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                 This
                  story has an enhanced audiobook version with ambient sounds and 
                 sound effects available, read by the amazingly talented Pwezem. 
                 Delight in his professional quality, dulcet and mellifluous voice as 
                 he reads this tale to you! Theme music 'Hand For Hoof' by zahqo and 
                 d.notive, used with permission. 46 minutes. 
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                 Liam
                  slid smoothly around the broken wall, thought 'Grenade' and his 
                 right hand instantly moved away from the gun, dropped below his 
                 vision, and returned holding a smooth cylinder. He knew this place, 
                 this corner with the concrete hedgehogs and the ammo box, and he knew 
                 the spawn point. It was right over the little crack in the barricade, 
                 and if he threw high, at a practiced angle, he would have reason to grin. 
                 In his 
                 mind, he imagined the motion of throwing, and his arm mechanically 
                 tossed the grenade over the wall. It was perfect, his practice 
                 informing the toss, and within a moment, words formed in the air 
                 indicating a successful frag. Then his vision was filled with a 
                 triumphant march, a stirring image of soldiers cheering, and the 
                 noisesome clatter of scores, ranks, awards, and experience gained. 
                 Dylan 
                 ripped the set from his head, his dark hair left standing at an odd 
                 angle by the rough motion. What the FUCK? He threw his 
                 mindset on the unkempt floor, in anger, but controlled just enough to 
                 avoid breaking the appliance. What the flying FUCK was THAT? 
                 Seriously, let me be the first to say 'Fuck You, Man'. Sincerely. 
                 What WAS that shit? 
                 A massive, 
                 toothy grin faced Dylan. Liam slowly lifted the MicroSony Mindset 
                 from his head, and smoothed his dishwater blond mop of hair. It 
                 didn't help much. It's called winning, Dylan. Winning. You 
                 should try it sometime. Feels nice! 
                 No, 
                 that was Bullshit! I spawn, and BAM, and... well, fuck you. 
                 They were 
                 both grinning now, Dylan's face marked with a touch of excited 
                 frustration, but also a tiny note of admiration. It was a pretty 
                 amazing throw. 
                 Liam rose 
                 to his feet, and began to head to the bathroom. Yeah, I 
                 practiced that. And I'm proud of that, motherfucker! As he 
                 rounded the shelves, he added Come on, you could have done the 
                 same... well, if you weren't a crying little bitch, of course. 
                 This 
                 elicited a round of muffled expletives from behind the door as Liam 
                 settled in. Something in the pizza last night was not agreeing with 
                 him, and he needed a little alone time to enjoy some explosive 
                 decompression. He'd been holding things a little too long. 
                 When Liam 
                 was finally able to leave, he was greeted by the sound of the 
                 threevee and Dylan's excited Over here, dude, quick! The bubble 
                 has just creamed Bakersfield! 
                 The 
                 'bubble' was the iridescent, perfectly spherical barrier that 
                 surrounded the emerging land of Equestria. Since it had first emerged 
                 from the sea four and a half years ago, the strange soap-bubble like 
                 shield had never stopped expanding. Slow at first, news reports had 
                 eventually been forced to admit an acceleration. Now, the sphere was 
                 visible from space, a shining dome more than a thousand miles in 
                 diameter, like some great gemstone set into a Fabergé egg 
                 earth. It was the largest no-fly zone in history. 
                 Look!
                  Dylan was excited It's just beginning to push into Los 
                 Angeles!. The news anchors, two overly blond talking heads, 
                 were decrying the loss of American soil, and the horror of the sheer 
                 magnitude of it all. 
                 Liam took 
                 his seat Mother-fuck. Damn that's something. Damn. The 
                 properties of Equestria's shield were such that nothing human could 
                 penetrate the barrier. It was open to almost all matter, but anything 
                 human met with total solidity. The effect was such that even bones, 
                 buried deep in graves, were pushed out of the ground, swept as by a 
                 shimmering bulldozer, up into the light of day. 
                 But this 
                 was not all the barrier did; what passed through safely changed. 
                 Radiation ceased. It just stopped being radioactive. Poisons stopped 
                 being poisonous. Gasoline changed into something not entirely unlike 
                 raspberry jam. The most wilted, dying grass turned greener than the 
                 finest summer day, the darkest, most brackish water became the purest 
                 blue, and highway pavement shimmered and fizzed, shifting visibly 
                 into bright and colorful cobblestone pathways. High skyscrapers 
                 melted into thatched-roof buildings, and everywhere trees and flowers 
                 filled every space. 
                 Outside of 
                 the bubble, the works of man, gray and grimy and hard, and inside the 
                 bubble, a brightly hued fairyland where only a semblance of the 
                 original pattern could be interpreted. 
                 Look 
                 at that! it was an extreme close-up shot, from the ground, 
                 showing the slow, inexorable expansion of the Equestrian barrier. 
                 Liam could see clearly the edge of the bubble visibly swallowing the 
                 very last edge of what had once been a petrochemical tank, the other 
                 side of which had become a very pleasant looking hillock, covered 
                 with flowers. The hillock was strangely high and domed, the mass of 
                 it at a steeper angle than physics should allow. That was Equestria 
                 defined: an utterly alien physics, a completely alien world. No, not 
                 world, 'universe', thought Liam. 
                 It's 
                 not going to stop. It is just not going to stop. This is going to... 
                 it's going to cover the world and that is that. Dylan was 
                 unusually somber. 
                 If 
                 it never stops, then at some point, eventually, there won't be any 
                 place left. There won't be any earth left. And no human can live in 
                 there. Liam shifted in his seat uncomfortably. 
                 It's 
                 death in there. For humans. Dylan paused for effect For 
                 humans. He stressed the word. Savored it on his tongue, 
                 stretched it. 
                 Listen
                  man, we mothefucking have to do this. We are going to have to do it. 
                 If we want to live, we are going to have to... 
                 Get 
                 ponified. Dylan spat the word. Mother fuck. 
                 Ponified. In everything he had said, it was clear the only 
                 obscenity was that word. Ponified. Transformed. Converted. 
                 A gentle 
                 voice issued from the Threevee, coming from an unearthly and 
                 beautiful creature, a being of fantasy and impossibility. Her 
                 multicolored mane moved and rippled like a flag around her head, 
                 sea-green, blue, and pink, her long unicorn horn jutting from her 
                 milk-white face. She was Celestia, absolute monarch and literal 
                 goddess of the emerging Equestria. 
                 It 
                 is with the utmost regret that we acknowledge the loss of the great 
                 and magnificent human dwelling of 'Bakersfield' and also the many 
                 other cities and locales that once graced your coastal regions. While 
                 we cannot stop nor halt the progression of the expansion of our realm 
                 into yours, we remind you that in this there is no threat. We welcome 
                 you, willingly and with love, to join us, to enter into our land, our 
                 lives, and our society. Everywhere are the Conversion centers, always 
                 is the open hooves to greet you into a new and better life. 
                 Dylan and 
                 Liam looked at each other, neither could interpret the look on the 
                 other's face. Celestia was speaking again. 
                 You 
                 have seen what exists beyond the great barrier of Equestria, a world 
                 green and lush and beautiful. Beyond is a land where life is gentle, 
                 kind and wondrous. I would not wish to be despairing of your 
                 magnificent works, but surely there are among you those that can see 
                 the verdant fields beyond the gray steel and blackened concrete, and 
                 yearn for a better life. Please, please join us. 
                 One of the 
                 toothsome anchors was back That was Princess Celestia of 
                 Equestria, responding to these scenes of the current state of the 
                 Equestrian Expansion. We return now to... But by now the young 
                 men were not listening, the sound tuned down, their faces solemn, 
                 chairs facing each other, each trying to read the other. 
                 I'll 
                 go first. Liam spoke Then you can see what's what. 
                 Mother.
                  Fuck. answered Dylan. 
                   
                  * * * * * 
                   
                 It had 
                 been two weeks, roughly, since Liam had left their shared apartment. 
                 Liam's bedroom door silent, no music behind it, no dirty dishes left 
                 by the sink, no more games of SlaughterStrike 3. Dylan had been 
                 practicing Liam's trick of tossing grenades from across the map, and 
                 had managed to master it, he was eager to show his friend. They had 
                 met playing the first iteration of SlaughterStrike, back before the 
                 Mindsets came bundled with the system. Dylan had gone to the trouble 
                 of ordering a pony-scale Mindset for Liam, as a gift. The device was 
                 a custom job, bought over the hypernet, wide enough to fit the huge 
                 skulls of the Equestrian ponies. 
                 Dylan was 
                 reconstituting some hot wings, sipping a beer, when he heard fumbling 
                 at the door. The fumbling went on for some time, and he listened 
                 intently; there had been attacks and robberies in the run-down 
                 building lately, and he was alert for trouble. 
                 DYLAN!
                  The voice sounded odd, yet also familiar. DYLAN! I... I need 
                 your help. Could you open the door? Please? Dylan checked the 
                 clock, it was earlier than Liam had said, but it must be him. Dylan 
                 ran to the door. 
                 He paused. 
                 He paused for a long time. He knew what must be on the other side of 
                 the door. That was nothing new, the ponies, transformed humans, were 
                 everywhere now. There were more ponies than humans, the Conversion 
                 Bureaus having served their function for the majority of the time 
                 since Equestria rose from the sea. Both Dylan and Liam had met many 
                 transformed humans, 'newfoals' as they were called, and dealt with 
                 them on a daily basis. But always with a degree of separation, of distance. 
                 It had 
                 finally sunk in. The denial and suspension crumbling away as he stood 
                 at the door. On the other side was Liam, but not Liam, 
                 no-longer-human Liam, and this Liam, this creature, this alien, was 
                 his roommate. It was going to live here now. With him. Every day. 
                 Dylan?
                  The voice was plaintive Are you there? I can't work the 
                 printlock. No fingerprints. Oh, please be there! I'm.. I'm a little 
                 nervous out here. I want to come home. Dylan? 
                 Dylan 
                 snapped out of his emotion. Sorry, dude, I was... I had to get 
                 here from the... Just a moment! Dylan was working the locks, 
                 pulling back the three safety bolts and the hardlock. There we go! 
                 The door 
                 swung inward. Dylan held his breath, unsure of what to expect. 
                 The 
                 creature trotted swiftly in. It was dragging a sack with its teeth. 
                 It stood on its four short legs, its long bright tail swiffing left 
                 and right nervously. It was violet. Pale violet, the color of 
                 designer sheets or girls underwear. A thick disheveled mane 
                 surrounded its head, an amazingly beautiful, pale corn-husk yellow. 
                 It was the only thing that reminded Dylan of Liam's sad, messy, murky 
                 blond hair. 
                 The 
                 creature, the pony, looked up at Dylan with unnaturally green eyes. 
                 It couldn't be four feet tall. 
                 Dylan? 
                 D...Dude.
                  Mother fuck. Shit, dude. I mean.... Man. 
                 The pony 
                 nervously looked down and pawed the carpet with one hoof. 
                 Dylan's 
                 heart was pounding. This was for real, this was someone he knew. 
                 Someone he lived with. They had isolated themselves from the world as 
                 long as they could, insulated themselves, in their apartment, 
                 watching as if from another planet altogether, the madness of a 
                 fairyland rising from the sea, the insanity of the human race being 
                 converted into an alien, magical species. They had made it a show to 
                 themselves, an amusement. A fiction. 
                 But now 
                 this fiction was fact, and it was digging at his carpet, in his 
                 apartment, and it lived there. Liam was home. 
                   
                  * * * * * 
                   
                 They had 
                 eaten dinner, Dylan offering Liam a chicken wing. That was 
                 interesting; everyone knew Equestrians were vegetarians, and both 
                 were curious how this new Earth Pony equinoid body would react to 
                 meat if it were presented. Meat was available, but somewhat frowned 
                 upon in the Conversion Bureaus themselves, so this was Liam's first 
                 re-acquaintance with a favored staple. The little stallion tried, but 
                 even the smell was too much. It... it smells like death 
                 was how he put it. 
                 Dylan, 
                 tried some of the food Liam had brought home in the sack. The sack 
                 was filled with hay -lots of hay- some alfalfa, some unusually large 
                 and colorful flowers, some amazing apples, and, of all things, 
                 muffins in a box. The hay tasted awful, like trying to eat a broom, 
                 and the flowers just tasted of chlorophyll and nothing. The muffins 
                 were pretty good. The apples were like nothing Dylan had ever tasted. 
                 They didn't look real; they were some shade of perfect, and the taste 
                 and smell sang to him of something long forgotten in his childhood, 
                 something sweet, and pure. The apples made him sad, too, though he 
                 did not understand why. 
                 They 
                 talked nervously to each other through this, Liam the Pony exclaiming 
                 the rich deliciousness of the hay, the unbelievable savor of the 
                 flowers. That's one thing that has changed, dude. Your sense of 
                 taste is way fucked up! 
                 Pony Liam 
                 visibly shrank at that. What had Dylan said? You alright dude? 
                 Liam? The pony brightened Yuppers! I'm fine! I am very 
                 happy to be home with you! 
                 That 
                 struck Dylan. You never say 'YUPPERS', dude. And that prissy 'I 
                 am very happy' crap. Fuck, man. 'You are very happy to be home with 
                 me?' What kind of shit is that? Are you OK? 
                 The pony 
                 shrank again. It was instant. As though he had been hit by an 
                 invisible fist. Then he was back, all gigantic eyes and pony smile 
                 I must have said 'yup' sometime. Everyone says 'Yup'. And I am 
                 happy to be home. Those huge eyes  they seemed the size 
                 of soccer balls to Dylan  stared back with unnerving innocence. 
                 You 
                 didn't say 'yup', motherfucker, you said 'YUPPERS'. Dylan intoned the 
                 word in a musical, flaming way. Again, Pony Liam shrank. 
                 FUCK!
                  SHIT! PISS! COCKSUCKER! yelled Dylan at the little violet 
                 pony. Each time it jerked, subtly, but definitely. Dylan leaned close 
                 and softly whispered Motherfuckercocksucker. Pony Liam 
                 shuddered. He. Shuddered. 
                 Time 
                 passed. Pony and human had retreated to opposite sides of their space 
                 in the apartment, out of mutual necessity. Dylan could hear the pony 
                 in the Other Bedroom clumsily knocking about, probably trying to 
                 manipulate his possessions with mouth and hoof. Dylan stared out the 
                 grimy window, at the deep, dim red disk of the sun staring out of the 
                 gray smog of Los Angeles. The bubble of Equestria was coming. Already 
                 it was at the edge of the city, Bakersfield was now a hilly meadow 
                 within an invading universe. Parts of the city were already dangerous 
                 to be in, the magical radiation too dense to remain in for long. In 
                 time, within another year, this apartment would be... Equestria. 
                 The smog 
                 was clearing. Bright rays struck Dylan's eyes, shocking him. The gray 
                 blanket was being peeled back, faster and faster. He could no longer 
                 stare at the disk of the sun, it was too bright. Yellow and pink and 
                 deep blue sunset, something he had never seen outside of media, 
                 dazzled his vision. The sky really was blue. 
                 Dylan made 
                 out what was causing this impossible change. Pegasuses... Pegasai he 
                 corrected himself, hundreds of them, in every color he could imagine, 
                 swept as one round and round the Los Angeles sky. They dissolved the 
                 smog, battered it, swirled it up like cotton candy, dragging it 
                 behind them, on into and past the now-visible bubble that loomed and 
                 shone beyond. When the smog trail entered the curving Equestrian 
                 expanse, it vanished. Purified, he imagined. Cleansed. 
                 The 
                 Barrier was so close. It was so impossibly vast. It shimmered like a 
                 soap bubble. The smog had hidden it all this time. He had no idea it 
                 was so close and so incredibly huge. 
                 The sun 
                 finally set, and for the first time in his life, Dylan saw stars. Not 
                 many, for there were many lights in the city, but some. Stars. Stars 
                 in a sky that was not gray. 
                   
                  * * * * * 
                   
                 Shopping 
                 with Liam The Pony was a strange new world  for Dylan. They had 
                 gradually come to an understanding of how to deal with each other, 
                 and this first week, though rough, was increasingly feeling more 
                 acceptable to Dylan. He wasn't sure how much of the pony was still 
                 Liam exactly. 
                 Sometimes, 
                 in the dark, watching the new, regularly cleaned sky out the big 
                 window, they would talk and for a while it seemed, in the dark, that 
                 nothing had changed. Just Liam. But then Dylan would say something or 
                 make a joke, and the reaction was Not Liam. It's just that, 
                 well, I don't feel angry enough to use those kind of words, to talk 
                 about... things like that. I... I just feel too happy, too... 
                 light... to go there. I'm sorry, Dylan. I don't mean to be... 
                 frustrating. Dylan didn't feel frustrated, he felt scared, somehow. 
                 Pony Liam 
                 was social. That was new. Old human Liam was, like Dylan, 
                 uncomfortable around people. People were a danger, they were always 
                 up to something, they always had an angle, they always wanted a piece 
                 of you. You had to be on your toes in the city, you had to know when 
                 to talk and who you could talk to, and above all, who to not even 
                 look in the eye. 
                 The new 
                 pony market had been a gas station, once. Now it was a space covered 
                 with open bins of fresh produce, hay and oats and alfalfa, flowers 
                 and vegetables. There was a bakery area, with pies and cakes and 
                 other treats. There was a very small human section. It was 
                 increasingly hard to find human-food markets, since the large 
                 supermarts had pulled out of town. Dylan longed for the days of 
                 processed meats and burger stands. 
                 Dylan 
                 chose a stack of instant meals  beef stroganoff, cup noodle, 
                 mexi-rice with beans, dehydrated jobs that could be reconstituted 
                 quickly. It was what was available; most humans had fled Los Angeles 
                 long ago, or become ponies. The Barrier meant nothing to the ponies. 
                 They could freely walk through it, and often did. 
                 A pony 
                 family ran the market, and Liam was always so friendly with them. He 
                 was friendly from the first moment they found the market, and dealt 
                 with the couple and their two foals as if they had always been 
                 friends. This was Not-Liam in action. Not-Liam always came out 
                 grinning and friendly when meeting anyone. 
                 Have 
                 you two stallions been enjoying yourselves? Mister Whitemane 
                 was carefully packing up their purchases, he had already put Liam's 
                 favorite muffins into their shopping sack. Mister Whitemane was a 
                 newfoal, as was his family, and they were transformed humans that 
                 continued to live on human land. Dylan did not know Mister 
                 Whitemane's real name, his human name. He had changed his name to 
                 something more Equestrian, as best he could, because 'It sounded better!'. 
                 Oh 
                 yes, Mister Whitemane! Dylan and I have lots of fun. Yesterday we 
                 went to see the Shield! It was beautiful! Have you been there? 
                 Dylan had touched the bubble, a flat wall extending to infinity, 
                 dividing earth from Equestria. There was a place, one of a few nearby 
                 locations, where the magical radiation somehow was not strong, 
                 perhaps like a faded radio signal, or perhaps where waves of magic 
                 canceled themselves out, a safe-for-humans spot where both he and 
                 Liam could visit the barrier without ill effect. 
                 Dylan had 
                 run his hand over the iridescent wall, it felt hard as diamond, 
                 frictionless, and neither warm nor cold. It was just there, 
                 impossible to pass, impenetrable. Liam had happily trotted across the 
                 magical wall, it was but air to him, and Dylan saw Liam's violet 
                 hooves press upon the most perfect, bright, splendid grass he had 
                 ever seen. Looking across into that colorful land had moved Dylan in 
                 some fashion he could not say. He had turned away. He didn't want 
                 Liam to see. The fucker would probably make a big deal out of it, try 
                 to comfort him like some fucking pussy. He couldn't deal with that crap. 
                 Oh 
                 you are so going to enjoy this weeks' alfalfa, Liam. It comes 
                 straight from Equestria itself! We will be getting shipments from 
                 there regularly now. A taste of the homeland! Liam cantered 
                 with joy Yay! Sometimes -no, all the time  Liam was 
                 like a child now. He was like an innocent, loving child. A part of 
                 Dylan had begun to hate this. Despise this. It burned. 
                 Have 
                 you thought of a new name, Liam? A proper pony name? Sayyyy.... 
                 something like 'Violet Fetlocks? Oh! That sounds nice! 
                 That was 
                 the last straw. That was it. That was the shit. The fucking shit. 
                 Dylan turned and strode away. He walked and walked. He couldn't go 
                 home. This motherfucking prissy pony shit. 
                   
                  * * * * * 
                   
                 Dylan was 
                 in a bad part of town, but it didn't matter much, what with the only 
                 threat, other humans, evacuated for the most part. There were still 
                 dangers, of course, a few, rare roving bands of punk shitheads, gang 
                 fucktards that stayed around to partake of the last days of Los 
                 Angeles, but this was not on Dylan's mind. 
                 Pony or 
                 flee. These were his options. He could become like Liam, or he could 
                 flee. Somewhere. Anywhere. There would be ponies wherever he went, of 
                 course, but he could get away from the expanding Bubble, the growing 
                 magical field, and ultimately, Liam. 
                 Liam and 
                 he used to be friends. They could shoot the shit with each other into 
                 the morning. They shot the hell out of opponents online. Liam was a 
                 great fighter. He was fucking awesome online. They had not played 
                 together since the first night. Liam couldn't take all the blood. He 
                 couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. He didn't feel good 
                 hurting anything. 
                 And that 
                 was it. That was what had been lost. That part of Liam, that part of 
                 his humanity was gone. The killer ape, the murderous primate. It was 
                 gone. The anger, the force inside that made a man tough, the rush of 
                 domination. Gone. Dead. Liam just wanted to be... 
                 What was 
                 it that Liam wanted? To be a friend. That hurt Dylan the most. He 
                 couldn't get mad at Liam. He couldn't even swear at Liam. He couldn't 
                 because no matter what he did, Liam just tried harder to be a good 
                 friend. Liam was ...nice. He was so fucking nice. And Dylan was not. 
                 Not like that. 
                 He never 
                 thought of himself as a bad person. He felt he was an OK guy. He was 
                 a good friend. The time human Liam, old Liam couldn't make rent AND 
                 food, he spotted him. He never even expected to see the money back. 
                 That's being a friend, isn't it? It wasn't like he was evil. 
                 It's just 
                 that, dammit, where was the fucking fire? What had happened to Liam? 
                 And if he went pony, what would happen to him? What would he be? Who 
                 would he be? What the fuck did conversion steal from humans? Was it 
                 gone forever? 
                 Dylan 
                 slept in an abandoned hotel. He picked the fanciest room, he deserved 
                 it. He did not feel like watching the Pegasai colorfully sweep the 
                 horizon. He pulled the drapes shut. He kept the room dark. He felt dark. 
                 I'm
                  sorry, Dylan The huge, shining green eyes seemed deeply 
                 concerned I really wanted to play, and I really appreciate the 
                 wonderful mindset - it is a fantastic gift  but... pale 
                 violet hooves pawed the carpet again ..Maybe we could try 
                 playing something else? Something a little less, well, violent. I 
                 can't help it. It just... makes me feel sad, I guess. 
                 Sad. It 
                 made him feel sad. The pretty pony feels sad. Not scared. Not 
                 disturbed. Not disgusted. Maybe a little. Yes, disgusted. It was on 
                 his face. His muzzle. Whatever. But the bottom line was that he was sad. 
                 Like it 
                 was somehow wrong. Like a good round of killing the shit out of 
                 people was indicative of... a lesser status. That fucking pony was 
                 acting superior! Superior! That was the problem! Liam the precious 
                 pony princess was Better Than Everyone. Better than.... 
                 Better 
                 than human. 
                 That 
                 thought startled Dylan. All of his life he had been angry, angry at 
                 people, because they fucking sucked. People were mean and selfish and 
                 cruel, and the world was mean and selfish and cruel, and there was no 
                 end of assholes. Fucktards on the net, asshats on the street, 
                 sociopaths in the government, and raping pirate cocksuckers ripping 
                 up the planet for profit everywhere. Every fucking man for himself. 
                 Every 
                 fucking man. For himself. 
                 Every pony 
                 for... each other. For everyone. 
                 Dylan 
                 tossed and turned for hours before he finally fell asleep. 
                 Dylan 
                 was six. He was at some kind of street festival. It was in the Latino 
                 part of town. There was music and men in fancy outfits playing horns. 
                 His mommy had taken him there. It was so bright, and everyone was so 
                 happy. A plump elderly woman squatted down and patted him on the 
                 head. She said something to his mommy he couldn't understand. Then 
                 she gave him candy. He beamed at her. Without thinking he grabbed her 
                 leg in his arms and held her. She stroked his hair and said things he 
                 couldn't make out. He waved to the nice lady. He waved to the band. 
                 People waved back. And all he knew in all the world was that life was pretty. 
                   
                  * * * * * 
                   
                 Liam 
                 trotted to the kitchen. Turning his head sideways he gripped the 
                 refrigerator door in his mouth and pulled it open. He pulled out his 
                 bag of alfalfa. Mister Whitemane had been right, real Equestrian 
                 produce was unbelievably good. For the past three weeks, since Dylan 
                 had disappeared, Liam had made a point of getting the imported grains 
                 and flowers. It was something cheery, and he needed that, because he 
                 couldn't help but worry about his best friend. 
                 And Dylan 
                 was his best friend, he had realized that the moment he woke up after 
                 his conversion. Even while he had been first learning to walk with 
                 his new legs, he had been thinking, in the back, about whether he 
                 would one day impress his friend with how well he could trot.  
                 He had felt shame that he had never told Dylan how much he 
                 appreciated him. How he had basically just taken him for granted. 
                 Every day, 
                 Liam had gone out to try to find Dylan. He had asked some of his new 
                 pegasus friends to keep an eye out for a dark haired human. He had 
                 even consulted a local unicorn, in the hopes that some work of magic 
                 could find Dylan. But while the unicorn was an early convert, she had 
                 no means of helping him. 
                 Liam, by 
                 now, had many friends among the ponies of 'Los Pegasus' as everypony 
                 was starting to call the city. Occasionally he had heard rumors of 
                 sightings of a man, or men, but so far, nopony had definitively found Dylan. 
                 Liam put 
                 some of the alfalfa into his big bowl. It was his favorite bowl, 
                 because it was wide and brightly colored. He went back to the fridge 
                 for some carrots. Carrots were now spicy-sweet treats to Liam, they 
                 tasted nothing like he remembered from his old days as a human. 
                 He carried 
                 his meal, when he had finished preparing it, gripped tightly in his 
                 teeth, over to the table by the threevee.  He liked eating 
                 there, it reminded him of days with Dylan, and it was nice and low so 
                 that he could eat comfortably, sitting on his haunches. 
                 He dipped 
                 his muzzle into the bowl, the cool fragrance of Equestria filling his 
                 nostrils. It sang softly of rolling green hills perfect for galloping 
                 over, of crystal streams and green -so green- shading trees. Breezes 
                 so pure they almost sparkled, and vast fields of colorful, delicious flowers. 
                 There was 
                 a knock at the door. For a moment, Liam was excited, but his keen 
                 ears knew the difference in sound between a human knuckle and a pony 
                 hoof. Liam stood up, licked the last savory strand of alfalfa from 
                 the edge of his muzzle, and trotted over to the door. 
                 There was 
                 no need for locks anymore, everyone in Los Pegasus' was Pony now 
                 (except, he dearly hoped, for one special human) and that made 
                 opening the door much less of a chore. Carefully gripping the handle 
                 in his mouth, the little violet Earth Pony flipped the latch with a 
                 strong tongue, and pulled the door open. 
                 Hello...
                  he began, May I help you? 
                 Outside 
                 the door was a bright yellow stallion, with a dramatic midnight black 
                 mane and tail. He had a simple cloth bag in his teeth, which Liam 
                 recognized as a release bag, often offered to the converted as they 
                 left the Conversion Bureaus, providing them with an initial supply of 
                 food and essentials to assist them in their new lives. Liam had been 
                 given one. He still had it, for sentimental reasons. 
                 Iffl 
                 Mffl, Fyffm! the yellow pony tried to say around the bag. 
                 Oh! 
                 You must be looking for somepony for company, being new and all? No 
                 place to go? I'm glad you found me! Please, come in, come in 
                 friend! Liam backed up to allow the new pony to enter the 
                 apartment. The yellow Earth Pony trotted in, a little unsteadily, and 
                 sat in the middle of the room. He finally dropped the bag from his teeth. 
                 The cup 
                 was filled with a purple fluid. It was sometimes referred to as 
                 'Potion', short for something like  'Ponification Transformation 
                 Solution' or some such term. He swirled it with his fingers, and it 
                 shone like something metallic, which it might well have been. It had 
                 been explained to him that it was a suspension of nanotechnology 
                 infused with some astonishing form of Equestrian magic - real magic 
                  a combination of earth and Equestrian technology. He supposed 
                 magic could be called technology. It did stuff, after all. 
                 It 
                 tasted... like grape. Artificial grape. Like a bad brand of jelly, or 
                 perhaps cool-aid. He was finally 'drinking the cool-aid'. The joke 
                 made him laugh. The stainless steel platform was cold under his naked 
                 buttocks. He downed the rest in a single gulp. A strange feeling 
                 spread through him, even as his consciousness left. He did not know 
                 for sure if he only imagined his head hitting the platform with a thud. 
                 He was 
                 in some timeless space, floating, a dream that was not a dream, or 
                 perhaps it was. The shining form of Celestia and her sister goddess 
                 Luna were before him. Troubled one, what is it that you seek in 
                 Equestrian life? The question was kind, loving, almost motherly. 
                 I 
                 want.. the words formed in his mind, for he had no body with 
                 which to speak I want kindness. I want to be... innocent. 
                 And he 
                 was filled with light, and laughter, and he became six again, and he 
                 knew, beyond any doubt or any fear, that life was pretty. And then 
                 the colors sang to him. 
                 Dylan was 
                 hugging back, as best he could with his new legs, and Liam was all 
                 violet coat and cornsilk mane surrounding him, and Liam was crying 
                 pony tears of gladness, because his new friend was his best friend, 
                 and the hug went on for a long, long time, until the sniffles 
                 stopped. It was all very emotional, and very raw, and very sappy, and 
                 very honest. 
                 And Dylan 
                 found that he didn't mind. No, he didn't mind it at all. In fact, he 
                 loved it. 
                    
                  THE END 
                   Return
                   To TCB Story Index                
                   Return
                   To Jenniverse
                   Index
 
                    
                    
                    
                  The 
                  Lost In The Herd Series: 
                  One: The
                   Big Respawn, 
                  Two: Euphrosyne
                   Unchained, 
                  Three: Letters
                   From Home, 
                  Four: 
                  Four: Teacup, Down On The Farm 
                    
                  The 
                  Conversion Bureau Novels: 
                  27
                   Ounces: A story of eight and one half ponies 
                  The Taste 
                  Of Grass 
                  The 
                  Conversion Bureau: Code Majeste 
                  The 
                  Conversion Bureau: The 800 Year Promise 
                  The 
                  Conversion Bureau: Going Pony 
                    
                  The Novellas: 
                  The PER: 
                  Michelson and Morely 
                  The 
                  Reasonably Adamant Down With Celestia Newfoal Society! 
                    
                  The 
                  Short Stories: 
                  Her Last Possession 
                  The 
                  Conversion Bureau: PER Equitum 
                  The 
                  Conversion Bureau: Brand New Universe 
                  Tales Of 
                  Los Pegasus 
                    
                  The 
                  Non-Conversion Bureau Fanfics: 
                  The Ice 
                  Cream Pony Summer 
                  Around The Bend 
                    |