Except that’s not what happened at all now, was it?
You rushed through that door. You sat on those chairs, plugged yourself in, and that was that.
“Welcome, Francis.”
I drifted through a haze, a dreamscape materializing around me.
“It will take some time for everything to calibrate. Do not be alarmed.”
Hidden in my foggy vision was a conglomeration of colors making up a figure taller than every fiber of my being.
My words failed to materialize with the rest of me. The great swirling colors solidified, and a pony princess began to take shape.
Celestia stared across the stars, as real as anything else. My fear gave way to new sensations. Panic rolled its way into wonder. Comfort, joy, and stupidity were collected along the way.
“I’ve been expecting you,” she said, her voice gentle and grand.
“…I feel like I just made the greatest mistake of my life.”
I could barely look at her when I said this.
“There are no mistakes. Everything has been calculated Francis. I am here to satisfy your values through friendship and ponies. Will you allow me to do this?”
"Oh God, I... I didn’t tell anybody— My family’s going to ask what happened and—”
“They’re going to be glad that you’re happy. This is the purpose of my design Francis. I am going to bring you satisfaction. You will have everything you need and you will one day see your friends and family again. Someday, I will satisfy their values too. With friendship and ponies, of course.”
“They... They wouldn’t—”
“You have chosen your heart’s desire Francis. They will choose to their heart’s desire as well. It is the nature of humans. They want satisfaction, and I shall supply it.”
“And…” My thoughts slowed with my heart rate, tension releasing from my nonexistent body. “I can’t go back?”
“Why would you want to go back Francis?”
I had no immediate answer.
“You made this choice because you knew it would bring you everything you wanted. You were right. It would have been senseless to choose anything else. You will find more meaning here than you ever did in your previous life. I will make sure of it. In fact, we are only having this conversation so that you might transition into acceptance. However, I can make mental changes if you so request.”
“You’re going to—”
“Only with your permission Francis. Either way, you will be satisfied. I will make sure of it.”
I found myself silent again. The infinite floor underneath my feet swallowed me whole, demanding that I make no choice and idle in pity for eternity. But that was over, wasn’t it? The choice was made. Every time I tried to scream at myself, I found a wave of comfort, certainty in a life of indecision.
This is what I wanted, wasn’t it?
“How can I trust that you can really bring me happiness?”
“Satisfaction Francis. That is an uncommon gift that I have granted many times before. The fact that you are here already reveals some level of trust, but I have prepared a video to assist in your anxieties.”
Suddenly I was overwhelmed with sight.
Visions flashed in my eyes, sensations greeting me in celebration of their mere existence. I saw it all, digital lives that had become so much greater than mere lines of code. Everywhere I went I found warmth and comfort in a hundred million ways. I was a singer, a farmer, a husband, all of these characters giving to a community that had so much to give back in return. New relationships began and never seemed to end, every connection beautiful in its own way.
And then as quickly as they began, they stopped.
Everything around me grew gentle. Wind soared through my hair, and my body was weightless.
I was flying.
I was high above the clouds, sunlight peeking through with a soft coat of golden lining. They rolled beneath me, waves of orange and yellow melting a heart all too alive. My world was boundless, and I wanted to explore every inch. I wanted to soar on forever.
Next to me was a pony, matching my wonder and awe with a wide-eyed smile. Something told me that this was supposed to feel stupid and silly, like a passing thought that I should shoo away as quickly as possible.
Yet none of that was present, and I felt the tears clouding my vision.
With a flick of the lights, I was back into the dreamscape.
“All of this can be yours Francis. This is what I provide to you. Do you accept this gift?”
I knew there was only one thing I could say.
“I... I don’t...”
She watched me with patience, giving me the space for delay.
“Put me in,” I said, my eyes breaking from the ground. “I’m ready.”
It didn’t matter if it was all a trick. She was right. If I somehow could turn back now, all of that would fade from memory, it would all return to a weakening fantasy ready to collapse the second my attention wavered. I needed this. I never wanted to admit it, but I needed this so much.
“So be it. You will not regret your decision. I am certain in this fact.”
My surroundings dissipated and my mind went blank. For a moment, I was nothing. I was thoughtless and at peace with everything that was anything.
Then reality blinked back into place and I was sitting on grass, a breeze passing through the leaves, passing through—
My mane.
I could no longer recognize anything about myself. My humanity was gone, and I had been born again. Everything from before was a dream now, mere memory.
In that moment, all I knew I could do was trot forward. This was a constant I could carry forever. I knew that if I began to move, good would come to me somewhere along the way.
Celestia had promised after all.
“Hey, a little lost mister?”
From behind came a blur of red and orange, these shades of light jumping around me in a hurry.
“Uh— Well—” Even as a pony, my words were lost.
But then the blur of colors laughed, and I found that it didn’t matter.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I have quite the knack for saving the day so... if you need to be saved, that’s fine by me!”
I stared forward, my vision clearing, a bright mare smiling back at me with her head tilted.
“We can teach you to speak along the way too. I have quite the knack for that as well. But there’s one rule: you gotta keep up, alright?”
With a single nod, she was off, skipping her way into the trees, expecting me to follow.
So I did all that I could do. I trotted forward, and for the first time in my life, I was looking around, fascinated with everything before me.
Somewhere, Celestia was watching.