Anger Management

>The warmth of the sun rests on your face, making you groan and open your eyes.
>You sit up and stretch out your arms to start a new day full of dumb equestrian bullshit.
>After stretching, you slide off the bed and walk to your bathroom to relieve yourself.
>You use the toilet and then head into the shower.
>Once your morning routine is complete, you head out to get dressed.
>As you're pulling a shirt over your face, you hear a knock on the door downstairs.
>Turning your head, you look at the clock to see it says 7:30.
“She's right on time.”
>Cherry Berry, also known as your angry friend with a bit of an obsession, always comes by around this time.
>You sigh a bit as you finish dressing yourself.
“Wonder what she's going to try to pull today...”
>You walk out of the room and head down the stairs.
>Knocks slam against the door once again and you shake your head.
“Yeah yeah, I'm coming!”
>Quickly go over to the door and open it before she bashes it down knocking so hard.
>Just as you thought, Cherry Berry stands there.
>She has an angry look in her eye as she stares up at you.
>"You should just admit your love for me already."
"I'm not going to do that, Cherry."
>Her lip quivers and her eyes begin watering.
>"Why don't you love me Anon? I do everything for you, even come bring you my company every day!”
>She looks back at her rump. “Is it my figure? Am I too fat for you?”
>You shake your head and try to explain.
“No, that's not why-”
>She interrupts you, screaming, “I DON'T EVEN EAT THAT MUCH!"
>Her loudness is attracting the attention of the quiet yellow mare that lives down the street in the cottage.
>You quickly pull Cherry inside and shut the door to rid yourself of an awkward conversation from Fluttershy later on.
>Cherry looks a bit flustered as you hold her close to you.
>Realizing that you're still holding her, you quickly let go and start talking.
"Look, want to know why I don't like you like that?"
>She stomps her hoof down and shouts, "Yes!"
"You're always angry."
>She blinks a few times and then furrows her brow, “Am not!”
"...See?"
>She stops and sits down, her tone changing dramatically.
>"But I'm not always angry..."
"You seem that way."
>She looks up, confused as to why you said that. "Why?"
"Body language mostly. Usually when talking to a friend you smile, not frown."
>"Why should I smile? Nothing was funny."
>You bring your hand up to your forehead and groan a little.
>Pulling your hand away, you look down at the angry pink mare.
"Okay, I have an idea."
>"What?"
"You go through a regular day and I'll tag along to tell you if you're acting angry. Maybe we can fix this."
>Cherry's face lights up with happiness, "Really? You'd do that for me?!"
>You shrug a little.
“Yeah, I guess.”
>She jumps up and wraps her hooves around your neck hard. “Thanks!”
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Now let's go."
>You pull her off your neck and set her down.
>She heads out of the house and you follow her, closing the door behind yourself.
>"Alright, the first thing I do is go visit my friends."
"How many friends do you have?"
>"Like 5."
>Wonder why.
"Okay, let's go visit the friends then."
>She nods and you follow her all the way into town to the small greenhouse building.
>You've always wondered who lives here.
>She knocks on the door and you stand next to her.
>When it opens, Roseluck is there smiling.
>"Hi, Cherry! Hello, Anonymous?"
"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just helping out today."
>She turns her head back to Cherry.
>“Oh okay. Cherry, how are you?"
>Cherry is not smiling, so you cough to get her attention.
>She looks over at you, and you form a smile.
>She nods her head and puts on a slightly faked smile.
>"Hey Rose! I'm doing just fine."
>They both smile at each other for a few seconds.
>You nudge Cherry.
"You aren't going to ask her how she is?"
>She looks up at you and answers honestly.
>"I don't care."
>Rose looks hurt and runs back inside, slamming the door behind her.
>These ponies are way too emotional.
>You knock on the door again and shuffling around is heard before it opens again.
>Rose's eyes are watery and pinkish as she looks at you.
"Look, I'm trying to help Cherry be more of a nice pony. I'm sorry if we offended you, Rose."
>Rose smiles and nods.
>She then closes the door and you both turn around.
"Cherry, what the fuck was that? Do you not understand basic communication?"
>"I understand communication, I just didn't care about how she was."
>You groan as you grip the bridge of your nose.
"Cherry, most people really don't care about how each other are, it's just a nice thing to say."
>“Ohhh... DAMN IT!"
>Three fillies a few feet away freeze in place once hearing this new word.
>Yell to them,
"Hey! Don't repeat that!"
>They quickly rush away and you glare back at Cherry.
"Really? Swearing is not a nice thing to do Cherry. It's better if you'd say those things when you're not out in public."
>"Why not Anon? Didn't you do it earlier?"
“The difference between when I did it and when you did is that I didn't scream it.”
>“Oh...”
"Swearing a lot also makes you seem like a mean pony."
>She nods as if she's making a mental note of this.
>“Okay, next friend!”
>She leads you to the next house, another building with a greenhouse in the back.
>This greenhouse is smaller than the other one.
>She knocks on the door and you stand to the side to observe.
>The door opens to reveal Lily.
>She smiles at Cherry and Cherry quickly glaces at you to know if she's supposed to smile.
>You quickly nod and she smiles at Lily.
>Lily starts the greeting.
>"Hi Cherry! How are you doing today?"
>"Hey Lily! I'm doing pretty good. How about you?"
>She's learning.
>This is good.
>"I've been better actually. You see, my hooves are really sore from potting plants all day yesterday."
>Cherry just stares at her, not saying anything.
"Cherry."
>She looks over at you, confused as to what she's done wrong.
>Lily just notices you as well and smiles at you.
>"Hey Anon! I didn't see you there. Whatcha doing?"
"I'm trying to help Cherry be less mean and angry."
>Lily's smile widens.
>"That's so nice of you! Aww..."
>You raise an eyebrow to her reaction.
"Why aww?"
>"I wish I had a coltfriend who was nice enough to help me like that..."
"Wait, she's not my-"
>A high pitched screech from inside Lily's house interrupts you.
>Lily smiles at the both of you.
>"Tea time! You want some?"
>Cherry looks at you and then back to Lily, "I'm sorry, we just don't have time."
>Lily looks a little saddened, but hides it, "Oh, well, that's alright. Goodbye then!"
>Cherry says nothing, so you speak for both of you.
"Bye!"
>Cherry turns to leave the house as Lily closes the door.
>You catch up with Cherry a good distance away from the house and you stop her.
"Cherry, when someone complains about something, you're supposed to say that you feel bad for them."
>"But I didn't feel bad for her. I was glad it wasn't me."
>Fucking damn it, Cherry.
"It's the nice thing to do."
>She trots a little bit over to a bench and slams her bottom down hard on it.
>She hangs her head as you follow her over there.
>"I never thought this would be so difficult.”
>She looks up at you.
>“How do you do it so well?"
"It's the way we're raised I guess. You probably didn't grow up with too much of that, did you?"
>"Not really."
>There is a long and uneasy silence after this.
>You cough to break it and draw her attention.
"Cherry.”
>She looks up at you.
“...don't forget to say goodbye."
>She nods.
>To prevent the awkward silence from taking over again, you turn to her.
"So, where to now?"
>"Minuette's house."
>She hops off the bench and you follow her lead.
>You approach a regular looking house and she knocks on the door.
>It opens and Minuette is there looking tired, but still forcing a smile.
>"Hello, Anon and Cherry."
"Don't mind me, just here to help Cherry."
>She nods and then continues, "How are you Cherry?"
>"Hey Minuette. I'm okay. What about you? You look troubled."
>Minuette sighs, "Just... Taking care of twin foals on your own can be rough, ya know?"
>Cherry gulps and looks to you.
>You nod and give her the okay.
>She looks back to Minuette.
>"Uh... I feel bad for you?"
>Minuette looks a tad bit confused why she said that like a question, but before she can speak, loud screams are heard from inside.
>Minuette cuts the conversation short.
>"I have to go. Bye you two!"
>You wave.
"Bye!"
>Cherry remembers what you said last time and shouts, "Goodbye!"
>Minuette closes the door and the two of you walk a little bit away from the house.
>Cherry stops you, looking excited.
>"Did I do it right?"
"Yes, you did do it right Cherry. Now next time you don't have to look at me to confirm everything you do."
>"...was I really doing that?"
>You nod.
>"Oh. Well let's go to the next one then!"
>She proudly trots some direction and you follow behind her.
>She stops at a very normal looking house that you've passed multiple times before.
>Guess you're about to find out who lives here.
>She knocks on the door and Bon Bon swings it open almost immediately.
>Lyra stands submissively behind her.
>Cherry is fired up as she starts the conversing, "Hello girls! How are you?"
>Bon Bon has a pissy attitude, "Well I would be a little bit better if somepony would do the dishes and clean up after herself."
>Lyra shoots a glare to her. "I do clean up after myself! You're just mad because I orgasmed first, aren't you?!"
>Oh dear.
>Bon Bon gasps, turns to Lyra, and pushes her.

>"You bitch!"
>Cherry has no clue what to do in this situation.
>Alright, time to work your gentlemanly charm.
"Ladies, ladies please. Relax yourselves. What seems to be the problem here?"
>They quickly turn away from each other.
>Lyra speaks first.
>"She's angry because of this morning."
>You look at Bon Bon.
"What happened this morning, Bon Bon?"
>"Well first off, I'm not mad about this morning. Second, what happened this morning was none of your business and you should just fuck off."
>Fucking cunt.
>No no, you can't call her that.
>Keep your cool Anon, you're trying to set an example for Cherry, remember?
>Bon Bon continues, "Why are you even here? You're not my friend."
>Lyra snaps at her tan lover, "He's my friend!"
>Bon Bon throws her hooves out at you.
>"But he's just a big monkey! How can you be friends with a big monkey-OH I SEE NOW! YOU WANT HIS FILTHY HANDS INSTEAD OF MY TONGUE, DON'T YOU?!"
>Lyra quickly looks at you with a face full of blush, waving her hooves and shaking her head.
>"N-No it's not l-like that at all Anon!"
>What the fuck is even happening right now?
>Bon Bon obtains direct control.
>"Whatever. Lyra, get back inside. I'll talk to you when I'm done with monkey man here."
>Lyra nods and walks submissively back inside, closing the door behind herself.
>Bon Bon gives you disgusted look.
>"So monkey, why do you got the hots for my Lyra?"
>Shocked that she would assume this, you're a bit taken back.
"What? I don't even like her!"
>"Yeah, sure. Aren't you dating Cherry?"
>You shake your head hard.
"No! I'm not dating anyone!"
>Cherry looks hurt.
>“Well you don't have to say it that forcefully...”
>You glare at her.
“Like you're any better at not being blunt.”
>She backs down from the argument.
>Bon Bon continues.
>"So you aren't dating anyone, but you fool around with Cherry and Lyra? You're a player then?!"
>Holy fucking shit...
>Before you can say anything, Cherry steps forward.
>Bon Bon smirks at her.
>"Hey Cherry, here to take your monkey out of here?"
>Uh oh.
>Cherry gets in Bon Bon's face, "Listen here, bitch. Nopony talks like that to my man."
>Well, this just got out of hand.
>Bon Bon looks shocked that Cherry just said that.
>"What the fuck did you just call me?"
>Without any warning, Cherry jumps up and cracks her across the head.
>Instant knock out.
"Fuck, Cherry! Why did you do that?!"
>She turns to you with a happy smile and wide eyes.
>"She was being mean to you, so I wanted to be nice to you by being mean to her. Does that mean I'm still being nice?"
>You throw your hands up and walk away from the house, leaving Bon Bon unconsious at her doorstep.
"Fuck this, I give up."
>Cherry follows you down the path.
>"B-But why?"
"It's impossible to teach you to not be so angry and mean."
>She hangs her head.
>"But I thought... I thought that you were going to love me when I got nice... Does that mean..."
>Tears start forming in her eyes.
>"You'll never love me?!"
>She is on the verge of sobbing.
“You're just so fucking stubborn, Cherry!”
>She points up to the house.
>“I'm not stubborn, this was just a different scenario! If I'm too nice in situations like that, then I'll end up like that yellow pushover down the street from you!”
>She comes close to you and rubs up against your leg.
>“Please... I want to change for you. Please don't stop now.”
>You look down at her as she stares down at your feet, leaning her weight into your legs.
"...fine."
>She looks up at you with a tiny smile on her face.
>She asks excitedly, "Really?!"
>You put your hand on her head and run your fingers through her mane.
"Yes, just control yourself. Remember to breathe."
>She and closes her eyes as you pet her.
>You stop and she looks up at you.
"So, what do you do now?"
>She moves away from being so close to your body.
>"Oh yeah, I go to work pulling trash carts through the alleys and emptying the dumpsters."
"Where does it go?"
>"To the trash yard."
>She walks you down a few blocks to a shed just outside of the trash yard.
>Inside are two large carts that don't exactly have the best smell in the world.
>Cherry fastens herself into the cart to the right, then frowns as she looks at the other one.
>"The other one is for Bon Bon. But um..."
>You nod and walk over.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I got it."
>As you attach it to your waist, Cherry tilts her head in confusion.
"What is it now?"
>"Why are you doing this?"
>You answer her as you finish attaching the cart to your waist.
"Because offering someone help is a nice thing to do."
>She nods and starts to walk forward.
>“Just follow me, I'll show you the route.”
>You nod to her and follow behind her.
>It's been about three hours of walking around, and the job is actually way easier than you thought it would be.
>Thankfully, the dumpsters only were filled with light things like toys or food.
>After you've cleaned out most of the town and have a fairly large pile of gross behind you, you start heading back to the trash yard.
>You find yourself walking a bit faster than Cherry, so you're a tad bit ahead of her.
>"Oh um, excuse me."
>You turn to see a griffon standing in front of Cherry.
>The griffon doesn't look like she wants to move.
>Cherry asks again, "Excuse me, I need to get through."
>You walk ahead a little so that Cherry can move around the griffon, but the griffon steps in front of her again when she tries.
>This might not be good.
>Cherry starts to look angry, but then stops and takes a deep breath.
>She sticks out a hoof.
>"Well um... Hello, I'm Cherry! It's nice to meet you!"
>This is good, she's trying everything you've taught her.
>The griffon just stares at her.
>You undo yourself from the cart and watch with caution.
>Cherry retracts her hoof and follows the griffon's eyes to the trash behind her.
>"What, do you see something you like in the cart? Here, I'll turn to the side so you can see more."
>She turns the entire cart sideways and smiles at the griffon.
>Suddenly, the griffon kicks it over and it spills on the ground.
>She begins laughing as Cherry scrambles to put the trash back in.
>"You goody four hooves! Hahaha! Such a dweeb."
>Cherry's face scrunches and she looks at you.
>You mouth the words, 'It's okay, you can be mean.'
>Cherry nods and continues putting trash back in the cart.
>Wait, what?
"Cherry what are you doing?"
>The griffon flies up and lands in front of you, standing tall.
>"What are YOU doing here, monkey? Shouldn't you be in the forest? Or with that weird mare with the animals?"
>You see Cherry just putting the cart back the right way.
>Oh no.
>This is not the time for her be nice.
>The griffon forces herself into your vision by craning her neck so that your face and her own are mere centimeters away from each other.
>"I SAID, what are you doing here?"
>You back up a little.
"I live here, in Ponyville. And I'm not a monkey, I'm a human."
>"Hooman? That's the dumbest name for something I've ever heard!"
>She flies up a little and starts to laugh at you.
>“What in the heck is a hooman?! Hahahaha!”
>Your fists ball and you see Cherry approaching from behind with a small smile on her face.
>She asks, "Excuse me, Miss Griffon?"
>The griffon stops laughing and flies over so that she's just above Cherry.
>"It's Gilda, bitch."
>Cherry's eye twitches and she stops smiling.
>Her tone changes dramatically, dropping down to a grumble.
>"What did you just call me?"
>Gilda, obviously having fun with this, repeats herself.
>"A bitch, ya dumb bitch!"
>Cherry's gaze shifts from you to Gilda and she furrows her brow.
>"Call me a bitch... one more time."
>"Bit-"
>Quick as explosive diarrhea after taco night, she uppercuts Gilda, cutting her off.
>The griffon falls on her back, but gets up and wipes some blood from her face.
>"Fine then, let's go bitch!"
>You rush over and jump up, bringing down your elbow on her back.
>She slams against the ground and Cherry bucks her in the face.
>Instant knockout.
>Cherry smiles at you and you smile back at her.
>You put your hands on your hips and stare down at the unconscious creature.
"We fucked her up!"
>"Damn straight we did!"
>You and Cherry bump hoof and hand and share a few laughs.
>Cherry then sighs as she looks at the pile of trash next to her cart.
>“Great, now we have to clean this up.”
>You smirk.
“Maybe not...”
>Cherry looks at you, confused as to what you're implying.

...

>The two of you walk away with your carts a little lighter as a certain half lion half eagle wakes up in a pile of rotten food and broken cups.
>You hear a loud scream from way on the other side of town as you pull into the trash yard, making both of you look at each other and smirk.
>As you empty your carts into the trash yard and put them back, you notice that the sun is starting to set.
>You turn and start to walk with Cherry back to the rest of town.
>Cherry asks as the two of you walk together,
>"Well Anon... Do you think I'm not so angry now?"
>You shake your head.
"Nah. You're still angry and mean as fuck."
>Cherry stutters while her voice starts to crack, "B-B-But-"
>You interrupt her with a hand on her head.
"But maybe it's me that should learn to accept you that way though."
>She tilts her head a little in confusion as she looks up at you.
>"But I thought you didn't like me like this?"
"While it might be a bit annoying, I do admit that it adds a little spice into my life."
>Her eyes brighten and she jumps onto your chest, wrapping her hooves around your neck once again.
>"Yes!”
>You smile a little and hug the pony back.
>She then leans in a little and whispers to you.
>“Does this mean you'll love me now?”
“Maybe someday Cherry."
>You watch the sun slink under the horizon as you pet the pony who hugs your neck.
“Maybe someday.”