The Perfect Painting

by Brownie A La Carte

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Romance, Original Character
Length: 2615

Cross Hatch is a young unicorn aspiring to be a legendary artist in all of Equestria, but it seems that he may get more than he has bargained for when a life of adventure comes-a-knocking at his front door.

Cross Hatch is a young unicorn aspiring to be a legendary artist in all of Equestria, but it seems that he may get more than he has bargained for when a life of adventure comes-a-knocking at his front door.
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Cover art is temporary. Will draw a new one to fit the actual story. Cast may be subject to change as I continue writing this.

Published 2013-11-18 23:30:04 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-19 22:42:33 UTC

The Usual Routine....

Luna’s night fell on Equestria as the weariness of Celestia’s day began to come on. All of the creatures and living things began to slowly unwind into their rest. The croaks of the frogs and chirps of the birds were replaced with the cheeps of the crickets as waxing moon cascaded over the Equestrian landscape, leaving it awash with a beautiful fluorescent blanket of light, creating a sharp contrast to the star-dotted black skies above.

From Las Pegasus to Cloudsdale, ponies trotted and floated back to their homes, their shadows dancing as though it was their time to be alive. Nothing short of beautiful could describe the effect of Luna’s night on the land, especially on the town of Ponyville.

Ponyville, for all its small size and seemingly ordinary plainness, was quite a comforting sight under the night sky. The ponies, by now, were all sound asleep in their humble abodes, missing out on relishing the glimmering views of twilight. All except for one particular colt. Down the street from the Ponyville Library stood a small, but unusual house. Not so unusual like the bakery down on Sugarcube Corner, but enough to grab somepony’s attention.

The house was thatched just like any other house, but the rest of the house was a combination of stone and wood, seemingly serving as a type of fortress to block out the rest of the world. Candlelight licked at the round windows, while shadows draped against the inner walls. If one looked closely enough, they might notice an occasional turn or fidget.

The owner of the silhouette was sitting on a small stool, hoof under his chin in deep thought, quietly observing…something. His horn was glowing a deep yellow, as was the brush he was levitating. His gray coat and black mane were both ruffled from hours of anxiety and lack of proper care, and his eyes were bloodshot as they continued to observe the piece in front of him.

“Come now, Cross Hatch, you can do this…what’s missing from this…?” the unicorn mumbled to himself. For most of the day, Cross Hatch had been sitting in front of the same canvas, progressing on his piece little by little, only stopping to eat and observe how the painting was shaping itself.

After what seemed like another eternity, the unicorn lowered his brush, the magic glow that coated it dissipating as it rested upon the oak of the easel. He sighed, weary of his inability to make strokes upon the canvas. “Agggh! It’s no use….Tartarus forbid I should even try to finish this piece!” grumbled the aspiring artist. It couldn’t be helped. Another day slipped through his fingers, leaving behind little sign that any improvement or progress had been made, and a clear trail of great disappointment. He tiredly stood up and began his sluggish trek to his bed.

Small tendrils of thoughts wafted in and out of his mind as each step fell upon each stair.

A deep voice told him, “This is the third day in a row…you hardly even made two strokes on the canvas…”

A lighter voice reassured him, “You must not try to rush creativity, Cross Hatch. You’re just beating yourself up for no reason. That and you need a bath….Do you have any idea what you smell like right now?”

At this, the colt lifted up one of his forelegs and took a whiff. The unpleasant odor was evident, as he scrunched his face in disgust and quickly lowered his foreleg back down. He made a mental note to bathe…eventually. As he reached the top of the flight, his tired eyes were greeted by a bedroom full of discarded books, brushes, scrap pieces of parchment, and pencils.

Cross Hatch responded to the sight by simply dropping onto the bed and falling asleep promptly after…

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Celestia’s day slowly overtook Luna’s night as morning came, with birds singing to honor the coming of the new day and the clouds replacing the stars that glittered in the night. The peaceful quiet gave way to the hustle and bustle of the next day. Ponies were chattering excitedly about the newest of news, merchants trading their product for bits, all while certain fillies raised a commotion over how to get cutie marks.

Cross Hatch groggily awoke to the sound of the noise, and groaned disdainfully.

Like last night, he wasn’t particularly interested in joining the rest of Equestria in the throes of activity.

And like all of the nights before that, his time of rest had been dreamless, devoid of any hope for creativity to puncture through his depressive state. The unicorn dragged himself out of bed, recalling his mental note about his hygiene. He decided to start the day with a warm bath. At least…he would have were it not for the fact that somepony was now pounding at his door.

“All right, hold your horseshoes, I’m coming…Blasted-” Cross Hatch, still drowsy from sleep, had a slight misstep as he was descending the stairs…consequently leading him to go down the stairs in a less favorable fashion. The cacophony of painful noises could be heard for at least a few blocks around, and whoever was at the door momentarily stopped their knocking in response to the accident.

“Aaaagh…Tartarus-cursed luck…” The knocking picked up again immediately after Cross said that.

“All right! By all that’s blessed by the Sun, I’m coming!” Cross said, irritation seething through his mouth. After much stumbling, Cross finally made it to the door in one piece, and promptly threw the door open, revealing a young mare about his age in his doorway.
The mare in question was dark blue, with a yellow mane with green streaks in it. Her cutie mark was that of a small tong being hammered into a small piece of clay. Some ponies might joke that it meant that she was some sort of conspiracy theorist trying to chip away at the higher social caste in order to expose them for the pompous confetti filled foals they were, but that’s another story. Her talent was actually in sculpting, and her cutie mark reflected her great skill, as did her name.

“Oh…Good morning, Marble Chip,” Cross Hatch greeted the mare.

Author's Note

This is the first fic I've ever written here (I've written fanfics before in Fanfiction.net, but ponies are a field I hadn't tackled until this piece.) so forgive me if it smells of noobness.

A "Regular" Morning in Ponyville

“And a good morning to you, O Sir Grumpy.” the mare named Marble Chip chimed right back. She noticed the tired expression that her friend wore and teasingly asked, “Oh, I’m sorry, did I come at a bad time?”

The way she enunciated the word “bad” made Cross Hatch cringe inside, as a painful reminder of the morning’s earlier stumble bit him in the flank. “Ugh, come on, Marble, give it a rest…been through a lot these past few days…” Cross replied as he let Marble into his house. Marble clicked her tongue as she looked around his house, nearly tripping over a few artistic instruments and kicking about balls of parchment.

“Mother of horse apples, haven’t you ever heard of good housekeeping, Cross? I knew you were horrible at simple chores, but I didn’t think it had gotten this bad…” Marble Chip sarcastically complained. Cross Hatch, not one to falter at this accusation, put on an overdramatic pose and responded, “Oh, but you simply MUST forgive me for my dreadful mess…after all, I was given no notice of your grand arrival, your Majesty! May I perhaps provide you with a blindfold so that such a sight should never blind your beautiful eyes?” Cross swooned as he said this, holding out a random piece of parchment to Marble to emphasize his point.

Marble giggled and lightly pushed the hoof away. “Haha, maybe another time, Cross. First we need to go for breakfast and-”

“-discuss the matter of the commissions, yes I know. Just let me freshen up and we’ll go, okay? Just don‘t touch that canvas over there while I‘m getting ready,” interrupted Cross Hatch, who was pointing toward the same canvas he had struggled with last night as he headed to the bathroom to resume his morning routine. Marble Chip looked at the canvas in question and tilted her head a bit.

Marble remarked, “But there’s hardly anything on this. Are you sure this is the one you’ve been working on for the past few-” She was interrupted by the bathroom door slamming shut. “….days?” Marble finished her question.

Cross Hatch let the cold water of the shower wash over him, since he wanted to be wide awake as soon as possible. Normally a shower should be refreshing to most ponies…but each drop of water just felt like a small icicle stabbing through him.

Fat lot of good this is doing me…Why can’t I do the commission…?

Marble’s words echoed throughout his head. While they weren’t meant to be demeaning, they definitely rang clear through his mind, disappointment cutting through his already waning confidence. Cross banged his head against the wall, trying to clear it so that he could focus on the discussion with Marble today.

You have a whole day of discussion with her to get through…Perhaps this can get rid of any clutter stuck in my head…Wait…I need to remember to stock up on food…And…there was something el-Aaaghh! Just forget about all that for now and think about it later, Cross Hatch!

Cross shut off the water to the shower, got out and dried himself off. He looked into his mirror to see if there were any loose strands of his fur and mane that needed plucking. What he saw was a tired unicorn who needed another day of sleep.

Eh…clean enough, I think. I wonder what Marble’s doing right now…

He got the answer to his musings as soon as he stepped outside his bathroom, only to be greeted by Marble going through his previous paintings and sketches, although her true interest was given away by her constant glancing over at the canvas Cross Hatch had been working on.

“I know that look in your eye…You’re jealous of my work, aren’t you?” Cross said teasingly. Marble was snapped out of her trance and saw that Cross was refreshed and ready to go. “What me? Nahhh…I mean, why would I be jealous of a canvas that’s practically half blank? I mean, it‘s not like a three year old colt or filly made this.” Marble replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

Those words cut through Cross’s pride like a hot knife through butter.

CRACK.

Marble looked around for the source of the sound. “What was that?” She asked. Cross, who seemed to be…no, was literally limping to the front door, despondently replied, “Oh nothing…just a small crack in my pride…”

Marble followed him out as he creaked the door open. For a second, she could have sworn she heard Cross Hatch…crying?

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Marble Chip and Cross Hatch went through the busy streets of Ponyville, which were abuzz with all sorts of chatter, ranging from the newest rumor about Royal Pony Sisters to whose crops were the freshest to even discussion over the new Daring Do book. If Cross Hatch’s comfort zone was a box, then it was getting beat up, spat on, and torn apart at this particular moment, as he and Marble jostled around in the massive crowds just to move forward, pushing away all sorts of merchandise to move sideways when that option wasn’t available, and sometimes, to his annoyance, moving back because everypony just happened to be blocking a particular path.

After approximately a half hour of maneuvering through the massive sea of ponies and merchant stands, the two finally managed to get to their destination, which was a small café just across the street from Sugarcube Corner. Cross Hatch looked cautiously at the gingerbread and cupcake themed bakery, knowing all too well about the strange occurrences that went on with one of their employees. Now sure, the pink mare was nice, but she also had a reputation of doing the strangest things, such as somehow being able to predict the most uncanny things, redecorate an entire landscape for a party in just a matter of seconds, and there was also the rumor that she can somehow “teleport” right in front of somepony in the blink of an eye. The last thing he needed was a sugar-high pony who spoke volumes in a second getting right up in his face.

Truth be told, he wanted to go home, so he could go back to trying to get his creativity flowing again…Too bad for him that doing so was easier said than done. After the waiter came up and took their orders of daisy sandwiches and tea, Marble and Cross began to discuss what had been going on with Cross’s recent “artist’s block.”

“All right, Cross. What’s been with you recently? You’ve been shut up in that house of yours for several days with hardly any progress on that commission. Is something eating at you?” Marble asked. Cross merely shook his head.

“Cross…c‘mon…” Marble pleaded with Cross to be honest with her.

“No, no, it’s…it’s…it isn’t anything like that, Marble. It’s just…ah, I can’t really describe it, y’know? I’ve been concentrating as hard as I can on this piece, but…I don’t know, something…just feels missing, yeah?” Cross responded again, as he tried to better explain.

Marble pondered this for a minute. “Uh…no, I’m not really getting what you mean, Cross.”

Cross sighed at this. “I…just can’t really explain that well. When’s the deadline on the commission again?” the unicorn asked.

“The client would like it on Sunday. And he’s already getting antsy about it…” Marble replied with a smirk.

Cross sighed again and massaged his temples with his hooves. “Ah, Faust how am I supposed to do this with this pony breathing down my neck…?”

Marble nearly tipped over the table in shock when she looked above Cross’s head to see Pinkie Pie right behind him. Cross looked up at her in confusion. “What’s wrong, Marble?” he asked. “What you need to do is go on an adventure filled with FUN!” Pinkie suddenly shouted.

“Huh?! Gah!“ Cross turned and saw Pinkie Pie right behind him, and just like Marble, he nearly tipped over the table in surprise. “Heheehee! Sorry about that! But you really should consider going someplace because that‘s the sort of thing that helps me clear my head when I‘m all down on the day except today because today is a super-terrifficer-duper day! But then so was the day before that and I bet the next day will be super duper too! Oh, did I scare you two? Heeheehee! Sorry about that! ” the pink party pony apologized. In a flash, Pinkie zipped back to the bakery.

“…Where in Celestia did she come from…?” Cross inquired, though the question was directed to nopony in particular. By this time, the waiter came back with their food, and the two decided to try to enjoy their meal without any further surprises.

As hungry as Cross Hatch had been the entire morning, he could only bring himself to take small nibbles of his sandwich. On the other hand, he’d been savoring the food for thought that Pinkie had left him.

Go on an adventure….

Author's Note

This one, in my opinion, is less noobish than the previous chapter, but you can clearly see that I was trying to find a way to get the plot moving. (No pun intended. Keep your dirty thoughts to yourselves, you pervs.)