Tales of First Contact

by One-Of-Three-Names

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Human, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 6044

A portal opens in Manehattan, and one poor mare finds herself making first contact with humanity!

Mirror just wants to have some fun. She thinks moving to Manehattan is just the thing, lots of new ponies to meet, good food, great nightlife scene, random interdemensional portals opening in the middle of the street, the works!

At first she thinks it's a bit strange having a human embassy crop up a few blocks away from her apartment, but when she's one of the select few invited to be the first ponies to visit the planet Earth, it's hard to refuse.

When she does get to the other side however, she finds the roles have been reversed. She's the strange one, and even a little famous as the first extraterrestrial ever encountered by humanity.

Published 2012-10-23 23:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-23 23:50:01 UTC

Humans in Equestria

Your first day in Manehattan is going pretty well so far.
Sure, you know absolutely nopony here; and you have to find someplace to work within a week or you'll run out of money, but the stallion at the train station was very nice!

Manehattan is BIG. Really big. Definitely the biggest city you've ever been in. You've been in big cities before; in fact they are usually where you get most of your jobs. But this place is an absolute maze! You can definitely understand why the map making business is a thing here, and you're very glad that you purchased one. Not that it's helping much. Thinking back you probably should have payed the extra five bits for the 'YOU ARE HERE' enchantment.

You levitate the map in front of you again and try to figure out where you are exactly, but it's all a jumble of cross streets and tiny labels that you cant make sense of. Maybe you should hire a guide or something, you saw a couple of them back at the train station. But going back the way you came strikes you as counterproductive, and your supply of bits is dangerously low as is. You really cant afford to spend money on anything you don't absolutely need, and if that means a couple of hours wandering around looking for the hotel you're supposed to be staying at; then so be it. You're a grown mare now, so if you get lost; then you'll just have to get un-lost using your uncanny sense of direction and keen problem solving skills! So what if you're in one of the biggest cities in Equestria that you've never been to before, and all the streets look the same, and its eerily quiet, and its starting to get dark, and-Oh Celestia you definitely need help.

You sigh; fold up the map with your magic and slip it into one of your saddlebags. Then you start looking around to try and find somepony who looks like they might be willing to help a poor filly out.

And then find that you're standing almost completely by yourself in the middle of a crossroads, with a growing crowd of ponies gathered in a circle around you. Many of them are muttering or whispering in hushed tones to each other, but all of them appear to be staring at you. Startled, you just sort of stand there blinking and looking at everypony. Why are they all looking at you? Did you do something wrong? They don't seem angry. You must have done something really silly. You should have been looking where you were going! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Maybe you can just slip away and get lost in the crowd; forget any of this happened. You pause for moment when a thought hits you, and you furrow your brow. Forget what though? What exactly had you done?

A loud crackling noise causes you to squeak in surprise and whirl around; then stiffen in shock. A sizable area of space about ten hoofsteps away appears to be rippling, as if in an exaggerated form of heat distortion. Not only that, but it appears to be radiating power in such a strange way you're shocked you didn't notice it before. Another crackle causes your fur to stand on end as the space seems to bend and warp further; even tearing open for an instant before smashing back together and producing that electric crackling sound. It takes a few seconds, but you manage to recover enough from the surprise to realize that whatever this thing is; it's likely dangerous, and that you should keep away from dangerous things. You start to slowly back away from the rippling space; keeping your eyes fixed on it as you do so.
This tendency to freeze when scared is probably going to get you hurt someday.

BANG!

You feel your entire body lock up as the loudest sound you have ever heard reverberates through your skull. It actually takes you a moment to realize that you've just been blinded by an incredible blast of light. You blink rapidly as sight slowly begins to return; along with a very high pitched ringing in your ears. You're just able to start making out the outlines of things again, when-

BANG! BA-BANG! BANG!

You think you might have screamed a little. Sun and stars that hurt your ears, and your eyes! What in Equestria is going on? You need to get out of here! You take a few blind steps forward, then remember that forward is going TOWARDS whatever the thing is, and hastily try to change direction mid-step; succeeding only in tangling your legs up and falling over. You start full on panicking now, and scramble to your hooves again; deciding to wait until your vision returns before running off into a wall somewhere. Blinking seems to hurry the process up somehow, or at least you think it does. It might just be your imagination, but you like to think that you're accomplishing something other than just standing here waiting.

Your hearing returns before your sight though. At first all you can make out is ringing, but soon enough you can hear muffled noises, and there's a lot of it. You cant make heads or tails of it at first, but then something clicks in your head. Screaming. Everypony is screaming. Right about now seems a good time to start hyperventilating. You blink harder; almost jogging in place in your anticipation to get out of there. You can see large shapes moving around in front of you now, but not quite enough to trust yourself to run. You realize that there are voices speaking over the crowd, loud and powerful voices barking what you think are orders. You didn't notice them before, but they've been speaking the whole time. They sound very official. You really hope the police are here already.

"-epeat, do NOT fire!"

"My God. What in the nine hells is this?"

"Definitely not what I was expecting."

"Doctor? Doctor!"

There's five of them, and they are huge. Much too large to be diamond dogs. They almost look like minotaurs, but they are definitely not minotaurs either, the proportions are all wrong. They each carry a long tube-like contraption with them in their hands, and they are wearing some kind of elaborate green body armor with large backpacks that you've never seen before. Their helmets are bulky things with round opaque orange reflective visors concealing whatever features lie beneath. You wonder how they can even see. Two have crouched down around the others facing outwards, and are pointing the tube-things at the surrounding ponies who are all desperately attempting to run away. You should probably try to run too, but you don't because your legs wont let you.
So you take solace in the fact that at least you know one thing for absolutely sure. They are definitely not the police.

One of the creatures who had been looking a little unstable suddenly falls over, and another one kneels down beside him.

"Doc is out cold, but his suit says he's fine."

"Typical." Another one says.

"What exactly ARE these things? They almost look like horses. Very small horses."

"Definitely intelligent at least. Looks like we're in the middle of a city!" The one closest to you says.

"Sentient life. Good lord. I can almost understand why the doctor fainted."

"I don't think anyone expected this."

"What should we do? The doc was supposed to be the diplomat on the off chance we actually DID encounter any alien life."

For some reason you find yourself transfixed, utterly fascinated with their conversation. It's like you're so scared that you've just overloaded. You cant do anything but stand there and stare.

"I guess.. We try and make first contact?" The creature crouching over the one they called 'Doc' says.

"They seem more interested in running away. Cant really blame them, we must look terrifying."

It was true, most of the other ponies had already vacated the area, but there are a few still stumbling around. Maybe they're still having trouble seeing. You notice quite a few pairs eyes peering out at the scene from the windows of surrounding buildings though.

"Not this one."

You snap your attention back to the creature closest to you, who you think is staring directly at you, but you cant tell with that bizarre helmet it's wearing. You really hope that's a helmet and not its face. It slowly lowers the tube-thing its carrying, letting it hang from its body with a strap. Then it raises its hands in what you assume is supposed to be a placating gesture. The things minotaurs have are called hands, right?

"Hey there. You're a brave one, aren't you?" The things voice takes on a softer tone as it takes a step towards you.

Finally it seems your brain is done being overloaded, and it permits you to feel the oncoming wave of fear wash over you in its full intensity. You find yourself shaking your head rapidly in response to the monsters question. You are definitely not a brave pony. You are just a terrified pony who is too stupid to run when you're supposed to.

One of the other things near the back speaks "Jake, are you sure we shouldn't just-"

"Sshh." the creature who had been coming over to you shushes the other one. Apparently its name is Jake.

"Give yourself some credit," Jake says to you. You think it's a he, it sounds like one. "I probably would have run away screaming if I were in your place." You find yourself trembling as it takes another step towards you, then another.

"N-not from lack of trying." You are surprised to hear your own voice. Talking to this thing was just going to encourage it to come closer. Why cant you move your stupid hooves?!

"It speaks English!?" One of the other monsters exclaims in surprise.

Jake actually chuckles a little, and confirms your worst fears by closing the gap between you entirely. It crouches down in front of you, bringing its head to almost the same level as yours. The most you can do is lean as far away from him as possible, still shaking with terror.

"As you might of heard from my friend Nichael over there, my name is Jake. Jake Armstrong. What's yours?" He says, pointing behind him with one of his hands appendages when he says the name 'Nichael'.

"What are you?" Instead of answering his question, you pose him one. You aren't even entirely aware of what you're doing at this point, it's as if your body is acting on autopilot. The entire situation has started to feel incredibly surreal. Is this even happening? Perhaps it's a dream. It certainly feels like one.

"I could ask you the same thing," he responds. "Though I suppose we are the uninvited guests here. Only polite for me to answer first." He reaches up to the side of his helmet and does something that causes the reflective orange part of his visor to slide up, revealing clear glass underneath.

You cant help but narrow your eyes and peer into the darkness inside his helmet; curiosity getting the better of your fear as you try to get a good look at his features. What you do see surprises you. It isn't the grotesque mottled thing you expected. Instead you see a smooth, hairless, blue eyed face smiling down at you. It's flat, entirely devoid of a muzzle aside from what you think is its nose that juts out slightly from the center of its face. It's overall design strikes you as very outlandish and streamlined. You might even say elegant.

Now that you know what they look like, some of their their names, even their gender, they seem a little more pony-like to you. Maybe they aren't here to harm you at all! You actually find yourself starting to calm down a little.

"I am a human being, and we are a species from another world. We came here through a rift in space as explorers, and we certainly didn't expect to find another sentient species here. I'm very sorry if we've scared you." His tone is soft, and kind. It reminds you of somepony you once knew.

"Mirror" You squeak.

"What?" Jake asks, tilting his head in his helmet.

"Mirror" You repeat, with a little more confidence this time. "M-my name is Mirror. But my friends call me Mira. I'm a unicorn." Then after a seconds pause you add "And this is Equestria."

Jake's smile becomes a grin. "Well, Mira of Equestria. May I take this opportunity to say that it is an absolute pleasure to meet you. And it is my greatest honor to extend to you on behalf of my entire race: Salutations and well wishes from the people of planet Earth!" He extends his hand towards you, still grinning and looking at you expectantly.

So, without having a clue of the meaning of what he just said, you slowly raise your hoof, and make first contact with Equestrias first alien visitor.

The Embassy

"You're sure you won't change your mind?" Sugar asks, for probably the sixth time this morning.

You sigh and roll your eyes as you stop at the apartment's front door, and decide to put an end to whatever chance Sugar thinks she has of convincing you not to go. You turn around and look her straight in the eyes and say: "Yes! I'm sure. Look, I've even got my authorization and passport and everything!" You slip the papers out from one of your saddlebags and wave them in her face for good measure. "Besides, they even specifically requested that I come. It would be rude to refuse." You add, really hoping that would drive the point home. It was the truth after all, this entire first trip to Earth was by invitation only. You often wondered why you had even been invited to come along, you don’t exactly do anything special like the others. Everypony else that you heard had been invited were scientists or otherwise had connections of some sort.

"I just want you to be absolutely positive of your decision," she insists, pushing the levitating papers out of her face. "I can only hold your apartment for a couple of weeks at most before I'll need to rent it out again." She say solemnly, looking down. She seems to be finally losing momentum, and you almost feel a bit guilty; Sugar Lace is the best friend you have in Manehattan. She had treated you like any other tenant at first, but really warmed to you after you brought her to work with you one night. Apparently the only kind of party she had ever been to were those silly high class ones where you drank nothing but tea and had to be all proper the whole time. You were always confused as to what the point of those were, they certainly couldn't be for fun. Over the past few months you had plenty of opportunities to introduce Sugar to a few real parties, and she loved you for it, and you had grown rather fond of her in kind.

"Hey" you take a few steps closer.

She looks up at you, and you can tell her composure is slipping a little.

You give her your best smile. "I'll miss you too."

That's all it takes. Tears well up in her eyes and she abandons any sense of being polite, rushing forward and embracing you in a near spine cracking hug.

"Ooohff" you wheeze as the dainty little mare squeezes the air from your lungs. You pat her on the back affectionately while attempting to get her to loosen her grip.

"Please don't go Mira! It's so BORING around here without you!" she begs, hugging you even tighter. You certainly couldn't deny that, just what exactly DID she used to do for entertainment when you weren't here? Also: Holy smokes earth ponies are strong!

"Sugar... Please," you manage to choke out with your last breath of air; wriggling weakly.

"Oh, right," she says, finally realizing what she's doing. She lets you go with a slight blush; backing away and attempting to brush down her flawless white coat with a hoof while you catch your breath. "Sorry. Got a little caught up in the moment there."

"It's fine," you say with a slight giggle. You always enjoy it when the real Sugar breaks through her thinly maintained shell of manners, even if she does nearly smother you. Her attempts at damage control were pretty cute too, if slightly sad. Hopefully she’ll get rid of her high class veneer someday, it’s pretty obvious to you that she doesn’t enjoy it. Maybe you can be there to help her with that. "Really though Sugar, it isn't as you'll never see me again. I'll be back."

"But you said-" she starts.

You interrupt, raising a hoof "I said I was INVITED to visit indefinitely, not that I would. You didn't think I would just leave everypony behind forever, did you?"

"I-" Sugar works her jaw uselessly for a moment, trying to think of a proper answer.

Chuckling, you decide to save her the embarrassment. "Oh just give me another hug."

You really are going to miss her.

Once you finally disentangle yourself from Sugar and you two say your final goodbyes; you're out on the streets at last. A dangerous and strange place to be, but this time you're ready. This time, you payed the extra five bits. You unfold your map and spread it out in front of you, smiling smugly at the convenient little red dot indicating your position. You mentally plot the course you must take in your head, trying to keep in mind that pretty much anywhere in the city is only a few turns from the main roads. Armed with such knowledge, you set off in a optimistically optimistic mood.

The streets of Manehattan are much more familiar to you now than they were when you first got here a couple months ago, but you're still really bad with remembering the street names. Several times on the way to the embassy you end up having to check your map to keep from getting lost, or to get your bearings again when you are. That's alright though, that's what you bought the map for for after all. All's well that ends well, and eventually you do find the place you’re looking for.

The embassy isn't a particularly impressive structure, but you suppose it it's supposed to be efficient, not aesthetic. It consists of a very large white tent with signs written in black saying ‘HUMAN EMBASSY’ on each side. You think it’s a bit simple, but it certainly serves its purpose considering they set it up in less than a day. You remember somepony telling you that they were going to build a more impressive structure someday though. You hope so. As of now it didn’t strike you as particularly magical as you think it could be. Maybe it'ssupposed to look that way though, since humans cant use magic. They seem to manage alright without it.

You notice a sizable crowd of ponies gathered around the embassy as you approach. Looks like it consists mostly of ponies giving the ones getting ready to head through the portal a nice sendoff. You notice one in particular seems to be having a going away party held in his honor, and nearly a full quarter of the ponies present are in attendance to it. Quite the popular one apparently. You attempt to be inconspicuous and navigate your way through the crowd of spectators, but you find yourself having to squeeze between a few bodies every now and then; much to their displeasure.

"Sorry! Excuse me, sorry!" you say, trying to push your way through to the front of the crowd. You really wish they would have just left a path open for ponies who need to get somewhere. Instead you have to do some ducking and weaving. Just as you think you're clear and start to relax, you stumble over someponys hoof right as you reach the embassy building and go careening forward as you attempt to keep yourself from falling.

"Ohhhnononononono-oof!" you squeal as you try to get all your limbs in their proper place beneath you again. Not being quite fast enough, you instead smash into one of the embassy pole supports and promptly fall over in a sprawl; one of your saddlebags bursting open and scattering its contents everywhere.

"You alright miss?" A feminine voice sounds from someplace near you.

"Ow." You stop your head from spinning and blink a few times; trying to get things back into focus. You can feel a throbbing pain somewhere on your body, but right now you're still not positive which direction is which.

"Miss?" The voice says again. You're keen mind discerns that the sound definitely came from an upwards direction.

You slide your eyes up in an attempt to see who is speaking, and twitch when a large human female wearing a green jumpsuit comes into view. She’s probably one of the security guards if the holster on her hip is anything to go by. Ah jeez you really hope you aren't in trouble. Gotta get those speech centers in gear. "Uh."

"Do you need some help?" She asks, and starts to crouch down.

"No, no I'm okay." You say as you scramble to your hooves at last, still keeping your eyes on her. You can't get over just how big humans are, even crouching down she’s still a full head taller than you.

"Do you want any help with your things?" She persists, gesturing at the scattered papers and personal effects on the ground around you.

"No, I've got that too." You say, funneling a bit of power through your horn. Your things are enveloped by a soft blue glow, and quickly sort themselves together before slipping neatly back into your saddlebag. The human actually looks a little impressed. At least you think that's what that expression means. You’re never really quite sure. They really are very alien looking.

"Well then, if you're sure." She smiles as she stands back up to her full height. "Just keep in mind that using magic is strictly forbidden inside the embassy. Have a nice day!"

You nod emphatically as the dark skinned lady begins heading towards the surrounding crowd of ponies, causing those on the edge of it to instinctively retreat back from her. You can hardly blame them. That woman is huge, and armed. You start to wonder what she's doing, but you're distracted when you notice that your normally vibrant bright blue fur coat has a generous coating of dirt. A groan of despair escapes you as you desperately try to off the offending soil, but to little avail.

"Attention everypony!" An amplified voice breaks through the combined droning chatter of everpony there, causing them to quiet down after a second or two and look for the source of the noise. It’s even enough to break your attention away from the state of your hair.

The same human you saw earlier raises a megaphone to her mouth “Thank you! The portal will be ready in about ten minutes, so anyone who will be making the jump today please finish saying your farewells and head inside the embassy. Have your papers and passport ready, and have a good trip!”

Once you get your papers stamped and your passport checked, you’re herded into a moderately sized orientation room with the rest of the ponies to wait. There’s a lot of nervous murmuring and fake laughter, but eventually everypony scheduled to go to Earth arrives, and a tall lanky looking man with black hair and glasses steps into the place and gestures for quiet.

When he starts speaking, the power and charisma of his voice captures the attention of even the most distractible pony in the room. “Fillies and gentlecolts! Welcome to the human embassy!” he says, positively beaming. Then he pauses and takes another look around the room. “Or perhaps I should say fillies and gentlecolt,” he laughs, prompting a few chuckles from his audience. “You all know why you’re here. Or at least I hope you do. If any of you don’t know why you’re here please let us know now, or else I can imagine these next few minutes will be very confusing for you.”

You can't help but giggle along with a few of the ponies around you. This human was funny! You don't think you’ve ever met a funny human before.

“Off I go again with the jokes. Let me start over,” he says, showing off that infectious smile. “My name is Daniel, and I’m here to tell you a few essential things that you’ll need to know before you head off on your merry way. As I mentioned before, this is the human embassy, and it’s here where you will take your first steps towards visiting the planet Earth. Literally. A few feet from here is a portal that will take you straight there in the blink of an eye!” He places his middle finger against his thumb and quickly draws them apart, producing a loud snap. Your ears swivel in the direction of the sound, and you notice a few others jump slightly in surprise.

“I’m going to take you through what’s going to happen today, step by step. It should help you ease into things a bit more easily, but understand that we can’t predict absolutely everything that will happen. You lot will be the first official visitors from Equestria that we’ve ever had! There are bound to be some surprises in store, I’m just here to try and help make sure most of them are pleasant. Follow me so far? Good.” He turns away from you and picks up a small stack of large papers from a desk.

“Alright, first off is the portal itself.” He holds up a one of the large papers above his head; showing everyone a drawing of what looks like a large thunderbolt, glowing bright blue. You stand up straighter, attempting to see over the heads of ponies in front of you to get a better look.

“You will be going through individually as we call you by name. When we call you, you will proceed to the next room where you will be instructed on how to safely enter the portal.” He gestures to a flap in the tent wall next to him which you presume leads to the portal. “Once you reach the other side, you will each be assigned a guide who will accompany you at all times during your stay on Earth. It’s their job to answer any questions you may have about our world to the best of their ability, within reason. They may refuse to answer anything of a personal nature if they wish.” You breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing that. Maybe you wouldn’t have to ask about where you could buy a map after all. At the same time it might be a little bothersome having somepony following you around all the time. You hope they are at least friendly. Maybe Daniel can be your guide, he seems nice.

“Also be warned that as the first official visitors from another world, the press will definitely want to have a word with you. I hope you’re not camera shy. We can keep them out of the actual portal site, but once outside it is very likely you will be accosted by reporters at some point during your stay. Don’t be alarmed, they are not allowed to physically touch you. You can indulge them if you like, but I wouldn’t recommend it. If they really start to bother you, let your guide know.” You aren’t exactly sure how to feel about that. Were they anything like the Equestrian press? You suppose you could answer a few questions if they were that curious.

“Next, we’re going to talk about cars.” He puts down the portal picture and holds up another one with what looks like some sort of sleek carriage on it. “Now we understand that your society at least understands the concept of combustion based locomotion, but it is VERY common on earth. You will see a lot of these during your stay. Now-” he cuts off as another human approaches him from the side and whispers something. You strain your ears in an attempt to pick up what is being said, but you hear nothing. The whispering going around certainly doesn't help.

“-And I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut this short! The portal is nearly ready, and we have a limited window of opportunity to do this. Looks like calling you all in here with ten minutes to spare was a mistake. Ah well, duly noted.” He shrugs, but continues unabashed. “We’ll remember that for next time. We’re all pioneers here, it’s a learning experience for everyone!” He sets the papers down on the desk behind him and claps his hands together. “Alrighty then, a few quick closing statements and we’ll send you on your way. Don’t walk in front of cars, no flying higher than twenty feet in city limits, please use magic responsibly, and be sure to ask your guides if you have any questions. Now, who’s ready to boldly go where nopony has gone before?”

A resounding cheer rises from everypony in the room when he finishes, and you join them. Even some of the humans start doing that hand clapping thing they do. And why shouldn't they? This is exciting!

The same human that whispered in his ear hands Daniel a clipboard, and he consults it for a moment before calling out: “Mirror!”

The room falls silent as everypony starts looking at each other. All that excitement you had been feeling moments before has suddenly turned to apprehension.

“Mirror!” he calls again. “You’re up first. Come on, don’t be shy.”

You swallow your fears and begin making your way to the front; feeling a bit queasy as everypony stares at you.

“That’s it,” Daniel says encouragingly; glancing back at his clipboard. “Normally we do things alphabetically, but you’re at the top of the list for some reason.” He looks back down at you, smiling broadly. “So Mirror, are you ready to make history?”

You start to feel that sense of adventure bubbling up again. He really does have a reassuring smile, and you do your best to return it, nodding.

“That’s the spirit,” he says, and hands you a small plastic baggie with a pair of what you assume are ear plugs inside. “You’ll need these. Don’t put them on just yet though.”

You look at the baggie, then back at Daniel; cocking your head slightly. You remember the security guard outside saying that magic was strictly prohibited inside the embassy building.

Comprehension shows on his face, and he lifts his head to address the other twenty or so ponies present. “Oh, and and any unicorns are permitted to use magic while here, just this once as a special case. I wouldn’t recommend having any sort of spell active while entering the portal though. No idea how that will turn out.” He turns his attention back to you and points to the door off to his right. “Just head on through there, Johnson will tell you what to do. Go on.”

You nod again and take the little bag; your horn glowing a faint blue as you levitate it alongside you while you push through the tent flap. He did say not to put the earplugs in yet, right? You’re pretty sure he just said that a second ago. The portal room is pretty sparse, containing nothing other than the portal itself surrounded on all sides but one with soundproofing walls. You can hear Daniel talking behind you about assisting anypony who can't put in the ear plugs themselves. You turn you head to look back at him, but the makeshift door flaps shut behind you and cuts off your view.

“Okay, here’s how this is gonna work.” A gravely voice in front of you makes you whip your head around again. A thickly built man wearing a white jumpsuit is standing in a corner of the room, blending in with the white walls of the tent until now. He has extensive facial hair and a pair of ear mufflers around his neck. He points to something on the ground, and your gaze traces a path from his fingertip to a yellow line on the ground. “Stand directly behind this line, and wait for the portal to--not yet; I’m still talking.”

You stop mid step and return your full attention to... What did Daniel call him? Johnson?

“When the portal is ready, it will look like there is a tear in space just floating in mid air,” he continues. “It will glow a bright blue, and there will also be a crackling sound, but the ear plugs we provided you with should block it out. We call it ‘dilating’ when this happens, and it means the portal is ready to pass through. It’s pretty obvious, so don’t worry too much about missing it.”

All of this sounds pretty familiar when you think about it, you remember this stuff happening right before the humans came through the portal for the first time. John probably doesn't know that you were there though. You consider telling him, but you're not sure what that would accomplish.

“Once the portal dilates, all you have to do is close your eyes and walk forward. There will be a bright flash, a loud noise; you’ll feel a bit tingly, and then you’re done. Simple as that,” he finishes, doing a remarkably good job at sounding uninterested. “You got all that? You ready?”

“Yes,” you nod. “I’m ready.” You aren't entirely sure if that’s true, but you get the feeling that it was rhetorical question anyway.

Johnson nods back, and gestures towards the line. “Go on and put your ear plugs in then. Remember to close your eyes, if you don’t you’ll be blinded for a few minutes.”

“I know,” you say, tearing the little baggie open and walking over to the yellow line. You're just able to hear John say “good luck” before everything fades to the white noise of silence when you put in the ear plugs. You're on your own now. No problem. All you have to do is wait for the glow and walk forward right? Nothing to it!

So why do you feel so anxious? For some reason you remember the feeling you used to get when you were a filly waiting outside the principal's office to get scolded. Of all the stressful situations you could have been reminded of, it's that one. Great, now you feel small! You set your face in an expression of what you hope is determination, and stare at the little boxed in area where the rippling space is, just waiting for something to happen. You're going to walk through that portal so hard it isn't even funny.

John said that the ear plugs would block out the crackling noise, but they don't. The portal sparks to life with such vigor and volume you jump what must be at least three feet in the air with a yelp that you very much hope is drowned out. You quickly regain most of your composure, heart pounding in your chest. You can feel your body flood with adrenaline as suddenly everything feels very rushed. Daniel said something about a limited window of opportunity didn’t he? That means you better hurry up! Now or never!

Ignoring the pit in your stomach that feels like you're about to walk off a cliff, you close your eyes and listen to your heartbeat. Just put one hoof in front of the other. Front left, back right, front right, back left, front right, no, front left, back-

BANG! FLASH!

Cold.