Chapter 13: Pinkie & Chuck's Day Off

Day of: The day an important event is. Day old: Donuts you can get for free if you're early enough. Day off: A day to get away from it all with that special pony in your life.

---

Sugarcube Corner: Upstairs loft

"Isn't this exciting?" I asked Pinkie as we were heading down the stairs to the main level of Sugarcube Corner.

"Sure is!" Pinkie grinned ear to ear as we got to the bottom, you see, I had decided to take a break from setting things up at my bar and the Cakes let Pinkie have the day off of deliveries, so Pinkie and I planned to take a 'daycation' to Manehatten.

"We'd better get to the station, our train leaves soon." I said heading for the door, I held it open for her, like any good gentlecolt would do.

"M'lady." I nodded my head as she walked through, my sign off affection was met with a giggle, honestly it made me giggle a bit too.

"Come on Chuckie! Let's go!" She grabbed me by the leg pulling me along.

"I'm comin' I'm comin'... We still got the whole day ahead y'know." I smiled catching up. I was quite excited to spend the day away from it all with Pinkie. I couldn't remember the last time I could have a day without any stress. So it was no question that I was looking forward to the day with her. When we got to the train station Twilight and the others were waiting for us to say goodbye.

"Oh hey everypony!" Pinkie exclaimed as we walked onto the platform.

"Hi Pinkie, we just wanted to say have fun today." Twilight said.

"Yeeaaah but don't have too much fun." Rainbow Dash snorted with laughter.

"Inappropriate." Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash, I thought she was serious until they both started laughing.

"Thanks everypony." I said. "Quibble, I'm leaving you in charge of the bar while I'm gone, make sure nothing crazy happens huh? And Discord, do your best to make this day miserable for him." I winked at the two of them.

"What was that for?" Quibble groaned while Discord laughed maniacally.

"Ready to go hon?" I asked.

"Sure am!" She smiled. "See ya gals! Oh, and colts! Oh.. and Discord!" She said saying goodbye to everyone as we boarded the train. We got to our seats, two seats facing each other with a table in between, we both sat down in our seats and smiled.

"To The Day Off!" I exclaimed.

"To us!" She said back. You might say the two of us were still in that 'honeymoon' type phase where primarily everything was a cutesy little toast to our love. We sat together chatting for a little while as the train began, after a little bit we just looked out the window, I saw a highway going the same route as the train and I chuckled a bit seeing a large cluster of ponies hauling large wooden wagons, it reminded me of seeing big rigs on the highway back on, well, Earth. I chuckled to myself.

"Mercy sakes alive, looks like we've got us a convoy..." I smiled.

"Huh?" Pinkie asked.

"Oh nothin', just reminded me of something from where I'm from." I said.

"What was it?" She asked.

"Well back where I'm from, on highways like the one over there, there would be these big groups of trucks, large metal vehicles that would haul things, we'd call them convoys." I said.

"Cool!" She said. She must have been a little fascinated with Earth culture, and I'll admit, Earth culture did have some nice things.

"I can tell you more about them if you like." I said.

"Oooh okay!" She said.

"Well, this is a bit of a story... It didn't really happen, well, to me anyway, but it's a fun story regardless. Ready?" I asked already feeling the beat.

"Yep!" She said. I grabbed a small suitcase and imagined it was one of those old C.B radios you'd see in a truck.

"Yeah breaker 1-9, this here's The Rubber Duck, you got a copy on me Pigpen come on? Uh 10-4 Pigpen for sure, for sure, it's clean clear to flag town come on. Yeah, that's a big 10-4 there, Pig Pen, yeah, we definitely got the front door, good buddy. Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a convoy..." I said stomping one of my legs to keep a beat. Pinkie bobbed her head back and forth watching.

Me: Was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June

In a Kenworth pullin' logs

Cab-over Pete with a reefer on

And a Jimmy haulin' hogs

We is headin' for bear on I-one-oh

'Bout a mile outta Shaky Town

I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.

"And I'm about to put the hammer down."

'Cause we got a little convoy

Rockin' through the night.

Yeah, we got a little convoy,

Ain't she a beautiful sight?

Come on and join our convoy

Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.

We gonna roll this truckin' convoy

'Cross the U-S-A.

Convoy!

I pretended to use the suitcase as a radio again between the singing. "Yeah breaker Pig Pen this is the Duck and you wanna back off them hogs? 10-4 about 5 miles or so 10 roger then hogs are getting intense up here."

Me: By the time we got into Tulsa Town,

We had eighty-five trucks in all.

But they's a roadblock up on the cloverleaf,

And them bears was wall-to-wall.

Yeah, them smokies is thick as bugs on a bumper;

They even had a bear in the air!

I says, "Callin' all trucks, this here's the Duck.

"We about to go a-huntin' bear."

'Cause we got a great big convoy

Rockin' through the night.

Yeah, we got a great big convoy,

Ain't she a beautiful sight?

Come on and join our convoy

Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.

We gonna roll this truckin' convoy

'Cross the U-S-A.

Convoy!

"Yeah you wanna give a 10-9 on that Pig Pen? Negatory Pig Pen you're still too close yeah them hogs are startin' to close up my sinuses, mercy sakes you'd better back off another ten!"

Me: Well, we rolled up Interstate 44

Like a rocket sled on rails.

We tore up all of our swindle sheets,

And left 'em settin' on the scales.

By the time we hit that Chi-town,

Them bears was a-gettin' smart:

They'd brought up some reinforcements

From the Illinois National Guard.

There's armored cars, and tanks, and jeeps,

And rigs of ev'ry size.

Yeah, them chicken coops was full'a bears

And choppers filled the skies.

Well, we shot the line and we went for broke

With a thousand screamin' trucks

An' eleven long-haired Friends o' Jesus

In a chartreuse micra-bus.

"Ah, Rubber Duck to Sodbuster, come over. Yeah, 10-4, Sodbuster? Lissen, you wanna put that Microbus in behind that suicide jockey? Yeah, he's haulin' dynamite, and he needs all the help he can get."

Me: Well, we laid a strip for the Jersey shore

And prepared to cross the line

I could see the bridge was lined with bears

But I didn't have a dog-goned dime.

I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.

"We just ain't a-gonna pay no toll."

So we crashed the gate doing ninety-eight

I says "Let them truckers roll, 10-4."

'Cause we got a mighty convoy

Rockin' through the night.

Yeah, we got a mighty convoy,

Ain't she a beautiful sight?

Come on and join our convoy

Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.

We gonna roll this truckin' convoy

'Cross the U-S-A.

Convoy!

As I finished singing I bowed my head dramatically, I never considered myself a fan of country music but I had a few exceptions. Pinkie clapped her hooves together.

"Bravo!" She exclaimed. I blushed.

"You liked that?" I asked.

"You bet! I don't even know what the heck a 'Smokey' is and I liked it! 'yeah we got a great big convoy!' she sang deepening her voice and giggling. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it." I said. "I may have to tell you more about Earth sometime."

"I'd like that." She said as the train kept moving. I didn't expect her to be so interested in Earth culture honestly.

---

A few hours later

The train finally arrived and we made our way off the train, I got a look at the busy and bustling city, I had grown used to the quietness and tranquility of Ponyville that it was almost overwhelming, well, not almost, it was overwhelming.

"Wow..." I said to myself! Pinkie took me by the leg.

"Come on! Let's get some brunch!" She pulled me along, I was feeling pretty hungry at that moment so brunch was definitely a welcome idea.

"Sounds good to me." I said. We found a nice little cafe in the city, we decided to check that out. There was a nice large couch with a couple chairs around it, we decided to take the couch.

"This is nice." I said.

"Sure is!" She said. Suddenly three stallions and three mares came into the cafe and looked at us.

"Excuse me." The one with a short and slicked black mane said. "This is sort of our spot." He said.

"Oh man, sorry about that." I said getting up.

"Sorry about that." Pinkie said as she got up.

"Jerks." I muttered to Pinkie as we found another spot. "This is sort of our spot. Blah blah blah." I mocked, she laughed.

"Could they have been any more finicky?" Pinkie laughed.

"Don't think I missed one of those stallions checking you out." I said sipping a coffee.

"What?" She blushed.

"Totally, I could see the look on his face, he had a total 'how you doin?' look going. I've seen it a million times before." I said as we shared a laugh together.

"So what do you wanna do after brunch?" I asked.

"I dunno." She said. "We could see the sights... See what Bridleway might have to offer..."

"That sounds like fun." I said.

"What would you want to do?" She asked me.

"Hey, I'm game for whatever you want to do." I said finishing off my coffee and biting into my omelette.

"We'll just have to see when it happens." Pinkie said.

"We sure will." I nodded.

---

After brunch

After brunch we had just started walking to see what caught our eyes. the wind blew gently and the sun shined down, it was a cool fall morning, it seemed to sadden me that a lot of ponies here didn't seem to take the beautiful morning here, suddenly I saw a small kiosk up ahead and went to see what the vendor was selling.

"Kites! Get yer kites here!" He said.

"Kites huh?" I asked.

"Yep! No better day then today too, feel that breeze through your mane huh? Can I interest you in a kite?" He asked me. I glanced at Pinkie, who seemed to like the idea.

"I'll take two actually." I said handing the bits.

"Here you go sir!" He handed me the kites, I took them, wished him farewell, and Pinkie and I went on our way to a park nearby.

"Ready?" I asked before we set our kites to fly.

"Yep!" She grinned.

"3... 2... 1!" We said setting them into motion, watching them fly up into the air, holding on to them from the ground.

"Wow!" Pinkie exclaimed watching the two kites soar.

"Pretty nice huh?" I asked.

"It's beautiful!" She said. We started running with the kites tied to our front legs.

Me: With two bits for paper and strings

You can have your own set of wings

With your feet on the ground

You're a bird in flight

With your hoof holding tight

To the string of your kite

Oh, oh, oh!

Let's go fly a kite

Up to the highest height!

Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring

Up through the atmosphere

Up where the air is clear

Oh, let's go fly a kite!

Pinkie: When you send it flying up there

All at once you're lighter than air

You can dance on the breeze

Over houses and trees

With your hoof holding tight

To the string of your kite!

Pinkie and I: Oh, oh, oh!

Let's go fly a kite

Up to the highest height!

Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring

Up through the atmosphere

Up where the air is clear

Let's go fly a kite!

As we kept running I tripped and started tumbling down a hill, Pinkie came bouncing after me down the hill, in the commotion our kites got tangled up and she leaped into me, we both fell down and started laughing and nuzzled our faces against each other. Not that we noticed this, but our tangled kites had fallen into the shape of a heart.

---

Later on

"What do you want to do now?" I asked.

"Hmmm I dunno!" She said. "What do you wanna do?"

"No, no, nononononono. The kite thing was my idea, now it's your turn." I said.

"Well, why don't we look around the shops?" She suggested.

"Sounds good to me!" I nodded. We entered a nearby mall to check it out. There were plenty of stores as far as the eye could see, and kiosks galore. It was a dream come true for someone who's wallet was burning a hole in their pocket. "Damn..." I said in bewilderment, even where I was from I never saw a mall quite like this.

"Come on! Let's check it out!" Pinkie said leading me through the mall. There were stores for just about everything, and often more than one store for one thing, but hey, a little competition can be good for business.

"Marecy's? J.C Pony?" I said to myself looking at the stores passing by. I must admit the pony puns were quite amusing.

"Hey, what about that one?" Pinkie asked.

"F.A.O Colts?" I asked reading the sign.

"Sure!" She said.

"What is it?" I asked as we walked toward it.

"It's a big toy store!" She said.

"Cool!" I exclaimed. "Wait...You wanted to go here?" I ask.

"Sure!" She said bouncing into the store. "Why not?" She asked.

"Oh no reason, honestly I'm just a bit surprised, that's all. I've never actually been with anyone who shares this interest with me, that's all." I said as we walked through the store.

"Well, I'm not anyone you've been with before, am I?" She asked rhetorically. I was taken aback slightly, she had a point.

"You've got a point there." I said. "Well, whaddya say? Let's look around!" I say.

After a long while of looking around at various toys, small and large, plastic and plush, we decided it was time to move on, as we were walking out I caught something out of the corner of my eye, it was a large plush bear, about the size I used to be as a human. (6 foot).

"Hey, why don't you go on ahead?" I said. "I've got to.. uh... Use the restroom. I'll catch up." I said.

"Alrighty!" She bounced along. As soon as I saw she was out of my vision I turned to a pony at the counter. "How much for big bear over there?" I asked. The clerk nodded and punched up a receipt. "Throw shipping on there too." I said sliding him a small sack. "Great. Thanks." I said walking out the door. Now to catch up with Pinkie. I looked around for her, you'd think somepony like her would be pretty easy to find. I suddenly saw her from across the food court, I galloped over to meet her.

"Hey hon! Sorry about that." She just looked at me.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"What? But... But... What the..." Suddenly Pinkie over to me.

"Hiya Chuckie! There you are!" She said.

"What... But... But..." I muttered to myself, suddenly I remembered season 3 episode 3 and it all made sense. (If you didn't figure it out already, just look it up. I don't just give references away.) "Oh. Right." I said to myself.

"Wanna get going?" Pinkie asked me.

"Yes. Yes definitely." We should probably get out of here before I get confused.

---

After the mall

At this point, I could see the sun start to make it's way down, I'd say at this point all we needed was a bit of dinner before heading towards home. The only question was where...

"So how about dinner?" I brought up as we walked down the streets.

"How about it?" She said.

"Not what I meant." I said as she started giggling.

"I know, how about there?" She motioned towards what looked like an Italian restaurant.

"Sounds good to me." I said. "I'm famished."

"Hi famished! I'm Pinkie!" She laughed.

"Oh Lord..." I chuckled as we entered.

"How many in your party?" The Maître D' asked.

"Just the two." I said.

"Come right this way you two." He said leading us to out table, it was a booth near front of the restaurant, looking out the window.

"Hello! And welcome to The Saucy Stir-spoon, how can I help you two this evening?" Our waiter asked.

"I'll have the spaghetti, with a side of a garlic bread basket please." I said.

"Would you like it for two? Or would this pretty mare prefer something different?" The waiter asked Pinkie.

"Spaghetti works!" She said.

"Coming right up you two lovebirds." Our waiter took our menus. We just sat there looking at the beautiful sky.

"What a beautiful night huh?" I said looking out the window that overlooked the city.

"Sure is." She said.

"You know what else is beautiful?" I asked.

"What?" She asked.

"You." I said smoothly. She blushed red.

"Oh you..." She giggled.

"I know, cheesy." I said.

"Yeah, but sweet." She leaned over the table and pecked me on the cheek. I giggled a bit. The waiter then arrived with our meal.

"For the two on this Bella Notte." The waiter said handing us our meal.

"Thank you very much." I said.

"Let's dig in, shall we?" I suggest.

"Let's do it!" She smiled as we started eating. I didn't realize how difficult eating spaghetti was with hooves, I had to resort to slurping one of my noodles. Doing so embarrassed me a bit, I didn't want to look sloppy at our dinner.

"Hey, it's okay." She said to me seeing my embarrassment as she slurped back a couple. "See?" She said. I couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks." I smiled. In the distance I could hear the sound of accordion playing in a traditional Italian fashion. Pinkie and I turned to see our waiter playing the accordion softly to create ambiance.

Waiter pony: This is the night

It's a beautiful night

And we call it bella notte

/

Look at the skies

They have stars in their eyes

On this lovely bella notte

/

Side by side with your loved one

You'll find enchantment here

The night will weave its magic spell

When the one you love is near

/

For this is the night

And the heavens are right

On this lovely bella notte

/

This is the night

It's a beautiful night

And we call it bella notte

/

Look at the skies

They have stars in their eyes

On this lovely bella notte

/

Side by side with your loved one

You'll find enchantment here

The night will weave its magic spell

When the one you love is near

/

For this is the night

And the heavens are right

On this lovely bella notte

We both exchanged a loving glance with each other as we embraced in a kiss. "Bella Notte indeed." I smiled at her.

---

The train back home

"Have a good time today?" I asked Pinkie as we sat back on the train.

"Yeah." She smiled relaxing into my shoulder.

"What was your favorite part?" I asked.

"Spending it with you." She said. I couldn't help but blush at that.

"No kidding." I said. "Because my favorite part was spending the day with you."

"Aww Chuckie..." She yawned. It was pretty late at this point, maybe a nap would do us some good.

"Let's get a little shuteye before we get back home, sound like a good plan?" I asked. But she was already asleep.

"Yep. Sounds good." I said to myself shutting my eyes for a quick nap.

---

Back home

"Wake up... Wake up..." I heard Pinkie say as I opened my eyes. "We're home." She said.

I yawned. "Already? Wonderful." I said as we got off the train.

"That was a great day." She said.

"I couldn't agree more." I nodded as we walked home. "Hold on..." I said. "I have to check on something first. I'll meet you back home." I said.

"Alright Chuckie." She said giving me a kiss. With that I walked towards my bar to see how Quibble was holding up. I opened the door and saw just about what I suspected. Bar stools were running around like puppies, drinks were pouring upwards, and Quibble was hanging from the ceiling in a cage, all while Discord was laughing maniacally.

"Alright Discord, fun's over." I said. He looked at me and sighed.

"Fine..." He snapped his fingers and it all returned to normal, which made Quibble fall to his face.

"How'd it go pal?" I asked Quibble.

"Ohhhhh... Ohhhh You owe me. Big time!" He growled in a very exhausted tone.

"Sounds like it went well, see ya tomorrow." I said leaving for home. By the time I got home Pinkie was upstairs in the living room.

"Hiya hon, I'm home." I said. She just looked at a big box.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Why don't you look at the card?" I say.

"It says 'from Chuckie'. Awww Chuckie!" She said excitedly. Damn they deliver quick.

"Open it up." I say with a smile, she opens it to reveal a giant teddy bear holding a heart shaped pillow.

"I love it!" She exclaims.

"And I love you." I say giving her a hug. And so, our beautiful day off came to a close. Honestly I wished every day could be like this, you know how they say there's no such thing as perfect? Well, this day proved me wrong in thinking that.

---

That's the end of that chapter! Next chapter won't be a continuation, but rather the same day, but from another point of view, who? We'll see!

Songs used

Convoy. By: CW McCall

Let's go fly a kite. By: Richard and Robert Sherman

Bella Notte. By: Peggy Lee