You close the book and carefully set it back on the shelf in its proper place.

When you turn to leave, you notice that a small crowd of nervous mares has gathered, too afraid to enter the bookstore’s Human Romance section as long as you’re there. You attempt to give them a reassuring smile as you make your exit, and the small throng of ponies quietly parts to let you pass.

You step outside the store and into the bright sunlight, pausing to take several deep breaths and watch the clouds as they roll by, high above the Canterlot city streets.

Why did you look inside that book?

Well, it’s because you’re human. That curiosity… that drive to delve into the unknown is in your blood. It’s what prompted brave explorers to set out into the great unknown to find new lands, what drove man to eventually gaze upon the Earth from the moon’s surface, and also what resulted in the untimely demise of the countless many who pushed too far, too fast, too soon…

Yes, you had to do it. You had to know.

And now that you know, you have to live with it.

Forever.

As you make your way back home with eyes that just won’t seem to focus, a single thought echoes in your mind:

I wonder if ponies have invented bleach yet?