Trottingham
Windspur Castle
While Dan and Spike were out 'running errands'...
It was snowing outside. A couple of clouds had gotten loose from the herd and were causing it to snow. The pegasi and other weather-regulating ponies and beings had only just recently returned to Equestria, so there were still a few stray clouds left to be wrangled. Even scattered across the globe, the pegasi were tenacious, determined and worked fast. It would be taken care of fairly quickly.
Celestia watched the snow fall gently. No ponies telling it to fall by hopping on it, no unicorns or magic creating it. It did so on its own, naturally. Naturally, as if that word had any sort of meaning or real significance any more. More so, it was just random. Reason was precious in a world without much, but in a world where things happened for a reason, random held value. Natural rather than supernatural.
She sighed. It took both. But which did they need more of now- control or chaos? And they'd just promoted Discord, too.
"We don't get to see that very often." Celestia knew the unmistakable voice of her advisor, Soft Spoke, anywhere.
"No. We certainly don't, do we?"
"I wouldn't mind visiting here more often."
Celestia turned, smiled and chuckled at her. "Sophie, you sound like you're needing more time off. All the paperwork getting to you?"
"Kehh, we just got back, your highness. You make it sound like I already need a vacation."
"Well, it wasn't exactly our choice to leave, was it?"
"True, true," the advisor pony said, adjusting her glasses. "Still, you make a good point about the paperwork. I do have a reputation to uphold."
"Stay. Please," Celestia said. "Watch the snow with me for just a little longer. It won't be long until they clear the skies anyway."
Soft Spoke, or Sophie as ponies had called her ever since kindergarten, knew what Celestia was asking her. She couldn't help but feel her heart warmed a bit by the request, even if it came from somepony as pained as Celestia. The rare times when the princess asked for something personal, it was because she needed it emotionally. It was lonely at the top. Sophie and Luna were among her only companions, her real friends.
For the longest time, Celestia had wondered what things would have been like if she had been banished to the moon instead of her sister. In the recent years, however, Celestia had been wondering what would've happened if she had gone to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration instead of Twilight Sparkle.
"I wouldn't trade this... my position, for the world, your hi-highness."
Celestia smiled, and hugged her friend shoulder-to-shoulder. "Neither would I." It would be an hour before dinner and after that, the summit would begin. Until then, they had each other.
One hour later...
"Halt! This area is off-" The guard's voice was cut off. He couldn't move, couldn't turn his head, couldn't even speak. The dark-robed figure continued approaching, not even stopping as he strode past.
A waitress griffon was on her way to the dining room carrying a silver serving tray paused when she saw the stranger. Her beak was still open when she suddenly froze, unable to move, unable to do anything. The dark-robed figure picked the drink off her tray.
"Oooh, I'll take that. Thanks, babe." The stranger pulled back the hood of his cloak revealing not the Director, but a white human male, with short hair very nearly shaved and a pair glowing eyes somewhere between red and yellow, but not quite orange. He wore a malevolent grin, the kind of grin people with all the power and no place to put it wore. He looked evil and made no attempt to hide it, because there wasn't a point to hiding it any more.
Another pair of guards tried to stop him, and then suddenly were stopped themselves. They were frozen in place, enveloped in an energy field that seemed to have appeared out of thin air. It pulsed around them like static, clinging to the outsides of their bodies, armor and weapons, stunning them. They could only watch helplessly as the intruder entered the dining room.
Windspur Castle, Grand Dining Room
The doors to the dining hall exploded inward, practically breaking off their heavy hinges.
"Dear gracious!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's dinner time now? Seems a bit late, but I am new here," the stranger said. He drank from the glass he took from the waitress, downed the drink in a gulp and tossed the glass over his shoulder.
The Throne Guards, all six of them rushed the invader. Three from the right and three from the left, they charged him with their spears. No one barged into the same chambers as the nobles unannounced. He could only be an assassin, and so there was no hesitation.
They ever even came close. The intruder rubbed his hands together and then shot them outward, palms out. A burst of energy exploded outward from each hand, slamming into the ponies and knocking them backwards. They were blasted all the way to the corners of each room, their weapons clattering across the floor.
"So, now that I have everybody's attention, my name's Arteem. Arteem Surik. I'm the Sith Lord in charge of a very small, glowing ball of rock called Malachor V. And speaking of balls, I'm looking for one."
The diplomats, the royals, the nobles, none really knew what to think of him. He approached the dining room table, picked up another drink off it and downed it. Around him, the various dignitaries, their attendants and the castle servants were all quiet.
"Guy I knew used to say that a nation's worth could be told by how decent a drink it brewed. Yours would be... somewhere in the middle. But I killed him, anyway so..." he looked around the room. "What's with the lukewarm reception?"
"We're having a nice evening," was Princess Celestia's only reply. She continued staring outside, looking at the snow as it fell. Sofie had turned around, but the princess hadn't. Such events were that rare.
"So you're the bigshot here? Miss lady white horse?" Arteem leaped over the table and landed next to her. She still didn't acknowledge him.
"Please leave."
"Oh ho ho ho, you're being coy. I get it." But then, he touched her. "Let's see how you-*bam*"
A column of white light surrounded him. It radiated enough heat to lower the room's temperature several degrees, was nearly blinding light and an in instant, was gone. Any trace of Arteem Surik, the assassin who interrupted the princess, was also gone. Not a scorch mark, no remains, not dust or ash, he simply vanished. Thus was the true extent of Celestia's power, the ability to harness the energy of the sun in almost any way, on any scale. To completely and utterly annihilate if she so chose. This time, she did.
And yet somehow, some could still resist. Those like Rice, those like her parents. Others. Perhaps they would need Daybreaker's help after all.
"To answer your question, ministers, Equestria will stand. We need not stand alone, but we will stand on our own. So the question now is, where do you stand? Or do I need to make my position clearer?"
There were no further objections. The summit decided that Equestria would be united against the coming invasion. Any shred of neutrality had been wiped away. That evening, more than just the snow had fallen.