//------------------------------// // 177. The Music Stand - Part 1 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// The crowing of the local rooster heralded yet another day, courtesy of the much-beloved Princess Celestia. Cheese Sandwich hummed merrily as he trotted off towards Sugarcube Corner. It just felt like another fun-diddly day! Big Mac and Fluttershy returned a few days ago from their honeymoon, and their friends had helped them move into their new house, Big Mac moving his stuff from his room from the farmhouse while Fluttershy took most of her things along with her animal care possessions. The next day, they’d gone to Mr. Davenport’s to buy a new sofa, and went around to get more furnishings and necessary appliances. As far as Cheese knew, Big Mac and Fluttershy were still adjusting to their new home, but they were happy. As he got closer to the bakery, he noticed someone else had the same destination in mind. “Howdy-ho, Daisy Jo!” The brown and white cow looked to see, “Cheese Sandwich, a fine morning, don’cha know?” “Lemme guess,” Cheese chuckled as they stepped towards the threshold of Sugarcube Corner, “You’re here for a batch of your favorite cookies.” “You are correct, because nothing goes so well with my milk, don’cha know?” Daisy Jo giggled. “Well then!” Pinkie interrupted as she bounced out the door, surprising the cow while Cheese smiled at her presence, having fully expected her. “You’ll find a fresh batch of oatmeal cookies inside, courtesy of Mrs. Cake!” “Moo! Sounds delightful,” Daisy Jo exclaimed with a happy grin as she went in, leaving the pink and orange ponies to suddenly notice the other’s presence, and were delighted. “Cheesie!” “Pinkie!” The two party ponies hugged and Pinkie said, “What’s up?” “Just wanted to hang,” Cheese shrugged, “you’re free today, right?” “Yeah, just wrapped up a workout,” Pinkie nodded as they trotted off through town. She phew'd before stating, “I tell ya, Cheesie, sometimes the twins really make me work for their laughter!” “But you got `em in the end, I’ll bet,” Cheese gave her a smirk. “Yes-indeedy!” Pinkie nodded when she stopped and looked to a flower stand, “Oh Rose! Your calla-lilies look even better than last year! I bet you’ll take first prize in the flower show again.” “Thanks, Pinkie,” replied Rose Luck, one of the local Flower Trio, “would you and Cheese like some?” “Absolutely!” Cheese answered excitedly with his tongue hanging out. Rose Luck threw a couple blooms their way, and they vanished down the party ponies’ throats before they continued on with a loop in their lope as they both hopped and hoof-bumped with their rear hooves. “Looking fresh as a daisy, Miss Goldie Delicious!” Cheese greeted as they passed the old mare by. “And your shawl looks so pretty today!” “Well thank ya kindly, dearie,” Goldie Delicious blushed at the young earth pony’s compliment, “You really know how t’ make a mare feel pretty!” As they approached him, Pinkie said, “Well happy birthday, Caramel!” “Thanks, Pinks!” Caramel gave her a smile as he passed them by. “And happy day after your birthday, Bulk Biceps!” Cheese called to the pumped-up pegasus, and got his trademarked ‘YEAH’ in thankful response. Then Pinkie saw a familiar face, albeit much younger than when she’d first met him. Pinkie remembered Midnight had used a spell to restore Cranky and Matilda to the ages they were when they’d met all those years ago at the gala; that way, they could make up for lost time, and still grow old together. “And Cranky! Happy birthday to you!” Cranky Doodle Donkey looked her way, bewildered by her good wishes, as it wasn’t his birthday. “...In two-hundred-and-thirty-one days!” Cheese clarified, making Cranky Doodle laugh. “You party ponies are a real wonder!” chuckled the young-again jack. “How is it you remember everything about everypony?” “Easy! Everypony’s our friend,” Cheese answered. “And we love to see our friends smile!” added Pinkie. They carried on as they felt a melody in their hearts, a melody that felt long overdue. [Pinkie Pie] My name is Pinkie Pie! “Hello!” [Cheese Sandwich] Cheese Sandwich here to say… “How ya doin’?” [Pinkie & Cheese] We’re gonna make you smile And then we’ll brighten up your da-a-y! [Cheese Sandwich] It doesn’t matter now “What’s up?” [Pinkie Pie] If you are sad or blue “Howdy!” [Pinkie & Cheese] `Cause cheering up our friends is what we Party Ponies do! `Cause I love to make you smile-smile-smile! “Yes I do!” It fills my heart with sunshine all the while “Yes it does!” `Cause all we really need’s a smile-smile-smile… From these happy friends of ours! [Pinkie Pie] I like to see you grin! “Awesome!” [Cheese Sandwich] I love to see you beam! “Rock on!” [Pinkie & Cheese] The corners of your mouth turned up; The Party Pony Dream! “Hoof-bump!” [Cheese Sandwich] But if you’re kinda lonely… [Pinkie Pie] And your face has made a frown… [Pinkie & Cheese] We’ll work real hard We’ll do our best! To turn every frown upside-down…! `Cause I love to make you-grin-grin-grin! “Yes I do!” Bust it out from ear to ear, let it begin! Just give me a joyful grin-grin-grin And you fill me with good cheer! It’s true some days feel dark and lonely… And maybe you feel sad, but Pinkie and Cheese will show you it’s never that bad! There’s one thing that makes us happy, what really makes life worthwhile…! And that’s when we hang with our friends, and help them all smile! (Smile-smile-SMILE…!) We really are so happy! Your smiles fill us with glee! We give a smile, we get a smile And that means so much to we! `Cause we love to see you beam-beam-beam! “Yes we do!” Tell me, what more can we say to help you see “That we do!” It makes us happy when you beam-beam-beam Yeah it always makes our day…! C’mon everypony, smile-smile-smile! Fill every heart with sunshine-sunshine! All we really need’s a smile-smile-smile From these happy friends of mine! [Townsfolk join in] C’mon everypony, smile-smile-smile! Fill every heart with sunshine-sunshine! All we really need’s a smile-smile-smile From these happy friends of MINE...! Yes, the perfect gift for we, it’s as plain as can be (C’mon everypony, smile-smile-smile!) Is a smile as wide as a mile, wide as a mile! (Fill every heart with sunshine-sunshine!) To make us happy as can be…! (All we really need’s a smile-smile-smile) Smile, smile, smile! Smile! SMILE….!!!! C’mon and smile…! C’mon and smile! “Hmm…” Pinkie and Cheese gaped at the face they were suddenly looking at, and Pinkie gasped, “Matilda! Looking good!” “Thank you…” Like Cranky Doodle, Matilda was also a young-again jenny, her mane pulled back into a ponytail much like the one she wore when she first met her Doodle at the gala. Without another word, she passed them by, looking annoyed but keeping it to herself. “So that’s Matilda, huh?” Cheese asked. “Uh-huh, but… Y’know, for a moment there, she reminded me of how I first met Cranky!” Pinkie pointed out. “How was that?” Cheese asked. “I… pointed out to everypony that he was bald,” Pinkie admitted with a sheepish giggle. “At his age?” Cheese gaped at her, baffled. “Oh that’s right! You weren’t here then,” Pinkie realized. “C’mon to Sugarcube Corner, I’ll tell you over milkshakes and cupcakes! *SLURP* “Careful, Pinkie!” Cheese chuckled, “Don’t wanna get brain-freeze.” “But it’s just so good!” Pinkie licked her lips, getting some milkshake dribble she’d missed. “So Cranky and Matilda are really in their sixties?” Cheese was still baffled by Pinkie’s claim. “Yupper-doodles! See, they met at the Grand Galloping Gala many years ago,” Pinkie explained, “but the next day, Cranky went to Matilda’s hotel room to see her except she was gone! She’d left him a note but he never got it, so he traveled allllllllllll over Equestria looking for her, until finally he gave up! He came to Ponyville to retire from his search, and I cannot tell you how hard it was to finally get him to be friends with me. It got to the point where he yelled at me that he’d never be my friend ever!” “So how’d you get him to be friends with you?” “Well, he’d mentioned he’d been looking for a special friend,” Pinkie said, “and I realized he had a very similar scrapbook to one owned by Matilda, and I was able to put two an’ two an’ two together! Midnight and I brought them together and they were so happy to see each other, and the smile Cranky made made it all worth it, especially when he finally called me his friend!” “But... how’d they get young again?” Cheese reminded her. “Oh yeah! Heh-ha! Well, Midnight felt it was sad they didn’t get to grow old together! So, a night or two later, Midnight asked Cranky and Matilda to see him,” Pinkie wrapped up, “and he used a spell powered by a full moon to make them both the same ages they were when they first met!” “Wow! And this was before Midnight became an alicorn prince?” Cheese was bewildered, even after Pinkie nodded. “I’ve heard age spells are super hard to do, that only the very best unicorn wizards can cast them! Usually, only Alpha-level unicorns can do `em, rarely any Betas.” “But I think something’s up with Matilda,” Pinkie brought up, “she seemed a lot like Cranky when I first met him.” “Are you talking about Matilda, dearies?” Cheese and Pinkie looked up to see Cup Cake, who’d come over to collect their milkshake glasses. “Hi, Mrs. Cake, how’s biz?” Cheese asked as he and Pinked hooved over their glasses. “Just scrumdiddilyumptious,” Cup Cake smiled, “but what were you just talking about, dears?” “We saw Matilda today, Mrs. Cake,” Pinkie explained, “and she looked like a real frowny-frown mcfrownpants, almost as frowny as Cranky was when I first met him!” “Oh dear,” Cup Cake looked troubled, Pinkie and Cheese giving her confused looks. “Well, yesterday Matilda came by and ordered a baker’s dozen of white chocolate chip cookies and ate them all in one sitting, all the while she looked quite sour! I politely asked if there was anything wrong, and she just sighed, said good day and left! But… there was just this look on her face that seemed hurt.” “Matilda sounds like something’s making her sad,” Cheese commented. “I have to agree, dear,” Cup Cake nodded, “so I mentioned Matilda to Cranky the next time I saw him, but he didn’t seem aware of Matilda’s behavior. In fact, he seemed in such a hurry he didn’t have time to discuss it.” “Well, where’d Cranky go?” Pinkie asked, a little surprised that Cranky didn’t seem concerned over his Matilda. “He just said he was going to visit a friend of his, some… Steven something,” Cup Cake shrugged before leaving to take the glasses to be washed. “Cheesie,” Pinkie said with a determined look, “I think we oughta find out what’s going on here.” “Whattya mean, Pinkie?” Cheese raised a confused brow. “If Cranky and Matilda are having problems, we gotta help!” Pinkie insisted. “They lost so many years to be together because of a simple mistake, and we have to make sure their finding each other and second chance isn’t for nothing. Look, I’ll go see Cranky and you go talk to Matilda.” “Well… okay, but let’s be careful of what we say, Pinks,” Cheese agreed hesitantly, “let’s find out what they both think of whatever’s going on and then share what we learn before we do anything. Don’t wanna make waves if there is or isn’t some kind of problem.” “Okie-dokie-lokie!” Cheese wandered through the Ponyville marketplace, keeping a sharp eye out, thinking, Hmm… maybe she went home already. He smiled when he saw her, and went over, saying, “Hey Matilda! How’s your day?” Matilda had been looking at a stand that sold fabrics and sewing tools, and she acknowledged Cheese’s arrival and hello with an indifferent, “Hello, Cheese Sandwich…” “What’cha shopping for, Matilda?” Cheese asked with exuberant interest, as he peered into Matilda’s bag. “Planning to sew something?” “I’m considering it,” sighed Matilda, appearing to lose interest in the stand’s wares. “But… perhaps this was just a waste of time.” “Aw, Matilda, what’s wrong?” Cheese frowned slightly in concern as he pulled Matilda into a one-arm hug. “Just tell your Uncle Cheesie so he can make it all better.” “I’m old enough to be your grandmother, young colt,” Matilda gave him a look. “You? Nuh-uh, at best you could be mistaken for a pretty-looking older sister,” Cheese teased with a knowing wink, making Matilda smile just a little bit. “Now c’mon, tell Cheesie what’s rubing you the wrong way.” They way he emphasized it, Matilda assumed with a small chuckle that ‘rubing’ must be a type of cheese, and gave in. “Alright, let’s find a seat first.” Cheese led Matilda to the local park and a nice bench beneath a tree to provide a comfortable shade, and both took a seat on each end. Taking a deep breath, she began, “...It’s Doodle. He’s been going out all the time, acting out, hardly spending much time with me lately. I brought it up with him, just once, and he goes off saying how much time he lost looking for me that he felt his life passed him by! “After Midnight restored our youth, Doodle and I had the most wonderful time! We talked about that night we met, the long time apart before we finally found each other again, the folks we’ve met, places we’ve visited, things we’ve done... But… One day, he just started wanting to go out and have fun, and…” Cheese’s ears pressed down as he felt bad to see Matilda look so upset, “Cheese, he spent so many years looking for me! I wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d given up and found someone else, but… We’re here! Together in Ponyville, and it seems he just isn’t interested anymore!” “Aw, Matilda,” Cheese said reassuringly, “you and Cranky are a match made in heaven! The fact he spent so many years looking for you is proof enough of how much he loves you!” “But he told me himself that he gave up!” Matilda released a tear and stifled a sob, “The only reason he and I found each other was because he came to Ponyville to retire from his search.” “Maybe, but you still found each other and got another chance!” Cheese insisted, taking Matilda’s hoof into his own. “Perhaps he thought you’d moved on with your life, or that his chance to be with you had come and gone. But take it from me, Matilda, it was no coincidence you found each other again here in Ponyville! Look, lemme tell you a little something about myself. “When I was a little colt, I lived in Manehatten. But I was nothing like the party pony you know me as today! I was so shy and afraid to open up, nopony even knew I existed… so I ran away.” Matilda could scarcely imagine Cheese being such a colt as he described but the sound of a little colt running away from home like that made her sad. “But one day, a while after I’d left Manehatten, I tripped on something and stumbled into Ponyville, and what I found was the amazingest-mazing party to ever amazingly maze! The place was so full of cheer, smiles on everypony’s face, I was never happier before than I was that day! “I was so inspired by that one party, that I vowed to change my life and let go of my past, and wouldn’t you know it? The one who threw that party was Pinkie Pie!” Matilda gasped a little as she suddenly remembered! Years ago, she went to visit her neighbors, the Cakes and heard they had a new apprentice baker, who was out saying hello to the locals. Matilda had gone to find this little pony and was blown to see a party with a little pink filly at the center, juggling rubber chickens and balancing on a bouncy ball. “I remember that party!” Matilda realized. “I hadn’t enjoyed myself so much since.. that night Doodle and I met at the Gala. You were there?” “Swear on camambert,” Cheese chuckled, “but I didn’t stick around for long. I was still a colt back then and I was discovered and sent back to Manehatten. But as I grew up, I strove to live by the example Pinkie had inspired me with, which is why I struck out on my own after I was old enough to throw parties for others all over Equestria! I tell ya, Matilda, I don’t care if it was coincidence or even fate that caused me to be at that party at that time back then. I’m just glad I was there when it happened! Otherwise, heh… who knows where or what or who’d I be right now!” The way Cheese said that, how he spoke of whether or not it had been fate or coincidence that brought him to that party that changed his life, it made Matilda ponder. Cranky trotted merrily through the streets, a wide smile on his face that made his name seem ridiculous. No longer old or tired or unhappy, the young-again donkey was almost completely unrecognizable as that cranky old donkey that had first showed up in Ponyville some time ago. And one of the ponies he had to thank for his joy was now approaching him at a brisk pace. "Cranky! Cranky, I need to talk with you!" The donkey looked up at the bouncy pink mare, his smile as wide as ever. However he was curious about the worried expression upon her face. "Hello, Pinkie Pie. What can I do for you today? You seem troubled." "Well, I was talking to my good friend Cheesy about you and Matilda and when you first showed up in Ponyville and how I was a bit too forceful and not giving you space until Midnight stepped in and helped me reunite you with Matilda and about how Matilda hasn't been looking happy lately and Mrs. Cake told us she saw her not looking happy just the other day because you were going off somewhere so I wanted to make sure nothing was wrong and you two weren't having problems because I helped you both get together and I would be so sad and upset with myself if I made you guys sad by reuniting you together so please tell me what's happening and if I can help?!" The pink pony took a gasping breath after belting out the sentence without stopping to breath once. Cranky had to go over everything she said carefully to figure out exactly what she had been talking about. "Oh, so you're worried about Matilda and me. Well, don't fret Pinkie, things are okay. Matilda is just getting cranky because she can't embrace my new lifestyle." His admission that Matilda was in fact upset due to his actions had Pinkie clawing for details. "Whattya mean, Cranky Wanky? Why would Matilda get upset about your lifestyle? You always seemed so relaxed and slow like her. Why would that upset her?" "Well that's the thing, Pinkie. Since Midnight restored Matilda and I to our youthful selves, I've just been so full of life! I can run and jump and do all sorts of things I couldn't do in my old age,” Cranky cheered as he frisked about and jumped, doing an aerial somersault before landing in front of Pinkie. “Plus, now I can redo my life!" "Redo your life? What does that mean?" His odd word choice had the pink pony stumped. Why would he change his life? He'd finally found Matilda and was happy, so why would that change things? Sensing her confusion, Cranky rested a hoof upon her shoulder. "You see, Pinkie Pie, I spent years searching for Matilda. We were both so young when we danced together at that gala forty or so years ago. Since that day, I spent every day searching for my love, going from town to town, always moving, always searching. I spent so long searching that I used up all the years of my youth, until I was worn away into that old cranky donkey you bumped into a while ago, ready to settle down with what was left of my miserable life and just wait it out until my time was up. But now, I have Matilda and I have my youth. I can now use the time I’ve gotten back to explore the youth I missed out on, experience life outside of my search for Matilda! I want to go out on adventures, go crazy and explore all the new paths open to me. I want to live the life I wasn't able to before!" Pinkie digested his words. What he said made sense. That old cranky donkey she had first met had spent all the good years of his life on the road searching for his lost love. Now that he had her back, and his lost youth, why wouldn't he want to explore his life more, experience things he hadn't or couldn't do before? Pinkie knew that if she were given the same opportunity, she would take it too (well provided she was with her friends of course). Still this left her with another question. "Then why is Matilda all saddy-waddy? Shouldn't she be feeling all happy now that she has you back?" The young donkey just gave a dismissive wave of his hoof. "I know. She should be out in the world with me exploring everything, enjoying life. Instead she just gets all annoyed whenever I want to go anywhere. She says because she didn't spend her years looking for me like I did her, she’s already experienced her youth and now just wants us to spend time together quietly and slowly. I love that, that she wants to spend her time with me, but this is such a glorious opportunity that won't ever happen again! We have a new chance to live our lives, but all she wants to do is sit around the house all day. When we get old and grey again then we can do that. But whenever I say that to her, she just gets all huffy and annoyed. Honestly, she really just needs to lighten up." Pinkie gave a frown. She could understand both points of view here. Cranky had his youth back and wanted to explore it, but Matilda, who had already explored her youth, just wanted to be with him to make up for lost time. But how could she help them both? "Well thanks for chatting with me Cranky, but I need to go find Cheesy now. He and I are going to really need to put our heads together to solve this." "Solve what- Pinkie..." But before the donkey could further inquire what Pinkie was up to, the party pony had zoomed off in a cloud of pink smoke. Cranky was confused for a moment before deciding to adopt Ponyville's policy of just assuming 'It's Pinkie' and ignore the weird retreat. Instead he decided to get back on track. "Now time to find that paragliding class, I wanna touch the sky!"