//------------------------------//
// Prologue pt 1 
// Story: The Totally Tubular and Tremendously Tenacious and Turbulent Transplanted Teen 
// by Sparkle Fire 
//------------------------------//

Ryder’s Journal
April 24, 1987

I’m somewhere on the M5,
but I can’t recall exactly where.

It’s warm outside,
the sky is completely
bare of clouds,
and it’s a Friday morning
in late April.

Today, I start a brand new
chapter in my life.

Today, I emigrate
to Equestria!

I’ll finally get the chance
to make something
of myself,
to take advantage of
the economic and educational
opportunities before me
once I arrive there.

I am traveling with my
two older brothers
in a white Ford truck
with the windows down.

Behind us,
my sister Kimberly
and three more brothers
follow in an SUV.

I once lived up north,
in the Southampton area,
the San Marzano neighborhood
to be specific.

There are a lot of British, Italian,
and German immigrants up there,
so many, in fact, that
I consider them my brothers
alongside the five others that
I already have.

Now, perhaps I should explain
why we’re even leaving in the
first place.

To provide a bit of perspective…

We were once oppressed under the
INGSOC regime that came to power
in 1949.

Starting in the 1970s, however,
we started to fight back,
from the tax protests,
to the feminist protests,
to the race marches,
to the Printer Ink Palaver
(that was fun!),
eventually leading up to
the six-year civil war
that we fought in…
and won.

And then, the Great Revolution.
September 17, 1983.
Roughly three and a half years ago.

I remember it
like it was yesterday…
Fireworks bursting in the sky,
champagne spraying
in all directions…
it was a real hoot!

A close relationship with the
Soviets followed soon after,
followed by rampant double-dealing
and other things.

Our struggle for freedom
and liberty
became a life of repression
and communism.

The new government
fell apart very quickly,
its leaders were involved
in scandals over corruption,
discrimination became rampant
(especially towards those of
different skin colors and beliefs),
and idiocy reigned.

Hate and irrational fear
became the norm.

On top of all that,
the higher-ups
utterly resented
any American influence
(even though the whole of
the Central Executive
Committee had visited
many times)
and any notion of
capitalism
was met with
mass hysteria.

We eventually decided that
we were tired of it all,
so we s-p-l-i-t.

We packed our bags,
loaded the truck,
kissed Mama goodbye
(and promising
that we’d write)
and went on our way.

It isn’t long
before we come upon
a sign;
a motorway exit was near.

Rechtenburg / Geneva

We slid off the motorway.
Danny flipped on his blinker
and turned left
towards the Promised Land…

We began to scale the hill
leading up to Providence Dam,
where we would cross the border
into Equestria.

Once at the dam,
we had to wait in a
relatively short line
at the crossing.

We finally inched forward
to the customs station.

The customs officers
checked our paperwork
and asked about our intentions.

“I was told that I could start working
in those big lumber yards they
have up there as soon as I got there,”
Liam assured the officer.

“I’m going to work in the gem mines,”
Danny said matter-of-factly.

Kimberly and I made a plan to go
to Canterlot.
She’s arranged for us to live
in a nice apartment up there
in the center of town,
a stone’s throw away
from the industrial district
and all the shops.

After fifteen minutes of waiting,
our papers are cleared.
We are good to go.
Victorious in our efforts,
we move on down the road.

We traverse the next
seventy-five kilometers
(roughly 46 miles)
of winding mountain roads
and beautiful countrysides.

We arrive in Ponyville
and drop off my brothers
and all their luggage.

Kimberly and I
catch a train
to Canterlot.

Twenty-five minutes later,
we disembark.
We step off at the train station,
and a nice stallion
offers to take our luggage
so we wouldn’t have to carry it.
We took him up on his offer.

Our apartment is located
in a fairly large corner building
in the southwest corner
of Canterlot,
right next to the moat.

We meet our landlord,
who takes us up
to the seventh floor.

Next thing we know,
the door opens
and we see just how
impressive
this place is.

This apartment takes up
two stories vertically,
and it all simply
s c r e a m s
elegant
spacious
inviting
Canterlot…

The kitchen is fully equipped,
and the adjoining living room
has plenty of chairs and sofas
to sit on.

The master bed and bath
looks as though it came from
a department store window.
Kimberly claims it
almost immediately.

I make my way upstairs
while Kimberly occupies herself
with her new bedroom.

What awaits up here
is nothing less than
b r e a t h t a k i n g . . .

It seems that I’ve come across
a humongous loft space.

The first attraction
is the g i a n t bed
smack dab in the
center of the room
adorned with some of the
best sheets that have ever
graced by skin.

A walk-in closet
is situated not too far away.

Right next door is a bathroom;
a luxurious bathtub
with both hot and cold water
takes center stage,
accompanied by the toilet,
the sink,
and the cabinets.

And last but not least,
the balcony…!

I open the divider
between me
and an astounding view
of ritzy downtown,
the rugged South Side,
and the rough-and-tough
industrial West Side,
with the moat providing
a distinct buffer zone
between these boroughs.

If you pop up to the roof,
you can see everything…
the castle,
all of Canterlot,
a view to the south
littered with suburbs
as far as the eye can see,
the smoky factory air
hanging over the valley
like a stray cat that
doesn’t seem to go away.

And that’s when a noise,
a joyful, resounding noise,
rings in my ears, proclaiming:

“You’re gonna like it here!”

Just then,
I realize…
I think I will!

After a short while
of standing on the roof,
admiring the view,
I make a plan.

I’ll attend the local school
and get my education in.
But before that can happen,
I have to be an Equestrian citizen.

In order to hold Equestrian citizenship,
however, that means
mountains of paperwork
and forms to fill out;
the Immigration Office downtown
has a love affair with forms.

I resolve…
First thing tomorrow morning,
I will inquire about citizenship.

……………….

Ryder’s Journal
November 1, 1987

At long last,
I have attained
Equestrian citizenship!

The papers came in the mail
just after breakfast time today.

Kimberly is so happy
for me,
so happy, in fact,
that she breaks out
a bottle of champagne
and we have the lot.
Thank God Almighty,
we are free at last!

As for as my brothers,
Danny wrote about two weeks ago
telling us about receiving his
citizenship papers.
Liam’s papers came along soon after.
As for the other three,
they haven’t written as of late.
We assume they’ll write soon.

I also received a residency certificate
after my paperwork finally went through.
It states that I have the right
to reside in the city of Canterlot.
It is good for one year.
When it expires, I will have to renew
every year for the next five years,
which I think I can manage.
Kimberly has one too.

I call up Canterlot Academy’s admissions office
not long after, telling them the good news.

They tell me that I can now officially enroll
in Canterlot Academy
for the 1988-1989 school year
as soon as I can provide a copy
of my citizenship papers
and my residency certificate.

I hang up the phone,
excited to start a new chapter
in my life.

“I’ll always remember
the first
of November…”