The reception at the Garden of Butterflies was going well, Twilight Sparkle thought to herself, especially considering the events of the morning. News of the incident at the overpass went quickly around Flankfurt, as expected, but diplomatically nopony mentioned it.
For her part, Twilight kept to the periphery of the crowd, drifting in and out of it, refilling her punch and telekinetically carrying it with her. She was treated politely and well, with many congratulations on her new status as alicorn princess, but Twilight was still rather shy. She could observe the formalities with the training of a Canterlot courtier, but this sort of party was just not her thing, and Twilight found herself missing her Ponyville friends. Pinkie Pie would certainly liven up this bunch, she reflected. The image of the pink pony bouncing around the reception, chattering away, pestering the orchestra to play something with a beat (Twilight also reflected that the cellist was not quite as good as Octavia, and Vinyl Scratch would be slitting her wrists by now), and jumping up and down on Ironwing's back brought a smile to her face. Well, Twilight laughed to herself, it wouldn't be the first war Pinkie's started.
One part of the reception that Twilight did enjoy was the variety of butterflies in the well-named garden. The area was enclosed under a large stone dome, and butterflies flitted around the various flowers and ivies that clung to the dome’s size. They also flew around the guests, but were not a nuisance.
Luna walked up to her. “We are bored.” She smiled at Twilight, using the royal “we” as a joke. Not many had engaged Luna in conversation except in polite greeting. Once more, the ugly mane of Nightmare Moon had reared its head. Twilight knew, with sorrow, that Luna would never quite be free of that. She put a good face on it, though--for Equestria. “Are you bored as well?”
“Sort of. This isn’t exactly my kind of place either.” She took a sip of the punch, which was apple-flavored but nowhere in the class of Sweet Apple Acres’ cider. Twilight noticed that Luna was keeping her distance from Ironwing, who despite his reputation was mingling with the crowd as well. She did not notice Daggerclaw disappear behind a fluted column, crouch down, and remove a small container from under his wing and open it. He was back at Ironwing’s side in a moment, and no one noticed that a new butterfly had joined the hundreds of others.
“It has its charm, mind,” Luna said, sipping her own punch. “I’ve never seen so many butterflies. So many colors..." Her voice trailed off, and Twilight wondered how Luna had been able to survive a thousand years on the moon, a world of monochromatic colors, a land of nothing but grays.
“They are pretty.” Twilight laughed softly. “I wish Fluttershy was here. She’d love this. She knows more about butterflies than anypony.” She grinned at Luna. “She’s talked my ear off about them. It’s one of the few subjects that brings her out of her shell.”
“I wish Fluttershy was here as well. We could use her. Anypony that can charm Discord would make a fine diplomat. Better than myself, in any case.” A yellow-winged butterfly chose that moment to land squarely on Luna’s nose. The moon princess’ eyes crossed in surprise, and she chuffed as the butterfly flew off. “Now that was annoying.”
“It was also rare,” Twilight added. “I remember reading about that particular species. It’s been extinct in its native habitat for a century.”
“Ah. So they’re not native to Flankfurt?”
“No, not at all.” She nodded in Golden Lily’s direction. The white pony was in her element, chatting with everypony and griffin in her immediate vicinity, and attracted quite a crowd of admirers. “Do you see that large red one behind Lily? That one’s really interesting. It’s the only known carnivorous butterfly. It kills by secreting a deadly nerve toxin—“ Twilight abruptly realized what she was saying. Before Luna could react, Twilight rushed towards Lily, saw that she would never reach the other pony in time, as the butterfly flew unerringly towards Lily’s neck, and resorted to the only weapon at hand: her punch glass.
Twilight sent the punch flying in the butterfly’s direction, the glass going end over end to shatter on the floor. The punch drenched the butterfly: suddenly deprived of lift, it spun to the ground. There, it flapped its wings frantically and hopped on tiny legs to try and get back in the air. Luna, who had followed Twilight over, saw it and brought her hoof down on the butterfly with a loud crunch. She saw Daggerclaw watching her with a look of complete horror. The assassin’s eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed in a dead faint. Ironwing looked down, sighed, and walked over to where the three Equestrian ponies stood.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, her eyes narrowing in false reproach. “You must be more careful. How many times have you been warned not to run in a formal reception such as this?”
Twilight instantly picked up on Luna’s cue. She hung her head and her wings drooped. “I’m so sorry, everypony,” she murmured. “It’s these wings. I’m just not used to them yet. I’m so clumsy.”
One of the Flankfurt nobles shook his head. “That is to be expected from one so young, Princess Twilight.” He shook out his wings. “Why, I still have trouble with mine and I am twice your age.” That brought some laughter. “Here now, Emperor Ironwing, sir! What has happened to your valet?”
“He has drank too much,” Ironwing remarked with disgust. “I shall deal with him later.”
“Well, I have no right to be criticizing Twilight Sparkle.” Luna brought up her hoof. The once-brilliant silver shoe was now covered with the remains of the red butterfly. “It seems I’ve made quite the mess. Emperor Ironwing, would you be so kind and help me clean this off—“
Ironwing turned his back on her and walked away.
Golden Lily turned to Luna and Twilight. “I’m sorry,” she said with a confused smile. “Did something happen?”