My Little Gem: Friendship Shines Bright

by President_Celestia

Intermission: Symptoms and Stages of The Luster

If you see a pony infected with the Luster, refrain from making any kind of contact with them, physical or magical.

Stage 1:

Patches of reflective hair will begin to appear on the pony’s coat, beginning from the point of contact with an infected and spreading outward. As the area spreads, the pony may feel:

• Pins and needles around the infected area
• Loss of feeling within the infected area
• A sense of doom
• A loss of magical coordination
• A loss of flight coordination

Please note that after you make contact with an infected pony, you become infectious within 15-30 minutes.

Stage 2:

At this point, the pony's coat has been completely dominated by the shimmering crystal-like hairs, making them appear like a pony from the Crystal Empire. This effect will have spread to the pony’s mane and tail by this point. During stage two, the pony may experience:

• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Deep bodily aches
• Impaired vision and hearing
• Loss of taste and smell
• Loss of magical ability
• Loss of flight ability

Stage two happens 3 hours after being infected.

Stage 3:

Stage three occurs once after stage two has been reached, approximately an hour after. Stage three is a critical stage in the infection. The infected pony may experience:

• Sudden open wounds on the chest, back, and head
• Sudden crystallization of the hooves
• Severe pain in the affected areas
• Rapid crystal growths in the open wounds
• Loss of vision and hearing
• Rapidly crystalizing horn/Rapidly crystalizing wings
• Loss of sanity
• Loss of self
• Sudden aggressiveness

By this point, the infection had begun to spread to the brain.

Stage 4:

Stage four is not much different from stage three on the outside. It occurs 45 minutes to 3 hours after stage three. The infected pony may experience:

• Rapidly crystalizing muscles
• Impaired movement
• Sharply improved sense of touch
• Complete loss of control
• Loss of consciousness 
• Rapid solidification of coat
• Increased aggressiveness

By this point, they are not themselves.

Final stage:

The final stage is the end of the infection. By this point, nothing more changes within the infected pony. The pony may experience:

• Solid joints
• Inability to move
• Completely crystalized exterior

The pony is effectively dead at this point, but within the crystal confines…

A HEART STILL BEATS