Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

13.1--Feelin' a Little Younger

Their departure the next morning was marked by the entire town of Mane-tua seeing them off. The folks all had a chance to have their hoofbumps, pats on the back, and hugs for Cheese, depending on how close they were to him. They stuck with little hoofshakes and timid waves for Tomato, as few ponies had interacted with him, though he gladly hoofbumped Sparkleworks and wished her luck in clowning. And Ponyacci gave them both big hugs, reminding Tomato to work on overcoming the fear, and Cheese to tell Tomato about the you-know-what so that they could fix that problem. Also, bury that mirror on the next full moon.

Pinkie Pie had accompanied them for a short time through the poplar hills, since they were going the same direction until she needed to diverge to Ponyville. All that time, she and Cheese had talked things party. Pinkie rambled on about the stress of impressing the Prince of Yakyakistan, while Cheese told her about one party where he ended up in burnout because of similar stress with extremely picky ponies. When they mentioned to Tomato that they'd go to extreme lengths to make sure their parties were perfect and that everypony was having fun (they are serious business, after all), he was both impressed and worried.

They had come to a clearing where the fork in the road was. There, they started their goodbyes. Pinkie gave a quick squeeze to Tomato, while he merely patted her back in return. With Cheese, on the other hoof, there was a close embrace that radiated with warmth, with their cheeks pressed against each other's and their noses taking a whiff of their scents. The hug was long enough that Tomato got bored, shuffled a good distance away, and started reading. He briefly wondered how Boneless 2 was staying on his saddle when Cheese was in that position, but it was best not to question it.

After a while, the silence was broken by Cheese whispering, "You smell like strawberries."

Pinkie giggled. "Well, you smell like nachos."

"And now I'm hungry."

"Me too!"

His heart raced, and he worried that she could feel it. Still, Cheese didn't want to let go of her; but, he had a party to throw, and she had to get home. So, he tentatively released her, his legs feeling weak from the rush he had felt just a few moments ago.

Gazing up at him, Pinkie tapped his chest and said, "You better get that memory back if you want your headaches to stop. You can't enjoy parties if your head hurts!" She leaned to the side for a quick glance at Tomato, balancing in a sitting postion on his tail at the side of the road. "Did you tell him yet?"

"No... but I'll get to it! I'm just trying to figure out how to break it to him."

"Okey-dokey-lokey!" She turned around and started bouncing away. "I'll make sure to tell Twilight about it so that she'll find a way to track it and that you'll be all better from those headaches and that your brotherly bonding time is back to being lots of fun for you two! Let me know if you learn anything else!"

Cheese waved and said, "Okay! We'll see you later!"

Pinkie was far down the path already. "Don't be a stranger! Keep being one of my bestest friends! Love you lots!"

Cheese blinked, slowly lowering his hoof. Did she just say...? Does that mean...? As he processed what he just heard, he felt his cheeks warming up, and his heart was leaping much like that sweet pink mare down that road was.

Tomato shut his book, went back on all fours, and walked up to Cheese. "Well, well, well... can you really deny that she actually said that she 'loves you lots'?"

Cheese chuckled nervously. "Oh... she just means, uh, that she, uh, loves me like a friend! I'm sure she says that to all her friends! Ehehe... yeah, that's it..." He glanced at Boneless 2 on his back, who laid there with his face to the sky. "Yeah, Boneless 2 thinks so, too."

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "Right..."

Cheese pursed his lips, and then shook his head. "Anyway..." He adjusted Boneless 2's saddle, and then started to walk down the other road of the fork, heading once more into tree-dotted hills. "Our next party awaits, baby bro!"

Tomato followed, his eyebrow twitching. "When is he going to stop calling me that?"

---

For the next couple of days, they traveled beyond Foal Mountain, weaving through the forest during the day and the night, and through rain and shine. They took a brief rest stop at Hollow Shades, nearly oversleeping because it was dark there. It was a good thing that Cheesy Sense kept insisting that they go to Manehattan.

It still didn't mean that they were any happier about their destination. Tomato was actively dreading the possibility of running into their mother, having explained to Cheese about his promise to himself back in the Crystal Empire should that Herald Angel guy stand up to his uncle. Even when Cheese explained that Manehattan's size meant that the chances of bumping into her was slim, Tomato still worried. After all, the chances of running into Bighoof had been slim, and switching bodies with the ruler of the country had been slim. Those still happened.

Cheese noted that Tomato had stopped himself at one point, and distinctly avoided mentioning anything about the slimmest chance that had happened thus far: the vampires. Cheese thought about getting his confession about his lost memory over with, and hopefully finding out the details he was missing from him. On the other hoof, he didn't want to compound Tomato's worries with that problem, so he kept his mouth shut.

It didn't stop him from joking that they might be throwing a party for Creme Brulee. Tomato shot that down with the tidbits of Creme Brulee's birthday being in June, and that she was sent to relatives out west to learn the meaning of hard work or something. To that last statement, Tomato had grumbled, "Good riddance."

They had one last mountain range to pass before they crossed the fields leading to Manehattan. Not willing to climb one or waste time going around it like they did at the beginning of the summer, Cheese found a shortcut: a deep cavern with it's wide mouth open at the base of one of the mountains. Assuring Tomato that his Cheesy Sense said it was a good tunnel that they could slip through safely and get to their destination, they went in. Cheese donned a miner's helmet, and put one on both Tomato and Boneless 2 as well.

The cave was silent, aside from the echoing hoofsteps and the drips of water from the stalactites. The air was like ice, making the stallions' ears and cheeks numb and their nostrils raw. They walked through the path between the stalagmites, glancing up at the stalactites as if they were about to fall on them any moment. At the moment, the only light they could see was the lights from their helmets.

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" Tomato asked, seemingly to the rows of stalagmites they walked between.

"Don't worry, Cheesy Sense has gotten me out of worse," Cheese whispered, hoping to avoid echos.

When his light landed on a skeleton among the rocks, Tomato flinched and drew closer to his brother. "Well, I hope this 'shortcut' is worth it. I don't want to end up like that guy."

Cheese looked around, and discovered another skeleton, this one having a stalagmite right through its rib cage. With a grimace, he said, "Or that guy." He looked up at the ceiling, and saw a hole right above the skeleton. "Glad we didn't take that entrance."

They passed those dead ponies, and a few more that seemed to be the victims of a cave in, a stalactite through the skull, and possibly starvation respectively. They grew more uncomfortable as they went deeper into the cave, stepping between columns, ducking under some 'drapes', and weaving around spiky hills of stalagmites.

At one point, Cheese said, "You know, we should pass the time by singing a song." He looked around, rubbing his chin. "About... this super secret tunnel?"

Tomato glared at him. "You start singing about this graveyard and I'll slap you silly."

Finally, they found some light, orange due to what was most likely the sunset, and out of relief, they both ended up cheering a little too loudly. The cave rattled with the echos, Tomato's ears hurt, Cheese's head hurt, and some bat residents that were presumably living at that mouth had started to complain. The brothers swayed, both of their ears ringing from their self-inflicted ear and head aches.

Tomato was the first to come out of their daze, if only to grumble, "Geez, those bats are pottymouths."

Right after, Cheese slurred, "My head is a balloon again... will you catch it before it pops on the ceiling daggers?"

Tomato sighed, and dragged Cheese forward. "Come on, let's get out of here before we cause a cave-in--we already came too close."

They dodged more of the cave formations as quickly as they could, eager to be free of the cold cavern. They were happy to get back out into the sunshine, and escape the wintry underground. Back to seeing flora, fauna, and actual living, breathing ponies with flesh and blood. Tomato nearly tripped on one stalagmite, and Cheese bumped into a column, but they still moved forward. They were so close to freedom, and they weren't going to lose it.

Once they reached the light, however, they discovered that they had not exited the cave. Instead, all they found was a large opening high above them--far too high for them to climb. They could see clouds speckled in the purple and orange sunset sky, the branches of trees, and some boulders forming a cone around the hole. Just a few steps from where the Sandwiches stood, there was a crystal clear spring, glittering with the magic that a nice drink would surely bring. In fact, due to the fresh smell and the air still feeling rather chilly, Cheese figured that this was a nice, cool spring that would definitely be a nice refreshment before they continued onward.

Tomato was looking up at the hole. "Well, we found the exit... how do you propose we get out?"

Cheese scratched his chin. "Well... on the one hoof, I could tie balloons to the both of us, and we can drift up until we get out. Problem with that is getting enough balloons to lift us both, steering so we make it through that hole, making sure the balloons don't pop, getting you down once we're out... but, I think it's our best option for getting out of here."

"How many balloons do you have?"

Cheese rummaged behind his back, pouting in a strange manner as he did so. When he finished, he sighed. "Sadly, only enough to carry one of us. I'm afraid we might have to spend the night here, and walk out the other side of the cave tomorrow."

Tomato fell to his rump, not caring about the rough surface, and threw his hooves up. "Great! More spelunking in this cold cave! Just what I wanted to do this whole summer."

Cheese groaned. "Look, Tomato, I don't want to be stuck all night in the cave either, but this is the best place to set up camp in here, since we have a ceiling light and a bit more warmth. So I don't want to hear any more of your whining."

Tomato glanced back at the chirping bats, and then spun around to them with an offended look. "No, he's not my father. He's, in fact, just three years older than I am." He listened to their chirping some more, and then leaned back. "Ew, no! He's my brother, now stop laughing!"

Cheese's eyes were at half-lids. "Are you seriously talking to the bats?"

Tomato snorted. "The little winged rats are making fun of us."

Cheese sighed and looked at Boneless Two on his back. "I think being underground too long has made Tommy a little cuckoo."

Tomato stood up. "Says the pony talking to a rubber chicken."

Cheese gasped, grabbed Boneless 2, and covered his nonexistent ears. "Are you implying that Boneless 2 does not have thoughts and feelings? That's discrimination against poultry!"

Tomato leapt in the air, roaring, "He's made of rubber!"

Cheese sighed. "Sheesh, between thinking that the bats are talking and your super crankiness, I think you might need to go to bed." He looked at the spring and pointed to it. "You know, take a nice drink of water, wind down, and I'll sing a little lullaby just for you, baby bro."

Tomato had landed, and stomped his hoof. "And another thing: stop calling me 'baby bro'!"

"What?" Cheese blinked and put a hoof on his chest. "Why should give up my cute little nickname for you?"

Tomato made a noise that sounded like a mix between a growl and a nicker. Tapping his hoof in counting motions, he snarled, "I'm not cute, I'm not little, and I went through freakin' puberty. Do you hear my voice? It's not anything like a little colt's voice anymore! It's demeaning when you use it in front of other ponies as you oh-so-casually tell them that you think of me as a foal."

Cheese furrowed his brow. "Okay, you're taking that phrase way too seriously. Looking out for you is not the same as treating you like a foal."

"It sure feels like you're on the bandwagon of 'Tommy's just a foal, he doesn't know what he wants, and he surely shouldn't be left alone at all, lest we have disaster happen!'" Tomato snorted and flicked his tail. "Just like what Mom thinks. But hey, at least you're a different flavor."

Knitted brows and tight lips were on Cheese's face, and he swore he felt the veins in his forehead pop. With a snort, he grabbed Tomato, lifted him up over his head, and stated, "Yep, taking it too seriously--sounds like overdue teenage angst mixed with needing some sleep. Let's get you ready for bed with a little bath time."

Tomato's eyes were wide. "Wait a minute, what are you--"

Cheese chucked him into the spring, bringing about a big SPLASH.

The resulting waves barely missed his hooves, and he caught the glasses that had been left behind in midair, reminding himself that he didn't want to lose those. He sighed in relief, glad that he got Tomato to shut up. He gazed at his underwater brother, who was holding his breath and just starting to move his limbs as the initial shock wore off. He seemed to shrink, but Cheese simply thought he was just sinking, and that he'd soon swim up for air.

Cheese exhaled, and started to rummage for a towel behind his back. "Sheesh, you couldn't have just stuck to complaining about the cave." He pulled one out and quickly cracked it like a whip. "When I call you 'baby bro', it's just affectionate, calling back to the old days of when we were best brother buddies. You're crazy if you think I'm doing it to be condescending to you."

He opened the towel wide. "Now, get out of the spring. I think you're clean enough."

A few moments passed, and Tomato hadn't climbed out. Cheese tapped his hind hoof. "I'm waiting..."

He heard none of the sloshing and splashing of the water, which Cheese found odd for him to not be doing. Setting the towel aside, he approached the spring. He's pulling that classic stunt--be eerily quiet to make me think he's drowning and lure me to the edge, and then he'll jump me and pull me into the spring. Odd for him to be goofy like that, but this should be fun.

However, when he looked in, his heart just about stopped. The pool was absolutely clear and there was no place for Tomato to hide in there--so where was he? In fact, the only things of his he saw were his clothes--jacket, shirt, and tie--which for some reason had been discarded and were sinking to the bottom of the pool.

"AAHHH! What did I do?!" Cheese jumped forward to dive in. "Don't worry, I'm coming!"

However, he was caught in midair by magic, and he found himself just hovering over the spring. Blinking, he tried to reach for the clothes, but he was too far from the surface of the water to even dip his hoof in. His heart raced as the clothes slowly sank deeper and deeper, and his gut twisted at the thought of his brother's sudden disappearance--and it was all his fault.

A feminine voice cried out, "What do you think you're doing? It's unwise to take a dip in there!"

He looked up, seeing on the other side of the spring a middle-aged unicorn mare, having a lilac coat, a multi-toned blue mane in a bun, and magenta eyes that glared at him. Her cutie mark was concealed by a dark purple cloak, but Cheese had a gut feeling that it was magic-related. She had caught him in an aura that matched her eyes, and was bringing him back to land.

The surprise wore off, and he started to squirm, protesting, "Miss, my brother's in the pool! Or at least his clothes are--I don't know what happened to him and I need to get those!"

The unicorn took a brief look in the spring, and muttered, "Oh, dear." Setting Cheese back on land, she turned to levitating the clothes out. She lifted the clothes, shook the water off, and then gingerly set them down beside her. She began to unbutton the jacket with her magic. When Cheese tried to touch it, she slapped his hoof, scolding, "Nuh-uh, don't touch the water, lest you experience age regression."

Cheese blinked. "What?"

She completely unbuttoned the jacket, and partially unbuttoned the shirt. Then, before Cheese's eyes, she pulled out a tiny newborn foal, eyes squeezed shut and body curled up in fetal position. Cheese's jaw slowly went slack as he processed the red-orange coat and the dark brown hair, and the reality of who that little colt was made his mind just stop. It couldn't be... it shouldn't be...

Did Tomato really just turn into a baby?

The mare squeezed the foal, and the little one coughed up water before letting out a cry. Or rather, a scream, since Cheese flinched when the baby let out that great noise that made his ears ring and head feeling like it was being ripped open. His mind going back to when he was three and new at the big brother thing, there was no doubt that that cry matched Tomato's from when Cheese had carried him by the tail.

His mind getting back into gear again, Cheese asked, "Miss, what's going on? Why's my brother a baby?"

The mare bounced little Tomato, and then pulled out a pacifier from her cloak to pop into the baby's mouth. "Did you not read the sign?"

"What sign?"

She leaned over to the side, and snorted at one particular spot on the other side of the pool, where a little hole signifying the placement of a post rested. "Darn sign always falls into the water. Had it been up, you would have known to not mess around in the Fountain of Youth."

Cheese blinked. "Fountain of..."

He could not believe it; that very thing that Tomato had been reading about actually existed! Did that mean all the stories in that book were true? How many ponies have found this thing and were actually a gazillion years old--or have otherwise dissolved into nothingness by way of regressing too far? Was this lady actually really old? He wondered if the answers were in the book that Tomato had been reading for the past couple weeks or--

Remembering Bighoof, Cheese wondered how he didn't see this one coming.

---

"The Waters of Forever?" the mare said. "As real as the fountain is, those stories are nothing but fiction."

The unicorn, Destiny Star, had taken Cheese and baby Tomato back to her chamber, which was a simple room with simple necessities as an area to prepare and store food, a little well for water, and a bed, as well as some leisure items like bean bags, a bookshelf with books, and other things. There were a couple other rooms off to the side--one serving as the bathroom, and the other being a "baby vault" for anyone unlucky enough to have fallen in, but were lucky enough to have been rescued before disappearing. There she laid out a spare bed and brought out her cradle for them to spend the night. After putting Tomato in the cradle, she let Cheese use her little well to have some water to down his medicine, and they later sat on the bean bags, sipping at some hot cocoa.

"Okay, I got that," Cheese said, letting himself sink in the bean bag. "Where'd it come from, anyway?"

"Oh, somepony I knew cast an age regression spell on this spring; and when you cast a spell on water, anypony who drinks or bathes in it end up having the effects of the spell on them." Destiny brushed a lock of hair from her face. "I don't know the spell to fix it, and nopony who does has come around, but I'm sure that one day that specific purification spell shall be cast, and I shall be free from guarding it."

"Well, I wouldn't want to be stuck living in this cave forever. Do you know the way out?"

Destiny gave him a half-lidded look. "Where do you think I got this stuff?"

Cheese glanced away. "Oh... right."

"Anyway, I can't leave this place for very long, as the effects wear off from a few days to a week, depending on the actual age of the pony." Destiny looked to the cradle, where baby Tomato was sleeping soundly. "Your brother will be back to normal soon."

Cheese tilted his head. "How long have you been here?"

"Oh... over a thousand years."

Cheese blinked, and then smiled. "Hey, you don't look a day over 50."

Destiny waved a hoof. "Aw, shucks. Anyway, I'll be here until the fountain's either purified or dried up, and then I can finally die and join my mother, brothers, sisters, husband, and many of my descendants."

"What about your father?"

Destiny turned grim. "Oh... him. He, uh, was sent elsewhere."

Sensing Destiny's discomfort, Cheese decided not to press her. So, he instead asked, "You think he'd be back to normal by the time we reach Manehattan? Because I've got to get there in a couple of days, because parties usually have a set date and I'd like to get there on time... and it'd be really awkward to have ponies think that Tomato's my son instead of my brother." His eyes widened and he clutched his head. "What if they ask who the mother is?"

"If you're lucky, his age-up would come early, or come after the party." Destiny shrugged. "But you never know. Perhaps it's best that you miss the--"

Cheese jumped to his hooves. "Miss the party?! I can't miss a party that Cheesy Sense specifically directed me to! It tells me when a party needs my touch, and I'm not risking a failure of a party for anything! The Sense is not kind to me if I miss a party."

Destiny blinked. "A Sense? Well, if you have a Sense... well, it's something that should be heeded, no questions asked."

Cheese smiled. "I'm glad you understand."

Destiny nodded and set her mug down. She turned to stare at Tomato. "In that case, I implore that you be careful in regards to your brother and any sporadic age-ups that may occur with him. Most ponies who suffer from this kind of age regression only have memories up to the age they resemble, such as right now when he has no memory at all, or if he ages up to say, five, as he'll only have memories up to that time period. He'll have trouble recognizing you, and it'd cause an uproar if he ages up in public."

Well, looks like I'm putting off that confession of my memory problem until he's back to being grown up, Cheese thought. He shrugged. "At least for the next few days, I won't have to deal with him being mad at me for tossing him in the Fountain of Youth. Besides... we're going to Manehattan! Weird things happen there all the time; I doubt anypony would really notice."

Author's Note:

And thus, a new segment begins! And already we're getting into weird stuff.

You know, most of the weird stuff done in this story so far--and those that will be written--simply happened because "I had to." Because that means I thought it'd be fun. And that's essentially the reason for doing this Fountain of Youth thing.

How many magical ponds does Equestria have anyway...?

Comments

[RadicalDishonesty]

... So should this be considered part of Tommy's bad luck? Or... should this be considered a family problem?

And dangit Cheese, even if this wasn't a spring that caused a magical ailment for Tommy, dunking him in water and explaining yourself where your brother cannot hear you is not a good way to end an argument.

[A Joe in the Bush]

At one point, Cheese said, "You know, we should pass the time by singing a song." He looked around, rubbing his chin. "About... this super secret tunnel?"

Of course you went there. . .

[SageBrony07]

That is going to be awesome. I hope she's gets the energetic tomato foal, then tomato a few days after cheese left. Maybe then a teenage one. Finally one only a year younger and is still mad at cheese.

[Applejack224]

Cheese, that was a dick thing to do, actually. Even if it wasn't magical

[howard035]

Oh man, I can't wait to see what happens in Manehatten with "Cherry Tomato" (because cherry tomatoes are itty-bitty tomatoes ).

One the one hand, Celestia help them if Mozzerella finds out and demands to take care of her son again....

On the other, they do know someone in Manehatten who would do a great job taking care of baby Tomato, she has seven younger siblings after all!

[Sketcha-Holic]

7143965 Flora went back home to Neighton in the very first chapter of this thing, and while it had been mentioned that there are several Neightons in Equestria, the one she's from is not even close to Manehattan. Dropping Babymato off at her place isn't an option.

[howard035]

7144648 Oh well.

[Goldfinch142]

After a while, the silence was broken by Cheese whispering, "You smell like strawberries."

Yup. Platonic relationship here, folks.

On the other hoof, he didn't want to compound Tomato's worries with that problem, so he kept his mouth shut.

*Sigh* Cheese, when is keeping secrets from a loved one to 'protect' them ever been a good idea?

It's actually really horrifying to think that a few more seconds in the pool would have ended Tomato's existence. On that note, Tomato is not going to be happy that Cheese made him go through puberty twice. And the second time in the span of a couple days.

[redmar]

Destiny Star is clearly the daughter of Wayer Runes. A family reunion would not go well.
I wonder how things are going to develop with Tomato's age regression.

[Jordan179]

Ever read the Xanth series by Piers Anthony? The magical ponds could have been worse. For instance, they have Love Springs in Xanth. And "Love" is more a euphemism for "uncontrollable mating urge and magic that allows hybridization between any two species."

[Dashie04]

Why didn’t I see this coming when I read it was mentioned in a Daring Do book? Those are non-fiction .

Also, how will I be able to ship Flora and Tomato when Tomato’s a baby? Darnit!

[Godslittleprincess]

Hold on. Is that mare Wayer Rune's daughter?