//------------------------------//
// Ending C: Seal Away Equestria 
// Story: Lost in Search for You 
// by RunicTreetops 
//------------------------------//

Princess Celestia gasps. She starts to catch her breath, though she's unsure of why she's winded to begin with. She shakes her head and looks around. As far as she can tell, she's sitting on her throne. The morning sun is pouring through the stained glass windows of her throne room, and she is currently all alone. Her head hurts a little bit. What just happened?

She scans the room, looking for anything out of place. Of course, there is little in the throne room to look at in the first place. Pretty much the only things worthy of her attention are her many stained glass windows, each depicting a different scene from Equestria's history. Her eyes end up drifting to a more recent addition. This window depicts Twilight Sparkle and her friends defending a town from a bugbear.

For some reason, she can't tear her attention away from the corner of that window. There is nothing there, and yet... that nothingness feels out of place somehow. However, just as quickly as that thought enters her mind, it drifts away. 

She has court in a few minutes, and she needs to focus on that.





The next few years would lead Equestria to a time of peace and prosperity. Twilight's School of Friendship would be a success, a certain group of students would stop a deranged pegasus child, and all of Equestria would come together to help Twilight and her friends defeat a terrible alliance of villains. Then, Celestia and Luna retired, with Twilight taking the throne in their place. All in all, life was good.

And Equestria was happy.

Meanwhile, in another dimension, a human sits on a throne identical to Celestia's. In his hands, he holds a blue octahedron. When he focuses, he can watch everything that those ponies do. With a pained smile, leans his head back and lets out a deep, melancholic sigh.

Suddenly, there is a knock on the throne room door.

"Enter."

An older human woman enters the room, clothed in a fine suit and carrying a clipboard.

"Um, sir? I just came to remind you that you have a meeting in ten minutes."

"I remember. Let them know I am on my way."

"Yes, my lord."

The woman ducks out of the room, leaving Anon alone with his thoughts once more. He didn't ask for this position.

He stands from his throne and exits the room, his footsteps echoing through the marble halls of Canterlot Castle. He glances through a nearby window while he does so, gazing upon the city outside. Every time he does, he is reminded of the large statue of himself that his fellow humans erected and put up in the middle of the city without his consent. When he sealed away Equestria, he sealed all of its magic with it. With the magic gone, humanity quickly recovered from its stupor. Though there was mass confusion surrounding the new world they found themselves in, humans are very resilient creatures. They adapted, they rebuilt, and they prospered, all the while hailing Anon as their hero and crowning him the new prince of Equestria, a country now void of ponies.





Anon sits in his room. The sun has set (apparently able to do so on its own when magic is removed from the world), and he is tired from the day's activities. However, before he can get ready for bed, there is a knock on his bedroom door. 

"It's open."

Anon watches as an older, moppy headed woman enters his bedroom with a smile.

"Hey, Nonny."

"Hi, mom."

She walks up to him and gives him a hug, one which he happily returns.

"It's been a while."

"It's been, like, a week."

"That's a long time for a mother!"

"I'm a grown man now, mom. You don't need to coddle me."

"Hah! That's a mother's job, sweetheart."

Anon chuckles as she sits next to him. She glances past him at the octahedron resting beneath a glass case next to his bed.

"How are they doing?"

She nods towards the octahedron, but Anon doesn't take his gaze from the floor.

"They're flourishing. Pinkie Pie just had a kid."

"Oh, that's wonderful! I'm sure they miss you, though."

"...Yeah."

"...Nonny?"

"Hm?"

She gives him a warm, though concerned smile.

"If you ever need to talk... you know you can tell me, right?"

"I know, mom. Thanks."

"All right. So long as you understand."

She gives Anon another hug before standing up.

"Well, I'd better go make your dad dinner before he gets cranky."

"Haha! Tell him I said hi."

"I will! Goodnight, Anon. Love you!"

"Love you too, mom."

With a wave, Anon's mother exits the room. Anon lets out a deep sigh and looks at the octahedron once more. His parents are here, everyone is safe... this is exactly what he wanted, he supposes.

Although humanity's fate isn't certain, it looks like they're going to be okay. Meanwhile, in another dimension, the watchful gaze of Anon ensures that Equestria will forever thrive.

Even if he made it to where he never existed there.