Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

10--July

After being released by the doctor of the town, Cheese had spent the last night at Party Favor's house, and was amused at the balloon mattresses that the blue unicorn had made for him and Tomato. Being favorably impressed with that pony, he made a note of working with him on a party some day. He was disappointed that his chance to do so was halted by a cold, but maybe someday the collaboration could be done.

So it was that the next morning, after some stretches to pop bones back into place and relax his stiff muscles, a nice and simple breakfast courtesy of Sugar Belle, and some food for the road provided by some of the townsfolk, he and his brother were ready to go. So now they were on the outskirts of town, being bid farewell by the mayor and his three closest friends.

Double Diamond provided them with a couple of scarves. "I know it's the middle of the summer, but, you know, it gets cold up here."

Tomato stared at his new scarf. "The Sandwich snowball proved that."

Cheese was already wrapping his scarf around his neck. "Oh, Tommy, just be grateful. Unless you want your turn in catching a cold."

Tomato followed suit in putting the scarf on. "At least my cold won't impede the party planning." He turned to Double Diamond. "But thanks anyway."

"Do you have enough to eat?" Sugar Belle asked.

Cheese waved a hoof. "Don't worry, we've got plenty!" He winked at her. "I'm storing them in a secret compartment."

Sugar Belle glanced at Party Favor, and then back to Cheese. "I can believe that."

Night Glider hovered over them. "Be careful of some of the crazy nasties out there. Some of the villagers are here because Starlight rescued them from some rogue griffon, or got a bear lost in the caves, or whipped the outlaw Roanie's gang away with a stick. And I think Double Diamond had an encounter with a yeti once."

Double Diamond frowned. "It broke my leg and stole my alfalfa jerky."

Night Glider chuckled. "Also, keep an eye out for Starlight. Who knows if she's still willing to peel off cutie marks for an equal society?"

Tomato covered his cutie mark with his tail. "I'll keep that in mind."

Then, Party Favor stepped forward. "Thanks for your help, Tomato. It was actually a lot of fun working with you--aside from the whole coffee thing."

Tomato smiled and rolled his eyes. "Well, you're better to work with than your brother. I was foolish for trusting him." Then, noticing the glum look on Party Favor's face, he added, "I'm sorry he turned out the way he did. I know you weren't exactly close, but it still hurts, doesn't it?"

Party Favor sighed. "Seems like we both trusted the wrong pony in times where we were desperate, and ended up turning into something we're not." He kicked at the dust. "I do wish Kazam didn't worship that crazy ancestor of ours. Dad told us the story of Wayer Rune to warn us about the dangers of dark magic, but Kaz just wanted to emulate him. I wonder if Dad hadn't told us that story, Kazam wouldn't have gotten an interest, and he and I would have gotten along better."

"I wonder about what could have been in my own life," Tomato said.

Party Favor chuckled. "Well, I hope Kaz realizes how much pain he has caused, both for you guys, my family, and everypony in Las Pegasus. I hope he's not too far gone that he has to be sent to Tartarus or something. The thought of that happening makes me feel sick."

"Well... you've got some good friends behind you to help you get through it."

Double Diamond stepped forward and patted Party Favor's back. "That's right."

Sugar Belle was on Party Favor's other side, taking his hoof. "We're here to make sure you're not alone."

Night Glider tousled his mane. "After all, you made sure me and Sugar Belle didn't feel alone in the so-called 'true friendship' of Starlight's reign."

Party Favor beamed at them. "I'm so lucky to have you guys. You know... I can't wait until that ski resort is built and opened. Out-of-towners will see just how great our town is, just for all of us, and the friendships we have. Feels like a miracle, doesn't it?"

Tomato smiled and nodded, but the smile was replaced by an irritated scowl when Cheese leaned on his head and said, "Yeah, this does seem like a town of miracles, doesn't it? After all, you got Tommy to throw a good party!"

"Cheese, get off!" Tomato snapped.

Cheese backed away with snickers. "Hey, you're making progress, and I'm proud."

Tomato shook his head and sighed. Then, he held out his hoof to Party Favor. "Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you, good sir."

Party Favor stared at the hoof for a moment, then glanced up at Tomato's face before staring at the hoof again. As his friends backed up, he stepped forward slowly, lifting up his own hoof to make a motion of touching it so that they could shake.

However, when he grabbed Tomato's hoof, Party Favor suddenly decided to pull him into a hug. Surprised by the sudden squeeze, Tomato blinked, unsure how to feel about a pony he had only known for a few days giving him a hug. However, upon feeling warmth, he smiled at him, and wriggled a front leg free in order to pat his back with an affectionate firmness.

Once the hug broke, they all waved goodbye to each other, and the Sandwiches were off.

When out of earshot of the townsponies, Cheese leaned to Tomato and asked, "So... what did this Kazam guy do?"

Tomato blinked, his mouth agape in exasperation. "Cheese! You were with me!"

---

Out in the middle of nowhere, the two brothers were walking through the desert, cold dust being kicked around by their hoofsteps. Though the sun was shining over them, the air around them felt like a gentle autumn breeze. Tomato was still surprised at how cool the desert was, especially compared to the Las Pegasus area.

On thinking of Las Pegasus again, his concerns were not about whether some other insane pony would try to imitate Kazam, or that he still felt like a vampire at times, though they were unnerving thoughts. Instead, his thoughts were directed toward the annoyingly extreme denial that Cheese was going through.

It was understandable that Cheese didn't want to talk about it; Tomato hadn't wanted to talk about it either, though he ended up having to revisit the memory in telling Princess Celestia and Party Favor about it. But upon mentioning Las Pegasus, Kazam, or anything else related to the incident short of saying anything about vampires, Tomato expected any reaction aside from the one he was getting. He expected Cheese to be prickly about it, to tell him to shut his trap, or to start looking around cautiously, making sure to conceal his own neck. Instead, Cheese didn't seem to remember it at all.

He kept glancing at Cheese, taking care not to stare at him as they walked. Thinking back to the time that Pinkie forgot that surprise party for her, Tomato wondered if Cheese was employing that same magic. However, there was something in the back of his mind telling him that wasn't how party pony magic worked. The Las Pegasus incident was of a larger scale than that party, and for whose sake besides his own would Cheese forget that incident, anyway?

Tomato shook his head. Maybe he was just overthinking it. It was most likely some weird way of coping, and Tomato recalled the last time he bothered Cheese when he was dealing with some sort of issue he had. Being a little colt at the time could be touted as an excuse, but he wasn't sure he was any better at it as an adult. Bothering Cheese about it was most likely going to backfire on him again.

Perhaps he should focus on another question that was on his mind.

"Cheese?" he asked.

Cheese glanced at him. "Yeah?"

"Where the hay are we going?"

Cheese chuckled. "Oh... you'll see."

Tomato groaned. Cheese had gotten a Cheesy Sense about an hour earlier, and instead of immediately announcing the destination, he had thought it'd be funny to keep Tomato in the dark up until they got there. In Tommy's opinion, it wasn't very funny.

"Can you give me a hint?"

Cheese scratched his chin. "It's not in this desert."

Tomato glared at him. "Oh, ha ha. Give me a hint of what it is, not what it's not."

Cheese whickered. "Very well. It has grass and an interesting history."

"Oh, give me a break! Something better, please? Nothing about the history of its grass or anything! Something like, say... the direction we're going?"

"West."

"What's the estimate of when we're going to get there?"

Cheese clicked his tongue as he processed the day and how long it'd take to get to the destination. "I'm going to say around the, uh, 25th."

Tomato blinked. His tone was noticeably sharp when he asked, "Are you saying we're going to be out here for nearly a month?"

Cheese raised an eyebrow. "What? No! We're only going to be out here a few days! Sheesh, it'd be a serious waste of time to be out here until about late July. There are a few more summer celebrations we've got to get to, you know. What made you think I was talking about July 25th?"

Tomato's brow furrowed in confusion. "It's July 1st."

Cheese stopped in his tracks. Turning to Tomato, he blinked and scratched his head. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Don't you remember Party Favor changing his calendar?"

Cheese stared at him for a moment before putting a hoof to his head and turning to stare at the ground. Tomato examined the look on Cheese's face, the wide eyes and furrowed brow apparent as the elder brother was trying to process this information.

They stood there for what seemed like an eternity as Cheese thought about the apparent mix-up with the dates. Tomato could clearly see the slight twitch of Cheese's eyes and the beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead. It was odd that Cheese was thinking so hard about it, almost as odd as him suddenly forgetting about Pegasus.

Tomato cringed at the thought. He was overthinking it again--there was absolutely no way that Cheese really did forget about it.

Cheese yelped from a sudden pain in his head, and then massaged his temples to try to soothe the pain. Breathing heavily, he yanked out an ice pack and put it on his head, grumbling about stupid headaches.

"You okay?" Tomato asked.

With a sigh, Cheese mumbled, "Ugh... maybe you're right. I mean, there's no way Summer Sun could have been celebrated early. I guess we've been traveling longer than I thought." He started to walk again. "My new guess... we'll get there by the 3rd or 4th."

Tomato sighed and followed. He looked to his right, the mountain range still in view. "How long are we going to be seeing these mountains, anyway?"

"Quite a while."

"Great."

---

The two sat by the campfire that night, with Cheese roasting some spare carrots for dinner and Tomato having his nose in a book. Still in the desert and the mountains still in view, the two were curled up in their ponchos and scarves in an effort to stave off the cold air of the desert night.

One of the carrots lit on fire, and Cheese yanked it out of the campfire and sang, "Happy Birthday to me!", before blowing it out.

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "Your birthday isn't until October."

Cheese rolled his eyes, and took the burned carrot off his stick. "Tommy, I sing that for a joke. Carrots or marshmallows on fire make me think of birthday candles." He took a bite out of the carrot. "But it's sweet that you remember my birthday! I had forgotten it."

Tomato stared at him incredulously. "You seem to be forgetting everything."

"Psht, no, not everything. It's just when you're a party pony, you spend so much time thinking of ways to make parties for others, you end up forgetting a few personal stuff along the way. I mean, why does my own birthday matter? It's just another day after all. I have a general idea of how old I am anyway."

Tomato cringed, noting that Cheese was sounding a lot like their mother with that statement. "Did you forget my birthday?"

"March 5th. I sent you a present a few months ago!"

"Okay, right, forgot about the smiley face tie."

Cheese leaned back on the rock behind him. "Why would I forget my own brother's birthday?" He tilted his head. "Are you still upset that I didn't throw you any birthday parties for the past several years?"

"No."

"Ah. If it makes you feel better, I had a tradition of tying a green balloon to my tail and parading around wherever I was whenever your birthday rolled around." Cheese threw Tomato a carrot, which the younger brother caught with his tail. "Even when I was angry with you, it didn't feel right not to have my March 5th green balloon day."

"You even remembered my favorite color! And yet you forget your own birthday?"

Cheese shrugged. "Thanks for reminding me that it's in October."

"October 23rd to be precise." Tomato took a bite of his carrot. "Be sure to tell Pinkie Pie that, she'd love to give you a birthday party."

Cheese looked at the fire. "Heh, she definitely would. I can't help but wonder what kind of party she'd throw for me if she had the chance. She'd conjure up something amazing faster than I can blink. You've got to admire her immense dedication and willingness to go the extra mile. "

"I wonder if she'd give you a kiss for your birthday present," Tomato muttered.

Cheese bit his lip and blushed. "I doubt that'll happen. The party would be enough of a present anyway..." He grabbed a stick and pushed around the firewood. "But, really, I don't need a birthday party. I survived over a decade without having any, not to mention I throw so many parties that it would just seem like a normal day to me."

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "You want to bet?"

Cheese shook his head. "Nah. I'm good. Besides, who knows where I'll be by then. How would you guys throw me a party?"

Tomato finished his carrot and went back to his book. "Hey, I just thought it'd be nice to celebrate your birthday in a way other than a sad, googly-eyed cupcake. That was my tradition when your birthday rolled around."

Cheese snickered. "Awww, that's cute."

Tomato snorted. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, just let me get back to reading this book. I'm at the execution of an assassination plot, and the assassin is using a reverse-breath spell to suffocate the chancellor in her sleep."

"Well, that's not nice."

"The chancellor was a greedy idiot who abused the powers of the Fountain of Youth and stayed in office under many different names. She over-regulated the market and kept raising taxes, and thus, nopony could prosper under her. Caused a lot of desperate ponies to commit many a crime."

"...what book are you reading this time?"

"The Waters of Forever."

Cheese blinked. "Where do you keep getting these books?"

"Bought it from some poor soul back in the town who wanted to get rid of it."

Cheese pursed his lips. "Well... you better finish up your assassination plot chapter or whatever you want to call it." He turned around to face the horizon, gazing upon the land under the starry night. "I'm planning for us to leave at dawn, and I don't want to stay up too late."

---

The night was cold and unforgiving. The ground was hard and rocky, with a layer of frost being added to the solid soil. The moon was high, shining its light on the ground as each grain sparkled like the stars above. It seemed like winter instead of summer, and Cheese and Tomato were doing what they could to stay warm.

Sleeping separately was not an option if the Sandwiches wanted to stay warm. Both were curled up, back to back, and held together by their ponchos, with Tomato holding his tail like a teddy bear, and Cheese using his own tail as a bed while he hugged Boneless 2 in his sleep. Both ponies and the chicken had their heads sticking out of the poncho, using their hats and scarfs as pillows.

They were in a silent slumber, their minds elsewhere in their dreams. Cheese's dream came in spite of the dull ache in his head.

---

He was at a party, being surrounded by all sorts of goodies and treats, confetti, and laughing and smiling ponies. Seeing both adult and foal running around with food in their mouth, setting off water balloon tripwires and bouncing on rides made entirely out of party balloons, it gave him a great warmth in his heart. Seeing all these ponies happy and smiling was all he needed to see; nopony deserved to be as unhappy and lonely as he was when he was a colt. And if anything held him back from spreading joy, the silent commission he had received when he first laid eyes on Pinkie Pie, then it was a problem that needed a remedy.

He turned around, and was suddenly face to face with Pinkie Pie. With rosy cheeks and a bright smile, she took his hoof, and then lead him elsewhere. He felt a buzz through his body when she did so, and he felt lighter than air as he followed her.

They were soon facing a tower of a cake, which left Cheese in awe. Being frosted with yellow and green, adorned with blue flowers and candles, and having chocolate frosting on the edges, the most surprising thing about the cake was that it had his name on it. Surrounding it were Pinkie's friends, Tomato and his friends, and several other party ponies he had met on the road, including Comedy Gold and Party Favor. All were smiling, and presenting the cake to him.

Blinking, he realized that he was attending his own birthday party. He turned to Pinkie.

Pinkie fluttered her eyelashes and said, "Make a wish, Cheesy."

Cheese grinned at her, turned to the cake, and took a deep breath. His exhale came out as a great gust of wind, killing each and every one of the flames that graced the candles. Soon, all that was left of the flames were wisps of smoke, and everypony clapped.

Cheese had a big, corny smile on his face, realizing just how much he missed having a birthday party thrown for him. It hadn't been that way since he was a little colt of eight, the last time he celebrated his birthday with his grandparents. He looked at his brother, who had the brightest and most genuine smile that had been ever directed at him.

However, when he turned back to Pinkie, he was surprised to see that it wasn't her there. Instead, it was a different mare, with a lavender coat, golden eyes, and curly hair being the colors of raspberry and light yellow. There were bags under her bloodshot eyes, her muscles were flabby and weak, and she was dressed in an old and raggedly jester's outfit. Finally, Cheese found himself staring at the curled forelock that was similar to his own, only it was dipping to between her eyes. She looked up at him, her dim eyes giving him a silent plea.

Cheese felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze. "Uh... hi? Can I help you?"

The mare didn't stop staring. "You made a mistake."

Cheese gave her a funny look. "Huh?"

The mare slowly shook her head. "You made a mistake."

Cheese pursed his lips. "What mistake did I make, ma'am?"

"You made a mistake."

"Yes, you said that, but... what did I do?"

When she didn't answer, Cheese shook her. "Come on! I want to know what I did wrong so I can set it right! Tell me!" He turned outward and asked, "Hey, you guys mind giving me a--"

He stopped when he saw that everything had vanished, and that he was now in darkness. He let go of the mysterious mare, and looked around, trying to find any trace of his birthday party. There was no Pinkie, there was no Tomato. There was no cake and no games. There was not even the grass under his hooves. Everything was just gone.

He turned back to the mare, who was fading herself. As she gave him a dull stare, she said, "A party pony shouldn't live with pain."

"No, wait!" Cheese jumped forward to grab her, but she had already vanished. Breathing heavily, he yelled into the void, "Can't somepony tell me what's going on?!"

A spotlight shone on him, and he looked up to find a luminous full moon above him. It was joined by five stars twinkling around it, revolving around the moon in an elaborate dance. Cheese could not take his eyes off the celestial bodies, the stars putting him in a trance as they seemingly sang a song to him. They sung about he needed to be free of pain before it consumed him, before it affected his party-throwing abilities, before it turned him into a monster.

As he stared at the moon, he thought of Princess Luna, and how she had visited his dream back in Canterlot. What was it that she said to him? Surely she knew why these stars were singing to him, and what the heck they were talking about. He was fine, wasn't he?

He found himself unable to look away, or even to blink. He kept on staring at that moon, wondering what that pain was that he needed to be free of. How could he remedy this problem if he didn't know what it was? After all, if he was unable to throw a party because of this problem, then who was Cheese Sandwich?

He felt helpless as he floated in the void, still staring at the moon and stars as they still sang to him.

They kept on being vague.

---

Cheese was startled awake by something yanking Boneless 2 out of his front legs. Blinking his heavy eyes until he could see, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. When he finished that, he blinked a few more times, and saw a giant white beast running away from their camp. He stared at it in confusion, up until he noticed a rubber chicken in the monster's jaws.

Cheese pulled himself out of the neckhole of the poncho, and then rolled to his feet. Then, he snapped, "Hey! That's my chicken!"

With that, he sped off in hot pursuit, leaving the awakening Tomato in the double-poncho sleeping bag.

Tomato sat up, the ponchos drooping on his shoulders as he started to blink the heaviness out of his eyes. Smacking his lips and feeling his currently messy curls on his head, he wondered what was going on that made Cheese yell at... someone who had Boneless 2. Whoever it was, it certainly wasn't Tommy himself, and he was thankful for that.

He opened his eyes, noticed the blur afar, and then patted the ground in search of his glasses. It took a few minutes for him to realize that whoever took Boneless 2 also took his glasses.

And so, Tommy was an unhappy and stranded stallion, and he had to wait until Cheese returned.

---

Cheese managed to retrieve Boneless 2 and Tomato's glasses from what he called a "yeti", which he stated that it was apparently more agreeable than Bighoof was. He traded a couple of wheels of cheese for the rubber chicken and glasses, and then they parted ways peacefully. Tomato was glad that there was little fuss, though he joked that if they were in a novel, he would have disappointed the readers with a lack of a fight scene.

The next couple of days were rather dull for the brothers. While they did eventually get out of the desert, they still had a ways to go to wherever it was they were going. They walked through fields and crossed rivers, the Crystal Mountains still in sight as they continued their trek west.

Tomato took guesses at where they were going. He guessed Whinnyapolis, which was proven wrong when they passed by it. He guessed Seaddle, but noticed that they were taking a curve a little too northward. He then guessed Vanhoover.

Then, they came across the railroad, and Cheese started to follow it northward. It was then that Tomato guessed that it was the Crystal Empire. He could be wrong and that it was just one of the smaller towns along the railroad, but the Crystal Empire was a possibility. That, or Yakyakistan.

He really hoped it wasn't Yakyakistan.

As they followed the railroad into a frosty canyon--as if that desert they were in before wasn't chilly enough--Cheese surprised him with a question.

"So... that book you're reading... what's it about?"

Tomato snapped his head around, raising an eyebrow. "Eh? I thought you didn't care what I read?"

"I'm bored."

"You? Bored? Wow, next thing you know, you'll fall asleep in the middle of a party."

Cheese gave him a half-lidded look. "Well, I just want to know what you find so entertaining in those novels."

Tomato rolled his eyes with a smile. "Well, The Waters of Forever is a series of stories of those who find the Fountain of Youth, and end up abusing its capabilities. There was that corrupt chancellor that I told you about, who was in power for years and went through many names until her assassination. Then, the assassin who killed her found the fountain, and became a serial killer to any politician he deemed corrupt, whether they were or not, up until he tried it on Celestia." Tomato chuckled. "That didn't end well. And then there was that pirate who carried around a bottle of it so that he could keep plundering for centuries, a little filly who never wanted to grow up but ended up going mad when she outlived her friends and family, and apparently a crazy one of the Wayer Rune guy, in an alternate timeline where he escaped and avoided going to Tartarus, and continued to terrorize us with the werewolf spell."

Cheese sighed. "Why does that werewolf guy keep coming up?"

"I don't know. Good thing the book's fiction. We all know that the Fountain of Youth doesn't exist, and that Rune guy is in Tartarus. I feel sorry for Silk Shimmer and Party Favor to have that nutjob as an ancestor though. Imagine if we were descended from an infamous, insane warlock."

Cheese snickered. "Hey, we found Bighoof. We might find the Fountain of Youth."

Tomato rolled his eyes. "As long as we don't meet Wayer Rune, that's fine by me."

As they stepped out of the frosty canyon, they flinched at a sudden bright light. Blinking to adjust, they soon beheld a valley of green, with a gleaming city of crystal in the center. The city was arranged in a circle, with its streets in a snowflake pattern. Numerous houses and towers of glittering pink, blue, and violet lined the streets, and the city's centerpiece was a castle directly on town square, dwarfing all the other buildings.

Tomato blinked. "Is that...?"

Cheese nodded. "Yep, here's our destination. Welcome to the Crystal Empire."

Author's Note:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And what better way for me to kick off the new year than by ending this story's hiatus and giving you a new chapter of Cheese and Tomato's adventure?

And I give you this breather chapter, just giving you some things during their trip to their next destination.

And what do you know? It's the Crystal Empire!

The question is... what's going on there?

Comments

[SageBrony07]

That was cool. I do wonder how these memories are going to get cheese in trouble?

[Goldfinch142]

There was that corrupt chancellor that I told you about, who was in power for years and went through many names until her assassination.Then, the assassin who killed her found the fountain, and became a serial killer to any politician he deemed corrupt, whether they were or not, up until he tried it on Celestia."

Space between sentences.

The city was arranged in a circle, with its streets in a snowflake pattern Numerous houses and towers of glittering pink, blue, and violet lined the streets, and the city's centerpiece was a castle directly on town square, dwarfing all the other buildings.

Period between sentences.

I also assume that the chapter title is meant to be '10.1--July' instead of '10--July'.

Ah, so it's a cold desert. Cool temperatures, then.

It's sweet that Party Favor hugged Tommy. What a way to solidify their forgiveness.

So they celebrated birthdays with green balloons and sad, googly-eyed cupcakes. Maybe the cupcake will be happy now, if they still do them. On that note, did the Sandwich family not celebrate birthdays?

The Sandwiches seem to have a running theme of being robbed by mythical creatures. What next, a leprechaun snatching their lunches?

He really hoped it wasn't Yakyakistan.

So Yakyakistan's tendency to overreact and smash everything is well enough known to all Equestrians, and most likely the rest of the world. Not very surprising, seeing as the borders being closed for "hundreds of moons" probably isn't as long as it sounds, assuming "moons" means "months." And even if it was longer than a few hundred months, it seems word had spread of the Yak diplomats' "visit."

Ooh, the Crystal Empire! I was hoping to see this destination.

It's great to see this story off its hiatus. I'm looking forward to more from you.

[Jordan179]

Is The Waters of Forever based on a real fantasy novel?

[Dashie04]

"October 23rd to be precise."

i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/105/262/155.png

[Godslittleprincess]

Wait, are the Runes and the Sandwiches distantly related?