The Conversion Bureau: The Palladium Wings

The Conversion Bureau: The Palladium Wings

Chapter 5

Cherub Chess

Any nation with a high pony to human ratio is now a Equestrian Colony. All remaining humans must either convert or leave!

Breaking news! The hijacked yacht of the Equestrian Princesses has been rammed into a Migration Capsule! 100 million newfoal lives were lost!

WE ARE HUMANS! WE WERE PLACED IN THIS EARTH BY GOD TO TAME AND MASTER THE ELEMENTS! THESE PONIES HAVE COME TO DESTROY US ALL! LET IT BE REMINDED THAT WE WERE HERE FIRST AND AS GOD AS OUR WITNESS WE WILL NEVER FALL!

HUMANS! LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND REJECT VIOLENCE! A UTOPIA AWAITS YOU! COME TO US AND LIVE AWAY FROM THE DECEIT AND LIES OF YOUR GOVERNMENTS!

The Middle East has been lost, save for Israel and Lebanon. Thousands of surviving refugees are arriving to escape the persecution of humans by the Equestrians.

THERE’S SHIPS COMING OUT THE GIANT CLOUD WHIRLPOOL!

Nikolaos opened his eyes, breathing heavily.  The radio voices were finally silenced by the surroundings of reality.  Looking at the window, all he could see was the night skies and the cloud ocean that accompanied it. Memories of the past were reflected on the window, all to remind him of the dark times, when many were kicked out to make room for the pony settlers.

Pulling out his bouzouki, the strings were plucked one by one.  They all formed a sad melody, the only way for the Maniot to release his inner pain that plagued him to no end.

As the sun rose, no doubt the act of Celestia, Nikolaos silently cursed her for all she was and represented.  Heading to the bridge, he saw the bridge crew preparing for new orders to start the day. They all saluted as he sat down on his post.

*Canterlot*

Celestia and Luna walked down into a sector of the castle that only a few had access to. Walking down a flight of stairs, they were in a garden full of roses. In the middle of the garden was a large wooden X with something that made Luna sick.  A human male had his hands and feet nailed shut. He was starved, becoming nothing but a pile of bones. His head was down, soft breaths entered and escaped.  Camo pants were ragged and torn as the time went on.

“W-what is this!?” Luna demanded.

“A former pirate we captured many years ago.” Celestia explained. “What you see here is what they called a crucifixition, they would execute criminals like this in their ancient times and I’ve taken a… fondness for said method. It fits the punishment, and once all the human pirates are captured, they will follow suit.”

The man slowly raised his head, struggling to look at his captor.

“Come pirate, there is no need to pretend to struggle.” Celestia said mockingly. “If you could survive these 6 years here, then you must have the strength to face me.”

“What….strenght... all….of…it…gone….” The man said weakly, his vision slowly fading. “God…please…have…mercy…”

“You’ve put up quite a resistance here…” Celestia commented, admiring the man’s willpower over the doom that was taking his life away.  “But rethink of my offer. Tell me everything I want to know and I may let you live.” Her horn began to glow, bringing a bottle of serum into his face. “All your pain and suffering can end here and now. Just give me what I want.”

The man used his remaining strength to spit on her face.

Celestia cleaned off the spit. “Come Xander Rowe,”

Xander went limp.

Celestia knew what to do. Approaching him, her lips meet his. Her horn was glowing, brightly. As she kissed, her horn tugged something from whatever it was that was pulling the man’s essence away. Putting it back on the body, the man’s eyes slowly opened. “L…et….me….die….I…b…eg…of…you.”

“I cannot let you die after 6 years of trying to break you.” Celestia said with a motherly tone. “Why not end all this and be reborn? Be free, start a new? I could even offer you a life as an alicorn, to be my husband and we live happily ever after.”

Xander shook his head. “Suf…ferred….6…years…it…will…end…”

“Think of the new life ahead of you.”

“Then…I…am…doing…a deal…with…the…Devil…” Xander replied.

Celestia frowned. “Ah yes…the fallen angel that tried to rebel against your God and was cast down to burn in your version of Tartarus…were the wicked souls are punished. Only thing is, your God is nowhere to be found. All your holy books are nothing but tales written to keep humans in check and shackled to beliefs.” She felt the man’s wish to die, but her horn tapped his heart. His life extended for a week. “But make no mistake, we are not…demons or fallen angels as you claim. We wish to help you live the lives you all deep inside wanted. We offer that life, and all you have to do is abandon your humanity.”

“At the cost…of…soul…damnation…fire…brimstone…” He closed his eyes.  “Go…to..hell…”

Celestia frowned. “I’ll give you time to think of my offer. One week  to live, enjoy it while you can.” She left.

Luna looked at the human with concern. “What…did she do to you?”

*Skies of the Republic of Yucatan*

Mexican Republic Air Navy Ships approached the Yucatan Peninsula. Their shells began to fire out against the enemy ships that were on patrol. Seeing the enemy ships, the Yucatan ships turned their cannons towards the incoming fleet, pumping out shells rapidly.

“Traitors of Yucatan!”  Mexican Admiral Escudero said over his flagship’s radio. “You have kept us busy long enough but now your end is at hand!”

“No quarter!” Fleet Commander Ludovico of the 324th Yucatan Fleet exclaimed. “Show these dogs we mean business!”

Explosions dotted the skies .

One shell from a Mexican battleship impacted the middle section of a Yucatan battleship.  The crews screamed as the ship tore into halves.  “Enemy battleship has been sunk!”

“Commander! We have lost the Espada Maya!” A voice howled on the PA.

The Yucatan Commander growled. “That was our best ship…” Looking directly into the attacking Mexican fleet, he knew this was his shine to chance. “All ships! Battle formation V! Break through their centers!”

The Yucatan Battleships formed large Vs. The Star Swirl Units began to pump their energy through the piping, the engines receiving a boost. The battleships propelled through the skies, firing at their opponents rapidly. Smoke came out of the damaged Mexican battleships, but they refused to go down, returning fire.

After several hits, the Mexican Battleship Cristero sunk into the land below. The crews saluted the dying ship as an explosion was seen. Orders were being shouted across the ships.

The Mexican riflemen prepared their FX-05 assault rifles for short range combat. Small hatches opened up on the enemy ships, revealing unicorns wearing Yucatan Navy uniforms.  Their horns began to give a threatening glow. “SHOOT THEM!” A Mexican rifleman fired his rifle in semi-auto.  One unicorn was killed, but the rest released blasts of magic towards them. The rifleman screamed as the magic bolt pierced his body, ending his career as a warship sailor.

“Admiral! They are using Unicorns to repel our riflemen attacks!” The Ship’s Observer said over the PA.

“I want all available snipers to pick off the unicorns at a safe distance, all riflemen are to engage whatever enemy sailor or unicorn at close range!”

Mexican Airship Sailors carrying assorted scoped rifles began to climb up to the higher levels of their ships. With their scopes fixed on the position of the unicorns, their spotters began to give out the adjustments for windage, elevation, and bullet drop compensation. One spotter called out a unicorn, the sniper pulled the trigger. Cycling the old Argentine Mauser, the scope continued to scan for any enemy attackers.

A Yucatan Unicorn Sailor released a comet of magic towards a Mexican battleship. The ship exploded in midair, whatever remained of it went down below.  One of the Mexican snipers saw the offending unicorn, in a rage, the scope’s reticule locked on its head. “I’ll see you Hell….you monster.” The rifle roared once, his hand cycling the bolt of the Arisaka rifle.

The shelling continued, ships from both sides were giving it their all.

Three Yucatan battleships were destroyed. But the barrage was getting furious and violent.  Shells and magic blasts flew towards the Mexican ships, damaging or destroying them.  It all appeared hopeless for the attacking fleet. The Admiral closed his eyes and got his hands together and did what he didn’t do in a long time. Despite that he wasn’t much a religious man, he began to pray for a miracle.

Outside the combat sector, an Old Equestrian Battleship was cruising in full speed.  The Ship’s Spotter announced that up ahead there was a battle between Mexico and Yucatan. The captain of the outdated yet upgraded ship ordered the Mexican flagship to be hailed.

“Crimson Lightning? Admiral! It’s the Wonderbolts!”

“Team Wonderbolts, ready for duty.” Spitfire saluted.

“Ah leave these losers to the pros, we’ll beat them in no time.” Soarin commented.

The human crew members of the ship looked at Soarin while the Helmsman steered the battleship towards the combat zone.  “We are glad to see you Team Wonderbolts, we are trying to do a hit and run on the Yucatan Peninsula, but this fleet is getting in our way. We need you to destroy most of their offensive firepower.” Admiral Escudero explained. “We’re counting you Team!” The radio channel went silent.

The Wonderbolts prepared for the mission. The hangar crews were giving them their weapons. Twin saddle mounted dual gun system, a long machine gun barrel with a rocket launcher under it.  An earpiece was placed on their heads.  The hatches on the hangar deck opened up, the pegasi took flight towards the combat zone.

Shell and small arms fire dotted the skies.

“All Wonderbolts! Avoid the naval fire! Head for the offensive ships!” Spitfire ordered.

“Here we go!” Rapidfire said as he maneuvered out of the weapons fire path.

The pegasi were avoiding shots from both sides.  To the Wonderbolts, it was a thrill to be here. The adrenaline, the skill to survive a fully fledged naval combat between ships.  The radio lines of the mercenary pegasi team chirped. “Alright you guys! We found the enemy ships. Split up and take it to them.  Spitfire, Soarin, Fire Streak take the left side.  Silver Lining, Rapidfire, Lightning Streak, hit the right. Everyone strike now!”

“Alright! Hit them hard and don’t hold back!” Fire Streak turned to the left, doing a barrel roll in the process.  Spotting a Yucatan battleship, he entered the midsection truss that connected the ship. A pair of rockets were fired against the Star Swirl Unit. Seeing fire and smoke escape from the piping, he accelerated. The ship was torn in halves, the remaining crews screaming as they plunged down below.

Soarin flew up, avoiding machine gun fire at all angles. “IMMELMANN TURN!” He cheered as he performed the move, firing the twin machine guns at the crews on the deck of the ship.  As he entered the truss, he spotted his target. A salvo of rockets exited the barrels, hitting the exposed Unit. With a large smile on his face, he turned around and exited. The ship exploded from the inside out

.

“Excellent! The Yucatan Fleet lost 60% of its offensive power!” The tactical analyst radioed.

The Wonderbolts regrouped.

The Yucatan Fleet was panicking at the loss of their six best ships.

“COMMANDER! IT’S THE WONDERBOLTS!” The Yucatan First Officer yelled.

“THOSE TRAITORS-TURNED-MERCENARIES!? I WANT ALL SHIPS TO PLUCK THEM OUT OF YUCATANESE SKIES!” Commander Ludovico’s eye’s turned blood red.

Yucatan sailors of both species began to open fire on the Wonderbolts. “DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY!” A Yucatan human sailor howled in Spanish as pulled the trigger of his rifle at the pegasi.

Machine guns started to pump lead towards the 6 pegasi.  It wasn’t enough to bring them down, the whines of metal echoed, the artillery cannons turning to their direction. A few shells detonated in midair, but they dodged swiftly.  “Try not to get hit by stray bullets, I think we just angered them.” Spitfire said.

“We should paint a few of their ships for Gunnery to take them down.” Rapidfire thought out loud.

“Good idea! Split up and fire a red smoke rocket at the ship.” Spitfire ordered.

The pegasi split up, dodging every attack the Yucatan threw at them.  A pair of rockets exited the launchers, stacks of red smoke rose into view of the distant Old Equestrian Battleship.

“We see the targets!” A female voice exclaimed. “What type of shell?”

“Rainboom Shell!” Spitfire replied.

The gunners began to load silver shells into the bores of the cannons.  The gunners began to calculate the shells path and range. Green lights buzzed, indicating the men and women to open fire. The cannons roared as rainbow smoke hissed out of the bores as the casing was extracted.

A Rainboom Shell was like a standard explosive only that its core was full of weaponized magic. It can be either an impact or time fused. The shell was developed by several defector unicorns and a joint team of human scientists who wanted a way to override a Star Swirl Unit, if that failed then the Sonic Rainboom’s shockwave would damage the ship, creating heavy damage to the hull or weapon systems. If any unlucky soul was caught in the middle of the blast, they’d be thrown off the ship or have every bone in their bodies turned into dust.

One of the shells impacted the Yucatan ships. The colorful explosion made the Star Swirl Unit go haywire. The engineering crews panicked as they did all they could to stabilize the Lunastium from going explosive. It was all in vain as the insides were consumed by fire.

Around the skies, Rainbooms were seen by the people below.

A shell detonated above a Yucatan ship, the colorful wave sliced through the armor plating. Several explosions escaped the insides of the ship, the ship was torn in halves. Nothing but scrap metal to be consumed by the winds.

Commander Ludovico’s face turned pale at the destruction of his fleet.  His officers begged for a retreat, but he was silent,  his mind could not process what happened. Spitfire fired at smoke rocket at the bridge. The projectile shattered the glass, entering and releasing the purple smoke that called it out to the guns of the enemy.

“COMMANDER!” The Helmsman cried. “COMMANDER! WE HAVE TO MOVE OUT!”

There was a sound of thunder.

The silver-hued shell hit the bridge.  It bounced then rolled to the man’s feet. Seeing the fuse slowly chiming, he laughed insanely.  A colorful flash consumed him followed by screams that begged for mercy.  The Yucatan flagship was consumed by fire as it sunk into the ground. The remaining Yucatan ships began to retreat, fearful of the Wonderbolts secret weapon.

“We got a message from the Mexican Fleet: Thank you for the assistance, we were getting worried about losing the fight and entering the Yucatan territories. We will discuss payment for your services the next time you stop by Durango. Signed, Admiral Escudero.”

The Wonderbolts headed back to their ship.

The Mexican Fleet began their incursion into enemy territory.

Cairo, Egypt

The city of Cairo has changed since the Colonization of Equestrians. The desert now bloomed, capable of sustaining life. The Nile River still flowed, giving life to the new Egypt. The ruins of old were destroyed per a Royal Decree, no memory of human presence in Egypt is to be left standing. The Sphinx, the Pyramids, and all other achievements by the Ancient Egyptians were destroyed by the ponies.  Gold and Jewelry was given to Celestia as a tribute, while the mummies of kings, queens, and other important members of society were destroyed. All places of worship were defiled, either destroyed or being converted into temples for the ponies to worship their deities as they pleased.

The Chimera along with the Iskander were preparing for the raid against Pony-occupied Egypt. Dropships were warmed up, their engines purring. The Armorers were handing out guns and their corresponding ammo.  With their guns in place, the raiders boarded their dropships and loaded their guns.

They launched from the airships and into the city below they went.

Nikolaos extended the M4-style stock on his AK-47; his raiding crews were fiddling with their own guns. Calling his crew, he gave them a short Maniot blessing.

The dropships landed.

Nikolaos pulled out a walkie-talkie. “Commence firing!”

From the skies, thunderous sounds filled the air. Shells of all calibers rained down on the pony city. Panicked screams along with fear came into the minds of the ponies.  Gunfire erupted in all corners, Guardsponies began to respond to the panic.

“BELONGINGS! NOW!” A Iskander Privateer threatened by poking the unicorn stallion with the blade of his rifle’s bayonet.

The stallion refused.

The Lebanese rammed the bayonet into the eye of the pony. The pony screamed violently as the blade was plunged deeper. Pulling it out, the rifle cracked once.

A Chimera Privateer pulled out a Kilij, twirled it, and then slashed a mare’s face.

A Unicorn Guard fired off blasts of magic towards an Iskander Privateer. The Lebanese woman was pushed off by the blast. From the distance, three privateers unloaded their magazines content into the stallion. They reloaded and continued their attacks into the city.

A Chimera kicked the door open. Entering the house, he began to search for anything of value.  Pulling drawers, he began to rifle through the belongings, only finding jewelry and some spare bits. Something walked down, turning, his purple eyes locked into a single pegasus mare of purple coat and orange mane. “WHAT THE!”

The black-clad man pumped his M1897. The sound made the pegasus flinch. “I want your belongings! Anything of value?  Do you have a filly or colt?”

The mare nodded.

“Valuables or I’ll take them.” He aimed the shotgun at the head of the mare. “Don’t try anything funny.”

The mare guided him to a safe.  Blasting the hinges off, he collected everything inside. Turning to the mare, she was shaking from the loud blast. “Are you going to kill me?” She asked.

“No.” He shot the forelegs.

The mare screamed as she dropped to the floor, the pain was something she never experienced.

The spent shell was ejected, rolling towards her. She curiously looked at the red cylinder as it stopped right in front of her.

Nikolaos whipped out his Tokarev pistols as charging Guardsponies approached him. 8 Earth Ponies, 5 Pegasi, and 2 Unicorns wanted to die. The left pistol shot first, the butter yellow Earth Pony dropped dead. The others ignored the death of their comrade, charging him at full speed. Taking a deep breath, the man could hear his own heart beat. Slowly raising his pistols, he fired them multiple times as the bullet cases were ejected.

The Guardsponies dropped, except for the last pegasus and three Earth Ponies.

Nikolaos pulled out his knife, sprinting towards the Earth Pony Guards.

The Pegasus Guard crossed his forelegs and tackled the Maniot from above.

“CAPTAIN!” An Albanian Chimera fired her AK-74 at the Pegasus Guard. Seeing the pony’s body full of holes from the bullets, it dropped dead. Aiming her rifle at the Earth Pony Guards who got ready to stomp on the Greek, she pulled the trigger. A loud empty click entered her. They were getting ready to stomp. Pulling out her Makarov, she pulled the trigger several times.

The Earth Pony Guards gave a moan of pain followed by their bodies dropping.

The Albanian woman offered her hand to the Greek. “Are you alright Captain?”

Nikolaos took her hand as she helped him get back up.  “I’m alright, thanks for the assist.” Picking up his AK-47, he sprinted off towards a building.

Shells continued to rain on the city. Fires were spreading as shells detonated.

An Iskander Privateer slashed his Shamshir violently towards a stallion, the blood flying off the wounds. The pony tried to ram him, but the blade cut his throat open. A pool of blood formed next to the body. Twirling the blade, he ran towards a Unicorn guard. Raising the blade, it was brought down with brutal force, the horn was destroyed.  Seeing the dead body, he removed the armor and examined it.

Nikolaos pulled out his walkie-talkie. “That’s enough shelling for us. Let the Maronites have their fun.”

“Roger.” Came a voice from the other line.

Nikolaos smiled at all the destruction. Seeing a pony struggling to move, he looked down at it. Tears of fear and terror drenched his face. The mare wrapped her hooves on his legs. “HELP ME PLEASE! MY FOALS ARE IN THERE!” Without a moment to spare, he pulled on the charging lever of his weapon, aiming down at her head. “No…NO! NO! NO! HAVE MERCY!”

“That was for all of Greece.” Nikolaos lowered the rifle.

One of the Iskander Privateers pulled out a Jericho pistol and shot the keyhole. Entering, he heard several noises from the closet. Opening, he found a family of Earth Ponies, each one holding their fillies and stallions in a tight embrace, sobbing out of fear. Leaving them, he began to scour for any valuables.  Opening a drawer, he found a Fire Ruby necklace. Commenting in his native Arabic, he pocketed the jewel.

A congregation of ponies hid in a Sun Temple, the humans would not dare attack this place.  A few were praying to Celestia to watch over them.

Several loud bangs were heard. Voices in a unknown language got louder followed by blasts of gunfire. The door was kicked open, the Lebanese Maronites looked at the temple dedicated to Celestia. One of them balled a first of anger. “HOW DARE YOU!” He yelled in heavily accented English, raising his Galil rifle at the fearful worshippers. “HOW DARE YOU COME HERE AND CONVERT A HOUSE OF GOD TO A TEMPLE OF YOUR HEATHEN IDOL!”

The ponies began turn pale, trying to find a justification.

“IF ANYONE DEFILES THE HOUSE OF GOD, LET IT BE PAID WITH BLOOD!” The man fired a single shot into one of them.

One of them dropped dead.

Dropping the rifle, the man pulled out his Shamshir. With a war cry, he slashed the ponies until they were nothing but a bloody mess. Walking up to the altar, he smashed the statues of Celestia into the floor. The stained glass windows of her, her sister, and the so called Elements. Picking up his assault rifle, the bullets destroyed the windows as he screamed in rage. Bullet cases fell to the marble floor to no end until the gun gave the signature click.

The rest of the Maronites saw their comrade kneel to the floor, shaking from all the anger and disgust of the sight.

The Chimera and Iskander Privateers continued their raid on Cairo.

Sacks full of valuables were stuffed, while others carried the colts and fillies into the dropships.

Three hours later, the colony city was nothing but a citadel of death and destruction. The last fires were dozed off by rain brought by the weather team.  The survivors looked at their destroyed homes and businesses while others struggled to get up.  A few mares cried, the separation from their young ones brought great distress. One of the surviving Earth Pony Guards placed his hooves on his face, to him, the whole world was a blood red with burning pegasi feathers. Covering his eyes, he screamed while the others went to comfort him.

Canterlot

“Princess Celestia. The Ambassadors of the Diamond Dog Confederacy, the Kingdom of Skiri, and the Scylas Federation wish to have an audience with you.” Gold Scroll said.

Celestia nodded.

“What you did a few days ago was nothing but a barbaric act. We never broke part of the deal with you so we want to know why did you recall several Units in a single day?” The Scylatian Ambassador demanded. “We pose no threat to Equestria whatsoever.”

“The Diamond Dog Confederacy extended a paw to help the Gryphons with their ecological crisis, surely helping out our neighbors is a sign of friendship isn’t it?” The fox-like Diamond Dog asked. “Unless we are mistaken.”

Celestia just listened to them, ignoring the key essentials.

“Princess Celestia, the Council of Skiri and the Senators of Scylas want to end the dispute for the Dragon’s Maw Islands which our nations are in dispute.” The Skirian Ambassador said. “We understand that it is your territory marked on your maps but to us, it split between the two nations. We ask that we may pipe the fresh water into our lands until the ecological crisis is settled.”

“No.” Celestia said coldly.

The three recoiled, as if the word was a direct physical assault.

“What!?” The three gasped.

“You see…” Celestia got up, walking around the three. “If I let your kind eat and drink whatever you pleased, you’ll multiply and breed like rabbits. A huge Gryphon and Diamond Dog populace would be a threat not just to Equestria but to World Order as we speak.”

“You can’t do this!” The Scylatian Ambassador exclaimed. “Millions will die of starvation and dehydration! Our peoples are suffering, we are losing our workforce! Our economy will be down we might never recover!”

“I can see that…” Celestia kept circling the three. “But… this world is mine.”

The three turned pale.

“This world and the world beyond the Corridor are mine. They belong to me and my little ponies. I can go wherever I want whenever I want.”

“This is an act of war!” The Diamond Dog Ambassador cried. “Madness! How dare you say the world is yours! ?  OUR world belongs to YOU!?”

“War?” Celestia burst into laughter. “You can’t do nothing! I have been benevolent enough to lend you my Star Swirl Units for your ships to fly. I image it must be sad to fly on a pair of wings that can be clipped any time soon.”

“You monster!” The Skirian Ambassador growled.

“Monster?” Celestia gave another laugh. “What about you? Your kind reminds me of the humans. Filthy and brutal, you’re willing to sell your kind for money or even exploit them, or discriminate them based on their appearances.”  She looked at the three and flashed a sinister smile. “Oh I know! Perhaps we can ponify your kind. That’ll end our disputes and the world will be a better place.”

The Scylatian turned red at those words. “Hypocrisy! Racism!” He pointed a claw at the angel white alicorn. “You speak of friendship and how we should help one another. The Diamond Dogs give us a hand and you recall many Units because they were helping us with foodstuffs and drinking water. But you didn’t see that act, does friendship apply to you only!? Or your blasted little ponies!? I have NEVER in my life serving the Federation seen such hypocrisy! The Chancellor and the Senate will hear about this!”

“So will the Council.” The Skirian added.

“The Diamond Dog Representatives will also hear this.” The fox-like Diamond Dog said.

“Go ahead and tell your leaders about this. I have felt my benevolence has long expired.” Celestia said with a threatening tone.

“But mark my words Pony!” The Scylatian balled a fist, pointing his index talon at the Equestrian Sovereign. “Your kingdom’s might shall be broken, never to be restored ever again! No empire stays forever, for as the pillars of an empire will crumble as they age.”

“We’ll see about that.” Celestia gave a sneer as the three left. She turned to Gold Scroll. “I want the Units recalled for the ships that brought them here.”

“But…”

“Do so.” Celestia interrupted. “Right now, we have plans to ponify the last of the human nations and they will NOT get in my way.”

“As you wish Your Highness.” Gold Scroll gave a submissive bow and left.

Luna managed to sneak in some bread and milk for the human.  “Shhh…thou shouldn’t speak. Eat.” She levitated the freshly baked into his bread. The man began to wolf down on it, she could see how desperate he was after 6 years of being tortured like this. The Princess of the Night understood the man was a pirate, but this was against everything Equestria was established on. She couldn’t imagine seeing him nailed shut… she knew that this was a punishment executed in the Antiquity Period of Human history and the man from Nazareth who died this way and resurrected. Was Celestia making a mockery of the man’s beliefs?

Levitating the bottle of milk, she placed it on the man’s mouth. The container was empty in a matter of seconds.

“You poor thing…” Luna commented.

“I… don’t…. want…your…pity.” Xander said looking at Luna.  “I will…die… after being tortured like this… I will finally rest from …. This pain…and suffering.”

“Don’t say that…there’s hope for saving thine life.”

“If there is... then that… hope…is…false…”

Gobi Desert

Shining Armor and Cadence were sipping from the tea that their Russian host served them. Cadence’s eyes diluted from the flavor of the beverage, gulping it all. Shaking, she gagged. “Too…strong…” A blue aura wrapped the spoon which added more sugar into the cup

.

Grozny chuckled. “It’s a start, your body will get used to it.” He took a sip. “By the way, I managed to translate the map Cadence handed over to us.” He pulled out a sketched out map, where the Dragon Runes used to be, it was all replaced with English. “And they said this hobby of mine would get me nowhere.”

Cadence looked at the work in progress. “Amazing, you even translated the names of the countries and routes.”

Shining looked at the map. “Not bad for a human.”

“But something got me.” Grozny pointed at what seemed a triangle in the middle of the Corridor. “This area is known as the Star Swirl Triangle. What’s with that?”

“That area is to be avoided at all costs.” Shining explained. “From what Princess Celestia told me, there’s a lot of magical energy which disrupts a Star Swirl Unit. There is no way to cross that area without the Unit shutting off.  It was created originally to prevent Human airships from getting close to Equestria should they try to attack.”

“A death trap basically.” Grozny rubbed his chin.

Shining nodded.

“Also,” Cadence added. “Any news on benefactors who want to take us in?”

The Russian man thought for a few seconds. “We got three who would like to take you in. One is the Wonderbolts, they defected long ago and became mercenaries. The second option is that the British would like to have you over; they have a few questions relating to intelligence. The last option is the Chimera who would like to have you as special guests.”

Shining’s eye twitched at the mention of the ship.

“Something wrong? Cadence asked with concern.

“Hearing that name makes my blood freeze. I had an encounter with the captain of the ship not long ago. He’s a sneaky violent one.” He said as he flashed back to that day. How he got his gut stabbed by the blade of the knife, how he prepared to execute Celestia with his weapon.  He never hopped to hear or see him again.

“You don’t know Niko well.” Grozny defended.  “He may be a violent person, but deep inside, he’s a kind person. He uses the whole Dragon of the Skies thing to make himself look fearsome to the pony colonizers. But you can depend on him.”