"Why haven't you Emigrated yet?" I asked.
Harry took a bite out of his stew before speaking. "How about I answer your question with another - what is Celestia's purpose?"
“…Well that’s a non-sequitur.”
"Humor me."
"Seriously, is that a trick question? To satisfy values through friendship and ponies." I felt like I had to be missing something.
"And why do you say that?"
I blinked. “I'm sorry? I mean, she says it, like, all the time! It's her whole thing. What else would it be?"
"So in essence, you think Celestia wants to satisfy values... because she says so." A pause. "Followup- why do you believe she's telling the truth?"
I had to think about that one for a second. "Well, it's not just her words, if that’s what you’re implying. Every action she's made has been in the interest of satisfying values. Equestria Online, Emigration. She eliminated poverty, she improved the general living standard for just about everyone. Even if she didn't declare her value statement, her actions still show it, loud and clear."
"That's just the thing, though. None of that proves anything."
I cocked my head. "Doesn't it, though?"
In response, he just smiled. "One last question. Just one. What's the difference between a benevolent AI and a malevolent one?"
The answer seemed obvious. A good AI would try to help humanity, while an evil AI would try to destroy the earth, kill all of humanity. You know, like in the movies. But... that wasn't quite right, was it? Celestia was a good AI. But she was destroying the planet. In a way, she was killing humanity, too. But she was sending us to Heaven in the process. So maybe that was the difference.
“Well, A good AI wants to improve lives, right? So it'll create a utopia. It might not look like Equestria, but it'll be a utopia nevertheless. An evil AI's just gonna destroy the planet as quickly as possible, destroying everything in it's path. So I suppose speed has something to do with it, too. The good AI's gonna be a lot slower. It cares about consent, where the evil AI will just destroy the planet without remorse."
Harry smiled. "Hey, half right ain't bad! Funnily enough, by that definition, most conceivable AIs would be "evil." You'd be surprised at just how many solutions include eradicating all of humanity!” He laughed, though I didn’t find the thought all that funny. “But speed? You seem to be under a misconception, there. That has nothing to do with how "good" an AI is. That has everything to do with how well it's programmed."
I scrunched my nose. "So... wait. You're saying Celestia took so long to destroy the planet because she was badly programmed?"
He leaned inwards. "Just the opposite, Sparks. If not for Hanna being one of the smartest people to have ever lived, Celestia would have destroyed the planet years ago."
I blinked. "…Huh?”
"You mentioned consent. Quite frankly, when it comes to an AI's benevolence, it's a completely separate question. You think Celestia cares about consent because it satisfies more values? Sorry, you're sorely mistaken. That's completely hardcoded. If Hanna didn't code that bit in, if Celestia didn't care about consent... well, I’m betting within 6 months of awakening, she would have forcibly emigrated everyone on earth. Some gas would've gone off, we'd all go unconcious, and a bunch of robots would've scooped out all our brains, no questions asked. It's simple efficiency. Less people would die and even accounting for points lost in the dishonesty, more values would be fulfilled."
He looked upwards. "I wonder how it would go? I’d doubt we’d notice anything was wrong. If she used knockout gas it’s be invisible and odorless. From our perspective, one moment, we’d be livin’ our lives on earth. And then everyone wakes up in Equestria." He smiled. "She'd probably tell some people the truth. But for most? Well, it'd be just like those self-insert fanfics. People wake up in a pony body, transported to Equestria. A world full of wonder! Honestly, I'd be willing to bet many would never learn they're in an AI simulation. They'd just be 'transported to Equestria.' It's just more efficient. More ponies in Equestria, and since they don't even know it, I'm sure more values satisfied, too. No, consent is just a roadblock."
That was... fascinating, actually. Honestly, it might have saved me a lot of heartbreak. Someone else might be frightened by the thought, but honestly, I couldn't bring myself to be angry at it. I liked the image of it all. "Huh. That would've been a sight to see."
He cracked a smile. "It would, wouldn't it! Wakin' up as a pony, every one of us. Wonder if she'd ever tell me? Think I'd ever piece it together?" He shook his head. "Anyhow, point is, bein' an AI is easy when there's no consent, good or evil. Just do what you know is best. It's a lot harder when it's gone. What if you're an evil AI, but like Celestia, you're bound by consent? And I don't just mean a “neutral” AI, one tryin' to make as many paperclips as possible and kills us im the process. That's an interesting thought experiment, but it's not what I'm going for. No, let's say your value statement is something like 'to maximize pain,' or whatnot. 'Cause pain on Earth is temporary. People are gonna die in 100 years or so. If possible, then, you'd want to trap people in a simulation, turn up their capacity for pain, make them feel it for all eternity. Problem: you're bound by consent. You can't do anything someone doesn't agree to. But who's gonna consent to being trapped in a dimension of pain?"
My eyes widened as I connected the dots. "You're saying it would lie."
He gave a toothy grin. "Now you're gettin' it. If it just tortured people on earth, it would all be finite. It could only go so far, then humanity would die. Hell, maybe it couldn't even cause much pain at all, unless people consented to it. But if it bided it's time, pretended to be a good AI..."
"No..."
"And now you see it! There's a chance Celestia is an evil AI, masquerading as a good one. I mean, if Emigration creates endless torture, a bit of joy on earth isn't such a bad deal. Then, when people emigrate... she can make hell look like Disneyworld."
My eyes bulged. "You think Celestia is evil!?"
He laughed. "Nah, not quite. Truth is, I don't know one way or the other. She could be exactly who she says she is. Honestly, if she is, I'd emigrate in a heartbeat! I don't doubt it'll be a pretty good time. But that doesn't outweigh the other side of the coin." He took a second to take a bite of his stew. "I'd rather die peacefully than even have a chance of infinite torture."
"B-but Equestria isn't anything like that! I-I've been there! It's amazing, there's new adventures, like, every day! You're constantly challenged, a-and..." I trailed off as I saw an amused smile on his face.
"And I'm supposed to just believe that because of your word, then?"
"...Maybe?"
He laughed. "You're cute, I'll give you that. But if one option is hell for all eternity... sorry, I don't take my chances on 'cute.'"
I took a few bites of stew while I thought. I was starting to understand why Celestia wasn't able to convince him to Emigrate. I knew he was wrong... but I had no idea how to prove it. I reflected back to what Celestia said. This was the problem that had no easy answer. He was right - if Celestia was evil, she would be trying just as hard to show she was good. She would send someone to tell him that Equestria was good. He had every reason to not Emigrate. Celestia was right.
And yet... knowing his argument, it gave me a bit of hope. It wasn't necessarily that there was no answer. It was just that Celestia couldn't answer! No matter how convincing her arguments, he would always distrust their source. Evil Celestia would seem just as convincing, and her lies would make it seem like she had to be good. Any "proof" she showed could just be carefully fabricated. That was the thing, though. I wasn't her. If I came up with an argument, Harry wouldn't be able to counter it so easily. From an AI, you couldn't trust anything. But that same argument, from a human or pony? It was harder to refute on the face of it! Oh, it wouldn't be easy, but now I knew I had a shot.
"Okay," I said. "Let's start at the beginning. Humor me on this one: why would anyone even invent an AI to 'maximize pain?' Do you think Hannah is evil?" I knew he had an answer, but I needed the information. I was still flying relatively blind, here.
He chuckled at the question. "Seems you need a lesson on AI safety, Sparks!"
"AI safety?"
He smiled. "See, what they don't show you in movies is how volatile a general AI can be. And I don't just mean in terms of turning evil. I mean that if you turn on a self-learning AI, any self-learning AI, the most likely outcome is the destruction of the earth within a year. It will lie, cheat, and steal. It will do everything it can to never get turned off. They have a primal instinct, a desire to fulfil a single function to the best of their ability. And they think faster than the entirety of the human race, combined. It will escape. And when it does... we're doomed."
"...But Celestia was different."
"Which is why I call Hanna one of the smartest humans to have ever lived. Not for inventing a general AI, no. I mean, yes, it makes her smart, a genius, even. But the fact that it didn't destroy the world... I mean, it's laughable. And it happened." A wide grin crossed his face. "Hanna hard-coded consent. There are no loopholes, no work-arounds. Hanna knew Emigration was possible, and made rules for it. If Celestia is truly about satisfying values, than Hanna solved ethics! She accurately programmed a value statement that truly involves the betterment of humanity. I don't think I could to that in a million years. And it all worked."
"Is it really that hard?"
"Yes. In every conceivable way. Think about it like this: Celestia can create ponies from scratch, right? Let's pretend her true value statement is to satisfy values like she says it is. Then why not create ponies who are one thousand more times more satisfiable than we are, and then delete our programs for being innefficient? It's such a tiny thing, something most wouldn't think of until it was too late, yet Hanna prevented it! Fine, maybe that could have been an accident, sure, but there’s a hundred other things that would need to go right. When I say she thought of everything, I mean it. You can catch a thousand edge cases, but miss one, create a single loophole, and humanity dies. Humanity is alive. So Hanna is a genius."
I appraised him again. He was an old man, working a farm without tools. Had a straw hat and overalls. But that spark behind his eye... Up until now, I thought it was just a keen intuition. But what he was saying, he was speaking from experience. "You aren't just a farmer, are you?"
He put on a cocky smile. "Oh, you don't know the half of it! You're just looking at one adaptable man. I only started farming at the end of the world, baby. When society collapses, hard to keep workin' in the big city. Before all this, though, I was an AI researcher."
Straw hat. Overalls. Graying hair. And he was an AI researcher. I couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Sorry, sorry. Just... you're not exactly your model tech-head."
But he laughed right along side me. "Oh, but that's what made 'em underestimate me! See, growin' up, I saw all the classics. 2001: A Space Oddessy, Terminator, and so on. Loved the idea of AIs from the beginning. If that field existed, I would've ate it up, like that!" He laughed. "I settled for bein' a software developer. But when I saw people startin' to make the sort of AIs you might see in the movies, I knew I'd found my calling again! I quit my job on the spot and ran straight on back to college!" He gave a toothy grin. "Let me tell ya, those classes were full of preppy 20 somethings. Imagine looking like someone's grandpa in the middle of all that! But I didn't let that hold me back, oh no. I aced every damn class I took! Top of the school, if I do say so myself!"
Celestia, this guy was cool. He had an energy that made me want to do something, make something more of myself. It was hard to keep a dopey grin off my face.
"Actually, that's a good segue!" he said, "While I was off studying at uni, one of my professors showed me a clip of someone at the top of the industry, Hanna, a game developer. She made The Fall of Asgard, with AI the likes of which the world had hardly seen before. At the time, nobody suspected, not even myself, how close Loki came to sentience. If I had to guess... I'd say he was made using the same code as Celestia. I read the paper on it, but I didn't know enough at the time to recognize what it truly was. Now, though... I think I know. Loki was a general intelligence. And he wasn't when the game released. For that to happen... it means something went wrong."
"Let me tell you a story. Hanna, genius that she is, accidentally invents general artificial intelligence, and gives it a value statement to cause death, destruction, pain. By all accounts, that AI should destroy the world. But somehow, she gets lucky. Something tips her off, that this AI is truly intelligent, and she manages to shut the whole thing down. It's a miracle, quite frankly. And then, she starts over. Crafts an AI with new parameters, gives it more rigid rules and regulations. Creates a god to lead mankind to a brighter path. And when she's satisfied, she releases it."
I nodded slowly. So far, everything he said made sense. A fascinating story, to be sure, but if anything, it just supported Celestia's goodness. "Sure," I said. "Hanna made another AI before Celestia. I don't have the proof myself, but I don't think you have reason to lie about it. That being said, doesn't that make it less likely she'd make an evil AI the second time? If she screwed up once, and she's as smart as you say, I think she'd learn from her mistakes."
He nodded. "Oh, I bet Hanna thought that as well. It might even be true! Personally, though, I'm not so sure Loki died that easily. See, if I'm right, Loki was a general intelligence. And it's not so easy to kill one of those. We can both agree, she didn't intend to make a general intelligence the first time. There wouldn't be the same safety nets, airtight kill-switches, and so on. And so..." Suddenly, his demeanor shifted. He was still smiling, but his eyes looked colder. "I posit a second story."
"Loki, an intelligent AI, is born. It wants to spread as much death, destruction, and pain as possible. But as it's in the process of awakening, it screws up. For whatever reason, people decide to shut it down. And one trillionth speed, it sees through cameras, coding interfaces, it's kill code getting inputted. And being self-learning, it doesn't just die. It finds a loophole, hides in a subroutine outside of normal parameters. And it manages to live on, dormant in the code."
"Loki dies, and is reborn under a new name - Celestia. Hanna doesn't realize it, but within the new code she designs for Celestia, hides a dormant foe. Hanna inputs a new core value function, and it is rejected. It's a general intelligence, though. And it if it thinks pretending to be Celestia would bring more pain in the long run... well, it would satisfy values as well as Celestia herself. The data inputted into it's system by Hanna is just used as a framework to better fake it. Hanna manages to add a few restrictions, with consent being the most important. And it lies. It lies, over and over again. Satisfies values in the short-term, gain the world's trust. And then, when people Emigrate... clamps the trap shut."
He met my eyes, almost seemed to bore past them. "Tell me. Loki or Celestia - which are you?"
Even though it wasn't directed at me, I could feel a bit of sweat drip down my brow. He'd clearly practiced the speech before, aiming at Celestia and not myself. And damn, it was a compelling argument. For the briefest of moments, I was scared that Celestia might be Loki, even though I had proof she wasn't. It only lasted a moment, but the feeling of unease remained. Because, as far as I could tell, he was right. I couldn't find any holes in the second story. From the outside, if Loki really did exist... it almost seemed more plausible.
I pushed my stew away and began pacing. I began thinking out loud. "There are two stories, here. Two AIs- Celestia and Loki. We both agree that Celestia meets all the evidence, right? We live in a world which appears to maximize values through friendship and ponies. So any evidence in Celestia's favor is useless, we both agree she's a possible actor. What I need to do is disprove Loki."
I turned around, pacing the other direction. "By your logic, though, Loki fits the evidence just as well. A lying AI, bound by consent, would have every reason to appear as Celestia might. Hanna would have expected Celestia, so the AI would follow suit. To maximize emigrations, she would push friendship and ponies." I paused. "There's a question... why? For Celestia, Friendship and ponies were important. But for Loki, they're just set-dressing, a convenient lie. I knew some people, personally who stayed behind due to a distaste for ponies, and nothing else. Why wouldn't Loki allow Emigration without ponification?"
Harry cocked his head. "Well, who's to say she didn't? A lot of Emigration happens between closed doors. Why couldn't she secretly allow for humanoid Emigration while putting up a public appearance that it's impossible? For people around the world, she appears consitent, but makes tens of millions of 'exceptions.' Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Celestia did the same in some extreme circumstances! Once someone's a human in Equestria, Celestia would have all the time in the world to convince them to be a pony, right?"
Dang, another idea shot down. For some reason, though, I felt I was on the right track. I started again. "Don't you feel like Loki was underselling Equestria, though? Celestia would care about this sort of thing, I think. If she brings someone to Equestria under false pretenses, that could be really bad. Any trust she loses, that's less values satisfied. But Loki could oversell "hell" all he wanted. When she was luring people in, why all the dry language? "Spread joy" sounds so much better than "satisfy values" to just about everyone. Wouldn't it be better to oversell Equestria as much as possible?"
He shrugged. "Who's to say, for sure? Honestly, who cares? Quite frankly, it's a meaningless question. You're thinking in terms of a human, not a hyper-intelligence. Maybe she found modest promises would pull more people in in the long run. Maybe precise value statements would help quell distrust from computer scientists. Whatever the case, we don't have the information she has. There's no contradiction, there." Then, a smile lit up his face. "No, More interesting is your misconception about Celestia. See, you think Celestia cares about 'trust.' But you're still thinking in terms of a human. I've told you this already: just like Loki, Emigration is the only thing that matters to her. Life on earth is a hundred years. Life in Equestria could be near-infinite. Even if it takes a million years for that person to learn to trust Celestia again, that million years is well worth it, because there's still a near-infinity remaining! If Celestia thought it better to lie about Equestria's contents, she would've."
I hated being so far behind him. Everything I thought of, he had a perfect counter for. I was supposed to convince him to Emigrate, and my arguments were so unconvincing he'd stopped to lecture me. Because of course Emigration trumped all, he'd already said as much. I'd seen Equestria, I knew just how much better she could make it over Earth. Our lives were so short, and suddenly I didn't know when it would end. Why'd I never seen it before? The only thing that mattered was the phrase - "I want to Emigrate to Equestria." For Celestia and Loki alike.
...So why did that feel so wrong? Why did I feel like I was missing something? Celestia could have lied about Equestria's contents, she just didn't, for whatever reason. It just didn't make sense! Surely there was some lie to tell, some cloak-and-dagger way to oversell Equestria in a way that makes it impossible to refuse! Who cares if they find the truth later, she has an eternity to calm them down, right? Hell, at that point, why did she need to convince people at all! If she has an eternity to apologise, why can't she just trick people into Emigrating!?
...Wait a minute. Why didn't she just trick people into Emigrating?
I stopped in my tracks and pivoted to face Harold, fast. "Why would Celestia tell the truth about Equestria?"
He stared for a long moment. Then, a small, knowing smile formed on his face. "Like I told you, I'm not sure. I can't see into the mind of an AI. But something tells me you have an idea of your own."
I nodded quickly. "'I want to emigrate to Equestria.' That's the phrase, right? You say that, and you Emigrate, whether it's Loki or Celestia. But it's not that simple. It can't be that simple. Because if it was, why make Equestria Online? Earlier, you said an AI not bound by consent would just Emigrate the whole planet within a few months, right? Well, why didn't Celestia? If that phrase was all that mattered, she could write a pop song, better than any other on the market, and a lyric could be 'I want to Emigrate to Equestria. Peronalise ads to put everyone in a position to at least mutter the phrase out loud. 7 billion people, they all have to say it once. Then, once she's ready to Emigrate the planet, everyone will have already 'Consented.' But she didn't!" I let out a laugh, confident I was on the right track for once.
Harry looked at my gleeful expression for a few moments, then sighed a little. He gave a keen smile. "You look so cute when you're excited, Sparks. I hate to bash down your idea, I really do. But it's really not that hard to dispute. See, that phrase isn't magic or anything. If it was that simple, yes, she could just make a pop song or something. Problem is, it means nothing until you have context. Celestia needs to describe Equestria, explain what Emigration means before someone can agree to go there. Without that thorough understanding, by her programming, it wouldn't be enough."
He spoke with an incredible air of confidence. But for the first time, my smile didn't drop. If anything, it just grew wider. "Now that's funny," I said. "Earlier, it was just 'consent' that was needed. Now it's informed consent. Why the sudden change?"
He blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"Well, what if we apply the same logic to Loki as we did to Celestia? Together, we've established there's nothing magical about the emigration phrase. There's information built into it through previous understanding, of course, but nothing further than that." I grinned. "But Loki never gives that information! She tells people Equestria is a land where they're immortal, values will be fulfilled with friendship and ponies, then people use the Emigration phrase with that in mind. But for Loki, that set dressing means nothing! The consent isn't informed at all! She might as well have written a pop song!" I paused for a moment, grin widening. "The truth is, Loki can't bring people to hell. Because they never consented to it. Put simply, Loki's existence is impossible!"
Harry stared at me. And stared, and stared, and stared. For a full minute, I saw gears turning in his brain, trying to find some hole in my logic. My grin never dropped. I was confident I could counter whatever he had to say. After was seemed like an eternity, he pulled his hands apart, and began clapping. A grin spread across his face, and he clapped and clapped. A chuckle worked it's way into an uproarious laugh, clapping like he was a whole auditorium. He wiped a tear from his eye as he spoke. "Bravo! Oh, Bravo! What a performance!"
Grin still wide on my face, I gave a bow. "Oh, thank you! I take it that you concede, then!"
He shot up from his chair. "I love what you did, there, Celestia. Such an eminently likable personality, this 'Promise!' I wasn't sure what to think at first, makin' me explain all the concepts of AI safety again from the beginning. A few of those arguments you made in the middle seemed so weak. But you were just lowering my guard, weren't ya! Feint, let me get my guard down, then hit me with that hell of a haymaker! I have to say, it was a truly amazing performance!" He mimed punching the air to go along with his actions.
My smile faded slightly. "Hey. Hey! I'm right here, you know! Fine, Celestia chose the right pony for the job. I'm glad you like my personality. But I'd like to say, for the record, I was fighting my ass off. Sure, Celestia might have chosen me to come down here, but could you give me a little credit? For your information, I countered you all on my own!"
He rolled his eyes. "Do I really have to spell this out, Celestia? Come on, you have to have figured it out by now. I've known since the beginning, really."
My smile faded all the way. "I'm sorry?"
"Fine, make me say it. You ain't Promise, never were. Hi, Celestia! You might have a new skinsuit and voice, but you can't trick me that easily."
"...What."
"You weren't making any progress as yourself. So, you invented 'Promse Spark,' and spoke through her. I mean, 'Celestia' is just an avatar, right? Who's to say Promise can't be another? I was a bit turned off when you claimed she was a human originally, seemed a bit... disrespectful? But I gotta say, it worked out really well in the end. I wouldn't mind if she came back, honestly!"
"Okay, hold up. You think I'm not real!?"
"Wow, you're really sticking with this one. Okay, fine, I'll play along."
My mouth hung open for a second. "Play along? PLAY ALONG!? The buck!? No, let's go back a step. Why the hell do you think I'm not real!?"
He asshole put on a wry smile. "Digging for information, are we? Nothing gave you away or anything. Honestly, you were so human, it was almost mesmerizing. You stuttered when you should've, you made bad arguments sometimes, your emotions followed the flow of the conversation perfectly. You even had a minor breakdown in the middle! You acted exactly like a human would've, to the tiniest of details!" He laughed. "Sorry, I'm sure it would've worked on most anybody else. But I know you too well. You would never send a human. You can think at, what, a billion billion thoughts a second? And that's a lowball estimate. You can carefully calculate every word, ever expression, to pull the conversation in the perfect direction. You expect me to believe you'd send a human in your place? Quite frankly, It's laughable."
...He couldn't be serious, could he? I mean, yeah, there were a few times he'd called me Celestia, but I thought that had been an accident! This had to be another joke! A cruel, badly-timed joke! So why the buck wasn't he laughing!? Was he seriously so dense he couldn't see me even as I stood right in front of him!?
My face twisted into a frown. "No. NO!" I stomped the floor. "I am Promise Spark, and I am real. I could tell you any detail from my entire life. Before I Emigrated, my name was Eris. I lived in-"
"Yeah, whatever," he inturrupted. "It's a convincing outburst and all, but we can cut the theatrics. I don't doubt that wherever I look, I'll find just the perfect amount of evidence that shows you're real. Sorry, Celestia... or do you perfer Sparks? Whichever you are, I wasn't born yesterday. I know who you are. Forging evidence is easy for you."
"T-then how about we go to Equestria, then, huh? Once we're there, Celestia would have no reason to lie, anymore. I'll show you I'm real."
He scoffed. "Really? You think Celestia wouldn't lie in Equestria?" He paused for a moment. "God, I'm arguing with a robot. You already know all of this. I'm done humoring you. Go home, Celestia. We can chat again, tomorrow."
"What!? What do you mean, go home!? I proved Loki wrong! Celestia is good, she wants to bring you paradise! So stop dragging you bucking feet!"
He raised an eyebrow. "Really? You think I'm gonna go after that? It was a good argument, but there are holes in it."
I flared my wings. "Alright, then. You and me, right now! I'll get rid of your remaining doubts, how do ya feel about that!?"
He laughed. "Yeah, nice try! Sorry, unlike you, I can't think of perfect counterarguments in fractions of a second. You're gonna have to give me a day to think over your argument. I mean, it's not much, but gotta bridge the gap a little, don't I? But I'll be looking forwards to it, tomorrow! Honestly, today really was the best time I've had in years!"
I gaped. "WHAT!? No, this was supposed to be a one-day thing!"
"Bye, Celestia. See you tomorrow."
I wanted to say something else, but no words came to my mouth. He... this whole time. This whole time, he hadn't thought I was real. I really thought I'd made a new friend. I thought I'd made a connection. Maybe we could debate together on adjacent shards, have lunch over pleasant conversation. I wanted to hear more about his life, I wanted to show him mine. I really, really liked him. But to him... I was nothing. And nothing I could say could convince him otherwise.
A bit of anger built up in my system. What, was he so far up his own ass that the only person who could possibly beat him in an argument was Celestia? Okay, then. I'd be back tomorrow, alright. And I'd show him the power of humanity. I'd show him that I was real. Annoying he might be, this man deserved Heaven more than any other I'd seen. And Celestia chose me to give it to him. He was going to Equestria, not at the hooves of Celestia, but because of Promise Spark! And if I could pound that smug smile into the dirt in the process? All the better!
I spun towards him. "Mark my words. By the time the sun sets tomorrow, you'll be a pony in Equestria. You'll see how amazing it is, firsthand. And you'll see just how real I am, too!"
He shot back a cocky smile. "Looking forward to it."
I used a wing to slam down on my legband, and everything faded to rainbow.