//------------------------------//
// World Eleven - Francia 
// Story: The Conversion Bureau: Worlds Where It Wouldn’t Work 
// by Sora2455 
//------------------------------//

Two Alicorns sat on their haunches, looking out at the ocean from inside an enormous hemisphere of transparent glowing energy.

One of them turned her head to face the other. “Explain this to me again, Sister?”

Xlestia bit back a groan. “Right. This Barrier formed around Equestria after we were transported to this new world.”

“Right…” Luna nodded along.

“It doesn’t have any affect on magical beings, but it vaporises non-magical beings like the natives.”

“What does ‘non-magical’ mean?” Luna interrupted.

Xlestia looked down at her sister in confusion. “Non-magical. As in, they can’t use magic?”

“It was my understanding that they were perfectly capable of friendship.” Luna said.

“Real magic.”

“Friendship is ‘real’ magic, or should we get young Sparkle out here to explain your own teachings to you?”

“Anyway, to save all their lives, we have no choice but to turn them all into magical creatures. Specifically, ponies.”

“Even the insects?”

“No, we’re letting the insects die.”

“You monster!”

<Oliver, you have led us astray once again! Our destination lies not in Greece!>

Shocked, the two sisters turned back to the ocean. Absurdly, a group of humans in full-plate armour had entered their field of view. They seemed to be bickering with each other in a dialect of Fancy that had been considered archaic even when the sisters were young.

<Bradamante, where didst thou get this airheaded notion that we are in Greece? The noble unicorn is a creature of faraway India!> 

<No disrespect to thyself, Oliver, but I have been to India, and I never once saw a unicorn.>

<Astolpho, perchance are thou telling stories again? ‘tis no more believable than the time thou claimed to have visited the moon.>

<I did!>

One human was riding on the back of a hippogriff (they had hippogriffs here?!), and appeared to have a book open in his lap while arguing with his fellows. Another four were seated together on the biggest horse Xlestia had ever seen. The hippogriff was flying, as was natural, but the horse simply swam through the ocean, uncaring of his load. His impressive shoulder muscles worked up and down, and up and down, and… 

…

Xlesita didn’t even need to look to tell that Luna was making a face best described as “Hubba Hubba”.

<…Brother, I think the unicorns are staring at your horse.>

<This surprises me not. Bayard is truly a magnificent horse.>

Luna licked her lips. <Bayard, you say?>

The horse in question looked up upon hearing his name, while the humans riding him all reacted with surprise. <Oliver, are unicorns supposed to posses the power of speech?> Bradamante said. Judging by the sound of her voice, that human was female, which Xlestia was surprised by. She had thought they didn’t allow their females to go to battle.

‘Oliver’, who was at the rear of the humans riding Bayard, also seemed confused. <I recall no tale where they did, but also no tale where they did not?> For that matter, were unicorns supposed to have wings, or to come in such colours? Oliver suddenly wished he'd paid more attention in his lessons.

The humans all had their visors down, so Xlestia could not be sure, but she had a strong suspicion that Bradamante was currently rolling her eyes.

Regardless, she should probably step in before Luna did something regrettable, like ask the human’s steed out on a date. <For what reason have you come here, humans?>

<Ah, right!> Astolpho, the human riding the hippogriff, exclaimed. <Noble unicorns, perchance hast thou heard of an evil sorceress ‘round these parts?>

The two sisters looked at each other with confusion.

<Nay.> Luna replied. <Had we heard of such a thing, we wouldst have dealt with such a thing ourselves.>

<Where didst thou hear of such a thing?> Xlestia demanded.

<Ah.> Astolpho seemed slightly taken aback. <Well, you see, this book…> He lifted up the tome in his lap. <’twas gifted to me by a faerie, and contains knowledge on how to undo all forms of enchantment.>

<We are following its instructions to destroy yonder hemisphere.> Oliver said, indicating the Barrier that sat between the two groups.

One of the other humans, the one Bradamante had called brother, spoke up. <It said to head to the land of Equestria ‘cross the sea, which is ruled by a cruel sorceress; and that her defeat was the only way to lift the Doom.>

Xlestia’s muzzle became perfectly blank, but Luna’s twisted in confusion. <Didst said tome provide a name for this ruler?>

<Aye.> Astolpho replied. <It says that her name is Celestia. Hast thou ever heard of a ruler by that name?>

There was a moment of utter silence as Luna slowly turned to face her sister.

At this point, Xlestia figured that she had better cut her losses, and hope that Luna would be willing to listen to an explanation later. She’d thought that this world had no magic on it, but considering the presence of hippogriffs (and, apparently, fae), it was obvious that she’d missed some. She’d have to defeat these humans now, and try and salvage her plan afterwards.

With a moments thought, a beam of golden fire was charged and launched from her horn towards Astolpho on his hippogriff.

The moment was apparently all the warning Astolpho needed, however, and he nudged the hippogriff into a dive, dodging the deadly spell.

<Sorcery!> He gasped

<Paladins! Advance!> Cried Oliver. He fumbled for a horn tied to his waist, which he blew.

Xlestia’s dropped a forcefield around the entire group, preventing them from moving away from the Barrier.

“Sister! What is thou doing?!” Luna demanded, so flustered that she forgot to use modern speech.

“Later, Luna!” Xlestia cried, trusting that Luna would fight on her side for now.

Meanwhile, Bradamante had been repositioning herself so that she was standing on Bayard’s saddle, rather than sitting in it. With a wordless cry, she jumped clear off the horse and into the Barrier.

Xlestia fully expected the Barrier to do its job and vaporise the stupid woman (who was apparently a ‘Paladin’). She was therefore completely flummoxed when the woman flew straight through the Barrier as though it wasn’t there, landing in a noisy roll and ending in a heavily-armoured crouch.

<How?!> She cried, unable to think of anything else to say.

<I bear a ring that protects me from all forms of magick, sorceress.> Bradamante spat, drawing her sword.

She stumbled forward as Luna levitated a rock into the back of her helmet at speed. <Don’t you dare draw a sword on my sister!>

<Nay. It is you who should not have attacked my beloved!>

Another one of the humans on Bayard had drawn their sword and stabbed it into the Barrier. As he drew it downwards, the Barrier parted around it, leaving a visible tear in the magic. With another few swings, he had cut a hole big enough for the group to climb through.

<An anti-magic sword as well?!> Xlestia would have thrown back her hooves to the sky in askance, had she not been in combat at the time. <Why do you bear so much equipment for combating magic?!>

Astolpho and his hippogriff flew through the hole in the Barrier. <We fight sorcerers a lot.> He said simply.

<‘Can’t use magic’, you said?> Luna said to Xlestia out of the corner of her mouth. Xlestia scowled back at her.

Bayard planted a hoof on solid ground, and the remaining paladins dismounted as they came through the Barrier. Curiously, Bayard seemed to shrink as the humans left his back, becoming only a normal-sized horse with one rider remaining.

The man with the anti-magic sword held said sword aloft. <Beware! You fight Rogero, wielder of Besald, and wearer of the invincible armour of Hector!>

<Is your armour also immune to magic?>

Rogero seemed slightly taken aback at Xlestia’s question. <Well, nay, but – aaahhhh!> He screamed as Xlestia telekinetically grabbed his foot and flung him skyward. He missed the Barrier, but given the distance he flew he would not be taking part in the remainder of the fight.

Astolpho swooped down on Xlestia with his Hippogriff while Oliver advanced on Luna and Bradamante’s not-yet-named brother helped her to her feet.

Luna, for her part, seemed really unhappy with how things were going, and kept shooting Xlestia angry glances, but seemed resigned to fighting on her side. She opened her wings up and flew out of reach of the paladin's swords. She yanked back the hippogriff with an angry telekinetic pull on its tail-feathers.

Bradamante, having now found her footing, thrust forth her sword and charged Xlestia. The Alicorn, now aware that the Dame was immune to magic, knew she could not repeat the same trick as before. She jumped back, catching herself with her wings and following Luna’s lead in flying out of reach.

Watching his hippogriff struggling to escape from Luna’s magical grasp, Astolpho drew a horn of his own from his belt and blew it in Luna’s direction. The horn must have been enchanted somehow, because Luna gasped and let go of the hippogriff, looking like she was only just holding herself back from fleeing.

It was no Queen Nova, but that hippogriff could seriously fly. Faster than Xlestia could see, the hippogriff was upon her, raking her barrel with his claws and pulling her to the ground. Xlestia screamed in rage, and gave a mighty buck with her hind legs in exchange, kicking the hippogriff clear.

Bradamante knew better than to waste an opportunity like this, and leapt onto Xlestia’s back, plunging her sword between her shoulders.

Screaming again, and feeling her vision beginning to blur, Xlesita rolled onto her back, crushing Bradamante under her full weight. The Dame’s full-plate offered some protection, but Xlestia heard at least one bone crack under the pressure. The sword plunged into her own flesh snapped under the force, sending another white-hot lance of pain throughout her body.

The fact that she could still move meant the sword had missed anything important, but that didn’t mean her life wasn’t in danger. She needed to end the fight, now.

Less because of any conscious thought, and more out of pain and rage, her body caught alight, her form blurring away into one made entirely of fire. Enraged, she turned to face Bayard and his rider, barely registering Luna and the hippogriff fighting in the background, Oliver flanking her sister from below.

<Hmph.> The rider snorted. <Rabicano’s fiery form is far more impressive to gaze upon.>

Whoever Rabicano was, Xlestia doubted they’d ever charged him with this amount of fury. Bayard pushed back – Xlestia regretted needing to fight him even now, he really was an impressive horse – but as magical as Bayard seemed to be (her flames seemed to do no damage), his master was not and Bayard retreated rather then risk his masters life.

Soon, only Oliver remained. However, as Luna and Xlestia bore down on him, he seemed more annoyed than anything else. <Can the man really not hear his own horn?> He muttered.

He raised his sword to make his last stand –

Then a tree flew through the air and smashed into Luna like a bolt of thunder.

Oliver groaned. <Thou took thy sweet time, Roland.>

<Still thy tongue. ‘twas not I who raced on ahead.> A new paladin, sopping wet and with a light coating of dirt stood by the tear in the Barrier. A hole in the ground and a missing tree made it obvious who had just attacked Luna.

<Renauld offered to carry you on Bayard.> Oliver countered. <’twas thou who decided to swim on thy own.>

Xlestia had had more than enough of this – she was sick of the fight, and she needed to make sure Luna was alright. When she was like this, fire came more naturally than breathing – it required no effort at all to have flames shoot forth from her horn, completely enveloping both paladins.

She kept the fire up for several seconds, then stopped.

If this was a comic book, this would be where a cloud of smoke obscures the battlefield and conceals weather the target really died or not.

This was not a comic book however, and so Xlestia could quite clearly see that Roland and Oliver were fine, her fire-blast having been cut in two by Roland’s sword.

<Is that another sword that cuts through magic?> Xlestia demanded, exasperated.

<Don’t be foolish.> Roland rebuked. <Durandal cuts through everything.>

Xlestia tried to take to the skies again, but Roland bent his knees and leapt several meters high to grab onto her flaming hoof. Ignoring the heat, the paladin swung his sword up, hitting her horn with the flat of the blade.

The hit registered even through the red haze coating Xlestia’s vision, and she realised that her Fire Form had failed even as she fell to the ground.

When she regained her senses, it was to find herself collapsed on her side, Roland standing above her with his sword aimed between her eyes.

<Well?> She demanded.

Roland did not respond for a moment, then lowered his sword and lifted his visor.

<Fair unicorn…> Roland said. <Hast thou heard the Good News of our lord and saviour, Jesus Christ?>

Xlestia, half dead and bleeding profusely, looked up at the absolutely ridiculous man. <What.>





World Eleven - The Matter of Friendship