Chapter 1

Cheerilee's Pie-Chat

It's a pony kind of Christmas...well, okay, it's Hearth's Warming Eve all over Equestria. Families are spending time with their loved ones. Even those who may or may not be family are spending time together.

Applejack came out of the house at the Pie Rock Farm, smiling a bit. It hasn't been a while ago when she, her family, Pinkie and the Pie family share their traditions with one another and not force their own onto one another (okay, AJ learned that one the hard way). But at least now, the rest of the holiday together will be spend well.

"Take away from Holder's Boulder!" Limestone yells out angrily. Applejack roll her eyes as she came out. Now what's Pinkie's sister got her hoof in a stocking about now?

Applejack saw a familiar school teacher near the boulder in question, apologizing to the ticked off Limestone, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you. I just saw this huge rock and it looks fascinating."

"Yeah, well, do it away from the boulder!"

"Relax, Limestone, she's a pal o' ours." Applejack assures Limestone as she came over Cheerilee. "Well, howdy, Cheerilee! Fancy meeting yew here."

"Oh, well, it is break time from school for a while, Applejack." Cheerilee said to Applejack with a giggle.

"So what brings yew all 'dis way here?"

"Well, all right. Can I tell you the truth? Away from the psychopath?"

"I heard that!" Limestone snaps in irritation by what Cheerilee just called her.

Applejack sighs as she and Cheerilee walks off a bit. The cowpony spoke up, "Sorry, she is rather obsessive about 'dat there thing. Part o' the Pie tradition here. So why is yew here?"

"Apple Bloom send me a letter about your little holiday...and told me about a little interaction between Big Mac and Marble Pie." Cheerilee said with a concerned look on her face. "I don't wish to sound like the jealous mare but...are they around?"

"Inside 'de barn. But try 'ta go easy on Marble okay?"

Cheerilee nods as she heads over to the barn. Applejack sighs in concern, she hopes that her friend would go easy on Marble. The Element of Honesty had a bad feeling that this would come on.

Cheerilee enters the barn, seeing Big Macintosh and Marble Pie doing some chores for the family. As the stallion pushes a hay over, he spoke up, "Eeyup!"

"Mh-hmm!" Marble Pie said with a nod, giving a smile. This made Cheerilee concerned, she better step in.

"Ahem." Cheerilee said, clearing her throat causing the two to turn.

"Oh! Uh, Cheerilee!" Big Macintosh exclaims in surprise and concern. "Didn't expect you here, nnope!"

"Well, I got little Apple Bloom's message...and pay a little visit. Is it all right that I have a little word with Miss Pie?"

"Uh...am I in trouble?"

"No, no, you aren't. Just some alone time. Please?"

Big Macintosh nods nervously as he leaves the barn, leaving Cheerilee alone with Marble. The school pony look to the sister, Marble gave an uncomfortable look at her doing so.

"Miss Pie." Cheerilee said to Marble who gave a nervous nod.

"Mh-hmm." Marble said with a nod, getting worried that she may be in trouble for something that the poor filly didn't know she did.

"Listen, I got a little letter from Apple Bloom, informing me of a possible...interaction with Big Mac. Now, I don't mind friendship with him involving mares...but when it comes to romance, he is taken." Cheerilee pauses, blushing herself then spoke up. "I mean, he isn't officially taken yet, but you get the idea, right?"

Marble hesitates then shakes her head. Cheerilee sighs, groaning to herself, "I wish to do this without sounding like a jealous mare. But how? I don't wish to make this problem a big one...I need some help on this..."

"Hey there Miss Cheerliee!" Pinkie Pie suddenly pops in unannounced during Cheerliee & Marble Pie's little discussion issue.

"Augh! Pinkie Pie? What are you doing here?" Cheerlie yelps in surprise to see someone else here, but why?

"Dugh, this is my Rock Farm, I grew up here, it's my old home compared to my new home in Sugarcube Corner." Pinkie Pie stated this off in making this easy claim of how she randomly popped out of nowhere.

"I...see." Cheerilee lightly replies off in not getting much about this random pony.

"But what are you doing here?" Pinkie Pie asked off in seeing that Cheerilee is far away from Ponyville to be out here in the rock country.

"I came to talk to your sister Marble about having a possible crush on Big Macintosh." Cheerilee pointed out politely in trying to get down to business about a certain matter that has come to her attention.

"A crush on Big Mac? Hehe, wow, talk about over active imagination, right Marble?" Pinkie Pie giggled this off before patting her sister's head in thinking that was a funny thing to think about.

"Mm-hmm" Marble shyly replied in a soft-spoken voice to the question.

"But I heard from Apple Bloom saying about how much her brother was getting along so well with your sister Marble Pie, & well....I wanted to make politely speak to her in making it clear; Big Mac already HAS a marefriend." Cheerilee explained off in having heard from Apple Bloom when she mentioned how 'close' her big brother was to Marble of the Pie Family; it made her feel like someone was stealing Big Mac away from her.

"Well I don't think there is any problem with that, especially when family is supposed to share the love we all share for each other." Pinkie Pie smiled off to simply say this little matter about how family loves one another.

"Family? Wait....you’re not saying Big Mac proposed?" Cheerilee gasped in shock in almost never believing that...Big Mac proposed to Marble Pie to be his....WIFE!?

"Nah, don't be silly, I mean, why would a distant relatives wanna marry someone who's already family." Pinkie Pie waved off the idea that was silly as she thinks it's silly for family to marry, well, a distant relative of the family.

"Even still, it's.....did you say, distant relatives?" At that moment, Cheerilee stops herself in having second thoughts in what the pink pony said next.

"Yeah, turns out my family, the Pies, & Applejack's family, the Apples, are actually connected by a family tree, which makes me & AJ cousins." Pinkie Pie explained that the Pies & Apples are actually from the same family tree.

"Your both....cousins?" Cheerilee raised an eyebrow in never knowing that Applejack & Pinkie Pie who were such good friends are actually cousins.

"Well, the book is still out about it, but I have a feeling that we are like family. And Marble & Big Mac. are cousins too, they share something in common..." Pinkie Pie stated off in mentioning this for the mare to know that their separate members are cousins to one another while they have something in common. "They don't speak too much." She whispered this off to Cheerilee in what Marble & Big Mac have in common, not having much things to say.

"But then that means that I came all this way to...to...oh, how embarrassing!" Cheerilee was suddenly turning red with embarrassment in realizing what the truth was, & how foolish she was this whole time from a simple misunderstanding. "Marble Pie, I'm sorry for suspecting that you were trying to take Big Mac. I was wrong to judge." She apologized to the younger member of the Pie Family for making such rash claims of Marble stealing someone she was in love with.

"Don't worry, despite all that crazy stuff, all is forgiven. Ain't that right, Marble?" Pinkie Pie smiled off to say this in patting her sister's back of this being alright.

"Mm-hmm..." Marble softly spoke off to nod a bit as she was fine with this...

"Besides, cousins marrying each other, that's like making a weird story about me & Fluttershy as a thing! Or that we were under a spell in an alternate universe where mares love mares & stallions love stallions! Isn't that the craziest random idea you ever imagine?" Pinkie Pie broke the fourth wall in making such weird claims about something that sounded pretty much far-fetch now.

Awkward silence filled the air from where Marble & Cheerilee stood in having heard that strange claim.

"Okay....a little too much for me to hear." Cheerilee slowly spoke off from having been told of such strange things.

"Mh-hmm..." Marble lightly nods off softly in agreeing on that.

“Hey, don't give me the weird eyes, it's those other alternate universes out there that make such callings that are weird, besides....if I find someone special, then I'll know it when it hits me." Pinkie Pie was making this stated claim about what she said to now speaking about when she finds her own special pony.

"You will?" Cheerilee raised an eyebrow in having heard this that the pink pony will know her special love from a feeling.

"Right, when something knocks me really hard un-expectively that I suddenly feel like I've fallen for someone, that and a bit of pain too." Pinkie Pie randomly says this silly factor of what will happen that she'll know she might be in love.

"Um, I have no idea how to respond to that." Cheerilee slowly spoke back in having a hard time in how to reply to that.

"Usually Rainbow Dash says I'm so random." Pinkie Pie pointed out how her pal Rainbow says she's random at times.

"I see, well...I'm glad the settlement of what I didn't know is over. And, I hope we can be friends, Marble?" Cheerilee lightly nods off before deciding to say that she is glad that the misunderstanding that started things ended well & that she & Marble Pie can be friends.

"Mh-hmm!" Marble smiled a bit to softly speak this off shyly that she would...like that.

"Well, farewell...and I hope you’re having a wonderful break over Hearths-Warming Break!" After having said that, Miss. Cheerilee begins to turn to leave the scene with the satisfaction of knowing that Big Mac was still available for her & that he was not seeing other mares; the school teacher is very proud to know that.

"Hi." Big Macintosh with a smile to Cheerilee. "Am I still in trouble?"

"No. Pinkie cleared up the misunderstanding. I am about to head on home."

"Shoot. You ain't gotta leave now if you wanna. There's still one more, right. And...I done appreciate if you still around, eeyup."

Cheerilee pauses, giving a thought about this. The school teacher doesn't have to go home right away. Perhaps...she could spend time...and with her Big Mac too.

"I think I will like that, Big Mac." Cheerilee giggles as she nuzzles against Big Macintosh, making him smile warmly to her. "So, what are the family's traditions?"

"Shoot. You done wouldn't believe what they got." Big Macintosh laughs as he and Cheerilee heads into the house. Something tells him that Cheerilee will find the Pies' traditions...a bit strange.

The End

Author's Note:

Cast list
Nicole Oliver: Cheerilee
Peter New: Big Macintosh
Ingrid Nelson: Marble Pie, Limestone Pie
Andrea Libman: Pinkie Pie
Ashleigh Ball: Applejack

Well, at least the misunderstanding is cleared up, folks. And now, for another MLP: FIM fic...

"Ringing in the New Year (set a couple of days after "Cheerilee's Pie Chat", but still a few days before "the Cutie Re-Mark"): After spending Hearth's Warming With her and Applejack's families, Pinkie joins Rarity and Twilight as they all head for Manehattan for the ultimate New Year’s bash."

Okay, granted, we aren't near that time yet but who am I to say no to this, right? Until next time, read, review and suggest.

A small reference from Shipping Is Fun story is mentioned here as it happens in an alternate universe.

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