Pinkie continued walking, keeping her glance to the ground. It was cracked and dry, and hard on her hooves.
She wasn't thinking about the ground, however. She was thinking of how her family would react. Would they force her to come back to Cheese? Would they not let her use the Choosing Stone again? There has never been a single Pie faced with this dilemma, so Pinkie wasn't sure what exactly to do. Maybe she could wait a bit before using the Stone again after getting home? She quickly dismissed that thought. The longer she takes, the longer it will be before Marble gets to go! And if Marble doesn't go soon, she'll get lonely, since she's the only sister still at the rock farm!
Pinkie sighed. What should I do?
She started trotting, conflicted about what she should do. She didn't want to force Marble to wait any longer, and was afraid her parents would be disappointed in her if she returned. However, she couldn't stay here. She should let the lovebirds be and mind her own business.
The cutting of air was heard above her. She snorted silently, knowing it was probably Surprise coming to bring her back so they could continue on their trip to Vanhoover. Pinkie was preparing to politely decline the offer.
Just as she expected, something landed in front of her. She stopped, her glare looking Surprise up and down. Surprise's eyes met hers, and her ears flopped back.
"...Pinkie? Are you alright?" She asked. Pinkie turned her head.
"Sorry, Surprise. It's something personal."
Surprise tilted her head to the side. "Is it something I did?"
Pinkie turned to her. "Why would you think that?" Pinkie couldn't bear to tell the pegasus the truth. Surprise might be angry and see Pinkie as competition.
Surprise shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it's just my Surprise Sense," Surprise replied. "Is there any way I can help you feel better?"
Pinkie smiled slightly at Surprise's compassion. "No, it's alright."
Surprise nodded. "Alright. Oh! I forgot what I came to tell you," Surprise started. She met Pinkie's sharp blue eyes again. "I'm gonna be returning to the Wonderbolt compound now."
Pinkie's ear flicked. "...What? Why? I thought you wanted to spend time with Cheese."
Surprise looked to the ground. "Well... I do, but... we're not exactly... together anymore."
Pinkie's eyes widened. "What? But you two seemed so close!"
Surprise looked away. "Well, I dunno. He said our relationship didn't exactly... feel right."
Pinkie blinked. "Oh... Surprise... I'm sorry..." She replied. One half of her was showing empathy for the mare, while the other was leaping for joy. Cheese can be hers now!
Surprise's ear flicked. "It's okay."
Pinkie raised a brow. Surprise's mane was barely deflated. "You don't seem nearly as sad as I thought you would be. Do you... have a crush on another stallion?"
Surprise blushed and bit her lip in embarrassment. "Mmhm..." She said. "I mean... I do like Cheese Sandwich, but I also like a teammate of mine. I just couldn't help it! I've been conflicted on what to do for the past month!"
Pinkie blinked. "Oh... well, I hope you get together with this stallion!" Pinkie said, her mane becoming a little more lively.
Surprise nodded. "I hope so, too." She suddenly reached forward and hugged Pinkie. "I hope you feel better!"
Pinkie hugged her back, her mane now slightly poofing up again. "I'll feel better soon. Trust me," she replied as the two broke the hug.
"Ooh!" Surprise started. She began to bounce. "I should come to Ponyville soon, and then we should plan a party together!"
Pinkie's mane was now back to normal, and she smiled brightly. "Totally! Though... if you're okay with the breakup... why don't you stay with us for the Vanhoover party?"
Surprise's ears flopped down on her head. "I... uh... kinda forgot I only have two days off, which isn't enough time to get there. I got so sidetracked with you and Cheese that I forgot."
Pinkie giggled. "Oh, well, alright! Come down to Ponyville whenever you want to plan that party! I'll be able to sense that you're there!"
Surprise nodded, hovering in the air. "Yep! I can't wait! See ya, Pinkie!" She said, giving the pink party pony another hug.
They broke the hug and Pinkie beamed up at her. "See ya, Surprise!"
Surprise saluted, and with that, took off into the sky, shattering an air cone as she travelled towards Cloudsdale. Pinkie waved in her direction, a large smile on her face.
She looked behind her to see how far she travelled. Better start walking, she thought. Her hoof-steps were light; flowing with jubilance. Pinkie was sure her face was going to break from her large smile.
After all the trouble the past two days, Pinkie could get into a relationship with Cheese. It almost seemed too good to be true.
Her ears flopped down on her head as another thought creeped its way into her head. But... if he just ended a relationship... he probably wouldn't want to start another one...
Pinkie shook her head, trying to clear these thoughts. Her ears perked up again as she remembered: he's her soulmate. The one the Choosing Stone picked for her. Everything would work out okay... right?
"Why am I questioning it?" Pinkie asked herself.
"I dunno, what are you questioning?"
Pinkie looked up to see Cheese looking at her, a bright smile on his face.
"AH!" Pinkie yelped, surprised to see him there. "Cheese!"
"Hey, Pinkie! Did Surprise tell you she was leaving?" Cheese asked. Pinkie nodded.
"Yep. I wish she could stay, though. She's a fun pony." Pinkie was, of course, not lying. Despite the love triangle that went on between the two, though Surprise was completely oblivious, Pinkie had a lot of respect for Surprise. Well, she has respect for any party pony, but even more for Surprise. She couldn't wait to see her again.
Cheese nodded. "Yeah. Apparently she forgot that she only had two days off."
Pinkie giggled. "Yep! She told me!" Pinkie replied. "Oh, and why did you guys... break up?" She asked. She had already heard from Surprise, but she also wanted to hear from Cheese to make sure it wasn't some hallucination.
Cheese rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... have you ever tried making a new type of cupcake, and when you put the new ingredients in, you realize it doesn't taste good?"
"Oh. My. Gosh. All the time!" Pinkie replied, throwing her hooves in the air.
Cheese smirked and nodded. "Yeah. That's basically how it was with me and Surprise. It just didn't feel right."
Pinkie put her hooves back down. "Oh, okay. Well, she seemed alright with it."
Cheese nodded. "Yep. We were both A-Okay with splitting up. I think I see her as just a friend anyway." Cheese then looked to the road ahead. "So... should we continue? I know a sleeping spot a few miles away, and we should reach there before it's completely dark out here."
Pinkie nodded, bouncing. She then gasped. "OHMYGOSH!"
Cheese raised an eyebrow at her, confused. "What?"
Pinkie smiled and looked over to him. "Tomorrow, since we're gonna be walking all day, we should totally play a game!"
Cheese nodded. "Yeah! You got any in mind?"
Pinkie thought. "Hm.... how about this: whenever one of us sees a tumbleweed go by, we yell 'TUMBLEWEED', and then try to poke the other. However, the other is gonna be running as fast as they can, so it turns into a game of tag. How does that sound?"
Cheese smirked. "That sounds great!" He said.
Pinkie smiled and started bouncing. "Great! That's a plan!"
As she bounced right next to the stallion, she couldn't help but feel warm and comforted. Like she never wanted to leave his side. Their coats weren't touching, sure, but there was still more than enough warmth to make Pinkie's cheeks heat up a bit.
Speaking of heating up... Applejack was really red the other day... I wonder what's going on with her?
Wait... speaking of Applejack...
"I DIDN'T WRITE TO MY FRIENDS!" Pinkie burst. Cheese looked to her in confusion.
"Uh...?"
Pinkie looked up to him as red engulfed her cheeks. "Well... my friends are probably... worried about me! But I can't write to them right now!"
Cheese blinked. "Oh. Well, you might be able to."
Pinkie shook her head. "Nope. There are no mail-ponies around here. I'll wait until we get to Vanhoover so I can send them from my sister's house, since I'm definitely going to visit her." As soon as she said that, a smile climbed her face. "Actually..." She looked off into the distance. "Hey! Fruity Treeze, HolyCross9, and Will-o-Wisp, do you guys think I have enough randomness to send letters to my friends from here?"
Cheese looked to where Pinkie was looking, but saw nothing. "Uh... who are you talking to?"
"Yes? Okie dokie!" She said again as she turned back around to Cheese. Cheese looked at her in confusion as she giggled. "You'll learn to break the fourth wall eventually, Cheese."
Cheese raised a brow. "Uh... okay..." He said before chuckling.
"Oh, and those three peeps said I should have enough randomness power to send my friends letters! I'll do that before we get to sleep," Pinkie said, bouncing away again. Her heart constantly leaped from her chest. She was excited to tell her friends... but at the same time, admitting her crush would be a bit nerve-wracking, even though Cheese is her soulmate.
After walking for about a half hour, Cheese showed them a small cave. It didn't look very large at all, which was fine. It also had a river running by it, convenient for them to get a drink from.
Pinkie pulled a hayburger out of nowhere and started eating it. She looked at the pieces of paper and quill below her (which she had pulled out of her mane), and bit her lip. Pinkie had told them she would give them daily updates... and she had completely forgotten about it last night!
"Good thing I didn't Pinkie Promise..." Pinkie muttered under her breath. Cheese was outside drinking from the stream, so Pinkie was safe to write her letters without him peeking over.
Pinkie spread out a piece of parchment and wrote the address: Castle of Friendship, Ponyville. She then started writing her letter.
Hey, guys! It's Pinkie! I used the Choosing Stone, of course, and you will never believe who it led me to!
CHEESE SANDWICH!
However, things didn't go so well at first. He had a marefriend, but they just split up. Is it wrong that I'm kinda happy about that?
Anyways, now that the drama's over, I have a chance to write to you! Right now, we're in a cave, and it's pretty nice! Cheese's Cheesy Sense says that a party is needed of planning in Vanhoover, so we're going there! Which means I get to see Limestone and Lightning again! Yay!
But... yeah. I cannot wait until the party. I'll tell you all about it! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!
See you all soon!
-Pinkie Pie
P.S. Applejack... why were you so red the other day? I'm pretty curious, as I'm sure everypony else is.
Pinkie snickered as she threw confetti inside the letter before wrapping it up. She put a pink bow around it, keeping it closed, and then put it in her mane. After she shook around a few times, the letter arrived in Twilight's mailbox, almost bursting with confetti.
Now, Cheese came in, yawning. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat. See ya tomorrow?"
Pinkie nodded. "Mmhm! See ya tomorrow!" She replied, pulling a pink sleeping bag out of her tail and rolling it out. she slid into it, embracing the warmth.
A warm smile climbed her muzzle. She stole a quick glance at the stallion across from her, feeling her cheeks heat up. She knew everything would work out fine. It worked for every Pie before, and Pinkie doubted she would be any different.
Pinkie shifted in her bag, closing her eyes. Eventually, her brain shut off, and a dream of cotton candy with Applejack's face on it filled her head.