Pony Rejection thread: Cry on your shoulder

>”Well Anon, I do think this will just about do it” chips your favorite marshmallow pone
>”Awesome! It’s not quite my style or anything, but hey I just gotta put up with it for a week right?” you reply while carefully working your way out of the “clothing” you’re wearing
>You think “clothing” to yourself, quotes and all, because after a discussion of Lady Gaga Rarity has gotten very… experimental
>But it makes her happy, and it requires basically no effort on your part, just stand there and “be glamorous~” she’d sing-song at you
>”Anon,” she whines. “I certainly hope you’re not actually ‘just putting up’ with my genius!” she says haughtily
>Fuck you mouth
“No! No. I didn’t mean it like that! Well, okay so these outfits are a little…”
>C’mon man! Damage control!
>Rarity looks at you with an expression you can’t quite pin down
>”Pinchy? That’s all, but I can manage. It’s only going to be a week after all right?”
>Her expression softens and she breathes a sigh, in what you hope is relief
>”Oh! Good, I was a little afraid to hear that you hated these, I spent so much time working on the matching sets with the models you’ll be presenting them with in Manehattan”
>”I am terribly sorry you find it a little uncomfortable, but the designs must remain as they are. As you said, it’ll only be for a week no?”
>Dodged a fucking bullet there
“Yeah, just a week. The show is coming up soon though right? Next month?”
>”Anon! It’s in exactly 28 days” she huffs
>Okay, maybe the bullet grazed you. She is very sensitive about … well everything, but her “masterpieces” especially so
>”And I do hope you’ll do nothing to risk your ability to perform, why it would be… The. Worst. THING!” she shouts
>Did you mention sensitive? Maybe dramatic is The. Most. ACCURATE!
>Oh Marshmallow drama, how she makes you laugh sometimes

“Don’t worry Rarity, I’ll be just fine. Light walking, plenty of fluids yadda yadda” you ramble off as you’ve finished dressing yourself in her little dressing room
>Like really little, you have to hunch yourself over to change
>”Please do. I certainly wouldn’t want anything to happen to my biggest springboard into the fashion world everrrrrrr~” she sing songs again
>She magics open the door for you only to reveal a multicolored pile of ponies standing by the door
>Most of them holding a hoof to their face
>Why are they h-
>RD: “BAHAHAHA! Oh are we in your way Sprrrrrringboard?” she asks rolling her ‘r’ in a mocked regal voice
>This breaks the rest of the ponies in front of you as Pinkie and Twilight burst out into laughter to join Rainbow Dicks, Fluttershy trembles in restrained laughter behind her mane
>”Yes yes, let’s all have a laugh at the expense of fashion!” says a very flustered Rarity from behind you
“Oh c’mon Rares, Ardee is just being an Ardouche” you say with a slightly forced laugh
>Defusing is just as important as breathing when it comes to being around Rarity as you’ve come to learn over these several months working with her
>”Hmm, yes. Well Ta-ta! Don’t strain yourself, can’t chance anything with our deadline so close!” she rambles out with a face still burning red
“Okay, By-“
>The door shuts in your face
>Okay, not literally, but pretty damn fast
>Meh, she is a pretty busy mare, and you were still only getting the ropes of fashion making
>Or maybe Twilight and everyone needs something from her, the elements tend to get called off to some disaster just about every week it feels like
>Making your way towards ponyville square gives you some time on what to do now
>A grumble of your stomach helps make that decision for you. Food time!
>Wait, fuck. Your Bitbag is in the dressing room.

>You’re about to knock on the boutique you’re all too familiar with when a certain fashionista begins speaking quite fiercely
>R: “Me and the human? HA! What would ever give you that impression?!”
>RD: “Oh I dunno, what could have springboarded those thoughts to me” she says with a  snicker
>R: “Please! He’s got no sense of class, or high society living, I know he continues to sneak hayburgers despite my insistence on his figure!” she huffs
>R: “Perhaps, Twilight Dear he’d be more suited to you no? Reading and burgers seem to be all you two are interested in” she asks, snark seeping behind every word
>T: “WHAT? Me?! No! I mean, he’s nice and all but, no. I-I couldn’t see myself and… no.” she says with a fluster
>RD ”Ha ha! Yeah, two losers together could cause some kind of nerd sinkhole in ponyville or something right Fluttershy?” she chirps before an “eep!” that usually accompanies an elbow to the yellow mare
>F: “Y-yeah. M-maybe” she mutters to the point that you could barely hear her
>P: “Hehehe, Yeah!” says pinkie cutting of fluttershy
>P: “And he’s such a boring ol goofy doofy! Are you sure you’re not interested Twilight?” she chides her purple friend
>”WHA- NO! I’m not boring I-"
>R: “Well!” Rarity, cutting of twilight this time
>R: “If you’re all ‘QUITE' done laughing at An- my …choice in fashion models then I do have some work to get-“
>She flung open the door with the kind of force only an extremly flustered unicorn could produce

>The door you were leaning against, stunned against
>Now you have five mares looking down at you, each with a shocked expression
>Well, everyone but Rainbow Dash who’s wearing a shit eating grin at this new discovery
“I-I-I, bits… dressing room, I was. I left them” you stammer out trying to hold back the tears
>You try
>You fail
>Your hands burn from the tumble onto gravel, but your eyes burn even more than that
>Scrambling backwards doesn’t gain you any distance from your mockers thanks to the loose gravel beneath you
>”Anon!?” Rarity finally manages some words
>Her voice only serves as another reminder of her words just a few moments ago
>It spurns you to finally find some footing and run
>Where? you don’t know
>You can barely think, flashes of everything you heard keep running through your mind
>”Loser"
>"Boring"
>”The human”
>”Fashion model”
>That’s all you were to her, an differently shaped moving mannequin
>Of course that’s all you were
>Why would anything be different here?
>Why would you think you had any chance?
>Your legs give out to weariness, the choked breaths you were taking could only get so much air to your now aching muscles
>You crumple down and sob, not even caring where you are
>To call it a sob is a disservice to your feelings
>But you have no words to describe this pain
>Once again everything you cared about is gone

>Some time passes
>Minutes?
>Hours?
>It doesn’t really matter much, not like anyone is missing you anyway
>Heh, maybe Rarity’s drama is rubbing off on you
>…Rarity.
>Though, having cried yourself dry does help you calm down somewhat
>Alright, let’s not focus on that right now
>Get up
>Your weak frame manages to bring you upward, that’s a start right?
>Now just dust off and…what?
>You can’t really feel anything right now
>You don’t really want anything right now
>Just being is a questionable state for you right now
“C’mon Anon. Don’t be such a bitch.” you mumble to yourself hoping to fool yourself into thinking someone is encouraging you
>You don’t fall for your pathetic ruse
>Thankfully, once again your stomach reminds you of your original goal
“heh. Seems like you’re my only bro through both worlds eh?”
>The ruse fails a second time, but your feet take you in the direction of the markets
>As you approach the familiar markets and the scent of food hits your nostrils the realization dawns on you why you went back to the boutique
>Great, now you’re pathetic and broke
>God you’re such a-
>”Ahnon!”
>A voice so southern you could deep fry it calls out to you, breaking your chain of thoughts
>You walk over to the source and find a familiar orange pone sporting Big Mac’s yoke which effectively tethers her to the cart of apples she’s hauling
>As you close the gap you see that she’s not hauling so much as she is inching along the path

>”Hoo-wee am I glad to see you Anon!” she says slightly out of breath
>”Mac done went and got himself stupid on Berry Punch’s newest brew, so he’s a little out of commission.” she says while wiping sweat from her brow
>”Do you mind helpi-“ she cuts herself off when she actually looks up at you
>”By the stars Anon what happened to you?!” she asks
>Her reaction makes you wince somewhat, but you recover quickly as you think of an excuse to give her
>”I, just had a rough night yesterday…” you respond while looking away, hand instinctively scratching behind your head
>She doesn’t say anything for a minute, just holds her gaze on you
>Idiot. Lying to the element of honesty? Really? No wonder you’re such a loser
>She breaks the silence with a small chuckle, ”heh, well you look as bad as Mac did this morning.” she replies, “At least you could manage to be up and about”
>She gives you a small smile
>You doubt highly you slipped the lie past her, but maybe she pities you enough to leave it alone
>Your stomach once again makes itself known to you and the farmer mare
>”Tell you what, help me with this cart and you can help yourself to as many apples as you’d like along the way” she chirps while motioning her head back to the cart
>”I’ll even give you half of what would’ve been Mac’s pay were he not such a dummy” she huffs
>Like you had anything better to do right? Besides, food and money are the two things you’re really lacking in right now
“Yeah. Thanks Applejack” you say with as normal a voice as you can muster
>You settled in behind her and pull the rods up with both hands, you don’t really feel like you’re doing much, but the cart seems to move a little faster than before

>Occasionally you both stop so you can grab an apple, only to be corrected by Applejack to "get the right apple” and so she can recover from the yoke she’s not built to wear
>You both travel mostly in silence, which you’re grateful for since the labor allows you to distract yourself from what happened earlier today
>Oh man, don’t get back to that now-
>”Alright! We’re here! Can’t wait to get this darned thing off of me” cheers the orange mare in front of you
>”We’ll pull in over to the barn sugarcube” she says motioning slightly with her head to the open barn
>”Then I can get your pay and you can head on back, and if you’d take my advice, head off to bed.” she says with a little concern
>You both pull the cart over to the barn, all the way forcing yourself to keep from thinking “Yeah, so you can get me out of your face?” “Am I only good for farm work like I was for modeling?”
>The tears try to make their way out again, but thankfully you must have sweat out all the liquid in your body
>”Howdy sis, Anon!” chirps a southern voice from behind you, as Applejack is getting herself free from the yoke
>The distraction gives you enough purchase to don a mask that looks somewhat less depressed
>You hope anyway
“Hey-“ you stop to clear your throat from the shakiness “Hey Applebloom”
>”Hey little sis,” Applejack chirps back which thankfully drones out your pathetic greeting, “Finish your homework yet” she continues with an instantly stern voice
>Applebloom jumps a little at her sister’s harshness then quickly looks away
>”Well, I did...” she says softly, “mostly.” she finishes and droops her head lower
>”Well I’m sure Anon here appreciates your greeting, but it’s getting late so you should get back and finish” she responds and gently pulls up the filly’s head
>”I can’t though!” she whines “Its fractions! I just don’t get them!”
>Her response brings a wave of deja vu with it, and before you realize what you’ve said
“I can probably help her” you’d already said it

>An hour or so passed
>Memories of helping your own sister with fractions flooded back
>Filly frustrations were had
>Answers were erased
>Explanations were given
>Demonstrations with apples were used
>Those same apples were eaten
>And finally…
>”It’s one eighth right?”
“mmmmmm…” you hmm to yourself while putting on your most serious scrutinizing face
>She’s now biting her lip in anticipation
>A simple nod is all you give, but it’s enough
>”YYYYYYES!” “Oh and that one is six twelfths!” she chirps
“Bu-“ you attempt to correct her only to be cut off
>”But it simplifies down to one half!” she shouts having finally attained the knowledge of adding and subtracting fractions
>You can’t help but chuckle at her little dance of victory
>Neither can Applejack apparently
>”I can’t believe I didn’t understand it before! It’s so easy now!” she says after being  told to “settle down” by her big sister
>”Maybe I can get my cutie mark in fractions?! I’ll be able to split things any which way and know exactly by how much!”
>One relic from your old life comes to mind, and a Revengance-ing filly is a scary thought
>Though the cutie mark thing is a little different, the sense of pride you feel is very similar to the one you had helping your sister
>It brings a smile back to your face, the muscles pulling themselves in that way feels a little foreign to you
>But you’re alm-
>”Anonymous! Are you in there?!” shouts a familiar refined voice from outside
>And quickly does your face retract to it’s forced stoic form as you scramble to the door

>”Shoot Anon, what’s got you in a fluster?” asks the orange mare who was too busy preparing dinner to hear her friend’s call
“I-I-I gotta go. Left my oven on! J-j-just being a-…I have to leave, sorry!” You stammer out
>You slip out of Applejack’s grasp and keep stammering over her requests to stay and eat dinner or to get your bits
>You slip out through the side of the barn, which thankfully a certain white mare didn’t catch as she made it to the front door, and take off back to your home with the setting sun lighting your way

>Be Fruit hoers
>That Anon is a strange one
>How he managed to worry about a wood burning stove is beyond you, but maybe its a human thing
>After how helpful he was with he cart and Aplebloom you wanted to offer him dinner and Mac’s full pay
>He was really glum earlier, but you’ve seen that face enough to know there’s no use digging deeper about it
>You were about to run out to catch up to him now that you counted up the bits, but a knock at the door puts that plan on halt
>Opening the door reveals a very flustered looking white unicorn
“Howdy Rarity, y’all don’t look too good” you greet her with concern in your voice
>She winces a bit at your statement
>Maybe you’re a little too honest sometimes
> She sighs and seems to collect herself a bit before responding, ”I’ve been better. Have you seen Anon...ymous?”
>Hmm, seems like you might have a better clue about the resident alien
>”I heard from Carrot Top that he was helping you earlier today and I desperately need to speak with him” she continues, and attempts to slyly look past you into your home

“Y’all sure are in a hurry to see him eh Rarity?”
>”Yes, Please applejack it is of the utmost importance!” she huffs while abandoning any attempt to be sly about looking behind you
>It’s not unusual for Rarity to lose sense of her emotions when she’s stressed, but she rarely gets hissy with you
“Mind if I ask what it’s regarding? you ask, speaking slowly to keep her occupied
>There’s clearly something up between them that had Anon all spooked, you may not know him well, but you know a wounded animal when you see them, and Anon was mighty hurt earlier
>She sighs forcefully before responding “Yes, actually. It’s a very private matter and I would very much like to know where he is please”
“Haven’t seen him for a bit” you reply curtly, which is technically true
>”He helped me get the apples I didn’t sell back here and left afterwards”
>There may have been some happenings between these two events, but it’d only be information she’s not interested in right?
>”Why didn’t you say so sooner?!” she huffs again, “Now it’s dark out and I don’t have the time to keep looking and ARRRGH!” she whines before throwing out a particularly loud groan
“I was trying to tell you, but with all your huffing and puffing I didn’t get the chance, sorry I couldn’t help sugarcube!” you shout to the mare that’s stomping her way back to her boutique
>Still technically true, her frustration was really putting you off about the whole thing, and since she wouldn’t give you and answer and with how late it is, there may only be onepony who could tell you
“I’m heading back to town to bring Anon his pay!” you shout into the house to let everypony else know where you’re heading
>”Wait!” shouts your sister from somewhere in her room, “here, caff you giff hi thi fr mmm” she says holding a sheet of paper out to you
>It’s a drawing of herself with a "1/4" on her flank and “Thank You” spread out at the top
“I’ll make sure he gets it” you respond giving her a slight nuzzle before heading out to Anon’s

>The walk isn't too far
>At least it isn’t if you’re heading in the right direction
>The last time you were at Anon’s house was the housewarming party Pinkie threw for him
>You’re a busy mare having to run the farm with your family, sometimes even with all of you working it’s not enough
>Days like those make you miss your parents
>You shake the thoughts from your head and get yourself back on track
>Then there’s the element business, seems like every week there’s some danger to all of Equestria, or some ancient evil awakens or whatever
>Your eyes roll as far back as you can make them
>All of it keeps you from running the farm as well as you could... but without you there’d be no farm to run eh?
>All you can do is chuckle at the situation
>Anon was usually busy as well, working with Rarity mostly
>She was overjoyed that his kind all wear clothes so she was pestering him as much as Twilight was
>After everything got settled, he was given a house by the princess that was sized for him
>It’s a little bigger than the usual houses around Ponyville, which is why it was moved out further from town
>You finally come across it and thank your memory for leading you to it
>Bag with bits, and Bloomy’s drawing, in mouth you knock on the door
>Your response is nothing
“Hrm, You can’t be asleep so soon can you? you mumble to yourself so you don’t drop the bag
>You’re about to knock again when you hear his voice in the back

>You make your way over to the back of his home
>As you get closer his voice becomes more clear
>As do some thrumming sounds
>You see a fence surrounding the area behind his house
>It’s about twice as tall as you are
>Must be sized for him
>It’s certainly new
>Or well, newer than when you visited him last
>There’s gaps in the fence, wide enough for you to look through
>You see Anon sitting down and leaned against a tree
>He’s got what looks like a cello in his hands, but it certainly don’t sound like any cello you’re ever heard
>It’s lighter and raspy?
>Music never was your strong suit
>He’s sliding his hand along the neck and swinging the other up and down
>The tone coming from his cello stops you from calling out to him
>It’s slow and sweeping
>He just keeps repeating the same sounds
>His head bobs a little to the rhythm he’s making as he keeps repeating
>Even in the shadow of the tree you can see the pained look in his face from earlier
>Your heart feels kind of heavy just hearing him
>Seeing him play in the dark
>The rest of you starts feeling a little heavy
>And when he starts to sing you just sit and perk your ears to hear him as best as you can
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uKPFBr_Nqc

>The only company you two have are the moon and crickets
>It seems like they too are captivated as they stop chirping
>His voice breaks when he sings out the word “cry”
>You see the shimmer of tears stream down his face despite the shadow’s best attempts to hide it
>He trembles and chokes the words “I’m a friend”
>Then he’s unable to keep playing, despite his best efforts
>And now he’s curled up his knees to his chest with his cello laying beside him
“A~a~anon?” you whimper out with a shaky voice
>You hadn’t realized you were crying, but the cool feeling of moisture on your face now dawns on you

>Be…pathetic
>You couldn’t even face Rarity
>When given the choice, you ran
>They were right. You are a lo-
>”A~a~anon?”
>A voice calls out to you
>A soft one
>Did you even he-
>Two thumps to your fence assure you that you did hear someone
>You slowly unfurl yourself and try your hardest to bring your breathing back to normal
>It doesn’t work very well, but at this point you hardly care
>A quick wipe from the sleeve of your shirt clear your view enough for you to walk over to the source of the voice
>Looking over the fence you spy Applejack
>Eyes are red and puffy with damp spots below them, but she’s giving you  sheepish smile
>”I wanted to give you your pay, and Applebloom had something for you too, but I heard your playing when I got close and… can we talk Anonymous?” she asks, gradually working the sobs out

>You both return to sit by the tree in your backyard, the cool night air being tolerable enough for both of you
>She doesn’t say anything for a moment, but eventually asks the question you were expecting hours ago
>”What happened to you sugarcube?” she asks softly, as if asking normally would break you
>To be honest it might have, and the “sugarcube” certainly helps your shitty mood
>You take a deep breath to steady yourself before you begin explaining what happened

>”Is that so?” she asks, venom dripping from every word
“Yeah, that’s about everything that led me to helping you with the cart” you mumble
>You said everything as well as you could remember it, despite how painful it was
>”Well I think a few friends of mine need to have a good ol’ fashioned talking to” she growls, mostly to herself, but you’re so close that you heard everything
“No, Applejack don’t-“
>”Don’t what?! Scold them for being terrible friends? I can’t believe they would say those kinds of things abut you. Rarity especially!”
“They weren’t terrible friends” you say, finding some strength in your voice, “Most of what they said isn’t even that bad”
>She huffs and is about to add more before you cut her off
“Look, I’m just being mopey is all. It’s tough to explain, but I’m going to try so hear me out okay?” you ask, turning to finally look her in the eyes
>There’s a fire in them, protective looking? But she gives you a nod and huffs one more time
“I lost everything.” you state blankly
>She stiffens somewhat at your statement, but doesn’t speak
“My mom, my dad, my little sister, my friends, my job, home, car, computer” you stop yourself from just listing everything and continue, “Everything. In one fell swoop, everything I knew was taken from me and I was here. With just the clothes on my back”

“Do you know what that’s like Applejack” you ask trying to stifle the sobs that are working their way up your throat
>A look to the orange mare reveals her hat, she slumped and looking straight down. You take her silence as a “no” and continue
“I guess I just ‘sucked it up and dealt’”
>you manage a chuckle as you imagined your father telling you that after you fell off your bike. He never said it maliciously, it was just his way of comforting you
“It’s what I’ve always done when things got hard, and eventually this place wasn’t so bad. The magic is cool, and it’s sort of like going back in time from my perspective” you say to your companion with a more solid voice
>And now you’re going to get all shaky again eh?
“But I miss my family, my friends, all the time.” you pause to try to keep yourself in check “Rarity was really great when I got here, she was so kind and interested in me when I told her I have to wear clothes all the time and… I guess you can see where I’m going with this”
>Her hat bobs up and down, but she says nothing
“She didn’t have to like me Applejack, none of you did I guess. I’m a freaky monkey alien from another world, I don’t know what I’d do in your shoe-er. Hoofs.”
>She chuckles a bit at your slip up
“But I thought there was at least a companionship of some kind, I didn’t think I was no better than a mannequin. That hurt. Like that really hurt. I’m sorry for skipping out on you earlier I just, I don’t think I could have ‘dealt’ this time”
>She sticks to her agreement and doesn’t say a word
>You sobs start working their way through as you explain how you feel to the farmer mare beside you, but you power through the last of what you wanted to say
“So the one thing I thought I had going in this world, a true friend, It was just a sham. I was sprawled out on the ground in front of all of them, in front of her, and I had just lost everything again”

>The words were forced out between growing sobs and you have to stop again to steady your breathing, which gets harder each tie you have to do it
“But it’s just me overreacting I think” you mumble loud enough for her to still hear you “It’s not the end of the world… this time anyway. Just a dumb human and his dumb feelings I guess, the others didn’t even say anything that bad or that wasn’t exactly false. So don’t take it out on them, I just need some time to get over all of this”
>You finish with a deep sigh and hope you’ve ceased the farmer’s desire to rampage
>Crickets are the only sounds for a time as you both sit there, the air feels heavy to you, despite how cool it is
>She sighs and tilts her head up, but doesn’t look up at you
>”I think I kinda know what you’re on about Anon” she speaks slowly, almost restrained
>”When I lost my folks…it was the hardest thing I’d ever had the displeasure of going through” she says with a whimper in her last word
>”I had Granny and Mac to rely on, Bloomy was still too young, but in a way I could rely on her too. I just can’t imagine losing everything like you did, your whole world”
>She looks up at you, as if to see if you’re still listening, her green eyes shimmer with tears coating their surface
>”You said it when you were addressing the Princesses, but you never said how big a deal it was. I’m sorry for being such a darn fool to not notice it”
“App-“
>”Hold on there, let me say what I’ve got to say too partner” she interrupts you and holds a hoof up at you to emphasize it
>”No matter what you think you’re owed, it’s still mighty unfriendly of me to have just let you be knowing how much you had lost” she continues
>”Oh, speaking of what you’re owed…” she pauses and pulls up a bag, which she then holds up to you
>You take it and hear the tell-tale sound of coins, but also the sounds of paper scratching the bag

>You open it and take the paper out and unfold it to find a drawing
>The dark obscures it somewhat, but it’s a doodle of Applebloom and what looks like a fraction where a cutie mark would be, with “Thank You” written over the top
>Now you’re fighting back sobs of joy
>”She didn’t get the chance to say thanks after your departure” she says while you’re looking over the drawing
>”I think you’re right about the others, they didn’t say anything they haven’t said to each other before…” she pauses “don’t mean I’m not gonna give each of them a bonk for being rude though” she says with a light chuckle
>”Rarity on the other hand is the worst in all of this” she says, the venom seeping back into her words
>She holds her hoof up again to stop you as you were about to talk her down
>”She’s spent the most time with you, and she must have taken a generous helping of stupid for her to say things like that about you” she stomps the ground with a hoof at the word “stupid”
>She, like you did, takes a deep breath once she’s done and the crickets once again fill the silence for a time
>You don’t know what do to do now
>Speak? you really don’t know what to say
>Offer her a drink or something?
>You’re a terrible host, m-
>”So is what you sang true?” she asks you, looking up at you with curiosity taking over the anger that was just in them
>”About death? A lover’s final breath? Who was your friend? They must’ve been a good friend to be there for you huh?”
>She whips out one question after the other, barely pausing between each
>What is she ta-
>Oh.
“That’s right. most of your songs are about things that are happening, or have happened aren’t they?”

>She looks confused now with expression that reads “Of course they do, don’t all songs?” is very clear to you even in the shadow
“Well, I guess some of that song is true. Not the lover’s part, or anything but… music in my world doesn’t exactly do the same things”
>Her confusion only grows at your half-assed answer
“In my world some songs are about what happened, some songs are intended to convey and emotion or feeling like joy, energy, lust, and sadness” you say while motioning to the guitar, hoping she gets your meaning
“And some songs are just sounds, or they don’t have a purpose really, other than just being music I guess.” you end your human music theorizing with a shrug
>”So your cello playing and singing wasn’t from your past?” she says with a little more certainty
“Cello?” you ask with a quizzical look between her and the guitar
>It doesn’t even sound like a cello, nor does it really look like… oh! right, they’re little horses of course this thing would be like a huge stringed instrument
“That’s actually what guitars are like from my world, you know, it’s one seed for me” you say motioning to your tall figure “I had a unicorn make it for me. Lyra was her name I think, she didn’t really charge me much for it but she did ask me to play for her once she finished it”
>Applejack just nods in understanding
“And to answer your question, it wasn’t from my life experience or anything, I just played a song I remembered that was somber because I wanted to feel sad. It’s weird maybe, but I don’t like to cancel out sad with happy or anything. I want to feel the whole emotion out until it’s run it’s course and music was a great way for me to do that back home”
>She starts to say something before you cut her off

“It’s kind of funny y’know? I used music as a means to escape from my world, and now that I’m away from it, it’s one of the anchors I have to go back.” you chuckle slightly and reach over to set the guitar back in your lap and idly stroke a few notes
>Applejack’s ears twitch and seemingly focus on your playing
“Y’know I think I’ve already kind of run through my sadness I think” you say with relief washing over you as you continue plucking along to no song in particular
“I forgot how much I loved playing music. I didn’t actually play it much after Lyra built this for me. Things got really busy at the boutique and I-“ you pause when you realize where your memory is taking you
“Okay, maybe I’m not quite there yet, but I do feel a lot better. and I guess I have you to thank for that Applejack” you say looking at your lone audience who jumps a bit at your mention
>”W-w-well I’m glad I could help you Anon and If you think you’re up for it, I’d love to have you over for dinner seeing as you skipped out on this one” she says after collecting herself quickly
“Yeah, I’d like that” you respond before you even process her question
>”Well alright then! Best bring an empty stomach tomorrow, you’re getting the apple family special!” she chirps
>You walk her to the fence gate and bid her a good night
>She passes through it and turns around to bid you the same
>You grab your guitar and pause before going back inside
>Deciding that you’re not tired just yet, and that you still feel a little spiteful for not getting in Rarity’s face earlier you sit back down and start strumming

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idcXJsPPcC0
>Little do you know a certain orange mare is seated at the spot where your fence meets your house
>A mare who had stopped walking home when she heard the only human in Equestria playing his guitar
>A mare that was entranced by your playing earlier
>A mare that’s stifling her laughter at the lyrics that come out of your pseudo-angry singing while also bobbing along to the beat
>No you don’t notice any of those things because you’re wrapped up in memories of exes you liked or loved
>The feeling of “Yeah that’s what I would’ve said!” flows through you and that sense of normalcy in this magic horse world brings a smile to your face as you end the song