It's For Your Own Good
Chapter Three: It’s For Your Own Good
“Did Trixie just actually laugh?”
“Did you hear a ‘mwah-hah-hah-hah?’ ‘Cause I don’t think I’ve ever heard Trixie laugh without a ‘mwah-hah-hah-hah.’ ”
They couldn’t quite absorb what they were seeing. The Great and Powerful Trixie didn’t talk to anybody, and nobody talked to her. Yet there she was, listening to whatever it was that Cheese Sandwich had to say, and talking—talking a lot, from the looks of it. She was also laughing, and it was decidedly weird to watch Trixie laugh without clenching her fists and addressing the heavens.
They finished their conversation, and Cheese slid quickly back through the crowd and dropped down into his seat next to Pinkie Pie.
“Well, that’s one act taken care of,” he said. “I talked to Trixie, and I think we have a deal. I thought she did fireworks, but she’s got some kind of magic act. I told her we could guarantee her a slot on the program without any problem. She really wanted it, too.”
Pinkie, who had been pinging her fork and spoon against her water and soda glasses, abruptly stopped. “You guaranteed Trixie a spot on the program?” she said, swiveling around in her chair so that she was face to face with Cheese.
“Yeah. Why? Is there some kind of problem?”
Pinkie shook her head. “You Pinkie Promised. Didn’t you say you never break your promises?”
“Cheesy Promises, but that’s right, I don’t. What—”
Pinkie’s voice was calm and even upbeat, but she jammed her books, papers, bubble solution, and party horns back in her book bag without glancing up or noticing that some things were upside down and others were getting crushed. “You just did. You were going to be my helper. That wasn’t helpful.” She looked up with a bright, brittle smile. “I’ve got a lot to do now, so . . . seeya.”
Cheese watched her speed out the door. “What was that all about?”
Applejack leaned back in her chair. “Reading between the lines, Slick, I’d say you just broke a Pinkie Promise."
“How?”
“First of all,” said Rainbow Dash, “you just guaranteed Trixie a spot on the program without asking Pinkie first. You’re supposed to be her assistant, right? Soarin’s my assistant coach. If he added team members or started training maneuvers without checking with me, they’d be looking for the pieces for weeks.” She drew her finger across her throat.
“Pinkie was really looking forward to being in charge of this,” said Fluttershy, poking at her salad. “She thinks people don’t think she’s responsible enough. You promised her you’d help and not take over. I think you really hurt her feelings.”
Cheese put his head in his hands. “Good Gouda. I did take over. I’m so used to organizing stuff on my own that I just forgot.”
“That’s breaking a Pinkie Promise, I’d say,” said Applejack. “Pinkie’s not so keen on people who break Pinkie Promises. Second, if you had to guarantee someone a spot on the program, you probably picked the worst person in the whole school. Trixie and Pinkie hate each other. Can’t blame her, really.”
“I can’t help but wonder,” said Rarity, leaning her chin on her hand, “what exactly you said to Trixie. I think everyone in the cafeteria was simply riveted, but I didn’t catch the end.”
“ ‘Hello, good-lookin’, is that fuse wire in your backpack, or are you just happy to see me?’ ”
“Ugh,” said Rarity, shuddering. “Terrible.”
“You mean—kind of Cheeeesy?” He performed a rimshot with his fork and knife against the edge of his plate. He looked at each of the girls in turn, but all of them looked very serious, and Rainbow Dash groaned. “What? It was funny! She laughed!” Rarity shook her head. “I didn’t know. She looked sort of sad. I had to try to cheer her up. It’s hard to explain. And besides, you can’t expect me not to talk to a girl who’s got fuse wire. It’s not natural.”
“Yes, but ‘good-looking?’”
“Well, she is.” Rarity rolled up one of Fluttershy’s flyers for the Canterlot Animal Rescue Center and smacked Cheese on the head with it. “Ow! What was that for?”
“That remark was both unnecessary and unwise,” said Rarity. “I’m afraid you’re very poorly trained.”
“I’ve been in all-boys’ schools for three years!” Cheese complained. “What else do you expect?”
Rarity raised her eyebrows. “You ought to know that you should never speak approvingly of the attractions of one lady in front of another lady.”
“Meh, I don’t care,” said Rainbow Dash, and shrugged.
“Doesn’t bother me none,” agreed Applejack.
“Do I understand that you intended to be charming in order to ask for a favor?”
Cheese blushed. “Well, yeah, that was part of it, but—”
“It is simply reprehensible,” Rarity said severely, “to use charm of manner for personal gain. Thank you,” she added to the pimpled and nervous freshman who had come over to bus her tray for her. “And finally, you deliberately crossed a cafeteria in order to make a flirtatious remark to Trixie. Who knows what romantic havoc you might have wrought?”
Rainbow Dash and Cheese turned to each other, their eyes bugging out and their jaws dropping simultaneously. They seemed to be struggling to put their thoughts into words.
“BAH HAH HAH HAH!”
Rainbow Dash laughed so hard that she flung herself back into her chair and nearly overbalanced.
Cheese doubled over, accidentally slamming his head into the table. “Ow!” he said, and laughed some more until he cried.
“Hoo!” Rainbow Dash clutched her midsection, tears streaming down her face. “Rarity, stop. You got extra napkins, Cheese?”
He held out a handful at arm’s length, unable to speak, and blew his nose.
Rarity drew herself up into her most dignified posture, trying to ignore the vulgar exhibition in front of her. “You may find this humorous, Rainbow Dash, but this is The Great and Powerful Trixie we are discussing. She thinks everyone worships her. Who knows what she might think? She might misinterpret. She might develop an obsession. This might turn into a romantic disaster of epic proportions! Why is nobody taking this seriously?”
Rainbow Dash had gotten some control now. “Ah, I wouldn’t worry about that,” she said, waving her hand. “I mean, I’m so awesome that if I said something like that, it’d be game over.” She threw one arm around Cheese. “But Cheese here is such an enormous dorkasaurus that I don’t think it’s gonna be a problem.”
“Thanks,” said Cheese, rolling his eyes.
“No problemo, dude. Just keeping it real.”
“Let’s not borrow trouble,” said Applejack. “You never know with Trixie, but I’d say your real problem is that you broke a Pinkie Promise, Cheese, and the Trixie stuff won’t help you any.” She glanced up at the clock. “We better get going.” They began packing their book bags.
“Oh, yeah, Fluttershy, I almost forgot,” said Cheese. “I can’t meet you for AP Biology study this afternoon. I promised I’d meet Trixie after school.”
Rarity gasped. “IT BEGINS.”
“I have to meet her,” Cheese insisted. “It’s a long story. Besides, I promised. I’m over limit on broken promises for one day.” The bell rang. He sighed. “Math class with Mr. Doodle again. Why was I born?”
~~
“Um—hi?” said Cheese tentatively to the spot where Pinkie had just been. She was already bouncing her way across the cafeteria, cheerful as ever. She turned at the doorway to wave at the table, and then was gone. Twenty-four hours later, Cheese was still a non-person, as far as she was concerned.
“I sure hope that whatever deal you cut with Trixie was worth it, Sunny Jim,” said Applejack.
“We’ll have to see,” said Cheese grimly, sliding his tray down carefully so the piles of food on it didn’t spill. “By the way, Applejack, I have to talk to you later. I’ve got a favor I need to ask.”
“Me?”
“As your big brother would say, ee-yup.”
Everyone ate in silence for a few minutes.
“OK. I get it,” Cheese burst out, putting down his fork and balancing his spoon on his hand. “I boobed up big time, but Pinkie won’t even let me apologize. I still want to help her. I blew a Pinkie Promise, but I’m not blowing a Cheesy Promise, too. There’s something else I’m not getting here.”
“You mean the way Trixie insulted Pinkie so badly that the girl who’s friends with everybody at CHS wants nothing to do with her?” said Applejack.
“That might be it, yes.”
“When we all first came to Canterlot High," said Rarity, "Trixie was already here. She was running one of the booths at the Freshman Fair, and she was . . . how do I put it . . .”
“Full of herself, that one,” said Applejack, and snorted. “You know she’s got a magic act?”
“That would be the one that got me in hot water with Pinkie, right? Yeah, I’m not likely to forget. She showed me some of it yesterday afternoon. And, no, she hasn’t developed some kind of obsessive passion for me, Rarity. It’s pretty good.”
“Dorkasaurus,” said Rainbow Dash. “Toldja so.”
“But back then, she said what she could do was real. Real magic,” said Fluttershy.
“Said she could do all manner of things,” scoffed Applejack. “Pure foolishness. She had this little bunch of admirers and they just climbed all over the rest of us, bragging on all the stuff they said she could do. She said she could control the weather, guarantee that you’d get on the team, ace the exam, get whoever you were sweet on to go out with you, tell the future. She’s a fraud.”
“I think maybe she really thinks she can do that,” Fluttershy put in, and hesitated. “Other people thought so too.”
“Either way, she had no time for anyone who wasn’t kowtowing to the Great and Powerful Trixie. After a while, almost all of us quit trying to be friendly, except for Pinkie Pie. She kept trying long after the rest of us gave up. I guess it didn’t help that Pinkie really can tell the future sometimes.”
“Really?” asked Cheese. “She can do that? That’s funny, because—I mean, she can?”
“Just little stuff, mostly. She calls it her Pinkie Sense. So one day, right before English, Trixie goes shootin’ the breeze about how a great calamity would befall, and Pinkie said, ‘just look where you’re going and you won’t befall, silly! And the mud’ll come right out.’ Trixie stood up, pointed at Pinkie, and said, ‘your mouth is open, Pinkie Pie. It should be shut.’ And she went zzziiip, as though she was zipping Pinkie’s mouth closed.”
“She did that?” said Cheese, horrified.
“And it worked, too.”
“Rainbow!” exclaimed Fluttershy.
“Well, it did! She didn’t say anything all afternoon.”
“She was outraged,” said Rarity. “Such rudeness.”
“Anyway, Pinkie was right,” said Applejack. “Trixie befell her bigheaded self right into a mud puddle that very afternoon. And that was it. Pinkie can’t stand Trixie now, not that any of us can. After that, Sun—someone came along who didn’t have any time for Trixie and showed her up as a fake, and Trixie lost her whole clique. Turns out she didn’t have any real friends who would stick by her. She’s always been a little weird, but after that she kept to herself.”
Cheese shoved some food around his plate. “What you’re saying is that I broke a Pinkie Promise and made Pinkie feel incompetent by doing a favor for someone who insulted her in public.”
“Don’t forget the bit where you didn’t ask her first.”
“I wasn’t forgetting it,” muttered Cheese. “I am in way over my head here.”
“I suggest groveling,” Rarity said, patting his hand. “Groveling is always in style. You might like to explain in elaborate detail why—”
“Why you did such a chuckle-headed thing,” said Applejack.
“Exactly. And then you should add, ‘but that’s an explanation, not an excuse.’ ”
Cheese furrowed his brows. “Why? What does that mean?”
“It means that you are not offering a shallow apology, and that you recognize the full implications of . . .” Rarity gave up. “Just say it. Trust me.”
“It’s nice weather today,” said Rainbow Dash. “I’ve got a pretty good idea where she’ll be.”
“It’s worth a try,” urged Fluttershy.
“Yup,” agreed Applejack. “You never know. Pinkie might overlook a Pinkie Promise just this once. If she thinks of you as a real friend, that is.”
“Yeah,” said Cheese, picking up his tray. “I’ll see all of you later.” He took his tray over to the trash cans and emptied it. Half of the food was uneaten.
Fluttershy turned to Applejack and exclaimed, “Applejack, you know Pinkie forgives everyone sooner or later. We’ve all fought and made up. Why did you say that?”
“Oh, I dunno,” said Applejack, licking off her spoon. “It won’t do him any harm to have the fear of Pinkie put into him.”
~~
“GO RAINBOW DASH!” screamed Pinkie Pie, sitting alone, high in the bleachers. Rainbow Dash raced down the soccer field, dribbling the ball and scoring kicks against herself. The afternoon was sunny, but cold, and Pinkie was bundled up. Her pink, fluffy earmuffs suggested that she wasn’t prepared to listen to anything.
“She looks cold,” said Fluttershy. “I don’t understand why Pinkie is out here.”
“She feels that Rainbow Dash needs encouragement,” said Rarity, adjusting her scarf.
“I don’t think her giant ego needs any more encouragement,” said Applejack, “but to each her own, I guess.”
“Now remember,” warned Rarity, as they climbed over the risers. “ ‘This is an explanation, not an excuse.’ ”
“Why don’t you just hand him a stack of flash cards, Rarity? ‘Cause I think that’d do almost as much good.”
They all sat down on the bench behind Pinkie. Cheese leaned forward and muttered something the others couldn’t quite catch.
“Fuse wire?” shrieked Pinkie Pie, her voice going up two octaves. Down on the field, Rainbow Dash missed her kick. Cheese winced. “You promised Trixie she could perform at the festival in exchange for fuse wire?”
“Well, that and a few other things,” Cheese admitted. Rarity put her hand over her eyes. “I can’t go into the details. I’m just here to apologize. I have to go home, so it’s all I can do right now. I’ll explain some other time if you want to listen, but I have to go.” He picked up his backpack and a small leather case, and began his descent of the risers.
Pinkie stood up. “Can you apologize and walk at the same time?”
Cheese stopped and turned. “I think so.”
Pinkie nodded. “I think you should try.”
~~
“Where’s your accordion today?” asked Pinkie, as they circled the soccer field and headed for the street.
“I left her at home. I brought my concertina instead.”
A lot of the spring had gone out of Pinkie Pie’s normal gait. Usually, her short bouncy steps balanced exactly against Cheese’s long legged shamble, but today she kept getting ahead of him or vice versa.
At last she said, “What did you want fuse wire for? Why Trixie? Why didn’t you ask me first? Why didn't you bring your favorite accordion? What happened to your yellow shirt? Why do they call them cupcakes when they’re not made out of cups?”
“In reverse order—no idea, it’s in the wash, it’s very heavy, because I’m an idiot, because she had fuse wire, and the last one I can’t answer. I didn’t know about Trixie, though. No one told me.”
She shook her head. “I was just trying to be friends.”
“With me, or with Trixie?”
“Both. I know I can’t be friends with Trixie. I don’t even want to try anymore. She made me feel stupid in front of everybody.” She pulled out a candy bar and began to eat it. “You made me feel stupid, too,” she said, through a mouthful of caramel. “Nobody thinks I can do things on my own or take care of myself. It’s like they think something’s wrong with me. Somebody’s always checking up on me—Applejack, the Cakes, my friends.”
Cheese laughed, but there wasn’t any humor behind it. “I know the feeling.”
Pinkie stopped walking, so that he was forced to stop, too. “They really mean well,” she insisted, eyes wide and almost pleading. “They just do it because they love me.”
“Yeah, well, that one sounds familiar, too,” Cheese said. “Look, I’m sorry, Pinkie. I didn’t mean to make you feel stupid. I did promise I wouldn’t take over. Usually I plan parties alone. I’m not used to working with anyone else, and I wasn’t thinking, but—” his eyes rolled up, as though he was trying to remember something, ‘that’s an explanation, not an excuse.’ ”
Pinkie frowned. “What does that even mean?”
Cheese shrugged. “I don’t know,” he confessed. “Rarity said I should say it. She said it would help.”
Pinkie shook her head, walking on. “I don’t see how it helps if neither of us know what it means. How about you made a mistake and you didn’t mean to, and you’re really sorry, and you won’t do it again? ”
Cheese followed after her, circling her and popping up on every side, and even walking backwards, trying to catch her eye. “Pinkie, I made a huge mistake, and I didn’t mean to, and you have no idea how sorry I am, and I’ll never do it again,” he said.
Pinkie stopped walking. “Aw,” she said. “You mean it. That’s more than enough, Cheesie. Please don’t apologize any more. We’re friends.” She rose up on the balls of her feet as high as she could go and threw her arms around him in a giant hug.
Cheese closed his eyes and sighed in relief. “That’s all I wanted to know,” he said. “I don’t have so many friends that I can afford to lose one.”
She let go of him and dropped back to the ground. “No one ever does, silly.”
~~
“I’m glad Mrs. Cake didn’t need me to babysit Pound and Pumpkin for very long after all,” said Pinkie. She and Cheese were seated at the far table in the bakery at Sugarcube’s, surrounded by pads of paper, envelopes, party horns, crayons, tubs of glitter, and at least twelve plates that had recently held cupcakes and muffins. Their hair and shoulders were dusted with flour. “We lost a couple of days of party planning.”
Cheese was mulling over a list, and didn’t lift his head or respond.
“You were really nice about the twins, though. Some people wouldn’t like dumping flour on their own heads, and they can scream kinda loud, and it’s like it didn’t even bother you.”
Cheese still didn’t respond.
“Anyhoo, I think we can get a lot done before closing. We’re all going out to a movie afterwards. Do you think you can come, just this once? Cheesie? CHEESIE!” She waved a hand in front of his face.
He startled, looked up, and shook his head slightly. “Sorry, boss. I think I’ll get hearing back in that ear eventually. Could you talk into the other one for now?” Pinkie somersaulted into the empty seat on his other side. “I explained everything to Trixie and said I made a mistake, and the volume got a little high. Luckily, it wasn’t hard to persuade her that I was a clueless, incompetent minion who had no idea what I was doing. I think she’s familiar with the type. She wasn’t happy to find out that she’d have to audition to be on the program, but I told her it was your decision. I think she’s going to want to. And I know you’re not going to like this, but I think you should let her. Otherwise, we’re going to run out of entertainment acts.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“You’ve got the list of the events and the stations we’ve got to have. Read them off to me.”
Cheese pulled out a pencil and a fresh piece of paper, and began to draw a diagram.
“Main stage, first of all, right? That’s where the judging, the costume contest, and the main music acts go.”
“Main stage,” repeated Cheese, drawing a large box. “That’s another problem. I hope we can find at least one other band besides Flash Drive. It’s not as though we have lots of bands to choose from. Go on.”
“Food tent—”
“Back there,” Cheese said, and drew another box.
“Some tables for the rescue center, Tshirts, and some vendors. We’ve got some I’ve never even heard of,” she said, indicating the envelopes. “The Cakes are going to be happy.”
“Vendors,” said Cheese, drawing a long rectangle.
“Bouncy castle! I love those!”
“Bouncy castle.” Cheese drew another box, and smiled.
“Balloons over there—”
“And the balloons, of course.” Cheese added a small circle. “You know, I’ve never seen you use a helium tank for those.”
“Nuh-uh,” said Pinkie.
“Anyway—if those are over here, we’ll still need something over there for people to watch.” He drew an X over the empty spot. “Something for kids. Face painting and the bouncy castle are only going to go so far. I think we should have some small-scale acts. Trixie can be one of them.”
“But there are lots of things I could do,” Pinkie protested.
Cheese looked up and turned to face her. “You’re a dozen times better than Trixie, and much more fun. It’s not even close. But you’re running the balloon stand and the whole event, too. Pinkie, you can only do so much. There’s only one of you.”
“But there’s you. You have your accordion,” said Pinkie.
“I’m not going to be there, remember?” Cheese said, dropping his eyes back to the impromptu map. “No parties. I don’t think I could get away with it.”
“Aw. It’s not going to be as much fun without you,” said Pinkie, almost under her breath, but Cheese gave no indication that he’d heard this, and she pitched her voice higher. “I’m glad you could get away to the park yesterday. You sure were there fast.”
Cheese nodded. “I was expecting it anyway. I knew I was supposed to be there, but I still don’t know why.”
“You get those too?” Pinkie said, surprised. “I get those all the time!”
“Applejack mentioned that,” he said. “I only get them if I’m supposed to throw a party, or cheer someone up, or make them laugh: something like that. That’s one reason I talked to Trixie in the first place. She’s not very happy. I didn’t really have a choice. I wasn’t sure you’d understand that, though.”
“I know!” exclaimed Pinkie, and she pulled a balloon out of her pocket. “It’s so annoying! You show up and all you want to do is make someone smile, and instead of being happy you’re there, they’re all “how did you know I was in a bad mood? Why are you here?’ And if you explain, they never believe you.” She blew up the balloon.
“That’s it! That’s exactly what it’s like!” said Cheese.
“Huh,” said Pinkie, letting the balloon go. It slowly floated towards the ceiling. “I’ve never met anyone else who got those. Let’s not mention it to Sunset Shimmer, though. I hate it when she asks questions like that. It makes me feel weird.”
“Deal.”
“Did you play your accordion after I left yesterday?”
“Some,” said Cheese, turning almost as pink as Pinkie herself.
“Can you play it for me?”
“Well, ok,” he said, rising and snapping open the clasps of his accordion case. “It’s, um, not exactly the same song, but I think you’ll like it.”
He began to play. Last time, he’d played such an infectiously cheerful polka that Pinkie had to dance. This wasn’t that kind of song. It was trying to say something, and Pinkie simply sat still and listened.
The shop bell jingled, and Cheese stopped mid-phrase with a discordant clash.
“Well, that’s probably enough,” he stammered, letting the accordion deflate with a defeated sigh. “You’d better see what they want.”
Two men in sober business suits and correct ties approached the counter as Pinkie sprang over.
“We’d like some cupcakes,” said the taller of the two men.
“What flavor?” asked Pinkie. “We’ve got chocolate, vanilla, vanilla on chocolate, chocolate on vanilla, peanut butter—oh, wait. We’re all sold out of the peanut butter and the caramel.” Cheese glanced guiltily at the stack of empty plates.
The two men quietly consulted each other. “We’ll have to come back.”
“Let’s start with these. These are the basics. We can come back later. We’ll have one of each, Miss.” Pinkie carefully selected one of each type of cupcake, rang up the purchase, and the men carried their cupcakes to the table furthest away from Pinkie and Cheese.
The presence of the two new customers clearly made them both feel awkward. Finally, Cheese asked, “When do you think we should hold auditions, boss?”
“Next weekend,” she said. “I think you should be there if you can, don’t you? And I like being called ‘boss,’” she added, dimpling. “It’s nice to be boss of something. I wish you could play your accordion at the festival. I know you’re not allowed to go anywhere or do much. Why not?”
Cheese started stacking some papers, but Pinkie let the silence stretch on so long that it was uncomfortable. “I really don’t want to say,” he said finally. “But it’s kind of like what you were saying the other day—it’s supposed to be for my own good.” He paused, and then burst out, “I know you’ll understand this bit, Pinkie, and maybe you’re the only person who will. You know how you just have to try to make people smile? It’s not exactly a choice, right? You’ll do whatever it takes.” She nodded. “Well, most of the time, I’m not allowed to, and it makes everything worse.” He planted his elbows on the table and pillowed his chin on his fists.
“Hey, Cheesie?” said Pinkie, and blew a stream of bubbles at him.
“Oh, oops,” he said. “I’m setting you off. Sorry about that. Anyway, next weekend sounds good. What are those guys doing with their cupcakes?”
Pinkie turned to look at them and frowned. One of the men was cutting the cupcakes in tiny pieces, eating one piece, and muttering words like “mouth feel,” while the other took notes. “Hey, I’m sorry,” she shouted across the room, “but it’s a half hour after closing.”
One of the men looked up, alarmed. “Can we just have a few more minutes?”
“No,” said Pinkie. They packed up the remaining cupcakes and left hurriedly, and Pinkie flipped over the shop sign so it read “closed.” “I know I’m not supposed to do that,” she said, “but I had a weird feeling about those guys.”
“Me, too,” agreed Cheese.
The bell over the door jingled again. This time, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy came in.
“I apologize, Pinkie Pie,” said Rarity. “We were on the other side of Sugarcube’s. I suppose we’d forgotten that we were supposed to meet you here.”
“No problem,” said Pinkie. “We were just doing some planning for the festival, and some mysterious guys did weird things with cupcakes, and we were talking about how Sunset Shimmer is really spooky sometimes.”
“She is,” Cheese agreed, as he finished stacking papers and putting the glitter jars in a box. “It’s not that we’re not learning anything, but—”
“But she asks all these questions like ‘how did you get that balloon inflated’ and ‘on a scale of one to ten, how strong are the physical manifestations of your premonitions?’ and we don’t even know what that means,” finished Pinkie.
Applejack frowned. “Tell her it’s none of her beeswax.”
“We’d like to,” said Cheese, “but I really need for her to tell Vice Principal Luna that I’m spending my time studying, so we do what she wants.”
“And she gets all friendshippy about it,” said Pinkie, wrinkling her nose. “I don’t think she knows what friendship is. Anyhoo, she’s trying, I guess.”
They finished stacking the papers and envelopes. “We were about to go see a movie,” Rarity said to Cheese. “Would you care to join us?”
“C’mon,” blustered Rainbow Dash. “I’m up to here with coaching and stuff, and we’ve got a game next week, and even I can make time. If I can, you can.”
“Yeah, unfortunately, I can’t,” said Cheese. “I really wish I could. Anyway, I’ll see you all tomorrow, I guess. ‘Night, Pinkie. ‘Night, you guys.”
He lifted the accordion case, tucked a folder with various lists in it under his arm, and left.
“What’s with him?” said Rainbow Dash. “He never just hangs out.”
Fluttershy said, “Um—I don’t think he’s allowed to hang out anywhere. When we study together, we really have to work and he always leaves in a hurry. And besides. . . well, I probably shouldn’t say.”
“Glitter, anybody?” Pinkie broke in. “You can always use more glitter, right?”
“No, you go on, Fluttershy,” said Applejack. “What were you going to say?”
“Well,” she said, drawing a circle with the toe of her shoe, “I was out on the East Side last week, putting out some humane traps for kitties so we could spay or neuter them. Do you know how many kittens a pair of cats can produce in seven years?”
“420,000,” said Rarity. “My Opal was spayed years ago.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, honey,” said Applejack. “Get to the important bit.”
“Well, I went past the house where Cheese lives, because there’s a big colony of cats over there, and I heard this voice screaming at him. A horrible screechy voice, saying over and over, ‘you’re in a lot of trouble, young man.’ “ She shuddered. “It was awful.”
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*pokes you* I don't get it -- how come you never run out of d'aww?! Tell me your secrets!
Moving on, an good chapter. It could be argued that introducing and resolving a conflict between the party planners in the same chapter had little point, but it better established Cheese's character, gave an excuse for Trixie backstory, and Pinkie just doesn't usually hold grudges.
Also, I quite liked the commiseration over being two of the most magical beings in a low-magic setting. It's rough.
Oh, and that one-to-ten scale question was perhaps the worst way Sunset could've phrased that question. How is one supposed to answer that without understanding what one and ten feel like? Think like a Muggle, girl!
In any case, looking forward to more, especially since we've both met the story's antagonist and may be getting some insight into why pony Cheese ran away from home.
( This is actually me not me pretending to be Cheese Sandwich ) The whole not being able to make people smile, well, not allowed, technically, that's kinda depressing.
What is his life at home exactly?
I agree; however the lyrics to that song are perfect and I love how Pinkie and Cheese are usually on the same page.
Creepy guys are creepy though. Nothing more disturbing than cutting up cupcakes into tiny pieces and critically assessing their qualities. I really hope they're OCs or something. I don't want to guess who they are.
4364499 They're Flim and Flam!! OK, probably not!
4364203 I have a D'aww machine. It runs on chocolate, insomnia, and a certain kind of mad bomber enthusiasm. "The fools! They didn't believe me when I said it could be more adorable! Mwah hah hah hah!"
Seriously, I don't know, but one reason I like this ship is its potential for d'aww.
4364292 That's about the size of it.
Good point. I absolutely hate it when authors say "but this will be explained in a future chapter!' because = author phail. In this case, though, it's setting the stage for future stuff, and it jumpstarts them from talking at a certain level to another one. It's more about the kind of stuff they're talking about later, and as you say, further establishing Cheese's character. (And rescuing the story from high school love triangles. Good golly.) Plus the high magic characters in a low magic setting was probably the main reason I'm writing this!
4364297 You will see what his life is at home, but you won't be surprised to learn it's not exactly sunshine and lollipops.
4364499 Well, creepy guys don't exactly correspond to anyone you've seen, no.
4364927
Yeah, I can't imagine Flim and Flam cutting up a cupcake to explore its secrets. They strike me as much lazier than that. I also can't imagine either of them wearing a full business suit and a necktie. I'm assuming that's what it was and not a bow-tie. They could, but personally I have trouble seeing it. And while I could be wrong, I can't imagine Flim and Flam being that terse either. They tend to be pretty gabby, when they do have a reason to talk.
Not to mention, I imagine if it was them, their nigh identical appearance would be duly noted. That's pretty much a dead give away right there.
I therefore have no idea who those guys were and I'm rather afraid to guess. If Pinkie and Cheese are concerned, then there is probably a reason to be. That doesn't bode well.
4364979
Yeah. That tends to be a sign of either bad pacing or bad foreshadowing. If the readers are asking you now, it's usually, but not always, a sign that the question needs to be answered now. If it's proper set-up for something coming up immediately, it's fine, but readers don't usually question that. It's usually when a writer accidentally glosses over something important, that shouldn't be glossed over, when this sort of rally cry comes up.
I had a feeling that was the case. I'm interested to see what they're up to, but I'm sure it's not important yet. They haven't put any plans into motion, I'd wager. They're still in the research phase of "screwing other people over."
Creepy cupcake cutters. I honestly did not see that coming. I admit, it was also kind of funny.
4364983 It was a joke
4364979 I can already teltell it's not sunshine and lollipops!
But that would be better to keep his hair from going flat.
4365508
Yeah, I know.
Nice chapter. I really did enjoy this one. I hope Pinkie and the Gang can help Cheese out.
4365603 But, you do have to wonder how much of a masscre it would be.
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Good chapter; I'm liking where this is going,
Pinkie's attitude toward promises, incidentally, is why I see her as deeply Lawful rather than Chaotic. My theory is that her extreme and strange code of honor is absolutely necessary to let her manipulate the essentially Chaotic power of reality-warping without being herself warped by it. A Pinkie who permitted herself to be dishonorable would inevitably be tempted to abuse her abilities maliciously.
The analogue of the scene in "Magic Duel." I like that!
... and any version of Trixie will inevitably alienate those around her.
That's really rather profound of Pinkie. And true.
Pinkie Promise you must never break Cheesie be lucky Pinkie's that kind of pony!
And what's with that ending?
4364927
4364983 Without getting spoilery, I can definitely say that they are not Flim and Flam. I've read the Rainbow Rocks book, and I try very hard to keep things close-ish to that, the shorts, the first book, and the comic book. They don't always match. Generally, I've favored the movies and the comic book. In any case, Flim and Flam already have a role in that world and I know what it is, and assuming they make an entrance, I'm going to bear it in mind.
4365080
Yes, come to think of it, I worry about that now. I think it's more meant to be a set up for some additional stuff, plus it leads naturally into discussion of some of their unique "things." "I HAD to cheer her up" means something different to Pinkie than it would to most of us.
Also, Cheese now has fuse wire. And a few other things.
4365371 One tries to be different, I suppose.
4365826 Thanks!
4366168 Yep. Thinking of that, among other things! I like making Fluttershy a little obsessive about stuff like this. I'm sure there's a bit of self-satire going on there. Also, thanks!
4366359 I think Sunset would stink at the friendship thing, no matter how hard she tried. She'd sound ominous and scary even if what she was saying was "cool. I'll bring brownies for the sleepover!"
My EG Applejack is definitely a blood relation: maybe not a very close one, but close enough for her to feel concerned and protective about Pinkie, whose nuclear family is far away. The Cakes are responsible and kind, and Pinkie's family placed her there intentionally, but as far as AJ's concerned, they're not kinfolk, and that makes a difference. Something I tweaked slightly from the comic book is that the comic book suggests that AJ is a newly-arrived country cousin to Babs and Sunflower Seed. Usually when I tweak, I tweak in the direction of the main show--hence, as you noticed, the suggestion of Magic Duel. I prefer thinking that AJ and her family still live on a farm, but that development has encroached on it a lot. They don't have the giant orchards they once had, but they still have some, a beat-up barn they never bothered to pull down, and a roadside apple and cider stand come fall. If it weren't the wrong season for it, I'd probably have a Farmer's Market in town which they attend. The point is, her family has been here the longest, just as on the show. Another tiny tweak--the Rainbow Rocks book suggests that both Rainbow Dash and AJ have scooters. I looked at that and immediately rejected it. What AJ drives is a TRUCK. It may be an old one, it may be something that she and Big Mac have to share, they probably drive to school together, but nevertheless, it is a truck.
I noticed the Amish Paradise thing! And it does tie in with your stories, which by the way, you other guys, I highly recommend. They're very different from mine, but the feel of the Pies oddly fits in. Hard to explain.
4366398 She's got a code. It just isn't always obvious. Despite recent events, Pinkie is still a Party Pony, like Cheese, and one of the rules is that you can't use your abilities for personal gain. Otherwise it would be a constant temptation to make things materialize all the time and live in luxury or sell them. Regular FiM Cheese knows darned well what these rules are--they're something you learn, often the hard way. EG Cheese has a much dimmer understanding of them. But I've consistently shown him giving away stuff he didn't need. (He'll use it if he does need it, of course.) I had to cut it short, but initially in The Good Kind of Magic, he was going to dump most of his haul on Fluttershy for the animal shelter or the whales or whatever she was shilling for right then. In that sense, they're the Franciscans of the Pony world: they bring joy, and take nothing.
Pinkie's often both profound and true--too bad she's not taken more seriously, but maybe she couldn't do what she does if she were.
4367123 Will you be annoyed if I say "you'll see?" As for Pinkie--no, you don't fool with Pinkie Promises. I think one reason she accepted his apology is that yes, she is that kind of pony, but another was that it was a miscommunication. She told him to find entertainment acts for her, but didn't make it clear that he had to clear them all with her first, although common sense would have suggested that he should. Anyway, Rarity's manufactured "correct" apology doesn't work nearly as well as his less elegant but real one. And finally--she gets him. She can tell he's telling the truth. Good enough for her.
4367799
Yea it does make sense.
and don't worry I get that answer a lot that I'm used to it
4367799
Aww, sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel self-conscious. That's just me venting about that phrase "it'll be answered later", because I really hate that. Sometimes it's legitimate, but more often it strikes me as an excuse for glossing over constructive criticism. It's the difference between "What? Wait, did that just happen?" and "I wonder what will happen next?"
For instance, the cliff-hanger makes me think we'll be examining that issue in the next chapter, very soon if not immediately. But it's not sounding as if it will be something they can resolve right now, so I'm not fretting.
Cheese isn't in danger and he's not bringing it up himself, because it's uncomfortable and not anything he can change for one reason or another that should be obvious soon. Fluttershy wasn't even comfortable bringing it up, although that was partly because she didn't mean to eavesdrop and technically it wasn't her business to share that without his approval.
If the implication was that Cheese was very clearly being beaten at home, and Fluttershy did nothing, I would cry foul because Fluttershy would have called the cops.
But all she said was that he was being yelled at and she wasn't even sure she should bring it up. EQ Fluttershy may not have been through everything that pony Fluttershy has been through, but they're the same personality at their core. She wouldn't allow anything like that to happen under her nose.
Sorry, that's not what you were concerned about, but that was the only example I could think of off the top of my head. Then again, I've come to trust your characterization, so that could also be my personal bias. I'm pretty sure if I had questions that confused or irked me, I'd be bringing them up.
So far, I'm feelin' good about where this is going.
And yaaaaay! Fuse wire is good. It makes cannons spray confetti.
Oh, wait, crap... I hope that isn't why he got into trouble. He worked hard for that!
4368947 No worries! I'm trying to remember whether it gets addressed immediately next chapter or not.
Cheese is in no physical danger of any kind. It's humiliating for a teenaged boy to be shrieked at, though, I'd think. "Young man" actually communicates "boy." The humiliation would be tripled if he knew Fluttershy had heard that, and even more so that she'd told everybody and that they all felt sorry for him. So since she overheard something by accident, she wasn't sure she should say anything.
As to what got him in trouble this time?
"Penny Pingleton is positively and permanently punished."
4369083
Yeah, I figured it was the humiliation factor. He's so lucky!
For some reason, that's one of the many movies I've just never watched before. After looking at some of those IMDB quotes, I think I need to. Preferably the older version first.
Awww, but poor Cheesie. He's been caught pink-handed? I hope he can manage to see her as much as he can anyway. Precious babies.
Guys in suits poking at Pinkie's cupcakes? Hmm, I think i figured out who they are. The moment they started accessing the cupcakes, my first guess was that they are guys hired by Sunset Shimmer to test if Pinkie's party pony magic rubs off in the cupcakes she bakes. Then my mind came to Snips and Snails. They like to do what Sunset says, and you did mention one of them is taller than the other. Yep, probably Snips and Snails. So, even if it were not them, I still root for the suit and tie guys to be hired by Sunset Shimmer. The only problem is that you described them as men... I don't think they are tall enough to look like such, and Pinkie should had noticed if it were them... So what do you think? Did i get it right?
4370743 Ee-nope! It was an understandable guess. But I'm really glad people are picking up on stuff and having theories, and I'm REALLY grateful to you for putting it under a spoiler tag!
Full disclosure: I've only seen the John Waters film. You know how you remember something a little bit, and then you drop in a teeny reference or mention it in passing, and then later you think ". . . ooo. Yeah, actually"?
He's trying, he's trying. And of course, he really DOES want to help. He's not just pretending to be helpful so that he can hang out with The Girl. I hate to be all "you shall see, it will fall pat as I told you," but it probably will.
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And have a thumb too.
4391598 Thanks! Since this is AU and human, I didn't know what you'd think!
4391679
Generally our problems with the AU and Human tags are that the AU isn't explained properly or the story is generic HiE with all associated problems. Since this story is EqG with all recognizable characters, those tags are mostly negated. Granted, Cheese isn't in EqG, and I hadn't actually seen the movie, but the problems you gave him made perfect sense, and I really liked the atmosphere of everyone getting behind him despite his quirks.
Good story so far, I can't wait to read the next chapter.
This Rarity is either hypocritical or not very self-aware. I am inclined to the latter, given that this Rarity is still in High School, so likely not as mature than the ManeVerseRarity.
The strange ponies might be those weird tailless maneless ponies from the comics.
Scales from 1 to n are innumerate. If of gives something 1, that is still 1 more than 0. If a psycho would lock one up in a small room forever and give one the choice of watching all of the 0-Star movies ever made or all of the 1-star movies ever made, ¿which should one choose? One should rate things on scales from either 0 to n or, if negative values have meaning, such as hate it, indifferent to it, to love it, on a scale from -n to +n. Examples:
* 0 to 9
* -9 to +9
* 00 to 99
* -99 to +99
Psychometric Research indicates that 0 to 9 or -9 to +9 is good enough most of the time, but occasionally 00 to 99 or -99 to +99 might be required, but humans cannot differentiate into thousands, so 000 to 999 or -999 to +999 is overkill. It reduces errors to have all possible ratings have the same number of digits.