//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Friends in Equestria // by artsofallkinds //------------------------------// Ah... Lunch. It's the one time of day a kid can truly feel obligated to have no obligations. They can stuff their food in their mouths and talk with friends, often simultaneously. We feel that, drowned out by others besides those we want to talk to, we can say anything. Naturally, I talk about Ponies. For those who don't know, I'm a Brony. Bro + Pony. Yeah, like the My Little Pony dolls for girls. Ehehe... Let me explain. Basically, we're a group of 15-35-ish year olds who has discovered a common ground: Candy colored equines. For (most) every Brony, it begins with the show: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic. So masculine, right? They either hear about it from a friend or from a source on the internet, eventually think, "What the hey, why not?" sit down, watch the show... And fall in love with it. The animation, the characters, the stories. You'd first off think that the stories would be so girly and feminine that they'd be almost impossible to watch. Yes, this was true before 2009, which was when a remake of the series hit the TV. The old show was written for girls, so any self-respecting male would have probably have thought this newer version would be the same. But oh no, the writers keep it very... Well, open, I guess, despite the brand's history and reputation. Sure, it's Flash animation, computer-assisted. But it ~flows~, and someone had to draw that frame at some point, so it is drawn. But really, it just looks good. The lines are neat, and the colors are bright. Not to mention the brilliant mind that assisted in past great cartoons, Lauren Faust, helped the project get up on its feet. People praise Mrs. Faust by saying that anything she touches turns to animated gold, like a Steven Spielberg of children's shows. MLP is no exception. The characters... Not only are they cute in every way that wants to make your inner child squeal in joy, (minus Rainbow Dash: she makes you want to squeal in LIKEABOSSNESS) but they're all so complex. Twilight Sparkle isn't just heroic; she spends too much time studying and reading. Fluttershy isn't just shy; she has a soft spot for animals, and will even speak up in ways unimaginable to us mere mortals, when necessary. I could go on, but I'll let you figure out the rest. Don't judge, man. Well, actually, go ahead and judge. I really don't care. I've accepted this new part of me, and I need no other's approval. And I lo-o-ove to rub this in my friends' faces! I have two "Lunch Buddies" (in lack of a better term) I always sit with during my one hour of freedom per school day. Neither of them are in my grade. Neither of them are Bronies (or rather, the female version; Pegasisters). In fact, I'm pretty sure I scared any chance if them ever going to "The Herd". Oh well, their loss. The first girl's pretty quiet. Her hair is black-with-dyed-red-highlights, and she always wears think-rimmed glasses. I call her 'Ember Coal' (for those who don't know, that would be a considerably recognizable Pony name) just to get her to look at me funny. It's the same look any time I bring up Brony-ness; always one of complete confusion and almost disgust. I find it hilarious. She has a boyfriend with my same middle name, but it's not like he's my twin or anything. Then there's 'Ribbon', (also a believable Pony name) who's much more outgoing and energetic. Blonde hair, curly almost to the point of frizzyness, and sometimes wearing a red-pink bow/headband thing, she raises an eyebrow when I mention small, colorful horses. Oh, the times I've tricked her into listening a Brony song~ Also Homophobic, but that doesn't concern me. They both bring their lunches, whereas I sit through the line of constantly shifting and cussing teenaged boys. It's not like our schools sexually separated, it's just that most girls got smart quick and made their lunches at home. *sigh*... After acquiring my tray of oddly colored quesadilla-from-a-box, I join my friends in our little spot near the wall. Sometimes, when we're finished eating, we'll go outside for some fresh air. Not today, though; it's late January, and they're shoveling snow off the roads from a sudden snowstorm, (~Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Uuuuup!~) so no students allowed outside. "Ribbon." I announce my presence in probably the most annoying way possible. "You're still on that?" she retorts. "And let me guess, you have another 'random, original piece of music' you found on the internet?" You know me so well~ "Seriously, do you really think I'd 'torture' you DAY after DAY with Pony music?" Complete Sarcasm. I don't get what's so bad about the show's songs. Daniel Ingram is a genius. "Yes," responded Ember, to my surprise. Seriously, that's the most I've probably ever gotten out of her. "My Cutie Mark is music notes, whadda ya expect me to do?" Actually, I've never seen a symbol appear on my 'flank' explaining what I love to do in life. Only on my original Pony character, Quick Step. He's an energetic, fun, and overall happy-go-lucky (but nowhere near Pinkie Pie's level) earth pony* who dances for a living and loves it. Oh well. At least I got that "WTF" look from Ember. Mission accomplished. "Please tell me you didn't just say that," pleaded Ribbon. Ha ha. "Why? Jealous?" I stick my tongue out at her whenever I can, just because I can. She might have ripped it out right then and ended that game FOREVER, had I not shoved it back in quickly. All in good faith, of course. So there I was in the cafeteria, enjoying my meal to the best of my ability. And then I... wasn't. It was a weird feeling. Imagine what being in one of those flinging-you-20-stories-in-the-air-tourture-devices at a theme park feels like, without the coming down part. Or the going up part. Okay, bad example, but it was a kind of flinging sensation. It's not really describable. But what happened next, THAT can be described. In fact, I'll describe it to you right now. I was falling. "Umph! Ah! Uk!" I hit two branches before landing on a bush. Alive, thankfully. I had no idea how large a length I had fallen, but it didn't give me enough time to figure out where I was from the air. I mean, it was obvious I wasn't in my school anymore. Between the lack of roof and falling into trees, that much I could tell. I heard an "Eep!" from nearby. Whatever just happened, my natural instinct to apologize profoundly kicked in. "Oh, I'm sorry! Really, I-"I jump up and turn my head, but no one's there. "Hello?" I try. Nothing. "Um, I'm not dangerous." Who was I kidding? I just fell from the sky. I'd run, too. But it was then I saw the bush rustle. There was someone hiding there, I was sure. So I tried a different approach. "Well, okay, I guess I'll just sit here and wait for you to come out," I whispered under my breath. Real smart plan, I know. But whatever works, I'll go with. Whoever this was was shy, so I'd give them their time. This let me examine my surroundings in more detail then I could before. After all, it's hard to examine your surroundings when your falling face-first into a bush. The trees were weird. Okay, they were definitely not normal; they appeared almost 2-D, flat, but when I moved my head, the 'cardboard stand' adjusted itself to still appear like a real object. "Weird." Not as weird as the rest of what's about to happen, my naïve past self. "Um-" I hear from just outside the bush. Here's where things get awesome, folks. In front of me is probably the best shy, yellow-and-pink animal you'll ever not be able to see unless you have Internet or the Hub Network on your Television. Which I recommend, by the way. Not ten feet in front of me stood the one, the only, Fluttershy. My brain shut down. I was in complete Derp mode. My thought looked a little something like this: "Awha, habba-ba la wha?" I mean, there was no way. But she was. But, but, but... Then it hit me. I was talking to Fluttershy. THE FLUTTERSHY. Okay, what should I do? I'm not restricted by screens. I've already proven I'm crazy (my face was derped). Wait, what did CardsLaughter have Firewall do when he met Fluttershy for the first time? "Fluttershy!" Gosh, I am such a fanfic fanboy. I go by the expert's advice and immediately embrace the kindest, sweetest, shyest thing basically ever. As previously read, and therefore expected, she froze up "like I had thrown cold water on her". Quotes, how do they work? "Ah! Uhh-" Okay, I felt kind of guilty at that point. She seemed kinda uncomfortable in the embrace of a stranger. Maybe I should stop, I thought. Then again, FLUTTERHUG. Following the script, I forced my voice to seriousness and recited, "I'm so sorry! Fluttershy, I apologize. Do you accept my apology? I will cry if you say no." At this point, I started to realize that Firewall's first impression on Fluttershy wasn't exactly amazing. Aw, Horseapples. "Um, I, I guess? Don't cry, please." She's so cute when she's flustered! *~squeee~* I slowly let go. As I'm letting go, however, I got startled and jumped back (how Fluttershy survived the sudden movement, I'm not sure). For the first time, I got a good look at my arms. Normally, looking at one's arms holds no surprises. You have the limb, then the hand, then the fingers. Nothing abnormal, right? Except where hands and skin were supposed to be, I found hooves. Bet you were expecting that. Yeah, well, I wasn't. I stared at myself in every way my newly-discovered pony body would let me. So, basically, I appeared even more insane in front of a certain, very important someo- excuse me, somepony. Remember Quick Step, my pony fan-made character? Well, he was me. His light gray fur (90 white - 10 black, to be specific) was there, and his brown mane that resembled Hoops's from the Sonic Rainboom episode (sorta) was there too. The Cutie Mark displayed itself in all it's beauty; a three-bar scale with a bottom-facing eighth note and a top facing one right after. The only thing I/he was missing was the hat, gray with black stripes and what I've always described as 'Very British'. Eh, sue me. Needless to say, my mind was blown. For like the third time. Or maybe the forth. Whatever, my mind was blown, I couldn't keep count. "Um..." Whoops, forgot about Fluttershy in my second-ish nervous yet amazing breakdown, aka the Derp Mode. "I... Where am I?" And if I wasn't seemingly crazy before, now I definitely was labeled in her Pegisi* mind as "...nice". "Um... The Everfree Forest." she said. She continued, quietly and cutely as ever. "Uh, ca-can I ask a, um, a question? If you don't mind." "Sure..." I was caught of guard by this. Not what I was expecting. I was more expecting something like 'Run from the crazy pony!' "Who... Who are you?" she asked. A completely normal question, I guess. Only problem was, do I immediately tell her who I really am? I wouldn't want to shock her even more then I had already. Then again, if I lie, would she hate me later on? Gah, so complicated... Like a bad boxer, I was hit with realization yet again. I could start over. I could be Quick Step, and enjoy every aspect of pony life. But it still felt bad even thinking about lying to the wonderful being in front of me. Oh, and to point out how in shock I was, all of this was contemplated after only a minute or so of even knowing I was in Equestria in the first place. Things were obviously not correctly prioritized in my mind. "For now," I answered, "you can call me Quick Step, I guess." She, understandably, gave me a quizzical look. After all, what could I mean by 'for now'? All in good time, Fluttershy. Well, maybe. "Do... Do you travel?" she asked. A question also expectable, considering she had probably never seen me before. "Um... Sure, let's go with that." The 'Travel' I meant probably wasn't the kind she was thinking of. Not that it was my choice, but thanks whatever heavenly being that can send people across dimensions, I landed (quite literally) in Equestria, a place I know relatively well. If I had to land somewhere, this would definitely be my first choice. "The-then, are y-you... do you know t-the way... to..." I'm pretty sure she said something after that, but her voice shrunk so much I think I herd a squeak only a dolphin would be able to decipher. My guess, whatever held her attention behind me was scary, if not unnerving. Technically, it wasn't a big, scary monster. But I knew the looks on Ribbon's face well enough to know she wanted to rip something apart, regardless of what body she inhabited. "What. Happened." said Ribbon. It wasn't a question, it was a tell-me-or-I'll-kill-you. If that even counts. Suddenly, Fluttershy wasn't the only pony cowering and backing away. "I, uh, don't... know?" I tried. She was still pretty PO'd, regardless of my perfectly honest explanation. Speaking of explanations, you may want to know what her Pony-self looked like. She was a Unicorn*, red fur and a blonde mane, with a bow in her hair. I was a bit jealous that she got a hair accessory, but that wasn't exactly prominent in my mind at that point. Her mane and tail were styled in a familiar frizzy fashion, and her Cutie Mark seemed to be a microphone. Well, she did like to talk... And sing. That too. Definitely was a singing cutie mark. I mean, not that she's bad... I'm getting off topic. She took a step forward, coaxing a step back from both Fluttershy and I. "Oh really?" Suddenly, I realized the only way she could continue saying anything else was if she told the ever-observing Fluttershy that we were not originally Ponies. And if I didn't stop her early on, this wide-eyed, pink-haired mare would get basically Ribbon's life story, depending on her mood (which was obviously really, really angry and therefore talkative). "Ribbon," I took a few steps foreword, and gulped, wishing there was another way to do this. "Please, just... Just listen..." "Huh?" She was confuzzled by my sudden sincerity. I had to get her to see, you see. Didn't want to shock the local populace just yet, or at least that's what I told myself. "Can I ask a huuuuuge favor?" I asked. You may be wondering why I was so Pinkie Keen on trying to keep our true identity hidden. You know, I don't really have a GOOD reason, besides the stopping of unnecessary panic. I just didn't want to miss an opportunity to be accepted into this awesome community. Selfish, I know, but I had my mind blown. What'd you expect? Plus, don't say you wouldn't do the same. "Please oh please go along with this?" I was pleading. She was no Brony, but maybe she could figure out why I'd want to spend time with the only cast I knew that was, well, 20% cooler. Not that she'd think that, but yeah. "Go along- Wait, you... I-I..." Confuzzled put it mildly. She could never understand my obsession before, and now her lack of comprehension was the cause of some sort of nervous breakdown (reoccurring plot point, much?). After all, a 'normal' male reaction would probably be to hurl at the very sight of everything being so girly. Yet here I was, asking her to embrace it, too. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-" "Fine." "... Really? Wow, thanks!" We were still whispering, but it was in that moment I realized what a good friend I had. What that had to do with whispering, I don't know. So why did I write that connection? Stop pestering me with questions, I'm new to this whole 'writing' thing. Anyway... Right off the bat, I came up with an explanation to everything. It felt bad having to lie, but what was I suppose to do, go prancing around telling every... pony that I was a human? Only Lyra could believe me, and even that has a slim chance of happening. Not to mention our omnivorous practices might scare the plot off even Princess Celestia. "We owe you an explanation, Fluttershy. We're... two-thirds of a traveling group of Show-Ponies, and we got lost in this forest. Ribbon here's probably mad at me for losing her in these woods. Ehehe..." Ribbon played along perfectly, to my relief, and gave me a hoof to the back of the head. Or maybe she still thought this whole mess was my fault. "T-Two thirds? Where is the, um, l-last pony, then?" asked Fluttershy. Ribbon was suddenly aware of my equation as well. She gave me a quizzical look, as if to ask, 'You think she's here, too?' "I don't believe I know where our friend Ember is, but she's sure to be close by. We can look for her now, if you'd like." I said. Truthfully, I had no idea if she was here in Equestria. I could only hope so. Ribbon was desperately trying to get to talk to me alone (not like, weirdly, you sicko), so we could try to think of a plan. Or maybe she wanted to rant about how stupid this was. Regardless, I didn't oblige just yet. We had an Ember to possibly find! After a quick plan was formulated (Fluttershy was so nice, volunteering her time to help find a friend who might not even be there! ~squee~), Ribbon and I began our trek through the forest with Fluttershy looking for signs of life above. I guess Ribbon did get that time alone she wanted (What am I writing? O_o) and she wasted none of it, getting right to the point. "Are you crazy? How could you be so... nonchalant about all of this?" "Truth be told, I'm internally in shock. I just didn't want to scare Fluttershy anymore then I had. Permission to spaz, ma'am?" "... Permission granted?" Basically, I let loose. Every little ounce of how amazing, crazy, awesome, cool (by 20%, by the way. A-ha! NEVER gets old...) and astounding all of this was was released. Every mental emotion and physical movement escaped over the next few seconds as my body finally caught up with my mind. Ribbon, somehow, ignored this display of insanity and waited for me to finish. After finishing by saying something about how 'this is best life', I composed myself, glad to get that out of my system. Instead, I asked a question: "Did you... Sorry, let me catch... My breath... Phew! Ok... Were you, like... Flung here, kinda?" As said before, there was little other way to describe it. This is proven by her thoughtful nod a few seconds later. "And you believe that-" she began. "Ember," I prematurely corrected. "And you're Ribbon, and I'm Quick Step. They're Pony names; we have to fit in." "...Right. You think she's here, too?" "Why not?" I ask. Then, suddenly becoming fake-ly dramatic, I sighed. "Why should you have to be the only one to SUFFER?" Extra emphasis on suffer, just to rub it in her face that I'm enjoying myself so much~ "Oh, boo hoo; she might miss all the fun." Then Ribbon did something only she can really get away with; she switches to this really cutesy, high voice and childishly slurs certain words. For instance, "Oh, I bwet you are bweing sutch a Bromy, aren't yew?" Sometimes it's d'aww inducing. Sometimes it's like she's talking to a child. "And what's wrong with liking something that makes you a better per- or rather, now, a better PONY inside?" I asked. Eeyep, I stooped as far as that. I rubbed it in her face that she was as stuck in this situation as I was. "Shut up and look for-" I gave her a look. Remember, we're calling her... "Ember," she continued, drawing out the word in an awkward, unused manner. "If she would be anywhere, she would be around here somewhere..." After a few more minutes of searching, during which I relayed my plan of fitting in, we found no trace of her. Was she lost, perhaps? Then again, was she even here in the first place? I just kinda wanted to get to her before Fluttershy, so I could get our stories strait. Unfortunately, I never got the chance. "Where's that flying pony, Flutter-by?" asked Ribbon. She probably did that on purpose. I had told her that name at least a hundred and two times before. "FlutterSHY, and I have no idea. When did you first notice she wasn't above?" I said. We were kinda-sorta lost-ish without her over us, but I was sure she could find us again. "Just now," she answered. She might've continued, but a quiet, yet easily recognizable voice was herd on the wind. "That way!" I shouted. We galloped off (Don't ask me how we immediately knew how to gallop, we just did. Yeesh.) towards Fluttershy's voice, intent on finding what she was talking to. Of course, I could only hope that it was who I thought it was... "Ember!" I was relieved. We found her! Phew. She looked over, obviously just in a conversation with Fluttershy. As soon as she placed my voice to who I was, she adopted the 'WTF' look I know so well. Even Ponyfied, I could spot it from a mile away. She was a pegasus*, completing our group by including every race, sans alicorn. Her fur was charcoal grey, and her mane was vibrant red, styled in the same downward spike, almost emo-looking way I knew already. Her muzzle ended in a purple shade, and so did her hooves and wing tips, which was pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Her cutie mark seemed to be a circular disk. Actually, it was the round part of a speaker. Huh, cool, she looked like a pony/Vocaloid mix! I could only assume her speakers didn't work, though. "Yeah, what's up?" said Ribbon, stepping out from behind me. "And yes, I know." "Um... So this i-is Ember? She doesn't, um, speak much, does she?" shyly asked Fluttershy. I just realized that she probably had her first one-sided conversation where she was the one talking the most. "Eenope." I stated, with a half-recognizing, half-confusion look from Fluttershy. Ribbon had gone over to Ember, and thus did not hear (Wow, that sounded fancy). I had asked Ribbon earlier that one of us had to explain to Ember my semi-though-out plan of trying to blend in as traveling performers. She thought that I wanted to do this so we could spend time looking for a way back to Earth, but really I just wanted to live in Ponyville as long as I could. Make the best of this situation, ya know? I don't know why it didn't bother me that much that I currently had no plan on how to return home. So I distracted Fluttershy describing my friends while Ribbon caught Ember up on the details of her heroic and logical version of our plan. "Ember is really quiet, almost in exact contrast to Ribbon. I never really got how they became such close friends, being so different. But hey, who am I to judge?" I rambled on. Nothing I said was a lie; they really had bonded quickly. And I don't know why either. Just one of those things, I guess. "Oh, so how long have you three been traveling?" She seemed excited to learn about our 'profession'. So, I told the truth. "We only met about half a year ago. But it really wouldn't make a difference how long we've known each other, I'm sure," I said. "Oh, you all must be very good friends! I would love to see a performance," said Fluttershy. I guessed that I would have to throw together something for us to dance to, so I could convince everypony. But we would need instruments, and we didn't have anything like that, just our voices and bodies. "I would love to... Only, ehe, I don't know where we left our cart full of equipment." It was so well lost, in fact, it's like it never existed! Oh, wait... "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'd love to help you look for it." Fluttershy was opening up to us, mostly me. Why me? Maybe it's because she met me first, or that I was the friendliest. Gosh, I feel so honored! "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much that means to me." Fluttershy shyly blushed. "But Celestia's lowering the sun, and I don't think I'd feel safe in this... What was it called?" I feigned ignorance. "Oh, right, the Everfree Forest. Um, can you tell us where the nearest hotel is?" Ribbon and Ember were done talking and had walked over. They were silently waiting for my signals on what to do. After all, they had almost never seen Equestria before, neither physically or through a screen. I was the resident expert, and I felt SO on the spot, you have no idea. "Oh, there's n-no need for that," said Fluttershy. She was still blushing for some reason. Weird. "You can stay at my cottage, I, uh, I have m-more then enough room, if you don't mind." Mind? Staying at Fluttershy's house would be, like... I don't know, cooler then sleeping anywhere else by an increment of 1/5? (Man, I really do sound fancy all of the sudden...) "But we wouldn't want to be a burden," began Ribbon. Ember nodded in agreement. Shutupshutupshutup, I want to sleep at Fluttershy's~ To my relief, Fluttershy was too nice to say no. "It would be no burden at all to give you a place to stay." She looked back over at me. "R-really, no problem," she continued. "Well, guys, are you okay with staying at her house?" I ask Ribbon and Ember. Please, PLEASE say yes. Pleeeeeeeeee- "Well, if she would be so kind..." Ribbon said, aiming her words at Fluttershy, giving her any chance to protest. None came. D'aww, she was so kind! Then again, she was the Element of Kindness. "Great!" She certainly was being super friendly, but still seemed nervous. Her cheeks were still red, too, I noticed. Was it getting too cold for her? Should I volunteer my new fur to make her a coat and keep her warm? Wait, what was I... We followed her through the forest, and watched the shadows lengthen as the dusk minutes passed. Fluttershy had, for some reason, adopted to walking beside me, with the other two trailing a few feet behind, in their own quiet conversation. Ribbon was the only... pony I knew who could pull words from Ember's mouth. A very special talent, if I do say so myself. Fluttershy gave a little noise to get my attention. She was blushing visibly again, which set me on edge. "Um, c-can I ask you a-another que-...question?" she asked. "You just did, silly." I gave a little chuckle, as did she. "But, yeah, go ahead. I don't mind." Fluttershy still wasn't looking at me, which made it hard and a little awkward to try to talk to her. She took a deep breath as she stole herself to ask her next question. "Do I-I look... Pretty?" Whoa. Where did that come from? Seriously, right field. But I did consider the question. Like I said before, I was still kinda in a state of shock; things like this made a vague sort of sense and didn't really freak me out as much as it should have. I had never really though of her as "attractive" or "pretty", mainly because of the same reason most people don't think of their cat or dog that way either. Fluttershy was 20,000% cooler (ZING) then a pet, of course, but as I am not attracted to horses, I couldn't really honestly say. "...Yes, anybo- excuse me, anypony would be lucky to go out with you. But remember, it's what's on the inside that counts." Aww, aren't I encouraging? Fluttershy sighed, obviously relaxing. "Tha- Thank you..." she said. D'aww, does somepony have a crush? A certain large, muscular, red stallion, perhaps? >.> Nah, I decide, Fanfic probably doesn't apply here. Wait, does that mean no Lyra and Bon-Bon? No Vinyl and Octavia? Confound it; those couples are so cuute~ That's when the true, true reality of the situation hit me. I was in Equestria. Like, true blue, canon-only, completely real Equestria. Like, Luna still shouts (maybe), no Trollestia (phew!), no Mane 6 'ships (which was fine by me, although Fluttershy's question caught me a little off guard), and no Twilight spell mix-ups (probably). As if 3-6 Mind-Blowns weren't enough... ----- NEXT TIME ON FRIENDS IN EQUESTRIA! We go to Fluttershy's cottage. We hit a few notes and break a few strings. We meet the best, lazy-eyed mare ever. ----- *For non-Bronies: There are three types of Ponies. Earth Ponies are normally strong, Unicorns can use magic, and Pegisi can fly and control weather.