Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

17.5--Trouble Swings In

It had all been a blur after he bolted off the stage. Tomato didn't know how long he had been running, where he had been running to, or if anypony else even existed in his path. All he knew was that he had seen many familiar faces, many of which he had thought were friendly, and that they had laughed at him. He had feared that he was dabbling in an area he didn't belong in, and he just proved it back there. An absurd thought it was, some snooty little budding businesspony thinking he could perform like an experienced entertainer!

He jumped into a thicket of pine trees, standing at the edge of the water. His leap ended with him clinging to a tree, panting to the point where his lungs ached. He kept this up for a few minutes, regaining every sense of himself until his lungs relaxed to his normal breathing rate, and his legs became noodles, sending him down on his rump. The evening air cooled his hot skin, the pine needle smell cleared his mind of chaos, and the splash of water on the shore was the only noise he welcomed in what was otherwise silence.

His removed himself from the tree, and crawled to the part of the thicket opening up to the bay. Sitting atop a little beach of rocks, he slammed his forehead into his hooves and shook his head. In one instant, he had made Snapdragon Apple look like a fool in front of an audience, all because he choked; no, he had a panic attack! All because Tomato Sandwich couldn't handle an audience.

He slid his hooves down his face, pulling at his bottom eyelids. He never had a problem with getting a lot of attention when he was a small foal; he relished the attention of his classmates and teachers, which was often a big contrast to the increasing dreariness of home. He was a fun colt, the go-to guy for a good time, and the smiling face willing to brighten up a classmate's day. So, what happened?

That was a stupid question; Tomato knew exactly what happened. Noticing sap on the outfit he wore, he was reminded of that day. He could still hear the taunting laughter, the mockery of the tears that had burst forth after being held back for so long, the jokes about how "sappy" he was after his failed attempt to climb a tree, the nickname of "crybaby" echoing around him, and the underlying spite toward him, as they had the gall to feel betrayed that he was no fun anymore, and dared to put his missing brother in priority over his classmates. Biting one of his so-called friends even backfired on him; he was punished when his mother caught word from the other colt's mother, and didn't even listen to his side of the story.

He didn't know why simple sympathy had escaped them, and why they thought he was some toy meant to entertain and nothing else. Even so, he was made to believe that he had it coming. He didn't want any more crowds, lest any positive attention suddenly turn negative on him again. It was another reason to listen to Mom when she demanded he focus on the mark on his flank, and suppress anything else. If even so much as a song rolled out, suppress it harder. He wasn't Cheese, anyway.

Speaking of Cheese, Tomato perked up when he heard him calling his name. At first, the thought of it was peculiar; why would he be looking for him if Snap was still in his Tommy disguise and was hanging around Cheese when Tomato himself had run off? It wasn't even ten seconds when the realization sank in: Cheese found out about the switch.

"Tomato Matthew Sandwich!" Cheese yelled.

Tomato winced at the sound of his full name. No doubt in his mind that he was in trouble. He hoped that Cheese would not sniff him out, so that the pathetic stallion in the thicket could wallow in his self-pity some more. It was something Tomato good at, and for a few moments of staring at the water, he was ready to mock himself for it.

As he noticed a strange reflection in the water and looked up to find himself face-to-face with Midnight Bell, he realized that he wasn't going to have that time anyway. He yelped in his reborn panic, but before he could jump away and escape, the pegasus grabbed him, and gazed at him with her cold eyes.

"Don't worry, my love," Midnight cooed. "I shall rescue you from the judging crowd."

---

Of all the stupid situations he got himself into and the stupid reasons for doing it...

Cheese knew that Tomato could not have gotten far. Despite his speed and his state of panic, Tomato wouldn't venture onto city streets he didn't know; plus, he most likely wanted to go somewhere quiet to calm down. So, Cheese stayed in the park, looking everywhere he could. From scouting from the treetops to looking under rocks, and from checking park outhouses to poking his head into bushes, Cheese was scouring every inch of the park, with his nose automatically trying to sniff, but failing to pick up any scent.

"How dare he pull this switch just for money, the little greedy twerp," Cheese growled throughout his activities. "Go ahead and make some quick bits during a fudgin' charity concert! Surely, entertainment is the easiest job ever!" He snorted, and continued his prowl around the park. "I swear, when I find him, I'm going to scare him straight. Tell him that if he does something like this again, I'm going to tear his throat out so he can't give me any more pathetic excuses! Maybe break one of his legs so that he can't run off and do something as stupid as this. I won't stand for him tarnishing the concert that I worked my butt off to make fantastic, and ruining my record!"

Raising his head after smelling under a rock, he rubbed his nose and grumbled, "What does he even smell like anyway?"

Cheese pushed aside a branch to look in one thicket, and on seeing nopony there, he withdrew himself from it. However, in doing so, the branch slipped, and smacked his bandaged foreleg. Cheese yelped like a puppy, scrambling backward until he plopped onto his rump, and then cradled the burning limb. Breathing heavily, he looked at the foreleg for a moment, and, in thinking that his tongue could provide the tender loving care his leg needed, he attempted to pull the bandages off with his teeth.

His ears twitched as he heard the muffled shouts and grunts of a mare above him. Curious, he glanced upward, seeing a purple pegasus flying meters above him, certainly too far above him for any muffled noise to reasonably be noticeable by normal ears; Cheese didn't know his ears were that good until then. He wore a dark-colored bag that was cradled on his back instead of hanging off of his sides, and for some reason, it seemed like it was moving, like somebody was kicking and punching to break free.

The pegasus passed with no indication that he saw Cheese, and seemed to by landing somewhere over the hill. While the party pony had a task of finding his brother, he couldn't help but be curious about the pegasus he just saw. If anything, that looked like a kidnapping in progress. So, Cheese decided that maybe he should look over there, telling himself that maybe he could find Tommy seeing that in action too. So, he crept up the hill, hoping to get a good look at what was going up.

Peeking over the hill, he discovered the pegasus had a friend--or twin sister, or nearly identical female cousin, if the coloring was anything to go by--and that the friend was barely phased in holding a struggling Tomato, who had his mouth tied in a gag, and was clearly uncomfortable with the caressing she was giving him. As the stallion member of the duo landed, he removed the "backpack", untied the rope sealing the opening, and opened it up briefly so that his companion could stuff Tommy in. The head of Countess Coloratura popped out to spit out a sock and gasp for breath, only to be shoved back in with Tomato and the bag.

Cheese rubbed circles on his forehead. "Of course he's getting kidnapped by a crazy fan. Why can't he stay out of trouble?"

He lurched forward, rolled down the hill, and then popped right back up in front of the pegasi just as they finished tying up the bag with a long rope. Their eyes widened momentarily in surprise, but then the faces turned back to stone. Tapping a hoof, Cheese said calmly, "You know, we need those ponies for the concert back there."

From inside the bag, a muffled noise that vaguely sounded like "Cheese?" was heard.

"Oh, thank Celestia, somepony saw at least one of them!" Coloratura cheered.

The two pegasi hovered in front of the bag, with the stallion saying, "Do not stop us, Cheese Sandwich; our cause is noble and just. We seek only to liberate them from the soulless music industry suppressing their true selves."

Cheese gave them a funny look. "Um..."

Coloratura groaned. "Forgive me for not getting that idea when you barged into the bathroom to gag me and stuff me in a bag."

The pegasus mare then said, "We, Dusk Knight and Midnight Bell, have sworn ourselves to freeing lost souls from the clutches of Equestria's many oppressive systems. We separate the wheat from the chaff, rescuing the good souls who are being brainwashed by the government, the corporations, and the popular culture. These two are such souls trapped in gaudy imagery."

Then, in unison, with puffed out chests and eyes closed, the pegasi said, "We shall help them shed their shackles, and the Night will set them free!"

When they opened their eyes, however, Cheese had disappeared. They only needed to whirl around to find that he already had lifted their bag of pop ponies onto one of his shoulders, preparing to roll it onto his back. For a brief moment, he looked like he had been caught with his hoof in the cookie jar.

After a few moments of staring at each other awkwardly, Cheese simply said to them, "You're crazy."

A double "mm-hm" sounded from the bag.

They leapt forward and managed to snag the rope sealing the bag, and attempted to fly away with their prize. The bag momentarily slipped out of the grasp of his lone hoof, but Cheese grabbed the bag itself with his teeth. He dug his hooves into the ground, preventing them from going too far or carrying him aloft as well. His hooves dragged forward a bit as the two pegasi fought back, but he still clung onto the ground as hard as he could.

He could feel each yank forward, nearly jolting him out of his tracks, but, mustering strength that he didn't know he had, he pulled back a few steps. He nearly smirked at the desperate flapping of the two would-be kidnappers' wings, though pausing allowed him to be pulled forward again. Growls rumbled from his throat as he held on, and he felt his muzzle wrinkle more than he thought was possible as he felt each tug back. He directed a glare at the pegasi, ready to tear them asunder for compounding the possibility of the concert being ruined.

"Playing tug-of-war like a dog is fine and all," Coloratura said. "But, you might want to consider the re--"

All of a sudden, the patch of the bag's canvas that Cheese bit on was swiftly ripped away, and the bag was flung into the air, jetting past Midnight and Dusk. It soared in an arc back the direction of the concert, with Coloratura wailing, "--cooooooooooiiiiiiiiiillllllll!"

Cheese stared up at the sky, the patch of fabric still in his mouth. Dang it.

Then he noticed Midnight and Dusk preparing to fly after them, and in one swift move, Cheese yanked out a jack-in-the-box, cranked it, and then launched himself into the air. He grabbed them by the tails, and snapped, "Oh, no you don't!"

---

When Cheese didn't return after the Piano Ponies' performance, somepony had to fill in as a temporary host. Golden Glee had taken it up, announcing an "Audience Talent" segment, for those in the audience who wanted to show off their stuff. After her announcement, she whispered to Dandy, who was off to the side of the stage forcing away a scowl with a smile, that she hoped that Cheese returned with Snap soon.

But, knowing that it wasn't his son that Cheese had chased after, he simply shot a subtle glare at the real Snap, still in Tomato attire, who was clearly avoiding eye contact with him as he combed the grass for his lenses. Creamy had her eye on him, making sure he didn't try to slip away.

When none of the confused audience volunteered, threatening the Audience Talent segment to be cut short, Creamy volunteered, and dragged Snap onto the stage. On learning that his voice wasn't up to par, took to singing "Ninety-Nine Buckets of Oats" while they both danced the Macarena to a piano tune in the background. All that did was make every pony in the audience look at them and each other with odd looks. Even Dandy was perplexed, scratching at his white curls.

"Take one down, pass it around, eighty-four buckets of oats on the wall!" Creamy sang, shaking her hips and finishing the verse with a clap.

Snap grimaced, his left eye squeezed shut and his face red from embarrassment. "Your voice is beautiful, but why you'd choose the buckets of oats song?"

"Because it's long and buys time for Cheese to get Tomato," Creamy whispered through the gritted teeth of a forced smile.

"Okay, so why'd you drag me into this if I can't sing and am blind in one eye at the moment?"

"I'm keeping an eye on you."

Snap smirked and waggled his eyebrows. "Because I'm handsome?"

"No, because I'm not about to let you sneak away so you don't have to face the music when Cheese comes back... as it is right now, some random pony being pulled aside by your father would look weird to the audience." She looked at her parents in the audience, who feigned supportive smiles, despite clearly finding the act utter nonsense. "Dang it, I missed a verse."

"You could at least let me go to clean my lenses!"

Meanwhile, off to the side of the stage that the other performers were sitting, all were just staring in the same manner as the audience. Svengallop rubbed his temples, groaning from the sheer tedium that was the performance. "When will the Countess return from her bathroom break? We need some real music up there!"

Suddenly, a mysterious bag dived toward the stage, only falling short of impact--though it still would've hit Creamy and Snap had they not dodged--thanks to the rope snagging the catwalk above. The heads of Countess Coloratura and who everypony else thought was Snapdragon Apple (but was really Tomato Sandwich) popped out of a hole in the bottom, with the mare gasping for breath and the stallion having a gag wrapped over his muzzle. The two upside-down ponies stared at the audience, grinning as if to say that there was a good explanation for the state they were in.

After staring for a moment, Snap started to snicker, and stood up to face a glaring Tomato. "Okay, what's with this nonsense?" He continued laughing as he untied the gag. "I hope you're not hurt or anything, because you look like you were just held hostage or something."

Tomato spat a sock out right on Snap's face. "Blegh... at least that sock tasted better than the last one."

Creamy gave him a funny look. "Last one?"

Coloratura looked at him uncomfortably. "Do I even want to know the context of that one?"

"No, you do not, Countess." Tomato turned back to Snap, looked him straight in the gold eye, and hissed, "This is your fault."

Coloratura gave him a funny look. "Huh? What did Cheese Sandwich's brother do to cause all this?"

Snap had peeled the sock off his face, and threw it elsewhere after cringing at how it felt. "Well, uh... you see, uh..."

Dandy trotted to the bag, covered the microphone, and gave Snap a hard look. "Miss Countess, if you've noticed that Mr. Sandwich's brother and my son look uncannily similar, then perhaps you can assume that if they switched places and concealed their cutie marks, nopony would notice."

Coloratura's eyes widened. "They didn't."

"They did," Creamy deadpanned.

Both Tomato and Snap looked away sheepishly, while Coloratura muttered, "No wonder he was more tolerable this time..."

"I'm surprised that it took Cheese this long to notice," Creamy said. "Speaking of Cheese, where is he?"

Then a screaming Cheese came soaring through the air in an arc, breaking through one of the stage walls. The pony at the piano galloped away in fright as Cheese landed on the piano with a loud bang. Looking up at the stage's ceiling, he slurred, "...no lemons for me... I'm on a grapefruit diet..."

He shook his head and lifted it to look at the stunned audience. He glanced at Golden Glee, who tossed the microphone to him, and then as he caught it, he smiled and said, "Aaaaaand I'm back! I got our wayward little pop stallion back, and, uh..." His ears twitched and he took a brief moment to glare at the hole. "I'm going to the stage roof to get him and the Countess down. In the meantime, these ponies will engage you in a singalong of Equestria's best songs!"

Dandy jumped. "Wait, what?!" Cheese zipped past him and gave him the microphone. "Oh, come on! Golden Glee just gave that back to you!"

He looked at the audience, and chuckled. "So, uh... how's about we sing that song about spoonfeeding snapping turtles?"

---

Cheese flipped onto the roof, and Midnight and Dusk were already trying to haul their favorite pop stars up. With a whistle, he got their attention and said, "You know, ponies appreciate having a choice, and you're not being fair in not giving Coloratura and Tom--I mean, Snapdragon, theirs. So, step aside, let me untie that and lower them down, and then leave them alone, unless you want me to get the police on your case."

"They are brainwashed, and we will save them from the brainwashing," the two pegasi said in unison. They dropped the rope--leading to an "Oof!" below--and turned to him, gazing upon him with their icy eyes. "We see that you are also a prisoner, and that you also hide something underneath."

Cheese snorted. "You're making some big assumptions there, guys. I've known I'd be a super duper party pony since I was a toddler, and I'm the greatest party pony at that!"

Dusk Knight blinked his dull blink. "Are you sure?"

Cheese gave a curt nod. "Trained by Ponyacci himself."

Midnight raised an eyebrow. "You hide something under that bravado."

Cheese felt not only his mane bristle, but the fur on the back of his neck as well. "What could I possibly be hiding?"

The two pegasi hovered, and started to circle him, those blue eyes gazing at him with their cold intensity. "You clearly are a pony in denial, Cheese Sandwich. You are hiding something... the question is what it is. Sadness?"

Cheese felt a chill, and he assured himself that his fur was standing on end because of the breeze. "I am not sad."

The saddest memory he could muster was how his grandparents just disappeared from his life. Obviously, they died, but it was strange that he can't remember the moment he heard the news, or even the funeral. He felt a sharp twinge in his brain on thinking about it, which hurt enough for him to grimace.

"Then is it fear?" Midnight and Dusk cooed.

What fear? He had to be pretty fearless as a colt to save his stupid brother from killing himself, or surviving on the road on his own for years since he was a young adolescent. Did they mean fear of other ponies? If so, Cheese couldn't recall any sort of stage fright or shyness on his part, only thinking of the times when he made everypony around him smile. Strange, pre-apprenticeship only yielded memories of making Tommy happy and nopony else...

Another twinge, and he grimaced again.

"Perhaps you suffer from traumatic foalhood memories."

"My foalhood was just fine. Sure, Mom was a little strict, but she did let me become Ponyacci's apprentice..." His mind tried to go back to the day she granted her permission, but there wasn't anything specific in his recollection of the past. It was a bit odd, but it was logical to think that since he once lived in Manehattan with his family, and later lived in Mane-tua for a few years to hone his natural talents, he had permission. It wasn't like he ran away or anything; his life hadn't been miserable enough to warrant that.

Another twinge, this time with a grunt.

"Regret?"

No, no, there was nothing that he regretted; he had been a good colt, he had been a good big brother, and whatever misery Tomato had was his own dang fault and the crybaby should grow up. He had a perfect party record; or at least it would be perfect, if it wasn't for some meddling pink mare at that Fall Festival. Why did she even need to barge into Sandwich Brother time like that?

Another pained grunt came out of him as a particularly sharp twinge with a pulsing after-ache hit him.

"Anger?"

That word in particular echoed within him. He emitted a low growl, and mane, tail, and even the fur on his back--especially under his shirt--bristled. No doubt that he was angry with Tomato for pulling that swapping stunt with Snap. Yet again, Tomato was causing problems during a gig, and Cheese's blood boiled on how that whiny twerp kept on being a burden to him all summer.

"Surely there must be something you're hiding," Dusk Knight said.

Midnight Bell nodded, and her tail smacked Cheese's bandaged foreleg, making the stallion yelp. "There is no way that anypony could be as happy as you pretend you are."

Burning pain radiated from the foreleg up to his shoulder, and Cheese's brows furrowed deeply into a glare as he growled, "I am happy."

---

"...and thus, we're now a happy turtle family," the audience finished singing. Behind them, some of the local musicians had been strumming guitars in order to provide a steady rhythm for the audience to sing to. It was a much better distraction than the one from earlier, and Creamy and Snap were thankful that they were done with their song and dance from earlier. Since Cheese didn't return, Golden Glee spurred the guitarists to play another fun song, this one being a popular dance number that everyone knew the words to.

However, there was still the fact that Tomato and Coloratura were still stuck in the bag upside-down.

"What's taking him so long?" Creamy asked, jumping to look at the tied end of the bag. Even being a taller mare, Creamy saw that neither she nor Dandy couldn't reach it until Cheese lowered the bag. Thuds on the roof made her stop and stare at different spots of the ceiling at any given time. "Is he dancing up there to the song?"

Tomato sighed. "He's probably fighting those two crazy fans that tried to kidnap us."

Snap grimaced. "Midnight Bell?"

"And her cousin, Dusk Knight," Coloratura added.

Snap shivered. "I only, like, told her that she was great at applying lipstick and that she had striking eyes. I didn't think she'd take it that seriously and stalk me everywhere! I swear, she always manages to suddenly appear wherever I'm at! I'm surprised she didn't smell that you were an impostor and track me to your aunt and uncle's house."

Dandy had his eyes on the audience, scanning it for any faces that were looking up at the thumping stage roof, trying to keep himself from looking up as well. "One of us should go and get the police. I hope Cheese can stall them long enough."

Snap grimaced. "They better hope that they don't come face to face with Cheese Sandwich's dark side."

"Oh, I see you met his mischievous smart aleck self, or his disappointed big brother self," Tomato deadpanned.

Coloratura and Tomato's bag ascended yet again, only to drop suddenly and jolt their heads in the process. Tomato glared up at the stage roof, and shouted, somehow to the tune of the song, "Hey! Just throw a pie at them and continue helping us down!"

Everything paused for a brief moment, and then nearly everypony in the area burst into laughter. They all clapped at the coincidence of Tomato's demand and the music, and then continued to sing with brighter dispositions.

Tomato snorted and grumbled, "A humorous solution should have been the first thing that came to his mind."

Snap gazed up uncomfortably. "Say, uh, what category would you put flipping a table over sauerkraut, or punching a hole in the wall because he got grounded by his aunt? Because, uh, to be honest, he's got a scary temper."

Tomato blinked. "Huh...? He's... not usually violent unless he's extremely angry, or when somepony's threatening innocent ponies... or me. Yeah, he's scary when he's mad, but he usually just resorts to scolding."

One loud thud interrupted the guitarists, and everypony looked up at the roof when they heard something that vaguely reminded them of a vicious dog. A smack later came a whine, and the hoofsteps on the roof continued. There was even a pegasus trying to take to the air, only to be pulled down by something.

Dandy tugged at Snap's sleeve. "Perhaps we should go get the police... now."

As Dandy left, Snap started off in a slow trot in following him, but broke into a gallop once Dandy paused to glare at him. As they left, Tomato could hear the father of the duo start, "Now, can you please explain why you two switched places without knowing anything about each other?!"

Tomato shook his head, and was partially relieved by nopony else noticing the beginning of the father-son argument--though worried that bat-hearing had been kicking in. Still, looking up at the ceiling, he was more worried about the increasing pounding on the roof. "What is he doing up there?"

Creamy pursed her lips. "I'll go to the back of the audience to get a better view." With that, she hopped off the side of the stage and galloped around the audience, all the way back to that tree near her ice cream stand.

Her checking it out was all fine and dandy, but Tomato's face hurt from being inverted for so long. Well, he was tired of being upside-down, he wanted to see why Cheese hadn't stopped the fight in any odd way, and he sure as heck wasn't going to wait for anypony--Cheese, Creamy, or Snap and Dandy. If he could escape that closet in the Crystal Empire, then he could escape this. So, with a determined huff and a solid furrow of his brow, Tomato began thrusting his body inside the bag, causing it to slightly swing back and forth.

Coloratura jumped when she felt his body move like so, and shouted, "Whoa! What are you doing?"

Tomato continued to fidget, increasing the distance of the swings. "I'm going up. Help me out, please."

"Uh... okay?"

Coloratura rocked along with him, putting all her strength into making the bag they were in swing higher and higher. With the two working in unison, the swinging could hardly be unnoticed by the audience. They "oohed" and "ahhed" at the pendulum before them, clapping at the sheer effort that the two ponies were exerting. With all of the audience having stopped singing, the guitarists in the background all strummed a tune to go along with the tireless swinging that nearly hit the wall behind them and flew over the audience, back and forth, over and over.

Creamy had made it to the back when she noticed. "Hey! What are you doing?!"

Tomato wasn't sure he could answer his cousin's shout, but he kept on going. He felt like he was being squeezed as he kept up the swinging, and he wished that he had wings to spur him forward. Heck, he felt the presence of the bat wings, and felt like he was flapping them for extra thrust. Even when nearly hitting his head on the wall, or hearing the bag rip a little, he did not stop.

Finally, one last push launched him and the Countess into the air, and the bag was flung onto the roof. They landed with a loud thud, and the two laid there dazed for a moment until Tomato retracted his head, and let the Countess crawl out of the hole. He followed, and the two sat up, catching their breath and letting the blood in their head ease back into flowing through the rest of their bodies. When feeling the spotlight on them and hearing the audience cheer, they turned to the ponies below and waved.

"Wow, what a rush," Coloratura said. She looked at him curiously. "Say... why is your hair suddenly curly?"

Tomato blinked, and patted his own hair, confirming that his mane had burst into its curls during the ride. "Oh... it's natural." He took note of Coloratura's messy state as well, his eyes drawn to a lock of blue poking from out of her pale pink mane. "Though I'm questioning if pink is even your natural hair color."

Coloratura glanced to where the lock was, and brushed it aside. "Svengallop told me I needed to 'pop' in order to make my mark in the entertainment industry. When chasing your dreams, you've got to make sacrifices."

Tomato pursed his lips. "I hope you didn't sacrifice anything too important."

The roof below them shuddered as something was slammed onto it not too far from where they sat. Looking up, Coloratura gasped and Tomato gaped at the sight of Cheese having pinned down Dusk and Midnight. It was one thing for Cheese to fight them off, but the way he held them down and snarled seemed like an animal ready to go for the kill. From the back, his bristled mane, tail, and fur even gave them that image. The pegasi themselves had wide eyes, showing the slightest hint of fear in them.

"What is he doing?" Coloratura asked, looking like she wanted to jump off the roof.

Tomato just stared at Cheese, his mouth unable to let an answer out. The scene before him looked so wrong in so many ways; the bristled fur, the snarling, and even the sheer fact that it was Cheese of all ponies doing this, with no sense of it being a joke. Tomato was no stranger to an angry Cheese, and from his experience, getting ready to bite a face off was not an angry Cheese thing. Every thought that ran through his mind were just reruns of things said before--not of this event, but of an event before.

"Most transformations like this make a pony act like an animal!"

No, no, that was ridiculous, there was no way Cheese could be...

"Please... please don't hurt me!"

"Ha ha haha-ha! And, what? Skip out on lunch?"

Then again, the way that Cheese was pinning them down made Tomato wonder if this was what he saw back in Las Pegasus, when finding him pinning down the pony that bumped him. The thought of Cheese doing it, even to would-be kidnappers, made him sick.

"Oh, dear Celestia, it's getting worse... you need to be changed back before it gets out of hand."

"He pinned me down and I couldn't move and he nearly bit my neck and sucked my blood!"

"He already threatened to suck somepony dry just for nearly knocking him off the walkway."

"You were supposed to kill those that stood in our way, like a good monster!"

"I don't want to see anything like this again. You scared me."

Tomato didn't want to see anything that like that incident again either, but here he was, seeing himself in Cheese's place. With a burst of fearful energy, Tomato screamed and galloped forward, ignoring Coloratura's question of "What are you doing?!" Pulling out the glowing green orb from his mane, not even questioning how he had stored it this time, he leapt onto Cheese and grabbed hold, startling the elder brother off the two pegasi.

"Ack! Tomato, what the hay are you doing?!" Cheese snarled, scrambling around the roof.

Tomato held on with one front leg, and kept looking at the orb he held with the other, snapping, "Come on, you stupid memory! Show us the Las Pegasus incident!"

"What does that have anything to do with right now?!"

"Maybe if you remember it, you'll know what!" Tomato tried to stuff the orb in Cheese's ear. "These things go in the ear, right?"

Coloratura watched the two as they squabbled, with Cheese stumbling just about everywhere on that roof, and Tomato clinging on like his life depended on it. She didn't know why he was even trying to shove a glowing ball in Cheese's ear. She stepped forward, wondering what she could do to help, and stopped at the pegasi that were apparently embedded in the roof.

Dusk Knight looked at her. "In case you're wondering, our wings are broken."

Coloratura grimaced. "Ooh..."

Midnight sighed. "That look in his eyes... he'd make a good werewolf."

Coloratura raised an eyebrow. "Um..."

She looked up to see that Cheese was teetering over the edge, with Tomato too focused on the orb to notice. She gasped and hollered, "Guys, be careful! The edge is right there!"

Tomato perked up. "Wait, wha--"

It was too late, and both of them plummeted down to the ground with their quick screams, ending in a loud thud. Tomato had accidentally tossed the orb up when they went over, and it had dropped by the time that Coloratura had made it to the edge to see them.

Back on the ground, Cheese laid on top of his brother for a moment, their bodies making an X formation from Coloratura's point of view. As he sat up, the orb came crashing down on his head, shattering and releasing a green mist. Cheese smacked his lips, and started to sniff. "Ah... so now I can smell."

Tomato groaned and sat up as well, rubbing his head. "Ugh... I never want to take that trip again..." He looked around at the glass pieces and gasped. "Oh, no! The memory!" He picked up a couple of pieces and tried to fit them together. "What does shattering it do? Is it gone forever? Did it return? I don't know, they never covered this in the exhibit!"

He turned to Cheese. "Do you remember Las Pegasus?"

Cheese glared at him. "No... because that was not my lost memory, that was a fruit-flavored firework. And you would have known that if you had been at Aunt Cocoa's house with the others, instead of prancing around with a fake cutie mark--" Cheese ripped off the sticker on Tomato's flank, with Tomato wincing from the sting. "--and living it up as you pretend to be a pop star!"

Tomato rubbed the sore spot. "Good to know..."

Cheese snorted. "I have one question for you... what were you thinking?!"

Before Tomato had even a chance to answer, they heard the Countess above them ask, "Hey... how do I get down?"

Author's Note:

Hey, look, Midnight Bell and Dusk Knight are back. They're still a thing that just happened, but they're a thing that led to more shenanigans, which is always welcome.

Working title was "They Came in Like a Wrecking Ball", but I'm pretty sure I would have been murdered for the reference. Plus, I don't like you-know-who, so I figured I'd scrap it. Stupid song still gets stuck in my head...

Well, I guess the next chapter is the final one of the Seaddle arc.

Comments

[SageBrony07]

Great chapter. It looks like cheese is becoming more unstable though. I hope they can find his memories, but i feel like Cheese will only loose more if they find that pony again.

[Goldfinch142]

I have to wonder who raised Midnight Bell and Dusk Knight to be these levels of crazy.

The mental image of Ice Cream and Snap singing "99 Buckets of Oats" and doing the Macarena is just too perfect.

"Maybe if you remember it, you'll know what!" Tomato tried to stuff the orb in Cheese's ear. "These things go in the ear, right?"

Ha!

Hopefully they find a way to deal with the memory (and werewolf) problem soon if Cheese is getting this violent. Good thing Tomato stopped him; who knows what he would have done.

[redmar]

Tomato clearly understands what happened to cheese but it's not certain that he knows what to do about it. I really hope that Cheese will be back to normal soon and that Wayer Runes goes back to Tartarus.

[Godslittleprincess]

Oh boy.