AN: After rereading this chapter I remembered that I was actually quite pleased with it, so all I did was fix some mistakes and do some rewording.
"… You are all probably aware of the fact by now, but the end of the human race is drawing closer day by day, and we only have ourselves to blame. Disease and ever-present war has had a significant impact on the population of our race, and we passed the point where we could have done something to fix the damage done by pollution a long time ago. Hope is not lost however, unless you've been living under a rock for the last several years you may have noticed the appearance of these ponies and how they have begun to take up residence in our once bustling towns and cities. These ponies come from an island known as Equestria, that up until recently has been completely hidden and separated from us. Equestria is a land of peace that has not known war for over one thousand years. It is also a land full of magic, yeah you heard me, honest to goodness magic! The reason humans never knew about Equestria, is because it is protected by a magical barrier that we can neither detect nor pass through. Now, humans and ponies have lived together these past years in relative peace, and because of this relationship we have been given a second chance at life so to speak. Human and pony scientists have worked side by side to develop a formula that turns humans into ponies, allowing us to pass though the barrier. This barrier doesn't only protect Equestria from the rest of the world, it also protects us humans. You see, being born into a world with zero magic makes it so our bodies can't handle its abundant presence on the other side of the barrier, but your new Ponified body will have no such problem. This concludes the orientation. Please enjoy your stay with us at the Conversion Bureau, and if you have any questions feel free to ask any of the equine personnel working here."
As soon as the movie ended, fluorescent lights illuminated the crowded room, and conversations immediately sparked between friends and acquaintances. . Even among those that chose to undergo Ponification, a term humans used to describe the process of becoming a pony, there were mixed feelings.
"Jeeze, this is going to be awesome. I can't wait to be ponified!" one man whispered to his friend.
"I don't know, that whole video screamed propaganda to me."
"Ha! That's a big word coming from you. Do you even know what it means?"
"Shut up man!"
This carried on for a minute or so until a small unicorn stepped up onto the raised platform at the front of the room. It had a lavender coloured coat and a purple mane and tail with a lighter purple and pink streak running through each. On its flank was a six-pointed magenta coloured star encircled by several smaller white stars. Clearing its throat to get everyone's attention, it, now obviously female to the gathered humans, spoke up.
"Hello everypo— err, I mean everyone, my name is Twilight Sparkle and I am currently acting as the administrator for this branch of the Conversion Bureau. I'm sure that most of you have a lot of questions, but I am really busy at the moment so regrettably I only have time to answer a few of them."
One individual near the front of the room shouted out, "How long do we have to wait till we get to become ponies?"
The unicorn smiled to herself, glad that there were people eager for the change, and replied, "Due to the number of humans currently signing up for the procedure, you may have to wait a day or two. After you have gone through with the change you will be required to stay at the bureau for a time period of one week in order to become accustomed to your new bodies."
From another part of the room, a nervous looking woman removed herself from the crowd followed closely by a man appearing equally as nervous. With a shaking voice she said, "Our son and his friends came in a week ago to be ponified while we were away on a cruise. W-we were wondering if he was still h-here."
"One week? Let me see." Twilight said. Her horn started to glow and a clipboard holding several papers floated up in front of her. Some gasps and oohing sounded from those watching.
"What was your son's name?" Twilight inquired to the married couple.
"Marcus, Marcus Damian" the father replied.
Twilight quickly scanned the lists of names in front of her. "I found his name. It says here that his orientation period at the bureau just ended yesterday and that his group is leaving for the final part of their orientation in Equestria in about forty five minutes. If you want, we can send someone to take you to visit him after you're shown to your room."
The couple quickly nodded their heads spluttering their gratitude, and moved back into the crowd.
After a few more questions, Twilight announced, "I'm sorry but that is all the time I have to answer your questions for now. So if you would, please exit through the doors to your right, outside are some ponies that will lead you to your rooms. Thank you for coming and have a pleasant day."
As the crowd began to disappear from the room a lone figure, unnoticed by anyone in the room, detached itself from the back wall. The figure was seemingly ignored by everyone it passed as it approached Twilight, who had turned around to gather some of the papers she brought with her.
"Greetings Miss, Twilight Sparkle was it?"
Startled, Twilight dropped all the papers she had picked up and spun around to find a man dressed in a casual white polo shirt and black cargo pants standing right behind her. Two things about the way this man looked immediately caught her attention. One, the man's windblown, slightly messy hair was jet black with silver highlights, not grey, not white, and definitely not dyed, the sparse streaks of silver shined whenever they caught the light. The second feature that stood out was his eyes. They were blue like a clear winter sky, but what perplexed Twilight the most was that they betrayed a profound wisdom that very few could ever hope to possess. It reminded her strongly of Princess Celestia, and that sent a chill down her spine.
"Y-yes, that's my name." Twilight stuttered, still slightly shocked from the man's sudden appearance.
He knelt down so he could talk with the unicorn without forcing her to crane her neck. Although he had an average height for a human, just shy of six feet; Twilight, along with most ponies, stood about four feet tall. He extended his hand to Twilight and put on a warm smile.
"My name is Raymond, and I must say that it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Twilight, having regained her composure, reached out with her hoof which the man grabbed and shook in greeting. "Likewise, Raymond." Twilight responded. "You can call me Twilight. Now did you have something to ask me? Because I do have a lot of work I need to catch up on." She said with a touch of irritation evident in her voice.
"Yes I do. You mentioned earlier that a group of new ponies is leaving for Equestria in about forty five minutes. I was wondering if it would be alright for me to hitch a ride with them to the barrier, I just want to learn a little bit more about the Ponification process before I make a choice."
Twilight took on a more serious tone as she replied, "Sorry but we cannot allow you to accompany them on the trip. It is part of our security measures against possible HLF attacks; I hope you can understand that."
The Human Liberation Front or HLF for short, is a terrorist group comprised of individuals who share the beliefs that to become a pony is to abandon the human race, and that the only chance for human survival is the destruction of all pony-kind. There have already been a wide number of attacks by the HLF ranging from muggings and murder, to ambushing the vehicles transporting newly ponified humans, and there have even been a few rare instances of direct attacks to the Conversion Bureaus themselves.
"That is very commendable of you Twilight; I understand and fully respect your wishes and methods to keep everyone safe. Sorry for wasting your time." Raymond calmly said as Twilight turned around to gather what she dropped.
"Oh not at all," she hurriedly responded as she looked back over her shoulder. "It was an honest questio—huh!" The man was nowhere to be seen. Twilight was dumbfounded, she hadn't heard him get up to leave, and there was no way he could have left the room that quickly. She shook her head and muttered to herself, "Get a hold of yourself Twilight. You're simply overstressed from all this work, that's all." Still, as she left the room she could not shake one nagging thought from her mind, that something about that man felt very familiar to her.
Twilight made her way through the complex to the main foyer, receiving friendly greetings from the few employees she passed. As she approached her destination a voice called out to her.
"Twilight darling! There you are, I was wondering when you would be finishing up. Honestly dear, you should never keep a lady waiting." The voice came from behind the front desk where a white unicorn with a stylized royal purple mane and tale, was busily organizing various files and papers that were scattered all over the desktop. On her flank was an image of three blue diamonds.
"Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed, happy to see her friend again. "What are you doing here? I thought you were back in Ponyville trying to finish your new fashion line." She questioned the white unicorn.
"Oh I was, and I was almost finished too. But then I received a letter from Princess Celestia requesting for me to fill in for you at the Bureau as she wishes to see you as soon as possible."
"The princess wants to see me?" Twilight said in surprise, "I wonder what is so important that she cannot simply send a letter."
"I'm not sure Twilight, but you'd best be on your way now if you want to find out." Rarity stated.
"You're right! I think I will hitch a ride with the next group of new ponies to Equestria, they should be leaving soon. Thank you for covering for me on such short notice Rarity." Twilight said as she galloped off to where the transport van would be waiting.
Once Twilight left, Rarity returned to organizing the cluttered desk. She was too engrossed in her work to notice the man that had been speaking to Twilight earlier approach. Once he reached the front desk his gaze shifted towards a map lying open just off to the side of the rest of the papers.
"Excuse me." The man said to the unicorn.
"One moment please." Rarity responded, "I'm in the zone as it were."
The man continued anyway, "I was wondering what the purpose of this map here might be."
Upon hearing that, Rarity stopped what she was doing and turned around, "Map?" She questioned, and then she realized what the man was referring to. "Oh, that map. It shows the location that the transport vans are to take the new ponies. From there they will be taken through the barrier and into Equestria."
"Do you mind if I examine it then?" The man asked.
"I'm sorry dear, but I'm afraid our security policies prevent me from sharing such information with anyone." Rarity replied somewhat hesitantly.
"I see." The man sighed as he turned to walk away.
Just then a large crash sounded through the doorway of the office behind the front desk. Rarity jumped at the noise and darted inside to determine its source. Upon entering her eyes locked onto a bookcase that had fallen over, its contents strewn about the surrounding floor space.
"Heavens!" She exclaimed "How on Earth did the shelf fall over? Oh, and just look at this mess!"
Rarity frantically began to clean up the mess made by the fallen shelf. This one task completely occupied her thoughts, and she quickly forgot about the man at the counter.