//------------------------------// // Introduction // Story: The Big Apple // by Womboman666 //------------------------------// Did I think it'd end up here? Probably not. Did I think I'd be this deep into my friend's problem. Ha, never knew she would've had one first meeting her. But yet here I am a different pony I was only a few short months ago. I guess the city really does change you. I guess I should back this story up to those months when I was leaving my quiet hum-drum town. It was a nice place, filled with the kindest ponies who were always happy and willing to lend a hoof. It's where I was born and raised from the time I was a filly to the stallion I am today. Well, actually a few months ago. It was a year after graduating high-school and I had had enough of doing the same thing over and over again. Wake up Eat Breakfast Hang out in my room Hang out with friends Eat Lunch Hang out with friends some more Do a bowl with friends Eat Dinner Go to my room and listen to music until I fell asleep Repeat It was fun for the first couple of weeks but doing the same thing had lost it's charm, the days started to blur together and it was like a dream. I got a job washing dishes at a restaurant called Greysolon. My dad knew the owner and he was tired of me taking up space in his house without doing something for the community. It was either school or work and I chose the latter. The bossman couldn't wait to start me out. I came in looking like a bum because my sleep schedule was so messed up. I went to the back and met him, he seemed okay for a boss but as we went around he couldn't help but make fun of me and my appearance. “What's with your mane son?” “What do you mean?” “You look strange with your mane so long and what is that I see? Red dye? You dyed your mane?” he investigated my being fully “What the hell kid? Even your tail? You must be one of those emo kids I see lurking around Ponyville, with your manes in your face" I didn't really know how to react. It was either quietly take it, or punch him and bolt then face my dad. It took a lot of will power to not knock him in his stupid face. “I'm only giving you crap, you silent sissy, you think you can handle this job?” I only smiled and nodded my head when he asked me. I still wanted to punch him. He kept showing me more of Greysolon and when we were done there was something he said that really made me think. “Hey kid in a couple of years you may just move up to head dishwasher.” then he laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. I managed to let out a chuckle even though I wanted to punch him in the face for looking so dumb. Me and him didn't get along. I was in a zombie like state for the next five months, time seemed to go by and life didn't make sense anymore. Of course this changed my usual schedule that I had going on. Wake up Eat Breakfast Hang out in my room Eat Lunch Go to work Eat Dinner Go home Stay up for another hour Pass out Repeat It was draining on my relationship with friends, they continued doing what they were doing, some of them went to Fillydalphiea to get an education, a few others got into heavier drugs and became lost, and others just didn't want to hang out anymore. The only real friend I had left was Emberfall but she moved to Manehatten to pursue her art career a month after high-school ended. She was the closest friend I had ever since pre-school we've always close. People always thought we were more than friends and whenever they asked we both looked at each other and laughed, it was funny, we couldn't be anything more if we tried. As we grew up other ponies became friends and then left, but no matter what we were always tight. When she left, I think a part of me left with her. But I'm sure it was only the drain of doing nothing for long catching up with me. Either way, it sucked, but we're keeping in contact so there's at least something So, a few months after working at the ol' Greysolon and putting up with more the of the bossman's crap plus everyone else's for being a lowly dishwasher I needed something other than a bag full of sunshine to get through this. No, not that. I was talking about music, I loved listening to it but that wasn't really enough for me. I wanted to create music, I was able to drum but nopony else knew how to play an instrument to go along with it and if they did they were drowned out by even the closed high-hat and muted snare. I stopped doing it for a few years, but one of my old friends sent me something on YouTube and it was really cool. He called it dubstep and since then I've been listening to it non-stop. I've even drummed along with some of it adding my own little twist on it to make it more interesting. It was really cool. I especially enjoyed this one artist called DJ-Pon3. However she made it sound the way she did was beyond me. It was just so cool and I felt like doing it myself. So I saved up the bits I was making down at Greysolon and pooled that together with graduation bits and bought my own stuff to make it happen. I bought a decent computer and installed a few different programs and even bought a mic to throw in whatever I felt like. I was ecstatic, I began work on writing something it didn't matter what. But by the time I was done with what I created it sounded like complete crap. Probably because I had stayed up until three in the morning to try and come up with the best song I could. I think I shouldn't have tossed in every single sound effect in it but whatever. A couple months go by and I get a call from Ember. “Hey Thunder! How's it going?” “Haha, just fine, you sound really happy.” “Well I am! Wanna guess why?” “Sure” “You have to guess dork.” “All right... You got a happy face on your art project.” “Haha, sort of.” “So I was sort of right.” “Haha, shutup and listen dork.” “Haha, okay. What is it?” “Well! My professor gave one of my pieces to this guy and he really liked it. Guess where he's from!” “You're right, I won't.” “Jeez you're no fun sometimes.” “Haha, where is he from?” “The Art Appreciation Ponity Center here in Manehatten!” “Wow! What did he say?” “He thought they were the most beautiful and detailed pieces he's ever seen.” “That doesn't sound right.” “What? Why?” “Because you can even draw stick ponies.” “Haha, very funny jerk!” “Haha, I'm kidding” “I know.” She sighed, I could tell something wasn't exactly right “What else is new?” “Well... Even though I'm doing great with my art... It's nothing...” She was always a terrible liar “Come on, you can tell me. What's wrong?” She sighed again “Okay, I'll tell you.. I've been behind on rent for the past couple months and I don't know how I'll be able to come up with the bits. They cut my hours at the cafe I'm working at and I don't know how I can keep up with rent.” I didn't know what to say, not right away but I came up with this little diddy and said “Well.. Ember, we've been friends for a while so if you need some bits to pay rent I can send a check with your name on it, even if it's just a little.” “I couldn't accept your hard-earned bits.” “It's not a problem, you need it more than I do.” “I can't Thunder, you work your ass off at Greysolon and I can't do that.” “What other option do you have?” Silence, now was my time to make my point “Look, I live here with my parents and don't even have to pay rent, those bits would probably only go to something stupid that I would use once and then never again would I find interest in it. You should have them more than me.” I heard her try to say something but she stopped “You're working, you're going to college, and living on your own and right now oppurtunity is knocking on your door and you can't let something as stupid as rent take that away from you. I'll send what I can so that you can get your landlord off your back. Deal?” She was silent for a while “Ember? Please, it's the least I can do, it's your dream and I want to see you accomplish it.” I heard her sigh “Okay.. Send what you can and I'll use that for rent and only rent! I can take of everything else myself. You got that?” I couldn't help but laugh, she always did like being her own person “Of course, I'll send a check tomorrow all right?” “Okay.. Dork. Haha!” “Haha, thanks for that.” “Haha, anytime.” “All right well I'm tired Ember, I'm going to go to sleep.” “But it's only six o' clock in Ponyville.” “Yeah, tell me about it.” “Haha, you're weird you know that right?” “Haha, yeah you never fail to remind me.” “Hey Thunder...” “Yeah?” “Thanks.” I was caught off-guard by that one “Yeah, no problem.” “Talk to you later.” “Yeah, later” *click I turned to face my messy bed and jumped into it and slept the rest of the day away. Right before I went to sleep I had a thought. At the time it was nothing but the events that happened after that, I would've never thought, that my thought would turn into my reality.