Ten Minutes
A/N: This story is set in the Conversion Bureau: Ten Rounds universe created from Blaze's original TCB universe by Defoloce
Zero-Nine-Two-Eight-Two-Zero-One-Six He repeated the sequence over in his head as he input the numbers into the large device sitting at his feet. To think that all of humanity’s technological progress had been reduced to this and what they carried was mind- boggling and truth be told, only served to amplify his rage. He watched as the interface blinked to life indicating that the device was now armed and above the console six numbers winked into existence, 10:00:00 and two button pushes later started counting down.
“Remind me again why the hell we’re giving them ten minutes?” one of the group of twelve, the one known as Hawkeye, asked.
“Because the safety measures built into the detonator require a minimum of ten minutes of time.” The young man said as he stood from the device. “And besides, I thought you enjoyed a challenge.”
“I enjoy challenges that are possible, what we’re going to do here could be considered suicide.” He said as he checked the action on his M110 marksman rifle.
“No one’s making you do this Hawk.” Another of the group, who sported only a wicked looking machete and a pump action shotgun, responded.
The young man shrugged “Doesn’t matter, we’re all dead men anyway, might as well as go out doing something meaningful.”
“Too right… well I guess I might as well get to my position, it’s been an honor fighting with all of you.” Hawk said as he began to walk off to the stairs, “Oh and Reaper? call it a hunch but I think that you might finally be able to rest after this.”
The young man smiled at the jibe, but there was no humor in it. “I think you might be right Hawk… Okay everyone let’s get to our areas. I don’t want a single one of those four legged fucks getting within 5 feet of this place.”
Nine minutes.
With that the rest of the group of twelve humans began to filter out through the building covering entrances and doing their best to prepare a decent defense against the coming onslaught. The building was, ironically enough, an abandoned conversion bureau, one of the places where this whole nightmare had begun. Despite the fact that this place was one of the centers where humanity was passively extinguished it served the group’s needs perfectly, it was easily defensible and built to withstand quite a lot of punishment.
As the young man approached his window overlooking the entrance where one could already see the beginnings of the pony horde that would soon besiege this place. They always seem to be getting better at detecting humans, couldn’t have taken them more than five minutes to pinpoint us this time he thought to himself as he checked the magazine of his M416 rifle, satisfied that everything checked out he loaded the mag and chambered a round, giving the building one last look-over before all hell broke loose. Further down the floor he noticed one of the relative newcomers to their group who was also covering the entrance, he couldn’t be more than three years younger than himself but the kid was shaking all over as the realization of what they were about to do hit him. Sighing slightly the young man walked over to the obviously scared kid and put a hand on his shoulder, the kid’s head jerked up from where he had been nervously scanning the front lot to look at him. “Relax kid, everything’s going to be fine.”
The kid just looked down from him silently for a few seconds taking several deep breaths before looking back up. “Thanks Reaper, I needed that.”
“No problem.” The young man replied as he walked back over to his own position.
Eight Minutes.
Outside the bureau dozens of ponies moved about the buildings, milling about until finally one pony finally stood out in the middle of the lot in front the bureau and with a magically amplified voice began yelling as other ponies started advancing on the building, “Humans! The kingdom of Equestria beckons you to a better life, lay down your arms and accept the invitation of our majestic princesses to a life of peace and friendship!” Before the pony could continue on his tirade the crack of a single shot rang out and pony pitched backwards collapsing to the ground in an instant, a pool of blood already beginning to spread around his body.
“How about no!?” Hawkeye shouted from his perch on the weather coordination center
With the death of the speaker, the true onslaught appeared to begin and ponies began to flood the front lot heading for the entrance of the bureau, as potion bombs and bolts of magic arced overhead. The humans inside responded with a hail of gunfire, but the number of ponies appeared to be too great for them to be held off for long.
The young man calmly centered his sights on a pony galloping towards the bureau and fired a single shot, the all too familiar recoil causing the rifle in his hands to jump back in response as he watched the pony collapse to the ground. He then raised the rifle and began firing at the sky as pegasai flew around the bureau looking for an opening in which they could enter the building and get at the humans within. It took him three shots this time but finally he connected watching with a grim sense of satisfaction as the Pegasus spun out of control and crashed to the concrete behind another building.
Despite their horrendous losses the ponies continued to advance towards the human’s stronghold and it was painfully apparent that it was a matter of seconds before the ponies would be inside. The young man and the kid continued to pour fire into the advancing ponies as they stood their ground on the 2nd floor, then quite suddenly a potion bomb clipped the top of the window the kid was covering, splashing the concoction all over him. The young man turned just in time to watch as his former comrade rapidly transformed into a light orange unicorn.
“My God… this feels amazing…” he said as he shrugged off his clothes and turned to face the remaining human.
The human in question turned and raised his rifle, preparing to once again put down a former comrade for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last two years. But before he could pull the trigger a bolt of magic slammed into the front of building disintegrating the wall he had been standing behind and knocking him from his feet. By the time he shook the lights from his eyes and rose to his feet once more a pile of rubble had appeared between him and the recently turned unicorn, he could hear the new convert’s voice from the other side, directing even more ponies into the bureau and encouraging them to “befriend” the remaining humans. The young man grimaced and sprinted further into the building locking a door behind him as he delved deeper into the complex, blocking off the pegasai who were rapidly swarming the fresh hole in the front of the building.
Seven minutes.
As the young man ran through the myriad of hallways the radio on his belt crackled to life, “Reaper if you can hear me, we’re falling back to the center of the building! Voodoo and Roadie are down, and I’ve lost contact with Hawk! If you’re still up at the front man, those bastards will cut you off if you don’t hurry!”
Hawkeye could hear the radio next to him squawking but he ignored it as he centered his crosshairs on one of the potion unicorns on the far side of the lot and fired once again. He had already burned through most of his ammo and what little he had left wouldn’t last him much longer. The ponies had been trying valiantly to get him in his perch in the weather coordination center on top of the bureau. Luckily he had managed to stack enough stuff in front of the doors to keep the pegasai out and so far none of those bolts had managed to hit his area yet. More potion splattered the wall in front of him as he continued to fire, taking out as many of those unicorns as he could. One finally managed to get into position and Hawk had a split second to jump backwards as the front of the room caved in from the concentrated magic. He cursed as he slid himself towards the back wall, unable to stand as some of the debris had broken his tibia. He drew a Beretta 9mm from its holster and continued to down the pegasai as they entered the medium sized room, finally managing to reach the far wall as the gun clicked empty. Cursing even more as he realized the grenade he had saved for just this occasion was missing no thanks to that magic bolt. So much for my blaze of glory… he thought as another wave of pegasai entered unimpeded, he looked past them into the sky wondering what it will be like on the “other side” as he called it, and then they were upon him.
Six minutes.
The young man continued to run, closing and locking doors behind him as he continued weaving throughout the second floor of the bureau, doing his best to avoid the ponies that now swarmed throughout the building. He finally made it into the inner chambers of the bureau and began barricading the door he had just entered when he heard a noise behind him; he immediately dove for the ground watching as two arcs of electricity shot past him into the door. He rolled and started running for the nearest security gate, knowing that with his rifle hanging uselessly on his back and his pistol securely holstered his only option was to run from the pony that was behind him. He dodged and weaved as additional arcs from the stun gun shot out in an attempt to incapacitate him. With one final effort he sprinted past the security gate slamming it shut behind him, drawing his pistol, and facing his pursuer all in one fluid motion. However, the gunshot that was supposed to follow never came. Standing on the other side of the gate, looking up at him was pale yellow Pegasus with a red mane, a stun gun strapped to her back. The young man tried to bring himself to shoot the pony before him as he done so many times in the past, but he couldn’t, every brain cell in his body screamed at him to pull the trigger but despite all this he couldn’t. As he looked into the pony’s eyes something stirred within him, they looked so familiar and from within the depth of his memories a single name rose to his lips, “Lisa…”
The girl he had met while passing through Missouri, the girl he had fallen completely and totally in love with, the girl who had become his best friend… the girl he had failed to save from them. He remembered it every day, he remembered the ambush the ponies had set for them, how they crippled three quarters of the humans there before they even had a chance to react. He had been forced to watch as they converted her right before his eyes, he had watched as the girl, the person, he would do anything for become nothing more than a mindless slave in front him. He had survived that day, the young man had somehow continued on, but his soul never left that place. After that day people started calling him Reaper, because ever since then wherever he went, death for the followers of Celestia followed in his wake.
Several tense seconds passed before he lowered his pistol and turned from the pony in front of him. “You should leave here… while you still have a chance.” And with that he walked off leaving the pony behind.
Five minutes.
The pony, whose name was now Sky Shimmer, just looked at the ground confused, and for some reason saddened. Why had the human spared her? Why did he seem so familiar? These questions bounced around her head as she felt something within her mind threatening to burst, she raised her hooves to her temples as her head continued to hurt, she closed her eyes attempting to blot out the pain but failing to help relieve it at all. Deep within her something stirred, it grew in volume until it overcame everything else, and suddenly the memories came flooding back, tears formed in her eyes as she realized who had just stood in front of her no more than twenty seconds ago. Michael…
Less than fifty feet away from the conflicted Pegasus, the young man cautiously entered into the main foyer of the bureau. As he began his entrance into the open three shots stitched across the wall behind him, “HEY, HEY, HEY!” he yelled as he jumped back.
“Oh shit… sorry Reaper, but damn am I glad to see you, I thought we’d lost you.” One of the humans occupying the center of the room said as the young man turned the corner, scowling.
“…We’re all that’s left?” he asked as he looked on what was less than half of the original twelve humans that had occupied this place earlier.
Tank nodded solemnly, “Yeah I guess so, Voodoo and Roadie were surrounded the second the bastards broke into the building, Hawk’s gone silent, Thunder got cut off when we pulled back, and Gunner, Colombo, and Tallahassee got blindsided by a single shock pony… took em’ all out in less than ten seconds flat.”
“Damn…” the young man said as the losses weighed heavily upon him.
“Anyways, we’ve got something more important right now; before they got to him Thunder barricaded himself in one of the anterooms and tipped me off to something… Celestia is here.”
“…Fuck.”
Four minutes.
The five remaining humans took up positions around the foyer facing outwards towards the entrances where their attackers would no doubt pour from. Their eyes nervously continued to sweep the room, looking for the slightest sign of activity. The young man took up his position behind the information desk along with Tank and the device they had brought to this place. Everyone jumped as they heard a series of shots from the rear where Dozer was stationed.
“Contact rear!” He shouted as he continued to fire.
And then it started once again, ponies burst through what seemed to be every door simultaneously flooding the room in what appeared to be a tidal wave of pastel colors. The humans once more continued to pour fire into the ponies, this time managing to successfully halt their advance halfway between the door of the foyer and the circle of overturned tables and furniture that marked the humans’ last stand. The ponies huddled behind any cover they could find from columns to the chairs that had once seated potential new converts. The constant barrage of fire dwindled to a trickle of its former volume as they started choosing their shots with more care.
“They’re moving in with more potion throwers!” Tank yelled as he spotted the telltale apparatuses of the specialized unicorns on the balcony overlooking the open room.
“Don’t let em get set up!” Dozer yelled from behind as he raised his M249 SAW and started to suppress the unicorns on his side best he could. This, unfortunately, left the ones on the ground quite capable of moving forward once more, and before he could realize his mistake they leapt over the makeshift wall and tackled him to the ground. Dozer struggled with the two earth ponies that had managed to get to him, while Tank screamed at him to let him get a clear shot. Finally the much larger man managed to snap one of pony’s necks while tank finally managed to get a bullet into the second. Dozer lay panting on the ground as he stared in horror at what had once been his left hand; now a red forehoof and his gaze lowered to his left leg which was also rapidly changing color and sprouting fur.
“…Dozer man…” Tank stammered out at the now changing human in front of him.
Dozer struggled to his feet once again, an impressive feat considering he only had one foot that would even respond to him. “D-don’t worry about me man, I-I can still fight.” He said as he shakily raised his weapon in his remaining hand, the conversion process already making it hard for him to continue resisting. He managed to fire one last burst into an advancing pony before the changes finally reached his mind and he succumbed entirely.
Tank grimaced darkly as he watched his former friend fall to all fours, his facial features already lengthening. Tank sighted down his M16 and muttered a quick prayer for the soul of his friend before finally letting loose another burst into the now complete red earth pony before him.
Three Minutes.
The young man felt the bolt of his weapon click empty once again as he attempted to take down a pony darting from cover to cover across the room. As was almost entirely unconscious reflex at this point, he ejected the spent magazine and reached for a fresh one, slotting it in and pulling the action back chambering yet another round.
“Down to two mags.” He announced as he re centered his sights onto the advancing ponies and resumed firing.
“I’ve only got one full one left, and roughly half a clip already in.” Tank responded from behind him. “At this rate we’ll run dry before the time runs out.”
As if hearing his pessimism the ponies seemed to double the effort of their advance, moving ever closer to the center of the room as the humans did their best to hold them back. The young man noticed movement on the top floor of the room once again as he looked up from his sights. What he saw on the balcony drained the color from his face, “MAV MOVE, NOW!” he yelled at the man covering the western side of the room.
“wha-?” he said he turned towards the voice that was yelling at him just in time to see the potion bomb heading straight for him. He barely had the time to even start changing his expression to one of shock before the bomb impacted him squarely in the chest. A few seconds later a green Pegasus extracted himself from the remnants of Maverick’s clothes and joined the advancing ponies.
Switch saw what had happened to her comrade and began to backpedal furiously from her former position heading towards the desk where the young man and Tank stood, doing their best to cover her. She almost made it too; roughly halfway to the desk another potion bomb came flying from the balcony above and much like Maverick hit her dead on, the unicorns above had had plenty of time to bracket their targets. This time it was a pale pink earth pony that took the place of the human.
“… Well I’d say we’re good and fucked now.” Tank said as he took in the ponies that now surrounded them.
Two Minutes.
The two remaining humans maintained their position behind the desk in the center of the room, the ponies that surrounded them continued to stay behind their makeshift cover. Every once in a while a single pony would dart out and charge them only to be felled by the humans. It took the young man a few seconds to figure out why they weren’t just rushing the desk, but when he saw the unicorns back down from their positions on the balcony it became abundantly clear.
“Hey Tank I think-“the young man stopped speaking midsentence when he saw the look in his comrade’s eyes. He knew that look, he had seen it many times before in his past, that look of resignation to one’s fate.
Tank put his hand on the young man’s shoulder as he placed the M16 next him. “Reaper you’ve always been the best shot out of all of us. You’ll do better with this than I ever could; all I can do to help now is make one last distraction.” He pulled out a single flashbang. “Make each one count brother.”
Before the young man could say anything back, Tank pulled the pin on the flashbang and tossed it over the edge of the table. The deafening noise and blinding light left the ponies around them incapacitated for a few seconds, that was all the time Tank needed to leap over the desk and draw a wicked looking knife from its sheath on his shoulder. He then proceeded to lay into them, stabbing the first one he encountered directly through the throat as he brought his other hand clenched in a fist into a second one’s muzzle crushing it inwards with a sickening crunch. He then withdrew the knife and pivoted slashing the blade through two more before they had any idea what was happening. At this point the ponies had finally recovered from the disorienting effects of the flashbang and began to fight back.
The young man could do nothing but watch as Tank was eventually overwhelmed by the sheer numerical superiority of the ponies. One finally managed to get him with a stun gun and he fell to the floor, out of sight of the young man convulsing from the electricity that had shot through him. The ponies slowly advanced towards where he had fallen, and the young man heard him stammer out from behind the barricade. “D-damn you a-all.”
“Get some ponification serum over here.” A voice called out.
The sounds of meager resistance sounded from behind the pile of furniture for a few seconds and then all was silent. Now the young man was all that was left.
One minute.
The young man felt his rage begin to boil over at everything, at the loss of his comrades, at the ponies, and this whole dammned situation. He scowled as he loaded one of his two last clips and raised his rifle over the counter, ready to kill every single one of the damned ponies that had destroyed his life. Unfortunately he never got the chance.
The second he brought the rifle up it suddenly started to glow before finally being wrenched upwards out of his grasp, and giving him a vicious uppercut. He started to stumble backwards, his mind filled with pain and stars from the attack before suddenly being knocked backwards ten feet to crash into the device behind him with an astounding force. As he smashed into the device he felt three of his ribs crack and one break completely, puncturing the skin above it and dying the shirt he wore crimson with blood.
He gasped in pain as he shook the stars from his vision and sat up, his back against the wall next to the device. He made an attempt to draw his pistol from its holster but it was already flying away from him the second he reached for it.
“An admirable effort, but like the rest of the resistance from your race, ultimately a meaningless gesture.” Spoke a voice the young man had once heard only over the TV or radio, it was voice that carried all the regalness and power of royalty while still retaining its grace. The possessor of the voice strode into view in front of him, standing in front of the last human on earth, was Celestia, Equestrian princess of the sun.
The young man tried to rise from his position on the ground and so strike at the pony in front of him but he only rose a few inches before his body refused to move any further, the pain becoming too much for it to function in that way. And so all he could do was glare at the princess in front of him with the most intense hatred he had ever felt.
“Really, just what did you all hope to accomplish here? I mean besides joining the great Equestrian nation.” She said striding towards him, an arrogant smirk dominating her face.
The young man just glared at her in response.
“Well then, I guess it’s time we got to the main event.” The princess said levitating over a bottle of potion. “You should be honored, the last human to be converted, what a tale you’ll have to tell your foals in the future.”
With that she began to tip the container forward, seeking to cover the young man in its contents, when suddenly a voice rang out, “Wait.”
The princess stopped almost immediately and turned to the source of the voice, a confused expression on her face. “Yes, what is it my little pony?”
A pale yellow Pegasus stood before her, looking nervously at the ground now that she had Celestia’s attention. “I-if it wouldn’t be too much trouble princess, could I be the one to convert him? It would mean a lot to me.”
The princess cocked her head to the side for a moment before speaking again, “Why does this mean so much to you, young one?” All traces of disdain and anger that had colored her voice while speaking to the young man were now gone.
“W-well I k-kinda know him.”
Celestia’s expression turned thoughtful, “I see… what is your name?”
“Sky Shimmer, your majesty.”
“Sky Shimmer if it means that much to you, then I will allow you this great honor.” The princess of the sun said as she walked over to the small pony and nuzzled her affectionately.
Sky Shimmer after receiving the princess’ blessing then turned from her ruler to the young man, and began walking towards the human with a slow meaningful stride, her eyes never leaving his face. The young man in question just returned the unwavering gaze looking into her eyes and seeing concern, regret, and recognition?
Finally the pale yellow pony reached the young man, looking down at his now crimson shirt with the deepest regret the young man had ever seen, “Michael…” she spoke, low enough for just the two of them to hear, the young man’s expression changed to one of shock at hearing his own name. The Pegasus then brought a hoof behind the young man’s head as she brought her own forward, touching her forehead to his, “I’m so sorry.” She whispered as a single tear rolled down her muzzle.
The young man sat there for a moment before bringing his own hand up behind her head, running his fingers through her mane. “Me too.”
And with that Sky Shimmer drew the young man into a kiss, and as he sat there locking lips with the pony that had once been the girl he had loved with his entire being, the young man could taste the grape on her lips.
And then suddenly everything turned the purest white the young man had ever seen.
Zero Minutes.
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Manly tears were shed for the valiant humans losses.
Many tears were shed for the valiant Equestrian losses. They should have just carpet-bombed the area with potion. All those poor, poor ponies.
At least they got the bastard converted.
Uh hu, "bastards converted"? At least all that ponies and Celestia is dead) Well what do you expectfrom nuclear weapon)
Nice story man.
Yes. Ponies must die in Conversion Bureau fics. Because whole idea of CB is sick and wrong.
This is so good.... I'm not very sure about Conversion Bureau fics but this one had my attention from start to end. I'd love to read more of this!
66537
The thing I like with this take on CB is that the ponies are treated like zombies. They're sweet and kind and loving, and they just want what's best for you, if only you'll let them infect you with their kindness...
I love the dichotomy, even as it makes me cry how the poor things are being treated. It's funny. It's really, really terrible what the humans do to the ponies in these stories and I see it as the world gone mad, quite, quite mad. You have to feel for the humans, because if you ask me they really ARE misguided and evil when they will put a bullet through their compatriots just because they grow hooves.
As an outside observer, I love the turnabout. As a fan of the genre, it's a unique look inside insanity.
Thing is, there's a LOT of hate for TCB fics, mainly due to the "You Can't Argue With Elves" and folks conflating the different sub-continuities. Also, the tendency to see the whole thing in the darkest light possible.
Goddamn this is one of the best stories I have ever read. I actually cried manly tears. Also, thank you GaryGibson for the song name, it goes well with it.
If the human race were to ever to gasp its last breath, you can count on it that that last breath will be used to enact revenge of the highest order possible.
66552
LOLOLOL yeah right. Celestia is a GOD in most TCB fics including the ten rounds verse.
Also ponies are better than us in everyway. Anyone NOT lining up to become a pony is fucking insane
Ack!
too many misanthropes here.
Well i guess i should expect nothing less from a TCB fic.
67056
I don't see how a hoof better than finger (i would just lol to see how you typing an answer with your ...er nose maybe?)
66485 nice song, I do think that The Lightning strike by Snow Patrol goes better with this story though (hence why I put the lyrics in at the end lol)
and to answer your question, no I have no plans for a sequel as of right now, I do have an alternate ending/epilogue that I originally cut from the story that I may post at a later date.
67382
epilogue: everypony is butthurt that celestia died. end.
Also, whats this ten rounds universe?
You have one hell of a good story here Steel. I admit, the ending certainly struck a chord with me. You don't very often see a ten rounds fic, but you pulled it off very well. I think that this story should be kept as is, in terms of the total plot of the story, but I think that there could be some pretty interesting back stories you could put in here. Keep up the good stories!
67433
The ten rounds universe is a fic that was written by Defoloce setting up the Equestria invades earth style of TCB fics. The original can be found here
66788
That post immediately made me think of World War Z except with TCB ponies as the zombies...
In all seriousness though, I personally like the idea of a Ten Rounds universe fic every now and then. I occasionally enjoy a good grimdark story every now and then.(As long as it's not grimdark for grimdark's sake.)
66537 SHUT up! the humans should have won!, its the ponies faults that they made those damn Conversion stations in the first place!. think of it? no more shooting guns, no more call of duty, no more TF2! in exchange for... rolling in grass, and flying around.... "ooh soo cool..."
66537 SHUT up! the humans should have won!, its the ponies faults that they made those damn Conversion stations in the first place!. think of it? no more shooting guns, no more call of duty, no more TF2! in exchange for... rolling in grass, and flying around.... "ooh soo cool..." 67056
Aw hell no! , they dont have video games, guns, WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) tanks, helicoptors, or anything! they can keep hteir stupid magic while i get technology, weapons, video games, HANDS, and what do ponies have? carriages, royalty, things we used 1000 years ago!
67056
it's true that their world is happier....but losing my hands? sorry, not gonna happen.
Glory to the fallen
PONIES FOR THE PONY GOD
Finally some one get's 40k
death to the false goddesses
66800
The way I see it is, if you can write something that gets a reaction like 67731 then you're doing something right, whether the commenter is agreeing or disagreeing with you.
I'm pretty sure that the guest there commenting is tongue in cheek - but to be honest, there ARE people like that (gapaot for one), and when I look at it, I can't help but think they're nuts. WMD's are a good thing? Magic, flying, happiness, friendship aren't worth giving up video games (the one thing from that list I'd actually miss) for?
Misanthropy in and of itself isn't something bad, Badly written misanthropy is a different problem. The difference is between whether you're a good author writing a crapsack world, or whether you're a crap author writing a 'bad' world. If you want excellent misanthropy as well as heroic humans, then just read Yellowstone and follow it up with xmen comics. Heroes and villains, the tapestry of humanity is diverse and varied.
When I read this, I can't help but imagine the Team America theme song playing in the background, which makes it all the more awesome.
That being said, THEY DIED LIKE TRUE AMERICAN HEROES.RIP.NEVR4GET.
operatorchan.org/cp/src/cp8870_CryingEagle.jpg
Funny, I made a blog post on this site just about that a couple of days ago :P
68761
>>WMD's are a good thing? Magic, flying, happiness, friendship aren't worth giving up video games (the one thing from that list I'd actually miss) for?
Well, it's more complicated than that. While nukes are a terrible weapon, they are more than that. They ushered us into a new age of technological prowess, and they symbolize just that. As a human, I can't help but be utterly fascinated by them. Science burst upon the world devices that weigh a few tons themselves but deliver energies equivalent to *millions* of *tons* of TNT. Devices that match the power output of our sun for a few nanoseconds. Devices that taught us how that there is far, far more potential within matter than just chemical combustion.
Heh, sorry. that's the engineer/science nut in me talking
We have far more technology and scientific knowledge than just nukes. Plus, we discover new things all the time. Would you really want to give all that up for a simple, quaint life pulling doorknobs with your teeth? Probably without ever progressing beyond that?
Sure, it would be a new and unique experience. But for the rest of your life?
...Although: flight with your own wings? That's always been a very strong dream of mine...
72127
The scientist in me agrees in progress, it agrees very strongly with understanding truly how the world works, and an amazing device that rivals the power of the very suns themselves is nothing to be sniffed at - but the romantic and humanist in me understands how "more stuff" doesn't equate to "more better".
I'm not a bleeding heart liberal (although as a slightly politically left of centre european, compared to "centre politics" in the USA, that's exactly what I am) so I am fully aware that merely throwing away everything we have to live like cavemen would be bloody awful - the thing I'm comparing it to is an entirely different world, with different world laws and an entirely different form of civilization.
In this candy-coloured world, the mythical golden age that is spoken of in our world by only the thick and the deceitful is true. That's the amazing thing which a lot of the neighsayers just don't get. We're dealing with a world where friendship really is magic, and magic is everywhere. That world is something I would give up very many things in this one for - not for some facile facsimile thereof.
All i can say is one thing
"GG" for both sides...
I personaly recomend control the divin by blind guardian
and three things I would miss are stake, hands, and metal music
This,
the ending.
It is either terribly perfect or perfectly horrible I am not entirely sure which.
The last of the humans fights the pointless battle for "freedom".
"Freedom": that fearfully fickle thing flowing from the idiotic idea of independence inarguable.
The last moments are played out;
betrayal by a lost love,
false victory proclaimed,
and the ultimate Revenge.
To strike back at the very precipice, the height, the original Instigator of this oh-so grim scenario.
The result determined only by what is left unsaid,
only those who do not fear searching their own imaginations will know for sure.
/lame word spew
Oh this was good! Anything which makes me uncontrollably regurgitate words like that is, it means that you've made me think.
(And that is an achievement indeed!)
Continue.
67056
You are not worth the air you breathe you filthy traitor!
its like the 4th of July all over again
go humanity!
SHIT, WE'RE LOSING!!
>30 KILL STREAK: TACTICAL NUKE
>TACTICAL NUKE INBOUND
HUMANS WIN
FINAL SCORE: 1,205,539 (HUMANS) 9,281,391,005 (PONIES)
...Suddenly I got this weird feeling that HLF was the true hero
199641 The healthy human doesn't wake up in the morning thinking this is its last day on earth. But I think that's a luxury. Not a curse. To know you're close to the end is a kind of freedom. Good time to take... inventory. Outgunned.Outnumbered. Out of our minds on a suicide mission. But the sand and rocks here, stained with thousands of years of warfare... They will remember us. For this. Because out of all our vast array of nightmares, this is the one we choose for ourselves. We go forward like a breath exhaled from the Earth. With vigor in our hearts and one goal in sight; We. Will. Kill her.
I loved this story. As much as I love my Little Pony, and I do love My Little Pony, the idea of humanity giving up everything just sounds wrong. Giving up themselves, their culture, their history, all of that, it just doesn't sound right...
This story though, was beautiful. Heck, even if Celestia didn't die, I'm happy knowing the last human went out as a human, not as a pony.
You have the following nominations:
THE DALEK IX SEAL OF APPROVAL
FOR TALES OF DEFIANCE TO THE END.
i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/MihoshiK/vladtepes.jpg
66788
Thing is, in the Ten Round universe... they are.
Celestia has ordered them to throw their lives away, without care for personal safety, to convert humans. By Celestia's will, she will have dozens upon dozens of ponies will literally throw themselves onto a sword just to convert a single human.
And they will obey without thought.
They are zombies. No will of their own, only living to please Celestia. And if she's willing to let untold numbers of ponies die like that, she is not a good master to serve.
269987
Yep, and that's what I love about this turnabout!
270076
Sorry, I thought that you didn't understand when you said -
"humans, because if you ask me they really ARE misguided and evil when they will put a bullet through their compatriots just because they grow hooves."
They do become akin to zombies, so putting them down when irreversibly infected just makes sense.
272561
Well, you've got two sides to the take on it - one is in-universe, the other is extra-universe.
All said and done, from the outside, fluffy zombie horde or not, even the world of ten rounds isn't entirely horrific. The ponies don't actually hurt you , and when you become a pony you really do feel much happier and care-free. The happiness they offer is genuine as it is intrinsic to their very being.
The body horror is there though - a fanatical devotion to Celestia and mental changes which are high-grade, unavoidable and permanent. I could argue both sides of the "fanatical devotion to a cause you believe in", but the idea that ponies would throw away their lives to convert humans by force is part of the mental body horror (have I got that right?).
From the outside, what you've got is instantaneous elimination of a friendly creature who just wants the best for you. The worst you're going to get from an 'unarmed' pony is a strong nibbling and a big hug. From one point of view, that's pretty evil. It's pretty fucked up.
From the inside, the ponies represent an extinction-level event - a soft genocide, and every new pony is (much like a zombie) another trooper for the other team. It's logical, if cold and cruel, to shoot anybody infected at the first opportunity before they can any sort of threat.
Bravo, my good author. Bravo.
I love Equestria and the show, but the Conversion Bureau sickens me. It's a genocide. A happy, bright, smiling genocide of humanity.
Having read this series and some of the responses, I'm so glad that I'm not the only brony who has an issue with using the FiM-verse for a story whose basic moral is, "It's okay to commit genocide against some groups of people because you're better than them." I would nuke the entire world into a glass parking lot before I'd ever let the Conversion Bureau ponies get their hooves on it.
273301 "Soft genocide" is an oxymoron.
331026 Thank fuck, I was starting to think I was the only one!
334430
331026
You two aren't the only ones with a low opinion of the Conversion Bureau-verse. I have to agree with whoever said this: "Basically, the story seems to advocate genocide/forced assimilation."
I'm okay with MLP:FiM war stories but somehow, using the FiM-verse for a story that essentially advocates genocide seems so wrong.
I would rather put a bullet in my head than be converted. After all, you die either way. I mean conversion deletes and then overwrites your identity, mind and body, everything that makes you, you.
338203 Indeed. Are you at all familiar with S. M. Stirling's Draka series? The ponies here are basically the same deal: A race that's more physically powerful than humanity and from this develops a racial supremacist doctrine it uses to justify conquering Earth and killing (or brainwashing and genetically modifying for their own purposes) every last member of the human race. And they have an "I Win" button. The only difference is we're not supposed to root for the Draka.
Hmmmmm....
Side with humans, Keep hands and computer games and guns!
Side with ponies, Happiness and flying and magic!
Which one?
But if ponies invaded like that....
DEATH TO TYRANTS! YAAAAAAAAAAH! CHARGE!
331026
334430
338203
Thank Odin's hairy balls, I'm not the only one! I find the TCB universe an intriguing idea and I love the amount of writing materail it can provide people. I must say I only have a few qualms with it. Firs of all, the misanthropy is more than enough to make me want spew pure acidic hatred into the TCB version of Celestia and the Mane 6's faces.
First off the huge plothole from the original fic which got carried over a few fics. Equestria was suffering from overpopulation.....let's convert 19 billion humans to ponies! Ingenious! Who cares there's not freaking way even an Equestria-nized Terra could even fit that many ponies without covering Terra with arcologies. I mean the world currently has 7 billion souls on it already 19 billion with no interstellar trade to support the population plus many humans being jobless. Yeah, call me a nerd but that shattered my suspension of disbelief. It's shouldn't kill authors to at least use that monkey brain of ours they love deriding
Second....IT'S XENOCIDE. Freaking xenocide! Genocide is the destruction of an entire race or religious groups. What Hitler did to the Jews was genocide. Homo Sapiens Sapiens is a species not a damn race so that makes what the ponies are doing in such an inane and bright and colorful way xenocide which is the destruction of an entire species.
Third in many TCB fics Equestria and the ponies are so damn perfect it truly sickens me. Hell, I'm glad the shows aren't any where near what the TCB fics do. The pones have plenty of conflict and more than a few dangers. I've read a few TCB fics that claim nothing in Equestria is poisonous. Poison Joke and the CMC's love poison apparently being something else. Also baked bads.
Anyway, my inforant aside, I enjoyed this fic. The ponies are over the top with their love and caring to the point they'll attack en masse to convert humans forcibly. Celestia was a bit OOC but then again, the arrogant bint just took a nuke to the face. Even if her godhood deus ex machinaed her to safety she's missing a ton of followers now. I like TCB fics like this because they put a new spin on things.
A specieist, xenocidal, imperialist power attempts to destroy the local culture, wipe out the native population, and take over their planet, which they justify by claiming that they are racially and culturaly superior.
Yep, nothing wrong with that!
That was pure epicness just awwwwwwwwwwwwww
That was one of the most satisfying endings to one of these storys. Glad to see the guy died a human and took all the ponies with him.
Except of course, being a sun god, trying to kill Celestia with an atomic blast is like trying to drown an ocean. The sun is nothing but a giant natural nuclear reactor. And exposing her to what is effectively a fragment of her own essence is like tossing water balloons at a body of water.
This is my answer to this story (HEE! HEE! HEEE!!!!
)
Ten Minutes: Aftermath