The Conversion Bureau: What Separates Us

by Cloudhammer

00 - A Prelude of Things to Come

Year 1, Week 52, Saturday

The reception/Year’s End party following Captain Shining Armor and Princess Cadance’s wedding was in full swing. Humans and ponies mingled, danced (some more awkwardly than others due to the plentiful cider and alcohol), and sang. As the sun fell toward the horizon’s edge, Rainbow Dash’s stunt routine began, drawing the eyes of every attendee present.

Every attendee but one.

He hated that he had to be here, hated being among these ponies and their ‘friends’. He wished that he could abandon his disguise and show these ponies what true fear was, but his orders had been explicit. Observe. Blend in. Do not break his cover. Months of effort had gone into enabling him to be here, in the very heart of the enemy.

He stood near the snack table for a second, taking an idle bite of the food present, even though he was already full. Finally deciding that he’d seen enough to fulfill his orders, he picked up a glass and meandered his way across the dance floor. He had to clench his teeth to not be sick at the appraising glances some of the girls present gave him, and finally reached the other side of the area. Glancing around, he allowed a small smile to touch his lips as he exited the pool of light and happiness and entered the shadow of the towering building.

Nodding at a passing police officer with a wave of his glass, he plastered a fake goofy smile across his face and hoped they’d buy it. Luckily, the officer did and he soon found a secluded alcove, which met his needs perfectly.

The amber stallion tossed his glass aside and concentrated, his horn glowing as he traced a number of runes onto the ground. How fortunate that they’d had been able to get an agent into the Canterlot Archives to be able to learn these runes. Combined with sufficient magical power, they gave a single unicorn an immense boost in power, allowing them to throw whole buildings, summon tornadoes from a clear sky... or teleport across entire countries in a single ‘jump’. Given the power they’d carefully been building up, the teleport he was using would be able to take him all the way home in a single step.

Granted, the risks were also incredibly high. If he was interrupted during the casting, he would more than likely be destroyed, his body shredded into dust and scattered across time and space. And even if his casting was perfect, if he was a centimeter out of place, he could end up entombed in the earth forever, his lungs filled with solid rock.

He became aware of someone drawing closer, and forced more power into his horn, making the snap decision to draw on some of his reserves. With a snap the unicorn disappeared, leaving only an odd smell and a light heat shimmer on the ground as the police officer from before rounded the corner. The officer played his flashlight over the alcove, but as the wind shifted and the foul odor reached his nose, he shook his head and wandered back to continue his foot patrol.

---

The amber stallion felt the energies of the teleport spell release him, and he fell heavily to the hard ground. Shaking his head to get his bearings, he felt the reassuring heat of home surrounding him, and opened his eyes to see his family looking down at him.

Getting to his hooves, he froze as he felt her walking slowly up from behind him.

“Well, my child? Were you successful?” She asked as she crossed to stand in front of him, radiant in her splendor.

He bowed deep, scraping his chest on the floor as he groveled. “Yes, I was able to blend in perfectly. No one present recognized me.”

She took a deep sniff, a smile spreading across her face as her wings fluttered. “Mmm yes, and such delicious rewards you carry back with you. Now, relax, you are safe.” Queen Chrysalis purred, her voice like soft velvet to the stallion’s ears.

The stallion nodded, his horn glowing as he released his magic. A sickly green fire spread from his horn, burning through the beige coat, searing the hairs black. His mane melted in the heat, spreading across his back to form a glossy carapace. Wings split through the illusion’s sides, buzzing in relief after being entrapped for so long. His amber eyes glowed a brilliant blue, the color spilling out of his irises until both orbs were the same uniform shade.

The changeling stretched, glad to finally be able to relax. The gentle ocean of the hive’s collective minds washed across his, welcoming their long absent sibling into its embrace.

“Now my child, we must be quick. We need to store the reserves of love you collected from the wedding.” Chrysalis said as she turned, walking leisurely though the sea of her offspring, heading for the innermost chambers of the hive.

“Yes, my Queen.” the changeling replied as he followed after her, the humid darkness surrounding them.

“While the arrival of this new world and these ‘humans’ disrupted our plans to seize Equestria, in the end things have worked out for the better.” Chrysalis mused aloud as they finally reached their destination. The cavernous central room of the hive was filled with larval sacs in varying stages of growth, the walls studded with dozens of pulsating green growths. “Relocating the entire hive proved to be more taxing that I had thought, but now we are perfectly located, the ponies far enough away they will not think to look for us here, but wellsprings of emotion are easily within our grasp.”

The changeling didn’t respond, buzzing up to one of the growths. He leaned his head forward, embedding his twisted horn into the soft tissue. With an obscene pulsing motion, a soft pinkish red color began to leech its way from the tip of his horn and into the growth. It spread along the connecting strands and down into the larvae, who began to squirm as their growth rate accelerated.

“Soon, we will be able to dominate this section of the world, and nopony, not the Equestrians or the humans, will be able to stop us.” Chrysalis said, her low chuckle soon growing into mocking laughter as hundreds of changelings across the hive joined in.

Comments

[KMCA]

Well, this is going to be interesting

[ZenithStar]

Seems Legit.
I wonder if changelings can do humans too...