Blurb
Found unconscious after a blast of mysterious magical energy, Ellie finds herself having to adjust to this bizarre land of magical talking horses who insist on calling themselves ponies, even though everyhuman knows that ponies are just small horses. Along the way, she finds herself liking this society that they've built more and more.
Table of Contents
Part 1: Canterlot (Published)
Part 2: Ponyville (Published)
Part 3: Sweet Apple Acres (Published)
Part 4: Various (Published)
Part 5: School of Friendship (Published)
Part 6: Library (Published)
Part 7: Fluttershy's Cottage (Published)
Author's Note
I had originally intended to start this series later in its timeline, with the first few months of Ellie getting settled into Equestria being left alluded to and unexplored. But I felt it was important to establish the fact that she is intended to be a distinct character with a biography and a worldview, not a shallow self-insert.
I hope that the temporal setting and references do not come off as a tasteless attempt to be topical. It is in fact deliberately historical, as the inspiration behind this series came from the feelings of the first few months of the pandemic before getting used to the new normal, when everything felt isolating and disorienting and uncertain. It was in this stew of emotions that I started to watch, for the very first time, this children's TV show that all the internet people were on about. And here we are.
Okay, I immediately love Ellie, and I usually stay away from Human-to-Equestria OCs.
Welcome to Ponyville.
i came from the lesbian glim glam story.
i'm staying for more of that witty banter.
just burning bridges left and right
So they're bros now?
Interesting read so far!
I too have always wondered how Pegasus wings worked since they’re technically too small. Must be magic
Well! Looks like the world beyond Starswirl's mirror, and its colorful inhabitants, are right in the middle of Ellies' uncanny valley. And she might have been reading the Canterlot Times at the worst possible moment...
My question about Ellie and the mirror world is what the locals thought of her. The Uncanny Valley cuts both ways, after all.
I'm not saying she's a planeswalker, but...
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Since ponies transform into EqG humans, I'd rather not imagine what regular humans turn into in the process. Ellie got shown pictures Twilight took from her time there.
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They're also right in the middle of mine! Ellie is also a sci-fi nerd, though she will never admit this. It does make her not too keen on the idea of teleportation, though.
Well, now I'm curious...
Beautiful, shining light, or torch. And now I'm wondering that will have any bearing on the story.
To be fair, Discord's probably so gender fluid as to qualify as new state of matter.
"Hopefully there won't be an invasion this time."
"A what?"
"Don't worry, we'll take care of it."
And... Oof. That ending heartbreaker.
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Maybe with the Canterlotters Ellie dismissed as fever dreams. Not with Rainbow Dash. These two just had a moment.
Pretty sure you already know this and that's the joke, but just in case: yes, Soarin' is named after MLP writer Amy Keating Rogers' son Soren.
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Well, something else revealed here has slight, ironic bearing, but not the choice of Elena. One of the cut lines had her musing it that probably derived from the Greek Helene or something, which is also what I assumed, but that doesn't have an intentional link either! I chose the name because it fit a couple of other constraints I had and it sounded nice.
I also agree that gender doesn't really apply to Discord, but he does seem to be the most into the idea of "Guy's Night" with Spike and Big Mac.
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It's canonically magic since pegasi lose their flight powers when their magic gets taken by Tirek and Grogar's Bell!
And yep, not so far regretting following you. :)
(Also, while due to time constraints and such I haven't commented on everything I found interesting in what I've found here so far, Twilight having travelled to Ponyville by balloon rather than chariot struck me as an interesting difference, and had me wondering what led to that, and if this Twilight has ballooning as a particular hobby or something.)
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re Discord's gender presentation:
You know, I don't think I actually thought about it before, but that is an interesting question. He's pretty consistent on that in what we see of him, isn't he? Similar to the "resting" shape he adopts, really. As for the gender, the only particular idea coming to me at the moment for "Why male?", assuming it wasn't a possibly literal coin flip, is deliberate opposition to the Harmony-associated and female-identifying position Alicorn Princess. Though, of course, it's unclear exactly how much overlap their existence had with his reign... but also unclear how long he's had his current presentation, gender or otherwise. Hm, aye, another possibility now coming to me is that that's just what he happened to be wearing when the Elements hit him the first time, so that shape is what he was recorded as. Then when he breaks out, it's notorious enough to cause chaos on its own, and then when he reforms it's what his friends know... possibly, to continue the speculation, he's the most into the idea of "Guy's Night" because he's deliberately trying to throw himself into that aspect of how his friends (and enemies) know him?
Or it could be some combination, or something else entirely...
Though it does seem like there might be a story in this somewhere.
Anyway, though, have been enjoying the stories so far, but relatedly kind of very behind schedule. So stopping here for now, I think. :D
But thanks for writing!
edit:
Oh, yes, also, question, if you don't mind me asking: why were some of the chapters separated out into their own stories? I'm curious.
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Okay, if it turned out that I conflated the balloon I saw a billion times in the MLP intro and how she got to Ponyville, I will be upset. Thankfully it'll be a minor fix because she at the very least does have a balloon and loves balloons.
Because they do standalone worldbuilding the most, while 1-2 and 6-7 are more plot-based and 5 is just establishing the character of an OC which nopony should care about. I do regret it in retrospect since it makes the reading experience messier.
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Twilight does frequently travel by balloon, especially before she got her wings. But in the very first episode, the very first time she came to Ponyville when Celestia sent her there she travelled in Celestia's chariot with the royal pegasus charioteers.
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Uuuuuuuuuuuugh okay I'm going to have to rewatch the pilot and edit. Thanks for pointing it out though.
Well, this isn't so much "hopelessly oblivious" as "not wanting to map human social norms onto the aliens and also working through mental blocks regarding xenophilia." Definitely one up on Starlight.
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Yeah, it's very different because at this point making out w/ horse is funny because it's ridiculous, not funny because it's "haha jk.. unless..?". In fact, it's so funny that she might even just do it ironically, just for a lark!
It's ironic that she's on this side of that dynamic.
Also if Twilight were human (like, a real one and not a weird purple-skinned insect-looking thing (sorry Sci-Twi fans)) and they got along this well, Ellie still wouldn't be interested. She finds the idk "earnest nerd girl personality" cute, but not attractive. I tried to get that across but it's hard to.
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...Oh. Uh. Sorry. :D
But, yeah, as I see Xanni already said, it was a chariot that very first time.
(But aye, you know, Twilight's interest in ballooning isn't actually something I recall seeing explored very much at all, which, now that I think of it, I find kind of surprising.)
Ah, thanks!
(Though I disagree on that "which nopony should care about" bit. :))
And aye, it did a bit for me at least, sorry. Not too bad, though.
Oh, yes, and a slightly belated welcome to the fandom and website, by the way!
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"I tried to get that across but it's hard to."
Yeah, I'm not sure how well that's come through so far. It is having to deal with the "but, horse" thing also being in the way, though; once that clears up, I'd guess that the personalities she's attracted to will likely be clearer.
Granted, Windy Whistles and worry alliterate far better than they actually go together.
But yeah, while I can hardly blame Ellie for not wanting to dump humanity's gender baggage on ponykind, it does make it hard for her to explain much of anything.
Something in their souls tells them something's off about that, but they're never sure what.
"Pony Latin" is one of the more unforgivable world building bunts in the show's history. I usually call it Equin.
And while Pinkie plots out higher dimensional friendship geometry, Twilight find herself in an awkward position of being jealous of her student... possibly. I could be reading too much into this, but it does lead to some fascinating issues down the line.
Also, the story's marked complete? Hadn't expected that. I suppose this will continue in whatever installments await down the line.
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I can't imagine Windy Whistles discouraging Rainbow Dash from doing anything, even the things she really should be discouraging. It's what makes her character so fun!
But the more objectively bad the show's world building is, the more creative I have to be to work around it! Also, "Pony Latin" is really fun to say.
I was actually considering not even writing this story at first, and originally planned to start with the next one, lol. Ellie's falling for Rarity and the subsequent now fifteen-part romance arc was supposed to be the start of this whole thing. I am glad you enjoyed this prologue, though!
I'm guessing that Part 3 and Part 4 are just the ones that were previously independent stories, now brought in here? That's what it looks like, but I thought I'd confirm to make sure I wasn't missing something.
If so, certainly more convenient to have them here; pity about the comments lost with the separated stories gone, though.
On this chapter, the "princesses stories" I found another interesting bit of worldbuilding. :)
"She wasn’t going to say that had the mysterious force that brought her here had sent her back in time in her world instead, that she had long-standing plans to make a beeline for the nearest convent or Buddhist monastery or Sufi order, because while her own autonomy would never be respected, the authority of the local male deity might."
Two thoughts:
1: Well, on the one hand, she might also get lucky and end up in one of the times and places where she wouldn't need such a measure. On the other, unfortunately, she might end up in one where it would be very nice indeed to have but isn't available. So I can see why she'd focus on that plan.
2: I see she also has a few rough contingency plans for if she suddenly finds herself flung back in time. :D
(I think float glass might be a useful thing to "invent", if in the set of insertion points where both molten lead and molten glass are readily available but haven't been combined like that yet. Though, admittedly, I've never actually tried working with float glass.)
The link to the Pony Latin video doesn't seem to work, though I was able to modify the URL to get to the video.
And thank you for writing! Some mysteries, some worldbuilding, some character development... I enjoyed the chapter, and look forward to the sequel. :)
(And aye, I wasn't expecting this story to be complete here either, but I'm glad the story is continuing. :))
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They're not deleted, just unsubmitted, and I could make them available to read by password, which I'll make available on a later blog post, The good comments were the only reason I didn't withdraw them a week ago! Thanks for your good comments on them, by the way
The other viable plan as a definite cultural and 95%+ likely ethnic outsider woman is the swamp witch route, but it's very risky since the things that make that work can also lead to some very, very bad outcomes for the same reasons. The local arm of a world religion will be the only low-cultural-context institution if only one exists. If even that doesn't exist, well, neither she nor I like to dwell on what would happen then. But yes, she could get lucky and end up in 19th-century Boston or Ancient Egypt. There are more options there and she could totally do the kooky future inventor thing that she wants to do.
Taken directly from the canon! Celestia invents a new magic, letting Equestria raise the sun without having to drain entire unicorns. Cadance resurrects the Crystal Empire.
Fixed it, thanks! Needed the https:// for the direct link to work
No, thank YOU for writing comments! It really does keep me going!
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Ah, good to know! Thanks.
And, heh, thanks. :D
Riiiight. That either makes your eccentricities work for you or, well, as you said. Might still be your best option in some places and times, but risky for a Plan A.
"The local arm of a world religion will be the only low-cultural-context institution if only one exists."
A missionary religion especially, I'd expect, if you don't mind either converting or pretending to.
"If even that doesn't exist, well, neither she nor I like to dwell on what would happen then."
Right. Still could get lucky with an individual situation of some sort, but barring that, as I said, don't blame Ellie for not wanting to spend too much time on that.
(And as for ancient China, from what I know of its women's rights... yeaaaah...)
"But yes, she could get lucky and end up in 19th-century Boston or Ancient Egypt. There are more options there and she could totally do the kooky future inventor thing that she wants to do."
Right. :D
Though I'm guessing she'll, particularly eventually, prefer Equestria still, to the idea of that.
(...Though now I'm wondering about Ellie showing up in the court of Cleopatra VII, who's fascinated to learn about this strange person and language and such, and also a few little other things like, oh, black powder and its potential applications for keeping would-be emperors on their side of the Mediterranean...
Of course, there are plenty of other and older potential opportunities in the long history of Ancient Egypt, but from what I know of Cleopatra VII she'd be, among other things, useful for getting past the language barrier quickly. And she's cool. :))
"Taken directly from the canon! Celestia invents a new magic, letting Equestria raise the sun without having to drain entire unicorns. Cadance resurrects the Crystal Empire."
Oh, the events are, sure, but not them being a genre of story, that I'm aware of. :D
(I also got the impression from the chapter that the stories didn't limit themselves to historically attested princesses.)
You're welcome. :)
And aye, working for me now.
Heh, and you're welcome there, too. :)
Sometimes I can manage more than others, but I do like leaving good ones when I can. :)
Little known fact. Rarity is actually grey. She is actually as light a grey as you can get without getting white.
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The neat thing is I can pass off facts I don't know as facts the character doesn't know!
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She must have just conditioned her fur because she would be the color of a marshmallow at best.
Luna's mane is more "glowing" than "flaming", I'd say.
That my skin isn’t pastel-colored? That my legs don’t take up two thirds of my body?” Ellie turned pale again and held back a mouthful of vomit.
"Realistic" cartoon characters are usually horrific.
toxel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/realhomer02.jpg
An Equestria with no booze? The! Worst! Possible! Thing!
No, it would still be sad. Worse, even. A world where the bastards were right, and it really wasn’t “natural”.
She really needs to meet Lyra and BonBon.
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Of course, actual flesh-and-blood humans in the cartoony world of MLP, or vice versa, would also be pretty horrific! I'm imagining Ellie as a cartoon human more fitting with the style of the show but proportioned closer to actual humans, which would still make EqG humans look really weird to her. Or they are both in a style less stylized than the show, something like this except the ponies are a bit bigger proportionally:
derpicdn.net/img/2013/3/20/274830/large.jpg
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I mean, foals drink the Apple Family Cider so I hope it's not alcoholic!
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I have no objection to the notion that Apple Acres cider is non-alcoholic (although I note that low-alcohol content versions of beer and so on are still regularly consumed by children in places like Germany and France, and it used to be the norm in times neither fresh cow's milk nor water was safe). What I do find a bit odd is the notion that in Equestria, Land of Magic, there are no mind-altering drugs, beverages, or foods at all. Besides the issues of biological plausibility (of course, we don't even know if Equestrian life evolved or was created by giant space-Elvises or something) and putting Berry Punch/Berryshine (brewmaster extraordinaire, according to various fanfic writers) out of a job, it's literally inhuman: getting away from one's neurological base state one way or another has been the human norm since before civilization got going (some historians think large-scale grain cultivation first began in the middle east as raw ingredients for beer, not bread).
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I agree very much that that is the human norm. My ponies are not human. Of course, the "real" reason not a single recreational mind-altering substance is depicted in canon Equestria is that it's a G-rated show. I just chose to take that depiction seriously for my worldbuilding, the same with various other things that are also not depicted because of the G rating.
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I'd like to think that if I were to ever visit the Magical Land of Equestria, the locals would be a bit less stylized than in the show: they rarely seem to translate well to 3-d.
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/897/829/611.png
I mean, we're definitely some ways down the slope of the uncanny valley there.
(I've seen some better - say, this, although the hair needs work - images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/559aad62-96ec-402d-8161-aeb4cb52c34b/ddljvef-4e0528b9-48ea-43e7-accf-6e19cfab4cc5.png/v1/fill/w_1192,h_670,q_70,strp/unexpected_hug_by_therealdjthed_ddljvef-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MjE2MCIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzU1OWFhZDYyLTk2ZWMtNDAyZC04MTYxLWFlYjRjYjUyYzM0YlwvZGRsanZlZi00ZTA1MjhiOS00OGVhLTQzZTctYWNjZi02ZTE5Y2ZhYjRjYzUucG5nIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTM4NDAifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.zpXs1Tn4cFl91Gc38lb6NPij0LzoCvrZ_0ubmsM6HcQ
but it's not that easy to do!
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Not gonna tell you how to write your own fanfic, of course, but perfect adherence to canon-as-seen is probably impossible, or at least undesirable.
"So where's the toilet?"
"What's a toilet?"
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An outhouse is depicted in The Last Roundup, bathrooms are canonical. Checkmate.
Though yes, I've thought this through. They would essentially function as squat toilets for any human visitor. Uncomfortable at first for anyhuman used to Western toilets but most of humanity has used them for most of history, so it can't be too bad since they are also constructed with modern sanitary standards in mind.
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A hit, a palpable hit!
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/95a30faa-aba6-404e-84dc-d2c94256ffe3/de9sr59-61331e43-82b6-4739-8648-2e60a3f7c20f.png/v1/fill/w_1192,h_670,q_70,strp/berry_punch_loves_a_pint_by_quoterific_de9sr59-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD03MjAiLCJwYXRoIjoiXC9mXC85NWEzMGZhYS1hYmE2LTQwNGUtODRkYy1kMmM5NDI1NmZmZTNcL2RlOXNyNTktNjEzMzFlNDMtODJiNi00NzM5LTg2NDgtMmU2MGEzZjdjMjBmLnBuZyIsIndpZHRoIjoiPD0xMjgwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.XGL6Cn3w5e07_Am_W5DxDvv_zM_DrBY9rgTECxfux-4
And no doubt the barrel is full of fruit juice, that carefully wrapped bottle is fine mineral water, and they're stomping grapes to make grape juice.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/8/18/403182__safe_screencap_amethyst+star_cloud+kicker_derpy+hooves_lemon+hearts_minuette_prince+blueblood_rarity_sparkler_sweet+and+elite_airship_blimp_cha.png
Not-champagne?
(Come to think of it, alcohol - as a chemical rather than a beverage - has quite a few uses. Antifreeze, disinfectant - there is in fact an MLP hand sanitizer - cleaner, food dye ingredient, fuel, preserving biological specimens, and aging it into vinegar for salads. It's also widely used in many of the personal care products Rarity no doubt uses. Perhaps she should consult a chemist - although pure alcohol should never be drunk straight, even if it lacks the deadly trace chemicals stuff produced for industrial use often has).
But enough. I'm just being silly-competitive at this point.
In spite of my quibbles, I am looking forward to the sequel.
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This is almost exactly a comment that was on the story version of that chapter. Like in there, I'll answer that Ellie figures industrial alcohol exists but going that far would indicate she's an alcoholic, which she is not.
I've been looking for something like this chapter for a while. (A closer examination of pony economics, that is.) Having the princesses provide a UBI to everypony to ensure their basic needs are met, combined with a greater emphasis on individual passions per the existence of cutie marks, is a great explanation as to how capitalism hasn't gone off the deep end in Equestria despite the existence of landlords and such. Griffonstone, on the other hand...
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Yeah, it's the only thing that can explain why ponies can just drop their jobs to go to the Crystal Empire to watch some sports like it's nothing, or do leisure activities in the middle of the day pretty much whenever they want. Markets without poverty.
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Watch Star Trek original movie era and you'll see that they leave a rainbow trail just like Rainbow Dash does. Therefore, I conclude that Pegasus wings are tiny organic warp nacelles normally capable of warp 0.008, or in Rainbow Dash's case 0.01.
... Word
... the stream of consciousness is strong with this one.
... Culture wars.