It was always fun watching humans squirm when they were put on the spot, so Vinyl Scratch thought. Sure, she was responsible for making sure this one got a basic understanding of how a pony lived, but that didn't stop her from having her fun with him. Shame this one wasn't much of a drinker, else that would have meant a little more fun just messing with him.
It was only after breakfast that the poor guy passed out back in the apartment room. He deserved it, she thought, he probably had a stressful past few days.
How many names were on the list to get ponified today? Three? Is that how few humans show up on a daily basis now? She remembered days where conversions happened maybe four at a time, every fifteen minutes. Now there's only three. One after every meal.
She was happy, that by doing what she had volunteered to do guaranteed happiness to the otherwise miserable human race, though a part of her seemed torn. She was taking part in the extinction of an entire species, a species she often saw another side of rather than the violence and savagery that Equestrian propaganda suggested to her in the first place.
The humans evolved through expression, whether they were expressing they wanted to survive by fighting one another, or by more peaceful, artistic means. When she first toured the bars and clubs, she saw what the humans truly thought of their world. Posters protesting violence, promoting peace, emotions in their rawest forms that spanned the entire spectrum. The humans created art that was influenced by what they had to go through, which, in a ways, far surpassed the quality that was often seen back home.
"I hope these won't simply disappear forever," She said, looking over her own private collection she had torn from the walls of abandoned clubs, "They're very nice."
"What are?" asked a very tired, stuffed-up voice. The white unicorn turned her head and covered the box back up quickly with her magic.
"Oh, just talking to myself, kinda like what you do on a regular basis," She replied with a smile and a shine from her purple shades.
The human's face remained stiff, but quickly fell back against his pillow and was soon covered up by the sheets, completely ignorant.
Vinyl Scratch let out a sigh and hid the box back amongst her belongings. When she goes home after her next few months of service, she'll revel in putting these up on her walls as her reward for a job well done.
Work was slow as usual, with nothing more to do than to let slow, relaxing tracks play over the PA system like she was required to do, or sit in the lounge, waiting for someone to chat with.
For the first few months here, she tried bugging the Doctor into letting his real name slip. It never worked, so she gave up. He was quite fond of this blue box-thing though, which he would always walk inside of and never come out for hours at a time, and he always kept it locked. Given his knowledge of the world, both Equestrian and Human, she figured he was some sort of time-traveling hero or something. Could never prove it though.
Then there was Lyra and Bon Bon. Nice couple, hardly ever seen apart outside of work. Lyra would always sit at the front desk, shuffling through papers, and Bon Bon would be busy teaching some humans and newfoals key essentials to surviving in a new environment. After dragging them out to the club, getting a few drinks in both of them, it was easy to recognize that these two were more than just friends, much to every colt's delight. Hell, even she had to admit it was interesting to watch.
Then there was Soarin and Spitfire. Vinyl had known those two for years before coming to the human's world. They were rather famous back home, being two pegasi from Equestria's greatest air show team, the Wonderbolts. It was sheer luck that she was put in the same bureau as those two. Soarin may have been something of a slob and a party colt, but he was no slacker on the job. And Spitfire, she never took flack from anyone and was always no-nonsense unless everyone else was having a good time.
She must have dozed off for a while, catching up on some sleep. Bon Bon, the hall monitor, was known for catching catching people and ponies that slept wherever they wanted, but Vinyl had a way to get away with it with her opaque shades and outright ignoring her unless she came too close, to which the DJ would jump up and scare her out of her coat. After a few scares, she would leave her alone whenever she slept.
-=-=-
Work ended for Lyra and Bon Bon for the evening, leaving the two to their own devices. They had a lot to talk about, whether it be about the humans and newfoals, or how work just went by so slowly.
"It was so funny watching some of the newfoals try and use magic. Poor foals are going to hurt themselves without proper training, but they always make dinner service worth it. We should tell their teachers to give them a few more lessons on basic levitation," Bon Bon would go on and on about her day, pausing every so often to allow her lover time to reply, or even to take a bite from her dinner.
"Oh yeah. I heard Pokey Peirce was slacking a little bit on lessons. I heard he showed up late a few times for work," The teal unicorn would rebuttal, "I also heard he might get replaced soon."
The candy-marked pony let out a small, concerned gasp. "Oh, dear. I don't think that being late a few times would really make him considerable for replacement!"
"Well, it's not just that. There's something else, apparently. I just overheard a little bit when he was having a chat with the boss."
"Now that's just awful..."
"What is?" The white, shades-wearing pony interjected into the conversation. "I heard someone was getting axed?"
"Peirce is getting replaced."
"Meh, dude had it coming from the start. I remember when this place first opened and he popped all my party balloons."
"Even you know that was a complete accident," Bon Bon argued for the non-present stallion, "He got startled when a human tapped his shoulder from behind. You know how he was."
"All eighty-seven balloons?" Vinyl's eyebrow quirked visibly behind her specs.
"Oh, right, you left before that, Bon Bon."
The pink-blue haired mare scowled at the other two, trying to silence their now uproarious laughter. "Alright, alright. Well, I'm hungry. Should we go out to get some food?"
"Oh, ya. You and I decided to miss breakfast, didn't we?" Lyra chimed with a grin on her face.
"I don't think we should be discussing this in the open, hunny."
"You should totally be discussing this in the open," Vinyl scratch grinned to the point that her cheeks threatened to split her face.
Bon Bon gave a huff and the other two mares joined in laughter.
-=-=-
Soarin and Spitfire were having a much better today with the newfoal pegasi after some changes in their routine. The mare had taken on a much better attitude about her teaching, and the blue stallion was just happy that she was happy.
"Michelle's been flying a lot better since last week, don't you agree Spits?" He said with his head held high in pride.
The yellow mare nodded her head, a grin adorned on her face. "Ya. I'd almost say she'd be ready to take on the Wonderbolts training camp if she kept practicing like she has."
The stallion nodded, now beginning a brisk walk with the mare following close behind. "Maybe. She's certainly one of the best we've seen. A natural born flyer."
The duo continue conversation about their students, those that still needed practice, and those that showed signs of excelling above expectations. A short walk down the street from the field, and they found themselves walking into a small diner that had certainly seen better days.
The two sat down, Spitfire rambling on about how some of the students were too frightened to fly above fifteen feet, much to her disappointment.
"So, can't you wait to go back home? There's only two months left to go before the princess turns this all into part of Equestria," Soarin said after a short moment of silence that followed the ordering of drinks.
"It was definitely an experience, though I really do miss performing with the team," The mare said as her head sunk a degree.
The normally jovial stallion seemed a little disappointed by the recollection of his pseudo-family, also sinking his head. "Ya, I can't wait to see the ol' team again. No doubt there'd be a huge show when we get back."
The two sat in another awkward silence.
"Where's lunch?" Soarin pointed out.
-=-=-
Meanwhile, somewhere in the space-time continuum...
A blue box fades into a dingy alleyway, surrounded by towering, decaying structures. It opens, and a brown pony exits with a gray, blond-haired pegasus.
"Well then. Just in time."
"In time for what, Doctor?"
"An event's going to happen shortly, my dear Ditzy. Give a good night of rest, and we'll be here to experience history, or at least, a small bit of it."