The Crystal Empire, October 12th, Year 1372 of the Equestrian Era, shortly after Princess Twilight Sparkle's arrival to the Crystal Empire for her first Princess Summit
Even before she had been crowned, it had never been within her character to curse.
Not that her family was particularly squeamish about it, like some others in Canterlot were even as they learned to exchange more venom than could be spewed by a mere dirty word. Nevertheless, her older relatives and her mentors had still made it a point to teach her basic manners and proper respect - something that she had already learned many families in the so-called nobility actually didn’t take care to impart.
Yet as she felt her face crash into the solid barrel of the amber Pegasus guard in the row to her right, no thanks to how distracted she had been by how different the Crystal Castle felt after her recent growth in stature, a certain curse ran through her mind, though it thankfully didn’t threaten to fly out of her mouth.
Dang it! Princess Twilight Sparkle thought, even as she mentally put herself together from her collision.
So much for a good start to her tenure, not to mention the Princess Summit! She hadn’t even made it to the end of the red carpet and she was already making mistakes! What a…
A faint blur of movement caught her eyes before her self-scolding could continue.
Though his posture remained as formal as it had before, the guard's eyes had shifted just enough to meet hers, and a slight, but visible smile curled his lips, something that Twilight could only describe as a feeling of comfort emanating from his expression.
It was something she had never seen any guard doing at the other princesses, and if she had to guess, it would be considered a breach of etiquette at best and terrible lack of discipline at worst. And yet, as she saw his reassuring expression, her building nerves seemed to leave in the wake of the slight sigh that flowed out of her, to the point she even found herself returning the guard's smile.
The next instant, the guard’s expression melted fully into the stoicism often displayed by his counterparts in Equestria - perhaps fitting in a sense, given how his golden armor marked him as a member of Princess Celestia’s Solar Division - and he raised his right foreleg.
“Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle!” he announced, sounding every bit as official and respectful as the guards she had heard announcing the other princesses.
Unlike a few she had already encountered, she could hear that the sentiments were genuine.
After sparing him a smile for a moment longer, Twilight stepped forward, meeting Cadence as she trotted towards her. Out of reflex, she started leaning down for the beginning of their ladybugs dance, then froze just as she did so.
This was an upcoming official affair, not a reunion between sisters-in-law. It might be better to keep a minimum of formality.
Cadence seemed to agree, given she kept making her way without breaking stride, but a warm smile remained on her face as she embraced her with her left foreleg and her left wing.
"It’s good to see you, Twilight," she said.
Twilight tried to raise her wing to return the hug, but it remained rigid like wood, the joints protesting at the attempted movement, as they did most of the times she tried to use them even after she’d had them for two weeks. How she had been able to make a grand flight at the end of her coronation parade, she'd never know.
"It’s good to see you too," Twilight replied, choosing to briefly nestle into Cadence's embrace, instead. "All of you," she added, turning her gaze to meet the other two alicorns as she and Cadence ended their somewhat one-sided hug and backed away from each other.
"Likewise, Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna replied with an official nod that was nevertheless joined by a warm smile.
"Very much so," Princess Celestia added, her smile also warm. "I hope you all had a pleasant journey.”
Behind Twilight, her six friends gave various replies of agreement, while Twilight herself only nodded with a smile. Then, almost before finishing, she tried to discreetly sweep her eyes around the room. The trip had been pleasant enough, and she was happy to see her fellow princesses, but there was somepony else she wanted to see, one whose absence she had noticed since she’d arrived at the train station and he hadn’t been there to meet her. Granted, she should have seen him already if he had been in the throne room, and she had already expected him to not be here after what he’d told her at her coronation, especially given he hadn't sent her any messages about a change in plans. But still, no harm in looking for him one more time.
“Something the matter, Twilight?” Princess Celestia asked, her warmth replaced with concern.
Finishing her look around the room, Twilight tilted her head up to the taller alicorn.
"Is Shining Armor not here?”
Realizing how blunt she had sounded, not to mention how weird the question might seem given the upcoming event, she added, “I know he told me he likely wouldn't be able to be here, and that this is a Princess Summit anyway, but…”
She trailed off, unsure of how to properly explain herself, but the other three princesses seemed to understand based on their sympathetic looks.
"Unfortunately, he really couldn’t stay," Cadence explained. "He tried to find a way around it, but he and Reg just couldn’t reschedule their diplomatic meeting with the Yaks."
Before Twilight could react to that statement in any way, a barely audible growl that nevertheless was filled with anger rose up from somewhere to her right and behind her. The next instant, a sudden burst of cough rose up from the Pegasus who had announced her presence. Twilight cast a sideways glance at him, her right eyebrow rising as he raised his left wing to cover his mouth.
"My apologies, Your Highnesses," he replied while he folded his wing back into place. "Must have been a random itch.”
"Apologies accepted, Lieutenant," Princess Celestia replied, even as she looked less at him and more at somewhere behind Twilight - by her calculations, to the Crystal Pony standing three guards to the left of the Pegasus.
Sneaking a glance behind her, Twilight saw that the guard standing at the exact spot she had guessed was looking to the ground in shame, yet with the hint of a scowl on his face, his lips pursed like he wanted to growl in anger once more.
“I understand,” Twilight chose to pipe in before things could escalate further. “I do wish I could see him before I leave, but I know that may not be possible.”
At least there she could be honest. Between Shining Armor’s various deployments when he had been in the guard and all the rescheduled lessons because of Princess Celestia’s royal duties, having to postpone or cancel things was something Twilight was used to, even if she hadn’t learned to like it over the years.
"If all goes like planned, Shining Armor will be back before the Summit ends," Princess Celestia added with a comforting smile. "And likely, it will. He went with the best pony for the job after all."
And isn’t that still a surprise sometimes. Twilight couldn’t help but think.
She held back that remark, though. It would be unbecoming of a princess.
"Very well then," she said instead, trying to push down her disappointment. "Where do we begin?"
“For now, I think that some sleep will be a good start,” Princess Celestia replied. “While it is true we have much to go over during the Summit, it is not enough that it can’t wait until tomorrow. You and your friends need to rest.”
Twilight willed her expression to stay neutral, rather than puzzled like she wanted to make it. While she did appreciate Princess Celestia’s thoughtfulness and care, what was the point of having her show up at the palace, have her arrival announced by a trumpet fanfare and a royal guard, and then be sent off to sleep so quickly?
As if it had been waiting for that exact thought, tiredness surged within her, building up in her mouth to be released in a yawn, not at all unlike on the various nights she had tried to insist that she wasn’t tired even as Princess Celestia gently urged to put her books down and go to sleep.
Unlike on some of those nights, she managed to squeeze her lips together just in time to repress the yawn, but Princess Celestia’s eyes still twinkled fondly at her shift in expression, before she tilted her head slightly so that her gaze would encompass all the others.
“Follow me, please,” she said as she walked past Twilight and her friends. “I will show you to your rooms.”
Now standing ahead of Twilight, her six friends followed the Princess of the Sun, chattering excitedly about the upcoming events and their plans for the stay in the Crystal Empire.
Unsure of how to contribute there, and feeling earlier doubts and fears starting to fill her mind, Twilight did her best to look calm and collected as she followed them.