With the coming of the dawn, all who lived within the great city of Canterlot had come out into the streets in droves. For this was the day that they had been buzzing about for several weeks now. The day when the great leaders of the nations of Equis would gather together for the first time in history. The great forum, an enormous domed coliseum-like structure, had been constructed specifically for this purpose, and now loomed large on the eastern side of the city. Many of the Equestrian Guard were there lining the building, both to protect it, and to ensure nobody from the public strayed too close while the representatives arrived. Stallions, mares, colts and fillies were all gathering in vast crowds beyond the perimeter, chattering with excitement, fear and concern in equal measure. And this sentiment was reflected by nobody more than Celestia herself, who stood at the edge of a large balcony several levels up from the forum's entrance.

She looked out at the crowds, and at her city, scouring the area for any sign of those who might attend. It turns out that she did not have to wait for long. For already, she could see columns of ponies, glittering in the morning light, walking down the main streets from afar. The ponies of the Crystal Empire, led by the revered Princess Amore, a figure almost as respected and idolised within Equestria as much as Celestia herself. The ancient unicorn Princess, upon approaching the forum with her entourage, gazed up, smiling to her age-old friend. And Celestia herself smiled back, doubly so when she noticed that Prime Minister Sombra and his wife, Radiant Hope, would be attending the northern Princess. The first of her guests had arrived, but she knew that Amore was the obvious attendant here. There were still many others to arrive, even though the day was still young. So, sighing, the Princess turned, entering the forum in earnest.

The entire place was designed specifically as a meeting point where peoples of all nations could stand together as equals, and as such, a circle had been chosen as the main shape of the place. The great leaders would sit in the middle, with their respective followers in the seats behind them. There would be no "head of the table", no central seat where one leader would stand above others. This was a gathering of friends, not strangers or subordinates. Celestia, upon seeing Amore too begin to enter this chamber, spread out her wings and flew down, ready to greet her old friend. The two embraced, ever smiling to one another, and when they parted, Celestia offered a respectful bow to Sombra and Radiant, which was returned by the couple shortly afterwards. With pleasantries given, they made their way over to their respective seats, as well as all of the other guards and attendants that had joined them here.

Once seated, all looked on to the enormous doors that led outside, and here, the sound of hoofsteps could be heard. A small smile crept onto Celestia's face, as she saw the towering form of King Thorax, leader of the Changelings. With him, naturally, was is brother, Pharynx, and beside HIM was a smaller Changeling, largely blue in her colouring, save for her pink shell and head-fin. She seemed a timid-looking thing, perhaps an aide? Regardless, she appeared close to Thorax, as evidenced by the warm smile he gave her as they entered. They were followed by several other Changelings, many of whom looked around, finding it no doubt strange to be inside such an enormous pony-built structure. Celestia offered a bow of her head to the King, which was again returned to her, and she watched as the Changelings too took their place, getting themselves comfortable such as more approaching sounds made themselves known.

Here, it was two leaders, arriving at the same time. Prince Rutherford of Yakyakistan, and High Chief Thunderhooves of the Buffalo. The large and bulky leaders were eyeing each other warily, but if they had any issue with one another, they said nothing of it. Like Thorax, they too were accompanied by youths from their respective peoples. For Thunderhooves, Celestia recognised the diminutive form of his daughter, Little Strongheart. For Rutherford, it was a young Yak female, with heavily braided hair, who occasionally looked like she'd trip over said headwear. They arrived with their followers, warriors from both of their tribes who glanced around with no small measure of thoughtfulness. Doubtless it was as important a gathering as the great unification of the Buffalo from some time ago, so they were understandably nervous about all this, not that Celestia could blame them.

The next leader to arrive brought a fresh smile to Celestia's face, as it was a regal and dignified-looking pink Hippogriff. Queen Novo, the dual-monarch of Mount Aris and Seaquestria. Her people were shape-shifters, like the Changelings, and dwelt both upon the mountain and within the seas. But, as one would expect, they'd chosen the form for the former for this gathering. Beside the Queen were two younger females, one yellow and one pink. Celestia recognised Novo's daughter, Princess Skystar, but the pink one's name eluded her. A niece perhaps? Regardless, both youths were clearly excited to be here, but one stern look from their elder made sure that they behaved themselves during this meeting. But, Novo was not so stern that she could not afford her old friend, Celestia, a quick smile. And of course, Celestia herself was eager to return the look, though she again resumed her vigil as the leaders just kept on coming.

As many had heard rumours of, dragons had indeed attended this summons, though the one that showed up was not the kind of towering beast that mares would tell their children of in stories. No, this dragon was far smaller, largely blue in her colouring, attended by several others of such size, including a smaller female with orange scales. She looked around, seeing all the faces who were surprised and wary of seeing dragons in a diplomatic setting for the first time. But, aside from a quick nod to Celestia, the dragoness did not make any overtures of greeting here, which the Princess was fine with, for now at least. Following her was a creature that seemed almost comically out-of-place here. A tiny creature, small enough to fit in the palm of Celestia's hoof and still leave room to spare. A Breezie. Specifically, Seabreeze, the chosen representative of his people. Granted, the Breezies did not have leaders in the same way as other nations, but they were a vital part of the world, and so they had a place here all the same.

Celestia watched, stifling the desire to look amused as this tiny figure, accompanied by several of his people, all sat together on a single seat, right next to Prince Rutherford, who looked down with some confusion at the miniscule visitors here. But, Celestia's smile vanished soon afterwards, for the next arrival was of a far more sobering nature. King Vorak, the ruler of the centaur lands to the far South. All looked to him with deference, for they knew that he had never left his lands like this. Celestia again gave a bow to him, and he to her, but they exchanged no greeting beyond that. Of note to the Princess, however, was the fact that he had apparently come here alone. His family, his soldiers, none had joined him. Whatever the reason was for this, she could not say, but she knew it was best not to enquire too deeply into the matter. He just sat quietly in his chair, observing the other leaders with interest.

Next, to the surprise of many, was a people who had never been seen in Canterlot before. The Zebras. They arrived, headed by a mare with an impressive Mohawk-style mane, and draped in golden rings around her hooves. Celestia bid them welcome with a smile, which was responded to with a sweeping bow from all of them. Celestia herself had heard much of these peoples, most notably with the legendary Zecora, whose very spirit was rumoured to have been bonded with the core essence of the Everfree Forest itself. She knew little of whether this was true or not, but what she did know was that it was a momentous day indeed if her kind had elected to come here. The Zebras, both male and female, entered the forum fully, filling out their section of the great rotunda, before, as with so many others here today, looking to all of the rest of the gathered peoples.

The room was almost completely full now, though one chair in particular remained empty. A chair with a crescent moon emblazoned upon it. Celestia frowned slightly, looking to her Captain, Night Light, who had been standing at the great doors of the forum since this gathering began. The stallion looked out into the streets, no doubt to see if anyone else was coming, and when he looked back to her, he simply gave a slow shake of his head. Celestia sighed, looking more than a little disheartened by this. But, if that was her choice, she knew she would have to respect it. It was a long-shot after all, but it was disappointing all the same. Even so, many others had gathered here, so that was a success at the very least. She tried to focus on that point, hoping it would help her through this. As the chatter of the chamber reached fever pitch, she got up from her chair, clearing her throat to finally speak.

And that was when it happened. Before a single word could escape the white mare's lips, the room was entirely taken aback by the sudden arrival of a strange burst of magic right in the centre of the chamber. A swirling vortex of many shades of blue. Celestia recognised it instantly as a teleport gate, the magic that had caused her such distress not so long ago. But while she looked to it with anticipation, Night leapt into action, charging forward along with several others of his Guard, rushing ahead and surrounding the gate, their horns trained on it and ready to face whatever might come out of it. But Celestia, who was adamant that this be a place of peace, stopped them, raising a hoof and silently letting them know that they were to stand down. Night was hesitant, but nevertheless did as his Princess requested, gesturing for his Guard to step aside.

As they did this, however, there was finally some activity from the gate, as a single pony stepped through. It was a blue unicorn mare, whom Celestia knew as Trixie Lulamoon. The unicorn gave a nod to the Princess, who in turn nodded back. Night was not so happy to have her here, as he knew full well that this newcomer had served as a spy in their midst for some time. But, as before, he said nothing, allowing this intruder to step forward from the portal, before looking to it herself. Moments passed, and everyone in the chamber looked on, not knowing what would happen next. But then, something did happen. A second mare exited the gateway, and here, just for a moment, Celestia flickered in her famous poker face. For the mare that now stood before her was none other than her former apprentice, Sunset Shimmer. The younger mare looked to her old teacher, and like her, hid her emotions well. What the two of them were thinking, none could say, only that now was not the time nor place for it.

Both mares, Trixie and Sunset, both stood on either side of the portal, giving an instinctive bow to it, and when she saw that, Celestia knew what would happen next. Sure enough, a third mare emerged. Taller, darker, clad in azure armour. Her sister was here. And as soon as she had left the portal, it closed, disappearing behind her. With its departure, there was a deathly silence in the chamber. All here, even those not of Equestria, had heard of this sister of Celestia. The dark alicorn, whose power and ability were unrivalled by any in the world. The stories were legion, but this was the first time any of them had seen her in the flesh. The Guard nearby, seeing this figure from their childhood stories, struggled to avoid trembling in her presence, with the exception of Night, who stood his ground as well as any of them. The others watched, many uncertain and even afraid of her being here, all while the Queen herself regarded each of them in turn, her face never giving away her thoughts or feelings.

Finally, she started to move towards her prepared chair, with Sunset and Trixie close behind her. All eyes were upon her as she did this, and king Vorak, the Father of one who had been killed by this mare long ago, tensed as he saw her. Moon herself cast him a glance, giving the barest of nods in acknowledgement of him being here, but otherwise remained focused on getting to her seat. And soon, she was there, sitting down in her assigned place, right across from Celestia. The silence continued, with the two sisters staring at one another from across that great distance, with many of the other leaders glancing from one to the other, not daring to utter a word. But, this mood did not last long, and as the dark Queen finally gave a nod to her elder sibling, she cast one final look to the assembled leaders of the world, before at last breaking the silence that had hung over them since the start.

"...Shall we begin?"