Writers Block

The sky was black as night, but Crimson Embers knew it was the middle of the day. This could only mean one thing: The Lord of Shadows had been awakened. He felt a chilled wind blow through his mane as he looked off into the distance and saw a massive, black castle rise from the ground, as if trying to split the sky.

He stared in terror as a plume of smoke seeped out of the ground and swirled around him, preventing any escape. Suddenly, a shape stepped forward from the haze: a powerful, black colt with a massive, swept-back mane and a curved horn. It stretched out long, bat-like wings, and sighed deeply. Then, it opened its blood-red eyes, smiled wickedly, and spoke.

“So, this is the last remaining member of the Heroes of Equestria. A mere child is all that stands between me and what is rightfully mine. What makes you think that you can defeat me?”

Crimson Embers stared at him a moment, unsure of what to say. How did he have any chance of winning?

“Nope.” I said sadly, crumpling up the paper and tossing it into an already overflowing garbage can. I had spent all morning trying to write a first chapter for my book, but I couldn’t think of anything that would sound right. That had always been one of my big issues: I was really good at coming up with the main plot of a story, but I could never figure out how to start it.

Wait a minute, I thought, breaking from my thoughts, aren’t I forgetting something? I glanced at my watch and gasped in terror at the time. “Oh, no, I’m gonna be late!” I jumped off the couch and ran to the bathroom to shower. I really wanted to make a good impression today, especially to that beautiful pegasus, Rainbow Dash. I went through the same routine I had gone through the previous morning, right down to the final glance at my cutie mark as I ran out the door. I don’t know why, but doing that seemed to give me a little courage.

I stepped out onto the front porch and looked around. It seemed to be a pretty quiet day; I saw a couple ponies walking down the street here and there, but not much else. I took a deep breath and started walking toward the fountain at the center of town. As I did, I tried to plan out what I would talk about when I got there. I had brought along some pencils and paper, so maybe I could talk about my work, or maybe draw something for them? But, on the other hand, I didn’t want to be a show off.

As I approached the fountain, I saw no sign of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. I sighed heavily, realizing I was, as I had feared, late. I was just about to turn around and go back home, when I heard a panicked voice calling out.

“WATCH OUT!”

I had exactly one second to look up and see Rainbow Dash flying right at me at immeasurable speeds. The next thing I knew, I was knocked into the air, just about to fall into the fountain. I quickly threw off my bag, hoping it wouldn’t land right in the fountain and ruin the papers.

I jumped up in the water, thrashing and spitting, and looked around wildly. As I swam over to the edge of the fountain I saw two things: one, my bag had, in fact, completely missed the fountain, and two, Rainbow Dash looked incredibly embarrassed. As I jumped down from the edge, she ran over apologizing quickly.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I kinda lost control back there and…” she shook her head suddenly, “Never mind that. Are you okay?”

I nodded, trying not to freak out like I did at the party. “Yeah, I’m alright. At least my bag didn’t land in the fountain.” I walked over to the bag and put it back on as she eyed it curiously.

“Whatcha got in there, Sketch?” she asked. I froze suddenly.

“Oh, uh, just some paper and pencils. I’m, uh, I’m a bit of an artist-slash-writer.” I said nervously.

She looked interested by this. “A writer, huh? What do you write?”

I started to freeze up, but I caught hold of myself. “Oh, nothing much… So far I’ve only written short stories, but I’ve started working on an actual adventure book.” Then I remembered why I had gone there in the first place. “Hey, aren’t we late for that picnic?”

She widened her eyes. “Oh, yeah, I forgot! So, Twilight invited you to that, huh?”

I nodded. “Yeah, just last night. She said since I just moved here, it would be good to make some friends.”

“Well,” she said slowly, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, “you know what I always do with new Pegasus friends?”

I swallowed hard. “W-what?”

“RACE!” she shouted, suddenly jumping into the air and taking off. I sat there for a moment, unsure of what just happened, and then when the realization hit me, I followed in a similar fashion. I scanned the sky for her, and saw her flying directly above me. I took the opportunity to try and surprise her, but she saw me just in time and suddenly dove straight down.

I watched as she descended, faster and faster, and was just about to call out when, just as she was no more than a few feet off the ground, she immediately turned upwards, the sudden change in direction creating a massive rainbow-colored shockwave that knocked me back and scattered clouds for miles. I flipped around in the air for a few seconds, but quickly regained my balance. I looked around for a while, and eventually saw her running through a field towards her friends. I landed not too far away from them and approached breathlessly.

“What… was that?” I asked breathlessly. Rainbow Dash smiled proudly.

“Impressed, huh? That’s my Sonic Rainboom; it’s my personal trick. Nopony else can do it!” she boasted. “Sorry I almost knocked you out of the sky back there, pal.” She added.

I smiled. “That’s alright. You just kind of surprised me is all.” She smiled back, and then turned to her friends, motioning for me to get closer to the group.

“Well, looks like you both made it! I can already see you have something in common with Dashie, Sketch.” Pinkie Pie teased. I tried to hide my embarrassment, but I don’t think I did that great of a job.

“So, Sketch, what have you got in there?” Twilight said, pointing a hoof at my bag. I slid it off my shoulder and let the contents fall onto the grass: several sheets of paper, some of them with drawings, and some assorted pencils and pens. They all stared in awe.

“Wow, these sure are something!” Applejack exclaimed. The others nodded in agreement, and I beamed with pride.

“Hey, who’s this guy?” Twilight asked, looking at a drawing of Crimson Embers.

“Ah! That’s Crimson Embers, a character from the book I’m writing.” I replied. They all widened their eyes.

“You’re writing a book?” they all asked at once.

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, he mentioned that on the way here. Hey, why don’t you tell us about it, Sketch?” she asked, looking over at me.

I squirmed a little. “I don’t know, it might sound a little ridiculous…” I said slowly, but they urged me to go on. After a little more begging, I finally gave in. “Alright, I guess I can give you a bit of a summary.” I said. I cleared my throat and began:

“Long ago, there was a league of ponies known as ‘The Heroes of Equestria’. They were incredibly powerful, and swore to uphold peace and prosperity, and protect the ponies of the land. But, one of their comrades had other plans: he wanted all the power for himself, and complete command of Equestria and its inhabitants. He searched for an ancient crystal that was said to hold dark power, and when he found it, he became something… else.

“The heroes shed few tears for their fallen brother, and acted with haste. They banded together to fight the dark pony, who had dubbed himself The Lord of Shadows, in an epic battle. Few of them survived the ordeal, and those that did came up with a plan: they imprisoned the Lord of Shadows in a magical prison, never to be released.

“But, there was one problem: the bond the Heroes shared wasn’t strong enough, for the Lord’s betrayal had damaged the trust the heroes had for each other, and so he was only imprisoned temporarily.”

I jumped onto a rock as I continued: “Ah, but not all hope was lost, for many years later, when the Lord of Shadows was awakened, there was one who could stand against him: Crimson Embers, last descendant of the Heroes of Equestria!” I shouted triumphantly.

I looked down and saw the ponies were all staring at me strangely. I smiled, embarrassed, until Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“That… was… AWESOME!” She exclaimed, jumping in the air. “When you finish it, you have to let us read it!”

The others murmured in agreement. I smiled again, but it was back to the pride smile.

“Yeah, that would be great, if I could finish it. I’ve been suffering from writers block lately, and haven’t been able to come up with anything that will fit in well with what I have planned. That’s why I moved here, so I could focus on my story, and maybe get a little inspiration.”

Pinkie Pie jumped in the air excitedly. “You should make some characters based on us!” she shouted ecstatically. Again, the others murmured in agreement.

“There should be a smart one,” Twilight said.

“Don’t forget an awesome one!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Um… a kind one would be nice, if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy murmured quietly.

“There absolutely must be a fabulous and sophisticated one,” Rarity said proudly.

“And a strong one, I reckon,” Applejack added.

“And a pink one!” Pinkie Pie shouted happily.

I thought about it for a moment. “That isn’t that bad of an idea, actually. After all, Crimson Embers needs some friends to help him out and motivate him, doesn’t he?” I said, looking at each of them, ideas already starting to form in my head. They all smiled broadly, nodding vigorously.

“But, before you do that, we have a picnic to start!” Twilight said, interrupting the flow of ideas. I looked over and saw a blanket set down with a basket placed neatly in the center. We all gathered around it as Twilight handed out sandwiches, and we all laughed and joked and played games all afternoon. Every once in a while, I would glance over at Rainbow Dash, and it looked like she was having the most fun out of everypony. I smiled to myself. I knew they probably did this at every picnic, but I couldn’t help but think that it was partly because of me.

Later that evening, after I had settled down on the couch to resume my writing, I heard a knock at my door.  I got up, upset that I had been disturbed just as I was getting started, but calmed down when I saw it was just Twilight, I calmed down a little. “Oh, hello again, Twilight.”

She was smiling broadly, like she knew a secret. “Hello, Sketch. May I come in for a bit?”

I glanced at my watch; it wasn’t too late, so I nodded. “Yeah, come on in.”

I got some cups of cider and brought them into the living room, where Twilight had already sat down in one of the chairs. I took the couch and started the conversation.

“So, what brings you by?” I asked casually.

“Oh nothing,” she said innocently, “There was just something I wanted to ask you,”

“Um, okay, shoot,” I said, not knowing what to expect as I took a sip of cider.

“DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON RAINBOW DASH?!” she burst out, barely able to contain the question.

I spat out my cider, spraying it all over the table. “What? No, what gave you that idea?” I said, chuckling nervously. She laughed loudly.

“You DO!” she said confidently. I started to panic.

“No, I don’t, I swear!” I shouted desperately.

She started laughing, becoming a little more serious. “It’s alright, Sketch. It’s not like I’m going to tell anypony!” she said reassuringly. I sighed, and took another drink of cider.

“Well, maybe not right away…”

More cider sprayed onto the table.

“How did you figure it out?” I asked Twilight as I wiped off the table. She grinned.

“I saw the way you kept looking at Rainbow Dash at the picnic. You did make it a little obvious, but I don’t think any of the others figured it out.” She said.

I nodded, and then suddenly realized what might happen.

“Please don’t tell her!” I begged, “I’d die of embarrassment!”

She laughed. “Don’t worry. Really, I won’t say a word to Rainbow Dash. Besides,” she said, leaning forward and dropping her voice as if someone could overhear, “I think she might like you, too.”

I felt my heart explode in my chest. “Say what now?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, don’t you remember when she did her Sonic Rainboom? She was showing off for you. I think she may have feelings similar to yours.”

I digested this for a moment. It made sense the way Twilight put it. Why put on a show like that for no good reason? Then again, I couldn’t get too hopeful. After all, maybe she just wanted to make a good impression like I did.

“Anyways, thank you for the cider, and thank you for having me over” she said, standing up and bowing.

I nodded back, smiling. “Thanks for stopping by,” I said as she walked out the door. I closed it gently behind her, then turned back to the room and sighed. Well, I may not have gotten any writing done tonight, I thought, but now I know that Rainbow Dash might like me!

I jumped into the air happily, and then quickly peeked out the window to make sure nopony saw me do that.