The Conversion Bureau: Eleven

The Conversion Bureau: Eleven

By General_H

Chapter 3

“Whoa, buddy! How'd ya fall asleep on that?”

“Not sure, but I slept well.”

“That’s good. I would have difficulty sleeping on a bench that narrow.”

“Surely you remember being able to sleep anywhere when you were my age, Jackson?

“Not really.”

“Hey Dan, how far away are we.”

“About an hour, Chris.”

The crew were overjoyed by this statement, even though it was only the first leg in a tramp across some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth.

“Keep your heads on guys, we still have a ship to steer.”

The crew worked quickly and with renewed vigour with the knowledge that they were on their way to sanctuary.

*

“Celestia, you hath spoken to the Human-foal?”

“Yes Luna. I made little progress. He is loyal and driven. But we have found a lead on where they are going.”

A guard brought in two pieces of jagged metal, along with some other small pieces.

“Our Unicorn researchers have analysed the Kamchatka peninsula. We found one piece of evidence.

These two pieces of metal from a boat that was anchored in the harbour just a week ago had scratching going in the general direction of north, which means that they have migrated south-west."

“But we have scouted the Sea of Japan and its surroundings, and we have seen nothing!”  Exclaimed Luna

“This metal is classic of a hybrid sea vehicle, suggesting that it functioned as a submarine as well as a yacht. That is why you could not find them.

“But where are they heading?”

“We think that they are heading to the other side of the globe, as Twilight Sparkle predicted they would. But something tells me otherwise. I think they are trying to fool us.

“You can’t go running around Kamchatka again, it would be a waste of time. They have already gone. We should search the seas for a vessel, and Australasia any evidence of their existence.

*

“So this is Ayan.”

“Sure is, kid. Looks like heaven.”

The town was snow covered and looked slightly worn. Some houses windows were boarded up. The wind whistling through the city gave it an eerie feeling.

“We can’t hang around for long. Search the buildings in groups of two or three. Don’t stray too far from the boat, or I’ll personally hang you.”

“Dan, just calm down. Nothing is going to happen, this place is deserted! No ponies are here.”

“Kath, it’s for the safety of all of us. Now, get going.”

The crew split into groups. I was with Victor and Alice. We decided to explore an old dock building first. The wharf was covered in ice, too dangerous to venture out onto. We instead broke into a storage room with what looked like an office above.

“Look at all these boxes! I hope they have something we can use.”

The boxes turned out to be mostly junk, but Victor found some boxes of smoked fish.

“This must be preserved pretty well,” James said.

“

Yep, let’s grab it and bring it back to the boat.”

It turned out there were only four boxes, but the three of them still took all of it to the boat.

“That’ll feed us pretty well for a while.”

A yell echoed from further inside the village.

“Who is that? Victor said.”

“It can’t be good.”

“You’re right James, let’s find out what’s going on.

The three of them ran to the source of the noise, to discover that everyone else was there.

“There was a ponification trap,” Said Beatrice, shaking.

“Yeah, scared the shit out of all of us!” Trent exclaimed.

“Alright, we’re leaving now. This place is fucking rigged. Did anyone find anything of use?”

“Yep, Vic, James and I found some smoked fish.  It should be preserved if it’s not rotten by now.”

“Good enough. Have we taken all we need from the boat?”

“I think so,” Said Ahmet, sounding slightly unsure.

“Okay, fine. I’m sick of waiting here. Let’s get going before those four-legged fiends catch up with us.

The eleven humans began their trek across Siberia to the other end of the Earth.

“Our next port of call is Aldan. Hopefully that place isn’t rigged full of traps. We need to keep following this ridge.” Kathy said, studying the map as she walked.

“Right, follow this ridge guys. Be a bit quicker, we have eight thousand kilometres to cover.”