Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

22.6--Loose Threads

After removing the spell from the bitten Appleloosans, Twilight, Pinkie, and the rest set out into the Macintosh Hills in order to locate the werewolves. Though they traveled through a dark forest, with just rays of moonlight poking through the branches, the mares reasoned that it should be easy enough to find them. Twilight was already using the tracking spell to pinpoint Cheese's location, and all the others had to do was follow her and keep eyes and ears open for any sign of the pack.

There was a chill that the girls' coats barely blocked, and the night sung the haunting song of a thousand crickets. Sticks and leaves crunched under their aching hooves, and wide eyes that fought sleep scanned the dim trees for what seemed like forever. Twilight and Rarity's horns glowed, and Pinkie held a flashlight with her forelock hook, so that none were completely blind.

The sole hoverer, Rainbow Dash, groused, "No sign of any werewolves yet. Didn't think they'd run this far."

"Yeah," Applejack said. "I hope we find 'em and turn 'em back soon; as long as they're wolf, their bites are more trouble than a rattler with a mean streak."

"Agreed," Rarity said. "Plus, we have been traveling all day, and this expedition is infringing on my beauty rest!" She took a moment to pull at her bottom eyelids with a groan. "I simply cannot be seen with bags under my eyes!"

"Girls, I'm trying to concentrate," Twilight said through her teeth. "I have a lock on Cheese, but unfortunately, he keeps moving!"

Fluttershy looked toward Pinkie, who stared blankly at the ground as they pressed forward. "Uh, Pinkie? Are you alright?"

Pinkie snapped out of her trance. "Oh, umm, just thinking of how great it's gonna be when Cheesy's back to normal, and he can throw parties again, and we'll have fun together after all this craziness is done! I mean, it's not like he meant any of that stuff he said, because, come on, it only took losing a few memories to hate me." She chuckled weakly. "I'm sure that the real Cheese doesn't think I'm annoying, or nosy, or irresponsible, or that I didn't actually inspire him the whole time and he was just lying to me because he was sick of me being a so-called crybaby! No, no, he doesn't really want to forget me..."

She started to hop from rock to rock, pointing the forelock holding her flashlight at random spots and ignoring the concerned looks from her friends. "Maybe when we'll find him, he'll just be, uh... fun scary! Yeah! Because that's how Cheese Sandwich is--fun scary, not scary scary! Maybe he and the others are practicing for Nightma--"

She paused her spiel and stood nearly still on a rock. She lifted her knee and flexed the joint several times, wincing as she did so.

The others stared at her silently, until Rainbow asked, "Uh... Pinkie?"

She turned to them with wide, fearful eyes. "Guys, look out, something scary's about to happen!"

Twilight blinked. "Wait, is Pinkie Sense telling you--"

Suddenly, a large animal shot out from the trees, making the others jump back in surprise as it tackled Applejack. The cowgirl stared in shock for a few moments, while holding back the beast with her sturdy legs, but was snapped out of it by slimy drool dripping on her face and the rancid breath of the unequine beast. With jaws snapping just millimeters from her nose, Applejack shoved the beast off of her, and quickly got up to her hooves, lungs heaving and heart racing. She stared at the animal, which was clearly a wolf of unusual size.

"Land sakes..." she murmured.

Before anyone else could respond, other wolves zipped from the darkness and around the mares, snapping their jaws as the girls' hooves to startle them into position. While the earth ponies, unicorn, and the alicorn with a broken wing were jumping out of the way of those bites, the two pegasi took to the air to see the formation, and look for a weak spot.

"Looks like we found you!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the wolves. "Now just try to bite my friends!" With a roar, she sped down to the ground like a bullet, slamming in front of a couple of wolves nipping at her friends and making them leap back. Their shock gave her a window to headbutt them.

Rarity was nearly pounced on, but she jumped out of the way, and picked up a nearby large stick with her magic. "Oh, no, you're not biting me, you foul creature!" She spun the stick like a helicopter blade. "Perhaps we can play fetch instead!"

As Rarity whacked away any wolves hopping at her, Twilight was throwing them aside with her telekinesis and pushing them away with magic beams. "I don't know if I can hold them all in place at once, and I need to concentrate on using the cure!" She grunted as she tossed aside the single buffalo wolf of the pack. "We're gonna have to herd them into one spot so Fluttershy can use her Stare!"

Pinkie jumped out of the way of one bite, pulled a pie out of her mane, and threw it at the offending wolf. She produced more pastries from nowhere for any other attackers. "Like that time with the vampire fruit bats?"

"I reckon that's what she means! But wolves ain't that easy to herd!" Applejack said, bucking a wolf away. "Gonna hafta use my rope!"

She heard the rumble of large footsteps, and her eyes widened on seeing the biggest pony-wolf of the bunch barreling toward her. Leaping out of the way and pulling a lasso out of her hat, she started to swing it when the wolf--a pony she easily recognized as that Trouble Shoes feller that her sister and her friends helped out--spun around and leapt at her again. She managed to lasso the beast, only to be pulled off her hooves, and literally tossed around when Trouble Shoes shook his body. It took a bit to land on his back, but now she was in a rodeo, only with the added bonus of avoiding the sharp teeth of a werewolf's maw.

Watching as her friends fought back, Fluttershy took a deep breath and counted the wolves, flying left and right so that any wolf who jumped didn't catch her. There were about a dozen of them--all of which she had to use The Stare on to keep still. She knew she should probably go down and join in, so that they may corral them into one spot so it'd be easier to get them all with one Stare.

On the other hoof, the werewolves were actual ponies, and the thought of them being vulnerable to her Stare unnerved her. Thinking of how she cowed Cheese into submission back in Aura Springs, she wasn't sure she wanted to do that to any other pony.

Then, she noticed from the corner of her eye that Pinkie, who had been unleashing a volley of pies and cupcakes at any wolf who attacked her, spun around to one, only to freeze at the sight of that one and drop her pie. Fluttershy fully turned to the scene, watching as Pinkie backed up from a hulking, black-eyed wolf, her flashlight revealing it to be light brown, with dark brown fringes on its front legs and tail, and what was essentially a mane of the same color, with a single limp forelock now lying against its muzzle.

"...Cheesy?" Pinkie gasped.

Cheese didn't respond to his nickname, instead creeping forward with a long, deep growl. Pinkie soon had her back to a tree.

Pinkie laughed nervously. "Oh, hi! It's been a couple days since we've seen each other, and you're looking really, really different from last time. Did you change your hair? I'll have to be honest with you, you looked better when that forelock was perky. Isn't having it in your eye annoying?"

Cheese lunged forward, and Pinkie rolled out of the way, allowing the werewolf to ram into the trunk. Heaving, Pinkie kept her eyes on that one wolf, who shook his head and darted for her yet again. As she hopped boulder to boulder and log to log, avoiding the snap of the wolf's jaws, she tried to process this monster she was seeing as her best party pony friend, twisted into something not fun scary, but scary scary. When he came too close, she had to whip out the party cannon, and blast him away.

A confetti-and-streamer-covered Cheese, lay for just a moment on the ground before getting up and shaking off the party decoration. As he snarled and prowled forward, Pinkie bit her lip, her forehead sweating, her heart racing, her eyes welling, and her blood boiling all at once. "Cheesy! It's me, Pinkie! Remember, your bestest party pony pal?"

She jumped out of the way of another lunge. "Come on, snap out of it! You're not a wolf! Don't make me use the cannon again!"

Meanwhile, any of Fluttershy's doubts about her role had definitely vanished on seeing what had happened to Cheese and how Pinkie was forced to fight him off. Yes, the werewolves were actual ponies--ponies who were most likely hurt and afraid by their situation, and their loved ones were being hurt as well, knowing the spell that had overtaken them. She could stand a few minutes of discomfort so that these ponies could get better. Now, to find an opening where she could join in.

Before she could do anything, however, she was hit with a magic beam, and had tumbled to the forest floor unconscious.

The other mares turned and gasped. "Fluttershy!"

The wolves had noticed the easy prey, and started a race to claim their prize. Trouble Shoes finally threw Applejack off his back, Cheese darted out of the line of Pinkie's party cannon, and the rest followed suit. Fluttershy was at their mercy, or so they thought.

Rainbow also joined the race, and won in a flash of color. Staring down the wolves with snorting and stamping, she was ready to drive the wolves away from her friend. And indeed, she did so, throwing punches and headbutts, and bucking them away, regardless if she was outnumbered twelve to one.

As she did so, Applejack asked, rearing to go help her, "Where did that come from?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Clearly it's from the sorcerer behind this."

"And behind you."

They turned around to see an older stallion, veiled by a cloak and gazing with violet eyes under his hood. Aside from his eyes, the most distinguishable trait of his blue face was his silver beard, which barely concealed a smug smile.

Rarity glared. "And so the rat comes out of the shadows."

"I had to make sure that my pack didn't lose this battle. Looks like I came in just in time."

"Your pack?" Twilight growled. "These are innocent ponies! Why are you taking their equinity away?"

"One of them's a bison, dear." The stallion rolled his eyes. "And frankly, equinity is such a shallow concept--aren't we all animals? And even as herbivores, we ponies have a way of being predators--even we're not above starting a war or sabotaging somepony else for our own gain. Why not make them an animal that's as savage as we ponies pretend we aren't?"

Pinkie was in his face, her face screaming that she was close to throttling him. "Cheesy is not a savage animal and definitely not your attack dog! You better turn him back to his nice and fun self, mister!"

The stallion enveloped her in his magic, startling her, and smirked as she struggled to break free. "Ah, it's nice to finally meet you face to face. You have an especially strong jester magic spark and the spunk that comes along with it. I've always been fond of that."

Twilight's horn flared with hot sparks. "Put her down!"

The sorcerer rolled his eyes. "Very well. I'll throw her to the wolves."

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Wait, what?!"

Before she knew it, she was flung into an arc that landed her right on Rainbow Dash, leaving a pile of ponies that were sore and in need of rest, unfortunately in a situation where doing so made them vulnerable. Knowing that they were surrounded, Pinkie scurried back up to her hooves, and helped Rainbow Dash up. She tried to shake Fluttershy awake, but quickly dropped her to slam a pie in a werewolf's face.

The other three gasped, and Applejack and Rarity rushed to help them. That left Twilight to face him, and she struck him with a magic bolt before he could react. He was tossed back by the force of it, and slammed into a tree hard enough that he was winded. He had to sit and rest for a moment, rubbing his aching shoulder.

Twilight walked forward with a glowering face and a burning horn. "I don't like picking on old stallions, so I suggest you surrender before I make an exception. I do not take abuse of this sort of dangerous magic lightly."

Her opponent cracked open an eye and looked up at her. "I suppose that age may have slowed my reflexes a little..." The wind started to blow as he stood back up too his full height, his cape blowing about and revealing his well-built body. "But I assure you, I'm no weak old stallion."

Twilight examined her opponent, seeing if there was a visible weak spot to exploit. The scarred shoulder was a likely spot, or perhaps she could use that cape or the contents in its pockets to stymie his efforts. Then her eyes landed on his cutie mark, which was a full moon surrounded by stars. Her eyes widened as she quickly realized what kind of opponent she was up against.

She gasped. "Wayer Rune?!" She backed up a few steps. "How did you escape Tartarus?"

"Good question. Ask Tirek." With that, Wayer threw his head down to create a shockwave on the ground.

Twilight attempted to fly, but one wing flapping did not give her enough lift to avoid it, and she was knocked back several feet into a bed of pine needles. Jabbed in the back by said needles and pain spiking in her broken wing, Twilight didn't even have enough time to stew in agony before Wayer came flying in atop a rock he levitated, and fired a magic beam at her. Twilight rolled out of the way, wincing from the pain in her wing, but she got up anyway. Breaking a branch off a tree, she stripped it quickly, and launched it like a makeshift spear.

Wayer dodged the branch. "Odd how I'm better at evasion while sitting on a rock." He then attempted to crush Twilight with said rock, or at least slam it on the ground near her to keep her running.

It didn't last long, as after a few slams, Twilight remembered she could teleport, and blinked out of range. As Wayer stopped to try to figure out where she went, Twilight, who had appeared in a cluster of trees behind him, didn't waste any time with zapping a large tree several yards away, and making it fall toward him. It was close, but Wayer noticed it just in the nick of time to teleport himself out of range, and let the tree slam the boulder into the ground.

He reappeared just up a nearby hill, and zapped the trees Twilight hid among so that they bent outward to reveal her. He touched his face where the branches had scratched him. "Well, well, Princess, I have to say, it's nice fighting somepony who could give me a challenge. I haven't had that in a long time."

Twilight's horn crackled with volatile magic. "Don't think you'll get away with this! My friends and I have faced greater obstacles!"

"With the power of friendship?" Wayer huffed, brushing dust off his shoulder. "I'm well aware of how powerful virtually any kind of love is, so I took precautions."

Twilight blinked. "What do you mean by..." Her eyes widened as it clicked. "That's why you were stealing his memories."

Wayer nodded, and then blasted her with a magic bolt. "Whatever works."

Twilight summoned a force field to block it, holding still with a stony glare during her spell. "Don't think you're gonna keep them for long."

---

The bright green mist swirled around in that chamber like a sauna, though it did nothing to alleviate the chill of the cavern. Instead, it simply cast its lone prisoner into the memories he wish had never been made, the events that caused him torment, and the mistakes that he wished he could erase. He relived them, step by step, no matter how much his adult mind screamed to his younger self not to make that mistake, or to run off in the other direction before something bad happened.

There was the day of the tetherball, where his friend Squirt had announced to him that for once, the playground tetherballs were free. Oh, little Tommy always wanted to try that, but the stupid older kids always hogged them, and their chance had arrived!

But, on the other hoof, there was the unmistakable sight of his big brother getting chased by some of the bigger colts in his class, one of them having apparently stolen a mop bucket from the janitor's closet. As much as he wanted to deny it and say that it was just a game of tag, Tommy wasn't stupid, and those bullies were clearly intending to literally mop the floor (or asphalt, he supposed) with Cheese's big mane. The sight of bullies being so blind to Cheese's amazingness and picking on him because of his hair and glasses made Tomato's blood boil, and he was thinking of giving those meanies a piece of his mind.

But, Squirt called on, reminding him that they could lose the tetherball any moment. That was the first thing to give him pause, followed by the thought of how much bigger those bullies were than him, and how they could squish him like a bug. He thought of telling the teachers about the mop bucket, but everypony knew that if you tattled once, you will tattle again, and thus you were a tattletale betraying the secrets of foalhood and ruining everyone's fun. Even if it was just on the older kids, who's to say he couldn't betray the colts his age? Not to mention those bullies would still squish him.

So, Tommy turned around. The adult Tomato within the colt's body, witness to this event, wanted to force him to turn around and stand up for Cheese. He knew that Cheese saw that action, where the little brother that always vouched for him just turned his back for a stupid game of tetherball.

Even with any way to paint the action as understandable for a colt his age, Tomato writhed from the pain of having been put through that dilemma again, and still choosing the option that stabbed Cheese in the back.

He was thrown into a older grade, post-cutie mark, now being cussed out by two of his classmates who pointed to their big science project, which was a mess of sticks, cardboard, and glue stuck into a box of dirt and rocks, and blamed him for the failing grade. As they ranted about how they expected him to be the smart kid that would carry them through, he was standing there, seething at them for dilly-dallying and leaving him to do all the work which he couldn't finish in time. From the research, to the report, to creating the diorama about geology, and to the presentation--which the other two turned into an interpretative dance and just repeated rock names. He had tried to explain that art was not his strong point, but they didn't listen. Now Mom was going to chew him out for this failed project.

When they bragged about how their dance was the only saving grace, Tomato just snapped. His adult mind, knowing what happened next, screamed for his preteen self to stop, but he had no power.

He grabbed their project off the desk, and shoved it right in their faces. Unfortunately, that was followed by the other two screaming and crying, and the teacher yanked him away from them so he couldn't cause more damage. The teacher sat him into the corner, and rushed the other two out of the room, calling for the nurse. As he would later learn, one had a stick jabbed in his eye, and the rocks broke the other's teeth. From then on, he couldn't even look at the two without wanting to cry.

He darted out of the classroom in a panic. He took a deep breath, relaxing now that he was out of there... but then, his now-teenage body was on the streets of Manehattan, walking to the subway after a long day at the library, not wanting to miss curfew. He was already likely in trouble for not having his chaperone around--even though Bluejinx had newspaper intern stuff to work on. But as would happen to many Manehattanites who weren't careful, Tomato was yanked into an alley by a mugger, who had his weird knife anklet at the boy's throat and demanded all the money he had.

Tomato couldn't speak, he just gazed up at the grizzled stallion that spat in his face. It didn't matter the answer, the thief would just throw him aside and take his saddlebags, and very likely kill him. He was just a helpless, pathetic little colt, with no friend or older brother to come to his rescue. He backed up into garbage bags, which the thief used to demonstrate how sharp that knife anklet of his was by cutting them open.

One of the trash items that fell out was a coffee cup from a local cafe. And he could clearly see that last puddle of joe within.

There really was no way to spin that event so that any other option would have gotten him out of that both safely and with his stuff. Still, Tomato's adult mind couldn't bear to watch those desperate seconds where his teenage self grabbed that cup and drank that puddle, slurping any leftover droplets that clung within. The drink was bitter and likely tainted with garbage, but teenage Tommy bore it.

The mugger attempted to strike, but that pony was not prepared for the horror he was to witness.

Tomato could not remember what happened next. The next memory was of him being sick in bed, his mother waving a newspaper in his face and lecturing him about how he apparently thought that it was a good idea to walk the streets by himself and snatch some coffee. Said newspaper was about that street looking like a tornado had swept through, with witnesses claiming it was a maniacal pony zipping through and screaming about feeling alive, moving too fast for folks to get a proper description. Tomato tried to explain the situation with the mugging, but his mother wouldn't have it, and put him on lockdown for the next couple of months.

Tomato never found out what happened to the mugger.

The memories didn't stop there. He darted through the mist from memory to memory, trying to find a way out and end the barrage. However, he'd just end up reliving another old shame, another humiliation, or another moment of pain.

He once again felt a kickball slam into his leg. He foolishly felt the need to grin and bear the pain the entire day of school until he got home, fearing that if he cried, he'd be laughed at for being a baby.

He once again got spanked for breaking something in a burst of energy, having gotten too excited for Mom's liking.

He once again made a mean quip about Cheese's "forced grin" and "cheap, annoying party tricks", causing the older brother to get angry all over again. Both the guilt for driving Cheese away and the frustration over his brother treating him like some nobody to be impressed with stupid antics ate him up inside.

Once again, he was taunted by Creme Brulee over how he had no future. Once again, he was scolded by his mother for something he did in a fit of anger, or an accident, or having a lower grade than she liked. Once again, a budding friendship died before even two weeks had passed. Once again, he ended up breaking his leg in a fight with Cheese. And again and again, his mother would scream at him, "If you had just focused on your special talent/studies this wouldn't have happened", or "You're a straight-A student and I expect you to act like one", or even "If you keep getting emotional like this, Manehattan will eat you alive".

And then came the bad moments of the summer--covered in chocolate and laughed at for poor performance in Halterside, turned into a vampire at Las Pegasus, that one village ruined when party planning with Party Favor wasn't going well, among other moments.

And then, Rooney's voice taunted, "My, my, such a pathetic little fool, always looking inward at his problems. If only he had acted sooner, then maybe his dear brother would still be a pony instead of a wolf!"

His legs couldn't hold him up when the angry voices yelled at him for ruining everything for everyone. He crumpled to the ground, drained from being bombarded with every ounce of blame directed at him or guilt gnawing within. He felt alone, holding up an impossible burden, and he just wanted to die.

His head pounding and his lungs heaving, he choked back a sob. He desperately needed a friend, with the first pony coming to mind being Flora Peace. She would be best at stopping this madness and soothing his mind, but she was so far away at her home, completely oblivious to what he was going through.

All he could do was croak, seemingly in vain, "Somepony... help me...

Just as he was about to break, a single compassionate voice broke through the chorus, and silenced them with, "Tomato?"

He looked up, and he blinked away the tears. An awed sigh escaped his lips when the very friend he thought of had appeared before him, her soft blue eyes gazing at him with concern. He stared back, wondering what kind of memory it was, if it was something involving a time that he had hurt her feelings. But, when nothing happened, he tentatively lifted a hoof, and reached out. He saw her smile, and felt her hoof take his, warm as if he was touching the real thing.

"Flora!" He leapt into her embrace, clinging to her like the safe haven she was in that storm. Illusion or not, her firm hug felt so real, she smelled so real, and the strawberry blonde mane that tickled his nose felt so real. Peace and joy swelled within him, and he just wanted to hold her forever.

They broke their hug. The bright green mist fell dark, until the two ponies were alone in a void.

"Flora, this is... uh, wow..." Tomato rubbed his head, looking around. "I can't believe I just thought of you and poof! You appeared! I mean, I guess because these are my memories..." He felt a chain brush against his face, and lowered the hoof from his head to look at his shackled leg. "Aw, was I still chained up this entire time? This is confusing."

"Yeah, no kidding," Flora replied with a giggle. Then, he face grew serious once again. "That was one awful memory attack. You've had to put up with a lot in your life."

Tomato slumped forward, looking at the chains that bound him. "I know. Comes with being the king of epic fallouts. Feuding with my brother... losing my friends... getting into trouble... all because I'm just. So. Stupid! And because I'm stupid, I ended up so alone."

The void transformed into Tomato's foalhood bedroom, with he and Flora sitting on the bed. He looked around the tidy room, which he could have sworn was bigger and wasn't black and white. He took in the desk where Cheese's bed used to be, the shelves of books right next to it, and the small closet containing any articles of clothing he had. He knew under his bed was a money stash, where every bit he earned was stored in various containers and hidden with a spare blanket.

He himself turned into a little colt of eight, and sighed. "I suppose my life's saving grace was that there wasn't a big, dramatic moment every day. Most of it was just a boring routine."

He hopped off the bed and walked out the door, with Flora following behind. The scene changed to the neighborhood, all still in black and white as he walked to school. It was still black and white when he made it to his seat in the back and just dully stared at the teacher's lecture. It was still black and white when he sat alone at lunchtime, and when he just counted pebbles at recess--up until his former friends started chucking wet sandballs dug up from the sandbox at him. And then he walked back home, and encountered his mother flapping her lips over his grades or something. He ended that cycle in his room, doing homework, reading, and laying in bed.

The cycle repeated, only with an angry preteen colt the second time around, and a moody teenager the third. He tried to mix things up, but singing a song summoned his mother scolding him with some variation of, "Do I see a musical cutie mark on that flank?" or a game of hacky sack ending with him getting startled and hitting some kid on the head, prompting him to hightail it before he could land in another fight.

The last cycle ended with him back to his adult self, sliding his back against the door and plopping to the floor. He looked up at the Flora illusion. "Yeah, if I dare stray out of that routine, or away from my cutie mark or academics... well, that's where you get my epic screw-ups, and the harsh hoof of justice would smack me hard. To keep from being a screwup, I had to be a killjoy."

He angrily grabbed a book and threw it across the room. "I'm still a big screwup! Everything I do ends up in disaster! Up to and including this summer, my life has been utter crap! Worst of all, my stupidity cost Cheese his equinity!"

He put a hoof to his face and squeezed his eyes shut. "If I had just... if I had said something sooner, maybe Cheese wouldn't have fallen into that warlock's clutches!" He looked down in shame. He hiccuped, and tears rolled out of his eyes and onto the floor. "I noticed something was off, but I did nothing."

Flora sat down in front of him, cupped his chin and made him face her, and wiped his tears. "I'm sorry, Tomato. I know how much it crushes you to feel like you failed somepony you love." She held his hooves and took a deep breath, with Tomato immediately mimicking her. After the exhale, Flora continued, "But you're not going to solve this with a self-defeating attitude. There's still hope; you're in charge of your memories, and Rooney's not here to stop you."

Tomato sighed. "But my life was a mess, Flora."

Flora looked at him sternly. "I know you have a lot of bad memories... but you have a lot of good ones too."

Tomato smiled sadly at her. "Like meeting you?"

Flora smiled and nodded. "Now... think of some of your favorite memories. What is it that made them special?"

With an exhale, Tomato closed his eyes, and did as she told him to. When he opened them, the scene had changed to a college campus, and Tomato found himself walking on the path and exploring his new surroundings. He was startled by a frustrated scream, and he noticed a spring green mare adjacent to the path he took and just a few steps from the gate, sitting among papers, books, and a torn pair of saddlebags. He thought about walking past to continue his little tour, reasoning that somepony else would take care of it.

He had just walked past her when he realized that everypony else who'd walk past would have that exact same thought. A twinge of pity spurred him to turn around and approach her, coolly asking if she needed help. And... and...

By golly, she was pretty.

But he wasn't going to let himself be smitten by another pretty face; the last one humiliated him and cut his chances of being truly successful in Manehattan. He was just going to be polite, help her carry her books, and then part ways with this mare once he was done helping her. Her name invoked a hippie feel, even though she insisted that she wasn't a hippie, and she tried to engage conversation. There wasn't much he wanted to say, really; he probably wasn't going to see her all that much anyway.

As they parted, Tomato chuckled. "I guess fate had other plans, and I'm glad we crossed paths again. You just refuse to be broken by everyone else's crap, and yet you're still so kind. I wish I knew how you did it, because I want that kind of spirit."

He walked out of the scene, knowing of his taking the mantle of Flora's math tutor that marked the beginning of a wonderful friendship. A new source of light, after a long, dark night where there was really one light to guide him. On remembering that light, he pranced right into a memory of that very pony.

There he was, now a sad eight-year-old sitting alone at lunchtime, a scene that he grew familiar with. He just silently ate a sandwich, watching the other kids engage in silly conversations with their friends. Once upon a time, he'd have been at the center, his antics drawing many a laugh; now, he was the outcast, having fallen from grace from his class clown status into a guarded, sullen little boy.

But then, another kid sat next to him. Little Bluejinx, though he fidgeted and had a hard time looking him in the eye, then levitated a chocolate chip cookie out of his lunch bag, and split it, offering him the second half. Tomato was unsure about taking the cookie at first, wondering if it was actually poison or full of needles.

But then, Bluejinx said, "I, uh... I'm sorry about the accordion. And your brother."

Tomato blinked, and then wordlessly took the cookie. As he nibbled at it, he listened to Bluejinx say that if he was sad that he lost his father, then Tommy had every right to be sad over losing his brother. It was followed by awkward silence as they ate, but Tomato's shield lowered a little, and he was glad to have some company that wasn't concerned about his social status or ready to bully him.

Tomato still sat, as memories of other lunches came to being with Bluejinx bringing mad lib games, crossword puzzles, or just silly stories to share. There even came a time when Tomato talked back, and they often discussed their favorite books.

Tomato finally stood up, breaking out of the memory. "Thanks for being there for me, Blue. If it wasn't for you being my anchor, I wouldn't be here today. You're like another brother to me."

The scene changed again. Now morphing into an adult again, he found himself walking out of a theater, humming to himself as Cirrus and Nimbus flew circles around him, jabbering about the musical they had just watched. He, as a casual, thought it was pretty good, but seeing those that were very into theater praising it was something rather nice, and boosting his spirits.

They were just about to bemoan writing a review of the play for their class when Tomato interrupted them by getting a little too into his own musical interlude. Now starting to bounce around, he sang, "Now you see me all spruced up for this gig; I'm gonna go wow all the girls..."

He hopped to the nearest pole and twirled around it. "I will show them just what I'm made of; I'm gonna be on top of the world!"

He then noticed the twins staring at him, and it suddenly hit him that they has been watching him. Now, Tomato's mind then was frankly embarrassed that he let that talent slip, especially after that one passerby called him a weirdo. But, to the older self reliving the memory, he smiled at how genuinely impressed Cirrus and Nimbus had been with his singing, and wanted him to do it more often.

He laughed. "Even when you two annoy me when pestering me over my singing, I do appreciate that we have a little common ground in loving show tunes. My life's just a lot more fun with you two around."

Smiling, he now happily leapt between memories, now that he managed to summon the good memories. Reliving the moments of fun, laughter, and the bonds he made with others was made his heart leap with joy. After all the bad he went through, seeing all this good in his life was all the more sweeter, though also a little bittersweet regarding some memories.

Once again, he learned math from his grandmother, before he even started school. The praise she gave for him being such a fast learner reminded him just why he found math so much fun. Just hearing Grandma's voice in his head always kept him going, so that math was always his best subject, even on his worst days.

Once again, he was working at Madame Bookshelf's bookstore, trapped in a snowstorm with the old mare and Summer Wind, where they all shared hot chocolate and exchanged stories. Tomato didn't say anything about his home life or his brother, but his cutie mark story was something he was glad to share, at a place he was starting to consider a real home.

And once again, he earned his cutie mark. Surprisingly, being a cute kid who could sing gave him a charm that was hard to say no to. And having the ability to pop out of nowhere sure enabled him to keep his classmates in line when the white elephant sale--which was essentially a fair at that point--was under way. It was the event that defined just what kind of pony he was meant to be, a little fact that he forgot throughout his years of misery.

But he remembered now. Helping Silver Shill start a pizzeria, working with Party Favor to impress that ski committee with a fun party, giving all he had in creating a fundraiser carnival when Cheese's magic didn't work... that was what Tomato Sandwich was all about. He didn't need to suppress his "nonsense" magic to succeed like Mom thought--he just needed to know how to use it to his advantage.

More memories he relived, from the life-changers like meeting Bluejinx or Cirrus and Nimbus, to smaller ones like when he went on a caramel apple hunt to give his best friend one last hurrah before getting braces. Even those random moments where he laughed, had a random pony be nice to him, or got to spend time with his only friend were memories that shone that much brighter in a dark life.

The memories of Cheese were bittersweet, knowing what that colt he saw had just recently become. There was the day that they earned bits at the park just by virtue of Cheese singing, with many folks recognizing his talent. There was the kite incident where Tomato lost a tooth and Cheese comforted him. There were the cowspy games, the days out with their grandparents, and when they got into mischief together. He even relived the recent summer vacation memories, where he and Cheese bonded and had fun together.

And then, came the day that the feud between him and Cheese ended.

There he was, his big brother, admitting that he had been bitter and jealous. There he was, giving his apology for treating him like garbage, and forgiving Tomato for the accordion incident and the subsequent fights. Tomato had been shocked, confused, and fearful that it hadn't been real. Even when he argued against Cheese doing it, Cheese just replied, "No matter what, I'll always love you, baby bro."

That was the moment that Tomato burst into tears and cried into his big brother's shoulder, realizing that Cheese truly meant what he said. After all those years of frequent loneliness and anguish, with everything going wrong for him, it was such a relief that this wrong had finally been righted. Finally, he had his brother back, and they were going to start all over.

Tomato sighed, and he closed his eyes again. He opened them to find himself back to his sitting position, back in his foalhood room, and his hooves on Flora's. He looked around, and as he thought of the Cheese memories, the room morphed from its tidy state into a mess of toys, with the desk and shelves replaced by a toy chest and an extra bed.

Looking at her mournfully, he told her, "Cheese was not only just my brother... he was my first friend. He always went above and beyond to make sure I was happy, even with less than stellar parents and the world on his shoulders, because he really loved me. It goes to show that he really was destined to be the party pony of the family, because he gave me joy."

Flora nodded. "I've seen it plain as day; you were a lot happier after your feud ended."

"That feud'll teach me to take him for granted," Tomato muttered. He knitted his brow, and gave a hot snort. "It hasn't even been a year since that Fall Festival, and already somepony's taking him away from me, ripping him piece by piece and twisting him into some feral monster!"

He stood up, with the image of Flora following suit. "Well, I'm not gonna take it lying down. That warlock's not gonna break me with my past, he's not gonna keep me in here, and he's not gonna keep Cheese's memories away from me!" He stamped his hoof on the ground with a whinny. "It's a good thing he's up against Princess Twilight; that werewolf curse of his is not getting out of this forest."

After catching his breath after his shout, he turned to Flora and smiled warmly. "I know you're just an illusion, but... thanks for helping me out. Even in my mind, you have a way of putting me back on track and making me feel at peace."

Flora smirked. "You're welcome. Now, get out of here."

Flora disappered, and the mist was vacuumed up by the memory orbs that floated above, still attached to him by that strong. Tomato was back in the chamber, still chained down to the floor. Looking up at his own memories, he had no idea how to stick them back into his own mind. He double-checked his tail, confirming that it was still cropped short. There wasn't much he could do with that now. With a frustrated snort, he wondered just how he was going to get out of there.

His ears picked up chirping from the corner, and he turned around to see that in that corner, there was a crack just large enough for some members of a bat colony to peek in curiously at this stranger and his floating mind. It took Tomato a bit to realize that if there was bat colony next door, they had a way to fly out. Even then it didn't look like he could fit through that crack, but, with his normally useless ability to speak bat, perhaps he could persuade those bats to help him out.

He whistled to get their attention. "Hey!"

The bat's shuddered from the sound piercing their ears, with some grumbling about how ponies were loud. Tomato took note of this, and asked more softly, "You guys mind helping me out? I'm kind of in a bind here."

The bats blinked, and then looked at each other, murmuring over this turn of events. Then, one bat fluttered into the chamber, hung from Tomato's forelock, and asked, "Uh... you are talking to us, right? I mean... you probably don't understand this, so I could probably tell you my infamous toenail story and you'd be none the--"

"Oh, no, I can understand you," Tomato said. "And no, I don't want to know about your toenails."

The bat representative blinked, while the rest of the colony gasped and murmured to each other once again. The representative started to gesture all over the place as he asked, "Whadda what now? Uh, I-I don't detect the right magic from you, buddy, so I gotta... gotta ask... where did you learn to speak bat?"

Tomato sighed in exasperation. "Long story, but I need to get out of here, and my usual lockpick--" He turned to show the bats his tail. "--is not up to par. So, do any of you know how to pick locks?"

A female bat piped up, "You're asking a bunch of bats if any of them could free you from a pony invention. Why would any of us have needed to know?!"

"Oh, shut up, Betty!" the first bat shouted. He turned back to Tomato. "Well, can't help you with that. Sorry, pal."

Tomato snorted, wondering why he even bothered to ask. However, another idea came to mind. "Okay, okay, my mistake... but, say, how about you go find somepony for me? See, I was waiting for someponies before I was kidnapped and chained up, and they should be here by now. The pony I'm asking you to find is yellow, has a long pink mane and tail, wings, and butterflies on her flank like this tomato money-bag thing on mine. She can talk to animals, so just tell her that Tomato Sandwich is in this mine... cave... thing, I dunno, near your home. Then, I can be gone and not bother you anymore, Mr...."

"Name's Bart," the bat said. He scratched his chin. "Well, I guess if it gets you out of our hair, then one of us can go."

Betty immediately said, "All in favor of Bart going, say 'Aye'!"

"Aye!" the rest of the colony called in unison.

Bart stuck his tongue out at the rest. "I hate you guys." He turned back to Tomato and said, "All right, I'll find this pony, Tomato Sandwich. You say she has butterflies on her flank, right? The bugs that are like day moths or something?"

Tomato nodded.

"And what's her name?"

"Fluttershy."

"Gotcha. Well, I'll be off to find Fluttershy, the Butterfly-Butt!" With that, Bart took off through the crack, with the other bats waving goodbye to him as he flew his way through the cave.

Tomato waved as well, but then, remembering what was out there, shouted, "Oh, keep an eye out for wolves!"

He didn't know if Bart heard that. Regardless, Tomato then thought of how Fluttershy and the rest had probably met the pack by now. It kind of hurt to think of Pinkie's reaction to werewolf Cheese. But, most importantly, he hoped the fight wouldn't be long, and that Twilight had defeated the Rooney guy.

---

As they were outnumbered three to one, the best that Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie could do for the unconscious Fluttershy was to put her in a tree, in a position that kept her from falling. From there, they just had to keep the buffalo-wolf and Trouble Shoes from hitting the tree and knocking her off--while also fending off the other ten.

"Lobo! Lobo!" Pinkie shouted, having pulled a cape out of nowhere. "Lobo!" The buffalo wolf charged her, as if some part of him stillnremembered that he was a buffalo. Regardless, he missed, with Pinkie twirling the cape away and shouting, "Olé!"

Of course, a couple other wolves tried to jump at her, only her her to spin away with the cape billowing about, repeating her shouts of "Olé!" as she did so. She jumped from place to place, taunting the wolves with her cape, even making one run into a tree at one point. However, she couldn't help but eye Cheese, wondering why her display hadn't gotten him cheering "Olé!" with her, snapping him back to his pony mind.

Applejack had roped Trouble Shoes, and was pulling him away from the tree that Fluttershy was in. Several times Rainbow Dash and Rarity had kicked some wolves away from her, and went through fighting full force. Applejack continued to pull with as much strength as she could. She could feel rope burns on her lips and tongue every time she slipped, and Trouble Shoes nearly got free before Applejack regained her bearing and clamped tighter on the rope.

Rarity had been batting away wolves with the stick, not letting them nip and bark at her in order to herd her to vulnerability. However, it occurred to the wolves that they needed to rid her of her weapon, and so several circled her so that she would be on edge, waiting for a wolf to strike her. Two pounced at her; one she batted away, but the other managed to catch the stick, and she was in a tug-of-war with the one until the stick broke.

They all jumped at her; thankfully, Rarity could roll out of the way, and then slam a stray one away with a roundhouse kick. The others scooted out of the way of the kicked one, and after a moment to let the one rise back up, they started to approach her, growling. With her white coat now stained from sweat and dirt, Rarity snarled, "Oh, the stick was just a formality, darlings. I can take you with my hooves!"

Rainbow Dash continually flew and divebombed any wolves that threatened her friends, along with headbutting some on the ground that tried to fight back. Several times, she was caught by the tail and thrown elsewhere. Often, it was just a roll in the cold dirt and some mud that she had to spit out, but a couple of times, she felt a stone scrape her back, or a stick stabbing her flank. She was not one to let anything like that slow her down, even if her bleeding attracted the wolves.

Once, teeth clamped down on her wing. After she pulled away, it was lucky that she only lost some feathers from the bite and didn't bleed from that, or else her friends would have been in trouble from Wolf Dash. After taking a second to bemoan losing some feathers, she punched the offending werewolf, and darted off to kick a wolf away from Applejack.

Twilight was busy with fighting Wayer Rune. Although she didn't have her flight advantage, she could still fight as the unicorn she once was. The two exchanged magic bolts in their fight, and teleported left and right to attempt surprise attacks on the other.

Light of magenta and silver flashed in that area, and trees fell from the impact of each blast. Rocks were blown to smithereens, dust was kicked up from all over the ground, and both pony and wolf had the added danger of dodging stray magic blasts that came their way. Pinkie Pie was hit by one bolt, and while her shoulder was burned from the impact, she had more pressing matters that she had to literally roll away from.

At one point, they clashed horns, and sparks crackled from the tips. They glared into each other's eyes, with Twilight seeing the hate in his, and Wayer seeing the determination in hers. The clash ended in an explosion that pushed them both back, and they took a moment to look up at each other.

"Wayer, I know you're still angry about the war," Twilight called. "But making innocent ponies suffer is not the way to cope!"

"Oh, so you're gonna lecture me?" Wayer spat. "I'm sorry, but that's not a good way to get me to listen."

His glowing horn touched the ground, and induced a shockwave that sent Twilight into the air, which necessitated her teleport into a nearby tree. Panting, Twilight shouted, "Equestria is at peace now! You can make a new life! You can get help! You can learn so many new things you've never seen before! You can make new friends!"

"Thank you for reminding me that I'm out of my time!" He shot a orange firework-like spell into the air, and let the fireballs just rain down on the trees above, including the one Twilight sat in. "So, who did Celestia and her court sacrifice to expand this country?"

Twilight choked on the smoke and coughed. With her skin searing from the heat, she looked around to find an unburning tree. Once she found one, she teleported again, and fired another shot at the older stallion. Wayer felt the bolt hit his foreleg and stumbled, and looked to the tree where Twilight shot from, only to find that Twilight had blinked away.

He looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mare before she performed another hit-and-run. He could see spots where she was dousing the fire with water she teleported from a nearby creek--presumably to protect that one friend from any spreading flames--but she blinked away before he could zap her back. He fired a few bolts where she was playing firefighter, but missed as she continued on that work and zapped him back. This time he stepped out of range, and he scanned the trees to find one not burning or wet. He found a good, dry tree, where Twilight appeared to douse the last of the fire.

But instead of firing another magic bolt, he simply shot a spell at the tree, making it bow and shake until Twilight was out of its leaves.

She summoned a bubble to cushion her landing after a long fall, and took a moment to catch her breath, even after the bubble popped. Between her broken wing and the long journey, she wondered if she should have given herself some rest to prepare for this exact situation.

She looked up, and peered through the trees to the others. Applejack had loosened her grip, and the rope slipped through. As she screamed from the rope burn, she watched in horror as Trouble Shoes went forward to slam into the tree that Fluttershy was in. Rainbow Dash kept having close calls with werewolf maws, losing hair and feathers to their bites. Rarity resorted to throwing pine cones and rocks at the wolves, as clearly her legs ached too much to keep kicking. Even Pinkie was tired of playing matador, and was now in a tug-of-war with Cheese, screaming at him to snap out of it.

Twilight rubbed her eyes, bemoaning the growing fatigue. As important as it had been to hurry, it just had been a really long day.

When she opened her eyes, she saw tree roots having sprung up from the dirt, and before she could try to run, the roots snagged her, wrapping around her body and constricting her so that she couldn't move. The pain in her wing spiked, and she cried out, a few tears flying out of her eyes. Breathing through her teeth, she looked up to find herself face-to-face with Wayer Rune.

"Well, well, it seems like you're in a bind, dear princess," he said.

Twilight said nothing, she just charged up her horn.

Not even pausing to see what she was preparing to do, Wayer levitated an orb full of crystal out of his cloak, and then tossed it at her, jumping back to avoid the mist that it exploded into.

The mist drifted onto her as she coughed, and she shook her head, and aimed a spell at the roots. However, all she got was a jolt of pain, which radiated from the base of her horn to throughout her head, and made her stomach churn. Heat ran through her body, and she once again breathed through her teeth in an effort to quell the discomfort.

Wayer was kind enough to release her from the roots, and allow her an opportunity to feel her horn. When she felt various rectangular and sharp bumps on her horn, Twilight immediately realized what Wayer did and gasped.

"Where did you get the ingredients for a crystallization potion?!" she cried.

Wayer tapped one of the crystals on Twilight's horn. "I've traveled a bit, so I managed to find plenty of ingredients for various potions. I did always like exploring different methods of magic use."

He pulled his dog whistle out of his cloak. "But, now, I just have one more loose thread to tie up..."

When he blew it, Twilight asked, "What are you doing?"

The wolves perked up in attention. They listened for the instructions that the ponies couldn't hear, and the ponies were confused over why the wolves had stopped attacking. As much as they needed a break, they still had to get ready for another round of fighting.

However, the wolves all turned to just one pink party pony, and they all started to run toward her. Seeing how she was the target, Pinkie panicked and screamed, galloping away from them, leading them to give chase. The other three mares then started to pursue the werewolves, with Applejack aiming to get her rope back from Trouble Shoes, Rainbow Dash divebombing the ground to disorient the wolves, and Rarity grabbing another large stick to swat them away from Pinkie.

Twilight watched in horror as the chase went on. "Pinkie's your last threat?"

Wayer shrugged. "As said before, I know love's a powerful force. You know Cheese Sandwich would deem her worthy to carry his memories."

Twilight looked between Wayer and the chase, and shouted to Pinkie, "Pinkie! Where's your party cannon?!"

Pinkie stopped. "Oh, yeah."

She turned around, pulling the party cannon out from behind her back and started blasting the wolves with confetti, streamers, and various pastries with as much force as she could without killing them. She saw one in front, she blasted it. She saw another coming to her left, she blasted it. And another coming to her right was blasted as well. She bucked one that had jumped onto her back off, and then she turned around and blasted that one too.

Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack went to pull some wolves away from her, but fighting for some time left them unable to pull them very far. Trouble Shoes, still having that rope around his neck, went to tossing Applejack into the other two, and the three of them just laid in the dirt, aching from the collision.

Pinkie saw the action take place, and gasp. "Girls!"

She pushed her party cannon along the forest floor, hoping to reach them so she could defend them. It was a bumpy ride, with the sticks and rocks that littered the ground slowing her progress. She looked around, and saw that the wolves were catching up. After a moment of thinking, she figured that she could just point the cannon at the ground, and rocket herself over to her friends without dealing with the wolves.

Before she could do that, however, she was bitten on the tail, and dragged backwards. As much as she tried to pull back, she only fell flat on her face and ended up with rocks scraping her chin. She rolled and tried to kick the wolf's face, but she stopped short of the muzzle when she saw it was Cheese.

Twilight saw the dragging, and took off in a gallop down the hill. "Pinkie!"

Cheese stopped dragging Pinkie, and they were surrounded. At that moment, there was a stare-off between a party pony and what was once a party pony. Cheese just bored into her with soulless, black eyes, showing nothing but a remorseless predator. Pinkie stared back with horror and sadness, desperately trying to find her friend inside.

"Come on, Cheese, you have to be in there somewhere!" she cried. "Remember this song? 'Super Duper Party Ponies..." She bit her lip and gulped down the lump in her throat. "'...t-that is me and you...'"

He aimed for her throat, but she broke her foreleg free from his paw and blocked the jaws just in time. That bite was the hardest one she had received from him, as if several little knives had stabbed her up and down that foreleg. She screamed, pulled her foreleg away, and then scrambled away to limp to her friends, who had just gotten up and saw what happened.

Rarity gasped. "Oh, my goodness!"

Rainbow's jaw was slack, and she could only croak.

Applejack kept her composure, though her eyes betrayed her worry. "Pinkie Pie? Y'alright?"

Twilight caught up, but only to find Pinkie's leg was bleeding from what looked like a bite wound. "Oh, no! Pinkie, I--"

Pinkie looked down at her leg, and then back at the wolves, especially Cheese, who didn't even try to pursue her. She turned back with a forced grin, and answered, "Oh, don't worry... I'm sure it's not that bad." She continued limping forward, her bouncy hair now drooping into ringlets. "I could smell really, really good, and help find lost things! Or... or I can hear customers heading to Sugarcube Corner from a mile away! Or... maybe I could talk to... your dog, Applejack..." She held her head and winced. "I think she's a really nice creature..."

She crumpled to the forest floor, her mane falling completely straight, and a blue mist coming out of her ears. The others rushed to her to try to help her, but alas, all they could do was watch as Pinkie writhed in agony, clutching her head and crying. They could do nothing about the blue mist that seeped out of her ears, with Twilight trying to scratch the crystals off her horn before it was too late.

"What's happening?!" Rarity cried.

"Is the weird blue mist part of turning into a werewolf?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Wayer Rune teleported among the werewolves. "Oh, I say it is now, with my... improvements."

"Improvements?" Twilight looked between Wayer, the werewolves, and Pinkie. Seeing as the blue mist was coming out of her ears, she came to a harrowing conclusion. "Oh, no, Pinkie, you're losing your memories!"

Pinkie still cried. "Forgetting hurts! Forgetting hurts! I don't wanna forget you!"

She fainted, and the blue mist rushed to Wayer and formed into a blue orb, which held an image of her cutie mark. He stashed it into one of his cloak pockets, and just smiled at them. "I have to say, her eyes are beautiful. No wonder Cheese likes them so."

An angry Rainbow dashed toward him. "Why you--"

Wayer pushed her away with a magic bolt. "Enough of that, fight's over." He levitated Pinkie out of their grasp and set her atop Trouble Shoes' back. "Don't worry, ladies, I will take good care of her. Now, I'm going to take a trip, so I have to bid you farewell."

And just like that, he teleported himself and the entire pack of werewolves away.

Rainbow, who was sitting on the ground rubbing her head, stamped a free hoof on the ground. "I can't believe it! We lost!" She took to the air, hovering as much as she could with her remaining feathers. "We lost the fight, we lost the trail... and we lost Pinkie! The only way this could have been worse if we all got bitten!"

"Well, shoot," Applejack said. "What are we gonna do now, Twi?"

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. He disabled my horn, so I can't track them, cure them, or even return their memories to them! He must have formulated a way to fight us when he found out we're acquainted with Cheese."

Rarity brushed dirt off her coat. "This is just awful! It was bad enough that Fluttershy turned into a vampire batpony last fall, but I can't imagine our sweet and jubilant Pinkie Pie as a ravenous werewolf!"

From up on one of the trees, they heard a gasp. "Pinkie Pie got bitten? Oh, no, if only I hadn't passed out!"

They looked up, and they could see that Fluttershy was now awake, with her horrified and guilt-ridden eyes staring down at them.

"Fluttershy... it's not your fault," Twilight said. "Wayer Rune knocked you out."

Fluttershy tilted her head. "Wayer Rune?"

"Oh, right, you weren't awake for the reveal. He's the one behind the stolen memories and the werewolf spell. He escaped from Tartarus, and I have a feeling he's not done causing trouble. Question is what he's planning to do with the werewolves."

"Well, it's not like he can spread it too far," Applejack said. "It's likely Celestia will stop him when she notices another werewolf problem."

Twilight blew at her bangs. "Well, at least that's a comforting thought... sort of."

Fluttershy was about to descend from her perch when she noticed a little bat fly to her and hang from the branch above. "Oh! Hello, little bat. What's your name?" The bat chirped at her, and she nodded. "Oh, Bart? That's such a nice name."

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow complained. "Now's not the time to make new animal friends!"

Fluttershy ignored her, instead listening to Bart's chirping. "Well, yes, I'm Fluttershy. Uh... how did you know my name?" She listened to him chirp some more, her eyes growing wide. "Wait, Tomato Sandwich? He sent you?!"

"Wait, since when did that feller have a messenger bat?" Applejack asked.

Fluttershy looked down at them. "Oh, he must be in a cave somewhere!" She heard Bart chirp some more. "Abandoned mine? Chained to the floor? Oh, my! We better go get him out!"

She hopped off her branch and swooped down to the ground, facing her friends. "Girls, Bart says that Tomato Sandwich needs help."

Twilight scratched her chin. "Hmm... if we find Tomato, we find Wayer's lair, and if we find the lair, we might just find the memories and a way to stop him!" She looked up at her horn and sighed. "And find some ingredients to make a potion that'll melt those crystals off."

Fluttershy looked at Bart, who had swooped down as well and was waiting for them. "Okay, Bart, lead the way."

Author's Note:

*looks at word count* Hey, remember when 5,000 was a long chapter for me? Well, meet the longest chapter I've written so far. I hope I never write that much in one chapter again.

Comments

[SageBrony07]

Go bart. To be honest though. I'm hoping tomato goes bat pony again.

[redmar]

This really needs to end soon and Wayer Rune has hurt ponies that Discord cares about and when he finds that out the unvierse isn't big enough for Wayer Rune to hide from Discord's wrath.

[Goldfinch142]

Aw...that sequence with Tomato's friends was really sweet.

Well, at least the Mane Six have finally joined the battle. Though now that Rune's got Pinkie captured and Twilight temporarily incapacitated, who knows what will happen, since even one of them being gone prohibits any magical friendship lasers.

Yay for bat powers! Guess they can be useful after all.

"Betty" and "Bart". Seems that bats have a thing for names beginning with B. Or just alliteration between name and species.

[Chromio]

It'll be a sad day when this story comes to an end, but I guess it has to soon

[Dashie04]

The Tomato and Flora scene almost made me cry. I might add this to my favorites when its finished...

Also, is it just me, or does the current situation seem like the lyrics to a DragonForce song? There’s a darkest hour, an enemy on the loose, and only one hero can solve it all.

...Or maybe that’s just me and my fanboyishness, these plots are everywhere.

However, that Tomato and Flora scene retaught me something I already knew, always have hope, hope is a powerful thing.

[Godslittleprincess]

This is getting intense. Awww, poor Pinkie.