PER Equitum
The
CONVERSION
►Bureau
Equestria is an emerging pocket sub-cosmos located off the western coast of the Americas, its magical energies fatal to humans, human nature fatal to both Equestria and the earth as a whole, and the only solution being the total ponification, by any means, of the entire human species.
PER
Equitum
By Chatoyance
► Worldcorp Investigations Case File Audio Transcript
► Subject: Arnie Neuvo, Worldcorp Distribution Office 83745, Northamerizone
► P.E.R. attack on Worldcorp Distribution Office 83745
► Transcript Begins at 14:01:11
Licking my hooves. That’s how they found me. Yeah, I know, it sounds silly, and it was I suppose, but I didn’t know what else to do at the time. No hands, see? I kind of reverted to a sort of child state; children explore their world with their mouths as naturally as they do their hands. Human children, anyway. I’m still getting used to this. Sorry.
Why? I... couldn’t believe what had just happened. I was trying to prove to myself it was real, that my hands were gone, my arms were not arms; all I had was my mouth and tongue. It was as close to ‘grabbing’ my own hooves as I could manage at the time. Yeah, I agree, enough of that.
Basically, we were hit by the P.E.R. Yes, I’m sure it was them. They actually announced themselves. Yeah, it was like “Don’t be afraid! We are Ponification for the Earth’s Rebirth, and we are here to save you from yourselves! Join us in a happier world!” or something like that. It wasn’t a long speech, but it was clear who they were.
No. We didn’t have time - I think Jon managed to just stand up and turn around before the eggs were tossed. Last thing I saw was him standing there, with his hands up, like he was trying to defend himself. Then he started changing. And screaming. There was a lot of screaming.
Well, yes it hurt! It hurt really bad! The doc that checked us said they must have put some kind of stuff in it to lessen the pain, but it didn’t knock us out or anything. It still hurt like... like... something really bad and a bunch of bad words I can’t seem to remember right now. I don’t know what’s up with that. I can’t remember how to swear right now. Wow, that’s strange.
Yeah, I said ‘eggs’. They looked like eggs. Glass eggs filled with that ponification goop. I don’t know if it was actually glass, it might have been plastic. They broke really good though. No, I didn’t see how most of 'em threw them; maybe they had a machine, or maybe they just all did it with their mouths. I’m not the one to ask about that; I still don’t know how to walk on these things yet.
No, I understand. Yeah, we’ve all been assured we’ll get help to adjust, that everything will be taken care of. No, I don’t feel frightened. I’m not even upset, to tell you the truth. I should be. I think I should be all angry and scared and stuff, but I don’t feel that way. I feel pretty good, actually. Yeah, it is weird. I guess it’s part of whatever this change thing is.
Yeah, I’d say I’m OK with it. It’s kind of strange; I shouldn’t be, but I’m fine with being a pony, now, anyway. I kind of wonder why I resisted as long as I did. I haven’t felt this good in... well in years. No, I just feel kind of... happy I guess. Content. I feel safe, I know we’ll all be taken care of, and everypony had been really nice to us.
Did I? Really? Everypony. I guess I did say that. Weird! But it really seems to fit. No, no other phrases or words that I know of. Hey, I’ve only been a pony for like, what - Jon! Jonathan? How long have we been ponies? ‘Bout half an hour? Yeah, thanks. Really? Hey, thank you, yeah, I think your mane looks pretty cool too. Yeah, check out my tail! Yeah, really! What?
Oh, sorry. Jon’s my friend here at work. We’re kind of best friends, really... huh. Whoa. I guess we are. What? Oh, it’s just that I never called him a ‘friend’ before, much less a best friend. He was just the only guy in the office that I ever bothered to talk with. But... I guess I do think of him as a friend. At least now.
Hey! Jon? Are we... we’re friends, aren’t we? Yeah! I feel the same way! Yes, I like you! That’s great! Hey, listen, I’m really sorry I never told you that before. Yeah, I’m glad to be your best friend too. Absolutely! Let’s stick together through this!
Well, horsefeathers. I... I guess I have a friend now. A best friend. Just like that. What? I guess it is kind of fascinating. It’s definitely different from how things were before all of this. It’s kind of like when I was a child, really. Things were so simple then. I’d just walk up and say ‘Hey, want to be friends?’ and that was that. I guess it’s like that again. Cool!
Whoa! Jon’s trying to get over here! Alright, Jon, that’s great! Oh... watch out... oh dear... just crawl then. They said they’d help us later. Yeah, just crawl for now. There ya go! Ha ha! Hey there, Jon! Awww... Hee hee hee! Yeah, just lean up like that. You’re warm. That’s nice. Thanks! It is a little breezy in here with the door gone and everything.
Oh, sorry. We’re both here now, maybe Jon has better answers for you, you can ask us both stuff. One at a time, Ok, whatever you need.
So, the P.E.R? Yeah, they just blew open the front of the office. The security door didn’t even matter. Bam! the front was just gone. No, I have no idea what they used. You, Jon? No? Explosives and stuff isn’t something either of us would know anything about. I’m just amazed that nopony got hurt. I guess they tried really hard not to hurt anypony.
Oh, Jules did? Sorry. Apparently Jules was hurt by the explosion, but they ponified him the moment they came in - I didn’t see that. Janice told you? I see. Thanks, Jon.
You should talk to Janice about Jules. Ponification fixed him up, though? I am so glad. I like Jules. You too? Fantastic! Maybe we have more friends in this office than we ever realized! This is awesome! Yeah! I feel that way too, Jon. Yeah, kinda happy, kinda content. It is nice. Really nice.
What? Oh, sorry, this is all so new, I feel new, everything feels new and... why did they hit us? I can’t think of any reason... you Jon? No. Neither of us can think of any reason. We’re just an ordinary distribution center for the worldcorp. Nothing fancy or big. We make sure the widgets get to where they need to go.
What? You mean why didn’t we all go pony already? Well, for me, I guess I was just kind of lame, really. I liked being one of the few to have a job, I kind of figured that once you become a pony, holding down a corporate position just isn’t important anymore, you know? And, whaddya know, I was right! I don’t care about this job anymore! How about you, Jon? Ha ha ha!
Why didn’t you go pony, Jon? Uh huh... Ok... I guess I can see that. The whole ‘humanity shouldn’t go away thing’, yeah, I can see that. I don’t agree with it anymore, but I can see where you were coming from. No! No, I don’t think you were being silly. Well, maybe a little, but hey, we had no way to know then what we know now, right? Come on, cheer up! We’re ponies now, and that’s what counts. That’s OK, Jon. We’re ponies now. No harm, no foul. Yeah! That’s the spirit!
I guess that’s the kind of thing you’ll find throughout the office. We just sort of clung to staying human kind of because. I guess we were a bunch of stick in the muds... I know I was. Mad? No! I’m not mad at the P.E.R. Goodness no. I guess I’m kinda grateful, actually. Yeah, I agree Jon. We’d never have become best friends without being ponified. Of course! I’m really glad too!
I’d have to say we’re glad this happened. I can honestly say I’ve never felt better or happier, and I haven’t even tried to stand up yet! I just feel like the future is going to be really fun. You too? Heya, Jon! Brohoof! Let’s see... how do you do this? Ah! Ok! Yeah! Brohoof! Ha ha ha!
Press charges? Are you kidding? Not me. Jon? Ha! I agree. Hey, P.E.R. if you ever see this, I just want to say thanks! Thank you for saving me from my dead-end human life. Go P.E.R.! You ponies rock!
They’re what? The princess considers them outlaws? Really? Oh, that’s sad. I’m sorry to hear that. Ex C.I.A.? They had genegineering done before they were converted, that’s why they can act violently? I guess that explains the explosion. Huh. I don’t like the idea of violent ponies. I guess I can see where Celestia is coming from on that one. Can they be fixed?
Oh. Well, hopefully something can be done. Even so, we’re still grateful, right Jon? Yeah. Me too.
No. I didn’t notice anything in particular. It just went ‘boom’, and then those little glass eggs started flying, and folks were hit, and they’d go down and start changing. I ducked behind my desk, but then I got curious and peeked up. That’s when I saw Jon get hit. I stood up... I guess I was going to go check on him or something.
Yeah, that’s when I saw the pony. I guess he was the leader. The doc told you? Yeah, I told the doc about that. He had a gray coat and a white mane. Kinda ragged looking, actually. I guess the P.E.R. doesn’t go in for a lot of mane brushing or something.
Yeah, I saw him really clearly. Well, maybe. Show me. Yeah! That’s the stallion! Really? Head of the entire original team? Wow, I’m honored. Well, other than the whole Celestia doesn’t approve thing. Yeah, he’s the one that got me. In his teeth. That part I did see. He just sort of looked at me, kinda smiled around that egg in his mouth and tossed it. Really good aim, got me right in the face.
Grape. Yeah, it was everywhere. At first, no, but then the pain hit. I mostly had my eyes shut at that point, but I do remember seeing my fingers globbing together and the back of my hand stretching out. I guess that’s this now. Foreleg? Thanks, Jon. Weird! This part of my leg used to be the back of my hand. I guess that must have been my wrist. It’s weird because it all feels so normal. It just feels like it’s always been that way. No, It just feels... right, somehow.
No, I don’t think so. I can’t imagine missing being human. Not now. Seriously, this really is pretty great. If I had any advice to give you it would be just to go to a Bureau straight away. Give up this investigation, it’ll all even out in the end. Let Celestia deal with them. No! Seriously!
I bet that if you asked, you could get ponified today. We have like, what, a year and a half left before Equestria swallows the earth? Aw, just go get it done. I sure wish I had, years ago. I could have had extra years as a pony. You too Jon? Hee! See, Jon agrees. Don’t even bother with it, Just go get ponified. OK, it’s your choice. No, no, whatever you want to do.
Oh, Luna! They’re back! It’s the P.E.R.! Look Jon! They came back! Ha ha ha! Oh wow! Nopony’d expect that! Those clever ponies. Better duck, agent Smythe! Oh! Oh, they got you, I guess the interview is over, oh, wow, right in the chest. No, that won’t help, it eats right through clothing. Shhh... shhh... it’s OK, I’m right here, I know it hurts, I’m sorry...
It’ll be Ok, it’ll be Ok... shhh... shhh... Just let it happen. The pain will be over in no time. You’ll feel so much better in just a moment. It’ll be Ok, really, it will. Jon? Let’s roll closer, try to comfort Smythe. There, there, whoa! Look at that! Hey, Jon, agent Smythe’s gonna be a unicorn! Cool!
Hey! Hey! You! PER leader! Yeah! I just wanted to say ‘Thank You!’ What? That’s great! Anyway, thank you for doing us today! Yeah! I’m really happy about it! Oh. No, I know. I hope Celestia pardons you. I’ll put in a good word for you, if it would help. Jon too! I understand. Yeah, you’d better get going. Bye! Oh! That was clever doubling back like that! Good Luck!
Wow, Jon, he was a really nice pony. Yeah, I agree. I hope Celestia forgives them. Maybe we can write her a letter or something. Yeah! Let’s do that!
Oh, hey, agent Smythe is coming around. Hello, agent Smythe! Welcome to being a pony! Howd’ya feel? Better? Great! It’s OK now, isn’t it? Just like I said. Yeah, it does hurt, but only for a while. You kinda forget about that part after a bit, I did. Jon says he did too.
Oh, yeah, the smells. That hit me first. And sight too. All the senses. Yes! Those hooves are yours! Hearing, that too. Everything is better. Taste... yeah, taste is better as a pony as well.
No, I won’t laugh! Of course not! Go on! They’re brand new, clean as a whistle, why not! Go on, I’ll do it too. Hey! Jon’s doing it! Yeah, why not? I mean, we’re ponies now! Why the hay not, right?
Now you see. Now you see why I was doing it. Just like a baby. We’re new. ‘Newfoals’, I really understand that word now. Yeah, you go ahead, agent Smythe. You can lick your own hooves if you want. It just feels neat to the tongue, all smooth and curved and amazing. Yeah. Hooves are awesome, I agree.
► Transcript Terminated at 14:33:21
► Transcript Logged And Filed. Incident Closed.
The Lost In The Herd Series:
One: The Big Respawn,
Two: Euphrosyne Unchained,
Three: Letters From Home,
Four: Teacup, Down On The Farm
The Conversion Bureau Novels:
27 Ounces: A story of eight and one half ponies
The Taste Of Grass
The Conversion Bureau: Code Majeste
The Conversion Bureau: The 800 Year Promise
The Conversion Bureau: Going Pony
The Reasonably Adamant Down With Celestia Newfoal Society!
Recombinant 63: A Conversion Bureau Story
HUMAN in Equestria: A Conversion Bureau Story
The PER: Michelson and Morely
Little Blue Cat
Cross The Amazon
Adrift Off Fiddler's Green: The Final Conversion Bureau Story
The Short Stories:
Her Last Possession
The Conversion Bureau: PER Equitum
The Conversion Bureau: Brand New Universe
Tales Of Los Pegasus
The Poly Little Pony
The very first and original
Conversion Bureau Group
archives only the best Three Rules Compatible stories!
Optimalverse Works:
Friendship Is Optimal: Caelum Est Conterrens
Leftovers: A Friendship Is Optimal Story
IMPLACABLE
My Life In Fimbria
Injectorverse Works:
I.D. - That Indestructible Something
The More Conventional Fanfics:
The Ice Cream Pony Summer
Around The Bend
PRIDE related works:
Transspecieality
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OMG PER! I love these guys!
Well, I kinda have to. I made them.
But I have been wondering for a long time if they existed in your universe or not. I am surprised and estatic to see this.
crazy.
Good and interesting but kinda creeps me out a bit. no it's not this story it's forced changes in general that do it. not a huge fan of body horror.
114182
you made them i never knew awesome
and brilliant they are my favorite bad guys in tcb fics.
This makes me think so much of one of the original spin-offs, Ten Rounds. When you would get ponified, your mental state would be altered as well, immediately pledging allegiance to Celestia and Luna. While this isn't as black-and-white as that, you can still get a sense that the 'voice' in this story had a forced and radical shift in his mind after the PER attacked.
114258
Yeah, they were originally in An Azure Future. First apperance is part 3. Since then they have been included in the Yellowston universe (only in the series as a result from the original), The Re-Write of Last man Standing, and now Chatoyance's universe. A few other fics too, but all major TCB fics (With the exclusion of Change of Life) have them.
And correct me if I am mistaken Chatoyance, but was that Grey Crusader?
114182
Oh, they absolutely exist in my universe too! It's just too cool of an idea not to.
I kind of tried to figure out how the PER ponies could physically do what they do. My personal explanation is that I imagine an attempt by the world government to have their top agents remain loyal to Earth rather than Equestria, and the only way I could reason for that to work would be a bit of genetic alteration to combat full assimilation by the ponification serum. Originally intended to keep their brains 'human', it instead had the effect of permitting a form of human-like ruthless fanaticism and moral flexibility that normal newfoals are incapable of.
Which makes these guys utterly fascinating!
My general attitude is that in most cases, everything in the other Conversion Bureau stories (where logically possible) can be considered to exist within my vision of the world. The PER, cherry flavored R63 from 'A Twist in the Tail'; I have already alluded to most of these already, and more, in my stories. This is my first PER specific work, of course.
I honestly tried to make my universe as all-inclusive as possible; I can picture a version of your own Azure Future as happening within the six years before Equestria gobbles the Earth in my universe too. I secretly like to imagine John and Azure Wind living amidst my vision of the CB universe - they just live in a better part of it, because John is so damn wealthy. He's an Elite.
There are only a couple of stories that I consider fundamentally incompatible with my universe; Yellowstone is likely one, My Kingdom for a Horse because of the Stream is another. But otherwise, I try to envision all the many great CB writers as sharing the same general cosmological demesne as my work. My wish is to honor those who inspired me, by imagining their stories as having validity within my (hopefully) big-tent CB universe. In my own head-canon, most all of the CB stories are going on simultaneously in the six year timeline I describe, all slices of a vast and wondrous setting far larger than my little scribblings can contain, one big, shared, complex superstory.
I very much honor the P.E.R. They rock. In my headcanon, they give my vision of Celestia such a headache, and annoy the heck out of their Northamerizone masters, too. Rogue agents? What's not to love?!
And, yes, I was trying to do Grey Crusader. I hope I got the colors right. Not in the image, that's agent Smythe, rather in the story itself.
114300
HLF FOIL, TEN ROUNDS FANATICISM, AND AAFs NEED FOR CONFLICT. These were the ingredients chosen To create the ponification for earths rebirth! But Krass McWriter accidentally Added an extra ingredient to the concoction-- A FOURTH OF WHISKEY. Thus, The PER were born! Using their lack of a moral compass, Have dedicated their lives to fighting the HLF and the conversion of all man kind!
Ya, you got the colors. Bit odd that a unicorn is throwin with his mouth though.
Well... that was interesting. Story feels an awful lot like mind-alteration, of course I've Read plenty of Chatoyance's stories so I know this sort've thing happens i.e. the monkey part of the brain changes a lot. Also nice to see you trying to include a lot of the other conversion-verse stories in your own
.
I personally enjoy your fics and this is no exception, though now I want to see more PER stories from you
This is amazing, once again, my stars have them.
For some reason I get the impression that the image for this story is an homage to a famous scifi book cover.
Before I forget:
I personally explain PER in a PONIES=SUPER GOOD universe such as yours as believing they are doing the right thing and helping the humans. You showed that ponies can be violent when nessacary in Teacup, Down on the farm. Not that they don't in mine, just that there is 100f No doubt.
And I'd love to see a small AAF cameo in one of your fics! And damn right John's elite! He owned the company that invented then held a monopoly on AIs! I'd say he was in the TOP 3 wealthiest and most powerful men. Probably 2nd.
I... I really don't like the idea of the PER. I mean, the whole point of the conversion bureaus is to give people a choice, to live as a Pony or to die as a Human. Even if it wasn't for the whole "genmod for violence" thing, I still agree with Celestia condemning their actions.
114234
That's the point of their existence. They act as a foil for the HLF, but they give us the body-horror aspect which would otherwise be missing.
I love this, because the candy-coloured horror which is having this change forced upon you is both terrifying and alluring - the ponies are really happier as ponies, but you have to wonder whether it's an honest happiness, and whether it's "okay" even so!
115159
That is exactly the allure of the PER to me. In most of my stories, my visions, I have humans more or less happy to voluntarily give up their humanity, and I have tried to play with showing that this change is not merely physical, but mental too. Alteration of basic identity is genuinely sublime; a mixture of glory and horror together. Most of my characters are up for that, and most embrace the changes.
But the PER allows the unwilling to be Converted against their will, and such a forced assimilation brings out the true horror of it all, as well as countless existential dilemmas for myself. The converted are happy, after - but what does that say about who they were and what happened to them as individuals?
We all change through life. I sometimes think about what it would be like to meet my own ten-year old self. We would be utterly different from each other, utter aliens to each other. That me would be a completely different person from me in the now, in so many ways, so much so that save for the notion that one evolved into the other, they might as well be entirely different souls in the world.
That ten-year old me is gone. Is that person dead? Vanished? Did they ever exist in any real way relative to the present? I cannot prove that person even ever lived; I no longer have any physical evidence of it. That lost mind, was me, yet it is not me -or was it? In the Conversion Bureau stories the problem is similar, I think. A human goes in, and becomes, over fifteen minutes, another being. They have a connection, yet they are different, yet they are also the same. One is the earlier version of the later. Yet body and mind both are different, after.
Just like a child becoming an adult, or, more horribly, a person before and after a massive, personality-changing stroke or deforming accident.
Each state of being may be completely themselves, completely sure of their worldview and identity; yet the two are different people, separated by time and change. What does it mean to identity that this happens to all of us as we live, merely aging over the years? Are we ourselves, or are we many people, many beings, only with an -illusion- of continuity?
One early criticism of my first story, 'The Big Respawn', was that when the characters were ponified, they died. They ceased to be, and out came a new creature, a pony, that shared memories but was not the person who went into the Bureau. I disagree and agree both; the same exact claim can be made for any human being between their childhood self and their adult self. Both are merely change over time; both body and mind are altered -sometimes unrecognizably- it is merely that in the Bureau, the change happens over minutes instead of decades, and the physical side is slightly more dramatic - but honestly, not as dramatic as one might imagine at first.
The world of a pre-adolescent child is alien to a mature adult. I would argue as different as equestrian is to being human.
That's part of why I love Conversion Bureau stories so much; I am sure many write off the genre as simple wish-fulfillment "Oh, some brony writer wants to be a pony, sheesh!". Nay, neigh, I say. CB stories offer something much grander; a look at what identity means and ultimately is in the circumstance of constant change over time, which is a fundamental of the human condition.
Which me is really me? Baby me? Adolescent me? Adult me? Old age me? Human me? Or, thanks to the Conversion conceit, Pony me? Is there any reality to the concept of a 'me?' And if that self is so fluid, which it is, what is it that we truly are clinging to, when we think of ourselves as... ourselves?
I love this subgenre. I honestly think Conversion Bureau stories transcend mere fanfiction, for the reasons given.
It feels like our guy has been turned into a blithering idiot. I would understand if ponification reduced aggression and violence in the minds of its subjects, but this goes much further than that.
The process turns them into completely different beings that merely share memories with their past selves. Then it makes them think that this is right and proper by flooding their mind with happiness and sunshine.
I don't think this can be compared to growing up either. Growing up is an active part that you're in control of, with memories, experiences and revelations slowly forming your mind and opinions. The ponification depicted here is vastly different, ripping out part of the mind and coating the scar with sugar. It does not allow for personal opinions, it establishes that this is that and subconsciously makes you accept it. This, I believe, is as wrong as it gets. The fact that it was done against their will is just the icing on the cake.
Hey, I'm not arguing whether the ponies or humans are the "good guys" in the scale of TCB universe. Changing a person so profoundly is wrong regardless of that. Almost akin to murder, isn't it? The destruction of a person.
Sorry, no offense intended!
P.E.R. would seem to be the only good thing I ever did for the 'Conversion Bureau' Universe. Dressclubs didn't catch on XD.
As far as people not liking or liking them, well that's all relative to how they are potrayed. In my original context, the started by going door to door, simply asking humans to be ponified and presenting a good case for it. After a while they carrried around doses of potion so they could ponify people before they backed out. After volunteers started to dry, Grey Crusader (Leader and founder) decided to be more forcible about it. Everyones happy as a pony, so he sold it as spreadin joy and expiditing their goal of 'healing' the earth.
That was funny.
I've always disliked your version of the CB universe, Chatoyance. I know you like to imagine the other CB stories occurring in your ~verse, but I honestly think that many of them really wouldn't fit because of how goody-two-shoes your Equestrians are. I really enjoy everything your write but this one aspect, but it's a really important thing. It's one thing to have silly pony words and a slightly nicer-disposition, (a healthy body is a huge influence towards being happy,) but it's an entirely other thing to be completely incapable of violence or even curse words. Ponies in the show certainly aren't like you portray them. They certainly are capable of violence and hatred. Look at the Hearts Warming Eve episode for an easy example: Conflict everywhere, starvation a real possibility.
Society only works because of people who choose to work together and agree to common ways of behavior (laws and culture) not because people inherently form groups. Any person can choose to not be part of a group or subvert it. Could the show even have a message if the Mane 6 didn't have to struggle to be good friends? You have to fight for your friendships. You have to work really hard to make the good things happen in life. Equestria is supposed to be an ideal-ish world not because the Ponies are idealistic creatures but because the society is an idealistic society.
Chatoyance, I really don't like to see you switching between ideal-lifeform Ponies and person Ponies. I dislike this story, even though it was entertainingly funny, for the same reason I disliked 'The Big Respawn.' Unlike your other stories, these are ideal-lifeforms that can do no wrong. They don't say anything about a change between a Human perspective and a Pony perspective. People (really crappy description: when I say a person or people I mean a thinking being that can make choices [and some other stuff?]) become who they are and change because of their experiences. Anyone who is converted into a Pony would undergo a massive change in perspectives, and their day-to-day experiences would be very different from what they used to be. That would definitely change who that person was. But in this instance you are not just doing that, but instantaneously change who they are as a person. Lots of people instantaneously become slightly different from who they were before all the time, but here all who get converted always become the same pacified, cheerful ponything. Arnie, Jon, and Agent Smythe couldn't care less that they used to be humans, and no matter how good it feels to be Ponified the reason that they don't care is because they're not supposed to. It's clear that they aren't caught in an emotional funk but that they are genuinely, instantly content with being a Pony on all levels, both emotional and rational and whatever else.
Wait a second and reread me please, because yet again I don't have time to edit my comment (at all) or make sure that I'm actually making my point instead of rambling on about stuff. I'd save this and post it later, but these short stories came within 24hours and I want my point out and stuff. This is me: comment comment EDIT comment EDIT comment coment comm- LIFE and suddenlty the entire thing's actually a mess and I blind publish it so this is actually really bad but better than nothing. Meh.
It reminds me of a cult, actually. Swearing is forbidden and happiness is mandatory, backed up by magical brainwashing, and don't you dare criticize Our Dear Leader.
Also, I have to ask, were you a fan of the earlier gens of MLP? Your vision of pony character seems more appropriate for one of those than for FiM.
115866
I was basically just going for a lighthearted comedy bit here. I do find it interesting that you were.. upset, for lack of a better term, annoyed, perhaps?... by my more whimsical take on ponification here. That means, I suppose, that my other, more serious works, must have meant something to you, that you would find my being silly less... good. So I'll take that as a compliment, if that's OK.
This story wasn't supposed to be super-serious; I was experimenting with the notion that the Conversion Bureau genre is kind of an... omnibus, a very wide, deep space in which all kinds of stories can be told. Like... TV series like the old 'Tales From The Darkside' or 'The Twilight Zone' or that sort of thing. Serious stories, silly stories, grim stories, fun stories. Comedy and drama. I honestly don't see any kind of story being impossible within the Conversion Bureau mythos.
I made these people OK with being converted because that made the story funnier, more lighthearted. This was a comedy episode of life in the Conversion Bureau universe, or so I imagined.
I hear what you are saying, and I am honored that you value my stuff enough to say what you did, but sometimes I just need to write something lighthearted, you know? I'm not making any big statement with this one-off story. I just wanted to honor the concept of the PER, and maybe have a laugh at Agent Smythe's expense. Whoops! You're a pony now! Cheers!
115802
I used dress clubs in "the day the sky changed" - at least in passing. I intend to use them again, when the occasion presents itself. It's a hard sell though, you're basically writing a human/pony brothel, with all the baggage that entails.
116594
Its not a brothel.
Its a ponified strip club.
Big difference.
115866
116132
This is another story where, intentionally or not, the sugar-bowl world is enforced and the humans who get ponified change very drastically. I don't think the story as it is could have been told without that change. I think it's amusing and possibly brilliant how being made artificially happy to such a degree is actually rather scary to a number of readers.
I do think Chatoyance's stories have two rather distinct worlds to them - one is where ponies are, essentially, human-shaped ponies with all the flaws that entails. Changed, perhaps; softened, eased, but not entirely eradicated. We do see the monkey mind replaced with the pony one, where the herd forms whether you like it or not, but not to the saccharine zombie extent.
On the other hoof, we DO have the saccharine zombie world, which this one is a weird crossover of - the PER ponies can apparently act of their own volition; whether they feel that the end justifies the means or not, they can forcefully bring on the change to humans who don't want it, but said ex-humans can't do the same to more.
I take it as it is, I could over-analyze it much more, but I like the story even whilst feel creeped out by the result. That's part of the appeal of the story.
116597
...with VIP rooms in back
114300 well i hate the PER, and why cant the humans just grab guns and shoot them... thats what id do, i would hate ponies if they were taking over equestria, nice or not. Id rather be human than a pony, because if your a pony, you cant play video games like call of duty
117571
2.5/5: commendable effort good sir.
117571
This whole TCB universe reminds me a lot of the Rise of the Clunky Title of the Planet of the Apes. They both make me ask the same question: "Why don't they just fucking shoot them?".
Also, this is takes place in Soylent Green cyber-future, right? Where the hell is agent Jensen? I want to see someone go Deus Ex on their asses!
117571if your a pony you dont WANT to play call of duty.................
i dont know why i bother posting, noones gonna read it after all....
117571
The PER were highly trained special forces. They are more dangerous than you.
118330
LIES! Chay's PER is highly trained spec ops.
I made them and in everyother (and mine) fic they've appeared in they are a guerilla force of normal ponies.
118480
And guess which version of PER we are discussing right now? (it's probably the one described in the story we are commenting on)
118763
Actually my good man, there was a fair bit of discussion on the group as a whole.
I'm in love with the way you explore the viewpoint and mentation of newfoals. You really give it a perspective that makes it possible to see the world through their eyes with just the tiniest leap. Of course, there's no way to really know what that's like, or what a fictional subgroup of people in an alternate universe turning into fictional creatures would feel like, but by gum you really make something so impossible BELIEVABLE. Your writing is, as always, fantastic
This one in particular makes me feel strange, if only because, pardon me, my knowledge of the Conversion Bureau universe is as-yet incomplete and I've never heard of the PER, except through the lens of things like Ten Rounds, where I'm not sure it was called that although the premise is mostly similar.
I understand, have understood from the beginning, that changing from human to pony changes the way the mind works, fundamentally, and usually fairly quickly. But to see it in this setting, and cast in a positive light, no less (remember, Ten Rounds), feels... unsettling, and kind of frightening, in a way. I know the intent of the story was humor, and it was, to an extent, humorous--and don't misunderstand me, I do enjoy this story, as I enjoy everything you write.
But it leaves me with a weird skin-crawling kind of feeling. Good story, excellent premise, but a very slightly unnerving overall impression. Favorited, nonetheless.
Hate to say it but the idea of the PER has always scared the crap outta me. Its one thing to undergo ponyfication voluntarily, another if its done to save a life (like Alexi and others in 27 ounces) but its something very much different when its forced. And especially since this version of ponyfication has confirmed mental changes to those who go through the process. Now, granted, in the end, those forcibly converted by the PER, at least as shown here, aren't unhappy with what has happened now that its said and done, but the fact remains that it was done against their will and that they probably would NOT have agreed to it beforehand.
Now just imagine if more dangerous groups of people (and yes I am going to play the Swaztika card), like say the Nazi's, had had weapons that altered people hit by them into their way of thinking...
Also, on another aspect, the PER, aside from already being denounced as renegades, are only hurting their cause, since their forced ponyfications just give ammo to everything the HLF groups say about ponyfication in general. And the HLF is bad enough without their views being justified.
Man, FimFiction didn't tell me this came out
Another good read Chatoyance, one of these days I'll be as good as you at this haha
The PER also scares the crap out of me. If I was in that world, and so much as heard a rumor that they were in my town, I'd be barricading my home and stocking up with any weapons I could.
My choices are my choices, no one else may choose for me. If I want to be a human, I will be a human, and a talking horse will not take that away from me no matter how polite they are about it.
I honestly thought this fic was more creepy and disturbing than funny. It's like a mental version of falling into the Uncanny Valley; there isn't a blatant problem that is so obviously wrong, but there's still something...very off about the whole thing, and while it doesn't seem like much at first, it gradually crawls under your skin and...it's very...discomforting, to say the least.
Good fic, but open to other interpretations. This did give me an idea for my own TCB fic (I'm not copying you, honest), but maybe it'd be a bit too much of a cheap shot...
Still, interesting read, very interesting.
The two sides should just calm down, stop the spread of the magic death bubble, and work out their problems like civilized beings. No forced transformations, no shootings.
now that I've discussed the ideal outcome, here's the likely one; I'm thinking terminators. Can't change them! Bwahahaahaha! DEATH TO THE P.E.R. HERETICS!
I laughed so hard... "Oh... well I guess the interview is over now..." Oh heavens.
I felt strangely at peace throughout reading this short story. It really feels like a distilled exposition of your CB universe thus far. Call me an escapist, but reading about the radical differences that occur to the body and mind during conversion make me compelled by their implications and at the same time, jealous of the newfoals. You have fleshed out your universe in the most elegant manner possible, leaving little else to be desired.
Seems Chatoyance sneaked (What do ya mean "snuck" ain't a word while "ain't" is, Firefox?) a few stories past me while I was distracted by The 800 Year Promise. Also explains why I had no idea what the PER was except from context in the story.
However, I'm not really sure what to think about ponification now. Sure, I'd be happy, but I would be forced to be. Not that I'd care as a pony, though. Damn Conundrums of Philosophy...
The ponified humans sound like stoners describing their LSD trip
114748
It's possible that PER actually works for Celestia. In public, Celestia condemns PER, but, in reality, she's bankrolling their operations in order to get the last remaining hold outs.
"Oh, they got you, I guess the interview is over. . .
"shhh... shhh... Just let it happen."
I found this story pretty silly. That is all.
314843
Good! It's supposed to be a comedic piece.
315017
Good! That means I wasn't in such a state that what would have actually been meant had drifted perfectly over me.
Of course, it's three in the morning. That's pretty late. I have an excuse (reading Code Majeste. All of it. In one sitting.
). What about you?
Yet another compelling, convincing, entertaining, and yes, occasionally wacky read from the Great and Powerful Trix-I mean Chatoyance. I must say I am a big fan of your work, as a matter of fact, between you and Windchaser, you two were the reason I finally "went brony". Please, Please, Please, for the love of Celestia Herself, never stop writing these fics, whether TCB or original ponyverse. And with that I say, "Ponification, across the nation, fills me up with a cup of elation...". I wish I could remember the whole thing, and it would be 20% cooler than
if someone made it into an actual song.
491969
Thank you, DogfoodandGlue, that makes me feel like what I do matters. And it would be cool to hear the PER song done by somepony with actual... um... talent and stuff. Hee!
Hmm...I wonder how the PER would last trying to "liberate" a military base?
Not good I would presume. YOUR EGGS ARE NO MATCH FOR TANKS. Lol
Nice story.