The Best Intentions

by SpearmintSonnet

A Long Walk to Tread

Chapter 11: A Long Walk to Tread:

The council meeting the next day seemed to be dragging on longer than usual. There were no clocks in the long room, but the passage of time could be estimated by the sun's slow journey through the sky outside the great stain glass windows. Cadence kept glancing at the tall windows, hoping that midday, and a brief respite from the loud and angry voices of the councilponies, would come soon.

Celestia was weathering the torrent of angry conversation only marginally better than her niece. Her features calm and serene, there was a darkened look to her eyes as she watched and listened to her council argue. Finally, when it seemed like the volume in the hall could rise no farther, Celestia stood, slamming her hooves against the tiled floor. “Listen to yourselves!” Her voice rose over the others like a wave, crashing down upon the council, bringing silence in its wake. “I have never heard so much anger and discord in this room! I say again, listen to yourselves. Discussion about the issue at hoof has been lost to petty banter of which lord or lady will look down upon the council for its ultimate decision. Yet no decision has been reached!

“What I have to say next may shock you, as it is not well known throughout the world. The spell that protects the Crystal Kingdom from harm does more than that- it protects each and every pony who lives, laughs, and plays under the sun. The kingdom is called “Crystal” not only because of the unique traits of the native ponies that make them sparkle in the sunlight, nor for the beautiful crystals that grow naturally in the far north. The Crystal Kingdom is called such because it's magic is like a multifaceted gem that reflects light across the rest of the world.” Celestia's horn lit up and a small purple crystal that had been sitting unassumingly to her right was lifted up and set on the table in the middle of the council. “If the kingdom is filled with light and love, these feelings are reflected across our world.” Her horn flared, sending a burst of white light into the crystal that was reflected around the room as a rainbow. “But if fear and hatred take hold, these emotions are also reflected, with equal power.” This time her horn flared black and a shadow like magic struck the crystal, sending shadows crisscrossing around the once glowing room.

“These feelings must already be taking hold in the kingdom if my council is filled with strife and hatred. Therefore, this is no longer an argument of whether or not we send aid to the Crystal Kingdom, but rather how quickly can we strike out against this threat to our peace.” The princess stood tall as she looked out over the council, her wings flared at her sides, “However, if an agreement cannot be reached by the end of today, Luna and I will be heading north to take care of this problem ourselves. We will respect the council's lack of decision and leave our soldiers here to defend our own borders against Steelshod, but some action must be taken, and the sooner the better.”

Lord Blueblood stood as Celestia sat back in her chair, “Would you have us be leaderless if something were to go wrong in the Crystal Kingdom?”

Celestia met his questing gaze with a steady one, “The Laws of Succession are set up in such a way that Equestria will never be without a leader in the case of untimely death.”

“What if ponies begin to think that you are unfit to rule as you will flippantly go off and leave us defenseless?”

“Do you think that, Blueblood?” Celestia asked, her eyes narrowing and her voice rising, “Do you think that by leaving the whole of our army here in Equestria is leaving you defenseless? Or do you believe that I am unfit to rule because I will go out of my way to protect not just our kingdom, but the entire world from a threat that, if left unchecked, could herald the return of the Spirit of Discord?”

Lord Blueblood shifted on his hooves, but did not stand down, “all I am saying is think about how this looks to your subjects, Princess...”

“You cannot sway my hoof in this matter, Blueblood,” Celestia said, her voice hard, “I have made my decision and you cannot change it. However, if it would make you sleep easier at night, the Elements of Harmony will be left here, at the disposal of the Celestial Guard.” She kept to herself that the only ponies in Equestria that could wield the Elements were herself and Luna, but this still seemed to pacify Lord Blueblood as he returned to his seat. Celestia turned to the rest of the council, “Does anyone else have reason to protest my decision?”

The room was quiet for just over a minute before Celestia nodded and dismissed the council for midday. They would reconvene in an hour's time to begin discussion of the new developments Celestia had brought forth as well as how they would choose to act upon them. In short, politics would resume, and Cadence was still not looking forward to it.

~~~

The later evening found Cadence in her rooms at the palace shifting uncomfortably in brilliantly polished bronze armor that Princess Celestia had commissioned for her. It fit perfectly over her shoulders and back, but she still felt uncomfortable wearing the armor. “I'm not a soldier,” she sighed to her friend, the lavender dragon who sat on the edge of the plush bed. “I can't fight, so what's the point of giving me armor?”

“The Princess probably wants to keep you safe, especially if things get dangerous. It wouldn't do the Crystal Kingdom a bit of good if you were...” the dragon paused a moment before continuing slowly and haltingly, “if you were... injured... accidentally in battle.”

Cadence turned to her friend, the plate armor clanking awkwardly, “You... you think it's possible we might see fighting? That there might be a war?”

Claudia's gaze shifted worriedly, “I don't know, Cadence, but I suppose it's possible... I mean, the council members sure thought it was possible...”

“But my ponies aren't fighters, they're farmers! And the guard is loyal to me, they won't fight Celestia if I'm with her. What else could Pri- King Sombra fight us with?”

“That is the question,” Claudia sighed, sliding off the bed and motioning to Cadence's armor, “You probably don't need to wear that anymore. It can't be comfortable to sleep in. I'll help you out of it, if you want.”

“No, that's okay Claudia,” Cadence sighed, her horn lighting up with a violet magic, “Celestia says I should practice my magic while I can and levitation is the easiest.” Slowly a similar aura of purple bloomed around the clasp that held the armor on her back. With equal slowness, the buckle came undone as Cadence's horn flared even brighter. “Gah!” the pink alicorn gasped as she let go of the magic, “Why is this so hard? I've seen fillies do much more with hardly any effort!”

“It's an ability they were born with,” Claudia mused, stepping forward to lift the heavy metal armor off Cadence's back. “And they practice all the time. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually.”

“Right,” Cadence sighed as she pulled the thick cloth shirt that kept the armor from chaffing her back and sides over her head, being careful not to rip it on her horn. “I still feel rather stupid needing so much focus to do simple levitation.”

Claudia just smiled and shook her head as she lifted and set the armor on the half-ponyquin standing in the corner. “You'll learn, don't worry. It's like learning another language, you don't pick it up over night.”

The pink alicorn just snorted noncommittally and continued to pace slowly around her room.

“How did things go in Council today?” Claudia asked, trying to take her friend's mind off her lack of success with magic.

Cadence shook her head and flopped onto the bed. After nearly two months of negotiations and pointless arguing, the nuances of Council were beginning to wear on the princess. “They finally agreed to allow Celestia and Luna bring a regiment of unicorns and pegasi north.”

“Only a regiment?” Claudia asked. “Are they serious?”

“Well, the Council seems to think that if two alicorns can't take care of Sombra, no amount of army would make a difference.”

“Three alicorns,” the purple dragon reminded her friend with a small smile.

“Might as well be only two since I can barely use my magic,” Cadence sighed. “They also want this to be as quiet as possible, so the fewer soldiers gone, the better.”

Claudia sighed, “Well, I suppose that makes sense. So, now that they've given permission, when do we leave?”

Slowly the princess sat up and turned to her friend, “Claudia... I...” she took a deep breath, what she was about to say, what she knew she had to say, was tearing her apart inside, but she could not shake the image of Captain Iron Point's dead body slumped over the jutting crystal. “Claudia, I don't want you to come with me back to the Crystal Kingdom.”

“What?” The purple dragon turned away from where she had been cinching the armor to the ponyquin. “You can't be serious, Cadence! Of course I'm coming back with you!”

“No... no, you can't...” Cadence felt tears prick at the edges of her vision. “Be-because if you do... Sombra could kill you... or threaten to... to make me... make me do what he wants...”

“Did Celestia put you up to this?” Claudia asked, her claws balled into fists at her sides. “This isn't funny, Cadence.”

“No... Celestia never said anything about you coming or not... this...” Cadence sighed heavily before continuing, her voice hollow, “I can't watch you die... You're the only one I have left... Sombra killed Iron Point and Sharp Retort just because they were trying to protect me.” Lifting herself from the bed, she walked to her friend, placing hooves on her shoulders, “I won't let him kill you... and staying here is the only option.”

Claudia turned her face away, trying to keep her own tears from falling. “But who will protect you if I cannot?”

Cadence wrapped her hooves around her friend, “Celestia and Luna will be there to protect me, as well as Equestria's finest soldiers. I couldn't be in safer hooves. Besides... I do not think Sombra will try and kill me. He wants me alive, after all. He cannot have a dead princess as his bride.”

“You're not thinking of...” Claudia was interrupted by a soft sigh from Cadence.

“Of course not... but if it keeps me alive to see you again, I will let Sombra think whatever he will.” There was a long pause between the two friends before Cadence stepped back and smiled weakly.” We will defeat him in the end. We have to... for the sake of the Crystal Kingdom.”

Claudia nodded. “Very well... I will stay here.”

“Thank you, Claudia... thank you...”

~~~

Later that evening, in the coldest hours of the night, Cadence stood shivering at the head of a contingent of guards alongside Celestia and Luna. All were encased in metal armor- Celestia's was gold, Luna's a deep purple that was just darker than her coat, and Cadence's was still the shimmering bronze. The unicorn soldiers before them wore a mix of the day-guard's gold armor and the purple-black armor of the night-guard. Above them in the air was a small unit of pegasi who wore a bright blue armor with bright gold lightning bolts emblazoned on the shoulders and flanks. They were the elite of the pegasi guards, the best of the best, the Wonderbolts. Celestia had specifically asked them to be part of their small invading army despite the council's protests, but when she had threatened to take the Elements of Harmony instead, all complaints were quieted.

The leader of the Wonderbolts was a small pegasi mare by the name of Lightning Dazzle. She quietly broke away from the rest of her unit to land before the three Princesses. She bowed to each then turned to Celestia, “it is best if we head out now. Everything is in place and the sooner we leave, the sooner we can reach the Crystal Kingdom.”

“Very well, Commander,” Celestia nodded, “lead on, but we must skirt the Griffon Kingdoms. King Orrik Skybeak would not take kindly to even the smallest army passing through his lands.”

“Very well, your highness.” with a silent flap of her wings she was airborne again. As one the army turned and began moving towards the main gate of the palace that already stood open for them. Celestia extended her wings and took off to join Lightning Dazzle at the head of the army. Luna, however, waited with Cadence, her wings half extended as she waited for her niece to take flight.

“It's so strange...” Cadence said, the words passing her lips before she could stop them.

“What is strange?” Luna asked. Despite her initial distrust and wariness towards her kin, the violet alicorn had grown fond of the pink mare during the months she had stayed in Everfree. Celestia had also entrusted her schooling in magic to her younger sister in hopes that Luna's grasp of magic would improve.

“Well...” Cadence felt her cheeks flush as she extended her wings and took off, Luna's dark form a shadow next to her. “I never in my wildest imagination would have thought I would need to fight for my kingdom... I never expected that I would be flying at the head of an army trying to win back the lands that my grandmare conquered less than a century ago.”

“Fate has set you on a strange path to walk,” Luna agreed. “but you are not alone. Celestia and I have a similar walk and we stay by your side.”

“Thank you,” Cadence smiled slightly as she glanced behind her at the darkened Everfree Castle. Her eyes traced the walls and spires of the castle until she found a singular point of light high in a tower. It was Claudia, she knew, waving good-bye as she had not been able to attend the send off personally. Cadence lifted a hoof and waved once at the receding point of light and as she did there are a sinking in her heart that made her wonder if she would ever see her dragon friend again.

~~~

After three days of travel, Cadence was beginning to feel sore. Her wings ached from being in the air most of the day, her legs hurt from walking the rest of the time, and her whole body protested at the thought of spending another night sleeping on the unforgiving earth. Nopony else looked any better, though the soldiers were careful not to let their commanders see their discomfort. Celestia was walking with her unicorn captain at the head of the army, their voices an indistinct noise over the rhythmic clop of hooves. They were in the foothills at the edges of the Eagle Eye mountains that bordered the Griffon Kingdoms. Flight was unadvised so close to griffon territory and only the Wonderbolts were in the air, carefully scouting the route ahead.

Luna walked with her young niece carefully instructing her from time to time on the fundamentals of magic, often having her perform small spells on objects they came across, most notably the rocks that were always underhoof. “You don't need to pour so much magic into your spells, Cadence,” the princess chastised for the dozenth time. “Just enough to feel the pebble and lift it. Like this.” The violet princess's horn light up with a brilliant teal light as she plucked a single rock from the side of the path. The rock, surrounded by an aura of the exact same shade, lifted carefully off the ground and bobbed gently next to Luna as she continued to walk. “Now you try.”

Cadence sighed as started to slow down, but Luna moved behind her and bumped into her, “Don't slow down. You don't need that much concentration. Just pick up a pebble like you would with your hooves.”

The pink alicorn sighed and fell back into step with her aunt. Lavender light enveloped her horn as she glanced around for a rock to pluck from the ground. A small one caught her eye and she extended her magic to it, carefully wrapping it in a lavender glow.

“Faster,” Luna pressed. “The longer your take to cast the spell, the easier it will be to loose concentration.”

Just as she said, Cadence felt her grip on the rock break and it tumble down the side of the hill a short way before stopping.

“It's not a baby bird you need to lift gently for fear of hurting it,” Luna told the frustrated princess. “You don't need to be so careful.”

Cadence nodded as her horn lit up again. This time she quickly swiped up the first small rock that caught her eye, bringing it to eye level in a moment.

“Very good. Now hold it there as long as you can.”

The pink alicorn bit her lip as she concentrated on the small rock until everything else seemed to fade away and her vision was solely on the rock. This trance lasted but a moment as the young princess stumbled on the path. Her concentration broken, the rock dropped back to earth with a soft plop and a puff of dust.

Luna couldn't repress a chuckle as Cadence slowly picked herself back up. “Again I tell you, moderation. Magic like this is not like flying where every fiber of your being must be focused on keeping yourself aloft. Think of this like gliding, you need very little concentration to keep your wings wide and steady and so you can focus on other things. In the same way, you must learn to put just enough concentration into keeping the rock aloft, but still be able to focus on walking.”

Cadence snorted softly, “but it's so hard! I can't seem to keep myself from pouring everything I have into the spell...”

“Then perhaps you should hold the rock where you are not looking at it. Off to the side, perhaps. Just out of your vision so it isn't in the forefront of your mind.”

This time the pink mare tried just that. She quickly lifted a rock from the path and allowed it to settle off to her right at the base of her wing, but just as before it was only moments before her concentration was broken and the rock fell. “I just... I can't get it!”

The violet alicorn sighed, “then I believe we're done for the day.”

~~~

It took the little army nearly a week to skirt the Griffon Kingdoms and reach the edge of the Crystal Kingdom. The first civilization they'd seen in all that time was a small settlement that housed around twenty families. Most of the army skirted the village, only Commander Lightning Dazzle and two of her Wonderbolts entered the settlement to restock their supplies and hear word of the kingdom. When they returned, Dazzle immediately went to council with Celestia in her tent.

Cadence was there, as well as Luna, and the three alicorns listened intently as the Wonderbolt Commander gave her report- “They don't know much,” she admitted, “these ponies live at the very outskirts of the country and are not privy to what happens closer to the capitol. However, I was able to gather that there is a dangerous snowstorm that has been beating down on the lands just north of here. It's not natural, by all accounts. Perhaps the King has employed pegasi to keep a snowstorm brewing to keep inquisitive eyes away from him.

“In any case, these ponies do not know that Cadence is missing from the capital, which also means that Sombra has not declared sole reign of the kingdom. There is very little else to know about the kingdom except that the annual Crystal Fair has not occurred.”

“Thank you, Lightning Dazzle,” Celestia nodded to her commander and the pegasus bowed out of the tent. “This is indeed serious... an unnatural snowstorm...”

“Wendigos,” Cadence said, “not pegasi. They were already gathering around the capital when Claudia and I made our escape.”

Luna turned to her niece, “you did not mention this before.”

The pink mare shook her head, “I did not remember until now. Everything that happened that day... wendigos were the least of my worries...”

“I understand,” Celestia sighed, “however this does make it harder to get to the capital. If it was a pegasi storm, our own soldiers could take it out, but wendigos... There is not a known way to dispel them. Not easily, at the very least.”

“Perhaps they will disperse on their own if King Sombra is defeated.” Luna tried to sound optimistic as she said it, “They are drawn by negative spirits, if we can destroy the force bringing them here, they may leave on their own.”

“Perhaps,” Celestia agreed, but she did not sound nearly so optimistic. After a long moment of silence that stretched between the three ponies, Celestia stood, “we leave in an hour's time. Rest and eat while you can.” Without another word, the sun princess exited her tent to find her commanders leaving Luna and Cadence in her tent.

The subsequent hour passed quickly as Celestia counciled with Lighting Dazzle and Storm Fleet discussing what their next move should be. Eventually it was decided that a march on the capital was still their best, and only, option. King Sombra was their target and, as far as they could tell, he was still in the Crystal City. Finally the army regrouped, the small meal fires were put out, and they set off again towards the capital city.

They walked in forced silence, the only sound was the occasional the clop of hooves on rock. There was no telling what King Sombra was using to protect his kingdom, outside of the wendigo storm surrounding the capital, and that was hardly a protection.

Just as the sun was beginning to sink in the sky, a wall of white snow could be seen before them- the edge of the storm the wendigos controlled. It was decided that they would camp for the evening where they were, despite the early hour. Nopony wanted to be caught outside at night in a snow storm, especially not one of magical origin.

Tents were erected and bedrolls laid out, but campfires were left unlit as a precaution against unwanted visitors and a unit of unicorn soldiers was charged with guarding the camp through the rest of the day and into the night. Cadence decided to stay in her tent and fruitlessly practice her magic. Luna joined her for a short time, but soon left as the younger princess became more and more frustrated with her luckless attempts at controlling her magic.

Day turned to night as the royal sisters set the sun and raised the moon and slowly everypony migrated to their tents to sleep for the night, but their sleep was restless. The seasoned warriors were all on edge, feeling as if unseen eyes were watching them. Soldiers who were otherwise stoic and calm were caught looking over their shoulders as they walked around camp. Even Princess Celestia felt as if something was wrong. It was not until the following day that they realized how right their feelings were.

~~~

The army had been marching through the wendigos' storm for just over an hour when the golems attacked. There were only four of them, but the pony-shaped crystal beings were more powerful than they appeared. One was imbued with magical power and seemed to be leading the small group, if a mindless being could in fact lead. Each stood just slightly taller than an average pony with jagged crystals jutting out from their shoulder and hip joints. Their manes and tails were cut short and ragged in the same fashion and each was colored in a shifting array of blacks, grays, and purples, much different from the brightly colored crystals that were native to the kingdom.

The army was caught unawares as the four golems faded out of the snowstorm and attacked. Two unicorns went down in the first attack, their bodies cut to pieces on the sharp crystals. Quickly the pegasi took off into the air, both to clear the battle field and to get out of range of the earthbound golems. The rest of the unicorns took up a defensive line between the princesses and the golems, their horns blazing with a rainbow of colored auras as each prepared a different spell to cast either at the golems in attack or over their fellows in defense. Several unicorns cast fire magic at the golems, melting one and dissolving another. Seeing half of their number go down did nothing to stop the other two from leaping to attack again.

One jump toward Captain Storm Fleet who blasted it back with a bolt of lightning that sliced through the crystal golem, shattering it into millions of jagged pieces. The last gathered magic in a crystal that jutted out of its forehead. The magic was the same kind Cadence had seen Sombra use- bubbling green and black that caused umbras of violet to stream from the edges of where its eyes should have been. With a twist of its head, the golem lanced a spear of dark crystal up at the pegasi circling above in the storm.

The spear missed a pegasus by a feather's breath and spiraled out into the storm. The unicorn golem did not have the time to focus on another spell as seven different spells hit it at once. The golem exploded from the impact, scattering crystal fragments across the snow.

“Now we know how Sombra plans to defend his lands.”