I sat on a train with my family early in the morning. Celly had to stay behind, but everyone else could come along. Button was laying practically on top of me, Ma was hugging Katie, and Dave was bullying Dan because he had pretty privilege. We were heading down to Ponyville, Fluttershy was keeping Discord in check and I’m pretty sure Ma would beat the fuck out of Discord if she found out what Discord did to me. We were going to give everyone a firsthoof experience of Ponyville. There were some other reasons, though.

As it turned out, the Sirens moved to Ponyville, because of course they fucking would. Apparently one of them lit a toaster on fire and scared everypony.

“So we’re finally going to get to experience this town full’a’nutjobs?” Ma asked as the train came to a stop in Ponyville.

“Yeah.” I nod. “Behave, everyone, Twilight and her friends live here.” I looked out the window of the train car, there… were a lot more ponies than I was anticipating. I set my book about a mare that sounded eerily like Nightmare Moon, working at a scrapyard with a creature that sounded eerily like a human. As I steeled myself, I couldn’t help but grin when I saw Twilight and her friends at the front of the crowd.

As we all stepped off the train, I quickly learnt why everyone was cheering. Ma quickly grabbed Twilight by the neck and started noogeying her. “Howdy there, my favorite grandniece!” She greeted the bookhorse.

“Hey Maeve.” Twilight giggled, and quickly pulled away from Ma. “It's good to finally see you all coming to Ponyville.” I watched as Katie ran out the train, in her typical sundress and metal combat boots, she ran up to Rarity and the two reared on their hindlegs and happily greeted each other. I could see some colts around her age giving her astonished looks; so nothing new. They wanted to see what was under Katie’s dress.

“Oh, Spike!” Katie laid on the ground and opened her hooves as she embraced the little dragon. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Nice to see you too, Katie.” Spike stammered as he hugged her.

Dan walked out and immediately got sat on by Rainbow Dash. “Hey there, buster, how’s my fat butt?” Apple Jack walked over to get her marefriend in check when Dan started screaming, his screams were muffled by the ground his face was planted in.’

“C’mon, Dash, no need to kill’em fer one comment on your physique.”

Dave and Button got off me to greet the Crusaders, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon.

“Why?” I asked, I was quickly surrounded by a bunch of ponies. They were thanking me for what I did during the Plunderseed event. “Guys, I didn’t do much-”

“The train crashed and you saved us all!” Oh.

Lyra brushed up to me. “Come on, you did plenty during the whole thing; you actively kept some ponies hurt. Me included; let us thank you.”

I chuckled and waved a dismisstory hoof. “Thank Twilight, she ended the whole thing.” I rolled my eyes.

“We already did, the whole country did.” Lyra pointed out… Before realizing something. “You didn’t tell anypony that you saved a train full of ponies?”

“No? Why would I want attention for doing that? I just did what I needed to keep everypony I could safe… Plus I didn’t save everypony.” I said with a twinge of regret. “Did… those engineers and the conductor get proper funerals?” I asked. “Please, please tell me their families were located.”

“They were,” Mayor Mare said as she walked up to me through the crowd. “We really ought to at least-”

“If you give me some award or reward for saving everypony, I will kill myself.” I playfully threatened. “I can’t die, so it won’t do anything, but I will kill myself if you give me anything or recognize me for doing the right thing.” I threatened.

“Okay, we’re not going to press it, but let me at least thank you personally for saving a majority of the ponies on the train while it was still in Ponyville territory-”

“No thanks. Those I saved can thank me by being happy they’re alive, and if they could pretend like I wasn’t on that train, that’d help. If Celly found out that I saved a few ponies, she’d scold me and then give me an award in front of the whole fucking kingdom.” I grumbled.

“And just why don’t you want any recognition?” Twilight asked. “What you did was a wonderful thing, Source!”

“Praise for helping people when I could help them?” I asked, tilting my head. “The fuck would I want that for?” I asked.

“...You’re not going to accept an award no matter what, okay. I’ll send it to Princess Celestia and you can face the magic later.” My ears shot up when Twilight threatened me with that. “So I have your attention?” Twilight giggled. “C’mon, let’s go get you that medal.”

After I was awarded the medal, I stuck it in my butt pocket instead of continuing to wear it. I was heading up to a specific house in Ponyville, because that’s the address Adagio gave me for where she… and I guess her siblings? Friends? Partners? Yeah, we’ll just go with partners. Anyways, because Ponyville doesn’t see enough bullshit everyday, with it being next to the deadliest forest in the world, Discord, and a bunch of fillies that managed to give half the town food poisoning, having three sirens that literally fucked with my head so much that the only way to save me was getting murdered.

Luckily, from the sounds of things, despite them being rude, they’ve not harmed anyone or mind controlled anybody as far as I’m aware.

I knocked on the door for… Aria Blaze to open it. Her usual, disinterested look turned into a small, begrudging smile. “So you actually stopped by to say hello?” She asked. I can hear Sonata in the background panicking, and somebody… new sounding uncomfortable.

“So…” I don’t know how to feel about hearing what the new pony in their house was saying.

“Don’t touch me there!” It’s a Stallion at least.

“But you like it!” Adagio

“Stop!” the Stallion said desperately.

“What the fuck is going on in there?” I asked as I heard Sonata scream again.

“Aria… I broke another toaster again!” I smelled smoke.

“Adagio found a stallion not too long ago. Sonata’s trying to figure out how to make tacos since she’s only ever ordered them on Earth.” Aria explained. “How’s… your neck?”

“Oh y’know, it’s the usual.” I shrug. “It’s not broken anymore at least. Not after Phoenix Fire,” I shrugged. Then, for a moment, Aria realized what she was doing.

“I guess I should let you in, do beware… Sonata probably deep fried a toaster this time.” She walked inside… floated? The Sirens don’t have legs, they just sorta float off the ground. I followed her inside, and luckily she wasn’t making moves, or trying to make her backside more enticing as she moved. “What? You’re married, and I think your mother would kill me if I tried touching you… after you know, mind controlling you.” Aria shivered. “She’s scary.”

As we walked into the living room, it looked surprisingly like any oh, cheapo apartment, the living room was connected to the kitchen, there was even a small window in the wall. Where I can see Sonata looking surprisingly adorable… She fucking covered the kitchen with tortilla batter, and there’s part of a toaster embedded in the wall.

“Okay, how are you worse at cooking than Luna is?” I asked. “She cooked a toaster once, y’know.”

Sonata rubbed the back of her head. “Uh… Sorry about welcoming you into our home to a mess?”

“It’s fine, I’m just curious as to how you did that?”

“Well…”

“You shouldn’t be using a toaster to cook a taco, y’know. You just… cook the meat, put the meat in a shell and then add toppings and seasoning and sauce as you see fit. You tried toasting the shell again, didn’t you?” I asked.

“...Yeah.” Sonata sighed. “Can you help me learn how to… cook a taco?”

“Sure, I’ll teach ya one day. Just stop by the castle and I’ll show you. Granted, I’m used to cooking with beans, not meat. An easy technique is just cooking the meat in the pan until it’s brown.” I suggested. Sonata nodded and moved to clean the kitchen up.

Aria sat down next to a mare that I hadn’t noticed until now. She was a fierce, green looking mare who almost looked like DJ Pon3, similar mane and tail style, even if they were green, I suppose. She’s a pegasus, and looked like she’d give you a hard time. On her flanks, that looked firmer than the average mare’s flanks, her cutie mark was a toaster that looked like it was made of wood, that was on fire. I walked over and greeted her.

“Howdy there, how’s it going?” I asked as Aria snuggled up to the mare.

“Good morning,” she took my hoof, her voice is surprisingly gentle. “I’m Wood Toaster. You know Aria Blaze?” Toaster asked.

“Oh yeah, she tried using me to commit genocide, y’know fun stuff.”

Toaster smirked. “Oh, I see. Well, I’m Aria’s marefriend, nice to meet you!” Somehow, she’s nonchalant about how there’s a toaster half embedded in the kitchen. “I heard a bit about you, your highness-”

“Please do not call me that. Source is fine. How’d ya meet Aria Blaze?” I asked.

“I’m a musician, I kinda have the same style as Vynl does. You’ve heard of Tombstone?” I nodded. “I’m a good friend of his. Anyways, Aria saw my concert. I asked her to lend me her voice for a song, since my own vocal work is rather… not amazing. It turned out great, then one night, during a recording session, she got up and asked to have sex with me. We’ve been together ever since.” Y’know what, with how Sirens are, I’m not shocked.

“...I’m not gonna ask how you’re so nonchalant about all of this,” I pointed at Sonata who somehow got the toaster embedded deeper into the wall. I couldn’t help but shake the sounds of a stallion begging for help. “Who’s… begging right now?” I asked.

“Oh, that’s Tombstone, he and Aria’s… partner really hit it off. She’s probably tickling him right now.”

There, the stallion himself walked out, wheezing. His gray, usually well groomed coat was a mess. The traditional, gray sweatshirt he had on during his concerts was missing, and his headphones were gone too. His light blue mane that had red tips was messy. He was a giggly mess. “I’ll be back, babe! I just need a breather!” He giggled as Adagio floated out of the hallway he came from.

“Oh, Source!” Adagio greeted me. “How’s it going?”

“So y’all established yourselves in Equestria… and started banging two legends for fun?” I asked.

“Oh yes, but I do actually like Tombstone. He’s quite the character; he had me sing this song about… a mother losing her child when we first met, and I loved working with him. He was bold enough to ask me out for dinner, so I obliged.” She smiled. “How is the home life, and please tell me your mother isn't waiting outside.”

“She’s off, probably helping on AJ’s farm.” I looked around and nodded in approval. “I see your letters were right, your home’s quite… chaotic. Why’d y’all never tell me y’all had found partners, like romantic partners, in your letters?”

“It was meant to be a surprise. Sonata’s coltfriend is out of town at a concert… His name’s Ever Free-”

Shit, I coulda met somebody cool? “Damn, I best ask him for an autograph at some point. So, what have y’all been up to while I was gone?” I asked, leaning in as the Sirens told me about their time in Ponyville. It turns out the Crusaders once got a wagon stuck in their fireplace.

After leaving the Siren’s home, I felt really uncomfortable. They and their partners were… open with being in love with each other. They kissed each other and just about started making love before I left. I started trotting along until I found Rarity and Katie, Spike was riding on her back while the three of them chatted about the shopping trip they were still on. Looking to not remember what the hell I almost witnessed, I walked up to them.

“Hey guys!” I greeted. I grinned when I saw that Katie was carrying most of their shopping instead of Spike.

“Hey Source!” Spike waved, he was holding a pretzel.

“So where are y’all heading?” I asked.

“Oh, your sister wanted to go check on your mother, who’s helping Apple Jack with her trees. I’m certain we can expect her to use her magic to help.” That sounds like a really good plan. As we got started heading up to Sweet Apple Acres, I couldn’t help but admire the view. You don’t really think about it often, but AJ’s family is fucking loaded. The amount of land that Sweet Apple Acres is on is nearly the size of Ponyville, and bigger than some smaller towns. Most of their profits go towards maintaining the land, and their giant house.

But even with that, they rake in enough bits to make a lower-classed noble jealous. And all of it is managed by Apple Jack and Big Mac, sometimes Apple Bloom helps out, and Granny Smith usually takes care of the finances, even if Apple Jack and Big Mac could easily take care of that.

Ma, as strong as she is with magic, is still a unicorn, so I doubt that she can easily keep up with either Apple Jack, who’s a stamina freak, or Big Mac who somehow has more stamina, and is stronger. Unicorns, while stronger than the average human, aren't exactly built for endurance or hard, physical labor.

When we walked up to the farm, we noticed Big Mac sitting next to the wagon they use to cart apples around. Apple Jack was sitting next to them and both of them were sweating… Big Mac looks a little tired.

“Hey guys, y’all look like you just worked a tough shift.” I greeted them as I sat down next to them.

“Apple Jack, Big Mac, what happened to you?” Rarity asked.

“We had to get the extra wagon out, Source.”

“Wha?” I asked.

“Your mother started bucking trees with me, and moving baskets as she filled them, with her magic. Me and Big Mac had to do a lot of running back and forth to keep up… yer mother’s bucking nuts, Source.”

“Wait, if you needed the second wagon where-”

“I’m back! I finished the sixth row, you two!” Ma was sweating up a storm and looked tired, about as tired as Apple Jack and Big Mac were… she looked like she could and would keep going. “Hey, Source, how was dealin’ with those whores?”

“You mean the Sirens?” I asked. “But yeah, they’re cool now, even if they got openly intimate with their new partners. What the heck did you do to the Apples?” I asked.

“It’s been a minute since I worked on a farm, it’s different than farming potatoes and I definitely wasn’t a pony when I worked, but I can handle some physical labor, Kodi. I may have gotten a little carried away,” she plopped her rear right next to Big Mac and thanked him when he offered her a cantine. “These two fine ponies have been a delight, even if they weren’t expecting a unicorn to keep pace with them.” Ma laughed, before hugging Big Mac. The poor fella started blushing. “This gentleman thought I hurt myself and wouldn’t stop making sure I was hurt, really, he’s a keeper to any lady who catches his eye.”

“...Eeyup. Mrs. Code, you have a mighty fine worth ethic,” Big Mac’s eyes drifted to her butt. “...And you’re…”

“You like my butt?” Ma asked.

“Uh… Eeyup?” Big Mac sounded more uncertain… He’s becoming redder, that’s cute.

“Well I’ll be darned,” AJ chuckled. “My brother thinks your Ma’s purty!” She clapped her hooves and giggled. “Whaddya say, Mac, gonna ask her out?” AJ nudged her brother with her elbow. “Or do I have to ask her out for you, big guy?” Big Mac was redder than an apple.

“I’ll ask’em. Hey Mac, want to take me out to dinner?” Ma asked.

“...E-e…” Big Mac squirmed. “Eey-yup…” Awe, poor guy. Ma seemed to notice how hard that was, and nuzzled him.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get more confident in no time. Can’t wait to get you more comfortable, if…” Ma stopped. “I’m not even going to try flirting, I don’t wanna kill you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Code.”

While we were in ponyville, I saw Dave sitting in front of Flim and Flam. The two brothers were trying to sell him some bogus shit, dragon tears. I trotted up behind him since they were trying to sell them to Button too. “Howdy lads, how’s it going?” I asked casually. Neither Flim, nor Flam noticed that I was an alicorn, or Celly’s husband, or present when she sent them friendly threats for trying to scam ponies. I sat with a smug look on my face as Dave started swirling the dragon tears around.

“You know this is a bunch of dyed water, right?” Dave asked, looking at it closer. He pulled the cork out of the bottle and sniffed it. “You coulda put salt in it, you know, a lot of it. At least make it seem like this stuff is actually made of tears.” He closed it and looked up at them. “So, how much for it?”

“Oh, just a small… fifty bits per bottle, and twenty-five for sniffing it. It’ll make you live forever if you get our amazing, ten bottle offer-”

“You can make fifty bits by eating out a rich pony, you know. They don’t see much action and you two like running your tongues.” Flim and Flam blinked.

“Ain’t fifty bits enough to get you a hotel room?” Dave asked me and Button.

“You can feed a family of four for forty fucking fortnights, Dave.”

“Ah, so don’t respect these artists?” He asked.

“Yeah, don’t think god’s going to forgive them.” I nodded. “Say Flim, Flam, why’re you selling shit to my kid, who’s High Prince and son of Celestia herself?” Button was sniffing the liquid in the bottle before dumping it out into his magic.

“Wait, Flim and Flam?” Button asked. “Aren’t those the ponies Mom said to ‘cut it out before I make sure you can’t see the light of day through anything other than prison bars?” He asked inquisitively.

“Uh… Wait, you’re Celestia’s son?” Flim asked.

“And I’m his dad,” I crossed my forelegs. “And Dave’s looking through your other wares.” Dave grabbed a hamster ball and looked at them like they were idiots. It was a hamster ball with sparkles in it.

“Really, you’re advertising this as a magical orb of enlightenment. Do you know what that is?” Dave asked. “Because this thing ain’t emitting light and it sure as hell ain’t making anyone smarter.” The Flim Flam brothers looked at each other… before they ended up buying their own wares from Dave as he dug through them and told them about how wonderful each thing was. By the time both brothers were done, they were fat broke, I was carrying both Dave and Button on my back, and snickering.

“Did you seriously sell them sand for forty bits?” Button asked.

“I did.” Dave shrugged. “Worth it.”

“Hope they know they paid for a royal decree to show up to Celly’s court.” I shook my head with a snicker. “Dave, please for the love of god don’t turn out like them, because you got away with scamming them way too easily.”

Dan and Katie

“And so, that’s how we’ll make movies in Equestria,” Dan said to Twilight, proudly, as he presented Twilight the idea. Katie was sitting beside her brother nodding.

“...That’s interesting, but… how will you show off Katie’s animations properly, in a repeatable manner.”

“Kodi’s shown us that he can use crystals to replay memories using the Eye Spy Spell. Dave knows how to do it too. We can worry about voice acting later, as I can probably, with Dan’s help, tell a story using just characters and their actions and expressions. From there, Dave records the animation in motion with his… I guess eyes. Then we inscribe the Eye Spy Spell into crystals and sell them. We’ll start marketing by playing one in the Canterlot theater and telling ponies they can have what they just watched at home.” Katie explained.

“And Katie’s already remade a whole season of Shaun the Sheep, we’ll ‘play’ an episode in the theater as the debut, and sell the ‘collector’s edition’ with the whole season!” Dan clapped his hooves. “It’ll be a hit!”

“That sounds like an interesting idea,” Twilight nods, she takes Katie’s notebook, labeled ‘episode one’ and flips through the pages. She can’t help but smirk at what the sheep do-and they do drawings do manage to catch a sense of emotion in the characters. Twilight’s impressed that Katie and Dan managed to put it together. “And you both just need a unicorn, or Source, to put these in crystals and sell them to ponies?” She asks.

“Yeah,” Dan nodded. “Neither me or Katie are very magically talented; we’ve got me, who mostly knows how to tell a good story, and Katie who can draw amazingly and animate.”

“I’ll help you both on one condition.” Twilight leaned in as did the siblings. “I get to keep one ‘season set’ of crystals for my own personal collection. And as you make more ‘movies and shows’ with these crystals, I’d just like to see them before I inscribe them into crystals, and then also keep a copy. Does that sound fair?”

“So… you basically just want a copy of season 1, of our first release, for doing this…?” Katie asked.

“Yes I do.” Twilight nodded. “Besides, you two look pretty passionate about this, and I know how Source did the ‘Memory Crystals’ as he started calling them. I would also just like to keep a copy, just one copy, of any new ‘series’ or projects as you come up with them.”

“You mean it? We just give you a copy of whatever new project we come up with…”

“And you can keep any of the bits made from selling these ‘Movie Crystals.’” Twilight adds. “I’m not in any need for money, or anything like that.”

Dan and Katie share a look. “Okay, we’ll do it,” Dan said immediately. “Don’t expect us to not compensate you with some money for helping us do this, especially if this becomes a hit. We’d feel bad about not paying you back in something other than previews and copies of our latest projects.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine mass producing these crystals would be fun.” Katie added.

“Oh, I can make anywhere between a dozen and four dozens of these ‘Movie Crystals’. It’s not that big of a deal.” Twilight chuckled. “Before you ask, no, I won’t take bits. I’m just helping two friends of mine discover something that seems like it could lead to a passion, and I get to experience story telling in a completely new light? Why wouldn’t I help you?! This stuff is revolutionary!”

“We’re still going to pay you if this blows up, Twilight.” Katie asserted. “You’ll be using your time making these crystals. That has to mean something, right?”

Twilight hummed. “You’ve got a point.” The alicorn nodded. “I’ll go ahead and agree with you on that, but I’ll only take payment if it’s a resounding success, as in you are raking in bits by the wagon-load. If you’re not so successful, I will make you keep your bits… And if you ask about the cost of crystals, I can always ask Cadance to send me some; she’ll give them to me without question or requesting payment. Are we on the same page?”

“...Yeah. We’ll feel bad if we don’t pay you, if this doesn’t explode in popularity,” Dan nodded.

“That’s fine. Pay me back by continuing down this path and making new stories in this new format. I bet it would be fun!”

Source

As my family and I embarked on the train, Twilight sat down next to me. She nuzzled into my side, a friendly little gesture, as I watched my family pack into the train. We’ve got an hour before it actually pulls off, so I can take the time to talk to Twilight as need be. “So,” I said, wrapping a wing around her. I know this is an intimate thing, but honestly, Twilight’s probably my best friend, funny how that is, when we first met she was a prick. “I heard you’re helping Katie and Dan find their footing in Equestria.” I mentioned it casually.

“Well, why wouldn’t I? They want to share a form of storytelling that is monumental!” Twilight clapped her hooves. She nuzzled deeper under my wing. “Seriously, I don’t mind helping them, Source. They were wondering how they’d be able to stick out as something other than ‘Source’s siblings’, you know.”

“And I was hoping that they would. They go and do something I was planning on doing myself, but never had the skill, especially when it comes to art, let alone the means to tell a story.” I chuckled. “Thank you, for helping them out, Twilight. Seriously, thank you for helping them out.” I watched as Ma broke Big Mac by planting a kiss right on his lips. My poor friend sputtered and fell, his face planted and Ma immediately started panicking and making sure he didn’t break anything or hit his head too badly.

“I see that your dam’s starting to move on from… your dad. Don’t you-”

“Care? Not really. Ma’s never been the same since Pa died; this could lead to something actually great for her. Mac’s a good guy, and probably won’t joke about ‘doing your mom’ because…” I gestured to Big Mac limply laying against Ma. “Look at that, he’s like puddy!” I chuckled.

“Well,” Twilight stretched under my grasp. “You do know you’re going to have to show that medal to Princess Celestia at some point, right?”

“Yeah…” I chuckled. “I really don’t want to. What did I do? Help some ponies? I don’t want to ever take pride for simply helping people out. Why brag, or want to be celebrated for simply doing what anyone, in my position, would do?” I asked.

“Source, you’re a good pony. Really, you are, but let us celebrate you, sometimes. Nopony even knows your birthday yet besides Celestia, and we all only know because she made you celebrate it down in Ponyville. You seriously try so hard to downplay yourself and your accomplishments; you’ve fought all three, at the time, princesses and brought a draw after defeating two of them! You’re an incredible mage, you know. Let us celebrate whenever you do the right thing; you deserve it! I thought after you practically won that exhibition match, that you’d be a bit more confident!”

“I am,” I chuckled. “Trust me, I am. I just… I don't want to brag either. I get that my downplay of my abilities is becoming annoying, I know. But if I don’t, I’ll not only lose that drive to push forward, past any barriers, but it’s because I don’t want the spotlight, Twilight. I don’t want anybody to think too highly of me because… what? I can sling a spell or two? I’m just some guy at the end of the day, regardless of if I can beat my wife in a magical duel or not. I just want to end every day, curled up with Celly, while celebrating my son’s accomplishments as he shows them off.” I nudged Twilight. “I just don’t want anyone to think of me as any more than… well, me, rather than have them acknowledge what I am.”

Twilight giggled and planted a kiss on my cheek. “You’re too humble for your own good. Nothing’s wrong with celebrating your accomplishments, don’t you think?”

“I suppose… just please don’t go overboard when you do.” I chuckled while rubbing my cheek. “You didn’t have to kiss me, you know.”

“So a mare can’t kiss a stallion that she likes? I know you won’t consider dating me for a long time. Besides, it was just a friendly gesture!”

“Where is Twilight and what did you do to her?” I asked. “The Twilight I know wouldn’t be bold enough to kiss anypony on the cheek, even while just being friendly.”

“Oh, you know, she learnt how to be a bit more confident because of you.” Twilight giggled and leaned into me more. “You’re a good pony, Source, just don’t lose sight of that.”

“Oh, I will. I’ll lay on the floor and feel like trash until Celly kisses me and promptly pisses me off by telling me that she ate the rest of my cornflakes.” I nuzzled her. “Well, Twi,” as the conductor let everypony know that we just chewed through forty minutes. “Stay pretty, aye? A stallion, or mare, would be lucky to have ya.” I got up and got ready to board the train. I planted a kiss on her cheek and laughed when I heard a confused scream behind me.

Author's Note

i pushed through some pretty mean writer's block to get this done. hope it doesn't suck!