Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

5.5--Tiny Web of Assistance

Together in death was often billed as a romantic phrase. Cheese didn't get what was so romantic about it.

For one, there was the sharp sterile smell of the hospital room and the heart monitors eerily breaking the silence. Two, Grandma and Grandpa were pale, and the way they gazed at the ceiling before they even noticed their daughter and grandson come in worried him. And three... the doctors had not looked very happy.

All he had seen were weak smiles and soulless eyes. All he had felt was the gentle and strained patting on his head that his grandpa gave him, unable to speak to him. His grandma's normally soothing voice had been quiet and raspy as she told him how much of a brave and kind soul he was, and that she regretted not living long enough to have a chance to say goodbye to Tomato. They seemed like zombies, and all Cheese could do was keep a brave face as he fought back the lump in his throat and bore the ache in his heart. The experience had been surreal for him, as if he was in some creepily somber nightmare.

Even now, when it was clear that they had passed, he still wanted to wake up.

He thought karma would be nice to Grandma and Grandpa if he behaved. He tried to be a good boy, he really did. He did his homework, even though he hated it. He wasn't like the other big brothers that beat up their little brothers--usually punching Tommy was an accident. He was quiet, he sat still, he paid attention in class (sort of), he obeyed Mom even when she was being mean, and he most certainly helped out at the pizzeria.

Oh, no, who's going to run the pizzeria now that Grandma and Grandpa are dead?

Cheese didn't know when he started crying. Time froze when the fact had hit him, and when it resumed, the fur on his face was soaked. He wiped his eyes and turned away, not wanting his mom to see. As he was often told, big colts don't cry, and he was afraid that he'd be scolded for devolving into a blubbering mess.

Mozzarella's inhales were sharp, and she said in a shaky voice, "At least we were here in their last moments. We might as well break the news to your father and brother." She turned to him. "Chin up, Cheese. I need you to be a big boy."

Cheese merely nodded.

---

It was quiet when they returned home. The door was shut behind Mozzarella and Cheese with a click, and they looked forward into the still, dark house. The only light that was on was the one in the kitchen, which signaled that Cheese's father was still up, doing the grownup homework he always did. Cheese stood and watched as his mother walked into the kitchen to break the news to him, and the looked at the floor.

He still wanted to believe he was still just asleep. He wanted to believe that he could still go to the pizzeria, and be greeted by his jolly grandparents and their customers. He wanted to believe that he could still be supplied with a slice of warm pizza, and eating it as Grandpa told a joke about a grapefruit diet or a pony in tacky clothes, or one of Grandma's stories of when she lived in Canterlot. He just wanted to believe they weren't gone. There was no way they were!

His ears twitched as the conversation between his parents started.

"Hay Burger," his mother began. "My parents just passed away."

There was the usual grunt, followed by the scribbling of a pencil.

"We need to set a date for the funeral."

There was another moment of silence.

"Inform our friends... any remaining family... write an obituary...

Another moment of silence passed, and Cheese held his breath.

Mozzarella growled, "You could at least pretend to care."

Hay scoffed. "So? You didn't when my parents died."

"This is different. Years ago, you kept visiting after my sister left because you liked my parents, and they liked you--your parents didn't like me all that much. I don't see why you don't think this is a big deal."

Hay snorted. "Kind of hard to return the favor of comfort you never gave me."

Cheese could barely remember when his other grandparents died. He had just stood there, during two different funerals, just watching ponies put the coffins in the ground, and his father just growing more and more reclusive. Granted, Cheese had been three and didn't quite understand it, while Tomato had just been a newborn. But, he knew his dad had been a different pony before, as evidenced by pictures of him playing with Cheese as a baby.

He heard his mother growl. "I swear to Celestia, you ask too much! It's been six years, Hay; will you just move on, already?"

The sound of hooves slamming on the table made Cheese jump to his hooves. "I ask too much?! You should read a record of what you say--half of that is being demanding of either me or our son!"

"We have two sons, I have no idea which one you're talking about!"

"The older one. You know, Cheese?"

"Thank you for clarifying," Mozzarella spat. "And I'm only demanding that he does well in school so that he becomes a respectable stallion with a well-paying job and a high social status. Celestia knows I've had enough embarrassment and grief in my life."

"Oh, embarrassment? What, are you still sore that your mother left Canterlot high society to marry a humble pizzeria owner in this neighborhood? And here I was, thinking you were grieving due to the way you demanded my sympathy."

"I am grieving! I have no family aside from my sons left--unlike you, who at least still has a sister!"

"You seem to have forgotten that I don't even like my sister."

Cheese sighed and shook his head. He started to stroll to his room, determined to miss the rest of this argument. They always rant about how their lives sucked. They always quarrel about how the other was a selfish, apathetic jerk that was impossible to love anymore. They always criticize the way the other treats their sons. But most notably, the arguments always go absolutely nowhere. It was a wonder they were still married.

He wished he could walk on two legs, so that he could cover his ears and block out the argument.

"Oh, I know you don't like your sister," Mozzarella snarled. "You don't even like your own sons either! You wouldn't care if one died and the other went to jail!"

"Oh, psht, at least I don't shame our oldest for not being 'smart' enough, or for playing that accordion of his!" Hay snapped back. "Or say our youngest is destined for jail just because he runs around the house screaming!"

"I want my sons to grow up as strong, mature, and respectable stall--"

Cheese shut his bedroom door before hearing any more of the argument. He sighed and shook his head. It was times like this that he wished that he lived with his grandparents. His heart sank as he remembered why there was no chance of that now.

He heard a sharp gasp and an excited, "Cheesy!"

Naturally, he looked up at the bed on the opposite wall, and true to his excitable self, Tommy was bouncing on his bed and grinning at him. However, Cheese just snorted at him, and ambled to his own bed. He hopped in and curled up in his blankets.

Tommy launched himself from his bed onto Cheese's. Trying to shake Cheese, he rambled, "So I got home today and Dad said you and Mom were at the hospital to visit Gramma and Grampa because they were sick there and I wanted to go and give them medicine but Dad said no and told me to go to my room and said he was going to spank me but I don't know what I did. I mean, last time I broke Mom's favorite vase and she spanked me... it hurt..." Tommy rubbed his rump as he did so. Then he climbed onto Cheese. "So, when are we gonna see Gramma and Grampa again? I wanna make sure they get better."

Cheese squeezed his eyes shut, a tear leaking out. "They're not getting better."

Tomato's face fell. "Why?"

"They... they died."

Tomato blinked. "Died? But... medicine will help, right?"

Cheese moved and made Tommy tumble off the lump. "Ergh, no, you little dummy! Dead means they're gone forever! We're never gonna see them again!" He was glad that the blankets obscured his face, because tears were already soaking his face again. He gritted his teeth and hiccuped, and curled even further into his ball.

Tommy blinked, and hearing the sobs from the lump, he crawled beside it, and started to snuggle up against it.

Almost instantly he was pushed off the bed, and Cheese said, "Sleep in your own bed... I wanna be alone..."

With drooping ears and a sigh, Tommy stood up, and then hopped into his own bed. The younger Sandwich just looked at the lump somberly, wanting some way to make Cheese stop crying. After all, seeing him so sad was making him sad.

Meanwhile, Cheese was silently growling to himself about how it was not fair. Grandma and Grandpa shouldn't have died, Mom and Dad shouldn't be arguing again, and he was certain that he was going to hate hospitals for the rest of his life.

---

Yep, he still hated hospitals.

He had gotten out of there as soon as he could, after Comedy Gold was re-admitted into the hospital. Being there reminded him of the day his maternal grandparents died, and the salt in the wound that was the classic argument between Mom and Dad. To this day, he was still baffled as to why they were still married if their love had gone sour and they clearly disliked each other. Why did they even marry in the first place?

He sighed. It wasn't an appropriate time to think about his colthood. Right now, he ought to be getting ready to go and brace himself for the next Cheesy Sense, but at the moment, he was just tired.

He made his way back to the square, where ponies were still having fun with the activities, and proceeded to sit on a bench. It was the hour of sunset and the air was much cooler than earlier. As he sat, he just thought about what had transpired earlier that day.

Repeated nudges. "Potato casserole". A random clown. A dip in the chocolate fountain. And the mocking laughter of the ponies watching. Cheese himself could handle those just fine--he was used to stupid, and quite often embraced it. But of course Tomato couldn't even dare to be stupid, thus he saw those moments as embarrassing. And Cheese was finding himself embarrassed about his little brother for the first time in a long time.

He looked at the sky, and focused on the pink hues. Hearing the melodious laughter of his greatest inspiration, he murmured, "Oh, Pinkie... if you had been my partner, we would have won it easily. Not that it matters, since the whole thing was a sham..."

Cheese smiled and quietly nickered to himself. Yeah, he and Pinkie would have made great music together--they had done it before after all. Each collaboration with her had been fantastic, from Rainbow's Birthaversary, to the Fall Festival, and the time he decided to slip on down to Ponyville for her birthday. Just being with the sweet, huggable pink mare and looking into her pretty blue eyes made his heart soar. And the way their voices blended together in song just made him tingly in all the right ways.

He heard someone cough next to him, and there sat Silk Shimmer. Blinking, he said, "Oh, hi there."

Silk waved shyly. "Hey." She rubbed the back of her head. "So, uh, I'm kind of on an apology spree, and you're my next target."

Cheese thought that that was an awkward way of putting it. "What are you apologizing for?"

"Well... I apologized to Silver about being involved in nearly kidnapping his sister, to Tomato about his being put in a humiliating situation... and when Goldie wakes up, I'll have to apologize to her about the kidnapping thing. As for you... well... I'm sorry that we went through hoops to keep you from discovering our deceit."

Cheese stared at her for a moment, and then laughed. "Well, I can't stay mad about that, even if it was frustrating that they refused my help... come on, I was going to work for free! How can somepony refuse free work?"

"I don't need to explain why the Flim Flam Brothers did. When I first joined them, I didn't think that they'd go so low..."

Cheese sighed. "Yeah, some ponies do some pretty sketchy things just to earn bits. Sometimes I wonder if Tomato would end up becoming one of those ponies, letting what his cutie mark represents lead to greed and have control over his actions. I sure hope not. If there's anything I don't want to see, it's Tommy turning into a monster."

"I'm pretty sure anypony could use their special talent for evil if they wanted to," Silk murmured.

Cheese scoffed. "Not me. A party pony's duty is to make others happy--there's no way I could turn into a monster. Seriously, you should know we're not malicious--you did say you have a brother who's one. By the way, I'm curious about him..."

Silk giggled. "His name's Party Favor. He was a sweet colt, even if he was a bit strange, and he was always eager to please and determined to prove himself. You should see the way he works his magic with balloons, and he doesn't even use his horn! Granted, he never could use it because of mineral concentration or something, but he managed to redirect his magic to his hooves and earned his cutie mark that way."

"I like him already. I'd love to meet him!"

Silk's face took on a more somber expression. "Well, I hope you find him on your journey. He left a few years ago because nopony really took his talent seriously. Considering that we lived in Canterlot, and balloon modeling isn't exactly the most sophisticated talent..."

"...he felt like he didn't belong." Cheese sighed. "I know what that's like."

"And what stinks is that he hasn't contacted us since he left! Another reason I joined up with Flim and Flam was because I figured that traveling would give me a chance to see Party Favor again, just to see if he's okay. I hope he hasn't gotten into any trouble."

"I'll keep my eyes peeled. How's he look?"

"Well, he's blue..."

Cheese grinned at her. "A-dabba-dee, dabba-dah..."

Silk pouted at him. "Very funny."

Cheese laughed briefly, and before he knew it, he could feel the same old wobbles and twitches that made up his Cheesy Sense. His ear pointed west to a great degree, enough for him to lean too far from the bench. He managed to say, "Las Pegasus!" before he fell face first onto the pavement.

Silk blinked. "Are you okay?"

Cheese looked up at her. "I'm fine, please continue describing your brother."

---

Comedy Gold's complication was swiftly treated, and now she was lying in a hospital bed in a dull colored and sparsely decorated room. Silver Shill sat at her bedside, and they both had their attention on the doctor.

"Now, Miss Gold," the doctor said. "I hope you understand now why you shouldn't push yourself too hard when still recovering. There was a good chance you could have developed an hernia with your overexertion, and it's a good thing we stopped the hemorrhage. Unfortunately, you'll have to start the healing process over, and we'll have to remind you of how to take care of yourself during the next few months. Right now, just rest in here for the next couple of days, and then after discharge, we'll continue to see each other weekly."

Comedy Gold sighed and glanced at her brother. She blew some hair out of her face. "Okay."

Once the doctor left the room, she groaned. Of course, seeing her brother's disappointed look, she turned away, crossing her forelegs and biting her lip. With a nervous chuckle, she murmured, "So... you've got an excuse to continue being a mother hen..."

Silver Shill sighed. "Goldie, there was a very good reason why I kept telling you to take it easy."

"The doctor just said it."

"Exactly. He's said it before, too. But of course, you thought that you could heal quickly, huh? Just like the other injuries that mysterious magic seems to poof away at your whim. Seriously, what the hay is up with that?"

Goldie bunched up the blanket in her hooves. "It... the magic... doesn't really work when you keep pointing out the injury. Then again, does it work for surgical incisions? I dunno, it's weird, I'm sure your head would explode from all the insane details."

"Medical jargon gives me enough of a headache," Silver murmured. Then he turned to her with a glare. "All right, missy, explain just what you were doing that involved hitting somepony with a frying pan. The Flim Flams have a habit of lying, but I'm inclined to believe their claim of you being jealous."

Goldie huffed. "Well... like you said, they lie! I was trying to expose the lie about their circus acts, which are all fake, by taking that unicorn out of the equation and watching the whole thing fall apart!"

Silver raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that falling from the clouds would have killed Jeff, right?"

Goldie's face fell. "Oh... I never thought about that..."

Silver sighed and leaned in his hoof. "I just want to know... were you doing it so our neighbors wouldn't waste money on a couple of scam artists, or was there really some envy at being shown up twice in the same day involved? If the latter... were you planning on doing anything to Cheese?"

Goldie twiddled her hooves. "I was planning on challenging Cheese to a Goof Off."

"I'm sure he'd refuse because he wouldn't want you to strain yourself. But, you go and do it anyway, got caught by the Flim Flams, got framed for sabotaging their engine--"

"I don't remember that part."

"You were asleep. And then Cheese had to drag his brother into a musical competition to keep them from kidnapping you while a disguised Silk Shimmer was pretending to be you after being caught in sabotage. You're lucky I was able to see through the disguise and convince Silk to admit to the framing and quit working for the Flim Flams."

"What, Cheese didn't win?"

Another voice came from the door. "Because of me."

They turned to the door, where Tomato Sandwich stood. He strolled in, continuing, "It was a battle of duets--and thanks to nervousness and bad luck, I was nothing more than a hindrance to Cheese. He could have defeated them on his own if it wasn't for the fact that the rules of the battle said that each brother needed to have an equal amount of lines."

Goldie blinked. "So... are you a bad singer?"

"Oh, no no no," Silver said. "He's actually got a pretty swell singing voice." He smiled at Tomato. "Were you ever in choir?"

Tomato shook his head and turned to show them his cutie mark. "Nah, there's no music note on this flank, or anything related to it. As much as I like music... it's just not my calling. And a singing voice just wasn't enough to keep me from embarrassing the both of us. He hasn't talked to me since we left the hospital."

"You were taking a bath at my house."

"Okay, true. And your mom's nice, I wish my mom was that nice." He nearly winced at the memory of the phantom of his mother appearing during the battle. "Oh, and I hope you don't mind, but I helped your mother tweak your guys' budget. Hopefully those medical bills won't eat you alive."

Silver rubbed his temples. "Oh, dear... I need to get a job soon--I don't want us to stay in debt thanks to those accursed medical bills..."

Goldie sank. "Sorry for making that worse... and stressing you out... and indirectly leading to embarrassment for the Sandwiches..."

Silver sighed. "It's all right... just as long as you've learned your lesson about overexerting yourself and letting envy control your actions." He watched as Goldie nodded, and then turned to Tomato. "And are you sure you know what you were talking about with my mom?"

Tomato tapped his hoof. "Well, I once did my dad's taxes to get him to play with me. It didn't work. But, yeah, the tweaks won't harm you guys."

"Uh... how old are you?"

Tomato looked away. "I'm still in college." Again, his credibility was being challenged. Not that he can blame them, he was quite young. He rubbed his cheek, still a little sore about being told he had a baby face earlier.

Silver sighed. "With my track record, it's going to take me forever to get employed. No budget or whatever can help with that; it might just mean less luxuries like... uh... pizza or something like that."

Suddenly Tomato perked up. "You have a pizza place around here?"

"Well, not really... that pirate ship in the town square your brother set up was just the first thing that came to mind--that pizza was good! Last I saw it, ponies were loving it. Heheh, my mistake for mentioning it when it's only temporary."

Tomato blinked, and then there appeared a wide grin that was more suited for Cheese's face. "No... don't think of it as a mistake... think of it as an opportunity!"

Silver tilted his head. "Huh?"

Tomato grabbed him with his tail, and then said, "You need to get a business license! And write a business plan! And that budget needs tweaking... again." Before Silver could say anything, Tomato sped out of the room with the stockier stallion in tow.

Goldie blinked, and then slowly waved, muttering, "See you tomorrow, Silver..."

---

"So... you're saying there's a Magic Expo in Las Pegasus that you think I'm sensing?" Cheese asked.

Silk Shimmer nodded. "You'll see all sorts of magical ponies and treasures and spells and illusions... let me tell you, it's always a blast! My family used to go all the time."

Cheese hooted. "Maybe I'll see my friend Trixie there! She'll take any opportunity to show off."

Silk huffed. "She's going to have a problem up against Kazam."

"Well, I'm sure they'll be good sports about this whole magic thing. Now, where is Tomato...?"

Said pony sped past them and toward the pirate ship, with Silver Shill in tow. The very sight made Cheese jump, and he watched as Tomato stopped short of crashing into the boat, put Silver--who was covered in sticky notes for some reason--down, and then yammer on about something while shaking some papers he held. Cheese scratched his chin, wondering what he was up to that was making him so excited.

Silk bore a grin. "Ooookay... I had no idea he had that much energy. Most ponies in suits are rather lethargic."

"Tomato usually is... I haven't seen him this excited since he was a colt."

They approached the pair, where they finally caught what Tomato was talking about. Cheese was a little baffled as to why Tomato was talking about starting a business, especially since they were going to leave Halterside soon. They stopped short and listened to the rest of Tomato's monologue.

"...now, the only problem would have to be the cost of getting the supplies and foods and maintenance needed to keep this thing long enough for the profits to keep rolling in," Tomato said, tapping his chin. "Do you suppose the bank would help out a little guy like you? I sure hope they will--your family has a medical bill to pay, and keeping this thing afloat will make paying that a little faster."

That's when Silk Shimmer stepped forward. "I could help pay for it."

Both Tomato and Silver whirled around. Tomato jumped, and grinned nervously at Cheese. "Oh... Cheese... I was, uh, going to ask if we were going to leave the pirate ship here so that it could be used as a restaurant..."

Cheese looked at the papers Tomato held. "Shouldn't you have asked me before you went through all the crazy permits and form stuff? And good grief, are you planning on living here? We have a gig in Las Pegasus soon!"

"Oh, no, Silver here's going to run the thing--it's... my crazy idea for helping him pay Goldie's medical bills."

"Crazy is right, sheesh," Silver muttered. "I guess you two are related after all..."

Tomato looked at Silk. "Wait, did you say you were going to help pay for it?"

Silk nodded. "I come from a wealthy family. Besides, it's the least I could do to make up for all the strife that's happened today."

Silver blinked. "Really? Gee... that'd be a big help!"

Silk giggled. "I'll just have to consult my family--they'll most likely be at the Magic Expo. After that, if all works out well, I could come back and help you run the place. I'm a good cook myself... and I could entertain the customers with my magic. Just give me the estimate of the costs and I'll get to it."

Silver smiled, and handed her one of his sticky notes, presumably with the costs on it. "Well... then it'll be a pleasure doing business with you."

Cheese slid next to Tomato, and then said, "All right, bro, it's time to go."

Tomato sighed. "I could help more with this if I stayed longer... oh, well, gotta have family time."

Author's Note:

I don't know what was worse... the medical research or the business research... why do I feel like I flubbed them and shot myself in the foot? Pbbt, I'm such a worrywart...

So... next stop, Magic Expo in Las Pegasus! That's going to be a fun segment.

Comments

[SageBrony07]

Great chapter. I can't wait to read what happens at the expo. I wonder what will bring these brothers together? It will take nothing short of a miracle.

[redpony0898]

Tomato couldn't even dare to be stupid

I see what you did there.

[ChaoticKindness]

I loved seeing Tomato so excited!
It's cool to see him use his talent, and even cooler to see him get hyped up about it. It was also nice to see some emotional trauma on Cheese's part and another flashback (albeit sad, but hey that's the sort of thing that makes reading interesting; emotional trauma). I also really love how connected your stories are; referencing Party Favor and his family, Silver and Goldie...your continuity is just amazing.

It's also a bit unsettling (in a good way) to see that Cheese still has worries of Tomato turning into a monster; of course we the readers know Tomato well enough to know that it--at the very least--would take some severe mental 'snapping' for him to take a bad turn (he's very sweet and unsure of himself, so yeah it'd really take something major); it's understandable since they spent so many years apart (and had so much bitterness toward each other). I feel like this is a really good element, since, yes, it really feels in character both for Cheese and the situation for him to have doubts like this.

[Goldfinch142]

A pizzeria! Brilliant! Tomato can finally prove his usefulness! Where'd he even get all those sticky notes?

And some more backstory. I kinda feel sorry for Hay Burger...and mad at him at the same time...he let himself become an apathetic zombie. I have to wonder how much he and Mozzarella actually missed Cheese when he ran away.

Don't worry about the medical and business research. It all looked fine to me.

Ooh, a Magic Expo! Can't wait to see that!

[FanOfMostEverything]

That first scene took me back to the last time I saw my grandfather alive, and that was only a few years ago. I can't imagine how badly that would've affected me if I had been Cheese's age.

A party pony's duty is to make others happy--there's no way I could turn into a monster.

Well, not without help...

Comedy Gold couldn't employ off-screen healing in part because Silver Shill kept worrying about her? That... actually makes perfect sense. With him constantly worrying about her injuries, someone was effectively observing them at all times, thus preventing her from exploiting the healed/not-healed superposition and restoring her body to normal through party pony quantumancy...
Oh. Sorry about that.

It was great seeing Tommy in his element. That coltish energy now actually has a channel! I just hope Cheese will be supportive of this enthusiasm. It's certainly a step in the right direction, but will he see it that way?

In all, a great chapter. Now, on to Neighvada!

[Ink Sword]

Did any one get this.

Tomato couldn't even dare to be stupid

[youtube=SMhwddNQSWQ]

[insolentboi]

"Well, he's blue..."

Cheese grinned at her. "A-dabba-dee, dabba-dah..."

I see what you did there

[Blazing Song]

But of course Tomato couldn't even dare to be stupid

It's like spitting on a fish, It's like barking up a tree, It's like I say you wanna buy one if you wanna get one free,
You should... DARE TO BE STUPID!!!!

[Sugarcookie29]

This chapter really hit home, my mom is just like Mozzarella

[Fionn]

Oooh Trixie!! I hope we get to see her!

[Dashie04]

6003410
I did, I also got the reference to Grapefruit Diet and Tacky, which no one else seemed to get.

[Godslittleprincess]

Oh wow, I hope the whole "Tommy helping Shill with medical bills" thing gets further exploration. It looks like he's finally contributing in a way that really matters to him.