Chapter 1 – Newbie

Twilight was sick of waiting. If Josh was indeed still alive, why wasn't he contacting them? Did the time skip have

something to do with it? Nopony knew, and Twilight and Trixie had had several avid discussions on the subject. They

had become good friends since the adventure to Earth of two months ago, and while Trixie still grieved, she had too

much science to do to remain focused on her grief for long. Twilight thought, and thought, and still thought. The war,

meanwhile, had taken a turn for the worse, as ponies were being captured and interrogated in startling numbers.

The war was far from Ponyville, though, so for the time being, they were safe. Twilight began composing a letter to

Josh, hoping that she might work a spell to send it to him. "Dear Josh," she began.

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"It's been two months since our last escapade. We miss you, and we hope you will return soon. You could be

reading this on… what was it? October 26, 2011, at 9:21 AM. Or you could be reading it later. Anyway, we want you

here in Equestria. Things aren't the same without you. Your friend, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight scanned her letter. It

wasn't bad, but not her best quality. She was about to call Trixie to try and send the letter when a blinding green

flash erupted in her bedroom, the letter disappearing.

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Shane was overseeing Gordon Freeman as they worked on the new specimen from Xen. He was a young intern sent

to Black Mesa because of his good grades, and was happy to be there. He didn't get to do anything, but it was nice

enough working here. He had had the choice of here or Aperture Science, and he chose Black Mesa because by all

accounts, it was cleaner. A man in a blue suit and red tie walked in, seemingly from nowhere, and whispered into his

ear (which startled the hell out of Shane), "prepare for unforeseen consequences… brony." He repeated the first

part of his message to the group overseeing Gordon, minus the brony part, and left, smirking all the while. Shane,

meanwhile, was flabbergasted. How did a random suit-n-tie know his secret? He had never told anyone he had

watched the show. Gordon pushed the crystal in, and immediately the Anti-Mass Spectrometer began to malfunction.

Shane snapped out of the reverie and immediately stood up, knocking a chair over. A scientist was beckoning to him

to escape the disaster. Shane was about to comply when he vanished in a green light.

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When the smoke cleared, a human was lying facedown on the floor. Twilight almost thought it was Josh for a

second, as it, well, he, was wearing a white labcoat. Closer inspection revealed that he was not Josh, but indeed

had similar attire. The logo on his lapel pin was the only major difference, bearing an image of a strange raised

platform inside a circle, and "Black Mesa – Intern Shane Wright" on the rest. Twilight didn't know about Black Mesa,

so she assumed it was another strange company, and teleported to Fluttershy's to inform her of her new,

unconscious patient.

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"Who… wha… What?" Shane said as he painfully cracked open his eyes. He was lying on a small bed, and a yellow

pony with wings was watching him anxiously. Wait… pony? Yellow? …Wings? His eyes snapped open, and the pony

fell back with a small squeal. "Oh! Sorry…" Shane apologized. The pony looked at him, still somewhat afraid. "My

name's Shane," he said. "And is yours… Fluttershy?" he asked. Fluttershy nodded, but was very confused. How did a

random human know her name?

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By the time Shane was feeling better, it was already well into the night. The Mane Six were gathered around to hear

his story. They, in turn, explained that he wasn't the first to come here, and Shane listened attentively. Then he

caught 'Aperture Science', and 'Equestrian Enrichment Center,' and groaned. Why did Aperture have to beat them to

everything? The company kidnapped astronauts, for goodness' sake!

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Tomorrow, Shane was supposed to see the famed Enrichment Center, and meet the current caretaker. He was

thrilled that he was in Equestria – it was the dream of every brony ever – but at the same time, he was

apprehensive. There was a war going on between ponies and griffins over who should have control of Aperture

technology, and he suspected that the guy who'd been here before, Josh Stevenson apparently, had started it. For

now, he was in Fluttershy's cottage, in the spare bed. He drifted off to sleep…

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Shane was having a pleasant dream when Nightmare Moon suddenly appeared, his dream fading to a white

nothing. "Human," she bellowed, "we have waited far too long for another. You will be the one to help us," she

declared. Shane was scared out of his wits. "Wh-what do you mean?" he timidly asked. Nightmare Moon looked

straight at him. "You will find out soon," she said, and vanished, laughing.

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Shane woke up in a cold sweat. It was just beginning dawn, and he presumed Celestia was busy raising the sun. He

got up, got his clothes back on, and went outside to take a morning walk, leaving a note for Fluttershy. As he

walked, he took in everything around him – the bright sky, Cloudsdale in the distance, and all that. Shane was

intoxicated by the calming air of Equestria.

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By the time he got back, Fluttershy was waiting for him, so they could visit the Enrichment Center that was

apparently located elsewhere in the Everfree Forest. It was a short walk through the dark and creepy woods before

they found the small gray building with a security camera on the outside, and Fluttershy rang the doorbell. The door

opened, but no one was there. Shane heard the intercom click on, and a young female pony with a familiar, but

somewhat computerized voice spoke.

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"Oh, hello Fluttershy! Is this the new human?" it said, the camera studying Shane. Fluttershy nodded and excused

herself. The camera, watching the door close, turned back to Shane. "What is your name, and what company do you

work for?" Shane was reluctant to answer. "Come on, spill it out." The voice coaxed. "I'm Shane Wright, and… I work

for Black Mesa." There was a silence, and then the voice said "GET. OUT," and the floor panels below Shane rose up,

and unceremoniously dumped him outside. "Your 'company'," the voice spat, "is nothing more than thieves." Shane

took offense at that. "I wanted to learn about the other human who was here, not steal your stuff!" The voice took

on a depressed tone. "He's dead. Or stuck on another Earth. What do you care?" Shane smiled. "What if I could

bring him back?" There was a silence on the other end. "…Maybe you can come in after all…" the voice finally

answered, a panel next to the door opening. Shane was apprehensive, but ventured inside once more.

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