• Published 9th Jun 2012
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The Conversion Bureau: Thus Saith The Lord - Kamin 989



Celestia's Conversion Bureau project meets a totally unexpected problem.

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Chapter VI: The Curse of Babel

A/N: At least you can't call this plague ridiculously violent, seeing as it doesn't do anything physical. At all. But what comes next will be much worse, for both Equestria and Celestia's mental health.



Chapter VI: The Curse of Babel

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
- Genesis 11:7

Manehattan, Equestria

Manehattan was silent. There were still some meagre stocks of food left untouched by the locusts, and long bread queues had been formed. In any case, the ponies were scared. First the rain of fire had come, then this, the endless swarm of locusts and the famine it sent.

Some ponies had come to the conclusion that the newfoals were responsible for the events, and had started forming gangs to attack them. That such attacks on newfoals always failed (due to strange, inexplicable coincidences) was not a concern of theirs, and their ability to spot a newfoal was shaky at best, so the attacks that succeeded ended up hurting native Equestrians only.

The woman walked into the central square of Manehattan coolly and surveyed the damage, waiting for the ponies to congregate around her.

'I bring the sixth judgement the LORD has sent to smite you,' she said. 'Let your tongues be divided and your language confounded, for you could have spoken out against Celestia and did not care enough to tell her she was wrong!'

She struck her staff on the ground and all over Equestria, communication ceased. Where ponies had heard their own language being spoken, now their ears found only gibberish. Where their eyes had seen writing, now they beheld random, illegible symbols.

~*~

Canterlot

Princess Celestia was definitely not amused. She had asked her mages what was happening now, and they had responded in total gibberish. Worse, the writing in the damage reports being sent from all over Equestria was the same nonsense. She couldn't tell what was happening, couldn't even guess at the extent of what was happening. This was definitely worse than Discord, at least he hadn't abolished language, even at the height of the sick games he played before Celestia vanquished him.

Celestia knew she would never give in to whatever was causing this upon her. It would have to unleash much worse than whatever was happening now before she even began to consider it. She reigned over Equestria, nothing and no-one would take that right from.

~*~

Los Angeles, California

The Los Angeles Conversion Bureau, one of the few not destroyed by terrorists, was being closed. Forcibly. The receptionist, a blonde-haired human woman, was handcuffed and led into a police van. She was followed by several other people, those humans who had been involved in making the serum, under heavy guard. The same scene was taking place in Berlin and Lyon, the people who had worked for the Purification jeered at and insulted as they were led away.

Several Equestrian-supremacist human groups (including one sick enough to forcibly 'Purify' children in a terrorist attack disguised as a party) were being arrested en masse in sting operations. Take PETA. Once it had been the 'moderate' wing of the animal rights movement - after Equestria arrived, it had turned into another organ of Celestia's pro-Equestria propaganda machine, and now...it was gone. Members were being processed by the justice system even now.

A curious thing had developed on the internet as well. Fiction had been written - but this stuff was misanthropic pony-supremacism thinly veiled as fiction. It had been tolerated, but now that the world's governments wanted to give the strongest possible statement to Celestia the sites and blogs where it had accumulated had been wiped completely off the internet. Not even archives remained.

~*~

Appleoosa, Equestria

Ponies were pouring in to Applejack's farm, hoping it would be a refuge. Most were turned away by Luna as they were just hoping for safety but some managed to be admitted. Most of these ponies admitted were dissidents against Celestia, having turned against her because she couldn't seem to help them or herself. Some were newfoals, but the majority were native-born Equestrians.

Outside the farm, confusion reigned over all Equestria. And those observant enough began to wonder what would come next. If this was a breather, what new horror would come down on Equestria after?