"This is great news!"

Twilight's excitement was plain for all to see, as she happily trotted about the outer rim of the main chamber of the Golden Oak Library. Her horn was aglow, and before her hovered a parchment, marked with the symbol of the sun. All around her were her friends, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy, as well as Spike, who looked on with both curiosity and concern to his Mother.

"Mom? You've been looking at that thing for a few minutes now."

Stopping, the young unicorn blushed slightly as she turned to her son, walking over and giving him a gentle pat on the head.

"Don't mind me, Spike. This is just...well...rather exciting."

Naturally, such words prompted Pinkie to walk over herself, gesturing to a stack of nearby unopened boxed.

"Well, might as well tell us. I'm sure we're all eager to take a break from all this unpacking."

Looking to her, and seeing her other friends start to gather around, Twilight gave both a smile and a nod. She turned her attention back to the parchment, her eyes drifting over it as she started to speak.

"It's from Princess Celestia. Apparently, her sister has sent word that she wants her kingdom to open up diplomatic relations with Equestria."

A look of shock crossed the faces of many of the mares, with Applejack speaking up first.

"Seriously?!"

Twilight, oblivious to the less-than-happy way her colleague had said that, smiled widely.

"I know, right? This is truly a wonderful day!"

Looking back to the document, the unicorn sighed.

"Our people and theirs have been separated by a thousand years. But now? Now, we have a chance to try and mend that gap."

Her friends all cast nervous glances to one another, but, after a brief silence between them, Fluttershy started to walk to her unicorn friend, clearing her throat and gaining her attention by doing so.

"Twilight? I know you may think this is all a good idea, but it is really? There's been so much separation between us, and even Celestia doesn't seem all that fond of her sister. At least, that's what you told us."

Twilight, undeterred by this, looked to her friend with a softer look, nodding slightly.

"I know. And I'm not so naïve as to suggest that issues between us are going to be fixed overnight. Like I said, this is a thousand years of division between us."

Looking away, her face lit up a little bit more.

"But if we can open up a dialogue with them...and if we all work at it...maybe...just maybe...we could be looking at the start of something truly wonderful here!"

The way she'd said that made it absolutely clear that she'd meant every single word of it. But her friends, looking to one another, were also clear in their expressions that they did not share in her enthusiasm for this situation. But, at the end of it, Fluttershy let out a sigh, putting on a smile for her friend's sake and placing a hoof upon her shoulder.

"Twilight...if you truly believe that things might be good between us, then I suppose it's only right that we believe in it too."

Looking to each of them, Twilight saw them give her nods and smiles in response to this, earning a look of appreciation from her.

"Thank you."

Chuckling slightly, Pinkie started approaching her as well.

"So I guess this means a bunch of diplomats and ambassadors, right? Some fancy pony from their side going over to Canterlot?"

To that, Twilight looked to her with an even wider smile than before.

"Actually, no! That's the great thing about this!"

Naturally, such words earned her confusedly looks from the others, prompting her to explain herself.

"From what Celestia tells me, the Ambassador is going to be coming here!"

Immediately, Applejack, who'd been sipping a nearby glass of water, spat it out, then wiped her mouth slightly before looking to her friend with shock.

"What?!"

Turning to her, Twilight misled.

"That's right. Celestia said that the embassy for the Lunar Kingdom will be built right here in Ponyville. And likewise, she'll be sending over a trained Equestrian diplomat of our own to take up residence here, so they'll have somepony close by to speak with them."

Incredulity was the order of the day for the farmer, who took a step closer to the spectacled unicorn.

"Is...is this some kinda joke?! Ya mean ta tell me those...those moonies are comin here?!"

To that, Twilight narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, Applejack, they are. And if we're going to try and make some kind of relationship with them it might do for us to not talk about them that way."

Her frown deepened.

"And let's not forget...their leader saved our lives, remember? If it wasn't for her, the Tantabus would have killed all of us, and gone on to do who knows what to the rest of Equestria!"

She glanced away from her earth pony friend.

"Whatever reservations we might have...we owe her the benefit of the doubt here."

Applejack looked away, looking just as concerned about this as she'd been throughout. However, in the silence that followed, Pinkie looked around before clearing her throat and adding her own voice to things.

"Not to sound critical of our always-loved leader, but...why is this all happening in Ponyville of all places? I mean, if everypony else gets embassies in Canterlot, why not these guys?"

Glancing to her, Applejack nodded.

"That's right! The Yaks, the Crystal Empire, heck, even the Griffons have people in that city!"

Twilight nodded.

"I know. But let's not forget, for centuries now, ponies in Equestria have told stories of Queen Moon as being some kind of horrible nightmare monster. Finding out she's real is one thing, but letting her set up somewhere in the heart of our country? That was something even Celestia wasn't able to convince her ministers to allow. If nothing else, doing this far from the capital might help to avoid any kind of serious early panic."

Looking down slightly, Twilight's ears dropped a bit.

"Besides...if what she told me before is still true, I think she'd have a hard time accepting the idea of having her sister's representatives so close."

Nodding, Applejack took those words in, and yet, she still looked as if she were critical of this notion, as evidenced by her tone when she spoke next.

"But...why here? Ponyville ain't exactly a big bustlin' place, Twi."

Looking over to the parchment, Twilight began to answer.

"From what we've been able to gather, Ponyville is the closest settlement in Equestria to the Lunar lands. We're basically a gateway to their kingdom...give or take an Everfree Forest of course."

Raising an eyebrow, Pinkie stepped into the conversation once more.

"And the Queen was okay with that? I mean, I'm glad she's not throwing a fit or anything, but it seems kinda weird she'd let her embassy be in a place like...well...this."

For a time, Twilight didn't reply, leading to all of them looking to her in silence. The young unicorn's mind began to drift back to past memories. Memories of her last serious conversation with her beloved mentor, and the request for her to stay in Ponyville. The words she'd spoken to her echoed over and over in her mind, and just for a moment, a sudden coldness took hold of her. But, she shook herself out of this state, putting on a reassuring smile for her friends.

"Well...perhaps the Queen just wants to get things off on the right hoof between us?"

The expressions her friends wore made it rather obvious that they were not exactly convinced by this, and truth be told, nor was Twilight. But, glancing back up, her mood perked up immensely.

"But look at it this way! Ponyville now gets to serve as the place where two great nations mete out relationships with one another! Can you imagine it?"

Applejack rolled her eyes.

"Oh, ah'm imaginin it alright!"

Twilight looked to her with some disapproval.

"I understand your concerns, but if there's any chance that we can make things work...we have an obligation to see it through."

Sighing, Applejack made her way back over to one of the nearby boxes, before then starting to unpack it. As for Twilight, she looked to her with concern, only to be stopped from doing so by a small poke from Spike.

"So there's gonna be some diplomat coming here? To Ponyville? And from Canterlot too?"

Looking down to him, Twilight smiled.

"Yes there is, Spike. With luck, they'll be here within a week to try and hash out some kind of agreement about the exact embassy location."

Spike nodded.

"Okay, so...who is the Princess going to send?"

A knowing smile crept onto his Mother's face, and she leaned down and planted a gentle kiss upon his forehead, eliciting slight confusion form the youth. Soon after, his carer began to answer.

"That, my son...is perhaps the best news of all."