Postponed until this time tomorrow. My sincerest apolgies.

Sorry, all. I got no sleep all weekend working on the epilogue, and I have a Krav class tomorrow that i need to be rested for. Plus I had nothing prepared for this evening, and a brief interlude will give me some time to get things straight.

1562286
NP, see ya then.

1562286
Sleep's a good thing to have.

See y'all tomorrow.

1562292
1562301
1562426
Right then! We begin class in ten minutes, please be in your seats at that time and ready to begin! More history tonight. Although, it's more like current events, as we shall be examining the Four Courts.

1569417
Okey Dokey!

1569417 I'm ready to learn

1569417
Political/Magical drama? Is popcorn required?

1569424
1569429
1569437
Right then. We'll begin with locations. Who can tell me the locations of the Courts?

1569496
Luna's court on Astropolis, The Moon
Everstar's court in the Regia (Everfree Forest?)
Celestia's court in Canterlot
Cadence's court in the Crystal Empire

1569505
Correct on two counts, partially on one, and dead wrong on the last.

1569511
Oh really? Where does Cadence find herself slumming it these days?

1569511
Also I forget the name of that old Everfree castle. The castle of the twin sisters. Is that thing still even in use?

1569529

Princess Cadance reclaimed her ancestral lands at the end of the Evening Rebellion. The city that sprung up around her settlement is known as Eros.

1569541
The Regia, the palace of the two sisters, has been reclaimed by Twilight Sparkle. Following the influx of immigrants from Old Equestria, the city of Starfall was founded.

1569573
Now here I would have thought that the city that held Princess Cadence's court would have taken its name from the ley line convergence.

1569592
Names are unusual, aren't they? Regardless, the city is called Eros, for obvious reasons. Care to guess as to its major exports?

1569573
Alright, so The Regia is the castle in Starfall that Twilight uses, does Cadence's castle in Eros have a name or is it just Eros Castle?

1569605 Aphrodisiacs?

1569605
I would hazard a guess at items designed to foster and enhance positive emotions like love.

1569611
Almost as good, if you're a stallion looking to impress a mare. Eros manufactures jewelry and gemstones.

1569621
And you'd be right.

1569610
Very astute! The manor house used by Cadance is known as the Bower to the general populace, but its official name is Oakenvale.

1569632
Why two names?

1569642
Not many are permitted into the manor grounds unless on official business or looking to join her Court. Exclusivity is part of it, and the fact that Cadance tends to be involved with her courtiers to one degree to another.

1569658
Involved? Coincidentally, how important is monogamy to the Princess of Love?

1569684

1569684
I'm guessing that part of her dictionary has been blacked out for some time now.

1569695
1569708
"How come this dictionary has the entire "M" section ripped out?"
"HOW DID YOU GET INSIDE MY HOUSE?"

Since we seem to have an interest in the court at Eros, we'll start there. The difference between it and the other courts is that Cadance's Court is not readily available to the public. Her policy is that interfering in the lives of those not in her Court compromises their emotional state. She only takes very grievous cases, and even then her advice tends to appeal more to the heart than the head.

Surprisingly, it tends to work well.

1569728
They have a legislature and robust higher and lower court system that handles most things?

1569728
How is the severity of a case determined that could warrant her interest?

1569742
No. The community around Eros consists mostly of subsistence farmers and the occasional miner family. The day to day activities are handled by the regional mayors, each of which is appointed by the community at the end of the previous one's ten-year tenure. This gives them time to proceed to Eros and meet with the Princess, who validates their experience and emotional state before either approving or denying their appointment.

1569750
Obviously regional emergencies like flooding or landslides, serious disputes between families that could end in bloodshed, trade agreements that can't be resolved at a lower level, that sort of thing.

1569760
So the ponies get to vote but if the big guy in charge disagrees not really.
What country does that remind you of?

1569774
Brazil?

1569767
Trade agreements can make their way up to her? Giving what Princess Cadence focuses in, wouldn't having a council handle such things be more apt?

1569776
Yeah, actually.

1569781
She does tend to prefer the personal touch. Also, her kingdom isn't all that large. It only reaches from the northern mountains down to Canterlot. You could travel across it in a week of hard marching.

1569791
She prefers the personal touch and keeps her court closed to all but the most extreme cases?

Anyway, the Dawn Court is a small, secluded group. Only about a hundred ponies comprise its ranks, plus the servants and so forth. The Court is an unusual place in that there seem to be a roughly equal number of males to females, and more often than not relationships form among the populace there.

I'd like to point out that no mental magic is used in the Court. Lady Everstar and Luna make sure of that. The fact of the matter is that the Court is a very open environment, and most ponies who follow Cadance tend to lead with the heart anyway.

1569791
On that note, I can't quite recall you mentioning this, does Princess Luna have any land holdings other that Astropolis?

1569807
Correct. It makes sense in context, if you can believe that. As one raised in the Evening Kingdom, it always seemed a bit strange to me.

1569818
The entire moon, but that's about it.

1569816
Well, I mean, come on. A court of thralls isn't really much of a court.

1569828
Alright, back to the distribution of power thing. Does the Dawn Kingdom have a powerful Federal Government in Eros or is it like a Confederacy of City-States?

1569828
So then pretty much just imports up there, not much coming down from the moon?

1569858

A loose confederacy.

1569860
Moonsteel and some other things, but we'll get to that.

1569863
What about moon tea?

1569830
Correct. With that in mind, let's move around the circle. Next up is Celestia's court, in Canterlot.

Celestia's court is unique in that it is not comprised of nobles, or even noble ponies. The Celestial empire is divided into twenty four areas, known as tracts. Each of these tracts holds elections for a pair of representatives known as Orators, which are then sent to the Court to help with the delegation of resources and the resolution of problems. Celestia also participates in this gathering, as an impartial mediator of disputes. Her approval makes sure that the decisions are fair and unbiased, and she holds the power to sack any of the orators for abuse of power.

In addition to the Orators, she keeps champions who distinguish themselves in combat in her employ and lead small bands of warriors in conflicts. They are also dispatched to deal with problems that require force, but not necessarily the deployment of the military.

1569882
So Equestria has a military and an executive branch of peacekeepers (policeponies?) and Celestia keeps her own force of para-military Pinkertons?

1569900
Sounds about right. They are the ones who tend to deploy very quickly to deal with serious threats to the stability of the Empire.