Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

6.5--What Happens in Las Pegasus Stays in Las Pegasus

Evening fell on the city of Las Pegasus, and the night life was beginning once again. Many a pony were heading to places for their classic night of hedonism, involving activities such as dancing, drinking, and gambling. They walked under the neon lights, passing the synchronized fountains, smaller scale figures of other places' landmarks, and numerous other ponies heading to their respective casinos and nightclubs. Some ponies had stopped to just look at the sights, whether they be the aforementioned figures or fountains, the fake volcano, or the sight of pegasi making daredevil divebombs into the Ground District below. Music was ringing through the town, and there couldn't be any more bliss on the ponies' faces.

A group of ponies were gazing at the sky beam of the pyramid building of one of the resorts. While they had been admiring the blue pillar of light, a figure suddenly appeared and hovered within the light, prompting feelings of curiosity from the onlookers. From what they could tell from afar, the pony had no wings, and there was a faint purple glow on the head.

"Citizens and visitors of Las Pegasus!" the figure cried, louder than a normal voice. "Direct your attention toward the Pyramid of Luxor Las Pegasus!"

Confused denizens and tourists did as he said, wondering what was going on.

"Greetings, my little ponies," the figure continued. "I am the Mysterious Mystic Kazam, and welcome to the Grand Finale of the Las Pegasus Magic Expo!"

The ponies all blinked, and then murmured amongst each other. Some questioned the Grand Finale thing, even though most of them weren't at the convention center, and wondered if he got permission to do so outside. Some tingled with excitement, knowing that it taking place outside meant that it was going to be big. Some scoffed and trotted away, having no time for magical nonsense. And others were a little wary, not entirely sure what to think of the unicorn in the light.

Kazam chuckled. "There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of, folks! I am only here to present you with my biggest and most impressive feat of all, and it's only fair that I share it with those on the Strip."

The civilians only looked at each other once again, shrugging and shaking their heads.

"And now..." Kazam raised a hoof in a gesture toward the moon. "Prepare yourself for Tommy... the first... ever... VAMPIRE!"

They weren't even given a chance to process what he said before another figure sprang up in front of the moon. Spreading its large, bat-like wings to its great wingspan, it threw its head up in a shriek. The shriek made the ponies jump and cover their ears, before looking up again at the strange creature hovering in the moonlight..

One mare blinked. "Is that a member of Luna's guard?"

An elderly stallion shook his head. "That's fake. Completely fake. Nothing but an illusion."

A younger stallion tilted his head. "Who names a vampire 'Tommy'?"

Hearing the hum of the crowd's murmurs, Kazam lowered his hoof and said, "Now, I assure you that my friend here is no illusion. He is in fact, a real vampire, one of my own creation. In fact, I recently tested his ability to transform other ponies into vampires, and the results are..."

He raised his hoof above his head, and sure enough, a large number of vampire bat-ponies shot up from every corner of the city, joining Tommy in the sky and creating a cloud over the Strip. The civilians gasped at the sight, and stepped back as they gaped at the sheer number of vampires that were glaring at them with glowing, red eyes.

Kazam's chuckled turned into full blown laughter. "How do you like them?! You ought to know that I have been perfecting this spell for years! Years where I was told that I couldn't do it! Years where my mother scolded me for using magic that was 'too dangerous'! Years where my father, who otherwise pushed me into growing my power over the years, had discouraged me from recreating the spell that our ancestor, Wayer Rune, had used to create the werewolf! My own brother even thought I was crazy!" Kazam threw back his head and laughed some more. "But I didn't listen!"

It was then he noticed the ponies backing away, still staring at the creatures in the sky. He sneered and said, "And if you still don't believe they're real... take a closer look."

A simple point of his hoof sent the vampires diving toward the Strip, hissing in a haunting melody. Seeing the monsters zooming toward them, the civilian ponies quickly turned and started to flee, screaming at the top of their lungs. They galloped down the walkway, hearts pounding and muscles aching as they attempted to escape the vampires that drew ever nearer. Some ponies were nearly shoved into the cloud lawn, where they would've plummeted to the street of the Ground District.

However, some ponies were tackled, and found themselves with fangs sinking into their necks. Those ponies, after the horror of having blood sucked out in a strange painful and ticklish experience, soon had wings sprout out their backs--if they didn't already have any to be transformed--and a pair of fangs grow in their mouth. Once the transformation was complete, the victims panicked and cried.

Police ponies arrived on the scene to find the horrifying sight of pony-bat hybrids attacking innocents. There was little hesitation to try to direct panicking ponies into the nearest buildings, while the unicorn officers kept the bats at bay with magic beams.

"Somepony, send a messenger to Canterlot!" one shouted. "This situation demands royal intervention!"

Kazam chuckled upon hearing the shrieks and fear and agony, and kept on watching as he grabbed the tail of one of the vampires. As he was carried up, he cast a spell on himself, and then once he made it to one of the cloud neighborhoods, he released his grip on the vampire and landed on the cloud. He laid down on it, made himself comfortable, and just watched the chaos below.

"I love a good show. I wish I had popcorn."

---

Back at the convention center, the patrons of the Magic Expo were alarmed at the arrival of the police officers who had proceeded to label the largest hall as a crime scene. A lot of them were not pleased to learn that they were to be kept in the other halls, and that they'd be late in getting home or to their hotel rooms that night. Some even scoffed at the rumor of 'vampire bat-ponies' being the reason the cops were here and not letting ponies out of the building. Some figured that it was a murder in that room, and that being kept inside was stupid.

Once Silk Shimmer and Trixie had relayed what they knew to the police, they trotted back to the hall where Trixie's stage was. They went in the room full of murmuring and complaining ponies, and swam through until they made it to the stage and climbed on. They went behind the curtains, where Cheese was just moping in the corner.

"We... directed them to Kazam's trailer," Silk Shimmer said with a sheepish grin. "They'll confiscate his stuff... maybe find something that could reverse the spell... and maybe give that pineapple frog to a better home?"

Cheese glanced up briefly before hanging his head again. "Great."

Trixie gave Silk a funny look. "Why did you need to mention that frog?"

Silk shrugged. "He's a nice frog, he deserves a better home than with Kazam."

"Eh, I certainly wouldn't want to live with that creep," Trixie grumbled. She looked at Silk again. "How did you stand living in the same house as him when you were a filly?"

Silk pursed her lips. "I often escaped to do magic shows with my friends. Sadly, Party Favor had to deal with him at home."

Cheese looked up and snorted. "No wonder he disappeared--I'd run off too if I had that nutcase for a brother! Seriously, Kazam's a terrible pony, and from what I can glean from your statements, a terrible brother!" His face fell once again, and he buried his face in his hooves. "It's not like I'm any better at this brother thing. I let Tomato make a deal with him... and now a vampire army's flying out there, most likely attacking innocent ponies, and Tommy's part of it! Ugh... I must be the worst party pony in history to drive my baby bro into the clutches of a madpony."

Silk stepped forward and put a hoof on his shoulder. "Cheese, it's not your fault. Tomato and I were just trying to help Silver Shill... and, well, we just had the crummy luck of dealing with a crazy and powerful unicorn." Silk shook her head. "I thought I could trust my own brother."

Cheese pushed her away. "No... you see, I... I..." He groaned and shouted, "I'm still upset over losing the music battle with the Flim Flam Brothers!"

Trixie blinked, and glanced between the two. "What are you going on about? Music battle? And Cheese Sandwich, upset?" Trixie scratched her head. "And here I thought he wouldn't care if he lost some sort of duel, with him so cheerful and all."

Cheese turned to her. "Yeah... if I end up losing on my own merits, usually I'm a good sport. But, that time it was a duet battle, and I chose Tomato to be my partner because I know that he's got a great voice. But the whole time I had to nudge him and remind him when it was his turn, he got startled by a random clown, and he jumped into a chocolate fountain! He outright humiliated himself to the point where he just gave up! And when that happened... I was ashamed to even consider him my brother. Since then... I admit it, I've been telling him half-truths about me being busy so that I could avoid him."

Silk blinked. "Uh... half-truths?"

Trixie crossed her forelegs. "He was at every one of my shows in between checking if everything was going smoothly."

Cheese sighed and looked at Silk. "If only I had gone with you and Tommy when you were going to make that deal with Kazam. Maybe I could have sensed something was up and convinced you guys to look elsewhere for those restaurant funds. Anything to prevent the vampire apocalypse! But, nope, I was too mad to care until it was too late. Ugh... I'm a horrible brother."

He buried his face in his hooves once again, the image of Tomato as a small colt running around and using his big brother's poofy mane as a trampoline came to his mind. He could hear the joyous laughter and endless energy that was once a staple of Tommy, as well as the admiration that he had for Cheese. Cheese wanted to smile at the old memory, of when seeing the little rascal being happy was just enough to make him happy, and of when he was a worthwhile big brother. But, he could not; how could he when let Tommy turn into a monster?

He sighed. Pinkie would be disappointed in him.

CLANG!

"Ow!" Cheese's ears rang as he clutched his throbbing head. He looked up and glared at Trixie, who held a frying pan in her magic and was giving him a raising eyebrow. Wincing from what he was sure to be a bump on his head, he asked, "What did you do that for?"

"You were getting too gloomy to be Cheese Sandwich, and it's freaking me out," Trixie replied. She set the frying pan on the dresser and then levitated the anti-magic cone--which she had removed from Silk Shimmer's horn earlier--and held it up for both of them to see. "Now... you see this thingy? Yeah, we're going to latch it onto Kazam's horn and stop the mass mind control going on."

Silk jumped. "What?! Are you crazy, Trixie?!"

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Perhaps. But I was enlisted to help catch a thief in Manehattan. Who says that the Great and Powerful Trixie cannot stop an army of vampires in Las Pegasus?"

"What if you get bitten before you even get to Kazam?" Silk groaned and used her magic to swipe the cone away from Trixie. "Not to mention it won't cure those ponies of vampirism."

Cheese tapped his chin, and then stood up. "Maybe not... but the princesses can. But frankly, it'll take a while before they're even informed, and Kazam would be spreading out the curse further during that time. So, I agree with Trixie, let's de-power Kazam and get those ponies to snap out of it. And get my brother back!"

Silk groaned and did a facehoof. "Guys, even if we did have a chance of winning... we're still in lockdown in this building. How do you propose we get out?"

---

"Spoons," Silk said in the flattest tone imaginable. "Leave it to a party pony to use spoons as a means of escape. I should have seen that coming."

The trio popped out of the ground just outside the convention center, and climbed out of the hole Cheese had dug with special "spoon-gloves". Cheese dropped the spoon-gloves, and he and the girls rushed into a nearby walkway attached to the mountain, snuck into an alley, and flattened themselves against a wall, scooting toward the street. One by one, they gazed out into the Strip, and their eyes widened at the sight.

A large number of vampire bat-ponies were flying around in the sky and among the buildings, the illumination of the neon lights giving them an eerie glow as they chased pegasi. There was also a good number flying lower near the streets, chasing innocent earth ponies and unicorns before tackling them and sinking their fangs in their necks. Some bitten ponies were already sprouting wings and fangs, and some who had finished their transformations took off into the sky. And echoing all around the town, there sounded Kazam's voice, saying the tired line of "There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of."

Trixie noticed Silk's eyes glazing over, and then smacked her. "Resist the hypnotic sentence!"

Silk rubbed her cheek, and watched some newly transformed earth ponies take off, and much to her surprise, soar like eagles. "So... how did those ponies who were unicorns and earth ponies learn how to fly so fast?"

"I don't know! I just want to make them stop before they suck my blood!"

Ignoring the girls, Cheese had pulled out a pair of binoculars and was looking down the Strip for Kazam. "Huh... I hear him, but I can't see him." He looked at Silk Shimmer. "Silk, Kazam's your brother; where would he most likely be in order to command all these vampires?"

Silk scoffed. "Obviously, he'd be in a high place, putting himself in a position where all can see him."

Trixie looked up and pointed at one of the clouds. "Check that purple light, it's pretty high."

Cheese looked up at said cloud, and spotted the little purple light glowing on it. Putting his binoculars back up, he saw the light illuminating the unmistakably smug face of Kazam. "Oh, there he is."

Right after he said that, though, he jumped and screamed at a fanged face suddenly popping up in his vision. Dropping the binoculars, he saw one of the vampires flying straight for them, fangs bared and a loud hiss coming from his mouth. Beside him, the unicorn mares screamed as well, and Trixie quickly drew out her frying pan from under her hat, and smacked the vampire away.

Blinking, Cheese said, "Okay, girls, you go and get to that cloud to seal the cone on Kazam's horn--I'm going to be a distraction!"

Trixie scowled at him. "Do you expect us to hitch a ride on one of the vampires?"

Silk groaned and pointed to a tall, needle-like tower touching one of the clouds with its antennae. "No, we just gotta use the Trottosphere and then I'll cast the cloud-walking spell... since that's a pegasus-only neighborhood."

"Oh."

Cheese glanced at the tower. "That thing makes me think of Seaddle... huh, should I get Cheesy Sense pointing to there, I should say 'hi' to Aunt Cocoa Butter."

Another vampire rammed into the ground beside them, and then drunkenly stood up and swayed toward them, licking its lips. Soon after, it was bumped away by a much less drunk vampire, who leapt toward them with a hiss. Trixie jumped, and set off a smoke bomb. She then proceeded to drag Cheese and Silk away--unfortunately in the wrong direction--as the vampire was confused.

They galloped down the walkway, only to run into more vampires.

Cheese backed up. "Okay, girls, just get to the Trottosphere--I'll stay here and stall them as long as I can."

The girls nodded, and Trixie set off another smoke bomb behind Cheese. Under their cover, the girls quickly fled north towards the tower, while Cheese stayed, facing the vampire army that hungrily gazed at him.

He took a deep breath, and pulled out his accordion. Thankful that he was often quick in fixing it, he played a few practice notes, looking up at the vampires every so often to make sure none of them were attacked. Then, when he was sure that the instrument was tuned right, he started to play an upbeat tune, and started to bounce around and dance as the vampires stared at him with bewildered looks.

The accordion music was magically loud enough for Kazam to hear it from his perch on the cloud, and he turned his attention to the brownish-gold pony dancing in the center of the Strip. Sneering, he muttered, "What does that idiot think he's doing?"

Smiling at the crowd, Cheese sang:

"Hey, creepy monsters, put your eyes on me,
I'm playing in the walkway for all to see
You wanna have some fun? Well, let me scratch that itch!
'Cause I'm the super party pony Cheese Sandwich!"

He looked around, noting that the number of vampires curiously looking at him was growing. While he was grinning and his spirits were getting higher, so was his heart rate, and he had to resist the urge to get out of there until he was certain that Silk and Trixie had enough time to get to the cloud district.

"Now that I have you all gathered here today
I have a fun idea that'll make you all want to stay
I promise you guys that it's not a load of hokey,"

Then he threw his front legs up and cheered,

"Who wants to do the Pony Pokey?!"

Kazam blinked, and put a hoof to his face. "You've got to be kidding me..." He stood up, and with his voice amplifying spell, announced, "There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of--this pony's an imbecile."

Cheese scowled. "Hey!"

Kazam continued, "He has no reason for you to just stop and stare--attack him! Let's see how he looks with fangs and a pair of wings!"

Cheese gulped, and then looked around as the vampires' eyes glazed over, and they hissed at him. Holding his accordion in a manner that both shielded him and sent the message that he was ready to hit somepony with it, he growled, "Whatever you do... do not make me do the Pony Pokey violently!"

---

As Silk and Trixie raced on the boulevard towards the Trottosphere tower, all manner of magic blasts and frying pan hits were the mares' primary defenses against the vampires that they came across. Trixie was smacking vampires away left and right, some of them straight in the face and all of them as hard as she could. Some of the vampires were jolted out of their trance, and had panicked about the bat-ponies flying around and the change in their own bodies--until the hypnosis was reactivated by Kazam saying, "There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of." Trixie still had to smack Silk every time she fell under the trance as well.

Some smacks led to some of the unicorn-vampires losing their anti-magic cones, which Silk didn't hesitate to catch with telekinesis in case they needed spares. Of course, now they had to dodge magic blasts and deactivate telekinesis. Trixie even got into a fight with one that tried to steal her frying pan--she ended it with a smoke bomb on the vampire's face.

After they resumed the gallop after her fight with that vampire, Trixie asked, "Silk Shimmer, how much does it cost to use that tower to climb to the higher cloud district, anyway?"

Silk's eyes widened. "Well... um..."

Trixie groaned. "Expensive. This entire town's expensive!"

"Hey, most of the activities I did earlier this week were cheap! It is possible to have fun while spending few bits here!"

"Well, it'd be cheaper just to use a hot air balloon... if the sky wasn't filled with vampires!" As she shouted that, Trixie smacked yet another vampire away.

"Geez, in times like this, I wish I was a pegasus!" Silk trapped a vampire foal in a bubble, and threw the bubble at some others diving toward them. She stared to see if the foal was okay, then continued to gallop with Trixie to their destination.

However, when they were almost to the tower, a mustached police officer that smelled strongly of garlic jumped in front of them. "Where do you mares think you're going? Get inside, it's too dangerous out here!"

Trixie groaned once again. "Look, we don't have time for this!"

Silk stepped forward, "Officer, we're on our way to stopping the stallion responsible for this mess."

The officer sneered. "Yeah, sure--and I suppose you're both going to become alicorn princesses if you do?"

Trixie tapped her chin and chuckled. "Becoming a princess does sound nice."

Silk glared at her, and then smacked her on the back of the head. "You're not helping!"

The officer stepped forward, and started to drive them away from being out in the open. "I don't care if you're under the tutelage of Princess Celestia herself--I'm not allowing any more ponies in this city to leave any buildings until the vampires have been taken care of! And speaking of Princess Celestia, we've got a messenger on the way--"

A scream was heard, and all three of them looked up to see a pegasus in the clutches of one vampire, having his blood being sucked out of him. The three watched as the pegasus' wings grew larger and more bat-like, and presumably, his ears and teeth were changing as well.

The officer cursed under his breath and murmured, "That was the messenger..."

Of course, another vampire came darting towards them from the side, but the officer just turned and glared at the thing. The vampire froze, and they locked eyes for a brief moment before the vampire took one sniff of him, and then darted away.

The officer sneered again. "You better fly away from Chief Garlic."

Trixie wrinkled her nose and muttered, "I'm strangely not surprised about that vampire's reaction."

Cheif Garlic turned back around, and then started herding Trixie and Silk into the nearest building. All the while, he was ignoring their protests and their pleas to get back out there to stop Kazam.

---

Meanwhile, Cheese was busy dealing with his portion of the vampire army, aiming to hit them on the head as much as he could in order to get them to snap out of it. He was thankful that the ponies were resilient, even though he didn't quite like letting ponies get hurt--especially during an interesting rendition of the Pony Pokey.

Cheese jumped into the middle of one of Las Pegasus' many bridges, in view of all the vampires. "You put your whole self in!"

Then he rolled out of the way of vampires diving toward him. "You put your whole self out!"

He winced as they slammed face first into the bridge. Noticing more jumping at him, he rolled forward and then onto another bridge and then danced on his hind legs. "You put your whole self in, not afraid to dance around!"

He jumped and ducked as vampires zipped left and right, trying to catch him. "You do the Pony Pokey, and you give a little shout!"

One vampire behind him hissed loudly after that line, and Cheese threw one end of his accordion toward it, which hit it on the forehead, sending it down through the clouds. "That's what it's all about!"

As the accordion sprung back into its normal shape, Cheese noticed another vampire flying toward him, and this time jumped over its head and onto its back. Sitting casually with his eyes closed, he played his instrument once again, and sang:

"Now, now, now, no need to be cranky
I just came here to have some fun
Those knocks on the head should have made you sane,
Now, I want to see the conga, everyone!"

Those vampires that had hit the bridges and walkways looked up, and several others poked their heads out of the clouds. Spurred by Cheese's music, they looked at each other, shrugged, and then formed a dancing line in the air. The one Cheese had hit with his accordion flew up and joined it, and some previously aggressive vampires stopped their attacks, and joined in the conga line. Some were hesitant, but joined in in case Cheese decided to unleash the Pony Pokey on them again if they didn't.

Cheese opened his eyes, and grinned at the sight of however many vampires there were dancing in a line in the air to his music. Some swayed and stirred their hooves, some bounced, and some clapped. They all kicked at a certain point, and resumed their normal dancing before another beat made them kick again. They repeated the actions as they followed the vampire Cheese sat on, who was getting into it as well.

Bouncing to the music himself, he muttered, "Just wait until Pinkie hears about this."

Meanwhile, still sitting on his cloud, Kazam's mouth was wide open, his eyes were wide, and his eyebrow was furrowed as he gazed at the flying conga line that Cheese somehow convinced the vampires to do with minimal effort. Pursing his lips and putting a hoof on his face, he grumbled, "This guy's even weirder than Party Favor ever was."

Then, he narrowed his eyes at the party pony and snarled. "No doubt he's a bigger threat than I anticipated; I need to get rid of him." His lips curled into a smile, and he stood up. "And what better way than a method that would hurt him most?"

Cheese was still humming the tune and playing the accordion, smiling at the vampire ponies who were enjoying themselves, acting more like civilized ponies--sort of--than wild animals. He was amazed that he had managed to get them to stop with the crazy attacks, and he was even hearing some of them singing and talking to each other. He hadn't heard Kazam say that stupid phrase, so he was feeling confident that Trixie and Silk got him, and that they won.

He sighed. "If only I had been allowed to play long enough to get Silk to snap out of it earlier--a good dose of music is great for combating mind control!" He looked away from the line, still feeling sheepish about the violence he had to employ in order to keep playing.

He shook his head, and started to scan the line for any sign of Tomato. If he could only spot the forelock curl, then he could relax. However, as he continued to scan the line, his heart sunk lower and lower as he saw no messy dark brown mane or tail, no grayish-reddish-brownish fur or wings, no white button shirt, and definitely no forelock.

Cheese bit his lip. "Tommy... where are you?"

Right after he said this, he was snatched off his seat by his shirt and carried into the sky by another vampire. It happened so fast that he couldn't grip his accordion properly, and as such it fell to the street and was broken upon impact.

Cheese blinked, and then felt his face heat up in anger. He turned and yelled, "Hey! I was taming the monsters with tha--aaaaaaaahhhhh!"

Much to his dismay, Cheese could recognize the face and the forelock of the pony that abducted him with his tail. And unlike the others, the accordion music didn't seem to faze him one bit--instead, the vampire gave him a bitter, spine-chilling hiss.

Cheese chuckled nervously. "Found you, baby bro."

Snarling, Tomato threw Cheese into his hooves, and then proceed to ram him backwards into a building. Cheese gritted his teeth he felt the pain right on his spine shoot throughout his body, and his head pounded in a manner that threatened to have it split open. The pained areas felt warm, and he briefly wondered if he was bleeding. He could hardly move after that impact, his stomach felt queasy and when he cracked open his eyes, there seemed to be three Tomatoes in front of him, as well as three Kazams latched onto the backs of the vampires.

Both threes merged into ones, and the royal blue unicorn was laughing at Cheese. Kazam turned to the air above the Strip, and called out, "There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of! I caught the nuisance!"

Cheese was helpless as he watched the orderly bat-ponies transform back into savage monsters, and dive back to the street in search of blood. Panting, he looked up and snapped, "Why are you doing this?! What reason is there for vampires to even exist?!"

Kazam leaned forward and patted Cheese's face. "As an earth pony, you wouldn't understand. Have you ever been bestowed with such power that you wanted to see what you can do? Have you ever wanted to push limits and test barriers in any way possible? Have you ever wanted to see if your power could match that of an alicorn's? Puh, of course not, you stupid mudhorse."

Cheese narrowed his eyes. "Oh? Well, I'd hate to break it to you, but I'm hardly a normal earth pony. In fact, you wouldn't even understand the magic I have--a special magic shared by few. Now, enough of this magic talk, I want you to stop this chaos and turn all these ponies back!"

Kazam pouted, and gave a little nod to Tomato, who pushed Cheese further into the wall. Then, Kazam said, "Why should I? I'm having a lot of fun!"

Cheese growled. "Fun? How is this fun? Without you hypnotizing them, those ponies are terrified to be vampires! The ponies who are still normal are terrified of them! And I'm still angry that you turned my brother into not only a monster, but your slave!"

Kazam scoffed. "Oh, brotherly love... what a ridiculous sentiment--especially when I haven't heard of you being very supportive of him and his talent. If you weren't such an awful brother, Tommy here wouldn't have agreed to work for me."

Cheese snorted. "I can hardly call myself the perfect big brother--but at least I can say that I'm better than you! Silk Shimmer and Party Favor would agree."

Cheese found himself being peeled off the wall, and then lifted up to Kazam's scowling face. Exhaling sharply through his nose, Kazam replied, "At least I can say that I'm not as annoying and preachy as you. I'm done with you, and you're dead." He looked down to Tomato and shouted, "To the Trottosphere!"

Cheese gulped as he found himself being flown to the tower. He still ached, and prayed that he'd recover before Kazam did whatever he was planning to do, and hoped that he'd quickly have access to hammerspace. If he didn't, he was done for.

But what could be funny in a situation like this?

Soon enough, Tomato and his passengers reached the tower, and then perched on top of the observation deck. Kazam hopped off and lifted Cheese with his magic, levitating him far enough that the party pony couldn't reach the edge and could only dangle above the walkways. Even worse, he was held above the clouds, meaning that his fall would go all the way to the ground district.

Kazam turned to Tomato. "What do you think? Is this high enough?"

Tomato tapped his chin and shook his head.

"You're right... hmm... why don't you take him up three times as high? Or perhaps more?"

Cheese gasped. "You're having my brother do the job instead of doing it yourself?!"

Kazam shrugged. "Hey, I'm going for whatever hurts the most--and what hurts more than someone you love betraying you?"

He gave a nod toward Tomato, and the vampire bat-pony leapt forward, grabbed Cheese, and flew up high into the sky. As they flew up higher and higher, the air became cooler and thinner. Cheese's heart pounded as the buildings, clouds, paths, and ponies below appeared smaller, and then when they passed the higher cloud district, the buildings there appeared smaller as he and Tomato ascended.

Breathing shaky breaths, Cheese bit his lip, and said, "Tommy... I'm sorry for implying that I don't care about you, and I'm sorry for holding the Halterside fiasco against you. I shouldn't have pulled you in when you clearly weren't ready, and... my pride didn't let me see that. I just wish I didn't have to end my life seeing you as this... thing, controlled by a madpony, and--"

He sighed. "And I hope the guilt doesn't kill you when you snap out of it--because it's not really your fault. I hope you know I love you, baby bro, no matter what."

Cheese squeezed his eyes shut. "Oh... I do wish that I could see Pinkie one more time."

Tomato stopped his ascent, and both of them were high above the city, staring at each other under the glow of the moonlight. The wind gently blew past them as their eyes were locked, gauging the looks in each others' eyes and trying to read them. For a moment, Cheese felt calm. But knowing the serene moment was only making the inevitable fall that much more terrifying, Cheese used it to try to find any trace of his little brother in that vampire's eyes, and prayed that his pleas had reached the pony inside.

If not, well...

"Last chance to snap you back to normal!" Cheese exclaimed. Then, shutting his eyes to avoid seeing the action, he threw the hardest punch he could. The hoof hit Tomato straight in the face, and he staggered back as he dropped Cheese and cradled his poor throbbing face.

Cheese could feel the air blow past him as he fell, but he only looked upwards as he yelled, "Sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy!!!"

Growling, Tomato rubbed his face, and then yelled, "Ow! Cheese! What did you do that--"

The color drained from his face as he saw Cheese plummeting to the ground below. He quickly realized that he was high above the city--much higher than the cloud district--and that Cheese was in danger. Because of him.

"No!" he cried.

Tomato swiftly dived toward Cheese in an attempt to catch him. Heart racing as he zoomed downward, mane tossing in the wind, and eyes squinting, burning, and leaking tears in the rush, he kept his focus on his older brother, who seemed frightened, and yet accepting of his fate. Tomato grit his teeth, though the fangs pricked his bottom lip.

Don't you dare look up at me like that! Tomato wasn't sure if he was crying or it was just the wind. You're not supposed to die! Not now!

Time seemed to slow down in his descent. All he could hear was his own heartbeat, and all he could see was Cheese, looking up at him with eyes gleaming with anxiousness. Tomato could only feel himself inching closer to him during the slow, agonizing seconds, even as he reached forward to try to grab him.

I'm not letting Equestria lose a party pony...

Cheese disappeared in the street of the higher cloud district, and Tomato just barreled through the mist. Still stretching out his hoof, he thought of the times that Cheese had made him laugh. The times that they played together as foals. The times that Cheese saved him from harm. The times that they exchanged letters. And finally, he thought of how in a house that they couldn't consider home, the love between them kept their days bright.

Tomato narrowed his eyes in determination. And I am not going to lose my big brother!

---

Below them, after a long argument with Chief Garlic, Trixie and Silk Shimmer busted out of the building, and ran out into the street to find a familiar orange-colored pony bursting out of the higher cloud district and plummeting down to his doom.

Silk gasped. "Oh, no! Trixie, we've gotta do something!"

"Do what?" Trixie replied. "Catch him?"

Silk bit her lip and galloped forward. "Maybe a bubble will--"

That was when she was tackled by another vampire, which made her skid on the paved walkway. After the vampire was promptly smacked away by Trixie with her frying pan, she helped Silk up, and cringed at the sight of her bleeding foreleg. She ripped one of Silk's coattails off, and wrapped the leg with it. They both looked up, seeing that Cheese fell even further.

Silk once again attempted to run, but her injured leg reduced her to a limp. So, she and Trixie could only watch Cheese fall.

A second figure burst out from the cloud at high speeds, and dove straight for Cheese. Before their eyes, they saw Cheese essentially splash into the clouds between the walkway, and the figure diving straight through. After holding their breath, their hearts sinking over what likely happened under them, their spirits were quickly lifted when that same figure blasted out of the Strip clouds, holding Cheese tightly. As the winged figure landed on the Trottosphere's platform, he still hugged a frazzled Cheese as tightly and tenderly as a scared child would with his mother.

Silk blinked. "Is that... Tomato?"

Trixie wrinkled her nose. "I thought he was too busy being a blood-sucking monster."

As the hug was released, Cheese and Tomato sat slumped on the ground, panting. Then they looked at each other, sat in an awkward silence, and then Cheese started to laugh. He pounced on his vampire brother, and gave him a tight hug and a noogie in return. And then he started twirling him around, still laughing and whooping in utter relief.

Silk smiled. "Aww... I think the power of brotherly love made Tomato snap out of it."

Trixie raised an eyebrow. "Or Cheese just hit him in one shape or form."

Silk rolled her eyes and started limping forward. "Come on, let's just check on them."

Suddenly, Kazam teleported in front of them, facing Cheese and Tomato and not taking notice of the girls. The both of them froze, looked at each other, and started to tiptoe, watching the scene before them.

Kazam glared at the brothers. "What is the meaning of this, Tomato? You weren't supposed to catch him; you were supposed to kill those that stood in our way, like a good monster!"

Tomato hissed. "I never agreed to be a monster! You forced this on me!"

"Come on, Tommy... you know this is better than just being a mudhorse. After all, there's absolutely nothing--"

Cheese jumped forward, and stuffed a sock in Kazam's mouth. "Uh-uh, you're not saying that again--not on my watch!"

Kazam's eyes were wide for a moment, and then with hot snorts and a piercing glare, his horn began to glow brighter than it had before. The bright illumination made the Sandwiches shout and hiss in pain and cover their eyes, and Silk reacted by summoning a clear, shaded shield in front of her and Trixie. The boys started to back away, unsure of what was going to happen next--while the girls inched ever closer.

Kazam spat out the sock and chuckled darkly. "So, that's the way it is, huh? Well, fine. I can handle getting rid of Tomato--I have a whole army after all, and I'm going to use it to overthrow Celestia, and show Equestria my power!"

As he was rearing up to blast them, he felt something wrap his horn and click. And then another was attached; and another. And then a fourth and fifth were attached to his horn. Right after, he was met with a sudden, sharp headache that sent him on his haunches and clutching his head. He glanced upward, and his face fell at the sight of all the vampires that had been flying around stopping, and looking around in confusion and fear.

Trixie suddenly hopped in front of him and shouted, "Haha! You have now been depowered, Kazam, by the Great and Powerful Trixie! Tremble before her might, and stare in awe at the amazingness that is Trixie! Never again shall you threaten Equestria!"

Rubbing his eyes, Tomato grumbled, "Cheese, I've been meaning to tell you that your friend's a loudmouth."

Cheese blinked to adjust from the light. "Hey, at least she stopped Kazam from killing us."

Kazam growled and slammed his hoof on the ground. "No! This is not how it was supposed to go! It should've been impossible to defeat me!"

A magical leash wrapped around his neck, and he was dragged away by his sister, though she still limped. With her nose in the air, Silk said, "Well, too bad, Kazam--you got defeated by those little souvenirs you had ponies give out at your show. How pathetic."

Kazam huffed. "All right, Little Miss Sassy, I demand that money I gave you back!"

"Too late, I already sent it to Halterside." She still limped on back to the building she and Trixie were in before, calling, "Oh, Chief Garlic..."

The Sandwiches got their normal vision back, and Tomato blinked and said, "I just realized that I haven't worn my glasses all day. This transformation gave me better eyesight!"

Cheese chuckled. "At least there's one good thing about this whole mess." After he finished laughing, he frowned. "Now, I'm sure the police are going to keep the vampires here in the city while somepony fetches Celestia. And from my experience, it'll take a week for the messenger to go there and back. And frankly, I'm not willing to stay here a week to wait for you to be cured, especially with the Summer Sun Celebration just around the corner."

"Well, I certainly don't want to live with bloodlust that much longer..." Tomato shuddered. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Simple: I'll smuggle you out of this city, take a train to Ponyville, and have Twilight fix you!"

Tomato sighed. "Well... how are you going to smuggle me out?"

Cheese grinned, and then lifted up something red-orange. "I have a collection of full body suits."

Author's Note:

Whew! Finally got this monster done! Over 7.5 thousand words in this thing, and it's the longest chapter out of any of my multi-parters!

Anyway, these are (sort of) the buildings Kazam stood on in this:

He also sat in a cloud neighborhood, watching the chaos. Las Vegas does not have a neighborhood in the clouds. Nor does the Stratosphere touch the clouds and bring you high enough to walk on them, I just think clouds are placed lower in Equestria than they are formed in real life. I dunno, I'm just rambling. Ramble ramble ramble...

So... after Tommy's back to normal, where do you suppose the Sandwich Bros will head next? Place yer bets!

Comments

[Goldfinch142]

Come on Kazam, don't you know true brotherly love will always prevail? (Though a good punch to the face never hurts, either.)

I was kind of wondering if Kazam had any prejudice against "non-magical" ponies. I guess the mudhorse comments answered that.

Kazam threw back his head and laughed some more. "But I didn't listen!"

Does anypony in that family listen?

That's quite the interesting collection Cheese has there. Do I even want to question when and where Cheese got a Tomato body suit? Still gotta hide those red eyes, though, if it doesn't have fake lenses or something.

I can't imagine Las Pegasus would let trains come and go after something like a vampire attack. They'd better catch the next one before the rails close.

If it's gonna take a week for Celestia to get to Las Pegasus, I hope all the other vampires have something to eat besides blood in the meantime.

As for where to next after the Ponyville detour, maybe Neighton? I bet Tomato would like to see Flora again. Or Seaddle, and get the chance to say 'hi' to Aunt Cocoa Butter, as Cheese put it.

[Jordan179]

Wait, Kazam's really created a transmissible vampire plague? Um, yeah, I guess he's shown he could do it, and that's something, but ... why? He's truly insane, eh?

"Fools! They all laughed at me at Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns! But I've shown them! I've shown them all! Mwah-hah-hah-hah-hah!"

That kind of motivation?

"I love a good show. I wish I had popcorn."

See, Kazam? That's how we know you're not Discord. If you were Discord, you'd have popcorn.

Trixie noticed Silk's eyes glazing over, and then smacked her. "Resist the hypnotic sentence!"

Trixie likes hitting other Ponies entirely too much. Sadly, that's how I read her character as well! At least it's in a good cause in this chapter.

... and Trixie quickly drew out her frying pan from under her hat, and smacked the vampire away.

ME: So Trixie, do you fry eggs in that?

TRIXIE: The Great and ... wait, you can fry eggs in that too? Who knew? I thought it was just for hitting ponies!

Trixie tapped her chin and chuckled. "Becoming a princess does sound nice."

In the Shadow Wars Storyverse, she eventually becomes one, too!

Kazam leaned forward and patted Cheese's face. "As an earth pony, you wouldn't understand. Have you ever been bestowed with such power that you wanted to see what you can do? Have you ever wanted to push limits and test barriers in any way possible? Have you ever wanted to see if your power could match that of an alicorn's? Puh, of course not, you stupid mudhorse."

Much as I thought, with a little unicorn supremacism mixed in. He'd really not approve of Party Favor being friendly with Sugar Belle, Night Glider and Double Diamond, then.

Trixie raised an eyebrow. "Or Cheese just hit him in one shape or form."

The first funny thing is that it shows how Trixie thinks. The second funny thing is that she happens to be right.

There is an upcoming scene in The Romance of the Open Road (which may take a while to write because it happens several chapters ahead of where I am) where Trixie escapes a very nasty, not at all funny situation by hitting somepony. Unexpectedly, and very hard, and in an entirely appropriate place.

Trixie suddenly hopped in front of him and shouted, "Haha! You have now been depowered, Kazam, by the Great and Powerful Trixie! Tremble before her might, and stare in awe at the amazingness that is Trixie! Never again shall you threaten Equestria!"

Yes, Trixie is a loudmouth. And, she saved the day. You go, Trixie!

[ChaoticKindness]

OH MY GOODNESS THAT WAS AMAZING

The scene where Tomato saved Cheese after almost killing him was one of the most epic things I've ever read. This chapter was one of the most epic things I've ever read. This STORY is one of the most epic things I've ever read. You deserve a virtual cookie! *passes you a chocolate chip cookie through the screen*

"Whatever you do... do not make me do the Pony Pokey violently!"

And I absolutely loved this line.

[SageBrony07]

Sweet chapter. This was great. I can't wait to read what happens next. Good luck.

[FanOfMostEverything]

My own brother even thought I was crazy!" Kazam threw back his head and laughed some more. "But I didn't listen!"

I am now convinced that this family's official motto is "We Do Not Listen." "Non Audire" is probably emblazoned on their coat of arms.

I read "spoon-glove" and my first thought was a knockoff Freddy Krueger. Then I realized ponies don't have fingers, and imagined a sort of slip-on trowel for hooves. Then I realized that this is a party pony we're talking about. The first idea was probably closer to what you meant.

Great climax in terms of action, suspense, and warm fuzzies. Thank goodness for Kazam's Chronic Villain Syndrome. (I wonder if Twilight could distract him by giving him a mustache to twirl...) I was half-expecting some kind of Sonic Lycopulse from Tommy at the end there.

As for where to they'll be going next? Hmm. Seaddle was mentioned, but on the other hand, that might be too obvious. Applewood, maybe?

[Fionn]

Trixie maybe a vain, slightly self centered loud mouth with a big ego at times but she isn't really a bad pony, except when influenced by a powerful dark magic artifact.

[Dashie04]

This was so awesome, so tense!

[Godslittleprincess]

"But I didn't listen!"

He's Party Favor's brother alright.

Hold it. How are Trixie and Cheese resisting the hypnosis? Does it only work on certain individuals or types of individuals?