Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

20.1--These So-Called Beautiful Ponies

It was a golden morning in that grand forest. Sunlight shone through the Sandwiches' little cabin as Cheese spent his first waking hour that day mending the tears in that shirt. The brown of dried blood on the edges was sewn out of sight as they were mended inward, and Cheese pulled the thread good and tight for a completely closed hole. Soon enough, the shirt looked good as new, and it was wearable again. He wished it hadn't been torn in the first place, but at least it had been fixable.

He held up the shirt and smiled at it, looking over his work and feeling a swell of pride at a job well done. He turned to his brother reading on the other bed, and asked, "Hey, how's it look?"

Tomato peeked up from his book, and answered, "Presentable. I think only a Miss Rarity from Ponyville would notice a mis-stitch."

Cheese rolled his eyes, and examined his work a second time. He didn't think that there was a stitch out of place, and frankly, nopony would care enough to ask about what happened. If they did, they'd wonder why it hadn't been worse.

However, he longer he stared, the more he thought about how he would have needed stitches had it not been for the healing pool, and that led to thinking of a certain group of teenagers that did need stitches. Stitches... and bandages, and staples, and possibly even surgery. All because of him. Healed his wounds it did, but the pool could not erase that fight from his mind.

All sensations of that night came back to him, and they all swirled together to form a rock in his stomach. A glance at Tomato made the rock heavier, and he had to keep from slapping himself for yet another loss of temper the night before, which would have led to his own brother's blood on his hooves. He sure was glad he came to his senses, but he had to remind himself that he had been too angry lately, and he had to keep himself happy and cheery like his normal party pony self, even if it killed him.

"Hey, do you think it's weird that we haven't gotten any updates from Pinkie since Salt Lick City?" Tomato asked.

Cheese inwardly groaned. Why does that Pinkie Pie keeping popping up, and why in Tartarus is she sticking her nose into his business? If she weren't so goshdarn nosy, the Fall Festival last year would have gone smoothly. "Maybe she's just focusing on her own parties in Ponyville. From what I hear, that town has a festival just about every week."

"Yeah, but if Twilight found something that could help us find that memory, Pinkie would let us know. Her letters always find you somehow." Tomato shut his book and set it down beside him. "After all, it's not like her to just let you suffer like this."

Cheese huffed. "I'm not suffering, I'm just a little frustrated, that's all." His stomached rumbled, and ached with painful emptiness. "And hungry. Besides, maybe Twilight just didn't find anything yet."

Tomato grunted and leaned in his hooves, grumbling, "Well, she's taking too long. I'm completely useless in this memory search."

They jumped when the door was suddenly kicked open, and Lemon Zest came cartwheeling into the cabin. "Morning, cousins!"

Toola Roola trotted right behind her, rolling her eyes. "Sheesh, Lemon, did you have to do that? I swear, if they weren't already awake..."

"But, they already were awake, so we're off the hook." Lemon flashed a grin between both stallions, and their annoyed glares softened in more neutral faces. "So, I just cooked up some breakfast, and it'd be unfair to leave you out of our buffet. I mean, as family, we're making sure that you're going to feel right at home, plus, you'll maybe some privileges that other campers wouldn't get..."

Toola Roola scoffed. "What other campers?"

"Oh, shut up, you."

Tomato hopped off his bed. "Well, breakfast sounds good to me."

"Same here," Cheese said, folding his shirt. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a moose!"

Lemon laughed, and started to lead them out the door. "Well, I didn't cook any moose and I don't plan to anytime soon, but we've got a nice assortment of eggs, hash browns, cheese, tortillas, some vegetabaaaaaaahhhhh!"

Cheese, Tomato, and Toola Roola all poked their heads out of the door, and beheld a moose perched upon a large rock, looking around as if it were looking for something to eat. Lemon, in front and in clear view of the animal, essentially turned into a statue when the moose turned toward her and stared. To the other three, it appeared to be assessing a potential threat, which was undoubtedly uncomfortable, but it seemed like Lemon was thinking that it was going to eat her.

"Oh, how poetic," Toola Roola teased. "A moose."

"Shut up, you're not funny," Lemon hissed between her teeth.

Cheese focused on the moose's throat, wondering how hard he had to bite to take it down, but a quick glance at Tomato and the memory of the bear incident stopped him from taking any action. If it charged, then maybe he could try to defend his family.

Luckily, the shout of Fallow Track caught the attention of the moose, and it relaxed as the stallion greeted, "How you doing, Moe? Beautiful morning, isn't it?" The moose grunted and snorted, and Fallow laughed back. "Oh, I just met my nephews yesterday--that's them behind my daughters--and we're going to take them down to meet Grapevine."

Fallow made it to the cabin's porch, and Lemon immediately clung to him. Holding his daughter close, Fallow said to Moe, "Planning on going on your usual swim?" The moose nodded happily. Fallow grinned back. "Sounds like fun, big buddy. Remember to stay away from the waterfall, and say 'hi' to Larry and Curly for me, okay?"

Moe grunted, and then trotted off. Once the moose was out of sight, Fallow patted Lemon's back, and said, "There, there, Zesty, you're safe. As long as the animals remember who's in charge, they won't bother either of my daughters."

He looked toward the other three. "Well, I told the other rangers to keep an eye on things when we go down to see Grape. Now... shall we have breakfast?"

---

Once breakfast was all eaten, they went down the hill in the town's general direction. Enjoying the bird songs ringing through the woods, they all chatted amongst each other about random subjects, most of which veered some way toward the Sandwiches telling stories about their trip so far and both parties about funny incidents in their foalhoods. And as far as Tomato was concerned, Cheese still was putting their mother in a nicer light than she actually was--but, seeing as the thought of disappointing their uncle hurt too much, he was still silent about it.

First building he saw was the library, looking abstract and modern compared to the neighboring humble cabin structures of nearly every other building, save for what he guessed was town hall. When they were just at the edge of town, they then started to skim the perimeter, much to Tomato's confusion. "Uh... okay, where are we going?"

Fallow glanced back at him. "I never said he lived in town; just closer than we do."

"Well..." Tomato looked down every street, watching disgruntled ponies spruce up their houses and small businesses for the morning. Odd that it looked like a mini tornado had barreled down the street, and he cringed when watching a sign fall. He could have sworn he picked up some animalistic noises on another street. The others didn't seem to hear it, so it was either bat hearing or his imagination.

Diverting his attention to guessing what Grapevine was like, he muttered, "I suppose that he's not the neighborly type... likes his privacy... not very conversationa--hey wait, what are those huts?"

Indeed they were, as they came upon a little neighborhood of small shacks, hay huts, and tepees, surrounded by a ring of trees where treehouses were built. As they entered through the willow gate, Tomato was quick to notice the inhabitants, wearing beads and flowers, woven bracelets and rose glasses, headbands and old vests, and a variety of unkempt hairstyles. A good number were either mediating, practicing simple instruments, working a small garden, or making crafts. Seeing these ponies, Tomato's mental image of the mysterious Grapevine suddenly changed, and he inwardly cringed.

"Hey, um, I think you guys forgot to mention something about your brother," he griped to his cousins.

"Aw, chillax, dude, they don't bite," Lemon replied. "They're all about 'peace and love', yanno?"

"But they are staring." He attempted to hide in his shirt collar in a huff, partially to block their smell. He swore, if they were to spout some of their pretentious philosophy and imply that he was some kind of villain, he was going to scream.

Tomato nearly jumped when Cheese patted his back and said, "Hey, listen to Lemon. They're only staring because we're new, not because they see you as some kind of threat. Just be nice to them, and we'll have no trouble at all." He finished off his sentence with a grin that looked a little forced.

"Okay..." Tomato grumbled, rolling his eyes.

The group was suddenly stopped by a green mare coming to greet Fallow. With some kind of blissful, "out there" smile, she spoke with a tone of voice that matched her face. "Heeeeey, Fallow Track. I'm like so thrilled to meet you under this golden morning sun."

"Hello to you too, Tree Hugger," Fallow replied with a nod of his head. "Have you seen Grapevine around? There's a couple of ponies I'd like to introduce him to."

"Aw, he loves making new friends, how thoughtful of you!" Tree Hugger leaned curiously to see the sheepishly waving Sandwiches. "Ooooh... they're so tall... like trees. Like, redwood trees, stretching upward and always yearning to touch the sky..." She pointed to Tomato. "That one even has like a redwood color."

Tomato blinked and furrowed his brow. "Eh... I'm Tomato, he's Cheese, and we're not trees."

"Wicked rhyme..." Tree Hugger said. "Though I'm not sure you look like a tomato."

Tomato nickered in annoyance. "Sorry that genetics prevented me from being plump like my namesake."

Toola Roola popped between both parties and asked, "So, Tree Hugger, can you tell us where our brother is?"

Tree Hugger scratched her chin. "You mean your soul brother, or..."

"Blood brother," Lemon corrected. "You know, Grapevine? Dad already asked about him."

"Oh. He's meditating in that treehouse." She pointed up to one of the trees, where a spiral ramp led up to the central shack of the tree ring, connected to the other treehouses by rope bridges.

"Thank you, Tree Hugger," Fallow said. "I hope he doesn't mind being interrupted."

---

Pushing aside the bead curtains, Fallow allowed his daughters and nephews to slip into the shack. Incense tickled Tomato's nose, prompting his hoof to cover his nose to keep himself from sneezing. The candles of the room created two circles around the hut. One circle took up the perimeter of the hut, and the other was smaller, designating a space of meditation where one stallion sat.

The stallion definitely had the colors of the colt that Tomato saw in the photo last night; however, he was definitely shaggier than when he was younger. He had a beard covering the entirety of his chin, though no mustache to compliment it, and shaggy fur on his lower legs feathering thick, purple hooves. He wore a brown tasseled vest, which matched the eye that cracked open the moment they had come in.

Grapevine stretched upward until his bones popped, and then looked up at his father with a smile. "Ey, dad... I had a feeling you'd drop by... you having a bright aura today?"

"Oh, I'm fine as usual..." Fallow muttered. "In fact, we just had a pleasant surprise last night, and it'd be unfair to leave you out of it."

"The system stop bothering you?"

"Well, uh... it's not that, or anything related to that situation, but it's more of a family related thing."

"Aw, just cut to the chase, Dad!" Lemon complained. "Grape, we just met our cousins from Mom's side of the family."

Grapevine's eyes widened. "Get out... you must be tripping me!"

Lemon shook her head, while Toola Roola gestured to the Sandwiches like they were some grand prize in a contest. "Nope! They're right here, Mr. Super Duper Party Pony Cheese Sandwich, and his uh, business-y brother Tomato Sandwich. Dad found them in the woods, they recognized Mom from our family picture and freaked when we confirmed her name and some other details that match up, we had to tell them the bad news about her... so, yeah, guys, say 'Hi'."

Cheese waved. "Nice to meet you."

Tomato uncovered his nose, which twitched as he tried to speak. "Heeeeeyyy--CHOO!" Shaking his head and wiping his nose, he murmured, "Excuse me."

Grapevine stood up and turned to them. Seeing him approach, both Sandwiches quickly realized that this pony had his father's hefty build, and almost instinctively backed away. There was a wall there, of course, so there was not much they could do to get away from the smell test and the subsequent bear hug. Tomato didn't appreciate the latter, given that he was now guessing how long it had been since Grape's last bath.

"Aww, it's like, so amazing to meet my little cuzzes!" Grapevine said.

Tomato held back a gag and squeaked, "Gee, affectionate, aren't you?"

Grapevine set them down. "You caught me in the afterglow. Connecting with the cosmic magic has renewed my spirits today."

Tomato swayed in an effort to regain balance, while Cheese slammed face first into the floor as though he just died. While catching his breath, Tomato gave Grape a little stink eye. "Right... couldn't we just have started things off with a hoofshake? Hugs are awkward for a first meeting, you know."

Grape raised a bushy eyebrow. "No, I don't know. I don't understand why you Manehattan ponies are so uptight, man."

"Well, when you live in a heavily populated city of eternal hurry, you're bound to be a little--okay, wait, how'd you know I was from Manehattan?"

"My mother confessed to having origins there shortly before she passed to the next life. You're the fruit of her sister, am I right?"

Tomato gave him an odd look. "That's one way to put it... but yes. Also, what's a 'man'?"

"It's just a word he uses, dude, don't make too big a deal of it," Lemon answered for her brother. She looked down at Cheese on the floor, eyeing his tail in particular for good reason. "Hey, Cheese, your tail's on fire."

Cheese leapt out of his coma with a scream of "What?!" One look at his tail confirmed Lemon's claim, and he immediately galloped out the door, yelping like a puppy. A few moments of silence passed before they heard a splash below them.

Tomato looked at the candles against the wall, and lifted the end of his tail up to face level. "Now why didn't my tail catch fire?"

"I'd chalk it up to luck," Fallow said.

"As good an explanation as any," Toola Roola stated.

Grape chuckled. "Aw, it's just his tail's aura sending vibes to the flames to not harm its bro."

Tomato pulled at his collar with his tail, and nickered in annoyance. "That made no sense whatsoever. Now, can we go outside? It's a little stuffy in here."

"Sure, I need some sun, anyway."

The remaining five ponies went through the beaded curtains into the sunlight. Tomato reeled from the sudden brightness at first, but was quick to adjust as he looked out over the commune, the town, and the hills. He started to circle the deck to see the views he had ignored earlier when coming up the ramp. First was the view of the mountain forest overlooking the town, with the deep blue springs near the top of the first hill and steam indicating something more over the others. He kept going, seeing the grandeur of the lush, green, forest and the flowery grasslands where the river cut through. He looked straight down, where a small distributary flowed into a pond where Cheese and several others swimming.

Lemon Zest jumped off the deck with a "Cannonball!", joining the ponies below with a splash. Bursting from the surface, she called up, "Hey, jump in guys! The water's great!"

Toola Roola wrinkled her nose. "At this height? No thanks!"

"Aw, you're no fun!"

"I wouldn't worry about it, Lemon," Cheese told her. "She'll come down when she wants to swim."

"As long as she's not swimming doggy paddles like you are."

"Hey!"

Tomato chuckled under his breath, and returned to gazing at the landscape. The rolling, wooded hills were beautiful, no doubt about it. He continued to circle, taking it in more, and to his surprise, he could see another town in the distance, which was fairly bigger than Aura Springs was from what he could tell. At the end of his circle, he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't impressed.

Fallow was by his side. "The beauty of this landscape and the wildlife living in it is why I chose to live here. It's not that Sorrel Canyon isn't beautiful--I'll always appreciate that place for helping me discover my love of nature and my cutie mark, but I'm of the belief that Equestria needs more big nature parks like Sorrel Canyon, for ponies to learn to appreciate and protect nature."

"It's a magical place with wondrous vibes, cuz," Grapevine said. "I open up my chakras here, Dad studies and protects animals here, and Toola Roola gets inspiration for her art... not sure about Lemon, she's a little more interested in city life and I can't really dig it."

"You know your philosophy, Grape," Toola Roola said. "'Live and let live'. We can't fault Lemon for being afraid of animals; after all, you told me that she nearly got eaten when she was little, and doesn't have that whole 'nature talking' thing like you and Dad do to ease things. So, if she has an official life in some city in the future, I won't be surprised."

"Well, your place is beautiful, and it's a perfect place to get away from it all." Tomato looked down at the town, and frowned, especially now that he was hearing a zoo down there and yet saw none. "If I have one criticism, it's that the town is a mess! I mean, I imagine animal sightings are frequent there, but it's not like they actively vandalize ponies' property."

As the animal noises continued, Tomato turned to his uncle and cousins, narrowing his eyes in the process. Fallow gulped loudly, and shot a look at the more stoic Grape. "Well, as long as we remind them who's in charge... they shouldn't--"

And then, from the commune's willow entrance, came the shout of, "Fallow Track!"

Fallow cringed at the shout, and looked down at a herd of ponies glaring at them, along with a couple of sheepish vested ponies that Tomato guessed were Fallow's rangers. The big brown stallion muttered, "Not again...", and made his way down the ramp to greet the mare in front wearing a sash. Looking at each other, Tomato and his cousins followed.

Once he was at the willow entrance, one of the vested ponies immediately started, "Mr. Fallow, I'm sorry, Timber and I tried to drive the animals back into the woods, but they don't go where we want them to go! We try to tell them that their best interest lies in foraging in the forest, but they insist on coming and stealing from the ponies because--"

The sashed mare stopped the female ranger right there, her glare on Fallow. "You and your animals have been testing my patience for far too long, Mr. Track. Because of your son and the other flower ponies' insistence that we 'coexist' with those creatures and treat them like fellow ponies, they've been doing more than just snatching food from gardens and trash cans--no, they've been breaking into homes and businesses to steal any food, any flowers, and even important books and documents! This goes beyond 'animals being animals'!"

As the townsponies shouted in angered assent, Fallow backed up. "Now, now, Mayor, I assure you that I'm working on teaching the animals to leave the ponies alone, and I know I've told ponies not to feed the animals if they're not a nature talker..." He shot a stink eye at Grapevine. "And no, being a flowerpony doesn't automatically make you a nature talker, it's magic that a pony is specifically born with!"

Tomato scratched his head and murmured to Toola Roola, "Like party pony magic?"

"I... guess?" Toola Roola whispered back.

"I've had it with your excuses, Fallow!" The mayor snapped. "You owe two thousand bits for the damages that your 'precious' animals have caused, and I'm considering closing your park altogether if you can't control those beasts in three days! There's a big businesspony coming to town then, hopefully building an attraction that'll bring tourists and some much needed money into this town."

Visibly alarmed, Grapevine hopped to the front to face the mayor. "No, Mayor, you can't just destroy these animals' habitat for some silly bits! Don't you think it'll benefit you to shed your veil of materialism and see through nature's eyes? Surely you'd realize the horrors of pony civilization, taking land that rightfully belongs to the animal kingdom, and using and destroying it all for the sake of money and power. This is why I refuse to be a slave to the system."

There was a pause, with the townsponies looking amongst each other in confusion, while most of the flowerponies stood together with pride, confident of their purpose. The few ponies in between looked utterly exasperated, especially Tomato, who was the first to break the silence with, "But... what if the business decides it's in it's best interests to preserve the park?"

Angry eyes all turned toward him, and he wished he hadn't spoke.

Grapevine at least looked mildly disappointed in him. "I'd hate to be a downer, cuz, but don't you think you're being too optimistic? Those kinds of ponies have no interest in nature. All they want is to squeeze money out of brainwashed squares."

Tomato turned to show Grape his cutie mark. "Well, I probably am being optimistic... but surely there can be a compromise!"

Clamoring arose again between both sides, and Tomato couldn't help but notice there were several hooves pointed at him, and even ponies mocking him with hooves attempting to imitate his forelock. And then there were the accusations that his ears managed to pick up.

"Who's this kid? Does he want our town to be overrun with criminal animals?"

"Like, wow, I can't believe this square in a suit thinks that businessponies can be reasoned with."

"Can you believe this chump? Thinking that those idiots will give up their utter worship of their idealized fantasy of nature."

"He's clearly one of them. I bet he loves seeing animals suffer."

"What kind of cutie mark is that? A tomato money bag thing? No wonder he's so confused!"

"I can sense his aura's all messed up and such, totally darkened by the evils of The Mare."

"He clearly wants to destroy our town!"

"He clearly wants to destroy the environment!"

Then, Tomato snapped, "I don't want to destroy anything! I want to help!"

The mayor then leaned a little too close for comfort. "Then tell me, young stallion... who's side are you on?"

Tomato just wanted to melt then and there. He couldn't fully say whose side he was on--as much as he didn't like the flowerponies' lifestyle, he didn't want his uncle to lose his beloved park and animals, and maybe even have to move away. On the other hoof, the town wasn't in the best shape and likely had a troubling financial situation, and perhaps this coming businesspony would turn things around. Unfortunately, it seemed that both groups had a "with us or against us" mentality.

"I, uh... I'm going back to my cabin to think..." he murmured, pulling himself away from the crowds.

"Yeah, get your priorities straight!" one pony shouted.

"Careful not to get eaten on the way there!"

"We hope you become enlightened!"

"I hope he attains the ability to change his cutie mark."

Toola Roola hopped out of the crowd, and said, "Uh... I'll make sure he gets home safely."

As Tomato walked away and Toola Roola followed, the mayor turned back to Fallow. "Remember, three days to control the animals, Fallow--you do possess the magic to turn things around, after all, and not everypony is that lucky. If you can't do it by then, or can't pay your debt, then I'll see to it that I possess your park and round up those beasts for relocation, or even to be put down! Do I make myself clear?"

Fallow sighed. "Crystal."

The mayor nodded, and the townsponies all turned around, dispersing themselves to each street, while the flowerponies went back to their huts, whispering to each other. Fallow rubbed the back of his head, and looked at his rangers, who gave him looks of "I'm sorry," before going off to try to handle the situation in town once again. Fallow braced himself to go to town to do his job, but paused to turn to face Grapevine, narrowing his eyes into a glare.

"Hey, Dad, you're giving some bad vibes there..." Grape said.

"That's my intention," Fallow snarled. "How many times do I have to tell you that coexisting doesn't mean that the animals can waltz in there and actively disrupt everypony's lives? Now they're in danger because you think everypony's a nature talker at heart."

"Honestly, the rules of The Mare are just so flaky and oppressive... we need to shed them to coexist with those beautiful creatures and discover the nature talker in all of us. Wouldn't Mom want that?"

Fallow huffed. "Yeah, sure... your mother would want that."

Before he knew it, he felt something pounce on him and slide under his vest. He turned to see a teary-eyed Lemon Zest, shuddering under that vest and clutching his shirt as hard as she could. As she buried her face in his shoulder, Fallow looked up at Cheese approaching, and asked, "What happened?"

Cheese was licking his foreleg. "Mountain lion showed up. I scared it off. Where's Tomato?"

"Oh, he went back to your cabin," Fallow answered. "There's a little conflict going on between the townsfolk and the flowerponies and your brother made the mistake of launching himself in the middle."

Grapevine snorted, and turned to leave. "I should've known that he was a heartless square. It hurts to be his cousin."

Lemon groaned. "Is it this crap again?"

"Yep," Fallow stated.

Once Grape had left, Cheese blinked and turned to his uncle. "Uh... you want to bring me up to speed, Uncle Fallow?"

Author's Note:

Look who took a month to update!

Well, considering how tricky this subject is, it's really no wonder (although, I will admit, drawing new stuff, having a Disney movie marathon, work, holidays and family events this summer, and just flat-out laziness all contributed). Issues like this would work differently in Equestria than in real life (because there's nobody that can talk to animals to mitigate things IRL), but it's still nerve-wracking to try to write this.

Well, I got myself into this mess, let's see if I can manage to crawl through this without falling into tired cliches (especially since the pony at the helm this time is Tomato, a guy whose kind is usually portrayed as the villain in these stories) or screwing up epically.

Guess I'll go hide under my rock again.

Comments

[Goldfinch142]

Ah, the old 'environment vs. progress' battle. This will be interesting. Especially since most of the ponies involved seem to be against Tomato from the beginning, simply because of his businesspony-ness; he hasn't even said anything anti-environmental and everyone's already all over him. (The 'with us or against us' mentality displayed and both sides being portrayed equally reminds me of the orchard dispute in Over a Barrel. Maybe the outcome will be similar.)

"I should've known that he was a heartless square. It hurts to be his cousin."

Judging on appearances alone doesn't really seem like the 'peace and love' attitude Grapevine claims...

Anyway, good to see you back.

[RadicalDishonesty]

I'm looking forward to it, with our protagonist on the opposite side as usual. Seems interesting.

Cheese definitely is feeling regret and kinder toward Tommy, which is a good thing, even though Rooney's magic is trying to remove those sorts of feelings.

[redmar]

I hope that Tree Hugger isn't so judgemental of Tomato at least and I can understand not wanting to get involved in a with us or against mentality. Tomato seems to have a better idea than either side in the conflict.

[Godslittleprincess]

I've got a bad feeling about this.