At the very least, it was a pleasant day for what was about to occur. The skies were clear above Ponyville, and the sun shone brightly down upon its residents. While most ponies were simply going about their daily lives, unaware of what was about to happen, one set of eyes eagerly looked up to the infinite blue above her. Twilight stood quietly in the middle of the town square, staring into the skies for any sign of those she knew would come, but so far, there was nothing. Eventually, Spike arrived onto the scene as well, walking up to his Mother and standing beside her. She felt him there, and looked down to him with a warm smile.

"Just be patient, Spike. it won't be long now."

The young dragon nodded, turning his attention to the sky as well. And here, the youth's eyes widened, and he pointed a single claw eagerly upwards.

"Mom! There they are!"

Immediately, Twilight's head snapped in the direction her son was pointing, and sure enough, he was correct. At first, it just seemed like a few dots far away. But as time passed, those dots became larger, more clear to her sights. Adjusting her glasses slightly, the unicorn soon silently confirmed what she was seeing, and a wide smile crept onto her face.

"Yes...that's them alright."

It didn't take long for many of the other nearby ponies to notice what was going on, as a procession of three golden chariots could now be seen flying clearly over Ponyville. The bright armour of the pegasi guards who pulled them glistened in the sun, creating an image of awe for many down on the ground. Crowds began to gather in the square, where the chariots were heading, and among them were Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie. But while there was a great deal of chatter, nopony stepped forward into the very centre of the place, as that was where the chariots seemed to be heading to land. Indeed, this proved true, and before long, all three of them had safely landed. In two of the chariots, unicorn guards dismounted, giving nods of thanks to the pegasi that had brought them, which was soon reciprocated. However, it was the central chariot that caught Twilight's interest most, as evidenced by the smile she now wore.

"Well...long time no see."

There, emerging from that central carrier, was a pink pegasus mare, her hair tied into a ponytail. And beside her was her personal escort, a white unicorn stallion, who bore the same golden armour as his colleagues. As the latter helped the former out of the chariot, Twilight began to trot closer to them, with Spike close behind. Several of the other guards began to move closer to her, perhaps to stop her from approaching, but it wasn't long before looks of recognition crossed their faces, and they simply smiled and saluted to the approaching mare. Twilight smiled to this, but her words were reserved until, finally, she came within reach of the two in the middle.

"It's good to see you both again."

The mare and stallion at the central chariot turned to her, and instantly, smiles grew upon their faces. The pink mare moved first, drawing closer to Twilight before embracing her in a friendly hug.

"Twilight! It's been so long!"

Twilight herself let out a brief giggle to this.

"You too, Cadence!"

Parting from her, the unicorn continued to smile widely.

"An Ambassador now? Wow!"

A slight blush crept onto Cadence's face.

"Yes, it was a rather unexpected promotion. But the Princess was certain that I'd be up to the task."

Looking to her, Twilight gave a nod.

"I'm sure you will be, Cadence."

The pegasus mare seemed to appreciate that, but, for the time being, she did not reply. Instead, she bore a knowing smile as she stepped to one side, glancing over to the white stallion that now made his way towards Twilight. The latter took on a more affectionate look, as indeed did the stallion, and while they said nothing to one another, they moved closer, embracing each other in an even warmer manner than Twilight had just done with Cadence. They stayed together longer too, and when they stopped, Twilight looked to the stallion and let out a long sigh.

"It's good to have you close again, brother."

Shining nodded.

"And you, sister. I've been hearing a lot about what you've been getting up to."

This time, it was Twilight's turn to blush.

"Yeah...quite a lot of weird stuff, but...I'm okay."

The stallion nodded a second time.

"I'm glad to hear it. Having you close by is going to make this assignment all the easier for us."

While Twilight would have undoubtedly wanted to speak further on the matter, she was soon kept from such action, as Spike poked her in the side, causing her to look down to him. However, in stark contrast to how he'd been looking before, the look upon the youth's face now seemed to be one of concern. He didn't even wait for his Mother to ask what was wrong, as he turned around and pointed to something far off.

"Mom...I think...I saw something over there!"

Turning, Twilight, Shining and Cadence looked over to where he was talking about. It was far away, beyond the boundary of the town, right in the gloom of the nearby Everfree Forest. There was no wind, and yet, in the darkness beneath those trees, there seemed to be some kind of movement. Instantly, everypony gathered there knew what this meant, and seriousness now crossed their faces. Gone was the warm and amicable look on Shining's face, and instead, it was replaced with a more professional expression. He turned to the other members of the guard, raising a hoof and pointing to the Everfree.

"This is it, Guards! Assume formations!"

The guards saluted in unison, before promptly starting to line up behind Cadence. There were about a dozen in total, made up of both pegasi and unicorns, and together, they made an impressive display behind the young Ambassador. As for Cadence herself, she took a calming breath, looking to Twilight once more before, finally, starting to move off. Twilight joined her, as indeed did Spike, while most of the surrounding ponies looked to all of this with confusion and concern. Twilight's friends especially seemed worried about all of this, and unlike many others in Ponyville, they started trotting along to keep up with her and the Ambassador's entourage. Eventually though, the group stopped just beyond the edge of Ponyville, and here they waited. However, it took only a moment for something to finally happen.

"There they are," Twilight remarked in a nervous manner.

To the shock of many in Ponyville, other ponies now emerged from the edge of the Everfree. From the looks of things, they too appeared to be guards, but unlike their own, these ones are clad in armour of azure and dark-blue colouring, with helms that masked their entire faces. Like the royal guard, there appeared to be at least twelve of them, and the sight of them caused Applejack to suddenly run towards Twilight, much to the latter's surprise, before promptly whispering in her ear in a serious manner.

"Y'all never said anythin about soldiers comin here!"

Looking to her, Twilight's expression was one of concern.

"Applejack, they're sending an important diplomat over. If we did the same to any other nation, we'd send protection too. I mean...just look at these guys!"

She gestured to the royal guards nearby, and Applejack looked over to them. There was a pause between the two mares, but eventually, Applejack sighed, giving a nod to Twilight before finally retreating back into the crowd. As for Twilight, she glanced yet again to the Lunar ponies that now approached them. And it was here that, to her surprise, she noted a familiar face at their head. A pegasus mare, similarly armoured, cyan in her fur, and bearing a mane of green, purple and blue. Aurora Dash, whose face looked as stern as ever, marching with her soldiers towards their group of ponies. Twilight stayed quiet, watching as they drew closer and closer, and could almost feel the hesitation of the guards behind her. Eventually though, the other ponies stopped, and Aurora raised a single hoof.

"Guards! Formation!"

As soon as the words had been spoken, the Lunar guards started to move, swiftly getting themselves into a straight line, completely parallel with the Equestrian guards. Both sides stared at one another, with Aurora herself standing stoically in the middle. Twilight gulped, but merely watched as the cyan pegasus looked over her shoulder, giving a nod to somepony far behind. Twilight craned her neck to see who it was, and here again, she found herself surprised. For three more ponies now emerged from the Everfree entrance. Two were further guards, both unicorns, but the one in the middle, while also a unicorn, was clearly not military. A mare, bright white in her fur, with her dark-purple mane tied up onto a bun. Her attire was formal and professional, and she walked forward with a look of refinement about her. Twilight, for her part, couldn't help but whisper under her breath.

"Rarity?"

As the new mare approached, Aurora stepped to one side, giving a quick nod to her before taking the place of the two unicorn guards. Now, both her and Rarity walked together, with the other Lunar guards remaining where they were. Likewise, Cadence and Shining started to move closer, with Twilight close behind. Eventually, both sides met in the middle, and for a time, there was utter silence. Everypony watched, waiting to see who would do what, and when. Then, after almost a full minute of such quiet, it was Rarity who broke it.

"Good day to you. I am Rarity Belle, and I have been chosen to serve as representative of her Grace, Queen Moon of the Lunar Kingdom."

The alabaster unicorn gave a slight bow of her head to Cadence, and the latter, after clearing her throat slightly, started to reply.

"And greetings to you. I am Mi'Amore Cadenza. And I serve as Ambassador of the good ponies of Equestria. Welcome to our nation."

Rarity nodded, though for a moment she turned her gaze upwards, towards the bright sun in the sky. She squinted slightly, looking briefly uncomfortable at the sight of it, before then glancing back down to Cadence.

"Yes...it is a pleasure to be here."

The way she'd said that, it was hard to say for certain whether or not she'd meant it. But for now, Cadence maintained her formal smile, raising a hoof and gesturing to one side.

"A place has been set up in the town hall for us to discuss matters. Shall we?"

Rarity paused at this, then, for just a brief second, glanced over in Twilight's direction. The young unicorn was, at first, unnerved by this, but she nevertheless maintained her composure, as the new arrival looked over to Cadence once more.

"Indeed. We have much to talk about."