Princess Luna sat in the throne room of the Canterlot Castle, along with her elder sister, Princess Celestia. No one else was present, except for their usual palace guards.

Luna read the document before her carefully, looking for any possible problems within its writing. It had been only an hour ago that Luna had learned that Celestia had created this document. And from the fact that she hadn't found any conflicts within the proposal, it seemed that her sister, the Solar Diarch, had put her thousand years of wisdom to good use.

Once she had finished looking over the document, the Lunar Diarch turned towards her sister, "Are you sure that you want to do this, 'Tia?"

Celestia nodded, "Yes, it has always been tradition to celebrate the coming of the Comet of Miracles. This tournament is a vital part of the celebration, as we have done it every time it has appeared in the night sky."

Luna still looked at the document uncertainly, "But are you sure that it is wise to follow tradition at this time, when we are threatened by another possible changeling attack? Even now, our scouts in the badlands have detected a massive increase in changeling movements than ever before. We know that Chrysalis will attack our country again, so why should we hold the tournament when it could be a perfect chance for the hive to strike?"

Celestia shook her head as she stood up from her throne. The solar diarch then began to pace through the room, with Luna following her in suit,  "You know as well as I do, Luna. There are hundreds of ponies throughout Equestria who have waited for the Comet of Miracles. If they see that we have cancelled the tournament due to the changeling threat, then all of Equestria will begin to be fearful of another attack. And when fear is present in the hearts of many,..."

"...Chaos shall follow." Luna sighed as she finished her sister's sentence, "I know." The blue alicorn glanced down towards the ground with a grimace on her face.

Celestia smiled warmly as she stopped in front of her sister, gently lifting Luna's chin with her hoof, "I know you are upset by my decision to allow the tournament to proceed, and by the growing activity of the changelings. But I don't believe now is the time to constantly worry about these things."

Luna narrowed her eyes towards her sister, "How can you say that? The only contact you've had with the changelings in the past year was when they first tried to invade Canterlot. All of the events after Cadence's wedding concerning the changelings I was left to deal with. You do not know the grief that I have felt during that time."

Celestia sighed, hanging her head slightly, "When the changelings attacked Ponyville during the Nightmare Night Celebration, you almost lost your student, and I can understand why you worry for his safety, as well as the rest of Equestria's. I know Rowan's death must have come as a horrifying prospect that would have dealt you a great deal of emotional pain. Believe me, if I were to be put in the same situation, I probably wouldn't have decided to allow the tournament to proceed. Say that Twilight had almost come close to dying, instead of Rowan. If that happened, I..."

The Solar Diarch's speech trailed off as she winced, "... I don't know how I would be able to recover from the event." Celestia shook her head, looking back to Luna, "But nevertheless, I am asking you to put your fears to rest for a time. I need you to be strong and do your part in preparing for the tournament. We will need to work side by side in order for this celebration to proceed. Can you do this for me?"

Luna paused for a moment, but then nodded in reply, "Yes, sister. I will help where I can. But with the changelings as a current threat, we will need to be vigilant if we are to protect everypony from another attack. I assume that you've thought all of the security measures through."

Celestia nodded, "Yes. Our scouts out in the badlands will be working through the day and night. If any changeling force crosses our border, we will be notified long before the attacking force arrives. And if they do, we will have the power of the Comet to rely upon, as well as the additional support from Discord."

Luna glanced at her sister warily, "Are you sure it is wise to trust Discord in a situation like this? I mean, he has only been 'reformed' for a week or two. Do you believe that he has actually changed his ways?"

The Solar Diarch nodded, "Other than the occasional harmless prank around Canterlot, Discord has proven himself to have changed from his old ways. I am also employing his abilities to help with the construction of the coliseum in which we will hold the tournament."

"Are you two talking about me?"

Both of the Princesses glanced up to see the Draconequus in question floating just above their heads. Discord lounged in the air, as if he were laying on an invisible hammock. In his lion paw he held a chocolate milkshake, taking large slurps of it through a straw.

Luna raised an eyebrow at Discord, "Are you sure you know what you have been asked to do?"

Discord smirked at the Lunar, "What's the matter, Luna? You still don't trust me?"

Luna's expression remained emotionless, "You haven't given me any reason to trust you. Especially not after your prank where you replaced my shampoo with cotton candy." Celestia could be heard trying to stifle a laugh, but Luna ignored her.

Discord rolled his eyes, "Honestly, Luna. Maybe for once you should take Celestia's advice and lighten up a bit." The Draconequus snapped his fingers and another milkshake appeared on the floor in front of Luna's hooves. Discord then wrapped an arm around Luna's shoulders, "You really just need to relax."

Luna shook off the Draconequus, leaving the offered milkshake on the ground before her untouched.

Celestia cleared her throat to interject into the conversation, "Discord, are you up to the task of providing us with a coliseum for the Tournament of Miracles?"

Discord scratched his chin with a claw, "Hm, that depends. Will I be able to give my special flare into the design? You know, a few hidden gags here and there?"

Celestia narrowed her eyes, "No, Discord. Please, all we require is just a simple coliseum. Not a fun house of practical jokes."

Discord rolled his eyes, "All right, fine. I'll build your boring coliseum for you. But seriously, I at least think I should put some pie launchers in the noble's viewing box. They, of course, don't have to try hard to get on my nerves."

Celestia's expression remained unchanged, "Discord..."

The draconequus slumped back into his lounging position, "All right, fine. I won't add any traps." With that, Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Celestia then turned back to Luna, "You see, sister. You don't have to worry about anything."

Luna paused, but then nodded, "Okay, I will do my part for this Tournament without my constant worries about the changelings."

Celestia nodded, "Good. I believe now is the time to send word of the tournament throughout Equestria. We want to give the rest of the country the chance to prepare before the games start."

Luna nodded, "That would be a wise choice. However, what would you want us to do first to prepare for the tournament?"

Celestia smiled, "Well, as you know, both you and I are allowed to assemble our own personal teams to compete alongside the other teams that choose to enter. To begin preparing, I would like you to first call together your team that will be competing. I assume you know who you want to add as part of your team by now."

Luna paused, but then a small smile came to her face, "I believe I know the five perfect ponies for the job. I'll visit them in their dreams tonight to deliver the news."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, in the far outskirts of the badlands, in the deepest chamber of the changeling hive, Chrysalis sat on her stone throne, scowling fiercely. Before her stood her proclaimed heir, Vironect. For the past months, the Changeling Queen had been enraged by Vironect's failure in Ponyville when he was sent to capture her daughter, Naractia. And not only that, but three of Vironect's changeling force had deserted the hive and had gone to serve Naractia instead.

From the reports of her spies within Equestria, Chrysalis had learned that her daughter and the three rogue changelings had taken new names and were now living as residents in Ponyville, under Princess Luna's protection. The names that the three rogue changelings had chosen were Quicksilver, Duke, and Violet. Whereas, Naractia had chosen a new name for herself: Rosa.

The mere thought of these four changelings' actions filled Chrysalis with disgust, and therefore the changeling queen took out her anger on the one who was responsible for their escape from the hive. Chrysalis scowled at Vironect, "As I have said before, Vironect, I want those four changelings dead!" She pounded a leg on her throne to emphasize her demand.

Vironect cleared his throat, "I am sorry, my queen, but if we were to even attempt an assassination on the rogues, the Elements of Harmony *and* Princess Luna would be upon us in an instant..." Vironect paused, wincing slightly, "Not to mention Rowan, as well."

At the sound of Rowan's name, Chrysalis felt a throbbing come from her scar. Her scar was a long crack in her exoskeleton that ran diagonally across her face, a small reminder of her last encounter with the unicorn Rowan. Both Chrysalis and Vironect hated Rowan with a burning passion. For Chrysalis, Rowan, along with the other elements of harmony, had been the ones who had taken away her changeling magic. But as for Vironect, he hated Rowan because he had been a key part in his failure to capture Rosa in Ponyville.

Vironect shook his head, "I'm sorry, my queen, but we couldn't even reach the Equestrian border with a suitable attack force if we wanted. The princesses have countless scouts scouring the badlands, looking for us. They'd be able to see us from a mile away."

Chrysalis spat at Vironect, "Do you think I'm not already aware of that? Even now, I'm beginning to wonder why I claimed you as my heir after Naractia left the hive."

Vironect cleared his throat, "Don't you mean 'Rosa'? Our spies reported that she changed he-"

Chrysalis snapped at her heir, "I don't care if she calls herself 'Rosa' now! All my daughter to me is Naractia: Both a banished traitor and a fool! She left the hive so she could experience love, but she does not realize that no one could ever fully love a changeling. It is impossible, and she deserves to die for her insolence."

Chrysalis cleared her throat, "Listen, Vironect. You have failed me severely, but now I shall give you a chance to redeem yourself."

Vironect glanced up at his ruler, "Yes?"

"As you may not know, the Comet of Miracles is soon to appear in the skies above Equestria. The comet has the power to strengthen the magical abilities of the inhabitants of Equestria. To celebrate the comet's coming, the ponies in the land come together in a large tournament of magical skill. Everyone in Equestria shall travel to Canterlot for the tournament, and that gives us the perfect moment to strike.

"I want you to find a way into Equestria and plan an attack on Canterlot during the tournament. I will leave you to the details of the attack, but I will give you the objectives that you must fulfil."

Vironect cocked his head to the side slightly, "And those would be...?"

"First, execute an attack that shall leave every pony in fear. With everyone in fear, Equestria shall fall into disarray, making a full attack easy for the hive. Second, find and kill the rogue changelings, as well as Naractia. Those weaklings must not be allowed to live any longer. And third, find Rowan and bring him to me."

Vironect nodded, "Yes, my queen. But what of Rowan? What will you do when we have brought him?"

Chrysalis' eyes burned with anger, "When I have Rowan, I shall torture him. I shall make him feel every type of pain possible until he is on the ground before me begging for mercy. But then, I shall continue to make him feel agony until he begs for death, which I will then gladly give." The changeling queen laughed evilly with malice at the image, "Yes, Vironect. You must bring Rowan to me."

But then, Chrysalis' expression suddenly changed to one of anger, "But remember, Vironect. If you fail this task, then I shall have you change into Rowan's shape, and then I shall have you serve as his replacement to be tortured."

Vironect grimaced at the sight of the prospect, "Yes, my queen. I shall begin making preparations immediately." With that, Vironect bowed to Chrysalis and quickly flew out of the throne chamber.

But as he flew through the interior of the hive, Vironect grumbled to himself, "Great. If I screw up another plan, then I'm as good as dead." The changeling ground his fangs in annoyance, "If only Princess Luna and her precious student hadn't intervened in my last operation in Ponyville, then I wouldn't have been put in this position. I can't afford to fail again."

Vironect paused as a small image came to his mind. It was one of him standing over a beaten Rowan, holding a knife over the heart of the unicorn. Vironect grinned as he thought about the scene, whispering to himself, "I swear, Rowan, when we meet again, I will finish the job that I failed to do in Ponyville. I don't care if Chrysalis wants you for herself to destroy. I will make sure that you are dead, and that you will never return again as a pain in my side." Next Chapter: Lunar Shadows Estimated time remaining: 18 Minutes