Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

6.1--A Magical Affair

The train ride to Las Pegasus had been awkwardly silent. It mostly consisted of Cheese gazing out the window, Tomato's nose in a book, and Silk Shimmer keeping her mouth shut because she could sense the tension between the brothers. She had borne witness to Tomato bashfully muttering an apology for his flubs during the music battle and for not asking permission to leave the pirate ship pizzeria there as a full-time restaurant. Cheese had only replied, "It's fine," in a gruff tone. It didn't take a genius to see that Tomato had sensed the tone, and didn't bother to talk to him for the duration of the ride.

It took a few nights, given that Halterside and Las Pegasus were on opposite sides of the country, but once they arrived at the train station atop the hill poking into the cloud-based Las Pegasus Strip, Cheese didn't even pause to even look at the welcome sign. As he ran off to the convention center, he hurriedly told Tomato and Silk to just go around, see the sights, be careful not to fall off the walkways, and get a hotel room. As the elder brother went off to do his job, the younger glared, and stuck his tongue out at him like a small foal. Of course, the tongue went back in his mouth once he noticed other ponies staring.

Silk patted his back. "Come on, let's get a hotel room--and then I can show you around. My family's been here enough that I know the layout of this place."

Tomato glumly nodded. Wiping his brow, he grumbled, "It's hotter here than in Halterside."

"Well, this is a desert."

Tomato looked down at the clouds surrounding the walkways and resorts, and then up at the higher clouds, which clearly had some colonies and luxurious hotels on them. "Uh... clouds?"

Silk waved a hoof. "They're construction clouds--completely useless for weather. Now... are you the gambling type?"

"No."

"Good, neither am I! Who says you have to gamble to have fun here?" Silk grabbed him by the sleeve and started dragging him out of the station and into the city. "Adventure awaits us! And remember, what happens in Las Pegasus stays in Las Pegasus!"

"That's implying naughty acts!" Tomato shouted. "I'm not planning on doing anything naughty!"

---

After finding a room in a cheap but comfy motel, Tomato certainly did have an adventure. He and Silk Shimmer trotted around the town, looking at interesting objects in the museums, a few chocolate-themed attractions, several floral displays, and acts from talented ponies, all either both inside or outside the buildings. Flashy billboards rose above them, boasting about shows for the various concert and event halls on both land and sky. Tomato counted the different shows being boasted--there was the Magic Expo Cheese was working on, several bands playing, a circus, Equestria's Got Talent, and some show about a werewolf and vampire war.

When on the ground distrinct, they stood across the street from one attraction where ponies would bet on how far a pegasus could fall from one of the cloud buildings before they had to spread their wings to prevent themselves from hitting the ground. Tomato had flinched when one was very close to the pavement, and remarked, "Okay, I'm kind of glad I'm not a pegasus--I'd fail at that for sure."

Once night fell, Silk had dragged him down the Las Pegasus Strip, where they looked at the neon lights, and the replicas of landmarks from other locations. They even watched a fake volcano erupt, a sparkling ball high above the Strip at one intersection, and the choreographed fountains in front of one resort. Tomato was especially fascinated with the pyramid, and wondered what it'd be like for a pony perched at the tip.

It was at the fountains that Silk joked, "I think we might be on a date."

A flustered Tomato replied, "Hey, I've had one-on-one nights out in Manehattan with my female friends before, and it wasn't ever romantic."

Silk smirked. "Do tell."

"For the one named Cirrus, it was winter and I took her to the ice rink in the park. Her brother broke a leg, so he couldn't go. The other, Flora... well, she was new in town and I was just showing her around and giving her bits of advice on how to live with it and not get lost. She says she has an aunt and uncle living there, but those two visit her family and never the other way around."

"Have you met them?"

"Manehattan's too big for me to know who they are, and Flora has guessed that that they don't really matter to me, so she doesn't talk about them much--she prefers speaking of her more immediate family members, anyway."

"So... any others, or is it just Flora and that other one?"

"Cirrus, and no, those are the only two female friends I have. I just..." Tomato scratched his chin and looked away. "Haven't been very good at making friends since I was a colt. I was popular when I was little, but I soon learned that if you're a crybaby and a selfish doofus and a nerd, your classmates turn against you. Doesn't matter the reason you cry, they'll just laugh."

Silk sighed. "My little brother was bullied for being unable to use magic. Things settled down once he earned his cutie mark, but when he grew up, his talent wasn't taken seriously." She rolled her eyes. "Sophistication of Canterlot..."

Tomato quirked an eyebrow. "He was the party pony, right?"

"Yep."

Tomato pursed his lips and nodded. From what he knew about party ponies and what he heard of Canterlot, party ponies would be struggling to fit in with the more sophisticated and less prone to tomfoolery high class of that city. He wondered if that brother had been disowned just for a ridiculous special talent. He knew his mother had disowned and shamed Cheese for his cutie mark.

After a moment of silence, he spotted Cheese from the corner of his eye. "Oh, look at that, Cheese is done. Let's go."

Cheese was just as worn out from preparing the convention center for the Magic Expo as they were from walking around Las Pegasus all day. They led him to the motel room they had chosen, and fell into their beds with aching hooves, legs feeling like rubber, and eyes hurting from the bright lights. They all fell asleep.

---

Morning at the Magic Expo, and it was already filled with ponies. The convention center was one of the few buildings of Las Pegasus' main district that were standing atop one of the nearby mountains instead of a floating platform. The trio were surprised at the multiple variations of drones that made up the many conversations being spoken. A lot of stands were selling merchandise for each magician that was performing in the Expo, and many excited foals were running around and laughing.

"Wow, lots of ponies like magic, huh?" Cheese remarked. "Everypony just had to come early!"

Tomato was still looking around in the lobby. "Can we just get to finding a member of Silk Shimmer's family so that we could get the money so she and Silver Shill can start up that pizzeria? I want to get that over with before we find a magic act to pay attention to."

Cheese rolled his eyes. "Gee, focused on the money, aren't you?"

Tomato huffed. "Hey, it's not for me!"

Silk Shimmer turned and glared at them. "It's too early for you two to be cranky, so shut up!" She turned to look at a sign with directions to various halls, with another sign advertising which magician was in which hall. "Besides, it should be easy to find them if they're here."

The three approached the signs, and starting scanning the names. It wasn't long before Cheese exclaimed, "Hey! Trixie's here!"

Tomato turned to him. "Who's Trixie?"

"She's a pal of mine who's a magician! She, uh, had a crummy reputation the last time I saw her..." Cheese rubbed the back of his head, holding a sheepish grin. He turned to the sign and smiled. "Looks like she's doing a great job in turning it around, if landing a gig here is anything to go by."

Tomato scanned the sign for Trixie's name before he found it. "...'The Great and Powerful Trixie'? Just how 'powerful' is she?"

"Dunno."

"And... how did you not know she was attending?"

Cheese crossed his forelegs and narrowed his eyes. "I was busy with other stuff--I had other ponies put the magicians in each hall, and she must have been hidden in the group of magicians as the whole deal went through..."

That was when Silk Shimmer exclaimed, "Aha! Kazam's here! And of course he's in the biggest hall..."

"Well, that's lucky," Tomato droned.

Silk bit at her hoof. "I don't know if Mom and Dad are with him... and it'd be a miracle if Party Favor was here just to watch. Hopefully I can convince them that I'm asking for money for a good cause."

Tomato patted her back. "I'll back you up if you need it."

Cheese sighed. "And... I'll just pop into that other hall to say 'hi' to Trixie while you do your business stuff."

Tomato scoffed. "Don't you technically conduct a business with party planning?"

"Psht, no, I don't work for profit. I'm blessed with not having to worry about finances."

Silk turned to him and quirked an eyebrow. "How...?"

Tomato shot a brief glare at Cheese, and then pulled Silk away, trotting down the lobby. "Don't ask, he says it'll make a non-party pony's head explode. Now, let's just find your brother so that we can convince him or your parents to lend some bits to start that restaurant."

As Tomato and Silk left, Cheese just watched with a sour look on his face, quickly stuck his tongue in their direction, and snorted. Then he turned around and walked down the lobby the opposite direction, grumbling, "Gee, no need to have such an attitude, you little ketchup squirt."

He shook his head, reminding himself to keep a smile on his face. He didn't want Trixie to ask questions.

---

"Watch in awe, as the Great and Powerful Trrrixie uses a lightning strike to turn this glass of water into a glass of orange juice!"

The handful of ponies in the hall just stared at the sky blue mare. There were eyebrows quirked, heads tilted, and there was somepony who coughed. Even when noticing that some of the ponies seemed a little bored, Trixie still held her head up high, and focused her attention on the glass of water on the stool. Her horn glowed in a lilac aura, and a tiny puff of a dark cloud formed.

The cloud swirled into a bigger and bigger mass, and it started to crackle. Trixie heard the murmuring of the audience, and she picked up the slight tones of interest. Smirking, she stopped the cloud's growth, and then silently commanded the lightning to strike.

KA-BOOM!

The thunder made the audience jump, and the strike brought upon purple steam from the water. Trixie gazed upon the crowd, gauging their reaction for once the steam cleared. And when the steam did clear... the ponies laughed.

Wide-eyed, Trixie snapped her head around to find not a glass of orange juice on the stool, but a lanky, brownish-gold pony wearing a yellow polo perched on it, smiling at her, waving, and exclaiming, "Howdy, Trixie!"

Trixie gaped at Cheese Sandwich for about five seconds, and then grinded her teeth. She opened her mouth to yell at him when she remembered her audience. She turned around, grinned, and announced, "Haha! That was part of the plan! Did you really think Trixie would do such a simple trick of turning one drink into another? No, I have fooled you all--I have made a pony appear instead!"

Each member of the audience blinked. And then, they broke into applause, with the sound of thunderous stomps filling the room. Trixie stood up and bowed, and boldly announced, "The Great and Powerful Trixie has more tricks under her cape! But for now..." She tossed her mane. "She needs to take a break."

The audience murmured, and with shrugs, they trotted off to elsewhere. Once the group had dissipated, Trixie turned to Cheese and snapped, "What do you think you're doing, Cheese Sandwich?!"

Cheese shrugged. "Thought I'd pop in to say 'hi'."

"I was in the middle of something!"

"...sorry."

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just don't do it again, and you better hope that I don't make you the assistant that I saw in half." She turned around and went through the curtains of her stage.

Cheese followed her, where he found that she had removed her hat and cape, and was now powdering her face in front of a mirror. "So... I apologize for not noticing you yesterday--super busy with the set up stuff, and left the hall assignments to the other ponies. But hey, at least your reputation's getting better! Heard about how you nabbed that thief in Manehattan!"

Trixie set down the powder puff, glanced back at him, and smiled. "Well... helps to have some friends to have your back. But yes, it's been a long and frustrating process, but I am reclaiming my former glory." Her face then fell into a scowl. "I just wish they didn't give the biggest stage in the biggest hall to that Kazam pony and some other undeserving talents."

"Oh, him?" Cheese chuckled. "Funny thing, his sister and my brother are going to see him in order to see if her could help out with a restaurant in Halterside... it's a long story."

Trixie turned to him. "Wait... so that creep has a sister--no, no, you have a brother?"

Cheese nodded. "Yeah... Tomato's kind of cranky and gets on my nerves, but it's hard to truly despise him because... well... he's my little brother, and I can tell deep down there's still that bright-eyed and excitable colt within him! I just wish he didn't have to hide it with a big, serious businesspony persona that he thinks he needs to maintain on this road trip. He doesn't, because it's annoying and pointless."

Trixie raised an eyebrow. "I never thought I'd see the day where you of all ponies admit to being annoyed with someone."

Cheese shrugged. "I do get annoyed--I'm not just some smiling doofus that doesn't know any emotion besides fake happiness. Psht, come on, I have to experience pain in order to appreciate joy more fully, you know?"

Trixie was now brushing her mane. "Would be nice not to have to experience pain in the first place."

"Oh, well. I'm still trying to figure out whether Tommy's a blessing or a curse in my life, and whether he's destined for greatness, will fade away into obscurity, or will have a legacy in infamy."

"Puh, I know my sister's a curse."

"Really? How?"

"None of your business." Trixie once again donned the hat and cape, and strolled back outside. "Now, the Great and Powerful Trixie is going to make the show go on! She asks if you not interrupt her in the middle of a trick this time."

Cheese nodded, and then he paused mid nod as he realized something. "Say, Trixie?"

She stopped and glanced back at him. "What?"

He pulled out a glass of full of a thick, red-orange liquid and took a sip of it. "You didn't turn the water into orange juice. This is tomato soup."

---

Tomato and Silk Shimmer entered the large hall to find several stages set up, with several magicians performing their tricks. One pulled a rabbit out of his hat, another pulled out a stream of handkerchiefs out of his sleeve. One ate fire and breathed out a dragon, and another enchanted some cards and threw them up to create fireworks. A couple were teaching foals some magic tricks, and some were on a break and watching the others or chatting.

At the end of the hall, there was a great big stage, where some ponies were sweeping up ashes from the last act, which Tomato wasn't sure he wanted to know what happened. However, Silk galloped to that stage, and Tomato figured that she thought that her older brother would be the one on that stage. So he followed.

Once they reached it, Silk asked the sweeping pony, "Excuse me... do you know where Kazam is?"

The pony snorted and said, "His next show's not until seven. I'm sweeping this for the other big magicians performing on this stage."

That was when a royal blue unicorn with wavy, jet black hair waltzed out from behind the curtain, donning a maroon cape. "Oh, don't worry your pretty little heads, fans. I'm here to sign auto--" He stopped as he realized who he was talking to. His lips curled into a smile. "Well, hello there, sis. I haven't seen you in a while, Silkie; I was thinking you dropped off the planet like Party Favor did."

Silk sighed. "Yep, it's me, Kazam. I was just... going around, doing stuff."

Kazam looked at Tomato. "Like getting a boyfriend?"

Tomato gave him a funny look. "Sorry, pal, but I haven't known her long enough for any romantic feelings to develop."

"My apologies, Mr.... mind telling me your name?"

"Tomato Sandwich."

"Okay, Mr. Sandwich." He snickered. "Who names their kid Sandwich?"

"I go by Tomato, thank you very much."

Silk grinned nervously. "Can we go speak somewhere else?"

Kazam rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine... let's go to my trailer outside."

---

He led the pair to his trailer, and invited them inside. Tomato couldn't help but look around at the interior of the little place, even as he swatted at a fly. There were little bookshelves filled with books about magic, famous mages, and the supernatural, as well as a couple of novels. Mystical trinkets such as a crystal ball, some amulets, and other items were scattered in each and every corner and on Kazam's dresser, as well as a bowl of fruit. Cards and handkerchiefs and other standard magician things were on the floor as well. A dream-catcher was hung above a hammock, and right next to the door, there was a bird cage with a pineapple in it.

The pineapple croaked.

Alarmed, Tomato took a closer look at the fruit, and discovered it had four legs, webbed feet, and a face unmistakably resembling a frog's. As he gaped at the strange creature, it let out a ribbit and snagged the annoying fly with its long tongue. Grimacing, Tomato quickly shuffled away from the frog as it crunched on the fly.

He could feel his blood run cold from being inside Kazam's trailer. He kept looking at the pineapple frog, which still stared at him as it swallowed the fly. He couldn't help but wonder how the thing even existed, and a pineapple and a frog on a date popped into his head.

"Go away, disturbing image," he mumbled.

Kazam sat at his his dresser, and took an apple from the bowl. He tossed it toward Tomato, saying, "Have a fruit."

Tomato caught it with his tail, and munched on it. He recoiled as he found that the apple had the tiny, juicy pouches of an orange, dripped like an orange, and it even tasted like an orange. He blinked, swallowed his bite, and ended up glaring at the fruit in utter betrayal.

Kazam telekinetically lifted a comb and ran it through his mane. "So... any reason why this conversation needed to be private between the three of us?"

Silk twiddled her hooves. "Well... you see... I'm going to start a business with somepony on the East Coast, and I need some money so that it can get off the ground."

Kazam scoffed. "What, you're not starting it with To-MAH-to?"

Tomato was still glaring at the orange disguised as an apple. "Please don't pronounce it that way--I find it obnoxious."

Silk blew her bangs out of her face. "Well, technically, it was Tomato's idea to help the guy earn money to pay off his sister's medical bills. I offered to pay for it and help him with it because... well... I got involved in a scam with con artists that nearly kidnapped said sister and made things worse... yeah, I'm trying to make up for that."

Kazam snorted and put down the comb. He picked up a pear. "Silk, don't you know better than to get involved with con artists? Sheesh, next thing I know, I'd find that our brother ended up joining a cult or something."

Tomato stepped forward. "Look, Mr. Kazam, the ponies in that area love pizza, and I'm sure the pizzeria will be a success when it opens."

Kazam turned around and raised an eyebrow, munching on his pear. "It's a pizzeria?"

"Yeah, a pirate ship pizzeria! The folks there are loving the idea, and with some money and some cooks, I personally believe it can work. Our pal back east thinks it's a good idea, the mayor of the town thinks it's a good idea, and so... I smelled a great business opportunity."

"Aren't you a little young to even know anything about that?"

Tomato turned and showed them his cutie mark. "Nopony is too young to learn about it."

"'Cept babies," Silk said. "And tiny toddlers."

Kazam finished his pear, and then looked at his sister dubiously. "Silk, what would Mom and Dad think? You have a talent in magic and you'll waste yourself working in a pizzeria."

Silk groaned. "Kazam, please, I need to make it up to Silver and Goldie back east for nearly screwing up their lives! I'll get back to trying for magical fame later, right now, I'm just trying to help them."

"...you do realize that if I agree, you'll be indebted to me, right?"

Tomato stepped forward. "We could offer a service to you for the next few days, just to work off a little of the debt. Don't worry, we can take any of your suggestions, and Silk can definitely pay you back."

Kazam scratched his chin, and looked at a poster in the corner, depicting what seemed to be several illusions such as a fire dragon, a water hydra, a pony with wings of light, and many others. With a smirk, he turned to them and said, "Well... I suppose I could pay you quite a fine sum of money... if you're both willing to be my assistants for the rest of my shows for tonight and the next couple days..."

"Is it dangerous?" Tomato asked.

Kazam waved a hoof. "I'm a professional--I promise you'll be safe, even if some of my tricks will tingle and sting." He held out a hoof, and with a low, hypnotic voice and glowing violet eyes, he said, "There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of."

Tomato hesitated at the sound of the voice and the look of the eyes. He felt a tingle in his back and his heart pounding against his chest. He wasn't sure he wanted to go through with this, but he had to remember why he was doing it. He glanced at Silk, who didn't seem to notice her brother's strange look, and then with a gulp, he took the hoof and shook it.

"You have a deal."

Author's Note:

And thus, I begin the Las Pegasus arc!

Also, I looked up attractions that are free. Because they're tight on cash as it is.

Anyway, in other news--behold! The Great and Powerful Trixie has appeared! Yes, I was planning on Trixie to appear in this--after all, what's a Magic Expo without everyone's favorite show-offy magician? And before you call me out on the switching between first- and third- person--I believe she has humbled enough to do first-person more often.

And finally... I give credit of the pineapple frog to my cousin (who's pretty darn obsessed with her own creation):

Source

Comments

[SageBrony07]

That's a cool pineapple. Also it don't trust that guy. Something bad is going to happen. thanks for the update and new chapter.

[Arian Blaze]

Okay, I think I may have been saying Tommy's name To-MAH-to (Hence me being British and all). . .Sooo, I think I have annoyed Tomato a smidgen. Oh, well, I guess I will have to start reading his name differently.
By the way, I love the pineapple.

[Goldfinch142]

I get the feeling that Kazam is going to try to do some weird and possibly dangerous stuff to Tomato. Stuff that might anger Cheese. There is no wrath like a party pony scorned.

I personally take the Vegas side of the Vegas/LA debate, but I suppose either or both is fine.

Wouldn't it be funny if Trixie out-magicked Kazam and he got mad? Then again, he'd most likely take out his anger on Tomato by turning him into a pineapple-frog or something, so...

"Silk, don't you know better than to get involved with con artists? Sheesh, next thing I know, I'd find that our brother ended up joining a cult or something."

Oh-ho, if only he knew...

All in all, a very entertaining chapter. I look forward to seeing what magic acts Kazam and Trixie will be putting on with Tomato and Cheese, respectively, as well as everything else going on.

Also, I've noticed you've been putting (--) for an em dash (—). I'm assuming you use Google Docs. Just to let you know if you don't already, on a Mac you can create an em dash with option-shift-dash or Insert-Special Character and typing "em dash" in the search bar. On Windows you can get one with alt-1051 or the Insert thing. If you already know this and it's simply a stylistic choice, feel free to disregard this part.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Ah, Gravity Chicken. A time-honored pegasus sport, I'm sure.

Cheese is firmly in the wrong at this point. Tomato's doing something nice for somepony else; it just happens to be financial in nature. It's what he does, but Cheese can't seem to understand it any more than Tomato can grasp the finer points of siege partillery. It's that disconnect between the exuberant little colt and the straitlaced young professional that seems to be tripping him up. Cheese needs to learn that his brother's grown up, or he may end up reopening the split between them.

I see Twilight isn't the only one using ill-advised transmutations to create plantanimals.

Also, Kazam appears to be a mesmerist. That's not good, though at least Tommy seems capable of resisting the effect. Here's hoping the Cheesy Sense doesn't go off before Tommy's indentures are completed.

[A Joe in the Bush]

I should not have read Hearth's Warming is merry in out town before I read this story. Now I know how this Arc ends.

Oh well, the journey is more important than the destination.

[Fionn]

Woohoo! tGaP Trixie!

[Godslittleprincess]

Oh, snap! Tommy, I think it's safe for me to say FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, LISTEN TO THE TINGLE!