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Chapter Twelve A
cup Of Love
San
Francisco Conversion Bureau Clinic 042 had a somber dinner. It was
more therapy group than meal, and in order to permit the applicants
to cope with the days events, Dr. Pastern had begged the blackmesh
commander to station two soldiers at the entrance to the clinic. He
had agreed, because their investigation had revealed a second
fragmentation device among the intruder's possessions, and he still
felt great gratitude for Pastern's help.
The entire
staff and patients of clinic 042 sat together as one for the first
time in the cafeteria; Miriam and Dorcas had brought out all the bins
of food and set them down on the tables; everyone filled their trays
in pot-luck fashion as they saw fit. There were no dinner lines, just
one big family sitting down to eat, wandering from table to table to
talk and to fill their bowls.
The Bureau
cleaning staff had been busy all afternoon; while the blood was gone,
the stain of grief remained. Hyssop, the pony receptionist from 043
had spent all of the afternoon with pony Bethany, comforting her and
helping her to come to terms with her unexpected new state of being.
Hyssop also felt a little shame that the doctor of her clinic had not
given Lynn any serum; although it was not in any way her fault,
Hyssop still apologized constantly for Clinic 043's lack of generosity.
Bethany,
for her part, mostly just seemed grateful to be able to see again and
to be alive at all. It was clear that she was deeply traumatized, but
she seemed to be repressing it, for the moment at least. Hyssop did
the best she could to just let Beth cope however she needed to, but
it was very clear that Beth was more than glad that Hyssop was
constantly nearby.
Caprice
was greatly concerned that Alexi would be upset at having his freedom
of choice taken from him; she was worried that he would feel
resentful at being forcibly converted, even if it was to save his
life. But Alexi did not seem upset, if anything he seemed in
relatively good spirits, considering the horror that had happened
earlier in the day.
"My
peach princess, shhh... shhh... let me tell you something. You asked
me for a favor, that I should be converted and become a stallion and
spend my life with you. I know I was a stubborn Alexi, I should have
answered you immediately with a resounding yes at the time. But I did
not. Perhaps... I was too old fashioned then." Alexi's new ears
drooped. "But I can tell you, my sweet Caprice, the exact moment
I made my decision; it was the instant that I held little Buttermilk
outside the Conversion Room, when I crouched down and you kissed me.
Right then, minun rakkaani, I was already your stallion in my
heart. That I am so in body today was inevitable from that moment no
matter what."
"Alexi..."
Caprice's eyes shimmered, barely holding back tears.
"Though,
to be honest," Alexi's ears rose. "I would have preferred
a more... quiet... conversion, had I the choice."
"Oh
Alexi... me too. Me... too." It was a night of tears for
everyone, and it was not unreasonable that Caprice buried her muzzle
into Alexi's chest, weeping openly at this.
Caprice
and Alexi had made several decisions as they sat together with
Pumpkin and Buttermilk at their low table. They would be one family
now. Caprice had told Pumpkin that she was her sister now, and that
this is how they should always refer to each other from now on.
Pumpkin was overjoyed at this, but puzzled at how it could be.
"Family
does not need to share the same blood to be family," Caprice
explained to her. "Buttermilk is my daughter - it doesn't matter
one bit that she did not come out of my body. I love her. You are no
less my sister for the same reason. But if you need a reason,
accept this; you and I were born into the world as who we truly are,
and always will be, from the same jar of potion. You may consider Dr.
Pastern our mother if you wish, and the flask as our father, for our
lives only truly began on her table, in this place."
"How
do you do that?" Asked Alexi, leaning over and nuzzling Caprice.
"Do
what?" Caprice was puzzled.
"Be
completely awesome... big sister." Pumpkin tried out the
words, savoring them on her tongue. "My... big sister is
AWESOME!" Pumpkin grinned, and snuggled in as well, making a
nice Caprice sandwich. Buttermilk, who was just beginning to learn to
stand, tried to rise up from where she had been laying near Caprice's
back legs, and fell across her; Caprice was now covered in love, and
realized that however horrible the day had been, she had never felt
happier than in this evening.
Dr.
Pastern, meanwhile, had been hailed as the savior and hero of clinic
042, and though just about everyone had offered their gratitude for
her actions -word of her courage had spread throughout the entire
Bureau- Roselyn just felt sad, and numb.
Roselyn
knew she had done the only thing she could have to save everyone's
lives, but what had happened to the intruder was just so horrible.
Yes, he had come with the intention to murder them all, yes,
he had remorselessly hurt people she cared about. Nothing kind could
possibly be said about such a man - yet, still, it was difficult for
Roselyn; evil and murderous that man may have been, he had still been
a living mind, a living person, and she had destroyed him in the most
brutal way imaginable.
She tried
to rationalize it; she was helpless, she had no weapons, she used the
only tool available to her. Over and over she ran alternate scenarios
- could she have knocked him out with a chair, or injected him with
anesthesia, or even beaten him in a fight - and not one was the least
bit reasonable. Any other action would have ended with a grenade
killing everyone in the clinic. As it was, that very nearly happened anyway.
In her
intellect, she understood all of this - the intruder was about to
toss an explosive device. Commander Miller -the older blackmesh, as
she had found out- had explained what a fragmentation device could
do, and how close they had all come to death.
But reason
didn't seem to help. She kept seeing a man writhing and shrieking,
and from time to time Roselyn would suddenly jerk as though being
physically hit - because a sudden flash of that memory filled her
mind. Lynn sat close to her, occasionally patting her, or giving her
a hug, trying to comfort the doctor. It would take time for Roselyn
to cope with what had happened that day.
"Lynn..."
Roselyn had to tell her, but it wasn't going to be easy.
"What
is it, Ros?"
"I...
I think I'm going to transfer. They're building more clinics, smaller
clinics, back east. I used to live back there, long ago.
Today..." Pastern looked so sad, so tired. "...Kind of made
me want to go see my relatives, go see the places I grew up before...
before they're gone."
Lynn
didn't know quite what to say. It wouldn't be the same without
Roselyn. "Where do you think you'll go?"
"I
grew up in Michigan, maybe there. I have some family there. Or at
least I used to." Pastern picked at her dinner. "They're
going to build a clinic. Maybe I'll ask to be transferred to it, when
its completed. But... I just can't... stay here."
Lynn
understood. She really didn't want Roselyn to leave, but she could
understand her reasons. Everything that had happened had clearly
taken a great deal out of the doctor. "Whatever you need to do,
I support it, Ros. But I am going to miss you so much. You're the
best... friend... I've ever worked with."
That set
Pastern crying, and Lynn felt bad for having said it now, but then
Roselyn was hugging her, so maybe it was a good cry after all.
When
dinner was over, the staff, newfoals and applicants had talked long
into the night. It felt safer to be near each other, and everyone
needed to talk about the day. But eventually weariness overcame
adrenaline, and the group began to break up, gradually heading to
their beds. It had been a frightening, terrible day, but also a
tremendously exhausting one as well.
Pumpkin,
Caprice, Alexi and Buttermilk were curled up together on Alexi's big
foam bed. There was easily enough room for all four of them there,
and they could sleep far more comfortably than in the tiny room
Pumpkin and Caprice had shared. They had made their own little herd
on the bed, and all of them felt vastly safer and more happy that way.
Alexi had
been very tired and had fallen asleep almost as soon as he had
reached the mattress. This was very understandable; he had
experienced more than any being - Human or Equestrian - should ever
have to face. He had borne the exceptional trauma of his emergency
conversion with astonishing stoicism, and had not voiced a single
complaint. He had, however, not stopped mumbling Caprice's name over
and over until sleep took him completely; it was clear that he had
suffered unimaginably.
Before
they had gone to Alexi's room, they had stopped at the bathrooms to
wash the blood off; even now though, Caprice's fetlocks were stained
a darker shade. This, and that they could still smell blood with
their sensitive equine noses, left them all nervous and unsettled.
With Alexi asleep, Caprice had turned to comforting Pumpkin.
Pumpkin
had been terrorized by everything that had happened; she had tried to
be brave, but once it was clear that they were safe in Alexi's room,
she could not stop crying. She became hysterical at one point,
frightening Buttermilk greatly; Caprice had resorted to laying her
full weight upon her, the warmth and pressure slowly calmed her down,
as Caprice said soothing words, and got her to think about how she
was affecting poor little Buttermilk.
Buttermilk,
frightened and confused, had forced her unsteady body up, and began
to stumble across the foam, occasionally falling down while bleating plaintively.
This
seemed to have a powerful effect; Pumpkin was a very compassionate
filly, and her own torment was forgotten in the desire to comfort the
tiny baby unicorn. Pumpkin stopped crying and began cooing to
Buttermilk, who gradually calmed and stumbled towards her. "I'm
sorry, Buttermilk. I'm so sorry, it's OK, come here! That's it! come here!"
Buttermilk
lurched towards Pumpkin, sniffing and making small sounds. Suddenly
the little foal dove down between Pumpkin's rear legs as she lay
partially on her side, and Pumpkin squealed in surprise. Pumpkin
began squirming and kicking until Caprice told her to lay still.
"Pumpkin, she's just trying to nurse. Don't you think after such
a day, she at least deserves that much comfort?"
"But...
I don't have any milk! And... she's nowhere near my chest...
AUGH!" Pumpkin was in some slight distress, the sensations were
greatly disturbing her.
"Pumpkin,
pumpkin, lie still, that's it, shhhh... you don't understand. You're
a pony now. That is where your nipples are."
"Between
my legs? How can I have nipples between my legs?" Pumpkin was
in some shock over this news.
"As a
human, you had breasts. But as a pony, you have an udder. It's really
still your breasts, and there are only two of them, as before, you
are not built like a cow. But their location has changed. That's
all." Caprice groomed Pumpkin's black mane with her teeth and
tongue, Pumpkin began to relax, despite the hungry little foal.
"It
seems kind of weird, Caprice." Pumpkin was bothered, that
much was clear.
"No.
It is the humans that are weird, Pumpkin, not us." The
way Caprice said things always seemed to help, somehow. "Think
about it: imagine one of us and one of the humans, naked in a forest,
trying to get through it. There are bushes and trees and branches all
around. The human woman will be cut and scraped, because her breasts
are exposed on her chest. But ours are protected, between our legs,
and unless we should deliberately sit down on a bed of thorns, we
will not be hurt, however fast we run."
"I
would never have thought of anything like that, Caprice."
Pumpkin dared to look down at buttermilk, there was no milk, of
course, but that didn't seem to matter to the little foal. It was
clearly just comforting to her. "When you put it like that,
humans are built kind of dorky, really."
Caprice
laughed. "Now that's a proper way to see things! We are
ponies now, always remember that. Embrace it. It is what you are, and
what you will always be. Look at little Buttermilk, trying to nurse.
See how happy she is? This is normal, this what is good,
now."
"Were
you always like this, Caprice?" Pumpkin looked up and behind at
Caprice, who was laying close behind her.
"Like what?"
"Really....
kind. Wise. You always make everything make sense. And you make
everyone feel better, too." Pumpkin snuggled into Caprice's
warmth, and began to feel sleepy. Buttermilk had laid down, her mouth
still around one of Pumpkin's nipples, but she was no longer sucking.
Her eyes were closed, and she was on her way to sleep.
"No.
I was not like this before. I was not very nice as a human. I was
smart, and I was funny, or so people told me. But I was very selfish,
and very manipulative." Caprice lay her head down, her eyes
heavy. "I wanted to be a pony very much, because I knew I could
have a better soul as a pony. I was definitely not wise as a human.
We could never have been sisters back when I was a human."
Pumpkin
shifted sightly, freeing herself from Buttermilk with a faint 'pop'.
"Then I'm very grateful that you are a pony."
"I am
also very grateful that I am..." Caprice was losing it now.
"... a pony. Best decision I.... ever..." It was warm, and
it was soft, and the day had been very difficult.
"Goodnight,
big sister." Pumpkin whispered the words, then checked on
Buttermilk to see that she was sleeping peacefully now, tiny breaths
making her little chest rise and fall. "Nite-nite, Buttermilk.
Sorry I freaked there. Everything is kinda new, you know?"
Pumpkin shifted once more to make herself more available to the baby
unicorn, if the foal wanted. "I guess... I'll have to get used
to all of this, won't I?"
Pumpkin
thought about herself, a pony. This was her life now. This was what
she was, and always would be. She felt the warmth of Caprice, her
sister, sleeping behind her, and Alexi, Caprice's stallion. She could
hear him breathing behind Caprice. Buttermilk shifted on the bed,
cuddling in closer for warmth, between her legs. This was normal,
now. This was what was good and right and proper for what she was.
For a pony.
Summer and
Sandcastle chose to sleep together again on the big, lumpen couch.
They still felt nervous and upset, and had decided to take shifts
sleeping. Intellectually, they knew that the blackmesh soldiers would
be especially on guard, and that more had been sent from the Presidio
base to bolster the guard, but their emotions would not listen. They
felt safer where they could take turns watching the entrance to the
clinic, and also have room to run if need be.
Sandcastle
had taken the first shift, but Summer was having trouble getting to
sleep. "It's OK, Summer." Sandcastle gave his coltfriend a
comforting nuzzle. "I'm alert, I'll keep watch. I won't fall
asleep, I promise!"
"I
believe you. I just can't stop thinking about... today." Summer
looked up at Sandcastle, his face pained. "It was really awful.
I mean, you see these sorts of things in media, and then the
characters are all like 'well, let's get back to business' and stuff.
But... it isn't like that at all."
"No.
No it isn't. I don't know if it will ever be alright again. I'm... never
mind." Sandcastle stopped, unsure of himself.
"You're
what? Come on Sands, no matter what, it's OK to talk to
me."
"I'm...
well, I'm afraid of humans now. I know we used to be human,
just a few days ago, but after today, even looking at the human shape
makes me feel... afraid. It's dumb, I know. I'm just being dumb."
Sandcastle turned to stare at the entrance chamber and the big
security door.
"No.
It isn't dumb, Sandcastle. I... feel the same way." Summer put
his head against his mate.
"We
could leave. We could leave on the ship, Summer! We don't have to
stay. We can learn how to be ponies in Equestria as well as we could
here, probably better even!" Sandcastle seemed happier at the
thought. "Let's do it! Let's just go, please, Summer!
There are no humans allowed in Equestria. Nopony ever tries to
blow up anypony else. They never hurt each other, ever. They don't
even have guns there! Please, please let's just go..."
"Of
course we'll go, of course, shhh, shhh...." Summer rubbed his
cheek on Sandcastle's neck. "First thing in the morning, we will
get on that ship. I promise."
"And
we can stay together?" Sandcastle looked like a little colt,
fragile and delicate, somehow.
"If
you will have me, we can stay together forever, Sands." Summer
snuggled closer, Sandcastle gave him a nibble on the ear.
"Oh,
please. Please let's stay together forever."
Summer
couldn't help but smile at that.
Bethany
was afraid. It was too dark for one thing, even with a nightlight on.
She knew she was safe now, but everything was so strange, and now she
was a pony whether she liked it or not, and earlier -she tried not to
think of earlier, but it kept flashing back. "Hyssop?"
"I'm
still here." Hyssop was only half awake, but she was trying to
be a good friend. "I'm right here, Beth."
"I
don't... I don't want to stay here."
Hyssop
tried to parse what Beth meant. "D'ya wanna go to my room, in
the other clinic?"
"No...
That's not what I mean." There was a pause, Hyssop almost fell
asleep. "Do you know why I never went pony before?"
"Hmmm....nnnnnn.
Why?"
"I
was afraid to go to Equestria alone. But now I don't want to stay on
Earth anymore. I want to get away from here, I never want to see this
world again."
"Mnn...
I can understand that." Hyssop just wanted some sleep.
"Would
you go with me? Just for a while. I'm not asking you to stay with me
indefinitely or anything, just... we're gonna end up there anyway,
so... would'ja just go with me? Tomorrow? I just don't want to go to
a strange place alone." Bethany sounded plaintive and lost.
Hyssop
thought for a moment. "Wha' th' hell. Sure. Just let me get some
sleep. We'll catch the boat in the morning, 'Kay?" She was tired
of her job anyway. And the attack... yeah. Equestria. Sounds good.
"Thank
you, Hyssop. Thank you so much."
"Yeah.
Surrrr....nnnn" Consciousness had finally deserted Hyssop.
Beth
stared at the nightlight. She kept closing her eyes and opening them
again, to make sure that she was really seeing and it wasn't some
dream. Oh, Celestia, it was so good to see again. It was so good
to see.
It was
Friday morning, and a delivery was expected.
The
Erlenmeyer was empty. All twenty-seven ounces that it had contained
had been used. The inner surface of the bottle still crawled with the
remnants of conversion serum; lonely, scattered nanomachines sparked
uselessly with the dying embers of Equestrian magic fading from
within them.
The empty
flask had been carefully placed inside of its bright red case, tucked
solidly inside of the grey, shock-proof foam. The case had been
closed and locked. Now, it sat on the front counter of clinic 042,
watched over by the new receptionist, Meagan.
A new Red
Case would be dropped off today, as it had been every three days for
the last six months. Another 27 ounces would arrive, in a fresh case,
and the old case would be taken away to be refilled. Another nine
ponifications would happen, multiplied by the one hundred clinics in
the San Francisco Bureau, one of the first Bureaus, and one of the
largest. Nine hundred ponies created every three days, month after
month after month.
But it was
still not even close to being enough.
Megan
Winfeld sat in the chair at the reception desk of Clinic 042. She had
been told that something terrible had happened the day before, that
there had been an attack, but that it had been stopped. Meagan needed
the receptionist job, and she was grateful to be there. The previous
receptionist had apparently converted, and had decided to leave.
The
security doors opened. Blackmesh guards entered the reception area.
Meagan waited, but the Bureau agents she had been told to expect had
not arrived yet. It was certainly taking a long time.
Meagan
heard the sound of electric treads. Something heavy was being brought
in. Finally the Bureau agents were here, but they were accompanied by
technicians. The techies were using an electric lifter to bring in
what looked like an aluminum party keg, held firm within a bright red
metal support frame. "Are you the receptionist for Clinic 042?"
Well, duh,
thought Megan. "Yes, I am. I'm new, I just got hired toda..."
"Put
your finger here. And here. Retinal scan here." The agent was
not interested in Meagan's new job. "We'll take the package back
to your physician. I assume she is on call, and in the Conversion Room?"
Meagan
nodded. "Dr. Pastern is waiting, it's right back th..."
"We
know where it is. Thank you." The agent motioned for the
technicians to power up the lifter again, immediately they were off
towards the back of the clinic.
"Humph."
Apparently receptionists were not very important. Meagan tried to
smile at one of the blackmesh soldiers. He looked away, bored.
Lynn
responded to the pounding on the metal Conversion Room door. Behind
it a Bureau agent waved her aside, and had a large red metal frame
moved in. Held inside the metal cage was a shiny keg, not unlike the
sort of container used to house beer or other fluids. "Are you
Dr. Roselyn Pastern, conversion physician for Clinic 042?"
"I am
Dr. Pastern's assistant, Lynn Daniels. I can handle anyth.."
"Where
is Dr. Pastern?" The agent seemed like the sort of man to whom
'humor' was a mythical legend from some ancient past.
"Dr.
Pastern had an emergency. I am fully trained and capable of handlin..."
"This
is very irregular. Dr. Pastern should be present for this. I am not
comfortable with this situation." The agent checked his datalink.
"Listen.
I am fully capable of dealing with this. I can easily inform Dr.
Pastern of every detail when she returns. You can check my records, I
am fully trained and qualified. Now let's get started; I despise
inefficiency." Lynn put on her most stern face.
The Bureau
agent lifted an eyebrow. "Very well. There will be no
more deliveries of the red cases. The red cases will be repurposed as
Serum Travel Cases; retain yours for potential field use as needed.
Increases in production efficiency have finally been achieved. This
is a 900 ounce Ponification Serum Containment Unit. It has been
designated by the Bureau as a 'Pony Keg', and it will provide
sufficient serum to allow 300 conversions before replacement. There
will be a new schedule provided; conversions per day will be expected
to be dramatically accelerated."
Lynn tried
very hard to stifle a laugh at the official designation; it was
entirely possible that nobody at the Bureau had even a clue that it
was the funniest possible name they could have chosen. Certainly, the
agent had no idea.
"I
will now..." The agent gave Lynn a hard look; perhaps her
efforts to remain serious were not as perfect as she had imagined.
"... go over the methodology of serum extraction and the
cautions associated with this new containment vessel."
Dr.
Roselyn Pastern stood on the floating dock. Behind and above her, the
gigantic dark shape of the San Francisco Conversion Bureau
interrupted the sky. The foul ocean breeze tasted metallic in her
mouth; the gray, poison water roiled against the broken supports of
what had once been an apparently famous bridge.
The ship
was not pretty, but it did not need to be. It had only one purpose;
to transport the converted to Equestria, far out at sea. Scientists
had calculated that in just a few years, the expanding border of
Equestria would be so large that it would physically cover part of
the West Coast. When that happened, the transport ships would no
longer be needed; newfoals could just walk across on foot.
Roselyn
had broken protocol because she wanted so much to be here. Alexi
Venäläinen - he hadn't yet chosen an Equestrian name - was
leaving, and she would miss him. He had been the handyman for Clinic
042 since the beginning, and the main reason why her job had gone as
smoothly as it had for the past six months. More than that, he had
been the soul of clinic 042, and the place would be hollow without him.
Alexi was
a handsome white and blue newfoal stallion now, and he took with him
an extraordinary and wonderful family. His beloved Caprice, their
daughter Buttermilk, and Caprice's sister Pumpkin all looked forward
to a happy life together. Buttermilk had begun to walk sometime
during the night; she was unsteady but already more able than any
human baby of the same age. Caprice would be good for Alexi: someone
who could help him occasionally, someone who could keep him
out of trouble.
"I
enjoyed my days at the clinic. We helped a lot of newfoals, did we
not?" pony Alexi smiled at Roselyn, how could he help but smile?
"You
were probably the only thing that kept us going half the time,
Alexi." Roselyn turned to Caprice. "I am so glad I let you
convince me to convert you, Caprice. I'll always think of you as my
very best conversion, ever. Please take care of Alexi!"
"We
shall be together for the rest of our days, Roselyn. But if you came
with us, you could see that for yourself. You could undergo
conversion on the trip, and wake up in Equestria. I do not understand
why you simply do not come right now!" Caprice seemed both sad
and a little angry; it was almost certain Roselyn would never see any
of them again.
Equestria
was a big place, an entire, magical, wondrous world beyond the bubble
in the ocean; as it devoured the Earth, it was apparently growing exponentially
on its side of the Barrier. In the end, Equestria would become
unimaginably vast, with more land than a thousand earths, more than
enough to swallow the whole of the Earth's population as if it were
nothing. In that unimaginably vast, expanding landscape, those that
did not stay together in their travels could never hope to meet again.
"I
don't have any serum." That was technically true, but it was an
excuse; everyone knew that today a new shipment would arrive.
"Dammit,
Roselyn, you've done enough. If you keep putting it off, you
could end up in a desperate place one day!" Caprice nuzzled
Roselyn's leg. "You always act as if you are trying to make up
for something. If you'd just take the serum, you'd find that Celestia
forgives humans. She knows humans can't help what they are."
Caprice looked deeply into Roselyn's eyes, and Roselyn felt that
somehow Caprice was speaking from personal experience. "Just do
it, Ros. Run and grab a cup and then get on the boat. It's alright.
You have my permission." Caprice pressed her body hard into
Roselyn's leg.
Roselyn
felt tears stinging her cheeks. She could almost accept it. She could
almost accept it with the permission of this extraordinary peach
pony. "You have my permission." Just like Roselyn
had given Caprice permission, three days ago.
Sniffing,
Roselyn crouched down and put her arms around Caprice's neck.
"Thank you... for that. But, I really can't. Not yet. I'm sorry.
I'm really, really sorry. Have the best possible life with that big
lug and your little foal. And take care of Pumpkin too. You're
amazing, you know that?" Roselyn hugged tight, Caprice cuddled
her with her neck and head.
As Roselyn
and Caprice embraced, Sandcastle and Summer were heading up the ramp
to the ship; Roselyn could hear them arguing about something to do
with whether tomatoes were a fruit or a vegetable; they seemed
oblivious to everything except each other. Roselyn wished them a
happy life in her mind, sure that her wish would come true.
Roselyn
finally stood up, wiping her face.
Caprice,
Alexi, Buttermilk and Pumpkin ambled slowly up the ramp. They stopped
occasionally to assist Buttermilk, who found the angle of the ramp
unsettling. Eventually the tiny foal made it to the top, a miniscule
yellow figure on a large, white boat.
A dark
stallion with a blue and gold mane stood close to Roselyn. It was
Newmorning, formerly Ryan Niequist. "Doc?"
"Rya...
Newmorning! I heard you were getting on the ship today as
well. It seems like all the newfoals are leaving today." Roselyn
still could feel tears on her cheek.
"Well,
after yesterday..." That part was obvious enough. What did the
human world have to offer, really, except more chances for tragedy?
"...Anyway, I wanted to thank you again for... helping me. You
absolutely saved my life. You gave me my life. Thank you doc.
Thank you forever." Newmorning brushed close against Roselyn as
he passed, then gave her a sharp, stinging whip from his tail. He
grinned at her. Roselyn couldn't help but grin back.
As
Newmorning trotted to the ramp, he held his tail as high as he
possibly could, the view from behind an additional jest. Yes, I
get it, thought Roselyn. I see them. You're welcome. She shook
her head. Boys. Roselyn sighed.
"Hey!
You've come to see us off!" Roselyn turned to see pony Bethany.
Beside her was Hyssop from 043. "We're going together! It's
really nice of you to see everyone off." Bethany turned to
Hyssop. "See, I told you Pastern was a good egg. Best doctor in
the Bureau. I always thought so. Pushy on the ponification, though."
Roselyn
waved to Beth and Hyssop, and tried to say something clever, but she
couldn't because the words wouldn't come out. Bethany and Hyssop
strolled up the ramp; Beth had a little trouble because she was still
getting used to her legs, but Hyssop helped push her up from behind.
'I want
to go on that ship. I want to go on that ship with them. Oh,
Celestia, I want to be a pony too' was all Roselyn could think,
and by then the tears were streaming down her face. Maybe back East
would be easier. Maybe one day she would finally give in. Maybe one
day she could feel that those men had forgiven her somehow. Maybe she
could forgive herself.
Roselyn
Pastern stood there for an hour and a half, until the ramp was pulled
away and the ship began to leave, sailing out into the open ocean,
towards the shining, gleaming, semicircle that was the wondrous,
magical Barrier of Equestria.
Some day,
some very special, wonderful day, when she had somehow earned it, she
would finally go too.
The End
The Ponies
[0] 27
Ounces (remaining)
[1] 24oz Carmine
- (Carmine Rosalita Guadalupe Vasquez, age 21) Cerise coat, gold
mane, gold eyes. Unicorn pony
[2] 21oz Caprice
- (Venice Elspeth Bertarelli, age unknown, probably 24)Peach coat,
deep peach mane, green eyes. Earth pony
[3] 18oz Pumpkin
Licorice - (Sharon Marcella, age 16)
Orange coat, black mane, black eyes. Pegasus pony, with foal
[4] 15oz Sandcastle
(Elijah Shaloe, age 23) Tan coat, white mane, burgundy eyes. Earth pony
[5] 12oz Summer
Raincloud (Logan Bertram, age 24)
Medium gray coat, blond mane, blue eyes, Unicorn pony
[6] 9oz Newmorning
(Ryan Niequist, age 26) Dark gray/black coat, sky blue and
gold mane, Earth pony
[7] 8oz Buttermilk
(Baby Jane Doe, age 2 weeks 3 days) Pale yellow coat, yellow-white
mane, bright yellow eyes. Unicorn pony
[1/2] 6
3/4oz Horsemeat
(William Duke Culpepper, age 36)Bright pink patches/caucasian, zero
mane, Brown/violet eyes, pink guts. Half pony
[8] 2
1/4oz Alexi
(Alexi Venäläinen, age 28) White coat, deep blue
mane, purple eyes. Pegasus Pony
The
Bonus Pony
[Bonus] 4oz
from another flask Ruby Foxmane
(Bethany Milner, age 43)Chestnut coat, light red mane, red eyes.
Earth pony
27
Ounces continues directly in the sequel:
The
Taste Of Grass
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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
|
