My Little Pony Conversion Bureau Story: Genesis of the Kelpies

Disclaimer: This is a short one-shot recursive fanfiction story based on the Conversion Bureau fanfiction stories which are in turn based on the My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic cartoon series. To be honest, this is more of an idea that I had after reading a few Conversion Bureau stories and my knowledge of mythology. I hope that at least the idea behind the story will be well-received even if I mess up the plot of this one-shot. With that said, enjoy the story and beware of premature ending!

Princess Twilight Sparkle, an alicorn with a purple coat, was having tea with an old friend of hers as she asked, "So, how are the second generation of kelpies doing?"

Sitting opposite of her was an odd bipedal creature with pale-blue skin, scarlet-red hair, yellow eyes with oval pupils, long pointed ears, an equine tail, clawed hands and feet, and was surprisingly human in appearance. Dressed in a simple grey shirt along with a pair of dark-blue jeans and a white lab coat, the creature answered, "They are doing fine so far, although their tendency to abuse their transformation abilities is a bit of a headache."

Remembering the time when her friend, Pinkie Pie, had to take care of a certain pair of baby twins for the first time, Twilight Sparkle giggled as she replied, "Sounds like a problem that Pinkie Pie could relate with. Maybe you could invite her over to help out in raising them."

"I somehow doubt she will be able to do much to help us once those youngsters get into the water."

Hearing Sarah's dry response, Twilight Sparkle had to admit that she had a point. A new kind of pony, kelpies possess the unique ability to freely transform between their elf-like or goblin-like humanoid forms with that of an Equestrian pony. However, their pony forms were rather distinct from the other types of ponies as they possess fins around their hooves, thus allowing them to swim freely in water. Combined with their decidedly terrestrial humanoid forms which are rather "handy", kelpies were quickly accepted as members of Equestria. Besides their ability to transform, kelpies possess not only a strong affinity to water but also a strong affinity to technology.

Thinking about the differences between kelpies with the other types of ponies, Twilight Sparkle sighed melancholically. Noticing Twilight Sparkle's change of mood, Sarah asked, "Are you still blaming yourself over what had happened ten years ago?"

Staring at her teacup, Twilight Sparkle replied, "It was my fault that humanity had no choice but to become one of us."

Having heard Twilight Sparkle's response many times in the past, Sarah wore a reassuring smile as she replied, "Twilight, what happened in the past was an accident that none of us could have expected and it was not the first time in human history such tragedies had happened."

"Maybe so, but it was because I wanted to further my understanding of trans-dimensional magic that allowed the Mana Plague to enter your home world."

Hearing about the plague made Sarah shudder as she recalled its horrific mutagenic effects on humans. A plague which originally came from Equestria, it was basically a local Equestrian pony's equivalent to a common albeit magical flu. However, as the events of Earth would soon reveal, only creatures with magic can eventually recover from the plague or possess the means to cure it. As humans lacked magic, the Mana Plague became a mutagenic scourge like no other which could not be cured by any human means. To make matters worse, the plague could also infect other warm-blooded animals such as birds, horses, dogs, cats, rats and bats.

Faced with the very real danger of extinction, many of the humans blamed the ponies for creating the portal that allowed any Equestrian to enter their world, including the Mana Plague. Twilight Sparkle, being the accidental creator of the said portal, arguably took the worst of the blame. Unable to deny her part in unintentionally allowing the plague to ravage Earth, she worked tirelessly to find a cure for it. It was with the aid of her friends, including the few humans that understood her and knew how to use human technology, that a prototype cure was finally created. However, the prototype was not perfect as it would transform an infected human into a pony-like creature which would eventually be identified as a kelpie's pony-form.

As much as Twilight and her friends tried to assure humanity that the side-effects were unintended and that the test subjects had not lost their humanity, there were some humans who refused to believe them and proclaimed that the so-called cure was in fact a magi-biological weapon designed to turn humans into pony slaves known as newfoals. This inevitably led to further conflict between humans and ponies, leading to events in which ponies were actually forced to kill in desperate self-defence. It certainly did not help that not only were humans discriminating against ponies, the reverse also happened. Mainly nobles such as the unicorn-nobles of Canterlot, they deemed humanity as an inferior race of savages that were better off converted into ponies or simply die off from the plague. Needless to say, both Twilight Sparkle and her closest friends were appalled by their dismissal of humanity. Thankfully, many of the ponies, including the ponies of Ponyville and the ponies of Appleloosa, did not agree with the nobles and were supportive of Twilight's decision to somehow save humanity. That was not counting the support of not only Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Candence but also Discord who all agreed that humanity deserved a chance to live on somehow.

After much research, failure, conflict and heartache, Twilight and her fellow researchers eventually found a way to mitigate the side-effects of the transformation, thus leading to the true genesis of the kelpies that possess the ability to transform between their humanoid and pony forms. Despite the success, there were still many humans who stubbornly refused to accept the cure. While there were certainly those who feared losing their identity and free-will as human beings, there were also those who believed in the superiority of humanity over other living beings including Equestrian ponies. Deciding to respect their wishes in refusing the cure, henceforth known as the "Kelpie Potion", Twilight would have endeavoured in creating a perfect cure had Equestria itself have not been afflicted by a terrible disease which originated from Earth itself.

Believed to be a mutated variant of the original Mana Plague or even the original cause of Earth not having any magic, the Antimage Plague caused infected ponies to slowly lose their magic. Although not immediately fatal by itself, it would cause the ponies to lose their magical abilities which included cultivating crops, controlling the weather, and moving the sun and moon. Needless to say, the loss of pony-magic in Equestria would have been disastrous.

With such a crisis occurring in her own home world, Twilight Sparkle was forced to prioritize finding a cure for the Antimage Plague which did not have a cure at the time. Thankfully, the Antimage Plague was quickly quelled thanks to the aid of both human and kelpie allies who discovered that the plague could only be cured by non-magical means as it feeds on magic to live and spread. Even more fortunate however was the simple fact that only a limited number of ponies in Canterlot were infected which meant a limited spread of the new infection. By using human technology, a vaccine was created to prevent further infection from taking place amongst the ponies.

Eventually, a perfected cure for the Mana Plague was discovered but could only be used on humans and lacked the ability to undo the transformations of the kelpies. As such, infected warm-blooded animals which were not humans were forced to receive alternative magical cures to be saved which led to the genesis of various magical creatures, including magical creatures of the violent sort such as fire-breathing bears, frost-wolves and giant venomous ravens. Thankfully, some of the transformed domesticated animals got along with humans as well as kelpies which were originally humans. However, even the human cure was not without side effects as the cured humans started to wield magic and their descendants showed odd characteristics such as different skin colours and pointed ears. According to Twilight's research into the matter, humans who had not been turned into kelpies would eventually be replaced by what they decided to be known as the fey. Fortunately, while many of the humans were upset that their species would eventually die out, only a few refused to accept that they would be replaced by their own descendants, the fey, which pretty much humans with magical abilities and traits which made them resemble dwarves, elves, goblins and ogres.

While the ecosystem of Earth was devastated and humanity was bound for extinction, human technology was thankfully intact and much effort as made to allow the works of humanity to live on. Of course, there were some types of literature, music and films which the ponies refused to accept for safeguarding and, for some of the said works, many of the humans were either understanding or even supportive of their decision. Some examples included Fifty Tones of Grey which was pretty much a story of romanticized abuse, Sparkling Dawn which featured sparkling vampires of all things, Cannibal Apocalypse which was basically a gore-fest, and songs by a certain infamous singer known as Justin Beeboo. Even fanfiction stories were archived although some were rejected, usually for good reason such as poor writing, terrible plots and downright ridiculous protagonists which were collectively labelled as "Mary Sues".

Of course, human technology was introduced in Equestria as well although there were complications due to the simple fact that ponies possess bodies that were not only radically different from that humans but were also lacking functional hands. It was for this reason that some of the kelpies volunteered to help "ponify" human technology so that they can be safely used by the ponies of Equestria. Not all of the human technology was readily accepted though such as nuclear power which was admittedly dangerous. Among the technologies which the ponies readily accepted were aquaponics which allowed the ponies to rear fish and plant crops at the same time. Although it was certainly true that the ponies do not eat meat and the cultivated crops were limited to small vegetables and herbs, the ability to make quality produce without necessarily requiring expansion of farmland was an attractive notion for the ponies. In addition, the fishes could be exported to omnivores or carnivores such as griffins and the decidedly omnivorous kelpies. From the rumours that Twilight had head lately, Mr Filthy Rich had already established some experimental aquaponic farms in urban areas such as Manehattan. Other technologies which were readily accepted by the ponies included computers, bio-treatment of sewage, and water-desalination.

Thinking about the past, Sarah then said, "As I had said before, it was an accident that no one intended to happen. Besides, all things considered, it could have been a lot worse for everyone."

"Maybe, but I doubt that the remaining humans would ever see me in a kind light."

Unable to fully deny Twilight's statement, Sarah sighed and wondered, "If the plagues had never happened, I wonder how humanity would have ended up like…"

Premature Ending of a Random Idea!

This is my take on the Conversion Bureau story. I originally thought of making the ponies antagonists much like some of the other Conversion Bureau stories but ultimately decided against it. Don't get me wrong, the idea of newfoals mutating into shape-shifting kelpies which a vendetta against ponies would certainly make an interesting story of vengeance and uprising. It's just that I can't bring myself to derail the personalities of the main characters. Also, sorry for ending the oneshot prematurely. It has been left alone for long enough as it is.