Cheese refused to give up hope. It had been days since he first left Ponyville, and remained traveling. The group started to lose spirit, though, as the days went on. Food & shelter were hard to find, and most of them had run out of money. But Cheese had his apology penned, and was ready to give it to Pinkie. Only one problem; no Pinkie. Count in the fact that they have searched most of Equestria by now, and you can guarantee they were tired and ready to quit. Most of them, anyway. Rarity proposed earlier that they split up to cover more ground, and Cheese agreed. Rainbow was more or less pulled in to the idea after Cheese & Rarity had already gone their separate ways. Despite this plan, Pinkie was nowhere to be found.
Until one meeting in Appleloosa, that is.
After what felt like years apart, the three crossed paths in Appleloosa, where they decided to meet after they started taking separate trails. Nopony had seen Pinkie, though. Lack of company for 2 days added to the stressful and weary atmosphere. They were hungry, too. It had not been a great week.
“We’ve been absolutely EVERYWHERE, Cheese.”, complained Rainbow. “We should just get back now. She could have returned by now.”
“Rainbow’s right. We need to head back. We’re out of food, and money.”, agreed Rarity.
“No.”, Cheese replied, with a grim tone. “We have to keep searching, keep looking. Pinkie’s here somewhere. I just know it”. Cheese trotted off, to ask more ponies about Pinkie.
“That pony’s obsessed.”, Rainbow commented. “We should turn back before we end up leaving Equestria entirely.”
“RARITY!! RAINBOW!! Come quickly!!”. Cheese Sandwich was yelling from across the block. “I found somepony who’s seen Pinkie!”
“His name is Party Favor, and he said he saw Pinkie passing through here. We’re on the right trail! I told you, but YOU didn’t listen! We need to keep moving!”
“Do you where she went from here?’, asked Rarity, in a calm manner. “Do you know how long she’s been here, or why?
“Uh…., no.” Cheese didn’t have those answers. He was driven to find Pinkie, and wouldn’t stop until he did.
“Well, I’m heading back.”, said Rainbow. “Catch you guys later!”
“RAINBOW!!”, yelled Rarity, as Rainbow Dash flew off at her normal fast pace. “Wait for me!”
It was just Cheese Sandwich now. He tried to get them to stay, but failed. Again, he packed his few belongings and trekked off east; he didn’t know where. But, the location didn’t matter. Or Rarity. Or Rainbow Dash. All that mattered now, was Pinkie.
The Cakes no longer had time to bake cakes. Their time was spent trying to calm everypony down, and stopping fights from breaking loose and covering Ponyville in hatred. They had results varying from mild success, to being shoved in a ditch, to being threatened. All day, every day. Sleep was practically impossible, due to the noise outside. Applejack helped, too, and she was relatively better at Pinkie’s job then the Cakes. Weird, since the Cakes lived with Pinkie and all. Yet, this still wasn’t enough. About a third of Ponyville had already left into search teams, divided into unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. Their reports were similar to Cheese’s, and the Cakes: unsuccessful.
Most ponies gave in. Pinkie Pie was the glue that held them together, and they had not been able to realize this until now. Tensions were high, and spirits low. Slowly, over time, even the Cakes gave up. Applejack alone crumpled under the hate, and soon, started hating too. Ponyville was a mess, that needed cleaning.
And who better to clean than Twilight? Spike still on her back, she had finally reached what she’d been looking for. It took longer than she expected, as it was on the other side of Equestria entirely, but the important thing was that she made the journey. As uneventful as the place looked, she knew this was where Pinkie would go.