Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

23.2--A Trip Down Memory Lane

Tomato recalled a time when he wished to be a big brother for once. Being the littlest meant that he wasn't taken seriously, and was subject to being treated like a baby or brushed aside as a nuisance by everyone--including Cheese! Being talked down to was frustrating--especially now as an adult--and he had wished his mother would have another baby so he didn't have to put up with it anymore (he had since changed his tune, realizing that it'd be cruel for the hypothetical third Sandwich kid to be born into their disaster of a family).

But in all his fantasies of being a big brother, he usually imagined a little sister that he and Cheese would look after. Barely learning about the difference between fillies and colts made him curious about what having a sister was like. But never had he ever daydreamed about his big brother being the little brother: Cheese was perfect as a big brother, so it impossible to imagine little brother Cheese.

But, yet, here he was, in the middle of an alley maze in the middle of a strange city, staring at a younger version of his big brother.

As little Cheese tried to hide in the corner, Tomato's mind ran through all the possible options of why he had turned into a colt. A reasonable option would be the Fountain of Youth, of which he was starting to guess that there was more than one. Maybe some random unicorn used an age spell on him. Maybe Discord showed up out of nowhere and messed with Wayer Rune by turning all the werewolves into foals (or in the case of the bison, a calf)--and creating this weird city that Tomato was now lost in. Or maybe the flashing memory orb sent him inside Cheese's mind. Whatever the case, something was seriously wrong.

Regardless, he now realized that he had to convince this scared child that the stallion towering over him was his little brother. The best question he could ask himself was what Flora would do if she was in this situation.

He took a deep breath. "I'm, uh, sorry that I scared you. I probably should have asked directions from somepony else."

Little Cheese said nothing. He stared with his big, chartreuse eyes, expecting him to make a wrong move. He then slowly reached up to grab his curls, only to then swiftly yank the excess mane he had downward to conceal himself, withdrawing into his shell like a little hermit crab. There was barely any hint of Cheese's body--just a little bush of chocolate curls that quivered.

Tomato groaned and sat down, resting his chin on his hoof. "Okay, be that way. Still, you're lost, aren't you, Cheese? Welcome to the club."

Suddenly, Cheese cried, "How do you know my name?!"

Tomato couldn't tell if he was scared or angry--maybe he was both--but in any case, the kid's volume made him jump. He glared at the bush, and he felt as if it was glaring at him back. "Okay, it's not polite to shout! I'm just saying that I'm also lost and scared, like you are!"

Cheese still played the timid hermit crab, though Tomato could see hints of eyes peeking out from under the bush--a pair which told him to go away. Tomato ran his hoof over his mane, his mind still pondering on how he was supposed to break the news. Should he break it to him quickly, or try to coax him out of his shell first, or maybe just let him notice the resemblance to their father?

His hoof reached his forelock, and the idea popped into his mind like lightning. He turned to the bush, and leaned against the brick wall. "Yeah... we're both lost. Honestly, I have no idea what city I'm in, or how I got here, or... really, what the hay's happening. There was one disaster I was facing... and then, all of a sudden, I end up here, and I guess... crisis averted? Somehow?"

His gut twisted, and he doubted that crisis really was averted. If it was, thanks to Princess Celestia, then that didn't solve the current crisis he was in. "I don't know. How about you?"

The bush moaned like the frustrated child underneath. "I don't know... my brain just feels scrambled..."

Tomato was not entirely sure what he meant, but it definitely had something to do with memories. Was this some kind of really weird mind game? This entire thing was going to give him a headache from working out what was going on. Still, he had his hoof on his forelock. "I've had those days where my brain feels like pudding. Still, I hope you can recognize this little thing."

A curious muzzle poked out from under the bush. Green eyes looked up, and stared a moment to process what Tomato was talking about. Seeing the hoof on the forelock, his eyes widened, he gasped, and the bush of brown curls popped up to become the afro once again.

He pointed at the forelock, and then to his own. "That's a family thingie! You got the family thingie! M-my mom has it, my grampa has it, my little brother has it..." He paused to think of more relatives. "My dad doesn't have it." He narrowed his eyes and peered closer at Tomato. "Hey... you look a lot like my dad, but you got the forelock thingie..."

Good, now he had Cheese's attention. Tomato smiled and nodded. "Well... yeah, I guess that means we might be related." He wrapped the forelock around his hoof and grasped it tight. "I can do a little magic trick with mine, you wanna see?"

Cheese quietly pondered a moment before giving a tentative nod.

Tomato yanked the forelock, and his mane burst into its natural curls, which made the colt stumble back into the wall. Taking off his glasses and shaking his head for a little extra bounce, he looked at Cheese--which was annoyingly like looking through an out-of-focus camera--and said, "Ta-da!"

Cheese blinked at the sight of a weird serious suit-pony now having shown off wild hair. It was strange how familiar this pony seemed to him. There was the forelock, there were the wild, dark brown curls, and the bright green eyes that drank in new experiences like juice boxes. The face oddly looked like their father's, except a lot less tired and was actually smiling at him--though the smile slowly faded as Tomato worriedly awaited an answer.

A flash of lightning lit up above them, followed by strangely soft thunder. In that instant, Cheese rubbed his eyes, which flashed brightly once he opened them. After a few moments more, he gasped, "Tommy?!"

Tomato grinned sheepishly. "Glad you recognize me now, big bro... or in this case, little bro?"

Cheese crept forward, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you bigger than me now? Last time I checked, I was three years older than you."

Tomato put his glasses back on and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh... magic shenanigans? I'm still not sure what happened."

Cheese sat down and rubbed his head. "I knew I was missing something, but I couldn't remember what. I found one of my missing somethings, but I feel like there are more missing somethings around here. And I, uh... think I oughta know this place, but I don't."

Whatever this place was, Tomato could tell that it was connected to Cheese. The city had way too many things that Cheese liked and frankly not much of what he didn't like. Maybe helping this little version could help him know for sure what was happening and how to get out of it. Not to mention, being the big brother for once might be a little fun.

He stood up. "Well, if you don't mind, perhaps I could help you find those other missing somethings of yours. Being your brother and having a not-scrambled brain at the moment, I do have a few ideas on what those could be. Maybe it could help the both of us be... not lost."

Cheese stared at him, pondering on Tomato's offer. Tomato held a forced smile, hoping that Cheese wasn't subconsciously afraid of some of the memories that they were looking for. He had this nagging feeling that deep down, Cheese really, truly knew what he was missing, but his mind was too scrambled for him to remember properly. This city's patterns of leaning toward Cheese's interests could help straighten things out.

Then, Cheese nodded and mumbled, "Okay."

Tomato crouched down, and let Cheese climb onto his back. He grunted as he got up, mumbling that Cheese was heavier than he thought, but he was still able to walk. So, he turned around and started to walk back out of the maze, hoping that he could retrace his steps.

Cheese looked down at Tomato's flank, and asked, "So... what's your cutie mark?"

---

"All right, it looks like he's stable... for now," Twosie mused, looking at the sky.

The group reached the bottom of the steps and were exploring the zone of pleasant memories. It seemed like a normal city as they first trotted in, looking around for any sign of Tomato. The only thing that seemed odd about it was how colorful the buildings were, and how there were several different variations on a few select ponies, like Pinkie Pie, Braeburn, and a handful they didn't recognize. Regardless, they seemed to be acting like normal ponies, with normal crowds with normal conversations on a normal day.

Rainbow looked around at the crowds. "Are you sure this is Cheese Sandwich's mind? That party up there seemed more Cheese than... this."

"It resembles Manehattan a little bit," Rarity remarked. She looked down at the sidewalk, her brow creased in annoyance. "Except I'm certain the Trot of Fame is in Applewood and has actual pony stars instead of 'Wonder Hamster', 'Superfly', and 'Santa Hooves, World's Greatest Horror Villain'. What even is that last one?"

"He had a bad incident with a Mall Santa who snapped from stress," Twosie answered. "At least that's what Boneless tells me."

Suddenly, a Braeburn popped up right next to Applejack, making her jump. "Oh, the Santa incident is nothing compared to all the wackiness that happened in Aaaaaaaaaal-bucker-que!"

"Do I even wanna know?" Applejack asked.

"It's a long story," Twosie answered.

"Then we have no time to hear it!" Twilight said, trotting up to the Braeburn and shooing him away. "We can hear it from Cheese himself when we get out of here, and turn Cheese back to normal!"

"Twilight, remember Cadance's breathing exercises..." Fluttershy said.

Twilight put a hoof to her chest and took a deep breath, and exhaled, drawing the hoof outward. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little stressed from being stuck in somepony else's mind and not being able to get us out of here myself. Boneless 2, where do you think Tomato could be in this city?"

"Well..." Twosie rubbed his chin. "He could be in an area that involves a Tomato-related memory. After all, the city has some resemblance to Manehattan because it's the place of Cheese's birth, but has a Trot of Fame because Cheese has thrown a lot of parties in Applewood and remembers the city quite well. In fact, there are plenty of sights based on experiences Cheese has had in the past."

"Well, we better go searching for a Tomato-related memory," Twilight said.

"Also!" Rarity interjected. "Tomato currently has a cropped tail, so it should be easy to tell who's the real one if we bump into memories."

"Good thinking, Rarity." Twilight turned to Twosie. "Can you name some memories?"

---

At last, Tomato and Little Cheese had made it out of the maze, and were back out onto the streets. Tomato looked around for something, anything, that could help jog Cheese's memory, but strangely patterned, brightly colored buildings, as well as the multiple versions of several individuals, were a little distracting. Seeing lampposts that were nothing more than glowing balloons and ponies traveling by trapeze, he could only conclude that this place was getting weirder.

"Uh... do any of these things look familiar to you, Cheese?" he asked.

Cheese watched the trapeze commuters as they swung, leapt, and flew. "Gramma and Grampa did take me and you to the circus when I was five and you were two. I remember that a clown honked in your face and you cried."

"I don't need to be reminded of colthood trauma, thank you very much."

Cheese still gazed at the trapeze, eyes flashing as more things came to him. "Grampa was a big fan of Ponyacci, Equestria's Greatest Clown! He talked a lot about how cool it would be to meet that pony in person, instead of just watching him do silli-ously awesome tricks." Cheese scratched his chin. "It does feel like I met Ponyacci once, but it's kind of fuzzy. Maybe it was a dream where I made colorful bubbles, and he liked it, and taught me how to ride a unicycle."

That sounded a lot like dream logic for sure, but Tomato wouldn't have been surprised if those were involved when Cheese did meet Ponyacci. Perhaps if he could find that circus tent, maybe more Ponyacci-related memories would come back to him.

However, he stopped at the sight of a familiar corner, where a plain red brick building somehow stuck out from all the colorful towers. There was the large pizza sign above the large windows, proclaiming that particular establishment as a restaurant, and the spring green door that welcomed everypony who came to that corner. As patrons entered that door, the smell of pizza wafted to his nose, and his stomach gnawed at itself, growling in the universal language of hunger.

That couldn't be real. That could not be real. That corner was sold off after Grandpa Pizza and Grandma Mel passed away, and became a pawn shop. But, their pizzeria was there, in all it's glory, just as he remembered it from his colthood.

Cheese smiled, boosting his upper half on Tomato's head. "Hey, it's Gramma and Grampa's pizza place!" He looked down at Tommy and grimaced. "Oh, boy, how am I going to explain why you're so much bigger now?"

"Uh, magic?" Tomato said.

"Sure, I guess..." Cheese rubbed his belly, and when Tomato's stomach growled again, he giggled. "Yeah, we should get something to eat, and nothing beats Grampa's pizza!"

Tomato couldn't remember what his last meal was, and the thought of having Grandpa's pizza again, so long after his death... it was too tempting for Tomato to ignore. The perfect cheese-to-sauce ratio, the minimal grease, the crust that was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside--and sometimes had cheese in it!--and most importantly, how much love he could taste in it. With that in mind, he only answered with a nod and made a beeline for that corner building.

He opened the door, and the inside looked just as he remembered it. Booths with green benches lined the walls, and tables with chairs were standing on the checkered tiles. Pictures of Manehattan in the old days, ingredients of favorite dishes, and Grandpa's family hung on the walls, admired by the patrons of the restaurant. Tomato was drawn to one booth, where a picture of him and Cheese as colts hung, and he smiled sadly at the scene of two colts messily eating their grandparents' pizza and grinning stupidly for the camera.

Cheese hopped off Tomato's back, and onto the counter, where he rang a bell.

Tomato held back a gasp when his grandmother trotted in, as elegant as ever. Only Cucumber Melon could make the job of a cashier at a pizza place look glamorous and fun, and he recalled when he first picked up his early love of mathematics from her. He could smell her watermelon scent again, and seeing her light up at the sight of Cheese and hug him... it was even more tender than her remembered it.

He silently sat down at that counter, and just watched, his heart swelling so much that it hurt.

Cucumber stroked her grandson's mane. "Oh, Cheese, I was wondering when you'd drop by! It's too beautiful of a day not to have your dimpled smile around. How are you today?"

"I'm good, Gramma," Cheese replied.

Cucumber gave him her warm, wrinkled, matronly smile. "That's always wonderful to hear."

Tomato nearly jumped when Grandpa Pizza Pockets popped his head out of the kitchen, grinning his classic gap-toothed grin. "Aha! If it isn't one of my favorite musical buddies!" The rest of Pizza's body followed suit. "I hope you've been practicing your accordion, little stallion."

"Why would I want to stop?" Cheese said in a cocky tone. "It's kinda hard, but fun to play! Not to mention how much fun Tommy has dancing to it!"

The older couple laughed, slinging forelegs over each other's shoulders. Their eyes naturally shifted to where little Tommy would be sitting--only to see that adult Tomato was there instead, now feeling awkward that he was the only set piece that didn't belong in this scene.

The older couple blinked at the sight of Tomato. Glancing at each other awkwardly, they took a moment to process before Cucumber Melon said, "Oh, Tommy! You're getting so big! Tell me, have you been practicing your numbers?"

Tomato glanced at Cheese, who just shrugged, and then answered his grandma, "Uh... yeah! I've been practicing aplenty! I think I've got it down!"

"Oh, that's good, sweetheart." Cucumber patted his head. "You're a bright lad, Tommy. I'm sure you've earned a good cutie mark."

Tomato stared at her, and then with a sheepish grin, awkwardly raised his rump to show her the emblem on his flank.

"And what do you know?" Pizza Pockets chirped. "He got a talent where math is useful!" He nudged his wife and laughed. "We always talked about how he took after his father's side of the family, especially his Nana Nini, but apparently he inherited some of your family's business empire tendencies!"

Cucumber rolled her eyes. "Hope he doesn't turn into an overly strict, killjoy dictator like my parents... I don't want him to be perpetually unsatisfied with life. Besides, he'll still have to build his own business, thanks to my disowning ordeal years ago."

Pizza waved a hoof. "He'll be fine! Our favorite joy master Cheese will keep him in check!"

Cheese beamed, even though Tomato had expected him to be a little envious. There was something weird about how quickly his grandparents had accepted that their younger grandson was a stallion while their older one was still a colt. He wondered if they were a pair of ghosts just catching up to old news, or this was some kind of staged thing. His heart leaned a little more toward the ghosts idea, and thinking that made it sink.

He sighed, drawing his hoof on the counter. "Well... I guess that killjoy thing almost happened. You weren't exactly there to make sure we were still allowed to be kids from time to time." He took a deep breath and swallowed a lump in his throat. "Things haven't been the same since you were gone. Cheese earned his talent too--like you said, he's a joy master, or more accurately, a party pony--and he's good at it... but he only earned it because he got away from Mom. Me... well, I wasn't allowed to be a kid, or have feelings, or really anything besides read, do homework, or hold a not-fast food job."

He looked around the pizzeria and noted his grandfather's sad frown. He just realized how much of an insult that clause of Mom's standards for teenage jobs was. "Anyway... point is, I really miss you guys. I guess Cheese has some of Grandpa's jovial spirit, and I have some of Grandma's intelligence, but we can't replace you. I just wish I was there to say goodbye."

The older couple stared at him for a moment, taking in his words. Slowly, they slipped their hooves off the counter, and rounded out the door to meet Tomato in the parlor, and then wrap him in a group hug. Tomato choked out a brief sob before taking a deep breath and hugging back. Ghosts or not, they sure felt real and so warm. It was like the hug Cheese gave him at the Fall Festival--something that deep down, he really wanted, but thought he wasn't ever going to get again.

"Oh, we know, Tomato..." Cucumber said. "We miss you boys too. But we're still alive, so long as you and Cheese still remember us and still hold our influence. Like you said, you have some of me within you--but not just in finance handling or business affairs, but in how you would do so much to make sure another good pony prospers."

"And it's obvious that Cheese has some of me in him," Pizza Pockets said. "Even when he has little, he wants to make others happy. Just make sure he doesn't sacrifice something important in that pursuit--he might lose something precious. I kind of sacrificed discipline to try to make our girls happy, only for them both to be unhappy and to even lose Honeydew."

Tomato drew out of their hug. "Don't worry. I'm good at learning from mistakes, both mine and others'."

Tomato looked at Cheese, expecting envy to show up this time to ruin the moment. Thankfully, a glowing-eyed Cheese just sat there smiling, as if this was something he had imagined would happened if their grandparents met him as an adult. He didn't think too deeply on it, just relieved that he didn't have to deal with a jealous Cheese again.

Cucumber perked up. "Oh! I don't think he ever had his cutie mark party!"

Pizza Pockets gasped. "You're right! We better fix that! I hope you boys are not tired of pizza!"

Both Cheese and Tomato shook their heads, chanting that no, they weren't tired. As far as Tomato was concerned, it had been years since he had his Grandpa's pizza, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to truly have it again. Plus, Cheese was remembering stuff, so that was a little cause for celebration as well.

"Perfect!" Pizza Pockets ran into the kitchen, shouting, "Woohoo! Pizza party, everypony!"

---

Meanwhile, Twilight and the gang searched for a good Tomato-related memory. As time went on, the city, while not as crazy as the party uphill, did start to get a little weird like Cheese himself.

Rainbow Dash, while darting up for a bird's eye view, found some trapeze artists flinging through the city in their own little commute. Curious, she followed them until they ended up at a big circus tent downtown.

She swooped down to peek into the tent, only to see one of the wildest circus shows she had ever seen. Ponies danced along a tightrope like they were performing a ballet. Strong ponies lifted weights that held other strong ponies, who also lifted weights of their own. The clowns bounced and flipped around in a ninja pie fight, with an older one weaving around them and dodging each pie like a pro, and a young adolescent clown--one that she instantly recognized as Cheese--swing around on an accordion like it was a vine. All the while, the ringmaster was belting an energetic musical number.

When the others caught up to her, she beckoned to them. "Guys! Check it out! I think Cheese was part of the circus at some point!"

The others peeked in, oohing and aahing at the incredible show. Twilight pointed to the older clown, and said, "Hey! I see Ponyacci! Wow, Pinkie wasn't kidding when she told me that Cheese had been Ponyacci's apprentice."

Twosie watched blankly. "Well... Boneless is more familiar with this part of Cheese's life than I am. However, I do know that Tomato's most likely not here, being afraid of clowns and all. So, we best move on."

---

Fluttershy got the group sidetracked by a zoo, which had its strangeness immediately apparent by the presence of dinosaur zookeepers and unnaturally colored animals. They wandered around the zoo, reasoning that Cheese and Tomato would like a trip there. And when they asked one of the zookeepers if they've seen a Tomato Sandwich around, they were led to one, all right.

"Hi, I'm Tommy!" the little colt chirped.

They stared at the small colt for a moment, before Rainbow Dash said, "That's not the Tomato we're looking for."

"Oooh, he's so cute!" Fluttershy squeed. She crouched down to his level. "I bet you really like the zoo, don't you, Tommy?"

"Yeah!" Tommy replied. He hopped over her head and onto her back, making her squeak. "You have wings? Wow, a real pegasus up close! Did you know my brother draws himself as a pegasus a lot? Oh, oh! You have butterflies as a cutie mark? Does that mean you like bugs?"

He hopped to Rarity. "You're a pretty lady! And are you a unicorn? My Gramma's a unicorn! Do those diamonds on your butt mean your special talent is being pretty? Like my Gramma, except her cutie mark is a weird-shaped watermelon thing?"

He rolled to Applejack. "Are you a cowboy girl? My brother likes cowboys! Do you like apples? You have an apples cutie mark!"

He leapt onto Rainbow Dash. "Ooooh, you have rainbow lightning as a cutie mark! Do you have lightning powers?"

Rainbow watched as he bounced off of her, and started pinballing and popping up in random places around the group, asking various questions about their cutie marks--or in Twosie's case, his status as a giant rubber chicken. "Okay, he's giving Pinkie Pie a run for her money in hyperness. Maybe we were better off meeting him as a party pooper."

Twilight winced from Tommy shouting in her ear about how she was an alicorn and how cool that was. "I really hope Cheese's mind is just exaggerating, and he was... a normal kind of hyper. Little colts are rambunctious, you know."

Fluttershy grabbed the colt, and shouted, "Excuse me? Can anypony find this foal's parents?"

An older unicorn mare trotted to her. "Oh, I'm his grandmother."

"Hi, Gramma!" Tommy squealed.

Fluttershy hoofed him off to her. "Take him, please!"

---

They next checked an old western town, which partially resembled Appleloosa and Dodge Junction, but also had some buildings that looked like they were drawn out of a comic book. Applejack could not take her eyes off the ponies that resided in Appleloosa, especially since there seemed to be a few Braeburns among them.

"Okay, why is there more than one Braeburn?" she asked.

"Oh, more than one memory of Braeburn," Twosie answered. "Cheese really likes having him as a friend."

"My question is why some of these buildings look like illustrations..." Rarity said, looking around at the area. Then, she looked forward at the tall, dark, cowboy at the end of the street, with intense eyes and a soft smile. He looked illustrated as well, but that didn't stop her from admiring his features. "...or who that handsome character over there is."

Twilight tilted her head. "Why does he look familiar?"

The cowboy strode up to the group. "Howdy, ladies... name's Al Ammo, I protect this here town."

"Oh, I saw him on a comic cover when helping Spike pick out new comics to read." She tilted her head. "I had no idea Cheese was into comic books... or the Western genre for that matter."

"Well, now you know. This was one of his favorites," Twosie answered. He strode up to Al Ammo and they bumped hoof and wing. "Hello, Al! How have you been?"

"Just peachy, Twosie," Al answered. "What can I do you for?"

"Have you seen Tomato Sandwich around here? The girls are trapped in this mind and he's their ticket out."

Al scratched his scruffy chin. "Can't say I have." He turned and pointed to a neighboring town, which looked like the party zone threw up on it, painted it green and purple, and populated it with cartoon characters. "Maybe you should ask Mr. Bizarro, he sees a lot of weird stuff."

"Mr. Bizarro?" Twilight asked.

"His other favorite comic," Twosie replied.

---

After Mr. Bizarro explained that he didn't see Tomato either, they next checked a section of the city that resembled the Crystal Empire. They trotted through some strange mix of the Crystal Fair and the Equestria Games celebrations, only seeing a memory Cheese talking with a memory Pinkie and them laughing together. Twilight paused a moment, pondering if that was the main Cheese avatar.

When Twilight asked Twosie, the rubber chicken replied, "No, the main Cheese avatar's eyes glow, usually when he recognizes something. Also, I don't think he's in his normal form right now, because, you know, not a normal situation?"

Twilight looked at the memory Cheese. "Hmm... so, does that form mean he's secure?"

Twosie nodded. "I'm glad you catch on quickly." He looked around the fair. "I don't think Tomato's here; the Crystal Empire incident that Tomato was present for wasn't exactly a fun time for Cheese."

---

"I don't think I've flown a kite in a long time," Tomato said.

After the pizza party and Tomato's late cutie mark celebration, he and Cheese wandered to the park, where they had stumbled upon a pair of kites. Tomato recognized the kites as ones they flew years before, and that triggered another one of Cheese's memories. So, at the behest of the colt, they flew those kites, with Cheese trying to teach him all over again, just like the first time.

Cheese just gazed at his kite as it flew in circles. "Yeah, I remember the first time you flew a kite... it carried you and you crashed into a tree. You were really upset that you lost a tooth, but at least Gramma gave you a bit for the Tooth Fairy."

Tomato scoffed. "Well, I'm bigger now, so it can't carry me away."

Cheese giggled. "That would be weird if it did..." He turned to Tomato. "Hey, don't you think it's unfair that Mom didn't allow the Tooth Fairy to... uh-oh."

Tomato wasn't sure what happened. One second, he was flying his kite just fine, content with watching it soar above the park. Next thing he knew, an updraft had literally swept him off his feet, and he was carried along by the kite, as if life decided to repeat that incident for kicks and giggles.

"What, how?!" he shouted. "I was four when this happened last!"

Cheese dropped his kite and ran. "Use your big feet! Use your big feet!"

"My feet aren't that big," Tomato grumbled. He kicked at the ground to get some traction, but soon discovered that it was too late. He looked right behind him just in time to ram into the tree face first. As salt in the wound, the bark made for a rough ride as he slid down, right until he reached the ground and flopped onto the grass. Now he ached and his world was spinning.

Cheese winced. "You... didn't lose a tooth again, did you?"

"I'm okay..." Tomato slurred. "Just gimme a minute..."

---

After recovering from the tree incident, they went on to the edge of the park, finding themselves witness to what looked like Manehattan's big Summer Sun parade. As Cheese watched from his back and he himself leaned on the fence, Tomato watched in awe, seeing many different floats and balloons pass by. From the Daring Do balloon to the marching Celestia statue, it was certainly as big as he remembered his one time seeing the parade. Confetti rained down and candy was tossed, and floats bearing all of Equestria's beauty rolled forth.

He questioned how accurate some of those floats were, looking like stereotypes that a sheltered Manehattanite would assume of other places. He swore, if he were in charge of that parade, he'd look more into what was real about those places. Cheese would definitely be a big help in giving him ideas.

On one float, they spotted a one-pony band.

"Hey!" Cheese cheered. "It's that cool guy from the park that one time!"

Tomato found it a little odd, seeing as they met that pony in a park, when they were earning money through Cheese's singing. It was way back when Tomato had a little trouble counting to big numbers, but he still remembered that it was at the park, and that Cheese attracted a crowd with his singing. Little Tommy that day had no doubt been happy to have his bias toward his brother's amazingness confirmed, and he wondered if his little business idea that day had been an early sign of his eventual special talent.

Cheese waved at the one-pony band, who smiled, plucked an accordion off his back, and tossed it to the colt.

Cheese may have caught it before it hit Tomato, but the red-orange stallion was still a little annoyed. That was not how Cheese got his accordion! For one, there was no parade float, and two, the one-pony band actually talked to Cheese before hoofing it off to him. It was as if the two events of that day were conflated. Still, the sentiment was there, and Cheese was happy, and maybe they'll bump into Grandpa again to see how relieved he was to not have to buy an accordion for his grandson, and just jump right into the lessons.

Tomato didn't know why his thoughts jumped there, other than things were starting to get scarily familiar.

He was tempted to leave before anything else happened, but, then again, Tomato never got to see the whole parade before. Not to mention he didn't want to disappoint a currently happy kid. So, he stayed, and watched to the end to see just what were those really amazing floats that Cheese had talked about for years.

---

Staying for the parade was worth it. And now, Cheese and Tomato searched the park for the ice cream pony, all the while wrapped up in conversation that tended to be controversial for little colts, but not so much for stallions.

"What do mean you don't like fillies? They're ponies too!"

Cheese wrinkled his nose and stuck out his tongue. "Sure, but fillies are mean! They tell you you're ugly and a freak, and that you have extra cooties compared to the other colts. Not to mention all the adults think it's fun to pair me up with the worst girl in my class... I try to tell Mom that Balcony Flowerbox picks on me, but noooo, 'she'll grow out of it'. Or my teacher saying 'that means a girl likes you'. And then there's the other colts singing about our 'love', and calling me girly for dating even when I'm not!"

Tomato grimaced. "Well, it's a shame that all of that happened to you. I've met some girls who were really nice, and some of them are even my friends. I could tell you all about my friend Flora, and how she's good at helping ponies calm down and relax, or about Cirrus, how she's a great actress, and how much fun they're to be around."

"Did you give up that stupid crush for Creme Brulee?" Cheese grumbled.

"Not soon enough, I'm afraid, but I saw the light." Tomato's ears perked up when he heard music, and he turned to see that party he saw earlier, with a certain filly in the center of it all. "So... how about that filly? Is she bad?"

Cheese rolled his eyes and turned, only for him to drop his jaw at the sight of a younger Pinkie Pie, balancing on a ball and juggling rubber chickens. His eyes glowing once again, Cheese started to march over to the party in a trance. His eyes only moved to take in the party around him, the realization hitting him that this filly threw this party, making everypony so happy and eager to welcome him into the fold. He just about shrunk when Pinkie set his sights on him, but she hopped down to be face to face with him.

"Hiya! I'm Pinkie Pie!" she chirped. "What's your name?"

Cheese gulped. "I, uh... Ch-Cheeeeeee-aaaaaaahhhh, Slabbick inn--no, no, uh, Cheeeeeers--no, no.... Queso Fromage! Free Shavaca-Doo! Yeehonk! Okey-Dokey!" He blushed furiously and quickly hid himself in his hair, becoming a quivering brown bush once again.

"Aww, don't be shy, Okey Dokey!" Pinkie lifted up the afro to reveal Cheese, and took his hoof. "Come on! I have lots of games, and you can play with me!"

Cheese stared at her kind smile for what seemed like an eternity, before glancing back at Tomato. At his brother's nod of approval, Cheese turned back to Pinkie and nodded, and was then dragged into his first party game, Pinkie chattering excitedly all the while.

Tomato just had to smile at that event. He had heard the story of when Cheese first saw Pinkie before, but now he got to see it for himself. Granted, there were details different from the story, but perhaps it was for the best. Maybe it was skewed a little more toward what Cheese would have liked to happen. He also had to stifle laughter from Pinkie thinking Cheese's name was Okey-Dokey.

Still, even with the happy scene before him, there was something that gnawed at his mind. For some reason, events seemed a little skewed toward how Cheese remembered things--or wanted them to go. Even if he didn't realize it, the colt seemed to have control over this place.

There were many implications about that that scared Tomato.

---

After a while of searching--through the party tank observatory, to a soda fountain, to an ice rink, to Whinnyland, and many other locations, they ended up in a polka-dotted part of town. Rarity immediately blanched at the sight.

"Oi! What is with Cheese and his overabundance of colors in the wrong places?!" she exclaimed. "For Celestia's sake, Cheese Sandwich, you're an artist! You clearly have the understanding of how these things work, so why does your mind realm look like this?!"

Rainbow groaned. "Come on, Rarity! Some creep's trying to start a monster apocalypse and you're worried about how Cheese decorates his own mind?" She flinched when thunder boomed above her, and covered her mouth when the others glared at her.

"It is an assault upon my senses!"

Then, someone piped up, "Oh, I don't know about you, but I think it's beautiful!"

Realizing that none in their party had said that, they turned the direction of the voice. There, sitting atop one of the balloon lampposts, was a lavender mare in purple and gold jester garb. She sat with her legs crossed, bouncing her knee and waving at them with her blonde and raspberry tail. She wore a big smile that read part-friendly, part-smug, and part-joking, though there was an aura about her that said, yes, she seriously liked the polka dot buildings.

Rarity huffed. "Well, no offense, but I don't think Cheese will win any architectural design awards anytime soon."

Rainbow narrowed her eyes. "All right, who are you?"

The jester mare just giggled and stood atop the balloon. "A ghost that knows what you're looking for and where to find it." She hopped to another balloon, and then to another, and she turned around, having a more serious face. "Follow me! Things are going bad in Canterlot and Cloudsdale, and we need to get you out to stop it!"

As the jester hopped balloon lamp to balloon lamp, Twosie squawked like the chicken he was and pointed to her. "Girls! Cheese has seen that ghost several times this past summer! She even showed up in a couple of his dreams! Seeing her now, I just realized... she was trying to warn him about you-know-who!"

"Are you sure about that?" Applejack asked.

"Hmm... how do you know that it's not just his memory of that ghost?" Rarity asked. "She can't possibly know if anything's happening in Canterlot unless she was just there."

"Maybe she can enter minds, too?" Fluttershy shivered at the thought. "Goodness, the idea of having a ghost enter my mind makes me feel... um, violated."

"I've read legends that ghosts are magical apparitions summoned to foretell events that relate to the ghost's past," Twilight said. "And if she's here to help us fight against Wayer Rune..." She looked up at the sky apprehensively, expecting the crash of thunder, and was a little confused when nothing happened. Supposedly, Wayer didn't spill the beans of his true identity to Cheese. "...I have a feeling that she might be his wife, Jamberry Rune!"

Then, Jamberry shouted, "Are you coming?!"

Twilight looked amongst the others. "We better get going. A certain someone might be spreading his curse further than we thought."

---

At last, after Cheese had some fun in Pinkie's party, he and Tomato finally found that ice cream pony. With Cheese burying his face in rocky road, and Tomato pulling cookie chunks out of cookies n' cream, they just sat at a bench and relaxed, watching ducks (both of the rubber and real variety) in a duck pond.

It was certainly a wonderful day, with Tomato getting a little extra kick from being the older brother for once. Of all things that he expected, he sure didn't expect reliving some of the best parts of his and Cheese's shared childhood, and not having Fountain of Youth magic to keep him from remembering it. If every day could be that nice, then that just suited him just fine.

But even then, in the back of his mind, Tomato was sensing something off. Maybe it was the green sky that looked cracked. Maybe it was how unusually colorful the city was. Maybe it was how everything seemed to fit Cheese's ideal days, and while that was all well and good, Tomato kind of wanted a little fundraiser to run, or to find a business to study and learn from, or maybe even a book to read. Or have some fun with his friends with inside jokes and games he did only with them. And most of all, he wanted his big brother to be... well, his big brother. Some things just didn't feel right with Cheese being the younger one.

He kept on a brave face, so Little Cheese didn't question his state of mind. But this city they were in felt alive in some way, and this kid seemed to be in control. But the bigger worry was just where Wayer Rune was and what he was doing--he just woke up here after rummaging through the sorcerer's little mine lair.

"You know," Cheese said, interrupting Tomato's reverie. "Seeing those rubber ducks makes me think... we should both have rubber birds."

"Oh?" Tomato said.

Cheese nodded. "Yeah, with me having a rubber chicken and you having a rubber duck. That'd be funny."

Tomato pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah, I can see you having a rubber chicken. Maybe you could give me a rubber duck for Hearth's Warming... or maybe my next birthday."

"I can remember that."

Suddenly, a pony leapt over the two of them, and they ducked. They peeked up, and watched the purple pony in jester garb bounding away. By the time that she reached the duck pond, the mare seemingly faded out of existence.

They unrolled themselves from their balls. Tomato blinked. "What was that?"

Cheese hopped off the bench, and trotted further to see if he could see the pony. "Wow... déjà vu."

Suddenly, a female voice cried, "Tomato Sandwich!"

Tomato's eyes widened, and he turned around to see Twilight and friends galloping toward him, accompanied by a giant rubber chicken of all things. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but several fast blinks told him that they really were there. They looked like they were in a hurry, with the relief that they found him mixed with the worry of something else.

"Oh, hey!" he hollered. His eyes shifted to the rubber chicken. "Wait... what's with the chicken?"

The girls caught up to that bench, and took a second to catch their breath. Twilight was the first to look up, with an annoyed look on her face. "That is Boneless 2, and he's been our host while we're here. We just ran all over town looking for you; what were you doing this entire time?!"

Twilight shout made Tomato jump off the bench. "Hey! I was planning on finding you guys, but first, I got lost. And second, well..." He stepped aside to show them Little Cheese, and rubbed his leg. "I got sidetracked."

The girls and Cheese stared at each other, with the girls all bearing wide eyes and O-shaped mouths, and Cheese dropping his ice cream and shrinking in, like he was trying to be a turtle withdrawing into its shell. There seemed to be a full minute of them processing what that meant, and Tomato half wanted the silence to be broken, but also dreaded what Twilight was going to say next.

Finally, Twilight spoke. "So... you were spending the day with a younger version of your brother?"

Tomato pursed his lips, and nodded.

"I didn't take him for the type to wear glasses," Rainbow said.

"Neither did I..." Rarity said. "And a pair of plain ones like that."

"Aww, he looks so scared," Fluttershy said.

"Well... I reckon you shouldn't let a child wander the streets of a big city alone," Applejack said.

Tomato blinked. "What, no questions on why he's now a kid? Well, I don't really know why that is myself, but I expect more than just you guys commenting on his glasses." He looked at Cheese, who was hiding in his own hair again. "Or how different he is from his adult self."

Twilight gave him a serious look. "That's because we're inside Cheese's mind."

Tomato blinked, now dropping his ice cream. "Wait... really? But how can we...?" His lips formed a tight line, and he looked at the ground. "Surely we..." He looked up at the fractured green sky and sighed. "I knew there was something weird about this place, but I couldn't put my hoof on it. Is that what touching his memory orb did?"

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, causing Cheese's hiding spot to pop from its position and bounce back to the top of his head, forcing him to look at the adults. His eyes started to flash on hearing the memory orb thing, and those mares were starting to look more and more familiar as the seconds ticked on. He shivered as a cold wind blew, reminded that something wasn't right.

"Tomato, careful!" Twilight said. "Speaking of Cheese's current situation could cause a massive storm!"

"What? Why? It's not like he remembers anything past colthold at the moment! I've been going around all day trying to get him to recall stuff!"

The giant rubber chicken stepped forward. "Tomato, that particular Cheese is not a memory or a thought like everything else here; that's the incarnation of Cheese himself, and trust me, he remembers everything. He just pushed a lot of memories down so they won't bother him while he's in this state."

The sky rumbled, and Tomato snorted. "So, wait, are you saying I've been wasting time?"

"Yes!" All six yelled at him.

Appejack then said, "You should've just left him with an adult he knows and trusts. Here in Pleasant City, there's bound to be a lot of 'em and not so many cranky strangers."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Please, tell us what you two have been 'recalling'."

Tomato glared at her. "Gee, I guess if I'm wasting time, I suppose I could have some fun while I'm at it! Maybe seeing my deceased grandparents again was something I wanted after not being there to say goodbye! Maybe I was overdue for a cutie mark party after I didn't get one thanks to a fight with Cheese! Maybe just flying a kite was all the relaxation I needed, or maybe seeing the rest of the Summer Sun parade would have been nice after my only time seeing it was cut short, when Cheese at least saw the whole thing before! Or maybe, just maybe, I wanted to see how Cheese first saw Pinkie! Maybe I just wanted a nice, normal day with my brother, because for the past month, I had to watch Cheese's life go to Tartarus! For all I know, Cheese created these scenarios to..."

His eyes widened, and something clicked. "...to make me happy. Because... it always made him happy."

He turned to see Cheese, his eyes glowing, and with a face that spoke of pain and world weariness that only adults should know. Tomato felt his heart sink at that, realizing that he only didn't remember the pain, because he didn't want to remember the pain.

"I... I can't believe you deceived me," Tomato said.

As the sky above him went dark, Cheese looked down at the ground. "Not just you, Tommy. I was deceiving myself, too."

As Cheese sat there, just staring at the ground and seemingly waiting for lightning to strike him, the others looked amongst each other in concern. As much as they wanted to comfort him, there was also the sense that they could make things worse. Besides, what he really needed was his mind to be put back in his body.

Applejack broke the silence with, "Maybe we should take him home before we leave."

Tomato sighed and looked at Cheese. "Yeah... you hear that, Cheese? I better get going, so how about I take you to Grandma and Grandpa?"

Cheese looked up at the girls and Twosie, as if he was accepting that the day was over, and Tomato had to go back to the real world. However, as he counted them, horror started to dawn on the little colt's face. "Where's Pinkie?"

Just about everyone blanched on hearing that. It had to be that question.

Cheese's brow furrowed into a glare, and he stood up. "Where is she?! I thought she would be with you!"

"Uhh..." Twilight croaked.

Fluttershy hid behind her hair with a squeak, while Applejack hid her face with her hat. Rarity shrunk, and Rainbow looked around for a good place to fly off to. Twosie just stared at them in both concern and confusion, knowing only a bare basic of what happened but not the details. Even so, their discomfort was hitting him hard.

Tomato did not blame them for not wanting to tell him what happened to Pinkie. However, when some lightning struck some nearby trees, reducing them to ashes and splinters, he realized that they were screwed either way.

Cheese's eyes landed on Rainbow, and his eyes glowed intensely. "You! You said earlier that 'the bad guy took her'."

Rainbow yelped. "How do you know that?!"

"This is his mind, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity snapped.

More lightning struck, this time decimating buildings. As those buildings crumbled into rubble, booms and crashes echoing throughout the realm, the colt still burned with anger. "What did Rooney do to her?!"

Twilight's face writhed with anguish as she said, "I'm sorry, Cheese, but she got bitten! Rooney sicced the werewolves on us, tired us out, and blocked my magic! I couldn't do anything to stop... you from biting her!"

Cheese looked as if she threw a spear in his heart. Trembling from the abundance of emotion within him, he looked down at the ground again, wind tousling his chocolate locks and the dark sky only lighting up with lightning and fracturing even more. "I bit her? I turned her into a werewolf? No... I couldn't have! She's too fast for that, how could it happen?!"

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm really sorry."

Cheese kicked at the grass, snorting through his nose. The wind was picking up. "Why did she even get involved?! I didn't want her to get involved with this! She should have stayed home in Ponyville! She would have been safer if she just left me alone!"

"Cheese, you know she cares too much to just sit by and let you suffer," Fluttershy said.

Tomato looked frantically at the weather. "Cheese, calm down, we can fix this!"

Lightning struck between the brothers and Tomato was sent flying into Twosie's wings. Jittering and aching from the sudden strike, not even the burns he received hurt as much as seeing a young Cheese Sandwich, planted on the ground like a tree, eyes burning with a fierce, chartreuse glow, and with a voice that roared, "Everything would have been just fine if everypony just left me alone!"

The sky gave way, and the pieces rained onto them like they were broken glass, and they were only saved by Twosie whipping an umbrella out of nowhere and shielding them. Above, dark green storm clouds rumbled with lightning and thunder, and the breezes grew into gales that blew everyone off their feet.

The lightning was striking every part of the realm. Each strike made a building crumble, a cliff tumble, and a balloon lamp pop into an enormous explosion. The circus tent deflated, the observatory's telescope was snapped off to crash into the street below, and the building block tower tumbled, its blocks raining upon the city like giant hail. The bolts struck the fleeing memory ponies and the panicking memory animals, reducing many to ashes that were picked up by the wind.

The winds whipped debris from the lightning, and even tore into surviving buildings to carry even more victims out. Bricks and boulders were tossed about, slamming into more buildings that would fall. Dust was kicked up, and blown around to create a dust storm, blinding many. Lightning still did its deadly dance in the sky, and a cacophony of scream reverberating all around the realm.

In the center of it all, was a very upset little boy.

Tomato, Twosie, and the girls desperately held on to anything rooted to the ground--the bench, a tree, or even a rock--hoping that the lightning wouldn't strike them or that they wouldn't be blown away. It was hard to see with the dust, and the roar of wind and the endless wailing made their ears hurt.

Twilight and Tomato clung onto the bench together. Cracking open an eye to see him, Twilight said, "Tomato! You have to make him stop!"

Tomato gritted his teeth. "Why me?! What can I do?!"

"Boneless 2 said that Cheese trusts you, and that you're our key out! If you can get us out, maybe you can calm him down!"

"But I'm not a therapist! My friend Flora's better at that!"

"Trust me! He'll listen to you!"

Tomato held on tighter to the bench, all of his legs wrapped around it. He looked up, seeing the colt planted in the middle of a whirlwind. Without even time to take a deep breath, Tomato yelled, "Cheese! Cheese, can you hear me?!"

There was no response, but he continued, "I get it! You're angry and frightened and even sad! I would be too if I had gone through what you had! Somepony used you as their pawn, and ripped you apart until you didn't even feel like a pony anymore! I'm sorry that you were treated that way, you didn't deserve it! But, please, let us do what we can to make things right! We can save Pinkie, and we can save you!"

Cheese looked up, his glowing eyes welling up in tears. The winds started to die down.

Tomato smiled and nodded at him. "You've helped me so much when we were little... can you allow me to return the favor? Because I love you!"

The storm faded into gales, and the gales to breezes. Tomato let go of the bench, and nearly lost his balance from wobbly legs. Now wobbling over to the colt as slowly as he could, he took deep breaths, looking around in relief that Twilight, her friends, and Twosie were all still in one piece. Even then, his heart hurt at the once colorful city having become gray and crumbled, wasted away by a terrible storm.

He sat in front of Cheese, whose eyes went back to normal. "I'm here for you."

Cheese blinked his wet eyes. He hiccuped a few times before burying his face in Tomato's chest, and letting out his childlike sobs. He shuddered and hugged his brother tight as the tears flowed, clinging to him in order to absorb every ounce of comfort he could.

Fluttershy hovered from her tree to the two, and she sat down beside them, rubbing Cheese's back. "Oh... you poor thing."

The others followed suit, watching the scene before them. Twilight then said, "Don't worry. We'll make you whole again. I promise."

Cheese sniffled and hiccuped, still not looking at them, but nodding to showing he heard them. For now, he was just content to still sob in his brother's shirt. Tomato didn't mind; he just rested his head atop the child's curly mane, taking that moment to rest and think about what he had to do.

The thought of going back out to face wolves scared him.

Author's Note:

So! This was kind of a hard chapter to write. It's a weird mix of groaner and doozy, so I was worried that I was going to take a month to finish it.

Nevertheless, I got it done! Anyway, I'm happy to finally write the scene inspired by this piece of music:

Can you guess which scene? Hehehe...

I also made a few references to this little fic, which still makes me squee because of how much the author absolutely nailed the spirit of the young Cheese and Tommy stories.

Anyway, it was kind of fun to have these guys explore Cheese's mind a little more.

Comments

[Goldfinch142]

Aw. I'm such a sucker for heartfelt scenes like that at the end.

It makes sense that the storm scene was inspired by A:TLA music, because that scene did remind me a lot of the scene in "The Southern Air Temple" where Aang found out that all the other airbenders were really gone and caused his own storm. The parallel of the methods of calming down both Aang and Cheese are also quite apparent.

Also, the fact that Rarity hates Cheese's...flashy mental architecture is just so Rarity it hurts. But in a good way.

But now, it's time to come back to the real world and face the music (and the wolves). I wonder if any real time has passed since they got sucked into the memory orb? If so, they'd better hope Wayer Rune and his attack dogs aren't waiting for them by the orb.

[Dashie04]

I particularly love how so many things are Chekov’s Guns, those always make me happy.

Also, don’t think I didn’t catch the secondary Harvey the Wonder Hamster reference, or the Albuquerque reference(s), or the reference to The Night Santa Went Crazy.

So yeah, the Mane 6 still want to hear the Albuquerque story? It’ll only take 11 and a half minutes, or 20 depending on if it’s the live version or not...