The sun was bright and the birds were singing as Twilight Sparkle led her friends into the castle at Canterlot.

Celestia was expecting them. She was entrusting the Princess of Friendship with planning the Grand Galloping Gala again. And she had wanted Twilight's friends to help as well.

"This is going to be AMAZING!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she bounced along.

"Sure is, Pinkie," Applejack chuckled.

"Just think," Rarity added, "we get to help plan the most grand event in all Equestria!"

Twilight turned to her friends and gave a light laugh. "Today's meeting is just to pick a date. That's all. We can come up with more plans at home."

"We came all this way just to pick a date?" complained Rainbow Dash. "Seems like we could've exchanged letters or something."

Fluttershy looked at her fellow pegasus. "It's not that bad, Rainbow Dash. Besides, you know how busy the princess can be. Getting to visit her now is an honor."

On cue, Princess Celestia stepped out at the top of the stairs. "Oh, hello girls. I totally forgot about our appointment. I'll have to have a chat with my secretary."She gazed at the now puzzled group of mares. "I arranged an important diplomatic meeting today."

Twilight tilted her head as her friends exchanged glances. "An important diplomatic meeting? Do I need to be there? Who is it with?"

"Mage Ponies."

"What now?" the Mane Six inquired.

"You haven't heard of them because they were erased from all general knowledge."

"Were they that bad?" Rainbow demanded.

Celestia shook her head, looking quite sad. "Their founder, Night Blaze, used the dark arts to give his small village of non-unicorns magic. The ponies were fine, but Night Blaze became greedy. He made demands that were... not good. The last straw was when he put an entire town under a curse to get attention."

Applejack frowned at this. "An' we're just now hearin' this 'cause?"

Celestia sighed. "I banished Night Blaze, but not before foolishly allowing him to say goodbye to his village. He lied to them and told them they had all been banished to the icy north. They erased themselves from memory and common knowledge. Except me. They wanted me to live with the guilt. But for the first time in centuries, they are finally opening themselves to Equestria again. We must make friends with them. Which is why your appearance today will be of great help."

Twilight looked anxious. "But I know nothing about them! What will I say? How do I avoid offending them?"

Fluttershy put a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "We just be ourselves and extend kindness. No doubt they'll be nervous visiting the kingdom they think cast them out."

The young alicorn sighed and nodded. "You're right. As long as we're together and we are friendly to them, nothing can go wrong."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the throne room, Celestia and Luna sat in their respected places. Twilight and the gang waited at the base of the thrones. The Princess of Friendship was visibly nervous, but her friends' constant reassurances helped her keep it together. She couldn't afford a meltdown.

The horns sounded as the herald declared that the Mage Ponies had arrived. The doors swung open. A procession of four guards marched in, leading two more ponies in. One was obviously the leader. She carried herself proudly, giving off an aura of authority. Beside her was a skittish looking pegasus, who must have been her advisor.

Their appearances also differed from the normal ponies of Equestria. The cold climate of the north had caused their fur to grow thicker and longer, giving them a fluffy appearance. Their manes took on a fluffier style as well. However, they all still had unique cutie marks and colors.

The guards stood at either side as the mare and her advisor stepped up. She was a mint blue earth pony with dark purple eyes and a wavy violet mane and tail with magenta streaks. She wore a royal blue cloak that made Rarity swoon. She used magic to take the cloak off and hand it off to the nearest guard. Her cutie mark was a simple, dark blue swirled circle. She bowed deeply to Celestia and the others, her advisor following suit.

"My apologies on such a short notice, Princesses. I only desired for this to happen before our first major snow."

The Mane Six exchanged uneasy glances.

"I am Frost Swirl, leader of the Mage Ponies in the North. We lost Night Blaze a year ago and have seen through his lies. We want to return to Equestria."

"You just suddenly want to come back? Rainbow Dash almost shouted.

"Seems a little sketchy to me," Pinkie Pie speculated.

"Girls, don't be rude," mused Fluttershy.

"Thank you, young pegasus. And who are these six mares?"

Celestia spoke up, silently rebuking both Rainbow, who was about to burst out in a rant, and Pinkie, who was eyeballing the Mage Ponies suspiciously. "These are The Elements of Harmony, Saviors of Equestria. We have Princess Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash."

Pinkie Pie leaned over to whisper to Twilight, "My Pinkie sense is getting tingly..."

Before the alicorn could reply to her bubbly friend, Frost Swirl said, "It is good to see the legends are true. They must be good friends."

This got the vibrant pink pony excited. "Oh, believe me! We are! Wehavepartiestogetherwesharesecretswefightmonsterstogether-"

"Breathe, Pinkie," Twilight reminded. A loud inhale came from her friend as she went to say more. Twilight stopped her. "Now shush."

"Oops. Sorry."

The Mage Pony chuckled. "All of the most powerful ponies in one room.. If we did that, we'd have a fight."

Celestia smiled. "I am sure we can help."

"I am sure you can," the advisor said, stepping forward. He no longer looked skittish. He was a pegasus, bright yellow with a poofy white mane and tail. His blue eyes blazed as his starry cutie mark started to glow. "You were so eager to right your wrongs, Celestia. So, so eager. You didn't think twice about it."

Everypony was alert now. "I knew you weren't to be trusted!" Pinkie Pie yelled. Rainbow Dash opened her wings, ready for a fight. "Yeah, me, too!"

"Oh, you ponies bore me."

The advisor's appearance then changed. He was still a pegasus with the same white mane and tail, but his coat turned indigo. His cutie mark became a shooting star. White speckles dotted his coat.

"Night Blaze," Celestia spat. "How are you still alive?"

"I should ask you the same. I am simply immortal. You don't have to be an alicorn to be a god."

Author's Note

Hey, I know this is quite long, but I can get carried away. Bully for you if you're still reading this and got to the end to see this note. This is edited by me, but not edited by anyone else. I know there's one line that looks funky, but i the editor, it looks fine, so... I don't know. I hope you liked it! Thank you for reading my story! More updates will come soon!