Side Effects

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

When Equestria first appeared there were multiple reactions. Most were inquisitive, wondering what the arrival of the new land might entail. Some thought that aliens had finally landed and started their complex procedures to ‘protect’ themselves. Of course then there was the minority that saw it as a threat instead of a peaceful land.

The ponies moved quickly, setting up conversion bureaus to ‘help’ humanity make the step from its evil life. As soon as these went up I became convinced of the true nature of the ponies. It was a classic takeover move, first offer peace, while hiding behind their backs the knife of genocide..

Before that, however, I was foolish, I actually thought that ponification would be the solution, the way out of this life of pain and hurt. Along with the many people I flocked to the conversion centers. I wasn’t the first but to my future disappointment I wasn’t the last either.

Thankfully I had second reservations about ponification and opted to come back at a later date. Not too soon either, a group who called themselves The HLF started attacking the bureaus. The one I had recently attended had actually been hit pretty hard, killing humans and ponies alike.

After hearing the reports of violence from both sides I started to question the purity of the pony’s actions. Days after the first attacks started these princesses sent out messages across radio and T.V. encouraging all humans willing to be ponified to hurry and make the commitment. They also pleaded with those that had attacked to cease hostilities, which the HLF didn’t.

Soon others from my neighborhood came knocking at my door. They presented themselves as a polar opposite to the Human Liberation Front, Ponies for Earth Rebirth, or PER. Some had seen or heard secondhand that I had been to a bureau previously. Most ponies handed me brochures, while the humans had extensive talks about my salvation and other crap like that. Of course I gave all of them the same answer, ‘I’ll do it soon as I get ready, you know what I mean.’

I never did get ready, I always second guessed my motives for going. Days turned into months and months into years. I did not, however spend those years twiddling my thumbs. When I wasn’t plagued by door to door salesponies I scavenged local stores for food. I was one of few humans in town that had not converted, so it was a trivial task.

Soon it turned to an everyday occurrence of getting one or sometimes two ponies knocking on my door urging me to make the change, describing how amazing it would feel, how free I would be. When the requests became more like demands I knew. I knew that Celestia would not stop until all humans were converted.

So, I panicked. I’m not proud of what I did, but neither do I regret my decision. If I had not done what I had done I would not have survived this long.

Using siphoned gasoline from abandoned cars I constructed a dirty bomb. It was crude, probably not even powerful enough to kill from 15 feet away. After packing up what I could in my car I placed it in my living room. Hopefully the ponies would discount it as a cooking accident and write me off as dead, never to be seen again.

It had worked well, after taking one last look at the place I set the timer and made my way out of the city, away from population.

The bomb had exploded prematurely, but still delivered the same effect I had hoped for. The house immediately caught fire and ponies screamed as they ran from their homes, paying no attention to the lone car leaving the town. No doubt the fire was contained before it spread, at least I hoped it had. My neighbors hadn’t been bad people; they just made a fatal choice that ruined their lives.

I was distraught after that. I had just my house, my hope and now had no idea what was going to become of myself. So I just drove, drove away from familiarity, away from my previous life, away from those accursed ponies.

I ended up burning up all my fuel. Whether it was a good thing that I stopped right outside a pony populated city or not I still don’t know. But one thing was for sure, my rampage throughout pony history was still to be written. Even while I drove the hatred grew and festered until the mere thought of conversion made me want to puke, and thoughts of ponies incited a twitchy finger as if I was about to fire a gun.

Using brute strength built up from mostly doing most of my house and yard work I had managed to push my vehicle in the garage of an abandoned skyscraper. It had apparently been hit by a bomb or missiles or some other explosive because the top half was cut off leaving a jagged edge. Most of the glass near the top of the large structure was gone and electricity was out, but otherwise it was paradise.

I spent six days scouring that building, finding almost nothing of use. A few coffee machines here and there, with some snacks mixed in. The only semi-useful things to be pilfered were ink pens and paperweights to use as writing and impromptu weapons.

Life was a boring monotony from then on, I rose up out of bed, checked the outside for any sign of curiosity the ponies had in the building and then watched the news to find out about any new developments. One such day, I was watching the T.V. as a couple HLF leaders were preaching, there really is no other word for it, about the evils of ponykind, that is he had until the sun princess, Celestia, had taken over the screen. She seemed to be able to see me and I’m not proud that I almost wet myself and flipped over the couch in surprise. Celestia, the ‘loving’ ruler of ponies, had decided that the human race was too violent to exist in her utopia. All humans were to be paralyzed on sight and brought to a conversion bureau for immediate ponification. After that the regular program turned back on to a chaotic scene. The camera was on the ground as multiple people were running, screaming around as pegasi shot paralyzing darts left and right. It was really happening, humankind was going to be hunted to extinction.

It was horrid at first, I heard screams from outside as some humans who had opted to stay in the city were dragged away from their homes, paralyzed, unable to do anything by scream for help that would never come. They had visited my hideout as well. It was near the edge of the city so they had been expectedly lazy with their search. They came in, saw the decoy I put in the lobby, a blocked staircase and destroyed desk and left without a word.

After that my only goal in life was to avoid capture, but as time passed and anger was left to brew, hatred replaced the flight instinct with fight. I wanted to kill ponies for taking the human out of humanity. Unfortunately my only tools of destruction consisted of throwable objects. I need projectile weapons, guns and explosives.

The nightly raids began small as I snuck around at night, making absolutely sure that I would not be seen. Other than a few guards loafing about, probably set to make sure no humans entered, there wasn’t anyone of hindrance.

After several runs I had happened upon a weapons shop. At this I had been excited, finally I would be able to strike back for the loss I suffered. But fate deemed that it wasn’t my time. That particular shop had turned up a few boxes of rounds and 9mm pistol with a few spare clips. It was hardly the firepower I was hoping for and was certainly not enough to hold my own.

Perhaps it was chance that I had decided to go out that one black moonless night, or maybe it was some unknown entity that I had happened to please through some random act silently urging me forward. I left my home and set off once more to a more secluded part of town. I hadn’t gotten far before I heard muffled voices and the clopping of hooves.

You see, my actions had not gone entirely unnoticed by the local populace. Hearing the noises I started my retreat back to base, only to be met by 5 unicorns holding dart guns, backed up by 7 pegasi and 3 earth ponies. They had surrounded the building and called out for me to exit and surrender peacefully.

I had cursed my luck at the moment. I made my way through town and almost shot a few ponies only to realize half a second before I pulled the trigger that it would be my end. It wasn’t all bad that those ponies had found me out. Forcing me to move caused me to stumble across a converted human or what the ponies called ‘newfoals’. I had wandered through the suburban jungle for hours, finding absolutely nothing of use. Numerous ponies still wandered the streets, apparently the raid had aroused them somewhat.

I skirted most of them, but ended up right in front of a door when it opened. I still smirk at the memory of pulling out my sidearm, pointing it at him and demanding that he return inside. The pony had taken it in stride and tried reasoning with me. I almost blew his head open right there and then, but again that little in my voice convinced me not to.

The stallion’s name was Frederick Donovan, he had refused to be called by a pony name. He had been caught in transit, trying to leave the town. After killing two of the attackers he was hit with a paralyzing dart and dragged off. He had cursed his fate, putting a hoof on my shoulder telling me, ‘If you can avoid it, do so at all costs. It’s a living hell.’ What I wanted to know is why he wasn’t a mindless drone like the others. Turns out I had managed to find the one in a million pony that had not fully converted. His body was changed but his mind only buzzed every now and then with pony thoughts that were easily dismissible.

Also he happened to be one of that small percentage of people that had counted Equestria as a threat rather than a blessing. Turns out the store I had tried to raid had actually belonged to him, and it was empty because he had taken the contents and placed them underground in a warehouse outside of town.

He led me to it, thankfully around all guards and patrols. A few ponies almost caught a glimpse of me but his quick thinking always shoved me down or into an alley. When we arrived he bucked the lock off and I opened the rusty doors. Other than the loud rolling noise they hardly made noise. If they had I wouldn’t be here talking to a wall now would I? He opened up the false floor and showed me the Inside. I was like a schoolkid who had found his long lost marbles. My first thought was to go for the big guns and then go wreck something. The more rational part of me urged me back to reality and I choose only that which I could carry by myself. My car was out of commission and I saw no others on the road I might borrow, so only what I could carry could go with me.

Unfortunately the old pony didn’t have it in him to deal with his current situation. I still feel like crying as I remember his last wish, a sort of, payment for the arms. He unlocked a old dusty box in the corner and had grabbed a silver handled revolver with his mouth. With a hardened resolve I took the revolver from him and he sat down putting his forehead to the barrel. It took only one shot, but to say that I did him a favor is an understatement.

No doubt, in the heat of the moment, I had forgotten just how loud those things could be. However, denying a last request to a poor broken soul was a horrible thing to do, if I had I would’ve have been no better than the Equestrians, forcing him to live out a life he did not desire. So I hastily bandaged his wound and buried him with the guns he had made a living with before leaving town.

Life became a blur of running, settling down, ambushing and then more running. It was a vicious cycle that never ended. I would find one place that was decent, then I would feel a horrid fire build up inside when I saw a pony. The fire would blaze until I took up my rifle and blew the sorry bastards head off. The body would fall, ponies would scream and I would leave.

I was not cruel, hate-driven, but not cruel. I didn’t always kill, and when I did it was a quick and clean shot that caused no pain, of course unless you're one of those people that likes to think that people hear the shot that kills them.

Over time though, my marksmanship developed and I soon became wanted among the pony population. As the ponies’ defenses became more advanced my attacks started to become elaborate. One time I found out where the camp was supposed to be located and place the explosive beforehand. Of course I couldn’t escape detection. After one such attack I found myself looking at the monarch of the ponies herself, Princess Celestia. She was regal that much was for sure, with her pristine white coat and flowing rainbow like mane. But her eyes, her eyes portrayed her true emotion, anger, fused with disappointment.

Thankfully I hadn’t gotten the ‘honor’ of meeting the dictator herself. She had teleported in the middle of the camp I had just attacked and scanned the surroundings looking for me. I thought for sure I was caught when her vision fell upon me. I turned and ran; I should have taken a shot or two at her, suffering the conversion knowing that I had hurt the one who had destroyed humankind. I was a coward though and ran away.

My expertise with weapons was ultimately my downfall. I attracted the attention of freedom fighters after I had attacked a small pony camp outside of town. It was simple bomb, mostly just made for fun, seeing the ponies scurry like the animals they were was satisfying. Lets them know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of panic.

I was approached on my way back to my temporary safe house. I remember vividly the man’s face, for he had been the leader, and ultimately, the one who had ruined my life for good. He put a hand on my shoulder only to receive a knife blade pressed against his neck. My action had elicited response from hidden gunmen as I heard the unmistakable click of safeties being switched off. I had laughed at the display and sheathed my knife. The man had not shared my jovialness and immediately introduced himself as ‘Ghost’ the leader of that sector’s human resistance.

Apparently the resistance had tried to track me down in the past, but had never actually caught up due to my habit of changing towns and cities once I felt the urge.

I was fed the usual bullshit about being a ‘essential’ recruit, having a wide array of skills made me somewhat valuable. ‘Son, you have talent. It shouldn’t be wasted by attacking small targets.’ He said to me.

So, in my ignorance, I accepted the invitation. Most of my possessions, which numbered few, were distributed amongst the group. I saw to it, however, that the revolver and my first gun, the 9mm, never left my side. Before, it had seemed like a wise decision, I couldn’t go on raiding and blowing up stuff without getting caught for long, but looking back now, I probably would have been better off by myself.

After that my sleep schedules were frequently interrupted by intrusion of a pegasi patrol or a midnight raiding party. I would never have had that problem traveling alone, but with the group it became a regular issue.

After a month I mentally divided my fellow fighters into two groups. Those who had too much zeal and those either scarred from emotional memories or actual encounters. One fellow even told me, after much convincing, how he had been captured and forced to stand in line while scream after scream issued from the dreaded conversion room. It was only by sheer coincidence that he had escaped when a group of former HLF went on a suicide run, intent on killing everyone.

Despite this however, he choose not to go back into hiding. He had told me on no uncertain terms, ‘I am not going to get taken in after being found. If I am taken in I’m going to take a few of them with me.’ He became my unofficial friend.

Our first loss came when our benevolent leader stumbled upon a supposed recruitment opportunity. After finding signs of human life we had explored a small town. When we found a lit house all hell had broken loose as pegasi dropped from the roofs and a mix of unicorn and earth pony barged out of the houses, dart guns spraying wildly.

I had managed to snag my newest friend and escape, moving to the designated fallback place, but four more human beings became ponies because of that screw up, and for that I resented Ghost. While I admire those who could rise to the challenge of being a leader, those who abused the position were little more than dirt.

My resentment grew and soon I found more people who thought similarly. For every one man he recruited Ghost killed three more.

It had taken 3 months to finally figure out that we were headed for destruction. Three months wasted behind leadership that was failing. I had had enough. I remember 5 others sympathized greatly with me and had opted to up and leave. Though none gave me anything but code-names I doubt I would have remembered their real ones should they have given them as well.

So we up and left, taking with us a couple weapons each, a large man named Brick had taken a bit more being bigger, but he compensated by carrying more ammunition for the rest of. To this day I still don’t consider it stealing, it was more like payment for services rendered.

I smile as I recollect the argument over who should be leader. Fortunately it wasn’t a petty fight about how much a single person wanted to be leader, but how much the others wanted someone to.

Me and a guy named Harry were selected, though I wasn’t told about it until later. When I found out I objected animatedly. Not only did I consider myself fit for a leader position, and still don’t, I did not want the position either. I’m more of a follower you see, better at making small decisions. rather than life changing big ones that could mean life or death

fortunately Harry was willing to take the job so he was unanimously ‘elected’. Under his leadership we hit hard against ponies. Instead of camping outside, we housed ourselves in buildings making sure to post sentry snipers that rotated during the day.

We had been attacked several times. The first few times the attacks were not very organized. Just a few militia pegasi that thought they could take us alone, until their heads exploded. After that the attacks became more elaborate. We lost a cool guy named ‘Shade’ after the 7th raid. He had used his trademark sword to skewer a few ponies before a more resilient one shot him before it died. We were unable to save him because we were quickly run out by ponies that were hopeful that another would join them. Thankfully the poor bastard didn’t get ponified. Somehow he had gotten his hands on a cyanide pill and popped it before they got to him. I can sometimes close my eyes and see his wicked smile as the foam started to roll out of his mouth and ponies screamed for a medic.

It didn’t take long to go under. A few weeks passed and more and more confrontations turned into defensive lines rather than attacking ones. I knew it couldn’t last long, and I’m glad it did last as long of course, but eventually we were cornered in a building with no way out.

The stupid thing was, we hadn’t been cornered by ponies. Ghost had finally caught up to us and wanted revenge for the weapons and manpower we had ‘stolen’ from him. His smug face is burned into my memory as his men barricaded the doors and he pulled out a flare gun.

I knew then that it was the end, my suffering and rebellion was to be cut short by a coward of a man, unfit for anything more than grunt work. Too bad I’ll be ponied today or else I’d steal the most powerful sniper I could find and slowly dismember the man for stabbing his own kind in the back.

The flare gun did its job well. Though I still wonder it took the ponies a full 10 minutes to show up, by which time we had almost pried off one barricade. They didn't find much when they managed to finish what we had started. Inside the lobby stood our loving leader, detonator in mouth, ready to bite.

It had been Harry’s idea to go out with a bang. With no comforting words he ordered us to return to the basement and try to hide until the ponies left, hopefully thinking that he had been the only one.

I assume everything went as planned because as soon as I had placed myself under a table a large explosion sounded off, shaking the entire structure. I expected the roof to come down on us any moment, but I was sorely mistaken. We learned later that the quick thinking of some unicorns had contained the explosion within a number of shields.

It didn’t take long for us to get caught. Earth ponies and unicorns alike stomped down the stairs to find 5 humans all waiting for them to just disappear like a bad memory. I have to admit the superior trigger fingers those guys had. I took 4 darts in the arm and 2 in the chest while the rest also gained multiple protrusions.

That is the end of my story. I am now 5th in line to get converted. After finding out who I was the animals had accelerated the process, with my fellow teammates gaining positions not far behind.

“Hey, human, Jacob?” A guard called.

“I’m sorry he isn't here right now, call back later!” I called sarcastically.

The guard isn't smiling as he opens the cage and drags me out with his magic, forcing me to walk with him to the conversion chamber where the daily conversions will commence in 30 seconds. I could make this difficult for him of course but it would cause nothing but trouble for me.

I wait my turn and am forced into the room with another pony that has a lab coat on. He smiled at me before forcing my mouth open with magic and grabbing a vial of the accursed liquid. His smile vanished when I tripped him though. I laughed out loud best I could with my mouth propped open as I watched him fall.

He’s just a decoy! My mind screamed. My laughter ceased as a second bottle was levitated up to my view. “Don’t worry it will all be over soon.” I heard a female voice call before I tasted the vile grape flavored substance running down my throat and my agony began.

Chapter 2

Oh the agony. I grit my teeth as my bones melted and grew back. My joints rearranged themselves into new angles and my head elongated.

Cries of alarm were heard and subsequently ignored. They weren’t important, what was important was survival. This pain could not take me, even if I must do so in the form of a pony, I must survive. More fluid made its way into my now awkward mouth. I don’t know why they were pouring more in, but if they wanted it in, I wanted it out.

My tongue hadn’t formed, but I tried my best to remove what I could from my mouth. I felt a small bit dribble down the side of my mouth before it was clamped closed.

With the entry of more liquid my body started to convulse more. My vision dimmed to that of a dark room before I lost consciousness.

I shuddered as my vision registered a castle interior. It wasn’t the castle per say that scared me, it was the two pony gods sitting on the thrones across the room from me.

They both smiled at me and gestured for me to come forward. The force inside me insisted that I do so, but I resisted. These were my enemies, not my friends. With much effort I took a step back, and another, and another.

The faces of the princesses went from loving to confusion and then to surprise as I managed to bump my rear into the wall behind me. I spun around to find the exit from this hell, two solid gold double doors. I threw myself into them, desperate to escape, to release myself from the sight of the demons I had cursed for the past 8 years.

The world started to dim slightly, but then resumed its normally bright hue. “Please!” I heard her voice echo across the room. I turned my head, an action I would have to get used to given the circumstances. Celestia had risen from her throne and was no longer smiling. “Why do you resist, you can be free, happy. Why must there be hostility?” She moved closer. The number of feet between me and her decreased slightly with every step she took, and every step brought more numbing to my senses, damping my fight or flight instinct and increasing a desire to sit and listen to everything she had to say.

When I turned to face her and seal my fate, my butt hit the gold door. Pain wracked through me and shocked me out of her hypnotic gaze. My face contorted to that of fright and I threw myself at the gold doors once more, harder than I ever had, desperate now to escape the eternal torture behind me.

With a bang I burst through. I was not met with a hallway however, but emptiness, not unlike space without stars. I looked around a bit before feeling a watchful presence. I turned back and saw the sun goddess, her brow furrowed, standing in the doorway. The scene faded slightly and before the single portal of light dimmed and I lost sight of her I heard a low voice. “Luna, I will be leaving soon, prepare for my departure.”

“...n’t think he will make it.” A feminine voice was talking sadly. I blinked away the blurriness and let my eyes focus from the influx of light. A high pitched squeal sounded off to my left as the voice returned. “You’re awake! Oh I’m so glad! When you only got a partial dose we tried desperately to get the rest in you before your body killed itself. You were out longer than most and our schedule was starting to become in jeopardy.” I turned my head to face the light blue pony that had spoken.

She lifted her muzzle from her clipboard and faced me. “My apologies, my name is Azure Mist, welcome to the herd Jacob Wright.”

My eyes widened and panic set in. I looked down at my dark blue legs that ended in hooves, and my black tail that stuck out at the end of my body. I turned towards her, panic clearly shown on my face.

She ran to the wall and pressed a large red button and spoke into it. “We have a potential breakdown, send in buffers.” I flopped off the table, instantly feeling light headed. I made my way drunkenly towards the mare. I couldn’t be a pony, it just wasn’t possible. I tried everything, I had planned too well for things to end like this.

My face softened to a more pleading look. “Please tell me this isn’t real.” My legs felt like jelly and I was on the verge of collapsing when two large ponies blew through the door and pinned me. “Please, this can’t be real...” I let my head drop and my body flop to the ground in an undignified heap. “I’m sorry Jacob, this is your life now, accept the wonderfulness and the freedom that you have now. Your old life is gone, you can live however you want now!”

I look up at her, “And what if I choose to live the way I want and not the way you desire me to live?” She seemed puzzled by the statement and shifted back. My rage was back. Here was yet another who deemed it their right to direct my life and do whatever they wanted to me. With unexpected energy I launched myself at her and managed to wrap my hooves around her neck, trying foolishly to strangle her as if I had hands.

The ‘Buffers’ grabbed hold of me and yanked me off of the mare, but I was hardly finished. Using the strength of my new legs I threw them off and bolted for the now open door.

I froze at the sight of a long line of humans guarded closely by ponies of all races. My chest heaved and my eyes panned around the room. The people in line stared back at me, obviously curious as to why I had not behaved like the others.

My thoughts were interrupted by a yell behind me. “I don’t know what’s wrong but stop him!” It was that mare again. Two of the pegasus guards turned towards me and were took a few small steps towards me. I understood what they were trying to do, I jumped forward and flipped around as the two ponies from before lept onto the spot where I had been standing.

This can’t be happening, I’m stuck as a equine, the very thing that I’ve tried so hard to kill and eradicate for so long. Now they are trying to capture me. No no no no no. “NO!” I snorted and charged the first guard I saw. He had absolutely no time to react as I bowled into him, planting a fore-hoof into his head as I passed by. The second had more time to prepare and blocked my attack.

Blind rage coursed through me as I tried my best to stomp the pony in front of me. Another came at me from the side and knocked me down. I brought my head to his and then we collided, adrenaline negating the pain I had received. With three guards down the people in line were starting to get antsy. My mind cleared for a moment, trying to register what this meant to me. Then one started cheering and hollering for me to get another. Before I could congratulate myself on my success however another smack from the side caused my thoughts to become muddled.

“I don’t know what with wrong with your conversion, but this ends here and now.” I turned and looked the stone faced pony in the eyes. His expression was neutral and his eyes unforgiving pits. For a moment fear started to rise as I realized that he was going to beat me.

He turned towards to the humans in line and glowered at them. “Stop that racket and stand still, conversion will continue on schedule.” After a moment the noises died down, coughs punctuating the end of some. “As for you,” His nose now rested a foot away from mine in an authoritative manner. “you are coming with me to be detained until the princesses can be informed.”

My eyes grew wide and his mouth changed to a vicious grin. I am NOT letting those freaky ponies near me. And nobody, especially some stuck up guard pony was going to stop me.

I let my head drift away from his in a very meek manner. His smile grew wider as an escape plan formulated in my head. Once I knocked him down the others might not be quick enough to stop me should I decide to escape. however if I try to knock out a few more guards the people in line could potentially rebel and escape, aiding me in the process.

If I left my fellow compatriots, I would be guaranteed an escape with my life, avoiding a confrontation with the devil himself, or herself. No, what a cowardly thing, to think I would abandon my own race just because I wanted to save my own worthless skin. I was a lost cause, they however, still had their whole lives ahead of them. And I dare anyone, be he God, the devil or any other entity let me willingly take that away from them. The dark green guard on top of me drew away as if to get me ready for transport. I gave him the best shit-eating grin I could before using the distance I had gained from backing my head up to gather velocity.

From the impact I could tell that he wasn’t out for the count. However, if he was as stunned as I was then I still had a chance. I smack him in the neck with a hoof and kicked him off me as he was recovering. As planned, the other ponies had no chance to react and I reached a pair before they could do anything. I jumped at them and landed on top of one and catapulted into another, knocking both to the floor.

By the time anyone had reacted I was already in amongst the line of people. I looked up at a young guy, probably no older than 18. “Bro, if there was a time to run, now would be it.” He smiled and tapped the man in front of him and relayed the message. By the time I was dealing with the next set of guards the message had traveled 14 more people and others were already guessing the message, tripping up guards and ‘accidentally’ falling out of line. So far all attention was centered on me.

I knew I couldn’t last long, there were just too many and eventually they would outsmart me. I received my first injury when a pony kicked me in the gut with its hind legs, knocking me back several feet into a corner. They all surrounded me, closing in slowly as I backed away. The tough pony from before shoved his way through the crowd, nostrils flaring, death shown brightly in his eyes.

“End of the line newfoal.” he sneered. The way he used that accursed word instead of human boiled my blood. I was about to charge him when movement registered out of the corner of my eye. Most of the guards had congregated over to me to watch their superior beat me up. This left minimal guards for the rest of the people in line.

The movement I caught was a man grabbing a pony with his arm, effectively choking the creature. The people around him broke when they noticed their babysitter was incapacitated and started to ‘free’ the others. I looked back at the commander, putting on my best innocent smile I could. “Actually I would like to say it is the beginning.” Then all hell broke loose as the boys, men and women all rushed to save me. The ponies surrounding me quickly broke off to quell the rebellion, only to be caught by another person from behind.

While I was momentarily distracted by the loyalty of those I had freed, the commander snorted and pawed the ground, preparing to charge. My head turned in slow motion as he took off from mere feet from me. With my back against the wall there was no way I would survive. Before he reached me however, a monster of a man pinned him against the floor and started punching the pony to death. It didn’t take long for the pony’s face to become more than a stain on the floor.

The man took a look at me and gave me a moment to recognize him. “BRICK! You’re still human!” Surprise registers on his face and he crawls towards me.

“Jake, is that you? Those bastards.” This killed my mood as he reminded me of my current predicament. “Hey thanks for sacrificing to save the rest of us in line, I watched you glance down the hallway.” My mood brightened a bit as he rose to his full height.

A pony clamped onto his back, only to be ripped off and flung against the wall. “Here,” he turned his back to me and gestured with his thumb. “hop on, I don’t care what you look like, we’re still a team.” I gave a genuine smile for the first time in years as I jumped up and held onto his shoulders tightly.

It felt degrading see him wade through the masses of pony on human fighting. I couldn’t do anything to help them, making me feel worthless. I thought numerous times about letting go and helping some poor soul when he went down under a mass of ponies. A quick reminder as to my predicament quelled this idea as I reminded myself that not only would it not do anything, but it would also negate what I’ve been trying to do this entire time, escape.

“You still back there?” Brick called around his shoulder, turning his head to get a good look. I met his gaze and nodded. “Good, now hold on tight, I don’t know how we’re going to get out but it’s going to be rough.

His strides became longer as we exited the main group. A few ponies broke off to give chase, but few were able to keep up with the big man. My greatest challenge was holding on when he turned sharp corners. The first time I almost slid off, the only thing saving me was instinctively biting his shirt as I lost my grip. After this his amr consciously slid back to hold me steady. Even with this added insurance I still kept worrying whether or not I would stay on for the duration of the run.

It was a virtual maze inside the building, there were no windows to break through and almost no doors to speak of. Corner after corner blazed by. By his labored breaths I could tell brick was starting to become short winded from the long haul.

We turned yet another corner and I saw the best thing that I could wish for at the moment. Double doors with the classic green neon EXIT sign over them.

I turned back my head to listen for any sounds of pursuits, not hearing anything I tapped my friend on the shoulder. "Hey, I don't hear anything, I think everyone went to check up on the riot down by the conversion room. Here let me get off so you can rest a little."

I released myself from his neck and slid down his back to meet the floor. At first I had no problem, standing was easy enough, just be still and regain my balance. Well I might not like it, but it's all I got now.

The real trouble started when I tried taking a step forward. Walking like a human was not going to work for me in this body. "Alright, come on." I looked sheepishly up at my companion as he reached down with his big arms to haul me up. "It seems you're still going to have to get used to that before you'll be going anywhere." And so, like a pet, I was carried towards the exit. Though I agreed I needed help, it was still humiliating.

We were ten feet from the doors when I heard a faint rumbling. "Brick, stop! Hide or something! I think there's more ponies behind the doors." He reacted as soon as I started talking. It wasn't enough, I had only just finished when the doors blasted open to reveal the most dangerous creature on two planets, the most hated by humankind, and by far the scariest of all it's predators. There, in the doorway, stood Princess Celestia in all her glory and malevolence.

Chapter 3

Brick immediately put his hand around my muzzle to force it closed. I struggled a bit after this new found restraint. Why the hell was he restraining me instead of hiding?

“Human, put down that pony or it’ll be worse for you.” Ah so that’s why, he thinks if he pretends I’m a hostage that I’ll at least be able to escape.

“I don’t think so, this thing is my hostage,” He picks up a piece of broken glass and holds it to my neck, drawing blood. “you move an inch and so does the glass.”

Celestia is obviously taken aback by the statement but holds her ground. “You will drop that pony or else you won’t make it out of this building alive.” She took a step forward and Brick took a step back

“Your statement implies I was ever going to make it out of here alive in the first place.” He retorts.

Celestia’s brows furrow at his stubbornness. I want to blow her a raspberry but my mouth is currently muffled by my savior’s hand. I don’t think they would get the expression anyways. “We both know you wouldn’t kill that pony, well if he is as much your friend as we believe him to be.” She grinned victoriously.

Well shit, that messes with everything. Much to my surprise the glass dug deeper into my neck, if it goes any farther it’s sure to sever my jugular, or at least the pony equivalent. I know better than to flail, if he means to kill me then it would make the job quicker, but if it’s just a ploy then I would be dead and that wouldn’t be any fun.

Celestia stands tall, her eyes never leaving the glass that was literally spilling out all my lifeblood. My vision darkened a bit as I started to suffer from blood loss. If my fractured calculations are correct, I won’t last another 30 minutes.

“Be that as it may, ‘princess’, every pony should know by now that we humans prefer death over being ponified. I would be doing him a favor by killing him.”

“Then why do you persist to draw out his execution?” Celestia retorted.

This drew an audible smirk from the man. “Because, it seems that you’re obviously very interested in him and therefore he is valuable to you. By putting him at risk I have you by the balls.”

I could tell that the comment about how vulnerable I made her went right over Celestia’s head, but she shook it off before anyone else noticed. “Fine, you humans are the most stubborn of all creatures.” She paused and looked me dead in the eyes, her gaze unwavering as she spoke. “I’ll make you a deal, you can walk out the front doors with all my guards inside. Then when you reach the outside you are to put him down. You will be allowed to leave, attempt to come back and the deal is void however.”

That whor… bitch! She really thinks that she can just entice people with… hey wait why is Brick relaxing? "Hmmph, if there is one thing we learned it's that you ponies are trusting to a fault." He took a step forward, the glass still at my neck but no longer cutting deeper. "You know what I'll take you up on that offer, nobody's life is worth more than my own."

The disgust was plain on Celestia's face. Through my confusion and woozy state I could tell she was angered by the 'every man for himself' statement. Hell I was surprised that I was being ditched so fast after being saved.

He continued forward, walking slowly as the ponies lowered their guns at Celestia's command. As we passed her horn lit up and Brick and I instantly recoiled in defense. She smiled motherly at me before turning a semi glare on my 'captor'. "At ease, I am simply healing him, which is more than you would do." Her soft gaze once again rested on me. My body yearned for her touch, to feel more of the love she seemingly embodied. My mind, however, fought against the urge and my expression remained neutral as I felt the skin crawl back into place in my neck.

I didn't even dignify her with a thanks for the effort. She ruined my life, no amount of apologies could ever make me respect her again. Brick just continued walking slowly out the door, never turning his back to the ponies in the doorway. As we exited the doorway I shot him a hated filled glare. He merely smiled maliciously, probably thinking about how stupid I was for trusting him. Much to my surprise I heard him speak softly, his lips barely moving. "When I let you go, run, don't stop, I'll meet you in Dahlonega, that's north of here and a bit to the east." I saw him crack a small grin, it was faint but I saw it. "And do me a favor, don't be late." Oh, my god, that sneaky bastard. Chock one point up for him I guess and shame on me for doubting him.

With that last comment, we reached the 10 foot mark from the doorway that housed the soldiers and the princess. It was now that Celestia addressed him again. "Alright human, we have held up our end of the deal, now drop the new-foal." I glanced back and forth between Brick and Celestia, the same question reverberated throughout my mind. 'What are you up to?'

He just smiled and opened his arms wide, letting me drop to the ground with a thud before drawing out a small round object. After I hit the ground I dazedly watched the black sphere go flying past my head, making small ticking noises as it went. ‘HOLY SHIT EMERGENCY H.E GRENADE!’ I don’t know how, nor do I care, but I kicked my pony butt into gear. The blast radius of one of those grenades was so wide that it was dangerous to even test. However, some of the senior members of our old group, before we split into the small group of me, Brick and the others, were issued it in case of emergency situations. I don’t know why this qualified, or how he got it past pony security. Maybe I’ll ask him later, now is not exactly the best time.

I looked back frantically to see the deadly device roll to a stop a foot from Celestia, still chiming its deadly tick. She looked at it quizzically then looked up to find that I was making my escape as quickly as my stubby horse legs could carry me. "AFTER HI…” It was all she could get out before a excruciating light blinded me. No doubt the princess herself would survive, nothing much could kill the pony goddesses, previous attacks had proved that. However the ponies closest to her definitely did not come away unscarred, or alive for that matter.

Despite my speed I was still caught by the shock wave created by the grenade, which threw me to the ground in a dazed stupor. I shook my head and attempted to stand. Once again the unfamiliarity of my body caused me to fall to the ground heavily. It took me a minute before I managed stability.

After a couple more tries I was able to stand and look back on the carnage.

The entire of group of guards, those who weren't blown apart by the initial blast,were strewn left and right across the courtyard. All that remained of where the grenade had gone off was a thick layer of smoke. I turned and looked away, still unstable on my new legs. Before I started walking I heard a choking cough from behind me. I flinched and turned around, grimacing at the sight of the solar goddess, still very much alive, starting to slowly trot outside the wall of smoke.

I started trembling as she kept walking towards me. As she became more and more removed from the smog I caught a look at the damage the explosion had caused. Her fur no longer had a vibrant white sheen to it. Instead the more prominent colour is black; black and grey covered her from snout to flank. She carried a slight limp, though I knew nothing was broken; the most she could ever get was a scratch, and even those healed up quickly. Her eyes betrayed sadness, mixed in with disappointment.

Once again I fought the urge to run to her and fall to my knees crying for forgiveness; resisted my-the pony body’s apparent need for her approval and satisfaction.

I could no longer move, my mind and body torn between decisions as she inched closer.

Before long, Celestia had halved the distance between herself and I. She took another step closer, but as her form became bigger in my field of vision, so did my vie for escape. She took another step and I managed to take one back. She repeated the action, receiving the same result from me. I tried so desperately to break free from her gaze. I thought about all sorts of evil things, the ponies I’ve killed, people as well. But her face would always dig its way back up to the top, dominating my thoughts.

She obviously saw that the current situation would lead nowhere, but still she did not move from in front of me. Instead she shifted and lay down upon the dirt and gravel, leaving her fore legs outstretched in a motherly beckon. At the sight of this I was completely won over. My forelegs moved on their own; my brain was filled with images of Celestia holding me, caring for me, and comforting me. I traveled a foot, two, then three. Soon I was so close to Celestia that I could see that her eyes really did have gold irises. They swirled with energy, captivating me. ‘I just want to be loved, cared for.’

“I know, I can give that to you.” It did not surprise me when she answered, as if she had heard my thoughts, I was too caught up in her face.

She reached to give me that warming embrace. A tear slipped from her eye as I took another step, a little piece of my past life dying with it.

Then a large blue flash and small explosion erupted 3 feet away, jarring me back to reality. I saw Celestia, still holding her hooves out, tear halfway down her cheek. I started backing up, slower, and then a bit faster. I watched her mouth move before I heard the words. “No, don’t go, please, stay.” The warm feeling was back, but it was interrupted by another loud, not so loving voice breaking the silence.

“TIA! WE FELT THAT THEE WERE HARMED! WHO HAST DONE THIS!” I saw a large, not as tall as Celestia, blue pony make her way quickly to the burned princess’ side, laying down beside her. Celestia was not interested in being comforted by her sister though. She proceeded to get up to pursue me, to try to chain me to her with a mental leash. I didn’t want to be entranced by her eyes, never again. I averted my gaze and galloped off, not stopping to turn back. ‘Why, why was so caught up in her gaze, that has never happened before...’

Before I got far I heard loud thumps behind me, indicating a pursuer. ‘Dammit!’ I panicked, it could only be one pony, none of the others were in shape for pursuit. I turned my head for a quick glance of Princess Luna, her gaze was determined. I knew that when she caught me, which I know she will, that no harm would come to me. But then again my whole life would be erased and I would become somebody new; was that not the most harmful thing you could do to a man?

Her horn lit up with it’s pale blue aura. My pupils dilated and I desperately jumped around debris, interrupting her cast.

I continued my run, trying desperately to lose my purser. However, it is not easy to lose a pony who has more experience than you at running and also has the ability to fly. Knowing this, I looked around for a place to trap or lose her in.

The road I was traveling on was deserted though, not much to see besides chunks of rubble with which to evade spells. however, luck was smiling down on me once again as I spotted a small building in the distance.

I powered my little legs. ‘Come on, just a little more horsepower.’ I almost laughed at my little pun I had accidently made. But the slip in concentration caused me to slip partially, giving ground to Luna who was gaining quickly.

Before long I had managed to make it to my destination, jumping into what must have formerly been a gas station or restaurant. I figured that this would be as best as I was going to get to spring my trap and lose her for good once she lost herself inside looking for me.

The first part of the ploy worked, I watched her from the windows that I was hiding near. She slowed when she approached the building, rightly cautious about why I had bolted inside.. She poked her head inside the doors and cautiously made her way inside. "Hello? Thou need not fear us." Her call went unanswered.

She walked around a corner and out if my field of vision. The noise of her hoofsteps fading as she traveled farther into the abandoned building.

'Now's my chance.' I dove out of my hiding place and sped for the door, my frantic dash made known by the loud clopping of my hooves.

I heard her scramble behind me. 'Or is that just my back legs?'

"WAIT!" Nope it's her, time to book it again!

There wasn't many places to hide behind or in, owing to the fact that the conversion center was built on the edge of the once great city of Atlanta. I had gone in the direction Brick had indicated, which was northeast, and ended up on a road to nowhere. This gave Luna the advantage when trying to catch me, something I'm not looking forward to.

After a long minute of blind sprinting I stole a look behind, only to see an empty wasteland, devoid of the blue being I most wanted to escape from.

My pace slowed to what could be called a trot. 'She must have given up, she has an injured sister to care for, doesn't she?'

"We art confused little one, are thou playing a game of sorts? We were not familiar with this type of game." I practically jumped out of my fur when I heard her voice above me. Oh that's right, immortal goddesses didn't need to worry about injuries.

I took off again, I don't know how I'm ever going to escape her. My pace increased as luna once again tried to initiate conversation. "We tire of this game. Please cease thy running and talk with us so we might know of thine predicament." I didn't hesitate to put on more speed. My legs burned and my hooves ached. I couldn't take much more of this.

I heard a soft clopping as her hooves touched ground. I looked back and saw her stopped. 'Maybe she finally quit?' But such is luck, she immediately started her sprint again, regaining some ground she had lost landing.

I panicked as my hooves left the ground and I was no longer experiencing forward motion. The thudding of hooves grew progressively louder as the blue alicorn approached me.

Princess Luna had quite a few stories running rampant through human resistance about her. Most centered upon her more protective nature. She was docile when approached, hell a person could walk up to her with a gun loaded, cocked and aimed for all she cared. But the second you pointed it at another pony she changed for the worse. Decimating all that stood before, blinded by a rage born from seeing multiples of ponies murdered by the infamous Human Liberation Front. She became a demon in my eyes, and my view of her had not changed over the years, or my transformation into a pony.

The clopping of hooves slowed to a stop and I turned my head to meet her full on. My pupils once again dilated and my heartbeat rose. I froze, unmoving as I gazed into her confused expression.

Much to my disappointment her breath did not come labored; she had barely broken a sweat in the chase. “Why hast thou been trying to escape from us? We art thy friend, thou need not fear us.” My mouth would literally not work, neither would my legs. It was like I had been paralyzed again, the only thing I was able to do was watch the world around me go on. She tilted her head in confusion at my unresponsive actions. “Why were thou running from our sister, were thou the cause of her injuries?” Her gaze hardened at this last statement.

I shook my head in denial, no use in getting killed; don’t want to leave Brick disappointed. “Hmm, then why were thou… We might as well take thou back in order to sort this out between her and thee.” NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT.

I started struggling frantically, anything to get away from those motherly, loving, caring, comforting eyes. The same that I could sit and stare at while she held me in her hooves.

‘Fuck no! Get out of my head bitch!’ I gave myself a mentally slap and resumed my flailing. Not knowing any better, I assumed, Luna put me down. and my hooves touched the soft sweet earth. “We assume that thou art a newfoal correct? What happened, did thy brethren attack?” She took a serious glance at me before gasping aloud, putting a hoof to her mouth. “Thou art the pony from our royal chambers, the one that left during the process all newfoals go through.” Now I was lost for good, there was no way she would let me leave after realizing this.

However I wouldn’t let her take me quietly. Since her head was marginally close to mine I was able to draw back my hoof and give her a punch right to the muzzle, sending spit flying.

I immediately took off in a random direction, probably leaving a bewildered princess behind me. I had no idea which direction I was going in, but I knew where I was supposed to go. And come hell, high water or pony goddesses, I was going to get there.

Celestia damn me if I don’t.