This story is a sequel to A Magic Turn of Events
Life on a transformed Earth isn't easy. Weird magic and new bodies to get used to, an alternate fantasy world filled with mirror versions of themselves, and the sheer challenge of getting back to a normal life when nothing normal remains.
Yet, there is no path but forward. As former humans help themselves up and Equestrians lend a hoof or some other appendage, there will be many stories of their slow return to a stable life.
Here's a glimpse into those stories.
Updates spontaneously.
Chapters (62)
The comics establish that Spitfire does not have a good track record with foals. Newly reborn humans won't fare much better.
"Cute? I'm not cute. I'm awesome!"
"We look like freaking plushies. If Pinkie or Flutters saw me like this back before the change, they'd cuddle me for a week. My reputation is shot!"
"Look, we may all be cute by weird hairless ape standards, but you and me? We're some of the sleekest, coolest ponies out there."
"We look like fluffy kitties with hooves!"
"Yeesh, I really am that thick-headed."
Some of the best, most brilliant solutions are blindingly obvious in hindsight.
Now there's a generation gap for the ages. The first group with no memories of being human will lie on the side of what may be a truly unbridgeable cultural divide. Though I imagine plenty of people will try to connect with them regardless.
This is one of the more disturbing aspects of this setting. The entire universe got revamped at superluminal speed to Equestria's geocentric model. The stars are... What even are they anymore? Certainly not massive fusion reactors so far away their light takes years if not centuries to reach us. The Lunas would never be able to alter them in real time. What happened out there?
Great stuff thus far, but this one really perplexes me.
10115259
This is honestly something I should've put more thought in. In hindsight, it's easy to see that talking about the stars' own transformation into something else is much more different and much more difficult to go around than former humans and their own predicament.
All I can know and say is that the universe maybe got smaller and the stars got much closer and much smaller to boot, or maybe the speed of light is much faster now which wouldn't be noticeable up close but would make it more in line with that laser scene from The Force Awakens.
Man, every time time I read a story set in this world, I just can't help but feel sad for everyone.
10115273
I feel bad for any aliens out there who might've been destroyed when the universe shrank and went geocentric
Quite pleased to see more stories from this world. I'll be reading. It's nice to have fun little tidbits to just get into and absorb.
Now who thought it was a good idea to have Spitfire teach an introductory course? Probably Rainbow...
10115258
Oh yes, it takes three generations as I understand it.
One generation that was full grown, they lived in the old world all their lives, and they never fully leave it.
One generation that was half-and-half, old enough to remember, but young enough to learn. They sympathize with their parents even as they baffle them.
And finally, one generation that knows aught of any world but that which they inhabit, politely listening to their grandparent's fairy tails without entirely believing them.
10115254
Doesn’t stop me wanting to smack my past self for being so oblivious.
10115612
I take it you speak from experience?
10115634
S. M. Stirling's Emberverse is a fascinating read, a post-apocalyptic setting where people didn't just sit around like a bunch of radioactive bandits.
10115259
10115273
Ah yes, “Writers Have No Sense of Scale”. Even with magic, that sort of thing is hard to avoid, especially if you want to preserve any kind of conservation laws.
10115273 10115313 10115655
With any luck, the magic only went out to the heliopause and folded the system into a new pocket universe.
The accuracy of the EG personalities is rather impressive.
10115297
I believe it is because there is an overwhelming sense of loss. Even with everyone helping, all the humans on this world have had their lives turned upside-down without asking for it. It's a disaster almost no one anticipated; thus, the suddenness adds to the tragedy.
10115313
I'm running on the assumption that there are no aliens in this universe at all.
10115427
The tidbit part is, in part, inspired by the format of the Oversaturated World's Group Precipitation. I also ran with that because it's not too taxing to write a scene or two instead of a full-blown chapter unlike with A Magic Turn of Events.
At any rate, I'm glad that you're enjoying it!
10115602
Considering that she seems to be the main teacher at the Wonderbolts Academy, I'd think that it's a good idea for Spitfire to teach. Just that she has to be softer with former humans who've never had wings at all until very recently.
10115655
10115831
At the very least, I can learn from this. It's also now I just learned what a heliopause is: the illustration for it looks gorgeous! Though the heliopause-only idea means that the rest of the universe isn't magical. My apologies to the space colonizers centuries down the line.
10115844
To be honest, they are not that much different from their Equestrian counterparts. It is a matter of thinking how, say, Applejack would grow up and be like if, instead of being a pony in some rural farm, she's a human living in a farm by the edge of a city.
Still one of the most fascinating timelines I’ve seen in the fandom. Despite the depression and sadness everyone seems to be experiencing, I feel like their adaptation to no longer being human has gone remarkably well. Possibly too well, or maybe too fast.
Still, rooting to see AJ and her horses interacting. Love those guys!
10116851
Part of how fast they're adapting is because I want this to be close to the original Equestria Girls/Friendship is Magic flavor as possible. Sure, I could go a more realistic route like with Pandemic, but then I'd be straying away from the tone that's characterized both this series and the canon material. Also, don't you worry: there will be some material regarding Cookie, Cinnamon, and Oakley! Just in their due time....
And: thanks for lifting my spirits up all that time ago, Beard. It gave me revived hope for my own series here.
10117519
Fair enough! Having every character suffering from a nightmare-tier level of dismorphia would get old quick!
Also, yay!
Best appul-horsies!!!
I can honestly picture Rainbow being upset over THAT!
10115254
10115627
Amen to that.
10117844
Now you've got me thinking: what other characters would get upset over turning into a cute and cuddly pony? Off the top of my head, there's Scootaloo.
Man, this really needs more views. Seeing people adapt to change is so fascinating.
Yowch, jamming your tail like that is no joke.
Well then. Problem solved, wot?
Ah yes. One of the most powerful spells of all.
Dakka.
What does she need redemption for?
Attacka... Sparta? Not sure if I'm impressed or disgusted.
But yes, Lyra could definitely use some instructions from her analogue on how to sit upright as a unicorn.
Let's just hope the Maulwurfen aren't intelligent enough to have the concept of vengeance. To say nothing of Pharynx trying to use modern firearms to lean on the Hive's allies for more favorable deals. Good thing Thorax is in charge of that sort of thing. Still, this opens a number of doors that may have been better left closed...
10118220
Attica is infact the peninsula and home of Spartas greatest rival Athens
10118136
I wonder how would real-life horses react to sitting on their docks, especially since they seem to be much weightier than the pastel ponies here.
10118145
Now let's imagine ponies in mecha. Wait... isn't Transformers something like mecha? Now let's have ponies team up Voltron-style in their cars and turn into a pony mecha!
10118219
For not being human. She's still not over her post-human blues, sadly.
10118220
10118376
It was made with Attica in mind. My thought process went: lyres -> Greece -> Athens but it seems too hard to ponify that -> Athens is in Attica -> horse tack can be substituted into the word Attica -> Attacka. My mind did think of Sparta, but I thought going for something like Spurta would be a bit jarring, especially since popular perception views Sparta as the warring/militant state versus the popularly-seen-as enlightened/high culture Athens which seems more likely to have lyres than Sparta.
10118224
That's without talking about weapons of mass destruction. Now that's another idea to add to the list: how Equestrians would react to nuclear missiles, biological warfare, and so on.
So....equestria and guns. This ain't going to end well
Sure we do, you just never noticed because you grew up with them.
They'll learn about hangovers, that's for sure...
10124897
It can end well. It just needs responsibility. At the very least, those without finger-like appendages or levitating magic would not be able to use it, but I can imagine them making their own versions of guns.
10125576
I'm curious as to what those noises are.
10125586
Well one that comes to mind, that sort of chuff or snort you make when someone says something along the lines of a dumb joke that's not quite actually funny. Or that *click*-indrawn breath before you give someone some bad news. Stuff like that.
What 10125576 said. Grunts, groans, gasps... Any nonverbal vocalization could qualify as a human noise. We just don't think of them that way for the same reason no one notices their own accent unless someone points it out. (Look up the video of Baltimoreans saying "Aaron earned an iron urn" for a magnificent example of that.)
Come to think of it, Sunset could be the one to point out that kind of thing... This gives me an idea.
"Thanks for that, by the way."
"There were many extenuating circumstances at work—"
"Whatever. You're still banned for a week."
Well, hopefully the rapid alcohol metabolism carried over from being horsier horses. Though I imagine those three will still regret it in the morning.
10125607
10125727
I think the assumption I'm running on here is that, since we've heard ponies gasp, grunt, and groan in the show, ponies wouldn't see it as either human or equine noises... just noises. Even then, ponies have met up with other creatures like zebras, griffons, hippogriffs, and so on who've also gasped, grunted, and groaned—so they wouldn't really think about it that much. Sunset, upon entering the human world and checking out its inhabitants, would probably note the gasps, grunts, and groans, but she'd then conclude that they're still just noises, not exclusive to any one or even a few species.
Or perhaps I still don't get it.
Also:
I'm curious as to what this is a reference to. It looks Rarity banning Sight See from her boutique for a week.
10125582
10125732
As someone who isn't much of a drinker, I found that writing this scene was a bit of a shot in the dark. All I know is that, much alcohol = much drunkenness. However, I am vaguely aware of the alcohol content distribution: beer is less concentrated than wine which is less concentrated than whiskey.
10125759
I was working on the assumption that most of the ponies' nonverbal noises were covered by the Ponish-to-Earth-language translator. This may be a "your mileage may vary" headcanon situation.
As for the mini-scene, you've reversed the speakers. Sight's blaming Rarity for the horsification.
What is the first thing an uplifted creature does with its newfound intelligence? Get plastered.
10125925
You know what? I honestly believe that that's not a far-fetched idea. Get a whole load of new intelligence jammed into your head with only little more than the necessary adjustments to technically cope with it... I can imagine some of the less-prepared ones going straight to the bottle.
10125948
Yeah, I can imagine uplifting something could be really, really traumatic.
I would've gone with Narneigha, personally.
"To be fair, that last one was true before the change."
"Yes, but at least most of us could ignore it."
But yeah, there are brave new worlds of scientific frontiers out there. Finding them should be fun, especially for a Sunburst.
Oh, Trixie...
Oh, Starlight while we're at it. Taking offense on other people's behalf rarely ends well.
Also, I think Starlight may have misunderstood stealth technology.
10125954
In this world where the transformations take place with the show's original peppy flavor and tone, I don't think the uplifting would be that traumatizing. Instead, it could be a happy yet deep experience as they learn to take on the responsibilities and the broader spectrum of intelligence and free will they can achieve now.
10127199
Yeah, Narneigha sounds better.
You know, with Sci-Twi, local Sunburst, and Sunset who's the most familiar with Equestrian life, the science team would already be formidable. That would be enough to stir the rest of the scientific community to embrace the magic as a whole new frontier and area of research. Perhaps we could see more scientists, especially the unicorn, move out of the big academic journal groups and start going the mages' guild or hermit routes to get away from Big Science.
Oh, Autumn Blaze: can't live with ya, can't live without ya.