April 14 2015
100:00:00:00
Dallas, Texas
Discord and I were sitting on the couch and waiting for the breaking news to come, we know it will happen, we just need to wait.
“Breaking news, live from the white house.”
The news was on and the woman reporter was in front of the white house, but at the moment it appeared the action was the paper, so she was making a report while Twilight was being bombarded by questions from the newspaper.
“This just in, someone is claiming responsibility for the pony flu, a mysterious disease that transforms the infected into small horses, according to the World Health Organization almost every land mass has been infected with only one country taking a stand, Madagascar.”
The next thing I know I’m holding Discord upside down while twitching my eye. When I realized I’m somehow holding Discords legs with my hooves, he fell.
“We are now heading to meet the one claiming responsibility for the pony flu.”
“Hello everypony, I’m princess Twilight Sparkle, and I’m here to apologize on behalf of a friend for what happened three months ago. You see, magic is real where I come from and this was a magic mishap. A friend of mine accidently teleported a vial of disease to this world and that’s what happened three months ago.”
“But don’t threat, I’ve got a way to cure the flu, so I will try to help in anyway I can.”
“This is Diana, reporting for CBS news, signing out.”
“And now for the sports news…” We both pressed the power button at the very same time.
I had one thing on my mind. “Is this cure tested?”
“I think Twilight cast the spell on herself, but I’m not quite sure.”
Now I’m unsure about where Twilight will end up, reaching national television would end her up in US politics, but saying she has a cure will throw her right back into the CDC.
“Welp, whatever happens, can’t do anything about it, so might as well do something to pass the time, got a few board games that are as hard if not harder than Pandemic II.”
“I control every chaotic force, even these simple games are inside my control, I do enjoy these games but I can’t help but bend the rules in my favor.”
So I decided to skip Yahtzee and go for a skill based game, Jenga.
April 14 2015
100:05:00:00
Atlanta, Georgia
After gaining the power of telekinesis, I started working on getting my research back on track.
"Let's see, if I start testing the properties of Pestis I can find out how to get around it's mysterious abilities."
That was when I got a knock on the door. "Dr Kenderson, you got a guest who claims to have a cure for H1P1."
I asked them to bring him or her in, to see it's Twilight.
“How did you get back here?”
“I just said I had a cure.”
I understood completely. “If so lets get to work, first off. Is this cure tested?”
“Yes, I cast the spell on myself, so I know it works and I know it’s safe.”
“Hmm… We shall see.” I went to the computer and ordered up some test subjects from each stage of the disease.
“What are you doing? Isn’t using the spell on myself good enough?”
“If you were human, yes, but since you’re not exactly human we need to try it out on some infected humans in each stage of development. How does this cure work?”
“In all honesty, I’m not quite sure, I don’t know much about what causes the disease since Discord told me it’s a bunch of tiny creatures flying around.”
“I guess I’ll just have to teach you virology then.”
After an hour or so we got through the basics and Twilight had learned enough to explain how the cure works.
“Alright, so the cure works by inhibiting the virus's ability to enter host cells, thus making them unable to reproduce.”
This was actually pretty good, but there's only one way to test it. “Cast your spell at subject A.”
“Right!” And so she did, subject A was in stage one, and when the spell was cast, subject A rapidly started speeding through the transformation rather quickly.
“Stop the test!” I said, Twilight stopped. “Look at this, the spell seems to be speeding the change up, not slowing it down.”
“Hmm… maybe it has more to do with what you lack then what we have.”
“Well there’s Pestis.”
“There’s what?”
“Pestis Incognitus, a collection of antigens from H1P1 that are not on any cell on this planet.”
“Hmm… I don’t know, it could mean anything.”
“That’s why we are doing these tests, if we don’t we’ll never be able to explain it. and if we can’t explain it, we can’t really say it’s true.”
Twilight seemed a bit confused at what I said. “Are you saying with science you can explain every phenomenon?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Lets just say I got something I need to get back to when this is over.”
“Alright, anyway can you cast the spell on this tissue sample, I want to see the effects of it on Pestis.”
“All right.” And so she cast it.
What I saw made me realize something, the magic was flowing through the Pestis Incognitus antigens in a way that showed that there could be negative side effects if the magic went in any other way.
So I decided to do a test, grabbing a few bacteria samples I placed a small amount on a petri dish and labeled it control, then set some more on another petri dish and labeled it magic influenced.
“Cast the spell on the petri dish that’s not labeled control.”
After that I put both dishes in the incubator and prepped another experiment.
This time I got some tissue samples out of the freezer and labeled them the same as before, but this time its a DNA test.
Before the spell was cast I sequenced the genome of the sample before giving it to Twilight and having her cast the spell.
Afterwards, I sequenced it again and found that one chromosome was completely swapped out, a Y chromosome.
Other than that the DNA was only slightly changed, but the changes that happened could possibly change the very shape of the body.
“Alright, from the information I got, I think I’m ready to make a hypothesis.”
“Pestis Incognitus are not antigens, there receptors that allow the magical energy in without causing damage to the cell or virus it’s connected to.”
“But because our cells don’t have these receptors, the magic gets in wrong and causes mutations that result in the transformation.”
“The only question now is, why does it change us into your kind?”
“I think it’s time for me to give you a lesson in magic.” Said Twilight.
Twilight then taught me how magic works, and that it is a force of order, which is quite the opposite to anything in the laws of physics as I know it, since any form of energy in a thermodynamics module is a force of entropy.
“so the reason we change into your kind is because the magic decided to?”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think you understand, when a pony is manipulating magic they channel natural magic in the air through wings, horn or otherwise, but when natural magic is effecting something, the environment around you is what determines the result.”
I pondered on that for a moment then went to the computer and ordered up a list known forms infected could be in.
“Lets see, griffons in California, ponies that shine like crystals up north in Canada and Alaska. It appears that it does.”
“So, griffons in California, what’s it like in over there?” Asked Twilight.
“It’s a desert.”
“Oh, and Canada and Alaska must be pretty far up north to get crystal ponies, since they're used to cold temperatures.”
“They are, half of each is right in the arctic circle.”
After that we started discussing how we can cure this disease, magics off the table, vaccination is impossible if the virus is unkillable by the immune system, all that leaves is to stop people from being infected in the first place, which we are trying, but there has to be another way.
“That's it!” I said.
“What is?” Asked Twilight.
“H1P1 is very similar to a disease on earth called H1N1, if we were to mix the two we may possibly be able to make a vaccine of sorts.”
“But what if it makes it worse?”
“Don’t worry, we have procedures to make sure these things don’t become problems. What’s the worse that could happen?”
Twilight was not amused. “You do realize what you did right?”
It took a few seconds for me to realize what I did. “Crap…”
Now we don’t have fate on our side.
Yay Longer chapters!
I still have problems keeping a straight face every time the virus name comes up as ii read it as the Hippy Virus.
6000667 Why is that?
6000700 Well it looks like hipi, and it turns whoever catches it into a budding peace-loving environmentalist.
6000747 I realized after posting the comment, but it does not do mental changes to everyone. Only socially awkward, antisocial, and closed off people get rewired.
How very philosophical, and a completely useless statement to boot. Reality is, after all, what doesn't go away when you stop believing in it. If you can't explain something but it happens anyway, that doesn't make what happened untrue.
6000763 It was a setup for a joke that happened right after involving Twilight, what do you think it means?
And besides, it's just as poorly worded as what I'm joking about.
I've just looked through old documents (some information about Spain flu of 1918) and I've thinked and thinked again about one thing.
I have not encountered with pony's immune system before,but what about... Wait for a second.
Hyper-cytoki-nemia.Hypercytokinemia,yes,it is.Or onther name of this - Cytokine storm.
Could it somehow harm ponies (or,at least,caused in their organism)?
6002157 Yes, but not for something this harmless.
Seriously, you need to get Ebola to get a cytokine storm.
6002828 H1N1 showed great lethality rate in 1918 pandemic,thanks for hypercytokinemia.
Maybe some communist ponies from Stalliongrad are weponizing H1P1 or Equstrian counterpart of H5N1 (Avian flu,or Bird flu) for war with capitalistic Equestria,we will never know.
However if you sying what ponies are immune to all human diseas Ebola will not work.
But Zeebrola will do its duty. ;-)
6002878 First off, I don't know all the details, and H1N1 has had a pandemic in 2009, the fatality rate was much lower then the Spanish flu.
Remember, this was an accident that couldn't be predicted! For there to be a conspiracy, Discord would have to been able to predict the future!
6002907 I don't know details too,but according to this documents lethality rate of Spain flu was much lower after 1,5 years from start of the epidemic.This could mean what virus mutated into less lethal for humans form.Luckilly for us,2009 form wasn't so lethal for humans,plus medicine in XXI progressed greatly and was on a much higher level in 2009 than in 1918.
Dear Author,
Could you explain to me the differencies between types of Hemagglutinin (H1,H2 and ahead) and between types of... Neuraminidase (N1,N2 and ahead)?
6005984 One Wikipedia articles coming right up!
Hemagglutinin
Just imagine how paranoidal Russia unions with countries of eastern Europe and then enters people into Eastern Eurpore only through checkpoints and shooting any pegasus who will try to fly over.
But I'll never see something like this?
If no,then,I think,I must start to create a story with those events...
I hope the human race is perm infected then Earth is now a second Equestria (and in time human would become boogeyman
Oh.come on.Why are people so hating themself?
6010128 So when I hope what virus will mutate and will start to kill infected ponies.
Or there is appears a new plague which uses ponies as carriers,but when mutate and starting to kill ponies.
Just because there is no one to work on cure.Not everybody know how to use magic and not everybody has a horn.It'll be very hard to develop a cure as pony.And most of scientists are locked in laboratories and they are working for humanity,not for the turned ones.
Derrick needs to play tick tack toe with Pinky.
6011161 Now why do you say that, He's not that mad, Is he?
6011779
A little bit of humility never hurt anyone and he said he could explain anything with science. Tick tack toe is easy enough to learn how to force a draw. When he always looses it will be some humble pie for him.
6012601 Ahh. Well no one has commented on the purpose of that phrase, it's the exact opposite to the moral in Feeling Pinkie keen, although it's worded just as poorly.
What does that mean for an infected individual on the moon?
startrek level bullshit solution. i love it!