Tribulation, And The Taste Of Tea
"Good day to you, Princess Celestia! Oh, and you as well, Luna!"
Celestia and Luna bowed in tandem. They stood in the dining hall of Princess Platinum's castle.
Platinum pranced toward the two of them. To her right was a stern-looking stallion. For a moment, Celestia was sure his expression only soured further as they briefly locked gazes, but Princess Platinum quickly reasserted her presence before Celestia could think about it any further.
"You have arrived at just the perfect time, everything is all prepared!"
"A pleasure," Luna said with a small smile.
"Thank you for having us, Princess Platinum." Celestia gave a graceful dip of her head. "You needn't have prepared such an extravagant meal."
"Bah! With as much discussion to be done today, things may very well carry on into the afternoon. Just a few teacakes wouldn't harm anypony during, surely."
"'Just a few', hah. You spoil us."
Platinum waved a hoof and moved toward the table, her silent companion quickly following after her. A pair of waitstaff manifested to pull two chairs out for the sisters, which they gracefully sunk into. Their plates were quickly piled high with all manner of delicacies. Platinum's enthusiastic hostess nature was heartening, though a small part of Celestia wished her consort would at least try to hide his frowning.
"Clover, bless him, has been a true help with our developing relationship with the Earth Ponies. Quite a lot of the fruits you see before you were grown by unicorns! Their willingness to help can not be overstated." Platinum smiled proudly. "Equestria has been doing so well, and with you presiding over us all as leader, Celestia, I'm sure our bonds will only grow stronger."
Luna hummed in agreement. "The two of us will do our absolute best to lead Equestria into a beautiful future."
"Still, your assistance in the transitional period will be tantamount," Celestia said, finally taking a small bite out of one of the rolls on her plate. "Not everypony will take so easily to our rule. The leaders they already know stoking the flames of trust will be quite important."
"You- er, the both of you, will have as much as I can give. Certainly, us unicorns will give you no trouble. Such foolhardiness never quite fit us, you see."
Luna barely suppressed a laugh. Celestia simply nodded and took another bite of bread. It had a nice, sweet taste, but was dry and caught in her throat, making her cough. Immediately, Platinum gasped and turned to her consort. "Decorum! Goodness, forgive me, Celestia. Decorum, may you fetch the tea, please?"
The stallion - Decorum - said nothing and disappeared through one of the doors leading elsewhere into the castle. He returned with a tray held in his magic. Three teacups and a teakettle rested atop it, one of the teacups closer to the edge of the tray compared to the other two. He floated the lone teacup down to Platinum and placed the remaining cups in front of the sisters.
"These leaves, too, were grown by unicorns!" Platinum beamed with pride. "Rosecrisp tea is quite the unicorn favorite. Decorum even brewed this himself."
Luna eyed her cup curiously. "My, it's dark as pitch. Have you ever had this before, sister?"
"I can't say I have," Celestia said, taking her own cup into her magic. It really was fantastically dark.
"Mmm, dark and strong as anything you'll ever taste! Not even a touch of sugar required, I'd say."
Luna laughed and set her cup back down. "Surely not, sugar brings it all together."
Platinum waved a hoof. "Your palate ought be refined! I assure you—"
Celestia drowned them out. Slowly, she brought the teacup toward her mouth, only to pause as a wave of discomfort washed over her. Subtly, she flicked her eyes around. Decorum was watching her, face still an expressionless mask.
Not everypony was going to like them coming into power. It was an unavoidable truth. They were aberrations, and powerful ones. No matter how graciously the tribe leaders treated their rising to the thrones, that struggle would always be there.
I hope you'll be willing to give us a chance, Celestia thought as she took a long sip from her cup.
It warmed her to the core. Strong may have been an understatement, and for a moment Celestia deeply regretted foregoing sugar. Still, it quickly alleviated the dryness. She took another sip, hoping to adjust the taste. The sharpness of it made her throat tingle. Celestia ran her tongue across the roof of her mouth.
Decorum continued to watch her.
Luna and Platinum both leaned forward, with Platinum speaking up. "Well? Incredible, is it not?"
"I can't say I—"
Her mouth felt odd.
"It... taaastesss..."
Her jaw fell slack. Then: agony. It felt like a hole was being burned right through her stomach, making her curl inward so sharply that she slammed her hindlegs against the underside of the table. Her strength, uncontrolled, made it rock upward and sent every plate and tray tumbling wildly.
She tried to breathe, nostrils flaring as she writhed in her chair. Something drooled from her mouth, and a part of her knew it wasn't just saliva. It hurt, like she'd had the idea of trying to cook herself from the inside out. Her vision went spotty, oscillating between black and blue and white.
"Sister!"
Hooves wrapped around her as she spasmed.
Celestia gurgled, whined. Her eyes rolled about wildly in her sockets as her body rebelled against her.
"Celestia!"
Decorum watched her.
Pain. Pain. Pain—
"Princess Celestia?"
Celestia blinked. A worried mare stared at her, a teakettle suspended in her magic. She was sitting at her dining table. She was in Canterlot.
"Please forgive me, Honey Drop. My mind momentarily wandered."
"O-oh. It's alright, Princess. I asked if you'd like some Rosecrisp tea, today. Just to shake things up!"
"Ah... no thank you. I've had it once before," Celestia said with a tight, strained smile. "I didn't quite like the taste."
