Tempest

As Twilight and her friends walked down the path they had taken, they could not help but feel intimidated by the massive "Captain" leading the way. He made no attempts to converse with them, and Twilight thought it wise not to ask questions.

"Is this your settlement?" Kravsis asked, gesturing to Ponyville'

'Yes." Twilight replied.

Kravsis bowed to them, and started to depart.

"Where are you going?" Rainbow asked aggressively.

"Back to the Ketch." Kravsis siad. "And pleasantries will not earn you favors from me. I was asked to escort you to your settlement. Nothing more."

As Kravsis disappeared from view, Twilight looked down at the Ether sup she had been given. She sighed, and as they walked into Ponyville square, they all groaned at the sight of Mayor Mare speaking to a mob armed with torches and pitchforks.

"We must rescue the elements! NOW" they yelled, receiving uproarious cries in response.

"AHEM!" Twilight cleared her throat, using an amplification spell, causing her voice to be magically louder. As the ponies looked over at them in embarrassment, Twilight walked up and nearly slapped The three of them.

"Why exactly did you think I needed rescuing?" Twilight said.

"Uhm...because you took too long, Princess?" Mayor Mare admitted.

"I took as much time as we needed. Give me the mic." Twilight said, swiping it from the stand.

"Look here." she said. "I just met with their leader, Skelnir. He made it clear they want peace. AND BEFORE YOU GET ANY IDEAS…." she said, as a few ponies put away their pitchforks and torches, "They have no interest fighting a war. Why would they want to fight with us when they have many of their own hurt from the crash?"

"IT'S A FACADE TO GET OUR GUARD DOWN!" a pony cried.

"No, it's not." Twilight said, though many ponies were marching towards the door. Twilight groaned and used her magic to slam and lock all the doors, causing many ponies to look at her in shock.

"NOW WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME?" Twilight roared. "PUT AWAY THE ANGRY MOB...THINGS. PITCHFORKS, TORCHES, EVERYTHING."

As the Ponies did so, placing Pitchforks, torches, and even a few lumber axes in a pile, Twilight sighed.

"Listen up. I don't want ANY INTERRUPTIONS FROM ANYPONY." Twilight said. "AND I MEAN IT."

This shut everypony up. Twilight cleared her throat and sighed.

"Their leader told us of the state they're in. And to be honest, it's abysmal. I saw their own kind lying in the halls of their ship because they didn't have enough space to keep them! They're running out of their life source, because many of the machines they rely on to make it were damaged in the crash! Two of their three leaders were helping the wounded, it was that bad! And look at us! We're sitting here making an angry mob, when they have hurt and dead, and pleading for help? That's not the ponies I know. The ponies I know are kind, caring, and loyal to anyone. Whether it's Griffon, Minotaur, Donkey, or anything else. What's keeping us from helping them? They're aliens? For Celestia's sake, we're aliens to them? When a pony clad in rags comes to your door, asking for help, do you give them a few bits or do you slam the door? You give them a few bits! What's keeping us from doing that to them? They need our help, and instead of giving them the aid they need, you get so scared that you form a mob armed with pitchforks and torches?"

"We're not scared!" A mare cried.

"Then what are you? Frightened? Worried?" Twilight said. "Answer me!"

The mare realized her mistake, and shrugged.

"Okay, we're scared."

"Exactly my point." Twilight said. "You're so scared of something you've never seen before that you immediately decide it's bad and must be destroyed? You assemble a violent mob to annihilate them? I, for one, don't think you'd even make it to their entrance hall before you'd get captured, as their military prowess, while weakened from the crash, still far outpaces anything you could come up with. And look. We pride ourselves on being hospitable and caring, and when someone unfamiliar comes our way, we turn our backs and shut our doors? What kind of ponies are we being when that happens?"

Many ponies grimaced and looked at the floor.

"Exactly." Twilight said. "And that brigns me to my next point. They speak our language, through machines that know EVERY language!"

"That's impossible!" A stallion cried.

"Not for them. Did you ever think that our there in the stars there are beings that are more advanced than us?" Twilight said, and the stallion got an embarrassed look on his face and merged back into the crowd.

"They have things we could learn and benefit from! Things that would work miracles for our kind as well as them from us! Why would we shun all that only for the reason that they're different! Riddle me that!" Twilight said.

"But...why should we trust them?" Filthy Rich called.

"Trust?" Twilight laughed. "I trusted them when they took me to their Kell. I trusted that what they told me of their kind was true. I trusted them when tehy said they came in peace. Now, do YOU?"

Filthy Rich grimaced and facehoofed.

"I will not hesitate to enforce royal authority over them and their plight." Twilight said. "I can declare them citizens of Equestria with a few simple words to Celestia if I wanted to, and that seems rather appealing with all of this going on. I can make sure that anypony who harms them is sent to the Canterlot Dungeons for A VERY LONG TIME. And If I want to talk to Celestia about this, I will. If I need to declare Royal Martial status over this town in order to protect them, I will. If I need to declare them a protected group in need of sanctuary, I will. I believe them when they said they came in peace. It's now your turn to make that decision yourself."

Twilight stepped back from the mic, and growled.

"I will be posting a guard detachment to monitor the path to the site. Anypony who attempts to harm them will be answering TO ME." Twilight said. "Anypony who tries to subvert or go against this in anyway is answering TO CELESTIA." Twilight said. "I've never felt any reason to have to exercise my royal status over this town before, but now, maybe I need to. I'm retiring for now, and I want EVERY CITIZEN OF PONYVILLE in their homes in thirty minutes. I will be placing a shield around the crash site to protect the Fallen from any harm. And If ANYPONY tries to get past that shield, they're going straight to Celestia. AM I UNDERSTOOD?"

There were nods and voices of "yes."

"Good. I'm opening the doors. Go home." Twilight said, as as she did so, the ponies filed out. To Twilight's relief, they all went back to their residences. Twilight motioned to her friends, and as they set out towards Twilight's Castle, Rainbow smiled.

"Twilight?"

"What?"

"Remind me never to piss you off. EVER." Rainbow said.

"Well, situation demanded it." Twilight said. "Let's get a letter to Celestia about this whole mess. Hopefully, she can restore order and give us some advice about what to do."

As the ponies entered the castle, a lone Stealth Vandal watched from a rooftop.

"My Archon, the ponies have returned to their homes. The one known as Twilight Sparkle calmed them. They are contacting additional leadership for advice."

"Good work. Return to the ketch, Morik. I shall relay your message to the Kell."

"As your will commands."

As the Vandal was teleported back to the Ketc by the Prime Servitor, a gust of wind blew through the town square.