The chiming of a distant clocktower striking three roused Cheese from sleep. He opened his eyes to find himself looking around the shelter that he and Pinkie had found last night: the large, creaky living room of a run-down condo that was empty save for some scattered bottles and other litter and an old, funny-smelling sofa. It was on this sofa that Cheese lay, with Pinkie Pie curled up against him, snoring lightly. The sun shining through the broken window illuminated her coat, making every loose strand of her mane and tail shine.

The sight made Cheese sigh happily, suddenly acutely aware of his heart beating in his chest. Pinkie Pie had grown into quite a beautiful mare from that little silly filly he saw balancing on a ball, juggling rubber chickens. And a strong one, as well; she had braved so much in so few years, and even put herself at risk to help him.

Gently, he reached down and nuzzled her cheek. "Wakey-wakey, Pinkie," he said.

Pinkie blinked, fluttering her eyelashes, and woke up, stretching and yawning. "Good morning, Cheese," she smiled.

"Afternoon, really," Cheese corrected. "We slept a lot."

"Wow, really?" Pinkie looked out the window at the afternoon sun.

"Really." Cheese trotted over to the window and gazed out into the city streets. A few ponies trotted past on the sidewalk, each of them with a place to go and a deadline to meet, paying no heed to their hiding hole. Pinkie walked over and joined him. The two sat in silence for a bit, simply enjoying the feeling of each other's presence, the shared warmth of their bodies.

"So," Cheese finally broke the silence. "Did you actually have a plan on how you're going to prove that I'm not a thief?"

"Of course I do!" Pinkie brightened. "We're going to solve the crime ourselves!"

"While avoiding the Guards chasing after us?" Cheese asked.

"Yup!"

"Simple and to the point. I like it!" Cheese grinned. "It'll be like that radio series about that escaped doctor searching for the one-legged pony!"

"Nah, I was thinking I was more like Jess Horsefeathers," Pinkie said. "You know, that murder mystery author who's also an amateur detective?"

"So what does that make me?" Cheese asked. At that moment, his stomach chose to rumble loudly.

"Hungry!" Pinkie laughed as her stomach growled as well. "And so am I!"

Cheese joined in the laughter. "Maybe we should get something to eat? Can't do detective work on an empty stomach, after all. "

"Sounds good," Pinkie agreed. "But we'll need disguises if we're going to go out in public."

"Hmm..." Cheese looked around saw a dilapidated dresser and an old chest sitting in the corner of the room. Opening them up, he was pleased to discover a collection of old, but still clean clothing. "These should work!" he declared, picking out a long green hooded sweatshirt and a pair of large glasses.

"Perfect!" Pinkie said, picking out a wide-brimmed white hat and a simple yellow summer dress for herself, tucking up her long mane underneath the hat.

A couple minutes later, adorned in their strange gear, the duo emerged out into the streets of Canterlot, on the search for adventure and vittles. They attracted more than a few stares from passing ponies on their way down the sidewalk, but were able to deter any unwanted attention with their gentle smiles.

"Just keep walking, Cheese," Pinkie said out of the corner of her mouth as she nodded to a passing delivery pony. "And pull down your sweater, it's not covering your cutie mark."

"Thanks, Pinkie," Cheese whispered, using his hind leg to pull down his sweatshirt, covering his flanks. As he passed by a telephone pole, he nervously glanced up to see his own face staring back at him, splashed across a wanted poster. He glanced around, but was relieved to see that nopony was paying them any mind. With a quiet sigh of relief, he continued to follow Pinkie.

If he had looked a little harder, he might have noticed a stout unicorn with the cutie mark of a cookie pedaling past on a bike, a bag of groceries slung over his shoulder. The unicorn glanced at the two ponies passing on the other side of the street. They seemed awfully familiar...

A passing wind blew up the stallion's sweatshirt. He quickly hiked it down, but too late: Burt had seen his cutie mark. A grilled cheese sandwich. Burt screeched to a halt, then quickly pedaled around the corner of a building. Peeking around, he watched Cheese and Pinkie walking away, the rusty gears turning in his head as fast as they could. Within a minute, he came up with a solution. With a grin, he got back on his bike and began to pedal after them, keeping a safe distance behind them.

The Applewood Runners had just received a big break.

Wandering into the restaurant district, Pinkie looked around for a place to get something to eat. Her eyes were attracted to a pancake breakfast diner with a flashing neon sign over the doorway. She gestured to Cheese, who nodded in agreement. The two entered the diner and were greeted with the mouthwatering scent of pancakes and maple syrup.

"Hiya, folks!" the generously rotund chef with a cutie mark of a maple syrup jar called from the behind the counter at the head, shouting over the sound of sizzling grills and clattering cutlery. "Just set yourselves up right there and I'll get to you in a jiffy." Pinkie and Cheese took the invitation to sit down on two of the stools in front of the counter, watching the chef flipping golden flapjacks on the grill with increasing appetites. Meanwhile, their pursuer paused outside, parking his bike in a patch of dirt in an unfinished sidewalk while he pondered his movements.

The chef dolled out some flapjacks onto a plate and slid it down the counter to a waiting customer, who licked her chops as she brought her meal to another table. Pulling a notebook and marker out of his apron, he turned his attention to Cheese and Pinkie. "What can I get you two?"

"Do you have pancakes with chocolate chips?" Cheese asked.

"Sure do!" the chef said. "We got pancakes with chocolate chips, blueberries, strawberries..." He paused, looking over the top of his notebook at his two customers as the smile flickered on his face. Was it his imagination, or did those two ponies look kind of familiar...?

"Is something wrong?" Pinkie asked.

"No, nothing!" the chef smiled. "So what'll it be, you two?"

"How about three triple-decker pancakes with everything?" Pinkie asked Cheese.

"Sounds great!" Cheese agreed.

The chef raised an eyebrow, but wrote down their order. "Okay, I'll be right back. Gotta get some supplies." With a nod, he trotted off into the back of the diner, towards the freezers where the extra supplies were stored. But instead of going into the freezer, he passed them and snatched the public phone hanging on the back wall, dialing a number into the rotary dial. The line picked up after only one ring.

"Hello, City Guard?" he muttered into the speaker.

About a half mile north, two City Guards were walking down the street, sipping at their coffee as they watched the world go by.

"Look at 'em, Bumblebee," the dark blue unicorn corporal grunted, brushing his white-gold mane out of his black eyes. "All of them, silently laughing at us for letting those two prisoners escape."

"Don't worry about it, Prowl," his partner, a golden earth pony with a black and yellow striped mane and silvery gray eyes.

"I'm not worried," Prowl said, taking a long gulp of his drink. "The Guard will find those two, I'm sure of it."

"Heh, wouldn't it be something if we were the ones who found them," Bumblebee grinned.

"Hey, Prowl! Bumblebee!" a voice called from up the street. Looking up, the two Guards saw Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle trotting towards them.

"Flash!" Bumblebee happily sang out, grasping Flash's hoof and pulling him into a brief embrace. "Long time, no see, mate."

"Good to see you, too," Flash grinned.

Prowl gave a brief but friendly nod to Flash before turning his attention to Twilight, kneeling down before her. "Your Highness, how may we be of service?"

"We're looking for our friends, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich," Twilight explained. "We're sure that Cheese is innocent; he's not a thief."

"Regardless, your friend should not have broken him out of jail," Prowl replied evenly. "She should have just let us investigate the case properly."

"Yes, well, that's Pinkie for you," Twilight sighed.

"And somepony did steal that Falcon," Bumblebee added.

"What do you mean? You recovered the Falcon, right?" Flash asked.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Bumblebee explained. "Somepony broke into the precinct last night and stole the Falcon from the evidence locker."

"Really?" Flash said in surprise.

"Look, I don't think it was your friends, either," Bumblebee continued. "I looked over the reports. Something about this whole thing seems fishy to me."

"And the City Guard will get to the bottom of it, I assure you," Prowl cut in.

"I'm sure you will," Twilight said. "We just wanted to tell you: if you do find them, let us know. And try not to hurt them. We have to get to the bottom of all this."

"Of course, Your Highness," Prowl agreed.

"Good hunting, you two," Bumblebee said, waving to Flash as the two of them flapped away.

"You as well!" Flash called as he followed Twilight down the street.

Bumblebee and Prowl continued on their patrol, scanning the passing ponies for anything out of place. But only a few moments after Twilight and Flash had disappeared, their radios crackled to life and the dispatcher's voice resounded in their ears.

"Any available units, please respond to Maple Palace Diner. Possible sighting of wanted fugitives Cheese Sandwich and Pinkie Pie."

The two Guards looked at one another. "Should we go back and get them?" Bumblebee asked, looking in the direction that Flash and Twilight had flown.

"We'll worry about them later," Prowl grunted, clicking his radio on. "Charley Seven and Charley Eight responding. C'mon." Tossing their coffee cups into a trash can, the partners began to hurry down the street towards the diner.

Pinkie Pie doused her deluxe pancakes in maple syrup and began to devour them messily. "Wow, you sure were hungry," the chef said in surprise.

"These are good!" Cheese said, devouring half of his pancake in a single bite.

"Glad to hear that," the chef said, glancing nervously at the front window. It had been five minutes already; where were they? "Just let me know if you two need anything else." Walking back to the griddle, he began to wipe it down compulsively, shooting a glance towards the door every three seconds. Oblivious to all this, Pinkie and Cheese continued to eat.

Meanwhile, outside, Burt continued to wait, standing aside his bicycle. He didn't mind the odd looks he was receiving from passerby so much as the waiting. He just had to wait for them to finish eating and come out so he could follow them to their hideout...

A flash of gold out of the corner of his eyes made him look up, then duck down, hiding his face. Two City Guards were trotting up the sidewalk, rushing without appearing to rush. To his relief, they walked right past him without a second look. To his horror, a moment later, they entered the diner.

Prowl glanced around the diner and spotted the two strangely-dressed ponies at the counter, who were too focused on their meal to notice them entering. Signaling Bumblebee, he proceeded towards them while his partner blocked the door. Prowl tapped Cheese on the shoulder; Cheese turned and greeted him with a nod. "Hey, how are you?" he smiled before returning to his breakfast. Seven seconds later, he stiffened, then slowly turned around again, his eyes wide. Pinkie turned as well.

"Cheese Sandwich, Pinkie Pie," Prowl said. "You need to come with us."

Outside, Burt chewed his lip in thought. Now what? He couldn't afford for his two targets to go back to jail!

"Dammit all," he grunted, reaching beneath his coat and pulling his snub-nosed revolver out of the shoulder holster. Holding the weapon close to his body, he fired two quick rounds into the ground. The thunderous gunshots echoed through the street, sending screaming ponies running for cover.

Distracted by the noise, everypony in the diner looked out towards the front. Taking advantage of this, Pinkie and Cheese both leapt over the counter and pushed past the chef. "Hey!" Prowl shouted, jumping after them.

"Sorry about this!" Pinkie cried to the chef, grabbing a vat of batter and tipping it over so that it spilled over the floor. Prowl slipped in the puddle and crashed to the floor in a sticky mess. "Keep the change!" Pinkie called to the chef, tossing several bits to the befuddled chef as she disappeared out the back door.

Bumblebee hurried over and helped his partner back up to his hooves and chased the two escapees out the back door. "That way!" he shouted, pointing after Cheese's retreating tail up the alleyway. Closing the gap in seconds, Prowl and Bumblebee turned the corner just in time to see their targets vanishing down the alley. "There they—"

WHACK! Both Guards ran right into a solid object and collapsed to the ground, holding their aching heads.

"What the..." Bumblebee raised his hoof forward and found, to his surprise, that the "alley" that he'd seen the two ponies disappearing down was nothing more than a life-size poster tacked up on a brick wall! "But...but..." he stammered in disbelief.

On the rooftop above, Pinkie and Cheese watched their pursuers' confusion. "Nice trick," Pinkie complimented. "Where'd you come up with that?"

"Watch a cartoon once in a while," Cheese shrugged.

The sound of sirens pierced the air. "Time to go," Cheese said, leaping down from the rooftop onto the sidewalk. Pinkie leapt down and followed him.

It wasn't long before the two arrived at their run-down condo, having evaded the incoming Guards. Opening the door for Pinkie, Cheese glanced nervously around the street, seeing nopony except a short, stout unicorn pedaling past on a bike. Zipping in behind her, Cheese closed the door and locked it behind them. "That was close," he sighed, taking the sweatshirt off and tossing it aside.

Pinkie morosely wandered over to the sofa and flopped down on it. "You okay?" Cheese asked, walking over to her and sitting down next to her.

"I'm sorry, Cheese," Pinkie whimpered, her ears flattening against her head. "I've just gotten us both into trouble. I should've...should've just..."

Cheese reached out and gently took Pinkie's hoof. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, little filly. You're just trying to help." When Pinkie didn't respond, he nestled closer to her. "Don't worry about it. We'll make it through this. And, if it makes you feel better...if I had to choose anypony to go on the run with...it'd be you."

Pinkie's ears perked up. "You mean that?" she asked, a small smile reaching her lips.

"Of course!" Cheese cried. "You're one of the bestest friends a party pony could have!" He paused, blushing. "I, I mean...I'm really glad to be here with you, Pinkie..."

"Aw, shucks," Pinkie said, nesting up against him. The warmth of her body against his and the scent of her cotton candy mane almost made Cheese's heart melt. "And I'm really glad to be here with you, Cheesie!"

Smiling, he cuddled up against her. For a moment, he forgot that he was wanted by the Guard, forgot that he was forced to run and hide for a crime he didn't commit...there was just her and him, nothing else mattered...

Except the distinct click of a gun being cocked. Whirling around, Pinkie and Cheese saw to their shock a group of ponies trotting into the room, all of them armed with guns. At their head was a short, stout unicorn with a cookie cutie mark, holding a pearl-handled snub-nosed revolver, followed by a tall, skinny pegasus with a wheel cutie mark armed with a sawn-off double-barreled shotgun.

"You were right, Burt," the pegasus said in delight. "It is them!"

"Did I tell you, or did I tell you?" the unicorn grinned, aiming his weapon right between Pinkie's eyes. "Now, are you two going to come quietly, or is there going to be trouble?"

Author's Notes:

Out of the frying pan and into the fire! How will Pinkie and Cheese escape from this situation? Will their friends find them in time? Do I actually know what I'm doing?

In the immortal words of a certain unlicensed doctor...I have no idea!

Comments, constructive criticism and faves are appreciated! Hope you're enjoying!