Chapter One: The beginning of the end
The Conversion Bureau: Before they came
By Da Bunnana King
Thanks to Aegis and his idea, love ya man… no homo
Chapter One: The beginning of the end
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Princess Celestia paced back and forth in her throne room as she tried to stay calm even though everypony could see she was distraught. Her hooves made a clip clop noise as she moved on the marble floors and even on the crimson carpet that divided the room. Her throne room was largely rectangular with marble floor and thick large marble columns supporting the roof. Her large throne was elevated off the floor that had the crimson leading up to the golden throne; that had a large crimson cushion in the middle covering the seat.
“Your highness,” said her one of her royal guards, “I think you should sit down, pacing back and forth doesn’t seem to be doing you any good.”
She sighed and trotted over to the window and gazed out of the sunset that she had set in motion earlier. A slight breeze blew through the throne room nearly sending a chill up her spine. The air around her seemed electrified and even the land she protected felt uneasy and unnatural to her.
“I know, but our worlds are going to clash and Equestria is going to be affected worse than when Discord ruled,” she said in a melancholy voice as the guard pony flanked her.
“Your highness, I’m sure that your divisions are going to be for the better of Equestria. You have kept peace for more than a thousand years now and with the return of your sister Equeastria is experiencing a time of peace,” he said again as he attempted to calm the ancient ailcorn.
“I know, but once we step over the threshold of the new world. We can never go back to the Equestria we know of,” she said as if she had already been defeated.
“Your majesty,” said another guard pony who was accompanied by a unicorn in a long purple flowing robe, “Moon Dancer is here.”
“Thank you,” she said as she nodded to the kneeling guard.
“Rise Moon Dancer, and thank you for coming in such a hurry,” Celestia said as the robed unicorn rose.
“You should also try and not hide in that robe,” she said once again as she took the hood off Moon Dancer with her magic, “You have a very pretty face, and you’re never going to meet a nice stallion if you hide a face like that.”
“But it’s tradition that all unicorn mages wear the robes,” she near on whined as the hood was removed. She had a long flowing silvery mane with a stripe of white going through it, that complimented her sea foam green coat and the horn that poked through the heavily styled mane.
“I know, but I think you can break tradition once,” she said as Moon Dancer knew that when a Princess summons you its important. Right now the Princess seemed to be dodging the reason as to the summons.
“Princess,” Moon Dancer began, “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but why did you summon me and make sure I was given a royal escort by your elite guards?”
Celesita sighed and walked in front of a large mural depicting the two sisters raising the moon and setting of the sun. Moon Dancer followed her and stood next to the Princess.
“Moon Dancer a great change is about to come to Equestira. A change that I can’t predict let alone control,” she began, “But I do know that we can observe this new world through the cracks in the magical barrier that seems to be dividing us, but I think we can do one better. I think we could send somepony through to see what is really in this new world.”
“But your highness,” interjected Moon Dancer, “How do we know if they are friendly or not?”
“We don’t know, that is why I summoned you,” she said as she turned to the almost scared unicorn, “You have the most experience with observing the stars beyond my sister Luna’s control. I believe that you can peer beyond the veil of this barrier to see the new world.”
“But your highness,” Moon Dancer interjected once more, “I’m just a simple mage from your school who gazes at the stars. I can’t possibly look into a different realm besides Equestria; even looking beyond Luna’s night sky is hard for me! How can I possibly handle another world?!”
“Moon Dancer,” Celestia said as she placed one of her large wings upon her, to calm the panicking unicorn.
“I have full faith in you. You’re a very smart mare, if you can look beyond my sister’s night, then I believe that you can do anything,” cooed Celestia as the panicking unicorn seemed to calm down.
“But what am I to do?” she asked as she looked up her ruler hoping for the next move she was to make.
“I really don’t know, but I can have Captain Steel Wing escort you to the closest rift that the Runic Order has discovered,” she said as she retracted her wing.
As she finished her sentence a regal looking pegasus guard trotted in. He wasn’t wearing the same royal garb like Celestia’s personal guard but a more dull silver armor fitted with blades at the end of each hoof and a large curved blade where the crest of the helm would be.
“Ma’am,” he spoke in a deep voice that reverberated through the room, “You summoned me.”
“Thank you very much Captain for coming here so quickly,” she said as she nodded to the captain.
“Ma’am with all due respect, being called away from the border of Equestria and the Forest’s of the Timeless Arrow,” he said in a almost grimace tone of voice, “So it has to be as you said ‘a bigger danger to Equestira than Discord himself.”
“It is Captain, I need you to protect this filly. I want her under your guard twenty four seven, and no harm must come to her. Is that understood?” asked Celestia aggravated by the Captain’s response.
“Yes ma’am,” he said saluting and turning his stone cold gaze towards the scarred young mare.
He trotted up to her as she almost hid behind Celestia’s hind legs in fear of him. He towered over the small unicorn, but she could already see his coat underneath the metal that made up his armor.
His eyes were a sage green and his coat was a dusty charcoal black, even his tail was a mix of charcoal and a dark grey. It was hard to tell if it was the magic that the armors were supposedly enchanted with or if it were his coat color.
“Moon Dancer don’t be afraid of him, he doesn’t bite,” joked Celestia as she nudged the freighted mare towards the towering stallion.
“Don’t worry ma’am, I’ll keep you safe,” said Steel as he winked at Moon Dancer, “But I am to believe I am to escort you to the tunnels beneath Canterlot to the source of the null-magic?”
“That is correct Steel, now if you could please escort her in a hurry. I have many a plan to make with the Council of Elder Unicorns and with the Griffon dignitaries,” she said as she began to walk off to her throne.
“I’ll see to it ma’am,” replied Steel as he herded Moon Dancer towards the exit.
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Moon Dancer followed the captain down a long and darkened corridor underneath the castle. The tunnels were old and smelt dank; the walls were covered in moss and the stones that made the walls were cracked and a more earthish brown color than a light grey color.
Everything in the tunnels also felt to drain her magical powers, as each step made her feel slightly weaker and the tiniest bit lethargic.
“How much longer until we are at the rift Mister Steel?” asked a curious Moon Dancer.
“Should be around this corner and down the staircase… they say we’ll know when we’re there,” he replied back as the arrived at a spiraling staircase.
She nodded as they both descended down the darkened staircase, until they began to approach a large bright light. Once they passed over the threshold of the light they emerged into a massive bright room. The room was massive in size and dwarfed the ponies that worked in it. In the middle of the room stood a large monolithic structure that suspended a large glowing orb that shifted in color and brightness.
“Wow,” Moon Dancer said in pure awe of the rift in time and space.
“No kidding,” Steel said as they both approached two unicorn guards flanked by a large Earth pony guard.
“Officer on deck!” cried one of the unicorn guards as they all saluted the approaching Captain.
“At easy gentlecolts,” replied Steel as he returned the salute, “Now who is in charge here?”
“That would be Head Scribe Ink sir,” the unicorn replied.
“Thank you, where can I find him?” asked Steel as Moon Dancer was still in awe of the size of the room.
“He is usually in front of the rift, if not on the main floor. He is the one wearing the blue robes and has the onyx tail and mane,” he replied as Steel nodded in acknowledgment.
“Thanks, come on Moon. I’ve been told to guard you and so far it’s been easy, lets just get to the site so I can get some rest,” he grunted as he tugged lightly on Moon Dancer’s tail to get her moving once again.
“Hey ouch! Be gentle,” she cried out as she caught up to Steel, “I thought Princess Celestia told you to keep me out of harms way.”
“I promised the Princess to keep you safe, and I think that we have a lot more at stake riding on this besides your tail getting pulled,” he said as the continued down the stairs.
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The small congregation of ponies were in front of the pulsing orb were either exchanging notes or observing into the ever changing orb before them.
“So which one is Ink?” asked Moon Dancer as she walked with Captain Steel.
“I’ll just call out his name and who ever looks back it’s the Head Scribe,” joked Steel back as Moon Dancer let out a quiet giggle.
“I didn’t imagine you to have a funny bone in you,” she joked back.
“Heh, yeah. My old Captain Cloudhammer used to always be the pony with a stick in his rump but he still had a funny side to him underneath all that strictness,” he said as he reminisced all the times he and Cloudhammer had ever joked with each other. An astounding ten times before they went their separate ways.
“Wait, isn’t Cloudhammer that really strict Royal Guard that trains all the new pegasus recruits?” asked Moon Dancer.
“Yes, how did you know?” replied Steel as the began up a small wooden rampart towards the orb.
“My late brother used to be in the guard,” she said as her mood slightly dropped, “But from what Cloudhammer said at his funeral, I think he went down with a fight and saved the rest of his squad.”
“Oh,” said Steel as his ears flattened against his head, “I didn’t know-,”
“It’s alright,” she said as a lone tear slid of her muzzle, “I’ve made my peace and I still think he is watching over me from the clouds.”
“Guah!” cried a strange looking grey and onyx unicorn, “Who said we needed more hooves proding the giant death ball?!”
“I presume you are the Head Scribe?” asked Moon Dancer as the unicorn walked up to them.
He was a scrawny unicorn with a pair of reading glasses that hung off his horn; almost balancing on them except they were also supported by his ears like conventional glasses.
“Yes now what do you want?” he said lightly stamping his foot, “Can’t you see we are all busy!”
“That’s no way to talk to a nice filly,” intervened Steel as he quickly moved in front of her and flared his wings.
“Now listen here you brute-,” he began before being cut off by the angry stallion.
“No you listen here. This is Moon Dancer, she was sent by Princess Celestia herself to help you eggheads to see what is beyond this… this egg thing, and I was tasked with seeing her safety and the smooth running of this operation. So I would be more nice to her,” spoke Steel as the small unicorn was backed into a corner and was almost cowering in fear from the massive guards pony.
“Sorry… please don’t hurt me,” he whimpered as he looked at Moon Dancer, “The lab is yours. Now excuse me, I have to use the little colt’s room,” he said as he galloped passed the ponies that were staring at him on the rampart.
“Thank you Steel, but I don’t think you needed to do that,” Moon said as she angrily stared at the Captain.
“Yes I know but I could already feel the conversation was going to go no where,” he replied back as he was put off by her stare.
“Be nicer,” she demanded and the Captain who had been to Tartarus and back just nodded, knowing he had been put in place by a filly a quarter his age.
“Fine, but you have to world to observe,” he said as he tried to get her to stop death staring him.
“You’re getting off easy this time mister, and you’re lucky I have Equestria to save,” she responded as she turned her attention to the pulsating orb of null magic.
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