Birthday Bio Double Feature: Tomato Sandwich and Willow · 7:45am Mar 5th, 2016
Hark! It’s a double feature!
As a special kind of rarity (hurr hurr), it’s the only double feature that doesn’t feature twins. Heck, these two ponies aren’t even closely related (distant relation may be possible, though). Their only connection is that of knowing the same pony, Flora Peace.
The birthday boy, Tomato Sandwich, is Flora’s friend; the birthday girl, Willow, is Flora’s five- or six-year-old sister. In case you’re wondering, her picture is of her adult self.
Now, to see their bios under the break!
Tomato Sandwich
As the second son born to Hay Burger and Mozzarella in Manehattan, his birth came with mixed reactions. His grandparents and brother welcomed him with open arms; his mother was disappointed that he wasn’t a filly, while his father was not too keen on having a second foal. Named for his reddish-orange coat and the “Sandwich” theme his parents had decided on, he swiftly become the apple of his older brother Cheese’s eye.
Growing up, Tommy was an active colt always seeking to have fun. Though Mom was a killjoy and Dad tended to try to ignore him, big brother Cheese was always happy to oblige, providing him with creative games and a playmate to share them with. Tommy was even happy to sing and dance whenever Cheese practiced his accordion. However, due to Tommy’s often reckless behavior, the older brother also had to keep him from killing himself, whether it was keeping him from running into the street, falling off a bridge or ferry, or being chased by a pack of dogs. Due to Cheese’s role as his playmate and protector, Tommy thought that his big brother was the coolest pony in the world.
When he started school, Tommy made friends quickly and easily, due to having a funny and charming personality coupled with his friendliness. However, it was during this time that he learned of Cheese’s painful shyness and the other foals’ low opinion of him. Thinking that it wouldn’t do, he tried unsuccessfully to get Cheese to socialize more and to show his friends that his big brother was really cool. It only served to alienate Cheese, who was dealing with a lot of stress from his shyness, bullying from others, and the nagging of their difficult-to-please mother.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Tommy also turned out to be quite book-smart, passing all his tests with relative ease and getting praise from almost every adult he knew. He was told that he was destined for greatness by his teachers, and was encouraged to keep up the good work.
Not even his nearsightedness could slow him down, and he often felt on top of the world when he thought of all the friends he had and how smart he was. Still, he thought that he wouldn’t feel complete until he was certain that he had his big brother’s approval. He was completely unaware of Cheese’s growing resentment of him, and continued to try to get Cheese to play whenever he had the free time.
He enjoyed parties, since he was always invited to them, and once decided to throw his own when he was home alone. Though it didn’t feel complete without Cheese, all went well until the other colts found Cheese’s accordion and attempted to play it, fought over it, and then accidentally destroyed it. Naturally, Cheese was upset when he found out about it, and then ran away from home, leaving a distraught Tommy heavy with guilt.
After a fallout with most of his friends over the accordion incident, Tommy had gone into a depression, finding himself with little emotional support, former friends making fun of him being a “crybaby”, and letting his grades slip. He touted himself as a horrible brother, and shut himself in his room, wishing that he could reverse time and keep his big bro.
After a couple of years, his mother suggested that he participate in his school’s fundraiser to shake off his melancholy state. While he initially refused, he eventually complied to stop her nagging. The plan went horribly right, as Tommy seemed to enjoy it more than anypony thought was possible, as he was chosen as the teacher’s helper, and as such, was taking his jobs of keeping his classmates in line during the fundraiser and his handling of the money they earned very seriously (some lingering anger towards them may have seeped through during that period, and he might have been relishing the power a little too much). As scary as the colt had been to the other foals, they admitted that the success of the fundraiser was largely in part to Tommy’s participation. As it turned out, he received his cutie mark during the fundraiser.
Though he was happy to have found his purpose in life, he was still sorrowful that his big brother couldn’t have been there to see it. However, Cheese soon came around to show his family what he had been doing, which to their surprise was party planning, sealed by his cutie mark. While Tommy was initially happy that Cheese returned, things quickly soured when Cheese ended up in an argument with their mother, and in a fit of rage, accused Tommy of ruining his life and verbally attacked his newly-earned cutie mark. Hurt from the scathing insult, Tommy’s idolization of Cheese shattered, and he angrily fought back. The brothers ended up parting bitterly.
Convinced that Cheese hated him, Tomato Sandwich tried to distance himself from anything that reminded him of his brother, instead going along with his mother’s ideas of what a proper stallion should be, even when it would end up causing him distress or suppressing some of his other interests such as singing. He damped down his lively personality in order to conform to his cutie mark (by adulthood, his naturally curly mane–sans the family forelock–was forced into straightness as a reflection of that), and avoided parties so that he wouldn’t have to be reminded of the pain. Soon enough, he found himself a shell of his former self.
Though he tries to pull off a serious and mature persona, the fact is that he’s still just a kid, and he could never truly tame the weirdness that’s a part of both Sandwich brothers (as represented by the single curled forelock that he cannot tame). He passes off as a normal pony most of the time, but the extreme prehensility and strength of his tail, occasional cartoonish actions, and extreme hyperactive and destructive reaction when he drinks coffee have not gone unnoticed.
Mozzarella goes into nagging overdrive with him out of fear that he’d end up like his brother. At best, Tomato’s annoyed; at worst, he goes into a mental breakdown that’ll activate his impulsive nature in one of the worst ways possible. If it weren’t for Bluejinx, the friend that stuck with him, Tomato’s story could have ended tragically.
Aside from Bluejinx, Tomato had trouble making and keeping friends throughout his adolescence. Most ended up being put off by his grumpiness or swayed by Tomato’s ex-friends into thinking he was a backstabber. One pegasus that he met while working at a bookstore, Summer Wind, was an exception on that count, but she ended up moving away after the bookstore went out of business, and they lost contact. It wasn’t until college that he made friends that he kept for more than a few months.
Aside from the bookstore, Tomato was also paid by Rich Custard to tutor his daughter Creme Brulee–whom Tomato had a crush on since he was six. Unfortunately, Creme, holding disdain for a colt of a lower class and seeing him as a threat to her status, set up a chain of events that both humiliated him and got him fired. Needless to say, Tomato hates her now.
Though he pretended that he hated his brother, the truth was that he desperately wanted to reconcile with Cheese. However, during the few times that Cheese would visit just to see how things have changed, bitterness over their argument would arise, and Tomato and Cheese would be cold toward each other, exchanging snide comments toward each other. Both were too proud and too afraid of being vulnerable to fix their relationship, and Tomato always kicked himself for not overcoming that.
However, recently, the two had reconciled, but not without some strife due to Pinkie Pie forcing them to have “brotherly bonding time” and nearly destroying any chance of them being best brother buddies again due to her aggressive methods and both brothers’ stubbornness. A broken stage, a shocked crowd, an angry Pinkie, and Tomato’s broken foreleg got Cheese to snap out of his destructive resentment, and he decided to approach Tomato gently and kindly. Cheese’s forgiveness got Tomato to let out his pent-up sadness over the feud, and apologize for the wrongs in their childhood. The two then teamed up to bake Pinkie a cake, and Pinkie Promised that they’d rebuild their relationship.
Although the feud had ended, Tomato still bears emotional scars from colthood and adolescence, as he still has a habit of missing his happy colt self, not being fully satisfied with his cutie mark, moments of fearing abandonment, imagining his mother disapproving of a fun thing he’s doing, and having episodes of moodiness.
He may seem awfully grumpy to most, but he really has a kind heart, and has made friends by going out of his way to help them. It’s a shame that a lot of ponies also hit his pet peeves, leading him to be quite annoyed with them. He’s prone to sarcasm because of it.
His singing voice is excellent according to a couple of his friends, but he refuses to sing for others since he is “not meant for entertainment”. His hair bristles when he gets angry, and it pops into its natural curls when he tugs at his forelock. He can often be seen reading a book, since he maintains a love of stories and a desire to explore the world. He’s also a good cook, and has a secret love for hackey-sack.
He’s currently in college, his studies mainly gearing toward business, though he’s fond of many other subjects. He tends to hang out with his inquisitive and loyal childhood friend Bluejinx, the sweet but fierce Flora Peace, and the theater duo of mischievous Cirrus and goofy Nimbus.
Eventually, he’ll marry and become the father of at least two foals (number depends on the mare he marries). His eldest would be a feisty but honorable filly named Bell Pepper, who he’ll share a loving relationship with, even when she inevitably gets in trouble and he has to scold her. Still, he’s promised himself that he’d be a better father than his own.
But for now, he’s busy mending fences with big brother Cheese.
Willow
Born in Neighton to March Redwood and Honeysuckle, she was greeted by six adoring older siblings, all clamoring for a turn to hold her. The tiny filly got overwhelmed by all their fuss, letting out a wail that let everypony know that she liked her space and only one at a time can go in. Her mother was the only pony she’d consistently seek attention from for the first few months of life. She didn’t even smile for a while.
She was rather easygoing—given that she wasn’t swarmed by ponies invading her personal space. She was never very interested in peek-a-boo, tickle fights, or tug-o-war, often crawling away to do her own thing, which was usually getting into her mother’s formal wear and makeup. She typically rubbed her face in smooth silk, or some creamy cosmetics, and sometimes both (her mother was not happy to find stains in some of her dresses as a result of Willow’s little adventures in face-rubbing).
She liked watching her mother and older sisters dress up, and she was glad to be a dress-up doll. She often used her mother or big sister Amber Waves as practice for make-up artistry (given that Olive didn’t like it and Flora was traumatized by an allergic reaction to makeup she had as a toddler). She even once got her father, and even did it on her baby brother Kernel Grin plenty of times.
When it came to her one and only younger sibling, she was more eager to approach him than her older siblings—simply because he was a baby. And a happy one that enjoyed anypony’s attention.
At about age four, her family went down to Salt Lick City in order to witness Princess Celestia’s visit. Willow was in awe at the big, beautiful alicorn, and got all giddy about her. At her age, she didn’t understand what being a princess was about, but boy, did she love the idea of being a beautiful princess.
She requested being read stories about princesses, learning as much as she could about them so that she could emulate them. Whether it be Celestia’s motherly nature, Luna’s duty of soothing bad dreams, Cadance’s fairy tale romance, and Twilight’s love of books, Willow wanted to be like a princess. Also, seeing a picture of baby Flurry Heart in the news had her squealing in joy (“That’s a cute baby princess!”).
Outside of the subject of princesses and dresses, Willow was quiet. She didn’t like to talk very much, or even show any emotions. Whenever a stranger came along, her first response is to stare at them awkwardly until they spoke to her. Her first response was usually to hide or look away, not daring to confront them directly. Usually, if they try to talk to her about anything other than princesses, she’d lose interest and walk away.
Her siblings managed to adapt to her one-track mind with their own interests when it came to playing with her. Flora and Alfalfa weaved flower crowns for her and paraded her as a princess of flowers. Bananas played the role of her royal court jester, and Ash Tree would paint something princess-themed for her birthday. Olive and Kernel were her ‘knights’, and Amber Waves made up princess stories for Willow to listen to.
She was still just a kid when she became an aunt, and was often very happy whenever one of her married siblings came over with their babies. With cute faces, super soft fur, and adorable coos, Willow, as well as her too-young-to-be-married siblings, would have a blast playing with their nieces and nephews.
She wasn’t very good at making friends when in school; in fact, she was often teased for being so strange and a loner. Some mean colts have often taunted her with the idea that she couldn’t be a princess because she’s an Earth Pony, often to the point of driving her to tears. Thankfully, she was lucky to have a filly named Kitty Hem stand up for her, and they befriended each other through love of clothing. Willow got Kitty into princesses, while Kitty got Willow into cats.
Growing up together, Willow and Kitty were inseparable. Honeysuckle grew to expect Kitty walking into the inn without warning, considering her an unofficial member of the family. Oftentimes, the fillies would be experimenting what Willow could or could not wear, based on her comfort level with certain fabrics (silk is a yes, lace is a no). As it so happened, their entry in a talent show together, where Kitty made dresses and Willow modeled for them, had them earning their cutie marks at the same time. They stayed a team throughout their adolescence, and into adulthood, setting off for the fashion world.
While Kitty was mainly a designer and seamstress, she also acted as Willow’s agent, since Willow was very awkward in her speech mannerisms, with stutters, cut off sentences, a robotic tone, or selective mutism acting up. Showing emotion wasn’t her strong point either, but when it came to modeling, nopony cared.
While she had plenty of folks getting her into gigs and fancying her up for them and other things, she didn’t care to make friends with them, save for the bodyguard, Noble Metal (son of Manehattan lawyer Platinum Pen, named after grandfather). Thanks to the paparazzi threatening to crowd Willow, Noble was always thinking of creative ways to either shoo them away or get Willow out of there before she had a meltdown. Thanks to his efforts, Willow had developed a friendship with him, and the duo of her and Kitty ended up a trio.
(BTW, Kitty ships them so hard).
Willow still holds a great attachment to her family, and is always eager to come home to have a family reunion with her parents, siblings, siblings-in-law, and nieces and nephews. She’s also a proud big sister to her Kernel, amazed that her baby brother had grown into a strong soldier.
And when she has the time, she’ll put on a flower crown and pretend to be a princess again.
I can't help but find the idea of a frightening Tommy funny. "Run! It's the dread economist! He'll efficiently allocate us all!" Of course, he's utterly terrifying when caffeinated, but when he's just in his element? It seems more than a little silly. Still, I've never spent time with him on a business project, so I can't really say for certain.
I'm also amused by his future wife's current state of uncertainty. I'm sure that wavefunction will collapse eventually, but for now, I'm imagining Tommy standing next to a question mark in a wedding dress. "And do you, Tomato Sandwich, take this probability distribution as your lawfully wedded wife?"
Not much to say about Willow. I'm just happy that she has a rich and happy life ahead of her.