PONID-21 Day 14 · 12:24am Jun 24th, 2020
—private-message—
Penny 1/19/2021 5:31 AM
Liiiiiiisssssssaaaaaa
Penny 1/19/2021 5:63 AM
Liiiiiiiizzzzzzzzaaaaaa
Lisa 1/19/2021 6:05 AM
I'm not going to ask how you did that. What's up, Penny?
Penny 1/19/2021 6:07 AM
I need to snuggle.
Lisa 1/19/2021 6:09 AM
Snuggle as in hug or snuggle with benefits.
Penny 1/19/2021 6:10 AM
Either. Both. What about the second one twice?
Lisa 1/19/2021 6:19 AM
Let's just start with a snuggle. If things go further, they… That's you knocking on my door, isn't it?
#general
PB 1/19/2021 8:03 AM
Anyone else feeling like shit?
Mike 1/19/2021 8:04 AM
Yeah. Seems worse today. My snout's running and all my feathers are drooping on one side.
Devon 1/19/2021 8:05 AM
Started yesterday for me.
Mike 1/19/2021 8:05 AM
Does it get better after a day?
Devon 1/19/2021 8:06 AM
Not in the least.
Kat 1/19/2021 8:07 AM
How can I feel cold? I'm a dragon! My core body temp is over 200! This is crazy.
Mike 1/19/2021 8:10 AM
Where's Lisa? She'd know what to do.
Devon 1/19/2021 8:12 AM
We can't rely on Lisa and Penny for everything. Alright, I'm calling this now. Everypony, grab your blankets and come down to the caf. We're going to hug all the bleh away!
Oh, right, @here
Devon 1/19/2021 8:13 AM
Dibs on hugging Kat.
Kat 1/19/2021 8:13 AM
Hey! I'm not something you can call dibs on!
PB 1/19/2021 8:14 AM
Dibs on her other side!
Kat 1/19/2021 8:14 AM
Hey!
Devon 1/19/2021 8:15 AM
It's not you we're calling dibs on. It's your warmth. You're like a big, snuggly radiator!
Kat 1/19/2021 8:16 AM
If you weren't all so damn cute, I'd take offense to this. See you there.
Lisa 1/19/2021 8:41 AM
Huh? Oh, the cafeteria? OMW!
—private-message—
Penny 1/19/2021 8:43 AM
You left in kinda a hurry. Was it that bad?
Lisa 1/19/2021 8:45 AM
Gimme a sec to get my head in order. I'll say first, it wasn't bad.
Lisa 1/19/2021 8:51 AM
Okay, I've decided it was amazing. Does that make me a lesbian?
Penny 1/19/2021 8:52 AM
I prefer to think of it as omnivorous.
Lisa 1/19/2021 8:55 AM
I'll have to think about trying it again, but I am thinking about it.
Penny 1/19/2021 8:56 AM
Does it freak you out where chatting like this in a room full of crowded people?
Lisa 1/19/2021 8:57 AM
Nope. They're adults, I think they could take it if they saw what we were writing.
Is it wrong I don't feel as bad as everypony else? It's like I just don't have this worse version of the flu.
Penny 1/19/2021 9:01 AM
That's what sex with a noodle will do for you. Even the flu is no match for a supreme noodle!
Lisa 1/19/2021 9:03 AM
Did you actually use your magic to make me feel better?
Penny 1/19/2021 9:03 AM
Telling would ruin it.
Lisa 1/19/2021 9:04 AM
New title. Best supreme noodle.
Penny 1/19/2021 9:05 AM
I'll start using it immediately.
Subject: Day 14 Observations
1/19/21
10:11 AM
Initial NotesPenny DeSanto (113823902021) continues to be an itch I can't scratch, but I'm doing my best to avoid noticing her. I owe her that much, at least.
Other subject notes to follow, but needless to say skipping just one day of reports has left a huge hole that I now have to fill.
Collectively, they look more complete now. I've watched several ponies walking around on two legs or four, and swapping back and forth. They chat and gesture with wings, they casually hold things in their magic, and in general just seem to be complete.
Flu-like symptoms are on the rise. Testing across the board reveals everyone to have heightened immune responses—except for Penny DeSanto and Lisa Trent (113822402021).
I asked each, separately, if they've been in contact with each other for long periods of time. Miss DeSanto had the biggest grin on her face when she nodded, while Miss Trent blushed (something I barely noticed through the fur of her cheeks). Both admitted to being in a mutually physical interaction earlier in the day.
Following will be my group-focused notes.
One final note: I will continue to use the gender with which my patients have established. Their sexes are noted in their files.
—Doctor Howards
Subject: Day 14 Observations
1/19/21
10:38 AM
PegasiDevon Creed (113822522021), after an hour running hard on a treadmill, slipped and rolled off the back while cursing. Not surprising given how competitive he seemed about it, but what was surprising was the language he used. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. We recorded the session as normal, but no matter which fancy place Lisa Trent (113822402021) (our resident computer wiz) played the audio to, none could translate it.
The thing was, and I don't hold it against her since this might not be a conscious reaction, but I noticed her ears fold back when she first heard the recording. It was spoken quite obviously as swearing, but she seemed to understand it on some level.
Among the alien words, however, was one clear one: Rainbow Dash. Even Devon had no idea what it meant, but his head snapped around the moment he heard it.
Devon is, without a doubt, leading the pack of not just pegasi but all our patients. He's a canary showing us what to look for. It's one reason his care and wellbeing is of utmost importance.
—Doctor Howards
Subject: Day 14 Observations
1/19/21
10:38 AM
UnicornsFirstly, I have asked the pegacorns to spend some time with both the unicorns and the pegasi. Their time with the latter will not mean as much as with this group. Thus, I am merging them into this group.
Michael Cooper (113822412021), Sally Jeffers (113822512021), and Trent Copperfield (113822472021) are all leading the pack in this group, though they are doing so without advanced physical changes like Devon Creed (113822522021) among the pegasi.
All members are now able to lift and carry items in their magic field. The above-mentioned patients have also shown something more in that they are able to manipulate the things they're holding. This level of dexterity must be taking phenomenal levels of mental plasticity to adapt to.
I had the group watch Penny DeSanto's (113823902021) video that so startled me recently. This began a lot of talking about the topic of teleportation. A personal view, but the video still leaves me a little queasy. Michael Cooper was surprisingly Lisa-like when he hugged me after viewing the video. Empathy seems to be strong in almost all the ponies.
—Doctor Howards
Subject: Day 14 Observations
1/19/21
11:20 AM
PoniesSubtle is the best way to describe the little magics these people do. From turning even bad produce into amazing food. I don't eat at the staff cafeteria anymore, even the cooks eat with the ponies.
But that's not everything. I've seen others using theirs on the grass outside. Since the crash of the helicopter, the ground doesn't even look like it had something crash into it. The soil is flat. The grass is growing. I don't even know if they realized they did it with magic, but the camera footage outside showed that they were mostly just trying to kick things around a little.
I wish I had some way of teaching them to use it, but apart from having everyone take a turn in the kitchen, I can't think what else to do. I want to help all of them learn to do everything they can to the fullest.
Maybe that will start to pay back what I owe them.
—Doctor Howards
Subject: Day 14 Observations
1/19/21
12:53 PM
OthersDragons and canines and bug-ponies, oh my. Forgive my little foibles, but these people are the most amazing and flexible I've seen yet.
The griffons are a mixed bag. Aaron Styles (113823882021) has shown a change of personality that Dr. Simpson says she wishes she could bottle and sell. He's so happy that he makes me smile just seeing him smile. Each of the others have had the opposite. They are more grumpy and down, though I have witnessed both smile when Lisa walks up and gives them a hug. That probably says more about Lisa than it does grumpy griffons.
Dragons. Robert Cowell's (113823102021) diet is nothing short of astounding. Even Katrina Hobbs (113823992021) has begun supplementing her diet with metal. Knowing that they eat steel and titanium is almost as disturbing as watching them do it (you can hear the fizzing in their mouths as potent acids attack the metals). Their teeth seem far harder than the metals though without any sign of brittleness. Diamond, I think, may have a run for its money.
George Higgs (113823532021) seems to have taken charge of the bug-ponies, even Saavani Ahuja (113826232021). They seem to keep together, but often I've seen them drifting toward the rest of the group only to chatter excitedly about something. I worry about them. They seem rather insular. I will speak to Dr. Simpson about what might be done to better accommodate them.
—Doctor Howards
Subject: Day 14 Observations
1/19/21
1:30 PM
Community infectionsDr. Karen Simpson. Celeste Cunningham. James Poe. All failures of my efforts at containment. This won't happen again, despite what outside groups are demanding.
Dr. Karen has shown signs today of real physical changes. She's on day 6 of her infection, though according to the details the others gave I would liken it to day 5 of theirs. Her hair has started turning the most brilliant shade of orange, and despite her best efforts it has started to frizz up. Her feet have started to merge together, and the dock of her tail has started growing.
Celeste Cunningham has shown very little symptoms apart from stiff fingers and toes, but those are definitely a sign she is carrying the active virus.
James Poe, too, has begun to describe his fingers and toes as being stiff. I only hope he can still fly a helicopter after this. For that matter, how are any of my patients meant to continue doing their work?
This infection grows more worrying with each new thought I have on it.
—Doctor Howards
Interview with George Higgs
male
age 26Transcript of conversation with notes added from my clipboard.
GH (George Higgs): I can guess why I'm here.
Notes: George is the de facto leader of the group Dr. Howards is calling bug ponies. As a group they have been displaying antisocial behavior—but only toward those outside their clique. What we want to know is why.
KS (Dr. Karen Simpson): That would make things easier for me, but that's not why I'm here. I'm here to make things easier for you. Why you're here is that we're concerned for you and those with similar reactions.
GH: Changelings.
Notes: The word surprised me. I remember my mind racing at the time to come up with a connection between the myths and what George was.
GH: I don't know where the term came from, but we're Changelings. Even Saavani. You want to know why we don't play nice and hug everyone, right?
KS: That seems to be an overwhelming impulse. You don't share it?
GH: Yes and no. Ugh, this is so stupid. I told them we shouldn't be hiding this, but they were scared. Screw 'em, you need to know. Our vision is different, way different. I thought we were seeing infrared like the dragons, but it's not that.
GH: We see a haze around everyone. Some have more than others, but the ponies have the most. It's like a moth to a flame with us. We see it and we need to go closer. When we go closer, we can't help ourselves.
GH: We open up and suck that haze in. And, Doc, that's the best stuff in the world. I've had some good food in my life, but nothing is like that.
KS: You're saying you feed off some energy?
GH: Happiness or something like it. When we've fed, the person we drank from goes into a bit of a funk. Their haze is much smaller and they don't look so crash hot. All of us have to be really careful, except for Saavani. She just doesn't need it.
Notes: If I didn't have the information that this little clique hadn't been eating anything, I would have probably dismissed this. If I hadn't watched Penny do card tricks involving real magic, I certainly wouldn't believe it.
KS: Okay. This is a lot to take in. So everypony has a haze of happiness around them. That happiness seems tinked to their actual emotions. You need it to live. Drinking it hurts those you drink it from.
GH: Yeah. They get better. The ponies we drink from, I mean.
KS: That's good news, but this will require some work. As far as a therapy session, this is over. Let's call in some help and make it into something to actually help you. Is that okay with you?
Notes: George's eyebrows had been forming into a frown until I got to the final question. At that point his expression changed to neutral, but I heard what sounded like the biggest cricket I'd heard in my life for just a second. He chirped.
GH: I mean, sure. Whatever. This is just something we have to deal with, though.
Notes: I got out my poor laptop and managed to send Lisa a private message to come and visit me. We waited a few minutes for her to arrive.
LT (Lisa Trent): Hey, Karen. Oh, hi there, G-man. What's up?
Notes: George's nickname is G-man. He shrugged his shoulders and let out a sigh. Then he explained it all again.
Notes: Lisa sat there for a few seconds, looking at George, then she stood up and walked over to him.
GH: What are you doing? I told you I can't…
LT: Silly. Just because I'll feel a little down afterward doesn't stop you from needing a hug.
Notes: Lisa's hugs were like a magnet. I stood up and walked over to George and hugged him too.
Notes: I felt what he was talking about. There was the slightest sense of… It's hard to describe, but the world seemed just a little duller.
LT: Feeling better?
GH: I can't believe you'd do that? Why would you do that? You're both gonna feel like shit now, and it's because of me!
LT: You don't get it. I'd feel worse if I knew you were hungry and I didn't help. I've been a bit out of the loop. How many of you are there that need this, and how long will it take for us to get over that?
GH: You idiots… There's two others. Saavani doesn't need any to survive. I think she was eating a mix of meat and vegetables with you guys when she thought I wasn't looking.
Notes: I seemed to be more affected than I'd thought, and definitely more so than Lisa. It took me until about this moment to get my head around everything and start to think straight again.
KS: How full do you feel?
GH: About… Well, I think I'm about half full. That was a lot more than I've ever eaten.
LT: Hey, you deserve to be full too. Let me get some friends over and you get your buddies and we'll put on a banquet. Also, I totally want to see you three at breakfast tomorrow.
Notes: I'd expected Lisa to help, but this was increadible. I'd read Dr. Howards' reports on the pegacorns and their effect on him. He needs to spend some more time around Lisa when she does this kind of thing.
GH: You can't be serious!
LT: Deadly serious. I want to know how much you need to feed on, how often, and if we can handle that with everyone we have here without you taking too much from any one pony.
GH: You are serious. You're crazy. I'm crazy. Doc, tell me I'm crazy for going along with this.
KS: I doubt anyone here is crazy, George. Lisa's probably the most empathetic and truly nice person I think I've ever met, you're just trying to survive a bizarre situation without hurting anypony, and I'm doing everything I can to keep this menagerie from imploding. I'm only managing that with Lisa and Penny's help, but I'd like yours too.
Notes: Lisa was busy with her phone, tapping away on the screen with one wing while the other held the device. George was staring at me in utter disbelief.
GH: How am I qualified to help anyone after I almost screwed up from not asking for help?
KS: You said you can see happiness, or some equivalent. Tell me who doesn't have as much as they should.
Notes: Both Lisa and George both stared at me for several seconds. I like to think that no one has all the answers, but this time I had one that stunned one of the smartest people I know. The trick to figuring it out was when I realized George is an empath on an entirely different scale.
Post session notes: I feel like crap, just as George said I would. I went along with their little session after the interview and spent a good bit of time hugging and being hugged by other ponies. It almost completely restored me from the effects of his feeding. For ponies, I think, hugging and connecting is the greatest of their powers.
Our powers.
—Doctor Simpson
#general
Lisa 1/19/2021 6:55 PM
Okay, in case anyone missed it, our buggy friends want to be known as changelings. They seem to eat happiness, so we're trying to make it so they don't have to eat too much from any one person. Trust me, it feels like crap if they eat too much from you.
Please try to make sure they're okay, and if any of them look unhappy or a little gray around their face, contact me, @Karen, or @G-man.
G-man 1/19/2021 6:58 PM
I can't thank you enough, Lisa. You too, Karen. It felt like each day was trapping us more and more as being outsiders. I don't know how long it would have taken for us to just leave. I know how stupid that would be, but we felt…
Saava 1/19/2021 6:59 PM
But you didn't. You're all good bugs.
G-man 1/19/2021 7:01 PM
You sound like a pony, Saava, but I learned today that ponies aren't outsiders.
You're all our friends. I can see it. You get happier when you see us and I think it's insane.
Thank you.
Lisa 1/19/2021 7:03 PM
You know what tonight is? Movie night! I think I have the best thing planned. @Bob, you think you could hold your wing stretched out as a screen?
Bob 1/19/2021 7:05 PM
Huh? Sure I guess. Why?
Lisa 1/19/2021 7:06 PM
Because I got us a projector. All we need is something for a screen, and nothing is going to be a better screen to project kaiju movies on than the wing of a huge dragon.
Bob 1/19/2021 7:07 PM
Shit. That does sound awesome.
Lisa 1/19/2021 7:08 PM
Right. So I have a projector and my laptop. You mind sitting outside the motorpool so we can get power?
Bob 1/19/2021 7:10 PM
On my way there now. You want a bonfire?
Penny 1/19/2021 7:11 PM
Biggest fire is best fire!
Lisa 1/19/2021 7:13 PM
You know what? I was going to say no, but let's have some fireworks tonight, Penny.
Peter Howards' Journal
It's working. I don't know how, but everyone seems to be fighting over who has jurisdiction while every health advisor is screaming at their departments to not come within a hundred miles of this place.
We're a puckered and weeping wound on America, and everyone's arguing about what brand of adhesive strips to use to cover us up.
I don't deserve these people. Lisa keeps hugging me. I've given up trying to defend myself. Penny comes out of literal nowhere to thank me or offer to help. It scares me what she'd do if I asked her. Make them all go away? Fix everyone so this didn't happen? Do I deserve to get out of this without being destroyed?
Penny, I don't have the guts to ask you to do what needs to be done. I should have just said to make me catch this damn thing too.
Dr. Simpson, is this just comparing Penny to divine exploits in mythology or have you treated other gods?
"The former. Definitely the former." Karen Simpson put on her best explaining smile. "While I would jump at the opportunity to talk to others with such powers as Miss DeSanto displays, at the same time I think I would be a little more worried if the likes of Zeus were in the room explaining their feelings." One of her eyebrows arched up, pulling her neutral smile a little higher on that side of her face.
So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and they will definitely, hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories, and they will answer the best question in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post! They will pick one question per chapter.
Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!
Join me on Discord. Please use your FimFic name as an alias. Warning, said chat may contain NSFW material and should be considered adult in nature.
Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
CadelDdraigDarkkon
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
Ender Voidwalker
KFS Crimson
Sirion123
Vi Watch
And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab
Please don't chaos the server, Penny. We don't need the poor thing crashing.
In any case, remember to be a good neighbor. Huggo your buggo. (And who knows? They may stumble upon reformation by accident.)
And while the authorities may be in chaos now, that won't always be the case. We'll see what happens from here...
But not everywhere in your body. Otherwise, the liquid inside your body (including blood) would vaporized from within.
Ask Dr. Howards: Have you contact any physicists/scientists to investigate the mysterious power these ponies & supreme noodle are using?
Gosh. That sounds like a positive Derpy solution. Nice.
they need you to stay human doc, your there voice to the outside, the voice of reason that will keep the humans from giving in to there xenophobic tendencies, and in doing so your not just protecting lisa and the others, your protecting the humans tooo
after all, if someone did something stupid like ordering your facility firebombed for the greater good...can you imagine how penny would react?
it wouldnt end well.
Huzzah! Another awesome chapter and we have at last come around to the buggos! Being such a parasite definitely wouldn’t be fun. Wonder if they’ll show their shapeshifting abilities...
Hey Penny, you could certainly help with the changelings. Just a snap of your fingers and you could just conjure all the love they could want. Why not just solve world hunger (the non-Thanos way). All the possibilities!