A Change of Fate?

Red took a pencil and looked at a canvas. It's been a long time since he's made any kind of artwork. From what he remembered, he was pretty decent. Shy said to draw the first thing to come to mind. After thinking for a minute, he let his hoof take control and artwork began to form.

There wasn't too much thought being put into it. His hoof was going with the flow of what came to his mind. Eventually, his art was finished. He wasn't exactly pleased with his result.

The quality of the drawing wasn't too bad, but it was the drawing itself that bothered him. When Red finished and looked at it, he saw that he replicated his home. His farm house with the large corn fields. He ripped the paper off and started again. Hopefully the next thing wont be that farm, and something he actually wanted to see.

When Red started over, he drew ponies. Three of them, together. Two in the background, and one sitting in front of them. One of the background ponies had a very angelic and sweet appearance, and the one standing next to it looked like a cruel demon. In front of them, was a teenage stallion with a worried expression, looking up to the sky. He then found out, he drew his family...

Apple stared at the picture knowing that it was his family from the beauty of the mare... She had never met his family but she felt like she knew them. She looked at Red then Shy,Apple mouthed to Shy " What do we do?" Trying not to upset anypony she remained silent

Shy finished up his drawing. An orange mare with short hair. He still needed to get thoughts of her away. He knew it was just a chemical debuff, but he'd be damned if it wasn't annoying seeing her in his thoughts. Usually her just looking at him. Not in a hating way, not in a liking way. Just neutral. Still, he couldn't keep moping over her. He didn't do much normally but he was pretty much bone idle when romance is thrown into the equation.

He looked to Red's drawing. Somepony has daddy issues. Then he noticed the mare mouthing at him. He mouthed back 'zip it' and kept his attention on Red.

"Well, the artwork ain't bad for a first timer. I'm not going to ask about the picture itself- that's a part of your soul, aka none of my beeswax. Now that you've sketched it, I'm gonna give you a choice. We can work on colouring it in or we can move on to something else. Your choice."

Shy walked over to the cupboard and took out a bit of bread. He ate a bit if it, idly waiting for Red's answer.

Red Harvest kept observing his painting. His eyes entirely locked on it. He pretty much made his family portrait. It came from his soul, and that's what art is about. He just wished his soul was a bit more positive right now, like it usually was.

Red snapped out of his trance when Shy began talking to him and looked over to what he drew. A short haired mare? He was going to question it, then he remembered Shy didn't question his. SO he decided to keep hsi mouth shut about it.

"I think I'd like to go with coloring."

Apple did what she was told or mouthed. She just sat on Shy's bed, read, and stayed silent. She was reading about Red's ancestors. His mom's side wasn't so bad but his father's side... She watched Red finish his masterpiece. It was really cool in her opinion but,it was her opinion not Shy's or Red's so she stayed silent.

Shy nodded. This was a sign- if he had gone onto something else, that would have showed that Red was afraid of whatever it was that this was a picture of. Presumably his family. However, wanting to colour it showed that he wanted to look deeper into it, rather than hide from it. Shy found this rather interesting to watch- understanding the common pony's head.

"Right then. First, I can't be arsed to put rags down so we'll just use pencils. The trick here is not to colour what it would look like realistically- that kills the whole point of the picture. We're producing a visual representation of your mind, so it needs to be coloured in a more abstract way. This means you need to colour it in the way you would want it coloured."

With that, Shy gave Red a set of pencils of different colours. Shy himself started colouring the pony like he'd imagined them to be. When he was done, he showed it to Red.

"For example, this pony I'm drawing. In life, they were a different colour but here I've made them purple, a mixed colour of the frustration and sadness they're unintentionally putting me through. That's what I mean by painting it abstract."

Red took the colored pencils from Shy. Color it abstractly, huh? He looked at what Shy did for an example. He said the mare was a different color outside of the portrait. Interesting. He colored it how she was making him feel. Didn't sound like they had a pleasant time together. Maybe that was the guard he had heard about. That's not important right now.

Red began to color the three ponies. He started with the mare to the top left. He colored her a light blue, giving her a more innocent and angelic presence. After coloring her, he added a halo right above her head. Then he moved on to the stallion next to her.

When he saw him, he began to color in frustration. When he was done, he made him dark red with devil horns. A truly evil presence for that gentlecolt. The he moved to the colt sitting in front of them looking up.

Red colored that pony in gray. It was himself, and gray seemed like the best color for him right now. Scared. Confused. Worried. In wonder. When he was finished, he showed it to Shy and Apple. It was a decent drawing in quality, and it really gave off what he was feeling. This was one of the first ever times he was feeling so deep and emotional. He was always so used to being stuck in happy mode all day and night. The change was giving some positive effects, though.

Apple smiled and nodded at the picture, she finally decided she could talk.

"It looks amazing Red so does yours Shy."

She took a snack out of her saddle and ate it, making sure no crumbs hit the bed or floor.

Shy noticed the colouring on Red's drawing. So, anger at the father, sympathy for the mother. The question was, were these feelings of Red's justified? It was interesting to say the least. What was the story behind this pony? Something struck Shy. Think of all the stories behind these ponies. There were so many out there to see. He was simply looking at a window into Red's mind. He wondered if he could maybe get a course in psychology. His schoolwork wasn't that bad, and being a shrink would bring in some decent cash while still allowing him to work on his art.

He realised he'd zoned out and snapped back to reality.

"Well, again I'm not going to ask about it since it's a part of you. If you want to disclose it then do so. If not, bottle it up. Your choice. But either way, there's not much I can really teach you. At least as far as what I know. Stay for a bit if you fancy but I'm not much for company."

He went and got himself some chocolate from a little cabinet, thinking about the possibility of this psychology malarkey.

Red took the drawing he made and examined it even more. He knew exactly what it was, and why he did it. He just couldn't help but look at it. As if things could have been much better. Then again, he wouldn't be here learning how to be artistic and possibly get a great mare if not for what happened. At least there were some good effects.

Red sat down on the bed, thinking about whether or not he would talk about it. Bottling it up would save his, Shy's, and Apple's troubles. But that could lead to some nasty things to happen to him in the future. He looked to Shy, hoping he would listen.

"You don't mind if I tell you about my drawing, do you?"

Apple already heard the story of what happen to him but she didn't mind hearing it again. She smiled at Red giving him support. She got comfy on the bed just in case he wanted to tell more about what had happen.

((Sorry it's so short))

Shy raised an eyebrow at this. So this pony actually wanted to talk about what troubled him. At least he had a little bit of bravery if he was going to really look deep into his soul. Shy didn't need to look at what his was to know what was wrong. His hormones were going like crazy after he actually got some romance in with somepony. He wasn't precisely angry at Burning- he was just crashing from the chemical high.

Urgh. There it was again- that pang in his chest. He knew fine what it meant, but he wasn't going to heed it. Everypony leaves you eventually, no matter what. Shy never trusted anypony because he knew he'd just end up hurt.

Back to Red. Shy looked at the picture the colt had drawn. It wasn't exactly difficult to work it out, so Shy knew the story he was getting. Still, he didn't exactly have anything better to do and he might even be wrong and actually hear something interesting.

"Alright then. Let's hear it."

Red Harvest sighed, then looked at Shy. He already told him his story. About how he was abandoned by his parents, and didn't even have a dad. He just felt like explaining the portrait a bit more to him, and possibly Apple.

"Well, on the top left, the angelic mare, is my mom, Golden Harvest. She was the sweetest, kindest mare I've ever known. A lot like Apple, over there. Then next to her, the devil looking stallion, Rolling Stone. His name basically meant what he was. Although Jerk Who Ran Out On His Family fits much better. He cheated mares left and right, and my mom was the worst. She struggled to just take care of me, let alone the whole farm. I hate him... I hope I never have to see him..."

Red almost ripped the paper in half in anger, but he calmed himself and went back to explaining the picture.

"And there I am, at the bottom, grayed out. I'm gray because I'm confused with my destiny. I know my cutie mark says I'm destined for the farm, but I don't want to spend my entire life there. And, I guess, I want to see my parents again... Maybe bring my family back together... So, there you have it. That was the meaning of my picture. You don't have to tell me yours, if you don't want to."

Red laid back on the bed, holding his face in his hooves so neither of them could see his tears. He did have a visible future in art, but he was still confused. What was he supposed to do? Where did his parents go? When could see them? Why was he put in this situation? So many questions, and not enough answers...

Apple listened to the story then watched his emotions change from normal, to anger, to sadness. She sat a little closer to Red and put her hoof around him. She whispered to Red in her kindest, gentlest voice.

"It'll be okay Red don't worry..."

She smiled at him, hoping that her words would have an effect on this poor stallion's mood.

Shy just rolled his eyes at this. One little sob story and the kid's already in tears. Not his business. Anyway, he at least had the decency not to pry in on Shy's picture. He was pretty sure she'd got a coltfriend anyways.

Shy Looked over Red's picture, ignoring the crying. This kid couldn't even hide crying properly. However, his art was decent. It was certainly a good starting point for the budding artist. Shy turned to Red.

"Well, your art is decent. You'd sell that rather well. In fact, considering your age it might even get into an exhibition. Highly unlikely though. But as I said before, I can't really teach you much more than this stuff, and I'm not much for company so I think you should leave." He gritted his teeth at the next part."and....thanks for not asking about my picture."

Shy got himself another sandwich and looked out the window, thinking.

Red Harvest felt much more calm when Apple came to his side. She had the sweetest voice. If it weren't for her, Red would have either been constantly depressed, or mental. Maybe both. Red was just glad to have Shy and Apple help him.

"Thanks for helping me out, Shy. You're a really nice pony for helping me with this. If there's anything you need, let me know. I guess I'll be going then. Goodbye."

Red took his drawing and trotted out of the hotel room. Shy was a really nice stallion. At least to Red he was. He could have just shoved him away and forgot about this whole mess. But he chose to help the poor colt out. Shy may be an isolated introvert, but Red thought he was a good stallion.

"So Apple, what should we do next?"

Apple smiled, thinking of what to do.

"Well, we can go get some paint and brushes. I have paper, and you can practice painting. If you want of course."

Apple looked at the sunset, how long had they been at Shy's? Oh well, the sunset is just wonderful and so is the night when the place seemed to be amazing.

"After we get your matierials we can go watch the sunset, maybe camp on a hill? I have a tent and sleeping bags too."

Shy watched them leave. Thank Celestia, he could now be alone. The burning high was starting to subside somewhat, and he'd already figured out his romantic ideas- steer the hell away until he finds somepony he really liked.

Yet, as he saw Red and that mare walk away Shy felt a mild pang of jealousy. They had something- you could tell from a country mile off. Shy nearly had it with Burning, but he'd decided it was best not to go ahead. Had he made the right decision? He'd come to the conclusion he was into stallions but both instances he made advances on either gender was when he was in severe confusion or distress, so he really didn't have a clue.

However, she did have different ideas and personality traits to Shy, so maybe they weren't compatible anyway. And as he mentioned before, she'd apparently found somepony else. Wait, why in the hay was he even thinking about whether he should have gone out with her? No point in it anyway now that it was done.

Then again, he wasn't even sure how he'd approach somepony if he liked them. He wasn't very noticeable, he was pretty quiet and mostly tried to keep away from other ponies. He rubbed his eyes- this was all too confusing. He decided not to think about it- bring it to mind if he ever found somepony he liked. Which was about as likely as him turning back the tides with a magic python.

He lay down again, waiting for his hormones to get their act together.

(Out of le RP)

Red Harvest and Apple Orcherd were now out of the hotel. It was getting pretty late. How did they stay there that long? He could have spent that time in worse places. Red listened to Apple's ideas with her gentle and soothing voice.

"Sounds great Apple. You wouldn't happen to have any paint or brushes around your house too, do you? It's okay if you don't I have enough bits to buy some."

Red awaited her answer while looking at the sunset. If only they were at a more romantic setting, like how Apple suggested. Ah, young love...

"No, sorry, we can go buy some. I also have bits you know."

Apple smiled, it was cute, the way Red acted. He's so sweet and caring... Apple almost fell for somepony like him but the stallion broke her heart when he found out that she was still a blank flank. She started tearing up but blinked and came back to reality. She looked at Red in the eyes she could see his past just in his eyes and then saw hers n the reflection of her own eyes.

"Shall we be going?"

Red Harvest was a bit saddened to hear she didn't have the materials. Oh well, they both had money. And each other. Red looked at Apple to see her tearing up for a second and gazing into his eyes. Red soon found himself doing the same.

When he looked in her eyes, Red saw himself and their future. A truly loving couple. Red had no idea how sweet and caring he was before he met Apple. He knew he was, just not to a big degree. He could also see mystery in her eyes. Red had told her his life story, twice. He has yet to hear much about Apple. Still gazing into her eyes, he responded to her question.

"Sure. Want me to lead the way?" Then Red thought for a second. "You know, you haven't told me much about yourself. If it's no bother, mind telling me some stuff about you while we walk?"

Apple didn't talk for a minute or so...

"Red, you must not tell a soul. You know how I'm my parent's little ball of disappointment because of my blank flank. Well, I tried my best to get it. To make the happy. It never worked even though I found stuff I was good at, I wasn't good enough. My father use to cradle me in his hooves to calm me down... Eventually I gave up, on everything. Cutie Mark, sleeping, even eating... T-that's why they left."

She hid her tears by blinking a few times.

"I miss them so much Red, I just want them to come home and say their proud of me"

Her voice cracked a lot and she was on the verge of tears until she realized what they had to do. She concentrated on buying the stuff and only that on the way to the store.

Red listened very closely to her story. Her parents left too? All because of a Cutie Mark? What kind of parents would do that? Before he could respond to her, they were at the store. Red trotted around the sop, gathered some brushes, paints, and papers, paid, then trotted back out with Apple.

As soon as they left the shop, Red turned to Apple, crying. He felt bad for her. Red pulled her close and hugged her.

"I'm so sorry for you... I never thought a mare like you could ever have that problem... If it makes you feel better, know that I'll be there for you. Cutie Mark or not."

Red couldn't help himself. He leaned in towards Apple and kissed her. It felt fantastic. He had never kissed a pony before. He loved it! And he loved Apple Orcherd.

Apple watched as Red leaned in. When he kissed her it was like magic, she was shocked at first and blushing furiously, but she kissed him back, her arms were around his neck. she pulled away and gasped for air. She smiled at Red still blushing.

"Well then, we should go camping now, huh?"

She kissed him on his muzzle and started heading to her favorite camping spot where you get a beautiful view of the sun and moon.

Seems like Apple enjoyed the kiss as well. Good thing she did. Would have been seriously awkward if Apple didn't like him back. Red never thought he would find a mare, especially at this young.

"Sure, let's go! I guess we'll need to stop by your house for the camping stuff?"