Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

11.3--Simple Joys

"A diner isn't quite how you'd expect a morning in the Crystal Empire," Tomato mumbled.

The table was hard and smooth under his front hooves, looking and feeling like a polished diamond of blue. The sweet scents of pancakes, waffles, Crystal Berry syrup, and other fruits and syrups wafted above the tables, though the more cheesy smell of omelets managed to sneak into his nostrils. The drone of conversation from other tables, sizzle of the grills, and clanking of dishes rang through the air, with a backdrop of jazzy fluglehorn music. The walls also shimmered with that crystalline gleam that was prevalent all over town, with not a scratch among them.

Tomato's mouth had been watering the moment that he, Cheese, the twins, and the twins' parents had entered in. He supposed the diner was a relatively new thing like the stadium--why wouldn't it be, having just reappeared over a year ago--but with those crystal touches in order to blend into the theme of the city.

Sitting between his brother and Cirrus, and the other half of their group across from them, Tomato was alternating between lapping up the whipped cream of his crepe and crunching down on the crystal berries and strawberries folded within the thin, chewy pancake. Cheese munched on a breakfast sandwich of cheese and eggs, the twins were racing to see who could scarf down all their syrupy waffles first, Blazing Silver fought tears as he took bites of his onion and pepper omelet, and Raincloud was making work of unraveling her cinnamon roll and wrapping it on her chocolate chip muffin.

"What, did you want a fancy restaurant or something?" Raincloud replied.

Tomato wiped whipped cream off his muzzle. "Oh, no, no, it was just a simple comment." He licked the cream off his hoof. "At the very least, the only thing unique about the menu here is that there are Crystal Berries. The taste makes me think of frozen raspberries and grapes combined."

Nimbus took a break from his waffles to down some of the Crystal Berry Juice. "Huh, you're right... it also has this interesting tangy fizz that makes me feel like I'm actually eating crystals..." He grinned in a goofy manner. "I wonder if it'll make us turn crystally!"

Cirrus laughed. "Nah, they just massage your throat and make it feel better from whatever ailment that struck it... at least I think that's what the menu said. Eh, considering the competition, it's a good drink to have."

Cheese took a swig of his juice and belted out a hearty laugh. "I certainly feel it! The phlegm is dissolving!" He reached under the table and pulled out his accordion. "Think I oughta test it out?"

"Not now, I don't want you stepping in my food," Tomato replied.

Cheese huffed and put his accordion away. "Killjoy."

Nimbus stuffed the last of his waffles in his face, and pumped his hoof in victory, while his sister glared and stuck her tongue out at him. Feeling a swell of pride, Nimbus leaned back and bobbed his head to the music. "This kind of reminds me of that space opera play we were in once..." He looked at Cirrus. "You know, the one where you were the princess and I was the guy who got a faceful of magical mini cannon magic and died?"

Cirrus leaned back and rolled her eyes, happy that Nimbus wasn't the type to rub his victory in. "Well, yeah. I remember the itchy wig I had to wear and the fact I had to kiss the guy with the chili pepper breath."

Blazing Silver wiped his eyes. "Don't say pepper!" He took to the air and flew out of his seat. "I need to stuff my face in a cloud!"

As her husband crashed through the door outside, Raincloud sighed as she looked at Blaze's empty water glass. "I knew he shouldn't have ordered the habanero peppers. Why didn't he just stick with bell peppers...?"

Cirrus got out of her seat. "Well, I'm gonna make sure Dad's alright." With that, she trotted out the door, and the sound of wings flapping outside followed.

Nimbus eyed Cirrus' waffles with a wicked grin. "Should I...?"

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? She'll kill you!"

"I'm a big guy with more muscle mass than she does--naturally, I eat more."

"It's still not nice."

"But the waffles are getting soaked!"

Raincloud turned to her son. "Nimbus..."

Nimbus sighed. "All right, I won't touch them." He took a swig of his drink. "But don't blame me when parasprites start invading, get mutated by the soggy waffles, and cause the apocalypse by puking out radioactive explosives."

Tomato put a hoof to his face. "Geez, Nimbus, that's overkill."

Raincloud shook her head. "You've always had an imagination, and it hasn't seemed to wither away."

Nimbus raised an eyebrow. "I dare the next high-level unicorn to yank it out of my mind." He looked up at the ceiling and shook his hoof at it. "You'd have to pry it from my cold, dead body!"

Tomato took a sip of his milk. "I doubt they could find it there, it keeps running away from you."

Cheese burst out laughing, Nimbus rolled his eyes and grinned, and Raincloud held a perplexed look on her face. Scratching her head, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Wait, are you saying he's stupid? He's already had enough of that in his life!"

Tomato sighed, blowing bubbles in his milk. "I can't tell a joke to save my life..."

Nimbus turned to her. "Oh, no, Mom, he's just saying that my mind wanders a lot, that's all. I'm not going to argue with that."

Raincloud blinked. "Oh."

Cheese shook his head and leaned in his hoof. "And thus, the joke dies. I'm going to have to plan its funeral. I hate planning funerals."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you'd make it irreverent," Tomato stated.

"Nah, I'd have you sing. You seem like you'd carry a solemn tune and make everypony cry for the joke."

Tomato gave him a stony look, and in one swift motion, picked up his plate and smacked it right into Cheese's face. Nimbus and Raincloud gasped and put their hooves to their mouths, trying to keep from snickering as the plate slid down the elder brother's face, revealing a stunned look barely concealed by whipped cream and berry juice.

Tomato barely blinked. "Oops, looks like I'm finished with my crepe."

He completely expected Cheese to lick the whipped cream off his face in one go; however, he was surprised when Cheese winced in pain when the tongue shot out and whipped back into his mouth. Rubbing his head, he opted to wipe the cream off with his foreleg instead. Still cringing from the headache, he wasn't looking where he flung the whipped cream, and it splattered all over Nimbus' face.

Raincloud couldn't hold it in, and she burst out laughing.

Tomato noticed that instead of relishing in the laughter, Cheese continued flinching as if his head was being pounded on by a hammer. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "I didn't hit you that hard... are you okay?"

Cheese took a deep breath. "I'm fine... my head's just still ringing from last night's round."

"Sixteen rounds in one night was too many," Tomato huffed. "Even then... you getting a headache from stuff like that is peculiar."

"Well, Baron von Bloody McLudicrous VIII's act was way too flashy, even by my standards." Cheese exhaled. "In any case, it'll go away soon. It's not like my head's going to explode or anything."

Raincloud was busy wiping Nimbus' face. "Not to mention there's just eight contestants this afternoon, and you'll have four tonight."

"And tomorrow being the final showdown!" Cheese pumped his hoof, and then clutching his head once again.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Cheese snorted. "I told you, I'm fine." He scooted himself past Tomato and out of the bench. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to do to prepare for the afternoon round. Sorry I won't be able to join you guys at the petting zoo."

Nimbus shrugged. "Better than me going alone thanks to Cirrus' stupid allergies."

The other three waved Cheese goodbye, with the orange stallion grinning and waving back. However, Tomato knew a fake grin when he saw it, and Cheese's had definitely been forced, with some resistance to the wincing. Pursing his lips, he wondered how much he was downplaying the headache.

As Cheese left, Cirrus and Blazing Silver came in. They were just about to sit down as they spotted Nimbus and his creamy face.

"Okay... what happened to him?" Cirrus asked.

---

It was just Nimbus and Tomato who went to the petting zoo later that morning. Cirrus was off doing some vocal exercises, while Blazing Silver and Raincloud strolled around the Crystal Empire.

Their first stop was with a new litter of puppies from the zookeeper's dog. Tomato simply sat down as the pups swarmed him, using his tail to throw a stick or a ball to play fetch, and cradling whatever pup crawled onto him. Nimbus was scratching the puppies behind the ears, playing tug-o-war with them, and rolling around laughing as he was hit with a barrage of little tongues. Pathetic howls, tiny growls, and simple whines was the music that surrounded them, and while the sharp teeth weren't appreciated, Tomato was more or less content with the little canines, even as Nimbus was more active in the play than he was.

Nimbus laid on his back, flapping the floppy ears of one that stood on his chest. Looking up at Tomato, he said, "I didn't take you for a dog kind of pony. You seemed to be more of the Godpony type that'd stroke a cat."

Tomato was stroking a puppy as it slept in his forelegs. "You should've seen me as a colt--I was pretty much obsessed with dogs. I kept asking Mom for a dog, I'd approach strangers and ask to pet their dogs, I dreamt that Cheese turned into a dog... and I once ended up annoying so many stray dogs that they all joined forces and chased me up a lamppost." He rolled his eyes as he chuckled. "Cheese had to save me, as usual. He didn't like the fact that he had to purchase meat at the local butcher shop and lure the dogs away with it."

"I'd hate that too. Why do butcher shops exist?"

"Dogs and cats are carnivores. Also, there is the occasional griffon."

"Oh, right." Nimbus grimaced. "I'd still hate to work in a butcher shop, surrounded by the horrible stench of flesh and fat and blood..." He shuddered. "Poor Cheese having to go in that in order to save you! Imagine him as a meat-themed superhero!"

Tomato gagged. "That's disgusting! The last time he went in a butcher shop, he threw up about three times. There's no way he'd be a meat-themed superhero anytime soon."

Nimbus let the puppy hop off of him before rolling over. "That's just bizarre. He'd be swarmed by dogs!" He plucked at the grass. "So... what is it about dogs that makes you prefer them over cats?"

"I've had fewer bad encounters with dogs than cats; my neighbor often babysat me and her cats tended to scratch me, suffocate me, or otherwise make me as miserable as possible." He looked down and smiled at the puppy. "But, if I were to give a concrete reason for liking dogs... I've seen so many having such devotion and love for their owners, not judge them for what they do and how they feel, and they're always willing to forgive. I like that their souls just seem so pure."

Nimbus was using his tail to play tug-o-war with a group of puppies. "You forgot to mention they're adorable!"

"Yes, that too. I still do wish I had a dog when I was a teenager. Heck, I wish I had any kind of pet, because Bluejinx couldn't be there all the time. I was kinda lonely." Tomato looked down at the puppy, who had just woken up, and released it so it could play with its siblings.

Nimbus tilted his head. "Did you have any other friends?"

Tomato shook his head. "After a fallout I had with a group of former friends over the accordion incident, I had trouble making any more. Any friend I made, I couldn't keep for more than a month or two. Longest 'new' friendship before college was a co-worker at a bookstore I once held a job at... it was about four or five months, up until the bookstore went out of business and she moved away." Tomato stood up. "Anyway, point is, I forgot how to maintain friendships."

Nimbus yanked his tail from the puppies, who soon turned to a group of foals arriving to play. "Why couldn't you keep friends?"

The pair had walked away from the yard with the puppies, and went out to explore the other pens. Tomato wrinkled his nose as they passed a pen full of cows. "Because I was a grouch that couldn't 'get over' my fallout with my brother, a big nerd, accused of deceiving others into thinking I was some rich kid... no, seriously, I ended up befriending some groveling gold-diggers that ditched me once they found out my family's not all that wealthy. Yep, I was even unpopular enough to have rumors spread about me throughout the neighborhood..."

Nimbus grimaced. "Ouch. I know what that's like, having ponies whisper behind your back. Being a dude in theater tends to come with some implications that aren't necessarily true." He groaned and rolled his eyes. "I took up boxing so that those jerks would shut up."

"Huh, maybe I should have gone for martial arts."

Nimbus smiled, waving to a llama before turning back to Tomato. "But, you know, I prefer the ground over Cloudsdale. It's warmer and more colorful down here, and there's a lot of cool plants and animals!"

Nimbus gestured grandly to the rest of the petting zoo before them, letting Tomato gaze upon the pens with ewes, bunnies, ducklings, fawns and many other different types of animals. With a wink, he said, "This is just a small fraction of what the ground has to offer. You see why I kept coming back to the ground as a colt?"

"I've lived on the ground my whole life," Tomato deadpanned.

"Eh, it's probably the reverse with you, wondering what it's like to live in the sky." Nimbus hovered and clapped. "But, seriously, I want to learn more about the world down here, it's so fascinating! I've already gotten plenty of plant info from Flora."

"Of course you did. And if you want animal info, I recommend Pinkie Pie's friend Fluttershy."

Nimbus scratched his chin. "Fluttershy? Let's see, uh... was she the pegasus that ran that petting zoo at that Fall Festival and made friends with Flora?"

"Yep. She's nice, and an animal expert. Clearly her special talent has something to do with them."

Nimbus grinned again. "Wow, she's got a neat talent! I've made friends with some critters... but, you know, I can't really speak animal. I do wonder what it's like." He shrugged and landed on the ground, and he and Tomato started to walk again. He looked around at the pens, trying to decide which one to go to. "It's not that I have anything against ponies--oh, no, my talent is more along the lines of acting and making others laugh, and I enjoy that."

"Yeah, you brought about a few chuckles with your antics last night," Tomato replied.

Nimbus sighed. "I just wish I wasn't treated like a joke most of the time. Cirrus has always been more popular, just for being a convincing queen of drama, having meaningful performances, and having an insanely powerful showstopper of a voice. No doubt in my mind she's going to win."

"Mmm, I don't know, I'm betting on that Pants guy."

They jumped at the sound of screeching, and paused in their walking as they found themselves at the entrance of an artificial cave. They looked up at the sign, which advertised "Fluffy Crystal Bats" that were "absolutely huggable". Right by the door, there stood a grinning zookeeper, beckoning them and gesturing to the entrance.

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "Okay, since when are bats part of a petting zoo?"

Nimbus beamed. "They must be nice bats."

Tomato's ears twitched as he heard multiple conversations in the cave, unsure if they could fit with all the ponies that were inside there apparently snuggling the bats. He caught snippets of "honey, have you seen Nosey?", "I don't know why ponies say we're blind, I can see just fine!", and "you promised us ponies! I don't see any ponies yet!" That last one was especially weird.

He glanced at Nimbus, who was grinning. The pegasus turned to him and said, "I definitely want to see those bats."

Tomato pursed his lips. "I don't know, it sounds like there's already too many ponies in there."

Nimbus blinked, and then cocked an ear to listen. "All I hear are chirping bats."

"There's nopony in there; I just finished cleaning up after the bats and refilling their food," the zookeeper by the entrance said. "Unless you understand bat, you won't hear any conversations."

Nimbus rubbed his hooves. "Sweet, we get first dibs on snuggling the bats!" He grabbed Tomato by the tie, and dragged him into the artificial cave. "Let's fly into the bat cave and greet our winged friends!"

Tomato didn't fight back; he was too dumbfounded at the conclusion he ended up getting.

---

The afternoon round of the Shining Vocals was soon to begin, and once their vocal exercises were done, Nimbus had reunited with his twin sister in the tunnels of the Crystal Stadium. Standing in a bunch with the other contestants--sans Herald Angel, who was talking with his uncle down the hall--the twins talked about their mornings. Cirrus told Nimbus about a bird that had flew into the room and caused a bit of trouble for her and the vocal coach, while Nimbus was telling her about his morning at the petting zoo with Tomato.

"So, wait, there were actually bats there?" Cirrus asked, a wry grin on her face. "I don't take those for petting zoo animals!"

"But they're fluffy, adorable, and super nice!" Nimbus clapped. "And they sparkle! I never thought I'd see a sparkling bat!"

"So, none of them bit either of you and turned you into a vampire?"

"Well, one got annoyed with Tomato, bit him, and then he literally hissed at it." His brow furrowed in confusion upon recalling it. "And then he bantered with it for a bit, and next thing I know, they all end up worshiping him."

Cirrus raised an eyebrow. "Weird..."

"Yeah. Makes me wonder if Tomato's a vampire."

Cirrus laughed. "Ha, as if! Cheese didn't mention them having gone to Las Pegasus at any point during their trip. Seeing as some wacko turned the myth into reality there, you'd think that they'd tell us that story if they had been there. I mean... can you imagine them fighting vampires? That'd actually be pretty awesome."

Nimbus scratched his chin. "I don't know, that sounds like it'd be terrifying."

"Well, either way, I don't think they were there. They probably would have at least mentioned it if they did."

Then, from down the tunnel, Herald shouted, "What?! How could you--"

Cirrus and Nimbus turned to see Windswept putting a hoof on Herald's mouth. The middle-aged stallion looked up at the twins and the others that looked, and then grinned at them, saying, "Oh, no worries, we're just having a discussion about his schooling, and how he should be transferred to a different college." He glared at Herald, saying, "After all, I only want what's best for my favorite nephew."

The others seemed to accept this and turned away, though Cirrus and Nimbus lingered a little bit longer, gazing at the puppy dog eyes of Herald before turning away as well. They glanced at each other, grimacing over the apparent one-sided discussion in the corner.

"Well, something tells me he's going to give in to his uncle's suggestions, the pushover," Cirrus muttered. "I don't see what's so bad about transferring schools."

Nimbus glanced back. "He's shy, remember? Last I checked, it's a pretty big deal when you're shy."

As soon as Windswept had walked away from Herald and went onto the stage to start the show, Nimbus smiled. "You know, I think I'm gonna try to cheer him up. Who knows, maybe he'll be transferred to our school and make friends with us, Tomato, Bluejinx, and Flora!"

Cirrus blinked. "Nimbus, I don't think--"

"Give it up for the first contestant of today, Cirrus!"

She groaned. "Fine, cheer up the professional kicked puppy over there, I've got to sing." With that, she took flight and glided to the stage.

Nimbus hopped glided down the other way, going deeper into the tunnel to join Herald. He landed silently, so he didn't startle the other pegasus, but the quiet moment was ruined when Nimbus exclaimed, "Hi there!"

Herald jumped high enough to hit his head on the ceiling. Rubbing his head, he plopped back down onto the floor, and glared at Nimbus. "Can you not be so loud? It kinda echos in here. Geez, and I thought one of my friend's brothers was bad..."

"Oopsie," Nimbus said with a sheepish grin. He looked over Herald's head. "Do you have a bump?"

"I'm hoping I don't have a concussion," Herald groaned. He looked at Nimbus curiously. "What do you want, anyway?"

"I noticed you were a little down about the school thing."

Herald sighed and looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"It's okay, you don't have to." Nimbus spread out his wings. "I just want you to meet Dr. Feather..."

Herald turned back to him, and blinked when Nimbus waved his right wing. With the gray pegasus turning up his nose, 'Dr. Feather' said in a posh accent, "I see we have a handsome young lad on our hooves. I have heard your angelic singing last night, and it's sure to have made many a mare swoon."

Herald tilted his head, his mouth twitching.

Nimbus waved his left wing. "And this here is Mr. Plume!" He contorted his face, and 'Mr. Plume' croaked in high, crotchety voice, "Ahahahahaha! This young boy has naught but bones for sleeves! It shall be easy to snap his neck!"

Herald stifled laughter and covered his face with his hooves and wings.

Nimbus grinned. Looks like Cirrus isn't the only one I can cheer up with this act. He continued his little puppet show with his wings, causing Dr. Feather and Mr. Plume to argue about the threat, and then end up fighting, with Herald still laughing at the ridiculous little show.

Cirrus trotted back into the tunnel, stopped at the sight of the puppet show, and smiled.

Author's Note:

This was originally supposed to be longer, but then I thought these three parts would serve better as their own chapter. A bit of a breather, I know, but I've discovered that it's absolutely fun to write Nimbus. He's such a goof and yet such a sweetheart.

Got other tidbits such as Cheese's headache and the traces of bat still in Tomato. And that diner scene made me hungry when I wrote it. And other stuff, I'm not gonna pick them out for you.

Anyway, next chapter should be the other half of the original longer chapter I envisioned. Here's hoping I sort out my thoughts and keep it from being an incoherent mess.

Comments

[SageBrony07]

I loved the crystal bat portions. Great job.

[Goldfinch142]

Man, I wish we had sparkling animals.

Tomato gave him a stony look, and in one swift motion, picked up his plate and smacked it right into Cheese's face.

Ha! Joke's on Tommy, he just gave Cheese extra breakfast!

I'm a cat person, myself, but anyone who doesn't like puppies is a heartless monster. No questions asked.

And Tomato can speak Bat now. That's really cool. And you never know when it may come in handy. Speaking of bats, I wonder if Tomato will get around to telling the twins about the vampire incident. They seem to be very good at guessing it, anyway.

Nimbus does seem like the kind of guy to be able to cheer anyone up. Not sure if Dr. Feather and Mr. Plume is a reference to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, though.

[KawaiiShadow]

[cowbrony93]

Okay Sketch, normally l don't have a problem with stuff like this, but Cheese's easy amnesia about Las Haygas is starting to get on my nerves. Not that there is anything wrong with using it to set up an interesting climax but here it seems that you are just going to use it until it is ground away into nothingness. That being said, keep up the good work!

[Fionn]

Looks like what Rooney did to Cheese has damaged is party pony abilities.

[Godslittleprincess]

Is Tommy going to tell the twins about Las Pegasus?