>Day court dragged on, as it had a tendency to do. 
>Princess Celestia had listened to at least forty petitions so far and they were blurring together
>Internally she pondered why it seemed to be that this was always the hardest day of the week
>She never could get a hang of Thursdays
>Beside her stood her ever faithful attendant Raven Inkwell
>The pair listened to the petition by Count Counting Currency, about how the crown purchasing him a swimming pool would improve the property value of all Canterlot.
"We shall consider your proposal, you may leave"
>Celestia said, her regal mask retaining its position as it always did. 
>Just another few hours of day court
>Then Luna would wake up, they could have a meal together and Celestia could finally relax for a short while before bed.
>That was until she sensed an incredible pulse of chaos magic
>The wave of chaotic energy rolled across the palace, causing Raven to stumble and clutch at her horn. 
>Of course.
>The last thing Celestia needed today was for Discord to revolt, but evidently he had
>Bucking Thursdays.
>As it turned out, the lord of chaos hadn't been about to burst through the doors
>Instead a very worried looking Pegasus guard poked his head in instead
>"Y-your highness, you've got mail"
>Raven frantically looks over her clipboard and can only offer an apologetic shrug
"Very well, I suppose the mail should be brought in."
>The yellow Pegasus guard pales to a white that nearly matched your own alabaster coat
>"Could you go to it instead? It's about as big as a house"
>Celestia really should have expected this, if discord was sending surprise gifts again they would have to be inconvenient somehow.
>At least it hopefully wouldn't be full of glitter like last time
>The solar alicorn moved for the doors, swearing silently upon her sun that if it was a super sized glitterbomb she would banish Discord to it. 
>The guard dutifully lead her outside to the palace courtyard, revealing that it was almost entirely filled by a titanic object.












>After a preliminary investigation, Celestia could comfortably state it was a box
>A seemingly ordinary box
>Which is what made her so nervous
>The blast of chaos magic had been intense and obviously had caused this box
>Yet she couldn't detect any lingering chaos magic
>Even discord had yet to show up
>"Any idea what that means princess?"
>The yellow Pegasus guard asked, gesturing to the box
>On its side was a large red arrow pointing to the heavens, as well as 4 massive symbols she couldn't recognise
>Regardless, she wanted to see what was inside the box
>Although she could probably wa-
>The two ears atop her head swiveled and focused on the colossal container before her
>She had heard something from inside the box
>The guard, who she could not remember the name of, took this as a sign to remain silent.
>Moments passed until another sound came from inside the box
>Almost like a yawn?
>Was somepony trapped inside this paper prison? 
>The solar diarch took to the air with a single flap, rising to see the top of the box.
>A small note was on top, addressed to…"Anyone who may see this"
>Celestia wasn't entirely sure of the writer's understanding of equish.
>However, from her new position she could definitely make out sounds coming from inside
>Strange, almost equine sounds 
>Far too many hissing sounds to be ponies speaking equish
>For a moment her curiosity was under control, until with a flash of her golden magic, Celestia pulled the note to her and opened it.
>"Take care of them, they will need it. One more note inside."
>With the note having done nothing but fan the flames of Celestia's inquisitive mind, she pulled at the flaps of the box
>Slowly revealing…A box of green foals.
>Oh by Faust there must have been hundreds of them.
>Appraising them with a trained eye Celestia could see no signs of starvation of fatigue, however she worried for the ones on the bottom
>In almost perfect unison the foals turned to look at her
>An ocean of emerald eyes, black manes, and green coats
>She could see a few differences here and there
>There were certainly a healthy mix of all tribes
>But that only worried her more
>What monster had abducted all these poor foals
>One of them babbled something she couldn't understand
"Greetings my little ponies"
>The guard had taken this as a hint to fly up and have a look 
>The instant his head poked over the edge of the box, the mass of emerald eyes fixed on him
>"Princess?"
"There is no need to worry Flash"
>One foal near the top frowned momentarily, Celestia thought it was a mare but with so many identical coats she was struggling to pick out where one foal began and another ended.
>"P...primcessss"