For hundreds of years, ponykind had wondered if we were alone. The search for other planets besides our own was long and arduous, but our search eventually turned up results in the form of a mirror which transported the user to an alternate Equestria populated by a species known as 'humans.'
Intrigued by this, scientists in Equestria began exploring the possibility that there were other universes out there; instead of an alternate version of our own. Many decades passed, but nothing new was discovered.
Until, one day, we were contacted.
In another universe, humans – unlike the ones from the alternate Equestria – had been testing their own theory of trans-universal travel, and we were the first ones who answered the signal they had been sending. We were intrigued by each other; they by the fact we were a race of 'sentient equines,' and us by the fact these humans were nothing like the ones we had seen before.
They were far more technologically advanced than we were, with machines doing most of the work for them. For example: Your average pony farmer would take a week to harvest their crops — a human farmer could harvest theirs in a single day. It seemed that machines did everything from cleaning to brain surgery, making our own technological advancements seem primitive by comparison.
We learned much from the people of Earth in our first few weeks, although not all of it made for pleasant listening; stories of war, intolerance and terrorism seemed to dominate their news stories. They were amazed by the fact that Equestria was so peaceful, the concept of harmony seeming almost alien to them. Long had humans wished to live in peace together, long had they failed.
It wasn't long before the public were made aware of the discovery, and the response was mixed. Many people on Earth were amazed by what collaboration between ponies and humans could accomplish, others were more sceptical and some were even convinced that we were 'alien invaders with an agenda,' and called for our extermination. Thankfully, they were few in number, and easily ignored by the rest of Earth society as a whole.
But one group of humans stuck out amongst the others. To our immense shock, it turned out that Equestria had been depicted in a cartoon which was popular with children. Every major event in Equestrian history – the rise and fall of Nightmare Moon, the rise, fall and reformation of Discord, the founding of Equestria, the Changeling invasion of Canterlot and many more – had been depicted in an episode of this show. When we questioned them, the humans were adamant that they had not been spying on us, and that it was just 'one hell of a freaky coincidence.'
We believed them, but we were a bit concerned by the whole thing. However, that all changed when we saw just what kind of effect this show had had on the people of Earth.
As well as children, the show was also popular with some adults. Calling themselves 'Bronies,' these men and women were ecstatic that Equestria was actually real, and clamoured for a chance to come and visit. They seemed to know a lot about us and our homeland, so many of them were chosen to join the first group of humans to cross through the trans-universal gateway that had been built near Manehatten.
It would seem that these bronies idolised ponies; they dedicated songs, poems, art, stories and even conventions to us. That said, there were some aspects of their 'fandom' that unnerved us – I still regret asking what 'Rule 34' is – but apart from that, they seemed like the nicest group of people we met, and many of us began to look forward to meeting our 'fans.'
The day finally came when humans and ponies would at least meet face-to-face. Ponyville, as the most welcoming town in Equestria, was chosen to be the meeting point. A huge celebration had been set up, and ponies from all over Equestria had converged on this one spot to catch a glimpse of the new arrivals.
The bronies were the first ones to disembark the train, and almost immediately they were beaming from ear to ear. They took one look at the crowd of ponies in front of them, at which a huge shout went up from them.
"I CAN SEE MY WAIFU!"
There was a pause, during which they all looked at each other.
"'Your' waifu? Get real."
"Back off, buddy, I saw her first."
"She's mine, damn it!"
"Over my dead body!"
"You and what army?"
The assembled crowd of ponies looked at each other uncomfortably as the argument continued, before one mare took a few tentative steps forward and addressed the bellowing mass.
"What is a 'waifu,' and who are you talking about?" she asked.
The bronies stopped arguing.
"Put simply, a 'waifu' is an individual who would make a perfect partner," one of the bronies replied, before pointing at the mare who stepped forward. "For example, Rarity, I will proudly say that you are my waifu." He chuckled. "I've always wanted to say that."
Another brony stepped forward and pushed him. "Rarity is mine, you idiot, so back the hell up and let me talk to her!"
"The hell she is, you arrogant swine!" the first brony snarled. "You wouldn't know anything about how to treat a classy mare like her!"
"And you do?" the second brony replied. "You're probably so uncultured, you think the Tate Modern is a brand of sugar cube!"
They got in each others faces again, shouting and swearing, which in turn caused the rest of their group to join in. After another few minutes, I stepped forward and raised my voice through the use of an amplification spell.
"ENOUGH!" I yelled. The bronies stopped arguing and looked at me, some of them saying how 'great' and 'cute' I was when I was angry. "Now, please, there has to be another way you can all settle this 'debate' of yours, without having to resort to shouting and screaming at one another."
It wasn't long before I regretted saying those words; the resulting fight ended up destroying half of Ponyville.
The Trans-Universal Gateway project was shelved a week later.
Author's Note
This story was the result of an idea that caiustheshadowpony shared on my Discord server.
Granted, that idea was shared a couple of months ago... but I still turned it into something! 
