The Rock Farmer's Daughters

by Sketcha-Holic


25. The Nopony of the Family

After cooling down and apologizing for the ruckus that he and Pinkamena caused with their fight, Cheese escorted Lemon and Sugar home. Pinkamena was nowhere to be seen, and frankly, Cheese didn't want to see her, anyway. He was certain that she was still angry with him, which would hurt more than it already did. He still hated how she had prodded him, but he wondered if he had been a little too harsh when arguing with her.

He was quiet throughout the walk, merely guiding the couple around the rocks. Things were slow, but given that Sugar had given birth a few hours prior and that the sleepy Butterscotch being dropped was a risk, he could forgive them. The couple talked among themselves, but in a way that let him know that they were wary of bothering him about what had transpired earlier.

His heart felt heavy just looking at them. There was a time and a place for an argument, and in the same room as a newborn was most certainly not the place. Though Pinkamena had started it, he kicked himself for losing awareness of the foal and fighting back in that very room, especially since it was right after he had held her.

He shook his head. He apologized and they forgave him; why was he still dwelling on it? Was he afraid that Butterscotch didn't forgive him? She wasn't even a day old!

He didn't quite keep track of the time it took to bring them to their house, so when they arrived, he was wondering if the hours had been hours, or minutes extended by his thoughts. Still, the couple was home, and he had to go back to the rock farm.

"Well, it's a good thing we've got the cradle built now, right, sweetie?" Lemon said, nuzzling his wife on the cheek.

Sugar nodded. "Little Butterscotch will love it! She's going to be nice and comfy in her bed. But for now, I think it's close to feeding time."

Lemon turned to Cheese. "Thanks for escorting us home. Not that the Pies' home isn't nice, but we weren't planning on sleeping over. I'm just happy that nothing went wrong with the birth, Butterscotch is healthy, and Sugar was back on her hooves in no time."

"I'm still a little tired, though," Sugar murmured.

Cheese brushed his hoof on the ground. "Well... you're welcome."

Sugar held Butterscotch close to her chest. "So, Cheese, I hope you and Pinkamena will make up. That fight of yours was nasty... and out of nowhere."

Cheese sighed. "I wouldn't say 'out of nowhere.' She just brought up some behavior of mine that she's been noticing, and decided that she should prod me about it. Pfft, she should mind her own business, and leave me minding mine. What would be the point in trying to solve my problem, anyway? At best, I'm leaving in a few months."

Lemon scratched his chin. "So... you have a festering problem? Why'd you let it fester?"

"Well, why would anypony bother caring? My troubles aren't worth bothering anypony over; in fact, I'm sure I'll either get mocked for them or thought as a liar trying to gain sympathy."

"I dunno, Pinkamena seems to care an awful lot."

"Well, she shouldn't have. Does she really think she has the magical power to lift my burden and make my life better? Or to fix any problem faster than I can count to ten? Or that she'd make the most wonderful therapist? Pfft, no, she's a rock farmer mare. She's not qualified for that kind of thing."

There was silence for a moment. Cheese was looking down on the ground, still brushing his hoof in the dirt. Lemon and Sugar merely stared at him, glancing at each other every so often. An immediate response was not present in either mind, especially once Butterscotch started to fuss.

"Oh!" Sugar said. "Feeding time!"

With that, she trotted inside the house, leaving the two stallions alone. The awkward silence lingered once again, and Cheese turned around and started to walk away, his head hanging low.

Suddenly, Lemon spoke up. "You know, she may not be a professional... but admitting your problem to somepony is part of resolving whatever issues you may have. Perhaps you should take advantage of her willingness to listen."

Cheese looked back at him. "But... what if she judges me for not being strong enough to handle it on my own?"

"If she truly loves you, she'll be reasonable."

Cheese flushed at that. "Um, love? I'm sorry, but the implications of that word--"

Lemon interrupted him with a chuckle. "You bickered like a married couple."

"That doesn't mean anything, Lemon. We argued... kind of how like siblings argue! Yeah, that's it. No romantic attraction involved whatsoever, but a kind of love--and nosiness--present! Ehehe..."

Lemon raised an eyebrow. "Well, all right then. I expected sibling fights to have more kicking and screaming like Sugar described her brothers and sisters would do. I wouldn't know, I'm an only foal." With a shrug, he held out his hoof. "Anyway, I hope we can see you again, Cheese."

Cheese turned back around and shook his hoof. "Yeah, it'd be nice. The Pies sure seem to like you."

"It would be great to see you folks at the carnival that's coming up in a couple of weeks--of course, considering the whole Cortland fiasco..."

"I know, I know. Darn, I like carnivals." Cheese whirled around and started heading back to the farm. "Anyway, goodbye! I wish you well in raising your daughter!"

"And I wish you well in your work! And don't forget to make up with Pinkamena!"

Cheese gulped as he looked away. Already his hooves felt heavy as they clopped in the dirt, taking him to the inevitable confrontation with her. He was worried about how angry she still was, and if she'd react to him with violence.

He shook his head. No, she wouldn't. Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that the reason he was so scared was that there was a possibility for being judged for what had happened between him and his brother. After all, seeing that she got along well with her sisters, he was assuming it was shameful for him for not keeping in contact with Tomato. The bickering between Limestone and Marble was not even enough to drive a wedge between them.

Should I tell Pinkamena my story? Of all the stories of his life he could tell, this one was the one he wanted to share the least, due to it being so painful. He was partly grateful that nopony had even bothered to ask for all these years, but he wasn't sure if it was helping him or hurting him. The simple task of talking was very daunting when it came to that one subject, and already he could hear her scolding him for abandoning and ignoring his family instead of trying to mend his relationship with them.

And yet, his gut was telling him that it was time he let it out.


Pinkamena had her face in the trough and was taking generous gulps of cool water. She had managed to release most of her anger on an unfortunate boulder she found in the forest, as well as some dead trees she had come across. Despite what she had been doing, she was still frustrated over Cheese's stubbornness.

What is he hiding? A list of possible scenarios were popping up in her head, all doing with the few clues she had: he was reluctant to talk about his family, he's from Manehattan, he's been traveling since he was a colt, and he knew Bluejinx. So far, she had thought of theories consisting of Cheese being abused by his parents, orphaned, homeless and living on the streets of Manehattan, raised by a merciless older sibling, and having lost a younger sibling in some kind of tragedy. Fitting Bluejinx into any of those theories was a bit difficult, though.

She watched the sun start to set, wondering where the time had gone. She wasn't entirely sure how long she had been gone, or if her family had worked the rocks without her. All she knew was that she peeked in the window to find that the candy shop owners were gone, and the others were cleaning up. Cheese hadn't been in there, so either he was still sulking in his room or he had escorted Lemon and Sugar home.

She should have been inside, helping her family clean up, but she stayed out, not wanting to face a scolding about how she shouldn't bug Cheese about something he doesn't want to talk about. His business is his business, they would say, and that she shouldn't pry. Her Ma, her Pa, and her sisters were content to only hear what Cheese wanted to say about his past. But Pinkamena was still bothered by that single unresolved issue of his, and she wanted to understand why he acted the way he did.

Still, she couldn't help but feel that she had been too abrasive with him. Sweet as he was, he had his limits, and she certainly had been hitting them. Her heart felt heavy at the thought of Cheese still being angry with her for her pushiness, and she wouldn't be surprised if he avoided talking to her for a while. She was even worried that she might have made his issue worse, and made him less likely to want to resolve it.

I suppose I should apologize for being so pushy, she thought. I should just let him talk about it when he's good and ready. Of course, would he ever be ready?

That's when she noticed Cheese coming up on the path. She didn't hesitate one second to break into a gallop toward him. Her chest heaving and heart pounding, she felt a great joy at his presence, and yet a fear that he was still upset with her. Even so, she continued to run toward him, until she skidded to a stop.

Her actions surprised him, especially when her skidding made her bump her nose on his, and both parties ended up flushing. They didn't move for a few moments, and merely stared into each others' eyes. Pinkamena's thoughts wandered to how his eyes were reminding her of the vast expanse that Cheese had shown her and her sisters when they climbed that mountain. Her heart was still pounding, and that warmth she had been feeling often arose within her once again.

Cheese backed up, and she realized that she must have scared him. With a sigh, she said, "Excuse me for that. I got a little caught up in greeting you."

Blinking, Cheese asked, "You're not mad at me?"

"I was... but I've pretty much bucked it all out. I was wondering if you were mad at me."

"Oh... well, don't worry, I cooled down. Took Sugar and Lemon home."

"That's good." Pinkamena looked away. "Look, I'm sorry for pushing you about... whatever it is you're hiding. I should have realized you're not ready to talk about it, and that putting pressure on you wasn't helping. Still, when you're ready, I'm all ears."

Cheese winced. "A-Are you sure? Because, well, maybe I shouldn't have lost my temper back there... and well... you were right that it's hurting me. In fact, I've been debating whether or not I should finally bring it to light..."

"Look, you don't have to if you don't want to. I can wait."

Cheese stared at her for a moment, and took a deep breath. "Well... I can't."

He trotted to the fence and motioned for her to follow him. Once Pinkamena complied and caught up to him, they both leaned forward on the fence, and stared forward at the rocks. Crickets began to chirp, and from somewhere in the forest, an owl was hooting a haunting song. Both ponies were silent, and Pinkamena was just watching Cheese breathe, in order to compose himself. She held her breath, awaiting the moment of truth.

With an exhale, Cheese murmured, "It's not as spectacular as you would think. It's just a simple story of loneliness and disappointment."

"I'm not looking for spectacular, Cheese."

Cheese smiled sadly, and began, "Well, you know how you asked me when the last time I've held a baby was? Well, the last time I did was when I was three, when my little brother Tomato was born."

"So, you have a brother?"

Cheese nodded. "And let me tell you, the little guy worshiped me and followed me wherever I went. I can still remember the way we just played together, laughed together, and even danced together. He'd do a stupid little dance whenever I played my accordion, we'd be having adventures as 'cowspies', and we often had tickle fights and snowball fights." Cheese started to chuckle. "I always won those."

Pinkamena giggled at the picture in her mind of two colts tickling each other. Though she had no idea what Tomato looked like, she figured his name meant that he was a reddish color.

"And even though school was miserable--thanks to me being awfully shy, always targeted by bullies, and struggling in my studies--playing with my brother would always brighten up my day." His smile fell into a frown. "And then the day came where he started school.

"It started out innocently enough. We met Bluejinx that day, and since he was lonely, Tommy rushed to his side and befriended him, promising fun times, especially with big brother Cheese, who was 'the coolest pony in the world.' And then Tommy made another friend... and another... and another. There seemed to be no end to how many ponies he could attract, and it was scaring me.

"Soon enough, he was invited just about everywhere, while I was left to fend for myself. When he was at a friend's place, I was either home alone or having our nag of a mother on my case for not getting good enough marks in school. And when Tommy had friends over and wanted me to play with them, well, my shyness and... well... my dislike of those brats made me refuse every time. I hated hurting his feelings, but frankly, I was certain that the very moment Tommy looked away, his friends would gang up on me like everypony else, making fun of my hair, my glasses, my lack of social skills, and saying that my 'super cool brother' should just stop caring about boring ol' me."

Cheese? Boring? Considering how days on the rock farm had become less tedious since he arrived, Pinkamena could scarcely believe it. She held her tongue, leaving her commentary for the end of Cheese's story.

Cheese sighed and grinded his teeth. "Then there were the grades. Like I said, I was not meeting my Mom's high expectations, since she was dreaming of me becoming a doctor or something like that. Meanwhile, Tommy was passing his classes with flying colors. So, naturally, there came the comparisons, with ponies wondering why I couldn't have good marks like my baby bro, or why I wasn't as fun as he was, or just referring to me as 'Tommy's brother' instead of 'Cheese'. It didn't make me strive to be better; all it did was make me jealous of him and shut him out even more than I already was!

"I was really doubting Tommy's sincerity about wanting me to socialize more... all I felt like was his plaything, and that with his army of friends... well, what did he need me for? Still, I clung to one shred of hope that maybe, just maybe, he still loved me as his irreplaceable brother. Well, it was shattered the moment I found my busted accordion, courtesy of him and his bratty buddies. After that, I gave up, and took off, since I was sure nopony in Manehattan would miss me. What's one colt in a city of millions, anyway?"

Running a hoof through his mane, he added, "And... well... after a while, my cutie mark appeared, and well, just one look at it told me that once my family saw it, I'd be branded a failure."

Pinkamena looked at the hoofprints on his flank, reminding her that he was a drifter. She silently sighed at the thought of the day when Cheese would pack up and continue his journey to wherever.

"If I had gotten a different cutie mark... maybe, just maybe I would have returned and shown my family that I could do something right. But, what's passed has passed, and well, I suppose little bro's in college now, and soon to be living the dream life. Hmph, well, I'm not around to hinder him by being embarrassingly pathetic. Good thing I stayed away."

Pinkamena blinked. "Don't you ever miss them?"

Cheese looked down. "I don't like to think about them too much... Mom was more naggy and less supportive, and Dad was always busy. It's hard to miss them when you don't feel that they'd miss you. But Tommy? I do miss him... it's just... I'm afraid that he might have forgotten about me, or that if I see him again, he'd be ashamed to be my brother, seeing as I'm a hobo. Why go back and face an unwelcome response to who I've become?"

He sighed, and continued looking at the dust beneath him. "Well, there you have it. You've just heard the story of the nopony of the Sandwich Family."

Pinkamena stared at him, noting the tone which he had said that. She recalled the first night he had spent at the farm, where in response to her sneer about wounding his stallion pride, he had replied, "What stallion pride?" She had thought it was just banter; it was actually a window into his low self-esteem. She had never thought about how it was like to be overshadowed by a sibling, though frankly, there wasn't really any reason on this farm to be compared other than strength. Even then, none of the Pies really cared, as long as the job was done.

"So, you think they don't love you."

Cheese took a deep breath. "I haven't really been given reason to believe that."

"Shame, really. If I was in Tomato's horseshoes, I'd be devastated to find that you ran away."

"I have wondered about that sometimes, Pinkamena. Bluejinx has even told me that Tommy misses me, but I can't really bring myself to believe it."

"I don't doubt it. Being a younger sibling myself, I would definitely miss Maud if she decided to run away."

Cheese turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "I don't see why she would; she loves rocks, this place is full of rocks."

"Well, she has expressed desire to study types of rocks all over Equestria and learn more about them. She hasn't told Ma and Pa, though. She's a little unsure on just how let them know that she wants to go out and get a Rockterate in rock science."

"I don't see why they should be opposed. It's rock science."

"True. Still, we're getting off track. My point is that since you said that Tommy had been admiring you since he was a baby, I have a hard time grasping how he wouldn't miss you when you decided to run away. Maybe he's been wondering what he did wrong, and what he could have done differently so that you wouldn't have run away. I highly doubt anypony would forget their sibling. Just ask yourself; if he knew you were here, what would he do?"

Cheese tapped his chin in thought, and his eyes widened. Pinkamena could tell that there was something that clicked, though she didn't exactly know what to expect. Still, she smiled, for she could see that there was some progress. She opened her forelegs, and said, "Come here. You need a hug."

With a warm smile, he took up on her offer, and they wrapped each other in a warm embrace. Her head was on his chest, and she could hear his heartbeat. That heartbeat had been comforting back when she had been humiliated in her last trip to town, and it had been one of the warmest hugs she had ever been offered. It was nice to offer a hug of her own when Cheese felt down. Still, she felt as if there was something missing.

They pulled out of the hug, only for Pinkamena to get a crazy idea. She grabbed his head, lowered it to her level, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Immediately, Cheese blushed, and gave her a wide-eyed look with his mouth in an O. He rubbed his cheek where the kiss had been planted, and was unsure of how to feel about it.

Looking away, she said, "I... uh... just thought I'd add to the hug. Best not tell anypony."

Cheese nodded, and then started walking to the house in a daze. Pinkamena sighed, mentally kicking herself for that action. Why did she do that? Why hadn't her hug been enough? Shaking her head slowly, she had to admit it was nice to get to kiss such a wonderful stallion on the cheek. She wondered how it'd be if she got him on the lips, but shoved that thought aside.

She started walking to the house. And then she scowled, realizing that she couldn't avoid being scolded for not minding her own business forever.


Cheese felt as if he had been outside one moment, and in his room the next. It seemed like that the moment that Pinkamena had kissed him on the cheek, he had lost track of time and his own movements. He still rubbed it, feeling his heart go aflutter at the very thought of her actually kissing him. He felt slightly disappointed that it wasn't on the lips, but snapped out of it upon remembering what Igneous had said upon hiring him.

He smacked himself on the forehead. "Stupid! What am I doing? Is she crushing on me? Am... am I falling in love with her? Oh, dear, I hope not... Igneous is going to kill me."

He shook his head, and focused on what he needed to do next. He went to his bed, reached under it, and grabbed the envelope. Sitting on his bed, he took a deep breath, and ripped it open. The folded paper slipped out, and Cheese proceeded to unfold it, and read:

Dear Cheese,

So after all these years, I finally have news of you. I was thinking that you might have been dead, and that I'd never have the chance to see you again. What a strange coincidence that Bluejinx happened to find you in the same town that he was going to work!

If you haven't torn this letter up, I hope you hear me out. I admittedly was very afraid to write you, because I fear you're still angry with me. I would very much like to apologize for my part in driving you away, but I think it would be better if we were face to face for that. It would be better conveyed with my voice than a letter, and I am honestly very curious as to how you look now that we're both adults.

If you accept, I have to warn you: I'm not quite the same colt you knew. Not only am I taller, but I've calmed down considerably since you left. You'll even find that I've styled my hair differently. Even so, there is one thing that will never change: the fact that I'm still your little brother. Just name a time and place, and I'll do my best to get there.

If you don't, please let me know. I understand if you don't want anything to do with me; I haven't been the best little brother. I just want you to know that I still love you, my big brother.

Sincerely, your baby bro, Tomato Sandwich

P.S. Don't worry, I know about the rock farm.

Cheese read it over and over, letting the words sink in. Part of him wanted to scream that it was a fake, and that it wasn't Tommy's mouthwriting; but, then again, Tommy grew up, and so his writing was definitely more clean and crisp than it had been when he was a colt.

And then there was the curiosity of how Tomato grew up. Considering their parents, he wasn't surprised that Tommy basically said he had been watered down. He tried to imagine what he had become; unfortunately, all he could see was that grinning and laughing colt, bouncing off the walls as he always had. It was hard to imagine him having grown into a calm stallion.

Finally, there was the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Tommy really was willing to make up. There was a chance that they could be best brother buddies again, and that he'd be willing to meet the Pies. Cheese smiled, knowing that Pinkamena would definitely like to meet him, and that the Pies surely wouldn't mind a Sandwich brother as a guest.

But what of the time and place? No doubt Tomato had some sort of schedule; how was he going to do this?

This excitement surprised Cheese. After all, hadn't he been bitter for the past several years? Did telling Pinkamena really help him? Or was there still lingering post-kiss giddiness? Didn't matter; here was a chance to fix things, and why shouldn't he take it?

He looked at his cutie mark and rubbed it. "I just hope that doesn't matter... hm, maybe I should sleep on it. Best to have a clear mind before I make my decision. Don't want to do something I'll regret."

He yawned and rubbed his eye. Making a decison while sleepy was not the best thing.

He didn't want to screw this up.