//------------------------------// // Transition // Story: The Conversion Bureau: Dominance // by Barrobroadcaster //------------------------------// Nathan woke up. Sleep had come easy to him that night and he was thankful for it. With everything that had happened the day before, he was worried if he'd have nightmares. But his dreams had been peaceful and he slowly got out of bed happily rested. Today was a school day for Nathan and it was a piece of his normal routine he was looking forward to. Anything familiar from his life before relocation was something he looked forward to. The back of his neck itched as he got out of bed, still half-dressed from last night. He walked across the hall from his room into the bathroom and took a quick shower. The water felt good against his skin; he stood with his head bent down and eyes closed, just letting it soak him. It was relaxing and for a moment it felt as if all his thoughts and bad memories could just be washed away. Until the back of his neck started itching again. It was more than just a skin irritation; it felt as though there was something weird with the skin on the back of his neck. He toweled off in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection for a moment. He rubbed his neck and turned to look at his back. Quickly, he saw the source of the irritation: hair. A small, dark patch of hair, the same color as the hair on his head broke the pale, white plane of his back and ran parallel with his shoulders. The hairs were long and soft to the touch and the skin around them felt rough. Nathan immediately started to worry, almost panic. He pulled the hairs; they were real. His mind went back to yesterday, the stuff they'd tried to spoon-feed him to turn him into one of them. It hadn't worked on him at first but what if it was working now? He felt his heart sink as the fear of becoming a pony found him again in the early morning. He turned back around, feeling faint. His mind grasped for other possible explanations for this. Puberty? He was a guy; he didn't think about things like that. Had he gone through it already or not? He hadn't had to start shaving yet... so maybe? "Nathan! You up yet?" his mother called to him from downstairs. He opened the bathroom door. "Ye-yeah! Just getting out of the shower," he called back. He focused on his own breathing as his mind raced with possibilities. Should he tell his parents or just ignore it? What if it's just hair? That thought calmed him down. He could be overreacting for nothing. He went back into his room and put on some new clothes, doing his best not to think about the hair. Nathan flexed his hand. Nothing else seemed to be different about him. No hooves, no tail, still walking on two legs. Maybe it was just a random patch of hair? That seemed unlikely... but what else did he have to go on? Transformation into a pony was supposed to be almost instant from what he knew. He consoled himself that this, whatever it was, could be something new entirely. He dressed himself, descended the stairs and entered the kitchen. "Sleep well, hun?" his mother asked, fixing her own breakfast at the counter. "Yeah, fine," he answered quickly. He picked out some food from the refrigerator, piece of fruit and some water. He wasn't really hungry but sat down to eat anyway to keep his parents from asking questions about him eating properly. "I'm not going to be able to take you to school today," his father said. "Your mother and I need the car to head into town for most of the day, so you'll have to take the bus home, too. I'm sorry." "It's all right dad. I understand," Nathan told his father, trying not to sound preoccupied. He hugged his dad and his mother joined i. It felt good to be able to do that and made him feel less scared. He was happy to have his parents and the few friends he'd managed to stay in contact despite all the traveling involved in the relocation. Facing an uncertain future, it was nice being reminded of what mattered. "Everything's been so crazy since the relocation," his mother remarked. "But things will get back to normal soon." Nathan wanted to believe that. He wanted his life to go back to the way it was before the barrier, before ponies, before relocation. But somehow he knew that wasn't possible. He wasn't going to be able to pretend it all just hadn't happened, go back to sleep and return to blissful ignorance. The fresh hairs on the back of his neck reminded him of that, even if he didn't know what they meant yet. He decided he would try to tell his parents. "Dad," he said as his father sat back down. "I wanted to ask you about-" "Hey, you better get going if you're going to take the bus," his mother reminded him. Nathan looked at the kitchen clock. He had almost five minutes before the school bus arrived, five minutes to get to the end of the street they were on. "That's right, you'd better hurry," his father added. "I'm sorry we can't take you again but-" "It's... it's okay," he said, letting what he was about to tell them go. "I'll get going now and be home tonight." He got up and walked towards the door. "And let us know if you're going to stay out late tonight!" his mother called at him. "I will!" he shouted back as he stepped outside. The sky was overcast and it was a little cold that morning. Nathan dressed a tad warmer, long sleeve shirt, jeans and carried his backpack with him. He ran/jogged to the bus stop just as the large, yellow vehicle arrived. He could hear the other students from inside as the bus approached; it was packed. With relocation, the bus schedule hadn't been firmly implemented yet but was slowly getting back together. It seemed like the world was eager to return to the way it was before the intrusion of ponies. He stepped on the bus and found his friend David in the middle row. Nathan wasted no time in taking a seat next to him, happy to see a friendly face. "You don't normally take the bus," Dave commented as he sat down. "Parents needed to go somewhere, they took the car." "Ah," Dave nodded. "So... you get anything good yesterday?" Scavenging, he meant. It was a pastime he and his friend were just beginning to indulge in but one he also planned on stopping immediately. "Not a thing. I, uh, don't think I'll be going out again." "Why? Something happen?" "It's just not worth it," Nathan said. "All that work and there's nothing to find." "Well, you're right about that," Dave agreed, looking out the bus window. "There's gotta be something else to do in this one-horse town." One-horse town. Was that a pun? It wasn't that funny but Nathan cringed anyway. Then, he cringed again. This wasn't from the gag; a sharp pain jabbed him in the stomach. It felt like he'd pulled a muscle or something but he'd just been sitting there. He bent forward slightly, clutching his midsection. A cold feeling grew in the middle of his right hand, like ice water dripping onto his palm. It felt like he was going to double over and collapse. Suddenly, it was over. The painful knot in his gut just disappeared but his hand still felt oddly cold. He flexed it; the muscles were tight and strained. A little bit of feeling was gone and there was a tingling sensation around his knuckles but otherwise, he was fine. What was happening to him? Dave turned back to him. "Hey, you all right?" "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired," Nathan replied. Maybe his body was fighting the potion he'd ingested like a poison. That might explain the reaction, he thought. Maybe once he'd digested it, it would be out of his system and he'd be fine. He'd always had trouble taking liquid medication anyway. The bus stopped to pick up a couple more passengers. A few more students got on and the bus quickly became even more crowded than it was. If all the students that had boarded had been on two legs, the noise probably would've been louder. But two students at the stop entered on four legs. Two earth pony colts, one white and one brown, stepped onto the bus. Some of the willingly converted families had been relocated as well, crossing back to the Earth side of the barrier. While it was hard enough to return to a normal life, it was even harder when you were another species. Converted and non-converted humans were both trying to return to the lives they once had and found it more than difficult in some places. Some families opted to just stay on the Equestria side after conversion. The two colts took a seat towards the front by themselves. The bus started again and gradually, conversation picked up amongst the passengers but the topics of conversation had noticeably shifted. "Aliens," Nathan heard someone whisper near him. There were many mixed views about ponies. Many didn't like them simply because they were different, alien. There was no difference drawn between humans that were transformed into ponies and the ones that had always been. In the eyes of many, they were the same. Some even went so far as to claim that the ponies brainwashed humans into conversion and were secretly plotting to replace humans as the dominant race. Such views weren't normally taking seriously. Among adults, that is. But as is the case with adolescents, too often emotions turned small opinions and views into attacks that can quickly get out of hand. Fortunately, the ride was over shortly after the two colts were picked up. The bus arrived at Nathan's high school and he and Dave disembarked. "What's today... Tuesday?" Dave asked. "Yeah, I'm with you in history for first period with Mr. Adams," Nathan replied, remembering his schedule. "Sweet, just what I need in the morning: something to put me back to sleep," his friend commented. Nathan just hoped it would be a subject to keep his mind off of unpleasant things. Nathan and David followed the usual school routine of locating their lockers at the entrance of the hallway. Nathan noticed a unicorn open a locker a few spaces away from him. He resisted the urge to glance over at the pony, forcing himself to focus on retrieving his things. He and David then headed into the hallway and to their classroom, entering the room just as the first bell rang. The classroom filled quickly. Almost all the seats were occupied and all by humans. Nathan didn't know if that was intentional or not; there wasn't any class-based segregation that he knew of. The second bell rang soon after and the instructor still hadn't arrived. The classroom was quiet as students settled in, some getting their books out and others getting their cell phones. Nathan thought about pulling out his own iphone when the instructor walked in. On four legs. "Good morning," the instructor, a yellow Pegasus mare with a dark blue mane said as she entered. "Your normal teacher, Mr. Adams, isn't here today. I'm Miss Star Reach and I'll be teaching his class." The entire class was silent. The pony flew over to Mr. Adams' desk and took a moment to place her saddlebag down and go through a few things. No student said a word. Out of nowhere, Nathan felt the sharp pain in his stomach return. It stabbed him center-mass, he bent over his desk in pain. His right hand felt like it was quickly turning to ice, he grasped it as he bent forward. What was this pain? It was overwhelming. No one paid attention to him or noticed his distress. And once again, just as quickly as he'd noticed, it was gone. So was the pain in his hand. This 'episode' was even shorter than the one on the bus. Did that mean he was getting through it? He looked down at his stomach. It felt fine. He examined his right hand, stuck in his sleeve. It felt completely normal; the odd icy sensation he'd felt only moments before had just vanished. Whatever event had caused his pain seemed to be gone again. Nathan pulled his hand out of his shirt sleeve and examined it. His fingers, knuckles and palm all felt find. Except for the fact that they were gone. Wait, gone? He grabbed his right hand with his left. His entire right hand was gone, replaced with some kind of flat appendage! He rotated it as he gripped it in his other hand, feeling the flat surface. His mind knew it what it was already, could name the strange, new thing that had formed at his wrist. A hoof. His right hand had been replaced with a hoof. He quickly rolled his sleeve up over the appendage to cover it. How was he going to get out of he class without everyone noticing? He raised his other hand to get the teacher's attention. Just then, the door to the classroom opened again and another pony stepped in. This time, a lime green earth pony mare with a brown mane. "I'm sorry, is this World History?" she asked. "C-1, Adams?" The teacher pony looked to her. "Yes, Mr. Adams is unavailable today and I'm filling in." "I just transferred over from Cettings' history," the green mare explained. "That's fine, take a seat where you can find one," the teacher instructed. The lime green pony must've had the eyes of every student on her at once. The only sound in the room was her own hooves on the floor and Ms. Star Reach still rifling through the desk at the front of the class room. The green pony took a seat diagonally in front of Nathan and David. "Oh, goodness," Star Reach said, frustrated. "It doesn't look like the lesson plan is here. I'm going to check Mr. Adams' mailbox. I'll be back soon," she said, flying quickly out of the classroom. The door closed and all was quiet. Nathan didn't know what to do. He sat still at his desk, holding his right hoof with his left hand.