Celestia.
President Celestia.
If there was one thing in my life I never expected to happen during my time here, it was to meet the Princess-turned-corporate-leader herself. It was so hard to believe the President had been an actual Princess once.
Well to be fair, she and her sister were still technically Princesses, but that role had more or less taken a backseat to their responsibilities as members of the Wendigo Corporation.
It had been a long time since President Celestia and Chief Commander Luna had actually taken up their roles as the Co-Rulers of Equestria -- in fact the last time they had issued any kind of royal decree was way back before even my mother was born, and that was to override some ill conceived change to the city's budget.
Generally they had trusted delegates like Fancy Pants, Blueblood, and Cadence to handle the day-to-day running of the city. Cadence herself was an alicorn like Celestia and Luna, but she had lost her status as an actual Princess, along with her entire empire, centuries ago during the Age of War.
She had worked as an aide to both Princesses all the way up until Celestia had become President, after which she became a delegate. You'd be hard pressed to find a kinder mare in all of Equestria.
If Celestia was the 'mother' of Equestria, then Cadence was the 'big sister'.
While many leaders all over the world had conceded their leadership to Wendigo's Board of Directors, Princess Celestia had gained herself a rather unique position among the other leaders.
Each member of the Board of Directors was part of a different race, a decision that was meant to represent each separate race coming together as a single entity. Each of the directors had handpicked the one they thought would best represent them as President of the Corporation.
Celestia, with her millennia's worth of wisdom and experience, had played a pivotal role in the rise of the Age of Peace. Because of that, she had been a prime candidate for the position. That left many to wonder if Princess Luna would take up the role as the Director representing ponykind, but to everypony's surprise, she refused the position.
This left an empty seat on the Board, as Celestia had already accepted the position of President. In the end the majority of the Board decided to leave the seat empty out of respect for the snow white alicorn, promising her a spot as an honorary member of the Board despite her position as President.
While she had no real power as a Board member while acting as President, she was given the right to take up that power should she ever step down from her current position.
While Celestia had turned her focus to her duties as the new President of Wendigo, Luna had continued her role as a Princess of Equestria, leading the ponies in Celestia's stead, though she lost more and more power as a Princess as Wendigo's influence spread.
Naturally, this created a rift between the two sisters, and for awhile, the atmosphere in Equestria was a tense one. It was said that Luna began to feel more and more useless as time went on, but just before things reached a boiling point, there was a breakthrough.
Daeus Arms were created and Luna was quick to hop on the opportunity these new weapons presented. She set her differences with her sister aside and together they founded the Daeus Hunter Defense Force with Luna as it's new Chief Commander.
Though both sisters were now a part of Wendigo, they never officially relinquished their titles of Princesses of Equestria, nor were they expected to. Both Celestia and Luna had been ruling Equestria for so long that the thought of stepping down from the throne hadn't crossed anypony's mind, even when they took up their new roles.
And they both performed their new roles spectacularly.
Having Celestia in the seat of the Presidency ensured that things were fair and on-the-level within the company, as the alicorn had long held a reputation for being an incorruptible leader among her people.
Luna had taken to the battlefield like a fish to water. She wasn't a pony who stepped back and let others do the fighting for her -- at least not for the most part. She remained mindful of her role as a leader, but also made sure to be an example of what every aspiring Daeus Hunter was supposed to be.
When pitted against the Avidaeos, she was a demon -- some even going so far as to say the mare changed during battle. Her nigh impossible feats and brutally efficient methods earned her the moniker of 'Nightmare Moon', a title she held with no small amount of pride.
She had become a living legend even among the dragons and minotaurs, some of the most powerful races on Equus.
She wasn't just a Daeus Hunter, she was the Daeus Hunter.
My thoughts continued to wander in this same vein, mentally reciting everything I had read about the Royal Sisters, as I waited for the elevator to reach the top floor. After roughly two minutes or so of waiting, the elevator pinged, signalling that I had reached my intended destination.
Snapping out of my musings, I nervously stepped out of the elevator and into the small hallway that led to Celestia's office. The lights overhead were dimmed somewhat, and that, combined with the soft beige color of the walls, gave the hallway a sort of cozy feel.
Okay, Twilight, just relax. Stay calm, whatever President Celestia wants, it probably doesn't have anything to do with firing you for a poor performance... probably.
I took a few calming breaths before schooling my features and walking towards the doors at the end of the surprisingly short hallway. I stopped at the double doors and took another deep breath, clenching and unclenching my fingers a few times before raising a fist to knock.
A gesture that was rendered completely unnecessary as it turned out.
Just before I could knock on one of the double doors, the handles were enveloped in a bright golden aura and the doors were pulled open of their own accord -- or rather, of Celestia's accord, as the golden aura of magic belonged to none other than the alicorn herself.
"Ah, Twilight Sparkle," came a deep melodious voice from further in, "please, come in, we have much to talk about."
I blinked stupidly for a few moments before gathering my wits and stepping into the room. The doors quietly shut behind me and I found myself alone with the President in all her glory.
The mare in front of me sat behind her large desk as though it was made for her. Her prismatic mane constantly billowed in a nonexistent breeze, her snow white fur practically shining even in the dim light and dark backdrop of the night sky that could be seen through the massive, curtainless window behind her.
Her bright magenta eyes didn't show an ounce of weariness or exhaustion, and her smile was as warm as the light of the sun itself. She wore a royal blue military styled double breasted blazer with a cyan armband embroidered with the Wendigo Corp. insignia adorning the left arm of her suit.
The blazer was partially unbuttoned, leaving the collar of a cyan dress shirt to poke out from beneath. Professional, immaculate, and radiant were just a few of the words I would've used to describe Celestia.
In complete contrast, I wore a simple forest green turtleneck and black slacks. It was only now, standing here in front of Celestia, that I felt extremely underdressed.
As I continued to stare shamelessly, Celestia raised an eyebrow before leaning forward and resting her hands on the desk. She chuckled and gave me a playful smirk.
"Like what you see?"
My open mouth snapped shut and I quickly looked away, completely mortified. The reaction only made Celestia laugh out loud.
"I'm sorry, Twilight," she said, still chuckling good-naturedly, "I couldn't resist. You'll have to forgive me, I tend to look for amusement wherever I can find it."
"Yeah," I replied with an awkward chuckle of my own, my face still a bit flushed, "I uh... know exactly what you mean."
I really had no idea what she meant.
"I'm fairly sure you don't," Celestia replied, reading my mind somehow, "but that's alright, I won't fault you for it," she gave me one last heart-meltingly warm smile before putting on a business-like frown, "I supposed we'd better get to business then."
She lit up her horn and a chair I hadn't noticed earlier rolled itself to a stop in front of her desk. She gestured to the chair with an idle wave of her hand. I took that as my cue to sit, and sat myself down in the chair, adjusting it a bit so that the seat rose a bit higher off the ground.
"Now then," Celestia began, folding her hands on the table, "did Moon Dancer tell you why I called you here?"
"Um, no, not really," I replied nervously, "she said something about a test, and that's about it. She implied that she wasn't able to get a lot out of Miss Inkwell, but I don't think she was telling me everything."
Celestia furrowed her brows and hummed to herself thoughtfully. After a moment she sighed and looked back to me with an apologetic smile.
"I'm afraid some of that might've been my fault," she finally said, "I forget how tight-lipped Raven is when she isn't given express permission to divulge information that comes directly from me."
"Oh, no, that's okay Miss President," I said quickly, "i-it's okay, really, I figured you'd tell me in person anyway, so there's nothing to worry about."
Celestia eyed me contemplatively before her gaze turned sad and somewhat guilty. She sighed again and turned her chair slightly so that she could see out the window to the brightly lit city below.
For several moments, she just sat there, staring out the window with a conflicted expression. I grimaced as I watched her, my hands idly wringing the bottom of my turtleneck sweater.
Eventually she turned back to me, her expression sad, but firm.
"Things... may not be as okay as they seem, Twilight," she said before reaching down and pulling open a drawer beneath her desk, "as for Moon Dancer hiding something from you..."
She pulled some documents out of the drawer and placed them on the desk, spinning them around and sliding them toward me.
"...I'd completely understand if that was the case."
I furrowed my brow in bemusement as I looked from Celestia's solemn face to the papers in front of me. With a growing sense of dread, I picked up the papers and looked them over.
After a minute the document slipped from my shaky hands and fluttered to the floor. I took no notice as I stared at the President with a horrified expression.
"T-These are... they're... y-you're not... you can't be--"
"Yes, Twilight," Celestia interjected with a nod, "they're reassignment forms," she sat up straight bringing the full force of her authority to bear, "I'm personally reassigning you to the Wendigo Sub-Branch in Ponyville to work as a Daeus Hunter."
I felt sick.
"Should you successfully pass both the Daeification process and your training period, you will be assigned to the Retaliation Team under 1st Unit Leader Applejack."
I couldn't breathe.
"I expect you to have your locker cleaned out by the end of tomorrow," Celestia continued, "you have three days to prepare, bring only the essentials," her features softened slightly, "I will send 2nd Unit Leader Shining Armor to pick you up on the morning of the fourth day."
I was almost certain my heart was going to beat it's way out of my chest.
"I'm sorry, Twilight, but we need you out there more than we need you here right now," Celestia continued, ignorant of my impending breakdown, "I know your research is important, and it's helped us greatly, but there's something... Twilight?"
My vision was swimming.
It was getting darker.
There was a constant pounding in my head.
Gravity didn't seem to work right.
"Twilight?" Celestia asked again, rising out of her chair and furrowing her brow in concern, "Twilight? Are you -- Twilight!"
I blacked out, wondering why Celestia hadn't just fired me instead.