CH 5: Sink or Swim
=== BABW: A New (Old) Magic ===
=== Chapter 5: Sink-Or-Swim ===
[ June through August 2080 ]
Time stands still for no man, Pony, or anything else that recognizes its progression. As the world was starting to come to terms, somewhat, of the existence of the small-horse-like aliens, they had already begun to make their move. Though, all things considered, they did it in about the most subtle way they could manage. The first Conversion Bureaus began springing up like mushrooms: semi-self-sufficient facilities all dedicated to allowing the few humans that wanted to leave Earth entirely to be able to do so safely; and for those who simply wished to learn more about Ponydom in general to do so equally safely. At the same time, they existed mostly on the periphery of Humanity, both in terms of their physical locations in non-Domed exurbs, and with their very restrained public relations and ‘advertising’ campaigns. Richard Edwards, now de-facto President of the Human-Equestrian Alliance, a non-profit created to administer the Bureaus in accordance with Earth laws, continued to thank his good fortune and foresight, leaving his money in places where those of the Elite who were against the Princesses could not reach it; the last thing he needed was to expose himself any further to retribution from a few rich idiots who couldn’t stand to be talked bad about in public. And besides, he was doing quite legitimate business with the Equestrians, one which he was being rewarded for quite well; one of the few things humans always valued was gold, even if it was stamped with a Pony’s visage on it.
Meanwhile, the Six Bearers of Harmony were adjusting to their new roles: head administrators of six of the couple of dozen Bureaus that had popped up in the last couple of months. Rarity was in New York City, though thankfully not Manhattan as that was a bit of a bridge to far of the completely Dome-sealed island. Rainbow Dash set up in Chicago, mostly because she wanted to continue to observe how the North-side residents could remain loyal to the Cubs after so, so many years; and it was a bit of a sports hub anyway, so why not? Applejack was, in some sense, sheriff of the Austin Bureau, the central Texas city maintaining its long history of being a bit more tolerant of outsiders than the rest of the southern Great Plains; plus she was ultimately fascinated by all the various dialects of English, noting how the human’s East Texas was so similar to her own. Pinkie Pie (much to the constant concern of the more traditionally-minded retainers for the Princesses) had set up shop in Los Angeles, still the hub of live music and acting production, something the human-media-obsessed mare was thankful for. Fluttershy was helping run the Seattle Bureau, with the Cascade Mountains being one of the few real wilderness areas left near populated areas. And finally, Twilight was in the proverbial center of the nation, running the St. Louis Bureau, not but a stone’s throw away from the Isegawa Clinic (and clandestine laboratory).
Unbeknownst to even the Princesses at the time, this arrangement of their Bearers would prove to, again, be very much fortuitous when concerning a secondary goal for the Princesses: attempting to figure out what exactly this Power that mysterious voice was speaking of whenever she saw fit to ‘appear’ in their and the Bearers’ visions. Though how exactly… well no one knew for sure.
---------- ---------- ----------
[ August 23, 2080 – Nouvelle Baton Rouge, LA ]
Andre thrashed around in his bed, the soft rain beating down against the window. Ever since Celestia made her speech at the U.N., some awful feelings that the young man once thought buried had been uncovered, and said young man was beginning to strain under the weight of his supposedly forgotten past.
~~ -- ~~
He was twelve years old, and his family was taking what was ostensibly a leisurely cruise. His mother had won the cruise as part of a legitimate raffle, and she was going to make damn sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Or at least they would in accordance with her rather strict definition of ‘enjoyment’.
Being an irascible twelve year old, Andre had wandered off, somehow finding himself near the safety railing overlooking the clear blue water. He was so used to bodies of water being some kind of off-color due to pollution or algae blooms, he was mesmerized; simply standing there in one spot and staring at the seemingly infinite blue, undulating liquid mass.
Why is this water so pretty when the water I live next to is so ugly?
This scene progressed for a few ‘moments’ further, until the clear sky overhead turned from a lazy blue to a harsh dark gray and black.
What’s going on, why does the wind feel so nasty? And the water look so angry?
The young Andre tried to move away from the edge of the small ship, but the crowd, which was milling peacefully before, began to scramble in a blind panic. Andre could barely make any headway away from the edge of the boat.
Hey! Let me pass! I’m trying to get inside too!
The sudden and violent waves kicked up by the storm-winds battered the edge of the boat, the saltwater lashing the poor child’s skin and stinging his eyes.
Mama! Dad! Help me! Where are you?!
His cries for his parents could not be heard over the screaming passengers, as seemingly no one could find their way inside. A sudden squeal and crack caught Andre’s attention, as part of the safety railing was torn off by the unusually strong and violent sea.
Oh no… no no… I’ll fall off if I get too close there!
He tried to fight his way through the crowd toward the center of the boat. If he couldn’t find his parent’s room, then maybe he could at least find someone’s room to ride the storm out in.
No sooner though than he thought that, he was shoved across the slick deck; straight toward and quickly right off the edge of the ship where the safety railing had been torn off.
HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!
Andre thrashed and yelled as loud as he could in the maelstrom, but no one could hear his voice over the waves, the thunder, the commotion of the scrambling passengers.
MOMMA! DAD! HELP ME! I’M GONNA DROWN!
Andre was in a blind panic, his body quickly eating up all his strength trying to keep his head above water while the salty waves crashed and swirled around him. He had nothing to hold on to, not even a soggy piece of wood.
PLEASE… SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP ME! I’M GONNA DROWN!!
The young boy cried out as loud as he could, but no one could hear him. Eventually his strength gave out, and he sunk beneath the wake.
I’m gonna drown… I’m gonna drown…
He sank beneath the surface, the blue water slowly turning black as pitch…
Why can’t anyone save me? Why… why?
As his entire vision faded to black, suddenly there was a snap!
~~ -- ~~
And the now young man would catapult awake, still in his bed, leg covered in pajama shorts hanging halfway off, as the rain continued to patter against his window. A small drone, no bigger than a Chihuahua, beeped and scooted along the floor; sweeping up any dust and debris that might have fallen since its last round an hour previous.
Andre tiredly looked at the clock that now occupied most of the screen on his computer terminal, the soft blue lettering flashing “3:05 AM”, matching some inaudible rhythm as it merely blinked, blinked, and blinked some more.
“The same goddamn dream. It doesn’t matter how many times I have it, I’m still getting freaked out by it…” Andre moaned to himself as he swept his leg back underneath his thin summertime covers.
He turned over to the side of the bed facing the window, looking up at the cloudy sky, as the tiny pellets of rain continued pattering against the Plexiglas window of his apartment.
After about ten minutes of restless lying about, he sat up in his bed, simply content to just stare at the ceiling, as a fan tried to keep the room down to 70 Fahrenheit like he liked it.
“What am I going to do with myself? The longer this goes on the more I think about… them. And the more I think about them the angrier I get. I thought I was over this a long time ago.”
Andre stood up and looked at the small shelf hanging off-side his computer monitor. On the shelf sat a couple of paper-back books, a rare consumer item given the insane proliferation of e-paper these days, and a couple of framed photographs.
One was a photograph of Andre with what he once considered his nuclear family, himself as a twelve year old, his parents, and paternal grandparents. The other photograph: just himself as a sixteen year old, and his grandfather in his sick (and eventual death) bed.
“I know the decision I made… Mama, Dad. Even though it was a mutual decision, why did you just up and leave?”
“Why did you just leave us here all alone?”
==============
[ August 25, 2080 -- Nouvelle Baton Rouge, USA ]
“The current polls now stand at Incumbent President Aguillar 51% and challenger Grant Everfield at 47%, with a 3.5% margin of error. According to projections by our ABC News team, we model President Aguillar winning the Electoral College vote by a scant 280 to 258 margin. It appears that Arizona, Texas, and Florida will be the swing states once again this election, as turnout amongst the aggregate cities will be absolutely critical to offset the overwhelming support Everfield boasts in the Domed communities surrounding the major metropolitan areas…” the news anchor droned on, as the election appeared as if it were going to remain stubbornly close all the way until the day of.
“I’m surprised they aren’t trying to push some arbitrary reading of the polling data to make it look like Everfield is winning right now,” Ethan mused over the video chat, as he and the rest of the Four Amigos, as he had taken to calling them now, lounged around their various residences.
“Could be that is the best reading they can make, at least if you think they favor Everfield in the coverage,” Kyoko added.
“Yeah, all this talk about how President Aguillar can’t do anything with Congress, yet she has been leading by a small but consistent margin throughout. Not saying she will win in absolute terms, but the fact Everfield can’t seem to get past 47% says a lot,” Natasha reasoned.
Andre took all the points into consideration before a0dding his own. “Madame President really needs something to break in her general favor though; I wouldn’t put it past the Dome-dwellers to resort to dirty electioneering to try and grease the skids some more for Everfield come November.”
The other three nodded; the fact that despite all the haranguing from Congress, Pres. Aguillar was still more or less approved of by the general population had to be driving the Dome Elite batty.
“In any case, on to more micro concerns…” Ethan announced, before staring at Andre intently through his terminal’s camera.
“I already don’t like where this is going…” Andre thought aloud as he rolled his eyes and slunk his head into his palm.
“Yes, we are going there again. You look like someone who has been shadow boxing with the ghost of Evander Holyfield every night. Seriously dude, you know how important sleep is given how wired our brains.”
“Look man I already told you, I’m just fine. It’s…” Andre tried to reply in a reassuring tone, but his hesitation was giving his anxiety away.
“It’s what, Ao-chan?” Kyoko asked, trying to get Andre’s mental train back on track.
Andre rubbed his temples for a few seconds, before he replied. “I… I…” he stammered to start, before sighing and finally just coming clean. “It’s been these nightmares. It’s like the longer I stay in this place the more I’m reminded of my parents. And let’s just say I really HATE being reminded of my parents.”
The idea of Andre being on bad terms with his parents came as a mild shock to Natasha, Ethan, and Kyoko, especially the latter.
“Fine, but just a little bit,” Andre started, taking in a deep breath and trying to figure out how much he was gonna say and how much he was gonna leave out.
“It was about eleven years ago. My grandfather was already sick by this point and time, and my parents left me with a decision. A deceptively easy one: stay here and finish high school, under the supervision of my grandfather, or uproot and move to the Atlanta Domes with them.”
The three of them sat there in shock as Andre began peeling back the curtain on his backstory, even if it was ever so slightly.
“I can’t believe they’d do something like that!” Ethan said, groaning in disgust all the while.
“In any case, as you can see, I decided to stay with my grandfather. He passed away as soon as I graduated, almost as if the one thing that was tethering him to his mortal coil was me finishing school. He had saved enough money to where I could attend a university; I ended up graduating from a small out of the way school in northern Louisiana. Louisiana State had, even then, gotten out of reach to non-connected students, but I needed formal training from somewhere, so it was to Shreveport-Bossier I went.”
“Makes sense, I guess… at least the part about your university education,” Kyoko stated in a dour tone, still depressed learning about why Andre seemed so tense the last few weeks.
Natasha thought about all of the revelations of the last few minutes, and came to, what she felt, was a proper and right conclusion. “Alright, Mr. Blue (in more ways than one), what you need is a break from your apartment. Get out for a good while. In fact, I think I know just where you should go?”
Andre sighed a bit as he listened to the blonde Russian immigrant. “Alright, Miss Red? Where should I go?”
“Where else? St. Louis, I’m pretty sure that Kyoko and her parents should have plenty of room still, right, Kyoko?” Natasha replied, the teasing in her voice obvious to everyone.
Not that that stopped Kyoko and Andre from feeling intense consternation. “Hey Natasha, that’s kinda really… sudden. Isn’t it kinda sudden, Andre?”
“I… guess?” Andre replied, not sure how exactly to respond.
“Well I think going back to St. Louis and just getting away from your troubles for a while could do you quite a bit of good, ya know,” Ethan added, trying to follow the path Natasha laying out.
“Well um, I… guess. I mean if you parents don’t mind having a non-patient guest,” Andre replied, a little more sure of where he wanted to go now.
Kyoko sighed, already dreading what her nosy parents might say and do when they found out Andre was going to make a return trip. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. We are registered as both an outpatient clinic and general-purpose rest stop and inn, here.”
“Well I guess that’s settled then!” Natasha concluded in a sing-songy and excited voice.
“I… guess it is…” Andre replied, as his gaze drifted to the Japanese woman with the green streaks in her hair.
==============
[ August 28, 2080 –- St. Louis, USA – Isegawa Clinic & Inn ]
“You know, it’s slightly unsettling for you to stare at somepony like that…” Twilight Sparkle said with a bit of nervousness, as the dark-skinned man with the low-cut hair just seemed transfixed by her appearance.
“I have no idea why but I just can’t help it at the moment…” Andre said, as he just seemed to be stuck in a loop, trying to process the fact that he was sitting right in front of the mare that was at the right-hand, or right-hoof as it were, of Princess Celestia when she first appeared.
A swift smack on the back of his head managed to get his brain back in gear.
“I’m sorry Miss… um… Twilight Sparkle, it was?”
“Yes, Twilight Sparkle is my name.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry for that, but… yeah having someone this close to Princess Celestia is really… jarring for me…”
“Sorry I can’t help that feeling…”
“Oh no, I’ll probably get used to it over time. Just, yeah, it’s just me needing to get over myself I guess…”
Kyoko stood there tapping her foot as her still-not-(quite-)boyfriend broke eye contact with the purple mare and looked back at her.
“Are you going to allow our esteemed guest to return to her preparations for opening up the Bureau today?” Kyoko asked; the exasperation evident in her voice.
A few more moments passed, as the computer clock audibly ticked a few seconds closer to sunrise.
Andre’s mental track finally lined up with his mouth, after those awkward silent moments. “Yeah, I mean… we are supposed to take that little sight-seeing tour of the facility today. I saw some brochures on the internet, but I still actually want to see the inside of one for myself.”
“Well, give me until, about 8 AM, and I should have everything all sorted out for you two,” Twilight mentioned with a nervous smile, as it was apparent that she was looking around for something… well more someone.
Andre picked up on the nervousness, thankful that Ponies were a lot more emphatic in their facial expressions. “Say um, are you, looking for something?”
“More like looking to see if Dr. Isegawa is up.” Twilight replied, as she peered around the corner of the small lobby the three of them were in.
“Which one, the husband or the wife?” Andre asked, seeing as Twilight still wasn’t used to them both being doctors.
“Oh right, same last name. The husband. Dr. Hayato is forever trying to rope me into some experiment while I’m wide awake in the morning. Usually I’m too tired or grumpy when I get back here to care,” Twilight mused with some measure of exasperation, as she saw the coast being clear.
With a soft hum and a fuchsia-like glow, she levitated her saddle-bag across her back made for the side exit.
“In any case, I will see you two in a couple of hours, have to make sure nothing exploded at the Bureau while I was gone,” Twilight waved as the two humans watched her walk out of the side exit to the Isegawa Clinic.
“And there she goes. I’d ask why she was walking by herself, then again hardly anyone is out here to harass her, especially not pre-dawn hours in any case,” Andre mused aloud as he and Kyoko walked back to the ‘Inn’-side of the combination clinic and inn.
As Twilight slowly trotted further away from the clinic, she internally ruminated a bit on the feelings she picked up from Andre and Kyoko.
I can see why Kyoko’s friends want to get those two together more often, it seems like there might be something there. Just hope they don’t push them too hard…
As she continued walking, her thoughts turned to some more weighty issues.
At the same time, it feels like there is something dragging on both of them, especially Andre right now. I’ll have to find some way to coax it out of him while he’s here with the Isegawas. Not only that, but there is something that is calling in both of them to get out. Something I can’t recognize at all, but… I feel that I should…
~~ Later that day, at 8 AM ~~
Twilight was manning (in a certain sense of the term) the front desk of the Bureau. The foot traffic was rather light, but there were still a half-dozen people milling about the lobby of the facility. As Twilight was turning the pages on a mage-craft journal she had sent from Equestria (detailing the latest in crystal-based mana storage research), her ears perked up with the ringing of the motion sensing door chime.
“Hi and welcome to the St. Louis Conve—OH it’s you two, Kyoko and Andre,” Twilight started, as she was about to go into her greeting spiel, and immediately interrupted herself when she saw it was Kyoko and Andre who walked through the door. She quickly climbed down from her elevated cushion-chair and trotted over to the human pair.
“Hey Twilight, I see everything is already hopping,” Kyoko observed as Pony and Human employees were keeping watch and directing traffic where needed.
“Yeah, early morning tends to be a little weird. We can usually count on a couple of vagabonds who just hang around waiting for us to open every other day or so,” Twilight responded as the three of them went to sit in a more out-of-the-way part of the front lobby.
“So what are your first impressions of the Bureau?” Twilight asked, figuring there was as good a time as any to start the conversation in earnest.
“Very well lit and furnished, and comfortable,” Andre said, as he lounged in the soft chair, and was already set to thinking various thoughts.
“Yeah, whoever you got helping you must be loaded for bear,” Kyoko added.
“You could say that…” Twilight responded, with a bit of wry mirth in her voice.
Kyoko stood back up after trying out the chair, and walked back toward the center of the lobby. “I’m gonna take a quick peek around if you don’t mind, Twilight.”
“Sure go ahead, just don’t go too far,” Twilight responded as Andre appeared to be rather deep in thought now.
Kyoko seems to have a bit of a charmed life; I mean… she has well to do parents who love her with all their heart. Yet my parents just… up and leave and don’t even bother to message me but once in a blue moon. Did I do something wrong? I… I just can’t understand it… Andre thought to himself, the anguish in his thoughts evident to the mulberry Pony sitting right beside him.
“You seem… distressed, Mr. Andre,” Twilight offered, hoping Andre wouldn’t try and deflect or give her the run-around.
“Um… it’s… well…” Andre stammered; he definitely didn’t want to start a long chain of psycho-babble about himself, especially to a Pony he didn’t even know all that well. So he looked for something that he could talk about that’d let him vent and hopefully leave his own problems hidden from the Bureau director.
After a few more moments of hemming and hawing, Andre finally found a subject he could talk about and vent some of his frustration, one of the vagabonds that was busy filling out the forms for Conversion.
“Let’s take that man right there, the one in the ragged blue shirt,” Andre started, as he pointed him out to Twilight so she’d know who he was referring to while he spoke. “Even though he looks like he is in his late sixties, he is probably no older than 45, give or take a year.”
He then took a deep breath, and hope he was going to let out enough frustration with these next words. “This is what this world does to people who don’t already ‘have’, you could say. They just get ground down. He probably hadn’t had a steady paycheck in years, the bad clothes can attest to that. That, in turn means he can’t afford anything except the food you can buy with the basic vouchers and whatever charity or homeless shelters can provide, which nothing more than crappy, in my estimation, Nano-Box produced knockoffs of real food.”
Twilight could feel the frustration and outright anger in Andre’s voice as he continued on, but couldn’t help but feel he was holding back in the content of his words.
“He’s probably done nothing with himself except drink himself into a stupor, or numb his mind with whatever escapist sites and communities he could find on the general access ‘Net.”
Andre then sighed, as he decided to conclude his point before he really got upset.
“You know what the difference between that man over there and me? Time. That’s all there is. I’m still young and naïve enough to think I can go somewhere if I just beat against the walls hard enough. Him, the wall he was beating on pretty much fell over on him. I doubt he actually makes it to 70 years old, he’ll either die to some preventable disease or condition or be killed by thugs in some random act of violence.”
Twilight felt such empathy for both the man who was signing away his Human body, in effect, as well as Andre who was incredibly frustrated by the fact that someone would even have to do that to have some kind of chance at a better life.
“Do you know what would drive a man to functionally sign his current life away? Outright hopelessness brought on by the fact they may never get an opportunity at a decent life here on Earth. Not unless a meteor of pure gold struck and they weren’t killed in the melee that’d ensue trying to claim it. But… when it seems like the people who made it want to kick over the ladder to keep anyone else from climbing up, it… it just feels like there is something fundamentally wrong with… everything. Even… even a kid isn’t safe from that.”
Twilight keyed in on that last statement of Andre’s as she contemplated the human’s mental state. It sounds like there might be some abandonment issues… but I definitely can’t press anything when I’m not sure myself of what exactly is bothering him. I guess I will just have to keep looking around the seams for a loose thread to pull.
Andre leaned back in the chair and put his hand over his face, trying to wipe away the frustration lest he start affecting the mood of the other Ponies and people around him.
“I guess that’s enough venting about the state of the world. You all are here now and hopefully we can start, well, doing some things to fix this mess. Lord knows we need to start somewhere,” Andre said, as he stood up and walked into the middle of the lobby to see where Kyoko might have wandered off to.
-----
After Andre found Kyoko down a hallway, they decided to go ahead and start the tour in earnest. Their first stop was the central greenhouse, a protected place for growing the different food crops and decorative flowers seen all over the Bureau.
“Hey Carnation, how’s it going this morning,” Kyoko yelled with a chipper tone, as she and Andre saw a pink-coated and lavender-maned Earth Pony mare pulling a hand, rather a hoof-tiller through a potting row.
“Everything’s going great, Kyoko! The irises are coming in really well these last couple of weeks so we should be putting them out in the lobby before long,” Carnation Opus replied with an equally chipper tone.
Andre walked around, touching a few of the plants, and feeling a bit of a buzz in the air.
It feels like the magic that I read about from Earth Ponies, everything that the farmers grow tend to grow a little more robust than usual… Andre thought to himself as he crouched down to look carefully at the tomatoes that were growing on the trellis.
“You know if you are hungry, you can get some breakfast in the cafeteria, though we try to keep it to just staff and clientele,” Carnation said as she noticed Andre seemingly staring intently at the redder-than-red tomatoes.
“Well, tomatoes aren’t exactly my favorite thing, but… I guess breakfast or lunch here would be alright…” Andre said as he stood back up.
-----
A few hours later, the pair were sitting in the cafeteria, as the Pony ‘waitress’ brought them some soup and crackers on a cart.
“You know that smells really good, Butter Swirl!” Andre said, as he and Kyoko sat at a table not too far from where the actual clientele (both pre and post-Conversion) were sitting.
“Oh it really does, what kind of soup is it?”
“Umm, just a simple vegetable medley. There’s also some spaghetti style pasta thrown in for good measure, for those extra carbohydrates. We have to make sure the first few meals for the Converts are well-balanced; it will help get their digestive systems in gear faster,” Butter Swirl replied, as she felt nervous about making food outside of her forte of cake-baking.
A few moments later (after the soup cooled) the two both ate their first spoonfuls; and both were promptly floored by how alive the food tasted.
“This is great… you have real skill at cooking you know, even beyond your namesake of the cakes you bake, I’d wager anyway,” Andre replied, as he dipped some of his crackers into the reddish broth of the soup.
“He’s not kidding, I don’t know if there are that many places that could produce food better than this on balance. Quality of ingredients matter a lot!” Kyoko said as she continued eating from the bowl.
“See, I knew that would be the key. You know I’ve had some humans say that the food here couldn’t be any different than what it was out there in the city. But that was always before their first bite,” Butter Swirl noted with a lot more confidence in her voice, sagely nodding all the while.
“Anyway, even if you have the best ingredients, you have to put them together properly. This is pretty damn good, Butter. So don’t be afraid of whatever else they might ask you to cook over here, alright,” Andre said, smiling all the while.
“Th-Tha-Thanks! That… that really means a lot!” Butter Swirl smiled, as she moved on to a different table to hand out more bowls of soup.
Seriously, her Cutie Mark implies she’s good at cake-baking, but she’s definitely a good cook all around. I guess even if your culture is predicated on finding your talent, you can be nervous about just how broad that talent really is… Andre thought to himself as he finished up his bowl.
-----
“I’m glad you had a good time with the tour!” Twilight waved excitedly as Kyoko and Andre set out from the front door to make the quarter-mile walk back up the road. The sun lazily drifted away from its daily apex, as the voice inside Andre’s cyber-implants noted it was now 1 PM local time.
“At least it isn’t too hot so I shouldn’t have to call anyone from the clinic to give us a ride back. It’s been awhile since I could say that too,” Andre noted as they started up the road.
“Oh we’ve had a hoof in that as well, but don’t tell anyone,” Twilight mentioned, with a bit of a wink and a nod.
“Uh… yeah… sure…” Andre replied nervously as they walked out of shouting distance from the clinic.
I hope this helps you sort out your internal conflicts, Andre. I want to see you and Kyoko happy… Twilight thought somewhat absent-mindedly, as she returned to her post at the front desk.
~~~ -- Later that night -- ~~~
Twilight trotted slowly down the hallway, making her way to the inn’s communal kitchen so she could heat up some milk to help herself get to sleep a little more soundly. A minor incident with an apparent parent that had come in to argue with an adult child about Conversion had been wracking her nerves all evening, and she needed anything that would finally get her to calm down entirely.
“I know some humans don’t take to the idea of changing species entirely, but he was old enough to make the choice of his own free will. I don’t understand how anyone, even a parent, could try and stop them in that regard,” the mulberry Unicorn thought aloud, as she continued to trot down the hall.
She found the door to Andre’s guest room slightly ajar, apparently it was set to manually open and close and there was a small crack in it. Not thinking much of it, she fired up her aura to pull the door closed completely, but stopped after she heard anguished moaning from the occupant of said room.
“What are you doing… you’re supposed to help me… I’m your son…” Andre moaned, in his half-sleep dream-state.
I was right, it is abandonment issues. And directly tied to his parents. But there is something else… some kind of strange aura, can’t exactly place what it is… Twilight thought to herself, as she parked her rear-end right at the edge of the door and kept listening.
“You just left me alone. I made my choice… but you just left me alone anyway. What did I do?!” Andre moaned again as he catapulted awake from his nightmare.
Twilight peered inside, and saw Andre sitting halfway off the bed, trying to figure out just what was going on in his own head. He looked incredibly frustrated and depressed. She thought better of trying to talk to him, at least so soon, and continued on her way to the kitchen.
The only thing I can do for right now, is pray to Celestia that you can move past this…
=========
[ August 29, 2080 –- St. Louis, USA – Isegawa Clinic & Inn ]
It was evening in the Isegawa ‘household’, as the Doctors Isegawa, Kyoko, Andre, and Twilight all sat to the table were eating dinner. Four of the occupants of the table were all eating and carrying on with their conversations: the Doctors about the latest research trends and Kyoko and Twilight about those coming and going from the Bureau.
Andre however, just appeared… lost in a sense. He sat there, poking at his plate, and eventually pushed his chair back and stood up.
“Andre, are you not hungry?” Dr. Jun asked, with a bit of a concerned tone given how Andre was looking incredibly dour, and had been all day.
“I… um… no… not really,” Andre replied, the anguish on his face evident to everyone sitting at the table.
“Do you want us to save your plate for later?” Kyoko asked.
“Uh, yeah sure. I’m just gonna go to my room,” Andre replied curtly, as he excused himself and left the room.
Dr. Hayato picked up the plate and placed it in a sealed container, as he looked at the distressed young man walking back and slamming his fist against the wall all the while.
“Kyoko, I think you should go talk to him, but give it a little while. He’s obviously having some internal problems, and I think he needs someone he can talk to without feeling any pressure,” Hayato said to his daughter, as he sat back down to the table.
“Um, Kyoko, do you mind if I come with you when you do. I… I can’t exactly explain it, but there is something else swirling about here, and I think it might be related,” Twilight asked, as she finished the last of her food.
“Yeah, I’ll give him about fifteen minutes, then we’ll go check on him,” Kyoko concluded, as she stood up from the table and raked out her excess food.
-----
As Kyoko and Twilight approached Andre’s room, they could hear the obvious sound of a man crying. Kyoko, not wanting to startle Andre, slowly opened the door.
Andre just looked up at his Japanese not-quite-girlfriend, and sighed, as he sunk his head back into the pillow that was balanced on his knees.
“Andre, what’s wrong? Please, you have to tell us or we can’t try and help you,” Kyoko asked pleadingly as she sat next to Andre, as Twilight stood by the doorframe.
“It’s all of this… you have parents that care about you. I’m sure Twilight’s parents care about her on the other side of the Aurora. But what do I have? A pair of jackasses that can’t even be bothered to e-mail me just to see if I’m still alright!” Andre said, shouting as he threw the pillow behind him in frustration.
“Do you want to talk about it? You can see just bottling it up inside isn’t doing you or Kyoko any good,” Twilight asked, hoping an outside voice can get him to open up.
“It all started when I was twelve. My mom got work with a preacher out of Atlanta, she was going to move into the Domes there and everything. But my grandfather on my dad’s side hated the Dome-types,” Andre said while sniffling, hating having to remember that day.
“Okay, so what happened after that,” Kyoko asked.
“Eventually it came to my decision, I’d either say with my grandfather in Nouvelle Baton Rouge, or I would move to Atlanta with my parents. I didn’t want to leave school, and I didn’t want anything to do with the Domes or whatever life my mother had all mapped out for me,” Andre replied, as he continued to choke back more tears.
“Mapped out?” Twilight asked.
“I was eventually going to go to a seminary and be part of some mega-church or something or other. She is a highly religious person, almost annoyingly so. So the fact I didn’t see eye to eye on how she wanted me to live my life, which was more or less secular, did not sit well with her,” Andre replied, as he wiped away more tears from his eyes. “That wasn’t even the worst of it though…”
“I can’t imagine how it could be any worse. Apparently your mom thought you were just an extension of herself instead of your own person,” Twilight mused before she let Andre continue.
“She called me an ungrateful bastard child right to my face. From that point on the only correspondence I’ve gotten from them is the occasional e-mail from my father, maybe three or four messages a year,” Andre said, his tone noticeably less acerbic when referring to his dad.
Kyoko hugged him tightly, and Andre didn’t try to resist, just thankful that some people out here generally cared for his well-being.
“I’m just tired. I’m tired of everything about this world reminding me of my parents. Reminding me of the life I’ll never have. It just makes me want to start over,” Andre said, as he pounded the bed.
“Andre, I hope you don’t mind me suggesting this, but I want you to come back to the Bureau in about three days. I want you to talk to someone in particular there; it might help you sort some more of these feelings out. And Kyoko, I want you to accompany him, if you also wouldn’t mind,” Twilight replied, obviously noting the particular words Andre chose in his last statement.
The two humans nodded, not seeing anything in particular that’d be objectionable.
As Twilight turned to leave the bedroom and leave the two humans to their own devices, she overhead something that put her heart more at ease.
“Andre, I just want to see you happy and healthy. You… you really mean a lot to me, and… seeing you like this hurts me,” Kyoko said, Twilight not wanting to break up the moment by looking straight at them, so she was content to just listen in from the outside of the doorframe.
“I know Kyoko… it’s just so hard. I… I need to go home and think about some things. I don’t think I’ll need to leave for too long but… I just need some time completely incommunicado, if you will,” Andre replied.
“Let’s visit Twilight back at the Bureau before you do. I think whatever she wants to show us will be really important for these questions of yours, okay?” Kyoko chided a bit, getting a bit of a chuckle out of Andre.
That’s great to hear Andre, I think you’ll really appreciate what I have to show you in a couple of days, Twilight thought to herself as she trotted back to her room.
-----
“So how much longer until our mutual benefactor’s construction drones arrive?” Dr. Jun asked of the somewhat large indigo Alicorn sitting on a slightly raised cushion-seat in the office.
“About six days, if my reading of your calendar is correct. I do hope this isn’t too much of an imposition upon you all, but you frankly are the humans that my sister and I trust with something like this,” Luna replied, looking for any signs of trepidation in the eyes of the Doctors Isegawa.
“My only question is that you wanted ten rooms built in this dormitory. But there are only six Elements of Harmony, if what you and your sister’s protégé state are correct. Might I ask what the extra four rooms are for?” Dr. Hayato asked.
“Not to get too in-depth, because there are still aspects about it we aren’t quite sure about. But we have reasoned there are another four elements that are tied to your world that we will have to bring under our collective wings, as it were. I, my sister, and the aforementioned Elements of Harmony have all received visions of a power that exists in this world that is akin to the Elements of Harmony. In addition, apparently, this Conversion Project will be critical in resurrecting this power. We simply want the extra space so that whomever we find as the bearers of this power can interact with our Elements’ Bearers in an informal setting,” Luna stated as calmly as she could, hoping that she didn’t reveal too much in terms of ‘state’ secrets.
“I cannot exactly find a reason to object to that necessarily; just so long as the drones do not take too long in constructing this dormitory,” Dr. Jun concluded, with her husband nodding in agreement.
“Thank you, you can’t imagine how much your assistance has put mine and Celestia’s mind at ease,” Luna replied with a thankful sigh.
“We are already in this deep with you all; it wouldn’t do us very much good to try and bail out now,” Dr. Hayato chuckled as he saw the Princess of the Night off.
==========
[ September 02, 2080 –- St. Louis, USA – St. Louis Conversion Bureau ]
“It’s nice to see that you are a man of your word Andre,” Twilight mused aloud as she, Andre, and Kyoko all walked toward an out-of-the-way conference room in the Bureau.
“I do my best, in any case, so what was this thing you wanted to show me?” Andre asked as the three of them entered the room.
“Alright, I just ask that the two of you sit down first, if you don’t mind,” Twilight requested, and the two humans acceded to.
“Good, now, Mr. Jonathan, if you wouldn’t mind coming forward…” Twilight asked of a conveniently placed privacy screen, or more to the point, a rusty-orange Earth Pony standing behind said screen.
“Oh, okay, you can tell I’m a bit… um… nervous about this…” the Earth Pony that was still obviously using his Human name said as he gingerly climbed into the elevated seat-cushion he and Twilight were to sit on, he found it difficult to even look Twilight in the eyes, much less the two humans that were his audience for the next short while.
“No need to be apprehensive, Mr. Jonathan, I just need you to tell your story to my friends here,” Twilight replied, trying to assuage Jonathan’s fears.
The Earth Pony picked up his gaze, in order to look at the two humans sitting in front of him. He recognized them somewhat as some people who had been through the center the day he signed up, "Oh, oh yes. My name is Jonathan. You are probably wondering why I've undergone the procedure. Well it was quite simple to me. I feel that I was sorta… listlessly drifting through life. You see, I was a professor at the University of Missouri system, well, before the AIs began taking up a lot of the computing jobs."
The last couple of statements definitely caught Andre’s attention.
Jonathan continued, "Anyway as you can figure, the AIs made it near impossible to get any entry-level work in Computer Science. So most teens now just self-study in a particular field of interest and become hobbyists. With the lack of participants in the university-offered courses, my workload was whittled down to nothing. Eventually, I was fired due to overall lack of demand, and the Computer Science department shuttered.
“At first I thought I could get odd jobs to get by, but it turns out the AIs had run people out of almost all service sector jobs. What happened to heavy industry with the advance in robotics now was happening to all non-management level workers. After a year or two of no work, I began drinking heavily. The food I was eating steadily grew worse in quality, until all I could ‘afford’ was whatever I could get out of the Nano-boxes with my vouchers.
"I was going nowhere fast, and basically drinking myself into the grave. But then these Ponies came, and announced their plans. I wasn't sure what to think of it though, until the Bureau opened a couple of weeks ago. After reading some of the literature, I decided I should try and make a new way for myself in Equestria. So here I sit before you, a yet unnamed Earth Pony, off to the Fillydelphia Adult-Learning Complex in seven days’ time, more or less."
Twilight then turned to Jonathan, "Thank you Mr. Jonathan, you my return to your room, your treadmill rehab session doesn't start for another three hours, so rest up." The brown Earth Pony nodded and trotted off back to his dorm room.
She then turned to the both of them to say, "Now I want you to understand. I did not ask Mr. Jonathan to speak before you to garner any particular sympathy, or convince you to undergo Ponification. Also, he made his decision with the full knowledge that this was a one-way, permanent transformation. Despite those warnings though, he agreed anyway. He told me that basically he had nothing left on this side, so why not see if he could find something on other side. Therefore, we granted him a new, fresh body.”
Twilight then turned slightly to look more directly at Andre. “If you remember a couple days ago, when we talking in the lobby, you predicted that he would die of liver cancer. While you were correct in that assessment, you were wrong about the time frame; it wouldn’t have been fifteen years before he ran out of time. He was probably no more than two years away from total liver failure, the ambient pollution aggravating his liver degrading. He effectively had no future here, so he's taking a gamble in Equestria."
Twilight then changed her tone, making it clear this was now her personal opinions she was about to give.
“Despite all the trouble and strife in his life, did you notice his eyes? His eyes were completely calm and serene. That is because the transformation sequence, at least for me, as much about allowing your heart to be opened, as it is allowing your body to be altered. I cannot say exactly for sure what the Princesses have done with the mass-production potion, but all the Newfoals we’ve processed mentioned some kind of intensely personal vision as they underwent the procedure; as well talking to Princess Celestia and Luna themselves, or at least some reasonable facsimile."
Opening one's heart… I'd laugh if I weren't seeing it first-hand… Andre thought to himself.
-----
“So you’re on the way back to Nouvelle Baton Rouge, Andre?” Dr. Jun asked as she watched the young man pack his things back into his travel case.
“Yeah, I think there are some thoughts and material things I have to get in order. I feel like there are some pieces starting to fall into place, but I want to be absolutely sure of what they are and how they are going to be arranged,” Andre said, as he checked under the bed to see if he might have thrown something during his crying fit a couple of days ago.
“Ah man… my headphones, they’re cracked right down the middle…” Andre said with a morose tone as he held the pieces in his hands.
“I can get you a new pair if you want me to~” Kyoko said as she looked longingly at Andre.
“I… would appreciate that a lot…” Andre replied, almost off-put by how affectionate Kyoko was being toward him all of a sudden.
“Well just don’t take too long down in your hometown now. I was… kinda getting used to you being here and everything…” Kyoko said, her face looking more than a bit more sad at her beau leaving.
“Nah, actually… um… I would like to ask your parents something to that end…” Andre said nervously.
Both Kyoko and Dr. Jun looked with great surprise and interest at the young African-American man.
“Um, I… I’d…” Andre began to stammer before he finally calmed himself down. “I’d like to move in as your resident public computer network coordinator. I mean I dunno if you have anyone here that is in charge of keeping your wireless and everything working and clear of intruders and virii, so I, wanted to see if I could… you know, ply my trade a little bit,” Andre asked of Dr. Jun.
“He’s right; I’m really not the best at keeping networks going, just using them. I think it’d be a good thing,” Dr. Hayato replied in passing as he walked into the room, having overheard the request from the outside.
“And he probably wants to stay close to Kyoko too, the sly dog…” Dr. Jun mused under her breath to her husband.
“To be fair, I kinda played the same game with you at first,” Dr. Hayato replied with a bit of mirth.
Resuming her normal tone and volume, Dr. Jun responded. “Sure, once you clear the paperwork down at your residence in Nouvelle Baton Rouge, we’ll get a room squared away here. You don’t have that many possessions to move, do you?”
“Ehh, not really, I’ll send you back some photos when I get sorted out back home,” Andre said, surprised to hear the Isegawas accept so readily.
=========
[ September 05, 2080 –- Nouvelle Baton Rouge, USA ]
Andre was lying on his couch, thinking intently over the last few days about the path he was more or less sure now he was going to embark on. He looked around his surroundings, noting how Spartan his apartment looked after being around the Isegawas and the St. Louis Bureau so much in the recent weeks.
“Man I really don’t have much to my name except the clothes on my back and the computer terminal still humming away,” Andre thought aloud as he looked around his apartment. There were a few things, such as the books, a couple of pennants from the Pelicans and Saints. But other than that, very much a lack of anything that said ‘This space belonged to one Andre Bowman’.
“Seeing as I’m about to move, I might as well start packing up what little bit I want to bring with me…” Andre continued to think aloud as he stood up.
After only a couple of hours, he was done, for the most part. All of his clothes were in vaccumn sealed carrying bags, all of his non-electronics in a large reinforced cardboard box. Only his few books, his PC terminal, and the two photgraphs on the shelf remained unpacked.
He first picked up the photograph of his entire immediate family, staring at the two figures who stood behind his twelve-year-old self and his late grandfather. “Fat lot of good you two have done for me these last fifteen or so years…” he mused in the most snide one he could manage.
He was then taken aback to what Twilight Sparkle said as they wrapped up their meeting with the now Ponified Jonathan. I cannot say exactly for sure what the Princesses have done with the mass-production potion, but nearly all the Newfoals we’ve processed mentioned some kind of intensely personal vision as they underwent the procedure; as well talking to Princess Celestia and Luna themselves, or at least some reasonable facsimile.
He then looked at the image of his sixteen-year-old self with his ailing grandfather; how he smiled despite the fact he had a tube in his nose to assist his breathing almost constantly by this point. He then heard one of his grandfather’s favorite saying echoing around in his head. You can’t let the circumstances with me, nor your parents, be an anchor around your neck. If you feel you need to move, then just go ahead and move. A real man carries his home with him, in his heart, no matter where he might find himself. And a real man carries himself with pride, no matter what circumstances he was born from, or what he might find himself in at the current time.
Andre sat back down on the couch, between where he had the box with his belongings and his clothes. He stared at the picture, and could swear he felt his grandfather watching over him. “Gramps, you knew I was never much of the spiritual type. But thanks, thanks for watching over me all these years. I… heh… I just hope the next time I see you, you recognize me.”
Andre began to chuckle, as he really was about to go over the precipice. It wasn’t some cataclysmic event that drove him, just the solemn realization that he needed a clean break.
”Well Twilight, even if you didn’t intend to convince me, I guess you did anyway…”
=========
[ September 12, 2080 –- St. Louis, USA – St. Louis Conversion Bureau ]
“You three have no idea how much this means to me, just for you all to be here in the flesh and blood as I do this,” Andre thought aloud, as the Four Amigos all sat in the lobby of the Conversion Bureau.
“So you are really going through with this, eh?” Ethan mused jokingly. Of course he wasn’t going to try and talk Andre out of this, but still, it was a bit… odd.
“To think, in three days’ time, you will look something like a living plush toy. I would say it’s unbelievable, but an investigator can’t deny her senses can she,” Natasha mused, as she looked at the Ponies and Humans all milling about like it was perfectly normal for candy-colored miniature horses to be here.
“I’m kinda sad that you’re doing this… but… well we’ll still be friends in spite of it, right?!” Kyoko asked with a pleading tone and hugging the man that outweighed her by 70 lbs. easily.
“Yeah, definitely. I don’t really want to do this to you, especially since we’re trying to build something, but… I think if I don’t do this, it’s gonna be like a lead anchor around my neck all my life,” Andre responded; hating how selfish this decision seemed, but knowing if he didn’t make the clean break while he had the nerve to, he’d never do it.
Twilight walked over with the registration forms, which Andre took and read over a couple of times before beginning to write down the relevant information...
Name: Andre Bowman
Age: 26
Race: African-American
Country of Origin (Residence, if different): United States of America
Known Allergies: None
Medical History: Nothing noteworthy
[...]
All in all pretty boilerplate stuff insofar as recording one's basic personal information. He did freeze, however, on page 3; in big bold print it read the following:
"I hereby state that all of the above information is accurate to the best of my knowledge. I also, hereby state that this decision is made entirely of my own free will, with no coercion or extortion involved. Finally, I hereby also recognize, that should I be accepted as a Pony, I will pledge my allegiance to both my country of citizenship, as well as Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and the Law of Equestria."
He chuckled a bit as he signed all the relevant lines, thinking how strange it would be to still qualify for dual citizenship after changing species.
Twilight took back the clipboard after Andre reported he finished filling out all the documents. "All right Mr. Andre Bowman. You are all registered. Now realize you have a 72 hour period to reconsider, if you take advantage of this, this signed document will be incinerated and all computer records derived from it deleted. You may come back then at a later date, but note you will have to refill the paperwork, of course," Twilight said matter-of-factly; trying to keep this part of the process as professional as possible.
She continued, "Now during this 72 hour interstitial, there will be an orientation and distribution of preliminary educational materials. There will also be a seven day rehabilitation period post-Conversion, in order to allow your rewired brain some time to adapt to your new body. Depending on what form you take after the Conversion process is completed, additional materials will be distributed, until such time you are sent to the Ponyville Newfoal Processing Center. From there, you will be sent to one of the three main Adult Education Complexes: Unicorns will go to Canterlot, Earth Ponies to Fillydelphia, and Pegasi to Cloudsdale."
I wonder how their city names became puns like that... the Four Amigos all thought at the same time.
"Well, I guess that means three days left as a standard, ordinary, run of the mill human, huh Andre?" Ethan asked with a bit of a needling tone.
"Yeah, a good run of nearly 27 years, I guess, all things considered. I mean I never got hit by a car, or never got struck by lightning," Andre replied jokingly.
"Ahh, I can understand why you are gonna do this, but I can't help but feel a little sad," Kyoko said, an air about her like she was pouting.
"Wonder why you'd be sad, I mean, it's not like you wanted to do something with him," Natasha said, obviously trying to bait Kyoko into openly admitting she had strong feelings for Andre.
"Wha... something... well I guess, maybe, Oh I don't know," Kyoko replied, obviously flustered and pouty regarding the half-way nature of her relationship with Andre.
"Yah know Kyoko, it's not like you can't take the plunge either. I'm pretty sure you'd make a great couple," Ethan said, following Natasha's lead.
Andre and Kyoko blushed and looked at each other. Kyoko turned around and began fidgeting; she had no idea what to think.
I like him... but I dunno if I like him that much... but if I really like him... but then I might not see him again for a long time... I mean once he leaves for Equestria, I might not find him even if I become a Pony... Oh what should I do... She thought to herself, obviously not knowing the answer.
=================
[ September 13, 2080 – St. Louis Conversion Bureau ]
The first real day for Andre in the center seemed like any other day before he met the other three of the Four Amigos in person. A lot of video chat, a few game sessions, some personal time with old music and television archives. He did not skip out on the various group functions, though. There were another four clients to be Converted in his group, in roughly 48 hours; people from all walks of life, each with their own particular set of issues. There was a 16 year old runaway, Alyssa, figuring Equestria was as good a place as any to start her life in earnest. She definitely did not want a life of being a street urchin, or worse, a sex slave. There were a couple of unemployed light construction workers, Jose and Enrique, both in their mid-40s. Neither had any steady work for about 20 years between them, so they figured why the hell not, maybe they'd make good Earth Pony engineers. Finally there was another lady, Samantha, probably in her 40s as well (but Andre wasn't going to ask). She had recently been through a particularly nasty divorce, and had the kids removed from her custody. She hoped for a fresh start in Equestria and a stallion that'd appreciate her for who she was, once she ever figured who she was. Maybe if she was lucky she could come back for her children when they were a little older and wanted to Convert themselves.
Early that morning, they attended a class with a rather cheery Pegasus went through basic Equestrian history with them all. The topics included founding of Equestria, the first reign of Discord, the Royal Sisters, Nightmare Moon; the Pegasus lecturer trying to get as many highlights as she could in an hour and before the humans would cease paying attention. They all listened intently though, figuring that if they are going to go through all this trouble, they had better at least learn these Ponies culture and history as best they could, before having to be thrown in headfirst.
Lunch that day was just as eventful with the other four of his Conversion-mates marveling at the Equestrian cooking. The runaway in particular was brought to tears almost, she could scarcely remember the taste of non-fabricated food. Andre just thought to himself about what Ethan and Natasha would think once if they ate here in a couple of days’ time, when his proverbial number was to be called.
The afternoon session mostly involved explanations of the innate magic of the three races. The Pegasi had what was known as Weather Magic - they could walk on clouds from birth and were responsible for the weather in the formal territories of Equestria. The humans boggled at the thought, as they thought the entire realm over the Barrier -was- Equestria. The Unicorns had Explicit Magic - they could cast spells from their horns to all kinds of different effects. The humans wondered how they could cast without words or seals, but that was for another lesson. The Earth Ponies specialized in Life Magic - they had an ability to bring out the life in the minerals, soil, and plants they grew. There was no real discussion about the exact nature of Rock Farming, figuring the humans would find that far too strange to accept without live demonstrations and evidence.
Then came dinner, which went a lot like lunch, except there was dessert involved as well. The 5 humans nearly keeled over from delight at how sweet and delicious the fruit pastries were. Andre figured when word got out how good the food was in Equestria, all the time, people would convert in droves for that alone.
And so, as Andre went to sleep, he wondered what he would become by the end of the third day. He really didn't care much at that point, figuring whatever he became, he'd make do somehow. It's what he did up until now. While he was asleep, he wasn't visited by his nightmare again; instead by a disembodied voice that asked him a simple question:
There are two days left until the moment of truth. Do you have the will to grasp Power? Or will you simply be another also-ran?
Andre had no idea how to answer that question, but there was something that kept asking it of him, and he had to figure out an answer at some point.
=================
[ September 15, 2080 – St. Louis Conversion Bureau ]
As the hours of the last day for Andre as a human ticked away, he decided he had to take care of some last things. He made peace with some of the people he argued with online. He made peace with some of the people he argued with in real life, albeit online as well. The problem that kept nagging at him, on top of everything else he was dealing with at the moment: Had he made peace with himself?
“So what are we going to call ourselves once all of this is done?” Andre asked of the other three friends of his as they looked at the other four people who’d be Converting before him.
“I thought about the Three Amigos Plus One, but that sounds really distant,” Ethan replied.
“Which is true, so… why not just call ourselves what we had been…” Natasha concluded.
“We should still be a group, regardless, and I’m sure you’ll still communicate with us as best you can, right Andre?”
“For sure, doesn’t matter how far apart we get,” Andre replied as he could see the trepidation in Kyoko’s eyes.
Jose and Enrique went in first and second. Sure enough, both had become Earth Pony stallions (Jose was brick red and Enrique slate gray). Sharing an awkward high-hoof after the process was all done for both, they resolved to keep in contact with each other even after they were done in Fillydelphia.
Samantha was next at third, and came out a beautiful ruby-red Unicorn mare. She was absolutely shocked at her mane - naturally curly, a perfect style to show youth and vitality. She wondered what kind of magic she'd specialize in, but figured the instructors in Canterlot would know the answer to that more than anyone else.
Alyssa was the fourth to go, and after slightly longer in the hopper, she came out a slender Pegasus mare with an electric purple coat. Visions of her soaring through the Equestrian skies, slinging clouds to and fro, raced through her head. She was audible in her giddiness to get to Cloudsdale; Andre remarking that all Pegasi seemed impatient to him.
Twilight then walked in, and called Andre's name, he was the last of the day. It seemed like his heart jumped up into his throat, as the repressed anxiety about the exact nature of Ponification started to hit him. He did manage settle down enough to give a hug to the other three Amigos, an extra long one to Kyoko. Kyoko was almost in tears, not sure of if they were sadness or joy. Natasha gave him a fist pound, telling him not to choke while in there. Ethan only gave a salute as he walked through the door to the underground labs, Andre responding with a thumbs-up before the door closed.
-----
When he walked out of the elevator to the examination and observation room, he was surprised that the rooms were basically being entirely run by Ponies, save one human technician. The Unicorns manipulated the electronic controls while the Earth Ponies and Pegasi all scurried about, moving machines or cleaning the floors, getting everything nice and clean for their next arrival.
It's a shame that only Unicorns can really use our tech well. Hopefully I can do something to help that once this is all said and done, He thought to himself, as he disrobed and put on the medical smock.
Twilight was already in the observation room, making sure there were no anomalies. She had direct lines to all manner of Pony doctors, if there was a post-transformation issue; the human technician there if there was some kind of electronics glitch that prevented proper observation. By being a Bearer of Harmony, she also had a direct line to Celestia and Luna, should something truly surprising, or catastrophic, happened.
"Alright Andre, since you are by all accounts a healthy and normal case, you will receive the standard serum," Twilight said into the microphone.
Andre looked over and saw the serum. It was a purplish color, smelled slightly of grapes, and there was a metallic sheen to the slightly viscous liquid.
"Now if you please, first lay on the bed, then drink the dosage of serum the attendant gives you. After 10 seconds you will fall asleep and the process will begin," Twilight said, all the while making sure the sensors in the wall were providing the proper readouts.
Alright then, here’s to a new me, I guess... he said, drinking the serum and then laying on his side.
May Celestia and Luna watch over you my friend, Twilight inwardly prayed.
=---- ----=
Andre soon found himself floating around the Astral Plane, not knowing his soul had been disloged from his body. He had no idea how much time was passing, and had no real way to tell. Soon, thousands of images flew by, showing seemingly random points in Equestrian history - the Founding, the Rise of Celestia and Luna, The Fall of Discord, and on it went until he began to see a massive heard of Ponies in all colors and sizes.
He saw 'flocks' of Pegasi in the skies, all colors of the rainbow,; some doing all manners of tricks in the heavens, while others managed the clouds with the assistance of their Weather Magic.
Flying without assistance... Controlling the weather... something mankind has only dreamed about... Andre said to himself
He saw Earth Ponies in the forests and fields, using their Life Magic tending to the tress and animals, growing whatever they needed to feed themselves and build with.
Taking care of the environment as a group... instead of just leaving it to a minority of activists...
He saw Unicorns in buildings and great Castles, practicing the Explicit Magic he was told; all sorts of spells - Levitation, Mind Reading, Fortune Telling.
The intellectual pursuits... all supported by each other for the benefit of everyone... instead of just trying to make a profit...
He felt at peace, almost as if the world itself was calling out to him. In fact, this Astral Projection of Equestria itself was calling out to him.
Welcome our new brother. We graciously await your arrival in our lands. Soon your heart shall be put at ease you embark on a new journey of self-discovery...
If he could have cried as a disembodied soul, he would have.
Immediately his vision was shifted, like a camera that panned up to the sky. He watched the sky cleanly divide itself into equal halves: the daytime half with the Sun bright and golden against the clear blue, and the nighttime half with the Moon brilliant and silver against the indigo with untold number of stars. The two heavenly bodies then descended came out the skies and began to form into ethereal version of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, sitting at a dual-throne in an equally ethereal Canterlot Castle. He suddenly saw himself sitting on a pictogram of the Elements of Harmony, which he innately recognized but could not tell why.
“Andre Bowman, we have heeded your request to join our herd,” Andre heard the phantasmal visage of Celestia speak with an eerie echo.
“You understand that this process is heretofore irreversible, correct?” the phantasmal visage of Luna asked with a stern but caring tone.
“Yes, I did request to join your Herd, and I do understand that this is irreversible,” Andre answered, with all manner of strength and resolve in his voice.
A bright flash of white went off, and Andre was suddenly faced with what appeared to be a pure-white Pony made out of light sitting right in front of him.
“This false Pony represents the Spark of Life and Magic that all Ponies possess; once your soul and this Spark are merged, it will begin the process of reformatting your body. Whenever you are ready, you need only touch the light before you,” the ghostly Celestia intoned.
Andre approached the equally ghostly Pony-shaped light, and did as he was instructed. As soon as he did, all present were startled by the mother of all BANGs echoing through the spiritual space.
=---=
As Twilight watched the transformation continuing as usual, she could feel a dramatic shift in the ambient mana of the area. Eventually, she realized it was coming from the examination room; there were two sources of mana where there should have only been one.
What in all... where is that other mana coming from? This doesn't make any sen.... OH MY CELESTIA!
It was then she saw the normally somewhat gleaming white body of a human undergoing transformation, suddenly become a positively radiating... blue?
SINCE WHEN DID THEY GLOW BLUE?!
She scrambled around trying to figure out if the readings or her own eyes were being false. Neither were as far as the sensors were concerned; according to them, nothing was out of the ordinary. But no human she converted ever glowed this bright, and DEFINITELY not anything but white. It was then she was suddenly struck with a realization, this was in all likelihood related to the visions the Princesses and other Bearers were sharing now!
Princess Celestia! Princess Celestia! We have a Code Blue! We have a Code Blue! she shouted telepathically to Princess Celestia, trying her best not to show outwardly the inward panic she was experiencing.
Code Blue... what in... wait... okay Twilight, I understand. Luna and I will deal with this right away... she heard back from Celestia, as herself and Luna began to manifest in the Astral Plane fully.
=---=
Andre's soul was in incredible pain, the normally gentle white glow had turned blue, his ‘body’ positively crackling with energy. "WHY... DOES... EVERYTHING... HURT!" he shouted, having no idea what was going on, as it felt like two distinct entities were fighting over his body and tearing him apart in the process.
"We are not sure, but we have our suspicions, and what is going on under you will reveal all soon." Princess Luna said, eyes narrowed, as Celestia and herself manifested in place of their Astral Projections.
The entire environment of the Astral Plane was now altered, transforming into in a cavern-turned-shrine. The image of the Six Elements of Harmony now replaced by a large circle. Said circle was completely gray, and covered with extremely faded runes; the magic it represented was extremely ancient and almost completely faded from either world’s collective memory
"I suspected as much. No wonder the images we saw in our visions were so obscured..." Princess Celestia said, as she looked at the circle Andre's soul was camped out on.
"Images... of... what?" Andre asked, as he struggled to formulate any kind of speech in the state he was in.
I believe I can answer that question... Suddenly spoke an ancient voice. The Royal Sisters recognized that voice as the same of their visions.
Princess Luna was absolutely stunned that voice would choose now to respond in the Astral Plane, "Sister, that's the voice from the visions of ourselves and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony!"
Princess Celestia was also surprised, as she looked around for some figure to focus her attention on. Not finding anything to focus her attention on besides Andre’s soul struggling to reconcile the two Magics, she spoke out in general, hoping the voice in question would respond, "Voice from our visions, we request that you explain what is happening before us. My sister and I feel that this has something to do what the visions you have sent to ourselves and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony."
The ancient voice then responded to the request of Celestia: Keepers of the Other World. You have done well in your machinations. While my world is dying, you are filling it with a new life, a new energy. However, my will still exists, and I must ensure that my legacy does not fade into oblivion.
"What you mean by 'your Legacy'?" Princess Luna asked.
Once again, the ancient voice responded: My Magic once flowed through this world, but an ancient Cataclysm forced me to seal it. Once it was sealed, the knowledge of Magic slowly faded from this world, to where it only exists and mere fairy tales to my Children. The introduction of your Magic, slight as it has been so far, has been enough to rekindle the desire for it in earnest.
My Magic is ancient - it is Power incarnate, but it lacks Will. Your Magic, it is Will in its purest form, but it lacks Power. Magic is incomplete without both Will and Power. Four of my Children retain Shards of my Power in its most elementary form. If those Children are exposed to your Magic... that Shard will regenerate, and a Conduit will be born. These Conduits will be for me what your Bearers are for you. Once all Ten Conduits and Bearers are fully realized, A New Age can be forged.
The ancient voice then began to address Andre specifically. Child, your soul bears one of these shards. Now you face a choice - to awaken that shard of my Magic comes with a Trial. One must face the very darkness that pervades their heart and conquer it, before they may be granted my Power. If you accept this Trial of the Soul and pass, you will be granted a Magic that no one from either World has seen in eons. If you accept but fail, your very soul will be destroyed and your body rendered lifeless and inert. The shard shall then embed itself in another of my Children's Souls. If you reject this Trial, your memory will be purged completely and the shard reassigned; while you would continue to live in the Body of one from the Other World, you will remember nothing of your life to this point as one of my Children.
Andre thought about this hard, through the very assault his soul was under. He then came to a realization, he is a Child of Terra; and even if he is in another form, he will forever be a Child of Terra. He also wanted to begin his life anew - if this world would offer him nothing, then he needed to move on to proverbial greener pastures.
Andre then gave his response to the Ancient Voice's question, "Lady... Voice... Whatever you are... I have 2 words for you: Trial Accepted."
He felt both the Spark of Terra and the Spark of Equestria leave his soul, floating as blue and white baseball-sized orbs respectively. The ancient voice then made one last statement before the Trial began:
Remember Child, you must overcome your darkness in order to embrace the light. Succeed, and you will begin walking the Path of Will and Power. Fail and you will only walk the Path of Oblivion. I pray for your ultimate success.
With that said, the scene shifted to something deeply familiar to Andre.
"No... not this.... not this again..." He said, his voice obviously quaking with fear. He recognized the form he was in, that twelve year old boy. On the boat. It was his nightmare again, this time in full force.
-----
The trial started exactly as his nightmare usually did. The boat began to bob and rock violently, the sea was churning like a storm was overhead. The sky was black as pitch, and the faceless masses shoved and bounced him around like a pinball as they tried to save themselves.
Mom, Dad, I'm right here... Please... help me... I don't want to get lost again.
He heard no answer though. Although he could see their figures, they just stood there like statues, ignoring his pleas.
Please... I'm begging you... help me... help me!
He continued to be bounced and knocked around, and just like in his nightmare, he crashed right through the supposed safety railing and fell into the sea below.
HELP! HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME! Andre yelled as he thrashed around, trying to get anyone's attention.
The figures of his mother and father appeared at the edge of the boat, looking over the broken railing at their 'son' thrashing around in the roiling ocean.
Please Momma, Dad, help me, please get some help...
That is when he heard his ‘mother’ speak, that voice he tried to forget these last fourteen years: Then why didn't you do like we asked? All we asked you to do go to the schools we told you to. Go to the churches we told you to. You were such a disobedient child. Always running to my father whenever we made you do something you didn't want to. It was for your own good, though. The Domes don't accept troublemakers...
Andre was at his mental limit; his soul couldn't take this torture for much longer, as his glow began to fade.
But... I just wanted to be me... was that so wrong... I just wanted to find my own way...
His ‘mother’ began to speak again: I wanted so much for you. You could have had everything in the Domes. Everything a human could have always wanted. But no... you had to be an insolent little brat. So... I did what you always wanted; I left you with your precious grandfather. If you wanted to suffer outside like the rest of them, then so be it. I don't need a son that refuses to obey his own mother.
Andre was fading fast - his soul’s white glow now turning black. The human-like form he retained now starting to crumble under the crushing pressure of all the emotional trauma being dredged up. He was rapidly losing the will to live, the will to continue on...
I... why... how... no... it... nothing... nothing... that's all I am... nothing... that's all I'll ever be... nothing...
His ‘body’ continued to sink into the astral ocean, the pressure growing greater and greater. His soul nearly faded to black, and with it his life was ready to come to an abrupt end... but something else had other designs for him.
Andre... I thought I taught you better than that...
The new voice that surrounded him began to rekindle his will to live, his soul now glowing very faintly, but glowing nonetheless. He looked around the blue-black morass, trying to find whatever it was that was speaking to him now. Then he realized exactly who it was.
Grandpa? Is that you?
Andre, remember what I told you. No matter where you go, you will always carry your pride as a man. You cannot let the memory of your parents destroy that pride... to destroy your very being. You cannot let that anchor drag and hold you under. You are greater than that, and this world has greater things for you...
His ‘body’ came to a stop; his soul glowing brighter. He had enough of the self-destruction, the self-pity, the avoidance. If he wanted to live, he would have to come to some kind of catharsis, he’d have to cut that anchor that was dragging him into oblivion.
They left me with my grandpa because they didn't want me. But that was just them; my grandpa took me in with open arms. Even though he was one man in a world falling apart, he saw enough in me to raise me when they abdicated. Even after he died... I still carried his lessons, I still carried his spirit. I wanted to grow as a man, I wanted to make my place in the world the way I wanted to.
His soul was aglow now, like a soft nightlight in a pitch black room. As he continued on, he began to realize just what his grandfather was talking about when he kept referring to an ‘anchor’.
But that's not what my parents wanted... they wanted something of me I didn't want... they wanted me to be something I couldn't... I couldn't be a liar... I couldn't be a cheat... I couldn't be so... so false, so transparently false... a false piety, false ethics, all to justify their own selfishness...
Andre's soul regained its former radiance, now glowing like a lantern in the dark depths. The water that tried to drown him now was receding and formed a bubble around his soul’s ‘body’.
Those bastards in the Domes were no different; they preach delusions of their own grandeur and superiority... all for their own selfishness... They think themselves gods... They don’t control anything... None of them know what they are doing... so self-destructive... they'd kill the Earth itself if it got them another bauble, another trinket... I won't let that happen... I want everyone to have the Earth... I want everyone to share the Earth... Humans, Equestrians, Plant, Animal, whatever... the Earth is too precious to divvy up amongst some self-professed gods among Men.
His ‘soul’s body was now shining like a star as he began to come to his catharsis, and realized the path he now had to walk.
I WANT TO SAVE IT... I WANT TO SAVE THE EARTH... THEY CAN'T HAVE IT... I WON'T LET THEM HAVE IT... VOICE... I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE... BUT IF YOU HAVE POWER TO GRANT IT TO ME, THEN I WANT IT. I WANT THE POWER TO SAVE THE EARTH FROM ANYTHING THAT'D DESTROY IT!
So you have wished it, so it shall be granted!
The waters that once tried to drown him now supported him. The bubble that surrounded his soul while in the ocean now floated calmly on the surface, as the rest of said ocean reduced to blue particles of light. Eventually they coalesced back into the Blue Spark of Terra; the sphere rested on the back of the now Pony-shaped Spark of Equestria.
“These... sparks... they’re both mine?” Andre asked, obviously not knowing what was going on with either phantasmal form that sat in front of his own.
The ancient voice then took the tone of a being of great power. As you accept both Sparks of each World, you will be conferred the Body of their World. This will mark your rebirth as the Conduit of Water. There are still three other Conduits to find, and they must be found with the utmost urgency. Do not fear the Power that has been conferred to you; so long as you maintain your Will, it will bring you no harm.
The ancient voice's tone then shifted to that from a bearer of power, to that of a great matron. Before you return to the physical world... although you may occupy the body of the Other World, you will remain my Child. As a Child of Both Worlds, let no one convince you that you must forsake the other, nor forget the other in order to continue on your path of Life.
"Yes, I won't Voice. I most definitely won't forget," Andre said.
"We will not forget either,” Celestia said, as she and Luna reappeared before Andre in the cave-like shrine, “Now, Andre, shall we resume where we left off?"
"Yes, Princess Celestia. I’m ready now, more so than ever." Andre replied, voice full of energy and life.
Assuming the role as the Supreme Monarchs of Equestria, both Celestia and Luna asked, in unison, "Andre Bowman of Earth: do you accept both of these Sparks, - the Spark of Terran and the Spark of Equestrian Magic, so that we together may forge a New Age for both our Worlds?"
Andre answered, with no trepidation or regret, "Yes, yes I accept both of these Sparks and my role in forging the New Age to come."
Both Luna and Celestia nodded and smiled, and Andre breathed a sigh of relief. Princess Celestia then said, like a mother welcoming a new child, "Come my little Pony, come and forge a new path as a Child of Both Worlds."
Princess Luna then said, like a teacher welcoming a new student, "Come my little Pony, come and learn of your new Role in this great Cosmic Dance of Life."
Both said in unison, like the leaders and mentors they were, "Come our new little Pony, come and let us forge A New Age together!"
Andre's soul merged with both Sparks, feeling the calming waves washing over him as he embarked on the next phase of his life.
Don’t forget Andre, you’ll always carry your pride as a man... no matter where you are...
Thanks grandpa, I’ll definitely remember that...
=---- ----=
The exam room was still glowing a brilliant blue; and Twilight was glowing an equally brilliant violet as her Element of Magic began resonating with whatever force was coming from the exam room.
What is it... something is going on in there, My Element senses something, like it found a long lost brother... Twilight tried to ask Celestia telepathically, now visibly showing signs of having no idea of what was going on.
Yes Twilight, a long lost Power has begun to reawaken, kin to your Elements of Harmony. Celestia told her telepathically, she was already in transit and would be there in moments.
"A long lost Power... long lost Power... THE VISIONS!" Twilight said, dashing out the room, knocking over almost everyone and everything in her path. Thankfully door to the exam room was only ten feet away from the observation room’s door.
As soon as she opened the doors, she could feel the sheer magnitude of the magical force being exuded. She began to panic, fearing for the life of the human technician working in the exam room...
“Do not fear Twilight, the human assistant will not be affected by this particular outburst,” Celestia said as she manifested next to Twilight, outside of the exam room.
Twilight was still somewhat panicky as she reliped. "Why not?! I thought raw magic was lethal..."
"Raw Equestrian Thaumatic Radiation is lethal yes, this however is something born of Earth, not Equestria,” Celestia responded, wanting to see how the Bearer of this new Power would manifest for herself.
"Wait you mean....,” Twilight managed to say, finally beginning to realize the magnitude of what was going on in the exam room.
"Yes, as you will see in a few moments..."
The blue wave of energy began to subside, which the Pony technicians in the room were thankful for. The sheer pressure of the Magic being exuded from the cooling figure was making it incredibly difficult for anyone to breathe, even for the hardy Earth Pony assistants.
"Ugh... whole... everything... hurts..." said a male voice, body obscured by the sheer glow he was still putting out.
The wave now completely subsided, and the glare off the new body on the exam table cooled and dissipated. The figure that was left before Celestia, Twilight, and the remaining lab technicians was a Unicorn stallion. His coat a brilliant royal blue; and mane like color-desaturated cobalt powder with well-defined white streaks mixed in. On his chest and around his neck, a medallion made out of sapphires set in some strange pale blue metal. Twilight then saw the symbol, and was stunned by what it was - a very large yet seemingly simple raindrop, the Terran Element of Water.
Andre then opened his eyes, irises colored like sky itself. Although, as a male, his eyes weren't quite as big as Twilight's, they still covered much of his face.
Oh my Celestia... he's... he's... so handsome... Twilight thought, finding herself unable to stop staring at the Unicorn stallion that was getting to a seated position in front of her.
Andre then began to speak; same voice as before, but now dead tired from the metaphysical struggles he recently endured. "I take it... by Twi's reaction... the procedure... was a success?"
Celestia responded with all manner of warmth and comfort. "My new little Pony, it was a smashing success."
Stats
Page generated in 0.018 seconds
Total duration
674 users online
827,668 hits today, 1,996,409 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I imagine that while he was undergoing his trial, Celestia and Luna must have discussed what they would say and then practiced.
7278431
Me to