The Conversion Bureau: Last Minute Thoughts

by Pencil Sketch


Retrospect 1: Familiar

-=-=-
I've intended to change perspectives regularly throughout the story to change pace. The "Retrospect" chapters are written in the third person, compared to the "Thought" chapters, which are in the first person.

More key characters will be introduced in the following chapters while Ken's on his little road trip from one side of a province to the other.

Hopefully, this works out and shows some character development.

(F.Y.I, Winnipeg to Ottawa's about a twenty hour drive with few towns in between)
-=-=-

Process at the office was coming to a gradual halt, that was for certain, as the equine volunteers went about their duties. The secretaries were probably had the least work to do at the moment, and relied primarily on small conversations to get through their shifts.

The weekly rate of human applicants was at an all-time-low, from a couple hundred at a time to a measly average of fifteen every week.

A white unicorn with a striking blue mane played music for herself in her cramped office in between her announcements, which she had perfectly times for the end of the song.

"Good morning, Ottawa!" She would start every morning and eight o'clock, sharp, before she let her noisy sipping of an energy drink sound on the PA, "This is your host, Vinyl Scratch, waking you all up with, and I quote, "incessant shouting and foalish antics"! Thank you, Bon Bon, for supplying me with this morning's Five Second Plug! Today's Indian Food, so that's Poha for breakfast, Luchi for lunch, and Prawn Curry for dinner for our esteemed, two-legged guests. And for the pony-peeps like myself, we're getting Poha as well, Luchi, and my personal recipe, Five-Petal-Daisy Curry! Don't forget to drink tons of water, folks. It's gonna be a very hot day."

That was the daily routine of the disc-jockey pony, soon followed by the naming of the morning's lucky convert. She remembered from some time back that the humans could be heard cheering from beyond her supposedly soundproofed office. Now the bureau was nearly silent, the tenants of the past all long gone.

Whenever she took a break from her duties, should would sit down around the humans at their table and try to mingle. They were a great source to learn about musicians that she would later collect the discography of, and they always treated her with the utmost respect for being their audio espresso.

The DJ pony was even fortunate to run into some rather prolific electro-house artists, one even sharing a similar stage name as she did. It was very amusing to share little tips and secrets with others that would, without a doubt, be contributing to her crowd of ponies.

When not hanging around the bureau for work, there wasn't all that much for the unicorn to do aside from going back to the apartment complex that all the other volunteer ponies stayed at, or just wander around the city.

But like the nights she used to have back home in Equestria, there was always a place she called her home away form home. To the mundane, it just appeared to be a staircase going down into a seedy bar that blasted noise to ward off the weak-of-heart. But to this certain pony, it was her playground.

The savage sounds, the epileptic lights, and the excitable atmosphere. It was familiar to Vinyl Scratch, and she was certainly no stranger to some of the patrons here. When she walked into here the first time, she got a few odd looks from the, still human, attendees, but she was just awestruck by how these supposedly bloodthirsty animals could create something she was as beautiful.

"'Ey! If it isn't my favourite little pony!" Called a rough-looking stallion from behind the bar.

"Hey, Bobert the Bartender!" She would reply as usual, "Who's the artist of the evening?"

Robert, a former human and long-time proprietor of the establishment, was always big compared to everyone else. As a human, he had to have stood two heads above any other human, as a pony, he was maybe a head shorter than a human, but no less intimidating with his stocky build. It was a sad day when he shut the nightclub down to undergo his conversion, but it had to have been the greatest party on Earth when he opened it back up two weeks later.

"Bah, just some local kid my boy knew. Not the greatest in the world, but not terrible. Feel free to buck him off the stage and take over if you can't stand him." He let loose with a hardy laugh that bellowed above nearby conversations of other bar-ponies, "So, what can I get you?"

Vinyl pushed her way up to the bar, jumping up onto the stool so she could get her order. "I'll have my usual hemp milk, with a shot of KahlĂșa, stirred."

"Coming right up!" shouted the stallion, whom returned in a short moment, sliding the beverage to the mare, "I think I finally got the hang of these hooves. Haven't broken any glass in a week!"

She smiled to Rob, magicking the glass to her lips while her eyes examined his hooved underneath her trademarked shades. The evidence of his lack of dexterity remained in the scars when he would crush bottles between his hooves, making her wince to think about such events. "That's awesome, Bobby!"

"Thanks. And as usual, the drink's on the house."

"As payment for the shows, as usual."

The two shared a second of chuckling before a loud blare and screeching rang from the amplifiers. The mare winced and plugged her ears with her hooves and the bartender shook his head.

"That kid doesn't know how to properly MC over a mic, does he? He needs a few lessons!" Exclaimed the DJ pony, staring up to the stage.

"Please!" replied the bartender, "He's driving off customers."

"Alright, but I better get some more drinks for this!" And without another word, she swallowed the rest of her glass, leaped from her stool, and pushed her way up to the stage. She decided to give the poor colt a break, chalking his talent up to inexperience, whispering in this ear to quickly leave the stage.

A few deep breaths, looking over the damage to the boards before her horn glowed with magic. A few dials and buttons turned, the music died down, and DJ-P0N3 lifted the mic to her lips.

"Good Afternoon, Ottawa! This is your host, DJ-P0N3, waking you all up!" She shouted, her snout peeled back into an excited grin. The crowd cheered, and the music began blasting once again. And there the mare was, watching her audience move to her beat, reminiscent of her followers back home. THIS was why she volunteered to come to the human world, to play for strange, yet familiar, crowds.

Her stage was her home.