This fic came about as a result of a tabletop RPG using the Primetime Adventures ruleset. We wanted to explore the behind-the-scenes politicking of the Court of Canterlot and figure out what it meant that the Stars aided in the escape of Nightmare Moon. We are also inspired by the possibility of strife between the royal sisters. The plot is not guided by any single game master. It often manages to surprise us and make us laugh, and that's the sign of a successful game. We hope you enjoy the story we are creating, too. (Edit, now that Season 1 is complete: Most of the players definitely didn't expect when we started out that'd we'd be having musical numbers of our own!)

Dramatis Ponysonae (Our Mane Cast):

Sunnyside (Son of Lady Shelly of the Egg Family and Lord French Toast, a foreign cousin of the breakfast families; pegasus): A golden-haired colt with wild pink mane, Sunnyside is a natural explorer who is being groomed for diplomacy in service of the crown. For his part, he can't wait to get out of the city and will be just as happy if he doesn't run into any 'civilized' ponies out there. One of the things pushing him out of Canterlot is the fact that his two closest friends are fillies from rival families who can't stand each other. He doesn't want to lose any of his friends or shirk his responsibilities, but things would be so much simpler out in the wilderness. His cutie mark is a sunrise in which the horizon is a spyglass.

Sugar Scoop (Daughter of Lady Double Scoop of the Ice Cream Family; pegasus): A filly reporter who shocked her family by abandoning the sacred art of ice cream making to become a reporter for a newspaper called Equestria Daily. As we shall see, she later dashed any remaining goodwill her family may have had for her. Sugar Scoop struggles with journalistic ethics, not considering the consequences of her articles. After all, "The ponies have a right to know!" Her coat and mane are various shades of grey, reminiscent of newsprint. Her cutie mark is an interrobang: "!?"

Fizzlespark (a unicorn commoner): A vivid green colt with a spiky purple mane, Fizzlespark is known throughout Canterlot for his flashy experiments in Science! His laboratory is a tangle of levers, tubes, bubbling test tubes, and unidentifiable devices. He is deeply frustrated by the difficulty of repeating any feat of scientific engineering, envious of the repeatability and reliability of the magical arts. Still, there's no denying that Fizzlespark has a talent for getting machines to do what he wants. His cutie mark is an Erlenmeyer flask. He also has a clockwork dragon that follows him around named Spring.

Long Tail (a unicorn commoner): A blunt filly with a long blue mane and tail, Long Tail has a talent for telling how likely events are to occur, based on the information she's able to collect. Long Tail served in the Equestrian military as an advisor, but General Gemesis did not take well to her critiques of his plans, and she was dismissed. Since then, she has supported herself by telling fortunes along the road. Long Tail is seeking a higher cause for her talents, and hopes to find it in Canterlot. Her cutie mark is a graph showing a Lorentzian probability distribution.

Glitterdust (an earth pony commoner): A delivery filly with a constantly put-upon demeanor, Glitterdust is extremely conscious of the class divide in Equestria and Canterlot in particular. The nobility and the delivery pegasi may ignore her as they flit to and fro among the towers of Canterlot, but Glitterdust is determined to prove her worth somehow. She joined the delivery service to help connect people together, but it hasn't given her connections of her own, unless you count her unpredictable boss, Derpy Hooves. She has a glassy mane and a cutie mark of a sack.

Notable Families of Canterlot:

The Cake Family: The pegasi of the Cake Family are the lords of baking in Equestria. Their vassal families include both unicorns and earth ponies, with talents ranging from pastry to bread to cookies. Fat Rascal and French Fancy are the patriarch and matriarch of the family. One of their daughters, Red Velvet, is a close friend of Sunnyside's. The Cake Family is the arch-rival of the Scoop Family. Family Motto: "Let Them Eat Cake"

The Egg Family: The Egg Family controls key hatcheries that supply eggs for consumption, for use in baking and ice cream, and for military applications. The Benedict Bombers of the Egg Family have fiercely shelled the enemies of the crown in all the great conflicts of history. As they are feared by evil-doers across Equestria, they often appear in official propaganda. Sunnyside's big brother Scrambler is the current Captain of the Benedict Bombers, and doesn't have a lot of patience for 'diplomatic' solutions. The family is loosely allied with various breakfast-related families. Family Motto: "All Your Eggs, in One Basket"

The Scoop Family: The matriarch of the Scoop family is an enormous mare named Double Scoop. Too fat to fly, it is whispered behind her back that the reason her husband is rarely seen is because she's sitting on him. No wise pony would say this to her face, however. The Scoop family is wealthy and powerful, with ties reaching as far as the snow-making pegasi of Cloudsdale. Sugar Scoop and Sprinklebelle are daughters of Double Scoop. The latter is an obedient daughter, diligently studying the ancient Scoop recipes and turning out exquisite frozen treats. Sugar Scoop, on the other hoof, turned her back on the family's ways to become a muckraking reporter for some common newspaper. Family Motto: "We All Scream for Ice Cream"