Don't Forget The Music

by Les Pony

Chapter 6: Hello Hooray

Hello Hooray

“Nathan?”

A sweet sounding voice rose me from my slumber.

“Wha?”

I opened my eyes to find BLINDING WHITE walls surrounding me, the pain forcing them to clamp shut again. The pain from the piercing color helped put my mind back in order. As I slowly opened my eyes to shield them from the blinding light, I wearily looked around at my surroundings, straining my brain to remember where I was. I was still in the conversion room number 1010.

I just got converted...

As soon as that through processed through my head I snapped my attention down to my...

“HOOVES!”

If only I could have seen the look on my face. I suspect it was somewhere around that of a five year old boy riding a bike without training wheels for the first time, or in layman's terms, I was smiling like an idiot.

“Congratulations, Nathan! You’re a pegasus!”

“Wow, I am?!”

As I excitedly spoke, my attention went to a new feeling on my back. I turned to face two honey colored spectacles of flight. They looked just like the ones in the dream. I gave them a test flap to make sure they were real.

“Hold on there Nathan, lets get you walking first.”

I warily looked at my hooves and then at the ground.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

When I initially said that, I never mean it literally. Unfortunately, my legs never got that memo. I hit the ground with a solid thud.

“Are you okay, Nathan?”

The fall left me with my head spinning and a sore jaw.

“Guuuuuuuh.”

As I shook off the pain, my mane whipped me in the face making me wince as my eyes lit up fiery red. I cringed as I answered Nurse Redheart.

“I’ll be fine once I stop inflicting pain on myself.”

“Oh it’s normal, sweetie. This happens to plenty of newfoals right after their conversion. Now let’s get you standing! Now slowly put your front legs directly underneath your body, then when they feel stable, bring your back legs up and slowly transfer some of your weight on them.”

I furrowed my brow as I glanced at the floor, to my hooves, then to Nurse Redheart. She wore a smile that could make a cat take a bath.

“Alright...”

I brought my front hooves underneath my body, shaking as I transferred weight onto them. I held my breath as I put my rear legs in place and pushed up.

“Am-Am I doing it?”

“Yes you are Nathan. You’re standing!”

I snapped open my eyes.

“Ha! I did it. I’m standing!”

“Now we just have to get you to walk.”

The smile left my face as quick as a cat leaving a bath.

“Uh... How do I do that?”

Nurse Redheart furrowed her brow.

“Hm... Well, Nathan, many ponies have said it sort of comes naturally.”

“So... I should just try and walk?”

“I guess that’s the best advice I can give you. Just put one hoof in front of the other.”

Okay. Just like she said, one foot-er, hoof in front of the...

Before I could finish my thought, I found myself paying a visit to my old friend the floor.

“Ugh...”

“Oh, keep trying, honey. You’ll get it!”

This time, I was able to stand up easier, clumsy nonetheless however.

All right! You can do this!

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as I took a step forward with my front right hoof. My back, left hoof followed. Then the front, left, and the rear, right. I was doing it. I never actually thought of how a pony patterns their hoof steps. Like Nurse Redheart said, it just seemed to happen with no thought. My eyelids flew open, stars beaming out of my eyes.

“Ha! I’m getting it.”

“Very good, Nathan. Lets keep you cantering to the front desk and see how far you can get before falling.”

I didn’t think I could make it all the way back to the lobby without crashing, especially since I liked to get distracted by the fabulous garden on the way. Low and behold I made my way there with only a couple close calls. It felt as if the nerves in my hooves were making more connections with my brain, furthering the process of making me whole. Nurse Redheart had trotted ahead of me, as she saw I was getting the hang of using my new appendages.

By the time I wobbled into the lobby, Nurse Redheart had a chance to round up a small welcoming committee that consisted of Lyra, herself, and a few of other pony staff members I had yet to meet. The elated faces of the ponies greeting me brought a newfound warmth into my body. They must have been used to the routine of people walking in as humans, and walking out ponies, yet their delight for me still seemed authentic. The seafoam unicorn sitting behind the desk counter was the first one to speak up to me.

“Congratulations Nathan! How does it feel to be a pony?”

Unlike my father, I was never good at answering questions in front of a crowd, even if it was only a few people.

“I-er-uh...”

All I could manage was a dumbfounded stare at my unicorn friend.

“He’s speechless everypony!”

And with that, my reception disbanded leaving me, Nurse Redheart, and Lyra at the circular front desk.

“So how do you feel?”

The eager unicorn’s eyes beckoned to me for an answer.

“Well. I feel. Different, to say the least.”

My broken answer was interrupted by the hospital cap adorned pony who I had run into earlier.

“Here’s his files Lyra. They’re all filled out for now, except for the name.”

“Thank you Nurse!”

“I’ll be seeing you later Nathan for a checkup to make sure you’re getting used to your new body.”

Lyra and I watched Nurse Redheart trot off down the leftmost of three hallways exiting the lobby.

“So what’ll it be?”

“What?”

“Your name, Nathan! What do you want to name yourself?”

“I’m not really sure. I guess I didn’t expect I’d have to use a different name right away.”

“Oh it’s alright, you don’t have to come up with one right now. Whenever you do come up with one, just find me and I’ll put it on your record!”

“Will do.”

I stood there, my small grin sagging as the speechless seconds ticked by. Lyra merrily looked back at me as the air thickened around us.

“So... What do I do now?”

“Well, since all you’ve seen is the infirmary, lobby, and conversion room, I can arrange a tour of the bureau to get you familiarized with the place you’ll be calling home for a week.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Now we just have to find somepony to show you around the building.”

As if on cue, a cream colored mare with a deep ocean blue mane, with a cotton candy pink stripe down the center, and three pieces of candy on her flank, trotted into the room. She was walking around with her head held high like she didn’t have a care in the world humming a pleasant little tune.

“Bon Bon, what perfect timing! I need you to give our new patient here a tour of the facilities and show him to his room.”

Bon Bon smiled and looked at me.

“With pleasure! And who exactly might I be giving a tour to today?”

“My name is Nathan.”

“Well Nathan, we’re very glad to have you here. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the ins and outs of the bureau. At the moment we’re in the lobby. This is the center of the building, so you’ll likely be going through here a few times a day.”

Lyra interjected:

“Don’t forget to say hi! It gets boring being at a desk all day.”

Bon Bon chuckled.

“Don’t mind her; she just doesn’t know how to stay still for more than a minute.”

“You didn’t complain about that the time we were on the beach by ourselves and...”

The next sensation Lyra experienced was the taste of Bon Bon’s hoof in her mouth. Lyra nervously looked over to Bon Bon. Her pupils had dilated, her normally cream face had turned the color of a tomato and she looked like steam was about to shoot out of her ears.

“I told you never to talk about those things at work Not a word! Understand?”

Hoof in mouth, Lyra nodded, her head sweating from the anger radiating off Bon Bon. Then, as if nothing had happened, Bon Bon’s pupils returned to normal size, face changed back to it’s original color and she removed her hoof from Lyra’s mouth all while wearing the happy-go-lucky smile she wore earlier. She picked up right where she left off.

“The hallway behind the desk leads to the infirmary and conversion rooms, the hallway to the right leads to the common areas, classrooms, and gym, and the hallway to the left leads to the sleeping quarters and the library. If you follow me, I’ll start you off with the commons.”

I bid a quick farewell to Lyra and followed Bon Bon down the hallway.

“First thing we have here is a little meeting center. You can chat with people and ponies here.”

There were several people and ponies lounging around on the couches watching tv, talking to others.

“And here we have the classrooms where you’ll be learning about all things Equestria. When you finish the required classes here, if you are a Unicorn, you’re transferred down the hall to other classrooms. If you become an Earth pony, you go to the garden. Since you’re a pegasus, you’ll transferred to the gymnasium at the end of the hallway past the dining hall.”

That was my chance to ask about the breathtaking garden.

“How can you grow so many luscious plants there?”

“It’s all the work of the Earth ponies. Some people get dejected when they find out they don’t have a horn or wings, but what they don’t know is that every Earth pony has a magic that connects them with the land and allows them to grown plants like nopony else. Some of the food used in the kitchen is grown there, speaking of which, here we are.”

While paying attention to Bon Bon, I ceased to pay attention to where we were wandering. As I looked around the various people and ponies in the lunchroom, my observation was cut short.

EERRRRRRRRR!

With the events that had already transpired in this young day, I neglected to get any breakfast.

“Seems like this is a good place to be.”

“Well, it is breakfast time, and I haven’t eaten yet. We’ll resume our little tour after we eat.”

I gazed around the lunch room more. It seemed like the typical cafeteria style. Grab a tray, jump in line, get your food, and find a place to eat at one of the tables that stretched halfway across the room.

I jumped in line eager to get some breakfast. The smells circulating around the room enchanted my nose. Their fingers reached out from behind the counter and grabbed a hold of my nose and lured me towards their source.

“What would ya like stranger?”

I jumped in surprise. My mind had wandered too far into thoughts of eating the delectable treats. I looked up from the food and standing behind the counter was a pony with a light brown coat. His mane, which was cut short and almost entirely covered by a tall white chef’s hat, was several shades darker than his coat. Upon his flank was what appeared to be a frying pan.

“Hello. I’m new here, what do you recommend?”

“New, eh?”

He turned around and faced the kitchen.

“Hey Potts! We got another newcomer! Lets show ‘em what we can do!”

“Be out in a sec!”

Out from the kitchen popped a pony who looked exactly the same as the first, except he had a deep pot on his flank. The one with the pans faced me again.

“Welcome to Conversion Bureau number two twenty seven! My name is Pahns, and this is Potts”

“We’re twins!”

“And the chefs for this humble bureau.”

“We’re a dynamic duo that can whip up anything from almond butter...”

“To zucchini stuffing!”

I stared at the twins ponies with a contorted face. Their back and forth talking really got me off my bearings.

“Wait. So who is who again?

“I’m Potts.”

“I’m Pahns.”

“I have a pot for a cutie mark.”

“And I have a pan.”

Cutie mark... I’ll have to ask Bon Bon to explain that one to me.

“Right... I guess that’s pretty obvious.”

“Not a problem sir.”

“Happens to the best of us.”

It’s gonna take a long time to get used to this...

“Now what do you want us to make?”

“We’ll make anything you want!”

“Your first meal must be special!”

“Anything?”

“Absolutely...”

“...anything.”

Sigh...

As fun and energetic as they seemed, the back and forth twin thing was getting to me. It was blocking my ability to think straight.

What’s something that I always enjoy?

I thought back through my life. Food had never been an important part of my life. I loved my Mom’s garden grown food, but I didn’t remember much of that because I was so young when it stopped producing. Then it hit me like a virus hitting a Microsoft operating system.

“Deep dish pizza!!!”

I practically shouted that out to the whole lunchroom. But if there was one thing I remembered about food, it was Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza. They went out of business around 2030, before I was born, along with most other restaurants that depended on organic foods. My dad always told me how he had fond memories of his grandmother bringing some home for him to eat after school. He loved it throughout his life. When they were going out of business, they made one final enormous batch of pizzas to be frozen. My dad was smart enough to save a lot of his royalties from Rising Sons, so he bought one hundred frozen pizzas. Whenever he told me this, I always laughed, but he was dead serious. We would eat a pizza, we would devote a whole day to the pizza. My dad was able to figure out how to prepare the pizza to the way he said they came when they were fresh from the oven. I loved it. The gooey cheese practically dripping off the sides. The aroma drowning me in a sensation of warmth and pleasure. Some of my friends called us crazy, but we just knew how to have a good time.

I quickly realized how loud I’d been and shrunk in place to try to hide from the staring eyes.

“Um, yeah. I’d like you guys to make me a deep dish pizza.”

“A pizza it is!”

“We’ll tell you when it’s done.”

With that, they disappeared back into the kitchen. I stood there contemplating how to pass the time. I didn’t know anyone in the room except Bon Bon who was sitting across the room delicately eating what looked to be a sandwich with hay as the filler. As I glanced around the rest of the room I saw a hoof waving in what looked to be my direction. Its owner belonged to a pony whose mane was almost a snowy white, and his coat had a silvery sheen reminiscent of the bumpers of my dad’s old collector cars. His fluorescent yellow eyes were looking excitedly at me.

Me?

Author’s Notes: Credit to Lithe for coming up with the names of the cooks. Yay Lithe!

Have some imagery!

Image done by Nettles

Comments

[Da Bunnana King]

I find this relatable.
[youtube=Byed1P47iXk]

Not really but another chapter well done.

[darkmatterbutterflies]

…I'd forgotten about this! I'm happy that you haven't abandoned it, that seems to happen more frequently than an ending. Then again, the ORIGINAL just stopped, so perhaps one can call it a perverse tradition.

[Les Pony]

802485

lol. Yeah, I never plan on abandoning my fics. My OCD would prevent that... I just take a bit of time to update.