Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

13.6--Forgive and Forget

Cheese explained the entire Fountain of Youth and running around the city situation to Tomato as they and Coco walked back to the park. Tomato's face went red and only turned redder as Cheese mentioned changing his diaper and giving him a bottle, joking about how he was literally his "baby bro". And the older brother mentioned some of the mishaps that he got into with Coco watching, while wondering what mishaps Tomato got into.

Much to his disappointment, Tomato couldn't recall the past couple days at all. Penny and Noble weren't there to fill the details, having gone back home. However, at Coco's invitation, they did promise to come to the party later with Penny's husband, and there they would give details. Until then, Tomato was stuck with his limited secondhand knowledge of the incident.

"I swear, that part of my brain that stores memories is always somehow shut off whenever some magical nonsense happens to me," Tomato grumbled. "Will life please stop scrambling my mind like that?"

Cheese winced at that comment, his head beginning to throb yet again as he was reminded of what he was missing, and what he needed to tell Tomato. But, as they arrived to the park and got scolded by Flower Garland about being gone for so long, Cheese had a job to do that was unfortunately last minute. The confession about the memory thing could come later.

He hopped from tree to tree to string lights and wrapped tinsel on stage supports for a final touch, then went down and talked to the actors and musicians for the stage show that Flower Garland had entertained to make sure they had practiced. As Coco made sure their outfits were nice and comfortable, Cheese plopped down on a blanket, watching as the guests for the theater party arrived. Among them were Penny, Noble, and a brown, red-headed stallion that he assumed was Penny's husband.

Coco expressed wanting to wait a little bit for everypony to get settled before starting the show. The ponies all sat on picnic blankets, based on families or groups of friends, and pulled out their dinners as they talked and awaited the stage show. One blanket in front of the stage had the Sandwiches, Coco, and Penny's family sitting together, having a dinner of sandwiches, carrot dogs, and chips, as well as some hot chocolate that Coco had carried in a thermos.

"Pardon this poor excuse of a dinner," Penny's husband, Coppersmith, said, hoofing over some of the food. "But I was informed of this thing just recently and hastily put together sandwiches and bought some carrot dogs on the way here."

Cheese waved a hoof, munching on his namesake. "No problem, really--I love a good sandwich."

Coco nibbled on a daisy sandwich. "I'm happy that you brought my favorite. Hope you enjoy the cocoa, as well."

Tomato crunched on a carrot dog. "A Sandwich eating a sandwich and Coco giving out cocoa. Okay."

Penny looked at Tomato. "It looks like you got that carrot dog you wanted earlier."

Tomato looked at his food, and looked back up at Penny. "How old was I?"

Crunching on some chips, Noble piped up, "As old as me!"

Tomato pursed his lips and looked away. "Did I throw a tantrum?"

Penny dabbed her mouth with a napkin after a bite of her sandwich. "I believe you were about to when you suddenly aged up to around eight or nine. Before that, I was treated to an amusing sequence of you freaking out the carrot dog vendor by knowing his name and looking like somepony he knew in youth. Though, I wonder if you really did know somepony named 'Mustard Squirt Bottle' when you were little."

Tomato blinked, and then scowled. "Yep... I knew him. Was once a friend, but the moment I expressed grief over..." Tomato tilted his head toward Cheese, who looked away in shame. "...him running away, Squirt made fun of me for being a crybaby and was angry that I wasn't any fun anymore."

"What, he didn't have basic empathy?" Coppersmith asked, taking a swig of some hot chocolate.

Tomato snorted. "Why should he and his lackeys have empathy for their little wind-up toy?"

Cheese turned back, his brow furrowed. "Hey, wait, how did you manage to somewhat recognize Squirt when you couldn't recognize me? Did that spell seriously just pick and choose what adult memories of yours leaked out?"

Tomato scratched his head. "Apparently so... I wonder what else leaked out."

"Well, you sang a song about a mountain, mentioned a Flora, and then wondered who she was," Penny stated, sipping at her cocoa.

Cheese spread his front legs out. "Oh, and Flora popped up too? Geez! You didn't even meet her until college!"

"And I apparently remembered her homesick song, too. Odd." Tomato finished his carrot dog, and then started drinking his cup of hot chocolate. He nodded and turned to Coco. "This is some good cocoa."

Coco smiled shyly and glanced away. "Oh, I just got it from a friend I made when I visited my cousin one winter when I was a filly. He gave it and a little homemade seashell necklace to me for Hearth's Warming. It was really sweet, and I like sharing the recipe with friends."

Penny glanced at her. "Does said cousin live in Halterside?"

Coco looked up at her with wide eyes. "Why, yes! How'd you know that?"

Penny nodded. "I thought you looked familiar. How else did you get my father's old cocoa recipe?"

"Your father's old... oh, my!" Coco covered her mouth. "You're the older sister of that colt... Silver... Silver Something..." She blushed. "I'm terribly sorry, I can't remember the other half of his name, but I know he was the nervous colt running that hot chocolate stand."

"Silver Shill," Penny reminded.

"Oh, thank you! I have to ask, how is he doing?"

"Oh..." Penny was glancing at a wide-eyed Tomato, and gave him a little smirk and a wink in his direction. "Let's just say somepony helped him out when he was down on his luck and needing some money. He and a new friend opened a pizzeria in town at said somepony's encouraging."

"That's wonderful! Oh, I ought to write him a letter sometime."

The Sandwiches glanced at each other, and Cheese muttered, "Small world."

Coco looked around at the audience sitting, eating, and talking at their picnic blankets. Seeing as they were all settled in, she stood up. "I think it's about time to start the show."

---

It was a play set long ago in Manehattan, starting with its story from its humble beginnings to its incredible growth over decades. Ponies from far and wide, from Equestria or from other places abroad, would come to the city to partake in what it had to offer. Often, the foreign ponies couldn't afford to go much further, so they settled for simple livings in the city. But, despite any challenges that came their way, even the smallest contribution or new idea made the harbor one of Equestria's biggest cities today. With the good and the bad, the rich and the poor, for both genders, and all three tribes, there was something in this city for everypony.

Cheese doubted it. Even if he didn't have his personal reasons--which provided a huge chunk of why he disliked the city--he was still plenty annoyed with the rather grumpy attitude prevalent in the city. And quite frankly, it was too much for even a party pony of his magnitude could handle; not to mention the cops didn't like him. Just stick with the smaller areas and keep things relatively small, and he should be okay.

The main story began, and he recognized it as the great, corny, beauty-and-beast-esque love story.

"Lo, what opportunities are had within this great city!" the actress on the stage portraying an immigrant cried. "For anypony can pursue their special talent in any way they choose!"

Cheese was surprised when Tomato walked off after that line. Curious, he decided to follow him, letting the others on the blanket know that he'll be right back. So, he followed him back to some point beyond the party area, and they sat on a bench one after the other. They sat in silence for a moment, staring ahead at the pond a hop, skip, and a jump away, letting the cool evening air seep through their fur.

After Cheese got comfortable, he asked, "You all right?"

Tomato had his front legs crossed. "Putting my life into perspective with those lines... I'd have to say, they sure feel like lies."

The conversation on the bridge came back to Cheese, and it was clear what he was talking about. Mom didn't give Tomato much room to decide just how he was going to make his talent work, putting him in the realm of what probably was safe. As for the opportunities, well, with Rich Custard's connection to the financial world of Manehattan, he probably wasn't going to put in a good word about Tommy after...

"Um, Tommy?" Cheese asked. "Just what did Creme Brulee do to ruin you?"

Tomato hunched forward and growled. "You know what happened back in that town with Party Favor and his gang?"

Cheese rubbed the back of his head. "I thought that party and the business deal was a success."

"No... before that."

Cheese scratched his chin. "Let's see..." He winced from a sharp pain in his head, and then took a breath as it subsided as he reached the event the afternoon before the party. "Well... there was that coffee thing where you went berserk and made a huge mess and nearly killed ponies..." Cheese's eyes widened as it clicked.

Tomato nickered. "I let that little secret slip to her when I was her math tutor. As both a way to stick it to her father and keep me in my social class, she played a charade of being interested in both the subject, and... uh..." Tomato blushed at the thought of those days, fanning himself and thumping his chest as if to stop his heart from racing. "...me, in sort of kind of an almost intimate way..."

Cheese blinked. "Uh... did you two..."

"No."

"Okay, good. Because I don't like her, and the thought of my brother--"

"I get it, and your mind is safe. But, you know, it was a charade to get me to fall into her trap. So, when Custard invited me to a fancy party to have me meet some coworkers, partners, rivals, I thought of declining because I swore off parties." Tomato glanced at Cheese, who was looking a little sheepish. "But, I accepted because I thought you wouldn't like that kind of party, and it was one that Mom didn't mind me going to in order to learn more for my talent. I was allowed to bring a guest, and who else but Bluejinx?

"So, Creme and I had one last tutoring session before the party."

Cheese raised an eyebrow. "Am I sure you're not lying to me about--"

"Cheese, we never even kissed on the mouth. Got nuzzled and kissed on various other places."

"Ugh, just thinking about the mere idea of that makes me want to puke."

Tomato sighed. "Anyway, once I was done tutoring her, she brought in some so-called 'cherry punch'. She let me drink several glasses... and... uh, I don't remember much, because, well, turns out she was getting me drunk. And at some point, she must have given me some coffee, because Bluejinx described me as a tornado of incoherence, lewdness, and a one-pony food fight at that party. And then she had the gall to act like some helpless victim to her father!"

Tomato slumped back. "Got fired, got in major trouble with Mom, and Creme spread the story around the neighborhood, so some lovely ex-friends of mine had more ammo to pick on me with. But most importantly, I'm worried that one of the attendants of that party would recognize me as the 'Crazy Sandwich Kid' when I graduate and try to get a job here. Already had enough trouble getting into college."

It was silent for a moment before Tomato looked at Cheese, and coughed. "Sorry, I talked too much--I just wanted my reasons for not liking that line to be short and sweet, and you'd figure it out. I'm just kind of bitter about how my adolescence has been, and I'm not sure I can be at peace with it like you are with your colthood... huh, guess I just haven't had time to really heal from it."

Cheese pursed his lips, and looked up at the skyline under the purple sky. He thought about how he snapped at his childhood bullies earlier, letting some pent up anger out. He thought back to the Fall Festival, where he ruined everyone's day because he was having trouble controlling his temper around Tomato. He thought to all the times that he forced himself to try to entertain his family, only to snap when he failed. That was in stark contrast to failing at entertaining strangers, when he'd just be sad about it.

He always thought it best to avoid personal problems--all it did was make him lose his temper and remind him of how bitter he really was.

Still, he thought he should give his brother a boost in spirits. "Call me crazy... but, what if your destiny is in some other city?"

Tomato looked up at him and blinked. "...Cheese, you can't be serious. I've lived here my whole life."

"You said so yourself, you're going to have some major problems climbing up ladders after what Creme Brulee did. Besides, it's not like Manehattan will miss you, there's plenty of ponies with your talent here. I think you might be needed somewhere else, somewhere where you can work your magic like in Halterside or that former cult." Cheese put a hoof on his chin. "I wonder if Flora's town needs you..."

"Neighton? Because, remember, I don't know which one it is."

Cheese groaned. "How do you not know? Isn't she one of your closest friends?"

Tomato twiddled his hooves. "Funny story... when she first told me, I thought she was talking about the one just a few miles from here. Then she mentioned mountains, which that Neighton doesn't have, and I whipped out a map to find out that there's more than one." He flushed and pulled his head into his shirt. "I was too embarrassed to ask her to specify."

Cheese facehoofed. "You're so stupid. Didn't she send you a letter?"

"They somehow keep getting lost. Flora's pretty mad about it."

Cheese groaned. "Well, I hope we find out soon." With a sigh, he leaned back on the bench and looked up at the sky. "But, getting back on track, I think that once you finish your studies, it's high time for you to leave Manehattan for good. I'm sure there's a town out there that'll welcome somepony like you with open hooves. Wouldn't it be fun to scope out possible new homes for you?"

Tomato's head popped out of the shirt, and he grabbed his knees. "Maybe... I do want to move away from Mom as far away as possible... but, I don't know, what could possibly be out there for me?"

"I found something for me..." Cheese pulled out some balls and juggled them to emphasize his point. "There's bound to be something for you."

Tomato smiled at him and chuckled. "Well, as long as there's no family of Creme Brulee in whatever town we go to next. Or worse, we end up in the actual town that she's staying in! Ugh, wouldn't that be a nightmare?"

Cheese held a smug look. "I want to see Creme and Flora fight."

"Flora would win, hooves down." Tomato hopped off the bench, and looked at the play a ways away. "Well... I guess I should get back there and watch the good part of that corniness. Because, really, the part where the Kraken attacked Manehattan was the only part I've ever liked of that story. You coming?"

Cheese waved a hoof. "Go on ahead, I'm going to find the bathroom."

Tomato blinked, shrugged, and then trotted back to the party area.

Cheese waved goodbye for a good minute until Tomato was out of sight, and then buried his face in his hooves, shaking his head. Tomato had too much emotional baggage as it was; Cheese couldn't burden him with his own problem of the missing memory. Heck, even if it didn't come up during the conversation, there was still a confrontation with Mom that Tomato had to do.

You know what, no, I'm not going to have Tommy confront her just yet, he thought. He needs more time to think of what he needs to say.

Still, the bigger issue in Cheese's mind with the deal with his own lost memory. That newspaper article about the Las Pegasus incident had been disturbing enough as it was; he wasn't sure if he wanted to remember what it was actually like in the midst of the invasion. On the other hoof, he didn't want to deal with those frequent headaches for the rest of his life. Like Ponyacci said, it might ruin his focus, or leave him more vulnerable to any spells that came his way.

But how would Tomato feel when he learned about it? The last thing Cheese wanted was to distress his brother more.

He was stumped. It was either get it back and remember a bad night, or have it remain lost forever and suffer from weird and unpleasant migraines. He wished there was a third option.

"My, my, fancy seeing you here."

Cheese turned to the source of the voice, which was a familiar cloaked unicorn.

"Mr. Rooney?" he asked.

---

"...sadly, what happened in Las Pegasus would probably boost sales of vampire romance novels," Penny said in disgust, cradling her sleeping son. "I swear, I'm going to go crazy if I catch Pearl reading one of those again."

Coppersmith rolled his eyes. "Teenage fillies are weird."

Coco looked up at the duet between the Kraken and the Fair Maiden of Manehattan. "Well, I suppose this relationship is more romantic than vampire novels..." She blushed as she added, "Even if the books are a guilty pleasure of mine..."

Tomato arrived on the scene, and sat in between them. "Sorry about that. Emotional hangup, Cheese talked me through it. He's going to the bathroom, so he'll be around soon." He looked up at the stage and tilted his head. "I don't remember the part of the book where the Kraken and the Maiden sang."

Coco leaned forward in anticipation. "Oh, here's the part where true love breaks the monstrous spell!"

Tomato looked up with a half-lidded expression, watching the clumsy actors stumble into a clumsy kiss. I suppose with sibling love, the spell is broken with a punch to the face.

As he watched the scene before him, he could feel a sudden chill running up and down his spine. It was rather surprising and confusing, as the play was in no way scary, especially with the ridiculous story that tempted him to laugh. Still, he couldn't help but feel that something wrong was about to happen, like somepony was going to make an awful bargain.

He rubbed his back, wondering if it was just ghost wings again.

---

"This is the third time you've popped up where me and Tommy were," Cheese said, rubbing his neck. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were following us." With a grin, he added, "Can't resist the idea of a summer full of Cheese parties, huh?"

Rooney lifted up a hoof. "Oh, no, it's just mere coincidence."

Cheese poked him on the chest. "But Cheese parties are too fun to resist."

"You were recovering from an illness the last time I saw you, so you didn't throw that party."

Cheese frowned. "Oh... right." He grimaced when a sharp pang attacked his head, grumbling that he had already taken his medicine, and his next dose wasn't for a few more hours.

Catching Cheese rub his head, Rooney asked, "Headache?"

Cheese sighed. "Yes."

"Hm, it makes me wonder..." He reached under his cloak, and pulled out a transparent orb with a green glow. "I found this memory in the desert where we last saw each other. Would it happen to be yours?"

Cheese blinked, and ambled forward to take a closer look. He could see what looked like the city of Las Pegasus, then a Magic Expo, then Trixie. The image of a smug royal blue unicorn with a black mane cropped up, and then the image of a door. Cheese backed up when the door opened to reveal Tomato as a vampire. He pushed the memory away in refusal to see more.

"Yep, that's mine." He looked up at the elder pony. "I guess that's why you followed me. Geez, how did I lose it in the first place?"

Rooney gazed at the dark-haired unicorn in the orb. "Not much of a stretch to assume that he might have friends out here that'll take revenge on his behalf. Plus, it seems like you were important in this event--imagine if the witnesses at the trial had their memories tampered with."

Stamping a hoof in the ground, Cheese growled, "Of course! Why wouldn't a jerk like that nutjob want to rig his trial in such a slimy way? Thanks to him, I've been dealing with stupid headaches for the past few weeks! And now... I feel kind of bad for having friends getting involved in the search for that memory."

"No worries... they'll be happy to learn you've retrieved the memory, and your trip can go on as normal. Now, open your mind so that I may fasten it back to your mind, and we'll both be on our merry way."

Cheese grinned and nodded, and perked his ears up in an effort to seem more "open-minded". It was funny to think of that term in an almost literal sense, and he couldn't wait to tell Pinkie about it later.

Silver magic erupted from Rooney's horn, and a string of it shot out and went into Cheese's ear. Cheese jumped at the action, and giggled, mentioning that it tickled. Rooney's magic then took hold of something inside Cheese's head, and he carefully drew out a green string from Cheese's ear. As it was brought out, five orbs formed above his head, the end of the string reattaching to his other ear in order to form a loop.

Cheese scanned the pictures of the luminescent orbs above him. One boasted his cutie mark, which must hold memories of good parties that he had thrown before. Another had Pinkie Pie's cutie mark, which he figured that the memories were of the times he had with the sweet pink mare, both good and bad. The third, to his surprise, had Tomato's cutie mark, which meant that that orb held those times with his brother, whether they were feuding or getting along. The orb with the shuffling flash cards made his head tilt, until Rooney stated that those would be facts and figures that he would know.

The final orb contained his colthood glasses, shining as the laughter of bullies sounded from it. He stepped back from that, his muscles tensing and his heart aching at what that obviously meant.

Rooney held the Haygas memory in his hoof. "Now... which group would this memory go? Would it be in the identity?" He pointed to the one with Cheese's cutie mark. "Or perhaps the family?" Rooney pointed to Tomato's mark. "The romantic interests?" He pointed to Pinkie's mark.

Cheese blushed at that. "Uh, she's just a friend!"

"Yeah, sure..." Rooney muttered. He shook his head at the flash card. "Obviously, it wouldn't go into the facts and figures..." He walked toward the orb containing the glasses. "Would it be in fears, insecurities, and general negativity? The way I felt this lost memory, there was a lot of fear... anger... sadness... I suppose it'd belong in there."

Cheese was silent as Rooney's horn touched that orb, and an entire web of memories sprang out. Cheese felt a buzzing in his ears as that happened, and his heart pounded at the sight of so many memories that were contained in just that one orb. From the more recent worry of Tomato sitting on that bridge railing, to his first day of kindergarten long ago. Still, despite the memories in question, he had to admit that the web of orbs and green magical streams swirling above him in a bright green glow was pretty cool. He even touched an orb gingerly, though he stepped back and shuddered when he saw a needle.

Rooney looked around, muttering about where to sort it, but was distracted by, of all things, Cheese's first day of school.

Cheese's heart nearly stopped. "Uh, no need to gaze at that!" Cheese tensed up as Rooney gazed into another, depicting a pretty bad day of bullying. "Or that one!" And there was another, which was the day Cheese was grounded for getting into a fight. "Oh no, not that one!"

He was about ready to pounce when the unicorn gazed at the accordion incident. "Hey! Get back to business! I can't be away from the party too long or somepony might get worried!"

Rooney shook his head. "You poor fellow. Nopony deserves a rough childhood like you had."

Cheese pursed his lips, and he felt a pit form in his stomach. "Look, I don't need your pity. Just... give me that memory back."

Rooney ignored him, gingerly touching the first orb that he had gazed into. "I see here that you’ve always been an outcast. The torment began when you first started school..."

Cheese grimaced. "Uh, I know, can we focus?"

Rooney didn't seem to hear the question. "When you met all those bullies, and your mother ignored your pleas, you soon realized that your entire world was cruel."

At that last word, green smoke suddenly burst from the orbs, wrapping Cheese within the billows. His heart raced as he nearly choked on the fumes, and he could hear the taunting chants of his former classmates. He rubbed his eyes, and when he opened them, he could see the shadows of foals in the smoke, with the entire area bathed in green light. But they were nothing compared to his mother towering over him.

Cheese looked at himself, and found in horror that he was shorter. Feeling glasses on his muzzle, he realized he was a colt again.

His mother cupped his chin, as she seemed to sing, "Now, I’m sure your classmates will listen to reason."

Cheese turned away, only to have her turn his head back and add, "They won’t talk down to a colt so smart and strong."

He could hear his classmates sing, "No..."

"Defy their childish games, after all, I’ve made it plain..." Mozzarella's eyes narrowed into a glare. "You make one mistake, then everything goes wrong!"

She slid back into the smoke, and the foals marched out, singing their taunting chants and their laughs, grinning maliciously as they approached the fearful colt. Cheese held his head, shaking it and trying to will it away. After all, this must be a dream, right?

One foal jumped forward and poked his frizzy mane. "Hello there, Poofhead!"

Another foal came and pushed him. "Hey, what’s up, Four-Eyes?"

A third came from behind and yanked his tail, then poked at his flank. "Tell us why your flank’s still blank!"

The group of foals surrounded him, laughing and pointing, especially when Cheese squeaked in fright. "You can’t talk, Squeaker? You’re getting meeker!" They laughed some more, watching as Cheese laid down and tried to bury his face in the dirt. One large colt slammed Cheese's face into the ground, and all the foals taunted, "Is there a colt that’s more lame?"

Cheese had his face down for a few moments as they chant, praying that they would go away. When they stopped, he looked up once again, only to find that his mother had returned, holding a couple of papers in her hoof. There was clearly a disappointed glare on her.

"I got your grades and Tomato’s. Oh, Cheese Sandwich, now I must know--" Mozzarella launched forward and snatched Cheese's ear, bringing out a yelp of pain as she dragged him forward. "--why you’ve got such painful low scores on your test!"

"Ow, ow, ow, ow..." Cheese whimpered.

Mozzarella continued, "While his grades are high again! I wish you could keep up with him, because I expect better from my oldest!"

With that, she slipped back into the smoke, and his classmates marched back out, chanting out their taunting laugh. Cheese attempted to curl up in a ball, hoping that portraying himself as an armadillo would make the bullies go away. However, before he could do so, his glasses were snatched off his muzzle. He wasn't sure who did it, but he had a feeling it was Skeeter Pumpkineater.

He ran around the circle, trying to catch his glasses as he felt them whizzing over his fluffy mane. He stumbled on outstretched hooves that he couldn't see, and everything was too green for him to make out a vague shape with his blurry vision.

"I’ve got his glasses!" one colt shouted.

"I’ve got his glasses!" a filly chirped.

One other colt laughed. "Look at that, he’s about to cry!"

Cheese stopped to catch his breath in front of one foal, only to recognize the vague shape of his glasses. Trying to look the colt in the eye, he held his hoof out, in a silent demand for them back.

The colt scoffed. "Oh, now you want them?"

There was a snap and a shatter, and Cheese's heart sank at how much in trouble he was going to be in.

"Oops, they’re broken!" The colt threw the pieces of the glasses at Cheese's face as the others laughed. "Here’s a present, it’s called a black eye!"

Cheese felt a hoof collide with his eye, and he stumbled back as the stinging bruise began to swell. Hearing more of that horrible, taunting laughter, he finally curled up in his ball, his eyes watering as he imagined what his mother was going to say. She'd probably accuse him of getting in a fight, despite his general timid nature. That's how it always happened when he came home like this.

Suddenly, he was lifted up magically, and was once again face to face with Rooney under the green light. Wiping his eye, he awaited what the old stallion had to say, hoping that it'd at least be comforting.

"What I’m suggesting’s very simple," Rooney said with a smile. "For painful memories I have a cure."

He magically aged Cheese back to normal, gathered up the smoke in the glasses orb, and then levitated the little ball into Cheese's hooves. Cheese stared at it, still trembling from the blast from the past he didn't want. Oh, how he had forgotten how awful it was.

Rooney continued, "I can make you forget the things that you were forced to endure."

Around them on the landscape, with all bathed in a green glow, amusement park rides, carnival games, the assortment of all kinds of food and delicacies on various tables, and so much more began to pop up around him. He could see ponies laughing and dancing and eating, he could smell all the sweet and cheesy aromas that made his mouth water, he could just hear the laughter, the squeals, and the happy conversation. Most of all, he could feel a boost in his magic from all the high spirits, and he smiled in contentment.

"Because those foals and your wretched mother," Rooney spat. "Their treatment you did not deserve!" He had his hooves on Cheese's shoulders, gesturing to the giant party before them. "I promise to set you free, and happiness I will ensure!"

He questioned why he need to be set free if he already was free, but he didn't care. He just wanted to bask in all the joy and laughter surrounding him. This is an event that Pinkie Pie would definitely be proud of.

However, the patrons sang to him, "Forget them, Cheesy! It’s really easy! A party pony shouldn’t live with pain!"

Suddenly, the orb that Cheese held flashed and sent out a magical shockwave. The wave peeled away the party to reveal ruin, from a great roaring fire on the rides and games to the splintered wood and debris trapping innocent ponies under. Many of the patrons seem to be injured or even dead, and those that were neither of those things were sobbing. His heart aching at the sight, he stepped forward to try to help, only for everypony's heads to snap around and glare at him.

"Or all this laughter turns to disaster!" they shouted, being engulfed by the dark green smoke of the fires.

Cheese reached forward, whispering, "No... no..."

Then, marching out of the smoke, an angry Pinkie Pie and Tomato Sandwich snarled at him, "And the failure of your campaign!"

As the smoke cleared, the two started chanting at him to release his memories and the pain, as that was the only way for him to forgive and forget. When their respective groups of friends marched out of the smoke with the same chant, Cheese backed up, his heart pounding and his gut twisted as their chanting grew louder.

He looked down at the orb, and then up at Pinkie.

I have told Pinkie that I set my past free…

He looked around him, seeing more and more ponies step out of the smoke with that same chant. There was Mom and Dad, and Grandma and Grandpa. There were all his old classmates, and all of Tomato's ex-friends, though he still saw the latter as little colts. There was his neighbor Balcony Flowerbox and her family, and then Creme Brulee and her family, His teachers, his neighbors... everypony he knew from colthood was there, and he felt sick just looking at them.

But all along I was lying, I see…

Ponies from parties past marched out, chanting along with the others. Too his horror, Ponyacci, Juneflower, and their family were there, chanting at him the best course of action. Even they couldn't see the harm in this memory removal, seeing as burning confetti from the fire was descending down on him because of the awful memories.

He clutched his head, which had began to throb like his brain was trying to break out of his skull.

If they keep on haunting me, I might just lose it!

Ponies from the parties that summer had now joined in the chant. Good, like Pinkie's family, or bad, like Roanie's gang, they were all there. Even the Princesses had joined in the chant, telling him that it was of utmost importance. His head screamed in pain from all the chanting, and his quivering legs could barely hold him up.

Releasing the orb and letting it float back to Rooney, he sang,

"I just want these memories to leave me be!"

He crumbled into a heap, the chants now echoing wildly in his head. It was as if the entire city of Manehattan was screaming at him along with the crowd that was already with him. He looked up at Tomato and Pinkie, who were practically yelling at him. He wanted to apologize for ruining the party with his hangup, as that was unprofessional and he wouldn't let it happen again.

He turned his attention to Rooney, who was flanked by Silk Shimmer, Party Favor, and that crazy unicorn warlock. He was the only one not chanting, as he was too focused on projecting a magical knife to cut the thread. His heart pounded along with his head, awaiting the moment when this would all stop. If all those awful memories weren't there to give him any hangups, then he could focus more on the parties he'd throw for others.

However, his last thought was, "Déjà vu."

SNAP!

There was loud and painful static in Cheese's mind, followed by darkness. Laying unconscious on the path, he was left there by Rooney, who stored the freshly harvested orb in his cloak, and teleported away once he saw a group of ponies loping toward that spot.

The only thing that those ponies saw was a puff of smoke.

Author's Note:

Well, that just about wraps up the main Manehattan story. We have the party, got to meet Penny's husband, Coppersmith, and Penny's status as Silver Shill's oldest sister is acknowledged.

Also, I was initially planning for the full Creme Brulee story to come out later, but it ended up spilling out here. Oopsie. Well, at least it kind of fits with how Tommy's feeling in that middle scene.

Oh, yeah, and the final scene in this thing was inspired by this:

I keep listening to that end chant over and over, it's just so epic!

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Forgiving is good, but there's been too much forgetting in this story as it is...

Oh. Oh. Cheese, you poor fool. Excising a good twenty percent of your mind is never a good idea. The rest of his mind is going to implode on itself trying to reconcile the countless new holes in his personal narrative.

And just what does Wayer have planned, anyway? Or is he tearing Cheese's mind apart for simple amusement or curiosity? I'm honestly not sure which would be worse.

In any case, this is one heck of a cliffhanger.

[SageBrony07]

So what memories were taken this time. This is going to be interesting.

[RadicalDishonesty]

Just... who... is Rooney?

And, more to the point, what is he doing with Cheese?

He can see that Cheese wanted his memories back and probably knows that Cheese's headache is caused by his magic... but instead of just giving it back he intentionally dredges up Cheese's worst memories to try to make it seem like there is no sensible option but to remove more memories.

It can't really be a coincidence or some well-meaning stranger who just won't really "get" that removing memories causes more problems than it solves...

7246015
Wayer? Is that part of Rooney's name I don't recall?

[FanOfMostEverything]

7246062
Rooney is almost certainly Wayer Rune, the unicorn who invented lycanthropy in this setting. (Well, lycippy, if we're being technical about etymology.) He's the ancestor who Kazam tried to emulate with his creation of vampires.

[RadicalDishonesty]

7246071
Well, that seems like a plausible answer for my first question.

And I'd also say "But then how is he still alive if he's Kazam's ancestor?" But... we just found a mechanism for potential eternal life, if you use regular doses, earlier this chapter. And it was said to be an enchanted pool, thus it is probably enchanted by someone...

[redmar]

I wonder how long it takes until Wayer Runes is fianlly send back to Tartarus.
His treatment of Cheese Sandwich shows he hasn't changed for the better at all.

[Goldfinch142]

Wow. Okay. At first I thought Rooney had good intentions, but now...yeah, not anymore. Will he keep stealing memories until there's nothing left, all for his sick game? And how did he get out of Tartarus, anyway?

Cheese is going to be so confused when he wakes up and can't remember a huge portion of his childhood. Did the removed memories include his attempts to cheer up his family after he left or his feud with Tomato, or is it just the bullying? Wouldn't having so much fewer memories somewhat impact his personality and behavior? It was the bullying that made him run away and become a party pony in the first place, after all. You can't have joy without sadness.

I just hope the others can figure out what's going on. Oh, Cheese, you should have told Tomato about the missing memory. At least then he'd know where to start.

[superfun]

Things are definitely getting more intense...

Though, is it sad to say that I find this to be a better Manehatten story than half of the ones we've gotten in the show itself.

[Leviathan Splash]

I'm imagining several dreadful fates for this sicko of a pony... the NICESST of which involves a meteoric impact. Is that wrong?

[Fionn]

As i thought, Rooney is Wayer Runes.

[Godslittleprincess]

And now, things just got worse.