//------------------------------// // New Divide // Story: The Conversion Bureau: Helping Hands // by CV12Hornet //------------------------------// December 21 1004 A.N.M./2012 C.E. Ponyville Under any other circumstances, Applejack would have been running as fast as her legs could take her (which, as Rainbow Dash could attest, was pretty darn fast). With the amount of debris on the path and the sheer exhaustion the farmpony was laboring under, this was not “most circumstances”. She had been up since midnight, helping Big Mac and Applebloom salvage what they could from the wreckage of Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack’s slow, steady gait faltered as she remembered the damage; the wrecked farmhouse and barn, half the trees blown over, the other half missing all their leaves... Granny Smith... Applejack choked briefly, as her simmering anger threatened to rise up. She pushed it down. There would be a time for it later, when she found who was responsible for this catastrophe so she could introduce them to her two hind legs. And if her suspicions from yesterday were correct? Applejack was glad to call Twilight a friend, but there were some lines you just didn’t cross. A crunch of glass snapped Applejack out of her thoughts, and as she looked around her she could see Ponyville had suffered just as badly as Sweet Apple Acres. What few buildings were still standing were missing some important bits, like a roof, or a wall. Applejack briefly noted that the Golden Oaks library was lying uprooted on its side. Stepping gingerly around shards of glass, Applejack wondered where everypony was. Her arrival at the town square answered that question. It seemed like everypony in town was there, all of them sporting injuries of some sort. Dr. Stable and Nurse Redheart were treating the last of them. Applejack’s heart leapt into her throat as her eyes fell on several white blankets, covering pony-shaped lumps. Several earth ponies were bringing in another body, and with a jolt realised it was Ms. Cake. She turned away, scanning the crowd for her friends. Applejack was just wondering how to find her friends when she spotted a sky-blue blob hanging above the crowd. Well, that was easy. After a few minutes and hasty apologies to a couple she had barely seen until she had almost run into them, Applejack reached her friends. And promptly winced. Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Rarity seemed fine - Rarity’s whining about the scratches and dirt on her coat notwithstanding - but poor Fluttershy’s wings were bandaged to her back, Pinkie was just sitting there, her curly mane straight, a look of utter despondency on her face, and Twilight- Well, Twilight’s disheveled mane and low mutterings were bringing back unpleasant memories of what had been dubbed the “Smarty Pants Incident”. The set of saddlebags was new, though. Turning to Spike, she whispered “How long’s she been like this?” “Since the shockwave hit,” Spike replied. “I’m kinda worried.” “Considerin’ tha last time she was like this she enchanted tha whole town, Ah’m kinda worried mahself.” Glancing at her other friends, she asked “So, what’s tha deal with Pinkie an’ Fluttershy?” Spike sighed. “Remember that bear Fluttershy keeps?” “Uh-huh.” “Well, when that shockwave hit, it kind of, um, fell on her. Her wings are broken.” Applejack winced. She remembered how antsy Rainbow Dash had gotten when her wing had been broken. “So, does anypony know where that shockwave came from?” “Canterlot,” came the immediate reply. A little too immediate. “Uh-huh. This have anythin’ to do with tha fancy magical mumbo-jumbo Celestia was plannin’ ta do, oh, last night?” “If I say yes will you leave me alone?” Spike was sweating now, which is weird, because reptiles can’t sweat. “Does it have anythin’ ta do with that Conversion thing Twilight was rantin’ about yesterday?” Behind her, Rarity’s whining had stopped. Applejack had the distinct impression that her friends were listening intently. Except Twilight. Applejack could still hear her muttering quietly to herself. If Spike was sweating before, now he was gushing. And hyperventilating. Can’t forget that. “Alright, fine, I’ll tell you!” he finally shouted. “Remember those humans, the ones we were going to bring harmony to?” Nods all around. “Okay, first, how did you think Celestia was planning to do that?” Applejack hadn’t thought of that. How would they demonstrate the magic of friendship to an entire species. Luckily, her friends provided answers. “A party!” “Some sort of traveling show, like the Wonderbolts.” “Oh, good idea, Rainbow Dash. That sounds like it would work marvelously.” Fluttershy opened her mouth to reply- “Actually, the princess was just planning to douse all the humans with a permanent transformation potion. Said that “human nature” made them too resistant to anything else.” The air quotes told all five ponies exactly what Spike thought of that idea. “But, wait, you can’t do that!” exclaimed Rarity. “Not without destroying their... personality.” She fell on her haunches, stunned. “Huh. Didn’t know that. Explains a lot.” “D-destroys their personality?!” Rainbow Dash and Applejack exclaimed simultaneously. “Of course.” said Pinkie Pie, despondently. It was the first time she had spoken all day. “Celestia doesn’t care, as long as she spreads her “harmony”.” Pinkie turned to Spike, who flinched at the look in her eyes. “Tell them. Tell them about the barrier.” “Um, alright. I don’t know all the details - heck, I barely understood half the words Twilight was throwing around - but they said it was to protect Equestria in case of misunderstandings. It’s a barrier. Really strong one, I think Celestia based it off Shining Armor’s formula. Anyway, it’s not supposed to let anything made by humans into it. And... I think it’s supposed to get... bigger as time goes on?” “Yup!” exclaimed Twilight, scaring the living daylights out of those present. “As the barrier expands, it’ll destroy aaaaall those pesky bits of technology, and force the humans to convert. Foolproof!” Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin. “Except they somehow managed to sabotage the barrier. That’s the only way it could have collapsed like that.” “Wait,” said Rarity. “Collapsed?” “Oh, yes, have you ever seen somepony miscast a barrier spell? Messy, very messy. Whole thing inverts. And all the energy has to go somewhere, so being near a collapsing barrier is an unpleasant proposition.” “But how do ya figure these “humans” did it? They don’t even live on the same world!” wondered Applejack. “BECAUSE PRINCESS CELESTIA WOULD NEVER HAVE SCREWED UP THAT SPELL!” screamed Twilight. “Ah, sorry girls, I’m under a liittle stress right now.” Five ponies and one dragon stared at the purple unicorn in shock. “She’s not lyin’,” Applejack breathed. They had all known that Twilight idolized Princess Celestia - but not to this extent. It was insane. “Now, girls, I know this is kind of a bad time, but I’m going to need your help to root out those filthy humans.” She turned toward the direction of the library. “I’ve got a stock of potion in my basement, hopefully it survived the-” “No.” Twilight whirled around. “What do you mean, no? You’re my friends right, aren’t you? SO HELP ME!” “No.” replied Rainbow Dash. “We’re not going to help you hunt down these humans. We’re friends, and friends help each other. Even from themselves.” Twilight stared in shock, then whirled to Rarity. She shook her head. “Honestly, darling, I think our higher priority should be to stay and help the town, not go gallivanting across the countryside to find saboteurs that may or may not exist.” Twilight turned to the next pony. “Fluttershy.” The timid pegasus shook her head, too. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but I kinda agree with Rarity. So many ponies are hurt and scared.” “Pinkie Pie?” Pinkie was briefly silent. “Maybe one day I’ll forgive you, Twilight. Today is not that day.” “Rarity?” Twilight’s tone was pleading. “Darling, I-I simply cannot endorse actions that strip any sentient being of their soul. I just can’t!” “Applejack?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Do ya even have ta ask? This Conversion plan - look around you, Twilight! This is what your plan has brought! Granny Smith is dead!” The mares behind her gasped, but Applejack took no notice. “A part of Honesty is tellin’ tha hard truths, and the truth is you’re outta control, Twilight Sparkle. Ya need ta be stopped, not gallivantin’ over tha countryside! But Ah’m gonna let ya go, ‘cause I have bigger priorities.” And with that, Applejack turned around and began to walk away. After a moment, the other four got up and began to walk away as well. Spike was about to follow, but Twilight’s voice stopped him. “Where are you going, Spike?” Twilight’s voice was cold, dangerous. It was a voice Spike had never heard from the mare he considered a sister. “I’m going with them. See what I can do to help.” “You’re coming with me.” “No, I’m not.” “Yes you are! You belong to me, Spike!” “Oh really? Try and stop me.” Twilight grinned. It was not a pleasant grin. It was the kind of grin seen on homicidal clowns. “So glad you said that.” Using her telekinesis, Twilight reached into her bag and hurled a small vial at Spike, simultaneously grabbing hold of his legs. Before the vial could hit the defenseless dragon, though, a yellow body moved between them, the potion splashing uselessly against Fluttershy’s flank. The other four mares were not far behind. And this time, Applejack could feel her rage boil over. “So that’s how it is,” she growled, putting herself between Twilight and Fluttershy. “You’ll stoop ta even convertin’ your oldest friend.” “You don’t know what it’s like,” Twilight snarled back. “Growing up with ponies whispering behind your back, being feared because of a little dragon.” “You’re a loony” replied Applejack. “That’s all ah need ta know.” And with that, Applejack attacked. Had Applejack been fully rested, the fight would have been winnable. Unfortunately, half-crazed or not, Twilight was the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, and Applejack was exhausted. All Twilight had to do was pick up Applejack and slam her against the ground. “Ah, back in the dirt where you belong, little mud pony.” “So now you’re a racist? Why am ah not surprised?” Twilight chuckled. “Insult me all you want, I’m the one stand-”. And that was as far as she got when a blue blur slammed into her. Applejack chose this moment to pass out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Applejack blearily opened her eyes to see a blue face and red eyes, framed by a rainbow mane, about two inches from her face. Lacking the strength to flail, Applejack settled for grumbling “Ya mind gettin’ outta mah face, Rainbow?” Rainbow Dash leaned back, embarrassed. “Eh heh heh, sorry about that.” Applejack looked around, noting that Rainbow was the only pony nearby, although groups of ponies continued to mill around hurt relatives. “Wha’ happened? Where’d everypony go?” “Well, uh, ya kinda passed out. And the girls had other things to do. So, yeah, only pony available.” “Okay.” For some reason, Applejack had the nagging feeling that she was forgetting something. “Oh! Wait, where’s Twilight?” Rainbow Dash’s face scrunched up in a grimace. “Bolted into the Everfree. I’m going after her, and Pinkie and Spike insisted on coming with me.” “Ah’m comin’ too,” Applejack said as she tried to haul herself out of bed. Any progress toward that goal was thwarted by a firm hoof on her shoulder. “Whoa, none of that. You need to rest, and you have responsibilities. I don’t. Neither do Pinkie or Spike, which is the only reason I’m letting them come with me.” Applejack felt sleep coming to claim her again, and barely registered Rainbow’s last words. “Well, they’re ready, so I’m just going to let you go back to sleep, m’kay?” Applejack tried to protest that she wasn’t sleepy, but her blasted eyelids just wouldn’t cooperate. As the last dregs of wakefulness left her, Applejack wondered if Rainbow really could bring Twilight back.