Prologue

From the planet of Equis, Princess Twilight Sparkle watched the stars intently from her telescope. The vast emptiness of space was quiet. The distant stars twinkled from far away, and ships could be seen crossing through hyperspace parsecs away. From Coruscant to Tatooine, the galaxy was massive, and boasted plenty of opportunities for pilots, traders, and other interests, and Twilight knew this. From small starcraft to massive cruisers, spaceships traveled across the galaxy, making an honest living. Or so she believed. The Outer Rim was full of scum and villainy, and they ran the most vile of business: black market, spice dealings, slavery, and illegal arms sales. Nothing at all like Eqius. Equis was a paradise filled with friendly ponies. Twilight had only ever known her life in Equestria, yet craved life beyond her royal library and monarch duties.

Twilight precisely turned her telescope’s aperture with a careful hand, focusing the lens on a passing ship. It was too far out of range to make out what it was, but the thrusters propelling it were unmistakable. It was a set of three large light blue thrusters and four smaller blue thrusters. The silhouette was a triangular-rhombus shape, and it moved slowly across space. Twilight strained her eye, trying to pick out any other discernible details, but without success.

Her ears suddenly flattened a bit. Ponies around Ponyville had described an alien abduction, around the same time a young stallion named Golden Storm went missing. The witnesses described the mothership as a huge triangle with glowing blue circles. A smaller ship was a big white one with a dorsal fin and two massive wings that folded up and down. It was the white ship that did the abducting, and it flew to the triangle ship, the stallion’s panicked mother stated. Seeing the ship now, Twilight worried that the aliens might return to Equestria and abduct more ponies. She watched the mothership intently, relaxing when it jumped into hyperspace.

“As bad as the abduction was, I’d sure love to learn about the aliens,” Twilight murmured to herself. “Talk to them, interact with them...” she paused, blushing a little. “...maybe experience what their reproductive methods are like…” Her thoughts were abruptly cut off by a loud boom from above. She looked up to see another of the motherships in the sky. This time much closer in Equis’s atmosphere. Followed by another. And another. And another and another. Five motherships had exited hyperspace in Equis’s atmosphere. An invasion fleet, Twilight determined. She dropped her telescope, which shattered upon impact with her wooden balcony. She ran outside, her shoes hitting hard against the cobblestone road. Every other pony in Ponyville had gathered at the town square, looking up at the motherships and panicking.

“They’ve returned…”

“They’re going to take more of our children!”

“We’re doomed!”

“Oh the horror… The horror…”

“We’re all gonna die!”

“SILENCE!!!” A booming voice echoed from seemingly everywhere at once. All the ponies silenced immediately, as Princess Luna flew into view. Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence were with her. The Princesses landed in front of the mass of ponies, and Twilight soon joined them.

“These extraterrestrial beings that have entered Equis’s airspace will not be treated with hostility unless they themselves prove to be so,” Celestia stated. “Unfortunately, we have no proof that it was these spacecraft that were involved with the young stallion’s disappearance.”

“So until we are either proven otherwise, we shall treat these beings as welcome guests on Equis,” Cadence said. The ponies murmured to themselves, wondering what would happen.

Meanwhile, on one of the motherships, a figure stood at the bridge, looking down at the planet. He wore a white suit with black boots, shiny metal cylinders in his shirt pocket, and a high rank insignia just below the shirt pocket. His skin and hair were a dark blue, and his eyes were a dark, piercing red. A similarly dressed figure walked up to him. This one wore grey with a cap.

“Grand Admiral?” the second figure asked.

“Yes, Captain?” the first figure asked in a slow, calm voice.

“We have completed our bioscan of the planet,” the captain informed. “Most of the population are anthropomorphic creatures. Just like…”

“Like him,” the Grand Admiral recalled.

“Yes sir. But only about 40 percent of the planet’s population match his genome. It appears that this planet is rather diverse.”

“Exactly as our scouts reported,” the Grand Admiral confirmed. What of the planet’s geography?”

“Equally diverse. There seems to be a fit for every type of creature living here.”

“Excellent. The Emperor will make good use of this place for resources to fuel our industrial operations. Send in the rest of the fleet and begin forming the blockade.”

“And our forces on the ground?”

“He will lead the assault,” the Grand Admiral said. “Patch me through to him immediately.”

“Yes sir.” The Captain left the bridge, and a light blue hologram of a pony officer lit up before the Grand Admiral.

“Grand Admiral Thrawn,” the officer said. “My forces are mobilized and ready to begin the invasion.”

“Well done, Commander Storm,” Thrawn replied. “Snuff out any opposition, but attempt to reason with your people. You know much more about them than I do. However, I would much appreciate a tour in the future, and a thorough description.”

“Perhaps once we have established our factories on Equis,” Storm suggested.

“Perhaps,” Thrawn agreed. “For now, focus on your mission.”

“Yes, Grand Admiral.” The hologram faded, and Thrawn turned his focus back to Equis.

In Ponyville, most of the citizens had returned to their homes. Only the four princesses and several squads of royal guards were present in town square. They waited for the aliens to present themselves.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight worried. What if these aliens are hostile? What then? We don’t know what type of foreign technology they might utilize, or how many of them there are.”

“Calm yourself, Twilight,” Celestia replied. “Whoever, or whatever they are, we will be as friendly to them as anyone else on Equis.”

“If we show no harm, they will bring no harm,” Luna stated.

“Then isn’t it a bad idea to have guards present…?” Twilight questioned. “These things might perceive them as a threat.”

“We cannot leave ourselves unprotected, young Sparkle,” Luna explained. “We will not attack unless they do so first.”

“It’s basic negotiation etiquette,” Celestia said. “I’ll almost guarantee you that these extraterrestrial beings will bring their own security force down to the surface.”

“If you say so, Princess…” Twilight reluctantly agreed. Loud mechanical screams suddenly began to fade into hearing range. The four princesses looked up to see many H-shaped ships fly down into the atmosphere, their loud engines screaming across the sky.

“Are those attack ships?” Twilight asked.

“Possibly,” Celestia replied, a worried hint in her tone. “But they could just be escort craft.”

“The more likely suspect,” Luna agreed. White shuttle craft followed the fighters, soon landing in various spots around Ponyville. One differently designed shuttle landed at a reasonable distance in front of the princesses, it’s loud engines shutting off soon after. A loud hiss came from the shuttle, before a boarding ramp lowered. Slowly. About 15 white armored soldiers with masked helmets hurried down the ramp, standing at attention a few feet from the ramp. Their weapons were, for now, pointed away from anypony. The princesses stood up and walked towards the shuttle.

“This looks like an occupation force…” Luna muttered, suspicious.

“I think you’re right, sister,” Celestia confirmed. “But let’s not jump to conclusions until we’re sure.”

“I have a bad feeling about this…” Twilight worried. They reached the armored soldiers, staying about 10 feet from them. The royal guards followed. The soldiers raised their weapons. Luna, in defense, lit her horn. Her fists lit up with teal fire, and she pointed her hands at the soldiers. The other princesses stepped back in surprise.

“Drop ‘em!” Luna demanded. “I’ll vaporize all of you!”

“We’ll shoot you where you stand!” A soldier retorted. The royal guards ran in front of the princesses and raised their spears.

“Princess, get back!” one of the guards ordered. The tension was high between the ponies and the soldiers. Twilight had hidden behind Celestia, and Luna was ready to kill. Celestia did her best to shield Twilight and Cadence. The two forces waited for what seemed to be forever. A firm voice suddenly cut the silence.

“Troopers, stand down!”

The white soldiers immediately lowered their weapons and stood at attention. The princesses watched as black boots tramped down the boarding ramp. A blue, military trimmed tail swished back and forth. This was a pony with these aliens, and he was on their side. He wore the same grey officer’s uniform, and wore his mane low cut and slightly unkempt. His silvery coat was clean and pristine with militarism. Twilight gasped in shock, and Luna growled in fury. Cadence had taken a step back, mortified, and Celestia stood straight, a steely look in her eye.

“Princess Celestia,” the pony chuckled. “So good to see you again.”

“Golden Storm,” Celestia murmured aloud. “So this is where you’ve been all this time.”

“Serving my Empire, Celestia,” Storm replied. “I traded one monarchy for another.”

“To serve your own personal gains?!” Luna shouted in anger.

“To protect my family,” Storm retorted with defiance. “My home.”

“So what are you here for?” Celestia asked. Luna wondered how she could keep her calm demeanor about her when she was in the midst of a traitor. This stallion was taken from Equestria at only just reaching adulthood, and now he was seemingly reformed to serve these aliens. There was no way this was a willing choice, Luna assumed. He had to be brainwashed, or under a spell of some kind. She decided to make her move.

“To offer a deal,” Storm proposed.

“We don’t make ‘deals’ with outsiders!” Luna defied. She lit her horn with a spell and fired at Storm. The blast caught him off guard, knocking him off of his feet to the floor. The white soldiers all pointed their weapons at Luna.

“No!” Storm ordered, with a mild grunt of hurt. “Hold your fire!” One soldier turned to Storm.

“But sir, she attacked you.”

“Not a word, trooper. Stand down. All of you.” Storm got to his feet and brushed himself off. A large singe had been made in his uniform from the shot. “Always the impulsive behavior, Luna?” he asked. Luna took several steps back in shock. He wasn’t succumbing to mind control. He was legitimately on these aliens’ side.

“I…Impossible…” she stuttered.

“That spell would have worked had I been under the influence of an Imperial truth serum, but I’m not,” Storm explained. “I serve the Empire now, and the Emperor.”

“You traitor!” Twilight screamed in fury. “You were born here in Equestria. Raised here! You had a family that loved you and cared for you! Friends that cared! I cared!” The soldiers raised their weapons, only to lower them when Storm raised his hand in a motion that ordered them to hold.

“Princess Sparkle,” Storm said, with a small sigh. “You don’t think I had regrets? Thoughts about defection to go back to my family? I did, before the Imperial academy beat that out of me. But I chose to leave to protect my friends, family, and home. Unfortunately, sacrifices always have to be made. And unfortunately for you, lives are but one method of sacrifice.”

At this, taller, black armored enforcers stepped out of the shuttle. These enforcers carried different weapons: bigger, scarier; their helmets were of a different design than the white soldiers, and their speech was a mechanical and distorted babble that was completely incomprehensible. They stepped in front of the other soldiers and stopped, weapons at the ready. Storm gestured to Twilight and Luna.

“You two will be most problematic,” he said. “That, unfortunately, is something the Emperor cannot have. However, it is an opportunity to make an example of what happens when the Empire is defied.” The black enforcers raised their weapons. Half of them pointed them at Twilight, the other half at Luna. Twilight’s eyes widened, tears starting to well. Luna’s eyes were full of rage. Storm kept a cold, unfeeling demeanor about him. But there must have been something, because he couldn’t bear to watch. He turned around towards the shuttle.

“On my command,” he ordered, before turning to the soldiers. “Troopers, raid this city and the capital, Canterlot. It’s locked from the outside, but I assume you’re up to it. Keep collateral to a minimum, and set your weapons to stun. I want the ponies alive.” The soldiers ran from the group towards Canterlot, a squadron of the howling H-fighter craft heading that direction as well. Storm stayed silent for a moment, letting the reality of the situation settle in to the princesses. He gave a sigh of possible regret, but his emotions would only cloud his judgement. He narrowed his eyes.

“Fire.”

The enforcers took their shots. Twilight and Luna brought up magic shields to save themselves, but they were too little too late. Several plasma shots pierced their bodies before they could protect themselves, burning holes in their flesh. Twilight’s eyes rolled back as she fell to her side, her soul brutally laid to rest as her body hit the ground with a cold thud. Luna stayed standing briefly, staggering on her hooves. One of the black enforcers walked up to Luna, pointing its weapon at her head and mercilessly finishing her. Luna dropped dead without another word, a large hole burned into her cranium. Cadence gave a scream of anguish, while Celestia held back tears. The black enforcers returned to the shuttle as the boarding ramp closed. The shuttle took off for Canterlot, and more white soldiers rushed onto the scene, taking Celestia and Cadence as prisoners. The Empire had occupied Equis, with minimal casualties, but without mercy or regret.

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