Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

9.2--Welcome to Our Town

"Admit it, Cheese."

Laying in the bed next to the stool Tomato sat on, Cheese had his front legs crossed, his face bearing a red muzzle which sniffled now and again, wide bloodshot eyes with heavy bags under them, and a big, fat frown. Twirling the thermometer in his mouth, he growled, "No, Tomato, I'm not sick."

The four ponies that had found them had lead them to the house of the town doctor, who was currently tending Cheese. They were in a simple room with a bed, a nightstand with a box of tissues and some magazines, and some cabinets and drawers presumably filled with the medicine and tools needed for the treatments of patients.

The doctor, a unicorn mare, plucked the thermometer from Cheese's mouth and looked at it. "Oh, I don't know. This thermometer says you've got a fever."

Cheese groaned and pulled on the bags further down his face. "I don't remember doing anything to catch a cold..."

Tomato pursed his lips. "I don't know, Cheese, we've been to quite a few places on our trip. You obviously caught it from somewhere."

The doctor walked to a cupboard and opened it, scanning the shelves for the right medicine. "I don't think it matters where you've caught it. Right now, you need to work on fighting it out of your system." She lit up upon seeing a certain bottle. "Aha! This cough syrup here will help you."

Removing the bottle from the shelf and pulling a tablespoon out of a drawer, she poured the syrup in the spoon. She levitated the spoon to Cheese's mouth, grinning in a manner that made Tomato scoot his stool away, wondering if the cough syrup had poison in it. He looked at Cheese, who didn't seem to notice it, and wondered why a party pony didn't see how forced that smile was.

Smacking his stool, he said, "Um, ma'am?" He cringed when she turned to him, but continued, "Could you tone down that smile? It kind of paints you as some sort of psycho."

Cheese glared at him. "Tomato! That's rude!"

The doctor frowned and rubbed her face. "Darn it, not again..." Chuckling nervously, she muttered, "I'm sorry, force of habit..."

She shook her head, and then chirped, "Open wide!"

Cheese sighed, and opened his mouth, letting the spoon float into his mouth. He slurped the syrup off the spoon, cringing and grimacing at the bitter taste. He forced himself to swallow it, fighting his own gags. Once it had gone all the way down, he let his tongue hang out, a loud "BLLEEEEEEGGHHHH..." sounding from his sore throat.

"There we go! Now, just stay in bed and rest while this illness passes during the next couple days."

Cheese rubbed his eye and shook his head. "No... can't... I got a party to plan."

"Cheese, listen to the doctor," Tomato said. "Your health takes priority over this party... wherever it's supposed to be."

Pulling a tissue from the box on the nightstand, Cheese blew his nose and said, "Actually..." He yawned and rubbed his eye. "...this is where my Cheesy Sense was leading me."

Tomato blinked. "What?"

Cheese nodded, his eyes growing heavy. "Eeeeeeeyeeeah.... party's here... gonna plan it..."

"Um, they already have a party pony? And he's completely healthy from what I can tell?"

"Party must be big then..." He grinned and looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah... really big... really fun... a party thrown by one is good but not as great as two..." He started to get up and climb out of the bed. "Let's go, I gotta starting work with him."

Tomato pushed him back in the bed. "Oh no you don't! You're in no state to do any party planning! Heck, that was terrible grammar."

Cheese snarled. "Don't push me, you little dummy! I'm not that sick."

The doctor shook her head and clicked her tongue. "I'm going to be blunt--you look terrible. In fact, you've got a case of sleep deprivation as well, mister! That's not good for your cold."

Cheese snorted. "Who needs sleep? I don't need sleep! Nothing but a waste of time when you could be thinking of great ideas! Like being carried by a giant flying octopus! Or driving a rocket couch to the sun! Or forcing your tail to grow a mustache!"

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning on hiring Discord at any point in time?"

Cheese suddenly laughed like a maniac, making Tomato and the doctor jump and back away out of fear. He slammed his head on his pillow repeatedly as he guffawed, tears rolling out of his eyes. Tomato and the doctor looked at each other, and the doctor mouthed, "He needs some sleep."

Cheese's laughter died down to chuckles. "Hire Discord? Great idea! In fact, there he is now!" He pointed right in front of him, prompting Tomato and the doctor to look at the thing that stood beside the door. With a grin, Cheese shouted, "Hey, Discord! Want a job? I'll pay you in kazoos!"

Tomato turned back to him. "Cheese, that's a coat rack."

"And your blood is made of ketchup!"

Tomato's eye twitched. "Eh... ew?"

The doctor rolled her eyes. "He'd die if that was the case. Sheesh, the way Cheese said that makes me think of vampires."

She ducked as Cheese chucked his pillow at her, letting it slam against the door. Cheese was heaving, crazed bloodshot eyes glaring at her, ears pinned back, his mane bristling, and his neck sunken into his shirt to keep it from being out in the open. Hot snorts fought against the dam of snot in his nostrils, and while one front leg still held its post-throw position, the other was pawing furiously on the mattress.

All parties held their breath, tension cutting the air like a knife. Things were silent aside from Cheese's raspy breathing, and both the doctor and Tomato stared at him in concern. Tomato noted the correlation between the word "vampire" and Cheese's violent action, but he held his tongue, fearing another outburst. After all, Cheese tended to be scary when he was angry.

A coughing fit from Cheese ended the silence, and the doctor put the pillow back under Cheese's head as he laid down. With a sigh, she said, "You definitely need sleep... badly. A lack of sleep is not good for your immune system or cognitive abilities, so I recommend that you get a little shuteye before you do anything else."

"What 'bout th' party?" Cheese murmured.

"Oh, don't worry, Party Favor's capable of handling the festivities for the arrival of the ski committee in a couple of days. Besides, if you really think he needs help, your brother here could fill in for you."

Tomato's eyes went wide, and he snapped his head around to face her. "What?!"

Cheese sunk further in his bed. "M'kay."

Tomato snapped his head around to look at him, grinding his teeth and pawing at the floor. "Cheese, you know I can't fill in for you! Aren't you worried that I'd ruin everything? I mean, it's not like this Party Favor guy needs any help from a boring business student that's too young to be taken seriously, am I right?"

Cheese waved a hoof. "You'll be fine. Just listen to what he says... make sure things run smoothly... make it as fun as you can... and go ahead and drop the sea bass into the ocean... and lick the entirety of Salt Lick City... and then have a romantic subplot like I do and Triple Dent Gum will make you smile smile smile..."

Cheese's eyes closed, and a snore came from him. Without a word, the doctor led Tomato out, leaving the elder brother alone to rest.

---

Once Tomato was out of the doctor's hut, he sat down with a sigh.

"Well, this is just great," he grumbled. "Does he really expect me to take his place in this endeavor? We're the furthest thing from interchangeable!" He leaned in his hooves and groaned. "Of all the times he had to get sick, it had to be in the middle of nowhere."

Suddenly, he was yanked away to the side of the house by a cane made out of balloons. Thrown around the corner and then dragged into the alleyway, he found himself face to face with Party Favor. Tomato's first thought upon seeing him was about how blue the fella was--hair, eyes, and coat, all different shades, with mane and tail being significantly darker. His second thought was that Party Favor had facial features nearly identical to his brother Kazam, which was rather unnerving consider what happened with Kazam. And his third was that the unicorn looked like he was demanding some sort of explanation of some sort. But even with the latter two thoughts, Party Favor's softer expression indicated that he was harmless.

"Help, help," he deadpanned. "Save me from this fiend."

Party Favor released him from the balloon cane and popped it with his horn. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

"You just murdered a balloon, you monster."

"Well, evil does kind of run in my family," Party Favor joked. "It was only a matter of time..."

"Yep. Okay, what do you want from me?"

Party Favor donned a serious expression once again. "So, you know my sister Silk Shimmer?"

"Yeah, I've met her. Cheese and I ran into her in Halterside, where she was working for a pair of con ponies. After a convoluted kidnapping plot and a fair bit of humiliation for me, she quit working for the con ponies and decided to work with the brother of the pony she nearly helped kidnap, so she could make it up to them. They started a pizzeria at my suggestion and Silk got some money from your guys' brother in order to fund it." Tomato rubbed his chin and looked up. "I wonder how they're doing. Anyway, she asked us to keep an eye out for you."

Party Favor blinked. "Oooh, I've been wondering what she was up to. And it's really nice that at least somepony misses me. I was thinking that everypony was glad that the embarrassment of the Rune family had left."

"What do you mean?"

Party Favor tapped his horn, and then turned to show him his cutie mark--a pink balloon animal surrounded by confetti. "Having a disabled horn and a silly special talent of balloon modeling makes one feel worthless and alone, because they're unable to fit in with other unicorns at Canterlot. I have thought that I'd be better off without my cutie mark, but making friends here that actually are impressed with my balloon skills has alleviated that feeling, you know?"

Tomato briefly glanced at the house where Cheese rested. "You kind of remind me of someone. Of course, I know that having good friends has helped me out of some troubles of my own. Still, don't you miss your sister?"

"Of course I do. She was nice to me, unlike our brother. She just tended to be a little busy." Party Favor leaned against the house and scratched his chin. "But... she was really gullible enough to work for con ponies? She's talented enough in magic to go on her own, why did she need to join up with swindlers?"

"I'm guessing desperation. I don't think she's the best at advertising."

Party Favor rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe... I don't know. I haven't seen her in a few years, and I haven't written because, well..." He grimaced at what he was thinking about, and started to rub his temples.

Tomato nodded. "Go on..."

"Eh... we're, uh, just in the middle of nowhere. Hard to get a letter out from here, especially since the railroad's not finished. And I don't want to bother any of the pegasi to deliver a letter. What if they get lost? Our only contact with the rest of the world is when Double Diamond or somepony else goes out to trade."

"I see." His eyes widened as he realized something. "And... you don't get much news here, do you?"

Party Favor shook his head. "Nope. So... is there any big news that we in this town have missed?"

Tomato bit his lip. He wasn't really sure that he wanted to inform Party Favor of the disaster in Las Pegasus that Kazam had caused. After all, who would want to hear about their brother having been responsible for launching an attack on a major city? He especially didn't want to mention the whole part about being turned into a vampire. Tomato licked his teeth as he recalled the event, and his back was starting to itch again.

"Eh... no," he finally said. "Did you have any recent exciting events yourselves?"

"Well, Double Diamond got randomly meaner recently and came up with this weird excuse of having switched bodies with a rich filly in another town." Party Favor waved a hoof. "He was only like that for a couple of days during Summer Sun, but still! What a ridiculous excuse!"

Then, a third voice shouted, "I heard that!"

The two turned to see Double Diamond there, tapping his hoof and his face bearing an annoyed look. "And it did happen, Party Favor--I was in a filly's body for two days straight thanks to some... uh... little dream creatures, and Princess Luna had to switch me and the filly back. Talk about a weird out-of-body experience."

Considering that Cheese had switched bodies with Celestia a few days prior, it was not much of a stretch for Tomato to believe that Double Diamond was telling the truth. He realized that the white stallion didn't have the luxury of switching back earlier due to not having quick contact with the princesses to schedule a naptime for him and the filly.

Party Favor rolled his eyes. "In any case, at least you apologized for the mean things the 'filly' said."

"Anyway..." Double Diamond said. "I'm going to give you the grand tour of our town. I know it's not much, but you should at least know where everything is during your stay here."

"Oh, oh, mind if I help?!" Party Favor exclaimed.

"That'd be awesome, buddy." He turned to Tomato. "So..."

Tomato shrugged. "Not like I have anything better to do."

---

They first lead him to the house at the end of the street. With a grand gesture of the hoof, Double Diamond started with, "This building here is our city hall, where the mayor and his council make decisions in what laws to implement and what to build so that we could bring more revenue to our town and make it grow."

"Who's the mayor?" Tomato asked.

Party Favor pointed to Double Diamond. "He's just a little modest about his position."

Double Diamond brushed a hoof on the ground. "I always thought I was a simple skier; I just ended up learning things from when I was assisting the last mayor, and I've got a council to help me. Funny how that happens, am I right?"

Tomato tilted his head. "Didn't expect that."

---

Going inside the city hall was interesting--for one, Tomato quickly noticed that the building was built like a house, with some tables put together in the middle like a meeting table in the living room, and the office in the top floor reminding Tomato more of a bedroom without the bed.

When inquired about it, Double Diamond said, "Our former mayor used to live in this building."

"So... do you live here?"

Double Diamond shook his head. "Nah, I've never been able to spend a night here. It just didn't feel right."

Tomato took a book from a nearby bookshelf with his tail, and started to flip through it with a hoof. "Just go here to govern?"

Party Favor was looking out the window. "That's what he pretty much does. But, he spends more time outside with the rest of us, interacting with us townsfolk and hearing what ideas we have for the town. And it's absolutely fine by me!"

Tomato's nose wrinkled at the book he was looking at. "Hey... why do you have a book that has nothing but big equal signs in it? I mean, what's the point of a book if there's nothing to read or write in it?"

He looked up to see that both stallions were staring at him with eyes as big as plates. Time seemed to stand still as all parties had their staring contest. Tomato didn't know just what to expect next from them, especially since they looked so confused and fearful.

And then they screamed.

Tomato flinched and covered his ears as they did so, annoyed that they were making a big deal over a book. There was absolutely nothing of value in it, what was so frightening about it?

Then, Double Diamond turned to Party Favor and shouted, "I thought we burned all the equality propaganda!"

Party Favor jumped. "Don't look at me, I don't go into this place very often!"

"Well, looks like the town's going to have another bonfire tonight!"

"That's the only one we found! It's not big enough for a bonfire!"

"There's a lot of dead plants outside of town that make good kindling!"

"How do you even know that?!"

"Because I'm the outdoor pony!"

Tomato blinked. Well... that just happened. He looked at the book again, and kept flipping through the pages, seeing the same equal sign over and over. He pursed his lips, trying to figure out the "equality propaganda" that he was holding.

Giving up, he looked up to see his tour guides still arguing, and so he shut the book, took it from his tail, and then walked over to them. He smacked them both atop the head in quick succession, which made both of them shut up. He then gave the book to Double Diamond.

"Just burn the useless thing, no need to argue about it."

---

After they left City Hall, they continued their tour around town. Double Diamond pointed out some houses on the main street, explained about the recent paving of said street which made walks across town less dusty, and waved to a few of the business owners.

Soon enough, with all three stallions getting hungry, Party Favor suggested they stop at Sugar Belle's bakery. And so they went there, joining a few others groups of ponies there and sitting down at an empty table. Double Diamond slid the menu to Tomato, explaining that he and Party Favor already knew what there was to be ordered.

As they sat at their table, Party Favor pulled a napkin from the dispenser on the table, spat on it, and shined his horn. Double Diamond and Tomato gave him curious looks as he did so. The latter thought of his friend Bluejinx doing the same thing, usually in anticipation of certain ponies. However, before they could ask what he was doing, he hid the napkin. Not long after, Sugar Belle arrived with a notepad in her magic, giving them a sweet smile.

"Hello, Party Favor, Double Diamand, and... uh..." She gave a sheepish smile toward the red-orange stallion. "I'm sorry, I forgot your name."

Tomato leaned on the table. "Tomato."

"Okay, right. What can I get you boys?"

Double Diamond leaned in his seat. "I'd like the chocolate cream pie."

"And I'd like some donuts, please," Party Favor said.

Tomato looked over the menu. "Umm... I'll just have a chocolate chocolate chip muffin. Oh, and could you bring some cheesecake, too? I'm going to take it to my brother."

Sugar Belle jotted down the orders. "All right, coming right up!" And with that, she turned and trotted back into the bakery.

Party Favor rubbed his hooves in anticipation. "You're really going to like the desserts she bakes. She has the most absolutely perfect frosting that you'll ever taste, her pies are always filled with the best tasting fruit, and her cakes and donuts and muffins are just... so... fluffy!"

"I'm going to have to taste my muffin to be sure you're telling the truth," Tomato said.

"Party Favor just feels the need to brag about Sugar Belle's desserts on her behalf," Double Diamond said. "I'm not going to lie, she's a pretty good baker."

"Because she has so much love for her talent!" Party Favor had stars in his eyes as he sung his praises. "She pours so much of her heart into baking, and it shows. And I'm sure her sweet personality influences how sweet her desserts are. I mean, she's really, really sweet and friendly and sees so much beauty in everything! I'm happy that she has been one of the first genuine friends I've made since my arrival here. I wish I knew her when I was a colt."

"Ah, yes, I remember when you, her, and Night Glider told me about how you were the Conspirancy Squad," Double Diamond said with a wry grin. "You guys were eager to jump into action with me when we discovered Starlight had lied to us."

Tomato blinked. "Uh... Starlight?"

Double Diamond's eyes widened. "Oh, uh... that's our former mayor. She nearly ran this place into the ground."

Tomato looked down the street, recalling how it was said that the cobblestone path was new. He also recalled the "equality propaganda" from earlier, and it was awfully strange that this town was in the middle of nowhere. He thought about a piece of news from the past year about some sort of equality cult, but he shoved that thought aside, trying to tell himself that it was just a coincidence.

Still, looking at the suddenly quiet Double Diamond, and Party Favor distracting himself with shining his horn and fluffing his mane, they did seem a little nervous.

"Okay!" Sugar Belle called, carrying a platter of the ordered dessert and setting it on the table. "Here you are, boys! Enjoy your food."

Party Favor grinned. "Okey-dokey, Sugar Belle." He snatched a donut and started to munch in it. He smiled and winked at her, indicating that it was good. Double Diamond nodded to say the same thing as he ate his pie.

Tomato took a bite out of his muffin and nodded. "Okay... you weren't lying. Sugar Belle is pretty good at her talent."

---

After delivering that slice of cheesecake to Cheese, Double Diamond and Party Favor lead Tomato outside of the main street, showing him some of the other houses that weren't built in either of the rows. Unlike the general uniformity of main street, the houses outside were more varied in their designs without sacrificing sturdiness. Some had little garden plots, some had little sculptures, and some were painted differently. One house in particular had balloons and streamers painted on the wall, which Party Favor had said that it was has house.

Double Diamond explained that the townsponies at first lived in eleven of the thirteen houses on the main street because they were unable to build more until relatively recently. When asked about the two that weren't used, he quickly answered, as if he memorized the answer that the house on the end of the street is city hall, where the mayor ran things. As for the other hut, that was their jail.

"So... eleven houses, huh?" Tomato said. "How many ponies where living here at that time?"

"About a hundred adults and around 25 foals," Double Diamond answered.

"So... that'd be..." Tomato clicked his tongue as he mentally did the math. "Nine adults to each house, with one house having an extra, and the foals would be with their families. Not to mention some of the houses have less room due to businesses like that bakery and the clothes shop. Wow, sounds cramped."

Party Favor rubbed his leg. "It was. I lived in the space above the bakery with Sugar Belle, Night Glider, and several others. As much as I like my friends, I do appreciate having some space to myself."

"A lot of ponies do," Double Diamond said. "Some left because they couldn't stand it here anymore, but most of us stayed here in order to build our community together. Slow going, but there's progress."

Tomato rubbed his chin. "But you're so isolated. How will you trade with other towns and cities?"

Double Diamond pointed to a long, thin platform about a few hundred yards away from the furthest house, held up by stones, and benches being built on top of it. "That's why the Equestrian government is adding an extension to the railroad. Kind of helps when a princess has visited the town."

"Huh, I suppose that'll help. So... anything else you'd like to show me?"

"Not really, no."

Party Favor was looking up at one barren mountain. "What about the cave?"

Double Diamond sighed. "Nah, there's nothing really important that he needs to know about in there." He turned to Tomato. "I hope you enjoy your stay here while your brother recovers. We don't have much, but we'll try our best to make sure your stay is worthwhile."

Tomato was looking up at that same mountain. "All right then. I think I can go around town on my own now."

Double Diamond nodded, and started to walk back to town. "I have a meeting--in the meantime, you think of ways to prepare for the arrival of the ski committee? Remember Party Favor, we're counting on you to impress them with a good welcome party, okay?"

Party Favor grinned nervously. "Hehe... okay."

Double Diamond smiled. "I know you can do it, buddy." And with that, he broke into a trot back to town.

Party Favor nervously waved until Double Diamond was out of sight, and then he groaned. Running a hoof through his mane, he murmured, "Oh, boy... how am I going to do this? What kind of theme am I supposed to be going for? Will my balloons be enough? Ugh..."

"You okay there?" Tomato asked.

"No!" Party Favor shouted. "No, no, I'm not okay! All the other visits we've ever gotten were in regards of other ponies helping us, making sure we're recovering from Starlight's run as our mayor, or making economic progress, or whatever else! I didn't have any pressure to impress anypony then! But now... now we have to prove our hospitality in order to impress this ski committee so that we could build a ski resort here to get ponies here so that our town could make more money!" He grabbed Tomato's jacket and pulled him closer. "And everypony's counting on me to show ponies just what our town is about! But... but... are my balloon skills enough? I don't know! I've only thrown parties for friends, not strangers!"

Tomato scrunched his nose. "Uh... if it helps, I think your town is pretty hospitable."

Party Favor dropped him, his eye twitching. "If I had the time and a better postage system, I'd send a letter to that friend of Princess Twilight's to help me."

Laying on the ground, Tomato give him a funny look. "Wait, you've met Pinkie Pie?"

"Oh, that's her name. I kind of forgot it... I thought it had been 'Pot Pie' for a while. But, yeah, I met her. She was impressed with my balloon modeling and Sugar Belle's treats. Say, you know her?"

Tomato got up and brushed himself off. "My brother only worships her. Believe me, you get Cheese talking about Pinkie, he'd be squealing for hours. Heck, she's the reason that he's a party pony."

Party Favor blinked. "Wait, your brother's a party pony?"

"Did I forget to mention that? Well, he is, and his Cheesy Sense did bring him here. I think your nervousness over this thing might be the reason he was called here. Maybe he would have taken a mentor role in regards to you... if it weren't for a certain problem he's having."

Party Favor's face fell. "Drat... the one who comes to help me with this burden--and he's sick in bed!"

Tomato scoffed. "And he expects me to fill in for him. Never mind that the one party I threw had a horrible ending and that my special talent couldn't be any further from it." He turned to show Party Favor his cutie mark.

Party Favor scratched his chin as he stared at the mark. "So... you're a business pony?"

"Technically, I'm still a student, but yeah. Horrible choice."

Party Favor shrugged. "Well, I don't see why you couldn't do funny business."

"Well, it's not my kind of business."

"Still... don't you think you could for another shot in funny business?"

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "You're desperate, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Tomato glared at him for a moment, and then sighed. "Very well, Party Favor. We might as well wing it together."

Party Favor smiled, and thrust a hoof out. "Party business partners?"

Tomato took the hoof and shook it. "Only for the duration of my stay."

Author's Note:

If any of you thought that I'd do a Cheese Sandwich/Party Favor friendship in this segment--I'm sorry to say that won't be the case. Poor Cheese is too sick and sleep-deprived to make a new friend at the moment. Their friendship would've been so cute tho

Instead, we have Party and Tomato working together on a party. They're gonna wing it.

Tommy's making a deal with a Rune again--at least there's no risk of vampirism this time.

Comments

[RadicalDishonesty]

PF: There's a bunch of wealthy financeers coming to our town, and I am nervous about the party to impress them. If only I could get some help.
TS: I could help.
PF: Oh, what's your special talent?
TS: Dealing with money and finance is my special talent.
PF: Alright... well how could you help...
TS: My brother is a party pony, but he's too sick to help. He should be helping.
PF: I've got it! The perfect job for a business student who's special talent involves financing is to perform your brother's duties as a party pony!
TS: Great!

[FanOfMostEverything]

Yeah, I can't imagine that party ponies are particularly pliable patients.

"But... she was really gullible enough to work for con ponies? She's talented enough in magic to go on her own, why did she need to join up with swindlers?"

Yeah, it's so strange! It's not like someone closely related to her was also taken in by a dangerously charismatic pony or anything.

Ah, lingering trauma of the Glimmer regime. This is probably going to come to light in the worst possible way.

Relax, Party Favor. Balloons aren't any fun without pressure. (Of course, that may explain why he has a tendency to worry until he himself is on the verge of popping...)

In any case, this is certainly going to be a team-up to remember. I just hope Tommy can allow himself to enjoy it.

[Goldfinch142]

Party Favor didn't know that Cheese was a party pony? So Cheese being able to sense other party ponies is unique to him, then. I had assumed that it was a trait of all party ponies.

Tomato lied? I suppose he just wanted to spare Party Favor's feelings, but he's going to find out about Kazam eventually.

Funny business. Maybe that's another part of Tomato's talent? His cutie mark is "silly," after all. And what better combines silly and finances than funny business? (Not really, but you get the point.)

On that note, Tomato's filling in as a party planner. One step closer to getting over his issues with throwing a party.

Here's to Cheese getting over his illness.

[Jordan179]

The four ponies that had found them had lead them to the house of the town doctor, who was currently tending Cheese.

It's probably a good thing for Cheese that they are no longer under the Sameness, or she'd not be all that much better a doctor than anypony else in town. The way I envision Talents working is that a Talent -- in any 3d6 based skill system -- would give a +1 to +5 on the Skill or Skills related to that Talent (with +1 being for really broad or really weak Talents, and +5 for really narrow or powerful Talents). The Spell of Sameness suppresses the Talent, and probably imposes a -1 to -2 penalty on top of that. But you still keep the Skills.

Which is why Sugar Belle was still baking the muffins. At least she knew how to bake things, which might not have been true of everypony in town. Though with her Talent back, she can now bake all sorts of sweet foods really well -- because that's her Talent.

The same would go for the doctor. She would have had First Aid, Medicine etc. at various skill levels before being subjected to the Sameness. Under the Sameness, she wouldn't have been a very good doctor by Pony standards, but she was probably a better doctor than that poor guy who was making the really ugly capes. Now, she's once again a good doctor by Pony standards. Does that makes sense?

Smacking his stool, he said, "Um, ma'am?" He cringed when she turned to him, but continued, "Could you tone down that smile? It kind of paints you as some sort of psycho."

(*nods*) They were conditioned into that, it wasn't actually part of the Sameness -- though the Sameness would have made it harder to resist conditioning.

Cheese's laughter died down to chuckles. "Hire Discord? Great idea! In fact, there he is now!" He pointed right in front of him, prompting Tomato and the doctor to look at the thing that stood beside the door. With a grin, Cheese shouted, "Hey, Discord! Want a job? I'll pay you in kazoos!"

In AlaraJRogers' world, Cheese actually knows Discord, in a more or less friendly manner. Discord likes his sense of humor. Discord has a similar opinion of Pinkie. I liked the idea enough to make it true in the Shadow Wars Story Verse.

in the Shadow Wars Story Verse a lot of Ponies know Discord, but more from the point of view of recognizing him and wanting to get far away from him: "Aah! It's Discord! Run away!" This genuinely hurts his feelings, though he knows why. One of the ways in which Discord gets happier as the generations pass is that, eventually, he becomes popular, as few Ponies are left who remember him as an enemy any more. This takes time, though.

[Jordan179]

Double Diamond shook his head. "Nah, I've never been able to spend a night here. It just didn't feel right."

I'd think that it would feel rather haunted by Starlight Glimmer. Even though, of course, she's not dead. The more so if Double Diamond also had mixed feelings about her, so that he sometimes felt that he'd betrayed her, even though his actions were wholly justified by what he discovered.

I also wonder if the secret passage was left in there. Thinking about it, Starlight Glimmer must have either realized there was going to be trouble, or just wanted to be able to come and go from town without letting anypony know what she was doing. Even given her magic, making something like that can't have been really easy. (I'm also guessing she's not a good teleporter as is Twilight Sparkle).

[SageBrony07]

Well I wasn't expecting that team up. I wonder what they're going to do? Thanks for the update

[Jordan179]

"Because she has so much love for her talent!" Party Favor had stars in his eyes as he sung his praises. "She pours so much of her heart into baking, and it shows. And I'm sure her sweet personality influences how sweet her desserts are. I mean, she's really, really sweet and friendly and sees so much beauty in everything! I'm happy that she has been one of the first genuine friends I've made since my arrival here. I wish I knew her when I was a colt."

PARTY FAVOR: Speaking professionally as a party pony, of course ...'

"Oh, that's her name. I kind of forgot it... I thought it had been 'Pot Pie' for a while.

No, that's her cousin. She's kind of vague all the time, but she does make these really yummy savory pies!

TYPO:

what's the point of a book of there's nothing to read or write in it?"

'if'.

[howard035]

Does anyone else want to read the side story where Silver Spoon is freaking out, because her best friend is suddenly sounding like a laid-back stallion and constantly talking about trying to ski on Mount Canterhorn?

6478774 I was just thinking something like this. You know, in the post-communist USSR in the early 90s, there were so many easy economic opportunities for businesspeople, because there was so little competition and so much pent-up demand. Maybe Cheese Sandwich should stick around here, he could totally become Our Town's Filthy Rich!

6479016 I love your mapping of the effects of cutie mark magic to a d20 system. I don't know about the penalty beyond just resetting the skill bonus to 0, but I think the equal spell also negates the racial magic of a pony, so unicorns can only do small magic, pegasi can barely fly (clumsy), and earth ponies have no magic strength. And yes, you still keep the skill points, good point.

I think Discord and Luna both have the same PR Strategy (outlive your detractors) but Luna is smart enough to go around befriending the foals of Equestria in dreams, that's got to give her an edge.

I had forgotten about the trap door. Did we ever actually see Starlight Glimmer teleport, or did she just use the explosion of rocks as cover to duck down into the caves, Trixie-style? Have we ever seen a unicorn besides Twilight teleport? I mean, Sunset Shimmer didn't teleport straight back to the mirror after she stole a crown, Shining Armor never seems to teleport, and they are two of the most powerful unicorns around.

Not a fan of Pot Pie, she's super-hypocritical when it comes to insulting her brother Kettle.

[Godslittleprincess]

Cheese waved a hoof. "You'll be fine. Just listen to what he says... make sure things run smoothly... make it as fun as you can... and go ahead and drop the sea bass into the ocean... and lick the entirety of Salt Lick City... and then have a romantic subplot like I do and Triple Dent Gum will make you smile smile smile..."

I'm assuming that a romantic subplot is coming up.

[Godslittleprincess]

I think Season 7 showed that they replaced Starlight's hut with a tree. Also, how are you dealing with SugarMac being canon?