A/N: Hey, DragonLord here, just saying that this chapter's been rewritten, and made about twice aslong as it was originally. If you're reading the story for the first time, I would suggest following it and waiting for updates to read the next chapter. For all of you who have been reading this for a while, well, you already saw how I've been using chapter 26 to keep you up to date on my progress. Either way, new reader or not, with everything I plan to have in here by the time I'm completely finished rewriting the story, it's definitely worth your time to keep an eye on it. And if you need something else to read while you wait for the next rewritten chapter, well, here's a full list of stories I would recommend to anyone who hasn't already scrolled down the actual story:
A Journey Beyond Sanity by The Warrior of Twilight
A Second Chance by 0-Blazing Sun-0
The God Particle by MoonriseUnicorn
BLANK by Carrier of Heartbreak
My Second Life: The Adventures of Coal Buck by DuNamarSundavar
Not the Hero by Alara Rogers
The Monster of Canterlot by drnkntst
The Lost Element by XD-385
Tales of the Oppressed by Terran34
No, they aren't in any specific order, and of course, I know someone's out there thinking, 'Hey, I've read this already.' Well, keep in mind that not everyone has, and the list is for anyone and everyone who sees this and want to read something else while they wait. Anyway, I've gone on long enough in this author's note, so without further adieu…
ON TO THE STORY!
30 minutes past midnight, I sneak out of my room, looking to make sure everyone else is asleep. I'm referring, of course, to my sister and father, who seem to have no respect for privacy, barging into my room any time they see fit, regardless of whether or not the door is closed, and God forbid it be locked when they try to do so. Considering what I'm about to do, that's the last thing I want, assuming I plan to keep it a secret…
Of course, even now it's a poorly kept secret, as my best friend, Adam, another of my friends from elementary school, and my own mother already know. Heck, they didn't even find out because I slipped up, I told them. Unfortunately, the other friend decided to tell her friends right in front of me, despite my insistence that it stay a secret.
After a few minutes of carefully, silently walking through the house, I find that both my sister and father are fast asleep, leaving me free to go about my business. I go back to my room, taking less care in doing so, knowing both are heavy sleepers, and turn on my laptop. It's a complete piece of shit, but at least it gets the job done. I really can't complain, seeing as it was a gift from my mother, and literally the only thing I have to access the internet with.
Pulling up Chrome, I go to the same website I do every night, and pull up a video. Within moments, it loads, and sound fills the room. Upon realizing my mistake, I immediately pause it, scrambling around in the dark looking for my headphones, and plug them in, starting the video again. Then, I remember, my cup of tea from earlier is in the fridge.
I walk to the kitchen, leaving the video playing this time – it's not like I'll miss anything important in the first minute - open the fridge, and grab my cup before going back into my room. Putting on my headphones as I sit down, I hear music begin to play, and know that whatever I may have missed is of no consequence.
My Little Pony,
My Little Pony,
Ah ah ah aaaah,
My Little Pony,
I used to wonder what friendship could be,
My Little Pony,
until you all shared it's magic with me!
Big adventure!
Tuns of fun!
A beautiful heart!
Faithful and strong!
Sharing kindness,
it's an easy feat,
and magic makes it all complete!
Yeah My Little Pony,
Do you know you're all my very best friends?
Nearing the end of the second episode I've watched tonight, I suddenly start to feel extremely tired, and before I even realize it, my head hits the desk and I'm out.
Upon waking from my dreamless sleep, before I even open my eyes, I notice something pressing into my back, and roll over. Opening my eyes, I see green. It only takes a second for it to register that I shouldn't be seeing green in my bedroom. Lifting up, I realize that it's grass, which most definitely shouldn't be in my room… and that I'm not wearing my glasses. Great…
It only takes a moment to spot them, about a foot away from me, next to a wheel… Wait, what's up with that wheel? It looks like something out of a cartoon! And so does the rest of the wheelbarrow attached to it…
Shaking my head, I grab my glasses and put them on, hoping that the cartoon-like appearance of the wheelbarrow was somehow caused by my nearsighted vision, and not…
God dammit. Okay, what the hell?! Why does this wheelbarrow look like something out of a cartoon?!
…And so do all the trees around this clearing, WHICH I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW I EVEN GOT INTO!
"Fuck it. I'm just going to ignore it, and go on about – wait, I can't go on about my day cause I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE FUCK I AM!"
At my outburst, I hear a small "Eep!" over to my left, causing me to swing my head around and look, to see a bush shaking for a moment. Curiosity driving me, I go over to look, and spread the bush open to reveal… Fluttershy.
As I look at her, cowering down, her hooves covering her face, it becomes clear to me. I'm dreaming. Only explanation. Finally, a lucid dream! Been waiting to have one of these for years! And now, for my next trick, I will fly into the air!
...Why am I not flying? Come on, that's how a lucid dream works, I can do whatever I want! There is literally no reason this shouldn't be… God dammit…
"I'm not dreaming, am I?"
At that, Fluttershy peeks out from behind her hooves to look at me, and lets out a small sound. Considering the circumstances, I can guess what she said, so I just take a few steps back from the bush and sit down, waiting for her to come out on her own.
It doesn't take long, only 4 minutes, before she emerges from the bush, sees me sitting not even five feet away, and ducks back in. A minute later, she peeks out again, and actually comes completely out of hiding. Huh. First time meeting a pony, Fluttershy out of all of them, and I'm doing better than Twilight did. I'll take that as a good sign.
Fluttershy, mustering up all of her courage, walks up to me, and says, in a quiet voice, "Wh-what are you, exactly? Oh, if you don't mind my asking, that is."
"For now, that can wait. You don't have to worry, I won't attack you, I'm just wondering where I am."
Clearly somewhere in the Everfree, given the trees, and not all that far from Ponyville, considering Fluttershy's presence. Of course, being a stranger, let alone the fact that I'm a human, something non-existent in Equestria, I shouldn't know that, so I let her tell me, which she does.
"Well, this is the Everfree forest, just outside of Ponyville. Normally, ponies stay away, because of how strange this forest is, but I have some animal friends who live here, so I was coming to check on them when I heard you yelling. I think you know the rest."
Called it. Now, I think I'll -
My train of thought cuts off as I once again see the wheelbarrow, this time out of the corner of my eye, and notice that it's actually full. Turning to get a better look, I can see my Xbox 360 and my piece of shit laptop sitting at the top, and likely more of my stuff below them.
Turning back to Fluttershy, I say, "Well, as pleasant as this forest is, perhaps we should go somewhere else to talk. Maybe that Ponyville place you mentioned?"
"Oh no, not yet! Everypony would get scared and run away as soon as they saw you! We can go to my house instead, it's a lot closer anyway. Um, that is, if you want to."
"Sounds fine to me. Just let me grab this stuff real quick," I say, walking towards the wheelbarrow.
After about 5 minutes of walking, we finally exit the Everfree, Fluttershy's cottage already coming into view. Before I can walk much farther, however, something hits me from behind, hard, knocking me off my feet. When there's no second assault, I roll over, and look for my attacker. Of course, it's none other than Rainbow Dash, who likely has assumed I'm some horrible monster from the Everfree.
Before I have a chance to do anything else, Fluttershy runs over to me, lifting me up a bit, and then pulling my shirt up so that she can see my back
"Ouch. What was that for, you flying blue ball of fur?! Geez, way to make a good first impression. 'Huh, some creature I've never seen before walking behind another pony, might as well try and kill it.' Is that what you were thinking?"
Rainbow Dash is my favorite pony from the show, for good reason, but sometimes even she can do something so stupid that I cringe. Meeting her in person, it's apparent those moments of impeded judgment are more common, or at least that she has a 'Dive-bomb first, ask questions later' policy when it comes to anything she hasn't seen before.
Surprised by my response, likely just that there was one, she sputters, "W-wait a minute, you can talk?! Fluttershy, what is this thing?!"
"Right now, he's hurt, and it's your fault! Why would you attack him?"
Rubbing a hoof behind her head, Rainbow replies, "I, uh, thought he was some kind of monster..."
Finally determining that Rainbow didn't cause any permanent damage, Fluttershy drops my shirt back down and around to face me.
"I know this isn't a good time, but, uh, you still haven't told me what you are..."
Dropping my face into my hand, I respond, "A human," then lower my hand, before continuing, "and my name is Joseph."
"Well, um, my name is Fluttershy, and this is Rainbow Dash."
Turning towards the blue pegasus, I say, "Well, in different circumstances, I'm sure it would have been nice to meet you.
Interrupting me, Rainbow pipes up, "Yeah, sorry about that… Anyway, you said you were a human, right?"
Confused, I ask, "Yes. Why?"
Rather than answer the question, Rainbow grabs my arm and pulls me behind her for a moment, saying, "Come on, let's go!"
Not waiting to make sure I'm following, Rainbow begins to fly off, though nowhere near her top speed. Shaking my head, I stand up and begin to jog after her, wondering just where she's leading me.
Eventually, she stops in front of a house with Japanese writing (or Chinese, I can never tell) above the door. Not giving me a chance to question her, she knocks, and after a moment, a red unicorn with a green and white striped mane steps out.
"What do you want, Rain-"
Seeing me, his words die in his mouth and his jaw drops. Regaining his composure after a short second, he walks over and introduces himself.
"Why hello there, my fellow human, I am Otaku Lord. Now, I know you're slightly confused about that human bit there, but allow me to explain. I'm from Earth, which I assume you are as well, and the circumstances by which I ended up here likely aren't going to seem very realistic to you, but here we go.
"My human name is John Whittaker, and, back when I was on Earth, I was quite the artist. Admittedly, I would only draw anything for fun, and I only used pencils, but I was quite good at it. After a few… Uh, actually, Rainbow, could you leave for this part? I'm afraid it's not something a pony would be able to understand."
Confused, I watch as Rainbow shrugs and flies off, then turn back to Otaku.
"Now, where was I… Ah yes, after a few months of watching My Little Pony – now you know why I asked her to leave – I drew a picture of my OC. Now, this is where it gets a little weird… I'll just summarize it, for your sake. The OC was how I imagined myself if I were here in Equestria, something decided that I should be, and now I'm here as a pony. Any questions?"
I stare at him for a moment, before saying, "A few, actually… First, how the fuck did drawing a pony turn you into one, let alone throw you into Equestria?!"
With a sigh, he replies, "I don't know, and I was pretty sure I just made that clear enough. Regardless, since I came here, anything I draw – so long as I don't erase while drawing it – appears in the Everfree. And I only know that because Fluttershy found a sword and shield out there – The Master Sword and a Hylian Shield, to be specific. Next question?"
Shaking my head, I say, "That makes no sense, but fuck it. What episode are we on?"
"Well, episode five was last week, and they've been in chronological order so far, so..."
"Okay… Well, now for the most important question; what am I going to do about meat?"
At that he opens his mouth to say something, only to close it as if he only just realized he didn't have an answer. After a moment, he finally says, "Go talk to Twilight..."
A/N: Well, it isn't nearly as long as I originally thought it would be, but it's good enough for the first chapter, right? Anyway, feel free to leave a review, or send a PM if you already left one on the original chapter, and if you're a new reader, be sure to check the final chapter to see which is the newest chapter in the rewrite.