Chapter 8
The air in the elevator tube smelled different as we descended—metallic, with a tang of matches. I remembered Jesse mentioning how I’d damaged part of the air filtration system, so since I could still breathe, I didn’t say anything about it.
We rode the elevator in silence, which was basically a tradition for us. It took nearly a minute, but I also realized the music was gone. Unlike the new smell in the air, I didn’t have any idea why the music had stopped; with a sad frown, I realized I missed it.
When the elevator disc reached the bottom of the trip, I looked out through the glass. Jesse’s home looked alive. I did a double take as the doors opened to let us off; what I’d first thought were white birds and animals were actually rounded, metallic things that moved around on their own volition. I watched several of them pass through the intersection in front of us. There wasn’t a swarm of them, but there were enough to make me point and ask, “What are those?”
“Maintenance robots. With their aid, I’ll have this facility fully powered and under my complete control by the end of this week.”
We stepped off the elevator, and one of the so-called robots flew over to us. It was disc-shaped with what looked like a camera lens on the front. It stopped, and a grid of green squares flashed onto the floor.
The squares turned red, and the robot began emitting a high-pitched shriek; next to me, Jesse rapidly began dialing into the array of light buttons on his forearm.
As suddenly as it began, the robot’s alarm ended, and it flew away. I cocked my head up to Jesse, and he shrugged down at me. “Robotic sentry. I re-added your photometrics into the system, so you shouldn’t trigger any more alarms, barring another chemical weapon attack.”
He said it bluntly, almost amusedly; I bared my teeth in a not-that-apologetic smile. “I only—”
“You were scared, I understand. And I will work to ensure that you don’t end up in that same mindset in the future.”
That was as close to apologizing as the two of us were going to get, I realized, so I nodded. He returned the nod, and we started walking forward into the facility.
After two turns, I could already tell Jesse was taking me someplace new. Even after his half-apology, I reversed intersections and added them to an ever-growing list of directions to get out. Fool me twice…
I also quickly learned to stick to the middle of the hallways. Robots whizzed by at a startling pace; I didn’t know how heavy they were, but I didn’t want to get hit by one to find out. They might defend themselves.
In the dead silence that was only intermittently broken up by a metallic entity rushing past, I noticed that Jesse’s armor made little hissing noises every time he took a step. “Is there… air in your armor?”
“There’s pneumatic and mechanical components that help the suit itself move. It weighs close to two hundred kilograms on its own.” He chuckled. “I’m surprised you can hear it, though.”
“It’s so quiet down here, how couldn’t I?”
“If that’s your way of saying you want to talk about something…”
“I…” I shook my head. “So, where does your plan go from here? An army of robots, some sort of air-powered armor, and you say you’ve got to find three more fragments, right?”
“I am not bringing a sword to our civilization, but peace.”
I turned to stare flatly at him. “Okay, so not a sword. What about some other crazy weapon?”
He only smiled. “I would rather wait until the end of my demonstration and hearing if you wish to help me before I tell you about any sensitive tactical information.”
“If you’re going to kill any Equestrians...”
“No one will die.” He turned to me and gave me a sad, strained smile. “Some may be incapacitated, but only in as humane and painless a manner as non-wartime policies dictate.”
“Wha…” I shook my head. “Non-wartime policies? Whose non-wartime policies?”
Jesse looked down at his armor, and then back to me. “I don’t suppose it would help my terms with you if I mentioned how relatively few times, during its final millennium, that humanity waged war against itself? Standing militaries were practically abolished, in favor of smaller, de-centralized police forces. Security officers, to stop the rogue individuals who carried a brand of anti-social craziness that even genetic screening couldn’t outright end.”
I digested all that information, and I didn’t notice I’d veered to the right until a robot nearly barreled into me. After regaining my balance, I noted, “That sounds a lot like eugenics.”
“It was, but it wasn’t mandated—it was merely a freely available source of information that could improve the longevity and quality of life for a child. One has to question the ethics in a situation where a mother refuses medical aid for her diseased child.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. But ‘curing the sick’ sounds like a scary ideology to rally under.”
“How so?”
“It’s one of those political tautologies that you can’t really refute—curing the sick is good, compared to the alternative. But it’s so open for interpretation that it can easily be used by whoever’s in charge, so they can define ‘sick’ and ‘cure’ to whatever they want.”
Jesse grunted in agreement. “And you take issue with my definitions of the terms?”
“Maybe.” I shrugged again. “Though I’m not too fond of ‘incapacitated’, either.”
“You said you don’t want anyone killed…”
“Don’t twist my words.” I stopped walking forward and rounded on Jesse. “I don’t want fighting, or killing, or choking anyone…”
Jesse also stopped, crossed his arms, and answered plainly: “That isn’t part of my plan.”
“What is?”
He started walking again. “We’re almost to the medical bay, where you’ll be able to make your decision. From there, you may find out.”
I huffed a little at his aversion, but I wasn’t annoyed enough to let my curiosity die. Even if it had been a lot to take in, the memory of that human hand—my hand—still burned fresh in my mind. After Tuesday, I’d come to the conclusion that human brains were as smart as ponies’—since they were the same thing, give or take some magic—so I’d still be me, just taller and less furry.
I still wanted to know what being human would entail.
We entered a doorway, and gut-wrenching excitement churned in me. Despite the ethics—which I still wasn’t sure on—this was a monumental occasion. It’d answer my questions, let me understand what I was signing myself and others up for, and it’d either substantiate or alleviate my doubts in Jesse’s plan.
I didn’t know which of those I wanted.
The room Jesse led me into was similar to the room he’d done his procedure in last week, only this one seemed more organized and—ironically, given how utilitarian everything was—comfortable. I recognized a bed against one wall, the shelves were filled with medical-looking containers, and at the other end of the room, a giant glass cylinder made me think of a fancy hotel’s shower.
Jesse pointed at the shower thing. “Well… there it is.”
Learning its function gave me a notable apprehension towards the device. My legs felt a little less willing to move, and I looked up to Jesse. “Uh… how do I use it?”
“You walk inside the machine…” He walked over to a wall, where a panel hissed open. Jesse reached inside and pulled out a blue, folded-up cloth, which he held out to me. “Leave your cloak and everything else outside; I don’t want to break anything.”
I magicked my cloak and saddlebags over to an empty table. Then, I took the folded-up cloth and unfolded it in the air above me. It was a human-shaped gown, about the same size as Jesse’s old lab coat.
The reality of my situation hit a crescendo; I tried not to let my voice shake as I faked a cool, studious tone. “This… and this is temporary, right?”
Jesse nodded and gave what counted as a warm smile. “For you. For the first time. This is a clinical trial so you can see that this won’t cause undue duress or pain to any of your countrymen.”
I swallowed a lump. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Jesse; it was more that I knew what came next if I was okay with the procedure. If I didn’t like it, it also didn’t really sound like there was going to be an option to stop him.
I folded the gown back up as much as I could, then I forced my legs towards the machine. I was curious, even after everything that had happened with Jesse. Once I sated that curiosity, I’d be able to think more clearly on the matter and make an informed decision.
It was the most important thing I would ever have to choose.
Like the elevators, the glass chamber had doors whose seams were invisible when closed. They hissed open when I got near, and I took one final deep breath of procrastination. I looked over my shoulder, where I saw Jesse’s shoulders sticking out from behind the tall control panel he was sitting behind. His head was also hidden, which struck me as odd: “I’m about to be first human in several millennia, and you’re not going to watch?”
“I’ve got to monitor the procedure; infrared sensors will let me know all I need to.” His shoulder rose and fell. “After that, if you want to walk around the facility with me…” He trailed off. “Whatever. You’re calling the shots with this procedure; we only do what you need to determine your functional capacity in the next three days.”
My breath stopped. “Do… do you even need me for your plan?”
“Your aid represents a higher success rate in my plan. But I have contingencies if you don’t want to burden yourself with it.”
“Contingencies like what?”
Silence answered first. Then, “Plans that involve one agent instead of two.”
I pointed a hoof at him. “You’re dodging.”
“You’re asking questions about hypothetical situations that you will choose not to have a part in.” Jesse’s head leaned out from behind his panel, and he scowled. “If I told you I was planning to firebomb cities, that would unfairly manipulate you into helping me. I want your allegiance, not your compliance.”
“Are you planning that?”
He shook his head while pulling it back behind his monitor.
I grunted quietly. It helped, on some level, that he was making an effort to look like he weren’t manipulating me; whether or not I could believe him was another story entirely. Then again, I reasoned, he didn’t really just say anything new.
I closed my eyes and walked into the machine. The doors closed behind me, and I stood in the center of the glass chamber. It made me feel like a specimen, I noted as I put the gown on the floor next to me.
“Ready?” Jesse’s voice sounded like it was in the chamber with me; it echoed, but a quick glance around and above didn’t reveal the source.
“Yeah.”
A familiar thrumming began, and my stomach lurched as I remembered all of the pain and screaming from Jesse’s procedure last week. The temperature in the container rose a few degrees and kept rising; all I could think was No, no, no, no…
Blinding light filled the chamber; when I closed my eyes, I could see the pink insides of my eyelids. The air around me was warm, and it permeated me in a thick, tingling sensation. By itself, it wasn’t unpleasant, but as the numbness spread, I felt myself fall over, and I knew what was coming next. Just because I was numb didn’t mean the procedure wasn’t painful.
The light vanished, and spots swam in my vision as I cried out, “Jesse! Stop it!” My mouth was thick and tingly, so the words sounded thick and stupid, but I didn’t care.
The rest of the machine powered down, or at least it stopped making noises. Around me, I heard Jesse’s amused voice. “Stop what? The procedure is finished.”
I opened my eyes, and the tingling sensation began to fade. In its place, everything sharpened, and it felt like my eyes were stronger. The floor of the machine felt cold and smooth against my side; looking down, I gasped.
I wasn’t green anymore; I was pinkish.
The same hand from last week greeted me when I brought it up to my eyes. I touched my face; some parts felt similar, like my eyes and cheeks, but my nose and mouth were flatter. Humans didn’t have much in the way of a snout.
I spent a few moments looking at and feeling myself. I was smoother, taller—well, longer, since I was still lying on a floor. When my hands reached my head again, I found my ears were down lower and were buried under a length of hair; at the other end of me, I flexed my feet. I couldn’t move the individual toes, but I smiled anyway. I had toes.
When I smiled, a flood of thoughts and energy poured through me. I wanted to do something, anything more than just lying on a floor. I formulated a plan, or rather, making a plan seemed second nature: Step one, figure out how to stand up. Step two, do anything.
Anything.
Seeing the world through human eyes made me realize one core fact. I looked down at what used to be my flank, and all I found on my bare skin were fine, tiny hairs. In that moment, I felt absolute freedom, I felt a risky uncertainty, and I felt…
Cold.
That, I chalked up to having thinner hair than a pony; other than a few tactical areas, I was practically bare. That explained why I’d only ever seen images of humans wearing clothes, and why Jesse was weird about always wearing his—well, it wasn’t weird. It was necessary.
I picked up the gown and, with clumsy hands, wrapped it around me. It had buttons down the front, but as soon as I reached out with my magic, I just felt emptiness inside me. For a moment, I panicked.
Then, I took it as a challenge.
After the first few tries, I came to terms with how my new fingers didn’t quite have the dexterity or finesse that Jesse’s did. I felt a little jealous of him, but that only fueled more ambition: I could practice, and get better at it. I liked that plan.
For now, the gown was on, and even if I was still a little chilly, it was better than nothing. With my first obstacle cleared, I went back to my original plan and tried to stand up. Careful, scrambling motions slowly brought me up to a four-limbed standing position, on my hands and knees. I tried to stand up on my knees, since I could probably work my way up to my feet from there; after six attempts, the best I could manage was a wide, half-kneeling, half-sitting position.
I rolled my eyes and sighed; I couldn’t do it alone. Jesse’d been silent throughout my attempts—like he said he would, I guessed—so I called out to him. “Uh… help?”
The door to my chamber opened, and moments later, Jesse peered around the side of his control panel. After his eyes flashed up and down, he gave me a piteous smile. “Trouble with the buttons?”
I shot back a glare. “No, with standing.”
He nodded before walking over to the chamber. When he was in front of me, I noticed I was now eye-level with his stomach. Already, I was taller; I wondered how much higher I’d be when I stood up properly.
Jesse offered a hand and said, “Do you want to pull yourself up, or do you want me to lift you?”
My eyebrow raised in a smirk. Then, I wrapped my hands around his wrist and used him to steady myself as I stretched my legs out underneath me. I put my right foot flat on the ground before pushing up with it; as I did, Jesse lifted his hand to help me keep my grip. I put my second foot on the ground, then I grinned up—he was still about a foot taller than me because of his armor—at Jesse.
I was standing.
It didn’t last very long, however; once I let go of his wrist and tried to balance on my own, I overcompensated and fell backwards. Jesse grabbed my flailing arm, steadied me, and with a wave of his other hand, my gown closed and buttoned itself.
I chuckled. “Showoff.”
He grinned. “You’re already several months ahead of most humans, what with talking and being able to pull yourself into a standing position.”
“I guess.” Something about his face seemed odder than it’d been a few minutes ago; I couldn’t place it until I looked down at my hand. “Why’s your skin a different color than mine?”
“Melanin.” I looked back up at him, eyebrow raised, and he shrugged. “You saw the holofilms; skin isn’t just one hue. Same with your eyes and hair.”
Mentioning those things made me excited again. “I… do you have a mirror?”
“This way.”
Using Jesse as a crutch, I took my first few hobbling steps behind the machine, where a sink had been built into the wall. Above it was a mirror, and when Jesse and I lined up with it, I smiled as I recognized myself. When we reached the sink, I let go of Jesse and used it to steady myself as I gazed closer at the mirror.
Human-Lyra had the same amber eyes—minus the shape—but her hair was completely different. Instead of mint green with a white streak, now I had chestnut-colored hair that fell way past my shoulders—kind of like a mane, but as I tested it out with a hand, the roots only went down the back of my head, not my neck.
That drew my curiosity elsewhere, so lifted my gown and felt the base of my spine. It was just smooth skin; I mused aloud, “Huh. No tail?”
In the mirror, I saw Jesse’s appreciative, downward glance snap up into a confused, forward-looking stare. “You thought I had a tail all this time?”
I shrugged and dropped my gown so I could use my hands to turn myself around and lean back on the sink. When I was facing Jesse, I shrugged. “I’ve never seen you without some form of pants, so you might’ve.”
He returned the shrug and crossed his arms. “Let me know when you’re ready to come to your decision of helping me or not.”
I peered over my shoulder, and human-Lyra peered back at me from behind a lock of hair. I smoothed it back behind my ear, trying to mix this new information in with everything I’d already worked on. It didn’t hurt; it came with a massive boom in technology, longevity, and quality of life; it was fixing a wrong that’d been done to an entire species…
All of those reasons paled in comparison to the freedom I felt, the sharpness in my mind, and the sheer willpower. I knew exactly what Jesse’d meant when he spoke of “happiness stemming from ignorance”; with whatever chaos or magic or whatever taken out of my brain, for once, I wasn’t content with life. There was happiness, I knew, but I had to work for it, which’d make it all the sweeter when I got it.
I turned away from the mirror, sat on the sink, and crossed my arms over my chest. “You said three days? Sounds like we’ve got work to do.”
* * *
It took a while for Jesse to lead me down to the personnel dormitories, since I had to use him to steady my walking the whole way. I got better at balance and taking strides as we went, and by the time we got to the elevator, I only needed to keep one hand on his wrist to balance myself.
We went back to the holotheater, but instead of movies, we had a more practical use of the room. I sat down on the bench like before—that part was already easy—and Jesse dialed a sequence on the central dais’ buttons.
That time, instead of a movie, the room filled with a translucent sphere of blue light. A white dot in the center shimmered and spread out to the edges; as it did, parts of it stayed behind to make shapes. As I watched, the white shapes became more and more recognizable as buildings—first of Canterlot University, and then the rest of the city.
“How did you get this?” Even as I asked, I knew where the center of the sphere was: my student office. “And how long—”
“This is a map based on signals that are being collected and rendered in real-time,” Jesse answered. He turned to me and locked eyes. “But I’ve only been collecting data for the past week, when trying to analyze a schedule.”
Schedule? I wondered, but then I saw tiny pony-shaped figures that were moving throughout the entire city. My breath caught in my mouth before I managed to ask, “You can do that?”
“Technically, yes. Ethically…” His head waved from side to side. “Well, you’re probably not going to like the plan, anyway. But it’s necessary.”
His tone didn’t sit well with me. “What is?”
“There are three things I want to explain first…” He raised three fingers. Curling the first one, he said, “No one will die.” The second finger: “The only tactical advantage that ensures zero casualties is the element of surprise.” And the final finger: “They are lying about their roles in the cosmos.”
“They?”
Jesse bowed his head and flared his hands on either side of it. “The earth isn’t normally tide-locked, or rotationally locked. That was one of the campaigns of the enemy during the Chaos War. However, the reversal of that process is relatively simple, given the right tools. It stands to reason that keeping the earth’s rotational momentum low enough to require constant applications of chaos-based energy to spin it can only be for one purpose: the appearance of controlling of the sun.”
My breath came out a shudder as my stomach dropped down a few inches. “Celestia and Luna. You’re talking about… overthrowing them?”
He pushed a few of the light buttons on his wrist, but didn’t look up when he explained, “The time for a highly centralized government ended in the twenty-seventh century. It’s inefficient at its core, since it’s only truly needed to govern a society built on scarcity. With an increase in technology, monarchs’ place in the world is rendered obsolete.”
“Jesse…” I whispered. “Are you going to kill them?”
He shook his head. “It should actually be easier to absorb neuro-chaotic transformers from a living entity.”
I thought back to the large unicorn horn he’d absorbed before chasing after me in a glowing mania. “How do you know?”
“I don’t. Hence, ‘should’.”
My head shook. Here I was, presented with the idea of usurping the Canterlot throne, and my only questions were the practical end of it: “What if they fight back?”
The door to our room opened, and I turned to watch a long, casket-like robot float down the ramp. Jesse walked over to it, pressed a button, and lifted out a small, black sphere about the size of a baseball. He gave it to me, and I held on to it despite how unexpectedly heavy it was. With a chuckle, he explained, “That’s where you come in. What you’re holding is an intermittent chaos-dampening pulse emitter, weapons-grade.”
I blinked up at him. “Oh. It all makes sense now.”
“Watch yourself,” he warned. “The primary function of that is to take a small charge of chaos, then neutralize any and all sources of chaos within fifty meters.”
I looked down at the ball, then up at Jesse. “Magic turns it on, but it cancels out all magic around it?” I bent pulled my head back, confused. “Why?”
“Imagine throwing one into a group of fifty unicorns, who try to stop it…”
“Right…” I nodded. Then, the practical side of his example became clear, “So you want me to run into the throne room with this…”
His shaking head slowed me down to silence. “Watch…” He walked over to the controls of the holofilm projector, and Canterlot Castle moved to the center of the display. The walls turned slightly transparent, so I could see more of the castle than anyone had a right to. Jesse twirled a finger inside what I already knew was Celestia and Luna’s throne room. “Walls don’t really matter to the emitter, though they reduce its effective range by roughly a third each time it passes through one. Given guard patrols and scrutiny of various areas of the castle…” He moved his finger to a hallway that ran directly below the throne room. “Here, between these two pillars, is where you should activate the device.”
I looked down at my gown and legs. “So… wait, I need to be a pony for this…” I shook my head and snapped it back up to Jesse. “And wait, I’m activating the magic pulse-dampening thingy, so that’s going to hit me, too, right?”
Jesse nodded. “It’s a temporary effect that only lasts for about five minutes. Though, once everything goes according to plan, I doubt you’ll remain a little unicorn for much longer anyway.”
“And I’m guessing you’ve got a plan for when both of the sisters are going to be in there?” I shook my head at the incredulity of the whole situation.
“At exactly midnight, the guards transfer shifts, and the two of them are usually together in the throne room.”
“Usually?”
“I can outmatch one of them, alone, in combat. Without their unicorn guards, this plan works even if only one of them is initially caught in the initial pulse.”
“What if you get caught in the pulse?”
Jesse patted his armor. “It’s a pulse, not a field, so once the armor takes the hit, I’m the only chaos-wielding entity in the room.”
The slots on his armor made me think of something else: “Why can’t you do it?”
He grinned. “If one knows what it is, it’s fairly simple to shield oneself from it. The advantage you bring is that no one in the throne room will be expecting a pulse to fire from below them.”
Slowly, I nodded. It still felt like it was too much. All my questions from the past week came back to me, and they clung for a while as I struggled with them. I knew what was for the best, but... I shook my head clear, took a deep breath, and tried to look past my doubts in Jesse’s plan. For a tiny, final compromise, I asked, “And… and you promise no one dies?”
In response, Jesse reached into the casket-robot at his feet. He pulled out a tiny glass tube that was rounded on one end and had a flat, metal base on the other. Inside, a metallic liquid flowed in a lively, animated manner. “Remember the nanobots? They’re still alive, even without their transposers. And they probably have the collective brainpower of a squirrel. A pony body will be even more resilient to the extraction.”
I looked at the gray goo for a little longer; then I sighed and looked down at the device in my hands. My human hands. This was the culmination of Jesse’s plan, where he declared war on Equestria. Except… I shook my head. It’s not war, it’s just… dismantling.
For the first time since I’d found that dilemma, though, I found myself easily able to look past the near details. The next few days might be bad, but what about the weeks after them? I remembered Jesse’s talk of a new society—one without pain or scarcity, the human society that had been wiped out a few millennia ago. Everyone would be human, with truly open possibilities for where their lives could take them.
It’d be for the better.
I shuddered, since even that realization didn’t do much to diminish the gravity of the treason we were planning. Treason against one government to give everyone a new destiny…
“No one dies?” I spoke quietly to the floor.
“Only temporary incapacitation,” Jesse reassured me. His tone turned quizzical: “Would you like to try out one of the chaos dampeners on me?”
Kind of, I admitted to myself, but I shook my head. I looked up and stared into Jesse’s fire-blue eyes. For the first time, I saw warmth in them—a mote of compassion. He knew this was for the best, and so did I.
“All right then…” I let out a sigh. “Let’s get this over with.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.026 seconds
Total duration
1,080 users online
1,592,740 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Cant wait to see Luna and Celestia get it lol
Ooooooh yeah!
And so it begins...
So she's agreeing to the plan because it feels good? I think I'd rather have wings.
Hmm, not sure if I can claim 'called it' yet or not.
But I'm going to anyway. Still, it was only a chapter back ...
Heh, I don't normally read TCB stories if I can help it but this one tricked me. Rather than the start of one, this is the end of one. Well played... well played.
Wait, this is TCB?
Cause honestly this looks like reverse TCB.
3861804
Not really. From what Jesse is saying, Celestia/Luna have the neuraltransposer thingys and thus should be part of Somniator as well, rather than the invaders.
That's how I read it at least
3861813
(Minus the transposer nomenclature, but I don't know how pseudo-horcrux magic fragments of something translate into science talk).
That's also how you asked it to be written.
3861804
3861715
3858961
3857013
3856852
For the record, this story is in no way affiliated with that universe. I generally like humanity too much to write 46,000 words about, "MAN, I WISH I COULD TURN INTO A HOERS!"
Yes, there are common elements. But while all CB stories are stories about humans being turned into ponies, the two groups are not mutually exclusive. From what I understand, the CB universe deals with a *portal* to Equestria, implying Earth isn't the same planet; it also transforms people in the present, not at the root of Equestrian civilization. There's also no corporation or whatever transforming people; it's just one very motivated demigod.
Plus, Chatoyance both scares and disturbs me. I don't want to share any creative headspace with that person. Even for money.
3857118
Eh, some of those things can be mechanical, but I agree I should've focused more on the "expensive and inefficient" part here. Meaning, MORE gadgets like that would be able to be made better, faster, stronger...
Wait, wrong album.
3860003
Come, now. Jesse might be a megalomaniacal near-psychopath bent on some version of world domination without any regards to ethics or morals, but he's not that evil.
3859409
3861283
3861365
3861498
Here's hoping I can continue gaining these sentiments through the final chapters.
3861335
Rock. Robot rock...
3860615
I don't know what that is, to be honest.
3861826
Was trying to be sneaky. See if people noticed who I was
No worries.
3861837
I honestly just like making that face.
To be fair, Jesse is acting very disturbingly similar to Xenolestia in this fic. And Lyra is... well, she really got over her "issues" way too quickly. I mean, I would have at least insisted that the transformation be only induced in voluntary participants; Lyra is totally okay with nuking ponykind into humanity, up to the point of the princesses themselves. That really feels like the TCB.
3861877
I have no idea what a Xenolestia is. All I know is I wrote this story to be its own thing; if there are parallels with an existing fanfic, I'll just point out that it's not a terribly original idea in the first place (see: Planet of the Apes).
From there, all I can hope is that my execution of the idea has a fresh twist on it.
3861899
I gotta say, I highly doubt you're going to do something similar to, well, some of the reasons people hate TCB and similar stories, but you are (unintentionally) sending up some warning flags. Lyra did agree to the plan after being changed because being human feels better to her, which is similar to how in TCB fics becoming a pony suddenly makes everything better and makes one agree that everyone should be a pony.
3861899
Xenolestia=Xenophobic Celestia, usually the crux of the problem in TCB fics. There are varients of the TCB where she's actually not racist, and those tend to turn out a whole lot better... although not always the best.
3861969
Fair enough, but I'm trying to go with the "naïve college student who gets indoctrinated in a terrorist organization" route. Like, someone who likes the environment winding up with the ELF.
I mean, I fully understand that Lyra doesn't wholly object to a lot of things that come her way, but that's part of her character. A perfect example of this is in Good Spirits, where Berry comes on to her, strongly, and she doesn't really object or think it through (there's several reasons for that scene, but that is the most concrete character-building one). She wants to see the good in everyone, and she thinks with her heart more often than her mind—to the point where she's easily manipulated, if one can play to her emotions and/or curiosity.
3862046
I see. But no, Celestia has a different role in this story.
3857381
The wut over time graph for Two Beats.
No one dies?
What about every pegasus in the air when their magic is suddenly gone?
*splat*
3862151
Well, he'd be flying around like Superman slash Abaddon at that point, so he might be able to catch them / teleport them to the ground.
3862128
No, I'm saying that JESSE is Xenolestia here.
3862264
Oh.
Well, that's not true either. Lyra won't let him be an alicorn.
3862244
I'd say I hope I don't disappoint, but you don't seem to have any expectations anyway.
Have fun, though.
3862280
It's like you're being deliberately obtuse.
3862297
More that I see the parallel, but I can't exactly take it seriously because it's comparing this story to something it's not.
I mean, you're entitled to your interpretation, by all means. But if I'd intended for this to be related to the CB universe, I would have had a lot more cues, tie-ins, and general effort towards making the best of two worlds.
3862128 How bad is it that I'd just about bought into Jesse's schtick myself?
Ought to be more careful commenting, Nicknack, I had no idea Jesse was the bad guy until I read the comment section.
3862151 That's probably the reason for the schedule thing he's doing. He likely won't set it off if somepony's airborne. At least, I hope.
3862312
I never said it was related, I said it had the same feel. Jesse feels exactly the same as Xenolestia. Even if the history is different, they are very similar characters.
3862349 Woah woah woah, hold the mother-jizzing phone. Jesse is the bad guy? Explain.
3862333
Oh, no big deal. Even if rough, your comment still came off as open-minded.
3862350
Fair enough. I should also probably mention that my tone isn't quite matching my mood right now; I'm enjoying the discourse. I just don't like connections between my story and TCB; the latter seems like such an easier thing to write than what I spent time on.
3862349
I haven't mentioned anything beyond what's posted in the chapters already... Were you looking at the comments before reading?
3862562
I'd probably read chapter 8 and see how he came to that interpretation, rather than ask for it to be "spoiled".
3862590
Balderash, everyone knows jumping to conclusions and making shit up is far more fun.
So I bet I can predict what will happen from here:
Next Chapter, Lyra spends the next few days learning about what being a Human is all about but agonizes over her decision of turning Canterlot into Humans. Days later after she turns back into a Unicorn, she accepts Jesse's proposal and sneaks into Canterlot and activates the bomb.
Next Chapter, practically the entire chapter is flooded with details about all of Canterlot turning into Humans and the ponies' ideas about the Humans are disturbing. Nonetheless, Jesse shows himself and finds himself surrounded by dissatisfaction and Luna and Celestia finally confront Jesse. End Chapter.
Next Chapter, Luna and Celestia confront Jesse and demand for him to turn them back, Jesse says no, the Princesses are overwhelmed by his power and their lack of power. They get defeated, leaving Lyra to agonize over her decision.
Next Chapter, Lyra laments over her decision and finds herself surrounded by her old friends. News shows that Jesse in his magic resistant armor found a way to drop the bombs from the air and turn entire cities into Humans. Soon Lyra and her friends come to the epiphany that the Element Bearers could help.
Next Chapter, Lyra comes to talk to Twilight Sparkle, she explains the situation and her involvement and it takes an entire chapter for them to get prepared.
Next Chapter, By this time, Jesse has found the remaining three fragments he needed and has turned into a ferocious god of Chaos magic. He extends his influence and takes over the Humans he's taken over. Within this amount of time, the Element Bearers and Lyra pull themselves together and infiltrate Jesse's compound, finding answers for how to stop him after a confrontation ending with them learning that the Elements of Harmony simply aren't enough.
Next Chapter, they find the answer they need and learn to "amplify" the Elements of Harmony. By now, Jesse's army of Humans are laying siege to Ponyville and there's all this detail about the ponies upset and everything. They managed to repel the assault and soon learn that Jesse has taken over Canterlot Castle. The Element Bearers decide to travel there.
Next Chapter, They travel to Canterlot Castle and Lyra laments some more, while the others try to comfort her and Applejack addresses Lyra by "sugarcube".
Next Chapter, Finally they arrive at Canterlot Castle and Jesse invites them in. There's a big long monologue about how Lyra was supposed to have trusted Jesse and Jesse tells them that he only exploited their friendship and tries to convince her that Chaos is the only answer. Soon, they power up the Elements and with Lyra's help they dethrone him.
Next Chapter, Jesse is lying on the floor defeated and Lyra tells him that there's more than Chaos but also Friendship. Jesse tells her that he only wanted to benefit the Human race. Lyra tells him that he'll be seeing them really soon. Soon afterwards, Jesse lies back his head and dies, returning to his ancestors. They then learn that everyone's been turned back to normal.
Next Chapter, Lyra laments on Jesse's death. The Element Bearers try to comfort her, Lyra gets personally awarded by the Princess as the one who saved Equestria. She gets promoted into a full-time professor and then the camera pans out into the sky. The End.
3862128 Very funny, but sadly not as general as I was kinda hoping. Oh well—thanks.
I was wondering earlier today what would happen to Celestia and Luna in this plan, considering what happened to Jesse's hand when he stuck it in the circle, but I guess this chapter more or less answers that.
(Less, I suspect.)
3862349
Just off the cuff, how many pegasi do you suppose live in Cloudsdale, Los Pegasus, and any other cloud city that happens to be floating about?
My guess is that the answer is 'a lot'.
I'm also curious if all the other various sapient races (griffins, minotaurs, dragons, cows, bison, zebras, ect) are magicked up humans as well. The 'I can make my own destiny!' argument really doesn't apply to them since they lack cutie marks and do whatever they wish to begin with.
3861826 Chat has no real affiliation with it. She writes her own fics based off the original world... I personally prefer the Cloudyverse (fangverse?) version anyways
Oh god, Lyra you are so naive.
You just became a terrorist!
fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/161/3/3/it_s_happening_by_sketchy_pony-d68it23.png
He keeps saying "No one will die". I do not think that means what he think it means.
People will die. Many, many people will die. Something like this will, at best, cause a civil war. Those opposed and those for the change. And that's just knocking Celestia/Luna from leadership.
When you take both the changing them against their will, and forcefully knocking the Princesses out of power, you've looking at having pissed off the entire country, or at least a good portion of them. Honestly, the idea that "No one will die" is naive at best. A blood bath at worse.
Can't wait to see how his idea of restoring the human race goes completely tits up.
This, this will be fun.
3861826 I have heard of this "Chatoyance" and I have this too say: Dafuq has that person been smoking and where can I get some?
> In the mirror, I saw Jesse’s appreciative, downward glance snap up into a confused, forward-looking stare
DAT ASS.
Still a very intricate and thought out story, but now it seems to be a mix of Black Equinox and James Cameron's Avatar. If things keep going how they are I'd advise adding a Tragedy tag to this story.
Jesse's justification for his plan is bullshit. If he doesn't give ponies an informed choice he's no better than the calamity that stole humanity's humanity. Add on the fact that his promises are misinformed at best and lies at worst: every Pegasus in Equestria is at risk of losing the ability to fly and stand on clouds. How could he possibly save them all?
And I don't trust him to not have altered Lyra's mind during the transformation to make her even more compliant.
All in all, he acts exactly how I would expect a bitter, megalomaniacal hermit would act. He's so caught up in his "plan" that he is incapable of questioning it. To do so would admit he wasted eons dreaming of a future that won't come to be.
Considering that the creature he is absorbing is called the dreamer, I really like my interpretation.
Great job, authordude!
And Lyra! Non-equestrian races lack cutie marks!
You know, I also really like "oh God, what have I done?" moments, especially when the Big Bad has them. If that's not in your plans for the story, I'm not asking you to change it...
i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/6255995648/hCF3F78E3/
3868309 When Lyra was restored to human form she noted an INCREASE IN WILLPOWER do you know what that means?They had their mental stength sapped from them to make them more compliant, I'll take the ability to think freely over any magical upgrades any day of the week!
Heh! Totally saw this coming in Chapter 6
This feels like a conversion bureau, but on ponies. Say, if humanity were ponies in the past because of magic(A side though, it would explain the mythlogical creatures), and a pony came and made all humans turn into ponies, then this entire situation is basically a reverse conversion bureau.
And when it comes to conversion bureaus, I'm on the side that as long as everyone is happy, then it's fine. But in this case, their will probably be ponies who arn't happy, and then it just becomes one of those standard conversion bureaus. Even if the transformations don't make the ponies "despise" their former selves, and they remain perfectly fine, it's practically impossible for every single pony to be happy.
In a situation like this, its only two shades. Either everyone becomes human, witch many won't be happy with, or nothing happens, which leaves ponykind as they are, happy. There is no halfway point, that if a pony wants to, they can become human or not.
This kind of situation just doesn't make sense to me. A simply answer that leaves all parties happy would to have it be out in the open for those who want it. Those who don't don't. They will likely be some ponies who'll want to be human. The end result is that everyone is happy.
Also one thing that confuses me is why this entire operation has to remain a secret. Why is it only lyra. I can understand keep him secret for now, but it feels like an indefinitly hiding him until it's too late.