Our group had yet to find a name, but we were pretty well known.

by the time July had come about, parents had come to me, Naomi, and even Colin, thanking us for founding the group and asking when our next meeting would be. To which we would respond with a resounding "no idea." Many parents began asking if their child could join, and if a convert had a sibling, chances were they could be found at one of our meetings. Before long the three of us found ourselves as the unlikely leaders of what felt like a therapy group for those concerned by the converts.

Noticing the need for organization, we began a group chat, nothing too extravagant, just a means to contact everyone who wanted to show up and tell them where our next meeting would be. When our money ran low, we used the school gym or a classroom. Parents started sending food along with their children, the town paper even wrote an article about us.

We met bi-weekly, all of us bringing another story or thought to the table as we tried to work through what was happening around us, I didn't know how I ended up being one of the people leading this group.

To be honest, I thought the only one to really qualified to do this was Naomi, and even then, out of the three of us, no one had siblings or parents who had taken the potion. Colin had a second cousin who took it and that was about the extent of his families involvement with the potion.

I was an only child and any grandparents I had passed away years ago. My uncle felt the same way about the potion as my Dad did, and his sister was either too passed-out drunk to even get to Atlanta to take the potion, or she was too lazy to drive there. My Mom had no family left to speak of, her parents died in a car accident and for some reason, she refused to speak of it to us, as, for her sister, she utterly refused to peak to or about her. Though but from what I had put together she was in the military somewhere, I didn't know her, so I really didn't care much either way.

Naomi rarely spoke of her family outside of her parents and sisters, but none of them had taken the potion, her Father was a doctor, specializing in Neurosurgery, he wouldn't let anyone in his family take any kind of medicine or drug he himself had not personally cleared first, and he most certainly had not cleared the potion.

We had no idea what to tell the people that came to us, we just listened to their problems, Naomi gave explanations and information, Colin made people laugh, and I gave people advice as best I could about dealing with their four-legged family members, and between the three of us, we actually did some good for our members.

But the converts, they never got better.

I thought at first that the coverts were just victims of a drug that was rushed through production, that their behavior was a result of mental strain from being placed in a new body with new instincts, and the isolation and general change in personality were just a temporary behavioral quirk that people would learn to work around. For a while, I thought I had been proven right, people talked about their family members frowning, exhibiting emotions besides constant happiness. Naomi said that was good, that the 'human' brains of the converts were adjusting to the new pheromones and chemicals that their pony bodies were producing. That was the FDA's explanation for the changes in the converts' personalities, a chemical imbalance brought on by a human brain being overwhelmed by a pony's body. We believed them, they were the professionals, after all.

But that grin, that grinning pegasus still irked me, those glassy-eyed smiles they put on when they started talking about conversion never changed despite my hopes to the contrary. I looked at the ponies on the street and still saw a shell of what a human was supposed to be.

I hoped the people who took the potion would reappear soon, but it was what happened at our fifth meeting that got me praying for it.

July 4rth, 2018 Wednesday
Whitman Public Park
4:20 P.M

"I swear to God, they're like a herd now." Insisted the girl, Diana, I think her name was, a soon-to-be sophomore with ambitions of joining the cheer team. "It's not just the ones from school either, its all of the convies."

Whitman was where Penns Creek's (Our Town) fireworks display for the Fourth of July happened every year, the mayor used to brag about how they were the best in the state. The only thing I knew for sure was that the display lasted forever, how a small town gained access to so many pyrotechnics every year I'll never know, but they brought something new to the table with every new years' display, which brought a lot of people from other towns, and at times, other counties, to see them.

We all knew our families would have dragged us out here either way, so we decided to cut out the middle man and meet at the park, we would all talk first, then enjoy ourselves as our families arrived with homemade hamburgers, hot-dogs, and other Fourth of July staples. We all sat under a pavilion, lounging on the picnic tables

"What do you mean?" Another guy asked.

"They're all grouping up." Explained Diana, "I've seen it, they all meet in this one place and then split up into groups, but they're never alone."

"They could just be forming a group to talk about their problems," I suggested, "We all know this is as hard for them as it is for us."

"Yeah, but..." a shy freshman named Kevin interjected, "My brother hasn't talked to me in a week, he just...glares at me and my parents." The freshman looked to his feet, "I think he hates us, he's either locked up in his room all day or out with the other ponies."

Naomi, who was here more on a formality than anything else due to the fact her parents didn't celebrate independence day, looked up from her laptop with sympathy etched onto her face.

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you, Kevin." She consoled, "You're family, for God's sake."

"Yeah," Added Colin, " Your brother doesn't mean anything by it, he's got a whole new body to deal with! He's probably just exploring..."

"What do you- Aw, gross!" Naomi smacked Colin over the back of the head, inciting laughter and several "ew's" from everyone in the audience.

"Your brother probably feels out of place," I observed once the laughter had died down. "Not that you or your family have done anything wrong, but he's literally a different species from you. But you have to remember, behind those glassy eyes and admittedly creepy as hell smiles, your family member is still in there, and they're struggling as much as you are."

I had taken a shot in the dark with that, it was mostly me guessing about how a normal teenager might feel, but from the looks on some of my friends' faces I had made an impact, Kevin had picked his head up, still smiling from Colin's antics and now sitting straight up, almost everyone else who had a ponified family member looked to be thoughtful about what I had said. I mentally fist-pumped, allowing myself to feel good about myself for the small victory.

"I'm not so sure about that."

Every head turned to Eric, who had remained quiet the entire meeting with a bitter look on his face. The guy had gained weight over the course of the summer, and I wasn't talking about fat, the guy had gone from being taller than the average student to standing a full head over everyone here, and God, did he look pissed.

"My Sister told me she wanted me to take the Potion," Eric said after some pause. "Said she would like me better if I did, I said no, and she just... kept smiling. When I told her she was better as a human and she got mad, talking about 'how awful we all were' and how 'she'd rather die than go back.'"

People shifted uncomfortably on the benches they sat on, mumbling and whispering to one another. Another member raised their hand to speak.

"One day, my little brother was over here at the playground, right? Two or three of them showed up and just started talking to him out of nowhere, my Mom got to him and ran 'em off, but... my brother said they were talking about taking him to Atlanta."

All of us were silent, there was the big problem, all of the converts wanted everyone around them to convert as well, the FDA hadn't commented on that, and people were beginning to get antsy about it online.

I was about to respond when a high-pitched voice from behind me cut me off.

"Hi!"

Naomi turned and gasped, a lot of people got out of their seats as I turned to see an entire herd of converts looking at us with big, creepy smiles.

"Shitstains." I cursed mentally, there had to be at least twelve of them.

"U-uh, hello." Naomi managed to stammer out, "W-what can we do for you?"

"Oh, we just came to see what was happening!" Replied a purple Earth pony mare, her voice a little too excited for my liking.

"There was a lot of you here!" A blue pegasus added, hopping into the air and flapping his wings, hovering in place.

"We... were just talking about some problems that we're trying to work through," I replied.

"Oh, sorry to hear that." The pegasus flew a bit closer, " Y'know, we might be able to help..."

"Oh, that's not necessary." Naomi hurriedly replied, taking a few steps back as she did so. "We're doing fine, thank you for the offer though, Mr?

"Call me Spring Breeze!"

My heart stopped, that wasn't a chemical imbalance, that was a full-on fucking identity crisis.

"O-oh." stuttered Naomi, she reached for her laptop, closing it and holding it against her chest like a teddy bear.

"Well!" Colin strode forward, a forced smile on his face, "Is there anything else we can do for you?"

"You could come with us to Atlanta..." A teal unicorn with a red mane said as she stepped forward to the head of the group.

Erica.

Colin paled.

"Erica!" I exclaimed forcing a smile onto my face as well. I clasped my hands behind my back. "Great to see you again!"

Erica's smile faltered somewhat, but the fault was gone as soon as it appeared. "I'd prefer to be called Starry Skies if it's all the same to you."

Behind me I could hear Martin, who had been sitting beside me and quietly taking in what had been said during the meeting.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit." He silently chanted, repeating the phrase like the words were going to protect him from th converts.

"S-sure, Starry Skies it is," I replied.

I waved my hand behind my back, hoping everyone behind me could see it, before pointing in a very frantic manner, hoping they would get the message and start leaving. I kept my eyes on the teal unicorn, watching as she slowly trotted up to me.

"We were going to volunteer to help with the construction of the new bureau." She said with a smile. "We wanted to see if any of you wanted to come with us." The ponies behind her agreed, their voices mixing together as they all echoed her request to us.

"Yeah!'

"Come on!"

"Help us out!"

I took a few steps back, what did she mean by bureau?

Naomi's eyes went wide. "How did you-?"

Starry looked over at her with another smile, "C'mon Naomi, I may not have fingers anymore but that doesn't mean I can't use the internet." She turned back to me, closing her eyes and grinning as an inexplicable squeaking noise escaped from her mouth.

"Squee!"

"Isn't it great? An entire place dedicated to helping humans become ponies! Queen Celestia's been so generous!"

I looked over at Naomi, a 'WTF!?" Expression clear on my face.

"Later," she mouthed.

"Sure does!" Replied Colin, that same convincing fake smile was back on his face. He was still as pale as a ghost, but he was one of the best actors our school's drama club had ever produced.

He could hide his emotions well, and hide them he did.

"Unfortunately, we don't have much time on our hands as of recent, so I'm gonna have to take a rain check." Colin looked behind him, "Any of you guys got the time?"

I didn't have to look behind me to know everyone had shaken their heads no.

The ponies had this hungry look in their eyes, almost predatory as their smiles dimmed somewhat.

"Sorry, I've gotta go into work almost every other day this week." I played along, shrugging and giving the herd a nervous smile.

"Getting holidays off comes with a price y'know?"

"Yeah." Martin agreed behind me, "Really sucks, but y'gotta do what y'gotta do."

Starry's eyes darted from Martin back to me, and she craned neck to look behind me.

"Aw, where are you all going?" One pony cried, I allowed myself a quick look behind me, everyone was peeling the fuck out like I had told them to, trying to get back to the park's entrance where we agreed to meet our families.

"Our parents are probably expecting us." Naomi hastily explained, "It is the Fourth of July after all!" She chuckled nervously.

"Oh! I'll take my brother, then!" A White Earth pony trotted past me briefly, "C'mon Kevin! I've been wanting to talk to you!"

Kevin froze in place, the poor kid looking between the departing group and his brother, uncertainty and fear evident on his face.

The white pony's ears drooped, and for the first time ever I saw something akin to an actual emotion on a convert's face.

"Kev, it's just me...It's Alex." The pony said, the emotion in his voice was evident, shocking all four of us into silence as the stallion slowly advanced towards the confused kid.

"You trust me...right?"

Kevin's face was a mask of conflict, and he slowly began to walk towards the pony as the elder brother smiled kindly towards his younger brother.

The look on the convert's face was convincing, I had to admit. By the hopeful look on her face, I could see that Naomi had fallen for it. After all, it was the proof we were looking for, the converts were still people, they just had to be given time and before long everything would go back to normal. I myself wanted to believe that, and so I almost let Kevin go with his brother, but something stopped me.

Kevin's brother still had that hungry look in his eye, his smile was growing back into that grin and the ponies in the herd began to shift restlessly. Each one of the four-legged creatures' grins growing with every step closer to his brother Kevin took.

As always, something was off.

I held a hand out, blocking the freshman's path to his brother, I swallowed my panic, stepped forward, and put on the most believable, most confident, most poker-faced fake smile I had ever made in my life.

"Sorry," I said, my tone losing any kind of hesitation, "but your mom entrusted Kevin's well being to me. It wouldn't look good if I wasn't the one to give him back. You can stay with him if you like though, all of our parents should be here before too long."

At the mention of our parents, many of the converts began to shift uncomfortably, many of them seemed anxious now, ready to bolt if something went wrong.

Alex looked up at me, and the grin on his face was replaced by a cold glare.

"He's my brother..." He growled, pawing the ground with his hoof. "He's more important to me than he is to you."

"I'm not saying that he ain't," I said, still smiling. "But a lot of people benefit from these meetings, your brother included. If a parent decided to say something about their child being left with one person and their brother having to come to pick them up, it might leave an overall bad impression on what we're trying to do here."

Alex's frown deepened.

"Besides, are you really gonna deny your brother the chance to make some friends?"

Alex was livid, and looked ready to charge me, he took a step forward, but before he could do anything else Starry held a hoof in front of him. Alex pushed against Starry's outstretched foreleg, she whispered something in the stallion's ear and immediately he stopped.

"I'm sorry for bothering you." Starry Skies smiled at me once more, letting her foreleg down. "We completely understand." She looked at Alex, a grin still on her face, "Right, Star Chaser?"

Alex looked between me and Kevin, before smiling happily once more, any trace of anger gone.

"Yeah, I guess I'll see you in a few minutes then Kev, tell Mom and Dad I said I'll be there soon, ok?"

Kevin nodded fervently. "Yeah, for sure!"

Starry Skies smiled, "Sorry for bugging you guys, it stinks you can't come to Atlanta with us."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, "Yeah, I'm sorry too, but what can I say? We're only human."

Starry chuckled, "Oh, I know."

She turned and walked back to her herd of followers, Alex/Star Chaser following behind her.

For a moment I thought it was over, but Starry Night turned to speak one more time.

"We'll see you soon!" She waved a foreleg.

I was the only one who waved back.

"Jesus Christ!" Colin looked as pale as a ghost, his hands trembling as he sat back down at one of the tables.

"Its a fucking no from me, chief." He managed to blurt out, trying to hide his panic with humor.

Naomi was still watching the herd of converts disappear into the distance, her Laptop clutched in her arms like it was a lifeline.

"What, the hell, was that? " Martin rested a hand on a table, looking like that was the only thing that was keeping him from collapsing.

I turned, the only people that were still here were Me, Naomi, Colin, Martin, Eric, Naomi's sister, Kevin, and Diana.

All of us were in various forms of shock from the encounter, except for Eric, he just looked like he was ready to punch something.

"I-I told you, they're like a herd now." Diana stammered.

"I saw my sister." Said Eric simply, "She was with them."

He turned to me, "you think she's still in there now?"

"I don't know," I replied.

"I do, she's gone." Eric began to walk off. "Equestria took her from us."

He left the Pavilion, leaving the all of us in silence.

"We should... probrably meet up with our parents now." Said Naomi, finally turning to face us.

"Not yet..." I turned to Naomi and pointed in the direction the converts left in. "First, you're going to tell me exactly what she was talking about."

Naomi nodded shakily, prying her arms open and placing her laptop down on the table.

"T-they're called conversion bureaus." She began. "They've started building them everywhere."

After that, everything went normally, our parents showed up, everyone ate, the fireworks display featured a moving pony created by the fireworks. It was amazing, or at least, it would have been if all of us didn't have the exact same thing on our minds.

Kevin's brother didn't come back until the next day, and every day after that he and the rest of his herd began to follow us and the other members of our group, not quite interacting with us but always somewhere in our vicinity. It didn't take long to figure out that we had been marked, and that mark wasn't going to go away. People started panicking in the group chat, looking to us for answers we didn't have, so we made a split-second decision.

We canceled the next meeting for that week.

We canceled the ones for the next week too, hoping they would lose interest, and for a while, they did, at least on the three of us, and for a while we laid low, thinking we were safe.

But that wasn't the end of it.

Hell, it was barely the beginning.

Author's Note

I feel like I should mention that I got the idea for the story listening to this while reading the original story to the Spectrumverse

Also... as of right now I have more dislikes than likes... that is somewhat discouraging... BUT IT WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO DISSUADE ME!

BTW: I'll also be replacing the prologue I wrote with one that would kind of change the nature of the story but hopefully give a little more depth to the story overall. I'll also be splitting the chapters into acts, with the first seven chapters being a part of "Act Zero" that will serve as the groundwork of the world, introducing the characters and a lot of the necessary backstory required to build up the characters so we can get Act 1, which will get to the nitty-gritty of the story.