The night was silent in the Griffon Empire. Nobody was up working, and even the crickets only chirped occasionally. It was, of course, not even *remotely enough to disturb Celestia. The weight of her responsibilities showed every night in the form of sleeping like a log. The day had been a busy one, and Emperor Gregor XVI even refused to negotiate before receiving his favorite eclairs as a gift. The night was where she could get away from it all.*
In the hallways, the candles still glowed dimly. If anybody was walking down it, they may have noticed an ominous black stain begin to spread in the hallway. It covered ground quickly, splitting and entering six doors at once.
Next morning, the sun trickled through the castle curtains, teasing Celestia to wake up. It was initially ineffectual, and she continued to stay asleep. But slowly, it worked its way, intruding into her sleep. She began to slowly move around every once in a while, although not enough to mess up the bedding. But she woke up to a shout.
"The Elements of Harmony are missing!"
The yelling woke her up with a start. Comprehension dawned on her a second later. She got off her bed as quickly as her sleepy body would allow and ran out into the hallway - not even taking the time to don her crown.
She was the first to react to the news. The hallway was empty, save for a griffon chambermaid.
"Have you seen them anywhere?" Celestia asked with a hint of urgency.
Slightly surprised by the Princess' tone, she jumped slightly. After a few seconds she replied,"I have no idea where they are."
Without another word, Celestia then trotted off.
Her mental state gradually became a frenzy. She began searching quicker, scanning her surroundings with quick glances, trotting quicker than usual. She refrained greatly from galloping. She checked every corner, looked under all the tables, and lounges. But after several minutes of frantic searching, she stopped herself.
"Maybe they just decided to go out for a stroll," she rationalized,"No need to panic. Or maybe they just went down for breakfast."
Those notions were somewhat reassuring and she got onto her hooves again.
While thinking of what to do about what to do, a servant approached her and asked her,"Your Royal Highness, did you hear that the Elements of Harmony are missing?"
"Why yes I did, thank you."
"Fear not, we'll search every last corner of this castle!"
While thinking up of a response, realization suddenly dawned on her. She walked back to her room, and went in. Inside, she checked the desk and found her crown. She forgot about replying and donned it. Then, she patiently awaited any news concerning the Elements of Harmony.
At first, she merely paced around the room. She noticed how strange it was to be walking around without her shoes, and then noted that they were under the bed. She promptly brought them out, put them on, and continued pacing and contemplating.
After getting tired of pacing, she then decided to lie down on the bed. However, the lack of activity seemed to magnify the noise of the frantic searching occurring outside. Eventually, she couldn't stand it and started pacing again. This cycle repeated itself a few times, becoming shorter and shorter, until a knock came to the door.
"I'm sorry, but we haven't been able to find anything."
The view from Canterlot Castle's balcony was truly quite a spectacle. The sun was setting, and Celestia had never quite gotten tired of the sight. All of Canterlot was still visible, the streets, shops, restaurants, and ponies. The capital was far less affected by the war compared to the eastern cities of Equestria, where the front line was. While certain things had caught up to them, such as a slowly diminishing food supply being delivered, or the arrival of a few refugees, Canterlot was still what it used to be - mostly due to having higher priority in supply delivery.
But Celestia knew that soon, big changes would come. Manehatten, Fillydelphia, and Baltimare were the only cities between the griffons and Canterlot. There was Dodge Junction, but it wasn't in the way. Only the soldiers were there. While she knew that her ponies were perfectly capable of keeping the griffons at bay, they began to catch on to their tactics. After the fall of Fillydelphia, she began weighing options on how to deal with the news.
She sighed. The Elements of Harmony grew to be quite integral, both to the nation, and to her. Later, she had sent her own Royal Guards to look for them. Feathers were found on each bed, perfectly legitimate griffon feathers. To say the least, nobody was happy at that discovery.
"Twelve years, fifty-two days," Celestia muttered.
"Have you really kept count of all those days since?" Luna had silently followed her out.
"Yes," she stated with an unusual amount of contempt.
Luna quickly realized the reason for Celestia's tone,"Oh, you mean those feathers left behind on Twilight and her friends' beds?"
"Yes," Celestia confirmed.
"I don't know why, but I just have this feeling that they may have not been behind it,"
"But it's the most likely possibility. They've historically had a tendency to kidnap delegates when they don't get their way. Sometimes, its for getting their way, sometimes to for gaining possessions. Besides, don't you have work to do, Luna?"
"Now who's trying to change the subject?" Luna accused.
The sun was already halfway down the horizon. It was disappearing at a pace that continued to accelerate. Darkness quickly spread, and lights began to flicker to life in the city. Eventually, it disappeared completely, and the moon was still nowhere in sight. Celestia raised an eyebrow at Luna.
She sighed and before long, the moon came into sight. Celestia smiled and walked back into the castle. Even though the night sky was left for Luna, she preferred to do some work herself before bed. She plopped down onto her favorite cushion, near the fireplace, and began opening letters.
They were mostly mundane matters which she merely skimmed through, rarely taking note of anything. Eventually, she got to the letters which she paid the most attention to - the search and war reports. She carefully opened the search report, hoping for anything.
September 16th, 1020 AB
Your Royal Highness,
Today, Search Team Crystal, Delta, Eclipse, and Indigo searched the remainder of the Unicorn Range. There was nothing of interest that we found. We took great care to investigate the remaining hill in the area during the morning, and made our way to Yanhoover. We didn't have any time to scan the remaining land as our rations have nearly run out. We leave for Smokey Mountain next afternoon where Team Bravo and Echo have begun to search.
Sincerely, Lieutenant Amber Feathers
While the lack of results disappointed her, she wasn't expecting too much from it. She thought back to the earlier report of Fillydelphia's capture, and thought of how open Canterlot was once the soldiers were gone. She thought for a second about reassigning some search teams, but dismissed it. However, it refused to exit her mind as she began to open the war report. She then dropped the letter and began to write a response.
September 16th 1020 AB
Dear Lieutenant Amber Feathers
While I am disappointed in hearing of the lack of results, I believe there is something of greater concern. You may have heard that the griffons have taken Fillydelphia. This means there are no major cities between Canterlot and the griffons. Reassign three search teams to the front line from all around Equestria. Forward messages to others put in charge of search teams.
Sincerely, Princess Celestia
