John tightened the straps on his backpack, taking in every word of the boss’ instructions. A blue light flickered on above the portal’s frame, indicating it was ready for activation.
“Shaun will go in after you. Once you are through, stay wherever you land so he can find you. You know all this already,” the commander said.
They were underground, in an air-conditioned room lit dimly by control panel lights. At its quietest, there was only the steady hum of computers. Today, it was packed with physicists, technicians and strategists. Even artists were present, hoping to bring some of Equestria’s beauty back to Earth. To keep things running smoothly, the leaders had implemented a system of military ranks.
“Power is up!” someone yelled from behind a counter near the back.
“This is it, folks,” the general’s voice boomed from the bridge.
The general gave a speech, but John couldn’t focus. He was about to step into a new world, and be the first human to do so. Remembering his training, he relaxed his muscles and turned attention to his breathing. He was patted on the back by an officer. Everyone was cheering him onward. He looked to Shaun, who nodded and smiled.
The light turned green. The portal stretched into existence from each side of the frame, resembling a restless pool of water.
“You’re hug is on its way, dear Fluttershy,” he said to himself.
He started with a measured step, making the most of the moment. Then he ran. Before he knew it, he had passed the threshold and was split into a billion atoms, zooming through space as the epitome of human achievement.
He entered Equestria as sand would pour through an hourglass. The portal was reassembling him and, during these first few seconds, his vision was black. He felt something slice down his left arm and his back landed against something solid. The portal finished materialisation and he regained sight.
He was on the ground, facing up at a manticore. Turning to his side, his arm was lacerated and bleeding. As he tried to sit up, the beast punched John in the chest, knocking him back down. He watched as it reached for his leg, pinning it against a rock and pushing on it so he couldn’t escape. He heard something snap, a bone, and he couldn’t yell since he was winded from the punch.
Adrenaline set in and he managed to tear away, leaving the manticore with half of a trouser leg. He stumbled to his feet, taking deep breaths and finding the place he beamed in from. It was a shimmering haze beside a thick tree trunk. He could go back to Earth if he could reach it. Just then, Shaun began to materialise through.
The manticore lashed out and, with John ducking, cut open his backpack causing all sorts of scientific apparatus to spill out. He turned to run but could only manage a few steps. He was lifted into the air from behind and brought up to the manticore’s foaming mouth. It emitted an ear-piercing roar and tightened its grip. He felt its claws dig into his abdomen, curving their way through his stomach.
He was thrown to the ground. He looked towards the portal again. Shaun had fully entered Equestria and was desperately mashing the buttons on his wrist control.
John crawled towards him, bleeding over the fallen leaves. Shaun had dissipated, returning to Earth. His chest was pounding like a drum. The manticore had left, or was watching... he couldn’t tell. Moving the final two metres was the hardest thing he had done.
He reached the haze and was inside its shimmer. Straining over the controls on his injured arm, he input the code to start the teleportation. The buttons were made slippery with blood, causing him to press five instead of two. He started again, this time typing the code correctly.
Nothing happened. The shimmering had stopped. They had closed the portal. Dropping onto his side, he saw the manticore approaching.
His ears were ringing and vision blurry. Dizzy and light-headed, he pulled himself up to run.
From the stress, his heart exploded.
John was a simple man. He grew up on the streets without knowing his parents and was picked up by a rolling circus at seven years of age. On his twelfth birthday, he blew out all the candles from the top of a trapeze facing away from the cake by calculating the room’s wind currents in his head. It was then he realised he wanted to be an astrophysicist. The circus staff were more than happy to let their best performer leave to pursue some vague and unstated dream. He managed to escape from the clown pit at the age of fourteen.
He caught a train to the nearest city by bunking in an empty carriage. Finally, he was going to put his life into motion. After the university’s receptionist denied him entry, he concocted an elaborate plan to raid the corner store for M&Ms. While easing his mind, it did nothing for his career.
Back on the streets, and with a posse of angry clowns seeking his whereabouts, John managed to make a living in a part time job tending to animals at the local shelter. The owner had an antique 3D plasma TV in her office. It was here that John met Fluttershy.
Although the relationship with the pony was distinctly one-sided, he was inspired to join a band of ‘bronies’. Riding through town on trucks decked out with bubble artillery cannons, this renegade militia was backed by governments worldwide as a beacon of peace and stability. Funded by the UN, and in some ways surpassing them in capability, the bronies were able to give John a scholarship for university. Majoring in Physics with minors in Literature and Law, John became their best student.
The story takes place ten years later. John has earned his post-doctorate degree in quantum mechanics and the bronies have taken him on as the lucky first venturer into Equestria.
