One day, a floating kingdom named Equestria appeared in Japan, surrounded by a bright barrier that decomposed anything that got too close to it. Time passed by and the barrier started to expand, with catastrophic results if it wasn't stopped. Equestria's ruler, Princess Celestia offered one solution: The conversion from human to pony so they could survive the barrier and live in Equestria. However, the conversion had the tendency to seriously alter the minds of the humans that converted. And Celestia decided that she would make the decision for mankind on that matter.
Thankfully, in this Darkest Hour, a group of rogues rise up once again to defend Earth and defeat Equestria by doing what they do best: Stealing all distorted desires and making the perpetrators confess with their own mouths.
Conversion Bureau: The return of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts is a crossover fanfic between My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (specifically, The Conversion Bureau) and Persona 5 written by ClearlyNotTremor230
. It pits The Phantom Thieves against the forces of Equestria while also trying to find out what's truly behind this conflict. It can be read here.
This fanfic contain the following tropes:
- Amusement Park of Doom: This is the shape of Pinkie Pie's Palace.
- An Arm and a Leg: Akira sliced off his father's left hand to stave off his Pony transformation after some Pony conversion serum got on it. However, while it saved his father, he still needed medical attention to treat the wound where his hand was sliced.
- Berserk Button: Rainbow Dash's Palace annoys Ryuji and seriously pisses off Yusuke.
- Big Bad: Princess Celestia. However, there are clear signs that something else is pulling the strings.
- Big Good: Philemon and the staff of the Velvet Room, as usual in the Persona universe.
- City of Adventure: The form of Rainbow Dash's Palace evokes this, complete with every kind of superhero aesthetic you can come up with.
- Death by Adaptation: Maruki died after being in Shujin not too much time ago (And he was there before Akira arrived). And it was quite the outrageous one.Rarity: I am dragging you all to my Psychologist! You people need to talk with a specialist!
Ann: We kind of had one in our school, but Dr. Maruki didn’t last long.
Akira: Uh? What happened to him?
Ryuji: A week before you arrived a car ran him over. It was not an accident since the culprit drove the car over and over again over his body, then the driver dismounted and pissed on the corpse, spat on it and then drove away.
Rarity: WHY!?
Makoto: Nobody knows, the culprit was never caught, so we don’t know why he did it. - Didn't See That Coming: With the exception of Joker, nobody expected to see Rarity awakening her own Persona.
- Diving Save: When a team of Pegasi barged inside a classroom to convert everyone inside into Ponies, Ryuji ends up saving the teacher Sadayo by tackling her to the ground.
- Expy: Upon awakening, Rarity becomes one for Kasumi/Sumire right down to her outfit, melee weapon of choice and Persona.
- Eyes Do Not Belong There: Fluttershy's Shadow has eyes all over her body in her true form, alluding to the line of "mothers have eyes everywhere".
- Face–Heel Turn: Discord underwent this at some point and had to be resealed with the Elements of Harmony.
- Greater-Scope Villain: There's an entity (likely from the human side) that is partially responsible for the conflict.
Word of God has clearly stated that this is not Yaldabaoth looking for Round Two. - Hidden Depths: While infiltrating Rarity's Palace, Akira and the others, to their utter surprise, discover that Ryuji is an excellent piano player.
- La Résistance: There's a faction in Equestria that opposes Celestia's deeds, led by Lyra Heartstrings, Thorax and Tempest Shadow; with Zecora and Starlight Glimmer standing as moles within Equestria.
- Monster Clown: The initial form of Pinkie Pie's Shadow, combined with Villainous Harlequin.
- My Beloved Smother: This is how Fluttershy's Shadow treats her "beloved dears" in her Palace.
- Perverse Puppet: The true form of Pinkie Pie's Shadow. She even brings some puppet replicas of her friends to aid her in the fight.
- Sixth Ranger: Rarity awakens in her own Palace (which actually turns out to be Nightmare Rarity's) and calls for her Persona, Cendrillion.
- Take That!: The whole reason for Maruki's unique demise long before the story. The writer saw him as something that added nothing to the game other than an extra antagonist, and a lame one at that.
- You Can't Thwart Stage One: In order to infiltrate Princess Celestia's Palace and steal her heart, the Phantom Thieves must strike the Palaces of everypony else, and from all those, the ones of the Mane Six must be the first ones to go, as they will need the Elements of Harmony if they wish to save Earth.
