//------------------------------//
// And It Only Gets Worse From There. 
// Story: My Little Space Empire: Mechs are Magic 
// by Wheezyandbreezy 
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Celestia's schedule suddenly became much fuller after the battle. The worldwide panic had to be quelled, the wounded had to be transported, the damage had to be assessed, a statement had to be made to Parliament, and ten thousand other little considerations that a sovereign has to attend to on a daily basis. Normally much of this headache would have been Twilight's responsibility, but after she had awakened she'd all but shut down. She hung silently in the void, her aura burning brightly. For a whole six days after the battle she hadn't said a word to her friends, or to S.P.I.K.E., or even to Celestia. She just stared hatefully out into the void.

Celestia, despite her immense power, could still only do one thing at one time and unfortunately that created a backlog in the flow of information. A tech who had extremely high priority information kept being elbowed out of the way as Celestia darted from one crisis to another all over the planet. 

The tech eventually got desperate and did something that very easily could've gotten him killed. Celestia didn't necessarily need to sleep and most nights simply chose not to, but every single person who knew the princess knew that there was one time of the day that was sacred to her, a tone that under no circumstances should she be bothered for any reason. If the palace was on fire the standing order was to just let her burn rather than interrupt her in this one little thing she demanded for herself. Her tea time.

The tech lied, bribed, threatened, and snuck, until he had reached Celestia's private study. His breathing was extremely laboured as he stood shaking like a leaf in the wind. He, a low level tech, had just infiltrated the holiest of holies in the Imperial palace. He thought nervously to himself about who else could make it in here if they tried hard enough. His eyes, already wide with terror, opened fully as he heard a murderously calm voice purring with malice. 

"Twenty three hours and thirty minutes." Celestia whispered into his mind. He turned and saw the person who single handedly conquered a planet glaring straight into his soul. He froze in panic. "Twenty three hours and thirty minutes a day, every single day. That's what I give you people. And I ask only one thing in return. Eighteen hundred little seconds. Just a little time to sit and enjoy a cup of tea." She reached out a hand and gently lifted him in her telekinesis and brought him closer to her. "But that's just not enough for you is it?"

By some merciful providence, right then, just as he was about to have unspeakable things done to him managed to squeak, "wefoundhim!" Celestia's eyes went wide and she read his mind. He dropped heavily to the floor. He lay there in quivering terror until Celestia helped him to his feet. She walked him to the door and nodded once before shutting it firmly behind him.

Two of his fellow techs immediately ran up to him and caught him as he collapsed. They congratulated him and promised to make it all better. He whined through his tears of utter relief. "You guys owe me big ti-hi-hime." He had drawn the short straw and was the one chosen to deliver the message to Celestia. They carried him along and promised rewards of controlled substances and sexual gratification.

Rarity's imprisonment on the Damocles gave her a very unique advantage in the cleanup. She knew exactly which vessels were spaceworthy, which were damaged, and what repairs were needed and where. She, with her traditional unbreakable stoicism, handled herself with dignity and grace. . . And cognac. 

She thanked her lucky stars that she had S.P.I.K.E. to keep her company, what with literally all of her friends being out of commission. Poor Fluttershy dead, Applejack beaten to a pulp on Terra, Rainbow practically mad attempting to tear off her mechanical arm, Pinkie as far as anyone could tell turned traitor, and Twilight. 

Rarity sighed as she thought of the woman she loved, so hurt, so lost. She pulled up a view of her. Yes, she was still there, floating in the void, burning like a miniature sun. Oddly enough just as she watched the star grew in luminosity. Rarity leaned closer to the screen then suddenly fell in agony on the floor clutching at her head. Every crewman in the Imperial fleet did likewise as Twilight's roar of impotent rage tore through their minds.

Rarity managed to get back to her feet and looked at the demigod floating in the void. Her rage had slipped into hysterical sobbing and she was slowly returning to the Damocles. Rarity decided to clear the ship all the way from the airlock to her quarters just in case and Twilight floated still weeping to her room. Rarity shook off the last lingering effects of the accidental psychic shriek. Rarity summoned S.P.I.K.E. and loudly whispered, "What the devil was that all about?!"

S.P.I.K.E.'s face was long and he looked up at her sadly. "She just got word from Celestia. . . They found Davenport."

Rarity's eyes snapped open and she grabbed his robotic shoulders tightly. "And?! What's the word? Where is he?" 

"He's dead." S.P.I.K.E. said almost in a whisper. Rarity stumbled backwards in shock and limply fell into her seat. She couldn't believe their misfortune. Davenport had been their only real lead, and now he was dead. His body had been found dead in his home on Terra, and the autopsy showed he'd been in that state since before the attack. They had nothing, no leads, no clues, and an invisible enemy that they had no way to know how many they were or where. Rarity let her head fall heavily in her hands.