Hot Chocolate dipped low into a bow, then fell flat on her face. Anypony could see the pink on her cheeks if they looked hard enough. Apparently they did look, there were sounds of laughter all around the room.
"PrincessCelestiaIdidn'tmeananyofwhatIsaidIwasjustreallyfrustratedwithmybrotherandhowhetreatsmebecauseItrustLunaasmuchasIdoyou." Cocoa took a deep breath and felt her face heat up again.
"That was not what I wanted to talk about." Celestia waved for the filly to follow her.
The hallways of Canterlot Castle were gloomy and scared Cocoa as much as being called to them in the first place. All the paintings glared at her and she knew somewhere in her mind that her father was searching for her, angry at the thought of escape.
"Please forget about your father. He is also not why you are here. In fact, this is strictly business related." The Princess said.
At the word business, Hot Cocoa snapped at attention. There was only one thing this close to hearths warming eve that had to do with business.
"Do you need some cocoa this year?" she asked excitedly.
Celestia shook her head, making her wavy mane look weird. Luna's head dropped a little, just enough to hide her face. Everything around them seemed to be drained of all life and energy, leaving Hot Chocolate scared out of her mind.
"W-what, w-what is g-going on?" she said timidly. No one answered her, except with a note that appeared from no where. It read:
Princess Celestia, we have a major problem with this year's cocoa supply. Somepony is sabotaging whoever we send to Snow Hoof. If this keeps up, we won't make it in time. We haven't experienced any problems keeping it in Ponyville, but still...
A ballon, apple, and the letters CMC were on the bottom, probably signatures.
The scroll dropped, and an ear-splitting scream issued from Hot Chocolate. The earth pony started to pace in small circles, like she often did when she was worried. The princesses stood next to each other waiting for her to calm down but she wouldn't.
"Should I wake her?" Luna whispered, and stomped her hoof to the ground when her sister nodded. Everything started to swim in Cocoa's eyes and she was dimly aware of the snow around her as she awoke. Derpy and Whipped Cream sat by her side with worried looks on their faces. Nearby ponies stopped and stared at her, most trying not to smile.
Cocoa sprang up and started yelling again, much to the confusion of the towns folk.
"Calm down, hon," Cream said, "what are you trying to say?"
"There, the... THE COCOA ISN'T COMING THIS YEAR!"
There was a ripple as the ponies stepped back. Then everypony panicked.