Eighteen: Something Back
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T H E C O N V E R S I O N B U R E A U
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RECOMBINANT 63
By Chatoyance
Chapter Eighteen: Something Back
Ralph Vitoni would never, ever, ever be a pony. This was the one thing that gave him strength, the one thing that permitted him to rise each day, eat pony foods, do pony things, and live among pony people. Ralph knew he was human, that his heart was human, that his mind was human and that his destiny was human, even though he walked on hooves.
Ralph also knew his soullessness was human, which is why he made every effort now to stay away from unicorn medics and pony clinics and pony hospitals. It was the one thing that could give him away to the Equestrians around him, and he guarded his hollowness as his greatest secret. He had gradually discovered earthpony healers who employed practical and nonmagical means to treat the bumps and scrapes and the odd broken rib that came of his various activities. Unicorns were a problem, they were always a problem, and Ralph especially despised them.
Vitoni had been humiliated by ponies, and now that he was forced to live among them, he resolved to make them pay. It would not be soon, but he had time. Somewhere, out there, in Equestria, would be others like himself. When finally the Earth was done, and all was quiet and over, he would contact them, and together they would act. Celestia had brought down the reign of Man, and one day, Ralph vowed, he would bring down the reign of Celestia, and deliver Equestria to ruin. Already his mind formulated schemes - Celestia had enemies, all rulers had enemies, and there would be ways to tilt the balance and destroy her peace. All he needed to do was to find them, and find the others with human minds in pony bodies, and there would be vengeance enough for all.
Ralph stopped at a restaurant and ordered a very large lunch. Eating, at least, was a pleasure he could enjoy even in this overly candied world. His enhanced senses made every meal a banquet of ecstasy, and he indulged himself, because it would be the only ecstasy he could ever know. Women were gone for him now, and with the end of the Earth one day, gone forever altogether. His unaltered human brain found nothing attractive in the animals around him, and when mares flirted with him, he shuddered and felt like retching.
He was bitter, and angry, and he trotted the land, never staying in any one place long. He yearned to cause mayhem, but kept himself from it - in this new world, even a brawl might reveal him and he dared not ruin his future chance for revenge. Ralph made himself the most pleasant of ponies to the natives, always fast with a smile, and polite to a fault, while inside he wished for the feeling of crushing the throats of the gentle monsters that he walked among.
There were no proper human bars, no proper human night-clubs, no human vice or rackets to be involved in. There was no joy in defrauding or conning any pony, because there was no challenge to it, and the result was always predictable. He was in hell, a nightmare of never-ending cooperation, honesty and essential goodness that made him feel constantly judged and found wanting for the thoughts in his head and the desires of his heart.
Vitoni paid for his feast, and left, burping. One day. One day he would bring this treacle paradise down, and on that day, when all of Equestria was in ruins, he would stand atop Celestia's broken body and cry out 'I am a Man! I am Human! Look upon me and despair that you ever dared to tangle with my kind!' The thought made the chubby brown earthpony smile. One day. One day they would know suffering, and in that moment, he would finally be able to cry, because he would not be crying alone.
Leonard Reich walked past the covered wagon on the dais, and moved on to the two incomplete quantum chromodynamic weapons. Their shells already had their names painted on them: Sköll and Hati. They would never be finished. The cost of completing them was no longer defensible. Weapons were useless against the Barrier, and continent-killers would only harm humans and the earth, to no gain, and no point. The notebook was gone, and so were the three traitors that had taken it.
Gone also were four squads of Frontsmen, an entire platoon, handed over to the Worldgovernment as statues. Reich had little doubt of what the Worldgovernment would do with his men. They would be returned to flesh and summarily converted. Changed into ponies, they would no longer wish to continue the war against Celestia and her empire. They would suddenly see how 'wrong' they had been, and feel 'shame' for how much 'suffering' they had caused. They would tell everything in an effort to atone. The base was already busy with the evacuation effort. They had perhaps two days at most. Project Gypsy Traveler was over, forever. They would have to start again entirely, somewhere else.
In Leo's head, the dream briefly lived again. It would have worked, he was as sure of that as he had been when the project had begun. With that map, they could have identified the exact location of Discord, the greatest threat Celestia had ever faced. They could have drawn up plans to take the statue and transport it out of Equestria. Within an old nuclear testing facility, underground, the statue could be pulverized, and the fine dust used to coat Sköll and Hati entirely, protecting the missiles from the Barrier. In an instant, Equestria would have become strangelet plasma, hotter than any star, and the incursion would reverse. The Equestrian bubble would have collapsed, shrinking away beyond the universe itself, back into the multiversal spaces and dimensions that it had come from.
The Earth would have been left with a scar, and terrible damage, but it would have lived. Earthponies could have been forced to serve mankind, restoring the world, and healing the damage. There had even been a plan to secure the means to make more earthponies as needed. It would have been the answer. It could have saved the Earth, and preserved the dominion of Man.
But now, that dream was gone. Vitoni had failed, and he too was gone. To Equestria, apparently, beyond all reach.
Leonard Reich patted the unfinished casing of Sköll, and walked on. Around him the sounds of evacuation raged. He had thought, briefly, of remotely releasing the neurotoxin some time after the HLF had escaped, but in the end, he had simply shrugged. It might be possible to collect it, or some of it, later, and it could prove valuable. Every asset possible needed to be preserved, now. In losing the base, the HLF had lost much. It would take a long time to recover, and there was not much time remaining.
Damn, Leo thought. It would have worked. It absolutely would have worked.
Derpalina Ditzy Doo Hooves hugged her little unicorn daughter Dinky, and kissed her poll and muzzle. The foal squealed with delight and happiness at the attention. "Di... did the bad man like my drawing? Did he Mama? Papa? Did he like my drawing?"
Time Turner Hooves sat down and embraced his wife and daughter with his forehooves. "I dare say he found it... unforgettable, my dearest Dinkums. Wouldn't you agree, Derpalina?"
"Hmmm?" The gray pegasus had already likely begun to forget the details of the day's adventures, beyond the happy feeling of having been on an outing. It was for the best, really, thought Turner. The princesses tended to visit Derpalina at odd times, and the less she remembered the less she might accidentally blurt out. Her forgetfulness was a blessing, really. Turner loved Derpalina dearly, and she was always there when she was needed, with an absolutely uncanny luck to her. The most outrageous mistakes might be made, but somehow, they always ended up working to Turner's advantage. It was positively Taoist. Or possibly Zen. He never could get those Earth philosophies straight.
"Haycakes!" Dinky Doo was bouncing in her hooves. "You said we could have haycakes tonight, when you got back! Haycakes! Haycakes!"
"We've had haycakes every day this week, Dinky!" Papa Turner ruffled Dinky's mane. "How about a nice vegetable stew? Or hay almondine - that's good! Or maybe pumpkin puffs in mushroom gravy? How about that? Mmmm-mmm!!!"
"HAYCAKES!" Dinky was adamant.
"We're spoiling her, you know that don't you?" Turner moved to the kitchen and began measuring flour.
"How abou' I tell you abou' our amaze-ing aventures while papa makes haycakes???!!!" Derpalina jumped onto the couch and patted it with a hoof for Dinky to follow.
"OK, mama!" Dinky clambered onto the couch, her little tail flicking about as she pulled herself up and onto the cushions.
"Well, there was this big scary Nanny-Fac'ry! An' a whole buncha lockers an' we had to find JUST THE RIGHT ONE!" Derpalina rolled her eyes, which always made Dinky laugh.
The sound of an egg hitting the floor came from the kitchen. "Oh, swirl! I'll get that, no worries!" Turner's hooves made sharp noises, as he likely worked to clean up the mess.
"How'd you find the right locker?" Dinky was enthralled. She'd never seen the human world, so anything about it sounded dangerous and exciting.
"NUMBERS!" Derpalina clopped her hooves together in excitement "Daddy knew the numbers they use there and foun' the locker on the secon' floor! It was really BIG! An' really SCARY! An' it was all made out of metal and it was dark, too!"
Ditzy shivered. "Were you scared?"
"Naw... well, maybe a little!" Derpalina held her daughter close. "But daddy was there, so I knew everythin' was OH-KAY-DOH-KAY!"
Dinky laughted at that.
The sound of a pan dropping in the kitchen was followed by Turner shouting "Not to fear! Forgot to use a pot holder. Mouth's OK! Dinner might be a little late, that's all!"
Dinky looked up at her mother. "Daddy's silly."
Derpalina shook her head. "No, Daddy is wunnerful. Daddy is always wunnerful."
Dinner was a little late though.
Paige reared and stomped her forehooves, making little puffs of dust in the dirt road. The dust sparkled in the light, because of the tiny gemstone fragments within it. "WHOO-HOO! I have HOOVES!"
Inkwell shook her head, but grinned. "Yes, Paige. You have hooves. And they are awesome."
"Muffin' RIGHT!" Paige was prancing now, as they walked to the train. She was trying to be fancy and stumbled and almost fell. "Oops! Hee hee hee!" She giggled for some time at that.
"She's got it bad." Petrichor sighed.
"Bad? Oh! Of course..!" Inkwell nodded.
"CONVERSION EUPHORIA!" Pet and Inkwell said together.
Paige was galloping now, in circles around them. Other ponies were avoiding the scene for fear of being trampled.
"Was I this bad?" Inkwell glanced at Petrichor.
"Naw. You were positively sedate. Intellectual about it. Hardly affected you at all." Petrichor called to Paige, to get her to settle down.
Inkwell considered that for a moment. "I've read that conversion euphoria affects every Newfoal differently. Some become almost drunk on it, others it hardly affects at all. It has something to do with individual genetics and brain chemis..."
"I AM A POOOOONNNNAAAAYYYY!!!!!" Paige yelled at the world in general - some of the ponies on the street giggled and waved, other just shook their heads and muttered something about Newfoals being silly.
"I feel cheated now." Inkwell watched as Paige gamboled, leaping and hopping, over to her.
"OH, you should have seen Pet, Inks!" Paige was breathing hard from running and jumping about.
"How so?"
"Don't listen to her, Inks!" Pet shook her head.
"Pet ran around the whole apartment! She bounced on the couch - that's why it had that saggy spot! She bucked the door open - those two broken bits on the bedroom door? That was her!" Paige was smiling and grinning at all the cottages as they made their way down the street.
"Why'd she kick the door?" Inkwell tried to imagine the event.
"Because she could!" Paige grinned wickedly. "After being in that wheelchair, she was a wildpony for almost a week! We got so many complaints for noise - she went muffin' nuts!"
Petrichor hung her head and ruffled her wings.
"So... how's it feel now?" Inkwell and Petrichor had been asking Paige for updates on her experiences as a brand new pony since they had been rescued and transported to Equestria in a burst of light. They only talked about meeting Luna in hushed tones, late at night. It was just too special, too sacred an event to speak of casually during the day.
"I feel POWERFUL!!!" Paige's shout startled a pale violet pony carrying a basket of flowers, she jumped slightly, so Petrichor waved at her in apology and Inkwell looked briefly down, ears flat, in embarrassment. "I may have lost Lil' Slugger, but now..." Paige stopped in the street and bucked the air with her back hooves "...now I've got two new Lil' Sluggers and I feel like I could buck down a fluffin' archology!"
"I bet you could!" Inkwell was impressed with the sheer stamina and power that Paige possessed. She had become an earthpony, well muscled, sky blue with a darker blue mane and tail. She was magnificent.
"Fluffin'???" Petrichor was incredulous. "That's new."
"Yeah, fluffin'! Like it?" Paige danced about, giddy. "Oh! And I am not 'Paige' anymore! I am Shinyhooves!"
Petrichor stopped and facehoofed. "No, you are NOT 'Shinyhooves'."
Paige held up her right foreleg "But LOOK at them! They are SOOOO shiny!"
Inkwell sighed again. She felt like she had been sighing at one thing or another the entire day. "Yes, they are very, very shiny, but 'Shinyhooves' is not a good name. Seriously. Wait until you are over the worst of the euphoria before you try to pick a pony name, OK?"
"Oh come on, party pooper!" Paige - or Shinyhooves - nickered and tried to strike a dramatic pose. "I can always change it. No law in Equestria says you gots to keep your name. I could change it tomorrow!"
"She has a point, Inks." Petrichor unhappily agreed. "She could have a different name for each day of the week and it would be cool here. Annoying and confusing, maybe, but totally cool."
"I am... 'Joy Shinyhooves!' Because that is what I feel, and that is what these are!" Paige - Joy - bucked, then reared, waggling her hooves and laughing the whole time.
"I think we finally have an explanation for all the crazy Newfoal names now." Inkwell commiserated with Pet "They pick them while high on conversion euphoria."
"I originally wanted to call myself 'Brightwings Lightningflash' but Paige talked me out of it." Petrichor half-smiled at Inkwell as they continued towards the train station.
"JOY!" The blue earthpony interrupted. "I'm JOY SHINYHOOVES!"
"Oh, sweet Luna..." Pet looked aghast "...She's serious about it, isn't she?"
"I'm JOY! I'm JOY! I am soooo filled with JOY!" Paige was bouncing now, on her hooves, her eyes little inverted smiles of ecstatic happiness.
"I guess she's 'Joy' now, but that 'Shinyhooves' part has to go." Inkwell was getting very good at sighing today. She was thinking of going into it professionally. "Humor her, until the euphoria wears off."
Petrichor had to pull away from a big sloppy kiss from the overexcited earthpony "IF it wears off!"
"I hope it NEVER DOES!" Joy Shinyhooves, the very silly blue earthpony romped around, seemingly tireless.
"Earthpony stamina. It will destroy us, you know that, don't you?" Inkwell shook her head as they walked. "I feel exhausted just watching her. I'm already eager for bed, and the day isn't half over!'
"You actually think you are going to get any sleep tonight again?" Petrichor yawned. "Earthpony stamina! There are good points too, you know." Pet gave a wicked, naughty grin. Inkwell returned it.
"Yes, there are compensations, I suppose." Inkwell turned to the prancing Joy. "So, 'Shinyhooves'... you still happy?"
Joy stopped in the street and thoughtfully considered, hoof to muzzle, pondering. "No. No I am not happy." She suddenly beamed like a star going nova "I AM SUPER-DUPER UBER-HAPPY!!!"
"Oh for Pony's sake!" Inkwell had no more head shaking or sighing left, and had to resort to emergency facehoofing instead.
Petrichor laughed. "Come on, Inks, let's get her to the train. Once we're relocated, and in our new house, we can tie her down on the bed for a while."
Joy Shinyhooves suddenly spun and grinned broadly at Petrichor and Inkwell. "Promise???"
Rose Cottage sat at the intersection of Branmash and Kimberwicke Lane in Clydesdale. It was a lovely, rambling Tudor-style cottage, with a wide, green lawn covered with thick, tasty grasses. Near the road grew flowers of every flavor, and in the back was a well-kept vegetable and fruit garden. The sides of the cottage had trellises upon which grew roses which climbed nearly to the top of the two-story home.
The garden and the grounds were the work of the younger earthpony mare that Rose had taken in. Rose had felt lonely for some years since Petal had gotten married to a nice group of ponies and moved away. Rose had spent several decades with Petal Confetti, until the little teal unicorn had gone off on an adventure with a pony named Teacup. The two had become the best of friends, and over the years had become a family, but Rose had never felt comfortable with their little group. They were so much younger, and when they took over the Provender farm, well, Rose had elected to stay in her cottage. Rose loved her cottage. It was more than just a house, it was her proper and true home, and she knew that with every fiber of her being.
When after a few decades of living alone - or was it longer? It was hard to tell, what with how long the living was in Equestria. The years just flew by, and... well, anyway, when Rose had met the sad peach-colored earthpony and heard her story - her beloved husband had died and she was so very alone - the only thing to do was to bring her home. It just seemed the right thing to do, since they were old friends and all, and truth be told, they got along as if they had been close and loving sisters their entire lives.
Rose flipped through her scrapbook. Caprice had one too, it seemed most elder mares basically came with scrapbooks, it was like some kind of requirement. It was also a comfort. A scrapbook could hold the details of a life, long after the events were history, and it could awaken old feelings, good and bad, precious treasures each and every one.
It didn't seem to be there. Rose began flipping the pages, using her right wing to whip them over. Wings were for more than flying, Rose often said. Of course, using them for all sorts of things meant occasionally losing the odd feather, and a copper pinion fluttered down onto the current page. "Ah." Rose took her lost feather in her teeth and set it aside. There were uses for feathers, and she had a strong 'waste not, want not' ethic, likely derived from her life back on earth, long, long, long ago. That was a place of scarcity, old earth was. Never enough. Not like Equestria. Still, habits are hard to break.
"What are you looking for?" Caprice ambled in. She was old now, and her peach coat was streaked with touches of gray, and her mane with white. Rose's mane had turned almost entirely white long ago, though she was proud of her copper-red coat. Somehow that still looked young, even though she was older than Caprice. Her bright coat was a matter of some pride to Rose.
"Oh... I can't find anything in here about my days on the potion project. I worked on it, you know. Had top-level security clearance and everything!" Rose continued to flip through her scrapbook, brushing the pages with her wing and occasionally using her lips when a page was stuck or didn't want to behave.
"I remember. You told me much later, after we met again in Equestria. You said you did something that made potion possible." Caprice curled up next to Rose on the wide, old sofa.
"Yes. I did something or other to the nano... stuff. Because the mighty chondria were acting up or something. I don't remember anymore, not that it's the least bit important, but... I was just sure I had something about it in here, only..." Rose was nearing the end of her scrapbook, but it only contained things from her long life in Equestria. Cards and letters from her patients, pictures of the Clydesdale Clinic, back when she worked there, the certificate from the College Of Unicorn Medicine citing her as an exceptional physician. That was quite the honor - not many pegasai went into medicine. It was not as easy without magic and a horn. But then a knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants, not to mention a good understanding of physiology took care of most things. Not every clinic had to fix every problem. It had been a grand career.
'Wasn't there a notebook? Something you wrote during that time?" Caprice had left for a bit, while Rose was lost in her memories. She had returned with tea and sweet fennel biscuits.
"Oh... thank you darlin'. What a sweety you are! Tea... and biscuits too! Oh, that's nice!" Rose took a nibble of biscuit. Just right, not too sweet. Rose had never liked the super-sugary things most ponies seemed to enjoy. She had always been a savory-favoring pony. "You know... you were always my favorite conversion, back in the Bureau. Always my favorite."
"I know." Caprice sipped her tea. Rose had told her that probably hundreds, if not thousands of times over the decades. There was no way it could not be true.
"Notebook, huh?" Rose seemed lost down the corridors of her memory for a long time. "Yeah, there was a notebook. I don't know whatever happened to it, though. I think they made me leave it behind. I think we weren't allowed to take anything with us from the project. Too many secrets. Too many things they didn't want to have known. Humans always were like that, you know. Miserable piles of secrets the lot of them." The copper pegasus sipped her tea. "Mostly because they were always doing naughty things they needed to keep secret, if you want to know the truth of it!"
"I was human once too, Rose." Sometimes the older pegasus seemed to forget that fact. Caprice wasn't sure whether it was sad that this was so, because it suggested that her dear friend's memory was fading, or it was a glad compliment, suggesting just how well she had turned her life around. Caprice had worked very, very hard to be a proper pony, and to leave her less than kindly or good origins behind.
"Oh, that's right. Sorry dear." Rose closed her scrapbook. Nothing. Nothing remained of her human days except her memories, and those would not last forever. "Caprice? Do you ever miss it?"
"What?"
Rose stretched her wings and folded them. "The old world. Earth, I suppose. Being human, maybe. It's hard to remember being human now. I remember I didn't like it much, but after all these years I can't remember why. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I think it was?"
Caprice put down her cup. "I don't miss it. Not a bit. Not the Earth, not being human, not any of it. I remember, Rose. I remember it very well, still, and I wish I didn't have to. Trust me on this, you were right. You were right to not like it, because it was hard. It was difficult, and stressful, and filled with worry and sadness. And it was far, far too easy to be mean or to be bad." Caprice took another biscuit and chewed it thoughtfully. "Time can pave over the pits and cracks in our memory, and make traumatic things seem better than they really were. Earth was a sad place, most of the time. It doesn't do to think about it overly much."
"I suppose you're right. But... there's ponies I miss. Lynn - I wonder whatever happened to her? Oh, she was such a good friend. And... and... the receptionist. I can't recall her name. So many good ponies. The ponies were good, even if the place was hard, I'm sure of that." Rose almost dropped her tea, but managed to stabilize her foreleg grip with the help of her wing.
"They weren't pon..." Caprice started to correct Rose, then smiled and let it be. Ponies. Let them be ponies, they certainly must have become them at some point.
"Do you think any of it survived?" Rose carefully, carefully set her cup down again.
"What?"
"Oh, my old notebook, the records of the potion project, all of that stuff?" Rose eyed the last biscuit and contemplated whether to take it or not. Last biscuits were always such a problem. Then it hit her that she could just share it. Bite half and leave the other half for Caprice. "Did I have something that I felt bad about back then? I almost seem to recall that..."
That made Caprice start, briefly. Rose had never entirely made peace with herself. It was best not to bring up matters better left buried. Forgetfulness was very, very rare in the pony world. It was almost as if Rose had been strangely blessed with it, for it had put her pain to rest long, long ago.
"I can't see, really how it would matter to anypony now. No offense, it was the most important project ever. But now, after it's all over, with the earth gone for... what is it now? Two centuries?" Caprice took the half of the biscuit that Rose had left her and savored it.
"About. I guess. Time's funny here, you know?" Rose reached out for a last sip of tea.
"It is, kind of." Caprice swallowed the last of the last bit of biscuit. "I always thought that what matters isn't what we've done, but what we have yet to do. And we still need to go to the market today. I hear they're opening a 'Starcolts' in town, eventually. Someday. Maybe they'll be starting construction on it. I want to see that."
"You always like to see things being built!" Rose Pastern drank the last of her tea and dropped her cup. "Oops!"
"Nothing to worry about." Caprice eased herself off the sofa and picked the cup up with her teeth and set it down on the little low table. "The tea's all gone, so no harm done."
The notebook, every atom of it personally converted into E-matter, was lowered into the ornately carved chest. The chest was made of something not entirely unlike wood, though there had been no tree, and it was bound and finished with a material not entirely unlike black iron, but the metal had not come from any mountain.
The chest, like the ruined castle far above, up the wide, curving stone staircase, had been brought into existence from swirling chaos long, long ago. Everything here had been made thus. Everything but the forbidden treasures and horrors stored here.
Princess Luna of Equestria released the notebook she had converted and closed the lid of the chest. There was no need to lock it, nopony knew of the crypt under the Everfree Castle, and nopony ever would. She stood by the bricked-up wall, the wall her sister and she had built. The wall that sealed off the black ribbon, and the place that existed through it. The place from whence they all had come - Celestia, Luna, and Discord.
So many treasures and horrors, but the most terrible of all was the truth. Discord had been contained, and someday he might even be redeemed. He had recently been showing signs of sanity. His redemption might even be soon. They were the oldest, the three, and the first, but of all of them, Discord was the most powerful, and the most dangerous. He had made the castle, and the chests, and the stairs, and he had unleashed chaos until he could finally be confined in stone.
The notebook was just one more legacy. Luna's sister tried so hard, so very hard, to help others. First the dragons, and then the gryphons. The diamond dogs just somehow found their way in, but Tia had let them stay, and granted them succor as best she could.
And her latest, the humans. Equestria had been built upon glimpses of their world, Discord had sought any structure he could find, in the beginning, and the universe of Man had been there, within reach, nearby. Tia had simply continued, using what was available to her, when Discord had been imprisoned. She felt such gratitude to that harsh world, for the structure it had provided. It was only natural, perhaps, that she would save those that lived there, in their final hour.
But she had heeded Luna's counsel, just this once, and made a price of such salvation - peace. Peace was the price, and it could only be assured through a change to Equestrian form. This had been done, but it had not happened easily, or without regrets.
Luna chose to walk the steps, up to the surface, in order to experience them. When one could bend time and space to meet one's own hoof, little moments mattered greatly. Perhaps it was pointless, to have preserved the notebook, along with all the other materials from the salvation of humanity. Only the future would tell.
She stood now in the dark Everfree, the scar on Equestria that could never heal. The castle had once been the only solid, unchanging thing in a universe of chaos. It had been her and Tia's safety, and prison. It had been their cage, when they were the pets of their brother, Discord. He had brought it into being as a ruin, ancient from the first moment of its beginning.
The princess of the night lowered the metal seal over the well that housed the staircase, so that the rain would not get in. The rain came and went as it would, here. There was no order in the Everfree, only randomness, so like the Nature of that world called Earth.
Her wings spread, Luna soared into the dark, star-filled sky, the sky she and her sister had crafted together, she the night, her sister the day. Earth. They had taken so much from Earth. Now, they had finally given something back.
The End
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
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Friendship Is Optimal: Caelum Est Conterrens
Leftovers: A Friendship Is Optimal Story
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My Life In Fimbria
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I.D. - That Indestructible Something
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The Ice Cream Pony Summer
Around The Bend
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And so it winds to a close. I did love the part at the end with Luna's musing.
I'm a bit lost, but then I'm not in the ideal place or space to read. It seems to me that the end was wrapped up rather suddenly and without issue. I was expecting a bit more to the tale, really, but once I re-read it, the last two chapters are essentially epilogue. The whole crux of the story was the doctor, and we didn't really get to see what he did and how. I glad silly shinyhooves is a pony, but I miss her conversion dream and I miss how she would be explaining about the notebook. I don't really know whether the doctor tricked Ralph completely, or whether he stole the notebook, and how Luna got it. This saddens me, as I feel a lot of room for intrigue and adventure was skipped for a few key illustrated scenes that weren't as important - in the long run - as the bits behind the scenes.
And finally, I don't really get what was "given back". I get that they were given peace, so I'm assuming that peace was the gift in its entirety, but with the hiding of the manuscript/notebook, more seemed to be implied.
I'm sorry about being moderately unsatisfied, the narrative pace just seemed rushed in what I had hoped would be the final two chapters, and that they glossed over the real heart of the matter, instead giving us flashbacks and anecdotes in lieu of story.
Nice enjoyable story Chat! I was personally hoping for a bit more of a technical view on the creation of the potion but then again I've been known to read textbooks for fun so my opinion should probably be taken with a grain (or a barrel) of salt. I especially enjoyed the interlude with the Doctor and Derpalina and the suggestion that their intervention is the switch between the time-streams of the 800 Year Promise and Mankind Triumphant.
2012732
It's never explicitly stated but I feel it's safe to assume that Paige, Pet, and Inks had the notebook with them and therefore Luna got it from them when she rescued them.
With regards to what was "given back", I took it as play on words for a burial. i.e. It is often said at funerals: "and so we return our dearly departed to the earth."
Or in the Catholic church on on Ash Wednesday: "from ashes you were born and to dust you will return." So I took it as Luna "burying" the book and thus "giving [it] back" to the earth.
2012901
That's my beef, really. This story was ostensibly about the journal, what went into creating it, and its ultimate fate. What it was really about was the doctor saving Equestria, only we missed it. This was the "below decks" version of the story with the incidental bit-parts writ large on screen whilst the real magic happens elsewhere. I don't even know where Paige and the others were when she converted and I don't know how the journal ended nor how it ended up with Inkwell to be read. Granted, Luna up and stoning her enemies was not only cool but expected, but there was no climb-down from it. It just ended, with ponies. The HLF run, Ralph escapes, the pony family emigrate and all of it off-screen. Poo, I feel cheated. When a taste of grass ended, I felt it ended wrong, and I wrote a guest-chapter. The ending for this story was right, but it's missing what I feel are pretty important details.
*raises hoof* I have a question! If Ralph took another dose of potion, would he get "re-ponified" and have a conversion dream?
2009332
If Chat's using the same setup as what I've thrown around before, it is the "real" potion, only they do it without anesthetic and they insert probes into his brain to make sure that if he doesn't stay properly awake, he doesn't at least enter a dream-state. The pure, blunt trauma of having your body resculpted without pain-blocking medication and the ability to dream permanently scars the process.
In terms of magic, because he doesn't dream, he never gets the epiphany of meeting Celestia and having her impart whatever profound wisdom it is which makes even the hardest of hearts come around. The "ensoulment" portion of the spell matrix from the Equestrians never comes into effect, and his brain and mind are left completely intact.
Arguments about the type and depth of changes notwithstanding (really, that's boring), it's a logical, interesting and scary concept.
2012982
I can certainly see your point but I'm not quite sure I agree with it. I kind of liked the fact that the ending wasn't explicitly spelled out. BTW Paige was converted in the manager's office of the warehouse in which the Underground Bookmobile was operating out of at the start of the story and Inkwell ended up with the journal after the courier who was supposed to deliver it the main HLF base got the wrong address and dumped it in with the Underground Bookmobile's books. (unless you're referring as to how it was pilfered in the first place)
- Chapter 4
Regarding The Taste of Grass I definitely agree with you there. Although, in both the original ending and the guest chapter you wrote, I have always though that the ponies of Summerland never really tried hard enough to find Caprice and her family afterwards. I mean a couple of newspaper ads offering a reward for information about the family combined with a description and information about the situation should've found them pretty quickly given the helpful nature of ponies.
2013057
That's odd. I don't remember reading that bit in chapter 4
Still, I meant more that I wanted to hear how Pastern finished up and then collected together the notebook - a flashback to the beginning of the story, if you will - as well as hear more about Paige's conversion, emigration, and so on.
2013067
In summary: MOAR!!!
2013084
THIS
2012982
I am confused here.
Paige and the others were in the warehouse, next to Milner's office, when she converted. Chapter 17.
The journal, the notebook ended with the words:
"But the work is done now. Ponification is a reality, and the serum will only continue to be improved. The time of the Bureaus has begun."Chapter 16.
Inkwell ended up with the notebook from the beginning of the story, Chapter One, and kept it with or around her throughout the entire story. She clearly stated that she had gone through the whole notebook in Chapter 14. In previous chapters to 14, it was repeatedly stated that Inkwell read the notebook to Paige and Pet every night before bed. It was clearly stated that they had been together for a month and a half before any trouble started, so it is reasonable that however thick the notebook was, it would have been entirely read to Paige and Pet.
That we get to see the last pages of the notebook in-between action scenes is as may be.
I clearly should never have put the Doctor in the story at all. He was ABSOLUTELY not the crux, he was a safe Non-Deus-Ex because he was utterly unnecessary. I put him in only because I wanted to see what it would look like for someone experiencing what the Doctor does, from the outside, rather than the way we see him in Dr. Who, which is following him specifically.
The fact is that the divergence between normal Chat-o-verse and Mankind Triumphant! Is simply Ralph Vitoni making a choice. It's 50-50 what he would choose. Since it was 50-50, having the Doctor there was not at all important, so I felt I could toss him in for pure fun, because it made no difference whatsoever to the story. I wanted to see Turner and Fogarty, simple as that. For fun.
For what it is worth, Turner tricked Ralph completely. Luna got the notebook from Inkwell. Nothing more. I could delete the entire Doctor bit, and the story would be the better for it. It's in there only for fun, nothing more.
As for Paige's conversion dream on the platform? I... just didn't see a convenient place to put that. I suppose I could have just done a short chapter for that, I guess.
Souls. Humanity was given souls, and a universe to use them in. Magic, peace, actual life instead of a shadow existence as meat machines. That was what was given back. That and survival itself - the planet is dying anyway, so... survival at all.
I thought about how this should end. I wanted all the loose ends tied up, and I think I accomplished that.
Could I have gone on and on about Paige and Pet and Inkwell bowing and scraping to Luna and being transported to Equestria, and maybe spending a night in the Castle and eating with the princesses before being given resettlement instructions and train tickets? Yeah... I suppose I could have drawn out a chapter of that. Maybe it wouldn't have been too indulgent and silly, maybe.
And I suppose I could have hammered home that Luna got the notebook from the only pony that could have had it, that always had it, Inkwell.
And I am beginning to think I should just delete all the Doctor stuff entirely, and just have Ralph Vitoni do what he was likely going to do anyway, which is not kill an entire city, and have to run to Equestria because of that choice. His humiliation was just so I could play with Turner, Derpy and Dinky, nothing more.
And maybe I could have rearranged chapters a bit so that the last pages of Pastern's notebook happened prior to chapter 14, so that it was very, very clear that Inkwell had read every word to her spouses before the action started. But that just seemed, well dull. I thought it would be clear that this had to be the case.
And maybe I should have had Luna explicitly say that Celestia's actions had saved mankind from an already extant certain doom (suicide by greed and biosphere destruction) instead of the line: "It was only natural, perhaps, that she would save those that lived there, in their final hour." Perhaps I should have had her belabor the point, go on a bit about how Man had destroyed himself, and that he would have become extinct if not for ponification one more time in the story, just to make sure it was clear. Maybe I should have. I thought I had harped on that one already too much earlier in the story, though. And all my other stories too.
Hm... what can I say? Apparently some things weren't as clear or obvious as I imagined them to be. Oops.
2013100
I know it implies a great deal of hubris to disagree with the author about their own work but here goes nothing. From my internalisation of the characterisation of Ralph Vitoni I believe he needed a tiny push in order to do the right thing. From my perspective he didn't want to gas the city but without a bone to throw to Leo he was too afraid for his own life to make the choice. In my opinion the Doctor enabled him to make the right decision by giving him an out. If the Doctor had forgone the humiliation and left a note along the lines of "You made the right choice. You just needed a helping hand," I feel that Ralph might've even been thankful.
In any case, I don't feel the Doctor sections detract from the story, regardless of the interpretation.
Just my humble two cents...
(Please! Not the dungeon in the place where you banish me!
)
2013100
the phrase "below decks" refers (probably inaccurately) to a form of episode in an ongoing TV series wherein the entire episode is about background characters - I think Star Trek did it first, but it was done to great effect in Babylon 5 (which may have coined the phrase), the fan-series "TROOPS" (which was like COPS but in purported to follow the stormtroopers from star wars) and more than a few others.
In this case, I'm referring to the fact that the story itself hinges on the doctor, at the right time, sending Ralph off on a wild goose chase - except we don't really see the doctor. The notebook just... vanishes. It wasn't clear where it ended up - maybe I missed it, but I don't think it was discussed once Ralph left. I assumed that Paige et al had it with them, but I wanted to see the whole "presenting it to Luna" part, and I missed it if that happened (as I said, I'm not in the best place to read it, so I may actually have missed it!).
For me, the story of the notebook after Pastern and before the story began was something I wanted to see, as well as after Inkwell. I saw it buried, but I'd like to know how it got to be buried, you know?
And once Luna turns up, the story essentially finishes. I feel it moved to quickly from "almost getting shot" to "and they lived happily ever after".
You did - I should clarify, the wrapping up was superb, but the scene was ostensibly about the notebook. Maybe it's just how I think, but I got confused with the actions and import of the scene (hiding dangerous information because it was precious until it could potentially be viewed) with the intended meaning (laying to rest the last piece of saving of the human race from themselves). It may be this is my bad.
eh, that would've been terribad if you'd tried to do it seriously. What I meant is that the princesses would surely understand the import of the notebook, and as part and parcel of their handling it, I expected to see the triumph of your little threesome in the story. Instead, and yes I know precisely where the notebook was now, it gets glossed over for an enjoyable if over-exuberant first five minutes as a pony in a largely invisible setting.
No, you don't need to expound upon the final fate of mankind - that fact is actually why I was surprised at the "given back" scene. It didn't make sense unless you were doing that, and you really didn't need to. I was thinking there was something more, was fixated on the notebook, and instead was treated to the closure to what I felt was a different story I hadn't read.
In frank and simple terms, I enjoyed the story but the end was a wrap-up from another story you haven't written. Should you go back and delete the doctor? No, I actually would love to hear about his story. I was entranced with the idea that the doctor would actually be involved in saving the universe of Equestria. I would be heartbroken if you wrote it out, and to me it would always remain as "the unwritten doctor/tcb crossover" that he does what he does in the whoniverse even whilst on four hooves.
I just did honestly expect those few pieces, a smoother come-down from "almost shot" to "happily ever after" wherein our plucky characters get their rewards in a fully-fleshed out and three-dimensional scene, to appear and was saddened they did not.
2013157
Well, speaking as someone who has read up on the war games played by national governments to examine certain end-game scenarios, there are in general two types of people: hawks, and doves.
The thing is, the hawks are usually all piss and wind, and the doves come through. Time after time, so long as sane people play these games, even in trivial simulations, when asked to "press the button" on a fake nuclear war, they will not. Sometimes the GM's do their damndest to try to force a nuclear confrontation, but nobody will push the button, and would even surrender sovereign territory to sworn enemies rather than murder billions. Even in a game.
Now, we all know there are insane people in the world, and the thought that there could be functional sociopaths in the government with the ability to launch nuclear weapons and doom billions is horrifying to me. Ralph strikes me as incredibly mean, vicious and petty - but ultimately sane. Brutal and ruthless, and more than a bit evil, but sane. I don't believe that in most cases he would openly tell somebody with the finger on the button that directly dooms millions of innocent people to death, something which would cause that button to be pressed. His boss, however, strikes me as somebody who (given half a chance) would. I find it, however, more believable that even the bastard of bastards wouldn't murder millions throughout a city because of three ponies. He'd quite happily kill billions of ponies in Equestria if it meant saving Earth, but not millions of humans. He cares about humans, even if he doesn't care about any specific humans and in fact downright hates a large cross-section of them in general.
The only way that could change is if the general knew without the shadow of a doubt that he could kill millions, get the notebook and then save billions. That sort of accounting is the kind of thinking any warrior has to go through - acceptable losses, collateral damage. It's entirely human.
2013203
I'm at least somewhat familiar with the psychological research in that area. The way I see it though is Ralph is not pushing the button though, he's either affirming or denying Leo's decision, which falls under the reasoning shown in the Milgram experiments. In this case Leo has essentially decided to go ahead unless Ralph gives him an alternative. So unless Ralph decides to lie of his own accord to Leo, Leo is going to go ahead anyway. This allows Ralph to be passive observer to the situation and therefore isn't making him push the button; changing the situation entirely.
See also:The Trolley thought experimentEDIT: Actually the particular one I'm thinking of isn't there. Nevermind.
Also it's rather late here and I'm typing in a hurry so this may not make a lot of sense. I'll clean it up in the morning.
2013236
I thought about that, but I don't think it works that way. Ralph was being asked, not ordered. If he'd been ordered to torture or maim, I'd agree, but he was being asked on whether the button should be pushed or not, which changes the dynamic.
my $00.02
2013292
I take it that Leo's already made up his mind on what happens if Ralph can't find the notebook. But then again these things are open to interpretation but that's how I saw the situation.
2013304
Well, irrespective of what he might have done, what he did was make it clear to Ralph how important finding the notebook was, and what would happen if he failed. That's basically telling Ralph find the notebook or you will be killing everyone. That's the general handing off responsibility for murder, and Ralph balking at it by refusing to let that happen, by grasping at any straws necessary which can let him off the hook.
Psychological and theological meandering aside (which is fantastic guys - I love how Chatoyance's works bring that about), I just want to interject real quick that this was fun!
(bounces around like an excited filly "Do it again! Do it again!" - which is completely undignified, but still happens from time to time)
I say the inclusion of the good Doctor is a stroke of pure genius myself... In one quick motion, the timeline for The Conversion Mythos has gained an infinite horizon. While I positively adore the functional aspects of the premise, and the possibilities to explore the core 'ethos' of what it is to be human as reflected in a mirror of absolute happiness, the dystopia setting is limiting for me.
So, now the Mythos is in a suitcase and can be taken pretty much anywhere... Bring the protagonist from the 'here and now' into the end-days of the Earth for a third-person view of the salvation of humanity, deliver 'ponification' to a story element in the distant past to seed a parallel view of events... All of the alternate incarnations of the story are now woven together with a common thread.
Shared universe indeed.
Brilliant.
Ooh, a Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark ending!
Derring Do: The serum's formula might be needed if our universe once more collides with another and we need to begin conversions again. We might have to adapt it further; the human technological side of it needs to be researched—
History Minister: And it will be, I assure you, Dr. Do. We have top ponies working on it right now.
Derring Do: Who?
History Minister: Top. Ponies.
2013100
I personally wouldn't alter the story now that it's done. Deleting this and tweaking that and fussing over it, you'll just drive yourself bonkers. Team Time's involvement is a little jarring, but it's not fourth-wall-breaking; they are a canon presence in the Chatoverse.
I really like SecondLaw's idea here. Getting positive reinforcement for a good deed could have helped Ralph turn out very differently. I also agree with midnightshadow's interpretation of his character, in light of his decision and his inner monologue here at the end. Ralph wasn't an HLF fixer because he specifically hated ponies, just that his love and attachment to humanity was nurtured in the wrong direction as he was conditioned to see ponies as the enemy, as a conquering force. The events succeeding this are set, of course, and I do know why it didn't turn out this way. Still, it's a small comfort to imagine Ralph at least freed of vengeful motivation and able to enjoy what time is afforded to him as a pony in Equestria.
I found that particularly powerful. Ralph is miserable and alone, and for his one not-insignificant bout of conscience and mercy, he was humiliated by someone he doesn't know and will never meet. Ponies can't help him now. He needs fellowship, and the only way he can get it is through sharing his misery. Even as it was happening, he'd look around Earth and see ponies and humans alike not giving a single shit that an entire world was being destroyed, being disconfigured. No mourning, no disappointment, just the handwave of "go pony and then everything is okay!" The frustration of others constantly missing the point would drive him up the wall. For him, "everything is okay" translates to the selfish sentiment of "I get to live!" Then Earth is gone, billions of people dead, and everypony who made it just could not be happier. Earth? Was that a thing? Oh well, doesn't matter, hairless apes and all that, let's go get some ice cream! He's in mourning, and to him it feels like he's mourning alone, the one person left who's holding a torch for Earth. It's unfortunate, but it's powerful. With this, Ralph has gone from a somewhat interchangeable bad guy in 800 Year Promise to a rather tragic character in his own right.
2013100
I really love the way Ralph's decision becomes the point of divergence between the timelines of your standard universe and that of Mankind Triumphant. I think there is a really good story about Ralph's future in Equestria (Yes, please take that as a hint.) It's also very sweet to follow up on Dr. Pastern and see Caprice setting herself up to be the guardian of Rose's peace by denying herself that selfsame escape. Finally I love the closing scene with Luna and the potential it opens for more universe building.
I have one points on which I agree with Middy: I felt the closing of the Inks/Paige/Pet storyline let me wanting to know a lot more of how their lives in Equestria turned out. Maybe that could be the subject of a future short or an epilogue.
Overall, a very fine story and I have enjoyed every word.
Except "hoofpalmed". Shouldn't that be "facehoofed"?
Oh, and dear Chat: More please!
Regards,
Dafaddah
2012732
2014972
Some details:
Midnight suggested he might want to write something about Joy, Pet, and Inkwell. I sent them off on a train so that he could have free reign. Do they go to Tacksworn, for example? He could do that. Or anywhere else in Equestria. I left it completely open ended for him, specifically for the possibility he might write a story about them. Carte Blanche.
If it doesn't happen, that's OK too, I'm not counting on it. It's just there, open ended, in case.
The Luna ending is a hook, much like the mysterious Earthly book in Letters From Home. There are three stories vying for my attention right now. They are:
> Little Blue Cat
The story of the little artificial A.I. cat that Luna made use of in Code Majeste to secretly help Lillian 'Derpy' Fogarty. The story would concern itself with how Luna possesses the little artificial animal in order to accomplish matters of importance behind her sister's back. In the process she comes to value the other sapient species on Earth - the artificial minds created by man, and what she does about the poor, doomed machines.
>Rose Cottage
The story of the last year and death of Rose Pastern the pegasus, and what happens in the Equestrian afterlife. This story may, or may not be tied in with or separate from...
>All Hands Lost
The story that the Luna scene - and many other hints scattered throughout all of my stories - ultimately point to: The ultimate secret of what Equestria actually is, and where Celestia, Luna and Discord come from, and why they act the way they do, and what really transpired between them. It is my ultimate explanation for everything pony I have ever written.
I don't know which one, if any, I might write next.
But perhaps explaining this might shed some light on the choices I made.
Very nice. I was hoping Paige would be an earth pony.
I love how you tie it all together. The sense of continuity makes reading your work all the more rewarding, since each piece feels like another look into a single enormous, engrossing world.
Also, leave the Doctor in. I felt it was a most enjoyable indulgence.
I'm still a little confused on what the HLF wanted with the notebook. As Inkwell said, there wasn't anything too specific in it. I thought it might be used as propaganda against Celestia for allowing the experiments but that didn't seem to be the point either. So why was the notebook so important in relation to the HLF?
Oh and I think Luna's scene needs some music to go with it.
2017357
The notebook contained a map of Celestia's castle, including the location of the statue of Discord. If you read "Mankind Triumphant" you'll know that this is what enables the creation of a barrier-proof coating for the bombs that destroy Equestria and stop the expansion.
2017357
For what would have happened if the notebook had been found, here are the stories I know of that tell the tale of that alternate reality!
Mankind Triumphant! by Chatoyance
Relic by Dafaddah
Shattered Worlds by Midnight Shadow
2015618
Well there are a couple of scenes I feel are important, and there was one story prequel I want to write. At the moment, I'm honing Chapter 16 of King of Diamonds, so it's not going to appear until after I've finished with that.
However, I'm tempted. If you think a journey could be told, then I may have to accept that challenge...
2015618
Amusingly, I have to say that your ending with Doc Cottage (nee Pastern) actually... does in the idea I had to write about her and give her a bit of happiness... not that I can't still write something, by any means, but it changes what I was going to write...
This is going to be a lovely little challenge, I have to say :3 and no, I'm not upset, so don't feel bad. This is your work, first and foremost. My idea's just a little sidefic.
2020105
Rose Pastern lives in that cottage for over two centuries. That is a lot of time for a lot of things to happen in. She spends her very last years with the widowed Caprice, and we know she spends a few decades at the beginning of her life in Equestria with Petal Confetti. That leaves almost two centuries unaccounted for.
A lot can happen in two centuries. Who is to say she didn't find happiness, live a contented life and have any number of adventures?
Life is what you do between getting born and getting dead. Pretty much carte blanche, I'm thinking.
2020129
... A valid point. I was worried about the forgetfulness aspect, but I could still work into that. Two centuries IS a long time, you're right.
I just have to get off my lazy flank and write, then. Well put, Chat. I didn't think of that.
2015618
I'd love to read about Luna's cybercat. The idea that those AIs might be salvaged and brought to Equestria sounds wonderful.
The other two... I don't know.
I have yet to find a good story about the origins of Discord, Celestia and Luna. I feel too much explanation just takes away the magic and fantasy of the setting.
And the pony life of Dr. pastern? Two hundred years of "I'm so sorry!", "Am I really happy or is it just my pony brain?", "I don't deserve to be a pony, I have to atone for my sins." and "I'm so sorry!" really isn't my idea of good time.
I meant to ask about this. How could they have survived being turned to stone, much less being turned back? While canon has established that being turned to stone is not fatal in and of itself, it is still a magical process, which is crazy toxic to humans in the Chatoverse. The princesses did this to Windfeather and Discord, but they weren't humans. In other words, it's not so much that a statue spell was used on them, but any spell at all. Even the stasis is a magical stasis. What could it be doing to their bodies in the meantime? With the spell reversed, all the Worldgovernment would have on their hands is a platoon-sized element of blackened husks.
I mean, really, Luna killed those guys.
2043417
I suspect either of two things: she didn't know that stoning would kill humans - or - damn, Luna is BADASS.
2043443
Oh, come on now. It's well well well known amongst ponies in your 'verse that magicking humans is like pouring salt on a slug. Assuming your response wasn't just you being flip, it means that Luna is either somehow more ignorant about how magic works on Earth than normal unicorns (and nobody bothered to brief her), or she's so good at magic that if she magics the magic hard enough it makes the magic less magicky and the magic rules don't really apply in those situations.
2006760 Exactly, I liked this chapter.
It was just a little short, psychologically.
2007105 I need to learn to keep my mouth shut when commenting.
I always make people angry at me for some reason, or another.
Anyway this chapter was great, it just felt fast to me. I like reading long chapters, but its just my opinion.
2006549 In my defense, all I remember was that at the end of the chapter I felt like a lot of of things happened. Like whoosh. Whoosh. whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh
2006151 Oh I'm sorry if that sounded offensive.
I should have worded it like "that was quick" or whoosh whoosh, because at the end of the chapter it just felt short to me. Not from lack of information, but maybe because a few chapters ago you had loads of data and info given to us. Just my opinion though.
2043464
Maybe the statues can be converted with potion directly instead of having to return to the state of fleshy humanness?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
I will say one thing, I think Inkwell was wearing rose colored glasses over her rose colored glasses when she speculated that a more detailed explanation of Celestia's nature would allay HLF's fears that She's Azazoth come for humanity. If I may quote from the Book of Lorgar,
"The difference between gods and demons depends largely on where one is standing at the time."
2146979
No, it is written as intended. 'By any metric' means by any form of measurement or by any sort of test. The phrase is not entirely uncommon nowadays, and I rather favor it - especially for use in a science fiction story. If I were writing a story set in Equestria, with ponies and Tudor cottages, I would absolutely have used 'by any measure', because that evokes a simpler world of measuring cups and making cupcakes.
But in a story set in a secret underground 'Andromeda Strain' style bio-laboratory, where exactness and precision are standard, using 'by any metric' invokes the feeling of, well, SCIENCE!
Sometimes I try - not as often as I should, perhaps - to adjust the way I write a story to evoke the situation and milieu through my choice of words and phrases. If I were a better, or more conscientious writer, maybe a reader would be able to tell where they were just by the way a section was written! But... I can't juggle that many balls at the same time consistently. So the best I can do is alter my manner of writing a little, occasionally, to change the feeling of how the words sound when read to affect mood.
I'd love to be excellent at it, but... maybe with practice.
It's funny, Because I already made one of these "serum" I just need pony cell as a catalysis.
3032878
Thank you! I dearly hope you enjoy this story.
3033005
I have. I've just finished this and I am just blown away. They are just so many good things in this, I don't think I can find the words.
All of it is amazing.
Edit: Pastern made it to Equestria!
3179210
All of my Bureau stories interlock as one consistent future history. Characters and events from one story are referenced in others. Each story is a window into the same world, and I make it a point to try to allow every novel to stand on its own, in that they all set the premise and conditions down clearly, such that knowledge of other novels is not required.
It would likely be a unique adventure in how the familiar world, settings, details and characters unfold for each reader, depending on which novel in my Bureau series they start with.
To my knowledge, you would be the first -ever- to start with R63. I am fascinated.
3180869
They are, like virtually all of my characters, based on real people I have met in my 53 years. They were my very first introduction to the possibility of women having relationships with each other - my very first dyke couple. Meeting them changed my life, and the expectations I was willing to entertain about the sorts of relationships I wanted.
I should warn you then - you are doubtless aware that there are many who loathe my stories, me, and anything to do with me. Some of these people have worked to 'poison the well' so to speak, by writing stories which are labeled as 'Conversion Bureau' stories, but which are nothing but massive pony slaughter tales. That is their only purpose - to show humans killing ponies. This was supposed to 'teach' me how I was wrong for writing ponies as good.
If you decide you like Bureau stories, and want to read more than just my work someday, you may wish to confine your reading to the first and original Conversion Bureau Group's collection of stories. It is available here:
jenniverse.com/images/tcb%20group%20logo.png
The Conversion Bureau Group
There is another TCB group, and an 'alternative' group... originally the 'anti' group, until they were forced to change their name... which happily carry pure HLF-and-worse pony slaughter stories just because they claim to be Bureau works. Just a heads up, unless, of course, you enjoy spite-fiction, in which case, you will not be disappointed!
3182823
As a rule I won't read any story marked "gore" unless it is either very highly-rated or I trust the author, and I have reason to believe it isn't just gore for the sake of gore (this is the only thing that got me through Psychopathy is Configurable- understanding how Equestria Online and CelestAI work was the only reason I was able to read that and appreciate it for what it was), so that hopefully won't become an issue. *offers another hug*
EDIT: Interesting, so it always labels the comment with the most recent chapter if the comment is made on the story's index page...
Mmm, that ending gave me chills <3 all the best stories do that to me. As my proper introduction to the 'verse, this was quite effective. I never felt lost at any point, or like I needed to read something else to comprehend what was going on. Perhaps reading Brand New Universe first was cheating, as I did certainly notice elements in common and I was able to understand what was going on with the Discord statue plan and where the divergence occured, but I still feel like I would have had no problem reading this even if I hadn't read that first.
Another wonderful story from such a great author :) I am very eager to read more from you. I probably won't revisit TCB right away, but I will come back to it. I think I will read "Injector Doe" next, the concept in the description of it really speaks to a deep part of me that I don't acknowledge very much anymore because it makes people uncomfortable.
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I was forced to label 27 Ounces with 'gore' - it doesn't deserve it. Someone complained to the mods, and I decided not to fight the issue. It angers me though.
Yes, there is one horror scene in the book. One. The whole thing take up two paragraphs. Out of eighty thousand words or somesuch. It is important and purposeful, and it needs to be there. But somebody complained.
Sigh.