The Conversion Bureau: The St. Louis Massacre

by Cloudhammer


Epilogue - One Month Later

Year 5, Week 24, Monday

They’d had to move the ceremony to the fields below the mountain, because there was simply no way to fit that many ponies into Canterlot itself. Over the course of a month, the stage was built, letters sent to families of those who perished, and, of course, the construction of the coffins. Nine hundred and thirty seven ponies had fallen during the St Louis Massacre, three hundred sixty two of them native Equestrians.

To accommodate the enormous influx of ponies pouring into Canterlot, the Canterlot Construction Company, with the assistance of the Royal Guard, built simple yet comfortable housing around the base of the mountain. There were ponies coming from as far away as Vanhoover and Manehatten, even more than had received letters themselves, for they were friends of the families and wanted to come lend their support.

Many of the Royal Guard could not be present, as the Bureaus around the world still required the protection they offered, but gradually, unit by unit, company by company, hundreds of them were pulled from training to attend the mass funeral. For many of them, this was their first time seeing Equestria proper. For others, it was their first time visiting while on duty.

“I’m serious Flare. I want to move out of that apartment.” Nimbus said as they walked down the castle passage.

“I understand, but where are we going to move to?” Flare replied, craning his head around to give their son, sleeping securely in his foal-carrier, a quick nuzzle. “Finding an apartment here in Canterlot’s going to be prohibitively expensive, and we just don’t have the bits for it right now.”

Nimbus thought about it for a second. “Well, why don’t we try to rent with Skipjack and Dusty? There were those new apartments opening up on Hawaii that had decent rates...” She trailed off as a wall of red joined them. “Good morning Captain.”

Aegis snorted. “Ah ain’t on duty, Nimby.” He fell into step with them, smiling down at the sleeping Breaker. “I swear, little guy gets bigger every time I see him. So, you two looking for a place to stay?”

“Yeah, we were looking at buying one of the new homes that’re getting built out on Hawaii, but the price is outside the range the four of us can afford.” Nimbus peered back as Breaker started waking up. “Well good morning sleepyhead.”

“Mornin’ Mommy...” Breaker mumbled as he rubbed at his eyes with a hoof. Looking up, he perked up. “Hi Uncle Aegis!”

“Howdy yourself champ,” Aegis said with a smile, before his eyes glazed over a little with a thought. “Well shoot, why don’t me, Fireball, and Leapfrog move in with you? I know Fireball’d love to go back, she really enjoyed our visit a week ago.” Aegis was glad for the fact that his red coat hid the mild blush that formed on his cheeks.

“Well, why don’t we talk about it after tomorrow?” Flare asked as they approached the castle daycare.

“Well I’m going to San Francisco with General Cloudhammer after the funeral, hopefully put this whole him bein’ my dad thing to rest,” Aegis replied with a snort.

“Well, we have some time off for the next few days, we should get together once you come back and discuss this.” Nimbus replied with a smile as they arrived at the door. Flare nosed it open, the giggling of foals spilling out, and the pair walked inside. “We’ll see you around Aegis!”

“Sure thing you two,” Aegis replied with a chuckle as he trotted down the hallway.

The sun was shining brightly, reflecting off of the gold armor of hundreds of guards drawn up in perfect parade formation. They occupied the forward left section of the field, with thousands more ponies surrounding them.

At the front of the assembled mass of ponies, the stage sat, patiently awaiting the speaker. Behind it, the hundreds of coffins sat quietly, a soft glow of magic surrounding them to prevent heat from building up.

Finally, a pair of winged shapes flew down from Canterlot, resolving themselves into the forms of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Luna landed gently at the front of the row of guards, while Celestia landed next to the stage.

Celestia walked slowly to stand on the stage, giving the vast array of coffins behind her a somber look before turning to look across the vaster herd in front of her. Igniting her horn, she took a deep breath before beginning.

“I want to thank all of you for coming.” Her magically-amplified voice rang out, echoing faintly off of the mountain. “There is never a time when it is easy to say goodbye to a loved one, a family member, or a friend. A month ago, the city of St Louis was torn apart by violence and fear, and many paid the ultimate price any being, human or pony, should have to pay. Yet even during the darkest times of that day, there still shone beacons of heroism, ponies and humans who fought to defend the rights that all living things have. Ponies like Ridge Breeze who, despite being shot through the torso, used the last of his strength to lead the terrorists attacking him away from a group of hiding ponies. Ponies like Nutmeg, who stood her ground to let others flee. Ponies like Cirrus, who didn’t run when the lives of foals were in danger. Humans like police Corporal Mark Burton, who didn’t hesitate to put themselves into harm’s way again and again to defend the innocent. Humans like Captain Ian Hodges, who refused to give up in the face of insurmountable odds, and gave their lives trying to deny the terrorists escape. Ponies like General Cloudhammer, Captains Aegis Exemplar and Flare, and First Lieutenants Dusty, Wrecker, Anvil, and Lariat, who despite being off-duty did not hesitate to don the armor of the Royal Guard and do what they were trained to do.

It is with great sorrow, yet great pride that I welcome these brave souls back to Equestria, and lament that I did not know them better, pony and human alike. Nothing can bring the dead back to life, but by continuing on, we honor their sacrifice, and ensure that their memory never dies. I would ask that you all join me in a moment of silence, to honor these heroes of Equestria and Earth.” Celestia bowed her head, mirrored by the thousands standing in front of her. For the duration of their silence, it seems that even the wind and animals paused for a moment in remembrance.

Finally, Celestia lifted her head. “For those of you who have traveled from distant towns and cities, I have commissioned the trains to depart in the morning, to take the fallen and their families to their homes for private services.” With one final bow to the rows of silent coffins, she looked out over the assembled crowd. “Know that I am deeply sorry for your losses, and all of Equestria will mourn with you.”

After another bow, the crowd began to slowly disperse, many ponies spreading out into the field of coffins to grieve individually.

“Thank you for your patience Mr. Exemplar, Mr. Cloudhammer, we have the results of the paternity test right here.” The doctor said as he opened a manilla folder and scanned the page.

Aegis shifted awkwardly in the seat. Human chairs were always uncomfortable to ponies, and the situation certainly wasn’t helping any. He shot a quick glance to Cloudhammer, but if the older pegasus noticed, he gave no sign of it. The past two days had been the worst kind, where he just needed to get out and do something, but needed to remain close by.

“Now, I want to stress that we’ve not really done this for ponies yet, so there is a small chance that the results are incorrect. But for the moment, I can say with confidence that you are indeed Aegis’ biological father, Cloudhammer,” the doctor said calmly.

The room was quiet as a tomb for a few long seconds, punctuated only by the two stallion’s breathing and the mild hum of the lights.

“What?”