//------------------------------// // Portal to Somewhere // Story: Stuck on Earth // by The Unremarkable Author //------------------------------// There were five ponies in uniform located in the small concrete room. Each pony wore a sleek black vest that had several tools secured to it and black saddlebags of varying sizes. Along the shoulders of the uniform, the ponies names, rank, and blood type were displayed in golden embroidering. Each pony also had some sort of breathing apparatus hanging from their face. The only Earth pony of the group had the largest saddlebags of the whole team. The straps that held the saddlebags on were more padded and much wider than any of the other ponies in the room. He had his saddlebags set on the bench next to him as he read through a book he had brought with him. He had brown eyes, a light brown coat, and an auburn mane. In the corner of the concrete room, there was a unicorn and a Pegasus going through a list of supplies. The unicorn was pushing a brush through its disheveled mane as it spoke to the Pegasus. The Pegasus showed a great deal of indifference and just idly stretched its wings in the small room provided by the government. There was a dark gray Pegasus with a darker gray mane and yellow eyes lying on a bench. He had dark bags under his eyes and a disheveled mane. There was a chess board in front of him and he was resting his head on a foreleg. One unicorn had a red cross displayed on the back of the vest displaying that she was a medic. She had a white coat, a light pink mane, and light blue eyes. She sat alone on one of the benches while she scanned the room with a slight frown. Her gaze landed on Leading Edge, the leader of the team. She pushed herself off of the bench and she walked over to him. "Who's winning?" she asked. "Me." Leading Edge said without looking away from the board. He drew in a deep breath and then let it out. "What's up?" he said. He sat up and brought his gaze to meet Healing Touch's. "What do you think is on the other side of the portal?" she asked, a hint of worry made its way into her words. Leading Edge raised his hoof slightly and let his gaze drift to something distant. A couple of seconds passed before he answered. "I... don't know." he let out a breath he had been holding. "If I had to guess, I'd say a place to call home." Healing Touch was about to reply, but the tinny sound of a mare's voice interrupted her. "The portal will be open in two minutes." the PA speaker sounded. The entire team strapped their saddlebags on and exited the concrete room. The sound of their hooves striking the concrete echoed throughout the facility. The team walked side by side in what would resemble a skirmish line formation if they were in combat. For most school ponies, this formation was the asshole formation because it blocked the entire hallway. Connie stretched her wings and let out a faint groan before speaking. "Sweet Celestia, I thought we'd never leave that cramped room." she turned her head towards Leading Edge. "Do you remember why we were put in there, Lea?" "Of course I do, I was there when they explained it to us." he said, without turning his head. "Wasn't it something about seeing how we interact without any barriers or things to keep us from beating each other into a pulp?" Lea gave Connie a confused look. "Why are you talking to me like I had a stroke?" he paused. "Did I have a stroke?" he asked with a hint of urgency. "Uh, no. I just know you have problems with your memory." she said. A smirk appeared on her face. "Well, that and you're a little dumb." Leading Edge just gave her a look. Years of self deprecating jokes had ended up creating an almost complete inability to care about what others thought of him. Not that he was dumb, far from it actually. He's very educated in several fields. He's just not educated in the fields that Connie was educated in, so she just assumed he was dumb. As the ponies talked, they approached a metal door with a push bar on it. One of the ponies, a Pegasus, held out a foreleg and tried to push it open. It didn't budge. A smirk emerged on Deep Thought's face and stepped up to the door. "Here, let me try." he said, and Connie moved out of the way. He put a hoof against the push bar and pushed. His confident smile falling immediately, replaced with a slight frown and furrowed brow. He muttered something under his breath before re-positioning himself so both of his forelegs were pressed against the bar. His powerful muscles warping under his skin as he pushed hard against the door. Without warning, the door gave, sending Deep Thought falling to the floor. Lea stepped past him and onto the barren land that surrounded the facility. The ground was almost completely brown save for a couple splotches of oranges and reds from leaves that littered the environment. There was a gray haze covering the entire valley that they stood in. Power plants coughed out large smoke plumes of dead grays and unnatural greens into the air, contaminating it. Several ponies walked around the power plant, their faces covered with soot, their brows furrowed, and mouths bent into frowns. A harsh wind kicked sand and soot into the team's eyes, causing them to blink. Lea turned his head back to the building. His eyes fell upon Deep Thought, the door, and then the wall next to it. There was a line of dirt that made its way up the wall. "Well, there's your problem." Leading Edge muttered under his breath. Connie's ears swiveled towards Lea "Sorry?" she said, tilting her head slightly. Leading Edge pointed with a foreleg. "There's a line of sediment along the wall there." he started walking towards it. "I was saying that uh..." he stopped, waving a hoof in a circular motion "It's the reason why it was so difficult to open the door." "Ah okay." she said. A wry smile appeared on her face. "That took you long enough to figure out." Again, Leading Edge gave her a look, but this time with a slight frown. "Uh-huh." he said in a flat tone. Connie gave him a playful bump. "God, you're no fun." she said with a slight laugh. The sound of a crack traversed through the area that the team stood. Shortly afterwards, a slightly distorted mare's voice came from the PA speaker. "One minute before the portal opens, team. Be ready." The entire team was suited up and positioned in a room adjacent to the portal room. The breathing apparatuses were now properly secured to their faces and they were wearing more protective gear. The bulky black armor gave them an intimidating stature. The mask gave the eyes an unnatural and glossy appearance. It certainly didn't help that there were five of them. The room was filled with the sound of electronically processed breathing and the occasional scuffing of hooves against the concrete flooring. Lea was tapping a hoof against the floor, even through the glossy eyes of his mask, his frantic eyes were still very visible. In the corner of the room, another black figure was sitting. They were staring at the floor, tracing a circle with a hoof. Their breathing was slow. Lea's heart was beating in his chest. It acted like a metronome, ticking on and on, rhythmically and without skipping a beat. It exaggerated the situation, causing the time to stretch on into infinity. Tick. Leading Edge looked at the figure in the corner. Even through all of the armor, he could still see them shaking slightly. Tock. Leading Edge looked at a pony sitting on a bench. She had a deep red patch on each shoulder, she was Healing Touch. Tick. Healing Touch had set her saddlebags next to her. Her horn was glowing and several medical items hovered around her. A quill frantically scribbled on a nearby sheet of paper. Tock. Deep Thought was still reading a book. A pop came from a speaker embedded in the cealing. The mare spoke, "The portal is open." All five ponies stood up and made their way to a large door labeled air-lock B. The earbud in Lea's ear made a slight click noise and a second later a voice could be heard. "Sir, are you ready?" Leading Edge looked to his right. Two ponies looked at him and nodded. He looked to his left and they nodded too. "Yes." he stated. There was the sound of several servos and pneumatic pistons and the door opened slowly and before him was a small hallway with an industrial sized door at the end of it. On the door, the words blast door A were written in red paint. The team walked into the hallway. There were two red lights placed on either side of the solid metal door. The walls were built like they were meant to withstand several blasts from an alicorn. Reinforced with concrete, metal, and designed with a curved ceiling, this hallway was no joke. The door closed behind them, sealed, and then fell silent. The air was heavy, still, and thick. The only noise the team could hear was the sound of their own hearts beating heavily. Leading Edge waited for what felt like an eternity before speaking into his radio again. "Uh, is everything alright over there?" A few seconds passed before they received a response. "Everything is fine, sir. We're just completing some last minute checks on the portal." came a low toned voice. "Are there any problems?" Again, a slight delay before the answer. "Standby." There was a soft click and then the muffled sound of moving chunks of steel within the door. One by one, the parts slid into place, the huge metal pins withdrew into the door, and the massive door swung open. The floor was polished and the room smelt of strong chemicals. There was a large window that was about seven centimeters thick to their left. Faceless figures could be seen behind the window, scribbling notes onto their clipboards. All eyes were on the team. To their right, a doorway was opened to display a lush landscape with trees, grass, and water. A gentle breeze came from the portal. The same deep voice piped up. "Being the first ponies to travel to another world, do you wish to say anything before you go?" It paused. "Just in case." "Just in case what?" Lea asked. There was no reply. "Just in case what?" he repeated. "Sir, do you have a speech prepared?" the voice asked. "No, but-" "Good luck." the voice said before the connection severed. Leading Edge let his head fall slightly before taking a breath. Connie tapped him on his side and she gestured towards the portal. Leading Edge turned towards the portal. His heart was beating so hard he believed it would explode if it worked any harder. "Ready?" Connie asked and the team nodded. We began walking towards the portal. The land beyond completely untouched by pony kind. A land of possibilities and experiences. They passed the threshold and they were greeted with a beautiful sight. A sight Princess Celestia had once described to them. No matter where you looked, it was completely untouched land as far as the eye could see. No smoke plumes, no buildings, no ponies, and most importantly, no advertisements. For the first time in the entire team's life, they were completely surrounded by nature. "Oh wow." Connie said. She scanned the environment with the wonder and curiosity that only a child could emulate. Even through her mask, you could see her jaw drop. "Well, uh." Leading started. "Let's go." On the way to their sight, Connie had been practically gushing about every minute detail that surrounded them. She nearly fainted when she saw a flower. It hadn't freaked her out, oh no. She was more surprised it wasn't made of plastic like the ones at home. Lea was looking for a strategical spot to set up camp, somewhere with lots of visibility. He scanned the horizon in front of him. They had donned the wedge formation, they weren't expecting an engagement, but they still used it just in case. They were completely surrounded by lush vegetation. Countless amounts of unknown species of plants surrounded them. A cool breeze pushed through the trees and grass, it carried a distinctive scent. The team stopped almost at once. One of the members looked at the leader. "Lea, is there a problem?" he said before looking around. Leading looked up and saw dark clouds overhead. "It's going to start raining soon. I don't know when, but it's definitely coming." he looked around and then pointed a foreleg at a relatively sheltered area. "There. Let's set up camp there." They marched up towards the area and then fanned out to cover every angle around the camp. Their attention was focused mostly outwards in an effort to spot any threats that might appear. One of them, Fail Safe, retreated into the center of the formation and started casting several spells. Fail Safe and Deep Thought swapped places. Deep Thought removed his saddlebags and took out several large pieces of metal. He set it down and expanded it to its full size, creating a tent. "Tent set." Deep Thought stated. "Are the wards placed?" Leading Edge asked. "Yes." Fail Safe confirmed. "At ease." Lea ordered. A second later, the team moved into the tent. They set down their packs on the tarp that covered the floor of the tent. Fail Safe's horn glowed and a second later his mask was removed. He set the mask down next to his saddlebags. He walked up to Deep Thought, which at this time had also removed his mask. Before long, the entire team had removed their masks and were chatting amongst themselves. Despite the wards being placed around their camp, they still glanced around to scan the environment. After several minutes, the team had some of their equipment deployed. Deep Thought had his mask back on and he was sitting before a table under a smaller tent. A cloak spell and protective shield was placed around him. He was arranging a few petri dishes on the table. By dusk, rain began to fall. A lantern was hanging from some metal supports at the top of the tent, coating it in a warm hue. There was a single table near one side of the tent, a lamp was placed on top of it. Connie and Deep Thought sat together chatting among themselves. "So what do you think?" Deep Thought asked. "Hm?" "What do you think of this world? This place, it's nothing like we've ever seen before." A smile emerged on her face and she bumped him on the shoulder. "Of course it looks different, silly. This is a whole other universe. I'd be more surprised if it did look anything like home." "I can't imagine you being any more surprised than you already are. On the way over here, you looked like a tourist in Canterlot for the first time." he said. "Can you blame me?" Deep Thought let out a little laugh. "No, of course not." He turned his head towards the rest of the team. They were setting up their sleeping bags in a neat row. "We should probably join them." he said before getting up. "We have a long day tomorrow."