Whilst the Order of Roots meeting in Appleloosa was taking place, a meeting of the six Canterlot noble houses (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo and Capricorn) and the two princesses was taking place in the Canterlot Court at the same time and it was nearing its conclusion.
"For the last time, Sir Leonus, we are not going to relocate all pegasi from Canterlot to Las Pegasus and Cloudsdale, not only does that not help the economic crisis in any way at all, they also form the bulk of our Royal Guard and they do make several contributions to Equestrian society." said Princess Celestia with a sigh, who was looking to end the meeting.
Princess Luna sighed loudly from her seat and observed her surroundings. The court had several rows of seats and these were filled up by all of the noble houses in Canterlot, who were all made up of unicorns. Each house had their banner and these banners depicted various images representing their houses (the richest house was Taurus but the most influential was House Gemini). The six noble houses made up a council and they met once a week to discuss and propose laws to better Equestria. A representative of each noble house (usually the head of the family) would make a suggestion for a new law or program in a special seat before the princesses and they would be rejected, considered or immediately accepted. The noble houses were also charged with running a department that contributed to society (Taurus-Finance, Leo-Defence, Capricorn-Education, Aries-Agriculture, Cancer-Health and Gemini- Culture and Media). The noble houses' power in the council was not very large and the princesses ultimately had the final say. The decision to accept new laws proposed by the noble houses had not been made for quite some time and this was due to the fact that Princess Celestia and Luna were aware of the fact that the majority of the six Canterlot noble families were unicorn supremacists to varying degrees. The noble houses (Taurus and Gemini in particular) made it a point to meddle with ordinary ponies' lives and increase their influence and power with their self-titled 'The Game' through their trade decisions, the value of their businesses on the stock market and regular formal functions (this was the reason why Celesta and Luna limited the power the nobles had in the council). The nobles (apart from House Aries) rarely employed pegasi and earth ponies and those who worked for the nobles had lowly positions (e.g. servants and cooks in their mansions) and they received very little pay. There were alliances between Houses Capricorn, Leo and Virgo and an alliance between House Taurus and Gemini whilst House Aries was civil with everypony. House Aries and House Capricorn were the only houses the royal sisters knew that were completely loyal to them. The princesses allowed the nobles to behave as they wished in order to keep the peace but Celestia and Luna knew that they had to reduce the noble houses' power to a significant extent in order to prevent future protests from the other pony tribes. The most extreme unicorn supremacist out of all of the nobles was Sir Leonus (who was head of the Leo House) and his suggestions seemed to be getting worse with each council meeting. Luna and Celestia feared that one day he may demand for the extermination of the other two tribes.
"Mad feather-brain loving bitch." seethed Sir Leonus inwardly. He flashed the princess a small smile, bowed and returned to his designated seat.
“Your Highness, if it pleases you, I would like to make a suggestion regarding the economic crisis our nation is currently facing.” announced Sir Renois Aries.
“Permission granted.” replied Princess Celestia.
Sir Aries walked over to the designated seat that was in front of the two princesses and slowly sat down. He took out a long scroll of paper and began to read.
“We are all aware of the crisis Equestria is facing and it is starting to take a toll on us nobles, the bear market that is currently taking place means that our share prices have been dropping and ponies that own shares are selling them when nopony is buying shares. Others have also found that we need to cut number on our workforce in order to consolidate for the lack of sales our businesses are suffering from. I propose that the two princesses introduce an unemployment benefits system, in which ponies that are unemployed and have families are able to receive funds in order to tide them over whilst they are searching for new jobs. My family also wanted to propose that the foal care system is reorganised immediately, in order to accommodate for ponies with foals to take care of. My family is also willing to hand over control of our farms and businesses to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and I am sure that the rest of the noble houses are willing to make this sacrifice with their respective businesses in order to help end this crisis."
"THAT'S COMPLETELY PREPOSTEROUS!" yelled Sir Wolfgang Taurus (head of House Taurus) as he stood up from his seat. Several gasps could be heard as an outburst of this nature hadn’t been seen in the court for a long time. The two princesses rose out of their seats in anticipation of a possible (though extremely unlikely) conflict between Sir Renois and Sir Wolfgang. Sir Wolfgang held up a hoof in apology to the two princesses and turned to address Sir Renois.
“How is an unemployment benefits system going to help fix the problems Equestria is facing?! My economists have been looking at the national statistics and the rising unemployment rates have started to slow down. Sir Renois has also exaggerated on the issues the Equestria Stock Exchange is going through and what will help the situation get better are tax cuts and further deregulations on businesses, which is what I was planning to propose and argue for at court today.”
“Does this mean that you are willing to debate with Sir Renois on this issue, Sir Wolfgang?” asked Princess Luna.
“Yes, I am.”
“Then it is settled. Guards, prepare the court for an honorary debate between House Aries and House Taurus.” announced Princess Celestia.
Several guards entered the court and quickly began to arrange the chairs into two groups on opposite ends of the court. House Taurus and House Aries moved to opposite ends of the court to their designated seats. The rest of the nobles remained in their seats and turned their attention to the two princesses.
“Nobles, you are to listen to the arguments of both houses and come to an agreement and vote on which law we should consider passing. House Taurus and House Aries, your representatives may begin when they are ready.”
All eyes turned to the two noble houses and Sir Wolfgang Taurus stood up first to make his argument.
“Tax cuts will save this country. We are on the brink of what could possibly be a crippling depression. More involvement in daily affairs is not what we need and regulating businesses even more will just make matters worse. The only thing an unemployment benefits system will do is create laziness amongst ponies because they will not make an effort to find employment if they are receiving money for free. If we reduce personal tax rates by 25%, then there will be more investment placed in businesses, allowing them to expand, thus creating more jobs. Working hours should also remain as they are because eight to ten hours a day means that production will not be affected and it will eventually reignite the economy to start improving. Our country has been in this kind of situation before and minimal involvement in business affairs means that the economy will right itself sooner rather than later. Thank you.” Once Sir Wolfgang had finished he nodded his head slightly and sat back down in his seat.
“Thank you, Sir Wolfgang. Sir Renois, whenever you’re ready.”
Sir Renois stood up and proceeded to make his speech.
“The unemployment system will not create laziness as Sir Wolfgang has inaccurately claimed. Like I said before, it will provide ponies with a sufficient amount of money so that they may be able to return some sense of normalcy into their lives. Nationalising our industries will mean that needy ponies can be provided for and it will also mean that the number of monopolised businesses that have come about in recent years will not be able to harm public welfare.” Sir Renois gave a pointed look at Sir Wolfgang at this point. “I am sure that civilised ponies like us are willing to make a small sacrifice with our businesses until the economy recovers. Thank you.” Sir Renois sat back down in his seat and all eyes in the court turned to the princesses.
“Nobles, it is now time to vote. All those who support Sir Renois’ proposition raise your hooves.”
Some hooves were scattered throughout the court but most belonged to the nobles of Houses Cancer and Capricorn. Princess Luna counted their hooves and wrote down the number on a small piece of paper.
“All those who support Sir Wolfgang’s proposition, raise your hooves now.”
There were far more hooves raised at this point and all came from nobles of Houses Gemini and Leo. Princess Luna counted again and wrote the second number down on the same piece of paper.
“Then it is settled. Sir Wolfgang, you are to bring the bill detailing your department’s plans in three day’s time. Is that enough time for your family to draft the bill?”
“More than enough your Highness, thank you.” Sir Wolfgang replied. He walked over to Sir Renois and held out a hoof. Sir Renois immediately shook it but it was blatantly obvious that he was furious about the debate’s results.
Princess Celestia rose from her seat and prepared to announce the end of the weekly court meeting.
"This court is now-"
"Wait your Highness!"
Everybody immediately turned to the entrance where a unicorn couple were stood. The stallion and mare both had yellow bodies and their cutie marks were related to the sun. They quickly walked over to Celestia and Luna and the mare whispered quickly to them. The news had an immediate effect on the princesses and they turned to the nobles.
"The Elements of Chaos have been found!"
This announcement led to prolonged polite claps and small smiles from the nobles (and this was the closest they would ever get to raucously cheering).
"Sunburst Solar and Sunrise Phoenix of House Capricorn, I hereby formerly commend you for the success of your mission. You may have just saved Equestria from itself."
"It was the least we could do." said Sunburst with a polite bow, adjusting his glasses.
"I think it would be best if we kept the Elements at the palace for safekeeping. Do you agree nobles?" asked Princess Luna.
"Yes, your Highness." was the answer. But Sunburst did look slightly irritated that the nobles had so readily agreed with Luna. Celestia saw this but she dismissed it, thinking that she was seeing things.
"This court is now adjourned. You are dismissed, Canterlot nobles."
The nobles calmly left the court and gathered outside to discuss proceedings for the gathering that was to be held at the Gemini mansion that evening to initiate trade negotiations between the noble houses (but officially it was believed by everypony that the gathering was held before Equestria Day each year as a pre-celebration).
"Sir Genelos am I right in proclaiming that we all should expect a pleasant event once again?" enquired Sir Wolfgang, who was the head of House Taurus.
"You shouldn't be expecting anything less from my family, good friend. We always aim to outdo each year's gathering with the next." replied Sir Genelos (head of House Gemini).
"Just as I thought, sir. Well, my family are sure to attend this year as we always do. Ah, that reminds me, I would like to speak to you privately for a brief moment, my friend."
The pair of unicorns teleported to a secluded area a few feet away from the court so that they weren't disturbed. The other nobles continued to crowd at the entrance of the court House Leo entered their carriages once the exchange between Sir Wolfgang and Sir Genelos had ended and headed straight home; with Sir Leonus flashing Princess Celestia a nasty glare (that fortunately for Sir Leonus, she did not notice). He ignored the other nobles and returned to his seat and the ponies pulling the carriages galloped off. The other nobles took this as their cue to leave as well and they got onto their carriages and headed off to their respective homes in preparation for the gathering.
The princesses waited for the nobles to leave from the entrance of the court for their homes. Once it was clear that nopony would be able to listen in to their conversation, they turned to the couple.
"Luna and I would like to see you tomorrow after my speech in the palace conference room to discuss tactics for the Elements. You are dismissed."
"Of course, your Highness. As you command." said Sunrise Phoenix, smiling.
Sunburst and Sunrise exited the court very quickly and waited until they were outside before they started speaking.
"Did she fall for it, Sunburst?"
"Hopefully, but she'll realise soon, so we need to practise using the Elements immediately so we can overpower them tomorrow. I'm just annoyed that the princesses want to meet us tomorrow in the palace. I wanted to buy us more time and they may have already figure out our true intentions by them."
Sunrise nodded abruptly. When Celestia summoned them to the palace three months ago to offer them the opportunity to take up a mission to find the Elements of Chaos, she and Sunburst were surprised (and slightly honoured), but they also saw the mission as an opportunity to finally gain a legitimate source of power. They had to travel to Saddle Arabia for what would be a four-month long mission and the couple barely escaped with their lives; with Sunrise’s two decade long training in dark and battle magic, and Sunrise’s political ability eventually saving them from their enemies. But when they returned to Equestria (two weeks before the next Canterlot Court meeting), they began to put their plan into motion. Sunburst obtained jewels that appeared identical to the Elements and he coated them with an advanced deception spell he had written so that they appeared to have the same magical power as the Elements. Sunrise and Sunburst then began to practise using the Elements, so that they could get used to their power in preparation for their confrontation with the princesses. House Capricorn believed that the princesses did not grant them enough power and this was why unicorns were on the decline in terms of holding influential positions in Equestrian society. The Capricorn family were particularly concerned with the rise of other tribes in terms of prosperity (which contradicted the economic crisis that was taking place) and the fact that they were breaking out of their designated role in Equestria angered the Capricorn family; and Sunburst and his wife had been told to "do something about it" by Sunburst's father. Sunburst in particular was desperate to please his father; as a foal he had excelled at magic and upon gaining his cutie mark, was immediately sent to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns- but unfortunately Sunburst was never able to fulfil his potential due to his lack of ability in applying his knowledge practically. His parents (and his father in particular) could barely disguise their huge disappointment when he was forced to drop out from Celestia's school, and Sunburst spent the next few years working at his magic and his hard work eventually paid off in a scholarship to study magic at the prestigious University of Detrot. Unfortunately, Sunburst's mother did not live long enough to see the fruition of her son's hard work and Sunburst was also motivated to succeed for the sake of his mother. However, Sunburst still held a self-directed grudge at his time in Celestia's school, and he saw his plan to take over Equestria as an opportunity to redeem himself for his past failures.
"We've prepared as much as we can and there's nothing we can do about it anymore, okay? Now come on Sunburst, we have to get home quickly to Sunset, its nearly teatime now and then there's that Gemini party we all have to go to tonight as well." said Sunrise.
At the mention of his daughter's name, Sunburst smiled. Sunset Shimmer had a natural talent for magic and she was also Princess Celestia's personal protégé, which a great source of pride for their parents. She had an incredible work ethic and didn't let friends get in the way of her studies, which was important as a member of the Capricorn House. Most members of the Capricorn House had gone on to study at university and entered the political field or ran a prestigious school, and Sunburst and his wife were grooming Sunset to make sure that she was suitable for a political role, such as Mayor of a major Equestrian city until she was ready to take over Equestria from her parents. Then Sunburst frowned upon hearing the second part of Sunrise's sentence. The annual Gemini gathering held the day before Equestria Day was not compulsory to attend, but every noble house attended and occasionally influential unicorns that were not noble were also invited. It was seen by many across Equestria as the social event of the year; but Sunburst had never been keen on attending events like this.
"What's on your mind Sunburst?" asked Sunrise.
"Life, and how after tomorrow, things will change for everypony in Equestria." lied Sunburst.
"Part of me feels a little guilty for what we will put the princesses through, but they brought this upon themselves."
"That's true Sunrise, and with us in control, life will be better. For unicorns that is."
The couple laughed and continued walking quickly towards their house, their moods indefinitely lifted by the prospect of House Capricorn taking control of Equestria.
Although it had only begun an hour ago, the party was already in full swing. The gathering was unofficially taking place in the ball room and the garden of the Gemini mansion and upon their arrival, noble ponies flocked to these two areas. The ball room's ceiling had expensive lights hanging from it and the curtains had been tied up and left to hang on the sides of the windows so that the air was kept cool. The mahogany walls held pictures of previous heads and famous members of the Gemini family and drew several small crowds to admire the skills of the artist that had painted them. The garden was much less crowded and this was where all of the nobles from each noble house currently stood. Waiters swarmed around, refilling glasses with champagne as soon as they were emptied. Noble mares and stallions were dressed in their finest clothes to impress and whilst the ponies present were split into several groups, the atmosphere was pleasantly ambient. There were several discussions regarding alliances and shares between nobles and when a deal was agreed upon, champagne glasses were clinked as a sign of the trust and friendship between the two nobles. Sir Genelos was walking through the garden towards his stage to make his annual speech, occasionally stopping to greet new arrivals and accept praise for another successfully organised event. He eventually reached the stage and tapped the microphone loudly to get everypony's attention.
"Nobles! It is my great honour to welcome you all to the 67th annual Gemini Trade Gathering!” Sir Genelos paused to allow the noble to clap for a few seconds and he prepared to continue his two-minute long speech.
Suddenly a pair of unicorns entered the courtyard and they gained the attention of everypony present immediately. The mare was wearing an orange-yellow ensemble, with synthetic flames streaking across it and her horn and mane had been intricately decorated with different flowers. The stallion next to her wore a simple black suit and his hair had been brushed upwards to resemble flames.
"Sunrise and Sunburst, my, my, aren't you both dressed wonderfully tonight?" announced Sir Genelos as he walked over to the couple, speaking for everypony present.
"Thank you Sir Genelos, you are too kind." replied Sunrise with a small smile. She was well aware that her outfit gained her several stares from mares and stallions alike. Sunburst was about to ask Sir Genelos a question when he was interrupted.
"Sunrise, it's nice to see you again. It feels like it's been a lifetime since I last saw you." said a random stallion with a sneer that had walked over to Sir Genelos and was now staring unabashedly at Sunrise’s lower body. The nobles had stopped their discussions and turned to watch the exchange taking place between Sunrise and Atlas. Sir Genelos took a step back to allow the two to speak. The nobles present were all aware of the history the two ponies had and a few nobles were even starting to make bets with each other on whether there was going to be any violence.
"Atlas." replied Sunrise, gritting her teeth. Atlas was the oldest child of House Taurus and saying that Sunrise and Atlas had some history would be an understatement. The pair had both studied economics at the University of Detrot fifteen years ago and the two often competed to be top of their class. During their final exams at the end of their four-year course, Sunrise claimed that she saw Atlas secretly bribing their economics teachers to give him a higher mark so that he would be eligible for the scholarship. The scholarship of the economics department at the University of Detrot stated that the student with the highest mark is granted a job at a business of the department’s choice. In the year that Sunrise and Atlas were graduating, the placement was as a stock broker at the Equestria Stock Exchange in Canterlot. As Sunrise expected, Atlas got the highest mark (beating Sunrise by one mark) in the final exams and gained the placement at the stock exchange. Sunrise was furious about what had happened because Atlas had effectively stolen her future from her and she made a formal complaint against the university. The newspapers heard about the scandal and it took centre stage for the next few weeks in national news, shocking the nation and harming House Taurus and House Capricorn’s reputation (since House Capricorn was in charge of education and many teachers at the University of Detrot, including the economics department, were from that family). Celestia and Luna eventually became involved and the ensuing court case further damaged the credibility of the two noble houses involved. Although it was never proven if Atlas actually bribed his teachers, Sunrise still held a grudge against Atlas and they had rarely seen each other until today.
“It has been far too long Atlas, fortunately. What brings you here today?”
“The stock exchange was closed today, so all of the hard-working stock brokers there, including myself of course, had the day off today. What about you, dear friend? How is life faring for you? Still chasing jobs you’ll never quite be good enough for? Or are you making foals with Mr Quiet over here?”
The nobles were surprised (and some even gasped) as it was an unwritten rule in 'The Game' amongst the nobles that insults were always indirect and that you respected everypony unless they had actually done something bad to you. Atlas' blatant disrespect was unexpected and Sunrise began to raise a hoof in retaliation (to the complete delight of most ponies present) when she was discreetly stopped by Sunburst. He was well aware of the history his wife and Atlas had, and he wanted to not only confront Atlas for what he did to Sunrise, but to also let the nobles know that House Capricorn was not to be overlooked when it came to political dominance if their rise to power was to happen with very little problems. He was incensed by Atlas' comments and stepped in front of him in hopes of ruining his reputation.
“Atlas, I’m not surprised we have never spoken seeing as you are obviously such an influential pony that I have never heard of.” said Sunburst with a smile.
“Of course you’ve heard of me. All of Equestria knows me.” proclaimed Atlas arrogantly.
“Perhaps it’s because you have never advanced beyond the rank of stockbroker. It's been ten years since you graduated and you're still at the same lowly rank. That says a lot about your intelligence."
"You dare to insult me here? I've half a mind to call my father and let him deal with you but why don't you let your stupid wife-"
"You want to call your father? Then by all means call him like a foal. I will be very glad to explain to him why you are embarrassing House Taurus and why you are unable to speak to me like a real stallion without needing your father's help. Well?"
Atlas glared intensely at the couple for a few moments. When he realised that he was fighting a losing battle, he barged past Sunburst and Sunrise and left the garden, entering the ballroom.
"Sunburst, Sunrise I must apologise for Atlas' behaviour, he has indeed embarrassed House Taurus today and I hope that this unfortunate encounter hasn't soured your evening." said Sir Genelos.
"Of course not sir, in fact it's brightened it up a little. Never knew that a foal's tantrum could be so entertaining." said Sunrise with a little laugh.
All of the nobles laughed and the gathering returned to normal but everypony present knew now that House Capricorn couldn't be underestimated anymore and that they would formidable foes if they were ever disrespected.
"Those nobles are becoming more extreme and unbearable with each meeting sister." stated Luna loudly.
Celestia nodded in agreement as she sat on a cushion in the palace library. The two sisters rarely attended the Gemini party and this year was no exception. She often found the nobles to be exhausting to manage and part of her wished she has taken their power away from them when she and Luna took charge of Equestria a century ago. Celestia then turned her thoughts to Las Pegasus. She only recently became aware of what Solar Shaker (the mayor of Las Pegasus) was doing with the city’s earth pony inhabitants through an anonymous letter sent to the palace and after validating the letter's claims with a Royal Guard operative she had sent to the city, she was planning to send the Royal Guard to arrest Solar Shaker and liberate the imprisoned earth ponies the next week. Celestia and Luna were aware of the fact that tensions were running high between the three tribes; the rising inflation had significantly worsened many ponies’ standard of living, and businesses were forced to cut down on their workforces, so many ponies had been left without a job. The crime rate had increased dramatically over the last six months number of earth pony killings were on the rise again and Celestia knew that her speech for Equestria Day next week needed to have a huge impact. But in the present, she had more pressing and current issues to be concerned about.
"Why don't we look at the Elements again, Luna? There's something I want to check with them."
"Alright then, if that's what you want."
Celestia and Luna performed a teleport spell and they arrived outside the vault underneath the palace. Luna placed her horn into a small horn-sized hole and the vault door opened, revealing the Elements. They were six of them and five were coloured in a dull shade of red, pink, orange, purple and yellow. The sixth element took the form of a crown and it had a six-sided purple star at the top.
"Should we try using them, Celestia?"
"No, not yet, but let me analyse them. I want to understand their full potential."
Celestia closed her eyes and a white light appeared at her horn. She levitated the Elements and they remained there for two minutes whilst she investigated them. Slowly, she opened her eyes and the dropped the Elements onto the floor.
"They're not real. The-the Elements. They're not real. They have no-no power. They're ordinary jewels." whispered Celestia.
Luna stood silently with her mouth agape, her face the epitome of shock. She quickly performed her own analysis spell and came to the same conclusion as her older sister.
"But-but how?! IT’S IMPOSSIBLE! Starswirl himself spoke of the Elements often and he would never lie to us! HOW?!" yelled Luna.
"I-I don't know Luna I thought Sunburst and Sunrise-" mused Celestia. She paused suddenly and recapped the events of today's court meeting. Sunburst was a little too eager to give the Elements and they were very quick to leave the palace, which was very unusual of them.
Sunburst! He looked annoyed that the nobles agreed that we should keep the Elements in the palace.
Sunrise practically ran out of the palace!
They lied.
They have the Elements.
But what do they want with them?
"The Elements do exist Luna, its just that the ponies who were meant to bring them to us lied."
"What are you talking- you're right. They lied to us. They have betrayed us. But why?"
Celestia thought for a minute to bring herself to answer. Of all the noble families, she thought that Capricorn was the second most accepting house (after Aries) of diversity in Equestria and the princesses felt as though they could trust the members of that house. Not only did they contribute significantly in terms of politics, Luna often invited Sunburst and Sunrise to the palace to discuss tactics and on some occasions, Sunburst and Sunrise even spoke freely about their personal lives. Now Celestia felt like a fool for placing so much trust in them.
But why would they want the Elements?
Are they planning a coup?
It makes sense, if they manage to successfully wield the Elements properly, it would be difficult to stop them.
"They're planning to take over Equestria Luna, that's why they still have the Elements." concluded Celestia with a sad sigh.
Luna stood quietly for a few moments. At first, she appeared to be hurt by the truth of Sunburst and Sunrise's actions, but as she stayed silent for longer, she began to get angry and soon her face displayed a murderous rage. She paced around Celestia, muttering furiously about what she was going to do to Sunburst and Sunrise.
"Lulu, please, calm down, we can deal with them tomorrow after my speech tomorrow." pleaded Celestia. Luna's eyes had taken on their reptilian form (which happened when Luna got angry) and her horn began to light up. Celestial cautiously placed her hooves on either side of Luna's face and waited patiently. Eventually, Luna calmed down and her eyes returned to normal.
"How are we going to deal with them? Execution? Exile? Horn removal?" asked Luna.
"I don't know yet, but they cannot get away with this. They are probably planning to overpower us tomorrow after my speech so we'll place guards outside the conference room."
"That's all we need, power-crazed lunatics. What's next, an earth pony uprising? They wouldn't even be able to organise one, that's how useless they are." Luna laughed sarcastically and began pacing again.
"Luna, how could you say that? We are part earth pony, you're only insulting yourself!" admonished Celestia.
"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated that we been made to look like fools by the Capricorns", replied a remorseful Luna.
"Its okay, at least we found out before they could do anything to us."
"How is the situation in Las Pegasus? Any better?"
"No, in fact its getting worse. I'll be sending two Royal Guard units over there next week. It needs to be dealt with as soon as possible."
"Agreed. Why don't you go to sleep, Celestia? I still have to do the sunset."
"Alright then. Goodnight."
"Goodnight to you as well."
As Celestia teleported to her chambers, Luna performed the same spell and was at the watchtower a few moments later. She immediately closed her eyes and a white light appeared at her horn. The sun was slowly lowered and a few minutes later, the moon replaced it high above the sky. Once she completed the spell, Luna stood on the ledge of the watchtower and quietly watched over Canterlot. The usually busy city was always very quiet at night, and it was at these moments that Luna liked Canterlot the most. There were only a few street lights on and they were scattered throughout the city. Ponies that were out could be seen walking leisurely, whilst others were walking briskly to their homes. Luna turned her attention to the front of the palace. In approximately seven day's time, Celestia was going to make her annual positivity speech, which coincided with the 100th anniversary of Celestia and Luna taking over (and defeating the windigos). The speech needed to have an even bigger impact in order to calm the tensions between the tribes and Luna was praying that after the speech, unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies would realize that they had a lot more common than they thought.