Maud and Cheese

by rhony

Chapter 5

Maud was very aware that she was leaving a trail of pink drips behind her as she marched back to her dormitory, up the stairs, and straight into the shower. She didn’t even bother to take off the silly dress Pinkie had convinced her to buy that morning. As she sat under the hot spray of water, she saw trails of hot pink running off her and down the drain. Maybe it was just her mood, but she swore she could smell cheese curdling as the shower slowly rinsed away the last traces of the trauma her sister and Cheese had put her through.

It’s settled. I’m never going to a ball again.

Once she was very, very sure that every trace of the horrific cheese sauce had been removed from her body and dress, she rubbed herself down and changed into pajamas. Her head had begun to pound, and all she wanted to do was go to sleep and pretend the day hadn’t happened. But the sight of the sleeping bag in the middle of her floor reminded her that she would have to face Pinkie again sooner or later.

Later. Later works.

Soon after Maud had settled into the comforting darkness of her room, she heard a timid knock on the door, followed by a subdued “Maud?” The door cracked open, and in slunk Pinkie. “Maud?” Pinkie tried again.

Maud was so not ready to talk to her sister. She kept her eyes tightly shut, hoping that Pinkie would take the hint. Pinkie sighed and slowly rolled herself into the sleeping bag. She shuffled around a bit, before settling down.

Before Maud fell asleep, she swore she heard her sister whisper “I’m so sorry.” But maybe that was just the beginning of a dream.

---

It turned out that graduate students are much more mature than elementary school fillies. Maud was able to put the Great Cheese Sauce Incident behind her rather quickly, and rather than laugh at her, her fellow students tended toward sympathetic glances. Besides, they all soon found they had way too much to do to spend their time thinking about events that were so last week. Graduate school professors don’t break you in slowly, and Maud found herself reading and studying late into the night the day after classes started. Even the weekends were filled with work.

Maud had three classes, plus teaching assistant duties. Day in and day out, rocks and more rocks. She loved it. Finally, she was surrounded by ponies that truly shared her interests. But even though she enjoyed the topics covered in her courses, she soon wondered if she was cut out for graduate school after all.

Her Classification of Rocks class was the one she struggled with the most. Before graduate school, she didn’t have to think quite so much about what label she should use for each rock she encountered. She could just enjoy each specimen for its unique beauty. No more. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t seem to remember the difference between a Schist and a Scoria, or a Conglomerate and a Breccia. It was driving her crazy.

As midterms approached, Maud began to really worry. She seemed to be okay in her Hydrology class – water did predictable things and interacted with different rocks in predictable ways. Besides, hydrology hit close to home for Maud, as her parents’ rock farm was probably created by a receding glacier. Maud thought she’d be okay in her Tectonics class as well, as long as she kept studying. But nothing she tried seemed to help her remember rock classifications. And if she wanted to stay in graduate school, she had to pass Classification of Rocks. No two ways about it.

Maud began spending more and more time in the library, reviewing alternate textbooks on rock classifications and looking for tricks to help her remember which rock was which. She even made herself flashcards, but nothing seemed to be working.

It was the night before the dreaded midterm, while she was sitting in the library pondering her fate, when Cheese Sandwich walked back into her life. Specifically, he walked into the library, as if he knew she’d be there, and sat down across from her as if this were an everyday occurrence.

Maud stared at Cheese. “What are you doing here?” she asked, while struggling to decide just what emotion she was experiencing at his sudden appearance. Something between anger, annoyance, and joy? She couldn’t tell if the sensation in her stomach was due to her nervousness about the midterm, or if it was just a reflection of the confused state Cheese had elicited in her.

“I’m here to help you!” Cheese replied, acting as if he had completely forgotten that the last time they had seen each other was the night of the hot pink mess.

Maud tried to organize her thoughts, and failed. “Um, how? I mean, why do you think I need help? I’m fine you know… graduate school is great. I haven’t had to attend a single ball since you left.”

Maud knew the moment after that last sentence had slipped out that she probably shouldn’t have said that. Cheese winced visibly in reaction, and Maud was immediately sorry to have brought up the ball. After all, it wasn’t as if Cheese had intended to publicly humiliate her. But before she could apologize, Cheese spoke.

“Maud? I’m really, really sorry about what happened that night. It was totally, completely my fault.” Cheese paused, looking suddenly shy. “The truth is… well, the truth is that I just wanted to make the night special. For you, because you deserve to have special things happen to you. And when I saw what Pinkie had done to the cheese sauce, well… it just wasn’t right. I lost my head.”

Maud swore she saw a glimmer of tears in the orange pony’s eyes. She opened her mouth to respond, but Cheese cut her off. “Wait, Maud, there’s more. I know I should have contacted you before this, or at least said goodbye, but I was too embarrassed after what I did to you… well, what Pinkie and I did to you. I figured you’d have to forgive Pinkie, but you wouldn’t have to forgive me. And I couldn’t bear the thought of you never wanting to see me again. So it was easier to leave than ask for forgiveness.

But Pinkie told me you were having trouble, so I thought maybe I could make it up to you by helping you out…”

Startled, Maud looked him in the eyes and narrowed hers. “What do you mean, Pinkie told you I was having trouble?”

“Ummm…. She said that you were having trouble remembering the names of rocks? You told her that in a letter?” Nervous, Cheese tugged on the collar of his yellow shirt, hoping desperately that he hadn’t made a big mistake in coming back so quickly. At first, Maud looked pretty angry, but then she sighed and her shoulders sagged. After a minute, she spoke.

“Well, she’s right, but I don’t think you can help.” Maud looked sadly at the book in front of her on the table, and then back at Cheese. “My midterm is tomorrow, and no matter how hard I try I can’t seem to remember which rock is which.”

Cheese brightened up visibly, and started bouncing up and down in his seat. “You’re wrong, Maud, I can help you! I have a fantastic plan, and I just KNOW it is going to work! You are going to ACE your midterm, I promise!”

Maud was taken aback by Cheese’s exuberance.

What in Equestria was he planning?

Comments

[Exterminate Regenerate]

4815358 Thou art very much welcome!

[BewhoUr]

GIVE MEH THE NEXT CHAPTER! GIVE MEH THE MUSHY STUFFS >:OOO I WANT THE POINTLESS GUSHY ROMANTIC FANGIRLNESSSSSS

[rhony]

4816212
We have a bit to go before the mush -- patience, my young padawan! But I'm glad you are enjoying the story!