- >Day 140 of summer hiatus
- >Well, this sucks.
- >You’ve been looking forward to the third season of “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” for months.
- >And now it looks like you’re probably going to miss the premiere tomorrow.
- >Definitely won’t get to finish the 17-hour marathon of the entire series you had planned today.
- >You had needed to refresh your memory on most of the episodes -
- >You spent a lot of time screwing around on /mlp/ and such
- >But it had been a while since you actually sat down to watch the show.
- >And now you may never get to see it again.
- >You were probably going to die in this stupid forest.
- >Fucking magic portal.
- >You knew you shouldn’t have messed with it.
- >Hell, you could’ve at least put on something better than pajamas before you did.
- >But noooooooo
- >You just HAD to see what was beyond the huge, inexplicable bush in your refrigerator right away, didn’t you?
- >In your defense, it was one hell of a thick leafy bush.
- >How were you supposed to see there wasn’t any ground under it, until you pushed your way inside?
- >Apparently fate thought it would be funny for the portal to come out in the branches halfway up a weird, bushy tree.
- >Right away you could tell someone was trying to rustle your jimmies
- >and damn if they weren’t doing a good job of it.
- >You had crashed down through the branches of the tree
- >which was growing on a steep, rocky hill you then started rolling down
- >tumbling through thick vegetation all the way.
- >Somehow you managed to hold onto your box of Gorilla Munch through the whole ordeal.
- >It wasn’t really that important
- >But it was all you had brought with you apart from your bedclothes.
- >So you kept it in a death grip until you stopped rolling.
- >Now, you are lying on the ground in some damn forest.
- >No idea where you could be.
- >Letting out a grunt, you manage to get to your feet and check the damage.
- >Fortunately you didn’t suffer any real injuries
- >As far as you can tell, at least
- >Seems like just a few cuts and bruises.
- >You’re pretty sure nothing is broken.
- >The tree’s branches had gone all the way down its length, keeping you from falling too fast as they snapped beneath you.
- >As such, you didn’t hit the ground very hard.
- >Plus, your bathrobe and slippers kept you from getting scratched up all that badly during the trip.
- >Of course the slippers have taken a good beating
- >And your bathrobe is absolutely ruined.
- >Damn it, you had liked that bathrobe.
- >This forest is uncomfortably dark.
- >Morning light shines between the trees as they began to thin out ahead of you.
- >You tuck your cereal under your arm and trudge towards the light.
- >Hopefully you’ll be somewhere you recognize.
- >Otherwise you will probably need to try finding that portal again.
- >Even in the darkness you can tell there’s something off.
- >All the plants look… wrong
- >You think some of the trees might even be purple
- >And something else isn’t quite right.
- >You aren’t sure what.
- >Though it becomes obvious as you leave the forest.
- >The trees give way to a vast, open countryside.
- >Outside the dim confines of the forest, you are able to see a lot better.
- >What in the actual fuck is going on here?
- >The world exists in smooth lines and curves
- >Colors are bright and distinct, not blending into one another
- >The sun is low in the sky, yet no shadows are cast by anything
- >And it all looks
- >flat.
- >You reach out a hand to touch the landscape.
- >It has to be a painted wall right in front of you, it’s just gotta be
- >But you only touch empty space
- >And your arm looks like everything else does.
- >Holy shit
- >You are in a cartoon
- >Your mind starts turning inside out, struggling to comprehend existence in a two-dimensional world.
- >How the fuck was this possible?
- >Hell, how were you supposed to move?
- >You can’t even turn your head without making your eyes hurt, due to the illogical way your view shifts.
- >Yet despite that, you feel you could safely maneuver around.
- >Somehow, even with perspective behaving impossibly and your eyes focusing on everything at once,
- >You have a very good sense of your position relative to what’s around you.
- >For example, you innately know that majestic castle, jutting from a mountainside ahead of you, is very large and far away.
- >It’s not just a small, fake castle on a nearby hill.
- >Although, you could just know that because you’re familiar with the castle in question
- >Not to mention that medieval-esque town a short distance from the forest you just came out of
- >Or the apple orchards and farm fields you’re almost right next to.
- >You’ve seen them all before, on a popular television show made for little girls.
- >Holy SHIT
- >You are in EQUESTRIA
- >Day 1 in Equestria
- >’yo dawg, I heard you like little ponies,
- >SO I PUT EQUESTRIA IN YO FRIDGE’
- >Magic portals confirmed for bro-tier
- >You have never been so excited
- >It wasn’t like this had ever been a deep burning wish of yours
- >You aren’t quite as utterly obsessed with My Little Pony as some people were
- >And you didn’t tend to dwell on impossible dreams.
- >But you are definitely okay with this.
- >Hell, you are better than okay
- >The more you think about the situation
- >The more you realize how completely AWESOME this could be.
- >It’s making you rather giddy.
- >You know it can’t be a dream, you still ache from your short adventure in the strange forest…
- >no, the EVERFREE Forest.
- >You have no doubt about being in Equestria.
- >Even if you did, it would’ve vanished once the tiny, light-blue unicorn showed up.
- >ohmygoditsaPONY
- *squee*
- >Woah woah woah.
- >What the hell was that?
- >You are not a person who “squees”
- >This should disturb you.
- >But you seem to have left all your fucks in the Everfree Forest.
- >The unicorn had just crested a small hill about twenty feet away.
- >It seems to be heading for the nearby apple orchard.
- >You can barely contain your excitement.
- >The shock and glee of being in Equestria has overridden your natural social awkwardness.
- >You wear a big smile as you enthusiastically wave to the pony.
- >They seem to notice the movement and look over in your direction.
- >When they see you, they freeze in their tracks
- >Jaw dropping, eyes growing wide
- >You may have made a mistake.
- >shiiiit what the fuck are you doing?
- >You probably look like a monster to them.
- >They have no idea what a human is.
- >Plus you’re stumbling out of the Everfree Forest
- >Wearing a ripped-apart bathrobe
- >Covered with twigs and leaves
- >Oh crap, you DEFINITELY look like a monster to them.
- >Way to make a good first impression, asshole.
- >And they’re one of those easily frightened background ponies too, nice job
- >They’re going to scream in terror, run off to Ponyville, and tell everyone a monster came out of the forest
- >The mane six will hunt your ass down and you’ll have to explain
- >With your people skills, you’re probably going to be experimented on, banished to the wilderness, or worse.
- >The pony still isn’t running off, though, that’s odd.
- >You almost wish they would
- >The stare they’re giving you is kind of unsettling…
- >Wait a second
- >Their coat and mane aren’t exactly light blue, really
- >It’s more of a minty greenish-blue
- >You can only think of one unicorn with that color scheme.
- >Squinting a little, you look closely at the mark on its flank
- >You had at first thought it was a gold horseshoe.
- >nope.avi
- >That’s no horseshoe
- >It’s a harp.
- >Your jimmies rustle so hard, they make you lose your grip on your cereal box.
- >You fool
- >You didn’t just scare a random-ass background pony
- >No, you had gone flapping your big, fingery human hand at none other than LYRA HEARTSTRINGS.
- >May Celestia have mercy on your soul.
- >She’s been staring at you for over a minute now.
- >You’ve read enough AiE stories and such to know where this is probably going.
- >Being the first one to find you, there’s nobody to stop Lyra from making you her personal plaything.
- >You’re going to be her super awesome human friend forever
- >And/or her super awesome human sex slave
- >Or perhaps she’ll just cut off your super awesome human hands, graft them onto her hooves, and set you free.
- >But she’d have to catch you first.
- >And with the Everfree Forest so close behind you…
- >No, that wouldn’t work.
- >She’d be after you in a second
- >You’re really not in very good shape
- >And a little pony is still, essentially, a horse.
- >You can’t outrun a horse.
- >Especially a magical one.
- >Sighing, you resign yourself to your fate.
- >Your raised hand, still hanging tensely in the air, waves to her again weakly.
- ”Uh. Hi, Lyra.”
- >Damn, her pupils sure did shrink fast.
- >You brace yourself, knowing the beginning of a rape face when you see it
- >Her mane starts to frizzle up a bit
- >And here comes the psychotic grin…
- >Wait, no, she’s not grinning
- >Her open mouth is just getting wider.
- >Now she’s screaming in terror.
- >And running off in the direction of Ponyville.
- >Huh.
- >You should really stop reading so much fanfiction.
- >At least you had been right about background ponies being flighty as hell.
- >Still, Lyra?
- >Fleeing at the sight of a human?
- >She should’ve at least been interested in you for innocent reasons, right?
- >You had hardly even detected any curiousity on her part
- >Just surprise, followed by horror.
- >It would appear that the “real” Equestria just sort of ignores fanon.
- >That makes enough sense, you suppose.
- >Still, Lyra’s undoubtedly going to spread panic through the whole town.
- >Average Ponyville citizens seemed like major xenophobes - even in canon.
- >You should probably get friendly with some main characters quick, before everyone has heard about the “monster”.
- >First, though, you need to stop wearing a monster costume.
- >You slip the tattered bathrobe off your shoulders, leaving you in your dark-blue pajamas.
- >Ugh, just look at the condition this thing is in.
- >Such a shame.
- >You would miss this bathrobe, it was pretty damn comfy.
- >Or used to be, at least
- >The poor thing was shredded beyond repair.
- >It sacrificed itself to defend your pasty skin from really nasty scratches.
- >After such a heroic end to its illustrious career, it deserves a memorial.
- >The best you are able to do is tie what’s left of the bathrobe around a tree branch, letting it hang like a banner.
- >This also lets you mark the spot you exited the Everfree Forest.
- >In case needed to look for the portal again, this would give a good indication of where to start.
- >If the portal hadn’t closed behind you, at least
- >You were kind of busy falling to see if it had or not
- >Didn’t care much either way.
- >Things were surely going to be so amazing here that you’d never want to go home again.
- >Once that’s finished, you think about the best course of action to acquire some friendship
- >Since otherwise you’re likely to end up on the receiving end of unpleasant magic.
- >At first you think of Pinkie Pie, obviously
- >She could be friends with anyp0ny!
- >However, she’s most likely somewhere in Ponyville right now
- >If you just strolled right into town, there’d be a whole stampede of frightened ponies.
- >That had happened with Zecora, after all.
- >Come to think of it, not even Pinkie was friendly with the zebra, at first.
- >She seems to have learned not to judge books by their covers, though.
- >Actually - Zecora herself would probably make a good friend.
- >Being an outsider herself, she knew how it felt to be misunderstood
- >Which probably made her rather tolerant of unusual individuals like yourself.
- >But she also lives somewhere out in the Everfree Forest.
- >You had already been lucky not to run into something dangerous the first time you were in there.
- >Best to play it safe.
- >Fluttershy might have pity on a bizarre, scraped-up creature like yourself
- >You weren’t sure where her cottage was supposed to be in relation to Ponyville, though.
- >You can’t see it, and for all you know, it could be way past the other side of town.
- >On the other hand... you are obviously right next to part of Sweet Apple Acres.
- >You’re not entirely comfortable with the idea of going in there.
- >Oh for fuck’s sake
- >Get a grip, man
- >Lyra turned out to be the polar opposite of an obsessed human-enthusiast.
- >There’s simply no reason to think your super awesome human schlong will cause you to be aggressively pursued by a certain orange farm pony.
- >…Right?
- >Meh
- >It’s really your only option either way.
- >You shrug and pick back up your box of Gorilla Munch
- >Tuck it under your arm
- >Give your faithful bathrobe-flag a salute
- >And start to walk towards Sweet Apple Acres.
- >Your body is ready.
- >Okay, maybe it’s not.
- >After a few seconds of moving three-dimensionally through what you perceive as a two-dimensional space, you are suddenly staggered by the mother of all headaches.
- >Your brain was not built to process what your eyes are giving it, apparently.
- >It’s a painful process to stumble your way over to the nearby apple orchard that had been Lyra’s destination, but you manage it.
- >You can only make it past a couple rows of trees, before another wave of agony rips through your skull and makes you collapse.
- >Moaning and keeping your eyes shut, you blindly feel your way to the closest apple tree, leaning up against it.
- >As you slowly massage your temples to little effect, you decide it’s probably best to just wait here for the migraine to go down.
- >You sit there for a while in darkness, head throbbing.
- >Before long, you’ve fallen into a dreamless sleep.
- >You wake up.
- >Damn, your bed is uncomfortable today.
- >Probably because it’s the ground on the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres.
- >Your eyes shoot open as you remember, and you quickly stand up.
- >oh fuck no you idiot you’ll…
- >Wow.
- >You’re actually just fine
- >The simplistic, colorful world feels natural to you, and your head doesn’t hurt at all.
- >You guess you got used to it while you were sleeping?
- >Somehow?
- >It’s magic, you don’t gotta explain shit.
- >You start strolling off between the apple trees, noticing the sun is directly above you in the sky now.
- >You were out for a few hours, it seems.
- >Picking up the pace, you head for the big barn you can see through the tops of the trees.
- >Hopefully you could still convince somep0ny you weren’t a dangerous abomination of nature.
- >You briefly consider trying to find the farmhouse first, but decide against it.
- >There was a good chance you’d bump into Granny Smith there.
- >For all you know, even cartoon ponies could be susceptible to heart attacks
- >That would definitely not help your integration into society.
- >The central barnyard was where a lot of the action at Sweet Apple Acres seemed to happen anyway.
- >At this time of day, Applejack and Big Macintosh were probably out and about doing farm work.
- >One of them had to show up there eventually.
- >Maybe you’d get lucky and run into Applebloom
- >She would definitely be curious enough to at least give you a chance, it worked out that way for Zecora.
- >You’d certainly prefer her to Big Mac or Applejack
- >You still weren’t sure if fan material was completely irrelevant in the “real” Equestria
- >Or whether that would even help you much.
- >Big Mac seemed like an alright guy in the series, yet there was no guarantee he’d be much of a bro.
- >And even if Applejack wasn’t a latent rapist, she might not take kindly to a big ugly critter trespassing on the farm.
- >You’ll just take things as they come, you guess.
- >Nearing the barnyard, you hear noises beyond the trees ahead.
- >You slow down, hiding behind one, and peek out around the side.
- >It’s Applejack, moving some big buckets from the barn up next to an apple tree.
- >Great.
- >You might as well get this over with.
- >Staying out of sight, so your looks won’t shock her right away, you call out.
- “Hello?”
- >You wait a few moments.
- >There’s no response.
- >Frowning, you peek out again.
- >Applejack’s still just lining up buckets around the other tree.
- >You call out louder, still watching her.
- “Hello there!”
- >She doesn’t even flinch.
- >The fuck?
- “HELLO? HELLOOO?”
- >God damn, is she deaf? This is weird.
- >You leave your box of Gorilla Munch leaning against the tree, and stride out into the barnyard waving your arms.
- “HEY! APPLEJACK!”
- >She turns around, her gaze sweeping right past you as she trots away.
- >Wow, she is TOTALLY out of it.
- >Didn’t she learn better than to work herself into a dazed stupor?
- >You walk up alongside of her and try to give her a light shove.
- >Oof. She’s built like a brick wall.
- >It was always obvious she had a ton of physical strength
- >But damn, really?
- >She won’t even budge.
- >A moment after you touch her she comes to a stop, turning around.
- >Guess you finally got through to her.
- >Yeah, no.
- >”YEEHAW!”
- >She gallops back towards the tree, turns herself around in a slide and bucks it hard with her hooves.
- >All the apples fall perfectly into the gathered baskets.
- >Despite how awkward this all is, that was pretty cool.
- >And far too well executed for a pony in her state
- >Something’s not right here.
- >Suddenly, you hear something behind you.
- >”Good afternoon.”
- >You spin around towards the new voice, forgetting Applejack completely when you hear it.
- >You had been so involved with trying to get her attention, you didn’t even notice the unicorn and baby dragon walking up.
- >”My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
- >You manage to hold in the squee this time.
- >You didn’t really have a favorite pony, but Twilight Sparkle was close.
- >It was probably because you easily identified with her, both of you being reclusive, intellectual types.
- >Although she actually had some friends…
- >Whatever
- >You’re standing next to TWILIGHT SPARKLE.
- >Finally, here was somep0ny sensible to talk with!
- >She and Spike don’t even seem too bothered by your alien appearance
- >This is going to be easy.
- “Uh, hi! I’m - WAAGH!“
- >You’re shoved out of the way as Applejack zips past you toward Twilight.
- >”Well howdy doo, Miss Twahlight! A pleasure makin’ yer acquaintance!”
- >Okay, Applejack is certifiably insane now.
- >She’s grabbed onto one of Twilight’s hooves and is flailing it rapidly up and down in a hoofshake.
- >”Ah’m Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like making new friends!”
- >Sure, unless they’re big bald monkeys, right?
- >You crazy-ass horse, you and Twilight are already friends
- >Except… no.
- >They aren’t, not yet.
- >It finally gets through your thick skull.
- >This is the first episode of “Friendship is Magic”, isn’t it?
- >You’re pretty sure it is.
- >You had just rewatched the first couple of episodes this morning, after all.
- >And then you decided to finally make some breakfast before continuing your all-day ponython.
- >Grabbed a box of Gorilla Munch, opened up the fridge
- >Except there wasn’t any milk inside, just a fucking magic portal.
- >And now here you are, once again watching Twilight and Applejack talk about the Summer Sun Celebration.
- >As opposed to, you know, the giant hairless ape that’s staring at them incredulously.
- >You have a bad feeling about this.
- >Walking over, you wave your hand in front of Twilight.
- >”And you’re in charge of the food, right?”
- >Just look at all the fucks she isn’t giving.
- >Yep, won’t even move when you push her.
- >It’s like she weighs a million pounds
- >Same goes for Spike
- >You suppose this all makes sense.
- >After all, you might mess up the plot if you got in the way.
- >With a sigh, you finally accept that your bad feeling was right.
- >You’re in Equestria.
- >At the same time, you’re not.
- >You’re just an audience with no influence on what you see.
- >But come to think of it
- >Isn’t this what you wanted to do today, anyhow?
- >You’re going to get to watch every single episode of My Little Pony!
- >In ultra-high definition!
- >With surround sound!
- >OVERLAID DIRECTLY ONTO YOUR EYEBALLS!
- >USING HYPER REALISTIC 3D!
- >VIEWING FROM ANY ANGLE!
- >SHIT BRO YOU CAN SEE WHAT HAPPENS OFFSCREEN IF YOU WANT TO!
- >MAYBE EVEN THE STUFF THAT GOES ON BETWEEN EPISODES!
- >ISN’T THIS GOING TO BE SO ABSOLUTELY FUCKING AWESOME?!
- >Yeah.
- >Sure.
- >It’s gonna be
- >awesome…
- >A loud ringing interrupts your thoughts.
- >”SOUP’S ON, EVERYP0NY!”
- >Oh right
- >You had completely tuned out Applejack and Twilight’s conversation.
- >Suddenly Apples, Apples everywhere.
- >The stampeding family of ponies somehow carry you over to a gazebo with a picnic table, next to a dizzy Twilight and Spike.
- >You stand there and try to collect yourself, while Applejack introduces her whole family as they pile baked goods onto the table.
- >And nope -
- >None of them notice you either.
- >Welp.
- >You guess this is alright.
- >Yeah, you had been excited at the prospect of living in Ponyville
- >Getting to know the mane six
- >Maybe having adventures of some sort
- >But this is neat too.
- >You guess.
- >You can’t help but think you’re forgetting something.
- >What was it…
- >gurgleblurgle
- >Oh. Thanks, stomach.
- >You remember you never actually got around to eating breakfast this morning
- >You’d had a few hunger pangs since you entered Equestria, but they were ignored.
- >Everything was too exciting at the time for you to care.
- >Now… well…
- >You glance over at the gathering of ponies.
- >They’re all distracted by Twilight, who is trying to decline their invitation to brunch.
- >Your eyes then turn to the mountain of apple-based pastries on the table in front of you.
- >They look delicious.
- >And there’s so many of them, no one would notice if one or two went missing, right?
- >Feeling a little better about your situation, you reach out for an apple fritter.
- >Your hand sort of… phases right through it.
- >Blinking, you try again with a muffin.
- >Your hand tingles oddly while it’s “inside” the muffin
- >Otherwise, nothing happens.
- >Well… of course nothing happens!
- >If you could pick things up, you might do all sorts of poltergeisty antics and ruin the storyline, silly!
- >Haha, you could be so oblivious sometimes.
- >OF COURSE you can’t pick anything up.
- >Of course.
- >…oh god, you are going to fucking die.
- [END OF EPISODE 0]