Chapters the First Brony of Equestria
2005 - Middle School, 6th grade
Jason Mattaniah Faron, that was his name. The first part, "Jason", was Greek in origin and meant "healer". The second part, "Mattaniah", an Israeli name, meant "gift or hope of the lord". And the last name, "Faron", was old-english and meant "Handsome Servant", which somehow morphed from an occupational name for herders of oxen. Put together, it made him sound like a great gift to the world that would give his time to help others.
Unlike most Americans, he decided to look up the meaning of his names and considered what they meant put together... And after he read the definitions from the various baby names websites, he smiled to himself, his name was pretty cool. Maybe someday he would steer the world away from some large catastrophe.
...He was always a bit shy, so politician was out of the picture. He would love to be a doctor, but blood made him feel sick, and he heard bad stories about their work-life. He did love math though, he loved math more than most kids his age. In fact, he had just sent a few applications to several different math camps.
...Well, actually, his parents sent the applications, it was also their idea in the first place. If it wasn't for them, he would never have even heard of those places. He did do the math though, so there was that.
Hmm, maybe there would be some great problem he could solve using math, and the whole world would benefit greatly from it.
Jason plucked himself out of the office chair and walked over to his bed. It wasn't quite his bedtime, but he wanted to think about things.
Thanks to the math puzzles that he was required to solve for the camp applications, he actually learned a few new symbols, one of those being the summation symbol. He thought it was especially cool how he could flip or transform the array of numbers he was adding together and solve the long summations in much fewer steps than they would normally take.
He thought it was so cool, in fact, that he might tell his friends once he got to school.
Except... he didn't really have anyone he considered a friend. There was just that one kid who followed him around sometimes, and he didn't really like math. There weren't really any people he could think of at school that did like math actua-
...Actually, there was one kid... but... he was the class clown... he was too outgoing and charismatic... and the teachers hated him, not because he was smart, but because he was condescending towards them. And he didn't really seem to notice whenever he sounded condescending...
-But he had to tell someone! He couldn't just keep this inside himself, it had to be shared with someone!
Jason walked over to where he set his backpack in his room and pulled out a stack of note-cards and a pencil. On several of the cards, he tried deriving more mathematical equations involving summations, and on a stack of five cards specifically set aside for importance, he wrote down whatever new rules he found.
___
It was near the end of math class and all the kids were walking out to recess. Josh got up with his group of friends and walked over to the door, but slowed and fell behind the group when he remembered something that piqued his curiosity.
That was his name, josh. His name was literally a synonym for "joke", which was quite fitting, since everything was a joke to him; nothing threatened him, and everything was funny to him.
Jason watched the group of friends walk out but remained seated. Maybe he was just being silly, maybe he should just keep his findings to himsel-
"Hey!" Josh spoke up in a loudly, "You glanced at me like fifty times today."
It was a statement, not a question. One that Jason wanted to deny, but couldn't. He nodded his head awkwardly, to which Josh only raised an eyebrow.
"D- Do you like math?" Jason hesitantly asked.
At this, josh's demeanor went from curious but guarded to surprised.
He leaned forward and widened his eyes a bit, "Yeah of course-" Then he caught himself, "But if you want help on homework, I'm not giving any."
Josh turned to leave, but was quickly stopped.
"No, that's not it." Jason took off his backpack and pulled out his math note-cards, laying them out on the table. Josh pulled over a chair and sat down.
"Have you ever seen this symbol?" Jason asked, pointing to the summation he drew earlier.
"Can't say I have..." Josh said as he examined the card further.
Jason was ecstatic, "This is a summation symbol!" He gleamed, "It means you add the equation on the right for each i, and i starts at whatever you set it to at the bottom, and counts until the top number!"
"Huh," Josh exclaimed. Now he was paying attention.
The teacher was about ask them to go to recess, but when she saw them discussing math together, instead of breaking up the rare meeting, she decided it would be more interesting to see what happened...
"Where did you find out about all this?" Josh finally asked the question.
"Oh, there are several different math camps, and their applications require that you solve these equations." Jason answered.
"Wait," Josh paused "there are math camps?"
"Of course!" Jason smiled.
"Show me!" Josh pleaded, almost grabbing Jason.
Jason was somewhat scared of Josh's behavior, but decided to walk over to one of the nearby computers and search for all the math camps he could find.
___
Jason walked off the shuttle bus and followed some adult towards the college campus where the math camp was to be held. He was a bit scared and he hadn't talked to anyone on the ride here, but he had at least one friend here, which of course was Josh, who decided it would be a good idea to become room-mates.
It was strange, Josh went from acting like a frivolous prick towards strangers, to acting like a clown to his group of friends, to deep thoughts about math and life most of the time with Jason. It was like his other personalities were just shells... And that talk about death had left Jason somewhat scarred so that he understood Josh's need for his shells.
The group around Jason started walking forwards, snapping him out of his thoughts.
The adult led the small group into campus, past several buildings, and into a tall building filled with bedrooms. Jason remembered his card, "Room 349" was where he would be staying. He strayed from the group to walk up stairs and down the hall to his room so he could drop off his luggage. Once he entered the room, he saw that Josh had arrived before him, but was no longer in his room, so he headed back down.
It was lunch time.
*****
2013 - College, Sophomore year
After reminiscing for a while, Jason decided it would be better to fall asleep. He didn't have any tests or finals tomorrow, but it was always better to study in the morning. If he didn't keep to his schedule, he would just do random things like look up the meaning of his name on Google or look through some new MLP fan creations.
It was Josh who had first introduced him to MLP. For some reason he just assumed Jason already knew about it, which led to an awkward conversation. In the end, he just decided to roll with it, and recommended that Jason watch the first few episodes to see if he liked it. So he did, and he was immediately hooked, though he wasn't sure why.
Maybe it was because of the characters, or the fluid animation, or the adorable ponies. Actually, it was probably all of those combined. What he wouldn't give to visit their land sometime... that was, if it existed, which it probably didn't...
But first, sleep...
the First Brony of Equestria
Jason woke up to a searing headache and a burning sensation all over his body. He also felt a bunch of rocks underneath him instead of his regular bed. He groggily pushed himself up and looked around.
It looked like an underground dump. Maybe he was in an air pocket in a landfill... But as he looked around more, he noticed something strange.
The garbage around him wasn't regular garbage, it was life and technology the likes of which he had never seen before. It was as if something dragged a random selection of the more complex items in the universe to one location...
The stench was horrible... and the pile... was sinking.
Jason ran away from the center of the pile and looked around, searching for light. He ran along the edge of the small pocket he was trapped in, and stopped when he heard what sounded like birds. He placed his hand against the wall where he heard the sound, and felt... tree roots. Without hesitating, he pulled at the tree roots until the sound was louder and louder. Finally, he saw light.
Jason tore at the hole he created, until it was just large enough to slip through. Then he pulled himself up through it and rolled over onto the grassy ground.
As he looked up, the sun burned his eyes, even though most of it was blocked by the trees above him. And some strange trees they were, gnarled and foreboding, yet, strangely familiar.
Then he took notice of himself again. He was getting worse, not better. His lungs burned as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, his eyes felt like they would bulge out of his head at any moment, and he desperately needed water.
He looked around, looking for water, and that's when it hit him. That stream, those blue flowers, those gnarled trees, those rocks... this was the Everfree forest... But, that was... impossible.
Jason picked himself up and walked towards the river, hoping to see a familiar, if flamboyant, face. But as he fell down right beside the flowing water, there was nothing to answer him but a few fish and the sound of the water. He formed a cup with his hands, and drank.
When he concentrated on his hands, he noticed something strange. It was as if whenever he put enough attention into anything, that attention radiated outside of his body... and got lost... somewhere. Some air swirled around his fingers and an aura developed if he concentrated hard enough.
Shrugging, he pushed himself back up and started walking along the river. With enough luck, he would find a familiar clearing and make his way to Ponyville. He didn't take two steps before he staggered and fell down. The water had cured his dehydration, but not his headache or the strange burning sensation.
Now lying on the ground, he couldn't help but fall asleep.
___
Jason woke up by the river. He was dangerously dehydrated, and his headache and his body had only gotten worse. He looked up, trying to see how long he had slept for. The sun had barely moved.
After another quick drink, he looked down. What was wrong with his body?
He wished he hadn't.
His entire body was red and swollen, his lymph nodes were slightly black and slightly more swollen than the rest of his body, and his fingertips and toes looked like they would soon be lost to frost bite, if they weren't already. Worst of all was his stomach, it was as if the chemical reactions his body normally used didn't work anymore, and just led to his gut being swollen as if he were pregnant, the skin almost tearing from the extreme bloating.
He threw up. He couldn't tell for how long he threw up, but he did know it was at least enough to reduce his bloating to at least a bearable size...
When he was done, he looked again at the disaster that was his body... and screamed... Only for the sound to be washed away by the river.
And now... he was going to pass out... but... if he passed out...
Jason thought back to his family, he thought about his little sister that was born 5 years after him, and how she would love it if he were to bring back stories of this world to her.
He caught himself and didn't fall over, instead, he turned around and took a step forward.
He thought about his parents, how he could rub this in their faces, telling them how important it turned out to be for him to watch and re-watch MLP so many times, despite whatever they said.
Jason started walking forward, slowly. He held his head level and let his body guide itself to safety.
He thought about Josh, and how he would practically die to get here. How jealous would Josh be, when he showed him a souvenir he got from Ponyville?
Jason found himself in a part of the forest that looked it was staring at him. That was a good sign, it meant that he was on a familiar path.
He thought about his group of friends outside of Josh, and how they wouldn't believe his stories of Equestria without some kind of proof. He would definitely have to remember to bring something back.
Jason found himself facing a cliff. His heart dropped, he forgot that the mane six had fallen down a cliff to find their path. How could he have forgotten?
He almost gave up when he remembered the brony club he joined. He remembered how kind and welcoming almost everyone in the fandom was, and how it felt to go from an apathetic community to such a caring community. He might be able to change the world, if he could just survive.
Jason found himself at the top of the cliff... just a few more steps...
He thought back to that time... Back when he and Josh were having that creepy talk about death, and Josh said that his purpose would be based around his friends... Jason was his best friend...
It was after that when Josh started working a lot harder, competing even harder with Jason. It was because of Jason, that he and Josh were able to make it to Berkeley together. Well now Josh would be his reason to work even harder... Besides, how would Josh feel if he died?
Jason found himself knocking on the door of a small cottage. In reply, he got only a mangled sound that couldn't have come from a human. Of course, they didn't speak English...
"Help," he said.
the First Brony of Equestria
Fluttershy heard a soft knocking on her door, but she was preparing a meal for angel.
"Just a minute," She replied.
As if in reply, she heard a strange noise from outside her door. For some reason, she didn't know what it meant, even though she could understand most animals, but she thought she knew the tone well enough.
It had said, "Help." The meal could wait.
Fluttershy flew over to her door and opened it. Greeting her was some burnt, bipedal monster. She would have slammed the door out of fear and surprise if not for its eyes. Its eyes were full of hope and determination, and its eyes made it clear that it needed her help.
It was then that she realized that this thing was not supposed to look this way.
*GASP* Fluttershy held her hooves to her mouth. This thing was sick from some terrible, terrible disease. The worst thing was, she didn't know what disease!
She grabbed the poor thing and tried to fly to the hospital. The only problem was, it was way too big for her to carry.
"Help! I need help!" She called back to her cottage in a voice louder than most would expect from Fluttershy. In response, a flock of birds of many types flew out to greet her. Together, they flew off towards Ponyville hospital.
___
"I'm sorry," Nurse Red Heart stated with a hard look in her eyes, "We only treat ponies, and on occasion griffons. We don't have the equipment or the expertise to treat other... species..." Red Heart looked over to the burnt... thing.
Most of the birds flew out the entrance to the hospital while Red Heart was talking, dropping Jason gently on the floor. What suddenly horrified and awed Red Heart wasn't the fact that the creature was so different than most things she had heard of, it was because she finally realized that it wasn't supposed to be black and swollen. There were cracks along its skin that indicated this was a very new look for it. And the most horrifying thing of all was that it was slowly trying to stand up, its skin cracking more as it did so. It was still conscious!
Suddenly, Nurse Red Heart understood the urgency of the situation, "...But we'll do what we can."
She turned around and yelled to the halls, "CODE BLACK! WE HAVE A CODE BLACK!"
Nurse Red Heart turned back to Fluttershy once the doctors started scrambling out of their doors. "We'll do what we can, but I've never seen anything like this."
Fluttershy was happy that the doctors would do their best to help, but she was still worried, especially since Red Heart just told her that she had never seen anything like that before. So as soon Jason was rushed off into some room, Fluttershy flew off as fast as she could towards the only mare that could help in such an unexpected situation: Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight heard a crashing sound and got up from her beloved book to investigate.
"Rainbow," She scolded, " how many times do I have to tell you to use the do-"
Instead of rainbow, Fluttershy was sitting on the floor surrounded by glass. Thank goodness Twilight decided to get tampered glass, or else both her pegasus friends would have been maimed by now.
"Twilight!" Her friend spoke up, catching Twilight's attention. This was an unusually loud voice for her quiet friend. Granted it was still somewhat quiet, but still. "I need your help!"
"-Anything for a friend!" Twilight immediately forgot about her window. She was always ready to solve a friendship problem!
The duo flew out the library and made for the Hospital. Once there, they asked the receptionist for the room with the burnt animal, and she directed them to room 34.
In the room they found their animal. And it was still awake!
"It's not reacting to any of our anesthesia!" A doctor panicked, "We'll have to do tests on everything! EVERYTHING! We don't have time for this!"
"Just calm down!" Another doctor yelled, "If we just think things through, we can surely-"
"What the..." Twilight looked around at the surrounding chaos, "STOP!" She yelled.
All the doctors and nurses stopped what they were doing and looked at Twilight, it was then that they noticed a muffled, but urgent sound from the animal.
When everyone looked over to the thing, it sat up and pretended it was... writing?
It repeated its urgent noise.
"Get it a quill, ink, and paper!" Twilight ordered.
___
Jason calmed a bit when he received his writing utensils.
He thought he could finally fall asleep when he was in the hospital, but everyponies panic proved him wrong. Now he needed to tell them he needed food and water, probably from an IV. So he drew pictures of different food items, taking the time to draw a stack of hay and cross it out, and tried to draw an iv hooked up to him. He also decided to put the names for the food items right by them. He thought about leaving out meat, but seeing as he was losing so much blood through his skin, he decided not to. Instead, he put a picture of some fish on the paper, since he remembered Fluttershy feeding those to some of her otters in one of the opening scenes.
___
Twilight took the paper back from the undead creature and looked at it. There were several food items on it with foreign symbols next to them. Did this creature have its own written language? No, that was ridiculous-
-And it also wasn't important at the moment, "It needs food and water, here's a list of items it can and can't eat," Twilight handed the paper to a nearby nurse.
Now would be the harder things, she would have to find out-
Jason gestured for paper again.
___
This time, Jason decided to draw a diagram of the human body, internal organs and all, down to as much detail as he could remember. Which was quite a lot of detail now that his life was on the line.
Mid-drawing, a nurse came back with a tray of food, including some pet food, since nopony ate meat. Apparently they didn't have IVs, or at least they couldn't make one specific for him.
___
Twilight took back the papers from the animal and almost choked at what she saw. On several sheets were diagrams of this beings insides, complete with what looked to be words pointing towards most of the organs. The first shock was the complexity and detail in the drawings, this creature was definitely intelligent. The second shock was that most of the organs were completely foreign, as if they were designed for another universe entirely! Sure, the intestines and brain might work, but that was about it.
Twilight felt a chill run through her heart as she slumped a bit. Not even Celestia could fix an entire organism, especially not when it was this close to deaths door. She could not help this creature, nopony could.
No pony...