//------------------------------//
// Ending A: Seal Away Humanity 
// Story: Lost in Search for You 
// by RunicTreetops 
//------------------------------//

Just as quickly as the chaos began, it all came to a stop.

The humans, nearly all of which had succumbed to their magical madness, froze in place, their bodies slowly unraveling into strings of pure magic. Then, history repeated itself. The strings all flew towards the vault and into the octahedron, filling the space with light. Anon, who held the octahedron, simply watched with a blank expression as his people were sealed away forever within the object he had in his hands. With one final flash of light, it was all over.

Anon closes his eyes. The ringing in his ears slowly fades away, leaving himself, Twilight, and Starlight in a heavy silence.

"Did... did you do it?" Starlight's voice is shaky, nervous, and tired.

Anon glances up at her and nods.

"Nonny..."

Anon says nothing. Instead, he focuses on the octahedron and begins to peer inside. It's as though he's looking through a foggy window. An endless expanse of grass stretches out around him. He focuses on his very consciousness and pulls himself upward, flying into the sky and seeing the landscape for what it is. Sure enough...

This is the world he left behind.

He immediately projects himself into his childhood home. There, in the living room, are his parents. They've returned to their normal selves, but they seem completely confused. If he had to guess, the rest of humanity feels the same. And just like the wizards of old, Anon has an idea.

He closes his eyes, concentrating on what is more of a concept than a physical object. With a flash of light that only he can perceive, the confusion plaguing humanity vanishes. Time itself in the pocket dimension rewinds to before the day's chaos began, leaving humanity in the relative peace they were experiencing prior to Anon's mistake.

He looks at his parents longingly, knowing they cannot see him. Holding back his tears as best he can, he turns away from them. Before he leaves, however, his insatiable curiosity begins to overtake him. He glances down the hall of his humble childhood home. Floating down it, he looks at the final door on the right. The door is closed, but with a sigh, he passes right through it. He winces, seeing exactly what he hoped he wouldn't.

His old bedroom, completely untouched.

...

Back in Equestria, Twilight and Starlight watch as Anon finally pulls himself away from the octahedron.

"Nonny? What happened?"

"I... I made it so that today never happened."

"You did?"

Anon nods.

"Just like the elders. It's better that they don't know about the reality of their situation."

When Anon speaks, his voice seems almost monotone. However, Twilight and Starlight, the two ponies that know him better than anyone in the entire world, see right through him. They share a glance before approaching Anon. He looks at them with confusion before they both embrace him.

And with that, Anon finally breaks down.





The carnage was kept to a minimum. However, there were still losses. The corpses of both ponies and humans alike are found throughout the country, and an eerie, tragic silence fills all of Equestria. Although the death count was only in the double digits, there were still deaths. 

Nearly all of Equestria blamed Anon. His friends, of course, stood up for him. However, what he was NOT expecting was for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to do the same. They sheltered him from the aggravated masses that were furious at the human that brought about the deaths of some of their loved ones. Anon had to spend several months in Canterlot Castle, and the hospitality that the princesses (Celestia especially) provided for him caught him extremely off guard.

"Princess?"

Celestia slides a plate of breakfast to Anon, who looks at her with guilt.

"Hm?"

"Why are you treating me so well? Why the change of heart?"

"...In some ways, you ended up doing exactly what I feared you would." She looks away from Anon, hiding her expression from him. "However, in others, you did the exact opposite. At the end of the day, you're the only one who could have fixed the problem you caused. You're the only one who knows how to do that spell intentionally. And... you chose to do so. You used what little power you had to save my beloved subjects." She turns to face him again, and for the first time in his life, he watches her give him a warm, genuine smile. "And seeing as how this is your home now, you ARE one of those beloved subjects."

Anon looks back at her with a smile of his own.

"...Thank you, Celestia."

As months turned to years, Anon's life took many turns. He and Starlight would go on to get married, and the breakthroughs they would discover in the realm of magic would be monumental in shaping Equestria's future. Twilight doted on him for the rest of his days, his friends would support him whenever and wherever they could, and the public eventually forgave him as he dedicated his life to trying to heal the pain he caused. However, his guilt never left him, and it would eat away at him until the day of his death.

Meanwhile, in an alternate dimension of his own making, two humans live long and prosperous lives, any memory they may have had of their missing, troubled son forever wiped away.