A history lesson about how Colby Jack and Fruity Pop crossed paths, and how Monterey Jack came to be!
I applaud anyone who reads through all of this omg

I finished the drawings like exactly a month ago but had a hard time finishing up the writing xD

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1.
Colby Jack had recently suffered the loss of both of his parents, not too long after all of his many siblings moved away to do other things with their lives. He was left alone, the sole member of the family to continue on the family business. He was wracked with grief. He decided to try ignoring this pain by working, and working, and then working some more. He made the cheese, he packaged the cheese, he sold the cheese, he delivered the cheese. Day after day, he was working himself to an early grave. Friends of his started noticing how tired he was looking, but he smiled and assured them every time that he was fine. Even with his friends nearby, Colby could shake this intense loneliness he felt, living in a large, empty family home. He did not want to burden them with his troubles, and so he would try his best to put on a happy face for them. They knew he was going through a lot and offered him support, but in his act, he nearly convinced himself that he was fine, just a bit tired is all. But he continued to work, non-stop, to keep his mind off things.

One day, Colby Jack was pulling a cart, en route to make some deliveries. He hadn't gotten a full night's rest in several days, and finally his exhaustion came to meet him. He briefly lost consciousness, and ended up colliding with another pony who had been pulling a cart the opposite way. Exhausted, head ringing, he opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground with a unicorn mare looking down at him. He couldn't quite hear her, in a daze as he looked around to see both of their carts overturned, ice and packaged cheeses scattered across the grass. He blinked and finally he understood as he turned back to look at her. He apologized politely, tiredly, and worried over her well-being. The mare had a bruise or two but she was otherwise fine. She was more concerned about him! She was not going to lie, he looked ghastly. The mare helped him to his hooves and introduced herself as Fruity Pop.

The two helped each other get their carts off their sides and most of what supplies fell out got put back in. Fruity's cart had taken quite a hit and she mumbled to herself something about bits; bits for rent, for food, she'd have to set some of that aside to get her cart fixed. After some deliberation, she turned her focus back on Colby and suggested, insisted really, that he take a break right now and come with her to grab some lunch. He owed it to her after all. Even though he was a stranger, she could absolutely tell that he was going through something and wanted to make sure he was okay. Colby was hesitant at first, he had to work. But after some thinking, he decided that she was right and he needed to take a break. If he continued working and fell asleep again, he could get someone seriously hurt, they were lucky this time.

Colby and Fruity spent the rest of the day together, relaxing and talking and winding down. By the end of the day, they had both shared quite a bit about themselves with the other. Fruity spoke briefly about how she had been in town for a few days, staying in a tiny apartment. She worked a part time job alongside selling ice cream from her cart to make ends meet. Colby eventually broke down and explained that with his parents and siblings all gone, it left him feeling incredibly lonely, and that focusing on working 24/7 helped ease the pain a little, even if it exhausted him. Colby suddenly had an idea. It would most likely seem a bit weird coming from a stranger she'd just met, but he decided to give it a try; He suggested that, for as long as she planned on sticking around, she could live in his house. It was a large house, she could pick whichever room she wanted. He'd pay to fix her cart, and she could stay rent free. As long as she didn't trash the place or anything. It was the least he could do for her taking the time to make sure he was okay, he insisted.

Fruity was shocked at the offer. It sounded a little too good to be true. Why should she trust him? Some guy she just met, offering for her to live in his house out in the country? Sounded suspicious. But she looked at his tired eyes. He seemed so genuine, so sincere. He just wanted company. Plus, staying in a comfy house rent free seemed too good to pass up. She could use the money to upgrade her cart, or save up to go somewhere new. As long as there were ground rules, she supposed she'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

2.
And so, Fruity moved in. She took the room farthest from Colby's as some sort of precaution, and made sure the locks on the doors worked right. The first few nights she was anxious about being there, it felt scary, dangerous even. But quickly she became comfortable the more time she spent with Colby. He was so polite and kind, and the smile on his face when he'd see her everyday was heartwarming. She noticed how much happier he became, and she found that it made her happy too. Colby and Fruity would spend more and more time together when at home. Watching shows, playing games. Fruity made sure that even though she wasn't paying rent that she'd earn her keep. She made sure to keep things tidy, and later on even attempted cooking dinner, to make up for all the dinners Colby had cooked. She was actually not great at cooking, having been used to eating microwaved ramen for most of her adult life. Colby would appreciate the effort and promised to teach her whenever she wanted.

The two became closer and closer as the days turned to weeks, and weeks into months. Fruity had ended up staying far longer than she initially planned. She was a frequent mover, going from place to place. But she was starting to get… comfortable? As well, she and Colby had become something more than friends. It started with a hug, a cuddle, a kiss. Fruity had never had the time to get this close with someone else. It was nice, but something gnawed at her.

Colby loved Fruity dearly, and was so grateful to have her. Spending the day with her was all he wanted, and waking up next to her was bliss. She made him happy, and that was incredible. Sometimes he'd realize he didn't actually know a lot about her, where she came from, if she had family, but at some point he decided he didn't need to know. What he did know was that now, she was sweet and funny and amazing. He'd always wanted a family, and he deeply believed that he could have that with her.

As the months turned into a year, Fruity began behaving strangely, more and more often acting reclusive and distant. She would always say that she is fine and that she was just thinking, but it worried Colby. He feared driving her away by being too nosy, so he believed her, deciding to let her work it out on her own. He did try to assure her that if she ever needed to talk about anything that he would be there to listen. After all, if it was really a problem, she'd tell him. Right?

3.
Fruity has had depressive thoughts since her childhood, mostly due to the trauma her parents had inflicted on her. She'd always been able to eventually quiet these thoughts, to push them away. But the longer she stayed with Colby, the louder and more incessant they got. She could hear her parent's voices telling her that she was an idiot if she truly believed that this would end well for her, that the longer she stayed all the more painful it would be when she inevitably ruined it. She tried to ignore these thoughts at first, reveling in the peaceful happiness she had found with Colby, but eventually she found herself believing them. She believed that she didn't deserve to be happy here, or anywhere really. This is why she moved constantly, starting anew made her feel better for a while, until it didn't. She also firmly believed that telling Colby about this or asking him for help would result in him leaving her. She couldn't let that happen.

4.
Rather suddenly, Fruity Pop told Colby Jack that it was time for her to leave. She was somber, apologizing for staying so long, she hadn't meant to. She began to pack her things, all the while Colby followed her throughout the house, bewildered and scared. He told her that he wanted her around, she didn't stay too long, she could stay as long as she wanted. She simply told him that she couldn't stay any more, she had to go. Desperate and terribly confused, Colby all but begged her to stay with him. He began apologizing, unsure if it was something he did. Her lack of an explanation became increasingly frustrating, any question he asked was dodged, simply waved away by insisting that she could not stay. He eventually shut down and accepted it. "Fine." he said.

The last thing Colby wanted to do was force Fruity to stay when she didn't want to, but it was killing him not knowing why she had so suddenly decided to leave him. He knew that she was going through something but as long as she wouldn't tell him, he'd never know. The next couple hours were quiet, aside from the sound of Fruity's hooves tapping against the floor as she collected her things. When she was all set to leave, Colby met her in the doorway. She gave him a small, sad smile and thanked him very much for their time together. Holding back tears, Colby made one last attempt, asking her if she really wanted to leave. She was quiet for a while, but eventually sighed and gently held his face. She looked at him, quiet again for a few moments, as if she wanted to tell him something but couldn't bring herself to. Finally, she apologized one more time, and went to leave. Colby shut his eyes tightly and sobbed silently, standing in the doorway for what felt like forever. When he opened his eyes and wiped them dry, Fruity's cart was gone. Nothing was left but the tire tracks on the dirt path. Just like that, Colby Jack was alone once more.

5.
For a while, Colby was heartbroken, confused, scared. Why did he have to be alone? He started believing that maybe he deserved it. He started to believe that his dream of having a family was futile. He missed Fruity Pop badly, and thought about her often. He tried to spend more time with friends to keep his mind off of her, but every night when he came home to that empty house, it hit him hard. He began to slip into his old habits of overworking himself, and often would spend the night sleeping on his friend's couches to keep himself away from the house. One of Colby Jack's closer friends, Red Ivy, eventually helped him get some counseling to help him work through his issues in a more healthy way. It's a slow process, but Colby began being able to better cope with his intense feeling of loneliness and abandonment step-by-step.

6.
A few months later, Colby heard a knock on his door in the middle of the night. Honestly unknowing who it could possibly be, he cautiously answered the door to find Fruity Pop standing in front of him. He choked in surprise, wondering why she was there, but before he could get a full sentence out, Fruity interrupted him. She was panicked, stuttering, seemingly unable to say what she needed to. Colby attempted to soothe her, he told her it was okay, that she needed to calm down so that she could tell him what she needed to. After some deep breaths, Fruity told him that she was pregnant, he was the father, and she had absolutely no idea what to do. This came as a shock to Colby. He stared at her for a long time. He was just starting to let go of her, and suddenly she shows up unannounced on his doorstep, pregnant. His mind went blank. Suddenly, he was brought back to focus by the sounds of Fruity Pop sniffling. He blinked and looked down at her to see her head hung low, tears dripping from her muzzle. She looked ashamed, embarrassed, and scared. He heaved a heavy sigh and brought her into a hug. He found himself thinking, that under different circumstances, this would be tremendous news.

He held her as she cried and told her that he would be here for her, no matter what she would choose to do. He told her that, again, she could stay for as long as she wanted to. Once she got a hold of herself, he brought her inside and they sat down to talk. At first, it was silent, both of them seeming to wait for the other to speak. After some hesitance, Colby asked Fruity if she was okay, or if there was anything she needed to talk about. She shook her head, saying that she was fine, this was just something she's never been through before, and she didn't want to go through it alone. Colby frowned at that. Didn't she have anyone else to go to? Even though he was the father it felt strange for her to come back here of all places. When he asked her what she wanted to do, she gave him a long, tired look. She honestly didn't know. Her ears drooped, she let out a soft sigh, and told him she didn't think it would be good to bring a foal with her with all the traveling she did, it would be stressful for them growing up with no real home. She looked back up at him, tears and confusion in her eyes. Without hesitation, Colby told her that he could raise the foal here. He reached across the tabletop to gently place his hoof over hers, adding that she would always have a home here, even if she didn't stay. The gesture was enough to make her start sobbing, and start blubbering how grateful she was.

7.
For the following months of her pregnancy, Fruity was treated like a queen. Or, more accurately, like a fragile china doll. Colby doted on her endlessly, making sure she was as comfortable and safe as possible. It was nice at first Fruity had to admit, but it got more boring the further along she was. Colby worriedly advised against her pulling her ice cream cart, for fear of straining herself. So, a lot of the time, she would lean back and watch television while Colby provided her with pillows, blankets, plenty of water, and food. She did enjoy the gentle walks that she would take, as well as the attention she garnered from other mares and Colby himself. But something kept digging at the back of her mind, assuring her that this was temporary. As soon as she had the the foal, surely no one would care about her anymore. She feared and anticipated the day the foal would come, so she could pack her bags and leave again, guaranteeing that no one could have the chance to abandon her.

Colby dropped everything and began spending a lot of time reading books about pregnancy, what to expect and what to avoid. He made healthy meals for Fruity every day, though could not bring himself to refuse her requests if she was having a particular craving. He'd never had this experience before so, he was trying to do it right. However, he was quite a bit paranoid and overly-protective. He was honestly terrified of anything going wrong, so he tried making sure nothing would. When he wasn't worrying out of his mind, he quite enjoyed the experience. He found it hard not to fall for Fruity again, under the circumstances. While he secretly hoped she would stay when the foal was born so they could be the family he dreamed of, he tried his best to keep what little distance he could.

8.
The day had finally come, and it was chaos. Colby nearly fainted when Fruity told him that it was time. He barely kept conscious enough to contact a professional to come to the house to assist. He blacked out briefly a couple times before the midwife arrived, but got a hold of himself once he realized help was there. He stayed close to Fruity, letting her hold his hoof. Fruity was panicked for a good majority of the ordeal, though the midwife helped ease her mind a little with some magic.

Almost as quickly as the panic had set in, it had subsided when Colby and Fruity were presented with a tiny, fluffy, yellow foal. He was small and healthy and perfect. Colby could barely contain himself as he looked at the newborn foal, HIS newborn foal. Fruity was exhausted and looked on, almost in disbelief as she held the foal. She smiled, relieved that everything went smoothly, and almost proud that she helped bring such a cute little being into the world. When the baby opened his eyes, her heart sank. He had green eyes, identical to her own, identical to her father's. Whatever warmth she was feeling suddenly left her. She slowly handed him over to Colby and asked what his name would be. Colby smiled and knew immediately that he wanted to name him after his father; Monterey Jack, Monty for short.

Fruity Pop stayed with Colby and Monty for the next few weeks to recover, as well as to make sure Colby Jack had everything he might need. When Colby made one final attempt to persuade Fruity into staying, she shook her head and smiled miserably. She explained that she simply couldn't, and that it'd be better for him and Monty if she wasn't around. Colby adamantly disagreed with that. He couldn't understand why she felt this way, and she wouldn't give him a proper reason. He told her that he loved being around her, that he wanted to help her get through whatever was troubling her, and that he believed that she could be happy here. As much as Fruity wanted to believe him, her fear overwhelmed her. She feared her troubles further ruining their relationship, she feared that she'd be just as bad a parent as her own, and the only way she knew to avoid these problems was to run away from them.

After a long and mostly one-sided discussion, Colby threw in the towel. He told her if leaving was what she needed to do, then so be it. He gently held her hooves in his own, and softly asked that she please think about visiting, or at least write every so often so he knew she was okay. Fruity let out a breath before looking up at him with a weak smile. "Of course." she said, "It's the least I could do."
This time, Colby helped Fruity pack her things and made sure she had enough extra bits if she needed them. Her departure this time was still sorrowful, but they both did their best to smile and wave goodbye.

9.
Colby was again heartbroken, but the sadness he felt was much less intense this time. He had a baby to take care of, he had no time to mope around, and he certainly couldn't work 100% of the time. With some help from his friends, Colby eased into a healthy balance of work and time with his son. He positively loves Monty, and could not be a prouder dad. All the crying and changing and throw up was all worth it when Monty smiled and laughed. Being a single father was hard, but Colby is so grateful for his little boy.

When Monty was nearly a year old, Fruity came to visit. She had been remembering to write brief letters to Colby every few months, and worked up the courage to finally come see them again. When Fruity saw how happy they were, how smart and healthy Monty was, it made her happy, but it also seemingly proved to her that leaving was the right choice. "Look how happy they are without me. This is for the best."
The visit was awkward for her, even though she was welcomed with nothing but kindness. She was unsure of how to act towards Monty. He was her son, but she tried her best to pretend like he wasn't. She ended up treating him kind of like how you'd treat your friend's kid, like a nephew, or like a kid she was babysitting. Colby doesn't love this, but he kind of understands why.

Over the next few years, Colby and Monty grew ever closer. Monty loves his dad and wouldn't trade him for the world.