"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

Ambassador Rarity, usually the very model of reserved quiet, was now utterly livid, slamming her hoof angrily on the table that separated her from her counterpart, Cadence. The mood in Ponyville's Town Hall was, understandably, a tense one, as both Rarity and Aurora glared aggressively to Cadence and Shining, the latter two looking as though, for once, they had every right to be on the receiving end of this kind of indignation. Cadence, for her part, tried her hardest to maintain an air of diplomacy, as difficult as she knew that was right now.

"Ambassador, I assure you, we had no idea that this attack was going to happen!"

Leaning back into her chair, the Lunar diplomat was, naturally, sceptical.

"With respect, Ambassador Cadence, this is no longer the domain of some local drunken tavern brawl anymore. This was a direct assault on sovereign Lunar territory! Equestrian citizens, at least five of them by our reports, coming to us, in the dead of night, and trying to set our building on fire!"

A sigh escaped Cadence at that.

"You have every right to be upset. And I assure you, the perpetrator we caught will be tried for the crimes he has committed."

At that, Aurora chimed in, snorting before doing so.

"Ha! That stallion got off easy last time. You demoted him, let him go back to Canterlot, and now look what happened! He came back, a full-on criminal, trying to attack us! Do you really think some Equestrian trial is going to be enough now?!"

In response, Shining frowned, stepping forward.

"We told you last time. We are not prepared to turn over Equestrian citizens for you to punish!"

Aurora opened her mouth to speak, only to be halted when, just then, the door of the Hall opened, causing everypony to turn towards it. There, they saw Twilight enter, shaking off the raindrops from the weather that had been brought in beforehand. It was the same rain that had been summoned for the sake of helping to put out the fire of the Embassy, and it had continued since. Closing the door behind her, she trotted further into the building, looking to Rarity in particular with a great deal of concern.

"Ambassador! Are you alright?"

Seeing the genuine worry on the young unicorn's face, the Lunar Ambassador relented somewhat, her expression softening as she responded.

"I'm fine, Twilight. Thank you for asking. Others, however..."

Her tone was a grim one, and it naturally prompted further worry for Twilight.

"Oh no! Was...was anypony...?"

Rarity knew what she was going to ask, and so raised a hoof, stopping her.

"Nopony has been killed, thankfully. Five of our staff are being treated for serious burns, however. One has even had to be sent back to the capital for better treatment."

Of course, words like that had the expected effect, as Twilight approached her Lunar colleague, looking and sounding as apologetic as possible.

"Rarity...I am so sorry that this was done to you! Please, I want you to know that we would never want something like this to have happened!"

Looking to her in silence for a time, the Ambassador soon let out a long sigh.

"I know you wouldn't, Twilight. And I appreciate your concern for us."

Sadly, this moment between them was short-lived, as Rarity's eyes narrowed as she once more turned to look to her Equestrian counterpart across the table.

"I just wish others felt as remorseful as you did."

Given the circumstances, Cadence allowed that remark without comment, even though the way Shining seethed at her side made it clear that he very much wanted to counter it. But Twilight, perhaps the one most eager to keep things friendly here, stepped to one side, standing in-between both groups on one side of the table, before addressing Rarity yet again.

"Ambassador...I promise you, we're going to do everything possible to try and stop this problem before it gets worse."

Rarity seemed sceptical at that.

"I trust you enough to know that you mean that, Twilight, but..."

Again, she turned to Cadence.

"...this problem has been going on for quite a while...hasn’t it, Ambassador?"

Confused, Twilight turned to Cadence, who, though ashamed to say it, nevertheless let out a long exhale before nodding.

"The Ambassador speaks truly, Twilight. We have known of growing anti-Lunar sentiment in our country for some time now."

Though taken aback, Twilight shook her head at that news.

"But...but...you couldn't have known about this! An attack on the Embassy?!"

In response, Cadence shook her head.

"You're right, we didn’t know. But..."

As before, shame took centre stage in her expression.

"...there have been...troubling rumours."

All eyes were upon her, Twilight's especially, and after taking a few moments to get her thoughts in order, Cadence looked to her and began to explain.

"For some months now...we've received bits and pieces of information of a more organized group. More unified than simply random local discontents. Gatherings in the night. Talk of more aggressive movements towards the Lunars. For a long time, we thought it could be ignored, that nothing would come of it. But..."

Here, Rarity interrupted her.

"But it would appear as though ignoring it was a rather irresponsible move on your part. If you don't believe me, just ask my daughter!"

To that, Twilight's head snapped in Rarity's direction, prompting her to carry on.

"Last night, she was in her room, sleeping soundly in her bed, when all of a sudden..."

Her horn lit up, and Twilight saw, to her horror, that she levitated what appeared to be a brick onto the table, one that bore all the signs of having been burning not so long ago.

"...this comes crashing through her bedroom window! Had my guards not been so close, she might have been one of those being treated for burns right now! Or worse!"

Her expression was one of utter loathing as she dwelt on that memory.

“If anything had happened to her...”

She didn’t finish, but it was obvious to everypony looking at her that trying to find a peaceful path out of this mess was going to require to most delicate of care. Of course, Twilight was utterly aghast at all of this, taking a step closer to Rarity's side of the table.

"Rarity...nothing I can say can make this right, but I want you to know that, whatever we can do to make things better...we'll try."

Though still angry, Rarity's frustration, for the moment at least, was kept in check by the earnestness of the young mare beside her. But, her attention continued to be laser-focused on Cadence, and her tone reflected the mood.

"Tell me, Ambassador...this group of anti-Lunars in your country...is there anything else you wish to tell us?"

Though clearly uncomfortable about having to say anything further on the matter, Cadence gave a nod.

"Yes...this group...the Followers of the Sun, or so we've heard them called...has been attributed to a number of anti-Lunar propaganda art that have been turning up in Canterlot of late. The Princess has tried to rein it in, but...it has persisted all the same."

Hearing that, Aurora frowned further.

"So, it's true? I heard stories of that kind of stuff showing up, but..."

Cadence nodded again.

"It is true, I'm sorry to report. Although..."

She looked away.

"...I regret to inform you that...this is not the worst part of all this."

Everypony turned to look at her, and Cadence looked as though what she was about to say was going to be the hardest thing of all. And yet, knowing that the truth was her only course of action, that was what she now gave.

"We have no official confirmation yet, but, after some eyewitness accounts...we believe that this group is being worked up, and possibly even organized by...by..."

A pause, then Cadence let out a sigh before looking Rarity right in the eye.

"...by members of the Griffonstone rebels."

A silence fell over the room, with Twilight looking completely shocked at what she'd just heard. Aurora, for her part, looked about ready to break something, and Rarity, leaning further onto the table, looked to Cadence with utter seriousness.

"...Would you care to repeat that, Ambassador?"

Much like before, Cadence sighed.

"Ambassador...we both know you heard me the first time."

Slowly, Rarity leaned back into her chair, looking like she was doing everything in her power to keep her anger under control.

"So...you're telling me...that not only have Equestrian citizens gathered to inflict deliberate acts of violence against our people...but that they’re being organized and backed by those our Kingdom have deemed enemies of the state?!"

Cadence did not reply, but gave a simple nod in response. Rarity, after taking this all this in, took a few calming breaths before speaking up again.

"Do...do you have any idea what kind of response this will foster?!"

Again, Cadence nodded.

"Ambassador...I know things look as bad as they can do...but what Twilight said is true. We are going to do everything we can to keep this situation from spiralling out any further. These rebels, and the Equestrians operating under their instructions? We'll find them. We'll stop them. You have my word."

Rarity narrowed her eyes.

"With all due respect, Ambassador...your word doesn't carry much weight with me after all this."

Naturally, Cadence seemed greatly disheartened by that. But, before she could reply, Rarity instead turned her gaze to Twilight.

"Do I have your word, Twilight Sparkle, that your people will do what they can?"

Twilight, of course, was hugely taken aback by this, and soon realised that everypony was looking at her. A great weight had just been placed on her, and everypony knew it. Yet, to her credit, she did not falter or hesitate here. instead, she took a deep breath, and then, after giving a small nod, spoke as calmly as possible.

"You have my word, Rarity."

Rarity stared at her, seeing the honesty in which she'd spoken, after which she let out as long sigh, getting up and out of her chair.

"I consider you a friend, Twilight...so I'm going to trust you on this. I will send my report back home...and advise restraint."

Twilight nodded, smiling.

"Thank you."

Rarity nodded back, turning to head towards the door of the Hall, with Aurora close behind her. However, before she reached it, the Lunar Ambassador turned around to give Twilight one final utterance.

"I’m sure you realise, Twilight...our Kingdom does not take such attacks lightly. If this should happen again..."

She didn't finish, but Twilight understood, and gave a nod to let her know that. To that, Rarity turned, lighting up her horn so that the rain outside didn't land on her or Aurora as they left. Twilight watched, seeing them both leave and closing the door behind them. As soon as they were gone, she looked to her brother, looking as serious as she had done since arriving.

"Shining...get word to the Princess. And to our Father. Tell them...we’ve just dodged a bullet."