Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

17.3--Restless in Seaddle

After Creamy had permission from Golden Glee to serve her homemade ice cream at the concert, she and Tomato didn't have anything to do. So, Cheese waved goodbye while they went back to Acorn and Cocoa's house to see if there was any progress on the fireworks. Now, Cheese himself still had to make sure that the setup went smoothly, and that there were no surprises, like a sudden schedule change for Seaddle's weather, or any machinery malfunctions. So, he went off to see any reports on the former.

He turned and started to run. However, he didn't go very far before bumping into another pony and knocking them down. As the other pony fell, Cheese tripped over them, and fell flat on his face. After a few moments of both lying still, Cheese groaned and stamped on the ground with a front hoof.

"What's with ponies getting in my way today?!" He got up and brushed himself off, and looked at the other pony doing the same. "Oh, hey, you must be Snapdragon Apple."

Snapdragon Apple--or so Cheese thought--looked up, and shrieked at the sight of him. "Oh, my goodness, Cheese!" He paused for a moment before adding, "Sandwich!" Forcing a smile, Snapdragon hollered, "Wow! Is that really the Super Duper Party Pony before my eyes?! Wowza!" He pumped a hoof into the air and started shaking Cheese's hoof. "I'm a huge fan and am honored to be in your presence!"

Cheese chuckled. "Aw, shucks! I never realized that you were such a fan!" He flinched at the sight of Snap's bright teeth. "Okay, ow... your teeth hurt."

Snap laughed in a manner that sounded like he was half-crying. "I know..."

Suddenly, Snap's manager popped up beside the young singer. "Ah, Cheese Sandwich! I see you've met the young talent I supervise and have raised since he was but a small foal." He reached forward and shook Cheese's hoof. "Name's Dandelion Burst, his manager and father, call me Dandy. Snap here is a big fan of you."

"Oh, he let me know that." He curiously pouted upon seeing the curled forelock above Snap's forehead. "You must be a pretty big fan if you're styling your forelock to look like mine."

Snap looked up at the forelock. "Hehehe... yeah." He patted it gently. "Took plenty of, uh... styling gel, and hairspray, and mousse... but I managed to get it to stay!"

Dandy sighed, pushing his glasses up his muzzle. "I hope nopony laughs..."

Snap glanced at Dandy in a mild glare, and then asked Cheese, "Seriously, bro, what is your secret for keeping that thing up and springy?"

Cheese twanged it, noting that it wasn't as springy as normal today. "Oh, it runs in the family. Really, the actual question of the hair is if there's a way to slick it down and have it stay down--just ask my brother, his forelock just springs back up whenever he fixes his mane." He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "Speaking of my brother, it's scary how much you look like him."

Snap leaned back, looking a little nervous. "Oh... really? That's... like, weird... dude."

Cheese attempted to sniff him, only for a painful snort to come out. He yanked his head back and rubbed his aching nose. "Augh, I wish my dang nose could heal faster. I wanted to see how you smelled different from Tomato."

Dandy held Snap and patted his chest, much to the young pop star's discomfort. "Oh, Snap probably bears more of an apple smell while your brother smells like... a tomato, I suppose. I mean, my son is an Apple on his mother's side, descended from the founder of Applewood."

"Hey, I have a cousin who lives in Applewood!"

"Oh, really?" Dandy squeezed Snap even tighter with just one hoof. "Well, if that cousin is Peanut Butter Sandwich, then we'd have met two famous Sandwiches that are known for being energetic and entertaining, albeit in different fields."

Cheese laughed. "Yep, that's my cousin all right. Me and my brother are actually staying with Peanut's parents and sister while preparing for the concert tomorrow." His face sunk into a frown. "Speaking of which, I have a weather report I need to check; I want to make sure there aren't any sudden schedule changes for the weather tomorrow."

"Yeah... wouldn't want to be caught by surprise by rain you could have read up on." Snap's ears drooped. "Then again... what Seaddle resident would be surprised by rain?"

Dandy nudged him. "And as for us... I think the Countess is almost done meeting her fans, and we should prepare for our turn." He hurried Snap along and waved at Cheese. "It was very nice meeting you, Mr. Sandwich! Hope to see you at the concert!"

Cheese waved back. "I'm hosting it, so you'll definitely see me!"

He turned and continued on his way. Though he was sure he should be out of earshot, he could have sworn that he heard Hearty say, "By the way, Snap, why do you sound off today? I could have sworn you were slipping into a slight Neigh Yoke-ish accent..."

---

So far, so good, Snap thought.

Sure, Cheese Sandwich and Ice Cream Sandwich had given him funny looks for some of his flubs, but it was surprising that they just shrugged it off like that. From what he had seen of Tomato, he was likely a straitlaced party pooper that probably tried to act older than he was, so to have them just roll their eyes and move on when he said something stupid was weird. He wondered if Tomato's weird side was more of a common thing than he thought.

Now, that pretty little mare that he had walked with was another story. Never had he seen a more natural slenderness for a mare, and her fur looked so smooth and silky. Her mane reminded him of sweet chocolate, and she had beautiful eyes like the ocean. How a mare that looked so simple yet lovely at the same time, he did not know. It was weird to think of her as being related to Cheese Sandwich of all ponies!

And the pony he was impersonating at the moment. He hated having to hold in some of his best flirting lines when talking with her.

"...I remember when Peanut Butter helped me make a boat for the Milk Carton Derby when I was ten." She scrunched her nose in embarrassment. "For some reason, I thought it was a good idea to put my cow plushie on the boat. It sank in the middle of the lake, and Mirelle was gone forever."

Snap noted that the scenery had changed from tall buildings and weird pirate-looking ponies among normal citizens, to houses and just ponies walking their dogs or briskly trotting. Without thinking, he replied, "Sounds like an udder disaster."

Creamy hit him on the shoulder harder than he expected. "Ugh, Tomato, I hate udder jokes! They're nothing but cheap dairy humor that's just about as pleasant as spoiled milk."

Snap rubbed his shoulder. "Ow... geez, you hit hard."

Creamy blew on her bangs. "Well, I have Peanut Butter for a brother. He was pretty rough when we were kids and I had to learn to fight back." She turned at one particular house. "Well, here we are. I wonder how the fireworks are coming along."

Her question was answered when something launched from the backyard in an arc and hit the neighbor's tree. It lit on fire almost immediately, emitting smoke that smelled like strawberries for some reason. As the strawberry-flavored fire started to eat the leaves of that tree, someone in the Nut Backyard shouted, "Get the fire extinguishers!"

Snap remarked, "That is the best smelling fire I've ever, uh... smelled."

Creamy groaned. "Great, I think Mr. Downpour is going to sue them."

The pair galloped around the house to the backyard, where Cocoa Butter had just tossed a fire extinguisher to an apricot-colored pegasus. Then, Cocoa herself took advantage of the trampoline in order to help the pegasus spray the tree, as Acorn Compound and a young, faded periwinkle mare just a little younger than Creamy cleaned up some equipment where the yard's little paved court was. The court was covered in scorch marks, with the biggest one being where what looked like a firework launcher was.

Acorn looked up at the two who just entered the yard. "Oh, hey, Creamy! Tomato! Did you run out of things to do at the park?"

"Oh, there were already plenty of ponies organizing stuff, and I already got my homemade ice cream table set up for tomorrow, and Cheese could already cover many of the organizing tasks with the charity folks on his own, so..." Creamy shook her head and laughed, before shouting, "Now what the hay are you doing setting things on fire?! And who are these ponies with you guys?!"

"Oh!" Acorn gestured to the mare beside him. "This is Sugarcoat, and the pegasus is Indigo Zap. They're from the engineering department to help with with some of the more technical aspects of setting off fireworks."

Sugarcoat barely moved, and with a straightforward tone said, "Your parents are crazy to think that fruit-flavored fireworks could even work."

Cocoa shouted during a bounce, "Hey! I argued against this!" She ascended to spray the tree before falling onto the trampoline again. "But I can't talk my husband out of doing a challenge!" Another bounce and a spray later, she added, "The only challenge he's given up on is trying to talk sense into my sister-in-law!" A ascent and descent followed, with Cocoa turning to Snap and saying, "No offense, Tomato."

Snap was curious about Tomato's mother, but asking questions could cause suspicion. "None taken?"

"And Cheese was calling you sensitive," Creamy remarked.

Snap laughed and waved her off. "Ah, no, no, I've got a thick skin like a crocodile. You can't tear this pony down!"

Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow. "Exaggerated bravado does not help your case."

"Aw, who asked you?"

Cocoa and Indigo had managed to put out the fire, and the latter descended onto the lawn. Looking at the damage on the tree, she shook her head and said, "Yeah, your neighbors definitely going to sue you. We'll tweak the rocket launcher to minimize the chances of anything else lighting on fire, but it's not a guarantee." She smiled. "Still, it's pretty cool how the fire smelled like fruit!"

Acorn shot a hoof into the air. "Yessiree! We got the smell down, but we still need it to have the taste, and have it be safe to the touch." He smiled at his wife. "Back to the lab, m'lady?"

Cocoa hopped off the trampoline and sighed. "Yeah, sure..."

"Sweet!"

Indigo hopped to Sugarcoat's side, poking at the rocket launcher. "And we'll be fixing this thing."

"And questioning the validity of your permit," Sugarcoat said.

After the older couple went back inside to create another compound and the two young mares pulled their toolbox closer to their workspace, Snap and Creamy just stood there, glancing at each other in a "now what do we do" manner. So far, they've seen how the fruit fireworks were doing... and that was it. Were they expected to play a card game or something?

As she and her partner replaced some rusty bolts and screws, Indigo glanced back at them before going for a full-on turn. "What's up?"

Snap looked up. "Clouds. But you could be flying with them and looking like an angel all the while." He grinned and winked at her.

Indigo raised an eyebrow. "Oooookay. So, I'm guessing you're one of the nephews that the Nuts mentioned were visiting."

"Well, duh! Tomato Sandwich, at your service! I'm the most boring pony here!"

Indigo laughed and dropped the bolts she held. "Is your whole family crazy? If you're the boring one, I'd like to see what your brother's like!" She turned back and picked up the shiny bolts to fix the launcher. "So, what you guys been doing all day?"

Snap rubbed the back of his hoof on his jacket. "Well, we were just cruisin' around town, seeing the sights, and hanging out in the park. Was checkin' out a lot of babes that were out and about, and smelling the fresh air by the water. I will admit, I'm not all that used to the weird oceany pine needle smell, but I guess coastal cities have different smells to their oceans."

Creamy gave him a weird look. "I could have sworn you were reading a book."

Indigo smirked. "So, where you from?"

Snap answered with a mighty, "Aaaaaaaaaaaa--" and ended up holding it for some time as he realized that Tomato wasn't from Applewood, Snap was. The "Aaaaaaaaaaa..." droned out of his mouth as he tried to remember where Tomato came from. Now, he was sure it was a big city, but for some reason, he couldn't place the name. He had to figure it out quick, as his throat was both tickled and hurt, likely to end in a hoarse cough.

The three girls stared as he continued to drone, to the point that Sugarcoat snarked to Indigo, "I think he's afraid of you."

"Oh, shut it," Indigo replied.

Creamy sighed. "Tomato, how hard is it to answer 'Manehattan'?"

Snap ended his drone with a harsh cough, one that seemed like it was going to be followed by phlegm. Luckily, nothing came out but a little spit, and he rose up with a grin to Creamy and said, "Yes! Thank you, cousin. I was just having an epic brain fart there, you know?"

"Riiiight. Anyway, let's just let them work, and, uh... find something else to do?"

"Oh, I don't mind having some company," Indigo said. "I need a little more variety in my conversation than Sugarcoat's bluntness."

"I speak the cold, hard truth," Sugarcoat said. "I have no interest in coddling ponies with sweet lies."

Indigo rolled her eyes. "Besides, you should really stick around for the firework tests. I don't know what kind of crazy formulas that Mr. and Mrs. Nut are coming up with and what chemicals they're using, but I'm excited to see if they actually can make fruit-flavored fireworks! I'm so psyched to be a part of a possible groundbreaking invention!"

"You're too optimistic, Indigo." Sugarcoat didn't even react to the annoyed pout that Indigo gave her.

Creamy shrugged. "Well, I'll go get a card game for me and Tomato to play."

Snap sighed. This is going to be a long day, isn't it?

---

Meanwhile, Tomato was already tired of the switch.

He would have already gone blind from the camera flashes had he not been wearing sunglasses. Here he was, hanging out at some pavilion in a Seaddle park, seeing face after face after face of strangers. He got roped into some group pictures with a bunch of girls, and often one-on-one with any given preteen. Much of the time, he sat at a table and stamped his hoofprint on pictures of his lookalike, some stuffed animals and T-shirts, and for some odd reason, a fish trophy. It weirded him out to think of his hoofprint being essentially tattooed to some random fish on a wall. The only way it could have been weirder was if it sang.

Speaking of singing, he had been requested, time and time again, to sing one of Snap's songs. Tomato was not at all familiar with any of them, and he hadn't had time to practice since he was roped into the swap. So, the best he could do was request that the fan sing along with him, insisting that they're a true fan if they knew the words.

And all he had to do was let go of his hatred of the stupid teen heartthrob pop songs...

"...and if you dance just right, you'll see how much I come alive!"

"Ooooooh, you'll see that I'm the trustiest stallion to ever trust!"

"Trottin' down a city street, hearing its rhythm and its beat..."

Finally, after a couple hours of that, Tomato finally went back to the trailer to catch his breath from meeting all those fans. He had no idea how any celebrity could do it--he could have sworn that a couple of the young mares there wanted to jump him then and there, and would have if it wasn't for security.

He was ready to go and sink into that bean bag and rest, perhaps fall asleep and nap before Dandy came in with whatever the next gig might be. Maybe he could play some of Snap's songs on the phonograph in order to become more familiar with them by the time of the concert tomorrow. In any case, he was going to relish in--

"Hello, Snapdragon."

Tomato jumped at the sudden greeting, and beheld a purple pegasus mare with black and pink hair neatly tied up in a blue bow. She wore the reddest lipstick that he had ever seen, and had icy blue eyes that screamed murder. She sat upon the little dresser casually, with one leg crossed over the other and her two front hooves touching together. Tomato was frozen as he stared at her, and he couldn't help but wonder who this was and how she got in here.

"Uh... hi?" he responded.

The mare hopped off the dresser and strode toward him. "My dear sweet Snap... don't tell me you have forgotten me."

"I... uh..."

She pinned him to the wall, licking her lips. "You still owe me the ravishing that I so desire." She took off his sunglasses, taking a good look at his green eyes. "Do tell me if that is your real eye color; I do not wish to stare into contacts instead of your true eyes as we draw close."

"Okay, you're creeping me out. I'm really not in the mood," Tomato growled.

She breathed on his neck, making him shiver. "Nonsense. I know you, Snapdragon... you wouldn't say 'no' to an offer like mine."

His thoughts screaming, he pushed her away, and tried to walk away. "Well, you're wrong, because I'm saying 'No' right now."

Those icy eyes fell on him again, and she grabbed him and slammed him on the wall again, putting all her strength into it. "Do not resist... a boy like you shouldn't be acting that way... just let me be your vampire..." She lowered her head in order to bite his neck.

Tomato grimaced, unable to move. No, no, no, no, no! I don't want this! I don't want this! I don't need any more vampire nonsense!

Luckily, Dandy popped open the door right at that moment, trilling, "Who wants to go out for lunch?" He opened his eyes and gasped at the sight of the mare. He pulled the rest of himself into the trailer with a fierce scowl. "Midnight Bell! How many times have I told you to stop stalking us and breaking into our trailer?! My son isn't interested!"

Midnight released Tomato, and backed away. "Mr. Dandelion, please--"

"No! I've heard every excuse from you! It doesn't matter your status, gender, or whatever--'No' means 'No'! Now get out!"

Midnight visibly blanched at Dandy's voice, and jumped out of the nearest window, shouting, "I'll be back for you, my love!"

Tomato lowered the front half of his body until he was on all fours again, and he panted, holding his chest in some attempt to get his heart to calm down. Relief at that mare's departure washed over him, though he dreaded the possibility of her coming back. But, to his surprise, he was caught in a surprise hug from Dandy.

"Oh, I don't know how she keeps doing this and hasn't been caught yet," the older stallion said. "You only flirt with her once, and she's convinced you're meant to be. Goodness' sake, you'd think she'd realize you like to flirt with just about every mare you meet."

Tomato just looked at the wall with a flat, "Yeah." He better not be flirting with anyone while posing as me.

Dandy broke the hug. "Don't worry, we'll make sure that she won't get you in the restaurant."

"Oh, thank you," Tomato mumbled. "I definitely don't want to see her again."

---

"All right, here we go... fireworks test numero dos!" Acorn hollered.

Sugarcoat and Indigo backed up from the launcher, and the little ball of magical chemical compounds flew up. The green explosion mimicked that of a regular gunpowder firework, only having glowing, fruit-smelling "sparks" small enough to fit in one's mouth. Most of them descended to the ground, evaporating into a mist. Acorn tried to catch one of the orbs in his mouth, but the one he aimed for was ultimately caught by the neighbor's dog on the other side of the fence.

"Ah, butterhooves!" he said. "Well, we can at least say that nothing caught on fire, so we're on the right track."

"Wow, it only took two tests?" Creamy said, still playing her card game with Snap. "That's a new record!"

"Well, in the area of natural beauty, it'd be tough to break your record," Snap said with a grin and a waggling eyebrow.

Creamy gave him a weird look. "Wha...?"

Snap laughed nervously and facehoofed, remembering why that line was so wrong. "I'm so sorry, forget I said that."

Cocoa looked up at the sky and rubbed her chin. "Well, the first test could just be luck. Let's see if the second test will--"

They heard a scream from the neighbor's yard, and all six of the ponies in the Nut Yard jumped and turned the direction of the scream. The chemist couple winced when they heard the neighbor yell, "Why is my dog green?!"

Cocoa then said, "...or we should rewrite the formula again."

---

"All right, time for test number five!" Acorn announced.

Up the new chemical firecracker went, exploding a brilliant red color. Acorn had his mouth wide open to catch one of the sparks, dancing back and forth as the one he aimed for wobbled in its descent. It even spurred him to go across the yard and back, much to the amusement of the others there.

"He looks ridiculous," Sugarcoat said.

Indigo snickered. "If he wasn't so concerned about our safety, I'd volunteer to do it for him. Flying would make it easier to catch."

Acorn managed to catch the spark. He savored it for a moment, letting the taste of the experiment melt in his mouth. However, a few seconds of bliss passed, and suddenly transformed into a pained expression. His face started to turn red, steam came out of his ears, and his cheeks inflated like a balloon. Tears seeped out of his eyes as he tried to hold it in, but he still attempted to fake a smile for everyone in the yard.

Cocoa grimaced. "Uh, Acorn, are you okay?"

He opened his mouth to talk, but a literal flame burst out with his exhale, and he screamed, "OH MY GOODNESS IT BURNS! IT BURNS IT BURNS LIKE THAT GHOST PEPPER IN THE MURDER BURGER!" He ran around the yard, still screaming out the fire with teary eyes and trying to avoid just about everything he came across. "BAD COMPOUND! BAD COMPOUND! NOT SAFE TO EAT!"

"We can cross that formula out..." Cocoa turned to the card players. "Creamy! Tomato! Go get the special seltzer we've got in the fridge!"

---

"Test number sixteen!"

The firework exploded, and rained down in the yard. Acorn's taste test of one of the sparks not tasting very good. But on the bright side, where the sparks landed in the grass ended up growing flowers, much to the delight of Cocoa and Creamy. Snap whistled in amazement, and Sugarcoat and Indigo nodded in approval.

"Well, not what we were looking for, but we'll keep that formula," Acorn said.

---

"Test number twenty-five!"

After an explosion of yellow, the sparks landed in many places, Acorn's tongue and the manes of all the girls in the yard. Somehow, they missed Snap, but after the results of this test, it was for the best. After all, Acorn's tongue had turned yellow, as did the mares' manes. After the manes had all spiked up and glowed after changing color, Snap couldn't help but laugh at how they looked.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Snap said, "Wow! Hahaha, you all look powerful!"

Cocoa glared at him. "I do have a mean punch. You're lucky that you're my nephew."

Acorn waved his hooves nervously, his glowing tongue lolling out. "Now, now! Lemme justh fix thisth..."

---

"Test number thirty-three!"

Snap and Creamy had gotten bored of their card game, and tiredly watched as the new firework was launched. Glancing at each other, Creamy muttered, "Could you even call it a firework if they're trying to make it non-flammable?"

"Some of the tests were hot enough to light things on fire," Snap replied. "But, not nearly as hot as you, Creams."

Creamy scooted away from him. "Okay, seriously, Tomato, what the heck was that?"

Snap grimaced. "Me forgetting that you're my cousin."

"Ugh, I didn't think we'd have that effect of all things from not seeing each other since we were little." Creamy gagged at the thought and scooted further away. "Please keep your mouth shut if you're going to say stuff like that... plus, I don't like being hot. I like being cool."

"Heh, right... since you're 'Ice Cream'," Snap muttered.

Cheese Sandwich walked into the yard at that moment, humming contently from what was likely a good day. However, the explosion made him jump, and along with the dogs he started barking, "Hey! Hey! That was a loud noise! That really hurt my ears! Hey!" He galloped around the yard, and looked around angrily. "Can you please turn down the volume of your fireworks?! Some of us have sensitive ears, you know!"

"Whoa, Cheese, calm down!" Cocoa said, approaching him. "Don't worry, we're making sure these are safe enough to eat, don't worry."

Cheese growled. "Can you make sure they're not loud and boomy?"

"Sorry, but we can't exactly do that." Cocoa looked up at the blue sparks descending. "Hopefully this one turns out all right."

Cheese looked up, and caught a spark with his tongue. Nodding, he replied, "Mmm, blue raspberry. Seems like you're doing pretty good to me." He turned to Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap. "Oh, hi! Name's Cheese Sandwich, I'm Cocoa's nephew... and you already met my brother and cousin."

Indigo grinned. "Tomato says he's the boring one. If he's funny, I bet you're hilarious."

Cheese sat on his haunches, and scratched his ear with his hind leg. "Well, I guess that's a way to put it--what kind of comedian would I be if I wasn't any level of funny?"

Sugarcoat blinked numbly. "You'd be blue."

Cheese blinked. "Blue? What do you mean by bl--" He looked down at his person, and jumped at the sight of his fur being blue. "Holy Swiss! Why did I change colors?!"

Acorn sighed. "I think we ended up repeating the same thing we did to the neighbor's dog." He walked over and patted Cheese on the head. "Don't worry, we'll fix it, and then we will go inside to have supper--it is that time of day, after all."

Snap blinked. "Already? Wow, time flies when you're watching ponies change colors and set things on fire."

Cheese stood up. "Sounds nice. I'm hungry, and I don't want to be Blue Cheese for long."

---

"Oh, I'm so glad you guys made it to dinner!"

Tomato should have expected that he'd be dining at the city's famous Space Needle. After being led to their table, his eyes wandered away from the charity folk and the other musicians present to stare out the window, where he took in the view. He overlooked the city skyline, and gazed forward beyond those to look at the mountains in the distance. Whether they were bunched up together or just standing alone, it was a lovely range. He turned his head slightly to look at the bay, where a few boats chugged through the blue water to and from various piers. Some he quite clearly recognized as ferries, which made him wonder just where they were coming from and going to. Looking west, the setting sun made the water shimmer.

He soon turned his attention back to the others, which included Countess Coloratura (what a mouthful, she needed a nickname), the Piano Ponies, a few locals that clearly had a grunge look about them, and Seaddle's charity workers, who strangely all looked like pirates to him. He tried not to snicker at the irony of charity folk that looked like pirates.

"Oh, we didn't want to miss it, Miss Glee," Dandy said. "It's nice to just relax and eat after dealing with Snap's fans."

Golden Glee beamed. "And it's nice to relax after planning charity events all month with the crew. I know it seems kind of silly to eat here in light of that, but I assure you, we use our own money from our day jobs to make this reservation."

It better be the case or you'll face my wrath, Tomato thought.

Dandy nodded. "Well, I assume that it was well worth it to save for a lovely view of the city, especially in a rotating restaurant such as this that gives us plenty of angles to see all the neighborhoods, downtown, the bay, the mountains..."

Tomato blinked, and turned to the window to find that he was now viewing the city at a different angle, this time having a better view of the bay and what looked like a carnival at one of the piers. With a big smile, he turned to the Countess, pointing out the window like an amazed foal. However, the Countess just rolled her eyes at him, and turned away in case he was going to say something.

"In any case," the Countess' manager, Svengallop, said. "I'm surprised that Mr. Sandwich refused to join us." He twiddled his hooves nervously, looking a little paler than normal. "Maybe it's better that he isn't here to wreck everything."

Coloratura sighed. "Svengallop, you know Cheese is a nice guy who wouldn't hurt a fly. He just wanted to dine with his family, that's all."

Tomato huffed. Of course there was another assuming Cheese was stupid based on his career. So, he said, "Hey! I met him earlier today, and he's friendly! So, I don't see what your problem is."

Svengallop glanced between his charge and Tomato. "Oh, really? Sure, he fakes being nice, but he can be rather vicious if you dare to disagree with him. I could have sworn I saw his eyes flash red when we had an argument earlier today!"

Tomato was taken aback by Svengallop's reasoning. There was a point in Cheese losing his temper that Tomato couldn't argue against--he himself had been subjected to Cheese snapping into an uncontrollable wrath. Still, the way Svengallop said it implied that it was a disagreement over a minor thing, which Cheese wouldn't be 'vicious' about. He wasn't even sure that his lost memory could give him a personality change that drastic, even if he was getting a little temperamental.

Coloratura patted her manager's back. "Oh, I'm sure he just didn't get enough sleep last night. Even the nicest ponies are cranky when sleep-deprived." She rubbed her chin. "And... are you sure you got enough sleep last night? You do seem uptight."

Svengallop waved a hoof. "Now, now, Countess, I know what I saw..." The waiter passed out menus, and Svengallop started to scan his menu. "Hopefully some of the fried alfalfa with the buttered seaweed wrap will calm me down... it feels like this restaurant is spinning faster."

Tomato took his menu, and perused the option. His stomach growling, he sure hoped that the food was well worth the bits. He especially was eyeing the description of Reinier Soup, a vegetable stock containing Seaddle-grown seaweed and hayballs, with a side of bread. Sounded interesting to try, and he didn't know if it was going to be just okay, or a wild ride akin to how the restaurant was starting to rotate faster.

Why was it rotating faster?

Sure enough, it was. Normally, it wasn't noticable unless you kept staring out the window; however, he could feel the floor move under him, and everypony else looked around in confusion, wondering why it was starting to feel more like a merry-go-round. Some of the tables and chairs moved around and tipped over in response to the giant turntable speeding up.

"Uhhh... is that normal?" Tomato asked.

Dandy looked up from his menu and watched the world outside the window spin. "Huh, I didn't think they had a higher speed setting."

Before they knew it, the entire restaurant had become a whirlwind within the needle. Ponies, tables, chairs, and food flew everywhere with the sudden acceleration, and many of the patrons soared right to the windows and walls, whether they splat on it face first or cracked the back of their heads on the hard surface. Some slid down the walls, only to end up back on the turntable and thrown to another part of the restaurant. For Tomato, all that had to happen when he slid down was for his tail to touch the floor, and he was tossed once again.

At some point, he ended up on a window next to the Countess, and they had to balance themselves on the windowsill. He ducked when a plate of hay loaves flew toward him, and they ended up splatting on the window like much of the other food. Still, other food that had been flying around the restaurant had splattered all over their clothing.

Tomato turned to the Countess. "Well, I didn't expect an amusement park ride, did you?"

Coloratura rubbed her temple. "Is the turntable malfunctioning? Because a lot of ponies are having their meal ruined by it!"

Tomato leaned in his hoof. "I wonder how many of these ponies are going to demand a refund?"

Svengallop soared by, crying, "My hair!"

Both Tomato and Coloratura winced at some ponies practically pinballing all over the place, and watched as an employee stood at the door and announced that the mechanics were working on the turntable and that all should remain calm. After the employee left, they glanced at each other. Holding her long tail, Coloratura said, "I'm surprised you're not taking the opportunity to hit on me with some stupid pickup line. You made a big deal out of my shapeliness the last time we met."

Tomato blinked, flushing out of a sense of embarrassment. "Uh... your mane is so pink? It's a beautiful feminine color!"

Coloratura shot a deadpan look his way. "Not exactly A+ material there."

Tomato shrugged. "Hard to flirt when--" A bowl of tomato soup flew into his face, splattering all over his clothes and the window in a mess that looked almost bloody. Pulling the bowl off his face, he finished, "--that keeps happening."

Coloratura blinked, and then giggled. "Okay, I do like that slapstick, Mr. Apple."

Tomato was tempted to correct her, but remembered that he was not being Tomato at the moment, he was being Snapdragon Apple. "Well, I have a knack for attracting that kind of humor. Sometimes it can be a total pain in the... everywhere."

Suddenly, two pegasi hovered in front of them, one of them saying, "Don't worry, Snapdragon... I will tend your wounds."

At the sight of Midnight Bell and her stallion companion that looked nearly identical (with red in his hair instead of pink and wearing a blue hat instead of a bow), Tomato and Coloratura ended up clinging to each other and screaming. They looked at each other with a silent scream of "Wait, is that other one your crazy fan?!" and then slowly turned back to the two pegasi, expecting jealousy from them for the frightened hug.

The pegasus stallion said in a icy monotone, "I told you that rigging the turntable to accelerate would distract everypony as we seize our loves, dear cousin."

Coloratura glared at the stallion. "Look, Dusk Knight, I've told you over and over that I'm not interested!"

"I told Midnight Bell the same thing," Tomato said, visibly blanching at the memory of what happened earlier that day.

"Neither of you understand yourselves," the two cousins said in unison, somehow not getting hit with flying food, utensils, and any of the tables or chairs. "Neither of you understand the meaning of true love. We can set you free..."

"I feel like I'm in a bad manga," Tomato muttered.

A loaf of Prench Bread hit the window, and Coloratura grabbed it. Swinging it like a sword, she snarled, "I don't need any cryptic attempts at seduction, I just came here to eat and socialize with the organizers of the charity concert! Goodness, don't either of you know the concept of personal space?"

Tomato looked at the soup bowl in his hooves, and then looked up at Midnight, who crooned, "Do not resist... we could live a wondrous life, forsaking this stepford society and flying through the night as the vampires we were truly meant to be!"

Tomato groaned. "Trust me on this; the vampire life is not all that great." And then, he threw the soup at her face, and the pegasus was knocked to the floor.

Coloratura gasped. "Uh, Snapdragon... there are ponies here who saw that..."

Tomato turned to her. "What does it matter..." His eyes widened as he realized what that meant and looked around at the shocked ponies sitting on the windowsills and staring at them. "...ooooooh... right, I don't think they have the context..."

At last, the turntable stopped, and security came in, announcing that it was safe to stand on the floor now. As everypony climbed off the windowsills, Dusk helped Midnight up, and they fled the restaurant before anypony else could say anything. Coloratura and Tomato stood on the floor, wiping some of the food off their person.

"Hey, I have a question," Coloratura said.

"What?" Tomato said flatly, still thinking about the possible tabloid headline.

"How would you know what being a vampire's like?"

Tomato bit his lip and gulped. "Uh... I read accounts of the victims in Las Pegasus?"

Coloratura gave him a half-lidded look. "I didn't take you for the reading type."

Tomato just grunted, and just walked toward the overturned table where their party had gathered. Thankfully, everypony was okay, and Dandy, pausing from his search for his glasses, was sure to ask him if he was all right, as ever. He wanted to tell him about the appearance of Midnight Bell and her equally crazy cousin, hoping that maybe they'd take steps to prevent them from ruining the concert like they did with the restaurant.

But, Svengallop complained too loudly about his ruined mane and suit.

Author's Note:

Hey, guess what happens when you mix a groaner with near-constant illness for the last couple months of 2016? That's right, you get a unannounced hiatus that you didn't want but had to because you felt too much like crap to undertake storytelling for a time. At least I'm feeling okay enough to write the rest of this, and I'm hoping to get back to a regular schedule.

Also, here's to the first chapter of 2017. Things got a little weirder than intended here, but maybe weird is a good thing. I got scolded for the fruit-flavored fireworks idea by my sister, but I'm ignoring her. XP

I don't know why creepy fangirl Midnight Bell and her cousin is a thing. It just happened.

From what I researched about the real Space Needle's rotating restaurant, it doesn't really go faster than an approximately 45-minute rotation--any faster would not be a fine dining experience. But, sometimes you have to stretch things for storytelling, so, making it a wild merry-go-round made for an interesting scene...

Regardless, I'm just happy to have finally finished another chapter of this thing after so long.

Comments

[SageBrony07]

Great chapter. It was a lot of fun to read. I wonder how snap is going to react to that.

[Goldfinch142]

Snap answered with a mighty, "Aaaaaaaaaaaa--" and ended up holding it for some time as he realized that Tomato wasn't from Applewood, Snap was. The "Aaaaaaaaaaa..." droned out of his mouth as he tried to remember where Tomato came from. Now, he was sure it was a big city, but for some reason, he couldn't place the name. He had to figure it out quick, as his throat was both tickled and hurt, likely to end in a hoarse cough.

The three girls stared as he continued to drone, to the point that Sugarcoat snarked to Indigo, "I think he's afraid of you."

This made me laugh so hard!

Let's see...getting shot in the face with a Whitening Gun, having to avoid that creepy stalker Midnight Bell, getting tossed around in the Space Needle...sounds like Tommy's having a boatload of fun. Snap's gonna thank himself for trading places when he finds out what would have happened to him if he didn't.

Speaking of Snap, I can only imagine what Tomato will think when he finds out Snap flirted with his cousin and others...as him.

Good to see you back in business. Hope you're feeling better.

[Godslittleprincess]

Whoa.