Chapters The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
Monologue : The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human~
Its funny, how through these last few years my life has changed. I used to work, love and play. But right now I have none of these things. I have nobody to work for, nobody to play with and nobody to love. There is nobody left.
There is nothing wrong with this, I accept that I had the chance to be with others. But I got scared, you know. It’s that moment when you queue up for the conversion, but you just cannot do it. A part of you just wants to stay. The part that makes you human.
I couldn’t stop thinking about if it was going to hurt, was I going to remember everything. Was this the end of everything that I knew of? I could just be a sheep and follow the others into the bright new future. But I am different, I am not a sheep.
When I look back on it all, I should have stayed and changed. My life would have been much better. I would have someone to talk to, someone to play with and maybe - someone to love. I take time to think about what I would be if I followed in - who would I be?
Fear was the thing that drove me away and now it is no longer within me. I get to live off my own rules, no government. No police or people to annoy you. Just me and my freedom. Every now and again though I feel like they come back and watch over me.
Some of them might wish they could come back and live my life, a life with no boundaries. No expectations and no work. Just living off what you can find and making it count. Every now and again I can go off to someplace and fire a few rounds from the weapons that I found.
I can truthfully say that I had never used a weapon before this all. I still have some practise until I will master these things but I could never bring myself to use them on other things. Even the wildlife deserves to be at peace now.
The city that I live in is now a ghost town, nothing but myself to roam the streets. It feels like it is one of those zombie movies, like 28 Days later. But the difference is that this is real, and there are no zombies - luckily.
The plants are beginning to take the land back now as the people have left. All that remains is the buildings and some of the cars that were left behind. Apart from that there is some newspapers flying around and some rotting foods on the floor.
The last newspaper to be printed, to what I know, was saying that a full conversion was going to take place. Everyone had the choice but the other one was advertised to be a lot better. I had the choice, but now I have nothing. Nothing but myself.
Apart from the normal wildlife there is the occasional scouting of some pegasi who are looking over the land that they once lived in, knowing that they can never go back. I have only been seen once by a pegasi, that moment stuck with me for a while.
They came down and asked me how I was still here. I simply said that I didn’t want to change and that I didn’t want to go to Equestria. The pegasus then told me the news that I never wanted to hear - “You are the last one then”. I was the last human, just me and then there were the ponies.
It is a uneasy feeling that I know that I am the last one of my species, which used to be eight billion strong. But now that number is one, just me. It makes me feel special but at the same time cornered. Knowing that when I die that will be the last human ever to live on this planet.
It used to be our planet, we used to live in harmony. But then we were running out of resources. We needed a better plan, then there was Equestria. It had everything we needed, everything we wanted.
Then the Conversion Bureau opened and people started to go in, and then come out as ponies. They said it was great, but I kept my distance. Then when the masses began to pile in, the force field got bigger and bigger. Everyone saw this as a new life, a new start.
But I thought that life was fine as it was, I was happy. Then she changed, she said I should do it too. It was then when I just said “I don’t know you anymore”. I broke two hearts in that moment, and I will regret it for the rest of my life. She was everything, then I just gave it all away.
That was the day that it all happened - the mass conversion. I had hope in which I could apologise, make it all better and start a new slate. But then we get back to the beginning, I couldn’t do it. I was scared, so very scared.
Maybe one day they will come for me and give me another chance, or they might just change me by force. So then they could have gotten rid of the problem - me. That was their goal all along, it was not to get rid of the humans, it was to get rid of hate.
And humans had most of it, so when they had the chance they used this chance. And it worked, hate is now something that not even I have. I do not hate, but I still hurt. I had to check if I could still hurt, I found some glass and sliced my hand. I focused on the pain and remembered what our world used to be like.
One day I will die and the human race will die with me. I am the last human, I am not a beacon of hope - neither am I a catalyst of destruction. I am but a human who lives his normal life and lives it to its full potential. But in the end it's not the end, it's the beginning of something bigger and more beautiful than the humans could ever be.
If anyone is still like me, living it out as a human. Then they should know that one day it is all going to end. Because everything comes to an end, the good and the bad. I may fear the day when I draw my last breath, but in the end its all just life taking its final destination. As one great person told me “Life is not about the destination, it’s about the journey”.
I suppose the ponies will rejoice when I die, because I will mark the end of their mission. But that is only one way of thinking about it. They might sorrow, as the last of human kind died. I had the future in my hands, I was going to make it the best years of the human race. But I was too late, the ponies had beat me to it.
So this is a way of saying that even though I failed, I passed. Because I stood up for what I believed in, I am the last human. And I’m glad to still be alive, because one day they will see me and see how even in the end, it is just the beginning. One day it will happen... one day...
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human Chapter 1~
The rifle recoiled and pushed me a few centimeters back as the bullet flew down the street. I took my eye away from the scope and looked to see where it landed. I was still aiming a bit too low so the bullet wasn’t going where I wanted it to go.
So after pulling back the lever I aimed again, this time I pointed it a little bit more in the upwards direction. After seeing that everything was in line I pulled the trigger and the gun recoiled while throwing the bullet down the street.
This time it hit where I wanted it to and a feeling of appreciation consumed me as I had done it once again. I then put the rifle to one side and stood up from my laying down position. After brushing myself down I looked around the city from where I was standing.
Everything was still, there was now silence. So far there had been no pegasi scouting, but after firing a couple of fifty caliber rounds they might come and search for me. Thing is though I have no idea what they would do if they were to find me.
They might tackle me to the ground and then drag me away to one of the last Conversion Bureau's. Or maybe they would just look at me then fly away. Either way there is little possibility that any of them would want to talk to me. Not after what that big figure Twilight Sparkle said about left over humans.
So then I picked up my rifle and began to walk down the street. A few birds would rustle the trees and make the bushes move but I have gotten used to it all now. The only things that make me run and hide are the pegasi. Because of the great thing ,fear of the unknown.
Soon I came to a vending machine that I had dragged out of one of the office buildings and I pressed a few buttons on it so it would dispense some of the food that it had. After collecting these things I continued to walk down the street and look around the overgrown buildings.
In my hands was the M16 rifle that I have had since this all began. I have never needed to use it and I hope it won’t come to me using it one something. But if they try to take my freedom then I will have no other choice.
Freedom is another thing I have here, the streets that I walk down used to have cars and busses traveling at no more than ten miles and hour at a time. Everything was so slow here, but now its just me walking down these roads.
If I were here a few years ago then this street would still have many people living in it. I wouldn’t be able to walk down the middle of the road because i would get hit by a car, or a bicycle. But the point still stands that this place is nothing but a ghost town now, and I don’t see any ghosts.
I still wonder what life has got in store for me, if it wants me to do something great or if it wants me to give it all up. I suppose the easy way of getting out of all of this is just to stand in the middle of a part and fire a couple of rounds in the air. Then they would come for me, after that I have no idea.
I was almost home now, there was only another few hundred meters to go. But I had this feeling that someone, or something was following me. I stopped and listened for a few seconds to see if I could hear anything out of the normal. But there was silence, nothing was to be heard.
So I continued to walk and then I got that feeling again, so I turned around and looked at the two giant buildings to my left and right. It just felt like there was something looking over me and watching my every move, just waiting for the right moment to strike when I am off guard.
I turned back to the direction that I was walking and I continued. Then I heard a brick smash on the ground. I shot round and brought my gun up to my eye. I began to scan the building that the brick had come from for something, anything. Now this was just getting uncomfortable beyond belief.
The human part of me was just telling me to run, run back home because home is safe. I began to move back and then after I was ready I broke into a sprint. Now everything had sped up as I ran down the city streets and every now and again I looked back to see what was there.
Still there was nothing there but my fear of the unknown kept me running because I thought there was something there. There might not be anything there at all, but I am a human - and thats how I react.
My home was coming in sight, it was a underground bunker of some kind with only one way in and out. This was just what I needed as I don't like having to check both doors when running from something. I was just meters away from safety and then I tripped.
The thing I wished that wouldn’t happen when being chased is to trip over. Now I was completely exposed and anything could just pin me down and knock me out. I quickly got onto my back and saw something that I didn’t expect to see.
A dragon had somehow come all the way to London and now I was right in the way of its destruction run. I was frozen in place and I couldn’t move. The mass fear of this gigantic beast was keeping me from running. Then the adrenaline kicked in and I ran over to the side of the street.
For now I had some protection but if the dragon found me then it would be all over. The dragon scanned the buildings and was looking for me. I kept still, looking at it with plenty of camouflage to protect me.
It then turned around and looked the other way thinking that I had outsmarted it. Then a trash can fell over and the dragon suddenly lashed out at it. This gave me an idea, so I got out my sling shot and picked up a pebble. Then I aimed it down one of the streets and let go. The pebble hit a window and made it smash.
The dragon the turned down that street and walked down it, then it breathed fire into that building. Damn, it was now time to move or next time I would be the target. So I sprinted towards my home and ran down the stairs. Then I opened the bolt locked door and got inside. After that I closed the door and locked it with its massive bolt lock.
Safe at last, I turned around and slid down the door until I was sitting on the ground. I made it, I could finally breath. The next one of my minutes was spent just sitting there and regaining my breath. Within that minute my pulse dropped back to normal and I relaxed.
I stood up and flipped the light switch, I still had some power due to the solar cells outside. But apart from that there was no other power sources around that were still making power. The room that I had been living in was simple. There was a single bed to the right and a desk with my laptop on it.
Through the time that I have been alone I needed some way to let out my words and express myself. So I made video logs to talk about what I had done each day, in hope that maybe other humans might come one day and see what I have worked on.
So it came to the time where I had to make today's log. I turned on the laptop and sat back in the seat, there was no real prep that I needed to do for these things so I just waited for the laptop to fully start. Then I pressed the record button and began.
[/Video Log Begin] [Date: Unknown] [Known Human Population: 1]
Hello, it’s me again. It’s been awhile since I did a log but I have been busy. Really busy... Anyway I have still not had any contact with the Equestrians since the last encounter and I think its better to keep it that way.
If I were to get spotted then... what would happen. Even today I have to ask this question to myself, what would they do if they knew of my existence. Would they try and convert me?
No, I should avoid talking about speculation. Apart from that there has been some development in the spread of Equestrian wildlife. Today I encountered a dragon, the problem is that I would have expected the dragons to be in Romania.
The ponies put them there after the mass conversion because it was the best place for them. The question is - why is a dragon in this environment. Furthermore how did it get here? If I find out what caused this dragon to be here then I will say.
Apart from that there is nothing much to say than my normal goodbye.
This is Max - I am the last human.
I am still alive.
[/End Video Log] [Data Saved]
I then turned the laptop off and turned my chair around so I could see the entire room. The dragon was still searching outside as I could hear it breathe fire and tear building parts down. There was only one thing that I could do now, and that was to wait for all of this to blow over.
So I grabbed my IPod and set it on the track Gortoz A Ran. Then I lied back on my bed and listened to the music as it cured me of my fear. My eyes dropped as I fell into a silent sleep, wishing that all of this would go back to normal. But inside I knew that this would never end.
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human Chapter 2~
I awoke from my sleep and looked up to the roof of the bunker. The Ipod had stopped playing long ago and it was getting dark now. The dragon was now probably gone and maybe it had made its way back to its home.
Apart from that I was still here, I could still go ahead with my mission. So I sat up and turned around. After taking my headphones off and placing them with the Ipod onto the table I went into the toilet area to wash up.
It had been a while since I looked at myself in the mirror and seen myself as a human. This was the only human I would ever see. So I did my best to keep it clean by splashing some cold water onto it and wiping it dry with a towel. Then I walked back into the main room and looked to the front door.
It was still locked in place, I was still safe. But there were some things that I still needed to do before the day ended. So I picked up my backpack and unloaded its contents onto my bed to make it lighter. Then I put it on my back and grabbed my M16.
I walked up to the door and unlocked it so I could leave, when I was out the sun was behind me. I shut the door and then walked back onto the street to see some of the buildings bearing burn marks and some of them were ripped apart. This was all the dragons doings.
I now had to find out what I could before the day came to its end. So the first thing that I needed to do was get to a higher point. So I began to walk down the street and keep at a fast pace. For all I knew I was going to be just two steps from the hell of the dragons fire. But I had hope which told me that I was not going to die today.
The streets now began to take on a different form as they gained shadows. These acted as new places to hide so I had to be a lot more careful and take plenty of due care when walking down these streets.
Soon I was at the building that I wanted to go into. It was a hospital, but not only was it that but it was also a skyscraper. Therefore it was very high giving me two of the things I needed - a better view and the medical reports.
Breaking the doors now I walked in to see everything empty and the power completely off. The hallways were dark, pitch black dark to be exact. But thanks to this not being the first dark place i’ve been to I have strapped a torch to the end of my M16. After switching the flashlight on I moved ahead into the dark hallways.
Each dormitory had been evacuated and everything was left behind. Life support, medicine and even the essential solutions to problems that people had been left behind. It was like this all stopped mattering all of a sudden. It was like all these years of researching and developing meant nothing now.
To even think that this was going to be the future now is just a big joke. Equestria has magic, it solves all their problems. When there is a building to be built - use magic. When there is a bolder in the way - use magic. It seems that you can use magic to solve most of the common day problems.
But this was the human world and magic was never used. Not for healing, moving or even building. Everything was created by the machines that were created by us humans.
Soon I found the stairs and began to walk up them. Each floor was a floor closer to the top and when I got there I would be able to find some more things out about everything that has been going on over the last few days.
I came to the top floor and then turned left down the corridor and walked down it. Soon I came to a room that was just about lit by the sun and it had a sizable view of the city. I walked over to the window and looked down at the city streets. There was nothing but the city street, the dragon could not be seen from here.
I then turned my attention to the table with a few documents on it that were scattered because of they had to leave quickly. It was that or there had been a struggle between two people - or something else.
The first document was a normal report about the hospital saying that it was at its all time best. Another talked about how they could improve certain methods to save peoples lives. Then I found the one I was looking for, it simply said “Project Conversion”. I shoved this one in my bag and then began to leave, but I caught a switch on one of the televisions.
I then hear that familer voice from so long ago. It was the Twilight Sparkle interview from so many years ago, I wanted to just leave it and walk away. But I couldn’t help myself from watching it one last time.
It was a tape and there was the reporter and her. She seemed to look nice on the outside but from what I know - she caused international uproar. She seemed to be so relaxed when she insulted and mock my race. Because I was a human she way implying that everyone had to be greedy and evil.
A uncontrollable rage formed within me as I knew that this was getting on my nerves. I have never met her before but because of her and those princesses she got everyone one to change. I was the only one to escape, and I know that is now fact.
I clenched my fist and narrowed my eyes as I looked into the eyes of this pony as she went one about who she believed I was. I may be a human but that doesn’t mean that I fall in line with all the others. I am unique and different as every human is, its just Ms. Sparkle thinks otherwise.
A part of me then clicked as she spoke the words “You humans are all...”, then my fist has planted itself into the screen. She had no right to accuse everyone of being the same. A short time passed as I stood there with my fist in the screen, but I needed that time to calm down.
Maybe one day I would meet Ms. Sparkle and then she can hear from me what I have to say. But I have other things to do now so I removed my fist from the television and moved into the main hall again.
I then walked into the main part of the office where there was the biggest window of all. I began to walk towards it to see in another direction. Then all hell broke loose as the glass smashed and the dragon poked its head inside.
It had found me, and this time it knew I was in here. I jumped for cover and looked left and right to see if I was clear. The dragons head was too big so it backed away and pulled some of the building apart. This was my chance to move, so I dashed over to the hallway and began to run down it.
Then a blast of fire shot from behind me, just missing me by a meter. Even though it had missed me I fell over because of the sheer force that it gave off. I was then a exposed target as the dragon flew around the building and burned the place where I needed to go.
I was trapped and now the dragon could take me for dinner. It was a curious thing that a dragon would go for a small human instead of going out into the wild and eating a cow. But that was the last thing to worry about. Now I was the cow for dinner.
The dragon began to pull bits of the building off as I ran to the back of the room. The dragon then stuck its head inside and tried to bite me, but it was still a bit off. So it backed up again and pulled more of the building to pieces.
Time was now against me so I had to act quick or I was todays dinner. I looked left and saw the the elevator had its door partially open. So I ran over to it and pushed it open as the dragon went in for another try. Its head was now a meter away from me so it pushed itself in further.
Then I fell in the elevator and caused a part of the wiring to malfunction. One second I could see the dragon, then it was gone. The descent was slow to begin with and then it sped up, having little slow areas and fast areas. Each floor whizzed by and the doors stayed open so I could see what was happening.
I had escaped the dragon but now I was falling to my death, brilliant! Then it came to a stop on the first floor, I was still alive but something caught my eye. I tried to make it out but then the elevator fell another floor so it was in the basement. This time it cause me to hit my head on the rail and I went out cold.
That image was burned into my memory of what I had saw, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. The shape was as familiar as hell and after a looking over it again it becomes a lot more clear. But there is one thing that I can be sure of - it definitely was a pony.
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human Chapter 3~
I head was hurting and my ears were ringing as I opened my eyes to see the car park in front of me with nothing but a few specks of morning sunlight to cover it. I looked to my hands to see they were still shaking and that they were still hands. But that image was still in my head as for a second I saw a pony again.
The image shouldn’t be anything special because I have seen so many ponies in my time. It was probably just the shock of falling down at high speeds and then stopping all of a sudden. But in true honesty I can’t figure out why I am still alive - but the point is that I am still alive.
I was able to get back onto my feet now but I was still a little shaky and uneasy. All that I could focus on now was getting out of here. So after getting my self to a stable state I walked into the car park and looked around it. I hadn’t been in a place like this for a while and I almost forgot it existed.
The only problem was that the exit was blocked off by some boards, so I needed to ram through them with something. I looked around for a few seconds and then found a Audi X10 sports car. It was the newest car before the conversion. So that still makes it the newest car on the planet.
I got in the car and saw that it still had the keys in the starter, all I needed to do was press the start button. I pressed the button and the car roared to life. I looked to the meters that came up and the fuel meter shot up to full.
I slammed my foot on the accelerator and the car jumped forwards and began to move at a fast speed. I steered it in the direction of the blockade and kept my foot hard on the accelerator. After I changed the gear the car gained even more speed and the exit became closer. Then the car rammed into the blockade and it was destroyed as it it was never there.
Then I hit the brakes to stop the car from crashing into the building ahead. After looking left and right I turned the car around and began to drive it back to my bunker. I had what I needed and now had the ability to go long distance.
The journey wasn’t long but I didn’t need long to get back to my home. I looked around the streets and because of the car I was now making a lot more sound than before. If the dragon was still here then it would be able to find me in seconds. But so far the dragon was nowhere to be seen.
I got to the bunker and I turned off the car and took the keys. Then I ran into my bunker and picked up another bag with all of my supplies in it. I then picked up my laptop and ran back to the car, leaving everything else behind.
After throwing the things I needed into the car I ran back into the bunker and picked up my two bottles of pure water. Then I dragged them back to the car and placed them on the back seat. After closing the door I placed the keys back into the socket and turned the car on. It was time to get out of here.
I then pressed the Satellite Navigation Button and began to drive the car through the streets. The Sat Nav said it couldn’t find a signal so I pressed the button to bring up the map. I then scrolled along the map of London until I found where I was. Then l found the route to getting out of the city.
After knowing where I needed to go I pressed hard on the accelerator and changed the gear. This sped up the car and then everything began to move a lot quicker. The city seemed to have the same appearance everywhere I went. It was the same old London, just infested with the plants and trees.
Looking around I could could see so many places that I wanted to go to but I never got the chance to. Because of work I had other thing to think about. Then the inevitable happened, a line of fire just missed the car. I looked in the mirror to see that the dragon had returned.
It was time to end this once and for all and this dragon was now annoying the hell out of me. I then pulled the pistol from chest and placed it on the dashboard so I was ready to use it. Then the dragon shot some more fire and I sharply turned the car down another street. The dragon had to stop and the turn around.
With this going on I got my car to the end of the street and I parked it sideways. Then I got the fifty caliber rifle out and pointed it in the direction of the dragon. There was no way that I could stop it with a bullet. I searched around with the scope and came across a car hanging out of one of the buildings.
It was being held in by a single pole which was becoming brittle. This was the best possible way to finish this. I looked out of the scope to see the dragon was now about to crawl towards me. I then pulled the trigger and then the car fell out with some other things. The car landed on the dragons head and then a gas canister landed and exploded.
The dragon recoiled and took a few steps back in order to get some flying space. Then it took off and began to fly back in the direction of Romania, back to its home. A sigh of relief was in order as I was able to get rid of the dragon without killing it.
But all the same I still needed to get back on track. So I turned the car around and began to drive again - back down the streets.
Within a hour I had made it out of London and was in the lush and green countryside. Everything out here was the same as before, but there was no longer any land that had been farmed. Every plant had been left to grow and expand by itself.
The occasional country house was left but it had been overgrown by the plants. Everything seemed to be taken over by nature and because of that nature could show its true beauty. So many new plants had been grown and the forests were no longer being cut down.
The land had gained consciousness of there no longer being a presence of humanity and it had taken advantage of this on a mass scale. Nature has now harmonised with what the humans had once had and it has just grown around it.
It almost reminds me of the conversion, and how the humans had just been covered by a empire of ponies. They never showed violence but they still grew around everyone.
The main difference to the ponies and nature is nature didn’t care what the humans did - it just harmonized with us. But the ponies had so many problems with humans and acted so arrogantly when they were questioned.
But I still look back on humanity and think about why they would want to visit Equestria. Maybe we could just trade with them and then our crysis would be over. But that was obviously not be because we had nothing that they wanted. All they wanted was us humans to become their, so called, “perfect race”.
For a while I thought that it was the perfect race but after retrospecting it they were far from being perfect. They claimed that they had no greed, yet they take more land then they need. And they claim that they do not hate - well... I know that they can.
Everything as smart as a human has the ability to feel and portray any emotion. Unless that means that they are not as smart, but thats another subject altogether. But in the end humans and ponies can think alike, there is no question about that.
The miles were ranking on and the sun was beginning its descent, so I needed to find someplace to stop and take a rest. The best idea would to stop when I got tired as there would be no other cars on this road as there are no other humans.
So I just continued to drive down the road for another hour. Then I got to the coast line where there were some boats still tied up. Tomorrow I would begin my journey but for now I needed to rest and do the video log.
So I parked the car up and turned off the engine. Then I got the laptop out and powered it up. When it loaded I began my recording.
[/Video Log Begin] [Date: Unknown] [Known Human Population: 1]
Hello, its come to that part of my day where I have to talk to the machine to let the future know about who I was.
Today I got what I was looking for and I am now on the move. There are two places that I need to go to now, that is Romania and South Africa. You may wonder why go to those places.
First off there are the dragons that are supposed to be in Romania but I have seen them in London. So, I need to find out what’s going on.
And why am I going to South Africa, well... Thats where it all began. Normally the way to solve a problem is to go to its source. And I need to get a look at those Conversion Bureau’s, and also answer this question - how do you convert a human into a pony.
I will just have to find out.
One last thing before I go, I have some emotional problems surround this Ms. Twilight Sparkle
Once again this is Max - I am the last human.
I am still alive.
[/End Video Log] [Data Saved]
When the data was saved I lowered the lid of the laptop and placed it on the seat next to me. I looked at the road ahead and saw that it was empty, there was nothing there but the docks ahead.
Somehow it was like something was just looking at me. Hiding in curiosity of what I am. Apart from that there was nothing that I could see. But to stay on the safe side I locked the doors - you never know.
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human Chapter 4~
The sunlight raised and caught my face as the sun rose from the previous night. I was still half asleep when I was opening my eyes to see the world that I lived in. Everything so far seemed to be in the place that it once was the night before. After rubbing my eyes I got a slightly clearer view of the town ahead, it had a dock which once served as its main attraction.
I turned my head to the right and looked out of the window to see the fields and the crops that were growing. Then I looked left and saw a single house that stood apart from the town and alone. It would be some time until I was ready to drive again so I opened the car door and got out. I closed the door and then began to walk towards the house with little care for what was going on.
The crunching sound from the pebbles below gave me something to listen to as everything else was quiet. A tree rustled as some birds flew out of it and began to fly away. When I got closer to the house I could hear a swing creaking from behind the house.
I came up to the door and examined the handle on it. Turning the doorknob I walked into the house and looked around at my immediate surroundings. It wasn’t a pretty site, the place had been destroyed. It looked like two people had a big fight in here as there was some blood on the table and some of the other things had things thrown into them.
Worst of all the blood then seemed to drag up the stairs like something was carried up. That could mean that the fight must have ended here. Something seemed to force me to follow this trail of blood even though I knew what I could find at the end of it. I slowly ascended the stairs and kept every step as quiet as I could. The silence only made the experience feel more uncomfortable. But in the end the likelihood that the people in this house are still alive is very low.
I was now at the top step, I looked left and right to see the trail lead off to the right and into a room. The door to that room was closed and there was no blood on the door itself. I then stood in the corridor and looked down it. My heart then began to race as the inevitable was coming up. Something terrible had happened here, I could feel it.
Still there was silence as I moved a foot forward. Then another step followed as I got closer to the door. I was expecting something to jump out at any second and give me a heart attack. But apart from that I had no idea what gruesome event had happened here.
A slight stench of rotting began to fill my nose as I got closer and I brought my hand to my nose to cover up the smell. By god, this was getting worse and worse as I moved along. What was driving me to do this? It must be that human part of me that I still have - where you just need to find everything out.
A uneasy emotion was channeling through me as I moved towards the door and looked at the door handle. The handel had blood on it and so did the floor below it. Everything was now becoming clear to what had happened here. I began to push the door open, I thought that the most obvious thing that happened here was a fight between two...
I then looked in the room and my pupils dilated and my pulse raised. I shot back and began to breath heavily as the image scarred my memory. Why did it have to be this, anything but this in this land. My thoughts then became infested with ideas of what horrors occurred here. The fight that ended in this way, over a thing like that.
Now I was stuck and my emotions began to show themselves in a way that I had not shown them before. My eyes gave out a few tears of the fear that had not been with me for a while. It reminded me of what could have happened between me and her. She was still out there but probably no longer cared for me.
Through the time of being alone I have come to appreciate the fact that you only know how important something is when you don’t have it. Being alone was the last thing that I wanted but it was the result of my actions. It was almost like it was all my fault that this happened. I was the murderer of my love, I held the knife.
I stood up and took one last look into the room as I closed the door. That sight is a sight that no one else should ever see. Nothing can compare to losing love, or killing it. So I walked down stairs and walked into the kitchen. On the island there was some newspapers and under the cabinet there was some petrol.
I walked into the main room of the house and found a weak wall where I piled up some things. Then I poured the petrol all over the place and took a few steps away from the room. Pulling out a match I lit the pile and it went up in flames. Within seconds the rest of the room set alight and it caused me cover my face with my arm. The warm fire then became hotter so it was time for me to leave.
With that I then walked out of the house and walked back down the driveway. The house began to catch fire and burn up. Everything in the house would be gone in the next hour and that is how it should be. As the last human I still have the decency to give the others a proper goodbye. Even if that means destroying everything that shows how they died.
The main structure of the building collapsed and then the rest of the building followed leaving nothing but a pile of burning materials. I looked up to the sky and saw the clouds were sitting in their normal place and just floating around freely. Like they should and like they always should. Nature was watching me, like it has for the last few years.
I then got to the end of the driveway where the car was waiting and I opened the door. I froze for a second as I looked back at the burning pile of rubble, the smoke raised to the skies and almost looked like a signal. But it was just a burning house to me.
After opening the door to the car I got in and pressed the engine start button. I closed the door and then pressed the accelerator to get the car to move. I soon gained some distance from the house and when I looked in the mirror the image that had scarred my memory had gone.
I just wanted to get off this island now and hit the sea. Once I get to the sea then everything would be plain sailing. But I also needed to take this car with me as it would help me to get around the coming counties.
I got the car up to the entrance of the town and once again it shared the aspects of the other places that I had been to. There were buildings that only got up to two floors and they were overgrown by the plant life. As I drove in I slowed down as this place did have some cars left around.
Thanks to this I spent more time looking at the surroundings. Everything was left where behind when the mass conversion happened. In some places it was almost forced to happen, but in the end everyone came out happy. But I never went in, I ran away.
I swerved left and right to get around the cars that had been left behind. It was funny how people just decided to leave everything behind and not to think that they might need to bring something with them. Then again who would need anything when starting on a fresh plate.
The idea of going to Equestria was that you didn’t need take anything with you, as you would be able to start again with nothing. I believe that if I were to go there then I would take something small to remind myself of the past. Just in case I forgot who I was.
There was no sign of any aggressive activity in this area, compared to the house, but there was some looting that might of started during the evacuation. But then I saw plenty of dropped televisions and other expensive items scattered around. It seemed like the looters just stopped and fell back in with the crowd.
I looked in my mirror again to see that I was still alone and not being followed by anything. Then I looked back down the road to see that there was a single boat left over, unfortunately it didn’t have any room to store the car.
The car stopped and I got out of it. Looking left and right I saw that this was the only ship left. There was no other alternative, so this would have to do. I grabbed my things from the car and then closed the door, leaving the car behind. It had served me well over the last day but there was no use bonding with anything anymore.
I walked onto the docking area and then listened the ripples of the sea water as they moved back and forth along the surface. I looked out across the docks again and saw the sandy beaches that were once home to many people. For a moment I could still see everything as it once was, I could even see her.
But then I turned away and everything was back to normal. That was the past and it will never give me another chance. I wasn’t thinking and it happened too fast for me to be reasonable.
When I walked up to the side of the boat I threw my bags onto the deck and I climbed onto it. There was nothing really left on the deck but the rope that held to boat to the docks. I first went into the drivers area at the back of the boat and then checked to see if it had any keys in it. I was in luck as the keys were left in place, ready to turn the ship on.
Walking back onto the deck I untied the rope from the docks and then stored it on the deck. The boat was now free and was able to move. So with that I went back into the cabin and turned the boat on. It took a seconds but the boat was then able to come to life. I pushed the throttle forward and then the boat slowly began to move.
It was probably a good idea for me to get my bag inside of here or it would get soaked. So I locked the steering and went back onto the deck to grab my bag. When I was getting up something in the sky caught my eye. I looked up at the sky and saw that a collection of storm clouds was beginning to form. I had a bad feeling going down my throat as I saw the cloud getting bigger and bigger.
With that I ran back into the cabin and locked the door. Hopefully this cabin should keep me from being battered by the upcoming storm that had “magically” appeared. Something inside of me just wanted the storm cloud to be the ponies doing but another part of me hoped that this was just nature at its business.
The boat began to move quicker as the other systems on the boat came online. A scanner appeared on the touch screen dash board saying that a storm has been detected. At that moment I just felt like shouting “You don’t say!” as it was blindly obvious that there was a storm coming.
The waves were becoming rougher as I got got closer to the storm and as the storm got closer to me. Then a stray lightning bolt struck the sea water and caused it to light up for a second. This looked like things were about to get rough and quick.
A few more bolts of lightning went off around the area as I got closer. Then the rain began to fall and hammer the ship I was in. After that a gale of wind began to hit the ship as if it was trying to push me away. But I needed to go in this direction in order to get to the places on my list. So if a storm was going to try and stop me. Then I can try, but I will not give in.
The boat then hit a big wave and the ship went airborne for a second before landing again. This then became a constant pattern as more lightning hit the water and the rain got harder. The wind then had a mighty blow and got the ship to start spinning. I was losing control now and I was just about holding on.
Then the wind suddenly shot the other way unexpectedly and this sent me face first into the window. I little blood came out of my nose and a mass headache and pain struck through my head. When I fell onto the floor another bolt of lightning struck the sea and another hit the boat.
The instruments went wild for a moment and then they came back online and were going crazy. I got back onto my feet and then tried to get the boat back in control. But this was a useless action because when I turned it back on track the wind pushed it away again. I clinged onto the wheel for my life as the harsh and brutal ordeals went on.
My feet were shaking and the little bit of blood was now dripping down onto the dashboard. The sky showed no mercy as the giant hail began to fall and bombard the ship. This was now beyond normal weather as I tried to keep in focus. But then the wind had one last attack and threw the ship spinning again.
This time I couldn’t hold on and I was sent flying into the wall again. I was losing strength and becoming weaker. My breathing became weaker as I fell unconscious again after the brutal attacks from the weather. I was then able to think again, what had just happened?
It was like the weather was trying to kill me, or just keep me out. Whatever was going on it didn’t feel good and my senses were fading as I once again fell into a deep sleep. Why was the world always against me - I’m not the infection...
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human Chapter 5~
The sun began to rise as the tide drew itself out and flushed away. I was just about regaining my consciousness and control of my body, but I was still rather weak. A smell of sand and sea water filled the air. I was trying to piece together what was going on as I moved my fingers in the sand.
My left eye began to open and I looked into the blue sky. It felt too hot for it to be france, but not hot enough to be the bottom of South Africa. So I must have been somewhere within that area - but where?
After opening my other eye I was able to look around a little bit and see the sand itself. This sand then continued into the land and further beyond. Was this a dessert of some kind? It was hard to tell as my vision was still rather blurred.
Then I began to hear someone’s voice, but I couldn’t really tell whose it was. Then again I am probably on the edge of the desert, so it would be someone I didn’t know. Wait, could it be another human? I then closed in on the voice and began to listen.
“...oh my god, oh my god. There’s a dead man on the beach. What do I do? Umm, I know! Call 911 or something like that” the voice sounded like it was in panic as it was quick paced, it also had a british accent on it as well. I then heard a couple of bleeps of a phone. “Common, pick up... pick up... YES, ITS ALWAYS BEEN ON FUCKING HOLD!” the voice then yelled as it threw the phone away in anger.
I moved my head to the source of the voice and saw a pony. He had dark green skin and black hair with green eyes. Oh god, a pony. This was the last thing I needed, was a good for nothing...
Then it hit me, did that pony just curse. I’ve known about the effects of ponies but I thought that they get rid of the unpleasant parts of the human. This was like nothing that I had encountered before - a pony with human qualities.
I then got myself up from back and then stood up. Still being a bit weak my legs gave in and I fell back down to the ground again. Then with another try I got onto my feet and was able to walk again. I then looked around to see the pony then look around to me.
“Oh, so you are alive. Thats great!” the pony said as he approached me.
“Could you keep your distance for a bit, I’m just a bit uneasy around ponies” I said as I didn’t want to get too close to this pony.
“What, you don’t trust another human like yourself” the pony said.
“Well, you are a pony. Can’t you see?” I asked.
“I know I look like a pony, but seriously - I am a human on the inside. And that’s what counts” said the pony. The pony then examined me a bit more and noticed my weapons on my chest. “I see you have quite the collection of weapons there, may I ask why?” the pony asked.
“Well, you can never be too safe these days” I said as I then looked out at the desert again. “Would you mind telling me where I am” I asked as this pony seemed to have some kind of human intelligence.
“Yeah, this is the Western Sahara” the pony said.
“So, what happened then? Because I thought you would be living in Equestria” I asked as this was one of the things that wasn’t making sense so far.
“I got placed here after I got converted. You know - I am the one out of the million subjects who goes wrong. Anyway my form changed but my brain didn’t, I can still think one hundred percent human. When they found out that big leader purple pony had be banished here saying that I was still human” the pony explained.
“You mean Twilight Sparkle” I said as I knew who he was talking about.
“Yes her, anyway I was one of those forceful conversions...” the pony said.
“They forced people to get converted?!” I exclaimed as this was completely new to me.
“Like hell they did! I was one of the scientists who was working on a way to reverse the effects of the pony transformation. I was able to inject myself with a prototype version of it before I was taken and converted. It seemed like it worked when I woke up, but then I looked at myself and... well you get the point” the pony explained.
“What could you tell me about this?” I said as I pulled out the document from the hospital and handed it to the pony. The pony then looked at it for a moment and then gasped when he read a part of it.
“Wow, he did it. I never thought that he could - but he did” the pony said to himself.
“What is it?” I asked as the pony got all excited about this document.
“This is the second half to the anti-conversion of humans to ponies. Look, and it even worked on seven test subjects. It says that the seven subjects were healthy and were all back to normal. But they still had the mind of the pony, that was where I came in” the pony explained again.
“You mean you found a way to get ponies to turn back into humans” I asked with hope in my mind.
“Yeah, don’t you see here. If I were to combine this with my research we would have found a successful way to revive the human race” The pony said.
“So, that means that the humans still have some hope” I said.
“Well, we still have a problem. You see, I don’t have my research. And I don’t have the facilities to make the injection” he said with a disheartened voice. My mind then sank into thought, this could be a way to get some more humans on the earth. But there was still a problem - who would want to change back.
At this time my mind wasn’t ready to think ahead about the long term consequences about this plan, but it was worth a shot. My cleared my throat and then began to expel my thoughts.
“I can help you get there, where is this place” I said. The pony then grinned and looked at me, something inside of me felt a little off guard for a moment with his grin. But it was freindly never the less.
“It’s in London, there is a research facility there where I worked. I locked them in a safe so they couldn’t be harmed” the pony said. The pony then thought for a moment and then presented his hoof in front of me. “Elliot Mercury” he said.
“Max...” I simply said as I took his hoof.
“No last name?” Elliot asked.
“I’d rather not say” I said.
“Well then Max, nice to make your acquaintance” Elliot said as we shaked. This was the first time that I had proper contact with a pony since the time that I was told that I was the last human left.
The next matter at hand was getting back to London. I had just come from there but I was now on the edge of a desert. I looked ahead to see something like a perimeter gate around the edge of something in the distance.
“What’s that?” I said as I pointed ahead. Elliot turned and looked at the place before turning back with his answer.
“Thats a US Air base, made after the Conversion Bureaus were opened. It was to get the military closer to the supposable threat. Now its a ghost town, if you know what I mean” Elliot explained.
“Do they still have planes there?” I asked.
“Yeah, they have a big AC-130 parked up, it was going to do a artillery strike but then the mass Conversion happened. It’s still fueled up and ready to go...” Elliot said. I looked down at him for a moment, then I looked over at the air base.
I then began to walk in the direction of this air base with Elliot close behind me. He seemed to be the most human thing around here, he was probably one of the most unique ponies ever to exist. A pony with the mind of a human.
The walk was only going to take a few minutes but those minutes were spent just thinking as I approached the Air Base. Elliot seemed to be a nice pony, but something in my brain was just flicking on and off about him. It was probably just the fact that he was who he was, a human pony.
The sun was still lingering at the top of the sky and blasting its energy down at me. It watched as the land below began to weave in the heat and create false images. We were almost there now as the gate was getting closer.
I then came to standing in front of the gate, on closer inspection the gate was left unlocked. Then again if you were rushing the last thing on your mind would be to close the gate to the place you are never going to see again.
I pushed the gate open and then walked inside the facility. It was empty and like Elliot said, a ghost town. There were a couple of jeeps sitting around, loaded with fifty caliber machine guns. On the left were some Mini-birds with some fuel pumps still linked up to them. Everything had just been left and abandoned in a heartbeat.
I slowly walked through the air base and looked around at the many sights left over by the mass rush out. Everything was so still and silent. Nothing moved, nothing breathed. This walk was becoming a bit freaky as everything was so unreal. To think that this place was gleaming with life and now it is dead.
The AC-130 was ahead, sitting on the runway - all ready to take off. Just as Elliot had said. It was a very big plane, this one was loaded to the brim with ammunition for its cannons. It really was ready to go out on a mission - a mission of destruction. I then finally got to the back of the plane where the back was open.
Upon walking in I saw that the plane was separated into two main parts - the back storage area and the main gunning area. Then there was the coppit area at the front of the aircraft. I walked on in seeing that the shells were all tightly packed together to give maximum space use in the aircraft’s storage bay.
There were three different sized cannons on the side of the plane, each were devastating in their own way. The biggest cannon was slower but could hit a lot harder. The middle cannon was faster but did less damage and then the gatling cannon was for picking off infantry. When combined this made the ultimate death machine.
I walked into the coppit and looked at the controls. Everything was still set to off and the starting models were still off.
“Do you have any idea how to fly this thing” Elliot asked as he looked at the controls in complete confusion.
“Yeah, I used to fly these things” I said. Elliot then looked up at me, confused at what I just said.
“You flew this type of aircraft” Elliot said.
“Yeah, then when the mass conversion began I took time off to think. But everything seems like it is ready to go” I said as I sat down on the pilot chain and pressed a couple of buttons. Elliot then sat on the other chair and looked ahead at the runway.
I then pressed some more buttons and the engine roared to life. The propellers began to spin and thrust air behind them. Then after a few seconds of warming up I then pushed the throttle forward and the plane began to move. I grabbed the controller and stabilized it.
The plane then began to pick up some speed as the engines pushed it forward. The land around the plane moved away as the plane got faster and faster. Then I watched the speed dial until it got to the required speed.
With it reaching its required speed I pulled the controller back and the flaps adjusted. The plane then began to gain altitude as it was pulled up into the air by the force of the engines. Elliot looked around in amazement as he looked around the land that was getting further and further away from him.
We were gaining some height now, so I then turned on the Satelitte Navigator and looked at its screen. Then I searched the map and figured out where I was in the world. So I needed to turn the plane so it was flying north with a slightly westerly angle. After turning the plane I put on the autopilot and set it to fly forward in the current direction.
The track was now set for the plane to go back to England, the place that I had been trying to escape from for so long. Now I was going all the way back, with someone that I would have never expected to meet.
And upon that there was a chance to revive the human race, but that was the problem. It was only a chance, there was no real solid probability that this was going to work. Because after we have the injection, who would want to change back?
Life is so much better in Equestria, why would anyone like to go all the way back to square one. That would be a issue to deal with later, but for now the point stands - there is still a light of hope in this darkness.
I lied my head back and watched into the distance. Then I began to drift back to that one day when it all changed, the day that I truly became a human.
A storm was brewing ahead and I looked left and right at the skies surrounding the plane. We were almost at the target destination where the attack run had been signaled. I looked to the GPS and then began to turn the plane as it got to the right point.
“Ready!” I shouted down to the gunners in the back. They then loaded their shells into the cannon and aimed them at the ground below. Then with a shout from the commanding gunner the cannons unloaded their payload.
The ground below was torn apart and destroyed as the shells exploded. Everything below was being destroyed by the mass power of our guns. My main focus was on flying the plane but I found myself a little window of time to see what we were firing at.
I opened a window on the viewer and looked at what the gatling cannon was firing at. It was hard to make out at first but then my eyes widened in horror when I saw what was going on.
Below was a town with innocent lives in that was being devastated by our machine. They were doing nothing but running for cover. I watched as the innocent bystanders just missed being hit by the shells. Then I saw her.
Part of me wished that I could just carry on. But she was there, even if she had done what she did. She didn’t deserve this. She stopped and looked up to the sky. She watched the plane and closed in on the coppit where I looked back down at her.
The cannon then aimed over her, frozen in place. “Hey a free kill, heh heh” said the gunner. I then grabbed the controller by force and balanced the plane again setting it to go back to the air base.
“What the hell, turn this plane around Captain!” yelled the gunning commander.
“I’m in charge here and this is a clusterfuck. We are leaving...” I shouted.
“Are you disobeying an order from command” shouted the gunning commander.
“Yes, because this is unnecessary bloodshed. This war is over” I shouted back at the gunning commander. He froze in place and took in the word that I had shouted. He then subsided and sat down.
“This is AC-130 Bravo Four, we are requesting a immediate debriefing when we land. We also request no more aggressive activity in the area until we have sorted this issue” the radio correspondent said.
“Roger that Bravo Four, you are clear to land and the debriefing is ready for your return” said the voice over the radio.
I kept my focus on the rage that had been inspired because of this event, this event was the reason why I began to hate my own race. But then again this was why I didn’t want to change. Because I alone could prove that humanity still had heart.
She watched the plane fly away from the combat zone and the other ponies began to crowd around her. Each one with the same question in mind.
“Who was flying that machine?” One of them asked. The crowd gained some numbers as everyone was curious about who had the plane suddenly turn around. She let out a single tear and then walked away, knowing who was in that plane that day.
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human Chapter 6~
I continued to look into the distant areas of the world as the plane soared through the clouds. Everything was peaceful and the plane seemed to be able to take itself to the England area. I looked to my left and saw Elliot sleeping there, he must have been tired.
After standing up and stretching I moved back into the back part of the plane. Shutting the door behind me I looked around the gunning compartment which had the many cannons. Each fitted with a targeting system and a handle rail to aim the weapon.
By the side was the shells and ammunition that would be fired from each cannon respectively. I pressed a button on the middle cannon and looked at the details about it. It was aimed at some sea area at the moment and was ready to fire.
I looked to its loading compartment and it still had its full four rounds fitted. Then my attention turned to the back of the plane where the back was still open. And thanks to this some loose ammunition had fallen out the back when the plane took off. But I didn’t need any of this ammunition to be honest.
So I began to walk to the back of the plane where it was completely open ended. The land was far below and the clouds were moving past at a constant speed. After staring out into the outside world I turned my back to that part of the plane and then began to walk back.
Then a mass of clouds appeared and blocked the view from behind, so when I looked back there was only white. I was sure that it was just a normal block of clouds but then something else changed my opinion.
Something then grabbed my left leg and before I could look to see what had done this I was suddenly dragged out of the plane. I began to free fall for a few seconds, I was quite stunned at the time. What the hell was going on? That was the only thing that I could think about.
The plane was then out of view, hidden in the clouds. I then noticed that I was actually slowing down, It felt like something was carrying me. Yet I was still suspended in mid air, with nothing else in sight.
Then I was completely suspended in the air, about a couple of feet from the ground. But now I could feel that something was actually carrying me - whether it pulled me out is subject to believe. But whatever it is and for whatever reason it got me down here must have been a big one.
Then I was dropped and I landed on the floor - my legs gave in so I ended up flat on the ground. I took a deep breath and then pushed myself up and got back on to my two legs. They wobbled a bit because of the mass falling but they were stable enough to allow me to stand up.
I then looked in front of me and then left - then right. But there was nothing there, nothing was there at all. It was like something had brung me down just to leave me here and then leave. Maybe that was what happened, but then I turned around and came face to face with two rose red eyes.
I recoiled and then looked again from a distance. Then my eyes couldn’t help but notice the rainbow mane and the cyan blue coat that the pegasus had. It was almost like I had seen this pony before, maybe a long time ago.
“Why are you traveling with him?” the pegasus asked in a demanding tone.
“How about you tell me why you pulled me out of a plane?” I asked back. The pegasus then got somewhat frustrated at my attitude towards her.
“Hey, I asked you first!” she shouted at me.
“Well you pulled me out of a plane first!” I shouted back.
“Common, I couldn’t talk around him!” She shouted at me again. Talk around ‘him’, was she referring to Elliot?
“Why couldn’t you talk around ‘him’” I asked in a more calm tone.
“That’s why I asked you about you traveling with him. He’s a bad pony!” the pegasus said in a serious tone.
“He’s bad... You mean that he is the last hope for my race? Is that bad?” I asked.
“You are really deluded, aren’t you?” she said as she tilted her head and frowned.
“How am I deluded? If there is anyone like that it must be your race. Your princess brought this upon my world” I ranted.
“Unfortunately this is one story that you must see from all angles to understand Max...” she said. Then it hit me again, she knows my name without me telling her.
“How do you know my name?” I asked.
“As I said, you need to look at this from another angle. When you get to the hospital, let Elliot look around. Then look at the records - trust me” She went on. Trusting her was like taking another turn in this immense journey that I was undergoing.
I was now coming to the point where the phrase “Trust no-one” was beginning to come into play. If I looked upon this from another angle then that would probably answer my questions. I would just have to play the game for now in order to get what I needed from it.
“Ok, I’ll look” I said. Then she nodded and walked up to me and looked up. Then she flew up and grabbed me. Pulling me back up to the sky where the AC-130 was flying. It took a little while to get back up as now I wasn’t falling. The plane was still flying by itself like I hadn’t left at all.
The back was still open too so the pegasus was able to drop me in the back of the plane again. I walked into the plane so I was a safe distance away from the edge, then I turned back to face the pegasus again - who was standing on the edge.
“She talked a lot about you and...” She said before suddenly jolting her head towards the door of the cabin and then jumping out of the plane. I then looked back to see that Elliot had woken up and that he was walked towards me.
“You ok, Max?” he asked as he yawned from having a good nights sleep. For now this would all have to be kept to myself, it was information that was keeping my on top of the current situations.
“Yeah, I’m fine” I simply said as I walked back and pressed the button to close the back door. The air stream was then cut off so everything became still again inside of the plane.
“Are you sure, you look a bit jetlagged. And by that I mean you look like...”
“You got that one from a game” I said cutting him off.
“A old game, but fun none the less”
“But I am fine, honestly. Anyway I have one thing to ask”
“What is it?” Elliot said with a bit of a uneasy tone.
“Where is the research place?” I asked.
“Here...” Elliot said as he walked into the cabin and pointed at it on the GPS.
I walked to the cabin again and looked at the GPS, we were almost at London now. So that would mean that I would need to land the plane somewhere. I could land it at one of the airports but then I would have to find a car to get back into the middle of London. It was going to be a while to find a runway so I pressed a couple of buttons and searched the map for a airport.
“So, what happens now” Elliot asked.
“Now we need to land somewhere” I said as I found a landing area in a airport. It was about a mile away but it would have to do. Then I noticed something didn’t feel right as I looked right and out of the window.
For some reason I could see some kind of tail hanging on the outside of the plane. It was spiked on the end and it had scales on it. I ignored it at first, but then it was all the more familiar. My eyes widened and I recoiled back to see what I most certainly didn’t want to see again.
“DRAGON!” I shouted as I jumped to the ground and pulled Elliot down with me. Then a blast of fire blew the windows up and ignited the cabin of the plane. Elliot managed to get out and I was right behind him. A roar sounded from the outside as the dragon breathed more fire into the cabin.
I then quickly grabbed one of the parachutes and put it on Elliot's back. He was somewhat shocked as I did it but then he began to regain his senses. I pulled the last strap to secure the parachute onto Elliot and then I looked to the back door that was closed.
“Ok, I’m going to open that back door and you are going to jump out. You know how to use a parachute right?” I shouted at Elliot. He nodded and then ran towards the back of the plane. I got to my feet and then walked over to the button to open the back of the plane.
After hitting the button the door began to open and the outside was covered in black smoke. Elliot then ran out of the back and disappeared. It was just me now who had to escape, so I moved to the front again and picked up a parachute.
Then when I turned around the dragon was at the exit of the plane, looking at me with its demonic eyes. I then jumped to the left and the dragon breathed fire upon where I was. I hid behind one of the ammo containers for a moment and then I looked at my parachute - which had been burned up.
I then looked to the parachute container that had also been burned up by the dragons fire. Now I was free falling in a AC-130 without a parachute. Plus, to make it even better there was a dragon that wanted to kill me outside. Another blast of fire passed me as the dragon attempted to attack me again, but I was still in cover.
I looked around the cover and saw the dragons was recovering its fire blast - this was my time. So I got to my feet and ran towards the back of the plane and hid behind another ammo container. The dragon didn’t see me run so now I had the element of surprise. Quickly I grabbed my tomahawk and looked down at the rope that was holding the ammo crate in place.
I slammed by tomahawk against it a couple of times and it broke. Then I turned around and did the same to the other end. The ammo crate was now loose enough to fall out of the plane, so I put my back to the crate and pushed it back. With a couple of tries the container became free and at this time the dragon breathed fire.
The container slid down the plane and hit the dragon in the face sending it off balance. This forced it to take another place to attack and I knew where I wanted it to go. With that I ran to the gunning area and tapped my tomahawk on the outside of the plane to get the dragons attention.
“COMMON YOU BIG FUCKER!” I shouted as I hit the tomahawk loader. Then the dragon flew around the plane and grabbed onto the side with all of the guns on it. Exactly the place where I wanted it. I then held onto the aiming rail and pointed it at the chest of the dragon. The dragon then took a big bite of the plane so the gunning part was completely exposed.
I then forced the gun up and looked up at the dragon. I then kicked the fire button and then I heard a loud explosion. This was followed by a cloud of smoke being left where the dragon once was. The command module then said “Gun Fired - Reload”. With that I relaxed for a moment and look a step back from the gun.
The dragon was dead, finally. But then that thought was destroyed when the head of the dragon trusted itself into the plane and ripped out the main gun. I jumped backwards and watched as the dragon threw the gun into a random building - causing the building loose a lot of its glass and structure.
Then the dragon turned its attention to me again, it looked down at me - twice as pissed as before. It had now taken a 105 shell to the chest and a car to the head. Just my luck to come back to my country and get greeted by this thing.
I then ran towards the next gun and looked a the dragon what then got ready to rip this gun out as well. But it then looked left and suddenly jumped off the plane - had it given up? I looked at it in confusion for a moment but then I looked to see what it saw.
The Gherkin was in the path of the plane and the dragon had seen this coming. For what I could do now was to focus on attacking the dragon. So I moved to the last of the guns - which was a gatling gun. It was all ready to fire and the dragon was in sight. After adjusting the aim of the gun I then pressed the button to spin up the barrel.
Sparks flew as I pressed the button and a barrage of bullets flew at the dragon. The first few missed but then the rest hit the dragon, shedding its wings to pieces and sending it flying to the ground. A puff of smoke rises from where the dragon landed.
The dragon yelped as it hit the ground and pulled a couple of small buildings down with it. For what I could think of the dragon still might be alive - but now it couldn’t fly. Other then that it shouldn’t be one of my problems for a little while.
Now I had dealt with that I needed to deal with the last of the matters, being that I was heading straight for the Gherkin. I ran to the pilot seat and pushed the controlled forwards and to the left. The plane somewhat moved to the left but there was little change in its direction. The plane might not get hit directly but there was going to be some contact.
The Gherkin got closer and closer as the plane slowly moved down and left. Seconds were becoming more valuable as I looked to the impending doom that was ahead. With a yell I pulled the controller back as hard as I could to try and get the plane to move just a bit more. Then it happened.
The right wing of the plane caught the building and the glass exploded upon the impact. The plane seemed to go straight through the building as if it were I knife cutting butter. The plane lost a lot of speed from doing this and it pointed in a more down like direction now. The plane then exited the building leaving a sizable mark on the side on it - but the plane was still on the move.
The street ahead was empty and the plane was headed toward the street. The wing of the plane was shredded up and was just keeping itself together. I pulled the controller up to try and get some more air to get a better landing. This had little effect and the ground got closer and closer.
Everything that I did seemed to make the impending ending all the more likely. Nothing was working on the plane anymore and warnings were beginning to pop up all over the command module. Everything was going to hell.
The only thing that I could do now would be to try and jump out of the plane. So with that idea in mind I grabbed my backpack and ran towards the back of the plane. The foreseeable world beyond the plane was a lot slower then before and was getting closer. Everything was riding on these next few steps.
Everything seemed to slow down as each step took place and then the last step came. It was on the edge of the platform at the end of the plane. With a lot of push I flew out of the plane and made some air. I then rolled into a ball and landed on the floor, rolling a couple of times as I slowed down.
I then layed on the ground and turned my head to see the plane crash on the street and fall apart. It grinded across the ground and pulled a couple of building parts down with it until it eventually came to a full stop. I lied there for a moment to regain my breath and focus on the fact that I actually survived.
I then let out a big sigh and I closed my eyes. Everything was now back to where I had started - back here in London. The next thing that I needed to do was to go to the research place and find Elliot. But there was one thing that was still bugging me - and it had since I met Elliot.
Something about him just made me feel uneasy when I was around him - a unhuman thing about him that I couldn’t explain. Then again this was just me speculating on him from what I have heard. This was all going to get wrapped up really soon though. Because everything seemed to be coming together. Soon it would.
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human Chapter 7~
The empty streets were as they were before I had left London - in search of the answers that I desired. But now I had come all the way back to square one with just as much confusion as I left with. Now I had no idea who to trust, who to work with and who to travel with. The best that I could do with for now was to continue my journey alone.
This next part who need me to get to the research facility, it was a big, tall building that had a hospital on the bottom floors. But the top floors were for experimenting and test out new things. Well - that was after the conversion bureaus opened. They were trying to develop ways to counteract the potion and to find ways to turn converted humans back into ponies.
It was all a load of rubbish to the public and no one really cared about what they were doing - because the main focus was on the fact that humans were becoming an endangered species. Every day more and more humans were changing into ponies - for the promise of a better life.
It even got to the point where humanity stopped the Conversion Bureaus all together because too many people were being changed. Everything came to a standstill after that - the world had lost most of its population and land. But there was still a large population left over and something didn’t want there to be any more humans.
That was when the mass conversion happened, the message was that you could get converted and have a care free life. Or you could stay and die. Obviously the message was not that simple but in the end everyone got the idea of what they were saying. Yet, even though I didn’t change I am still here and I am still alive.
Now I was becoming a part of a group that wanted to change ponies back into humans, but part of me though that this was becoming a bad plan. A very bad plan. Who would want to change back - it would end up like when potions were being put in drinks and water supplies. Forceful methods might appear with me at the top of it all.
That was something that didn’t feel right. They might have tried to take our rights but I won't take theirs. If they changed then that was their choice and I respect that. Now it came down to what I was going to do when I encountered Elliot again. Would I tell him that I wasn’t in on the plan anymore?
Apart from that I was now back on the move with the correct building in my sights - It would probably be night when I got there. The perfect setting for a plan to be set - in the dead of night. It was almost feeling like the end of a movie - like I was the main character in the whole thing.
For some reason I liked the idea of being the last one, this was before the mass conversion, because I could live it out in the way of Smith in I am Legend. Without the infected - of course. But there would be no law, no one to tell me what to do - I would be truly free. But now that I am really living it I have other ideas of how I would like to live life.
As I walked down the street I noticed that there was a electronics store - it still had its power running with a flicker in the lighting every now and again. But the main thing that caught my eye was that there was only one television producing a image - the rest were static. For some reason this single television was developing a image.
I turned to it and walked into the store to see what was being shown. When I got close enough it was the menu screen for a custom DVD - simply titled End. There was nothing else on the screen but that word and a single selection saying play. I got right up to the screen and looked at it.
I then looked at the player below it and pressed the button that said play. The DVD then began to play its contents, beginning with the words of a single man.
“Hello, whoever has found this DVD running in this store will know by now that the ponies have taken over. The end of the human race has happened and...” The man paused for a moment and then continued to talk. “...now the mass conversion is taking effect. I am going to join this conversion because I have nothing left - humanity has died and the recent events have proved it. Just look at the news over the last few days and you will see...”
The screen then displayed a news report showing the research building. A woman stood in the middle of the screen and looked into the camera. “Today, as you can see the first countermeasures to the Conversion Bureaus are being created. This research facility is working to find a way to reverse the effects of transformation...”
The tape then cut off and the screen returned to black for a few moments - then it switched to a view of a street. There was a man and a pony talking to each other. The tape was silent but the conclusion was clear when police units suddenly moved in and then man watched as the pony was dragged away.
Another cut took place as a collection of clips showed the military moving in and going about various missions against ponies and their own kind. Each one contained a single factor that stayed the same - there was no mercy.
Humanity was being shown for the evil that it could produce. “This is the world that we have created - I no longer wish to be a part of this race. That is why this tape is here to show the future what the humans used to be.”
The tape then stopped and returned back to the title screen. I was shocked for a few moments as I processed what I had just saw. Those were the last few days - the dark days. I had no idea why some of it went on but I did my best to forget it. Now it had come back up, just like that.
I then stepped back a couple of steps and thought for a moment - this wasn’t me. I am the last human and I don’t want everything to think that I am like the others. I then pressed the button the eject the DVD and it spat it out on a tray. I picked up the DVD and held it in my hands.
Closing my eyes I put pressure on both ends of the disk until I heard a snap. When I opened my eyes the disk was broken - the information was gone forever. I then threw the broken disk on the floor and I turned around to go out of the store. Looking back at the research facility I began to walk again.
Time would only tell in what was coming up for me, I continued my walk along the road with the sun beginning to set behind me. It wasn’t long until I got to the doors of the research place, the main part of the journey was flying here. But now I had arrived. I walked over to the middle of the complex and saw the elevator.
For now I thought it would be better to avoid these things - since my last encounter. So I turned around and walked up the stairs instead. After a couple of floors I was regretting my decision, but it was better to be safe.
The floor that I was aiming for was the near top one that held the records, because if Elliot was already here then he wouldn’t be in there. He would be looking for the other research. So that was my destination.
After a few minutes of stair climbing I got to the correct floor, that was when I collapsed on the floor and began to take deep breaths. Thats the last time I do that. Now I could do some searching - that was when I got my breath back.
I then stood up and looked around at the immediate area surrounding me - it was filled with plenty of boxes and documents. On the wall was a fire axe and a button to set of the fire alarms - plus water system. I ignored these for now as I needed everything dry. I then walked down the hallway and looked at the various boxes.
Nothing really caught my eye as I first went over everything. So I sat down and thought about it for a moment. Thinking about what that rainbow pegasus meant by “check the records”. What was I expecting to find. I looked at the mirror ahead to see myself in my perplexed state. Then it hit me.
I quickly looked to my side and looked inside of the box marked ‘employee birth records’. Everything was tabbed at the top as I searched through the box. I came to the back and there was not the thing that I was looking for. Maybe that rainbow pegasus wanted me to not find something.
I then stood up and looked inside the next box marked by ‘employee status’. Inside I looked through the file and found the one that I was looking for. I looked at it for a few seconds and observed what it had to offer. Things were now beginning to fall in place, but only one pony could put this all together.
I stood up and turned back towards the stairs, only to meet the one who I never expected to meet. She stood there with a scarf around her neck and a backpack on - like she had been traveling for a long time.
“Miss Sparkle” I said, remembering her from that interview.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a human” she began as she looked me over, noticing the two pistols on my chest. “I hope you don't plan on using those” she said as she pointed as the pistols.
“I don’t intend to” I replied as I looked at her.
“The pony that you have been traveling with - he is not...” she began before I interrupted.
“I think i’ve figured that out by now. Thanks to you rainbow coloured friend I’ve been able to gather the lost pieces” I said.
“I bet you want me dead for what I did to your kind - and maybe indirectly to you. That’s why I am here...” she said as she looked up and me. “I’m sorry for what happened to her, I didn’t think that it would lead to this. I’m sorry” She said as she then let some tears leave and she bowed her head.
So many emotions were running through my head right now - sadness, anger and other random emotions. For the first time a pony was bowing to a human - something that has never happened before. She was sorry for what had happened - she probably didn’t mean to cause so much pain. All she wanted was to get rid of humanity - in the nicest way possible.
It was an evil thing to do but then again she was one of the ones who gave the choice. There was another group that forced people to change into ponies - another group that produced propaganda against humanity. She was only part of the early stages and she probably didn’t expect the next events in history. But everything has happened now and there is no turning back.
“It’s complicated, in how I am feeling” I began, she looked up again to hear what I had to say. “I understand what you got caught up into but at the same time you should have expected this to happen” I said. We then fell silent for a moment as the words sunk in. “I accept you apologie” I said.
Suddenly the elevator came to life, Twilight and I both looked at it as the number at the top slowly gained value. It was moving up and something was in it. Frozen in place, we watched the doors - waiting for the incoming conclusion. Whatever it was it must be able to turn the power on and activate the elevator. That would have to be something human.
“Hide now” I said to Twilight. She looked at me confused but then quickly ran away and hid. If it was who I thought it was then she shouldn’t be here. Even though I was angry with her I still had some part of me needing her to be safe.
The tension built as the elevator number got bigger and bigger. All the way I was watching the doors, waiting for the ping to say that the door was ready to open. I got out my pistol and aimed it at the door with the safety off and my finger on the trigger.
I then peered to the right and caught glimpse of Twilight hiding behind some boxes a couple of meters away. She looked into my eyes and watched as I looked back to the door. The number was almost at its climax and everything had come to this moment. All this time of waiting I had finally gotten to the moment where everything was going to be revealed.
The truth.
A ping.
A tone began to ring in my ears as I coughed, time stood still for a moment as I fell to the ground. Everything was shaking as my entire body went into shock, my mind processing this new feeling of pain. The gun fell to the ground and lied next to me.
A slight trickle of blood subsidized in my mouth as my body began to bleed. It was then when I began to hyperventilate and try and get back my lost breath. Then the ringing stopped and I looked over at the elevator door to see the shadow of a man. For the first time in a long time - another man was in my presence.
There was a cloud of smoke around the area where the man stood - mainly around the object that he was possessing. When my vision came back into focus I could see that he was holding a pump action shotgun. The man then pumped it and the fired shell ejected itself and pinged against the floor.
He then began to walk forward - slowly as he held his shotgun by his side. His face came into view and then I knew exactly who he was.
“Wow, its been a long time since I’ve done that to something” this man said in an excited manner as he got closer to me. “I’m sorry Max, or should I say - mister Hunter. It has to end like this” He continued as he then got right in front of me.
He then knelt down and pulled my other pistol off my chest and threw it away. “You won't be needing that any more - because you will be dead soon. Plus, as you are dying, I will tell you about my plan. Like with those movies - monologuing. Then this will all die with you!” He said.
“Why Elliot?” I asked as that was all that I could think to say.
“Why? Well, it all started when I was a pony. As you know, I was not a natural human - I got captured and changed. So, I warmed up to the people and got into a higher up position. Then I worked on my plan to destroy the humans for taking my life. So to keep my mind I took a conversion drug and got changed into a pony again - but...” He then stopped, thinking for a moment about what he was going to say next.
“What?” I said.
“She got together with somepony else - she gave up on me. Just like that. It was then when Equestria detected my hate and they booted me out. Then I survived for a short period of time - then I found you. I was lucky but the fact remains. You were the only one that could get me back to London”
“Why did you need to get back here?” I asked as this was beginning to make less and less sense.
“Do I need to decode this for you” He said as he got closer. “You are the last human and I want my revenge on humanity - so why don’t I roleplay as Max Hunter and make you a mass murderer. What a great way to make humans look exactly how you didn’t want them to be like. I will use my technology and dark magic to make you the ultimate killing machine. I can’t wait to get started!” He giggled and smiled at me in a insane way.
“You monster...” I said as I coughed.
“You will be the monster soon. And you will die here being the only one who knows. Its a shame really”
“Why?”
“Oh, because you would have made such a great pony” he then laughed in my face and suddenly stopped. “Laughing matters aside, it was nice knowing you. But there is one last thing that I have been really curious about - ever since I met you”
“What is that?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you sir name? Hunter isn’t that bad” He asked.
“You will never know - that will die with me too” I said, chuckling at my own success.
“As I have nothing better to do then I will just make you tell me” He then pressed on my wound, causing immense pain to me, I yelled out in pain as he looked into my eyes. “How about now?”
I leaned forward and whispered “How about no”. He then leaned even further in making the pain greater than before. Everything was yelling out at me to stop him but I was weak. I could only let the pain happen.
“GET OFF HIM!” Shouted Twilight as she tackled Elliot to the ground. He dropped his shotgun and was sent a couple of meters the the side with Twilight close by.
“You mother f-” Elliot began but was then bucked in the head by Twilight. He fell down but then got up. He looked at Twilight with nothing but hate in his eyes, he was a real monster. He then slammed the fire alarm next to him and the water machines began to blast water out of them. At the same time a bell rang once but then broke.
The ground became wet with dots of blood around Elliot. There was some blood beginning to trail out of me from the gunshot wound that I had taken. Twilight moved so that she was in front of me, she was defending me. Her eyes narrowed and Elliot gritted his teeth. The two stared at each other for a moment until Elliot laughed a little.
“You’re defending him, how cute” Elliot said.
“Because he’s worth defending” Twilight shouted.
“Why?” Elliot shouted.
“Because he’s human” Twilight said, peering back at me.
“Fine then!” Elliot shouted as he ran forward and threw a punch at Twilight. She jumped out of the way and then turned to face him again. She met another punch in the face from Elliot as he swung around and slammed Twilight away. She slid back on the water and attempted to get back up again.
Elliot began to storm over to her but lost his balance a little on the surface. This gave Twilight the extra time she needed and she charged into Elliot sending him back again. She then pounced on and pushed his arms back to stop him from attacking. He was stuck to the ground for a little time but then he rolled over and got Twilight on her back.
They began to struggle as I got onto my feet, I was weak but I could still do something. The water made my cloths wet and reduced how much I could move as they had gained weight. I stumbled over to the wall and could see them fighting with non of them winning at the moment. I looked to the cabinet ahead and saw a fire axe.
Elliot then got the upper hand on the battle and grabbed Twilights head, then he threw her forward into window at the end of the hall. Elliot then picked up the pistol and walked over to Twilight who was fazed from what was going on. Elliot then brung the pistol up and aimed it at Twilight with the intention to kill.
Then I yelled out and swung the fire axe down as he turned around. The axe sliced through his arm in one slice and chopped his hand off. Elliot then screamed as he looked over at his cut arm.
“YOU FUCKING BA-” he yelled, but was cut off when I lowered the axe and sliced it in a upwards diagonal way. Elliot flew through the air and landed on his front. Dead.
I then dropped the axe and fell to the ground, leaning against the wall. I was now done, everything was going to end now. There was no more that could be done - Elliot was now dead and Twilight was alive. I had to kill another to keep one alive - but it was worth it.
Now I could rest knowing that I wasn’t completely bad and I saved someone. Or somepony if I were to be more precise. But now my blood was draining and my pulse was dying. My life was ending and I could only look at the wall opposite. Then Twilight came into view, she stood in front of me and looked at my wound that bled.
“I’m sorry that you had to see me like this - I wasn’t expecting a shotgun to the chest” I said.
“Don’t worry, you’re going to be ok! Just hang in there” She said as she frantically grabbed a cloth and pressed it against my wound.
“Please Twilight” I said as adsorbed the pain and tried to push her away.
“No! I can help!” Twilight shouted.
“I would have never expected this...” I said as I chuckled a little.
“What?” Twilight asked.
“Getting help from you, you were the last pony that I expected to meet”
“Don’t worry, its going to be ok. Just don't go!” she shouted in panic. I then put my hand to the side of her face and looked into her eyes.
“Tell her...” I began but then tears were building up in my eyes. “Tell her I’m sorry...” I got out just as I then let my hand drop. Then I began to let my eyes close as I took on final breath. This was my end and I welcomed it.
Even though I was dying, I had completed what I could. Now it was time to rest.
To sleep.
“Don’t worry, I’ll fix this” I heard as I blacked out.
“Its going to be ok”
END OF PART 1
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 1~
Everything was black - there was no sound. It was like there was no reality anymore, there was just emptiness. I couldn’t feel - neither could I speak. It was like everything that I had was no longer mine. Was this what it was like to be dead?
If this is death then it is pretty boring, just hovering about a dark infinity for the rest of eternity. It was then when I saw it, a great light formed from behind me. I turned to face this light, it was warm and consuming. I began to relax - for a moment I was carefree.
Everything that had been bothering me for the last few years just left and I was left with nothing but happiness. To what I believed this is the experience that others have described during a near death experience. I began to close my eyes and let the light consume me - and let the end happen. Then, with a mighty blast, I was pushed back on my eyes opened again.
The light closed up and I was once again left in darkness. Then I could hear a sound, it was somewhat familiar, but all the same it was a continuous sound. A bleeping of some sort, a constant recurring high pitched noise.
Then my senses began to come back and I was regaining control. The bleeping became clearer as I could sense a light on my face. It was warm like it was sunlight - was it? Whatever it was it was waking me up.
I began to open my left eye - everything was still blurry but I could just about make out a white ceiling. I was indoors - that was a start as the last thing I remember was being indoors. After being shot and then killing the shooter. I was sure that I would die - but, I was still alive. Somehow.
I then opened my right eye and got a better view of the room that I was in. It had dark blue walls and there was a curtain surrounding the bed that I was in. A machine was connected to me and it was beeping away - on it was a pulse meter and my bps. Everything on the machine seemed to be fine - I was alive.
I was now awake enough to be able to get up from my lying down position into my sitting up position. On a chair next to me was my top cloths with the holes from the shotgun. They had been cleaned but they still were a little rugged from the damage. I pulled up the cover to see that I was still wearing my combat trousers from before. So far so good.
I then looked to the machine and pressed the off button. Then I pulled the instruments from my skin and turned around. After that I placed my feet on the ground and stood up - my legs seemed to be still working. My backpack was sitting on the chair as well.
Opening my bag I found that my two pistols were still in there - attached to my chest straps. For now I thought that it would be a good idea to keep these in here - as I had no idea where I was. But the clues were beginning to fit into place, I was becoming conscious of where I was.
Then the unexpected happened, a sudden pain struck through my body from my chest. I put my hand to my chest and began to breath heavily - maybe I still had some life problems. After a few seconds the pain died away and everything seemed to go back to normal. It was then when I realised that there was something wrapped around my chest.
I looked to see that it had been wrapped in a white material that is used to bandage wounds. When I pressed on my chest a slight pain would come up, that was where I had been shot. But the next thing that was on my mind was where was I?
Everything was taken care of in here so this place had to have inhabitants - but then who lived in this area? It was then when a familiar voice began to talk from the hallway. I looked to see two shadows moving towards the door - I knew who one of them was.
Twilight then appeared from the doorway with another unicorn who seemed to be a doctor. The doctor smiled at me and then looked down at his notes - after clearing his throat he began to talk.
“Mister Hunter, is that right?” the doctor began.
“Yeah, that’s me” I replied, begin a little uneasy.
“So far it seems that you are making a full recovery from your, umm, incident with a shotgun” the doctor said, still unsure of what he was talking about. But he was a doctor and he definitely knew that I was recovering - even though I was a human.
“Thanks Doctor” I said. The doctor then nodded and walked out of the room leaving me alone with Twilight. She trotted up to the bed and stood next to me.
“Well it does look like you are making a full recovery” She said.
“I was pretty sure that I was dead after taking that shot” I said as I took a deep breath and remembered that moment. The shock had basically scared that event into my brain. I could remember every part of it, to the tiniest detail.
“Well, its good that you're not dead. Because then I wouldn’t be able to thank you...” she paused for a moment and I looked up at her - awaiting her response. “... for saving me” she said as she looked at me again.
“I’d like to thank you too, for standing up for me, and bringing me here” I said.
“It was nothing really, all I needed to do was stop the bleeding and then teleport us back here” she said.
“Anyway, where is here?” I asked.
“Well, umm. The thing is you're not even meant to be here” She said looking a little guilty.
“Why?” I asked.
“You are human and you are in Equestria, get it now?” she said and my mind went into shock. I was in the place where I least wanted to be - mainly because of the fact that he was human.
“Uhhhh” I had no idea what to say as the thoughts of me being discovered were running through my head.
“Don’t worry! Celestia has no idea that there are any humans left. When that pegasus told me that he had found a human, I told him to stay quiet. Then I began to journey with Rainbow Dash to get to this - London place” she explained. I was still very much afraid of the thought of being discovered.
“So, what now then. Because I can’t really go anywhere without being discovered by other ponies” I said as I was panicking a bit.
“Plenty of ponies know that you are here, I’ve had them swear that they will not tell. And because of that many of them are wanting to meet you - well, because you are the last human” Twilight explained.
“O-K” I said slowly, but still showing that I wasn’t completely fine with the idea.
“Put your clothes on then and I will meet you outside” Twilight then said as she briskly walked out of the door and left me alone. I then looked to my cloths that were still on the chair, they were clean. I put them on and swung my backpack onto my back. Then I walked towards the door with a slight pain still subsiding in my chest.
I came to the doorway and this lead to a hall. Doors with numbers on them were all the way down the hall and at the end was the reception area where Twilight had gone. I began to walk down the hall and I listened to all of the bleeps from heart meters, so many ponies were still getting hurt.
Then again anyone can get injured in any environment - it just happens. Also they have pegasi and unicorns - so anything could lead to accidents with them. So it would be no surprise for there to be accidents in this land.
I got to the end of the hall where the reception area was. There was a white pony at the desk writing some things down. She didn’t notice me as I walked by as she seemed to be quite busy. I then opened the door and the blitzing sunlight shot through the new space. My eyes squinted as the new light hit me like a rocket but within a few seconds everything came back into focus.
I walked forward and let the door shut behind me and I was greeted by the lush countryside of this land. Everything was colourful and beaming with life. The land had been taken care of by these ponies very well and the weather was exceedingly good. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
I then looked ahead to see Twilight waiting there for me to come. I then walked over to her and stood by her side.
“So this is your world” I said as I continued to look around.
“This is where I live, nice, isn’t it?” She said.
“I can see why so many moved here now, It’s quite amazing to look at” I said in response.
“Anyway, we better get going” She said as she began to trot ahead. I then picked up the pace and walked alongside her. The path ahead lead up to a small town - populated by many ponies. In the sky there was pegasi flying around and moving the clouds around.
Soon we got to the entrance of the town and all the ponies in the immediate area became aware of my existence. All of the ponies then began to stare at me as we walked through the town - I felt somewhat uneasy about all of this attention that I was attracting. It was something that I didn’t want to happen - as if ponies started to tell Celestia about this then she would probably come herself and sort me out.
I quickened my pace and got beside Twilight so I could talk to her.
“Hey Twilight, are you sure that this is a good idea?” I asked as the amount of ponies following us gained in numbers.
“Umm, I think everything will be ok” she said being a little unsure.
“Yeah, but what happens if Celestia finds out. She could have me turned into a pony or worse - have me executed” I said as I began to panic. Twilight then stopped and looked at me.
“Celestia wouldn’t have you executed - that’s not what happens here. The worst she could do would be to have you changed or banished” She said.
“I hope its the second option, because I would not like to be a pony. No offence” I said.
“Non taken” Twilight said as she smiled. We had now gained quite the crowd of curious ponies as we moved through the town to what seemed to be the town hall. There was a podium on the stage with a greyish aber skinned pony with grey hair standing there. She looked at me and then smiled as she moved to the side of the podium.
Twilight and I then walked onto the stage and she stopped to turn around. I then turned around as well to see a large crowd that had appeared out of nowhere. There were so many colours and different ponies spread around the town square as they all looked to me with curiosity.
The major pony, that was the grey haired one, walked up to the stand and cleared her throat so she could present her speech.
“Today you are all aware of our visitor from the human lands of England. But before I go on you must all swear that you will not tell anyone from other places about him being here” She then searched the crowd of ponies as they looked at each other and then nodded in agreement.
“Geez this is scary...” I whispered as I looked around at the many faces in the crowd.
“This here is Max Hunter” she said as she gestured over at me. “He is a human who saved the life of Twilight Sparkle. For this she requested that he could stay here for a while as he has sustained an injury in a fight”.
It was then when the ponies then began to whisper to each other when they heard that a human had saved a pony. That kind of thing was unheard of as the two species normally despised each other. Then again, this was the first human that they had seen in a long time. They then settled down and awaited the next words.
“Why don’t we see if Max wants to say anything” she said as she turned to me and gestured for me to come to the stand. I froze for a second as I hadn’t been asked to do very many things in a while. I then approached the stand and silence fell on the crowd as they all looked at me in anticipation.
“Umm, hello?” I said. “I’m Max and I am one of the last humans...” The crowd remained silent as I looked around at them. I was somewhat embarrassed and unsure of what I should do next. “Well, if any of you ponies need help with anything then - I guess I will be here to help” it was then when a swarm of requests and questions came storming in as all the ponies started to smile and talk.
“A lot of the ponies have really wanted to meet a human” Twilight said as she walked beside me. “You will probably have a lot of questions from them now” she continued as she calmed the crowd down.
“Ok, everypony. Please remember that Max is just one human - so don’t swarm him with requests and questions” the major said and the crowd then calmed down. Then they started to disperse and go back to their normal routines again. With new things to talk about now.
I then walked off the stage with Twilight and stood to the side - taking a few deep breaths.
“I’m not sure if that was the smartest thing I could have done” I said.
“Oh, don’t worry. It was just a burst of excitement - they will probably just want to meet you, that’s all” Twilight said as she giggled at my panicking.
“Right” I said as I turned around to be greeted by a green unicorn with golden eyes. I recoiled and shot back as she had come right up to my face.
“Hi!” She said with a really excited tone. “WOW! I’ve never seen a human up close - with the hands and the fingers and-” she was then cut off by Twilight pushing her back a bit.
“Lyra, please don’t assault the guest” Twilight said.
“Oh, I’m Lyra Heartstrings. Sorry for being a bit excited there - it’s just i’ve been wanting to see a human up close for so long” the apparently called Lyra said.
“It’s ok. Lyra’s your name?” I asked.
“Sure is!” Lyra said as she looked me over. This pony seemed to be surprisingly interested in human kind - this was a little odd for a pony but it was nice to know that there were some ponies like her.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you Lyra” I said.
“Nice to meet you too, umm, Max!” She said as she then walked away with giggles of excitement. When she had walked away I turned to Twilight.
“Is she always like this?” I asked.
“Not always, but this is something she has been interested in for a long time” Twilight said.
“Heh heh, right” I said as we then began to walk away from the main population of the town.
“As you are here, you wouldn’t mind helping a few of my friends out with some tasks” Twilight said as we got to the outskirts of the town.
“What kind of tasks are we talking about?” I asked.
“Well, so far I’ve heard that Applejack is taking down another barn and Rainbow Dash is helping her. If you could go give her a hand then that would be appreciated” She requested.
To be honest I’ve never been part of a destruction team where I am the one destroying things but the idea of ripping a building to pieces didn’t sound that bad. And besides I had nothing better to do until my wound was better.
“Yeah, I could help with that” I said accepting her request.
“Really, thank you!” She said as she happily trotted ahead again. I wish she wouldn’t keep on speeding up like that, my lungs are already having problems as it is.
“So, where is this barn then?” I asked.
“It’s just down this road. Rainbow should be tearing it down already - so you can’t miss it” She said as she pointed down a pathway.
“Alright then, thanks anyway” I said as I began to journey down the path.
“No problem” Twilight called as she turned away and walked off somewhere.
Now I was going to go to work again - something that I didn’t expect to get back into when I had been surviving for so long. I wasn’t sure how this Rainbow Dash was going to react when she met me. And that was another thing that had really been getting me recently - why are there so many females?
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 3~
Suddenly I came to a stop and my mind was going haywire. The brightness from the light was blinding my vision and the sheer power of the energy had left a loud ringing in my ears. The energy left a cloud of smoke behind it as the once lit area darkened just as quickly as it was lit. With my vision gone and my hearing gone all my senses are shouting out at me.
My throat is becoming sore and tears are streaming down my face as I collapse to the ground with my body in shock. My body is screaming at me to stop but I can't as I can only do things that I can think of. And after what happened all I can think about is Twilight and Rainbow. They were the last ones that I could think of before I was teleported away.
When my hearing begins to come back I can hear myself yelling out the names of my friends. With my vision still blurry I cannot really move anywhere so I fall down onto my back. My throat is now dry from all the shouting that I have been doing and I cannot go on much longer. I allow myself to recover as my vision just about comes back.
With my vision returning I can see grey clouds above. The last residence of the light that took me here then disappears into the cloud layer. That is when the darkness fully engulfs the place that I have been dropped off in. The place that I will have to stay in. I close my eyes for a few seconds to let myself get my head back together.
I am now in a place that could be anywhere in the world and I have nothing that can help me survive. All I have is two pistols, that’s it. I grab my back from my back and lay it on my chest and search through the bag to confirm my suspicions. I look at one of the pistols that is becoming older and broken up a bit. After ejecting the clip I throw this one away to take some weight off.
I rummage through whatever is left in the bag to find there is really nothing else - just a waterproof coat. Looks like the rest of my stuff is gone, or it has been taken away from me. My main concern is my laptop - it has all my data on it. And if it is gone - then that would be all my years work down the drain. Just like that.
My legs spasmed a bit as I tried to regain control of them. After getting up one of my legs was still on the verge of taking a nap. But after shaking it a bit it seems to get the idea that it has a long day of work ahead. Pulling the bag back onto my back and placing the pistol into a slot on my chest straps - I begin to look at my surroundings.
From what I can see - I am on a highway of sorts. To my left is a town and to my right is the far off lands of wherever I am. There are still cars on the highway - abandoned of course. They must have been trying to get out of the country - but they must have got caught up is some kind of crossfire. Then I suppose they were taken away by a large containment vehicle.
As my vision just about got to its full potential again I looked down the highway to where the town was. This was probably my best shot at finding something to allow me to survive. My best hopes were that there would be some kind of shopping centre or a storage facility somewhere. But apart from that it would be useful if there was some kind of armed base so I could find some more weapons to defend myself with. So that was my mental plan - go to the town, find some supplies and weapons.
So I began to walk down the road, examining each car as I moved along. Each one telling telling a different story of how a family or person attempted to get out of their town. Most of them were part of the mass conversion as there was such a large number of cars on the road at the same time. Then I suppose some chaos was let loose and that caused the traffic to come to a stop.
Something that happened on the first day of the mass conversion was that the news went out. Meaning that no one knew what was going on in the rest of the world. The internet died out as the servers stopped working and the power grid began to degrade. With all of this happening at once the human population went down at an alarming rate as people got converted to live in Equestria. This then brings me to the point where there is no one left in the city and all communications have gone dead. Leaving me alone.
There is the possibility of there being some other humans out there - hiding in the forest or in the cities. But for now I can only trust what information I know. And that is that all the other humans have gone - or have been killed. All this chaos that spread across the world all happened within a week. The idea of so many people trying to escape as the world just gave up. Every system just degraded and stopped operating because of the other services not working. With all of these things combined the world just turned off and said that it couldn’t sustain the normal human life anymore.
Then, after a month of this happening, I was left alone in the city of London to defend myself and live life out. Even though I lost things through the conversion bureau, I have seemed to gain some things as well. For example I am now a lot more active and aware of the world around me as being able to hear your enemies gives you the advantage in a battle. And I have seemed to become a lot faster at running as that is something that I do a lot - along with hiding. But then again I have lived a very secure life where I don’t like being seen by the pegasi in the sky.
Pegasi in the sky, they have been the main fear factor of my life. Even though I have never had a bad experience with a pegasus that doesn’t really mean that I couldn’t get a bad one now. So this all means that I have just got to stick to my careful lifestyle in order to survive. And so far survival is my only mission.
As I walked through the welcome sign it seemed to be written in some foreign language that I hadn’t come across before. Then again I didn’t really do very much traveling in my days before the conversion - that might have been another reason why I didn’t want to go. But as I looked it over it seemed to have a bit of it teared off by something. As I traced where the thing came from I the looked into the city to see where it landed.
From what it looked like there had been a plane crash in this area as there was a wing of something stuck in one of the buildings. I knew there was some chaos but this was a bit over the top. It made it look like the end of the world was happening when people were running away. But technically it was the end of the human world - so, I guess that counts. So these people were running away until this random plane came out of nowhere and crash landed into this town.
My guess seemed to be correct as I walked around the building to see a rather large plane crashed into the ground, about a hundred meters away. The plane was still upright but it had some scraping marks on its bottom. I began to walk towards it to see what it was, and where it came from. The real thought that was racing through my head as I got closer was what caused a plane like this to suddenly crash. It could have been anything really - engine failure, wing break up, pilots falling asleep. There is quite a few things that can cause a plane to go down.
I was now about ten meters away from the plane, on the side there was some text again - but it was in the same language as before so I couldn’t tell exactly what it was. I tried to turn my head and think of what languages I could relate it to. In the end I just shrugged and moved along to the front of the plane. I began to climb up to the coppit to see if they had gotten the wounded off of the plane - so I could then look it over for supplies. My hand then caught itself on something sharp and it slipped to cause a cut along my hand. I then recoiled and fell onto my back holding my cut hand in my other hand.
I couldn’t but swear as the pain shot through my hand. Holding it tight I breathed hard to allow myself to get back into the right state of mind. I then sat up and got my bag off of my back to get to the insides of it. The only thing I could use was the waterproof coat, so I ripped a part of it off and wrapped it around my hand. Then I pulled the knot tight to keep the blood inside of me. After half a minute of recovering I stood back and tried to see what I caught my hand on. When I got a few meters away I could see the broken glass with my blood shimmering off it. Then sheer curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to know why the glass was broken. First I checked that my pistol was fully loaded and then I began to climb again.
This time I was a lot more careful with the broken glass and I broke it down with my arm. Now there was a clear area to climb into the plane, so I pushed myself up and rolled into the plane. When I stood up I saw what I was hoping that I would see. The pilots were still here and they were dead. Looking at them they had both been shoved onto the ground and had their throats cut. From what I could see, that would mean that something smashed through the window and it killed the pilots. I was trying to think whether this could be what caused the plane to crash or not. And if this wasn’t what caused the plane to crash - then what did and why did some people climb in the plane and kill the pilots.
Pulling out my pistol I then walked forward to see that the door to the next compartment was still open. I then tapped the door with the end of my pistol so it would open all the way. Inside was most probably a area for the vip’s as inside there was a lot of people with suits on. But then as I approached one of the ones in the hallway they had something that changed everything. This was a guard because he had a gun. And when I ejected the cip he had discharged three bullets. When I looked behind me I could see where these three bullets had gone. I then looked at his suit to see that he had been stabbed through the chest. The others had been taken out from neck shots to having their backs sliced. It was a massacre. Something elite had come in here and taken part in a assasination. But who was the target?
I then moved along to the next part of the plane to see that the maids had also been killed off - what ever these things were they were not taking anyone alive. After seeing that they had a storage room I then walked into what seemed to be a hallway that had rooms on either side of it. Meaning that this was a very high tech plane - something that someone important would have. Again, there were guards with pistols and small sub machine guns with them. So far it looked like no one had even gotten close to survival. Moving along I looked into each room, each one with the same result. Death.
It was then when I found the room with the most people in it. Also it was the one with the most defence in it. There was a upturned desk with people hiding behind it. They had shotguns and submachine guns with them. This must have been the main target for whatever these things were. I walked into the room and then found that behind the desk was a man in a different suit to everyone else. I had seen his face before but I couldn’t think of who it was. But there was one thing for sure - this was someone important. That was because so many people were defending this single person. Or it could have just been some left over people joining together for a last stand.
I then picked up one of the submachine guns and looked at its clip - half empty. There were really fighting something as there were bullets on the floor everywhere. I put the gun back and then walked back into the hallway. As I walked into the storage area there were even more people dead. The last people were two maids and a couple of guards. They were probably on their last stand as well as they had discharged quite a lot of bullets. Even the maids were holding pistols in their hands. I then turned my attention to what had actually cut them, it would have been something really sharp. And these things were acting like they couldn’t use guns. As throughout the entire plane I hadn’t seen a single person that had been shot - they had all been sliced and cut.
This puzzle was missing one part to it - and that was what had killed all of these guards and maids. And furthermore, how did these things kill everyone without taking a single casualty. It just seemed a bit odd for there to be so many casualties on this side and then not to find a single person or thing from the other side. Unless these were very elite and they took their dead with them after their mission was completed. But then that left another loose lead - how did they get off the plane? And how did they get on it in the first place?
So it couldn’t have been any normal citizen as they would have been killed off by the many guards and their bodies would be here. Plus it couldn’t have been any normal spec ops team, as they would have to have another exit - which there wasn’t for them. That left this as a very confusing puzzle that only needed a single extra piece of information to complete it. So for now I had no idea what had caused all of this to happen. But I am now very sure that whatever this thing was that caused the death of all of these people - it must have caused the plane to come down as well.
I then turned my attention to what was being stored in this place. As I searched the shelves I found some packed meals and some bottled water. There was also some tinned things that I could take with me as well. So far this looked like it was going to be the main place where I could get some resources - for now. I then turned my attention to the weapons. I looked into the hands of some of the dead people and thought about whether or not to take these. Then I looked up and saw a door marked “ARMORY”. Hopefully I would find some more useful things in there.
I unlocked the door and then pushed it open. It was pitch black inside - this meant that I would need a flashlight or something. I walked back and looked to see that one of the guards had a flashlight on their belt. So I knelt down and pulled it from their belt. It came out and then I pressed the on button to see if it would work. Then a gush of white light came out of the end - with this I pointed it towards the pitch black room and it became illuminated. Just what I needed.
I walked inside and looked around at what was kept inside. There were a few pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, assault rifles and a high tech bow. That was unusual for a amory to have a bow, as this was a outdated weapon. Then again when I looked closer this one was a battle one. Specially made string and lightweight body. This was made to be used in a combat situation. So maybe they had a elite on the plane that used a bow. But now there wasn’t anyone on the plane. Anyone alive, that is.
I then caught sight of a M4 rifle, almost like the one that I had before I lost it on the boat. This one had a ACOG scope on it and the barrel was longer. Meaning that this one was made for long range encounters. The same as the bow I suppose. So far these were the only things that caught my eye. So I grabbed the quiver with the arrows in it and strapped this onto my back. Then I picked a couple of M4 magazines up and put them in my chest pockets. After that I strapped the M4 to the back of my bag and I held the bow in my hands. The bow was rather light and the string was nice and tight - giving it more power.
Now I was carrying more weight it was a little harder to move, but I was still rather light. I then walked back to the front of the plane and I unlocked the side door so I could get out. I had been in there for about half of a hour and the sun was making its descent now. That meant that the last thing that I needed to find was shelter - and to be honest I wouldn’t like to sleep in a plane with dead people. So I began to walk over to one of the houses that overlooked the area that I was in. Hopefully I would be right in thinking that this place was completely abandoned after seeing the plane crash.
I then walked to the side of the house and stood in front of the door. After taking a step back I kicked the door with my foot as hard as I could and the door flew open. As if it were instinct I then grabbed a arrow and drew it on the bow - pointing it into the abyss. After waiting a couple of seconds I think of a better idea as this bow would be hard to move about in a house. So I relaxed the bow and put the arrow back into the quiver.
Then I got my bag off my back and unstrapped the M4. Then I got the flashlight and used some masking tape to tape in onto the underbarrel of the M4. After a quick test with the light I then strap the bow onto the backpack and put the bag back on my back. Now I have a better defence. I then walk over to the door again and walk inside. I look left and right to see that the two rooms are empty. Closing the door behind me I then move up the stairs slowly - making myself as quiet as possible so I can listen.
Once I get to the top I then flash the light left and right again to see if there is anything hiding around the corners. But so far there is nothing to be found. I then look into the first room to see that it is empty. Then I look into the second room to see that it too is empty. I have a small feeling that lingers inside of me that there is something hiding in here somewhere - but I cannot see where it is. I hope that there isn’t something in here as I don’t want to have to deal with something like that. Even if it were another human - I just wish that this place is dead empty.
I then find the last door - which of all the doors it is locked. This just shouts at me saying that there is something on the other side of this door hiding. But I hope that this is just a coincidence and that the door is just locked. But my senses are telling me that there is something on the other side of this door. I try to dismiss it as I get closer to it. I then reach out to door knob and hold it for a few seconds. I then turn my head as I think about what I should do when all of a sudden a plan jumps into my head. I then let go of the handel and walk a couple of paces back.
Pointing the M4 in the air and close my eyes and hope that nothing will respond to this next action - meaning that I can leave that room alone. I then pulled the trigger and a single bullet shot through the ceiling leaving a loud bang along with it. I waited a couple of seconds and nothing happened. With that I sigh in relief and turn around to begin walking to the first room. Then my muscles spasmed all of a sudden and caused another bullet to leave the gun and shoot through the floor. I recoil back as it almost caught my foot and I hit the landing table. A piece of china fell off the table and then crashed onto the floor.
It was then when I heard something let out a slight scream of terror as it flapped its wings to fly. I then looked to the door to see it was still locked but something was inside it. And from what I could piece together I knew exactly what it could be. Problem was - I had no idea what I should do. The only thing that I could think about what I had done and now that I knew that something was behind the door. And it was even worse as I knew what it was.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me” I whispered under my breath.
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 4~
I stood still as I looked at the door, with only one thought flying through my mind. Something living was on the other end of that door and it was hiding in this house. It was most probably harmless but I had to be sure. Out of all the times that I have searched houses I have always stuck to one rule : if something is making a sound - investigate. So with that thought in my mind I pulled the M4 back up and I walked forwards. The floorboards creaked as I walked towards the door and I could hear whatever was behind the door frantically flying about. My hand then found its way from the end of the rifle to the door handle. I gripped it firmly and then twisted it.
The door unlocked and moved open. But only a little as I didn’t want it to get too far open. I moved the light up and down the little area of door that I had opened and then I waited. No response. Then I pushed the door open a little more and put my head the it so I could hear through it. Still nothing happened. With my M4 held tight, I then took one last breath. Then I threw the door open and swung around it.
I quickly searched the room to see that it too was empty, but there was a place to hide still. In the middle of the room was a double bed with messed up sheets on it. Slowly, I approached the bed and I stretched out my hand to feel it, the sheets were warm. This meant that something had been on the bed quite recently. I took a step back and I put the M4’s safety on as I didn’t want to let another round go off accidentally again. After a deep breath I went down on one knee and held the M4 tightly.
Quickly I looked under the bed and flashed the light around. Nothing was there. My mind went blank for a moment as I tried to think what was going on. I then heard a floorboard creak behind me and my mind comes back into play. It’s behind me. I then stand up and turn around to come face to face with... nothing? Again I am left speechless as I thought I knew something was there and then it wasn’t. I use this as an excuse to whip out the idea of something being in here and I quickly walk out of the room. Once I am out I turn to look out of the room again and I point the flashlight into the room. What was going on in there? Am I hallucinating? I then turn around to come face to face with a grey faced pegasus with yellow eyes.
“AHH!” I shout out as I recoil back and trip over. I find myself then scrambling into the room I was just in and closing the door. I then lay against the door and begin to hyperventilate. Of all the times for me to have a panic attack - this was the worst time for it to happen. My mind was buzzing and a slight headache had arrived. After a couple of seconds of rapid breathing I then decided that I should man up and deal with this problem. But I could swear that those eyes were... no, they couldn’t have. Anyway it was time to get this problem dealt with.
I then stood up and slowly opened the door to look down the hallway. It was empty again, like nothing had ever gone in there. I then opened the door full and began to walk down the hall - looking into each room. Again, everything was empty. My mind was now in total clusterfuck as I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Was I still asleep? Did I fall asleep? No, I am most definitely awake right now. So that means that there is something hiding up here and it tried to make contact, literally. Probably it would be time to change my approach to this situation. So I cleared my throat.
“Hello?” I called out to the supposedly inhabited house. Silence. “Is there anything in here?” I called out. Silence. “Ok, I’m not going to hurt you” I called out. I could then here a ruffle of feathers and the sounds of very nervous hoofsteps. I turned back to the second door and saw as a grey pegasus mare with blond hair slowly came out. I watched as she very nervously stood in front of me and avoided eye contact.
“Umm...” the pegasus tried to speak but she was way too scared to be able to do anything. So many questions crossed my mind as I looked at her. She was healthy and strong - but she was out here. If she was a pony - then shouldn’t she be in Equestria. Or if she was a scout she should have gone back to Equestria or at least regrouped for the night. But none of these options were applicable.
“I’m Max - what’s your name?” I said as I thought it would be better to try and be friendly. She raised her head a little and glanced at me for a second.
“I’m Derpy Hooves...” Derpy said. Silence. She was obviously really scared at the moment. I could see that she slightly shivered a bit as she put one hoof back.
“Ok, Derpy - I’m not going to hurt you. But I am curious about why you are here” I asked. She lit up a little but she was still in the same state as before.
“I’m here because I was banished here” Derpy said. Wow, they banish ponies as well? This Equestria seems to have many problems. I should start making a list.
“Why would you get banished?” I asked as that was the main question on my mind. She looked up at me for a second and then looked away again. She then sighed.
“I was banished because... I...” She then put a hoof over her face to hid the swelling tears that were upcoming. “...because I hid a group of humans” she finished. Wow, now that I didn’t expect.
“You hid a group of humans and got banished?” I said as I tried to process why she would need to hide humans - let alone get banished for doing so.
“You see, I was a negotiator in these parts and I grew attached to a group of people. Then when the compulsory conversion came I hid them away, which was illegal” She said. Then it hit me like a plane.
“Wait?! Compulsory Conversion?” I said. She nodded. So there was a area in the world where they forced humans to become ponies. And then I suppose they weren’t able to rebel as they had a new mind set. A cruel way to take over the world.
“So when I was banished here they also put the dragons here because it was a suitable location for them” She explained. Again - my powers of deduction were coming along. I almost felt like Sherlock Holmes.
“So we are in Romania?” I asked.
“Yeah, this is Romania - land of the dragons” She said. This place has even got its own catch phrase now. Well, there’s a good thing and a bad thing about being here now. The good thing is that I can now find out more about the dragons. Bad thing is that there are dragons everywhere - so I will have to be a lot more careful - or else I will become the last human happy meal.
Apart from the obvious drawbacks I had found myself in the place where I wanted to go. So I could easily get back on track. Now all I needed to do was attempt to help this frightened mare. After all - it would be nice to have someone, or pony in this case, to come along with me.
“Ok, Derpy - I want to help you, but I can’t at the moment. As you don’t seem to trust me at all” I explained to her and she gave a nervous nod to confirm. I then placed the M4 at my side so it was no longer in my hands and got onto my knees so that I wasn’t looking down at her now. I then took my backpack off and put it to my side too. Now it was just me. So I then reached out my hand and smiled warmly. “It’s ok, I’m not going to hurt you” I said calmly.
“Umm” she said as she swayed her head away from me and bit her lip as if she were thinking. For all I know she might have had a really bad experience with humans before she met me. Or it could just be that she is genuinely scared at the moment. Maybe it would be a better idea to give her some time - after all, we have only known each other for a few minutes.
“Alright, its ok. I will be in this room if you need someone, ok?” I said, she nodded in response. I then picked up the M4 and my bag and walked into the room, leaving the door open. After setting my bag on the side of the bed and after I got out a supply packet. I began to eat - it was then when I noticed that there was a apple in the package, in that moment I had a idea. I picked up the apple and looked down the hallway to see that she was still here. Just sitting there. I reached out and placed the apple on the floor. “It’s yours if you want it” I said.
Then I walked back into my room and lied down on the bed. Spreading my arms out I began to let my eyelids fall down. This day was long and so many things had happened. And because of this I now have no idea what to expect in the future. That plane... what happened on it? And who sliced and cut all of the people on it. Were they assassins? Were they even human?
The darkness then enclosed me as I fell into a peaceful sleep. Even though I had been banished to another part of the world - to be more exact Romania - I still could work on figuring out what’ going on all over the world. But now I know that there were some forced conversions. Ones that you couldn’t escape. But I suppose that I was alone when they put that in order, so I guess that they didn’t think to put it in place over a abandoned city. Or maybe they did and I didn’t get caught up in it. It would explain why there aren’t any other people. Because I would have expected more people to think in the same way as me. And if that is the case - then maybe there are more people like me out there.
My mind then drifted off as I fell asleep. I don’t know how long it lasted before I woke up again and it was pitch black everywhere. But when I did, I noticed that there was a difference from when I fell asleep. It was warm, on my side. The feeling of something sleeping beside me. I put out my left arm and felt the hair of something laying on my right side. It was relaxed and peacefully sleeping with its head on my chest. A smile crept across my face as I realised what had happened - had she really come to trust me? Or it could just be her wanting someone nearby. Either way it was nice to have someone by my side again.
My sudden awakening was caused by a roar of some kind. My body shot awake and I looked around the room. Looking down I could see that Derpy was still there fast asleep. I slid out of the bed and walked over to the window that had been closed. I slightly opened the curtains and looked around outside. Another roar sounded as the house shook. Derpy then woke up and started to look around the room in confusion. She was probably still rather dazed after waking up. But I was wide awake.
I had heard a roar like that before - and it only took a few more seconds to piece together what was left of the puzzle. If I was in Romania and the dragons were put in Romania - then that would mean that whatever was outside was most probably a dragon. I walked cautiously back to the bed and picked the M4 up. Walking down the hall I looked for a better viewpoint of the outside without exposing Derpy. I found that the best place to look would be outside. I turned to Derpy and signaled her to stay where she was. She nodded and then I walked down the stairs.
After getting to the door, I slowly opened it to make as little noise as possible so I could then sneak out of it. I then ran across the courtyard to get to the plane. After getting to the plane I got in and went to the cabin where there was a box of flares underneath a compartment. I got one flare out and walked back over to the door being cautious not to make too much noise. When I was at the door I then looked around the pitch black area and held my breath for a second so I could listen. Then I hit the bottom of the flare and threw it into the darkness. Within seconds it illuminated the immediate area and I looked around it to see what was there. For a few long seconds nothing happened and everything was silent. Then the flare suddenly disappeared underneath a large object - which soon became apparent to be a dragon. This dragon then stepped on the flare ferociously until it went out. It then searched around for the source of where the flare had come from, and with that I hid behind the door of the plane.
A few seconds passed as I waited for the dragon to fly away but it stayed put - as if it knew I was here, waiting for it to leave. I peaked my head around the side of the door and then looked to see if the dragon was still there. It had disappeared without me hearing it. Sneaky dragon. I quickly looked around to see if I had looked over the dragon but it was gone. Then out of nowhere the dragon landed on the top of the plane and it took a bit out of it - throwing the metal to one side so it could see me. For a second I was paralyzed - but then the adrenaline kicked in and I ran to another part of the plane for protection. The dragon took a blind swipe into the plane where I was and it caught the back of my leg - sending me to the ground. I quickly got up and limped over to the wall at the back of the room. Laying down I got out a bandage from my first aid kit and I wrapped my leg in it - at the same time the dragon was beginning to rip another part of the plane off. Once my leg had been wrapped I then got back up and walked into the next room where the different bedrooms were. With that I then turned around and pointed my M4 down the hallway from where the dragon was ripping the plane apart. I could still hear it as it ripped the metal and threw it away. Then everything became silent.
I looked left and right, but the dragon had all of a sudden stopped attacking the plane. As if it found something easier to get. Something that wasn’t running away. My heart stopped as I heard it begin to move towards the house. She had obviously done something to get its attention. I then found myself running back into the open area of the plane and watching as the dragon slowly walked over the pegasus standing in the middle of the courtyard with a flare in front of her. The dragon then began to growl and hiss as a fire lit in its mouth. I wasn’t going to let this happen. Not today. I raised the M4, knowing that this could kill me if the dragon decided to turn its rage on me. But I was ready. I fought dragons before - how hard could this be.
Pulling the trigger several bullets flew out of the barrel and hit the dragon in the back. The outlet of fire then spread across the building illuminating the entire area. After flapping its wings a couple of times - the dragon then turned back to me. It snarled as it made its move and began to attack me again. It began by swiping at me - I rolled on the floor to avoid the attack. Then the dragon tried to backhand me. With a swift follow up movement I vaulted over its arm. It then threw its arm down and got it caught in the ground because of the impact. With that I then jumped onto its arm and ran up it with my M4 in hand. Then I jumped in front of it and gripped on its top jaw. Then I unloaded a couple more rounds into its mouth as I tried to swing me away. But then I lost my grip and fell to the ground.
The dragon swayed its head from side to side as the blood started to run from its head. Then it stomped on the ground and I rolled away to dodge its attack. It did the same on the other end and I rolled back. I then pulled up the M4 and shot away at its soft underbelly as the bullets ripped into its skin. It was then when the M4 began to click as the clip had been depleted. With this in mind I rolled onto my front and ran from underneath the dragon. The dragon fell back for a bit to recover from the initial attacks that I had inflicted upon it. I pulled the empty clip from the M4 and threw it aside so I could quickly thrust another clip into the weapon. After pulling back the bolt I then swung around and fired a couple more bullets at the dragon. Then it roared at me and swung it tail at me. This, I was not ready for so I look the hit and flew to the side. I pulled myself up and looked back over to the dragon which was getting ready to blast me with some fire. So I dropped the M4 and grabbed a grenade from by chest belt. Then I ran at full speed towards the dragon and I pulled the pin from the grenade. I was about a few meters away from the dragon when the grenade left my hand and flew into the fiery mouth of it.
As soon as the grenade went into the dragon, I rolled underneath it and ran away from it - avoiding the tail in the process. The dragon then flapped its wings and flew up into the sky. It was then when I heard a small bang from aboves, which was followed by and loud crashing sound. I looked over to some buildings and they began to fall down from the impact of the dragon crashing. After a small breathe, I walked over to Derpy who was still standing in the middle of the courtyard - for some reason.
“Are you alright?” I asked I grabbed my side to feel the bruise that the dragon had left.
“Umm, yeah. I just got a bit frozen there” she replied as she shaked her head to knock herself out of confusion.
“Why did you just stand there?” I asked. She thought for a few seconds and then opened her mouth to talk.
“I was standing out for you - because... because...” she lost her trail of thought. I smiled and walked past her.
“It’s alright, I understand” I said, I then walked past her and patted her on the head softly. “I think we should go to sleep again - as I will be trying to get out as early as possible. This placed doesn’t seem to be the safest at the moment, you see” I explained.
“Umm” Derpy let out and I stopped to turn around.
“Yes?” I said.
“C-can I come with you?” she asked. I stood there for the last few seconds and smiled warmly at her.
“Yes, of course you can”
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 5~
Waking up in the morning with something warm by my side has been a thing that I have not experienced in a long time. And by that I do mean a long time - since I’ve been alone. I have lived alone and even after the conversion bureaus. I’ve been living all over London. Unfortunately, because of this, after the initial leaving of people everything went black. Therefore, I had no knowledge of what was going to happened next -, but from my travels I have made my own mind up.
I silently slipped off the bed and walked over to the window. Looking outside I could see that the sun had breached the horizon and was ascending. The courtyard was now burned up and I could clearly see the damage that had been done the night before by me and the dragon - mostly by the dragon...I think.
After gathering all my gear and waking Derpy up it came to the time when we had to start traveling to another, safer place. It didn’t take long to figure out where we were, as Derpy already knew exactly where she was. Or at least that was what she believed. Hopefully that wouldn’t be much of a problem, as I didn’t want to be moving in the wrong direction.
Within the hour we were away, moving in the opposite direction of Romania - heading towards Cape Town. I still have the edgy thought at the back of my head telling me that I should leave Cape Town alone. For my sake, it could be one big human trap. Then again, it could have been abandoned years ago. Thanks to the communication blackout they could have had riots and destroyed the conversion bureaus. Or maybe there was a forced conversion. It could have even been some kind of extermination. Who knows? That’s what makes it such a interesting place, that’s why I have to go there - to find the truth.
The road was filled with decaying cars and wildlife. Everything seemed so serene - even though the atmosphere was much less serene. Everything screamed that something bad had happened here, yet there was nothing to suggest that. Probably just my mind playing tricks on me. Plus every now and again I had to remind myself that I had somepony with me, as I don’t want to accidentally swoop around and gun her down. That would be horrible.
With a mile down we seemed to be making good progress - it was quiet as she didn’t seem to be the social type. Or maybe I as just being intimidating, but I can’t help it. Being alone for such a long time can have that effect on some people. Or ponies, in this matter. But after a while I was getting the major impression that I wasn’t going to get any kind of contact from this pony for the foreseeable future.
Just like it was when I came here, there were cars. Even after walking for a couple of miles there were just so many empty cars scattered across the road. Everything was just so, ghost like. Then again, it was a major thing to happen. And with me not being there - I only got to see the results.
About five hours had passed and just as many miles had been conquered in that time. Ahead was some kind of factory building, it had two giant towers and a gigantic system of pipes running around it. I was interested in finding out what it was. And with all this time on my hands there was no reason not to go investigating. Anyway, there might be some valuable resources in there. Who knows.
“I think we should...” I began, but when I looked down at Derpy - she seemed to just look away. Harsh, but somewhat understandable. “...or I should go check out that factory. Might be something useful in there”
“Yeah, I think you should” She replied. Well, it looked like it would be just me, again. I shrugged and then walked a little faster in the direction of the factory. It was a little remote, but nothing really stuck out in it to say that it was really bad. Hopefully there would be some kind of factory resources hanging about in there.
As I approached the entrance to the factory there was a parking lot, filled with some cars - but most of them were gone. There was a main entrance for where the business people went and then there was a workers entrance. Being me, I went though the luxury entrance. As I pushed the door open, I looked back to Derpy - who was still following me.
“Come on” I said as she waited. “It’s warmer in here” And with that she was straight in. Warmth was a thing that nothing could resist. That was anything that was a normal life form that was warm blooded. Being most things. I then turned to see the interiour of this entrance. The roof was a giant glass dome with some of the panes broken. This didn’t scream out at me that there was anything wrong, I just shrugged it off as natural damage.
At the other end of the room was a large desk with computers and telephones on it. The papers on the desk were all messed up and there was some damage to the doors behind it. Still, could have just been the rush at the end. But again there was nothing that really shouted out at me that something really bad had happened. And I am excluding the whole Conversion Bureau - because in my book that is the worst thing that has happened. It pretty much destroyed the world that humanity had tried so hard to create. Yeah, it had its problems but in the end it was the world that a lot of people decided to call home.
The rifle was beginning to make my arm ache as I was just holding it with my right hand, finger near the trigger. When I was in front of the desk I put the rifle on it and then climbed over. Now I had the view that those people had when they would tell me about the company or tell me that it was “the third door on the left”. Or whatever they had to say as they then returned to the world of typing whatever they were going at. I will never understand that job.
After a quick search I was pretty sure that I would find nothing important. This was a reception desk after all. Its not like a giant stash of supplies will just be hidden under the desk, marked with “take in case of zombie apocalypse” or whatever. That would just be out of the ordinary. Or maybe not. Because at that time a zombie apocalypse wasn’t actually that far fetched. Contrary to the fact that Equestria exists - hence anything is possible.
After retrieving my rifle I looked back to see that Derpy was looking around the notice boards on the wall to the side. At least she was occupied with something. Turning back to the wall again, I pushed the door open and walked into the hallway. It looked like a normal area for storage as there was files stacked on either side of the hallway. I then walked out and found that there was a doorway that lead directly into the facility. This was my next destination.
The next hallway was greatly different from the previous one, there were now pipes running on either end of the hallway. But after a minute of walking it then came to a giant room. This was the main factory area. There were pipes going around everywhere, but the sound of machines working was absent. Which was expected, as this place hasn’t been in work for a long time.
I began to walk through the giant room, looking left and right as I passed each junction. The place look like it was pretty much empty, but then something caught my eye. It was a glimmer of sorts that came from a darkened area. I thought at first that it was just some piece of glass, but then I decided to check it out anyway. Turning the M4 light on, I walked into the darkness. Watching my left and right as I proceeded.
I then found what I was looking at, kneeling down I could see it better. It seemed to be some kind of broken mirror shard, planted into the ground. Grabbing it, I examined it. It was then when another glimmer caught my eye, which was further into the darkness. I had some hesitation at first, but I then began to walk over to this other glimmer. Eventually something else came into sight, it was more familiar.
But then I saw it. Laying there, against the wall. With the mirror in its hand. Now I could understand why this place felt so uncomfortable. The sigh of it almost made me give my food back. But with force I held it back in. Once again I knelt down and looked at the shard, and then at the worker. Definitely a worker, because of the ID badge on his clothing.
I then looked at the small shard of mirror that was lying in the hand of the worker. It glimpsed with a white shine for a little while, that was until the light was blocked. I looked a little closer and saw nothing but black behind me. For a moment I was ready to accept that this might be another pony, that had spotted me and wanted to talk. But then when I saw the fangs, and the blades that appeared on its arms - I had a pretty good idea what it was.
With a sharp turn I hit the creature away and looked through my sites at it - only to see what I hoped not to. In an instant many more of these black creatures swarmed out of nowhere and blocked my path, all looking at me with intimidating eyes. Hungry, intimidating eyes. My heartbeat rose as my pupils shrunk. Whatever these things were, they didn’t look like they were just going to talk this out.
Taking a step back, I kept my rifle pointed in the direction of the ever increasing swarm of creatures. Each looking to get a piece of me. Damn, this wasn’t good. If anything, they were probably going to make the first move. But I wasn’t going to take any chances.
Needed to think, quick. I looked around to see if there was anything that could help me. Anything that could give me a head start. I then saw it, there was a canister of gas sitting right next to the group of creatures. If I got my shots right, then I could potentially get out of this. But if not, it looks like I’m on today's special menu. Aiming the gun at the canister, I looked at the approaching group. A couple more steps and they would be in perfect range. Come on...
Unfortunately for me, this wasn’t the only canister. In fact, there were actually a couple more. I don’t know how many but they were probably not as well contained as this one. But as I fired a bullet at the canister it simply bounced off and hit the wall beside it. The creatures flinched at this but then this sudden fear was once again shrouded by their hunger. Another try.
I shot again, and this bullet went right through. The explosion was near instant, but it was a lot bigger than I expected as I was thrown backwards and through a wall. The last thing I could remember was the side of the factory wall rushing by me as I landed on the ground, hard.
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 6~
I began to regain consciousness, slowly instead of quickly. My head was buzzing with a tone sounding through my ears. I could feel a subtle strike of pain in my arm as I began to open my eyes. My left eye cracked open first and I looked around the new alien room. A droning sound became louder and louder in my ears as I began to get my hearing back. A smell of wet paint was in the air as well, along with the sounds of tree’s swaying. I could occasionally hear the sound of a bird tweet as it fluttered about, looking for its nest in a rapid hunt for food.
My eyes began to focus on the white room around me, everything was so basic. I turned my head a little to see a window that was partly opened. For a moment a robin flew down and landed on the edge of the window. It sounded its voice for a second, looked around and then shot away again. The serenity of everything was relaxing, the peace was unrivaled as I lied alone. My head then turned back to the center of the room where there was the main door.
I attempted to get up, but the pain in my body was still rather strong, constricting my movement. With being able to only move my eyes and head, I felt weak. Considering how strong I had been all the way up to this point. The memories of what had happened just before then came back to me. The bullet, the explosion, the fall. And those creatures that were chasing me. They almost looked like ponies but they weren’t. Their eye’s didn’t look right and the sounds that they made as they cornered me. It was like they were ready to make me into a human happy meal.
Something about that just made me cringe inside, the feeling of the entire area. The people who were there, or what was left of them. Were they survivors? Was it recent? All of these thoughts and idea’s plagued my mind as I lied helplessly in my bed. With no ability to move and pain being inflicted upon me whenever I tried to move, I was stuck. Constricted even. I then found myself getting tired all over again. So I let my heavy eyelids fall. But just as that began to happen, I heard the door open with footsteps entering the room.
My eyes opened again on the same scene, the same smells. But the outside was different, the sun was setting now. How long had I been sleeping for? I swore it was only a few minutes, but I guess it could have been hours, judging by the sun. My eye’s searched the room again, looking for anything else in the room. The window had been shut now, but I could still feel a slight breeze coming through the room.
It was then when I began to realise what situation I was in. As I looked down to my body I could see the immense burns that had been inflicted on me. There was a heartbeat monitor showing my low pulse as it fluctuated about, not setting itself at a steady pace. But instead going faster and slower. After a few more moments I then began to notice that there was something else in the room that there wasn’t before, something that I had failed to notice after waking.
As my eyes turned over to the left I could see this new thing, for a moment I thought I was dreaming, that I was in a different place. Was I dead? If it is then it’s a pain to have to carry your last injuries. But I felt something, a old emotion. Something that was pulling at my sanity as I stared at this other being.
“Hey there” It began, with a feminine voice, “Looks like you're coming around”. My eyes then adjusted and focused on her. She was human. Could it be true? Another human? I began to frown in confusion as I examined her face. It was rough, a little dirty, but still human. And since the last human face tried to kill me, and I killed him instead - I was still a little skeptical around the species. Even though I was one as well.
“Hey...” I said with what little strength I had. Even to get a simple reply out seemed to be a chore. I looked into her eyes, human eyes. Though I had come to realise that human and pony eyes were very identical. I blinked for a moment and then brought my hand to my face.
“I’m Tracy” She introduced with a smile, “What’s your name?”
“Max” I said, deliberately avoiding my sir name. I then pulled myself up so that I was eye level with Tracy. I blinked as a flash of darkness hit my eyes, and then it disappeared. Questions, loads of questions began to flick up in my mind. “Where are we” I asked, as my vision floated over to the window.
“We’re at Camp Banat, Eastern Romania” She said. I then began to notice her American accent. Strange, but when I came to think about it, it wasn’t really.
“How the hell did I get to Romania?” I said aloud, out of all the places to send me - why in Celestia’s name did she send me here? For some kind of solo quest. Or just a lucky shot.
“I don’t know” She replied, even though that was a rhetorical question, “That’s what we want to know”
“We?” I asked aloud again. I seriously have to stop doing that.
“Us, at Camp Banat, want to know the same thing” She answered. I nodded, taking in the information, and then acknowledging the facts at hand. Here, beside me, was a living breathing natural human. In a human based camp at the edge of Romania. Romania is also the pace where all of the dragons were dumped from Equestria. And Celestia sent me here by... accident?
“Do your superiors want me to talk?” I asked. She then put on a devilish smile as she stood up and pulled out a 9mm pistol, aiming it right between my eyes.
“No, Mr Max, they expect you to die” She said in a sarcastic tone. For a moment I was frozen, heck, I might have even shit my pants. Five minutes awake and something is already trying to kill me again. This fear subsided as she began to laugh casually, I joined in, although in a less confident tone. She then put her pistol back on her hip and looked at me with a grin on her face.
“Umm...” I hummed, still looking rather scared. She then rolled her eyes and sighed.
“James Bond? No?” She implied. I then took the idea and realised what it was. Nothing more than a joke.
“Yeah... heh heh” I chuckled. She then began to walk towards the door, but she stopped just before she got out.
“We’ll talk again later Max” She assured, even though I’m not sure that the feeling was mutual. “Get some rest” She then closed the door and walked away. Still stunned by the fact that someone drew a firearm on me, I was picturing the current situation in my mind again. There were more humans. That was something that was becoming more and more real as I thought about it.
I could now hear everything going on outside now. As trucks began to roll into the base. Probably coming back with supplies from their daily loot. Or maybe they had hunters looking for fresh meat. Ready to feed the hungry mouths around this camp. But how many were at this base. Ten? Twenty? Hundreds? Thousands? I might get some more information later on, but for now I guess I will have to wait. I then began to drift back to sleep, figures that I would get tired so quickly.
As I awoke again, another thought shot into my head. Derpy. Where was she? As my eyes opened again they met with the same scenery, the same walls and the same sounds. But now it was pitch black outside. How long had it been this time. Was it still the same time? I pushed myself up and felt the pain still hitting at me with every movement. God, I don’t think I could get used to this. But as I got to a full sitting position, I then realised that my arm was wrapped in a cloth, along with my torso and my leg. I pulled the covers away to find out about the latter bandages.
Looks like the fire soured right across my right side, scorching everything. I don’t think that those creatures escaped alive, seeing what the edge of that blast did to me. I swizzled myself around and let my feet rest on the ground. This looked like I was going a bit too far with trying to walk so quickly, but I hated having to wait around for ages in a bed. I’ve done enough time asleep already.
My feet then came in contact with the stone cold floor. The feeling rushed through my feet. Parly pain on my right leg, but a sensation on my left. Hell, I couldn’t tell which feeling was more powerful. But as I stood up the pressure began to lift from my bed and get bestowed upon my legs. Again, my right one seemed to be taking more of the pain, so I adjusted myself so my left leg got more of the weight. My vision then turned to the door, just a few steps and then I would be out of this room. I prepared myself for a second, and then stepped forwards.
Instantly a surge of pain struck though my leg and I fell down to the ground, grasping the bed as I went down. I swore under my breath as I then began to crawl towards the door instead. The pain wasn’t as bad this way, it was much more manageable. And, with this new tactic under way I then arrived at the door, grabbing the handle, I pulled myself up. Again, I was on two feet, still under the weather and quite tired. I spent a few seconds catching my breath before I then stood back and opened the door.
Success! I was now at the door. A mighty three meters had been traveled. I then looked back into the room, only then to notice the wheelchair on the other side of the bed. Sighing, I struggled to get back into the room and get onto the wheelchair. This would certainly make things a lot easier. I moved forwards and out of the room. With this new found speed I moved down the hallway of this building and to the exit. It was a simple fire exit door so I was able to push the bar and get out.
Outside the building, was a camp with high fences along the perimeter, and beyond that was a thick forest. There were watchtowers at the entrance guarded by men with machine guns. A defined dirt track moved through this gate and made the way for the rest of the camp. There were bunk houses lined across the road filled, and there was an array of trucks and vehicles parked on the side. They even had an armored transport unit, armed with a fifty caliber machine gun. There was also a transport helicopter with miniguns on the side. Everything military seemed to be American.
“Like what you see?” Came the familiar voice of Tracy from behind me. I turned my head quickly as she had been able to sneak up on me.
“So all of this time you have been hiding out here” I guessed, scanning the whole place again.
“There’s about thirty registered personal at this base, all trained in a variety of skills” She explained. “We’ve got a security set up and the entire place is hidden in the middle of this forest. We are safe in here”
“Where did you get all of this stuff?” I asked.
“We found most of it, also we found a mechanized unit that had been sent in to fight the Equestrians. But they found out about what was going on around the world, and they then decided to go silent” She explained, and then she gestured over to the chopper. “One of them flew that chopper over there. He was part of a looting mission yesterday, but he died at the same plant that we found you outside of”
“Do you know how he died?”
“He, and others were ripped apart by something” She said. “Worst of it is that he was the only one who knew how to fly that thing, now it’s just scrap metal waiting to rust”
“Damn” I sighed.
“In a world like this, pilots don’t just come out of nowhere” She said mournfully as she moved forwards. “Not one’s like him”. I then began to pick up on something in her tone, something familiar.
“Did you know him well?” I pressed softly.
“Know him?” She said before laughing a little, “We knew each other very well. So well, in fact, that we...” She then stopped in her tracks, shaking her head.
“I’m sorry” I apologized, rolling back a bit.
“It’s alright, you wouldn't have known” She assured me as she then turned to get behind my wheelchair. She then grabbed it and turned it back towards the door. “Anyway, you need to be getting your rest. You've got some talking to do tomorrow”
“Just when I was getting some fresh air” I mumbled. We then rolled back into the room and I got back into my bed. She then sat on the wheelchair and looked at me again, sustaining a new look of curiosity.
“So what did you do, before the end?” She asked.
“Me?” I thought about the question for a few seconds before replying. These next few words probably had for of an effect then I would have ever been able to comprehend. But then again, this was a desperate world we live in. And I guess my skill is something you don’t come across just by luck. So I let the words roll off my tongue, and float into the air.
“I was a pilot”
Author's Note
I'm beginning to get back into it now, but I can't promise any dates to when I will be finishing this part. I am aiming for about the end of March. There will be about two to three more chapters. So prepare for that in the future.
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 7~
The surrounding were dark, there was a thick cloud of fog under my feet. As I looked around I could see that there was nothing but darkness. I took a step forwards, only to almost slip off the edge. I was stuck on this pillar. It seemed to go down forever. There were a few rocks around my feet as well, so it wouldn’t hurt to see how far up I was. My foot made a quick swipe at the rock, causing it to tumble off the pillar.
I then listened.
And listened.
Nothing. Not even the slightest click could be heard. Where was I now? There was nothing around me and the surrounds were still dark. A feeling of regret started to come over me, as if I had made a mistake. As if I had done something that I shouldn’t have. The smoke then turned purple and flew away from me, forming something a mere few feet away. Suddenly, the air escaped my lungs as I saw it.
Him.
“HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!” I yelled in a sudden burst of fear, which lead to this figure showing a bloody, devilish grin. Suddenly, it jumped at me.
As if I had just been electrically shocked, my body jumped to life. My eyes jumped about the room, looking at everything and anything. My mind was still racing from what I thought I saw. Or did I see it? For once I couldn’t actually say how I was feeling because of the rush of emotions. Confusion, hurt and dominantly fear. I felt vulnerable as my vision and hearing remained blurred - as I could see some figures hovering above me, shouting something.
I felt my entire body spasming about as a rush of energy came along. The figures got closer and I felt even worse as this happened. Everything was moving, getting bigger and bigger. My head was aching and my throat was dry. Soon I ran out of breath, I was tired. They then placed something on my mouth and I began to relax again. This was better, more relaxing. Everything that I thought was so much more simple now. Good, good, good....
The sun outside was shining bright, breaching the curtains and covering some of the bed. A slight breeze came through the window and worked its way through the room. Stealing the heat and then retreating to cool down its prisoner. Soon the cool air got to me, causing me to crack open one of my eyes and look at the room around me. I lazily looked around and sat up.
My clock presented the time, nine o’clock. And it was the twenty second of December. Nothing immediately got me about the date, so I simply wiped my eyes and began my descent downstairs. At the bottom I saw that the place was empty, again everyone had an earlier start than I did, leaving me alone in the mornings. And with that, I flicked the television on and moved into the kitchen.
My cooking skills were adequate for what I did in the morning. But this morning I just felt tired and lazy. So I didn’t bother with cooking anything this morning, instead I just settled for a bowl of cereals. After pouring some milk on top of then and after searching for a spoon I made my way back into the room with the television in it.
The news was flashing on the screen currently. The buzz at the moment was the conspiracy with the Conversion Bureau's, and how Equestria was apparently trying to destroy humanity. It was funny to see how people got so worked up about some things. And being at home by myself left me with plenty of opportunities to talk how I wanted to about the current global affairs. I then sat back and began to indulge in my breakfast as I listened to what the news anchors had to say.
“Hello, this is BBC One. It’s the twenty second of December, 2018 - at 9:20. Today’s top stories this morning." The man said on the left. I then immediately turned my attention to the lady sitting next to him, as it was always her turn afterwards.
“Oil around the world is now at it’s all time low and the world is getting ready to say goodbye to easy power - says World Oil Leaders”
“Unconfirmed sightings of dragons around the world leave Earth Citizens scared for their safety” This one made me giggle. As if dragons would come all the way to England just to snatch up a human or two - with the risk of being blown to bits. Sure.
“And our top story tonight - Is the Conversion Bureau really worth it? A report by Peter Parkins” For once, the T.V suddenly caught my attention. I wasn’t always interested in how the Conversion Bureau was affecting the world, but you couldn’t help but be curious of whether or not it would be worth it. The television then showed some shots of ponies going about their various business as a young man began to talk over it.
“About three years ago a strange land mass appeared in the atlantic ocean, stirring up world security. But not long afterward, intelligent life was discovered and Equestria was recognised around the world.”
“In February 2016, the Conversion Bureaus opened up for the first time. Giving human citizens the chance to live in Equestria - but at a cost. Not of money, but of their humanity”
“Yes, for the first time in recorded history, there was a way to change one life form into another - and this changed humans into ponies” That part always made me cringe a little, the idea of being changed into something that you're not. It just didn’t feel right inside.
“And since then, at least 4 billion people have taken in the idea and have given up their humanity for being a pony. But in the end, was it worth it? We asked some Earth Equestrians about the question”
The screen then changed to a brown earth pony, with black hair and sharp green eyes. His face looked tired but he still wore a smile upon his face. “Coming to Equestria was probably the best thing that I did in my entire life. The food is good, the weather is amazing and predictable. And not to mention how lovely everypony is around here. It feels like a dream come true!”
There was now a blue pegasus mare, she had a crystal blue mane and aqua blue eyes. She seemed younger than the other pony, much younger. If I had to guess I would say that she was about 23. Her grin, like almost every one of those ponies wearer, was slightly more upbeat. “Before I was a pegasus, I was disabled. I couldn’t walk, meaning that I found life hard and difficult. But when I became this, I was given these...” She then spread out her wings, showing them off to the world. “Now I can go anywhere I want!”
Lastly there was a grey unicorn. He was different from the rest as his face was blocked out. It was like one of those Navy Seal debriefing video’s. Meaning what he had to say was going to be quite closet. The news presenter spoke again this time, “But not everyone believes in the perfect world of Equestria, as one comes to tell”
This pony spoke in a dark, deep voice which sounded like it was slightly altered. “What you must understand about becoming a pony is that there is no turning back. You don’t get a second chance here, but instead you get and chance to screw up again. The ponies here are nice and the food is almost eternal. But I can’t but feel like there is someone watching me all the time...”
The screen then zipped back to the main view of Equestria, and back to the original young presenter talking. “So the food is good, the hospitality is better and there is more than enough room for everyone, or everypony. In conclusion, almost everyone can agree that Equestria is worth the journey. Peter Parkins, BBC News”
I bowl was now empty of whatever was in there to begin with, as I munched it all down in the process of, well, processing the information. Go to Equestria, happy life, eat well, live a good life. Stay on Earth, sad life, eat nothing, die a harsh death. If properganda didn’t sum up what the news was saying, then I couldn’t say what would. Everything about moving to Equestria just seemed better. And day by day the human population decreased. Not just by humans changing but by an entire global collapse of everything.
Countries were falling and people were disappearing like wildfire. The depopulation rate was growing daily, and soon, if you weren’t to change, you could become the last human. Imagine that, being the last one of your kind. Pff. It was unlikely, because of how stubborn humans were. If I ever came to being the last human, I would have no idea of what to do. Would I just sit here in London? Procrastinate? Explore the destroyed version of planet Earth?
I then mentally shrugged and turned my attention back to the television to see that it had in fact turned to a state where there was nothing on it. I frowned, picking up the remote and pressing a button the change the channel. Nothing. Again, nothing. I skipped through channel after channel, with nothing but the same static on the screen. I then returned to BBC One and watched the screens static dance about. Had my cable suddenly stopped broadcasting? Probably.
I sat up and then walked over to the kitchen and placed my bowl in the sink. I picked my IPhone off the table and checked the internet. The loading logo came up for a few seconds and then ceased, showing a single error. ‘No signal detected’. I frowned again, no television and no internet. Halve of the remaining youth would have probably gone insane by now. I then pressed the screen and tried to call one of my friends. Bleep, Bleep, bleep - “No signal detected, please try aga-”
I walked back into the room with the television inside and sat back onto the sofa, flicking about, trying to get some form of communication working. But nothing worked. Nothing at all. The internet was dead. The phone lines were silent and the television was...
The television now presented a single message on the screen, simple and straightforward. “World Communications are now down. All communication services can no longer be used and any attempts to use them WILL be unsuccessful. This global communication silence is in accordance to the Conversion Bureau’s proportionality rule. And because there is no longer enough humans to power the world. We are sorry for this final inconvenience. This message will cease in 2019, along with global power”
I was now there, sat alone, looking like a zombie into a television which had basically said that humanity had thrown in the towel to technology and changed into pony kind. It just feels like this is impossible. There are at least 3 billion humans left on the planet, right? At least. And yet this silence feels like there is no one. Or is the world is more empty then we have been told.
The door suddenly threw itself open and Nathaniel ran inside the room, looking like he had just run a marathon. He then flopped onto the sofa next to me and joined in with the silence that I was being a part of. Nathaniels longer brown hair seemed to be filled with a rather large amount of sweat, in comparison to my short black hair. I rolled my head around to look at him in his suit.
“Off work early then?” I asked.
“With this global silence thingy, they just sent everyone home” Nat said, letting his head rest back, taking in every breath that he could.
“Who would have known...” I spoke aloud.
“No one would have. Fuck, this is like a nightmare” Nathaniel said as he looked down at his phone, before throwing it away from him.
“So we are finally screwed over by ponies” I announced. He nodded. “And now I guess we have to change, or we can die here”
“To be honest... I couldn’t give a damn about humanity any more” Nathaniel said, moving into his speech tone. “Let’s just admit it to ourselves. We’re done. There’s no reason to fight for us being who we think we are. I guess all this time it was bound to happen. It’s almost like it was destiny for us to become ponies in the end.” We then sat there for a few seconds in silence.
“If you had the choice, which would you become?” I asked.
“What?” Nathaniel stuttered, confused.
I rolled my eyes, “You know, pegasus, unicorn or earth”
“Oh...” He realised what I had asked and considered the question. “Probably a unicorn”
“You, with powers?” I laughed for a moment, sustaining a grin on my face. “You’re already too dangerous with your intelligence”
“I’m a writer at heart, that doesn’t take intelligence - Max” He deadpanned. I shrugged, waiting for him to explain. “It takes imagination, the will to go on and a good heart”
“That’s three things that prevent me from being a writer” I admitted.
He shook his head, “Hey, your I pilot. The sky is your canvas. And besides...” He then prodded me in the chest. “You do have a heart, even though she left you”
“I wish I still did...”
A bright light then dominated my vision, my eyes began to water as the old room of the hospital returned. I was back in the real world. Shame, even though that memory was in the dark days, they were better than what I had to deal with currently. I blinked, looking at the window again. The same bird was there from when I first looked. It just watched me, helpless and alone. Damn bird.
I sat up a little and got my bearings back. The door was closed and the wheelchair was no longer right next to the bed, but far away. What did they want me to do, crawl over there to move about. They wanted to challenge me? No, it was just the incentive to stay in bed until I was strong enough to stand on my two feet again. I was weak, compared to how I was before all of this.
A warm burst of heat blasted through me as the room lit up a little bit. I frowned and looked back to the window to see somepony there. Somepony rather familiar. She was back too?
“Twilight?” I said, hoping that I was correct. She was hesitant at first, moving slowly towards the bed. When I could focus again, I could see her again. She was dressed in the same way that she was the first time that I met her. The scarf and backpack. As if she had been journeying for a long time. That’s my Twilight.
“I know I shouldn’t be here, but...” She began, but she couldn’t finish.
“You knew I was here, with other humans” I pressed, receiving a slow nod in return. “And yet you didn’t tell anyone”
“I couldn’t say... I wouldn’t tell anypony because...” She seemed hard pressed to find her words at the moment.
“So why are you here?” I decided that this subject wasn’t worth continuing, so I moved it along.
“I’ve been following you for a while, actually. Since the stir up of you being banished from Equestria I put a tracking spell on you so I would know where you were” She explained, I raised an eyebrow at the idea that she had been stalking me for so long, but anyway. “When there was the incident in the factory, and you were discovered by the other humans - I couldn’t just leave you with those injuries.”
“I guess the blast should have killed me” I presumed.
She shook her head, “The burns were the least of your worries, but the fall you had should have killed you. But I guess your guardian angel was there for you for that one.” She gave me a little smile, and her horn lit up.
I watched as she touched a burned area of my skin and it began to heal a little. She then retracted and looked a little tired after it. Another thought shot into my mind.
“Is Derpy alright?” I asked suddenly.
She looked confused for a second and then remembered, “Yes, she’s fine. When me and Rainbow found you she came out running as well. You were unconscious at the time, but she seemed rather worried about you.”
“That’s good, and how’s Rainbow holding up?”
“Rainbow? She’s taking care of Derpy at the moment but she’s been at your side for a while now” She smiled a little bit at the memory. “It’s funny how much she’s changed after meeting you. How she’s seen a completely different view of humans and realised how alone they have been”
“Not all humans though” I added.
“Right” She nodded, “I guess she only thinks such things of you because you're different”
“Different...”
“You’re not obsessed with destroying everything. You’re not the pure evil that we have all been told about all these years. But instead you’re almost like us. Just trying to survive” Twilight explained.
“Well, I have left my mark on the world” I thought about it for a moment, “Quite literally.”
“Everypony makes mistakes”
“But some more than others” I then sat back in my bed a little, now in the knowledge that everything was alright. But then something in the back of my mind crept up again, something that would have been first if it weren’t for everything else. I rubbed my temples and sat up again. “What happened to his body?”
“Who’s?” She replied, but in that second I heard the door unlock. A flash of light and Twilight was gone. I continued to look where she was as someone entered the room.
“Awake now?” asked the ever familiar voice of Tracy as she walked into the room and place a tray on my lap. She looked at me and then looked in the direction that I was looking.
“Who do you consider as your friends?” I asked out of the blue.
Tracy blinked, “Excuse me?”
“Again, who would you consider as your friends?” I repeated.
“The ones who I keep close, who I look out for as they look out for me” She said.
“Friends look out for each other then” I confirmed.
“They do...” She frowned for a moment as she considered what I was saying. “Are you confused about who your friends are?” I shook my head, “Then you’re just making sure”
“I guess” I said emptily, watching the space where she once was. And for once in my life I just wanted her to be there again. I couldn’t pinpoint why, but it felt like friendship was suddenly important to me. Even though I have been lonely for all these years, and had all these events thrusted upon me, I still have a heart. The realisation hit me, after all this time I realised that I still did.
I have friends.
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 9~
How was I feeling? A little scared. Why? To be honest, I’m being judged for the first time in a long time to whether or not I’m worth it. I know that I am, I’ve been through so much that it’s not even funny. And yet I feel so low down all over again. It’s almost like going through officers training from day one. And that was tough. Now I had to fly these men out to some places, work with them and then fly them all back safely. And that’s not even to consider the fact that I am babysitting a german kid for the only person who seems to trust me around here. No pressure.
I read over the plans while I was trying to get to sleep last night. It was a simple coordinated plan which was adequate for a casual US Army unit. These guys knew what to do and how to do it. So I wasn’t going to be the one to judge what they did. Their search squad is only filled with men and women who want to go ahead into the thick of it. And that just happens to be the five man squad.
Clint was the leader of operations, being the highest ranked man in the squad. Then his second in command was Hilary, his right hand man. And with his other hand, he had Raven - the calm and collective sergeant who preferred to take a few steps back before running in. Then there was Benedict, the corpsman. And finally there was Xavier, their average shooter with a gun. Together they seemed small, but if they had made it this far like this, then they should be more than alright.
I was allowed to have my M4 rifle back with some more ammunition than before. But they advised me to pack light for these ventures, because we would always be back before dark. That is, as long as we didn’t get ourselves screwed over. Apart from my main weapon, a M9 pistol was also given to me as well. They thought that it was a little odd for me to be carrying a bow in the modern age. And to be honest I didn’t think that I should bring it along. Instead I left it behind in the armory. On top of the weapons I was given a small packet lunch, a flashlight and some flares. And that was it.
Guns, lights, food and flares. Everything you would apparently need for one of these ventures out into the world that they came to know as hell. I was then stripped of my coat and administered a combat vest with kevlar. Although I wasn’t going to be shot at they suggested that it might be useful it something tries to bite at you. Last but not least they offered me a helmet. Again, it was just for safety. As I put it on I saw that I and Xavier were the only ones wearing helmets. The rest of them just had earpieces instead. Now this was cruel.
With us all geared up and briefed for the mission, along with Alex, who was only given the body armour and the helmet, welcome to the club Alex. We made our way to the helicopter. Hopefully we shouldn’t have too much trouble getting it off the ground, but from the looks of things we shouldn’t have a problem. Things like that were going on in my head as we approached the helicopter that had been pulled out of the hanger bay. It almost felt like I was one of them for a moment, but instead the reality was that they treated me somewhat of an outcast. Coming into their group with a single desirable skill. Now we were a group of seven making our way to the helicopter.
When we got there I opened the side door and climbed into the helicopter. Upon sitting in the pilots seat I felt right at home. Alex then got into the other side and picked up the map that he had left behind on his seat. I then listened as the other members got into the back of the helicopter and strapped themselves in.
“Lets get this show on the road then!” Clint shouted to me, knocking on the side of the helicopter. He then pulled his side door closed and whoever was on the other side did the same.
“Lets hope this all works” I mumbled as I began to start the startup procedure. After checking all the diels and pressing whatever button needed pressing, I turned the engine on. In seconds the engine began to hum away, until it took into full power. The blade above turned at lightning speed and only got faster as the engine roared away. I then increased the power until the feet came off the ground. We were airborne.
The ground was now getting further away as the helicopter accended and climbed in height. I then slowly moved the control stick forwards and the helicopter tilted forwards, and began to move. Soon, we were gaining speed and leaving the base behind. I was free of the ground now and the sky was my playground. Although I had to keep the taps on what I did, for I was under moderation.
“Comms check” Sounded the voice of Clint through my helmet. I was confused as to how I could hear Clint over all of the noise from the chopper, and then I realised that the helmet I was wearing was a little more high tech than I first imagined.
“Hearing you loud and clear” I replied.
“Might want to turn me down then” He chuckled in reply.
“No no, it’s quite alright” I said back, grinning a little. The rest of the squad then turned their communication devices on, saying a ‘check’ to let everyone else know that they were in. I then referred to Alex, who had already been tracking our position from when we took off. It didn’t seem to be long until we got to the landing zone, so I gave them a five minutes heads up. Clint then began to lay down the ground rules, mainly for me.
“It’s simple, we get the supplies and get them to the chopper. Once you’ve done that, we’ll move along to the military base, same again, and then home. You all know the rules of engagement: Only shoot if its your last resort. Try and keep it quiet so we don’t have to get into a firefight” He explained.
“What do I do?” Alex asked, looking over to me.
“You’re going to have to stay with the chopper, and keep a look out for us” Clint said, getting the expected sigh of annoyance.
“Hey man, keeping a lookout is very important” Raven said in an acknowledging tone, “I’ve done it a fair few times, and it can mean all the difference in a sticky situation. Trust me.”
“I guess so” Alex sighed, looking back to his map. I then began to get sight of the parking lot above a shopping complex ahead, so I lowed the engine power and began to descend.
“Almost there now, ETA: thirty seconds” I announced as the helicopter began to descend towards the parking lot. Luckily there was plenty of space to land, so I found it easy to bring it down without having to aim to much. Suddenly the helicopter landed on the ground with a slight thud. Looked like my helicopter piloting skills were getting a little rough.
“Smooth, real smooth” Clint sighed as he then opened the side door and jumped out of the helicopter. As the team began to dismount I began to shut down the engine, causing the rotor blades to swing slower and slower. I then opened the pilots door and hopped out with my rifle in hand. I then turned around and looked at Alex, who was looking a little awkward sitting there.
“Don’t worry, we shouldn’t be too long” I began, looking around the area that we landed. “Hopefully” I added as I then nodded to him and closed the pilot door. I then turned to see that the entire team had now dismounted from the helicopter and were getting ready to move out. I then walked to stand next to Clint, who was currently referring to a smaller version of the map from yesterday.
“You ready to move out?” He asked as he continued to study the map.
“Ready when you are” I replied, looking around to the rest of the team who had now prepped their weapons and had their bags ready to carry the supplies.
“Alright Squad, move out” Clint called out as he stuffed the map into one of his pockets and then began to jog towards where the shopping centre was. Everyone else followed behind him, occasionally slowing down a little and scanning around the area every now and again - just to check that everything was safe. I decided that I should do that too, just in case there was something here. Like there was at that factory.
In a minute we came to a door that seemed to be the way to the stairs. Clint tried to open it by hand, but it was locked. Fortunately these guys didn’t give up easily, so Clint proceeded to kicking the door. And when that didn’t work, Xavier stood in with a mini shotgun and shot off the lock. After saying a quick ‘thanks’, Clint then shoulder barged the door and rushed inside.
From the moment we entered it was pitch black, so the team quickly switched on their flashlights so that they could see where they were going. I too turned on the flashlight on the end of my rifle so that I could see where I was going. There was about a two floors of stairs to go down until we came to the shopping centre itself. There were plenty of shops everywhere - but more precisely I think we were looking for special supplies. Medical supplies.
I wasn’t sure what Romanian pharmacies were called, so we had to just rely on global symbolism when we were looking around. There was a large variety of shops, but soon we found one that just about fit the bill. With a big plus sign, and inside it looked like there were different medical things. The squad then gathered around it, looking inside to see if it was actually what we were looking for.
“This should be it” Clint said as he referred to another map with some writing on it. After nodding to himself to confirm it, he then took a few steps back and pulled up his rifle. The others too stood back at seeing this and allowed Clint to have some space. Clint then fired five rounds into the glass and then used the butt of his rifle to smash the glass down. But to our misfortune, something inside the shop suddenly sounded.
“Shit” Hillary muttered under his breath as the siren sounded. Echoing around the entire shopping centre.
“Raven, Hillery and Xavier - stay out here and watch for nightcrawlers or whatever else we may have attracted. Benedict and Max - follow me” Clint shouted as he then dashed inside and began frantically searching the store.
I decided that I should sort out whatever was making the sound. So I then quickly looked around the room, using my ears to locate the bugger that was shouting. Then, I saw the device that was on the ceiling. Without a second to lose, I aimed my rifle at it and shot a single bullet - causing the unit to burst open - throwing its electrical contents all over the floor. And then there was silence.
“Nice work, now help us collect this stuff” Clint said as he threw the bags on the floor and began collecting supplies; throwing them inside the bags. I then began looking for whatever might be considered useful and started to throw it in the bags. Unluckily for everyone, all the words were written in romanian - so we had no idea what we were throwing inside the bags. As for Benedict, he could only guess what they were from sight.
“Max, get over here and help me open this!” Benedict called as he walked over to a door that seemed to open up to the harder medical supplies. I followed him and observed that this door was yet again another locked door. So far as we knew, we hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention. But if we were to shoot this lock open, we could cause that attention to come over to us. I then noticed that Benedict had gotten out a crowbar - which would probably help.
He then stuffed it inside the between the door and the frame and began to work at it. I then began to pull on the door, trying to pull it out. After a few short seconds the wood that was once holding the lock in place was gone and the door flew open. Benedict then made his way inside and started to look around at the harder supplies, seeing if there was anything of actual use. I then returned to grabbing any of the other stuff that looked important. God this felt weird, taking all of this stuff from a shop. But it wasn’t exactly wrong since no one lived here anymore.
Benedict then returned from that room with some supplies in his bag and we all nodded to each other. It was time to get out of here. We then began to walk out of the shop, seeing that everyone was still scanning their sectors, seeing if there was anything waiting to jump out and kill them.
“We’re done here, it’s time to move” Clint announced as he walked past the group and began to retrace the path that they had just taken to get there. The group moved quickly through the empty centre. And now, because of the new found fear, I began to notice everything.
The paper on the floor, flying about in the quiet draft. Ascending, rolling and then falling back down. Again and again it would do this until it hit something. Then it would need to find a way to get around the obstacle, so it could continue it’s journey. It does this, until it gets trapped in some corner or box.
The lights flicker every now and again as short amounts of power flow through the system, and then instantly get sucked up. The old capacitors finally discharge their energy for one last time. Broken wires spit out hot flickers of static electricity; which bounce off the floor and shatter their light on the dark surfaces.
Water pipes have been broken, casing new streams to be created. Small amounts of aquatic life have now taken back the land, living in these buildings that used to be the centre of modern life. This water then works its way off the floor and falls down to the ground below. Creating a small pond at the bottom, filled with green vegetation.
The more I look, the more green I see. Tree’s from the outside have started to grow inside the buildings. Branches have now become strong enough to push the glass out of the windows and send it plummeting to the ground. Vines cover the walls and floors, dominating everything that used to be human. Now everything was being taken back. Slowly, but in time it would be all her’s again.
Something then caught my ear. A sound that echoed across the entire centre, and bounced back into the team. They all suddenly came to a stop and frantically looked around. The sound happened again, and then another similar sound happened. It sounded like some kind of insect communicating. But then it turned into something quite different, a more voice like sound. Something was behind us. Something was where we just were. More voices sounded from behind, echoing around. And then another sound came, some sort of buzzing sound. But it didn’t stop there, that buzzing sound was followed by stepping sounds and more buzzing sounds.
“Nightcrawlers, move!” Clint whispered sharply, as he began to run. The rest of the squad began to run as well. Nightcrawlers. The same things that attacked me in that factory. The same creatures that have attacked and killed people belonging to these people. Whatever they were, they had developed a craving for flesh.
Weird though, because they come from Equestria. And I haven’t heard about them until I was told what they were. They probably have their own name from Equestria - with some kind of meaning. But for now, that is what they are called to the remaining humans. Nightcrawlers. Being of the dark who crawl around, and then strike. And worse yet, they like to do it at night. But that’s not to say that they won’t go ahead and try during the day. It’s just at night they have better camouflage, so they get the advantage.
But enough of what they are, because they are chasing us. Like a pack of wild dogs looking for their prey, the fly and run through the centre. We can hear them getting closer as we run. Closer and closer, they got as we did to our destination. The door was still open from where we got out. Clint then stopped just outside the door and turned around, pointing his weapon towards where the Nightcrawlers were coming from. The team ran past and got through the door. And then there was silence.
I stopped, just before the door. The team was already running up the stairs, knowing that we would be right behind us. But for some reason, I just stopped. I then began to turn my head around to where Clint was standing. He too had stopped, like I had for the same reason. Silence.
I then found myself looking back, where a hoard of these dark Nightcrawlers gathered. They all just stood there. Watching us. Why were they just standing there? What the hell were they doing? I took a step towards Clint, who then put his arm out to stop me going any further. I looked to him, to see a look of seriousness stuck to his face.
“What are they doing?” I asked aloud. Clint stood there absolutely still. Watching them, and then he looked around them. Until he stopped, with his eyes locked on something. A sharp breath left him as he looked at it. He then pushed me back and turned around, quickly making me go to where the rest had ran to. “Clint, what’s going on?” I protested, wondering what had made him so anxious.
He looked to me with the same stern face, eyes showing no traces of emotion. I got the hint and began to move so that he didn’t have to push me around. We then got inside and he pulled the door closed. We then began to ascend the stairs together. Occasionally I looked to him, seeing the same face as before. Something was bothering him. I had no idea what it was, but whatever he saw was causing him to think.
We then arrived back at the top where the rest of the squad was waiting. They all seemed to sigh in relief when they saw us come out. Perhaps they thought that we had been captured and eaten or something. But now they all seemed to be looking a lot better. Hillary then approached us, seeing Clint’s expression.
“What’s up boss?” He asked. Clint looked at him for a second, and then walked past him. Hillary then looked over at me, as if to say “what’s up with him?”. I shrugged, because I had no idea what was wrong either. The others noticed Clint’s sudden change in expression, looking over at him, then at me, and back to him again.
“Something must be up for him to be looking like that” Benedict said, watching his troubled leader walk back over to the helicopter.
“Is he normally like this?” I asked, receiving sigh’s from the rest of the group. Must be a regular thing for them.
“Whenever he has seen something bad, or something that questions what he already knows. He phasses out and thinks” Xavier explained, “And it looks like this is something really bad.”
“What happened down there?” Raven asked. I took a few seconds to remember exactly what happened down there before telling them all.
“The Nightcrawlers just stopped chasing us. Stopped still in their tracks” I explained, looking back a little at the door. “Is that normal of them?” I then asked.
“Nope, they don’t do that” Raven said, shaking his head.
“They just stick out for themselves, run and try and get whatever they can get their teeth on” Hillary explained with a hint of anger in his voice.
“Though they travel together for protection” Xavier added.
“So, it would be weird of them to do that?” I questioned, starting to get why this was getting Clint so worked up.
“Sure, with them all doing something together” Benedict answered. “So this would suggest that there is something else happening with them” He added, pondering about it himself.
“Something else?” Raven looked over at Benedict, waiting for him to explain himself.
“If they all did something together, like that. It would suggest two things” Benedict began, looking around at the group. “Either that they are connected somehow, because of their insect relations they could have a hive mind. Similar to ants or bees” He explained.
“So they could work together” I said. Benedict shrugged a little, but nodded as well.
“In theory, yes. But from what we’ve seen that’s unlikely” Benedict said, but he wasn’t fully convinced by this theory. There was something else that bothered him more, and was probably what was bothering Clint - who was now standing with everyone else. “It could also suggest that the Nightcrawlers aren’t as unorganised as we think. Not the ravage lone wolf beasts that we have seen before. And in fact, that perhaps they might have...”
He stood there for a moment, almost unable to say what he was going to. Something was holding him back from finishing his statement. His eyes twitched from side to side as he thought of whether or not this was really worth saying. Could it be true? Clint stood forward, looking at the group. He then finished Benedict's sentence, giving us all a new perspective.
“...they might have a leader”
Author's Note
Wow, it's been a long time since I've actually been able to update this story. The reason why I am so painfully slow is that I've just not been able to write like I used to. I've been writing this chapter on and off for the last three months. I'd like to get the next few chapters written as soon as I can. Plus I have the time to go ahead and do it. So, I am sorry for being so slow with writing this. It's not the best thing in the world, but I guess you people like reading it. So I feel that it would be wrong of me to just stop and not let you know where it ends up.
So, I will get back onto this very soon. I've just had a lot on my mind as of late, so I've found it hard to make the words appear. Soon. :p
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 2~
Walking down this road gave me plenty of time to think of my current situation. I was in Equestria and the controller of the country had no idea that I existed. Plus I wasn’t sure about what I was going to do in the future - because I obviously couldn’t stay in this place forever. The princess wouldn’t allow it - probably.
So far this community all seem to be quite happy with my arrival - they seem to greet me like I am one of their own. Well - except for Lyra as she greeted me as if I were a human that she had never seen before. Then again if none of these ponies have seen humans before then that would mean that they would all be natural ponies.
It was highly likely that everyone in this town was naturally born in this land and had never come in contact with humans before. Expect for Twilight and whoever pulled me out of that plane. Either way I was going to meet this Rainbow Dash - or as her friends call her Rainbow. I was guessing she might be a pegasus - but in this land anything is possible.
The end of the pathway was coming into view and the trees surrounding me were beginning to part. The light then became stronger and the countryside was now in full view again. Ahead, like Twilight said, there was a barn with holes in it. I stopped for a moment and took in the scenery - then I began to walk again.
I could hear sounds of wood being ripped apart and thrown about. It was then when a large piece of wood flew through the roof and landed right in front of me. I recoiled and then looked right back to the barn. Whoever this Rainbow Dash was she wasn’t the most careful. Anyway I must continue - so I did.
Eventually I got to the entrance of the barn and I pushed the door open a little. I looked inside to see a blur of cyan blue and rainbow fly across the room as parts of the barn fell to pieces. I then opened the door a little more so I could get inside. Once I was inside I looked up to the blue blur and cleared my throat.
“Hello?” I said. The blue blur then stopped moving and revealed it to be a cyan blue pegasus with a rainbow coloured main. I had met this one before.
“Oh, it’s you Max” Rainbow said as she jumped to the ground.
“Yeah, I guess your name is Rainbow Dash then” I said.
“Sure is! Most awesome pegasus in Equestria!” She said. She obviously thought a lot about herself and saw herself as a great pony.
“Right... So I was sent here to help you get rid of this barn” I said.
“Really? Who sent you?” She asked.
“Twilight Sparkle” I said.
“Ok then. All you need to do is help me tear this place down” She said as she then got back to work.
“Right” I said as I looked around the partially destroyed barn. The construction of it made it hard to pull to pieces as there was a lot holding it together. The best that I could do for now would be to start chopping up the main supports.
So I put my backpack on the ground and pulled out my tomahawk - then with that I examined the immediate area and found a place to begin chopping. The wood was somewhat soft as my tomahawk worked its way through the first bit of wood. After I was through the main part I pulled at the wood and it came off.
I then continued to do this on other supports with throwing the wood behind me when I had cut it. It was becoming a long and hard process but it was something to do for now.
“What was it like?” said Rainbow Dash from behind me. I turned to see that she had stopped working.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Being alone - all by yourself in the city” she said. I took a moment to think in pause.
“It’s a slow process of letting the loneliness kill you from the inside. You begin to lose to ability to have normal conversations with people - or ponies in that case” I said.
“Not nice then - huh” she said as she took in what I said.
“No - not at all”
“Did you expect to be the last human alive?”
“Not really - I would have expected some others to act like me”
“Maybe there is some others still around”
“That’s unlikely - the pegasi have just about searched everywhere. And to what I know they have not found any other humans”
“Maybe they lied...” Rainbow said and I became silent as I processed the thought. Maybe they could have lied to try and get me to join them and become a pony.
“Maybe...” I said as the word became lost in the room. We then got back to work and continued to pull the barn to bits. This process was coming to a point where the building was weak enough to be knocked down by a wrecking bowl.
“What did you do - as a job?” Rainbow asked as she had come to a stop again. It was becoming apparent that Rainbow Dash was more interested in talking about my past then destroying this barn. I stopped and turned to face her again.
“I was a pilot. As humans can’t fly they create machines to let them fly. And I know how to fly such machines” I said.
“Did you enjoy flying?” she asked.
“Almost every day - until one day...” I said. It was a bad move as Rainbow caught onto my last words and used them to ask her next question.
“What happened on that ‘one day’?” she asked with impact on the ‘one day’ part. I froze thinking back to that clouded day. It was one that I found hard to remember as it happened just before my life went into a spin.
“I.. It was...” I struggled to get the words out of my mouth as I looked up to Rainbow Dash. She was still in full focus as I tried to tell my story. “It was just before the Conversion Bureaus opened and I was in the Air Force. I flew an aircraft called a AC-130 - it was a machine of destruction” I then paused and swallowed.
“This one day I was flying a mission over a area in the middle east. I was flying and the rest of the team was gunning and commanding. I was the highest ranked man on the plane so my words were final. When it began I wanted to see what bad guys we were firing at - when...” I paused to collect my thoughts once more. “When I discovered that we were firing upon civilians - that was the moment when I lost faith in the rest of humanity and I turned that plane around”
“What happened after that” Rainbow Dash asked as she was still listening to my story.
“After that I was told to take some time off - and relax” I said. “I got to stay with my friends back in England - London area. Then it all happened...” I stopped again as the next set of memories came into my head.
“I guess that’s where the ponies came in” Rainbow said.
“Yeah - they came” I said as a uncontrollable rage began to boil inside of me. I tried to control it but there was not much that I could do - as these next events changed my life forever. “They came - and one by one my friends left. They changed and they all died. They were no longer who they used to be - just a overwritten personality killed them off. Then she left me - fuck...” I ranted as my voice became louder and louder until I yelled the swear word.
I then dropped to the ground and began to feel my chest hurt again as I had been stressing it for too long. Tears streamed from my eyes as I thought about her - she was still in my mind after all of these years. I looked into space as I thought about it and let the feelings show on my face.
“Wow...” Rainbow exclaimed as she looked at me on the floor with a shocked expression. I stayed silent for a few more seconds as I collected myself and got off the ground.
“But... that’s the past now” I said trying to dismiss the memories. I then grabbed the tomahawk again and continued to swipe away.
“Do you still love her?” She asked. I stopped chopping for a moment and then ignored the question and continued to chop. That was the last thing that I wanted to think about right now. She had probably found someone else by now, it’s been a long time.
“Can we not talk about that, please” I asked as I stopped. She went silent for a second and bit her lip in the thought.
“Yeah, I’m sorry” She said as she then turned back to what she was doing. I felt a little bad for just leaving her on that, not giving her any way to open out on me. Then again I wasn’t the easiest person to get along with at the moment as I was in a place where most would wish me to be dead.
“I should be sorry” I said. “I just haven’t been around anyone for a long time so I haven’t been able to talk. It’s like I have forgotten how to make proper conversation with other people... or ponies in this matter” She then walked beside me and sat down.
“It’s ok, really. I can’t really blame you as I am digging into the sensitive areas of your life that you would rather not have me asking about” She said as she comforted me.
“I almost thought that I could make it alone. It is now that I see that I need to be with others to survive inside” I then knelt down and closed my eyes. All the time that I had been alone had slowly chipped away at my sanity as I became lonely. Time was the one thing that had been going ever so slowly along.
“Everything should be ok now - because you are here” Rainbow said.
“But what about Celestia?” I asked, knowing that Celestia was still wanting any last humans to be exterminated or changed.
“You should be safe, for now” Rainbow said trying to reassure me. I relaxed for a second as I knew that for now I was safe. There wasn’t going to be anything that wanted me dead right now. And I was helping others out - so that had to be a good thing.
Now it was time to focus on the task at hand. So far, because of us talking, the building was still here. For the work that we had been doing it was almost fully unstable. Now all we would have to do is drag the side panels off and take out all of the nails. But that would take a lot of time to do, thanks to it being such a big barn.
I got up from my feet and swung my bag from my back. I had picked up something in the past that would help with taking this building down. It wasn’t going to be a pretty way to wrap this up but I was sure that this barn wasn’t going to be recycled.
“From the look of the barn so far I think I have just the thing to finish this off” I said with a slight smirk on my face. Rainbow Dash looked up at me with confusion in her face as she wasn’t sure what I could have in my bag that could get rid of this barn.
“Umm, what is it?” she asked as she tilted her head. I then grabbed a couple of sticks out of my bag and set them down on the floor. I then looked up to her and somewhat smirked in the process.
“Oh, you will see. Now all I need you to do is go find a hiding spot” I said.
“Why?” She asked getting more and more confused as this went on.
“Just do it, ok” I said sharply. She nodded and then walked out of the barn. When she was out I grabbed the sticks and set the code on them to 754. After that I peeled the plastic layer off one of the sides and suck one stick onto each of the walls of the barn. With the last one I threw it at the ceiling and it just about stuck onto it.
With the sticks all stuck to the right places I then walked out of the barn and looked around the outside area. After a few seconds I saw where Rainbow Dash was and I walked over to the small bunker that she was hiding in.
I slipped down into the bunker and got my bag open again. This time I pulled out a box of sorts that had a panel on the side of it. I opened the back of it and found a key pad. After pressing the button that said CODE I then proceeded to press the numbers in 754.
“Sooooo, what exactly are you doing?” Rainbow asked.
“Just getting rid of that barn” I said fixing the back on and then flipping the armed switch.
“And how can you do that with a couple of sticks and a box?” She asked with her sarcastic tone in the air.
“Well you see” I said. “Where I come from - when a human encounters a building that they want to get rid of... then they use sticks and a box. But this box has another feature...” A red light then appeared on the box as I then held it in front of me.
“And what is that?”
“It is very good - at setting C4 off” I said. Then before she could say anything I pressed the button. A series of quick bangs happened as the C4 detonated and was consumed by flames. The shock wave then plummeted through the building tearing down the main supports.
The shock wave then flew past me and Rainbow sending a gust of dust with it. Then the flames consumed what was left of the barn and pushed the loose parts away. Within a few seconds the barn had gone from standing to being everywhere.
When the smoke began to settle I then popped my head from the bunker and looked to see the results of my work. And there was nothing there. Just a plain old hill with nothing on it. I then turned to see Rainbow Dash with her hooves on top of her head as she waited for the after effects.
She then slowly opened her eyes and looked at where the barn once was. And now it was gone. She took a sigh of relief and a slight laugh of nervousness as she took in what had happened.
“So, C4 makes things go boom then” She said.
“Yup. Now all we need to do is tidy up the mess that I have created” I said as I chuckled.
“Yeah...” She said as she somewhat let out a smile. It was then when we noticed that there was the silhouette of somepony in the distance. We both stopped to look at it closer - actually it was getting closer to us. Then the silhouette turned into Twilight as we saw her with a extremely worried expression on her face.
“Twilight?” I called out. She then got in front of us as she looked back. She was breathing heavily as if she had been running for a very long time. After a quick recovery she then turned around and looked to the sky.
“What’s up Twilight?” asked Rainbow as she looked up.
“She’s coming, I don’t know how she found out but she’s coming!” Twilight yelled as a golden storm began to appear in the sky.
“What is that?” I said as everyone was thinking the same thing. Then there was a flash and a stream of golden energy plummeted down from the sky and landed in front of us. The air blew against us as the energy then formed. Then, with a small explosion the energy dispersed and she stood before us.
“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia called out as she stood just a few meters away. “Stand away from the human, you too Rainbow Dash” the two ponies stayed where they were.
“No princess - I will not allow you to do anything to this human” Twilight said firmly.
“Twilight - you will do as I tell you to”
“I’m not going to take orders from you - and I will not allow you to harm this human” Twilight said.
“Why are you standing out for this human?” Celestia asked.
“Because he saved my life!” Twilight said.
“Twilight - he is a human. You cannot trust him. He is vile and destructive!” Celestia said.
“And he is kind and loving!” Twilight rebelled.
“I will not allow this impurity to walk on Equestrian land any longer” Celestia said as her horn then glowed. Twilight was then throw aside along with Rainbow Dash.
“Twilight! Rainbow!” I called as I watched my only pony friends get thrown aside by their superior leader. Celestia then turned her magic towards me. A ball of energy, much like the one that she had when she arrived, formed upon her horn. The clouds then became the same golden colour as before as they gathered over the area.
“Human - be gone!” Celestia called out as the magical spell then grew in strength. Then a bolt of golden lightning struck me. Within a second I was dragged up into the air - traveling in the bolt of lightning. This wasn’t meant to kill me, but it was going to sent me somewhere where Celestia wouldn’t have to worry about me coming back.
But for now all I could feel was - nothing really. I was weightless as I traveled through the clouds - far away from Equestria. I was somewhat glad that she hadn’t vapourised me on the spot - but the question still stands. What was I going to do next?
The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 8~
How long had it been since I got taken in by these humans? It must have been at least a month or so. But I feel weaker than I was when I walked, wait, got dragged in. So many things were running through my mind, and I understand that this is getting old. It’s hard to not just think when you spend so much time lying down, helpless, on a bed. But soon I will get up and prove my use. Soon. And in time maybe that will happen.
My eyes welcomed another mornings sun, as they did every day for the last week. I found myself looking to the empty space beside me, hoping that maybe someone would be there. But I knew that there would be nothing there. Just a chair and then the window. And that damn bird. Stupid bird, all it did every morning was sit there and chirp and look at me. It must feel so free, knowing that it can do whatever it wants and do it whenever.
That would be the only reason that I would ever change. Is just to experience that feeling of flying with wings. No limits. Freedom about the sky. The wind running through your hair as you make a decent and fly down past a mountain and pull up just in time to miss the water. And then you glide across and dip in for a second. That feeling. That would be the only thing.
But you see, it’s kind of pot luck with the Conversion Bureau. You get made into a completely random pony, corresponding to who you are. Your colours, hair and style is determined by that. Then you get the personality makeover, where they take you out, play around with your mind and put something else back in. You’re you, but not you. But then there’s the last of it, your race.
If you are an Earth Pony, then you are naturally gifted with all abilities to do with the ground. Your destiny, or cutie mark as they call it, would be something related to ground skills - most likely. And then after that, you work on doing whatever to make yourself who you want to be.
Unicorns are more favoured for their magical abilities. Yes, it is hard to learn from starting at such an age, but if you can put in the effort - then the possibilities are endless. Telekinesis, teleportation, tele everything! You can describe it as a muscle: the more you use it then the more powerful it becomes. So if you exercise your use of magic then you can become more powerful, and life becomes easier.
Last, but not least, Pegasi. Now, they don’t have remarkable ground abilities or mass control over magic. But instead they have a different magic: the power of flight. Aviation is their main goal. They could fly. With two wings they could defy what physics has taught everyone and backhand the limits of the ground. They are also the fastest moving creatures on the planet. Heck, some of them can even outfly out jet fighter planes.
This chance of not being who you dreamed to be was one of the many factors that kept me from going to the Conversion Bureau. Not to say that it was bad to be any of the other races, but I just felt like, for me, without wings it would be a lost cause. It was an interesting gamble, but not enough for me.
Luckily for me, my wounds had healed ‘a lot quicker than expected’. That was probably thanks to my guardian angel, or better know as Twilight Sparkle. And thanks to that I had the pleasure of feeling severely less crap in the present. Even so that I might be able to move again. With my strength up from being spoon fed for the last few weeks, I decided that maybe I could do it now. With that bird as my witness, would not fall again.
I pulled the covers away and swiveled my feet around so they were touching the floor. The ice could feeling of the ground was welcoming. I scrunched my toes in the feeling and took a long breath, and then I stood up. In less than a second I was standing, sable and by myself. I sighed in relief as I stood there, step one over. Now just to check that I can still move. I placed one foot in front of the other and began to slowly walk around the room. Easy as pie.
“Looks like someones up and about” the increasingly familiar voice of Tracy called out from the window. My headshot around like lightning from the sudden shock of being watched.
“Yeah, I’m walking again” I agreed, making my way back to the bed. She wore that grin like she always did whenever she came across another person.
“You feeling better now?” She asked.
I nodded, “Better than before, thanks.”
“I think its about time you got out of here then” She announced, “I’ll give you a proper tour of the place. Your clothes are in the bag next to your bag”.
“Thank you” I said as I found the bag that she was talking about and I pulled out the clothing. When I looked back up she was gone, but that window still bugged me. And that damn bird.
After changing back into my, now clean, clothes - I was directed around the facility. It wasn’t incredibly big, but it had just about everything that you could need to start a civilisation with. The rules were simple: Don’t steal, don’t hurt another human unless attacked and report all outside sightings. Apart from that, if you were good at something useful, then you were advised to go ahead and do it. And because I was the only pilot, and possibly the last pilot, that almost automatically became my responsibility.
There was a tall wall surrounding the place, with guard towers every now and again. The security and armed personnel were dressed as if they were soldiers, helmets and vests. Each one armed with an automatic rifle, just in case things got a little hairy. The entire facility was built inside a forest, meaning it was concealed from anyone - or anything. There was a mess hall, where everyone ate, the administration room for the leaders of the camp, and plenty of living space. There was a generator to power the water pumps and heating units - as there was no other way to get power. But because of this they had to go out to collect resources from the surrounding area’s.
That’s how they picked me up, after the explosion that I caused they caught sight of the factory. And since they had sent some people there, they assumed that things were getting out of hand. But for the people they lost, they only got me back. Who spent at least a month lying in a bed, weak and useless. I guess they might have wanted to pull the plug on me and save themselves the trouble. But after their discovery of me being a pilot, I could only think that was the turning point of whether or not they should keep me. That, or they were really nice people. I really hope it was the latter.
After the tour, and meeting up with their leader, Major Marco Havok, they seemed to get along with me rather easily. He was a tall sturdy man with short, military cut ginger hair. His clothing was more relaxed with his jeans, polo top - and for some reason he wore a stetson. Probably wanted to look cool. The leader was the one who lead the mechanized unit, who went silent after the storm. Now he pursued a different cause of action. Instead of attacking and drawing plans to destroy the Equestrians - he concealed and hid his people from them. Protection was now his main priority.
Eventually we circled back around to where the aircraft were stored. And in this case there was one. Now that I could focus better I got a better look at what I was dealing with. Upon approaching the machine I instantly recognised it. It was a UH-1Y Venom, or as others called it: ‘Super Huey’. It’s a utility helicopter armed with rocket pods and on the sides were miniguns for the crew, which made it pretty well armed for a machine that was mainly used for transport. But they were used in war, so weapons were completely necessary.
I approached the helicopter and lifted the engine panel and gave it a quick once over. One, to check that it had everything it needed and two, to look like I was doing something important. From first sight it looked like it was ready to go. The ammo for the miniguns was correct and mounted properly. Lastly was to check the cockpit. Hopefully I wouldn’t have the same greeting that I did with the one in that town.
Everything was neatly organised, all of the diels were clean and there was no damage. It felt like it was brand new. Maybe it was fresh out of the factory and then instantly put into action. It sure felt like it. And best yet, it was mine to use. As I was the only one who could use it - I guess I was the only one allow to use it. Perfect.
“So what did you fly?” I suddenly remembered that I wasn’t alone, as I turned to face my companion.
“The last aircraft that a flew was a AC-130” I began. “I was suspended from duty because of ‘psychological trauma’ from the war. More like I had a conscience”
“What happened?” She inquired.
“There was a mission over a civilian area. There was danger close, insurgents in the homes” The memories of the briefing were coming back to me. “We were taking more civilian lives than those of the enemy. I was the highest ranking officer on the plane, so I called the mission off”
“And I guess they wanted to shut you up after that” She guessed, I nodded to confirm.
“It was funny really” I sighed, “If I were on any longer then I would have probably been bombing Equestrian homes.”
“And that’s good?”
“No” I simply stated, “Taking life in any respect is bad. But if it’s for protecting others, I guess it’s for the best.”
“You’re an interesting one” She began, giving me a look of suspicion. “You’re one of the last remaining humans on the planet, with some unique skills and you have more than likely lost everything dear to you. Yet you still have some morality left for those ponies.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Well, if I’d asked some of the other people here they would have happily began bombing Equestrian homes if given the chance” She explained.
“That would make us worse than them” I looked her straight in the eye, sharpening my tone a little, “It’s not about who’s done the worst, but it’s about who’s going to do better. Sure, they’ve taken our homes, destroyed our country and turned several billion humans into their own. But how would we look if we suddenly did the same.” I leaned forward, emphasising the word “”Worse!”
“What happened to you to make you such a diplomate?” She teased, putting on a little grin, as if she took in nothing that I said.
“Everything” I then sighed and turned back to the dashboard of the helicopter, pushing the stick around to see if it still worked.
“Perhaps we can share stories some day” She suggested, turning back to get out of the chopper. “Maybe you have some exciting things to say” She then hopped out of the helicopter and walked away. I watched her for a moment and smiled a little as I considered her request.
“If only you knew” I mumbled.
“Knew what?” A voice suddenly said from behind me. I jumped out of my shoes for a moment as if I were electrically shocked by bolt of lightning.
“Who the hell are you?” I yelled in shock as I turned to see the intruder.
“Oh, sorry for bursting your bubble there” said the young man, “Alex Lotse”. From just the name and accent of this guy you could tell that he was German. He had reasonably, tidy black hair, covered by a black beanie. His emerald green eyes showed a complete contrast to the rest of him. And his young features put him around the age of eighteen. That’s hoping that the cover of the book is readable.
“Max Hunter” I replied after getting my bearings back.
“You’re british?” He asked, showing that he had already caught onto my accent.
“Yes” I confirmed, “I am.”
“Well, I’m from Ger-”
“Germany” I said quickly, “It was pretty obvious from your accent.”
“Well well well, you’ve got sharp ears” He commented, letting off a slight smirk. He then proceeded to climbing into the copilot seat of the chopper, and then relaxing with his feet on the dashboard. “What brings you to Camp Banat?”
“Near death experience” I replied bluntly.
“Oh, you’re the guy they found at the factory?” He asked.
“I am ‘the guy’ they found” I said, adopting my new title.
“And you’re a pilot?” He pressed, receiving a look from me.
“How would you know that?” I asked curiously.
“Tracy told me”
“You and Tracy get along well” I presumed, receiving a nod in reply.
“She takes care of me from time to time” He then looked down a little, as if he was stuck for words. “Since my parents died, she’s been the only one for me. She was my mother’s friend”
“Sorry”
It was then when I realised this very important fact. This german kid had been through just as much grief as I had. He’d lost his parents to someone and was now in care. That made me think of my relatives, being a part of a family of four. Where were they now? Dead, ponified, survivors. We were all orphans in this new world, with our families gone. We were abandoned, left alone to walk about this new world.
“It’s alright, not everyone can read an entire boy’s history from their face” Alex replied, looking a little lighter from my understanding. “Do you have any better luck?”
I shook my head, “I have no idea where my mother or father are. Or my sister...” I then looked up and closed my eyes, “But I hope they’re in a better place than this”
“At least they’re not out there with the nightcrawlers” The what?
“Excuse me?”
“That’s what the scouting team call the dark creatures that they encounter out there” He began, pointing out at the surroundings. “They hide in caves, buildings and even sewers. Hiding in the dark, waiting for their next meal. Some say the Equestrians brought them over with the dragons.”
“I think they might be right” I said.
“Worse yet, there were murders around the globe in the last few days before the darkness came” He explained.
“What kinds?”
“Political leaders disappeared, found later in crashed planes. Towns and cities burned down by firebombing”
“You sure this is all caused by something?” I asked, getting a bit too taken in by the stories.
“Unless you know how entire settlements can just combust spontaneously” He then stopped for a moment, adding dramatic effect, “Then you’ve got me!”
“The scouts come up with these stories?” I inquired, getting a nod.
“They’ve been all over the area, they’ve seen some things out there”
“I bet they have” Remembering the many things that I have seen in my journey around the world. It was then about time for me to move onto more relevant subjects. “So what do you do here?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Me?” He then considered the question and took a deep breath. Oh boy. “Cleaning, carpeting, disassembling and reassembling. Stitching, fixing, mixing, shooting and even maintenance.”
“So a bit of everything” I added, to stop the list from going on.
“Pretty much. But my main job is repairing and maintaining the vehicles here. I’m a little bit of a greasemonkey” He said, smiling a little bit. “And now that you’re here, I will be able to do more!”
“More...”
“Yeah, since you're a pilot and they won't let me go out on missions yet. I could be your navigator!” He said enthusiastically
“Don’t get ahead of yourself” I said as I put my hands up a little.
“I can see it now” He then put his hands in the air, as if he were envisioning something, “Max Hunter the last pilot with his cunning navigator Alex Lotse. Ah, the adventures to come.”
“That’s if they will let you out with me” I protested, “How do you know Tracy will trust me with your safety. For all you know I could be an Equestrian spy.”
“Equestrian spy? Pff, those show ponies aren’t clever enough for that!” He snorted.
“Heard of Twilight Sparkle?” I asked, he shook his head, “That unicorn is probably more clever than Stephen Hawking.” He looked at me with a blank face. “Stephen Hawking?” I pressed, only receiving the same blank face.
“I don’t understand this Steven Hawkings” Alex admitted, “Who was he?”
“He was a famous british physicist. A very clever man” I explained, gaining a nod of understanding from the young german. “Twilight Sparkle is probably one of the most clever ponies to come from Equestria”
“Stephen Hawking and Twilight Sparkle, hmm” He thought about the two names and then simply smiled, “Well, you know what they say, eh. You learn a new thing every day!”
“You sure do...” I pondered for a moment. I then caught sight of Tracy making her way back to where we were. With intimate information incoming, I opened the window on the side of the helicopter and peeked my head out.
“Good news” She called out as she approached us, “Clint wants to use the chopper for missions soon. Knowing that we have a pilot in the wings now.”
“Clint?” I inquired, not knowing who this new master was.
“Staff Sergeant Clinton Wright, he organises where the search missions go” She explained, leaning on the helicopter. “He’s interested in using the chopper so they can go further, without having to worry about timing.”
“Interesting” I hummed, “Where can I meet this Clint?”
“If you follow me, I’m sure he’d be happy to meet his new team member” She smiled and gestured for me to follow her. I shrugged and climbed out of the helicopter, following her out. It was strange. How I had gone from my quest to this kind of side mission. For some reason I felt compelled to stay here and help these people. They were people, which was the main thing. But they even put aside their time to help me out, get me back to strength (with the assistance of a certain somepony). It just felt right to be here for some reason.
It wasn’t long before I found myself in a room with a bunch of other men. Obviously they were either the same age as me or older, but they seemed to know what they were doing. When I entered the room they didn’t seem to notice. They were more concerned about the plan on the table. Tracy extended her arm as if to say, go ahead. So I walked a little closer and began to listen to what they were saying.
“You’ve got to understand, anything beyond this line is pointless. The nightcrawlers swarm these area’s like flies” one man, being taller, bigger and much more muscular than the other men. He had a large M246 automatic light machine gun strapped around his back. These guys meant business.
“Trust me, we can deal with that. We’ve been through worse” Another man said, with a staff sergeant's symbol on his shoulder. I was guessing that that was Clint as the others were lower ranked than him.
“If you don’t mind me adding, sir” A shorter man with a sniper rifle in his hands, said aloud - walking towards the table. “I’ve seen activity in these area’s before, so I think Hillary's option is safer for all of us.”
“But I just don’t want to rule out the possibilities. There’s a whole hospital in there with countless supplies that we need” Clint protested, pointing at a building inside of a red ring on the map.
“Well that’s tough, because that’s a pretty bad fucking part of town” Hilary said rather, being annoyed. “Unless we have some way to get straight there without going through all of that shit, its not worth it.”
This was my moment, as the table became silent. “Staff Sergeant, I’m Captain Max Hunter. I hear you have a problem about getting into this town”
“Lovely for you to grace us with your presence, Captain” Clint said with a slight smile, “How are you holding up?”
“Just fine, thanks” I replied hastily, walking over to the table to get a better look at the map. I looked to the place where Clint had pointed to. “This the place?” I asked, pointing to the area.
“Sure is, and I’m hoping you have a way for us to get in there” Clint said, looking a little tired.
“As a matter of fact, I do” I said quite simply, “I’m a pilot, and outside there is a UH-1Y Venom Utility Helicopter. Now if you add one and one together I think you understand what I’m talking about.”
“That’s nice sweetheart, but I don’t think anyone should just trust you off the bat” Clint replied, still retaining his relaxed state, with those tired eyes that just shouted - I don’t care.
“You people saved my life. The least I could do is fly you around a bit” I retorted, looking around the table at the men. No one moved, spoke or even breathed for a few seconds. The shorter man from before stepped forwards.
“If you want a chance to prove your use, not only as a pilot but also a soldier, maybe you can fly us to the next mission” he said.
“Raven, that’s not the best idea” Clint snapped back quietly.
“Seriously sir, even you want to use the chopper. But if you’re going to be stubborn just because the you don’t like the look of the guy, then we’ll go out ourselves” Raven snapped back just as quietly, closing in on his superior.
“Jesus christ” Clint looked even more tired than before. He then let his head rest on the table for a few seconds, and then he rose it again to meet with my eyes.
“So what will it be, sir?” I asked, tilting my head a little.
He sighed, “Fine, tomorrow we’re flying out to an abandoned parking lot, which is connected to a shopping center. We’re hoping that there are some supplies there. And then we will be jumping to a small military base to look for weapons, ammunition and fuel.”
“Thank you, sir” I acknowledged, picking a piece of paper from the pile with the mission on it. I then made my way to the door, until I heard Clint calling me back.
“And Captain Hunter!” He called, I turned back to him, “Take that kid with you as well. He needs some fresh air.”
“You’ve got it” I called back, exiting the building with Tracy close by. So now I was going to prove my use, though I hadn’t flown a helicopter in a while this would be no different. It would be easy, and with a keen navigator by my side this should make for an interesting run. Let’s just hope I don’t have to face those nightcrawlers again. Or whatever they are actually called.
As I made my way back to the helicopter with the good news for Alex, I couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable for Tracy. She wanted the boy to grow up and feel useful. But at the same time I guess she had a promise to protect him and take care of him. And since all they had for each other was each other, losing one of them would render the other alone. Somehow I had yet again sown myself into another delicate event, one that could probably change everyone at Camp Banat forever.
