Neighbors · 5:15am Jan 10th, 2018
Hey, I wrote a drabble. 
Expect a little corny romantic-ish stuff below.
Living in his brother and sister-in-law’s attic wasn’t quite what Tomato envisioned after graduation. But, it had been the norm for the past couple of years, though he had been saving up bits to change that. The day had arrived, and though he had thought about buying a house here in Ponyville, seeing as his options were limited, but Filthy Rich just had to let it slip that there was an opening for a financial officer in Barnyard Bargain’s Salt Lick City branch.
There were some things that he was happy to say farewell to; the town gossips who would not leave him and Pinkie alone whenever Cheese traveled, the Everfree Forest and whatever the heck would jump out to spook the entire town, the way that Pinkie sometimes treated him like a baby (despite Tomato being in his mid 20′s), and Spoiled Rich. Oh, how he hated that mare, she made his mother look like a saint! And he had no special somepony (not from a lack of trying), so he didn’t have to worry about a possible break up.
But there were other things that he was going to miss. Seeing his adorable niece and nephew every day was something he enjoyed as an uncle, and while he struggled at first, he got the hang of babysitting the toddlers and got along with them very well. He enjoyed working for Filthy Rich, both in the finance department and the tutoring-his-daughter department. Though not a wild partier like his brother, Tomato did appreciate the days where he can relax and have fun at his kin’s parties, often discussing literature with Princess Twilight Sparkle and a few other bookworms over punch, or enjoying the music that played, sometimes singing along to it. And dare he say it, he was going to miss the crazy that happened frequently in this town.
But, there was something he was definitely looking forward to: his dear friend Flora Peace. Her hometown of Neighton was not too far from Salt Lick City, and he loved the idea of seeing her more often than special occasions and talking face to face more often than writing letters. He had expected them to drift apart after graduation; Bluejinx had married Pinkie’s sister Marble, Nimbus had a romance with Fluttershy, and Cirrus was Nimbus’ sister, so he could see those three more often. But Flora? No ties, direct or indirect, to Ponyville whatsoever.
And yet, they had still written each other faithfully, month after month. It was enough for Tomato to wonder if it wasn’t just a strong friendship, and that this was instead honest-to-goodness love he was continually feeding with each written word. Why else would he barely resist leaping for joy at seeing her in person? Why else would he find himself hugging any letter or gift from her with unusual tenderness? Why else would his heart sink every time she mentioned dating somepony new? He had often expected a wedding announcement, but none came, just news of the relationship not working out. There was both relief, and wondering what kind of crazy stallion wouldn’t take a lovely strawberry blonde with equal parts meditative compassion and protective ferocity.
He wrote her the news of his move, and by the time he sent it, he was skipping. At least until it hit him that it couldn’t be a coincidence that Filthy said there was a job in Salt Lick City specifically, when he was in earshot. It’s not like he knew that there was a girl near that city that Tomato was taking a fancy to. Unless…
He zipped into the house, shouting, “Cheese! Did you tell my boss about my pen pal?!”
Cheese only replied, over the giggles of his twins, “Took you long enough!”
At least the train ride between Ponyville and Salt Lick was shorter than the ride between Ponyville and Manehattan. Taking a train to see his brother–who may or may not be home–was a downside, that’s for sure, but it would do Tomato good to have a little space of his own now, and at least not in Manehattan.
Not that Manehattan was a terrible place, despite quite a few jerks and garbage and annoying tourists, but he really didn’t want to live that close to his parents. Even in a big city with a million-in-one chance of bumping into them, it was still too close for comfort.
So now he and his brother’s family were moving his stuff into a cozy apartment. The building itself was only a couple of stories, white-bricked, and with balconies looking over the street, and across to similar apartment buildings. Tomato could see the higher story buildings from downtown Salt Lick, which couldn’t match Manehattan’s skyline, but the mountain backdrop was too beautiful to just block with skyscrapers.
Cheese, still in the apartment, laid down on the couch, tired from much decorating. “Well… I think we got you all settled in. All that’s left is a apartment-warming party.”
“Woo!” Pinkie called from the kitchen. “I’ll make cupcakes!”
Cheese grinned at his wife, and then looked at his brother yet again. Standing up, he waltzed over to the balcony and said, “Hey, did you hear that?”
Tomato snapped out of his reverie. “Sorry, it’s just… my mind’s really blown that I have my own place now. I mean, I did technically live on my own before, in college, but… I actually feel like an adult now!”
“Please don’t make me cry,” Cheese sniffled. “I don’t like being reminded that my baby brother’s all grown up.”
Tomato raised an eyebrow, and looked in the room to see Pizza Pockets and Fudge Fondue chasing each other. “How are you going to react when those two grow up?”
Cheese looked at the small foals, wiped his eyes, and puffed up his chest. “I’ll be the composed father by then, and proudly watch them go off and live their adult lives like the great ponies they were meant to be!”
Pinkie called, “I’ll cry too! I like them as babies!”
Tomato laughed as Cheese deflated, his stallion pride crushed. No matter how much Cheese claimed that he was the proud strong stallion demanding respect, he was still a big doofus. Still, at least Cheese had two toddlers grabbing his legs and giving him cheesy grins to cheer him up. He started playfully roaring at them from under his barrel to make them laugh.
Then, Tomato felt a wad of paper hit his head from behind. It came from the direction of the street, which struck him as odd, so he turned to see the culprit.
From the apartment balcony across the street, a spring green mare waved and shouted, “Hey! Tomato!”
Tomato nearly leapt off the balcony. “Flora!”
Cheese looked up. “Wait, she’s here?”
Tomato leaned over the railing, his eyes twinkling with excitement. “You got my letter! But when did you move out of your family’s place?”
“Well, I was about to write you, but Mom and Dad forwarded your letter to me, and my reply probably wouldn’t have made it to you before you moved here. But, hey, my internship just became a full on therapist job, so I had to move closer to it. I didn’t expect us to be neighbors!”
Pinkie suddenly popped up between the Sandwiches and gasped. “Oh, my gosh! I know that Flora lived in the valley, but she’s in the building across the street from Tomato’s! They could totally have conversations from across the street, and maybe jump from balcony to balcony! Ooh, you should come over, I’m baking cupcakes!”
“Sounds good!”
Tomato grinned at her nervously, and then zipped back into the apartment to make sure that everything was in place and that there was nothing to sweep up. Pizza and Fudge peeled off their father to observe their uncle, and then started to copy him, picking up little bits of trash that they found, like their uncle was doing.
Cheese walked in with a smug smile, with his wife having a pleased grin. “Aww, he wants his new place to look nice for his girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend, Cheese.”
“Yet.” Cheese said. “It’s obvious you’ve got a thing for each other. So, be the adult that you are, and just ask her–”
They jumped at the sound of a thud behind them, and spun around to see Flora rolling from Tomato’s balcony, and into the apartment. After a few moments of staring, the twins cheered, and Cheese and Pinkie pulled scorecards of 10 out of their manes. Tomato still gaped.
Flora shook her hoof, glaring at it. “That kind of hurt.”
Tomato scrunched his entire body up to keep from exploding. “Did you just… jump from your balcony to mine?! Across a street that wide?! Why’d you listen to Pinkie?!” After letting steam blow out of his ears, he took a breath, and rubbed a temple. “Okay… I’m convinced that you’re definitely a ninja.”
Flora rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry about that… I guess I got a little excited. Sheesh, I think Bananas rubbed off on me.”
Pinkie sniffed the air. “Oh! Better check on the cupcakes!” She fluttered her lashes toward Cheese. “Do you and the kids mind helping me out, sweetie?”
Cheese caught on to what she was doing, and looked at the twins. “Come on, kiddos! Let’s help Mommy frost some cupcakes and cover them with sprinkles.”
The twins happily followed their parents into the kitchen, leaving Tomato and Flora alone.
Tomato rubbed his leg and took a breath. “So, uh… how do you feel, living on your own for the first time… ever?”
Flora tapped her hoof. “Kind of lonely. It’s weird not even having a roommate. I at least had Cirrus when we were going to school. The neighbors are nice, and they brought me some food, but it’s not the same as having family around, you know?”
“Well… I guess I’ll have an idea what you’re feeling once Cheese and his family go home. But hey, we’re neighbors.” He smiled at her. “I guess we could help each other feel a little less lonely.”
Flora giggled. “Why do you sound like you’re asking me out?”
Tomato bit his lip. “Look, I won’t get into that, you already have troubles with romance and I don’t want to bother you about it. Seriously, what kind of guy doesn’t want to date you?”
Flora blew on some hair. “I do still have some shades of the bully I was as a filly. You know how scary my temper can be.”
Tomato blinked, and then cleared his throat. “Well, living with my temperamental mother all my life, knowing that Cheese inherited that temper, and seeing my sister-in-law get mad… well, I’m a big boy who can handle your temper. Besides, the Flora I know is not angry all the time; if she was, I don’t think I’d have ever been friends with her and gotten out of my slump, and I don’t think she’d even have a nice therapy job.”
Almost instinctively, he leaned over her sideways, and held her hoof. “Again, a pony would have to be crazy not to like you. I’d date you…” His eyes widened, and he pulled back. “…but, I better give you space before I even consider–”
Flora put a hoof on his mouth, and smiled warmly. “It’s okay. It’s clear to me that you like me, and well… I like you, too.”
Tomato smiled back just a tad goofily, and sighed in relief.
Once Flora took her hoof off, Tomato asked, “So… do you know any ice cream places around here? Because I need a little time to memorize the layout of this town, so I need your help.” He glanced at the kitchen. “Once those guys are gone, shall we have a shake? Just the two of us?”
Flora smirked. “Deal.”
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, having overheard the conversation, Cheese and Pinkie grinned and hoofbumped at the sound of success.
However, Cheese had one objection. “…I don’t have Mom’s temper!”
awwwww that was so sweet
That was sweet.
But
CHEESE you do have your mom's TEMPER!!!!
Drabble, my eye! That's over two kilowords of adorable goodness and Cheese finally getting his chance to be the teasing brother. You could get that posted as a story whenever you wanted.
(Also, I can't help but imagine your personal OC cackling as all this happens. "Dance, puppets, dance!")
Ah, milkshakes. One of the best ways to kick off a loving relationship.