Not What I Expected

Not What I Expected
By Skye Silverwing

After ten years of painstaking research, testing, and experimentation, all done in secret in his lab on the campus of the Foresight Institute of Higher Learning, Doctor Harold Pershing had finally done it. His Inter-dimensional Transport System was finally complete. The Long Hours of Research and the Effort he had gone to, in order to reach this point would finally come to fruition.

All that remained to be done was to input the specifications of the target world, and the machine would search the realm of possibilities for one matching what he had set. He smiled up at the Poster on the wall. It would only be a matter of time until he could be in a place where he would be truly accepted.

He began inputting the information that he had for the world depicted in the Poster. The Magical Land of Equestria. Harold lovingly entered the specifications: The world full of magical Ponies, who valued life and love and friendship above all things, Ponies that would accept him where humanity had not.

He set many details by hand, but of course, the Computer did much of the work, analyzing and extrapolating locations and positional relationships based on the Cartoon, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It was also using that Data and the Data on Hasbro’s Earlier Cartoons and toylines to Generate names, Personalities, and over all status of thousands of Ponies from all over the Ponyworld, as well has the history and Mythology of the place.

Once all the details were in place, the Machine would seek out a world in the Infinite Realm of Possibility matching the information given, and lock on to its coordinates. Once that was done, he could use the machine to open a portal.

His investors had been impressed when the prototype had allowed him to bring back a handful of dust from a World with the only parameters being “Made of Gold”. They would not be happy when they learned of what he was actually doing with their funding. The Prototype had burnt out during their demonstration, and the current machine would not fare much better. The power draw was fifty times as high; Likely to blackout the entire Eastern Seaboard, something that would not be allowed twice. It all meant that, when that portal opened, it would be a one-way trip.

As he set the last of the search parameters, he smiled. The ponies would accept him. He knew they would. They would love him and he would love them, and over time, they would become open to interspecies relationships, and so he would have relations with them…

He blinked, realizing that his mind had trailed off. He pressed the button to begin the search. In the Infinite number of realities, there were an infinite number that would match his criteria, but the computer could only search the so quickly. It would take most of the night to locate a suitable version of Equestria, so Harry left the system running and locked up his lab and returned to his little, one-bedroom shack to pack.

His mortgage was well overdue, and his credit cards were maxed out, his car would be repossessed soon, and his friends on the “Brony” sites were the only human friends he had.

He looked at his posters, and all of his figurines, and all the drawings and hand-carved models of the Ponies of Equestria. These were his only real friends.

No one would miss him in this world, so let his creditors come. He would be gone by morning.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Someone was overstepping their bounds, and as the God of Possibility, it was the duty of Skye Silverwing to investigate. Well, it was something to do, anyway.

He appeared in the office where the signal was based and looked at the screens. As a human, he would have thought the technology necessary to travel between worlds to be impressive, and in fact, quite brilliant, but he was not a human anymore and he had seen this kind of thing before.

He usually found devices like this in top-secret, covert government bases, controlled by clandestine military or pseudo military outfits, looking to invade other worlds for resources.

Skye had made it his Standard Operating procedure to destroy such technology and kill its creator after wiping out all information on it, so it could not easily be reproduced.

Much to his surprise, though, Skye discovered that the information on the device was already wiped out. He was even more surprised when he recognized the fact that the portal generator was set in such a manner that it would overload after use. It wasn’t an invasion plan, it was an escape plan.

But escape to where?

Skye looked at the screens and thought about the coordinates of the worlds shown on the screen. He stifled a giggle. This idiot was doing his job for him! Moreover, this was going to be the most entertaining thing that had happened since the Daleks had died out. Better yet, the fool would not realize his mistake until he got there.

This was totally worth watching, and best of all Skye wouldn’t even have to kill the fool himself. He felt a pang of remorse for the Ponies, but sometimes it happens.

Shifting into his own personal Pocket dimension, the Deity conjured up some popcorn. This was going to be fun.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Harry arrived early the next morning, well before he would risk anyone noticing his suitcase. He would have need of the clothes packed inside it until he convinced Rarity to make him new clothes. She would, of course. The Ponies of Ponyville would all surely think of him as a friend, and see to his needs. He had also packed his papers as well as food. No telling where in Equestria he might end up. It could be a long walk to Ponyville.

He smiled when he saw that the search had found a suitable target world. Soon, he and Fluttershy would be cuddling under a tree somewhere. In his mind’s eye, he could see himself having a love relationship with all six of the “Mane 6” ponies, and the Princesses, too. It was so secure in his mind that he did not even consider that something might go wrong.

He nodded to himself. No reason to wait. The fewer people in this building the better. He was certain the explosion from the overload would devastate the structure after he left, and he did not want to kill anyone.

He flipped the switches and turned the dials, bringing the machine to full power. He entered the coordinates, and the machine began to build up to open the Portal. A dozen warning lights on the side of the machine lit up, warning that its energy use was exceeding its tolerances. The Room’s lights began to flicker, and soon, the only light in the room was emanating from the machine itself.

Harry giggled maniacally as a bubble of light, the event horizon of his Portal, began to form inside the ring of the Portal device. Soon, the Portal would be large enough for him to pass through.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

In the world outside, chaos and fear did not take long to rise. The power draw for Pershing’s Machine was overloading and fusing the entire power grid, causing blackouts that quickly spread across the entire Eastern half of the country. The City was dark in minutes; and where darkness spreads, panic follows.

Then, the Science building at the Foresight Institute exploded.

Panic and Bedlam filled the streets, Rioting, Looting, and desperation spread, and the Government declared Martial Law. The Police and the Military were summoned to restore order, but their numbers were far too few to keep the chaos down.

Worse yet, the incident had completely destroyed the City’s electric power grid, as well as the entirety of the infrastructure that relied on it, preventing any serious investigation from being brought underway for years.

When an investigative committee was finally called in to investigate, everything was traced back to the Science building. Unfortunately whatever had gone on there was wiped out with barely a trace, so there was no telling what had caused this calamity.

Fortunately it seemed that after all that time, the only one that was still missing was Doctor Pershing himself. No one, well, no one on that world, at least, ever learned what had become of him.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Skye stood calmly on the border that lay between the dimensions, waiting beside the wormhole that would shortly deliver Dr. Pershing to his new home. Naturally there were a few things that could not be allowed. The papers the Doctor had in his bag, for example. The God of Possibilities simply could not have the scientist finding a way to reproduce his technology and escape into still another world. It simply would not do.

So he waited until the Fellow was passing in the wormhole, and simply dipped his hand in and caught the bag, then he turned and tossed it into the vortex of time, disintegrating it in an instant and over a Billion years.

That done, Skye assumed pony form and hopped the border. He landed just outside the royal palace in the City of Canterlot, a slight smile ghosting onto his face. He raised the hood on the cloak he wore and went to find a decent vantage point to watch the action.

That fool of a Scientist had made one major mistake when selecting this world, and he would learn of it in a matter of moments.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

It was early morning in Ponyville, a small community built on the Edge of the Everfree forest in Equestria.

Twilight Sparkle, the faithful Student of Princess Celestia, and one of Ponyville’s most prominent citizens, had just set to work reshelfing the books she had used the previous evening with the aid of her Dragon Companion, Spike. She focused her magic through her horn to levitate a book, so that she could read its cover before returning it to its proper location on the shelf.

The lavender Unicorn brushed her purple hair from her eyes, the pink streak falling perfectly as usual. She picked up another book and smiled as her Companion began to complain.

“Why do I need to do this?” he complained.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I told you, Spike, we need to get all this research material cleaned up so it won’t be in our way for Pinkie Pie’s ‘Could not think of a better reason to throw a Party’ Party tonight.”

Spike grumbled. “I wasn’t the one that made this mess.” He muttered, but he still picked up a book and put it on one of the lower shelves.

Twilight moved to the window and pushed it open, letting the early Spring breeze drift in. Outside the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and it was clear that her Pegasus Friend, Rainbow Dash, had gotten up at a good time to clear away the clouds. In fact, Twilight could see Rainbow flying at high speed through a series of maneuvers, clearly taking the day to practice for her next chance to impress the Wonderbolts. They were the best acrobatic fliers in all Equestria, so she would need to practice.

Twilight smiled to herself. She suspected that her Rainbow-maned friend had a crush on Spitfire, the leader of the Wonderbolts, and she hoped, for her sake, that she managed to find her happiness.

Suddenly, the sky over Equestria began to darken. Running outside, Twilight scanned the sky for whatever could be causing the odd occurrence. Seeing nothing, she quickly Drafted a letter to Princess Celestia, asking if something was wrong with the Sun. She handed it to Spike, who sent it to her Teacher via Dragon fire.

A few moments later, the young Dragon belched up the Princess’s reply: There was nothing wrong with the Sun, but there was a darkening in Canterlot as well. Whatever was happening, it seemed to be centered over the Everfree Forest. Twilight was to gather her friends and investigate.

Twilight Nodded to herself and turned to Spike. “Come on, Spike.” She said, we need to gather our friends. Princess Celestia wants us to investigate this strange phenomenon.

Spike smiled. “As long as I don’t have to move anymore books.” He said.

Twilight shot him a mirthful glare, and then rolled her eyes.

The two of them spotted Rainbow Dash landing near Rarity’s Boutique. The Unicorn Fashion-Designer had left her shop and the two were talking together and glancing nervously at the sky.

Twilight and Spike approached their friends. “Rainbow Dash, Rarity,” Twilight greeted, “According to Princess Celestia, something is about to happen in the Everfree forest. She wants us to investigate as soon as possible.”

Rainbow nodded. “Gotcha.” She said, “You want me to go get AJ and Fluttershy?”

Twilight thought for a moment and then nodded. “Rarity and I will meet up with Pinkie Pie and meet you in the clearing on the edge of the forest.”

Rainbow nodded again and took off.

Rarity looked at Twilight. “What could it possibly be, Twilight?” she asked.

Twilight pondered the question as the two headed for SugarCube Corner. “I don’t know.” She said, “But I have a bad feeling about it.”

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Fluttershy was in the clearing near the Everfree forest, tending to a few of the animals that lived just inside the Forest, where it wasn’t so dangerous.

As she went about feeding them and tending to the minor injuries that were so prevalent this close to the Forest, the sky over her head began to darken noticeably, and the animals began to spook.

In a few minutes, as the Darkening became worse, the Animals became agitated beyond the yellow Pegasus Pony’s ability to calm them and they began to panic. Soon, it was all Fluttershy could do to keep the furry critters from accicentally fleeing into the more dangerous parts of the Forest. Then, to Fluttershy’s dismay, a smallish Rabbit- one she had taken to calling Buster- broke from the rest and vanished deeper into the woods. Caring not for her own safety, the Yellow Pony shot into the Woods in hot pursuit. Rabbits can be fast, but with her wings and determination, Fluttershy easily caught Buster in a small clearing about two hundred yards into the Forest, snatching him up and cooing soothingly to him.

The Darkening sky, directly over her head, suddenly emitted a bright flash, and a bright and luminous tunnel appeared in the Sky. Fluttershy stared at the tunnel, transfixed. A moment later, the Tunnel Flashed once again, this time with a form tumbling out.

Fluttershy screamed.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

A.N. Okay so that is the first part of this Fiction. For now, I ask my readers if they understand what the Doctor Pershing did wrong. Guess, Speculate. And Post.