Ponywar

It was a beautiful morning. Just like any other day, I forced my way out of bed, then after a quick and refreshing shower, I found the energy to pour myself some cereal, feed the birds outside and pick up the newspaper that was waiting for me on the welcome mat.

Nowadays, it is rare to see someone receive the news via paper. Almost everything was affected by the technological revolution at the beginning of this 21st century. Most books are directly published in virtual libraries, music and movies can be found online and are completely free, etc. I sometimes ask myself what would my parents think of what our world had turned into. Internet had become the most precious thing one can own. But this place is not as cheerful as it seems.

One trend that used to be seen all over the web were captioned pictures. Basically, people were adding white capital letters at the top and bottom of specific pictures in order to make funny stuff, or to create some things that would spread. Some of these were fun, most of the time they were boring... but one kind was particularly hated. Have you ever heard of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? All the fans of this show were labeled as “The Cancer of the Internet”. We were a nuisance.

I said “we” yes. I tell the truth when I call myself a brony. I like the episodes, the fans' works, the music, etc. That definition never was clear; but in our days it does include everyone who watches it, or likes the show and the community around it. Although things are far way more different from what they were back then.

To put it briefly, we are hunted. Not many of us will admit that we are a part of the herd. It is simply too risky. Those who are caught... well they disappear disappear. No one really knows what happens to them, but none were ever seen again. Pretty much all the population would report a suspect. Every method is good to identify a brony.

Why? It would take too long to explain it entirely, nor would it be precise enough to rely on. All I can say is that it came from the simple fact that this show was intended for little girls, and people didn't like seeing boys and grown up adults enjoying it. The jokes that bronies should die, were gay, etc. still could be understood as jokes at the time, but it quickly went out of control. We thought that gender roles would change and that our society in general would be comprehensive, just like what happens usually with delicate stuff. Not this time.

My journey with ponies began on the Internet. I probably took a long curve to get to My Little Pony, but at least it allowed me to meet awesome people and soon-to-be-called friends. It was just like the other days on the forum I was frequenting back then: checking threads, contribute a bit... then I think I ended up on the MLP-dedicated thread, I don't exactly remember why. Before taking part in the conversation (or most likely debates as whether the people who liked it were weird or not), I decided to actually watch the show a little; if there is one thing I dislike regarding debates is people who belittle things when they have no idea of what they are talking about. And this is what happened massively with My Little Pony all around the world.

So, as I was saying, I watched the first episode of Season 1. What caught my attention to stay in front of my screen until the end, then search up for the second episode? I have no idea, honestly. But as I slowly went on from episode to episode, the characters, the plots, the music, everything seemed so enjoyable and nice to live with, and then later, after all the available episodes, I discovered the community around the show and I was more than impressed. The more the days and weeks passed, the more I became addicted. Addicted as in hooked, of course, but also, it became a part of my world.

Then thousands of lifes, including mine, flipped over. Suddenly, we were hiding ourselves to remain in safety. This is where my story began, when I started to read that newspaper.

While reading over the pages rapidly, more concerned with the rainstorm that was planned for the afternoon, I noticed a word that finalized my waking up period. That apparently meaningless string of letters would have a signification to those familiar with it.

It's been a good couple of years since I saw that word for the last time. It was the pseudonym of the person who owned the forum on which I was a member, as well as the name of the said forum. I had to leave everything urgently when they started the “extinction”. A couple people I knew back then probably all had to do the same. It was hard to cut all the links I had with them, some of them being great friends, but I had no choice; what happened to the others remained in the dark for all these years.

Memories assaulted my mind as I was realizing what I just read. This could mean trouble for me. What if I had been tracked back from the forum? Or simply this could concern someone else I knew. As I expected, the article was about these people liking the show on this forum, and the fact that some of them were caught or something. I didn't want to read the details too much, since I could see a name I knew and be sad, I don't know. Something unusual caught my attention though. What seemed to be a rectangular piece of paper was taped on the bottom of the page.. It looked hand written. The characters were hard to read, but I managed to understand all the text:

There's a truck

With the three letters

Follow the adress

That sounded like an enigma. I never was good at these, and sudden inspirations never strike me when needed. At least I had something to look for on the back on the paper. That address led to a place that wasn't too far; I could possibly make it there in 25 minutes by foot, maybe 20.

I have never seen that many trucks in my life before today. There were a few buildings to my right, all part of the local pastry factory. And to my left were these hundreds of trucks, probably filled with thousands, no, millions of cookies, cakes, doughnuts and whatever other things they make here. How in the world was I supposed to find one particular truck? Especially at 8:00 AM, when my bed was calling me for a prolongation of our time together?

Just when I was about to go and examine the closest one, I heard engines starting, and before I could even realize what just happened almost all of the trucks were gone. Only a few were still sleeping on their wheels there in the parking, maybe four dozens. I just hoped that the truck mentioned was one of these, or else my quest would be over before it started.

I started walking in between the trucks, almost clueless about what to look for. “Three letters” is not a very specific clue when you think about it. I also had to figure where the letters would be.

After a while of pointless of strolling there and there, I began to look at the trucks' license plates, as these were the first thing with actual letters I saw. CRT9511, JGP1862, YOV7526... I felt like help would be needed at some point.

Then I saw it. MLP1306. These three letters were effectively representing something for the people who knew what they were. My. Little. Pony. As confidence made its way in my mind, I reached for the truck's lock, and it was unlocked. Someone, or some persons, want me to find something in there, it is all clear to me now. All of this was made on purpose.

I removed the lock and opened the door. It was pretty dark inside, but as my eyes were getting used to the obscurity, I could see a pile of big wood containers facing me. I began to open the first one. I heard a loud cracking sound before a rain of muffins fell on me. Derp. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I surely was not in there.

I continued to open the boxes. The sixth one's panel was a bit harder to break, but finally I could hear this particular sound again. It was completely weird inside. I expected another muffin rain, but nothing came out of that crate this time. It was pretty blurry, as if there was hot air moving.

Intrigued, I got down on my knees and slowly crawled towards the back. Was the absence of tons of muffins the sign that I was at the right place? I was not given more time to think about all that, because suddenly I heard a loud metallic sound and the whole area became dark, except for that strange stream of air, who seemed to generate its own pale gray light.

“Finally we shall meet.”

That voice was unnatural, of that I am certain. It was deep, gloomy... almost evil. The laughter that followed was the creepiest thing I've ever heard in my whole life.

“Enter the portal now, will you?”

I had no choice but to advance. I was forced into that “portal”. It was beginning to get cold, and all of a sudden I had the sensation of my mind quitting my body. Then I was unconscious.