//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: The plight of the two princesses 
// Story: Equestrian Paradox: "Worlds at war" 
// by An Sturmmann 
//------------------------------//

"I still can't believe it!" Twilight couldn't avoid shouting, as she breathed heavily, trotting from one side of the room, to the other, she was in a rather simple looking room, her eyes focused on a sheet of paper that floated around in front of her, merely titled 'Planning' "Neither I can Twilight, but... can we really do something more besides listening to Aunt Celestia?, We pretty much know nothing about what is happening, let alone, how to solve it"

"I know!" Twilight halted in her tracks with a loud stomp, just as the sheet floated into the table, landing just a few inches apart from another paper, this one titled 'Ponytarian efforts'. "But, one thing is dealing with a lone, albeit powerful threat, the other is dealing with what sounds like actual warfare!"

"I know that the situation isn't exactly good, but, Twi, relax just a bit, and analyze the situation, we are just 'feeling' that there is a battle, or at least that's what aunt Celestia told us, that doesn't means that Equestria will be at war, it just means that someone else, is, sadly, at war" Cadence spoke, as she was sitting in front of the table, looking at her sheet while levitating a feather with ink, starting to write out an small text. "I know, but, think about it for a second Cadence, on one hoof we have the fact that the sun and the moon are seemingly rising on their own if what we saw during this last hour is in fact the sun rising, and on the other hoof, we have the fact that there is a battle happening somewhere, while also having the fact that an earthquake just happened on the crystal empire!"

"Truth to be told, i'm scared Twilight, however, we must endure this, soldier on like a Mare, we cannot allow us to be paralyzed, we need to do as we were told, for Equestria as a whole" Cadence spoke but she sounded a bit unconvinced, that didn't go unnoticed by her fellow princess "You know that trying to act like a guardsmare won't help us, right?"

"I had to give it a little try, you know that speeches like that do work quite a lot, well, at least when the Canterlot sister's give them" Cadence blushed a little bit embarrased, but seemed calmer, now that Twilight answered in a less stressed tone " Yes... I know, but, Cadence, we aren't the Princess Celestia, or the Princess Luna, we aren't by any meaning ready to deal with sudden changes like this, let alone after such a short time of dealing with Tirek almost absorbing all the magic in Equestria"

" And, remember me who was the one who defeated Tirek, and with the aid of who?" Asked Cadence as Twilight couldn't avoid letting out a sigh and looking at her in the eyes "I wasn't in control of that, it just... happened, it honestly felt as if it was some sort of 'Celestia ex machina' from one of Spike's comic books, I didn't had any plan, or any way to properly deal with Tirek, and while I would still give him the magic to save my friends anytime... I really don't know how I could have beated him withouth that resource"

"And yet, you won, just like how Shining and I managed to send Chrysalis and her army flying away during our wedding, we managed to turn the tide against overwhelming odds, we showed everypony that harmony would always triumph, and, Equestria needs us more than ever, you know the actual dates, but there haven't been a single earthquake in history in quite the long time, neither the whole Equestria has faced so much danger in less than five years, be it Nightmare moon, Chrysalis, Tirek, Sombra, or the nature itself, we need to show everypony, that they can trust in us, their alicorns"

"But... Cadence... what if we cannot protect Equestria?" Twilight asked as she sat down in front of Cadence, looking at her sheet as she seemed to be in doubt "We did defeat most of the threats, but, we were just on the verge of losing, Nightmare moon almost won, Chrysalis tricked everypony and almost got rid of us two, Sombra was just about to win, and Tirek did win, but we managed to make a comeback, the threaths, the 'villains' are just getting closer, and closer to winning with each one that comes, and... this feeling, this constant feeling that somepony is fighting, as Celestia explained to us, it simply won't stop, it has been more than an hour, and it simply refuses to go away, either the fight is still going, or there is more than one"

"That's fair Twilight, honestly... I'm not sure either of how we could deal with that... and yes, the pattern you noticed does have a point, but, haven't we grow stronger with each foe?, I mean, think about it, we were just two alicorns before the defeat of nightmare moon, and now with you, we are four alicorns protecting Equestria, we have the elements of harmony, and even Discord himself is slowly but surely becoming a better 'pony', after Tirek betrayal, he really did begin to change"

"But, Equestria itself isn't ready, we aren't ready, most buildings aren't made to endure Earthquakes to put an example, I really, really hope that the earthquake in the crystal empire was the first and the last, but, the question is killing me, just like the doubt about why somepony out there is fighting, and why they won't stop because the feeling won't go away!"

Cadence sighed as she looked down and nodded slowly

"Sadly, We don't have too much time Twilight, we must act first and question later, the sun is still rising by itself, and soon the palace will be swarmed by scared ponies and journalists, that alongside the news of what happened in the crystal empire will surely make any task way harder to do, we need to prepare everything as fast as we can for our missions"

"Can I help you with the planning of the ponytarian duties?" Twilight asked, her eyes pleading, as she looked at Cadence, in a bit of a mix of determination and a somewhat childlike look "Yes Twi, Please, help me with this..."

Certainly, the smaller alicorn mare seemed to calm down the very second she began to aid her friend, as her eyes focused on the numbers, the maths and the logistics she instantly brighted up.

This didn't go unnoticed by Cadence who smiled a bit for herself, quickly writing down the kind of things she would need for her duties.

Being a princess isn't easy, there is too much things that you need to know, to understand, and consider, all the way from the basics, to far more complex things.

After all, when a city is struck by a natural disaster, you always need supplies, there will always be ponies with the bad luck to be hurt, bandages are a must, so are as much first aid kits, and medical personnel, those, alongside a enought rations of food and water were Cadence priority.

Her list kept getting longer, and longer, just like the one of her partner, both of them working together, splitting the work, but alas, not having a single problem with asking the other about their opinion about certain matters.

"Twilight, do you think that mobilizing three hundred ponies would be enought to transport all the supplies?"

"Well, that is considering wagons, however if we use the railways towards the north, we could reduce the number by quite a good margin..."

The mutual work was good, both mares had one thing in mind, one common goal, and they would work hard to archieve it.

"If I divert some funds from the aesthethic gardening program, then the budget should be enought to fully repair the Northern neighbourhoods, and, if to that we add the funding that Celestia offered, the budget would be more than enought for the whole city"

"Yes, by an 3% margin, and with the ponytarian aid, there shouldn't be any major problems!"

Their efforts were clear, and while it was clear that neither of them had as much experience when it came to repair duties, they really poured their hearts into making sure that the ponies of the crystal empire could have their city back, sooner than later getting smiles on their faces as everything was brighter the more they planned, the original dread being replaced by a feeling of hope and optimism.

However, while both mares were working... something a bit different was happening in the Crystal empire, or well, on its northern border, way too far from the city, in the lands that, while in the crystal empire, were yet to be tamed.

A group of guardsmares were exploring, the rocky and snowy lands making their path harder to traverse, but the hardened mares were capable of making way trought the snow and rock alike, their eyes set on something.

"Lieutenant, we found something in the cave, you must come to see this"

"It better be good filly, we have orders to keep exploring to the north, we cannot allow us to waste time"


This isn't a waste of time, miss, you really should come over here, this wasn't here the last time we came