The Conversion Bureau: The Palladium Wings

The Conversion Bureau: The Palladium Wings

Chapter 16

Mercy

Ponyville

It was night time and the worst was yet to begin. Whatever survivors were left, they were rounded up into large steel cases.  A Swedish flag with a Jolly Roger flew, waving in the wind.  Several men with G3s, Valmet AK variants, FN FNCs, along with assorted weaponry began to keep an eye on the cages. Some were ignoring the ponies while others were taunting them on how they have fallen.

“Have I failed to entertain you?” A Swede crewman said to a cage that was full of Newfoals. “I mean, what’s the matter? Why aren’t you laughing like before? Is this not fun?”

Another Swede was looking at the confiscated records and was looking at the prisoners in the cages. “Let’s see…Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Big Macintosh.” She lowered the captured records and whistled suggestively at Big Macintosh. “My my, you are really big, and I like them big. If I am lucky enough, I might buy you for myself.”

A Dane man growled. “Olga! Stop harassing the merchandise already, go and check on the rest of the cargo. Captain wants the Native ponies and the Newfoals split.”

The Swedish woman winked at the big red pony and left.

“My daddy is a very powerful pony and he will-…!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” The Finn crewman bursted at Diamond Tiara. “Look at me in the fucking eye you spoiled bitch.” His voice got angrier as the light pink pony stood defiant.  “I’m the one here with the goddamn dick. I rule this kingdom, so shut the fuck up...” He flipped the safety off his RK95. “Or you die.”

“Hey! Leave her alone!” A mint green unicorn yelled. “She’s just a filly! She didn’t do anything!”

The Finn approached the cage. “Do you have a death wish? Do you seek death? Because I can offer you two choices. I can put a bullet in your skull or I pull my knife out, open you inside out and watch as I pull out every single organ.”

“Is this it? Is this what I thought humans are?”

“Lyra, hush!”

“I thought humans were better than this, not these savages that go around and kill everything with a pulse.  I used to think of your kind all the time…and what have we here? Savages! Savages! All of you are savages! And here we are for what?”

The Finn chuckled evilly. “Because little pony, the Swedes here like to hump you, see, way long ago, the Swedes legalized bestiality and then you came, perfect, a little slave trade was created, we raid colonies and capture whatever the others left off to survive, and then we sell you to the highest bidder.”

Lyra gulped.

“Oh don’t worry, realizing that you’re going to suffer a fate worse than death, allow me to euthanize you quickly.”

“Maunu!” A Danish accented voice called. “They want you to execute the Newfoals. Come on.”

The Finn shot a stare at Lyra. “I’ll be back to deal with you later.”

Lyra sighed in relief as the man took off.

Somewhere in the makeshift camp, a group of privateers entered the Captain’s tent. A Swede man yawned as several concerned crew members voiced their concerns, the man heard how they feel being engaged in the Swedish Pony Slave Trade made them feel horrible instead of feeling patriotic towards their home nation and Scandinavia in general.

“She’s right.” A Dane nodded in accordance with what the Icelandic woman said. “We’re better than this, we came to the ship, to you to give us a chance to fight back, but what we are doing is just wrong, we’re no better than them, enslaving them is the worst thing we can do. Have we stooped this low?”

The Swede gave a laugh. “Then how else will you get your pay? Hmmm? You didn’t think of other ways to get the money you wanted? You see all those beautiful little ponies and Newfoals out there? They are worth thousands and perhaps millions. I have customers all over Sweden expecting this shipment, just think of it…top Escudo for them. Saw that red one with the green apple cutie mark? Oh I know he’ll make a fine partner for a customer that will love him.”

“Captain!” A young Swede growled in disgust. “Do you not see what you are doing is wrong!? The Swedish population has been dying out ever since we passed those laws! Diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea , hepatitis, you name them are making a resurgence. And it became worse when the Conversion Bureaus came and dwindled our populations to a mere hundred thousand and still sinking!  Our own government said that in less than 10 years, our culture will be gone…we will be gone.”

“He’s right.” The muscular Norwegian added. “It pities me that our fellow brother will be gone in 10 years. For what? For satisfying those needs? That’s what women are for, not ponies.”

“Captain…” The young Swede said threateningly. “Let the ponies go.”

The man growled at those words. “And lose our profit?”

The Swede pulled out a gun the Captain abhorred to see. It was a Spanish copy of the M712 pistol, this one had gold and silver engravings along with a large 20 box magazine, and it was chambered for a larger 9mm round used by a few weapons such as the rare and valuable Star Z-45 submachine gun. “My pistol says different…"

“Don’t you stand there!” The Captain barked. “Do something!”

The 9 crewmembers did nothing.

“TRAITORS! YOU ARE ALL TRAITORS!”

There were sounds of thundering.

The man went limp. Blood gushed out three holes in the chest.

“Ladies and Gentlemen.” The Swede reloaded his Astra Model F. “It appears that due circumstances and the failure of a peaceable release of the ponies has lead us to move to Plan B.” He turned to his fellow sky sailor. “Can I trust in you?”

“You have my trust.” The muscular Norwegian gave a grin. “We’ve waited too long for this.”

The Icelandic woman nodded. “We cannot fight evil with evil, it’s the right thing to do.”

The Swede grabbed the Captain’s radio. “If this fails, we go weapons free on the rest of the crew, after that, we take over the ship. Clear?”

The group nodded.

“Attention all hands! This is Vice-Captain 3rd Class Gustav speaking.” The Swede said. “Your Captain has been executed for the crimes of involvement in the Swedish Pony Slave Trade and I along a few members of this crew have decided that we had enough of being part of this criminal enterprise. Aren’t we supposed to better than the Equestrians? And here we are, enslaving them and attributing to genocide of the Swedish people: Not one of violence and tyranny, but one based on perversion and unnatural lusts for these beings.” He took a deep breath and resumed. “For years, we have done the immoral thing, even some of you bought ponies to be your personal pleasure slaves, and how the people here with me see it, it’s wrong and sick. We are Scandinavians. NO! We are humans! We are civilized and we are better than this! If you reject what the Captain stands for, remove the patches, the shackles that bind you to the ship and the man who commands it.

The Finn pulled out a combat knife, and began to cut off the patch. It was two crossed pistols with a skull. The rest of the group looked as theirs fell to the ground.

Around the camp, several humans were cutting holes in their sleeves while the others were calling them traitors.

“IMPERIALISTS!” A Swede shouted. “COLONIALISTS!  YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN THEM!”

A Norwegian countered. “ZOOPHILES! YOU SICK FUCKS ARE GOING DOWN ONCE AND FOR ALL!”

Gunfire erupted from all sides.

Gustav holstered his Model F and picked up a engraved model M1887, opening the action, he inserted  5 shotgun shells into the tube magazine.  Grabbing spare shotgun shells, he pocketed them and looked at the group.  “Anna, Artur, Bard, Fridrik, Aki, Akseli, Jonna, Kaija, Petra…are you ready?”

The group nodded.

“Let’s go!”

A Finn without patch pulled out two combat knifes, seeing a few of the Patched Ones, he moved his hands, and blood flew out of the open wounds, splattering on his uniform.  With a cry, the blades lunged into the head of his opponent, and then pulling them out. Unbeknownst to him, from afar, a smile was given followed by a thundering sound from afar.

“SNIPER!”

Another shot from afar was heard.

Gustav flipped a table, bullets whipped past him while the others fired from cover.

One was taken out by a rooftop sniper.

“Aki!” Gustav called. “We need counter-sniping! Kill a sniper and grab his rifle! We need all snipers gone!”

The Finn nodded, reloaded his AVS-36 and dashed off, avoiding gunfire from all directions.  Seeing a Patched One, he raised his rifle and screamed. The Norwegian turned and the heavy rifle clubbed the man’s head. Grabbing the FNC in midair, he pulled on the charging lever and continued to run towards a sniper position.  A group of 5 began to yell insults at him. Putting his hand on the grenade launcher, he pulled the trigger. “FAGGOTS!”

The blast killed the group, he kept on charging.

“YOU’RE DEAD AKI! I’M GOING TO MAKE SURE YOU GET TURNED INTO FISH FOOD!” Another Finn fired his Rk.95.

Aki pulled out a Luger. Approaching his attacker, he raised the pistol and fired a shot into the opponent’s throat.  Getting close to town hall, his eyes scanned the surroundings. A sniper was there, aiming for him.  The sight was on him, the sniper ready to pull the trigger. Moving to the left, the bullet lifted dirt and dusted. The sniper growled as the target moved in a zig-zag pattern, not able to get a lock on him. Kicking the door open, Aki looked around; there was no one in town hall. Going upstairs, he got his gun ready. As he approached the target door, it was opened with a forceful kick, sending him to the floor.

The sniper pulled out his knife and lunged his arm for the stab.

Aki moved out of the way and pulled out his own blade. Blocking his attacker’s blade, he grunted as he tried to push it away. The insane Swede smiled, giving him a murderous state.  Balling a fist, the man delivered a blow to the stomach. Getting up, he twirled his knife and looked at the Swede. “Come on Zoophile! Bring it on!”

Recovering from the blow, the Swede lunged at the Finn.

Aki kicked the man, the Swede was stunned. With a roar, he plunged the knife into the shoulder. The Swede screamed in agony. Pulling  the blade out,  he twirled it and slammed it straight into the throat. Grabbing the knife, it went straight to the skull.  The Swede was trying to move, but couldn’t. He was still alive for the time being.  The Finn pushed the man down the stairs. “Now I understand why you Swedes think Finns carry knives with us…because we’re so damn good, we can come up with a billion ways to kill with it.”

He locked the door. His ears picked up the gunfire. Picking up the rifle, a Model 1896 with a scope, he opened the bolt and saw no ammunition in the magazine or the chamber. Scanning the area, he picked up a box of ammunition and loaded one round into the chamber.  Aki began to scan for any snipers.  Finding one in a house, he positioned the reticule on the enemy’s center of mass and pulled the trigger.

“MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!” A sniper called.  “WE GOT A COUNTER SNIPER! FIND HIM!”

Aki opened the bolt, extracting the spent cartridge and loaded a new one.  Scanning again, a Dane with a damned Krag was aiming at him. Lowering his rifle, he moved out of the way. The bullet hit the wall. Aiming again, the Finn saw the Dane trying to clear a jam on his weapon. “See you in Hell!” He pulled the trigger.

The Dane’s chest exploded into a red mist.

Loading another round, Aki scanned his settings for another sniper. Finding a Norwegian with a Remington Rolling Block with the ladder sight flipped up, he loaded another round and focused on him. The Norwegian saw the Finn through the sights and locked on him. The Norwegian pulled the trigger.  The Finn screamed as he felt a burning pain on his leg. Dropping to the floor, he groaned as he realized that he was hit by a blasted 12.17x42mm RF bullet.  His leg was bleeding wildly. The bone must be broken.

The Norwegian extracted the spent casing and loaded a new one. His thumb pulled the hammer and aimed.

Aki got up and aimed the Mauser at the Norwegian sniper.  Taking a deep breath, everything went into slow motion. His heart was beating slowly…he pulled on the trigger. The thunderous boom echoed.

The Norwegian felt something enter his head. He took a few steps back and dropped, blood forming a pool.

Gustav sprinted towards a cage. Aiming the shotgun at the hinges, he pulled the trigger and worked the action two times.  The door fell to the floor. “Go! Go! Get out of here!” He moved towards the next cage.

Anna reloaded her G3 and switched it to full automatic. Seeing several Patched Ones going over to a cage, she popped out of cover and sprayed 7.62mm slugs at them. The 4 pirates went down with agony written in their faces. A gunshot meant for her missed, taking cover, she slapped a new magazine and returned fire.

Bard fired his dual RPKs at any Patched Ones who dared to oppose him.  With a insane laugh, he mowed down a dozen or so, bullet cases ejected all over the place. “CRY SOME MORE!” He began to walk towards any enemy that dared to oppose him.

Fredrik’s pistol roared several times as the hinges whined. “You are free! Go and leave this place!”

Artur grabbed a Glock 18 with a drum magazine from a fallen enemy. Racking the slide, he fired it at any enemy bearing the Patch.

The freed ponies looked around, human against human. But why?

“YOU’RE DEAD PONY!” An Icelandic Patched one roared as he aimed his G3 at a group of escaping ponies.

Several shots from behind filled the man with holes.

“Get out of here! Now!”  Petra fired her FNC at an incoming attacker.

Maunu came back, this time with a Double Rifle.

Lyra gulped as the Finn raised the weapon.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Maunu turned around. “Kaija?”

Kaija fired her pistol several times.  The Finn roared in pain as the bullets hit his shoulder. The rifle fell.

Looking at her, he pulled out a Mini-Uzi and began firing on her.

The woman took several shots to the torso. She dropped.

The man grinned as he kicked out the pistol away from her hands. “Not today Kaija…” The small submachine gun was lowered into her head. The woman closed her eyes, accepting her fate. Two gunshots were heard, opening her eyes…Maunu had two holes in his head.

Anna lowered her dual P210s, holstering one, she extended her hand to Kaija.

Olga walked towards a cage with a shock collar in her hand.

Gustav fired his pistol at the woman.

The woman groaned in pain. She dropped, blood seeping out of the wound. The man approached the cage and blasted the hinges off.   Go! Leave this place! You are free!”

Big Macintosh looked at the human with a confused look.

“Get out of here! You are free! Free from the shackles of slavery! Just run!”

The morning sun began to rise in Ponyville, dead bodies from both sides adorned the ground with spent bullet cases of all calibers. A few of the men and women were collecting the dropped firearms and their magazines. The faces of the dead gave looks of pain, agony, suffering, but some had faces of peace…some were smiling.

Gustav holstered his pistol and took a deep breath. Picking up a dropped rifle, he checked the magazine and raised it. Firing it 5 times, the weapon was dropped. ; it was thrown away stopping next to the body of a dead man. From the distance, several dropships landed, the insignia of the pirates scratched off to show that their allegiance to their former captain was buried in the past.

As the men and women were ready to board the aircraft, Gustav was stopped by something. He turned around. It was a Unicorn Newfoal, it began to speak in Swedish.  “Because if we did, we’re no better than you.” Gustav replied in his native tongue.  “There’s already a silent genocide…not of violence or tyranny…but one involving selling Equestrians into slavery…disease is running wild and our population is dwindling…did you know about what they said…that in 10 more years…the Swedish  people will be a distant memory.”

The rest of the inhabitants of Ponyville looked at the human and the Newfoal speak a strange language. The human pulled out his weapon and turned it around. “If you feel bitter after this…if you think that I deserve to die for what my former captain did…then I’ll be waiting for that day. It may not be today or tomorrow…but I’ll wait.”

The Unicorn Newfoal looked at the firearm and levitated it with its telekinesis, examining the weapon.  He placed the weapon back in the holster of the man. “No…I won’t go back to those habits…regardless of the actions committed here…you are still savages…with you firearms and your killing for what? To be a hero?”

“Would a mere savage like me saved you all from a life of slavery back at Sweden?” Gustav countered.  “And this is how you repay us? We’re not asking for money or loot, but just a thank you or even a nod of agreement for what we did. Brave men and women here got wounded or killed trying to save you.”

“That won’t change our minds…” The Newfoal Unicorn added.

“I hope one day…you realize what you lost and there’s no way to get it back.” Gustav took off.

The dropships took off for the blue skies.