Lyre
"Oh! Where are my manners?!" Filthy Rich exclaimed, having suddenly observed the existence of the blue-mane'd weirdo sitting awkwardly at the table. "I swear, if my head weren't attached to my body, I'd go on fishing everyday without it." He chuckled, if only to acknowledge how lame the attempt at a joke was. He crossed the distance of Bon Bon's shop and held a hoof out to Flash Sentry. "Good afternoon. The name's Rich. Mr. Rich. I run Barnyard Bargains right here in Ponyville."
Flash held a hoof out—uncertain how horses "shake." Thankfully, Mr. Rich took charge, giving Flash's fetlock a firm squeeze with the crook of his limb. "Uh... hiya, Fil—er... Mister Rich." Flash winced against the ice pack, but nevertheless smiled. "You could call me Brad."
"That's quite a nasty bump you've go there on your noggin', son," the stallion said, squinting quizzically. "Flying accident?"
"Actually, he fell off the ladder outside while trying to clean the gutters," Lyra said, wincing.
"Mmmmm... my my..." Filthy tongued the inside of his muzzle. "Ain't it a sorry thang when good ponies experience bad things while doing nice deeds?"
Flash wasn't certain why, but he felt a slight warmth springing from the inside. He hadn't much time to dwell on that—
"Mind if I take a gander?" Filthy asked, leaning in. "I promise I won't touch no bruises or nothing."
Bon Bon cocked her head to the side. "You've got medical expertise, Mr. Rich?"
"Oh... I know a thing or two," he said, smirking. With gentle gestures, he guided Flash in removing the ice press so he could look at the teenager's fuzzy skull up close. "I went halfway through nursing school way back when. There was a brief time when I didn't fancy following in my father's and grandfather's hoofsteps, but—alas—patching ponies up just wasn't my thing. I much rather patch up checkbooks, if you catch my drift. Eheh..."
"Well, I'm sure you've found ways to be..." Flash Sentry winced slightly as he tilted his head towards Filthy. "...altruistic anyways."
"We do what we can," Filthy said, squinting. "Hmmmm... hmmm—yup. I see."
"Is it bad, Doc?" Lyra asked, leaning forward. "Er... I mean, Mr. Rich?"
"Just had a nasty spill, is all," Filthy said, gazing deep into Flash's eyes. "I don't think it's a concussion." He leaned back with a smirk. "You're a lucky colt, Mr. Brad. If you fell any harder, we might be rushing you to Ponyville Central by now."
"Hey..." Flash shrugged with a crooked smile. "...when you've got four horseshoes at any given time, I guess you can't complain."
"Whoah..." Lyra looked down at Flash's hooves. "You wear horseshoes?!"
"You must be super rich!" Bon Bon added.
Flash blinked. He hadn't expected that. "Uhhhhh..."
"I do believe it was a figure of speech," Octavia remarked.
"Not like any figure of speech I've ever heard," Filthy Rich said, straightening his tie as he studied Flash some more. "You've got a curious accent about you, son. From what part of Equestria do you hail?"
Flash's ears instantly drooped. He pressed the pack to his head again—wincing from the pressure he was nervously applying. "Uhhhhhhhhh—"
"Quite far away," Octavia blurted. "Beyond Griffonstone."
Bon Bon and Lyra exchanged glances.
"Beyond... Griffonstone...?" Filthy Rich blinked. "I had no earthly idea that ponies lived that far across the sea!"
"Neither did I," Octavia said. "Until Mr. Brad and I here had a lovely chat."
Flash glanced at Octavia.
Octavia glanced back. "Thankfully, ponies—even from that great a distance—know how to preserve good Equestria manners."
Flash blinked. Slowly, his ears perked back up as he relaxed. He gave Octavia a thankful smile. She merely responded with classy deadpan.
"Well, I for one am glad for those manners," Bon Bon said. "Thank you so kindly for fixing our gutters, Brad." She stepped over. "Seriously, though—if you suffer any injuries because of that fall you took, I promise I'll cover for the doctor's visit."
"Ohhhhh... I don't think it's quite that serious, little filly!" Filthy Rich exclaimed. "You did the right thing in getting him something icy to sooth the sting."
"Any... uhm... suggestions for what to do next?" Bon Bon asked.
"Well, I reckon some relaxation would be in order," Filthy said. "Maybe some music. You ask me—that there's the best medicine anypony could have."
Lyra was suddenly gasping wide. "Oh! Oh! I-I've got that covered!" She darted into the back of the confectionery.
"Ohhhhh come on, Lyraaaaa." Bon Bon rolled her eyes.
"No. Please." Octavia waved a hoof. "Indulge her." Her fuzzy lips curved slightly. "It's been quite a while since I've enjoyed the lulling strings of your roommate."
"What...?" Flash turned his neck, wincing slightly. "Does Miss Heartstrings have a studio in the back of this candy shop?"
The lime-green shape in question trotted briskly back, levitating a lyre by her side. "Actually, I do." She paused in place, blushing slightly. "Well... sort of... it's the next best thing to one." She glanced at Octavia, her amber eyes sparkling. "At least until I get to borrow a professional studio for a week or two."
"And I look forward to what you produce," Octavia said. "Here and now."
"Oh! A little concert! How delightful!" Filthy Rich took it upon himself to sit down beside Octavia and Flash. "Well, what are you waiting for, Missy?"
"Ah jeez..." Lyra suddenly fidgeted. The lyre rattled in her magical grasp. "Suddenly I've got an audience." She gulped. "I'm not too good with crowds."
"Seriously?" Bon Bon droned. "Four ponies is a crowd?"
"Heh..." Flash waved his free hoof. "Pretend I'm not here. Make it three again."
"But..." Lyra pouted. "I wanted you to hear it the most. You're the one who took the bump, after all."
"I'll just close my eyes." Flash did so, exhaling. "Pretend I'm at home listening to my stereo..."
"Do they have good acoustics in Griffonstone?"
"Lyra." Bon Bon barked.
"Right! Uhm... here's... uh... a ballad I've been working on. Well... I guess it's not a ballad since it's just an instrumental, but... er... you just tell me what you think."
Flash sensed Octavia's seat shifting as the musical mare leaned forward—genuinely interested in her acquaintance's talent. He smelled the cologne wafting off of Filthy Rich's figure behind him. Last but not least, he heard the hooftrots of Bon Bon as she shuffled out from behind the counter.
So many adults with so much to do, Flash pondered. Do they actually have the time to just... burn in sitting here and listening to a spontaneous musical performance?
Flash thought about the world he came from. He tried to envision everyone suddenly stopping in place... enjoying the moment... listening to someone playing a musical instrument pulled out impulsively from the stockroom of a random cafe. The more he contemplated it, the more his intestines twisted around each other—for it was impossible. It was simply impossible for the world to stop at any given moment. Society would completely collapse if it paused for any stretch of time longer than a second. The cell phones... the work schedules... the bill payments and the shipping orders would all catch fire. Everything would implode—even in Italy.
But these ponies...?
These ponies were different. Somehow they knew how to live for living's sake—even self-important wealthy citizens such as Filthy Rich.
But soon, Flash wasn't thinking about anything at all—for his ears were being filled with music, and his skull by extension. Lyra's chords filled the room with a soothing sonic salve, and it felt for a moment as though Flash was swimming in it. His eyes were already closed, so he just drifted with the notes, intoxicated by their exotic quality.
Flash had never listened to a lyre performance before. Perhaps there were times, he imagined: late, light nights spent on Youtube in a sleep-deprived drunken stupor, scouring the world's history of musical instruments in order to chase away the remorse of another day spent doing nothing.
But this? This was different. This was real. Sure, it was painted with pastel pony fuzz and projected by Disneyesque extremes of otherworldly magic, but it was alive... it was just a few feet away from him... and—more than all of that—it was earnest. It was a gift. It was something from the heart, from the soul, and—miraculously enough—given directly to him.
For a brief moment, Flash Sentry almost remembered what it felt like.
Just as his eyelids started to burn, the music ended—much sooner than he wanted—and he was forced to open his gaze to a bright world filled with applause.
"Bravo! Bravo!" Filthy Rich exclaimed, clopping his hooves against the floor. "A real treat, Miss Heartstrings! Through and through!"
"Way to go, Lyra," Bon Bon said with a wink.
"You..." Lyra bit her bottom lip, smiling through her green dimples. "You really liked it?"
"Absolutely, love," Octavia said. "A tad bit rough at the start, but that's to be expected with an impromptu performance." She brushed her smoky bangs back. "With practice, you can very easily make a studio recording of that."
"I really liked the melody at the end," Flash said with a smile. He had completely forgotten the ache in his skull, so he rested the cold press ont the tabletop. "It really brought the whole piece together after the bridge."
Lyra glanced over at him, eyes narrowing. "Are... you a musician, Brad?"
Flash answered without thinking: "Totally! I mean, it's been a long time since I've played guitar."
"Oooh! You're a guitarist!"
"Yup!"
"You know any rad songs?"
He chuckled. "Plenty!"
"Wait right here!" Lyra galloped to the backroom.
Flash blinked. His smile faded. "Wait..."
With the pitter-patter of hooves, Lyra returned, telekinetically dragging a long-necked instrument. She leaned it against the table before Flash. "Here you go!"
"... ... ..." Flash looked at the instrument. In an equally dumb stupor, he glanced down at his flat, blunt hooves. "Uhm..."
"Lyra..." Bon Bon sighed through a tired smile. "Must you?"
"I must admit..." Filthy Rich stood with a pleasant expression. "I'm mighty curious what kind of music gets cooked up on the other side of Griffonstone." He winked at the teenager. "Judging from your neighbors... I can't imagine it's all too relaxing."
"It's... not that... just..." Flash grimaced, gingerly grasping the guitar in his fetlocks. Already—he nearly lost his balance of the thing and had to rush forward to grasp it before it fell to the shop's floor. "Like... how?" He gaped at Octavia. "How, even?"
Octavia gave him a knowing glance. Clearing her throat, she said, "Nopony's pressuring you into playing—"
"I thought this sort of thing came natural to pegasi," Lyra remarked with a blink. "It's why I've never bothered mastering it. Y'know... I-I just attempt shredding every now and then. Still... heehee... I can't jam like Thunderlane can."
"Thunderlane?" Flash blinked. "Is that a band?"
"No, it's a pegasus. And a very boastful one, too." Bon Bon squinted Lyra's way. "Lyra, I thought you were going to repair that for him."
Lyra hissed back: "He's too busy chasing Blossomforth. What does he know?"
"Lyraaaaaaa..."
Filthy Rich chuckled.
"Just... uhm..." Flash looked the guitar over like it was made out of radioactive uranium. "...what gives us pegasi an advantage, anyways?"
"Uhhhhhhh..." Lyra merely stared at him. "Your feathertips?"
"Feathertips?"
Octavia cleared her throat daintily. "It's an ancient art. Dating back to Pegasopolitan harpists."
Flash Sentry looked at the guitar, then at his wings. He clenched his jaw as he flexed muscles that he didn't know he could flex before. Like magic, two phantom limbs opened up on either side of him... becoming real. With a little bit of fiddling around, he found that he could stick individual feathers straight out—one at a time—or all at once. On top of that, he found that their quills were indeed rigid enough to...
"Hmmmm..." The teenager took a deep breath. "...what the Hell." Then—biting his lip—he stuck the feathers outwards, stretching them forward towards where he had the guitar cradled in his forelimbs. He had to slouch back a bit—or perhaps a lot—but he found that he could easily wrap his wings around the neck of the guitar and its lower frets. So, with slight boldness, he began plucking away. The notes that struck the air sounded like a chicken getting disembowled. He winced. "Christ!"
The other ponies winced as well.
"Perhaps... it could use some tuning?" Filthy Rich suggested.
"It's not the guitar," Flash grumbled. "It's me."
Sensing the stallion's frustration, Bon Bon cleared her throat with a gentle smile. "It's okay. You just suffered a nasty fall. You needn't—"
"Wait. Just hold up." Flash licked his lips liberally. Sweat formed against his fuzzy forehead as he struggled to force his feathertips into a memorized rhythm. "I think I can just... I can just..." It was true; even if he wasn't stuck in a winged horse's body, he was rusty as Hell. It had been many months since he last strummed a guitar with human limbs. Coincidentally, it had been several more months since he last felt happy.
But this? This moment needed to stay pristine. So he tried... so he struggled... and after two awkward minutes filled with discordant plinking and planking—he finally mastered the elementary tabs that he wanted.
"Ha!" He grinned wide, wider. "HaHA!" This outburst was followed by foalish giggles, and in the end he was gazing at the other four with a stupid grin. "Smoke on the Water!"
The ponies merely exchanged glances.
Flash cleared his throat. "Uhm... f-fire in the sky?"
"It's certainly... uhm..." Bon Bon began.
"...exotic?" Filthy Rich finished.
"That's really, really nifty," Lyra said.
"Eh..." Flash shrugged, laying the guitar down. "I'm super rusty."
"No, I mean it!" Lyra grinned. "Is that the kind of music they play in your land?"
"A little too much on the classic fm stations, but... sure!"
"Maybe you could teach it to me!" Lyra exclaimed. "Or... any others you know?"
"Oh Luna." Bon Bon shook her head, chuckling. "Now you've got her started."
"Hey!" Lyra pouted. "If a pony from a faraway land came in with a snazzy candy recipe, would you refuse him?"
Bon Bon tilted her chin up. "Some of us like to stay original."
Lyra stuck her tongue out. "Liar liar, saddle on fire!"
"Heh..." Filthy Rich shrugged. "Guess you can't learn a culture in a day!"
All this time, Flash was rubbing his chin. He looked left and then right... then smiled. "Y'know... I could maybe teach you something."
Lyra gasped. "Really? You can?"
"I... uh..." Flash squirmed in his seat. "I'd need some music sheets, though."
"Say no more." Octavia reached into her saddlebag.
Flash glanced at her. "You walk around with music sheets?"
"Never leave home without them." The mare looked up with a smile as she retrieved several leaves of marked paper. "In case of a musical emergency."
Flash could only smirk.
Ponies.
"What do you have in mind, Mr. Brad?" Filthy asked. "An orchestral epic from days of yore?"
"Something like that," Flash muttered, scooting his chair closer to the table and the sheets. "For most peop—horses my age, 1992 is as 'yore' as 'yore' gets."
"He..." Filthy glanced confusedly at Bon Bon. "...doesn't look Saddle Arabian."
"Anybody got a pen?" Flash asked. Octavia rolled one to him. The stallion found himself staring awkwardly at the tool. He glanced at Octavia.
Octavia silently moved her lips: "Use your mouth."
Taking a deep breath, Flash clasped the pen between his teeth and began—slowly but surely—marking musical notes all across the sheets in front of him. Octavia and Lyra watched intently the entire time.
"That reminds me." Filthy turned to Bon Bon. "I recall you saying that you intended to update your store sign, Miss Bon Bon. I think I can get you in touch with a local repairstallion who'll tackle the job at half the price."
"Oh! That would be most delightful, Mr. Rich."
"Granted..." Filthy smiled. "No amount of prettifying on the outside can capture the mirth that you maintain here on the inside."
"Heh... you flatter me, Mr. Rich."
"Well, if I got paid for flattering, I'd retire Barnyard Bargains in a heartbeat!"
"You would not."
"Okay. I suppose you know me too well."
"Heeheeheee..."
At last, Flash finished with writing the instrumental. "Ah... there we go."
"I commend you on your memory," Octavia said. "Not... so much on your hoofwriting."
Lyra giggled.
"Eh... whatever," Flash said. "At least it's legible, right?"
"Totally!" Lyra said with a nod.
"Wanna give it a shot?"
Lyra leaned back, wide-eyed. "Me?"
"You're the one with the lyre," he said, gesturing.
"I... uh... I m-might mess it up."
"Go ahead, Lyra," Bon Bon said. "You're a natural."
"Well... okay th-then..." Lyra floated the sheets in front of her while grasping her lyre. "Here goes." She gulped... then began plucking away.
"Start in E minor," Flash said.
"Thanks." Lyra held her breath, concentrated, and rolled her way into a beautifully melancholic instrumental.
Flash took the time to look at the others. The performance sounded considerably different on a lyre, but it had its intended effect. The muzzles of all three ponies seated around him dropped simultaneously—including Octavia's. For a moment there, it looked as though Filthy Rich was going to break out into tears. A smile drew across Flash's muzzle, and by the time the instrumental ended, he looked in Lyra's direction.
The mare completed her performance with a sigh. She hugged the lyre to her chest. "That was... was..."
"The most divine thing I've ever heard," Octavia exhaled.
"It was really... really good," Bon Bon stammered. Swallowing dryly, she looked in Flash's direction, eyes bright and yearning. "What's it called?"
Flash leaned back with a proud feeling in his chest. "Nothing Else Matters," he said. "By... uhm... a travelling pony minstrel troupe named Metallica."
"They... must be a legend in the lands beyond Griffonstone," Filthy Rich said.
"They were once," Flash mused. "Nowadays, they're a legend in some random uptown Armani's... but hey..." He shrugged, chuckling. "Once you're a god of metal you can afford to live like one."
"Uhm..." Lyra brushed her mane back. "I really really liked that song. C-can I keep the sheets, Brad? I think I'd like to perform that again..."
"You're not alone, love," Octavia remarked, genuinely enthused. "Bloody Tartarus... I wonder how that would sound on a cello."
"Oh! Dude!" Flash sat up with a bright grin. "You haven't lived until you've heard Apocalyptica's cover of—" He winced in mid-sentence, then cleared his throat. "Ahem... What I meant was: knock yourself out."
"I... think that I might just do that."
"In the studio?!" Lyra beamed.
"If you would be so kind as to accompany me, dear... with that music, of course."
"You okay with that, Brad?" Lyra asked.
"You've got a studio here in Ponyville?" Flash asked.
"Indeed we do. Vinyl and I..." Octavia's words trailed off. She looked at the floor... then back at Flash once again. "...would you care to see it?"
Flash glanced aside at Bon Bon and Filthy Rich, ponies who had stopped all they were doing to enjoy the nonsensical death of time. He himself had barely finished cleaning out Bon Bon's gutters. He had a ladder to return. Somewhere, a middle-aged mare had promised him banana bread. On top of all of that, a mirror rested off-limits in the basement of a giant crystalline tree palace, the one final barrier between home and a world he had no business wasting his time in.
"Sure thing!" He hopped up to his hooves with a dumb grin. "Lead the way!"
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That was a good song choice.
i think flash is starting to forget he should be trying to get as far away as possible from a certain purple pony...
7787922 I don't think this is going to end up like Austraeoh... I hope.
I was thinking exactly the same thing. This is getting scary...
Heavy Metal Strings?
Dis gonna be Gud.
Now, who has a piano?
7810317 Austraeoh had a long term purpose even if the main character or the audience knew it at the beginning. I don't think this is going the same way.
It's always fun when the narrator insults the protagonist and they can do nothing about it.
And you don't really know which world is which, do you?
Sweet chapter and I can't wait to see the next one, any chance you plan to get Human Flash hooked up with somepony in Pony Equestria or that Sunset might find that H-Flash is missing from Human Equestria?
That guitar experiment could have been a real disaster, but seems like it worked out pretty well.
Even for a magical fantasy land, this Equestria seems a good bit nicer than normal. Something's up. Either Flash has to leave eventually, so its to make his departure sadder, or something's wrong/will go wrong soon. Not saying that I don't trust skirts, but i don't trust him
7810731
I have a feeling that Flash is soon going to find out that a lot of the stuff he tried to leave behind in the human world still exists in Equestria. Your right the story is painting this place as a little too perfect. Though I have a feeling it's simply because Flash is likely ignoring it or hasn't been here long enough to run across it.
7810731
Maybe he'll get found out by Twilight or Celestia? like surely someone who had come through a portal from another demension would have a differant magical signature, and maybe they picks up on it or something?
who knows
an other great chapter. It's great to see that Flash finds some pleasure in the daily life activities. I like your portrayal of Filthy Rich in the story he always first comes off as creepy business man, but turns out to be a rather nice guise if you can look pass his business savvies side. I wander what will come up in the next chapter.
This was absolutely wonderful. I was wondering what song Lyra was playing.. and of course it was Nothing Else Matters
And Octavia, does it sound good when played by a cello? You have no idea. You have absolutely no idea of the beauty you're about to unleash when you play it together with Lyra.
So Flash is starting to enjoy himself. That's great!
Heh, imagine how everyone will react the moment he adds lyrics.
Ponies. The most peaceful creatures in the multiverse. Until they learned the concept of metal.
It took me a second to get that one.
I think that's the third or fourth time I've seen you bring up banana bread in your fics recently. Are you having cravings?
Its a good feeling to went home after a tiring day abd read something relaxin like this
7811547 Metal doesn't HAVE to be about death or other non-tvY things. With ponies, they could make an epic metal somg about making a sandwich.
7815078 I am just joking, of course. I listen to metal about dancing around a fire pit, a love that trascends transmigration, or about restoring a beach ecosystem after an oil spill.
7815078
RAINING BREAD
FROM A LACERATED SKY
BUTTERING ITS HORROR
CREATING ITS STRUCTURE
NOW I SHALL REIGN IN CHEESE!!!
Yesssss. Lyra is so great, and this story is so much fun.
It is clear that Flash is getting very lucky right now. He has been having a good time because he did a favor for the cakes and spend time with the ponies who we think would be good, even Rich who has been seen to be a good pony.
Ponyville is a good town and the chances of seeing some others thing are not as likely, but I think Flash will see soon. There are lots of monster attacks that happen, ponies are not always the bravest when strange things come about, and he hasn't seen anypony like the one that took advantage of rarity generosity. If he stays there longer than a day or two, he will see one of theses things, or maybe worse, have weird reactions to the main 6, which would not look good or even suspicious.
I am on guard when it comes to this story, with this author, the shorter stories are either dark, sad or have some twist to them.
I can imagine the headline: ITALY IMPLODES AFTER IMPROMPTU JAM SESSION
In any case, I can't see the harm in a cultural exchange between the two worlds. Well, other than certain distasteful individuals and organizations trying to exploit innocent magic horsey land. Still, on this scale, it seems like it will turn out well for everyone involved.
I wonder how it's going to go wrong.
Glad to see Octavia caught on, somepony was bound to sooner or later and it's nice that Flash has somepony in the know to help him with excuses when he messes up. Really liked that he's trying to play music again, I don't think he's going to be staying in Equestria in this fic but he is going to go back a lot happier for his time there.
Filthy Rich not being an ass is always a pleasant sight though I have to agree with others that things are going just a bit TOO good for Flash at the moment. I'm half expecting some tragic plot twist or downer ending but I'm hoping that is not the case.
No amount of prettifying
Found it... well... it's a harp
Strange. It was flowing nicely in chapters 5 through 9 but, for some reason, it feels like like this chapter grinds that flow to a halt and makes it feel like a jumble somehow.
The best I can infer at this time of day is:
1. Even with a few re-reads, I can't figure out how you get from the end of chapter 9 to the beginning of chapter 10.
2. Even if I ignore that discontinuity, the first half or so feels like a drop in writing quality (too much telling, not enough showing, and feels rushed and stilted in parts).
3. The first half also feels like it's got various details where their relevance takes too long to become apparent, which makes them feel like sloppy attempts at exposition covering things already established in previous chapters. (eg. the re-mention of Lyra getting to borrow a better studio)
In fact, it was so jarring that I went back to the story's front page to see if I'd missed or forgotten about a "So far, chapters 1-9 have been revised" message.
7830803 On the off chance that you really didn't get the joke, lemme splain:
Filthy mentions that because he said 'horses my age'. Ponies never refer to themselves as horses, but Saddle Arabians (The guys from 'The Magic Duel' episode in season 3) apparently do, considering that they are much taller than most ponies, even Cadance and Luna while they're smaller than Celestia, plus have a more 'horse defined stature'. They also have the sleek physical features of 'real Arabian horses'.
If don't know who this refers to, here are some pictures:
vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/3/39/Princess_Celestia_with_the_delegates_from_Saddle_Arabia_S3E5.png/revision/20130309070352
img13.deviantart.net/4ef5/i/2013/186/9/d/__saddle_arabia___by_trefleix-d6c49i2.png
Yay positivity!
I'm hoping for some thunder.
I see Lyra is getting her perk back. Must've been just shy around new stallions.
7997975
Ponies do have their own version of cave trolls (err, if they were orcs bent on conquest in the name of the Dark Lord): Clydesdales like Troubleshoes, who seem to be fully integrated into pony society. They're even bigger than Celestia. I wonder if she's purposely bred them for size over the millennia, for reasons........
Somepony's getting it. Welcome to the herd, new brony pony!
Is Flash ever going to bring his mind back to the gutter?
This reads like an ignorant American writing about a trip to a foreign country they didn't actually visit.
9156729
I suppose it would probably be a better story if he could go to Equestria first hand but with the Covid travel bans right now that's sadly not realistic.