The landscape was unrecognisable. The strong winds had pulled at anything standing, stripping some rooves and walls off wooden buildings and leaving nothing but bare skeletal frameworks behind. Few would have seen the extent of the flooding; only the witness marks bearing testament to the water levels that had been reached, and then just as quickly disappeared once more, but Twilight and Rainbow were the only two to see exactly what had happened.
The water drained very fast and by mid-morning it was possible to begin the move back to Ponyville, to recover what they could and begin rebuilding. Some families were in tears with what they saw and others just gave thanks, the wind seeming to have been completely indiscriminate. However, nopony had been lost and homes could be rebuilt.
Around lunchtime everypony was surprised to see the shape of Royal chariots emerge from the sky and put down next to the castle. Celestia and Luna got out and took the opportunity to talk to those who were making their way to and from their stricken town. Word of their arrival spread and after a few minutes, a lilac alicorn came bounding along and embraced them both eagerly.
Once they had some privacy, Twilight asked, “I thought you were going to be away for the week, does this mean you’ve got it all wrapped up already?”
“It wasn’t going very well at all to start with” said Celestia.
“Their negotiating stance was as adamant as it was blunt, and I confess that if they had chosen to ignore us we would have had some difficulty pushing back" added Luna, "They are surprisingly deft tunnelers and would have been difficult to apprehend.”
“But then last night their tunnels started to get flooded. We’re not talking ankle-deep or knee-height here, but entirely submerged.”
“The one thing they had no defence against was flooding, and even though we did not see entirely eye to eye, one could not help but feel sorry for them as panicked reports from their underground communities came in. They were justifiably concerned for loss of life among their own kind and withdrew.”
“Of course we warned them that this sort of thing was a regular occurrence …” said Celestia with a twinkle in her eye.
“That may have been a slight exaggeration, Sister.”
“Yes, but nonetheless necessary to press home our advantage, and so they have agreed to seal off all their tunnels and expand instead in the opposite direction under the uninhabited Badlands.
“Oh, well done Princesses!” cheered Twilight, clapping her forehooves together.
“But it looks like our victory has been bought at a cost” added Celestia sadly.
Twilight’s demeanour suddenly changed.
“It’s all my fault Princess” admitted Twilight, her eyes starting noticeably to tear up, “A big storm was going to hit Canterlot and I ordered the weather team to divert it away, in the full knowledge that this is where it would come.”
“A difficult decision” concurred Luna, “But the correct one.”
“I think a little magic may help things along here” said Celestia “What do you think, Sister?”
Luna nodded in affirmation.
Twilight perked up a little at the prospect and then added, “You should have seen the whirlpools.”
The Royal Sisters looked at her quizzically.
“When Rainbow Dash and I overflew the area this morning, we saw whirlpools where the lakes of floodwater were all funnelling down through the sink holes into the tunnels below. I’m glad nopony or no Diamond Dogs died, although I confess I was worried for you.”
A group of giggling mares had gathered at a discrete distance, far enough away to provide privacy to the Princesses, but close enough to show that they wanted to talk. Eyes seemed to be fixed on Celestia, and so she excused herself to go and see what they wanted. As the Sun Princess drew close, the group pushed forward one of their number to act as their spokespony, but she retreated to the back of the group in shyness and another was pushed forward in her place.
"How may I help you?" asked Celestia as the mares all bowed before her.
"Your Majesty" said the mint green unicorn at their head, "Is it true that Princess Cadence is going to have a foal?"
Before she could receive an answer, the mares all began giggling loudly in anticipation.
"Ladies, please" replied Celestia wearing a maternal smile, "I'm sure you know it would be wrong of me to speculate on such things."
The atmosphere in the crowd seemed to deflate visibly.
"But" she continued, "When Princess Cadence and Shining Armor do choose to have a foal, I can assure you that he or she will combine the best aspects of both of them ..."
"The Princess said 'when', not 'if' ..." came a shout from the group, "So it really is going to happen!"
Celestia knew is was pointless to argue and was equally aware that these ponies would need something positive to boost their morale as they rebuilt their lives, so chose not to deny the story any further.
Luna and Twilight had watched from a distance, and although they hadn't heard anything that had been said, the cooing sounds of the mares made it obvious what they were discussing.
"Good cover story, huh?" said Twilight.
“Indeed" replied Luna, before switching the subject to a matter that was best discussed between the two of them, "But tell me, how did Nyx manage?”
“She’s played her part magnificently, but she did have a bit of a meltdown. I know she would love to see all of us again tonight” said Twilight, “And by the way, that library of yours …”
“Oh, I see she has shown you then” said Luna, “I wondered how long it would be.”
They surveyed the devastation together and Luna turned to Twilight, “How did it go for you as ruler of Equestria?”
“Uggh, don’t” she replied, “I wasn’t expecting a storm like this to come through on my watch. I feel so bad for all the ponies I let down.”
“Difficult decisions had to be made. Neither my Sister nor I could have done any better” said Luna reassuringly, “How did you fare otherwise?”
Twilight smiled wryly at Luna, “You know, I don’t think I could cope with all the tea and cake that being a Princess entails.”
“Oh, that part is not obligatory Twilight” said Luna wriggling her nose playfully, ”Why do you think I am so much slimmer than my Sister?”