The Conversion Bureau: The Land Downunder

by Da Bunnana King

Chapter Sixteen: Awake

The Conversion Bureau: The Land Downunder
By Da Bunnana King

Chapter Sixteen: Awake
===

I awoke to air rushing into my new lungs, but my eyes remained closed. I could hear faint voices around me but I couldn’t pinpoint them. Then my ears did the strangest of things, they swivelled themselves to the noise and it became crystal clear.

“I think he’s awake Shadow.” said Jack as I heard the noise of gravel being crunched behind me.

“Alex, come on let’s get you inside before we lose you again.” Shadow said as he picked me up in his field of magic. It felt warm and pleasant this time instead of a sharp pain in my head. It almost felt like I was being hoisted up on a very soft pillow and being moved ever so carefully.

“Alex come on wake up. Please don’t be dead,” pleaded Jack as he poked my cheek with a hoof which I swatted away with my hand... or hoof. I slowly began to open my eyes to see a black aura enveloping me as Jack flew above me watching me slowly awaken.

“What did I miss and when did Shadow have magic?” I asked with a raspy voice, as I felt the inside my mouth for the first time. It was long and my teeth all felt flat like molars instead of my sharp incisors I had grown used to.

“Oh thank Celestia you're alive and well, that and my horn was just hidden behind my mane,” Shadow said as we entered what seemed to be a common room where I was placed on a dirty old couch. I lied on the couch very strangely as my arm… I mean forelegs folded towards my body. It felt awkward for a moment but my new pony brain reassured me that this was the norm from now on.

“Why wouldn’t I be alive and well?” I asked as I began to look over my body. I was a pale navy blue and I could see my mane running down my neck, it was bright red and a lighting blue streak running close to my neck.

“Well we found you half way through conversion with your clothes still on so we had to cut you free from your clothes with your knife. Hay we weren’t even sure if you were going to live, you were asleep for an hour after you changed.” Shadow said nuzzling me as I slowly brought myself to a sitting position shakily.

“Yeah, we were afraid you died mid conversion but Shadow helped you get through it with some healing magic,” Jack said, as he landed near me and hugged my long neck.

“Well thanks for staying with me… I guess.” I said as I looked at my friends, but I felt something in my heart was missing and my face wore the sorrow.

“Alex, what’s wrong?” asked Shadow as he sat next to me and put his forearm around me.

“I made a deal with the devil so I could exact my revenge. Hay, I even traded my species for an… an animal,” I said as the word ‘animal’ made me feel unpleasant.

“Alex you’re talking crazy again, you’ll love being a pony and not an animal,” Shadow said hugging me. I could feel the pain almost go away but I still felt unpleasant with my situation.

“I want out of this…” I said as I pushed Shadow away with my hoof.

“Alex, you can’t turn back into a human, and even if you did you have nowhere to go.” Jack said,

“No, I want to get out of Earth and away from this place. I’m tired of running and fighting, I just want to live my life in peace and not in fear of somepony coming into my house and killing me because of my ideals.” I said as I stamped a hoof on the couch.

“Well there’s one problem. When you joined the PER you signed on for a commitment of two years of helping the chapter ponify Australia.” Shadow said as I felt my ears fall flat against my head and a sadness engulfing me. “But there were a lot of ponies who didn’t wake up and Jack and I never did find you after we separated.”

“Thank you Shadow,” I said as I gave Shadow a massive bear hug nearly strangling him.

“Now come on, let’s get you to Equestria,” He said as my stomach let out a big growl, “Well maybe after some lunch. So up on your hooves and let’s get you some food.”

“Umm… how do I walk?” I asked as Jack and Shadow helped me to my hooves.

“Well, I found it that if I just put one hoof in front of the other it just came,” Jack said as he demonstrated by trotting around the room.

“Well alright, here I go-” I said as I was quickly introduced to the ground. I felt Shadow’s magic pull me back up to my hooves and a small giggle from Jack.

“Try it again; nopony gets it on the first go, try again.” He said as he pushed me forward a bit with his hoof.

“Hey quit that,” I said as I turned around and trotted up to him. “Wait did I just walk?”

“Works like a charm,” Shadow said to Jack as I trotted around the room with my new found power of walking like everypony else. “Now come on and let’s get you some food.”
===

We exited the commons and all around me were ponies talking to each other or showing how to walk like ponies. Everypony I passed were happy with big smiles on their faces, they didn’t even share a thought that they were once human like I was a moment ago or that the ponies that were helping them were the ones that turned them into the state they were in, and did it with force.

There I go again. These ponyisms were annoying but I guess that’s what everypony says now, but it still was strange how I knew these instantaneously without any prior knowledge of them.

We just trotted pass them but I heard a small filly crying somewhere in this maze of corridors.

“I’ll catch up with you guys later,” I said as I began to follow the sound ignoring my friends as they asked me where I was going.

I kept on following the noise until I came to a small sage green filly crying alone in a corner near one of the fire exits. I trotted up to her and sat next to her and put my foreleg around her and gave a big smile as she looked up to me with her hazelnut eyes and her shiny silver mane.

“Why are you crying?” I asked as I wiped some tears from her muzzle.

“I… I can’t find my mommy,” She said sniffling, “I was running away from the ponies but I got hit by one of those eggs and fell asleep and woke up as a pony and… and mommy’s all gone.”

She burst into tears but she stopped when I hugged her. She looked up to me with her huge eyes.

“Do… do you think she left me because I am a pony.” She sniffled again as she hugged me tight, like I would have as a colt… I mean boy.

“I don’t know, but let’s get you out of here and find you some food and your mum.” I said as I lied through my teeth. I knew her mother had abandoned her because of her being turned into a pony, but it didn’t mean that I left her there for the PER to take her and ship her somewhere in Equestria or let her fend for herself within the chapter.

She couldn’t walk straight so I let her ride on my back until we entered the cafeteria where a whole plethora of ponies were there feeding on hay and various other fruits and vegetables. I scanned the crowd until I saw Shadow and Jack at a table with some hay which they ate as they talked with each other. I trotted up to them as they gave a quizzical look to the foal on my back.

“So what with the foal on your back?” asked Jack as he slid over a tray with a small pile of hay on it.

“I found her crying in one of the hallways,” I said as I helped her off my back,

“Well does she have a name?” Shadow asked as she played around with a pile of hay that Shadow brought over with his magic.

“Oh my name is Remi,” She said as she continued to play with the hay.

“Okay then Remi, well have some hay because it’s full of yummy goodness for growing foals,” Shadow said as she looked my way for some sort of approval.

“Why don’t you try some?” she asked me as she pushed he tray towards me. All eyes were on me as I slowly bent my head down to grab a mouthful of hay. My brain screamed ‘no’ to me eating it yet my stomach was telling me to eat it because it’s ‘good for me’.

I began to chew and I then began to release the sweet tasty flavour of the hay. It went against everything I knew in my previous life, but this hay was tasty and sweet. I almost began to cry from the pure sweet taste of it.

“I guess it must be tasty then,” Remi said as she took a massive mouthful and began to happily chew as she began to cry tears of joy from the sweet juicy flavour from the hay.

“Well then, I think me and Jack have also figured out a way to get you to Equestria,” Said Shadow as he nudged Jack.

“Oh yeah that’s right, well basicly we’re going to put you on the next boat to Equestria in among some newfoals from the local bureau but were going to have to change to your name so you won’t be found out.” Jack replied,

“Okay, but why do I have to change my name?” I asked as I continued to munch on the hay while Remi was stuffing her face full of hay.

“Well Iron Hoof is very good at tracking down ponies and he also hates ponies who use him to get stuff they want… and humans.” Shadow replied,

“Horsefeathers,” I cursed, “I mean - you know what I mean, but how is this going to keep me out of Iron Hoofs grasp?” I asked as Remi began to munch on my pile of hay.

“Well he’ll be looking for a new foal called Alex and not… Ummm…” Jack said as he looked at me, “Night Shadow?”

“Why not Blue Rune?” I replied as the name popped into my head.

“I get the Blue but why Rune?” asked Shadow as Remi began to look at me quizzically.

“Well in that conversion dream I went into a cavern filled with strange looking symbols, they looked like those runes from one of those old games I used play.” I said as Shadow’s eyes livened up.

“Cave with runes?” he asked as his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Yeah it was right under a castle in the mountains, why?”

“Well there’s this old story about powerful mages called the ‘Runic Order’, who are said to be the personal mages of Celestia and also the ponies that started Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns.” Shadow began,

“So what does this have to do with the cave I saw?” I interrupted him,

“I’m getting there, but as I was saying. It’s rumoured that the new initiate are taken to a cave below Canterlot to bring them into the Order and the cave is filled with runes that draw the incites toward the rune that expresses them the most. So that leaves the question… were you drawn to a rune?” Shadow asked as all eyes at the table were drawn to me again.

“Yes… but what does this have to do with me getting to Equestria?”

“Well it might determent how powerful of a unicorn you become, but first let’s get you on that boat with Remi,” He said as Remi’s eyes lit up.

“I get to go to Equestria?” she squealed,

“Sure thing kiddo, but first let’s get Jack here to help you pack a saddle bag of things for the journey.” Shadow said as Jack led Remi away from table and out of earshot, “She doesn’t have anypony to rely on does she?”

“No, her mother ran away when we attacked. She has nopony to look after her and well… she needs a family, Shadow,” I said with great sadness.

“Why don’t you take care of her? I mean she seems to like you and you seem good with foals.”

“Are you sure?” I said in disbelief, “I’ve never had a foal to look after let alone siblings.”

“Don’t worry you’ll be fine and besides do it for her, she needs a family,” Shadow pleaded.

“Alright… I mean she is adorable… and I guessed I would be a father someday,” I said beginning to imagine what my future would be like, to say the least it was going to involve seeing what magical spells I could create with my horn.

“Come on let’s get that saddle bag you left at the office,” Shadow said as he hurried me out of the room.

“Can’t we just get one from here?” I asked as he began looking behind his back and looked scared out of his mind. “Are you alright because you look like you saw a ghost?”

“Yeah, we just better get moving if we want to make sure no other PER pony sees you. Makes it a whole lot easier to disappear.” He said as we began to trot down the hallway towards the sound of a filly giggling.

“So after the boat where do I go? What do I do? Hay, I don’t even know how to be a pony, I’ve only been one for what - An hour or so?” I asked pondering how I was going to be like everypony else without the knowledge to do so.

“I’ll think about it, but do you have family on the other side that would be able to help you out?” he ask as I could almost hear the gears grinding in his head to calculate my… our escape as I looked at Remi giggling as Jack tried to fasten a pair of saddlebags to her.

“Hehehehe stop that – that tickles,” She said giggling as she looked up to me, “Oh hi again Runey, so I guess I’ll be going to Equestria soon.”

“Well… there’s a problem, you're still a little foal,” I said ruffling her mane gently, “And well you’ll have nopony to look after you. So I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to Equestria and maybe live with me.”

“Umm… Well,” She said rubbing her chin clumsily with her foreleg nearly falling over, “Okay, but only if I can ride on your back and you have to carry my saddle bags too.”

“Well you got yourself a deal, but we got to leave soon so get ready.” I said as Jack released the saddle bag and threw it at me, which I caught with my face.

“Yay, I’m going to Equestria!” she sang as she bounced around in circles.

“Alright kiddo, so Jack got my stuff ready?” I asked Jack as I clumsily slung the hoop of the bag around my neck before it lifted off and fastened to my back.

"Give me a sec,” he said as he flew and pulled out a dusty pair of saddle bags that smelt like grape.

“Is that the bag that I-?” asked before they were fastened to me as I almost felt the weight of both the bags.

“I grabbed them when we were carrying you heavy flank around here, but it’s got all the Equestrian essentials,” he said in an announcer’s voice.

“Oh? What does it have?” I dared ask,

“It’s got a toothbrush, toothpaste, two brushes for your mane and coat, soap, fifty bits which you and Remi have to share, shampoo, a pillow, a blanket and a pamphlet explaining what life will be like as a pony from now on-” Jack said before being cut off by Shadow.

“But I don’t think you’ll really need that so I’ll just give you this.” He said levitating out an old looking book with Equestrian symbols which seemed more legible than the last time I saw Equestrian written language.

“What is that?” I asked as it floated into my pair of bags.

“It’s ‘My first spells’ book for unicorn foals, but it’s no substitute for a real magic teacher so I’ve written a name of a pony that helped me when I was at the bureau with my magic,” He said as he fastened the buckle and levitated Remi on my back.

“Reminds me of boot camp with all this stuff I have to carry,” I joked to the group as we began to trot to an exit.

“Well get used to it because you're now my personal chauffeur,” She giggled as I continued to trot with her wriggling around my back.

“Well don’t get so used to it, once we hit Equestria you’re not always going to be riding my back,” I groaned as we exited the building into the sun which was slowly setting. It no longer burned me like it did even when it was going down, I didn’t feel the harsh heat bearing down on my skin but only a warm sensation enveloped my pale blue coal.

“Come on we got to get to the bureau before daybreak,” said Jack as we trotted towards the crumbling ruins of Brisbane.
===
Authors Note: So close yet so far, but time to get a move on with writing so see you at the end and also sorry if it feels rushed but that's the way it played out in my head... sorry.

Comments

[Ocean Breeze]

First.

[SkyStream]

I see a sequel incoming.

877240

you can't hide from me Wasteland

[Ocean Breeze]

877443

Not a sequel, silly!

Chapter 17.

[SkyStream]

877916

I meant a sequel about the whole Rune thingie as this wouldn't fit in a Conversion Bureau story, but in a sequel to a TCB...

[Chatoyance]

Oh, this is turning out sweetly. I like sweetly! Yay!

[Da Bunnana King]

881950 To bad the ending is going to be out in like three seconds.