In 1927, a man named Philo Farnsworth invented the first working television. This provided a brand new medium for creators to share their stories with a much wider audience than before. What Farnsworth did not know was the Many Worlds Interpretation. This theory, first posed by Bryce DeWitt in 1957, is a staple of quantum mechanics. It argues that for every choice made, another universe is created which the alternative choice is created.

Now, this can range from extremely trivial decisions, such as a new reality coming into existence by eating oatmeal instead of toast for breakfast, but it can also lead to questions such as: "what would happen if the Axis Powers won World War 2?". Back to Farnsworth for a moment. His invention of the television made it possible for creative minds across the world to broadcast, distribute, and create content on a scale never before imagined in human history. When the Many Worlds Interpretation is applied to the concept of television, entire worlds are created with each program. Each universe is chock full of fantastical creatures, characters, events, and abilities.

There are many scenarios in recent memory of determined individuals desperate to either enter these other universes or bring back objects or people from them. Some of these instances have not ended quite well for anyone involved, and led to cataclysms of preposterous size. Thankfully, this tale will focus on a more lighthearted and wholesome example of successful quantum transfer. There are many different examples that I could choose from, but it is best if I pick the easiest to explain.

In 2010, a woman named Lauren Faust rebooted a popular toy franchise for television audiences: "My Little Pony" entered its fourth generation with much critical success. Many toys were sold around the world, and people everywhere were amused and pleased with this new program. Little did Faust know that her rebooting of a franchise would change the lives of one little boy, for better and for worse.

NEW YORK, NY, JULY 1ST, 2011, 11:30PM EST

It was a regular day for Jason Cooper. He just finished 7th grade, and was in his room on his laptop when he was supposed to be sleeping. You see, Jason had a guilty pleasure. When his younger, 5 year old sister Sophie made him watch an episode of "My Little Pony", he instantly fell in love with the franchise. He was obsessed with the worldbuilding, deeper undertones, and "cute" aspect of the show. His sister didn't know he liked it, and he kept this little secret to himself.

Jason was rather active on internet forums dedicated to the show, such as "Equestria Daily", and always made sure to get emailed when the latest episode premiered. Some of the fans on the site were more fanatic than he was, as he considered himself a "casual fan". He never cosplayed or wrote crazy fanfictions like some of his online friends, but always kept one ear open to hear what his peers had to say. Tonight, things were about to get rather strange. An internet user named "ServantOfLuna444" claimed to have successfully made contact with Equestria:

"OMG guys I was in a physics class in uni and they were talking about the many worlds theory. They said that every choice is a world, so that means Equestria is real, and ponies are real. My dad works at the particle accelerator and I got to go in today. With the right frequencies and atomic collisions, I was able to bring Princess Luna to Earth."

He then attached what appeared to be a crudely photoshopped image of Princess Luna standing next to him in his bedroom (which looked like a decrepit mess), along with an order link for an "Equestrian Being Summoner" priced at 99.99.

Jason initially saw this and laughed. "Why would anyone take this seriously. I mean this is as real as a Nigerian Prince wiring you money." He said to himself. The other commenters tended to agree with him, claiming that this was just a stupid self-insert fanfic posted under general. They laughed it off, too. Even though Jason was a smart kid, there was a certain sense of curiosity regarding this story. "Maybe the Many Worlds Theory is true, and the picture isn't photoshopped? Only one way to find out!" Jason said as he clicked the "order" button. Jason just got a debit card for his 12th birthday, and had a bit of allowance money saved up. He wondered how long it would take for this "summoner" to arrive, and whether it really works.

24 HOURS LATER

Good thing Jason clicked on "1 day delivery". The package came home the same day both of his parents went on a business trip, leaving him home alone with Sophie. He let his sister stay up late, watching TV, but after she went to bed, he wanted to check the forums again to see what his online friends thought of this bizarre post from yesterday. As he logged back on to "Equestria Daily", what he saw surprised him. There were three other posts claiming the exact same thing as "ServantOfLuna444", with pictures to boot! One was a picture of Fluttershy, another was Twilight Sparkle, and the last one was Applejack. All of these photos looked too real to be photoshopped, but technology was getting good anyways, so it could be fake, right?

"These internet forum people must be crazy!" Jason said to himself as he opened the package, which was no bigger than a large school textbook. Attached was a paper with instructions:

"To whoever receives this package. Congratulations! You have come across a landmark scientific breakthrough that will be heard about for generations. The device enclosed allows for a special kind of quantum tunneling to either travel to, or bring back entities from other universes. Countless scientific studies will be done with this device, but first, why not have a little fun with it? Some of my other customers have used this device to train with legendary warriors from "Dragon Ball Z", learn the force from Jedi in "Star Wars", and even meet real dinosaurs from "Jurassic Park." With quantum tunneling, any decision you make can become real, and all is possible. This device is preprogrammed for quantum tunneling at Equestrian frequencies. To use this device, place face down on the floor and type in where, or who you want to see on the console. The machine will do the rest. Please direct message "ServantOfLuna444'' for further information on quantum tunneling. Happy universe hopping!"

"Okay, this shit is crazy right now. Could I actually meet a pony? What is real any more?" Jason asks himself as he follows the instructions to the letter. He opens the box, and sees that the device looks like an old ASCII computer, complete with an 80's style keyboard. Jason had seen some vintage tech before, but nothing like this. It lit up with the following:

"UNIVERSE SET: EQUESTRIA: TRAVEL OR RETRIEVE?"

Jason typed in carefully "retrieve". The machine then prompted: "RETRIEVE CONFIRMED. RETRIEVE ITEM OR PONY?"

"Item? I wonder what that would do? Bring back magical artifacts." Jason thought to himself. He decided that he would try the item option another day, as he typed in "PONY". The machine then spit out another prompt. "TYPE WHO YOU WOULD LIKE TO MEET"

Jason needed to take a minute to think about this. Maybe he wouldn't be able to do this a second time. If this was his only shot, who would he want to hang out with? Does Equestria regenerate ponies after leaving to prevent a paradox? Could he summon ANY pony, or just regular ponies. If he summoned a pegasus, would they agree to go flying? Probably not.

"Ah screw it. I have guts, I will go with Rainbow Dash." He exclaimed as he typed "RAINBOW DASH" into the console. There was one final prompt that he had to answer.

"RAINBOW DASH SELECTED. FINAL SELECTION CANNOT BE UNDONE. CONFIRM QUANTUM TUNNELING Y/N"

Jason typed Y, and then enter.

For a few moments, nothing happened. "Goddammit, I knew this was a scam. I wasted a hundred dollars on this thing. What is this, some kind of a fucking joke?" Jason said to himself as the machine just sat there, doing nothing.

And then it happened: The machine started running lines of code, and then the lights began to flicker. This happened for around five minutes. After five minutes, the tiny electrodes on top of the console began to spark up with static electricity.

"Okay, I take back what I said. This might actually do something." Jason comments in awe, while watching the machine do its thing. The four electrodes each sent a spark of energy towards a central point above the console, which all combined into a ball. This ball, while tiny, grew exponentially in size, until it was as big as him. Oddly enough, it didn't make any noise, which was helpful since he didn't want his sister to wake up. After five more minutes, a figure began to walk out of this makeshift portal. It was taller than him, on four legs, and had wings. As it walked closer towards Jason's room, he was able to see who it was. It was Rainbow Dash. She jumped out of the portal, which promptly closed behind her.

"Hey there, do you know where I am? My name is Rainbow Dash, nice to meet you!

Jason wanted to scream like a little girl. It was Rainbow Dash in the flesh. She looked exactly the same as she did on TV, and even bigger in person.

"I am Jason, and we have a lot of catching up to do."