Writers Block

“Now, Mom, Dad,” I began, trying to calm my bewildered parents, “I know it’s a big decision, and you might think I’m crazy, but I’m ready for this. Besides, if I don’t, I’ll be stuck in crowded Manehattan. Do you really think that’s going to help my work?” It seemed as if my efforts to convince them were working, but they still resisted.

“Are you sure? You've never been away from us for very long… I just don’t think you’re ready to live on your own, Hasty Sketch.” My mother said slowly.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. I knew they wouldn't understand. I had been planning to get my own place for a while now, but I could never find the opportunity to bring up the subject. Now that my parents had gotten job offers in Manehattan and wanted to move away from Cloudsdale, I figured it was now or never. I didn't want to live in a crowded city; I wanted to be able to see nature, and live in a small, quiet town where I might be able to work on my book.

“Well, I don’t know about that, dear,” my father interrupted, “I think it could be good for him to get his own place. It might help him to grow a little, maybe make some friends. He never really got along with the pegusi up here in Cloudsdale. Maybe getting a house in Ponyville is just what he needs.” He said, winking at me. I could always count on him to back me up when it came to these kinds of things. He always seemed to have faith in me and my abilities.

“Well… Okay. I suppose if it’s for the best, then I can’t really argue.” My mother said, finally giving in. “You’ll keep in touch with us, won’t you?” she asked sadly.

“Of course,” I said gently, looking at both of them and smiling, “why wouldn't I?”

She sniffed a little, trying not to cry. I knew this would be tough for them; they had spent the last 16 years raising me, and now I was finally leaving. Then, she shook her head and smiled. “You had better go straighten yourself up. You want to make a good impression when you arrive!” I nodded and ran off to the bathroom.

After showering and drying myself off, I looked in the mirror to see a crimson pegasus; me. I messed with my red, black-streaked mane a little, trying to make it look good, but it just fell down wherever it felt like. I never could get it to stay straight. I stared into my reflection’s bright blue eyes for a moment, telling myself everything was going to work out. I glanced at my cutie mark, a pencil that represented my creativity and love of writing and drawing, and then I exited the bathroom.

I ran to my old room, threw on a white shirt, and fastened a watch to my wrist. I turned to my bed, where I had the things I wanted to bring with packed away in a saddlebag. The walls of my room looked so strange without my numerous drawings covering the walls. I sighed, threw on the saddlebag, and walked to the front door, where my parents were waiting.

“We’ll send word as soon as we've settled in. You take care of yourself, okay?” my father told me, his voice filled with pride at his son’s decision. I nodded quickly and smiled.

“Of course I will, Dad. Good luck in Manehattan, and have fun at your new jobs!” I called as I ran out the door. When I reached the edge of the yard, I stopped, turned back for a final glance at my childhood home, and then took to the skies.

After a few minutes, I saw a small town below me: Ponyville, my destination. I slowly descended, filled with excitement and fear. Who would I meet? What would everypony think of me and my work? I swallowed my fear and landed at the edge of town, then began to walk to where my new home was located.

It was a pretty modest house, but I was happy with it. It was painted a dark green and had a second story with a balcony, perfectly placed for gazing off into the horizon when I wanted to think. I smiled, hardly able to believe that I was finally following my dream. I could hardly wait to get my things put away so I could work on my book.

I had the idea for this story a few months ago, which was strange, because most of my stores are just short, one-page tales, but this could be something so much more. It was a story about Crimson Embers, a young alicorn who had to save the world from an ancient evil. It was coming along slowly, but surely. I pushed open the door to find the house in total darkness. I reached over to grab the light switch, just as somepony else beat me to it.

“SURPRISE!” several voices shouted as the light turned on. I jumped back a few feet and screamed in surprise. I looked around and saw several smiling ponies all around me, and a table in the center of the room with a big cake and several other treats. I smiled slightly and said hi to everypony. A pink pony with a poofy pink mane ran up to me, a huge smile on her face.

“HI! I’m Pinkie Pie. Sorry we scared you, it’s just I heard there was a new pony moving here and I just HAD to throw them a party!” she said quickly.

I chuckled. “That’s alright, I just wasn’t expecting to get a welcoming party as soon as I got here.”

She nodded and bounced away, probably to see how everpony else was enjoying the party. As I walked over to the table, A few ponies broke from the crowd to talk to me. There were four of them: an earth pony, a pegasus, a unicorn, and an ALICORN! I never thought I would meet a real alicorn, but hey, I never thought I’d be getting my own place anytime soon.

“Hello. I’m Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends. You must be Hasty Sketch!” the alicorn said cheerfully. I nodded shyly.

“We just wanted to personally say, welcome to Ponyville!” she said, gesturing to her companions. Her pelt was a light shade of purple, like lavender, and her mane was a dark violet with a pink streak in the middle. She turned to her friends and introduced them one by one.

First was the earth pony, who I learned was named Applejack. She was a sunny orange color, with a blonde mane tied in a ponytail. A large cowboy hat sat on her head, and she spoke in a country-style accent.

“Nice to meet yah, sugarcube.” She said, sizing me up. I hoped my mane didn’t look too bad as she did.

Next I was introduced to Fluttershy, the Pegasus. She seemed a little scared at once, but greeted me gently. “Um… h-hi.”

She was a pastel yellow with a long pink mane that covered part of her face. She kept her eyes low to the ground, and I chuckled to myself, agreeing with her name.

“Pleasure to meet you, darling.” Said the unicorn, who Twilight introduced as Rarity. She was white with a carefully groomed purple mane, and wore an over-the-top dress. Twilight asked her why she needed to wear something so fancy, to which Rarity responded, “What do you mean? This is one of my casual dresses.” Twilight rolled her eyes when she heard this.

“Wait, there should be one more of us; where in Equestria is Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked her friends, who looked around and shrugged. Her question was answered when I heard the door slam open, and an out-of-breath voice called “I’m not too late, am I?!”

I spun around and froze. Standing in the doorway was a light blue pegasus with a multi-colored mane, like a rainbow. She was beautiful. I could hardly breath as she came over by her friends.

“Rainbow Dash, this is Hasty Sketch, the pony who just moved here. Hasty Sketch, this is my friend Rainbow Dash, who really needs to work on getting places on time!” Twilight Sparkle said, glaring at the new arrival.

“Sorry, Twi; I got so caught up in my flying that I forgot when the party was. At least I didn't miss it completely!” Rainbow Dash told her friend. Then she turned to me. “Nice to meetcha!” she held out a hoof, probably expecting me to pound it, but I couldn't move. I just sat there, staring at her with wide eyes. After a few moments, she chuckled nervously, and then whispered to Twilight, “Did I break him or something?”

I snapped back into reality. “No, I’m fine, sorry about that.” I said nervously. I returned the hoof, and quickly excused myself. I ran over to a corner and hit myself in the face.

That was stupid! I shouted at myself in my head. You made a complete fool of yourself! I reached over to a nearby table and grabbed a cup of punch and looked around nervously. This was going to be a long party.

Later that night, long after the party ended, I sat in my new chair, reflecting on the day. I had spent the rest of the evening avoiding the ponies I had met, out of fear of making a bigger fool of myself. I sighed happily as I pictured that beautiful pegasus, Rainbow Dash. I had never seen a pony, pegasus, or unicorn as beautiful as her. And it wasn't just her looks, either; I just got this… feeling when I looked at her. I shook my head, clearing my head of my silly dreams, grabbed a pen and piece of paper, and started to draw. I drew Crimson Embers, the main character from my story. I always liked to put myself in his place. He was calm, collected, and cool; I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck that froze when he saw a cute girl or a spider.

I heard a knock at my door, and was shocked when I saw it was Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh, hello there, Twilight.” I said as I opened the door.

“Hello, Sketch. I was wondering if you wanted to joint me and my friends tomorrow for a picnic. Since you just moved here, I kind of figured you might want to make some new friends.”

I smiled gratefully. “I’d like that very much. Thank you.”

She nodded quickly. “I’ll be sure to let everyone know. We’ll meet in the center of town. Goodnight, Sketch!” she called as she ran off.

I closed the door and looked at my watch, noticing it was pretty late. I sighed and went upstairs to my new room, hoping that I wouldn’t mess up tomorrow.