//------------------------------// // An Evening of Disappointment // Story: The Best Intentions // by SpearmintSonnet //------------------------------// The setting sun cast its dying rays across the beautiful capital of the Crystal Kingdom, igniting the gigantic crystal that served as the castle into a myriad of brilliant oranges, yellows and reds until the enormous structure appeared to be a frozen pillar of flame. The snow that covered the kingdom was painted a striking crimson, and the frost that adorned the windows of the castle shimmered in the shifting light of the sunset; in all, the castle was the picture of late winter beauty, sparkling and shining in its frigid blanket of snow. But all of that beauty was lost on one lanky lavender dragon, who's entire focus was cast upon the tall armored pony who stood before her. Her claws were bunched into fists and planted firmly on her hips as she met his gaze evenly, a frown creasing the scales of her forehead. “I told you, Princess Cadence will be at the banquet tonight!” “That's what you said last time-” “I know!” “And the time before that.” “I-” “And the time before that.” “Captain Iron Point!” “All I'm saying is that we cannot insult Princesses Celestia and Luna. If Princess Cadence does not make an appearance, it could be disastrous.” The armored pony looked gravely at the smaller dragon. “You know that, Claudia.” The lavender dragon sighed, rubbing the back of her neck with a claw, “I know. And she will be there tonight. I promise.” “Don't promise anything. Just make sure she's there.” As the guard pony moved off down the hall to check on his soldiers, Claudia moved deeper into the castle towards the royal wing. As her claws clicked softly on the crystal floors, the dragon thought back to when Cadence had cared about matters of state. Back to before Prince Silver Scales had appeared and stolen her heart. Then, Princess Cadence would never have dared to not make an appearance when royalty from other kingdoms visited. Not that it happened very regularly, the Crystal Kingdom was quite far north, but that made it even more important. But since spring, Cadence and Silver Scales had been inseparable. Both seemed content to spend every waking moment in the others' company, leaving the particulars of ruling the kingdom to Claudia. And at first, the dragon had welcomed the work. She relished in the tasks at hand, even enjoying most of them, but it quickly became apparent that she could not handle everything indefinitely. There were certain tasks that the dragon could not do- such as meet with foreign dignitaries. That was something only the Princess could, and she was ignoring these responsibilities. But that's all in the past now. Cadence will realize just how important this is! And if she doesn't, I'm positive Silver Scales will. He's not an idiot. With a confident nod, she continued down the hall to the princess's quarters. The Royal Equestrian Sisters would be arriving soon, and Cadence needed to get ready. ~~~ The great hall was filled to bursting with ponies, nobles and commoners alike were seated around long wooden tables. Serving ponies wove between the tables, offering food and drink to those who desired them. Noise filled the large chamber, reverberating off of the high vaulted crystal ceiling. It seemed as if every pony in the kingdom had gathered at the palace this evening. At the far end of the room sat a smaller, raised table where two regal alicorns sat. One was white with a long and vibrant pink mane that flowed gently in the still air. The other was a dark violet with a shorter teal mane that perfectly matched her eyes. They were the Royal Sisters of Equestria- Princesses Celestia and Luna, honored guests of the Crystal Kingdom. They spoke quietly to each other amid the noise and ruckus around them, Celestia's horn glowing softly as she poked at her food. Luna, on the other hoof, was too tense to eat, or even poke at her food. Shifting irritably, she kept glancing at the large double doors at the front of the room. “She sure is taking her sweet time!” The younger princess's voice was tinged with agitation. “I'm sure she has a good reason for being late, dear sister.” The taller alicorn ruffled her wings slightly, “Princess Cadence has never ignored us before, why would she start now?” “I suppose you are right...” but Luna's fluffed wings did not lay flat, nor did her gaze waver from the closed doors. Slowly the minutes ticked by and the tension in the room continued to mount. Celestia lost all interest in her meal and began staring intently at the two great doors across the room from her, as if she could will Princess Cadence through them. Just then a cool purple aura surrounded both doors and they slowly swung outward. As if this was a silent cue, the room grew quiet and everypony turned expectantly. For a long moment everything was totally silent, but then a rapid clacking could be heard. Luna glanced questioningly at her sister, but Celestia just shrugged. A young dragon then came running into the room, hurrying up to the high table, she stopped and bowed low to the two alicorns. “I... I must apologize to Your Highnesses for My Lady, Princess Cadence. You see...” “It is quite alright, young one,” Celestia smiled down at the young dragon, “I'm sure your princess has quite a good reason for being late.” “No, Your Highness,” now Claudia looked very embarrassed, her cheeks flushed a bright pink. “Princess Celestia... Princess Luna... I regret to inform you that Princess Cadence is quite ill and cannot be in attendance tonight. She...” the dragon sighed, “she bids me apologize on her behalf, seeing as you have flown so far to be here tonight.” The younger princess narrowed her eyes, “Your princess knew we'd be coming months ago, dragon, how is it she chose this night to be ill! And on top of that, how dare she keep us waiting...” “Luna,” Celestia gave her sister a sharp look before turning back to the young dragon, “My younger sister brings up a good point. Why did you not inform us immediately upon our landing that she was ill?” Claudia looked up at the white alicorn, “She hoped to be well enough by the evening to greet you. Unfortunately, that was not the case.” Celestia nodded then asked, “What of Prince Silver Scales?” “He refuses to leave Cadence's side for even a moment. He is afraid that she is worse than the doctors say...” bowing again, Claudia began backing away from the table, “My deepest apologies, Princesses.” Quickly she left the main hall without another word. The great doors closed behind her with a resounding boom that lingered in the air for several minutes. ~~~ Though the two sisters stayed for the rest of the banquet, they refused Claudia's offer to stay at the palace through the night. Stepping out of the winter air and into their carriage, Luna's wings were bristling. “I cannot believe her! Ill my left hoof! She's purposefully scorning us!” “Now Luna, we do not know that. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza may very well be sick.” Celestia was calm and diplomatic as she said it, but as she gazed out over the snow-bound city, she did not believe it. The younger sister sat back with an angry huff, her emotions stirring up, “Perhaps I should not have come... She may actually believe what some ponies say about me...” Celestia turned to her sister, confusion written on her face, “whatever do you mean?” “Oh it's nothing...” Luna's eyes became distant and she did not say another word, no matter what Celestia tried. As the carriage flew off, drawn by six pegasi stallions, the young lavender dragon moved away from the entry hall, her cheeks still hot as she thought back over the other rulers Cadence had ignored over the past months. While they were all powerful in their own rights, none were as powerful as the rulers of Equestria. This was the last straw. Drawing herself up to her full height, Claudia moved purposefully though the castle halls to the princess's quarters. She didn't even knock as she entered, being the princess's personal scribe and best friend from her youth gave the dragon special privileges. She found the happy couple enthralled with the others' gaze, their eyes locked on each other as they talked quietly, snuggling on the bed. Angrily, Claudia tapped her claws on the floor until it became painfully obvious that neither had noticed her entrance. “Princess Cadence!” the pink pegasus raised her head in surprise as the dragon shouted her name. “Yes? What is it?” “We need to talk,” Claudia moved to stand in front of Cadence, trying to move her attention away from Silver Scales. “Do you have a moment?” “Well...” Cadence looked longingly at the prince, “is it really that important? Can it not wait until morning, at least?” “Yes it is that important, and no I will not wait until tomorrow. This is quite important and cannot wait. Not even a minute longer, Princess.” With a short sigh of vexation and an apologetic look to Silver Scales, Cadence rose from the bed and followed Claudia. “I'll be right back, love.” “I'll be here, Cadie.” The gray stallion smiled sadly. As the door closed behind the two women, Cadence turned to Claudia, “What is it? Make it quick, Claudia.” Her scales bristling on the back on her neck, Claudia nodded tersely, “Very well, I'll get right to the point. You're ignoring the kingdom and what needs to be done!” “Nonsense, I care very much about my kingdom, Claudia! How could you say I'm ignoring it! If I'm a little distracted, that's to be expected! I'm in love.” Cadence brushed her off and tried to move back to the door, but the dragon stopped her. “I'm not done!” Claudia moved between the princess and the door. “You're right, you're in love, but you can't let the kingdom fall apart!” “And I'm not, thanks to you! You've been covering for me quite well and I thank you.” The princess smiled although she would not meet her friend's gaze. She tried to move passed, but Claudia stopped her again. “I'm still not done, Cadence! You've been neglecting your duties as a princess!” Cadence turned away from the door and began pacing the small room, “Are you saying you can't handle everything, Claudia?” The princess looked worried, but it seemed hollow. “I was under the impression that you could.” “Cadence, there are things...” the dragon growled angrily as Cadence tried to move around her again to get to the door. “Cadence!” Claudia grabbed her friend's snout between her claws and made the princess face her. “What is wrong with you?” The princess's eyes looked far away and the dragon gave her a little shake. “All you think about is Prince Silver Scales! You have a kingdom to run! But you don't even care that you might have angered the two most powerful ponies in the world! I can't believe you asked me to tell Princesses Celestia and Luna that you were sick and couldn't attend the banquet tonight!” With a huff Claudia moved away from the door at last. “But I've kept you too long.” Now the dragon's voice was hard and terse. “Go back to your prince, Mi Amore. I have work to do.” Cadence smiled at her friend, laying a hoof on her shoulder for a moment as she passed. “Don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure something out.” The dragon's eyes narrowed before she closed them with a sigh and rubbed her forehead, “yeah... I suppose I'll have to.” Claudia pushed open the door out onto the hall and began walking back towards the study where she would sequester herself for the rest of the evening as she tried in vain to catch up with the ever-mounting pile of paperwork that would greet her. As she walked, a tall stallion came into step with her. As he opened his mouth to speak, Claudia raised a claw and interrupted him, “I don't want to hear it, Iron Point. I know. I messed up.” The older stallion was quiet for a long moment as they walked before he said, “that isn't what I was going to say.” Claudia tensed up a moment before realizing that he'd said, “wait, it wasn't?” “No. I wanted to ask if you thought there was anything... wrong. With Cadence, I mean.” “Well, other than ignoring her duties because she's in love, I haven't noticed anything.” The guard captain nodded, “I see... but I'm worried, Claudia.” “So am I,” the dragon agreed. “If this keeps up, who knows what will happen? I can't keep ruling forever. One of these days some up-and-coming Lord or King is going to realize that our country is completely defenseless and attack. And with Cadence ignoring our allies and alienating us, we'll be powerless to stop them. Especially if the spells protecting the country are not renewed. I keep hoping that she will pull herself out of it, but with each week that goes by...” Claudia sighed. “I'm afraid that she's fallen so deeply in love with Prince Silver Scales that she'll never come back to her senses.” “You're right, but do you think there's anything we can do?” The young dragon was quiet a moment before she sighed, “I... I don't know, Iron Point. I really just don't know. I thought this visit from Celestia and Luna would bring Cadence back. Now... I'm just not sure anything will. Perhaps preparations for the Crystal Fair might bring her back, but at this point...” “At this point we can't expect that to be the case,” the captain finished as the dragon tapered off. “Yes...” The two were quiet until they reached the room Claudia was headed towards. Placing a claw on the door, Claudia started to enter when Iron Point asked, “What happens if we can't bring her back?” The dragon was silent, her claws digging into the wooden door, “I think you know the answer to that question, Captain... The Crystal Kingdom falls.”