Mornings had a pleasant ambience. As the sun rose higher and higher from its bed on the horizon, the morning dew shimmered like thousands of jewels sprinkled on the blades of grass. The air carried an earthy scent, though it was a fragrance welcomed by many. Over time, ponies awoke from their slumber, and shared their breakfasts. Soon, a new day began, with much livelihood to unfold.

At the heart of town center, numerous stands were situated in symmetrical rows, each selling their respective produce. However, the most notable of them was one wooden cart with a green and white striped awning, carrying baskets filled to the brim with glistening red delicious.

“Come get yer Sweet Apple Acres apples! Just one bit for two!” Standing beside her apple stand, Applejack held not a trace of fatigue as she advertised her family business. Though no pony was quick to rush to her cart, it was only natural. Eventually, ponies would gravitate closer, and business will be done smoothly as usual. It was only morning hours, after all.

After some time of idleness, Applejack received her first customer of the day, though it was quite the surprise. With a flamboyant entrance, a rainbow blur crashed landed directly in front of Applejack’s cart, picking up a large cloud of dust. As the dust settled, the source of this surprise entrance was none other than Rainbow Dash herself, who casually made her way towards the cart.

Applejack huffed, though with a small grin on her mouth. “Quite the entrance you made there, Rainbow.”

“I know, right? Awesome as usual,” Rainbow Dash grinned smugly, extending a wing and digging a feather into her blue Wondercolt suit. She eventually pulled out a couple of bits, to which she flicked over to Applejack. “Two apples to go!”

“Make that four apples, sugar,” Applejack corrected, smoothly catching the bits with her stetson hat, “We’ve got a sale today. Harvested plenty of red delicious this time around.”

The news only serves to bolster Rainbow’s good mood. “Aw, sweet, then lemme at them!”

Heeding her pleas, Applejack gave Rainbow Dash four apples, each of which the pegasus was quick to finish. Giving her the fourth one, Applejack smiled. “So, what brings you here all the way from Cloudsdale? We haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Well, just wanted to get some good old homemade food, all while getting in my morning exercise,” Rainbow Dash explained leisurely, “hit two birds with one stone. Pretty smart, right?”

“Aren’t you worried about being late for your training?” Applejack asked.

“Nah, I got time,” Rainbow Dash snorted, seemingly unfazed by the very notion of being late. Who could ever think that Rainbow Dash, of all ponies, could be late to anything?

At the same time, the blue pegasus’s eyes caught hold of a particular individual in the distance, specifically a human. Kai walked out of a store at the corner of a street, carrying with him a group of rolled up poster boards and other art-related items. The sight was enough to pique her interest, as was essentially anything that this alien did.

“Hey… I haven’t seen Kai in a minute,” Rainbow Dash noted, taking a bite from her apple, “what’s he up to?”

“I heard from Twi that he’s been taking on this big project,” Applejack explained, eyeing the human as he walked across the other side of the water fountain, “nopony knows what it is, though. Said he wanted to keep it a secret ‘till he got it all figured out.”

Rainbow Dash hummed as she curled a brow, but all the while grinning. “Seems to me like he’s up to something crazy again. Last time he kept a secret from all of us was when he and Discord threw that one awesome pool party!”

“He said that was mostly Discord’s idea, and I doubt it’s something like that again.”

“Eh, I guess we’ll see then…” Although the conversation was slowly dying, a particular thought flashed through Rainbow Dash’s mind. “Oh, right, has Kai been keeping up with the gym lately?”

Applejack simply chuckled, giving a good-natured shrug. “I wouldn’t know about that, sugar.”

“What? Nah, no way! I can’t let my gym bro fall off like that, even if I'm across the country,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed hotly, tossing the apple pit at the nearby waste bin as she began hovering over the human’s direction, “I’m gonna have a word with him, see just what this secret is that’s causing him to stop hitting his gains!”

“...Remember you’ve got your Wonderbolt training Rainbow.”

“Please, I’ve got enough time, AJ…” Rainbow Dash scoffed. But although she spoke with confidence, Rainbow Dash paused. With a quick glance back, she gave a slightly anxious look towards Applejack. “...uh… what time is it right now, by the way?”

“Should be a quarter to eight now.”

“W-WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, a sudden surge of panic flooding her form. Frantically, she looked between Applejack and the departing human with a look of indecisiveness, before eventually deciding on the former. “Oh crap… l-look, tellKaitonotskiphisworkoutsIgottagonowbye!”

And just like that, the blue pegasus was gone within a brilliant flash of rainbow, her sonic form leaving behind an exasperated Applejack, who held her hat against the sudden burst of wind.

“I’ll say… she needs to get herself a watch one of these days.”

Equestria's Greatest Cartoonist

Chapter 4

Comparing this world to my previous one, I have a strong feeling that art supplies here are a lot less expensive for ponies than they are for humans. I mean, three posters for just five bits? Over one hundred pencils for only two? I call that a steal, if anything.

Well, with that aside, I’ve finally begun setting myself up for the actual drawing phase of my project. By now, I’ve collected more than enough data from my research, and it was all due to the help of a rather enthusiastic alicorn. One thing for sure, you could never shit on Twilight when it came to anything educational.

Some would probably point out that there were some things that I overlooked during my research, and I would agree with them. But at the same time, I wouldn’t be able to get much done if I only focus on gathering intel. I’m pretty confident I can fill in the blanks as I go, so whatever I know now should be more than enough.

Now, I found myself in a rather convenient spot. Very convenient, actually. Comet Trail was cool enough to lend me an extra room in his house, specifically the basement. Awesome, right? At first I was really apprehensive when he gave that offer, but after a bit of insistence on his part I heeded to his generosity. So, since then, we've just been clearing and setting up the place. He didn't really have much aside from a few crates, tarps, and for some reason a comically large metronome, so it only took two days and counting.

Hammering in the last nail, I stepped down from the ladder and eyed the giant backboard situated on the wall opposite from the stairs, confirming its near-perfect symmetry. On the side were additional smaller pins boards and a wall clock in the corner. Satisfied, I glanced over at Comet Trail, who was struggling to organize a box of crayons. “I think that's about everything set up now, Comet.”

Snapping out from his hyper fixation, Comet beamed at the news with a look of great relief. “Ah, cool! So are you ready to start your project now?”

“Well, it already started, but yeah,” I glanced over to the single crate in the corner, filled with other posters and utensils I hadn't used, “I like to keep it simple first then add on as I work. I like to use my time and resources efficiently, you feel?”

“Yeah, totally. I hate it when things take longer than I want it to,” Comet Trail hummed in agreement, walking over my main desk situated on the wall east from the blackboard, where I had left my notebook and scrolls of notes, “and for something as big as this? Pfft, I doubt I could even keep things all tidied up myself.”

“Being a mangaka can be a mess, dude,” I chuckled, “some of the greatest ones I know sometimes forget stuff about their own series because of how complex and messy it gets.”

“I feel you… well, let me not bother you any longer, Kai,” Comet Trail smiled, “good luck on this project of yours.”

“You’re not a bother, dude, and thanks for the help again,” I thanked, returning the hoof bump Comet Trail gave me as he went back up stairs. The silence of the basement now my only partner, I sighed, flopping down onto my rather expensive custom office chair with a small hint of giddiness. Rolling towards my desk, I picked up my pencil. And from there, I simply stared at the blank papers before me.

…

… God, I love creative block.

The research was definitely the hardest part about this whole thing. Everything else… It was quickly showing to be a breeze.

My first steps were, of course, to start out with the storyboards of the mangas, which were again both Pokemon and Astro Boy. To keep it simple for myself, I solely focused my energy on Pokemon first, leaving Astro Boy to be dealt with after. This decision was made due to two factors: one, my memory was the best on Pokemon, and two, I just liked Pokemon overall.

With that said, I began my session by briefly doodling different characters, settings, and whatnot. Quickly, however, I came to realize that I would have to put my foot down and make a decision on what version of Pokemon to work on going forward. It was a problem I pointed out before but had put aside for a minute as I prioritized my research. And so, I took a moment to think. My options were either the game version, television version, or the manga version.

On a personal standpoint, I really only knew the games and television series, so it ironically ruled out the Pokemon manga for reference. That left me with either the games or television series… and my final choice unanimously fell towards the games. Not to say that the television series are bad, but… I have too many fond memories of nuzlocke runs to look back to. It'd only make sense to take advantage of that sort of information.

Thus, an hour in and I had the fundamental plot for Red and Green written and sketched out. As I did so, I had to come to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to make a perfect replication of these works… which, technically, I already had come to terms beforehand, but this storyboarding only solidified that idea further. Some plot points, like the ghost tower in Lavender Town, aren't very clear in my head, meaning I'd unfortunately have to either gloss over them or make an entirely different approach to those plot holes.

Which… I dunno, it's not bad I guess, but it could cause some trouble if there's important moments in those said plot holes that I change.

‘Well, in any case, I'm glad this draft turned out good… now I should probably start worrying about the character designs.’

Astro Boy is… more of an amazing decision than I initially deemed it to be.

The series was popular in both manga, anime, and movie formats, but it was the manga that far outshined the other media. It is, after all, considered to be the godfather of manga, and that alone should be enough of an indication of the weight of this creation. Some time ago, I went out of my way to read the Astro Boy manga, and looking back I’ve realized just how conveniently simple the series' storytelling is. Generally speaking, Astro Boy manga has episodic stories that don't always tie together. You can essentially think of it like reading Garfield off a newspaper; you could gather as many newspapers as you can, but the only recurring elements of the comic would be Garfield and his laziness. With that in mind, I wasn’t forced under a strict agenda. I could write one chapter about one story, and then another chapter about a completely different story all together. A simple yet revolutionary work altogether.

The one true thematic element that I would have to keep in mind from Astro Boy is his backstory… which is pretty depressing when I recall it. Died in a car accident? Father then builds a robot resembling late son, but gets mad that the robot doesn't age and thus scraps it away? Yeah… knowing my quadruped neighbors, I have a feeling this could be a real tearjerker if I do it right.

‘It’ll be a great way to demonstrate how manga can have an emotional element,’ I thought to myself, rereading through the rather small storyboard of Astro Boy critically. The element of emotional and short single-sitting stories is a great weapon to have in my arsenal right now, and it’ll probably make my plans have an enduring effect. However… it can also be a drawback in a sense. Depending on how I emphasize the seriousness of this series, Astro Boy could either be viewed as convoluting or too extreme for something that’s meant to be a short read…

…

… I doubt the latter would be the case. I doubt either would be a problem, really, and I might just be overthinking it. But… I had to consider the possibilities.

One thing that I know for sure, though, is that my freedom with Astro Boy isn’t all that great. Sure, I can pretty much make any story I please with Astro and it wouldn't be much of an issue, but the drawback is that I actually have to go out of my way to make the stories from scratch…

…

…yeah, haha, that’s just my own laziness speaking.

In any case, none of that should really be much of a hindrance in the long run. I’m in a good position. Right now, my main focus is on how I will deal with both the technological aspect of Astro Boy and overall character designs. Due to the era when Astro Boy was released, some of the more modern technology like smartphones and compact computers aren’t included into the series, at least in the manga. It’s mainly focused on retro-themed robots, humanoid machines, and pretty much every futuristic idea they had in the 50’s.

This made introducing human technology less abrupt, since I would only really need to be drawing out pony-like robots, dystopian cities, a few cassette tapes here and there, etc etc. The idea of sentient inanimate objects shouldn’t be such a farfetched idea in Equestria, either, as Twilight had informed me on a few artifacts that were sentient in nature, so I think these ponies should be able to digest it well without the cultural shock. And besides, it’s not like these ponies are technologically illiterate; I remember Spike saying they had robots around here somewhere, though I’ve yet to see any in person.

As for the character designs, though… that actually brings up a really distinct obstacle that I stumbled across just recently. I’m surprised I’ve yet to take this into account until now, but I haven’t even considered how magic would come to play in both of these series. Just like how a magic world doesn’t realistically represent humans, a non magic world would similarly be weird to these ponies. And so the question is… should I include magic or not?

…

… Ok, yes, that really shouldn’t be a problem. I am recreating a manga from my world, so it doesn’t have to follow the standards of this world by every detail. But… when you think about it, it really does.

Sketching out the designs for Astro and Red weren’t all that bad, but I came into a roadblock on what type of ponies I would be drawing them out to be. My first idea was to just make both of them normal earth ponies, and rationally that would be the easier road for me to take. However, what about the other characters? Blue, or Dr. Tenma? Would I really make all of them earth ponies and completely exclude pegasi and unicorns?

Hell no, that wouldn’t be right at all. The last thing I need is to be viewed as pretentious, or even outright racist. If I wanted these works to reach a wider audience—which they are meant to reach out to a wider audience—then I would have to add variety. That variety, of course, would include unicorns. And while there is nothing wrong with that, it’s the fact that unicorns have a strong reliance on magic in their day-to-day lives. So… unicorns in a magic-less world just wouldn’t make any sense. I would have to include magic in some way.

But, if I were to include magic, that would only open yet another can of problems that could arise. How would magic alter the reliance of technology in Astro Boy and later works I have in mind? Would Pokemon have latent magic in them, and how would that contradict already established Pokemon lore? Where would alicorns take place in either series, like Celestia and Luna controlling the day? Could I even legally put them into the series?? All of these questions, and all of them I’m starting to struggle with answers.

… I guess the best response right now is to just get these drafts finished.

The days that followed…

“...ow.”

“Not comfortable?”

Comet Trail’s imaginary brows furrowed, a slight frown forming on his strained face. “It’s… it's really uncomfortable, dude. Like, a bunch of needles on my back right now… yeek.”

I nodded slowly, furiously scratching down his comments on my notebook. When done, I gesture towards his front hooves with my pencil. “Alright, then try tossing a few punches in that position.”

A sweat drop ran down Comet Trail’s face. “I dunno Kai, I might break something if I do that…”

“I'll pay for the hospital bills, just do it.”

“...okie dokie,” Comet Trail sighed with a defeated tone, eventually throwing out a few punches with his front hooves. Or rather, it was more like kicks, but nonetheless did they look embarrassingly weak.

“C'mon, Comet, the hell are you doing?” I insisted, attempting to raise some sort of fighting spirit within the stallion. “You plan on defending your partner with those punches?”

“... I don't have one in the first place, Kai…”

“Well, if that possibility ever arrives, you don't want to have that sort of performance,” I huffed, reluctantly sketching out the scene before me. A reference will always be a reference, anyways. “You could barely hurt a fly with those hits.”

For some reason, my last comment seemed to gain a smile from Comet Trail. “I wouldn't mind something like that.”

“...whatever,” I shrugged, flipping over to a new page, “now try doing a Lion barrage.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me, get those hooves moving.”

“I don't even know what move that is…”

Some more days that followed…

So… yeah. Some days have passed since I started drawing the manga, and I'm glad to say everything is going as smoothly as possible. At this rate, the completion of the first volumes should be done in no later than a week. It’s exciting, really.

With that said, a good artist knows when to take their breaks. And thus I've dedicated this Thursday evening to myself, to cool off before having to go to work tomorrow. And what better way to spend that time than to have nice leisurely tea time with the local animal connoisseur.

“It's nice to have you over, Kai,” Fluttershy smiled warmly, one of her hooves absentmindedly caressing her bunny Angel, who was peacefully sleeping beside her.

“Yeah, it's been a minute since we talked, so I just wanted to hang out,” I explained, taking a grateful sip of the citrusy drink, “and wow, this tea is the fucking bomb, Flutters. What’d you put in it?”

“Um, it's just honey citrus,” Fluttershy muttered, “...a-and please refrain from cursing, Kai.”

“Ah, my fault, bad habit.”

“Hm,” taking another sip, Fluttershy seemingly remembered something, “oh, um, how is that manga going Kai?”

“Oh yeah, that project is progressing smoothly so far,” I said proudly, “should be done soon… then I gotta worry about some other stuff as well.”

“Well, that's very nice to hear,” Fluttershy beamed, seemingly happy that I was happy, “um, if it's ok, I'd like to read it when it's done. How much will it cost?”

I snorted to her question. Her politeness was endearing. “Flutters, you and everyone else will get a free copy. Friends got their privileges.”

“Oh… well, that's nice to hear. Thank you.”

“Hold your thanks once I actually have these mangas published,” I hummed, staring off into particularly nowhere, “... on a side note, it's been awfully normal so far.”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “How so?”

“Discord hasn't reinterpreted any dimensional laws yet. Is he sick or something?”

“Um, actually yes. He said he was suffering from Noi Tani Tsar Corp.”

“...?”

Fluttershy merely shrugged.

Author's Note

Hello, and thank you for reading!

I would like to just say that this series isn't dead! I'm really sorry for the lack of chapters in the past, what, two months? Wow, what a length of time, and I again apologize for the wait. I've just had many thing happening in my life, with holidays and then preparations for the next semester. I also got into a little incident that had to take some more time and money off of me, so I wasn't able to get a proper sitting and write out much.

I hope this chapter was interesting enough to compensate for the wait. I tried my very best to think of how all the sorts of issues that Kai would be facing as he introduces manga into Equestria, and there was actually so much to consider it became a bit overwhelming lol. That would explain why most of this chapter was theoretical in nature.

I'm also trying to figure out where this story will progress, specifically what other mangas to introduce. I've read a few suggestions that were pointed out in the comments and I will definitely try them, but I'm continuously looking for good contenders for each genre. Thriller/psychological is definitely going to either Monster or Death Note, action has a lot of options, romance I'm not sure, slice of life I'm not sure, and so on. Feel free to give more suggestions!

I guess that is all I have in mind to say. I cannot promise if next chapter will come soon but I'm going to try my best. Thank you all, happy late new years, and have a good day/night!