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."