PonyPark

The day was a bright one, with only a few clouds scattered through the azure sky. Another day where many adults, teenagers and children alike would fill the acres of land filled with magical charm: PonyPark. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic had taken off all over the world, in just a few short months. A seemingly simple television show aimed at little girls had somehow attracted many people from kids to elders alike. Nobody knew why, but there was sure a huge love for ponies. The park had been in development years before the show even aired, as if the motive to even build a park was backed by the knowledge that the show would become immensely popular all around the globe. So, fast forward to 2011, and the park had opened in February in the theme park capital of the world, Orlando, Florida. Disney had surely met its match.

Matthew was not quite fond of it, however. Ponies were supposed to be for little girls, and for little girls only. Ever since all the kids in his class—fourth graders to be exact—started talking about this stupid girl’s show, how they liked it, it made him sick to his stomach. Talks at lunch and recess among his friends about Pokémon, Beyblade and Ninjago were now replaced with conversations about colorful, talking ponies. Even the fifth graders were getting into it.

This eventually made Matthew much more reserved than he used to be, tired of the daily social hours being filled with nothing but questions and dreams of ponies that didn’t even exist. All he wanted to do was stick to boyish things.

Of course, he was not thrilled when his little sister had requested to take a visit to PonyPark in honor of her sixth birthday. Every day she’d watch that horrid show, entertained by the mere vivid colors that it presented each episode. It was only a matter of time when the commercials that played on the TV advertising the amusement park would get her to beg their parents to get each of them tickets.

A red Toyota RAV4 pulled into a nearby parking lot, with a family of four occupying it. Matthew sighed, shifting in his seat, and opened his eyes to find his family had arrived to the place he’d been dreading to go for weeks. He eyed the pink and purple colored park sign from his seat, and just the sight of it made him internally gag in disgust. He wanted to be anywhere but there.

“All right, kiddos, who’s ready to have some fun?” Matthew’s father exclaimed, expecting both kids to raise their voices in excitement. Aliza, Matthew’s little sister, gave a positive reaction, almost jumping from how happy she was. Matthew just sighed, tucking his DSi in his pocket, as the family made their way out of the car and into the park.

It was disgusting.

Too girly. Too pink. Too sweet. Matthew could see it, practically feel it everywhere he looked. Ponies, ponies, and more ponies met his eye as his family entered the main area of PonyPark. He had seen the show a few times, by glancing over at the television any time his sister had watched, but never watched long enough to know much about the world or its characters. Overhearing conversations at school, however, he was able to pick up on two things: one, the land the ponies resided in had the name of Equestria, and two: a blue pony who was boyish.

It had sounded like a relief to him, at first—maybe the show wasn’t as girly as it made itself out to be? But then he shook the thought away immediately, there was no way a show about ponies could appeal in any way to boys...boys like him who weren’t so easy to please, of course.

He glanced around the area a bit more, hearing his sister wanting to meet a pony named Fluttershy. He eyed a roller coaster, one that was multicolored, far away in the distance. It seemed pretty high, for a little girls’ theme park...maybe if he’d ride it he would have a bit of fun?

No. He immediately pushed away the temptation. He was a boy. Ponies weren’t for boys. All he was going to do was stick to his dad while playing on his DSi.

As if on cue, his father tapped him on the shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts. Matthew could see his mother and sister walking away from them, presumably to see the pony they wanted to meet. He looked at his father, as he gave his son a sympathetic look.

“Let’s grab something for lunch, Matthew,” his lips curled in a smile. “I’ve heard the food’s pretty good here. How’s about some nuggets and fries?”

Matthew tried to put on a pleasing act for his father, but eventually his half-smile faltered as he sighed softly. “Dad, I don’t want to be here. I already told you and Mom that I don’t like ponies like everyone at school does.”

“And I don’t think any differently of you, kiddo,” said his father, as he pointed to a nearby restaurant east of where they were. “No girly stuff today for us.”

This made Matthew’s mood go up a bit. He was a bit hungry; maybe something to eat would lighten his day.

“You promise? No girly stuff?” he asked, as he and his father walked towards the restaurant, the crowd shrinking as they went on.

“Promise.”

Matthew flipped his DSi open, making its iconic chime be heard throughout the Ponyville section of the park. After they had eaten, he and his dad found a quiet spot in the park with a few benches under the shade. It felt good to be in a place without the constant noise of girls screaming and cheering burning his ears every minute. At least he was free to enjoy his escape from this pony-filled nightmare: Pokemon. Ponies were nothing compared to that amazing gaming franchise.

As he continued his virtual journey, heading into Snowpoint City, he wondered more about that blue and rainbow colored pony that many kids at school, especially boys, would take a liking to. She was apparently very fast, which reminded him a bit of another gaming icon he adored, Sonic the Hedgehog. Maybe that’s why the boys at school liked her? Because of Sonic? He thought that was a pretty lame excuse, to compare such a brilliant character with a stupid pony.

So what if she was competitive and boyish? That didn’t change the fact that she was nothing but a pony. And Matthew had decided long ago that his hatred for ponies would grow by the day.

“Hey, Matthew, that roller coaster over there looks fun,” His dad suddenly pointed over to where the roller coaster Matthew had previously seen earlier that day. He could now see clearly a sign of the ride’s title: Sonic Rainboom. Again being reminded of the comparison to Sonic, he rolled his eyes—then taking a look at how massive the ride itself was. What stood out most, of course, was the horrifying yet awesome scene of riders screaming as they plummeted down a 65 foot drop near the end of the coaster.

It did look a little fun...

Matthew smiled, and looked back at his father, tucking his DSi back into his pocket. “Sure. Let’s hurry and get in line before it gets too long.”

“That was amazing!“ Matthew had never had an experience by the likes of what just happened, as his excitement tripled just by thinking about the coaster. Sure, it had looked scary at first, but it had turned out to be very exhilarating. He could tell his dad liked it, too, which made him even more glad.

“I think I see the girls over there,” his father said, as Matthew could see Aliza and his mom walking towards them, each with an ice cream cone in hand. Both of them had wide smiles plastered on their faces, along with a few blobs of ice cream.

“Look who was brave enough to ride that big roller coaster!” His mother gave him a hug, and Matthew returned the gesture, as his ego grew at the comment. “Aliza and I could never go on a big ride like that. Right, Aliza?” His sister had not replied verbally, only nodding, as she was too busy finishing off her ice cream to properly answer.

“Aliza met all six ponies after we told the employees it was her birthday. She even got to take a picture with all six at once!” Matthew’s mother recalled their earlier experiences. “She and I had a lot of fun. I can see you have, too!”

“Well, we should be wrapping up soon,” his father lay a hand over his eyes, shielding the bright sun from his vision. “It’s an hour and a half long drive home, and I want to get there at least before dark.”

“Why don’t you and Aliza socialize for a bit while your father and I plan out when to leave?” His mom signaled for Aliza to head next to Matthew, to the boy’s dismay. He would rather be alone, or at least with his dad, rather than being forced along by his sister to talk about prissy ponies with other girls her age. Inevitably, however, he had followed his sister not too far from his parents to where a group of kids were talking. Each of them sat on faux tree stumps, and in the center sat a brunette man in the employee’s uniform. Seeing so much pink on a male made Matthew groan internally.

There were two spots left open, luckily, and he and Aliza sat down, getting the other kids’ and the employee’s attention. The worker turned to them, flashing a name tag that read “Micheal”. He gave the two siblings a smile, as he said, “Hello there, you two! How are you enjoying your day in PonyPark?”

“It’s amazing!” Before Matthew could even think of a reply, Aliza yelled her answer in a shrill voice. “I’m having the best sixth birthday ever! I got to meet all the ponies, had ice cream, and go on cool rides!” Micheal nodded, and turned his attention to Matthew, and asked him, “And you? What have you done today?”

Matthew tried to be as casual as he could, but he couldn’t seem to put on a convincing act. Might as well tell him the truth...”Well...I’m not really into ponies. I liked the rainbow roller coaster, though. It was...um, pretty cool, I guess.”

Thankfully, Micheal’s smile didn’t go away after hearing the boy’s story. “Well, as long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters! I really think you’d like Rainbow Dash, though.”

“Yeah!” Another boy sitting across from him, looking about his age, piped up. “She’s fast, sporty, and so awesome! She’s not like the other girly ponies.”

“Applejack isn’t girly!” Again, a boy around the circle protested.

“What’s wrong with being girly?” A girl beside him argued.

All of this took him back to memories from school; being just about the only one who wasn’t interested in the show or its characters had caused him to become a bit of an outcast. He wanted nothing to do with them. Ponies ruined everything. They ruined old interests, ruined school, took his friends...

...he remembered a previously pushed back memory as it flared alive in his mind’s eye. His old friends breaking off from him after he declared his personal vendetta against those talking ponies. Since their interests were so different, pretty much pure opposites, they were no longer compatible, at least in his friends’ eyes.

Panic suddenly overwhelmed his mind, and burning hatred sizzled deep within him. Breaking off from his sister and the other kids, he ran off in a mad dash. He was going to find a place where no person—or no ponies—could find him.

The sun had almost set by the time Matthew had found a place secluded enough where he could be alone. Thankfully, along the outskirts of PonyPark lay many large bushes, most likely to act as a border for it. He didn’t want to see anyone right now, he wanted to enjoy the quiet. No more ponies. Stupid park, stupid ponies, stupid Rainbow Dash...even her name sounded ridiculous.

Sighing as he leaned against the shrubbery, he opened Pokémon Platinum once again to continue from where he left off. Ponies didn’t matter when you had Pokémon companions. Lucario, Gallade and Empoleon were superior to any candy colored horse.

A bush a few feet away rustled for a moment, causing Matthew to instantly shut his DSi, in case someone had found him. It couldn’t have been that easy to find him, right? He was sure he had run for miles. Whatever the case was, he tried to stay as silent as possible, praying nobody had seen or heard him. He knew having the sound of his video game on was a bad idea.

Something rainbow colored caught his eye, as the rustling grew a bit more loud. Suddenly, a cyan-colored pony with a multicolored mane emerged from the bush, who was none other than Rainbow Dash herself. Matthew pinched himself many times, but each attempt to wake himself from whatever horrible nightmare he got himself into was a failure. He tried to back away as the innocent looking pegasus inched closer to him. Strangely enough, however, as he looked closer at her, she did not look like a costume at all—rather, it was as if she had stepped out of a television screen and into his world. The resemblance was uncanny.

And then, the pony began to speak.

“Whatcha doin all the way out here, kid?” Her voice had a raspy tone to it, making her sound tomboyish. Seems like everyone at school wasn’t lying about that. Matthew just stood there, unblinking, mouth agape as he tried to process the scene going on in front of him. He had to be dreaming.

Rainbow Dash laughed at his lack of reaction. “Yeah, you’re looking at the one and only Rainbow Dash! Applause, please.” She waited for the boy to clap, but got no response. “Tough crowd.”

She neared him, but Matthew only took a step back each time she took a step forward. “Easy, kid, I ain’t here to hurt ya. I’m actually here to help you, DUH!”

“...help me?” Matthew stopped in his tracks as he questioned what the pony had said to him.

“Listen, kid, I’ve been noticing your hatred for ponies. Look, I get it, of course ponies seem girly. I mean, just look at my friend Rarity,” she scoffed in the middle of her sentence, as Matthew wondered who Rarity even was. “Anyway, since I’m obviously the best one out of all my friends, don’t mean to brag—I’ve gotta be the one to show you how ponies aren’t that bad.”

Matthew grew angry at her argument. “No way! Ponies ruined everything in my life! It even took my friends away from me!”

Rainbow looked surprised, pausing for a few moments before going back to that same cocky smile she always flashed. “Kid, like I said, ponies aren’t so bad. Ponies help friends. And I want to help you. Kapiche?”

“...” The boy, again, said nothing.

“You’re...supposed to say it back.”

“Uhm...kapiche.” Matthew smiled nervously.

“Good try. Now,” Rainbow Dash begun to circle around him, looking behind herself a few times for a reason Matthew did not know of. “I understand you kinda prefer to be alone. Well, have I got a bargain you can’t refuse! A totally awesome, one night only private stay in the park!”

“What do you mean?” Matthew asked the pony.

“Just you and me, kiddo, for one full night. No lines for any rides, peace and quiet, and I bet we could even find some free food!”

Matthew pondered over her offer for a moment. The promises did sound enticing...but then came the thought of his family. “But, what about my family? They’ll wonder where I am and they’ll eventually find me.”

Rainbow Dash never lost her smile. In fact, it grew a bit wider. “Don’t worry about that. We ponies have a...special kind of magic we can do in Equestria. Twilight always told me, blah blah blah, it’s magic, don’t question it! What an egghead.”

Matthew laughed at the word “egghead”, getting a laugh out of Rainbow Dash as well.

“So, you in?” Asked the colorful pony.

“It’s a deal.” Matthew held out his hand to shake it with the pony’s hoof. “But are you sure nobody will find out?”

“Don’t worry, kiddo, I’ve got you covered.” Dash smiled at him. “By the way, I never asked for your name. Wanna tell me what it is?”

For the first time in his life, the boy felt happy to be around a pony. “Matthew.”

“Stay here, Matthew,” Rainbow Dash instructed. “I’ll take care of everything, and I’ll tell you when the coast is clear.”

“But, my parents—“

“I’ll take care of it, kid, stop worrying!” And with that, the pegasus was gone, flying upwards and suddenly disappearing out of thin air. Matthew brushed it off, going back to his game, until Rainbow Dash needed him again.

The clock on his DSi had read 6:20 when Matthew was still hiding in the bush. If he remembered correctly, the park would always close at six, according to the commercials. Rainbow Dash still hadn’t come back for him, and it had been a little over an hour. His game kept him occupied, but the console was almost dead by now. Where was the pegasus? Had it all been just some strange hallucination that his mind used to play a trick on him? Had he passed out and dreamt the entire ordeal?

Matthew had assumed that everyone had gone by now, and mustered up the courage to venture out of the bush and back from where he came. He could see the Ponyville part of the park from a distance, but no people. Swiftly, he ran from the park’s border and back into the park grounds, his surroundings being replaced with ponies everywhere he looked. It took him a while, but he had finally managed to reach the center of Ponyville. No people were in sight, as Rainbow had promised, but then he saw something odd in his peripheral vision.

He turned, seeing silhouettes of a few people at the entrance of the park. He hid behind a statue of a pony he did not recognize as he peered at the few people left in the park. Didn’t the place close twenty minutes ago? Looking closer, he could make out his family, a few cops and...himself?

Matthew rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn’t hallucinating, but the sight still remained. He watched and saw himself walking away from the park with his family, two police officers following them from behind. Nobody looked upset—in fact, they looked relieved. But that wasn’t him. It looked like him, but it wasn’t.

After a few minutes, he waited until he was positive no person was left in the park but him. In a slightly panicked voice, he called to his new pony friend. “Rainbow Dash!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, and from behind him he heard a familiar voice.

“Kid! I told you not to move from your spot!” She scolded him, making him a bit scared. The pegasus sighed, but then put on her famous cocky smile. “That’s fine. I knew you were excited.”

“How did you...I mean,” Matthew stuttered. “I was...there, with my parents!”

“Special Equestrian magic,” his companion winked. Matthew decided not to question things anymore, now that an actual cartoon character had made her way to him.

“So, what do we do now?” asked the boy, curious as to what his friend had in store for him.

“Well,” Rainbow Dash explained, holding out a wing to him. “We have fun, duh! No adults around to tell you what to do to ruin any fun!”

He never thought a rainbow-clad pony of all things would say that, but it was amazing to hear it come from her mouth. “You know, maybe I was wrong about ponies. You’re really cool, Rainbow Dash!”

“Thanks, I get that a lot,” the pony replied. Suddenly, however, her eyes flashed for a moment, and Matthew looked at her in confusion. Rainbow Dash could sense this, and asked him, “What’s up, kid? Something wrong?”

“I swear I saw your eyes sort of...flash,” replied Matthew.

Rainbow Dash just laughed. “Kid, you worry way too much that your brain plays tricks on you. Now, come on, are we gonna have fun, or what?” She spread her wings out, as if offering him a horseback ride. It didn’t seem quite appealing to him.

“A horseback ride? Really?”

“You’ll see. Hop on!” Not wanting to argue with her, Matthew took up the offer, positioning himself on the back of the pony. Surprisingly, she had been about a little bigger than he had bin, something he wouldn’t expect from a real-life cartoon pony.

“So, what is this?” he asked, a slight fear rising in him.

Without warning, the pegasus took off in the air, her wings stretching backwards as she glided around the air with the boy on her back. Matthew screamed in panic, but then began to realize that he was flying/ Not on his own, of course, but the sensation was still amazing.

“You’re...we’re...flying!” Matthew cried in excitement. “This is awesome!”

Rainbow Dash laughed at the compliment, but then started turning towards the park entrance. Matthew could see a fence around the park that had not been there when he and his family arrived. He asked his pegasus companion, “What’s that big fence?”

“Oh, it’s a really big secret,” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s best I rather not tell you, secret Equestrian magic and all—“

“Secret?” Matthew giggled. “Tell me!”

“Okay, okay,” Rainbow chuckled, as she flew back down to the ground with Matthew still on her back. “See that tall fence? That’s how I came here. If you jump it, you get instantly transported to Equestria.”

Now that sounded like she was lying. “What? No way, that’s not possible.” Argued the boy in protest.

“Then how can you explain me coming all the way here to give you the best night ever?” Rainbow Dash was still smiling as Matthew pondered the question. The boy smiled, deciding to believe the pegasus’s story. “Okay. How do I get to Equestria?”

The pony spread her wings out again, and Matthew thought he could see her eyes glowing in the dark. He climbed back onto her back, and she glided into the air once again. Within a few minutes, the two of them had been about a half mile from the fence.

“If I go fast enough, we’ll make it,” she told him. “Are you ready to go to Equestria, kiddo?”

“I am!” Matthew couldn’t believe he was this excited about ponies.

“Hang tight.”

At breakneck speed, the blue pony was racing towards the fence, as Matthew could see it nearing the two, the pointed edges at the top looking a bit intimidating. Looking a bit higher as it got closer, he could see a few strings on the top of it. But he shook the anxious thoughts off, he thought of what he could experience in Equestria, with so many friends, hanging out with Rainbow Dash, and—

The pony suddenly threw him off of her back as he was thrown in the air, now heading towards the top of the fence. Just a few seconds and he would be on his was to Eq—

ZAP!

Volts raged through the young boy’s body as it scorched his skin. Horrible burning flared on every inch of his body. He finally realized what he had jumped—an electric fence. Maybe...maybe the only way to Equestria was death...? His friend wouldn’t lie to him...

In moments, the boy collapsed onto hard concrete, with no one around to hear his lifeless body plummet and his final screams echo in the air.