//------------------------------// // Beginning... // Story: Meta Sketch // by JaninnaMaynz //------------------------------// Once upon a time... JK, seriously, though, this story starts with my Mom. Her name is Poly Sketch. She's a unicorn, and her special talent is drawing. She mostly does illustrations, but sometimes she'll delve into other things. She grew up in Ponyville, but when she was old enough, she moved to Canterlot. She opened a small art studio, and took commissions as well as selling other various pieces. With hard work and determination, she set up a place for herself in Canterlot, and she was extremely happy... for a while. Over time, she started to get lonely. There were plenty of stallions around, but she was a small town girl at heart, and all of those big city stallions just didn't seem to understand her on a level she felt necessary. Then, one day a new stallion came trotting into her studio, intrigued by the pieces on display out front. His name was Meta Break, and she immediately knew he was different. Largely because of his unique cutie mark. Like a broken wall with black behind it. You could look at it and know exactly what it meant- he was the type of pony to break walls. Whether they be physical, mental, or meta-physical (i.e. the 4th wall) so she immediately went up to ask him if he'd like a tour. Or so she says. He always said she took over half an hour to actually approach him. But that's beside the point. When he looked at her, he could tell she was different, too. Just not as obviously. "Uh... sure... that would be nice..." he told her, trying to figure out just how she was different. "Alright then! Um... my name is Poly Sketch, by the way..." she giggled. As he looked at her, she had the strangest urge to show him a side of her she hadn't displayed since she was a filly! It was still in there, deep down, but she never let anyone see it, lest they think that she was too immature to be on her own. "Oh! Um... my name is... uh... Meta Break...! Hehe..." he stuttered, clearly nervous, though the reason why was far from clear. "Nice to meet you... um... this way..." she told him, blushing as their eyes locked. Then, she realized, "Meta Break... like breaking the 4th wall?" "Uh... sort of... I'm more into the whole 'change' aspect. Breaking down barriers so that change can happen. I, uh... I've always liked the idea of being a diplomat, and well... cutie marks, you know... hehe..." he answered, clearly extremely nervous, though she had no idea why. Or maybe she did... "I, um... I'm just going to be blunt with you... or else we'll probably be super awkward for the rest of the day or something... um... do you... like me? Like, in any way, shape, or form? Like, possibly interested, but not sure how interested?" she finally blurted out. "I... uh... yeah, a little... honestly, more than anything I'd like to get to know you better. I'm good at spotting differences... ponies who don't quite fit in, and I can tell you're one of them, but I can't figure out how, and it's killing me." "Oh, really? Well, I would've thought the accent to be a dead give away!" she giggled. "... Well now I feel stupid." he said, face-hoofing. At that, she giggled and put a hoof around him, saying, "Well, everypony feels stupid sometimes. I bet even the Princesses have their moments!" "Hehe, yeah. I guess you're right... so, um... how about that tour?" "... I, um... don't have much to tour... what you see is pretty much what you get. Other than the back room, where I keep my WIPs and my snooze couch..." "Your snooze couch?" "Oh, um... sometimes I'll wind up staying late, working, and when I get tired, I'll just crash on the couch and sleep for a few hours. So, it's the couch where I do some snoozing, ergo, snooze couch..." "Huh... that actually makes a lot of sense..." he said after a moment, then, looking her up and down again, he continued, "You actually seem like a pretty down-to-earth pony... especially for a unicorn in Canterlot! What's up with that?" "Oh, well, um... I'm not actually from Canterlot, I'm from Ponyville. I moved to Canterlot a few years ago to try to become my own mare." "Oh, that's cool." he said softly, "Independence... woot." he teased. "Oh, haha, very funny, Mr-" dingalingaling "Oh, customers! I'll get back to you, but every bit counts in this business!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of course, the two of them eventually went on a date, and then another, and another. It wasn't until they'd been seeing one another for a month, however, that Meta learned just how different Poly was. "Oh my word, Meta, it was so weird! I mean, seriously, when I first used the bathroom this morning, it was yellow, but then, I used it a few hours later, hadn't had anything to drink, and it was clear! I'm telling you, it just doesn't make any sense!" "Um... Poly... why are you telling me this?" "Because it's weird, and- wait... oh... hehe... sorry... filter fail... I'm usually better about that..." she answered, clearly embarrassed, and suddenly seeming a bit nervous. "Poly? What's wrong? You can tell me. I swear I won't tell anypony if you don't want me to." he said to her, laying his hoof on hers. "Meta... I... I don't think like other ponies do. As a filly, all the other foals seemed to know exactly what was expected of them, without even being told, but... I didn't. I had to piece things together from what I was told, and half the time I still didn't have an answer. I have harder time focusing on things for long periods of time, which is why I'll work on one piece for 30 minutes and then turn to another piece, even if I'm almost done with the first one. It's the only way for me to keep working without getting constantly distracted by every little thing. I hate staring ponies in the eyes, though I can do it for a little bit if necessary. I just... I'm so different from everypony... sometimes I even talk about things that nopony wants to hear about! I just don't know what's wrong with me!" As she finished, she collapsed into him, letting him wrap his hooves around her protectively as they cuddled, though for comfort instead of the usual pleasure. "It's okay, Poly. There's nothing wrong with you. You are you, and there's nopony I'd rather you be." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "Meta?" she whispered, "I think I love you..." He looked down at her, smiled, and whispered back, "I think I love you, too..."