//------------------------------//
// XXII: Shining Night, Opening Night (part 1) 
// Story: The Changeling Trials 
// by PastCat 
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The true challenge arrived, along with the princess’s guests. It did not take much to ensconce the Ponyville elements of harmony  bearers in the castle, as well as their families. Luna secretly counted her blessings for that. The real problem emerged with Twilight Sparkle’s family. Twilight had invited her parents to the show, and they had accepted. Unfortunately, her brother, Captain Shining Armor had gotten wind of the show and was, to put it mildly, unhappy. After an incident where he had a run in with a tired Princess Celestia after day court, the annoyed princess of the sun had sent him to Luna. The result of that was quite a scene:

Shining Armor stood in front of Princess Luna’s desk. Well, stood is not quite right. He was pacing. “What I fail to understand, your majesty, is how I am supposed to ensure your safety and your sister’s safety when you will both be in the audience together as a crowd of changelings cavort about on stage. Security is already a nightmare around Hearth’s Warming and now you have invited a bunch of changelings to stay in Canterlot? That crazy bunch of artists are bad enough, the way they stride around the streets as if they have not a care in the world, but you are considering giving these changelings an official status? Pardon me if I sound skeptical, but I do not like it.” 

Luna sat behind her desk and continued to write as she listened to the guard captain’s diatribe. He continued, “and then you have the gall to invite not only my sister, but all the element bearers and their families to the same showing as well as their families. Do you not think that is even the slightest bit dangerous? This could easily turn into a hostage situation, with Equestria possibly hanging in the balance.” 

As Shining Armor paused to catch his breath, Luna broke in, “So, Captain Armor, what is your chief concern here? I have already spoken to Princess Cadance, who shows absolutely no desire to be present. Thus, she will be providing backup should anything untoward happen. I suspect that you, given your most intimate position with her, will be up to the challenge of protecting her.” 

The stallion blushed until his face appeared as pink as his wife’s. Luna still thought that was very funny; she strained not to laugh whenever it happened. 

“Yes, your majesty,” the stallion stammered, “however my primary concern with this event involves my sister and her friends and families as well as you and your sister.” 

Luna waved a hoof, cutting him off. “Queen Maricopa is a much younger queen than Chrysalis, and is correspondingly less powerful. To compare the two of them is like attempting to compare your wife’s magical power stores with my sister’s. We should have no problem containing her if something were to go wrong.” Shining thought about that for a moment and grudgingly nodded. “Furthermore, Maricopa and her companions are fully aware of the consequences for if they should act inappropriately towards their audience. Every pony who will be there is aware that the cast consists of primarily changelings and that they will be feeding on whatever ambient emotion they can cause and use during the production, but no direct feeding. They know that their freedom rides on their actions here. Finally, I suspect this whole hullabaloo you are advocating has more to it than simply the changelings, yes?” 

Shining did one of those infuriatingly funny blushes again. “I… Have no idea… what are you talking about?” He stammered. Luna hid a smile. 

“I suspect it has to do with a great deal of guilt on the part of you, both in your official capacity as a captain of the guard and your unofficial, but no less important, capacity as protective older brother. The guard has become positively stifling with security concerns ever since your wedding, and  your leadership has caused many officers to overcompensate with potentially disastrous results to our few native changeling communities. In addition, you really need to give Twilight and her friends a chance to enjoy themselves while they are here. This is one of the only opportunities all six of them have had to just be together and enjoy the sights in Canterlot without some official function or natural disaster occurring. Keep in mind, Captain Armor, that although Twilight Sparkle is your younger sister, she is not your baby sister. You do not need to protect her from everything as when she was a filly. She and her friends will be perfectly safe. I also have a company of Night Guards on hoof should any emergencies arise. Now, are there any more concerns?” 

Stunned, Shining Armor shook his head. “Very well, Captain. I dismiss you. Go home, spend some time with your parents and sister, then go have a holiday alone with your wife. I am certain that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza misses the presence of her big strong guard husband.” To the princess’s amusement and satisfaction, Shining Armor flushed that charming pink flush again before taking his leave. Sighing contently, Luna sat back on her cushions as she watched him disappear through the door. Hopefully, being with Cadence for a while would help the poor stallion to relax a bit. He had been on edge ever since he had put up the enormous changeling blocking shield over Canterlot before the wedding. 

Shortly thereafter, she had an unexpected visitor tapping at her door. She opened it with her magic to find herself face to face with a maniacally grinning Rarity. “Greetings, Miss Rarity. What can I do for you?” The princess of the night inquired. 

“Oh no, Princess Luna. It is what I can do for you. Call it an early Hearth’s Warming present, if you will.” She pulled a rack containing a large garment bag into the room behind her. “Courtesy of your sister, of course. We simply can not allow you to attend such a momentous occasion as the theater without an appropriate set of attire! And so, your majesty, stand up, so that I may finish with the proper fit!” Luna chuckled a bit nervously. After being stuck on the Moon for a thousand years, there had been much for her to catch up on, and fashion was one of the biggest gaps in her knowledge of how Equestria had changed over the intervening centuries. 

“Oh do not look so glum, princess. I assure you, these are the latest in chic styles among the Canterlot elite. Your sister sent me your measurements in anticipation for this being a special gift. I brought her hers this morning, and she looked absolutely gorgeous in it. I have no doubt what so ever that you will appear likewise lovely.” The fashion-loving unicorn whisked the cover off the clothing stand to reveal an elegant gown done in silver, with dark blue accents and a design of a moon and stars in dark blue dancing around the skirt. The dress was made complete with a dark blue belt adorned with silver stars and a dark blue crocheted shawl flecked with silver threads. A pair of silver shoes and a silvery tiara completed the ensemble. Her eyes wide, Luna reached out a hesitant hoof to touch the exquisite fabric. It was light to the touch and the shawl was lovely and soft  and plush.

“It is time to try it on, if you please, princess.” Rarity commented in a voice that said this means business, and Luna allowed the unicorn to coax her to her hooves and try on the shining garment. As Luna stood still, Rarity fussed with a pincushion as she adjusted hemlines and seams throughout the garment and mumbled to herself about modifications. At last, the unicorn pronounced the dress to be “magnifique” and allowed Luna to disrobe. 

“You are so much easier to fit than your sister,” the white unicorn noted. 

“Why is that, dear Rarity?” Luna asked magnanimously. 

Rarity gave a little ladylike smile and answered, “because, between you, me, and that wall, Princess Celestia, Faust bless her, has an unfortunate habit of gaining and losing weight on a frequent basis. Whenever she commissions something from me, I have to make it heavy to start out with, and then do major adjustments later because she has gotten thinner. With your dress, all I needed to adjust are hemlines and details.” 

There was a glint in amusement in her eyes as she and Princess Luna made eye contact. Within seconds, both mares were on the floor, having collapsed in identical lady like giggle fits.  Shortly thereafter, Rarity took her leave and Princess Luna returned to her work. If her encounter with Rarity was any positive indication, the coming performance would be an interesting event, to say the least.
~~
Soon, Rarity returned, this time to drop off the dress with its final modifications so that Luna could prepare for the evening’s Hearth’s Warming pageant performance. Princess Luna dressed quickly, then went down the stairs to meet up with her sister and their guests for a meal before the show began at midnight. There was no surprise on Luna’s face when she sat at a table ornamented with not one, but two large cakes. One was her very own Black Forest Cake, adorned with the candied cherries she enjoyed so much (and a more discrete bowl of brandied cherries for the adults in the group sat nearby). Next to it, glowing in white frosting, was Celestia’s beloved angel food cake. Luna watched with glee as Rarity saw the immense cake sitting next to Princess Celestia. The unicorn gave the former a wicked glare, as if she blamed the large confection for the princess’s annoying periods of weight gain. Celestia pretended innocence. It was funny in a way, and Luna chuckled inwardly. Eclipse watched the encounter with a similar interest. 

Luna had spoken quietly to Rarity a week before to ask for a dress for her secretary, and, despite the work, the fashion designer had jumped at the chance. The result was a gorgeous forest green velvet dress that made the most of Eclipse’s slim figure adorned with a sparkling pattern of leaves. A simple ribbon closure at the neck added a touch of elegance and style reminiscent of the eastern Kirin empire.  The result was simply stunning. 

Somehow, Rarity had also managed to get her family into formalwear. Her father looked quite the thing, as Rarity called it, and her mother and sister also had cleaned up nicely. Both princess welcomed them, as they did when the other element bearers arrived with their families. Twilight Sparkle escorted her mother and father, Shining Armor having taken Luna’s strong hint to go on a belated honeymoon with Cadence, while Applejack was accompanied by her brother, sister, and grandmother. From what Twilight had said, Luna was impressed that the Apple family had decided to uproot for the holidays. Apparently Granny Smith was still grumbling in private about the change in plans, but the princess secretly believed that all the griping was an act and that the elderly matriarch was actually glad to get away from the farm for a few days. Little Applebloom’s enthusiastic bouncing doubtlessly had more to do with that. 

Pinkie Pie was her bouncy, happy self. She spent a great deal of time attempting to get her adopted family to be more comfortable. Mr. and Mrs. Cake seemed in awe of their surroundings and spoke little at first, but it did not take long for the antics of little Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake to break the ice. Pinkie Pie had gained a skilled hoof when it came to dealing with the twin trouble makers, and was doing her best to keep them on a tight enough rein that their parents could enjoy themselves. Luna had heard a rumor that Pinkie had tried to invite her birth family to come to the big city from their little village of Stone Town, but the Pies had refused and said that they already had plans for a quiet holiday with their kin (Luna was also aware of rumors that Stone Town’s peculiar traditions forbade its residents from traveling during the winter months, as an angry rock golem that was said to live in the surrounding mountains was purported to cause avalanches if displeased).  All the same, it was still a busy table. Only the pegasi had only one another to keep themselves company. Fluttershy had agreed to come to help Rarity with the last minute clothing alterations, an agreement made all the sweeter by Celestia’s promise that she would be allowed to have a private meeting with the palace’s animal residents, sans the hubbub of the Grand Galloping Gala. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had brought along her prodigy, little Scootaloo, ostensibly as a reward for her hard work, but more likely as an additional playmate to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Rainbow Dash was working with the little pegasus to keep her from going too gung-ho in her pursuit of flight. The hope was that the partnership would do both parties good; Scootaloo would get a reliable flight coach who was fast enough and skilled enough to spot trouble early, and Rainbow Dash would get a taste of responsibility. So far, it appeared to be working out.

The entire party sat down for the meal, with each member of the group careful to keep her or his clothing tidy so that none would incur the wrath of Rarity before the performance. All went well; even Celestia managed to keep her portion size of angel food cake small enough to not earn the princess of the sun the ire of the fashion designer. Luna wondered if Celestia would eat more later. She shrugged and returned to the table conversations; Celestia would do whatever she would do, and Luna would pick a different time to play the annoying little sister. The table conversations revolved around a variety of topics; the diners could participate in any number of discussions, ranging from the classes the fillies were taking in school, to the chances of various hoofball teams making playoffs (Rarity’s father was particularly vehement in his support of a team from Vanhoofer), to thaumaturgy (mostly between Twilight Sparkle, her family, and Celestia), to the arts of apple raising and cookery (somehow similar, but Luna could not quite understand why), to an intense discussion of clothing and accessories (Rarity and her mother seemed to have very different opinions on what was an appropriate adornment for headwear). 

For the most part, Luna was content to listen, an activity that Fluttershy was also doing. Even Eclipse was involved. Luna had had no idea her secretary was such a fan of hoofball, much less a frequent attendee of the Canterlot Wondercolts’ games. Between her team, Rarity’s father’s beloved Vanhoofer Seahorses and Rainbow Dash’s Cloudsdale Windigoes, that conversation soon became the most visually interesting, if not the most intelligent sounding. It was more gibberish about various teams’ stats about catch percentages, touchdowns and yardages, and other numbers that only the most dedicated fans would care to know. It almost turned into a four-sided verbal brawl when Spike put in his two cents about a new hoofball team starting up in Trottingham. Apparently this new club included changeling players, who had official permission to participate as long as they maintained the same form throughout the entire season. Luna thought to herself I ought to take in a hoofball game or two soon. It sounds like a great deal of fun.  When she said this aloud, all four of the sports fans were soon clamoring to give her advice as to which team or teams she should watch and where. The competitive chatter was all good natured and exuberant, with no ill will felt between the various fan rivals.