Be the Change You Want to See in the World (Part 8)

	What is it like to be a pony? It’s difficult for you to explain, but if you were to do so with one word it would be comfortable. Your fur seemed to cushion everything, like you were wearing a soft sweater that was formed to your body. Not a single part of skin was exposed. You were soft and comfortable all over. If you hadn’t known a life before this, being a pony would be incredibly perfect. Then again, if you hadn’t known life as a human, maybe being a pony wouldn’t seem so special.

	You watched the horrors below you. The ponies were being consumed by whatever it was sweeping over their land. They were falling in crowds at a time, thousands of ponies dying below you. As the evil forces surged through stallions, mares, and foals, their forces seemed to multiply. The ponies were losing.

	“At first, our magic and our courage seemed like it might prevail,” Luna said.

	At this point is isn’t quite clear if the ponies are losing, or had already lost. There were flashes of fire through the clouds of grime, but there was no clear organized resistance remaining. The evil swarming the land was indiscriminate, taking over even the most rural of areas.

	“But we waited too long to see the threat and fight back. Our enemies had spread too far and too wide.”

	There is no doubt in your mind now. The ponies will lose. They will all die. What was it Luna said? We all died? These are clearly ponies dying, you were turned into a pony, and don’t remember any of this. If you became one to magically repopulate Equestria, who cast the spell? And why were the horrors you were observing gone?

	“Our enemies fed on the destruction of our lives. They were unique, they used our very strength against us.”

	What you saw next was incredibly disturbing. A white unicorn mare with a blue mane was entangled in the mass of evil. It was Vinyl. You. There was no escape. You saw Vinyl struggling, clinging onto any chance to extend her life longer. Eventually, she runs out of strength, and is literally torn in half by her adversaries. The pain she feels, you feel.

	Your vision flashes, and you see hundreds of royal guards, led by the six ponies you saw your first day in this world. They were all wearing golden necklaces, with gems embedded that matched their cutie marks, except for Twilight, who was wearing a massive crown. The huge army charges for the oncoming hostility.

	“Many of us were wise, intelligent, and noble ponies. With principles of peace and justice, we bravely faced our adversary.”
	There was nothing to be seen but war. It filled your entire vision. If you didn’t see your body die, and weren’t witnessing a two way genocide, you would say the battle was pretty badass. Evil was crushed, and good was extinguished. It was intense. There is no real way to picture it without seeing it. The battle was a spiderweb of conflict, each connection in the web a combatant, and each strand the line of combat. If this battle was a web, it was a massive web. At first it was going well for the ponies, but soon they became horrifically overwhelmed. Your vision flashes, and you see a guard’s helmet lying in mud.

	“Realizing defeat was inevitable, my sister and I made the ultimate decision. There is a failsafe spell, never before performed, and with good reason. It is a spell designed to never be used. It would destroy everything.”

	Your vision flashed. Celestia, Luna, and many other ponies whose names were unknown to you were all crowded around a table in dim lighting. You assume it’s some sort of bunker or safe room.

	“Ironically, we did this to preserve life and keep our universe going. If we didn’t do this, our adversaries wouldn’t stop. They would have spread anywhere.”

	You see every unicorn horn you see glow. Every single horn connects with beams of light. Eventually, your vision goes white as you are near blinded by the sheer magic coating every molecule.

	When your vision returns, everything is gone. No ponies, no animals, and most importantly, none of the horrors that you witnessed.

	“Atoms were scattered. They were the only remains of sentient life. The spell sent them away into a form of storage. In the meantime, these atoms formed another universe in this storage. This was the human universe.”

	As if it is in fast forward, you witness everything, the “beginning” of the universe, the formation of the Earth, the first signs of life, evolution of humans, cavemen, discovery of fire, creation of early religions, Thermopylae, the Roman Empire, Vikings, middle ages, the British Empire, World Wars, 9/11.

	“Eventually, the pony universe needed their remains back. Slowly, every part of intelligent life reformed. The human universe, however, created incredibly strong souls. These souls stuck with many of the particles that remade life here in Equestria. That is why you still have your human memories.”

	Your vision changes, and you are back in the forest.

	“As you can see, pony, tearing you away from a human life wasn’t our choice, or anypony’s for that matter. We weren’t even supposed to exist as human, and we aren’t supposed to exist as ponies now. It is our job to carry on their legacy, because we are literally our predecessors on a molecular level.”

	You fall to your haunches in shock. The whole idea was so overwhelming, you almost wish you didn’t know the reason you became a pony. It takes a few minutes, but you pick your jaw off the floor and gather the courage to ask Luna more questions, as much as you know you’ll regret it.

	“Princess Luna, how do you and Celestia remember all this if you were former humans?” you ask, remembering how you know nearly nothing about your talent, let alone pony history.

	“An excellent question, my subject,” she says, “the failsafe spell had the ability to  immediately retain the memories of two ponies, without any need for reminding or memory jogging. It was unanimously decided that my sister and I needed the spell the most.”

	You look down at your hooves.

	“Does this mean the original Vinyl isn’t returning to take this body? Will I never be human again?”

	“I’m afraid that is correct,” Luna said.

	“What about the Spike and Spines dilemma?” you ask.

	“Twilight Sparkle has informed me of the issue. It seems the spell needed to be modified for Dragons. There must have been some sort of problem configuring it to accommodate a Dragon so heavily influenced by pony lifestyles.”

	Luna looked behind her, as though something caught her attention.

	“Now I must go, for morning is approaching. Subject, before I leave I must tell you Vinyl’s memories will eventually accompany yours when something triggers them. You will still remember your human life, but also your pony life as well.”

	Everything turns black as Luna disappears.

	At least you didn’t need to go to Canterlot for answers now...