Dear Diary,
I wish the Equestrian Princess had given me another one of those memory crystals, so I could show you the feeling of being back on Earth. Equestria was a beautiful place. I’ve never seen grass so green, or water so clear. I’ve never met ponies so friendly and kind. Luna said there were humans from Earth who stayed behind. I can’t really blame them.
Not me, though. Even with the haze of LA’s ruined corpse in the distance, even the scorching desert heat cannot make home seem less sweet. Even with my city burned (still burning, probably), I would take Earth’s cradle over any paradise. Your transformation might’ve made me a pony, Luna, but it didn’t make me less Earth’s child. This is my home.
Thank goodness for those saddlebags, as by the time I’d finished my week-long tour in Equestria I’d received enough gifts to fill a modestly sized train. The saddlebags she’d said I “wouldn’t understand”? It’s magic. Apparently made by the Princess of Magic herself. (Princess Twilight Sparkle, that was her name, tried to explain how the magic worked, even though I told her like three times I didn’t get it. Whatever). Point is, it’s bigger on the inside? No, it’s not a police box, though it does apparently have a chameleon circuit (as it got small enough to fit a not-full-grown pony without a tanner or a tailor to make adjustments).
That’s how Luna intended to send me back with a whole library: there’s really a library in there. Pull the satchel open and you can literally fall right in. Maybe… three thousand books? It’s hard to tell. It’s surreal stuff, what these ponies can do with magic.
The other side, the sun side of the saddlebags is the same thing, but they never built anything in it. I just used it to pile in all the gifts they gave me. It’s also lighter on the inside apparently, because it feels empty no matter what I put inside. You should’ve heard that pony trying to explain how it works (probably not, it was extremely boring).
Said goodbye to Sunset Shimmer before dawn. She came with me on the train back to the little town we’d arrived in. Apparently Celestia and Luna had stayed up at night preparing the way back. The portal was so costly now it took both of them together to hold it open, even for a few seconds. After what happened yesterday, I’m still more than a little awed by the power they wield. A little glad they’re going to be a world away from my home. They’ve already proven themselves capable of changing everything, and we couldn’t do a thing about it.
Or maybe not everything. If what I’ve seen with the HPI proved anything, it was that their spell was not complete. Humans had a way to counter magic after all. Take that, ponies. Take that, me. I’m one of them. I’ve got a cutie mark now. Would you believe I didn’t even notice? I guess the stress of everything that was going on, and I hardly realized my own body had changed. Wish I could say better what it felt like. Just, while I was talking to Luna, I understood what I was supposed to do. Preserve the memory of humanity, no matter what. Whatever the heck kinda “special talent” is that, anyhow?
Sunset acted weird. Said she would “probably see me again,” right before I went through. Thought that was a little weird, but she’s the magic expert, not me. Are the universes drifting or aren’t they?
Little warehouse was exactly the way I left it. Not that I was too worried: I’d left my phone and stuff off to keep the battery alive during my time in Equestria, and the ponies sent me with enough food to be alone for months (and cookbooks, yay!). Came back with a few real outfits, which is neat. Ponies don’t seem to actually design these things for modesty (lots of uncovered butts and everything else back there), but at least I don’t feel like an animal. Better horseshoes too. Imagine that; a whole horse society actually knows how to maintain it. You can bet we’re gonna reverse-engineer the hell out of this stuff.
I was really worried about Huan. That big dog was literally sitting in the warehouse waiting for me. Patience and loyalty like that... Dogs might be smarter, but it doesn't seem like their essential nature has changed much. He's just more of a dog than he was. Does that make sense? The first friend 'Lonely Day' ever made. Even now, he's still looking out for her. Thanks, Huan. I always knew I could count on you. I'm glad you did okay in my absence.
Went outside, booted up the old Iridium, and prayed to the horse-gods that my friends were okay.
They were. Cloudy Skies (CLOUDY SKIES, OF ALL PONIES!) had taken over in my absence. They had ignored my instructions though, and waited for me in Phoenix. I don’t even want to think about how they found water for all those cows. I told them I’d drive straight there, so stay put. Hopped in my fancy-shmancy police car, and set off.
I’m glad these things are made so sturdy, and I didn’t really want to think about the gas in my tank. What would happen if I saw a repeat of my Bakersfield trip in the middle of the desert? The ponies didn’t send me back with any water casks. They did give me some fancy clothes and a title. Equestrian Envoy to Earth. I don’t think I’ll ever tell anyone. If they’d wanted somepony to represent them, they could’ve come themselves.
Or… actually, maybe I’m glad they didn’t. They’ve taken enough of our free will away as it is.
When I got to the next town, I spent a few hours finding something to drive that didn’t need gasoline and filling it from the middle of a gas station reservoir instead of whatever collected on top. Pretty sure I didn’t get any water or smell any fungus, and it didn’t explode. Guess I got lucky?
All that delay meant that it was just about getting dark when I got to our little camp, trucks and RVs and such circled up like an old-timey wagon-train. The cattle grazed nearby, on the rim of grass around a small pond. Public parks, hurray.
There was another RV in the caravan, and it didn’t look to be in good condition. Like one of those old Winnebagos, old and yellowed all over. Had some solar panels on top, but not set up right. More like those big camping ones, duct taped to the roof by someone who had no idea how to work with the RV’s electrical system. There was a little trailer too, towing behind it. It was largely stacked with dried wood, aside from an ugly stack of barrels and scrap metal, with pipes traveling out in several directions.
A gasifier? Must’ve been hell to build with hooves. I say this, because of course I already know it wasn’t a unicorn who built it. Pegasus named Adrian, as it happens. Pretty well-traveled stallion, from some of what he said around the campfire.
But that was later. I stopped not too far away, slung on the saddlebag, and headed over to my friends. The ones who knew what it was like to have your body taken away. Tearful reunion. None of your business!
Caught up with what they’d been doing (not too terribly much, aside from meeting this new pony and learning from him all the exciting things going on in the world at large). They wanted to hear everything. It took a very, very long time to explain what I had seen. Moriah in particular didn’t believe me. I had about zero patience for that, so I shoved her into the saddlebag library.
The saddlebags don’t actually move when there’s anything alive inside. I don’t understand how it works exactly. I had to leave them set down where I’d left them as I finished my story. It was worth having to repeat some of it to see her face when she finally found the door. She wasn’t much kinder, though at least she stopped denying it. I told her what I’d learned about her horn injury while I was there, and that seemed to make her feel better. The little blessings, right?
Any hope of reversing this easily and systematically is long gone. The problem will outlive normal ponies, even if we really live as long as Sunset Shimmer suggested (I have my doubts). One of these days I really ought to write down everything that happened to me over there. Like what Celestia and Luna did after the memory crystal ended, or all the things I saw during my tour. Another day.
I summarized it for my friends (the second thing. I didn’t tell them anything about the first thing). How humanity had become almost like celebrities over there, tons of ponies wanted to meet me and learn what “living in the magicless wasteland” had been like, and how much better my life was now that I had it. Reactions were more or less what I expected. Disgust from Moriah, ambivalence from Oliver, and Cloudy Skies muttering that she wanted to show me something.
I didn’t really hear her then, and I finished with the story. The meeting, learning what happened to Earth from Luna. Oliver wanted to see my memories, Moriah too. Cloudy and Rune? After seeing Oliver and Moriah’s expressions, the pain as they were forced to experience everything exactly as I had, they chose not to. I really wish there had been some sort of Final Cut program I could use to edit those memories first. There were parts I’d rather not have shared.
Oh well. I am what the Equestrian spell made of me, same as anypony else (well, a little of Moriah’s spell too). Guess it was only a matter of time before they learned I’d had a name besides Alex. God have mercy on their souls. Probably have to tell Cloudy about that, come to think. Honesty > Gossip.
It’s pretty disheartening, to think about the sheer magnitude of the task ahead of us. The Equestrian spell did not kill the missing humans, only sent them ahead in time. They’ll arrive in very small numbers at first… but by the time they start coming in earnest, we’re going to need a society built to handle them. A society with modern technology, modern infrastructure, all of which is rotting away before our eyes. At least we’ve got thousands and thousands of years.
If we can’t capture the essence of human inventions and discoveries now, it’s quite likely they’ll be lost, perhaps forever. It might not actually be possible to follow the same path, technologically. The easy coal and oil is mostly gone. Plenty of harder-to-get stuff down there, but nopony will ever know to try. Tough break. I wonder what it will be like.
Whatever, don’t have to worry about all of it at once. New pony Adrian, for his part, was pretty quiet as we talked. Didn’t want to “interfere”. Probably he was just overwhelmed by what I had to tell him. I know I was. He asked to see the memory crystal himself, and I shared it with him. Didn’t say a word when he was done, just seemed to grow a little more respectful as he went into his crappy RV for the night.
The next step, of course, is going to be calling our friends at the HPI. Hey Dr. Clark, I investigated, just like you said. Probably changed the rest of my forever, but I did it. Between the two of us we should be able to make sure that humanity makes it. Oh, and we’ll probably have a more enjoyable meeting next time.
Among the many gifts I piled in the other half of the saddlebags are restraints for each of the Equestrian races, used to contain the magic of dangerous criminals. The ones for earth ponies are shackles covered in runes; only gave me one for each of the races (Guess they don’t expect us to have many bad ponies. Here’s hoping the prison populations don’t return until we’ve got a way to deal with them). The HPI didn’t give us any of the magical-measuring technology, so I don’t actually know if it will make talking to them more practical or just take away my magically enhanced strength and endurance.
Tomorrow our caravan will travel northeast. Adrian the Pegasus is traveling with us (apparently he was looking for us to begin with, guess my radio station wasn’t a waste of time after all!). He’s excited to see “a colony founded firsthand” and to help. And no, he doesn’t actually know how his gasifier works, or any of the other modifications to pipe that gas into the engine. Somepony else built it all for him, he just drives the thing. I took a look, and it’s good work. He swears he can get a full mile per kilogram. Not sure if I buy that. He has news of other settlements, of the other ponies in this country and the others just north and south. I’ll ask him about it tomorrow.
I asked Sky if she’d thought about being honest with Joseph. She wasn’t yet, though she was sure she’d tell him one day. She didn’t want to ruin his relationship with Moriah. Whatever that relationship actually is. I asked if she’d thought about Oliver, or maybe if she liked the look of the new pony. She said, “Adrian seems nice, but I’d never think about Oliver. I won’t step on Moriah’s hooves, and I won’t step on yours either.” Psh. Got a little agitated. Told her some things she didn’t seem to even register, or if she did, she didn’t care.
Another question, then. The one I’d really been wondering about. Why had she lied when we first met? Why hadn’t she told me about Sunset Shimmer?
Should’ve seen the look on her face, then. I think maybe she thought because I hadn’t brought it up earlier that maybe I’d never learned that part. That maybe she’d scraped by. Sorry little Sky, not today. She broke down; started crying, but I was firm with her. Didn’t let her worm her way out until she’d answered me. Not going soft on you today, Sky.
Eventually she told me the truth. She’d been traveling when she saw Sunset Shimmer appear, in the magic circle we’d visited earlier. They spent the day together, and Sky had learned a great deal from her. Sunset hadn’t talked about Equestria, but she had seemed the nicest pony Sky had ever met.
But she hadn’t been looking for lone survivors, she was searching for our governments. Any sign that civilization had survived, really. She’d offered to take Sky with her, but the pegasus had been too frightened of traveling so far from home, and stayed behind. Sunset Shimmer had asked her to promise not to tell anyone about her before she left. Cloudy Skies hadn't even asked a reason, or if she did, she won't tell me what it was. She says that sunset was "just so nice", that she didn't think of asking why.
Now I'm wishing I'd known about this before, so I could've asked her when I'd been near here. I can't even guess. What was she possibly hiding from? For that matter, why was she encrypting her transmissions back to Equestria? Why not just use the radio to talk? I was so caught up in figuring out what happened to my own species, I never had the chance to ask why the Equestrians were acting so strange!
I tried not to be too hard on Sky, I hope things are okay. She doesn’t seem to want to switch with anyone for sleeping in here with me (which is good, because Oliver would be the only option). When we get a real colony, we can have real beds again. So that means she’s not scared of me either, which is good. I dunno if I’d be that graceful in her place.
If only she knew the half of what happened in Equestria, during that last day.
They did something to me. I just wish I understood what it was.
—Lonely Day
I knew this day would come.
Now I'm going to cry like a baby.
Whatever civilization may come of this, it'll be all the stronger for Lonely Day's efforts. She may not have gotten promoted to alicornhood, but she's going to be invaluable in more ways than I can think of. And the new guy can help point the group in the direction of settlements, so that's a bonus.
Also, best possible way to shut up Moriah. Literally shove the magic in her face... or vice versa.
6167541 Thank you for your consideration, but like I said I don't blame him--I had written it clumsily and should acknowledge that.
As for the name Alexander, I've never came across its use as in the feminate form before, but that's saying nothing. Many a name has shifted from one gender to another over the centuries (Kelly, Artemis, Robin just to name a few), so its entirely possible.
I've usually scene it as, "Alexandria" when for a woman and "Alexander" for a man. But who knows? English is already a broken language. I don't see the need for any of us to fix it.
You wanna know the messed up thing?
The Galactic Center Big Blast is still gonna come.
Even if normal humans survive into four years, the GCBB is still gonna kill them unless their tech gets REALLY a good at anti magics.
6167606
It already happened. The transformation was set to go off immediately before that occurred. HPI had the 4 years warning and is what the HPI currently is.
6167614
Wait, really? I must have missed that part.
THE SHOW MUST GO ON I SAY!!
Seriously though, this story is great
6167638
wait
What's up with the animals then?
Why are non-human creatures immune to magic when they are just as non-magical as human were?
If they were suddenly made magical with The Spell™ so that they can now survive in a magical environment, why couldn't the same be done with humans?
Did I miss something or does this still need more explaining?
6167614
Humans are going to die anyway.
They instantly go vegetable if they even get close to an Equestrian. Once more of them start appearing over time, it'll be near impossible for them to coexist in the same world, and they certainly won't be making any sort of human centric civilization because of that.
There's not much that HPI can do from now on beyond waiting for their death. They'll probably die off before the ten year period even ends.
That gas thing that makes it a mile per kilogram sounds awfully familiar.
6167673
I thought that was the spell the Equestrians cast.
6167714 Animals don't have souls. They may be smarter thanks to the magic clinging to their spirit, but they still lack a soul. The thing that happened to humans was the Soul being pulled out of the body and drawn to the source of magic.
Edit: considering that humans used to create tiny sparks of magic with acts of kindness and such. perhaps souls are naturally drawn to strong sources of magic. Humans being an effectively magicless creature had no resistance to the source's draw? Conjecturing.
6167714
Incorrect, the HPI could try exterminating all magic using life, which would basically be all animal life. If that a long term solution is highly questionable, but it's a possible if extremely distasteful solution. It's also the solution that will probably see their guaranteed death, as the survivors will eventually retaliate and HPI isn't equipped to even be in an angry pony's presence, let alone if they are attacked with magic directly (as it was implied Sunset Shimmer did with the throw away comment that a unicorn attacked and ended a HPI unit).
As shown in this chapter, perhaps with Equestria magic blocking components like Lonely Day was musing about, it may make things easier to interact with them, and supplement their own shielding.
I agree they have no future if their technology doesn't improve, but hey, it'll be a group effort and I have faith in their resourcefulness. Look what they managed to do with 4 years warning while keeping the entire thing a secret. I don't think the transformed want to see humanity wiped out either, and many will help them if possible in their task. Lonely Day certainly will.
6167731
One thing that isn't clear, the future claim that all the animals will become more intelligent, and hooved animals in particular will gain parity with ponies, being able to speak and use magic too. Does that mean they will all develop souls? It's unclear in the explanation what is going on, but that's probably on purpose.
I doubt that they 'did' anything in a destructive way, at least by their lights. Good intentions, as always.
It's interesting that Lonely Day finally has her cutie mark and that it is in order to preserve her species and culture. I'm definitely starting to smell 'pre-alicorn'.
Sudden thought:
What about anthro ponies (long-term perspective)?
Some of commentors putted an idea of humanity's rebirth in future (Trying to find that comment would like trying to find a needle in the stack of hey).It was said what future ponies could create human with immunity to thaumic radiation and anthro ponies,well,seeming to be something like that.
Walking on the two legs.Check.
Have hands.Check.
Still immune to magic.Check.
This is mainly because creating human immune to magic is impossible (in my perspective) since it more spiritual than physical.
So the only hope what culture won't die completle to that moment.
6167759 It could be like the Dresdenverse Soul/Freewill situation. Only creatures with souls have freewill, which rather than being a matter of having choice, is one of being able to go against their core nature (for those who don't know Dresdenverse).
Word of Scribe (Last Response Post)
What can we draw from that? Souls might not be a requirement for intelligence, but it does help manage it. Perhaps in the future magic added natural selection would introduce souled animals, perhaps not. We may always see a disparity between Souled Individuals, descended from those transformed by the spell, and Smart Creatures, those who's spirits are strong enough to support a higher than instinctive intelligence. Would be and interesting interaction between people who came back as Deers (assuming IDW Canon) and natural deer.
6167731
What? Animals have no souls? That's nonsense. I know for a fact that all dogs go to heaven. They couldn't do that without a soul.
Darn it, now that you've given us all the answers you go and do this....
So their galactic center was the afterlife, where your creativity flies to it at FTL speeds. The afterlife filled up. Shit exploded.
Luna seemed to dodge the issue of whether the Equestrian magic they inadvertently leaked through had accelerated this process. I still think Day was a bit too um... vindictive though. Got to find someone to blame, I guess?
Luna: Your galactic core was about to magisplode, sucking the soul out of every creative being on your planet, your great civilization lost forever. So we reversed the polarities in everyone, which inadvertently changed them into ponies, then meticulously planned their reappearances such that your civilization could recover and thrive.
Day: Why couldn't you just leave us human!
Luna: Did you not hear what I said about the soul sucking annihilation?
Day: But you destroyed our great civilization!
Luna: We just said we saved your great civilization! It would have been destroyed had we done nothing!
Day: But everyone will forget thousands of years later!
Luna: No they won't! They will appear exactly as they were the moment of the spell, even a thousand years hence! Ponies of your world will be reminded of your civilization for longer than your civilization has existed! Your descendants will be sick and tired of ponies appearing wondering where their Mickey D's went for centuries to come!
Day: I miss my mommy! I want my dick back!
Luna: Oh just take this cutie mark. There! Now your special talent is remembering humans!
Day: Um
Luna: But why stop there? Look, now you're a princess! Or you will be once the seed takes hold. My sister does this all the time we have princesses up the yinyang over here!
Day: Wha
Luna: No, don't tarry, your great planet awaits. Perhaps after a thousand years of timeout there, you and I can have a productive conversation!
Sunset: Yeah, see you later Princess, if you know what I mean. Wink wink.
Luna: (Wink wink.)
Day: FU--*poofed*
(later)
Day: Don't worry Dr. Clark, I didn't tell the princess about the HPI so you're safe!
Clark: Did you at least acquire the process by which our souls won't get sucked out the moment we leave this shielding?
Day: Oh! Uh, probably? But you're humans! You don't want to be ponies!
Clark: I'll be a gerbil if it lets me see the sun again without keeling over!
Oh, you can't give us all of these answers and then leave us with a huge mystery of what happened to Lonely Day on her last day in Equestria. Here's hoping that we get some hints in the last two chapters. (I'm still hoping for alicorn Lonely Day, I know it's cliche, but I hoping for it anyway.) Great story overall, I love your mix of scifi, transformations , post-apocalyptic events and ponies in your stories. Here hoping for many more to come.
6167837
Man,you must make a rap (or rap battle) out of this.
At least this part really soundy.
Upd.
Do anyone hates deja vu?
Now I wonder how will the CMC react to learn a transformed human earned her cutie mark in less than 3 months of being a pony.
6167871
It's implied that HPI is taking all the nuclear reactor fuel, both spent and unspent, to power their shielding technology, at least from the USA. So no danger there. Eurasia may suffer a different fate though.
Watch out, it's a werehouse! Don't spend your night in there, it'll turn back into a man by morning and digest you!
It's late, so I'll write up a proper reply tomorrow morning.
6167837
I don't think it really came through very clearly what Day was protesting. Not being saved, but rather that it was all done without input from humans at all (who would have really objected to the time displacement component!) Heck, they could have told humanity what they were going to do and nothing would stop them from doing it, and at least people would have had chances to say goodbye or prepare before it happened. It was kept all secret though. HPI kept it secret due to fears of riots ending the world as everyone was expected to die, hindering their mission. But Equestria's solution would have (directly) killed no one, and saved everyone! Except those in vehicles (look what happened to Moriah!), who, if they knew when it would happen, would have avoided being in vehicles or at least gone at safe speeds.
It's a big complaint! And it doesn't come across really well, sadly.
Still, your interpretation of people's reactions is amusing. I can buy it, even the humans of HPI probably preferring to have been transformed over being stuck in shields for generations to come living on gruel. But they didn't know what Equestria had planned.
Urg, there goes the Sky/Day shipping, Sky doesn't ever see her as a romantic option at all.
Immortal, I bet it's immortal, she hasn't said anything about Unicorn or Pegasus parts, but I BET it's immortal in some way or form.
And I voted yes, looking forward to those next few weeks, I need something to curb off my daily boredom.
As the story progresses, would it acknowledge other people's stories that takes place in this world?
Another day.
Arrrgh!
Ahem. Beautiful chapter is beautiful. You keep developing Lonely Day beautifully, I really like how she started to reflect on how her emotions got the better of her when she should have asked all those important questions instead. Hindsight...
Loved her account of how she'd shoved Moriah into the saddlebag - that could have been straight out of MLP and I also pictured it like it. Pratchett meets Faust in Twilight's L-Space. Needs more Orang-Utan though ;)
Tiny typo does dangerous dwelling:
(my) Little werehouse
Pony civilization starter kit.
Oye, so Sunset got Cloudy to promise to keep her a secret, and so she simply did. I dunno if that really hurt anything long-term, probably just delayed the Equestria trip a bit compared to if our little colony knew about Sunset.
Well, the meat of this story is done. Well, at least I have a epilogue, sequel and 16 spinofffs to read of this amazing universe. Also;
I get what you mean, Mr. Starscribe.
6168096
Umm. OK ???
6166690 That IS rather the point of having ponies stay in realtime--- to rebuild a society that can accommodate those useful skills and knowledge sets. Equestria has doctors, engineers, and every other category of profession we have, and more. And many of them become EASIER with magic introduced. And I'm not sure what kind of education you think nuclear engineers and astronauts get, but suffice it to say they aren't exactly unskilled outside their profession.
With all the talk about black holes and stuff I just realized something:
Stephen Hawking will come back in a brand new pony body and get another century to discover the great unifying theory! This time around he'll do it, magic was the missing piece of the puzzle. Then there's that whole virgin field of science waiting for him, theoretical thaumaturgy. And he'll be one of those arriving back fairly quickly if the ability to accept and adapt is so important for selection (I mean, the man gives lectures and supervises PhD students while only having control over a single chin muscle left for communication).
Imagine a unicorn with that kind of brainpower. Starswirl+ on Earth.
I'd say end it, but continue in a sequel. The story conquered a major hurdle, and that's worthy of ending the story on a good note, but now there are new challenges and new questions for the road ahead. It would make sense to me to start fresh with a sequel.
And I just wish you were more comprehensive in your recording of events, Alex, you adorable, inscrutable horse-beast.
6167714
My guess is that is probably has something to do with sentience. Non-sentient life gets smarter in the presence of high ambient magic levels, but naturally evolved magicless sentience gets fried. Because magic.
HA!
Actually I've heard some horror stories about putting living things inside "Bags of holding" but lets just assume this is perfectly safe and laugh at Moriah anyway!
Did Alex - Oh seems she's using another name now - Lonely Day come back to her friends wearing her dress and fancy mane?
And the chapter ends with more questions to answer. This isn't ending yet!
Day's special talent is the preservation of knowledge, she turned into an archivist. She probably has really good recollection now.
More Please!
40.media.tumblr.com/cd7c9770466e1773f213a564ab4f096b/tumblr_nqwe46DNRO1rsmidfo1_540.png
so Alex finally has her cutie mark. I can't see I didn't see this coming. I had my suspicions about what her talent would be but I just didn't know what the actual mark would look like.
This begs the question. While touring Equestria, did Alex get to meet Doctor Whooves??? From the above quote, I can safely say that she's at least familiar with the show "Doctor Who". Since Time Turner is pretty much a discount Doctor Who, if Alex is even a little bit of a Whovian, meeting Doctor Whooves would probably be a dream come true for her. Just sayin.
I just realized something, with the new addition of Adrian, there are now exactly six ponies in this little group. Alex, Oliver, Joseph, Moria, Sky and Adrian. If you were to compare them to the Elements of Harmony, who would mach up with which Element????? Sky is probably kindness and Joseph, I guess, would be magic but beyond that I'm just not sure.
6167714 the magic feedback loop only lobotomizes non-magical species with souls. the other animals didn't have souls, but exposure to magic has given them souls, and will make most of them sapient in time.
Ha! You're gonna get Larson'd!
This is one of, if not the best story here I've read in a while. I think you should think of more unique story ideas and write about them. With your ability to post daily, and your overall skill, can I suggest that you have more reader involvement then normal stories. Like in the story every few chapters ends in a cliffhanger where the protagonist has to make a choice, andthe readers choose what he/she chooses. Maybe in the author's notes at the end of the chapter, you could put a strawpolls or something to have a majority vote what the character would do. It would be a challenge, but maybe you're up for it.
Oh, it is. Don't know if we need it anymore, though. Options were opened up.
At some point the command over weather will be absolute. Wind farms will take on a whole new meaning and bottled lightning seems like it could have some incredible applications. Perhaps not sooner, but inevitably later. What happens when human ingenuity and curiosity of the finer workings of the universe finally gets to fully apply itself to the 'physics' behind magic?
It will be fun to watch. =)
Now that's the kind of arrogance I was wishing to see. Damn ponies.
I seriously hope the HPI won't do anything foolish with the information they'll get. HPI and ponified people working together is about the only chance anyone has of recreating humanity. The HPI can't repopulate by themselves, but they've got some hurriedly improvised shielding tech that could be improved upon a lot, I bet. Combine that with the ability to turn ponies back into people, and you might get some actual human populations going. If they can figure out a way to cast the countertransformation spell and then immediately switch the shield on.
I hope at least the HPI will be willing to send those shielding specs over to pony researchers, or Day will send some of that magic knowledge from the books she got over to the HPI. Proper knowledge of magic is going to be required to do more work on the shielding device.
6169640
I'd be sad if HPI became an antagonist in the future. The only reason they were painted as evil previously is because their shield technology is lethal to magical life and their desperation to find the improved shield technology they though the survivors had made them turn their LA place upside down looking for it.
I just don't think they have the resources to be aggressive, and just like Lonely Day withheld information from Luna (that humans did survive, though I think Luna and Sunset are already aware of it, and is why Sunset was being secretive in the first place), she could without the fact that Equus will be passing out of range of interference with Earth in the immediate future. Let the HPI believe that the beings that transformed almost every human on Earth and moved them through time to try and save as many as possible still exist. How would they react if they caught wind that the few survivors left behind were being hounded or killed by them? It should be enough to keep HPI from going down unacceptable paths.
6166615
Actually, Two-Bit came up with the name. Granted, I didn't give him very much time to come up with a better one. I just said: Give me a name, or I'm calling it the apocalypse-verse or something. I didn't think about the abbreviation when I accepted the proposal I think.
And yeah, I think I regret not realizing sooner I was writing a mystery (Can I even call this a mystery? It's kinda an abomination of genres). I might've focused more on actively constructing a mystery. As it was I didn't want to create any where there weren't any, so I didn't have quite as many puzzles and codes as I would've liked. More opportunity for that might've been fun. Ah, well. Was still fun.
6166642
Somewhat Ironicly, there's very little chance any anger at Luna would've survived if it wasn't for the time spell itself. Otherwise the people wronged by it (to me the families getting split up is the worst part) would have been long dead. but 10,000 years from now there will be more new arrivals than any other year. More furious ponies than any other year.
6166656
I know Alex's biggest problem wasn't that humans had been saved, but that they hadn't been consulted. Ultimately I think she'll forgive Luna, even though she's lost her family (until her mother, sister, and brother eventually return, possibly at different times). I don't know if many ponies will, but she will. Better pone than dead. And honestly Alex doesn't seem to mind being a pone that much anymore. She'd still prefer to be her old self, but...
Also, saw what you did there.
41.media.tumblr.com/bf9349d296afe2e826cd41e511304106/tumblr_np1g6bumI71rsmidfo1_1280.png
6166660
That's all "A" meant when I was drafting the story at first "author". Took me a few chapters to really nail down what Alex's identity was behind the scenes.
6166760
Already answered, but yes. I'll keep posting no matter what. I wrote everything in advance.
6166828
It's only implied. It's why when they left Equestria they had to go to the exact same place Sunset had made the entrance spell, so they could be sent back to the exact same warehouse they'd left from.
The stuff about souls isn't super important. All that really matters is that humans are affected while lesser creatures aren't. The mechanics of what a "soul" is wont really matter. Or, as I'm fond of saying, OUT OF SCOPE.
Thanks, though. I really wanted a universe where people could be ponies but was neutral enough for anyone to enjoy. I might've just written TCB stories if it wasn't for all the stigma so many of those have. It seemed better just to write something new. Here we are.
6167027
Slashfic, anyone? >.>
Nah, not really.
6166993
This is actually a really neat angle; that the banishment had such far-reaching consequences. A pity I don't plan on writing more about this from Luna's perspective. I bet she's in for a long, hard road.
6167174
I doubt human culture is going to adapt to perfectly mirror Equestrian culture. Human-ponies will probably use the marks somewhat, since they're probably convenient, but there's no telling if the newly-transformed culture will develop the same. Nothing stops you from having a career that you aren't magically talented in.
6167218
I'm glad the second person thing worked. I've never really used that style much, so it was definitely experimental. I was really, really nervous it wouldn't work.
6167645
Well thanks! I know I've enjoyed writing it. Apparently at least a few people have wanted to read it.
6167722
Way more primitive, though.
6167777
Lots of people thought she'd be an Alicorn when she got bak from that meeting, which is probably a sign it never could've happened (though I didn't change anything in this case, it was just a prediction many people made.
6167782
A really interesting idea for an intermediate step I actually hadn't considered! Instead of making humans that can survive in magic, making a pony body that's more human! Who knows if anyone will actually think of it.
6167788
Dresdenverse. More or less my thoughts right there. What makes a human different from a dog is that a human can decide one day that he/she would rather be something else, and change their habit sand pretend and alter themselves to that new life. A dog cannot ever decide one day not to be, essentially, a dog. It can't decide that it doesn't like its weight and should really lose a few pounds, and start exercising.
All the speculation is really out of scope for the universe though. Humans have souls, animals have spirits. Spirits given magic get stronger, but the souls humans have get ripped away instead of getting stronger. Why? Not even the Equestrian ponies really understand that. They seemed to expect the animals' reaction (getting smarter and more magical), and were shocked and horrified at what actually happened to humans instead.
6167834
Hey, Alex is trying! She's as dedicated as she can be. But she is known to omit important details when they bother her.
6167837
CANON
6167848
I hope so too! I'm glad you liked all the different crap I shoved in here. Sometimes I worry that what I write is too niche for anyone to want to read it.
6167871
They do become other races. I didn't have time to depict it, because there were only a small number of characters in the story. Luna said it, in the way she said that the "only balance the ponies knew how to recreate was the one from their world". That meant the spell made ponies in to every race. The side stories get to do that more, and there are side-stories with all kinds of "freakshow" characters.
6167912
I cannot imagine they would be very happy about that. Of course, most of the other transformed humans we've seen STARTED with theirs, so that must seem even more unfair to them. They never even had to "earn" theirs. >.>
6167926
Stupid typo. Got it! Thanks for pointing that out.
6167937
Well, lots of other people did too. I'm not positive yet on what I'll do (a daily story is really hard to keep up with, and I think it would be basically impossible to keep up with as prose unless I released short scenes (1-2k words, like with the journals). I'll probably have some sort of journal about that later, when I'm closer to making my decision. Lots of people wan more, but I might be able to do that as a sequel.
6167945
Yes. I'm always open to crossovers if they fit the story I'm trying to tell. Which they may not always be. I've had to turn down some ideas because they didn't fit with the narrative.
6168001
Yeah, fixed that. When I got the chance. Sometimes takes a little while. I'm glad I managed to capture the feel of the show, though. That's something I'm always aiming for, though I don't always hit it because the content of the chapters (like dangerous stuff with the HPI) doesn't quite mesh. Sometimes, though.
6168040
Hey, I'm at an anime expo!
Also, it was like 4AM when I wrote that, I'd just written over 4000 words of comment responses, and I could barely sit up.
6168239
Here's hoping he doesn't come back alone in a jungle somewhere, doomed to discover his unifying theory, but civilization around him has moved and he never actually finds it. Or worse, he comes back and gets eaten by a lion or something. In all seriousness, I've been looking forward to/dreading a side story about a celebrity of some kind for some time now. I wonder if anybody will ever write one.
6168251
That is where I'm leaning right now, yeah.
6168463
No, the story isn't over. It's just moving towards an ending. Kinda... uncomfortably fast, actually. I wish I wasn't at this convention. I'd be able to think more about this. Ah, well. Only one more day.
6168999
I doubt meeting Time Turner was part of the formal tour. Unfortunately, it's unlikely she would've even realized who she was meeting if she did meet him. He'd just be another earth pony in the crowd.
6169023
Alex - Loyalty
Sky - Kindness
Oliver - Generosity
Joseph - Magic?
Kinda breaks down after this.
6169407
I've actually always wanted to have a reader involvement story. I'm sure I'll try my hand at it at some point, though probably not for this universe. Maybe a mystery-adventure would be more suited for it, I'm not sure. Planing would be a huge pain in the butt, though. It would be more like GMing a role-playing game than writing a novel. Not to mention there's no way I could post daily on a story like that. I have to write about 1-2 weeks in advance in order to get quality content out on a daily basis (editing, revising, art, pre-reading all take time), after all.
More to the point, the daily updates are only possible becuse I'm on summer break right now and only have a part-time job. If I was working or back at school, I could never keep up with the time demands. I have another month of summer left and might keep it up with whatever sequel I write, but once that window is up...
6169482
I'm actually more excited about being able to control rain. Water holds much more energy than wind, after all. They could redirect rainfall over huge areas to create rivers and valleys suitable to hydroelectric dams and water-wheels. That's some efficient power (and much easier to build/maintain than windmills, to boot, since even a slow stream carries vast energy compared to wind).
6169624
Fortunately the HPI and our pony survivors seem to have a good working relationship so far. Hopefully that can build into something more.
In regard's to your authors notes:
If there were truly nothing left to be said, I would say end it. But there is so much potential ground that could be covered, that could lay the foundation for a later sequel, that I would say yes, please continue. Even if you decided to put this story on a shelf to recharge your batteries, the world you have created is at least as potentially captivating as that of Fallout:Equestria, and since your world wasn't built on another's foundations, you don't have the restrictions, that kkat has to deal with.
Now of course, it's your story and your world, if you feel that you've done everything you want to do, then I won't try to change your mind. But a story like this can potentially be a seed, that if tended to, could grow into something quite large.
No matter what you decide to do however, thank you for an awesome tale!
Q.E.