//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Maud and Cheese // by rhony //------------------------------// Maud heard her name called on the dormitory intercom, signaling Cheese’s arrival. She took one more look at herself to make sure she was ready – she was wearing a green outfit her sister had sent her as a present. In fact, it had arrived just that day. Maud knew that Pinkie had her Pinkie sense, but this was getting ridiculous. She was beginning to believe her sister was actively trying to set her up with Cheese. If it had been anyone else, she would have been furious. But it was hard for her to stay mad at Pinkie. She was just so… earnest about everything. Well, I shouldn’t keep him waiting. As Maud walked down the stairs to the front hallway of the dormitory, she asked herself yet again why she had agreed to go out to dinner with Cheese. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him – after all he had done for her to help her with her midterm, it would be very difficult for her to not like him. In fact, since the midterm, every time she thought about Cheese she felt like a little jolt of energy shot through her. And her mind seemed to wander back to thinking about Cheese quite easily. Way too easily. Then, there he was, beaming at her, looking just so… Cute? Wait, when did she decide he was cute? I’m in trouble. “Hi Maud! Wow you look great in that outfit!” If Cheese was nervous, he wasn’t showing it – but he was talking rather quickly… “Uh, thanks,” Maud replied, looking down at the floor. “Are you ready to go? Of COURSE you are, or you wouldn’t have come down, right? I have a surprise for you!” Maud wasn’t completely sure a surprise was going to be a good thing, given her history with Cheese. But she followed him out the door anyway. “Where are we going for dinner?” asked Maud, as they began walking down the path and off of campus. “I was thinking… Loch Raven Reservoir! It’s just a bit North of Baltimare, and I thought you’d like to see all the rock formations there. The area is full of…” “Marble and Limestone. We learned about it in class. I didn’t know there was a restaurant there?” “There isn’t,” Cheese smiled mysteriously. “That’s why I packed… a picnic!” At that moment, they had walked up to a chariot. Cheese swung open the door, and on the floor of the chariot was a large picnic basket. Maud was stunned. “After you?” Cheese asked, motioning Maud inside. Maud was speechless. She walked into the chariot, and Cheese joined her. The pegasi pulling the chariot took off, causing Maud to grab onto the side of the chariot with one hoof, and Cheese with the other. But once the chariot was in flight, it was less wobbly. She let go of the side of the chariot, but held onto Cheese. He didn’t seem to mind. “How… in Equestria… did you manage to get a chariot?” Maud squeaked out. “Oh, well, a friend of a friend pulled in a favor for us,” Cheese replied, smiling broadly. “What do you think of the view?” Maud had to admit the view was spectacular. She had never seen any part of Equestria from the sky, and now she understood why winged ponies loved it so much. As she and Cheese traveled north, she watched the ponies go about their business and thought about how small it all looked. “It’s amazing.” “I KNOW, right?” Cheese was starting to bounce a bit, which was causing the chariot to rock. Maud grabbed ahold of the side again. “Um, cheese, maybe you could stand still until we’re on the ground again?” “Oh, right, sorry,” Cheese replied, abashed. --- The ride continued without incident. Before Cheese knew it, they were landing in a wooded area, next to a large, pony-made lake. Cheese picked up the basket and exited the carriage, holding the door open for Maud. The pegasi sat down, looking bored. Cheese put the picnic basket down so he could talk to Maud. “I thought we could walk down one of the trails a bit and set up our picnic. Sound okay?” Cheese asked. “Sure,” Maud replied, looking around more closely. Loch Raven Reservoir supplied water to all the ponies in Baltimare. It was huge. They had landed at the southernmost point of the reservoir, and several trails led off in different directions. This didn’t bother Cheese a bit, and he cheerfully started trotting down the trail closest to the water, the basket hanging from his mouth. Maud followed him in silence for a while, until they got to a flat grassy spot right next to the water. Cheese put down the basket again and opened it up, pulling out a red-and-white checkered blanket. He spread the blanket out on the ground, and then sat down on it. “Let’s eat!” Maud joined him on the blanket and poked her nose into the basket. There was a wonderful selection of food – cold salads, sandwich makings, apples and other fruit, and a bottle of wine. Maud looked impressed. She pulled some items out of the basket, spreading them out on the blanket in front of them. “You don’t have to do that Maud…” Cheese moved to stop her, but Maud put her hoof up. “You have set all of this up; I think it’s only fair I do a bit of the work,” Maud replied, and then rewarded Cheese with one of her rare smiles. Cheese blushed a bit, but sat back as Maud set up the food. Soon they were munching away, staring at the water. Maud seemed happy with the silence, but Cheese was beginning to feel nervous. “So… how’s your family?” Cheese asked, desperate to start a conversation. “Oh, everything’s a-okay at the rock farm,” Maud replied. “My sisters Limestone and Marble are giving my parents some trouble, now that they are teenagers. But nothing too serious, according to Mom. And, of course, you know how Pinkie is, since you two exchange letters so often.” Maud paused, a twinkle in her eye. “So, are you supposed to report back on how our date went?” “Yeah, she wants…” Cheese’s eyes opened wide and he put a hoof over his mouth. “I’m assuming she’s the one that got you the carriage?” Cheese was turning an interesting shade of red. “Ummm….” “It’s okay,” Maud assured him. “I’m glad Pinkie approves. I trust her opinion. Many ponies don’t realize how smart she is about things, because she’s always so… well, Pinkie.” Cheese was relieved. “Yeah, that she is. Smart I mean. And Pinkie.” At that point, nothing was left of the picnic but crumbs. Cheese brushed himself off and stood up. “Are you ready to go rock hunting?” "Yes!" Maud clearly liked the sound of that. After putting the blanket back in the basket, Maud and Cheese started down the path again. Soon, Cockeysville Marble formations were showing through the foliage. Maud oohed and aahed and chatted about the Marble; Cheese was just content to listen. Then Maud stopped short and did the most unMaudlike thing Cheese could imagine—she squealed. “Look, CAVES!” Maud said, in a voice that was closer to that of her pinkish sister. “Oh, let’s go in, can we Cheese?” She looked up at him with those wide green eyes. “Sure,” responded Cheese. He was pretty sure she could have said something like “Oh Cheese, please pull out your teeth for me,” and the answer would have been the same. He had never seen her look so excited. Putting down the picnic basket, he rooted around in it until he found a flashlight, which he then handed to Maud. The two ponies then entered into the cave, following the pool of yellow light the flashlight provided. At first, the tunnel was only wide enough for the two ponies to walk single file. Since Maud was holding the flashlight, that put her first, with Cheese following her. This did not bother Cheese one bit. He rather liked the view. But after just a few minutes of walking the tunnel became wider and bottomed out into a large cavern. Maud just stood in the center of the cavern, looking entranced. She slowly turned, the flashlight reflecting the walls of the cavern as she spun around, taking it all in. “This is so amazing,” she whispered around the flashlight. She then put it down on the floor of the cavern, facing upward. This allowed quite a bit of the cavern to show, and she sat down next to it, staring up at the cavern ceiling. Cheese contemplated Maud for a minute, and then sat down next to her. She was clearly completely absorbed in her study of the cavern ceiling. After the walk in, however, Cheese had something else on his mind. “I’m glad you like it,” Cheese said softly, scooting a bit closer to Maud. “Like it? I love it. Thank you so much Cheese for bringing me here,” Maud responded, turning toward him with those shining eyes. Cheese took a deep breath. He was pretty sure this was the right time to kiss her. It was all he had been thinking about for the last fifteen minutes, and there she was, facing him, looking so incredible. Very slowly, he started lowering his head toward her, hoping she wouldn’t pull away. She didn’t. Her eyes closed. Softly, he touched his lips to hers. And it felt like the ground was moving. He swore he could hear it rumble and feel it vibrate. Her chest was against his, and he could feel her heart beating as quickly as his. He pulled away and looked at her. “Wow,” he whispered. “They say when you kiss the right pony, it feels like the earth moves.” Maud stared at him. “Uh, Cheese?” “Yes?” he answered breathlessly. “I think we’re in trouble,” Maud responded. Her eyes were dilated, and she was breathing heavily. “Yes, I think so,” Cheese said dreamily, and moved in to kiss her again. But Maud stopped him with a hoof. “I think the earth really did move.” “What?” Cheese answered in confusion. “I think an earthquake just happened. For real.” Cheese stared at Maud, who stared back. Then, slowly, Cheese reached down and picked up the flashlight in his mouth. He turned around slowly, pointing it at the tunnel which had led to the cavern… And discovered there was no more tunnel, just a wall of recently dislodged rocks. Large ones. Much too large for even two strong ponies to move. Cheese turned back to Maud. “You’re right. We’re in trouble.”