Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

11.2--First Round

That night had the contestants attend a welcome party that Cheese helped the Crystal Ponies and the crew of the Shining Vocals set up at the Crystal Empire's community center. They and their friends, family, and singing coaches were all mingling with each other, dancing to the music, and getting autographs from the judges. Cirrus and Nimbus were unfortunate that their parents had to practice for the opening show the next day, but they at least had friends to accompany them instead. And another one of the contestants just happened to be Windswept Goldenmane's nephew, who was rather flustered when his uncle kept pushing him towards groups of mares, telling him not to be so shy.

The Sandwiches hung with Cirrus and Nimbus by the snack table, which had numerous cookies, be they savory chocolate chip, made of creamy peanut butter, or good old cinnamon-y ginger snaps. They stood at the end of the table with bowls of fruit punch, each different flavors. The two sets of siblings held cups to drink their respective flavors of fruit punch. Tomato was savoring his drink, Nimbus was lapping his up like a dog, Cheese was scanning the cookie selection, and Cirrus was scanning the party itself.

She leaned back on the table nodding her head. "This is one swell party, Cheese. Not too big so that it doesn't overshadow the competition, but fun enough that everypony's comfortable with being here."

Cheese munched on a cookie that he had snatched from the snack table. "Thanks! Though to be honest, this is just a little warm up after being unable to plan parties last week. I hope to get back to bigger parties after the competition."

Nimbus looked up from his punch. "Why?"

Cheese finished his cookie. "Oh, I wasn't able to do any party planning last week because I was sick." He let out a few raspy coughs. "Still have some phlegm in my throat. Hopefully, my singing voice will be in complete tiptop shape by the next party."

Cirrus snickered. "You, sick? Did Tomato have to channel his inner party pony in order to fill in for you?"

Tomato leaned with his elbow on the table. "I filled in for him, all right." He sipped his punch. "But I had a lot of help from that town's local party pony. Basically, he provided the creativity, and I provided the organization."

"It actually worked, by the way," Cheese stated.

Cirrus waved a hoof. "Bah, that's cheating if he had a party pony to help him... who is this dude, anyway? I heard 'he', so it can't be your pink girlfriend."

Cheese screamed, and then glared at Tomato. "Tomato, you poisoned her mind!"

Tomato raised an eyebrow, said, "I have no idea what you're talking about", and resumed drinking his punch.

Nimbus leaned forward. "So, what else have you guys been doing?"

Tomato kept sipping his own punch, the events of the last month popping into mind. The fruit bats in that orchard in Ponyville, which he cringed in shame about his not doing anything. The bandits in Nickerlite, which Cirrus and Nimbus probably knew about, since Bluejinx was most likely writing them; he'd have to ask how Blue was doing. The duet battle in Halterside, to which he both cringed in embarrassment at the result of the battle and smiled fondly upon remembering the pirate ship pizzeria. The thought of Las Pegasus prompted Tomato to glance at Cheese, wondering how long he was going to keep up the charade of completely forgetting it had happened. And thinking back on Canterlot was actually pretty funny... minus the fire and nearly falling off a cliff.

Cheese grinned at the twins. "Well, aside from the place we just came from, the other four places we've been to have had some crazy stuff going on!"

Five, Cheese, five, Tomato thought. One part of him was growing more fed up with Cheese's omission of Las Pegasus, while another part of him tried to justify it as Cheese just trying to cope. And then there was something in the back of his mind telling him that something was wrong.

Of course, before Cheese could tell the twins about their adventures so far, he was interrupted by Windswept Goldenmane pushing his pegasus nephew right into Cirrus, with the two being cheek to cheek, and the nephew blushing furiously. Her eyebrow twitching, she pushed the other pony out of her face, and then glared at Windswept. "Hey, what's the big idea? Haven't you ever heard of personal space?"

Nimbus marched right next to her. "Yeah, you just made both of them invade each others'!"

Windswept pulled his nephew back and started patting him on the head. "Oh, I was just teaching my dear nephew Angel how to talk to girls!"

Cirrus smirked. "Angel?"

A soft, golden-eyed glower came from the nephew. "It's short for Herald Angel... and I, uh, would prefer it if you called me Herald... please."

Cirrus chuckled. "'Kay, Herald. Frankly, you don't seem like a harbinger or news bringer of any kind."

Tomato glanced at Cirrus. "Bluejinx was pretty shy as a colt, but he ended up with a talent in journalism."

Nimbus scanned Herald from top to bottom, noting his messily wavy, silvery blue mane, his snow white coat, and his finely feathered wings. Glancing between him and Windswept, he asked Herald, "Hey, how come you're a pegasus when your uncle's an earth pony?"

"My sister married a pegasus!" Windswept boldly announced. "And Herald here is her youngest out of her four foals."

"Uh, that's great to know!" Cheese said with a grin. "But, hehe, you kind of interrupted our conversation. I was just about to tell them about the adventures that--"

Windswept waved a hoof. "Oh, pish posh, it was probably unimportant, coming from the mouth of a clown." Ignoring Cheese's glare and that the party pony was about to give him a retort, he continued, "Anyway, my nephew here traveled down from Salt Lick City all the way to Las Pegasus, and managed to win the stallions' audition there at the beginning of June!"

Ah, so before the whole vampire disaster, Tomato thought. He suppressed a shudder from thinking about it, thinking that should he do that, the twins would start asking questions. And that was the last thing he wanted.

Windswept was tousling the blushing Herald's mane. "Trust me on this, he has an absolute golden voice, and I just know he was meant to be a star!"

"I'm pretty sure all the contestants here have golden voices, Windswept," Cheese stated, his eye twitching.

Tomato nodded and pointed to the twins. "These two are no slouches in the singing department--believe me, I've heard them."

Cirrus pointed back at Tomato. "He's no slouch in singing either. You think we can squeeze him into the competition?"

Tomato's face turned redder than it already was. "Cirrus! Why did you have to bring that up?!"

Windswept took a long look at Tomato, his eyes resting especially on Tomato's cutie mark. With a half-lidded expression, he said, "No, there's no room. We've already got sixteen contestants, we do not need number seventeen."

Cheese glanced at the twins and shrugged. "He's right, we already have enough contestants. Maybe next time we can force Tommy to audition."

Tomato jumped. "Cheese!"

Cheese snickered. "I'm kidding! I remember the last time I forced you to sing..." He frowned, turned away, and snorted. "Yep, it's a good thing he can't be in this competition. His vocals are great, but dang is his performance awful..."

Tomato groaned, swiping some more punch from the bowl, and putting the cup to his lips. "Gee, thanks for that compelling argument."

Windswept raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Huh. I guess awful performances run in the family."

Cheese's eyes went wide, and his hair bristled as he whipped around to face Windswept. "Excuse me?!"

Herald tapped Windswept's withers. "Uncle Windy, I don't think he's that bad. In fact, he was great during the Frontier Festival Parade last year." He looked at Cheese and gave him a shy grin. "You think you'd be coming again this year?"

Cheese just shrugged at him. "If my Cheesy Sense says so..."

Windswept rolled his eyes. "Puh, Cheesy Sense, such a ridiculous concept made by a delusional mind."

Cheese glowered at him once again. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, look. Cheesy Sense is a real feeling, a real signal, and is really accurate about where and when a party is going to be. Don't dismiss me as delusional just because you haven't witnessed it."

"You're lucky I'm only keeping you around because we can't get another celebrity to be a judge while the Shining Vocals are about to begin. I will ask you to act like an adult, instead of falling into your habit of childish antics. After all, you're a judge, and how can anypony take you seriously when you turn this competition into a circus? You could turn into a werewolf, and nopony would even be scared because you'd somehow twist it into a clown."

Tomato glanced at Windswept and raised an eyebrow. "A werewolf clown sounds terrifying to me."

Windswept looked at Tomato. "Leave your sass out of this. I'm trying to make sure the Shining Vocals don't become a joke."

Cheese raised an eyebrow. "Do you expect me to be the grumpy judge or something?"

"You don't have to be, but I expect to take your position as a judge seriously." He looked up at Nimbus, who was now hovering over the table and stuffing cookies in his mouth, and then at Cirrus, who was giggling at her brother's stuffed cheeks. "For starters, you're being rather friendly with these two pegasi."

"Yeah?" Cirrus said. She pointed to Tomato. "He's Tomato's brother, Tomato's our friend, and so, we're friendly with him. Nimbus especially enjoys Cheese's sense of humor."

Nimbus nodded with a muffled, "Mm-hm."

Windswept was not very impressed. "Well, Cheese Sandwich, make sure you don't let your bias for these two cloud your judgement. I hope it's not too much to ask of your simple brain to be objective."

Cheese gave him a dirty look. "Don't you worry, Mr. Goldenmane." He crossed his heart, followed by other motions. "I Pinkie Promise that I'll judge each and every contestant with the utmost fairness and without bias." The last word was emphasized by Cheese's hoof touching his closed eyelid.

Herald tilted his head. "Pinkie Promise?"

"It's a promise that you don't want to break," Cheese replied.

Windswept rolled his eyes. "Great, more nonsense." Windswept looked up at Nimbus happily munching on his cookies and sneered. "Without Cheese's bias, I know that buffoon's not going to go far."

He glanced at another group of mares, and grabbed his nephew's tail. "Come along, Angel! Let's try this again, and see if you can actually succeed at being as foxy and smooth as your amazing uncle Windswept!"

As he was dragged away, Herald complained, "Please stop bragging about me, I'm not here for romance!"

Once Windswept and Herald were out of earshot, Cheese snorted. "Gee, never realized this guy didn't like me that much. For what, choosing to be funny? Gee, sorry if I don't want to be some sort of dramatic opera singer or something like that. I've had enough drama in my life that I'd like to forget."

Tomato glanced away, sipping his punch once again. "You and me both."

Cirrus patted Cheese's back. "Baw, he's obviously got a worse sense of humor than a brick. Take it from me, overly dramatic and emotional doesn't always mean it's good, and sometimes the upbeat songs do hide some rather serious messages that I'm sure he'd miss. It's a good thing he's not a judge."

Cheese chuckled. "Psht, yeah, he'd obviously declare his nephew the winner!"

Cirrus laughed. "Can you imagine how hypocritical that'd be? Anyway, it's great you like me and Nimbus, but don't be soft on us just because we're friendly with you. I'd rather lose on my own merits than win just because I happened to know one of the judges."

"Hey, I Pinkie Promised. That's a serious promise, and Pinkie would kill me if I broke it."

Cirrus raised an eyebrow. "She's not even here."

Tomato turned to them. "I'm willing to bet that she would sense it."

Cirrus sighed. "Why bother trying to make sense of ponies like her and Cheese?"

Nimbus landed next to them, looking at Windswept talking to the other group, with a nervous Herald beside him. After staring at them for a few moments, he shook his head sadly. "I kind of feel sorry for Herald there. He doesn't seem to be very excited to be here."

"It's obvious he's a pushover," Tomato said.

Cirrus looked at the clock across the room, and then glanced at Nimbus. "You think Mom and Dad are done with practice?"

Nimbus scratched his chin. "I think we still have time to hear what our Sandwich buds did over the summer."

Cheese laughed. "Well, let's hope we don't have any more interruptions!" He cleared his throat. "So, our first stop turned out to be, of all places, Ponyville..."

---

The next night, the Crystal Stadium was filled to the brim. The thousands of seats had many a character on them, with some sitting still like statues, others bouncing in their cushions, and all chattering with friends and family. Some scattered popcorn in their endeavor to munch on the butteriest kernel, while others opted to wait until the show actually started. Some of the audience sparkled like their native city, sitting beside ponies with less of a sheen to their coats. Some folks were bright-eyed little foals, fussing over having to sit still and wondering when the heck the show was going to start; and there were those not much less bright-eyed, though they had accumulated a number of wrinkles throughout the years. And of course, sitting on the large balcony was the Crystal Empress herself, Princess Cadance, with her husband Shining Armor sitting next to her. No matter who was there or how different they were, they were all there for the same reason: to see potential new stars provide them with vocal melodies.

Cheese Sandwich sat at the panel with Sapphire Shores and Starsong, looking up at the stage and imagining what was to come. The first image that came to mind was that of Cirrus and Nimbus performing a duet. He quickly shook that out of his head, realizing that these songs were supposed to be solos. It was odd to think of one twin without the other. He didn't quite know what to expect from them or any of the other contestants, though, especially that nephew of Windswept's.

He laid back in his chair, leaning it far enough to look at the audience behind him upside down. One of the ponies sitting up in the front row was Tomato, leaning on the railing and whistling in anticipation. Cheese felt bad that he was alone in the audience, but from the looks of it, Tommy was handling it well.

The drone of multiple conversations was halted when the lights dimmed, and the spotlight was on Windswept Goldenmane as he walked onstage. The white stallion cleared his throat, and went to the microphone. "Good evening, Crystal Empire!"

The audience's roar boomed in Cheese's ears, and he was unable to control his flinch. His ears ringing and his head aching already, he was perplexed on how much louder the applause was than it usually was in these kinds of events. The Equestria Games hadn't been this loud when he attended.

Windswept laughed. "Thank you all for coming! Looks like you've all been waiting a while for a spectacular show, and thus, we shall start off spectacularly with a grand appearance by Equestria's very own Wonderbolts!"

The audience screamed once again, and the fireworks went off in the night sky. The fireworks were followed by the Wonderbolts swooping into the stadium, starting an elaborate midair dance, with the pegasi doing loops and flying through each others' loops, creating a chain out of the circles they made.

Cheese leaned on the table, smiling as he watched them fly in other patterns after the chain of loops was done. He had seen Wonderbolt shows before, but with Tomato behind him in the stands, he couldn't help but flash back to their colthood days back in Manehattan. The memory of seeing the aerial team flying over the bay, both colts being curious about those ponies in the sky doing fancy tricks, and Cheese wishing that he had wings in order to fly like they could and escape his troubles. He could still hear little Tommy asking questions about the Wonderbolts, and wondering aloud what it was like to have wings.

He looked back at Tomato, wondering if he still tried to imagine what it was like to have wings and fly. Cheese himself still wondered what that was like, and on occasion still wished he was a pegasus--if only to throw a party in Cloudsdale.

The Wonderbolts all dipped into the middle of the stadium, all of them leaving trails of colored mist as they all swerved upward and spun in wide corkscrews, the mist creating a colorful tube. In the middle of the tube, two Wonderbolts were spinning in a dance of their own. Twirling as they were hoof in hoof, the pair sprung out of the end of the tube, flew into a strategically placed cloud, and then separated in an explosion of color, the mist from the cloud wafting down onto the cheering crowd.

Cheese's ears still rang along with the audience's applause, and they all watched at the Wonderbolts all flew away from the stadium, sans the pair that made the cloud explode.

Back onstage, Windswept clapped. "What a fantastic performance by the Wonderbolts! And it's good to see old, retired favorites Blazing Silver and Raincloud return for a spell to make this show spectacular!"

The pair, being said retired Wonderbolts, waved to the crowd and bowed. Then, they flew off, going where the other Wonderbolts went.

"Now, as much as we like the Wonderbolts, we all know that the real reason we're all here is to see all these budding stars ready to bring to you their talent!" Windswept gestured to the judges. "This year, the contestants will be judged by the Pony of Pop, Sapphire Shores..."

Sapphire did a great clap, pumped her hoof, and hollered, "Ow!" in response to the cheering crowd.

"...the Queen of Love Ballads, Starsong..."

Starsong blew kisses to the audience and waved at them.

"...and the, uh, Super Duper Party Pony, Cheese Sandwich!"

Cheese pulled a noisemaker out of his mane and blew it, the silly toot somehow not being drowned out by the applause.

Windswept wrinkled his nose at Cheese's response to the applause. The grin swiftly returned to his face for the rest of the audience. "We've got a glorious lineup of singers tonight, and we're going to see which of these ponies blooms, and which ones end up being nipped in the bud. Only half of these sixteen will make it to the next round. So... are you ready?!"

The crowd cheered yet again, and for a third time, Cheese found his head pounding. Rubbing his head, he wondered if there was some sort of adjustment to the stadium that was affecting the acoustics in the building. After all, it'd take a lot for a crowd to give Cheese Sandwich a headache.

"Now, let's bring out the first contestant!" With that, Windswept trotted off the stage, and all watched as Herald Angel was the first to walk onstage, his steps slow and steady and his head raised high. Cheese took one look at his wide eyes, his teeth biting his bottom lip, and the slight quiver of his wings, which told him of a feeling that the party pony had known all too well.

Sapphire Shores leaned forward. "Tell us your name, child."

Herald shifted on his hooves. "Herald Angel."

"Well, you certainly look like an angel. Your folks named you well. So, what will you be singing for us tonight?"

"'Maybe.'"

Starsong tilted her head and twirled her hoof to ask him to continue. "Maybe...?"

Herald sighed. "It's the name of the song."

A few chuckles were heard from the audience. The lights went low, and turned blue, and the spotlight was on him. The music began, and Herald took a few breaths before he started singing:

"There I was, waiting for a chance
Hoping that you'll understand the things I wanna say..."

The melody rang through the arena, his tenor voice wafting through every ear of every pony in that building. All the members of that audience were silent as he sang his angelic song, carrying the tune with much grace and wonder. Some mares held their chests, silent sighs being breathed out of their mouths. Windswept was a clearly proud uncle, his bottom lip being bitten in his goofy smile.

However, Cheese was quick to notice that Herald had his eyes squeezed shut, due to a fear of looking at the audience and probably choking at the sight of how large the audience was. He also caught points where the voice wavered, and some notes that he flubbed, and lyrics he just mumbled. And he was as still as a statue, with only his mouth moving. Cheese glanced at the other two, who had clearly noticed this as well, seeing as they were scratching their chins.

Cheese turned back to the clearly nervous pegasus, and listened to the words, despite the static that was starting up between his ears. Upon thinking of Pinkie, and that Choosing Stone she had once told him about, he wondered if he'd be in that same situation as was happening in the song, and his heart was sinking.

Herald finished the song off with, "But I know to whom you should belong..."

The audience clapped and stomped once he finished, and Herald was heaving in a sigh of relief. Opening his eyes, he blinked at the sight and sound of the applause, and with a little smile, he bowed gracefully. He then turned to the judges.

Sapphire was leaning on the table. "Well, well, well! Ain't that a heavenly voice? Looks like the voice matches your name as well!" She sat back in her seat. "I've got to be honest, I felt like crying tears of joy when hearing that, but I didn't, since it would ruin my makeup."

The audience laughed, and she continued, "Now, child, friendly reminder to loosen up a bit, you were lookin' like a statue."

Starsong nodded. "Indeed. Your voice may be beautiful, but the fact that you were standing so still and having your eyes closed like that made you look stiff and unappealing to watch. Not to mention that you don't look particularly happy to be here, which audiences might catch."

Cheese was leaning in his chair. "Body language is important, you know. There are thousands of messages you could convey just by what you do. Words only make up half the story--it's easy to miss the entire message if you only focus on one thing and neglect the others... kind of like building something. If you forget something, the end product is not going to be what you intended."

Herald brushed a hoof on the ground. "I appreciate your honesty. I'll keep that in mind for the next time I perform."

"Yes, you do that, child," Sapphire said, nodding. "Anyway, I give you seven out of ten points."

"Six out of ten," Starsong said.

Cheese smiled. "Eight out of ten."

Windswept was on the stage, hugging Herald next to his body. "Well, wasn't that a lovely performance? Let's give this handsome pegasus another round of applause!"

Herald bowed again as the audience clapped, and then walked offstage.

Windswept smoothed his mane as the applause died down. "Now, on to our next contestant..."

---

The buck-toothed, mole-ridden stallion in overalls grinned stupidly at the judges. "Hi... I'm Pants."

Starsong grinned uncomfortably. "Hello... Pants. What will you be singing for us?"

"Music of the Night."

Sapphire spread her front legs. "Well, let's hear it!"

Everypony's jaws dropped when Pants crooned with a deep, operatic voice that rang through the stadium. As lovely as it sounded however, Cheese found his head aching. Rubbing it and squinting one eye, he heard a buzz in his head that rose and fell in intensity with the melody. He groaned, grumbling under his breath that it was ruining his enjoyment of the song.

---

"Ooooooooh, we're halfway there!
Whooooooaaa-oh! Livin' on a prayer!"

Cheese's headache did not ease up, and the static in his head made many of the words garbled to him. Even worse, everypony was clapping along to the song, and each clap was like thunder to him. Each boom was hitting his head like a hammer, and he could feel himself quivering.

He looked up at the pony onstage, wondering when the song was going to end. And even then, they wouldn't be halfway day with the show--only about a quarter of the way done! He wasn't sure how long it'd be until his head exploded.

Still, glancing at the other two judges, and then to Windswept just standing offstage, he held as still as he could. After all, he didn't want to disappoint them and the entire audience by calling it quits on this judging thing not even halfway through the show.

He can take it. Would he be a super duper party pony if he couldn't?

---

Next up on stage was a black unicorn, his mane a bright red and his eyes piercing yellow. Wearing too many piercings, too many spikes, and spiked green saddle with wings on it, the unicorn had a snarl upon his face. "I, Baron von Bloody McLudicrous VIII, will sing to thee a song that is most precious to my memory. Thou shalt behold the glory of my music!"

Cheese leaned in his hoof. "Well, get to singing, buddy! Show us your stuff!"

Cheese regretted saying that, as bright flashing lights had blinded him in an instant. The sound of crashing metal, the scream of guitars, and the Baron's loud, gravelly roars sent a shock through his body. Without thinking, he ducked under the table, unfortunately hitting his head on the way down. Clutching his throbbing head, which was already suffering a headache from all the noise thus far and wasn't being helped by the bonk on the head, Cheese curled up in a ball.

He covered his ears in an attempt to block out the Baron's performance, his coat already getting moist and his stomach churning. His eyes felt like they were on fire, and his heart pounded like a drum. He could have sworn the earth was shaking, and the ringing between his ears was nothing but shrill static threatening to tear up his brain.

He breathed through his teeth, feeling acid bubble up to his throat. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that this wasn't normal, that something was wrong with him, but he denied it. Everypony's performances were just unusually intense, and he swore that it was going to kill him.

Finally, the performance had finished, and Cheese had safely uncovered his ears. Panting, he wiped the sweat off his brow, and then shakily went back to his seat. Safely on his stool, he leaned forward to look at the Baron. He put a lot of energy in both trying to keep his shaky elbows steady and to keep himself from giving the Baron a scowl as Sapphire and Starsong gave their opinions.

Then it was his turn.

"It could use a little less... razzle dazzle," he said, still panting and barely hiding the venom in his voice. "And you were mumbling... and screaming... and I didn't know what you were singing..." He rubbed his forehead. "Four out of ten."

Once the Baron was offstage, the other two judges looked at Cheese in concern. Putting a hoof on his shoulder, Starsong asked, "Are you okay? You don't look well."

Cheese turned away. "I'm fine. Just bring in the next contestant."

---

Tomato watched the show intently, the next three contestants having their songs caress the eardrums of everypony in the audience. That one mare he thought had a swell voice, with her singing a slow, acoustic version of one of Sapphire Shores' songs. He had chuckled when Sapphire squealed in glee to find a fan of hers as a contestant--granted, Starsong had to remind the filly not just to sing songs the judges had written and performed. After all, they could be suspected as a method to butter up the judges.

He was much less thrilled upon the next mare, only because she was singing one of his least favorite songs. A grand old ballad about love lost, crying about how that colt had just abandoned her and that her life was absolutely ruined without him. And it was all done in the whiniest, most pretentious tone possible, as if the fact that it was a breakup song--which he heard all the dang time--wasn't enough. At least the mare's vocals were nice.

Finally, another stallion came onstage. Tomato was delighted to hear one of his favorite songs, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep himself from singing along under his breath.

"I'm sure you're aware of," he sang softly. "We both had our share of believing too long..."

"That's a nice voice you got there."

Tomato squeaked, and then turned to find the twins' parents standing next to him. Raincloud was smiling at him, while Blazing Silver was snickering. Tomato's ears drooped, and he covered his mouth, wondering how loud he had been and looking around to see if anypony else had heard him.

Blazing Silver leaned toward him. "Mind if we sit with ya?"

Tomato shook his head, and the two sat down. Raincloud nudged him and asked, "So, have either of the twins gone onstage yet?"

Shaking his head once again, Tomato answered, "Nope. You haven't missed them."

"Well, good. I'm sure my babies would not be happy if their parents got stuck in the changing room and missed one of them performing. They've already dealt with enough heartache regarding our perceptions of their talents when they were young."

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Blazing Silver sighed. "When they were young, we had expected them to be Wonderbolts. I've tried training them in the art of flying, making sure they had top speed and agility, performing all sorts of tricks and doing feats with the wings they had been born with. They were agile, no doubt, but Nimbus had always been a bit slow in flying, Cirrus always crashed and got stuck in clouds, and both found training rather tedious and preferred to pull pranks on me."

Tomato put a hoof to his chin. "Oh, yeah, I remember them telling me about how they auditioned for a play on a whim, got the lead parts, and then when they got a standing ovation for their acting, their cutie marks appeared."

Raincloud nodded. "We tried to hide our disappointment over what they got, but they caught on rather quickly. Cirrus spent more and more time with friends, and some of them weren't exactly model citizens."

Blazing Silver forced a cough, muttering, "Troublemakers and drunks."

Raincloud raised an eyebrow at her husband, and continued, "Meanwhile, Nimbus didn't exactly have friends--"

"Wait, what?" Tomato asked. "Nimbus is a funny guy, why wouldn't he have had friends?"

"He was a laughingstock at school for being a..." Raincloud tapped her hooves together. "'Doofus'. He was more of a flying joke than a pony to his classmates."

"Oh." Tomato sank in his seat. "Flying joke... sounds like they tended to laugh at him instead of with him."

Raincloud nodded. "He tried running away from home once. He had hopped down to the ground from Cloudsdale, and apparently got so fascinated by the flora and fauna, that even when he was caught and brought home, he kept returning to the ground."

Blazing Silver leaned in his hoof, watching the stallion on the stage finish his song. "It took both the twins getting hurt from their activities to get us to realize that we were basically emotionally neglecting them--just because of our wounded pride!"

Tomato winced. "Do I dare ask how they got hurt?"

"Cirrus got sick from a... thing that her so-called friends were giving her, and they abandoned her when she passed out and nearly fell from the sky." Blazing Silver sighed. "And Nimbus got caught in a forest fire, and returned home coughing and burned. It hurts to have two kids in the hospital, knowing that you could have done something to prevent those awful situations."

Raincloud stared at the stage with her husband, envisioning their twins dancing on it. "We kept assuming they were at their rehearsals for whatever plays we thought they joined. They were too ashamed to go at it again, because they were 'supposed to be Wonderbolts, and they failed their parents'. Since their release from the hospital, we made an effort to support their talents, and we haven't had any big problems like that again."

Tomato nodded. "Well, it's good to know a bit more of their history. Especially the reason why I shouldn't call Nimbus a baby when he cries over a theater curtain lighting on fire."

Raincloud narrowed her eyes. "You did what?"

Tomato bit his lip. "Err..." He looked on the stage, and spotted a familiar gray pegasus mare. "Hey, look! Cirrus is on!"

---

Cheese suspected that Cirrus had chosen this song just to annoy some ponies in the audience. While he wasn't sure that it was a good strategy for the competition, he did find it funny that some ponies had groaned when she had started singing the well-known show tune.

"Let it go! Let it go!" Cirrus belted out. Her wings started to lift her off the stage. "And I'll rise like the break of dawn..."

He would enjoy the performance more if there wasn't this static accompanying her words. While it wasn't as bad as it was when Baron von Bloody McLudicrous VIII was rocking out, everything was sounding more like a tornado of bees than actual songs, as if his headache wasn't bad enough.

He considered quitting the judge's panel again, but pushed the thought aside. It was just one headache, and sixteen contestants were not helping that. While he questioned the decision to have the sixteen contestants go out on the same night, he just had to look at Sapphire and Starsong, who didn't seem terribly affected by it. He leaned forward and rubbed his temples.

One headache is not worth quitting this gig, he thought. If I quit, where are they going to find another judge on short notice?

"The cold never bothered me anyway." Cirrus finished her song with a wink.

The applause rang through the stadium, and left a strange, contorted echo in Cheese's head. Still, he kept up appearances and clapped as well, seeing as the other judges enjoyed Cirrus' performance.

"Fabulous, darling!" Sapphire hollered as the applause died down. "Now, I didn't expect a little pegasus like you to have such a booming, powerful voice, but you blew me away like a hurricane! And that's to say nothing of your sensational moves."

Starsong nodded. "You definitely have smooth transitions from one chord to the next, aside from those couple of times where your voice cracked. But, you know, sometimes we just can't control the voice cracks. Good job."

Cheese stared for a moment at Cirrus, his mind going blank and his head feeling like a balloon. Swaying back and forth, there was a strange sensation of not really feeling anything besides floating. The only thing he felt was that same old ring between the ears.

"Uh... Cheese?"

Cheese shook his head, biting his lip to keep from yelping out of pain. Forcing a grin, he said to Cirrus, "Oh, right... you sound like you could be on Bridleway. And that's not just because you chose a show tune that everypony knows and loves..."

Cirrus grinned. "Well, I try my best. Singing has always been a passion of mine, and I do hope to combine it with my talent." She turned to show them her drama cutie mark. "Bridleway sounds like a pretty good option for me."

"Well of course! Have a nine out of ten."

Starsong leaned in her hoof. "Nine out of ten."

"Well, I hope to see you in Bridleway in the future. Ten out of ten!" Sapphire cheered, clapping and starting up another round of applause. "Let's give Cirrus here another hoof!"

During the applause, a voice from the audience rang, "That's my baby girl! Isn't she beautiful?!"

Cirrus blushed. "Mom..."

---

Tomato crossed his forelegs, breathing a sigh of relief upon the arrival of the final act. It wasn't that any of them were bad; no, most of them were rather enjoyable and fun to watch or lifting his spirits with how powerful they were. There were only a couple he didn't like: the breakup song and the mess that Baron von... Something had sung. The latter had been loud and flashy enough to send Cheese running for cover. He had heard a few ponies chuckle at Cheese's dash to under the table.

Beside him, Blazing Silver and Raincloud whooped when Nimbus came onstage. Tomato just leaned back in his seat, crossing his hind legs and putting hoofs behind his head. He saw what Cirrus was like in her solo, now it was time for Nimbus.

After a bit of banter between him and the judges, the music started, and Nimbus' dancing was not far behind. And then, he started to sing.

"They told him, 'Don't you ever come around here.
Don't wanna see your face. You better disappear'..."

It seemed natural that Nimbus was dancing to accompany that song he was singing. And from the corner of his eye, Blazing Silver and Raincloud were dancing along to it. Tomato himself wasn't in the mood for dancing, especially after the previous fifteen performances--seriously, who arranged this thing?--but he was glad to be sitting by a pair of supportive parents. And after their story, he was happier to be by parents who had managed to get over their initial disappointment in their kids' talents and were fully embracing them.

It was more than he could say about his own parents, especially when looking at Cheese, who had been the model of what Tomato shouldn't be for years. Being mad at him during his adolescence wasn't much help either, of course.

However, the longer he stared at Cheese, the more he noticed something was off. Knowing that Cheese liked the song Nimbus was singing, it was weird that Cheese seemed to be more massaging his own head than bobbing it along with the music.

He furrowed his brow, and then concluded that the show had definitely been going on too long if Cheese was having a headache. Tomato prayed that Nimbus didn't notice and take offense. Then again, Nimbus was usually not very good at noticing these things.

Before he knew it, the song had ended, and the applause echoed through the stadium once more. Tomato's eyes were on the stage, where a grinning Nimbus was bowing. The judges were clapping as well, and Tomato couldn't help but clap for his friend. Of course, his mane bristled a little upon Blazing Silver and Raincloud's fanatic cheering, with the phrases of "That's my boy!" and "My babies are amazing! I have the most amazing set of twins ever!"

Nimbus seemed to hear this, looked around, and spotted them. He waved, saying, "Hi, Mom and Dad!"

Just offstage, Windswept was rolling his eyes.

The applause died down, and Sapphire Shores cleared her throat. "Well, well! Looks like you have a lot of energy when it comes to singing this song! I was tempted to jump out of my seat and dance along with you! You get a nine out of ten from me!"

Starsong chuckled. "You certainly gave a lively performance. Though I'm going to say, your dancing was a bit stilted, and at times, you seemed to make the song too funny, such as fight with yourself during the bridge, or the... air guitar. Again, good performance, but try to take it more seriously in the future. Seven out of ten."

Cheese was still rubbing his head. "Well, you sang one of my favorite songs..." Cheese looked around at the audience, imagining all of them staring at him. Exhaling, he continued, "I personally enjoyed the funny bits. Can't say no to a good air guitar! Eight out of ten!"

Nimbus bowed again to the applause, and then flew backstage. Windswept Goldenmane took his place.

"And that's all the performances we have tonight folks! Now, if the judges will tally up the points, we'll see who got into the next round."

The ponies were at the edge of their seats, leaning forward at the judges and seeing who was going to bloom. The three discussed amongst each other, not caring for the stares of the crowd and going for the ones they deemed best. It was about a minute before they all straightened up, ready to tell them about the decision.

"All right..." Starsong said, with a paper in her hooves. "We have decided the ponies that will be going into the next round. Come onstage when we call your name."

Tomato looked at the parents biting their hooves beside him, and he leaned on the railing, as if he could hear the results better.

"Pants."

The crowd cheered, and the stallion in overalls bounced onstage with a "hyuck, hyuck, hyuck", and grinned at the judges.

"Dancing Queen."

A mare strutted onstage to cheers and whistles, and blew kisses at the crowd as she took her place beside Pants.

"Cirrus."

Blazing Silver and Raincloud leapt out of their seats and screamed as Cirrus slid to her place beside Dancing Queen, winking at the audience.

"Daybreak Glisten." A unicorn took her place on the stage, a smile gracing her lips. "Nimbus." Said pegasus cartwheeled onto the stage, and pumped his hoof. Tomato flinched as Blaze and Rain cheered again.

Starsong continued, "Guitar Lick, Backstreet, and... Herald Angel."

The three last ponies, all stallions came out to cheering crowds, Herald slouching as he came out. The ponies all stood in a row, all looking up at the crowd before them. They all beamed at the adoration they were being given, though the last one in the row still looked a little nervous.

"Congratulations on making it to the next round! You all earned it!"

Windswept Goldenmane joined the row on the stage, laughing triumphantly. "We sure have some talent here folks! And tomorrow night, we're seeing which four of these eight ponies makes it to the next round. Thank you for coming, and good night!"

Tomato smiled, and clapped for the ponies. However, he looked at Cheese at the judges' panel, and frowned at the sight of him massaging his head. He couldn't see Cheese's face, but he assumed that he was trying to smile, trying to hide the pained contortions of his face.

Once again, the thought of something not being right was nagging at the back of his mind.

Author's Note:

Remember that journal of mine where I ended up mentioning that I ended up creating a character named Herald Angel after watching some Peanuts cartoons? No? Well, here he is anyway. He's a shy pony.

And the Shining Vocals begins! Watch as I have ponies sing songs from our universe because I'm too lazy to come up with some songs of my own!

It's hard enough coming up with one song for a chapter...

Here's the song that Herald Angel sang:

Pants:

Unnamed Contestant:

I have no idea what Baron von Bloody McLudicrous was singing.

Unnamed Contestant that Tomato was singing along with:

Cirrus:

I couldn't resist the oppurtunity.

Nimbus:

So, yeah, I'm such a cheapskate. XP
Oh, yeah, and poor Cheese, suffering like that... I wonder what's wrong with him...

Comments

[Goldfinch142]

At first I just mildly disliked Windswept Goldenmane, but now he's solidified his place on my list of characters I moderately dislike and is closing in on my massively dislike list fast. With his rude, arrogant, and condescending attitude, he was acting much more like an impudent foal than Cheese was.

Sixteen acts must have taken quite a while--all the more time for Cheese's headache to fester, the poor guy.

Pants. Just...Pants. I hope he has a sibling named Shirt. That would be so perfect.

Baron von Bloody McLudicrous VIII is quite a name, and has quite the fashion statement. From what I've seen, he's a mix of Dracula and Nirvana, though I imagine him with a Russian accent for some reason.

Ah, Let it Go. The song everyone got sick of two years before people stopped belting it out on the streets. And Beat It! I've always like that song. I think air guitar might go pretty well with it.

And the Shining Vocals Competition continues.

[Jordan179]

Cirrus waved a hoof. "Bah, that's cheating if he had a party pony to help him... who is this dude, anyway? I heard 'he', so it can't be your pink girlfriend."

Cheese screamed, and then glared at Tomato. "Tomato, you poisoned her mind!"

Tomato raised an eyebrow, said, "I have no idea what you're talking about", and resumed drinking his punch.

Cheese is so cute when he pretends not to be in love with Pinkie.

I'm not sure that shoving faces together is the best way to meet a girl. That seems to be putting the cart before the ... well, you know.

Windswept Goldenmane is still a jerk, and I still want to punch him. I guess I'll have to get behind Igenous Rock in line, though. Possibly other members of the Pie family, as well. Not to mention Seddy and her big-hooved friend.

Herald tilted his head. "Pinkie Promise?"

"It's a promise that you don't want to break," Cheese replied.

Especially if you're Cheese Sandwich!

This looks like a side effect of that amnesia spell. Maybe something worse than mere memory erasure -- I wouldn't trust anypony who offered to forget things for me wholesale.

[redmar]

Clearly Rooney neglected to mention the side effects of his memory erasure spell. And that they get worse with time.
Pinkie would notice if Cheese broke his promise that's certain.

[ChaoticKindness]

Aww, poor Cheese!

I love the Baron's name XD he seems like a really interesting pony haha

[Dashie04]

I liked this chapter. Windswept is one my most disliked characters in fiction, because he obviously hasn’t heard of upbeat songs with serious lyrics such as Zero, Seasons, and Scars of Yesterday.

Don’t worry about the ponies singing songs from our world, I’m writing a fic that basically runs on the principle, mainly because it’s a crossover with the Rock Band series.

[Godslittleprincess]

By the way, have you seen Frozen 2 yet? Any chance that any of the songs will show up in the Tommyverse?