//------------------------------// // Chapter XXXIX: Attack // Story: The Conversion Bureau: Setting Things Right // by kildeez //------------------------------// Now this was a little closer to the response Twilight had been expecting. The large-tired vehicles that looked like giant tortoises, the men with rifles readied and blue helmets everywhere. Even a couple of those “tanks” had shown up, with the roar of jet aircraft in the cloud cover high overhead. And all of this clearly-capable, highly-deadly, completely-overwhelming firepower was aimed directly at her. She was suddenly getting flashbacks to her confrontation with Nightmare Moon, only this time her only weapons were her good intentions, and she was reliant on the other side listening to reason. They had just finished the last of the few Newfoals from the tiny tent commune, but word had apparently spread to other settlements nearby, if the small group of people being stopped by soldiers in blue helmets were any indication. Chain link fences were going up in a hurry, funneling the crowd into a single line, where they were held back by more soldiers. Hopefully, that was good, a sign of organization they would sorely need. Less good were the Newfoals squirming in their humans’ arms, spying Celestia between the soldiers and trying to claw their way to her with nostrils flared in rage, teeth clenched and massive eyes filled with more hate than either mare had ever dreamed a pony could hold. And still, Celestia stood. Despite the guns, despite the tanks, despite the few jeering from the line that had formed up near the soldiers, despite the Newfoals practically foaming at the mouth for her blood, she remained as calm and resolute as ever. A stone wall, staring passively out at the rising chaos around her. “Princess?” Twilight finally said, smiling nervously to the lines of guns aimed her way. “What’s the plan?” “I’ve already asked for their trust, Twilight.” Celestia sighed. “I can only wait and see if they’re prepared to grant it.” A couple helicopters swooped low overhead, wind from their blades whipping through Twilight’s mane. She gaped up at them as they came in for a landing in an open bit of space between tents, still sending a few ramshackle constructions flying. The pony princesses watched, almost disregarding the weapons aimed at them as the contraptions opened up, each disgorging a trio of humans, as well as a few more guards in combat gear and UN blue helmets. Through it all, Celestia remained in place, still watching despite the trails of dust whipped up around them, still exuding an air of calm control. Her chest remained puffed out. She barely blinked, her lilac eyes remained the cold steel they had always been, even as the six humans approached with their guards flanking around the mares to add to the ridiculous amount of weapons already being aimed at them. Celestia didn’t flinch as the group from the Illustrious approached, though Twilight had to suppress a gasp at seeing the olive-skinned man from her first encounter with this world’s Shining. “Huh...perhaps this world isn’t as large as I thought...” she figured, realizing she recognized every human in the group approaching them. The group neared with equal parts trepidation and barely-concealed hatred. Twilight licked her lips and swallowed. It all came down to this, this meeting with the same group that had held her and Celestia not long before. Would that she be anywhere else… “I take it you’ve been following my work?” Celestia said, voice raised slightly above the whirr of the helicopter blades. The group paused. One of the darker-skinned men in the back glared at her as if he wouldn’t mind seeing her skinned and turned into a rug for his living room. But the younger man, the one with pale skin and brown hair, stepped forward. “I was actually around in London, are you familiar with a Mrs. Bradford?” Celestia’s smile could have drowned out her own star. “I am!” She said. “Or at least, with her husband.” The man nodded, still watching her evenly. “The smart thing to do would be to take you in!” He shouted, voice booming above the crowd. “To see you in chains, make sure the world won’t know the same horror it did five years ago!” Celestia nodded at this, but her expression never changed. “So why haven’t you?” He didn’t respond for a moment, but finally he said: “You asked us for trust! And you said you were coming here! That doesn’t sound like the work of someone trying to build an army again!” Celestia’s smile widened even more greatly, and somehow, Twilight thought she saw a tear form in the corner of her eye, though that could easily be explained away by the dust. “You can speak for all humanity?” At that, the pale-skinned man guffawed. “Nobody can, least of all me. But we have friends who can at least give you some time to do your work.” At that, his expression turned grim, even more serious than it had been before. “Was what you said in the video true? Can you bring them back!?” Celestia inhaled, and then, in a voice that sounded above all others: “I can!” There was a heartbeat of silence, and then, the crowd gathered near the rising fences roared, stepping forward, moving with the Newfoals that thrashed and bit in their arms. The humans turned, saw the soldiers struggling to contain them, more guards moving from leveling their weapons on the princesses to focusing on crowd control, then the pale-skinned man turned back. “We’re going to keep this organized!” He shouted. “But if you can do it, then we’ll help you!” That smile beamed its beautiful light, and Celestia stepped forward, offering her hoof. “It is an honor to have your trust, sir...” “Preston!” He shouted, extending a hand and shaking the hoof. “David Preston!” She smiled up at him. “Mr. Preston, if I may be so astute, nothing about this seems very official.” “Well, it’s not exactly!” He replied with a smile that rather suddenly spread to the faces of his co-workers, but for one dark-skinned man who stood in the back, still glowering at her. “But I say screw it, our jobs are probably hosed anyway…might as well go out with a bang.” With a wave, the soldiers at the newly-erected gates parted, and the first group of people came through, holding friends, relatives, and former lovers, hoping to make them whole again. Twilight let out a shivering breath. “Here we go...” she muttered. “Stay strong, Twilight,” Celestia said as she ducked back into the tent. “We need our strength now more than ever.” Twilight sighed as the next group filed in: a young man, carrying a yellow Newfoal in his arms, stepping into the tent. He set the small pony down, letting it settle with big, blank eyes before Celestia restrained it in her magic and stepped in from a flap on the other side of the tent. As it thrashed around for freedom, glaring at them the entire time, the young man stepped back and said something in his native language. “He said this was his fiance,” the other young man with the blue UN armband and olive skin translated for her. “He asks us please to bring her back.” Twilight nodded. It was a story she’d heard far too many times to count now. And these were just the ones with relatives. How many Newfoals sat forgotten and abandoned in shelters the world over? How many here languished on the streets, nameless, their friends and family wiped out by the attack? How many didn’t even have friends, and had become Newfoals voluntarily in hopes of a new life? She didn’t know, and a part of her knew her heart would break if she ever found out. Celestia merely nodded and stepped closer. “Thank you, Mr. Li,” she said quietly as she inclined her horn towards the Newfoal. “Twilight? If you will.” Twilight nodded, astounded at the patience Celestia still showed even after how many of these they had done. Even with the ease they had developed for it, she was starting to feel the first signs of magical exhaustion creep into the corners of her mind. But still, she dipped her horn low and felt the flux of magical energy that accompanied Celestia’s magic reaching out for her own. A moment later, there was a sound like glass breaking in her mind, and the Newfoal blinked. Celestia smiled and stepped back with her magic dissipating as the Newfoal turned to the young man she’d arrived with. “Haru?” She asked with lips that quivered with disuse. The young man instantly sank to his knees, tears in his eyes as he embraced the Newfoal. Turning away, Twilight bit her lip. As the young man’s cries turned into sobs of joy, she thought back to that moment on the beach, when she’d questioned everything they were doing. How had she ever considered that evil bitch right for even a nanosecond? How could she have ever entertained the notion that these empty shells might be better than the fully-sapient monkeys she had seen all over? As the pair left, cradling eachother, Celestia smiled to her, then frowned at the deep crinkle in Twilight’s forehead. “Twilight?” Looking up, Twilight blinked. “Oh, pardon me, I was just...lost in thought.” Celestia could only smile evenly. “We can take a break if you want.” After a moment, Twilight shook her head. “No. We need to keep going.” Celestia only nodded with that kind, even smile still on her face. “Very well, but don’t push yourself too hard, my dear student.” Twilight smiled back, only motioning for the next Newfoal to be brought in. James’s stomach gave a little twist as he turned to the Old Man. “Now?” The Old Man grinned back, eyes lit up with a fire that frankly, terrified him. “Now.” James nodded and slunk back into the shadows, scooping up an iron bar leaning against the scaffolding. He walked along into the construction site, running the bar along the support struts, letting its clanging reverberate through the metal structure. Even as he walked, he heard the shuffling from behind him. Human bodies traced out by the tarps, climbing from hiding spaces to spill onto the walkway behind him, hands reaching, limbs stretching, men and women all quietly rising to their feet to fall in behind the American who led them. For a foolish moment, James thought he could just lead them away. Just keep walking out one of the fire exits and lead them right back to the docks, maybe even charter a boat back to the states. But he knew all he’d earn would be a moment of delay before someone else took his place. Hell, maybe there’d even be someone waiting for him at the docks with knife meant for his stomach. Wouldn’t put it past the Old Man. He turned at the last moment, down a new part of the walkway, heading deeper into the more finished part of the site. In a large, concrete room, deep within the endless walkways and metal scaffolding, James dropped the bar and stepped up to a wooden crate with the logo for Colt on it. He popped the lid open, letting it creak on hinges rusted from days in a rusty cargo ship’s hold. He let out a breath, letting in the scent of sawdust and cordite. The sleek, black forms of the weapons at his feet greeted him in the dim light. He reached in, wrapped his hand around the barrel, pulled it out. AR-15. Old, but still very dangerous, and plentiful back home. One of the most versatile weapons platforms to ever see the civilian market. He looked around again, holding up the weapon just over his head. He didn’t even need to look back, as it was grabbed from his hand. He heard the shuffling behind him, the creak of more hinges, the first clicks of magazines sliding into place, of actions being worked and checked, of grenades and extra mags being slid into pockets. His head worked on a swivel, gazing over the multitudes of boxes being opened, lining every wall in the room. Of watching an army of madmen prepping to march. “Umm...” someone behind him cleared his throat. Without a word, James reached in again, and pulled out the next rifle.