It is the 41st millennium in the Imperium of Man but the Equestrian Empire is just emerging. Going back a few hundred years Celestia and Luna ruled the entire planet after the many countries united to form the Equestrian Empire after many years of brutal warfare. The sisters decided to name their home planet after their original country. Equestria Primus was the planets new name, its old one lost to the ages. The inhabitants of this newly founded Imperium of Equestria stowed their weapons and prayed to the princesses they would never call upon the rusting metal weapons and armor ever again. Instead of years of war they began to focus on more beneficial goal; the colonization of their nearby worlds. Their solar system only consisted of three other worlds dubbed Equestria Secundus the nearest to Equestria Primus, Tartarus a planet few looked forward to exploring, and Labarinthia a planet covered in large forests.

Equestria Secundus was the sister planet Equestria Primus located just past its moon. It too was home to the vast mountain ranges, rolling grasslands, and scattered deserts found on its sister planet. Along with the similar topography the planet also supported almost completely identical forms of life as found on her sister. Rabbit, deer, and even many of the predators such as the manticore and timber wolf all seemed to have evolved at the same rate as those back on Equestria Primus. The only real difference was that there seemed to be no types of sentient life forms here, even though the environment was the same it seemed to no longer have any form of life with sentience similar to the ponies, griffons, or even dragons found on her sister planet.

There was however remnants of past life forms that seemed to surpass even the Equestrians in their levels of technology. Advanced guns far more civilized than the Equestrians’ flintlock rifles, advanced artillery, and even advanced armor that seemed to stop their musket shots. Though interesting, the items were obviously in disrepair and falling apart. The explorersdecided it was best to send the weapons and armor back to Equestria Primus for research and storage. They also came across the remnants of many large living structures that had crumbled or fallen due to millennia of weathering and lack of maintenance. These structures offered up many new finds as well. Most numerous were the icons of a two-headed eagle with outstretched wings. This image was found on pendants, some metals, and most of entrance ways to buildings. These finds were sent back to Equestria Primus along with the weaponry for study.

While Equestria Secundus was a planet of beauty Tartarus on the other hand was a planet of extremes. Due to its slow rotation one side of the planet was a perpetual barren wasteland of ice. Due to the lack of sunlight and heat the temperatures stayed at a constant -130 degrees Fahrenheit. Vast mountain ranges covered the planet and seemed to make up most of the landscape. Some small life forms had developed here among the snow and ice. These were small fur covered mammals with a thick layer of fat for warmth. These creatures were called “Tulathi” after their discoverer; a Griffon by the name of Jonah Tulathi. These creatures feed on the small amounts of bacteria and mosses that grew in the ice caves in the mountains. These tulathi had become a major natural food source for the small colony's diet along with the varieties of mosses.

The other side of Tartarus was the exact opposite. Being as this side would face the sun the terrain had been scorched nearly clean of life. The intense heat has made colonization on this side impossible and only a few small exploration parties have ventured here; but only for a few hours at a time before returning to the cooler night side. A few attempts at reaching further into the day's side had been made only to have contact lost after a day. The transmissions received usually detailed the death of the explorers due to the heat and were never received farther than 20 miles past the edge of the “day-line”. The middle area of the planet between the two zones is inhospitable as either side. There is little to no vegetation and where there is some it is no more than patches of grass. The area was also racked constantly by violent storms mainly consisting of gigantic tornadoes and volcanic lightning.

Lastly was Labarinthia, a dense forest world covered in many various kinds of dangerous and most often times lethal vegetation. These ranged from bushes with poisonous thorns to carnivorous trees with a low level of intelligence. There were many plants but no animals had yet been seen. The colonists soon discovered that the only animals that lived on Labarinthia where a type of mole creature that lived underground called the Taulorn. These Taulorn ate the decaying plant matter under the soil and in turn fertilize the ground as they passed through it. Once again these native animals had become a staple in the colonist's diet as well as the few non-dangerous plant matter that grew in the underbrush.

Back on Equestria Primus, upon receiving the weapons and artifacts from the explorations the princesses immediately became enthralled with the newly discovered aquila and adopted the symbol for their own use with some slight alterations. Instead of the two headed eagle an image of the princesses overlapping with wings extended became the universal symbol of the Imperium. Though unlike the discovered aquila, which one eagle head appeared to have vision while the other did not, both princesses were portrayed with closed eyes. They wanted this to be a reminder of the wars of old and the needless losses of life and that much more was to be gained from friendship than hatred.

The Equestrian Empire had finally begun to take its first tentative steps into the void as these colonies turned into small settlements, and in the case of Equestria Secundus into sprawling cities. The different races of the Imperium of Equestria worked together efficiently and had finally forgotten most of their warring ways and traditions over the few hundred years of peace; but the peace they had created would not last for long it seemed. On the distant planet Labarinthia a beacon has been activated, a request for aid.

Author's Note

This is my first story so constructive criticism is appreciated, I'd really like feedback from everyone! I hope to start getting into the action next chapter so stay tuned!