Night in the Canterlot gardens was absolutely beautiful, the perfect place to have dinner and catch up with somepony close to you. Looking at her most faithful student sitting across from her, Celestia filled with pride. Twilight Sparkle was potentially the most powerful unicorn in Equestria's history. Couple that with her keen intellect, caring personality, and boundless ambition, and it was nearly impossible to not be proud. But Twilight had only eaten a small portion of her salad, and was currently fiddling with the green leaves on her plate. Although she spent a majority of her time in Ponyville, and the Princess began to see her less and less, it was painfully obvious something was bothering the young mare.
"Is something wrong, Twilight?" Celestia asked, she laughed inwardly when the lavender unicorn gave a slight jump, but on the outside her face was the perfect picture of concern.
"It's nothing," she replied sheepishly, "you've probably been asked tons of times, and I'm sure I can find a history book about it somewhere, but I haven't yet."
"Don't be silly Twilight. You know you, of all ponies, can ask me anything. I'm certain anything about the history of Equestria I can answer in much better detail than some dusty old book." The Princess said jovially, giving her student a wink.
Twilight visibly relaxed and magically raised her fork to her mouth, a few leaves and a sliced carrot attached to it. After some chewing, she swallowed the food and looked back to her mentor.
"Well, I've been wondering why it's impossible- or rather, very difficult- to find any records of how you and Luna became Princesses."
Celestia was taken back, she honestly didn't expect that to be the question. Her own fork stopped mid-flight, but she quickly recovered and took a bite of salad. Twilight didn't notice, she just calmly sat there, though her eyes betrayed her eagerness to hear what the Princess would say.
"Oh Twilight, That was countless millenia ago! It isn't anything that would interest anypony, the whole process was very dull.!" The Princess replied, hoping her student would lose interest. But as Twilight sat there, unblinking, Celestia realized her mistake and knew what was going through her pupil's mind.
Countless millenia. Surely the lavender unicorn was imagining all of the things Celestia had seen and could tell her. The earliest, reliable, pony history was only from three-thousand years ago.
As if on cue, Twilight broke out of her torpor, and exclaimed, "Countless Millenia?! Oh my gosh, what did the buildings look like back then? How big was Equestria? Did the Griffons have a nation yet? Did.."
Celestia let the exuberant mare burst out more questions before raising a hoof to politely stop her.
"Sorry, Princess," Twilight giggled, then her voice lost a little of its mirth and gained some more conviction, "Back to the real question, how did you and Luna become Equestria's rulers?"
The royal alicorn pondered lying to Twilight, her eyes looking up at nothing, in the back of her mind she knew she could. She and Luna had been keeping their "ascension" a secret from everypony ever since Equestria's founding. After hundreds of thousands of years of lying and secrets, Celestia was tiring of it, and while she could still make herself deceive the populace, she didn't want to lie to Twilight. She was the closest thing Celestia had to a daughter, even after what seemed like an eternity of ruling.
Steeling herself, the Princess looked back at Twilight, "Very well, my most faithful student, I will tell you the story. But first, go find my sister and bring her here. It will be easier to tell with her present."
"Okay!" Was all the unicorn said before speeding off to retrieve Luna.
This gave Celestia time to think about how she would go about telling Twilight. It seemed simple, just tell her the truth.
Much quicker than Celestia imagined, Twilight came briskly walking back to the outdoor table, barely able to contain her excitement, with a confused Luna in tow.
"Good evening sister, Twilight Sparkle has informed me that we will be sharing the story of how we...became who we are today." The younger alicorn said, her voice somewhat strained as if containing anger she didn't want to show.
"Yes, Luna," Celestia could tell her sister was extremely hesitant and conflicted with telling Twilight, but she had made up her mind, "It is time Twilight learned the truth."
"Very well then, High Regent"
It always amazed Cassandra how still everything seemed in her office, given the fact that it was moving at near thirty-thousand kilometers an hour around the blue planet. The panoramic window that made up the back wall to her office gave her an unrivaled view of the Earth. Green and fertile, the skies filled with heavenly white clouds, and thankfully not with the pollution and smog generations past had predicted. Her rise to power had been on of the most important events in the history of mankind.
Cassandra Empyreal, the first High Regent of the Earth.
Ancient generations believed it impossible to unite all nations of the world under a single ruler, and for that ruler to be a woman? It would be inconceivable to them. Luckily, those generations had died off and the most recent had been, what Cassandra thought, the best generation of humanity. Guiltily, she admitted to herself she was slightly biased, it had been a generation her father had heavily influenced, and one she had indefinitely won over. She couldn't take all of the credit though, she thought as she looked at a high definition digital portrait on the wall.
It was a picture of two women, in their early fifties, the taller one had sandy brown hair, tied into a perfect and professional bun. She wore an unadorned, but elegant white dress under a golden-thread cardigan. To every person in the world, and its colonies, this was their beloved leader, Cassandra Empyreal. Next to her was a figure who was respected just as much as Cassandra, but loved slightly less and feared considerably more. She wore a dark blue suit, the color of it so dark it almost seemed black. The suit was originally designed for a man, but after its custom tailoring it hugged the shorter woman's curves perfectly. The suit matched her jet-black hair, which was let down and flowed just past her shoulders.
The woman was Lauren Empyreal, Vice Regent of the Earth, and Chief Administrator of the Sol System Fleet. but first and foremost, she was Cassandra's younger sister and she loved her dearly.
Despite their ages, which was relatively young now that the average human lived to one-hundred and fifty years, both of the sisters were astonishingly beautiful, though in different ways. Cassandra was beautiful in the way that made every man want her, but not approach her at the same time, it was as if she was other-worldly, a goddess among men. Lauren was equally gorgeous, however, she was beautiful in a dangerous way. Even the closed-mouth smile that she had in the picture was a silent warning: If you so much as look at me the wrong way, a sniper's bullet will make its way through your skull before you can even realize what you did wrong.
The High Regent chuckled to herself, Lauren could get very aggressive. A normally undesirable trait Cassandra had utilized to secure her position as ruler of the world. Were it not for Lauren's brash decisions and tactical brilliance, the United Western Alliance, which Cassandra ruled at the time, wouldn't have won the war with the Triad Conglomerate, which was dissolved after the UWA victory.
The years afterward led to her appointment as High Regent by the United Solar Nations and the Confederate Mars Coalition. She was the perfect leader: She was adored by everyone in the star system, for one reason or another. She had to be the most capable leader in the history of humanity, she did what needed to be done and got it done right. Her compassion and capacity for love outmatched the most benevolent saints, but that didn't stop her from ordering armies to war, and every war she sanctioned she had won, with the help of Lauren's strategic insight. The world had advanced magnanimously in the years under her rule. Cancer was cured centuries ago, but a whole plethora of new diseases and ailments began to plague humankind as they began to venture out into space. The list of which has dwindled as Cassandra's medical programs and initiatives started to find the remedies to them rather quickly. War was still fought with dissidents in the far reaches of the system, but their resistances always turned on themselves. Earth was a utopia, and there was order.
High Regent Empyreal turned away from the window facing her planet and sat down in her chair, it sunk a little before adjusting to the right position as all hover-chairs do. She tapped a blue square on the holo-pad laid on her desk, shortly after a image was displayed above the holo-pad.
"What do you need Cassandra? You know I do not like to be awake these hours." Said a tired voice. It was true, Lauren normally slept through the day. Opting to be "fully alert the hours my enemies rest" as she put it.
"You'll live. Make your way down to my office, I want you here when the visitor arrives."
"Visitor?"
"I've been told he is a...survivor of the Black Gate Incident..."
"Oh." Lauren said quietly, "I'll be right over." The image of her quickly disappeared.
Sighing to herself, Cassandra slumped in her chair. The Black Gate Incident was the worst space expedition ever recorded, and she was the one who ordered it. Over five-hundred deep space vessels, carrying nearly ninety-thousand settlers, engineers, builders, and soldiers were all destroyed in the event. Every citizen in the Sol System knew the theories of wormholes, instant travel to an unknown section of the galaxy, or even the universe. When one was discovered just between the Sol System and the Alpha Centauri System, Cassandra immediately began preparations for an expedition. Skeptics criticized this, demanding further study of the wormhole, but they were overpowered by the legions of adventurous citizens who supported Cassandra's decision.
Once the armada made its way to the wormhole, it stopped short. The plan was to send a large detachment of the combat frigates with a few left to secure the civilian spaceships. It was a monumentous occasion and it was being broadcast to every telescreen in Sol. Billions cheered as the military detachment made its way through the wormhole. It was two hours before the military frigates returned, and the entire system seemed to be holding its breath. Nobody foresaw what came next.
As soon as the combat frigates returned from the wormhole, they primed their weapons and began to fire ruthlessly into the civilian ships. The security ships had no chance against the larger force and surely, they, along with every other frigate in the expedition was decimated by the military detachment. Once the firing ceased, one by one, the combat frigates initiated their self-destruct sequences. And in less than four hours, every last man, woman, and child in the expedition was incinerated or drifting into the cold of deep space.
The large chrome double-doors to her office quickly slid into the walls and let in Lauren, once she was in, the doors slid shut. She was dressed in a black uniform with cobalt epaulettes. With one look at her sister, she knew what Cassandra was thinking.
"Black Gate was not your fault, Cassie."
"Don't give me that spiel Lauren, I've heard it too many times."
"If you say so."
Clearing her throat, Cassandra rose from her desk, "Well, let us meet this survivor. Simon? You can let him in." Simon was the intelligence program that ran the space station.
"Yes, High Regent." replied a synthetic but soothing voice.
The chrome doors opened once more to let in a whole squad of soldiers, who surrounded the survivor.
"Boys, give the man some space." Cassandra sighed.
Silently, the soldiers spread out and took position along the walls, all looking intently at the man. He was handcuffed and a black hood covered his entire head. But he wore a well-fitted suit that was mainly brown but had a mismatch of colors and patterns that were quite ridiculous.
"Is all of this really necessary?"
"Of course it is, High Regent." Came a deep voice from the doorway, it was Jackson, Lauren and Cassandra's brother, as well as the commander of security forces on the station. He was dressed in a uniform very similiar to Lauren's.
Although he was younger than both sisters, and they were above him in position, he spoke with the rightful authority of the protector of the High Regent, "We have yet to determine if this man was among the ships attacked, or one of the attacking frigates. He is either a victim or a murderer. Either way, he would have cause to harm you for sanctioning the expedition to the Black gate."
Cassandra was tired of living with her mistake and strode toward the survivor, against the protests of Jackson. It didn't matter whether this man was a victim or not, she was determined to face someone who had survived her horrible decision. In a single smooth motion, she took the hood off the man's head. Instantly, she took a few steps back. His face was scarred terribly and his hair was patchy and sparse. It wasn't this that forced her back. The man looked at her with familiar eyes and grinned at her with a smile she knew only one person possessed.
Daniel.
"Helloooooo, Cassandra!! Remember me? Of course you do. This-" He gestured to his face with bound hands, "-is your fault. And you know it." He burst out.
Cassandra was still in shock. She didn't notice that by now all of the soldiers were aiming at Daniel, Jackson had a pistol to his head, and Lauren had somehow acquired a sub-machine gun and was pointing it at the man.
"Oh, and all of you tough guys, with your guns, if you didn't know, I'm Daniel Anacherian."
Lauren slowly lowered her weapon, and looked at the man, confused.
"My God....Daniel it is you..."
"Who cares if it's him!" Jackson yelled, pressing the barrel of his gun harder into Daniel's head, "If it is, I should just blow his brains out right now!"
"No!" Cassandra exclaimed, finally regaining her senses. The man in front of her was Daniel, but he didn't act or speak at all the way she remembered.
Daniel Anacherian.
Daniel was the commanding officer of the entire expedition fleet. His ship was the first to go through the wormhole.... As well as the first to come back and fire on the civilian ships. He was a war hero, a fearless leader, he was also Cassandra's secret lover. She ordered him to command the fleet when rumors began to spring up about their relationship.
Very calmly, Lauren made her way to Jackson's side. He continued to hold his gun to Daniel's head. She whispered in his ear.
"You didn't know this survivor was the Daniel Anacherian?" Despite her hushed tone, Jackson winced at the daggers in her voice.
"Cassandra wanted the survivor brought to her immediately. We weren't able to complete all of the security checks, she overrode them and set up the meeting. Why do you think we have all of these soldiers?" Jackson whispered back, gesturing toward the troopers that lined the walls with his free hand.
After giving Jackson a fiery glare, Lauren made her way back to her sister's side.
"Anyway," Daniel said after clearing his throat, "I didn't come here just to have guns pointed at me, I have a message for you Cassie."
The High Regent regarded him quizzically, he continued to speak as if he was repeating something said many times before. His voice also took on a haunting tone.
"Every opposite in the universe has its turn. The turn of Order is coming to an end. Very soon. You are commended for your accomplishment of Order in your turn. But, as it has always been, Chaos must have its turn. That is why we have sent our agent to usher in the Age of Chaos.
"Ahem. I believe that is me." Daniel said, his voice returning to its normal state.
"What happened in there? Did you make some sort of contact with an alien entity?" Cassandra inquired. The ramifications of which would rock humanity.
"I wouldn't say that, dear," Daniel replied, "they are more like....referees. Making sure the universe is fair and that 'all opposites have their turn in the-" yadda, yadda, you know. That stuff."
"How could you have made contact so quickly? You were only in there for two hours!"
Daniel began to laugh hysterically, once it died down a little, he wiped a tear from his eye, "Two hours? Two hours?! My fleet was in there for two years. We saw things no living thing should ever see. We learned the laws of our universe and those beyond. Luckily, they chose me as their agent. The rest of the fleet was sent back through the wormhole. Unfortunately, they all went insane. And you know the results."
"You don't seem very sane yourself Anacherian," Lauren said.
"But we can get you help." Cassandra added onto Lauren's statement.
"Help? I don't need help. You are the ones who will need help, I'm only like this so I could get to you Cassandra."
"What are you talking about?"
"Ugh, talking. So much talking. It's too much! I've been sent here to do a job and that's the only order I will take from them. I have chaos to spread!" Daniel yelled, and snapped his fingers, and in a flash his bindings were gone.
The troopers noticed and began close in on him, but with another snap of his fingers they started to turn into stone. It started at their fingers and accelerated along their arms. The most hardened and battle-ready soldiers in the system began to panic as they felt every cell of their body being turned into cold stone. Within seconds they were all unmoving statues.
"Jackson!!! No!!!!" Lauren screamed as she noticed he too was solid rock, his face set in a scowl, the only one not to panic while being turned into stone.
"Oh, it is so hard losing a sibling," Daniel said nonchalantly, "imagine losing your whole life and your humanity." He brought his hands together in a large clap and all of the soldier statues shattered into a million different pieces.
Cassandra felt numb. This couldn't be happening. Lauren let out a wordless scream and raised her sub-machine gun and fired it at Daniel. All of the bullets made contact, but he still stood, looking down at his body, frowning. There was no blood. Only holes.
"You ruined my suit...." He said angrily as he stepped to Lauren and grabbed her around the neck, and lifted her up, choking her.
Although unable to make any words, she willed herself to spit in his face.
"Well, that wasn't very attracti-" Daniel's words cut off as Lauren spit in his face again.
He pulled back his fist and punched her in the face, sending her flying across the office.
Cassandra let out a wail and rushed to Lauren's unmoving form. The unnatural man slowly walked toward her.
"There are certain conditions and changes that must be made before I get my turn Cassie. First it starts with you..."
She looked up at the....the demon he had to be. In between her sobs, she spoke, "Why are you doing this Daniel? This isn't you... why....why......"
"It is just the way it has to be my dear. And you don't need to call me Daniel anymore if it bothers you."
"You can call me Discord."
