The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human

by Maxis122

Part 2: Chapter 8

~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 8~
~By Maxis122~

How long had it been since I got taken in by these humans? It must have been at least a month or so. But I feel weaker than I was when I walked, wait, got dragged in. So many things were running through my mind, and I understand that this is getting old. It’s hard to not just think when you spend so much time lying down, helpless, on a bed. But soon I will get up and prove my use. Soon. And in time maybe that will happen.

My eyes welcomed another mornings sun, as they did every day for the last week. I found myself looking to the empty space beside me, hoping that maybe someone would be there. But I knew that there would be nothing there. Just a chair and then the window. And that damn bird. Stupid bird, all it did every morning was sit there and chirp and look at me. It must feel so free, knowing that it can do whatever it wants and do it whenever.

That would be the only reason that I would ever change. Is just to experience that feeling of flying with wings. No limits. Freedom about the sky. The wind running through your hair as you make a decent and fly down past a mountain and pull up just in time to miss the water. And then you glide across and dip in for a second. That feeling. That would be the only thing.

But you see, it’s kind of pot luck with the Conversion Bureau. You get made into a completely random pony, corresponding to who you are. Your colours, hair and style is determined by that. Then you get the personality makeover, where they take you out, play around with your mind and put something else back in. You’re you, but not you. But then there’s the last of it, your race.

If you are an Earth Pony, then you are naturally gifted with all abilities to do with the ground. Your destiny, or cutie mark as they call it, would be something related to ground skills - most likely. And then after that, you work on doing whatever to make yourself who you want to be.

Unicorns are more favoured for their magical abilities. Yes, it is hard to learn from starting at such an age, but if you can put in the effort - then the possibilities are endless. Telekinesis, teleportation, tele everything! You can describe it as a muscle: the more you use it then the more powerful it becomes. So if you exercise your use of magic then you can become more powerful, and life becomes easier.

Last, but not least, Pegasi. Now, they don’t have remarkable ground abilities or mass control over magic. But instead they have a different magic: the power of flight. Aviation is their main goal. They could fly. With two wings they could defy what physics has taught everyone and backhand the limits of the ground. They are also the fastest moving creatures on the planet. Heck, some of them can even outfly out jet fighter planes.

This chance of not being who you dreamed to be was one of the many factors that kept me from going to the Conversion Bureau. Not to say that it was bad to be any of the other races, but I just felt like, for me, without wings it would be a lost cause. It was an interesting gamble, but not enough for me.

Luckily for me, my wounds had healed ‘a lot quicker than expected’. That was probably thanks to my guardian angel, or better know as Twilight Sparkle. And thanks to that I had the pleasure of feeling severely less crap in the present. Even so that I might be able to move again. With my strength up from being spoon fed for the last few weeks, I decided that maybe I could do it now. With that bird as my witness, would not fall again.

I pulled the covers away and swiveled my feet around so they were touching the floor. The ice could feeling of the ground was welcoming. I scrunched my toes in the feeling and took a long breath, and then I stood up. In less than a second I was standing, sable and by myself. I sighed in relief as I stood there, step one over. Now just to check that I can still move. I placed one foot in front of the other and began to slowly walk around the room. Easy as pie.

“Looks like someones up and about” the increasingly familiar voice of Tracy called out from the window. My headshot around like lightning from the sudden shock of being watched.

“Yeah, I’m walking again” I agreed, making my way back to the bed. She wore that grin like she always did whenever she came across another person.

“You feeling better now?” She asked.

I nodded, “Better than before, thanks.”

“I think its about time you got out of here then” She announced, “I’ll give you a proper tour of the place. Your clothes are in the bag next to your bag”.

“Thank you” I said as I found the bag that she was talking about and I pulled out the clothing. When I looked back up she was gone, but that window still bugged me. And that damn bird.

---

After changing back into my, now clean, clothes - I was directed around the facility. It wasn’t incredibly big, but it had just about everything that you could need to start a civilisation with. The rules were simple: Don’t steal, don’t hurt another human unless attacked and report all outside sightings. Apart from that, if you were good at something useful, then you were advised to go ahead and do it. And because I was the only pilot, and possibly the last pilot, that almost automatically became my responsibility.

There was a tall wall surrounding the place, with guard towers every now and again. The security and armed personnel were dressed as if they were soldiers, helmets and vests. Each one armed with an automatic rifle, just in case things got a little hairy. The entire facility was built inside a forest, meaning it was concealed from anyone - or anything. There was a mess hall, where everyone ate, the administration room for the leaders of the camp, and plenty of living space. There was a generator to power the water pumps and heating units - as there was no other way to get power. But because of this they had to go out to collect resources from the surrounding area’s.

That’s how they picked me up, after the explosion that I caused they caught sight of the factory. And since they had sent some people there, they assumed that things were getting out of hand. But for the people they lost, they only got me back. Who spent at least a month lying in a bed, weak and useless. I guess they might have wanted to pull the plug on me and save themselves the trouble. But after their discovery of me being a pilot, I could only think that was the turning point of whether or not they should keep me. That, or they were really nice people. I really hope it was the latter.

After the tour, and meeting up with their leader, Major Marco Havok, they seemed to get along with me rather easily. He was a tall sturdy man with short, military cut ginger hair. His clothing was more relaxed with his jeans, polo top - and for some reason he wore a stetson. Probably wanted to look cool. The leader was the one who lead the mechanized unit, who went silent after the storm. Now he pursued a different cause of action. Instead of attacking and drawing plans to destroy the Equestrians - he concealed and hid his people from them. Protection was now his main priority.

Eventually we circled back around to where the aircraft were stored. And in this case there was one. Now that I could focus better I got a better look at what I was dealing with. Upon approaching the machine I instantly recognised it. It was a UH-1Y Venom, or as others called it: ‘Super Huey’. It’s a utility helicopter armed with rocket pods and on the sides were miniguns for the crew, which made it pretty well armed for a machine that was mainly used for transport. But they were used in war, so weapons were completely necessary.

I approached the helicopter and lifted the engine panel and gave it a quick once over. One, to check that it had everything it needed and two, to look like I was doing something important. From first sight it looked like it was ready to go. The ammo for the miniguns was correct and mounted properly. Lastly was to check the cockpit. Hopefully I wouldn’t have the same greeting that I did with the one in that town.

Everything was neatly organised, all of the diels were clean and there was no damage. It felt like it was brand new. Maybe it was fresh out of the factory and then instantly put into action. It sure felt like it. And best yet, it was mine to use. As I was the only one who could use it - I guess I was the only one allow to use it. Perfect.

“So what did you fly?” I suddenly remembered that I wasn’t alone, as I turned to face my companion.

“The last aircraft that a flew was a AC-130” I began. “I was suspended from duty because of ‘psychological trauma’ from the war. More like I had a conscience”

“What happened?” She inquired.

“There was a mission over a civilian area. There was danger close, insurgents in the homes” The memories of the briefing were coming back to me. “We were taking more civilian lives than those of the enemy. I was the highest ranking officer on the plane, so I called the mission off”

“And I guess they wanted to shut you up after that” She guessed, I nodded to confirm.

“It was funny really” I sighed, “If I were on any longer then I would have probably been bombing Equestrian homes.”

“And that’s good?”

“No” I simply stated, “Taking life in any respect is bad. But if it’s for protecting others, I guess it’s for the best.”

“You’re an interesting one” She began, giving me a look of suspicion. “You’re one of the last remaining humans on the planet, with some unique skills and you have more than likely lost everything dear to you. Yet you still have some morality left for those ponies.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, if I’d asked some of the other people here they would have happily began bombing Equestrian homes if given the chance” She explained.

“That would make us worse than them” I looked her straight in the eye, sharpening my tone a little, “It’s not about who’s done the worst, but it’s about who’s going to do better. Sure, they’ve taken our homes, destroyed our country and turned several billion humans into their own. But how would we look if we suddenly did the same.” I leaned forward, emphasising the word “”Worse!”

“What happened to you to make you such a diplomate?” She teased, putting on a little grin, as if she took in nothing that I said.

“Everything” I then sighed and turned back to the dashboard of the helicopter, pushing the stick around to see if it still worked.

“Perhaps we can share stories some day” She suggested, turning back to get out of the chopper. “Maybe you have some exciting things to say” She then hopped out of the helicopter and walked away. I watched her for a moment and smiled a little as I considered her request.

“If only you knew” I mumbled.

“Knew what?” A voice suddenly said from behind me. I jumped out of my shoes for a moment as if I were electrically shocked by bolt of lightning.

“Who the hell are you?” I yelled in shock as I turned to see the intruder.

“Oh, sorry for bursting your bubble there” said the young man, “Alex Lotse”. From just the name and accent of this guy you could tell that he was German. He had reasonably, tidy black hair, covered by a black beanie. His emerald green eyes showed a complete contrast to the rest of him. And his young features put him around the age of eighteen. That’s hoping that the cover of the book is readable.

“Max Hunter” I replied after getting my bearings back.

“You’re british?” He asked, showing that he had already caught onto my accent.

“Yes” I confirmed, “I am.”

“Well, I’m from Ger-”

“Germany” I said quickly, “It was pretty obvious from your accent.”

“Well well well, you’ve got sharp ears” He commented, letting off a slight smirk. He then proceeded to climbing into the copilot seat of the chopper, and then relaxing with his feet on the dashboard. “What brings you to Camp Banat?”

“Near death experience” I replied bluntly.

“Oh, you’re the guy they found at the factory?” He asked.

“I am ‘the guy’ they found” I said, adopting my new title.

“And you’re a pilot?” He pressed, receiving a look from me.

“How would you know that?” I asked curiously.

“Tracy told me”

“You and Tracy get along well” I presumed, receiving a nod in reply.

“She takes care of me from time to time” He then looked down a little, as if he was stuck for words. “Since my parents died, she’s been the only one for me. She was my mother’s friend”

“Sorry”

It was then when I realised this very important fact. This german kid had been through just as much grief as I had. He’d lost his parents to someone and was now in care. That made me think of my relatives, being a part of a family of four. Where were they now? Dead, ponified, survivors. We were all orphans in this new world, with our families gone. We were abandoned, left alone to walk about this new world.

“It’s alright, not everyone can read an entire boy’s history from their face” Alex replied, looking a little lighter from my understanding. “Do you have any better luck?”

I shook my head, “I have no idea where my mother or father are. Or my sister...” I then looked up and closed my eyes, “But I hope they’re in a better place than this”

“At least they’re not out there with the nightcrawlers” The what?

“Excuse me?”

“That’s what the scouting team call the dark creatures that they encounter out there” He began, pointing out at the surroundings. “They hide in caves, buildings and even sewers. Hiding in the dark, waiting for their next meal. Some say the Equestrians brought them over with the dragons.”

“I think they might be right” I said.

“Worse yet, there were murders around the globe in the last few days before the darkness came” He explained.

“What kinds?”

“Political leaders disappeared, found later in crashed planes. Towns and cities burned down by firebombing”

“You sure this is all caused by something?” I asked, getting a bit too taken in by the stories.

“Unless you know how entire settlements can just combust spontaneously” He then stopped for a moment, adding dramatic effect, “Then you’ve got me!”

“The scouts come up with these stories?” I inquired, getting a nod.

“They’ve been all over the area, they’ve seen some things out there”

“I bet they have” Remembering the many things that I have seen in my journey around the world. It was then about time for me to move onto more relevant subjects. “So what do you do here?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Me?” He then considered the question and took a deep breath. Oh boy. “Cleaning, carpeting, disassembling and reassembling. Stitching, fixing, mixing, shooting and even maintenance.”

“So a bit of everything” I added, to stop the list from going on.

“Pretty much. But my main job is repairing and maintaining the vehicles here. I’m a little bit of a greasemonkey” He said, smiling a little bit. “And now that you’re here, I will be able to do more!”

“More...”

“Yeah, since you're a pilot and they won't let me go out on missions yet. I could be your navigator!” He said enthusiastically

“Don’t get ahead of yourself” I said as I put my hands up a little.

“I can see it now” He then put his hands in the air, as if he were envisioning something, “Max Hunter the last pilot with his cunning navigator Alex Lotse. Ah, the adventures to come.”

“That’s if they will let you out with me” I protested, “How do you know Tracy will trust me with your safety. For all you know I could be an Equestrian spy.”

“Equestrian spy? Pff, those show ponies aren’t clever enough for that!” He snorted.

“Heard of Twilight Sparkle?” I asked, he shook his head, “That unicorn is probably more clever than Stephen Hawking.” He looked at me with a blank face. “Stephen Hawking?” I pressed, only receiving the same blank face.

“I don’t understand this Steven Hawkings” Alex admitted, “Who was he?”

“He was a famous british physicist. A very clever man” I explained, gaining a nod of understanding from the young german. “Twilight Sparkle is probably one of the most clever ponies to come from Equestria”

“Stephen Hawking and Twilight Sparkle, hmm” He thought about the two names and then simply smiled, “Well, you know what they say, eh. You learn a new thing every day!”

“You sure do...” I pondered for a moment. I then caught sight of Tracy making her way back to where we were. With intimate information incoming, I opened the window on the side of the helicopter and peeked my head out.

“Good news” She called out as she approached us, “Clint wants to use the chopper for missions soon. Knowing that we have a pilot in the wings now.”

“Clint?” I inquired, not knowing who this new master was.

“Staff Sergeant Clinton Wright, he organises where the search missions go” She explained, leaning on the helicopter. “He’s interested in using the chopper so they can go further, without having to worry about timing.”

“Interesting” I hummed, “Where can I meet this Clint?”

“If you follow me, I’m sure he’d be happy to meet his new team member” She smiled and gestured for me to follow her. I shrugged and climbed out of the helicopter, following her out. It was strange. How I had gone from my quest to this kind of side mission. For some reason I felt compelled to stay here and help these people. They were people, which was the main thing. But they even put aside their time to help me out, get me back to strength (with the assistance of a certain somepony). It just felt right to be here for some reason.

It wasn’t long before I found myself in a room with a bunch of other men. Obviously they were either the same age as me or older, but they seemed to know what they were doing. When I entered the room they didn’t seem to notice. They were more concerned about the plan on the table. Tracy extended her arm as if to say, go ahead. So I walked a little closer and began to listen to what they were saying.

“You’ve got to understand, anything beyond this line is pointless. The nightcrawlers swarm these area’s like flies” one man, being taller, bigger and much more muscular than the other men. He had a large M246 automatic light machine gun strapped around his back. These guys meant business.

“Trust me, we can deal with that. We’ve been through worse” Another man said, with a staff sergeant's symbol on his shoulder. I was guessing that that was Clint as the others were lower ranked than him.

“If you don’t mind me adding, sir” A shorter man with a sniper rifle in his hands, said aloud - walking towards the table. “I’ve seen activity in these area’s before, so I think Hillary's option is safer for all of us.”

“But I just don’t want to rule out the possibilities. There’s a whole hospital in there with countless supplies that we need” Clint protested, pointing at a building inside of a red ring on the map.

“Well that’s tough, because that’s a pretty bad fucking part of town” Hilary said rather, being annoyed. “Unless we have some way to get straight there without going through all of that shit, its not worth it.”

This was my moment, as the table became silent. “Staff Sergeant, I’m Captain Max Hunter. I hear you have a problem about getting into this town”

“Lovely for you to grace us with your presence, Captain” Clint said with a slight smile, “How are you holding up?”

“Just fine, thanks” I replied hastily, walking over to the table to get a better look at the map. I looked to the place where Clint had pointed to. “This the place?” I asked, pointing to the area.

“Sure is, and I’m hoping you have a way for us to get in there” Clint said, looking a little tired.

“As a matter of fact, I do” I said quite simply, “I’m a pilot, and outside there is a UH-1Y Venom Utility Helicopter. Now if you add one and one together I think you understand what I’m talking about.”

“That’s nice sweetheart, but I don’t think anyone should just trust you off the bat” Clint replied, still retaining his relaxed state, with those tired eyes that just shouted - I don’t care.

“You people saved my life. The least I could do is fly you around a bit” I retorted, looking around the table at the men. No one moved, spoke or even breathed for a few seconds. The shorter man from before stepped forwards.

“If you want a chance to prove your use, not only as a pilot but also a soldier, maybe you can fly us to the next mission” he said.

“Raven, that’s not the best idea” Clint snapped back quietly.

“Seriously sir, even you want to use the chopper. But if you’re going to be stubborn just because the you don’t like the look of the guy, then we’ll go out ourselves” Raven snapped back just as quietly, closing in on his superior.

“Jesus christ” Clint looked even more tired than before. He then let his head rest on the table for a few seconds, and then he rose it again to meet with my eyes.

“So what will it be, sir?” I asked, tilting my head a little.

He sighed, “Fine, tomorrow we’re flying out to an abandoned parking lot, which is connected to a shopping center. We’re hoping that there are some supplies there. And then we will be jumping to a small military base to look for weapons, ammunition and fuel.”

“Thank you, sir” I acknowledged, picking a piece of paper from the pile with the mission on it. I then made my way to the door, until I heard Clint calling me back.

“And Captain Hunter!” He called, I turned back to him, “Take that kid with you as well. He needs some fresh air.”

“You’ve got it” I called back, exiting the building with Tracy close by. So now I was going to prove my use, though I hadn’t flown a helicopter in a while this would be no different. It would be easy, and with a keen navigator by my side this should make for an interesting run. Let’s just hope I don’t have to face those nightcrawlers again. Or whatever they are actually called.

As I made my way back to the helicopter with the good news for Alex, I couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable for Tracy. She wanted the boy to grow up and feel useful. But at the same time I guess she had a promise to protect him and take care of him. And since all they had for each other was each other, losing one of them would render the other alone. Somehow I had yet again sown myself into another delicate event, one that could probably change everyone at Camp Banat forever.

Comments

[Maxis122]

2351033
You're pretty much on the ball with most of that, but the beginning was quite real. He was having a spasm attack, so they had to try and sedate him. I feel a little sorry for all the things that I have done to this character - I'm surprised that he hasn't got brain damage yet. :/

[Ponynator]

Heck, some of them can even outfly out jet fighter planes.

I highly doubt that even Rainbow Dash can reach Mach 2 or even Mach 1,5

[Maxis122]

2368289
Well, I was mainly making the point that they were better at flying around then jet fighters were. Since pegasi can make sharper turns and accelerate rather quickly without the effects of G-Forces being much of a problem. But that's all down to debate.

[Red Bomber]

2367212
You mean that nightmare, wasn't really a nightmare? Well at least the sedation excuse makes sense as to why he couldn't asked that from Twilight.

I'm supposing the next few chapters will be mission time and getting to know the characters and like Hunter I hope they're really nice as well and won't jump on the chance to kill ponies as soon as they see them... like Derpy Hooves.

[graphicalerror]

2368289 yeah i doubt that too especially if we have plains that can top mach four or five as she only goes mach one MAYBE two and she is the fastest