The Multiverse in a Nutshell

by Pennington Inkwell

Making Science

Sunset groaned. She did NOT want to wake up, her whole body was tired and sore. She gripped the blankets and pulled them up over her head, trying to block out the light from behind her eyelids. Against her will, however, the gears in her head slowly began to turn.

I woke up on my own... guess that means Penn isn't up yet, right? Or maybe he just let me sleep in?

Sunset's brain shifted gears as she gripped the blankets tighter.

Blankets? Wait, I went to sleep in a sleeping bag!

Sunset's eyes snapped open as she bolted into a sitting position.

She was laying in a narrow pod-shaped bed, in a doorless room with four glass walls. The floor was tiled in two tones of gray, and the room had the most sparse of furnishings: the bed she was laying in, a single toilet, and a small table with a radio and coffee mug sitting on its plain white surface. The glass room was nested inside an even larger room, tiled with the same gray floor, but walls that were a stark white, accented only by black lines separating them into long rectangular panels. Sunset could see a circular door leading out of the larger room, but no way out of her current glass prison.

"Where am I? How did I GET here?" she muttered to herself, throwing off the blankets and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. It was only now that Sunset realized that her clothes had been changed without her knowledge. She was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, the kind of orange that would make Rarity vomit, and her shoes had been replaced by strange white boots.

Did- did someone change my clothes while I was asleep? Sunset felt a wave of fear and disgust at the idea. Before she could carry that line of thought any further, however, a computerized voice came blaring through the room.

Hello, and welcome to the Aperture Science Computer Aided Enrichment Center. We hope that your brief detention in the relaxation vault has been a pleasant one. Your specimen has been processed and we are now ready to begin the test proper. Before we start, however, keep in mind that, although fun and learning are the primary goals of all enrichment center activities, serious injuries may occur. For your own safety and the safety of others, please refrain from-

The voice suddenly became garbled and unintelligible for several seconds, leaving Sunset completely at a loss as to what exactly it was that she was supposed to refrain from to avoid serious injury.

Aperture Science thanks you for your participation in the Perpetual Testing Initiative. The portal will open in three, two, one.

As the countdown finished, one of the walls lit up with orange light and an oval-shaped hole appeared in the wall. As Sunset moved to step through it, however, she noticed movement on the other side. Sunset blinked, realizing that the angle she was seeing on the other side of the portal wasn't possible. She was staring at herself from the side, as if she were standing outside the glass room and staring inside from directly to her right. She turned to look at the place the view had to have come from, only to find a matching portal on the wall outside, showing herself from the perspective of the orange portal directly in front of her.

"No way..." Sunset whispered, turning back to the portal in front of her. She hesitantly reached out her hand, first poking a finger through the place the wall had been, then her whole hand. When she felt no negative effects, she stepped through, finding herself on the outside of the glass room as easily as one would walk through an open door. With a small crackling sound, both portals disappeared, leaving Sunset now standing alone outside her former prison. On the other side of the room, she heard the door slide open.

Sunset considered her options. She and Penn had been separated, clearly, and somehow brought to this place without their knowledge or against their wills. Now, she was alone, and stuck in some kind of testing facility.

A testing facility that had created wormhole technology!

Sunset repressed her gleeful giggle as the possibilities of the technology raced through her mind. This was bad, very bad! Even if they'd managed to create one of the most scientifically complex and exciting technologies in all of science fiction and it was right here for her to examine how they applied it, she still needed to figure out where she was and how to find Penn. Looking up, she noticed what appeared to be a blurry glass window up near the ceiling, showing the silhouette of an office. She walked over, waving her hands to try and grab the attention of whoever was inside.

"Um, excuse me? Hello! There's been some kind of mistake, I'm not supposed to be here!"

There was no response from the window, but Sunset noticed a large security camera on the wall turning to stare at her. Obviously, there was someone on the other side watching her. Sunset changed tactics, trying to make the most of the camera's attention by turning to address it directly.

"I think you have the wrong person, I never signed up for a 'Perpetual Testing Initiative,' or whatever you called it, and I was with a friend before I was brought here!"

The camera didn't react, but the automated voice came playing on the speakers again.

At the completion of the test, all subjects are given cake and returned to their point of origin. Please proceed to the orientation chamber.

Sunset sighed, dropping her arms to her sides. It looked as if she only had two choices: keep arguing with pre-recorded messages or just roll with it and give them what they wanted so she could get out of here.

Well, only one of those options made sense... and had more portals.

Assuring herself that she definitely was NOT doing this just to see more wormholes in action and that she was looking for her friend, Sunset strolled to the next room. The contents of the room consisted of a gigantic red button and a blocky cube sitting on the floor. A dotted line led from the button to the next door, which was locked shut.

Sunset glanced up at the room's security camera, thoroughly disappointed.

"Seriously?"

This test makes use of the Aperture Science Weighted Storage Cube and the 1500 Megawatt Aperture Science Heavy Duty Super Colliding Super But-

Sunset ignored the voice, picking up the cube and placing it on top of the button, which caused the door to slide open.

Your lack of patience and disrespect for proper protocol have resulted in your completion of this testing chamber in record time. Well done.

Sunset spun on her heel, turning back to face the camera again. "Wha- lack of patience? Disrespect for proper protocol? You wanted me to put a block on a button, I've been doing things like this since preschool!"

Your dissatisfaction has been noted on your personnel file, please proceed to the next test, Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset's eyes widened.

"Wait... you know my name?"

There was no response from the robotic voice. Sunset felt a very, very scary thought cross her mind.

"These messages... aren't pre-recorded, are they?"

Please proceed into the chamberlock after completing each test, Sunset Shimmer. This time the voice sounded more forceful, placing extra emphasis on her name.

Sunset slowly stepped through the door, finding herself in a small room with an open elevator. She stepped inside, watching helplessly as the doors slid shut and locked her inside. Without a word, the elevator began to descend of its own accord. Sunset tried to consider her options, but there weren't many.

I hope Penn's having better luck than I am...

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The "tests" didn't get much harder for Sunset as time went on, though new elements were introduced. The portals began to appear more often as a part of the tests, periodically turning on and off to allow Sunset to reach places that had been locked off or kept out of reach, but most of the tests required more boxes and buttons, and that was about it. The only thing keeping Sunset on her toes was the presence of the mysterious voice. Once she'd realized that she was talking to something intelligent, she had tried not to antagonize it. If it was running the security cameras, odds were high that it could also control the testing chambers and the elevator, leaving her quite easily trapped.

Still, she needed answers. She limited herself to one question per testing chamber.

"How did I get here?"

You were selected to participate in the Perpetual Testing Initiative by a complex algorithm involving intelligence ratings, personality evaluation, and how deep of a sleep you were in when your campsite was located.

So, basically, they kidnapped me while I was asleep. Great.

"How do you who I am?"

If you did not want others to know so much about you, perhaps you should not have uploaded all of the most crucial moments of your life to the internet, along with enough material to develop an entire psychological profile.

I guess that means that they've seen those movies Penn was talking about...

"Where's my friend?"

Irrelevant. You should be more worried about your own safety. After all, your complaint regarding the simplicity of the tests has been received and accounted for in the next chamber.

That one sent chills down Sunset's spine as she stepped into the elevator once again. This time, however, after a few seconds of traveling downwards, Sunset felt the compartment jolt as it suddenly changed directions, travelling upwards at a much higher pace than she had been moving down. Sunset gripped the wall, mind full of visions of the elevator malfunctioning and plummeting to the ground, however far down that was. After a few seconds, the elevator came to a screeching halt, nearly throwing her to the ground as the doors opened.

That... was not supposed to happen. There has been a malfunction. Do NOT leave the elevator, I'll run a diagnostic.

Sunset only hesitated for a second before stepping out and into the chamber she'd been accidentally brought to.

There were few barriers or walls to the room, only a deep recession in the floor. Sunset could see some kind of pedestal in the bottom holding an unidentified device. She looked up to the room's security camera, noting that it wasn't pointed at her, for once. The mysterious voice was still occupied. Sunset didn't know what the thing down there was, but she obviously wasn't supposed to have it.

That was more than enough reason for her to want it.

Sunset lowered herself off the edge of the recession, surprised at the ease with which her legs handled the landing before stepping into the center and picking up the device. It looked like some kind of gun, with an oblong white dome on one end and a large cylinder running down the center, ending in three long prongs and an open end to the cylinder. Sunset argued back and forth with herself about the idea of taking a gun, but curiosity won out over distaste in the end. She slipped her hand into the white dome, grasping the handle inside while using her free hand to steady the front of the gun. To her surprise, Sunset felt her thumb settle comfortably on some kind of switch. Instinctively, she flipped the switch upwards. The gun seemed to switch on as both a light on top of the dome and the inside of the cylinder began to glow a familiar shade of blue. Sunset blinked, then tried flipping the switch downwards, only for the lights to turn orange.

Blue and orange.

No way.

Sunset took aim at the wall of the recessed area and pulled the trigger.

Ka-thunk! The gun replied with a satisfying sound as a ball of orange light flew out of the end, racing across the distance between her and the wall. When it finally landed, the light expanded, creating a large orange oval that rippled with strange energy.

No WAY!

Sunset's excitement began to build as she flicked the switch back to blue, taking aim at the wall at the normal floor height and firing again. This time, upon striking the wall, both ovals changed to a pair of connected portals. Sunset immediately raced forward and jumped through the orange portal, emerging outside the hole in the floor and overlooking the pedestal she had just been standing beside.

"NO! WAY!" Sunset cried, unable to contain her glee as she enthusiastically clutched the gun against her chest and hopped up and down in place. "It's a WORMHOLE GUN!"

Alright, I believe I've isolated the cause of the elevator malfunction and- why do you have that? You were explicitly told not to leave the elevator.

Sunset cringed, giving a sheepish shrug to the security camera.

"My curiosity got the better of me?"

There was a brief pause as the voice contemplated her response.

Considering your former disregard for proper protocol and inability to follow SIMPLE instructions, I suppose it would be useless to tell you to return the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device.

Sunset clutched the wormhole gun tighter, unable to contain a small squeak of excitement.

Instead, testing will be ACCELERATED to accommodate your... impertinence.

Sunset felt a small damper come down on her excitement at the ominous warning.

Admittedly, we should have accounted for that, it's right here in your file: "Pathological need for control, specifically MIND control. Resentful of authority figures, mainly princesses. Overinflated sense of relevance in the lives of others as a symptom of overdeveloped ego."

Sunset had to admit, that last one had stung more than she expected it to.

Perhaps I can FIX that... the voice added, a carefree afterthought.

Sunset's eyes widened as a chill fell over her. "What?"

Oh, nothing. Let's continue with the next test, shall we? Please return to the elevator, Sunset Shimmer.

Full of apprehension, Sunset made her way back to the elevator, dragging her feet the whole way. She stopped at the doors to the elevator, considering her options. Even with the wormhole gun in her hands, she had no way out of the chamber, it was all just a single, sealed room. The elevator was her only way in or out. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves, and stepped into the elevator. With a hiss, the doors slid shut behind her and the elevator began to descend deeper into the facility.

After a few seconds, however, it came to a jarring halt again, nearly throwing her off her feet. Sunset grabbed the wall with one hand while her other clutched the gun.

"H-hey! What's going on? I thought you said you fixed the elevator!"

Oh, I did. The elevator is completely under my control.

Sunset's breath caught in her throat.

Fun fact: Did you know that Aperture Science was constructed ten miles beneath the Earth's surface? And that's just upper management, the testing chambers and old infrastructure go on for MILES further beyond that! No one has ever found this facility who wasn't explicitly led here.

Sunset forced out an insincere chuckle.

"That IS a fun-"

In fact, all of our repairs and construction were handled in-house, mostly via robotics. Do you know what that means?

Sunset shook her head.

It means that if, say, an elevator jammed, no one on the surface would be aware for EONS. That elevator would remain locked in position for hundreds of years, possibly long enough for humanity to become a spacefaring race and leave this planet they've been slowly killing. The planet Earth could be completely evacuated of all human life as they spread their terrible influence across the cosmos, and that elevator would STILL be stuck down here... and not a single one of them would ever know. No one would EVER come for that elevator, no matter how much it was theoretically cared about.

Isn't that fun?

With that, the elevator began to move again, delivering Sunset lower into the bowels of the earth.

Food for thought, Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset honestly wished that the voice would STOP feeding her thoughts.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the delay again, everybody! I've been dealing with a lot of personal issues, mostly my depression worsening in the winter months. I'm not certain I can promise regular updates yet, but I'll definitely be getting some work done over Spring Break, and I'm fairly certain my productivity will increase with spring here!

Quick reminder that I have a Ko-fi and that if you're enjoying the story, I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Thanks for reading!
-Pennington Inkwell

Comments

[Zapper Frost]

Making Science

I DID A SCIENCE

At the completion of the test, all subjects are given cake and returned to their point of origin. Please proceed to the orientation chamber.

THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Admittedly, we should have accounted for that, it's right here in your file: "Pathological need for control, specifically MIND control. Resentful of authority figures, mainly princesses. Overinflated sense of relevance in the lives of others as a symptom of overdeveloped ego."

Hey! That is severely outdated data

Food for thought, Sunset Shimmer.

Actually, I think my thoughts are full... hehe

[Boltstrike58]

Sunset versus Glados. That oughta be good.

[MikiStenbeck]

It means that if, say, an elevator jammed, no one on the surface would be aware for EONS. That elevator would remain locked in position for hundreds of years, possibly long enough for humanity to become a spacefaring race and leave this planet they've been slowly killing. The planet Earth could be completely evacuated of all human life as they spread their terrible influence across the cosmos, and that elevator would STILL be stuck down here... and not a single one of them would ever know. No one would EVER come for that elevator, no matter how much it was theoretically cared about.

IE, disobey GlaDOS on that level again and that’ll the last thing you’ll do Simmy,

[Gravity012]

Hmmmmm Glados is cool.

[Stet709]

Great, SunShim's got a lightsaber and a portal gun.