Little Tomato Sandwich was but a month old, and already he had been abandoned by his mother and brother.
While playing with his building blocks, the tiny foal had watched as Mama and Cheesy had waltzed out the door, the former announcing to Daddy that she was taking Cheese to a vacuum station or something like that. He found it a peculiar place for them to go, as he had no idea what a vacuum station was or what its use was. What even is a vacuum, and why does it need a station?
Nevertheless, Mama and Big Brother were having a grand adventure at this mysterious vacuum station, while he was stuck here with boring old Dad. He simply had to turn to the kitchen adjoining the living room where he sat, and he could see Dad at the table, scribbling on papers and drinking that "coughie" (he had heard Dad cough a few times after sipping it, so he assumed that's why it was called that). The thin stallion had mumbled something in response to Mama's request to watch over baby Tomato, and off they went. Cheesy had blown a kiss to Tommy just before the door closed.
Tomato stared at the door. There was only a few moments of contentment before the horrifying thought hit him. What if they weren't coming back? What if they were moving far away, to a place that Tomato didn't know about? What if that vacuum station was going to be Mama and Cheesy's new home? Did they already forget about him? The thought shook him to his core, as he had no idea why they were going away, or why they hated him enough to leave him with a dad that didn't even like him.
With fear taking hold of his tiny body, his face contorted as he let out that first whimper.
His father, Hay Burger, looked up, his face in a grimace. "Oh, no, please don't."
Tomato's whimper gave way to the first wail. He got up on his four tiny legs, which then took him over to the door as fast as they could. He slammed right into it, staggering back as hiccups and tears came in succession. He reared up and tried to claw his way out with sharp little hooves, his tearful screams still ringing through the house.
Hay sighed. "Why does the munchkin have to be so loud? I have a headache..."
The cinnamon-coated stallion got up and walked toward the little red-orange ball of endless sobs and shrieks. He picked him up and started to bounce him. "Oookay, there's nothing to worry about... Mommy's coming back to you soon... unfortunately..."
Lies! Tomato wasn't sure he could trust this pony who had done absolutely nothing for him at all. Mama fed him and gave him baths, and Cheesy played with him and made him laugh. But this guy? All he did was scribble on those papers! So, Tomato continued to bawl.
Hay groaned. He started to look around the living room, trying to find something that would calm the tiny colt. He spotted the blocks, and then carried him over and set him down. Sitting across from Tomato, he forced a grin and started stacking the blocks. "Look! I'm building! Aren't building blocks wonderful?"
Tomato stared for a moment with a wrinkled nose, and then resumed his crying. He had got up on his feet and turned to gallop back to the door, but his father quickly used his tail to pull the little colt back. Another scream sent a shudder through the stallion's body.
"Uh... how about I sing you a lullaby? Always worked with Cheese!" Hay cleared his throat and hoarsely sang, "Twinkle, twinkle little staaaaarrrrgggghhh--"
His singing end in hacking, coughing, and more of Tomato's crying. With a sigh, Hay reminded himself never to sing with a sore throat again.
Hay sighed, and then rummaged in his pocket to pull out a small gold coin. With a sheepish smile, he waved the bit in front of the foal's face. "Look at the shiny! Yes, look at the shiny thing! Isn't it pretty?"
Tomato's hiccups died down to whimpers as he looked at the coin. Blinking away the tears, he watched as his father slowly swept it across his line of vision. The foal put a hoof to his mouth curiously, knowing that he had seen that before when Mama took him food shopping, but never up close. The bit held the image of a very pretty mare, with a waving mane and a horn longer than Gramma Mel's.
He reached forward to touch it, and then snatched it out of his father's hoof. He felt the smooth roundness of the metal, as golden as the sun. He knocked on it, amazed that his hoof didn't leave a dent in the metal. He turned the bit around to see the other side, which had a picture of the sun on it. The light from the window gave the bit a glorious shine, and Tomato couldn't help but coo in awe.
His father sighed in relief, and then yawned. "Well, better take another swig of my coffee before I continue the report..." He stood up and walked back to the table. "Don't want to mess anything up and get in trouble with my boss... and my wife."
Tomato was fine with the arrangement. Daddy could keep drinking the "coughie" (why would anyone drink something that makes them cough?) and scribbling on that paper, and Tomato could continue examining the coin in his hooves. They could ignore each other all they want, without worry of any trouble happening.
As he looked at the coin, Tomato recalled how Mama would trade these things away, and in return the other pony gave them food. Food that Tomato was barely learning how to eat with teeth that had been growing in, but food nonetheless.
He used those teeth to gnaw on the coin, hearing and feeling a tiny "clink" with each bite. It was some tasty gold! Not tasty enough to be considered food, however, but it was pleasant enough for him to get an idea why ponies liked it. It was obviously some sort of chewing thingy to keep ponies' teeth in check! After all, Tomato's teeth drove him crazy, but chewing on stuff was oddly soothing. Maybe all ponies needed to chew things to calm down. He contently gnawed at the bit, wondering if he had to chew forever.
Hay had taken a swig of his bitter drink before he realized that he had just done something stupid. Especially since the baby's gulp and the following blocked gasps and coughs were louder than a dog's bark, and the stallion had to only look up and see the horror on Tomato's face, the bit having disappeared from his grasp and his face turning blue.
His jaw dropped, and he rushed forward toward the choking colt. "Sweet Celestia, why did I do that?!"
Soon enough, they were at the doctor's office, the father holding his tiny son. While Tomato was cooing and reaching for the doctor's tools, his father stood there tiredly, frustrated that his little smack on the baby's back earlier didn't get the bit out, but rather went down the opposite direction.
The doctor then walked in, and smiled at the sight of the stallion.
"Well, well, well, I haven't seen my old schoolmate in a long time! Usually I see your wife around here with that toddler of yours." The doctor chuckled at the sight of the glaring father. "So, Hay, how's life treating you? I hope you didn't get any party hats stuck on your boy again."
Hay held Tomato in his foreleg, not caring that the colt was chewing on his tie. With a sigh, he responded, "I have two boys, Remedy. Cheese was the one that got the party hat stuck on his nose."
Remedy nodded. "That's right, you and your wife had another baby. What's this one's name?"
"Tomato."
"Tomato, eh?" Remedy leaned forward and ruffled the messy dark mane, happy to bring out some giggles from the baby. "Looks a lot like you! So what's his problem?"
"Well, I wasn't thinking straight, let him play with a bit, and then he choked on it. I tried to dislodge it... well, I did get him to breathe again, but it went the wrong direction. Can you get the coin out?"
Remedy scratched his chin. "Well, I can take an X-Ray to see if it's stuck in his esophagus or resting in his stomach. Better hope for the latter, since that's the option that allows it to pass through his digestive tract with little damage within a couple of days." He started going out the door and beckoned Hay to follow him down the hall. "What were you thinking giving him a bit to play with, anyway?"
"Couldn't sleep last night. Stayed up late doing extra work, and the couch is hard on my back." Hay sighed and rubbed his temple. "If Mozzarella finds out that I almost killed the baby she's going to kill me. She shouldn't have left me alone with the kid."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Remedy said with a grin. "Besides, your son is definitely worth an extra bit. If you make an investment with him, he might be worth a million someday..."
Hay Burger rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, very funny."
After it was confirmed that the coin would pass through, Hay Burger changed every one of Tomato's diapers that weekend, in hopes of hiding his mistake from his wife. He managed to get that bit on Monday morning.