Clover dragged me through the throng of loitering Nobility, glasses of wine floating beside them as they sipped and discussed who knew what amongst themselves.

We passed through one of the side doors, leaving out into a hallway that would've been empty if not for the occasional servant performing their duties.

She lead me into a large alcove, which turned out to lead to a blocky, marble staircase that headed upwards.

"Up here!" Clover chirped, pulling me up the stairs.

"I'm coming I'm coming!" I said, moving, but letting her guide me up.

We passed a landing, going up another flight of steps, before reaching the top and disembarking. It wasn't another hallway we had come to, but a sort of enclosed veranda, of which I could see the ballroom below past a banister. The space wasn't unfurnitured, but held various tables with covered chairs to match. Despite the opulence, it felt rather cozy.

We were the only Ponies in the room.

"What is this place?" I asked, looking around.

"A sitting room." Clover hummed. "Usually used during a particularly crowded court or during a troubadour performance so more Ponies can watch. But during a ball it's nearly always deserted."

"Then why-"

"Because you looked like you needed to get away from the crowd."

"... Yeah... Thanks." I smiled.

"Don't mention it!" Clover happily stated. "Come on! Over here is the best part!" she continued, pulling me towards the banister overlooking the ballroom.

"Oh wow!" I gasped.

Below, the ballroom was indeed visible, but what I hadn't expected was that the entire ballroom was visible. It was extremely easy to imagine watching a troupe of performers from this angle, as practically no corner of the room wasn't in view. Currently however, that meant I could see the entire crowd of Noble Ponies as they loitered in their cliques and danced their 'refined' dances.

It was like watching a swarm of bees as they milled around the entrance of their hive.

I began to search the crowd, out of idle curiosity more than anything else.

There was my group of Captains, still standing together but slowly being pulled apart by the unrelenting tides of conversation and the promise of food. Tia obviously hadn't moved, and while she still spoke with a Pony I didn't recognize, her line had drastically shortened.

I wonder what had caused that?

Oh! There was Princess- Former Princess Platinum! She was looking kind of frail, but she was speaking animatedly amongst one of the clumps of Nobles.

Guess somepony had freed her... I'll have to visit her later.

Oh hey! There was Gold Note on the dance floor! Who was he dancing wi-?

Oh. He was with that sow of a mare Gilded Rose.

I was about to continue searching when I was distracted by another round of Tia tapping loudly on a crystal goblet with silverware.

"If I may have your attention?" she called out clearly.

The band slowed and quieted their music before falling silent entirely. The dancers stopped and turned, causing their synchronized formation to loose its cohesion.

"First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming." Tia stated, loudly enough for her voice to carry over the crowd. "With... Recent events we've all had our trials."

Several in the crowd below chuckled.

"Which leads me to my first announcement. As many of you likely know, Unicornia has been having food shortages for many years now."

Yeah, but I wonder how much that wouldn't be the case if they actually rationed?

"As your new Queen, it falls to me to ensure each and every one of you are safe and cared for. It is therefor, as controversial as it'll be, my decision to evacuate Unicornia South."

The crowd began to shout and protest.

"Please Ponies!" Tia cried over the rising tide. "Consider! Unicornia is too far North for Everfree City to ship food to! If you all stay here you will starve!"

To my surprise, that seemed to mollify the crowd of posh Ponies.

"I understand many of you would be abandoning the homes your families have been occupying for centuries, but I hope you can look past that to understand that continuing life up here in the North is untenable. I will not force you from your homes, but know that if you stay I won't be able to aid you when the snows come." She paused for a moment to let her words sink in before continuing. "Secondly, I'd like to thank my sister Luna for her contribution to my ascension yesterday."

I felt myself stiffen, feeling like I had been caught by lantern light in the middle of the night.

"While I recognize many of you may, understandably, hold reservations of her, the truth is that without her I would not be standing here as the first Alicorn in millennia."

Even at this distance I saw Tia's gaze flick upward towards me, before going back down over the crowd.

"As such, as a show of my respect, I shall be, for the time being, setting aside the title of Queen, and naming us both Princesses of the realm until such a time I will be unopposed for the title."

The crowd roared in protest this time.

But instead of deciphering what was being said, I found my gaze meeting Tia's.

I vigorously shook my head and curtly motioned across my throat.

Stop it. Cut out this nonsense now.

Tia slyly smirked.

She was playing a dangerous game... And I wasn't sure I wanted any part in it.

She continued speaking, but Clover pressed against me and started whispering.

"Princess Luna..." she commented, more thinking out loud than addressing me. "Yeah... I can see it."

I couldn't.

But I felt that horrible, heretical question return.

"Don't be absurd Clover. I'm not Princess material." I protested.

"We both know you're related to Queen- Er, former Queen Iridium by blood. Either way makes you a royal."

Honestly, the name 'Princess Luna' sounded silly to me. Above and beyond, I was the least qualified Pony to be royalty. Even being in this castle for little more than a single day was trying my patience for the prim and proper Ponies within.

Stars above... Even imagining spending every waking second surrounded by them was enough to make me shudder.

The image of myself, stuffed into one of those absurdly huge and poofy dresses, wearing one of those ridiculously tall wigs, and applying powder like an addict was abhorrent to put it lightly.

"Clover-" I started, trying to think of a way to tell her gently. "Look at me. I'm dirty. I came to a ball wearing literal armor. I can't imagine wearing a dress. I'm not 'refined'. I can't stand the taste of wine. And I have four swords on me right this second. Everything about me screams that I'm unfit."

"You think that's all there is to being a ruler?" she rolled her eyes. "Tell me Luna, back in Casúrdomhain, who was it that punished that one Pony who assaulted that foal? Who was it that insisted on making Pegasopolis surrender, when the easy way would've been to kill everypony? Who was it that, despite being insulted and spat at by Unicornia, offered those same Ponies a chance for redemption?"

She leaned in and prodded my chest.

"Who was it who lead us all to victory time and time again?"

"It's not the same Clover." I shook my head. "There's a whole difference between fighting a war and holding court."

"Then what do you think royals do?" the light grey mare asked. "In both places they're commanding Ponies! Really, what is the difference between telling a soldier to march, and telling a Noblemare to increase their taxes?"

"Clover please." I pleaded. "You saw me down there by the buffet table, I couldn't even approach it without second guessing myself."

"That's only because everything here is new to you." She waved away. "You adjusted to being General within a week."

"It was different then!" I protested. "I knew what needed to happen to run a camp and-"

"Are you telling me you knew how battlefield tactics worked before hoof?" she asked.

"Well- I... No!" I denied.

"Then what's the problem? Is it so hard to imagine you can learn to be royalty?"

I didn't really have a rebuttal for that. Technically, I theoretically cou-

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that." Came a voice from behind me.

Something tackled me from behind.

And Clover screamed.

Oooooooooh sheeet!