Side Effects may Include

Chapters

Chapter 1: Ken
Chapter 2: Friends that I hold Dear
Chapter 3: Anything but
Chapter 4: Tears that are not tears of joy
Chapter 5: Drowning your sorrows in Netflix
Dear Reader...

Chapter 1: Ken

Tap, tap, tap. This was the only sound Ken could hear in the entire classroom, apart from the occasional sound of pencils to paper. Ken’s pencil however, was nowhere near the paper. Instead it was gently tapping the paper that lay before him on the desk, with the eraser side down.

“History.” He thought to himself. “Why do we need to learn it anyway? Will it impact our future in anyway?” He kept pondering on the subject between taps. “If I was to fill out a resume, or sit down for a job meeting, would I be required to list the first 44 presidents in order?” From what he had heard from his parents, and other adults he had talked to in the past, that would not be the case.

He sighed. He had promised his parents that he would at least try to get a passing grade on his history exam, but so far it wasn’t going so well. He had already lied about not studying for his test, so he decided to make up for it by attempting one of the questions. “Where and when was the mayflower compact signed?” Even though he didn’t know the answer, he decided to take a look at the answers anyway. A. Jamestown 1609, B. Plymouth 1620, C. Florida 1606, or D. New York 1601.

Ken rolled his eyes, he had drawn a blank, what else was new? He looked around the room, seeing his fellow classmates already done or near to finishing the test. “How do they do it?” He wondered. It had always been a mystery to him, how they could just complete their assignments with ease, it made him jealous in a sense.

If you haven’t guessed it by now, Ken William Kutter wasn’t exactly the smartest kid around. Sure, he could perform problems like 26 + 47 or could tell you what photosynthesis was, but he was nowhere near an above average student. He usually ended up with Cs and Ds, sometimes even Fs, but every once in a while he would get a B if he was lucky. He had never once earned an A for an assignment in his life, not that he cared though. School wasn’t exactly on the top of his priority list, and this of course resulted in many a bad grade.

What was the reason behind all this? To be perfectly honest, I’m not quite sure, nor were his parents, or even Ken himself. He wasn’t mentally disabled or anything, so there was no way of him getting a 504 or being paced in any special needs class. But that didn’t mean his parents didn’t TRY to get him these things.

His parents had always been trying to figure out what was wrong and fix it, and as you can see, they weren’t having much luck. And their busy jobs didn’t make it any easier. His Dad Mac was a geologist and his Mom Emily scientist, they had met at Brown University. So it wasn’t that Ken’s parents didn’t care for their only child, they just didn’t have much time for him. Ken really didn’t mind though, he spent most of his days were with friends anyway.

Ken sighed again and looked at the clock, he smiled, one more minute until the bell rang. “Thank god” he thought to himself. He was running out of things to do to make time go faster. His eyes returned to his exam, “Oh right, you” He sighed and did what he always did, randomly circle answers and then wait for the sound of freedom that was the bell for the end of 7th period. But the only sound he could hear at the moment, was the steady tapping of his pencil. Tap, tap, tap.

Chapter 2: Friends that I hold Dear

Ken slammed his locker shut after he had taken everything out that he needed to take back home. He loaded all of his belongings into his backpack and slung it across his back, carrying it with one strap.

"Hey Ken! Wait up!" said a familiar voice behind him. Ken smiled, stopped, and turned around, waiting for his buddy to catch up. It was James, Ken's best friend. The two hadn't known each other sense kindergarten or anything (his life isn't THAT cliche) but they had met around junior high and maintained a good friendship through high school.

"How's it going bro?" Ken said as the two were side by side and started walking.

"Good, you?" James replied. "Meh, okay I guess."

"Let me guess" James said with a smirk "History Exam?" "You know me!" laughed Ken. "Where are the others?" "Probably hanging around the main entrance, come on, we shouldn't keep them waiting longer than we have too.

Ken nodded as they both walked down one of the long halls of their High School. Those "others" mentioned earlier were Ken's other 4 friends; Ethan, Grant, Kyra, and his girlfriend Rachel. Ethan was the quirky and creative type guy, who always had an idea for a new story but never got around to finishing one. This was frustrating because the stories Ethan wrote were really good, and it was a shame that they were never completed. It was also somewhat annoying because Ethan came up with a new idea every other week, and it was obvious he wasn't going to finish any of them. But either way, Ethan was still a fun guy to hang out with.

Ken and James pushed their way out of the school into the warm Houston air, seeing their posse waiting for them. “You’re just in time.” Kyra said as the two approached to join them. “Ethan here was just about to explain story idea number 420.” “Nice use of sarcasm.” Ethan grumbled. “I’m telling you guys, I really think I can finish this one.” He said with certainty in his voice.

“Give it a rest E.” Kyra replied. “This isn’t exactly the first time you, “really thought you could”.” Ken nodded his head in agreement, this was one of the things he appreciated Kyra for. She was always the one who could pull you back down to earth. Whenever one of them got over excited or incredibly nervous about something, Kyra would be there to apply some logic and reasoning. Now saying that Kyra was a girl who only believed in things that were either logical or only science explained would be an understatement. She still accepted other people ideas and beliefs, and if they were different from hers than she would respectfully disagree and give her opinions on the subject. But she was in no way a girl who only thought her answer was the right one.

“Personally I think writing is a little to mainstream for me, I’m more into spending my time buying a bunch of weird looking cloths at some vintage store somewhere!” The person who said THAT weird statement was Grant, Kyra’s boyfriend. Right now he was into being a hipster for everything he could possibly find.

Notice though, that I said, RIGHT NOW, because for Grant, he could be anyone. Grant has this weird system of having a different personality every week, it was like he had some sort of multiple personality dis-order that he was in control of. (A NON dis-order if you will) Last week, he apparently was some sort of old veteran guy who served in WWIII that lasted for 45 seconds or something like that. It never made sense, but it didn't matter, because it was just another wacky character in the zany world of Grant.

Ken glanced at his watch, his eyes widening at the realization of the time. “Crap!” Ken said aloud. His friends looked at him with puzzled faces. “Forget to turn in your homework AGAIN Hot Shot?” Said James in a teasing voice. “Surprisingly no, I actually have a date with Rachel in a few hours, so I need to get home to get ready!” Ken explained as he slowly started to walk away.

“Aw come on! Can’t you stay for a little longer?” pleaded Grant. “It’s no use!” said Ethan. “For thou Romeo has to find thy love.”

“Oh hey look, Romeo and Juliet, a story that was actually FINISHED!” Ken replied with a smirk. Ethan frowned but then quickly regained himself and smiled back.

“Can you at least tell us where you’re taking her?” asked Kyra. “That’s for you guys not to know, and her to find out.” Ken said as he opened the door to his car.

He set his backpack down on the seat next to him, started up his car and backed out of his parking spot. He waved to friends as he drove by, they waved back, and continued waving until he was out of view. Ken then turned his focus to driving home. But in the corner of his mind, he just couldn't help but think of how blessed he was, to have such good friends. He was filled with so much joy, that it seemed nothing could go wrong for him. But knowing how there must always be conflict, you’ll know that what awaits Ken is anything but.

Chapter 3: Anything but

Ken opened the door to his house and immediately ran straight to his room. As expected the suit he had rented was hanging on his door handle with a note from his mom saying, as usual, that she and his Dad would be working late tonight.

“Typical.” Ken thought to himself. But then again, the very reason that Ken was able to rent a fancy suit for his date was because his parents had well-paying jobs. This in turn meant that they were also busy jobs causing them to work late. As previously mentioned though, Ken didn't really mind their absence. Whenever they were around they just talked about a bunch of scientific stuff that Ken couldn't even understand. But none of that mattered now, all Ken wanted to think about now was his big date with Rachel. He had planned this occasion for an entire month, making sure everything was spot on and perfect. Sure, they had been on dates before, but this one was special. For today was their 2 year anniversary, and Ken was determined to make it count. He had even gotten a part time job to pay for most of the expenses.

As Ken slipped into his fancy new cloths, he couldn’t help but remember the first time he had met Rachel. It was only a few weeks into his freshmen year, a time where most kids would've gotten the hang of making the change from Jr. High to High school. Unfortunately for Ken, this was not the case.

**********

“Excuse me?” “Pardon me?” “Could you please tell me how to get to the-UGH!” At this point, Ken had just about enough of people ignoring his polite pleas for directions. All he wanted to know was where the nearest bathroom was! Not to mention it was also annoying on how cramped the hall was. People were pushing, shoving, and practically fighting to the death to get to their next class. And amongst this chaotic storm two giant football players arguing about whose touchdown dance was better, accidently knocked into Ken, causing him to be flung backwards landing with a hard thud on the school tile.

Thankfully his mom took the liberty in buying him a “bullet proof” binder so when it landed on the ground, all of its contents were safe. The two football players, as well as all of the other students in the halls, just walked right on by, not giving Ken a second thought.

“Gee, the hospitality here is top notc-OW!” Ken winched in pain as he tried to get up. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying not make a scene in front of everybody. “Oh my gosh are you okay?!” said a voice he would soon come to love. Ken opened his eyes to see the voice he had just heard was referring to him, and surprisingly it was!

In front of him was girl who had a face that looked concerned for Ken’s current state. Ever sense he was little, Ken always made fun of those parts in movies were the hero meets the girl of his dreams and everything is in slow-motion. But in that moment, Ken took it all back. She was beautiful. She looked to be about his height and age, had long, gorgeous brown hair, with streaks of blond scattered throughout it. Ken didn't know if they were natural or she dyed it that way, but he didn't even care. All he was focusing on was here pretty emerald green eyes that were looking right back into his.

“Hello? Anybody in there?” Ken then came back to his senses. “Oh, uh, yeah… yeah I’m okay, thanks for asking.” She offered him her hand to help him up, to which he greatly accepted. But as she was lifting him up, he inhaled deeply for the pain in his back from earlier had returned. The girl took notice of this once Ken was on his own two feet again. “Hey you don’t look too good, you sure you don’t want me to take you to the nurse?” She asked.

“Nah, I think I’m okay.” Ken said as he started to lean back. Suddenly Ken heard (and felt) an audible popping sound coming from his back which caused Ken to tense up. “On second thought, scratch that, I think I DO need to go to the nurse.”

“Do you think you broke anything?” The girl asked as she sat next to Ken in the waiting room, next to nurse’s office. “Nah, it just really-AH!-hurts.” Ken replied, and proceeded to tenderly stroke his own back, hoping it would ease the pain away.

“Oh hey, I never got to say thanks for helping me out back there.” “No problem!” The girl replied with optimism in her voice. Ken smiled at this. “What’s your name anyway?” he asked. “Rachel.” Rachel, the name repeated in his mind over and over and over.

“What’s yours?” she asked. “Pardon?” said Ken. “What’s your name?” “Oh, it’s Ken, Ken Kutter.” He out stretched his hand for her to shake it. She laughed but did it anyway. “Why so formal? It’s not like we’re at a business meeting or anything” She giggled. “Heh, sorry, my parents have professional careers, so they like to teach me to be more formal when greeting someone, especially when I’m meeting a- “Girl?” she finished. Ken gave her a sheepish grin. “Heh, yep!” Rachel put her hand on his shoulder, Ken’s heart skipped a beat. “Well don’t worry, I don’t bite.” She said with seductive eyes.

Ken nervously chuckled, but nevertheless, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy her company. What followed started as a series of exchanged nods when seeing each other in the halls, to phone numbers being swapped, and then to the answer “yes!” when the question will you go out with me?” was asked.

**********

Ken felt something vibrate in his pocket, he realized it was phone. He pulled it out and as he expected, it was Rachel calling. “Hey Rachel! Ready for tonight?” There was a couple seconds of silence before Rachel replied. “Yeah, about that….” What was said after that hurt more than any kind of back pain could ever hope to achieve.

Chapter 4: Tears that are not tears of joy

“No it’s okay…. Yeah I understand…… okay, goodbye.” Ken hung up. Most people in Ken’s situation would probably just throw their phone on the ground in rage, secretly hoping they got the extra insurance to fix the now cracked screen. But Ken didn't have time for this, at least not right now. So sat down on his bed, and began to dial numbers.

Remember when I said Ken had planned this date for a month? Well in that planning period Ken had made A LOT of reservations. First, he had to cancel his Limo ride, then, he had to cancel his reservation of a table for two at Italy’s Finest (that’s a fancy Italian restaurant) and finally, he had to cancel his platinum tickets to a concert performed by their favorite band. He had also bought other, smaller things like a batch of flowers (tulips, her favorite) and a custom made cookie cake.

Once he was finished with his last phone call, apologizing to the last person, he hung up. Then he did something he promised himself he wouldn't do if something like this happened, he cried. Tears that Ken never would thought would exists tonight, unless they we’re tears of joy. The Rachel’s phone call played back in his mind.

“Yeah…. About that…… I don’t think I can do this tonight.” Ken’s eyes widened to the size of planets. “W-What do you mean you can’t make it?! We made both made sure that we had nothing to do tonight!” Ken said in a worried voice.

“I know we did! But, this just came up out of nowhere.” Rachel replied. “Rachel what do you mean?! WHAT came up?!” Ken voice was getting more and more panicked. “Well, you see…. I’m at the hospital, and….” There was then silent sobbing over the phone. Ken didn't figure out what was going on at first, but then, the pieces of the puzzle all fit together.

“Grandpa’s dead.” Rachel finally said, and proceeded to ball her eyes out. (At least that’s what it sounded like) Ken did his best to comfort her through only the sound of his voice, which isn't one of the easiest things to do.

He remembered the first time Rachel had told him about her grandpa and how he….. HAD cancer. She even had plans of attempting suicide, but Ken managed to talk her out of it. After that, whenever the topic was brought up, it scared Ken half to death, but it probably scared Rachel even more.

Ken had eventually calmed Rachel down enough to where she could properly speak, without hiccuping after every other word. After accepting all of her apologies for ruining their date, he sent his condolences to her and her family, and then hung up.

Now at this point in the story you’re probably thinking: “Why on earth is this on FiMFiction?! We’re 4 chapters in (5 if you count the “Dear Reader” part) and there’s still NO PONIES!” Well you can put those qualms to rest because this is the part where things get, dare I say, magical.

Chapter 5: Drowning your sorrows in Netflix

After sitting on his bed for 5 minutes or so, feeling sorry for himself, Ken took out his phone and opened up the Netflix app. He needed something to ease his mind after all that had just happened.

He scrolled through the list of shows and movies that he could watch, most of them he had already seen, but a couple of them were new, but nothing eye-catching. Ken was furious, for it seemed like nothing could go right for him that night. Of course, what was going to happen next could be considered going right or wrong, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Most of the title cards (you know the things you click on to watch the show/movie) on Netflix’s list tended to be colored blue, orange, black, red, or green. So when there was a PINK title card in the mid-section of the list, it stood out like a sore thumb, causing Ken to direct his attention to it. When he saw what it was, he cringed.

“My Little Pony Friendship is Magic?!” Ken exclaimed, reading the title aloud. “Ugh, I thought that was just some dumb toy line some company made when I was younger, they really brought it back?” He shook his head. From what he remembered, there was a TV show that came out along with the toys when he was five or six called “The Newborn Cuties” or something like that.

As a kid, the only parts of the show that he saw came from promos on it that he had to slog through. He remembered them having mouths that didn't even move and creepy, soulless, sticker like eyes. Ken shivered at the reminiscent of them.

So basically now you can imagine that Ken wasn't too keen on watching THIS show. But then again, there was something about it that intrigued him. It just looked so colorful, or at least the cover art did. The pink that had caught his eye from before was from the show’s logo, and right below it were 6 cartoon, multi-colored ponies starring right back at him.

Ken couldn't help but smile at this. He hated to admit it, but this was the kind of thing he so desperately needed. Something that was happy and full of joy, something that could cheer him up after the sucky events prior. But of course, he still had his doubts.

“What if it turns out to be just like that other show?” He thought to himself. “What if I actually LIKE the show, I would either have to keep it a secret from my friends and family, or I would just tell them hoping they’ll still accept me. And what if, what if… what if….”

Ken starred directly into the screen, with the show still there, waiting for him to make his move. Ken longed for a release, to escape reality and all of its hardships for a while.

So without any second thoughts, Ken tapped on the show, and selected the first episode. And with that, he simply let himself be sucked into a world that was way more than he bargained for.

Dear Reader...

Once upon a…… actually, this story doesn’t really take place upon a time, a big downer, I know. Wait, let me guess, you thought you were going to read one of those fan fictions where the human goes to Equestria and becomes friends with the ponies or one of the ones where a human takes care of a pony as a filly didn’t you? And while those stories are all fine and good, I’m going to tell you right now that that’s NOT what THIS story is about. No, it actually has to do with becoming a brony. And you may be asking yourself: “Is this an autobiography?” And while there are plenty of stories of how people became bronies out there, once again, that is NOT the story you are about to read. I’ve done enough of telling you what this story isn’t, why don’t I tell you what this story REALLY is. This is the story about a boy named Ken, and his likings for a certain show for little girls. And once again, you may be thinking: “What’s so exciting about that?” Now before you go ahead and click the back button and continue chapter 25 of Fallout Equestria, let me explain. We all know that human beings aren’t perfect, in fact, we’re far from it. And most of the time, when we see something that isn’t what you’d consider normal, we often immediately look down upon it and those who like it. And that right there is why being a brony isn’t one of the most accepted things, and our friend Ken here knew this very well. So when he watched this particular show, and found a certain appreciation for it, he began to fight it, and who could blame him? He was happy about where he was in life. He had a strong group of friends, a special someone, and even a pretty decent reputation at his High School. Granted he wasn’t a “popular kid” but he still wasn’t looked down upon. But if anyone were to find out that he liked “that show” then his life would be ruined. So Ken did his best to forget about “that one program” But sometimes, no matter how hard you try, the truth will eventually win. And when it does win, the side effects, can be very, very, strange.

Side Effects may Include