//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Violinist's Cello // by The Forgotten //------------------------------// Chapter One It was another regular day on the outer edges of Manhattan. A young man could be seen walking a small, almost empty sidewalk. When he walked by other people he would keep his head down. He hated living here. It had been only three years since he was kicked out of his house. He could still recall the words his mother had told him. " Curtis," she had scolded. " Just because you aren't going to college does NOT mean you can stay here! Your father and I are going on a weekend getaway and when we return we expect you and your things gone." No matter how much he had pleaded, she hadn't shown any mercy. So that very weekend he had some friends help him move his stuff to a dumpy apartment. He didn't have any friends now. The ones he had were now in college or somewhere across the country. He remembered his friends fondly. Now the only thing he truly enjoyed was the company of his violin. Back in his high-school days he had been quite a virtuoso in a small school orchestra. He hadn't continued any musical career once he turned 18. Nowadays he worked at a local food market a couple of blocks away from his apartment. He worked five days a week, eight hours a day. The only break he took was a small 15 minute lunch break, and even then he only ate lunch on a few days. After work he would practice his violin. It was the closest thing to a friend he had now. It helped cleanse his mind of the previous hours he spent working. He would play what his emotions reflected. He didn't worry about bothering the neighbors because he was the only person on his floor. He shared the apartment with only a few other people. He would play for an hour or so before retiring to his computer. Another thing that relieved his stress was a small television series known as My Little Pony. He spent many hours looked around many pony related things on his computer. Thats all he used it for now. Many people thought that was weird but he didn't mind. Curtis had learned to just let other people be. " Who cares what they think? ", he asked himself. Curtis wasn't much of an eye opener either. He was as plain as day. He had brown, unruly hair that would almost reach his shoulders. He wasn't much for fashion though. He usually put on a small t-shirt and would throw over a hoody while he always wore jeans. He didn't much care for anyone so he didn't try to impress. Snapping out of his own thoughts he approached the doors to his work. As he walked in he noticed the manager waiting angrily for him. Looking at the time he realized he was over a half-hour late. He tried to prepare an excuse as his boss marched over to him " Why are you late!? " Curtis looked at the ground still trying to think. He was running through his list of excuses in his mind. He had been late many times before and couldn't think of an excuse he hadn't already used. " Why are you LATE!? " the manager repeated, this time a little more furious. " Uhh... I had a um... I was feeling s-sick? I mean, I was feeling sick! " Curtis fibbed. He looked at his boss with nervousness in his eyes. " Strange, I was feeling sick earlier too ", His boss replied. " Oh yeah!", he continued seeing Curtis' confused expression. You know what I was sick of? " he asked. Curtis shook his head. " I was sick of you being late! ", his boss yelled. " I am tired of you. You're done. YOU'RE FIRED! " Curtis stood there with his mouth wide open. " You can't do this to me! Please! I need this job. How will I be able to pay for my rent?! ",he cried. " Should've thought about that before being late AND lying to me. Now i want you out of my store. Now." Curtis decided it was no use in arguing now. The damage was done. He began to walk his way back home when he felt something hit his nose. He looked up and notice the approaching thunderclouds. He began cursing under his breath. " What a great day! I was fired from the only job I had, and to top it off, I had forgotten about the storm that was forecasted for today! " As the rain started falling he grew furious. He kicked a nearby piece of broken sidewalk before he realized it was still pretty stuck in the ground. He winced in the newly found pain that sprouted in his right toes. Five more minutes of walking brought him the sight of his three story complex. As he began to cross the street, he did not notice the rushing car coming at him from down the road. Midway through the street he felt its lights fall on him. He noticed the speed it was driving at and tried to jump out of its way. " It's too late ", he thought as he braced for impact. He heard a screech on the pavement as the car skidded to a halt, only inches from him. " Get out the road dumbass! ", the driver shouted. Curtis was now shaking as he waved apologetically to the driver. As he crossed to the other side, the driver drove off once more. " That was close ", Curtis breathed heavily. If the car hadn't killed him, his heart might've. He continued into the building and slowly made his way up to his room on the third floor. He opened his door and slammed it shut. Reacting by habit, he immediately walked over to his violin case. He unpacked it and began to play. He played a small tune lasting a few minutes. He played a small tune that began a slow smooth melody; the walk to work. It quickly changed to a furious, fast paced collision of noise; the moment his boss fired him. It slowed and began to form a saddened tone; the walk home. And finally, nearing the end he sliced his bow across the strings; the near death street cross. He was now sweating and his bow had ripped a few threads. After he picked the loose pieces, he turned to his computer. He browsed through the inter-webs as he searched for Octavia fan-fics. The gray pony was his favorite character from the series. He didn't know why and just assumed it was their share of musical talent. He arrived at his favorite fanfic site in a few seconds. He looked through the fictions and couldn't find any he liked. He had high standards now because he had read a certain fiction about Octavia and her years in college. He had decided that he wouldn't read anything with lesser tone. As he began to click his way to the second page of fanfics, he noticed something against the bottom of the screen. It read with bright colors- " The first over-world rpg game with ponies! Free installation for a limited time, so click now. This game includes a full scale model of all Equestria. Play now! " He thought for a few seconds before clicking on the ad. It immediately opened a page. The page had full pictures printed over it. It showed extremely fine designed graphics of Equestria. It showed the mane six gathered in a small park, a few ponies talking, and of course Derpy Whooves buying muffins. After looking through the games information a bit more, he finally clicked on the 'free download' button. He looked at the download bar and realized it would be about another half hour. He decided to get up and make some breakfast. Normally, he wouldn't have time to eat breakfast but without his job now, he could do whatever he wanted. He realized his logic was broken and decided he would look for another job in the morning. He pulled out a box a Cheer-i-A's and poured him some cereal. He then went back to his computer to find the game had already be installed. " That's strange ", he mused. " I could have sworn it said thirty minutes. He shrugged. " At least it's done." He opened the game and found a nice greeting awaiting him from Princess Celestia. " Hello, my little pony ", she smiled warmly. " Could you tell me your name? " Curtis looked at her. He was amazed by the graphics. It was even better than shown in the pictures. He took a minute to look at it. He then realized he needed to type his name out. He had to think. What would his name be? He couldn't decide. Maybe something to do with his violin? " How about.... Vincent Violin? No, that's stupid. How about Curtis? No that's not a creative PONY name." It took him well over five minutes and he still couldn't think of a name. He then remembered something from his school time. His teacher would always yell at him for playing loudly. The conductor would always yell, " NO FORTISSIMO ! NO FORTISSIMO! " The memory hung in Curtis' mind like a star in an empty night sky. "That's it! ", he yelled a little louder than he meant. " Fortissimso. That's perfect. Forte for short! " He then typed in his new name and continued forward. The celestial princess then began with the next step. He had to decide his appearance. He chose to have white skin and a blonde mane and tail. He chose ash grey eyes and a charming smile. He was then asked to choose a cutie mark. It asked for his talent and he immediately chose his career as a violinist who played in the Canterlot Symphony. As if on cue, a violin appeared where his cutie mark should be. Next he had to pick what race he was. He had already decided that he was going to be an earth pony. With out further contemplation, he clicked the choice and moved on. Once that was finished he had to choose a place to live. He of course, continued to choose a Canterlot life style. He found where Octavia lived and chose to build his house across from hers. He was excited to play. He had a good feeling about this game. He then finished creating his profile when he entered the server list. Strangely enough, all of the servers were empty and were unavailable to him. All except one. At the very bottom of the list was a single, activated server. He quickly chose with enthusiasm and as the game began, his head started to throb. It was extremely painful, and he soon found himself beginning to black out.