Laura stared at the crackling remains of the fire which stood in the center of a group of about a dozen tents. A breeze rose, and she shivered despite having flown in much colder air when helping build the storm earlier. Her instinctual pony diurnal rhythm urged her to retire for the night, but she maintained her silent and solitary vigil. Josie had offered companionship, but for the first time since becoming a pony, Laura wanted to be alone.
Or at least she had convinced herself of that. She still occasionally raised her eyes towards the tent where her family lay asleep, and she longed for the comforting warmth of their presence. It might help her sleep, but she would just wake up with the same turmoil in her head.
At least the Secret Service agents had finally retreated far enough that she could no longer see them. They had been watching her like a hawk until they received a call, and then they just slipped away.
The sound of pegasus wings overhead made her look up. She strained to see in the darkness, but all she made out was a fast-moving silhouette against the stars. Only when the pegasus winged down and hovered beside her could she see any detail.
"Um, hi," said the pegasus mare. "Mind if I join you for a bit?"
Laura wanted to tell her no, but pony instinct said otherwise. "It's fine."
The pegasus landed and sat beside her. The fading embers of the fire were enough to highlight her rainbow-hued hair. "You're Laura, right?" the mare asked.
"Yes, that's me."
"I'm Rainbow Dash."
Laura hesitated. "You're one of the alien ponies?"
"Yeah, you could say that." She smiled. "I'm told you did something pretty amazing earlier today."
Laura glanced at her cutie mark, the final legacy from a friend who perhaps never was one in the first place. "I guess so."
"You guess? Hey, what you did was awesome considering you've been doing weather control for, what, two or three days? And if anypony knows about awesomeness, it's me."
Laura returned to staring at the remnants of the fire. "Maybe you should be praising Sunset for that instead."
"Hey, now, just because she put you into this situation doesn't mean you can't make the best out of it."
That had been the thought behind Laura's final words to Sunset, but she wondered how she would ever live up to it. She was well aware of how others looked to her as a leader, and now she felt she hadn't even earned it. They constantly marveled at her cutie mark, and she had heard excited whispers from them about what theirs might be like. She had inspired them to wish for something that might be meaningless in the end.
"No offense, but I'm not sure you're one to talk about it," Laura said. "You've been a pony all your life. Nopony handed you whatever abilities you have."
Rainbow was quiet for a long moment before she said in a soft voice, "I guess that depends on how you look at it."
Laura turned her head and gazed at Rainbow's magenta eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"Sure, in my world, I'm pretty awesome," said Rainbow with a faint smile. "Fastest in my flight class, first one to ever do a sonic rainboom, and all that. And, yeah, a lot of that I felt I earned. But you know what? My family's had several really strong fliers in the past. And look what my parents named me: Rainbow Dash. So who's to say how much is genetics or destiny?"
"I'm not sure that's really the same thing," Laura said, though her conviction was weak. She was desperate to latch onto anything that would convince her that what she felt about herself and her abilities was justified. All the praise from her friends and family was not enough, as they came from the same biased perspective as herself. "Your genetics and background didn't define you."
"No, they didn't," said Rainbow. "And if I hadn't put in a lot of hard work over the years, I wouldn't be where I am now. But it gave me a starting point to build on."
Laura remained silent for a long moment. She glanced back at the fire, which was no more than some glowing coals, the tents only shadows. She felt an exhaustion that went beyond the mere physical, but she had press on to get past this. "What about Fluttershy?"
"Same thing," Rainbow said. "Except in her case, she was a weak flier. Not much in the way of speed in her family tree, either. Yet that helped her figure out that her future lay somewhere other than in the clouds. Look, I'm not saying that she couldn't have improved her flying if she really worked at it, but it kinda went against who she is."
"That's just it, I'm not sure who I am anymore," Laura said. "How much of this is me and how much did Sunset manufacture?"
"I really can't answer that. I'm not the egghead like Twilight is, and I don't think even she knows."
"My mother met Twilight. She told my mother to seek her own destiny. I thought I was doing the same thing." Laura turned back to Rainbow. "When I got my cutie mark, I thought that was the final answer. I thought that had ended all debate. I hate the idea that I feel like I have to re-examine everything."
"You wouldn't be the first pony to still have questions after getting their mark."
"I just don't want to have questions in the first place." Laura sighed. "The analogy you made about genetics makes total sense to me, but is that because I really believe that, or do I want to latch onto the first thing that comes along so I can move on?"
"Maybe it doesn't matter," Rainbow said. "I, uh, don't know if anypony's told this to you or not, but getting a cutie mark is sort of the last stop. You can't change back after that."
"I wasn't told, but I had a feeling that was the case anyway," Laura said in a low voice. "I'm not looking to change back. I just want my life to be mine. I wish I could talk to Sunset one more time. Is that even possible?"
Rainbow's gaze turned somber. "Laura ... Sunset is gone."
Laura's eyes widened, and her heart sank. "She didn't just leave or something like that, did she?"
"No, she's ... she's passed on. I'm sorry."
Laura swallowed hard. Her eyes started to well up, but she managed to hold back enough to avoid crying.
"I didn't come here to tell you all this," said Rainbow. "I hadn't actually expected you to be awake. Twilight had asked me to check on you, and when I saw you here, I thought I would talk to you. Maybe I shouldn't have done this, I was never good at talking about stuff like this."
Laura shook her head. "No, it's fine," she said, her voice catching. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "I shouldn't be reacting this way. After everything she did to our family, I should be hating her. I should be glad she's gone."
"Hate never gets anypony anywhere," said Rainbow. "And you don't strike me as the kind of pony who could really hate anyone."
"I don't. I never did, even before I became a pony."
"There, see? There's something that was yours all along. Sunset didn't have to make you feel that." Rainbow paused and rubbed a hoof through her mane. "Don't get me wrong when I say this, but maybe Sunset, um, going away is for the best."
Laura gave her a perplexed look. "How do you figure that?"
"She's the past. She's old news. Maybe you sorta clung to her at first, but you don't need her anymore. You can be your own person from here on."
"I just don't know how. I have all these new things I can do that I still want to do, but is that all I'll ever want? Is that enough?"
"You're not gonna get the answers moping by a dying fire," said Rainbow.
"I know, but the sky will always be there, like it's calling to me. I can see me losing myself to the sensation of flying and power over the weather."
Rainbow chuckled. "I hate to burst your bubble, kid, but even though what you've already done is pretty awesome for a pony with little experience, that's all you have right now: a very little experience."
"I know that, but--"
"No, I don't think you do," said Rainbow in a more serious voice. "Creating a few clouds and making it rain is just the start. If we were in Equestria, I wouldn't let you near Sweet Apple Acres until you were trained up more. That's my friend Applejack's place. Only the best weather fliers handle that area."
"What's your point?" Laura said in a tired voice.
"Becoming a weather pegasus is easy. Becoming a really good weather pegasus is hard. It takes a lot of work. Not every pegasus who trains for it makes the cut."
Laura tilted her head. "Are you telling me this because you're trying to discourage me from wanting to pursue it?"
"No, just the opposite. I think you should keep at it."
"Why? With everypony else trying to tell me I should stop thinking like a pony, let alone a pegasus?"
"Because that's the only way you're gonna know whether you really want it or not," Rainbow said. "When this mess is over, I'm planning on volunteering to set up a training program for any humans-turned-pegasi. And I'm going to be just as hard on you guys as I am on pegasi back home."
Laura lapsed into a thoughtful silence. In the encroaching darkness from the smoldering embers, Rainbow was little more than a shadowy outline.
"It's going to be really grueling at first," Rainbow continued. "To put it bluntly, you've had it easy so far. Maybe Sunset did give you these abilities and skills, but from this point on, you're gonna have to earn it on your own."
Laura considered for a long moment before she ventured in a soft voice, "And if I don't make it?"
"Then you find something else you want to do," said Rainbow. "In either case, you would've gotten there yourself. That's what you want, isn't it? To feel like you've earned it? To feel like you have something because you did it and not because Sunset gave it to you?"
Laura uttered a long sigh. "Just a day ago, I felt like everything had cleared up for me, that my future was no longer in question. I guess I hadn't realized that all I wanted was an easy answer, an easy out for my problems."
"Twilight told me that she talked to a human who was reluctant to take the counterspell," said Rainbow. "She told the woman that becoming a pony won't solve all her problems."
"I just don't want to go back to the way it was," said Laura. "I have friends now, for one thing, and I feel closer to my family than I have in years."
"Who says you have to give that up? I don't see anything wrong with taking advantage of what Sunset gave you."
"I guess I'm just afraid of what will happen to them, if maybe they won't want to be into this as much as I am," Laura said.
"Friends don't have to do the same thing all the time to still be friends, Laura," said Rainbow. "My friends are proof of that. You won't see Fluttershy with the Wonderbolts anytime soon, but she's still one of my best friends."
Laura realized then that she was falling into the same old habits despite the apparently rosy picture her life had become. Before, she didn't want to shake things up because she was afraid of making things worse. Now she was afraid of losing everything she had gained, even if most of it was given to her.
That was what scared her the most, that the only reason she was where she was now was because of another's guiding hoof, that she never could have done it on her own, and certainly not maintain it by herself. When she nearly cried over hearing of Sunset's demise, it was not only because of the passing of a once dear friend, but because it terrified her. Sunset had given her everything she had, and part of her believed it would all collapse now with Sunset gone.
"Hey, it's getting really late," said Rainbow. "You must be tired. I know I am."
Laura rose to her hooves. "Yes, I really need some sleep. But ... thanks for talking to me, Rainbow Dash. I guess I have a lot of thinking to do."
Rainbow might have smiled, it was hard for Laura to tell in the dark. The alien pegasus dispelled the doubt when she pulled Laura into a hug. "Whatever you do, Laura, just promise me you'll keep being awesome, okay?"
Laura giggled faintly. "I will. And, um ... I just might show up for that training you mentioned."
"You better! I want to see what you've got."
Laura smiled and hugged Rainbow back before turning towards her family's tent. She actually hoped one day she could properly grieve for Sunset. Despite what she had done, nopony deserved to be forgotten.
But like everything else in her life to come, it had to be on her own terms.
Josie watched from a distance as Laura finally retired for the night, and the strange pegasus flew off. Her ears drooped. As much as she looked forward to stepping into the dream world and helping other ponies have a peaceful night's sleep, she had learned that it was best to wait until after midnight. Until then, she often craved companionship. She had been told that other night ponies would be arriving in the settlement in another week or so. She could hardly wait.
She took to patrolling the perimeter of the settlement in those hours leading up to her dreamwalking. It felt like the right thing to do despite the fact that she was not suited for any sort of combat. Yet being able to delve into ponies' heads while they slept and rouse them to wakefulness almost all at once was a huge advantage against any threat.
Her ears suddenly flicked up, and she jerked her head around, hovering in place as she swept her gaze to where she thought she had heard a noise. Her night vision revealed a pony in the distance, flanked by several humans. Soon the humans departed, and the pony approached.
Josie's eyes widened. This pony stood taller than any she had seen before. She had a horn longer than any of the unicorns she knew, and she had wings as well. Josie sniffed; the pony was a mare. As the mare approached, Josie felt something impinging on her magical senses, as if this pony herself were like Josie but with far more power than she had ever seen.
The mare lighted her horn. Josie's gaze fell upon a coat of midnight blue, and a mane that flowed with stars. Large teal eyes regarded her with a friendly gaze. Upon her haunches was a crescent moon set against a splotch of black.
"Hello, Josie," said the mare.
Josie tilted her head as she settled on her hooves. "This is weird. Are you a night pony?"
"Yes, in a way."
"You look different than me." Josie's gaze rose to the mare's horn. "Very different."
The mare smiled. "May I talk to you for a bit?"
"Of course." Josie sat down. "But who are you?"
"I am Pri ... ah ... I am called Luna."
As Luna sat down, Josie was again made very much aware of this pony's power. She immediately felt a kinship with Luna, perhaps almost as much as with the mare who had appeared in the vision. "I don't recall ever seeing or sensing you before, and I thought I had managed to contact all the night ponies from the dreamworld."
"I will be honest with you," said Luna. "I am not from around here."
It didn't take long for Josie to piece it together. "You're from the same world as those other ponies who were talking to us earlier."
"I am."
Josie had admitted to getting a bit upset with the two who had tried to talk to her, and she didn't want to feel the same towards this pony. Nevertheless, Josie had to honest as well. "With all due respect, I hope you're not going to try to convince me to do something I don't want to do."
"I wouldn't dream of it," said Luna. "No pun intended."
Josie relaxed somewhat.
"In fact, I've been told you've done a commendable job," Luna continued. "On my world, you could say that I'm in charge of the night ponies there, and I have the same abilities."
"Yes, I thought I had sensed that in you." Josie considered. "Are you going to do the same thing here? Take charge of us?"
"No, but I did want to offer some guidance and make a request."
Josie grew wary again. One of the things the humans had insisted she do was to stop the vision from propagating, which she flat out refused to do. As much as she felt respect and even a measure of awe for Luna, she did not want to be forced to tell her no as well. Yet Josie remained quiet and simply nodded for Luna to continue.
"As I mentioned, you've been doing a wonderful job in helping keep other ponies safe and happy," said Luna. "I could not have asked for any more from my own night ponies."
Josie gave Luna a small smile. "Thank you, but does that include the vision as well?"
"It does. There's certainly nothing wrong with wanting your fellow ponies to have a happy and productive future."
Josie hoped she could take that as more of an endorsement of the vision than the other alien ponies were willing to do. All they talked about was how the vision had its "good points" while at the same time trying to shoot it down. She felt like she was being given the runaround. "Then you're not going to tell me to stop spreading it?"
"Not at all," said Luna. "But I do wish you to amend it somewhat."
"How?"
"Realize that you will be sharing this world with humans. This is something all ponies should be reminded of."
"Oh, but none of us have any animosity towards them whatsoever."
Luna smiled gently. "I never said you did. But sometimes apathy can be just as bad."
"I don't understand."
"The way the vision is presented, it makes it seem that there are only ponies, and that only ponies matter," said Luna. "It is very important to understand that humans are here as well, and will likely want to continue interacting with pony communities."
Josie considered this for a long moment. "But ... will humans actually matter to us? I don't mean that in bad way. The whole point of this community was so we wouldn't be a burden to them."
"And that is also a very commendable attitude," said Luna. "But it doesn't mean ponies need to isolate themselves."
"I thought that might be what the humans want anyway," said Josie. "From the way they've been reacting, they're afraid of what we've become and what we can do."
Luna looked thoughtful for a moment. "Josie, have you ever been in a situation where you felt isolated from others?"
Josie wanted to simply proclaim "not anymore," but she felt enough respect for this pony to want to give a more detailed answer. "Yes. I had really bad night terrors once."
"So I've been told."
"When they got really bad, I didn't feel like talking to anypony. I just wanted to be left alone."
"And how did that make your friends feel?" Luna asked.
"They didn't feel good about it. In fact ... one resented me for it. It wasn't like it was my fault! I couldn't control the fact that I had these terrible night terrors!"
"Did you ever explain to them what was happening to you?"
Josie averted her eyes. "No, I was too embarrassed."
"This is what I am talking about," said Luna. "You and your friends cannot control the fact that you're ponies now and very different from the humans. If something isn't done, if some sort of contact is not maintained, it could lead to that very same resentment that you and your friends experienced."
"I guess ... I guess I hadn't thought of it that way before," said Josie. She sighed. "I'm a little confused right now. All I wanted to do was make sure no pony ever has to go through what I did."
Luna wrapped a wing around Josie. "What you need to realize is that being a night pony is a large responsibility. If you seek to impart a message, you must be very careful how you craft it. I realize in this case you were given a vision to relay, but that doesn't mean it has to remain static. I am not telling you to stop your vision, merely improve it."
Josie shuddered slightly. She had not wanted to stop and think about just how many ponies were sharing her vision, yet each time she reached out into the dreamscape, more night ponies answered her. Like Laura with the pegasi, Josie was being looked up to as a sort of de-facto leader.
"I'll do my best, Luna," said Josie in a slightly quavering voice. "And thank you for being the first to not use the term 'brainwashing' when talking to me about this."
Luna smiled and gave Josie a wing-hug. "There is one more matter to discuss. You are aware that the humans are trying to prevent any more of their kind from becoming ponies?"
"Yes, I am."
"A plan has been conceived to help stop it from spreading further, but it involves the crystal ponies."
Josie tilted her head. "You mean those glassy-haired ones?"
"Yes, and it is important they be informed as to what will happen," said Luna. "And, hopefully, to consent to it."
Josie swallowed. "Th-this is beginning to sound a little too daunting. I'm not sure I can do this, not by myself."
Luna's smile widened, and she held up a fore-hoof. "Who says you have to?"
Josie glanced at the proffered hoof and tentatively raised her own. They touched, and Josie gasped as she felt a surge of power flow through her.
"We'll enter the dreamscape together," said Luna. "If you're willing to accept my help."
Only in that moment did Josie realize just how truly powerful this creature was. She could likely command the dreamscape in ways Josie could only barely fathom. She suddenly ached to know what this pony could do, what Josie herself could possibly do as well.
"Yes, please," Josie said in an eager and awed voice.
Early the next morning, Bob's horn glowed as he nudged a branch out of the way a short distance from the unofficial edge of the settlement but still well within the human-designated borders. Their caretakers -- quickly becoming former caretakers as pony abilities took over -- had at least anticipated that more ponies would be arriving from nearby towns in the emergency zone. He had also overheard earlier that other settlements were being created.
"Here it is," said Bob as he emerged into a tiny clearing. "This is where we found it."
Sarah followed close behind him and surveyed the area with a slow sweep of her eyes. When she advanced, it was only after she had confirmed that nothing lay in her path that her hooves might damage.
"It can't be an Ancestral Puebloan camp," said Bob. "I don't think they came quite this far north."
"No, the shard you showed me the other day was definitely not that ancient," said Sarah. "Certainly not from the cliff-dwelling period. But if there is more here, and it wasn't just dropped by passing American settlers, I want somepony to know about it so they can designate this an archaeological site."
Bob smiled. While this was not quite like coming with Sarah to a dig -- something he had really enjoyed the few times he got to do it as a human -- it still filled him with a sense of wonder. He couldn't forget how excited Sarah was yesterday when she first saw the shard, at least before she got distracted about Sunny escaping.
His smile faded a bit. By then, he had been informed of Sunny's demise. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, other than it helped reinforce his own doubts about the rosy future presented in the vision. With Sunny out of the picture for good, he couldn't imagine that a worldwide pony society would be possible anymore.
Sarah stopped. "There's something in the dirt here. I'm not sure I want to try to grab it in my magic unless it's been worked free a bit." She sighed. "I wish I had a simple trowel with me."
"Uh, Aunt Sarah?" Bob said as he trotted forward. "You kind of already have one. Several, in fact." He demonstrated by pressing a fore-hoof into the ground and sweeping back, digging a shallow furrow.
"Oh, um, yes," Sarah said, blushing faintly. "I've been so focused on my horn and magic that all I thought my hooves were good for were just getting me around."
Bob watched as Sarah delicately placed a fore-hoof near what Bob could only barely see, and in his mind looked no different from a pointed rock. Yet as Sarah scraped away more earth, even his untrained eyes could see that it was clearly something else.
Sarah stopped digging, and the shard glowed. It wobbled as Sarah carefully worked it loose and lifted it closer to her eyes. "Yes, this looks similar to the one you showed me yesterday. This may very well be a Native American site. I wonder if the old stream bed that Laura and her friends had filled yesterday was the reason they stopped here. It may have flowed more reliably in the past."
"So you think this is worth investigating?"
Sarah turned to him, still levitating the pottery shard. "Definitely! I'd love to keep looking myself, but ..." She trailed off and looked back the way they had come.
"Of course you can, Aunt Sarah," said Bob. "We got everything covered back at the settlement. We can spare you for a while."
"I was thinking of Laura," said Sarah. "She was upset last night, and I don't think she came to bed until really late, since she wasn't up with everypony else."
"She'll be okay. A bunch of those alien ponies are around, and they seem to want to help."
"Is Twilight here?"
"I haven't seen a purple pony with both wings and horn, no."
"I really hope to be able to see her again."
As Sarah spoke, Bob's ears swiveled back. "I hear somepony calling me. I better get back. I'll tell the others you'll be gone for a bit."
Sarah smiled and gave Bob a brief hug. "Thank you."
Bob smiled in return before turning and galloping away.
He admitted to some mixed feelings concerning his aunt's renewed interest in archaeology. He remembered how upon getting her cutie mark, Laura had been overjoyed, and just as quickly spiraled back into depression. He doubted there was a direct connection between the two, but it disturbed him nonetheless.
That, and a distinct sense of permanence surrounded getting a cutie mark.
He returned to the settlement to find Emma and Joan hovering before him. "Bob, have you seen Laura?" Emma asked.
"We tried asking your father, but he went off to tend to the field where the earth ponies are planning to plant crops," said Joan.
"She was still sleeping when I last saw her," Bob said. "She had a trying night. Why do you need to see her?"
"Well, part of the reason is that we were going to make a light rain shower this morning as the earth ponies said the dirt is just a bit too dry, and Laura likes to do that stuff," Emma said.
"Not to mention being damn good at it," said Joan.
"But we had another reason we wanted to see her."
"Seems we had a new arrival late yesterday, but in all the excitement, they never had a chance to meet."
Then a new and achingly familiar female voice rose from behind them. "Oh, but I certainly wouldn't mind meeting Bob."
Bob's heart lurched. "What ... Tina??"
Emma and Joan parted. Just behind them stood a pegasus filly with a deep green coat, just a shade darker than Bob's own, and bright cornflower yellow hair. Two large and deeply blue eyes regarded him, her lips curling into a smile. Her wings lay neatly folded against her sides.
Bob rushed forward in a torrent of pony instinct and perhaps a touch of male hormones, but he skidded to a sudden stop before her, hooves kicking up small puffs of dust. He blushed faintly and said, "Oh, um, hi, Tina, it's good to see you a---"
Tina smiled and threw her fore-legs around him, drawing him into a tight hug. Bob breathed in her scent and let out a contented sigh. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed her.
Emma giggled. "We'll, ah, leave you two alone for now."
Bob wanted to protest that it wasn't quite like that, but he was reluctant to leave the embrace. When Tina finally let go, Emma and Joan had already flown off. "Actually, I did want to see you first," Tina said in a soft voice. "It was just when you weren't around, we went looking for Laura."
"I'm sorry I didn't try to call you again."
"Hey, stop worrying, okay? Not exactly easy to use a cell phone with hooves, you know."
Bob was getting good enough with his horn that he could have manipulated a stylus to make a call, but he simply had too many other things on his mind. He suppressed the urge to apologize again. "You're looking ... um ... nice."
Tina chuckled. "Well, I hope so. My transformation sort of took off about halfway through. Tail to wings to hooves in almost nothing flat.
"How are your parents doing?"
"Oh, they're just fine. Boy, what a mixed bag we are. Dad's a unicorn and Mom's an earth pony."
"Same with Dad and Aunt Sarah, but reversed," Bob said. "Jenny's an earth pony and you know about Laura."
"I'm looking forward to seeing Laura again," said Tina. She extended her wings. "I'm hoping she can teach me how to use these things better. I can fly pretty well, but I've been hearing some amazing things about Laura. Even her friends were doing things that just made my jaw drop when I met them."
Bob knew he should probably warn Tina about Laura's disposition, but he was too taken with just being in Tina's presence. He had thought her attractive before their transformation, but she was absolutely stunning now. Maybe it was just the nice contrast in the bright and dark colors. With as colorful as most ponies tended to be and their wide field of vision, it made sense that mating cues would be partially visual in nature.
Tina tilted her head. "What is it?"
Bob blinked. "Huh? Oh, um. nothing."
"You sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Tina smirked. "Then why are you blushing?"
Bob swore he had visualized that last conclusion in his head from a wholly objective perspective, just like he had been trying to do with everything related to his life. He wanted to come to terms with his transformation in his own way and not just accept it at face value.
"Or maybe you're thinking about me holding you to that promise of a date," Tina said in a voice half-teasing, half-affectionate.
Now Bob was more cognizant of his resulting blush. Yes, he was quite looking forward to spending more time with Tina now that nothing held them apart. He wanted a relationship with her, yet how much was his own desire prior to his transformation, and how much of it was being boosted by pony hormones?
That he had managed to argue with the mare in his vision had helped him feel a little more grounded, like he could see in his head what was really his and what had been imposed on him. Just as it had when he was human, the opposite sex threatened to throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing.
Some things never change.
Bob turned more fully towards Tina. "I just want to go slow, that's all. I've never done this -- dating, I mean -- as any species."
"Oh, definitely," Tina said. "Yeah, I'm not looking to dive into anything too deep right now."
Bob breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"Hey, I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression."
Bob quickly shook his head and smiled. He wanted to explain it to her, but he felt it would ruin the moment. So his feelings may be typical and not driven due to his change in species. He might have felt this way even as a human had they decided to date before any of this ever happened. He had to accept that he had some control over his fate, or he'd keep spinning around in circles of logic.
"Dad's busy all the way on the side of the settlement with the crop fields, but Aunt Sarah is nearby. You want to meet her?"
Tina smiled. "I'd be happy to."
Bringing a potential girlfriend to meet his mother; that felt typical. It even felt vaguely normal. He could go for some of that right now.
Much to his surprise, Harold had little trouble finding Doctor Kevin Conner. All the humans assigned to observing the settlement had retreated to the sidelines, consisting of little more than physicians he met only in passing or security detail that may as well be faceless. He thought he would have a devil of a time having a chance to talk to the man.
Instead, Harold found his former family physician wandering through the midst of the settlement. "Is it just me, or are you hanging out with us more, Doctor Conner?" Harold asked.
Kevin gave him a soft smile. "It's not just you, and you can call me Kevin. I'm not really qualified to be your physician anymore."
As much as Harold could understand the reasons why, it did feel a bit sad. Even though he was usually too reluctant to see a doctor himself, he appreciated what the man did for his family. "So what have you been doing?" Harold asked.
"Since I know so many of the ponies in this settlement, I've been asked to be a liaison of sorts," said Kevin. He chuckled briefly. "You could say I've switched from medicine to diplomacy. It also helps that I'm immune to ETS."
"I thought we stopped being infectious awhile ago."
"True, but government types are paid to be on the cautious side. It's not like they had to force me to do this."
Harold liked the idea that this was something Kevin wanted to do. Sarah had finally conveyed to him what Jenny had told her the other day, which explained Laura's odd behavior lately. He had to admit that it made him start to rethink matters as well. He still wanted to return to farming, but he had to make absolutely sure it came from his own head before he committed to it longer term. He and Jenny would likely have some long conversations about it.
"That sort of leads me to why I was looking for you," Harold said.
"If there's anything I can do to help, I would be happy to."
"Can you find a way to reach my father and my sister?"
Kevin looked thoughtful. "That would be George and Mary Tanner, right?"
"Yeah. They live near Grand Junction. I haven't been able to talk to them for a few days now."
Harold didn't mention that it was more that he had not wanted to contact them. It had taken that talk with Applejack to remind him that they were as important as the ponies in the settlement. Hearing what Jenny had gone through only made him more adamant to reach them.
"Unfortunately, the cell phone network is still unavailable for civilians," said Kevin.
"I know, but I was hoping you had military contacts who would help. I just want some sort of word as to how they're doing, even if I can't talk to them myself right now."
Kevin considered. "I will be honest with you, Harry. Grand Junction was one of the harder hit areas concerning ETS."
This gave Harold pause. He had not considered what state his father and sister would be in. Would they be ponies like him by now? In a way, that would make things easier. He could relate to them better. It was bad enough that a gulf of attitude separated him from his father, he didn't need a species difference as well.
Or was that just some mental conditioning that had come with his transformation? He had thought his future clear, until first Applejack made him question his priorities, and Jenny made him question his very thoughts. He envied Laura in a way; despite having had some sort of emotional upheaval in the past day, she still seemed set on what she wanted to do with her life. Only her attitude towards it had changed.
"Then I really do want to find out what happened to them," said Harold. "I'd consider just going myself once the settlement is up and running, but that's a rather long distance to go by hoof."
"Not to mention that the transportation grid is still shut down," said Kevin.
"I doubt they could stop ponies from traveling from one community to another, especially considering that pegasi can fly. Even Laura suggested to her friends at one point that they check on other communities to see how they're doing."
Kevin smiled faintly. "I have been attempting to enlighten the powers-that-be as to the new state of the world with limited success. Perhaps I can take this back to them as a further incentive."
"Just so you know," Harold said. "I'm not the only pony wondering about relatives in other places. Those visiting alien pony friends of yours have stirred up things a bit here."
"To be honest, that was the intention."
"We're still committed to this community, we're just starting to look at the broader picture." Harold smiled. "Bob's been really good at that. He seemed to figure that out on his own without needing help."
"Interesting you should bring him up," said Kevin. "Had you not sought me out, I would have sought you."
"Oh? What about?"
"Bob's biological mother Eileen McDermott has been making a lot of noise about wanting to see what has become of her son."
Harold nodded slowly. Had this been just a week before, he would have either flat out refused or accepted her presence with only great reluctance and a watchful eye.
"I realize you two don't see quite eye to eye," Kevin said. "But if it helps any, she's been trying to improve herself. She's been working tirelessly at the hospital since she, ah, attempted to discharge herself."
Harold raised an eyebrow. "Discharge herself? I think I've lost you there."
"My apologies, I should have realized you were not up to speed on recent events concerning her. She agreed to be the first human to receive the treatment that eliminated ETS."
Harold tilted his head. "There's a cure?"
"A cure in a loose sense of the word," said Kevin. "It's effective only on those who have not started transforming. In either case, it worked, and Eileen is and will likely remain human."
Harold had just been thinking that the difference in species would make it hard for him to relate to family, but he already had very little in common with Eileen as it was. Yet wasn't he holding this conversation with Kevin as if it didn't matter? Why should it matter with anyone else?
He felt much more of a sense of forgiveness towards Eileen, but how much of that was genuine? That had been something he had not wanted to question; it would be far easier and less stressful to start with a blank slate concerning Eileen. As much as perhaps he didn't want to admit it, Eileen was family, and Applejack had reminded him that family had priority.
"If this had been a week ago, I would answer that legally I can't deny her," said Harold. "But I feel that would be a cop out now, and I'm not even sure that even holds true anymore."
"Legal matters are a bit dicey right now," said Kevin. "But the request comes not from any legal authority, but Eileen herself."
Harold's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean she's actually asking for my permission?"
"You and Sarah's."
Harold had been thinking earlier that day just how much Jenny had seemed to mature in the last few days, not realizing that it had been due to her questioning her own memories. He had always seen it as a real possibility that Jenny would come around; he had never thought he would see the same in Eileen.
And she didn't have to become a pony to do it.
Harold nodded. "I'll have to check with Sarah, but I'm okay with it."
Kevin smiled. "Thank you. Eileen will be very glad to hear that."
While Laura was happy to see Tina again, she felt torn as to what to do with her friend. Her first instinct had been to show Tina all the things she could do now as a pegasus, but upon hearing that three more of the pegasi who had trained and worked with Laura had earned their cutie marks by that morning, she felt like she didn't want to steer Tina in one direction or the other.
It didn't help that Tina was eager to learn. In a way, Tina really hadn't changed. She always tended to go with the flow and not fret over details too much. To her, this was just another change in her life that she had to roll with.
Fortunately, Kevin came to her rescue. He had spread the word through the community that something was going to happen that day that was intended to stop new ETS transformations, and it would involve a spectacular light show. She used the excuse of not wanting to miss it to beg off showing Tina anything more advanced than just some basic flying techniques.
"God, this is so beautiful," Tina murmured as they hovered far above the settlement. She glanced down. "Just how high are we right now?"
Laura pointed to one of the taller mountains. "Well, that one is a fourteener," she said, using the Colorado term for an approximately 14,000 foot high mountain. "And we're a little above that, so maybe fifteen thousand feet."
"Wow, shouldn't we be having trouble breathing or something like that?"
"I guess it's just inherent in our nature," said Laura in an even voice. "Sort of like how we don't notice the chilly air up here. We'd have to be that way in order to handle the weather."
Tina chuckled. "You want to hear something weird? As much as I wanted to see what everything looked like from so far up, I always had trouble looking out an airplane window. It made me dizzy, like I had an issue with heights or something. I also couldn't hike for shit in the mountains. Always made me too breathless."
Laura smiled faintly, though it was partially forced. Had this been more of Sunset's work? Had she felt some sort of compassion for someone who had trouble with heights and altitude and thus made her a pegasus to compensate?
"Hey, you okay?" Tina asked.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Laura lied.
"I can still tell when something is on your mind," said Tina. "Even more so now as ponies."
Laura had to admit, to see Tina as Laura remembered her was nice. It helped her believe that maybe Laura herself was not that different from who she used to be, that she was just given a new body and new skills. She just had to build on that and make her life her own again.
"It would take me too long to explain right now," said Laura. "Let's just say I learned a few things about this transformation and the who and what behind it, more than maybe I wanted to know."
"Then you're definitely going to have to explain this to me at some point, because now you have me intrigued."
"I wouldn't be surprised if you hear it from Bob."
"And what makes you think I will?" Tina said in a lofty voice despite the faint blush on her cheeks.
Laura grinned. "I've seen how you two have been hanging out since you got here. It's like watching Jenny and James."
Tina laughed as her blush deepened. She ran a hoof through her mane. "Are we that obvious?"
"Yes," Laura deadpanned.
"What can I say, he's a nice guy," said Tina. "And I like the intellectual side of him. That's the problem with living in a small Colorado town. All that the boys seem to be interested in is hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. Both bore me to death and made them appear like jocks."
"But now he'll be interested in magic and you in weather control."
Tina tilted her head. "So? We still have interests outside of that."
It was then Laura realized her problem, even though it was staring her in the face the whole time. She had nothing that had interested her to the point of wanting to put any significant amount of time into it. No real hobbies, no particular activities that she sought to do. Becoming a pegasus had filled a void in her life. It would likely have been the same case had she become a unicorn or an earth pony.
She thought of Fluttershy, the timid and soft-spoken pegasus pony who possibly never crafted a cloud in her life, a pony who seemed perfectly happy and content with what she actually did do. Maybe Laura would talk to her, if for no other reason than to get a better sense of perspective.
Tina raised an eyebrow. "So ... just where are you going with this?"
Laura shook her head and smiled. "Let's just say I think I've been letting my abilities define me instead of the other way around."
"I don't quite get that," said Tina. "But it's at least not what I thought you might say."
"Like what?"
"That you had some sort of problem with Bob and I dating."
"Oh, not at all! I actually like the idea that not only is Bob dating, he's dating one of my best friends. Then at least I know he's in good hooves."
Tina smiled. "Thanks, I appreciate that." She looked out over the valley towards what had once been her home, the little town of Lazy Pines. She looked down and saw a military convoy heading away from the settlement along the road that bisected the town. "Boy, it's going to be one hell of a crazy future, isn't it?"
"Yes, it definitely will be," Laura said in a subdued voice.
Why do I think Laura should have talked to Rainbow Dash a long time ago? I am heartened to see the humans beginning to emerge from their forced shells and becoming something far more.
She shouldn't because rainbow would have pretty much told her being a pegasus is great and being a human is stupid.
8457934
With everything Sunset pulled you didn't see this coming. Several times in history someone panicking has done something like this.
I won't be shocked if Sarah gets her cuttie mark off panel here. Archaeology is just so much what she loves and she just got left alone at a potential archaeological site. It would actually be good for the ponies if she did too as they need to see ponies getting cuttie marks in fields that tie them more to humans. Archaeology on earth is a field that you have to care about being with humans to care about.
Sudden death of Sunset was a shock. No last minute redemption just essentially suicide. No telling if what she gave Twilight for information was honest or not. I could see it going either way as the sped up transformations are no doubt dangerous to the afflicted and Sunset protested to near the end she did care and in terms of not wanting to kill that is believable but on the flip side she could be doing everything she could to achieve success even if she would die without seeing it.
Waiting eagerly to see the reunions. Harold's sister and father and Bob and Eileen. I am betting Mary is a mare but his father's isolation kept him human.
8457946
Yes, but that's why "reality is stranger than fiction" as the famous quote goes.
Readers hold fiction to a stricter standard than reality because we intuitively recognize that there is a human imparting purpose and design to fiction.
I really should have seen that bullet coming, but man, I was too caught up in the moment and didn't see it until Sunset's chest exploded. Well played.
8457976
But in this case it wasn't even a matter of someone panicking and taking an unintended shot. A sniper got her. It was premeditated. As soon as she turned down the sedation there was no other possible outcome. Sunset herself all but straight out told Twilight it was going to happen and that she was choosing to let it.
So rather than being disconnected from the drama, Sunset's choice to let herself die there was the entire core of the drama. We all knew what Sunset was planning, what she was intending to make happen, but we still hoped that somehow Twilight would find a way to prevent it. And even as Twilight failed, even as she missed every chance Sunset gave her to notice what was about to happen, we still hoped. So when that bullet hit and killed Sunset, it killed that hope along with it, which, for most of us, was incredibly effective at bringing a sudden and painful end to the dramatic tension in the scene.
8457993
8457993
It's not that her committing suicide by sniper was inappropriate, but the way it was presented. It felt like the events before and after were told in one dramatic style, but you logic'd out the bit in the middle without being properly "in the flow".
So… Story essentially ended here. What's left is just clean up-wrap up. I'm tired.
8458029
Despite the downvotes, he does have the point: it is in Twilight's best interests to not give them "pony-to-human" formula at all. Despite all the promises and assurances, Twilight knows it is just a lie, and they will just forcibly transform everyone back if given the "pony-to-human" formula, claiming that "lie was in humanity's best interests, you have no right to argue".
8458011
I dunno, I think it fit well with the part that preceded it for sure. I can see why the after bits could be slightly jarring, but I had a different take on them. The big, emotional backlash will come from all the characters that haven't been shown yet, and having this chapter end with a sort of slice of life-esque bit with some of the others, at least to me, made Sunset's death even more powerful. With no other big emotional moments happening right afterwards, I had nothing to dwell on besides her death.
8458029
Indeed. It will be interesting to see what the price for this decision is going to be. Like you said, the government has been coming across as pretty insufferable for a while now, and they have been taking Equestria's (And Twilight's especially) help for granted all this time, when in reality they aren't in a position to be anything but beggars (which makes their arrogance especially grating) and Twilight's good will is the only reason they are getting any help at all. And it would take her all of ten seconds to pull the plug on it. I'm very much looking towards the political fallout for this.
And realistically we aren't talking just Equestrian side of politics here - US is going to get a lot of flak (and that's putting it mildly) from all around the globe for this decision, because this is going to impact the whole planet's initial relations with a bona fide alien civilization, and it goes without saying that no one agreed to let USA make decisions that would affect interplanetary relations (and would be seen as illegal to boot in many a country, if we want to get in to that).
--
I'm not even exactly opposed to Sunset being killed - she was a bitch through and through and if that was to be her punishment, then so be it. But the timing and manner it was carried out in? That was a collosal fuck-up of diplomatic proportions, and I can't wait to see the government being brought on the carpet for it, as they well should be.
8458115
8458072
8457990
Actually, now that you mention it, I'm starting to suspect it might simply be that the emotional calluses I've built up are filtering out something important and the result is sort of like trying to judge a painting while wearing laser safety glasses.
(I spent roughly a decade addicted to fanfiction after nearly having a nervous breakdown in high school. The combination of never fully recovering my ability to feel negative emotions from that, combined with bad or inexperienced fanfiction authors being prone to sending the wrong kinds of foreshadowing signals, or just plain not having a plan, trained my brain to almost never let its guard down and trust a story to manipulate my emotions directly. Heck, Days of Wasp and Spider was noteworthy in that it did earn my trust that way.)
UPDATE: Writing another response made me realize that, no, it's not my emotional calluses. It's that this death comes across as too Pyrrhic a victory to be satisfying. (Details in the other response I linked)
8458153
As I've said to others, while it may be realistic, and it may be my own bias, it comes across as an underwhelming end to a character who's been built up so much.
Also, now that you mention alternative outcomes, I realized the other reason I don't like it, which is actually much more significant: It's a Pyrrhic victory, both for the characters and for me.
Twilight spends all of that effort to get through to the long-lost aunt she once idolized, and Celestia spends all that effort to get through to a former student who had so much potential, and not only is her death the result of the villain outmanoeuvring the heroes one last time, she gets to take the easy way out and, what's worse, leaves them with an outcome that's a victory for the roles they're required to play for the greater good, but a defeat for them personally. (In fact, given the situation Twilight was left in, it makes me wonder whether one or more of those might have been part of the build-up to Nightmare Moon.)
On a more narrative level, she's been built up so much, but, regardless of the truth, I felt like all the most fascinating aspects of her character were presented primarily in hindsight, more as a promise of what would be explored properly when they finally caught her... but, then, when we finally "corner her worldview" well enough that she's forced to show some depth, we get a single tantalizing scene and then, almost as if she's seeing through the fourth wall and deciding to spite the readers, the most interesting character in the story kills herself rather than submit to being explored.
I feel... I don't know. In the moment Sunset wanted Twilight to lower the shield I already had in mind that a sniper might take her out from the distance. Because... well, that's how humans are. If there is even the slightest of chances that a threat can escape, something unpedictable, something dangerous CAN happen, that's enough reason to take the permanent route.
So... yeah, the death of Sunset was something I considered, but I'm not sure how I like the execution (no pun intended) of it. It was a very humanish way of handling things and was a logical conclusion.
The thing what made me question the possibility of Sunset ending up dead in the moment she returned to earth were two points:
1. The build-up. There was so much interaction between the characters that this ending hit me kind of from the left-field. That was like all the scenes beforehand are ultimately futile. Now we will never see the possible consequences for Sunset herself, because she was executed on the spot. Granted, it was Sunset's own plan to die, that she counted on "humans beings humans" and calculated it out in her head so that she would die by the military's hand. She wanted to escape judgement in any shape or form and chose her own death sentence.
Simply said, Sunset took the suicide option.
And it disapointed me that she chose the coward's way. Instead of at least trying to redeem herself she simply gave everypony and everybody, who declared her a monster, right in her head and didn't trust even herself to do the "right thing" anymore. So she wanted to die, as a "monster" should. All this build-up for a fast execution death.
2. Politics. Every nation on Earth wanted a part in Sunset's final judgement, because her plans endangered them all. Instead the US government made this decision alone and didn't even try to shoot her with a tranqualizing shot or something else to sedate her. It was instant death. It will be interesting to see what kind of political fallout will result from this solo action of the USA.
Then there are the Ponies of Equestria themselves, especially the nobles and the princesses. The nobles, under Blueblood's guidance, wanted Sunset Shimmer back in their land. Celestia dismissed him, yeah, but in the moment they get to know that the humans simply executed Sunset they will demand immediately, most likely, to cut off any further contact with "such a violent species". And Blueblood will see himself proven right because of that.
Celestia herself said she will attend "Sunset's trial" personally, if she surrenders peacefully, to explain everything to the humans. They simply killed off one of the Ponies she held very dear without any sort of formal trial (as the humans PROMISED it would happen). I really want to see how Celestia herself will react now to the news of Sunset's death and how she died. I can only imagine that she will be more than just "displeased" with their decision to execute her former student.
Twilight will maybe work with the humans now to stop this once and for all and to transform Ponies back into humans, if they want, or are forced, I don't know. OK, let's be honest, the humans will simply force every Pony back into their human forms, no matter what they might say or think, because it is the "best option for their country and mankind". But I'm not sure if the wants to continue working with the "murderers" of her aunt afterwards.
Personally, if I would have been in Twilight's situation that I could have saved one of my long lost relatives I had a precious bond with in my youth, I would simply cut off any further connection to the new species after "the job is done". They broke their promise to at least grant Sunset a trial and destroyed all of the Ponies' work and progress for convincing her that it didn't need to end like Sunset wanted it. And that, because they weren't able to trust the one Pony who helped mankind, the one Pony who went out of her way and beyond to really help them out. They never fully trusted Twilight and the other Ponies, because of the crimes of ONE member of an entire species and wanted to "make sure".
Worse, they never even thanked her one single time. All her efforts are completely unappreciated and the humans will most likely try to negotiate their own conditions in the moment they get their will and have the guts to demand even more afterwards. I wouldn't put it past them at all. So yeah, I wouldn't keep in touch with such ungrateful beings.
What leads me to my last point.
The humans acted incredibly arrogant the entire time, since everything started. Like the Ponies had actually the "duty" to help them in any way possible. They completely ignored from the beginning the fact that Twilight and the others didn't have to do jack shit. They CHOSE to help the humans out of their own volition. They CHOSE to help the humans with the research to stop the spell from spreading and finding a counter spell. NEVER was there any obligation for anything from Equestria's side. They could have just said: "We stay on our side of the universe, it's their problem, not ours."
Last time I checked mankind didn't have portals, so "threatening" Equestria isn't possible for them at all, or demanding anything for that matter.
This entire time they took everything the Ponies did for them to help for granted. That is bugging me the most.
On another note, I'm really interested now in the aftermath with the Ponies and what they will do. And I'm curious concerning the ancient dragon. What might be the deal with Triss?
8458089
Downvotes just mean that there's debate to be had. No better ground for debates than having different views on a story.
8458110
They didn't, though. And still don't. When Twilight put forward the idea of shunting Sunset to Equestria, where she could be properly contained, the government rejected the idea on the basis that it could potentially let Equestria hide Sunset from their justice. They put punishing Sunset over the safety of their citizens, and what happened in the last three chapters is a direct result of that. When Twilight put forward that it wasn't healthy to contain the transformed and keep them separated from friends and family, she was ignored until Twilight had to browbeat them with the reality of the situation, and even then it took several doctors and a near-riot in the centres for the government to cave. And that's before we touch on the subject of reversing transformations, where any suggestion of Twilight pretty much got tabled in favour of 'reverse the transformations regardless of consent, then justify the act.'
The government only gave Twilight as much as she needed to do what they wanted her to do to halt and reverse the ETS. They have been incredibly reluctant with anything outside of that.
All of this while treating Twilight like a minor diplomat, if even that, even though her rank at the very least places her trips at Royal working visit level.
Yes, and that 'Equestrians will help because it's the right thing' is the goodwill I'm talking about.
But now the government has shown it isn't afraid to go back on its word to get what it wants. They promised a trial, gave Twilight a chance to talk Sunset down, then took the shot anyway. They are still relying on that goodwill, but the bridge of trust now has cracks. They had different options. Twilight even offered one of those before: Equestria has the necessary tools to contain Sunset. They rejected them. And in this final charge, instead of trusting someone who has been nothing but helpful towards the entirety of humanity in handling the sitation, they decided to take matters into their own hands and make the call. Trust is a two way street, but the government isn't showing a lot of it on their end the very few times Equestria asks for it. Their reaction to the Elements trying to stop Sunset is quite telling of that. Instead of thanks with a side of 'the hell was that?', Twilight got an inquisition filled with demands for answers and accusations of holding out.
I am not trying to debate whether or not Sunset deserved getting shot, that's a different debate. What I'm saying is that the government over the course of the story in general has been playing the give and take game with very little giving on their part, and it's high time someone called them out on it. Equestria is a nation that thrives on helping others, but even Equestrians have their limits.
8457936
Did you... not read the chapter?
I wonder how everyone will react when Twilight reveals that Sunset knew that the government would not negotiate and thus escaped justice though suicide, if Twi ever does reveal it. I bet whoever it was who gave the kill order will regret not using nonlethals.
8458229
The screenshot was taken before Ford Prefect updated the article.
Well. Someone's getting fired, or at the very least will be branded as the person that gave the go-ahead for the first murder of an alien being. Sure, the being in question was a criminal, but that's a helluva stigma to carry for life. I expect a full inquiry to take place in the following chapters.
The 'powers that be' were really not thinking long term in making the decision. Of course, in utterly technical terms, the killing was legal because Sunset wasn't human and no prerogative writ explicitly allows for the same rights to non-human sapients. But this extrajudicial killing is highly questionable as Sunset had acquiesced to having her powers rendered inert so as to allow herself to be judged in a court of law. This will only deepen the divide between Equestria and earth (or at least the US) and it doesn't look like it will heal any time soon.
Even on earth, I see the US become rather isolated from the international community as a result of its government's actions. The world was robbed of carrying out due process and had instead witnessed a revenge killing of sort. This is not justice: this only brings about more injustice, and America is to blame for it.
8458288
God, I hope Twilight makes his head explode...
Sunset Shimmer's death shock me, though... it is reasonable and logical.
Because human (especially USA) are very desperate, and Sunset Shimmer had escape at once she got her cutie mark back.
And Sunset had said she would contemplating what she have done , not said she really thought she is wrong.
There is a chance that Sunset would escape again.
8458267
Well the initial reactions of the world should be fairly light. The US government keeps a very tight lid on the information and as far as we are aware no government outside of theirs even knows Sunset Shimmer existed, much less that she was responsible for the entire thing. Given that the world wasn't exactly flipping tables when Osama Bin Laden was killed without trial, the death of Sunset itself should not be that much of an issue should the news come out.
I think it's more likely that the consequences for earth's relationship with Equestria are going to be what everyone is going to be l worried about. Again assuming the US government is forthcoming with information about that (have they even told the rest of the world of the magical nature of the ETS? Much less Equestria? I can't recall) they're going to be justifiably worried that a field execution miiiight not be the best way to start relations. If modern politics are any indication, I expect lots of "we had nothing to do with that!" blame shifting.
8458383
Well, there was a way to confine Sunset. Equestria has the power to put Sunset at its mercy, both in terms of having ponies who can subdue her and having methods to confine magical beings. But the government rejected Twilight's suggestion to have Sunset confined in Equestria.
8458387
Psychopath, I'd say. Sunset didn't really feel guilt for transforming anyone, and that tends to be the commonly defined difference between psychopaths and sociopaths. The later at least feel guilty for their actions, just not enough to stop them.
I am still concerned with how utterly FUCKED the world is.
China is going to be COMPLETE shitstorm with how the government will want to get all ponies under strikt control given how powerful they are.
The middle East and by extension Europe is going to be a fucking bloodbath considering how Muslims will slaughter any pony they get their hands on for blasphemy (magic and sorcery are explicitly prohibited in the Koran on pain of death).
The US is crippled in terms of industry, financial institutions and construction of which any one alone would completely crash the world economy.
Not to fucking mention that the nuclear deterren and one of the superpowers are gone which means Russia is going to go crimea 2.0 on all the former Soviet countries.
Don't get me fucking started on Africa. it's completely fucked and at the end either only ponies or only humans are going to remain.
The only ones that might get away from genocide are Australia and the ones over there and they will still be suffering from MASSIVE economic issues.
To be completely fair. It's great that they will stop further transformations but... The world is still ruined. That's just the truth of it. The world as they knew it will end in riots, genocide and poverty. There will undoubtebly be segregation issues equally bad or worse worse as the worst of the American blacks even in the more civilized pockets that survive.
No power plants, water purification facilities, long distance travel or long distance communication. There will be no gasoline, no electricity, no indoor heating, no of anything which is essential for modern life to work. Many jobs will be obsolete and there will be so many that even with ponies going into farming or weather control it won't be enough to keep everyone busy. Hell, there won't even be room for everyone to live given how the pony way of life can't support population densities that excuses in human cities.
All of human civilazation reduced to a chaotic, isolated and sad world among the ruins of the wealth that was.
You know who would be the perfect pony Laura should talk to? Scootaloo. A Pegasus who can't fly and whose special talent is about helping other ponies figure out ho they really are.
8458443
Muslims don't really have as iron a grip on Europe as some believe. They're by and large a minority, and most who live here are moderates who won't go 'burn the heretic!' at what is clearly out of the affected's influence.
8458636
It's probably at least partly that I'm an aspie. Because empathy isn't a no-effort function of the instinctive portions of my brain, having it for fictional characters is something I have to slow down and consciously do. That means that I don't bother feeling empathy for fictional characters except in exceptional circumstances because it's work when I'm trying to play. Thus, chapters which are supposed to have empathy as an integral part of their appeal fall flat for me if there isn't enough else to hold my interest via ways in which I'm not crippled.)
...and when it keeps switching back to chapters where the appeal doesn't rely on that, it keeps rubbing the inability of the empathy chapters to entertain me in my face.
...now, I do still love character-driven writing... I just see characters as black boxes and expect to get my entertainment by playing a game of "let's try to anticipate their reaction to stimulus X", similar to the process of reading a Sherlock Holmes story.
8458687
I got the sense that the only reason she tried to negotiate about the sedative was an attempt to get Twilight to lower her shield in a suicide by solider attempt, not to get the opportunity to revise her plans.
8458544
I'm Swedish so I know well how the situation is in Europe.
And it would be a bloodbath by simple virtue that there are simply too many that would take this as the opportunity to grab the closest kitchen knife and settle whatever grudge or honor dispute or pony blasphemer they have on hand.
Assuming that each nutcase that comes out of the woodwork kills their first target and the police being crippled from being simply overwhelmed with calls and taking in that the average civilian is not allowed to posses a self defence weapon, we would see large parts of cities all over Europe engulfed in flame.
Tens of thousands dead if not hundreds.
Truck attacks, grenades and arson on ETS shelters would cause a COMPLETE breakdown of order as the government can't protect their citizens and the ponies take their protection in their own hooves.
Might be a good thing for the surviving ponies though. Nothing quite as human as killing your fellow man before they kill you. Would probably break them out of sunset's brainwashing of peace and unity.
I wouldn't miss the end of this for anything. I'm hooked (and have been for a while now)!
I'm still mulling over how I feel about the turn of events regarding Sunset's judgement. There was quite a build up regarding her character, and yet now she is no longer the anchor for what comes next. It sort of leaves them waving in the wind with the bigger threat in the future.
8458443
World survived WW II, don't worry.
This is infinitely better variant than time-locking every single human in the planet, and releasing one human a month. That would completely and utterly destroy entire Earth civilization, no matter what other certain fanfics say. Mix of humans and ponies can still maintain most of the equipment — but if there's no one to do that, then progress will reverse 5000 years back.
8459121
Removing an ethnic group from existence by changing it is called assimilation.
8458695
Haha, randomly popping in on this four hours late, and no patience to read the start of this debate, but I just wanted to put my two bits out there. :3
As a fellow aspie, I struggle to understand the underlying tones for emotional cues and such in stories which often leaves me very confused.
Sometimes the sarcasm is too discreet, or maybe there's an emotional part that falls flat because the author didn't write out all the subtle cues for it. [I have a very hard time deciphering the dialogue in scripts because of this].
To me reading a story is meant to be my relax time, so why would I want to think about something so hard?
Anyways, I have enjoyed this story very much, I just wanted to point out some struggles I face as well.. I may not know what this discussion is about, but I hope my response provides some insight! :D
8459206
Exotheology is an actual thing as of the last few decades, and as knowledge of the universe has expanded it's been discussed in theological circles a lot (not just Abrahmic ones either). Short answer is you have the usual extremists, but even among the religions that try to make something special about humanity, the saner mainline denominations don't really have any problem with it. Responses usually say one or more of the following:
A while back, one of the Vatican astronomers basically came right out and said he'd baptize a space alien if they asked, "no matter how many tentacles". There...wasn't really any resistance to this idea.
One thing you would be likely to see is that a lot of these religions would be looking for similar beliefs -- not just verbatim, but even similar in theme and structure. I suspect after a while they might actually try to syncretize if they find anything "close enough". Theologians are very aware that they work in faiths that are human-centric and Earth-centric, but deal with deity/ies bigger than that; they'd need to be able to process and interpret things outside of that the moment the scope leaves our species and planet. Not everyone might have the same divine revelation, nor might it even be appropriate.
Pretty much the only thing they're really hoping doesn't happen is this, which would be suuuuper awkward!
8459193
WW2 only lost 50 million souls all while government was still firmly in control.
This would wreak complete fucking anarchy since with globalisation and the modern world everyone is interlocked with eachother. Now that everyone is sinking and the US most of all we are looking at the complete collapse of western civilization.
We have a crippled government, several billion ponies so brainwashed out of their minds that they'll be happy to piss off into the woods and become amish with no connection to the rest of the world, a completely frozen industry, economy and infrastructure that stretches on globally, every single opportunist nation/terror group/pissed of postman seeing the golden opportunity to do some old fashion conquest unopposed.
Really, it doesn't really matter how this story ends unless there is a way for at least 80% of ponies to be human again. It's too big a disaster, too great a loss. The only possible outcome is a technological regression by several centuries.
For fucks sake. A openly population simply CAN'T FUNCTION on the same levels as a human one. It won't. No one will choose to stay with a mediocre job when the vision promised them a community of togetherness and purpose. Cities will be repopulate in favour of small settlements that will produce their own food and necessities. With so much of consumers and workforce simply gone it won't be possible for larger corporations to function especially when there is no viable way for long distance delivery.
Try as you might but the simple thing is that... It's over really. Humanity loses. Society is destroyed as we know it. Our technology will regress by a couple of centuries. We won't have the tech needed to defeat the devourer and that'll be it. Another statistical footnote in the galactic history book.
8458443
That's kind of what I expected to see in this fic. I keep thinking it'll show up, but I guess not now.
8459273
Why? Let's assume the worst of the worst situation (which is unlikely). You're saying tech will regress pair of centuries, and then suddenly jump to conclusion "humanity is lost, everything is over". Humanity's curiosity will stay, because most of them aren't herd-pony-humans. With it, do you really believe that humanity won't rebuild all the tech and more? There were multiple Dark Ages over the history under different names already, and humanity for some reason doesn't live in dirt huts.
Culturally, I don't see why it would destroy culture of nations and ethnicities. It will change, but it won't be started completely from scratch.
8458136
Speaking as someone who has seen what happens to the living in the aftermath, suicide is the final act of a selfish coward.
8459294
It's very lovely to think that we'd come back but let us be realistic.
I want you to imagine back to the 08 economic crisis. Due to the collapse of a finance system in the US the entire world economy was brought to it's knees. World progress was sucker punched and you belong to the first generation EVER to be poorer and less educated than their parents. 2 nations collapsed, more inches from the brink.
That was from 1 financial system in the US collapsing.
Now multiply it by all us industry, export and import. Then add the export and import of Asia, the middle east and Europe. Then add the US government now having a giant neon sign over its head reading "i will never repay my national dept" so all future budgets must generate more tax income than state spending. Now apply that to most of Europe who all run on deficits budgets. Now add that with the middle east on fire there is no fucking oil for gas which stops all planes, boats and cars. Etc. Etc.
Really, had this been any other time in history I would say "yeah, we could recover". In this day and age? Nope. Sorry but the world is already so severely out of whack that a push like this would be the straw that breaks the back.
8459312
In Soviet Russia, University pays YOU! So, no, your assumption that American education system is world-wide norm is not correct.
On more serious note: yes, things will change, yes, oil/gas thing is being irreplaceably depleted, but did you consider that with big companies supporting monopoly out of the way, we won't develop alternatives? Everything you said is already included in "it will regress pair of centuries", but there's no solid reasoning why there's no possibility of recovering.
8459336
>Everything you said is already included in "it will regress pair of centuries" ↑
8459326
I'm Swedish. And where do you think that money comes from? Thin air? Nope. That is a luxury that will go away when the government can't support it due to the GLOBAL FINANCIAL COLLAPSE happens.
8459312
Keep in mind you don't "repay" national debt. At least not all at once. Debt doesn't work the same way for a country that it does for a household. It's not some massive bill, it's a lot of small, finite-duration securities that mature and are repaid independently, and most of them are owed to ourselves (where the interest is essentially direct stimulus).
It's normal and even very healthy for a country to maintain debt proportional to its income, because those loans and interest payments have multiplier effects throughout the economy, both domestic and global. It's possible to have national debt get out of control, but it's far, far more common for austerity policy to cause economic shocks with sudden contractions and cause far more harm instead. That's essentially what happened to Greece, and it happened more locally here to Kansas under Brownback.
8459121
Yeah, keep in mind the whole "but not their mentality" thing for just a few more chapters. It gets worse.
8459305
Or someone who knows that they are likely to be killed by the justice system and wants to die on their own terms and considering Sunset's personality suicide was bound to happen as she would not have given control of her fate to anyone else.
8459336
Humanity will recover from this eventually, even if the economy collapses. We lost more than this in the past. Let's hope we are prepared this time in the story
Regardless, things will be different anyways after all this
8459609
He survives in the comics and even gets turned into a normal Unicorn .
After that sets out to collect all shards of Princess Amore because he turned her to stone and broke her one thousand years ago.
Thats what happens
8459070
If you are European then you should know it isn't going to be as insane a bloodbath as you claim. Europeans are used to ethnic diversities, and while there will be panic the majority of effort will go to trying to help the afflicted. Will there be nutjobs here and there? Sure, but they'll act the way they do because of their mental instabilities, not their religion, they won't be in those numbers. If the US and their paranoid population with guns managed to avoid a pony genocide, so can Europe.
And let's not forget those nutjobs will not automatically escape ETS themselves, in which case Sunset's brainwashing may actually be an accidental blessing should it work to stabilize them.
8459662
You are extremely naive.
The problem isn't the few extremists.
THIS is the problem
1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qf4rJjfJJwU/VlFTP-hbSmI/AAAAAAAABzg/cwmZUoR6OSs/s1600/sharia.jpg
That right there tells you the culture of the middle east. It is an outdated, barbaric culture that can not coexist with western society. If this would come or if humans started to develop magic or superpowers or whatever then be damn sure that at least everyone within the sharia circle will want to kill the magic users for blasphemy since, as I said, magic and sorcery is explicitly forbidden in the Koran.
If they believed it could be done consequence free, like say a nation wide riot and government breakdown, then i guarantee you that they would put up their own sharia controlled zones where their sharia is the law. Hell these zones already sort of exist. I can verify that in many major cities in Sweden there are areas where ambulance, fire fighters and police can't go because they are attacked on sight.
8459705
And yet we don't see people stoned to death in our streets every other week for committing whatever slight goes against the Islam. Because the Muslim population in Europe by and large likes the modern western mindset. Call me naive, but I'd rather that than paranoid.
Besides, ETS doesn't discriminate between religions. The Middle East will be hit just as hard as anywhere else, and given how communal Muslim culture tends to be they're going to have the majority of its believers transforming the moment the virus hits any decently major centre. When those who cry for others to start killing become themselves one of the to kill, people tend to change tunes pretty damn fast.
8458267
I don't think any real punishment is going to happen. If there was a person deliberately spreading Ebola around the world, and we had them cornered like this, it would be perfectly justified to shoot them, especially when they are intentionally being threatening and resisting arrest. Need examples? Osama bin Laden, Hitler, the entire French and Russian revolutions, all included execution without trial. (Hitler committed suicide, but no one would have cared had the Russians shot him) This was a nullification of a world - ending threat. She had caused more damage than Stalin, Hitler, Genghis Khan, and Mussolini combined. Economies have collapsed, governments have been destabilized, massive mental trauma has occurred on a scale never before seen. This disease has hit more than the black plague, possibly more than the Spanish Flu. The US might catch some flak if the relationship with Equestria goes sour, but no one is going to say that killing Sunset was bad.