Meanwhile, at the new Palace of the Moon, preparations proceeded as they predictably might.

Which was to say, the royal staff was having a hissyfit.

Princess Luna was making the rounds, checking to see that all was in preparation. Unfortunately for her peace of mind and good temper, her two hoof-picked assistants, Pomp and Circumstance, were making the rounds with her, all but treading on her heels and keeping up a constant litany of complaints.

"Your Highness, we absolutely must protest!" one of the two ponies trailing Princess Luna said. She turned from the waitstaff she was speaking to and faced the twosome. The two were pale cream colored with meticulously groomed light brown manes and short, carefully trimmed mustaches. They were dressed in matching coattails, vests, cummerbunds and cravats,  every corner carefully creased and pressed, every button polished, not a hair out of place, identical right down to their creased pocket handkerchiefs. They were, in fact, twin brothers, identical, even their cutie marks ( a crown and scepter) and would have been indistinguishable save for one detail; one was a pegasus, the other a unicorn.

Even then, confound it if Luna didn't keep forgetting which one was which. "Yes, as I am well aware," Luna said sarcastically. "It is all you have done since shortly after I announced my plans for this evening." The two of them glared at her through matching monocles, unyielding. Luna reined in her temper and sighed. She did, after all, hire them to assist her. "Very well, speak your peace."

Pomp and Circumstance glanced at each other. The pegasus was the first to speak. "Your majesty, allow us to 'lay it on the line,' as the saying goes. This is the ceremonial opening of your new palace. You are, as we understand you, trying to step out from under your sister's shadow and show that you are a separate entity from her-- a full and complete ruler of Equestria in your own right. That the common pony can turn to you as readily as to your sister, that they can rely upon you just as much."

"And?" Luna pressed.

"And," his unicorn brother continued--- Pomp? Circumstance? Tartarus take it she was going to tattoo their names on their flanks right over their cutie marks, so help her!--- "we feel, no, we are certain that this..... carnival atmosphere..... is sending absolutely the wrong message."

"Carnival Atmosphere?" Luna said. "And... wrong message... what might that message be?"

"Highness, in less than two hours, some of the creme de la creme' of Canterlot society and nobility is going to descend on this palace for a soiree'---" one said. The other picked up where he left off, "--- and at the same time you are inviting the entire population of an earth pony village to attend as well. When those two groups meet---" they shuddered simultaneously.

"And it goes further," the unicorn said. "The music, the entertainment, the costumes, the food.... it's all of.... the lowest common denominator," he finished. "The sort of thing you'd expect of common carnival fare."

"Can you imagine how offended many of the nobles will be to be rubbing elbows with shopkeeps and farm labor and forced to eat fritters and caramel apples like a country bumpkin---"

"ENOUGH!" Luna snapped, stamping her hoof so hard the stone beneath it cracked."I thought better of thee than this!" To their credit, neither brother flinched. "Such arrogance and egotism. Dost thou imagine thyself above and higher than the ponies of this village? These ponies, whose work clothes your back, graces your table, and fills your bellies? Among whom the Bearers of the very Elements count their own number? Fie on thee; thou wouldst count thyself honored above thy station to number these 'country bumpkins' as thy kinsmen."

They looked at each other again, their expressions softening a bit. Pomp (the unicorn, she was certain this time) spoke. "We apologize your Majesty. Be sure, we do not share the attitude some nobles have to commoners. But like the attitude or not, whether we share that attitude or not, that is the attitude you will face. The nobility will be scandalized, and they will be far less supportive of you in future endeavors."

"Even now we could possibly help you avoid this," his brother said. "If you would give us some leeway in organizing this...."

"Hast thou considered," Luna said, suddenly patient and calm again, "That mayhap it is not their support I desire?" Pomp and Circumstance were taken aback. "I am Princess of the Moon, whether the houses and lords call me Highness or call me not. I will raise and set the Moon whether or not they e'en acknowledge my existence; I need them not. And I will continue alike long after their houses are dust and their prideful names are forgotten and their title is taken by another." She turned away, looking in the middle distance. "No, tis not their faith I need, tis they who need mine-- and far more deeply, though they know it not, they--- and I--- need the faith and fellowship of the 'common people' they so scorn."

"Accompany me, and listen." She began walking down the hallway again, carefully skirting around the workers trotting back and forth on last-minute errands. "Thou knowest the legend of Hearthwarming Day, I trust." The two brothers muttered acknowledgement. "Allow me to assure you that it is rubbish." Both brothers popped their monocles in surprise. "Oh, the generalities of it are mostly correct--- but the lay of the tale, as it were, is askew. Tis presented  that the conflict between the three clans of ponies wast equally divided, with each being equally at fault.  I know better-- as does Celestia, though she has allowed this bowlderized version to take hoof in these latter days as a---" she waved a hoof dismissively "--- as a sort of parable of harmony." Luna snorted. "Sins and history forgotten are soon history repeated."

"The truth of the tale is that the balance was far from equal. The pegasi controlled all weather, and commanded the skies with their armies. The Unicorns ruled from the mountains, and mastered both sun and moon. While the earth ponies only had the gift of growing things and tending the animals... dost thou sincerely imagine that the earth ponies stood upon equal footing with those that commanded night and day, the forces arcane, the wrath of storms and the art of war from the sky?

"Any scholar of history, at least of my time, knew that this tale was amiss. And anypony with common sense could see that the earth ponies were, that they had to have been, lorded over by the other two.

"This truth was confirmed not many months past by researchers in the Crystal Empire."

"Twas the earth ponies who were but peasants and slaves to the unicorns and pegasi. Twas the earth ponies who arrived in Equestria two full years before the others. And again, twas not Clover the Clever, but the Earth ponies, with the secrets of their magic, who saved the pony tribes from extinction under the hooves of the Windigoes."

Pomp and Circumstance both gaped at this revelation, but they found were far less than surprised... deep down they had both always suspected the real Hearthwarming tale had played out fairly different from how it was normally portrayed.

"The true story of Hearthwarming has yet to filter down to the common pony. Tales of how we did get our own history wrong rarely sell holiday crafts and treats," Luna snorted. "Scholars so-called still argue and debate what has been proven beyond a doubt. Twill yet be this Hearthwarming season when the full of the truth is to be given out to all of Equestria, and our history books are drastically changed."

"There is.... some point to this story, your majesty?" Pomp finally asked.

"The point, my assistants and minders, is that we are fair close to repeating the sins of the past," Luna said. "I have not been back long, but fair long enough to see that we have a divided kingdom-- and not one divided betwixt day and night. We have an ever burgeoning class of elites, nobility and uplifted names. They are pompous, arrogant and utterly divided from those whom they were appointed to serve. They look with condescension upon the very ponies who put clothes on their backs and food in their mouths." She looked back. "Moreover, those ponies, the 'common ponies,' look with resentment upon Canterlot and the 'upper classes.' They believe that they have no voice with their Princesses that can be heard over the fawning and flattery and influence of the elite."

"It's truly not that bad, is it your majesty?" Circumstance (or was it Pomp?) asked, ruffling his wings. " I mean, certainly there is some abrasion between the classes---"

"Abrasion? Shall I list incidences?  Dost thou not recall the Grand Galloping Gala of two years past? How Prince Blueblood--- that poster child for useless ponies--- did abuse the element of Generosity? How the Element of Laughter was bored to tears and scolded for trying to add merriment to the proceedings? How Loyalty was shunned, Honesty was sneered upon for her 'common' fare, and Kindness was left to wander alone in the gardens for lack of a welcome from either Pony or beast?

"Or again how Generosity, despite being of honorable trade and having had hoof in saving Equestria multiple times, having been lashed by the mockery of the higher castes, felt she had to falsely present herself to protect herself and her friends against the abuse and scorn of the upper elite?"

"Or the wedding of our niece Cadence? We were invaded by a Changeling army..... and the invasion almost did succeed, for the staff, the soldiery, even the Elements of Harmony thought it perfectly natural to be verbally abused and disrespected by one of the royalty.

"No, Pomp and Circumstances, the frail sensibilities of the noble classes doth not concern me. I have made my new home here, in the Palace of the Moon, down in Ponyville that the 'common' pony, who doth make up the flesh and bone of this kingdom, who, indeed, have shown me more kindness and welcome despite my fearsome reputation than all the officious nobles combined, might know that they have a Princess too."

"And it would fair serve the noble classes to spend time merrymaking with the common pony." She snorted ".... and maybe take one one night to pull that huge stick out of their collective plots," she added with a mutter and a glower.

Both brothers' monocles popped again at this rather broad sentiment. They stared at their Princess as she walked off down the hallway, then at each other. They shook their heads in dismay.

"This is going to be the Grand Galloping Gala disaster--" Pomp said.

"Times ten," added Circumstance.

"Times one hundred," Pomp agreed.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Scream, panic, run about, flail about like a madpony?"

"Maybe later.  For now I have two thoughts: we have a sworn duty to help the Princess, whether she thinks she needs it or not. And secondly it's far easier to gain forgiveness than permission."

"And you are suggesting?"

The unicorn brother tapped his chin. "Perhaps we can avoid a complete social catastrophe if we make a few-- last minute rearrangements.  The throne room in this palace is just off the main ballroom...."