Lazy Pines is a small town in the high country of Colorado, easily overshadowed by the bigger sights to see along Colorado State 9. When influenza strikes the town hard, it is little more than a statistical blip in a typical flu season. No one thinks any more of it as the initial wave of infection passes ... until the other symptoms begin to manifest.
Meanwhile, during what should have been a routine trip to Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle stumbles upon a strange anomaly which turns into an all-consuming mystery. As she discovers the complex web of magic stubbornly maintaining this mystery's secrets, she grows worried what it could mean for herself and her family.
And as the residents of Lazy Pines struggle to understand -- or even believe -- what is happening to them, two worlds have irrevocably been set on a direct collision course.
Updates every other weekend.
Cover art by Mix-up. Please check out more artwork by this talented artist.
Now has its own TV Tropes page thanks to redandready45.
Hmmm, this seems interesting already!
A pandemic causing pony transformation? A group transformation? That's one of those ideas that I love in principle and yet I've never seen executed on a level I was happy with. I have high hopes for this story with that premise.
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I share your hopes Canary
After the sudden death of H1P1, I've been having a little itch for a pony pandemic thats been needing scratching
7832444 I'll second this. Now Second Chances pulled off the transformation from an interesting and complex perspective, with a narrator with an unconventional background and personality. This is upping the ante, but I'm hopeful it'll work.
7832444 There's the simple fact that it MUST be something deliberate from a very powerful and highly intelligent villain for a very specific purpose, OR, a crazy god trickster pulling a gargantuan transdimensional prank. Most stories that try this concept don't really grasp the difficulties very well and don't develop it beyond the very basic notion until many chapters in when they finally realize they need to explain how the heck this even happened in the first place, and then the cause feels tacked on because it actually is and wasn't part of the narrative up until then. When dealing with something like this, it's important to dig any deeper into the all-important 'why' and 'how' of such an intrinsically complex event from the outline stage, to then properly frame all the development from that point on within the context of the quest to explain the strange happenings, which would naturally consume the attentions of everyone involved.
orange poof......adagio?
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Why a villain?
Viruses and the like exist right now in the real world. Their development had been long and apparently accidental, moulded in the purest sense by the forces of natural selection.
The true question is what forces would make a virus to induce a transformation in species, to magical ponies in particular? It's hard to imagine any natural selection forces that would do such a thing, but I'm pretty sure an interesting case could be presented that involves no deliberate acts from anyone... just a larger lens than just the Earth, that had magic be a selecting force for development of the virus.
That said, I've always postulated that perhaps ponies are a genetically engineered species. In that case, a virus to induce such a transformation would likely come from the same source, regardless if the spread to Earth was accidental or intentional. If, for example, it had ponies be a terraforming race... and there is certainly enough evidence that they could, considering their control over the atmosphere (pegasi), the ground and growth of flora and fauna (earth ponies), and various other tasks like barriers (to, say, keep in an atmosphere) and control over heavenly bodies (bringing down meteors full of ice onto a dry planet? Unicorns). See, that's a possible reason for ponies existence, and it didn't require a villain at all. In fact, the entire terraforming race thing could be automated via probes sent through space, perhaps by a long dead species.
Not that I'm opposed to the creative use of a villain or trickster to drive the story. It was, in essence, what happened in the last story. Discord caused the transformation and translocation of the protagonist.
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Thanks
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I hope it lives up to your expectations. I tried to avoid falling into any cliche pits with this one.
Thank you.
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Seriously, this is a bit ambitious for me, having just come off my one and only novel-length story, but the idea for this just wouldn't go away.
So am I!
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This is one of the reasons why it took me so long to start posting the story. I had to have twelve chapters written in rough draft format before I was convinced that the story was heading in the direction I wanted. This is not the kind of story where I can just go "okay, a bunch of people are turning into ponies. Now what?". I even did a lot of extensive research into both biology and archaeology to make sure I could paint a believable picture.
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Wasn't quite thinking along those lines, but whatever works for you.
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Of course, I can't answer what the ultimate cause is here, since it would spoil the plot, but I can say that I did do some research into how influenza works so the plot would be believable as far as it goes.
Alright, I'm definitely hooked. I'll come along for this ride, as it seems it will be a good one. Full steam ahead!
Man, I'm just sitting here listening to the Pandemic Inc. soundtrack while I read this. Everything seems strangely menacing for some reason.
Happy New Year and thank you for this amazing fanfic.
It's not a concept I've never seen before, nor that I have seen very well handled. But it is you we are talking about. Chance of this being a huge hit are high.
And since I really like the idea...
Count me in!
Dammit Laura, I'm a doctor not a hairstylist!
This writing is fantastic. I love the way you describe the surroundings! Very vivid and immersive. I also like the characters, even the human OCs seem varied and fleshed out, playing well off of each other. I love the setting of an out of the way small town off in the woods. I don't really get the... name change to Moonshine. If anything, that would arouse more suspicion than it would divert attention. Could it be some residual spell that Night Moonwhatever cast to try to keep certain well intentioned regents from covering it up? But Twilight said the book hadn't been spelled to change the name!
I haven't been so excited about a story in a while. I wish you luck in writing it, and an easy life without complications to enable you to write it.
Oohhh... an approach I haven't seen before. Interesting.
Alright, count me in for the ride. This looks very promising indeed.
I love me a good mystery, and the first tidbit with Moonshine/Moonglow was tasty. Right now I'm wondering if Twi or Starlight might even have had a third name implanted. So... the old 'just because I can', also called the 'never,ever, under no circumstances open this door' effect. Luna out of the loop, Celestia dealing with bad memories, Twilight's curiosity roused.
Tracking.
Curious......
Though, seriously, if they even tried....
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Being an Alicorn and more attuned to magic, it does make sense that Twilight would be the first to pick up on it.
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This story has potential. You have my attention.
You have my curiosity, this story has a good premise and seems to be going into a very good direction...
The Doctor did it. Disguised Pony Doctor. Only person in town not sick. He wants the portal open for some reason, but there's some reason he couldn't keep it open- either because of its own peculiarities or some side effect- which he at least believes will be allowed, reversed, prevented, or mitigated by there being more ponies on the other side, thus why he magic'd up a pony pandemic. The question of why he's doing it and why Celestia is so afraid of it stand. But those natives apparently GTFO'd pretty fast the last time it happened... though whether that's because there are negative side effects or they saw Celly in rage mode is also up in the air.
That's my theory anyways.
Well now, you have certainly made me sit up and pay attention. An enticing mystery, secrets of the past, two worlds on (apparent) collision course, great and distinct characterization and voices for both your OCs and canon characters, all wrapped up in writing of great technical quality? Consider me sold!
But really, you have sent my imagination a-spin, and for that I applaud you - rarely does a story get me this fired up from just two chapters. The ancient contact between ponies and native Americans ... why did it happen, and more importantly - why did it stop? Did Celestia notice the side effects of magic leaking into Earth and closed off the bridge? Was the breach random, or did she cause it herself in the first place (only to find that sealing it was beyond her capability)? Are Jenny's "fantasies" indeed just that, or is there more behind her fairy tale about an ancient queen who almost turned evil, but deiced to become benevolent instead at the last moment, and keeps hiding her secrets ever since? And who stole the archeological evidence and records of ancient Equestrian contact?
Lots and lots of juicy questions I very much look towards being answered with time.
And the whole mystery surrounding Moonglow/Moonshine ... I might go off the rails here and be completely wrong here (in which case you can get a good chuckle out of this), but I feel like speculating a bit. The story description does say there are secrets surrounding Twilight's family, and I have a feeling this might be it. Assuming this means her immediate family (and not juts some ancestors) ... Twilight's father's name (or at least the one that 99% of the community seems to have adopted) is Night Light. I wonder if there is some connection there, seeing as both moon-glow and moon-shine are a type of Light that can be seen at Night. I might be grasping at straws here, but we do know Twilight's family is somehow involved, so ...
And I'm going to take a guess that, whatever magics Celestia has in place for keeping the place unnoticed and forgettable (since no one seems to have noticed the oddities about lacking windows or unregistered seals - or how such sealed places should normally have guards standing near them) either don't work on Alicorns, or Twilight's deepened connection to magic allows her to see through it ... or she has more personal/familial connection to it all than she might realize right now.
And who knows what's going on with that records book - After all, Night Moonglow was the correct entry the first time around. And though Twilight couldn't see the correct name the second time around, she still remembers it - unlike Starlight. Did she partly succumb to the spell? Or did someone indeed switch the book out, after realizing it is being looked in-to? Was it Celestia, or some third party?
Aargh, so many questions - and I'm very excited to find out the answers.
And this is what you're going to bring to me, 2017? You know, I had other things to do. I was going to finally drift away from all this "ponification epidemic" theme and fandom in whole. But no. In the first day, in very first day you pull me in again and show me this. And I have to change plans, also again. Sorry, "Gate" and popular russian fandom works. I have to deal with this first.
I hope it will be better than Friendly Fire.
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Thank you, all, for your encouraging words! I hope you all continue to like it as the story unfolds.
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You have to be really powerful at magic to pick up on the resonance there. I figured Starlight would sense it, too, once it was pointed out to her, since I see her as perhaps one of the most powerful unicorns there is.
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Interesting theories to be sure. We'll see which ones pan out
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I might have called it that if I was going more for tongue-in-cheek humor
I read the last line of the description as
lmao
7832598 For the simple fact you're almost grasped: the effects are much too specific and far too removed from a virus' primary goal of replication. There is NO REASON for a virus or any pathogen to trigger any sort of transformation unless DELIBERATELY DESIGNED to do so, such as with some transgenic pathogens created to add human genes to mice for research and so forth.
It is possible to get away with the concept a bit when a story is entirely set within a weird magical world where regular rules don't apply, BUT in this case this pathogen has found its way to OUR world... meaning somehow it traversed dimensional barriers, something requiring a huge amount of carefully focused and shaped energy... which INCREASES the likelihood of a deliberate infection from a villain.
7832692 And that's why I'm reading and not ripping it to bits! It appears as though something significant has been put into the story from outset, and this causative force will be a present thought both in the character's minds and the backstory, which hopefully means INTERNAL CONTINUITY!!!!
This alone makes me more excited than when reading most fanfics.
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Not that I'm disagreeing in principle, but careful with that line of thought, as it kind of resembles the argument for intelligent design of life via irreducible complexity argument.
7836074 Uhm... you're talking about this in the context of magical ponies in a world where they move their Sun and Moon and live alongside a chaos god.
So... yeahhhhh...
I am intrigued...
This has a very Five Score feel to it. I look forward to reading more.
Enjoying the story so far. Reminding me a little of the unfinished but extremely good and regretfully likely dead story My Little Marriage: Mary is a Mare except on a much larger scale. Hoping this story delivers on that same type of promise. See a lot of "turned into a pony" trope stories but few really deliver excellent storytelling.
I am looking forward to see more of this story again.
Dang! This is a type of story that I have not read yet, and I like it! I'm going to be tracking this one from here on out because I want to see where this goes. Nice work so far, and I look forward to the next update!
~ Super-Brony12
7:30 *A pony in Equestria has sneezed*
7:31 *The Griffon Kingdom have closed their borders*
7:32 *Yakyakistan have initiated martial law*
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Uh oh. Looks like some government is hiding something from the populace. I am intrigued.
Seeing so many familiar faces in the vicinity convinced me this one was worth reading. So far, I am not disappointed. You have a strong vocabulary and your OCs have an undeniable charm to them.
If there's one thing that concerns me slightly, it's the alternating between multiple plot lines that converge. Maybe it's because I had difficulty wrangling them myself in my first fic, but you have to balance the task of making sure the moment they actually meet is right. There is an undeniable payoff when it does happen, but you mustn't rush it or it loses its potency. At the same time, string us along for too long and the burden of keeping the two plots afloat and interesting gets exponentially harder.
Good luck
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Pandemic 2... Your going along, spreading and saving up DNA points with literally no symptoms, and then BOOM! Everybody panics. WHY!?!
No! *Baps Celestia on the nose with a rolled up newspaper* Bad 'Tia! You do NOT keep world-threatening secrets hidden from your biggest troubleshooters until the last minute! *Bap* You do NOT act mysterious and evasive when said troubleshooters find out anyway and then start poking around. THIS IS HOW APOCALYPSES START. *bap*
Not really a criticism, I understand why this kind of trope exists. Just saying it's still one that makes me want to smack the character around.
7838969 I recognize your avatar.
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What's really funny is I actually had made that exact typo on the draft copy of the description and corrected it only just before I was ready to post.
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I actually did read the original Five Score story and rather enjoyed it. That had been an original perspective on the whole transformation genre.
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I believe I had read that one as well.
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Thanks! It does help that I have about a dozen future chapters already written in rough draft format so I have a good sense for where the story is going.
2 chapters in one week?
Celestia I understand why you want this bottled up, but informing Twilight, Luna, Cadance, and possibly Starlight Glimmer would be a good idea about now. The more brain power pointed in this direction and different points of view could help solve it. It isn't like this would be Twilight's first rodeo, trust her.
Things are beginning to pick up. I wonder what will happen next?
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For now, anyway. I'm hoping to be able to post two at a time until the two plot lines get closer to converging, then I will likely drop back to one chapter a week.
oh my, transformation is happening.. and the pony ear.