August 27, 1674 (1). In the sky the moon was shining brightly, languidly observing all from the top down, keeping a mysterious silence. The cold white light shone on the marble walls of the Palace, and they seemed to move like a white ocean in time with the swaying trees in the garden. On the wide balcony of the tower stood Luximon and Stellaria and something he said quietly, and a little Celestia continued to silently observe the moon. She had never wanted to come up here before, but lately she had often been overcome by such a desire, which gave her parents reason to ask themselves: 'Is the time really come?'. And when this afternoon she was informed that today she will be able to climb the Solar Spire (2), she was all day in anticipation of this event. And now her soul exulted and enjoyed the sense of freedom that breathed from everywhere. She had been standing there for several minutes, and time seemed to have stopped for her. Finally, in the back approached her Luximon and Stellaria:

"Well, how?" asked with a smile Luximon.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Stellaria asked in response to her daughter's silence.

"Yes," She whispered softly.

"Well," smiled after her husband of Stellaria.

Looking up at the sky for another half-minute, he turned to his wife:

"Well, I guess it's time," he said quietly.

"All right," Stellaria said, turning to Celestia. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," She whispered even more softly, her voice trembling.

"Oh, come on. Don't worry," cheered her Luximon, adding: "I do only at the age of seventeen could do it."

"Luximon!" Stellaria hissed, looking at her husband with such fierce contempt, as if she wished with all her heart that he would sink into the ground so that no one would hear what he had just said.

"Ha, ha," said Luxemore, laughing softly, and he walked away and leaned his elbows on the marble railing of the balcony, smiling.

"Can I go now?" Stellaria asked softly, changing her tone.

"Uh-huh," Celestia said, and Stellaria stepped back slowly, not forgetting to give her husband another reproachful look.

In the meantime, Celestia had struck a steady pose and was slowly accumulating magic. At last her horn was enveloped in a thick layer of yellow glow, from which sparks sometimes flew. It was extremely difficult to hold this amount of magic, even though she had practiced it many times before. As she prepared, Stellaria stepped closer again and immediately shot a magic beam into the night sky. The moon began to fill with violet light, giving everything around a mystical look. When the translucent wave closed on the poles of the moon, it seemed to explode with magical light with an all-encompassing hum, as if it had burst from the dome of the sky, ready to crash down on the earth. But instead, she swam slowly to the West. Seeing this, Celestia pointed her horn to the East, and it lit up even more brightly, and the sparks began to fly even faster and more often than before. The moon had gone out of the sky, and it looked like a black ocean, with bright stars twinkling in it. Celestia was still concentrating, leaning toward the East, and Stellaria began to worry. She glanced at her husband, who stood behind her like a child, transfixed, watching the action unfold before him without a thought of helping his daughter. Stellaria jumped up to him and was about to say that he should probably raise the sun, but at the same time he smiled, not taking his eyes off the horizon, and whispered: "Look!". Stellaria whirled, and immediately a bright yellow wave swept across the Eastern sky with the same hum, and behind it the sun began to slowly emerge from the horizon, enveloped in a magical halo. Celestia continued to raise the luminary unflinchingly, pointing her horn in its direction, which looked like a fragment of a burning star that had fallen from the sky. The curled sun began to appear on her side like Golden threads. The light fell on the roofs of the houses, marking the beginning of a new day. When the sun was fully above the horizon and the halo around it was extinguished, the Curling sun flashed a Golden light and went out. Celestia sank to her trembling knees, and then fell to the cold marble with the first rays of the sun. When he awoke from the stupor, Luximon and Stellaria fearfully darted to the exhausted daughter:

"Jesus, what happened? Are you okay?" stress Luximon asked, trying to bring Celestia in herself.

"How do you feel?" the Queen asked calmly.

"Strange," she said.

Celestia got to her feet and looked down at her side. When she saw her cutie mark, she beamed and looked at Stellaria. The latter, noticing this, smiled in response: "Well, come on, you should sleep." Celestia did not argue, and Stellaria was about to escort her downstairs when she heard her husband cry out as he leaped from the balcony and flew across the sky: "My daughter has raised the sun!". Stellaria's face twisted in silent hysteria, and she shouted after him: "Idiot!". In response, the district resounded inextinguishable laughter Luximor, and indignation on the face of the Queen was replaced by a condescending smile. At last she went down the stairs with Celestia, who was chuckling softly as she looked up at the sky behind her.

***

An hour later, only the deaf did not hear about the significant event of this morning. Every self-respecting onlooker felt it his duty to discuss such an exciting topic with everyone with whom he could. As it was not long before the harvest season began, both the king and the common people decided to get all their remaining supplies from under the floor and spend them safely. At seven o'clock in canterlot, on The same spot as ten years ago, a table was set up, even larger and more beautiful than those at Celestia's birthdays before. From the ovens of the Royal kitchen smoke was continually pouring, carrying with it all sorts of aromas, giving everyone a reason to enjoy the anticipation of the evening Banquet even more. Meanwhile, by eleven o'clock all the most important guests, who had received personal invitations to the feast, had arrived at the castle, where they were able, in anticipation of the long-awaited holiday, to communicate with Luximor and Stellaria in person, although they were nobly disappointed that they could not meet the main culprit of the planned celebration. Little Celestia was fast asleep, not thinking about all the bustle that was happening behind the walls of her bedroom. While the cleaners were frantically scrubbing all around the huge table, praying not to miss any stain on the white marble, in the basement from side to side hysterically rushed cooks, dragging huge plates of delicious dishes and jugs of delicious drinks, cursing everyone and everything, while the chef to frenzy shouted at his young and inexperienced subordinates:

"You!" Salti Meath shouted, pointing at the lean pony.

"Yes!" White Cream said, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Where's the pie?" inquired of Mit.

"W-what kind of pie?" Cream asked fearfully.

"Cabbage pie!" the chef hissed.

"Cabbage pie? I think we've kneaded the dough, but we haven't set began on it yet," Cream said fearfully.

Meath's face began to curve slowly in indescribable anger, his eyes bloodshot, and his hooves dug deeper into the tile beneath him:

"No began? No began?! Are you crazy? He should have been ready ten minutes ago! If in half an hour I do not see a ready pie in front of me, I promise, I will personally cut off your heads!" he roared.

Glancing wildly around, his gaze lingering on a table not far away, he was about to seize the meat axe lying on it with his teeth, when suddenly it was enveloped in a green glow and soared into the air, and behind him a calm voice said: "Calm down, Meat," as the unicorn came out from behind him.

Asteriel Cereus had been an eminent physician and alchemist, Professor of biology, Minister of biomagic research, founder of the Equestrian Council of alchemists, and court physician for eight years. Despite the fact that he was no different from ordinary ponies in appearance, there was still something about him that made everyone whisper behind his back and watch him spellbound from around the corner. His story was vague, and few knew it, and even those could tell it only in General terms. Exactly she was known only to Asteriou and Stellaria, with whom he often communicated because of the similarity of their worldviews, trusted her and were not afraid to share intimate, and his sister Mary. What those to whom he ventured to reveal the secret of his appearance at court knew about him was that he had been born and lived with his parents and a younger sister, five years his Junior, in Vanhoover, and had been interested in alchemy, biology, and magic since childhood, and had wanted to go to Vanhoover University of Natural Sciences to study biology, but I couldn't.

Mit first turned to Asteriel, and then glared at the frightened boy, whose eyes already filled with tears, and shouted:

"Get to work, now!!!"

Cream, yelp, ran to another room, and Asterial shook his head again, covering her face with a hoof:

"Oh my God. Meat, have you forgotten how to communicate properly with a pony?"

"No, they just think that if I'm not over their heads, you can brazenly shirk from work!"

"I don't think you should be so nervous about it. All the same, guests are unlikely to quickly empty the entire table, and dishes will arrive as the meal progresses. One or two of the pie, delayed for twenty minutes, will not play a decisive role.

"You're partly right, but it still annoys me. Have you come to check it out again? Honestly, it hurts me a little. I've cooked and tasted so many dishes in so many years of my life that I can easily tell if there's something wrong with it," Meat said, glancing at Asteriel's shoulder bag.

"I tell you again that there are a great many poisons that do not change the taste, color, or smell of a dish and do not take effect for several hours," Asteriel explained.

"Oh, never mind! Well, then, maybe we should start with snacks?" asked the Meat.

"Perhaps." agreed Asterial.

After this they proceeded to another room, where there were already crackers, various cheeses, and everything else that was destined to be the first thing touched by hungry guests. Meat shouted at all are there, and Asterial started to check. The first thing he did was to look carefully at all the dishes, sniffed, but found nothing. Then he magically opened the bag, and from it flew with three dozen bubbles with colorful liquids and powders. Mith shuddered as usual, but Asteriel reminded him that he would neutralize all substances after the test, and He quickly calmed down. The test began. It reminded him of the few chemistry classes he'd had in high school that he'd miraculously been unable to skip. In the end, after an hour and a half, all the dishes were determined to be completely safe to eat, and Asteriel magically removed all traces of the reagents from them. Saying goodbye to Meat, Asteriel climbed the wooden stairs up, and, going out into the main hall of the Palace, came across Luxemore, who was talking about something with some stately pony as if the conversation had completely exhausted itself and needed a logical conclusion:

"Isn't that... Oh, hey, Asterial! I see you're done with the check." asked Luximon and quietly said goodbye to his companion.

"Hello, your Majesty," said Asterial with his head bowed to the floor.

"God, Astri, that's enough. We normally spoke literally in the morning. What's gotten into you?! I know manners and etiquette and all that, but by God, don't turn into my wife!" said Luximon. Asterial instantly got embarrassed and froze, wide-eyed, only nervously nervously looking around, wanting to fail under the earth.

"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Luximon, forcing Asterias even stronger blush. "Come on! What's wrong with that?"

"I told you... not to call me that," he said softly, his head bowed to the floor.

"All right, all right. Let's take a walk in the garden, I was just going to see how the work on the decorations is going."

"As you say," he said. "Acterial and awkward went Lucimore, still cautiously looking around at the guests around."

Gideon was one of the known members of the family Altieri. It was famous not only because of its proximity to the Royal dynasty, but also because of the many talented ponies that were its natives. A considerable proportion of famous musicians, singers, actors, artists were somehow connected with this family. And when Gideon was born, his parents were sure he would be great. No matter what, it will. Gideon was a rather odd pony, according to his friends. A little thin, he looked like a girl. The parting of his hair made it even more difficult to determine his sex at first glance. Gideon was always calm as long as no one bullied him. Gideon dreamed long and often. Dreams were always with him and gave him the strength to move on, which was extremely necessary for him in the hard life of a member of the elite. Gideon's temper was easy, but now he was beside himself. All day yesterday, his relatives had been running nervously around the mansion, furiously preparing for the "great" event. In the evening he tried on about two hundred different costumes and outfits before he could finally retire to his room. And today he had been woken at six in the morning, despite the fact that he had clearly heard that even the most important guests were to arrive at eleven, and had been 'properly dressed' for three hours. By nine o'clock he was so sick of his reflection that only the pain in his hooves and the general weariness kept Gideon from smashing the damned mirror. The servants, who were busy around him like ants, wanted to throw it all away as much as Gideon, but mistress Aryn Alteri often looked in the room, stopping any attempts to finish the work ahead of time. At last, when the landlady looked in again, they turned to her:

"All is ready, mistress Aryn."

"Wonderful!" she said, walking over to Gideon, who was already struggling to keep from falling to his knees.

"We did what you wanted. I hope you all like it?" the acolytes asked, trying to hide their desire to be in the coffin, so as not to feel pain all over their bodies.

"It's all right. You did well, gentlemen. Well, do you like it, Gidi?"

"Y-Yes," Gideon said.

"Lovely! Only here, probably, it is necessary to correct here…"

"No, that's too much! Everything! I'm done!" Gideon cried before his mother could finish.

"Gidi, what's wrong?" Aryn asked, startled.

"What happened? What happened?! You think that's okay? I'm a pony, not a doll! Dressing me up for three hours in a row is at least unhealthy!"

"But... But you said you liked it," Aryn said.

"Mom!" Gideon exclaimed, blushing like a tomato at the laughter of the servants behind him. "Y-Yes, I like it, but you have to be careful!"

"But…"

"No! Everything! I wash my hooves!"

"But Gi…"

"I'll see you at lunch, mom." Gideon shouted as he left the room.

The heavy oak door slammed shut, leaving lady Erin alone with the quietly giggling attendants.

Half an hour later, the Alteri family sat at a large table and quietly began to eat. Gideon tried to eat without getting soiled, while throwing reproachful glances in the direction of his mother, who was still trying to seize the moment to start a new dialogue with him. After dinner, Gideon retired to his room again, trying not to think about the still-aching hooves and the unpleasant aftertaste of his conversation with his mother. Part of him was still embarrassed by the fact that he liked to look good, despite the fact that it was considered normal in the family, and he overdid it just a little bit. He was embarrassed by it rather because of his peers. He might have been well received at school, but when he appeared in ordinary society, he was repeatedly pestered with sarcastic questions about his gender and appearance. He had learned to avoid conflict long ago, but it still hurt him, though not as much as it used to. And, when his mother tried to again do from him "ideal foal", he again subconsciously wanted to this, but partly continued resist. However, while he was thinking about it, it was time to leave. When he was ready, he got into one of the several carriages at the front of the estate, with his mother and his brother Vere. The only pony he really trusted, the one who knew him best. Unlike Gideon, Vere preferred not to show his abilities. He was quite friendly with Gideon, though he thought him a bit odd. Gideon same with childhood believed Vere their the best friend, after all precisely he in its time showed him magic illusions and at all played with him, not imposing etiquette and morality, and because sought to equal on him. But as time went on, their characters became more and more different, and the synchronicity of their thoughts was partially lost. But they still thought of each other as brothers, and it was nice to be around each other, even if Vere kept it a secret. As they rode, mistress Erin tried again to start a dialogue with Gideon, but he made it clear that he did not want to, and she did not insist. Gideon kept glancing at Vere, bored and staring out the window, thinking how huge this celebration must be if everyone was so excited. Of course, he remembered going to Celestia's ninth birthday party a year ago, but the excitement hadn't reached such heights then. It was strange to him that two such bright events as the heiress's jubilee and her rising of the sun should fall on the same day, but he did not think it necessary to think about it again. At last Canterlot appeared at the carriage window, towering majestically over all Equestria. The snow-white towers glittered in the bright sunlight like magnificent pearls. Soon the carriages passed through the Central arch and stopped at the staircase leading to the main landing in front of the Palace, on which already stood a huge table. The usual ponies were everywhere, clamoring for the guards to let them go, and looking enviously at all the members of the Alteri family. Finally, Gideon got out of the carriage and started up the marble steps, feeling chosen again and unable to tell whether he liked it or not.

Vincent came from a poor family in the South-East. He always looked unkempt, his hair was dusty, and his mane had never known a comb. He had few friends, for in spite of the abundance of the poor in Custer, they never came together for fear of the guards. One by one they were not noticed in the crowd, and the poor did not complain. As a rule, his whole day consisted of walking around the city and relentless petitions “apply for food." Always lived from hand to mouth, he looked at the rich with envy. Often in his head the question arose: "Why, while some drown in abundance and luxury, others are forced to beg in order to survive?"All these questions have fostered in Vincent a keen sense of justice and forced to look at the world through the prism of the grief of all the poor people of Equestria. Sitting in one of the taverns in the small town of Inel, seven kilometres from Canterlot, Vincent waited. At the moment the settlement was almost entirely deserted, for, having exhausted all the provisions, its inhabitants had moved towards the capital, in the hopeless hope that they would be admitted to the Banquet three hours before the appointed time. Vincent is only played on the hoof, and he didn't complain. It had been so long since he had seen canterlot that the desire to catch a glimpse of It made him want to start for safety. It was still a long time before the hour for the plan to begin, so after weighing the pros and cons, he headed for the door, leaving a couple of bits beside a full glass of Mead. Of course, it had been a long time since he had enjoyed anything sweet, but now he needed a sober mind as never before. Going to the cabman, he handed him a couple of bits and politely asked him to take him to Canterlot. He settled back in his seat and waited.
An hour later the towers of the Royal Palace rose before him. Saying good-bye to the driver, he descended to the cobbled street and walked along it, looking at the shop Windows and passers-by. All these rich nobles, who were talking to each other about something high and great, disgusted Vincent. The absence of dark corners worried him a little. Walking down the street during the day was unusual, and he was constantly drawn to the alleys, but he still continued to walk quietly, trying to distract himself with the beauty of the architecture of Canterlot. Gradually he began to take a peculiar pleasure in it. He hadn't seen much of the usual ponies in the past few months, and now he felt uneasy, as if he feared for his privacy with regard to the guests hanging around the main Palace square. They, in turn, were extremely sociable and, not at all embarrassed, showed a remarkable interest in Vincent, more and more annoying him with their attempts to bring him to talk. To get rid of the pursuit, he quickly slipped into the alley between the buildings and nervously looked around, slipped through the nearest door. When he opened it, dust motes swirled in front of him, and a bell tinkled. He paid no attention to the sign, but he knew from the large number of books that he was in a bookstore. The door closed, and everything was plunged into semi-darkness. Vincent looked out of the curtained window, and, not seeing the ponies near, was about to go out, when a faint voice called to him:

"Hello, how can I help you?" a pony with short turquoise hair, glasses, and yellow fur came out from behind the shelves.

"Hello. To be honest, I was about to leave..."

"Ah, well, then," said the shopkeeper, with a sad look on her face.

Seeing this, Vincent thought that he actually owed it to her to get rid of unwanted interlocutors. After all, it was easy for him to buy a couple of books, but then he would leave them with the rest of his belongings. He was bored on the way to Canterlot, too, and a couple of books would be useful on the next trip. Without opening the door, he turned and walked to the counter:

"Sorry, I just had a thought and forgot what I was looking for something..." she tried to justify Vincent.

"Oh... well, then, welcome to Orwin Books! I'm Benny Orwin, the owner of this bookstore. What can I do for you?"

"I'm going on a trip soon, and I'd like to pass the time with a book," Vincent said.

"I understand. I have many fascinating books, both old and new editions. Do you like the classics? Or historical manuscripts?"

"Can I have something modern?" Vincent asked, remembering that he had read most of the classic books he had enjoyed during his stay in Ponyville.

"Yes, of course. Give me a minute," Benny said, and began to climb the stairs and pick out books. "Basically, all the usual ponies sit in taverns or hang out on the streets in search of drinking buddies, asking the richer ponies for money."

"I prefer not to be like them."

"Quite reasonable. I, too, am extremely annoyed by all these drunks who are ready to bite each other's throats for a couple of bottles of not the best wine." said Benny contemptuously, and going down the stairs and putting the books near the counter, climbed a new ladder at another Cabinet and again began to search.

"I see the city is cheering for the evening."

"Of course! Two such great holidays in one day! Why is the city not supposed to rejoice? You're probably not from here if you don't know what's going on."

"That's right," Vincent said after a moment.

"It is strange to say this, but it is Princess Celestia's birthday, and it is she who has raised the sun that now shines upon us."

"Hmm, alright." Vincent and said thoughtfully.

Benny kept asking him questions, and Vincent, tired of trying to think of answers, just started saying Yes and no. Benny ignored him and kept asking, putting the stacks of books on the counter. Finally, she came down the stairs:

"All right. I guess that's all." Benny said, placing all the books she'd selected on the counter.

"Thank you," Vincent said.

As Vincent read the summary, he magically set aside the copies he liked. Eventually, he bought three books, and after saying goodbye to benny, he went outside. For another hour he paced Canterlot, watching his surroundings without emotion, as if he had lost the ability to experience anything. Soon he was walking out of the city, mentally trying to clear his mind. He had a long night ahead of him.

Author's Note

1 – Here and after dates from the unification of the Eastern, Central, Western kingdoms and the Crystal Empire and the formation of Equestria

2 – The highest of the towers of the Canterlot Palace, the ritual place of summoning the sun and moon.