Small and cramped. And way too much white. A young man, late twenties, dark brown hair, lanky and all around average, turns his head this way and that, like the camera in the upper corner of the room. Yep, too much white. That pretty sums up the room in which Wit sits. It had to be an interrogation room, no doubt. It had a camera, watching his every move and a one-way mirror window. Like that was supposed to fool him into thinking he was alone or something. All it needed was one of those big Hollywood lamps so they could shine it in his face. Instead it had one big white light on the ceiling and a stainless steel table.
No guard. That could be a good thing, or a bad thing. They probably thought it unnecessary. He was stuck in a wheelchair on account of his leg with a hole in it. If he did try to escape, well he’d be thwarted by the first flight of stairs he came to.
The blue painted steel door opens to admit an older man in a dark, sharp-cut suit. He has a sleek black tablet computer in his hand and what he probably thought was a disarming smile on his face. Wit was pretty impressed, so the feds have moved into the future. No more bulky manila folders stuffed with papers to slam on the table.
“Hello, I’m Agent Barker, FBI.” He pulls out a black leather wallet and flashes his badge at Wit.
Wit sees it long enough to register the letters FBI printed on it before the so-called Barker flips it away back into a pocket.
“So, Joey,” the agent says.
“How do you know my name?” Wit snaps.
Barker smiles. “We ran your prints; pulled everything we have on you. Though, it’s not what we expected to find.” Barker furrowed his brow and frowned at the reports on the tablet. In an instant, a well practiced smile again appears.
Wit scowls at the agent.
“Anyway, you are Joey Nederman, otherwise known as ‘Wit’. Which do you prefer, Joey or Wit?” Barker switches on the tablet swiping in a pass-gesture.
“Wit’s fine.” He says, those two words so dripping in venom the agent should be dead where he sat.
Barker taps a few fingers on the steel table, holding his cleft chin with one hand his eyes darting over the hostile young man. “I’m not your enemy, Wit. I’m here to help you.”
“You killed four of my friends, G-Man,” Wit growls.
Barker swipes again with a practiced motion on the surface of the tablet. “Wit. Active member of several online forums. Over two hundred thousand posts in the past four years on one site in particular, Ponychan. Care to tell me what this Ponychan is about, Wit?”
Wit continues to try and bore a hole through the agent with a steady glare.
“We believe that this Ponychan site has connections with the domestic terrorist group, Anonymous. Do you have any information regarding that, Wit?”
“Ponychan has nothing to do with the Anons, G-Man.”
Barker spreads his hands, inviting. Like the maw of a Venus Fly-trap was inviting. “Enlighten me then.”
Wit snickers, clenching a fist. “Pish! Like you care about the truth.”
“Ahh, but that is why we are here, Wit.” Barker gets up from his chair to lean on the steel table. And now, the punchline. “Like I said, I’m not your enemy, if anything I’m your friend. Two days ago, someone made a big mistake. Two days ago, you lost four friends because of that mistake, I’m here to try and fix that.”
“You can’t just fix dead friends,” Wit hisses through clenched teeth.
Barker stands up, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. “Okay, bad word choice. I’m sorry--”
“No you’re not,” Wit says under his breath, scowling at the false mirror. His reflection scowls in turn at the agent and the room.
“Listen, Wit. We’ve pulled files on all of you that we found at the industrial park. The worst crimes we could find on any of them was petty internet piracy, and a few unpaid parking tickets. Now, we were told and given strong evidence by several sources that the compound known as Friendshipping Express Inc. was a false front for a terrorist sleeper cell. Turns out, they lied. The bastards.”
Wit’s eyebrows shoot straight up into his hair. Had he been able, he would have jumped to his feet. “That’s crazy! I... What? Who the hell... Core-ban!” A hand flies to his forehead.
Barker raises an eyebrow at Wit. “Who is Core-ban?”
Wit runs a hand through his hair. “They’re the anti-bronies, the ones who have been doggin’ us around.”
Barker pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling noisily into it before glancing at Wit again. “I’m sorry, I don’t follow. Anti-bronies?”
Wit gives the agent a withering look. “Bronies are fans of My Little Pony, G-Man. Don’t tell me you never heard of us. Two years ago, a bunch of members of Core-ban crashed a brony convention, destroyed stuff, burned the building to the ground. It was all over the news.”
“My Little Pony... heh, I know that show. My granddaughter loves it. Does that make her a, what did you call it?”
“Brony.”
“Yeah.”
“Not really.” Wit leans forward wincing slightly at the pain in his leg. “Bronies are usually older fans, most of them guys, like me. Ponychan was just one of probably hundreds of pony sites that we used to talk to each other. About ponies.” He shoots the agent a wry smile turned smirk.
“Okay, I can see that. But how do you explain the stolen equipment we found destroyed in that warehouse and why it was rigged with explosives?”
Wit fidgets, shifting his gaze to everything but Barker. He glances at the tablet, a list of stolen items from a couple universities scrolling on its screen. “That’s complicated.”
Barker looks at his watch. “We have time.” Wit looks reluctant, shifting his gaze back to the mirror, so Barker speaks up again. “We just want the truth, Wit. I promise, we will get to the bottom of this, with or without your help. I think it would be better and faster if you did help. Better for us, better for you, better for your friends. There have been four innocent deaths. We need to know who’s responsible for feeding us false information. If this Core-ban group is behind it, we’ll shut them down. This group sounds a lot like Anonymous... and I’ve been trying to pin them down for years. But this is the first time a hacker group has used mob tactics and apparently they had their sights on hurting you and your friends. I don’t take kindly to bullies like that, Wit.”
Wit closes his eyes. “It started after the convention got trashed. I was there. One of the guys that ran one of the most popular pony sites, Equestria Daily, had an idea: What if we could leave Earth?”
I'm the Editor, I totally chose this title... and I was still here first.
It's a thing, people.
Tentative good guy? Maybe? I'm sensing a bit more at work than the G-man is letting on.
634155
Spike: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
haHA! FIX'D
634130 Oh... someone's cool.
634155
Great, now he's going to lower my pay. Thanks a lot, mate.
634170
and i am cool, ok???
Just eight seasons?
:P
634187
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/207/234/you-must-be-new-here-willy-wonka.jpg
When I see "G-Man", I only think of Half-Life.
Does this mean I'm a life-less nerd?
Either way, this is an interesting interlude, as was the most recent chapter. They give light to the struggles that the bronies & pegasisters have suffered through to reach this decision and this point. It also gives an idea of just what the people went through to get to where they are, how they did and stuff.
FBI? Well, now I know that it's not really a whole 'government and all society wants to get rid of bronydom', just an extremist terrorist organization wants to eliminate us all. And we, being the 'love and tolerate' bronies, don't have weapons or the innate desire to make war upon them, of course.
But the feds do...
I like it.
May the Grace of the Valar Protect You
Shire Folk
pretty good so far. first half was a bit confusing from the new characters sudden appearences but the second half was pretty spot on in plot pregressment. interlude is nice. onward to the next chapter
Tell me, eould this have to do anthing with the spinoff fic of your fic, "Left behind"?I
634321
There's a spin-off fic of my fic ALREADY? Why does nopony tell me these things?!?!?!?!
Edit: I searched on here and nothing turned up... is it someplace else then? Links or it didn't happen, my frerf.
The present tense in this chapter made it a bit strange to read, but that's a teensy weensy itty bitty feather of an issue.
I do think it's really weird the FBI knows so little about the bronies' connections to Anonymous, unless Wit isn't really at the FBI. *Evil Popcorn Guy drama cue*
Inb4 refeature. Congrats.
634365
Present tense makes my fantasy brain explode. But I decided to try it for the interlude and see how it went. It makes me laugh so I kept it
634412
Can you do that? Can you get featured twice?
You set yourself up for that meme.
p.s. is that actually possible? cuz if it is, I'll have to delete this fic and do something else... Fame=donotwant
Huh. So the assault on the compund _was_ government work. And now the government either finds out how to get Equestria, or condemns Bronydom as some sort of cult which indoctrinates its members to believe Equestria is real and they can visit it. Either way, I foresee bad things happening.
634328
It was but BronyRanger (The author) was scared off the project because of extremely bad feedback.
The basic premise is that he (yes, he) and a couple of other FiMfiction writers (including me) were unable to join the migration and were forced to remain in hiding. What I liked was the way he was going to refer to us in the story by our screen-names (for anonymity and safety for their families) and I was just curious and excited to see what would happen. The idea was born here in the comment section earlier actually.
To any of you who can hear this: BronyRanger and the rest of FiMfiction writers are to be supported, encouraged, and helped, not to be brought down and verbally kicked in the sides for imperfection in their stories. Helpfulness and support will keep a story alive by helping lift up the author's spirits, enhancing the quality of the story, but distain and jerkiness will decrease the quality of a story because of the adverse effects it will have on the morale of writers. If they don't know whether or not they should stay here, then of course the writing will be sloppy.
KINDNESS FOREVER
This... is a much more believable setup.
It still feels kinda self-serving in nature, but this is definitely more believable. Although, I must question why, if it's only one group of extremist terrorists, that they blamed society as a whole for basically destroying them in the first chapter. I should think, if 'society' has the FBI after them... if there are still obviously people that don't even know what bronies are... and if, by logical extension, the vast majority of people probably don't know or don't care about bronies... that the bronies themselves would place blame where blame is due.
That said, some people on the internet do seem crazy enough to basically form a mob... although I'm not sure they're quite SMART enough... maybe they have FOX news managing and supplying them...
In any case, I do hope that it turns out FBI Guy isn't a dirty double crosser and is on the straight and narrow. Otherwise we'd basically be right back to where I started...
634455
Yeah, the first chapter is really vague. Most of well, everything, didn't exist yet. And the description is a bit misleading now that there is a real explanation. Time will tell if I get around to fixing the first chapter, or I may just leave it ambiguous. Cereal just refers to them as "they" so it could mean any number of people or groups who have opposed them.
thsi shit is getting real, keep he chapters coming, its geting interesting now.
634498
Well, actually, if you do go back to chapter 1 and make it less ambiguous, I have to tell you, you didn't just refer to it as 'they.' You said 'society' at least twice, and your use of it suggested society as a whole.
'The hate and stigma imposed by society had shaken many bronies out of the community.'
'...why did society try to pull down something so good?'
Just saying. Using that word in that way sorta suggests a society as a whole. As in a whole country or community. If you don't want people to get the wrong idea, you may want to alter that a bit...
634525
hmm I did write that didn't I? goes to show how much I pay attention to my own mad schemes
634533
Well, you gotta be careful sometimes when writing One or two wrong word choices can make all the difference sometimes. In any case, at least it becomes easier to see where my initial distaste came from, eh?
634540
t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSUTP_x0idHtSxhevrRR2iokBoLYjJlo-7fbN7jM6n8CZPS6Nk5LQN93wv1
Okay, you are holding out far too long on why the bronies in Equestria are having magical troubles. Celestia mentioned it on the VERY FIRST DAY. It should have been the FIRST thing she discussed with the Brony leaders, then and there, in full detail--- not holding off for days on end while the problem worsened. You're making Celestia and Luna carry the Idiot Ball for the sake of over-stretched suspense.
634581. /]*(\
as spike would say NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
to damn short!!! Needs MOAR!! It only took me 30 minutes to read both chapters! Not long enough!
But I'll let you off becuase your 1). Awesome as buck and 2). Your a very good author and I know we'll get more chapters very soon.
Don't let my trust be miss placed. The last author that did that is still getting pictures of crying kittens.
634561 It's pretty obvious. There's no magic on Earth. There's magic in Equestria. They're being exposed to it the first time and are having troubles with it. Q.E.D.
634204 Rise and shine, Mr. Velocity. Rise and shine.
634187 Sadly, as many of us are fans of MLP FiM... there are more... so many more who's hearts are filled with contempt and hate for furries and Bronies. 8 Seasons would be AWESOME... Sadly, I feel the hate will end up crushing it... just like the hate hurt Derpy in her one and only moment in the spotlight.
*Cries and hopes all will accept and learn to love and tolerate*
>rigged with explosives
there we go, I knew they wouldn't just leave the portal there for ANY-one to waltz on through, even if the explosives didn't go off...
well, just knowing there was a plan there makes me see it as much more believable
Tracking
I NEED MOAR!!!!
634424 It is, but rarely for more than an hour or two. And to date I've not seen a triple. And trust me, deletion will end...Badly. For you.
634561 Maybe they did explain but the author did not deign to explain to us the readers? Or it's way too complicated that explaining and understanding wouldn't help anyways and the solution requires other actions not taken by the bronies, and that knowledge of this phenomenon would not contribute to the solution and would result in panic instead (which would be far worse?)?
634163 Let's hope this doesn't veer into downright horrible and result in the government sending pursuing army into Equestrian dimensions after these bronies / the knowledge being leaked or used inappropriately by exploitative organizations whom go invade or cause even more horrible ruckus to ensue.
634446 Honestly, I'm really happy that that spinoff was cancelled. Spinoffs on fics so early in development just shouldn't happen. The fact that he didn't even ask Laich for permission just makes it so much worse.
635443
I was told that he did, though, so that's unusual.
Yay
634581 I've read the Silmarillion about three times now. I know exactly who the Valar are and I'm even partially competent in Quenya. The thing is, the Valar aren't just the gods of the Firstborn. Illuvatar created the Firstborn and Secondborn. Sure, Halflings/Hobbits aren't exactly in that equation, just as Dwarves weren't created by Illuvatar, but I've been using the name Shire Folk since at least 2002 on loads of sites and profiles since I first made a Gamespot account waiting for the release of LOTR The Battle for Middle-earth (Hobbit didn't work, Halfling didn't work, Shire Folk did). Since I started writing fanfiction five years ago, I wanted a "God Bless You" kind of signature except in a way that would make sense to people who know Tolkien (since my pen name is Shire Folk). I don't truly care that it doesn't work since there have been no in-universe religious references to the hobbits of the Shire... Frodo calls on Elbereth (Varda) when the Nazgul attack on Weathertop. There, your argument is partially invalid.
May the Grace of the Valar Protect You
Shire Folk
Neldë arani nár neldë saila néri.
“We believe that this Ponychan site has connections with the domestic terrorist group, Anonymous."
Of course, Anonymous. why didn't I see that coming.
inb4FakeFBIAgent.
634637
Two options for me knowing your birthday: a) I'm a wizard or b) you told me at some point and I remembered
635490
He did ask, and I gave him permission, but I also suggested he wait until this was complete. Oh well.
635682
Curse my dyslexic tendencies...
This story is making me hope that this isn't a warning from the future, some of that is good but the anti-brony stuff aint
Well... The equestrian bronies are fucked. Excuse me, "bucked"... Actually, you know what? Screw that. It makes AJ's job seem nasty.
oh so there were explosive at the portal, but now i must ask why they didn't go off? and how did the terrorists figure out how to reactivate the portal to shoot the bronies?
twitchy twitchy twictchy twitch I had too much milkshake
636201
Actually it's more of an adaptation of this idea with influence from the concept of Geoglyphs I have been meaning to read Where the World Ends. In fact I'm basing the over all layout of Equestria and the rest of the world on the map made by the author which you can find here. Obviously, the two worlds are not exactly the same. I might get around to making my own map at some point but that would be quite the project so for now I use that one as a reference. I wish I could explain everything, it would solve a lot of problems, but in the immortal words of Discord, "Where's the fun in that?"
636248
Um, wat?
634424 This fic will most likely get a feature in one of the last 2 slots in the feature box every time it updates. They... updated? ...reverted? the last 2 slots of the feature bar to use a much older feature system. As a result old stories are HIGHLY likely to be featured any time they are updated
shit=hit fan
This is to awsome, I want more.