The Conversion Bureau: Preservation

by Westphalian_Musketeer

A New World

Grey, that seemed to be the definition of the world as I walked down the ramp to the dock. The grey ship had carried me across grey waters underneath a grey sky to a grey city. For all that, the people, and I do mean people, were nice. My hooves made a loud clanking noise each time they struck the ramp until I stepped off onto the paved ground of the dock. Humans didn't just build a wooden platform out to the ships, they built peninsulas. It was... impressive.

I looked at the white-dressed man, captain of the ship. "Thank you, Admiral Anderson, I'm glad to have been aboard your ship," I said, nodding my head.

"The pleasure was all mine, Miss Sparkle. The S.S. Bordeaux looks forward to one day seeing you in her hull again. Maybe next time I'll have to call you Doctor Sparkle." Anderson turned to the man beside him.

The new man had darker hair and skin compared to Anderson. He wore a crisp black suit with a tie. Strapped to his side was a 'gun', humans used them to defend themselves.

"Miss Sparkle," The Admiral said, turning to me but pointing a open hand at the man. "This is Jonathon Ishii, he'll be part of your visible security detail whilst you're here on earth."

"I'm sorry, security detail?" I asked, pulling back slightly.

"Of course. You are a delegate who is directly connected to Princess Celestia. Your safety is of utmost concern to EarthGov." Anderson stepped back and saluted, yes, actually saluted me before nodding to Ishii. "Good luck, God speed, to both of you." He turned on his heel and made his way up the ramp back to his ship.

I turned to Ishii. "Oookay," I said, looking to both sides. "Where to from here?"

He unfolded his arms and pointed to his left. "Right this way Miss Sparkle."

"Oh, you can just call me Twilight," I replied, kicking at the ground lightly.

"Very well, Miss Twilight." Walking away for a few moments, he turned to beckon me.

I trotted up beside him. Just as tall as Celestia, every human. Must have been interesting, every member of their race looking at my teacher in the eye.

There was a peel of thunder behind me. I looked back in time to see another crack of lightning, then another, then another. Soon the thunder came in a continuous rumbling drone as we walked towards a car.

"A storm is coming Miss Twilight. It is good that we do not have to walk to Harvard." Ishii opened the car door and allowed me to clamber inside before climbing in himself.

He buckled his seat belt and I looked at my own. It was a tad more complex, but the buckle was large enough that if I had needed to, I could have used my hooves to operate.

"Most diplomatic vehicles have been fitted to accommodate at least one pony."

I looked up from my buckle to see Ishii smiling at me. "Do you need any assistance?"

"No thank you," I answered, using my magic to lock myself into place. That was an uncomfortable situation, being restrained like that, but I had heard from a few newfoals how fast cars could travel, so I figured it was better than being tossed around.

When my magic grasped the seat belt, I was once again reminded of how little magic this world had. Every atom was starved of the stuff, and without it, I had needed to adjust a few of the spells I regularly used. Telekinesis wasn't a matter of willing the object itself to move, but of surrounding it completely in my own energies and then lifting. And transmuting? I could likely forget about that. But I wasn't here to study magic, I was here to understand a people, no doubt as alien to me as I was to them.

The car lurched forward and I scrambled with my hooves to stay upright. I looked out of the window, a grey sky.

"So Anderson said you're part of my security, am I really in that big of a danger?" I asked, turning from the window to face him.

"There is always some degree of danger wherever one travels, Miss Twilight. This is merely a matter of ensuring no ill befalls you." He raised an eyebrow. "Surely there are dangers in Equestria?"

"Some, but they're mostly contained, but what dangers are there on Earth?" The car rounded a corner, and I had to lean to one side to compensate. "I hear that humans are the only complex life forms left on the planet, and viruses are generally non-lethal to ponies, no matter their source."

Ishii thumbed his gun as though he was tending a small kitten. "There are people who are not at all happy about the conversion bureaus and ponification, especially when they believe ponies to be responsible for the barrier's expansion. The way of life people know is something precious to them. He looked out the window. Some will lash out in an attempt to defend themselves."

"But why would they think that Equestria's collision with Earth was intentional? We've been doing everything we can to stop it, and conversion is a way of saving people if they decide to convert."

"A universe collides with our own, and it just so happens to have a race that gives us the ability to turn into their own," Ishii stated. "For some, that is enough to decide that ponies are responsible. Others simply find the act of conversion morally reprehensible or dangerous."

I scanned his face. The eyes were vastly smaller than my own, but I guessed his mood. He didn't seem angry, or pitying. "You don't seem to have any judgement on them?"

"I can understand their position, but I do not agree with it," Ishii answered. "If they don't wish to convert, that is their decision. I hear that a few are looking to see if we can develop technology advanced enough to get to another planet. What I won't stand is for the attack of an individual who may or may not have anything to do with their woes." Looking out the windows, Ishii's face brightened into a smile. "Ah, it's good to see Sun Day."

"Beg pardon?" I asked as I looked out the window. Failing to press the question further, my mouth hung open as I took in the sky. It was blue now. I stared at it, drinking in the color and sense of warmth and familiarity. As I processed the sky, I noticed that hundreds of beams of light were being directed upwards to the sky. "You're artificially creating a day?"

"Not myself in particular, Miss Twilight," Ishii chuckled, "but the major cities that can afford it tend to shine as many lights up into the sky once a week. The light manages to reflect back off the atmosphere, and, well, we get this. Keeps the spirits up for people."

The car came to a stop and Ishii looked out the window. "Ah, we're here." He undid his seat belt while I followed suit, and he opened the door. Holding it open for me as I climbed out, Ishii glanced around and reached up to his ear. "Lookout three, report." He waited a few moments before he nodded. "Understood. Right this way, Miss Twilight." He led the way to the set of doors. These ones opened on their own as he stepped onto a rubber mat. He waved his finger at a small, black sphere over the door. "Motion sensor, opens the door whenever someone comes near." We stepped inside, and Ishii turned to me. "Welcome to Harvard, ma'am. Well, the residency at least. You've already sent in your class registrations ahead of your arrival, yes?"

"Of course," I answered, enchanted by the architecture of the building.

Ishii walked to the person manning the front desk and presented a badge. "Delegate from Equestria, here to move in, I'll be bringing her belongings shortly."

The person at the desk nodded silently and typed in a few things. He pulled out two plastic cards. "Keys to the room, if you lose one, please return the other here so replacements can be made and the lock re-coded."

Ishii examined the card briefly and then beckoned me to follow him up a nearby staircase. We climbed up to the second floor and turned down a hall until we reached the room. In a deft motion, he slid the card in and the lock clicked open.

He handed me the card. "Take this, and never give it to anyone else or leave it unattended."

"Very well," I answered, grasping this 'key' in my magic; it had nothing to manipulate tumblers.

We stepped inside to the room. There was one bed, surprisingly large, to the point where I guessed it was meant for humans. I looked inside the bathroom to the left and saw that the bathroom had, thankfully, been modified for my... ahem, needs.

"I'm going back down to bring your luggage," said Ishii, pulling out another device. It was a small disk with a button and a chain. "This is a panic button; if something seems off, anything at all, press it, and I will come running."

I nodded my head and put the necklace around my neck. He left, closing the door behind him, and I walked to my bed, hopping onto it. Sitting there, I finally let what was happening take affected. "I'm going to learn on Earth!" I squeaked, my lips parting into a wide grin as I stamped my hooves on the mattress.

I fell backwards to great relief. My friends had been an enormous helping get the archives into something resembling order before I left. I knew what Applejack had felt when she was attempting the Applebuck season all by herself. Of course, I had been hospitalized prior to that.

Then there were the newfoals that had been trickling into town. Two here, four there, a family starting a farmstead past White Tail Wood. Some of them had been quick to adapt to the new lifestyle, but others... Pinkie had tried to befriend them all, but some weren't happy. The sobering thought of under what conditions had brought them to Equestria ruined my former good mood. I wiggled my legs, ruffling the sheets, and sighed.

I heard footsteps outside before the door unlocked, and Ishii stepped inside, hauling one of my trunks behind him. He pressed his hands to one knee and leaned over, taking a deep breath.

"Finding everything to your liking, Miss Twilight?" he asked, standing up straight.

"Yes, and, er, you can really call me just Twilight."

"Very well, one more bag to go, Miss Twilight."

He walked back down the hall as I stifled a guffaw. I wasn't sure if that had been done to spite, jibe, or to stick to formality. Well, I figured that he'd be a silent figure once my studies began within the next few days.