//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Flowers // Story: Millennium Tokens // by Ice Star //------------------------------// Millennium tokens were not something that Twilight Sparkle could find in a dictionary or any other reference book. It wasn't something anypony on the streets of any city in Equestria would know of. It was during one of her lunches with Princess Celestia in Canterlot that she heard the term, and she had not heard it anywhere since then. The princess had been having a cup of tea — a new flavor, if Twilight recalled what she was told correctly. Twilight had been having a daisy sandwich without those little fried tomatoes that she liked because Rarity said that they would ruin her figure. Twilight Sparkle wasn't about to argue with her marefriend about sandwiches, and certainly not what her lifestyle did (and always had done) to her figure when the most vigorous regular workout she had was strolling around Ponyville. There just was not an occasion for those things — but apparently, there were very special occasions for millennium tokens. Twilight had been mulling over how to make her remarkably plain sandwich more appetizing without having to spend extra on that particular day. She realized that while she had been trying to rationalize countless decisions in order to make the perfect sandwich, Celestia had been talking about something that might have been important. Her mind was already rushing to see if she could schedule a proper panic attack after tea in the event she had missed anything. "Sorry, Prin— Celestia, could you repeat that?" Twilight had said, offering a sheepish smile. She was privately wondering if blaming the sandwich and Rarity's passive-aggressively imposed diet would get her out of this pickle. Within her mind, Twilight praised herself. Pickles! How had she not thought of that? Those were way better than fried tomatoes and... ...according to the menu, they were not available. Celestia laughed slightly, always careful to disguise the gesture modestly with a forehoof. Only the noblest of noblemares would laugh the noblemare's laugh so nobly. "Are you sure that I should be the one repeating myself? I'm quite interested in what that sandwich was telling you. It appears to be very valuable to pay attention to. " Twilight's sheepishness intensified. "Uhh... well... it wasn't anything important or anything, this one uhh... just wanted to know the weather?" Twilight flashed her best smile. She was completely unaware that her jokes were terrible enough to be considered dangerous to the mental health of young children. What she also did not know was that she had a very noticeable daisy petal caught between her teeth. ... Celestia had ended up repeating herself, and Twilight listened curiously. What was this madly mysterious 'millennium token' Discord had given the princess? She kept mentioning it by that name through the rest of their meal, never hinting at what it could be. There did not even appear to be a specific occasion for them beyond whimsy — and nothing was more fickle to Twilight Sparkle than whimsy. This is why Twilight had dragged — well not literally dragged; she had to persuade Rarity to halt her latest project while her marefriend had been in a creative mood. Today was a special day, after all. No matter what the Rules of Rarity dictated, there needed to be an exception clause for holidays. It was all so that she could come to Canterlot to help Twilight figure out the truth of the mysterious tokens, which meant she and Rarity could not stop to take in the reportedly chic atmosphere of that new cafe that had opened. The whole train ride, Rarity had been telling Twilight that it was right on one of the main boulevards of Canterlot. A spot like that was not only a very Rarity place to dine in general, but Rarity made sure to tell her non-stop that it would let her scope out the latest design trends that ponies were wearing. Only after hearing that conversation for the seventh time did they manage to reach the castle, where Twilight sought Princess Celestia's answer. She and Rarity could debate the most optimal lunch spots like an almost-married couple when they actually needed to eat lunch. What were 'millennium tokens' that Celestia had mentioned? She spoke about them almost casually, but there was nothing written about them anywhere! No archive or library held anything about the important-sounding mystery. Were these tokens some kind of magic artifact? That's where Twilight's thoughts had been straying in the case where she might be needed to study them or even use them to stop another enemy of Equestria. At the same time, Twilight tried to listen to Rarity's concerns regarding her spring line, which was also important — but never was anything that the fate of the world depended on. Rarity and she made their way through the halls of the castle which were warm and lit by the late morning sun. Their hooves made no little on the plush and brightly colored carpet of the high-ceilinged corridor. A sudden sound caught Twilight's attention, causing her to halt. "Rarity! What was that?" "Twilight, darling, are you so lost in your thoughts that you've forgotten the sound of Princess Celestia's voice?" Twilight blinked, jaw agape at Rarity. "I what? Oh my goodness, we must be going down the wrong hall too..." She trailed off, pricking her eyes to try and find which all she had heard the princess in. Was it one that they already passed? "We are." Twilight sighed and backtracked according to Rarity's direction so they could find the source of Celestia's voice. The goddess' pleasant, almost motherly laughter could be heard echoing through the spacious halls of the castle. Soon, the two mares came to the threshold that gave them a full view of the scene playing out before them. Standing in a hall with her near-silent secretary, Raven, was Princess Celestia. Her multi-colored mane flowed in the sunlight that she had brought forth at dawn, and she smiled kindly upon a bouquet of flowers unlike Twilight had ever seen. Each part from petal to stem was a college of different flowers that both Twilight and Rarity knew to grow in Equestria, only they had been picked apart and mushed together somehow, and there wasn't a doubt in her mind about who could have given such an unusually exotic bouquet to her former mentor. "Discord," Twilight whispered. She never knew exactly what he would be up to — who was to say that those flowers didn't have some kind of catch? Rarity had not heard what Twilight had said, and was instead thinking of how she might be able to work some of those blooms into a floral trim for the upcoming line Twilight had pulled her away from, after all, everything was still in the drafting stage, and sketching the placement of a few trims here and there wouldn't be a problem. "So that's what a millennium token is," Twilight concluded. "It's just a token of affection." "Mm-hm," Rarity chirped next to her, red spectacles still balanced on her muzzle. The lenses caught the reflection of a colorful burst of chaos magic as the draconequus teleported, leaving his lover all alone. "This... well it's certainly not what I expected," Twilight said, watching as the princess tucked a flower behind her ear. "You do realize what this means, don't you Twilight?" "We accidentally wasted time on something silly?" Twilight guessed, propping a forehoof under her muzzle. "You must give me a millennium's worth of these tokens, starting today." Rarity batted her eyelashes at Twilight, a minxy smile crossing her muzzle as the latter blushed beet-red. "Chop-chop, Twilight, darling." "But Rarity, you're not even going to live for a millennium!" "You can at least try, dear." "How? How in Equestria am I supposed to buy you one thousand years' worth of gifts when you won't make it past three centuries at most? Gah, this doesn't make any sense!" "Well, I certainly won't be living that long with your negative attitude," Rarity huffed, flipping her mane sharply. "Twilight! Rarity!" Princess Celestia called as soon as she spotted the two mares, "How good to see you both, would you care to stay for tea? There was something I needed your help with." Twilight Sparkle gulped sharply. Did another adventure await her? Millennium tokens are but little gifts to build a bridge to cross time spent apart.