Spending Time With You
Cheese Sandwich woke up to the sun on his face, beating down like cursed blessings. His eyes shot open, which was probably the worst mistake ever, and violently turned to his side, shielding his eyes, and letting out a yelp.
Of all the things Cheese Sandwich learned from being a traveling pony, he learned that when he checked out a place to sleep for the night, it was wise to sleep under something blocking the sun Celestia cast down, like a tree or something, but last night there were none to be found. Cheese was hoping that he would wake up early enough to probably the sensation of his Cheesy Sense and avoid the celestial curse, but he wasn’t lucky enough this morning.
Cheese rolled onto his belly. Grumbling, he glanced up at the sky, trying not to look directly in the sun, but failed, and he shut his eyes and curled into his oversized western poncho.
“It would have to be at least noon if the sun is so high in the sky,” He grumbled.
His rubber companion's head tumbled forward on the grass floor, almost as if he was agreeing.
“Boneless Two, you always make me feel a little bit better,” Cheese gave a small grin.
The party pony got up and shook himself, trying to wake up for the day. He needed to freshen up, and he went by a near stream and dunked his face into it. When he surfaced, his usually curly brown hair was flattened, and it covered his eyes.
“Hey Boneless Two, did Celestia turn off the sun?”
As if on cue, his hair poofed up like a balloon, and the sun returned into his eyes.
“Oh.”
A few dunkings later, Cheese was sitting on a rock, with Boneless Two perched right next to him.
“Y’know, Boneless,” Cheese pondered, his hat creating a shadow over his face. “Today marks the third day no parties have been planned.” He eyed his friend, not moving and obediently listening. “I suppose nothing is going on, then.” He scratched his chin with his hoof. “Is that even possible?”
The rubber chicken made no movement.
“...You’re right, Boneless Two,” Cheese drawled. “Maybe everyone's taking a break from parties or something! Yeah, that has to be it.”
The party pony hopped up from his rock and a huge grin was plastered onto his face. "A free day? I haven't had one of those in years! Boneless, where should we go? Fillydelphia? They always have great food there. Manehattan? The ponies there always are fun to watch bustle around."
In the corner of Cheese's eye, he saw Boneless Two didn't make any movement still. "No? You don't like those places?" He didn't see anything wrong with those places, but Boneless Two was a smart rubber chicken, he liked to think things through rather than the original Boneless, Cheese noticed. "So where can we go then, Mr.Picky?"
To be honest, there wasn't much to go. Cheese didn't have a set time point to when his Cheesy Sense would come back, so he didn't want to travel far. He was on the rough bottom of Foal Mountain, that's where he set camp, and it was around Canterlot, where his last party was. He wasn't wealthy enough for any hotels or anything, so he just completely went out of that area. As far as Cheese was thinking, the closest cities near him were Fillydelphia and Baltimare, Manehattan too if he felt like walking for a while.
Cheese scratched his head. Wasn't there something else near Canterlot? Like a forest?
"Everfree Forest," He verbally realized. "I feel like there's a city around that, too. Haven't been there in quite some time." Cloudsdale was a little farther northeast from the Everfree Forest but...
And then the answer hit him like a brick. "Ponyville!"He leaped up into the air and gave a holler. "How could I forget about that awesome Birthaversary I made for Rainbow Dash herself?" He thought for a second before restarting his sentence over. "Nah, I didn't forget them, I just forgot where they lived, actually. For some reason, I thought they lived way north from Canterlot."
He gave a small sigh and closed his eyes, "But I didn't forget her, that's for sure."
Boneless Two's rubber head leaned back as if to question who he was daydreaming about.
"Oh, silly. Pinkie Pie of course!" Cheese tipped his hat to shadow his eyes again. "How could you not forget those blue eyes, that crazy hair that I've come to enjoy?"
He had been sitting side by side with Boneless two, but now he whipped around to look at his friend in the face. "I know I've said this plenty of times, but Pinkie Pie is super special to me compared to other ponies." He exhaled and looked at his hooves. " She was the one who inspired me, and when we reunited I wanted to impress her so badly I made her upset but-" He looked back at Boneless Two, who was still not moving an inch. "- she still wanted to be my friend afterward! She's so kind and I can't just take that for granted."
Cheese studied Boneless Two for a few seconds before he jerked his eyes away and felt his cheeks go red. "WOAH THERE, BUDDY!" He exclaimed. "Don't be accusing me of such things! Pinkie Pie is just perfect in every way and someone needed to know that! Nothing more!"
But Boneless Two wasn't giving in, and Cheese could feel his hooves go all sweaty, "But! I-I don't really-" He sputtered, flustered and thrown right on the spot. "She's pretty and all-" That's really not helping right now."I don't like-like her, though!"
Boneless Two let off his invisible glare, and Cheese felt relief wash over and he felt like he won the argument. "I guess Ponyville it is. Prepare to take a train because there isn't much space for walking between here and Ponyville."
Boneless Two's invisible rubber chicken glare snapped on again.
"Hey, I know you don't like trains that much, but we have no choice! Just take a nap and you'll wake up before you know it!"
When Cheese Sandwich reached the middle of the Ponyville square, he was surprised at how he had forgot how friendly ponies could possibly be. After being in the bigger cities like Canterlot, that moral seemed to have gone down the drain in a few select places. Ponies in Ponyville who remembered who he was gave a friendly wave and some even referred to him by name.
He didn't remember a huge castle, though. When was that included in? But he brushed that thought aside and hoped to bump into Pinkie or one of her friends. He tried to look for the Ponyville Library, as that's where he knew Twilight Sparkle lived- she was very helpful, but he couldn't find the huge tree or the purple unicorn.
Wait, unicorn? No, not possible. Cheese thought back to the Equestria games. He remembered Twilight flying around because of the disaster that had happened, which was the latest he ever saw any of Pinkie's friends or even anyone from Ponyville since the Birthaversary. Could Twilight have gotten wings? How would that even work?
"Boneless Two, I could use me some wings right now," Cheese murmured.
He strolled around and ended up stumbling into the market, and was flooded by a crowd of ponies. He still tried making his way, through, making sure so say, "excuse me please" and being polite in a crowded space as possible, until he spotted a rainbow mane. Not knowing a bunch of people with a rainbow mane except for a pony named Rainbow Dash, he carefully made his way towards her.
Rainbow was actually selling something in the market. As Cheese got closer, it looked she had buckets of apples on display.
"Where they are apples, there's got to be Applejack," Cheese quietly talked once more to himself.
It actually turned out to be more than just Applejack. At this point, he was at a clearing point and the crowd was breaking apart, helping him see much better where he was. Right next to Applejack, there were the rest of Rainbow Dash's friends, including Twilight sparkle. But...
Where was Pinkie Pie?
The one with the fashionably curled purple hair named Rarity noticed him first. "Oh, look who it is, girls!" She gleefully exclaimed. "It's Pinkie's fellow party pony, Cheese Sandwich!"
Finally, Cheese was in view, and the mares rushed over to greet him.
"Cheese!" Rainbow Dash was the first to exclaim. "It's been so long since you've visited! What's up?"
"Yeah, a lot has happened since you've last come!" Informed Twilight, who Cheese noticed did indeed have wings. He made a mental note to question later.
"It's a pleasure to meet again." Fluttershy softly welcomed.
"It's great to see you all too, but I just have one question," All the mare's faces made an equal question mark. " Where's Pinkie Pie?"
Applejack made a surprisingly random action of cursing and Rainbow Dash leaped up and made a victory holler. "HA-HA! I TOLD YOU HE'D ASK! THAT'S TEN BITS, APPLEJACK!"
Cheese didn't understand."What?"
Twilight giggled and waved her hoof. "When we saw you approach us, the first thing I heard was Rainbow Dash making a bet with Applejack."
"To ask about Pinkie...?"
"And she LO-O-OST!" Rainbow Dash gave another round of heavy laughter and Applejack gritted her teeth.
"To be fair, ah wanted to bet on him to ask about Pinkie too, but ya already called it and I'm not gonna back down on a bet," She frowned and she slowly enunciated the next few words slowly and carefully. "S'pecially not from ah pony like you."
Rainbow Dash gasped, zoomed down from where she was flying, and faced Applejack. "JUST WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?"
"I personally think it's cute!" Rarity smugly added, raising her eyebrow slightly and ignoring the two.
Fluttershy actually didn't say anything, but she gave a knowing smile as well.
"HA, well, erm," Cheese tried to gather words to clear up the conversation before it went downhill. " I kinda wanted to catch up with her, do you guys know where she could be?"
"Adorable," whispered Rarity.
"Aww," Fluttershy cooed.
"Denial," muttered Rainbow Dash, shaking her head.
"Pinkie Pie denies everything, too," Twilight sighed.
"Ahm telling ya, I knew he would ask for her," Applejack quietly retorted.
"What?" Cheese swore he heard them whispering.
"She had to take an extra shift on SugarCube Corner today because she was letting the public test out her new cupcake recipes," Twilight quickly told him, as if they were quietly asking among themselves for their friend's location. "Ever since she put them on sale, the place has been booming."
"Poor darling hasn't gotten much sleep I bet," Rarity said. "She either is creating recipes, selling the cupcakes, or planning parties."
"Hasn't the Cakes tried to hire someone else?"
"Pinkie is a stubborn pony, I'll tell ya. She ain't gonna give up her job, she loves everything she does," Applejack snorted.
"She's full of dedication to her work," Flutters nodded.
"I can lead you there, Cheese." Twilight offered. "I understand it's been a while and you may not remember where the locations are, and I'm sure I can catch you up on a few things as well," She made a gesture to her wings, and Cheese was grateful he could get a moment to ask about them finally.
"The rest of us can help finish Applejack sell her apples at her booth," Rarity agreed. "We should get going, hope to see you again soon, preferably with Pinkie Pie!"
"Preferably hugging," Applejack mumbled a small correction.
"Maybe sneak in an 'I love you'?" Rarity whispered under her breath.
"I think nose boops are adorable," Fluttershy quietly said.
"I don't think ponies here think kissing is too much PDA," Twilight pretended to cough.
"At this point, I don't care if it's too sappy" Rainbow Dash pretended to sneeze.
"What?"
"And that's why Equestria hasn't exploded yet," Twilight concluded. "Every one of us had to literally save to world every week. Now it's not as bad, we just solve friendship problems on a magical map."
"That's SO COOL!" Cheese shot up in the air with random confetti shooting everywhere. Twilight didn't know how, but then again, Twilight didn't need to know how.
"Anyways," she brushed the matter off, "Here we are! I'm sure Pinkie is inside. I have to get back to the market, but we'll stop by after we close it up. Good luck!" And with a swish of her tail and a friendly smile, she slowly walked away.
"Thanks!" Cheese called back.
He swished open the doors with his hooves and a bell sound rang through the store. The bakery was flooded with good smells and good feelings of home, with nice, colorful but not too loud, paint jobs all around the store. It felt like a great place to be.
When he walked in, he noticed how quiet everything was. But then he looked towards the register and realized the pony he was looking for was snoring softly on the counter.
Pinkie laid with her head down, her hooves and hair covering her whole face, audible snores coming from her. The store was empty, and Cheese figured Pinkie took the first chance she got. Rarity must have been right all along, Pinkie didn't get much sleep the past week or so. Cheese didn't even think Pinkie ever needed sleep at all. She was always bouncing around and being so energetic, which he enjoyed.
Her hair looked extra soft for some reason, and Cheese had to force himself to restrain from stroking it. Not only was that creepy, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.
He slowly walked towards her and softly booped her on the nose, "Pinkie Pie," He softly whispered. "Psst. Wake up."
The pink horse snorted, jolted and sat up straight and tall, eyes shut still. "Hey, welcome to SugarCube Corner. I'm Pinkie Pie and I hope you try my super yummy cupcakes!" She obviously said that phrase over and over, and it came almost robotically to her.
"Pinkie Pie, It's me!" He gave a bright smile.
"Mm?" She made a cute yawn and shook her head, opening her blue pools of eyes. "Hurk?"
Cheese felt goose bumps when she opened her eyes. They were just so...beautiful. They were the color of the prettiest ocean he ever saw in his life, and they were so giant. and filled with happiness.
Where the heck are these thoughts coming from? He asked himself.
"Cheese?" Pinkie blinked, but then a huge smile stretched across her face. "CHEESE!" And in a few seconds flat, she leaped from behind the register and pounced on top of Cheese Sandwich, who went down with an 'oof!'.
Now that they were face to face, he could see her eyes even better, long, curly, black eyelashes placed around them. It was stunning- and yet he couldn't help but notice how her small nose reminded him of a pink button, the way her hair fell over her shoulders like a model-
"I've missed you so much!"
-how her voice sounded like she was an angel.
"I missed you, too." He could feel how his cheeks were turning red again.
Pinkie hopped off and giggled, her voice sounding like bells. "So, what brings you here? I don't think anypony is planning something big here in Ponyville."
"That's the weird thing," he admitted. " I haven't gotten any Cheesy Sense, so I didn't get pulled to any parties." He saw Pinkie clasp her hoof over her mouth and he then added, "For three whole days!"
"That's awful!" Pinkie Pie cried.
Cheese thought for a second, then shook his head, his curly ball of hair in perfect rhythm. "Nah, actually. I kinda am happy because I get a break, I haven't had one in so long." He leaned forward and a grin fell on his face. "And my sources tell me you haven't either."
Pinkie's face turned a little pinker than usual, but she hoped he didn't notice. She just totally was drooling over the way Cheese Sandwich played off those smooth smiles- but she couldn't tend her feelings right now and just smiled back. "Well, the baking sales are super high!" She continued. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake are really proud of me, and I'm really proud of me, too."
Cheese kinda started drifted off, looking into her eyes and going, "mhm" now and then until he finally spoke up. "Say, Pinks. I know you're really busy, but do you think you could just maybe close up shop early?" He read her automatic confusion and hastily continued. " I mean, I don't know when a party is gonna pull me and I kind of wanted to catch up-" His words were cut off by Pinkie's hooves touching his.
"That sounds super!"
A million thoughts ran through Cheese's head at the speed of the Wonderbolts when he watched them perform one day. SWEET SWISS CHEESE PINKIE'S HOOVES ARE SO WARM AND SOFT AND LOVELY LIKE CELESTIA KISSED THEM WHEN SHE WAS FIRST BORN AND I'M GOING TO DIE YOUNG OF HEART FAILURE-
"So where do you want to go?" He asked as calmly as he could.
She contemplated for a little bit before she shrugged her shoulders. " I really don't know. I would plan a 'Let's-plan-a-thinking-of-a-thing-to-do party, but we don't have enough time," She frowned. "And that's not really a small vacation."
"What about...?" He trailed off and then shook his head. "Sorry, it seemed dumb."
"WHAT, NO! TELL ME!" She practically screamed in his face. "NOTHING IS STUPID!"
"I was gonna ask if we...could bake a cake together." But he hung his head. "You're probably sick of making cakes and I'm awful at cooking or baking anything in my life."
Pinkie gasped and started bouncing up and down. "NO, I LOVE IT!" She laughed and then continued. "I can take a break from cupcakes, but I almost never have time for full on cakes." She winked. "The Cakes do their specialty cakes, not really me."
"That reminds me, where are the Cakes, exactly?"
"Oh, they're just off on like some business trip," Pinkie waved her hooves in the air quickly to dismiss the thought. "I only stayed because I run the shop, too and we needed to keep sales goin'." She sprung up on her hind legs and opened her hooves wide, "SO ARE YA READY TO MAKE A BIG OL' CAKE?"
"YOU BET I AM!" He cheerfully answered back.
"Now, what cake flavor do you want? We can just make a simple chocolate cake if you want." Cheese nodded his head and Pinkie turned a full circle to gather and prepare everything. "I'll preheat the oven, get the ingredients started, and get everything else ready for you." She faced him once more and looked him in the eyes. "Make sure you go to the sink and wash your hooves because we have to stay clean!" And she zoomed off and was a sudden buzz around the kitchen.
Cheese trotted to the sink and switched on the faucet, letting the cool water wash over his hooves. There was a bar of soap laying next to the switch to turn it on, and he fumbled with the bar for a little bit, trying to get it on his hooves. He wanted to make sure his hooves were extra clean for Pinkie Pie, because that's what she wanted.
I may suck at baking, but if she enjoys it, I bet I will too. He firmly decided.
Shutting off the water, he trotted back to where he was to find Pinkie finishing off the batter, humming and singing bits of songs she probably made by herself. "Are you already done with the batter?" He asked incredulously.
She fixed her gaze on him and put her award winning smile back on. "No, silly! I'm just mixing the bowl with all the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda." She said every word without a doubt or beating an eye. "I'll set this bowl aside and you can help mix the butter, eggs, and vanilla in a bigger bowl."
She was so knowledgeable...It made her look so good. "Wow, you seem to really know your stuff." Cheese's eyes seem to drift off before admitting,"I always order my foods from party companies."
"You do your thing, and I do mine! It's nothing wrong, you're traveling all the time, anyways, Cheesie." She threw the new name in there like she was reciting the time and Cheese couldn't help but blush for like the third time that day.
Pinkie noticed his cheeks turning color and she switched her view down to the batter again, trying not to blush herself. He was so easy to embarrass, but she kinda found him cute like that. He was completely clueless yet he wanted to spend time with her.
She stopped mixing and directed cheese to combine the other ingredients. "Careful with the eggshells," she warned. "After you mix them for a couple of minutes, we can add sugar and then combine that with the other bowl."
Cheese gave a mock salute and continued his task.
While he was mixing, Pinkie Pie felt her eyes wonder from her own bowl and onto her partner beside her. She couldn't help it, he was just adorable trying his best at baking- his tongue was hanging out and he squinted his eyes, concentrating. He lifted the spoon up too high and ended up splattering cake on a spot on his cheek. He dabbed it, stuck his hoof in his mouth, and he gagged. "I thought that would taste good!"
Pinkie Pie tilted her head back and laughed so hard her shoulders shook. "Cheesie, you just tasted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mostly eggs." She tried to stifle her laughing with a hoof. "I have the good tasting batter right now because I have the cocoa in mine." She laughed even harder when Cheese covered his face, totally embarrassed once more. He was totally flustered, and he was obviously trying to impress her. "It's all right, you're totally new at this!"
"Ahargk," Cheese stumble words out as he watched Pinkie finally pour the two cake batters together.
Boneless Two had been resting on the counter, watching the two. Cheese suddenly made eye-contact with the rubber chicken and noticed he was giving a hard glare on him. Cheese wondered why the chicken was giving him such a hard time, and such an "I-told-you-so" look until he thought back to the conversation following choosing Ponyville to travel for his mini-vacation and mentioning Pinkie.
No...! Boneless didn't think..?
"Next up, we..." Pinkie suddenly ducked under and dug through the cabinets below them. "get huge cake pans!"
"Do we pour the batter in those?"
"No, not yet. We need to grease and flour them so when we bake them," She explained. "I got some left over flour and got a new bottle of cooking oil right here," She motioned her hooves. "Here, oil it like this..." She made a demo of quickly dabbing the oil over the pan. "Now sprinkle some flour around."
Cheese scooped up some flour as best as he did, but he spilled some flour over the counter. He looked at Pinkie worriedly, but she smiled and shook her head. "No, it's fine, Cheesie. All part of baking."
Sprinkling gingerly over the cake pan was simple, and Cheese tilted the pan so Pinkie could see it. "Is this good?"
She clapped her hooves together. "That was great! Now we can pour the batter!"
Cheese got the big bowl and carefully poured the bowl into the cake pan, this time managing not to spill. He beamed like a filly at his accomplishment and Pinkie Pie gave a burst of laughter. "Now that you've done that, you may lick the bowl, while I lick the spoon! That's my absolute favorite part."
Cheese laughed too, feeling relaxed when he was exposed to Pinkie, and stuck his hoof in the now-empty bowl and gave his hoof a great lick. This time, his tongue was blessed with great-tasting batter, unlike before. "This is so much better, Pinks."
Pinkie gave a small smile and yawned. "All right, let's put that baby in the oven for about 45 minutes." She watched Cheese scoop it in and set the timer on. "Now what do you want to do while we wait?"
Cheese was going to open his mouth to speak, but he noticed how weary Pinkie suddenly was. She was for crying out loud, probably getting her sleep during empty times the store had no customers, and a wave of guilt washed over him. She still wanted to spend time with him. He looked at his rubber friend, staring into his eyes and not letting up.
Screw you, Boneless Two for always being right about things I didn't know about myself.
"...You should sleep, Pinkie." He softly touched her cheek. "You haven't gotten any sleep. Just sleep for the 45 minutes until the cake is ready."
Pinkie felt the new air of affection Cheese was radiating, and his hoof felt so warm against her. "Rah," catching her off guard like that. "You sure you'll be okay?"
"Super duper!"
Pinkie smiled, nodded, and made a slow move upstairs to her bedroom. She lumbered up the stairs, unaware at first how tired she really was that whole time. She sunk into her bed, and gave a comfortable "ahhhh."
She wanted to fall asleep, but she felt a warm and happy feeling in her chest, like she always did when she thought about him.
Him.
She hadn't seen Cheese for over 3 months, but the feelings she shared was still there, alive and buzzing. It took her a while to realize why she jumped thirty feet into the air when anyone mentioned anything to do with cheese products, and to realize why she got super defensive when she asked her friends, why she sometimes wished she could throw bigger parties so more ponies would show up.
Pinkie snorted. Actually no- not more ponies. Bigger parties so that he would be drawn to it.
"This takes up all my energy," she complained and shut her eyes as her final action.
When Cheese heard the door close, he could feel Boneless Two staring at the back of his head. Oh no, he was really gonna get a rubber chicken laugh out of this one. Cheese slowly turned, and shut his eyes, gritting his teeth. "Okay, okay. No need to make me feel bad."
Boneless Two's stare did not waver one bit.
"Okay, Boneless Two, I admit it. You were right." No movement. "Oh, I know what you're trying to pry out of me!"
Cheese Sandwich leaned in so close to Boneless Two, he was touching nose to rubber nose. "I'll say it," he whispered fast and quiet. " Pinkie Pie is the cutest pony in all of Equestria. I want to look into her eyes forever. I want to get lost in her hair, I want to hold her hooves into mine."
Boneless was still waiting. Cheese closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"....I like-like her just a teensy weensy cheesy bit."
The rubber chicken's glare snapped off at the speed of sound, satisfied. "You're too nosy for your own good," Cheese grumbled.
Cheese spent the next 45 minutes playing his accordion, but not too loud Pinkie could hear it upstairs. Boneless Two was even interested in watching him.
Cheese opened his mouth to sing the old tune. His usual higher pitched voice wasn't present, he was on a deeper, and singing a much more serious tone. He enjoyed doing that when he was alone, singing old and sad tunes to just clear his mind.
The sounds wavered throughout the first floor of the store, and it went well with the smell of the baked goods. It really felt like a warm, cozy cottage.
The party pony heard a few thumping noises, and soon Pinkie reappeared next to him, awake from her sleep, but still not probably because of him. "My Nana Pie used to sing that song a lot." She had her usual smile, but her eyes were unnaturally sad and distant. "She's been gone for a long time, but it seemed like yesterday."
"I...I could stop if you want," Cheese Sandwich didn't want to upset Pinkie Pie ever.
"No." She looked at him. "It makes me happy to remember her."
Pinkie looked at Cheese in the eyes, her gems shining. Is this what Rarity goes through all the time?Pinkie had to admit, this wasn't her field to work in, but her feelings were so strong. She had to do something before she missed him again.
Pinkie leaned forward just a bit closer, they were getting there. Cheese's heart lurched and he could feel the calm atmosphere.
So he leaned forward too.
They were touching snouts, now. He could feel his heartbeat. Her eyes were so big and beautiful up close, like always.
She closed her eyes. He gulped and closed his too.
Since Pinkie was significantly shorter than him, she had to go on her tippy-toes just to reach his neck, so it was mainly Cheese bending down. He was controlling if they did it or not.
Cheese Sandwich leaned another inch closer. They were going to do it-
The timer screamed out its traditional music, causing them to pull away and groan. Pinkie galloped to the loud kitchen timer, mumbled something inaudible, and then got her oven gloves ready to take out the cake.
Cheese's heart still was pumping. They were about to kiss each other.
He was about to kiss Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie was about to kiss him.
So much crazy was happening that day.
"So, we just need to wait for the cake to cool down so we can put some icing on it." She informed.
Cheese nodded.
Pinkie was internally screaming. Stupid timer! You're ruining everything! She almost got what she wanted the most in life, she almost got what everyone last expected of her. She already ran out of time three months ago.
She wasn't going to let that happen.
"Cheese Sandwich," Pinkie stumbled out his formal name. "Did you really see me?" She kept her unwavering stare and didn't want to break it, no matter how hard it was. "All those years ago? Did I really inspire you?"
Cheese Sandwich blushed and felt himself getting small and shy as if he his filly self again. Just the way she was staring at him made him feel insuperior. " Y-yeah. You did. You had your hair all curly and you were making the best party ever." He avoided her gaze again. "And when was being a jerk to you, Pinks, you slapped me hard with some good friendship afterward." He closed his eyes and tilted his head, his curls tickling his cheek. "I didn't deserve that." I probably wouldn't live with myself with those feelings still attached to her, though.
"Everyone deserves a second chance." Her face was soft but still unreadable. "I...I really like you, Cheese. You're funny, nice, and sincere." And when you laugh, your hair bounces in the cutest way." It still flatters me how you got your career all because of...me. You hate yourself for being nasty, but I've been nasty before. We all have." Pinkie was cutting down deep into confession, she wasn't letting anything slide. "I spent nights thinking about you, thinking about how important you are to me." She noticed Cheese not looking directly at her, and felt her heart shatter a bit. "I just wanted to let you know."
Cheese Sandwich looked up at her suddenly. He gave his biggest smile in the world. "You want to know a secret?" He put his hoof over hers. "Try sorting out those feelings since you were eight." He blushed a little bit. "I thought I would never see you again, but when I rolled into Ponyville that one day, I just wanted to impress you, I got fed up..." He shook his head again. "I think...I think that I've always liked you, but I'm too stubborn to pull it out of me sometimes. Your eyes are so pretty, I want to stare in them forever. That's one thing about you that has never changed. Even when I was mad at you, your eyes still looked pretty. My stupid feelings got in the way and I almost lost you forever." He put her hoof ever her own heart. "But right in here, I know you mean well always."
"...Eight years old?" Pinkie's heart was flying higher than she ever thought it could.
"Too shy to say anything to a pretty girl like you."
And then he leaned down and softly kissed her on her lips, something he never knew he had to courage to do. But here he was, Pinkie wrapping her hooves around his neck and getting closer, sparks flying in his heart. He never knew how much he could love someone- Cheese wasn't frankly sure he could love someone this way. The feelings were always there, but he never tested it out, he never could think about it. He was too scared.
Pinkie Pie pulled away slowly and giggled. "I love you."
"I love you too."
The word was a new concept, but it sounded better on the tongue to say. It sounded truer and less like a little feeling. Because it was not just a little feeling. It was a lot.
And they did it again, just because it felt so good to do.
"The cake is ready to frost," Pinkie Pie murmured once they broke. "I love you, but I love cake too."
Cheese stifled a laugh and moved the cake pan to the baking table. " I think on the darkest days of my life," Cheese's eyes were sparkling as he spoke. "I will still laugh and smile."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"Because of you!" And they both laughed like school fillies, the fresh laughter escaping through the windows of the shop, blessing the world with a new found love.
Boneless Two leaned back, taking the new scene in. Even as dense as they were for not realizing what they could be, they eventually lured themselves to what was right.
And they were the rare type.
The rare type that was obvious.
The rare type that was obvious to always show each other that they loved each other.
The rare type that was obvious to show each other that they will love each other forever and ever.
Just outside SugarCube Corner, a single, shrill voice pierced through the night.
"YOU OWE ME 10 MILLION BITS, APPLEJACK!"