It was like a sharp, hot knife of agonizing pain had been slammed into her head. Headaches! The worst! Luna growled to herself, trying to stay on her hooves. Tonight, she was stationed in the newly-finished and stocked cartography room of Canterlot Castle. The maps had arrived just two days ago from Everfree.

“Are you feeling well, Princess?” Asked Goldleaf the Lame, in that high, clear voice of his.

“No, Goldleaf, We are not well.” The Regent of the Moon sighed, ears falling briefly. “But there is always work to be done, tonight included.”

“Very well.” Nodded the mahogany-coated unicorn. “With the land surveys complete ahead of schedule, I've had our unicorns begin sounding the river. It's far more shallow than we thought before; it is unlikely any ocean-going ship could make it to Canterlot, let alone past settlements further towards the sea.”

“We do not think it likely the humans would advance so far inland, then; were they to attack.” Luna deduced.

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. Waterways have always been prime channels of transportation... With the right leaders and luck, they could march across Equestria and back again.” Replied Goldleaf. The two looked at a map of the land, richly illustrated, but of questionable accuracy. “Do you think they know that there's just another ocean to the east of us?”

“It is impossible to say. Our granduncle says that Old Alicornia is a far vaster land than Equestria...” Luna's horn lit up as she pulled down a heavy, rolled-up canvas, unfurling it across the table. The use of magic made that confounded headache even worse, but she grit her teeth and ignored it.

“I don't believe it...” Whispered Goldleaf in awe, looking over it. “I've seen maps of Sarathûl before, but this... This is actually in Tarsen.” He moved his face up close against the plunging lines of vertical script the human's written language consisted of. “I can't read a word of it, but it's amazing nonetheless.”

“That is why We chose it.” Her hoof spread across the whole sheet, from the Eastern Sea and Athair, down and over to Ar-Athazîon, up the long river Karthâ, all the way to what modern Equestirans called the Peaks of Heaven, written as Kaisavon here. On the other side was the mysterious land of Lazkadai, and beyond that, the Western Horizon; the edge of the world. To the edge of the world, and beyond. That's what they said, the creatures who lived there now.

“Has anypony explored beyond the Peaks of Heaven?” There was an interesting story behind that name, Luna recalled. It was a translation of Kaisavon to Equestrian, which originally had been a misunderstanding of the ancient humans in regards for the real alicorn name for those mountains.

“Every year, there are humans that try to make the journey. Few ever return.” Answered Luna. “Our knowledge on Lazkadai is shadowy at best. Personally, We know of nopony who has ever made it as far as the Peaks of Heaven, let alone crossed into Lazkadai, and let alone crossed the entirety of Lazkadai, to whatever is on the other side. Some say there are more humans, others say dragons; yet others claim something else entirely. We have no real information on it.”

“Surely, my princess, you could attempt it some day.” Suggested the unicorn, a statement that took Luna by surprise. It was an interesting notion.

“Some day, I may.”

“You slipped out of the Royal plural, Princess.”

“It is this headache.” Luna grumbled, frowning, ears going flat again. “But observe, Goldleaf. Old Alicornia is twice the size of Equestria, if not more. We think it likely they will believe our continent to be the same size as theirs, used to the vastness as they are. Therefore, the humans will not attempt to penetrate very far into the interior. It would be a foolish venture, in their eyes.” Explained she.

“All it takes is one map though...” Goldleaf didn't sound convinced. “Then we'll have frenzied humans marching east and west across our realms. The horror...”

“Our sister will ensure that does not happen.” Luna reassured the unicorn stallion. “Speaking of Our sister, it would be a fine time to sleep now. She arrives some time past dawn.”

“And I just got use to the nocturnal schedule...” Sighed Goldleaf.

“We will be continuing the nocturnal schedule; but we must support Celestia.” The midnight alicorn stated.

“Of course.” Goldleaf nodded. With that, the crippled unicorn bade her a good night. Luna walked alone through the bare halls of Canterlot, still needing to be decorated, and to her temporary chambers. Once, the royal guard would have been near, but they were no longer among the living. It was unusual to be going to sleep at such an early hour of the night, but Luna's headache made it so that she did not protest.

“Do you need anything to help you sleep?” Asked Greenstone, her unicorn servant, once the midnight alicorn had returned to her chambers.

“Anything at this point.” Groaned Luna, falling into her bed. Greenstone promptly brought some kind of tea; the Princess didn't particularly care what kind it was, or what was in it, so long as it did its job. And it did do its job quite well, as the world faded into a serene blackness... The dreamworld came.

Luna woke with a start, not knowing why she was so on edge. Golden light streamed through the crack between the window and the curtain. “How odd...” She remarked to herself, stretching her hooves and back. Did I dream of something? I must have... But what? It didn't matter right now, her sister would be here soon. Maybe she already was here. Luna had already donned her regalia by the time Greenstone realized she was awake; after that, it was just a matter of roaming Canterlot castle until she found her sister. As it turned out, Celestia found her first.

“Good morning!” She greeted, far cheerier than she had been a month ago. “It's been a while, hasn’t it, Luna?”

“Celly!” Luna exclaimed, running to and embracing her sister. It truly was good to have her back.

“I hear you've gone nocturnal.” The white alicorn said, smiling. “It's been causing everypony quite some havoc.”

“It hasn't been that bad.” Luna said in her own defense, backing away to give Celestia at least a little bit of breathing room. “Goldleaf is getting along quite fine now.”

“I take it he's not as useless as you previously thought?” Asked the Regent of the Sun, as they walked down the hall, illuminated by the growing warmth of the morning's light.

“I'll admit that he's been... well, useful.” Agreed the midnight alicorn. “Moreso than I imagined. We have completed the land survey, and have begun contemplating where the best locations for defenses would be.”

“Swift work, my sister.” Celestia nodded in approval. “However, defenses shouldn't be very high on our priority list. I'm quite confident in the ability of the army we're amassing. The day will soon come when we take back our homeland.” She declared. Yeah... Luna frowned as she thought, I'm not very sure about that, Celly.

“Of course.” Nodded the Princess of the Night. “What is our strength?”

“Highcrest and Eastmarch have pledged 10,000 soldiers each, not counting future levies, nor the minor realms. Unicornia can field somewhere around 5,000, trained in the ways of war-magic.” Reported Celestia, sounding quite enthusiastic.

“And the earth ponies?” Asked Luna.

“They can match the pegasi and unicorns combined, in theory. However, there is trouble afoot.” The white alicorn sighed in exasperation, narrowing her eyes and flicking her ears back in irritation. “The news Rye brought to the tribes was not received well, the earth ponies want nothing to do with highborn fooleries.” That's not surprising at all... The earth ponies had always been last to commit to any group effort; it was their nature to be cautious and unyielding. At the bottom of the hierarchical chain, it was often the only way to survive. Luna found herself wondering why those who supplied food for everypony else were the ones being told what to do. “Such a troublesome kind, don't you agree?”

“All ponies have their quirks.” Admitted Luna. “I'm surprised you got the pegasi to stop their squabbling. And I'm surprised the unicorns aren't making you pay a foreleg and two hooves for their help.”

“They answer their liege's call to battle, or they'd face the consequences.” Celestia said adamantly, giving Luna a stern look. “I may have to make an example out of some earth ponies; I won't tolerate any disloyalty.” The midnight alicorn did her best to hide her discomfort at the notion. It must've worked, because her sister said nothing.

“Where's Aegis?” She asked, changing the subject.

“Our granduncle, diligent as always, has gotten immediately to the business of getting to know the layout of Canterlot.” You could've just said he was exploring. But if there was one thing Celestia liked, it was saying things as formally as possible. She'd always been like that, for the one hundred and fifty years Luna could recall. “He'll be with us shortly.”

“Glad to hear it.” Said the midnight alicorn with a nod. “What is the plan for today?”

“Believe it or not, the pegasi leadership all arrived along with their armies, they're in Canterlot as well.” Now that was an impressive feat, Luna had to admit. “We'll be meeting with them after breakfast.” The two made their way to the private dining room, where they ate and discussed what had happened in the month between their last meeting. Their granduncle joined them not long after, and Aegis gave them an account of his own predicament in training unicorns for war, the alicorn way.

“Why do we need unicorns? Why can't you and Celly just go after them?” Luna asked.

“You forget your sister isn't that much older than you, Luna.” Replied Aegis. “Only by half a century. Celestia is just beginning to know her own powers, but she has many years left before she can truly harness them. You aren't even there, yet.” The old alicorn explained.

“We'll see about that.” Celestia grumbled. “But you could fight for us, you're old than any human realm.” Aegis looked rather surprised for a second.

“No, I can't. I thought I told-” A look of realization came over him. “Ah, of course. Forgive my lapse in memory, I've had this conversation with... others no longer among us.” There was a heavy silence among the three immortals. Luna's heart sank as she recalled the ponies Aegis was probably talking about. Celly and I weren't the only ones to lose the rest of our family... Now their grandparent's younger brother was all they had of kin. All Aegis had of kin were the grandaughters of his older brother and sister. “As I was saying,” Aegis continued, “I'm a guardian of the world, as you two will be one day. I've sworn not to turn my powers on mortal creatures. My purpose is above that.” Sworn to whom..? Luna wondered to herself.

“That what do you do?” Questioned Celestia, annoyed.

“I defend this world from those that would seek to harm it. Discord was the last threat of that scale. The first as well, for that matter.” Stated Aegis.

“Wait.” Luna piped up. “How could we stop Discord on our own if we were just little fillies? We can't control our full power now, how could we have then?”

“That is a complicated matter.” The golden alicorn said. “It involves the Elements of Harmony; which would take some time to explain fully. And were I to tell you now, neither of you would understand, which is why I'd rather wait at least a few more decades. A century would be preferable. The day will come when you must use them, and using them wrongly may have unintended consequences that are not easily undone...” Celestia and Luna glanced at each other.

“Hopefully we won't need them for a while, then.” Said the midnight alicorn.

“That's what the new army is for.” Celestia said. “They will do together what I cannot do on my own.”

“It will also not shift the continents on accident.” Added in Aegis. “That was apparently a problem, in the beginning. At least to hear the dragons tell of it.” He smiled faintly, recalling something humorous. “My mother told me that the mountains separating the rest of Alicornia from the Far North once ran from northwest to southeast, rather than directly east to west. And the Peaks of Heaven were not always so high...”

“I can't imagine the power that it'd take to shift a continent like that.” The Regent of the Moon remarked. It was true, such a thing seemed unfathomable. A lone mountain was heavier than the a thousand of the heaviest thing made by ponies. How could entire lands be moved? Discord had raised random peaks here and there; the reason behind Equestria's haphazard landscape, but not even he managed to move the Crystal Mountains anywhere.

“Perhaps the dragons would aid us against the humans.” Celestia mused to herself.

“They wouldn't. The dragons feel safer with a human Sarathûl on their doorstep. Old Alicornia was too great a threat, in those days.” Aegis defeated the notion swiftly. “They do not want any pony to return to that land.”

“What of the griffons?” The white alicorn asked.

“I doubt they want to help us either.”

Talk continued throughout breakfast, as Celestia came up with increasingly unlikely schemes to bring outsiders into her quest for vengeance. The fire was still in her, but at least it was dimmed. Soon the time came for them to meet with the pegasi leadership; something Luna was rather looking forward to. Everypony assembled in the banquet hall, a formal enough setting.

Both leaders of the pegasi kingdoms were there, just as Celstia had said. On the right side of the large table was Highcrest. Lady Silver Farpeak and her husband, Basalt, were there, the former beige and silver-maned, the latter grey and blue-maned. Their daughter, Hemlock, was of a darker beige color of fur and had a mane that was a smoky shade of blue. There had been an older daughter, once; a certain Snowy, but nopony knew what had become of her after she was taken hostage by the retreating Blackwinds. It was likely she had met a tragic end at the hands of her captors, out of revenge for Maelstrom.

More important was the presence of the Queen of Highcrest; Clearspring Swiftrain. Unlike her older sister who had taken the throne after the death of Queen Stratus, Clearspring knew what she was doing, and had the looks to show it. The iron-coated mare was lean and muscled, bearing scars of combat in several places; but a lifetime of healthy activity had blessed her with very good looks for a fighting mare of forty-six. I wonder how Tempest Blackwind will deal with her? Surely, the girl had been training all this time, readying herself for the inevitable confrontation with Clearspring. If the Queen of Highcrest had her way, they would have chased the Blackwinds all the way to Athair. Luckily, cooler heads had prevailed ten years ago. To the side of Queen Clearspring was Princess Firebrand, heir to the kingdom and as much the master warrior as her mother. Firebrand's namesake was the bright red and orange mane that stood out so greatly against the same iron-grey fur as Clearspring.

On the left side were the pegasi from Eastmarch, the kingdom on the other end of Equestria from Highcrest. General Longwing was a familiar sight to Luna; an aging teal stallion. As his name said, his wings were long indeed, almost rivaling an alicorn's. Perhaps he has alicorn blood? Luna didn't know his story. The Queen and King of Eastmarch were both present too; both warriors, unlike Clearspring's husband. Queen Whiteglen was just as white-coated as Celestia, though her mane was a pale grey, as were her eyes; and King Hardhammer was orange as the flames of the forge he was said to work with when not fighting. The two had several foals, but none of them were old enough to travel. Oddly, the Highcrest delegation seemed to have more ponies, despite it's further distance from Canterlot. Then again, Sarathûl is only a little more than a thousand miles from their shores; they have more of a reason to be concerned over these affairs than Eastmarch does.

“Good morning.” Greeted Celestia, as the alicorns entered.

“Princesses.” Nodded Queen Clearspring, kneeling along with all the others.

“Welcome to Canterlot, We hope you find the accommodations suitable.” The pegasi all nodded to some degree. “Onto the business of the day. Equestria needs ships, lots of ships.”

“Pegasi don't sail, your highness.” Hardhammer, King of Eastmarch, spoke. His voice was deep enough that Luna could swear she felt it rumble in the air.

“I've never been a mile out over the ocean in my life, I doubt many others have either.” Noted Lady Silver Farpeak.

“No, you don't sail. However, you can fly. And unicorns have magic. Together, you would be able to sail a vessel on the high seas.” Stated the white alicorn. “It's the only way to get to Old Alicornia, and take the fight to the enemy. Unless, of course, you'd rather have the fight be on your shores?” She looked pointedly at the Highcrest ponies.

“It would be preferable to have a war far from home than one on our doorstep.” Agreed Queen Clearspring. Her voice is almost as deep as Hardhammer's. I wonder what her King thinks of that? Luna wondered, hiding a smile. “Whatever you need us to do, we'll do it.”

“Good. Queen Whiteglen, will you cooperate?” Celestia asked, turning to her. Whiteglen bore a neutral expression for a moment, before nodding.

“Eastmarch will do what has to be done. Even if it means sailing.” She said, distaste lacing the final word.

“Or working with those prissy unicorns.” Grumbled General Longwing in agreement, scowling and putting his ears back.

“Speaking of lesser breeds, I hear you've been having trouble with the earth ponies.” Remarked Silver Farpeak. Aegis Vigil now spoke for the first time.

“There is disagreement among the clans.” Admitted the gold alicorn. “None have answered the call to arms, they want nothing to do with Celestia's endeavor.” For good reason, Luna added in silently. This was still a bad idea. The fact all the pegasi approve of it should make that clear!

“Then start killing leaders until they have one that works for you!” Clearspring declared, rolling her eyes. “That's what I did after the Maelstrom's Rebellion, nopony dares question my authority now.”

“We have considered such a measure.” Replied Celestia. “But there are dozens of earth pony tribes, villages, and petty chiefdoms. Some think our war is a fool's errand, other's want to live in peace, yet more would rather defend their lands from roving bison. We believe this is more of a cultural issue than an individual one, Queen Clearspring.”

“We've got an army now, why don't we pacify the region? They'll join us then.” Hemlock Farpeak suggested. Everypony glanced at the young mare. Finally, some reason, celebrated Luna.

“We find this idea agreeable.” Stated the Regent of the Moon. Hemlock gave her a nod of gratitude.

“Your daughter's idea is sound, Lady Silver.” Proclaimed Queen Whiteglen. “Wisdom from the mouth of foals, as they say...”

“I'm not a foal!” Protested Hemlock. “I'm seventeen!”

“And I'm fifty.” Replied Whiteglen, amused.

“Address your superiors with more respect, Hemlock.” Lady Silver said sternly, hitting Hemlock's head with a hoof. “Forgive her, Princesses, a streak to act to the contrary seems to run through my children.” Did she just hit her daughter? It didn't seem like it was intended to harm, though.

“We know how young ones can be.” Stated Celestia, looking at Luna. “It is no matter. However, Hemlock's idea has merit. Five thousand pegasi will fly south to do the earth ponies' work for them. If they still do not fall in, more extreme measures will be taken.”

“Good to hear, your highness.” Clearspring said, nodding,

“I'll volunteer to lead them.” Piped up Princess Firebrand, heir of Highcrest. “I don't have anything better to do.” Firebrand was going on twenty-four; she'd first fought against the Blackwind rebels, then against a griffon raiding band from beyond the Crystal Mountains. Luna figured she was asking herself “Why not add bison and earth ponies to the list?”

“Very well.” Agreed the Regent of the Sun. “Make your preparations, leave when possible.”

“What about the rest of us?” Asked Whiteglen.

“You will rest here for a few weeks; you've had a long journey.” Spoke Aegis. “Then, we march to the coast, and join with the unicorns. By then, either the earth ponies will join us...”

“Or we go south and deal with them once and for all.” Celestia finished. Talk continued over several hours of various plan and strategies they could use, none of which Luna found particularly interesting. Eventually, it was time for lunch, and the midnight alicorn took the opportunity to escape. It was a bright day in Canterlot, both up in the castle, and the worker's camp slowly developing into a city of its own. Just a year ago the first permanent building had gone up in place of a canvas tent; now there were a dozen more, including one made of stone! Somepony had been determined, to build a stone establishment a mile up a mountain slope.

Luna was still unsure why Canterlot was built this high; she hadn't been privy to her parent's plans for Equestria. Aegis had, but all he would say was “defense.” The Regent of the Moon was sure that wasn't the whole story, no army could penetrate this deep into Equestria, nor could any pony army stand against three alicorns, as far as the common breeds were concerned. So why build a city a mile up...

Her musings were cut short when she noticed Hemlock Farpeak staring out one of the large windows of the hall. Or trying to stare, Goldleaf was there as well, babbling about something. “Goldleaf, are you annoying Our guest?”

“What-” The unicorn turned around, and then bowed, as best he could with a crippled leg. “Oh, Princess Luna; good afternoon. I didn't notice you.”

“Hail, Princess.” Hemlock said, bowing as well. “This unicorn was just informing me of what kind of work you two do. Land surveys and the like. I didn't believe him, but it seems I've been proven wrong.”

“Does he have good reason to lie?” Asked Luna.

“Unicorns lied about the sun and moon once; what else might they fabricate?” Questioned the dark beige pegasus in return. Goldleaf immediately scowled.

“I suppose I should be prepared to kill you at any moment, because all pegasi are backstabbing warmongers.” He said coldly. The unicorn's ears were very much pricked forward, alert as possible.

“A cripple against a fighting mare in her prime?” Hemlock laughed. It was not a mocking laugh, however. “Likely.” Likely indeed, Helmock Farpeak. You've never been tested in battle again your own, what would you do against a unicorn with unknown abilities?

“I could bring down one of these pillars on your.” Stated Goldleaf. No you couldn't, you're not that strong. Luna concluded that neither of them would be willing to fight, as both were bluffing.

“We could send you both to the moon.” Interjected the midnight alicorn, knowing she was lying as well. The two looked at her, not sure if she was joking or serious. “Neither of you win, victory goes to the alicorn.” Declared the Regent of the Moon.

“Fair enough.” Conceded Goldleaf, absent-mindedly shifting his weight off his one good foreleg before realizing he couldn't do that with a slight stumble. Hemlock glanced at him bemusedly.

“You are all equally lesser in Our eyes; your constant squabbling and jostling will do you no good.” Stated Luna, in her best scolding voice. “Instead focus on what you can do together; rather than what you cannot do apart.” Does that even make sense? wondered she. It sounded close enough to what Aegis or her father would say in this situation, though, so it'd have to do.

“Fine.” Snorted Hemlock. “At least there's no earth ponies here.”

“I can agree to that.” Replied Goldleaf, getting a vaguely disapproving look on his face, as he considered the possibility of toiling in the muck.

“They're stupid brutes, all of them.” The daughter of Lady Farpeak continued on. “Good for growing food and not much else. It'd be better off if we ruled them directly, there'd be so much less trouble from those wretches.”

“We might just get along after all, my lady.” Goldleaf declared, nodding. “A perfect solution would be to simply divide their lands among ourselves, and put an end to all their infighting. Think of all the pain that could be averted!”

“Princess Luna, what do you think?” The young pegasus turned to her. “From what I've seen, you don't favor the more brutal methods of my mother and the Queen.” Luna blinked in surprise; she wasn't used to ponies wanting to hear what she had to say.

“We think unifying all ponies under one flag would be a better solution...” Said the alicorn cautiously. The Princess didn't share their disdain for earth ponies; in fact, she found it rather troubling. But she was also in no position to make large-scale political calls, unlike her sister.

“All our lands already answer to you, your highness. You play the counterpart to the human's Emperor in Ar-Athazîon.” Goldleaf stated. “I-”

“Ar-what?” Hemlock interrupted. “What is... that place? I've never head of it.”

“Ar-Athazîon, it's the most important city in Sarathûl-” The mahogany unicorn tried to say, but found himself cut off again.

“Sara-thool?”

“It's what they call Old Alicornia. It's what they've been calling it since before Everfree Castle was built.” Dryly explained Goldleaf. “Honestly, girl, what have they been teaching you up there? Is Highcrest's education system really so poor?”

“Highcrest doesn't have an education system, Goldleaf.” Luna said, recalling a trip she had made some twenty years ago with her parents. “Unicornia is the only state in Equestria with any form of tutoring or universities. The pegasi learn everything from their parents alone.”

“Hmm.” Sniffed the crippled unicorn. “I was unaware things were so... quaint.”

“You're quaint.” Grumbled Hemlock.

“The point is: The Empire in Sarathûl is to what Everfree, and now Canterlot, are to Equestria. Likewise, the Emperor in Ar-Athazîon is to what Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are here. I could go on.”

“No thanks.” The pegasus said, shaking her head. There was a brief silence before she went on. “So we're going to invade a mirror version of Equestria? Just with humans?”

“Uh...” Goldleaf looked to Luna in desperation. He had a point, Silver and Basalt Farpeak hadn't done well with their daughter's education, at least in the affairs of their neighbors across the sea.

“I wonder if their Emperor is immortal too...” Hemlock mused.

“No, he's ordinary, like the rest of them. Human magic is cold and dead; impotent. They only have their technology; and it's still inferior.” Stated the midnight alicorn.

“If we ever actually invade, we can ask your sister all about it.” Remarked Goldleaf, as if he were talking to somepony much younger than he. Which he is. Wait. What did he say? No, Goldleaf, you don't go around mentioning deceased family members at the drop of a hoof!

“Oh, Snowy? She's probably dead.” Hemlock answered dismissively. “No loss there, never saw much of her anyway. Spent most of her time hiding away below the dungeons. Couldn't handle my parent's strict methods. Weak filly, she was.” Such casual disregard for a sister made Luna frown; especially because Snowy had been the older sister. Without Celestia, Luna would be completely lost... But here Hemlock stood, speaking ill of her probably dead family member. Furthermore, something didn't sound quite right about Hemlock's words. “But, you know what?” Hemlock asked quietly, looking slyly from side to side. “I wouldn't be surprised at all if she were still alive. Blackwinds have a nasty habit of not dying when they should; and since they took Snowy with them...”

“She might have picked up on it too.” Goldleaf said, looking slightly amazed. “That could be a mess of a situation.”

“My mother would probably kill her if she turns up again.” The dark beige pegasus said, as if it were a normal thing to say.

“What?” Asked Luna in shock. “How could any mare kill her own foal?”

“Snowy was a weak, craven filly; not at all fit for ruling a great house like ours. Furthermore, Silver Farpeak doesn't feel guilt, shame, or sympathy; that's why the Queen keeps us in such a high position among the court.” Explained Hemlock. “They tried to make me turn out the same.”

“Your family doesn't seem very normal.” Goldleaf noted. The pegasus shrugged, and Luna frowned more. She'd need to keep an eye on this one...

“We have better things to do than discuss the past.” Stated the Regent of the Moon. “Let us move on to a more relevant subject.” The three found a better place to continue talking, as Hemlock and Goldleaf came up with various ideas together that the alicorn was sure she could put to good use one day. After this little war of Celestia's, after she's exhausted her anger... Perhaps then we can work on improving what we have here.

Soon enough, it was mid-afternoon; Luna and her unicorn adviser had to retire to keep their nocturnal schedule. Luna went out onto the same large tower balcony she always did to raise the moon, where Goldleaf always met her. To their surprise, Hemlock Farpeak arrived too. “Fancy meeting you here.” Goldleaf commented, shivering against the cold mountain night. Luna agreed.

“We didn't expect to see you again.”

“You're far more interesting than my parents, your highness.” The pegasus said. “I spend too much time with them as it is.”

“It surprises Us that they are so lenient.” Luna told her. The newcomer got that sly look again.

“I may have told them that I was attempting to ingratiate myself with the Canterlot court and further house Farpeak's influence abroad.” Hemlock replied.

“Are you?” Asked Goldleaf, narrowing his eyes. The daughter of Lady Silver smiled at him, ever so slightly.

“Just a little.”

“Well...” The midnight alicorn paused. Did she just invite herself onto my court? Why? What can she do? Luna didn't have a court, Goldleaf was the only other noble here... But the addition of Hemlock Farpeak made three... And three was enough. I have a court now! A bright grin spread across Luna's face. “Let it be known! That in the year 147 after the Sealing of Discord, the Night Court was re-founded in Canterlot!” She announced, voice echoing through the vacant throne hall.

“We're the Night Court?” Asked Hemlock. “The same one that the Nightlord held?”

“The very same.” Nodded Goldleaf, a veteran of said court. “Ponies once came from all around to seek answers, both of the waking world and dreamworld; and to learn the arts of the night. The Day Court may be more prestigious, but I found the Nightlord was always a much less monolithic figure than the Sun Queen.”

“We are honored to be among such distinguished figures as Goldleaf, so-called the Lame; well-known for his foreleg injury and little else; Lady Hemlock Farpeak, of no particular feats. And finally, there is Us, Princess Luna, the sealer of Discord, Mare of the Moon, co-Princess of Canterlot and Equestria.” Proclaimed Luna, in the most officious voice she could do.

“I'm surrounded by young mares.” Muttered Goldleaf, almost too quiet to hear. “I suppose there are worse things...” And I'm surrounded by a cripple and a noblemare with no known talents to speak of. But Goldleaf was right, there were worse things.

“So... What is it we do, your highness?” Asked Hemlock. Luna continued to beam with glee. Finally, things are looking up again! Goldleaf silently levitated up a stack of papers.

“What Goldleaf and We usually do, Lady Farpeak: sit beneath my night and run Canterlot.”

Author's note: Congratulations, readers, you've made it into act 2! All but one of our big characters is now introduced (I won't tell you who is left); and the plot only rises from here. Y'all are in for one hell of a ride... if college doesn't kill my ability to update regularly. Good thing I've spent the last month writing down every single plot point for the story I can think of, plus other important upcoming scenes, right?

As always, if you have any questions, or anything to say on how I can do better than what I'm doing now, tell me. Please, it's 1:30 AM by the time I'm done editing, I'm pretty sure I've missed something. Unless you're a communist, I promise I won't be angry.