Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

9.6--Second Wind

By the time that Party Favor had gathered his friends to the town square and informed them that he had found Tomato, it was rather dark, with millions of stars in the sky and a waning half-moon overhead. The group was relieved that the lanky stallion had been found before he had run into trouble. However, there was a bit of a shock when Party Favor had to confess to telling Tomato all about the reign of Starlight Glimmer.

"Party Favor!" Double Diamond snapped. "Why did you have to blab about that shame?"

Night Glider had her front legs crossed. "Ugh, he's now probably thinking of us the same way every out-of-towner does."

Sugar Belle bit her lip and stepped back. "Why couldn't you have told him something else? I mean, I'm not sure I can stand being judged in that way! The judgement terrifies me!"

Party Favor rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, but I felt that he needed to hear it. After all, when they hit the road, the Sandwiches might end up running into Starlight, and I don't doubt that she'd try to use her flattery on them like she did with us." He glanced at Tomato. "And we all heard what Tomato had said earlier."

"Psht, yeah, Cheese wouldn't fall for it, but I'm a good target," Tomato mumbled. He looked forward and scanned the four ponies with him. "I can see why you want to hide it by taking advantage of my not knowing where the heck I am. I remember when the news about Princess Twilight's visit to this town came out, my mom was scorning these ponies for giving up an essential part of their being..."

"Like what we've overheard some government officials say, or what Double Diamond and others have heard on their trading trips?" Night Glider scoffed.

Tomato grimaced and twiddled his hooves. "I suppose so... I'm not going to lie, I kind of was, too. After all, you can't trade away your talents, and you're a fool to believe you can do so without destroying yourself. Dang, no wonder you guys seem so glum, you've got a crummy reputation."

Double Diamond ran a hoof through his mane and sighed. "No doubt about it. When me and others go out to trade... we end up having to say where we're from. It's not fun to hear about how stupid we are. Or worse, how we'll all brainwash you into giving up your cutie mark. Never mind that ever since Starlight left, we've been trying to move away from her philosophy."

"If I may ask, are you trying to wipe the whole 'cutie markless cult' thing off your slate with the ski resort?" Tomato asked.

Double Diamond looked down at the road. "Yes, I will admit, that is one of the reasons. I just thought that if our town had an identity other than as 'the one that was a cult', then maybe, just maybe, we'd get a little more respect, and that we'd all just forget about that big mistake."

He then laughed in self derision and shook his head. "But I should have known that we weren't ready. Starlight still haunts us, months after we chased her out. After all, she still reminds me that my talent has overall unimportance, and that I did almost kill my little siblings while doing it."

"Yeah..." Sugar Belle stated. "I still feel like I shouldn't be my best, lest I fall to the same severe judgement that my father has always given me. Or that everyone envies me, and is waiting for a slip up so that they could have an excuse for not being my friend anymore. Or that my talent has no place in the world among thousands of others with the same talent. In any case... I can still hear her in the back of my mind."

Night Glider nodded. "Me too. She's still telling me that my cutie mark brings misery, lest it remind me of how I fall short compared to my sister."

Party Favor looked at Tomato. "We've all had our doubts about our special talents, and we did make the mistake of giving them up. And now, we're trying to move past that. It's such a shame that we're still holding back because of the simple memory of Starlight, and, well... an attitude of 'what's the point?'."

Tomato put a hoof to his chin. This wasn't the first time he had met ponies who felt that it was pointless to try to improve their quality of life. A couple of homeless ponies he had come across in Manehattan had given up because it was too hard, and were resigned to their beds of cardboard boxes. One had been an amazing metalworker, who had been generous enough to craft a special Hearth's Warming ornament just for Tomato, which had prompted the then-young colt to ask if he was going to make a living off of it.

He could have sworn that he had convinced that guy to try again, but that pony died.

Still, this town reminded him of that pony--full of potential, with good heads on their shoulders and skills that can prove valuable, but ultimately pessimistic because it doesn't seem like the world even wants them. Even Double Diamond, the pony who was putting the most effort into improving the town, was looking rather glum. Starlight was definitely taking a toll on them, and unless he could somehow convince them to be their very best, the town was going to remain slow.

He looked down at the cobblestone road, noting that it was proof that they are at least using resources they've got in order to earn a little more money to buy these rocks. Maybe some of these rocks were home grown. It was interesting to note that each rock had a different shape, and the road was almost like a puzzle. He took notice of a hole, and a rock nearby. He idly slid the rock into the hole, and pressed down on it.

The moment he felt the stone lock itself into place, something clicked in his mind. Blinking as he stared at that stone, he wondered if he had going about it all wrong. After all, trying to imitate Cheese's shenanigans went horribly wrong--maybe he should have gone for a different angle. What angle did he use when it came to that fundraiser that earned him his cutie mark?

He raised his head. "I think I just got an idea."

Night Glider grimaced. "Are you going to turn into the Tormato again?"

Tomato gave her a funny look. "No, I'm certain that nopony wants that! And... 'Tormato', really?"

"I confused 'tomato' and 'tornado' when I was little. I thought it fit."

Party Favor blinked at the taller stallion. "Well, what is your idea?"

Tomato looked at Party Favor back, thinking of what he had seen and heard about him do with just balloons. He imagined just what he could do with his special talent when it was at its fullest potential, and wondered if that was the 'oomph' they needed.

He cleared his throat. "All right, here's the plan..."

---

The next morning, the citizens woke up to the sounds of knocks on their doors, and were bewildered at the sight of some scruffy ponies, standing upon the doorsteps of them and their neighbors, asking for the roof shingles. Once the scruffy guys had been given the shingles, they were boosted up to the roofs by their friends, whether they be earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn. And sitting on the rooftops, the ponies started to hammer in the shingles back onto the rooftops.

The confused townsfolk marched outside, and watched as the scruffy ponies were working on their rooftops for no apparent reason. Then, they noticed that the road was fixed, the tables were back up, balloons were attached to the walls of the buildings, and that the crumpled up banner that had been in the middle of the street had been ripped to shreds, and was being put into rubber bags that looked like overstretched balloons by Night Glider.

Double Diamond then came out of Town Hall, followed by Tomato, and Party Favor. Looking down the street, their mayor called, "Good morning, everypony! I hope you've had a good night's rest!"

One stallion then shouted, "Double Diamond! What is the meaning of this? Who are these ponies on the roofs?"

Party Favor smiled sheepishly. "Oh, some railroad workers we borrowed from a new camp across the way. Turns out they came more quickly than we thought."

Double Diamond nodded. "We told their boss that we were kind of in a hurry and needed more pony power."

Tomato took a deep breath. "It took a little bit to convince that pony, but we ultimately told him that a little trip to the town they're building to and a party may end up boosting the morale of some of the more grumpy and pessimistic workers."

The ponies all blinked, and then glared at Tomato. Those gazes made Tomato flinch, and he cleared his throat. "Look, I know you're upset. What I did yesterday was stupid, and I admit, trying to take a shortcut in order to throw a party was very unwise. I'm not a party pony. I had the puzzle pieces, but I couldn't put in the same magic as a party pony can. Treating the task like a checklist turned out to be tedious, and I'm sorry that I made such a big mess. Now, I'm doing whatever I can to make it up to you."

"By doing what?" somepony asked. "As far as I can see, you're only getting other ponies to do the work for you."

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "What, do you expect just me and Party Favor to plan this thing on our own? You saw the results of that yesterday."

"Oh, yeah, and now we'll have to clean up your mess."

"Considering that that winter sport committee is coming today and we don't have any fancy contraptions to help us set up a party in a flash, not to mention that when my brother's better he'll quickly be pulled by Cheesy Sense to some other town for a party, I frankly don't have time to do it myself! We're going to need as many helping hooves as we can get to make sure we have a good shot at this."

Another pony shouted, "A good shot? Ha! As if we want ponies coming here only to laugh at us and mock us for what happened with our last mayor. Double Diamond and some others have heard some not-so-nice things about us."

Tomato looked at an ashamed Double Diamond, and sighed. "Are you really that scared of outsiders? Scared of what they think of you for a horrible mistake that you've made? That you'd much rather keep to yourself so you don't get hurt by ponies who wouldn't understand? I see you're just comfortable with living way out here, in some sort of little utopia where nothing bad could happen, huh?" His ears drooped, and he muttered, "Sounds a little like my life."

He straightened up once again. "But, I'm afraid that you won't be able to grow if you keep on living like this, and once that train station's finished, ponies are going to be curious. Double Diamond recognizes that changes are coming, and you're going to have to adapt, whether this ski resort thing happens or not."

The townsfolk stepped back, and murmured amongst each other.

Tomato chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine. You took me and Cheese in without fear of judgement. Who's to say you couldn't do the same with others? After all, ponies do appreciate service with a smile."

Several ponies instinctively grinned wide grins to that statement, which made Tomato stagger back. Holding his chest, he said, "Okay, not that big, because honestly, smiles like that tend to freak ponies out." He stood up straight once again. "But, still, you can definitely foster good customer relations, like you did with strangers like me and my brother."

That was when Rooney stepped out of the crowd. "And me. I am most grateful that somepony offered me a room to stay in. Now I surely would hate to see you ponies fail in this endeavor, so I'll be happy to throw this party. My wife was a party pony, so I've got a few ideas."

Double Diamond stepped forward. "I see we have at least one pony going to help us. What about the rest of you? Are you up for it?"

The crowd stared at the group of stallions for a good long minute. Finally, one pony stepped forward. "Excuse me, but I don't think balloons are the only thing that makes a party. What about treats?"

That was when Sugar Belle popped out of the bakery, and hollered, "I'm taking care of it!"

Then Night Glider said, "And I'm making confetti that'll make a pony think of snow."

Double Diamond shrugged. "Party Favor's creating transport to the mountains for when the committee gets here. I gotta show them the snow, you know."

Party Favor bit his lip and nodded. " And I've been encouraged do as much as I can with my talent and my imagination in making this party great."

Tomato smirked at them, and turned to the crowd. "You know, we're missing something." He scratched his chin in mock contemplation. "I think it might be... uh... oh, I dunno, a little something called music. Do we have any musicians here?"

The crowd was silent, and the railroad workers were staring along with them.

"Come on, don't be shy... it's all right to brag! I like hearing about what talents you have."

None of the townsfolk raised their hooves, but some of the railroad workers weren't shy about raising their hooves. Tomato looked up, and pointed at one.

"I play the oboe," that worker said.

Party Favor smiled, took out some balloons, and twisted them into an oboe. "I've got one for you!"

The worker blinked. "But... it's made of balloons."

Party Favor winked and played a few notes on the balloon oboe. "It works, I promise."

The worker was still staring as Party Favor inflated some balloons to float toward him, and gave him the oboe. With a wrinkled nose and a raised eyebrow, the worker played a few notes as well, and then blinked. "Oh, wow, it does work!"

Rooney chuckled. "Well, I've never seen magic applied like that before. He didn't even use his horn."

Double Diamond snickered. "That's Party Favor for you. He doesn't need his horn to do magic."

Tomato laughed. "Ah, so are any of you up for giving this party a little jazz? Because Party Favor's got plenty of balloons to make this work."

The ponies murmured amongst each other, a good number of them grimacing and holding unsure looks. While they had thrown parties before, it was for personal celebrations, not for impressing anypony. The thought of being judged was terrifying, and there was little doubt in their minds that they'd fall short of the mark. Sure, that one pony could play the oboe, but what else could be done?

Double Diamond frowned. "Look, I get that you're nervous, and honestly, I'm nervous too. Considering what's happened with us in the past..."

Some members of the crowd backed up, their eyes wide with horror.

Double Diamond ran a hoof through his mane. "...I know. But I'm tired of living as if Starlight's still here, even if we have our cutie marks back. I long to share the mountains with other ponies, I long to see more ponies enjoy Sugar Belle's baking, and I long for more ponies to see how wonderful you all are. I'm proud to call you my friends, and all want to show it to the world! Heck, we can start by working with these railroad workers to fix the roofs and make this party great!"

Tomato crossed his front legs. "And if this ultimately works, all your businesses could benefit from new customers. The committee's still coming, no matter what, and we're going to give them a taste of what each of you has got, so we better make it a good one. So, let me ask again... who can play some music?"

The ponies stared for a moment, looked at each other, and some hooves tentatively went up.

Tomato clapped his hooves. "All right! Here's how it's going to work. We've got less than a day, so we've got to do this as quickly and efficiently as we can. We'll have the music team by town hall, the decorating team by the clothes shop, the baking team at the bakery, the roof fixing team on the roofs... and then there's me and Double Diamond, who'll make sure that everypony's doing their jobs, and we'll deal with boring business stuff once that committee arrives. Now, evaluate your talents and resources, come to us, and we'll help you form the teams! And from there, we must make creative use of what we've got!"

---

The teams were formed, and three of the teams appointed leaders to guide them in doing their tasks. Sugar Belle was in charge of the baking team, and Party Favor the decorating team, and a pony named Drumline was leading the music team. Meanwhile, the roofing team had some ponies draw lines where the shingles should be hammered in, and explain to them that they should start at the edge of the roof and make their way to the top. With that, all those working on the roofs had about three ponies to a house. Thankfully, it was only the houses on main street that had had their shingles torn off.

Tomato and Double Diamond went back and forth down the main street, seeing how things were going. Drumline was providing a beat with his drum, coaching them on how to make the music blend together. The two supervisors listened as the ponies were experimenting with different songs and music types. Most of them were pleasant, though one military-like piece that erupted had Double Diamond, Drumline, and several other residents cringing, much to the confusion of Tomato and the railroad workers.

Members of the decorating team were covering the shattered windows with pictures they had painted of some beautiful landscapes and some fun activities, and hung streamers from the doors. Some used the broken glass and some crystals from the mine to create snowflake ornaments to hang on the walls, and lined the walls of the houses with some other crystals. And some had arranged rocks and painted them to look like snowponies, which Tomato thought was cute. And Party Favor continued doing his thing, scoping out places that could use a balloon sculpture of a snowflake or a skier or another winter-themed thing, though he was wise not to put them near the glass ornaments.

And each visit to the bakery brought about a delightful mixture of delicious scents that made their mouths water. Each baker was working on something different in the kitchen, whether it be cupcakes, lemon squares, brownies, pies, or banana bread, among other things. Sugar Belle had to shoo them out before somepony decided to have a taste before the party was even finished.

And the roof reshingling was going smoothly, though there were a few odd places where a shingle didn't seem to fit right, and some places where the shingles were strangely arranged like railroad tracks. But, other than those, the roofs were on their way to looking good as new again.

And each group had ponies talking to each other. The townsfolk and railroad workers were asking each other questions, telling each other jokes and laughing, and the railroad workers were even eager to talk about their families at home. Rooney, working on the roofing team on a house at the end of the street, was happy telling Party Favor--who was creating a balloon gate near the house--about his wife and how much of a joy she had been in his life before she passed away.

Some pegasi had broken out of their groups, forming two new ones--one to fetch water for everypony, and the other to check on the snow in the mountains. So far, the snow was still good, and they assured Double Diamond that they wouldn't let it melt so that the committee could see just how the snow is.

Tomato had one other thing to check on. Opening the door to the doctor's hut, it was much to his relief to find Cheese sleeping soundly. Considering that it wasn't hard to guess that Cheese had been having nightmares keeping him up the past few days, a slumber of peace was very welcome, and Tomato hoped that he'd have more restful nights.

He smiled. "It's not the most spectacular party in the world, but it's turning out pretty good, nonetheless. I hope you like it when you wake up."

---

A few hours passed, and the decorating team had finished their decorations, deciding that the town sparkled enough to give it a winter feel. While the others had gone onto the roofs to help with the shingling, Party Favor created a large basket out of his balloons, and inflated one big one in order to replicate a hot air balloon ride. Knowing that it was getting close to the time that the committee should have gotten off the train at the temporary stopping point, he decided to fly Double Diamond and Tomato there to greet them. He recruited Night Glider to tow the balloon, and they were on their way.

Double Diamond carefully placed his skis in the storing place that Party Favor had created in the basket, and he leaned against the edge of the basket with a sigh. "Well, this is it. The moment of truth is coming. Remember the plan?"

Party Favor nodded. "Pick them up, good straight to the mountains, and literally drop you guys there. Then you guys will 'examine the snow' while we add the finishing touches to the party. Night Glider checks on you guys, gets us to pick you up, and then we show them the party."

"Good. I hope we impress them."

"Well, seeing as you were bragging about how ski-able the snow in the mountains are and how fun the terrain is, I'm sure we've got a pretty good shot," Tomato said.

Night Glider turned to those in the basket as she pulled the balloon. "Yeah, D, when you get me to do air drops, I can tell you're having a blast! Who's to say that this committee won't? Or any other skiers in Equestria?"

"Besides, the party is to show them our hospitality," Party Favor said. "And our second attempt is better than our first."

He had looked at Tomato as he said this, making the lanky stallion blush and glare at him. Tomato turned away and strummed at his forelock in an effort to shrug it off. With a sigh, he said, "I wish I could pay you guys, but with what I've got in my wallet, you'd all earn less than half a bit."

Double Diamond laughed. "Well, at least it was fun setting up that party. I think we made some new friends anyway."

"Well, I thought arranging a second opinion would be nice," Tomato muttered. Clearing his throat, he asked, "So, uh... where are all you guys from? I know Party Favor's from Canterlot."

"Yep... and, well, Sugar Belle's from Fillydelphia," Party Favor said.

"I'm from Cloudsdale!" Night Glider hollered.

"Paddock City," Double Diamond answered.

Tomato blinked and tilted his head. "Where's that?"

"About 30 miles east of Salt Lick City, resting among the mountains. It's a ski town."

"Oh, so you grew up near a ski resort?" Tomato watched as Double Diamond nodded, and continued, "My friend Flora's grandfather worked at a ski resort. Flora told me about a tradition of her extended family's that they'd spend Hearth's Warming at the resort. It'd be funny if that was the town they went to on their holiday trip."

Double Diamond shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."

Night Glider shouted, "You know, you don't really expect a pony named Flora to be connected to a ski resort like that. She sounds like a spring pony!"

Party Favor nodded. "Yeah, with what "flora" means, I expect snow to be her worst enemy."

Tomato sighed, rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "Hey, I never said she skied. She is a spring pony; though I wouldn't call it her worst enemy, you're pretty close in guessing her dislike of snow. She has explicitly told me that she hates winter."

"What?" Double Diamond said. With a playful scoff and a shake of the head, he said, "She's crazy. She'll never understand how sweet it is to shred through powder."

"Her sister would," Tomato said bluntly. Wrinkling his nose, he muttered, "Which sister was it again?"

"Here we are!" Night Glider announced. "Ski committee ahoy!"

The three stallions stepped across the squeaky balloon basket, and looked down. Sure enough, walking along the railroad tracks was a group of about six ponies. The largest one was carrying their luggage and equipment in the back of the group, and the smallest one in front was holding a map. They were all a variety of colors that reminded a pony of winter.

"That's a small committee," Tomato remarked.

"They told me that they were sending a small group," Double Diamond replied. Then he looked up at Night Glider and said, "All right, Night, bring us down!"

Night Glider nodded, and said, "Hang on, everypony!"

As the dark-coated pegasus began her descent, towing the balloon down with her, Tomato asked Double Diamond, "How'd you manage to get that committee, anyway?"

Double Diamond didn't take his eyes off the group as he answered, "Friend of my parents."

The balloon landed in front of the group, who stopped and staggered back at the sight of the balloon. Night Glider and Party Favor held the balloon, while Double Diamond and Tomato strode forward to meet the group. Tomato scanned the six ponies before them. There was a short, mint green unicorn stallion holding the map in his magic; a light blue earth pony mare with a mane of two tones of dark blue, tied at the end with a beaded band like Sugar Belle's mane was; a set of white-coated twins with evergreen hair, only differentiated by their gender and eye color; a tall, brown mare with curly white and tan hair; and finally, a muscled stallion that towered over everypony, bearing a silver coat and a white mane. Tomato felt rather small when looking at that last one, and tried to focus on one of the shorter ones.

The short unicorn stepped forward. "What's the big idea trying to kill us with...?" He leaned to the side to look at the balloon made out of balloons, from which Party Favor and Night Glider waved to him. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Eh... why is that hot air balloon made out of party balloons?"

The blue mare wrinkled her nose. "It looks like something one of my neighbors back home would make."

Double Diamond chuckled. "That's the handiwork of our very own Party Favor. He's a wizard when it comes to balloons." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I am Double Diamond, this stallion here beside me is Tomato Sandwich, and our pegasus friend is Night Glider."

The unicorn took Double Diamond's hoof. "The name's Peppermint Chill, from Salt Lick City; I see you're the Double Diamond that Timber Dodger was talking about. Says you're the oldest son of Powder Snow, am I right?"

Double Diamond nodded. "That's right."

"Well, I wouldn't expect to find somepony like you all the way out here. Or that slick fellow beside you. Or Mr. Balloon Builder right there. Or that pegasus that looks like she could be a Wonderbolt."

Night Glider groaned. "Don't remind me."

Peppermint laughed. "Anyway, let me introduce you to my companions." He gestured to the blue mare. "That's Winter Mist from Halterside."

Tomato perked up when he heard "Halterside." He was tempted to ask her about Silver Shill and Silk Shimmer and how the pirate ship pizzeria was doing, but thinking about how he might receive a disappointing answer, he stayed quiet.

Peppermint continued, "The twins are Evergreen and Crystal from Seaddle, the brown one's Cocoa Latte from Whinneapolis, and the big fella's Big Freeze from Vanhoover. We're all here because we like skiing! And you say that you've got a good place for a resort?"

Double Diamond cracked a smile. "Psht, yeah, I've been shredding in the nearby mountains for a while now, and I thought that it'd make for a good place for winter fun."

Crystal, the female twin with blue eyes, said, "So... you're saying that it's got some good snow?"

Evergreen, the male twin with light green eyes, asked, "And you say they're skiiable in the summer as well?"

"That's what I've found."

Tomato rolled his eyes. "Not to mention I got caught in a giant snowball a few days ago. I'd say there's plenty of snow up there."

Winter Mist raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like the snow's a little wet. Is it like that all year, or just in summertime?"

"Oh, it's much closer to powder in the winter," Double Diamond said.

Tomato cleared his throat. "As much as I'd like to listen to all the geeking out over snow, why don't we have you ponies see for yourself?"

---

When they dropped Double Diamond and the committee off at the mountains, Party Favor, Night Glider, and Tomato returned to the outskirts of town. Night Glider then took the balloon, telling him that she'll be keeping track of the skiers until they were done, and flew back to the mountains, leaving just Party Favor and Tomato. The former looked at the mountains, then to the town, and then back at the landscape. He took a deep breath.

"Nervous?" Tomato asked.

Party Favor nodded.

"Don't worry, they found the balloon impressive, I'm sure they'll like whatever else you can conjure up."

Party Favor sighed. "I don't know... back in Canterlot, I was just a laughingstock no matter what. I mean, who ever got far with balloon modeling anyway?"

Tomato scratched his chin. "Well... if there's anything I know about party ponies, they pretty much do the impossible. I mean, the way you put the whole problem with your talent, it sounds impossible. But, you've been doing some amazing things with that talent of yours. The balloon, the musical instruments, and many other things that I've been told about. On your own, you could end up attracting curious ponies who want to see your feats for yourself! You're kind of like that homeless metalworker I met when I was a colt."

"Are you sure? I mean, isn't that pony homeless for a reason? My dad was never impressed, always focused on my prodigy of a brother. Psht, said brother said my talent was useless, anyway."

However, that was when they heard, "They don't know what they're talking about!"

The two stallions turned, and there stood Sugar Belle. As they stared at her, she continued, "Excuse me, Tomato, but my team is mostly done with the treats, the roofs are all finished, and the music team is taking a break before we start the party. So... are we going to start soon?"

"As soon as Double Diamond's done showing the ski committee what the snow is like."

"All right." She turned to Party Favor. "It worries me to see you put yourself down like that. You're amazing, Party Favor, they just don't see it beyond first glance."

Party Favor turned away and sat down. "I know all you guys like it... but you're my friends and you know me. It's not like anyone outside of town will care besides Tomato, and the ski ponies... and maybe my sister. I'll just look silly and embarrass myself."

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure Cheese would be impressed."

Sugar Belle nodded. "And don't forget the railroad workers that we're making friends with. And what about when Princess Twilight came to town? Wasn't her pink friend impressed with what you do?"

Party Favor turned to her and smiled. "She was also impressed with your baking. I heard her singing about it."

Sugar Belle blushed. "Oh, she was just happy that I didn't bake those awful muffins again." She stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"Oh, we all were happy that you could bake other things besides the muffins! In fact, if I recall... you were the happiest."

"Yeah, we were all so happy to get our cutie marks back..." Her smile fell into a frown. "So... what happened?"

Party Favor sighed. "I guess the high wore off... I know I remembered why I gave up my cutie mark, and combined with guilt over doing it, and memories of Starlight... maybe we just didn't think we were deserving of any contact with those outside our village. I mean... even if we had a post office, I'm not sure I want to contact my family. It'd give my Dad and brother all the more reason to scorn me, and my Mom and sister would be ashamed."

Sugar Belle walked to next to him and sat down. "And my father would take it as another excuse to berate me and wonder why I wasn't more like my mother. I know, it's scary. But we've come this far, and we can't give up now."

Party Favor looked ahead, envisioning the biggest extent of his talent before him. "What if it's all for nothing?"

Tomato shifted on his hooves. "Well, as a friend of mine kept telling me throughout our teen years, you've got to get back up and try again, no matter what. And see if you can find a different angle."

Sugar Belle put a hoof on Party Favor's cheek. "You always say good things about my baking; and I'm going to tell you again that few ponies can even dream of matching your talent with balloons." She stood up. "I believe you can pull off the greatest thing ever, and Double Diamond, Night Glider, and everypony else in town would agree with me."

Party Favor smiled at her. "How am I so lucky to have you as a friend?"

Sugar Belle giggled. "I don't know. I'm just as lucky to know you." She turned to Tomato. "So, uh, what are we supposed to do while we wait?"

Tomato tapped his chin and smirked. "Crash course on budgeting! I have a hunch that you guys might need a little brushing up on a few things."

"Oh, goody," Sugar Belle said dryly.

"Come on, let's go!" Tomato said, speeding back to town.

Sugar Belle jumped, and broke into a gallop, yelling, "Slow down!"

Party Favor giggled as Sugar Belle desperately tried to keep up with the lanky Tomato, and then turned to the landscape once again. He stared at it, narrowing his eyes as he scouted all the rocks, the plants, and just about everything else that dotted the land. As he did this, in the back of his mind, he could hear the voice of Starlight Glimmer.

"Be your best, by never being your best."

Party Favor shook his head, bidding the voice to be quiet, and pulled out a balloon in defiance of Starlight. He stretched it in and out, muttering to himself, "That doesn't make much sense, now that I think of it."

He inflated the balloon.

Author's Note:

Behold, I have finally finished Super Groaner #2! Didn't take as long as the last one, but still, I was insanely frustrated with this chapter! I'm pretty sure I nearly cried at one point. Insane overthinking and anxiety over what I ended up having Tomato do did that to me. I think I might have a little problem with that.

Also, I meant for this to be one chapter, and the final part, but I realized it would take two chapters. Ah, well, we'll see what Party Favor has made in the next chapter.

Also, Paddock City = Park City.

Comments

[Goldfinch142]

"So... you're saying that it's got some good snow?

Missing quotation mark.

And... 'Tormato', really?"

Aw, come on, Tommy, it was clever!

And the party's finally getting started! Hopefully it (and the snow) will impress the committee. They ought to like the town as a spot to go, since on top of the good skiing, visiting ponies can basically build snowponies and sandcastles at the same time. Makes for an interesting vacation experience. As for the party, Cheese will certainly like to see the ponies having fun at it.

I really want to see how Tomato's budgeting crash course goes...I'm sure he can find a way to make budgeting sound not as dull. Probably.
...Maybe.
...Possibly.
...Probably not.

Well, whether he does or not, it'd be kind of cute to see him getting all hopped up on sharing his special talent like in Halterside.

[SageBrony07]

Great chapter. I love how everything is coming together. I can't wait to see how Cheese is handling the memory extraction.

[superfun]

Each chapter is another one that made me glad I favorited this story before it was complete.

And I laughed at "Tormato"

[FanOfMostEverything]

And thus the recovery continues. Good to see it, to say nothing of Tommy using his abilities constructively. Management is an important skill set. If it's good enough for Twilight come Winter Wrap-Up, it's good enough for anyone. And I did smile at the budgeting session. "What do we do now?" "I know! An economics lesson! "

I just hope Cheese wakes up in time to appreciate Tomato's achievement. Though, of course, there are other issues with Cheese...

Eh, they can deal with those in good time. For now, it's time to bask in the warm glow of a job well done. Hopefully. There's still time for something to go wrong.

[redmar]

Maybe this is part of the reason the town forgave Starlight in the Cutie Remark.
Night Glider doesn't want to be reminded of her sucessfull Wonderbolt sister Fleetfoot.

[Godslittleprincess]

Woohoo! Tommy did it! He meaningfully contributed to something.