Star Control: Equis

Lepi made her way through the abandoned suburbs of Canterlot quietly pondering the events that transpired a week ago.

A mysterious race of insects which were best described as giant predatory caterpillars had descended from the stars and established near-complete control of the planet with their army of slave races and deadly flying machines. When her father had predicted this a month prior she did not believe him at first.

Her father always had an uncanny ability to predict the near future, though she had never considered the implications of such an ability until the Ur-Quan made themselves known and abducted the various world leaders as her father said they would. Lepi always assumed father was somehow using powerful magic to predict what would happen though he always denied it.

Magic or not, it is a shame he never helped me with those lottery cards, Lepi mused.

Lepi trotted into an alleyway and descended down a flight of stairs into their home. It was in surprisingly good condition after the Ur-Quan had reduced much of Canterlot to rubble, she attributed the homes safety to it being partially underground. She walked inside and found an aging deer waiting in the living room.

Lepi rushed forward and embraced her adoptive father in a hug. "Father! It is lovely to see you again."

The old deer smiled and returned the hug to the changeling before speaking. "It is good to see you too, little Lepidoptera. I am afraid we cannot remain for long however. You do remember what we discussed last month?"

The changeling would frown and nod, before her father spoke again. "Very good. It is absolutely critical that everything occurs as I have told you. I fear we are running out of time."

Lepi took notice as her father shuddered and displayed a look of horror in his expression. She prodded his emotions and found only fear. She was filled with fear as well, not knowing of what her father had predicted.

Her father spoke once again with a tinge of sadness. "I am so sorry, Lepidoptera. We can spend no more time together before this undertaking. When you have finished, seek me out."

Lepi would sigh and nod. She loved her father and he loved her in return. Her entire life had led up to these coming moments. Lepi was filled with a sense of duty as her father reached for a pair of saddlebags and placed them upon herself. She had not spent long here with her father today but she knew that she could not delay any longer. She would about-face and march outside.

Lepi began to gallop to Canterlot Castle.

It was a rare occurrence for a changeling to use their shapeshifting ability to deceive since their species reformation, Lepi had not even been born when it occurred though her ability to shapeshift was of great importance for her father's plan.

It would be quite difficult to approach a castle occupied by aliens as a bright orange changeling after all.

Green flames briefly surrounded Lepi as she transformed into a tall green one-eyed mollusc-like alien known as a Spathi, one of the Ur-Quan's slave races. Bipedal transformations would normally be difficult to adjust to but she had a months practice with various ape species since her father's initial prediction. She chose this form specifically because it was identical to her target.

Her target was the personal assistant of the Ur-Quan who led their planet's invasion. Despite being a slave the Spathi had some level of authority due to their unique position with the Ur-Quan which allowed Lepi to march into the castle without being questioned. Lepi sighed in relief as she did not understand the alien's language regardless.

Lepi marched upstairs and past a pair of arachnid-like alien guards into a room that connected to the castle balcony. She quietly shut the door behind herself and turned to the only other occupant, the Spathi she was disguised as. Lepi assumed her original form once again.

The Spathi took immediate notice of her and attempted to scream for assistance, but was tackled and muzzled by Lepi with a stained piece of cloth she had grabbed from her saddlebag. The Spathi went limp and slipped into unconsciousness.

Lepi shuddered, she abhorred the use of violence but it was necessary for the plan to succeed. She carefully placed the cloth into her saddlebag and stepped to the desk the Spathi previously sat it. The desk had a strange machine and two rods. One of the rods was white while the other was black. Lepi knew that the machine was a computer from her father's description though she knew not how to use it. The computer was of little importance however.

Despite how advanced the Ur-Quan seemed they were still rooted in tradition. A referendum had been forced upon Equis' inhabitants to decide whether they were to become fallow slaves or battle thralls for the Ur-Quan. Lepi could only speculate why but the vote result was not to be sent to the Ur-Quan directly but was instead to be sent to the computer where the Spathi would then step onto the balcony and raise a rod to correspond to the result.

The white rod signified fallow slavery, and the black rod signified battle thralldom.

The computer would light up and display indecipherable alien numbers and text. Lepi was unaware of what it truly meant but she knew that the vote had finally been tallied. She transformed into the Spathi once again and retrieved both rods.

To be fallow slaves was to be locked on Equis forever as unknown alien horrors operated just out of sight. They would come for Equis eventually, and Equis would be vulnerable.

To be battle thralls was to be integrated into the Ur-Quan war machine, but they would be allowed some autonomy and be granted alien technologies.

Lepi sighed as she stepped onto the balcony. She let out a long drawn-out breath and stood at the edge of the balcony facing a crowd of aliens. She knew what had to be done.

Lepi hesitated. She knew that she would be subjecting all of Equis to the horrors of Ur-Quan subjugation but their survival depended on it. She knew there would be suspicion aroused by her actions as well. Despite the blatant hostility of the Ur-Quan all of Equis was quickly occupied and any resistance was eradicated. She knew of the pacifistic sentiment that most of Equestria held, and while she was unsure of the other nations she knew that the Equestrians would be strongly opposed to her choice.

She quietly raised the black rod as high as she could hold it in her Spathi form. The alien crowd seemed to acknowledge this as they dispersed and resumed their business.