Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

23.3--My Own Personal Tartarus

It was quiet. Twosie beckoned the ponies, and they followed him through the park, heading for the road that would lead them to the mind realm's next level. They could still hear the howl of the earlier hurricane in their minds' ears, and much of the land appeared as if a party of tornadoes had danced through. They climbed over uprooted trees, many of them having turned gray, with leaves shriveling into dry, brown crisps. Others had been replanted upside down, with kite tails and picnic blanket alike sticking out from the ground. Benches were reduced to splinters that the ponies tiptoed around, and rocks were embedded in every tree, every patch of soil, and every structure that dared to stand in that park. Grass had been ripped from the ground--revealing barren dust instead of healthy soil--and drifted down from the sky like confetti. There was not a sign of life anywhere--neither pony nor strange sapient animal or object.

The city didn't look any better. Adding on to the problems of no life and rocks, dust, and grass confetti everywhere, the city looked like a warzone. Entire buildings had been leveled, many having turned to ashes. They rounded the severed telescope of the party tank observatory, which bore dents and gashes like if somepony had vandalized it. They passed the circus tent, which not only had been deflated, but flung into half a building, dangling and blowing in the breeze like a limp cloth.

Tomato, carrying a melancholy young Cheese on his back, stopped in his tracks when they passed one familiar corner. The pizzeria--what was once warm, once happy, once home--was nothing but a pile of bricks, with a couple of stone slabs poking out above the rest of the rubble. He stared at it for several long moments, his mind whirring back to the conversation he had with his grandparents earlier. The reality of this world not being real--just a projection of Cheese's mind--stabbed him, and he doubted that his so-called "closure" with Grandma and Grandpa even meant anything. He was snapped out of his reverie when the others called him, and he gave one final look before turning his back on the rubble and catching up with the rubber chicken and the girls.

It was soon clear to Twilight and friends that the party zone hadn't been safe from the storm. The twisted pieces of roller coaster that Rainbow had ridden had impaled various half-buildings and were speared into streets. Applejack recognized the scattered foods that were used in the food fight, now moldy and covered in dust and ashes. Rarity nearly cried at the torn banners drifting down from the sky, shrouding various patches of ashes like a burial garment. Yarns were tangled with popped balloons, and any confetti that joined the blades of grass in a midair dance crumbled into dust before they even touched the ground. Finally, Twilight noticed a lot of mirrors, all shattered, and all showing an adult Cheese Sandwich in everyone's place, his colors gone pale, his eyes having bags under them, and his normally perky forelock gone completely limp.

Everything was cold and gray, with Twosie and the group of ponies being the only splashes of bright color in the decimated city. They all pressed forward down the street, turning at a corner when a sign pointing to the "Negative Zone" appeared, surprisingly intact after the storm. All the while, they climbed or flew over debris and rubble, finding new party implements that were casualties of the storm.

As they neared the Negative Zone, Rarity broke the silence. "Oh... I never thought I'd miss those polka dots so much."

Pieces of glass crunched under Applejack's hooves, as she scanned the rough skyline. "I wish we coulda done more to help before it got this far."

Fluttershy had been looking at the twisted remains of the zoo, where the broken cages were completely empty and devoid of sound. As she teared up at the sight, she tripped over an item. Her body, especially her chin, was lucky to have hit a soft pile of dust, although the impact still sent a jolt through her body. Nonetheless, she picked herself up, and turned to see that the item she tripped on was a broken accordion.

Tomato caught up to her. "You okay?"

Fluttershy nodded, and hovered to pick up the accordion with both hooves. She looked at Tomato, and back to the instrument. "I think this was broken back in Aura Springs."

Tomato stared at it for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah. It's kind of tragic, Cheese Sandwich without an accordion. I remember how excited he was when a musician liked his singing and gifted him his first one, and how upset he was when I broke it." He rubbed the instrument and glanced back at Cheese still laying on his back. "I think he said his second one was a gift from one of his first friends."

Fluttershy's mouth was an O, but before anyone else could say anything, Cheese had turned his head her direction. Once he had his eyes on the accordion, he sat up, hungry eyes yearning to hold it despite its condition. Fluttershy was quick to get the message, and hoofed it off to him as carefully as she could.

Once it was in his hooves, he cuddled it like a security blanket.

---

At last, they reached the edge of a cliff, which overlooked a dark, gloomy city shrouded in mist. From what they could see, it looked like it had survived the storm, much against many hopes that it had been destroyed like the rest of the realm. When they complained about this to Twosie, he simply replied, "Unfortunately, the negative memories tend to be very hardy."

Though the stairs were only a few feet away, they just stood there, hoping to prolong their inevitable encounter with Cheese's fears. Part of it was that they just didn't know what was down there; they could be things that they could laugh off even if Cheese couldn't, or they could be horrific monsters. The other part was that they had a colt Cheese with them, and had no idea what to do with him.

"You think maybe we could find his house somewhere around here?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't think he has many fond memories of our colthood home," Tomato scoffed.

"Well, we can't just leave him alone, or bring him into the Negative Zone!" Fluttershy exclaimed, staring at the practically lifeless colt. "The poor little boy's scared to death."

"Isn't there any safe haven for him to stay in? Or somepony he trusts to watch him?" Twilight asked Twosie.

Twosie looked back at the decimated city. "I don't think there's either at this point in time."

Fluttershy ran up to the front of the group. "Maybe one of us can stay behind and take care of him! Surely Tomato touching the memories would get us all out automatically, no matter where we are! I just can't bear the thought of abandoning a foal in his time of need!"

Twosie rubbed the back of his head. "Well... I guess maybe that could wor--"

Suddenly, Cheese piped up, "No."

They all turned to the colt, who had jumped off of Tomato's back, and was walking to the edge of the cliff. His vacant expression had been replaced with a soft glare as he stared over the misty city, and he sat down. "I can't let you go in there without me."

"Pardon?" Applejack said. "Uh, Cheese, you're a young'n at the moment, and it ain't right to just pull you into danger."

"Applejack's right," Twilight said. "You're just too vulnerable, especially after having a meltdown."

"Yeah, but this is my mind," Cheese growled. "It's not like I'm gonna die within my mind."

Tomato blinked. "You do realize that that place is full of your worst fears, right?"

"And the things that annoy me, the things that angered me, saddened me, and my regrets." Cheese sighed. "I know what I've been avoiding. I always thought that if I pushed aside those things and pretend they didn't exist, then I would be happy and my life would be just fine. But when those things catch me off guard, like you at the Fall Festival, or how the werewolf thing hurt Pinkie... I just have a meltdown, and then nopony's happy."

Twilight's face softened. "That's why you let Wayer Rune remove the memories, isn't it?"

Cheese choked out a sob as he nodded, and glanced back at his brother. "I'm sorry, Tomato... this summer was supposed to be our time to bond like family, but it turned out to be a disaster." He threw a hoof against his forehead. "I never should have taken you on this stupid road trip!"

Tomato inhaled sharply through his nose, and exhaled the same way. The thought that Cheese willingly gave up that first memory made him want to scream, and hit Cheese for his stupidity. Yeah, maybe he shouldn't have taken him on this road trip if it meant that Cheese was going to put Tomato--and all of Equestria for that matter--in danger!

However, no matter how angry at him he got, it wasn't going to help the situation. Cheese didn't need a lecture; he had suffered enough because of that one mistake, and that got the message across. Tomato just needed to breathe, and calm down, and reserve his anger for the one who took advantage of Cheese's insecurity. Right now, the colt just needed a friend.

He walked over and sat down beside him. He sighed. "Look... I'm not happy that you let him take your memories from you in the first place. But, that doesn't mean that this road trip was all bad. If your goal was to make me feel happy and find new meaning in my life... well, you succeeded. This road trip gave me experiences that I never could have had by just staying in Manehattan! Seeing new places, making new friends, new opportunities to explore my talents... if it wasn't for you, I don't think I'd have really grown up. Making me happy was always your specialty, and you really nailed it this summer."

Cheese turned to him, looking up with those large, childlike eyes and a small smile. "You really think so?"

"I know so." Tomato tousled Cheese's mane, making both laugh. Then, turning back to the misty city, he frowned. "I did promise to return the favor, but I don't know. Are you sure you want to go down there?"

Cheese bit his lip, his voice squeaking more than normal. "Not really... but, I'm kind of the one in charge of my mind, so I was thinking that maybe by going and facing my fears, I could lessen the danger for you guys?"

Twilight grimaced. "I don't know... it's risky to just throw you in the among past traumas when you're still in the middle of one."

"I know." Cheese stood up, still staring down the cliff. "But, I want to make sure you get out of here safely. Even if the fears can't kill me... I'm worried that they could kill you. Just let me try to control them, okay?"

"We don't go down that easily, Cheese," Rainbow said, smirking. "But, hey, if you're up for facing your fears, then I'm totally behind you! I wouldn't have gotten into the Wonderbolt Reserves if I caved to my doubts!"

Fluttershy walked to Cheese's side. "I'll be here for moral support if you need it. I know quite a bit about facing fears myself."

"I'm still not sure about this," Applejack murmured. "But I guess if this is his mind and he is in charge..."

"Well, I suppose he did overcome his shyness to show the world what he's made of," Rarity said. "I hope he knows what he's doing here."

Twilight looked at Twosie. "Do you think he can do it?"

Twosie stood further apart from the group, grimly staring at the unsure Cheese. "Only if he believes he can do it. He better be prepared for it, because it's not going to be fun. In any case, we should head down now if you want to get out of here as soon as possible."

---

And so down they stairs they went, descending into the dark mist. The sudden cold of the cloud layer stabbed them, for a moment, it seemed that their coats were about to become ice. The light grew dim as dusk, and the earthen cliff walls had gone from a warm brown to an icy jet black. They could make out the lights of a dark city, though a gray fog made things fuzzy. The clearest thing that they could both see and hear was a circus tent right below them, blaring out the same joyful, epic tune that the one one level up had done.

Rainbow Dash paused to hover over the tent. "Hey, wait! Boneless 2, I thought his stint at the circus was a good memory!"

Twosie paused, and turned back to her. "Well, yes, for the most part."

From his perch on Tomato's back, Cheese leaned over to look at the circus. He immediately grimaced and blushed at the implication of that circus tent. "Oh, no..." He grabbed his wild mane and pulled it down to make a brown bush of himself yet again. "Aw, man, why did that have to be first?"

"Oh, no, did the circus abuse you?" Fluttershy asked.

"N-no, I--"

Before he could finish, the song from the tent finished. Suddenly, something snapped, and the whole thing collapsed. Crowds of ponies galloped out of the deflating tent, with others presumably trapped inside by either canvas or broken pole as everything flattened. Seeing the lumps and bumps of ponies trying to break free, an angry voice cried out, "Cheeeeeeese Sandwiiiiiich!"

Cheese groaned, feeling the eyes of the other ponies and chicken on him. "I hijacked the show and ended up tearing down the big top. I wasn't allowed to perform for some time after all the legal crud was settled. Had to clean up after animals instead."

Tomato just stared at the flattened canvas. "Why did you even hijack it in the first place?"

"Uh... I guess I was just... trying to impress... a, uh, girl?"

Tomato just nickered. "Do you just have bad luck in trying to impress girls?"

Cheese peeked out from under his hair just to glare at him. "Gee, thanks for the support."

"Let's... keep moving," Twosie said. "Already, we've encountered one of his greatest shames. I suppose it won't be long until we bump into a dislike such as--"

A pony suddenly fell from the sky, plopping in front of them with the sound of dried-out coleslaw mixed with potato chips and seemingly standing up like a minotaur. Applejack muttered a "What in tarnation?!" from the sudden appearance, and Rarity screamed the moment she noticed that the pony's lower half was nothing but a million tentacles made out of strips of old, pale yellow cabbage, matching the upper half's coat. With long, spring green hair, eyes of green sclera and red irises, a sweater and bow tie to match his eyes, and a devilish smile full of sharp teeth, this pony was the furthest thing from normal.

"Ooooh, lookit zhis! Seven leetle ponies and a rubber chicken to feed!" the weird stallion cackled. "Ja, ja... you shall suffer first under the wunderbar sourness, and soon, the vole vorld shall know the might of... Dr. Sauerkraut!"

As the girls just stared in bewilderment, Tomato shot a look at Cheese. "Really? Him? What's he doing here? He was just a part of our cowspy games!"

Cheese huffed. "He's here because I hate sauerkraut."

Twosie huffed and marched closer to the hybrid. "Now, listen, Doctor, you're gonna have to move--"

Dr. Sauerkraut smacked him off the stairs. "Nein!"

Twosie managed to grab onto the edge with his beak before he plummeted down, but he was still unable to pull himself up, thanks to limbs shorter than his neck. He muffled out angry curses as he desperately clawed at the wall in hopes of a little ledge to boost himself up on. Before any of the others could help him, Dr. Sauerkraut slithered closer to them, enough to be between ponies and chicken.

"Now, kleine stuten..." One of his tentacles grabbed Rarity and pulled her closer, making her writhe in disgust. "I do believe I vill feed zhis beautiful pony first! Yes, fill her figure, make her round, and make her an example unto all!"

Rarity's offended gasp was swift and sharp, and her disgust had powered into anger. Without even thinking about it, she raised a hoof and smacked him across the face and right off the edge of the staircase. "Keep your revolting excuse for vegetables out of my mouth!"

As Dr. Sauerkraut fell, the cabbage tentacle snapped, and Rarity was free. All the others could do was just watch in shock as the half-pony, half-vegetable plummeted down onto the collapsed circus tent, warbling out cries of terror. Landing on the tent only knocked him out, thankfully, but they still looked up at Rarity like she had just committed murder.

Rarity huffed. "What? He's imaginary, he'll be fine. Besides, I have a distaste for sauerkraut... not to mention his accent is atrocious."

Applejack pursed her lips. "I don't like sauerkraut none either. I'm more of a coleslaw pony." She looked at the dangling Twosie, whose beak was starting to lose its grip. "We better help him up."

---

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and walked through the gray fog to the city. There were thankfully signs that were pointing them to memory storage, so they reasoned that as long as they could follow the signs, they should be all right. However, the sound of a heartbeat that permeated throughout the area left them hushed, and unsure of what traps they'd spring. All they knew was that Cheese was still behind them, trying to perform breathing exercises to keep himself--and the telltale heart--calm.

The last stretch of road before the city proper cut through a cornfield--or rather, a syringe field, growing needles like corn. As unnerving as that was, the girls reasoned that they should be all right as long as they avoided the crops.

Then Rainbow Dash heard something.

"Look out!" she shouted, tackling Twilight. Just in the nick of time too, for a rubbery line had zipped right where Twilight had stood, and at the end, sticking in a corn stalk, was one of the needles. It sucked a green liquid out of the stalk, making it dry and wither into limp, brown death. The needle popped out, and whipped back to the stalk it came.

"Did it just... suck the life out of that plant?" Fluttershy asked, shrinking and shivering.

Tomato blinked and turned to Cheese. "Is that what you think of needles?"

Cheese clung to Tomato's neck. "No, my problem is they hurt! I just have Twilight taking my blood sample in mind!"

Tomato was about to reply, but then he noticed a stalk shooting a needle at him, and backed up to avoid it. Watching it suck the life out of another stalk, he muttered, "Okay, now I'm starting to get scared of needles."

After watching the scene in horror, Rainbow and Twilight scrambled to their hooves, and as a few more needles were shot, they both shouted, "Run!"

And run they did, and the cornstalks started to shoot at them in a frenzy. Fluttershy squeaked when a needle barely missed her hooves, nearly tripping her up until Applejack helped her. Rarity caught a few in her magic at a time, tying them together swiftly as she kept on galloping. Rainbow was nicked on the shoulder by one zipping past too close for comfort, and clutched the stinging red ribbon as she kept on flying and moving Twilight out of the way of the darts.

Twilight tried to blast the needles out of habit; unfortunately, the crystals on her horn prevented that, and all she was left with was a headache. She had to rely on Rainbow to move her and kick the needles out of her path.

Twosie hung back to protect Cheese and Tomato, batting away needles left and right with his wings and neck like a karate master. He whipped his head to mow down stalks, and pulled out needles from his body as he went. Though he tried to be quick, he could feel himself slowing down, even from the slightest drain from the needles that stabbed him. He felt like he was going to drop dead any moment.

"Are you sure you should take this journey with us?!" Twosie asked Cheese. "Needles aren't even the worst of it!"

Cheese tried to breathe slowly. "Come on, come on, come on... think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts..."

Suddenly, a needle pinned Tomato down to the ground by his shirt, and Cheese was thrown off, and Twosie tripped up. Tomato felt the sting of the needle scratching him, and the soreness of his chin, but he was otherwise all right. However, it was mainly because Twosie was taking most of the needles, and was starting to deflate.

The girls stopped and turned to see the scene. On seeing the rubber chicken turning gray, they gasped, and all darted toward him, in hopes of saving him before it was too late.

Cheese was on the ground, watching as Twilight and Fluttershy yanked needles out of Twosie, while Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack kept swatting any new needles away, and even getting shot themselves. Screams of pain rang, but they just yanked the needles out and kept fighting, trying to prevent themselves from being withered into dust. Beneath them, Tomato was helpless, stuck underneath a chicken weakly telling him to stay calm.

Cheese breathed, squeezing his eyes to think of something, anything, that would save them. Something falling from the sky to crush them? All the crops just suddenly withering and dying before they drained the party? Thinking of something actually positive about needles?

Sure, needles could draw blood out of them... but, didn't they also inject some kinds of medicine? Maybe he could think of the needles giving them life instead of taking it! Taking a deep breath, he just thought long and hard about that, hoping that it would work.

After a few moments of Twosie dying and the girls getting weaker, suddenly, the rubber chicken started to inflate, and regain his bright yellow color. As he took a deep breath, the needles flew off, and went back to their stalks. Any needles that hit the girls, though they yelped in pain at first, restored their colors back to healthy luster and returned to their husks as well. Blinking and looking around, they wondered what happened until they saw an awed Cheese, who was panting.

The final needle released Tomato, and he got back onto his hooves. "Oh, thank goodness, he actually stopped it."

"I'll never look at a needle the same way again," Fluttershy droned.

"Huh..." Applejack said. "Maybe we do stand a better chance at survivin' with him around."

Twilight rubbed the leg where a needle had punctured. "Maybe. Still, we need to be more careful, because even if he's facing fears, we need to make sure that he's not put in a position where he's doing it alone."

Twosie rubbed his head. "Also, I don't want to find out if you really can die in here."

Tomato sighed, and walked toward his brother. He looked down at the little colt, who was sitting in the dirt and staring into space, and pondered on how how this little fella was for all intents and purposes a deity in this realm, and yet, was still a scared little boy.

He knelt down. "Hey, you okay?"

Cheese looked up and nodded with an, "Mm-hm."

"So... are you sure you want to go on?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I've survived plenty of crazy stuff since I was a kid."

"You are a kid."

"Tomato, you know I'm actually an adult."

Tomato growled. "Okay, fine, whatever, we'll still bring you into the city of death." He motioned his head to urge Cheese to climb on. "We'll try to make sure you have better support from us than just... the entire group almost dying and making you desperate."

The group then embarked again, the rest of the cornfield walk being relatively peaceful. However, in a teasing attempt to lighten the mood, Cheese asked Tomato, "So... if my needle phobia is essentially evil needle corn, then what would your clown phobia be in your mind realm?"

"I don't want to know."

---

When they marched into the city proper, they immediately noticed that it looked a lot like Manehattan. Instead of the inhabitants being cheerful party guests or close friends and family, there were a lot of gray strangers, calmly marching about their business with scowls on their faces. They walked to the rhythm of the heartbeat, not missing a step like a normal pony would, and one yelled at Applejack when she bumped into him.

As Applejack glared at the pony who yelled at her, she muttered, "This is why I ain't a fan of the city."

Cheese, lying face up on Tomato's back and looking at the sky, pulled at his lower eyelids and groaned. "Yep. Not a fan of throwing parties here, either. A city with too many grumpy strangers for me to handle, and lots of stupid laws on what I can or can't do when I throw one here."

"Huh, no wonder you don't visit often, even after we made up," Tomato said. "Oh, and let's not forget our one and only moth--"

Cheese turned around and covered Tomato's mouth. "Don't say it!"

"Hey, now, what's wrong with your Ma?" Applejack said.

Rarity looked around at the area, remembering what zone they were in. "Surely, she cannot be that bad!"

"Well... she may have a few good points from time to time..." Tomato said, going between pursing and biting his lips during his pauses. "But, let's just say that she's a little lacking in... uh... empathy."

"Will you stop talking?!" Cheese snapped. "Now I'm thinking about her and that means--"

"Cheese Alfred Sandwich!"

The voice came out of nowhere. Both Cheese and Tomato had froze, with the wide-eyed look of confused panic that asked "What did I do?" The girls were confused at this turn of events, and looked around for the lady who had said that. So far, all the ponies they could see were just black and white, still walking to their beats. They turned back to the boys, who were now shrinking in fear.

"I heard about what you did," Mozzarella's voice snarled. "It just goes to show that you're still as ignorant as when you were in school."

Cheese nervously looked up at the sky, and waved his hoof in a motion that said, "Keep moving". Questions or not, they kept on moving, and looked at the various signs leading them to the memory storage. As they turned the corner, however, it started to rain papers, like ponies had thrown their documents out of skyscraper windows. Looking up, they could see that they were coming from the clouds.

One smacked into Twilight's face. "Huh? Wait a minute, he got a D in the history of Manehattan quiz?"

Fluttershy caught another paper. "And a C minus in science."

Tomato watched another paper waft by and winced. "Cheese, you did those math formulas wrong."

Cheese sat straight up, his mane bristling. "Well, gee, I'm sorry that they make math so complicated that it gives me a headache! I don't know how you do it!"

Rainbow watched several more scores ranging from average to bad flutter down. "I feel you, pal."

They had to duck and cover their ears when Mozzarella's voice thundered, "You're not going to get anywhere with those poor scores, young stallion!"

As the papers whipped through the wind , Fluttershy huffed, "Well! He wasn't going to get better if you say things like that!" A paper smacked into her face, and she practically threw it off. "Why not just say, 'Cheese, you're a smart boy, and I know you can do better'?"

"Maybe you should tell her off," Tomato grumbled.

Twosie was thunked on the head by a flying, broken diorama of the Equestrian government. "Ow! That blasted diorama! Urgh, and that was one that would have a least got a good mark for craftsmanship if it hadn't been for bullies!"

Twilight watched another paper fly by. "Hey, wait, that looks like an A minus in grammar."

"Emphasis on minus," Cheese deadpanned.

The skies roared with, "If you hadn't wasted time on that ridiculous instrument, you would have had better grades in school, or maybe even a degree, and surely a more stable life, and an actual career instead of that hedonistic road to nothing you're traveling!"

"Shows what she knows," Rainbow said. "Seriously, she should be proud that you're a great party pony!"

Cheese just laid down, his cheek against the back of Tomato's neck and his legs dangling. "Considering what happened to me, I wonder if I should have gone for a more stable life."

"Can we just keep going?!" Applejack shouted. "I think we get the picture!"

They trudged forward through gales--though thankfully not a hurricane like before--and continued to be smacked in their faces by Cheese's various school assignments. Most of them were on paper, but there were a few broken dioramas and art projects in the mix, which resulted in throbbing bumps on the head. All the while, Mozzarella's voice boomed above them like thunder.

"You have a roof over your head, an education, and I feed you, bathe you, and give you medicine when you're sick. And yet you have the gall to be ungrateful and not try to improve yourself!"

"Your brother has better grades than you did at his age! Why couldn't you be as smart and hard-working as that?"

"I don't care if 'they started it'! I'm ashamed of you for getting into those fights in the first place!"

"If you keep up those bizarre stunts of yours, then ponies will see you as a freak. And as far as they're concerned, freaks are not pony."

"Oh, don't give me those crocodile tears. Those are a weapon for selfish, spoiled brats to get their way. You're not a selfish, spoiled brat like the rest of your peers, are you?"

Phrases like those kept ringing out through the city, and both Cheese and Tomato shrunk at each of the phrases. There were plenty involving Mozzarella asking Cheese why he couldn't have good grades or be more social like his brother, and Tomato could feel the inhabitants of the mind realm turning to look at him, shaming him for daring to actually do good in school. Meanwhile, the girls, while confused at first, grew more and more uncomfortable with just how many of those reprimands there were.

"Sheesh, glad that's not my mom," Rainbow said.

"Didn't she ever pay you any compliments or encouragement or... or..." Rarity tried to finish the question, but couldn't think of a final thing to add to it.

Fluttershy finished it with, "...anything that didn't strike at any insecurities you had?"

"You would have heard them in the Pleasant Zone," Twosie said. "And only if you knew where to look."

Cheese just numbly watched the graded papers waft by, now with Tomato's good grades blowing in and starting to laugh at him. An A here, an A there, A's that he was tempted to say were short for a certain word. After all, what else could they call papers that went as far to chant, "You're so stupid! You're so stupid! You got a brother that's smarter than you!"

Tomato grabbed one of the papers, and looked it in the eye. "Shut up! The brother doesn't appreciate Cheese getting mocked like that!"

The paper laughed. "Well, he is stupid! Equestria wouldn't be in danger if it wasn't for him!"

Tomato snorted and ripped that paper into pieces. "Don't listen to them, Cheese. You can make art, make music, build things, fix things, navigate an entire country, and speak several languages. And that's without mentioning your street smarts. That's smart, just a different kind from mine."

"Would it really please Mom?" Cheese grumbled.

"Cheese, you didn't care what Mom thought since you left! I'm the one worrying about Mom these days," Tomato said.

Their mother's voice then declared, "How can you expect to climb the social ladder if--"

Tomato jumped up to standing on his hind hooves, and pointed at the sky, shouting, "Shut up, Mozzarella!"

Twilight groaned. "I'm with you on getting tired of hearing her voice." She looked up at the next sign, and the group pressed forward down the street. "If we hurry, we can escape the nagging and the evil chanting paper, and get to the memory storage so Tomato can get us out of here!"

Rainbow hovered down to Applejack, and whispered, "I think the nagging's contagious."

"I heard that!"

Applejack stifled a little laughter before growing serious again. "You know, we haven't bumped into anything real life-threatenin' since the needle field. Does this mean we just have to ignore those for the rest of the way, or is this just the calm before the storm?"

Before anyone could answer, the crowd suddenly scattered at the sight of a large party bomb rolling down the street. While any other bomb would be worrisome, the girls knew that Cheese's party bomb was much like Pinkie's party cannon--a quick way to set up a party.

However, both Cheese and Twosie's eyes widened. The latter grabbed the girls, and they took off around the corner of the intersection, with Cheese spurring a confused and annoying Tomato on. "Oh no! It's the malfunctioning party bomb!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Rainbow shouted. "What do you mean, 'malfunctioning'? Doesn't Cheese know what he's doing?!"

"Most of the time, but in this case--"

The bomb then exploded in a great eruption of flames. The hot shockwave sent the group flying forward, and rolling on the street--some on their sides, and some forward in a somersault. Despite scratches, slight burns, headaches, and other aches, the ponies in the group were just fine. The same could not be said for all the grayscale adults in that intersection, who boasted a harsher range of severe burns, heavy bleeding, and clear head injuries. They couldn't see much of the gory detail from where they were laying, but that suited them just fine.

Cheese looked at the scene, and curled up in a ball. "This used to be the worst day of my career. Plenty of ponies in the hospital and I was banned from that town. If I had just checked on that stupid bomb before using it!"

Tomato pursed his lips, and rolled to his belly. "Well, uh... at least you didn't kill anypony." He let Cheese climb on before standing up. "But... I don't know. All I can say is that we all have to live with mistakes. If anything, at least you're wiser about your gadgets now."

The others got up, and prepared to look for a detour to the memory storage--only for something to swoop down and snatch Cheese right off Tomato's back. It was so fast that no one had time to even flinch. They gasped right after it happened, and they spun around to look at the entity that had carried Cheese into the sky. They had expected a large bird or dragon to have taken him, but instead it was a pegasus foal, carrying Cheese by the tail. Regardless, Rainbow Dash sprung into action.

She caught up with them to see that the pegasus was bouncing Cheese by the tail, and periodically dropping and catching him. Cheese whimpered and screamed with each drop, and was looking a little green from being upside-down and bounced about.

"Oh, what's wrong, Mr. Wonderbolt?" the pegasus sneered. "Aren't you gonna grow your wings?"

"It was just a daydream!" Cheese cried.

"Psht, come on! I thought you could do the impossible! So, grow your wings!"

He dropped Cheese again, this time letting him fall for a few seconds more before deciding to catch him. However, Rainbow Dash beat the kid to the punch, zooming forth to catch Cheese in mid-air, and holding him with a firm grip. She then turned around, and glared at the confused colt.

"Hey, kid, that was too far!" she scolded. "You don't just drop ponies you don't like out of the sky!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, it's just a game, ma'am," the colt sputtered.

"Just a game? Basketball is just a game, what you're doing is torture! You know earth ponies can't fly! Now I don't want to see that kind of so-called 'game' again, understand?!"

The colt pouted and put his hooves behind his back. Out of shame and apparent avoidance of the simple act of apologizing, the kid just disappeared into thin air in a puff of smoke. Rainbow stared at the smoke for a few moments before turning to Cheese.

"You okay?"

Cheese nodded.

Rainbow smiled. "Hey, I'm totally cool if you want to daydream about having wings. I mean, they are awesome."

She flew back down to the others, ready to tell them that crisis was averted. Unfortunately, as she was descending, she found that the group was now surrounded by a bunch of foals with blank eyes. Even from where she was, she could see the vacant stares of them boring into everyone's soul, which made her second-guess her landing for a moment. Regardless, she landed, and set Cheese down.

And then, the foals' eyes literally lit up, and shone right on Cheese, who went stiff at the realization that they were looking straight at him.

They pointed, one said, "Hey, is that a new kid?"

Tomato blinked. "New kid? We never moved."

"No, it's the four-eyed freak!" The crowd of foals then roared in laughter.

Cheese instantly hid behind Twosie, who was the tallest creature in the area, and the rest took to shielding him through layers of grown up ponies. And yet, despite all that, they could see one sinking into the ground like a ghost, and then popping up right behind Twosie to grab Cheese, and then go back in the street right before the ponies could jump forward and grab him.

Tomato's chin hit the sidewalk, but that didn't stop him from getting back up. Looking at the spot where they sank through, he asked, "Where'd they go?!"

They all stood up and looked around, the crowd all laughing and scrambling elsewhere, some darting and some waddling, and some flying and some phasing through the street. Twilight watched the pattern of how they ran, and said, "Come on! Let's follow them!"

In following them, it wasn't long before they found Cheese, where a foal skating on just two roller skates was skidding around a street, dumping Cheese's head into a bucket periodically and then using him to mop the road. Spectators cheered that foal on, especially when Cheese was dunked into dark, soapy water, his gargled screams bringing more laughter to the crowd, even as Twilight and the girls watched in horror, and Tomato and Twosie winced.

"They didn't really use him as a mop, did they?" Rarity asked.

"Maybe we can take comfort in the fact that this place is, um... exaggerated," Fluttershy suggested.

"Actually, they did use him as a mop," Tomato said. When they turned to him, he sunk down to below their heights. "There weren't any roller skates, though."

Twilight sighed, and nudged Rarity. Rarity, getting the message, grabbed the coughing Cheese with her magic and pulled him away from the moppers. The crowded turned to the group, seeing them squeeze water out of his mane and trying to dry him, and immediately started to boo.

"Oh, hush up!" Applejack shouted. "You can play your game with a real mop!"

The crowd still booed, shouting things such as, "But it's more fun with Curly!" and "But it's all the blank flank is good for!" and many other nasty things that all sent the message that they thought very little of Cheese. The group tried to ignore them as they took care of Cheese. They noticed that Cheese's glasses were missing, and tried to start a search for them, but that was halted once the crowd started to pelt produce at them. With that, they had to run away, with Cheese in Twosie's wings.

"Dagnabbit!" Applejack said. "Why are these foals so dang mean?"

"I've met plenty of nice Manehattanites!" Rarity shouted. "Cheese, explain the bullies!"

"I'm shy, have big hair and glasses, a late bloomer for the cutie mark thing, and generally considered a freak of nature. That's a recipe for being bullied anywhere!"

"Oh, my recipe's a little different," Tomato said. "Being a crybaby over my brother, a nerd, a lying liar about my cutie mark, and also being a freak of nature. But, hey, us bullying victims oughta stick together."

"Oh, I was bullied for being shy and a weak flyer," Fluttershy said. She jumped at the sound of a bad accordion, and spun around to the building from whence it came. "Oh! I think I found the glasses!"

The rest of the group stopped. They looked to where Fluttershy pointed, and sure enough, there was a kid wearing Cheese's glasses, singing in a nasally voice, "Oooooh, I'm a big weirdoooooo! I have four eyeeeeeees, and I pick my noooooose! I'm a wimpy blank flaaaaaank, who squeaks like a moooooouse..."

Tomato scowled. "His voice is not that nasally!"

"I'll get the glasses," Rainbow grumbled.

As she flew up to the window, the kid suddenly teleported to the next building. Rainbow jumped when that happened, and stared in confusion for a brief moment before heading to where the kid poofed to. Unfortunately, he teleported to another building, and Rainbow zipped to the new location before he teleported again.

Rainbow looked down at the others. "Uh, you know what? I'll catch up! Just get to the memory place!"

As she flew to the next building, the others noticed the spotlight-shining eyes of the kids, which had turned red. Even worse, the foals had grown sharp teeth, and screeched for their favorite toy to break. They once again summoned rocks and rotten produce into their hooves, and chucked them at the ponies and rubber chicken. With each hit resulting in a new bruise and bump, they darted around the corner to escape. They didn't stop running for a while.

---

Now having hidden themselves away in a deeper, darker part of that urban jungle, they stopped in an alley to catch their breath. They debated waiting for Rainbow Dash to find them with glasses in hoof, or going forward to the memory storage, where Tomato was going to automatically release all of them anyway. Some of the group took some time to scope out the rest of the distance to the memory storage, Twilight dragging Tomato along for a reminder lecture on what he needed to do and why he was the one who had to.

Drying off Cheese with some old curtain, Rarity just listened to the colt vent.

"Argh! I'm so stupid!" Cheese yelled. "I let myself be a sitting duck for my colthood bullies, instead of, you know, imagining them as adults? Because last time I saw them, they were just living normal lives and not even remembering me as the kid they bullied until I reminded them. I think they were ashamed of it when they remembered. So why didn't I remember that? Why did I just let them use me as a mop?"

"I suppose that it's hard to think in the heat of the moment, Cheese," Rarity said. "And even then... it is hard to overcome fears and shortcomings. I remember finding it hard to embrace my Ponyville heritage when rubbing elbows with the Canterlot elite."

Fluttershy sat next to her. "And it took me a long time to overcome my shyness. I just had to remember it's okay to take baby steps."

Cheese blinked, before looking away. "Yeah, I know about the overcoming shyness part. Honestly, I often doubt that I did overcome it. I'm still hiding from the world, but in a different way."

Fluttershy put a hoof on his shoulder. "I'm guessing that you don't trust very many ponies with the real you, huh?"

Cheese shook his head and sighed. "It's not like anyone cares. Heck, how I do know you're only involved because Pinkie got involved?"

The girls looked at each other and then back at him. Rarity cleared her throat. "All right, that may be the main reason why we're here. Even so, even if I don't always agree with your style, it is absolutely dreadful to see your life falling apart and your creativity snuffed out by some monster. Pinkie or no Pinkie, what we've seen shows us that you are a wonderful pony worth loving. Perhaps someday I'll make you a nice suit to wear for any special parties you want to throw."

Cheese sunk his head in his shoulders bashfully. "Really? Well, okay, I guess if you want to do that..."

The others returned from their examination of the street. Applejack started off with, "All right, everypony, we've got some good news: we ain't too far from the memory storage. It's just a couple of blocks away, so we should be out soon."

"Oh, thank goodness," Fluttershy said.

"Bad news is that Twosie said that some of the really nasty stuff is in that final stretch," Twilight said. "We need to be really careful, because as much as I'd like to..." She scowled and pointed to her horn and wing. "I can't do anything to protect you. Ugh, I can't believe I was so useless this entire time!"

"And usually I'm the useless one," Tomato said.

"Anyway..." Twosie said, looking around the corner. "Let's get going. Hopefully Rainbow Dash will show up and kick some tail when we need her." He strode forward and picked up Cheese, noting his lack of glasses. "Try to think of any positive spins or outcomes of any fears to fight these monsters, okay?"

When Cheese nodded, out into the street they went. They could see the dome right there, at the end of a dark, barren street that lasted only a few blocks more. It was cold, like they were trudging through an arctic cave. They quietly plodded along, scanning the buildings and alleyways for anything that could jump out and attack them. Broken windows, bent lampposts, and graffiti coating the walls made them wonder about criminal activity, and what kind of monsters they were about to face.

Tomato then noticed something about the buildings. There was a pyramid with a red tip shining in the darkness. There was the Trottospere, trapped in dark clouds. There were hotels that he knew should be brightly lit, but they weren't. One even had a dancing fountain in front, filled with red liquid that he really hoped wasn't blood. Finally, one intersection was just them crossing a bridge, over clouds. As he noted the similarities to Las Pegasus, it dawned on him just what they would face if they didn't hurry.

About halfway there, a shadowy figure in the form of a wolf emerged from the street. Stopping in their tracks, they looked at each other for a plan, knowing that in the negative zone, no one was friendly.

The shadow wolf grinned a wicked grin. "Ah, so Cheese invited a pity party in his mind. Pathetic."

"All right... who are you?" Applejack asked.

The shadow wolf stood up, and started to pace. "Isn't it obvious? I'm the dark magic that twisted the mind of Cheese Sandwich once he drank that enchanted water. I have to say, it was a lot easier to twist it since he so foolishly removed the negative memories that vexed him so."

He turned into smoke, and got up into the frightened Cheese's face. "His confidence turning into arrogance, his anger turning into bloodlust, and most deliciously of all, apathy of another party pony, born by removing her status as inspiration and light in the darkness, turning into jealous hatred. It's a shame your jester magic cannot survive when you have blood on your hooves, because imagine how much more damage you could have done with it."

Twosie pushed the wolf away. "Hey, back off! We don't need you getting in our way."

The shadow wolf growled. "Rude much, aren't we? I suppose you're sick of being stuck in someone else's mind. You poor souls wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for the one memory that tipped him over into his dark path..."

Tomato's eyes widened as the wolf looked straight at him with its green eyes, and then whistled. Of all things, he hoped it didn't call what he feared it was calling.

But it was just that. From the sky, a winged creature dove down and landed right in front of them, cracking the street beneath. Large bat wings stretched from the creature's back, and it looked up to reveal red eyes, long needle-like fangs, and messy, dark brown hair with a distinct forelock. Standing up fully, clad in the same white button shirt that Tomato wore, was his vampire form, grinning wickedly at the group.

"No..." Tomato said, backing up.

The shadow wolf chuckled. "Cheese feared that this was still a part of you, Tommy, that you would transform back and suck the life out of him. Seeing this happen to you, leading to a cataclysm that he felt he could have prevented, was why he wanted to forget. It's too bad that the same would later happen to him, though with a different animal."

The ponies and chicken suddenly heard hissing and cackling above them, and looked up to see many more vampires, either in the sky, perched on buildings, or hanging upside-down from lampposts. They all backed up, their hearts racing--especially as the cackle of Kazam rang through the avenue.

Twilight looked around at the rest of the girls. "Okay... this should be somewhat like fighting the changelings. Just remember, don't let them bite you--I don't know what'll happen here in Cheese's mind."

"Even the ones that look like us?" Applejack asked, pointing to a building.

"Wait, what?" She scanned a row on that building, that did indeed look like all six of them--including the absent Rainbow and Pinkie--as vampires. "Cheese, why did you imagine us as vampires?"

Cheese shuddered. "I don't know..."

The vampires all hissed and leapt toward them, aiming for their necks. While the rubber chicken took the blind colt to the nearest alley to protect him, the ponies all went into battle with all they had. Applejack went in with full bucking strength, bucking away every vampire that dared to jump her from behind. Rarity chopped and kicked her way through like a martial arts master, and used her telekinesis to grab one by the tail and throw it into another. She then whirled around to punch another square in the face.

Fluttershy imitated a vampire's creeping, hoping that maybe somehow she could talk with these creatures. After all, weren't they part animal? Not to mention she had been one before--a fruit-eating one, but still--so maybe she could understand them better than any other?

"Listen, I know you're hungry, but don't worry, we'll turn you back?"

She rolled out of the way when that vampire leapt at her, squeaking in fright. It was then that Twilight reminded her, while busy having a wing fight with a vampire of her own, "Fluttershy! These are not real ponies! They're projections of Cheese's mind!"

"Oh, right," Fluttershy said. "Oh... now what do I do?"

She continued to dodge, only reluctantly getting hits in to keep the vampire away.

Twilight, currently magicless and with one broken wing, had to use her other wing to swat vampires away. She used said wing to pick up debris and chuck it at them, screaming all the while. She cursed in her mind about how when she needed magic to fight, it wasn't there, and she only had one wing to fight with.

When startled by herself as a vampire, she tripped on a pothole, and landed on her hurt wing. The pain shot through her body, like she was struck by lightning, and she could barely move. She watched as the vampire hovered over her, cackling and looking straight at her neck. It licked its lips, and descended, preparing to feast.

And then Rainbow Dash zoomed in and kicked it in the face.

Sending vampire Twilight flying, Rainbow nodded in triumph. She then went down and helped Twilight up. "Sorry I took so long." She gestured to the scorch marks all over her. "The evil foals got laser eyes."

"Well, I'm glad you made it, because we just need to get through those vampires and we're home free," Twilight said.

Rainbow turned to watch the others as they fight the vampires and grinned. "Sweet! This is gonna be like the changeling invasion!" She looked at the glasses in her hoof. "But first, I gotta give these to Cheese."

"In that alley," Twilight answered, pointing with her wing.

"Cool, I'll be back in a sec."

Rainbow zipped to the alley to hoof off the glasses to Cheese, and then zipped back to join the fray. Cheese put on and readjusted his glasses, and peeked around the alleyway to watch the battle. Rainbow was clearly having fun punching and kicking around the vampires like she was in some sort of game. Applejack and Rarity were putting up a good fight with their respective bucking and martial arts maneuvers. Fluttershy was a more fierce fighter than he thought, even as she clearly did not enjoy beating on imaginary vampires. Twilight was at least using her wing to slap vampires and throw stuff. But, Cheese's eyes were on Tomato, who was fighting his vampire self.

Tomato hopped on his counterpart's head, covering its eyes like he had done to Roanie earlier that summer. When thrown off by a pair of wings, he landed face first in the pothole. As his counterpart moved in for the kill, thinking that Tomato was down for the count, the real pony spun around, and spit mud at his eyes. As the vampire Tommy screeched, the real Tommy bucked it away as hard as he could, and somersaulted out of its reach.

Back and forth they went, with Tomato throwing rocks and Tommybat swatting them away, and going in for a tackle. However, even with a cropped tail, Tomato managed to use it to bounce over the vampire. He yanked out a pocket watch from behind his back, twirled it, and then slung it to hit Tommybat on the head. He dropped down for a tackle, only to be pushed away by a pair of bat wings and whipped across the street. Finally, when seeing the vampire fly toward him, Tomato pulled out the fruit firework launcher and started shooting his counterpart with a seemingly unlimited supply of fruit fireworks.

Cheese sighed. "Wow, look at him go. To think that when this road trip started, he was just a burden that I had to save all the time. I didn't think I'd see anything like this from him, when I'm the one in need of saving."

Twosie nodded. "Yeah, but I don't think any of them can fight forever. Can you try to remember what you did to defeat the vampires?"

Cheese snapped his head around, his eyes aflame. "I didn't defeat the vampires! Trixie did! I was dropped from the sky, and set to go splat on the pavement! Do you know how helpless falling from the sky with no way out makes you feel?! If it wasn't for Tomato, I'd be dead!"

He slumped forward, a lump in his throat. "Boneless 2... I'm not supposed to be this pathetic, helpless colt. Cheese Sandwich is not supposed to be nothing. I thought I left it behind when I became a party pony, but now... someone took everything away from me. He even took you... and Pinkie Pie!"

Boneless 2 pulled him in for a hug. "There, there, buddy... I know it seems hard. But remember, you stopped the needles, so I know you can stop the vampires. I think if that crazy Kazam didn't get in the way, you would have tamed all the vampires by yourself. And I know you think you lost everything... but, I don't think I need to remind you that you didn't lose your brother."

Cheese pursed his lips, and turned back to the fight, where Tomato continued to blast his vampire self with fruit fireworks. "Maybe... but he did lose me."

Before Tomato could fire the last shot, Tommybat suddenly shrunk into a foal form, and lost the wings to appear normal. Looking up with innocent, green eyes, the little Tommy said, "You wouldn't hurt a foal, would you?"

Tomato stopped, and stared at his other self. Backing up, he questioned if what he was seeing was real--well, real in mind realm terms--and kept looking at his weapon as if he was in a silent argument with it. While he was in his little debate, the little Tommy smirked, summoned an accordion from behind his back, and pulled it like a slingshot. By the time the real Tomato looked up, the accordion was launched, and smashed into his face, knocking him down and breaking the thing at the same time.

"Oops!" Little Tommy said. "I broke Cheesy's accordion... just like you did!"

Tomato sat up and held his nose, which didn't just throb, but screamed in agony. He swear he felt blood gushing out of it, but he didn't see any of it. He just looked up to see that Little Tommy had now summoned lots of ponies, all holding the same evil smirk he did. Walking up to the real Tomato, he said, "Look at all my friends! I have lots and lots of them! I sure don't need my brother anymore!"

That struck Cheese in the heart, realizing that was once something that he had thought when Tomato made friends.

Tomato's jaw went slack. "What? I never said that!"

"Sure, but you kept on visiting friends and playing with friends and talking about your friends... actions speak louder than words, Tommy!" Little Tommy flashed, and was dressed in a graduate's outfit. "Not to mention how everyone talked about how smart you surprisingly were... how you were a shoo-in for success when big brother was destined to be nothing!"

He shifted into teenage form, circling Tomato like a vulture. "And let's not forget the Super Duper Party Pooper, always throwing the rotten tomatoes at big brother's ideas, not caring for all the crazy stuff he did. Cheese always wanted you to like him again, but you always made it so hard with that grumpy, killjoy attitude! What, was he cutting into your time of being Mom's perfect, ambitious son?"

Tomato started to shrink with guilt, watching as the other one morphed into an adult, looking nearly identical save for a fancier suit, and a lack of forelock. "All work and no play makes Tommy an industry giant, taking over Manehattan and spreading to every town in Equestria! Cheese won't be able to escape the fact that this is what his mother wanted, not some ridiculous one-pony circus who indulges in selfish, drunken pleasures! Maybe I'll hire a hitpony to get rid of that embarrassment once and for all... just like I did with the competition..."

The other Tommy regrew his wings and fangs, and chuckled darkly over the shuddering real Tomato. "I guess Tomato Sandwich was always destined to be a blood-sucking vampire."

Cheese watched as the two Tomatoes faced each other, with the mind one morphing over and over in order to remind the real one just what Cheese thought of him during their feud. His heart ached to see just how poorly that he once thought of his brother, and how much Tomato was hurt by it. So much heartache, because Tomato had simply been careless, as the broken accordion had attested to.

But, then, he realized the mind Tommy was being malicious--something the real Tommy never had been.

Jarred by that inaccuracy of that narrative, a new fire burned within him, and he couldn't believe his own mind was bringing up old wounds just to make Tomato vulnerable. So, before Tommybat could lunge at the real Tomato, Cheese darted out of the alleyway, ignoring the warning that Twosie shouted, and slid in between them. Tommybat jumped back when a colt Cheese jumped in, glaring him down like a wolf.

"You are not my brother." Cheese's eyes glowed with intensity. "You're only half the story."

Tommybat blinked, and laughed. "Half the story? Come now, you're not going to deny any thoughts and memories you had, are you?"

"No, I know what I thought. But how do you expect me to accept you when I now know Tomato's side of the story?" Cheese glowed, and he suddenly grew taller, now becoming a teenager. "How do you expect me to accept you knowing that it was my jealousy and pride that created you?"

He stepped forward, making Tommybat back up out of fear for the glowing adolescent now preying on him. "Yes, Tommy's a real pain in the neck, but I know that he would never, ever break my accordion on purpose. I know now that he suffered a lot after that incident, even dealing with the same crud I did, and that all his anger was born from so much heartache. And you expect me to allow you to hurt him now?"

He grew into an adult, his yellow shirt appearing and the glasses disappearing. He still glowered with his sun-like intensity. "No, I've already apologized for treating him like garbage, and forgiven him for the times he's hurt me! You're just outdated misinformation that has no place in my mind! So, I'm going to have to ask you kindly to leave my brother alone."

Tommybat squeaked in fright, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Cheese huffed, and then turned to help Tomato up. "Besides... my real brother is more complicated than that."

Tomato blinked. "Whoa... I can't believe you'd step in the line of fire just to protect me... from yourself, even!"

Cheese chuckled. "Well, that's what being a brother is all about."

Tomato smiled, and picked up the fruit firework launcher. "Well... I still have to return the favor. Also, what about the other vampires?"

Cheese frowned, and turned to see them still fighting the girls. He blanched and shifted uncomfortably. "Oh... gee, those things still make me uncomfortable. Do I have my accordion? I don't think I can fight without my accordion!"

He took a moment to watch the fight, trying to gauge how long anypony would last. With a gulp, he grabbed Tomato by the foreleg, and dragged him through the fray. "You know what? It's just easier to take you straight there! Everyone will get out the moment you grab my memories!"

"Hey, wait, why are you panicking?" Tomato asked. "You just scared vampire me out of existence!"

"No, I scared my negative thoughts of you away, the Las Pegasus memory is harder to--"

It wasn't long before they were nearly jumped by a vampire, which Cheese froze at the sight of. Tomato tried to smack him back to his senses, but Cheese just quivered slightly, and staring at the vampire--who just so happened to be an angry Pinkie shouting, "I challenge you to a goof-off! Loser loses their blood!"

Luckily, Twosie flew in to knock it away, shouting, "Keep going!"

Tomato pushed the petrified Cheese forward. "Come on! Cheese, Cheese, this is your mind, you can control this! You obliterated vampire me over there, why don't you obliterate the others?!"

Cheese took in a sharp breath and screamed, "I can't! They keep haunting me!"

Tomato pushed him to the final Las Pegasus bridge, pulling out the launcher to shoot fruit fireworks at any vampires coming their way. Cheese screamed when Tomato nearly missed the bridge and pushed him into the cloud sea, and Tommy had to pull him back, and then force him across the bridge. All the while, Tomato kept shooting the vampires.

"Cheese, we won this day! What's wrong?" Tomato asked.

"I could have prevented this!" Cheese cried. "I was so stupid to let my anger over the duet battle loss make me ignore you, and I could have kept an eye on Kazam! The entire city suffered, my brother turned into a monster, and I almost died! I know they say that 'what happens in Las Pegasus stays in Las Pegasus', but that memory can't stay there! And I flippin' made things worse by letting Rooney take the memory! Now, my body's a werewolf, I'm reduced to a stinkin' mind ball, and who knows what Rooney's doing while you guys are here!"

Throughout Cheese's panicked spiel, Tomato had managed to push him to the memory storage's gates. By that point, Cheese was crying. "I'm sorry, Tommy... this is all my fault. Rooney promised me I'd be free, and I was stupid enough to fall for his epic lie! If I could clean up my own mess, I would... but I can't. I'm his prisoner."

Tomato pursed his lips. "Cheese, I--" He shook his head, brushing away the first thing he had in mind. "Cheese... I know you feel like you caused all this. To tell you the truth, I feel like I could have prevented your werewolf transformation. If I had just... well, taken the chance for both of us to process the Las Pegasus incident together... maybe this road trip wouldn't have gone so wrong. I'm sorry I couldn't do more. But don't worry, like we've all said over and over, we'll turn you back to normal."

Cheese sniffed. "Can you? Even when you return my mind to me... I'm not sure I'll be whole."

The shadow wolf appeared between them. "Of course not, Cheese... why would you still possess your party magic when you have the blood of them..."

He pointed to the left, and a lamppost lit up to show a bunch of teenage ponies, lying in pools of blood that poured out of wounds ripped open by an animal's mouth. They groaned in agony, looking at Cheese in tearful, fearful eyes.

The wolf pointed right. "And them..."

The lamppost on the right shone on a group of mangled animals, both dead and half-dead, and surrounded by bloody paw prints. They had similar wounds to the teenagers, except the clearly dead ones had the worst damage on them.

"...on your hooves." The shadow wolf grabbed Cheese by the shoulders, and turned him to the front, seeing the girls still fighting the vampires, and how now there were werewolves crawling out of the buildings. Its claws sank into his legs, bringing out Cheese's pained grunt. "I hope you realize that once the werewolf is in you, no matter what Twilight Sparkle does, it will be inside you forever. You'll still be a monster, dragging innocents into your nightmares. Especially a mare that you love dearly..."

The shadow wolf snapped its front toes, and Pinkie Pie appeared, her mane drooping, and her eyes tearful. Cheese stared at her, his lip quivering and his hoof reaching out. He tried to call her name and his apology, but no words came out. As both tearful Cheese and Pinkie stared at each other, Tomato could practically hear Cheese's heart breaking.

The shadow wolf wisped around behind Pinkie. "Poor Pinkie Pie... I'm surprised that her friends aren't angry with you for destroying her like you destroyed yourself. Though, I do wonder... what do you think werewolf Pinkie looks like?"

Cheese backed up, and he turned to Tomato. "Tommy... go in."

Tomato looked up. "What?"

"Go in now, get everyone out of here!"

"But, what if you--"

"Just return my mind home!"

Tomato swallowed a lump in his throat, and nodded. As he turned and slipped through the gates, he glanced back one last time, at Cheese watching the shadow wolf seep through Pinkie's skin, and for the party mare to scream and grow canine features.

Cheese glanced back and smiled. "Tommy... you need to know that I'm proud of you."

Tomato smiled back, and then ran into the dark dome, before he could see Pinkie's completed transformation, and the attempted rage-filled attack Cheese was making toward the shadow wolf for daring to hurt her.

---

It was peaceful and quiet in the memory dome. Many, many memories floated above him like fireflies, yet stringed by a thread like Hearth's Warming lights, and Tomato couldn't help but stare in awe. He poked some of the memories, where he could see several parties that Cheese threw in the past. He giggled at a few of the antics, including those from the summer vacation. But, he had a job to do, and so, he went deeper into the room.

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking for, but he supposed that the main files would stick out like a sore hoof. He scanned each one briefly, unsure of each memory's importance. He spotted some from their colthood--random things, such as eating ice cream, or Cheese teasing him for being sweet on a filly at the park. She was green, and green was his favorite color, he remembered. But, if he decided his love based on color, then maybe he'd have had Summer as a girlfriend in his teen years, or be married to Flora as an adult.

Thinking of Flora, there was the memory of when Flora calmed Cheese from his rampage. Wasn't he glad that was a solution, instead of the mare just beating poor Cheese up. He wasn't sure about her chances against a party pony, but he knew she was a crazy awesome fighter from that one incident with that gang.

Another memory bumped into his head, instantly making his temple sore. When he looked at the offending memory, lo and behold, it was the Las Pegasus incident.

He grabbed the memory, staring at the images of Cheese fighting vampires. He chuckled when he did the Pony Pokey violently, and made the vampires do the conga, and he wondered why Cheese didn't think of that out there. But, the moment that Tommybat returned, his eyes red pinpricks and with an animalistic hiss, Tomato backed up, and looked away for a moment. When his eyes returned to the scene, it was just Cheese falling like a helpless little rag doll.

That memory made Cheese freeze up and cry. That memory was clearly the source of the nightmares. Tomato had nightmares himself, but perhaps it was better that he didn't remember much, despite being the one who had transformed. Maybe Cheese still wouldn't miss it.

So, he grabbed it, and yanked it off the string.

He stored it in his shirt, reasoning that as long as he had the memory, Cheese would be fine. He was sure Cheese would rather deal with the headaches than nightmares that prevented sleep. There was a pit in his gut telling him that no, it wasn't right, but he ignored it, because the vampire memory was a terrible one that deserved to be forgotten.

He hurried away from the spot, and kept on going forward until he found the five biggest memory orbs, sitting on a display table. They didn't play images like movies, but instead, held symbols representing certain kinds of memories. There was Cheese's cutie mark, Pinkie's cutie mark, his own cutie mark, a pair of glasses, and... flash cards? Tomato found that one the weirdest.

Tomato took a deep breath, and walked forward. Seeing that the string ran through all five of them, he grabbed the sections at the two ends of the row, and with all his might, he yanked them off the table.

There was a sudden, bright flash of light.

---

When he opened his eyes, Tomato was in that very same closet, storing the memories of over a dozen ponies instead of just Cheese, that he and the girls were in before they ended up in Cheese's mind. Behind him, he could hear Rainbow grunting, and he turned to see her throwing a couple more punches before she stopped, and looked around. The other four looked around, taking a moment to process what happened, before they breathed sighs of relief. Twilight Sparkle looked at Tomato, and then at what he held.

Tomato glanced down at the memories--now having gone from a single orb to five strung in a necklace. He held it up to his face, staring at what was left of the true Cheese Sandwich, and hoping that he and Boneless 2 were okay in there.

"All right, Tomato, you're holding the key to stopping Wayer Rune. You think you can do it?" Twilight asked.

Tomato put the necklace on. "If he trusts me to do it... then yes."

Twilight smiled at him. "All right, then. Now, I think Fluttershy left that book open to the crystal remover, so let's take care of that problem." She scowled as she looked up at her horn. "I swear, I've never felt so useless."

"And then we'll find Wayer Rune and Cheese's... uh... other half." Applejack said.

"Well, I can't wait to kick his keister!" Rainbow said.

Fluttershy hovered over to Pinkie's memory orb and picked it up. "If it's okay, can we bring Pinkie's memories too? After being in Cheese's... it'll feel like we're just leaving her alone here."

"All right, Fluttershy," Twilight said. "Besides, Pinkie's might be the only one we can carry. I don't think most of these ponies really know us enough for us to carry their memories."

Fluttershy tapped Pinkie's orb until it poofed into necklace form, and put it on herself as well. So, as the ponies walked out of the closet to get back to work, Rarity examined how the two necklaces on their wearers looked. "I have to say, Fluttershy, you look darling with that necklace on! Tomato... well, perhaps if it was a different shade of green..."

"What are you talking about?" Tomato replied, fluttering his eyes playfully. "I think it matches my eyes."

Author's Note:

Welp, it looks like I beat my personal record of long chapters again. Geez, this was a hard chapter, and I spent all day yesterday trying to finish it before July ended. Obviously, I failed, since at the time of publishing, it's August.

So, uh... here's a couple of things I listened to while writing this:

But, hey, now that the Mind Realm Chapters are over, I can finally get to the climactic chappies! Woohoo!

Comments

[SageBrony07]

I loved how cheese stood up to Tommybat, but I hope our tommy gets his wings back to save his bro. Great chapter.

[Goldfinch142]

Nice. I'm always up for some good old-fashioned character growth! Cheese being forced to face one of his oldest inner demons (or vampires), and winning, is a great first step to a healthier mindset and relationships. Not to mention avoiding being killed.

He wasn't sure about her chances against a party pony, but he knew she was a crazy awesome fighter from that one incident with that gang.

Now that's a story I have to hear!

So, he grabbed it, and yanked it off the string.

... Tomato, it's generally a good idea to listen to your gut when it says you're making a bad decision. Just sayin'.

Cool of the memory orbs to turn into convenient necklace form. That will make it much harder to accidentally drop them prematurely.

[howard035]

Glad to finally catch up. Man what an epic fight. I love that Tomato has grown into his own semi-partiness. Saddened to see Tomato hasn't yet learned that repressing bad thoughts or memories only gives them more power.

Looking forward to the big showdown with Wayer.

[Godslittleprincess]

So, what's going to happen with the Las Pegasus memory?