The Conversion Bureau: Ring of Fire

by Windchaser

Prologue

The truck barreled down the highway at a lazy, yet productive speed. The sun was just starting to lumber up past the horizon, slowly but surely illuminating the dusky morning sky with its warmth. The semi continued down the forested highways of upper New York state, its unmarked trailer following suit. The trailer was a stark white, nothing standing out aside from the seams of joined metal and rivets, obscuring the contents to any passerby. Inside the cab sat the driver, Edmond Delaney. He wore a thick sweater, a bright orange baseball cap emblazoned with a stylized ‘S’, the symbol of his alma mater of Syracuse. He fidgeted with the radio, trying desperately to find something to listen to brighten the morning up.

<KSSHT>

<The Red Plague has flared up again this season, droves of people rushing not only to the hospitals to get vaccines, but also to the Conversion Bureaus of all places. With the new race's natural immunity to the disease, many are taking the plunge to escape the constant fear of infection. The death toll so far stands at almost four hundred thousand, just across the eastern seaboard alone. The CDC has put out a quarantine order for anyone who sees an individual with the defining symptoms of the deadly disease.>

Well if anything, that only served to darken the barely-lit sky. The Red Plague had been all over the news for months, and it was the last thing Ed wanted to hear about. Sighing, he shuffled the radio frequencies again; he came across a tune he hadn’t heard in a long, long time.

<KSSHT>

<Love Is A Burning Thing
And It Makes A Fiery Ring
Bound By Wild Desire
I Fell Into A Ring Of Fire

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire>

The sun was now peeking from between the canopy of trees to Ed’s left as he felt its warmth finally reach his face after the long night of continuous driving. Figuring now was as good of a time as any to stop for breakfast, Ed took the next turn off the highway into town. The quaint town nestled in the woodlands of New York state looked like it had barely been touched by the technological revolution sweeping the greater part of the world. All the buildings here were made of brick, mortar, and wood, rather than the concrete, steel, and glass that had become the norm. Surely there was some form of advanced tech in some of those buildings, he had seen enough towns that put on a rustic facade, hiding everything just under the skin.

It took almost no time at all before he found his target: an old style diner; a very rare sight these days. Most restaurants were chains belonging to those corporate monstrosities, essentially killing off old places like this in any town they touched.

He pulled in his truck into the small parking lot, fitting it in along the back side, keeping out of the way of any other possible guests the diner may get. There were a few other cars littering the lot, none of them made earlier than a decade ago. Most of them were trucks of one kind or another, but they were all worker vehicles. One or two of them looked as if they had gas-based engines. Snapped back to his senses by his rumbling stomach, he hopped up onto the curb and to the building.

Ed pushed the glass paned door to the small building open with a jingle of the bell above his head. At the main counter sat three men, all hunched over, each enjoying their particular meals. They were chatting with each other along with the sweet-looking waitress behind the counter before they all erupted into a fit of laughter. The waitress took notice of Ed, and excused herself from the conversation as the rest of them continued laughing.

“Mornin’, honey. Just you?” she asked as she pulled out a menu from under the counter.

“Yep, Just me,” Ed answered succinctly. She guided him to a stool at the counter down a bit from the group already seated there, and left to prepare another pot of coffee, leaving Ed with the menu.

“Hey there, fella. Don't see many trucks that big round here too often. What’re you hauling?” one of the men next to Ed asked, recovering from one of his fits of laughter. Ed put on a smile and placed his menu on the counter before him.

“Just started working for some company up north. Just bringing some cargo down to the city. Was hoping to make it before lunch, but my stomach objected,” Ed finished with a light chuckle. He picked up his menu again, scanning through the lines of breakfast dishes, trying to figure out what he’d been craving.

“Well, you didn’t answer my question. What’re you hauling?” the man repeated. His tone was much more calmer than before, almost taking on a much more serious one. Ed sighed, and placed his menu back down on the counter. He still hadn't picked out his meal yet.

“Sorry. Confidentiality agreement with the company who hired me. Can’t say more than that. Hell, I don't even know what's in the trailer.” Ed knew that this wasn’t going to appease the guy, so he braced for some sort of confrontation.

“Fair enough.” Ed relaxed and looked on in wonder. Normally when someone got that curious about his load, they were either thieves or terrorists. Fortunately, he didn’t have to fight them off, seeing as how they weren’t terribly interested.

“So, just out of pure curiosity, what do you think of these Conversion Bureaus? They’ve been popping up all around the country, doing what they do. Your thoughts?” The man took on his more relaxed tone again, but the question threw Ed for a loop.

“I have plenty of friends around who’ve taken the dive with this first wave of takers, and even my wife and kids are looking into it. I got a two-year contract with that company, so I gotta work through that. After that’s all done with, I’ll be signing up as soon as I can. So do you mind if I order my food?” Ed asked, chuckling. The other guys next to him also gave light chuckles, all except for the man who asked him the question. He was already taking a long sip from his coffee, back to his old conversation.

“So honey, what can I get’cha?” the waitress asked as she walked over to Ed.

“I’ll just have a short stack of flapjacks and a pair of eggs, sunny side up.” Ed handed her the menu and looked down at his steaming cup of coffee. He hadn’t had an opportunity to touch it just yet, and could already smell the aroma waking his mind up. He reached for the sugar and milk, adding them until his drink reached a soft, almost caramel color. He took a slow sip, careful not to burn his mouth on the beverage, and found it to be exactly how he wanted it.

After a few short minutes, Ed’s meal came out from the kitchen in the back. The plate was steaming, the food looking absolutely delicious. He poured a good helping of old-style maple syrup over the short stack, adding some salt and pepper to the eggs that sat next to them. Taking both fork and knife in hand, he cut a piece out form the stack and held it before his mouth.

“To a brighter future,” Ed said out loud.

“Indeed,” the man mumbled.

Ed took the bite in his mouth, and from the moment it touched his tongue, he knew something was wrong. His mouth felt like it was on fire; his throat began to burn up, his neck swelling up like an extreme allergic reaction. Ed spit the food out from his mouth, but the damage was already done. His throat kept swelling up until it was squeezed shut, not a single breath of air able to get in or out.

Ed slammed his fists on the counter, trying to get everyone’s attention, hoping for some sort of aid, or at least a call to the paramedics. He looked over to the group next to him, only to see blank expressions on each of them as they stared at him in his agony.

“You see,” the man started. “We can’t help you. Our hands are tied, especially for those who love those goddamn ponies. Surely you understand." They were part of the HLF. Ed's vision began to shift colors, the edges of it blacking out. He fell off his stool onto his back, his vision rapidly fading. His body screamed in agony, his mind struggling to stay awake. He felt his grip on reality begin to falter, and only prayed his family would stay safe.

-----

“Christ, Dom. Was that necessary?” the waitress grumbled, giving the man a glare. Looking back down at the body, she began to feel her gorge rising in her throat. The man's skin was beginning to take on a bright red hue, something akin to a severe sunburn.

“Sorry, Doris. You agreed to take the risks when you took the oath. Don't worry; your role is done now. Same with you three. Just help me get his keys and clothes; I gotta be out of here in ten minutes.” Dom picked up the limp body of the driver whom he never even asked the name of, and dragged it into the back kitchen. Not like it mattered anymore anyway.

Stripping the body of its uniform, Dom looked down at the swollen, cherry-red face belonging to the driver. “Nothing personal, fella. You just happened to be working for the wrong people.” Dom replaced his own clothes with those of the driver, grimacing from the god-awful smell emanating from the shirt as he slipped it over his head.

“Dom! Here’s the guys wallet,” one of the other men yelled, tossing the black leather object towards Dom as he stepped out from the kitchen. “It has the address of the Bureau and a pass-card to get into the trailer.” Dom smirked as he briskly ran out the door and towards the giant trailer in the parking lot. He slid the green card through the dirt coated reader, and after hearing a confirmation chime paired with a green light, the doors slowly opened.

The trailer was mostly empty, save for a couple crates towards the back half. One bright yellow container caught Dom's eye. He pulled out the truck driver's wallet and checked the small note for the code to unlock it. The top opened with a hiss.

Inside sat a large container of a sloshing purple fluid, seemingly glowing in the low morning light. Dom looked closer at the serum, noting small sparkles dancing around in the beams of light that managed to weasel their way into the trailer. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass bottle with a dropper cap. Unlabeled, it didn’t look like much; but his superiors had warned Dom that a single drop of it would instantly set fire to his body’s systems and kill him almost instantly. After all, it worked on the truck driver in the diner.

Dom eased the tank’s cap open, careful not to get any droplets of this fluid on him either, as ponification would be a fate worse than death for him. He daintily lifted the dripper from the black bottle and added the poison into the giant tank, the black tendrils of it mixing with the purple serum. He continued adding drops in until the glass bottle was drained of its contents.

He sealed the tank up once more and closed the yellow container. He hopped down onto the gravel of the parking lot of the diner and sealed shut the door of the trailer with a hiss and a click.

Comments

[Anonsi]

Oh man, I remember this! ME GUSTA

[Krass McWriter]

Oh this brings back some memories...

[Da Bunnana King]

Not inb4 Krass, but as usual I am completely confused but it's got ponies in it so I shall read it and like it.

[ragnaught]

I remember this, Good to remember the potential of this one. Loved it and was a shame to see it inactive for so long. Hopefully by you uploading it here, you're working on continuing the story.

[Sotha]

Just like everyone else, I remember this! Does posting the story here indicate that you intend to finish it?

[StatusQo]

Nice to see this story posted here, hope that means you intend to continue it.

[Windchaser]

To answer many people at once: Yes, I do intend on finishing it this time around. I'm pretty much writing it over again, but this time making the characters more interesting and more developed.

[Thibi]

Woo!

[HiddenBrony]

'Chaser! You're doing it man! You're making this happen!

[FanOfMostEverything]

Well, it's new to me. You've certainly done a good job of instilling me with dread. I'm looking forward to seeing just what this additive does.

And please, no one spoil it for me. Okay?

[Grey Warden]

Shit is going to hit the fan!!!

[King Rhaegas Targaryen]

what's this?
a conversion bureau story that actually looks good!?!?
lets see here, HLF already active, possibility of dragons, good pacing, possibility of dragons, no spelling errors, possibility of dragons, doesn't immediately paint humanity as pure evil monsters, dragons, chatoyance isn't fucking up the comments with her batshit logic and insanity, dragons dragons dragons.

and oh yeah. MOTHERFUCKING DRAGONS!!!

this looks like it has great potential and they're aren't that many TCB stories that do. in fact i hate most of them. I'll wait impatiently to see were you go with this.

[darkmatterbutterflies]

753158
"(…)doesn't immediately paint humanity as pure evil monsters(…)"

Hmm. I don't know about that. We see one presumably decent guy, or at least a family-oriented man with a good taste in music, get horrifically murdered in cold blood by three terrorist. Said terrorists proceed to contaminate a medical supply to kill-or-worse thousands more with the same implement of murder as before. I'm hard pressed to think of an entry in the genre that has a nastier introduction of the human species.

Really, I don't know where this complaint is coming from. Most of the major stuff has been pretty mild in the treatment of humanity. The source was goofily heavily handed, but the original attention was on the failures of human civilisation rather than the human creature. You mentioned Chatoyance: she tends to write with the conceit that human civilisation is flawed because the human animal isn't built for the role that it finds itself in, or at least built very well.

I guess both of these particular themes are misanthropic, going just by the definition. Misanthropy: a dislike or hatred of people or mankind. Everyone is a little misanthropic at times. We all collectively disappoint one another from time to time. Perversely, I think that's one of the things pushing attempts at progress, but I digress. Maybe we've been reading different fics than each other, but as a whole, the TCB writers tend to be a bit more gentle with their treatment of the human creature than, say, Jonathan Swift. Now, you want to see some Grade-A Misanthropy, as well as the very first original TCB fic, check out the fourth book of Gulliver's Travels; you can find it free online to read in a variety of formats, and it's well worth the time. There, humans aren't even allowed the grandeur of being monsters, goodness, no: instead they are portrayed in a satirical, degraded way that really plays around with the expectations and values to European society of Swift's time — it's still shocking and brutal to this day!

Of course, if you were willing to add that another problem with the TCB fics is that they've been pedantic, then this comment will do no good by you, either. Heh heh heh.

Of course, you have established that you're here for the dragonses irregardless, so perhaps everything has been properly sorted anyway?

[King Rhaegas Targaryen]

772953 thank you for presenting that like you have all your mental capacities up and running, and not ranting about me being "deluded to the true nature of humanity because I'm a neckbeard firstworlder munching on corn doodles" like chatoyance does whenever she sees someone actually use logic to explain why she fails.*

and yes, i really don't like the way humanity is portrayed in 90% of all TCB fics. yes, i admit it, we can be brutal, we can be cold, and cruel, and savage. but we can also be kind, and caring, and noble. the human spirit has led to wonders and marvels like the pyramids, Gandhi, the plane, Neil Armstrong, the Renaissance, martin luther king, industry, and so much more. which makes me angry and hateful when i see fic after fic of the same thing. "oh humanity is so savage, lets ignore all the good they did and judge them to be unworthy of existance so were in the moral high ground when we convert them into ponies." cut it how you want, but it is technically genocide.

but yes, i am here for the dragons, and for the possibility that this turns out to be a crossover with 'dragon wars.' i wish more people knew what that was.

*if it seems like i insulted you in this, i am sorry.

[Windchaser]

772953 773063
My intention for the prologue was not to show what humanity is like right off the bat; it's simply a plot hook to get readers interested and wanting more. Yes, there are some despicable folks in the world, but there are many more decent people to outweigh them.

And as for the dragons: there will be many. I had grand plans for this story when I first started writing it, and I still do. Unfortunately, it does not have any influence from D-War.

[King Rhaegas Targaryen]

773176 so we wont see an ancient army of Korean dragon worshipers fighting in the middle of new york while a fuckhuge snake god makes his way across equestria?

eh, this fic will still be awesome either way.

[Windchaser]

773227
I will promise you this: my story will be even more awesome than that.