//------------------------------//
// Part 2: Chapter 4 
// Story: The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human 
// by Maxis122 
//------------------------------//

~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 4~
~By Maxis122~

I stood still as I looked at the door, with only one thought flying through my mind. Something living was on the other end of that door and it was hiding in this house. It was most probably harmless but I had to be sure. Out of all the times that I have searched houses I have always stuck to one rule : if something is making a sound - investigate. So with that thought in my mind I pulled the M4 back up and I walked forwards. The floorboards creaked as I walked towards the door and I could hear whatever was behind the door frantically flying about. My hand then found its way from the end of the rifle to the door handle. I gripped it firmly and then twisted it.

The door unlocked and moved open. But only a little as I didn’t want it to get too far open. I moved the light up and down the little area of door that I had opened and then I waited. No response. Then I pushed the door open a little more and put my head the it so I could hear through it. Still nothing happened. With my M4 held tight, I then took one last breath. Then I threw the door open and swung around it. 

I quickly searched the room to see that it too was empty, but there was a place to hide still. In the middle of the room was a double bed with messed up sheets on it. Slowly, I approached the bed and I stretched out my hand to feel it, the sheets were warm. This meant that something had been on the bed quite recently. I took a step back and I put the M4’s safety on as I didn’t want to let another round go off accidentally again. After a deep breath I went down on one knee and held the M4 tightly.

Quickly I looked under the bed and flashed the light around. Nothing was there. My mind went blank for a moment as I tried to think what was going on. I then heard a floorboard creak behind me and my mind comes back into play. It’s behind me. I then stand up and turn around to come face to face with... nothing? Again I am left speechless as I thought I knew something was there and then it wasn’t. I use this as an excuse to whip out the idea of something being in here and I quickly walk out of the room. Once I am out I turn to look out of the room again and I point the flashlight into the room. What was going on in there? Am I hallucinating? I then turn around to come face to face with a grey faced pegasus with yellow eyes.

“AHH!” I shout out as I recoil back and trip over. I find myself then scrambling into the room I was just in and closing the door. I then lay against the door and begin to hyperventilate. Of all the times for me to have a panic attack - this was the worst time for it to happen. My mind was buzzing and a slight headache had arrived. After a couple of seconds of rapid breathing I then decided that I should man up and deal with this problem. But I could swear that those eyes were... no, they couldn’t have. Anyway it was time to get this problem dealt with.

I then stood up and slowly opened the door to look down the hallway. It was empty again, like nothing had ever gone in there. I then opened the door full and began to walk down the hall - looking into each room. Again, everything was empty. My mind was now in total clusterfuck as I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Was I still asleep? Did I fall asleep? No, I am most definitely awake right now. So that means that there is something hiding up here and it tried to make contact, literally. Probably it would be time to change my approach to this situation. So I cleared my throat.

“Hello?” I called out to the supposedly inhabited house. Silence. “Is there anything in here?” I called out. Silence. “Ok, I’m not going to hurt you” I called out. I could then here a ruffle of feathers and the sounds of very nervous hoofsteps. I turned back to the second door and saw as a grey pegasus mare with blond hair slowly came out. I watched as she very nervously stood in front of me and avoided eye contact.

“Umm...” the pegasus tried to speak but she was way too scared to be able to do anything. So many questions crossed my mind as I looked at her. She was healthy and strong - but she was out here. If she was a pony - then shouldn’t she be in Equestria. Or if she was a scout she should have gone back to Equestria or at least regrouped for the night. But none of these options were applicable. 

“I’m Max - what’s your name?” I said as I thought it would be better to try and be friendly. She raised her head a little and glanced at me for a second. 

“I’m Derpy Hooves...” Derpy said. Silence. She was obviously really scared at the moment. I could see that she slightly shivered a bit as she put one hoof back.

“Ok, Derpy - I’m not going to hurt you. But I am curious about why you are here” I asked. She lit up a little but she was still in the same state as before. 

“I’m here because I was banished here” Derpy said. Wow, they banish ponies as well? This Equestria seems to have many problems. I should start making a list.

“Why would you get banished?” I asked as that was the main question on my mind. She looked up at me for a second and then looked away again. She then sighed.

“I was banished because... I...” She then put a hoof over her face to hid the swelling tears that were upcoming. “...because I hid a group of humans” she finished. Wow, now that I didn’t expect. 

“You hid a group of humans and got banished?” I said as I tried to process why she would need to hide humans - let alone get banished for doing so.

“You see, I was a negotiator in these parts and I grew attached to a group of people. Then when the compulsory conversion came I hid them away, which was illegal” She said. Then it hit me like a plane.

“Wait?! Compulsory Conversion?” I said. She nodded. So there was a area in the world where they forced humans to become ponies. And then I suppose they weren’t able to rebel as they had a new mind set. A cruel way to take over the world.

“So when I was banished here they also put the dragons here because it was a suitable location for them” She explained. Again - my powers of deduction were coming along. I almost felt like Sherlock Holmes.

“So we are in Romania?” I asked.

“Yeah, this is Romania - land of the dragons” She said. This place has even got its own catch phrase now. Well, there’s a good thing and a bad thing about being here now. The good thing is that I can now find out more about the dragons. Bad thing is that there are dragons everywhere - so I will have to be a lot more careful - or else I will become the last human happy meal.

Apart from the obvious drawbacks I had found myself in the place where I wanted to go. So I could easily get back on track. Now all I needed to do was attempt to help this frightened mare. After all - it would be nice to have someone, or pony in this case, to come along with me.

“Ok, Derpy - I want to help you, but I can’t at the moment. As you don’t seem to trust me at all” I explained to her and she gave a nervous nod to confirm. I then placed the M4 at my side so it was no longer in my hands and got onto my knees so that I wasn’t looking down at her now. I then took my backpack off and put it to my side too. Now it was just me. So I then  reached out my hand and smiled warmly. “It’s ok, I’m not going to hurt you” I said calmly.

“Umm” she said as she swayed her head away from me and bit her lip as if she were thinking. For all I know she might have had a really bad experience with humans before she met me. Or it could just be that she is genuinely scared at the moment. Maybe it would be a better idea to give her some time - after all, we have only known each other for a few minutes. 

“Alright, its ok. I will be in this room if you need someone, ok?” I said, she nodded in response. I then picked up the M4 and my bag and walked into the room, leaving the door open. After setting my bag on the side of the bed and after I got out a supply packet. I began to eat - it was then when I noticed that there was a apple in the package, in that moment I had a idea. I picked up the apple and looked down the hallway to see that she was still here. Just sitting there. I reached out and placed the apple on the floor. “It’s yours if you want it” I said.

Then I walked back into my room and lied down on the bed. Spreading my arms out I began to let my eyelids fall down. This day was long and so many things had happened. And because of this I now have no idea what to expect in the future. That plane... what happened on it? And who sliced and cut all of the people on it. Were they assassins? Were they even human?
All of this was going through my mind as my eyelids gained weight and fell down. 


The darkness then enclosed me as I fell into a peaceful sleep. Even though I had been banished to another part of the world - to be more exact Romania - I still could work on figuring out what’ going on all over the world. But now I know that there were some forced conversions. Ones that you couldn’t escape. But I suppose that I was alone when they put that in order, so I guess that they didn’t think to put it in place over a abandoned city. Or maybe they did and I didn’t get caught up in it. It would explain why there aren’t any other people. Because I would have expected more people to think in the same way as me. And if that is the case - then maybe there are more people like me out there.

My mind then drifted off as I fell asleep. I don’t know how long it lasted before I woke up again and it was pitch black everywhere. But when I did, I noticed that there was a difference from when I fell asleep. It was warm, on my side. The feeling of something sleeping beside me. I put out my left arm and felt the hair of something laying on my right side. It was relaxed and peacefully sleeping with its head on my chest. A smile crept across my face as I realised what had happened - had she really come to trust me? Or it could just be her wanting someone nearby. Either way it was nice to have someone by my side again.

My sudden awakening was caused by a roar of some kind. My body shot awake and I looked around the room. Looking down I could see that Derpy was still there fast asleep. I slid out of the bed and walked over to the window that had been closed. I slightly opened the curtains and looked around outside. Another roar sounded as the house shook. Derpy then woke up and started to look around the room in confusion. She was probably still rather dazed after waking up. But I was wide awake. 

I had heard a roar like that before - and it only took a few more seconds to piece together what was left of the puzzle. If I was in Romania and the dragons were put in Romania - then that would mean that whatever was outside was most probably a dragon. I walked cautiously back to the bed and picked the M4 up. Walking down the hall I looked for a better viewpoint of the outside without exposing Derpy. I found that the best place to look would be outside. I turned to Derpy and signaled her to stay where she was. She nodded and then I walked down the stairs.

After getting to the door, I slowly opened it to make as little noise as possible so I could then sneak out of it. I then ran across the courtyard to get to the plane. After getting to the plane I got in and went to the cabin where there was a box of flares underneath a compartment. I got one flare out and walked back over to the door being cautious not to make too much noise. When I was at the door I then looked around the pitch black area and held my breath for a second so I could listen. Then I hit the bottom of the flare and threw it into the darkness. Within seconds it illuminated the immediate area and I looked around it to see what was there. For a few long seconds nothing happened and everything was silent. Then the flare suddenly disappeared underneath a large object - which soon became apparent to be a dragon. This dragon then stepped on  the flare ferociously until it went out. It then searched around for the source of where the flare had come from, and with that I hid behind the door of the plane.

A few seconds passed as I waited for the dragon to fly away but it stayed put - as if it knew I was here, waiting for it to leave. I peaked my head around the side of the door and then looked to see if the dragon was still there. It had disappeared without me hearing it. Sneaky dragon. I quickly looked around to see if I had looked over the dragon but it was gone. Then out of nowhere the dragon landed on the top of the plane and it took a bit out of it - throwing the metal to one side so it could see me. For a second I was paralyzed - but then the adrenaline kicked in and I ran to another part of the plane for protection. The dragon took a blind swipe into the plane where I was and it caught the back of my leg - sending me to the ground. I quickly got up and limped over to the wall at the back of the room. Laying down I got out a bandage from my first aid kit and I wrapped my leg in it - at the same time the dragon was beginning to rip another part of the plane off. Once my leg had been wrapped I then got back up and walked into the next room where the different bedrooms were. With that I then turned around and pointed my M4 down the hallway from where the dragon was ripping the plane apart. I could still hear it as it ripped the metal and threw it away. Then everything became silent. 

I looked left and right, but the dragon had all of a sudden stopped attacking the plane. As if it found something easier to get. Something that wasn’t running away. My heart stopped as I heard it begin to move towards the house. She had obviously done something to get its attention. I then found myself running back into the open area of the plane and watching as the dragon slowly walked over the pegasus standing in the middle of the courtyard with a flare in front of her. The dragon then began to growl and hiss as a fire lit in its mouth. I wasn’t going to let this happen. Not today. I raised the M4, knowing that this could kill me if the dragon decided to turn its rage on me. But I was ready. I fought dragons before - how hard could this be. 

Pulling the trigger several bullets flew out of the barrel and hit the dragon in the back. The outlet of fire then spread across the building illuminating the entire area. After flapping its wings a couple of times - the dragon then turned back to me. It snarled as it made its move and began to attack me again. It began by swiping at me - I rolled on the floor to avoid the attack. Then the dragon tried to backhand me. With a swift follow up movement I vaulted over its arm. It then threw its arm down and got it caught in the ground because of the impact. With that I then jumped onto its arm and ran up it with my M4 in hand. Then I jumped in front of it and gripped on its top jaw. Then I unloaded a couple more rounds into its mouth as I tried to swing me away. But then I lost my grip and fell to the ground. 

The dragon swayed its head from side to side as the blood started to run from its head. Then it stomped on the ground and I rolled away to dodge its attack. It did the same on the other end and I rolled back. I then pulled up the M4 and shot away at its soft underbelly as the bullets ripped into its skin. It was then when the M4 began to click as the clip had been depleted. With this in mind I rolled onto my front and ran from underneath the dragon. The dragon  fell back for a bit to recover from the initial attacks that I had inflicted upon it. I pulled the empty clip from the M4 and threw it aside so I could quickly thrust another clip into the weapon. After pulling back the bolt I then swung around and fired a couple more bullets at the dragon. Then it roared at me and swung it tail at me. This, I was not ready for so I look the hit and flew to the side. I pulled myself up and looked back over to the dragon which was getting ready to blast me with some fire. So I dropped the M4 and grabbed a grenade from by chest belt. Then I ran at full speed towards the dragon and I pulled the pin from the grenade. I was about a few meters away from the dragon when the grenade left my hand and flew into the fiery mouth of it.

As soon as the grenade went into the dragon, I rolled underneath it and ran away from it - avoiding the tail in the process. The dragon then flapped its wings and flew up into the sky. It was then when I heard a small bang from aboves, which was followed by and loud crashing sound. I looked over to some buildings and they began to fall down from the impact of the dragon crashing. After a small breathe, I walked over to Derpy who was still standing in the middle of the courtyard - for some reason.

“Are you alright?” I asked I grabbed my side to feel the bruise that the dragon had left.

“Umm, yeah. I just got a bit frozen there” she replied as she shaked her head to knock herself out of confusion. 

“Why did you just stand there?” I asked. She thought for a few seconds and then opened her mouth to talk. 

“I was standing out for you - because... because...” she lost her trail of thought. I smiled and walked past her.

“It’s alright, I understand” I said, I then walked past her and patted her on the head softly. “I think we should go to sleep again - as I will be trying to get out as early as possible. This placed doesn’t seem to be the safest at the moment, you see” I explained.

“Umm” Derpy let out and I stopped to turn around.

“Yes?” I said.

“C-can I come with you?” she asked. I stood there for the last few seconds and smiled warmly at her.

“Yes, of course you can”