For a moment, Maud and Cheese just stood there, staring at each other. Then Cheese seemed to break loose from his trance.
“We’re gonna DIE!” he shouted, looking a bit frantic.
Maud sprang into action.
“I need the flashlight,” she said to Cheese, taking it from him and turning toward the wall of rocks. Slowly she moved the circle of yellow light up and down the wall. Every once in a while she would stop and sniff at a spot, and then continue onward.
As she was doing this, Cheese was bouncing up and down, eyes looking a bit wild.
Finally, Maud turned around and place the flashlight back on the ground.
“CHEESE!” It was the loudest he’d ever hear her speak. He instantly stopped moving and stared at her. “You need to calm down. We’re not going to die.”
“We’re not?” Cheese asked hopefully.
“No, we’re not,” Maud replied firmly. “First of all, there is still air coming in through the rocks, so we are not going to suffocate. Second of all, you left two pegasi at the top of the trail, who will soon be wondering where we are. They aren’t just going to go back home without reporting that we are missing to somepony. Third, you left the picnic basket outside of the cave, remember?
Somepony is bound to come looking for us sooner or later, and that somepony is bound to find that picnic basket. We just need to wait.”
Cheese thought Maud was making a lot of sense, but he wasn’t quite ready to stop panicking yet. “What if they don’t find the picnic basket, or what if they find the picnic basket but don’t realize it’s ours? Or what if…”
“Cheese,” Maud said, a little more gently this time. “The pegasi saw us with the basket, right?”
Cheese seemed to calm down after that. He sat down. “So we just have to wait?”
“Yup,” Maud replied. “It’s probably dark outside now. Somepony will probably come looking for us in the morning.” She sat down as well. “Look, Cheese, I’m sorry I got you into this.”
“No, it’s my fault – this was all my idea, coming here,” Cheese responded.
“But it was my idea to go into the cave. Anyway, I’m sorry.”
Cheese and Maud sat in silence for a moment, each contemplating their own thoughts. Maud was thinking about practical matters, like how long they should keep the flashlight on and whether there was a way to signal the outside world that they were in the cavern.
Cheese was thinking that he and Maud were going to be alone together all night long.
All… night… long.
This made his stomach feel like it did on a roller coaster ride. Cheese was a very shy pony as a youth, and as an adult he had mostly interacted with other ponies in largish groups. He hadn’t spent much time dating before Maud, and working up the nerve to just kiss her had been difficult for him. But it was worth it, he thought, smiling to himself.
Cheese’s smile soon vanished as the butterflies started up in his stomach again. What if she wanted more? Was he ready? What if she laughed at him? Cheese was at an age when other ponies would expect he had more experience than he actually did. Cheese did his best to try to think about something else. Anything else.
Eventually, Maud spoke up. “We should conserve the power in the flashlight by turning it off soon." She looked around. “I know this isn’t the most comfortable place to sleep, but I think we can find two sandy spots that will do for the night.”
Cheese had never been relieved and disappointed at the exact same time. He put on a cheerful face. “Sure, there must be… I mean, okay, I can sleep over here…” he pointed to one side of the cavern, “and it looks like there’s a sandy spot there?” He was gesturing to a spot about five feet away from the first.
“That’ll do,” Maude said, walking over to her assigned spot with the flashlight in her mouth. She pushed the sand around a bit and curled up in a ball. “Ready?” she asked Cheese, who was settling down in his own spot.
“Ready,” Cheese replied.
Maud turned off the flashlight.
---
Maud settled down in her sandy bed and tried to sleep. But her thoughts kept coming back to Cheese.
Cheese had gone to so much effort to make her happy since the day she had met him.
Not that all of his efforts have been successful.
She had never heard of anyone working so hard to help a friend.
He must have worked for days on those songs. Then he stayed up all night to help me study. And this date—setting up the picnic, going to a place he knew I’d like.
When he had kissed her, she had let him, because she was caught up in the moment. It had been nice. Okay, very, very nice.
But she was still conflicted. She really didn’t have time for a special somepony, even one as thoughtful and attentive as Cheese. She couldn’t possibly give him the attention he deserved.
Cheese should be with someone who is more like he is.
Nothing was going to turn Maud into a party pony. She would always be focused on her rocks. He was too loud, too brash, too excitable to be a good special somepony for Maud – and she was too dull, too studious, too boring to be a good special somepony for him.
But he makes me smile.
Maybe it was because he was different than her that she found him so intriguing. Maybe she needed someone who would bring her outside her comfort zone a bit, draw her out of her shell.
Maybe he needs someone who will help him calm down.
Could it work for them in the long run? Her settled down with her rocks, him taking off at a moment’s notice following his Cheesy Sense? Then again, Cheese had never said anything to indicate that he wanted a long-term relationship. He just seemed to want to be with her. But… he clearly cared a lot about her, or he wouldn’t be doing everything he was for her.
What am I afraid of?
Cheese wanted to be with her, and Maud couldn’t keep pushing him off. She either had to decide she was going to be his special somepony, or make it clear they could only be friends.
Maud shivered. The cavern had gotten steadily colder since she had turned off the flashlight, and the sand was providing little insulation.
Well, what are special someponies for, if they can’t keep you warm at night?
“Cheese?” Maud’s heart was beating so loudly she was afraid Cheese could hear it from five feet away.
“Yes, Maud?”
“Are you cold?”
Cheese swallowed so loudly she could hear it. “A-a little,” he replied.
“Maybe we should sleep next to each other, so we can stay warm.”
A moment passed, and Maud was beginning to worry that she had been too forward, when he finally answered, “o—okay.”
Maud picked up the flashlight and felt her way through the darkness toward Cheese. She put the flashlight down and settled next to him, her body parallel to his. She could feel his heart beating through his side, rapidly, and his breathing seemed a bit shaky.
“Cheese, are you okay?” she asked.
“Y-yes,” he stammered.
“We’ll be warmer if we hold each other,” Maud said.
Cheese froze. Then, he slowly turned toward her, and wrapped his hooves around her. She snuggled closer.
Cheese was so very warm, and smelled so good. She reached up with her head and nibbled on his neck, softly, and was rewarded with a quick intake of breath.
“Ma-maud,” Cheese stuttered nervously, “I should tell you… I was very shy as a colt and I… well, I’ve never…”
Maud softly whispered, “That’s alright.”
And it was.