The two ponies galloped through the thick, dark forest, heart’s pumping, adrenaline rising. Light was fading quickly, bathing the sky in dark indigo and black. The stars were just starting to come out.
And where there’s stars, there’s a moon, Pinkie Pie thought. The moon will light the way—I hope. The angry shouts from far behind them grew fainter and fainter as she and Cheese Sandwich went deeper and deeper into the Forrest. There were lots of leaves and sharp branches that they had to go through, which aggravated them a little because a majority of branches kept getting stuck inside their poofy manes and tails. “Ow…ow…ouch!”
“I wish there was another way around,” Cheese grunted. A branch scraped against his cheek.
“I know,” Pinkie agreed, frowning when a thorn scratched against her side. “But this way is the safest.”
“You think we lost them?”
“Maybe…but we’re not outta the woods yet—no pun intended.”
Just then, her ears started tingling, and her eyebrow started twitching. Pinkie gasped. “Somepony’s coming!”
Cheese’s heart skipped a beat and his head whipped from side to side. No one seemed to be coming. Unless… “It might be a pegasus,” he whispered.
“Hide!” Pinkie squeaked. The two dove under some nearby bushes, concealing themselves just enough to avoid being seen from above. After a few moments, they heard numerous flapping overhead. The first thing Pinkie saw was a rainbow colored blur flying above the trees. Evil Dashie.
“Prism!” a female voice called, sounding breathless. From Cheese’s vantage point, he saw a bright colored unicorn…with gossamer wings.
“Prism, wait! You’re going too fast! We need to search these woods accurately and thoroughly!”
Prism scoffed. “Starburst, please. We’ll go just as fast as we need to! I only let you come with us because you know a lot of fancy spells. But if your paper mache wings can’t keep up, you might as well turn right back around. Besides, we’re looking for two colorful ponies with ADHD that look like the 80s gone wild. They won’t be hard to find. They’re probably gallivanting through these woods singing a musical number spurting out confetti or something. We can’t possibly miss them.”
“I dunno, Pri,” another voice said doubtedly, this time a male. Pinkie could only make out a light blue tail. “I think they’re more clever than we give them credit for. Quick on their hooves too. It’s getting pretty dark out here. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they’re thinking about hiding in there for the night.”
“Ice Water…who’s in charge of this team?”
“…You are.”
“And who gets to make the decisions around here?”
“…You do.”
“Then don’t argue with me! C’mon, we’re wasting light. Esme wants them found at all costs. Especially that pink one.” With that said, they flew off, followed by a few more pegasi.
The two party planners waited a while to make sure that they were really gone. After a few more moments, Pinkie slowly poked her head out of the bushes. “Clear skies from here on in!” she announced happily. She and Cheese squeezed their way out of the bushes. Since the team of pegasi had gone north, they decided to go east, just to be safe.
“That guy had the right idea,” Cheese spoke. “We should try to find some shelter for the night.” Just then, Cheese started to shake and shudder. “Whoooeee!”
“Your Cheesie sense!” Pinkie exclaimed. The stallion couldn't even nod. Sensations rippled throughout his whole body, stretching it wide and thin. Eventually, Cheese finally stopped, and exhaled. “Oh, wow!”
“What?”
Cheese looked at Pinkie, his expression both surprised and confused. “I…I sensed multiple parties from all over,” he said bewilderingly.
“For us.”
Mayor Mare tapped her microphone. “Is—is this on? Am I on? Yes. All right.” She cleared her throat. “Mares and Gentlecolts, It gives me great pleasure that all of you have attended here tonight. Tonight, we celebrate a very special mare, and a very special stallion. Miss Pinkamena Diane Pie, who brightens up our lives each and every day here in Ponyville, and Mister Cheese Sandwich who helped throw the most spectacular birthday party this town has ever seen out of the kindness of his heart.”
Near the podium, there is a framed picture of Pinkie Pie hugging her pet alligator, grinning widely. The picture was surrounded by multiple bouquets, stuffed animals, sweets, and balloons. Marble sniffed as she lowered her bouquet next to the picture.
“This is not a time of mourning, but a time of remembrance and love. And on that note, I am proud to present the national balloon releasing.”
“What’s the national balloon releasing?” Igneous asked his wife, who shook her head.
“I have no idea.”
“You’ll see!” Sweetie Belle piped up next to them. She turned to her fellow crusaders. “Ready, guys?”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded enthusiastically. “Ready!”
In paris, the mane five plus Spike arrived at the town circle, where a large crowd of ponies were gathered. They were all holding yellow and pink balloons. “I wonder what’s going on here,” Rarity said.
Twilight went over to the nearest pony that had a grey coat and a short, wavy pink mane and asked, “Excuse moi, ce qui se passe ici?”
The mare smiled and replied back in Prench. Twilight nodded. “Merci.” She turned to her friends. “They are celebrating the life of Pinkie and Cheese by releasing balloons in their honor! Isn’t that sweet?”
The rest of her friends looked on, dumbfounded. Twilight chuckled. “I used to take a little Prench when I was a filly. It comes in handy now and then.”
“A little?” Rainbow said, raising an eyebrow.
Fluttershy looked up at the balloons. “It really is lovely that they care so much for them.” The Prench mare asked Twilight another question. When the princess answered, the other mare made a sound of exclamation, and pointed in another direction. Twilight’s gaze followed the mare’s hoof and gasped. “There they are! It’s Madame Honey Bee and her husband! Come on!”
The group followed Twilight to the other side of the square, where Honey and Cosmo stood solemnly, holding balloons of their own.
“Madame?” Twilight asked softly.
The mayor of Paris looked up and saw the five mares and baby dragon. Her eyes widened slightly and her lip started to tremble. “I-I…I’m so sorry!” she sobbed. She stumbled forward and hugged Fluttershy, the nearest pony, as tightly as she could. “I was responsible for their safety! This wasn’t supposed to happen! None of this was supposed to happen! They’re such good kids…”
Fluttershy embraced the miserable pony and started stroking her mane. “There, there,” she cooed softly. “It’s alright.” The pegasus had a knack for comforting animals and other woodland creatures. Ponies weren’t much different.
Cosmo stepped forward and bowed his head. “The fault is mine, princess,” he said sorrowfully. “I should have been there with them, or have body guards at the kid’s tent. Having less guards in the first place was the cause of it all. Forgive me. I failed them.”
Twilight raised his head with her hoof and looked him straight in the eye. She spoke gently, yet firmly. “No, Monsieur. You did not fail them. You did everything that you possibly could to keep everypony at the party safe. And you did just that. Thankfully, nopony was seriously hurt, and neither were the fillies and colts. You couldn’t have foreseen what happened, and it’s not your fault. What happened happened, and what’s past is past. What we can do now, is change what happens in the future. Don’t lose yourselves in despair.”
“That’s right,” Applejack stated, putting a comforting hoof on Honey’s shoulder. “In times like this, it’s better to dust your shoulders off and keep on movin’.”
“We could really use your help,” Rarity added.
Honey sniffled and managed a small smile. “Merci, children.”
Cosmo wiped his eyes. “Tell us what you need, mademoiselles.”
“We need your help in finding Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich,” Rainbow said, hovering in the air. “Maybe, take us to the scene of the crime?”
The couple looked at each other. “You can,” Honey said, “But the police have already combed that area several times and found nothing.”
“Yeah, but they’re not Twilight,” Spike said with a confident smirk. “With the right spell, she could track down anypony!”
“Spike,” Twilight blushed.
“D-Do you think you really could?” Honey asked, her voice brimming with hope.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Merveilleux! Oh! Excuse-moi. Once I do this, we will take you there.” The mayor stepped up to the podium and addressed the crowd, rapidly speaking Prench.
“I wish I understood fancy,” Applejack whispered.
Como looked down at her and smiled. “She is telling them what wonderful ponies Pinkie and Cheese are, how hard they worked on the party, and that our thoughts and prayers go out to them.”
The crowd cheered and stomped their hooves on the ground. The unicorns lit their horns, and bright lights glowed within the balloons. Spike and the girls oohed and ahhed at the sight. Ponies nearby handed them balloons as well. Cosmo nodded his head. “Now she is announcing the release of the balloons and it’s meaning.”
After spending quite some time wandering through the forest, the trees ahead parted to reveal an open clearing, the darkening sky clearly visible. The two ponies smiled at each other and broke into a trot.
When they made it past the trees, they saw a nice grassy hill that ended in a cliff that overlooked other large hills over the distance. They also saw numerous twinkling lights beyond the plains. City lights. “Well, chop my cheddar,” Cheese said with a big grin. “We’re closer to civilization than we thought!”
“And the trip would only take a day or two,” Pinkie said merrily. She looked beyond the city lights to the distant mountains. Pinkie wondered If her rock farm was somewhere beyond those mountains. Her thoughts then wandered over to her family. She hoped that they wouldn’t take it too hard.
“Hey!” she heard Cheese say behind her. She turned to see that he was coming out of a nearby cave about 15 hooves away from where she stood. “We could sleep here tonight! Don’t worry, there’s no spiders, or bugs, or bats. I checked.”
“Good,” Pinkie smiled. “I hate spiders! They’re so creepy and crawly, and…uuuurrrgh!”
“I know what you mean,” Cheese sighed, walking up next to her. “The one thing I don’t like…are snakes.”
Pinkie giggled as they sat down on the grass. “You and Twilight both!”
They lapsed into silence for awhile, gazing up at the stars. But it was the good kind of silence. A gentle breeze blew in their manes, and the blades of grass swayed from side to side. The air smelled of sweet summer breeze even though it was nearly the end of winter. The night sky was brilliant tonight, for there were billions and billions of stars shining like diamonds. The moon shone brightly as well, illuminating the two ponies in its soft light. “It sure is beautiful tonight,” Pinkie said quietly. She turned her head, finding Cheese’s bright green eyes gazing into her own baby blues.
Cheese swallowed and looked down. “I…um…I was really worried about you today. I…almost lost you. And that scared me.”
Pinkie craned her neck under his head, causing them to make eye contact again. “But you didn’t lose me,” she smiled. “I have you to thank for that!”
Cheese lifted his head with Pinkie following suit. “Thank me? But Pinkie, this was all my fault! I keep letting you down. I couldn’t protect you when those ponies took us away…I couldn’t protect you from Esme…and I almost got us caught again when we escaped.” He sighed heavily. “I’m so sorry, Pinkie. I’m just a big screw up.”
Pinkie immediately placed her hooves on his shoulders, keeping their gazes locked. “No you’re not. Cheesie, you’ve been wonderful! We worked so well together—and there’s no way you could’ve stopped what happened. Nopony could! You protected those kids and helped them escape—"
“You too!”
“But you were the one that got us out in time, and you were the one that saved me! Cheesie…” She lunged forward, giving him a loving hug. “You’re my hero!”
Cheese’s eyes widened and a heavy blush worked its way onto his cheeks. He wraps his forelegs around the party mare and held her close. Her mane smelled of sweet cotton candy. “You really think so?” he asked as they reluctantly pulled away.
Pinkie bobbed her head up and down. “Of course!”
“But you know, you were pretty great too, holding him down with that.”
“Really?”
“Oh, totally. You were like a ninja."
Sweetie Belle grunted as her horn glowed, and released the spell that Rarity had taught her. All the balloons started glowing a soft golden color. The crowd cheered in delight.
“Wow, Sweetie!” Apple Bloom gasped. “It’s beautiful!”
“Nice one!” Scootaloo grinned.
“Thanks!”
“All right, Ponyville!” Mayor Mare said enthusiastically. “Are you ready?” The crowd cheered once more.
“YEAH!!!” Bulk Biceps screamed.
“Let’s count it down! Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!"
“Cinq! Quatre! Trois! Deux! Un!”
Twilight released her balloon.
Pinkie gasped. “Cheese! Cheese, look!” Cheese looked up, and his eyes practically popped out of their eye sockets.
Balloons.
Millions, no, trillions of flickering and glowing balloons appeared out of every direction, making the night light up like a candle. They were coming from the North, South, East, and West. They were even floating up from behind the distant mountains. All pink and yellow, all glowing brighter than a million fireflies.
“This is amazing!” Cheese exclaimed.
Pinkie oohed and ahhed over the magical sight. “Do…do you think this might have something to do with your Cheesie sense from earlier?”
“Maybe,” Cheese grinned, looking at her. “At least, I think so.”
“I think so too.” Pinkie looked into his eyes once more, blushing slightly.
Cheese swallowed. Their faces were just inches apart. His heart was beating erratically. Cheese made a split decision. He slowly leaned forward, closing his eyes. Before Pinkie could say anything, Cheese planted his lips onto hers. Pinkie’s eyes went wide with surprise at first, but then she slowly closed them, and kissed him back.
After a moment, they slowly pulled away, staring at each other, both blushing heavily. Pinkie felt extra tingly and light headed—in a good way. She started to giggle. Cheese let out a snort. They both started to laugh, both very happy and a little bit hysterical. “I bet that doesn’t happen on the road,” Pinkie chuckled.
“Ha! Nope!” He nuzzled her affectionately. “I…I love you, Pinkie. You’re the most funnest, craziest, most wonderful mare I’ve ever met. I knew it…ever since I saw you balancing on a ball, juggling all those rubber chickens.”
Pinkie grinned wildly. “You know what?” she said, nuzzling him back. “I love you back! You’re goofy, you’re silly, and…you've got a big heart. And I love you for it! I LOVE YOU!!!” She dove forward, kissing him yet again, this time with more vigor. Cheese made a sound at the back of his throat, but ultimately let it happen. “MWAH!” Pinkie smooched, planting kisses all over his face.
Pinkie became so happy, she stumbled back and began to shake. Then, in a burst of color, she shot into the sky, and fireworks exploded behind her. “WHOOO HOOOO!” Cheese just fell onto his back, giggling deliriously.
Pinkie yawned and opened her eyes. Sunlight was streaking into the darkness of the cave. She was curled up next to Cheese, who was snoring heavily, on the cave ground. Pinkie sat up and stretched, her body illuminated by the sun beams. “Good Morning, Equestria!” she sighed happily. “Today’s the day we continue on our quest home!” Pinkie stood up and nudged Cheese playfully. “Rise and shine, Cheesie!” she chirped as the stallion opened his eyes. “Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!”
The young pony grunted and shook his head to clear the fog of sleep. “Wah? Bacon? Eggs? Where?”
“None around here, I’m afraid,” Pinkie said with an apologetic smile. “But maybe we’ll find a restaurant or a snack shop further down the road.”
Cheese’s ears perked up at that. “Well, let’s go then!” He hopped up and stretched out his legs. “Off on a hero’s journey, hoo-hah!”
Cheese inhaled deeply and sighed happily. It had been awhile since they were last able to frolic freely in an open space, enjoying the rays of the sun. The air was crisp and oh-so inviting. Cheese and Pinkie Pie made their way across several grassy hills, and not another pony in sight. But they didn’t mind. Because, for the first time in a week, they felt safe. Pinkie was hopping along, humming a perky tune, and Cheese trotted ahead, happy to be stretching his legs. The stallion galloped up a hill and puffed out his chest. “Happy as Monfree, ‘cause we are free! Yodle-eh-hee-hoo!”
Pinkie giggled as she bounced next to him. “You can yodel too?” She cleared her throat and lifted her head towards the sky. “Yodle-eh-hee-hoooooo!”
Cheese got ready to yodel back when a sharp voice cut him off.
“Would you quit that incessant yodeling!” The party ponies stopped short. Did they just get caught?
A pegasus with a peach colored coat and a light brown mane and eyes appeared over one of the hills, glaring at them sternly. She had a bandage around one of her wings.
“Hello!” Cheese greeted. “We have traveled many miles and suffered many hardships!”
“We endured blistering winds and scorching desserts!” Pinkie bellowed dramatically. “We climbed to the highest tower—"
“Wrong line, Pinkie,” Cheese interrupted.
“Don’t I know you two from somewhere?” the pony asked slowly.
“That depends,” Pinkie said with a grin.
“On what?”
“On whether or not you take polka.” Cheese answered.
“What? Oh, never mind. What are you two doing out here?”
Pinkie cleared her throat and said in one breath, “Well, to give a recap, we were invited to Paris to throw a party of the mayor and her husband and when we were entertaining the kids some robbers came and tried to get in the tent so we beat the up and the kids got away, but then we were kidnapped—"
“Kidnapped?”
“Yeah, and they were super mean and they took us to the mountains and chained us up and separated us, Cheese had to work and I had to stay in a cage, but then his aunt Blueberry came and set us free, and now we’re on the run.”
The pony blinked. “Wow.”
Cheese nodded. “Yeah.”
“Also, do you have any snacks?” Pinkie asked.
“I take it you guys are hungry,” the pegasus said with a nod. “Come on then, I have a cabin further down. You can rest there.”
“Thanks a lot!” Cheese said as they followed the mare. “We didn’t get your name.”
“Silhouette. Nice to meet you. You guys siblings?”
“No,” Cheese chuckled.
“We seem to get that a lot,” Pinkie said.
“I’m Cheese Sandwich, and this is Pinkie Pie.” Silhouette looked surprised. “I knew I saw you before! You two are the ponies that went missing a couple of weeks ago.”
“Two weeks!” the party ponies exclaimed.
“Yeah, I think I saw it in the news paper. All the ponies in town were talking about it.”
“There’s a town nearby?” Pinkie said hopefully.
“Well, not nearby. Its a few hundred miles from here. I Can't even fly there to get groceries.”
“Oh.”
“But don’t worry. Once you get your strength up, I’d be happy to take you there.”
“We can’t thank you enough, Silhouette,” Cheese said as they neared a cozy looking cabin.
“Oh, it’s no trouble. Now I have to warn you, my cousin Scarlet is staying with me for the week to take care of me. She just moved in from Baltimare.”
“Why are you warning us?” Cheese asked. “Would she mind us staying here?”
“Oh, no,” Silhouette assured, and knocked on the door before stepping backwards. “She wouldn’t mind at all. She’s a really nice girl, and I think you’ll like her. It’s just that she’s a little—"
The door swung open and smacked Cheese right on the nose, sending him to the ground with a painful thump.
“Clumsy.”
“HI COUSIN!” Scarlet trilled. She was also a pegasus with a fiery orange coat, a sunny blonde mane, and blue eyes. The mare looked down and gasped when she saw Cheese rubbing his nose while Pinkie helped him up. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there!”
“It’s okay,” Cheese said nasally.
“Oooh, that doesn’t sound good. Your nose might bleed! That won’t do.” She grabbed Cheese by the hoof and dragged him inside. Silhouette chuckled when she saw Pinkie biting her hoof worriedly. She escorted her inside and shut the door behind them. Scarlet dragged Cheese through the cabin so fast, he smacked into a lamp with a groan. “Oops! Sorry.” She gently pulled his around the lamp and pushed him onto a couch.
“Now, let me get the first aid kit…oh, where did I leave it?” Pinkie plopped next to Cheese on the couch and watched Scarlet as she flew around in the air, frantically looking into cupboards and cabinets.
“I’ll make you some breakfast,” Silhouette said empathetically.
Scarlet came back with the first aid kit. “Found it!” she said cheerfully. She opened the kit and pulled out come cotton balls and peroxide. “So, have you and your wife been traveling long?” she asked, pouring the liquid onto the cotton.
“Oh, we’re not mar—" Scarlet shoved the cotton balls on his snout, making it sting painfully.
“Ueruuughh.”
“Far enough,” Pinkie smirked.
Scarlet took away the cotton balls and started wrapping a bandage around Cheese’s nose.
“Oh, you guys are such troopers, coming all this way on your own. I’m such a city girl. I wouldn’t have lasted a second! And I have wings! Where are you headed?”
“Hopefully Ponyville,” Cheese said, wincing at the pain.
“Oooo, Ponyville. A quaint little town, I hear that’s where the new princess lives! And the rest of the wielders of Harmony. Isn’t that right, Silhouette?”
Silhouette gave them a sly smile from the kitchen. “Mmm-hmmm.”
“In fact,” Scarlet said looking at Pinkie. “I think you remind me of one of them. Yeah, you look exactly like—" Her eyes widened, having put two and two together. “OH! Oh, you’re Pinkie Pie! Silhouette!!!”
Her cousin only laughed.
“Silhouette, Pinkie Pie is in your cabin! Goodness gracious me!” She smiled hugely at the pink mare. “Oh, it’s an honor to meet you. You’ve been missing for the longest time! Oh, all the girls at the spa, they’ve just been chatting, chatting, chatting about the fiasco at Paris. Oh, and your friends, the poor things, they were put in a catatonic state because they’re so worried about you!”
Before Pinkie could correct her, Scarlet turned to Cheese and kept on rambling. “And you, they’ve been talking about you nonstop. The whole thing was a tragedy, it really was. Well—not anymore, ‘cause you’re here. We found you!” She gasped loudly. “Omigosh, WE FOUND YOU! We found the missing ponies, this is NEWS! Silhouette, this is wall-breaking, hair splitting, roof shattering NEWS!”
“I know that, Scar,” Silhouette said, bringing over two plates of pancakes. “Now would you scoot over and let these ponies eat? They’ve been through a lot.”
Scarlet was beside herself. “Oh my goodness, yes!” The pegasus pulled both ponies into a crushing hug. “You poor things! Oh, it must’ve been awful for you, just awful!”
Pinkie and Cheese could only wheeze in reply.
Scarlet released them abruptly and allowed her cousin set the plates down in front of them. “Now go on and eat! EAT, for goodness sakes, you must be starving! Oh!” She peered at Pinkie’s side and poured more peroxide onto a cloth. “You’ve got some bruises too. Hold still!”
Pinkie almost leapt into the air at the stinging alcohol came in contact with her skin. “GGRUUGH!!”
Cheese chuckled as he ate his pancake. Vengeance was now his.
There was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it!” Scarlet sang. She flew over to the door and looked through the peep hole.
“Who is it?” Silhouette asked.
“I dunno. There’s a unicorn with wings, and two pegasi—hey, one of them looks like Rainbow Dash!”
Cheese choked on his pancake.