Wullie sat on his bucket contentedly, the dungaree-wearing lad taking in the beauty of another golden afternoon in Auchenshoogle.

"Aye, it's a braw day richt enough." he said to himself. "I'll awa' and see whit the lads are up tae. Mebbe we can get a gemme o' fitba' in afore tea-time."

He got up and left his garden, his tackety boots causing a dull thud with every step he took. With his hands in his pockets, he set off towards his destination.

He soon arrived at another house and approached the door. Before he could knock, it opened to reveal another lad. This one was Wullie's age, and had his arms folded over his t-shirt.

"Ah kent it wis you, Wullie." he said. "We could hear yer tackety boots a mile awa'. Come on in, ye can watch oor favourite new show wi' us."

"Aye," Wullie replied, "a'richt, Bob. But whit show are ye on aboot?"

Bob unfolded his arms to reveal the design on his t-shirt. Wullie looked at it and recoiled in shock at the sight of a purple pony.

"Crivvens!" he gasped. "Are ye wearin' yer ma's claes or somethin', Bob? Ye look like a right Jessie!"

Bob huffed.

"Ach, you winnae be sayin' that once you've seen the show." he said. "Awa' in an' settle doon wi' us."

"Us?" Wullie replied. "Whit, are Primrose and her pals in there tae?"

"Naw, it's jist me, Soapy and Eck." Bob said. "The show may be fer lassies, but it's a load o' fun tae watch. So come on, Wullie! Ye cin be the next ane tae o' us tae join the magic!"

"Er, no..." Wullie said hesitantly as he backed away, "Ah think I'll jist go hame and help ma Pa wi' somethin'..."

Bob suddenly grabbed Wullie's arm and dragged him inside the house, steering him through to the living room where two more boys sat on a couch wearing similar t-shirts to Bob's. The taller of the two had a pink pony on his, while the smaller boy had an orange pony on his. The two of them looked at Wullie as Bob brought him in.

"Ah there ye are Bob," one of them said, "an' Ah see ye brocht Wullie in wi' ye. Ye're jist in time, tae. The show's aboot tae start!"

"Come on Soapy," Wullie replied, "ye're no really intae a' this lassie stuff, are ye?"

Soapy nodded.

"Ah am," he said proudly, "an' so is Wee Eck."

The smaller boy nodded at the mention of his name, but made no attempt to divert his attention away from the television screen.

Oh, jings. Wullie thought. Ah'm stuck here wi' these Jessies.

He looked around frantically for an escape route, but found to his dismay that the only possible exit was through the living room door, which was being blocked by Bob.

"My Little Pony, My Little Pony..."

As the theme song started, Wullie gulped.

Ah guess Ah'm stuck here then. But no matter how hard these nyaffs try, Ah'm no' gonnae like this drivel.

The four of them sat and watched in silence. Bob, Soapy and Eck watched in awe, while Wullie watched in horror.

"Anither fantastic episode!" Bob said. "That's why Ah love this show. It kens jist how tae keep ye on edge!"

"Ah honestly thought they werenae gonnae get married in the end." Soapy admitted. "Glad tae see Ah wis wrang."

"Aye, an' yon Changeling Queen got whit wis comin' tae her an' a!" Eck said cheerfully. "Naebody messes wi' Equestria!"

The three of them turned to look at Wullie, who was looking at them with pity.

"Well Ah didnae like it." he said. "And you lot should be ashamed o' yerselves. Ye's are men! Start actin' like it!"

His friends scoffed.

"You jist dinnae understand it the way we dae." Bob retorted. "Ah tell ye, Wullie. Jist watch the first two episodes, an Ah guarantee that ye'll love it."

"Nae fears!" Wullie yelled as he suddenly bolted from the room, opened the door and tore down the street towards his own house.

"Gonnae have tae avoid those numpties fer a while." he said. "Weel, at least until Ah can think o' a way tae snap them oot o' it."

He arrived back home panting. Sighing in relief, he opened the back door and stepped into the kitchen to a familiar smell.

"Mince an' tatties fer tea!" he said. "A braw end tae a rubbish day!"

"There ye are, Wullie." another voice spoke. "Whaur hiv ye bin a' day, laddie?"

"Ah was wi' the lads, Ma." he replied.

"Oh, a'richt." his ma replied. "Come on then, Ah made plenty o' baith, so eat up! Ah ken how much ye like yer mince an' tatties."

Grabbing a plate, Wullie seated himself at the table and had soon stuffed himself on several helpings of mince and tatties. He leaned back in his chair and stifled a burp as he patted his stomach.

"That wis braw, Ma." he said. "But Ah think Ah overdid it a wee bit. Ah'm gonnae go lie doon f'r a while."

He got up from the table and walked upstairs to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. Without taking his boots off, he threw himself onto his bed with a contented groan.

"Och aye," he said to himself, "this'll dae me jist... fine..."

He trailed off as sleep claimed him.

"Wake up..."

Wullie muttered to himself as he blearily opened one eye, only to shut it again due to the intense burst of sunlight.

"Jings!" he said. "Could ye close thae curtains a wee bit, Ma? It's awfy bright in here!"

"I'm sorry, but... could you say that again? I didn't quite understand you."

Ignoring the sunlight, Wullie snapped both eyes open. He slowly looked up to see himself face-to-face with a purple pony similar to the one he had seen on Bob's t-shirt.

Aw, crivvens... Next Chapter: Swingin' Estimated time remaining: 8 Minutes