>You are Paper Cut
>And since today is one of your days off, you decided to get out and do something
>Well…”leaving your place” is synonymous with “doing something” anymore…
>Besides selling hoof-made crafts in town, there’s not much you do
>Except for a few drastic things…
>But who is going to stop you?
>Who actually cares?
>There’s /one/ pony you have befriended, but she’s in the same boat you are
>Miss Eri
>Cuts on the backs of her forelegs as well
>Scars…reminders that you’re just as weak as she is
>You’d like to visit her, but you know she’s been far too busy lately
>Oh well…Let’s just go to the park
>Before you leave, you grab your saddle bag and place some colorful craft paper in the opening
>Gives you something to do at the park
>You place the saddle bag on your back, and walk out the door
>The deadbolt clicks behind you, but you tug on the door know a couple of times to make sure it locked
“What a nice day outside,” you think to yourself
>If only you could feel that nice on the inside
>You’re a walking time bomb, you think
>Then again, negativity is something that weighs heavily on your mind
>Ponies pass you by, smiles and joy abundant in their lives
>Some even wave at you, saying “Hi!”
>You wave back, without a word
>The fountain in town meets your eyes’ view
>Even the mare in stone looks more at peace than you
*sigh*
>After walking for a while, the sunlight beams down on you
>It’s a hot one today
>But at least you made it to the park
>Flora and fauna flourishing in its beauty
>You begin your much needed walk towards some trees
>A stone path leads you under these trees
>Thankfully there’s shade
 
>The birds in the canopies chirp to one another, “sing-song”-ing their beautiful song
>As captivating as these birds can be, you know it only acts as a bandage for your misery
>The internal sounds of depression cannot be drowned out
>And that’s something you’ve lived by, unfortunately
>You spot some critters nearby playing in the trees and shrubbery up ahead
>They’ll never know such pain…
>The peaceful sounds of ponies playing around and laughing heartily help ease your woes
>Turning your head, you see some fillies playing with a ball
>And you see some older mares nearby chatting away at a picnic
>Maybe you could be like those ponies someday…
>Happy with yourself…
>The flora here is what interests you the most
>Reaching the end of the trees, you spot the community garden
>All sorts of plant life thrives here
>You slowly make your way over there with your head hung low
>Took longer than you thought, but here you are, staring at these bloomed flowers
>You sit down on your haunches and just stare
>One particular flower stands out to you, isolated from the others
>Wonder what that could remind you of…
>You notice a ladybug perched upon one of its petals
>Why does something like a delicate daisy have to die such a cold and lonely death?
>Still, these flowers are quite the sight
>You wanted to plant some flowers at your place
>But of course, selling crafts aren’t going to finance that dream
>You really do love your job though…
>That’s why your cutie mark is what it is…
>A Paper origami heart, intricately folded
>But just like paper, your heart and soul are weak, brittle, frail…
 
>You just stare at that flower, lost in your own thoughts
>There’s nothing stopping you from thinking of something else
>But what’s going to stop you?
>If you don’t think about it here, those dreadful thoughts are going to linger in your head at home
>Eventually, you find it in yourself to get up
>Thankfully there’s an empty bench nearby to sit at
>The sound of fun echoes all the way over here, so that’s nice
>Maybe it’ll help you think straight…
>You slide your saddle bag off and place it onto the bench
>You hop up next to the saddle bag, and recline
>A deep sigh escapes your lungs as you look to the sky
>You reach for something you had just finished recently
>A white paper crane
>The sedative sound of your fellow ponies mellows you out as you sit there, playing with the crane’s wings
>You make it seem as though it’s actually flying
>You’ve been making crafts for what seems like your whole lifetime now
>No surprise about the extreme quality of these crafts
>You place the crane down beside your opposite flank, and slide out a couple sheets of paper
>What to make…hmmm…
>Clouds and their ways to deceive the mind help you to get started
>Starting off with one sheet, you find yourself becoming an origami factory
>Making an assortment of origami crafts
>A butterfly, a rose…
>The piece of paper in front of you is being folded into a cute little cat
>Distracted by your work, you didn’t even notice that some pony sat down
>You hear a flicking sound, and then smell smoke
>Your eyes catch a glimpse of that weird green thing
>He had lit up a cigarette and lifted one of his legs, crossing it over his other leg
 
>His non-smoking hand rests on his propped up foot
>This creature puts the cigarette to his mouth, taking a long drag from it
>Smoke rolls out of his mouth as though he were a dragon
>You dismiss his actions and go back to work
>Make a fold here, and then fold this…
>”Is that…origami, you’re doing?”
>You tense up, not expecting his voice to break your focus
>This intrigued being must have been watching you this whole time
>He takes another drag from his cigarette before placing both feet on the ground
“Uh…y-yeah” You sheepishly reply
>You find it hard to look at him initially
>Can’t help but feel intimidated
>He flicks his cigarette out of his hand, then turns to face you
>”That’s really good! I like what you’ve made here” He exclaims
>A finger of his points to the cat you’ve made
“Oh that? It’s nothing really…”
>”Well, I. Love. It.”
>His smile is infectious, making you blush”
“Well t-thank you”
>You avert your eyes from his gaze and curl your lips
“No problem…”
>You briefly look back over to him, with his genuine smile
>That just makes you blush even harder
>”Wait a minute…” he says with his finger raised, “I think I’ve seen you before”
“Y-you have?”
>”Yeah,” he nods his head, “Don’t you sell those crafts here in town?”
“I do… I s-sell them at a stall…” You feebly answer
>”That’s what I thought…” he says, reclining back
>His eyes shift across as he looks upon your work
>This thing’s arm rests on the back of the bench
>Too bad he couldn’t see your really good stuff
>”So what’s /your/ name?” He asks,
>Why does he have to stare right at you?
“My n-name is Paper… Cut…” you whisper
 
>It’s so hard to look at him right now
>You don’t know why
>”I’m sorry, Paper Cut, is it?”
>You nod your head in agreement and look out towards the trees
>”That’s a cute name”
>The blush on your face is redder than that brother of Applejack’s
“T-thanks…”
>”I’m Anon by the way” He says, extending his hand of your hoof
>Naturally, you back away from him, but hesitantly shake his hand
“N-nice to m-meet you, Anon”
>It’s like you’re a little school filly around this guy
>Anon retracts his hand and picks up your crane origami
>His hand plays with one of its wings
>It’s like he’s an inspector or something…weird
>”I wish I could do this sort of thing,” He casually says, “but I know I’m not very good”
>Anon sits the crane next to your other crafts
“Well, I do t-teach craft-making…if y-you’re interested…”
>You move the paper from your lap and sit it beside you
>At least you can move around and face him now…
>”I’ll probably need to attend one of those classes then, I’m awful”
>He places his hand upon his chest
“Well surely y-you’re not bad…”
>”All I can make is a paper airplane, and one of those mouth thingies”
>He moves his hand as though it’s chomping
“Well it’s a s-start…” You giggle at him
>He laughs along with you
>”Well maybe I could borrow some paper and show you?”
“S-sure, if you want…”
>You oblige, and hand him a couple of sheets of paper
>As he initially fiddles around with the first sheet of paper, your stomach has this weird sensation
>It’s like something is fluttering inside of you…
 
>”Fuck…” he whispers, messing up a fold on his airplane
>Watching him doesn’t help, because you still have this feeling
>But watching him is funny, because he’s not very good
>Don’t tell him that though
>”Ah ha, here you are”
>Anon holds his creation in front of you, gesturing for you to pick it up
>You hold the damaged plane in your hoof, tossing it for its maiden voyage
>Went about 5 feet and crashed with no survivors
“I must say, Anon…” you pause for a chuckle, “t-that’s quite the airplane”
>Anon shrugs his shoulders, and then grabs his other piece of paper
>”Welp, I can promise you this next thing will be /much/ better”
“I-I’m sure it will be”
>Facing Anon, you lean up against the bench and watch him attempt origami
>Take 2
>This time, he seems like he knows what he’s doing
>About half way through his folding, you start to have that feeling again
>Why is it? What’s there to be nervous about?
>He seems nice enough…
>But of course you start thinking about how he could be a friend…
>If he found out about what you do in your free time, he’d probably never speak to you again
>It’s not like that hasn’t happened before…
>You’ll just have to wait and see what happens…
>”Ta-da!” Anon says, holding a snapper
>He starts making the snapper chomp, pretending it’s going to eat you
>You giggle as you try to back away from him
>Anon sits back and hands you the snapper
>”Have you ever seen one of /these/ before?”
“I have…b-but I’ve never s-seen one made…”
>You try to close the snapper, but hooves kind of make it hard to do
>”Well, you just did”
>As you try to hand it back to him, he waves his hand, rejecting it
 
>”It’s all yours, Paper”
“T-thanks…Anon…,” you mutter, “t-take one of mine”
>You reach for your rose petal origami, hoofing it to him
>”Thanks,” He accepts it, “this one is really pretty”
>The look in his eyes…you can’t tell what his deal is
>But you’re glad he likes it…
“y-you’re welcome…”
>Nervousness sets in as you start to feel your body shake
>Anon pulls up his sleeve to reveal a watch he had been wearing
>He abruptly gets up from his seat, and places the rose petal in his chest pocket on his blazer
>”Listen, I have to go somewhere, but it was nice meeting you, Paper”
>He taps his hand on your shoulder blade
>Your eyes glued to his every move
“Y-you too…”
>”See you around!”
>He waves to you good bye as he walks out of view
>Feeling like you mattered to someone, you think about the conversation you just had
>You think about the snapper he made…
>It’s real all right…
>Did you just make a new friend?
>Or is he just a figment of your imagination?
>You just sit there, stunned, at what happened….
>As quickly as this feel-good sensation came on, anxiousness and doubt fill your mind
>What if he was just messing with you? Trying to see if he could build you up?
>Surely, someone wouldn’t just talk to you out of the blue…
>Besides crafts, what are you worth in this world?
>You don’t want to think about this sort of thing here…
>Surely, the other ponies don’t want their fun-filled days ruined by some unstable pony like you
>You gather your crafts that lay in front of you and place them in your bag
>Sliding off of the bench, you make your way out of the park
>Better consult a certain metallic friend about what happened when you get home…