A Present for the Future

Chapter 1 : The strange box

Spike opened the door as he heard the knocking hoof and cheered Derpy, coming with a large box she said she had to deliver to Princess Twilight Sparkle. As the Princess of Friendship saw her, the grey mare explained that the box, arrived in the Post center in Ponyville, was labeled : “To Princesses”. Twilight thanked her before taking the mail, which was oddly light. “To Princesses”... It might be mainly addressed to Celestia and Luna... She decided to travel to Canterlot so as to open this strange mail with the two immortal alicorns.

On the way to Canterlot, Spike and her were wondering about what the cardboard box could contain. The dragon was afraid it might be a spell, as the only noise he could hear shaking the box was the rustle of a sheet of paper, but Twilight reassured him supposing that it must be just a letter.

When they came to the royal castle, Celestia was preparing her sunset on the balcony. As she saw Twilight flying to the hall, she smiled and asked the guards to open the doors. She wasn't expecting a visit of her former personal student, but Twilight Sparkle was always welcome here. The two travelers came in, welcomed by Princess Luna, and Twilight showed her the pack she was carrying. Luna noticed an inscription on the reverse side of the box. Four letters : “CDNN”. Nopony could say what they were meaning.

As the sunlight faded away, the cardboard surprisingly started glimmering with magic, revealing a drawn rainbow on the top of the box. The drawing disappeared completely as the sun finished to set. Then Luna, without a word, opened a window and rose the moon. In the distance, golden lights were glowing in ponies' homes.

“Luna...” called Celestia, who had entered the hall silently. “It seems like we have some mail to check”. After the three alicorns had made sure that no spell would attack them while opening the box, Celestia levitated the cardboard open. To their surprise, the box was empty. A simple sheet of paper was left into ; it looked like a letter.