Of War and Ponies

November 15, 1933 - In the statue garden at the castle in Canterlot

A pony passes by the statue of Discord, talking to her friend Rose Pine about the weather, "Oh today is just a marvelous day, don't you agree Rose?"

Rose smiles at her best friend Money Bags, and takes a deep breath, "It most definitely is Money, it is just a darn shame that no matter how much we petition the princess, she just refuse to get rid of this hideous statue of Discord."

Money sighs and then rolls her eyes in disgust at the hideous thing before stomping a hoof in agitation, "I know! She keeps telling us that it is very important that it stays there to prove as an 'example' for those that wish to defy Equestria. Have you heard the rumors regarding the Griffonian Empire?"

She then gasps and looks at Money, "You have heard about the increasing hostilities between the griffons and the ponies of Equestria?!"

The light tan Earth pony then nods her head, "Oh I most certainly have, I have heard that they have been increasing their military might and building more ships. I have a cousin that knows a friend over the border that says the griffons are hiring shipbuilders to build more triple masted, ships of the line."

Rose shakes her head in disbelief then sighs, "I just can't believe that our relations have gotten so much worse lately after Princess Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood left King Razorclaw's daughter Felcrezia at the altar. He even had the gall to have a jester deliver his marriage refusal to the princess, he didn't even have the decency to give it to her himself."

Money then looks around and then lowers her voice to a whisper, "You know, I have heard a couple rumors, one claims that Blueblood turned her down because she was not pretty enough, or that he prefers stallions over mares. The other I heard says that she laid with another male that he discovered when he went to call on her."

The medium gray Pegasi then shakes her head, "That Prince Blueblood is so spoiled, lets walk and talk somewhere...that isn't by this hideous statue shall we?" She then begins to lead her friend to another location around the Canterlot Statue Gardens.

She grins and then nods and follows after her, "Most definitely dear, that sounds like a great idea. This statue gives me the creeps, it feels like the statue is watching you."

Discord looks through the windows of his statues eyes and then bangs his hands against the black wall, "NO, don't go! Don't you leave without telling me more of that juicy gossip about chaos I am missing out on!" He then sighs in misery as they continue on their way out of his range of hearing and then plops himself back down into his reclining chair, "If only there was someone out there to feed me some juicy information about chaos happening anywhere in this universe..."

Just then a thick newspaper comes into existence and falls down on top of the side table beside Discord with a thud, drawing his attention to it.

He turns his attention to the sound he heard beside him and then sees a thick newspaper with a large title in bold: Hitler Rises to power, causes nations to hold their breath! He then picks up the paper and takes a closer look at it, "Well, this looks promising. Let's see what this is all about, maybe this will keep me entertained for a few years." He then figures out where to start first, and reads it aloud, "Adolf Hitler was named Chancellor of Germany today in a political compromise that shocks the world. The Chancellor voices protest against the terms forced upon the nation of Germany after their surrender that ended World War 1 in 1919. Though, the 43 year old chief of the National Socialist party or Nazis, is not Germany's dictator. However, the U.S remains largely unaffected by the news. Field Marshal and president, Paul von Hindenburg refuses to allow Hitler a carte blanche or install fascism and a permanent dictatorship of his brown-shirts. He intends to control Hitler, make him serviceable to a national conservative, but not to a Fascist State. He realizes Hitler must have other notions, that whatever drives the president, has made him decide to associate himself with the Chancellor..." He then continues to read through the articles, finding himself more and more intrigued by the developing events. Until he reaches a point further in the paper, "Oh now this is very delightful indeed! A series of events led up to the collapse of the US economy, costing many investors several millions of dollars and leaving 15 million citizens without work as companies collapse one after another. Even banks are suffering, as they fall like dominoes in the aftermath of the Stock Market crash of October 1929..." He finishes reading the paper and sets it down, clapping his hands in glee at the delicious news, "Oh this will entertain me for a few years at least until another paper appears."

December 2, 1933 - 7:30 a.m - Twilight's Home in Canterlot

Twilight focuses on a book that caught her attention called Stars and Signs by Star Swirl the Bearded when she hears her foalsitter Cadance calling her name repeatedly, "What is it! I need to study this book for a test."

Cadance then steps around the corner with a giggle and then says, "I know you have been studying all night Twilight, I have been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes. You are going to be late to class if you continue to study, there is no way that you are going to fail this test. Don't forget your lunch Twilight, I hope you have a wonderful day."

She then panics and searches for a comb, finds one and then starts running it through her mane, "Oh Celestia, I can't believe I lost track of time like that! Thank you Cadance, see you later!" She then grabs her books and lunch, and takes off for class.

The light pink alicorn smiles as she runs out the door to school, then sighs and heads for the door herself, "While she is at school, I need to go talk to Princess Celestia about some personal matters. When I get back, I should clean up a bit since Spike is with Twilight's mother." She then walks out the door and makes her way towards the castle.

A few minutes passes by as Cadance arrives at the castle, then knocks on the door to Princess Celestia's private chambers, "Excuse me Princess Celestia, but may I come in and speak with you?"

Celestia sets down the book she is reading and looks towards the door, "Come on in Cadance, what is on your mind?"

She enters the door and closes it behind her, then walks towards the solar princess, "Well, I don't know how to explain how or why it even started."

She then looks at her with a worried expression on her face, "Can you tell me more about it?"

Cadance nods her head, "I have been feeling rather sad of late since last week, but nothing has happened to cause this reaction from me. There are the rumors that I have heard involving the Griffon Empire. However I don't think those are the cause, there is no evidence to prove they are more than that. Each time I try to concentrate on where it is coming from, I come up with nothing. It doesn't come from where the Crystal Empire used to be, or even Saddle Arabia. I wish I could find the source and help them be happy, is there anything that can be done to locate them?"

The princess scrunches her forehead in thought and then heads to one of her jewelry boxes, "Tell no other pony what I tell you, but relations are heating up between The Griffon Empire and Equestria. Sadly, there is truth to the rumors, and my spoiled nephew did indeed think she was too hideous to marry him. Putting that aside...I wonder if that old relic might help out, but where did I put it last..." She then rummages around through a couple more before she finds it, "Aha, there it is." She pulls it out, closes the box and makes her way back to Cadance smiling, "This my dear, is a focusing necklace. It belonged to my mother once upon a time, it allowed her to concentrate on the sensations she would get from time to time and helped her to locate what she was looking for. I think that this may help you find the source of the sadness you are feeling." She then sits down and lays the necklace on the ground in front of her, "Come and sit in front of me, then we will both place a hoof on it and channel our power and consciousness into it. You will need to concentrate on what you are feeling and where it is coming from, it may take a little bit of time to locate, but I assure you we will locate what you are sensing and shall deal with it."

She then smiles and sits down in front of her, then places her left hoof on one part of the necklace after Celestia does the same.

Celestia then smiles and channels her power towards the bracelet, "You may begin whenever you are ready Cadance, let's find out where this sadness is coming from shall we?"

Cadance then closes her eyes and then focuses on the feeling, searching for where it is coming from. She then notices a faint pulling up into the sky, making her wonder why it is coming from the sky and follows the sensation higher and higher until the sky turns black and tiny white specks fly past her. She stops following the feeling and then looks around at the blackness around her when her eyes are drawn to two large bodies, one white and one that is so bright yellow it hurts to look at. She studies the smaller white body and notices the shadow of a mare on it, "Can you hear me Princess Celestia? What is this place?"

The princess then smiles and appears next to her, "This is our solar system, consisting of only three planetary bodies. Equus, the sun, and the moon. The other planets have all been shattered and lost many, many ages ago. Our planet is the last one to remain in this system, there is a theory that scientist ponies are trying to prove. Claiming that our system was once part of another called the Milky Way, our moon and Equus were one whole planet three times its size. One day an asteroid collided with that planet and broke it off into smaller pieces. Then collided into the solar body of the sun and most of the asteroid was burned away, but it still managed to take a part of that sun off and those small pieces all were sucked into a black hole. Those pieces all wound up here, there were originally five planets in this system including the lunar and solar bodies. Discord claims that the asteroid responsible for that was his sister Cosmos, but no pony actually believes that to be true."

She then blinks in amazement and then looks around and continues to feel that pull, "Is it known where this Milky Way is supposed to be located Princess Celestia?"

Celestia then thinks for a moment, "Nopony is really sure, though there is a description that Discord gave us in between sobs saying that it is the most beautiful sight you could ever see."

Cadance focuses on the direction the pull is coming from, "Okay, let's continue on our way then Princess Celestia."

Her eyes widen in surprise and then she fades from sight, "I wonder how far away this feeling is coming from, it is quite remarkable that you were even able to sense it when I couldn't."

The alicorn then continues to follow the pull deeper into the blackness, she begins to rush towards the pull in hopes to reach it sooner. She ignores the small white dots zipping past her in her rush to reach the source of the sadness, when she slowly starts to feel it getting stronger, "We are slowly getting closer to the source Princess Celestia, I can see a faint glimmer in the distance!" She pushes even harder to get to the source, making the tiny white dots zipping by appear to be nothing more than a fog that has surrounded her.

Celestia watches for a long hour before she starts to see a dazzling shape in the distance similar to a spiral with a gold dot in the center, causing her eyes to widen in shock and awe at the sight before her, "T...That can't be...He never tells the whole truth, but claims he doesn't lie when it involves his sister..."

Cadance then pushes on towards the spiral as it increases in size the closer she gets, "A-Are you saying that what we are heading towards is the Milky Way!? The place of origin for our own system... it actually exists?"

She sighs and appears beside her as she rushes towards the system before them both and shakes her head, staying close beside her on her journey, "Yes, it appears that it really does exist. This discovery will make history and will be the talk for every pony and creature on Equus, we will have to learn more about it when we arrive."

A couple more hours pass by as Cadance begins to sob, with tears streaming off her face as they both finally arrive on the edge of the Milky Way. She comes to a stop and takes a short break before continuing on at a normal pace towards the source of the pull, coming from somewhere up ahead of them. She then sobs once more and wipes the tears away with a foreleg, "There is a strong sense of sadness coming from somewhere here, but this area is so vast. It will take us both a little while to find which one is the source, what do we do now Princess Celestia?"

Celestia then smiles, "Well if you want to make it easier to find, try to concentrate and follow where your gut, or instincts are trying to lead you. It may take you a little bit to find that, but I have confidence in you Cadance."

She then closes her eyes and tries to find out where to go next, when she gets a niggling feeling that they should head off to her left and below them, "I think I found it again, and it is this way Princess Celestia." She then sends her consciousness towards the direction with Celestia right behind her.

After a half hour of searching, Cadance spots something blue ahead of her in the far distance and focuses on it, "I think that we may have found the source, it just feels right and strangely..."

The princess then nods and smiles, "Familiar? I am getting that feeling as well, shall we go find out what we can about where we came from?"

Cadance then heads towards the blue planet that is near a massive sun and has other bodies around it, arriving in the upper atmosphere of the blue planet and is then hit with a wave of intense sadness as they pass over a devastated area with debris and strange pathways dug into the ground. She looks down at the area and then to Celestia, "I feel it coming from this area, but there aren't any creatures here and the land does not feel right." She then sees a sign attached to a post with a strange drawing, depicting a large object with two smaller objects crossed over it and some writing that she is not able to read on it, "Can you understand what this says Princess?"

Celestia looks around at the land and gets a sickening feeling in her gut that something bad happened here, then spots something yellowed laying on top of the ground. After she looks at it a little closer, she realizes that it is a skull from a creature that was left to the elements. She quickly turns away before her consciousness and focus become interrupted, sending her back and ending the focus the two have. She then quickly makes her way to the sign and looks closely at it, "Notice: This destroyed swath of land is the battlefield near the city of Verdun that lasted 300 days, 300,000 soldiers lost their lives in this zone alone and is hereby labeled Zone Rouge and shall be forever abandoned to nature due to the severity of fighting and the use of poison gas in the area. Beware of unexploded ordinance, be it a large shell or a small grenade! All can still take your life." She is left speechless after reading that and just stares out at the ruined landscape before them.

Tears fall from both their eyes as Cadance looks around at the devastated land, "Three hundred thousand soldiers died on this field! What kind of creatures are we dealing with that would do such things!? How can this planet be the origin of ours?"

The solar princess looks back at Cadance with tear filled eyes, "We cannot pass judgement so hastily on these creatures before learning how this event was caused, let us go to this city and learn what we can of this world."

The Alicorn then sniffles and wipes her eyes dry, "How can we learn anything from this world, we can't interact with any of them, we are only here in our minds."

Celestia then looks at her with a raised eyebrow, "Yes, that is true. We do still have use of two important senses, our eyes and our ears to take in all that we can see and hear."

Cadance then nods her head and starts to look around when she sees a road off in the distance with some creatures on it, having two legs and standing upright similar to the Minotaur, "I wonder what these new creatures are called, they share a somewhat similar to the Minotaur by having an upright form."

Three hours pass by as they wander around the city of Verdun, learning that most of the citizens of this area called Belgium and there are other nations like France, England, Germany, and The United States. They also learn of a politician named Adolf Hitler that has become the Chancellor of Germany, and many in Europe are concerned about what the future may be like with him in power.

She then turns her head to look at Celestia, "I don't understand why many of these creatures are so worried about a foreign ruler, it shouldn't affect their lives at all. It concerns me that we haven't been able to learn any more about that devastated field, or even what these creatures are called."

The princess looks back at Cadance, walks over to her and places a wing over her back and smiles at her softly, "I understand that you are frustrated, we need to keep trying to learn more about these creatures if we are going to have any hopes to make a lasting connection with this world. Only then can a mirror portal be created so we can begin to come into contact with them and find out how we can improve each other's lives. We should search for a spot to create a point where we can easily return here to continue learning more about this world, Twilight should be out of school now and on her way to the library."

Cadance nods her head, "That sadness that drew me here is gone, it vanished after we read that sign. I agree with you Princess Celestia, let's start looking for something suitable to use for the return point." She then begins to search for a suitable spot to create a reference point, finding a half destroyed statue that would work for the moment.

4:30p.m - Back at the Canterlot Library

Twilight makes her way home feeling very pleased with herself, "I should head back home to tell my parents and Cadance that I got an A plus on that Magic Theory exam, I am positive that they all will be so proud of me. After that though, I need to get started on my homework and start studying for the next test coming next week." She arrives at her home and closes the door behind her and looks to see if her parents are home yet, "Mom, Dad, Spike, Cadance? Are you here, I have some news to share with you about my exam today!"

Cadance walks around the corner with a smile on her face, "Oh I cant wait to hear about it, Spike and your parents should be back in another couple hours sweetie."

The young pony smiles at her foalsitter, "Okay, well I got an A plus on my Magic Theory exam! I need to start studying for the next test and do my homework now."

She smiles back at her, watching her head to her room to study, "I will come get you when dinner is ready Twilight!"

March 16, 1935 - Two years later, In Celestia's quarters

Celestia looks out at the sleeping city and sighs unhappily at recalling what she learned today on the other world. Seeing the discarded newspaper lying on the ground saying that Germany's dictator, Adolf Hitler announces Germany's rearmament when a scroll pops up in front of her and breaks her out of her thoughts. She then chuckles in amusement at the contents of the letter, getting an idea and then begins writing her reply, "Oh Twilight, what a clever filly you are. I have high hopes for you, you finally learned of the prophecy about my sister's return. It is high time to put you through a series of tests..."

Two days later, at Little Luna's room at Canterlot

Little Luna looks up to her sister with a concerned look on her face, "Cece, did I miss anything during my...absence?"

Celestia looks down to her sister, then lays down in front of her with a sigh, "Actually, there were some developments as of late that I should make you aware of. Let me start at the beginning for you..." She then begins to fill her sister on what has been going on in the other world and what they have learned.

The little dark blue princess's eyes grow large with wonder as she hears about a new world, its' inhabitants, and the difference in technology. She then listens to her sister tell her that they do not appear to have magic there and how Cadance and her have been studying them, trying to find a way to bring them to a peaceful solution, "When are you going to be visiting again Cece? Do you think I can come along with you?"

The larger princess smiles softly and then looks at her seriously, "Cadance and I will be going back in a few weeks to see what else we can learn of that world. There are some things over that that you are not ready for at the moment, due to their violent and ugly nature. It will be some time before you are ready to go with us, for now let me help you get up to date on a few changes that happened through the years..."

A few months later, just outside of Ponyville

Twilight and Celestia walk into the ballroom, seeing the room is a wreck with broken pillars lying everywhere and the alicorn statue lying on the ground broken with its head on the other side of Rainbow Dash. Her eyes widen at the ruined pillars, "Well, it can't get any worse..." when the doors burst open and a large group of animals rush into the room as her friend Fluttershy stands in the doorway covered with dirt.

Fluttershy stares at the animals in the room, "You're...going...to love me!" and proceeds to chase them around the room, starting a frenzy and sending other ponies running around the room with animals chasing after some of them.

She looks at the chaos around the room, "Umm...huh?" when Celestia tells her to run and puts her hoof to her mouth and whistles to her friends, getting their attention and make their escape out of the room.

Rarity runs down the stairs until she loses a glass slipper, looks back and quickly rushes up to it and crushes it with her hoof. She then returns to follow her friends and grabs Pinkie, "Let's go!"

Twilight and her friends arrive at Pony Joe's shop, then sighs as she looks to Spike and tells him what happened when she and the girls share a laugh after saying it was, "I just hope Princess Celestia isn't upset with us for ruining the Gala."

Celestia then wanders into the shop with a giggle, "That was the best Grand Galloping Gala ever!" She then stands before her faithful student with an amused expression on her face.

She then hangs her head slightly and looks to her mentor, "Pardon me princess, but tonight was just awful."

The princess chuckles again in amusement, "Don't worry Twilight, the Gala is always awful. I was so thrilled when you all were attending, you surely have livened things up quite a bit. You should always just enjoy yourselves the best you can, because life is short and you have to make the most of it."

An hour passes as Celestia excuses herself from the girls for the night, making her way back to her chambers as she wonders what this Lebensborn Project is that is going on in Germany right now, 'Why is Germany's leader doing things this way?'

March 8, 1936 - A few months later at Canterlot

That morning, at the Canterlot sculpture garden

Cheerilee leads her students through the sculpture garden, telling them about the various statues situated in various places when they get to the statue of Discord, "Now girls, what can you see?" She listens to their answers and looks back at the statue, "This creature is called a Draconequis, they are made up of other different creatures." She watches as a squabble breaks out between three of the students, "This statue represents discord and a lack of harmony in ponies. Since you three have shown such a good example, how about you write me an essay about it. Now follow me, and cease your fighting."

A few hours pass as Celestia informs the girls of Discords history, and how she and her sister defeated him with the elements. She heads over to the tower in the room, "This is where the Elements of Harmony are stored ever since you girls found them, you must wield them and defeat him once more or all of Equestria shall suffer eternal chaos." She pulls the chest out and opens it to see it empty, hearing a sinister laugh coming from somewhere in the room as her eyes rest on a window image of a moving Discord.

Discord moves from image to image, delighted that he is finally free, "Oh Celestia, have you missed me? I know I have missed annoying you..." He then grins and pops up behind her ear and lowers his voice to a whisper, "Did you know that there is a different world out there living in chaos? I have never been there myself, but I would love to just take a vacation and bask in all of the excitement happening all over the world, especially in Germany."

She gasps and lowers her voice in response threateningly, "Don't you dare mention anything like that to anypony, if war breaks out over there and comes over here... It will only bring misery and death to this world."

Time passes by as the girls go after the elements, falling for a few tricks that are left for them and go their separate ways for a little bit. Until Twilight reads through some scrolls and breaks through Discords tricks, turning him back into stone with the help of her friends.

Sometime during August, at Cadance's residence in Canterlot

Cadance watches Shining Armor head off to patrol the halls and makes her way towards Celestia's room to go back to the world where theirs originated from, arriving a few minutes later outside of her private chambers, "It's Cadance your highness, may I come in?"

Celestia puts her book down and then rises out of her chair, "Enter Cadance, I have cancelled day court today because we have much to do."

She opens the door and enters her chambers, closing the door behind her, "Indeed Your Highness, we must continue learning about that world inhabited by those creatures called people. It is unfortunate that they suffered through that last conflict that claimed so many, I wonder how many poor souls were lost in it. Is it true that relations are improving between The Griffon Empire and Equestria?"

The princess walks over to her jewelry box and pulls the focusing necklace out and lays it upon the floor, "Yes it is Cadance, thankfully things calmed down after some negotiations. We may learn more as we continue to search for information during each visit. We may have not learned what those creatures are exactly, but we do know that they call themselves 'people'. We have learned so far that several nations were involved in this war that is called either The Great War or World War One, it also appears that tensions are rising in Europe. We do know that the whole world is suffering a great depression due to the rapid fall of the market prices, and that times are tough for the citizens. We need to decide whether or not it would be better to build a portal to this world and aid them in solving their matters peacefully, or if we should leave their world alone to handle its own affairs." She sits down beside the necklace, waiting for Cadance to have a seat before her.

Cadance makes her way over and sits down near the necklace, "Where do you want to go first Princess Celestia, Germany, England, or perhaps the United States?"

Celestia thinks on it for a moment, "Well we do not know for sure where the United States are, so how about we go to Germany this time and see what the people are so concerned about?"

The light pink alicorn nods and then takes her seat by the necklace, "Okay that sounds reasonable, let's be on our way princess." She places her hoof on the necklace and then channels her magic into it, sending them both to the other world.

At the statue in the city of Verdun

Celestia opens her eyes as she arrives in front of the statue beside Cadance and looks around, hearing a child call out, "Attention, attention, read all about it! Nazi Germany violates treaty once more, and reoccupies the Rhineland!" She then watches as several people rush up and buy a paper, one elderly male walks past them and sits on a nearby bench, then unfolds the paper and begins to search for his glasses. Curious, they both make their way behind him so they can read it as well.

Half an hour passes by as the elderly man finishes reading the last page and folds it back up, rises up off the bench with a heavy sigh while shaking his head, "Les problèmes semblent s'aggraver alors tandis que Hitler reste au pouvoir." He then makes his way back to his home to share the news with his family.

Cadance looks to her for a translation, "What did he say Princess Celestia?"

The princess sighs and then looks back at Cadance, "He said it seems that the issues are getting worse while Hitler remains in power. Let us continue on our way towards this lands' neighbor and learn what we can of that place, perhaps we will discover a way that we can aid them in finding a peaceful solution that will lead to friendship between the nations."

She nods her head in high hopes with a smile on her face and rises into the air on her wings as Celestia joins her, "I sure do wish that the people of this world can all get along with each other, it would upset me if there is nothing that we can do for these beings."

They spend eight hours exploring the various cities of Germany, finding nothing that would lead to a friendship. Disappointed in learning that certain citizens are being singled out and taken away for strange reasons as well as hearing what their leader, Adolf Hitler has planned for their nation. Celestia looks at Cadance with a frown on her face, "Let's return to the Castle, what we learned today in Germany is troubling information. Tomorrow we shall head to England and try to learn what we can, as well as try to find out where the United States are."

Cadance follows after her and sighs in disappointment at the lack of positive information, "I can't understand why that the Nazi Party is the only one allowed to exist, or that they are treating certain others so badly just for being who they are."

A few weeks pass as Cadance and Princess Celestia visit and explore the land known as Great Britain, they learn that it is a land that is crowded with cities, with London being the most populated as well as some of the nearby towns' streets being illuminated by something called electricity. Also learning that other people have been competing over getting awards for achievements in flight by using machines called airplanes, and that a female named Beryl Markham plans on making a solo, non-stop journey from Abingdon to New York on the 16th of September. Each time an 'automobile' passed by them, they watched it with curiosity. They also learn that the land north of Great Britain is called Scotland and the island west of them is called Ireland, learning a few things about the difference between each nation of people.

September 16, 1936 - At the Castle in Canterlot

Cadance walks up to the castle after their fake 'urgent trip to Manehattan' that would take them two weeks at the most to deal with things. She arrives at her door and knocks on it, "Princess Celestia, it's me Cadance, may I come in?"

Celestia smiles and goes to her jewelry box and brings the necklace out, then sets it on the floor, "Please come on in Cadance." She then sits down next to it and waits for her to sit across from her.

She enters the room and sees Celestia already sitting on the floor, waiting to begin their journey, "I apologize for being late Your Majesty, I needed to spend some time with Shiny. Our frequent visits to learn about this other land is consuming a lot of our time together."

The princess looks at her with a gentle smile, "I understand that your courtship with Twilight's brother is being tested, but our visits are important because we need to understand these people from the other world if we are to help them find peace."

Cadance nods her head and sits down beside the necklace, "I know it is up to us to help these other people Princess Celestia, I just worry what would happen if we should fail in our quest." She then places her hoof on the necklace and then starts to concentrate, then opens her eyes as they both appear in London.

Celestia looks at her and wraps a wing around her to comfort her, "I understand you worry for these people, but if we don't succeed this time, we will just have to try again and again until we succeed."

The light pink Alicorn takes to the air to head to where Beryl Markham will be taking off from, "Read all about it, final tally of total casualties during WW1 including civilians left twenty million dead and twenty one million wounded!" Causing tears to well up into her eyes, and her wings to fall to her sides limp as she falls to the ground roughly. She rises onto her hooves as sobs begin to wrack her body at hearing of so many lives being lost in a single war.

The princess rushes over to her and pulls her into a fierce hug, wrapping her wings around her as she also begins to tear up over the number of dead and wounded, "Oh Cadance...I do not understand why so many were lost or injured in such a conflict, but we must try to find a way to bring peace to these people."

The two remain hugging and crying over the sheer number of casualties, lasting five minutes before Cadance calms down a little, "We should continue on and join Beryl Markham on her journey to New York, we wouldn't want to be stuck using our wings to fly the distance when we have no knowledge where the United States is on the map."

Celestia nods her head and then starts to walk away towards their destination, "That would be unfortunate indeed if we missed this opportunity, let us hurry then."

The two make it just in time as they see her on the ground, making her way from the hangar to the plane on the runway. They then hurry past her and examine the machine quickly when the princess realizes that the only possible way to tag along is to be in the cockpit with her. Trying to think of a way to fit into the small space, she turns to Cadance quickly, "We don't have much time, but our only chance is to make ourselves into a small orb and situate ourselves behind the chair."

Cadance watches as Celestia goes first and shows her, transforming into an orb no larger than a large pearl and floats into the space behind the seat. She then does the same and situates herself next to her, "I am surprised that you came up with this when we were short on time." She then hears the airplane begin to activate as something slides closed over top of them.

The princess's orb then shimmers with her words, "I have not used this spell for what seems like ages. We may not have our forms, but we can still hear what is going on around us. I am curious of how long this journey will be, aren't you?"

The light pink orb shimmers in response, "I am curious, it amazes me with these people's creative ways to achieve things without the use of magic."

Nineteen and a half hours later the plane begins to struggle to keep running, causing the pilot to curse and slap the dashboard, "Come on Vega, you can't fail me now. We aren't even over land yet! It has been a long nineteen hours and we got caught up in a storm, making us lose our bearings for a few hundred miles."

Cadance's orb shimmers with a greenish hue to it as her stomach is unsettled due to the rough flight, "Princess, I would have preferred to use our wings to cross the sea rather than this machine! I feel sick to my stomach from being tossed around frequently."

Celestia chuckles softly, "I feel the same way you do Cadance, but we lack the knowledge of where the United States are located exactly. I hope we land on ground at least and not crash into the sea, it would be a great inconvenience to have to try to find our way there on our own."

One hour and a few minutes pass by as the plane's engine sputters as it circles around a small community, causing the pilot to sigh in relief, "We made it girl, I don't know where we are but we are over land. I am gonna set down in that spot over there."

As the plane hits the ground roughly, the pilot leaves the cockpit and gets some fresh air, "Well this sure isn't New York. We must have been further off than I anticipated, time for me to go find out where I landed."

The two see their chance and hastily float out of the machine and return to their pony forms, then start their search by the community.

After a couple hours of walking around the community, they learn that it is called Baleine and is a part of another vast country just north of the United States called Canada.

Cadance then looks at the princess briefly as they fly south of the community and head for the United States, arriving after three hours of flying. The first thing that she sees are the super tall buildings stretching up from the ground, with males walking along beams of structures being built.

Celestia is amazed by the brave people walking on beams so far from the ground, "Earth ponies would be too scared to be at such heights, I wonder what kind of material they use to make these buildings reach such heights."

The two Alicorns explore the vast city of New York, dwarfing Manehattan by being three times its size. They spend six more hours wandering about the city, learning that in the late 1890's a person named George Waring had the streets cleaned of the large piles of waste and garbage that were on nearly every street. As they set up another return point somewhere in the city, they return to Celestia's chambers.

Cadance is still astonished by the size and number of people living in the city, "I still am amazed at the sheer number of inhabitants living in a single city, I did not realize how large this planet's population really was."

The princess looks back at her and then says, "It is much larger than ours that is sure, If the cities of Equestria grew to that size we would have to change how we manage such numbers. It is surprising at how advanced they are compared to us, we should try to press forward as well. Let us try to figure out where we are going to build the portals to this world, it is so vast that we would need a portal to each of the lands."

The light pink Alicorn looks at Celestia, nodding her head, "I agree with you Princess Celestia, would it also be wise to separate the portals to that world from each other due to the rising tensions?"

Celestia thinks on it for a moment and nods her head, "That would be a wise precaution due to the unrest, it would not bode well to have the mirrors in the same room. I suggest that we begin our search for portal sites so we can begin to construct them and then think of how best to make first contact with these people."

The two Alicorns spend a few weeks to find suitable locations to link to mirror portals, deciding on building one just outside the city of New York. After a few days of debate, they both compromise and build one in Belgium, just outside the town of Bruxelles (Brussels).

Four days later, Outside of the Canterlot castle

Cadance makes her way from her room in the castle to continue gathering a last few things for her wedding today, thinking of shat she needs to do when she is struck upside the head. She comes to with a throbbing headache and looks around, finding herself in a cave with many crystals in it. Not knowing where she is for sure, "Hello, is anypony there?" She looks around again and sees a large crystal illuminate with a green glow.

Chrysalis laughs maniacally as she has succeeded in capturing her target, "At last I am making remarkable progress! Worry not little pony, a few of my guards shall be keeping you company and make sure that you behave in your little prison!" She then cancels the spell and goes about executing her next part of the plan with an evil grin on her face.

Later that day after the ceremony, Cadance approaches Princess Celestia, "Today is the happiest day of my life, I married the stallion that I love. Things are starting to get out of hand over there after we attended that re-militarization rally in Germany, but I do wish to have no further visits there so I can focus my attention on having a happy life with my husband. Can you please have Princess Luna take my place during the reconnaissance trips?"

Luna steps up beside Cadance and smiles cheerfully, "Congratulations on joining our family Cadance, I would indeed take your place during those trips so you can enjoy the married life. Speaking of which, I do think that it is time that you two newlyweds get on your way to your honeymoon."

Cadance bows to Princess Luna, "Thank you so much for this opportunity Princess Luna, I too agree that it is time for Shiny and I to be on our way to the honeymoon. Farewell, we shall see you some other time Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."