It had taken quite some time, but at long last, construction had been completed on the Embassy from the Lunar Kingdom. From the time the very first stone had been placed, every eye in Ponyville, especially those of the recently-arrived Equestrian guards, had been watching the construction like a hawk. And now that it was finished, those nearby couldn't help but feel intimidated by it. It was, for all intents and purposes, a miniature fortress, three storeys high, with stone of dark blue, Lunar banners all around, and a fence encircling the entire enclosure, with their kingdom's guards patrolling the perimeter. Truth be told, if one were to be informed that such a place was meant as a centre of diplomacy, nopony would have believed it. But, the work was done, and anypony who looked upon this impressive structure got the message; the Lunar ponies were here to stay.
As one would expect, having this thing right on the edge of town did not do the locals' mood any favours, as all who passed nearby couldn't help but give a wary look to it. But, for the time being at least, nopony said anything about it. Instead, they simply went about their business, perhaps hoping that if they ignored this noteworthy structure, it wouldn't be as much of a problem. However, amongst all of the worried looks and stares, there were a few exceptions. Spike now stood at the edge of the town, looking over to the Embassy with interest, and beside him was none other than Apple Bloom, who seemed to share his sentiment right now.
"It looks pretty...different."
Spike nodded.
"Yeah. Mom's been talking about it for ages now."
Apple Bloom looked to him.
"Wadda ya think'll happen now that it's finished?"
The young dragon shrugged his shoulders.
"Dunno. But I will say it's nice not to hear all that construction noise after all this."
The earth pony filly beside him nodded in agreement, only to then turn to her side.
"What do you think, Scoo...?"
She paused, seeing that there was, in fact, nopony beside her. Sighing, she turned, and soon spotted who it was she was looking for. Scootaloo was not far off, hiding behind a corner of a nearby house, only just peeking around it. Rolling her eyes, Apple Bloom started to approach her.
"Ah told ya, Scoots! It's fine! We're just havin a look!"
Scootaloo hesitated, only to then come out slowly. She said nothing, as per usual, but even so, she seemed to be fearful of the Embassy on the other side of where they were all standing. Taking her place beside Spike, she took a moment to look at him, and he to her. In the silence, there was a brief round of blushes between the two youths, which Apple Bloom couldn't help but smirk at. But, she said nothing, instead drawing her attention yet again to the embassy. But here, her smile faded, and she raised a hoof and pointed straight ahead.
"Hey! Look!"
Both Spike and Scootaloo turned to see where she was looking, and immediately, they saw what it was she'd noticed. The front gates of the fence surrounding the Embassy had opened, and through it walked two individuals. One was one of the guards, seeming as imposing and stoic as ever. But the other one was a surprise for the trio of watching youngsters. It was a white unicorn filly, keeping close to the guard, looking, for lack of a better word, wary of her surroundings. Spike and the others kept their eyes on this new arrival, but nopony said anything. That is, until Apple Bloom started to make her way over, missing Spike's clawed had as he tried to stop her.
"Bloom?!"
But it was too late, as the young Apple now trotted quickly over to the unicorn, with Spike running off after her. Scootaloo, after a moment of hesitation, tried to follow, though not as quickly. When the Lunar guard saw the approaching youths, he took action, standing in-between them and the filly. This halted Apple Bloom in her tracks, and after just a moment of looking fearful towards this large stallion, she looked instead to the filly before her.
"Hey. I'm...I'm Apple Bloom. Welcome to Ponyville."
Spike now reached her, as did Scootaloo, and there was a long period of silence between those gathered. Some of the adult ponies nearby had caught sight of this, prompting some of them to run off elsewhere for the time being. As for the filly, she briefly glanced up at her bodyguard, before then regarding Apple Bloom.
"I'm...I'm Sweetie Belle."
Apple Bloom smiled.
"Nice ta meet ya! You, er...you live there?"
She pointed to the Embassy, prompting Sweetie to look over to it. The young unicorn paused for a time, then looked over to her new acquaintance, nodding.
"For now. I used to live back in the palace."
All of those in attendance were taken aback by this, especially Spike.
"Wait, as in...Queen Moon's palace?!"
Sweetie nodded.
"It's where my Mother usually works."
Spike took on a look of interest, and mixed in with that was an expression that could only be described as familiarity. Though what it was that was familiar about this appeared to elude him right now.
"And who's your Mother?"
Sweetie opened her mouth to speak, only to be halted when another voice began to speak out.
"There you are, Sweetie."
All eyes turned to find, to their surprise, that Ambassador Rarity was making her way out of the Embassy herself, accompanied by two additional Lunar guards. Immediately, Sweetie's bodyguard stood upright and saluted, which he only stopped after the Ambassador gestured to him. When the older unicorn reached her daughter, the latter gave a respectful bow of her head, which Rarity soon returned. Afterwards, Rarity regarded the other youngsters, raising her eyebrow.
"I see you've made some new acquaintances."
Sweetie nodded to her, before then gesturing to the others.
"They just...came out of nowhere."
Rarity nodded.
"Yes, those from Ponyville have a tendency to do that, it would seem."
"You're right about that, Ambassador."
The second voice, like the arrival of Rarity, caught everypony by surprise, and they turned in unison to see who it was. There, trotting towards their group, was Fluttershy, the sight of whom caused Scootaloo's face to light up somewhat. She ran to her adopted Mother's side, prompting the latter to smile warmly to her. When that was done, Fluttershy's eyes drifted upwards, to Rarity.
"It seems our children have met each other without our help."
Rarity let out a dry laugh to this.
"So it would seem."
A smile crept onto Fluttrershy's face.
"I remember offering a chance for them all to go on a play-date together."
As before, Rarity nodded.
"I remember as well. Though I'm not entirely sure it would be best to do so when they've only just met."
A brief laugh escaped Fluttershy at this.
"Trust me, Ambassador. Your daughter is going to need to be around others her own age. And since I doubt there are any such colts and fillies at the Embassy..."
She didn't finish her statement, letting it hang in the air for a time, leaving Rarity to ponder it. The Ambassador glanced down at her daughter, who was largely unsure about all of this, before then regarding the other youngsters yet again. There was a pause, and the two older mares looked to one another during this time. Fluttershy maintained her smile, while Rarity was more thoughtful. In the end, the latter let out a sigh, placing her hoof upon her daughter's shoulder.
"Well, Sweetie...it would appear that you will be having some...unintended company this afternoon."
Sweetie didn't know how to take that right now, but the other youngsters were clearly happy, as evidenced by their smiles. Rarity, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked to Fluttershy once more.
"Though I insist that both of us be present for their interactions, as well as our protectors."
She looked to the nearby guards, as did Fluttershy, who gave a sigh before nodding.
"...Agreed."
Rarity nodded back, before then looking down to her daughter. There was a silent glance between them, and when it ended, Sweetie nodded back. Together, the four youngsters, the two older mares and the three guards all started to make their way further into Ponyville, much to the confused looks of those they passed. As they walked, Fluttershy looked to the fillies and drake they were accompanying, before smiling to herself.
"This looks like the start of a beautiful friendship."
Rarity, by contrast, looked to her with a raised eyebrow.
"We will see, Miss Fluttershy. We will see."
