Paper Present

by Artistic Dawn

Drawings and Discoveries

CHAPTER 2 – Drawings and Discoveries

It was a clear afternoon, with nothing but a few dozen clouds to mar the sky, as they flowed by slowly. The local park was not really crowded on this particular Saturday, unlike most. Taking advantage of this, Soft Pencil was able to find herself empty picnic table to settle down and draw on. Around here, there lay several dozen roughly drawn sketches; each held a different picture, and each at varying levels of completion. One drawing was one of nothing but cats, whilst another was one full of flowers. There are even random pictures of Princess Twilight doing different things; from saving Equestria to eating a Hay Burger.

She looked at the first drawing that was on top of the closest pile; it was a collection of gem stones. She took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. She had been working practically nonstop, and yet she was stuck in the idea stage of drawing. She turned around to face her bag that was lying on the warm grass, before jumping down from her seat and trotting over to it. Opening it up and looking inside, she confirmed her fears. Most of the notebook paper she brought with her has been used up already. Her hoof brushed against her pad of good quality clean drawing paper, but that was out of the question. There was no way should would even think about touching the good paper, at least not yet. She took a moment to search for her other quarry; any more number two pencils. Most of the ones on the table are down to the nub, with a giant bag full of pencil shavings. Looking around for another minute, she shook her head, unable to find any.

Taking another deep breath in, Soft Pencil turned back around and trotted over to the table. She retook her former seat on the bench, a forlorn look on her face as she scanned her work. She glared down at her last good long pencil. Looking to her left, she glared down at the last blank notebook pages. ‘There’s only six of them left – I have to make them count!’ Grabbing the paper with one hoof and the pencil with another, she stuck the pencil in her mouth, giving the page a look that told it she meant business.

….After two more minutes, she dropped the pencil and got up. She could feel the full few hours of frustration come straight back, and she jumped down, launching into running laps around the table. She let out grunts of annoyance, and kicked her legs out randomly, before she soon ran out of steam. She stopped running, plopping down on the grass, letting the greenish-yellow grass tickle her stomach, before rolling over and releasing a sigh into the open sky.

Letting her eyes wander, she spotted a water fountain with a sliver mirror base. Rolling back over, she looked herself over. She stared back at her own tired expression. Her usually straight and lengthy brown mane was now in long knot like curls, and her blue coat was covered in bits of dirt from running around earlier. Her glasses were also a bit smudged in places, streaks running across the lenses. Looking further, she could see red in the whites of her light brown eyes. She gave her messy self another look over before just letting her head fall down into the soft grass. She could smell how sweet it was.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a cart pull out from a few yards behind her. She slowly got up and walked over to the bushes, spreading them apart so she could to peer through them. Even with her tired eyes and hazy mind she could clearly see that it was none other than Bow Trim; with two of her servants pulling the cart. It was a very ravishing jewel encrusted carriage, with an open top showing off red valent seats. One of the well-dressed drivers stopped the carriage, and the other moved around to open Bow Trim’s door. Bow Trim thanked the driver before walking down the carriage’s built in steps.

Bow Trim’s light pink and orange curly mane was tied up in a loose orange bow; which was slightly flowing in the light wind. She was wearing a brown saddlebag with a decal of a cutie mark, a pink and purple sun. She slowly trotted off as the carriage stayed where it sat. She walked off to the far left of the clearing, moving behind a large oak tree. Soft Pencil moved quickly and quietly, sneaking up behind another bush closer to the water fountain. She looked out to see Bow Trim walk over to a small but bare part of the park, about ten or so feet away from herself. Bow Trim lay her saddlebags down, shortly lying down beside them. Due to the tall grass surrounding the bare patch, Soft Pencil couldn’t see too much of what Bow Trim was doing; so she crept a little closer - but not to close as to be spotted too easily. She hid behind the long grass, now able to see Bow Trim’s white coat ahead.

Bow Trim had her head looking up at the clouds above. She watched them pass for a moment before turning to her saddlebag. She opened it, and using her pink magic, took out what appears to be an old purple book. Looking a little closer, Soft Pencil can see that the cover has the same cutie mark on as the bags do. Concluding that the book was an old journal, she watched Bow Trim open it. She started to read it for a few minutes, before looking up at the clouds once more. From Soft Pencil’s position, she could see a little bit of Bow Trim’s expression. She seemed to be a little sad as she watched the clouds go by. But, she had a small smile on her face as well.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Soft Pencil’s head. She quickly and quietly walked back to the table. She grabbed a piece of paper and her pencil. Sneaking back to her spot behind the bush, she began to draw.

Ten minutes into her sketching, Soft Pencil is forced to stop as Bow Trim finally got up. Bow Trim put the journal back into the bag and trotted off. Soft Pencil added a few more details, stood up, and quickly walked back her table. She heard the carriage get underway as she sat back down at the table.

Soft Pencil looked down at her new sketch; it was pretty good, but there was something missing. She thought about it for moment longer before another idea entered her head. She grabbed the pencil one more time to add in the final missing piece. When she was done, she set the worn out pencil down and looked down. It looked perfect now. She picked up all her things and put them back into her bag. Smiling, she trotted home to draw the final piece.

Author's Note:

I hope you like this chapter.