//------------------------------// // True in Purpose // Story: TiM: Best of Intentions, Worst of Results // by Twidashforever //------------------------------// Ruins of Ponyville The Titan walked. Every step it took caused an earthquake with an epicenter on the spot its foot touched down. Every pony in the army looked at it with dread running down their spines. Even with all the reports and training they suffered through in the last week, reading about something and seeing it are two very different things. Morale crumbled at this sight. No grand speeches would work right now, only one pony could fix this, and as much as he would hate it, Radiant knew exactly what needed to happen now; before they were all lost. Radiant Star ran over to his mom. Princess Cadance looked on in horror at the creature they were now facing. This was the might of a Titan; never before did she truly appreciate exactly what that meant and the fact that Twilight fought one of these Titans, not once, but twice. It both amazed and shocked the princess. So much that she did not even hear the words spoken by her son. “MOM!!” Radiant shouted for the second time as he poked Princess Cadance in the side with his horn. Cadance finally recognized the pony shouting in her ear, she turned around and spoke to her son with fear in her voice. “How do we defeat something like that?” Radiance grabbed her and hugged with all his might. The contact was unusual for the stallion; however, he knew that it was exactly what she needed at this time. The Princess of Love simply needed to be reminded of what they were fighting for. No soldier goes to war for a princess or for their country. While it might sound good to say that you do it for your loved ones back home or for some noble cause, it simply is not true. When you go to war, you do it for your fellow soldiers. You fight for them and you die for them. Because, while you may not like them, they are the ones who have your life in their hooves, as you have theirs in yours. At its most basic, it is the truest form of love. “Remember mom, I love you, and you are not doing this alone. Nopony is.” He touched his horn to hers, spreading that love across the assembled army. Ensuring that everypony knew, without a doubt in their hearts, just why they were fighting, and what the costs were if they failed. It worked, it was so simple, but the best plans usually are. Doubt was removed from the army. Every soldier looked over at the one standing or flying next to them. They knew that they were fighting for each other. While his plan was brilliant, Radiant Star was not counting on one small side effect. This effect was several times more potent in those soldiers who felt something more for one another. For both good and bad. A soldier with somepony to protect is a dangerous foe. For Radiant Star, his attention was immediately drawn to one mare in particular. The Commander of the Cloudsdale forces, Commander Firestar, who was right now, flying at the head of her forces on an attack vector for the Titan. She was already out of range of his voice; she would not hear his cry, but that did not stop him from trying. “FIRESTAR!!!” “Troops! Move in.” Princess Cadance gave the order, her son lost his purpose at that moment and she needed to help him find it again. ……………………………………… Equestrian Airspace Bright Dawn’s self-doubt never went away. He stared forward, thinking, just thinking about everything and nothing all at once. Several times on their way back to Ponyville, Princess Luna would try and strike up a conversation with the stallion. Each time he would simply be lost in thought. The same recurring thought kept going through his head. ‘Would Equestria be better off without Twilight Sparkle?’ ………………………………………… The Southern border of Equestria “Dad, you've got to fly faster!” Ataxia was doing loops around the dragon, despite his speed, despite his Dragon Steel Armor, she was several times faster as a dragacorn then he could ever hope to be. She was bored of this; every part of her wanted to leave him in the dust and rush forward. However, Shimmering Night told her no. She did not want them to separate in case they needed raw force, Night already did not like how much distance they were ahead of the rest of the armada. While Ataxia was fast in the air, she did not yet have the basic nuances of flight down yet. Several times Spike had to swerve to avoid colliding with his daughter. “Ataxia, you have to relax. You read the letter, and you know the Titan is here.” “Assuming he’s telling the truth.” Ataxia grunted as she landed on her dad’s back. “Well, if he wasn’t, we brought all that for no reason.” Siros gestured behind Ataxia and Night; Spike was about five miles ahead of the largest air armada in Equestria history; every single dragon and griffin that was capable of flight was directly behind them. Even at this distance it was easy to make them out. It was a sight for the ages. “I don’t think we have to worry about if he is lying or not.” At Spike’s comment, every set of eyes turned forward. While they were still quite far away, a new mountain was visible in the distance. However, it was plain to see that this was not a normal one, for this mountain was moving. “Ataxia, can you sense her?” Night had no need to say exactly who she was talking about. “Yes, I can.” This new form increased Ataxia’s magic in ways she had yet to fully understand. Ataxia’s strength and speed were already several times more powerful than before. However, her magic was still an unknown to the dragacorn. Even before this new form, she could easily sense Twilight’s location. It was hard to miss the most powerful magic user in the world. Now she could track her movements with scary accuracy and from great distances when she focused hard enough. “Go, warn her.” Night’s command came without doubt or hesitation. This was the second time in her life a Titan stood on Equestrian soil. The cost of the first time was still being tallied. She did not want that to happen again, especially with what was at stake. Ataxia nodded in agreement and took off faster than a bullet. It would be noted afterwards that she was the third pony this generation to do a sonic rainboom. ……………………………………… The Frozen North “How much farther, Rainbow?” “God Twi, why don’t you just ask if we're there yet over and over?” Memories of trips with the kids sprung to both of their minds, while Rainbow laughed, Twilight took offence. “Because, I’m not a foal.” Rainbow chuckled. “Good thing about that too, otherwise I'd be in jail.” “Yeah you would.” Twilight said with a snarky grin. Rainbow hugged Twilight tighter in her hooves and kissed her. “I can go faster if you want, but it will get cold.” “Well, as long as you hold me tighter.” “As the princess commands.” Rainbow squeezed Twilight even tighter and applied an extra burst of speed. ………………………………………………………. Ruins of Ponyville Radiant watched dumbstruck as the pegasi engaged the Titan. He hated to admit it, or even to say it, but their maneuvers were perfect. Operating in teams of twenty the pegasi flew in perfect formation, each supporting the others. Flying around the Titan as it flung its arms about wildly. Not one pegasi was hit. Not one fell to its breath attack. They were trained and trained well by their Commander; however, that was his problem. Commander Firstar was always right where the fighting was thickest. Her squadron was at its head. Her group attacked the Titan’s eyes by throwing spears and blades at it. Several times he saw a group of pegasi land on top of its head and buck it as hard as they could. “Do you see?” The question startled the prince so much that he almost jumped out of his skin. Radiant Star turned sharply and looked at the pony who just said that. Princess Cadance stared smartly at her son and repeated the question. She knew exactly what he was staring at... who he was staring at. “Do you see?” “See what?” “Her.” “It’s all I can see.” Radiant’s eyes went back to watching the commander at work; he cringed every time something would almost happen to her. As he watched, understanding finally dawned over the stallion; Commander Firestar was a natural. She expertly dodged attack after attack, and he watched as she led her team on another pass. It was like watching a professional painter at work on his greatest masterpiece. She was a master in the air; her command obeyed without question by those under her. It was obvious how she became the Captain of the Wonderbolts, and why Princess Luna selected her over all the other candidates to replace the former Commander Tsunami. She lived and breathed this; it was what she did. "I tried to order to her stop." Radiant’s jaw hung open at that realization. “Oh, mom... what did I do?” Depression was evident in his voice, as the full effect of what occurred finally hit him. "I loved her, and she me. How could I be so stupid?” Princess Cadance wrapped a hoof and hugged her son as strong as she could. “It’s not too late, son.” “Yes it is, she doesn’t love me anymore.” Cadance pulled back from the hug and looked her son in the face; to her surprise tears were falling down his face. It was the first time she seen him cry since Shining Armor passed on. “I know why you did what you did; I thought about doing the same to Shining Armor. However, to these ponies that we love, this is who they are. Asking them to change that, asking them to go against their very nature? It's selfish. However, I know for a fact what you said is not true and I think you know it too.” He turned and looks at his mom. “What’s not true?” “She does love you.” He stared down and looked at his hooves. “No she doesn’t, she hates me.” “You’re right about that.” He stared up at her in shock at that comment. “She hates you, that’s for sure, after what you did. I hate you for that too. However, we BOTH still love you. I can sense it from here; I sensed it last night when she left. I know it for a fact.” “How do I get her back?” “You may not be able to.” He stared at her in shock at that. “What, what do you mean?” “Just what I said, you may not be able to get her back, you insulted who she is, you insulted her honor, and you insulted her. Then you tried to force her to do exactly what you wanted her to do, even though it was so repugnant to her, by pulling rank. She rightly called you out on it. The possibility exists that the damage might be too great to repair.” He looked down to his hooves, defeated. “So, there is no hope.” Cadance raised his muzzle with a hoof. “There is always hope. If you want her back go show her that you do love her, show her who you really are. Vow to yourself that every moment of this life will be spent trying to be the stallion she deserves. You are both one in a million. Prove it to her and make her see the real you, the you only I know. Even if it takes the rest of your life to earn her forgiveness, never stop trying. Make that your purpose in life. Even if you fail, you will have no regrets of not trying.” He looked up at his mom, she finally saw it again, the side of her son that had been missing ever since Shining Armor fell in battle, the resolve in his eyes was back. “Thanks mom.” She smiled as she watched her son run off to fight a Titan for the mare of his dreams. It was the last direction she wanted him to go. However, it was where his heart needed him to be. In many ways, Cadance actually felt sorry for the Titan: her son had found his true purpose and that Titan stood in his way. Her thoughts were interrupted by the approach of a very powerful magical force from the south. Something that was easily the level of an alicorn was approaching and fast. Turning back she looked at the Titan. If this new force was hostile, their forces would be caught fighting both of them; defeat was assured if that happened. Princess Cadance took off, silently cursing Princess Luna for not making it back already. She would meet this newcomer head on, if it was hostile, she would deal with it herself. …………………………………………… Warclaw “What’s going on?” “Welcome back, emperor.” “Hey princess, how long was I out?” Aurora rolled her head to the right and looked at the clock on the wall. “About ten hours.” “Ten hours!” Icarus tried to get up; doing so caused the griffin unspeakable pain as he managed to pull the needles out of his leg and several wires from his chest. “Ow.” Was all he could say to that bonehead move. “Dumbass.” “What happened to emperor?” “Emperor Dumbass.” Icarus tried to laugh, but doing so only caused him to realize that his sides hurt, a lot. Fortunately for the emperor pulling out some of those wires alerted the attendants that something was wrong. A team of nurses came in and reattached everything. After a few minutes of checking up on him they informed Icarus that a doctor will be in when he can to do an official check up, then they were gone. Aurora watched him squirm when they reattached the needles with a smile on her muzzle, after they left she asked. “So, what happens now?” “What do you mean?” “I mean between us, what happens between us?” “I'm not following you.” She glared at the griffin, Icarus did his best to pretend he did not know, however, it was obvious to the pegasus he was faking. “You kissed me you jerk. What happens next?” He was visibly blushing when she said that, the griffin turned his head away from Aurora. “It wasn’t intentional.” He barely whispered the words. “What was that?” “It wasn’t intentional.” Icarus spoke a little louder; however, it was not loud enough for Aurora to hear. “One more time.” “I said it didn’t mean anything, it was a stupid heat of the moment thing. I could never love a pony.” He heard a noise that should not be possible. Glancing over, Emperor Icarus of the Griffin Empire stared on in shock as Princess Aurora Flash got out of her bed. He watched her legs wobble as they were still injured from her fall. It was only by grabbing onto the bed that she was able to stand at all. He felt sympathetic pain as she pulled every IV from her legs out in one fell swoop. It should have hurt; there should have been grunting and crying coming from the mare. However, her face betrayed none of that. She slowly walked around the bed, taking careful steps to ensure that she did not fall over. Icarus would never forget that expression on her face for as long as he lived. Her face was the definition of determination. Whatever this mare wanted, she would get it. He held hopes that the gaps between the beds would stop her. Briefly, he wondered why the emperor had to share a room with any griffin or pony for that matter. There must have been many casualties to cause this. His hopes were dashed. This mare, Aurora Flash, crossed her way from one bed to another through sheer determination. He could no longer avoid her gaze. He could no longer pretend she was not standing over him. Icarus turned his head to face her and glared. “What?” Princess Aurora Flash, Daughter to Equestrian Royalty, and one of the fastest flyers in the world, leaned down and kissed him. Emperor Icarus wanted to scream out for her to stop, he wanted to rage against it, he wanted to cry rape. Actually, he did not want to do any of those things, he wanted this moment to go on forever. Seconds were minutes, minutes were hours, and hours became days. He did not care. As far as Emperor Icarus was concerned, those lips were all that mattered. The rest of the world can and should buck off. He never wanted this moment to end. As with all things, the kiss did come to an end. It ended when the team of nurses came back in and interrupted the two. They helped Aurora back to her bed and reconnected everything. He could not help but notice the smiles and grins on their faces as they glanced over to him lying on the bed. When the last of them left, Aurora commented on the situation. “Well now that we have that bullshit excuse out of the way, I'll ask again: What happens now?” Icarus was completely out of excuses. This flew in the face of everything he knew, he had no game plan for this scenario, all he knew, the only thing that he wanted was for that feeling to happen again, and to keep happening for the rest of his life. “I have no idea.” “Well, let me take this time to warn you about my mom, and then I’ll fill you in with everything the doctors told me happened after we were taken to this room." …………………………………………… South of Ponyville “Stop right there!” The command came from a very unexpected source, so much so that Ataxia actually obeyed. It was then she saw the source of the words. Princess Cadance flew straight at her. From the look on her face Ataxia could not say for sure if Cadance was about to attack her or hug her. “Princess Cadance?” Cadance stopped altogether, shocked that this creature knew her name. “Who are you?” “Wait? You don’t recognize me?” Ataxia face-clawed as she realized that she did not look quite herself. “Oh, yeah right, it’s me, Ataxia.” “Ataxia?” Princess Cadance did not look convinced. “There's no time to explain, I have to tell Twilight about Tartarus’s plans.” Cadance looked back at the fight with the Titan, those ponies were dying now. Even if this was Ataxia, she owed it to them to take no risks. “Then give me the short and sweet. I cannot afford blind trust right now.” Ataxia raged against that, however, she took a few deep breaths to try and calm down. She knew that the quickest way to get the warning to Twilight would be to tell Cadance what happened. “Alright, here is the condensed version. It started when…” …………… The first casualty was a unicorn squad. Despite the orders to stay at maximum range, one squad moved forward. They paid for it with their lives. In a stomp, ten ponies were dead. Crushed under the foot of a Titan, they would not be the last to go. The earth ponies operated catapults, each one flinging heavy rocks at the creature as fast as they could reload them. It was fruitless, it was all fruitless. One shot in a hundred would hit a vital spot, and none of those did the sort of damage needed to affect the Titan. Only the pegasi seemed to get a response from the creature. Commander Firestar trained them well, as she based their training on the reports filed by those who saw the first conflict. “Thank you, Celestia.” Firestar spoke. She memorized the highly detailed reports Celestia wrote about the first Titan. “For everything.” Celesta’s death affected everypony in Equestria. Some tried to use it for personal gain; others simply bottled it up and moved on. Several fell into melancholy. Firestar sought a different approach: she wanted revenge. On who was the question. When this enemy presented itself, she finally had her answer of whom she could blame. Of course, the one thing she never counted on, the one thing she gave up on, was finding a special somepony. Ever since she was little Firestar dreamed of the Wonderbolts; she guessed it had something to do with her mom being the Captain. Spitfire took her to every performance they did. Before she even had her cutie mark, Firestar was a natural at flying. She would often sit in on their practices and do a little herself. She qualified to join them at twelve years old, and was a full-fledged member as soon as she was old enough. Firestar dedicated herself afterwards to that one dream. She single-mindedly threw herself into it. Nothing else mattered but being the best. Several times a member of the squad or a fan would ask her out on a date. She never gave it a second thought. Hers was a life for the Wonderbolts and that was it. When Captain Spitfire retired, nopony objected to her appointment to that slot. She earned it the hard way, the right way. Firestar remembered Spitfire crying when she hugged her after. While Spitfire never liked sitting on the sidelines for anyone, seeing her daughter follow her hoofsteps by her own merit was the second proudest moment of her life. Then he came. Firestar never had much interaction with the dignitaries of the Crystal Empire before, other than a few meet and greets. She always took Prince Radiant as another stuck up brat of Royalty. Everypony knew the exploits of Prince Blueblood and one prince was exactly like another, or so she thought. Firestar would always remember the moment he called her cute. It was small, it was slight, but it flipped a switch in her. In that one word, she viewed him in a whole new light. She saw his strengths and weakness for something new. She felt odd, a feeling she never knew before, or was it a feeling she never allowed herself to know before? She remembered Princesses Cadance ‘inviting’ her down to the Crystal Palace to have tea. It was the oddest request Firestar ever got. Unexpectedly, a Princess of Equestria wanted to have tea with her. She could not say no. As the Commander of Cloudsdale, it was her duty to play politics. Even if she hated every second of such trivialities. As expected, the tea session was quite boring. They talked about everything and nothing all at the same time. Then, at five minutes to three, Cadance suggested they go for a walk. Down the hallway, Cadance preceded to politely excuse herself to go freshen up. Waiting for her to return, Prince Radiant finished his training session and walked out the door, right next to where she waited. It was obvious looking back on it that Cadance played a masterful game on her. The tea, the conversation, and the ‘freshening up;’ It was all too cause that one moment to occur. If she did not love every minute of what followed, Firestar would have been mad at her. However, Radiant seemed to strike every right cord with Firestar. He was charming, witty, and funny. He was serious, hardworking, and dedicated. Sadly, it later turned out he was also bucking stupid. Firestar was almost over him, she threw herself back into her work with reckless abandon, and even disobeyed his command with the threat of treason hanging over her head. It seemed to work as Firestar could almost go an hour without thinking about him. Then Radiant and Cadance cast that damn spell. She could feel the pull of it. She knew why it was cast, as even the sight of a Titan affected her own troop’s moral. That knowledge did not make it any easier to bear. She loved him; she knew that without a doubt now. However, she told him she did not, not anymore. It was a lie and she knew it. The damn stallion was still on her mind and in her heart. Yes she loved him, but she still hated him. Prince Radiant Star betrayed her in every way that mattered, even ordering her to stay at Cloudsdale. Though, if she was being honest with herself, she could forgive all that, what she could not forgive was his intent. The Prince was simply looking for a good place to die. It was evident the more she thought about it. He was an expert sword fighter; he was a master offensive tactician. However, none of these things was for defense, none of these things protected, as they all attacked. No wonder he could never manage Shining Armor’s shield spell. He did not care if he lived, as long as his opponent dies. Firestar could never be with a pony like that, one simply looking for a good death, even if he was the gallant prince of her dreams. All she had left was her purpose; she would fulfill that until she could no longer. That would have to be enough.