For what was somewhere between the thirteenth and thirtieth time, Twilight Sparkle looked herself up and down in the mirror, searching for any imperfections, anything that might catch the eye. Just like every other time, she was momentarily distracted but how different she was, by what she was becoming. She wasn't as tall as the previous princesses yet, but it was clear she would be in time. It was like going through a second puberty, with growth spurts leaving her awkwardly familiarizing herself with her now longer limbs, as well as the magical outbursts which had a tendency to occur only at the most embarrassing of times. Even her sleeping positions had to be adjusted due to her lengthening horn and growing wingspan. She'd more than once woken up to find she'd gored her pillow.

"Nervous?" The question came from her oldest friend, standing patiently beside her.

Unable to find anything out of place, Twilight readjusted her crown once more for the sake of it. "Of course I am."

Looking at Spike, he was almost as different as she was. No longer did he have to stare up at everypony. Now, it was the other way around, with most ponies eyes at best being barely on level with his chest. He at least had the decency to still be a little shorter than her, though the race was becoming a close one. The dragon had also filled out considerably. Where Twilight felt gangly and thin, Spike's form was practically in a rush to add muscles wherever they could fit. The self-conscious princess knew it was because he'd taken to spending an inordinate amount of time in the barracks gym training with the royal guard, but part of her insisted he was just lucky, if only to excuse herself for her own, less enjoyable transformation.

"You remember when we first moved to Ponyville," Spike began, pulling Twilight back to the moment, "and you got wrapped into dealing with Nightmare Moon?"

"Yes", she answered simply, adjusting her crown again now that her previous adjustment had put it off kilter.

Spike tugged at the waist of his suit, probably stretching the expensive fabric, then flared his wings once to settle them back in. "And you remember when you first met Queen Chrysalis during your brother's wedding fiasco?"

"I do," she replied again, waiting to see where this was going.

"And you remember the time you fought Tirek one on one after he blew up our old house?"

"Sometimes I'd rather not," Twilight admitted, "but yes. Yes, I do."

She gave a sigh as she realized what he was getting at. "And I was a lot more nervous those times. Compared to them, this is nothing."

Spike rested a hand across her withers, bringing to her attention once more that what felt like only a few years ago, he hadn't even been able to reach that high. "Exactly. So, let's get on out there, and get this over with."

"Alright," she squared her shoulders and looked her reflection in the eye, "let's."

Resisting the urge to tweak her crown again, Twilight turned away from the vanity mirror and started towards her bedroom door.

"Who knows, you might even have fun," Spike commented, following after.

"Yeah," she held her head a little higher, her horn glowing as she grasped the door handle. "You're right."

"Just don't trip over your hooves again like you did at last week's ribbon cutting," Spike couldn't help but quip.

Twilight forced a stiff laugh, once again working to bury the memory of her flopping forward while dedicating the new wing on the Upper Canterlot Elementary School's library, dropping the scissors, and tearing the ribbon with her face. With that back in her mental vault, she opened the door and stepped into the palace proper, immediately flanked by the two royal guards waiting for her outside the threshold.

It didn't take long to arrive at the main audience chamber. Most everyone that had been invited was already there, milling and mingling. All the upper crust of Canterlot that had either a reason to be here or enough money to purchase one was present, as well as visiting dignitaries from at least a dozen other nations.

And as one they all looked her way when the pony responsible for announcing anyone's arrival did so with just a tad too much gusto. Not that she could blame him. This party, or rather, event, was all for her, though it felt more about her.

It was, after all, the tenth anniversary of her ascension to the throne. It took Spike softly elbowing her in the ribs to remind her she should probably say something. She was saved from having to when Celestia separated herself from whatever conversation she'd been having with a griffon to trot over.

"Twilight," the retired princess said warmly, "I was beginning to think you might not make it."

An unfortunate impossibility, considering she lived in this castle.

She still hadn't gotten used to not having to look so far up to meet her mentor's eyes. Twilight replied not too dryly. "Yeah...wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Oh, lighten up," Celestia chuckled in an almost motherly fashion. She reached out a hoof and tapped Twilight's crown, knocking it just a couple of degrees out of perfection. "Try and have some fun. It's a party."

Screaming internally, knowing she'd never be able to fix the crown without another mirror, but also knowing she was the only person who would actually notice the misalignment, Twilight tried her best to shuffle that out of her awareness, failed, tried again, and succeeded with marginal success.

"Baron Copperpot, of Smelting Shores!" Twilight almost jumped as the announcer shouted the name and city of residence of the next arrival, with a volume as though he was gunning for a raise.

The crowd's attention suitably distracted onto whoever it was that had arrived. Twilight took the opportunity to do what she was supposed to be doing here. Mingling, and, failing to actually enjoy herself yet, at least appear to be.

In truth, even after ten years, she'd never enjoyed these big events, and usually did her best to find reasons not to be at them, which sadly is a lot harder to do when you're the centerpiece. A party with your friends is always a good time, but a stately event, shaking hooves with a procession of people convinced of their own importance, real or otherwise, building and strengthening connections within the nobility and gentry of Equestria, and forging ties with foreign diplomats, it all felt so much more forced. Fake. Exhausting.

Over time, the two ex-princesses had made their rounds, and Spike had somehow managed to get into what sounded like a spirited conversation with the Secretary of Transportation. More or less alone in the crowd, Twilight tried to follow their examples.

It was an hour in, when she was getting another cup of a fruity drink whose overseas main ingredient she couldn't identify but whose flavour she'd decided to enjoy, when Prince Blueblood of all ponies sidled up beside her. Just what she needed. With him here it made her wonder where the friends she'd actually wanted to see were, and why they were so late.

"Princess," the stallion said in simple greeting, a painted smile on his face. "A wonderful party, isn't this?"

"It really is." It was not.

Suddenly, he took on a much more serious air.

"May I confide a secret to you?" He paused a moment, looking over his shoulder one way and the other, just long enough to arouse her curiosity. When he next spoke, it was in hushed tones "It is of grave importance to the safety of Equestria."

"Absolutely," she replied, automatically taking the same tone.

He leaned in and said, almost in a whisper. "I hate these things, too."

Twilight could only blink. "Really?"

Blueblood broke into a more genuine smile. "Oh, absolutely. I mean, when I was younger I always loved them, but once you grow up and actually have some responsibility to your name, it all just gets so tiring. And the more you have, the worse it gets. I don't envy you today at all."

In all the time she'd barely known Prince Blueblood, those were the last words she'd ever expect him to say. She'd always seen him as that spoiled ponce she'd met at the Grand Galloping Gala what felt like centuries ago. Still, knowing she had a kindred spirit lifted her mood immediately.

The Prince, more perceptive than she'd given him credit for, cocked his head. "Ten years in and you're still new at this game, aren't you?"

Twilight had to admit, "I may be purposefully out of practice."

The Prince's smile broadened as he held out a hoof. "Then please, allow me to show you how to play."

He gave a chuckle. "Or at the very least we can suffer through tonight unalone."

For the first time that day, Twilight found herself smiling without trying to. For the next hour and a half, Prince Blueblood deftly mingled with a dozen other ponies, griffons and assorted other creatures, taking Twilight along. There was an art to it. Spotting which people to speak to in which order, discerning who was here simply to be here, and who was here because they had a purpose, and engaging them in conversation that was, depending on who they were, either productive, or merely pleasant but brief.

In between rubbing shoulders with the hobnobbers they'd managed to start talks about expanding trade routes between Equestria and Griffonstone which ended in the promise to 'have our people talk to your people', a delightful conversation with a Changeling diplomat regarding a possible officers exchange program between their militaries, and a simple, friendly and enjoyable conversation with Fancypants about the party itself.

Despite being engrossed in the somewhat self referential topic, Twilight was still aware of her surroundings enough that a figure in the corner of her vision caught her attention. On more direct inspection, she realized she had no idea who he was or when he'd arrived. The figure was a burgundy dragon that stood a full head and shoulders taller than any pony, dressed in a simple, undecorated grey suit. He was leaning against the wall on the other side of the room near the buffet of snacks, looking entirely bored as his eyes slowly scanned from one side of the room to the next, and back again. His gaze drifted across hers and froze. After a moment, he gave a subtle nod, pulled a morsel of something out of his jacket pocket, and proceeded to ignore her as he returned to surveying the room.

"Word of advice," Prince Blueblood offered, seeing where her attention was pointed, "avoid that one."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"That's Ophidia Redclaw," he answered, as if that explained everything. When it was clear that it didn't, he looked surprised. "Of the Bloodstone Isles. He's their envoy."

Fancypants gave a huff. "He's their spy, is more like it. And a brute. I'm shocked he's even here."

Blueblood nodded. "I wasn't aware we'd lifted the ban on their ambassadors."

Twilight wasn't familiar with the Bloodstone Isles, other than the fact that they were almost on the other side of the world. Truly curious now, she couldn't help but ask "why did we ban them?"

"There was an incident some time ago in Abyssinia. I think it was a trade summit or something, I don't recall," Blueblood explained. "Apparently things got heated enough that the Bloodstone ambassador challenged one of the host's negotiators to a duel. Insulted over tariffs, I believe. Killed the cat right in their palace garden."

Fancypants sent a sneer the dragon's way. "You can imagine that rather soured everyone's view on inviting them to things." The stallion gave a huff. "But that was, what, fifty years ago?"

Twilight was shocked at such a story, but reasoned that half a century was quite a long time, and if Celestia had allowed the invitation, then he must have been vetted or warned against behavior like that, or something. Twilight was also confident that with three alicorns in the building that if the need arose he could be dealt with soundly.

"I've never met a spy before, or at least I don't think I have," Twilight joked. "I should say hi."

"If you must," Blueblood was looking elsewhere, suddenly distracted by something she couldn't see. "I'm sorry, but I won't be tagging along. I promised to meet a dear friend about now."

"It's no problem," Twilight waved a foreleg. "I enjoyed your company."

"And I yours. Just...be careful," he warned, eliciting another nod from Fancypants. Blueblood gave a lopsided smile. "I do hope to see you again later. Perhaps we can share a dance."

The request was given in just such a way that Twilight couldn't be sure if he was being friendly or flirtatious. Either way, she saw no harm in accepting the request, even though she knew Canterlot gossip would be abuzz about every inane detail of the entire party by the morrow's morning, and who she decided to dance with would no doubt be in there somewhere.

"You only say that because you've never seen me dance," she said at her own expense, "but I'd be delighted."

Bowing to Fancypants, she headed over to the mysterious dragon. Spotting her approach almost instantly, he locked his golden eyes onto hers, standing to his full height, but otherwise being content to wait where he was. By the time she got there, she was already a little discomforted by his unwavering stare.

"Good evening, Princess," he nodded, his tone bereft of any real emotion. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I don't believe we've properly met," She decided to inject some levity. "At this point I think you're the only person I haven't met here."

Now that she could see him up close, Twilight was able to get a better picture of him. He was indeed a burgundy dragon. Taller than Spike, but thinner in build, though by no means lanky. His secondary coloured scales under his chin running down under his collar were a slightly brighter shade of red. Most notable was his lack of a frill on top of his head like Spike, it being almost the dragon equivalent of a mane or hair, nor did he have any horns. His head was just smooth scales. This missing feature managed to make him look even more reptilian, almost snakelike.

"Because I'm the only one here not fawning over you, tripping over their appendages for a chance to say they've met the Princess of Friendship. I figured our paths would cross eventually." He shrugged. "Or not. Either way, here we are."

She tried not to be offended at the surprisingly apathetic greeting. The dragon spoke in a peculiar fashion. He had no accent that she could discern, but he enunciated each of his syllables overly clearly, distinctly. Aristocratic without being posh. It was as if every word was rehearsed before it left his lips, while somehow not sounding forced or artificial.

"I didn't hear the announcer," she mentally tripped for a split second, "announce you."

She extended a hoof. "You're from the Bloodstone Isles, right?"

He gave a shallow but formal bow as he made a fist and bumped it gently into her hoof. "Yes, I made sure to slip past him."

His bow deepened. "I am Ophidia Redclaw, though by the sound of it Prince Blueblood already told you that."

"He did," she decided to open things on a somewhat obvious question, "So, are you enjoying the party?"

"Would you prefer the honest answer or the diplomatic one?" He asked.

"I always prefer honesty," though Twilight could guess the answer by the question.

"Not really, no," he confirmed flatly. "To be frank, I much prefer the soirees in Saddle Arabia. At least the horsefolk acknowledge that equine physiology allows you to be opportunistic omnivorous. Their buffets tend to have a little more meat."

Twilight found herself flat footed by such a suggestion. "Equestrians are vegetarians. I'm sorry if our diet doesn't suit your pallet."

"Vegetarians, but not vegans," Redclaw mused aloud. "You still eat eggs and milk. I will concede your people tend to make fantastic omelettes. A waste of good chicken, though."

"We don't eat chicken." Twilight oddly found herself feeling like she was on the defense for something.

"No, you dispose of them," Redclaw countered. "Unless you mean to tell me your chicken farms keep their hens after they run out of eggs."

Twilight had learned enough about farms from Applejack to know that they did not.

Redclaw caught himself as he was about to say something, and bowed again. "I'm sorry. I'm making you uncomfortable. It was not my intention to start a debate."

Accepting the olive branch, Twilight grasped for a small-talk subject to change to. "So, you have red claws?"

The dragon held out his hand and flared his fingers, extending his claws. They were the colour of burnished steel. "Only after I've used them."

Twilight noted the long, old scar that ran from his palm and up into his sleeve. She was beginning to find him insufferable, but tried to be friendly nonetheless. "You're certainly an...odd diplomat, Ophidia."

"Please, call me Redclaw. In my nation we have family and personal names, we don't just pick words from a hat, and family comes first." Redclaw chuckled in a manner that made it clear of the insincerity of his previous apology. "And that's because our lands are far apart enough that neither my masters nor I are much concerned with how well we get along. No, I'm here to see how well you get along with your neighbors near us."

Twilight bristled. "And you're certainly a blunt spy."

Redclaw shrugged. Tugging the hem of his coat, Twilight noticed the border of some newer, larger scar on the side of his neck which descended down past his collar. "If everyone knows you're a spy, why bother being subtle? Besides, I'm just here to take notes, not cause trouble."

He made a slow sweeping gesture over the room. "In fact, I'm rather impressed with the collection of delegates you've managed to gather here over something like a coronation anniversary. You've even got someone from Seaquestria, Zorgarth, Tsarst-"

Redclaw blanched as he started the say the nation of a unicorn that had made a beeline for them without either of them noticing. She had a deep orange coat and a brilliant long mane that was the colour of warm sunlight, possessing a regal beauty and a self-sure step. Twilight would guessed her age at somewhere in the late thirties. Redclaw cleared his throat and quickly hid the sudden discomfort she had caused by the time she'd arrived.

"Princess Twilight," she gave a deep, formal bow, "It is wonderful to finally meet you."

The unicorn glanced out of the corner of her eye at the dragon, as if he wasn't yet worth looking at more directly. "Hello, Redclaw. I wasn't aware they were letting you outside again."

"Morning Glory," Redclaw replied coldly, glaring down at her. "It's been too long."

"How's the wound?" She asked with a smile, sounding as genuine as could be while obviously not being, gesturing a hoof towards his shoulder. "Still healing?"

The corner of Redclaw's mouth twitched downwards. Twilight had not expected their small-talk to start turning into geopolitical posturing.

"How's your son?" He retorted. "Still dead?"

Twilight's jaw dropped at the utter callousness on display. "How dare you?!"

"Redclaw," the next, glacial words, came from Luna, who had somehow managed to appear behind Twilight without any of their realizing it, "remove yourself from this conversation or I will remove you from this palace. Physically."

Silenced and reproached, the dragon gave one last glare at Morning Glory, bowed to the two princesses, and excused himself without comment. Luna exchanged a few more friendly words with Twilight and Morning Glory, and then followed after Redclaw, no doubt to say a few more to him of a decidedly less cordial nature.

Turning back to her, Twilight quickly reviewed all she knew about the unicorn. Princess Morning Glory, but not crown princess: second or third child of Tsar Dawn Thaw and Tsarina Rosethorne. Delegate from Tsarstvo Solnsta, a nation on Griffonstone's northeastern border which extends to the coast. Lies to the west of the Bloodstone Isl-

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Morning Glory said, snapping Twilight out of her internal review. "Old grievances which need not be aired here."

While Redclaw was dressed in a minimalistic suit, Morning Glory's attire was much more attention grabbing. Her dress hugged her form just enough to accentuate its shape without being salacious, and was just long enough to not drag on the floor. It was a deep purple, dark enough that it was almost black, like the last shades of light between dusk and night, and faintly glittered like fresh snow under a full moon. Twilight mused that Rarity would love to see this, if she were here.

"Ladies Rarity and Pinkie Pie of Ponyville," the announcer chose that moment to shout.

Twilight couldn't help but break into a wide smile as she turned towards the main entrance, spotting the two mares as the former was still rubbing her ear at the overloud declaration.

Her excitement at seeing her old friends wasn't lost on Morning Glory. The unicorn gave a warm, understanding smile. "Please, don't let me keep you from your friends. We can chat later."

After exchanging the necessary pleasantries, Twilight wasted no time in trotting over to the only two ponies she'd been waiting to arrive. They were the only two of her old group of friends that were going to be here.

Rarity, of course, loved everything about this sort of event. From the upper class atmosphere, to the rich fashion on display from all over the world. She fit right in effortlessly, and Twilight once again wondered as to why she remained living in Ponyville. Perhaps she only enjoyed this in limited doses, and did not want to tire of it. The unicorn's mane wasn't quite as lustrous as it once was, and was only now taking a touch of grey. Her coat, likewise had darkened just enough to be noticeable. Still, she was beautiful. Her dress was the definition of mature elegance, pitch black, contrasting her coat, with a dark, subtle blue woven throughout it.

As for Pinkie, stuffy as stately gatherings could be, this was technically a party, and as such technically fell under her purview. The energetic pony was a welcome ray of sunshine. She looked like she hadn't aged a day, unless you really squinted closely. A few lines had formed under her eyes, and her mane and knees didn't have quite as much bounce, but other than that she was the same Pinkie. Her pink and white dress could best be described as 'happy', with a young-at-heart floofyness that would be impossible for any other mare her age to pull off.

As for the others, Rainbow Dash hated these events enough that Twilight had promised to never drag her to another one, and Applejack, the farm pony, knew she stuck out like a sore hoof. Fluttershy, for her part, simply hadn't been able to make it. This was fine. They were due to arrive in a couple of days, so that all six of them could catch up without all the pomp and circumstance of the event overshadowing things. Twilight had hoped her brother would have been able to make it, but as his wife had experienced the miracle of childbirth for the third time less than a week ago, she understood his hooves were full.

"Sorry we're so late," Rarity apologized, "the train broke down. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere for hours."

She waved a hoof at her traveling companion. "It took Pinkie, of all ponies, to fix the engine."

Twilight couldn't help but laugh in near disbelief, like she was hearing the setup to a punchline. "You know how to repair a steam engine?"

"Nope," Pinkie answered, as if the bubbly reply needed no explanation. She craned her neck up. "Wow, you're getting tall."

Twilight would never get used to having to look down at them. She hated the reminder of how different things were, and of how...different, she would have to watch them become as the decades drew by.

Still, even an unwanted reminder of her ongoing transformation couldn't sour how happy she was to see the two of them. It had been over a year since she'd had a chance to see any of the old Elements of Harmony, and two since they'd all been in the same place at once. Twilight had made new friends in Canterlot, but being the ruling princess, it would never be the same as when she was just the librarian in ponyville. Part of her would always miss that. The simplicity of it.

Not wanting to dwell on the past too much, Twilight brushed those thoughts aside. In truth, they were not all that late. The event she'd been cursed with was an all day affair, and it was only a little after five. While snacks had been available the entire day, the formal dinner would be served at six, during which at six thirty she would formally open any presents from her guests, followed afterwards at seven thirty when they would begin the very formal dancing.

The middle event was something the alicorn felt was somewhat silly, but it was customary. Several of those present, domestic or foreign, had brought trinkets or gifts for her in celebration, as was customary for them. She would then open them during dinner, so that she could formally appreciate each and every one of them. The trappings of custom and culture. It felt like being the star of a birthday party, except with every gift giver seeing if their present curried any favour, or if it was better than so-and-so's present from whatever other nation. Twilight had been on both sides of this by now and it was tiresome from either direction.

Maybe she just wasn't used to it yet. Maybe she wasn't used to it because she didn't want to be.

With the hour they had before having to take their assigned seats at dinner, Twilight enjoyed every moment she could with two of her best friends. It was wonderful to hear of what she'd missed in her old hometown, of Rarity's still growing chain of stores, and Pinkie's antics wherever she went.

"There certainly are a lot of changelings here," Rarity quietly observed at one point. It wasn't prejudicial, but still delivered once the figure in question was out of earshot.

"It's amazing what can change in ten years," Twilight said, trying not to sound like she was making a pun.

In addition to their delegates, there were also several changelings amongst the castle staff. While the Changeling Kingdom had declined becoming a proper vassal state of Equestria like the Crystal Empire, Twilight was proud of how well they'd integrated into the greater continental community, and she could respect their desire for political independence. Like any friendly nearby kingdom, their populations intermingling was a welcome inevitability, and seeing a changeling in their day to day life had ceased to be so rare for an Equestrian.

Still, with their species being so different, and having been enemies for as long as they had, there was still progress to be made. More than once she'd caught staff eyeing the new additions warily, and the changelings clearly noticed it, too. Spike had actually suggested that they cast a spell to place a magical dispellation field over the castle to keep them from transforming during the event, but Twilight had shot it down.

For his part, Spike had a good argument. This was an event with a lot of very important creatures, and while they had gotten more used to the changelings, the griffons and others had not. That, and it was question of security. Twilight had refused it due to the facts that such a spell would be felt by the changelings. It would be a grevious insult to all of them, and would set their relations back by years.

Showing welcome restraint for the first time, the announcer declared that dinner was to be served. The three of them sat at the head table, joined shortly after by Celestia and Luna, the two retired princesses fitting into the conversation seamlessly. The meal, as expected, was as perfect as could be achieved by mortal pony. One of the benefits of being royalty was you could at least enjoy the food. Surrounded by her friends and mentor, the stress of the day melted away.

As if in counterpoint, all too soon it was announced that she would begin opening gifts. The three alicorns made their way to the three thrones at the head of the chamber, to the right of which was a table with the accumulated offerings of all those present, as well as some sent from absent parties unable to attend. It was thankfully not so substantial a gathering that she would be here the rest of the evening. She found she might actually be looking forward to a dance with Blueblood, if only platonically.

"I'll be right back," Twilight told Celestia. "Need to powder my nose."

If she was going to be the center of attention, Twilight wanted to make sure was presentable. She excused herself, leaving the grand chambers of the party into the castle corridors. Once out of sight she hastened her pace and made her way to her bedroom. Rarity had told her that Princesses do not have 'bedrooms', they have 'personal chambers', but Twilight would always see them as her bedroom, royalty or not.

Brushing past the door, she wasted no time in finding her vanity and fixing once and for all that accursed crown. From there, she gave herself one long inspection up and down. She shined a spot from her shoe, tweaked her dress, fixed her crown. Fixed her crown. Fixed her crown again. Nothing could be out of place, and once she was done, nothing was.

Except there was. Not with her, nor anything she was wearing. It was the room. Something was different. Wrong. It was subtle, whatever it was, but the realization had been sudden. More so, it was worrisome. The hair on the back of her neck rose as she surveyed the room around her through the vanity's mirror, then turned to look deeper into her chambers. The sensation was not unlike reaching for your quill and finding it on the wrong side of the desk, or blinking and seeing someone new hiding in the far corner of your room. Except her quill had not moved, and there was nopony here but-

Twilight?" The question elicited a startled yelp from the alicorn as she jump-spun towards her door, seeing Pinkie Pie just inside. She'd been so intent she hadn't even heard Pinkie open it.

The mare raised an eyebrow. "You okay? Princess Celestia was starting to wonder."

"Yeah," Twilight forced herself to calm down, "yeah, I'm fine."

She followed after her friend, but before closing the door behind her, gave the room one more scan from left to right. "Everything's fine."

While on the way back to the main chamber, Pinkie Pie pranced forward, saying she was going let the others know she was on her way, leaving Twilight alone in the corridor. She tried not to let whatever it was or wasn't in her room bother her, but it was. She had to resist the urge to head right back there and stay there until she discovered the problem. Settling for the next best thing, she stopped by one of the guards station in the halls, instructing him to post two watchponies outside her door until she returned. Satisfied that she could always find it later, she returned to the waiting event.

In their thrones were Celestia and Luna, waiting. Between them was her own. Ascending the three stairs, Twilight's growing limbs chose that moment to take advantage of her lingering distraction and forget how long they were. She stumbled, managing to barely avoid face-planting. Chuckling a little too loudly, the head of state looked over her shoulder to see who all had been watching, and found it was only everyone. With a blush, she took her throne, cleared her throat, and went back on script, thanking everyone for coming, thanking everyone for their generous gifts, and thanking them for their collective nations continued mutual yadda yadda yadda.

A servant unicorn plucked the top box from the squat pyramid and levitated it over. Opening the accompanying card, Twilight read that it was from Prince Blueblood. Inside the box was a beautiful set of stationary. There were two inkwells, made from clear crystal and gilded with gold, which were the perfect size and depth, along with a half dozen quills that were the exact length she preferred. Each quill was a different colour, equally marvelous feather. She smiled, searching around until she found him at his table. He returned the smile from across the room with a rather charming one of his own.

Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

What followed was a procession of mostly books on ancient lore and history from Equestria and beyond. Twilight's limited hobbies were well known, and she was an easy pony to shop for. In between these, there were occasional gifts for the other two princesses as well. Most notable were the war hammer from Yakyakistan for Celestia, and the bouquet of flowers and a scented letter from a young baron for Luna.

Thankfully, the three of them weren't exactly tethered to their thrones. Between gifts, Celestia had more than once gotten herself a piece of cake, and Luna refills for whatever she was drinking. More than once Twilight had done the same if only for the chance to move her hindlegs.

It was a little more than halfway through when they got a box addressed to all three of them. The card put it as being from Duke Wheatsprout, an earth stallion who owned land in Equestria's breadbasket territories who had not been able to attend. Inside was three identical necklaces and another card.

"To your royal highnesses," Twilight read out loud, "like the magic of friendship, our lights shine brightest whenever together."

Twilight levitated the jewelry so that the others could see them. The three necklaces were made from what looked like polished stephanite, or black silver, for the chain, and had a single inset stone. This was an inch long oval gem that Twilight couldn't identify. It looked like obsidian, but was also translucent, with a pinprick of light glowing at its center like a tiny star. The design was simple, but lovely. The light was obviously not powered by mundane means. Her horn glowed as Twilight probed the items with her magesense, detecting an enchantment on the stones.

Sensing the same, the servant responsible for passing them the gifts quickly hurried over. He scanned the jewelry intently as well. After a very thorough inspection, he returned them to Twilight.

"They are enchanted," he confirmed quietly. "I sense they are actively transmitting to each other and receiving, but they are harmless. Benign."

Twilight had concluded as much before he'd begun his own scan, but thanked him regardless. He was only doing his job. Passing a necklace each over to the other two princesses, who were still on their thrones, Twilight noticed that the stone on her necklace grew slightly dimmer the farther away the others got, and grew a little brighter when closer together.

A relatively simple enchantment, but with a wonderful thought behind it.

The three of them put on their respective necklaces. The black silver went quite well with each of their colours. For Celestia, it was a good contrast. With Luna and Twilight, the shade was a good compliment. It wasn't uncommon for jewelers or mine owners to gift their products to the host at parties like this. It was a great opportunity to showcase their craftsmanship. The host would either like this if the gift was of high enough quality or value, or be annoyed if they got so many shoddy trinkets that they were putting on and taking off one piece after the other. That they had gotten the gift from Wheatsprout made it clear this was not somepony using them as an advertisement.

The next few gifts blurred together until she got to the one from Tsarstvo Solnsta. Opening the box, she was greeted by a trio of broad blades. They were the length of daggers, but had no handles. Odd. In Equestria, even unicorns designed weapons with something to hold them by. Reaching out with her horn, the daggers shuddered. The servant made to come and perform another scan, but Twilight waved him away. When Twilight reached out to them with her magic again, it felt like they were tentatively reaching back.

It took a few seconds to realize they were bonding telekine blades. These were mastercrafted weapons designed specifically for use by unicorns. They had no handles, as they were meant to be used telekinetically. Over time, they would attune to their user, making them easier to manipulate, and resistant to the touch of other unicorns. They were easily the most expensive thing she had opened yet. Telekine blades were prized artifacts often passed down like family swords.

Twilight wasn't sure why anypony would gift her with daggers, but could appreciate their quality. Searching around, it took a moment to find where Morning Glory was sitting, exchanging an obligatory nod in thanks. While trying to find the orange unicorn, Twilight noticed that Redclaw was nowhere to be seen. She thought little of it. Watching her open gifts wasn't mandatory. He could be somewhere outside, or perhaps Luna had seen fit to remove him after all.

After that was a small, square box that was almost weightless. The tag identified it as having come from Filthy Rich, who wasn't present. Opening the card, Twilight could only stare at it for a long few seconds.

"Long live the Queen?" she read loud enough that only the other alicorns could hear, confused. Twilight gave a puzzled glance at the other princesses, who could only shrug in response.

Her horn glowed as she unwrapped the box and lifted the lid. She had just enough time to see the thin metal tripwire inside draw taught and snap. Something inside the box made a pair of quick mechanical clicking sounds, and Twilight sensed a sudden flare of magic at its center. Reacting fast, she sealed the box inside a powerful round forcefield. To his credit, the servant unicorn instantly sensed the same, reinforcing her field with his own.

The top of the box burst in a brilliant display of magical pyrotechnic bolts, which then rebounded repeatedly inside the forcefield, turning it into a harshly glowing ball. It quickly fizzled out, leaving the giftbox briefly burning until it ran out of air in the sealed environment.

That over, Twilight let the protective bubble flicker out of existence, the servant following suit, and inspected the box. By the charred remnants, it had contained a magical firework. It may have produced a beautiful display, but the princess had to wonder what sort of idiot would give somepony a firework with a hidden trigger. Especially when it was to be opened indoors. The only other objects in the box were the tripwire mechanism, ashes, and a hexagonal red stone. This had been the source of the flare of magical energy, and no doubt which had launched the fireworks. As it was, it was an inert, spent object.

"How did something like this get through your screening?" Celestia sternly asked the servant.

"I don't know," he answered honestly, almost at a loss for words. "Even untriggered, we should have detected the enchantment. I'm terribly sorry. I assure you, this will not happen again."

He wore a well deserved, irritated frown as he levitated the box over to the nearest trash bin.

After that unwanted bit of drama, Twilight was downright thankful for the next few gifts being mundane. With the end of them finally in sight, Twilight thought to stretch her legs again. After this was the dancing, and she was getting stiff from sitting so long. Her excuse arrived as the next package was addressed to Celestia. A large, heavy pink box covered in too many bows, which Celestia seemed to be enjoying untying.

"I'm getting a snack," taking to her hooves, Twilight asked the others, "would you like anything while I'm up?"

"No," Luna replied, "thank you."

"I'll have a piece of cake," Celestia added after a second, "a small one."

She could easily have one of the servants fetch these for them, but Twilight needed the movement. Something to get the blood moving in her legs. She was faintly aware of the pendant on her necklace dimming again as she moved away from the other princesses, as it had every other time they'd separated by any distance. Unlike the other times, after about twenty steps, it winked out completely.

It was at this moment that the explosion occurred. A deafening blast. Something solid and unforgiving struck Twilight in the back of her head, and with a spike of pain the world went black.

Author's Note

The chapter in which an explosive detonation rudely ends a very fancy very boring party prematurely in a fashion which those attending would generally consider to be unfavourable.