The Burden of an Artist

My mother bought you for me a long time ago, and you've just been languishing in my drawer ever since. She wanted me to write down what I had been feeling at the time. I didn't want to. It hurt to much. But now my mother, the only person who supported me, is gone. There's no where else for me to turn but this book. My mother raised me by herself. My father abandoned us before I was born. There's no one left. Looks like you'll be my little accomplice then won't you? Of course you will. You have no choice in this matter. I'm not quite sure how to do this thing. Am I supposed to just write about what comes into my mind as I write this? I'm not sure...Looks like I have to figure out how to start this then. Well, how should I start this? Dear Diary? Hello Journal? I don't know just...I guess I'll just start telling you about myself then. Not like there's much to tell really.

My name is Lemondrop. I am an adult earth pony. I went to school like every other pony. I found learning fun, but I dreaded going to school. Hell I hated going out in public with out my mother by my side. When she was around the other children weren't cruel. Without her by my side, they would make a large circle around me and call me blank flank. They called me worthless. They said I would never have my special talent.  At this point, I was the only one without a cutiemark. I don't know whats wrong with me, but I still haven't been able to get my cutiemark.

I've been living alone since my mother passed away two weeks ago. She was a wonderful mare. She helped me through some of the toughest moments in my life. I love and miss her. Sometimes I just start crying thinking about how she died, you know? Well, you wouldn't know would you? You're just a book. Mother passed away from a struggle with tuberculosis. She had put up a good fight in the end, and we thought she was going to kick its ass. We thought she was getting better until she took a turn for the worse. I remember crying into her shoulder as I lay next to her. She slipped into the after life while I held her. Mother was the only one who cared for me.

What makes it worse is the other ponies are still teasing me. They know my mother is dead, and yet they continue with their childish games. Thing is, I'm really good at painting. I know it's not quite normal for an earth pony to do anything that involves delicate and intricate tasks such as drawing or writing, but I've found a way to paint with out having to have magic. My tail works perfectly as a paintbrush. In fact sometimes the tip even changes colors depending on what I had been painting that day. I'm the most talented artist in this shitty little town and still no cutiemark. I would be able to make a good living off my work, but no one wants art from a blank flank.

The whole town seems to have been influenced by my tormentors. I started to notice when my mother had sent me to the marketplace to buy various vegetables for dinner. As I was paying the different shopkeepers, who knew me by my name, they all called me blank flank. This hurt me deeply. I ran home that day. I cried into my mother's shoulder. I thought that I could get away from the mockery if I avoided the other foals, but even the adults were starting to pick up the accursed nickname. It had gotten to the point that wherever I went, all I heard was blank flank. And you know who started all of this? O'riley, Cherry Cordial, Sunfall, Mocha Frappuccino, and Golden Charm. They're the reason everyone refuses to call me by my name. They only know me as blank flank. It happens so often that I sometimes forget that I have an actual name, the one my mother gave me. I am her Lemondrop.

But now, they'll have to call me by my name. They'll have no choice. I have to be careful while the paint dries, but I now have a picture perfect cutiemark upon my flank. Nopony will be able to tell the difference between my masterpiece and the real deal. I now have the perfect cutiemark for an artist, a palette and paintbrush, ready to be used at a moments notice. I spent hours working on this, trying to make them match perfectly while looking at my flank in the mirror. The work was difficult, but I was able to complete it. My very own cutiemark. The tormenting will finally end...The years of crying myself to sleep...No one caring when I actually accomplished anything...The teasing. All of it will stop tomorrow. And now...I'll earn their trust. They'll finally accept me... They have to accept me now. I'm just like them. Then I'll make them pay for every insult they hurled my way. Every tear that I had shed. They'll regret ever calling me blank flank.