Birthday Bio Double Feature: Pizza Pockets (I) and Macaroni · 4:53pm Jun 1st, 2016
Here I am, starting off the month of June with a Double Feature! 
Hey, wait, did I draw a grandparent character as their younger version again? Well, seeing as these two weren't together much in their elder years (plus, I couldn't think of a good scene for old twins other than sitting and laughing, and that's just not interesting), I thought it couldn't hurt to do that again. Though my list of grandparent characters to draw as old grows (perhaps not Pizza Pockets, as I can easily link you to an elderly picture of him, but Macaroni? Definitely).
All right, let's get on with this.
Born in one of the poorer neighborhoods of the Neigh Yoke Area, these twins grew up motherless after their mother Ricotta died in foaling (the strain of having twins was too much for her). While their father, Taco Pockets, was quite upset over this turn of events caused by what he called the "Pockets Twin Curse" (each generation of that family had at least one set of twins; Taco had a twin named Alfredo), he raised them alone as well as he could until he remarried. The twins' stepmother, Garnish, was nice enough, but they didn't get along with their stepbrother, Cilantro, and their half-sister Paprika was a little terror.
Growing up, they were typically found playing games with other foals in the streets of their neighborhood. They were billed as the "funny kids" by the others, always managing to get into hilarious situations. Whether it'd be Pizza Pockets kicking a can (accidentally knocking over a bucket of paint that happened to splatter a caricature of Princess Celestia on the street), Macaroni flying fifty kites (which ended in a couple of pegasi getting tangled in the strings), or either one baking a cake (one time had the cake set on fire, and the other had the batter overflow and flood the kitchen), there seemed to be no shortage of mischief that these two would inadvertently launch themselves into. Most of the time, everyone could laugh about it, though the time they injured an elderly neighbor was definitely not one of those times.
Garnish thought that the two had a bit too much free time, and suggested that they learned instruments. So, taking them to a new music teacher that had opened up shop in another part of Manehattan, she stood back as they chose their instruments. Macaroni grabbed an oboe and liked how obnoxiously loud it was, and Pizza Pockets effortlessly lifted an accordion and started to pump it, delighted with the unique sound it made.
The teacher, Tempo, was happy to teach them like he did with many other students. Tempo's charge, Beans, sometimes sat and watched, but preferred to be left alone, getting irritated when Pizza Pockets tried to make friends with him (however, he didn't mind Macaroni as much). The twins played their instruments for some time; though Macaroni lost interest and moved on from the oboe, Pizza Pockets was very attached to his accordion and kept on playing it for years to come.
Of course, while they were good with music, their real talent lied with food. Their father and stepmother worked in a restaurant on a corner, and when the twins were entering adolescence, the owner of the restaurant died. Since he had no "heir", Taco and Garnish now owned the joint. Seeing them overworked, the twins jumped in to help (since Cilantro ended up in jail and Paprika was a little too young to help), discovering that they had a knack for cooking. And thus, their cutie marks appeared, matching their names.
The twins cooked at the restaurant throughout their adolescence and young adulthood, while also entertaining the patrons. They would sometimes juggle some of the food items in front of customers, chopping them up and flinging them into the kitchen for a perfect toss into a soup pot or a pizza. Other times, Pizza would be pulling out the accordion and playing for folks. Thanks to him, folks ordered the pizza the most and referred to the restaurant as a pizzeria because of how much pizza was made. The twins gave up correcting them a long time ago, especially after Taco and Garnish retired from cooking after the former got struck blind after an accident in the kitchen.
Pizza admitted to one customer that they had been inspired by a recent visit from the circus where the Great Ponyacci performed (Pizza Pockets was a huge fan of him). Another thing they'd do was serenade couples having a romantic dinner, like Pizza Pockets did with Beans and his date, Panini. Seeing that couple made him wonder if there was a mare out there for him.
Then, one day, the Fruit Clan of Canterlot visited Manehattan on business. Their daughter, Cucumber Melon, got lost in the city, and wandered all the way to to the Pockets' humble restaurant. The moment she stepped in the door, complaining about being famished, Pizza Pockets froze in place and his heart took off. Macaroni had to snap him out of it by hitting him with a frying pan.
In trying to entertain the elegant unicorn, Pizza Pockets felt like he was messing up his usual tricks, and he caught each wrong note he played on his accordion. He was not used to embarrassment, but he sure felt like he messed up in front of what was obviously a rich mare way out of his league. It didn't help that his sister was poking fun at him. However, despite this, Cucumber Melon was amused by him, and expressed that she wanted to return to the restaurant, since it was far more entertaining that the kind of restaurants she usually ate.
"Mel", as the twins called her, did, in fact, return, dragging her brother Lemon Lime along as well. Pizza got his revenge on Macaroni when he noticed that she found Lemon cute, and prodded her to try to make that grouch smile. She managed to do so, because Lemon expressed gratitude that he finally met a mare that wasn't boring. Afterwards for the rest of their trip, the two Fruit siblings sneaked away from their parents in order to visit their new crazy twin friends. They later kept correspondence by letter, with the Fruits sending scented letters.
It came to a point where Mel ran away from home when her parents got impatient with her indecision regarding her suitors, and decided on the most profitable one, who she knew was a vicious stallion. She took refuge in the Pockets home, and vented about how she doesn't feel like she's in control of her life. Having come to Pizza Pockets because he was a stallion she actually liked, she made the decision of marrying her choice. While Pizza was unsure of the idea at first, he decided to go through with it.
Mel's brother came and found her, and upon discovering that she had already married Pizza Pockets, thought it hilarious that it'll rile up their parents and the rest of the Canterlot nobility. Seeing as Mel decided to follow her heart, Lemon decided that he'd like to have Macaroni for a wife. Seeing as Mackie was one of the few mares that could make him smile, he wanted to be comfortable rather than please anypony in Canterlot.
Of course, the Fruit Clan and their associates were in an uproar over this once the news came with Lemon bringing Macaroni, and Mel was summoned to Canterlot in order to repent of her sin. Some folks also wanted to publicly humiliate the twins, in order to punish them for seducing two of Canterlot's finest young ponies--especially Pizza Pockets, once it was learned that Cucumber Melon was pregnant. It got to the point where even Lemon (who liked riling up the nobility) didn't find it funny, and both he and Mel were considering going back on their decisions.
It caught the attention of Princess Celestia, who stepped in and rebuked everypony. She did not see a problem with both marriages, and gave the couples her blessing. While both couples were happy, Mel still lost her inheritance for being the one to start the mess in the first place. So, she took her personal possessions and went back to Manehattan with Pizza Pockets, who was just relieved that the mess was over.
The next August, Pizza and Mel's twin daughters arrived, who the couple named Mozzarella and Honeydew. In later years, though they never had any other siblings, the girls did have plenty of cousins from Aunt Mackie and Uncle Lemon; Citrus Blast (eldest son and only unicorn), Missy Pasta, Cheddar Cheese, Limey Green, Dill Pickles, and Pumpkin Patch. They didn't really visit each other often, much to Pizza and Mackie's disappointment--Mel wasn't exactly welcome in Canterlot after the whole mess, though Lemon was free to visit Manehattan. The Fruit parents were visited even less, especially after they called Ella and Honey 'mongrels' right in front of the girls.
While Mackie's kids had to grow up with the rules of high society Canterlot, they still provided mischief as much as they could. Citrus was the only one who took his status seriously, with the rest not really caring. They could sit still long enough for important events, but they weren't restricted by their parents, who just let them be kids. They drove the neighbors crazy.
Pizza's daughters grew up in the floor above the restaurant, while their parents worked the business downstairs--with Pizza doing most of the cooking and entertainment, while Mel took care of finance matters and sprucing up the place. In their free time, the family explored Manehattan and often sought out inexpensive ways to entertain themselves. Honeydew grew attached to the park, while Mozzarella enjoyed the library.
Pizza never really did have the heart to be harsh to his kids, so most punishments for either of them were just slaps on the front knee. This allowed the flaws of both girls to fester. Despite Mozzarella being an ambitious and intelligent girl with the desire to contribute something big and wonderful to Equestria and prove to her grandparents (and herself) that she wasn't a 'mongrel', she tended to be aggressive and bossy, often withholding sentiment because one rough time at the playground taught her that it was weak. And while Honeydew was sweet and nice to patrons and often wanting to spend time with nature and raise animals and plants, she was also kind of shy, an unrepentant crybaby, a slob, and awfully lazy, managing to manipulate situations so that she didn't have to lift a hoof and get away with it (using crying, shifting blame on her sister, peeking at Ella's and later her friend Hay's homework, etc.). Often, neither parent was aware of what Honeydew was doing (but Mozzarella sure noticed).
Naturally, the girls butted heads. Pizza and Mel were worried about them, but any attempts to get them to get along didn't work, as they were worded more like gentle suggestions rather than a hard push to get them to stop. It came to the point that Honeydew decided she had enough of her sister being so bossy and mean, and blamed her parents for not reining her in. She left town and they never heard from her again.
Mozzarella, on the other hoof, stayed close to them, even inheriting her mother's favorite necklace. After school and a couple of jobs, she settled down with Hay Burger, who had been Honeydew's friend (and the son of Beans and Panini). Even so, her temper and bossiness got the better of her, which had Hay shying away and into near permanent shutdown. Pizza and Mel scrutinized her closely so that she didn't go off the rails--especially since she had two sons, Cheese and Tomato Sandwich (who were the exception to the Pockets Twin Curse, being three years apart).
They made sure to give the two colts a fair bit of fun and respite from the stresses of their lives (well, Cheese was the more stressed one, being the older son, having trouble in school, being bullied, worried that he was a freak, and of course, nagged by his mom). They figured that there was no harm in spoiling their grandsons when their daughter won't. Pizza took the time to teach Cheese the accordion, though he was sad that they didn't know anypony who could teach Tomato an instrument (Beans was planning to, but he died when Tommy was a baby). Still, Mel took on teaching him math from an early age, and was surprised at his great aptitude at it, solving tough problems rather quickly for his age.
They were sad that they didn't know where Honeydew was, what she was doing, or if she had any children. If she did, they would have loved to meet them (and have the little Sandwiches meet their cousins). They also hoped that maybe someday their daughters could reconcile, and maybe have a bond like Cheese and Tomato did.
However, Pizza and Mel soon found out that they had cancer. They started the paperwork in order to pass the restaurant down to somepony they could trust, but in the middle of it, the cancer spread to the point where they had to be sent to the hospital. Knowing that their lives were drawing to a close, Mozzarella and Cheese came to their room to say goodbye as they departed.
The old restaurant went out of business, and was soon replaced with a different business.
As for Macaroni, she was heartbroken when she found out about her brother's death. While she and her husband would live to see their great-grandchildren, Mackie is still sad that she didn't get to go out with her brother. Still, she knows that Pizza would want her to be happy, so she remains so, and keeps on being a joy to the otherwise sour Lemon Lime.
Cheese Sandwich would name his eldest son after Pizza Pockets. Hilariously, Pizza Pockets II has a twin sister (Fudge Fondue), like his great grandfather before him, and would also earn a cutie mark in cooking.
No need to apologize for portraying grandparents young. That picture's adorable.
Pizza's inability to put his hoof down makes sense given the brouhaha that preceded his daughters' birth, but it is tragic to see the consequences play out for future generations. Still, I think he'd be proud of what his grandsons have made of themselves.
(Also, I have to ask, just what did Cilantro go to jail for?)
Wow this explains more about Mozzerella, if she was trying to compensate for what she saw as her parent's overly-permissive childrearing.