//------------------------------// // 08 - A Brotherhood Crumbles // Story: The Conversion Bureau: The St. Louis Massacre // by Cloudhammer //------------------------------// Year 5, Week 19, Friday Another stream of bullets tore through a cruiser as the officers ducked. The unfortunate officer behind the cruiser practically flew back as the shells tore into him. “Keep their heads down!” Corporal Burton shouted, bringing his assault rifle to his shoulder. “Damnit, they’re dug in tight.” Three hundred feet down the road, the terrorist force had regrouped around the central Bureau. The men on foot had at least taken shelter within the Bureau itself, so that kept their firepower to a relative minimum. But the problem remained their damn minigun trucks. They’d learned not to take permanent positions with Cloudhammer in the air, though their success had not been without cost. One of the Apaches supporting them had been forced to withdraw after two of the minigun trucks had bracketed it and damaged its fuselage. The other three had done what they could, but were beginning to run low on their rockets and chaingun rounds, if their firing patterns were any indication. Mark looked behind him, to where an EMT had volunteered to move with the officers and provide medical attention. “How’re they doin’?” Jeremy looked up. “Well, it’s not a substitute for a hospital, but I’ve cleaned the injury as best I can and bandaged it.” He looked back down at Dusty, securing the bandage that covered his left eye. A cruiser had taken a burst of fire in the gas tank and exploded, a stray piece of shrapnel slicing across his face and shredding his eye. “Well, Dusty, at least...hmm, what is it the humans say? ‘Chicks dig scars’?” Aegis slapped Dusty on the withers, trying to get his mood up. “Though what baby birds have to do with it, I’ll never know.” Dusty flicked his tail irritably, ears still twitching madly at the dulled pain. “I just hope Skipjack doesn’t rip my head off over this. I’d like to keep ahold of what’s left.” Lariat chuckled, though his ears were folded down slightly. “Amigo, Skipjack will just be happy to see you come home from this. If we do, that is...” Cloudhammer’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t start with that First Lieutenant. We’ve made it this far, and we will keep going until this is over.” Aegis looked Dusty over again. Besides the damage to his eye, Dusty’s armor had received a number of large dents along the shoulder plate on that side, more than Aegis was comfortable leaving for later repairs. “Flare, Anvil, Wrecker, moment of your time.” Aegis dug out of his saddlebag a silver sheet of undyed metal, the same titanium alloy the humans had provided to compose this latest generation of Royal armor. “Okay, Wrecker, get Dusty’s pauldron re-shaped. Anvil, you I need to work on a patch for Dusty’s helm. Flare... How’re you holding up? I’m going to need a little spot-welding done on the helm, and heating otherwise for the shaping.” Flare nodded weakly. “I got it.” He looked toward the police. “We’ll need to move back first.” Cloudhammer nodded. “Corporal Burton! We need to tend to our armor. Can you keep this pace without us?” “We’ll manage!” Mark shouted back. “Can’t have you Equestrians showing us up all the time,” he muttered as he crouch-walked his way back to the front line. The seven ponies retreated a short distance down the street and into an empty alley. Flare carefully lifted Dusty’s helmet in his magic, the orange glow brightening as he disarmed the protective enchantments and began to heat both the sheet metal and the helmet. His breathing started to become labored, and his magic flickered a few times, but finally he passed them over to Anvil. Taking it gingerly in his armored hooves, he set about shaping a piece of titanium into a covering for the left eye socket. “Flare, I saw that. You need to rest. Badly.” Cloudhammer said as he sat down next to the unicorn, taking off the hoof guards. “By the Pale Mare, these things have never been comfortable.” “Sir, I’m fine, I just need a moment to catch my breath-” Flare tired to stand up and staggered as his vision swam. “Or maybe not.” “Easy there,” Lariat quickly braced the exhausted unicorn, “You’ve been throwing around a lot of magic already amigo, you need to take a break.” He looked over as Wrecker set about reshaping the armor, Aegis giving him a hoof to smooth out the edges in his technique. “You know, Wrecker, you and Anvil have gotten really good at this; maybe y’oughta see ol’ Gentle Flame, maybe get a transfer.” “With respect sir, we’re frontliners, Anvil and me. That’ll turn out like the time you suggested Sledgepetal do a recruitment poster.” Wrecker pounded another dent smooth, leaving only a few scuffs on the pauldron. Aegis flipped the piece and looked it over. “Well, if you ever get out of the Guard, you two have futures as blacksmiths, for sure. And Sledgepetal eventually stopped cracking the flooring whenever she saw me.” Aegis grinned, affixing the adjusted pauldron back onto the hardpoints of Dusty’s armor, giving it a smack. “How’s the helm coming, Anvil?” “Just another few taps...” Anvil rapped his hooves smartly on the helmet’s new patch, then hoofed it back over to Aegis, “What do you think sir?” The helmet now sported a gleaming patch of silver over the left eye, as well as having the dents repaired. “Sheesh, aside from the coloration, I can hardly tell this is a field repair. Good job.” Aegis allowed another moment for the freshly-repaired helm to further cool, then presented it to Dusty. “Good as new. But remember to duck next time? Repairing these things is expensive.” Aegis grinned, setting the helm on Dusty’s head. “How’s that feel?” Dusty tossed his head to settle the helmet. “It’ll do for now. We ready to move out?” Cloudhammer looked over from where Flare was now slumped on the ground. “Not yet, Flare’s still out of it.” Flare pushed himself to his hooves. “I’m good to go sir, really...” His legs started shaking and he sat back down. “Flare, you’ve pushed yourself to the point of thaumatic exhaustion. Just sit here for a bit and take a break. Everypony, rest break for ten minutes.” Cloudhammer ordered before turning back to Flare. “When we move out I want you to refrain from casting magic. Not just for keeping the police safe, but so you don’t burn out all of your magic. We’re not in Equestria, so you don’t have that cushion backing you up.” Flare scowled. “I understand sir.” Cloudhammer nodded. “You’ve done far more than I’d expected you to, given your feelings toward using magic against humans.” “Well... if I may speak freely sir?” At Cloudhammer’s nod, Flare took a shaky breath. “I admit to having some second thoughts about this.” He gestured with a hoof to the street, where bullet holes pockmarked the pavement and buildings. “Just look at this. The humans that live here didn’t deserve this. I mean, I understand why the ponification serum is important, but if this is the cost we have to pay...” He trailed off, digging a hoof at the concrete. Cloudhammer sighed. “I know how you feel Flare. But whatever these humans wanted to achieve by attacking the city, we cannot let them break our resolve.” “But sir, are you really sure we’re doing the right thing? I know that there are a lot of humans who are willing to accept the ponification, but if offering it inspires such acts of violence from others, is it something that’s really worth doing?” Flare’s eyes were downcast. “It is, and I’ll tell you why amigo.” Lariat finally felt compelled to join in on the pair’s discussion. “I know that there are things humans do that you native Equestrians don’t understand, but if you want an example of why it’s worth it to continue our partnership, it’s right down the street. Those police didn’t hesitate to defend the pony citizens of this city, even though they’re not of the same species. Flare, you didn’t hesitate when you used your magic to rescue Corporal Burton, did you?” “Well no... I couldn’t just stand by and let them kill him.” Flare shot back. “And that’s just examples of our two species under stress. When it mattered, neither you nor the police hesitated. Even not under stress, the fact that two sentient species could work together to create something as profundo as the serum despite our differences is nothing short of awe-inspiring.” Lariat stamped a hoof in emphasis, “I wouldn’t even be alive today if it weren’t for the effort our species put into creating that serum.” “I... You’re right Lariat.” Flare stretched his neck, sighing in relief as it popped a few times. “Sorry I let all this get to me everypony.” Lariat snorted. “Relax amigo, it happens to the best of us all the time. And besides, I think losing a little faith in people when something like this happens is justified. Just don’t let their actions spoil your opinion of all humans for you.” Aegis made his way over to the other two senior officers and, having caught the last bit, slapped Lariat on the shoulder. “And let’s not forget Lariat’s personal efforts at furthering pony\human relations.” Lariat snorted. “Ah, laugh it up amigo. But sooner or later the shoe will be on the other hoof, and I shall be able to laugh at you.” Aegis gave an innocent look and, despite not quite getting the setup he’d expected, went ahead and said the out-of-place line he’d prepared: “Why, I never said anything about Amy.” Aegis grimaced. That didn’t quite work. There was a reason he didn’t have a cutie mark for comedy. The other guards broke into laughter despite themselves, feeling better for the first time since they’d walked out the door of the hotel. Helen was beginning to get really irritated with this. The reports coming in on the radio had told them that their fellow officers were finally beginning to turn the tide downtown. “So then where in the hell’s our backup?” “We can’t just sit here Helen.” Sam was getting edgy. “I got a bad feeling about this.” “Well no shit Sam, this is a pretty bad mess already.” But Helen couldn’t shake the new feeling of unease. Sam might be impulsive, but he had yet to be proven wrong on his ‘bad feelings’. “Just keep your eyes open.” “Ma’am, I got movement at ten o’clock!” Kelly whispered urgently. The officers shifted to be able to see better, and despite themselves their jaws dropped open. “Is... is that what I think it is?” Helen sputtered out. “Looks like our reinforcements are here after all.” Johnny started laughing in spite of the situation. Down the road behind the gunmen, nearly fifty cars of assorted sized pulled up from two different directions, stopping a mere forty feet behind them.. The doors slammed open as kids of various ages jumped out, guns already in hand. Staff Sergeant Franklin turned around, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of a group nearly twice the size of his own. “Hostiles rear! Take cover!” He started to scramble toward a better position. “Alright Homicidas, let’s show these pricks who they’re fuckin’ with!” Carlos shouted, levelling his rifle and sending a couple rounds into the relatively unprotected rear of the gunmen. The Homicidas followed suit, along with the Boys of Destruction. Literally hundreds of rounds of ammo tore downrange, eight of the soldiers dropping in the first five seconds. The gunmen returned fire as their trucks formed up into a doubled line. The miniguns spun up and started to spit rounds toward the gangs, several cars exploding as the bullets shredded into their gas tanks. “Christ, the Boys and the Homicidas working together...” Helen whispered before the zip of a stray bullet whizzing past her head snapped her back into focus. “Alright, now’s our chance. Sam, I want you to take Kelly and Johnny, move back onto the I-44. We’ve got to get the civilians out of here. See if a couple SUVs can smash down that fence and direct them into the parking lot to the north.” “Roger that.” The three of them moved through the cruisers and sprinted to the interstate. Talking hurriedly with the drivers of a few SUVs, they soon had a line of traffic heading north, away from the gunfire. Cloud Climber floated overhead, her ears on a swivel to try and pinpoint the location of the monsters that had attacked the Bureau. She’d had some friends among the humans, and had seen their capacity for anger, but they’d always seemed so nice to her. This though... were all humans capable of such monstrous behavior? If they were, then maybe the ponification serum was more important than ever. Certainly none of the newfoals she’d seen could do something like this. Her swirling thoughts were interrupted by a thunderous barrage of noise, and after regaining her balance, she looked down to see a cluster of multi-colored cars, then a number of identical black trucks, along with cars that she recognized as human police. There was a large highway further down the road, with cars streaming off it and away from the gunfire. Bringing her eyes to the group that was attacking the black trucks, she swore that they seemed to be... smiling? That couldn’t be true, but as she banked a little closer she could see it plain as day. Some of them had twisted grins on their faces as they shot at the gunmen, a few even laughing. Deciding she’d seen enough, she wheeled about and hurried for the group of PER, who had chosen to hold position when the gunfire had picked up again. “Have you found them Cloud Climber?” Rampart asked coldly. “Yes, they’re just to the north of us. There are a number of other humans attacking them, though...” Cloud Climber trailed off hesitantly. “Go on Cloud.” Rampart said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Sir... the new humans appear to be... laughing. As if they’re enjoying this violence.” Her voice cracked as she tried to keep herself together. Rampart was silent for a few long minutes, his orange eyes half-closed as he mulled over what to do. Finally, he sighed as he came to a decision. “Pegasi, I want you to gather as many potion spheres as you can carry.” “What are you getting at, Rampart?” Powder Dance said as she fluttered her wings nervously. “Humans that take joy in or feel no remorse at this kind of slaughter are evil. I intend to make an example of them. We’ll drop the potion bombs on them, then find out who it was who executed those foals. I will handle his punishment for his crime personally.” He looked at the other ponies levelly. “Are all of you with me?” The ponies looked at each other nervously, the prospect of what they were about to do suddenly weighing down on them. “I’m with you sir.” Cloud Climber said resolutely, trotting forward to stand next to him. “I am too sir.” Bright Lights, one of their replication unicorns, levitated a couple potion spheres into Cloud Climber’s saddlebags. Slowly, the other ponies all trotted forward to join them, until Powder Dance and another unicorn, Codex, remained. They looked at the line of resolute ponies in front of them, then at each other. Reluctantly, they trotted forward, Powder Dance opening her saddlebags to take the potion spheres. “Alright. Now, the pegasi will launch the initial strike. We’ll move in once they’ve been ponified and establish a perimeter. Unicorns, I want you to stay back, and be ready to use your magic to defend us if you have to.” “Defend us against what?” Codex asked anxiously, his tail swishing. “Against anything. Those foals deserve justice for what those humans did to them, and we will deliver it. Now move out.” Rampart’s eyes were cold. The pegasi looked to each other for a second before spreading their wings and taking to the sky, the plumes of black smoke serving to direct them to their target. “Alright, you six handle the black trucks. The rest of us will handle these humans directly below.” Cloud Climber said as she carefully took three spheres from her saddlebags, two in her hooves and one in her mouth. Powder Dance and the others fell into a circling pattern over the black trucks. Looking at her fellow pegasi, she could only see anger in their eyes, and that disturbed her as much as the sights of the Bureau. The look in Rampart’s eyes continued to bother her as well. She looked over and saw Cloud Climber give the signal, her trio of potion spheres falling toward her targets. The others released their spheres, and with a sigh she released hers too. As she watched them tumble away from her, she felt the weight of the decision she’d just made nearly smash her from the sky. Down below, Carlos was reloading a magazine into his assault rifle when Ricky clapped him on the shoulder. “Carlos, look at this!” He pointed up to the air over the black-armored men, where a couple pegasi could be seen circling. “What the fuck do you think they’re doing?” Carlos squinted, seeing a number of spherical objects falling toward the ground. “Shit man, they’re bombing their position. Homicidas take cover!” The gang crouched down, the Boys of Destruction doing the same with their survivors. The two gangs had taken a beating, but they’d dished it out good to those black-armored fucks too. But then he felt... something, a tickle on the back of his neck, and he looked up. Overhead, a much larger number of pegasi circled, and the same spheres could be seen falling toward them. “LOOK OUT! EVERYONE SCATTER!” He shouted at the top of his lungs, scrabbling to get into his Escalade. He managed to fling the rear door open and dive in, Ricky following suit as the first spheres hit. But instead of the explosion he expected, the splashing noise of liquid could be heard. “Shit, some of it got on my ankle...” Ricky said, his eyes growing drowsy before he passed out, his skin turning waxy and his limbs jerking in the clothes. Carlos’ eyes widened and he dragged himself and the transforming Ricky into the Escalade, tugging the door shut behind him and locking the doors. “Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit... What do I do?” Carlos muttered incoherently before he could see Ricky’s leg trying to bend the pants too far forward. “Aw shit... you owe for this one buddy.” Pulling out his switchblade, he cut the pants, shirt and underwear free before Ricky’s legs broke completely. Pushing himself away from the roiling mass of flesh that his lieutenant had become, he tried not to vomit, and more importantly, keep himself out of sight of the windows in case those pegasi came back. Down the road, Helen and the other officers were dumbstruck between shock and horror. They’d seen the pegasi overhead, but hadn’t seen any above their own position upon looking up. “H-Helen? What do we do now?” One of the other officers asked, his hands tightening on his pistol as more ponies emerged from the side streets, saddlebags bulging. Helen honestly didn’t know. Nothing she’d been trained for had prepared her for something like this. “We need to hold the line, let the civilians get away.” She raised her voice so the others could hear. “Get your cruisers ready. If those ponies try to come at us, we’ll use them for cover and buy as much time as we can.” He opened his eyes, blinking at the brightness of the light. He was lying on his side, the pavement hot against his skin. He started moving, trying to sit up, but something felt wrong. “Rampart, one of them is waking up.” A voice came from behind him. A large, cobalt blue earth pony with a dark grey mane and cold orange eyes came into view. “Good, you’re awake. I have some questions to ask you.” The stallion’s voice was tight with anger. “Were you involved in the attack on the suburban Bureau?” “W-what?” He was still groggy, and flicked his ears in irrita- wait? Flicked his ears? The earth pony that was Staff Sergeant Theodore Franklin screamed in horror. He felt a hoof press down on his side, compressing his lungs and cutting off his cry. “I asked you a simple question. Were you involved in the attack? It’s just yes or no.” Rampart asked, pressing down harder. Franklin felt his ribs straining under the pressure. “N-no, that was Beta Section,” he said, lifting a hoof weakly to point to the other side of their formation. He felt the pressure let off and gasped in a breath, wincing as his ribs flared painfully. He heard another set of hoofsteps next to him, and looked up to see a blue-white pegasus mare looking down at him. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was so quiet he almost didn’t hear it. “What did you say?” He struggled to sort out how to get to his feet... hooves. The reality of it hit him again and he sagged back to the ground, ears folding flat against his head. “I’m sorry. As much wrong as you’ve done, you didn’t deserve... this.” The mare lifted her head as Rampart tossed another newfoal to the ground, apparently having gotten the information he wanted. “PER to me! We have the one responsible!” The mare looked back down at Franklin, and trotted closer to Rampart, standing next to an off-white unicorn as more ponies converged from every direction, until a ring of them surrounded a single emerald unicorn stallion. The newfoal tried to scoot away from Rampart, but bumped into the ponies behind him, who pushed him forward so he was sitting up. “So, you were the one who found it necessary to execute a room full of foals?” Rampart asked, his voice dangerously calm. “Those were our orders...” The pony’s voice was weak, eyes trying to find a way out and spotting none. “I see. Well, I have my orders too. They were to safeguard the ponies of this city. And you have caused me to fail in those orders. The least that I can do is dispense justice to their killer, and hope that they will forgive me for my failure.” He stood taller. “As High Knight of the PER, I hereby sentence you, for the crime of murdering twelve foals and their caretaker. Does anypony present dispute this charge?” Nopony spoke, their eyes hard as they stared at the unicorn. Rampart nodded. “Then I will carry out your punishment. That punishment being death.” The other ponies nodded firmly, though Powder Dance flinched, taking a step or two back. “Codex, this isn’t right. Just because these humans are so barbaric doesn’t mean we need to be as well.” “I know... but what can we do? Rampart is our commanding officer, and everypony else supports him-” both ponies flinched as Rampart reared, his forehooves still stained a dark red as he thundered them down into the stallion’s head. The crunch of broken bone could be heard from back where they stood, and the stallion started to scream piteously, a wet gurgle underlying it before Rampart reared again. And again. And again. Mercifully, the noise stopped shortly, and Rampart stood there, breathing heavily. He turned his blood-flecked head toward Franklin, his eyes wild. “Bring him.” Powder gulped, but stood her ground. “No Rampart. This is wrong. We’re supposed to be better than this!” “DON’T LECTURE ME ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG! THESE HUMANS ARE EVIL!” Spittle flew from his muzzle as he took a step forward. “I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL I SEE THEM PUNISHED FOR THEIR CRIMES!” “But where will it stop? By his own admission, he wasn’t at the Bureau!” Codex shouted as he stepped forward to stand next to Powder. “Listen to me, please everypony! Even if what these humans did was evil, we can’t use that as justification to descend to that very same level. That logic will only lead us all into the same darkness that we escaped when our ancestors founded Equestria!” A few ponies, who’d already looked sick at Rampart’s ‘justice’, wavered before trotting over to stand next to Codex and Powder. Soon, Rampart only stood with Cloud Climber, five pegasi, two unicorns, and four more earth ponies. “If that’s the way you feel, then you’re just as bad as the humans. Pray that we do not meet again,” Rampart hissed angrily as he turned to one of the unicorns. “We’re leaving. Prepare the runes.” “Rampart, don’t do this. We’re going to tell everypony what you’ve done here today. The Royal Guard will not rest until they find you,” Codex said, his voice wavering. “I doubt that. Telling the Royal Guard would lead them to the rest of the PER first.” Rampart turned away from them, the ponies loyal to him following. “I pity your weakness of resolve.” The unicorns lit their horns, a series of runes forming around them before they teleported away. “Well, now what do we do?” Powder asked despairingly. “Amber Dream needs to be told of this,” Codex replied, “the rest of the PER need to know to keep an eye out for Rampart and his followers. There’s no telling what they’ll do if he’s willing to forcibly ponify humans and murder them.” “What do we do with them?” Powder looked sadly at the scattered newfoals, many of them groaning as they started to come to their senses. “We can’t take them with us.” Codex looked up as an engine roared, a large truck from the motley of vehicles racing away in a squeal of rubber. Looking the other direction, he could see the police officers starting to come hesitantly forward, shouting at them to stand down. “I think leaving them here is the best choice. I’ve studied the human police of the United States, I don’t think they’d hurt them.” Powder wanted to protest, but had to admit the necessity of the situation. Looking sadly at Franklin as he tried to stand up again, she sighed. “Alright, let’s go.” Codex nodded, concentrating power into his horn and forming the runes in his mind. In a flash of brilliant light, the remaining PER vanished in a bang of displaced air. Franklin blinked his eyes as the last of the light cleared from them, seeing a female police officer standing over him with her pistol held at her side. “Do you surrender?” Helen asked, her voice surprisingly calm. “Not like I have a choice, do I?” Franklin asked bitterly, looking around at the now ponified team of soldiers. Police officers were moving in among them, warning the unicorns among them not to try anything. Two officers knelt by the dead unicorn, covering it with a sheet. “Not really, no,” Helen admitted as she looked around. She could see about a dozen of the now ponified Boys of Destruction unconscious in the street, but of the surviving Homicidas, there was no sign. “What a mess.”