Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

13.5--A Bridge Too Far

After cantering about several blocks and turning several corners, relying on nearby objects and buildings and distant colors to keep himself off the street and avoid pedestrians, Tomato was certain that he had lost that strange mare. The how and why of his waking up on that walk facing one of the rivers (he unfortunately couldn't tell which due to not having his glasses) was terribly uncertain, but it was rather suspicious. How the heck did that lady even know he had a brother? Had she been stalking him?

In any case, he was now on a corner somewhere in the middle of the city, as he could tell by the dull reds, dull yellows, browns, and grays of the nearby buildings, with billboards and shop signs having incomprehensible pictures and garbled messages. He could also make out the vague shapes of carriages, both moving and static, and the various colors of the ponies walking the sidewalks across the street.

Right beside him was a long, thin, silver pole, with green rectangles hanging near the top. Shimmying up the pole, Tomato read the signs in order to find out which street he was on. After reading so, he then jumped across the street, landing in the midst of ponies who jumped back and squealed in fright.

One angry stallion shouted at him, "Hey! Watch where you're landing, weirdo!"

Another snapped, "Yeah, you coulda hurt someone!"

A snooty sounding mare echoed, "There are children here, young colt! An adolescent such as yourself would do well not to set such a bad example for them!"

Tomato snorted. "This city is full of worse examples than me; get over it."

He stormed away from that group of ponies, and went down to the next corner. He climbed up the next sign, and read it to determine which direction he was headed. From the name of the previous street and the name of this one, he concluded that he was going north, and that he had several blocks to go before he reached the street leading to the bridge home.

He could just hear his mother now, exploding on him about his whereabouts and asking why she didn't know where he was going, and going on about how that was the reason he needed a babysitter. How was he going to explain the truth without sounding like a straight-faced liar?

Whatever the answer, she was just going to put him on lockdown, stick him in his room and tell him to be quiet. No calling on Bluejinx for a couple of weeks, not even for study time. No singing a tune in order to keep himself from getting bored, lest Mom come in and remind him that he's not destined to be on Bridleway. Most of his toys and Cheese's things had been thrown out, so his room was pretty darn boring--aside from various books that Bluejinx had given him for the last few Hearth's Warmings and birthdays. And since he lost his glasses, he couldn't read without shoving his face in the book and squinting.

Of course, the book thing was the least of his problems should he admit to having lost his glasses to Mom. Cheese had been punished for losing or even breaking his glasses, and Tomato dreaded being subjected to all of Mom's speeches on how irresponsible of a colt he was for letting it happen, and that was why he should have been supervised. No visual distractions could save him from that torture, but it was his best chance of getting new glasses.

He could sing a little tune to pass the time while walking down the street, but even his bad eyesight and his decent hearing could alert him to the presence of the many ponies around him. He kept his mouth shut, so that he didn't attract any more attention. He had already been scolded for his stunt back there, pulling something that his frivolous older brother wouldn't shy away from. Annoying ponies with a song would most likely bring about ponies telling him he's not living in a musical, so he should shut his trap. It wasn't his special talent anyway, so he didn't want to highlight that disparity between his voice and his cutie mark.

His hoof stepped on something cylindrical, and he slipped and stumbled forward. Regaining his balance, he looked at the green object on the ground, and picked it up for a closer look.

"What litterbug leaves a bottle lying around?" he mumbled.

It was a miracle that the thing hadn't been shattered. He held it against his eyes, and to his surprise, he could actually see clearly through the thing. His vision now had a green tint and was somewhat warped due to the bottle's shape, but everything was now crystal clear. It was weird that this bottle was as good as his glasses, but he didn't mind. He was just happy that he could read the signs without climbing them.

Taking in the street that he recognized as a street in Midtown, he took note of each building, each alley, each cart and buggy, and even those holes in the wall that some ponies went into for a quick respite from crazy city life. He turned around to see what little shop he was in front of.

He was in front of a bar.

Though he wondered what those drinks inside tasted like, he didn't dare think of the fury his mother would unleash if she caught him drunk. Heck, if she saw him carrying around that bottle, he'd get in trouble for more than just losing his glasses. And yet, he couldn't leave just yet, if only for the curiosity of the fact that he could see his father in there.

Now, most ponies would go in there to drown their sorrows, and Tomato wouldn't be surprised if Dad did just that. But it was a peculiar sight to see him not drinking, but sitting in a chair, looking up at framed photos above the bar's piano, and... talking to them? It certainly seemed like Dad had his sanity henpecked to death.

Turning his bottle around to use as a telescope had Tomato seeing that the picture that Dad was talking to was actually one that looked like a younger version of his Grandpa Beans--Dad's dad. Since Grandpa Beans was dead, it wasn't much of a stretch to assume that Dad must miss him terribly.

Tomato himself was bummed out that he didn't remember Beans, having only been a baby at the time of his death. He could have sworn that somepony told him that Beans was planning on teaching him how to play the piano. Maybe if Tomato could play that instrument, perhaps he wouldn't feel so empty at home; or better yet, it might have been his special talent instead of the money thing! Surely a life where ponies appreciated musical talent was better than gold-diggers faking a friendship until they saw his house, or bullies wanting to nip an "oppressor" in the bud. He probably wouldn't be nearly be as stuck-up as Cheese about it.

Tomato had to resist the urge to smash the bottle when thinking of his brother. Cheese was probably living it up somewhere with some stupid party, doing dirty deeds with shallow ponies, abusing that endless freedom that he snagged for himself. That idiot couldn't take anything seriously anymore, and thought that he could do no wrong. Just another reason for Tomato to withhold any apology about the accordion incident or whatever else that offended Cheese--which was everything about Tomato himself.

After taking one last look at his deceased grandfather's picture and his father slumped over that chair with baggy eyes and hair that was starting to gray, Tomato left the area before Dad would turn around and notice him. With the bottle held over his eyes, he started making his way back home. He dreaded having to face Mom, and hoped she wouldn't withhold dinner from him over the glasses.

He received odd looks from ponies as he strode down the sidewalk, peering through his bottle as he kept track of landmarks and read the street signs. As much as he'd prefer to disappear, his need for clear sight came first.

At one corner, a stranger outright told him, "I sure hope you haven't been drinking out of that."

Tomato turned to the stranger, who was a unicorn in a cloak. "Nah, I just found it on the ground. It's my makeshift glasses."

"I see. Lost your glasses, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to head home. Mom's gonna kill me for losing them, and ground me like she always does when I misbehave."

"Hm. Where do you live?"

Tomato quirked an eyebrow at him, lowering the glass a little to see the accurate shade of blue of the unicorn's coat. "What's it matter to you? We're probably never going to see each other again." After a pause, he muttered, "I have to cross a bridge... not saying which."

"Ah, you have to cross a bridge?" The unicorn chuckled. "Be careful not to fall off."

Tomato rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

They crossed the road, and Tomato and the unicorn split ways at the next corner, with the latter mentioning something about going to the park. Not like Tomato cared; it was just a simple stranger, nothing more. However, a gut feeling and a tingling in his spine told him that he should still hurry away from that corner, just in case this pony was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

---

At the police station, the officer at the desk was shuffling papers when the front doors swung open, and a frantic Cheese Sandwich leaped in, landing on the desk. Papers flew from the startled officer, and there was a brief silence as Coco daintily pranced in, biting her lip out of a combination of embarrassment and dread. She was right to feel that way, as the officer's face turned red.

"What's the big idea?! This ain't no circus!" the officer barked, his voice apparently strong enough to knock Cheese off the desk. He leaned over with a good look at the stallion, and sighed. "And I see that the Manehattan Police Department's favorite troublemaker has come to town. What's the shindig this time and are you keeping it in that area?"

Cheese hopped back to his hooves and gestured to Coco. "I was helping this little lady with a theater party in the park. Don't worry, she wants it kind of small, so there won't be much ruckus."

"Ah, so you finally got a girlfriend. She's a pretty thing."

Cheese bore a half-lidded expression as he replied in his flattest tone, "No."

The officer leaned on the desk, the tips of his two front hooves together. "Well, whatever you're doing here, it better be important."

He took a deep breath, his tail scratching his flank. "I'm here to ask if a little reddish-orangish colt with curly, dark hair, and bright green eyes like mine--" He pulled at his eyelids in order to have the officer take a good look at his eye color. "--has stopped by here at any point in time."

The officer scratched his chin. "Was it that kid that jumped on my desk frantically asking for the return of his brother about an hour ago? He was begging us for information on the whereabouts of a Cheese Sandwich... not unlike he did more than a decade ago, when that said pony was an eleven-year-old runaway. Weird how that very kid didn't seem to age one bit ever since that case was closed, while you, Cheese, have grown up."

Cheese blinked. Clearly Tomato had already aged up to eight by the time he got here, presumably to a point in time after Cheese had run away from home. He knew Tomato had been upset about it, but the details never really quite manifested in his mind.

He then cast his eyes down, that very image appearing in his mind. He could hear the very questions coming from young Tomato's mouth, with a desperate choke on his voice as he tried to hold back tears. He could feel the worry as the colt paced back and forth in his room, asking every question under the sun about his beloved brother's whereabouts, wondering whether if he was dead or alive and if he'd be willing to come home. He could heard the anguished apologies screamed to a void, in the vain hope that Cheese would somehow hear them. And then there was the hammer of guilt unleashed upon him, by parents and fellow students telling him that his feelings on the situation didn't matter, and that he was solely responsible for his own loss.

Thoughts like that always brought a bout of nausea to Cheese's stomach and an itch to his cutie mark. He had thought that nopony would miss him if he left, that everypony, including his family, was better off without the shy, geeky failure tainting the neighborhood with his presence. Unfortunately, it had been the biggest and ugliest crack on Tomato's broken spirit, only growing bigger and uglier with the feud.

Coco put a hoof on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Cheese sighed, and brushed the hoof away. "I'm fine, the past is in the past, and he's forgiven me for that strife." He looked up at the officer. "I'm actually amazed that you remember that case, officer."

The officer shrugged. "Eh, I was working on it way back when, and my mind's like a steel trap. Anyway, if you're wondering where the kid is, he left in a huff, grumbling about going home or something. I assume he knows his way back."

Cheese blinked, and groaned. Do you seriously not remember the fact that he's supposed to wear glasses? How is he supposed to head home without them?

He sure hoped that Tomato didn't get into some kind of accident thanks to nearsightedness.

---

"Oh, I hope that Flower Garland won't be angry that we were gone for hours," Coco mumbled.

Cheese and Coco were back to square one, and Cheese's head pounded as they walked through the city. With each pound came the echo of the million conversations present on each block, be they between food vendors and their customers, excited tourists, ponies just heading home from work, and a ton of other situations that he didn't really care about. And yet he could hear the details clear as day, which grew worse as they passed through the dense junction of Times Square.

"...so I hear those ponies in the Money District..."

"...I hear some pony in the Broncs got literally tickled to death..."

"Come on! You promised we'd go to Carneighie Hall!"

"The end of the world is upon us!"

"...do you know where the hardware store is?"

It was as if the entire population of Manehattan was screaming in a cave, their shout reverberating in Cheese's ears. The echos hammered away at his skull, and each pound made his legs feel weaker. He still forced himself upright, in order to show his companion that he was still going strong, that he was not tired, and that once this was all over, he could still plan the party.

The echos considerably lessened once they left the junction, but he could still hear strange noises in his ears, and Coco's voice was warped as she said, "This is awful! At this rate, we might never find him!"

Cheese glared at her. "Don't say that! We'll find him, I've always managed to find him before."

Cheese's flanks still itched, and as far as he knew, Tomato could still be found. That didn't stop him from worrying about what would happen if the itch suddenly stopped. It could either mean that Tomato was back to normal, confused and embarrassed about being in the middle of the city without his clothes, or that he was dead from some danger he couldn't discern before it was too late. He held his breath, keeping himself as composed as possible, though his head still ached from just about everything.

When they came across a gray, dark-blue haired mare carrying a little colt on her back, Coco jumped when both Cheese and the mare said at the same time, "Have you seen a red-orange colt with dark curly hair, bright green eyes, and a cutie mark resembling a tomato in the shape of a moneybag?"

Both parties blinked, with the mare having her mouth in an O, while Cheese's jaw was slack. Coco had her hoof to her mouth as she glanced between both of the ponies, wondering who was going to break the silence. She hoped it'd be quick, since several ponies were swinging around them, shooting glares in their direction. Some even shouted at them to "Move it!", to which the colt on the gray mare's back responded with a raspberry.

Finally, Cheese idly took out his wallet and unveiled the line of photos of Tomato.

Upon seeing them, the gray mare relaxed with a stony face. "Well, it seems we're searching for the same pony."

Cheese furrowed his brow. "Yeah..." He leaned forward with a dirty look. "Okay, lady, please explain why you're looking for my brother!"

The mare just blinked impassively and answered, "You must be Cheese Sandwich. Nice to meet you, I'm Platinum Pen."

The little colt on her back waved. "I'm Noble Metal!"

Coco giggled. "Aww, you're a handsome young stallion."

Noble puffed up his chest and flexed his little foal muscles. "Thank ya very much, beautiful."

"Anyway..." Platinum Pen continued. "I found him down near the Money District earlier this afternoon, and I took him to the police station so that his grandparents and brother would locate him there. Plans suddenly changed when he suddenly grew from Noble's age to around eight to ten years old, and his mission was then begging the police to find his runaway brother."

"Uh, yeah, we went there," Cheese said. "The officer there told us."

Platinum Pen nodded. "He attempted to walk home by himself."

"But he's blind, so he can't read the signs," Noble added.

"Nearsighted, actually," Cheese corrected.

"I figured that out when he climbed up the street signs to read them." Platinum Pen stuffed her loose, green tie back into her purple jacket. "Anyway, I followed him to make sure he didn't get hurt, we stopped to look over the East River for a little bit and talked, and then he turned into a young teenager. He ran off again, and I'm worried that he's going to get in trouble."

Cheese stomped. "He climbed the street signs to read them? Dang, he probably knows where he's going!" Then, Cheese blinked, and he smiled. "Yeah, he knows where he's going! And at uh, thirteen or something, he'd probably be going home!" He leapt into the air. "Woohoo! Thank you, Penny, we have another lead!"

Coco smiled at Penny. "I understand if you were freaked out at his age-ups--I know I was when he aged from toddler to preschooler."

"What is going on with him, anyway?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, he keeps growing bigger so fast!" Noble complained. "I thought growing was supposed to be slow."

Cheese landed back on earth. "Oh, right, I threw him in the Fountain of Youth the other day and it's wearing off. Now, come on! Let's go back to..." He groaned. "...the bridge to my home neighborhood. Joy. Let's hope we catch him before he finds the house."

The four began their journey to that particular bridge, crossing the wide roads and trotting down the blocks. They passed by various buildings ranging from the towering skyscrapers to the shorter apartment buildings and to empty lots that nopony know quite what to do with. Passing concrete, glass, and brick, they hurried as much as they could without disrupting anypony else's pace or leaving any member of the group behind.

It was during this time that Penny said, "I'm curious... Tomato talked about how much he adored you and missed you for most of the time I was with him."

Cheese gave her a sad smile. "Yeah, you could say that we were best friends when we were young. I hate to say that a bit of depression, shyness, and jealousy on my part ended up getting in the way of that. When it seems like your brother has the world, you end up feeling inferior."

"Oh, ouch," Coco muttered. "Kind of makes me glad I'm an only child."

Noble rolled his eyes. "That won't happen with me and my brother."

Penny glanced back at her son. "Should I give you a brother, I hope the worst between you two is just normal sibling squabbles like how Aunt Pearl and Aunt Goldie do it."

She turned back to Cheese. "I wonder how much of your troubles Tomato even understood. By the time he was a teenager, he seemed awfully angry with you for running away and apparently abandoning him to a fickle, insensitive crowd. He called you an arrogant jerk when I asked him about you."

Cheese cringed, one particular moment in the past cropping up to mind. "Actually... there's a specific event that solidified his grudge."

"What was it?" Coco asked.

Cheese sighed. "So... I returned home at the age of thirteen, and found out that he had recently earned his cutie mark..."

---

It had been a while since he had seen this front door. Scratch that, it had been a while since he had seen this neighborhood. The modest homes on this street were a large contrast to the sprawling city across the bridge that most ponies thought of when talking about Manehattan and its surrounding areas. He had even been asked if he lived in an apartment by some ponies back in Mane-tua.

He didn't know if any of the old neighbors recognized him, but who would with his cowpony getup? Heck, he wouldn't be surprised if nopony remembered him. It was just as well; he was here because Cheesy Sense told him of something that required him to celebrate, and he sure as heck wasn't going to ignore it. After all, he was going to milk his calling in life until that was no trace of that shy geek left.

He just wondered why he was led to his own house. Unless his family moved, that'd be the last place he'd expect to throw a party. Looking at his rubber chicken, Boneless, for reassurance, he felt in his heart that it was time to see them again.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked.

A young voice he hadn't heard in over two years piped up, "I'll get it!" It was as peppy as ever, though it had grown slightly deeper as a result of having aged a bit. It was almost as if Cheese hadn't left, and that Tomato was still having his fantastic social life. Cheese wouldn't be surprised if the only reason he was here was to throw a party for whatever reason. Given Tommy's age and the fact that it wasn't his birthday, he guessed it involved a newly-earned cutie mark.

The door opened, and he was facing green eyes that matched his own under a forelock that matched his own (aside from the color). Cheese watched as the little red-orange colt stared at him for a moment, his mouth agape as he processed what was in front of him. Tomato was probably thinking that he was dreaming, and was probably going to nip himself any moment.

Cheese waved. "Hey, baby bro."

The mouth curled up into a smile, and at the speed of light, Tomato tackled him off the porch and squeezed him tightly. Cheese's glasses had flown off in the process, and his head hit the street with a bang, but he was not hesitant to return the hug. It comforted him to know that his brother clearly missed him.

"Cheesy, Cheesy, Cheesy, where were you, I was worried sick about you, I thought that you might've be dead, I'm so happy you're alive!" Tomato squealed. He hopped off his brother, picked up his glasses and gave them to him, and said with a scowl, "You've got lots of explaining to do, you big dummy! Don't you know that there are lots of big mean monsters out there that'll try to kill you? I don't wanna be an only child, it's boring and lonely! Uh... no offense to Bluejinx."

"Calm down, calm down," Cheese said, adjusting his glasses. "Let me get up, you're making me crush Boneless."

Tomato blinked. "Boneless?"

Cheese got up and showed him the rubber chicken. "New friend, got him at a party."

"Oh. Hi, Boneless! I'm Tommy, Cheese's brother."

Cheese giggled and tousled Tomato's mane. "Let's catch up inside, okay? I wanna get out of this sun."

Tomato nodded, and dragged him inside by the poncho. He practically threw him in the living room, which Cheese noticed hadn't changed much from its old arrangement. The most difference he could see was that some of Mom's knickknacks on the mantle had been rearranged. Speaking of Mom, there she was, coming from the bedrooms upstairs, her mane a mess from what was presumably a nap.

"Tomato, who was at the--" She stopped upon seeing Cheese standing there, refusing to look her in the eyes. "Oh, my..."

Tomato was bouncing around the living room, hopping from the couch near the door to the other couch near the hall and back. "Isn't this great, Mom? Cheese is back! He's back and unhurt and maybe kinda dirty and smells like a campfire, but he's back!"

Wow. Tomato may have been angry a second ago, but he was just incapable of holding a grudge for long. The most one ever lasted was about an hour, after Cheese had to spill the beans about Santa Hooves.

"I'm certainly surprised," Mom said. Her brow creased. "I hope he has a good explanation about his activities the past two years. Seriously, there's a million ways that a young colt could be killed both in and out of the city, and we all thought that you might have died!"

Cheese waved his hooves. "No worries, Mom, I met a lot of helpful ponies out there. I was kinda working some odd jobs here and there, learning new stuff from awesome ponies... and, well...." He lifted the poncho in order to provide a full view of the mark on his flank, which was a split cheese sandwich that resembled an accordion. "I got a little busy with my special talent."

Mozzarella blinked. "Your cutie mark? Is that your real, honest-to-goodness cutie mark?"

Tomato hopped off the couch and landed next to Cheese to take a closer look at the mark. "Holy beefsteak! I was wondering if your mark would match your name, and I was right! It's amazing! It's like an accordion! It's definitely you!" Tomato turned to show him his flank. "Did you notice mine? I earned it last week! It's weird, I didn't expect it, but I've always been good at math, so doing stuff with bits was logically the next step."

Seemed like Cheese guessed right on the reason for celebration. He took a few seconds to stare at the mark his little brother had.

Tomato's cutie mark was a tomato shaped like a moneybag. That was something Cheese did not expect either, even less so than his own talent. It bothered him a little that it reminded him of a couple of his bullies--the rich snob that bribed others and the allowance stealer--but Tommy had a way of doing things in a fun manner, so it probably wasn't that bad. He hoped.

Tomato was quick to hop on Cheese's back, with Boneless bouncing off, flipping in the air, and landing in Tomato's mane. Studying the mark more closely, he asked, "So... what does yours stand for?"

Cheese smiled. "Party planning."

Tomato's eyes nearly popped out at that revelation. "Party planning? How'd you figure that out?"

Hoo boy, was Tommy in for a surprise that it all started with a girl, especially after Cheese expressing for years that he didn't like girls very much. Hoping that Tomato wouldn't take the whole inspiration thing as a crush, he began, "Well, I--"

However, before he could continue, Mozzarella had broken out of her stupor. "Cheese, you can't be serious."

As Tomato glared at her for interrupting, Cheese simply stated to her, "I am serious, Mom."

Mozzarella put a hoof to her forehead. "Oh no... this is a disaster!"

Great, she was about to go into dramatics. Gosh, Cheese hated that. Keeping a hopeful smile on his face and shooing Tomato off his back, he calmly said, "Relax, Mom, I'm using my talent to make others happy!" So far, so good. That's how Ponyacci had put it when Cheese first earned the mark.

Mozzarella glared at him. "All you've earned is a frivolous waste of life!"

Cheese flinched, but continued his calm and optimistic statements. "It's not a waste... just let me show you by throwing Tommy's--"

He stumbled back and landed on his rump when his mother slammed a hoof on the floor. "NO! Of all the disappointments you have brought, this is the most disappointing! All I asked is that you earn a decent mark... and you earn a sandwich!" She had her face in a hoof again. "Oh, where did I go wrong? What did I do to deserve this shame? Honestly, if you just had a more sensible talent like your brother's--"

Hearing that, Cheese snarled like a wolf. There was that old button, being slammed in that reminder of how great his brother's life was, and how much it was rubbed in his face that he'd never be as good at socializing, academics, or even earning an acceptable talent as Tommy was. Why did he expect any different? It was obviously going to be the same as before! Feeling his mane bristle and his blood boiling, he wasn't going to stand there and let himself be stepped all over again in favor of his stupid brother.

Tomato had sensed the tension and backed away, knowing that the fallout was not going to be pretty. Not even noticing Boneless falling off his head, Tomato stammered, "I think I'm going to... uh..."

And then Cheese said it, in that vicious wolf snarl. "What... is so special... about that accordion smasher?"

Tomato froze, his heart sinking at hearing that old shame. He opened his mouth to say something, but it couldn't come out.

Then, Cheese roared, pointing to Tomato. "Tell me! What he'd do to earn his mark?! Did he swindle some lunch money from another foal? Is he a pickpocket? Or did he rob a bank?"

Tomato held a look of shock and hurt as he heard what Cheese was saying. "What? I would never--"

Cheese ignored his protest, and snapped, "I have had it with him! All he was ever good for was screwing up my life and breaking my stuff! And yet you scold me just for my cutie mark?! Let me just say that I'm glad we don't have the same special talent!"

Behind him, Tomato was sitting on his haunches, nearly mirroring that near defeat Cheese had a minute earlier. Looking at his own cutie mark with teary eyes, all he could think about was how much Cheese did not like it. He covered it with his tail, trying to keep any sobs of his to a minimum.

Then he heard Cheese say, "After all, the little ketchup squirt deserves a lame talent, since he can't even throw a party."

That was all it took for white-hot lightning to crash in Tomato's rainstorm.

Before Cheese knew it, he was decked on the cheek, and had to keep a roaring and flailing Tomato at bay with his hind hoof. It wasn't long before he started to trade blows with him, with both of their glasses and Cheese's hat flying off, fur and hair being ripped off, and bruises and bite marks appearing on both their bodies. It seemed to Cheese that Tomato had developed a violent streak from his stupid, troublemaking friends, and that he was just as much as a spoiled brat as they were.

After their mother pulled them apart and snapped at them for fighting, both colts retrieved their glasses. After shooting nasty glares at each other, Tomato picked Boneless up and threw the chicken at Cheese's face. Hearing the pained yelp, Tomato snorted in satisfaction and stormed up to his room.

Cheese huffed. "Yeah, sure, go cry up in your room, you baby! This pony has better things to do than throw a party for some whiny brat who doesn't deserve it!" He slammed the hat back on his head. "Let's go, Boneless. Cheesy Sense gave me a false alarm."

As he opened the door, Mozzarella said, "And where do you think you're going?"

Cheese growled. "Away from here!"

"You just came home!"

"Home? This isn't my home." Cheese turned to face her. "And mark my words, Mother... I will not be that shy geek that goes by a thousand insulting nicknames anymore! I will be the Super Duper Party Pony, and everypony in Equestria will know the name of Cheese Sandwich! No matter what you say, you cannot change my special talent. Stick with your 'perfect son'; I don't want anything to do with him, anyway."

With that, he turned around, and slammed the door on his way out.

As he strode down the street, Cheese wiped his stinging eye. "Stupid cutie mark party's not worth throwing anyway. That annoying ketchup squirt has everything; what does he need me for?"

---

Cheese grimaced. "Not my proudest moment."

"That's an understatment--an insult to the cutie mark is one of the worst insults you could give to a pony," Penny stated.

Cheese sighed. "I can't believe I let my anger control me like that. Just because I was hurt didn't give me the right to hurt Tomato like that, whether or not he did have that so-called 'perfect life' that I always thought he had. For years afterward, I was baffled about why he was so grumpy, and my efforts at entertaining him didn't work. It didn't take until last fall for me to figure it out."

"Why'd you visit if you thought he didn't need you?" Coco asked.

The stallion pointed to his flank, which had turned red because of his tail constantly scratching it. "Cheesy Sense always dragged me to the house at random times. I didn't like it one bit, but I had to obey it, try the 'cheering Tommy up' thing, fail at it, then get back to my job. At least the itching lets me know how close he is, and how miserable he's fee--YOWCH!"

Cheese jumped from the sudden pain, and clutched his rump. "For the love of Provolone, that hurts! I don't know if he's close, or feeling extreme anguish, or both..." Cheese looked up, and saw the supports and the road of the very bridge a couple blocks ahead. And right at the end of it, just before the bridge got off land, he could spot a red-orange glow on one pony, followed by the pony growing larger. "Hey, there he is!"

Coco gasped. "He's okay!"

Penny breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness we found him."

Cheese watched as Tomato looked around, feeling his face, followed by his body. The now-older-teenager jumped in fright, and tried to cover himself, as well as try to kick off broken glass that had accumulated on his hooves. Cheese chuckled at the sight. "Oh, no, he's at that point in time where he's supposed to wear clothes... poor guy, that must be embarrassing to be in the nude."

Tomato noticed a paper bag tumbling by, grabbed it, and ripped holes in it to make a makeshift shirt. Putting it on, he felt the railing of the bridge, and started to feel his way across. He paused a moment to force a squinty glare toward some obnoxious loudmouths in a nearby lot chanting at him, and continued in a solemn resignation.

Cheese didn't need Cheesy Sense to lead him to Tommy now, but it was near literally pushing him forward anyway, like it was urging him to hurry. What made it worse was that his flank was burning with an intensity that Cheese wasn't used to. It was strong enough that it didn't allow him to pause for any ponies and buggies that were coming from all directions. Pedestrians gave shouts, and drivers of buggies cursed at him, ignoring Cheese's haste apologies to them.

Coco grimaced at the carriages barely missing him and swerving to almost hit ponies on the corner. She called out, "Cheese! What are you doing?! Don't you remember that you have to look both ways?!"

Cheese looked back and answered, "Sorry! But Cheesy Sense is telling me to hurry and get Tommy!"

Penny raised an eyebrow. "I wonder if all party ponies have those weird Senses. I know my sister Goldie has one."

Coco turned to her. "Really?"

---

After being forced in a diagonal line a couple blocks down and across the street, Cheese bumped into the beginning of the bridge's railing once he was across the street. Even though Cheesy Sense was trying to pull him further, he clung on, hoping to take a second to catch his breath from his close calls. He glanced back at Penny and Coco, who were waiting for it to be okay to cross, and he figured that they could catch up. Where he was going wasn't exactly a mystery.

He jumped when a brick banged on the bars below him, and he glared at the gang down in the lot, tossing a bunch of bricks his way, and shouting, "Hey! You nacho! Take a dive off the bridge and we'll score you!"

Cheese shouted back at them, "Nah! I've got more important things to do!"

As he galloped onto the bridge, one of the gang members complained, "Bah, you're no fun!"

At a point where the bridge arched well above the water, Cheese slowed down, and paused when he saw that Tomato was sitting on top of the railing, gazing down at the water (or at least the dark blue and a couple of blobby masses chugging along below). Cheese started to rummage behind his back, feeling Tomato's clothes stored in that void. He touched something hard and smooth, and then pulled out Tomato's glasses. Wiping off any smudges with his shirt, Cheese pondered about what he was going to say to him.

He looked up, and when he could have sworn that he saw Tomato's leg slip, he felt a rush of fear that made him jump forward and grab Tomato's tail. That brought about a wobble and a shout of fright from Tomato, who quickly balanced himself by grabbing onto the rail. He stared at the river for a brief moment before turning to the pony who pulled his tail.

Cheese's heart stopped. "Uh... hey, baby bro."

Tomato processed the voice before scowling at him. "Of all the ponies to come by, it had to be you. Let me guess... you have a new and wild trick, and if you could make your wet blanket of a brother smile and laugh with it, then it'd definitely be a success with strangers."

Cheese blinked. "Oh, no no! I just... uh..." Cheese looked down at the spectacles in his hoof. "I found your glasses, and I thought I should return them to you."

Tomato's glare didn't even budge. "Thanks, but no thanks--I don't need them."

"What are you..." Cheese glanced down at the river, and then to those gang members back on the lot onshore. Biting his lip, Cheese asked, "Tommy? What's going on?"

"None of your business! Just get back to your parties and leave me alone... it's your specialty, after all."

Cheese leaned on the rail beside Tomato. "It is my business--my brother's not happy, and I want to know why."

"Oh, gee, I don't know," Tomato said mockingly through gritted teeth. "For starters, I just woke up naked, in the freaking city, and I have to wear a stupid paper bag for modesty! I stepped on some glass--" He held up a hoof to show Cheese the bits and pieces of glass embedded in the wall, white line, and frog of it. "--and as you can tell, I'm having a little bit of trouble seeing." He looked down. "I can tell that's water, though."

He looked up at Cheese, squinting in his glower. "Gonna throw a party? Juggle? Make the rubber chicken dance? Or do you have some other unfunny distraction you have up your sleeve? Let me tell you now, I'm in no mood for any of your games, they just make things worse!"

Cheese held his breath, swallowing his angry rebuttal before it flew out. With a sigh, he asked, "Do you mind telling me how?"

Tomato pursed his lips, breathing heavily and staring off into space. "It's nothing. Nothing but me overreacting to stupidity..."

"I don't mind. If it's important to you, it's important to me."

Tomato snorted and snapped his head around to face Cheese. "Yeah, right! As if I'd forget the moment where you implied that I was a bad pony just because of what cutie mark I earned! I was so excited to tell you the story once you were done with yours, but then you turn around and stab me in the heart with your tirade about how I made you miserable, and how my cutie mark is a curse while yours is some super special blessing! I get that you're mad about the accordion incident, but I don't know what else I did to make you unhappy! And even if I did..." Tomato turned away. "...it's too late to apologize."

Cheese was on the ground after that yell, blinking. With a heavy exhale, Cheese climbed back up. "Yeah... I get it, what I said that day was out of line. I... I'm sorry."

Tomato was heaving and breathing through his teeth. "My mark might as well be a curse... if I enjoy anything outside of that realm, Mom scolds me for it, as if she thinks I could change a cutie mark... I try to make friends, but I either scare them off by being angry or find out they're some gold-digger that made a wrong assumption on what my mark means... some ex-friends think that if they bully me, I wouldn't get a big head about my talent... and I've lost two jobs! The bookstore that felt so much like an actual home for me went out of business... and the second job was tutoring Creme Brulee, and she utterly sabotaged and humiliated me, all to tell me that I should 'know my place'! With what she did, how can I climb the Manehattan business ladder like Mom wants me to?"

Tomato wiped his eyes. "And Bluejinx... he doesn't show it, but I know he's frustrated with me. He's stretched thin with school and his internship as it is... he'd be better off without me. You were better off, weren't you?"

Cheese pursed his lips, leaning on the railing and gazing up at the sky above. "I thought I was... but, really, I'm not. But, more importantly, you didn't need me to entertain you... you needed me to be a friend. I apologize for being so busy with my talent and all that entails, and I apologize especially for not being something you could look forward to, instead being just another smear on your already miserable life." Cheese stared straight ahead, seeing the Mare Harmony statue in the distance. "You know what? I'm thinking of changing that."

Tomato blinked. "Huh?"

Well, technically, I already did change that, but you can't remember it at the moment. "Cheesy Sense kind of picks up your emotional turmoil, and the closer I am and the worse you feel, the itchier my flank gets." He sheepishly rubbed at his cutie mark with his tail. "I get I've been doing it all wrong, but I promise that I'll be something for you to look forward to, even on your darkest days. I'll be all ears on what you've got to say, and then we can goof around together like old times. And in the meantime, when I can't be there... I suggest sticking with Bluejinx, he's an amazingly sturdy friend--he's been more of a brother to you than I was, to be honest."

He smiled at the sunset, saying in a near whisper, "And... who knows? Perhaps you could succeed in getting actual, heartfelt friends... friends that'll make you feel at peace, like when you smell flowers, or like you're soaring through the clouds, singing songs fit for Bridleway!"

Tomato sighed. "I doubt it."

Cheese looked at him warmly. "Well... whatever happens in the future, I promise that I'll try to be the best brother you can ask for." Cheese looked at the glasses in his hoof, and then placed them on Tomato's muzzle. "Not just promise... I Pinkie Promise."

Tomato saw his vision clear up right before his eyes, and there was the warm, genuine smile that hadn't been on Cheese's face for years. Odd that Cheese didn't have his own glasses and apparently shaved the mustache off, but that loving smile was unmistakable. He wondered if he was dreaming--didn't Cheese hate him? And when Cheese offered up a hoof for him to take, Tomato wondered if it was just an illusion, that some unicorn was pulling a cruel prank on him. So, he slowly reached forward, and gingerly touched it, confirming that it was indeed real. He had no idea what a Pinkie Promise was, but it was probably serious if Cheese had to emphasize it.

Cheese pulled him off the railing, and set him on the sidewalk. One by one, he took Tomato's hooves and squeezed them, popping out the shards of glass--or rather, launching them into the river quite a ways away. It stung, and Tomato was sure that it wasn't how glass was supposed to be removed from a hoof, but it was so ridiculous that he couldn't help but giggle.

Finally, once Cheese was done with that, he said, "Okay, let's put some real clothes on you," pulled out some clothes, and swapped them with the paper bag in the blink of an eye.

Confused at being dressed in a business suit instead of his blue sweater vest, Tomato said, "These look like Dad's clothes. Aside from the green tie, that's new... huh, I do like it, it's my favorite color." He lifted a hoof and watched the brown sleeve slip right over it, and then pulled at the white button shirt's collar. "It's too big."

"You'll grow into it," Cheese said with a wink. Patting Tomato's back, he said, "Come on, I'm throwing a party in the park, and you're invited."

Tomato frowned. "What if Mom--"

"She doesn't need to know."

When they were nearly off the bridge, they bumped into Penny, Noble, and Coco. Smiling at them, Cheese remarked, "All right, Coco, we can get back to the park and I can set the party up in a jiffy." He looked between the two mares and the little colt. "And thanks for all your help."

"I'm just happy your brother's safe and sound," Coco said.

"How are you feeling, Tomato?" Penny asked.

Tomato rubbed his leg. "Good, I guess?"

Noble frowned, and hopped off Penny's back. Trotting to the teenager, Noble hugged Tomato's leg with a tenderness only a small child could give and looked up at him. "You look kinda sad. You want a hug?"

Tomato blinked. "Uh... thanks."

Noble jumped back and hid behind his mother when Tomato groaned in pain and began to glow again. All members of the small party stepped back, and watched the final age up as the teenager grew to fit the baggy clothes he wore, and had any last remaining baby fat fade away. Now a tall, young stallion, the glowing stopped, and Tomato gasped for breath and panted before looking at Cheese.

Cheese grinned. "Woohoo! You're back to normal!"

All of a sudden, Tomato decked him, sending the older brother sprawling and dizzy on the sidewalk, and then snapped, "You are terrible at ending arguments! Don't throw me into pools of water like that ever again!"

The other three winced at the action, with Coco covering her mouth, Penny slightly grimacing, and Noble covering his eyes. Tomato licked his hoof, and slicked his tail straight, followed by his mane. After the curled forelock popped back up, Tomato looked at the bridge and the block that they stood at, furrowing his brow and holding a curious pout. He scratched his head.

"When did we get here?"

Author's Note:

Comic version of the flashback can be found here, with some dialogue in the first panel tweaked for this chapter. It's the most painful comic I've ever drawn--my youngest sister can't handle it.

And thus, Tommy's now back to normal.

Comments

[Goldfinch142]

Back to normal! Now they don't have to worry about Tomato's parents seeing him too young, and the party can get started. Though I'm curious as to how often Hay Burger goes to that bar and talks to his dad's picture.

It was nice that Cheese was able to keep his emotions in check and get through to teenaged Tommy so quickly. I like that they reconciled on a bridge--they built a bridge to fill the void between them. Nice symbolism.

Maybe now Cheese will be more understanding of Tommy's dislike of the term "baby bro," after literally seeing him grow up to adulthood. Speaking of, Tommy's not going to like hearing about what the Fountain of Youth did to him.

[SageBrony07]

We hit that age. We all know where tommy is right now. Let's we cheese convince him. Great chapter by the way.

[RadicalDishonesty]

The link doesn't seem to have the actual comic in it. I just see the ask screenshot.

It's probably for the best that Tommy grew up before he had a chance to see his Mother. I doubt she would have been too reasonable about the circumstance...

All of a sudden, Tomato decked him, sending the older brother sprawling and dizzy on the sidewalk, and then snapped, "You are terrible at ending arguments! Don't throw me into pools of water like that ever again!"

I support that decking.

[Sketcha-Holic]

7235938

The link doesn't seem to have the actual comic in it. I just see the ask screenshot.

Oh, the little arrows on the sides of the pictures take you to the next/previous panel.

[RadicalDishonesty]

7235945
Aha! Thank you.

[redmar]

I'm glad that Tomato is back to normal but it's still a bit odd that he can't remember anything that happened after Cheese pushed him into the fountain of youth. Mozarella is shown again to be horrible to her foals.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Wow. As if we needed more of a reason to despise Mozzarella. That is not how you address the son who ran away for years, lady.

In any case, good to see that this escapade ended well. I just hope they can throw the party together with however much time remains. And maybe that somepony stops by the Sandwichs' old neighborhood to give their mother a piece of their mind.

[howard035]

A powerful chapter, that was quite a moving scene between Tommy, Cheese and Mozzerella. Glad to see it was worked out, and Cheese got what was coming to him for dumping Tommy in a fountain in the first place.

I wish we'd learned more about what Hayburger was thinking, though. I'm guessing he hasn't been "working late" for a long time now, just hanging around bars so he can avoid his wife as much as possible.

[Godslittleprincess]

I hope that neither of them run into their mother again. The only curse those boys have is being raised by her.