The Conversion Bureau: The Ruthenium Wings
Chapter 1
Origins and Privateers
That was several years ago. Several years ago, on December 21st of the year 2012, we looked at the skies and those who said the Greeks were just making tales about a planet that was hidden on the other side of the sun were proven wrong. It was real, Counter-Earth was real. We all mocked them endlessly, seeing that they writings. Geocentric theory? They were right. Apparently, it's Celestia who rises the sun and lowers it, her sister Luna is the one who brings the night to both our worlds.
The Earth and Counter-Earth became connected by the atmospheres, joining the planets into one. This made travel by air much easier. It is curious how one can go to Equestria or say Europe by flying so high up in the sky. To do that, one must brave a bottleneck-like storm. The winds there are violent, unpredictable, to them, crossing over is not a issue, they have mapped out the areas of calm air that make flight a possibility.
It happened that fateful day. It was broad daylight, the skies began to act strangely….a giant whirlpool composed of clouds appeared, spinning rapidly as it got wider. From the bowels of the whirlpool, there was a light, a light that shone beyond the sea of clouds. Several objects exited through, one large airship followed by what seemed escort vessels, said escort vessels launched small craft. From a distant sight, they have appeared to be jet fighters, wrong, it was Pegasi.
Contact between Earth and the biggest nation in Counter-Earth, Equestria has begun. Ponies began to migrate to the Earth, mostly as tourism and migrant workers while humans took airships to visit Equestria. As time went on, many humans went to Equestria as they felt attached to this mystical land above the skies. The Ponies developed a serum which could convert a human into a pony. They opened up centers dedicated to this task. They went by many names but where mostly known as Conversion Bureaus. One came to convert, spend a week to learn to be a pony, and then they were shipped off to Equestria in what was dubbed a Migration Capsule. Large craft that were launched into the skies carrying the many converts away from their life on Earth, as their leader, Princess Celestia promised, a new life away from all the lies, deceit, and corruption of the many human regimes.
This was met with a lot of resistance. Several people formed groups to expel the ponies out and shutting down the Bureaus. No one listened to the demands of these people, calling them close minded, racists, every name out there in the book. No government listened to the cries and rallies of these people, only to be ignored and many more converted. It was an alarming rate…something was wrong.
On the Autumn of 2015, it finally happened.
People began to arm themselves with whatever they had available. Bureaus were stormed; the people who worked there and the recent converts were killed and maimed violently. Pony immigrants were lynched brutally; the wind blew a putrid aroma of death and chaos as the riots spread.
Winter of 2015, Princess Celestia gives a speech, saying that the Equestrian Sky Fleet will enter the Earth's skies to protect Equestrian interests in every continent, the UN approved of this plan. The peoples did not.
By 2016, airships of massive size floated in the skies, blocking out the sun. To the many Equestrian immigrants and converts, this was a sigh of relief. To the people, it was a sign of occupation. The Bureaus continued to convert people, some refused and extremist ponies began to forcefully convert innocents.
On March 12, 2016, a dozen dissidents of various nationalities hijacked the yacht of the Princesses during a diplomatic visit. The airship was rammed against a Migration Capsule that was preparing to leave for Equestria. Millions of converts were killed that day, the airship damaged beyond any repair…but they never found the hijackers.
June 21st, 2016, Celestia gave a speech demanding that all areas with a high pony to human ratio is a Equestrian colony and must leave in 24 hours. The response was a declaration of war against Equestria by every nation.
"Under the authority granted to me by Princess Celestia, I order the humans to leave Eastern Russia in 24 hours."
"Just try it!" A Russian villager pulled out a double barreled shotgun. "To Hell with Equestria! To Hell with Celestia! To Hell with you Ponies!"
There was violence against the Newfoals and the Colonizers, ponies who came to Equestria to colonize the New World as it was known to them.
The war didn't last long…the moment the Equestrian airships exited the cloud whirlpool, everything was over in a matter of hours. The airships bombarded serum all over the place, if bombing the area didn't do the job, they'd deploy Pegasi and Unicorns to finish off the stragglers. This became known as the Human-Equestrian War or the Serum Wars, Colony Wars, the War of Equestrian Aggression, the War of Equestrian Imperialism, the 12 Hour War…you name them.
Many flags were lowered and replaced with the Equestrian flag.
In the end, Humanity lost: Eastern Russia, Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula along with the Iranian Plateau followed by Syria, Iraq, and the Jordan, about 1/2 of Western Canada, 3/5ths of Eastern Europe, half of China, 1/3rd of Japan, almost all of Africa, the Southern portion of Mediterranean Europe, all of Brazil, the former Great Colombia of the past: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama . All of Southern Mexico was lost except for the Yucatan Peninsula, which became an Equestrian puppet state. America was forced to give up most of the West Coast along with the Midwest. All these areas have now become Equestrian colonies…those who refused conversion were kicked out of their countries…
Hope was not lost as the remaining nations of the world quickly re-organized. The governments of these nations began to issue something that wasn't seen in the history of the world: Letters of Marque. If anyone had a privately-owned airship and a crew willing to attack the Equestrian colonies and vessels, they were promised a great bounty along with rewards for their deeds.
Privateers were the heroes of this new world. Stories circulated about the brave men and women hijacking Equestrian ships, plundering entire towns and cities, robbing ponies of their valuables while others killed them for taking away their lands…
This is the story of the brave band of privateers who defied everything in the face of danger…this is the story of the Palladium Wings, a title given to privateers who pulled off the most hard of missions in the world to show Celestia a lesson on who she messed with.
Earth, 2025
Skies of Panama
A highly modified airship continued its cruise above what used to be Panama. If the intelligence was correct, an Equestrian Federation Treasury ship would be here in a matter of minutes. Months of planning were finally going to pay off. Time to make these horses that for every action there's a reaction. A few conversations took place in Serbian, mostly nostalgia about their former motherlands and the anger that burned up inside them. Most were excited about the acts that are about to committed. One mentioned about jewels and their bits, wondering if the ship was full of golden coinage and luxuries.
The spotter saw something glimmer off in the distance. Focusing on the glimmer, he noticed a airship flying the flag of a sun and moon joint by halves with a angel white on the left with the blue on the right. The spotter turned, telling the communications officer to report this to the Captain.
The Captain gave a animalistic grin. Many of his crew respected him out of fear. Nikolaos Drakonakos …also known as the Dragon of the Skies went into the business not for the profit, but out of revenge. He is a Maniot Greek, piracy and bloodshed is in his blood, he had a blood feud against the one behind it all; Princess Celestia. She too will know what a man can do once the feud begins. He was a man of average height, no muscles or anything grand. Green-eyed and of a sun-kissed skin. His penchant was of seafood, poultry, and wine. He despised Equestrians since childhood after he and his fellow Maniots were kicked out of Greece to allow the Colonizers to settle in. His last decree was a vendetta against Princess Celestia for this crime.
Nikolaos heard the news. He began to gear up for the boarding. Two personalized TT-33s with compensator and cherry wood grips were slipped into the custom-made holsters. A CETME Model L assault rifle was tested for malfunctions. Seeing that nothing was out of order, a drum magazine was inserted. A Turkish saber with an ornate hilt was strapped, finalizing the arsenal of battle.
The Equestrian airship was near firing range.
The Observation Post looked at the ship. The Rusyn man phoned the crew. “We have confirmation of the target: One Alicorn-Class Dreadnought bearing the Treasury standard. Six Typhoon-Class Multipurpose Zeppelins are protecting the ship along with a dozen Fam-Class Barges.”
“Alright everyone!” Nikolaos entered the hangar. The raiders saluted. “This is the plan. We are going to board the vessel and take whatever we can. I also want the Zeppelins and barges with minimal damage. The Mexican Government is willing to pay a high bounty for them. Now get to your barges.”
The men and women went inside their barges.
The lights went green across the hangar. The hangar elevator went up. As they were outside, the engines of the captured barges came to life, giving out a howl in the distance. The privateer vessel began to use its signal lamp, on the target vessel.
“Captain! We’re being hailed by an unknown vessel.” A Newfoal Earth Pony sailor announced.
“What are they saying?” The unicorn captain was curious about the blinking lights.
“Attention Equestrian Federation vessel. This is the Privateer vessel Chimera. We demand that you surrender the cargo peacefully. We do not wish to spill blood. If you refuse to surrender in one minute, we will open fire on you.”
A vein throbbed in the unicorn’s head. “I’ll be bucked if we allowed those filthy barbarians into the ship. We are not surrendering the ship. Let them come and try.”
“It seems they’re not giving up.” A voice announced on the barges’ PA system.
“All raiders prepare for combat.” Nikolaos ordered. “I want all Designated Marksmen in the ship and barges to provide covering fire for the boarding crews. Boarding crews, you are clear to engage all hostiles with extreme prejudice. Take no prisoners!”
The Equestrian vessels began to release bolts of magic towards the attacking barges. One privateer barge was hit, shaking a little. The gunmen began release lead towards the attackers in retaliation. The bow mounted DShK burped heavy caliber lead towards a zeppelin while an Albanian with a modified SKS aimed down through the scope of his weapon. The chevron was in place. The pegasus crewmember went down. The Russian-made carbine flashed again.
Niko jumped out of the barge. Several Newfoal Unicorn sailors charged towards him. Pulling out the right pistol, the slide retracted several times as the casings were ejected. As the pistol clicked empty, it was quickly holstered as the rifle was pulled out. Flipping it to semi, several shots pelted the door hinges. The door fell to his feet. “Capture the Star Swirl Unit. Whoever controls the Unit controls the ship! Get moving!”
Several of the black-clad raiders were getting ready for the attack. A select number of raiders were inserting fresh rounds into the tubular magazines of what seemed well made Frankenstein rifles. One toting a PTR-32 looked at the one of his comrades loading up the 5mm Rimfire Magnum rounds into the weapon. “Trade?” The Serbian man offered.
The Montenegrin woman frowned. “No. I spent good Escudos for one of these. I will not let you tarnish it. Do you think I’m willing to put with Vicente’s scolding when I need it serviced?”
“He’ll scold you anyways, even if you fought the Princesses and used it as a bludgeon, he’d still lash his tongue on you.” The Serbian answered as a matter-of-fact.
One Hungarian raider spinned the cylinder of his personalized weapon. A Chimera-built LeMat revolver chambered in .327 Federal, the underbarrel was loaded with a 20 gauge shell when things got up close and personal. “Raid Leader, we are ready on you command.”
The Bosniak man gave a hand sign to place the breaching explosives.
Two of the raiders placed explosives on the door.
“Breaching!”
The Unicorn Engineers began to fire bolts of magic towards the intruders. Bullets of various calibers flew towards the ponies.
A Chimera Raider landed on an enemy zeppelin. The unicorn sailors began charge towards him. The raider pulled out his karabela and Glock 18. The man quickly spammed the trigger as the bullet cases were ejected. One unicorn took a shot to the head. The other continued to charge towards the man. “GLORIA CELESTIA!” It said. The man charged towards the pony, the curved blade giving a deadly glimmer.
The unicorn screamed as the blade splattered her blood across the gondola of the craft. With a vampiric grin, the Romanian man stomped the sailor mare’s spine as the blade speared against her neck. With a final struggle, the mare did everything to survive but gave in to the cold embrace of death. Pulling his blade out, the Romanian man went inside. The rest began to defy him by attacking. It was futile.
The sharp curved blade moved in patterns. Blood flew everywhere as the screams of agony filled the airship but they could not be heard. The rotors mounted on the wings of the craft drowned them out. As the Romanian’s kills ceased to live, he approached the steering controls and placed his hands on them.
A sniper placed an Earth Pony sailor out of commission. “One down, three more to go.”
A Zeppelin was declared secured.
The Engineer Unicorns generated shields to cover themselves from the bullets.
The Serbian reloaded his PTR-32. “They have shields! Employ Tactic 633!” His finger flicked the selector to full auto.
The raiders with select-fire weaponry flicked the selector to “fun mode”.
Muzzles began to flash as lead flew towards the targets.
Spider webs formed as the bullets impacted the magical fields. The Hungarian cocked the hammer with his thumb. As he aimed for one of the unicorns, he calmly took his breath as pulled the trigger. The Super Magnum bullet destroyed one shield. Pulling on the lever again, the barrel flared again.
A 5mm bullet ended the other engineer’s life. The unicorn stallion felt everything go black.
Niko stepped in into the helm, his Kilij unsheathed in one hand and a Tokarev in the other. “You should have surrendered peacefully Equestrians. Now you will pay for your insolence.”
“There is no way I am surrendering to a MONKEY who refuses to be saved!” The Unicorn Captain screeched.
Several Newfoal sailors began to approach the Maniot, barring their teeth as they gave a sinister look at him.
The only way to distinguish a Newfoal from a Native or “Pure” Equestrian was through their teeth. Newfoals always retained their canine teeth. Eyes were also a factor, when in an aggressive stance they gave a stare which was unnatural, somewhat demonic if it could be described.
Niko fired his pistol twice. The two Newfoals dropped dead in a second. With a scream, he rushed at the Unicorn in charge of the vessel and whipped the Turkish blade several times against her body. With a wolfish smile, he tossed away the pistol, his free hand grabbed the horned pony by neck. Gathering all possible strength, he slammed the pony to the floor. With sword in hand, a savage scream escaped his throat as the blade was speared into the heart of his opponent.
The unicorn gasped, trying to get one last breath but it failed.
The raid was over in an hour. The dreadnaught along with her escorts were captured. Whatever crewmember survived was taken prisoner, their fates left up to the captain of the privateer vessel.
A captured crewmember, an Earth Pony holding the rank of Ensign guided Niko across the captured vessel, giving the Maniot a tour of his bounty. A Cretan accented voice called for him, the man went to the direction of the voice, and upon entering a room, he saw foals, they all were afraid. Their eyes showed sadness and despair. They all spoke in some languages unknown to his ears. He asked what these foals were doing in a dreadnaught.
The Earth Pony Ensign explained that these foals came from the Provincial Nations, they were taken as tribute for Celestia’s Royal Guards and the Sky Fleet. He explained that long ago, Celestia and Luna waged war against the Equine Nations, unifying them under their rule. The practice of Tribute Foals was punishment for resisting the Alicorn’s divine right to rule.
“Devshirme….” Niko hissed with an icy tone. “Get rid of this garbage for me. I need time to process this. I will later decide on the foals fate…” He walked away.
Canterlot Castle, Greater Canterlot Governate, Equestrian Federation
Princess Celestia was not pleased with the report that came in. A Treasury Ship and the escorts were captured along with the precious cargo. Once again, Nikolaos “Dragon of the Skies” Drakonakos struck. This is the twelfth time he struck, each attack getting violent and brutal. Photos of the attacked vessels showed her little Ponies and Newfoals sliced to death by a sword or shot by his gun. He even wrote a message in their blood in his native tongue called “Greek”.
The pirates never crossed the Pegasus Corridor, the ever-raging storm that connects both worlds. She knew that without the maps, it would be tantamount to suicide.
She decided to do something about it. Her horn glew, levitating a phone receiver. “I want my flagship prepared. I am going after Dragon Nikolaos.”
