//------------------------------// // The Eighth Day // Story: The Conversion Bureau: Ten Days // by Windchaser //------------------------------// The dawn hid behind the curious mist that enshrouded the island, and Firecracker flicked his tail out of impatience. After feeding Peach Cobbler the night before, he refused to sleep until everypony was safe and sound on their way back to Canterlot. It was a long night in the cave while everypony slept, and Firecracker had to divert the slowly growing flow of water that fed into the cave and past the boundary of his light spell and into the dark recesses of the earth. The Wild One had began to taper off a few hours ago when he visited the mouth of the cave to see how it was outside. Trees had been uprooted, some hit and split by lightning, but fortunately none caught fire. If they did, it was quickly quenched by the drenching rain that had since been replaced with a soft trickle from the skies. The undersides of the clouds were now splitting and revealing a cobalt sky above, which was growing brighter by the second. “Finally,” Firecracker muttered to himself. He just wanted to be done with this... all of this. He was tired of keeping everypony in check, safe, and happy (in a relative sense). He just wanted to find a comfortable bed and drop dead on it. Just... stop, close his eyes, and land on a soft, feathery pillow. He sat his rump down on the sand near the shrunken pond from the night before and watched the sky brighten as what had previously Celestia’s sun slowly brighten the sky and warm the land. Did she still control the sun, even here on Earth? Humans were convinced otherwise, and had substantial proof to back up their claims. The humans had indeed impressed the majority of the population of Equestria with their technology and knowledge of their own cosmos, without magic too! Sending humans to the moon? It was something a pony would never consider. Would that technically be trespassing on Princess Luna’s property? Would they find Nightmare Moon’s prison there if they looked? “Too early...” Firecracker grumbled to himself. Why did he bother to think this much while he was so tired? After maybe an hour, the clouds had finally departed and the sky was taking on a buttery yellow and blue color of early morning. Something suddenly flashed overhead, but before he could see what it was, it was gone. It seemed to have been heading towards the beach. When the realization finally sunk in, Firecracker galloped down the throat of the cave to wake everypony up. --- Sunshine cracked his eyes open, but his vision was occluded by a black mane, one that he snuggled into a bit more. Rob stirred and yawned as Sunshine sat up in the bed, looking out the window. The sun was beaming through the glass, and chirps and calls from birds reached their ears. “Morning, Sunshine,” Rob said, snickering at how oddly appropriate the comment was. Sunshine hopped out of the bed and onto his hooves. He looked back at Rob and asked, “How are you feeling?” Rob smiled and stretched his hooves out. “Better than last night.” A frown crept onto his face. “Um, is it okay if we keep this... thing... quiet for a bit? I have a lot to sort out in my head...” Sunshine smiled as he crept back onto the bed and gave Rob a light kiss on the cheek. “Of course. Take as long as you need. I know how much confusion must be going on in your head, and if you need some space to deal with it, just say so.” Rob suddenly pulled Sunshine onto the bed and planted another kiss on his lips. “But how can I when you’re so cuddly?” he giggled. Sunshine laughed heartily. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you giggle! ...well, aside from last night,” Sunshine said with a smirk. Rob blushed and hid his face underneath the covers. Sunshine chuckled and hopped off the bed and walked over to the door and ventured outside into the brisk morning. He was really surprised at how much Rob had changed since resolving everything with his father. There wasn’t much sleeping done the night before, but Sunshine refused to push anything onto Rob that he didn’t feel comfortable with. They kissed, cuddled, and before they finally drifted to sleep in each other’s embrace, Rob whispered “I love you.” Sunshine was hesitant to respond likewise, since it was their first night they spent together and Rob’s feelings may have been accelerated by hormones. But that was all washed away in a sudden sense of relief. A bright smile spread across Sunshine’s muzzle as he lifted off in a flight that was fueled by his joy. He did a few loops, and even skirted the water of the bay, creating a fine mist with the tip of his wing. It was such a rush to him that he may just finally have somepony... Sunshine let out an echoing cheer as he soared higher into the sky. As he reached the apex of his ascent, he noticed something in the distance. A colorful object on the beach on a far side of the island. The same side of the island that they arrived on... “Oh BUCK.” --- Spirits were high for the first time in what seemed like forever to Firecracker. Everypony was lined up behind Palm Breeze, who was guiding them back to the beach that Fleet Feather was presumably waiting, if he could count on his perception. Peach Cobbler had woken up with everypony else, but she hadn’t said a word since then. She stayed close by Firecracker’s side, but never made any contact with him aside from the few times she needed to lean on him when she was weak. The grey unicorn welcomed the contact, but the moment Peach could manage on her own, she righted herself and looked away when Firecracker craned his neck to check on her. It took only twenty minutes to reach the beach, but it was well worth it. Fleet Feather was barded in a gleaming set of golden armor, with three other pegasi in similar looks standing at attention. The sky carriage that they had brought with them was one of the largest Firecracker had ever seen in his life. It was ten feet across and thirty feet long, with a canvas canopy and crates of various medical supplies inside. A small team of two unicorns rushed over as soon as they saw the first ponies emerge from the jungle. “Where are the injured?” a unicorn with a buttery yellow coat and brown mane asked. His mane was sticking to his forehead with sweat; he was clearly uncomfortable in the heat. The mare with him was a dusky purple unicorn with a bright blue mane. Her horn glowed with an aura in a similar hue to her mane, carrying over a bag of medical equipment. Garnet stumbled out of the jungle and was immediately assaulted by the two medics. They inspected the scabs on her neck where Firecracker had performed his cauterization. “Miss, how have you been doing? Any dizziness? Nausea? Anything out of the ordinary?” Garnet thought for a moment, then shook her head. She then remembered the complication with her voice and pointed at her throat. “I don’t know what you mean, miss,” the mare said. “She lost her ability to speak,” Firecracker said aloud. He walked over to the medics and tried to keep his posture up. He was absolutely exhausted, and the last thing he wanted was for two ponies to blast him for trying to do the right thing. “Voice is gone?” the stallion asked. “The bullet had nicked her voice box, so when I was trying to close her wounds, I sealed that off before closing the holes in her neck before she bled out.” “Hmm...” the stallion said, inspecting the scabs once more. “I believe we may be able to restore proper structure to your voice box when we get back to Canterlot. I don’t see any signs of infection at all, either. Where’s the other one?” The mare led Garnet over to one of the crates that had just been pried open by the pegasi troops for nourishment. Most of the other ponies were around there too, nibbling on packaged sandwiches and sipping from bottles of juice. Peppermint was straining under the weight, but she managed to lift Jay all the way through the jungle and out to the beach. She was soaked with sweat and was wheezing, but when she gently laid Jay’s body down on the sand, she took a moment and acknowledged her feat. Primrose came out from the trees shortly after and made sure Jay was alright before giving a big hug to Peppermint. “This is the one with the amputated leg?” the mare asked as the three unicorns trotted over to Jay’s conscious body. They leaned in and the instant they were close enough, the recoiled back. “That wound is infected, without a doubt. I can smell it from here.” Jay hung his head as if he did something wrong, even though it was out of his abilities to deal with. Firecracker looked down at the leg; whitish ooze was beginning to creep out from some of the cracks in the giant scab, and it did indeed smell awful. The medical stallion leaned in and took a long look at his horn, and sighed. “I don’t know. That horn is in bad shape. I don’t know if we’ll be able to fully restore your magic.” “I’m just glad... that I helped Prim. That’s all,” Jay said before leaning over and resting his head on the sand. The two medical unicorns whispered to each other for a moment before approaching Firecracker once more. “Firecracker, right?” He nodded. “This colt’s leg is in horrible shape. Infection was nigh impossible to avoid in this kind of environment, but efforts could have been taken to slow down its progress. Why was it not wrapped in something to keep it away from the elements?” “Um, I never thought it would need that...” “Answer me this,” the stallion began in a razor sharp tone. “If it was your leg that was removed, wouldn’t you wrap the wound after sealing it?” The stallion sighed and dipped his head in shame. “Yes I would.” The stallion sighed and frowned. “Don’t get me wrong. Your quick thinking saved both of their lives. But you could have handled it better.” The stallion looked over to the purple mare and nodded. “We have to take him to Canterlot immediately to make sure that no further damage is done.” “Wait, does that mean you’re going to...” “Yes. We’re teleporting him there directly.” Firecracker looked down at the beige pony who somehow managed to blend in with the sand with his coat. He was moaning and sweating; he had presumably lost consciousness once again, and Primrose was trying to comfort him through the pain. “At least he’s asleep for it this time. Go ahead. Please make sure you save him, okay?” Firecracker asked. “Of course.” The two ponies walked over to Jay and moved Primrose away from the colt. She protested and cried out to the point where Firecracker had to intervene and hold her back as they vanished in a flash of blinding white light. “NO!” Primrose cried out, lunging at the small crater in the sand that the spell had left. She turned back and glared at Firecracker. “Why’d you let them go? He was fine! We would’ve been there tonight!” Firecracker knelt down in the sand and leaned close to the blue mare. “They needed to treat him now. And you know as well as they do that he wasn’t fine. Not at all. Waiting until tonight may have been too long and they weren’t willing to take that risk. You will have to wait until later to see Jay again, but isn’t waiting a little bit better than not seeing him ever again?” Primrose wiped the tears from her eyes. “I suppose...” “He’s in the best medical hooves Equestria has to offer. Now go and get a sandwich to eat before they’re all gone.” She slowly stood up, and within the minute, Primrose had a sandwich in her hooves and was settled in the sky carriage with everypony else. Fleet Feather walked over to Firecracker with intense purpose in his eyes. Not something that Firecracker wanted to deal with. Not at all. He’d rather go for a nice walk in another Wild One. Imagining him trotting along, humming a tune to himself as the land was torn asunder by winds and rain was somehow entertaining to him. Firecracker cracked a grin. “They take Jay?” Fleet Feather asked. In his full armor, he managed to look even scarier than he did before. “Yeah. ‘ported him straight to Canterlot.” “Good. Are we missing any others aside from Sunshine? I haven’t seen him at all yet.” Firecracker bit his lip. “Him and Rob were missing yesterday when the Wild One hit. We haven’t seen them since.” Fleet Feather frowned, and with a gust of wind and a beat of his wings, he vanished into the sky. Firecracker didn’t like leaving any threads hanging either, but there wasn’t much he could do. He stepped into the sky carriage, levitated a sandwich and a juice from the crate, and took his seat next to Peach Cobbler. While most of the ponies on board were still eating and drinking, an empty wrapper and bottle sat on the floor in front of the unicorn. “I guess you were hungry, eh?” Firecracker asked. Peach Cobbler looked up at him as he spoke. Without warning, her eyes teared up and she broke down into heaving sobs as she wrapped her hooves around Firecracker’s neck. She cried and cried into his chest as if she was letting everything that had happened to her over the past few days out at once. Firecracker held her close as she cried, not even noticing as Jasmine crept on board. He didn’t even notice the sky carriage lifting into the sky and flying away from the island and to Canterlot. --- “Ohbuckohbuckohbuck!” Sunshine cursed as he panted harder and harder. He beat his wings with all of his might, but he couldn’t manage to ascend any further. The sky carriage was still visible, but it was floating higher and higher into the sky. If they didn’t get their attention somehow in the next minute they were going to be stuck here! “Rob! I can’t get any higher! You need to get their attention!” Sunshine panted. “But... how?” Rob pleaded. “I doubt I can shout loud enough!” “Use... Your... Magic!” Sunshine gasped as he beat his wings as hard as he could. He was holding Rob with all four of his legs wrapped around the unicorn, but the weight was too much. Before long, he was going to start losing altitude. “I... can try...” Rob murmured, unsure about himself. “Jay mentioned finding some ‘bubble’ in his head that... let him use his magic...” Rob squeezed his eyes shut and focused on finding this ‘bubble’. He poked and prodded around his mind, trying to feel for it until he found a spot that he didn’t remember being there. A surge of adrenaline ran through his body as he focused all of his efforts on the ‘bubble’. As it popped, his mind was awash with strange energies and curious feelings that seemed entirely alien to him. “I got it!” Rob shouted. “Do... something... quickly!” Rob gathered up a large portion of the new energy in his head and focused it toward the sky carriage.  He released it in the form of a bright beam of light, that almost blinded Sunshine. --- “Sir, I thought I saw something,” one of the pegasi guards said. He looked down back towards the island where the flash of light came from, but saw nothing. “Sir? Orders?” Fleet Feather considered it for a moment. “Stay your course, private. May have just been the sun reflecting off of something groundside. Our first priority is to get these ponies back to Canterlot.” “Sir, yes sir.” --- “It’s not working!” Rob yelled, watching as the sky carriage ascended further into the sky. Before long, it was going to disappear behind a cloud and be gone forever. “Try again! Harder!” Sunshine said. They were already beginning to fall back down to the island. Rob gathered up what remained of that alien energy and released it again, without holding anything back. --- “AAAGH!” one of the pegasi screamed. His eyes were watering and blinded and he was sagging down, the effort of keeping the sky carriage aloft too much for him. “Private Glade! What’s the matter?” Fleet Feather demanded. “The light, sir! I saw it again! Much brighter than just a reflection, sir!” Private Glade removed himself from the harness and floated next to Fleet Feather as he rubbed his eyes with his hooves. “Where did you see it, Private?” Private Glade cracked open his eyes and looked down towards where the light had come from. He pointed out with a hoof towards a gathering of small buildings surrounding a bay on another side of the island where they had landed. “There, sir! By those houses.” “You two,” Fleet Feather said, addressing the two pegasi keeping the sky carriage in position. “Stay here. I’m taking a look.” The golden armored pegasus soared down in the direction given by the Private. It wasn’t long before he saw them. Sunshine was holding another pony with his legs, and was falling. He dashed down beneath the pair and caught them on his back before they impaced the sand. “Fleet Feather!” Rob yelled. “You... found... us...” Sunshine said between gasps for air. The weight was manageable for the older captain, and before long they were soaring back up to the sky carriage. Sunshine and Rob were greeted with cheers, hugs, and food; the latter of which they sorely needed. “We thought you two got blown away last night in the storm!” Autumn Gale said, hugging the exhausted pegasus. “Rob and I found somewhere to crash and ride the storm out. We were just fine.” Sunshine looked over to Rob, who had been reminded of the night before. He shyly smiled. “Sweet Celestia, was that you, kid? With the light?” one of the  pegasi asked, after getting back into his harness. Rob nodded, noticing his eyes were soaked in tears from rubbing them. “You were brighter than the spotlights at all those Wonderbolts shows back in Cloudsdale. Just try not to blind anypony next time, okay?” Rob smiled and nodded, feeling a little embarassed from the ordeal. The pegasi flapped their wings in unison and carried the ponies above the cloud layer and into the bright blue sky. Sunshine trotted over to Rob and looked down at the unicorn; he seemed to be deep in thought, but after a moment, he picked his head back up. “I found myself a name!” Rob said with excitement. “Really? What is it?” “Spotlight!” he said. “It kinda goes with my colors and the beam of light from before, so I thought it could work...” Sunshine began giggling. “I think it’s a great name!” the pegasus said. “And guess what?” Sunshine was kind of unsure about himself right about now. Was it too soon to say it, or would it be okay? Tossing those thoughts aside, he decided to go for it. Leaning in close to the unicorn’s ear, he whispered “I love you, Spotlight.” Spotlight’s ears perked up and his eyes went wide. He blushed and smiled and leaned over to Sunshine and whispered “I love you too, Sunshine.” Checking around to see if anypony was looking, Spotlight gave Sunshine a little kiss on the cheek. --- The bed was itchy. Every inch of his body itched. it wasn’t a sort of annoying itch, like a bug bite, but a little nagging itch. Jay grumbled and tried to scratch the itch on his arm, but reality caught back up with him. It was his foreleg. And he didn’t have fingers anymore, but hard hooves. A sudden, deeper realization kicked in. He opened his eyes to look down at the spot that itched, but saw only the sheets he rested under. Somehow, a spot in empty space was causing his itch. Jay lifted up his shortened foreleg and held it in front of his eyes. The last time he saw the stump, it was a giant scab covered in sand, dried blood, and burned skin. What he saw now was a smooth, tan half-of-a-leg. The scabs were gone, the burns were removed, and his coat had grown back. It was as if someone had just hidden the rest of his leg in some way. “Finally awake?” Jay looked to his right where he heard the sweet voice come from. The purple unicorn mare with the bright blue mane trotted into the room where Jay was resting. She trotted over to his left side and inspected his foreleg. “Looks like everything healed up well enough. How are you feeling?” Jay smacked his lips and cleared his throat. “Um, I think I’m okay... What happened?” “We cleaned off the blood and cleared out the infections in your leg. We grafted some skin to cover the burns and regrew your coat. Any stiffness? Anything odd or out of the ordinary?” Jay looked down at his foreleg and forced a smile. “Just an itch is all.” The mare frowned. “It’s where your leg used to be, isn’t it?” Jay was unable to keep his smile up any longer and nodded. “Phantom limb syndrome. Happens to most amputees. Your mind is still convinced your leg is still there. It’s just your brain getting used to it; you should be better in a few days.” Jay felt it come over him all at once. He had somehow managed to avoid it the entire time he was on the island, but no longer. The tears finally came out, and Jay doubled over as they wrestled control over his body. The mare hugged Jay as he let it all out. He buried his muzzle into her blue mane and soaked that bit of it with his tears. “Shhh,” she cooed, stroking Jay’s brown mane. “It’ll be alright. You’re alive, and you’re okay now. Shhh.” “It’s... not... fair...” he sobbed. “Nothing in the world is, dear. But you shouldn’t let this keep you down,” she said to him, still stroking his mane. After a few minutes, Jay finally calmed down and resorted to just sniffling. “What... now?” The mare smiled. “Well, you made a magnificent recovery, but there is still one issue at hoof: your horn.” Jay held a hoof up to his forehead, and poked at the remnants of his horn. “We can regrow it, but it’s no guarantee that everything will go back to normal. Or...” The mare sighed. “What?” “We could file your horn down to a stump that is hidden by your mane. Unicorns who can’t use magic, well...” “I know what you’re trying to say.” “Regrowing bone is not that hard. Redeveloping magic, though, is very challenging and isn’t guaranteed.” Jay closed his eyes and tried to seek out his magic. There was the slightest trace of it, but it was a pitiful shadow of what it was before. Jay looked up and pitifully nodded. “The procedure is long and painful, so I’ll be putting you under for its duration. It’s a strange sensation, but it’ll be over quickly. I promise.” The mare’s horn glowed for a moment, and Jay’s world went dark. --- “Look! Look!” Peppermint yelled, looking out one of the openings of the sky carriage. They had reached land a few minutes ago after an hours long flight over the empty seas, but with so many things to see now, it was hard not to look. But Primrose sat on her cushion and just listened as the wind rushed through her rosy mane. Palm Breeze sat down next to her and offered a smile; she returned it and enjoyed the feeling. Palm Breeze had become a much more... genuine pony after her night in the jungle. She was much more cheerful and friendly than she was back at the bureau, and Primrose was actually surprised about it. “How are you doing?” she asked. It was clear that she wasn’t in her best shape after they took Jay away from her, but it was for the best, like what Firecracker said. They’d have all the time in the world to spend together after they found each other again. “I...” she began. “I’ll be fine. Soon.” Deflecting the topic of conversation, Prim asked “How’d you come up with the name ‘Palm Breeze’?” The white mare glowed with pride as she was asked. “Well, after thinking about who I wanted to be, I decided that I whatever I did, I wanted it to be on the beach and in the tropics. As hard as the last few days have been on us, I really enjoyed the feeling of warmth all around me. I loved the smells, the sounds, the sun... I loved all of it! And I just figured, well, ‘Palm Breeze’ sounded just right!” “I’m happy for you, you know.” Prim rubbed Palm Breeze’s shoulder with her hoof. But the white mare seemed sadder than before. “Part of me will miss being a human... I know it will,” she said. “And if I had a choice in the matter, I wouldn’t have gone to the bureau.” Primrose was very surprised about that. “Why?” “I was born a human! And I feel like... I betrayed my species in a way. I joined the other side. I’m a defector. Regardless of how much I’ve improved as a person, I’m not a person anymore. It just makes me sad, is all.” “I can see that...” Primrose said. “I don’t really see it as changing, really. I saw the Bureau as a place for all of us to grow closer to each other. And yes, we may be ponies now, but we can meet others wherever we end up living! And I’m kind of glad to be away from all of those companies.” “Yeah,” Palm Breeze agreed. Another hour passed with more and more signs of civilization popping up on the land beneath the sky carriage. Small towns and farms littered the countryside like a picture out of a history book. Ponies were just tiny spots of color from the height that they were flying at. “Hey! Look right ahead of us, everypony! Right on that mountain!” Skysong yelled. Everypony rushed to the front of the carriage to see the towering mountains that Canterlot roosted on. “We have maybe an hour left, so just sit tight,” Firecracker said over the clamor. Primrose was anxious to finally stand on solid ground again. She wasn’t made for the skies, otherwise she would’ve been a pegasus. Another earth pony sat down next to her and noticed her unease. “Excited to see your coltfriend again?” she asked. Primrose tried to remember the name... Pink Lemonade. The doctor who helped Garnet with the conversions. “Oop! I did it again!” “Ponyism?” Primrose suggested. “Yep! So, eager to see him again?” Pink Lemonade said once more. “Y-Yeah. I miss him. That’s all.” Primrose felt more embarrassed than she thought she should. “Say, I have a question. Why does Anvil always stay with you? The big grey earth pony?” “Oh? That big lug?” the pink mare said, gesturing to the large, intimidating pony behind her. “He’s my cousin!” “Really?” “Oh yeah. Funny, it was pure coincidence that we wound up at the same bureau! He’s been quiet all his life, and I was the only one he ever opened up to. He’s quite the chatterbox, I gotta say,” Pink Lemonade whispered, looking back at the grey pony. He was laying down on one of the cushions, resting. “He’s very protective of me, since I’m the only real family he has left. I don’t really mind it.” Pink Lemonade trotted back over to her cousin and watched the sights pass by beneath them. Primrose stood up and looked over the side and watched as a small town disappear behind them. The sun was starting to take on an orange hue, and the shadows on the ground began to lengthen with the waning light. It’s almost over... Prim told herself. All of the suffering, all of the pain... it’s finally going to end... --- Less than an hour later, the sky carriage finally touched down within the stalwart walls of Canterlot. The sun had set, and its last rays were fading beneath the horizon. A ghostly trail of stars began poking through the gloom of nightfall as the moon rose into the sky. The pegasi guards led each of the ponies from the island to their own private rooms within the castle, and a few to their shared rooms. The castle was bustling with life and activity, the lanterns in the countless windows and balconies burning brightly. Fleet Feather trotted along one of the causeways leading along the castle grounds with a blue mare trailing behind him. Primrose was anxious to reach the hospital wing of the castle. The same stallion that Primrose met on the island greeted them as they entered the large doors to the building. Oil lanterns and candles burned along the walls, casting ghostly shadows that dances along the walls and floors. “He’s resting up right now. Glitter finished the horn removal procedure a few hours ago, and-” the stallion began. “Horn removal?” Primrose gasped. “It was the patient’s idea. I’m sure he can explain his reasonings to you, miss.” The doctor smiled at her. “Would you like me to bring you to him?” he asked. “Yes, yes please,” Primrose said. “Will you be okay here, Primrose?” Fleet Feather asked. “Would you like me to walk you back to your room afterwards?” She didn’t even need to consider it. “I’m going to stay here with Jay, if that’s alright...” Fleet Feather looked up at the doctor, who responded with a nod. “Very well then. Good night, and good luck.” The halls in the hospital were not unlike one that would’ve existed back on Earth. Some of the equipment and medical tools looked like they belonged in a museum, but Primrose realized that the technology from Earth had yet to have any influence in Equestria yet. The same can be said about the use of torches, candles, and lanterns. The doctor stopped in front of a door and gently pushed it open for the mare. As she walked inside, he gently closed the door behind her, granting the room privacy. “Jay?” she murmured weakly. The sand colored stallion looked up from the book he was reading in the bed. His mane was neat and clean; the brown really went well with the beige of his coat. But instead of the horn that used to spear up from the center of his forehead stood nothing but more of his mane. “Prim?” The two locked eyes and in unison began smiling. Primrose walked up to the bed and looked down at Jay’s amputated leg. It was cleaned and repaired the best the doctors could do, but at its longest, it was still less than a foot long. Jay noticed Primrose looking at his foreleg, and scooted it under the covers of his bed out of shame. “Wait...” Prim asked, grasping out with her hooves for it. Jay reluctantly pulled it out from the covers and held it out for Primrose to see. She held it in her hooves and began kissing it gently, covering every inch she could find with her love. She looked up at Jay, and slowly inched forward until her lips met his.