over backwards. Maud was still in her chair staring up, and Pinkie was jumping up and down on top of her. “That’s NO problem – I have enough time to take you shopping for a dress in the morning! This is going to be the BEST… PARTY… E-VER!” Maud closed her eyes, and waited to wake up.