Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

20.2--Tommy in the Middle

Tomato did a lot of thinking in the cabin the rest of the day. Not that it did him much good--if his thoughts dipped to one side, then a voice from the other side would ask, "Who's side are you on?" Should he think about the nature park, he'd hear the townsfolk complaining about him wanting the town destroyed. Should he think about the town, he'd hear the flowerponies whining about how he wants the environment destroyed. All would whine over his cutie mark depending on where they thought he leaned--one side over it being a tomato, the other over it resembling a money bag. By evening, he was drained from the imaginary arguments he had.

After a quiet dinner with his brother and two cousins, Tomato intended to just dangle from the chandelier and scribble on a clipboard. Quietly. But, that was short-lived, because his thoughts ended up spilling out of his mouth--a little too loudly at that.

"Mom always told me that my cutie mark was one of prestige, of wealth, and something that few ponies of lower classes earned. I'm one of those lucky few, she said, and I should be grateful, because I'd get respect that nopony of our socioeconomic status could ever possibly imagine." He let out a sardonic laugh, and shouted, "Well, where's my respect?! Most ponies in my life wanted to 'take me down a peg'!"

Cheese and Toola Roola were busy playing a game of finishing each other's drawings. The former looked up, and bluntly stated, "Respect is something to be earned, little dummy. Maybe ponies would've liked you more if you hadn't been so grumpy."

Toola Roola asked, "So... who didn't want to take you down a peg?"

Tomato groaned. "My friend Bluejinx... a few teachers... employers... and a co-worker who moved away years ago."

A headphone clad and gum chewing Lemon Zest looked up from the couch where she laid, and pulled one end of her headphones and asked, "Hey, did you always hang upside down from a chandelier back home? 'Cause I don't think that's normal."

Tomato glanced at his tail, and went back to his clipboard. "I don't want anypony looking at my notes."

"Okay... so, why'd they want to take you down a peg?"

"Some ex-friends holding a grudge, bullies preying after a nerd like me, a spoiled rich girl not wanting scum like me at her level, and, get this, gold diggers disillusioned by the harsh truth about my actual socioeconomic status. You'd be surprised on how much ponies will judge you based on your cutie mark."

Cheese giggled. "Well... not gonna lie, I've had ponies assume I'm a good cook when I actually set kitchens on fire."

Lemon looked at her mark and bounced up to her hind hooves. "Well, to be honest, I am pretty rad with food; but my mark's for my 'zest for life'!" She bounced up and grabbed an arm of the chandelier, joining her moodier cousin in hanging. "But, obviously, you're good with money, Tomato, so I think you can help Dad out with all the debts he's got, and maybe even talk to Mr. Big Businesspony coming in."

Tomato peeked from over his clipboard, and muttered, "Well... I don't know. I mean, 2,000 bits is a lot, and I don't know if I'm up to it--especially with most ponies around here not liking me for daring to state something that covers both sides."

Cheese leaned on the coffee table. "So... you girls care to explain how this big animal mess started?"

Toola Roola didn't take her eyes off the paper and still colored. "Oh, it started like any normal animal sighting--animal comes into backyard, does something neat that has locals taking pictures, and they zip back into the forest. Rinse and repeat. The park was pretty popular back then too, with ponies from here and Graze Valley coming here to hike and check out the wildlife. Dad and the rangers' job was to keep the peace between the animals and the ponies and make sure they respected each other. Ponies keep a good distance away and not make themselves a threat, and animals don't maim or eat the ponies. All's fair and good."

Lemon swung herself up to hang upside-down from her knees. "Then, some ponies got the idea that nature talking wasn't just a subtype of magic--I've taken a class on subtypes, it's wicked cool--but a skill that a pony can learn if they just believe and meditate and be one with nature and all that jazz. Thus, the flowerpony commune was started, and things went south. They kept saying that by shooing animals out of town and keeping distance, we were 'violating basic tenants of harmony' or something like that and that 'nature talking is a part of all of us' and we should 'try to make true friendships with the animals'."

"Dad argued with them over it, but they insisted he was a hypocrite and clearly didn't know his own magic," Toola Roola added, trying to swat Lemon's three-toned green hair away. "Now our brother's gotten into the idea, and they say that their 'soul sister', aka Mom, would not want the divide between ponies and nature. Then, the animals took advantage of it to ransack the town, knowing they'd be excused because, after all, we 'invaded their territory' and should 'share with them' if we're gonna live here. And obviously, the townsponies are sick of it and now want to get rid of the park altogether to stick it to the flowerponies."

"Have the animals hurt anypony yet?" Cheese asked.

Lemon shook her head. "Nah, not yet, but I expect that to happen soon enough."

Toola Roola looked up at her sister. "You're just saying that because you're scared of them."

"Am not! There's a slippery slope, dude! Nopony becomes suddenly evil for no reason."

Tomato raised his hoof. "Except me. According to the tons of fiction I've read over the years, I'm the bad guy in this kind of situation. Psht, or pretty much any kind of situation. I've got to have my money to put in my swimming pool and what better way to do so than to crush the little guy or the poor animals?"

"Is that what you're doing with the clipboard?" Toola Roola asked.

Noticing Lemon trying to lean over for a peek, Tomato lightly smacked her away with the clipboard. "Ech... it's more of fundraiser ideas, but after my 'controversial' statement, I'm not sure if anypony will agree to help."

Before anypony could say anything else, the front door opened and Fallow Track came marching in. He had bags under his eyes, his head swayed with his gait, and he didn't care to wipe his muddy hooves as he strode forward. There were sighs of relief at being home, and he looked up at his daughters and nephews to flash a sad smile at them.

He glanced at those on the chandelier. "Now, why are you acting so batty, you two?"

Tomato froze, clutching his clipboard tighter and squeaking out an "Uhhh...", before swinging off with a flip and landing face first on the floor. Lemon laughed, following up with her own flip and a perfect landing. Fallow chuckled, and said, "Perfect ten, Zesty. Tom needs a little more work."

"So, how was your day, Dad?" Toola Roola asked.

Fallow sighed. "Well... got animals out of town again, argued with Grapevine again, and took in refugees from the Smokey Mountains again... seriously, I hope those two families stop fighting soon, because this park could disappear and those animals would have nowhere to go."

He started to make his way up the stairs. "I think I'll contact a friend of mine. Maybe she'd have ideas on what to do."

After Fallow was out of sight, the four turned back to each other. Cheese in particular took the opportunity to snatch Tomato's clipboard from right under him, despite the younger brother's protests. His eyes danced back and forth across the page, his mouth uttering the words printed thereon. "Go to neighboring town and fundraise. Cart wash... music festival... book fair... art sale... carni--hey, why's carnival crossed out?"

Tomato brushed himself off. "I didn't think you'd agree to it."

Cheese glared at him. "Why wouldn't I? Is it about the 'losing my sense of humor' thing you mentioned earlier? Or did you think I wouldn't trust you after that little scam you pulled with you-know-who? Heck, you still have the money from that, donate those bits, you greedy little--"

Tomato flinched and shuffled away at the sight of Cheese threateningly shaking his hoof. "No, no, no! It's none of that at all! It's about what you said about 'party pony powers shouldn't be used for profit'. I worried that asking you to set up a carnival would violate that code of yours."

Cheese blew on his forelock, which Tomato could clearly see was limper than it should be. With a sigh, Cheese mumbled, "Well... I suppose that this particular case could be counted as 'charity' and not 'profit'. Still think you gotta do something useful with that bag of bits Snap gave you. Not like I'm going back into a hospital anytime soon."

Tomato inwardly groaned. After sending some money to Flora's family to cover the hospital bill in Salt Lick City, he still had plenty left over. Those bits could help him with school, or allow him to move out of Manehattan and start his own business elsewhere. He wasn't sure what business yet, but he could figure it out later. Maybe if the fundraiser went above and beyond their goal, he could still keep it for future use.

"Well, we'll see where this thing takes us. Not sure if we'll be able to find volunteers to help..."

Lemon scoffed. "Oh, please, it's not like the entire town was there when you said that thing, cuz. There's bound to be some ponies in Aura Springs that'll help us! We just gotta go out and look for them!"

Toola Roola grinned and nodded. "Yeah, wouldn't it be nice to have a friend in town?"

Tomato blew on his forelock. "I could use a friend. I do wish my friends from school were here to help."

"You've made new friends in other towns this summer," Cheese said. "I think you can make at least one more."

---

And off to town they went the next morning. Stepping over dirt and debris and through splintered cabins and shops, the quartet easily found who to approach first--the ponies out sweeping up or polishing the damages. They were a few older mares, their aprons and tags marking them as humble small business owners. Tomato thought of his first employer, Madame Bookshelf, when looking at them, and he couldn't help but smile. Surely these ponies would be reasonable.

Straightening his tie and flashing a confident grin to his companions, he stepped on forward boldly and said, "Excuse me, ladies, do you have a minute?"

When sure that he had their attention, he began, "We are looking for volunteers to help with a fundraiser carnival, in order to--OOF!"

Sent chin first to the street by a broom, stars danced in his vision around the trio of old mares, now glaring at him. He froze as one of them of them crooned, "Well, isn't it that little kooky-dook vegetable that thinks it's okay to have Mr. Track's animals eat my flowers!"

"And my bread..." another growled.

"And my manuscripts!" the third snapped.

Tomato heaved himself up, swaying and holding his throbbing chin. "First off, tomatoes are fruit. Second of all, I'm trying to help my uncle repay his debt! How is that synonymous with--"

Before he could finish, he was broomed on the face, which felt like someone scraping a comb across his cheek. The bread lady yelled, "Do you know how hard it is to run my bakery when animals break in and eat my goods?! Mr. Track's precious nature park is nothing but trouble!"

Cheese jumped between Tomato and the old ladies. "Hey! You have no right to hit my brother like--OW!"

The author huffed in satisfaction at watching Cheese cradle his head. "Because of that park and those ignorant flowerponies, I'll never be able to finish my foal's literature! They refuse to control those beasts and blame us for the mess!"

Cheese growled at her, his mane bristling. Toola Roola came in, blocking Cheese from even remotely stepping forward, and said, "Look, Ma'ams, my father is trying his best to control the animals and keep them--OW!"

The gardener was clearly softer on Toola Roola than on Tomato, but her tone didn't change when saying, "Don't bet on us giving money to your silly little fundraiser--Mr. Track's still gotta pay for all the damages!"

Lemon stepped forward. "But that's not what they were--" She sidestepped when she noticed a broom swinging her way. "You know what, guys? I don't think we're clicking with them, let's get outta here."

She grabbed her sister and cousins by the tails and dragged them away from the old mares.

"Yeah, you better run!" one screamed.

---

"Okay... old ladies didn't work, so..." Cheese knocked at the door the stood before. "Knocking! We'll have some nice chitchat with them."

"Hope this pony listens," Tomato muttered.

A gruff, middle-aged stallion opened to see the two younger ponies standing there with big grins. Almost immediately, Cheese started with, "Hey! Me and my bro here are going around with a very important message for everyone in town!"

Narrowing his eyes, the stallion growled, "I dun' want to hear no preachin'," and slammed the door in their faces.

Blinking, Tomato glanced at Cheese, who looked like he was contemplating murder behind his smile. Lightly tapping Cheese's back, as he felt a full on pat might be a little dangerous, he murmured, "I wonder how the girls are doing with their door."

---

"Hey! We're here to tell you about this rockin' fundraiser that we're doing!" Lemon exclaimed.

Toola Roola nodded. "Yepparooney! We promise that it's gonna be a treat for all!"

The scruffy stallion at the door raised a bushy eyebrow, and deadpanned, "I don't want your Filly Guide cookies", before slamming the door hard enough to make the mares jump. Toola Roola especially squeaked in fright.

After recovering from her shock, Toola Roola scratched her chin and asked, "He... does see that we're too old to be Filly Guides, right?"

Lemon glared at her. "You know what he meant, Rools."

Both sighed.

---

After several doors slammed in their faces, Lemon Zest then had an idea.

"Okay, okay, okay, so I have this friend who owns a music store down this street..." Lemon began, pulling the other three along with her. "He's always thinking that everypony here is cray-cray, so I think he'd be an open--"

She froze at the corner, eyes big as dinner plates. Tomato opened his mouth to ask why she stopped, but a little tap on the shoulder and a point from the other two told him that down the street was full of trouble. As a matter of fact, a gang of bears had clearly broken into the music store, and were now playing a country jamboree in the middle of the street, much to the aggravation of said music store owner. The neighbors, from their second floor windows, complained about the music as well.

Lemon hastily dragged her three companions away from the square, beads of sweat flying from her person. "Never mind!"

As they were dragged away, Cheese covered his ears and grumbled, "That's not music, that's a trainwreck!"

---

As the day went on and they visited more corners, the four often had to redirect themselves when finding some animal on the street, due to Lemon panicking and leaving the area as quickly and as inconspicuously as possible. Whether it was raccoons throwing garbage at residents, cougars hogging a foal's trampoline, foxes running around dressed in some poor pony's laundry, or porcupines threatening some older ponies if they don't give them pie, there seemed to be an abundance of animals. They acted less like actual animals, and more like spoiled children at best, or the mafia at worst.

As for the ponies, any one that they could talk to turned them down more harshly than necessary. Most of them just looked at Tomato, and complained to him about the animals ruining their homes and businesses and how that stupid nature park needs to go so that they could live in peace, and prosper with a new business in town. Some even threw half-eaten produce at them or wielded sticks at them when he tried to argue back.

A couple of times, they ended up seeing Fallow yanking some of the animals away by the ear, and giving them a good scolding for bothering the ponies. Those animals seemed to listen for the time being, and scurried back to the forest from whence they came. But, for every animal that was convinced, there were several more still reveling in anarchy.

After all involving both pony and animal, all the group could do was take a breather on a bench.

"Well, at least we're not the only ones having a sucky day," Lemon grumbled.

Tomato was busy brushing rotten cabbages out of his mane. "Have these ponies never heard of being moderate? Sheesh! Just because I'm trying to help my uncle pay that big debt of his and save his park doesn't mean I'm against the town improving their quality of life!"

"If anything, Dad's just one pony trying to corral dozens of unruly animals," Toola Roola sighed. "He can trust the rangers to look after the park, but they can't talk to the animals like he can. Grapevine and Tree Hugger are the only other nature talkers in town."

"And Grape's stubborn, and Tree Hugger is high ninety percent of the time so why bother talking with her," Lemon grumbled.

"Well, maybe a good bite to the jugular could stop them," Cheese suggested.

The other three stared at him with wide eyes. "Cheese, no!"

"What? On just one! Fear is the best way to control other animals!"

Tomato sighed. "And just when I thought the magic pool had made you stop being scary."

Cheese snorted. "I can control myself, thank you very much! I'm not like any of the animals we've seen today."

Lemon pointed across the street. "Speaking of animals, their flowerpony buddies are picketing city hall."

The other three looked where Lemon pointed, and sure enough, there was a crowd of the flowerponies in front of the single brick building in Aura Springs. Tomato counted the signs, all of which were large slabs of bark with messages and symbols painted on them. The messages included things like "coexist", "don't destroy another's home for $", and "animals are ponies too". He wondered how long they had been standing there, and how the hay they managed to miss the obvious.

Lemon raised an eyebrow at the "animals are ponies" message. "If they were, then we wouldn't have a problem."

"Yeah, you wouldn't be scared of them," Toola Roola teased. She dodged a punch from her sister.

"Oh, no, I agree, animals are ponies," Tomato said. "Those porcupines formed their own mafia, after all."

It wasn't long before a certain green, shaggy pony in the crowd happened to glance back and spot the quartet. With his normal laid back expression, he broke away from the crowd and approached the bench to lean on. "Hey, blood sisters and cuzzes. The sunlight sure shimmers today, huh?"

"Hey, Grapevine," Lemon and Toola Roola mumbled.

Grapevine nodded and looked up at Cheese. "You know, I never got to fully appreciate those wild curls of yours. My mane was always somewhere in the in-between zone of straight and curls, and it's like... I never feel complete. I'd hate to say it, but I kinda envy your hair, Yellow."

Cheese blinked. "Uh... Yellow?"

"Oh, I'm not a big fan of your name. Stealing milk from cows just to make cheese as always been kinda weird and gross to me. Besides, you've got a big yellow thing all over ya, so I thought calling you 'Yellow' would suffice."

Cheese's eye twitched. "Yeah, sure, call me Yellow, it's not like you offended me."

Tomato nickered in annoyance. "Or that we have a cousin on our dad's side that'd like to have a word with you over that."

Grapevine turned to Tomato. "And the littler cuz, Tomato! Now, I had to meditate and clear my chakras so that I didn't give in to the blindness of anger. I know our first meeting went sour, but I am willing to forgive you for your naivety."

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "My what?"

"Naivety, of course!" Grapevine patted him on the head. "A poor pony raised in an oppressive city environment, being raised to believe that tearing each other apart for material gain is the only way to live in this world, instead of living together and sharing what this world generously has to offer us. Being a prisoner to The Mare for so long has tarnished your mind... but I can sense that there's still hope for you yet. My mother escaped your same situation, so perhaps I can help you."

Tomato leaned in his hoof. "Uh-huh."

"You see, perhaps you should meditate, and connect with the Cosmos and the Spirits of Harmony. Best chances of reaching them come with wearing lighter garments like mine, or better yet none at all; eating healthy, organic food; and allowing yourself to be one with nature. Only then, will you truly be free from your chains of societal oppression, your mother's abuse, and the sinister magic of your cutie mark."

Tomato's bored stare turned into a glare. "Okay, you lost me at suggesting I meditate in the nude."

Toola Roola started to giggle, while Lemon Zest roared with laughter. Cheese buried his face in a hoof and laughed as well, while Grapevine just looked confused. Ignoring the others' laughter, he asked, "What's wrong with what I suggested?"

"Oh, I dunno, I'm just getting the sense that you think I'm some poor, lost soul whose free spirit is oppressed by my own cutie mark. A cutie mark that I earned with my own actions, not suddenly had it forced upon me by a dystopian society expecting me to be something I'm not. For a pony who's motto is 'live and let live', you sure want to change my cutie mark."

Cheese cut in, "Also, I oughta ask why you brought our mothers into this? Mom's hard, but she's not abusive."

Tomato scratched his chin at that thought. Sure, she was an inconsolable killjoy. Sure, she often undermined him with guilt-tripping and screaming at him when things didn't go her way. Sure, she forbade him to do anything not related to his cutie mark when he actually wanted to. Sure, she was paranoid about him taking after his brother. And sure, she expected him to act like an adult, but still treated him like a foal. However, he'd just call her a pain-in-the-butt nag, not an abuser. At least, that's what he wanted to say to Grapevine just to spite him.

Still, remembering Flora's blunt statement of his 'dysfunctional family', and his heart-to-heart with Aunt Cocoa, he wasn't all that certain.

"My mom had a nick in her ear from how much her sister bit it," Grapevine said, shaking his head. "I'm telling you, there's a reason my mom didn't talk about her family much. She was lucky to find this place and be enlightened to know true harmony."

"I think you're putting her on too high of a pedestal, bro," Lemon grumbled.

Tomato scoffed. "Oh, yeah, true harmony, just like what's happening right now." He looked down the street, where the Porcupine Mafia had just extorted yet another hapless victim for their pies, and the country bears still terrorized everypony with their horrific music.

Grapevine was starting to get a slight edge in his voice. "Well, if the townsponies meditated and tried nature talking, than they'd discover that it was inside them all along. Their way of life just doesn't seem to be working in my eyes."

Tomato pursed his lips. "Are you sure I'm the naive one?"

"Yeah, still sure. After all, you think that cutie mark is a good thing when it's, like, a mark of greed and materialism..."

Tomato hopped off the bench and started to roll up his sleeve. "You know, I'm trying to use my powers for good. I'm hearkening back to my roots and pulling the classic fundraiser to help your father! Shame I'm wasting time talking to a hippie-crite!"

Grapevine just blinked, pointed at him, and then called out to his fellow flowerponies, "Hey, bros and sisses! This dude's oppressing me!"

Tomato's face fell. "Wait, what?"

One by one, the flowerponies turned, curious to see who Grapevine was talking about. As they all took a look at the 'oppressor', their eyes widened, and their peaceful expressions turned into soft glares of utter contempt. Slowly, they all turned, brandishing their picket signs high, and bouncing them in some sort of psuedo-war cry. Peace signs, flowers, and dreadlocks have never looked so terrifying.

"It's the Square again!" the stallion in front exclaimed.

"How dare he interrupt our peaceful protest in order to taunt us about the Mare coming to destroy the forest!" a mare cried.

"What?!" Tomato stomped a hoof. "Hey! I wasn't doing that at all! As a matter of fact, he insulted me first."

Cheese slid beside him and slapped a hoof over Tomato's mouth. "Stop talking! You're only digging yourself deeper!"

"Wow! He lies just like the rest of them!" Another stallion shook his head. "Grapevine would never do such a thing!"

"He has to stoop to slander?" another mare gasped. "Killing animals isn't enough for him!"

"Let's kill him with kindness!" a foal hollered.

Chanting, "Down with The Mare, With nature we must share! Down with The Mare, With nature we must share!", they marched forward slowly, offering him flowers and oranges menacingly. Those with signs looked prepared to shove them in the target's face, and frankly, Tomato didn't want to know just want 'killing him with kindness' entailed. Were they going to literally love him to death? What did that even mean, anyway?

Cheese also didn't want to find out, and took off around the corner, with Lemon Zest and Toola Roola following behind. The flowerponies broke out into a trot behind them, still chanting and throwing their flowers and oranges as tokens of 'love'. Their chants droned on and on, attracting attention from some of the confused townsfolk.

Some passerby animals even noticed, and decided to get in on the action.

As the quartet tried to weave through town for their escape, they found the critters at every corner. Beavers gave them a tail slap at one corner, and bit at the ponies' tails as they turned around and went off elsewhere. At another corner, they got kicked in their faces by rabbits. A raccoon jumped out of an alley when they sped down a street, and stole Tomato's glasses--only giving them back when Cheese dared to bite the critter on the tail. When encountering a skunk at another corner, they didn't need to be told twice to take off.

Slipping onto another street after fighting off tantrum-throwing ducks, they took a moment to catch their breath. Toola Roola looked down the street, and then pointed at the library, its abstract architecture sticking out like a sore thumb among the cabins. "The library! We haven't been to the library! Maybe there's some sanity there!"

"Yeah, I trust librarians!" Tomato exclaimed.

"I dunno, I'm not a fan of books..." Cheese murmured. "Love the architecture, though."

"How did we even miss that this morning?" Lemon complained. "That thing's the closest building to our house!"

When hearing, "Down with The Mare, With nature we must share..." coming their way, the four quickly took the beeline toward the library. It didn't matter that birds were now dive-bombing them, and that the porcupine mafia was now chasing them on fox-pulled wagons, shooting quills like bow and arrows, the two mares and two stallions had a destination, and they were going to reach it.

No matter the opinions of each individual in the quartet, that was going to be their sanctuary.

---

The librarian was re-shelving the books when the door opened. Turning in curiosity, the sudden slamming of said door made her jump and drop her books. With a sigh, she looked up and beamed at the four ponies now blocking the door, panic on their faces. "Hello, welcome to Aura Springs Library. If you're having trouble finding a book, then old Kimono or her assistant will help you find it."

Tomato was pulling porcupine quills off his body with his tail, gritting his teeth and squeaking each type one was plucked. "Oh, that's fine... we're just here for sanctuary--ow!--that's all. Geez, everybody's being nasty today..."

"One of my big reasons why I hate animals," Lemon grumbled, pulling quills off herself. "YOWCH! I'm gonna need a trip to the pool..."

Hearing the chanting outside and seeing her guests freeze up, Kimono smiled. "Well, I guess my assistant will barricade the doors... again. I swear, if it wasn't for Summer, my books would've been torn apart and this library a nesting ground." She trotted off, shouting, "Summer! Oh, Summer! Get the couches and chairs, we've got another situation!"

Toola Roola sighed. "Summer's such a pretty name! I'd like to name my daughter that someday..."

Tomato shrugged. "I knew a Summer. She was that co-worker that moved."

Pulling quills out of his hind leg with his mouth, Cheese tried not to scream in pain. He spit them out, and then proceeded to smack Tomato upside the head. "What were you doing starting an argument with him, you little dummy?! Do you want to look like the bad guy?"

Tomato pulled a final quill out of his shoulder, and his tail flicked it to the floor. He covered his nose to block the smell of blood. "Well, excuse me if I don't like it being implied that I'm evil thanks to my cutie mark! What do you want me to do, take his advice and try to change my mark? Nuh-uh, I just recently started seeing it as me, instead of some arbitrary, vague standard that some ponies think I should attain!"

"Well, gee, if you weren't Public Enemy Number One before, you sure are now!"

"Heh, thanks for stating the obvious... Yellow."

Cheese's mane bristled, and he crossed his front legs. "I swear, that is the dumbest and most insulting reason for a nickname I've ever encountered..."

A green, bespectacled pegasus carrying a couch came flying in, and she asked, "Excuse me, I'm gonna need you to move so I can barricade the door."

The four stepped aside to make room, and the pegasus, presumably Summer, set it down against the door. Brushing her hooves off and tossing her white and cyan ringlets, she grinned at them. "Thank you very much! And don't worry, if a bear breaks past this, I'll punch it in the face! As you can see, I'm stronger than I look."

As she took interest in the quills on the floor, Tomato spotted her cutie mark. Wisps of wind it was, alternating between chartreuse and lavender. He was taken aback by how familiar that very mark was, and wondered if that really was who he thought it was. Memory tended to be faulty, and they hadn't been that close, but this mare's name was Summer...

Summer rose back up with a quill in her hoof. "Say, did you know that there are tiny backwards barbs in a porcupine quill? It makes it easier for the quill to puncture the skin... and hard for it to come out! I think it evolved that way so that predators will never forget the pain!" She looked around at them and grimaced. "Okay, you guys need some bandages because you guys don't look too hot."

She zipped to the large checkout area, and came back with a first aid kit just as quickly. She swabbed the wounds on the girls, noting the sting by how they grimaced, and carefully stuck bandages on them, followed by wrapping gauze on the legs. She worked on Cheese as well, cleaning and bandaging the wound as she did with the girls. She took a big bandage to his hind leg, where three quills had stick and created one big wound. He tried to nip at her with each wave of pain, but she swatted him away each time.

But when she came to Tomato, she scratched her head over his sudden lack of quill punctures.

"Hey, wait a minute!" she said, hovering around and studying him, taking each leg at some point. "There's about twenty quills, and I've covered sixteen of the wounds... did they hit your hair or clothes or something? I mean, porcupine injuries don't just disappear into thin air... unless you go and sit in the magic pool uphill, but none of you have sat in the pool yet, so there's no way that--" She stopped when hovering around Tomato's flank and looking at his cutie mark. "Hey, wait a minute..."

Uh-oh, Tomato thought with an inward sigh. She is who I think she is. Yet another coincidence this summer.

The moment of Summer studying the mark was brief, and she gasped, and hugged Tomato's rump, lifting him up in the air by that end, and twirling. "I know that cutie mark anywhere! Hahaha, I can't believe that Tomato Sandwich is here! He's here, he's here, he's here!"

"Will you stop hugging my butt?!" Tomato snapped.

Summer dropped him, and muttered, "Pinch me, I must be dreaming." She nipped herself, squeaked in pain, and then after a moment of taking it in, she hovered higher and squealed. "Wow! How long has it been since we've last seen each other? Oh, it was such a downer, given that we last talked at Madame Bookshelf's funeral, and your last words to me were 'Of course', in response to my moving away, and--"

"Hold on!" Cheese interrupted. "Okay, back up, back up... uh, who are you and how do you know my brother?"

Tomato was face first on the floor. "She was my co-worker at my first job..."

Summer nodded, and shook Cheese's hoof. "Summer Wind, librarian assistant, student teacher, and lover of all things literature! I didn't know that Tomato had a brother! In fact, he didn't like to talk about his home life much, just that he didn't like his house very much." She gave him a stink eye and drew uncomfortably close. "You didn't bully him at home, did you?"

"Nah, I didn't even live there. Just visited from time to time." He gave Tomato a dirty look. "And why didn't you tell her I existed?"

Tomato sat up and rolled his eyes. "Our relationship was hostile, Cheese. You know, the same reason I didn't tell my college buddies about you? Sheesh, you'd think it'd be obvious."

Cheese snorted, and whispered to Summer, "Moody teenagers; what can you do?"

Summer raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh... so... what's your name?"

"Cheese Sandwich, the premier party pony in all of Equestria."

"Oooooh, you're that party pony! I've heard about you a lot both here and in Manehattan, but I never realized that I knew his brother! Are you older or younger? Because with our ages and how close in age you two seem, it's kind of hard to--"

"I'm older by three years."

"Oh! Okay, okay, gotcha." She looked at Lemon Zest and Toola Roola, who were just silently watching the whole thing in disbelief. "So, I take it you made friends with the nature park owner's daughters?"

Toola Roola lifted a hoof. "Actually... we just found out that they're our cousins. Crazy, right?"

Summer's jaw dropped. "Get out! As if this couldn't get any weirder! But so much more amazing!"

Tomato blew on his forelock. "My whole summer's been full of weird coincidences, so I really shouldn't be surprised that this happened."

Summer nodded. "So... I have to ask, what brings you to town?"

---

By the time that the group was finished telling Summer--and later Kimono--about the circumstances that led to the Sandwiches arriving in town, the whole cousin issue, and Tomato's efforts in trying to help, they were all sitting at a round table, drinking glasses of water provided by a nearby well. Their pursuers were long gone, but they still stayed in the library, just to be safe.

"A fundraiser? Here?" Summer clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I highly doubt if anypony's willing to help a pony whose animal friends are actively destroying the town. My dad's been run ragged trying to fix everything that's been broken."

"And our dad's been run ragged trying to get the animals to stop, but they won't listen for long," Toola Roola argued.

"We're gonna throw the carnival in Graze Valley," Lemon said, leaning forward. "I got a friend there that could pull some strings for us and let us have some space outside of town. Still, we need volunteers to help out, but... you know."

Kimono finished her glass and huffed. "Well, we wouldn't be having this mess if..." She paused and her eyes swept across her guests. "...someone didn't preach about how setting a line between animal and pony was limiting our potential, and therefore wrong, and that deep down, we all have the magic to speak to them. Hmph, nature talkers are the only ponies who can act as a steward for the wildlife; if anypony else tries it, animals start going to ponies for an easy meal, and soon enough... well, now the animals think they own the joint--all because the flowerponies think it merciful to spoil them."

"Yeah, those porcupines are not too far off from Manehattan gangsters," Tomato muttered, looking at his bandaged relatives. He cradled his head in his hooves and sighed. "I don't know what I can do about the animals--I'm no nature talker! All I'm trying to do is raise money to help Uncle Fallow pay for damages, but I don't know if I can even do that! One side hates me for supporting him, and the other side hates me for thinking that maybe a new business in town wouldn't be a bad thing."

Cheese leaned toward him. "We don't even know if that business wants to preserve the forest. It's a wild card, honestly."

Tomato blew on his forelock and laid his chin on the table. "I guess I should have known this is a lost cause." He looked at Summer across the table. "Remember my failed effort to save Madame Bookshelf's store? Yeah, wasn't that a wild ride, cutting the coffee shop and forcing you to chase ponies across Manehattan in a book costume?"

"Psht, don't I remember that," Summer answered. "I still have the costume, in case you're wondering."

Toola Roola whispered to a snickering Lemon, "Is it wrong that I want to hear that story?"

However, Summer took to the air. "But that embarrassment doesn't matter! What matters is that you didn't quit, even when the odds were against us! With our sudden influx of patrons liking our 'at home' thingamahoozy, I actually believed that the store was going to survive! If it weren't for laws forcing wage raises across the city, then maybe the store would have survived, thanks to a Mr. Tomato Sandwich giving everything he got to save something he loves! He's no quitter!"

"Uh, I didn't save it, and you have no idea how much I did actually quit in my life," Tomato deadpanned.

"Pfft, I bet the things you quit at weren't important." Summer waved a hoof, and then flew to Tomato's relatives, hovering over each she emphasized. "You're the brother of the Super Duper Party Pony, correct? He's known for throwing epic parties, so setting up a carnival should be a piece of cake for him! Lemon Zest's got a bunch of talents in music, chemistry, roller blading... so she's bound to bring some fun stuff to the table! And Toola Roola's an artist, so maybe her art will wow ponies over the beauty of nature, and she could sell some custom pieces at your carnival!"

She flew back to her seat and raised her hoof. "And I'll be happy to volunteer to help you guys out! I'll carry stuff, sell some of my old stuff like a yard sale, and I'll even put on my book costume to advertise! Anything to help an old friend!"

Kimino raised a hoof as well. "I'd like to volunteer as well. There are a few stories I'd like to tell foals over there."

Lemon nudged Tomato. "Hey, looks like we found a couple friends in town after all! We can't let them down now!"

Toola Roola nodded. "That's right! Maybe we can all put our special talents together to make the best carnival ever!"

Cheese grinned. "Well, with both me, the carnival master..." He pulled Tomato to his side. "And Tomato, the fundraiser master, I don't doubt that we can do it! Heck, Tomato even got his cutie mark at a fundraiser, so I know my bro's got this."

Tomato blinked, and then smiled. "Heh, okay... fine, you convinced me." He put his hoof at the middle of the table. "Here's to setting up the most awesomazingtastic fundraising carnival on this side of Equestria!"

The others put their hooves in the middle, and then threw them up in a mutual agreement, cheering in delight.

As Cheese pulled in Tomato for a noogie, Summer sighed, and muttered, "He's so handsome when he's confident... and that smile! Eee!" That was not unnoticed by Lemon Zest and Toola Roola, who looked at each other and giggled.

Meanwhile, Cheese cooed, "Aw, great adjective there, bro! I guess I'm really rubbing off on you, huh?"

Tomato pulled himself away from Cheese's death grip, gasping for breath. "C-can't I... rub off on you... for once!"

Wincing in pain, Cheese whined like a dog, and muttered, "We should go to the healing pools soon..."

Then there was a knock at the door. Summer went to the door, pulled the couch out of the way, and opened it to reveal Tree Hugger, who just beamed and said, "Blessings..."

Tomato snorted and pawed the floor. "I swear, if she tries to throw an orange at me..."

Tree Hugger ambled in, looking up in a daze. "Whoa... this is such a radical design! So much colorful light! I've never seen a sunbeam's aura be as alive as these ones! It's like you made your windows out of the most magic of magic crystals..."

Lemon and Toola Roola waved nervously, the latter saying, "Hey, Tree Hugger... what brings you here?"

Tree Hugger turned her attention to them. "Hm? Oh, the beautiful fruit sisters! Yeah, I'm here to escape the bad vibes that are fogging up the town and turning everyone's auras into the darkest of nights." She shook her head sadly. "I have been in a retreat near the geysers in the mountains, and letting the steam lull me into true bliss for my connection to the Spirits of Harmony, so that I may know what I must do to drive away the black auras from both pony and creature."

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "I have no clue what you just said."

Tree Hugger didn't seem to hear him. "They told me to locate you, so that I may assist in restoring harmony to our little town. I humbly ask that you receive my talents in your efforts to ease Fallow Track's burden. Peace will be achieved much easier then."

Cheese shrugged. "Well, we need all the hooves we can get. Tomato?"

Tomato pinned his ears back for a moment, but relaxed and sighed. "Fine, I guess you can join our little club."

Tree Hugger beamed brighter. "Righteous."

Author's Note:

So, "Fame and Misfortune" has introduced an official Toola Roola. She's cute and all, but she's just so generic that you could honestly replace her and Coconut Cream with literally any background fillies and the episode would be exactly the same. The only reason they even stick out is because "OMG G3 Pony!". Thus, I'm just going to be sticking with my version, thank you very much.

I'm more amused than I should be over the Porcupine Mafia...

Anyway, here, we meet Summer Wind, an old co-worker of Tomato's from his teenage years. She's now an excitable library assistant that's training to become a teacher during the school year. Since hearing of her, some followers of mine wanted to see her cross paths with Tomato again. If any of you are reading this, you got your wish!

Also, Tree Hugger. Can't just pin her to an extreme side, you know.

Comments

[redmar]

This was a good chapter and I like the fact that Tree Hugger is not so extreme as Grapevine.

[Goldfinch142]

Those are some intimidating old ladies. But hey, at least none of them had any pepper spray. Or martial arts training.

And the prospects of success are looking a lot better with a couple new friends (and an old one!) and a nature talker joining the group. This is also a great chance for Tomato to prove to Aura Springs that he's more than a cutie mark.

Also, Summer's crush is adorable!

[RadicalDishonesty]

Wow, the whole town really does pin the blame on Tommy. And Grapevine... wow. What a jerk.

Things are looking up by the end, though. Looking forward to some more, still.

[KawaiiShadow]

This story used to be interesting but tbh it's getting a bit boring...maybe it's because it's gone on for so long Idk. (Not trying to be mean or criticise)

[k88a]

I kiiiiiiinda ship Tomato and Summer
Just a little bit :p

[Godslittleprincess]

Sooo.....How long before the drama gets kicked into overdrive?