Login

What Changes May Come

by Bluegrass Brooke

Chapter 1: Cheese's Dilemma

Load Full Story Next Chapter

Cheese Sandwich stood on the little hill overlooking Ponyville. His poncho and wide brimmed black hat would had given the impression of a serious stallion if not for the rubber chicken draped over his back, sporting the number two. The spring morning blew up a gust of petals from the apple tree he stood under, causing a violent sneezing fit. Cheese loved spring, but, it didn’t seem to love him back.

Ponyville looked amazing, flowers adorned the empty spaces on the square and cloaked the houses with their cheery display. Stallions, mares, fillies, and colts were chatting animatedly with each other. Normally, this would fill him to the brim with cheer, he was the super-duper party pony after all. But today, today Cheese couldn’t help but feel a deep, dark pit forming in his stomach.

Cheese knew that he was not supposed to be here. Ever since he had received his cutie mark, he followed his “Cheesie-sense” wherever it took him. Now, he was nearly in Ponyville while his cheesie-sense was pulling him violently towards Fillydelphia. But Cheese knew this was a necessary divergence, in fact is was the most important divergence ever. After all, what use is a super-duper party pony if he cannot make anypony smile?

He turned to address the rubber chicken resting atop his poncho-covered back, “Come on Boneless 2. We’ve got to get Pinkie’s help!” With a bit of effort, Cheese pulled his party cannon down the hill and towards the town.

If anypony knew how to fix his dilemma it would be Pinkie Pie. She was his inspiration, the one reason he found his cutie mark and purpose in his life. She also happened to be the most beautiful mare Cheese had ever seen. Her glossy pink coat, sparkling blue eyes, and hair that poofed in just the right way were magic to Cheese. Not only that, she was cheerful, upbeat, spontaneous, and always brought a smile to pony’s faces.

But, the last time they had met had not gone off so well. He had inadvertently taken over her party and made her feel unwanted. They had even gotten into a huge goof-off that ended in Pinkie running away. Never had Cheese felt so bad about his actions. He should have told her the truth from the beginning. Instead, he let his pride as a party planner get in the way of their new friendship. Sure, it had worked out in the end and, after explaining himself, Pinkie had returned and planned a great party with him. Pinkie had such a forgiving nature. However, it did not change the fact that he hurt the mare and he wanted so badly to make it up to her.

Admittedly, he looked rather odd tugging at his cannon down the dirt road. The cannon held everything he owned in its magically enhanced interior. Even Cheese had no idea how it worked (it had been a gift from his mentor). Normally he would not lug it around, but he was too tired to activate its transportation magic. Cheese sighed, so much for not standing out.

Now, every pony in the square seemed to be watching him pull his cannon along. A few smiled welcome but others just stared in amazement or expectation. He had burst out into song the first time he came after all. Maybe they were bracing for a reprise? Thankfully, it did not take long to get to the entrance of Sugar Cube Corner. The store front was so very fun, and, like Pinkie, seemed to give off an aura of good cheer.

Leaving the cannon outside, Cheese stood frozen outside the door. What should I say? I don't want to make Pinkie think I'm a failure! But, no matter what comes of it, it has to be her.

He cautiously stepped into the store. It was filled with a group of ponies sharing a sweet snack at the big round table. He recognized them as Pinkie’s friends; Princess Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. Pinkie had been conversing with them but when she saw Cheese, she literally hopped over to him.

“Cheesie!” Pinkie squealed with delight and leapt on Cheese, giving him a bone-crushing hug.

“Hello Pinkie.” Cheese managed to gasp.

Thankfully, Pinkie released Cheese and stood grinning at him. For some inexplicable reason, Cheese felt at a loss for words. Maybe it was guilt from before? His face began to heat up as Pinkie leaned in close, her muzzle nearly touching his. He looked down, trying to cool off the steam that seemed to be overwhelming his senses.

“You okay Cheesie?” Pinkie’s voice held a note of concern and her ears went back a little.

“Just…just fine Pinkie.” Cheese managed to stammer as he continued to regard the floor boards.

“Fine but not super-duper fine?”

The three mares gathered around cheese. Twilight looked concerned, “Is something wrong Cheese? I don’t think we’ve been planning any big parties.”

Cheese never wished he could disappear so badly. Not only was his problem embarrassing, he did not want the whole of Equestria to know about it. He took a deep breath, “I’ve lost it.”

“Lost what?” Rainbow Dash added impatiently as she fluttered overhead.

“My-” Cheese gulped, “-my super-duper party planning skills. I…I can’t seem to make anypony laugh anymore. I don’t even feel like laughing myself.”

With that the yellow stallion’s green eyes filled with tears and he sobbed. “What am I supposed to do? I’m a party pony! I’ve got to make ponies laugh.”

The group of mares looked at each other with dumbfound amazement. Pinkie Pie shot forward and gave Cheese a big hug, “Poor Cheesie. It’ll be okay. You’re a party pony just like me right? You’re not allowed to be so sad.”

Rainbow Dash flew down next to Pinkie. “Darn right! We’ll figure this out won’t we Twilight?”

Twilight nodded approval, “Of course we will. What are friends for anyway?"

Together, the group stood around Cheese until he managed to stop crying.

A piece of parchment levitated in front of Twilight. “If we’re going to help you out we need to know the whole story. Just when did you start to lose your party planning abilities?”

Cheese sniffed and composed himself. “Well, it started shortly after Rainbow’s Birthaversery bash. I was on my way from my latest party in Trottingham and felt… different.”

“Different?” Twilight started writing vigorously on the parchment with her magic.

“Yeah. Normally when I plan a super awesome party I feel fulfilled. Like, I did my job and everything is going to be okey-dokey. But, after this party I felt empty somehow.”

“Maybe the party wasn't as super awesome as mine?” Rainbow Dash smirked knowingly.

Twilight shot her an exasperated look, “Rainbow! I'm certain Cheese’s party was first rate and all the ponies loved it. Isn’t that right Cheese?”

Cheese nodded slowly. “It was great, one of my best yet. But, after that party I just wasn't my funny self.” Cheese drew Boneless 2 off his back and stared at the chicken sadly. “The next party was a wedding bash in Edinbuck. It was fun, ponies laughed, but not like my other parties. It was as though there was this big hole that should have been filled by my party. I feel as though I left some ponies down. That’s never happened to me before.”

“Oh no. That’s awful Cheesie!” Pinkie gave Cheese another hug that made his face heat up again.

He coughed and continued, “So, after the wedding, I traveled around following my cheese senses like before. But, no matter where I went my parties slowly got worse and worse. The last party was a disaster! Not a single pony laughed, not one. They even called me the ‘super-duper failure’.” Cheese looked down in embarrassment.

“Is that why you came back?”

Cheese nodded, “Yeah. I thought since Pinkie was my first inspiration she could be my inspiration again. So, I returned to Ponyville.”

Pinkie hopped around the floor excitedly. “Of course I’ll help you silly! You don’t have to be shy about it. I’m the original party pony, it won’t be hard to get your party juices flowing again. Maybe we could make some confetti cake? Oooh, oooh maybe we could make a giant bowl of pudding and jump in? Or catch a bunch of butterflies and-”

“-and hide them in a present.” Cheese smiled and started bouncing along side Pinkie.

Twilight rested a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. “That sounds like a great start. Pinkie, I want you and Cheese to do whatever it is you party ponies do. In the meantime, I will do some research and try to see if this could be caused by magical means. Any other suggestions?”

Fluttershy cautiously approached Twilight. “Maybe Cheese just needs to rest. When my animal friends work super hard, they start to have trouble remembering their jobs. But, after they rest, they feel refreshed and ready to get back to work.”

“You make a good point Fluttershy. How about Cheese holds off from party planning for a while? Then he can start up again when he's ready for it. What do you say Cheese?”

“It couldn’t hurt. I'll admit I've been very busy lately. It's been a while since I had a good rest. Maybe it'll help. But what can I do in the meantime?"

Pinkie gasped and bounced with renewed excitement. “You can stay and work at Sugar Cube Corner with me! The cakes took the twins to visit family and I’m supposed to mind the store. What do you say Cheesie?”

“Well, I guess sweet making could be fun. I’ll give it a try!”

Twilight nodded in agreement, “Good, I’ll let the two of you know when I’ve discovered more information. Rainbow and Fluttershy can help me as needed.”

Rainbow flipped in the air, "Leave it to me!"

With that, trio left the store, leaving Pinkie and Cheese standing alone. Cheese was thrilled the ponies wanted to help but could not stopper the feeling that their efforts would be in vain. He looked around the shop and sighed. A whole day to be myself again huh? I suppose a little me-time can't hurt can it? And, I have Pinkie's company to look forward to. Cheese found himself pondering Pinkie. Just how does she keep up that excited, happy front all the time? I wish I had her stamina.

“You ready Cheesie?”

“Huh?” Cheese started back to his senses, flushing. “Am I ever! Show me what I need to do.”

Author's Notes:

So there’s the end of my first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. This was actually my first time writing any of the mane 6 and so I was really nervous. I normally write very serious characters so this was a different kind of challenge for me. As always, I'd love to hear some feedback. Look forward to more chapters to come.

Next Chapter: Well...It Could Be Worse Estimated time remaining: 11 Hours, 44 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch