Oliver doesn't know why the Equestrians came to Earth. He doesn't know why the portal they used is expanding and turning humans into colorful equines wherever it passes. He doesn't even know why the rest of the world seems so accepting of the change.
All he knows is that his father dragged him all the way to Portland, Oregon, to say goodbye. To family, to friends, and to humanity as we know it .
It'd be a lot easier if the invader in his aunt's apartment would stop smiling.
Originally written for the 2017 National Pony Writing Month.
Inspired by elements of transformation stories like The Conversion Bureau, but otherwise unrelated to them.
Editing by Cyonix.
Now part of the Endings collection.
Chapters (8)
Well, it's been a while that I really took an interest in Alt TCB story, they aren't usually that great, but yours is off to a good start. I wonder how it all started that 'apparently' people around Oliver don't seem to be too overly concern about jumping species like this, I would normally guess that only a few would be willing to go through with it. So I guess there could be some magic manipulation on Equetria's part in some way, through I would wonder how they do it and how do they expect to absorb 7 billion people/ponies into their population and how to manage it when their country only seem to be a few millions strong, I would guess a 100 million seeing that they have mostly their own continent to themselves. I wonder what Oliver will discover from the ponies before he is converted and how different his outlook will be like once he inevitably become a pony.
I would also wonder why they are doing in the first place, in the original, it was reported to me a 'natural' dimensional crossing that just so happen to crass with Equestria's own and that radiation of the field would kill any human tissue, but in reality it was 'rescue operation'/invasion/kept promise sense humanity was less then three generations away from extinction, due to humanities own fault. I hope this story has it's own twist to why this is all happening that will make it standout as a story.
If you are ever looking to get your own cover art for this sotry let me know I am open for commissions, and I have some expectancy under my belt. PM me if you to discus this further, and here is the link to my DA gallery bellow, hope to hear from you soon.
https://www.deviantart.com/amalgamzaku
Well. That like : dislike ratio sure is... something.
Wasn't expecting that, tbh
I keep getting this feeling that I've seen this story somewhere before. Don't know entirely why, though.
9754803
There are a lot of questions behind the exact events of this Conversion Wave that, in all honesty, I wasn't terribly interested in answering. I wanted to focus on one man's examination of what these changes cause to him personally, as well as what it reveals about himself as a person. I get the feeling this will be a make or break situation for the reader, as you'll either enjoy the internal examination or hate that it doesn't go too in-depth about the actual change happening to the world.
9755078
I had a feeling the story would be, at the very least, divisive. It doesn't help that I use "Conversion" constantly, making many associate it with a certain base-breaking story. I actually wrote the first draft when I didn't know anything about TCB other than "people turn to ponies". Even after I figured out what it was, I kept the "Conversion" name just because I couldn't think of anything else that would work as well describing the event. Portraying the event as some ambiguous cataclysm that can't be avoided and isn't explained as in-depth as it could be might also be leaving a sour taste in some readers' mouths.
Personally, I hope the reaction grows more positive when I upload the final chapters. I thought this was a pretty interesting story to write and just feels like one of my stronger works on this site. But for now it's just a hope.
9755184
Well, the story uses the "visiting relatives for the last time" plotline, has a human dealing with an influx of ponies, and a mass conversion of people to ponies. All of these are pretty well-worn storylines on this site, so there's probably a tinge of familiarity to them.
9755258
Maybe.
9755258
Well I do hope the reception gets better! I happen to like this story very much
Though I guess I did edit for it, so I may be a little biased on that
I've also never read TCB before, hehe ^^;
Don't let this site get you down a lot people are not able to deal with these ideas and just hate on them. What matters more is how it is written any you do it well.
9755789
Yeah, the "converting humans to pony" plot line has been done to death and stirs up a lot of passionate feelings in readers due to TCB's pretty splitting reception. I tried to do my version of this plot in a more grounded, up close examination of what someone would feel, even going as far as using a real American city as the setting. It's a pretty weird way to tell this kind of story, so I'm not surprised some readers aren't fond of it.
Well this was a nice story, I would have liked to see more of the aftermath, but I won't complain about it. I hope you will keep on writing then.
9756064
As I said before, I was more interested in what Oliver was feeling during this period of his life than what comes afterward. There's definitely a good story idea there with a post-transformation tale, but it's not really something I want to write about. Plenty of other authors have done that idea better and with more conviction than I could muster, so I'll leave those kinds of stories to them.
The contrast between the facetious humor and the more sincere interpretation is delicious though. I certainly can relate to that awkward silence.
9757892
Yeah, I can name a lot of times in my life where an awkward silence pops up and just hangs in the air. Being able to capture that in writing was difficult, but it helps the mood so much.
Fascinating. An angle on the subgenre I've rarely seen, with layers of existential dread both explicit and implied. The silences are deafening, and poor Summer has to be the representation of the inevitable when she really does just want to meet new friends. They all do.
It's just that it would have been nice if they had asked first. But then, it would've been nice if they'd had the option to ask.
Excellently done. Thank you for it. A shame the backlash is still so strong.
9930191
Thanks for your comment. Yeah, I feel bad for Summer too. She's not evil or xenophobic, just a poor soul caught in a terrible situation like Oliver. It's also not a case where the ponies purely benefit from humanity's conversion; they still lost their homeland and are causing a sustained societal breakdown in their new home. I think that's more compelling than the usual "good vs. evil" a lot of TCB stories come down to, and one of the main reasons I wanted to write this story.
And I won't lie, seeing all the initial downvotes was hard. This was the story I put the most effort into for the Endings collection, partly because it was tied so closely to my own life (relatives in Portland who took in foreign exchange students) and touched on a certain hopelessness I think everybody goes through (dealing with an unescapable change to their lives). My guess is a lot of people saw TCB mentioned in the description and dismissed it outright, or read it and weren't pleased with the rather defeatist and internal take I gave to the concept.
I'm glad the story worked for you, though. Hope I can someday write something just as strong.
9931789
Mostly the former, I wager. A very rare few exceptions aside, TCB stories still seem to get downvoted on principle.
10002812
To quote JC Denton, "What a shame". I think for all the flaws TCB has as a story, the general concept is quite interesting and can be used in a myriad of ways. It's all just a matter of finding a different lens through which to tell the story. In my case, I wanted to show how a normal person would see the changing human/pony society, without the usual factions fighting or a 'chosen one' human/pony hero a lot of other TCB stories feature. I also wanted to show both humanity and ponies as victims in this process, which I felt was more nuanced than the 'one side is good, the other is evil' route many other stories took.
Either way, I hope those who did read the story got something out of it.
Seriously? "Yay! Tuberculosis!"? An actual cheer for coughing up blood and slowly dying as your lungs dissolve? Praise for history being awful and arbitrary? Hurray for millions of horrific, gore-splattered deaths, the crown and glory of Creation!?
Oliver... Oliver is a little off plumb, there.
I would happily consign tuberculosis, cancer, covid, heart attacks, brain aneurysms, and the flu to the dustbin of history, and I would do so with a full heart and a song on my lips.
10620169
The whole point of the passage is that he's lashing out at Summer because he so desperately wants the world to be the same that he's willing to take the awful stuff of the old world (tuberculosis, war, etc.) over the good stuff the new Equestrian world will provide. It's petty and cruel, but it's driven by a desperate attempt to cling to the past. As the next chapter shows, he is not in the right in saying these things.
10620316
I know, I know. It's just that right now, with all the covid deniers and a seditious siege on the Capitol, and a third of a million dead in the US, I am just so goddamn tired and weary of anyone telling me how super great earth is, you know? I've lost people I know, who died still claiming that covid was fake because Trump said it was a hoax. The TB stuff just hit a little too close to home.
It's fine as a story beat, truly it is. Intellectually, divorced from reality, it is fine as fiction. it's just that reading it in a time when people are actually dying of an incurable, barely treatable disease (just like TB once was... and with some strains, still is) around you... it hits like an insult. Does that make any sense?
10620552
Sure. Though you must remember this was written back in 2017 (and published in summer 2019), well before a lot of these problems appeared or were considered as prescient an issue. It's more a case of a story accidentally lining up with reality rather than a purposeful attempt to yank a reader's chain.
10620968
Oh! I didn't even notice the date!
"In writing, everything is fun and games, until a third of a million people die" - Old Quote that nobody ever said
This storyline and world you've created is amazing I just wish more people would read what you've to write.
11303232
Thank you! This was a very important story for me, as I wanted to write my own version of a controversial genre in the fandom. It took a lot of effort, but I'm happy with the end result.
It's only controversial because a lot of people don't know how to perceive this section of fimfiction.
Fascinating tale. I would like to know more about how this state of affairs came about. What did happen two years ago when ponies first came to Earth? How did the Conversion start?
Will do some hunting a bit later. Long Covid is a real pain in the life.