Equestria: The BEN Chronicles

by HylianJuggalo

Chapter I: A Nerd By Any Other Name

Life wasn’t bad for me when I was a kid. I had pretty much everything I could ever ask for. My most fond of memories was playing with my Nintendo 64. I would always play with it when I got home from school, usually shirking my homework. Recently though, in college, I’ve been rather afraid to go near that machine that once brought me joy. Why? Perhaps you know the story of BEN. If you haven’t, feel free to Google ‘Ben Drowned’. If you have, guess what? I was the one who lived it.

My real life name is Nicholas Brownford, though you may better know me, however, by my online alias, Jadusable. I’m currently a junior in college, and have been trying to approach a game development degree. Perhaps my downfall though, which takes a lot of my time away that could be spent studying, is focused on ponies. Yes, you heard that right. I’m a brony, do we have a problem? Before you start bashing me, let me first explain what got me into this bizarre craze. Not too long after the incident with the cartridge, the first season of the show aired a few months after the event. For about a year, I bashed the show, and its fanbase, wondering why the hell anyone would watch such a thing. I was quick to discover the many sides of the fandom, from the reserved and friendly fans that did nothing more than watch the show, to the piles of musicians that dedicated original pieces to the show, to the ‘hardcore’ bronies that breathed, ate, and slept pony, creating their own original characters and making fan animations, all the way to the more ‘saucy’ and disturbing fannon. However, soon after that time passed, I kept hearing reasons to watch: It gives good life lessons! It cures depression! It-

Right there. You had me at depression. You see, the incident with that cursed cartridge, has only worsened over time. Despite my attempts to remove BEN from the world, I’ve heard that he’s spread all over the internet. I don’t care if you believe me or not, because, hey, fuck you, I KNOW what happened. That kid’s ghost won’t leave me the hell alone. I get nightmares every once in awhile, and oftentimes, I’m left without hours of precious sleep. BEN still torments me personally every once in great while; he left me in extreme clinical depression (until I started watching Friendship is Magic after the constant therapy visits did nothing), and I failed a year of school because of him, but, I digress, for this was a time for celebration, because today is the day I’m to finally receive my Associates degree. So, even though I looked like hell with only three or so hours of sleep, following another BEN-induced nightmare, I cleaned myself up, dressed well in my best of formal attire, had a nice breakfast of toast, eggs, coffee, and sausage, and went to the main campus auditorium to attend the ceremony. As I was called to give the graduation speech, my heart sank. I began to sweat. I wasn’t much of a public speaker, but I was more than willing to give it a shot. As I approached the podium, I stumbled a bit, but kept on my feet. I could feel my lungs expand and constrict the slowest they may have ever done. I breathed in deeply.

“Just keep it short and sweet...”

“Well everybody, we’re here. I know it’s been quite the journey for some of us - hell, most of us. We’ve crammed, we’ve studied, we’ve lost hours on hours of sleep, we’ve partied with friends, we’ve had a wild ride - or at least I know I have. But you know what? We made it; we are associates in our dream fields. We have most of the education we’ve always dreamed of, and now, it’s time to finish it off. Some of you may be satisfied with just an Associate’s, but I’m not. I’m ready for more, and for whatever life throws at us, I’m sure you’re ready too. Now is our chance to make our mark on the world, so let me ask you all... ARE YOU READY, FOR UNIVERSITY!?”

An explosion of roars and cheers ruptured through the auditorium. I smiled, waved, and walked off the stage to await my degree with everyone else. As the ceremony ended, I was instantly greeted with high fives, hugs, a few kisses from some of the ladies, and fist bumps. But they weren’t cheering because of my speech, no, they were cheering because it was my twenty-first birthday - and I was too. As all my friends and I piled into a convoy of vans and headed to the local nightclub, I fidgeted uneasily in my seat. Not because I wasn’t a drinker, no. I’m a big German guy, I like my booze. I felt uneasy because I was worried things might get bad at the party. I shrugged it off and kept on, however, Insane Clown Posse, my favorite artists (yes, I’m a Juggalo too - a lot of things can happen in two years), blaring out of the speakers. As we piled out, I grabbed my CD from the player, and the beer bong out of the back, and strolled into the structure of multicolored lights and musical wubs that violently rattled the walls. We ordered practically everything on the shelves and commenced our wild night. There were fights, a few blowjobs in the bathroom, a few got kicked out, and about three puddles of vomit were created that night. Some dumb bastard tried to light the place on fire, too. In layman's terms, it was your typical college grad party. I wasn’t very drunk despite the fact that I crushed a bottle of Bacardi and a 24 pack’s worth of Heineken bottles (like I said, I like and can handle my booze). All I could do was relax and enjoy the night as another song came to the speakers, and trying to speak over it, several voices.

"Let's get fucked up!"

“Oi, Nick, great party man!”

“I’m WASTED! Who wanna go at it!?”

“Ha! Bill, stop trying to hump the vending machine, you drunkard!”

“WOOP WOOP!”

“Ma’am, we’re gonna have to ask you to leav-- Aw, god, all over my suit!”

Me? I sat in the back and chilled, slugging down beers. I never really trusted people. In fact, most of these people, some of whom I called friends, were mostly users and punks I knew from classes. More than half of them had next to no money on them, so I had to pay to get them in.

On MY fucking birthday. Bastards.

Before you start pointing fingers, I’d like to point out that It’s not like I don’t like people, I just don’t trust people, and for my own personal reasons. A lot of people, first and foremost, are looking out for themselves in this world before their friends, and rightfully so; the world we live in can often be a tough, unforgiving place. Still, I wish people could be just... I dunno, a bit more loyal. Perhaps they really are my friends, but I can’t really tell; you see, if you can’t already tell, ever since the incident with BEN, I’ve become paranoid about a LOT of things. It's gotten so bad that I even went as far as to stop by the gun store and buy a pistol early in the morning before the graduation ceremony. I have every reason to be paranoid, if you ask me - that kid’s ghost is fucking frightening. It’s a shame that I’m probably the only one (aside from a few people that followed my account of the incident) who actually believes in him. I don’t trust people, and I'm always on alert, that they might stab me in the back at any moment. I slipped two mushrooms into my mouth.

Were they people I could trust, is what it boiled down to. The only people that I knew I could for certain? My family.

“Hey *hic* stud! What’s say you and I go back to the van?”

“Fred, you are REALLY drunk if you’re trying to get with me."

“I... *hic* I know that, Jake.”

*thud*

I sighed. “Fuckin’ dumbasses...”

And none of these people knew I was a brony. If they found out... dear god, I doubt they’d hang with me anymore. Again though, I wouldn’t say they were bad people, this is just how humans are. I’m not saying I'm not guilty of the same shit, I most certainly am. I’ve used people for gain before, and hey, we were just college kids, right? Regardless of what they were like or what they truly thought about me, I would stand by them. They were MY friends, if I wasn’t theirs - it’s important to keep your worldly connections strong and look out for your fellow man, regardless of how they are. So, even if they were users, I’d take care of them as if they were my family. So yes, I’ll admit, I’m quite the softy.

“Fuck it, Imma dance.” I relented, setting my Blue Moon down on the table and hitting the luminescent floor as the current song finished up and kicked into another.

~”I hate college, but love all the parties...”~

As the party ended, I (being the most sober) carefully ushered everybody that was able to move back outside, and called the city for multiple cabs. As everybody piled into the city cars and left, I took a breath and walked back home. I was going to move out of my apartment next week, but for now, I was still living here. I got home and dressed in a casual pair of jeans and a nice red and white button-down shirt with a red tee underneath. I fixed the bend on my glasses with some pliers, and then plopped on my futon, tucking my ICP disc under my shirt. The air in the room was a little constricted, it seemed, but I didn’t think much of it. It was cold too, despite the thermostat being around seventy degrees. I figured the heater must have been busted. I reached for the pistol on my nightstand and slipped it into my belt loop, setting it on safety, and covering it with my shirt. I took the spare magazines that were in my drawer and put them into my belt as well.

“Augh... dear god, my head hurts. I drank too much.”

I grabbed my makeshift wireless N64 controller (thanks to a handy internet tutorial. What CAN’T you find on there nowadays?) and got up to flip the console’s switch. It was Gauntlet Legends tonight, another classic from my childhood that brought fond memories. I continued, playing through vigorously, blasting away hordes and hordes of demons. The mushrooms from the party were starting to wear off, the trippy colors fading away from my vision. Suddenly, my game froze. It was quite typical, especially for a 64 this day in age. I got up, my head still throbbing, and reached for the reset button.
Nothing; the screen was still frozen. Oh well. I turned the switch off.
Still frozen.

“What the fuck?”

Suddenly, without warning, my ceiling lights burnt out. I scowled. First I have to pay for MY party, my game breaks, and now my lights go?

“Oh, God damn it!”

I grabbed my keys. I knew I shouldn’t be driving, but I’m night blind, and can’t see a damn thing in a dark room with no windows, so I absolutely needed to get a replacement light. I went to the door and opened it - or at least tried to; the thing was locked... somehow, from the inside.
“SON OF A BITCH!”

I kept turning the knob, to no avail, so I tried kicking the door down. As weak as it was, it wouldn’t falter.

“Open! Damn it!”

Then, suddenly, my TV began to deliver static. The abrupt noise made me jump, and I let go of the door to remedy the situation. I went around behind it and proceeded to pull the cable, but as I put my hands to the wire, a very familiar song filled the air: the song of healing - in reverse. The TV continued to flicker, and suddenly, out of the blue, I was greeted with the statue’s face on the screen as the static subsided. My heart sank like a stone.

“BEN, I told you. I’m done. Leave me the fuck alone.”

My voice trembled in fear. It was quivering and panicky now.

“What the fuck do you want from me, BEN? Leave me be! Please!”

BEN didn’t say anything, the image just stared. I was growing progressively uneasy. Suddenly, there was the noise of an electrical spark, then, an abrupt whooshing sound, very similar to an industrial-strength vacuum filled my room. The TV delivered a quick white flash, and as soon as it came, it and the sound were gone. So was I.

Comments

[M-Tails-P]

Speaking of BEN, I had this little conversation with cleverbot recently
Me: May I speak to BEN?
Cleverbot: Yes, you may.
Me: Princess Luna is the best pony.
Cleverbot: Princess Luna is the best princess ever.
BEN is Pipsqueak

[RB_]

google.com/imgres?q=BEN+drowned+mlp+fim&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&rlz=1I7ADSA_enUS364&biw=1311&bih=656&tbm=isch&tbnid=butEbPSlWyWEBM:&imgrefurl=http://www.gameinformer.com/membergroups/platform/classic/gio_bronies/f/14492/t/77603.aspx%3FPageIndex%3D471&docid=g7Ovp4rSOACfxM&imgurl=http://img.ponibooru.org/_images/9368687e55a0d3dc4eca37dcabb64f03/3667%252520-%252520artist:samutoka%252520ben%252520ben_drowned%252520celestia%252520crossover%252520Haunted_Majora%2527s_Mask%252520luna%252520Majora%2527s_Mask%252520The_Legend_of_Zelda.jpg&w=900&h=600&ei=A7_nT_aPFO686QGH67HfDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=538&vpy=75&dur=375&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=198&ty=107&sig=111332993391933960281&page=1&tbnh=127&tbnw=190&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0,i:118

[Lord Charles]

Dam my kind hart i cant help but read for it your 1st dam my code.

[Crulocrius of Honeycomb]

I feel that he could also trust his old roommate. He uploaded the truth.txt for jad for lords sake. He was concerned for jad.