"Would you like one lump or two?" the mare's voice was old and drab. Why was she hearing that one in her thoughts, and not just her own?
"Huh?"
"Your tea, Princess. One lump of sugar, or two?" an older gray maned unicorn looked up to the alicorn, sugar cubes in her magic grasp.
"Oh, sorry. I was.. lost in my thoughts. One please," the Princess replied hastily. Whoops.
She was thinking of the arguments she'd had with her sister earlier. And the missing embodiment of Chaos of course.
The unicorn didn't seem to take any notice to the worry that edged the alicorn's voice, and just put a lump of sugar into the tea. She lifted it to her with her magic, and Celestia took it with her own.
"Thank you,"
"Of course, your Majesty,"
Soon, all the assortment of Canterlot nobles and guests dropped into deep conversation.
Celestia only caught bits and pieces, even though they were right there at the same table as she was.
"Did you hear? She had a-"
"And he had the nerve to say,"
"And then SHE had thought that he'd meant-"
The princess soon drowned out the hum of the conversations with her thoughts once more. What would she do if Discord showed up before the three months deadline? What if he didn't? Which was the safer choice for her country?
Was Luna actually the right one? Has my kindness made me too soft? Blinded me from the right choices?
All the while she was sipping her tea. Mmmm, this is good.
"What do you think, Princess?" Celestia heard the voice, and looked to an orange stallion with a black mane.
"Hmm? Sorry, I don't think I heard you," she apologized quickly. She gave herself a mental face-hoof. She was probably coming off as incredibly rude.
"We were wondering what you thought of Princess Luna's announcement," piped up an earth pony mare, yellow eyes dancing with curiosity.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," she answered, now intrigued. What had her sister said with out her knowing?
Some of the group seemed to shift uncomfortably, while the others murmured among themselves.
"Your Highness's sister made an announcement this morning, shortly after the morning court had ended," the mare who had served her tea spoke up.
"Yes, she made an appearance at Town Square in Canterlot," the stallion who had asked the question added.
"I am interested to know what she said," she thought aloud. "Why don't you tell me what she said while we finish our tea?"
"Ponies of Canterlot!" Cameras flashed around the princess, and reporters readied their pencils and pens. "And Ponies of Equestria! As you all may know, a creature known as a draconequus now roams free in our lands. Discord, master of Chaos, was recently brought to our side as an ally by the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy,"
Murmurs shot out through the crowd. That was old news.
"But not many of you will know that he has disappeared," she continued.
Gasps were now heard, and the murmurs turned from soft conversations to sharp exclamations.
"We have no reason the believe that he has done any thing wrong, however, and shall be given a total of three months, starting today, to turn up. If he does not, it will be taken as a sign of hostility, and will be either treated as a prisoner or be banished from our beloved country,"
More murmurs.
"Being citizens of Equestria, you had the right to know of this. There is no reason to panic though, as he still seems to be on our side," For now...
The reporters seemed to be scribbling furiously on their notepads, and the photographers taking pictures every second.
Luna took a look about the crowd. There were a few faces of fear, as expected, but most just seemed to be filled with interest. Good.
"That is all. Good day," she ended her short speech, and flew up into the air, and away to the palace.
She watched from the sky as the crowd dispersed, ponies chattering among themselves.
Hopefully, this would make the stupid beast show up.
Even though she had made it seem like she was ready to fight, and she was, she honestly didn't want to. With all the major attacks on Equestria--mostly Ponyville and Canterlot--she didn't think another battle of sorts would be good for them.
Yes, they had an amazing army, both parts of the Royal Guard, the Elements of Harmony, and an additional alicorn--and even help from Cadance's Crystal Empire if they really needed it--but, as much as it pained her to think it, her sister had been right.
Discord would still be a more than formidable opponent. Especially since they had nothing to surprise him with this time.
She soon reached her room's balcony, and landed on it with a yawn. Celestia had woken her up to tell her the worrisome news, and she was very tired. Now, she could finally go back to sleep!
For a few hours that is. She'd have to get her sister back, and soon.
"And that's what she said," the orange stallion completed summarizing the younger alicorn's speech.
"So what are your thoughts on the matter?" the grey maned mare asked.
Celestia thought for a moment. Choosing her words carefully, she replied, "What she said was true. There is no need to worry for now, as he has not posed a threat by simply going missing. For all we know, he could be in trouble himself,"
"But if he doesn't turn up?"
"Then Luna will lead a search for him. She will give him the two choices that she spoke of, and he will choose. If he retaliates, we will be ready,"
The nobles murmured among themselves, approving of her response.
She let out and inward sigh of relief.
They soon went back to babbling about so-and-so's baby, and how whats-his-face did what, and Celestia was careful to interact and pay attention this time.
As she listened to a mare talk about her husband, something caught the alicorn's eye.
A large, tan butterfly. Wait- is that made of parchment?
As it drew closer, she saw that it was. A large butterfly made of parchment.
She held out a hoof to it, ignoring the nobles once again, and it settled down on it's given perch. She brought it closer to herself, up to her face, and inspected it. It gave two flutters, then remained still.
Oh no! I've killed it! She thought worriedly, and sadness for the strange creature was reflected in her eyes. Sadness was soon replaced with surprise though, as the parchment creature started to morph.
Its wings spread out and melded together, becoming something of a long rectangle. It floated up a few inches off the princess's hoof and continued to grow. It then rolled itself up, like a scroll. No, it was a scroll. A yellow ribbon appeared out of thin air and tied itself neatly around the scroll.
As soon as the magical occurrence was complete, the scroll started to fall. Celestia quickly caught it up with her magic, then looked to her guests who had been watching the entire time.
Each face held a look of surprise and wonder, and some even confusion. It was definitely more elaborate than how she had received letters from Twilight.
"Excuse me," she began, eyes locked on the yellow ribbon. "I believe that I must take my leave now. I am sorry for my early departure- you are welcome to stay here as long as you wish,"
She got up to her hooves and walked away, scroll following her by her side. She didn't hear the loud whispers of her guests; she wasn't even thinking about them.
All thoughts were on the scroll and the yellow ribbon.
She soon walked into her room, shutting the door behind her.
Slowly, she un-tied the bright yellow ribbon, and set it gently on her desk.
Still rolled up, she brought the scroll with her to her bed. She set it down in front of her, contemplating whether or not she should read it. What was on it? Why didn't she just unfurl the darn thing like she did with so many other scrolls everyday?
Why was this one different?
You know why she thought. And she did. It was the yellow ribbon that did it. It reminded her of something, something from long ago. Back when she had to deal with bedmane. Back before she was ruler of Equestria. Back before...
She stopped herself. The memories were far too painful to think about now. Not with Luna on slightly bad terms with her. Not with Discord missing.
She picked up the letter once more, her magic aura igniting with a spark as she levitated it into the air. She unrolled it quickly, as if she were afraid that if she went too slow, it would go missing just like the one who had written the letter.
She took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and started to read.
Celestia,
I hope you guessed who this is by now. Are you surprised I remembered the ribbon? Its not the same one, of course. I couldn't give up that one so easily. I still remember the day you gave it to me, way back when. Hey, I may have a lot going on up here, or maybe not enough, but I could never forget something like that. It's hard for me to forget anything, really.
But enough with the sappy sentiments.
I suppose you've noticed I'm missing by now. Those ponies you sent to watch me weren't very good at their job. A group of fillies could have done better! Hahaha, they're probably all running to and fro just because they have no idea where I am.
I really am important, aren't I?
I didn't know they cared so much for my well being.
Any-who, just thought that maybe you'd want to hear from me--or rather 'read' from me, that is. I'm just... taking some time alone to think. Fluttershy may have 'brought me to your side', but I'm just trying to figure out what that means.
Or if I'm even welcome.
Really Celestia, did you think I would forget the great FUN I'd had? Wreaking chaos as I please?
Just give me your answer. One no, and I'll leave Equestria at will forever.
-Discord Lord of Chaos
P.S. Tie the Ribbon around your scroll to send a reply!
As she read the last sentence, the scroll deteriorated into parchment rose petals, littering her bed with paper.
She didn't know whether to be angry, surprised, or relieved. In the end, she was just confused.
The tone of his letter... it had seem confused itself, like it wasn't sure what it was saying. One moment, it was serious, the other playful, and the next it was as careless as ever!
What was he trying to say?
In frustration, she picked up the parchment petals and threw them out the window with her magic. She then ran to the window to watch them fall, thinking that she might take them back.
Discord never failed to surprise her.
The parchment was turning into real red rose petals as they fell, and they seemed to be multiplying. Soon it was as if the Royal Gardens--What Celestia's room had a view of--were subject to a shower of rose petals.
Crap! she thought, regretting what she'd done. The cleaning crew wasn't going to be happy when they found piles of petals everywhere in the garden. In fact, neither would the gardeners.
Maybe she could play this off as one of Luna's pranks... no, not now. Not with how things are between her and her sister.
Not while Discord was missing.
Damn you, Discord! she thought angrily.
The alicorn turned away from the window with a sigh, and her eyes caught on to the yellow ribbon. It hadn't made a mess or flown away. She drew closer to put it away somewhere as a strange memento, before remembering the last part of the letter.
A reply, huh? a small smile crept its way onto her face. Her eyes danced with excitement at the given challenge as she sat down at her desk and began to write.
Discord had started the game, and she would win.