Author's Note
For obvious reasons, I figured today was a good time to finally get this one out 
The First Time
September 17th, 2011
Jeremy yawned aloud as he stared at his screen. He'd honestly forgotten just how long he'd been working at this, but now, all that work had paid off. The essay was finished. It had taken most of the day, but he was satisfied that he'd done everything he'd needed for it. A small smile crept onto his lips, and he nodded briefly to it. A few clicks later, his work was saved, and he exited all the pages he'd had up for so long. With his work over, he afforded himself a moment to stretch, his contented groans echoing around his room. After rubbing his eyes for a moment or two, however, he sighed.
"Done...after all this time...done."
He needed a break for his work, and so he clicked a few times again, bringing a new internet tab up. At first he just casually went through all the websites he usually went through at this time of the evening, and for the most part it was just routine at this point. Then, when it was all done, he brought up his favourite website. There was a brief lag, but soon the homepage was up, allowing him to look at all the latest videos that were being recommended to him today. There was a lot of the usual stuff, like videos involving puppies and kittens, or even clips of old-school nostalgic cartoons. But then, after scrolling through enough of them, he stopped. Something else appeared at the bottom of the list, again recommended to him, and while he had not watched it yet, he knew already what it was. Another sigh escaped him.
"...Ponies. Just like every other day."
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, grumbling to himself.
"Last few months...all anyone can talk about. Ponies this, ponies that. Yeah, I like cartoons, but I've never shown interest in...that."
He leaned back into his chair, staring at the ceiling for a time.
"Everyone's talking about them. Even my best friend."
Blinking a few times, he soon glanced back down to the screen. Nobody was forcing him, he knew that, and as he thought more and more on it, he couldn't help but remember all the good things people had been saying about it. Even his friend had done so, and James wasn't known for being a poor judge of these things. Jeremy's expression softened, and he leaned forward. A minute of silence passed, and then he exhaled deeply.
"Alright...alright. I'll try it."
A slight frown appeared on his brow.
"I'll watch one episode. If I don't like it, that's the last I want to hear of it."
Scrolling through the list, he squinted at the screen.
"Alright then, let's see...ah, here we are. The latest episode."
He leaned just the tiniest bit closer.
"...Return of Harmony. Huh, aired just tonight. Guess it just goes to show how quick people are with cartoons on the net today."
Reaching over, Jeremy grabbed his nearby glass of water and took a quick sip of it, after which he finally clicked the mouse, letting the video play.
"Alright then, ponies...let's see what you've got."
Thirty minutes later...
"Looks like we might be due for a big old storm of chaos!"
Discord's victorious laughter rang out, and Twilight and her friends looked on in horror at their now-triumphant foe. The music swelled dramatically as lightning crashed, and within only a moment, the screen darkened, leading directly to the credits. The theme song of the show echoed in the room for a few moments, and after a while, Jeremy finally paused the video. He stared at the screen in silence for a time, his expression a mix between surprise and confusion. After a few moments more though, he finally broke the silence.
"Huh...that was...good."
He folded his arms, considering his own words.
"I mean, I know kids' shows haven't been terrible lately, but...yeah, that was pretty decent."
A pause, and then his trademark frown returned.
"But...just to make sure this isn't a fluke, I should probably check out some other episodes. I mean there's, what, a whole season I haven't watched?"
Grabbing hold of the mouse, he scrolled through some more lists of pony-related videos, commenting on what he was seeing.
"Hmmm, yep, they're all here."
After looking through all of them, he finally settled on what he'd identified as the very first episode of the show, at which point he paused again.
"I mean, it's only right that I make sure this show actually keeps up that kind of quality all the time...right?"
Blinking, he looked around, realising he was the only one in the room, at which point he frowned again, to himself if nothing else.
"Why do I always talk to myself?"
Shaking his head, he at last clicked on the mouse.
"Alright then...episode one. Here we go."
Several hours, and one season one marathon, later...
"...And while the evening may not have gone as you planned, I'm sure you'll agree it didn't turn out so bad for this group of friends."
Celestia's words caused more than a few giggles, and it wasn't long before Twilight responded to her mentor.
"You're right, Princess. Friends have a way of making even the worst of times into something pretty great."
"Yeah! Hanging out with friends!" Rainbow added.
"Talking!" Fluttershy chimed in.
"Laughing!" Pinkie included.
"You mean doing what I wanted to do the whole time?" Spike pointed out with more than a little smugness.
Twilight smiled softly to her assistant.
"Yes, Spike. You were right."
The group of friends all gathered together, with Applejack speaking next.
"As horrible as our night was..." she began
"Being here together has made it all better," Rarity finished.
Pinkie smiled, as she usually dud.
"In fact, it's made it..."
"THE BEST NIGHT EVER!!!" they all declared at once.
They all laughed together, content in the knowledge that their time at the Gala had brought them fun, even if it was in a way they hadn't expected. And as their laughter continued, the screen again darkened, making way for the credits and the theme tune that was now so familiar to Jeremy's ears. And speaking of whom, the young man paused the video, blinking slowly as he leaned back into his chair. His mind was filled with many thoughts and things he wanted to say. But, after a while, the only thing he could do was give a small smile.
"...How? How could I have let myself miss all this?"
A mere second passed before he groaned with a sense of annoyance.
"Ugh! James will never let me hear the end of this one!"
But, that annoyance soon turned to a feeling of amusement, and he shook his head, looking once more to the screen.
"Well...part of the herd it is then."
He scratched the side of his head.
"That is what they call it, right? The herd?"
After shrugging, he gave another few clicks, bringing up the TV list of upcoming episodes, looking for the second part of the first he'd already watched.
"So...part two of Return of Harmony is out next week."
Slowly, a confident smile came to his lips.
"Well then, my little ponies...let's see how far you can go."
