• Published 27th Dec 2014
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Brotherly Bonding Time - Sketcha-Holic



Cheese Sandwich drags his brother, Tomato, in a trip across Equestria as part of his effort to rebuild their relationship. The mishaps that occur will put their rekindled bond--and their sanity--to the test.

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8.5--Liven Things Up

When Twilight and Rarity had nearly reached the fairgrounds, a bunch of ponies had left that area, and then immediately swarmed Twilight, complaining about how Princess Celestia ruined the fair. Confused and unnerved, she and her companion assured the crowd that they'd look into it, and pressed further.

As they met the rest of their friends at the fairgrounds, they had staggered back at the very sight of the charred remains of the stalls and stands, the broken down rides, and the pieces of the carnival games. Twilight had stared in horror at the dreadful sight, while Rarity had fainted. All the while, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie explained what had happened with Cheese accidentally activating Celestia's fire form and destroying everything in his panic.

Twilight's eye twitched. "He did... what?!"

Applejack sighed. "Eeyup, Cheese did this all right. I ain't got a clue on how he went ablaze, but when he did, he was more panicked than a coop full of chickens bein' attacked by a hungry fox. By the time Pinkie calmed him down, everything was bust."

"When he saw what he had done, I could see how bad he felt about having destroyed the fair," Fluttershy stated, helping Rarity up and brushing grass off of her.

"I know!" Pinkie exclaimed. "The look on his face--okay, technically it's Celestia's face--but still, it killed me! It's bad enough that a fair is ruined; but if a party pony ruins it..." She rubbed her leg and looked down at the grass. "...they feel so horrible. They just made a lot of ponies unhappy, and messed up at their own talent. It makes me sad that he was upset enough to run away."

Rarity still grimaced at seeing the wreckage. "Egh... I'd feel the same way if I ruined a fashion show that somepony worked so hard at. Especially in a manner that causes ponies harm."

Twilight massaged a temple with her hoof. "Oh, boy, this is not going to help Celestia's reputation..." She took a deep breath. "Okay, where did he run off to?"

The other four bit their lips and looked amongst each other, which prompted a groan from Twilight. "Seriously? None of you tried to follow him?"

"I tried!" Pinkie answered. She frowned. "He used the Royal Canterlot Voice on me, yelling at me to leave him alone."

"We think that the stress of being a princess got to him," Fluttershy said.

Twilight sighed. "Most likely--I know I've had my bad days since I've been coronated. Still, we have to find him, preferably before Princess Luna retur--"

It was right then that Luna landed just outside their circle, making the members of the group jump. Blinking, Twilight exclaimed, "You're back!"

Luna brushed herself off. "Yes, gathering the dream gremlins was a thrilling experience. I haven't hunted for them in over a millennium, and I've forgotten how elusive they can be. But, they have been apprehended, and I can safely switch the affected ponies back to their own bodies. Now..." She looked around at the destruction surrounding her. "Could one of you explain what has happened here? Where is Cheese Sandwich?"

The group of mares backed up a little, and looked amongst each other. A couple of them bit their lips, another pair rubbed the backs of their heads, the last two twiddled their hooves, and they all avoided her gaze. Luna's brow was slowly furrowing as they kept up their stalling, and she tapped her hoof.

Another pony came onto the scene and gasped. "Princess Luna!" The pony bowed, and then continued, "Forgive me for my intrusion, but it should be known to you that Princess Celestia's gone mad!"

Luna turned to the pony. "Is that so?"

"Yes! She's been causing mayhem all day. She misplaced the sun, confused or frightened the nobility, started a food fight during the Summer Sun Dinner, and outright destroyed the fair! She's even in hiding now! This isn't like her!" He gulped and bit his lip. "What if she's becoming Nightmare Sun?"

Luna winced, but then composed herself and raised a hoof. "That is not going to happen. I'll find her and talk some sense into her. I'll find out what's been going with her. In the meantime, you should go home and rest."

"Oh, thank you, Your Highness! " The pony bowed again, and then turned around and trotted away, muttering, "At least Luna's still sane. If both of them went crazy, we'd be doomed!"

Luna sighed, and turned to Twilight and her friends. "Care to explain these mishaps?"

Twilight hung her head. "You saw what happened with the sun. Cheese has no political or economical knowledge, he was trying to cover for accidentally throwing wine on a noble, and the last one..." She bit her lip. "...he... he accidentally unleashed Celestia's fire form."

Luna looked around at the fairgrounds once again. "What was he angry about?"

"We don't know!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I was just talking to the event planner when all of a sudden Celestia's hair went 'FWOOSH' and started burning the cotton candy stand, and then Cheese got away from it and lit another stand on fire and another, and then I told him he was on fire and he panicked and ran around and... lit more things on fire..."

"We're guessin' that it's just stress from this whole princess thing," Applejack said.

"I see. Clearly he ran away in shame." Luna took to the air. "We must go out and find him if we want to switch him and Celestia back before tomorrow morning's ceremony. Twilight, have you found Celestia today?"

Twilight nodded. "Like Cheese said, she's at Fancy Pants' manor. She told me that she'd try to leave as soon as she could."

"Go back and tell Fancy Pants that as a princess, you request Cheese Sandwich's presence immediately. Does his brother know of the switch?"

"Yes."

"All right, recruit him in the search as well. Who knows where Cheese Sandwich has hidden."


Meanwhile, the party at Fancy Pants' manor had already begun, and the ponies of high society were wearing all manners of fancy silks and threads, and the mares were adorned in jewelry. At each table, groups of the ponies were exchanging words about their lives and work, including the "silly" words of a butler or the inanity of a peer's recent purchase.

Tomato sat at one table, dressed in a black tuxedo, while a similarly dressed Celestia sat next to him, leaning in her hoof in boredom. When the two had asked Fancy Pants to leave early, he had insisted that they at least stay for dinner. Figuring that there was no harm in staying a little bit longer, they had agreed to do so.

As Tomato ate, he tried to catch snippets from other tables about how to run a business, leaning in random directions whenever he ended up overhearing something useful. Unfortunately, they always turned into something about a hot tub or insulting those of a lower class, to which he dropped the eavesdropping on that pony. He spotted one heavyset guest at one table, leaning against it enough for Tomato to wonder if it would collapse under his weight. Hearing a few ponies talk about what happened in Las Pegasus made him feel tense, and he slipped into a seat further away from those ponies, itching his back and feeling his teeth with his tongue as he did so. Some ponies were too far away to hear, and some of the newer guests seemed a little apprehensive, but he didn't think it a big deal.

Celestia sighed. "You know, you're the most exciting thing here."

Tomato leaned a little too far in his seat and nearly fell. "If I'm more exciting than Cheese, something's wrong."

"Well, we both know what's wrong." Celestia poked at the hayballs glazed with gravy. "The party's going well, but I don't think it's quite as interesting as your brother would make it. On the fly party planning is not quite my strength, especially since I don't know how your brother's magic even works."

Tomato propped himself back up. "I'm fairly certain it has rules, but I can't really place them. It's just one step away from Discord for all I know."

Celestia tapped her chin. "Hm, nah, Discord doesn't operate by any rules of magic."

"Well, what's stopping him from causing mayhem, then?"

"Fluttershy."

Tomato blinked. "Uh... you mean Pinkie Pie's little pegasus friend that loves animals?"

"Yes."

"Uh... is there any romance involved?"

"No. Just friendship." Celestia smirked. "I am so glad that plan worked out."

"What about the Tirek thing? I heard Discord was with him."

"Oh. That. Tirek betrayed him, so he learned his lesson." Celestia shook her head. "It's not pleasant when someone you thought was your friend stabs you in the back. At least with Fluttershy as his friend, she wouldn't give up on him."

Tomato's ears drooped, and his head sank to the level of his plate. His tongue stretched out from his mouth, grabbed a couple of hayballs, and carried them into his mouth. He swallowed the hayballs along with the lump in his throat. With a sigh, he replied, "Yeah. It's one of the most painful feelings. Someone you loved... someone you trusted... and you have no idea what you did and how you could have prevented it..."

He shook his head and rose back up. "But it was obvious that Tirek was a jerk, Discord should've known better and stuck with Fluttershy."

Celestia sighed. "Chaos is tempting for him, Tomato; why else would his name be 'Discord'? I'm just thankful that he's capable of learning about the value of friendship. I'd have to keep him in stone if he wasn't."

Tomato leaned down and ate a few more hayballs. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a few ponies looking at him, and then started whispering to each other. He raised his head and turned it slightly, catching that they were pointing to their foreheads. Glancing up at his forelock curl, he bit his lip and slicked it down. It was only down for a few seconds before it sprang back up with a boing. With a groan, he tried it again, only for the same thing to result.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Tomato slicked his curl back down, but it only popped back up. "I swear, that curl has a mind of it's own! No matter how hard I try, it won't stay down. Seriously, I look ridiculous, and I can sense these ponies making their judgments about me because of it." He heard some chuckles from another table and tensed up. "Oh, dear, are they laughing at me?"

"Calm down, Tomato," Celestia said, watching him continue to slick down the forelock. "I personally like your mane; it's one of the more unique styles I've seen. Seems like it has an interesting story to tell."

Tomato had slicked it down a last time before it popped back up, and sighed. "Well... I guess if a princess says it's fine..."

That was when they heard the shout of, "Hey! I recognize those boys!"

They turned to one of the other tables in the yard, as did everyone else, and between Fancy Pants and an orange elderly mare, sat an elderly stallion, with a yellow coat and faded green hair. He was a cranky looking pony, with a wrinkly scowl on his face and eyes that could pierce one's soul. He wore a pair of bifocals over his brown eyes, and he wore a dark green suit jacket over a burgundy vest. He was pointing straight at Celestia and Tomato, and soon all eyes were on them.

Fancy glanced at the old stallion curiously. "Pardon me, Lemon Lime, but you know them?"

"Yep!" Lemon Lime exclaimed. "They're my sister's grandfoals!"

The orange mare beside him exclaimed, "And my brother's! Oh, we haven't seen little Cheesy and Tommy since they were small!"

Lemon Lime nudged the mare and said, "Good to see 'em all grown up, right, Macaroni? Maybe this party won't be so boring after all!"

Celestia blinked. "I had no idea you two were related to that couple."

Tomato slumped in his seat. "Great Aunt Macaroni and Great Uncle Lemon Lime. My family hasn't been in contact with them since Grandma and Grandpa died. Given that I was six... yeah, it was a long time ago. Wow, they've gotten older..."

Celestia scratched her chin. "I remember when everypony was fussing over the 'Sister Swap' fiasco involving those two and their siblings, with the whole factor of them both marrying 'filthy Manehattanite indigents' driving all of Canterlot's high society nuts. I had to step in and tell them outright that I didn't find it a big deal because they're all good ponies. It was actually really funny."

Tomato rolled his eyes and leaned in his hoof. "My mom doesn't find it funny; she wishes that Grandma would have stayed in Canterlot."

Lemon Lime whistled. "Hey! Cheesy! You're the party pony, right? How about you show everypony those big spectacular stunts that I've read about in the news? I've been wanting to see them myself!"

Celestia frowned. "Oh no..."

Tomato bit his lip. "Are there any tricks you can do, Your Highness?"

"Well, I can juggle, balance plates on poles, and ride a unicycle. Do you think that's good enough?"

"Come on!" Lemon Lime shouted. "Don't be shy, Cheesy! I thought you outgrew that!"

Tomato rubbed the back of his head and looked at Celestia. "Might as well give the juggling a try."

Celestia slipped out of her seat, and walked toward the main table. When she got there, she grabbed a few empty goblets, threw them up, and then began the dance of catches and throws that defined juggling. The goblets spun in the air with every throw and catch, with every pony in the yard watching in awe.

Tomato smiled and chuckled. "Well, I'd like to see her do that in her own body."

Suddenly, he felt something small, wet, and sticky hit the back of his head. With a grimace of disgust, he brushed it out of his mane and turned to see who threw it at him. He was surprised to see Twilight and Pinkie at the gate, the latter holding a straw, and both beckoning him with hurried and worried looks on their faces.

Having a hunch it had something to do with Cheese, he looked around at the other ponies, and once he saw that they were focused on Celestia and her juggling act, he slipped out of his seat and hurriedly shuffled backwards towards the gate.

Once there, he asked, "Back so soon?"

"Yeah, we've got a really big problem," Twilight said. "Cheese ran off."

"Wait, what?" Tomato scratched his head. "Why would he do that?"

"Oh, he lit on fire and destroyed the fair," Pinkie answered.

Tomato's heart nearly stopped at that, and his eye twitched. Feeling every muscle in his body tense up, he held his breath, trying to resist exploding. Through clenched teeth, he said, "Thank you for the straight answer, Pinkie. Now, why was he on fire?"

"We think that the stress of being a princess got to him and he accidentally accessed Celestia's fire form," Twilight replied. "And we all know what a pony's reaction to being on fire is."

"Figures. Why didn't I hear about this earlier?"

Twilight shrugged. "I guess it didn't spread as quickly as I thought it would."

Pinkie leaned against one of the metal bars of the gate. "He was really upset over having burned everything and making ponies unhappy. I wanted to hug him and tell him it was gonna be okay, but he wanted to be alone. Seeing him sad makes me sad..."

"Anyway, we need you and Celestia to leave this party immediately so you guys can help in the search," Twilight said.

"Okay, sure, I'll tell Celestia as soon as--"

"BAH!" Lemon Lime shouted. "Juggling's amateur, Cheesy! I've read about ya in the papers, and you're no amateur! Get on with the big stuff, boy!"

That made Celestia stumble a bit before regaining her balance. Forcing a grin, she asked, "Would you like me to balance plates?"

Tomato put a hoof to his face. "Well, our great uncle's hard to please."

Twilight quirked an eyebrow. "Great uncle?"

"Our Grandma Cucumber Melon was a unicorn from Canterlot. That's her brother."

Pinkie grinned. "Neat! My Granny Pie was a pegasus!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Twilight growled. "Stop the entertainment and get Celestia over here! Just say Princess Twilight asked for Cheese Sandwich and they'll let her go without complaint!"

Tomato staggered back from the glare Twilight was giving him, and muttered, "All right, all right..." So, he started to shuffle back to the tables, rehearsing the lines in his head.

All he needed to tell them was that Princess Twilight asked for Cheese Sandwich. Sounded so simple, right? They certainly wouldn't argue with a princess' request, and it should be easy.

As he drew closer, however, memories of the last fancy party he had attended came to his mind. Or, at least, what he imagined what happened from Bluejinx had relayed to him--he couldn't remember much after Creme Brulee had given him some "cherry punch" to drink.

His imagining of those events made him flush, and he felt a pit in his stomach. What if he managed to embarrass himself in the simple act that Twilight asked him to do? What if he was yelled at for interrupting Celestia's act? What if he was asked by Lemon Lime if he could do party pony things? What if Celestia sneezed and unleashed explosives on the guests? What if he had a remnant of the bat inside him and he suddenly turned back into a bat pony in front of everypony?

He wanted to smack himself for that last one. He wasn't going to turn back into a vampire anytime soon. He shuddered. Once was more than enough, and Twilight had fixed that problem--even though his back was kind of itchy and his teeth felt weird. Still, the worst that could happen was that Celestia somehow got a face full of pepper. He was quaking from the ways that possible humiliation could occur.

He passed several bored nobles, and slouched in an attempt to be unseen. He moved quickly, wanting to get it done and over with so that they could leave and start the search for Cheese. He gulped, hoping Celestia wouldn't be too mad to hear about what Cheese did.

He weaved through the tables until he made it to Fancy Pants. After taking a deep breath, he tapped Fancy Pants' shoulder.

The unicorn stallion turned to him. "Yes, Tomato?"

"Princess Twilight's at the gate, and she's requesting Cheese."

"Oh, is that so?"

Lemon Lime scoffed. "Eh, she can wait! I want to see what my great nephew's got!"

Macaroni clapped. "And how's our other great nephew? My, have you grown into a handsome stallion!"

Tomato pulled at his collar. "I appreciate the compliment, but Princess Twilight--"

"Tell her patience is a virtue, Cheesy-Boy hasn't even gotten to the big stuff yet! Why is he still juggling?"

Meanwhile, Twilight and Pinkie waited at the gate, with the former stomping her front hoof. "Oh... what's taking so long? What is he doing just talking to them?"

"You can't interrupt a good juggling," Pinkie answered. "Though it needs a unicycle..."

Tomato still argued with Lemon Lime, trying to tell him that one of the princesses needs Cheese, and they had to leave. Much to his frustration, he found the older pony to be incredibly stubborn, even with every excuse that Tomato could come up with.

"...and furthermore, I'm pretty sure the princesses have a good reason to request a party pony. Maybe the event planner there is out of commission, or maybe a certain fair is wrecked and they need somepony to fix it."

A still-juggling Celestia looked at him curiously. "Wait, what?"

Lemon Lime scoffed. "Princess Twilight has her own personal party pony--I thought everypony knew that! Why don't they just use her?"

Fancy Pants knocked on the table. "Lemon Lime, there is no reason for you to question a princess' orders. If they need Cheese Sandwich, then he should go. After all, his job is done here, so--"

That was when they heard a yell and a crash, and watched as two legs of one table broke under the weight of a heavy stallion, launching the food, dishes, and spices into the air. Everypony ducked as the food splattered on the other tables and the ground, the dished shattered in other spots, and the salt and pepper soared through the air. The salt spilled onto the grass near Celestia's feet, and the pepper landed straight on her head, scattering the small black and white specks all over her head and muzzle. She dropped the goblets, and her nostrils twitched.

Tomato's eyes widened. "Uh oh."

Celestia's eyes watered. "Ah... ah...."

Tomato grabbed the table and threw it onto its side. "Take cover, everypony!"

Everypony overturned the tables and hid behind them, peeking from the other side as Celestia let out a great, big, "CHOO!"

The sneeze was powerful enough to launch her high into the air, as if she were a rocket blasting off. A startled Twilight gasped, and then took to the air, shouting, "Don't worry, I've got you!"

Celestia's nose still tickled, and she sneezed once again. A parachute sprang from her back, and she stopped her quick ascent and traded it for a slow descent. She wiped her nose, and looked at the parachute curiously.

Twilight stopped and hovered, scratching her head. "Wait a minute, that defies the laws of physics!"

Celestia shrugged. And then her nose twitched again. "Ah-choo!"

Loads of confetti suddenly appeared, and they rained down in Fancy Pants' yard, landing and nesting in the grass and the manes of all the ponies. Pinkie jumped over the fence, and started trying to catch confetti from the air.

Another sneeze, and candy launched from Cheese's suit jacket and rained down on the ponies below as well. Pinkie was also catching candy, stuffing the little pieces of gum, mint, chocolate drops, and taffy into her mane.

From the shelter that Tomato shared with Fancy Pants, Lemon Lime, Macaroni, and a few others, he snagged a few pieces of taffy and was chewing on one as he watched Celestia sneezing in the air, and Twilight awkwardly dodging whatever party implement was popping out. The latter briefly panicked when a quesadilla was launched into her face.

"Ugh! So much cheese!" she cried.

Tomato muttered, "What does she have against cheese?"

Pinkie popped up beside him. "Oh, she just doesn't like how gooey it gets in a quesadilla or a sandwich or on nachos or as fondue--"

Tomato covered her mouth. "I get it."

Pinkie beamed, and then offered him a piece of taffy, to which Tomato replied, "I've got my own."

Another loud "Ah-Choo!" was heard, and party poppers fell from the sky and popped on the yard, making many of the guests jump at the noise and cower behind their tables, fearing for their lives.

Fancy Pants leaned to Tomato and asked, "How long is your brother going to keep sneezing?"

Tomato shrugged. "As... long as the pepper is on her--I mean, his nose?"

"Yeah, I'm guessing the same," Pinkie said.

Lemon Lime laughed. "Now this is what I'm talking about! He made this party more fun just by sneezing!"

Macaroni reached over and patted Tomato's head. "I wonder if his brother can do the same."

Tomato shook his head. "No, I'm the normal brother--the low magic kind of pony so to speak. I'm not doing anything weird anytime soon."

Fancy Pants merely raised an eyebrow at him.

They all flinched at the sound of another sneeze, and bubbles drifted down from the sky. The ponies then all peeked from behind from the table to see what else was happening. Celestia had reached the ground, and had galloped towards a table and snatched a napkin to blow in it. Twilight was beside her, telling her something. From what Tomato could tell from the furrow in Celestia's brow, he knew that she was being told about Cheese accidentally causing the fire at the fair and running away.

Tomato noticed the area getting darker, and looked up. The sun was setting, and he was amazed that it was already evening. Still, as he clutched the table and watched the sun, he couldn't help but wonder where Cheese had gone. Tomato was not familiar with Canterlot, so he had no idea where Cheese would hide--especially as a tall alicorn mare. And he was hoping that Cheese didn't somehow magically know how to fly.

Celestia sneezed again, this time in the napkin, and rockets zoomed from her person, which led Twilight to jump in fright and then duck. Everypony looked up, and watched as the fireworks exploded. Booms and crackles filled the air as the party guests watched in awe at the colorful display. Pinkie actively cheered and jumped around the yard, happily chanting about the "grand finale".

Lemon Lime laughed. "Yep, Mel would be proud of that grandson of hers."

"And Pizza Pockets would be, too!" Macaroni squealed.

Tomato smiled sadly. "Yeah... they would be..." If that was Cheese, anyway...

Fancy Pants cleared his throat, catching Tomato's attention. "Well... this party turned out to be a blast. You Sandwiches are free to go."

Tomato rubbed the back of his head, looking down at his tuxedo. "Can we have our clothes back?"

Author's Note:

Drat! I wasn't able to keep the Canterlot arc to five chapters! This story here turned out to be more ambitious than I thought! I thought body swap stories were simple! :raritydespair:

...oh, well. Best leave it to progress more naturally. :ajsleepy:

Lemon Lime was originally Lemon Zest when I first started writing this arc, but I changed it once I found that Friendship Games already had a character named Lemon Zest. Dang it, Hasbro, did you look up lotion fragrances?

And thus... we should get to finding where Cheese went soon.

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