Tales of Two Sandwiches

by Sketcha-Holic

Baby Brother

It was a simple little waiting room. Blue carpet, potted plants in the corners, a bunch of chairs arranged in the middle of the room and against the walls, tables with magazines stacked on top, and a large fish tank with colorful fish swimming within it adorned the room.

In the waiting room were two elderly couples and a little brownish-gold colt. Four out of the five ponies were earth ponies, with the green, salmon-maned mare being the lone unicorn. Her yellowish orange husband's mane tried to match her horn with a pale yellow forelock, though it was ultimately curled like the rest of his hair. The other couple was made up of the skinny, balding husband being a dark yellowish brown, and the bespectactled red-headed wife being a grayish yellow. They all sat in a row, with the balding one reading a magazine, his wife exchanging jokes with the other stallion, and the unicorn knitting, watching her little grandson stare at the fish.

The colt had his face pressed against the glass, his eyes following the movements of the clownfish as it swam around the fake reef and the other fish. So fascinating were they, and the little colt wanted to get their attention. So, he tapped on the glass, and to his disappointment, the fish dashed away from him.

The unicorn mare set down her knitting needles and was beside him in an instant. "Oh, no, Cheese, don't tap the glass! It scares the fish."

The colt, Cheese Sandwich, turned to his grandmother, and back to the tank. "Sorry, fishy."

The little three-year-old turned and bounced off the chair. Plopping on the floor, he crawled under the chair, and then started to tunnel between the legs, squealing in an imitation of the subway train.

The balding one looked up from his magazine. "Hey, munchkin, whatcha doin'?"

Cheese's head of brown curls popped out from under a chair at the adjacent wall. "Imma train!" His head slipped back under, and he continued to make the train noises as he crawled. It wasn't long before he was singing about chugging through the tunnels.

Shaking his head, the grandfather nudged his wife, and said, "Panini, I think your quirkiness skipped a generation and got into him."

Panini blinked at him, and then giggled. "Aw, Beans, young'uns can never sit still. 'Member when Cocoa Butter was runnin' around th' house smellin' like a wet dog? Or when Hay Burger would be throwin' his toys around and then puttin' 'em back in their places?"

Beans stroked his goatee. "I don't know... Hay Burger was always quiet. His little munchkin, on the other hoof, clearly wants to show off his musical aptitude." He formed a wry grin and snickered. "Yep, he definitely has the family pipes--like his father and grandfather."

The other grandfather gave him a grin and strummed his forelock, saying in a singsong voice, "And he's got my family's forelock too! Also, friendly reminder that I called dibs on teaching him my instrument first."

"Baw, Pizza Pockets, must you always do that to me? I want to teach my craft, you know!"

The unicorn, Cucumber Melon, leaned over. "Not to worry, you may teach our new grandfoal when he or she is old enough."

Panini frowned. "Mozzarella's been in there an awful long time. I hope she's not havin' problems."

"Oh, dear, I hope not."

"Woo woo!" Cheese hollered.

Beans sighed. "He's imitating the wrong kind of train..."

Pizza Pockets eyed the little toddler as he crawled under the chairs, scurrying to the next row before continuing his train role play. "Little Cheese, being so caught up in his game. I hope he's eager to let his sibling in on those games when he or she is old enough."

The door on the other side of the room opened, and a nurse walked through.

Immediately, Cucumber Melon was on her feet. "How's my daughter?"

The nurse smiled. "She is doing well. The foaling has gone smoothly, and while the colt is tiny, he's healthy and has a strong pair of lungs. Goodness, he was screaming when he came out."

Beans gave a wry grin to Pizza Pockets. "Knew it was gonna be a colt. You owe me ten bits."

Pizza Pockets sighed. "I'll pay you later."

Panini jumped out of her chair, and then danced in place, grinning at the other three. "C'mon, y'all! Our new grandson is waitin' for us!"

Beans slowly climbed out of his chair, stretching his legs carefully. "Dang it, 'Nini, how do you still have so much energy? My creaky bones don't allow me to do that!"

Pizza Pockets and Cucumber Melon also stood up. The latter turned to a spot under the chairs and said, "Come along, Cheese! There's someone you need to meet."

The little colt's eyes widened, and then he scooted further under the chairs and shook his head. "Uh-uh! I no wanna meet stranger."

Cucumber sighed, and walked to the spot that Cheese hid. She crouched down to look into Cheese's green eyes. "Oh, but this new pony won't be a stranger for long. He's going to be a new friend."

Cheese whimpered. "No! Strangers mean!"

Pizza Pockets looked at the other couple. "You go on ahead, I'll help Mel coax Cheese out from under there."

The other two nodded, and then were led to the room where Mozzarella and the new baby were. Once they left, Pizza Pockets joined his wife in crouching down and sweet talking the little toddler.

"Hey, little buddy," he said. "There's no need to be afraid. We're going to meet the new baby."

Cheese blinked. "Baby?"

---

Beans and Panini walked into the hospital room, finding a red-headed, mustard-yellow mare lying on the bed, which was halfway across the room and against the adjacent wall. Her curly mane was in some parts bristled, and in some parts wet with sweat. Bags were under her eyes, and she laid back, taking deep, silent breaths. Though she wasn't smiling, there seemed to be an air of relief around her, as if she was glad it was all over. Cradled in her forelegs, a small, red-orange colt slept, wrapped in a blue blanket, and a dark brown curl poking out of his beanie.

The couple sat down at the mare's bedside. Panini looked up, seeing a cinnamon-colored stallion staring out the window. She glanced between him and the colt, noting that the little one looked a lot like his father, though clearly brighter colors.

The mare, Mozzarella, looked at them with a deadpan expression. "Where are my parents?"

"Getting Cheese out from under some chairs," Beans replied. He eyed the colt with a smile. "Mind telling us the munchkin's name?"

The baby started to squirm. Bobbing the colt, Mozzarella replied, "His name's Tomato Sandwich."

Panini gave her a confused look. "Is that a real sandwich?"

"Yes, Panini, it is." She glanced at Tomato, who was rubbing his eyes. "The moment I saw him, I thought he looked like a tomato. And since tomato's a fruit, like half my family is named after, and a good companion food for cheese, I thought it'd be a good name for him. As for the 'sandwich' part... it just sounded the best to me and not as awkward as naming him 'soup'."

"Did Hay help you name him?"

Mozzarella had a scowl on her face. "He's been at the window the entire time."

Tomato opened his eyes, revealing them to be green like his brother's. He blinked a few times before staring at his grandparents.

"Hey, looks like the new munchkin's awake!" Beans said. He laughed, and said, "Hey, little buddy... looks like you's seeing your ugly Gramps' face, huh? I'm surprised you're not crying yet."

Tomato blinked, and then he reached forward, cooing at his grandpa.

Panini reached forward and scratched Tomato's chin. "Well, ain't he just the li'l doll? He's cuter than a litter of puppy dogs learnin' how to howl! Shoot, he looks so much like his Pa!" She looked up at the stallion at the window. "Hay Burger, get away from the window and say hi to yer young'n!"

Hay Burger merely grunted in response.

Panini's face went sour. "Why's he bein' like that? He was happy when Cheese was born, and now he won't look at little Tomato."

Beans glared at Hay Burger and shook his head. "At least show respect for your flesh and blood."

Mozzarella groaned. "How do you expect to be a good father if you can't even bear the thought of a second foal?"

Hay Burger glanced at the rest of the group, his eyes making it clear where both Cheese and Tomato got their eye color. With a scoff, he replied, "You wanted a filly. He wouldn't be pleased to learn that."

Beans put a hoof to his face and groaned. "Stop spoiling this day, you two. We have a new member of the family, and you just treat it as some excuse to insult each other. If you don't clean up your act, both of your sons will not grow up very happy. Geez, you're acting like my parents, and I was a miserable colt growing up under them!"

That was when the door opened, and they all turned to see Pizza Pockets and Cucumber Melon coming in, with little Cheese Sandwich on the former's back. Grinning, Panini said, "Looks like Pizza and Mel brought little Cheese. Let's see what Tomato's older brother thinks of him."

The couple walked forward a bit, and Cucumber Melon gasped. With a hoof on her heart, she said, "Oh, my! Look at that precious little baby! Cheese, do you see that baby? That's your new brother."

Cheese narrowed his eyes at the baby, and leaned forward, trying to investigate what the heck that was in his mother's forelegs. He leaned a little too far and started to fall, but Cucumber Melon quickly grabbed him with her magic.

Pizza Pockets chuckled. "Well, well, he looks a lot like his dad."

Hay Burger groaned and said, "I know..."

"Well, don't just stand there, let little Cheesaroo take a closer look!" Panini said.

Cucumber Melon levitated Cheese onto the bed, and set him in front of his brother. Cheese tilted his head, staring at the strange and tiny new pony. Tomato stared back, taking in the presence of this other pony that was bigger than he was, but smaller than everypony else. Matching eyes stared at each other, even as Cheese decided to stand up and toddle toward him. Tomato leaned back, his brow furrowing in confusion, and watched as Cheese plopped on the bed, sniffing him, and taking a tiny vermilion hoof in his own.

With a soft chuckle, Cucumber Melon looked at her daughter, who gave her a nod in response to the silent inquiry of whether she could hold Tomato or not. However, Mozzarella's eyes widened as Tomato was levitated straight into the confused Cheese's forelegs, and she gasped, "Careful! Cheese is only three, he might drop him!"

The baby was kind of heavy, but Cheese stayed strong. From what he heard, babies get hurt easily, and he didn't want to hurt this tiny, new baby he held. He still stared at Tomato, their eyes locked in a mutual sense of confusion and awe. Cheese felt the warmth of the tiny foal seep into him, and the longer he held him, the more he felt the softness of the little body. Cheese's thoughts ran from how nice this baby felt, to how precious the baby looked, how much smaller baby was compared to him, and how this was supposed to be his new friend. Relieved that this stranger wasn't big and scary like all the others, he decided he wanted to keep his new baby brother.

Cheese smiled at Tomato. "Hi! I'm big brother Cheesy!"

Blinking, Tomato gave a weak smile back, and cooed to show his approval of his big brother. Cheese nuzzled Tomato's cheek, amazed at how soft the fur was. Yes, soft fur, Cheese really liked that his brother had soft fur.

He looked up at all the grown-ups, lifted up Tomato with all his strength, and announced, "This my baby. This my baby forever and forever."

Beans laughed. "Looks like Cheese likes him. You gonna be a good big brother?"

Cheese nodded, and Beans continued, "Well, at least somepony's happy he's here. Heck, most of us are happy Tomato's here. I can just imagine these two being the ultimate musical team!" He paused as Tomato yawned, and he took a quick look at the inside of the baby's mouth, looking far back into the throat. "Looks like they both have the pipes. So, accordion, piano, and both singing voices will be a winning team. Can't wait until Tomato's old enough so I can start teaching him my craft."

Cheese laughed back, and hugged baby Tomato, cheek to cheek, and both colts smiling.

He was going to like being a big brother.

Author's Note:

In which I write this on a whim, with a desire to go a bit more in depth into my headcanon for the childhood of Cheese Sandwich. Don't expect consistent updates, since I've got two other multi-chapter fics going on, as well as real life stuff.

Still, I do like to toy around with Cheese and the brother I created for him, whether they're colts or stallions. They're fun to write and draw.

Comments

[scoots2]

This is 100% CheesePie Approved

orig07.deviantart.net/158f/f/2014/032/a/6/make_a_wish_by_cogbrony-d74qf5v.png
Source.

[Sketcha-Holic]

6829085 Oooh, approval with the OTP. Nice.

[Tacosaurus101]

Awh! This is so cute!
Can't wait to see more :D

[basicfangirl]

Awww god this is amazing!!! I can see potention in this!!! great story can't wait to read more!!!!

[howard035]

Cheese is adorable. Did we ever learn what happened to Hay Burger to cause such a radical change in the last 3 years? He was so excited to be a dad the first time, and now he's already phoning it in.

[Jordan179]

That is really sweet -- with some dark foreshadowing of the continued decay of Hay Burger's marriage to Mozzarella.

[Godslittleprincess]

That was adorable. Oooh, I feel bad for what's going to happen to Beans and Panini.