“Dr. Williams!”
“Yes, Frank?” I turned to face my employee, trying to hide the annoyance I felt. It wasn’t his fault that I had been at the lab for twelve hours straight.
“There’s something you might want to see.”
“Frank…” I rubbed my face with a hand. “How many times have I told you: we don’t play that game here. If you have something to tell me, tell me. None of this ‘you have to see this’ nonsense.”
Frank had the decency to look ashamed. Most of my lab assistants just thought I was a crazy lady, and gave me as much eye-rolling as I would have expected from a teenager. Frank probably thought I was crazy too, but at least he treated me like the boss.
“Sorry, ma’am. Uh, the readings on the Rainbow VI are different then I have seen before. Actually, it’s pretty close to the range you wanted us to scan for.
This changed everything.
I pushed Frank out of the way and went to look myself. “’Scuse me, Frank.” Just as he said, the values were close to the target, and slowly drifting closer even as I watched. “Oh wow, I was right.”
Frank was standing behind me, twiddling his fingers nervously. “Would you like me to call the others in?”
Since he couldn’t see my face, I indulged in a brief grimace. “No, that’s fine. In fact, you should probably go home too. Don’t worry about me, I’ll just make sure it’s stable and then close up.”
“Oh. You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
“Well then, uh, have a good night.”
“Goodnight, Frank.”
I listened to make sure he had actually left, then turned my attention back to the machine.
This was it; it was really going to happen this time. Judging by the readings, I still had a few minutes, maybe an hour. Enough time to set my affairs in order, such as they were.
I didn’t have any pets or dependents, and only one of my neighbors even knew my whole name. My credit cards were paid off and my will was up to date (although I didn’t really care who got my sofa and television anyway).
My employees all had a sufficient severance package, and the retirement fund was being handled by someone else, so that should be fine. Frank had been a trooper though; I felt I should do something extra for Frank.
I walked over to my safe and opened it. Inside were the plans, schematics and logbooks for everything I had done in the past thirty-two years. I pulled out everything useful and put it in a plastic bag, then I closed the bag and pinned a note to it: Dear Frank, the contents of this bag are for your eyes only. Please use it to get rich. – MW. I used my master key to put the bag in Frank’s locker and locked it again.
That just left Daniel.
My brother and I had hardly spoken to each other since Molly’s accident. I think he blamed me for not being a better influence on her. That was fair, I blamed myself. If I had been less obsessed with my project and more invested in my sister, things could have been different, but there was nothing I could do now.
I knew Daniel wouldn’t want to hear about this, but I was going to tell him anyway. I picked up my phone and called his house. After hearing the usual four rings, his familiar answering machine told me how to leave a message.
“Hi Danny, it’s me. I know you probably don’t want to hear about it, but I feel you should know anyway: I figured it out. As near as I can tell, the Rainbow is ready. Win or lose, this is probably the last time you’ll hear from me, so I wanted to make sure I said everything that I’ve been wanting to say.
“I’m sorry. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. I’ve learned some important lessons the hard way, but there are no take backs in this world.”
I paused to construct the next sentence carefully. “You know where I’m going. If you ever change your mind, talk to Frank Billings; he has all the technical documents and knows how to read the machine. All he would need is that memento you took, if you still have it.”
“Whatever you decide, I wish you well…I love you, Danny. Goodbye.”
I quickly ended the call before my burgeoning tears started to affect my voice. I was going to miss him, but no more than I did already. My course was set and I wasn’t going to turn back now.
I went back to the Rainbow VI and toggled the main power switch. Lights blinked on and off all over the machine as it went through its standard startup sequence. After a few minutes they all settled on steady green. It was ready.
I reached into my blouse and pulled out the seashell that hung on a chain around my neck. Even after all these years, it still retained an unnatural luster. I carefully removed it from the chain and placed it in the sample compartment.
As the Rainbow began its final calibration, I mentally catalogued all of the ways this could still go wrong. The most obvious possibility would be landing in an ocean. I wasn’t sure how much of an influence the seashell would be, but I had already used all of the hair samples and pressed flowers, so it was all I had.
There was also no way to synchronize the date, but I was pretty sure it would be later rather than earlier. In all likelihood, I would be hundreds of years after my reference point, maybe thousands.
The odds of meeting anyone I knew were incredibly slim, but I could make new friends, I was sure of it.
The Rainbow finished its calibration and the big, green button in the middle of the console lit up invitingly. I looked at the readings again, just to be safe. Everything was right in the middle of the range; if it was ever going to work, it would work now.
I pushed the button with both hands.
The effect rods began to hum softly, gradually getting louder as the power increased. I could feel my hair starting to stand on end as the electric field intensified.
With a thunderclap, a ten-foot hole appeared in the space between the effect rods. I had known it was coming but was still startled by the suddenness. I looked eagerly through the window in the air. To my great relief, I didn’t see water. Instead, I was gazing at the greenest, lushest meadow I had seen in thirty-two years.
I quickly grabbed the duffel bag I had been keeping ready. The clothes inside would be incredibly wrinkled, but where I was going, nobody would care.
I walked back and stood in front of the portal. For a moment, I concentrated on calming my breathing. I needed to make a good impression; it wouldn’t do to look any crazier than I was.
I stepped through the portal.
Once I was clear of the opening, Rainbow VI closed the door behind me with a pop. I turned reflexively to look, but there was nothing behind me but more meadow. I had lost the seashell, but it was worth it. I was here. I had made it.
I spent the next few hours walking slowly through the familiar countryside, enjoying the beautiful weather. I found a dirt road and followed it until I met someone going the other way.
She was a pony.
A pink-coated, fluffy-maned, big-eyed, cutie-marked pony.
I smiled my biggest smile and held out a hand, but she spoke first.
“Hello! Are you new? You must be new, because I know everyone in Ponyville, but I don’t know you.” At this point she grabbed my hand between her forehooves and shook it vigorously. “I’m Pinkie Pie, your new best friend!”
I desperately wanted to be her friend, but I had to check something first. I took note of her three-balloon cutie mark. “Hi Pinkie Pie, do you know Surprise?”
“I know surprise like the back of my hoof! If I wasn’t the Element of Laughter, I’d be the Element of Surprise!” She giggled at her own joke.
“No, I meant, do you know a pony named Surprise?”
She shook her head. “Uh-uh, but they sound like fun!”
I asked her a few more names, but she had not heard of any of them. It was pretty obvious I had come to a different era, but I still didn’t know when. I had one more line of inquiry to try.
“Have you ever heard of a creature called Tirek?”
Pinkie Pie abruptly became more serious. She nodded gravely. “He was one bad dude, he almost got away with stealing all the magic in Equestria, but we stopped him!”
“With a rainbow?” I asked
“With a big rainbow! Did you see it?”
“I didn’t see you use the rainbow, but I did…see that happen, once.” I still wasn’t sure how much to say.
“Oh right!” Pinkie Pie nodded as if I had told her something significant. “I guess you saw him get beat the first time.” She paused briefly, apparently putting additional pieces together. “You must be really, really old!”
My heart sank. It was as I had feared. “How old would you guess I am?”
She gave me an appraising look. “Well…Tirek had been in Tartarus for a thousand years, so you must be at least that old. Maybe you’re even as old as Celestia!” She seemed to notice for the first time that I wasn’t a pony. “What are you, anyway?”
I had been gone a millennium. Nobody would remember me, nobody would remember my friends. The only thing left was to make a clean start. The good old days were gone, but the new days could be good too.
“I’m a human, Pinkie Pie, and I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Megan.”
Author's Note
I suck at sad, and first person, and subtle vagueness, and writing about humans. I hate sucking, so this story is my attempt to get over those deficiencies. Please tell me what you think, good or bad. I'm thick-skinned.