The Visitors

Conference Room 3-B, Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Equestria

Princess Celestia was quite excited, though it did not show. It had been a long time since any new races had been encountered, and she was looking forward to what this 'Grand Imperium' had to offer. To her left sat Luna, looking similarly impassive, but managing to look angry and judgemental at the same time. To her right were Cadence, who couldn't hide her emotions as well, and Twilight, who was barely managing to stay in her seat and appeared to be vibrating slightly with her excitment. On the other side of the table were the mysterious captain and the four guards that had accompanied them.

"So, captain, shall we begin? I am Princess Celestia co-ruler of Equestria along with my sister here Princess Luna. I would also like to introduce Princess Cadence, ruler of the Crystal Empire, and Princess Twilight, Defender of the Realm."

"As has been established," said the captain, taking the pause as a cue, "I am Captain Marott Wills of the Imperial Space Corps. These are Sergeant Brockol Martin, and his men, Lieutenants Frank Abinjole, John Bayr and Thron Jojbaerner. We are very interested in your system and exactly how it stays existing, as as far as we are aware, it is entirely unique, and shouldn't work at all. As a way to get things started, allow us to present you with gifts. Sergeant, give them the gifts."

Sergeant Martin reached down into his backpack and pulled out four small boxes, and slid them across the table to the princesses. They opened them, and each had a slightly different look of confusion as they extracted a small stylised metal cage on the end of a lanyard, each colour coded to the individual opening the box.

"What, may I ask, is this?" queried Luna, staring intently at the object.

"Put it on, and you will have visitor access to all non-classified areas of the ship. You know, so you don't get vaporized during the tour."

As they slipped the cords over their heads and let them rest on their withers, the small cages shimmered and folded outwards. The small filaments spread and slithered across their bodies, and thin tendrils split off and burrowed down through the skin. Twilight attempted to pull them away but as they burrowed into the base of her horn her magic was abruptly halted. Thin plate metal spread in the gaps between the filaments, enclosing them completely.

"Now then. Celestia, Luna, you may notice that some of your power can still escape. This is on purpose. We know that this system will collapse without you, and as such, you shall remain atop this mountain for eternity keeping it going. You cannot do anything else. You will be kept alive in there. Men, prepare them for transport, and we meet up in fifteen. I'm going to find some more of this frankly amazing cake they never got the chance to eat."

Twenty minutes later.

Everypony was very worried. That much was obvious to Mayor Mare, as they were all in the town hall talking quite loudly. It was obvious from earlier that the Princessess appeared to be dealing with something from the object up in Canterlot, but nothing had been told to her, which meant that she couldn't tell the townsponies anything, which meant that rumours were spreading quickly, the most prominent being an alien invasion of some kind. There was a sudden rumbling and the sky cracked with noise.

"All citizens of Equestria. A deal has been struck, and power over your solar system has been ceded to the Grand and Holy Imperium of Man, Rulers of the Seven High Systems, and True Inheritors of the Galaxy from the Ones Who Came Before. From this point, your lives should change for the better. New technologies should potentially double your lifespan. Diseases that you fear shall be cured. Your civilization shall enter a new golden age of progress and development. You shall reach beyond the stars themselves and do things that you never dreamed were possible. To any non-pony lifeforms, you shall be accepted as equals among the citizenry, no matter what your previous indiscretions. Resisting these changes is futile, and shall likely result in immediate extermination, so just do as you are told. Head to your local transportation hub for transport to Canterlot to be officially registered as a citizen, or you shall be considered a rebel and an enemy of the state, and charge which comes with a punishment of immediate extermination. Thank you for your time, and please don't panic, you'll make it worse for everyone."