Chapter 31 - Investigations
Fred's hooves clopped incessantly against the tiled floor as he paced back and forth. "I don't want to be cooped up in here anymore, Kevin! I know you all want to find out what caused this, but I didn't stop being an American citizen just because I have hooves instead of hands and feet."
"I understand you're frustrated, Fred," said Kevin, his voice sounding tired despite it just getting to midday.
Fred stopped and turned to face him. "No, I don't think you do. I can't even explain it myself, but being away from others like me is making me a little stir-crazy. And then I hear that ponies are gathering in shelters. Why can't I be with them?"
It had been Fred's change in mental attitude that had prompted Kevin's visit. Janet had told him that even before his descent into paranoia, Fred had been more of a loner outside the small circle of his army buddies. "As far as we know, no one else has quite progressed to your state yet."
"What about when they do? What then?"
Kevin was not the one who made those decisions, but mentioning that would only make Fred more upset. In fact, he no longer knew who was at the top of the decision chain, not since the FBI had descended en masse on the operation early that morning. He had been grilled by an agent almost as soon as he had arrived that morning. "We're taking this one step at a time. There's a sense of desperation at the moment. We still don't know who or what caused this."
Fred frowned. "I had some sort of federal agent talking to me earlier. At one point he asked me if I had ever taken recreational drugs on a regular basis. Like I would ever touch that shit! I didn't even drink, let alone do that."
"Likely to determine why you thought your companion was a little girl," said Kevin. "I'm hoping that means they're taking you seriously."
Fred took a step closer to Kevin. "I'm not sure they are. They seemed to be a whole lot more interested in me and what I've been doing the past twenty years. They're treating me like I'm the suspect, not her!"
"As far as I can tell, the FBI is treating almost everyone like a suspect," said Kevin with a slightly acid voice. "I was asked some uncomfortable questions as well."
"So you really don't know exactly what's up, do you?" Fred said.
"You know as much as I do at this point, I'm afraid."
Fred's gaze softened. "Thanks for being honest with me."
"Now, I'd like to ask you something in return," said Kevin.
Fred sat down on his haunches. "I have a feeling I know what it is."
"Do you want to be human again?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought," said Fred in a low voice. "The shrinks have been needling me about that, too." He waved a fore-hoof. "Didn't you read it for yourself? They wrote everything down."
"I wanted to hear it from you."
Fred smirked. "Right from the horse's mouth, huh?" He paused. "I should be clamoring for a cure. I should be complaining about being a little colorful horse. Do you know what they fed me for dinner last night? Hay. And damned if it wasn't good, if a little bland." He lifted a fore-hoof. "Do you know what I did with this before I was taken here? I broke solid concrete with it. Just one hoof!" He glanced past Kevin. "I could bust down that door with a single buck. I've never had this much strength, even back in Special Forces. I keep thinking, what else can I do?"
"That doesn't really answer the question," said Kevin.
Fred chuckled. "I like you, Kevin. You know how to cut through the bullshit. Honest answer? I don't know." He stood and trotted around in a circle. "Everything works the way I expect it would. I can move around as easily as I could in my old body. Yeah, my table manners are horrible because I can't use a fork with hooves, but it's like my head doesn't care. It's like if you had asked me before, 'do you like being human'. The question makes no damn sense. It's just what I was. Now I'm a pony. It's just what I am."
"When I first encountered you in this hospital room, you seemed more upset at the situation," Kevin said.
"I still am," said Fred in a low voice. "But more because of all the time of my life that was wasted, and the way I was deceived." He turned his head and looked at himself. "I know I've lost something in not being human anymore, but I don't want to dwell on it." He looked back at Kevin. "I'd rather look forward than back, if that makes any sense."
Kevin looked thoughtful before nodding once. "Thank you for indulging me, Fred."
"Can you put in a good word for me?" Fred asked. "They're not going to get much more out of me. They can test me only so many times, and I can tell the feds the same story until the cows come home."
"I'll do my best, I promise."
Fred smiled faintly before Kevin turned and headed out.
Sandra met him in the hallway. "So?"
Kevin sighed. "I don't know whether to feel sorry for him or relieved that he's taking it so well."
"Everyone affected is like this, an odd form of calm acceptance." Sandra consulted her notes. "One man was brought in to a guarded hospital room rather than a shelter because he was still under arrest for assault due to an incident a few days ago. He had instigated the assault specifically because he was upset over the transformation. Now he's a lot more calm about it and even apologetic over what he had done."
"What about the reports of some sort of energy discharges?" Kevin asked.
"Those would be the horned patients. They appear to be harmless, but we have no idea what it is or what it means."
"Unicorn magic," Kevin deadpanned.
Sandra looked up and frowned. "Kevin, please, be serious."
"I am being serious. I also read that patients without horns or wings are starting to show signs of enormous strength like Mr. Turner. If it were me, I'd take precautions against the possibility that you'll have patients who can fly soon."
Sandra sighed. "We've already been over that with animal anatomical experts. Unless in their final forms they somehow become extremely light, the consensus is that their wings would not be large or strong enough to generate lift." She paused before adding in a lower voice. "But, yes, we're taking precautions anyway."
"One last thing," said Kevin. "Do you know about his desire to be with others like him?"
"Yes, I'm aware of that," said Sandra. "I have mixed feelings about it, but it's not my decision concerning him."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were in charge of this operation."
"The medical side, yes. The criminal side, no."
Kevin frowned. "I don't like the sound of that."
"I'd advise you to talk to Mr. Heller," said Sandra in a curt voice. "You'd have more patience with him than I would."
"Where is he now?"
"I'm told he's setting up a temporary headquarters at a middle school a few blocks from here."
"Isn't that one of the designated shelters?" Kevin asked in a perplexed voice.
"Apparently there are some 'persons of interest' expected to show up at that location," said Sandra. "He wouldn't tell me who those were."
Kevin frowned. "Can you spare me for a bit here this morning?"
"Certainly."
Despite reassurances that she was not under arrest, Sarah still felt like a criminal being brought to interrogation. Anthony and one other person she assumed was another agent escorted her through the school hallway. She was hustled along such that her increasingly stiff feet were aching badly, but she couldn't bring herself to ask that they slow down.
They entered a classroom where the desks had been shoved towards the back and some simple folding tables and chairs set up in the front. Several laptops were arrayed along one side of the table, network cables stretched across the floor. Two men in lab coats sat on that side near one end.
"Please, Doctor Tanner, have a seat," said Anthony as he closed the door behind him.
He had gestured towards the chairs on the opposite side of the table from the laptops. Sarah nodded and took a seat, carefully draping her tail across her lap. She shifted her weight a few times, but getting comfortable was a losing proposition. All her legs muscles felt tight, as if protesting the position she was trying to place her body. An odd buzzing sensation flitted about the base of her horn.
She glanced at the two lab-coated men. She felt more uneasy at their scrutiny than the agent's. As if sensing her distress, one of them gave her a small smile and said, "We're here because of your advanced symptoms, Doctor Tanner. Just standard procedure."
Sarah nodded slowly, thought it didn't reassure her in the least.
Anthony took a seat opposite her. "Doctor Tanner, I want to open this by pressing upon you just how critical your assistance will be."
Sarah took a deep breath. "I understand. All I want to do is help."
"We've been watching this situation carefully ever since the Colorado Department of Health chose to declare an emergency," said Anthony. "We've escalated our involvement the moment the first report came in of wings and--" He hesitated just a second as his eyes flicked up to Sarah's forehead. "--horns."
"Because they matched the pictures of the petroglyphs?"
"I'm going to be blunt, Doctor Tanner," said Anthony. "You should've sent those photos directly to us. The media is having a field day with it. We have the fringe elements coming out of the woodwork muddying the waters even further. It's drowning out the danger that this poses."
"I'm sorry," said Sarah, a slight edge to her voice. "But I got tired of somepony out there trying to suppress me. I didn't want to risk it happening again. I had no idea at the time how serious this was going to get. For all I knew, it was confined to Lazy Pines."
If Anthony had noticed the speech aberration, he didn't show it. "I'm going to lay this out for you right now. Until we hear solid evidence to the contrary, my agency is treating this as intentional biowarfare."
Sarah's eyes widened.
"We're basing this on both the inability to locate a natural cause and the severe potential for complete societal upheaval that may result if this impacts a significant portion of the population," Anthony explained. "That would play well into an enemy's strategy."
"But who would do this?" Sarah demanded. "Who could do it?"
"As for the would, the United States has many enemies," said Anthony. "As for could, that's for the scientists to figure out. I'm more interested in the former."
"Mr. Heller, I wish I could point to exactly who did this," Sarah said. "I was prevented from finding anything beyond just a few hints."
Anthony lifted the screen of his laptop and consulted his notes. "There were two incidents of alleged evidence removal. Are you sure only the second held any hint of what was to happen?"
"Positive," said Sarah. "I found nothing, well, pony-related at the first site. What I had found were highly polished gemstones and exquisitely crafted crystals, things that had never been found in that time period in other Native American sites. I initially assumed they had been stolen for their intrinsic value. It was only when the petroglyphs were wiped that I thought someone was trying to suppress my theory."
"And your theory is?" Anthony prompted.
Sarah had trouble believing he hadn't already done a full background check on her. This was likely either a fishing expedition, or he wanted to see if she kept her story straight. The buzzing in her horn grew worse. "That some tribes of Ancestral Puebloans -- you probably know them as the 'Anasazi' -- may have had more direct contact with other civilizations in the fourteenth century, predating the earliest recorded contact."
Anthony looked thoughtful for a moment. "At any time, were you approached by someone you would term suspicious? Did anyone contact you with threats or demands?"
"No, but I was certainly afraid they would," Sarah said.
"Did you have anyone join any of your teams that you didn't recognize?"
Sarah sighed in frustration. The buzzing had become a tingling spreading through her horn. "I hand-picked everypony on my teams, Mr. Heller. I had to, considering how radical my theories were considered. I didn't want to risk taking on someone who was there just to discredit me."
"When we're done here, you will provide us with all the names you can remember."
Sarah noticed that it had been worded as a command and not a request. "I'll do my best."
Anthony typed up a few notes on his laptop. "Doctor Tanner, who else witnessed your discovery of the petroglyphs?"
"I was actually the second to see them. My assistant Greg saw them first and called me to consult."
"And to whom did you report this finding?"
Sarah hesitated. "No one."
Anthony gave her a level look. "No one?"
"I wanted to do more research," Sarah said.
Anthony leaned back in his seat. "What kind of 'research?'"
Sarah's ears twitched. She had heard the quotes around the word from his tone. "I wanted to make sure they hadn't been faked, because I knew that would be the immediate response from the scientific community."
"And did you ever do that research?"
"I didn't have time! They were wiped before I could do anything about them."
"Willful destruction of archaeological evidence is a federal crime," said Anthony. "Why did you not report it then?"
"I had my family to worry about," said Sarah. "I had to choose my priorities, and I was afraid I was under surveillance given how quickly the evidence was removed."
Anthony drew himself forward. "Doctor Tanner--"
"And even if I had reported it, would it have given you any clue what was going to happen?" Sarah said in a rising tone, the tingling in her horn becoming maddening. "I had no idea at first that silly-colored hair had anything to do with ponies, horns, or wings!"
"Doctor Tanner, why are you being so defensive?" Anthony asked.
"Because for all your claims that I'm not under arrest, you sure are making it sound like you're beginning to suspect me of something."
"This is a very serious matter," said Anthony. "I need to consider all possibilities. You are not a suspect at this time."
"At this time??"
"But I am required to inform you that any willful nondisclosure of potential evidence will be considered a serious breach of--"
The tingling in her horn was suddenly relieved, but not in the way Sarah would have hoped. She felt something akin to a weak electric current surge through her horn, and heard a sound like a crackling pop as a shower of bright sparks burst from the tip. They had barely started to rain down upon the table when Anthony bolted to his feet. Sarah's glistening eyes soon stared up at the barrel of a gun pointed squarely at her.
The two physicians immediately rushed to Sarah's side. "Mr. Heller, put your gun down!" one of them snapped. "There's no danger here."
"It was an involuntary bio-electric response," said the other. "We've started to see it this morning in patients with horns. As far as we've been able to determine, it's harmless."
Anthony lowered his weapon just as two agents burst into the room. "It's all right," he called out in a calm voice. "Everything is under control. My apologies, Doctor Tanner."
Sarah had no response, her heart still hammering.
"Sir, we have a man in the hallway here claiming to be Doctor Tanner's physician," said one of the agents at the door.
The first physician gave Anthony a cross look. "If that's the case, I strongly suggest you allow him in."
"He does have an ID issued by the Colorado Department of Health," said the agent. "It checks out."
Anthony put his gun away. "Very well, let him in."
The agents nodded and withdrew, and Kevin rushed into the room and to Sarah's side. "Are you all right?"
Sarah took a deep breath to steady herself and nodded. She found her voice, though it still quavered as she looked at Anthony. "I've told you everything I possibly know, Mr. Heller. I want to know what happened as much as you do."
Anthony said nothing and simply looked on impassively.
Kevin helped Sarah to her feet. Sarah gave him a weak smile. "It's good to see you again, Doctor Conner."
Kevin returned the smile as best he could. "I'm sorry I can no longer attend to you or your family personally. I'm more of a general resource now." He glanced over to the federal agent. "I would like to stay and speak with Mr. Heller here."
"That's fine, I want to get back to my family," said Sarah. "Thank you for everything you've done for us, we won't forget it."
Kevin's smile faded, and his eyes grew distant and cloudy.
"Are you all right, Doctor Conner?" Sarah asked.
"Hmm? Yes, sorry," Kevin murmured. "My thoughts were elsewhere. I'll make sure to check on you and your family from time to time."
"Laura is in another shelter, just so you know. The high school."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Sarah remanded herself to the care of the other physicians as they shepherded her out of the room. The words of the agent echoed in her head. Had she been too timid about reporting the archaeological theft and destruction? Had she somehow squandered an opportunity to stop this plague?
She had never associated the strange baubles of the first dig with anything fantastic outside of her own theories. Now she wondered as to what the significance truly was, or if she had been wrong in the first place, and something deeper and utterly more strange was going on.
Sarah desperately wanted to find out.
Kevin watched as Sarah was escorted out of the room. Her last words to him had caught him off guard: thank you for everything you've done. His wife had said almost those same words to him on her deathbed.
"You wanted to speak with me, Doctor Conner?" Anthony said.
Kevin turned fully towards the agent. "I'm simply glad you even let me near you. At one point, I wondered if perhaps I was a suspect due to my apparent immunity."
Anthony took a seat. "To be perfectly blunt, you were. Past tense, however. A background check on you turned up no red flags, and the Colorado Department of Health states you did everything by the book. They even commended you for your subsequent actions and continued professionalism."
Kevin sat down in the seat Sarah had vacated. "I've tried to help. I want to figure this out as much as you do."
"Which is why I've secured permission to share what information I can with you." He consulted his laptop. "I assume you wanted to see me over the dispositions of your patients."
"Yes, my primary concern is Fred Turner," said Kevin. "I want to make sure his story is being taken seriously."
"I assume you're talking about his purported contact with this little girl he described."
"That's exactly what I mean."
"We've come up empty so far on that. Unfortunately, Mr. Turner himself has a number of red flags in his background that are of grave concern to us."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"
"Discharged from the military under unusual circumstances," Anthony said. "History of anti-government sentiment and activity. Questionable mental state. Antisocial. Loner. Prepper."
Kevin frowned. "The last time I looked, Mr. Heller, none of those were illegal."
"I never said they were," said Anthony. "But they are warning signs. I also didn't mention the most suspicious item, one that could be considered a crime, at least by the IRS: unknown, unreported, and untraceable sources of income."
Kevin paused before venturing, "I was told he used those to build his bunker."
"Yes, which would conveniently isolate him and his activities from the public. His profile fits that of a disaffected individual who would be a likely target for recruitment by terrorists. The untraceable income suggests this may have happened."
"You cannot seriously believe he developed a biowarfare agent," Kevin said crossly.
Anthony leaned forward. "No, of course not, but someone else could have done so and passed it to him."
"And would he willingly infect himself?"
"Doctor Conner, my agency has uncovered terrorist plots in the past involving the dispersal of anthrax or similar pathogens. In every case, the intended perpetrators appeared very willing to be infected and sacrifice themselves for their cause. So, yes, we have ample precedent."
"When Mr. Turner was brought to me, he didn't appear to know what was happening to him," said Kevin with forced patience. "When he became more lucid after his transformation, he claimed he had no idea how he got that way."
Anthony nodded. "We're taking that under advisement. You'll note that we have not charged him with a crime. What we need right now are answers, and we're coming up critically short. We've had agents tearing his residence apart looking for clues and finding nothing."
Kevin ran a hand through his hair. "I honestly think you're barking up the wrong tree. I wish you would focus more attention on this companion he had."
"Right now, we have no further leads," said Anthony. "We went over his military records and the incident that led to his eventual discharge, but that led nowhere. We're doing the best we can, but the situation is grave enough, I can't worry about whose toes – or hooves – I step on."
"Then I suppose there's no point in bringing up Sarah Tanner," Kevin murmured.
"I still wish to question her further, but only because she may have had contact with whoever is behind this, even if she didn't realize it at the time," said Anthony. "Believe it or not, we're the good guys here."
Kevin's cell phone vibrated. He yanked it out, and his eyebrows rose at the caller ID. As much as he wanted to talk to Heather, he slipped it back in his pocket and let it go to voice mail. "I suppose I should be happy you're being candid with me."
"At this point, no purpose is served by being secretive," said Anthony. "Your record concerning your adherence to patients' privacy is impeccable. I'm taking a chance you'll keep things in confidence when we request it."
"I do admit, I'm rather surprised the patients in the shelters were allowed to keep their cell phones and effectively broadcast their experiences to the public."
Anthony leaned back in his seat. "That was largely the Colorado Department of Health's call. Not exactly a great call in my opinion, but they never had to deal with something like this. In most public emergencies, all people can chronicle is the inside of a hospital room or whatever natural disaster is happening that's already all over the news. By the time we got on the scene, the cat was out of the bag, so there was little point in antagonizing either the patients or the public with pointless censorship."
"Are you aware of my concerns over an influenza link?" Kevin asked.
"Very much so," Anthony said. "Mr. Turner's belongings are being tested for any sort of chemicals that could be used as growth mediums or preservatives for infectious agents, including influenza. The FAA is about to issue a directive to all US airports that absolutely no one showing either signs of influenza or ETS are to be allowed on board. Officially, for the purposes of mitigating panic, we're treating them as two separate diseases."
Kevin wished he could be content with that. He realized everyone was doing everything they humanly could, but it never seemed enough. If he looked at Anthony long enough, he thought he could see the same intense concern in the agent's eyes as well. His stomach twisted into a knot as he finally realized they could be on the brink of a sort of apocalypse, just one that never made it into either the annals of science fiction or religious dogma. "May I ask one thing, Mr. Heller?" Kevin said in a cautious voice. "May I be present if you choose to interview one of my patients again?"
"I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do." Anthony stood. "I want you to know that your efforts are appreciated." He extended his hand.
Kevin didn't hesitate. He stood and accepted the man's handshake, musing over how simple a gesture can open a bridge of trust.
Within a day, if even that, hundreds of people were about to have that ability taken away from them.
Sarah could be content with the fact that the FBI had been true to their word. Jenny had been allowed to claim a space for her mother at the shelter, another auditorium turned makeshift dormitory. Sarah hugged Jenny tightly, and for once her daughter did not try to break off the embrace early. Sarah reluctantly let go first. "Are you okay?"
Jenny flopped down onto her bedroll and curled her tail around her. "Yeah, I guess."
"Is something the matter?" Sarah asked.
Jenny reached down and tugged up a pant leg. Half her calf was covered in blue fur, a few shades lighter than that of her father's hair.
Sarah sighed. "I'm sorry."
Jenny shrugged. "I'm not upset over it. Weird is the new norm."
"It shouldn't be," Sarah declared.
"Does it matter?"
Sarah had no answer. She lifted a hand to her horn. At first, that odd discharge earlier had frightened her, now less so. She could still feel a slight buzzing at its base, though she felt in no danger of another energetic release, as if she somehow was gaining control over it, just like Laura had with her wings.
"You look like a unicorn," Jenny suddenly said.
Sarah blinked and stared.
Jenny averted her eyes. "Sorry. You don't want to hear that stuff."
"Maybe I do."
Jenny turned her head towards her mother and gave her a nonplussed look.
"It's what always made you happy, isn't it?" Sarah asked.
"It didn't make you happy."
"Maybe I was wrong," said Sarah. "I've spent the better part of the last ten years thinking I understood you as a person, and now I realize I had no clue."
"Mom, I don't even understand myself anymore," said Jenny in a quavering voice.
Sarah was quiet for a long moment before she finally said in a tentative voice, "Harry always liked listening to your stories, even if he didn't let on."
"You don't have to try to make me feel better," Jenny muttered.
"I'm not. I mean, I'm not inventing stuff just to cheer you up. He really did like listening to you."
Jenny cast her glistening eyes at her mother. "Dad used to tell me stories about stuff he did when he was a kid. At the time, they sounded like fantasies to me."
Sarah smiled weakly. "He had a bit of a rambunctious childhood."
"Then he just stopped. Then it was all about Bob."
Sarah's smile faded. "If it helps any, he realizes he took the wrong tack on that."
"It doesn't," Jenny said. "But I'm just being self-centered again."
"Jenny, please, don't say that."
"Why not? It's true! I surrounded myself with fantasies and made it all about me. I did what I wanted to do regardless of how dangerous it was."
Sarah took a deep breath. "Jenny, your aunt talked to me about you."
Jenny's eyes widened.
"She said she was worried about you after your conversation with her on the deck," Sarah said.
Jenny clenched her hands into fists. "Why the fuck did she have to tell you about that?!"
Sarah was too taken aback by her daughter's vehemence to even think about calling her out on her language.
"If I thought she was going to tell you ..." Jenny shook her head, her pink hair flying. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."
"It does matter, Jenny," said Sarah earnestly. "And, frankly, I'm sorry Harry and I didn't see this before now."
Jenny trembled and looked away.
"I think what happened to you when your were five had something to do with this."
"I still don't remember it," she said in a low voice.
"After this crisis is over, we can get you help so you can--"
Jenny snapped her gaze back to her mother. "I don't want to remember! Because if you make me remember, I'll remember that I hate my sister for not knowing what to do, for letting me get so scared I had to invent a whole other reality to ..."
Jenny trailed off. Only then did she realize tears were leaking from her eyes.
For a moment, all Sarah could do was stare despite how her heart ached. It had been so long since Jenny had cried over anything that it was simply an utter shock to see her this way. When the tears began flowing more in earnest, Sarah pulled Jenny into an embrace.
"I don't want to hate Laura," Jenny whimpered. "I don't want to hate anypony."
Sarah closed her eyes tightly. "I know," she said softly.
"I-I'm sorry I did all those stupid things."
"Shh, it's all right. Don't worry about that now."
Jenny let out a ragged breath as she relaxed somewhat. "I want to go back to the fantasy stuff. I still like it, I just don't want it to be all I am."
Sarah saw the irony in that last statement, even though she knew Jenny hadn't meant it that way. Sarah might have well been a character from Jenny's stories at this point. "Don't worry about it right now, Jenny. No matter what happens, you still have your whole life ahead of you. Don't think you have to decide right now what you want to do, or what you want to be, for that matter."
Jenny drew back and picked up her tail. "What I'm going to be is kinda being decided for me, Mom."
Sarah managed a small smile. "You know I didn't mean that. I don't exactly know what's going to happen, but, well, Laura made a good point once. She said she didn't feel sick. Do you?"
"No," Jenny said softly.
"So maybe ... maybe whatever we become, we'll still be okay somehow." Sarah thought back to her earlier musings about losing her hands and her career. She somehow managed to repress a shudder as she said, "We'll figure out something to do."
Kevin was in no hurry to return to the hospital. His hours were long, arriving while still dark and leaving after sunset, thus he had not seen the sun in days except the occasional glance through a hospital window. At the same time, the eerily empty streets were a constant reminder of the crisis. Even at the height of the flu outbreak, it had not been anything like this. Even the soldiers of the National Guard were concentrated near the shelters, as there was no need to keep the peace in abandoned neighborhoods.
He took the time to return Heather's call. "It's good to hear from you again. I'm sorry I couldn't take the call when it came in."
"I'm just sorry I have to be considered a patient and can't be helping you," said Heather in a forlorn voice.
"If you don't mind me asking, how far--?"
"I have a tail, a nice set of pony ears covered in lovely spring-green fur, and dark green eyes," said Heather. "And the tail and fur are just as sparkly as my head."
Kevin smiled faintly. "If it helps any, there's been one more person found with that crystalline effect."
"It doesn't, but nothing can be done about it."
"Where are you now?"
"Closing up shop for good before heading to a shelter."
"Come again?"
"Your office, silly," Heather said, and Kevin could see the smirk in his mind's eye. "I wanted to make sure all your records are secure. I, uh, don't want to leave my successor with a mess."
Kevin sighed. "Heather, why would I ever think of replacing you?"
"Well, there is that little thing about not having hands anymore."
Heather had been his assistant ever since he had opened the office in Lazy Pines. She had not been the most qualified of all the applicants in terms of years of experience, but she had a personality that had meshed with his at once and a gift for making patients feel relaxed. He had never once doubted his decision. Even when he went through a rough period where he could have let her go to save money, he could never bring himself to do it.
"I'm making you a promise," said Kevin, "When this is over, your job is going to be right where you left it."
"Kevin, please, be reasonable."
"For once, I don't want to be."
Heather uttered a short laugh. "Sometimes I find it so hard to believe that only a week ago we were talking about a viral marketing campaign being behind this. I wonder if this is how people of a previous generation felt during the Cuban Missile Crisis, everybody just stunned at how everything went to hell in such a short period of time."
Kevin turned a corner, and the hospital loomed ahead. "Yes, and people were expecting the world to blow up back then, too, but it didn't."
"Question is, how are the folks in your neck of the woods handling it?"
Kevin had been afraid of that question. It had only been a few days since the state had moved in, and already the sense of desperation was palpable despite their best attempts to hide it. One physician on the task force was a veteran of overseas wars and had seen more than his fair share of horror. Even he had looked spooked over recent developments.
"They're coping and still forging ahead," said Kevin. "That's really all I can say."
Heather was quiet for a long moment. "Look, um, this may be the last time we talk again for a while. Just promise me you won't try to find out what I've become."
Kevin sighed. "Heather ..."
"Please, Kevin, just ... just remember me the way I was, okay? If I feel okay with having you see what's happened to me, then I'll arrange something, but just don't go looking for it."
Kevin stopped and closed his eyes. "All right," he said in a quavering voice.
"Goodbye, Kevin."
"Goodbye."
Kevin held the phone to his ear for another few seconds, as if in hopes that Heather would magically come back on the line. He finally tucked it back into his shirt pocket and headed into the hospital.
At once he knew something was up, as the nurses at the entry station immediately paged for Doctor Marlowe the moment they saw him. "What's happened?" asked Kevin as Sandra rushed up.
"We just got word from the Garfield county sheriff's office," said Sandra. "Two fully transformed cases of ETS were found in Carbondale."
Kevin frowned. "Did I hear you right? That's almost on the other side of the state, well outside the emergency area. Why didn't we hear any reports from their hospitals before this?"
"These two patients showed up out of the blue at the town's Catholic Church," Sandra said. "There's a lot more to the story, but I only got a piece of it before the damn FBI claimed the rest of the pie and didn't share."
"So much for no pointless censorship," Kevin muttered. "What do we know?"
"They had some fantastic story about being aliens, but the names they claimed for themselves sound more like they came from the imagination of an eight year old girl."
"Dear God, I hope this a hoax," said Kevin. "Otherwise it means this disease could cause a mental aberration we're not yet aware of."
"If so, it's hugely inconsistent," said Sandra. "It apparently cured Mr. Turner of his mental issues yet instills delusions in others. That makes little sense."
"If you ask Mr. Heller, he'll tell you it would fit perfectly with a biowarfare scenario," said Kevin in a low voice.
"Well, he must think there's something to this, because he green-lighted my request to have them transferred here." Sandra paused. "The only other bit I got was something about them demonstrating magic to the priest."
Kevin's eyebrows rose. "Did you say magic?"
Sandra sighed. "Please, Kevin, no comments about 'unicorn magic' again."
"Were they unicorns?" Kevin demanded.
Sandra frowned. "The patients were horned, yes. I understand, you want to grasp at anything that will give us a clue, we all do, but we have to keep a sense of perspective. Realize who the primary witness to this was, a man predisposed to believe in the supernatural."
"And yet we have the mysterious discharges--"
"Which could have a biological source we just haven't discovered yet," Sandra declared.
"I'm not advocating we buy the story lock, stock, and barrel, but I do think we should find out what the hell is going on," Kevin countered. "I've gone on record as saying I'm willing to look like a damn fool if it means figuring this out."
Sandra sighed. "I know, I'm just not used to 'magic pixie dust' being on the list of viable possibilities."
Star Singer sighed in exasperation as she placed the Farhearing Stone aside. She had spent the past hour in a vain attempt to undo Sunset's neutralization spell. She should have realized Sunset's magic would simply be too powerful or too complex for her to unravel.
She frowned as she glanced at the apparatus, which now lay quiescent, the magic in the crystals having played itself out not too long after Sunset had left that morning. Star could have kept it going easily, but she had found out all she was going to. That's what she told herself, anyway. She didn't want to help Sunset, but not helping her felt like a betrayal, not just to Sunset but her own ideals.
She had been left alone long enough that she was startled by the flash of teleportation magic.
"I don't have a lot of time," Sunset said as she trotted up. "Have you found ...?" She trailed off as she glanced at the apparatus. She frowned as she stepped up to it. "You let the spell fade?"
"There's only a limited amount of information I could glean from such a small sample of blood," said Star in a subdued voice.
Sunset levitated the vials from the center of the lattice. "You didn't have to leave them here. They'll spoil without a stasis field around them. You could've at least put them in the refrigerator."
Star frowned. "Didn't you hear what I said? There's nothing more I can discover!"
"But I could have acted on what you did find out."
Star's ears drew back. "Who said I found anything?"
"Just now, when you said there was nothing more you can discover," said Sunset.
Star clenched her teeth. "I wish you would stop doing that."
"And I wish you would stop being so obstinate."
"So does that mean you're going to go back on your word and try to force the information from me?" Star said in a wary voice.
"Nothing of the sort," Sunset said, though her voice was still terse. "But you can't blame me for being a little upset that you don't want to help. Or did you think you might help Twily instead?"
Star jerked her head towards Sunset. "What are you talking about?"
Sunset smiled. "You didn't seriously think I wouldn't put an anti-tampering ward on the stone, did you?"
Star's eyes widened before she could catch herself.
"I'm not terribly angry with you," said Sunset as she placed the vials back in the lattice and recharged it with her horn. "You had plenty of time for a corrupted Twilight to bend your ear. It further proves that you did find something significant, or you wouldn't have tried to tell her about it."
Star turned more fully towards Sunset. "And why do you think I would tell you just because you found me out?"
"Look at it this way," Sunset said in a gentle voice. "You implied earlier that my plans are delicate or precarious. If that's the case, anything that can smooth it out would be appreciated. Having some natives -- however few -- completely immune to the effects of the modified virus means potential disruption. I don't believe it will be enough to unravel my plans, but I bet you do. Do you want to see needless hurt?"
Star knew that her supposed friend was trying to manipulate her, and were she to press Sunset on the matter, Sunset would claim it to be an appeal to reason. Instead, it spoke to a much baser desire, that of smashing that smug demeanor. Star acted on the emotion before she could think better of it. "Fine, I'll tell you! You don't know the natives of this planet as well as you think you do! That little sample you gave me? Something in it is channeling magic!"
Sunset's eyes widened slightly.
Star looked upon Sunset's expression with a small measure of satisfaction. "You keep going on an on about how these natives can't use magic--"
"They can't," Sunset declared. "I've had twenty years to observe them. In all the natives I've studied, I've found zero real ability. Even those who claim ability are little more than charlatans or delusional."
Star jabbed a fore-hoof towards the crystal lattice. "Then you missed one, because something is going on that I can't explain."
Sunset approached the apparatus again, looking thoughtful. After a few moments, she said in a low voice, "We're both right."
Star raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"
Sunset turned to face her. "The natives cannot actively channel magic. What if this one is passively channeling it?"
"Is that possible?" Star asked in a tentative voice.
"This native is a physician who claims he's rarely come down with the ailments of his patients," said Sunset. "What if he is passively channeling magic into his immune system? The reason the modified virus is so infectious is that the magic component not only shields the modification from their technology, but it eludes their immune systems long enough to lay down the spell structure. A magic-assisted immune system would not be as easily fooled."
"Sunny, the flow I was detecting was very weak," said Star. "Even a rough extrapolation as to how much magic this native could be passively channeling overall is nowhere near--"
"I have my reasons for why I think the theory is correct," said Sunset. "Thank you, Starry, you have been very helpful."
"I didn't tell you that to help you!" Star cried. "I told you that in hopes you'd see reason!"
"I don't follow."
"You keep going on and on about how the natives can't use magic," Star said. "This could be the start of their magical awakening. They could very well start wielding magic if left on their own!"
Sunset nodded. "Of course they could. That's an obvious conclusion."
Star gaped. "And you don't think that changes your plans just a little?"
"I assume you mean other than devising a way to defeat this immunity," said Sunset. "Why would it change them? You're talking developments on an evolutionary time scale. Do you think Equestria -- or this planet, for that matter -- has thousands of years to wait before the natives can learn to lift so much as a pebble with magic, let alone use it in a coordinated manner?"
"What if you helped them develop it faster?" Star said. "Then you might have had a world that would've willingly given Equestria all the magic it could ever need just out of sheer gratitude."
Sunset paused before speaking in a soft voice. "Perhaps if this had been twenty years ago, perhaps if you had chosen to come with me when I had asked, we could've pursued that option together. It's far too late now."
Star took a slow, deep breath, struggling to fight off Sunset's attempt to make this about Star's failure. She finally muttered, "You're insane."
Sunset sighed as she turned away. "I'm sorry you feel that way," Sunset said in a sad voice. She looked towards the runic circle. "Starry, I won't force you to accept my plans. If you truly wish to go home, I will allow you."
Star hesitated before turning to face the circle. "Are you serious? You'd send me back to Equestria even with everything I know about what you're doing?"
"This end of the portal is completely locked down. The only reason I didn't do it before now is because it takes a steady flow of energy to maintain the lock. It was another reason for faking my death. I didn't want to give Celestia a reason to pursue me."
Star looked thoughtful for a long moment. "All right. I'll take you up on that."
Sunset lowered her gaze. "Very well."
"But after I do something first." Star paused. "After I sing to the stars of this world."
Sunset turned to face Star and smiled softly. "Thank you, Starry. I feel like you're giving me the chance I need to prove myself."
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
1,016 users online
16,489 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Wow! Two chapter update!
Can I just say again how much I love your story?
Because I really do.
I love the way you've integrated the characters on such a believable level, I love the ponies, and I love how the two worlds meet and compliment one another.
I can't wait for Starsinger to sing to the stars, that is gonna be one dramatic moment!
Also, humans possessing passive magic? Plot twist! :0
I'm so excited to see how this story goes. <3
8144370
Same. This definitely breaks the mold so to speak of Pony on Earth, or Conversion Bureu. I really am likeing where this story is going!
Sunset is .. so paranoid ...
Who is all in favor of drawing and quarting Sunset Set Shimmer? Throughout this chapter her delusions of grandeur and outright evil where on full display. This is the chapter that showed us there will be no redemption for Sunset Shimmer, no magical rainbow blast to show her the error of her ways. Her name will be forever linked with the worst of humanity and ponies. I feel sorry for Twilight's family as they are related to this monster.
Awesome character interactions in this chapter as we see how everyone is dealing with the transformation from the government to the medical community to an evil incarnate pony.
8144433 Hope they see the difference in "justice" we have compared to them in the end. No "oh my bad" and instantly forgiven like the ponies seem to have. Will be a nice little topic of debate.
8144433
Why can't she be redeemed? Why can't she see the error of her ways? Any other resolution is extremely hollow that doesn't have her realize, even if it is forced upon her, that what she did was wrong, and her attempting to make up for it and reconnect with her family and Celestia. That she would try to make amends doesn't mean that she will be forgiven, but assuming that she deserves permanent hatred (or worse, death like Sombra with no redemption via comic), and that is somehow the best possible outcome completely ignores the tone and lessons of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (thus far shown in this story, too).
At the very least, she would be defeated and made to witness her plan unraveling before her eyes in the same manner as Tirek or Chrysalis, at the worst extreme, and I don't feel that fits Sunset's characterization.
8141047
Extinction does not refer to individuals but to species. When a species disappears for whatever reason, that is an extinction event. If you sterilized all of a breeding population, you would kill no individuals, but the species would still go extinct. So it all depends on if the transformed humans breed true (i.e. produce ponies) or if the transformation is somatic and does not affect the gametes, in which case the transformees will produce human offspring, so no extinction.
After thinking about this some more, I believe you may be conflating genocide with extinction. Genocide is characterized by the murder of all individual of a target group, although there is overlap.
8144451 Cause I don't believe in people getting away with causing mass suffering. No matter her reasons shes willingly forcing her views on others therefore considering herself "better" than them. And shes doing it for what she considers good for her own people not caring what harm it brings the others. Simple as that.
8144451
I see Sunset, as she is in this story, as someone who wants to justify what they have done with any excuse she can come up with to save their own hide. She has done a lot of unethical things and now she is set to do more harm becuase she has found away around someone's resistance. I don't see her even attempting to fix her mistakes instead she will believe that this was always the best and only action that needed to be taken. If she is ever brought to justice she will never accept that she was in any way wrong with her actions here. Permanent hatred is something that humans have done regularly with some people.
Plus it would be interesting to see how Twilight and company react to a culture that doesn't give out forgiveness easily. I see some similarities between Sunset and Chrysalis as both are so set in their ways that they only want it one way, their way. I don't see Sunset as wanting the world Twilight has saved but a world of her doing.
I just want to strangle Sunset
8144493
How is this any different than:
Nightmare Moon
Discord
Canon Sunset Shimmer from Equestria Girls before her redemption
or Starlight Glimmer?
8144494
Starlight Glimmer, Nightmare Moon, and even Discord held views of always justifying everything they did, but they were all redeemed. In my mind, if Starlight Glimmer could be redeemed, I don't see why this Sunset cannot for anything short of murder (which she hasn't done yet, though she's come painfully close with the guy she was keeping under her control for 20 years).
Just consider, if her plan could be stopped and the transformation fully reversed, the damage repaired, how would what she has done be unforgivable, provided that she, in the end, came around to seeing what she did before as wrong?
Also, you are confusing someone being redeemed with being forgiven, and they aren't the same. Starlight and Equestria Girls Sunset had to prove their reformed ways and weren't accepted immediately by everyone, Twilight Sparkle notwithstanding. Even in canon, Discord ended up siding with Tirek and was betrayed in turn by him before he got his full redemption via Twilight's forgiveness.
8144544 It also helps that Sunset is just a tool used by a larger villain, which will probably be shown next chapter (unless we are lead on even farther with Star Singer)
a super good chapter I am impressed.
I see a few thing going on, yep the government is doing the normal crap in if you don't know what it is kill it or lock it away.
and I see one thing right at the end that I think it going to be a real game changer.
After I sing to the stars of this world.
this is going to change the hole story ark I just have a feeling.
Humans having magic is a bit of a surprise, but not as much as you might think. Heck, I might even have Doc's little immunity booster thing going for me; I haven't gotten truly ill in over a decade. Also, uselessly prophetic dreams.
What worries me more is the idea that all of this magic suddenly surging around might wake something else up. I find it hard to believe that humanity would be the very first lifeforms on Earth to develop magic over for billion years of evolution.
8144535
8144544
My guess would be because, for all their apparent maliciousness, none of those villains have done anything on the sheer scale of what Sunset is doing. She has unleashed an uncontrolled biological agent which she herself admitted she could not stop even if she wanted to, with the intent of completely tearing down and re-shape a seven-billion-strong planet-wide civilization, resulting in hundreds of thousands, if not millions of deaths due to the inevitable panic, famine, and general societal breakdown.
Starlight is the only one who could even come close to comparing, only then thanks to extreme Timey-Wimey shenanigans.
8144612
Wait, what?
Sure, there's still a few missing pieces to the puzzle, but I don't think they're pointing to another villain in the story.
Sunset's already a fantastic villain, not because of sheer power, but because of her warped ideology. Adding another villain, of the puppet master archetype, no less, would probably cheapen everything about the moral conflict that's already been set up between Sunset, Twilight and humanity.
At this point, one of the most inadvisable things that anyone could do is to introduce a bigger villain in an attempt to absolve Sunset of guilt or responsibility for her actions.
8144666 But that is the beauty of it, they didn't turn her from miss goody four shoes into the bad guy, but chose her because she was the easiest one to corrupt completely. Both her and Star Singer were probably affected by them, yet Sunset was already in a mindset receptive to them. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you how I figured out there is, as you put it, a puppet master. Back in one of the Equestra chapters, Twilight said that if the portal didn't have an anchor on earth's side, it would probably just follow a unicorn or something of equal/greater magic on that side around. As we saw later on, even with two prodigies that have learned from many more generations than Starswirl, it took a great amount of time and effort to set up an anchor. Taking from both of these along with questions of where she got her extremist ideas, we have two questions. First; why is there no anchor in this universe? But more importantly, and possibly providing the answer for the first... what motivated Starswirl to give our world an anchor with a true transformation spell in cannon that Sunset has only just crafted here?
Little confused. Sunset should never have come in contact with a crystal pony
She may have known of them but she most certainly shouldn't know enough to replicate their abilities. Assuming ability is to work as a power source for powerful magical artifacts.
The idea that something which is clearly very morally wrong could ultimately be for the best of everyone/pony involved is a fascinating concept, one I look forward to watching play out and see if creating a "utopia" ever does justify the means.
Every scene with Sunset being her smug evil self makes me wanna jump into the story, get a Leopard 2 and put a 120mm HEAT shell between her eyes.
8144818 Crystal ponies are just a subspecies of normal ponies. She probably just had 'generic pony DNA' with some variation as the preset for transformation, and accidentally ended up with crystal ponies. Thestrals too, probably.
Two whole weeks?!? YOU MONSTER!!!
Really though, I can barely wait for Twilight talking with the FBI, demonstrating powers beyond anything science can show and then correctly "foreseeing" how the transformed humans will turn out...
And then confirming it's biological warfare perpetrated by her aunt in a mad dib to protect her home country. That's got to put a damper on things.
How will this all pan out? I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE US WAIT SO MUCH AAAAARGGH!!!
So is Kevin actually a pony transformed? And that cave was his entry point?
8144469
8144591
Yeah, I was really not aware of the origins of that expression. It was fairly easy to edit and change the line (which I just did).
8144738
That's pretty much the headcanon I was employing here.
8144835
In this case, I practiced the author's maxim "write what you know." I was raised Catholic (long since non-practicing) so it made sense to draw on that knowledge. Father Donovan is very loosely based on a priest I used to know a long time ago.
Also, Catholic Churches tend to stand out more so than the churches of other demoninations, at least in the area where Twilight and Starlight wound up.
8144818
Sunset would have found out about crystal ponies same way she learned of the Mare in the Moon legend, through her relentless research. They weren't really a secret, they just happened not to be on the scene for a long while thanks to Sombra's curse.
8144659
Thanks for pointing that out. I just fixed it.
Considering Jenny's existential crisis I was thinking that she could use this transformation as an opportunity to reinvent herself and then it hit me she is basically turning into a filly who has yet to earn a cutie mark yet can't stop thinking about it like the CMC were for the first five years of the series to bad they aren't here they could easily help Jenny figure out who she really is deep down.
Also I get the feeling that Pinkie and Discord could show up on Earth out of the blue Pinkie because... well Pinkie, who knows maybe she would follow Twilight through the portal to through Sunset a "hooray your not dead party" or maybe something as stupidly mundane as needing to ask Twilight a simple question and not wanting to wait for Twilight to get back and as for Discord that's easy he would get bored and decide to follow Twilight to where all the action is happening.
8145127
It isn't so much finding out as having the DNA/magical "coding". All the other tribes including threstals/night ponies she would have data on to put into her spell since she just had to replicate signatures from types of ponies she had met or their were current medical records on. Crystal ponies on the other hand she likely wouldn't have hard data on their DNA/magical signature since there hadn't been any since before Luna's banishment through the time Sunset left Equestria.
Carbondale? As in Carbondale, PA?
I feel so bad for Star Singer. To finally meet, and remember her friend again, and all she can do is watch helplessly while Sunset annihilates an entire race in her madness. Sunset doesn't even have to defeat the immunity. It's so rare it's laughable to think that those who stayed human would pose any threat to ponykind. Sunset says she's trying to stop potential disruption, but all I see is a mare so arrogant she can't stand the thought of anything going against her plans. And what really kills me about all this, about Star Singer's inability to reconcile with her friend...
It is all. Celestia's. Fault.
What was she thinking?! No, she wasn't thinking. She was just being a reactionary scared little filly, lashing out without regard to caution or safety, hurting the ponies she was trying so hard to protect. Sunset said "It's far too late" and she's right, and the reason it's too late is because Celestia's thrice damned dark magic made Star Singer an amnesiac for the past twenty years. Total war against the gryphon kingdom would have been kinder than sending everypony who ever knew of Sunset straight into Sombra's mirror! Celestia could have lied to the gryphons. She could have delivered Sunset to their mercy. She could have shown them Sunset's ridiculously bloody annihilation. She could have studied Sunset's work, figured out how to defeat her. She could have just sat on her ass and Star Singer would have come up and told Celestia that Sunset faked her own death, and was on the other side of the portal, alive!
I think the only good that could possibly come of Princess Celestia's decision is it's so pitiful and reprehensible, it might convince Starlight just what a terrible idea it is to use mind magic against your allies and friends.
Good story. Keep writing.
8145416
There are apparently multiple towns in the US called Carbondale. The one in the story is in Colorado (and is a real place, unlike Lazy Pines).
8145448 Ah, okay
Who else wanna bet Sunset is going to be the threath Star Singer will see
8144433 well, what she is doing is evil, but she doesn't think so.
...aaah.....AAAAAAAGH!
This pains me so much, this wait. Such a lust for updates! WHO?!
8145629
The same could be said for some of the most evil people in history. Look at Nazi Germany, the USSR, the Viet Cong, the Confederate States of America, these people deluded themselves into thinking what they were doing was noble. The same could be said for the radical Islamic terrorists of modern day. However noble someone thinks their evil is, does not change how it is, at it's root, evil.
Great chapters this week, a lot of really interesting interaction on both sides.
Seeing Twilight make contact with that priest was awesome. I'd never considered that a priest would certainly have enough familiarity with Latin to act as translator until the spell could be cast. Cool way of going about it. I was kinda surprised how calm Twilight seemed in reaction to being shot with a boomstick though; Starlight was freaking out but Twilight's dialogue made her sound super clinical and detached from the attack.
8144433
Twilight is going to have to face the fact that Sunset will pay for her crimes with more than just a heartfelt apology and some community service. I wonder if she'll try and insist that Sunset be brought back to Equestria, or if she'll be willing to let the humans try Sunset in their own court system.
O_O
This is fantastic.
And yes, the two chapter format works so much better in bringing everything to life.
I had to swallow at that point, it being something I've thought about for a while. If you aren't together with your friends and relations while this happens... you'll never find them again. Or if you do, you'll never be entirely certain it really is them. If Sunset hasn't thought about fixing that problem and somehow have the spell giving the new ponies the ability to recognise people they know with certainty, society is going to come apart at the most basic level.
It also really bugs me that Sunset seems to be about to destroy the evolution of what would become humanity's brand of magic. If nothing else, this should finally make the natural scientist Twilight utterly furious.
And the bioweapon... I wonder when other nations will start accusing the USA. After all, it's going to look a little like this.
68.media.tumblr.com/0c7d69c57d290c7f79a2f928f1ab1cf1/tumblr_opkufxdiv51uc5x4qo1_1280.png
And yes, Star. Sunset is insane, glad you figured it out. Now sing to the stars... in TWO weeks time. *sob*
8145440 If anybody is kept out of Sunset's mind control, they can break anyone else out of it. What if one of those FBI agents is immune? Their whole goal will be to find out who or what is causing this, and to end it.
8145577
I'm not getting into a comments-fight. That doesn't do anybody any favors. You don't seem able to leave this alone, though.
8146095
I think that this is one of the goal of her overpowered herding instinct. The transformed human are bonding and banding together fast.
Things are going to be different, but the new ponies are going to have groups of close friends to count on.
8146434 Well yes, they are bonding with the immediate 'herd members' really fast. The problem I see is that they won't recognize people they haven't been together with when it happened. That net of relationships a modern society is built on. The herd instinct is all nice and good when you have clans where you can know everybody (or herds, as it were), but I can't see it functioning the same way for regional interactions. Especially when all the communication infrastructure becomes unusable.
Let me start by saying that I'm very glad you decided to go back (temporarily?) to two-chapter releases - the uptick in quality and scene immersion/pacing is very noticeable and very much appreciated. As painful as one week without updates will be (the horror - this is one of the stories I look towards being updated the most as of now), the story will undoubtedly be better off for it.
As for the chapter(s) themselves, I find myself pleasantly surprised with how you handled the First Contact - I had kinda given up on figuring out what was the building Twilight and Starlight singled out previously, but now I feel like smacking myself on the forehead and going "doh!". Of course it's the church that's going to stand out, architecture wise, in an otherwise small town with no significant landmarks. And chances should indeed be reasonable of finding someone there capable of understanding Latin, to an extent. This all fit together quite elegantly and felt natural - well done.
And you are doing a very good job of showcasing all the little things that seem off to Twilight and Starlight (well, more so to Starlight, as she seems to have given it considerably less thought, as would be natural) that indicate that yep, they are in an alien environment and not everything is going to make immediate sense. I especially liked how they expected there to be "deer crossing" rules, because of the (somewhat natural) first assumption that they would need them - which makes sense, given how scarily intelligent animals seem to be in Equestria. I look towards more of these little cultural quirks and misunderstandings, which (I assume) are bound to come up every now and then. And Twilight's glee once she finally finds out about smartphones and gets her hooves on one, heh.
(As a minor nitpick regarding Starlight's comment - Equestria actually does have what they would call "mechanical flight", beyond Pinkie's contraption alone. Twilight's balloon aside, we have seen flying airships and this helicopter-y contraption that Twilight once almost crashed into when she wasn't paying attention: http://imgur.com/a/iu9lU ). Obviously nothing like a passenger jet, but they do seem to know how to get things airborne even without magical propulsion/lift generation).
Anyways! It was nice to see things work out for Twilight in the end (Sunset has been getting away with so much lately, that it feels good to see the forces opposing her catch a break for once) - this could have gone badly in so many different ways (a church indeed wouldn't be my first choice for magical demonstrations, heh), but Lyle proved himself to be one staunch, well reasoned and respectable individual. I hope he sticks around - he's very much a likable individual and seems like he could have one of the cooler heads around on his shoulders.
And now that it sounds like the 'main' cast from Lazy Pines are about to make real and proper first contact with Twilight and Starlight ... well, I'm certainly going to be on the edge of my seat while waiting for the next update. I can hardly wait! It's been a while since I have been this excite for a to-come future update
8146217
Eh, not really - while it's impossible to say about the average unicorn, considering the amount of force we have seen thrown around (and blocked by Twilight's shields) in the show, a couple of bullets from civilian grade firearms aren't even going to be felt by a unicorn around Twilight's level (which Starlight certainly is, for better or worse).
Has anyone on the human side realised how much this transformation stomps all over Law of Conservation of Mass? Not to mention Energy.
8146578
Even worse, I am not sure how much of a "thing" herding instinct even is, beyond Sunset's magically enforced one (which thusly wouldn't be an indicator of its natural state).
Consider the era of the tribes - the three pony subspecies hated each other. So strongly and so fully they they almost hated themselves out of existence - the infighting between the tribes almost caused the extinction of the species, to the extent that the modern pony population only numbers 50 million. That's a frighteningly low number for a society as otherwise advanced and comfortably situated as they are, after a 1000+ year period of peace, prosperity and growth. I can only imagine how vanishingly small that number was post Hearth Warming events.
And humans ... well, we have squabbled, killed, warred and discriminated over differences much less profound than the very real and relevant physical differences between the pony tribes. It took the ponies a near-extinction level event to finally put their differences behind them (and even then only after Celestia and Luna entered the scene and took over the leadership of the species).
Without such a catastrophically unifying event, who is to say the transformed humans won't act exactly as the pony tribes of old, just like we always have, and just like they did back then? Unless her mental manipulation is of the permanent sort, anyways. You can never know with this Sunset, I wouldn't put it past her to attempt that, if she is able.
8146220
Sunset wasn't using mind control. She just disguised herself as a girl, hid from everyone else, and experimented on Tanner until he cracked like an egg. She is using mind control now as a way of pacifying the new ponies, but it's Celestia's mind control that can be "broke" out of.
8146578 We have contradicting clues here:
-Fred Turner don't really know anybody, yet he strongly rescent beign in isolation from the other ponies.
-Heather rejected the precense of someone she clearly have a lot of respect and affection for.
The first one seem to indicate that Sunset's goal of having the newly transformed ponies uniting easily together with mild mind control is working. Without even the second part of her plan (the dreams) being put into motion.
While the second one point into the direction you are suspecting, where Sunset's plan is failling and we will see a form of tribalism appearing.
Not to mention that in beetween these two extreme, there is a huge grey zone, with more of one and less of the other.
Regardless of the outcome, it will surely be something interesting to watch at the very least.
Totally called this. Makes perfect sense, too. How else could the government interpret such a thing? It can't be a natural disease, so it's definitely an engineered one, and since it's purposefully disrupts human activities by turning the afflicted into non-humans, it can only be classified as bio-terrorism. I am really looking forward to see the scene where Twilight hears how a heart-felt apology and a few weeks of community service ain't gonna cut it in the eyes of whatever US court Sunset will end up in.