Conversion Bureau: St George

by kryxel

episode 3 part 5: hooves, how do they Bucking work?

TCB: SG: E3P5
"Hooves. How do they work?"
Painted by master hoofpainter ezio de kryxel
Framed and hung on the fridge by Ray10k

Octavia scratched her chin, as she stepped up to the mic. She turned it on and cleared her throat.
"Would Grace Winchester please report to Doctor Tennant’s office, I repeat, would Grace Winchester please report to Doctor Tennant’s office.”
Octavia loved this job. All she really had to do was call one name per day, and she could spend the rest of the day relaxing. And while some would consider it work, given her occupation as a member of an orchestra back in Equestria, nothing was more relaxing to her than playing her double bass. Besides, where else would she find a soundproof booth that would allow her to play to her heart’s content?

She was in her peaceful spot.
She pulled out her bow, and stood up to the bass.
Most people often wondered how ponies could hold stuff, and how they can do things like playing string instruments and using computers without having fingers.
Most people would see hooves as useless, oversized toenails.
They were wrong, dead wrong, due to one fact few humans knew about and hardly any natural Equestrians ever spent much time thinking about.
There were many differences between Terran horses, and Equestrian ponies. Some were obvious, like speech, flight or the use of magic. Other differences were a little less obvious, like the fact that ponies could vomit or breathe through their mouth. And finally, there were things that most Equestrians didn’t think much about, and happened to fall in the less obvious category.
The hoof of a pony was not just made from the stuff nails are made from. Instead, it had a slightly magnetic core, allowing a pony to make their hooves magnetic at will, allowing some degree of fine manipulation of small objects, even as a Pegasus or Earth pony. Most ponies used this ability to do things like retrieving coins from a purse or turning the knobs on doors. Octavia however, had the bow of her double bass enhanced with a small plate of iron, just where she would hold it when playing, allowing her to weave her song with her hooves rather than using a horn she didn’t have.
For a moment, she just stood there, trying to find her balance. She placed the bow to the strings, and used her other hoof to manipulate the neck of the bass. Then, she started playing.

---------------------------------------------------

Grace in the meantime, had heard her name being called, first by the broadcasting system and then by the crowd gathered for breakfast, cheering her name and wishing her well. She would be today’s morning Conversion.

If given the choice, most potential newfoals would probably ask to be converted in the morning, due to a small ritual that seemed to pop up in every center of the bureau anywhere, in some shape or form: the First Lunch as a Pony. Being converted in the morning meant that, by the time lunch came around, you’d be up and trotting, which in turn meant that almost right away you could experience how food would taste in your new body. As such, the first convert of the day would often find him- or herself mobbed by the rest of the center during lunch, with questions what it felt like to walk on all fours, or what carrots tasted like now.
None of this was of any concern to Grace at the moment however, since she had yet to be converted. Besides, she was a bit anxious about all the attention she would get later, secretly hoping she could find a quiet spot for lunch.
She walked down to the Doctor’s office. The Doctor smiled as she entered. "Hello there. Are you ready to step into the world of pony pretties and mane styling and Celestia knows what other wonders of life?"
"Sure thing, Doctor!" Grace said as she sat down.
"Right. But, first things first… You still have a story to finish," he said, reclining in his chair.
"A story?" Grace said as the Doctor nodded. "Oh! You mean... My escape."
"Yes. Take your time, there is no rush."
------------------
Grace was in the hospital room again. Her parents were talking about an abortion, and her boyfriend had ran away, afraid of what she would do with the baby.
One thing stood perfectly clear in her mind. One truth, certain as the word of the Lord himself:
If they were going to kill her baby, then they would kill her as well.
She stood up, and walked over to the table. On it was a ceramic vase with a few half wilted roses in it.
She set her hand down, hitting a remote that was also on the table.
The TV jumped on, and began to play.
"Are you happy?" The TV asked as the words appeared over a background of clouds.
"No-one has been happy. Not in a long time," Grace mumbled as she slowly picked the roses from the vase.
"Ever wonder, what it would be like to live in a different world? A world, where love and tolerance come as natural, as greed and hate come here? A world, without barriers that say who you can or can’t be friends with? "
'Great,' Grace thought, 'another church. Dad will possibly blame this one on me as well.'
"Twilight Sparkle here. I came to Earth to help you, to help the human race. I have been asked by Princess Celestia to offer you all away to share in the bounty of Equestria."
Grace turned to look at the TV screen, and saw a purple Unicorn wearing thin-rimmed glasses.
"You can walk on sunny days without having to fear for your skin to burn off, eat as many fruits and vegetables as your heart desires without risking to run into a poisonous one, own a house larger than a cupboard and even have a job that only you can do right!"
The screen panned out, to show Twilight standing in front of a huge tree. A tree so large, you could probably hollow it out and live in it. Judging by the sign and the door on it, someone had actually done so.
"All we ask in return is for you to abandon your humanity, and become a pony. The conversion process is absolutely painless, guaranteed to be safe and completely free of charge."
Grace was glued to the screen of the TV at this point.
"If you want to accept, then I extend a hoof to you and ask that you come to your nearest conversion bureau. A list of them will appear on the screen in a moment. Thank you for your time, and have a nice day"
The TV cut to a different commercial (“fruity oaty bars, make a man out of a mouse!”) as Grace thinks ,pondering the locations on the list she saw...
The closest bureau was opening in a week in St George.
She started to get dressed. She has a plan.
--------------------
"And after pulling a mission impossible, I managed to slip past my dad and get to here," Grace finished telling her story.
"A nice ending, to a not so nice story. But, I better not keep you for too long. They are already set up and waiting for you at the end of the hall there... Good luck, Amazing Grace," the Doctor said as he shook her hand.
As Grace started to walk down the hall, she smiled and said to no one in particular,
"Amazing Grace... I like it."

////////////
Ray10k here.
Sun and Moon, I Love Exposition!
Nothing more fun to write, than a long monologue about, say, the way hooves work!
(hey someone has to think of the madness that is ponyville -Kryxel)

Comments

[Chatoyance]

I just started tracking your story; with so many on the site, it can be hard to find things sometimes.

I am enjoying this.

I once lived in St. George for six months. Loved the orange-red martian rocks. Used to go out into the desert back then. There was this place, about a mile or two out from where I lived (trailer park, my dad made maps so we moved a lot, this would have been, like 1973 or something) that was like some kind of Martian city made of out of that bright, orange-red rock. It was awesome.

Hated the religious nuts. Fuck. Just... Fuck. And the teachers I had were severe. Wow.

But I loved that red desert.

Keep going. You are doing swell.

[kryxel]

196676
well there is a few places that the rust red would be in abundance.
Toquerville
santa clara
LaVerkin
or hurricane.
and thank you chat.

(OMGOMGOMGOMG
both chat and midnight commenting on my story!)