The Conversion Bureau: Force of Will

This story is set in a sci-fi version of The Conversion Bureau: Ten Rounds Universe created by Defoloce.

The sun was beginning to set as the police car drove forwards the long road with it's headlights on.

"-then thats when I knew I had to go. So I took the car and drove as far as I could. I had plenty of gas, but I began to run out. To my luck, I had found a gas station at a distance. I arrived and saw the interior of the gas station you found me in. Let me tell you, it had been a complete war zone in there. Rounds shot near windows, dry splashes of blood and Potion, left clothes of the converted, broken windows... Well, you were there so you know what I mean. I honestly don't think they made it, I guess there was about 2 or 3 dozen ponies involved in the assault judging by the scene."

"Yeah, even though I was there, I didn't really pay attention because of the hurry." Dylan said as he drove. "My friend Paul began to chase me when he got converted outside a clinic. We were sent to scavenge medical supplies for our base. He was covering the outside of the clinic with his sniper to take down any possible Equestrian intruders. He would advise me of possible Potion patrols by our radios. Then those fucking horses got him. I heard everything by the radio, how he called for help while the shock devices stunned him, then silence. I knew it was over for him, he had been converted." Dylan explained.

"God dammit Paul..." Dylan spoke that last statement in a low voice.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Andrew said.

"We had agreed on taking each other down if one of us got converted. I kept my promise." Dylan responded, as he glanced at the rear mirror at the pegasus.

"I still can't believe it. So you aren't a follower of Celestia? You don't want humanity to be converted? You are one weird pony. How could you resist the Potion's mind effect?"

"It's hard to describe. My whole mind screamed me to let go and join the herd, but I somehow resisted the impulse. When I opened my eyes I had been converted, but I felt no change in my attitude or opinion whatsoever."

"My superior has to know about this. This is huge." Dylan said, as the car fell silent.

"So...where are we heading?" Andrew asked, as Dylan glanced at the rear mirror.

"We are headed to a HLF camp just beside the coast, we should get there in less than an hour by now." Dylan answered. Andrew's ears rose at the mentioning of the Human Liberation Front. He had heard of them before over on the news, they were the ones against the Conversion Bureaus and bombed them. Andrew disliked their methods, as those bombings killed both humans and ponies in each operation. They were looked at as terrorists by the media.

"They won't shoot me, right?" Andrew asked nervously. A moment of silence followed.

"I'll try to explain them. But for good measure, don't peak on the windows much and keep your eyes inside the car." Dylan said, as silence followed.

"And how does it feel? You know, to be an equine?" Dylan asked.

"Strange, but it feels comfortable, hard to describe. It's almost as if I was born into it. I don't know how to fly though. Also, your sense of taste gets fucked and makes grass taste good. I know, pretty bizarre." Andrew answered. Dylan gave a chuckle.

"You ate grass? Are you serious?"

"I was hungry!"

"And do you think you are still able to eat meat?." Dylan said smiling.

"If grass tasted good, I think it may have affected my taste of meat too. I'll be damned if it did." Andrew said, then a small lapse of silence ensued.

"And how well is the HLF keeping up? Are we winning?" Andrew asked. He was guessing the answer.

Dylan was thinking about it. "Well, not really. We do have our ups and downs, but things get more difficult with time. In regular attacks, for each 20 ponies taken down, a man is converted. We have good soldiers, but we are vastly outnumbered. My superior, Michael, keeps telling us they are making progress over on Alpha City, some sort of super weapon. He gave no details, but it gives us hope."

"Alpha City? What's that?" Andrew asked. He had never heard about that place.

Dylan glanced at him by the rear mirror. "I'm afraid I can't tell you. Not yet at least. Look, I'm almost sure you are saying the truth about being a human immune to the Potion. Michael will know what to do. I doubt he'll kill you since you are clearly very different from the rest. Like, you never spoke that bullshit propaganda during the whole trip, you strangulated a pony unconscious, did no effort to attack me, you gave a very detailed story of how it all happened, and you are not resisting being taken to a HLF base. I have never seen or heard any pony do such things. So don't worry, just be yourself and don't wander around. Your presence will put everyone kinda nervous, plus, you got dried up Potion on your arms from Paul, even more reason to be alert. So just do what we tell you and you should be fine."

They'll think I may be a spy. Great. Andrew thought. He now looked out the window, as it was beginning to get dark and the clouds looked red from the sun setting. He then saw how the dead grass begin to diminish to be replaced by more remains of sand.

"We're here." Dylan said, as Andrew looked forwards and saw a few distant lights. Dylan turned the car right and followed a small dirt road mixed with sand.

Looks like a campfire. Andrew thought, as the car got closer to the lights. Andrew began to get nervous and got his head down, hiding from the windows.

Dylan glanced at the rear mirror. "I really don't recommend you doing that, you'll look suspicious. Just let yourself be seen but don't look outside too much."

"Right, ok." Andrew responded, while taking in a few breaths. Stay calm, you are on their side.

After about 30 seconds they had arrived to the camp. The place had 4 big tents with lights inside and a few crates beside them. One big camp fire in the center of the 4 tents, with seats and people talking and moving from one place to the other. There were about 25 people in total. A couple of them had assault rifles and wore a gray uniform unlike the others, most possibly being guards. What caught Andrew's attention the most was the ship behind one of the tents. A about 3 meters tall, long metallic cylinder-like ship with a flat bottom that was about 10 meters in length, with a few small rectangular tinted windows. It had a scratched metallic look with a number "11" painted blue on its door seen at it's side, and the front was like the nose of an aircraft. All windows tinted black so nothing could see from the outside. It had a huge thruster on the back. The ship was parked with a few metallic legs that came out by the sides.

"This will be interesting." Dylan said, as the car arrived near the camp with two guards approaching. Dylan noticed how Andrew was breathing deeply, he then turned his head to the back seat.

"Relax, I'll take care of it. You won't get shot." Dylan said, as the pegasus nodded looking down. Dylan took off his seatbelt and left the car.

"Dylan Cohen, we were waiting for you. Come, come, did you find the supplies?" Asked one of the guards, with his assault rifle lowered. The guard was about 30 years old judging by the voice. Dylan approached the guard and began to talk, at one point the guard's face looked down. He had told him about Paul.

"You got a prisoner in there? Eh kid?" Said the other guard, as he pointed the gun towards the window with it's flashlight.

"Leave him alone man. I need Michael to see this. He appears to be an immune." Dylan defended.

"An immune?" The guard stopped aiming, with a sound of curiosity in his voice.

"I need to show this to Micheal. Please tell everyone to not shoot him, he may be of value to us." Dylan said.

Value? Andrew thought.

"Uhh...sure. Just get that dry Potion on him cleaned up, we don't wanna take any chances."

"Understood." Dylan said, as the guard headed back to camp, leaving the other guard there to make sure everything went ok. Dylan headed back to the car, then opened the back passenger's door while the guard aimed at the pegasus in case he tried anything.

"Follow me, you need to get that Potion off." Dylan said, as they headed to the shore. Andrew was going to take a bath.

Michael

Michael sighed as he looked at his map over the camp table. The map showed their location as well as the nearby cities at a few kilometers of distance. He had sent two soldiers over to a clinic up at north to scavenge as much medical supplies and tools as possible.

What is taking them so long? They should have arrived hours ago. Michael thought, as he considered the possibility of a failed mission yet again by Potion Patrols or even worse, Purity. If a group of humans standed out and successfully counter-attacked Potion patrols frequently, they were dealt with by the feared Purity patrols. They would "Purify" humans by killing them, using lethal weaponry. Purity patrols were very rare as they weren't meant to be used frequently, as they tried to be-friend humans by Potion patrols which were much more numerous than Purity.

A guard stepped inside the tent with his rifle lowered. "The scavenging squad arrived, sir. We lost one of them, the sniper." The guard spoke, as Michael sighed. It's the third one this week...

"Also, Dylan got ourselves a pony. He claims it's an immune." The guard said.

"An immune? Please explain yourself." Michael said in a confused serious tone.

"He gave me no details sir, but he said he would come here to talk to you in person. They are at the shore, the pony is getting cleaned from some dry Potion." The guard said.

Michael did not know what to think. An immune? There has never been a case like this before. The Potion has always been effective. Plus, he said a pony was immune, what does that mean?

"Ok, I'll wait here then. Keep an eye on it ok? Ponies aren't stupid, it could be a spy." The commander said, as the guard looked slightly shocked at the realization.

"Good point, I'll make sure to keep an eye on, sir." The guard spoke, as left the tent. Micheal stayed there, confused at the mentioning of an "immune pony".

Andrew

"Cold!" Andrew exclaimed, as he submerged into the water. He could feel his wings shut tightly, as he was scrubbing his gray coated arms so that the dry Potion would come off. Dylan and the guard were at the shore, with a flashlight pointing at him ensuring he would not escape. It was nighttime now, with the sky full of stars now visible thanks to the lack of light pollution.

Alright, it came off. Man this is cold! Andrew said while he swam back to the shore, all while shivering from the cold.

"Done?" Asked Dylan.

"Y-y-yes. I-I'm freezing" Andrew responded, as his teeth chattered.

"Ok, follow me. We are taking you to Micheal." Dylan said, as they all walked back to the camp. Andrew was still shivering from the cold water and the wind. They advanced towards the camp while the pegasus walked between the two humans. When they got close enough, the campfire light was able to make them visible. Humans got very alert when they saw them, as they stood off their way. "What is that thing doing here?!", "A prisoner?", "You disgust me.", "You murderer! This is our land!" Some commented, as they looked at the pegasus with disgust and hate. Andrew's ears dropped at the accusations, as he tried his best to make no eye contact while staring at the ground and followed Dylan. They soon got into Michael's tent, then everyone got back to their business.

Michael was sitting with his desk, two guards beside him.

"Here they are sir." The guard spoke.

"Thanks, you may leave." Michael said, as the guard that escorted them left. A few seconds of silence ensued while Michael stared at the pony. Michael then gave his attention to Dylan.

"Why did you bring him here? We can't afford much food for prisoners, and he doesn't look like a squad commander to extract information. Clark told me you said he was an immune?" Michael said, as Dylan prepared to speak.

"Indeed sir. I found him-" Dylan got interrupted.

"An immune? What do you mean by that soldier?" Michael said in a serious tone.

"The Potion...it converted him in body, but not in mind. He has told me he isn't on Celestia's side. He told me the whole story during my way back to base, and he acts in no way like an Equestrian. He saved me from being converted by Paul..."

"Paul..." Michael said in a low voice.

"Indeed sir. Then, he strangulated him unconscious. He never spoke a word of propaganda and his general attitude is very...human-like. I couldn't believe such a thing was possible, but then I thought he could come of use to us. A spy or something. A human mind in a pony form, something like that can't be killed on sight, so I took him here to you."

Michael gave his attention back to the pony. "Is that true? You really are human?" He said.

"I-I know it's hard to believe. I couldn't believe it myself...later from being covered in Potion. I really a-am human, and no, I'm not on Celestia's side." Andrew said, he was feeling very nervous. He calmed himself and continued.

"I was converted by force by a Potion patrol. I was all alone in my apartment building. I-I almost made it, but at the end I got cornered and shot. I told myself to not join the enemy. I'm-I'm not an Equestrian, but a human. I won't deny I was...tempted to join them during my conversion, but at the end I-I rejected it. I want to help in any way possible, sir." Andrew gulped.

A few moments passed in silence, until Michael spoke up, looking at Dylan. "Did you tell him anything? Any information? He may be a spy you know. Using a new tactic, such as acting out..."

Yep...they think I'm a spy...great...

"...as an "immune". You need to be careful. We need to be careful." Michael said.

"I...you're right sir. And yes, I did speak to him about the mission I was sent to, and I did mention...home. But not details." Dylan said, as another gap of silence ensued. Michael had a troubled face, thinking deeply about the situation.

Now what? Did they believe you? Andrew took a deep breath. Please, at least consider I might be saying the tru-

"Ok, I'm calling base to inform them about this." Michael gave his attention to the pegasus. "If what you are saying is truth...that you truly are one of us. Then you need to be taken to a safer place, as someone like you could be of great use to the Human Liberation Front. If you are one of them however, you're good as dead right now." He said, as he gave a menacing look at that last sentence. "Now if you excuse me..." He stood up and headed to a small metallic table with thick, scratched metal suitcase. "I'll get talking with the HQ. Dylan, get the pony tied up, he can't be trusted, not yet at least. You are in charge of him for now, understood?" Michael said, as he sat behind the small metallic table and opened the suitcase. Andrew gulped at that statement.

"Understood sir." Dylan said, as he and Andrew walked out the tent.

Dylan and Andrew walked past the others, as one of the guards leaving the tent announced everyone to stay calm and to not interact with the pony.

"I'm sorry, ok? I'm just following orders. You seem very human to me, but one can never be too sure these days." Dylan said, as they approached one of the tents made for the members.

"It's fine." Andrew sighed "I know I'm human, and at one point it should be proven. It's good to know the HLF is cautious." Andrew said, as they entered the tent. Dylan turned on a camp light on the ground to illuminate the place, all filled with about 10 sleeping bags laying on the ground and a small box next to the camp light.

"I'll get the rope now. Let's see here..." Dylan said as he took a rope out.

"Sorry man." Dylan said, binding the pegasus legs and wings, making him unable to fly or move once he finished.

"Yeah, it's ok. Whatever to get away from Celestia."

Dylan finished tying him, as he turned off the camp light and headed into a sleeping bag. "Well, if you really are human, you'll be fine. If you are actually a spy, believe me, you will die. Anyway, I'm tired unlike most people here. Too much action for a day." Dylan said, as he prepared to sleep. The tent was semi-open, letting a bit of light from the campfire to get in, with few shadows of people walking from one place to another. A guard's shadow with a rifle was seen at the side of the entrance. The night was now tranquil, with the sound of the wood burning, crickets, and very few people walking and a few talking.

"Andrew?"

"Mmhm?"

"You...really are human aren't you?"

Silence ensued.

"Yes, I am. I hate Celestia for what she's doing. I'll do what I can for humanity using this form. Probably a spy or something."

"Yeah, that tyrant. I...I think I trust you. That whole trip conversation is enough for me." Dylan said as he yawned. "You got yourself an ally, heh...Goodnight friend."

"Goodnight." Andrew said.

It's been years since I last had a friend... Andrew thought, as he fell asleep with a smile.