//------------------------------// // Sole Survivor // Story: The Conversion Bureau - Synthesis // by FatesEnd //------------------------------// "In his tears he sees his face; 'I am the end of the human race When I'm gone there'll be no trace For I'm the sole survivor'" "...I have big metal holes in me and the that's the first thing you ask?!?" Lyra looked thoughtfully for a moment. "Oh yeah, that too." Her eyes suddenly widened in epiphany. "Wait, Sol, are you an alcoholic robot?" Face, meet hoof. Hoof, meet face. "No, Lyra. I am not a robot, and that is not a robot liver. What the hell would a robot need a liver for, anyway?" She opened her mouth, no doubt about to espouse upon robot anatomy. "Don't answer that. Anyway, that is a circuit board, one of the most basic components of electronics." Crowley sighed. He felt like he would regret this. "I have it as my cutie mark because I'm a scientist from outside of the barrier." Lyra's brow wrinkled in befuddlement. "Outside of the barrier? But why did you come back after leaving Equestria?" Crowley felt that it would be better to ease into this. "Listen, Lyra, what do you know about the ponification serum?" She raised a hoof to her chin as she thought. "Well, it's purple, it turns humans into ponies, and every newfoal I've seen has been all weird." "Lyra, weird isn't the half of it. Shortly after Equestria arrived here, Celestia's researchers collaborated with human scientists to create it using both magic and tiny robots called nanorobots. Anybody who drinks it or whose skin is exposed to it is turned into a pony who is unable to even consider swearing, they see any form of violence, fake or real, along with anybody who takes part in it as vile, and they are completely subservient to Celestia. Not only that, but if anybody doesn't willingly take it, the PER will transform them by force, or they'll be killed by the barrier." The other pony's face paled. "But- But that's horrible! I mean, I knew she hated humans, but would she really do something like that, Sol?" "I know she does. I've seen people I've worked with for months forcibly changed and brainwashed into empty headed, always smiling puppets. I know so much about how it works because I've been working for over a year on a solution to prevent the mind altering properties of it." As the pieces clicked into place, the unicorn began to shake with excitement, looking like a kid in a candy store on Christmas morning. Solenoid grit his teeth. "I used to be a human. My real name is Doctor Alan Crowley." Lyra clapped her hooves together and emit a shrill squeal. "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Solenoid rolled his eyes. "Are you done?" She gave him a sheepish grin as she realized what she just did. "Yeah." "Good." Walking over to a trunk and unlocking it, he pulled out his horn and attached it onto his head. Screwing his eyes shut, his wings were enveloped in a red aura as they slowly rose into the air and plugged into his sides. He had been practicing his control over the flow of his magic, and now could (with enough concentration) levitate objects. He had also been sneaking out to the outskirts of town at night, and could now glide reasonably well, provided that the wind was strong enough. "These are my creations. I built them as artificial conduits to manipulate the internal magic common to all ponies and emulate the ways that the various races release it." "Huh?" Crowley groaned. "They let me act as a pegasus, a unicorn, or an earth pony whenever I want." "Oh. Cool! So why are you telling me all of this?" He paused for a moment before looking straight into her eyes. "Lyra, Celestia is turning my people into her slaves and destroying everything that makes humanity what it is. I transformed myself into a pony and came to Equestria to stop her from the inside, but one man can't create a revolution. I need help from other ponies to do this. Will you help me save the human race?" Lyra grinned. "Solenoid, you're my friend. Not only that, you're saving humans from extinction. Of course I'll help you!" His face softened at her words. "Good. Now, do you know anypony else who might help us?" "Well, Bon Bon would definitely join." He frowned. "Bon Bon? Your fillyfriend? She doesn't seem the kind to want to rock the boat." She smirked. "Trust me, if Celestia really is willing to destroy an entire species because they're different, she'll be the first one to rock the boat." --- He walked past ruined buildings, the streets charred and empty of traffic. Above him was a glittering dome, its edges stretching far into the horizon. The towering billboards were blackened and peeling, and the street lamps were warped and broken. He passed crumbling skyscrapers, the once intimidating behemoths of steel now split in twain and lying in piles of rubble. On the sidewalk, creatures of bone passed, their skeletons charred and rebuilt haphazardly, as if they had been put together by somebody who had no idea where each bone went. They payed him no mind, their limbs scraping against the concrete. He came to a corner and saw a woman and a small child screaming. Between him and them was a crowd of the monsters chewing away at the flesh of a man, pieces of his body burning with a vile stench as they were removed. He reached his arm out to the woman, but she could not reach it. As the man's bones were finally scraped bare, they reassembled themselves into another of the macabre creatures. The mother and son tried to run, but had nowhere to escape to as the remains of the father began to eat his child and the rest of them tore the woman apart. As they finished, the things hobbled away, still ignoring him. He continued to walk through the town, passing similar scenes for what could have been hours or days, until the road stopped in front of the corpse of a library. Walking inside, the moonlight shining into the wreckage revealed shelves filled with naught but ashes, the remains of centuries of knowledge and culture. He lied down amongst the soot and began staring into the sky and watched the celestial bodies chase each other overhead, shining down but never truly illuminating the ruins. After watching them pass by thousands of times, he got to his feet and walked back down the street. Now the skeletal creatures stood stock still upon the sidewalks, none of humanity left for them to consume. None of the buildings still stood, he was flanked by dust and twisted metal. Reaching where the corner was, he started as the city suddenly yielded to forest. Walking into the ocean of trees, he came across a crumbling castle overrun by vines as a voice whispered into his ear. "...Everfree..." --- Crowley sat up as he awoke from his dream. He felt something on his cheeks. Running a hoof along his face, he realized that it was wet. --- That same day, he and Lyra went to her apartment to recruit Bon Bon. As they reached her door, he turned to her. "Are you sure about this?" "Of course. Trust me." Entering their home, Solenoid recognized the schizophrenic nature of its decor. Much of the house was clean and organized, perhaps decorated with the occasional vase or fake flowers, no doubt the result of Bon Bon's meticulous hoof. In stark contrast to the orderliness she tried to maintain, the rest of the apartment was swallowed up by the chaotic mess created by Lyra. The epicenter was a desk covered in and surrounded by a vast array of gadgets, models, junk, and drawings. He recognized a surprisingly well designed gyroscope... that was being used as the wrist of a wooden model of a human arm. Honestly, sometimes he couldn't tell whether she was an idiot or a genius. They were soon greeted by a smiling cream colored earth pony with a two-toned pink and blue mane. "Welcome back, Lyra." She gave Crowley a questioning glance. "Oh, you're Lyra's friend. Umm..." "Solenoid. And you must be Bon Bon." "Yes. Er, could I ask you why you're here?" Lyra spoke up. "We need your help, Bonnie." Bon Bon raised a brow. "Help? From me? What for?" Crowley explained his situation to her. "...Of course, you probably don't want to deal with something like this, so I'd just like to ask that you'd not tell any-" "I'll do it." "-pony... What?" She had a stern expression on her face. "I'll join you." He gave her a bemused look. "Well, not to be ungrateful or anything, but why? You don't really seem the type." Lyra nodded at Bon Bon. Suddenly, the earth pony was engulfed by green flames and replaced by... something. She was shaped sort of like a pony, but she was covered in a black carapace and had a horn shaped like a knife along with green bee-like wings. Her mane looked the same, though it was colorless and a fin of some sort was poking out from the back. On her back was a dark blue pad, and all of her extremities were filled with holes, including her hair somehow. As she spoke, her words took on a buzzing tone. "Because I'm a changeling." "A what?" Bon Bon huffed. "A changeling. We disguise ourselves as ponies and feed on love. As you can imagine, ponies are... less than amiable towards us. It got even worse recently since the changeling queen and a good portion of the hive tried to invade Canterlot. If Celestia is trying to exterminate humans, there's no doubt she'll try to get rid of us, especially after being humiliated by Chrysalis." Doctor Crowley had never heard of changelings, but if they had humiliated Celestia, that wasn't all that surprising. "Huh. Guess you learn something new everyday. Welcome to... hey, what should we call ourselves?" Lyra cocked her head. "How about the Kick Celestia's Big Fat Flank Brigade?" He stared at her. "No." Narrowing his eyes in thought, he asked, "How about Ponies for Human Life?" Bon Bon shook her head. "We're not all ponies though. How about Masquerade, since we're pretending to be law abiding Equestrian citizens but working against Celestia in secret?" Crowley shrugged. "Sounds good to me."