Chosen Love

by Just A Random Pegasus

Pinkie: New Road and Old Memories

Pinkie woke up to an empty space beside her, prompting her eyes to open wider as she looked around the room for Cheese. She quickly picked up on the sound of running water from the bathroom, and deducted that he was in there. She slowly got out of bed, stretching her muscles. As she did, she looked at all the balloons around her. Smiling, she walked to one at the foot of the bed and read the small note attached:

I love you, Pinkie.

Pinkie grew a bright smile, now thinking: what if she would have looked at that one as soon as she returned from the bathroom last night? That was probably Cheese's intention, considering the placement. Oh well. They still said those words to each other anyway, though Pinkie had a brief panic attack after accidentally doing so.

Cheese now walked back into the room, smiling at Pinkie. "Hey, Pinks."

Pinkie leaped up to him, hugging him tight. "Hello! I love you!"

Cheese smiled, though at the same time he tried to loosen Pinkie's grip so he could breathe. After a minute, she let up, and he was able to hug her back. They separated and briefly kissed each other.

"I love you too," Cheese said before stepping away. "And now I should let you get ready."

Pinkie nodded. "Alright. I'll be back in a minute!" She said before kissing his cheek. As she left the room, there was a huge smile on her face; larger than normal.

"You sure look happy today, Pinkie," Carrot Cake said as he emerged from the twins' room. Pinkie nodded.

"Yep!"

Carrot looked towards Pinkie's room and then back at her. "So... you and Cheese will be leaving after breakfast?"

Pinkie nodded again. "I don't know where we're going yet. Cheese still has to get his Cheesy Sense."

Carrot Cake nodded, though there was a look of confusion in his eyes. "Ah, I see. Well, Mrs. Cake is making her delicious pancakes, so make sure to come down."

Pinkie gasped. "Wait! Do we have toppings?"

Mr. Cake chuckled. "We sure do; all of your favorites and in great amounts."

Pinkie hoof-pumped. "Woohoo! I'll be down soon!" She said before disappearing into the bathroom. She made it a mission to quickly get ready; those pancakes would hit the spot!

---

Pinkie practically dragged Cheese down the stairs and set him on the seat next to her. Mrs. Cake walked in with a platter of pancakes, giggling.

"Somepony's eager!"

Pinkie nodded, immediately putting pancakes onto her plate and throwing a bunch of toppings on them. Cheese chuckled.

"I thought you were just hungry when you did this in Manehatten. You went through all of Cloud's toppings in a second."

Pinkie swallowed a bite, slightly moaning with pleasure. She then turned to Cheese. "I always put this many toppings on! It's so good!"

Mr. Cake smirked and opened a cabinet, revealing many containers of toppings such as chocolate chips and sprinkles. "We always overstock to make sure we have enough for us."

Cheese giggled. "Oh, man. At least I get some this time."

Pinkie playfully punched him in the arm. "Hey! If you woke up sooner, you would've been able to have some!"

Cheese blinked. "Can't argue with that," he said before chuckling, taking another bite of his pancakes. He smiled as he swallowed. "These are really good."

Mrs. Cake smiled at him. "Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying!" She took a bit before continuing. "Were we hospitable enough for you overnight, dearie?"

Cheese nodded. "Absolutely positively. That was probably the best night's sleep I've gotten in a while."

Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked at each other before they both started giggling. "Oh, well we're glad!" Carrot Cake said, offering Cheese a friendly smile. Cheese returned it before finishing his pancakes. However, Pinkie had finished long before him. She stood up, stretching.

"So, do you know where we're going, Cheese?"

Cheese stood up as well. "Um..." On cue, his cutie mark started to stretch and a current zapped through his body, shooting him up in the air. "We're... going to Canterlot!"

Pinkie gasped. "Woohoo! So... should we leave?"

Cheese nodded. "I just have to grab Boneless 2. He's still sleeping on the ground," he said, going up to the stairs. Pinkie giggled as he walked away.

"So... I take it you two are doing well together?" Mr. Cake asked when Cheese was out of sight. Pinkie nodded.

"Yep!"

Mrs. Cake raised a brow. "And you know for certain you two are soulmates?"

Pinkie nodded again, this time more excitedly. "Yep! The Choosing Stone showed me to him!"

Mrs. Cake giggled. "Well, I don't get how it knows, but I'll go with it."

Pinkie shrugged. "Me neither. But Cheese and I love each other, so it certainly works!"

The two giggled again before Cheese walked down the stairs, wearing his western clothes and supporting Boneless 2 on his back. He waved to the couple.

"Bye! Thank you for breakfast!"

Mrs. Cake waved back. "No problem, dearie! You can come back anytime! And see you, Pinkie!"

"Bye!" Pinkie replied, walking out of the bakery with Cheese. She started trotting forward in excitement. "Canterlot! This is gonna be so much fun!"

Cheese nodded, catching up with her. "Yep, it is! Are you gonna say bye to your friends?"

"I did that yesterday. And besides, I bet many of them are still sleeping," she said, giggling. Cheese shrugged.

"Alright. We need to come back here sometime. I had a lot of fun!"

Pinkie's eyes widened and sparkled. "Really?!"

Cheese nodded. "Of course! I love it here!"

"Hooray!" She replied, now prancing out of Ponyville. Cheese caught up to her, sticking out a hoof.

"Do you wanna slow down and hold my hoof, mon chere?"

Pinkie giggled, locking her hoof with his and squeezing tightly. "Of course, mon chere!" She replied, happily walking next to him. His warmth was nice and comforting, though she had to constrain herself from kissing him all over.

---

The walk there had been fun so far. The two had talked about sweet nothings, enjoying each other's company. However, after a time, comfortable silence fell over them as they walked as close as they could get, their hooves still interlaced. This let Pinkie's mind race; more particularly to a question she's never asked or something Cheese has never brought up.

"So... when am I gonna have to meet your parents? Mine are dying to meet you soon!" She said, bumping his side. Cheese's ears shot straight up, and he uncomfortably looked around.

"Um... you're not."

Pinkie cocked her head. "Why? Are they mean?"

Cheese blinked. "Well... I guess..." He looked from Pinkie to the road. "I don't even remember exactly what they look like. And I'm glad."

Pinkie's eyes shot open. "What?! Why? They're your parents!"

Cheese sighed. "Well... it's a long story. I suppose we have time."

Pinkie's ears fell flat. "Cheese... what happened?"

Cheese took a deep breath, squeezing Pinkie's hoof tighter. "They... I... oh, where do I start?"

"You can take your time, Cheesie. Whenever you're ready."

Cheese nodded. "Alright. I guess I can start with school. I grew up in Manehatten, going to some expensive private school. I didn't exactly have any friends, since I was quiet and reserved. At home, my parents... were extremely abusive. I didn't do very well in school, and they were not nice about it. They had high hopes for me, and didn't want me to be a bum on the streets. Most likely so I would maintain a good family name, but I don't even know. I didn't have very good report cards, and they sometimes..." He paused for a moment, almost shaking. "My childhood isn't something I bring up often, I'm sorry..."

Pinkie leaned into him. "If you're uncomfortable talking about it, you don't have to tell me anymore. I-I understand."

Cheese shook his head. "No, it's fine. I trust you more than anyone. You deserve to know." He paused for a moment. "They... got angry over the slightest things. Like, if I failed a test, they would beat me or send me to my room without dinner. I..." His breathing quickened as he pulled up his southern clothing to reveal a small scar on his side, which Pinkie hasn't noticed before. "I still have a scar from the last time I got a bad report card. I remember that day vividly. My dad threw a chair at my side."

Pinkie felt on the verge of tears. "Cheesey... I..."

Cheese pulled his cloak back over the scar, now starting to breathe heavier. "I have flashbacks of my childhood often. I was abused in every way except sexually, thank Celestia. I was suicidal for many years. My parents made me feel like I was nothing, and that I was weak." A tear trailed down his cheek, and Pinkie nuzzled his side, offering silent support. Cheese squeezed her hoof as tight as possible, letting more tears slip out. He quickly dried them, starting to regulate his breathing.

"So... when I was about eleven... I made the impulse decision to run away. I packed a few things I needed in my backpack, and when I got to school from the bus, I made a run for it. I escaped Manehatten, never wanting to go back. Now, even when I go back, I always have some sort of awful childhood flashback."

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Cheese... but we were just in Manehatten..."

Cheese sighed. "I know. Close to the neighborhood where I lived, too. I masked it well, but I was extremely anxious and terrified."

Pinkie started to cry. "You... I'm so sorry... I wish I could have helped."

Cheese looked away from her, constraining his own tears again. "I-it's okay, you didn't know." He started shaking again, breathing heavily. "Uh... after I ran away... I made it to Ponyville. I walked right into the party that you were hosting, and everypony invited me in. I felt... valued. Like I was someone. I had never been that happy in my life. That's when I realized that I want to help ponies feel the way I did right there: when they feel like there's no hope, they are suddenly surrounded by ponies who include them and find themselves with a smile on their face. I then got my cutie mark, as well as my Cheesey Sense. I still don't know why, but I did. I found Boneless, and then started travelling places and planning parties. Whenever my sense called me to Manehatten... I stayed away. Years later, I finally went back, knowing I should at least plan somepony a good party. After I ran away, I never knew anything more about my parents. I don't even know if they sent anyone to search for me, but I hid for months just in case they did. I'm still not sure about anything."

Pinkie took this all in, starting to dry her tears. "Wait... how did you learn stuff past 6th grade level if you were always on the road?"

Cheese stopped shaking, his breathing returning to normal. "Whenever I was in towns, I stayed a few extra days to visit libraries and read books to teach myself. I learned a lot, actually. That was basically my schooling for the rest of my teenage life."

Pinkie blinked. "Wow... Cheese, I'm so sorry I ever brought it up..."

Cheese looked down to her, his eyes bloodshot. "Why? It actually... is nice to let it out."

Pinkie's ears flicked. "Really?"

Cheese nodded. "Yeah. You're the first pony I've ever told. And... Pinkie... I just need to thank you. You saved my life."

Pinkie blinked. "I... did?"

Cheese nodded again. "Yeah. With that party you planned. If you hadn't planned that... I don't know where I would be. I discovered a purpose because of you. And, because of that... I owe you my life. Everything."

A tear fell down Pinkie's cheek. "Cheese..." Pinkie stopped walking, instantly hugging him tight and letting more tears pour out. Cheese hugged her back, the floodgates behind his eyes opening. He held her as close as he could, savoring her warmth. After a while, they eventually pulled apart, kissing each other passionately. Pinkie looked into Cheese's teary eyes, putting a hoof on his chest.

"Cheese... I promise I will protect you for the rest of my life. If you ever have any flashbacks, tell me, and I'll help in whatever way I can to get you to smile."

Cheese kissed her head. "Thank you so much Pinkie. I don't worry about you getting me to smile. In fact, you were the first one to ever get me to truly smile."

Pinkie looked into his eyes before wrapping her hooves around him, starting to cry again. Cheese rubbed her back, now smiling.

"I love you so much, Pinkie."

"I... I love you too... Cheese," she replied between sobs, staying close to him for a long time.

Author's Note:

Just a warning in advance: the next chapter is going to have a pretty large time skip.

And I'm not joking when I say I was on the verge of tears when writing this chapter.

Comments

[HolyCross9]

This wonderful chapter was definitely worth the wait and helped me a bit with what recently happened in Trials of a Royal Guard and other things. Among those things are one of the most recent episodes of MLP that involved Big Macintosh as a primary character.

[Just A Random Pegasus]

8163670

Well, I'm glad! The Trials chapter was quite sad... I almost cried

And I saw the new episode yesterday, and found it adorable, actually! I have a lot of Mac ships I love, and Sugarmac is just so cute to me!

[SuperPinkBrony12]

vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/king-harkinian/images/4/43/58029340.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20151129205557

[HolyCross9]

8163678 It no doubt broke the hearts of those fans who shipped Sugar Belle with Party Favor (not me though, I still ship them despite what happened in that episode). It also makes me glad that you managed to have Pinkie and Cheese hook up in this story, despite the possibility of that not happening in the show itself.

Also, I am ABSOLUTELY positive that things in Trials will improve, after all Silent and Crystal are soul mates and they'll ultimately come to realize how much they need each other in life regardless of the terrible things that happen in their lives.

[Just A Random Pegasus]

8163706

Same here! I never choose my ships based on something that happens in the canon, considering that's what fanfics are for!

And me, too!

[Just A Random Pegasus]

8163701

I had numerous feels punches when writing this... I originally planned for this chapter to not be as heavy, but ended up thinking of much more when writing

[HolyCross9]

8163712 I also found Cheese Sandwich's backstory involving his parents very tragic.

[Ultimate Warrior of Zera]

I love Carrot and Cup Cake.

That got dark. I hope you are feeling better.

[redmar]

This was a nice chapter and it is not surprising that Cheese's childhood was bad he ran away from home after all. I'm interested in what the party in Canterlot is going to be like but that will probably happen next chapter.