//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Dysphoria // by Owlor //------------------------------// The earth pony shifted in her seat. On the other end of the table, a suited unicorn used his gift to flip the pages of a rough, but lovingly made binder. Each page contained photographs of large paintings resting against a bare wall, and as the unicorn studied these, he vocalized small ‘hmm’s that only contributed to the mare’s anxiety. With nothing to do other than to wait for a reply, Sunset looked around, trying to find comfort in the soothing pastels that bathed the many lively painted canvas that hung from the walls. Even in the midst of her anxiety, she couldn’t help but picture her art alongside them, sharing space with some of the greats of contemporary art, even if only temporarily. ”So, Arty... what do you think, are they any good?” she risked asking. The stallion turned to her and swept his eyes over her entire form. From her bichromatic orange and pink mane to her cutie mark, a sunset over a beach. The silence lingered, making her wish she could simply vanish. Suddenly, Arty Eyes closed the binder with a forceful 'thump' and slid it back to her. “It's a little hard to tell, Sunset Snow,” he said in a voice that, at the very least, was less harsh than she thought it would be. “Your theme is 'colour', and that's the one aspect of your paintings that doesn't translate well in a photograph.” Sunset Snow's ears perked up hearing this, sensing a sliver of hope. “Do you want me to bring some of them so you can see it in person?” she asked, her eyes timid. Her quick words had an edge of desperation to them. “I'm especially proud of Atmospheric study #5—” “That won't be necessary.” His short remark seemed to take what brightness was left out of Sunset Snow's eyes. “Oh, I see...” She slumped down in her seat. “I can tell that your palette is excellent, and I’m sure they look even more vibrant in person. However, your brush technique still leaves much to be desired, the strokes have a rather crude primitivistic quality that—” “Why don't you just say it plainly?” Sunset queried, with a hint of steel in her voice. ”You're rejecting me because I'm not a fancy unicorn!” “Being an earth pony is not necessarily a barrier against breaking into the art world, Sunset. Take Pablo Pizzicato for example—” Mentioning this name made Sunset slam her hoof onto the table. “There's Pablo Pizzicato, and who else?” she snapped. “He's treated as a curiosity! Even my art history book says it: Pablo Pizzicato's technique was excellent, dot dot dot, by earth pony standards! Can’t he just be appreciated for his art instead of who he was?” She peppered each ‘dot’ with spite, the hint of steel in her voice had already coalesced into a blade. The unicorn shielded himself with a raised eyebrow, but otherwise remained unfazed. “Are you alright, miss?” he asked in a tone that said: “Are we going to have to escort you out?” Sunset reigned herself in with a sharp intake of breath. She slumped back into the chair and said with a much lower and calmer voice: “Yes I'm fine. Just having a bad day, I suppose. I'll see myself out, thanks for taking a look at my art in any case.” She put the binder back into her saddlebag, making an attempt to hide the tears that formed in the corner of her eyes. Getting up from the stool, she quickly fastened her saddlebag to her loins. The grip was tight, but she didn’t care; she just wanted to get away from here and be alone. Turning around to leave, she couldn’t help but feel like his eyes were drilling holes in the back of her skull. Outside was a stark contrast to the cosy interior of the gallery. Instead of warm pastel colours, a semi-perpetual grey blanket of clouds dulled even the most colourful façade. It was the first day of winter and snow was already piling up on the side of the street. A cold wind howled through the town, leaving a chill that stayed in her lungs after each breath. “It’s okay,” Sunset told herself dismally. “It’s just a rejection after all. Doesn’t mean I’m a failure. I’ll just have to keep on trying.” Her words failed as a consolation, however and, since nopony was around, Sunset did nothing to hold back the tears that rolled around her eyes. First a drop quietly slid down her cheek and fell onto the pavement, where it stood for a moment before freezing, then another one fell and yet another. They were soon joined by a couple of miserable sobs from the back of her throat. Her sorrow was interrupted by a sudden sound coming from behind a corner. She tensed up; she could hear the creak of hooves against the snow underneath the whining of the wind. To avoid having to cross paths with a stranger in this state, she started to walk away. The stranger’s hoofsteps started up again behind her, a little quicker this time. The sounds slowly got nearer and nearer, even though she had picked up her pace. They kept following her, only to cease a beat or so after she stopped to look around. At first, she saw nothing but the quiet town shrouded by snow, not even the sound of the second pair of hoofsteps were present. Looking closer, she thought she could discern a figure through the snow, too far away to see in which direction it was heading. In spite of this, she quickened her pace once more, adrenaline pushing her into a half-gallop. The crunching sound of the stranger’s hooves against the snow kept going, just offbeat of her own. “Wait,” she thought, trying to calm herself down. “If I'm being followed, maybe it’s just because I dropped something and they want to give it back to me.” She dared a glance over her shoulder; silhouetted against the snow she saw the stranger trailing behind her, its colour dulled by the evening fog. Glimpsing into its eyes dispersed all notions that this could be a fright caused by a harmless misunderstanding. Peering back at her were the predatory eyes of a hunter, and Sunset was the prey in its sight. “Oh, dear...” She rounded a corner and at the first opportunity tossed herself behind a pair of bushes where she curled up, waiting to be found or for the stranger to go away. Seconds filled with hyperventilation ticked away as Sunset desperately tried to calm her frantic heartbeat. As the seconds turned into minutes and no sound came forth, Sunset slowly peeked from the bush and into the alley. Apart from the trail of kicked up snow after her, there was nothing to even indicate that she had ever been chased. Silence was once again returning to her corner of the world. Even the wind didn’t seem to blow as harshly anymore. She slowly worked her way out of the bush, tense at even the slightest unexpected sound. Once she was back on the street again she did a double take. With no strange figures in sight, she dared to breathe a sigh of relief. Sunset turned around to take a quick look down the street only to find herself staring at a smiling pink face. “Hi!” “GAH!” “Ooh, that’s a good one! Gotta remember that. I usually go with ‘found you’ when playing hide and seek, but I think that also works!” The pink mare giggled, eliciting a curious eyebrow raise from the rather confused Sunset. “Um...” “Oops! Sorry if I scared you! It’s just that I saw you hiding in that bush and I thought you were playing hide and seek! Oh! Oh! Can I join? Pretty please?” Sunset shook her head, suddenly remembering the reason she had been hiding in the first place. “But I’m not playing! Please, you’ve got to help me! There was a pony! And—and—and it was following me!” she pleaded, grasping the pink mare with both forehooves. The strange pink mare gasped. “A Spyerton McSpy?! NO! Did he hurt you?” “No... I think he left.” Sunset Snow paused and looked at the pink mare. There was something about her that seemed familiar, but she couldn’t put her hoof on it. “Do I know you? I apologize if it sounds rude, but I feel like I know you from somewhere." “Balloon Popper! Just like my cutie mark says!” she said and practically shoved her bum on Sunset’s face. Not that she needed the gesture in order to see the three colorful balloons and a safety pin that donned the pink mare’s flank. “That’s... um... that’s some int—” “FUN, right? I’m all about fun things! Parties and streamers and balloons and cupcakes! You seem like a pony who likes fun too!” Sunset’s ears folded back at the comment, prompting Balloon Popper to slow down her verbal artillery. “Oh, I’m sorry! Did I say something wrong? Am I annoying you? Are you diabetic? Maybe you are—” “No, it’s nothing like that.” Sunset sighed and brushed her eyes with a forehoof. “I’ve just... had a rough day.” “Oh... well, you know what cheers me up during these nasty grey cloudy days?” Balloon asked and before waiting for a reply, she pulled Sunset into a tight hug. “A party!” “Well...” Sunset Snow paused and pondered about this, poking her chin in thought. On one hoof, she was mentally exhausted and needed rest. On the other hoof, she didn’t want to be left alone, with only emotions to keep her company. A party was just what was needed, a few hours to forget the rejections of the critics and just relax. “Okay then. Say, Balloon Popper, you seem like a really nice pony.” “Oh, I am! The nicest there is!” From the director of Borderline Comes another chilling tale Directed by Owlor... “If cold bothers you, your only option will be to go north.” ... and Lucefudu “Our minds are always more cruel than reality.” Guest director jmj "There are moments when even to the sober eye of reason, the world of our sad humanity may assume the semblance of Hell." With special effects by MikhailWilson “The more one learns, the more one truly knows how stupid they are.”