The intel that had been gathered at Griffonstone had sent shockwaves through the top brass of the Equestrian military. Panic and fear were being felt by everypony who knew about this revelation about the Lunars. And in truth, how else could they feel? If there was a potential enemy who might have the power to appear wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted, what possible means could there be to defend against them? Well, defence was indeed the order of the day right now, as within the Royal Palace at Canterlot, about a dozen unicorn troops were all lined up in groups of six within one of the place's training halls. On one side, the unicorns were using their horns to conjure magical shields, and on the other, the other six were concentrating on what appeared to be teleport spells. Watching over them was Night Light, whose gaze narrowed at each of his subordinates.

"Come on now, soldiers! If we're gonna defend this city against the Lunars, we need to practice this stuff!"

One of the nearest recruits gave him a firm nod, lighting up his horn and attempting a teleportation spell. While it was common knowledge that teleportation was a skill known only to a few unicorns, there were, thankfully, some within the Equestrian military who seemed to have an easier time with it than others. This recruit was one such stallion, and as his horn lit up, he was engulfed in a bright light, immediately disappearing from view. Stage one was complete, and so Night turned to the recruit's opposite number, who was conjuring his shield. However, as the first stallion finally re-appeared, it was actually within the shield, right next to his colleague. Seeing this, Night sighed, shaking his head slightly.

"That...that'll be enough for now, Cadets. Everypony take a break."

The cadets knew they had let him down, but they did as requested all the same, slowly filtering out of the training hall and back to their barracks. Night, placing a hoof to his temples, tried nursing a headache he'd been feeling for some time now, and it was here that a calm and familiar voice spoke to him.

"I take it things aren't going so well?"

The stallion glanced to the side, seeing the bright white hoof being placed upon his shoulder, and he let out a long sigh.

"No, your Majesty, I...I fear not."

Celestia turned, looking to the now-empty halls of the training area.

"Are we making any progress?"

Night shook his head.

"The only thing we can think of right now to prevent Lunar teleport gates is magical shielding. But, as you probably saw, even our best shield-makers can't prevent simple teleport spells, so teleport gates will likely have no issue either. And even if they could block them, we don't have anywhere near enough of such spell-casters to defend every city in our country."

The stallion turned to look at her.

"We just...don't have any idea what to do, Celestia."

Here, it was the Princess' turn to sigh.

"Just when we think we might have a handle on what my sister's nation can do...they pull the rug out from under us."

She paused, thinking hard on the matter, before looking to her Captain with a softer look.

"Keep doing what you can, Night. I'm...just going out for some fresh air."

Night nodded back to her, watching her leave the chamber, while continuing to be upset at not having any better news for her. As for Celestia, she walked through the hallways of the palace, saluted and bowed to by every servant and guard she passed, but all the while, her mind raced. Her sister's nation was so powerful, and it had been keeping her awake at night. What was Luna planning? Did she intend war? If so, when? These questions poured through her mind so much that, by the time she reached one of the great balconies of the palace, she was practically on autopilot. But, once she was there, she glanced down at the scene of Canterlot below her, and all the flickering lights in ponies' homes.

"How many of them spend their days fearing for the future, I wonder?" she muttered quietly to herself.

Slowly, she glanced upwards, seeing the bright full moon that dominated the sky. Of course, the night only reminded her of her sister, and another long and slow sigh escaped her. She was not in a happy mood, that much was certain, though she at least tried to enjoy the cool breeze she felt out here. And it was just at that moment when she heard, of all things, a giggle. Raising an eyebrow, she turned, and noticed, for the first time, that she was not alone here tonight. One of the Guard, a unicorn mare, was there also, looking out at the far edge of the balcony, with what appeared to be a letter in her hoof. Curious, Celestia walked over to her, clearing her throat.

"Um...hello?"

Immediately, the guard snapped at attention, spinning in place and giving an instinctive salute.

"Ma'am! Sorry to disturb you!"

Celestia afforded herself a brief chuckle.

"It is no bother. In truth, I am grateful to not be alone right now."

Slowly, her eyes drifted back to the letter in the mare's hoof, and curiosity took hold in her once more.

"I apologise for prying, but...may I ask what the letter is about?"

Looking down to the message herself, the mare smiled warmly.

"It's...from my sister, over in Baltimare, your Majesty. It's...well...it's the first time the two of us have corresponded for some time."

Celestia seemed surprised by that.

"Oh? You haven't been speaking?"

The mare sighed.

"No, we...we got into a fight about a year or two ago. It was a stupid thing, but...we pretty much haven't had anything to do with one another since."

Then, her smile returned.

"But...it sounds like she wants to meet up again, and get to talking. So when I have my next leave, I'll be heading over."

Celestia smiled to this news.

"I'm glad to hear it, friend. It's always nice to hear of relationships mending like that."

The guard nodded to her, smiling genuinely.

"It is. We were both stubborn, but...I guess...sometimes...all it takes is for one to just be willing to reach out to the other."

Celestia paused after hearing that, and the mare gave her a final salute before moving off, no doubt to go off and patrol some other part of the castle. So, Celestia was alone once more, casting another glance in the direction of the moon. Many thoughts passed through her mind, but after a while, she exhaled deeply, realising that she had better get back to see how Night was getting on. So, off she went, walking through the same hallways and passing the same guards and servants. Eventually, she managed to find herself back inside the training hall, and sure enough, Night was yet again drilling his cadets hard, calling for shields and teleportation spells.

"Come on now, cadets! The Lunars may strike at any moment! We have to do what we can to keep the peace!"

Those words echoed in Celestia's mind for some time, and eventually, a new thought took root in her. It was slow at first, but eventually, it completely dominated her thinking, wiping away the concern and worry she'd been feeling all night. A smile touched her lips and, to the eternal confusion of everypony else in the room, she actually started to laugh. All eyes turned to her, Night's especially, and while nopony knew why she was doing this, they remained silent as she spoke, if only to herself.

"What are we doing? What...what am I doing?"

Night took a step towards her, raising an eyebrow.

"Um...Princess?"

Celestia sighed, looking her right-hoof-stallion in the eye.

"Captain...I appreciate all that you've been doing here, but...I believe it's best if we try a different approach."

Night's face was tinted with confusion as he spoke.

"Princess...I'm not sure I follow."

Walking forward herself, Celestia once more placed a hoof upon his shoulder.

"Night...all this time...we've been trying to counter what my sister and her people can do. We've been trying to match might for might. And we've been struggling every time."

She shook her head.

"But we could never do that. Because that is not us. It's not who we are."

A smile crept onto her expression.

"We...are Equestria. We are not a nation of fighters, as they are. We do not make battle..."

Her smile widened.

"...we make friends."

Night, after hearing that, frowned.

"With respect, Princess...we've tried making friends with them. And our efforts haven't been exactly...successful."

Celestia shook her head.

"No, Night. We have not...no...I haven't tried hard enough to make friends with them. I kept them at hoof's length, gave them token overtures of diplomacy, allowed an embassy only in a place that was far away from this city...and from me. I allowed fear of them and my sister to cause me to make grave mistakes in how we dealt with them."

She frowned, if only to herself.

"But if I wanted peace...truly wanted peace...then this is simply not enough. Not anymore."

She took a deep breath, thinking hard on what she needed to, before giving a firm nod.

"Send for my aide, Raven Inkwell. I need to pen a message to my sister in her kingdom."

Night, though reluctant, nevertheless gave a bow of his head to his monarch.

"Very well, Princess. I will find her."

But, as the stallion walked away from her, he was halted again by Celestia's voice.

"And then...tell her I will want another message...for Princess Amore of the Crystal Empire."

Night halted, looking back to her with confusion.

"Princess Amore?"

Celestia nodded before continuing.

"And for High-Chief Thunderhooves of the Buffalo. And for king Vorak of the Centaurs. And for Queen Novo."

She took on a sterner look.

"Tell Raven I will want messages sent to every leader we have had contact or relations with."

Naturally, this was quite the declaration, and Night glanced over to several nearby cadets, many if whom were just as nonplussed about this as he was. After a while, the blue stallion looked back to his leader, tilting his head slightly.

"Begging your pardon, Princess, but...what is it you're planning on doing, exactly?"

To that, Celestia looked to her Captain with a genuine smile, exhaling deeply.

"Something...that I should have done a long...long time ago."