I slowly blinked my eyes open, my bones creaking as I sat up in bed. I looked at the clock and felt shock at what I saw. I never woke up late, much less a full two hours late. I wondered why the machinery within my head failed to wake me up, before remembered I failed to set an alarm last night. It was then that I noticed another odd thing.

I felt well rested.

While I was never truly sleep deprived per say, my apparently fitful sleep rarely left me feeling... refreshed upon awakening. I pondered the events of last night, and came to the conclusion that Luna needed a thank you gift. A favor of this magnitude requited a planet to serve as a personal fief at the least, but such was not an option at the moment. Perhaps her sister had ideas. Placing the blue alicorn out of my mind for a moment, I walked downstairs and did my usual routine. After I finished getting dressed, choosing to not button the top two buttons of my shirt due to it being slightly warmer outside than the past couple days, I walked down to my sitting room.

On the table in the center of the room I found a scroll, sealed with what I presumed to be Celestia's own signet. Putting off a journey to the palace kitchens for breakfast, I sat down and broke the seal.

Reading her neat cursive script, it appeared that she wish to have a conversation within her rooms in.... 15 minutes. Plenty of time to get there, but it appeared food was out of the question. Continuing down the page, she also stated that for dinner we would be joined by Twilight and her friends who had a variety of questions for me it seemed. Well, if they were anything like Twilight I'm sure it would end amicably.

Finishing up the letter, I got up and strapped the sword it appeared Luna had left by the door on my hip. I immediately made haste to the Solar Diarch's quarters, praising the heavens above that I had not simply rolled over and slept for another hour. I figured the better guest I was, the more painless this entire situation would be. I had finally started to get a feel for the castle halls, assisted by the maps my implants made as I looked around the place. I finally arrived at Celestia's room, the image of a sun shining brightly was inlaid into the wooden doorframe with gold. Either gold was exceedingly common here, or the Princesses were just that rich with how much of the stuff they used, considering it was likely mined the hard way. And by 'they' I really meant Celestia, as Luna seemed to have a greater affinity for silver. I rapped thrice on the door, and it glowed a golden color before swinging inwards.

The Princess of the Sun looked exhausted, her crown lay on haphazardly on its side on the couch she laid upon, while she nursed a hot cup of tea in her hooves. She gave me a genuine smile as she saw me, and beckoned me to sit in one of the chairs opposite her couch. I took my seat, and accepted the cup of tea she levitated towards me.

"Thank you for joining me Lux, I just wanted to have the opportunity to speak with you before you met with the Elements of Harmony," the Princess said, before sipping on her tea.

"Pleasure is mine as always Celestia. What did you wish to discuss?"

"I wanted to start off by deciding on how to fully reveal you to the rest of the world. Obviously everypony in the castle is aware of you, and my little ponies are no strangers to odd creatures; however, an alien is indeed a first. Especially one of your... standing," she said, cutting straight to the point. I considered her situation carefully, before giving a reply.

"The way I see it, you only have about three options. One, you tell everybody the whole truth, and just deal with whatever fallout occurs. It will blow over, it always does for those of our lifespan. Two, you tell everyone a cover story, except for a select group of important world leaders, and just pray nobody questions why they haven't heard of my kind before. Or three, you simply tell everyone I'm from a far off land and hope that nobody bothers to think about it. Especially when I stay here for a year or two without heading back to a supposed home. While personally I'm more partial to just telling everyone nothing, that primarily benefits me, not your nation," I told her. She nodded, having likely come to the same conclusions regarding her options.

"Part of me just wants to rip the bandage off, but another part wishes to be far more tactful regarding this. I will have to consult my sister again, I think."

"Regardless of what you decide Celestia, you cannot hide what's bound to happen in a year or two. I presume Luna informed you of... what we talked about last night?"

"Yes. Yes she did," the Princess replied, with a bit of a nervous edge. "Actually, may I see the map you showed my sister?"

"Certainly," I replied as I pulled out the small cube. I attempted to turn it on, but unfortunately it appeared leaving it on basically all night had drained the battery. I sighed, and snapped my fingers, retrieving a small orb from my pocket dimension. The inside of the clear sphere crackled and howled with energy, and if one reached out you could feel immense psionic pressure. I tapped the star chart projector against the orb, and energy flowed from the orb to the cube. If you listened closely, you could even hear a scream from within the orb. I snapped and it returned to its place. Celestia simply gave me a look, and I answered her unasked question.

"State secret I'm afraid. If your kind ever achieves faster than light travel while I'm still in power, however, I will share what it is with you. All I can say is that it's quite the power source," I said as I set down the projector. A familiar sight stretched before me. I gave a heavy sigh as I realized I was probably going to be asked to do this at least five more times. Celestia stared in awe, once again filling my ego to the max. She waved a hoof through the hologram, before approaching the planet labelled 'Faust.'

"It's odd, feeling small again. I suppose it would be the ultimate hubris to assume we were alone in the universe, or even that we were the most advanced around," she said, with a sense of childlike wonder. It reminded me of when we humans made first contact.

"And to think, my creation is likely not even the first or largest of its kind. I have no doubt someone has conquered multiple galaxies, and perhaps there exists a universe out there who has completed united themselves," I commented, before once again changing the settings to show the known universe. "And this is what makes me feel small." I watched as my galaxy faded into a tiny pinprick of light amongst billions of others. However, we still had much to discuss. I retrieved the cube and slipped it into my pocket.

"Let us continue our discussion Princess, I am certain you have more to say."

"Unfortunately, I do indeed," she said with a sigh. "Perhaps someday I could take a day off and we could chat for longer. Regardless, I have one very important question. What happens when your people arrive here?"

I had hoped she would never ask that, but it was the only logical question to have when an alien tells you his servants are en route to pick him up. I sighed, she deserved the full answer.

"Under Imperial Law, primitive species are protected from genocide, slavery, or any other crimes that would be considered a crime against sapients. However, invasion, provided the conquered species is granted equal rights and protections under whatever laws the invading nation has, is not illegal provided the star system falls under the invading nation's sphere of influence. And I must admit, your planet is desirable. It's practically a Gaia planet here," I answered her. My statements only seemed to confirm her suspicions. She looked at me with a sort of calm menace.

"We help you, only to be repaid by being crushed under the heel of your people?"

"I never said that. It's far more likely they simply put a satellite in orbit and watch you. I simply wished for you to know the dangers."

"And there is nothing you can do to more solidly guarantee my ponies their independence?"

"I-," I nearly lied and said no. There were things I could do, things that would cost far, far more than I gained. I looked at Celestia's now pleading look, her desperation at wanting to protect those she viewed as her children apparent. I then thought of perhaps my first friend in centuries. I considered, and took a deep breath. It wasn't that it would cost more than I gained, I myself gained plenty, it was that my empire did not. Thus, I came to a revelation.

"Celestia, by my word as Emperor of Mankind, I promise you this: Equestria is to henceforth be considered an ally of the Empire of Humankind. Your enemies are mine, and my sword is yours to command should anyone try to harm this peaceful world. Even if such requires ignoring my own Pax Imperialis," I proclaimed, my implants recording the decree. Even should I die, the decree would still be transmitted should an Imperial vessel get within range. I smiled, feeling a weight off my shoulders. Then I said more personally, "It's the least I can do, and they can spaghettify me if they don't like their lord being a bit selfish for once."

She seemed to understand the gravity of what I had done, even if she didn't know such a vow hadn't been given since the Galactic Imperium was created. It required me to acknowledge another nation as equal, rather than subservient. She bowed her head out of respect, and said, "Thank you, for both protecting my ponies and for helping my dear sister last night."

"I should be thanking her, that was the best sleep I've had in... I'm not sure how long," I replied, meeting her bow. I hoped this wouldn't become a sort of thankfulness standoff.

"She is excellent at her job, isn't she? For the first time in a millennium Equestria sleeps without fear or nightmare. I only wish it wasn't such solitary work for her..."

"Indeed. She seems... sad that her own court remains empty, even if her work in the night sky and dream realm are beyond compare," I said thoughtfully. Then, an idea popped into my head. "Celestia, I have an addendum to what I said prior. Should you choose to reveal me, I will only be available during the night to hold conference. I am practically nocturnal, after all. I shall also need a proper hall to hold it, and ideally a princess to introduce me and keep order."

Celestia immediately caught on to my scheme. She nodded at my demands.

"It would only be fair to our honored guest that we only bother him during his typical working hours, after all," she replied with a knowing smile.

"Now, was there anything else Celestia?"

"No, just... be ready for the Elements this evening. They are quite the eclectic bunch," she advised, stifling a chuckle at the latter sentence.

"I shall prepare myself accordingly then. See you for dinner tonight, Celestia."

"As you say," she replied before downing the rest of her tea.

I then took my leave, giving a nod of respect before leaving the room. My stomach grumbled as I walked towards the kitchens to break my fast.

After a lovely roast chicken sandwich, I found myself back in my sitting room. I supposed it was time to hold up my end of the little deal I made with the Diarchs. For the first time in quite awhile, I reached behind my ear and pressed inward. A small, flat shard popped out of the back of my skull. I then swapped it out for one of many within my pocket dimension.

No human was ever meant to live as long as I had, and unfortunately the flesh and blood brain can only hold so much information. As a result, much of my life resided in silicon and metal rather than the tissues of my own head. Really all that I kept in my own skull were formative events, ones that dictated my personality and decision making process. Most 'hard' skills and memories were stored in little datashards I liked to refer to as my journals. Really that's what they were, a record of my life I could look back upon. I swapped out the shard containing my memories of the era of peace directly preceding the Abyssal threat, and lost all recollection aside from some fuzzy memories deemed important enough to my personality to maintain. I slotted in my oldest shard, the one containing my first two centuries of life. Instantly, as if the fog was lifted from the back end of my mind, I vividly remembered everything from my birth to about half a millenium ago, give or take.

I usually never used this one, the knowledge and skills contained within proved fairly useless when it came to running my Imperium. The AI in my head usually assisted me with the earlier computational skills I had learned. And the memories of mother, father, Brandon, and Anastasia just brought pain rather than comfort. But today, I would need it. Before I found myself thrust into a position of power, I was a chemical engineer. Knowledge regarding advanced mathematics, chemistry, physics, and even some biology flooded my mind. While useless compared to the understanding of a modern Imperial professor, my relatively primitive knowledge would be far more useful to the little ponies of this world. I couldn't simply use the AI, as while it could give me the information, it couldn't give me the questions to ask it. The only exception to this would be if I unshackled it and allowed it to think freely. And Lord knows, I was never going to make the mistake of unshackling it while it resided in my head. While I could theoretically request it to search for useful primitive technologies, then work from there, it would be far quicker to just work off my own memories of living in post-spacefaring human society. I also noted that this included my rather long military history phase, which Luna may find useful in our discussions.

I carefully considered what I would share first. Frankly the asymmetrical development of this world was... bizarre. I had seen trains, lightbulbs, Twilight's lab equipment, and more. But simultaneously they still used quills, lacked firearms of any kind, and a long list of things humanity had long figured out before the lightbulb. Even amongst the vast disorder of the cosmos, most species developed along similar lines. These ponies seemed to have completely thrown all preconceived notions of societal development out the window. I was certain the Department of Sociology at Terran Imperial University would be in utter chaos if they learned of this world.

When they learned of this world.

Finally, I chose something simple and practical. Simple being a very, very relative term. I worked for hours, transcribing the culmination of decades of human research onto paper. Luckily the AI helped to supplement the fields I was unfamiliar with, notably biology, but the process was painfully slow. Eventually, I looked at the clock and noted the hour. It was time to see Twilight once more.

I once again wore my full formal attire, which at some point had been taken and cleaned by one of the maids. With confidence I strode out into the halls of the castle once more, quickly finding the door to the parlor where I was supposed to meet Twilight's friends. I heard some commotion on the other side, indicating they were already here. Steeling myself for whatever proclivities Celestia considered notable enough to warn me of, I stepped inside. Within, five ponies sat, each quite different from the other. An orange earth pony in a Stetson appeared to be arguing with a rainbow-maned pegasus. Meanwhile, Twilight and a white unicorn in a dress who spoke in a mid-atlantic accent appeared to be discussing some of the castle's decorations, based on how they were pointing at the drapes currently. Finally, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane seemed engrossed by a spider in the corner. Odd, I thought there were supposed to be six. Perhaps I had misheard.

"Good evening Twi-," I began to say, before a prickling on the back of my neck caused me to leap to my left on instinct. Good thing I did too, as a pink earth pony fell onto the ground where I was with a tray of cupcakes in hoof. How she even climbed above the door was beyond me. All eyes in the room shifted between me and the pink one. Seeing she wasn't moving, I crawled over to her with concern. As I was about to ask if she was fine, she sprung up with impossible vigor.

"Surprise!" she shouted, presenting a cupcake that was somehow pristine before her fall. She smiled expectantly. Twilight seemed to currently be panicking on the sofa, while the yellow pegasus hid behind her. The two arguing ponies had stopped to stare, and the white unicorn looked positively mortified.

Typically I wasn't lenient when it came to assassination attempts, but luckily for the pink pony, red velvet was one of my favorite flavors of cake. I happily peeled off the wrapper and took a bite. And upon doing so, I found new purpose.

"You, what is your name?" I asked the cupcake bearer before me.

"I'm Pinkie Pie! And that's Rarity, and Twilight, an-"

"How opposed are you to relocation? Simply name your price and I will provide it, if you come back to Terra and bake for me," I interrupted, utterly serious as I took another bite of cake. The icing got stuck in my mustache.

"Not for hire, but thanks! Nice as you seem, I just couldn't leave my friends," Pinkie replied. I nodded in understanding. I finished my cupcake in just one more bite.

"Well, care to introduce me to the rest of your friends Twilight?" I said, looking towards the purple mare. She finally stopped hyperventilating.

"You... aren't mad and going to kill us all?"

"Wh- ho- No! Why the hell would I do that?!" I exclaimed, confused as to how in the world she managed to come to that idea. "We're friends Twilight, and it'd take quite a bit more than a simple scare for me to consign a whole world to die. Even if it didn't, that cupcake evened things out."

"Heh, that was a bit foalish of a conclusion to reach, wasn't it? Well regardless you just met Pinkie, the Element of Laughter," she said, significantly calmer than before. "This here is Rarity, seamstress and proprietor of the Carousel Boutique," she continued, pointing at the unicorn across from her. Rarity's horn glowed, and she trotted towards me.

"Mind stooping down for me darling?" she asked, as she pulled a handkerchief from a pocket on her dress. I complied and she managed to wipe the frosting out of my mustache.

"Much obliged, Miss Rarity. So you're a seamstress? I may require your services in the future. I only have a few outfits at the moment, and my people tend to wear clothes all the time. Do you accept gold bars? I don't currently have any local currency."

"Oh nonsense darling, just the prestige of working on the clothes of an alien ruler, and the opportunity to inspect your style is payment enough for me. Just stop by and I'll get you measured," she said, even as she closely observed the flowing cloak of ruby. Noting her interest, I took it off and held it out to her. "Thank you!" she shouted with excitement as she went and sat back down, pulling out a pair of glasses to inspect the gemstone cloth closer. As soon as she did so, the orange pony approached me and held out her hoof. I crouched down and shook it.

"Name's Applejack, pleased to meet'cha. If ya ever find yerself in Ponyville, swing on by Sweet Apple Acres. Mah family'll treat ya right, and we got the best darn apples in all o' Equestria!" she proudly told me, all while nearly shaking my hand off. Now was the time to pull out my secret weapon. Convenient that I currently had my early life shard in.

"Ya'll sound like good folk down there, ah'll be certain to stop by fer some apples at some point. Ain't nothin' quite like an apple orchard in the fall," I reply, matching accent for accent. Nobody remembered that I hailed from the Southern U.S.A., unless they were a particularly dedicated scholar of my life. Her friendly smile only brightened, before she turned to the white unicorn.

"See Rarity? Ah told ya just 'cause you got an accent don't mean ya can't be sophisticated," Applejack jabbed at a very distracted Rarity.

"Hm? Oh, yes darling of course," she mumbled while continuing to inspect the fabric. Applejack just rolled her eyes.

As I smiled at the scene before me, I felt a light tug on my shirt. I focused on the yellow pegasus whose hoof was still outstretched. She seemed to shrink back, even under my relatively soft gaze.

"It's okay little one, I mean you no harm," I said as I got on my knees and sat on my heels. She seemed emboldened.

"My- my name is Fluttershy," she whispered nervously. Again, these little ponies were designed to be adorable. I wondered if they were actually designed this way, or this was some form of evolutionary response.

"Well met, Fluttershy. What is it that you do?"

"I-I um, take care of ah, animals," she stuttered out.

"A noble task indeed," I encouraged her, giving another one of my smiles. I suddenly felt hooves running across my teeth.

"An omnivore right? I saw how you mashed the cupcake with your molars," Fluttershy said, every hint of her namesake shyness fleeing from her as she began essentially an inspection. She muttered things to herself as she looked at my teeth, eyes, hair, hands, legs, and more. I looked at Twilight, and she just shrugged her shoulders. I placed a hand on Fluttershy's back as she was inspecting my ears. She blushed, before retreating to the couch.

"S-sorry. I get a little carried away around new creatures..." she mumbled, her shyness returning with a vengeance.

"It is quite alright my dear, curiosity is a trait I hold in high esteem. My people would still be stuck on our own planet without it," I placated. That left just one pony left. I turned towards where the rainbow pegasus was, only to have my personal space utterly violated.

"Name's Rainbow Dash, greatest flier in all of Equestria, and soon to be Wonderbolt! Kinda expected an alien to look cooler though," Rainbow said, flexing a leg while only about an inch from my face. Boisterous, obnoxious, and quite rude. What a wonderful combination. I plastered on a false smile, I knew how to deal with these types.

"Are you now? I will be quite excited to see you perform," I lied. I was a good liar though, and Rainbow appeared to not pick up on it. Applejack seemed to be giving me the side-eye though. "And unfortunately I know I'm not much to look at, a couple centuries of books and paperwork will do that. Nothing to be done though."

"Eh, you're not totally lame. Just maybe about twenty-percent less cool than expected. You bet I'll put that jaw to the ground though with my awesome aerobatics though! I'll put on a show after dinner," she replied. With all the ponies officially having given me their names, I positioned myself in order to see all of them.

"A pleasure to meet you all, I am Eternal Light, or Imperator Augustus Lux Aeternus, if you want my full title. Though I believe you all already were aware of at least my name in your tongue through Twilight," I announced to the entire room. All eyes turned to me as I continued, while taking my place in an empty chair, "Now then, Celestia has told me you had some questions for me? Evidently you Elements are quite important, to have the privilege of meeting me before the rest of your nation."

"Flattered darling, but we are not all that important. Just well-connected. Now, if you would allow me the pleasure of the first question, how exactly was this made?" Rarity piped up, lifting the robe.

"I'm not certain of the full process, but the ruby is like a sort of plating on the outside of a core thread made of extremely strong metal. The result is flexible, durable, and has all the shininess of a gem. I am uncertain as to whether or not you could replicate it," I replied. She was satisfied, albeit slightly saddened by the apparent impossibility to manufacture such cloth here.

Such did our question and answer session continue. Frankly, these were getting quite old. Luckily I had relatively few repeat questions due to Twilight sharing what she had learned from me prior.

"So, how did'ya end up where you are now anyways? Seems like a might bit o' effort to name yerself ruler of an entire galaxy. Ah know Princess Celestia is overwhelmed just maintainin' her little realm of ponies."

"By careful political maneuvering, as well as cashing in a few favors," I half lied. If by 'careful politics' you mean, 'the blood of billions,' I was quite truthful. She only narrowed her eyes at me. While she never pressed me on any dodged question or half truth, it appeared I was leaving quite the negative impression on her. A shame, given how well it had been going at the start. I thought that would be all the issues I would have, but then Rainbow posed a difficult question.

"Your people sound quite powerful. What's stopping you from hurting my friends, huh?" she grilled, seemingly more aggressive when it came to protecting those around her.

"Celestia and I reached an agreement," I replied simply.

"And how is that being enforced? How can we trust you to keep your word?"

"That, Rainbow Dash, is between me and your betters!" I lashed out, finally unable to contain my irritation at the pegasus. She looked at me, shocked for a moment. Suddenly, all hell broke loose.

"Whaddya mean by 'your betters?' Mah friend ain't below your attention," Applejack said, but before I could state an apology, Twilight spoke.

"He's right, matters of national security are the business of the Princess. Who are we to question her judgement?" she said in my defense.

"Well, he said something mean to Dashie regardless!" Pinkie Pie butted in.

"Well, it was quite rude admittedly but you have to see that Rainbow started it by pressing the issue," Rarity countered.

Quickly it all devolved into a verbal shouting match. Fluttershy cowered and Rainbow seemed to be shocked by the sudden divide in her friends. Her shock pretty quickly turned to anger at me. Before the situation could devolve any further, I took action.

"Silence," I said calmly, utilizing the Imperial Voice. Really it was more of an advanced mind control spell utilizing verbal commands, but it worked regardless. My own 'magic' as these ponies liked to call it quickly overwhelmed their own, and they found themselves quite literally speechless.

"Now, Rainbow, I apologize for my prior words. Regardless of my... opinions regarding your boasting, that was no way for a guest to behave. I do, however, ask that you refrain from pressing too hard. I understand your concern, but Celestia and Luna are wise mares. They do not require your help to run their country. As for the rest of you, please stop arguing. You're scaring poor Fluttershy," I lectured, seeing them silently nod in response to my statements. Finally, I released the spell.

"YOU CAN USE MAGIC?!" Twilight shouted the very instant my spell ceased. I winced at the volume.

"Yes, originally I intended to keep it a secret, but your kind seems rather used to psionics as a concept. As for why I've not used them before now, I have my reasons. Primarily my species don't naturally use magic, we needed technology to access it. As a result, I'm used to the old fashioned way of doing things."

"Do the princesses know?"

"Luna is smart, and I presume she figured it out based on my ah, commentary regarding Nightmare Moon last night, in addition to my 'magical' mental defenses. And knowing those two, Celestia also knows. But no, I have never outright told them. Perhaps I should rectify that tonight."

"Ah'll say. Seems like somethin' quite important to leave out," Applejack stated with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, I apologize for not throwing my entire hand down in a planet full of strangers after being kidnapped. No offense, Twilight," I replied. Applejack's glare seemed to pointedly ignore the logic in my statement. Stubborn as a mule, it appeared.

"Regardless, I am starving. What say you all to dinner?"

I received an almost universal cheer. As we left the parlor and went to the dining hall, I felt quite good about how that went. While Dash and AJ weren't exactly friendly with me, they weren't necessary to my continued residence here at Canterlot Castle. No, better to focus on the good of three new friends. I seemed to be racking up quite a high number of those lately. By the time Imperial ships found me, I think I'll have gone native. I smiled contentedly as our group of seven entered the dining room.

Author's Note

College is back up again, hence the rather delayed chapter. I hope you all enjoy this one, and hopefully I haven't scared you off with 20k words of basically introductions. We'll start getting into the real meat of the story I wish to tell in a couple chapters. But everything must start somewhere, no?

As always feel free to leave any criticisms or comments, I'm not the greatest writer of all time and any advice you have will only make this story more enjoyable for everyone.

With that, I leave you until the next chapter!