The Conversion Bureau: Immunity

I had it all. A loving mother and father. Plenty of friends. Until the ponies came.

"Kayden, are ready for school?"

"Yea I'm ready. See you later mom!" BOOM

"What the fuck was that?"

Three years later...

"You think were gonna make it Kayden?"

I looked up to see my superior officer, Sgt. Bradley, addressing me from the other side of the room.

"I don't know sir, I mean, we're cut off from supplies and reinforcements, and the ponies have us outnumbered five to one."

Before Sgt. Bradley could respond, we heard a voice echo through the walls of our steel compound.

"Humans, we do not wish to harm you, lay down your arms and stop this madness immediately!

At that moment, my blood ran cold. It was her. Princess Celestia. I had heard rumors about her. Rumors about how she was immortal, impossible to kill or even damage. Stories about her using magic to stop bullets in midair.

In another moment, my training took control. I instinctively grabbed my rifle and climbed up to the observation tower. Thoughts were racing through my head. How could they have gotten here so fast? When I reached the top, my heart dropped like a weight. There must have been at least fifteen ponies, no more than ten feet in front of me. But they were all turned away from me. Without thinking, my hand shot to my side and retrieved a frag grenade from my pocket. I pulled the pin and threw it into the middle of the group. I slid down the ladder just in time to here the explosion, followed my the cries of all the ponies that were up there.

I grabbed my radio. "This is Private Kayden, requesting immediate back up to the Eastern Observation Tower, Over." No response. "This is Private Kayden, requesting immediate back up, please respond! Suddenly, the voice of Princess Celestia crackled over my radio. "Kayden, I know you can hear me, all your comrades have been converted. Only you remain. Come out with your hands up, and we can do this the easy way." I had planned with all my fellow soldiers what to do if we were the last man standing. Head into the sewers. Running to the nearest manhole, I noticed some explosives lying on the ground. "Better take these", I whispered under my breath. Removing the manhole from beneath me, I slowly made my way down the ladder. "Damn, this place is even worse than I thought it would be."

I grimaced at the scene in front of me. Along with the pungent odor of the sewer system, there were also multitudes of rats. Careful not to fall into the stagnant water, I slowly made my way along the abandoned concrete corridors. I looked at my watch. 5:00 pm. Continuing my walk through the sewer, I saw something dart from one shadow to another. "Identify yourself!" I shouted. Hearing a small yelp and then the sound of hooves trotting away, my worst fears were confirmed: One of the ponies was sent down here to look for me, if he reported my location to his leaders, then it was over for me.

I quickly gave chase, and I soon had the pony cornered into a dead end. I was now able to see my pray fully. The pony had a dark blue coat with blue eyes. The pony's face radiated fear. In either hoof it was holding a conversion potion. "Drop the potions!" I shouted. Surprisingly, the pony immedeitly let go of the potions, which hit the floor with a shatter. "I surrender!", the young pony yelled. I cautiously stepped forward. Getting a closer look, I could see it was a very young pony.  Then I had an idea.

"Why are you down here?"

"W-What?"

"WHY ARE YOU DOWN HERE!?"

"I was sent down here to do reconnaissance!" The pony was now openly sobbing.

Holding the pony down with my knee, I took out the explosives I had picked up earlier and strapped them to his chest. Then I took out the detonator and held it in front of him.

"I want you go back to the surface and tell your friends that there is nothing down here. If you betray me, you die. Understand?"

"I....ok."

I let the still crying pony back up, and held him at gunpoint. After showing me where he had entered the sewer, I signaled for him to climb back up and initiate the rouse. After he was gone, I pressed my ear against the manhole. I could hear what he was saying to his superiors

"Any human activity in the sewers?"

"I....um...." He paused for a moment, as if wondering what to say.

"THERE'S A HUMAN IN THE SEWER AND-" before he could say anything else, I squeezed the detonator. So much for that idea. That explosion will attract every pony within a three mile radius of my position. Climbing the rest of the way out of the sewer, I took a moment to survey my surroundings. I was far away from the compound now. Looking at the street signs, I could see that this was the neighborhood I lived in as a kid. After walking for a few minutes I found my house. Fortunately, the place had been left mostly intact.

Walking inside, I saw all of the old pictures of me growing up. My father had always made a point of taking pictures of everything I did as a kid. I struggled to hold back tears. "No, you have to stay strong Kayden, now more than ever." I looked at my watch. 9:41 pm. Glancing outside, I could see it was getting dark. "Time to hit the hay...", I said to no one in particular.

Trudging upstairs to my old room, I laid down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Maybe this is just some horrible nightmare, I thought. Maybe I'll just wake up in the morning and everything will return to normal. Purging these thoughts from my head, I drifted off into an uneasy sleep.