The changeling held a paintbrush with his hoof. In front of him was a blank canvas on the wall.
The room, with its wooden tiled floors and its simple yellow walls, was lit up by the soft lights, creating an atmosphere of artistic vision and creative future while a pony was tapping his hoof. "Can you hurry up already?! You don't even have paint! Where's your paint?!"
"This is what happens when I try to be creative!" the changeling yelled in exasperation, throwing his hooves up in the air as if he is giving up on the artistic pursuit of art. He walked away furiously from the canvas. "I need my time!"
"This is not your personal art room, Hexapod!" the pony shouted as he walked towards the despondent changeling. "Do you know how many changelings are outside, waiting for their ten minutes of painting in my grand museum?! Not to mention the number of ponies that are waiting, too!" He grabbed the changeling by the neck and pulled him closer. "Do you?!"
"Uh, probably?"
The pony threw him out the door.
"Out! And, next, please."
The pony smiled as he beckoned to the pony in front of the line who took a quick yet considerate glance at the changeling who was standing up from his injury.
The line was long, consisting of many ponies and several changelings. They were all wildly different—some looked prepared and expertly ready to engage in art, while others were apparently novices. With an array of different clothes, the ponies themselves looked artful. The changelings, too, were colorful—their bright colors, combined with their shiny carapaces, made them shimmer in the room, causing a few ponies to look at a changeling just to admire the shininess. There were even a few audible expressions of awe, with one pony saying "Ooh!"
Hexapod, unlike the ponies and the changelings in line who were quite happy as could be seen by their smiles, had a frown on his face as he slowly walked away from the door and towards the exit.
"Hexapod, Equestria is a grand land!" the blue changeling beside him told him as they sat on the grass. Beside them was a paved road with ponies walking towards the bustling city nearby. "Just because you got thrown out of one occupation—even if it was quite literally—you don't have to be so sad about it! Cheer up!"
"Well, Eucalypti," Hexapod said, "why cheer up now?" He sighed and looked at his friend seriously. "There's always going to be somepony who's going to reject me because I'm a changeling."
"That pony probably rejected you only because art might not be your talent," Eucalypti said, smiling as he talked.
"Now, it's like I'm a pony whenever you talk about that."
"Talent isn't unique to ponies. Only the cutie mark is. We already have some that are talented in art like Compound! Maybe not talented in paintings—he's talented in writing!"
"Well, give me an example of a changeling who is talented in painting, not writing," Hexapod said with a solemn voice.
"I don't know their exact names, but there are changelings who are good at painting!" Eucalypti looked at him. "Don't be so worrisome about everything, Hexapod! Like I said, Equestria is a grand land! There's plenty of things to try, plenty of jobs to join, plenty of, well, everything! Most of the ponies here are already quite accepting of us!"
Hexapod looked at his friend for a few moments. Then, he sighed. "Alright." He hovered over the grass. "But, what do you think I should do next?"
"We should try something simple enough," Eucalypti suggested. "Art is a complex thing—there's so many principles to remember and so many subjective things about art, but what if we just try selling some food or some drinks to the ponies? Like, maybe some apples from Sweet Apple Acres?"
"You mean the Sweet Apple Acres that's far away from where we are right now?" Hexapod said. "That's not a good idea, to be honest."
"What about if there are some members of the Apple family from this city?" Eucalypti said, flapping his wings and hovering beside his friend over the grass. "Trottingham is a good place for apples, am I right?!"
"Are there any apple farms in Trottingham?" Hexapod asked.
"We can always ask a local!"
Hexapod sighed. Then, he smiled. "I hope there is an apple farm, Eucalypti."
The two changelings took off towards the city of Trottingham.
"Get your ice cream here!" a pony yelled while ringing a bell with his hoof. He stood behind the ice cream cart that proudly advertised the wonderful flavors of his delicious—undeniably, delectably delicious—ice cream. Many of the younger ponies crowded up in front of the cart—there was no line at all. The parents of those ponies stood a few steps behind, with one stallion having a frown on his face as he watched his colt drop a bag of bits on to the counter.
Ponies walked on the sidewalks along with a few changelings as carriages filled the streets. Larger carriages, pulled by four stallions, held large groups of ponies, including the tourists who took lots of pictures with their cameras.
The two changelings stood near the ice cream cart. "So, there's an apple farm not that far from here," Eucalypti said. "We could ask any of the Apples there if we could try our hoof at selling some of their produce!"
A few pegasi flew above them, one of them shouting, "Hey, watch where you're going!"
Eucalypti looked at the group of pegasi that just flew above them. "And, if we could get to ask one of the pegasi here, they could lead us directly to the apple farm!"
Hexapod sighed again. "I hope you're right about this, Eucalypti. What if the Apples there don't accept me—"
"It's not about you being a changeling," Eucalypti told him. "They're not going to reject you for being a changeling, Hexapod. What I want you to do is to try and sell some apples and that's all. It cannot be that hard, right?"
Hexapod nodded. "I don't think it's that hard to sell apples. How hard can selling apples be?"
"Logically speaking," the Earth pony taught, "you should be selling apples in no time!"
The stallion grinned.
Eucalypti smiled.
Hexapod shuddered.
"So, Apple Cinnamon," Eucalupti said, raising a hoof, "that's all?"
"Yup! That's all!"
"Are you sure you're from here?" he asked, eyeing the pony with a suspicious look.
"Uh, no!" Apple Cinnamon replied. "I'm just here for a family visit! Around this time of the year, I go around Equestria to visit the many apple farms we have all over!"
"That's nice!" Eucalypti said.
"But, what about me selling apples?" Hexapod asked. "We're in the middle of a field of apple trees and I just want to get some baskets of apples and sell them! For some bits, yes, but also because I want to do something! I don't want to just rest and relax!"
"Ah, the changeling who sees rest and relaxation as more fulfilling after a day's work!" Apple Cinnamon said. "That should be enough to motivate you into the business!"
Hexapod sighed again.
Apple Cinnamon's smile faded away. "What's wrong? What's the matter?"
"Don't worry about him, Apple Cinnamon," Eucalypti said. "He's just awfully worried about ponies disliking just for being a changeling."
"You're worried about that?" the pony said. "Trottingham is full of ponies who would love to have a changeling as a friend! If they see a changeling selling apples, that would be a double good thing because, one, nopony has seen a changeling sell apples before and, two, a business conducted by a changeling is guaranteed to get some customers!"
Hexapod's frown faded away. He approached the pony. "Well, I trust you, Apple Cinnamon."
Eucalypti grinned.
"That's good!" Apple Cinnamon said. "Now, follow me! I'll show you where the baskets of apples are!"