Seeds of Romance
Applejack didn't leave her room for the next two days. One morning she had tried, but Apple Bloom was giving her the cold shoulder and she couldn't find Tom anywhere. She decided it would be better off never to see him again, and then she could work on apologizing to Rarity.
After holing herself up for two days straight, Applejack sighed on the third morning and rolled out of bed. It was Tom's last day in town. After much debate, she decided that never seeing him again would be the coward's way out. And Applejack was no coward. Being a coward was being dishonest, and darn-it if her element wasn't Honesty!
Applejack walked downstairs quietly. Everyone was still asleep. It was earlier in the morning than she had anticipated. She moseyed into the kitchen and slumped at the table. What was she going to say when she saw Tom? What was she going to say when she saw Rarity? How on earth could she explain her situation without completely further embarrassing herself?
She groaned to herself and dropped her head on the table. She turned it to one side and stared at the wall. There, in one of Apple Bloom's pink crayons, she had circled today's date and written a PP on it.
Oh, that's right. Pinkie Pie is having a farewell party for Tom...
Applejack sat up straighter and stared at the calendar, determined. A plan was forming in her head. Whether or not it worked was out of her hooves, but at least she would try. If she couldn't salvage any hope of being romantically involved with Tom, then at least she would try to save their friendship. Or aquantainceship. Or penpalship... Or... something. She couldn't lose him all together because her emotions had taken over her. Never again would she make fun of Rarity for being over dramatic. At least her drama hadn't ever caused a friend to break a leg.
Applejack stood up and ran back up to her bedroom. She grabbed the box from her dresser and haphazardly began to go through it. She snatched the recipe card for pan-roasted cherry tomatoes and held it preciously in her hooves. Granny Smith had made the recipe on the first night Tom was in town, but she had put her own variation on it. Applejack had never tried the recipe herself. She could never read Tom's colt writing. But today she was determined. She was going to make this recipe for the first time and bring it to Pinkie's. And if that wasn't a good start to an apology, then she didn't know what else would work.
Much later, Applejack stood back from the counter and stared at her... er... "masterpiece."
"I hope because you made in haste, the food here will not lack in taste," Zecora said, as she too, stared down at Applejack's creation.
They didn't look anything like the ones Granny Smith had made, and they were nowhere close to how she knew they would look if Tom had made them. Zecora gave her a grim smile. Applejack tried not to groan. Right after she had grabbed the recipe card, she had rushed into town. She bought the tomatoes and other necessary ingredients and then headed over to Zecora's. She wanted it to be a complete surprise and therefore, couldn't have used her own kitchen, lest Apple Bloom ask what she was up to.
She had also refused all of Zecora's help. It had to be her and her alone that put the effort into this disastrous turn-out of a meal. Tomatoes were just too different from apples.
"There's no time to even try them," Applejack said. She glanced up at Zecora's clock. "Even if I leave now I'm gonna be late for the party. I can't be any later!" she said. Even though she had had an early morning start, gathering all of the ingredients and deciphering Tom's terrible writing had taken a lot longer than she had anticipated.
Zecora and Applejack carefully packed up the pan-roasted tomatoes. Applejack then quickly checked her appearance in the mirror. It was not a pretty sight. She hastily re-tied her frizzy mane into a ponytail and tried to get most of the tomato-seeds off of her hat. She then thanked Zecora and then made her way towards the party.
The party was already in full swing when Applejack arrived. She took a deep breath as she stood outside of Sugarcube Corner. Balloons were streamed from every window, from which laughter and music poured outside. She could hear Pinkie Pie's laughter and Twilight telling somepony a story about geometry.
Applejack straightened up and rolled her shoulders. She held her head high and stepped towards the door. She firmly knocked it on twice and waited. Rainbow Dash opened the door, half finishing a story to someone over her shoulder. Her mouth dropped open slightly when she saw Applejack, and she turned and exchanged a look with Twilight.
The laughter and chatter died down. The obscenely cheerful music Pinkie always played continue on in the background, making what would have been an uncomfortable silence even more awkward. There was a large cake on a table in the background, surrounded by other various treats. A small pile of gifts lay on another table, and the room was filled with streamers and balloons. Applejack spotted Rarity and Tom standing off to one side. Her jaw trembled slightly. Rarity had a large cast on her foreleg.
Pinkie Pie—who was wearing a hat that looked like a large tomato on her head—quickly glanced around the room in panic.
"EVERYPONY!" she suddenly shouted. "It's time for pin-the-teeth on the alligator! Come oooon over here!" She then zipped across the room, grabbing several ponies along the way.
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat awkwardly. "Hey."
"Hey," Applejack said. Rainbow Dash stepped out of the way and Applejack entered the room. Ponies whispered as she walked by, and Applejack tried not to hang her head in shame. She was coming here to apologize, to make things right. She had to be strong.
Applejack walked straight up to Rarity and Tom. Both of them stopped talking and turned to her. Applejack carefully put her terribly cooked appetizer on the table next to them and took a deep breath.
"Rarity, I don't even know where to begin with mah apology," Applejack said. "I—"
Rarity put up her foreleg and wobbled a bit, unbalanced. She then regained her composure and smiled. "It is quite alright, Applejack. I forgive you. I know that you are not as privy to emotions as I am, and that you sort of lost control. A lot of control. But nonetheless, I accept your apology. Let it all be water under the bridge."
Applejack stared at her, stunned. She glanced at Tom and then back at Rarity. "But, Rarity, I—"
"Please, excuse me," Rarity said. She smiled again and looked between Applejack and Tom. "You two need to have a chat that I am no part of. Oh Twilight, would you be a dear and help me over to that sofa?"
As Twilight came over and helped Rarity away, Applejack stared at them in silence. How could Rarity be so forgiving so easily? Generosity indeed.
"Um, Applejack? What in Equestria are these supposed to be?" Tom asked. Applejack turned and watched as Tom slowly unpacked her pan-roasted tomatoes. He held one up to his nose and made a face. Applejack could feel her cheeks turning red. Tomato red. Or apple red, depending on how you looked.
"Erm... those are pan-roasted cherry tomatoes," Applejack said, her voice three times as high its normal pitch. Tom looked at the snack again and then slowly back to Applejack.
"You made my recipe?" he asked.
"For the first time," she said. She could feel her face getting redder. If she didn't stop blushing soon, her mane was going to be as red as Apple Bloom's.
A peak of a smile appeared on Tom's face. He slowly raised one of the appetizers to his mouth and then threw it in and began to chew quickly. Applejack held her breath. Maybe they didn't taste as bad as they looked. Maybe they turned out absolutely perfect except for the cosmetics. Maybe she had a knack for cooking, no matter what the recipe.
Tom made a face and stuck out his tongue. He sipped from his glass of water nearby and made a face again. "We need to work on your pan-roasted tomatoes."
Applejack burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that tears began to pool in her eyes. Her sides hurt and she could not stop. Tom started laughing too and it sounded so good. Everything was going to be ok. This was his way of forgiving her, of letting her know that they were back to the way they were. Rarity had forgiven her and so had Tom.
And it wasn't until Pinkie Pie came over and joined in the laughter, that Applejack realized that Tom had taken her hoof in his.