The Conversion Bureau: The Madman

by Astral Spark

Chapter Seven: Up A Blind Alley

As I stepped out into the light morning breeze, I let it ruffle my dark grey coat. It felt quite refreshing compared to the living conditions within my apartment that towered above. The world hadn’t been as bad as they had predicted it to be in the early 21st century, but they weren’t all that off. The Earth’s oceans still were very much alive, the air was mostly pure, and we hadn’t destroyed ourselves yet from nuclear war. I mean, we kind of poisoned most of our soil, killed off a lot of animals and plants, but we were doing the best we could really. Actual produce was fairly hard to come by anymore, as it had to be grown in controlled environments and such. Fruit and vegetables now were artificially grown; basically paper with nutrients (I’m sure there’s more to it than that). Anyway, being a vegetarian could prove difficulty if I had to eat that junk.

Deciding to get breakfast at the bureau, hopefully with Veronica, I began to trot my way down the sidewalk. Clip Clop Clip Clop. I really liked that sound. Always have. The sound of hooves on a hard surface. It was very soothing, at least for me. I began to prance more rhythmically as I sped up my pace. I still received the usually looks from the people going about their daily business. Some looks were full of concern, some of curiosity, and others were of disgust and hate. I avoided making eye contact with them, and when I did, they seemed to recoil a bit. Most of them probably never saw a pony in the flesh before. I really didn’t belong in this place at all. I did once, but now I was a freak. God, I just wanted to see Veronica again. To see her smile, to laugh… I faded off into a dreamscape. Not paying attention to my current trajectory, I found myself falling backwards on my haunches due to something, or someone, in my path. Looking up, I met gazes with a middle aged black man. A very tall man, he easily dwarfed me, and I shrunk a bit. The difference in size was something that would be a bit hard to get used to.

“I-I’m sorry m-mister.” The man continued to stare at me. Not out of anger, but mere curiosity. My timid apology seemed to usher a smile to the man’s gruff face. Crouching down to eye level, he began to speak.

“Oh no, It’s quite alright. I’m the one that should be apologizing.” His voice had a comfortable fatherly tone. “I’ve never seen one of your kind before. I’m sure it’s all a bit strange, humans and all. You’ll get used to it. What are you here for, in a city like this?” The man seemed to have mistaken me for a native Equestrian. I smiled and enlightened him on my case.

“No sir, you seem to be mistaken. I’m actually a convert.” The man’s eyes widened.

“A convert? Well, that’s a sight. Not many converts like to stay, I hear. Except old Mr. Verga, of course. What’d you stay for?” He was quite the nice man, albeit a bit too friendly. But I figured what the hell.

“I guess I just have some unfinished business. I was only converted yesterday, you know.” The overly friendly man acknowledged my explanation, and proceeded to hold out his dark and wrinkled hand.

“My name’s David Shaw.” I extended my hoof so that he could wrap his hand around it.

“Delvin Martin.” Unreactive to my well known surname, he grasped my hoof heartily, and gave it a shake.

“Hmm. I’ve never felt the hooves of an Equestrian before. Very different.” I gave him a light smile, and once again rose to my feet. “Maybe we will cross path’s again, Mr. Martin.” I nodded in compliance and started for the Bureau, now only a couple blocks away. David Shaw was a good man. I could see it in him. The world needs more people like him, people whom are gentle and kind. People who accept others. I hope I meet him again, I really do. Even though the odds likely weren’t in my favor.

Entering the East wing of the Bureau, I found myself amidst the bustle of several Ponies and Humans going about their business. They employed both races, and treated them equally, or so I heard. I was here for one thing and one thing only. Veronica Hock. I needed to know what happened that morning, and why I never saw her again. This was possibly my one and only chance to see her again, albeit a Pony.

The room was a combination of whites and grays, with holoscreens lining the walls. I looked toward the reception desk, where a bright orange unicorn sat, typing away on her computer with her magic. In a lot of ways, I wished I could’ve been a Unicorn. That way I could at least manipulate a computer easily. Sighing, I strolled up to the desk, inviting a curious demeanor from the pony.

“May I help you sir?” She asked the question with haste, knowing that I wasn’t there to sign up for conversion or anything.

“Uh, yes. I would like to find a certain pony. Her name is Veronica Hock.” Realizing that she may have changed her name to fit a more Equestrian standard, I added, “Although, she may have changed her name, of course.” As she scrolled through the countless names of the occupants in the database, her face softened as she abruptly stopped.

“Veronica Hock, now known as Emerald Dawn. Room 172, 124th floor. Will that be it for you sir?” Barely containing my laughter, I nodded my head. Hastily trotting to the elevator, I stepped inside. Realizing I was alone, I spoke my thoughts.

“Emerald Dawn? What a gay name!” I let my laughter spill out of my chest, but there was something else. Something else that told me not to laugh. No, I don’t think it was my new Pony brain, but actual sorrow. She had surrendered her name… Her Human name… Yet again, another soul loses part of themselves to Ponification. Dipping my head a bit, realizing this, I turned to face the observation window of the elevator. What a view. All the way past the mountains. I could see a Cruiser undocking at the spaceport to the north. A sight indeed. BEEP. The elevator door slid open, causing me to gulp.

I entered an area that looked remarkably similar to the floor I was on yesterday. As I passed each door, scenarios played through my mind. Will she be mad? No, no… Why would she be mad? I don’t think she has a reason to be mad… How am I going to tell her that I’m a pony now too? Convince her that it’s me? She should recognize my voice, anyway… What if she runs away and I never find her again? Oh no… My bravado shrunk considerably as each scenario revealed itself. 170, 171… Oh dear god… There it was. The door was slightly ajar, and I could hear what sounded like music coming from inside. I gulped one last time, and prepared to knock at the door with my hoof.

“Who is it?” It wasn’t Veron’s voice. Someone else.

“Is Veroni.. Err, Emerald Dawn here? I need to see her.” A long silence followed, “Um, hello?” I called out once more.

“She’s not here right now, sorry. I’ll tell her you came by, if you want. What’s your name?” I continued to listen through the little crack in the door.

“Just… Tell her that an old friend came to say hi. That’s all she needs to know.” I turned around, both deeply disappointed yet relieved that I wasn’t going to face her that moment. Although, my relief was short lived as I proceeded to collide my face with another. After the pain had settled, I looked up to find a light blue Unicorn staring at me. She had a rather impressive bright combination of colors, as a single bright green stripe ran down her mane and tail. We stared at each other for a few moments, but I broke the silence first.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t see you ther-“Her eyes… Light blue. Very bright. I knew them from somewhere. As I continued to gaze at the Unicorns eyes, she spoke warmly.

“Delvin? Is that you? What happened to you?” As she spoke for the first time, my eyes widened beyond comprehension.

“Veronica? I, um…” Still unsure of where I was going from there, I continued to stare. Before I could say anything else, however, I was encased in a furry hug. So she wasn’t mad at me, and she was glad to see me. That’s a start.

“I’m sorry that I left… But, you have to understand,” She spoke softly now, attempting reassurance. Returning to her previous stance on all fours, she motioned me to follow her. Hopefully, I would get all the answers I wanted.

As we walked down the hallway, we neared a door shrouded in blue light. This, as I knew from before, was a concourse. Stepping out into the light breeze, she directed herself to the railing. She almost glowed in the morning light. I guess that’s the reason for the ‘Dawn’ part. Hoisting my forelegs up onto the railing, I looked over to her uneasy frown. She was bothered greatly by something.

“Okay. Ask me any question you want to know. I’ll do my best to answer it.” Not making eye contact, I decided to inquire about the heaviest thing on my mind.

“Alright… So, why didn’t I see you again? You just disappeared. I hated myself for whatever I did wrong, and I need to know what’s going on. Why are you a Pony now?” Sighing she turned to face me. Her bright blue eyes sparkled a bit.

“Where do I begin… You know my father? Well, he decided that he wanted his daughter back. I’ve always hated him, you know. He wanted to turn me into this. To work with him. I wasn’t easily going to do that, but he had his goons searching high and low for me. Eventually, it wasn’t safe anymore, and I went into hiding. This whole deal had been going on for a while, too. I just didn’t see fit to tell anypony about it.” I drew my thoughts away from her for a moment. ‘anypony’? She was even beginning to embrace their mannerisms. Although, I heard that it was something built in, and it wasn’t all that controllable. Without thinking you could easily say it without even knowing, “That day that I left was the day that it had reached a breaking point. They burned my house, hacked my bank account, slaughtered my dog… Anything that I held near. He… He killed my sister too…” She dropped into a much more depressing tone. Looking over, I witnessed a single tear falling from her eye. Wiping it with her foreleg, she continued once more, “I couldn’t take on my father alone. Hell, I couldn’t take him on with an army. He’s too influential. I went into hiding, you see. An old friend, Nathan Smith, let me stay with him. I couldn’t go anywhere, call anyone, go on the extranet… I’d be tracked. But, it didn’t last forever. A week ago, Nathan didn’t come home. He was killed; I saw it on the news. Knowing that I couldn’t stay there for long, I made my way to the Bureau, and changed my identity, and myself. I don’t think my father would ever think to look for me here, he knows that I don’t like conversion. If I don’t get out of here soon, though, he’ll find me, and probably kill me. Or worse…” I was enraged. Her father was a monster. Formulating a plan in my head, I looked at Veronica solemnly.

“He’s a sick and twisted bastard, Ver. You know what happens to bastards like him? They meet the end of my shotgun barrel.” at my failed attempt to look tough, Veronica giggled depressingly and looked down at my hooves.

“I don’t think you’ll be wielding a shotgun anymore with those.” I gazed down at my thick appendages and swore quietly. Bottling up her emotions, she inquired, “So, why are you a Pony now? Why aren’t you in Equestria?” I was waiting for this question.

“A couple of nights ago, I was contracted to kill an HLF Lieutenant, Marcus Deran. Well, let’s just say I ran into some trouble, and I almost died. To prevent me from dying, I had to be converted to save my life. Now, I have some unfinished business, I suppose...” I smiled slyly at Veronica, who was in shock.

“You almost DIED!?” Nodding in agreement, I looked over to the Martin Industries Headquarters. It was probably the tallest structure in the city, besides the tether, of course. Pointing with my hoof, I explained.

“I’ve got to meet my father today. About, you know… What happened.” Still in shock, she pondered over my new equine body and began to ask more questions.

“So, you got ponified? When?”

“Yesterday was when I woke up. A hell storm ensued, of course, but I think I’m okay as of now. Just… Being faced with something like this is very nerve-racking. I went fucking insane last night; shattered my mirror, broke down in tears. Up until then I really didn’t quite understand just how life changing this was. Everything just taken away from me in the blink of an eye. My humanity, my hands, hobbies, abilities, my job… God, I don’t even know how long I’ll be able to stay in the city before I’m killed by those bastards over at the HLF. I just… I don’t know anymore…” The aching numbness crawled up my throat and lept into my brain, where it forced tears out of my eyes once again. Ponies must be fifteen times more emotional than humans or something. I was crying my eyes out left and right, and I was starting to get a bit frustrated at it. Then again, considering the emotional load I had been handling, it wasn’t all that inappropriate.

“So, you’re sure you have to go to Equestria? You can’t stay, even with a new identity?” In my weakened emotional state, I blurted out something I hadn’t quite expected. Of course, I wanted her to stay more than anything, but I understood her reasons. I really just didn’t have anyone to relate to anymore. Acknowledging my weeping, she left the question I had asked hanging in the breeze for a moment, and put her foreleg across my quivering shoulders.

“I don’t know Delvin. My father… I don’t want to take the chance. I’m sorry, bu-“

“YOU CAN’T!! PLEASE STAY!! WE… We… We can take that bastard… Like we always do…” In that moment of helplessness, everything suddenly became clearer. My muzzle obscuring my vision slightly, the position of my bones, the presence of fur covering my body, and my lack of hands… “DAMMIT! I’M TIRED OF THIS SHIT! ALL OF IT!!” I yelled out in a fit of anger which caused Veronica to jump away, avoiding my sudden outburst. Burying my face back into my foreleg, I continued to let the tears fall freely. No, I wasn’t angry. I wasn’t mad at anything. Wait, yes I was mad at Kaleth, asshole… No, I wasn’t mad at anyone, I was a happy little Pony that loved everything and everypony… What? NO! Get the fuck out of my head! I didn’t want to think those things, not at all. Realizing that those thoughts were forced upon me by an unknown presence, I began to feel like a puppet of my own mind. My muzzle still buried in my foreleg, my words were barely audible.

“I don’t want to be a Pony…” I sniffled, “I never did… I never asked for this… I never ever wanted this…” Pulling away from the railing, I was reluctant to give Veronica another glance. I was a tattered emotional mess once again, only this time, my Mom wasn’t there to help. In my emotionally induced mental blindness, I disregarded Veronica, and walked back through the doors in order to reach the elevators once again. In that moment, she didn’t matter, my father didn’t matter, nothing mattered anymore. I effectively hated myself for no discernible reason other than the unfortunate events that had befallen me.

Tears still falling, I walked out into the midmorning bustle and shut myself out from the rest of the world.

****

“Where is he? He was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago!” Dr. Martin gazed out over the rest of the city from his large window. Lowering his head, she shuffled back over to his desk, glaring over the various pieces of paper strewn about. Lifting his coffee mug, he quickly sipped his brown savory liquid that was quite rare nowadays. On the other side of the desk, a light brown Unicorn sat quietly, resting his chin on his hoof.

“You know, just sitting here gets us nowhere. Shouldn’t we at least call him? Send a message to that blasted AI of his that he cares so much about? Maybe she knows where he went. This is too important to just wait.” He paused for a moment, “Didn’t his mother say something about having a breakdown of some sorts last night? Broke his mirror and nearly went insane. Eric, he’s your son. Are you sure we should be putting him through this?” Walter Verga leaned back in his armchair and waited for the response he was anticipating. The graying middle aged man smiled wryly at the pony,

“You’re right. He is my son. That’s exactly why I’m putting him through this. I know Delvin, and this is exactly what he needs. This whole transformation has left him without… Well, a lot of things. Well, at least that’s what he thinks. He doesn’t know where my research has brought me, and I think he’ll be more than overjoyed that he can continue doing what he loves. The least I can do for him...” Walking back over to the window, he continued to search the skies.

“Are you really sure we should be pitting him against Kaleth? I mean, remember what happened back at Archon? That was some pretty nasty stuff. Still can’t get that image out of my mind.” Walter, cringing at his dreadful memories, stared blankly into space.

“He’ll have help. I won’t send him in alone, Walter, especially in his current… State. Oh, he’ll have help. Some of the best.” Walter, seriously doubting Eric’s claim, retorted,

“And who would that be?”

****

The afternoon sun was covered now with a thick overcast. Long gone were the comforting rays of sun that graced the autumn skies that were now hidden from view. The lawless alleys of the lower city only provided cold and darkness, which caused me to shiver weakly. In my emotional stupor, I somehow ended up in this forsaken part of the city. Who knew what shady deals were taking place in the old run down houses and alleys that dotted the underground section of the city. Back when the economic rush was at its peak, the inner city had quickly become a massive construction zone, building all the corporate office buildings and arcologies that had to be built due to the sudden influx of population. Over time, the city grew outward, expanding into residential neighborhoods, parks, and forests. In those days, the New Roanoke Department of Economic Affairs agreed to bypass the locals of this horrid place and just build a new street level over it. Leaving the historic, albeit infamous district relatively unharmed, they soon disregarded it as part of the city in a lawful sense. Of course, it was still a very active participant in the city, but was left mostly lawless due to the inaccessibility of most motor vehicles, local hostility, and ineffective methods of controlling the population down here.

As the population of the rapidly growing city grew as well, all the scum among other things harbored down here in the narrow alleyways that is the Lower City. Quite a few of my contracts brought me down here, so I was basically forced to know the maze of alleys and streets like the back of my hand, or hoof, or whatever... Anyway, I somehow wandered down here; probably the worst place somepony like me could end up. Yet, it didn’t really matter to me anymore. I hated myself. Myself pissed me off. My mind pissed me off. Everything about me just… Pissed me off. I didn’t exactly want to be cornered and tortured or something like that, but if someone ran up and just shot me in the face, I’d be cool with it.

“What da hell, man? You gonna get’cha self killed down here! Why you down here, Pony?” A scruffy homeless man emerged from behind me somewhere, and started talking erratically. Not making eye contact with the man, I continued to look at the cracked sidewalk that I had been walking on.

“Idunno.” Without even looking at the man, I knew that his eyes became wide.

“Watchu talkin bout bruthu? Look, dem HLF’s gonna be all over ya if ya don git atta here! Your kinds ain’t welcome down here, don’t ya know? I’m riskin mah ass out here justa talkin to ya. Hey! You listenin? I said you gotta get atta here man!” Coming to a corner in the alley, I turned to look at the man. He was fairly young, maybe a bit older than me, but still young. Dressed in ragged sweatpants and a tattered hoodie, to me he looked homeless, but could’ve easily had a home here in this place.

“Why are you trying to help me?” The look on the man’s face soured at the question, but he stared back at me sincerely with his glazy eyes.

“Look man, I seen what dem HLF’s do to you Ponies. It ain’t pretty, nu-uh. I thought dey was good people, but… I dunno bat dat no more. I’m just tryinta help is al-“

“Look at what we got here boys!” A gruff militaristic voice boomed in the shadows of the alley. Shit. Three burly men in combat armor approached us from our left, heavily armed. From what I remembered, the HLF group down here sent out patrols as a form of police. However, they were more like the Nazi SS from what I’ve read in history books. They were allowed to do what they want, whenever they wanted, and since the law didn’t have a presence down here, there wasn’t anything you could do to get them off your back except to become one yourself. A horrible existence down here, but this was all that some people have, I suppose. Returning to the matter at hand, I was a Pony cornered in an alley by three HLF troops, along with the only soul that had been willing to help a delusional alien in the wrong part of town. Shit, what the hell was I thinking?! Oh yeah, I guess I wasn’t thinking at all. Way to go Delvin. I mentally slapped myself, and forced myself to look up at the approaching brutes.

The middle one, supposedly the leader, sounded exactly how he looked. A gruff flathead with a fucked up face. That was basically the HLF for you. Big racist bastards. They usually came from rough backgrounds and unlucky childhoods. I wish I could feel sorry for them, but these men were machines. No care for other living things besides themselves. I felt like crying for help, but that would’ve gotten me nowhere down here. If I still had my guns… If I was still a human I wouldn’t even be in this godforsaken mess. In that moment, reality rushed back to me in full force. I was supposed to go to meet my father after I saw Veronica, but I just HAD to go insane once again thanks to my interesting predicament. I only now realized that I was in deep shit. Extremely deep shit. I had a knack for getting in extremely deep horrible shit, it seemed.

“Ay! Rob! Whatchu doin talkin ta dis pony fag, anyways?” Another thick undercity accent similar to who I now knew as Rob’s accent emerged from the group. A Pony fag? These guys were douchebags. I really wasn’t in the mood for this shit. Then, out of fucking nowhere, I was kicked in the chest. All of my air rushed out of my contorted face and I staggered backwards from the raw force of the foot. The blow seemed to be derived from Rob, the bastard. At first, I wanted to tear his face off, but the anger I had quickly turned to sadness as my Equestrian mind attempted to steer clear of the emotion.

“Nah man I was just abat ta give ‘im a beatin! Stupid animal should know betta than to come on our turf!” I could sense pain in his voice. He was only trying to protect himself, I guess. If he showed any sympathy at all for me he would’ve been put down the same way I would be. That brings up yet another point. Were they going to kill me? Yes. No doubt they would. God, I fucked up big time… Why did I even come down here?!!? Even in my emotional stupor I must’ve had some reason to do this! What the hell was I thinking? Oh right, I wasn’t thinking… My legs began to buckle under my fear, and I shrunk back into the corner of the alley as the three armed men approached. Backing away, Rob mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ and hesitantly sprinted out down the alley. He was good at heart, but he lacked the courage to help me. Normally, I would have called him a bastard, but I just… Felt sorry for him. My chest still hurt like hell, and I winced at every move I made.

“Well, well. Look at this piece of faggot trash. Don’t you know animals ain’t welcome down here?” He drew his pistol from his holster as the other two men drew their rifles. This was it, I suppose. My end would be a swift and horrible one. Getting gunned down in an alley by ignorant HLF puppets. My mind began to replay the events I had witnessed not too long ago… The cornered mare that I watched the slaughter of… Was this karma? Anger began to rise within me.

“I’m not an animal! How in the flying FUCK do you not get that? Are you THAT retarded?” The meathead in the middle adorned a moderately confused look, probably because of my unexpected anger towards him. Ponies weren’t known for their anger, I suppose. I guess I could get angry if I really wanted too, if I really meant the anger and it was right to be angry. That was it. Equestrians didn’t lack the emotion of anger, but rather lacked unnecessary anger. They only used anger when it was necessary! Or, that’s at least how I began to think about it. I felt the bubbling anger inside me, “I’m just as human as you are you ignorant bastard! But I guess you’re too fucking stupi-“His steel toed boot shoveled into my stomach with a ridiculous amount of force, knocking the wind out of me and sending my numb body to the ground. That hurt. A lot. A whole lot. In that moment, I honestly believed that I had never been dealt so much pain before at once. Struggling to recover my breath, I felt tears of pain flood my eyes.

“Stupid animal piece a shit!” He kicked me again, this time in the chest. I think he broke about five of my ribs. Sounds about right. Holy shit. Screaming wasn’t really my thing, but… So much pain… My suffering screams resounded off the old brick walls of the old buildings, and bounced back to me. Flailing my various limbs about, there wasn’t anything I could really do to stop the pain, “Pathetic. PATHETIC!” He was right. I was pathetic. I felt more tears run down my cheek.

“Why… Please stop… Plea-“And, out of nowhere, a light blue aura surrounded that ugly fucker, and threw him out of my field of vision. I heard many bones crack, and a muffled scream in the distance. Black. I passed out. Again.

Comments

[PinkiePirate]

Awesome chapter! I really want to see where you're going with this

[Astral Spark]

364165
Glad you liked it.
I'm really excited to complete this story, and I hope there will be many more chapters to come. I already know that it's going to be extremely long, as I'm still pretty much in the beginning. God, I have a lot to write...

[Da Bunnana King]

Nice... but why must you give us cliff hangers?

[Astral Spark]

369037
Sorry about that, but I felt like I needed to get this chapter up. It may be a cliffhanger, but it was a good place to stop. Don't worry, I'm pretty far in the next chapter already, and It's great so far.