Epilogue
There was no such thing as Bronytown. As it turned out, Jacob was wrong on many of his predictions. They weren’t shipped out to one of the refugee towns. He hadn’t been the only one to turn Luna down, either. Every single one of them but Elise had wanted time to recover. Some would join the fray again when that time was over… but by then, the very worst of the war would probably be resolved, for better or worse.
Instead of being sent to some distant town where they wouldn’t bother natives, they had all been given apartments in the same complex on the more modest end of Canterlot, along with a rent-free contract and a stipend consisting of all the wages they had earned while serving the rebellion on Earth.
None of them were done with Earth for good. Katie still wanted to see her family again, Jacob wanted to make sure the Nightmare didn’t take over, and many of the others wanted to help… but he was done with fighting for the time being.
As it turned out, the whole building had been set aside for ponies similar to them, former humans the Crown wanted to keep close. Their adventuring equipment, laptops and tablets and so on, became big screen TVs in their new apartments.
Canterlot’s ponies were not universally kind. Many of the upper class looked down on the refugees as barbarians or primitives, and would refuse service to any they identified. Many more were curious and inquisitive, and would happily trade a meal or a minor trinket for stories about life on Earth.
Jacob adjusted quickly, even to the nudity thing. He got himself a vest and some boots, and that made him feel much better, regardless of not actually covering anything. The Crown had arranged further training for each of them—each in their areas of interest. None had turned them down, and he soon found himself in school again. Only this time, it was unicorn medical school.
He spent his evenings with Katie, who moved in with him about the time Harley had moved in with Jackie. The wildest of Brony dreams became their daily lives.
There were two dark clouds on their horizon. The first was Earth—they were sent regular updates on the war, information that few ponies in Equestria had access to. Gathering together with all the old crew and reading Luna’s mission reports became a weekly ritual, and the news was not often good.
The second cloud was Jacob’s alone, though the others were all sympathetic and did what they could to help. That cloud was his sister, Michelle.
When the others had all recovered, Mich had remained comatose. She was completely a pony, a unicorn like he was with a lighter red mane and palomino coat, though hers was white and brown instead of two different shades.
Unfortunately for her, proof of family resemblance did not translate to help waking up. Michelle would take food, she would toss and turn in her sleep, but that was it. Pony doctors far more skilled than Jacob ever was told him over and over it was some kind of thaumic shock, the result of overwhelming exposure without preparation beforehand, but it would pass. There was nothing they could do but wait.
For their first week in Equestria, Jacob hiked up to the hospital every day to visit her and leave new flowers. He continued to visit for the next few weeks, until eventually he found her waiting in a wheelchair with flowers on her lap and an annoyed expression on her face.
“‘Bout time you got here,” she muttered, glaring up at him from her seat. “The doctors kept saying you usually visit around six, but it’s almost eight.”
He didn’t even ask how she had recognized him with just a glance. He hugged her tighter than he had ever hugged a pony before. He probably cried too—ponies did that way easier than humans. Or maybe he was just broken.
Maybe not, because she did too.
“Sorry… class went a little late tonight, and you’re never up anyway… I didn’t think you’d notice. I can’t believe you’re okay!”
She sat back in the wheelchair, glowering. “You do see me, right?” She held up one hoof, shoving it against the side of the wheelchair. “I have stumps for arms. I have stumps for legs. They’ve been feeding me nothing but hay soup since I woke up. What part of that is okay?”
“Right.” He blushed, pawing at the ground with one hoof. “It does suck at first, and I was ready for it. Since you’re not…” He shook his head. “I’m sure we could get you back to Earth quick enough. I bet if we asked, Princess Luna would even send you back to Springs.”
“As a horse?”
He shook his head. “I doubt it. There’s…” He wasn’t going to go into any existential truths with her, not on her first day awake. “There’s a spell to make you human again. You have to stay away from magic once you use it, but other than that it should work indefinitely.”
Michelle seemed to consider, looking down at her lap with its several bouquets of flowers. Some of them were the ones he had left last night, but not all. She leaned down, took a sunflower in her mouth, and started to chew, smiling at the taste. “Are you going back?”
“Nope.” He walked away from her, to the dark window. It might be night outside, but Canterlot was still alive out there. Cafes and restaurants wouldn’t close their doors for hours yet, and many of the evening’s plays and other entertainment hadn’t even started. It was a world with only basic access to electricity and nothing even resembling the internet, but it was also safe. “Not for at least a year, anyway. I turned down a deal from a horrible monster and then helped kill her. She’d probably remember me.”
“Then…” she talked through her chewing. “Get over here and push my wheelchair. I’m not spending another night in this damn hospital.”
He almost started crying again as he turned around. “Wait, you’re gonna stay? Just like that?”
“Just like that,” she repeated. “I’m not digging this horse thing at all, but if you can get used to it, I’m sure I’ll be tap-dancing and playing piano in a week. I… haven’t figured out how to walk yet…” She looked down, suppressing a whimper. “But it can’t be that hard, right?”
I never had to learn. “I’ll teach you. Oh, you’ll love our apartment! We got the one with an extra bedroom, since we knew you’d be well again eventually. We’re on the fourth floor of this wonderful place in the Horseshoe district. There’s a bakery on the first floor, and every morning the smell of—”
She shoved a hoof into his mouth, silencing him. “We knew?” She looked sidelong at him, eyes narrowing. “You telling me you’re into horses or something, pipsqueak? You living with someone? How long have I been out, anyway?”
“About a month.” He tucked his tail between his legs, looking away. “And maybe I am now, so what? You can act all high and mighty with me, but see if you’re not seeing someone a month from now!”
She put up her forelegs, defensive. “I was only kidding, pipsqueak. I’m happy for you. I was beginning to worry you’d never date again.”
He started pushing her. “Well, Katie is wonderful, and she’ll be thrilled to see you well again. If I can’t teach you any important pony things, I’m sure she can.”
“Well, there is the matter of the bathroom. I think I’d rather learn from her than you, all things considered. Now that I won’t have a team of nurses.”
There was still some administrative stuff to get worked out, and it took them just over an hour to get out of the hospital. He was a little guilty to be keeping his friends waiting—this was “Earth News” night, after all, but there was no way to call ahead. A few of them still had working cell phones, but Equestria had all of zero towers. Somepony called a carriage for them, which hurried them through Canterlot’s moonlit streets to the Horseshoe district.
Michelle didn’t sass him once during the ride. Her eyes were open too wide as she took everything in, mouth hanging slack-jawed. At his request, their driver took a roundabout route through the city, giving Michelle the tour. They stopped by a take-away pizza shop as well, since it was always his responsibility to bring dinner home on nights he visited his sister.
“Why does everyone call you Lifeline?” Michelle asked, when they had waved goodbye to the carriage driver and were standing in front of the apartment. “You could just introduce yourself with your real name.”
“I could,” he agreed. “And then they’d know I was a refugee and wonder if I was going to rob them or something.”
“Huh?” He started pushing, levitating a few pizza boxes behind him. The smell wasn’t just wonderful after hours in the hospital, it was familiar. He had ordered specifically with no hay, same as every night he got pizza.
“Refugee is the word ponies use for ponies from Earth. It’s often derogatory—we’re seen as clumsy, unfriendly, or even dangerous by lots of the city ponies here.” He pushed the door open, then headed to the elevator. The apartment had it mostly for moving furniture around, and ponies had to operate it themselves since there was no permanent operator on staff, but Jacob didn’t mind. What was one more object to levitate?
“See, I’d have thought there was a perfectly good word for that already: Human. You know, what we are.”
He chuckled. “Y-yeah, well… we’re not humans anymore. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you that, but… humans don’t have four hooves and tails or magical horns.”
Michelle rolled her eyes. “And ponies don’t have real elevators. Do you really have to crank us all the way up?”
He nodded. “I usually just teleport up, but if I did that you’d probably puke all over the floor. Katie just flies up to the balcony… but neither of us will ever be doing that. Welcome to the unicorn master race.”
Her face paled. “That better not be a thing.”
“It isn’t.” He laughed. “It’s an old Brony joke… nevermind.”
Her expression was incredulous. “You’re living in a whole world filled with pony stuff, and you’re still calling yourself that? Doesn’t being a ‘Brony’ just mean you’re just a regular person?”
He shook his head. “No way. Even in Equestria we’re still a little weird. Ponies are just too nice to tell you so.”
“Unless you tell them you’re from Earth, in which case you can’t catch a taxi and they’ll hide their purse.”
He sighed. “It’s not perfect. Nowhere that exists could be perfect. But it’s pretty nice.” He reached the top floor, locked the elevator into place, and pushed the protective cage open. Only when he had rolled Michelle safely onto solid ground did he release the mechanism, letting the whole thing settle gradually back towards the ground floor.
“Like, just wait until you see the apartment. We’re talking penthouse, tastefully furnished with all the amenities.”
“Except for pants.” She grinned, glancing back at him. “I notice you left yours at home.”
“No pants,” he agreed, embarrassed all over. Not that he was embarrassed most of the time. Ponies didn’t make a big deal out of it, so he had stopped. It took someone from Earth to remind him. “I actually don’t think I own any. You probably noticed already, but ponies aren’t particular about the nudity taboo. The only clothes here are either protective or formal.”
“Yeah.” She glanced down at her hospital gown again, apparently relieved. “I’m not sure I’m down for that either. So maybe I’ll join the horse club for a while and make sure you don’t get into trouble, that’s one thing. It doesn’t mean I’m gonna sign up to pretend I’m an animal.”
He shrugged. “You’ve got plenty of money waiting for you, we can go shopping tomorrow.”
“No, we won’t. You are miserable to shop with. Maybe that girlfriend of yours, though. Does Katie have good fashion sense?”
He winked. “I think she’s beautiful no matter what she wears. Even if it’s nothing.”
She shoved him with a foreleg, and he very nearly dropped the pizzas. “I’m beginning to wonder if the horniest guys in the world didn’t set this place up. Naked all the time, heads staring right into people’s junk no matter where you look?”
He reached the door. There was no lock—few doors in Canterlot had them, that he could see. Nopony seemed worried about it, or even to understand his questions when he asked. “Wrong again.” He smiled slightly. “Equestria is a Matriarchy. The same two mares have ruled it for… a really, really long time. Lots of the parliamentary positions are held by mares too. It’s really only the more progressive districts that would consider running a stallion. We’re considered—” He found a hoof shoved into his mouth again.
“Please stop. I’ve had enough of horse today for you to start with horse politics. I don’t even want to know.”
He shrugged, and pushed the door open, helping Michelle along. “Sorry I’m late, everypony!” he shouted into the room ahead of him. “I brought someone special!”
Michelle glowered at him, but not much noise came from within. Except for Eric’s voice. “I hope that someone special includes something edible, because we’re starving in here.”
True to his description, the apartment was smartly furnished, with dark wood and comparatively modern decorations. The photos on the wall were all landscapes, and free of pony-related interruptions. He and Katie had chosen only furnishings which would help them remember Earth.
The open-plan building had a dining room near the kitchen, with comfortable cushions instead of chairs. Instead of a table, there was a stand for Katie’s tablet, its thick charging cable vanishing into the floor. It had been a large model even for human use—as a pony, it was big enough for four ponies easy. A tight squeeze for a bigger group, but they managed.
His friends weren’t eating off it now, but were crowded around both sides, watching as Katie and Harley went back and forth at a game of virtual air-hockey. Like Jacob himself, they had all long abandoned the pretext of human modesty, and could have been any other group of ponies. Except for the changeling. Harley couldn’t be herself on the streets of Canterlot, but she had nothing to fear in his apartment.
Harley was the first to look up, taking her hoof off the touchscreen. Katie scored, and the tablet filled the room with sound, but she didn’t seem to notice. There was a flash, and she was suddenly only a few feet away, glancing between them.
“Michelle?” she asked. “She’s on her hooves again?”
“I’ve never been on hooves,” Michelle corrected, forelegs folded in front of her. “I wouldn’t have been so eager to fly you guys around if I’d known I was flying myself into a lifetime supply of petting zoos.”
“Oh good, you’re okay. You won’t mind if I take these, then…” Jackie snatched the pizzas out of Jacob’s magic, carrying them over to the table. Katie unrolled a thick cloth over it, and just like that the tablet was gone.
The pegasus made her way over as the others descended upon the pizzas, greeting Michelle with a polite handshake. “I’m happy you’re awake, Michelle. Your brother has been really worried about you.”
“Yeah.” She relaxed a little. “That’s the pipsqueak. We had things rough growing up, so… we’re used to keeping an eye on each other.”
“Does that mean you’ll be sticking around Equestria?”
She nodded. “For the time being. I think waiting until things have quieted down on Earth is a good idea. Just… how are things going over there, anyway?”
The room got a little quieter then, and nopony rushed to answer her.
“Better,” Jacob eventually answered. “The terrorism is over. Princess Luna has diplomatic ties with the UN, apparently she’s helping the WHO come up with a vaccine for the virus in exchange for certain guarantees about the transformed humans. No word on a cure or Nightmare Moon’s location, yet. Political situation is…”
“Horse shit,” Jackie supplied, through a mouthful of pizza. “Virus got to South America and two countries collapsed. Nopony has a clue what’s going on in Venezuela, and parts of Africa are worse, Madagascar's closed its borders… apparently the only country without any ponies is North Korea. Lots of wealthy, spineless people are running away to the hermit kingdom. Half the Middle East has probably exploded by now, internment camps across Europe…”
“Damn.” Michelle visibly deflated in her seat. “Worse than I thought.”
“Yeah.” Jackie scooted closer to Harley, who wasn’t actually sitting close enough to reach the pizza. “Get in here. You look hungry.”
The night went on a long time, longer than Jacob should’ve stayed awake, longer than any of them probably should’ve. Jackie and Harley alone didn’t seem to get tired, since both of them had only woken a few hours before.
Even Michelle seemed to relax as the evening wore on, joining in with the board games when Eric brought them out, and laughing at their terrible jokes. She was still weak though, and eventually asked quietly if she could be taken to bed. Katie helped her with the shower and everything else, which left Jacob alone in the master suite, lost in a comfortable mattress and staring up at a pinned photo of his brony club, which he had printed back in Imperium.
I wonder if any of those people still have two legs. He had met several since liberating Containment—they’d been psychologically damaged by their time there, but ordinary life was helping them recover. By the time he saw them next, they might very well be themselves again. Maybe.
Earth still needed him. Jacob still didn’t know if he was a pony or a human, regardless of what he had been told about ancient spells. He felt more and more like a pony every day, but his guilt was growing too. Sooner or later, he would have to help.
Not tonight. He heard the door open in the dark, though there were no hooves on the ground. A few seconds later and Katie was perched in bed next to him, smelling like soap and drooping a little with moisture. “Thanks for helping my sister, pigeon.”
“No problem.” She slumped weakly into the covers beside him, splaying out wings and limbs alike. “Were we really that bad with the nudity thing when we first got here?”
He rolled up next to her. “We had months to get ready. Michelle got all of it dumped on her at once.”
“I know.” She gestured faintly at her back with one hoof. “I think I twisted my back at weather practice. I’ve been waiting for a massage for hours.”
Jacob was exhausted, but he didn’t say anything, just twisted to the side and lifted himself up onto his hooves. “You know there are places for that. You didn’t have to wait.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. But I doubt they’d do as good a job. None of them remember hands, so they can’t do the unicorn pretend to make it seem like they have any.”
It was the same kind of magic as levitation, careful pressure just as a hand might give. Jacob thought he had gotten pretty good at it, and not just from practicing on Katie. “Okay, fine. How’s this?”
The war wasn’t over back on Earth. Equestrian monsters still surfaced every now and then, and Luna’s negotiations moved painfully slow. He felt a little guilty for not helping, but… nights like this made it easy to forget the guilt.
Living in Equestria was medicine enough to heal the wounds of war. He still missed Danielle, but that pain was starting to fade. Enjoying life here seemed a fitting way to remember the pony who would have enjoyed it the most.
If Earth still needed him a few more months down the road, he wouldn’t say no. Just not tonight.
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Didn't expect it to end so soon, I'll have to say. But kudos for another great story completed, Starscribe. I'm still EXTREMELY curious to know what happened to Sunset (Did she face any trials for what she did? Does she deserve so, or desperate times and all that?), but I do understand somethings are better left unsaid. It's Jacob's point of view, after all. Maybe she's still on the front.
Either way, what comes next? You won't write a sequel for this one... but what will you write for us now?
Yeah, I know the feeling.
Holy shit. I do hope Sunset and those underlings who helped her with the attacks are tried as war criminals. After they make a vaccine for the virus, the UN better demand to be given custody of her as a condition of any future diplomatic ties to Equestria, if they don't have her already.
Aww, but they were just starting to get their shit together!
Dammit, Madagascar!
It is finished.
This was a really great story, and I enjoyed every bit of it.
Thanks Starscribe!
Where's the relike button?! It needs a second like, maybe more!
That's it. It is all. Well...
I think The Big "A" and WL from a previous story would be extremely envious of Jacob and Michelle. "A" and WL didn't simply get their shape bent and twisted into equine form and receive strange hair colors. Their entire bodies were sent away into limbo where their minds were liberated from them and placed into entirely new bodies based in no way on their old ones whatever. What they got in their new bodies was all ultimately the outcome of a coin toss. There were no determining factors. Because of this, they lost their stuff. Jacob and Michelle, by contrast still have theirs. They merely got bent and twisted into equine shape and got new natural hair and eye colors. The transition did not take away their precious possessions, their bodies' natural equipment. Their location just shifted somewhat. Not only do they still have it, but once earth cools off, they can go back again. They'd still have flaming red hair and magical abilities, but they would other wise look like themselves. That and the fact everybody ultimately remain genetically the same, as it's still the same body, but smaller and shaped differently. Blood ties remain. Had WL had an identical twin, and she was on board, they might not even come through the same species, and if so, the same race. Even then, no two returnees are ever genetically related where blood is concerned. No two bodies coming out of limbo are ever going to show signs of being blood relatives past behavior and memories, only ones who mingled and procreated after returning. Second generation onwards.
There are many loose ends unaccounted for, but I know you finished by means of obligation, and I respect that. Pity. You may recall how WL was so determined to hang onto her human identity, she would only walk around Au Naturale in the house or RV she lived in. She would always slip on a dress when leaving her residence and going into public, and would never take it off until she got home. Would she be so determined not to be seen in public without a dress if she went to Equestria? I would like to return to them. I'd like to see a prequel story for my favorite purple haired sorceress.
Also, sending the victims in that other story into Eques and bringing them back home likely wouldn't do anything but create identity issues. The two I mentioned in my previous comments would say the wings and hair are theirs, but the rest isn't. I would hope their brainwashing and memory tweaking could be fixed. They did nothing to deserve what happened to them, and their parents suffered the most. Almost like they were thinking, "These aliens inhabit our children's bodies, and have access to their memories, but make no mistake, that's not them." And they are terrified of the same thing happening to them, almost as if their own awareness will die, leaving more amnesiac aliens in their place. Resolve their story.
Oh, Denie, how do I love you. You'll never know. I have loved you since you smashed that there concrete barrier. I would have been happy to ride you given the chance, and you were substantially bigger. Up to my waist or higher.
What happens if Nightmare gets caught? Can they actually do anything about her for good? I suspect that she rigged Sunset's scheme. She made it even more omnipotent than it was. Before, prevention was the only medicine, the only remedy, but now even that is bound to fail. Just being in the vicinity of the infected is enough to contract it, as even the weakest strand cannot be destroyed by any process of any kind. They multiply forever, and never become less potent. One whiff of the air, one touch of a hair, to say nothing of fluid contact guarantees contamination. You may as well just insert your thing right in there. Prevention was the only way, now not even that works. Once it even touches your skin, the virus immediately starts taking effect, and nothing can even slow it down then, let alone stop it. It's only a matter of minutes, and once complete, brainwashing will follow suit, and fighting it is futile. One with a particularly strong will may last an hour or two, but they will always lose themselves before the day is out. Most will immediately vanish. SS is not at fault for this, Nightmare is. She pointed out how wicked this scheme was, and tried to manipulate our heroes with it. The original even said it didn't have the intended effect, so I think she rigged the thing to do evil.
I said before I didn't like the idea of knowing your own destiny. One who was raised to appreciate it would think differently, but we would fear obsolescence. They do use tools and machines, but they don't need them for everything. We are so attached to our gadgets, leavening them physically hurts. What happens when you get a mark on your hip featuring a rotary dial, an oil lantern, or a typewriter? Technologies that become dated forever branded onto your hips. Being able to do and try what you see fit, and be adaptable is what makes us, us. Unless your mark is an adaptability mark, you get locked into whatever. What would such a mark look like, anyway? A plastic bottle or bag? Something to indicate plastic? Something transparent like glass? I wouldn't enjoy this at all. Did Sunny even think about what she was doing, or the long term consequences? The vastly different upbringings account for most of the pain, and the original idea was for it to happen generation by generation. You cannot miss what you never had, so their children would not miss their digits, as they never had them. Their parents would, and would like to have toes again.
Well, this story was fantastic. It had all the right ingredients; a dash of horror, a cupful of drama, a teaspoon of the grim, a half cup of comedy, a good two cups of action and a pinch of salt. (can you tell that i skipped lunch?)
It had a good plot-line, amazing action scenes, some sad moments, but an overall satisfying ending.
With your bonus points, i'm proud to give this 14/10 on the
itude meter WITH.... one of these babies!
img05.deviantart.net/4a19/i/2016/131/e/c/my_little_show___badass_seal_of_approval_by_crisostomo_ibarra-da269yt.png
I wonder what the futurre holds for the two worlds?
Nooo I don't want it to end, there's still many things to cover and loose ends to tie up. Please make a sequel if your not going to continue this story.
Can't say I saw an ending coming. Seemed a bit abrupt, truth be told, but well done regardless! I'm glad I stuck with it!
I honestly thought to get a few more chapters out of this story and not such an abrupt ending where they just settle down. It's the perfect way to set up a sequel but not end a story. Amazing story though!
I enjoyed this story a lot, but I'm not as sure about what I think of how much was left unresolved by the ending. It feels like there are a lot of questions that we never got the answer to.
Despite the voice of Fate's promise that Jacob would learn the truth about it before his story is told, we didn't get to see it. What's up with the Fate-thing if it's not a slaver after all? Twilight said something similar about it, but didn't really describe what it was, just that it wasn't what we'd heard. It felt like there was some kind of subplot involving Jacob, Eric and Danni having similar cutie marks involving the strings of fate that never resolved either, even after it seemed likely that they had something to do with capital-F Fate too.
Also, because it's going to bug me if I don't ask, why did Elise and Eric end up with a different answer to the cipher than I had? They had it as "I hide the frozen moment until the floors are swept" instead of "Find me when the floor is swept". Just seems weird to have a solvable cipher in the story that they got a different answer from.
I know you said you're probably not going to do a sequel for this fic but with the way it ended this fic needs one. So many unresolved threads. What happened to The Nightmare? The Light Tenders? The ponies of Earth. This needs a sequel or two. Maybe Casualties sequel?
Maybe we don't need a sequel for this one, but the thing we definitely need — one more story in this universe. The organization we've seen are not LightTenders, they were PreTenders. And for the Agency... It is pleasin to hear that they weren't, in fact, evil or something. Just a pawn in hooves of Nightmare Moon.
Talking about pretenders, we still don't know the conspiracy going on. Refugees thought that fate was the curse and fled, and ponies think that cutiemarks given by fate are, in fact, gifts. But we cannot form an objective sight on this point: not enough info. I would say that I'm with refugees on this point of view after all.
And the whole thing with magic-inducing transmission... I know that ponies are kind, but humankind is notlike ponies, giving magic to every human on Earth is a bad, bad idea. Even if the exposed were mostly bronies. By the way, NM mangled everything and the simple "help" from Equestrians turned into full-blown reclamation campaign. Probably not without Sunset.
I hope that the Hague awaits Sunset...
As I said before, the future of this Earth is very dark. Thanks to Sunset, human populace dropped severly and do you know the think I don't like? Thaumacentrism.
I don't hate First Contact stories, but in this case humanity is forced to accept magic. "You know, there are a billion or so of people, who can't work on their jobs anymore sicne they are ponies, so maybe you will find a place for magic in your world so these people could live normally?" — this is what this story implies at the end. Magic isn't a bad thing, it can really help as last-stand defense, like the modern antibiotics that tuberculosis doesn't have an immunity to.
But when there is a lot of magic, technological progress stops. There is no need in technological advance if magic can do the same thing as expensive medicine procedure that has to be invented first. Let's imagine Milwaukee Protocol 2.0, a hypothesical way to cure rabies. Money and time has to be spent to develop it, money and time has to be spent to introduce it and money and time has to be spent in order to sustain it. Why would you waste all that time and money if you can cure rabies with few spells? And this will happen in every segment of our civilization where magic isn't useless. It comes in, dumps technological achievements down and replaces them.
Another scenario is separation between civilizations, when humans force ponies to live separately from them because of the danger they pose to humans (bulletproof earthponies, anyone? And no, distantional electroshock weapons, as far as I now, are prohibited for civil use in my country, and earthpony will break my bones before I can use melee ones, so that's not a point). In this case magic won't come into human society, but interspecies war is almost inevitable — feared by ponies that might invade any day they want, humans will start to research ways of countering magic and when they succeed, any political move ponykind might do is enough to start "preventive war".
There are some other ways situation might go, but they don't much differ from what we've seen. Unless Equestria will help to find a way for regulating magic.
Also, Equestria...
...you don't even consider bringing human illusions back, do you?
I bid farewell to being shot by your allies.
It just ends like that? There's a ridiculously huge pile of loose ends left here. Virtually nothing has been resolved. :(
So, huh. That ending.
I'd like to say that Twilight's explanation is still complete bullshit. If you come to a stranger in peace, offering a gift, you know what you do? Do you break into their house at night and drug them with your gift while they're sleeping? Because that's a perfectly friendly and peaceful thing to do, right? As long as you do it slowly enough that they have time to notice something strange is going on. Right? ...no? Oh, wait, that's right! You knock on the front door and introduce yourself.
There can be peace between Equestria and Earth when Equestria surrenders, on terms that render them incapable of pulling such an idiotic stunt again. This should include the removal from power of all those directly responsible for the invasion. And, hey! Role reversal! It really is for their own good. After all, if you let them wander around the multiverse with that kind of attitude, it's only a matter of time before they piss off a world that will not accept anything less than complete extermination.
7615468 All in favor of a sequel, that say for instance, explains "Where did the dragon, that almost killed an Eartherbreaker come from, or "that weird Magical sorcerer, guarding the magically-contaminated humans (and how did She/It manage to stay, without getting labelled a threat by the humans?", etc,
...and to continue an interesting story/universe.
Please, please, please make a seuqul, or another story in the same universe, better do it sooon, 'cause the puppy-dog eyes, are about to be unleashed!
7638555 You're right. Nothing justifies it. I'll continue reading this at some point, I'm sure....but by that point everything had been trying to paint the ponies as having the morally higher ground when they most certainly do not.
7638581 Let me sum this up for you OK?
Ponies: Derp?
Shadowy evil conspiracy: MUAHAHAHA!
Humans: DERP DERP
Ponies: Derp derp? DERP!
Humans: DERP DERP DERPA DERP
Shadowy evil conspiracy: Muahaha derp derp muaha
Harley: Oh my god you're all retarded.
Overall I enjoyed this story. Ended a bit abruptly but still realistically, and leaves plenty of room for side-stories and sequels. Also portrays a pretty good example of everyone being derps.
7639447
Also, the ponies did not have very close control over where and who got infected originally. They were using a show designed to create slow changes over many years. They didn't really have the power to choose where the show developed a fanbase and where it didn't. The pockets of infection were really pockets of bronies, remember. For better or worse, the western world seems far more culturally similar to Equestria than other parts.
7639552
Well I'm glad you had fun! I know the ending was a bit harsh, but I'm glad you enjoyed the story anyway.
7639579 I was referring to the bioweapon at that point actually. Infect areas intentionally that can't mount an adequate defense so, number-wise, humans would be on equal footing at best or a minority at worst. Hell, focus on Indochina and according to Plague Inc you'd get like 40% of the world population!
Whoa! This looks awesome! I'm gonna read it!
Well, I finished the story a little while (mere minutes) ago and ...
... although the ending was realistic and good, it wasn't satisfactory. So very many things are still open and would need, in my eyes at least, a conclusion.
To be honest, I had trouble to put the story aside for far more important things - which is proof enough for me, that your writing style (and content) resonates with me a lot.
I even had tears in my eyes, when Luna spoke to Special Agent Avery. Maybe it was because of the forgiveness offered, or it was because none could offer it to Luna herself ...
forgiving oneself is far harder than forgiving another
I might join the discord to see, whether or not there will be a sequel to set the ending right.
Until we meet - stay safe, and keep on writing.
Two words: thank you.
This was a pretty good story. Well paced, very interesting environments, and genuine intrigue. I liked how the characters played off one another. Inspires me to work on a similar story I've been thinking of, if my typing weren't so crippled atm. Ponies hiding bases underground, brilliant idea! The oniy thing that really hurt the story was randomly killing off Danielle. Shame to see such a good story make such an amateurish blunder, sort of like a portrait with a moustache drawn over it in marker. But what do I know? Enjoyed reading about special agent doctor pony ninja, would fave again.
This story solves few questions from Casualties, but a few questions still float up...
Nice! It looks like you have three pony-verses, Starscribe.
>> Joint Earth-Equestria (My Little Apprentice series)
>> Event-Earth Catalyst-Equestria (Last Pony on Earth, considerably the most famous)
>> Forced Joint Earth-Equestria (Casualties and Friendly Fire)
Rather odd that Casualties ended up like a normal Pony on Earth... oh, wait, it's referenced here too.
7755602 Oh. Wow. THat's... strange.
(WARNING: COMMENT CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR UNDERTALE. IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED THIS YET (first, what's wrong with you) DON READ!!! I'm not even kidding, if you do... You're gonna have a bad time.
(skip to 15:45, and you've summmed me up at my point in the story (which is 1 1/2 chapters left), especially if you replace "king" with "this story")
7759656
I'm done now... you BETTER make a sequel! I can think of so many questions left unanswered! Who was the voice in the void? What did it want? And WHY would you not make a sequel?!? I mean, come on! If this doesn't have a group/universe dedicated to it by now... I'll start it. But we (me, myself, and I) NEED MORE!!!
7772277 Paperwork can be done well before the fact or immediately after, 'high priority' means you go to the front of the line, mana requirements have not been introduced in cannon of either the story or the show, and 'colliding with provisions' can be resolved with scheduling. Functionally speaking there's not much difference between a person sitting on a conveyor belt and a box sititng on a conveyor belt. I mean honestly, if you want an example of how many people can ACTUALLY fit through a chokepoint with a bit of scheduling and orderly conduct, look at a turnstyle in a metro.
7760650
All good things come to an end. That's what makes them special. I'm sad to see the story go, but...
It kind of feels right. The way it ended, how Fate decided to put down the pen and close the book right here for us. They all fought enough. They deserve to be happy again
7774742
cris ere tim
It's Starscribe. Expect nothing less than exceptional.
7858035
Well thanks! I feel like I definitely made a few mistakes when it came to telling this story, but... overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. It was my first crack at a new genre, so stretching in that way is always fun.
7858355 I think it easily stands up to your previous works. Looking back at this sort of stuff reminds me why I love MLP. It is an inspiration, the show, the fandom and the fandom's works. It's proof that the human race can create incredible things.
I salute you, Starscribe. Your stories (cracking good ones, without exception) deserve better recognition.
So, wait... If the show is made by ponies, and the music is one of the biggest parts of the show/fandom, then is "Daniel Ingram" an undercover siren?
I loved this story!
Well that was an ending, few loose ends but nothing a war crime tribunal for Celestia, Luna, Twilight and Sunset Shimmer could not fix.
Also thank you for the story! Really enjoyed it!
8081061
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
8194641
Kinda like 'DC Comics', eh? (DC stands for Detective Comics.)
A good story! But I have a final question:
What will happen to Sunset Shimmer?
Will she stay in position, will she be demoted or will Celestia personally plug her wings feather by feather?
7607568
Madagascar...
The hardest place to invade on plague Inc.
Kinda fitting.
Bravo! I love the ending. It makes perfect sense to end these character's on this note.
However, this universe doesn't seem...finished. The Big Bad is still on the loose, we don't know the fate of the Regent(will face a tribunal for her war crimes or be pardoned?), we don't know whether humanity will accept ponies, whether humanity will someday go extinct(will all human-ponies someday convert, or will there always be holdouts?)(or are they going to "find and preserve" the remaining true humans?), and I still want to know if Casualties is truly _canon_ to this story.
This!
Was!
AWESOME!
Just so much all around amazing epic, incredible... this was just pure freaking WIN! I don't even know where to start. The whole concept was so damn good, so fun and worked so very well for the most part. The lore ideas were really sound and made sense. Just, this worked on so many levels. I maybe would have liked to see more of the actual fighting, more of what was going on, and just more in general, but it fit the story and made sense for the characters. Just, a great use of everything.
As to characters.. really just one that I really need to talk about Danni.... just.. just... from
To...
So many feels. Her epic shockwave to free all the captured ponies, pushing Earth pony magic even further then most thought it could go. To the shear, raw, epic, THIS NEEDS TO BE CANON of the Earthbreakers. To that.. that final.. amazing, heartbreaking, noble, heroic, tearjerking, just.. just so painful and yet so well done sacrifice... I hate to see her go, hate for her story to end... and yet, if it had to... that is the way to go. Saving your friends... hell possibly even saving the world, and giving an utterly evil bitch one hell of a 'Fuck you!" in the process. Just, the whole thing was.. so amazing.
Okay, Haley was great too, probably my favorite overall, and for awhile, I was sure she was a griffon, it just felt that way. But Changeling works. That said, does bring up one "Wut?" from the story. She says all the other races are just fantasy, created for the show. Yet right after that, they bring in the Diamond Dogs are real, and later, when one of the races she explicitly said wasn't real was minotaurs, learn that minotaurs exist and are part of legends. So, huh? But Haley, it was great seeing a non-pony take on things that still knew of Equestria, a lot of the stuff she said obviously needed to be taken with a grain of salt, but good use of an outsider to explore limits of what ponies might be.
Speaking of, that whole think an Anasi, and the legend, and 'Fate' I loved it. At first I was a bit leery you were going to twist things around to much. That there would be some dark, horrible secret, that the ponies really fucked up or something. But the way it was presetned was glorious and worked so well. The story of this all being a negative thing, was carved by those who fled it. By those who had rejected it. So yeah biased source. The reality seems, more in line with what Cutie Marks are. There is no 'Fate' as a being that removes free will. No 'destiny' of you just following a path. Every choice is your own, your only 'destiny' is the result of your actions. But Ponies, Ponies get to know their place better. They know what part they play, know who they are. And yeah even in discussions we see arguments about what a Cutie mark is, if it limits a pony or not.
I'm in the not camp. It limits nothing, all it does is show who a pony is. Their truest self. It doesn't preclude them from anything by existing, all it does, is help them better know what it is they are best at, what truly matters to them and will bring them the most fulfillment to pursue. but I can also see some rejecting that, fleeing it. Though.. with the way things are set up, the stories, and the timing... it's a bit odd.
Discord was a huge force, and the 'monsters' could only have come from him, and it just makes so much sense. Not Fate, plus, ages of certain things doesn't really work out, not if we are to expect that ALL humans but the most isolated share pony ancestry. I'm thinking, there were in fact two waves of refugees. The larger one coming far earlier then thought, being the ones fleeing from their cutie marks. Then later, a second, smaller group arrived fleeing Discord. It just fits the facts better.
Okay the one thing overall I just.. not didn't like but was really "What?" about. The way the characters kept blaming ponies. The the story kept trying to paint this was Grey and Grey morality, or Grey and black, just, trying to make Ponies out to be at fault as well and having done some screwed up shit to be pissed at. Not seeing it. At all. They really didn't do anything wrong. (until Sunset anyway) They were trying to help the whole time, had a plan for helping that would be gradual, worked out letting it have time. It was a good plan, and for a good reason. Now yeah, the way they went about it wasn't the best, but have to figure they knew being open would just cause issues. Nothing after was there fault, it was the work of NMM and the Light Tenders. They caused all this to happen.
Okay, getting long and just. so much I could talk about i LOVED THIS STORY! Two more things, one more kind of 'that's not right' namely Sunset's virus..... is kind of crappy as far as biological warfare agent goes. At least in one of the key ways. For a good bio weapons, you want three major things, it should be easy to transmit, have a high mortality rate, and a decently long incubation timer. Her virus meets the first two. Seems to be easy to catch, and will turn you into a pony if you catch it. But given how fast it happened, it's incubation period sucks, which is a HUGE no no. You want the disease to stay asymptomatic for as long as possible, while allowing the person infect to spread it around. The further it spread before the initial outbreak and the harder to screen infected, the better. Still, two out of three.
And the ending, it's.. both great, and annoying and.. MOAR! it IS a very good end for the story, for the characters, it reaches a natural conclusion and it works. And yet, there is still so much left.. this story so so so demands a Sequel, needs to see things from here, how Luna fixes things, how humans and ponies work things out, Nightmare Moon being dealt with. It shows up, shows Luna and the ponies now openly working WITH humans, now allies.. or at least having open, public diplomacy between them. Things will work out and yet, so much left to see and explore, plus the whole cryptic message from Anasi... yeah good end point but this so so needs a sequel. Okay ALMOST a great end point, it wrapped up most things, everything else fits, it all felt like a good ending, bar ONE bit.. not learning about what happened to Sunset.. it was such a huge part of the last act, to not have how she was dealt with for this shown, that feels like a needed plot thread that is still far to lose. But all else... it was a good end point for this story.
So yeah I rambled a lot, and more I could say but, more or less... I FREAKING LOVED THIS STORY!!!!!
8198449
Had Celestia made her verdict in this matter or is it still pending?
Human Jacob looks the similar to what I think human Joe to look like.
That is Jacob's human form in the top right corner?
8806742
I love Starscribe as much as the next reader, but dang, that author has an ornery streak a mile wide...