//-------------------------------------------------------// The loner -by charpop8- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// The introduction //-------------------------------------------------------// The introduction “Oh my god, that’s what it means when they tap their chin!” I said to myself as I picked up the piece of paper that answered a question I’ve been asking myself for a while. I lived in a small apartment. I moved in, just after I got my cutie mark, reading people, like the C.I.A does. I just turned 26 (in human years), and now I live in my own apartment. My apartment is pretty small, but one good thing about it is I live next to Pinkie’s house, and I live across from my best friend, Theo. It only has four rooms though (no hallway); A living room, bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom. When you first walk in there’s a room, then to the left there’s an open kitchen, and then when you first walk through the door, and if you keep going straight, and take a slight left, you’ll see my bedroom. Lastly if you take a right, directly after you open the door there is a bathroom. The good part is it’s a king sized bathroom, and takes up 1/4th of my house. There are papers all along my bedroom; I have one desk and a bed in there, and a tv. The table is in the top right corner of the room, it’s a dark brown. The bed and the sheets grey, and the wall to. As I used my magic to put away the paper in the file cabinet, that was under the desk. I put it under, “Helpful,” then my friend busted in through the door. “Hey, Zac, how are yeah doin!” he yelled from the living room. “Why did I give him a key?” I thought to myself “Still filing papers, and wasting your life?” He said in a in a sarcastic way, he always knew I was. “Yes, but I’m not wasting my life, I’m increasing my knowledge on pony’s small giveaways,” of course I knew he would completely ignore my statement, but I said it anyway. “Mhmm,” he said as he ate one of the energy bars I bought for me. “So, plan on going outside, or you gonna just stay in here, Vamp?” He called me, Vamp, because I would stay inside, and never go out. “I think you already know,” I said sarcastically. “As long as I’m in here, I can help the C.I.A more, the hospital, and even the ponydeint.” “How so?” this was a question I was asked often, and I answered often. “If I can read people, I can tell their sickness, if their lying, and even re-,” I was cut off by Theo. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, but dude for your own health, go outside, make some friends.” “I have a friend.” I said in a child-ish voice while looking down. “Other than me, Zac, go outside, have a beer, eat some food. Get a girl for god sake,” I knew it wasn’t healthy, but I defended myself anyway, “Yeah bu-,” I was cut off, again. “I’m only looking in your best interest,” he said as he trotted off, throwing the energy bar’s wrapper in the trash can to his left, after he stepped out of my room. I wanted to finish learning more about the touching the chin movement, but he was right, so I stepped outside, and walked into the living room. My living room was big, for an apartment. When you walked out of my room, there was a couch to the right, and a table with a trash can built in. The room was a yellow-white color. There was also a coffee table in the middle of the room. The legs were metal, and the table itself was glass. I also had a cat, his name was Fred. As I went around the couch, I picked up my keys that were on the table, “By mister mittens,” that was my nickname for Fred. As I opened the door I walked down the steps. I was on the third floor, “Maybe I should move to the first floor,” I thought to myself as I grew tired of walking down the steps. Everything was a grey cement color. As I pushed open, the door, that let you enter and leave the apartment building. As I walked out, I wasn’t sure what to do, “Maybe I’ll go to the bar across the street on the corner,” I thought to myself. “Maybe the mare I like is there, Lily,” I really liked Lily, and the few times I’ve been to the bar she has been there. The bar was a big place that had brown walls and yellow beams and signs. The place was called, Willy’s Bar. They had some good food there to. As I walked across the street I saw one of my acquaintances he said, “How yeah doin, haven’t seen you in a while,” I simply nodded. When I reached the bar there were three sections; the left was pool, the right eating, and straight down the middle you would reach the bar. When I walked down to the bar I sat down, and waited for the bartender. “What can I getcha?” he asked politely. “I would just like a beer please,” I said, returning his polite manor over the screaming 11 or so ponies. “How about’ an order of onion rings, on the house?” He was a nicely dressed man, and had an Italian feel to him. “Sure why not, “I said as I was giving the menu to my new “friend”. “Can you make them extra crispy?” “Why absolutely! I’ll be right back,” “Thanks,” I said, but he didn’t hear me. As I waited I’d thought I would look around. To my left I at the pool section, and there was lily. She was beating everybody at pool, and taken their money. That’s what her cutie mark is, playing pool, so I still question, “Why would they bet against a pony that did it for a living? Idiots,” I thought to myself as the beer arrived. “Thanks,” I said again, but again he didn’t hear me over guys who screamed, “No I lost everything,” as he walked out the door. I looked back at Lila who was a light brown mare, she was also an earth pony. I picked up the beer, and walked over to the pool section, as I did I yelled over my shoulder, “Bring the rings over here!” this time he heard, and gave a slight nod. “Well, well, well, I see someone has come out to play,” she said as she tapped her stick, that ment she wasn’t sure if she liked me or not. “Stupid,” I thought to myself, “Just don’t think about her movements,” I was starting to get frustrated. “Hey Lila, how you doing?” “I was winning, but now you’re here, so now I’m gonna be smoking,” she said as she walked to him, and nodded her chin slightly up and down, that meant she is thinking about someone, A.K.A, me. “Stop thinking!” I yelled at myself. “We’ll just see about that,” she said as she turned 3.8 seconds from the point she came close to me, that meant she at-least somewhat liked me. I didn’t yell at myself for that one, because it was good news. “I guess we will,” I said in a stupid douche-bag way. “Mhmm some pony is pretty smooth today.” “Smooth that, meant she thought I was over working her,” I thought to myself. “Stupid just ignore the movements!” “I think I should go,” I said just as my rings arrived. “Your onion rings.” “Thank you,” I said picking up a to-got box on the way out. “Wait you just got here!” Lila pleaded as I left. “I gotta go!” I yelled back. The movements were driving me crazy. The only person I could ignore the movements is with Theo, and people who I don’t know very well, but anyone other than Theo that I get to know all I see is; she did this, he moved to fast, that guy isn’t comfortable with me, and it drives me insane. Sometimes I wish I never got this cutie mark. //-------------------------------------------------------// does she like me? //-------------------------------------------------------// does she like me? I started to wake up from last night. I wondered, “Did it actually happen? Yes, it had to, the onion rings are right there,” just as I thought this Theo burst in. “Hey! I heard you got off your ass, and had a good time!” he said in high spirits. “I don’t know about a good time. I completely bombed with this mare I like,” I said while sitting up on the couch, with my head down. “Hey come on now, how bad could it be,” he said like a mother would. “Well, I came into the bar saw her, then I started to read her. Why is this cutie mark here!” I screamed while throwing a lamp across the room in rage, shattering it into a million pieces. “I know its tuff, but you got-,” “You have no clue what it’s like. You can do something that doesn’t drive you insane that you do on everything. What if you constantly knew what everyone was thinking? Would it be easy, no, it’d be hell!” I screamed at him, I knew that he was just trying to help, but I was just so mad when he said the words, “I know,” because he doesn’t know, no one does. Then Lila walked in, “Oh no, not now,” I thought to myself. As she took one step with her right foot, then a bit smaller with her left, that meant she was nervous, “Why can’t I stop!” I screamed in my head.” “Hey Lila,” Theo said, “Whatcha need?” he said, trying to pick up the pieces from the lamp. I hated him for it. “I just wanted to return this,” said as she put the phone on the table, while taking 1.3 seconds to put down the phones which meant she wanted to stay. “Why can’t I stop?” I asked myself wanting to shoot myself in the head. “Oh thanks,” Theo said, picking up the last few pieces of the lamp. Then she took 1 half step back, which meant she was feeling a bit awkward, but still wanted to be with someone. “Probably Theo,” I thought, while sighing in my head. “Sorry for the mess,” Theo added. “Yeah I got a little, angry,” I said. Then Lila lifted her hoof up for .6 seconds that meant she wanted to say something, but couldn’t come up with something. “Well, uh I guess I’ll go,” she took 3.2 seconds to turn, she wanted to stay. “Alright see you around,” then she took 4.1 seconds to shut the door, she wanted to stay, “Shut up!” I screamed in my mind. “Bye,” she said as she shut the door. “So, was that her?” Theo asked as he sat next to me. “Yes,” I said as I started to lay down, back on the couch. “She seems nice.” “She likes you,” I said in a way that said, ‘I hate you’. “Dude, I know that I’m not the reader of the two of us, but dude she likes you.” “I know she likes one of us, and you obviously are the more compatible choice.” “Whatever dude, she likes you,” as he said this he got up, and walked to the door, then left. “I need to cheer myself up, Pinkie pie always helped,” I thought to myself, as I walked down the steps, and then walked out the door. I took a left, to Pinkie’s shop. The entire place was Pink the door the walls, there was also purple, and a white trim to the beams that supported it. The whole house was an almost transparent 3D diamond pattern of a lighter colored pink than the wall, and it had purple lines all over it, and inside the floor was white, and the wall was the same shade of pink as the wall outside (hot), but this time it had purple stripes all along the walls. “Hey Pinkie,” I said, she was the one other person I could talk to. “Hey Zac, what’s your poison?” she asked while pointing to the cold sweets in the glass counter. “Can I have the usual.” it was just a plain glazed doughnut. “Yyeeess sir!” she said as she picked up the doughnut closest to her. “Thanks Pinkie,” I said taking out a couple bucks. “No, no, it’s on me.” “You sure?” “Yeah, besides you probably are wasting you money on all the cute mares,” she made me blush. “Naw, no one wants me,” I said like Alfalfa would. “Pff, bull shit.” “Well there is a girl I like, but I think she likes Theo.” “Who?” “Lila.” “Hmm, good to know,” just as she said that Lila walked in. “Hey ponies, Pinkie can I get a piece of cake?” “Sure,” Pinkie said in a jealous way. “Want to eat with me?” Lila asked. “Sure,” I said, noticing her pointing at the cake for an extra second, which meant, she wanted to talk alone, about something serious. “Just SHUT UP!” I yelled aloud. “Sorry, I was thinking about something,” I said trying my best not to be awkward, I didn’t succeed. “Yeah, okay, well why don’t we sit down,” she was scared, I didn’t need to read her for that, however, she leaned back for .6 seconds, which meant she still wanted to talk. “So, um you want to u-,” she was cut off by pinkie. “Here’s your doughnut,” she said politely, “And here’s your cake,” she said as she slammed he cake. He wanted to think about what Pinkie did, but Lila wanted to talk, and he wouldn’t disappoint her again, not after last night. “So… what did you want to talk about?” I said as I picked up my doughnut. “Well, last night, and today were, um a bit weird, to say the least.” “Yeah, I, um just,” I was losing her! “My grandma just died!” I yelled. “I mean my grandma just died,” I said in a sadder manor. “Oh my god! How old was she?” “16 years old.” “Wow! She lived a long life,” she said while taking another nibble from her cake. “Yeah she did,” I said trying to act sad with my head down. “Well I just wanted to say, that next time you come to the bar, please play. I’d like it.” I was caught off guard by her saying that, did she really liked me? I blushed, and my heart was beating way to fast. Even if I wanted to I wouldn’t be able to read her. “Maybe this is how I stop the readings,” I thought to myself. Then she put a hoof on mine. She smiled and got up, leaving some cash on the table, I saw her leave, but in the corner of my eye I saw Pinkie. She was doing something, but I was too focused on Lila. “What were you doing right there?” Theo asked psyched that I made a friend “I was talking to a…” I hesitated. “Friend.” “Go Zac! Well I won’t keep you. I hereby give you permission to sit on your ass some more,” he said while knighting me with his hoof. “Thanks I guess,” I said while getting up and leaving some bucks on the table, and walking out. “Maybe she does like me," i thought to myself. //-------------------------------------------------------// does he like me? //-------------------------------------------------------// does he like me? *Clack*, *clack*, *clack, “These guys are stupid as shit,” I thought to myself as I picked up the money in the center of the green pool table. “Better luck next time,” I said to them. “Oh, shut up Lila,” one pony said sarcastically. “Hey, hey, don’t hate the player, hate the game,” just as I said this to the losing ponies, Zac walked in. “He is sooo cute!” I thought to myself. “I’m ruined!” one pony screamed, but I was too focused on Zac. “Oh god, he’s looking!” I thought to myself as I pre-pared my next shot around the 8-ball. “He doesn’t look impressed,” I thought a bit sad, “Maybe he missed it,” as I took my shot, I missed! “I never miss,” I said to myself frustrated. “He’s coming over here!” thinking franticly I met him half way, and said, “Well, well, well, I see someone has come out to play “Hey Lila, how are you doing?” “I was winning, but now you’re here, so now I’m gonna be smoking,” “We’ll just see about that “I guess we will,” he said in a stupid douche-bag way. It made me giggle. “Mhmm some pony is pretty smooth today.” “I think I should go,” I said just as my rings arrived. “Your onion rings.” “Thank you,” I said picking up a to-got box on the way out. “Wait you just got here!” I pleaded; I wanted to spend some time with him. “I gotta go!” I yelled back. “Ugh! Why can’t he just stay!” I yelled in my head. “Screw it I’m going home,” I thought to myself as I put up the pool stick, but then something caught my eye at the bar, his phone. I went picked it up, and put it in my satchel. “I’d give it to him later.” As I approached the all brown house, that I lived in, I realized that I was hungry. When I walked inside past the living room table on the right side. I walked into the kitchen to the left, and grabbed a soda. I was hungry, but there was nothing I wanted. Then I walked to the right, and lied down on the couch in my den. I fell asleep the second I laid down. When I woke up my hunger disappeared, but soon came back after 20 minutes. “I guess I’ll return Zac’s phone,” I thought, while getting up. As I opened the door, and walked outside, it took me a second to remember where his house is. “Good thing he lives diagonal from me,” I thought. Eventually, after exerting five minutes worth of streaming sweat, I made it to his floor. Normally I would’ve knocked on the door, but I just came in, I was still tired. When I opened the door I saw a lamp, or what’s left of one, I think. “Hey Lila,” Theo said, “Whatcha need?” he said, trying to pick up the pieces from the lamp. “I just wanted to return this,” I said as I put the phone on the table. “Oh thanks,” Theo said, picking up the last few pieces of the lamp “Sorry for the mess.” Theo added. “Yeah I got a little, angry.” Zac said. “Well, uh I guess I’ll go.” “Alright see you around.” “Bye,” I said as she shut the door. “Wow, that was something,” I thought to myself as I took another heart wrenching trip down the stairs of doom. “Maybe I’ll go to Pinkie’s, she always made me feel better, but first a nap is in order,” I thought still tired from waking up. After I took my short nap I got up, and walked to Pinkie’s. When I got inside I saw Zac ordering something. “Hey ponies, Pinkie can I get a piece of cake?” “Sure,” Pinkie said in a jealous way. “Want to eat with me?” I asked Zac. “Sure “Just SHUT UP!” Zac yelled aloud. “Sorry, I was thinking about something,” “Yeah, okay, well why don’t we sit down,” i was scared, but I still wanted to talk. “So, um you want to u-,” she was cut off by pinkie. “Here’s your doughnut,” she said politely, “And here’s your cake,” she said as she slammed he cake. “Why would Pinkie do that, well who cares I gotta talk to Zac.” “So… what did you want to talk about?” he said as he picked up his doughnut. “Well, last night, and today were, um a bit weird, to say the least.” “Yeah, I, um just,” he paused, and was stammering, like he was lying. “My grandma just died!” he yelled. “I mean my grandma just died,” he said in a sadder manor. “Oh my god! How old was she?” “16 years old.” “Wow! She lived a long life,” I said while taking another nibble from her cake. “Yeah she did,” “Well I just wanted to say, that next time you come to the bar, please play. I’d like it,” I really wanted to spend more time with him. As I said this I got up, and left some bucks on the table “I hope he’s at the bar again tonight,” I said to myself hopefully, while going to Theo’s apartment, to see if I could get some advice. When I arrived, I just looked at the devastatingly evil cement stairs. “Hey Lila,” I heard Theo say. “Hey Theo, wait Theo?!?!” “Yep, that’s me,” he said with a grin. “I wanted to ask you something, but the stairs an-, you know what never mind, look can you tell me what’s going on with Zac. I can’t tell if he does like me, even as a friend.” “Oh, he likes more than a friend,” he said with a sly grin, while walking upstairs. “Wait! Can we talk down here?” I said in my best puppy voice. “Fine,” he said reluctant to do so. “I just need to know one more thing.” “Well, spit it out.” “If he likes me then why does it feel like he’s avoiding me?” “Can I let you in on a secret?” “Sure,” I said excitedly awaiting the piece of knowledge I’ve been waiting for. “Well you know his cutie mark right?” “Yes,” I said wanting him to hurry up, and tell me. “Well, he knows the general Idea of what people are thinking, so he avoids everybody. Except Pinkie, and me.” “Why is it just yawl’?” I asked. “I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s because he’s been with us, and knew us, well me, but pinkie’s cutie mark is about making people happy, so she did.” “Hmm, thanks, sorry to keep you.” “No problem,” he said as he started to trot up the stairs.