Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

11.5--When Weirdness Gets Messy

That evening, backstage was brimming with excitement. The technicians were grinning to each other, sending the silent signal about how amazing the light show that they were going to put on was going to be. In each dressing room, he makeup artists were warbling about how great the contestants were going to look, while said contestants bore their sprucing up, lights shining in their eyes at the thought of everyone loving their voices. Windswept was looking over one artist as he was fixing Herald's messy mane, instructing the beautician on how to coif the hair to be like his, while his nephew was resigned to having no voice in the matter.

In one other dressing room, Starsong just watched as Sapphire Shores paced back and forth, huffing and snorting like a bull seeing red. Most folks passing by the room assumed that she was upset because Cheese Sandwich was running late, as they had barely any time before the show started. But Starsong knew better, with her being just as unhappy about what had transpired earlier, though she was much less obvious about it.

"I cannot believe we just stood there and let Windswept and his cronies kidnap an innocent pony whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Sapphire rubbed one of her temples, noting that her face was hot. "I woulda knocked those big stallions down easily!"

Starsong leaned on the dresser. "And give him an excuse to go out and ruin your career? Yeah, a reputation of violence against both sea life and ponies would do you loads of good."

"I told you, what happened with the porpoises was an accident, and it still makes me sick just thinking about it." Sapphire grinded her teeth. "But we can't just let him get away with this!"

Starsong groaned. "How? Not only does he have his network to keep us in line, what proof do we even have of his blackmail? If there is any proof, we don't have enough time to gather it or fetch Tomato. Heck, we don't even know where Tomato was taken to. For all we know he could be dead."

"Cheese won't be happy hearing that." Sapphire sighed. She looked up at her pegasus companion curiously. "Why'd you marry Windswept in the first place? Ain't he, like, ten years older than you?"

Starsong glared at her. "I was a young and foolish pony then, not realizing how shallow he was."

"And still is?"

Starsong leaned in her hoof and nodded. "Yeah."

They jumped when the door was kicked open, and a panting, sweaty Cheese Sandwich came through the doorway, his eyes wild and his mane in a tangled mess. He was visibly shaking as he chewed his hoof, and his tail swatted through the air behind him.

"Whoa! You okay there, Cheese?" Sapphire asked.

Cheese threw his head up in a groaning roar and paced back and forth. "No! I had a stupid memory lapse earlier, making me forget I even had a brother and not even wait for Tommy! And now, I've looked all over the city, with not a trace of him to be found! Not at the library, not at the park, not looking at the Crystal Heart... nowhere! I even had to ask some guards around town to keep an eye out for him!" He paused as the gears turned in his head, and he turned to the ladies. "Do you two know where he could have gone?"

Sapphire and Starsong glanced at each other, with the latter answering, "...afraid not."

Cheese's ears drooped, his head lowered, and even his mane was sagging. "Ugh... why can't I leave him alone without something happening?" He knitted his brow and scowled. "Just like when we were colts... some things never change..."

The two mares looked at him, back to each other, then back at him, and then finally stopped at each other. If there was anypony that could expose Windswept's rigging with no damage to his career, it was Cheese. He had gotten away from plenty of antics and mishaps unscathed, and as far as they knew, there was no spot on his record that Windswept could expose. Plus, learning what happened with Tomato might spur him to action--all they needed to do was tell him, and then just lie to Windswept about how Cheese figured out what happened on his own, being smarter than he gave him credit for.

Sapphire stepped forward and patted Cheese's shoulder. "Not to worry, child, I'm sure he's not too far away. In fact--"

Windswept came striding in, declaring, "I saw him earlier today, getting some snacks in the concession area! Had himself a nice carrot dog."

Both Sapphire and Starsong pursed their lips, their twitching eyebrows barely concealing their annoyance at the white stallion interrupting them. Couldn't he just have fussed over his nephew's hair a little while longer?

Cheese didn't notice them doing so, and asked Windswept, "Did he have a load of ketchup on it?"

Windswept's eye twitched as he answered, "Why, yes! I don't understand why, though, since he seems like the kind of pony to not want to soil his clothing. Not to mention... ketchup on a carrot dog? Surely he realizes it's a travesty! Doesn't he realize that mustard is the best option?"

"Tomato has loved ketchup and hated mustard since he was a tiny colt." Cheese put a hoof on his chin. "I think he once punched a classmate for mocking his choice of condiments."

"Couldn't he at least have gotten relish? Anything besides that crime against carrot dogs!"

"He hates relish too--he says it's too pickle-y. Besides, no ketchup on carrot dogs is a stupid 'rule'. Let him eat what he wants."

Windswept rolled his eyes. "I'll keep that in mind when I see a pony eating meat. Now, judges, it's time for you to go out there; the show's about to begin!"

Cheese, smiling out of the relief of thinking his brother is safe, trotted out of the dressing room. Once he was out of earshot, Windswept turned to the other girls with a glare. "Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do. Besides, should he find out, that brother of his should be good leverage. It's not like the twerp's able to escape his little prison."

He laughed, and then strode out of the room, the two mares glaring at him. Once he was out of earshot, Starsong sighed.

"Well, so much for our plan."

Sapphire nudged her. "Oh, don't count it out yet. Cheese is way too wily for the likes of Windswept. I trust he'd come up with something."

"We still could use a Plan B. Like, say, if we managed to get Windswept's nephew turned against him."

"Child's too much of a softie, darling. I don't think he'd stomach confessing."

---

For what seemed like an eternity, Tomato had sat in darkness, his only light seeping from under the door and barely through the keyhole. The back of the chair made his own back ache, from his withers against the top edge to his croup against the bottom. He couldn't move to make himself more comfortable, lest the ropes binding him restrict his breath even more. The nauseating bitter sting of that rotten sock was still on his tongue, and wasn't going to leave anytime soon with the gag on his muzzle. His sweat at least provided him some relief from the heat, but a dryness in his throat made him crave water.

His hind legs were tied together by the cannons, and the most he could move them was by bending his joints and moving them back and forth in a slow bucking motion, or shuffling them to make the rope revolve little by little. Practically the only major part of his body that wasn't bound was his tail, presumably because Windswept and his goons had assumed that he'd be like most other ponies in that department, with only manipulation of the dock, while the skirt was largely useless without fine magic concentration. They believed that a swaying tail wouldn't do much to help him.

However, Tomato's tail did indeed have a fine magic concentration, which gave it incredible dexterity when he took advantage of its prehensile nature. His liberal use of his tail veered into uncanny territory compared to others who channeled magic for temporary caudal prehension. Occasional spots of that were normal for other ponies, and usually the more liberal users of it were party ponies like Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich, which ponies easily could shrug off. But when Tomato Sandwich did it, suddenly he was the most interesting sight in Manehattan, which annoyed him to no end.

Still, he was thankful that he had a tool to help his attempt to escape. His tail had been picking and prodding at the ropes for what he was sure was hours, though he was frustrated that the dark prevented him from seeing any weak spots. He could hardly reach the tie of the gag, and he couldn't whip his tail around to pick at the ropes there. Still, it was more than a pony without that kind of magic concentration or a docked tail could do, but much less than what a unicorn could do (given that their magic wasn't blocked).

Pick and prod he did, though his efforts had slowed when a line from Windswept replayed in his head: The boy clearly doesn't know what he wants, so I'm making sure he stays on the path dictated by his cutie mark.

He hated how familiar that sounded to him, giving him a taste more bitter than the sock in his mouth. Even though Herald Angel was much different from him in terms of personality and he didn't quite know his history, Tomato was seeing himself in the pegasus, and felt some sort of pity for him. After he, he should be the one dictating what he does with his own talent, instead of someone else pushing him too hard, to the point where he'd rather give up his cutie mark than bear the pressure.

Tomato felt himself sag on thinking that. Was he overthinking it? Perhaps. But it didn't prevent him from wondering if he should confront his mother over what had been going on during his adolescence. Words had been hollow, issues ignored, all blame was on him, and he still wasn't quite sure what love was and what made it conditional or unconditional.

He shook his head; it was a terrible idea. Knowing her, she'd brush it off as a lingering teenage mindset that he should have grown out of. Still, it poked at his mind and heart, even as he tried to brush it away. Almost against his will, the thought was entertained, and he wanted to find a loophole out of it. Perhaps if that Herald guy stood up to his uncle, he'd consider standing up to Mom.

His ears twitched when he heard muffled music from outside, and the disgustingly haughty voice of Windswept Goldenmane ringing throughout. His mind going back to his current situation, a seething nicker escaped from Tomato's muzzle, especially since he hadn't made any progress in loosening the ropes. He knew he had be more creative in his escape attempt; if there was anything he was certain of, it's that nopony was coming to rescue him.

Staring at the door, he let the gears turn in his head until he realized that he could barely see his hind legs in front of him. He swished his tail back and forth, wondering if he could do more with it than just grab and hold stuff. As he pondered about it, a crazy idea popped to his mind.

He wriggled those legs a little, doing so until he felt they were even. He threw his body back as far as he could, tipping the chair over and letting his tail catch him. Then, his tail sprung from the floor, and he tipped forward, catching himself with those back hooves. He used his tail to balance himself, and looked at the bits of light from the door's cracks. He took a deep breath, he shuffled forward, whipping his tail to different spots on the floor in order to keep his balance.

Once he made it to the door, he shuffled to the wall beside it, and leaned on it. Glancing back, he lifted his tail and smacked the end of the skirt on the door a few times before managing to shove it into the keyhole. He twisted and turned it, feeling around in the lock until it audibly clicked. Then, he used the chair to push the door open, making light flood into the room. Pulling his tail free, he shuffled out of the room and into the hallway.

Why didn't I think of that before? he wondered, shuffling toward a set of stairs heading down. However, once he reached the stairs, he quickly realized that he didn't have a way to shuffle down while still tied to a chair. It would be too easy to make a wrong step and tumble down.

Oh boy... need to find an elevator. He turned around, hoping to shuffle around until he found an elevator or somepony to help.

However, as he smacked down his tail for balance, he missed the floor and instead hit a step, making him lose his balance. Tipping backwards, he was helpless as his muffled cries for help went unheard, and he started to roll and bounce down the stairs.

After a fair amount of bruises and lacerations from his tumble, he was thankful when he had been caught by a pair of strong hooves. However, he went pale upon turning and seeing the familiar faces of Windswept's bodyguards, snarling at him with great menace. Looking around the floor, he found that there were more than two. They may have been grunting to each other in their own language, but he had a good idea what the message being spread around was.

What the hay are these bozos doing out and about in this hall? he wondered. And how many bodyguards does Windswept even need?

He was turned around to face the rest of the goons, who were all trotting forward in order to discuss what to do with him. In the midst of their unintelligible conversation, he spotted a curious janitor who had been busy mopping the halls. Seeing the wet floor and looking around at those surrounding him until he spotted an opening, he started to think of a way to escape.

Well, one crazy idea worked, let's try another.

Glaring up at the gang, Tomato whipped his tail on a certain tender spot on his captor, and then moved the tail onto the chest and launched himself forward, much to the surprise of the large stallions. Landing on the wet floor on his hind hooves, he used his tail and the chair's legs to keep himself from falling, and then slid himself down the hall, steering himself with his tail. As he sped through, a muffled laugh managed to ring through the halls.

The janitor blinked as he watched the gang of stallions try to pursue the fellow tied up in a chair, slipping on the floor multiple times in their chase. Staring at the scene, he muttered, "My wife is right... maybe I should kick that habit of drinking too much grape juice..."

---

After Daybreak Glisten and Cirrus had their turns, it was Nimbus' turn to sing. As he entertained the crowd with a popular little ditty, Cirrus stood backstage with the other two contestants, bobbing her head to the beat. Herald Angel softly clapped in tune, while Daybreak was filing one hoof and bobbing her mane with the other. Glancing at Daybreak, Cirrus leaned over to her and asked, "So, I hear you're from Canterlot."

Daybreak turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, and...?"

"Well, I just want to know if it's as fancy as everypony says it is."

Daybreak blew on her bangs. "I'd tell you... but given that you always look like you've been mauled by a bear, I think flowery description might end up making you puke from the oversaturation of sophistication. After all, isn't your kind allergic to what Canterlot stands for?"

Cirrus knitted her brows. "I just asked a simple question, there's no need to insult my looks. Besides, I'm an actress, I can handle sophistication."

"Really? I thought you'd know a thing or two about presentation!" Daybreak giggled. "After all, the messy haircut and the freckles aren't exactly pinnacles of beauty. Your voice can only carry you so far." The unicorn turned up her nose and walked away. "Now leave me in peace, plebeian."

Cirrus blinked before her face fell into a scowl and huffed. "Well, sor-ry for just being curious." She flicked at her bangs, then rubbed her cheek. "Not to mention I don't exactly pull off the 'natural beauty' like Flora does."

Herald glanced at her. "You don't look that bad to me... I, uh, actually think freckles are kind of cute..."

Cirrus rolled her eyes, and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "At the very least, you're a nice pony." Her eyes shifted upward to take a good look at Herald's mane, and she snickered. "Geez, that looked better shaggy. Ever let your uncle know that the pompadour is a little much?"

Herald took one glance upward at the ridiculous combination of puffed up and slicked back on his head, and then cast his eyes downward. With a defeated sigh, he grumbled, "He insisted that I emulate his style in order to be successful."

They heard the roar of applause as well as the judges' scores on Nimbus' performance. The next thing they knew, Nimbus had hopped backstage, grinning in glee. "Woo! I nailed that song and got almost a perfect score!"

"What docked you a point?" Cirrus asked.

Nimbus crossed his forelegs and rolled his eyes. "One of them didn't like that I rolled an 'r' at one point." He smiled, and then shuffled behind Herald. Pushing him forward, he said, "Now it's your turn! Remember the dance moves I showed you!"

When pushed out of reach by the others, Herald sighed and muttered, "Let's get this over with..."

When the white pegasus was out of the portal and walking to the stage onfield, Cirrus shook her head. "Why is he always so depressed? Everypony else was excited to be here, but this guy... ugh, he seems to be having constant stage fright both on and off stage."

Nimbus scratched his chin. "If he didn't what this, why would he even be here?"

Cirrus watched Windswept talk to the audience while he was onstage. "Pleasing Uncle Ego?"

"Oh, yeah, makes sense."

That's when they heard a crash behind them, coming from the hallway leading to the concession hall. They turned around, as did Daybreak further backstage, to look at the very doorway which it rang from, and held their breath as the crash was followed by a thumping which was clearly passing the dressing rooms and toward them. The thumps grew steadily louder and louder, echoing from the hall, to the backstage, and to the portal leading to the arena. They glanced at each other as the thumping suddenly turned louder, as if somepony was tumbling down the stairs.

Suddenly, Tomato burst from the entrance, bound to a chair and gagged, and landed on his face, barely missing a shrieking Daybreak. Cirrus and Nimbus had jumped at his appearance, but then quickly flew to him and picked up the chair so that it was upright again.

"Okay... this is weird." Cirrus dug her hoof in the knot of the ropes and started loosening it. "Might as well untie you; you don't look very comfortable!"

Nimbus had untied the gag, and Tomato immediately spat out a dirty sock and coughed. Sticking his tongue out, he moaned, "Ugh, where has that sock been? I seriously need some mouthwash!"

Once Cirrus had freed him from his restraints, Tomato hopped out of the chair and took a deep breath. "Finally, I can breathe again!" He stretched his legs and body in all manner of poses and angles. "Gee, being tied up for hours gives you a such a crick in the everywhere."

Cirrus hovered and crossed her front legs. "You mind telling us what's been going on and where you were?"

Nimbus raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Why didn't you let us know you were tied up somewhere?"

Tomato turned to glare at him, Cirrus facehoofed, and Nimbus covered his mouth. Daybreak in the corner giggled, and Nimbus' face flushed red. He looked up at Tomato, uncovered his mouth, and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, didn't think before saying that..."

Tomato sighed and opened his mouth to answer.

"There he is!"

Tomato went pale and snapped his head around at the doorway. "Yikes! I thought I lost you!"

Cirrus and Nimbus turned to see who he was talking to. Seeing a bunch of big, beefy stallions all glaring at Tomato and adopting poses that looked like they were about to pounce on him like a cat, the twins looked at each other, and then flew in, landing between them and their friend. Nimbus stood up and took a boxing stance and Cirrus pawed at the floor, both snorting hotly.

Cirrus glanced back at Tomato. "How'd you get in this mess?"

Tomato bit his lip. "It's a long story."

---

Cheese looked up at the stage, his head pounding once again. There had only been three performances so far, and yet the headache had returned with vigor. Windswept's speech was garbled in his ears, with that constant ring permeating the air. As much as he liked Cirrus and Nimbus, both their performances hadn't been exactly friendly to him. He felt as if Pinkie was hunting him down, since he was sure he broke the Pinkie Promise for being fair; he was exaggerating his opinion of each performance just a teensy bit, at least trying to make up for how everything seemed so loud and bright to him for whatever reason.

He sat up as straightly as he could to assure the other two judges that nothing was wrong, though in between acts they had been trying to tell him something. They had tried to whisper it to him, though all he heard was swishing from their mouths. And whenever Windswept looked at them, they suddenly clammed up. Observing this behavior, he wondered if they had accidentally stumbled upon some sort of embarrassing secret and found it funny enough to try to tell him. If only they would speak loud enough for him to decipher the words.

Herald Angel was on the stage, his silvery-blue hair in a pompadour. Cheese held his breath, knowing that it was impolite to laugh at a clearly embarrassed pony, especially one that was clearly very shy and sensitive, much like Cheese had been in youth.

Cheese's mind wandered as he stared at the pegasus, wondering how much he was bullied back home, how long at had taken him to find his special talent, and if he was under pressure to perform well. The look in Herald's eyes told him the answer to that final question, and thinking back to the party a few days ago, there was no doubt that his dear uncle had been doing that. He furrowed his brow and cast his eyes down, wondering if Windswept was meaner to his nephew behind closed doors.

He looked up when the crowd cheered. His head felt like it was floating away like a balloon, and his first thought was that he wanted somepony to catch it. Maybe Tomato could leap from wherever he was in the stands and catch it... but what if he got carried away?

The music had began, and Herald opened his mouth to sing.

Then a large pony was suddenly tossed across the stage behind him, followed by an angry Nimbus zooming after said pony, shouting, "Don't you dare touch my sister's flank like that again!"

The gust from Nimbus' flight blew a confused Herald's pompadour back into its shaggy, curly state, and he and the judges all watched dumbfounded as more large ponies galloped out of the portal, chasing technicians, the female contestants, and, much to Cheese's extra bewilderment, Tomato. That last one dove under the judges' panel, and Cheese didn't hesitate to stick his head under as well.

"Hey there, baby bro," Cheese said to a panting Tomato. "I thought you were hanging out in the stands with the twins' parents."

Tomato glared at him. "Oh, so you weren't worried when you didn't see me all afternoon?"

"I was at first, but then Windswept told me he saw you buying a carrot dog with extra ketchup just before the show. He thinks you committed a crime against carrot dogs by choosing ketchup over mustard."

"My eating habits are none of his business! Besides, mustard's disgusting." Tomato narrowed his eyes. "But not more disgusting than the fact that he's been lying and cheating this whole time!"

Cheese blinked. "What are you talking about?"

Starsong popped her head under the table as well. "That's what we were trying to tell you when Windswept wasn't looking!"

Sapphire followed. "Yeah! He been blackmailing us into pulling his nephew through each round, up until he won."

"What?! Are you serious?"

The table was flipped over by a big red stallion with bad teeth, who laughed upon spotting Tomato. "I have ya now, ya snitch!"

Seeing the large hoof raised, Cheese quickly yanked Tomato out of the way of the smack that left an imprint on the ground. Seeing the big fella about to strike again, he and the other two judges scattered to different parts of the stadium. With Tomato clinging onto him, Cheese strained to hear what he was telling him among the cacophony arising from the gladiator battle.

"...looking for... overheard things about... and porpoises... tied me to a chair... rotten sock... makes a good key..."

He felt his skull practically crack open from the barrage of echos coming from all around him. Gritting his teeth, he asked, "So... porpoises tied you to a chair and you used a rotten sock to escape?"

"What? No, no, no, I said that these guys did and I used my tail to escape!"

"So, wait, wait, so--"

Cheese smacked into a wall, bumping Tomato off his back in the process. As he stumbled and swayed, the static in his head screeched, as if a million voices were screaming in terror over a swarm of killer bees descending on them. Those bees were stinging his brain over and over, as if they were trying to force him to remember something, lest he endure their torture. All that came to mind was a silver moon surrounded by five stars and the voice of a kindly old stallion promising that he'd be all right.

He sputtered, "Just... just one memory...?"

Tomato watched as he collapsed. He stared in shock as Cheese had been taken down by a wall, which normally would be an inconvenience for him. However, snapping back to reality, Tomato hopped to his side, and started to shake him, looking back and grimacing at the approaching goons.

"Uh, Cheese, wake up! We're still in a melee! Cheese? Cheese!" Tomato pried one of Cheese's eyes open and waved his hoof in front of it. "Come on, of all the times to pass out, it had to be now?!"

He felt breathing on his shoulder, and spun around to see their big, red, buck-toothed friend towering over him. His heart racing and his throat swallowing a lump, he looked back at Cheese, then back at the thug. He sat down, steadying himself with his tail and waiting for the attack.

The other pony reared up, and Tomato sprang upward, his first instinct that of grabbing the pony's neck, and then chomping down on it. A roaring whinny came from the bigger pony, whose stomp down barely missed Cheese. From then on, the large stallion was trying to shake off Tomato and his surprisingly strong set of teeth.

---

Meanwhile, Herald Angel sat under the stage, watching the madness that surrounded him. He wondered why all his uncle's bodyguards were attacking the other ponies, and he hoped that it wasn't yet another method to have him be the winner. It was bad enough that Windswept was blackmailing the judges--as well as Herald himself, by turning him into a dropout and making sure no other school would accept him--but having those guys attack ponies was a little much for someone who wanted to be secretive.

He watched each move of the smaller ponies that he could keep up with. Cirrus danced around one of the thugs and threw mud at his face, before turning around to buck him. Nimbus was hovering around another, dodging each of the bucks and stomps before nailing him with a right hook. The twins' parents had joined in out of a furious protective nature of their children, snagging clouds from the sky and using them to distract some of the bodyguards from swarming the kids. Tomato Sandwich had chomped down on one's neck like a vampire, clinging on despite all shakes and crashes made to get him off. And surprisingly, Sapphire Shores seemed to know martial arts, taking one down with a flurry of punches, bucks, and throwing off the other's attacks.

Starsong flew to the stage, carrying the unconscious Cheese Sandwich. Looking under to where Herald hid, she said, "I'm starting to get the idea that you're the safe zone."

Herald nodded. "Yeah... my uncle doesn't want any blemishes on me, and they remember that bit of instruction."

As Starsong sat next to him, Herald looked over Cheese. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I think it might have something to do with the headaches he was having all week; you don't usually see Cheese Sandwich fainting so soon in something like this. I'd carry him to a doctor, but I'm not sure I can handle his weight that long. I'm not exactly the strongest pegasus."

"Waiting for the Crystal Guards to come in?"

"Yep."

They jumped as some parts of the stage behind them collapsed, and winced as one pony skidded on his face in front of them. After that pony got up and galloped back into the fray, Herald sighed. "I never meant for it to go this far. I just thought that if I didn't question any of my uncle's decisions and let him 'improve my life', there wouldn't be any harm done."

"I hope you realize that blackmail, rigging contests, and kidnapping are criminal charges."

"Wait, when did he kidnap someone?"

The pony that Tomato Sandwich was sinking his teeth into galloped by, screaming about how it hurt. Starsong pointed to Tomato, and said, "Tomato there found out, and he was taken somewhere; we don't know where. He managed to escape, and that's why all those bodyguards are here... why does Windswept need so many...?"

"Okay, I see." Herald dug a small hole with his hoof. "But aren't you just as involved in this as I am?"

"Well, since Cheese didn't know and has a clean slate, we thought he'd be able to expose this scandal with the least damage." She looked at the stallion in her front legs. "We've got little chance of that now. And once the guards come, somepony has to tell the truth."

Herald blinked and looked away. He laid down, looking out at the gladiator battle happening outside. Contestants, technicians, and even some members of the audience were in the fray against Windswept's minions, but there was no Windswept himself to be found. Herald's eyes were especially rested on Nimbus, who had extended a hoof of friendship toward him. He felt sick to his stomach for robbing a potential victory from him, Cirrus, and every other contestant, all being more deserving of it than he was. All because he couldn't argue with his uncle.

Finally, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor had landed in the middle of the field, with the them both roaring, "STOP!"

Everypony froze as princess and prince consort glared at them all, with their Crystal Guard marching in through the portal. As all ponies were surrounded by the guards, Candance strode forward, giving everypony a look of disapproval.

"I hope you all realize that this is not what anypony came for," she started. "We all wanted a singing competition, and you turned it into a battle to the death. Look at what your violent behavior has done!"

They all cast their eyes roundabout, and winced at what they saw. The field had been torn up, with patches of sod ripped from the dirt, exposing dark soil to the air. Dents on the walls ranged from round to pony shaped, some places having spots of blood on them. Half the stage had collapsed, though thankfully those that had been under there weren't hurt. Feathers, fur, ripped pieces of cloth, and some blood had been scattered around, and most of the ponies in that field wore disheveled manes, tails, and fur, with bruises and lacerations scattered about. Those who wore clothes had them soiled and torn, and there was plenty of dirt to go around on each pony.

Then, Shining Armor came forward. "Whoever started this brawl, show yourself!"

The red, buck-toothed giant peeled Tomato off his neck, and pranced forward, plopping him in front of the rulers. The big fella slid back into the crowd, rubbing his neck. Meanwhile, Tomato looked up at Cadance and Shining Armor, biting his lip.

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. "I hope you have a good explanation for causing such an uproar."

Tomato twiddled his hooves. "Well, you see--"

"No, wait!"

Herald flew to the circle where Tomato sat, and looked at Shining Armor straight in the eye. "Prince Shining Armor, don't blame him for what I could have prevented."

Shining Armor blinked, allowing Cadance to ask, "What do you mean?"

"This mess started because my uncle Windswept was rigging the competition in order to have me win." He gestured to a surprised Tomato. "This pony had found out about the rigging and had been locked away in order to keep the secret. His escape was what triggered this mess."

Shining Armor bore a serious look. "A noble thing for you to step forward, but is there any proof?"

Herald glanced at Sapphire and Starsong. "Uncle Windy has files in his dressing room containing information to blackmail the judges."

Cirrus and Nimbus flew forward, the former saying, "Not to mention Tomato shuffled backstage gagged and tied to a chair."

Daybreak Glisten raised her hoof. "I saw that!"

The technicians followed suit. "So did we!"

Windswept's bodyguards pursed their lips and looked away.

Shining Armor still stared at Herald. "Me and some guards are going to go investigate that room and see if your claims about blackmail are correct." He looked at Tomato. "As for you... you and your friends are going to clean up this mess, seeing as you were involved in this melee. Do I make myself clear?"

Tomato nodded, and then Shining Armor marched out of the arena with Herald and a few of the guards, leaving the rest with Princess Cadance to watch over. Looking at the other three contestants, she said, "I hope you realize that your involvement in this has you three and Herald automatically disqualified."

Nimbus blinked. "Does that mean that technically, Pants won?"

Cirrus gave him a funny look. "Why Pants?"

"He was obviously the best one out of all of us."

Starsong flew over the rest of the ponies, carrying Cheese, and then landed in front of Cadance. "Excuse me, Your Highness, but this pony's hurt and needs medical care." She looked at Tomato, who stood there in wide-eyed shock, hovering his hoof over his brother in an tentative manner, debating with himself whether or not it was okay to touch him. "So, may he be removed and taken to a doctor?"

Cadance walked forward and opened one of Cheese's eyes to take a good look. "Hmm... that unnatural glimmer looks like he may have sustained some magical damage somehow. I can cast a healing spell on him to undo as much as I can."

Tomato blinked. Magical damage? The last magical mishap that he knew Cheese got into was the body swap with Celestia, and considering that had something to do with the mind, the headaches made sense. But given that it happened a couple weeks before, it seemed odd that any side effects would happen during this week.

Cadance's horn emitted a blue aura, and a magical beam shot out onto Cheese's forehead, giving his mind a gentle massage. She stopped once Cheese took a deep breath, and relaxed, though he still slept. Even though Cheese was content, she still ordered some guards to take Cheese to the doctor to give him a full examination.

She turned to Tomato. "Don't worry, we're going to make sure he's all right."

Tomato nodded. "Okay."

She turned to everypony else. "Now... are we going to clean up this mess or what?"

Author's Note:

Well, once again, this took an irritating long time to finish (why must I waste my precious free time in playing stupid games that only make me angry or checking for nonexistent messages?).

But, nevertheless, I got this out, and... for those of you who were expecting Tommy to go vampire again, no, I wasn't planning that. If anything, a relapse into vampire mode would be better for a bigger emergency. Instead, I just took the weird route for his escape.

Hey, look, I actually got Shining Armor and Cadance to have lines in this fic. They're... okay to write from what little I've done with them. They weren't as big of a pain to write as Celestia was (*sobs forever from the nightmare of writing her*).

This segment is almost wrapped up... then we'll find out where we're going next...

Comments

[Goldfinch142]

Cheese forgot he had a brother? That's a pretty severe memory lapse. Maybe Cadance's spell fixed some of his mind damage. If not, at least there's evidence he's starting to remember the mind wipe and can take action himself.

That was a pretty creative way to escape. Kudos, Tommy.

Even if Herald doesn't confront his uncle, which he probably will, I'd like to see Tomato stand up to his mother. She needs to realize the consequences of her actions.

So now that Pants has presumably won (I was secretly hoping he would), that wraps up the Crystal Empire. Onwards to the next town!

[Godslittleprincess]

I've got a bad feeling about what's going on with Cheese.