A Mysterious Circumstance
DECEMBER 22ND, 1936, NEW YORK CITY
7 YEARS AFTER WALL STREET CRASH
1929, considered the end of the Roaring Twenties. On that fateful day in September, the DOW plummeted, losing profits for many companies, who then laid off many employees, who then became jobless. The wealth and prosperity of the 20’s had been lost in only a few minutes. As Christmas approached, there were no jolly festivities, just sadness. Many jobless civilians were just trying to find a way to avoid the streets and squeeze out just enough money to survive the winter.
Henry Wilson was one of those people. Living in a poor neighborhood earning just enough money from the government to pay rent. He worked for a department store as a stocker before the crash, just stocking up the merchandise in the store before opening and closing hour. Now when the stock market crash hit however, the store didn’t have enough money to keep itself running and Henry lost his job. Now he was in his shabby apartment, with only 2 weeks to pay the rent before he got kicked out by that piece of shit landlord, John Patch. Most of Henry’s attempts to find a job were in vain though, as most of them either ended with him getting rejected, or just thrown out the building.
An alarm clock rang. “Ugh its it already fucking 6:45 already?” said Henry as he got up to start his daily commute of trying to find a job.
Henry quickly put on a snappy suit and flat cap and began to head for the subway station.
After walking for about a few minutes he finally reached the station.
“Shoot, I only have one nickel,” Henry said to himself.
Henry figured he should just save the nickel for when he would use the subway to get back home, or use it in a desperate time.
“Eh, nothing wrong with jumping the turnstile once in a while!” Henry thought to himself.
He quickly looked around him for any cops before jumping the turnstile. He then caught the A Train to Manhattan for a job interview as an accountant for some trade company. He figured it would be pretty easy due to his basic knowledge of math.
Henry quickly boarded the train an sat down in the nearest seat he could find.
Soon while on the train, a man approached Henry and sat down next to him “Hey did you hear?” the man said.
“Heard what?” Henry responded.
“Well you’ve heard about the storms across the nation firstly, right?” the man said to Henry back.
“Yeah?” Henry said.
He had read about the violent storms in the newspaper. He figured that it would clear up soon, but no. It went on for an entire fucking week. Henry was incredibly surprised when he heard the storms lasted that long.
The man said “Well, what some theorists are saying is that, these storms were created by the government to make the American people suffer even more, plus the severity of these storms unlike any regular one.”
“No offense, but do you actually believe in conspiracies like this? We can’t even control the weather,” Henry said.
“Well if you have doubts, just look at what our damned government is doing to others. Say, what happened to those protestors when that bastard Hoover said he was running for a third term back in November? Oh right, the police beat them into a pulp when they were just expressing their right to free speech and assembly. In fact, over 40 people were killed in the incident, and over 500 were injured. So take that as a fact,” The man said.
“Not true, the protestors hit first, the police had tried to calm them down and tried their best to not escalate the situation, but you know what those protestors did? They threw bricks, sticks, even fucking poured gasoline in the streets and set it on fire, which killed 30 police, it was obvious the protestors were taking it too far so the police had to take action, plus they were extremists from the fascist, Reform America party! And also, last time I heard, there aren't any laws saying a president can't run for a third term! Just look at Roosevelt back then!" Henry said.
“Yeah well stupid, believe what you want but I know it was our damn government who did it, so while you’re defending our corrupt-ass government I’ll be preparing while you can go fuck yourself,” The man responded.
“Sure, if that’s what you wanna think then you can go ahead,” Henry responded.
The argument had caused quite a few people to be staring at them, some in fear, some in anger, or some just staring with a look that read ‘Shhh! You’re being impolite!’.
“I do apologize everyone for the impolite argument that has occurred just now. And if you’ll excuse me this is my stop,” Henry quickly said to the entire subway car.
Henry quickly got out of the subway car and out of the station onto the streets on Manhattan, as he walked into the building where his interview was going to be held.
“Let’s just hope this goes well,” Henry thought to himself, praying that he would get the job to make some money to buy his meals to survive and get his stupid landlord off his back.
Meanwhile, in another universe...
CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA
CANTERLOT CASTLE
In the heart of Canterlot, where the sun always seemed to shine a little brighter, a quiet unease began to creep in Celestia’s mind, and it had been plaguing her for an entire week. Celestia had felt a surge of magical energy for the past week, even more when the Crystal Empire vanished into thin air about 1000 years ago. Plus, there were many reports from ships on the Equestrian coasts of unstable and violent weather, similar to the weather in the Everfree Forest, where it was unable to be controlled by weather pegasi. Simply, Celestia just felt something wrong in the world around her. She began thinking to herself, what kind of magical energy could have caused all this.
“Is something bothering thou sister?” Celestia suddenly heard her sister Luna say behind her.
“Oh, Luna I didn’t hear you come in to my chambers,” Celestia said with surprise.
“Yes sister, but like I said before, is there something plaguing you? You seemed to just be staring off into the distance just earlier,” Luna said.
“Well Luna, I have just been feeling rushes of magical energy through me recently, additionally with the unnatural events occurring just outside of Equestria's shores, It just feels odd," Celestia responded.
"Don't worry sister, even though there are mysterious circumstances happening right now, I am completely sure it will blow over," Luna responded.
"Well I hope so too Luna," Celestia responded back.
Celestia hoped that these unusual events would soon be over, and the safety of her little ponies would be guaranteed again. However, she knew that the feeling would come up again eventually.
Then, in another universe...
NEW YORK CITY, U.S.A
1936
Henry Wilson angrily fumbled through the doorway of the office building. He had just been rejected from another fucking interview. The stupid manager who was apparently the guy he spoke to on the train, said that his position was already filled, when they had told him that it was available just 1 week earlier.
"Fucking corporate bastards, not even informing me my damn position was taken!" Henry said in a quiet rant.
"This happens to me all the damn time, and for some reason even when my interview is the next day after I applied they always say: oh the position is already filled blah blah blah,"
"I'm fucking tired of this!" Henry said.
As he walked down the street to head to the subway to go back home, Henry saw a massive group of protestors and a bunch of police officers outside of a large office building, which looked more like a government building than just your standard office building.
Henry heard the protestors saying "Down with Hoover! Down with Hoover! Down with Hoover!"
The police began to tap their batons in unison, creating an image of strength to the crowd, trying to get the protestors to disperse. The protestors in turn began to grab rocks, bricks, bottles, anything they could find to throw. Plus, some people were even starting to make improvised incendiary weapons out of beer bottles filled with petrol.
Suddenly, the protestors threw their objects at the police and rushed at them. The police quickly overwhelmed, plus with the fact there was a massive downpour of rain began to retreat but fought back with their batons. Soon, all hell broke loose. Police beating civilians with batons, incendiary bottles being thrown at the police by the protestors, and police burning while screaming in pain. It was absolute chaos.
Henry watched on with interest and horror as he took cover behind some boxes to avoid anything hitting him in the carnage. He soon noticed something though, as the sun had gotten brighter even with the thick rainfall and clouds blocking it.
"Huh, that's weird," Henry thought to himself.
Henry thought he was just seeing things but soon, the light grew brighter and brighter with the rioters, police, and several passerby looking up at the sky. Soon, screams of terror erupted as the white light soon engulfed the entire area. Henry saw that he was engulfed in the light too. He soon felt a blast of wind came making him feel like he was levitating. The light soon vanished, and all the people on the block opened their eyes, thinking the chaos was over, but soon, many people knew that this unknown event, would change their lives forever.
Author's Note
Alright! First chapter done! Now I would like to remind you all this is my first time writing a fic, so there will be very painful grammar, paragraph spacing, and/or spelling mistakes. Please leave your thoughts down in the comments. P.S: Would like to note that I don't really have the time and/or skill to write super long chapters so for now expect at least 990-2.5k word chapters, however in the near future I could write longer chapters for the fic. Also, please don't expect me to have a constant upload schedule. Bye now!
DECEMBER 22ND, 1936, NYC
AFTERMATH OF 'FLASH' STORM
Henry slowly opened his eyes, praying that he would not find himself as a spirit.
"Fuck, it feels like I drank 3 tons of beer," said Henry.
Henry soon fully opened his eyes, seeing that everything was normal except for a few smashed windows in the buildings near him. He saw many of the rioters and police officers beginning to open their eyes too.
The police, just recovering from the supernatural event that just occurred, told the crowd to disperse and return to their homes until the government would figure everything out. The rioters, not wanting anymore excitement to happen quickly obliged, though some were arrested by the police.
Henry followed the police's orders to go home, due to him wanting to sit down and relax after the flash, and he was starving after that 3 hour long interview.
Meanwhile...
WASHINGTON D.C, UNITED STATES
U.S CAPITOL BUILDING, 11:05 AM
Senators and Congressmen began to come out from under their desks, just after a flash engulfed the entire Senate chamber during a session of Congress regarding the recent storms all across the United States.
"What in the hell just happened!" a random senator suddenly shouted.
"I don't know, but whatever happened I know it's not normal!" another random senator responded.
The entire U.S capitol building was in absolute panic, as there were government officials using their telephones to call their families, senators and congressmen arguing and shouting like little children, and a few high ranking officials like vice president Charles Curtis shouting to keep order.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, calm down!" President Hoover shouted at the top of his lungs.
The entire chamber quickly fell silent, with some apologizing.
"Now, I know that flash was an amazement to us all, but that gives us no excuse to be acting like little schoolchildren! Now what we need to do is compose ourselves and figure out what just happened in a less chaotic matter," President Hoover said.
The Senate chamber ruckus soon began to die down as politicians began to again compose themselves.
A secretary barged through the door carrying a folder in his hand.
"Mr. President! Sir! Sorry to interrupt but we have been getting recent reports that flashes have been occurring all across the nation, from the East and West Coasts!" The secretary said with shock.
"Thank you, you may go back to your desk now," said President Hoover.
"Alright, then there will be a recess called until we sort things out!" President Hoover shouted.
Hoover quickly summoned his motorcade to take him back to the White House to have an emergency meeting with his cabinet.
WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON D.C
11:17 AM, CABINET ROOM
"So gentlemen, I assume we have been trying to figure out what has just happened, with the flashes and the storms, right?" President Hoover said.
"Well Mr. President, prepare for this day to get even more exciting as, we have just received reports from our Canadian and Mexican borders. These reports indicate that our two neighbors to the North and South have vanished. Also, we have lost contact with our embassies in many major and minor nations. Such as the German Reich, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, and many more. And Mr. President, many ships outside our maritime borders or not docked in our ports have reportedly been lost. In fact, it seems as if we are on an entirely new land," said Vice President Charles Curtis.
"If what you say is true then Mr. Curtis, what shall we do about it?" said President Hoover.
"Well, Mr. President, I may have a solution," said the Secretary of War
"So, what solution might you have then?" said President Hoover
"I suggest we quickly set up a naval defense line around all our coasts, start to mobilize the National Guard, and begin enforcing martial law. We cannot let this information go public. Yet," said the Secretary of War.
"Though with the possibility of the United States being on a different land, let alone a different universe entirely I would like to set up a naval expeditionary force to find any other landmasses in addition to the United States. We need to at least try to make contact with any nations, if we can find any," said the Secretary of the Navy.
"Very good then gentlemen. Now that we have some kind of plan in order, how long will it take to mobilize everything?" said President Hoover.
"Well, according to what the Secretary of the Navy and War said Mr. President, the plan should at least 2 days if ahead of schedule, 5 to 9 days on schedule, and 10 weeks if behind schedule," said the Vice President.
"May God help us all if everything goes downhill," said President Hoover.
Meanwhile...
CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA
CANTERLOT CASTLE, 12:15 PM
A guard suddenly burst into the throne room.
"Your Highness! We have news from ships in the the North Luna Ocean!" the guard shouted quickly.
"Yes, what is the news the guard?" Princess Celestia said with worry in her voice.
"Well your Highness, a mysterious landmass has appeared to the west of the North Luna Ocean. We first dismissed it as hallucinations, but soon as more reports began coming in about this landmass, the Equestrian Navy was sent to investigate, and as they found out, it was true! There was a new landmass. We have sent a few pegasi to investigate further your Highness," the royal guard said.
"I see guard, thank you for the news. You are dismissed," Celestia said to the guard.
"Thank you, your Highness," the guard said as he walked away.
"Ready the Royal Guard. And can we contact Twilight and her friends?" said Celestia to her secretary.
"Of course, your Majesty," said the secretary as she hurried away.
"Looks like I was right. Something was going to happen," Celestia thought.
Celestia continued to think.
"Let's hope that whatever event comes to Equestria, my little ponies won't be harmed. The Elements might take care of it, surely," Celestia thought to herself.
But even with these thoughts, Celestia still was questioning herself if everything would be fine. This event unlike everything she had seen before, felt wrong. Like it would end in the entire demise of Equestria, and harmony.
Meanwhile...
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES
12:19 PM
Henry was walking down the street.
"I wonder, what the fuck caused those damn flashes? I wonder if they were connected to the storms," Henry thought to himself.
Though even as Henry wondered, he still didn't care what caused those flashes as long as he was alive and breathing. Plus, he had other more important matters to focus on. He still needed to find a job to make money and survive. At the point he was at, if any opportunity popped up he would take it due to him being so desperate. Though as luck would have it, Henry was about to run into one opportunity, just not the one he really wanted.
"Can't I ever get lucky just one goshdarn time?" thought Henry to himself.
"Hey there sonny!" Henry heard someone say.
Henry quickly looked in the direction of the speaker. The person who said hey to him was a U.S military recruiter. Henry mostly stayed away of the army when it came to job-searching because of multiple reasons. Firstly, the low pay compared to other civilian jobs, secondly, the U.S army was crippled due to the Great Depression, and the fact that it had to deal with multiple para-military groups making the Army's resources almost completely drained.
"If you're wanting me to join the Army, Navy, Marines, or anything else just wanted to say, not interested," Henry quickly said to the recruiter.
"Ah, but this times different sonny! You are not going to deal with rioters or violent militas this time! Instead, you might be going to a whole new land! Think of the fame, fortune, glory! Almost like Columbus when he stepped on in the New World! So what do you say? -the recruiter picked up a clipboard and pointed to it- Sign up here today!"
Henry didn't want to join the army, but making him volunteer for a long expedition with a chance of not even setting foot on new lands. That made his urge not to join even stronger.
"Sorry, but as I said before, not interested," Henry said.
The recruiter looked at him.
"Well, judging by your appearance you look to be in one big financial situation, am I right?" the recruiter said.
"I mean sure but, I can find a new job that can be much better than the Army," responded Henry.
"Well, sorry to break it to you sonny but, your chances of finding another job out there are very slim. Only chance you got is with the Army or Navy if water suits you better," the recruiter said.
Henry wanted to say something to get him out of this situation.
"You know what then sir, I'll think about it," Henry said.
"Grand, grand my boy! You have to think about it fast though only cause' there are only a few spots left!" the recruiter said.
"Yes, I will," Henry said as he began to quicken his pace to go back to his apartment.
HENRY'S APARTMENT
2:28 PM
Henry sat down near the barely functioning radiator in his apartment, thinking and mumbling about his job opportunities.
"I can't just keep living off government money like this. Besides, soon the financial program is going to end and I won't have any money left," said Henry to himself.
Henry sighed and slouched in his old wooden chair further.
"Is the Army the only real choice I got for money?" Henry questioned himself.
He sighed.
"I guess well, desperate times call for desperate measures," Henry said to himself.
Henry had decided, he was going to join the U.S Army.
"Let's hope I won't regret this in the future, and that no adventure might happen," Henry thought to himself.
Though as it turned out, adventure was just around the corner for Henry.
Author's Note
Second chapter done! Since I apparently got a few views and comments, I've decided to keep writing this fic! You may now clap for joy (clapping is not optional). Also by the way when I'm switching settings should I do this: - - - - - - - or keep with the original like this: ------------------------------?
