It started with a bright light. Could have been Celestia's light shining down on me, it could have been a car's headlights moments before I became a broken, bloody corpse.
I'm not entirely sure which it was.
"You will feel a mild dizziness. Do not worry. It is only momentary."
That voice. It was so familiar. Wait...
"Are you Princess Celestia?"
There were other voices. Other people. Yeah, people. Not ponies. Humans, like me.
I saw them there, a few dozen. Less than a hundred. They were varied, some looking like they were born on the other side of the country, others looking like my next door neighbors. Some looked my age, a few looked younger, and even fewer looked old enough to be my parents. But they weren't what I was staring at.
No, what I was looking at were the Goddesses of the Sun and Moon. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I was gobsmacked. Dumbfounded. Astonished. Astounded.
Of course, I wasn't the only one.
I saw one man raise his hand, as if to touch Celestia's mane, to try and find out if he was dreaming or not. He stopped though and tried to step back, his cheeks red with embarrassment.
Celestia smiled, though, and raised a hoof. The tip of it gently touched the man's hand and he practically jumped back in shock. She was real. Standing, breathing, and talking like a real person.
"Oh my God..."
"Well, not your god, unless you choose it," the white alicorn teased.
Luna was the one who explained the situation to the chosen many. "Be still, young humans. You have been selected for a most daunting task. We have asked you to be representatives for your species."
What?
No, wait, repeat that again. What?!
To say that people were clamoring at such news was an understatement. I heard all sorts of noise. Screams of shock, outrage, joy, and the such.
Luna held up her hoof, and the crowd quieted down. They had seen the show, I assumed, they knew what happened when Luna demanded silence. She looked at all of us, before speaking again. "We are performing a social evaluation. We wish to implant you into our society, and see how you integrate with your fellow ponies."
"O-our fellow ponies?" Someone repeated.
"Yes, you see, one of the requirements is that you must allow yourself to be transformed into one."
More clamoring. More noise. I was speechless, though, my mouth dry, and my throat tight as I tried to think. Turned into ponies? Like that story I read? Was this mandatory?! What would happen if we refused?! Will we be sent to the moon?! Will we be returned home? Can they bring us back home?!
My questions were not the same questions my fellow bronies seemed to have. "Can we choose what kind of pony we turn into?" Celestia and Luna replied by simultaneously nodding their heads. "I want to be a unicorn!"
"A pegasus!"
"Can we become griffons?"
Oh God, what was happening?
"Hey! Wait a minute!" A man shouted above the crowd, and everyone was silent as he spoke. To Celestia and Luna's credit, they didn't flinch as he spoke. Years of political experience will do that to you, I guess... "I have a family back home. I'm not abandoning them so I can be a part of some social experiment."
"We understand that some of you will be reluctant to do this, so we are prepared to teleport any of you whom wish to return home. Of course, we are also willing to discuss the possibilities of adding in other members to this test."
More talking, this time quieter as people discussed what to do. The man who spoke out was moving back down, suddenly seeming very interested in all of this.
But while the others talked about what TO do, I stepped forward. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. With all due respect, I would like it if I could be returned home." I bowed my head down as far forward as I could without tipping over. I tried not to think too hard about the fact that I was speaking to a pair of beings powerful enough to play ping pong with the sun.
When I lifted my head up, I couldn't help but see some confusion. Maybe it was the fact I actually chose not to go, maybe it was the fact I chose not to go so quickly. Either way, they were bedazzled, and accepting.
"Very well. We understand. The idea of leaving one's family for an indefinite duration is most-"
I don't know what made me answer. What I answered with just made me more confused. "I actually don't have any close family." Maybe it was to see the confused faces they made, maybe I wanted to answer the following question, or maybe it was simply me not thinking ahead.
"We see," Celestia nodded, staring at me curiously.
"We are sorry to intrude, but may you please tell us why you do not wish to participate?"
Why?
I don't want to stereotype, but going to Equestria? Becoming a pony? Flying? Casting spells? That was every brony's dream! Well, it was supposed to be.
So why was I against it? Why was I passionate in NOT going? What was holding me back?
I looked down to the ground, avoiding their stare as I tried forming an answer. I thought about every war man had wrought. Every city ever forged. Every footstep. Every push. I was thankful the human mind was so much faster than reality, as I felt like my mind was caught in a trap for several minutes.
I eventually answered. "Because I want to be there when humanity does it."
"Does it?"
"When humanity fulfills its true potential. When we're acting like how we should be." I realized how confusing I was acting and sighed. "I....its complicated," I explained, scratching my head.
"Please. Enlighten us." By the way Celestia spoke, I felt like I could trust her. Something about her motherly, kind tone and her sincere, assuring smile.
Speak with confidence. Don't look like a stuttering manic. "I have faith in people back home, and I want to help those same people. I want to go back home and watch people helping one another. I want to see the leaders of nations shake hands and make peace. I want to be there when we make peace with ourselves."
People and pony alike were staring at me as I spoke. I could feel their eyes burrowing into my skull, and I could just imagine the looks of astonishment, doubt, and maybe even inspiration. All I needed was a ray of sunshine shining down on me to complete the image.
Cue ray of sunshine, thank to Celestia. God damn it.
"Look, I'm not some smug, know-it-all. Least I don't try to be. I have nothing against these people who want to participate, I just want to go home, though. I know I probably won't be the one who makes a difference, but I still want to help. I want to help, so that day of peace and friendship between all forms of man can come just a little bit faster."
"We see. Sister, let us guide this being home, personally."
"Very well. Be quick, sister."
I could now feel several jealous eyes burning into the back of my head as I followed the Princess of the Night to a navy blue portal. I stared at it for a moment, queasy in my stomach, before Luna smiled at me. She walked through it first, gone now, before she popped her head back through the portal to look at me.
"Coming?"
I took in a deep breath and walked forward.
Dizziness again, but this time I was expecting it. I stumbled a bit, but I felt something helping me standing. I looked at Luna to see her smiling face, before she released me from her magic, letting my stand on my own.
We were on my balcony. I was home again. I saw Luna look up to see Earth's moon. What must have been going through her head? Curiosity? Confusion? Longing? It was hard to tell.
"Its quite nice."
"Huh?
"The stars and the moon. They're nice."
"Oh. Yeah. Pretty."
"I wonder who put them up there."
"...Huh?"
"I am the one who arranges the stars in my world. Who controls the stars here?"
I tried to word my answer fairly. "Some say God did. Others say they're just like that naturally."
"Naturally..."
She must have stared at those skies for a whole minute. Now that I think about it, I wish I could have seen Equestria's night sky. It must be beautiful. I wanted to ask, but something tells me making Princess Luna bring me there would have been rude. So instead, I tried showing her another piece of my world.
"Hey, if you like that, you'll love this." I walked over to the edge of my balcony and pointed into the distance. She followed me.
"What is...Oh my."
Stars. Lights. They filled the horizon. But what was truly beautiful about wasn't the fact that they were beautiful, or that they filled her vision. It was their origin.
"When I was a kid, I would stand on my balcony and look into the distance. I saw a sight, very similar to this one. My parents told me those were man-made lights. Not stars. But I believed they were man made stars. To me, they are a testament of humanity's greatness. We can make something that rivals the beauty of the sky. Its hard to tell where our stars begin and the universe's end. Its beautiful."
"Some nights our stars are so bright, everything shrinks from it, and you can't even see the other stars. Other nights, things are so dark, all you can see is the universe's stars. But every now and again, we find harmony with them. A perfect balance..."
"I see. You have such faith in your fellow humans."
"Against my better judgement, yeah, I do. We have such potential! We can be amazing! Spectacular! People tend to forget that we built our cities together, working together. We forget how kind and generous we really are. From the common man to the leaders of nations. Most people in life are good, heck, everyone has their shred of virtue in them. Even the worst of us. I just wish people would remember that. Maybe if they did, and worked together again, we could be something really special..."
"I agree. Though to be perfectly fair..." I looked at Luna as she stared into the sea of stars. "You are rather amazing already."
We stared into the night's sky and stars of man for what felt like all night. Luna left with a whisper, vanishing into darkness. Me? I stayed there for I don't know how much longer. Her words echoed through my head. I eventually did walk back into my home, wondering what I could do to help my fellow man.
As I did, I felt a smile tugged at my lips. Remembering my own words, and the words of the goddess gave me hope. Strength. I looked to the future with determination and hope. I look to it, with pride of who I am, what I am, and what I am a part of.
