> Brother Bothers
>  by Sketcha-Holic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Of All Places to Go
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This party was a success. He could smell it. 

Literally. The aroma of pizza, fudge, several kinds of fondue, many different flavors of cake and ice cream, and a whole lot of green gelatin hung in the air. The sight of ponies chowing down on them told him a lot. Heck, he was even munching on a slice of pizza, taken from spinning plates, balancing on poles that stayed upright for a long period of time, much to the amazement of other ponies. He could hear foals laughing as they bounced down an inflatable slide and into a multistory bounce house. And he could hear the music from the talent show that had been set up not too far from the tree he leaned against. 

He nodded in approval at the sight of those ponies smiling. He had finished his pizza as a silver-coated and blue-maned pony trotted up to him. 

"Wowza, Mr. Sandwich!" the pony exclaimed. "You weren't kidding when you said this party would be--" 

"Epic?" Cheese Sandwich interrupted. When the other pony nodded, Cheese pulled a cowboy hat out of nowhere and placed it on his head. "Glad to hear it, Mr. Sink."

Mr. Sink nudged him. "I told ya to just call me Kitchen!"

"Psht, and I told you to just call me Cheese." Cheese walked over to the beverage table to grab himself a glass of water.

"Touche, Cheese." Kitchen followed him and got himself a drink of his own. He patted him on the back. "Quite a talent you have here, Cheese. I've never seen this much fun in this town in all my years."

"Mm-hm." Cheese started to sip at his water.

"Hehe, I bet your family's real proud of ya!"

Cheese's eyes shot open and he spat out his water. He coughed and sputtered, and wiped his mouth with a groan. He wanted to glare at Kitchen for saying that, but the other pony didn't know that would happen. After all, he wouldn't expect a random Hayfield resident to know his backstory. 

Kitchen furrowed his brow. "You okay?"

"Eh..." Cheese coughed once again. "It just went down the wrong pipe."

"Um... okay. Anyway, are you satisfied with your career choice?"

Cheese smiled and nodded. However, the very next moment had his body suddenly quaking. The shivers went from his head to his back hooves, and he could feel his leg muscles stretch, accompanied by accordion notes. And then he shoot up into the air with a whoop and fell back down with a few hearty laughs. When he came back down to earth, he grinned at the confused Kitchen. 

"My Cheesy Sense just gave me a doozy!"

"Er... huh?"

"There's a party in need, and it's going to be a good one!" Cheese's eyes twinkled as he looked up at the sky and rubbed his hooves together. "And out of all places, I am happy to say it's Ponyville!"

"Uh... okay."

Cheese giggled once again, before furrowing his brow and looking around. "Okay, now where did Boneless Two go?"





Ponies poured out of the classroom, most of them ignoring any final words that the professor had to say. Some were chatting among themselves, some were hurrying to their next class, and some were heading to lunch. Some paused to stretch their legs, and some were a little sluggish from boredom. They all carried saddlebags full of notes, including those written to remind them of what they were assigned, though it was highly likely that most of the students would procrastinate.  

The last pony to leave the room was a tall, bespectacled, red-orange stallion, clothed in a brown suit jacket, a white buttoned shirt, and a green necktie. With a final word and a nod to the instructor, he immediately turned and strode down the hallway, heading for the exit at the end of the hall. As he walked, he smoothed down his dark brown mane, only for a large forelock curl to spring up to its place above his muzzle. 

Once outside, he squinted his green eyes and blinked rapidly to adjust to the sunlight. Once he could see, he adjusted his glasses, looked around, and began to walk again. Since it was noon and he had an hour before his next class, the food court was his next destination, especially since his stomach began to rumble.

No sooner did he reach his destination and set his saddlebags on a table did four other ponies suddenly appear. He looked up at them, raising an eyebrow. 

"Do I even want to know how you ponies achieved supersonic speed?" he asked flatly.

A gray pegasus stallion spoke up. "Well, it was the time I ate that super spicy--"

The mare of the same color and pony type beside him smacked him on the back of his head and shouted, "Nimbus! Don't remind us of that!"

Nimbus glared at her. "Well, excuse me, Cirrus, but that was also the time I did a sonic boom."

"Pfft, yeah... right... I swear every time you get indigestion, you exaggerate something..."

A green earth pony mare stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Do you really have to go there, you two?"

The final pony, a blue unicorn, groaned. "Come on, Tomato didn't even want the question to be answered."

Tomato leaned on the table and rolled his eyes. "I especially didn't want to hear the story of the Mega Chili Pepper Bomb again. Now, let's just get food, I'm hungry. Then we can continue talking."





The pegasus twins, Cirrus and Nimbus, had gotten themselves a couple of hayburgers and a large tub of fries, and were scarfing them down greedily. The light green mare, Flora Peace, had gotten herself a simple salad. The unicorn, Bluejinx, was feasting on a carrot dog. And Tomato Sandwich had gotten a slice of pizza for himself. 

The conversation had moved from subject to subject. First, it was complaining about homework; then, it had transformed into tales of stupid things that had happened in their classes. The twins talked about the fire alarm that went off in the Theater Hall; Flora kept on giggling about 'monster geese' that had inexplicably come through the window of her art class; Bluejinx talked about the chalkboard falling down in his writing class; and Tomato talked about the student who brought a frog to help with his math quiz.

Soon enough, their meals were finished, and Tomato had ten minutes until his next class. He grabbed his napkin with his tail, and wiped his face with it. If he noticed his friends staring at him, he made no indication of it. He stood up, and started to put on his saddlebags. 

"Well, this was an interesting conversation," he said. "But my next class awaits."

Bluejinx shrugged. "All right... oh, I just remembered! My cousin, Royal Pin, has invited me to a Fall Festival in Ponyville this weekend."

"Good for you, Blue." Tomato tightened the strap. "I'm sure your cousin will be thrilled to have you there."

Cirrus chuckled. "Is this cousin of yours a royal pain?"

Bluejinx shot her a brief glare, and then turned back to Tomato. "Well, you see, he told me that I could bring friends. So, I figure that I could invite you guys to join me."

Flora beamed. "What kind of things will there be?"

"Oh, food, games, arts and crafts, things to look at, Running of the Leaves... yeah, I hear they're planning to make it a ton of fun."

Nimbus shot out of his seat and hovered. "Oh! Oh! Will there be karaoke? I love me some karaoke!"

"Uh... maybe?"

"If there is, could we get him to sing?" Cirrus asked, pointing at Tomato. 

The red-orange stallion scowled. "Oh, for goodness' sake, Cirrus, why do you always bug me about singing?"

"'Cause you're good."

"Psht, I'm not meant for entertainment. Just take a look at my cutie mark." He turned and gestured to said mark, a tomato which was shaped to resemble a money bag; the dollar sign in the middle helped establish that. 

"You don't have to sing if you don't want to, Tommy," Bluejinx said. "But it would be nice if you came along. You really need to relax and get away from this place a bit--and away from letters from your mother."

"What's wrong with his mother?" Flora asked. 

"Nothing!" Tomato growled. He sighed. "Blue, I appreciate the offer, but is it really a good idea to bring me to a festival? I'd hate to spoil your fun."

"Aw, come on!" Bluejinx jumped out of his seat. "You don't have to be a party animal to enjoy it. Given that you don't... ever go to parties... uh, well, I promise it's not a wild college party that keeps you up all night." A cheesy and nervous grin spread across his face, and he looked back at the other three to gauge their reaction.

Tomato rolled his eyes. "I have my own special reason for avoiding them."

"Oh, come on! You won't get hurt!" Cirrus snapped. "I am so tired of your stuffy little party pooper attitude! You obviously need some fresh country air, and this Ponyville Fall Festival thing is perfect!"

"Do you really need to be abrasive?" Flora asked. With a sigh, she asked Tomato, "So... you're going to refuse your colthood friend's invitation?"

Tomato put a hoof to his face. "Flora... don't guilt trip me."

"Am I?"

"Yes, I can see where it's going."

"Well... darn. Still, just saying you should take this chance to stretch your muscles and relax a little bit, give your brain some rest from the stresses of college life. Who knows, you might actually end up having fun!"

Tomato twirled his large forelock curl in his hoof. "Had too much of that when I was a colt, ended in disaster."

Bluejinx chuckled nervously. "Well, I promise that this won't end in disaster. The past is in the past, and I assure you that we'll take every precaution to make this as fun and safe as can be. Besides, nopony but us will know who you are, so you don't have anything to worry about. Think about it, okay?"

Tomato blinked, glanced away for a brief moment, and then nodded. Bluejinx clapped him on the back, and let him go to class. As Tomato walked away, he thought about what had been said to him. Though he had been outwardly denying interest, there still was a part of him that really yearned to go.

Still, he was afraid to open an old wound, even if the one involved in said wound wasn't there.





Cheese Sandwich's steps brought up a small billow of dust as he walked, the rubber chicken on his back bounced, and the sun was beating down on him. He ignored his sweat and his thirst, instead grinning at the prospect of returning to the place that had started his career. 

He replayed that wonderful memory in his head. The moment where he stumbled into the party. The moment where ponies noticed him and encouraged him to join in on the fun. The smiles he saw, the music he heard, the laughs and squeals of delight that had permeated into his soul, and most importantly... her.

He was forever grateful to Pinkie Pie. Seeing how she had set off all that joy, he made the decision to turn his life around. No more of that shy, awkward colt; Cheese Sandwich was a party pony. His cutie mark had sealed it.

He frowned and stopped, looking at the ground. His family didn't understand. Even when he tried to explain it, there was the dismissal, and the scolding, and the attempted guilt trips. The comparisons were where he had snapped, and ruined any chance he had of at least getting a begrudging respect from any of them. 

He looked at Boneless 2 and sighed. "Sorry for getting down again. A bad memory just shoved the good one aside." He started walking again, the memory not leaving his mind. "I just wish things had gone differently that day."

He snorted. "Never mind that now, on to Ponyville."
> Prepared for Anything
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the town of Ponyville, inside Princess Twight's castle, a meeting was going on.

"All right, girls!" Pinkie Pie whacked a switch on the table, making her friends jump. She glared at them from under her army helmet with great intensity, sweeping her eyes to see if any of them were paying attention. "We have been tasked with setting up the annual Ponyville Fall Festival, and we're going to make sure this year is bigger and better than last year. More smiles, more fun, more promotion of friendship, sisterhood, and brotherhood!" She whacked the table once again, making Spike stumble out of his throne. 

"Whoa, Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I know you're serious about this, but the army getup is too much."

"Don't you think you should be a little calmer about this?" Twilight asked, helping Spike back into his seat. 

"Rainbow, Twilight, nopony can be too serious when it comes to planning parties," Pinkie calmly replied. "After all, the end goal is that ponies are happy and having fun, and we need to make sure that everypony has at least one thing they enjoy in this festival."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Still don't need to act like a drill sergeant."

"Now, girls, let's just discuss what kind of things we should have in the festival this year," Twilight said. "Pinkie's right in that we have to promote friendship while we celebrate the arrival of autumn this year."

Pinkie idly rubbed her hoof on her chest and held it up to examine it. "And sisterhood, and brotherhood."

"All right then..." Twilight turned to Spike. "Okay, Spike, take some notes."

"Oh, dear, where do we even start?" Fluttershy asked. 

"How 'bout we start on the food?" Applejack suggested. "Especially since the harvest this year has been great. My family has harvested enough apples to bake plenty of apple pies, apple fritters, apple cider, and the like. Heck, we picked enough Zap Apples to make a lot of Zap Apple Jam!"

Pinkie gasped. "And the Cakes can make a bunch of desserts! They can make cakes and pies and doughnuts and brownies and muffins and a bunch of other sweet stuff!"

"Well, let's not overwork them," Twilight said. "Perhaps we should have every resident contribute a dish for the festival. That way, not only will there be enough for everyone, but the residents of Ponyville have at least one thing they helped out with."

Applejack nodded. "Well, shoot, Twilight, that sounds like a mighty fine idea. I'm all for it."

The others murmured in assent. 

"Sounds like we'll have plenty to eat this year," Rarity said. "Of course, we also have to focus on the look of the festival. After all, you can't just say we're having a fall festival; no, it has to look the part so that nopony needs to say it." She took a small notebook from her saddlebag by her seat and set it on the table. "I have pages of various colors and patterns that'll suit the crisp and golden atmosphere of fall, and I already have the perfect arrangements for them in my head."

Pinkie snatched Rarity's notebook, and looked through it. "Ooh, they're all so pretty and fall-y! I can't wait to see how you arrange them!"

Spike jumped onto the table, and gazed at the pages that Pinkie flipped through. "Hehe, yep, Rarity sure knows how to spruce things up!" 

"Heh, well, let's not forget about the Running of the Leaves!" Rainbow added. Her eyes narrowed at Applejack as her mouth formed into a smirk. "And it won't be like last time."

Applejack mirrored the expression. "Darn tootin', it won't."

Spike chuckled. "You think I could provide commentary again? I really enjoyed doing that last time."

Pinkie bounced in place. "So did I! Oh, we made a great commentator team, Spike, we should totally do it again!" There came a knock at the castle's front door. "I'll get it!" And thus, she hopped away. 

"Um... I could set up a little petting zoo, if that's all right..." Fluttershy muttered. "I mean, who wouldn't want to pet a cute animal?"

"That is a simply lovely idea, Fluttershy," Rarity said. "Why, I'd love to see the foals in town interacting with some of most darling of your animals."

"Oh, yes, me too... as long as they treat them with respect."

Suddenly, the exclamation of "CHEESY!" echoed throughout the castle. The group went silent as the echos faded, and watched as Pinkie returned bounding from the hallway, towing a familiar stallion with her tail. The stallion didn't mind this at all, and when Pinkie stopped, he simply smiled and tipped his hat. Beside him, Pinkie bounced excitedly, squealing, "Look who's here!"

Twilight blinked. "Cheese Sandwich?"

Cheese puffed out his chest. "The one and only."

"Isn't it exciting?!" Pinkie exclaimed. "His Cheesy Sense led him here and that means he's going to help us plan the Fall Festival!" 

Rainbow laughed. "Now we know for sure that this festival is going to be awesome!"

"Indeed it will be, my little ponies," Cheese walked to the table and glanced around. "So, uh, where do I sit?"

Pinkie pulled a stool from somewhere, and placed it beside her throne. She patted it, and Cheese was more than happy to take his seat right next to her. Looking up, he asked, "So, what have you guys got so far?"

Pinkie beamed at him. "This year, we're hoping that the festival will promote friendship and sisterhood and brotherhood--you know, positive relationships with both friends and family."

Spike flipped through his notes. "Well, there's the idea of each resident of Ponyville providing a dish to the festival."

"I have plenty of ideas for the color arrangements for the decorations," Rarity said. "Just look through the notebook to see what I've got."

"This year's festival is also coinciding with the Running of the Leaves," Applejack added. 

"And Fluttershy just suggested a petting zoo," Twilight said. 

Cheese leaned forward and nodded. "Not bad, not bad. Sounds like you girls are doing just fine in the planning so far. Still, would you mind if I provided a little more 'oomph' for the festival?"

"'Oomph'?" Pinkie asked. "What kind of 'oomph'?"

Cheese grinned at her. "I may have a few ideas of my own, like karaoke." He chuckled and turned to the others. "But I want to see what other ideas you guys have got."





As the rest of the week moved past, the festival was set up in no short order. Everypony in Ponyville agreed to pitch in with putting up the decorations, setting up some of the attractions, and providing food for the festival. Some extra food was prepared for those who had relatives and friends coming from out of town, which garnered complaints from absolutely nopony. 

Fluttershy got to set up her little petting zoo; the Twinkling Balloon was checked for any holes and blemishes that would impair flight during the Running of the Leaves; Rarity's decorations provided the crisp autumn feel with the many beautiful reds, oranges, browns, and yellows that were characteristic of the season; and Twilight was making sure that the attractions were meeting safety regulations so nopony would get hurt.

Cheese and Pinkie were having a blast with setting up the karoake, the bounce house, the hedge maze (where the hedges came from, nopony had any idea), the bingo table for the older ponies, and much more. Cheese let Fluttershy watch his hippo (for hippo rides), and helped tweak the slide so that it stayed standing. Pinkie helped the Cakes bake some desserts for the occasion, and blew up some fall-themed balloons for decoration.

By the weekend's arrival, everything was in order, and all were excited for the fun times to come. 





Meanwhile, on the train to Ponyville, Tomato Sandwich could not believe he had been talked into going. He sat on one bench with Bluejinx and Flora, facing the bench that Cirrus and Nimbus were sitting on.

While his friends were occupied with idle chitchat, he had out a copy of one of his favorite novels. He enjoyed reading about his favorite superspy pony, Dash Silver, and often found himself intrigued with the mysteries and adventures of the stallion as he extracted the secrets of a baddie from many a pony. Tomato raised an eyebrow at Dash's behavior around mares, but simply made mental edits to pretend that those instances didn't happen. 

He held the book with his tail, as was a habit he developed in his teens and kept at for years. His eyes swept over the page as Dash Silver was locked in a battle with--

"His evil brother? Really?" he grumbled. 

Bluejinx stopped his talking with Flora and looked at him curiously. "Huh? Evil brother?"

"Yeah, Dash Silver is facing off against Darkblood Silver, and they have a pretty nasty feud going on here." Tomato shook his head. "Why do all the books I have read deal with an 'evil brother' or 'evil uncle'?"

Flora leaned over to look at him. "Are you holding out for an evil sister?"

"No, I'm just tired of evil relatives. It gets old."

Bluejinx pursed his lips. "Huh. Hey, looks like we're here!"

Cirrus and Nimbus stopped their yammering and looked out the window. "We are?"

"Yeah, that's my cousin right there."

Tomato looked out the window, seeing a bunch of ponies waiting for the train. "Which one?"

"He's that silvery-haired blue unicorn right there."

"Ah... I see the family resemblance."

The train slowed to a stop, and the passengers filed out of the cars. The group stood up, Tomato putting his book in his saddlebag, and in turn they filed out with the other passengers. Once out, they broke out of the flow, and approached the unicorn that Bluejinx described, who had a bright smile on his face. 

"Hey, Blue!" the unicorn exclaimed, throwing his front legs open. 

"Hey, Roy!" Bluejinx rushed forward and hugged him. After some pats on the back, they broke the hug, and Bluejinx gestured to his friends. "Let me introduce you to Tomato Sandwich, Flora Peace, Cirrus, and Nimbus. I brought them over to enjoy the festival."

Royal Pin chuckled. "Well, good thing you did. We've been promised a good one this year, since Princess Twilight Sparkle, her Council of Friendship, and the visiting party planner planned the whole thing." Royal trotted off the platform, followed by the group. "They wanted to promote the values of friendship and family, and well, they've got a lot of activities meant to bond us Ponyvillians... and any guests that we invite."

"Aw..." Flora sighed. "You're making me wish that my family was here."

"All seven of your siblings?" Cirrus asked. 

Flora glared at her. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Uh, no no no, it's just... who can stand having that many foals? My mom stopped at two."

"You and Nimbus are twins."

"Yeah, whatever. Bluejinx is an only foal, and Tomato... well, he never mentioned a sibling, so I'm assuming he's an only foal as well."

Tomato was tempted to correct her and say that his mother stopped at two, but he held his tongue, lest he start sending off a bitter message to any of his friends. Besides, the way his family was, he might as well be an only foal. 

While the two girls argued about their families and the other boys listened to Royal's talk about Ponyville, he looked ahead at the small town. Sure enough, it looked like a fall festival; the banners and streamers were various shades of oranges, reds, browns, and yellows, there were leaf patterns pasted onto the buildings, and there were various vegetables and stalks placed here and there for decoration. He could see massive tables with all kinds of food, out and ready to be eaten. Looking around, he saw things such as a bouncehouse, tents and umbrellas pitched over attractions such as karaoke, bingo, carnival games, and more, and a massive slide that seemed to be built just for the occasion. 

He looked forward again, and his eyes were drawn to the crystalline tree-castle. He remembered hearing about the building and how beautiful it was. He squinted his eyes, annoyed by the sunlight shining off of it. Lovely as it was, he couldn't help but feel that the castle clashed with the more humble houses of Ponyville. 

In his gazing, he wandered from the group a little, and was more or less just walking without looking where he was going. He briefly noticed a pink blur zooming past him, a shout of "Wait!" from somepony, and a bunch of other colors running past him. He glanced back to see what the commotion was about, and that's when he felt somepony crash into him and send him onto the ground. 

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

"Oops! Sorry, Mr. Random Stallion!" The other pony cried as he hurriedly got off him. "I was just, just--wait." 

Tomato picked himself up, brushed the dust off his jacket, and then quickly picked up the glasses which had fallen off his muzzle. With a deep breath, he wondered why the pony had suddenly stopped his excuse. Putting his glasses back on, he only had to look forward to see why. 

The pony who had crashed into him was all too familiar. The green eyes, the brown curls, and the lanky form wearing a yellow polo. On his face was a look of shock, as if he had not expected him there. Tomato hadn't expected him to crash into him, and his mind went blank, his expression mirroring that of the other pony. 

"Cheesy!" The pink pony from before bounced to the scene, her bright eyes and big smile dissolving into a look of confusion as she looked between the two stallions. She was followed by a group of mares, who joined in with the confusion, and soon Tomato's group came, equally confused with what was going on. 

Then, the shocked faces transformed into glares, and the both of them leapt back, and landed further apart then they had been originally, their stances hard and steadfast, and their noses blowing out heavy snorts. Both of their manes began to bristle, and their matching eyes were still locked in their glares.

"What are you doing here?!" 
> Sibling Rivalry
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was difficult to surprise Cheese Sandwich, who had learned over the years to expected the unexpected, while being a pony of many surprises himself. It was also difficult to anger him, and it was especially hard to push him into the legendary type of terrifying rage that only party ponies could unleash. Hardly ever was Cheese in a sour mood. Being a party pony with an even temper ensured that very few things could surprise him, and that only a select few things could get his mane bristling. 

His brother managed to do both in the span of five seconds. 

Around the both of them, Pinkie and her friends, Tomato's group, and several Ponyville residents were uncomfortably, yet curiously watching the scene. Most of the ponies were completely unsure about what was going on or why these two ponies knew each other. Bluejinx, on the other hoof, held a face of dread. 

"Well?" Tomato asked impatiently. 

Cheese remembered the question that they had both shouted, and answered, "I was helping plan this festival. Because, you know, party planning's my shtick, remember?"

Tomato rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Pfft, I totally surprised you, admit it!" Cheese sped forward and was soon in Tomato's face. "Now what's your reason for being here?"

Tomato pushed him away. "Simple. Bluejinx has a cousin living here who invited him to this festival, and in turn, Blue invited us."

Cheese gave him a mocking grin and aggressively rubbed his hoof on Tomato's head. "Aww, how cute that the little ketchup squirt is not a party pooper after all!"

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Tomato hissed, trying to swat Cheese's hoof away. "Gee, you got more aggressive, didn't you?"

Cheese stopped the noogie and stared at him coolly. "And I see you're still trying to grow up too fast."

"At least I did grow up."

"Pfft, ha! You're just faking all that 'mature, serious adult' stuff so ponies don't laugh at you!"

"And you're just faking that happy, grinning clown act so ponies don't pity your little sob story!"

"Gee, and you wonder why I think you're a party pooper."

"Oh, no, I just wonder why you bother to visit at all when you don't like me."

"My Cheesy Sense drags me to Manehattan sometimes. I just feel obligated to drop by and let you spoilsports know that I'm alive and well. Nothing more."

"You've been on the news. That tells me all I need to know."

"Oh, really? Well, thanks for letting me know so I can avoid you more often!"

Pinkie suddenly popped up between them. "Hold up! You two know each other?"

"Um, duh," Tomato deadpanned, smoothing down his hair.

Cheese sighed. "Pinkie Pie, this crankypants here is my brother, Tomato Sandwich."

Pinkie's eyes bugged out. "Brother? You have a brother? You mean there's another super duper Sandwich in the world?" She paused for a moment while Cheese gave a reluctant nod, and then her face broke out into a wide grin. She blasted off like a rocket while she gave a drawn-out whoop. 

Looking up at the ecstatic mare, Bluejinx asked Royal, "Is that mare always like this?"

Royal nodded. "That's Ponyville's local party pony for you."

Pinkie came crashing back down to earth, and she didn't hesitate to give Tomato a tight squeeze. "OMIGOSH! This is just amazing! I can't believe my friend Cheese has a brother!" She turned to Cheese and beamed at him. "Why didn't you tell me about him earlier?"

Nimbus was by Tomato's side quickly, giving him a stink eye. "And why didn't you tell us that the party planner Cheese Sandwich is your brother?"

"Do I have to spoonfeed it to you both because you apparently missed our exchange?" Tomato deadpanned as Pinkie released him. 

Cheese huffed. "Pinkie, we don't see eye to eye. It's why Tommy never ever mentioned his absurdly epic party-planning brother to his friends apparently."

"And also why I was obviously kept a secret from your girlfriend here."

Cheese jumped. "Ahahaha, what? No, no, you've got it wrong there." He leaned forward and poked Tomato in the chest repeatedly, glaring at him. "Making assumptions again, aren't ya? Pinkie and I are just friends."

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "Right..."

"Right!" Pinkie chirped. Her face fell into a frown, and she took note of the grumpiness that both of them were having. It was especially weird for her friend Cheese of all ponies to exhibit such a state of mind. "But wait, why don't you see eye to eye? Why aren't you happy to see each other?  Shouldn't brothers be the bestest of buddies that do..." She tilted her head at an unnatural angle as she drew out the "do", before allowing it to pop back up. "--brother things?"

Twilight stepped forward. "Pinkie, not every set of siblings gets along. There are... cases where a pair of siblings have a fallout and don't make up."

"What?!" Pinkie was now getting into Twilight's face. "You can't be serious, Twilight! After all, isn't Shining Armor your B.B.B.F.F? You two had a fallout at his wedding, but made up after the whole Changeling invasion happened!"

"Well, yes, but that's beside the--"

Pinkie curled into a ball and rolled toward Applejack. When she uncurled, she was sitting on the ground below the orange mare's muzzle, and she looked up. "Applejack, you love your family! Especially big brother Big Mac and little sister Apple Bloom, am I right?"

Applejack looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, yeah, I do, but Twilight's sayin'--"

Pinkie recurled into her ball and rolled to Rarity. She leapt out of her ball this time, and put a foreleg around the unicorn's shoulders. "And how would you describe your relationship with Sweetie Belle?"

Rarity looked away and idly bounced the carefully-curled end of her mane. "Well, as much as I love her, our relationship can get a little... tumultuous at times. Still, Pinkie, don't you think that--"

Pinkie sped toward the other group, and grabbed Nimbus and Cirrus. "You two are twins, right?"

Both pegasi looked uncomfortably at each other. "Yeah..."

"Do you love each other?"

Cirrus rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but Nimbus can be a ding-dong at times."

Nimbus glared at her. "Hey!"

Pinkie released them, and went to Bluejinx. "Do you have siblings?" He shook his head, so Pinkie turned to Flora and asked, "How about you?"

Flora nodded. "Seven of them."

"Wow! What a big family! You must have bucketloads of love for all of them, am I right?"

"Well, uh, yes, I do, but I will admit that Bananas and Olive get on my--"

Before Flora could finish, Pinkie launched herself back in between the Sandwich brothers. She looked between them, and while both had been watching her ask the others about their siblings, both seemed unfazed by any of the examples she gave. So, she added, "And I have three sisters--Maud, Marble, and Limestone! They're all so great, and I love them so much! I could chatter on and on about the things we did when we were itty-bitty little Pies!" She stretched her front legs and dragged both Cheese and Tomato into a double hug. "And I bet you two had lots of fun when you were itty-bitty little Sandwiches!"

Cheese looked at her worriedly. "Pinkie, please don't."

Tomato huffed. "Her behavior is embarrassingly familiar."

Cheese glared at him. "You mean that as an insult to Pinkie, don't you?"

"You'd rather I insult you? Okay, do you want me to be blunt or sarcastic? Go on, take your pick."

"Here's my pick: how about you be nice for once?"

"Oh, you've given me plenty of reason not to be nice to you."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Pinkie scolded, dropping the both of them. "That arguing you did there is a no-no! I want both of you to be nice! After all, nopony can have fun if you're both being meany meanypants."

Both of them pointed to each other and said in unison, "He started it."

Fluttershy stepped forward. "Now, now, you two, you should at least be trying to get along during this festival. Perhaps you should just talk it out so that you understand each other's point of view."

Cheese and Tomato looked at each other, and there appeared a glimmer in the eyes of both as they pondered Fluttershy's words. However, it wasn't long before they scowled and turned away. "Nah."

"Oh, come on!" Rainbow Dash hovered and landed in a spot between the brothers. "Just what is the deal with you two?! I don't know Tomato, so I can't say anything about him--but Cheese Sandwich? Hey, you, guy that planned my birthaversary with Pinkie, I thought you'd be the type of pony to get along with, well, anypony! And all of a sudden, you start pouting because your bro's in town. Big whoop, he's not hurting anypony."

Cirrus landed beside Rainbow. "I'm going to have to agree with Rainbow Hair here."

Rainbow gave her a funny look. "It's Rainbow Dash."

"Whatever. As for you, Tomato--come on, really? We came here to have a good time, and you're just going to let the fact that your brother's here ruin it? Nuh-uh, not on my watch, we're going to have fun, you're going to smile, and we're going to have pictures of all of us doing stupid stuff!"

Tomato groaned. "Why did I agree to come?"

Bluejinx shrugged. "No turning back now. At this point, you're just going to have to live with it."

"You don't find Cheese embarrassing, do you?" Royal Pin asked. "I mean, that's the only reason I can guess that you'd be a little... sour."

Tomato glared at him. "Has it ever occurred to you that I don't want to talk about it?"

Flora winced. "Yeah... let's stop with the uncomfortable questions, especially since you seemed to have forgotten that Cheese is just over there and can hear us. Let's just... uh... go somewhere else, let both of them cool down, see if we can have a little fun--"

"Oooor we could give them some good ol' brotherly bonding time!" Pinkie exclaimed, going into Flora's face. She did a backflip, and then grabbed both brothers once again, much to their chagrin. "We all agree that they're both acting silly, so, I shall take it upon myself to help form the tightest bond between these two Sandwiches!"

"Er, Pinkie," Applejack stated. "I'll be blunt about this; that's a bad idea. You can't just fix a feud between brothers like that!"

Pinkie turned to her with a wide smile, still holding both Cheese and Tomato tightly. "Why not? Cheesy's my friend, and I'd like for Tomato to be my friend as well. Plus, they're family--and family loves each other, am I right? And brotherhood's one of the things we're promoting in this festival! Besides, I have a really good feeling about this."

For once, Cheese was unsure about a plan of Pinkie's. He chuckled nervously and asked, "...good feeling?"

Tomato looked at her funny. "Are you sure it's not just gas?"

Pinkie giggled. "Silly Tommy, that's not a good feeling--until you burp, that is."

"Hey, you didn't earn the right to call me 'Tommy'."

"I thought the nickname fit. Now, hold on to your hooves, I'm going to initiate the Sandwich Brother Bonding Time! For all your brotherly bonding needs." With that, she threw the both of them up, nabbed both of their tails with her mouth, and then zoomed off to somewhere else, with two unwilling stallions in tow. 

Both groups stared blankly at the direction that they went. Bluejinx in particular groaned and fell onto his haunches, shaking his head. They all looked at him, with the same thought in their minds. 

He vocalized the thought: "This is not going to end well." 
> Hot Air
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beside the Twinkling Balloon, Spike had his arms crossed, and was tapping his foot as he awaited his co-announcer for the Running of the Leaves. He looked to the left and right, hoping to spot a pink blur, or at least one of the other mares coming to at least tell him if there was a delay and a good reason for it. He looked up at a cloud, and chuckled at how much it looked like a fish.

"Hiya, Spike!" 

He jumped and stumbled into the balloon's basket upon hearing that unmistakable high-pitched voice. He peeked out, and sure enough, there was Pinkie. With her were two ponies, one of whom he recognized as Cheese Sandwich.

"I would like you to meet... our co-announcers!" Pinkie said, pulling the two stallions with her forward. 

The dragon blinked at the sight of Cheese and the second stallion. Cheese he knew well enough, and having him add his playful banter to the commentary on the Running of the Leaves was most likely going to be fun. But the other pony--who looked like a sunburned version of Cheese--he was unsure about. The pony looked like he didn't want to be there, and strangely enough, his attitude seemed contagious enough that Cheese was grumpy. 

Still, Spike smiled and said, "Well, that's no problem--I'm sure we can fit them with us in the balloon. So, um..." He pointed to red-orange pony. "Who's he?"

"Oh, that's Tommy! He's Cheesy's brother!" Pinkie giggled. 

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Tommy?"

Tommy groaned. "It's short for Tomato Sandwich."

"Oh. Well, it's nice to meet you, Tomato." He hopped out of the basket, slid to Tomato's side and nudged him. "I bet it's pretty cool having the Super Duper Party Pony as a brother, huh? I mean, you must have the best birthday bashes!"

Tomato tapped his chin. "I must have missed them." He glanced at his brother. "I hope you had fun throwing them."

"There you go with the sarcasm again," Cheese grumbled. "So what if I never threw you a birthday party? It's not like you'd enjoy it anyway."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it."

"I don't have to try, I already know you're a killjoy."

Spike blinked and backed away. He looked up at Pinkie. "Uh, Pinkie? What's going on? Why am I getting a cold vibe from these two?"

Pinkie waved a hoof. "Oh, they just need a little brotherly bonding time. With how busy Cheesy is, Tommy just gets lonesome."

Tomato gave her a funny look. "You just barely met me. How would you know if I get lonely without him or not?"

Cheese laughed. "Oh, Pinkie, Tomato doesn't even know the meaning of 'lonely.' Didn't you see his pals back in town?"

Tomato put his hoof to his mouth. "Speaking of whom, I wonder how they're doing right now..."

"I bet they're having loads of fun in this festival!" Pinkie said with a bright smile. "Ooh! Maybe one or more of them's going to participate in the Running of the Leaves! Now aren't you happy that you're riding in the balloon? It's the best seat to watch it."

Spike laughed. "You bet it is!" He grabbed Tomato's necktie and dragged him forward to the balloon. "And best of all, we just had it checked, and it's in tiptop shape and completely safe." He stepped back as Tomato curiously strummed at one of the ropes.

Cheese looked up and down the hot-air balloon. "You sure he won't just get sick?"

Tomato snorted. "I do not get motion sickness easily."

"Oh, I know this joke. Denial means you're going to throw up on the runners! Pinkie, let's leave him!"

Pinkie glared at Cheese. "Oooh, no, mister! You can't have brotherly bonding time without your brother!"

Tomato sat down and leaned against the basket, examining his front hoof. "I get the sense he doesn't want to bond with me. Last I checked I'm not very high on his priority list." He blew upwards on his forelock curl and shrugged. "Might as well leave me here."

Pinkie shifted her glare to Tomato. "You're not getting out of it, either. In order for this to work, both of you need to cooperate. Otherwise brotherly bonding time will be a complete waste, and you'll both die as grumpy old stallions who never had the love of the pony who was destined to be a surefire, true blue friend, as siblings are supposed to be. Now, come on, we're getting in that balloon!"

Pinkie started to push Cheese forward, as the latter complained, "Hey, now! I don't see myself as a grumpy old stallion when I'm... well, old!" 

Tomato rolled his eyes as Pinkie pushed Cheese closer. "And now I have that image in my head."

Spike glanced at him and sighed. "Just get in the basket."





Many residents from Ponyville and many visitors to the town were participating in the Running of the Leaves. Ponies were lined up at the starting line, stretching and trotting in place to warm up. The Twinkling Balloon with its four passengers hovered above them, and Pinkie flashed a grin at the ponies, but especially at her friends Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

"Ooookay, ponies!" Pinkie announced. "Oooon your mark!"

Spike popped up beside her. "Get set!"

They looked behind them at the stallions. Pinkie whispered, "Say 'Go', guys!" She stepped aside and tapped the megaphone.

Cheese glanced at his brother. "Er, both of us?"

Tomato blew on his forelock. "No thanks, my voice is not suitable for that."

Pinkie got into his face. "Aww, Tommy, pleasy-please pleeeeasse?"

"I said 'no.'"

Pinkie put on her best smile for him. "Aw, come on, it'll be fun!"

"Not sure if a sore throat would be considered fun." He rubbed his neck to emphasize his point.

"Tomato Sandwich, is this an excuse not to have some brotherly bonding time with--"

Rainbow Dash yelled from below, "For Pete's sake! Just say 'Go' already!"

Cheese didn't hesitate to yell "GO!" and then stepped aside to let Pinkie retake her place. She snorted in frustration before regaining a better mood and watching the runners. 

"Aaaannnd they're off!" Pinkie exclaimed, watching from above as the race began. "Welcome to the official coverage of the Running of the Leaves!"

Her eyes were fixed on her friends. "And it looks like everypony's getting along down there! But, Rainbow Dash and Applejack have the competitive spirit--but hopefully not too competitive, because last year they tied for last with all their fighting and arguing and cheating and stuff like that! Remember that, Spike?"

Spike nodded. "I sure do. But it seems like they've learned their lesson from last year, and I expect to see them, well, not in last."

"Yes, indeedy!" She looked at the Sandwich brothers, looking out from opposite sides of the basket, their backs to each other. Pinkie sighed. "When friends--or brothers--are fighting, nopony wins."

Cheese sighed, and then looked down at the path the runners were taking. "Haha, look at them go! And so far those leaves are getting the memo to fall to the ground once the runners pass by. Can't ignore those thundering hoofbeats, am I right?"

Pinkie huffed. "Those leaves are still very lazy. When will they fall on their own?"

"Maybe when the sour sport in this balloon plans a good party."

"Cheesy! No mocking your brother!"

Tomato snarled at him. "Wouldn't want to disappoint your girlfriend now, would you, Cheese? And thanks for reminding me of that failure." He looked down at the runners, and winced. "And it looks like number 13 has run into a tree. Oh, my, her eyes... I'm kind of worried for her."

"Oh, don't worry about her eyes; they're always like that," Pinkie said. 

Tomato blinked. "She still looks hurt."

"She'll be okay. She's bounced back from worse." She focused her attention elsewhere and gasped. "Ponies, look out! There are squirrels throwing nuts! Gee, they must be super cranky today--it's like they're declaring war on Ponyville."

"We'll have to send Fluttershy in as a diplomat," Spike stated.  

Cheese put on an army helmet. "I'm ready in case that fails!"

"Oh, don't worry, it won't fail. Fluttershy is very persuasive." Spike smiled at him, and Pinkie nodded in agreement. 

"Is that so? Guess I don't need this." Cheese tossed the army helmet off, nearly hitting Tomato. The latter ducked, and the helmet whizzed over his head and out of the basket. Tomato rose up, and scowled at Cheese, now wearing a boater. Cheese stuck his tongue out before turning his back on him, and continuing the commentary with Pinkie and Spike. 

Tomato sighed, and continued to look out of his place in the basket. He looked at the squirrels, and wondered why the rodents were  being so aggressive. They looked like they were enjoying hitting ponies with their nuts, and were laughing with each "Ow!" they heard. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Sadistic little rodents."

Almost as if they had heard that, the squirrels set their sights on the balloon. They summoned the biggest and strongest of their group, and pointed to the balloon, with little snickers coming from them. The beefy squirrel looked up, gave an evil smirk, and picked up an acorn. With a roar, it chucked the nut straight for the balloon. 

Much to Tomato's surprise, the acorn didn't succumb to gravity at any time, but instead managed to nail him right on the cheek, causing a reaction from him that jerked his glasses off. Seeing that his spectacles were beginning to drop to the red and orange abyss, he panickedly lurched forward and grabbed the spectacles with his mouth--only to realize that he leaned too far and that he was now beginning to fall. 

Much to his relief, his tail coiled around one of the sturdy ropes, but he was still left dangling from the balloon. Everything beyond his muzzle was a blur to him, and he silently cursed the squirrel that threw the nut. What squirrel is that strong? He could feel the tops of the trees scraping his face, and he held on to his glasses as firmly as he could without breaking them. 

He groaned, knowing that he was unable to lift himself back into the basket. "Herro? Ennypony rilling ta help meh up?"

Meanwhile, the other three watched as the runners finally escaped the tunnel of aggressive squirrels. Pinkie wiped her forehead. "Phew! Those squirrels were scaring me! I never knew that they could be such meanie meanypants."

"I'll say," Spike added. "Fluttershy's going to have to give them a stern talking to."

Cheese nodded. "But, now that that they're out of there, let's see how the rest of this race goes! Looks like Rainbow Dash and Applejack are neck in neck! And behold their banter! Whatever that may be!"

Pinkie tapped her chin. "Hey, Tommy, you've been awfully quiet. What do you think?" She turned around and discovered a lack of Tomato in the balloon basket. "Uh, Tommy? Where'd you go? Did you turn invisible?"

Spike's eyes widened. "Um... I don't think he could ditch us while we're up here."

Cheese's eyes were just as wide. He started to pace around the basket, grinding his teeth. "Oh, Stilton, did he fall off? I thought he outgrew falling off stuff! Ugh, it's that trip to the bridge all over again! I swear, he keeps on almost killing himself, that little dummy!"

"Uh, little dummy?" Spike asked. 

"Cheesy, that's not nice," Pinkie said. 

"It's what I call him when--ouch!" Cheese rubbed the back of his head. He looked down, and there laid a stick on the floor of the basket. He stared at it for a moment before he looked at the edge of the basket behind him, and then he and and the other two looked over it. Sure enough, Tomato was dangling from the balloon, his glasses in his mouth and with an expression of heavy annoyance. 

"You're alive!" Pinkie cheered. 

Cheese sighed with his hoof to his chest, but almost immediately shouted, "Tomato! What do you think you're doing?!"

Tomato growled and crossed his front legs. "'Anging on fer dear rife!"

"Are you doing this on purpose?!"

Tomato shook his head. "Uh-uh!"

Cheese groaned and did a facehoof. "You have a knack for getting into stupid situations, you know!"

Spike groaned as well. "Cheese, I shouldn't have to tell you that you should help him back up here."

Cheese sighed. "Yeah, you shouldn't have to tell me." He grabbed Tomato's tail, and started to hoist him up, grumbling, "How many times has this pony nearly got himself killed? I swear, looking after him had been a thankless job when we were colts."

Pinkie and Spike helped with pulling Tomato back in, and soon enough, the pony was sitting on the floor of the basket, putting his glasses back on his muzzle and muttering under his breath. Rubbing his face, he mumbled, "At least they're not serious." He looked up at his brother, and opened his mouth to say something.

Cheese snorted, effectively interrupting him. "Now don't do that again--leave the clowning around to the party ponies."

Tomato got even more cross at Cheese's tone. "Well, excuse me for trying not to drop my glasses. Besides, that evil, super-strong squirrel used me as target practice!"

Cheese rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure, blame the squirrel. Next you'll blame a bird for breaking your knee."

"Are you suggesting that I blame random animals for my misfortunes?"

Cheese rubbed his hoof on his shirt. "You're just no good at accepting criticism."

Tomato huffed. "Oh, really? Is that a legitimate criticism, or are you just playing the blame game as much as you say I am?"

"Well, maybe you should stay out of situations that could kill you!"

Pinkie got in between them. "Stop it!  This is brotherly bonding time! No arguing!"

The brothers glared at each other for several moments, before they devolved into the foalishness of blowing raspberries at each other, and then turning their backs on each other. Pinkie blinked, put a hoof to her forehead, and sighed. She walked to her place by the megaphone, and looked at the runners below. 

"Pinkie?" Spike asked. "Are you sure you know what you're doing with these two?"

Pinkie turned to him and forced a grin. "Well, somepony has to help them. They're not happy as long as they're feuding. And seeing Cheesy like this with his own brother of all ponies makes me sad."

"Well, do you know what they're mad about?"

"Well, I--" Pinkie scrunched her nose. "No."

Spike glanced back at them. "Maybe you shouldn't meddle. Maybe this is just a lost cause."

Pinkie huffed and smacked the edge of the basket. "No! I'm not giving up until they're both smiling and having fun! They're meant to be best brother buddies, and by golly, I'm going to make sure that's what they are or my name isn't Pinkamena Diane Pie!"

Behind her, both Sandwiches groaned in dismay.


> Life's Too Short
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next thing Pinkie did was drag the Sandwich brothers over to Sweet Apple Acres for a hay ride. She had snatched Applejack as well, who was wary about Pinkie's attempts to force them to bond. Applejack's concerns fell on deaf ears, however, as Pinkie told both Cheese and Tomato about the road trip she had with the Apples.

Pinkie was jumping from tree to tree. "...and then once we got there, I went away for a bit to get some more scrapbook paper for the lots of photos that I had taken." She hung upside down from a branch by her tail. "I returned and caught them apologizing for being all cranky with each other, and I just knew that being an Apple is great because any fighting could not tear that family apart!"

Applejack nodded proudly. "Because despite our differences, I don't think I could bear to live without 'em. They're my family and I love 'em. If anything happened to any of 'em I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

"I've been on my own a long time," Cheese said with a gruff voice, putting on his cowboy hat. "I can live keeping a good distance away from this pony and our parents." He pointed to Tomato, who had been looking at the apple trees. 

Tomato snorted. "Drop the tough guy act, Mr. Distance. They're not going to listen."

Pinkie dropped out of the tree and shook her head sadly. Watching as they walked past, Applejack said, "Are you sure you know what you're doing? I know kin should make amends, but they have to be willing to. Neither seem to be fixin' to be friendly to each other."

Pinkie waved a hoof in dismissal. "Don't be silly! They just need a little encouragement to form the brotherly bond that I know that they really want deep down." She began to trot the rest of the way, with Applejack beside her. "After all, don't cheese and tomatoes go well together? Pizza is proof of that!"

"I dunno, Pinkie. They seem awful ornery to me."

They made it to the barn, where Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom had the cart out. However, it appeared that two of the wheels had popped off, while a third had been smashed to bits. 

Applejack cantered forward. "Hey! What happened to the cart?"

Apple Bloom looked up. "It rolled down a hill and crashed into a tree. Three of the wheels just flew off, and one of 'em shattered on a rock! Big Mac says that we can put them unshattered wheels back on and replace the axles, but it'll take awhile to make another wheel to replace the one that did."

"Eeyup," Big Mac added. 

Apple Bloom looked up at their guests and leapt up into the cart and back out on the other side. "Howdy, Pinkie Pie! Howdy, Cheese Sandwich! Howdy, pony in a suit!"

Tomato blew on his forelock. "Name's Tomato."

"Well, howdy, Tomato! If y'all are here for hay rides, I'm sorry, cart's broken."

"Eeyeah, we got that much." 

Cheese narrowed his eyes. "Not if I can help it!" He pulled out a cheese wheel from somewhere, and stuck it onto the axle.  

Tomato gave him a weird look. "I'm no wheelwright, but I highly doubt that'll work."

Cheese rolled his eyes and mockingly repeated, "I highly doubt that'll work."

"Hey, I'm just saying that--"

Cheese groaned, and his tail started to scratch at his cutie mark. "Tomato, I know what I'm doing. Now, just wait somewhere... out of the way. Stay out of trouble if you can."

Then Pinkie said, "Oh, I'm sure he could find some way to--"

Tomato backed away. "I did just say I'm no wheelwright. I'll just relax before the next disaster." 

He walked to a tree, sat down, and leaned against it. He looked up at the apples above him, and wondered if they were as sweet as the name of the farm said. Than he looked back at the cart, with the Apples on one side putting the wheels back on, and Cheese and Pinkie on the other making adjustments to the cheese wheel to make sure it was steady. He was especially focused on how the youngest Apple was drinking in the information of how to help, and did a few things at some points.

He sighed and closed his eyes.  He hated feeling useless, or that he'd only get into trouble. If this was a different situation he might have been able to provide some assistance. Then again, why would Cheese let him?

He rubbed his temples and stroked his mane. Already he could feel the bristling, and already he was getting tired. 

Next thing he knew, he felt a wet, slobbery tongue begin to caress his face, and his eyes snapped open to find a border collie greeting him. His first instinct was to push the dog away, and then wipe his face. When he wiped his mouth, he muttered, "My first kiss and I have it with a dog..."

However, he simply looked up, and the dog was still there, wagging its tail. He gave it a quizzical look in return.

Meanwhile, Cheese spun the cheese wheel on the wagon. With an approving nod, he said, "Well, looks like it's secure and ready for hay rides." He turned to Pinkie. "You think we could use it in a race? Or a monster wagon rally?"

Pinkie giggled. "It doesn't have big enough wheels for a monster wagon rally, silly!"

Applejack poked her head from the other side and raised an eyebrow. "Monster wagon rally?"

Cheese gave her a grin. "Come on, Applejack! It's a great ide--OW!"

He rubbed the back of his head, and looked down on the ground to see what hit him. It was a stick. He snorted in annoyance before a brown and white dog retrieved it, and then ran back to drop it at the hooves of Tomato, who was looking away, biting his lip. Cheese zoomed forward to his face in a millisecond. 

"What's with you and throwing sticks at me?" 

Tomato closed his eyes. "This is only the second time, and it's an accident."

Cheese just glared at him. "Yeah, sure, everything's an 'accident.' You just think my monster wagon rally's a dumb idea, don't you?"

"I wasn't even listening to whatever you were talking about." Tomato looked down at the dog, nudging the stick.

Cheese took notice of the dog. "Oh, pfft, are you going to tell me you were playing with the dog?"

The dog looked confused at the conversation that they were having. However, Applejack whistled and called, "Winona, come here, girl!" and the border collie barked happily and ran to her owner. The mare and her sister started to scratch the dog's head and back, with the filly giggling.

As Applejack petted her dog, she looked up at the two. "I didn't take Tomato for a dog pony."

Tomato shrugged. "Surprise."

Cheese scoffed and scratched his flank. "He's just hiding behind that excuse. He just doesn't like me."

Tomato crossed his front legs. "I don't recall you liking me, either. Am I too much of a killjoy for you?"

Cheese laughed. "My, my, how'd you know?" He poked his brother repeatedly in the chest. "Am I too much fun for you? Are you... jealous of my epicness?"

"No, I'm tempted to punch you in the nose."

"Enough." Big Mac stepped in between the two, and looked in between them. He first glared at Tomato, and said, "No violence." And then he turned to Cheese. "No taunting."

Both of them huffed, and said, "Fine."

Big Mac gave a nod, and then walked back to the cart. Cheese made a face at Tomato, who simply glared back. That was when Pinkie came in, dangling from a branch. "You know, this arguing is getting really, really, really old. Why don't we try laughing for once? I'll start!" Pinkie started off with a giggle, which turned into a regular laugh, which turned into a full blown-guffaw as she started swinging on the branch her tail was wrapped around. Once she stopped, she flipped off her perch and grinned. "Okay, boys! Start the laughing!"

Cheese forced out a nervous chuckle, and his tail started to rub his cutie mark again. He didn't feel like laughing, since nothing that he considered remotely funny happened today. 

Tomato, on the other hoof, sarcastically quipped, "Ha. Ha ha. There, I laughed, happy?"

Still smiling, Pinkie sighed. Don't give up, Pinkie. They're brothers, they love each other deep down... right?





The hay ride went off without a hitch, at least when it came to the cart, which Cheese wasn't afraid to gloat about to an annoyed Tomato. His cheese wheel would be a good substitute until they got an honest-to-goodness wooden wheel, he said, so therefore, Tommy knew nothing about the powers of party ponies. All Tomato wanted was for him to shut up, which he expressed by plucking an apple off a tree with his tail, and then shoving it into Cheese's mouth. Cheese was not pleased, to say the least. Neither was Pinkie, who sat in between them after Cheese spat the apple out right onto Tomato's face.

And neither was Big Mac, groaning and telling them to "Knock it off."





Pinkie dragged them to the bouncehouse next, where she rambled on about it being at its "maximum bouncity" while literally bouncing off the walls. Cheese happily joined her in the bouncing, while Tomato just let himself be bounced. He had taken off his glasses for the ride, and had planned to sit in the corner. 

Several foals saw him sitting and crossing his front legs, and thought it'd be fun to try to "crack open the egg". Apple Bloom was there, with a little white unicorn and an orange pegasus that he assumed were her friends. Soon, Tomato was passively allowing the foals to bounce him around the bouncehouse, and being treated as a toy by the colts and fillies bouncing him. Despite his refusal to "crack", soft chuckles were coming from his throat.

Of course, things went sour when a colt launched him, and he ended up smacking headfirst into Cheese. The rebound made them fall at the same time, launching the little white unicorn filly up and then down headfirst so she ended up stabbing the floor of the bouncehouse with her horn.

The entire thing was deflated in a jiffy, and though the little unicorn, named Sweetie Belle, was apologetic, both Sandwiches were still sore and snapping at each other, while an exasperated Pinkie popped up between them, telling them to stop and dragging them to the next thing.





Pinkie was hearing each and every sproing that Cheese's hair was making. Well, Tomato's did that too, but each time it happened, the red-orange pony would smooth it down, and then attempt to continue on as if it didn't happen. Meanwhile, Cheese didn't seem to notice, so she could see the bristling of his mane as the day went on. And it was looking more and more scary as they went through the festival.

Cheese only seemed to be having fun when he pretended that his brother wasn't there or was just sitting out on the sidelines. When Tomato didn't join in with the coverage of the Running of the Leaves, Cheese held his usual energy. When the former stood by while the cart was fixed, Cheese made jokes. And everything seemed fine in the bouncehouse until the brothers crashed into each other. 

When they went to town to eat, they both had gotten caramel apples. She caught them glaring at each other, standing side by side, with the exact same look on their faces, held the stick of their respective apples with their tail, and then slowly munched into them in the exact same manner. She wondered if they were twins, since Cheese didn't mention just who had been born first. 

Watching Rainbow Dash show off for a crowd would have been more fun if the two didn't stop nudging each other. As would have bingo if they didn't argue when they both ended up shouting "Bingo!" As would have tug-of-war if they didn't end up bumping into each other and started a little kick-fight that made their team lose. And karaoke would have been more fun if Tomato didn't outright refuse to sing. 

His twin pegasus friends were there, and tried to talk him into it, which soon turned into a tug-of-war between them and a Tomato clinging to one of the tent poles. Pinkie was trying to talk Cheese into doing a duet with Tomato, even when he said he'd rather duet with her. 

Pinkie shook her head. "No, no, no, Cheesy! This is Brotherly Bonding Time! And I'm not your brother! Or your sister for that matter. Are we even related? Some ponies think we're related because of our hair, to which I want to reply, 'Silly, my hair used to be straight!' Even if we were related, we'd probably just share the same great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents! Hm, that would mean I'm related to Tomato too, and you're related to Maud, Marble, and Limestone!" She squealed and clapped before becoming all serious again. "But can't you at least try to bond with him?"

Cheese groaned, and his tail rubbed his flank. "I know you mean well, but we just can't connect. Why bother trying to have fun with him when he just ruins it?"

"Come on... I bet you two would sound just amazing together!"

Cheese snorted. "He just said he doesn't sing. He's probably terrible at it."

While Nimbus continued to pull at Tomato's tail, Cirrus heard Cheese, and jumped toward him. "Oh, no, he's actually a pretty good singer--he's just shy about it."

Cheese gave her a funny look. "What makes you so sure about it?"

"We took him to see Manespray once, and he ended up getting so hopped up on it he just belted out the songs. Not lying, he's pretty good in his own right, even if that isn't his special talent or even related to it."

Cheese put a hoof to his mouth, pondering what had been told to him. He looked up in a random direction with a quizzical expression, and seemed ready to ask a question. 

Suddenly, the tent pole Tomato was clinging to snapped, and then he and Nimbus flew across the area and crashed into another. The tent fell down on the occupants, and elicited a groan from all of them. 





After leaving the karaoke without anypony singing, off they went to the candy launcher--or rather, Cheese's party tank being used as one. Tomato sat on the sidelines while Pinkie and Cheese gathered as much candy as they could, surrounded by foals.  However, Pinkie made sure to toss a few pieces his way, which just landed short of his hooves. Tomato was a little surprised at the gesture, especially since she just happened to throw some taffy, butterscotch, and a packet of gummy bears, which were some of his favorites. He was chewing on a piece of saltwater taffy when his blue unicorn friend came to his side. 

"Okay, good, you're still sane," Bluejinx breathlessly said. 

"Really? I thought I already lost my mind," Tomato replied. 

Bluejinx placed a hoof on Tomato's shoulder. "Didn't you try to convince her that maybe her meddling is a bad idea? Or did she manage to actually improve some aspect of your relationship with Cheese?"

"She's beyond convincing, and you know I'm beyond redemption with Cheese. Let's not forget I committed the great sin of the broken accordion. And any chance I had to apologize, I blew it." Tomato popped a butterscotch in his mouth. "Might as well keep up the image of the killjoy so Mr. Screw-Up doesn't return."

"I don't think that's healthy for either of you. Holding a grudge over breaking his accordion when you were eight? I think you both should have moved on from that by now." A packet of black licorice landed in front of Bluejinx. Immediately, Bluejinx's face broke into a grin. "Sweet! My favorite!"

Tomato gave him a weird look, opened his mouth to say something, and then shook his head. He would never understand why that pony liked black licorice so much. "So... how's your day with your cousin?"

Bluejinx munched on the licorice. "Well, aside from worrying about you, I actually had a pretty good time. We got to participate in the pinewood derby, had a caramel apple sword fight, play a few carnival games, and played bingo. What'd you do?"

"Got hit by a squirrel, dangled out of a hot air balloon, had a hayride, deflated a bouncehouse, lost tug-of-war, tore down the karaoke tent, and kept getting into arguments with Cheese."

Bluejinx gave him a funny look. "Do I want to even know about the squirrel or the hot air balloon?"

"They're connected. Yeah, I'm having a bad day."

"...at least the hayride sounds nice."

They looked up as the party tank fired with a loud boom. Much to their surprise, there was smoke coming from it, and the candy was on fire. They watched as it rained fire on the field, with many foals, as well as Pinkie and Cheese, trying to avoid the burning darts. Unfortunately for Cheese, some of the candy landed in his mane, and it ended up lighting on fire.

Tomato jumped to his hooves. "Quick! Where's a hose?"

The moment was interrupted with Pinkie pulling a bucket of water out of nowhere and dumping the water on Cheese's head. Ponies had already gotten to the scene and were putting out fires with water that they carried in buckets, cups, and bowls. At the sight of this, Tomato slowly sat back down. He curiously looked at the party tank, wondering what had happened to it. 

Cheese jumped onto the tank, and crawled into the barrel. "Come on, Tanky, why was the candy on fire? Helllooooo?"

Pinkie trotted over to them. "Do you guys know what happened?"

Both Tomato and Bluejinx shook their heads. Cheese crawled out of the tank, and landed beside Pinkie, scratching his head. Looking at her, he said, "I don't know what's wrong with it. Everything seems to be in tiptop shape in there. I can't put my hoof on why the candy was on fire..."

"Aww, that's a lot of disappointed foals," Pinkie said. 

Tomato sighed. "The field lit on fire. Ponies could have been hurt!"

"Thank goodness they weren't... except for my mane," Cheese said, pointing to the singed hairs on his head. He gave Tomato a funny look. "You know, you could have at least fetched some water to help put out the fire."

Tomato snorted in response, but Pinkie stepped in between them once again. "How about we have a nice, relaxing time at the petting zoo? Yeah, Fluttershy's got some super cute animals for everyone to adore!"

Bluejinx piped in, "You know, I think Flora went with her."

"And now we know what all of Tommy's friends have been doing!" Pinkie hugged both the Sandwiches. "Don't worry, if any animal does a no-no, Fluttershy will take care of it in a jiffy! As long as you both behave, nothing will go wrong." And then she sped off with both of them in tow.

Bluejinx sighed. "I hope Flora talks some sense into them."





"Oh, Pinkie, you don't look so good," Fluttershy said. 

Pinkie's mane was not as bouncy as it usually was. Her curls were drooping and her face looked a little weary. She watched Cheese and Tomato, having separated once again, petting different animals--or in Cheese's case, making silly faces and singing at them. 

Even so, Pinkie gave Fluttershy a big grin. "Oh, no, Fluttershy! I'm absolutely hunky dory! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well..." Fluttershy brushed her hoof on the dirt. "They don't look like they've changed their attitudes... but I could be wrong."

Pinkie groaned. "They haven't! Tommy keeps being grouchy and Cheesy keeps switching between being nice to everypony and being a big meanie to Tommy, which makes Tommy even more grouchy and they keep arguing and breaking stuff and annoying each other! I keep trying to remind them that this is brotherly bonding time, not brotherly fighting time!"

Flora came onto the scene with some feed, which she gave to Fluttershy. "Brotherly fighting time? Huh?"

Pinkie sighed and repeated her frustrations with Flora, who nodded. After Pinkie was done, she said, "Well, fighting is a normal thing for siblings. After all, didn't you ever fight with any of yours?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Uh-uh, never. Well... I admit I get annoyed with Limestone sometimes, but it's not nearly as bad as the Sandwiches' bickering!"

Flora shrugged. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. Being in a big family doesn't make me a family expert. Still, I can't help but wonder if this constant bickering over petty things is just covering up some deeper issue that both of them have, and they're just afraid to face it."

"I still think they should smooth out this deeper issue of theirs with a gentle talk," Fluttershy said. 

Flora tapped her chin. "They should... only, one of them has to snap out of their angry funk and approach it peacefully. And, well, neither seem to want to do that, since it'll leave them vulnerable."

Pinkie thought for a moment before smiling brightly. "Flora! Why don't we try to convince them to be a big pony and admit their problems?! You could deal with Tommy, while I handle Cheese!" 

Flora blinked. "Uh, Pinkie, don't you think that--YIPE!"

Pinkie had grabbed her by the tail, and was dragging her toward the boys. "Time is of the essence! We don't do it today, they may never be best brother buddies! And that just won't do!"

Fluttershy watched as Pinkie dragged Flora, and muttered, "Well, okay, I'll just be over here if you need me." She took the feed, and carefully poured some into the trough in one of the pens. 

"Oh, Fluttershy!" 

Fluttershy turned to find Rarity trotting toward her, accompanied by Sweetie Belle. She smiled. "Oh, hello, Rarity. Here to pet some animals?"

Rarity stopped and put a hoof on her chest. "Oh, no, I'm just looking after Sweetie Belle as she does that." She turned to her sister. "Now you'll be careful now, won't you?"

Sweetie Belle was already in a pen and was scratching the head of a bunny, much to the animal's dismay. "Don't worry, I'm good with animals!"

Fluttershy approached the pen and put a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, dear. Sweetie Belle, you have to be gentle when petting rabbits."

Sweetie Belle stopped her petting. "Oh." The bunny kicked her foreleg, blew a raspberry, and then hopped off. She gave it a weird look as it hopped away. "Well, that wasn't nice."

"Being too aggressive with an animal makes them... not like you all that much," Fluttershy explained. 

"I was only petting it..."

"Just pet the next rabbit a little gentler and you'll be fine," Rarity said. She turned to Fluttershy. "So how has your corner of the Fall Festival been all day?"

Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, it was just wonderful. Ponies were just absolutely adoring all the animals! Of course, I've had to remind a few to be gentle."

"Well it's so nice to hear that things went smoothly over here. Earlier, the bouncehouse deflated while foals were on it." 

Sweetie Belle was in another pen, petting a lamb when she heard that. She turned with a big frown, and said, "It was an accident."

"Right, right, you've told me five times already." Rarity grimaced. "Ooh, and then there was the flaming candy... Cheese Sandwich should really check his tank."

Fluttershy tilted her head. "If you want to speak with him, he's here with Pinkie and Tomato."

"Oh. Well... how are things going for them?"

Before Fluttershy could answer, there were several crashes, some screams, and the roars, hisses, clucks, and squeals of random animals. With a gasp, she squeaked, "Oh no!"

The three of them bolted toward another area of the petting zoo, where they found a good number of the pens' fences smashed to bits, and animals running amok. The running footsteps were audible, and the animals were just making the damage to the fences worse in their panic. A dirty Flora was sitting in a mud puddle in a daze, Pinkie had her head stuck in the ground, and Cheese and Tomato were arguing. Tomato had a goat latched onto his right sleeve, and Cheese's hind leg was raised, while his tail was scratching at his cutie mark. 

"...and I swear, you ruin everything!" Cheese snapped.

"Oh, that is an exaggeration!" Tomato said, stomping with his free front leg. "I didn't even touch half the stuff that ended up blowing up in our faces!"

"Well, maybe you're just a bad luck charm! Considering how that one party you planned went sour!"

"Excuse me for not having the best foresight as a colt!"

"It. Is. Common. Sense. To. Ask. Mom!" Cheese stomped with each word for emphasis.

Tomato snorted. "Funny you should say that--Mom's lower on your list of priorities than I am! Besides, she would've said no."

Cheese laughed with harsh derision.  "Obviously! She disapproves of my special talent, represented by the handsome picture which is on a part of my body which is crazy itchy!" He shot a front hoof at his flank and began to scratch. Still glaring at Tomato, he added, "No wonder you're so lame! You're turning into Mom."

Tomato's eye twitched. "Why you..." He jerked his right front leg forward, forgetting about the goat. Sure enough, there was a rip as his jacket's sleeve was ripped clean off, much to his dismay and the goat's celebration. He growled in frustration. 

Cheese stood proudly. "Your fault, not mine."

Fluttershy rushed forward, and faced the goat, shaking her hoof at it. "No, no, you do not eat ponies' sleeves."

The goat gave out a groaning "Maa" before spitting out the sleeve and walking off. Fluttershy gave it to Tomato, who muttered, "Thanks."

Pinkie pulled her head out of the ground and spat out some dirt. She jumped back up and got between the brothers again. "Ugh, are you two arguing again? Argh! How is anypony supposed to have fun if you colts keep fighting like this?!"

Flora rose out of her mud puddle, her brow furrowed. "I can vouch for that. I'm certainly not having any fun."

Fluttershy sighed. "It's going to take me all night to retrieve all the animals that ran away."

"And that argument sounded awfully harsh--especially on your side, Cheese," Rarity said. "I'd never expect a pony like you to insult another like that."

Cheese shifted uncomfortably. "Well... I guess maybe I shouldn't have said that 'bad luck charm' comment."

Tomato rolled his eyes. "That's a start."

"Oh, no, mister!" Flora snorted. "Don't you go eye-rolling like that, maggot! Seriously, Tomato! I've never seen you this hostile! Not even Olive and I fight like this!"

"Would all this yelling even get anypony anywhere?" Sweetie Belle asked. 

Flora facehoofed and groaned. "You know what? Separate them. They need time to cool off and think about the awful behavior they've been exhibiting all day, if Pinkie's reaction is any indication. I don't care what you do with them, I just don't want to hear them yell again!"

A moment of silence followed Flora's outburst. All ponies stared at her, and then looked at each other. It was a few moments before Tomato finally said, "That... was the sanest idea anypony's had today."

"Oh, look, we agree on something," Cheese snarled. 

Rarity stepped toward Flora. "Would you like a bath to wash up and soothe your troubles?"

Flora shook her head. "No, no, I can live with being dirty. I'll just help Fluttershy round up the animals."

"I'll get Applejack to help, too," Fluttershy murmured. The two of them left to their task silently, while the others watched them depart. 

"Maybe I could go and help," Sweetie Belle said. 

Rarity cringed. "Er... no, we'll just take Tomato and fix his jacket." She looked up at said stallion. "Does that sound good to you?"

Tomato looked down at the brown sleeve that hung over the white sleeve that he still wore. With a sigh, he said, "I'll have to go find my book so I can read while I wait."

Rarity and Sweetie Belle left with Tomato, who made sure not to look his brother in the eye as he passed. However, as they got further away, he glanced back, and sighed, shaking his head. He murmured in the softest whisper, "Why can't I ever talk with him peacefully anymore?"

That just left Pinkie and Cheese alone in the cool air of a late autumn afternoon. Cheese turned to Pinkie and grinned, but Pinkie didn't smile back. 

"Cheesy... you weren't acting like you."

"Um, huh?"

"The Cheese Sandwich I know is a super nice, super fun, and super funny party pony that I absolutely love to consider my friend! I never thought I'd see the day when he'd be so mean to somepony, especially to one who obviously needed some cheering up! Especially if the grumpy pony who needed cheering up was his own brother."

Cheese stared at her for a moment, and sighed. "Pinkie... please, please, please stop trying to fix my family. How I deal with them is none of your business."

"Cheese..." Pinkie bit her lip, looking at him with gleaming eyes. "I just want to know... why?"

Cheese stared back into a pair of sad, blue eyes. With a sigh, he looked around. "Can't refuse those eyes... fine, you'll get a little more info on my past. Let's go somewhere else... I don't want anypony hearing this."
> Brother's Keeper, Losers Weeper
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitting under a lone oak tree, away from the festival, Pinkie awaited the answers from her party pony buddy beside her.

She was a little unnerved by Cheese's silence and the intensity present in his green eyes. It didn't help that his curls had become frayed bristles, and there was a tiredness that she had never seen him have. She had learned from their time as friends that he got worn out by parties before she did, but Cheese had always been in a chipper mood from start to finish, before jumping back into his cowpony persona. This time, it was an angry kind of tired, but with a good dose of sadness mixed in. A smile was absent, and he was rubbing his head like he had a headache. There was also an inconsolable itch upon his cutie mark, which Cheese dealt with by rubbing his tail on it. 

The version of Cheese before her was inconceivable. Just what was it about his brother that made him so sour? Pinkie was all ears for what Cheese had to say. She wasn't going to let him back out of it. 

Cheese merely stared at the red leaves drifting down from the branches. He glanced at Pinkie with pleading weariness, and sighed when she gave a look that indicated that she was not letting him off the hook. "Are you sure you want to hear?"

Pinkie nodded. "Cheesy, why don't you and Tommy get along? Aren't little brothers supposed to look up to big brothers and big brothers protecting the little brothers?"

Cheese leaned against the tree. "You better not be implying that I'm the little brother; I'm the older one."

"Ooh, really? By how much?"

"Three years."

"Wow! That means you were foals together! Oh, I bet you were both just the most cutesy-wutesy little colts ever!" Pinkie frowned. "Cutesy-wutesy little colts that fought a lot, huh?"

Cheese pulled on his forelock and strummed it. "Oh, it wasn't always this bad. In fact, when we were little, we were best friends."

Pinkie gasped. "So you were best brother buddies?"

Cheese smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah, I could tell you about all the things we did together when we were colts. Imagine me and Tomato, both as colts... Tommy was a little curly-haired runt, I'll tell you that, and I told you about my glasses and big mane..."





At the Carousel Boutique, Rarity worked on fixing Tomato's jacket sleeve, as Sweetie Belle stood by, waiting to help in any way she could. Sitting outside the workroom, Tomato had in his tail a book, and was trying to get himself engrossed in the novel. Currently jacketless, he was clad in a white button shirt, and he had rolled up his sleeves. From where he was sitting, he could hear some of the going-ons inside the other room.

"Sweetie Belle, could you please get the brown thread?" Rarity asked.

Sweetie Belle's voice piped up. "Okay, Rarity!"

A series of crashes followed. Tomato dug his face deeper into his book, trying to hide his embarrassment for the filly. He imagined how exasperated Rarity must have been, having her younger sibling mess something up. He wondered if there was any amount of anger in her. That thought was followed by an image of a shattered accordion, and he cringed upon thinking of that.

The crashes ended, and there sounded a sheepish, "...here you go."

He heard Rarity sigh. "Well... thank you Sweetie Belle, that's all I need."

"Is there anything else I could do?"

"Er, no, I don't need any more help."

"Are you sure? I could clean up the mess I made."

"Ugh... but we'd need a repairpony for that mess! Look, Sweetie Belle, why don't you, um... oh, go check on Tomato, see how he's doing!"

A moment of silence followed Rarity's remark, and Tomato wondered what either of them were thinking. The moment passed, and Sweetie Belle said, "I don't know... what if he's still in a bad mood and yells at me?"

Tomato huffed. It wouldn't kill you just to say "Hi." I won't bite.

"It... shouldn't take long," Rarity said. "Just ask him how he's doing and his tone will tell you all you need to know. Now, go on."

A sigh followed, and the clip clop of little hooves approached the door. The door opened, and a little white unicorn peeked out at him sideways, with only the part of her head above her muzzle visible. She looked at him with wide green eyes for a second, before she looked at the floor, unmoving in her position. 

Tomato blinked. "Hi."

"Hi," Sweetie Belle replied. She looked back up. "How are you?"

Tomato resumed reading his book. "I'm good. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm good." Sweetie Belle stepped out of the doorway and revealed the rest of her body. "What are you reading?"

"Dash Silver: Thicker Than Water. It's about this spy fighting with his brother."

"Kind of like you are?" Sweetie Belle squeaked and covered her mouth when Tomato shot a look her way. "I'm sorry! I just-- I just--"

"Calm down. I've cooled down, and I'm not going to yell at you." Tomato wrinkled his nose at what he read. "I'm more likely to yell at this book for the stupid way they're handling the feud. Apparently, one was born evil, always has been evil, always will be evil, and therefore, he must be taken down. Um, no, real life doesn't work like that."

Sweetie Belle stepped back. "It doesn't?"

"In reality, Sweetie Belle, ponies change. You know, as in growing up, how they view the world, and their relationships with other ponies. For example, you might grow into a beautiful mare someday, with a talent and personality that charms others, whether here in your town or some.... other place."

Sweetie Belle gasped, covered her mouth, and blushed. "Really?"

"I did say 'might.' For your sake, I hope you grow up to be a sweetheart with a special talent that matches." Tomato put his book down, covered his cutie mark with his tail, and looked straight at her. "Personally, I wanted to grow up to be a cowspy."

"Cowspy?"

"A combination of cowpony and spy. It was a game I played as a colt."

"Oh. That sounds fun!" Sweetie Belle brushed her hoof on the ground. "So, uh... how'd you change? I mean, what were you like as a colt?"

Tomato took a deep breath, and slicked his curled forelock down with the rest of his mane. Almost immediately after, the forelock sprang back up. After exhaling, Tomato answered, "An imp."

"An... imp?"

"Mischievous little colt, got into trouble a lot, had too much energy, was most likely the very definition of annoying," he explained. He noticed his sleeve was unrolling and rolled it back up. "I was also very social, the smug kid with the good grades, and... well, I worshiped my big brother."

Sweetie Belle's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. "Big brother? Are you saying Cheese is your big brother?"

Tomato shrugged. "I can see why you'd think I was older. I look like a million bits and I'm less... exuberant than he is." Noticing how confused the little unicorn was, he clarified, "I'm less energetic than he is."

Sweetie Belle blinked. "I don't get it... how'd you go from an... imp... to a... a..."

"Killjoy?" Tomato sighed and turned his back to her. "Long story short, it's safer for me than 'screw-up'."

"Huh?" Sweetie Belle tilted her head. "What did you do?"

Tomato growled and shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."





"A long time ago, in a Manehattan hospital, a little toddler pony met a tiny newborn foal," Cheese began. "The moment I laid eyes on my baby brother, he was the apple of my eye. I claimed him as 'my baby', and dedicated myself to helping Mom take care of him. In fact, my very first memory was cheering him up when he was about to wail." He pulled a noisemaker from his hair, and sat up. He indicated for Pinkie to sit up as well, which she did. 

"Being a three-year-old, I wasn't very creative, so I merely did this," He leaned forward and blew the noisemaker, letting the paper proboscis tickle Pinkie on the nose. Hearing Pinkie giggle, he smiled and continued, "He had that same reaction."

"Hee hee hee, making babies laugh is so much fun!" Pinkie exclaimed. "They just have the cutest laughs! The Cake twins do, their little playmates do, and I bet baby Tommy did as well!"

Cheese laughed and leaned back against the tree. "Well, he did, and he was always happy to see me, other than the times I was stupid and dragged him by the tail and made him cry." Cheese grimaced, and then shook his head. "So, as we grew older, there was no doubt that he worshiped the very ground I walked on. He followed me everywhere, more or less copied my taste in food--except he put too much ketchup on everything--and when I started to learn to play the accordion, he would be dancing to the music. Over time, we were both singing whenever I practiced."

Pinkie's eyes widened. "So... you had little mini parties?"

"I guess you could say that. But, I really had no idea at the time that I was going to grow up to be a party pony. I just thought my brother would be the only pony who'd appreciate my fun side and I'd grow up to be... boring." Cheese cleared his throat. "Anyway, we explored the streets of Manehattan, where he'd almost get killed by speeding carriages, nearly falling off the ferry or falling off the bridge, being chased by a pack of dogs--what's funny about that last one is that he didn't have a fear of dogs after that; they ended up as his favorite animal for whatever reason. Still, I had to save him from whatever mishap he got himself into. 

"Anyway, we'd also munch on pizza together, shun sauerkraut together, played cowspies together, have snowball fights in the park, and a bunch of other stuff. And man, you should have seen him go! He had a load of energy, and he'd be trying to chat to strangers... but he always scared them off. I do admit, I had found him a little annoying at times, but I wouldn't have traded him for the world."

"So, what happened?" Pinkie asked, leaning toward him. "Why are you so mean to each other now?"

Cheese sighed. "Well... school happened. You know how I was very shy as a colt? Well, I didn't tell him I was so shy, so he was under the illusion that I had a lot of friends and that I was the coolest pony ever. So, when he started school and started making friends, he was shocked to learn that all the other foals thought I was just a shy geek worth picking on. And so, our relationship began to take a dark turn."

"A dark turn?"

"Yeah..." Cheese rubbed his temples. "I was completely okay with him befriending Bluejinx, who was clearly nervous about his first day. And then Tomato just made friend after friend after friend after friend. It puzzled me how he was able to do that so easily."

"What's wrong with making lots of friends?"

"Well... nothing, really, but I soon found myself home alone a lot, since he decided to spend time with his new friends. I tried to shrug it off, but it really hurt to have been abandoned like that. Still, I held out, in case he turned around and played with me again. He did, but it was always 'hey, come with me and my friends, you need to get out more!' Well, social anxiety kicked in, and I refused. Not to mention... I didn't really like the colts he hung out with. I swear, they were pure evil."

"Cheesy!"

"Well, they were! They were among the bullies that picked on me, along with their big siblings." Cheese's hair bristled even more, and he ground his teeth. "I don't know how the little ketchup squirt missed it, but he did, and tried to force a friendship between them and me. I never thought it was going to work, so I had to lock myself in our room so I didn't have to face those brats." He sighed and ran a hoof through his mane. "I hated to make Tommy sad, though. He wanted to spend time with me, but... psht, what did he need me for when he had all his buddies to make him happy?"

"You're his big brother! Of course he still needs you!" Pinkie said. 

"Pfft, no he doesn't. Oh, yeah, how could I forget his string of good grades? How could I forget Mom nagging me and telling me to try to get to his level of academic superiority? How could I forget that everypony we knew forgot my name, and only referred to me as 'Tommy's brother'? I swear, with each passing day, I found him more and more aggravating as he still had the gall to ask me to play with him. I felt more like his plaything than his brother, and I wasn't going to let him have the pleasure of my companionship if he had everything else!"

Pinkie scooted backward, unnerved by Cheese's anger. "Cheese, calm down!"

"And then when he smashed my accordion, that's when I decided to beat it! At least I found my calling, and now more ponies know my name than they know his! So, ha! I bet he's just jealous because I got an awesome special talent, while he's become..." Cheese slumped forward. "Such a killjoy. How the hay did that happen? What happened to my baby bro? Did Mom manage to suck the life energy out of him? I mean, he was just fine when I returned home the first time to show them my cutie mark..."

Pinkie shrugged. "I don't know how it happened. I wasn't there." 

Cheese sighed and laid down on the grass. "I try to avoid going back, but for some reason, my Cheesy Sense just drags me there whenever I'm in Manehattan. My parents disapprove of what I do, and Tommy... all he does is snark at me, especially when I force myself to try to make them smile. I... just feel useless there, and that I had lost the smiling, active little colt that was my brother. So... what's the point in even trying?"

Pinkie put a hoof on his shoulder, noticing the tear that was streaking down his face. "Don't cry, Cheesy."

"I'm not crying," he feebly denied.

"But, Cheesy, you are!" Pinkie leapt to her hooves. "I understand that you don't feel like he needs you; but being mad at him is not going to help either of you. You're not just hurting him, you're hurting yourself. Cheesy... can't you forgive him?"

Cheese crossed his forelegs and turned away. "No, I'm perfectly happy. He doesn't need my forgiveness, as long as he has Mom and Dad's approval and his friends. Big bro's just a disappointing side note." Once again, his tail rubbed his cutie mark, and his leg was twitching. 

Pinkie narrowed her eyes as she watched the leg. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Very suredy-sure?"

"Of course."

"Super duper absolutely very suredy sure-sure?"

Cheese sighed. "Yes, I'm absolutely sure!"

"How long has your leg been bothering you?"

"What?"

Pinkie pointed at the twitching leg. "Tell me, what does a twitchy leg mean?"

Cheese looked at his leg. "Well, this doesn't happen all that often. It doesn't usually itch unless somepony needs me to cheer them up personally." His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.  He fearfully looked at Pinkie, who looked ready to plot something. "Pinkie... I know what you're thinking, and I'm telling you, it's not going to work!"

She turned her head upside down and got in his face. "You won't know for sure unless you smile and put your heart into it." She batted her eyes. "Come on, Cheesy... can't you put aside all the bad stuff of the past just for this to work? Try to get back to the days when you'd make him smile because you wanted to, not because your Cheesy Sense just dragged you there. I bet the moment he smiles, you'll feel much, much better!"

Cheese bit his lip. "I don't know... the other times I tried, it didn't work. Still... maybe without Mom and Dad around, it'll be different."

Pinkie leapt for joy. "That's the spirit, Cheese! Now, you go set up what you need, while I go get him!" Before Cheese could tell her anything else, she sped off. 

Cheese stood there awkwardly. "Ehehehe... don't worry, Cheese... you've got this... you've always got this... if he stays grumpy after this, that's his problem, not mine. You're a party pony, and spreading joy is your job! There is no way you can fail this time! Remember... this. Is. Your. Baby. Brother!"

He now had his chest swelled in pride, grinning a manic grin. Those fell as his heart sank. "I'm in trouble."





When his jacket was fixed, Tomato thanked Rarity, put on the jacket, and then strolled on his way. He had no destination; all he wanted was to be alone and think. 

He looked around at the ponies enjoying the festival, partaking in the food and playing some of the carnival games set up. He took a deep whiff of the crisp, fall air, scented with freshly fallen leaves. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. Fall had always had been his favorite time of year, and if there was anything that didn't change from his colthood, it was that. 

Still, seeing a bunch of ponies having fun with their siblings made him frown, and a melancholy feeling swept into him. Was he the only pony there who wasn't having fun with his sibling? He watched as one pegasus helped his brother with the milk bottle game, and a unicorn having fun in a jello-slurping contest with her sister. He tried to set his gloom aside with the funny thought of his friend Flora participating, since she had a fondness for jello, but soon he imagined her and her big family competing against each other with laughter. He lowered his head, and continued to walk. 

He passed by the Apple siblings' hay ride, and spotted Rarity and Sweetie Belle making necklaces together. Rainbow Dash was hanging out with a little orange pegasus, and cheering her on in a scooter race. Upon seeing Cirrus and Nimbus in a apple-juice chugging contest, he hurriedly passed them so they wouldn't see him. 

He looked up at a banner he came across, which said:


The Fall Friendship Festival! Celebrating the bonds of not only friends, but also those of sisterhood and brotherhood!


He mockingly laughed at it. "Wonderful, just wonderful. It's a shame that my own brother hates me."

He walked some more until he was on a bridge. He leaned against the railing and looked down at his reflection. The pony staring back at him definitely looked like a million bits--with how he dressed, how he had tamed his curly hair, and his general calm demeanor. However, a slow blink later, the serious pony he stared at turned into a grinning, curly-haired colt, who bounced around, giving a joyful laugh.

Tomato sighed. "Hi, Tommy. Having fun there?"

Tommy nodded, and soon enough, the image of a bigger colt--with a big brown afro, big glasses, and an accordion in his hooves--appeared next to little Tommy, who squealed in delight. The little red-orange colt soon leapt onto the light orange colt, and began to use the afro as a trampoline. Both colts laughed, and the image in the water disappeared before Tomato's eyes. He was alone once again. 

He leaned into his hoof. "Where did I go wrong?"

All of a sudden, Pinkie Pie popped up beside him. "I dunno, what did go wrong?"

Tomato scowled at her. "What do you want?"

Pinkie grinned at him and bounced in place. "I have some good news for you! I convinced Cheese to attempt to make you smile!"

Tomato stared at her awkwardly, pondering her words. A few memories came to mind, and he sighed. "It's not going to work."

"Why not? All you gotta do is smile for him."

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me to fake a smile? I'm pretty sure a party pony could tell a fake smile from a real one. So... no. Besides, I could always tell that his attempts to make me smile were just forced and obnoxious, and he didn't even want to be there."

Pinkie growled. "Come on! Why don't you lighten up for your big brother? Your grumpy-grumpypants attitude isn't helping anything!"

"Neither is your overbearing attitude. Besides, you either get the killjoy or the screwup," Tomato said, walking around her and completing the crossing of the bridge. "The killjoy is much safer, just so you know!"

Pinkie bounced beside him. "Why? Weren't you a silly colt when you were little? What happened?"

"If you're trying to speak for Cheese, then you're wasting your time. Why doesn't he just speak for himself for once? But no, he had to send his girlfriend to do the talking. How about instead of pushing me away and shutting me out, treat me with utter contempt, and only talking to me to let me know how much I ruin his life or how much of a party pooper I am, he lets me know exactly why he's upset with me? Was it the accordion incident? Was it that time I accidentally broke his glasses? Or was I just that annoying?" Tomato snorted and stomped on the ground so hard, his leg ached. He turned to Pinkie, his mane bristling. "And why do you even care? I'm beyond redemption, so you might as well just give up!"

Pinkie stopped her bouncing. "Tommy... I'm not his girlfriend. I'm just his friend." She pranced over to in front of him, and they were face to face. "And I care because I like to see ponies happy, especially my friends. Cheese is my friend, and he's not happy with how his relationship with you is! I don't like seeing you two fight, and I know that deep down, you both want to be best brother buddies again! So... can you please just give him a chance?" She batted her eyes and smiled. "He might surprise you..."

Tomato looked away and smoothed down his mane. "What if he's forcing it just to please you?"

"Don't be silly!" Pinkie said, grabbing him. "If he agreed to give it a shot, then surely he's doing his bestest. If it doesn't work... well, I guess I'll leave you alone. Okay, let's go!" She threw him up, and grabbed him by the tail, and started galloping somewhere, much to Tomato's chagrin. 

His front legs were crossed as he was pulled toward wherever Pinkie was taking him. His forehead hit a branch, and holding his throbbing head, he snarled, "Maybe I should clarify something. You are being overbearing!"
> Polka Quarrel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A crowd had gathered in the town square, watching as Cheese had cleared a space and began to build a stage within seconds. He could hear the murmurs between the townsponies about what he was planning, and he could feel their excitement permeating the air. However, he had put up a shield deflecting this excitement, his nerves making every whack of the hammer echo in his ears. He glanced every so often at the crowd, a rare bout of stage fright making his stomach queasy. 

Get a grip, Cheese! he thought, pausing to wipe his forehead. You've sung for many a grumpy pony, and you managed to turn most of them around. Why should this time be any different?

He smacked his forehead, and continued to hammer the floorboards in. That was a dumb question. In all the other cases, all those grouches were strangers having a bad day, and he managed to cheer them up, aside from a couple who just didn't like polka. He had been awfully disappointed in those cases, but at least they weren't haunting him all the time. 

In this case, it was no stranger. This was his brother. That baby brother who he'd crawl to and tickle, just to hear him laugh. That baby brother who'd be following him everywhere, watching him admirably as Cheese went about his day and emulating some of his behavior. The little brother who'd he play the ever-exciting "cowspies" game with, who he'd entertained with his accordion, who he'd scarf down pizza at their grandparents' pizzeria with, who he'd grab and pull away from danger in the nick of time, and who'd be the first one to give him a hug upon Cheese returning home from school.

Cheese snorted, and chucked the hammer offstage. He pulled out some sandpaper, and started to sand the floor. Yep, the pony he was going to perform for was his brother. That baby brother who'd always rudely wake him up in the middle of the night, when he just wanted some sleep. That little brother who made lots of friends and got so swept up in the attention, Cheese felt like merely a side note. The brother who kept on knocking, pleading for playtime for him and those awful friends of his. That brother, despite how annoying, clueless, and destructive he was, was praised by peers, teachers, and parents for being sociable and smart, while Cheese was either overlooked or picked on by those parties for being shy and just falling short of the mark. That brother who, without any respect for the arts, broke his accordion, and hasn't apologized.

That brother who, without any good reason, did a 180 on his personality, turning into the grumpiest and most boring lame-o that Cheese felt repulsed by. That last part especially frustrated him, and within him a battle between his feelings and his party pony instinct took place during those times he had to force himself to try to make Tomato crack a smile. And every time, he failed. 

The stage was smooth after all his musing, and he crumpled up the sandpaper and tossed it off the stage. He ran his hoof over the wood, and there was nary a splinter to be found. 

"Whatcha buildin' a stage for?"

Cheese looked up to find three fillies, which he recognized as Rarity and Applejack's sisters and their pegasus friend. He grinned at them. 

"Oh, I'm just going to perform on it," he said, patting the floorboards. "Normally I don't need a stage, but I want to burst out of a pair of curtains this time around."

"Oh, that makes sense," Apple Bloom said. "Buuut, you might wanna fix your hair."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you look like a mad scientist," Scootaloo stated. "Are you sure you want to give off that vibe? Unless you're planning to experiment on that rubber chicken of yours."

Cheese rolled his eyes. "Oh, you girls... if I was going for the mad scientist gig, I'd do something like this." He pulled out Boneless Two and dropped him on the stage. He pulled forth a random machine and attached wires to the chicken. Then, with a wicked smile, he flipped the switch, stood on his hind legs, and cackled, "It's alive! Mwahahahaha-HAHA! Arise, my chicken!"

The fillies stared at Boneless Two, who lay still, while ponies behind them chuckled. A confused Sweetie Belle then said, "I don't think it's working."

Cheese shrugged. "Eh, electricity doesn't work on rubber chickens anyway." With that, he kicked away the machine somewhere offstage. "But, really, does it matter what my hair looks like? The crowd's just going to focus on my epic accordion skills!"

"Just why is it like that?" Apple Bloom asked. 

"Hm? Oh, my hair tends to bristle when I'm mad. Like, mad mad. Seriously mad, the kind that is rare for me. You catch my drift?"

"I... guess?"

Sweetie Belle frowned. "You're mad about your brother, aren't you?"

Cheese took a step back. "Let's... not jump to conclusions, little filly. Why do you say that?"

"Well... I talked to him earlier. He said something about cow pies, and how he'd rather be no fun than mess up something."

Cheese gave her a funny look. "Cow pies? Why would he--oh, right, cowspies!" Cheese chuckled. "That game was loads of fun, I haven't played it in years!"

"Cowspies? What are those?" Scootaloo asked. 

"A fusion of cowponies and spies, of course!" Cheese reared up and took a fighting stance. "Me and my brother were a pair of cowcolts, always on secret agent missions and fighting the evil Dr. Sauerkraut and his pirate ninja army!"

The fillies giggled as Cheese punched and kicked at the air, shouting "Hyah!" and "Take that!" over and over. He whooped as he did a backflip, and he sat on his haunches, and jutted a hoof out and squeezed an eye shut as if he was aiming at the fillies. "Fear my laser rope!"

Apple Bloom laughed some more. "Wow, Cheese Sandwich, that sounds like a lot of fun!"

"Yeah..." Scootaloo said, scratching her chin. "Say, what if we got our cutie marks in being cowspies?"

Sweetie Belle gave them a funny look. "What would they even look like?"

"There's only one way to find out, Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom said, turning around. She started to canter away, but stopped and beckoned her friends. "Now, c'mon! Let's use some of Applejack's spare hats to make it work!"

Scootaloo happily followed. "This is going to be sweet!"

Sweetie Belle was slower in leaving, looking back at Cheese. "By the way, Cheese... I think Tomato's kind of sad. Maybe he just needs a hug?"

Cheese stared at her as she broke into a gallop to catch up with her friends. With a quirk of his eyebrow, he turned around. He went behind the curtains, sat down, and hoisted the accordion case that was there up onto the stage. He quickly opened it and pulled his accordion out. Playing a few test notes to see if it needed tuning, he was thinking about what Sweetie Belle had just said. 

"If he needs a hug, why doesn't he just get one of his friends to do it? After all, he's got everything; what does he need me for?"

He sighed. "No turning back. I'm going to have to try to entertain him, even if it kills me."





Pinkie had at first dashed to the field where she and Cheese had been, but once there, she turned on a hind hoof and sped back to town. Her teeth were clamped on the dark brown tail of Tomato Sandwich, who had his front legs crossed and an annoyed look on his face. He felt like a kite as he was being towed around, and much to his dismay, he could tell that Pinkie had tuned out his protests. So, he idly searched his memory for any time that day where he wasn't dragged into something. 

They were in the town square before he knew it, and Pinkie was just hopping over ponies left and right, chirping, "'Scuse me! Coming through!" Several ponies stopped in their tracks as she bounced along, and Tomato was being thrown up and down haphazardly, his head hitting the ground every so often. 

She stopped her bouncing when she came across a stage that had inexplicably been built in the town square, which ponies were surrounding and awaiting the show that would be put on it. Pinkie instantly knew that it was Cheese's doing, and with a squeal, she threw Tomato onto the stage. She spit on the ground a few times, wondering what Tomato had been putting on his tail and for what reason. Then she looked up at him with a smile.

Tomato had landed right side up when he was thrown on the stage, and he was looking around in a daze. "Where did this stage come from?"

"Cheese built it! Duh!" Pinkie answered. 

Tomato blinked. "Why didn't he just use an existing stage? I've seen plenty around this town."

"Becaaaauuse he's making it extra-special for his little brother! Ooh, this is going to be great!" Pinkie clapped her hooves, jumped on the stage, and turned to the crowd. 

"Everypony, listen up! Cheese Sandwich has a special performance going on tonight, and it's for none other than his little brother..." She grabbed the red-orange stallion and hoisted him up for all of Ponyville to see. "Tomato Sandwich!"

The crowd murmured amongst themselves. Some were confused, having been completely unaware of the visiting party pony's sibling. Some recognized Tomato and rolled their eyes, and some snorted in disgust and grumbled some sort of insult about him, having heard about this killjoy that Cheese was putting up with. And there were a few that focused on Cheese doing something nice for his brother, and softly said, "Aww..."

She looked down at the front of the crowd, and to her delight, her friends and that of Tomato's were in front, giving her looks that asked her, "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, guys, this'll work out just fine," she said with a wink. She turned to the curtain. "Cheesy, you can come out now!"

There was silence. Pinkie put Tomato down, and repeated, "I said you can come out now!"

A few more moments passed, and Pinkie stomped her hoof. "Cheese Sand--"

Cheese's head popped out from the curtains. "Give me a second, I'm just finishing tuning my accordion."

"Oh, okay." She shrugged at Tomato, who sat there, pulled a cloth from his pocket, and cleaned his glasses. "Don't worry, once he starts playing, I'm sure you'll be grinning from ear to ear, and you two will hug, make up, and be best brother buddies like you used to be."

Tomato put his glasses back on his muzzle and stuffed the cloth back in his pocket. With a sigh, he replied, "Even if we did make up, our relationship still wouldn't be the same as it was when we were colts."

The first few notes of a song played, coming from an accordion behind the curtain. Pinkie heard this, and jumped off the stage to join her friends in the audience. The ponies were quiet as the accordion sang it's song, and started to bounce as the tempo ran faster and faster. Tomato stood up, brushed off his coat, and faced the curtains as he awaited them to open. Although his heart pounded, his head still bobbed to the music. 

The curtains exploded open as Cheese burst forth from them in a front flip, his front hooves pumping the bellows of his accordion in rapid motions. He landed on his hind hooves, and almost immediately wrapped himself in a jolly dance, gliding back and forth across the stage in a tap dance, the sound of which was drowned out by the accordion. He held a wide grin on his face, and used his tail to pull Tomato closer as he sang:

"Hello, baby brother! 
I'm glad you're here today!
This song for you is overdue
So, listen to it, I pray

"I know we're very different
But fighting's just not right
So I thought, hey, why don't I say
Let's be friends again tonight!"

Cheese dropped a dazed Tomato on the stage. The younger brother's slicked down mane had some curls popping out, and he looked up at Cheese. He grimaced at the very expression Cheese was holding. Not only did the smile look forced, but the messed up mane and the bags under his eyes gave him such an uncanny feel. It didn't help that one of his eyes was twitching, and the instant thought that came to mind was that his heart was not in it--he was forcing himself to, just like he always did. He glanced at Pinkie, and figured that she was the reason why.

He stood up and smoothed down the stray curls in one stroke, including the big forelock curl. The forelock sprang back up with a boing, but he paid no heed to it as he replied:

"Well, I can see what you're saying,
But your sincerity's in doubt
Please tell me about this so-called change of heart
And what that fake smile is about

"This is just like every other time
That your forced song leaves my head ringing
I keep wondering why you even bother..."

Tomato's eyes widened, and he put a hoof to his forehead and groaned. 

"And now I just realized that I am singing."

In the crowd, Cirrus laughed and nudged Flora. "Haha! I told you he's no slouch at singing!"

Flora grimaced. "He's no slouch at criticizing, either." She leaned forward and whispered to Pinkie three ponies down. "Pinkie, are you sure this is the proper method to get them to reconcile? I'm having a bad feeling about this."

Pinkie waved a hoof in dismissal. "No worries, they'll get off this hump."

Cheese gave Tomato a quizzical look, and then chuckled nervously. He cleared his throat, grabbed him, and then began to juggle him and several rubber balls as he sang:

"Hey! You are singing along!
That is a very good start
But your attitude needs some more fixing!"

Cheese stopped the juggling, grabbed Tomato by the collar, got into his face and glared at him. 

"And this is not a fake change of heart!"

Tomato pushed him away and sang,

"That contempt in your voice
Leaves me very convinced
That I'm just part of a checklist

"Under that grinning face
I can tell that you do not
Even want to be doing this!"

Cheese huffed at him, and furiously kept on playing. 

"Excuse me, I'm a party pony!
And I really love my job!
But you wouldn't understand just how serious it is
Because you're such a humorless snob!"

Pinkie's smile fell into a frown. This was not the direction it was supposed to go. She glanced at her friends, who were developing looks of worry, and forced a smile. Maybe this was just a bump in the road, and they'll get over it.

Tomato gritted his teeth and stomped a hoof. 

"Oh, yes, you are the paragon of fun
I hope it's not getting to your head!
But, honestly, would you rather have me
Be a killjoy or an annoying, clumsy kid?"

Cheese could feel his mane bristling more and more, and while he wasn't sure if anypony else could hear it, he was certain that he was starting to get off tune. 

"I swear, you are so stubborn!
Hey, at least I'm trying!
You're just making this harder than it needs to be!
Now stop accusing me of lying!"

Tomato's mane was bristling as well, but this time, he was not going to smooth it back down. 

"Maybe I wouldn't be having doubts
If your visits hadn't always been so cold
What should have been my sunshine was my dark pit
As you were obnoxious or inclined to scold!"

Cheese slid to the curtain and used his hind leg to pull a ball from behind it. He jumped on and bounced on it, his glare fixated on that irritating stallion before him.

"Me? Your sunshine? What an epic lie!
Considering that you had so many friends
You were such a special snowflake that everyone had loved!
While I was an embarrassment to be condemned!"

Tomato watched as his brother circled him with a fierce and hateful scowl. This time certainly was different from the other times; instead of being cold, they were burning hot. 

"I had never condemned you!
What makes you think that?
If anything, you condemned me!

"Most of my so-called friends bailed
After seeing I was depressed
Because I drove away the brother that gave me so much glee!"

Cheese rolled his eyes. 

"Oh, please, quit your whining
You had everypony praising you
Being 'social' and 'smart' and 'all around fun'
When in reality you were just a little nincompoop!"

Tomato looked at the stage floor, the scowl still fixed on his face and his teeth clenched to keep himself as composed as possible. 

"That was only true when I was little
Adolescence was a nightmare!
Used and abused, losing friends, but kept my mouth shut
Because my own family didn't care!"

Cheese stopped his bouncing for a brief moment, and then shook his head and resumed his bouncing on the ball. 

"Well, I had nopony's shoulder to cry on
When I was feeling all alone!
Mom's nags, those bullies, all those comparisons to you
With the grades, and the friends, and your few good qualities overblown!

"I couldn't talk to Dad because he's a zombie!
I couldn't talk to Grandpa because he's deceased!
But I couldn't talk to you, because I really hated
How a reckless colt that ruins everything is so overrated!"

Tomato's head swung up, and he growled. 

"So you spite me out of jealousy? That's why you hate me?
Even now, when your life is so much better?
If anything, I should be jealous of YOU!
Running around Equestria without a fetter!

"Meanwhile, I'm stuck with our loveless family
So awful that I developed a shield of snark
And apparently, because of your little sob story,
It gives you free reign to insult my cutie mark!"

Cheese leapt off the ball, and put his accordion down, bearing the same expression. 

"There is also the fact that you're not 'Tommy' anymore!
How did that colt grow up to be such a bore?"

Cheese pushed Tomato, and the latter gnashed his teeth and pushed back. 

"How did such a shut-in grow up to be a clown
With the most annoying voice around?!"

Cheese pushed him again. "Oh, that's definitely an insult because you're afraid of clowns!"

Once again, Tomato pushed back. "At least I can say that I'm not afraid of frowns!"

Pinkie was pulling her hair, watching as the show fell apart right in front of her. "Cheesy! Tommy! Stop it!"

Cheese yanked Tomato by the tie. "At least I don't break other ponies' stuff, especially when told not to!"

Tomato yanked his tie back. "At least I don't scorn others' cutie marks, especially one that is new!"

Pinkie climbed on stage and ran to them. "Stop, stop, stop! You weren't supposed to argue again! Come on, stop the fighting!" Much to her dismay, she was being completely ignored by both, who were getting so caught up in their fight that they forgot about their surroundings and the increasingly uncomfortable audience. She jumped in between them and shouted to the crowd, "Show's over!"

Cheese leaned forward. "Oh, you pompous little ketchup squirt!"

Tomato mirrored his brother's action. "You headache-inducing pile of curds!"

"Hey! No name calling!" Pinkie snapped. 

"You clueless little megajerk!"

"You master of the hurtful words!"

"Backstabbing little traitor!"

"Super bitter smile-faker!"

"Sarcastic dope!"

"Asocial mope!"

"Accordion smasher!"

"Hope thrasher!"

"King of frowns!"

"Dirty clown!"

"Momma's boy!"

"Madpony!"

"Rotten Tomato!"

"Moldy Cheese!"

"Little dummy!"

"Big dummy!"

Cheese snarled, and with a wild look in his eyes, all his hair standing on end, and a great leap into the air, he bellowed, "THAT'S IT!" 

In one swift motion, he tackled Tomato, and the both of them were now wrestling, throwing punches and kicks and delivering bites on each other's forelegs. They rolled around on the stage in a ball of violence, yelling and cursing at each other, much to the disbelief of the audience. At one point, Cheese's accordion somehow got swept up into the fray, and Pinkie stood there, looking absolutely broken.

Pinkie's friends and Tomato's friends were about to jump onstage to separate them, when all of a sudden the stage collapsed under the brothers, and both of them fell with yelps. Pinkie didn't even shriek when she fell, but everypony else backed up, and watched in disbelief as the stage crumbled and kicked up dust. 

The dust cleared, and the two groups in front coughed for a bit, before they looked up and stared at the wreckage in horror. They were all mentally scratching their heads, wondering how that sturdy stage had just decided to give way like that.

Twilight gazed at a pile, where Pinkie sat on top of Cheese and Tomato, her curls drooping and her eyes wide. "Pinkie!"

Twilight and the rest of the two groups ran toward her, and Rainbow lifted her off the dogpile. Setting Pinkie down, the pegasus looked at the wreckage and said, "What the hay happened? That thing was holding them up fine two minutes ago!"

Cirrus and Nimbus shrugged. The latter said, "Could be a fatal flaw in the design."

"Maybe some of them wood's rotten," Applejack stated.

"I'm sure Cheese is smart enough to know not to use rotten wood," Twilight said.

Cheese coughed and lifted his head. Looking straight at Twilight, he said, "None of it was rotten. None of it! I-I-I am at a loss as to how it happened! Did I sand it too much? Did I screw in something wrong? Was it sabotage?"

Tomato, laying under and perpendicular to Cheese, lifted his head as well. "Hey, you mind getting off? I'm laying on something uncomfortable and I want to get off of it."

Cheese huffed. "Well, boo hoo."

Pinkie hopped to her hooves and snorted. Turning to them, Pinkie stomped a hoof, and it loudly reverberated in their ears. "You... two... are... AWFUL!"

Cheese jumped. "Pinkie, calm down--"

"No! No, I will not calm down! All you've been doing all day is fighting and saying mean things to each other and destroying things in your arguments and ruining other ponies' day! This Fall Festival not only celebrates friendship and sisterhood, it... celebrates... BROTHERHOOD! And you two are the worst example of brotherhood I have seen in my entire life!"

She hopped to the side to face Tomato. "You've been a uptight grumpy-grumpypants and making lots of mean comments and making Cheese mad a lot! You even turned this show into an argument... no, you turned everything into an argument! What, do you like fighting or something?!"

She slid to in front of Cheese. "And you let your anger over foalhood turn you into a meanie-meaniepants! Did you forget what being a party pony is about? It's about making ponies happy, not letting your pride blind you to the fact that you're hurting somepony! Especially if that somepony is your brother!"

Pinkie snorted and turned around. Her mane drooped some more as she started to walk away. "You know what? I'm going home..."

Cheese jumped off his brother, and cried out, "Wait, Pinkie--"

"Alone."

Cheese stopped, and backed up a little. He watched as she galloped away, and the numbness that had been there while she had been yelling was turning into a heavy heart and a pit in his stomach. He looked at the ponies around him, showing great surprise at Pinkie's rant, and then the crowd dispersing one by one. He glanced at the pile where Tomato was trying to get up, but did so with a grimace and a look of horror as he looked under himself. 

Cheese looked closer at the pile, and under him was his accordion, with the bellows and the keys damaged. Some bits were sticking to Tomato's jacket and tie. But what got Cheese's attention was the fact that Tomato's left foreleg was stuck under the accordion, and the pained looks that he had indicated that it was possibly broken. 

Twilight came to his side. "You know, Cheese, it wasn't Pinkie's place to dictate what your familial relationships should be like. Still, you and Tomato both let this feud of yours get out of control. Maybe it's time you two just bury the hatchet and move on... before anypony else gets hurt."

Twilight walked away, along with the rest of her friends, presumably to see if Pinkie needed comforting. 

Meanwhile, Cheese just watched as Cirrus and Nimbus lifted Tomato, and Bluejinx used his magic to remove the accordion. Tomato grunted in pain, and Flora quickly went to work on making a makeshift splint with some wood and her bandanna. Bluejinx spotted Cheese, and sheepishly carried the damaged instrument to him. 

"I'm, uh, sorry that your accordion was damaged..." he muttered. 

The accordion was set down at Cheese's hooves. With a deep breath, he replied, "It's okay... I've had worse damage than this."

"Really? Because those are expensive..."

"I have my ways."

Bluejinx blinked, opened his mouth to say something, and then shook his head. He turned around and walked away, along with the rest of the group, obviously to the hospital. Cheese stared, watching Tomato intently and expecting him to look back and shoot a glare at him. 

The glare never came.
> Letting Go
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cheese was alone on the bridge. Well, aside from Boneless Two. 

Still, the evening air was cold and unforgiving, and the sun was just setting. The fragrance of the crisp autumn leaves and the food was nonexistent to him, as were the remaining sounds of laughter during the evening activities of the festival. All he could feel was a heavy heart that he was too weak to lift, a numbness where his party pony instinct once resided, and a hole in his very soul. All he could see was the pony in the water staring back at him.

That pony's curls were frayed and bristled in every direction, in such a manner that made him look feral. Bags were under his eyes, and the emerald irises had lost their shine. His face was covered in splinters, and he was holding the biggest frown that Cheese had ever seen. No doubt about it, this pony was a mess.

That was not Cheese Sandwich. That was a monster. 

He couldn't believe that he had let himself snap like that. All the other times that he had been angry, he kept it in check and remained relatively peaceful and friendly, even to the offender. This time, his colthood resentment had outright exploded in front of all of Ponyville, shocking everypony who saw him as Pinkie Pie's equally cheerful party pony buddy. 

He sighed and ran a hoof through his mane. "I'm such an idiot, Boneless Two. A lot of ponies had their day ruined because my brother and I couldn't stop fighting. The bouncehouse, Cheese Supreme Cannonball Surprise, the petting zoo, tug-of-war, karaoke... and especially that forced performance I gave that ended in a broken leg."

Boneless Two leaned to the side, threatening to fall into the water. 

"Hey, now, don't you jump ship on me." Cheese dragged the rubber chicken closer to him and leaned on his hoof. "I never thought I'd see Pinkie so disappointed in me. I had the power to make it stop... but I didn't. She's depressed at home, thinking she's a failure, and angry with me for being so stubborn. This feels worse than the Birthaversary incident..."

He looked down in the water, and the image of the madpony was replaced with a pair of colts wrestling playfully and laughing while they did so. It then morphed into those two same colts, now full grown stallions, wrestling angrily and yelling as they did so. He sighed. "And Tomato... I was so focused on how he hurt me, I didn't see that I was hurting him. No wonder he hates me now, and he must hate me even more for breaking his leg."

Boneless Two's head flopped into Cheese's face. 

Cheese quirked an eyebrow. "Forgive him and apologize? But... what if he doesn't accept it? He has all the reason in the world to just reject it."

Boneless Two leaned back with a squeak.

"Huh... you're right. Not only does he need it... but I do too."





Tomato Sandwich had enough. 

He knew that going to a party would just bite him in the butt as hard as it could. Just thinking about them had hurt him before, since the one time he threw one, he had lost the one thing he had treasured most. All he felt like he could do was stay as far away as possible, put up a sour shield, and deny that sort of "fun" the chance to hurt him again. To him, being a grouch was safer than being a screw-up that managed to get a party pony to hate him. No, he managed to get two party ponies to hate him. That was a record that nopony should be proud of.

Oh, wait... he was still a screw up! He picked a fight, and got a bone and a second accordion broken for it.

Despite protests from his friends, he was going home tonight. 

His foreleg was now in a cast and held up with a sling. There was a crack in his glasses that was bugging him like crazy. And he felt weaker and more downhearted than ever. All he wanted was to be alone.

When he climbed onto the platform, he was surprised to find that Cheese was there, wearing the most awkward and nervous of grins. He couldn't help but stare at the grin, wondering what it was all about. Still, he scowled at him, hoping it would scare him off as it always did. He started marching toward the ticket booth, only for Cheese to pop up in front of him. 

"Wait!" Cheese cried. "Please... don't be like that..."

"If you're wanting me to force a smile, you're out of luck," Tomato replied. "I don't force smiles."

Cheese shook his head. "No, I'm not asking you to smile. I'm asking you to hear me out."

Tomato walked around him. "Why should I? How do I know that your words aren't as hollow as mine?"

Cheese blinked and squeezed his eyes shut. "Because... I admit it. I was jealous."

Tomato stopped in his tracks. He considered turning around, but he only sighed. "Well... you have nothing to be jealous about anymore. Just one look at me should tell you that much."

Cheese shook his head, and then popped back in front of his brother. "No... my mistake was letting that resentment of mine follow me to adulthood and paint an unflattering picture of you. I've often ignored it while I traveled, reasoning that if I just forgot about it, the pain would go away. Well, my Cheesy Sense won't ever let me forget. That's why I kept visiting, even when I didn't want to be there--my Cheesy Sense was telling me that you needed me, even when I kept thinking, 'What does he need me for? He's got everything else.'"

Tomato backed up, biting his lip. "So what if I do? None of that can change the fact that I drove you away with my selfish cluelessness."

"Well, actually, it was mainly everypony comparing me to you, the bullies, Mom being a nag... but that's beside the point." He grabbed Tomato by the shoulders. "Point is, just because I can't forget... doesn't mean I can't forgive."

Tomato looked at him almost fearfully, his voice cracking, "F-Forgive? Shouldn't I apologize in order for you to do that?"

Cheese chuckled and hugged him as carefully as he could to avoid aggravating the pain of Tomato's broken leg. "You don't have to, baby bro. I'm making my forgiveness unconditional for you. I'm sorry for not doing it sooner."

Tomato blinked, and his lip trembled. "No... I... I..." His body automatically tensed up, unused to being wrapped up in a hug. "Let me go! I'm not worth your time!"

"Don't be silly; of course you are! You're my little brother, and despite the feud, I still love you."

Tomato was quiet for a moment, taking shallow breaths as he was processing what was happening. It would be easy to assume that Pinkie put him up to this, easy to believe that this was a lie, and easy to just push him away and tell him to leave. That's what his brain was telling him, reminding him of all the hurt of the past. 

His heart, however, was telling him to give Cheese the benefit of the doubt.

"I... I-I'm sorry for everything." He slammed his face in Cheese's shoulder, and for the first time since he was a colt, he let the tears flow. Any semblance of self-control burst in that very moment, and he felt silly for letting himself cry like this, especially as a full grown stallion. But there was also relief washing within him, as if he had finally released all the pain which had threatened to make him burst. Despite the cold evening air, the hug Cheese was giving him was the warmest he had ever felt in a long time. 

Still, he couldn't help but list off his own sins as he sobbed. "I'm sorry for breaking your accordion... I'm sorry for bugging you so much... I'm sorry for making you feel inferior... I'm sorry for punching you in the face that one time... I'm sorry for turning into a sarcastic jerk... I'm sorry for being a coward... I'm sorry for crying on your shirt..."

"I don't mind a wet shirt," Cheese said, patting his brother's back. "You had a really bad day, and I was no help. You're a big colt... and big colts DO cry." He grimaced as he silently noted the awkwardness of the hug, partly due to Tomato's injury. "I shouldn't forget to apologize for your broken leg."

He released Tomato, who backed up and wiped his eyes. With a sniff, he muttered, "I... guess I needed that." He looked up, and jumped when saw Cheese standing there, grinning and wearing a pair of bunny ears on his head. 

"I thought about a clown nose, but then I remembered your fear of clowns." He lifted up Boneless Two, which Tomato swore hadn't been there before. In a squeaky voice, Cheese added, "'Hi, I'm Boneless Two! And I like fun parties!'"

Tomato blinked at the silliness. He scrunched his muzzle, bit his lip, and then a smile graced his face, followed by a few chuckles. "You're ridiculous."

"That's the point, baby bro." Cheese nodded happily, and then wildly shook his head, the bunny ears flying off. Once he stopped, his mane had gone from the feral jungle of madness to the bouncy chocolate curls. "Ah... much better. Say, you know what? Why don't we actually try to bond again? Like... uh... we could play cowspies, just like we used to!"

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "Um, foreleg."

"Oh, right." Cheese tapped his chin. After a moment, his eyes widened. "Oh, right! Pinkie!"

"What about her?"

"Oh, dear, she still must be upset about the whole thing! Uh... do you have any ideas on how we can make it up to her?"

Tomato pursed his lips. "Well...  I kinda have mixed feelings about that. On the one hoof, she meddled and tried to force us to make up, aggravating the both of us until somepony got hurt. But on the other hoof, if it weren't for her, we'd most likely still be fighting right now instead of going for a more peaceful approach. Huh... life is crazy." He glanced at Cheese, who was giving him puppy-dog eyes and pouting. He sighed. "What does she like?"

Cheese grinned and jumped up. "She has a sweet tooth! Say, we could give her a cake! Let's go bake a cake!" Cheese landed back on the platform, still grinning, but yelling in dismay, "I cannot bake!"

Tomato rolled his eyes. "Relax... I can. Lead the way."

"Uh, foreleg?"

"We are working together, aren't we? We'll figure out a way." The both of them walked off the platform and started going back into town. To pass the time, Tomato asked, "Okay, Cheese, how did you meet her?"

Cheese chuckled. "It actually ties in to my cutie mark story--that's an overdue one."





Pinkie Pie sat on her bed, sifting through her photo album. Her raspberry curls drooped in ringlets, and small bags had developed under her eyes. After what she had been through today, she was tired and sad. 

Her friends had come by earlier, trying to comfort her about what had happened. Even though they did lift her spirits for a time, she still felt horrible about how "Brotherly Bonding Time" turned out. Not only had she worsened the relationship of Cheese and Tomato, but she had sabotaged her own friendship with Cheese and left a bad impression on Tomato. 

She turned the page to find the birthday party she had thrown for her sister Maud years ago. It was a quiet affair, as a water party--a tea party with water and some of their mother's old wares--with a bunch of rocks. Still, it had been wonderful, and Maud had loved it. She softly smiled at the memory, but sighed upon thinking about the Sandwich Brothers. All she wanted was for them to have a bond like she and Maud did. 

She turned the pages, seeing the various parties she had thrown over the years. She stopped at the Birthaversary, and looked at the pictures of everypony having fun. Rainbow was definitely having a blast, and she and Cheese looked so happy to have collaborated to make it the best party ever. To have seen that grinning stallion so angry today was such a shock, especially the moment when he outright attacked somepony. She felt disappointed that her attempts to get him to reconcile with his brother had ended badly.

She shut the album and laid it on the bed beside her. She looked out the window, wondering if there was any way she could make it up to Cheese.

There was a knock at her door. She turned, bounced from her bed to the door, and answered it. To her surprise, there was Cheese and Tomato, wearing sheepish grins, covered in flour and batter, and holding with their tails a blue and yellow frosted cake on a platter.

Cheese cleared his throat. "I, uh, hope you don't mind but we baked you a cake to say we're sorry for ruining your day."

Tomato shifted on his hooves, eyeing the cake cautiously. "Yep."

Pinkie stared at them for a moment. She put a hoof to her chest. "No, I'm the one who should be saying I'm sorry. I can't accept the cake if all I did was just make you two angry with each other... and... me. As much as I'd like to see you have a wonderful relationship with each other like I do with my sisters, I can't force you into it. It's not my place to decide how you two should behave toward each other."

Cheese and Tomato looked at each other. Tomato then said, "Look, if it helps... we could make this cake into a forgiveness cake." He narrowed his eyes. "Seriously, just take it. We didn't bake this thing for nothing."

"Hey, not in that tone," Cheese ordered. "But, yeah, consider it a forgiveness cake now. I mean, we couldn't have made it together if we didn't apologize and forgive each other."

Pinkie Pie perked up. "You mean... you're being best brother buddies now?"

Cheese rubbed the back of his head. "Not quite, Pinkie. We just barely started over."

Tomato nodded. "And we're not sure if we could be exactly as we were at youth. I mean..." He quickly yanked his forelock, and his mane promptly exploded into curls not unlike Cheese's, though noticeably shorter. He shook his head, removed his glasses, and said, "What I'm showing you here is Tommy--the kooky and energetic runt that just annoyed everypony. He grew up and was conditioned into a more jaded stallion."

"Aaaand you know what happened to the shy colt I was."

Pinkie just beamed at them. "That's okay. As long as you're not fighting anymore... seriously, that was just... bad."

The brothers muttered something along the lines of "Yeah, yeah, we know."

Pinkie then added, "Oh! Will you Pinkie Promise me that you'll better your relationship from now on? No more of those nasty fights, have your own brotherly bonding time, and write each other letters?"

Tomato raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie Promise?"

Cheese nudged him. "It's serious business... now, follow my lead." He set the cake on the floor in front of Pinkie, and began to do the motions, with Tomato mimicking him. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Tomato finished the motions as much as he could, and turned to Pinkie. "Well, okay, I guess that seals the deal."

Pinkie nodded and picked up the cake with her head. "Come on! Let us eat cake!"


> Let Us Eat Cake
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The longer he stared at the cake, the hungrier he got. The smell of the chocolate wafted toward him, and his mouth couldn't help but water. From the way Cheese had described Pinkie, Tomato thought she would have devoured it quickly. Instead, she decided to gather up her friends, as well as his friends, so that they could share it with them. A nice thought, but she was taking so long...

Almost instinctively, he stretched forth his free hoof. And got it swatted by Cheese. 

"Ah ah ah!" Cheese scolded. "Pinkie said to wait."

Tomato groaned. "I thought she'd inhale it, not share it."

"Sharing is caring, baby bro." Cheese smirked and giggled. "And here I thought that you were the more responsible and mature one... I guess there are some things you haven't outgrown."

Tomato rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, I'm trying to grow up too fast. Can you blame me? I want to move as far away from Mom as possible."

Cheese sighed. "It kind of stinks seeing a lot of mothers around Equestria loving and supporting their kids... not to mention the awesome dads, too! I wish our parents had been like that when we were colts--that could've saved us a lot of heartache."

Tomato looked at the floor. "Maybe they could have prevented our fallout." He leaned back and laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. "I often felt lonely at home... huh, guess I had a taste of how you felt, huh?"

"Uh... what about your buddies? Were they any support for you?"

"After the incident, only Bluejinx stuck with me. And good thing, too--he kept me from going over the edge several times."

Cheese processed the phrase before his eyes widened in horror. "Oh... well, uh... I'll have to thank him for that... I don't think I'd take that news well." He shifted uncomfortably. "How'd you meet the others? I never thought you'd make friends with theater pegasi and a pretty little redhead."

"Flora insists she's strawberry blonde," Tomato corrected, sitting back up. "Anyway, I met Cirrus and Nimbus when the latter lost control of a rolling stool and crashed into me. While it happened, it wasn't funny, but looking back on it, with me clinging to Nimbus' head for dear life, his high-pitched screams, and Cirrus chasing us across campus... yeah, it's pretty funny. We eventually stopped by crashing into a tree."

"Ouch! I wouldn't want a wild ride to end on that note..."

Tomato nodded. "And I met Flora when I came across her with a hole in her saddlebag and her books strewn everywhere. I offered to help her pick them up, and well, she's stuck with me ever since. She likes to make me flower crowns and talk about her huge family. She's talked about them enough that I've memorized their names and birth order."

Cheese leaned forward. "Do tell, I'm curious."

Tomato stared at him a moment, opened his mouth to say something, and then sighed. "First it's her, then Bananas, then Ash Tree, then Olive, then Alfalfa, then Amber Waves, then Willow, and finally, Kernel Grin."

Cheese nodded, waggling his eyebrows. "She must come from a nice family."

"Well, she won't stop talking about them and--hey..." Tomato looked straight at his face, scowling at him. "I know what you're thinking, and it's not that way."

Cheese chuckled. "Well, you wouldn't stop calling Pinkie my girlfriend! Thought I'd return the favor."

It was at that moment Pinkie opened the door, and trotted in, with her friends tailing behind, followed by Tomato's friends, and finally tailed by Royal Pin, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders wearing Stetsons, black ponchos, and bow ties matching their eyes. With a big smile, Pinkie said, "Sorry I took so long! I had to explain the good news to each one of them! But now everypony's here, and we can share the cake!"

Rainbow Dash took one look at the Sandwich brothers. "Pfft, what happened? Were you at war with the cake batter?"

"Yes," Tomato replied dryly. 

"But we won," Cheese announced boldly. 

Rainbow Dash started hovering and crossed her forelegs. "Right... okay, why are you two so buddy-buddy all of a sudden?" 

"We agreed it was better to put energy into reforging our bond rather than fighting, especially after that quarrel that the whole town witnessed..." Cheese frowned. "I'm really sorry that it turned into such a disaster. I kind of forgot that being a party pony doesn't exactly leave room for old grudges."

Tomato looked at his broken foreleg. "And picking that fight was the dumbest thing I've ever done. It wasn't necessary for me to anger Cheese more than I already had."

Rainbow glared at Tomato. "You could have just faked a smile, you know."

Cheese gave her a funny look. "I would have seen right through it."

"Well... he didn't need to be so grumpy all day!" She eyed the cake. "Can we just eat now? I'm dying of hunger over here!"

Cirrus jumped over Rainbow Dash and landed in front of the cake. "I call first piece! Rainbow Hair can starve for a little bit longer."

"It's Rainbow Dash," Rainbow growled. 

"Yeah, whatever, you can call me 'Streaky'." Cirrus gestured to the blue streaks in her blonde hair. "I demand to be served!"





The group of seventeen was sitting on Pinkie's bedroom floor, each enjoying a slice of chocolate cake. The Crusaders were sitting with their respective sisters--or in the case of Scootaloo, sister figure--Twilight and Spike were sitting together, and Cirrus and Nimbus were slurping the frosting off their cakes, much to Bluejinx and Royal's disgust. Flora and Fluttershy were talking with each other, and Pinkie, Cheese, and Tomato were in a conversation of their own.

Cirrus swallowed her frosting and looked at Tomato, and then grinned as she hovered toward him. Once she was above him, she started patting his head, watching the curls bounce up with each pat. 

Tomato looked up. "Cirrus, what are you doing?"

"Been meaning to ask you why you curled your hair? It's kind of random."

Tomato felt his head, and realized that he had forgotten that he had released the curls from their forced straightness. "Oh, yeah, thing is... this is natural."

Nimbus leaned from his spot to get a better look at him. "Natural? That's what I tell ponies who think I dyed these blonde streaks. But, really?"

Tomato nodded in reply. "My forelock is the only one that refuses to stay down."

Flora's ears perked up and she turned to him. "Okay, why didn't you tell us your hair was actually curly?"

Tomato took another bite of his cake. "Wasn't important."

Bluejinx chuckled. "But, what is important is that you two decided to stop the fighting."

"I told you talking things out was the best solution," Fluttershy said.

"Although you two still have to work to better your relationship and not fall back into those squabbles," Rarity said. "Believe me, I had to cover myself in mud to regain Sweetie Belle's favor after we had a fallout. It was worth it." 

Sweetie Belle beamed. "You two will be good brothers from now on, won't you?"

Cheese and Tomato looked at each other, smiled, and nodded.

"How are you planning to keep in touch?" Twilight asked. "Last I checked, Cheese didn't have an address."

The brothers looked at each other, and then looked at Pinkie. She merely beamed and said, "I can help!"

Royal Pin was just there, watching the entire conversation. He chuckled and muttered to himself, "And this all happened because I invited my cousin to bring friends to this festival."


> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a chilly fall afternoon, not unlike that of winter, and Tomato Sandwich was just tired. He had just finished the last of his finals, and there had never been a more intense worry gripping his heart. It wasn't that he didn't do that well--he was pretty sure he got a good score on all his tests. His main worry was his score being less than what his mother expected. If he slipped up just a tiny bit--he would never hear the end of it.

He walked across campus, dreading the fact that it was the end of the semester. The end of the semester meant that the students were going back to their families in various cities and towns across Equestria. Cirrus and Nimbus were going to head back to Cloudsdale, and Flora was heading back to Neighton. Bluejinx's family was going to spend the holidays with his aunt Purple Prose in some town called Nickerlite. That meant Tomato was going to be stuck with his parents in a dismal Hearth's Warming Season. 

He huffed, his breath visible in the frigid air. "I'm going to take my sweet time packing."

He looked up at the trees he was passing, having gone bare not too long ago. The sky was gray, and there were a few ponies around, most likely nervous about exam results, but also looking forward to spending the holidays with their families. His left foreleg ached, with just a little lingering soreness from the fracture a couple of months before, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. 

He noticed one of his professors--a forgetful, elderly, green stallion--and took the time to wave at him. The professor was surprised when he noticed Tomato waving, but he smiled and waved back. 

He kept on walking until he reached the dormitory, and once inside, he shook himself in an effort to shake off the cold. "Brr! What a doozy of a cold day!"

He straightened up and headed to his room. He passed few ponies, and those he passed were either in the process of cleaning up or were already heading home. He noticed the smiles on their faces, which held an excitement at going home that he couldn't feel. He sighed with an "Oh, well" tone, and kept on walking to his room. 

The room was painted in a soft green color, with a bed and a couple of pieces of furniture. His small fridge was against the right wall, his desk right beside it, and the closet was on the left wall, it's door holding what looked like a dartboard. A bookshelf that also served as his nightstand was beside his bed, holding various novels and textbooks, as well as a lamp on top. The room itself was kept tidy, in contrast to some of the other stallions around here. 

The first thing he did was head to his desk, where a couple of letters he had received earlier still lay. He had been too much of a hurry to read them that morning, but now he had the time to read through them. 

The first one was from his mother. Of course she was putting the pressure on him to do well or else he'd "end up like his brother."

He scoffed. "Gee, Mom, have you ever thought that he's happy with his occupation?" That led him to wonder how Cheese survived in the winter, since other than the Hearth's Warming Season, ponies were not very inclined to throw parties during the winter. Does he have a winter cabin out there somewhere? He'd have to ask him sometime. 

He read on, finding that his parents were not in the mood for city life this holiday season, so they were migrating to somewhere warmer. The letter went on to tell him that Mom had convinced the neighbor to keep an eye on him while they were gone. 

He snorted. "Mom, I'm an adult in college. I can take care of our home just fine!" He shook his head. "You never let me live that one failed party down, do you?"

The memory came back to him, and he still remembered the gut-wrenching fear and guilt he felt upon he and his friends having accidentally thrown Cheese's accordion against the wall, and the hurt he felt upon Cheese snapping at him. He was hurt even worse upon finding that he had ran away. Though things between the brothers had gotten smoother recently, he still hated how nopony--Cheese, his mother, and the friends that had been there--had not let him live it down.

He finished his mom's letter, and in the corner, there was a sticky note, scrawled with the classic, "Hey, kiddo," from his dad. 

"Hey, look, it's two words this time," he mumbled. He sighed and set them off to the side, and then grabbed the other letter. Upon seeing who it was from, he smiled. 

He tore open the envelope, and sure enough, confetti popped out. He laughed, and then pulled the letter out. He went on to read what his big brother had written him. 

"Dear Tomato,

"Hello, baby bro! How's college life treating you? I can imagine you're pretty busy with finals--I'm pretty busy with all the the parties being thrown the past few weeks. My Cheesy Sense is driving me crazy!

"Anyway, I had recently met Pinkie's family, since one of those parties was thrown in the town near their farm--and Pinkie herself was helping out. They're a bunch of rock farmers that live down in Nickerlite. I bet you're thinking, 'Where in the hay is that?' Well, I can tell you that it's somewhere on the rail line--I can't pinpoint it's exact location. Anyway, her father's kind of grumpy, but he's at least approachable (he kind of scared me at first). Her mother's the same way, though with a more direct, authoritarian voice... you know, I think I like Pinkie's parents more than ours. Kind of sad, isn't it? And then there are her sisters. Maud was away on a trip to get a rocktorate, so I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to meet her, but Limestone and Marble were nice enough.

"But, hey, I've been thinking of popping on over and dragging you to a Hearth's Warming party. We never had much in the way of Hearth's Warming traditions after Grandma and Grandpa passed away, so I imagine that what was supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year was pretty bleak for you these past several years. I can start a new tradition of grabbing you and taking you to a Hearth's Warming party, so you can get into the mood. How's that sound to you?

"But anyway, I better finish writing this, since Boneless Two just fell into the river. Yikes!


"Your big brother, Cheese"


Tomato chuckled. He didn't need to know what had happened to Boneless Two--unless Cheese suddenly appeared with a Boneless Three and had to explain what happened to Number Two.

Not to mention Nickerlite was where Bluejinx was going--presumably to help with his aunt's print shop there. What a coincidence that the family of Pinkie Pie--who Tomato had to send his letter for Cheese to so that she could pass it on to him with whatever magic she had--lived there. Bluejinx had mentioned many times before that the rock farmers there always had speculation surrounding them.

But Cheese's offer to take him to a Hearth's Warming party was definitely welcome. Spending Hearth's Warming Day with their cranky neighbor who'd treat him as the mischievous eight-year-old he used to be would not be any fun. He had always hated Old Mare Lavender, and was happy to take the chance to get away from her. 

But more importantly, it was more brotherly bonding time. Cheese was definitely taking that Pinkie Promise seriously, and was making up for the years of separation, bitterness, and fighting that had tainted both their lives. Tomato himself was lightening up, more than willing to actually laugh at Cheese's antics. Although it would be hard to whip the years of being molded into a calm and somewhat uptight pony out of him, at least Tommy was happier.

He leaned forward, grabbed a pencil with his mouth, and pulled out a blank piece of paper. He wrote down his reply, talking about the finals and how he was done with them, making note of Bluejinx having family in Nickerlite and telling him what a funny coincidence it was that Pinkie's family lived there, and telling him about their parents' trip and how he was going to be stuck with Old Mare Lavender. He finished the letter by expressing that he'd be happy to be dragged to a Hearth's Warming party.

Once satisfied with his letter, he folded it, grabbed a new envelope, and stuck it in. Of course, he remembered to write a little note to Pinkie to send it to Cheese--since it was her address he was sending it to. He grumbled about Cheese's lack of an address and wished that they didn't have this system. He was always suspecting that Pinkie was peeking at his letters.

Once all was said and done, with the letter reading for sending, he nearly put the pencil back in it's holder with the others. However, he glanced back at the dartboard, trying to remember why he had it, but he got an idea. 

He spun around, took a deep breath, and then fired the pencil out of his mouth. It flew across the room, zipping in a straight line until it hit the dartboard dead center. Tomato smirked. 

"Bullseye."