Conversion Bureau: ULTOR

Lawful sighed as she rested her head against the iron bars behind her. The rumbling of the carriage caused her cage to shake and rattle every now and again. Bits of her green mane stuck out through the bars and reached for the sunlight outside of the cage not unlike plants would. She looked over to her captors and shuddered.

Strutting about in silver plates of armor with small curtains of white and gold over their shoulders were the Newfoal Guard. Former Human beings turned ponies (if only physically) that served Equestria with unending loyalty and without hesitation. She remembered watching their charge on her former base only hours ago, seeing as they used their own dead as shields to push past the Resistance's lines of fire. She could even recall seeing some of them go in with explosive magic charges to level bunkers in acts of suicidal devotion to the Solar Princess.

Thinking back to her comrades and her old base made Lawful Heart shudder in sorrow, so she tried to change her focus by looking about her surroundings.

The buildings and streets of New Appaloosa were a far cry from the old Equestria that she had signed up to fight for more than two decades ago. The concrete streets and metal buildings were in stark contrast from the hoof-crafted care that went into most housing from before the war. To her left, Lawful could see a massive statue of Celestia holding up the Sun, Moon and Earth atop her horn. Ironically, the town more closely resembled some of those that the Humans had built, mocking the dead species by copying their style of living after eradicating them. And they were the 'monsters'.

How stupid she was to believe the Princess' words alone.

Now here the grey mare sat, awaiting her arrival at the Newfoal station to be brought to nopony knows where to be executed or tortured or likely drowned in the "Cure" until she turned into one of them. She shuddered at the thought of being reduced to one of these husks like she had seen too many times during the Conversion War. Death would have been preferable to literally everyone else.

She looked to her right and sighed as she saw the ponies in town crowd towards the Display (or Television, as the Humans had named them) in the center of the plaza. A pink pony with a straight mane a few shades darker than her coat smiled through the screen as she talked.

"Twelve years ago today, we had finally declared victory in our crusade to convert the vile mutants that plagued this planet into a new generation of ponies that have never stopped in their rightful praise of our goddess, Celestia," she said as images of the final days of the Conversion scrolled about behind her. "They have been ever grateful in their ascension to ponykind as they continue to shape a glorious golden age by Her will and guidance. And ever thankful we should be that She is here to show us the way now, lest we were left adrift amidst the chaos and left like the savages once were. And now here we stand, stronger than ever, united in our goal to step beyond the threshold of what once held us back. Here we are, pure and happy. Here we are, loved and sheltered. Here we are, Equestria, at the gate to a new age of magical breakthroughs and blessings of our Lord. Here we are... in the future."

The moment the broadcast finished, chaos reigned.

The statue that Lawful's captors were walking by suddenly exploded at the base of the alicorn figure's hooves. Marble and bronze showered across the streets as ponies screamed in shock, fleeing from the collapsing statue as it crushed several Newfoals before blocking off the street entirely.

"Weapons free, engage!"

Erratic bursts cascaded from all around, thunder cracking as the Newfoals nearby suddenly burst apart from gunfire, blood and gore littering the carriage as the indoctrinated servants tried to form a cohesive response to the surprise attack. A hail of bullets rained from behind a wall towards a group of Newfoals from the station, forcing them to hide behind the rubble of Celestia's statue before a unicorn could start to fire on his own. His concentration broke, however, when he saw a Resistance Cyberguard bolt over a barrier beside the road, wielding a machete as he raced on two artificial legs. Before the Newfoal could react, the Cyberguard lunged forth and sliced the Newfoal's neck open.

Amidst the ensuing skirmish, a small object of metal hovered before Lawful's cage. It resembled a Parasprite in shape, even more so with its rapidly beating wings. It jutted about around the cage's locked gate before a surge of lightning struck the lock, melting part of it before the rest fell off.

Lawful took the hint and bucked her cage open.

The mare shot out of her confines and ducked behind the carriage as an approaching Newfoal was gunned down by a burst of fire from behind the remains of the statue's base. A Cyberguard with an orange-coated fitting of body armor waved her in his direction.

"This way!" he shouted.

Lawful stuck close to the ground as she heard spellfire being discharged across the street before it was drowned out by automatic fire from another Cyberguard's triple-barrelled weapon. While the Newfoals were under suppressing fire, she galloped out of her cover and went straight for the first Cyberguard. He motioned for her to follow before ducking into an alleyway East of the statue's former base. She followed suit and yelped in pain as she pressed her ears to her head. Looking up, she found the source of the dull humming that threatened to deafen her, and gaped at what she saw.

It was an aircraft similar to what she had seen on Earth during the War, but its rear was glowing and pulsing a light blue while two tubes near the front were gushing with blue flames. A metal rope lowered down to the Cyberguard before he wrapped his artificial fingers around it. The Cyberguard cast her a look and offered a mechanical hand. She saw his mouth moving but was unable to hear anything, but the clues were enough for Lawful to fill in the gap. She rushed to his side and held onto him for dear life as two other Cyberguards, the one with the massive weapon and the one with the machete, gripped two other ropes before tugging on them. The ropes retracted upwards underneath the airship before a ramp opened up right next to them. Lawful was tossed gently onto the metal surface before the Cyberguards piled in. A fourth Cyberguard, a blue-furred mare with the Parasprite thing on her shoulder, shouldered a rifle as she watched their ascent.

"VIP secure, get us out of here!" the blue-furred Cyberguard said.

Lawful was thankful that she could hear again as the ramp closed behind them, the ship lurching as it took off into the sky.

The Cyberguards gave sighs of relief before the grey and orange stallion with the machete pulled out a cigarette.

"Anypony got a light?" he asked.

The larger red and orange Cyberguard shook his head before taking a seat. Lawful looked around the compartment of the ship and saw that a screen lit up near a door on the other side of the interior. She froze as she recognized the face.

"Good job, everypony. We've made some noise and managed to secure Lawful Heart from the Loyalist's grasp. Get back to the Avenger and we can get you a light and a drink."

"P-Princess Flurry Heart?" Lawful said. "I thought you were..."

"Dead?" the alicorn asked with a smirk. "Celestia wishes. I'm my father's daughter, after all. It'll take more than a few brain-dead Newfoals to bring the Resistance down."

\\\//////

"Truly this is a terrifying occurrence on such a meaningful day, but rest assured, Celestia's Chosen and the Newfoals are working ever harder to bring this terror to its end," the pink mare on the screen said before Twilight cut off the power.

She shook her head and sighed as she leaned over her private desk.

'This is what we've chosen,' she thought to herself. 'There are no more options. At least nopony innocent got hurt in the crossfire.'

She sat up and tapped the different etchings in her desk in a code that only she knew of, and the room went dark. A small screen slid up from her desk, dimming out as to not illuminate the mare as she cast a spell to alter her voice.

"Greetings, Commander," Twilight said to the Human on the screen.

"Avenger to Source, we're reading you loud and clear. Mission report is in," the Commander said.

"I've seen it. Excellent work. I trust that Lawful Heart is safe aboard the Avenger?"

"Affirmative. She's down in the Advanced Warfare Center at the moment, looking over her new workstation and double checking supplies. We're currently en-route to the Asian HQ in India."

Twilight smiled. Once they were in what was once India, they'd be able to attack the Therapy Center that was under construction, hopefully pulling some much needed Intel from its ashes.

"Good. I hope to hear more of your exploits in due time, Commander."

"Copy that. Avenger out."