Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

17.4--Behind the Lenses

That night in the trailer, under the soft light of a nearby lamp, Tomato was cradled in a sturdy, but soft, hammock. The pillows beneath his head made him imagine that he was on a cloud, and the sheet that lay on him felt like a shield protecting him from the dangers of the night. A little stuffed dragon sat at his back hooves, staring at him with beady eyes that somehow looked sad. On his ears sat a set of headphones, playing albums of Snap's music. Apart from a few good lines here and there, the repetitive and cheap poppy beats were boring Tomato nearly to sleep. Despite hearing the songs several times, he was having trouble remembering any distinct song. He wasn't even going to excuse it with fatigue.

"Reason number eight that this switch was a terrible idea," he whispered to himself.

He was going to flop. He was going to flop badly. He was going to ruin a young pop star's reputation by failing to remember any of his songs; and even if he did remember, something else was sure to go wrong. Question was if it was going to be a conga of humiliation like what happened in Halterside, an all-out brawl like what happened with the Shining Vocals, or it'd be something involving that creepy Midnight Bell. Was he going to be found out? How was he going to explain to Cheese what he was doing and why he was doing it?

Tomato sighed, thinking of the hefty sum of bits that had made him cave in to the scheme. Surely Cheese wouldn't assume that he had fallen to the vice of greed; no, he'd understand that Tomato was just concerned about the possibility of having to pay actual bits for whatever came their way next. As much as either Sandwich wished the opposite, party pony magic had its limits; pulling money straight out of nowhere likely violated whatever rules were behind the magic.

But, it's just as likely that Cheese would be mad over the scheme, especially if it ruined the concert. He was mad when Tomato screwed up and made them lose to the Flim Flam brothers earlier that summer.

He glanced at a calendar on the adjacent wall. When they did the duet battle, it was nearly mid-June; tomorrow was the beginning of August. There was only a month left before returning to Manehattan for another semester, and boy, was he going to have plenty of wild stories to tell his cohorts.

The trailer door opened, and Tomato bolted upright and stiffened, the headphones falling onto the pillows. Midnight Bell was his first assumption, which sent a chill down his spine. However, he relaxed when it was just Dandy walking in, and trying to shove some of the paparazzi out, yelling, "For goodness' sake! He's a little under the weather after our ride in the Space Needle, so leave!"

Dandy slammed the door and pinned himself to it for a few moments to discourage the ponies outside. Hearing them leave, he peeled himself off the door and locked it. He approached Tomato, brushing himself off as he walked. "Sheesh, some ponies have no respect for personal boundaries, do they?"

Tomato sighed. "No, they don't."

He pulled a stool from under the dresser and sat beside the hammock. Patting Tomato's head, he asked, "Here's hoping you sleep off the stomachache and feel better in the morning. If it's bad enough that you can't sleep, let me know."

Tomato laid his head back down, just barely missing the headphones. He felt bad for lying about having a stomachache in order to buy himself time to study the songs. "Okay."

Dandy glanced to the other side of the hammock, and his smile became a frown on seeing the little toy dragon. Reaching over to grab it, he said, "Are you not going to sleep with Charlie tonight? I'm surprised, you always want to keep your mother's last gift to you close when you sleep."

Tomato stared at the little green toy. He had assumed that Snap would have wanted to distance himself from such a childish item and basically tossed it aside; now that he knew the reason why it was even there, he felt as if he disrespected the memory of someone's deceased relative. Taking it, he looked at the sad beads for eyes and stroked the yellow spines. "I'm sorry, Charlie."

Dandy sighed and looked out the dark window. "I do wish that she was here in the flesh, cheering you on alongside me, helping me keep you out of the crazy mischief you get into sometimes, and fill in for me where I fall short. I wish she hadn't fallen so ill after you were born... she was so excited to raise you, to teach you about your Apple heritage and about the ancestor who founded Applewood, and to see who you'd grow into. Oh, if only you could have seen how happy she was when she first saw you."

Tomato laid Charlie in the crook of his front leg and stared at the ceiling. He knew that Dandy was talking about Snap's mother, but his own mother came to mind, unfortunately being the opposite of what Snap's mother likely had been. And thanks to that Memory Magic device in the Summer Sun Fair, he knew that his mother and father weren't all that happy the day he was born.

"There are days where I really miss her," Dandy said. "I often wonder what she'd do in whatever situation we end up in."

Scold Snap for even thinking of this hare-brained scheme? Tomato thought. Most mothers would have done that.

"Heh, I remember the time I wrote a poem about how I missed her? How you found it and ended up making a song out of it? I kind of wish that song had been released instead of just being part of that old demo CD."

Tomato hated having to be vague and force sincerity about a mare he didn't know, but he felt he had to reply somehow. "Yeah... you know, when I think about it, I can't help but think that she would have loved it." He paused for a moment, his curiosity piqued. "Say, do we still have that demo? I kind of want to listen to it."

"Oh! Yes!" Dandy sped to a hall where a bunk was, and Tomato listened as the sound of a drawer opened. The older stallion came running back, and gave him a little case. "Wanting to relive the memories of when we first started, eh? It's disappointing that only a few of these were mastered into official releases, I really liked these things. But, they didn't quite fit the image we were going for, so..."

Tomato opened it, and started fiddling with the headphones to replace the disc he had been listening to. "Thanks."

Dandy yawned. "Well... time for me to hit the hay. Oh, how I hate getting older..." He trotted to the wardrobe, grabbed the one empty contacts case in it, and set it on the dresser close to the hammock. "Remember to take those contacts out before you go to sleep, okay? Remember to be careful of the light."

Tomato wanted to ask "What contacts?" but then remembered that Snap had a lot of those, often changing his eye color. He wondered what Snap's natural eyes were like, but it wasn't a detail that he wasn't going to concern himself with. He did not know what Dandy meant by being careful of the light, but he replied anyway, "Okay. Good night."

Dandy trotted off to his bunk. "Good night."

Tomato put the headphones back on, and started the music. He had fully expected to be jolted out of his lax state by loud, manufactured beats beginning a song. Instead, the soft notes of a keyboard graced his ears, bringing to his mind a lone pony on the piano. While there were soft poppy beats in the background, he still had this image in his mind as Snap's voice began the first verse, singing a story about a lost loved one.

"It's hard to determine what hurts more
A cold touch or none at all..."

Sinking lower into the pillows and cuddling Charlie the Toy Dragon, he couldn't help but feel like the lyrics were telling the story of his life. Granted, the actual song was about Dandy's grief over his wife's death, but it still reminded him of emotions all too familiar with him. Though that depressing period of his life was over, the song put into words just how much it had hurt.

And dare he say it, he was actually liking this one. True, Tomato now had a better relationship with Cheese and wasn't likely to lose him again anytime soon, but it was still speaking to him. He was enjoying one of Snapdragon Apple's songs, and it was only a demo. If there was any song that he wouldn't mind singing, it would be this one.

It only brought up the question in his mind of why it wasn't officially released.

---

It was a interesting night for Snap. In the one of the sparsely decorated guest room's two beds, he had spent much of his time awake and thinking about his day. He wondered how Tomato was doing in his place, and hoped he was having more fun than he was. Which he thought was odd, because how could anyone not have fun with Cheese Sandwich?

He remembered that party that Cheese threw years ago back in Applewood, and Snap had been in the front row to see the party pony in his full glory. How he drank in the spotlight, how his singing and dancing wowed the crowd, and his endless creativity were what made Cheese admirable to him. Seeing that pony so happy, without a care in the world or a tear to cry, had made Snap decide to become a musical star.

Snap was not much for polka, so after some experimenting, he found a niche he was comfortable in. He liked a genre where he could sing all the shallow songs about partying, popularity, and mares he liked and nopony cared. After all, he wanted to be seen as an unbreakable spirit and a fun guy to be around, unlike the little pipsqueak teased for his bad eye, or that young adolescent told point blank that "No one wants to hear a song where you cry for your dead mommy." He had no room in emotional nonsense in his career.

It took a lot not to squeal in fancolt joy when discovering that he switched places with Cheese's brother of all ponies. But, he soon discovered that it was no picnic. As a matter of fact, he hated to admit it, but something about him was just... scary.

~~~~~

"Tomato..." Cheese said, staring straight at Snap's plate. "Are you seriously eating sauerkraut of all things?"

Snap paused in his eating for a moment, looking around at the rest of the family and their guests, before replying, "Uh... what does it matter?"

Narrowing his eyes and snarling, "Traitor!", Cheese grabbed the table and flipped it over. The sauerkraut and various other vegetables splattered and scattered all over the floor, and on the ponies opposite of Cheese--Acorn, Cocoa, and Ice Cream, and much of it was crushed by the table. All the other ponies sat there and stared in horror, all the painstakingly prepared food wasted in one fell swoop, especially Cocoa Butter.

Cocoa's face turned red as she wiped mashed potatoes off her face. "You better clean that up, mister. All of it."

Cheese huffed. "Can't lick it all up--the rest of the food is likely contaminated by the mutated pickled cabbage."

"I. Said. All of it!"

"You can't make me."

~~~~~

"I can't believe she sent me to the guest room like that!" Cheese said, sitting on the bed with his front legs crossed. "The hay is she thinking, grounding me like I'm some little kid?"

Snap had been curiously playing with Boneless Two, making the rubber chicken dance like he'd do with Charlie when he was bored. It made him wonder how Tomato would react to the little toy dragon, and he hoped that he wouldn't be judged for keeping something so childish at his age. But, if Cheese Sandwich carried around a rubber chicken, it validated his own possession of a toy.

"Well, she's not my mother!" Cheese growled.

A sudden bang made Snap jump, and he looked to the bed where Cheese sat, seeing the party pony having a hoof through the wall. Cheese held his scowl and breathed heavily for a few seconds more, and then he looked to the wall in astonishment and a twinge of horror. Snap scooted a little away, as if he expected Cheese to strike him next.

Cheese only said, "Wow, I'm stronger than I thought."

~~~~~

Even when he slept, it was disturbing; Snap just had to turn his head to the other bed, and Cheese would be growling and gnawing either his pillow or Boneless 2. It actually kind of hurt to see the rubber chicken used as a chew toy. He wondered how Tomato put up with it.

The trickiest thing for Snap that night was taking off the contacts with nopony noticing that "Tomato's" eyes had changed. Taking them off in the guest room hadn't been an option, since Cheese would notice. He had finally taken them out around midnight in the bathroom so that he had light to do the job correctly. He had to squeeze his left eye shut after the lenses were out before any pain began, and was about to navigate his way back to the room, only to find that Creamy had been waiting for a turn for the bathroom.

She didn't notice the different eye color in the low light, thankfully, but Snap's mouth slipped once again when he told her, "I have to say, Ice Cream would make the best midnight snack."

To which she replied angrily, "Stop it!"

After a few hours of sleep, Snap then had to wake up early to put the lenses back in. Sudden light hurt his eyes, and he had to keep forcing his good eye open to stick the lenses in. As for the other eye, it had felt like it was bleeding by the time he was done. After making sure that the forelock stayed up, he went back to bed with teary eyes, wondering how long he could sleep with the lenses in. As it turned out, not very long.

So, by morning, when everyone was heading to the waterside park for the final touches to the stage and the setup of various food stands, Snap was drowsily towing a wagon alongside Cheese Sandwich. The wagon was full of the fruit-flavored fireworks that Acorn and Cocoa had managed to create the night before. The two chemists were busy carrying the specialized launchers that Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap had designed and built for them; their daughter had her own cooler wagon, towing the supplies and ingredients for her homemade ice cream stand.

He kept looking at the items he hauled. On the one hoof, he thought it funny that the hoof-sized capsules looked like colorful crystal balls; on the other, why was everyone talking so loud? The most annoying was Cheese's snorts as he attempted to smell everything, only to grumble about how his nose still didn't work and that it kind of hurt.

At one point, when they just about to turn into the park, Snap said, "Geez, what are you, some kind of dog? There's, like, nothing to smell!"

Cheese almost bit him for that, which had caused Snap to jump back. He heard the capsules rattle, but looking back, he couldn't tell if any had fallen out, and he wasn't going to stop to search the street for any stray capsules. As far as he could tell, nopony else in front of them noticed if he had lost any, though Cocoa gave them a stink eye for arguing, while Acorn and Creamy just sighed. Besides, what was one capsule, anyway?

Cheese growled, "You're not the boss of me; I'm the older brother, remember?"

Turning back to the glaring Cheese, Snap wondered if the party pony's temper was always this short, and he was just really good at hiding it from strangers. In hindsight, Snap should have asked Tomato what foods he did or didn't like, since it would have prevented a scene at the dinner table over sauerkraut of all things.

"You didn't have to try to bite me!" Snap looked at the foreleg that was nearly chomped on. "I'm not that tasty."

With a snort, Cheese shook his head and muttered, "Classic Tomato, always complaining."

Good to know that he was doing a good job impersonating Tomato.

Cocoa Butter growled. "You know, it'd be nice if you two stopped fighting like small foals! We're in a public park, going to get a charity event ready, and last I checked, Cheese is supposed to be a professional party pony--it doesn't speak well of him to be quibbling over something stupid with his brother when he's got a job to do."

Acorn looked down the path they trotted, rubbing his head. "Yeah... if you two would just be quiet until we make it to the stage and meet Golden Glee, that'd be nice."

Both stallions huffed, and remained silent for several more minutes as they trotted to the concert area. Not much noise was between them, as all instead listened to the waves splashing against the park's rocky shore, and the snippets of conversation from passersby. Some strangers stared at the wagon full of glowing orbs, looking concerned at the mysterious items that lay within it and hastening their pace. Snap was amused at the caution they exhibited, as if the glowing orbs were bombs. Well, they explode, that much was true, but as least their explosion was delicious.

Then he realized that that was a bizarre sentence to even think.

---

After a morning of engagements around the city and a lunch date--as well as trying to listen to Snap's songs in between--the afternoon had Tomato, Dandy, and a couple of bodyguards heading off to the park for rehearsals before the concert. The carriage ride through the Seaddle streets was relatively peaceful, showing the greens, browns, and grays of the buildings and parks.

While Dandy talked and talked, Tomato tuned him out. He tried to bring the official songs to his mind, so that he may be able to sing them when the concert started. However, no matter how many times he listened to them, attempted to memorize the words, and even forced himself to sing along under his breath, his mind always went back to that demo instead.

He had only listened to that demo twice, and yet, the songs in that had stuck.

Tomato tried to tell himself that it wasn't a big deal--maybe actually rehearsing with them will make them stick. He didn't care for the songs, the genre they were, and the messages they sent, but who was he to complain? He was posing as the artist who sang them, and refusing to sing for those reasons was most likely going to blow his cover.

Aw, who am I kidding? he thought. The fact that I can't even remember any of the lyrics is going to blow my cover!

After watching buildings and ponies and sidewalks rush by, the carriage stopped in front of the park, and Dandy and the bodyguards hopped out first. As Tomato climbed out, he thought to himself about how his time posing as Snap could have been better spent. He could have been there to see how his aunt and uncle were doing with the fruit-flavored fireworks, or maybe helping Cheese out with the concert setup somehow. Heck, even attempting to search for Cheese's missing memory, though difficult that may be, would have been better than--

His hoof stepped on something round, and he slipped, landing chin first onto the sidewalk. He nearly bit his own tongue off, and the numbing, throbbing pain shot through his body. Seeing stars, he briefly mumbled about how he wasn't fat enough to be named "Tomato" before coming to his senses. He barely noticed Dandy rushing to his side, asking him if he was all right.

"I'm all right... I'm all right," he murmured, his tongue aching.

"Here, let me help you up," Dandy said, taking his front leg.

Tomato turned his head as he rubbed it, in order to glance back to see what he slipped on. Much to his surprise, a glowing green orb was there, resting in the gutter. Most ponies would have probably assumed it was a bomb of some sort; Tomato's first thought on seeing a glowing green orb was a flashback to that Memory Magic exhibit, and how that must be Cheese's missing memory! After all, it was green, and a memory orb's glow did match the owner's eye color...

As he was hoisted up, his tail swiftly grabbed the orb and stuffed it in his jacket with no one noticing. After confirming that he didn't feel any funny after that, they continued on into the park, not wanting to miss the chance to rehearse.

Tomato felt the orb in his inside pocket bump against his barrel, and he hoped that he'd have an opportunity to examine it later. Meanwhile, he had some songs he had to practice singing, as much as he didn't want to. Even worse, he had a strong feeling that his relatives would be around due to their involvement in the concert. He prayed that nobody would notice anything that's off with either "Snap" or "Tomato" and get suspicious.

Especially not Cheese.

---

Rehearsals went fine--at least, for a performance-adverse stallion like Tomato--especially since the other big acts had gone before him. Tomato just had to sneak off to the back, listen to the album once more, and even read the lyric sheet from the case. He spent much of the time pacing around on the grass, trying to sing along as quietly as he could. By the time that Dandy found him and informed him that it was his turn to rehearse, Tomato at least had the lyrics memorized, and practicing them onstage made them stick more.

He saw Snap, dressed in full "Tommy" attire, nod in mild approval, suggesting that his performance was good enough. He saw his family members, shrugging to each other in a "Yeah, I guess he's okay" gesture--though for whatever reason, Cocoa was looking a bit emotional. He noticed the Countess' manager snicker at him, the other performers murmur to each other, and Dandy look concerned over what Tomato guessed was a lack of energy compared to normal (since he had never seen Snap perform, he wouldn't know for sure). However, he couldn't quite find Cheese to gauge his reaction.

Tomato wanted to stick soap in his mouth after he finished. The lyrics would fly over kids' heads, thankfully, but he understood enough that he was not looking forward to singing them again. He just had to remind himself that after the concert, he didn't have to sing them again.

Of course, his heart nearly stopped when taking his exit through the stage's back door, he bumped into Cheese once again. The party pony had been leaning against the wall, front legs crossed and a wad of gum being chewed in his mouth. He noticed how frozen Tommy was, and said, "Why do you look like you're scared of me?"

Tomato gulped. "Uhh..."

"Well, quit it, I'm not going to bite," Cheese said, his tone slightly sharper than usual. He fell forward to stand on all fours. "So, I couldn't help but notice that you sounded a little unsure of yourself there. Your tone was kind of stiff, your dancing was kind of awkward, and you seemed to be giving off a vibe of 'I really don't want to be here'. Are you feeling all right?"

Tomato paused for a moment, and then forced himself to puff up his chest. "Never better! I am the pinnacle of health!" To prove his point, he did a cartwheel in front of him, only to pause again to think, Holy beefsteak, I still know how to do a cartwheel?

Then, rubbing the back of his head, he added, "Well... I just barely recovered from a sore throat, so, uh... being cautious?"

Cheese blinked, and narrowed his eyes. He walked forward, enough to make Tomato back up a little, and attempted to sniff him. He snorted and shot his head up, rubbing his nose. "Okay, if you say so. It's just that you reminded me of my brother up there--not just in looks, mind you, especially since you're still intent on wearing the forelock--but also the fact that he has great vocals, but is kind of awkward in the performance department. He gets some pretty bad stage fright."

Tomato was thankful that the sunglasses hid his eyes. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, we once had a duet battle back east against a couple of con artists, and he bungled up our part so badly we lost." Cheese shook his head, scowling as the memory came back to him. "I had never been so humiliated in my life, and he never apologized for making a fool of us. If any musical performance he gets involved in ends up with things like painful rhymes, ridiculous phobias, and chocolate baths, then I'm happy that he shies away from the spotlight and keeps his mouth shut when it's time to sing."

That speech left Tomato with his metaphorical jaw hanging. Did Cheese always say nasty crud about him behind his back, or was it another side effect of the whole memory ordeal? He hoped it was the latter--he wouldn't be surprised if the missing Las Pegasus memory left Cheese still bitter about the Halterside incident. He was tempted to grab the orb in his pocket and show him and tell him that they could fix it now. He only didn't do so upon remembering that he didn't know how to return the memory to Cheese's mind; that was something to ask Twilight Sparkle should they meet her again. Besides, blowing his cover was going to lead to trouble.

But whatever scrap of confidence that Tomato had received from the rehearsal was now shattered. Missing memory or not, just hearing Cheese pin all the blame on him for that loss made him feel like his innards had turned to mush. He knew that his performance had just been awful, and no amount of singing talent could save it, nor any apologies remembered. His cutie mark was not performance-based anyway; he could hear his mother telling him, "I told you so."

Cheese patted his back. "But, you know, you're not him. From what I hear, you're usually pretty confident and have fun on the stage. Your voice is fine, though I can't help but think it sounds different, and kind of familiar somehow..." The party pony scratched his chin before shrugging. "But, hey, it's okay to be rusty after an illness. Just have fun up there, and you'll be fine, okay?"

Cheese noticed an airborne frisbee out of the corner of his eye, and started to canter away. "I've got things to do, and I'm sure you do too! See ya and the other artists at the concert tonight! I'm hosting the shindig!"

Tomato waved shyly before letting the hoof flop down. He pulled the orb out of his pocket and stared at it. He frowned at the apparent lack of images, and wondered briefly if he picked up something else entirely. He pushed that thought aside, reasoning that the memories must not always have an image, and there was nothing else that the thing he held could be.

He sighed and stored it away. He was not going to have fun, and he was not going to be fine. He was going to end up ruining a young star's career, because like Cheese said, he just doesn't do well in the spotlight.

When Dandy came, Tomato barely noticed himself following him to the next thing on the agenda.

---

The evening fell, and the charity concert was finally under way. Ponies from every corner of Seaddle came to the waterside park, enjoying the lush, green trees and the wet pine needle smell. After making their donations, the patrons all had their fill from snacks from the nearby food stands, including Creamy's ice cream, and goofed around with some charity workers who had dressed like pirates for the occasion. They all eagerly awaited for the concert to officially begin, ready for music to fill the air. From fans of the bigger names to supporters of the local acts, cheers were abundant when a gift box rolled onto a stage, and Cheese Sandwich popped out in a burst of confetti.

"Good evening, citizens of Seaddle!" He hollered as he landed. The ponies cheered and stomped in applause once again, pleasing the party pony. "Welcome to the big Seaddle Charity Concert! I'm your host for tonight, Cheese Sandwich, and boy, oh, boy, what a way to kick off the month of August! How many of you have had a good summer so far?"

The crowd all cheered in response, to which Cheese nodded in approval.

"That's good to hear! I've been having a crazy summer myself, with the added bonus of giving my little brother the summer vacation of a lifetime! And yes, I do in fact have a brother..." He reached forward and grabbed a certain red-orange pony sitting in front by the back of his suit jacket. "Here he is, my younger brother, Tomato Sandwich. He may be a serious and studious college kid, but deep down I know he's still that excitable, fun-loving colt I know and love."

Some "Awww's" were heard in the crowd, and 'Tomato' flashed a grin, pointed, and clicked his tongue at the crowd, all with a cheeky wink. Several mares giggled at the sight of him, and one even hollered, "He's so handsome!" to which 'Tomato' replied with a "Thanks, beautiful!"

Cheese raised an eyebrow at the cheekiness, but the show had to go on, so he put the younger stallion down. "Anyway..."

Snap, in full Tomato attire, looked up with a big smile, hiding how much he wanted to shudder. Onstage, Cheese was as cheerful as could be when giving credit to Golden Glee for organizing the event; it was a serious disconnect from what Snap saw the night before.

The first act was a local grunge band, and Snap was content to just stand and watch. However, he overheard Acorn Compound say, "Now, do you think you can keep your composure when Snapdragon Apple comes around? Good grief, his songs weren't even that emotional."

Cocoa Butter huffed. "Well, sorry. It's just... his singing voice just reminded me of my dad."

Wait, my singing voice reminds you of--Snap stopped the thought there, reminding himself that Tomato had been singing.

"And when I think of my dad, I think of how proud he and Mom would be of their grandkids. Peanut Butter is a favorite of basketball fans, Ice Cream's happy in her field, Cheese is a renowned party planner, and Tomato... well, Mozzarella hasn't eaten him alive, so maybe he'll be one of Equestria's greatest businessponies." Cocoa smiled proudly, which was followed by a sad sigh. "And then I think of how disappointed he'd be in me for not trying harder to have a good relationship with my brother."

Acorn pulled her close. "Hey, sweetheart, we tried our best to talk sense into them--but they're just too stubborn. Cheese has told us before that he's practically disowned for being a party pony. And, well, Tomato doesn't seem to want to talk about his home life."

Cocoa pointed to Snap. "He's right there."

"Oh!" Acorn turned to Snap. "Sorry about that, kiddo! Hope you're doing all right."

"Uh, I'm fine," Snap answered, wondering how Tomato would have responded to that--or to anything these guys did for that matter, they were nuts. Now looking up at Cheese after the band had finished their song, he thought, Explains his temper. Still doesn't make it less scary.

He took a deep breath. Sooner or later, it was going to be Tomato's turn in the limelight.

---

Meanwhile, off to the side with the other acts, Tomato Sandwich was awaiting his turn on stage. Having found the classiest outfit in Snap's wardrobe--a sparkling silver vest, black button shirt, and fedora that matched the vest--he sure looked ready, though he didn't feel it. He looked over himself over and over, checking the cutie mark sticker so it wouldn't fall off, straightening his sunglasses, and making sure his throat wasn't raspy. He had ponies stare at his forelock, and his tail swished back and forth as the others went one by one.

Tomato was sorely tempted to scold everyone behind Countess Coloratura's performance. The lights, the pyrotechnics, the overuse of the smoke machines... he could very clearly picture someone in the audience having a seizure or an asthma attack. He wasn't prone to either, but he regretted taking off the sunglasses to see how the lights were, and he was coughing from the smoke that spilled over to his side. At least his coughing covered up the laughter at the Countess' backup dancers--he had no idea why, but he found them funny.

Still, during Cheese Sandwich's intermediate performance, he (and surprisingly enough, Dandy) was irritated that the nearby Svengallop was bragging about Coloratura's performance, while the Countess herself just sat by and brushed her mane.

"What can I say? I made sure that the lights were calibrated to their most colorful and dazzling, that the pyrotechnics had fantastic timing with the music swells, and that the smoke added just the right amount of mystery to her--as if her veil didn't do it enough." Svengallop smiled proudly, holding the edges of his suit jacket. "Yeah, I'm certain that the crowd was wowed by the spectacle."

"They were struck dumb for a moment, I'll give you that," Dandy said, rubbing his eyes. "Although, you've got to love our host's rendition of one of her songs."

Svengallop grimaced as Cheese belted out, "...I perform this way-hey!"

Tomato caught some giggles from the Countess, and said, "Hey, Sven, your young star likes it. Lighten up, at least she has a sense of humor."

"Ugh, I can't believe he got past me and showed her his ridiculous lyrics. How was she not offended that he was mocking her?"

Coloratura glanced at Svengallop. "Well, I can take a joke. You said so yourself, nopony gets far with thin skin. He doesn't mean any harm."

Svengallop looked away and shuddered slightly. "Yeah, sure... doesn't mean any harm..."

Once Cheese finished the song, he pointed upward and finished the song with some colorful fireworks. As the explosions boomed above him, he stuck his tongue out and let a green spark fall on his tongue. With a satisfied "Mmmmm" he grinned and announced, "Hey, everypony, open your mouths! These fireworks are fruit-flavored..."

The audience stared at him in confusion, and murmured amongst themselves about the impossibility of that statement. Still, on seeing a few others in the front--Tomato know who they were--catch a couple of sparks, several other ponies decided it was safe and tried it for themselves. Tongues hung out and caught the sparks like snowflakes, and uncertain frowns turned upward into delighted smiles. Tomato got some of the musicians in on it by catching a spark, and all were amazed at the fruity flavor the sparks emitted.

Cheese grinned. "How do you like that? They were created by my awesome aunt and uncle right there in the front. Give them a hoof, everyone!"

A spotlight shone on Acorn and Cocoa, and they waved to the cheering audience.

Cheese licked his lips. "I just had a burst of green apple flavor... and you know what? Let's get an Apple onto the stage! He's not exactly country folk like all the other Apples I've met... if you ask me, he looks more like my brother! But he's got a voice and a face that many mares swoon for, and he's always up to make you dance. Now, let's give it up for Snapdragon Apple!"

Tomato's heart stopped, realizing that it was his turn. Dandy rubbed his shoulders and said, "Finally! I could tell that you were getting antsy." He gently nudged him forward. "Now, go, my son! Go and sing!"

Svengallop scoffed. "Yeah, sure, and channel your inner boy band."

As Tomato climbed up onstage, Cheese patted his back and said, "The stage is all yours." With that, he cartwheeled away, and Tomato watched as Cheese grabbed Snap, and overheard something about getting ice cream from their cousin. Odd time to do that, but it was Cheese, he'd manage to return to the stage soon enough.

However, all eyes were on him. Dandy's proud smile, squealing fangirls, and a plethora of curious looks were directed toward him as they expected his performance to top the Countess' or even Cheese Sandwich's. Faces of all colors of the rainbow, all staring... all judging... all formulating their reactions to whatever they saw on stage. Never had he seen ponies look like predators, and the only thing that could make it worse was if any of them were eating meat. His stomach churned as he stared back at them.

He waved to them shyly, and said, "Well, well... uh... beautiful weather we're having!" Was he sweating? He was sure he was sweating, because it was a clear day. "Nice way to start August... from what I hear, this city gets a lot of rain!"

---

By the ice cream stand just outside of the audience, Snap was watching Tomato's speech with a furrowed brow. With a hoof to his face, he said, "What the hay is he doing? This isn't stand-up comedy!"

Creamy, who was busy scooping up chocolate ice cream from a metal bin for both her cousins, replied, "I have to thank him for the weather report... good to know that it's not raining."

Cheese leaned against a tree, staring in confusion. "From what I know, this is not normal..."

"Of course it's not normal!" Snap yelled. "Seriously, he should just thank them for having him, and get on with the song!"

Creamy raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh... why do you even care, Tomato?"

Snap blinked and covered his mouth, glancing at the narrow eyes that Cheese was giving him. With a nervous chuckle, he replied, "E-excuse me... I'm just really, really annoyed that this guy..." He bit his lip while his eyebrow twitched. "This guy is wasting our time with a stupid weather report instead of singing."

Creamy sighed, giving him a bowl. "Well, okay... though it kind of looks like stage fright."

Snap took a bite of ice cream. Did I forget to inform him that Snapdragon Apple doesn't do stage fright?

---

Great, I'm sounding like a utter moron. Tomato thought it best that he just move on, especially since he could see Snap getting frustrated with him way out there in the back. "But enough about that! You got me here to sing, and I'm gonna sing! Hit it, DJ!"

The intro of the first song came on, and Tomato gripped the microphone tightly. He told himself that there was no pressure at all. He was going to sing, he was going to have fun, he was going to make that crowd jump and dance and--

Wait... what were the words again?

The music was past the point where the lyrics had started, and Tomato didn't know where he could pick up without it being awkward. Even then, all he could come up in his head with that was in tune to the beat was "Pink and orange ponies come to see the chicken dance, and soon enough the fowl will be bathing in cash." could see ponies murmuring in confusion, or several young mares looking a little disappointed that he didn't sing. Oh, crap, they were judging him now!

He didn't know if the music truly turned off or not, but now all he could hear was his own heartbeat. It felt like that something was caught in his throat, and not even a spoken word could crawl out. Was he sweating? Goodness knows that his fur can't be glistening like his outfit! How many of these strangers were there? The many pairs of eyes he saw were staring into his soul, and possible at the forelock that was notoriously stupid on a businesspony, and wouldn't be any less stupid on Snapdragon Apple.

And then, scanning the crowd, he saw his mother's face. What was she doing here?

"Tomato," she said, parting the crowd as she walked forward. "What are you doing? I've told you time and time again not to participate in activities that don't align with your cutie mark! And yet, here you are, posing as some pop star as if you can duplicate any performance of his!"

Tomato still couldn't speak, though explaining himself would be impossible anyway.

Mozzarella climbed up onto the stage and circled him, eyeing him with her trademark glare. "Do you ever think about the consequences of your actions? Why is it that whenever we manage to make you respectable, you always bungle it up with some destructive mischief? Just look at you in that gaudy outfit; are you trying to copy your brother? Everyone knows that you weren't meant for the world of entertainment!"

Tomato winced at the declaration, and he looked at himself, wondering what the heck he was doing. Why the hay did he agree to this? Why the hay did he let himself be swayed like that? Why the hay was he involved in something that he clearly had no business in?

"Question is..." Mozzarella said. "Who besides me are you going to anger this time?"

Tomato gulped. "E-e... everypony?"

That's when he heard laughter from the audience. Turning to look to see who it was, he nearly jumped when he found that the Flim Flam brothers were there, pointing straight at him. He had no idea that they were here too; what were they doing at a charity event?

"Well, well! If it isn't Cheese Sandwich's baby brother!" Flim laughed. "He's attempting to be a star!"

Flam chortled. "But after his humiliating defeat in Halterside, trying would be a terrible idea!"

As the Flim Flams continued their mocking laughter, Tomato backed up and dropped the microphone, which screeched out its high tone. The memory of his overall clumsiness, the fright from that random clown, and the sensation of being covered in chocolate came back to him, and he could hear that crowd there laughing at him once again.

He looked to another part of the audience, where Windswept Goldenmane appeared and said, "Honestly, as if you could survive in front of an audience."

Then Creme Brulee shouted, "You're a freak! You can't hide your freakishness from the world once their eyes are on you!"

And then Kazam appeared. "And who knows? Maybe you'll relapse into vampirism right in front of this audience!"

The faces of the audience were all replaced with all those he had ever remembered meeting, from those who mocked him to even those he befriended. Former childhood friends pointed at him, mocking the "boring business nerd" trying to sing and expecting him to break down crying. Those bandits that were at Nickerlite laughing to see that pony in such gaudy getup. Trixie laughed, bragging about how she would do far better than some scared college kid. Those ponies in that one town, including Party Favor and his little group, all laughed at the pony who had helped them. Ponyacci appeared, mentioning that he looked like a clown. Pinkie Pie and friends, all finding it hilarious to see somepony so out of his zone. And even his own friends laughed, fully expecting him to screw up.

The only one in the audience who wasn't laughing was Cheese, who just glared at him like a disappointed parent.

The laughter rang... and rang... and rang in his ears. His heart pounded, his coat had gone damp, and he heaved and heaved. He wanted to escape, and go back to Manehattan where he could disappear in a crowd and just about nopony cared who he was. He didn't want to face Snap over choking like this, he didn't want to face Dandy to confess about the deception, and he didn't want to face Cheese for messing things up.

Finally, when he just couldn't take it anymore, he screamed into the air as loudly as he could, and then bolted off the stage, running off to wherever else in the park.

The ponies once again murmured in confusion and disappointment, the musicians and managers looked at each other in concern (save for Svengallop, who was snickering), and Dandy just climbed onto the stage, and shouted, "Snap! Wait! What's wrong?!"

Still leaning against the tree, Cheese Sandwich stared at the scene that had unfolded before him. The music played, Snapdragon choked, and after a few minutes of standing there speechless, he screamed and ran off. However strange that was, as Snap was not known for severe stage fright, he heard so-called Tomato yell, "I can't believe it! I can't believe he choked! What's the matter with him?"

"You seem awfully concerned about this," Creamy said.

Cheese turned, and noticed "Tomato" looking nervous again. As the gears in his head turned, he started to wonder what was really going on. After all, Snap clearly had faced bigger crowds and didn't buckle down--so why would he just suddenly choke in some park in Seaddle? In fact, this stage fright reminded him of the incident in Halterside, where Tomato humiliated them both with his awkward performance.

"Yeah... awfully concerned..." Cheese said in a low voice, approaching his so-called brother. As the pony there started to back up, Cheese grabbed him by the jacket, and threw him into the tree. The strength of it was such that tears and something else entirely flew out of the vermilion stallion's eyes. With angry snorts, Cheese growled, "All right... you better be Tomato and not who I'm starting to think you are..."

The pony opened his eyes, and Cheese noted the light gold of one eye and the ugly, red-streaked pink of the other. The pony tried to answer, "What are you talking about, of course I'm--OW!" He covered his pink eye and groaned, and his other eye widened in realization of what just happened, and looked down on the ground to find that his green-eyed lenses had fallen out.

Seeing the eyes, Cheese turned his attention to the cutie mark. Feeling it until he found a loose flap, he ripped the sticker off, and sure enough, there was the apple microphone that made up Snapdragon Apple's cutie mark. His eyebrow twitching, Cheese shouted, "I can't believe it! You were Snapdragon Apple this entire time?!"

Creamy's eyes widened. "Holy smokes, no wonder he kept trying to flirt with me."

Snap covered Cheese's mouth with his free hoof. "Okay, okay, you caught me! Just don't shout it so loud."

Cheese dropped him and scratched his chin. "If you're here, then that must've been Tomato up there, choking!" He turned to glare at Snap. "Didn't he tell you that he doesn't like attention from strangers? Or that he suffers from terrible stage fright? Why did he even agree to this?!"

"Well, I offered him money."

Cheese stood straight up, processing that last sentence. After several moments of awkward silence, Cheese held an icy glare once again, growling like a hungry wolf. Turning around, he started to prowl toward the stage, ignoring Snap's pleas of, "Wait, I can explain!"

Cheese made it to the stage where Dandy was ordering bodyguards to go find him, and pulled at the ear of the older stallion to whisper in it. After wide eyes and a slack jaw from the yellow pony, Snap knew that he was going to be in trouble with his father.

Then, Cheese said to the audience with a smile, "Sorry about that, ponies! We'll have the Piano Ponies play instead while I go and fetch our elusive Snapdragon--don't worry, I'm pretty good at catching runaways. I can't just leave you with a drought of music, so, let's get those ponies onstage!" And with that, Cheese hopped off the stage in pursuit of his brother.

As the Piano Ponies hauled their instruments onto the stage, Snap turned to Creamy and said, "So, uh, now that you know who I am, is my flirting a lot less awkward? Because, really, you do look like a delectable dessert." He waggled his eyebrow as he did so.

Creamy raised an eyebrow. "With you looking like my cousin, it's always going to be awkward."

Author's Note:

The CD thing was one of those times where I questioned Equestria's technological advancement, since it's all over the place and confusing. I keep thinking of it as 20's or 30's, but then you have modern pop.

An interesting game to play while reading this would be, "If Cheese was his completely normal self, how would he really react to this situation?"

Anyway, now we're getting close to wrapping this thing up. Don't know if it'll be one or two chapters more, but I'm hoping to get the next one out faster. But, now Cheese knows, Creamy knows, and Dandy knows. And now we know what Snap's real eye colors are (yep, two eye colors, despite my hatred of OCs that have that because people just can't choose one color).

Comments

[RadicalDishonesty]

Oh. Tommy doesn't have stage fright and embarrasses himself and Snapdragon...

He has a full on panic attack.

Poor Tommy.

Fortunately, it's actually bad enough that I bet Snapdragon will be able to write it off as a fluke or an emergency and recover.

Unfortunately Cheese might chew Tommy out.

[SageBrony07]

Wow. This is going to be an epic fight. Cheese is going to be mad about He money but tommy is going to be mad about Cheeses comment. I do hope Tommy performs that special song.

[Goldfinch142]

He wondered what Snap's natural eyes were like and why he had to be careful of light, but it wasn't a detail that he wasn't going to concern himself with. He did not know what Dandy meant by being careful of the light, but he replied anyway, "Okay. Good night."

Are these both supposed to be here?

Hmm. Hope Tommy's okay. Hopefully Cheese doesn't grill him too badly--same for Dandy with Snap--and lets them explain.

Ugh, Svengallop. That jerk.

[ChaoticKindness]

Man, Cheeses behavior is getting pretty scary now, his actions are unnerving. It really makes me think though, the good and the bad memories in life are what shape us into who we are. Without memories of his struggles, Cheese Sandwich can't truly be himself.

I actually am really fond of Snapdragon, he's a very interesting character XD I'm kind of invested in him

[Godslittleprincess]

Well, things are taking quite a turn. By the way, if Cheese had been normal, he would have know something was up the moment Tomato started eating sauerkraut without complaining.