The Big Respawn

by Chatoyance

Rating: teen
Tags: Profanity, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Princess Luna, Original Character, Science Fiction
Length: 5605

Two friends must face what the essence of identity means to them.

Set in the Conversion Bureau universe, two young men face the inevitable totality of the expansion of Equestria into our world, and in the decision of one to choose transformation, both must come to an understanding about what is truly important about the meaning of self. Features Enhanced Audiobook Version.

♥ As Featured On Equestria Daily!

Published 2011-11-17 10:27:33 UTC
Last updated 2011-10-01 01:30:21 UTC

The Big Respawn

This is a Conversion Bureau Universe story set in the alternate MLP:FiM universe originated by Blaze.

The basic premise is that 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.

This story has an enhanced audiobook version with ambient sounds and sound effects available, read by the amazingly talented Pwezem. Delight in his professional quality, dulcet and mellifluous voice as he reads this tale to you! Theme music 'Hand For Hoof' by zahqo and d.notive, used with permission. 46 minutes.
The Big Respawn Mediafire Download 42 meg file

►Click Here For YouTube Version◄

Lost In The Herd: One

The BIG
Respawn

By Chatoyance

Liam slid smoothly around the broken wall, thought 'Grenade' and his right hand instantly moved away from the gun, dropped below his vision, and returned holding a smooth cylinder. He knew this place, this corner with the concrete hedgehogs and the ammo box, and he knew the spawn point. It was right over the little crack in the barricade, and if he threw high, at a practiced angle, he would have reason to grin.

In his mind, he imagined the motion of throwing, and his arm mechanically tossed the grenade over the wall. It was perfect, his practice informing the toss, and within a moment, words formed in the air indicating a successful frag. Then his vision was filled with a triumphant march, a stirring image of soldiers cheering, and the noisesome clatter of scores, ranks, awards, and experience gained.

Dylan ripped the set from his head, his dark hair left standing at an odd angle by the rough motion. “What the FUCK?” He threw his mindset on the unkempt floor, in anger, but controlled just enough to avoid breaking the appliance. “What the flying FUCK was THAT? Seriously, let me be the first to say 'Fuck You, Man'. Sincerely. What WAS that shit?”

A massive, toothy grin faced Dylan. Liam slowly lifted the MicroSony Mindset from his head, and smoothed his dishwater blond mop of hair. It didn't help much. “It's called winning, Dylan. Winning. You should try it sometime. Feels nice!”

“No, that was Bullshit! I spawn, and BAM, and... well, fuck you.”

They were both grinning now, Dylan's face marked with a touch of excited frustration, but also a tiny note of admiration. It was a pretty amazing throw.

Liam rose to his feet, and began to head to the bathroom. “Yeah, I practiced that. And I'm proud of that, motherfucker!” As he rounded the shelves, he added “Come on, you could have done the same... well, if you weren't a crying little bitch, of course.”

This elicited a round of muffled expletives from behind the door as Liam settled in. Something in the pizza last night was not agreeing with him, and he needed a little alone time to enjoy some explosive decompression. He'd been holding things a little too long.

When Liam was finally able to leave, he was greeted by the sound of the threevee and Dylan's excited “Over here, dude, quick! The bubble has just creamed Bakersfield!”

The 'bubble' was the iridescent, perfectly spherical barrier that surrounded the emerging land of Equestria. Since it had first emerged from the sea four and a half years ago, the strange soap-bubble like shield had never stopped expanding. Slow at first, news reports had eventually been forced to admit an acceleration. Now, the sphere was visible from space, a shining dome more than a thousand miles in diameter, like some great gemstone set into a Fabergé egg earth. It was the largest no-fly zone in history.

“Look!” Dylan was excited “It's just beginning to push into Los Angeles!”. The news anchors, two overly blond talking heads, were decrying the loss of American soil, and the horror of the sheer magnitude of it all.

Liam took his seat “Mother-fuck. Damn that's something. Damn.” The properties of Equestria's shield were such that nothing human could penetrate the barrier. It was open to almost all matter, but anything human met with total solidity. The effect was such that even bones, buried deep in graves, were pushed out of the ground, swept as by a shimmering bulldozer, up into the light of day.

But this was not all the barrier did; what passed through safely changed. Radiation ceased. It just stopped being radioactive. Poisons stopped being poisonous. Gasoline changed into something not entirely unlike raspberry jam. The most wilted, dying grass turned greener than the finest summer day, the darkest, most brackish water became the purest blue, and highway pavement shimmered and fizzed, shifting visibly into bright and colorful cobblestone pathways. High skyscrapers melted into thatched-roof buildings, and everywhere trees and flowers filled every space.

Outside of the bubble, the works of man, gray and grimy and hard, and inside the bubble, a brightly hued fairyland where only a semblance of the original pattern could be interpreted.

“Look at that!” it was an extreme close-up shot, from the ground, showing the slow, inexorable expansion of the Equestrian barrier. Liam could see clearly the edge of the bubble visibly swallowing the very last edge of what had once been a petrochemical tank, the other side of which had become a very pleasant looking hillock, covered with flowers. The hillock was strangely high and domed, the mass of it at a steeper angle than physics should allow. That was Equestria defined: an utterly alien physics, a completely alien world. No, not world, 'universe', thought Liam.

“It's not going to stop. It is just not going to stop. This is going to... it's going to cover the world and that is that.” Dylan was unusually somber.

“If it never stops, then at some point, eventually, there won't be any place left. There won't be any earth left. And no human can live in there.” Liam shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

“It's death in there. For humans.” Dylan paused for effect “For humans.” He stressed the word. Savored it on his tongue, stretched it.

“Listen man, we mothefucking have to do this. We are going to have to do it. If we want to live, we are going to have to...”

“Get ponified.” Dylan spat the word. “Mother fuck. Ponified.” In everything he had said, it was clear the only obscenity was that word. Ponified. Transformed. Converted.

A gentle voice issued from the Threevee, coming from an unearthly and beautiful creature, a being of fantasy and impossibility. Her multicolored mane moved and rippled like a flag around her head, sea-green, blue, and pink, her long unicorn horn jutting from her milk-white face. She was Celestia, absolute monarch and literal goddess of the emerging Equestria.

“It is with the utmost regret that we acknowledge the loss of the great and magnificent human dwelling of 'Bakersfield' and also the many other cities and locales that once graced your coastal regions. While we cannot stop nor halt the progression of the expansion of our realm into yours, we remind you that in this there is no threat. We welcome you, willingly and with love, to join us, to enter into our land, our lives, and our society. Everywhere are the Conversion centers, always is the open hooves to greet you into a new and better life.”

Dylan and Liam looked at each other, neither could interpret the look on the other's face. Celestia was speaking again.

“You have seen what exists beyond the great barrier of Equestria, a world green and lush and beautiful. Beyond is a land where life is gentle, kind and wondrous. I would not wish to be despairing of your magnificent works, but surely there are among you those that can see the verdant fields beyond the gray steel and blackened concrete, and yearn for a better life. Please, please join us.”

One of the toothsome anchors was back “That was Princess Celestia of Equestria, responding to these scenes of the current state of the Equestrian Expansion. We return now to...” But by now the young men were not listening, the sound tuned down, their faces solemn, chairs facing each other, each trying to read the other.

“I'll go first.” Liam spoke “Then you can see what's what.”

“Mother. Fuck.” answered Dylan.

* * * * *

It had been two weeks, roughly, since Liam had left their shared apartment. Liam's bedroom door silent, no music behind it, no dirty dishes left by the sink, no more games of SlaughterStrike 3. Dylan had been practicing Liam's trick of tossing grenades from across the map, and had managed to master it, he was eager to show his friend. They had met playing the first iteration of SlaughterStrike, back before the Mindsets came bundled with the system. Dylan had gone to the trouble of ordering a pony-scale Mindset for Liam, as a gift. The device was a custom job, bought over the hypernet, wide enough to fit the huge skulls of the Equestrian ponies.

Dylan was reconstituting some hot wings, sipping a beer, when he heard fumbling at the door. The fumbling went on for some time, and he listened intently; there had been attacks and robberies in the run-down building lately, and he was alert for trouble.

“DYLAN!” The voice sounded odd, yet also familiar. “DYLAN! I... I need your help. Could you open the door? Please?” Dylan checked the clock, it was earlier than Liam had said, but it must be him. Dylan ran to the door.

He paused. He paused for a long time. He knew what must be on the other side of the door. That was nothing new, the ponies, transformed humans, were everywhere now. There were more ponies than humans, the Conversion Bureaus having served their function for the majority of the time since Equestria rose from the sea. Both Dylan and Liam had met many transformed humans, 'newfoals' as they were called, and dealt with them on a daily basis. But always with a degree of separation, of distance.

It had finally sunk in. The denial and suspension crumbling away as he stood at the door. On the other side was Liam, but not Liam, no-longer-human Liam, and this Liam, this creature, this alien, was his roommate. It was going to live here now. With him. Every day.

“Dylan?” The voice was plaintive “Are you there? I can't work the printlock. No fingerprints. Oh, please be there! I'm.. I'm a little nervous out here. I want to come home. Dylan?”

Dylan snapped out of his emotion. “Sorry, dude, I was... I had to get here from the... Just a moment!” Dylan was working the locks, pulling back the three safety bolts and the hardlock. “There we go!”

The door swung inward. Dylan held his breath, unsure of what to expect.

The creature trotted swiftly in. It was dragging a sack with its teeth. It stood on its four short legs, its long bright tail swiffing left and right nervously. It was violet. Pale violet, the color of designer sheets or girls underwear. A thick disheveled mane surrounded its head, an amazingly beautiful, pale corn-husk yellow. It was the only thing that reminded Dylan of Liam's sad, messy, murky blond hair.

The creature, the pony, looked up at Dylan with unnaturally green eyes. It couldn't be four feet tall.

“Dylan?”

“D...Dude. Mother fuck. Shit, dude. I mean.... Man.”

The pony nervously looked down and pawed the carpet with one hoof.

Dylan's heart was pounding. This was for real, this was someone he knew. Someone he lived with. They had isolated themselves from the world as long as they could, insulated themselves, in their apartment, watching as if from another planet altogether, the madness of a fairyland rising from the sea, the insanity of the human race being converted into an alien, magical species. They had made it a show to themselves, an amusement. A fiction.

But now this fiction was fact, and it was digging at his carpet, in his apartment, and it lived there. Liam was home.

* * * * *

They had eaten dinner, Dylan offering Liam a chicken wing. That was interesting; everyone knew Equestrians were vegetarians, and both were curious how this new Earth Pony equinoid body would react to meat if it were presented. Meat was available, but somewhat frowned upon in the Conversion Bureaus themselves, so this was Liam's first re-acquaintance with a favored staple. The little stallion tried, but even the smell was too much. “It... it smells like death” was how he put it.

Dylan, tried some of the food Liam had brought home in the sack. The sack was filled with hay -lots of hay- some alfalfa, some unusually large and colorful flowers, some amazing apples, and, of all things, muffins in a box. The hay tasted awful, like trying to eat a broom, and the flowers just tasted of chlorophyll and nothing. The muffins were pretty good. The apples were like nothing Dylan had ever tasted. They didn't look real; they were some shade of perfect, and the taste and smell sang to him of something long forgotten in his childhood, something sweet, and pure. The apples made him sad, too, though he did not understand why.

They talked nervously to each other through this, Liam the Pony exclaiming the rich deliciousness of the hay, the unbelievable savor of the flowers. “That's one thing that has changed, dude. Your sense of taste is way fucked up!”

Pony Liam visibly shrank at that. What had Dylan said? “You alright dude? Liam?” The pony brightened “Yuppers! I'm fine! I am very happy to be home with you!”

That struck Dylan. “You never say 'YUPPERS', dude. And that prissy 'I am very happy' crap. Fuck, man. 'You are very happy to be home with me?' What kind of shit is that? Are you OK?”

The pony shrank again. It was instant. As though he had been hit by an invisible fist. Then he was back, all gigantic eyes and pony smile “I must have said 'yup' sometime. Everyone says 'Yup'. And I am happy to be home.” Those huge eyes – they seemed the size of soccer balls to Dylan – stared back with unnerving innocence.

“You didn't say 'yup', motherfucker, you said 'YUPPERS'. Dylan intoned the word in a musical, flaming way. Again, Pony Liam shrank.

“FUCK! SHIT! PISS! COCKSUCKER!” yelled Dylan at the little violet pony. Each time it jerked, subtly, but definitely. Dylan leaned close and softly whispered “Motherfuckercocksucker”. Pony Liam shuddered. He. Shuddered.

Time passed. Pony and human had retreated to opposite sides of their space in the apartment, out of mutual necessity. Dylan could hear the pony in the Other Bedroom clumsily knocking about, probably trying to manipulate his possessions with mouth and hoof. Dylan stared out the grimy window, at the deep, dim red disk of the sun staring out of the gray smog of Los Angeles. The bubble of Equestria was coming. Already it was at the edge of the city, Bakersfield was now a hilly meadow within an invading universe. Parts of the city were already dangerous to be in, the magical radiation too dense to remain in for long. In time, within another year, this apartment would be... Equestria.

The smog was clearing. Bright rays struck Dylan's eyes, shocking him. The gray blanket was being peeled back, faster and faster. He could no longer stare at the disk of the sun, it was too bright. Yellow and pink and deep blue sunset, something he had never seen outside of media, dazzled his vision. The sky really was blue.

Dylan made out what was causing this impossible change. Pegasuses... Pegasai he corrected himself, hundreds of them, in every color he could imagine, swept as one round and round the Los Angeles sky. They dissolved the smog, battered it, swirled it up like cotton candy, dragging it behind them, on into and past the now-visible bubble that loomed and shone beyond. When the smog trail entered the curving Equestrian expanse, it vanished. Purified, he imagined. Cleansed.

The Barrier was so close. It was so impossibly vast. It shimmered like a soap bubble. The smog had hidden it all this time. He had no idea it was so close and so incredibly huge.

The sun finally set, and for the first time in his life, Dylan saw stars. Not many, for there were many lights in the city, but some. Stars. Stars in a sky that was not gray.

* * * * *

Shopping with Liam The Pony was a strange new world for Dylan. They had gradually come to an understanding of how to deal with each other, and this first week, though rough, was increasingly feeling more acceptable to Dylan. He wasn't sure how much of the pony was still Liam exactly.

Sometimes, in the dark, watching the new, regularly cleaned sky out the big window, they would talk and for a while it seemed, in the dark, that nothing had changed. Just Liam. But then Dylan would say something or make a joke, and the reaction was Not Liam. “It's just that, well, I don't feel angry enough to use those kind of words, to talk about... things like that. I... I just feel too happy, too... light... to go there. I'm sorry, Dylan. I don't mean to be... frustrating.” Dylan didn't feel frustrated, he felt scared, somehow.

Pony Liam was social. That was new. Old human Liam was, like Dylan, uncomfortable around people. People were a danger, they were always up to something, they always had an angle, they always wanted a piece of you. You had to be on your toes in the city, you had to know when to talk and who you could talk to, and above all, who to not even look in the eye.

The new pony market had been a gas station, once. Now it was a space covered with open bins of fresh produce, hay and oats and alfalfa, flowers and vegetables. There was a bakery area, with pies and cakes and other treats. There was a very small human section. It was increasingly hard to find human-food markets, since the large supermarts had pulled out of town. Dylan longed for the days of processed meats and burger stands.

Dylan chose a stack of instant meals – beef stroganoff, cup noodle, mexi-rice with beans, dehydrated jobs that could be reconstituted quickly. It was what was available; most humans had fled Los Angeles long ago, or become ponies. The Barrier meant nothing to the ponies. They could freely walk through it, and often did.

A pony family ran the market, and Liam was always so friendly with them. He was friendly from the first moment they found the market, and dealt with the couple and their two foals as if they had always been friends. This was Not-Liam in action. Not-Liam always came out grinning and friendly when meeting anyone.

“Have you two stallions been enjoying yourselves?” Mister Whitemane was carefully packing up their purchases, he had already put Liam's favorite muffins into their shopping sack. Mister Whitemane was a newfoal, as was his family, and they were transformed humans that continued to live on human land. Dylan did not know Mister Whitemane's real name, his human name. He had changed his name to something more Equestrian, as best he could, because 'It sounded better!'.

“Oh yes, Mister Whitemane! Dylan and I have lots of fun. Yesterday we went to see the Shield! It was beautiful! Have you been there?” Dylan had touched the bubble, a flat wall extending to infinity, dividing earth from Equestria. There was a place, one of a few nearby locations, where the magical radiation somehow was not strong, perhaps like a faded radio signal, or perhaps where waves of magic canceled themselves out, a safe-for-humans spot where both he and Liam could visit the barrier without ill effect.

Dylan had run his hand over the iridescent wall, it felt hard as diamond, frictionless, and neither warm nor cold. It was just there, impossible to pass, impenetrable. Liam had happily trotted across the magical wall, it was but air to him, and Dylan saw Liam's violet hooves press upon the most perfect, bright, splendid grass he had ever seen. Looking across into that colorful land had moved Dylan in some fashion he could not say. He had turned away. He didn't want Liam to see. The fucker would probably make a big deal out of it, try to comfort him like some fucking pussy. He couldn't deal with that crap.

“Oh you are so going to enjoy this weeks' alfalfa, Liam. It comes straight from Equestria itself! We will be getting shipments from there regularly now. A taste of the homeland!” Liam cantered with joy “Yay!” Sometimes -no, all the time – Liam was like a child now. He was like an innocent, loving child. A part of Dylan had begun to hate this. Despise this. It burned.

“Have you thought of a new name, Liam? A proper pony name? Sayyyy.... something like 'Violet Fetlocks? Oh! That sounds nice!”

That was the last straw. That was it. That was the shit. The fucking shit. Dylan turned and strode away. He walked and walked. He couldn't go home. This motherfucking prissy pony shit.

* * * * *

Dylan was in a bad part of town, but it didn't matter much, what with the only threat, other humans, evacuated for the most part. There were still dangers, of course, a few, rare roving bands of punk shitheads, gang fucktards that stayed around to partake of the last days of Los Angeles, but this was not on Dylan's mind.

Pony or flee. These were his options. He could become like Liam, or he could flee. Somewhere. Anywhere. There would be ponies wherever he went, of course, but he could get away from the expanding Bubble, the growing magical field, and ultimately, Liam.

Liam and he used to be friends. They could shoot the shit with each other into the morning. They shot the hell out of opponents online. Liam was a great fighter. He was fucking awesome online. They had not played together since the first night. Liam couldn't take all the blood. He couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. He didn't feel good hurting anything.

And that was it. That was what had been lost. That part of Liam, that part of his humanity was gone. The killer ape, the murderous primate. It was gone. The anger, the force inside that made a man tough, the rush of domination. Gone. Dead. Liam just wanted to be...

What was it that Liam wanted? To be a friend. That hurt Dylan the most. He couldn't get mad at Liam. He couldn't even swear at Liam. He couldn't because no matter what he did, Liam just tried harder to be a good friend. Liam was ...nice. He was so fucking nice. And Dylan was not. Not like that.

He never thought of himself as a bad person. He felt he was an OK guy. He was a good friend. The time human Liam, old Liam couldn't make rent AND food, he spotted him. He never even expected to see the money back. That's being a friend, isn't it? It wasn't like he was evil.

It's just that, dammit, where was the fucking fire? What had happened to Liam? And if he went pony, what would happen to him? What would he be? Who would he be? What the fuck did conversion steal from humans? Was it gone forever?

Dylan slept in an abandoned hotel. He picked the fanciest room, he deserved it. He did not feel like watching the Pegasai colorfully sweep the horizon. He pulled the drapes shut. He kept the room dark. He felt dark.

“I'm sorry, Dylan” The huge, shining green eyes seemed deeply concerned “I really wanted to play, and I really appreciate the wonderful mindset - it is a fantastic gift – but...” pale violet hooves pawed the carpet again “..Maybe we could try playing something else? Something a little less, well, violent. I can't help it. It just... makes me feel sad, I guess.”

Sad. It made him feel sad. The pretty pony feels sad. Not scared. Not disturbed. Not disgusted. Maybe a little. Yes, disgusted. It was on his face. His muzzle. Whatever. But the bottom line was that he was sad.

Like it was somehow wrong. Like a good round of killing the shit out of people was indicative of... a lesser status. That fucking pony was acting superior! Superior! That was the problem! Liam the precious pony princess was Better Than Everyone. Better than....

Better than human.

That thought startled Dylan. All of his life he had been angry, angry at people, because they fucking sucked. People were mean and selfish and cruel, and the world was mean and selfish and cruel, and there was no end of assholes. Fucktards on the net, asshats on the street, sociopaths in the government, and raping pirate cocksuckers ripping up the planet for profit everywhere. Every fucking man for himself.

Every fucking man. For himself.

Every pony for... each other. For everyone.

Dylan tossed and turned for hours before he finally fell asleep.

Dylan was six. He was at some kind of street festival. It was in the Latino part of town. There was music and men in fancy outfits playing horns. His mommy had taken him there. It was so bright, and everyone was so happy. A plump elderly woman squatted down and patted him on the head. She said something to his mommy he couldn't understand. Then she gave him candy. He beamed at her. Without thinking he grabbed her leg in his arms and held her. She stroked his hair and said things he couldn't make out. He waved to the nice lady. He waved to the band. People waved back. And all he knew in all the world was that life was pretty.

* * * * *

Liam trotted to the kitchen. Turning his head sideways he gripped the refrigerator door in his mouth and pulled it open. He pulled out his bag of alfalfa. Mister Whitemane had been right, real Equestrian produce was unbelievably good. For the past three weeks, since Dylan had disappeared, Liam had made a point of getting the imported grains and flowers. It was something cheery, and he needed that, because he couldn't help but worry about his best friend.

And Dylan was his best friend, he had realized that the moment he woke up after his conversion. Even while he had been first learning to walk with his new legs, he had been thinking, in the back, about whether he would one day impress his friend with how well he could trot. He had felt shame that he had never told Dylan how much he appreciated him. How he had basically just taken him for granted.

Every day, Liam had gone out to try to find Dylan. He had asked some of his new pegasus friends to keep an eye out for a dark haired human. He had even consulted a local unicorn, in the hopes that some work of magic could find Dylan. But while the unicorn was an early convert, she had no means of helping him.

Liam, by now, had many friends among the ponies of 'Los Pegasus' as everypony was starting to call the city. Occasionally he had heard rumors of sightings of a man, or men, but so far, nopony had definitively found Dylan.

Liam put some of the alfalfa into his big bowl. It was his favorite bowl, because it was wide and brightly colored. He went back to the fridge for some carrots. Carrots were now spicy-sweet treats to Liam, they tasted nothing like he remembered from his old days as a human.

He carried his meal, when he had finished preparing it, gripped tightly in his teeth, over to the table by the threevee. He liked eating there, it reminded him of days with Dylan, and it was nice and low so that he could eat comfortably, sitting on his haunches.

He dipped his muzzle into the bowl, the cool fragrance of Equestria filling his nostrils. It sang softly of rolling green hills perfect for galloping over, of crystal streams and green -so green- shading trees. Breezes so pure they almost sparkled, and vast fields of colorful, delicious flowers.

There was a knock at the door. For a moment, Liam was excited, but his keen ears knew the difference in sound between a human knuckle and a pony hoof. Liam stood up, licked the last savory strand of alfalfa from the edge of his muzzle, and trotted over to the door.

There was no need for locks anymore, everyone in Los Pegasus' was Pony now (except, he dearly hoped, for one special human) and that made opening the door much less of a chore. Carefully gripping the handle in his mouth, the little violet Earth Pony flipped the latch with a strong tongue, and pulled the door open.

“Hello...” he began, “May I help you?”

Outside the door was a bright yellow stallion, with a dramatic midnight black mane and tail. He had a simple cloth bag in his teeth, which Liam recognized as a release bag, often offered to the converted as they left the Conversion Bureaus, providing them with an initial supply of food and essentials to assist them in their new lives. Liam had been given one. He still had it, for sentimental reasons.

“Iffl Mffl, Fyffm!” the yellow pony tried to say around the bag.

“Oh! You must be looking for somepony for company, being new and all? No place to go? I'm glad you found me! Please, come in, come in friend!” Liam backed up to allow the new pony to enter the apartment. The yellow Earth Pony trotted in, a little unsteadily, and sat in the middle of the room. He finally dropped the bag from his teeth.

The cup was filled with a purple fluid. It was sometimes referred to as 'Potion', short for something like 'Ponification Transformation Solution' or some such term. He swirled it with his fingers, and it shone like something metallic, which it might well have been. It had been explained to him that it was a suspension of nanotechnology infused with some astonishing form of Equestrian magic - real magic – a combination of earth and Equestrian technology. He supposed magic could be called technology. It did stuff, after all.

It tasted... like grape. Artificial grape. Like a bad brand of jelly, or perhaps cool-aid. He was finally 'drinking the cool-aid'. The joke made him laugh. The stainless steel platform was cold under his naked buttocks. He downed the rest in a single gulp. A strange feeling spread through him, even as his consciousness left. He did not know for sure if he only imagined his head hitting the platform with a thud.

He was in some timeless space, floating, a dream that was not a dream, or perhaps it was. The shining form of Celestia and her sister goddess Luna were before him. “Troubled one, what is it that you seek in Equestrian life?” The question was kind, loving, almost motherly.

“I want..” the words formed in his mind, for he had no body with which to speak “I want kindness. I want to be... innocent.”

And he was filled with light, and laughter, and he became six again, and he knew, beyond any doubt or any fear, that life was pretty. And then the colors sang to him.

Dylan was hugging back, as best he could with his new legs, and Liam was all violet coat and cornsilk mane surrounding him, and Liam was crying pony tears of gladness, because his new friend was his best friend, and the hug went on for a long, long time, until the sniffles stopped. It was all very emotional, and very raw, and very sappy, and very honest.

And Dylan found that he didn't mind. No, he didn't mind it at all. In fact, he loved it.

THE END

Dylan and Liam return!
This story has a sequel in Chapter Five of 'Tales Of Los Pegasus' entitled: The City In Violet.

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: A 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

Injectorverse Works:
I.D. - That Indestructible Something

The Non-Conversion Bureau Fanfics:
The Ice Cream Pony Summer
Around The Bend