My Little Space Empire: Mechs are Magic

by Wheezyandbreezy

. . . And That's Where The Story SHOULD End

The fleet stayed in orbit for two Terran months, ridding the Pomum system of slavers and pirates. Strike Team Sparkle had been organized to fight groups of pirates in the void and make it unprofitable to raid convoys, While diplomatic teams would work with planets local governments to enforce the laws, but with Twilight's ascension they now had someone who could see into the hearts and minds of an entire planet at once. She could literally tell who was and was not guilty from space.

Celestia insisted that those accused be found with sufficient evidence for a criminal court to convict. Twilight and Celestia extensively discussed what to do with the accused. Twilight remembered Rainbow Dash, and argued for leniency. It was decided that those in a position of leadership would be executed, but slaves, and those forced into service under duress would be examined by psychics to determine degree of guilt and punished accordingly.

The various diplomatic corps found sufficient evidence to convict three planetary governors, seventy four imperial magistrates, five thousand one hundred and nine pirates in just six weeks. Fifty thousand slaves were freed from their transports, and the destination logs were captured intact. It took all of Pinkie Pie's love to calm Twilight's fury at the evil she was uncovering.

Applejack had her family's lands declared as her fief, and she was named the official ambassador of Pomum Dulce. She and Twilight argued for hours about what changes to the planet's culture and governance were appropriate. It was left almost entirely alone, but one single imperial bastion was permitted to be established on the planet. A massive telecommunications agreement was reached and FTL broadband would finally be made available at a loss in exchange for a generous tax break from the Imperial government.

The knights of Strike Team Sparkle were given a crash course in Dulcean culture, including but not limited to mud rastling, skeet shooting, and mudding. Rarity was given a thorough explanation of Dulcean clothing style and had S.P.I.K.E. draw up a complete outfit for her to make in her spare time. They saw Applebloom sparingly. Applejack asked to be able to hunt her down and make her explain her behavior, but Twilight insisted she be left alone.

Big MacIntosh cried like a baby when Twilight presented the Apple family with five brand new cargo mech suits. They were all armored and armed in addition to being functional for harvesting tens of thousands of apple trees. A week before they left the newest addition to the Apple clan was born. Applejack cried when she was told her name would be Apple Smith.

Pinkie Pie and Sugar Belle had a long but polite debate about apple based confectioneries that ended in swapped recipe books and an agreement to hold a moratorium on the subject in five years time. The fleet restocked on everything the fledgling system could responsibly spare and the system gained the single largest economic and technological boom in its history.

Applejack left a single yellow rose on Granny Smith's grave and said goodbye. Her conversation with Twilight in orbit had helped her to come to terms with her passing. She smiled as she gave Winona one last goodbye scratch behind the horns and made to enter her mech when a high pitched voice rang out. She turned and saw Applebloom riding towards her at break neck speed on her four wheeler.

Applebloom leapt off the vehicle and pressed her face into Applejack's chest. She wept bitterly as she begged her not to go. Applejack held her little sister tight and was amazed at how tall she'd gotten in five years. She finally coaxed her little sister into looking her in the eye. "Sis. Ah won't be gone long. What we're doin is important to make sure nothin like this ever happens again. D'y'all understand?" Applebloom shook her head no. She refused to let go. "A.B. it ain't gonna be like it was before. They've hooked up their fancy modern communications, so Ah'll be able to talk to y'all as often as y'all want. N it'll be safer to travel with all the pirates gone so Ah can come back more often. Ah promise."

"Ah'm sorry. Ah know it wasn't y'all's fault. Ah just miss er A.J." Applebloom whispered.

Applejack held her sister tight. "Ah know. Ah miss her too."

The fleet departed and made their way to the offloading point from the slaver's itinerary. From there Twilight and her fleet found a horrifying network of corruption and human trafficking that stretched from the outer rim to Terra itself. So many slaves were liberated that entire worlds had to be terraformed just to contain all the displaced peoples. Slavery had been illegal since the founding of the empire, but many of the peoples displaced were born into servitude. It took a tremendous effort from private organizations, planetary charities, and various governmental organizations to acclimate the newly freed peoples to their new condition.

So much corruption was found in the governments of planets that many rumors circulated that Celestia not only knew but actively participated in the slave trade. Many were still bitter about the death of Viceroy Luna and several claimed Luna was going to attempt to reveal the truth to the empire, and that's why she was killed. The massive influx of new bodies into the galaxy's civilized planets caused a local resentment amongst the unskilled workers, and a few riots broke out in capital cities across the empire.

Celestia's information network began to notice an uncomfortable pattern of unrest in the empire. More systems held referendums on secession from the empire. Many worlds delegates wrote open letters to Celestia about their displeasure with the amount of power Twilight wielded. Several high ranking officers dropped off the grid and seemingly disappeared. Twilight was kept abreast of current events, but she didn't seem terribly concerned about it.

Fortunately the new found security in the space lanes meant that trade could move more smoothly without the need for convoys to protect them. The galactic economy skyrocketed like never before and the newly freed peoples more often than not quickly found legitimate work. Soon the rumors subsided and the galaxy seemed content with Twilight's work. Three years flew by in a blinding blur of space travel, battle, and bureaucracy.

Rainbow Dash became the unofficial brains of the operation, given her experience. She knew where they would hide, what targets they'd risk striking, and how they'd operate. Twilight drove her positively nuts with her tactic of non engagement. Twilight always tried to remove the pirates powerbase without drawing them into open combat. The Viceroy described it as "lifting the rock to allow the insects to crawl away."

Occasionally though a show of force was necessary. Every engagement broke down into a few well tested strategies. Applejack and Rainbow Dash would employ their tried and true hammer and anvil tactic. Rarity, in the rare occurrences she mounted up, would contain a battle within a certain area of the void. Pinkie would disrupt squads so that they couldn't coordinate. Fluttershy had refused entirely to upgrade her mech suit. She had trained in that model, she had fought in that model, and she felt she was most effective in that model. Her and Twilight fought as an extremely effective duo. Twilight would teleport them both into the thick of their enemy's formations, then the two of them would wreak havoc behind enemy lines.

The few pirate clans that remained had an increasingly difficult time in recruiting new talent so only the most dedicated or most incriminated continued the fight. Those who didn't get picked off one by one combined and coordinated with each other. It all came to a head at the battle of the horsehead nebula. A thousand different clans had been bottled up between two of Twilight's fleets and they weren't able to break out between them. In a show of tenacity worthy of Rainbow Dash herself they decided to take their stand then and there.

This was the moment they'd been looking for. One final show of force that anyone who would think of taking by violence would know of this battle and think better of it. Their macrolasers bristled like an ancient phalanx. Their banners and figureheads made a collage of violence of obscenity. Twilight ordered her fleets to hedge in the area. No pirate would leave here alive. She led a single battle group into the fray. Her ships hung suspended in space just outside of their cannon's range.

Twilight stood on the prow of the Damocles, her long ethereal hair flowing behind her, her aura glowing like a supernova, a grin on her face. Her knights floated beside her itching for a fight. Twilight drew her sword and pointed it at the heart of the pirate fleet. "Rarity give the command."

"Applejack give the command."

"Git em."