Now realizing it was fairly amusing, I listened intently at the sound my hooves made on the linoleum floor. Something about it was soothing to me, I suppose. My ears… They were pretty weird. They didn’t work like they did before. I had to aim them in the right direction to get the best clarity. God… It was all so weird being a pony now and all. It was the first time, physically, that my body had ever felt perfect. Never better. Now saying that I was happier as a pony was just a lie. Yeah, some humans, well, actually pretty much all humans that went through the process always said that they felt the best they had ever felt in their entire life. Well, except me. I wasn’t doing to great, to say the least. I was unwillingly put through the conversion because I was given some kind of super drug, my mother had rejected me as her son (at first), and now I would be a social outcast. Many of the humans converted shipped off to Equestria, but I wasn’t one of them. I had family and friends here that I wasn’t going to willingly leave behind just to go to some paradise. Therefore, there weren’t a huge number of ponies living in New Roanoke, and the Ponies were foreign to the city. Places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver had a very large population of Ponies. In fact, the west coast was full of them. The Cosmos of Equestria was said to consume the west coast by the autumn of 2053. Being autumn of 2052, that was only a year off. Before the Portal makes landfall, the UEG will either have evacuated the Human population or have them all converted. Some humans claim to just watch and wait. Some kind of honor thing. The HLF is one of the main participants in the movement.
I was kind of frightened to try to fly, or use some of my new muscles like my wings or tail. The wings were pretty kickass, but the tail kind of freaked me out. It irked me if I looked back behind me to see it. I knew I’d have to get used to it eventually, but for now I tried pretty hard not to think about my inhuman appendage. I began to take in some new things after my stomach was satisfied. My muzzle kind of freaked me out a bit, having something jutting out in front of your face at all times. It still kind of felt like my mouth, except it was just longer, and my tongue was as well. I took note that my mane was definitely purple and black; not the light kind of purple, but a very dark purple which was more to my liking. Every so often I slid out from under my hooves, but my father helped me up every time. It was quite frustrating actually; like learning how to walk again after you forgot how too. Every time I looked down, or just looked at all, I was reminded of my lost humanity, and how there could’ve been another way. It was like a constant headache or dream that I would never wake up from. Being the man… Pony I was, I quickly buried the emotions.
My Father decided he wanted to take me for a walk outside to the concourse that stretched between the bureau’s two towers. He no doubt wanted to talk to me about Kaleth, or, at least I was pretty sure of it. The border around the door emitted a bright blue and opened to the midmorning sunlight. Bright as fuck midmorning sunlight. The rays hit me like a Maglev train, and I struggled to pull myself up off of the ground whillist covering my eyes.
“Oh, sorry Delvin, I forgot that your eyes aren’t used to the light yet.” I felt him cover my eyes with something. “And… There. You can open your eyes.” Upon opening my eyelids, I realized that he had put some kind of sunglasses on my head. I realized that I could look into the day with ease, and walked outside.
“What are these things?” I inquired, slowly scanning the horizon beyond the balcony.
“They’re for Newfoals. Sunlight Dampers.” My dad quietly informed me of my newly aided eyes.
“Ahh.” We both slowly walked over to the railing, and looked out over the city. It was my favorite time of day. Mid-Morning always had an effect on me. A soothing, calmness pervaded the brightly lit valley of Ivory towers and lush mountains. Looking south, we observed the Roanoke River, which was now larger than it had ever been. My father expanded the river to house the New Roanoke Orbital Tether, which stretched miles above the city itself, and into the upper atmosphere. The city seemed to crowd around the river and the tether, placing many of the important corporations on the waterfront. The city kept on lowering the further you went in all directions until you reached the mountains, which are the city’s natural barriers. To the north, lied the spaceport and dry docks which were very extensive, the city having forty at the spaceport alone. At the top of the tether, fifty more dry docks resided, making the city being able to dock 90 ships at a time. Larger vessels such as the UESA Goliath aren’t able to dock on the ground due to its mass. Anyway, my father’s dream definitely came true when he finally completed his formula for Light speed travel. He had been working tirelessly on a formula for FTL travel but hadn’t achieved quite yet. We just kind leaned on the railing for a while, overlooking the city. Then, he decided to speak up.
“So, what do you think about it all? Being one of them, and whatnot.” He noticeably avoided eye contact.
“Well, once you get past the ‘HOLY SHIT IMA HORSE’ part, and accept reality as it is… Well, actually, no… It’s not that easy. It’s never that easy…” I looked down at me crossed forelegs that hang over the railing. “It’s tough changing lifestyles like that. Most people say it’s all smiles and laughter, and maybe it is for some, but not for me. I understand that you had to do what you had to do, and if I were in your shoes, I would’ve taken them off and thrown them off of a cliff. I know what I faced; likely certain death. To take the risk of my non-acceptance of the conversion and knowing that my son could hate me forever for it… Dad, you have balls.” I looked over to him, gently smiling. Laughing to himself, he took me under his arm and pulled me over to him. It must’ve been a bit awkward as he tried to find a proper place to rest his arm.
“You’re wiser than you look, Delvin. I’m proud of you for admitting your discomfort. I’ve always found the Conversion endorsements to be a bit misleading.” I looked at him and smiled, which he found impossible to not react with the same expression.
“You know, in the dream, that’s what Celestia said. She said that I was wiser than most. Earlier in the dream, the chasm, I recalled something that I wouldn’t have remembered unless it was absolutely dire.”
“You had a conversion dream?”
“Yes. I was standing on the first chasm, the one that’s not the celestial plane of Equestria, and I stood among others. They all were the same, yet different. They were all human, you see. All the same traits. The same person, yet they weren’t. Some of them were nice, kind, and honest, yet others were corrupt and oppressive. The Corrupt and oppressive men outnumbered the kind and honest men. They represented the faces of mankind, and how there is good and bad in the world. All of this I already knew, of course. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that. Even the cruelest of men are like that. Only they are blinded by the emotions of hate, and fear. If one can control these emotions, one can be human. Human tends to have a larger definition than we may let on. Being human is the ability to control these emotions, I believe. I may be a different species, but that doesn’t mean that I am not human. In the dream, I remembered Charlie Chaplin’s speech from the Great Dictator, which is considered to be one of the greatest speeches of all time. Once I figured out the meaning of the test, I was able to overcome it. Celestia told me that I had ‘greater humanity’. I suppose she means that I have the ability to control, and understand sapient emotions greater.” I continued to look out over the city, attempting to decipher Celestia’s words.
“Hmm. Interesting. Maybe you have some sort of higher purpose.” He looked half-serious, but I quickly scoffed at his reply.
“Higher purpose? The only higher purpose that I’ll be achieving is the softest pony in the New Roanoke petting Zoo, and that’s hardly sporting.” I think I hurt myself a bit on that one.
“That ‘higher purpose’ thing may tie in with what I’m about to tell you.” He looked down at me with eyes that screamed sincerity. “I have a new contract for you.” My lower jaw dropped, and I gawked at him for what felt like minutes.
“Pops, in case you haven’t noticed, I kinda have hooves now.” I stuck my hoof in his face. Now how was this going to work?
“Ha-ha. Delvin, I know you have hooves. That doesn’t mean you can’t use a gun.” He shot me a sly grin. What the hell was he thinking? I can’t use guns… Oh shit. My father’s an inventor. I facehoofed, and gave him a smirk.
“heh heh. We’ll talk about that later. Right now, I need to fill you in on what’s going on.” My father took a deep breath and began to explain. “Marcus Deran. You seemed to have, let’s say, ran into some difficulties last time and wasn’t able to fulfill the contract as directed. So, I’m lending you a second chance to get it right.” I should’ve known he was going to give me Deran again. There was still one problem, however.
“What about Kaleth? He seems to be very important right about now. I get a feeling that Deran won’t be my only target once he’s been taken care of.”
“Kaleth and I… We have history. Used to be colleagues, he and I. Then he went insane. Locked up in the loony bin up until about five months ago. They deemed him to be cured, but that’s obviously not true. Up until now, I haven’t heard of him getting out. Apparently he hooked up with the HLF and is now a high ranking officer within their ranks. He’s a slimy bastard, that one. A Ruthless killer. Shoot someone’s head off without a second thought. He does whatever he wants to please himself. He has an extensive medical knowledge, which is most likely the origin of the pill he gave you. We don’t know what he’s planning yet, but upon listening to your recording of their conversation, it sounds like he is forcing Marcus Deran to fund the mass production of the drug. We have less than a month before he makes a move, it seems… That is, if he hasn’t changed his mind.” Deep in thought, I looked down upon the roadways at the constant traffic. Looking up at my father’s face, I nodded strongly.
“Alright. I’ll do it, of course, but… How the hell is this going to work?” Whether or not I would be able to use my conventional knowledge of weapons to take them down plagued my mind.
“I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Come to my office tomorrow at 12 PM.” I gave him a speedy hoof salute, and dropped back down on all fours.
“So that leads me to believe I’ll be released today?” He nodded in conformation, which assured my feelings. I really didn’t want to be stuck in this god awful place any longer. Upon walking back in, my father lifted the glasses off my face so I could see clearly. He spoke up again.
“I just have to talk with the overseer, and you’ll be a free man, er… Pony.” God, I cringed every time I heard myself called that. Pony was such an overly gleeful word. The real term for the Ponies was ‘Equestrian’, but apparently a more common word was in order.
_
I stepped out into the blistering sunlight once again, only to be relieved that it had diminished. My father took care of my release, and I was now free to go home. My mother went with my father back to his headquarters, John, being in the middle of his stay here at the Conversion Bureau stayed, and Dennis went home. He would be returning to New York in a week’s time, so he decided to hang around for a while. Unfortunately for me, I was now forced to fend the city on my own. My eyes were fairly adjusted now, and… Oh wow… Without the dampers on, everything was extremely vivid and bright. Every color and sound was extremely sensible to me. It was almost bothersome, actually.
Being a welcoming, and very imposing organization, the Bureau’s courtyard was beautiful; almost as beautiful as I remember my mother’s garden she once tended. Unable to resist the temptation, I allowed the aroma of the flowers to seep into my senses. Is it possible to have a smellgasm? Or Flowergasm? Because I believe I had one right there.
“Holy… Woah.” I grinned from ear to ear as I happily trotted over to smell each little flower. It was wonderful! Almost as good as eating that apple, I must say. Realizing I couldn’t stand there all day and sniff flowers, I struggled to pull myself away from the sweet aroma of the freshness. As I began to trot towards the exit of the courtyard, I began to think.
My father had to pull a few strings to get me out of the Bureau early, due to my need of training programs which I hadn’t experienced. I wouldn’t need the majority of them, like Equestrian Life, just maybe personal hygiene or flight training, but I agreed to return for that kind of thing another day. I personally felt as if I needed some well-deserved rest from this chaotic day. Flight training could wait. I knew basically how to walk, eat, pick up things, and other basics. I still couldn’t figure out how to move my tail, however. I figured out that it moved when I was excited or something, but it was never voluntary. It just kind of happened. Whenever I thought about it though, it made me feel like a dog or something. Like an animal…
My mother informed me that she would come by my apartment later that night to talk with me about something. Whenever she thought that she made me feel bad, she would always try to hang out with me or something. Usually I didn’t much care for it, mostly because she read me wrong, but now I felt like I needed some closure with her.
Nearing the gates now, I looked straight up to find the looming New Roanoke Conversion Bureau. Two super tall towers hooked together by a series of walkways and beams. If this building collapsed, holy shit. The Hotel that collapsed was only a third of the size of this monster, and the Hotel did a lot of damage. Ahh… And through the gates.
It was the same as every afternoon. Busy as hell. Everyone had places to be and people to see, and I was glad I wasn’t one of them. I never really rushed anything, and I was a much laid back individual, much like my dad. Everything got done when it got done, and it always did. Today however, I wasn’t in much of a mood to lazily walk the streets. People everywhere just stared at me, like I was a freak. I mean, I was a freak, especially to them, the citizens of New Roanoke who rarely saw a Pony up close. Ponies had no reason to live here, so why would they? Oh yeah, and then there was me. I guess I had unfinished business to adhere to.
“What a fucking freak!” I heard a group of hostile looking teenagers call out. I was never much for fighting back, especially if they were ignorant fucktards of the like. After going through some difficult times, I learned that people like that aren’t even worth the energy. Even if I wanted to do anything, I was a goddamn Pony who could barely stay on his feet. I hung my head in defeat and kept on walking. Snickering and hurtful comments could be heard under everyone’s breath. I wasn’t enjoying the outcast life much. I attempted to avoid eye contact whenever I could. In the distance I could hear the tiny running steps of a small child.
“Mommy! Mommy! Look it’s a pony! Can I pet him?” I looked up to see a small six year old girl tugging at her mother’s shirt. “Momma please?!?!?” Her mother down at me with an apologetic smile, but I decided to have a kind heart.
“She’s just curious, as all. I don’t mind.” I gave her mother a pure smile and turned to the little girl who beamed from ear to ear.
“YES!! I can tell all my friends that I petted a REAL pony!!” she began to pet me, which felt oddly… good. Like, the feeling of things moving across my coat and mane felt nice. I looked up at her mother again.
“I’m sorry Sir if we are bothering you.” She looked over to her daughter who was feeling my mane.
“No, no. It’s perfectly alright miss, um…”
“Gallagher. Mrs. Jane Gallagher. And you are?” A seemingly nice woman with good intentions, I decided that I would give her my full name.
“Delvin Martin. A pleasure.” I raised my hoof to meet her hand. It still felt weird not having hands. Pulling back, her eyes grew wide.
“Aren’t you Dr. Martin’s son?” She said with a growing enthusiasm.
“The one and only.” I said, blushing a bit. It was always hard admitting I was his son.
“I heard you were in the Jefferson Hotel when it collapsed! Is that why you are a pony?” She sounded like a reporter, asking me these questions.
“Yeah. I almost died. But as you probably know, Ponification fixes all that.” She looked very intrigued, and seemed to be making mental notes.
“I’m a reporter for WSLS News. I would LOVE it if I could interview you about this. Would that be okay with you?” I knew I had seen her somewhere before. Why the hell not? A good story could be exactly what the media needs.
“I’d love to! When would you like to hold the interview?”
“Does tomorrow at 7 PM sound alright with you?” She began to pull something out of her pocket.
“Perfect.” She handed me a white business card with her phone number on it. Taking it in my teeth, I looked back to her daughter who was still rubbing my coat.
“Mister Pony, your coat is really softtt!” She lay her head down near the base of my neck. Laughing, I gave Jane a look that indicated that I needed to take my leave, and she called her daughter. I trotted off once again, searching for my apartment. In all actuality, my apartment was directly next to the Bureau on the waterfront.
My apartment being near the top, I had a pretty good view that overlooked the artificial canal and lake. It was a little bit stuffy inside, due to my absence, but with a quick command to Caroline I activated the air filters. My hooves made a ‘clop’ noise every time I took a step on my wooden floors. Walking over to my couch, I decided to sit down, and relax for a bit. Only I hadn’t a clue how to sit on a couch. I tried to sit on it the regular way, but that only made it a thousand more times uncomfortable than standing up.
“Damn couch!” I yelled at the couch frustratingly, which seemed to, I don’t know, hurt me? I felt a sudden ache in my chest that told me to apologize to the couch. I angrily confronted myself.
“How the hell do I apologize to a damn coushh…” I felt another aching feeling in my chest once again, causing me to cut my sentence short. Once again, my heart was telling me to apologize to an inanimate object.
“What’s so wrong about getting angry at a fucking inanimate object? It doesn’t have feelings, or care what the hell I say to it! It’s a stupid fucking couch!” This time, what I said really hurt. This time it felt like someone punched me in the chest, and I was paralyzed. Alright, so I was mad at myself for being mad at me being mad at the couch. I’m going insane. That’s it. I was yelling at myself.
“What’s wrong with me now?!” My voice resounded off my walls and back at me. I proceeded to lean against the couch in disdain. I couldn’t be angry anymore, but… Surely I could be. That was just a part of humanity. Picking my head up, I saw a flash of light to my left. It was a body mirror attached against the wall next to my bathroom. I timidly inched over to the infernal device, and peered into big purple eyes. It was a Pony. A charcoal gray Pony that had a purple and black mane and… Tail. I gazed into its gigantic eyes. It was almost serene, very unrealistic. It blinked when I blinked, moved when I moved, and its tail twitched… When my tail twitched? I had a tail, yes. That much was clear. Actually, no, I didn’t have a tail, wings, or hooves. I was a normal human being. Delvin Martin, a 23 year old ruthless mercenary. A human. This wasn’t me. This was a goddamn alien. An animal! It wasn’t me! And I wasn’t it. I had liked it when that girl petted me? I liked hay, oats and godforsaken Dandelions?!?!?! I had a fucking mane and a goddamn tail!?!?!? Who was this? This wasn’t a human. This wasn’t Delvin, no, this was a horse. A quadruped. I wasn’t sapient; I was a stupid little pony who could barely walk straight! I picked my hoof up and touched the mirror. Yes, it was mine. My… Hoof. No, hand. Hoof! No I had hands… Right?
At this point, my mind began to slip away ever so. Reality was slipping away. I had accepted it earlier. Perfectly fine with it. Now, put in front of a mirror, I was losing it. At the hooves of my own reflection, I was losing my mind. Before this, reality was easy. It just was. Now it was more of a question without an answer. Staring at my hoof, with disdain, I felt the anger boil inside me. What cruel god could put me through this torture? Reality was tearing at the seams for some reason and I couldn’t figure out why. The uncontrollable anger was released as I pulled my hoof back, and smashed my mirror to pieces. As I pulled my hoof back from the glass, I looked at the many cuts the glass had made on my coat. In an instant, reality was back with a vengeance. Realizing what I had done, I walked over to my carpet, and collapsed. I had lost my mind and smashed my mirror. God, I was going insane. My humanity seemed all but gone. I was just a stupid animal now. All of the sudden, a wave of loneliness, guilt, regret, and confusion overwhelmed me. I looked at my hoof one more time before I began to weep uncontrollably.