Apathetic Balance

Walking through the constant blizzard that surrounded the crystal empire was a single unicorn, heading from the only building within 100 miles of his destination. It had been 11 years since he left. 11 years since he decided that the only one who mattered was himself. 11 years since they had cast him out into the cold.

But now it was time to return. He didn't hate them for what they did. He didn't sympathize with them either. They would recognize him, he knew, but he didn't care about their reactions. They thought he was dead, and he planned to change that.

As I neared the forcefield surrounding the crystal empire, I was greeted by two guards who I didn't recognize.

"State your business in the Crystal Empire." Guard one said in a authoritative voice.

"I am a citizen. I lived here for 13 years." I responded dryly, making his eyes narrow.

"Why did you come out here in the first place?" He asked suspiciously, making me chuckle.

"Why did you leave your home in the first place? I thought most guards preferred to be stationed near home." I saw I had hit my mark when he grimaced.

"Alright, I get it. I'll let you in, just don't do anything to get me in trouble, okay?"  Tiredly, he formed a hole in the shield for me to go through. It wasn't long before I hit the outskirts of the city.

The city was almost exactly the way I remembered it being. I had no money, so I decided to go to the bank and check up on my old bank account, knowing that my interest would now have been accumulating to a large sum of bits.

As I walked deeper into the city, I began to recognize faces of the ponies. They didn't recognize me however. It didn't surprise me though. Lately even I hadn't been able to recognize me. Of course, when word got out that my bank account had made a transaction, they would see me and recognize the husk of a pony I became. An apathetic, unforgiving husk.

Knowing that, I entered the bank and walked to the clerk. I recognized him immediately. Coin Toss, a grey pony with a yellow mane. As a child he had always been trying to come up with ways to make money. Now he counted other peoples money all day, every day, for the rest of his life probably. The irony was delicious.

"Hello, would you like to make a bank account?" He asked cheerily.

"No. I already have one." I responded, making him dawn a confused expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I seem to have forgotten you. May I ask your name?" He asked, pulling a ledger out from under the counter.

"Libra Aeternalis." I said, making him look puzzled.

"That name does seem to ring a bell, perhaps we have met before. Now just to find... ah here we are! Your balance is.... 703,542 bits. Wow.... Uh, are you making a transaction today?" He asked, startled by my combination of inheritance and interest.

"I'd like 500 bits please."

"You got it! So, I'd reckon your back in the Crystal Kingdom to see the Equestrian Princesses, am I right?" He said cheerily. I shook my head.

"No, I'm not." I noted that he had said princesses, and not princess. I made a side note to go see this new princess on the way to the train station.

"Where are the princesses now?" I asked, knowing if they weren't easy too see, I'd just leave.

"They are rumored to be heading downtown sometime in the next hour."

"Thanks." I replied.

"No problem, always happy to help a paying customer!" He said as I left for the bakery. I didn't plan on searching for the princesses, it was just too much work. I was just going to grab some coffee and head off to the plains between Canterlot and Ponyville.

I remembered where the bakery was from when I was growing up. I still owed the owner two bits for the last time I had been there. As I walked downtown, more and more ponies lined the streets, hoping to catch a glimpse of the princess. I, unlike them, was here to pay my dues before leaving as soon as possible. The closer I got to the bakery, the more ponies I recognized, and the more double takes I received. They were beginning to recognize me. I was going to have to leave soon if I wanted to avoid confrontation. I arrived at the bakery the doorbell ringing just as I remembered it. Immediately I received a look of recognition from the baker. I didn't remember his name, but it didn't matter. I was here to pay him back, buy a snack, and get out of here on the next train.

I walked up to the counter, giving the baker a blank look as he looked me over.

"By Celestia, is that really you Libra?" his expression of disbelief was

almost comical.

"Yes, I believe I owe you two bits. I'd also like an iced black coffee please." I said handing him five bits, not wanting to carry out a conversation. It was too awkward after 11 years of silence to talk to anypony. He seemed to get the hint, as he quietly turned around and went to work.

I heard the sound of the doorbell and multiple hooves approaching behind me. It wasn't long before the baker turned around and gave me my coffee. His eyes went wide as he turned around, looking at something behind me. I took my coffee, and turned around to be face to face with not one, not two, but four, that's right four alicorns.

I immediately bowed, moving out of the way. Only when I rose did I see the faces of the three new princesses. A dark blue alicorn, a purple alicorn, and a pink alicorn.

Then I recognized said pink alicorn. It was Cadence. I had just lost all hope in the Equestrian government. Cadence was a princess. The only pony that any of my antagonizers would even think of listening to, the one who had ignored my torment like it wasn't happening.

"Libra?! Your alive?!" She exclaimed with wide eyes.

The glare I gave her was hateful enough to make her take a step back from me.

"Yes Mia. But then again, I doubt it matters to you." I said the words like venom, walking past the princesses and into the street. I had used the name I used when we were fillies unintentionally, but it didn't matter. I heard her starting to cry as I left.

I no longer wished to return to Equestria. I would return to my cave in the frozen wasteland that I called home. I'd rather freeze than be governed by a pony who didn't even help freinds in need. Suddenly a flash of purple light appeared before me, the purple alicorn from before stood in my path, wings flared in anger.

"What was that for?!" She exclaimed angrily. I dead-panned at her.

"Why don't you ask Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? I'm sure you'd much rather hear the story from her rather than lower yourself to the level of filth like me." I said with vicious cruelty, stunning the Alicorn, who was unsure of what to do next. I took advantage of the situation by calmly walking past her. After I walked a few meters, she teleported again.

"I can't believe you!" She yelled angrily, starting a rant.

"No matter how much you disagree with the way she rules the crystal empire, you should still treat her with respect!" She began, only to have me cut her off.

"With all due respect princess, I'd just like to say that the reason I said what I did had nothing to do with the way she runs this place. In fact, I don't even live in lands governed by a princess, at least not anymore. I said what I said because I hate her." Her reaction was that of shock and utter disbelief.

"How could you hate Cadence? And why was she so upset by what you said?" She asked in a quiet voice, almost as if the question wasn't directed at me at all.

"If you are so inclined to learn more about me, ask her. If she doesn't provide the answers you seek, do some research on me. Then, and only then will I condone you coming to the ice mountain in the Frozen Wastes, so long as your question is a legitimate one. It will be the only cave with stairs leading to it." I said, leaving the Crystal Empire for the second time in my life.

Twilight stood in the road, watching as the unicorn named Libra walked towards the barrier.

" I said what I said because I hate her." His words echoed in her mind, the intense resentment he had conveyed in those few words.

She turned around, deciding to walk back to the Castle. She needed some time to think, and to do some research. Whoever this stallion was, she would find out. Many ponies stopped to bow, but Twilight didn't pay them notice, too focused on where she should look first to find information on him. She didn't want to press Cadence, as clearly she was troubled by the matter. She supposed the best place to start would be the Crystal library, and look through the old newspaper records there. Her first priority was Cadence however. Before she had teleported to the stallion, they had started back to the castle so that Cadence could calm down.

Her plan would be to get to the castle, help her brother to comfort his distressed wife, and then research this Libra.

As she walked to the castle, she received many bows from the crystal ponies. She paid them no heed however, as she was lost in her own thoughts.

Before long, she was at the gates of the castle, and the guards quickly opened the door for her. Inside the spacious chamber that made up the castles entrance, a lone guard waited for Twilight.

"Would you please take me to Cadence?" She asked, startled by the harshness in her tone. The guard however, kept his emotionless mask on regardless.

"Yes Princess." he said, leading her to Cadences chambers. She knocked lightly on the door.

"Cadence?" Twilight asked nervously.

"Come in Twilight." Said an exhausted Cadence.

As Twilight entered, she saw that Celestia an Luna had left Cadence and Shining Armor alone.

Shining sat next Cadence, attempting to get her to relax. She was staring off into the space in front of her, obviously distraught.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation." She said with a sigh. Shining quickly objected.

"Cadence, you don't owe us anything. In fact-" A look from Cadence silenced him.

"Shining, I've needed to get this off my chest for a while now. Until today however, it wasn't relevant with the present or future." She said, beginning to look more herself. Shining nodded, and Twilight sat down, attentively, curious on the matter.

"The name of the stallion whom we encountered today is Libra Aeternalis. I had thought him long dead, as did everyone that knew him I'm sure.

"Class, we have a new student today!" The teacher said, motioning to the newest student to come forward. In walked a pink alicorn, a nervous smile on her features. The class immediately went silent.

"This is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," The alicorn shrunk at the use of her full name.

"Just Cadence is fine..." She said, looking at her hooves.

"Alright then, Princess Cadence," replied the teacher. Cadence, too embarrassed to correct her again, let her continue. "you'll sit in that chair over there." She said, motioning to an empty seat next to the window. A gray foal sat in the chair next to it, his horn aglow as he controlled a pencil with his magic.

"Libra, you can show the Princess around the school today, alright?"

The gray unicorn looked up at cadence with a smile.

"Sure thing. Nice to meet you Cadence!" he said with a genuine smile before going right back to the thing he had been working on before.

"Nice to meet you too Libra." Cadence replied, startled, albeit relieved at the colts forwardness.

As class progressed, Cadence continued to get into the swing of things until the bell rang for next period.

"Ready to go?" Libra asked Cadence, waiting patiently next to her. She nodded, and stood up. "I've decided to call you Mia, if you don't mind." Libra said, giving Cadence a smile.

Cadence beamed, happy to have made her first friend in school.

"Wait, I don't get it. If you to were friends,  why in Equestria did he act that way after seeing you?" Shining Armor asked puzzled.

"That's just it, we were friends for the first couple years. But eventually, ponies started to warm up to me. Since Libra had been my friend for the first few years of my life, he was essentially in the same social area as me until then. But by then, ponies had already formed groups of friends, and getting into one of them was hard. Ponies started to invite me to events, and parties. I was special, and ponies liked that about me. Libra never objected, always being there when I would need someone to talk to. I began spending more and more time with other ponies, until finally I stopped seeking Libra out altogether. Occasionally I would see Libra in the halls, and we would chat or give a friendly nod.

Then one year I had another class with him.

Cadence sat at her desk, laughing with her friends. Class was about to start, so she got out her materials and looked up to the front. The sound of the door opening grabbed her attention, and she internally groaned, expecting one of the less savory ponies to come in this late. Who it was surprised her. Libra, giving her a curt nod before sitting down in the back right hand corner of the classroom. Right at that moment, the buzzer sounded.

"Alright class. My name is Professor Hoofingberg and I'd like to let you all know a little something about me. I don't tolerate late arrivals. Nopony was late today, but I thought you all should know that."

"That went on every day for most of the year. he always showed up right at that time, never earlier or later. Until one day he just didn't show up. he was gone for the next 3 days, and nopony knew where he was until he finally showed up late on the fourth day." Cadence dawned a look of sorrow as she recounted the day.

"So as you can see, the industrialization of Equestria came about from the-" The professor stopped as Libra opened the door with a blank expression.

"Well look who decided to show up! So glad you could grace us with your presence today Mr. Aeternalis!" The professor said sarcastically, causing a couple ponies to snicker.

"With all due respect professor, I didn't have to be here at all today. If you'd rather I just went home, I will. But I personally would much rather forget that last comment you made and not disrupt the class any further." Libras voice was near monotone, all traces of energy gone. This strange behavior was enough to cause even the professor to back off.

"Uh... Yes, now where was I? Ah! That's right, I was about to..."

"So why was he acting so weird?" Interjected Twilight, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"His parents were hit by a carriage earlier that week. He was late because he had just been to their funeral." Cadence said with tears welling in her eyes. "It was at this point Libra began to become the target of a group of Colts."

"It's your parents fault my dad is in prison!" WHAM!

"The world would be a better place if you just died!" WHAM!

"Why did you take my dad away, you filthy trash?!" CRUNCH!

Cadence watched in horror as the stallions hoof broke Libras jaw. As blood pooled on the floor, the ponies that surrounded the two slowly backed away, and the stallion who had destroyed Libras jaw looked at his victim in shock, nudging the stunned unicorn with his hoof.

"Dude?" The stallion asked, remorse covering his features.

A glow came from Libras horn, slamming the offender into a wall with a dull thud. The stallion didn't get up. Then tendrils of light emerged from Libras horn and moved to his deformed jaw. Snapping noises and a shriek of pain came from Libra as he repaired his own jaw bone. His deformed mouth turned back to normal through a series of twists and spasms. When Libra had finally repaired his jaw, he looked at Cadence, standing in the crowd like everypony else, and left.

"He healed his own jawbone in highschool?" Twilight asked with skepticism.

"Yes he did. He was always talented in the arts of magic. He wasn't as good as you, but he definitely helped me get through rough spots in my magic career. I met you and your brother a few years later through Celestia. By then, I had discovered that his parents had been hit by the stallions father while he pulled the carriage. Everypony thought he had died in the frozen wastes when the search led us there, but now he's back." Cadence said, back to her old depressed tone, making Twilight speak up.

"He invited me to come and ask him questions if I couldn't find the answers with you." She said, making Cadence look up in surprise.

"You aren't thinking of actually going, are you?" Cadence asked surprised.

Twilight understood, the Frozen Wastes were even more dangerous than the Badlands, because if you got hurt there, ponies could find you. If you got hurt in the wastes, you would be under a foot of snow in less than a minute.

"I don't think I have any questions actually. I just don't see the point of going to all the trouble of entering the Frozen Wastes on a whim." She replied thoughtfully. Shining Armor spoke up.

"What about the magical artifacts located in the ice caves?" He asked, earning shocked looks from both of the alicorns.

"Dear, what artifacts are you talking about?" Cadence asked warily.

"You mean the two of you don't know? There are supposed to be ancient relics in the caves on the mountain, and they vary, from gems holding unique magical energies similar to the crystal heart, to ancient tomes holding ancient spells. If nothing else, having a place to rest on the mountain could yield invaluable archeological finds." Shining Armor was cut off by Twilight.

"Great, so its settled! I'll go tomorrow morning!" Twilight exclaimed, teleporting out before anyone could object.

Libra

It had been three days since I had been to the Crystal Empire. I had finished picking this months batch of snow berries, and the frostroot had finally matured enough for me to turn it into medicine. I had a massive amount of the painkiller, but it gave me something to do over the years. I had recently discovered a hot spring under the ice nearby, and was toying with the idea of making a warm mud patch to grow other plants that didn't survive in the cold environments as I approached my home in a cave on the side of the mountain.

The cave was made up of three main parts. The first chamber, the entrance to my home, was where I worked during the day. A large crafting bench sat to one side with various tools laid side by side on it. On the other side of the room was the furnace, filled with coals and wood, with a large hollow wooden pipe leading out to the entrance to let out smoke. In the center was a square table where I ate my meals. The second cavern was my living area, which I had sealed off with a lockable door in case of emergencies. In there I had a bed of dried tree moss in an extra large hollow rectangular container, big enough for me to lay in, with a large cloth on top. I had a small shelf with various things I had found in nearby caves over the years, and I even had a few books, most of which were on magic. The spells had been very difficult at first, but I had practiced them enough now to do them on a whim. The back room was a storage are for foods, herbs, and other materials I used. The largest three bins contained ground up Frostroot, snowberries, and the tree moss I had for bedding and various other uses. The biggest bin was to hold wood, but I hadn't been gathering it lately, leaving my supplies at a rather low level. It was these circumstances that led me to go out side the cave to gather wood.

The freezing winds stark contrast to the warm cave was always a little shocking, and it took me a few moments to adjust, casting my custom skintight force field spell that regulated my body heat. It was a short two hundred stairs to the grove of trees from which I gathered my wood. It was short in comparison to the thousand it took to get to my cave at the very least.

As I made my way to the grove, a tinge of purple In the snow got my attention. I approached it, expecting to find some sort of fabric that had flew here from the Crystal Empire. What I found had indeed flown here, but it was not fabric.

The lavender alicorn from before was lying in the snow, deathly still. As I ran to her, I saw the frozen feathers on her wings and cursed. No doubt she had attempted to fly up the mountain instead of walking. The faint rise and fall of her side was all I needed to lift her up with my magic and drape her over me, heading back to the cave as soon as I could.

Upon entering, I placed her on a blanket next to the furnace, making sure she wasn't so close that she would burn. I went into the back room and grabbed a large cloth to dry her off. When I got back, the frost on her wings had already  begun to melt. I rubbed the cloth against her wings vigorously in an attempt to stimulate blood flow while drying off the melting ice. When her wings were mostly dry, I moved onto the rest of her. She had dried off for the most part by now, and her breathing had gotten a little stronger. With her condition improving, I laid down next to her, using my body heat to warm the side facing away from the furnace. Her cold skin slowly began to warm up, and her breathing became more and more stable. As she warmed, I took in her features with interest. She was quite the mare, and she had actually followed through on my "offer" even though I had said it with the assumption that she wouldn't come.

When I was convinced that she had warmed enough for me to leave her side, I decided to give a spell I never needed before now a shot. First however, I would have to write a letter.

After retrieving my inkwell and pen, I quickly wrote the letter that I would be sending.

To Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,

I found your friend beginning to freeze over near my cave. I believe she tried to fly rather than walk, and her wings lost so much heat that she passed out. She seems to be recovering, but she still hasn't awoken. I would recommend sending an escort to help her on her way back, as she will not be able to return alone in her current condition.

From Libra Aeternalis

Then I gathered all my knowledge of Cadence in my mind before casting the spell, ensuring that it would reach her as opposed to some random crystal pony. During this time, I heard the low groan of the alicorn behind me.

"You're awake now?" I asked, looking back to the cringing alicorn. Her eyes cracked open as she looked at me, her head still lying down. A weak nod was all I got from her.