It was a lovely afternoon in Cloudsdale. The sun was hanging low in the sky, casting long shadows across the concrete sidewalks and streets. Leaves floated down gently to the ground while squirrels ran to collect the last of the acorns off of oak trees. A cool breeze drifted through the air with birds chirping as they flew around in circles, hurrying their companions along so they could head south to where it was warmer.

It was Autumn, a luxurious time of the year.

Anyone would have enjoyed this beautiful day, a feeling of calm and peace soon to take hold of them. Making them forget their worries... But that feeling of peace would soon be disrupted by the loud shouts and chatter of the Cloudsdale High students.

The rambunctious teenagers filed out of the school and hurried on their way toward yellow buses parked in front of the building. Clambering on, their already loud conversations were amplified in the small space the buses provided. It was guaranteed to give anybody a huge migraine. While most everybody got on the school buses as quickly as they could so as not to be left cramming the aisles, a few straggled behind. And one of them was a boy named Caesar UpperCrest.

The boy cut through the crowd and headed toward the student parking lot. He glanced around the cars until he saw a red motorcycle with the logo Benito's on its side, parked far away from the school. He jogged toward it and jumped on, shoving a matching helmet over his orange hair. Checking his mirrors and adjusting his glasses, he revved up the engine and started out the parking lot onto Hay Street. Caesar sighed and rode on down the street until he came to a red light.

Today was going to be a busy day for Caesar and he knew it. It made him feel tired, despite him not having done anything. Today was going to be the most eventful day of the school year: The big soccer game. And it wasn't just any soccer game. It was the event where the Cloudsdale Pythons (the school's soccer team) went up against their greatest rival.

The Canterlot Wondercolts.

The Pythons and Wondercolts have been rival teams since time began. They were enemies when Caesar's grandparents were young and in school! Both teams were amazing. Every year when the state tournaments came around, the Cloudsdale Pythons and Canterlot Wondercolts were always the finalists. It was the greatest game of the season. People from all over would come to watch them play.

This game that they were playing, however, wasn't on such a level. It was just one of those local games every school does to warm up before the real action happened. But it was taken seriously nonetheless.

Caesar glanced at his rear view mirror and saw the line of yellow school buses all turn down another street heading toward Canterlot. He shook his head slightly. The students were all headed there now. The team was already there warming up and probably showing off, he was sure. While most people saw this day to be exhilarating, Caesar found it horribly stressful. Why? Because every year at every game the Pythons had, instead of enjoying himself by relaxing at home, Caesar found himself standing at a pizza stand selling peanuts, hot dogs, fries, soft drinks, and of course, pizza.

Benito's is the name of the restaurant he worked for. It was family run, having been part of the UpperCrest family since his grandfather opened it almost 50 years before. Caesar's grandfather, Benito UpperCrest Sr., had come from Italy with a passion for spreading the Italian culture through food. He wanted everyone to appreciate the culture and was a very proud man. That's what made him open the restaurant.

Subsequently, Caesar's father, Benito Jr., worked there as a boy and had grown the same passion his father had and one day became the proud owner of the shop.

And now, his son had to work there. Against his will.

Caesar pulled his motorcycle up into the driveway of a small pizza shop, his grandfather's name resting on the roof in the form of a neon sign, as clear as day. The boy frowned slightly. In the window was a banner that made his frown deepen.

GO, PYTHONS!

In discontent, Caesar pulled the helmet off his head and hopped off his motorcycle. Tugging at the backpack he carried, he marched into the shop. Immediately, he was hit by the sweet smell of sauce in the air. He could smell the cheese melting on the pizza that baked in the oven and the fresh aroma of baked bread wafting from the kitchen. The sharp scent of pepperoni, bell peppers, and onions accompanied the smell of garlic and mozzarella and a hint of flour. Caesar smiled as he took in all the delicious fumes. It was a reminder of home.

From behind the counter, he could hear a deep voice with a slight Italian accent shouting out orders and barking at employees.

"Always add 'uh the sauce before the 'uh cheese! Never vice versa!"

At the cash register stood a bored employee named Casper who noticed Caesar almost right away.

"Man, am I glad to see you! Your dad's been really jumpy all day and has been shouting more than usual. It's driving me crazy! What's up with your old man?"

"Oh, it's just that the Pythons have a game tonight," Caesar replied, feeling a bit grouchy.

Casper's face lit up.

"Oh yeah! The Pythons versus the Wondercolts! Man, that is the perfect game!"

His face went back to looking bored.

"If only your dad would let me off work to see the dang thing!"

Caesar grinned and slapped him on the back as he walked around the counter.

"I'll see if he'll let you come with me to the game. It's hard work having to sell all that food by myself."

Casper nodded enthusiastically and greeted a customer that just walked in after giving him a thumbs up. Without much haste, Caesar walked past the rushing employees and went all the way to the back where his father's small office resided. There he plopped his backpack in a chair and turned to leave the tiny enclosure. Without warning, something was tossed on his face and he was pulled into a rough hug. Struggling to breathe, he tried his hardest to get out of the hug, but failed.

"Caesar, my boy!"

It was his father. The boy growled as he yanked whatever it was tossed on his face away. Without having to look at it very long he knew it was a shirt with the pizza shop's logo.

"Hey, pop..."

The big man let go of him and ruffled his son's orange hair with a rough hand covered in flour.

"How was 'uh school, boy?"

Caesar swatted at his father and shook his head violently to get the flour out of his hair. Benito Jr. was born in Cloudsdale, but he had a slight Italian accent as well as a habit of saying "uh" in the middle of sentences. His deep voice matched his big frame. He was a heavyset man with an olive complexion and dark brown hair. He had grey eyes that flashed with excitement. Caesar sighed and grunted in response to his question.

"It was 'uh good, then!" Benito said decidedly. He rubbed his hands together and pointed to the employee restroom. "No time to chat, my boy! Get 'uh changed quickly and hurry! The big 'uh game starts soon and I want you there to start 'uh selling!"

Caesar grudgingly followed his orders and went into the restroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and scratched his head to get rid of random flour. Caesar UpperCrest was an average looking guy. He didn't look bad but he didn't look great. He guessed. His orange hair was short and curly. His brown eyes weren't much to look at. Unlike his father, he had a lighter skin tone, but wasn't at all pale. His nose was always red and made him look like he had a cold. Thick black glasses sat on the edge of his rosy nose. Tapping his chin, Caesar found that he had a little bit of a beard growing in. He made a mental note to shave later.

Caesar yanked off his favorite red plaid shirt and put on the yellow Benito's shirt. He walked out and jammed the plaid shirt into his backpack. His father came toward him with a tower of pizza boxes.

"Be a good boy and take 'uh these boxes with you to the game. The delivery van is already there with all 'uh the peanuts, drinks, chips, and whatever you young people like 'uh to eat these days. It's better you bring more than enough to sell than not have any extras at all!"

And with that, his father let out a hearty laugh and dropped the boxes in his son's arms. Caesar returned his laugh while feeling as though he would fall over with the sudden weight. How could pizza be heavy?? Caesar teetered toward the back door and stopped before leaving.

"Wait, pop!" he said and his old man turned around. "Can Casper come? I mean, I know some of the employees will be there since they drove the delivery truck and everything, but it's still a lot of work between three of us. You know, a lot of people show up to these games."

Benito frowned. He didn't like his son's idea of bringing Casper along. In the past, Casper had nearly burned the restaurant leaving a pizza in the oven too long. That's why he manned the cash register. Even though it happened months ago, he still didn't like having him out of his sight.

"I don't 'uh know about that, Caesar..."

"Pop, think about how many people there are compared to us, " Caesar said.

The boy shifted his weight against the wall. Those pizzas were starting to be a burden.

"Ehhh..." the man grumbled. "I need him to tend to the customers."

"But, you have every one of the employees here today. Except for the ones already at the game. Any one of them could be at the register."

"Then if that is so...why are you asking if 'uh Casper can go, hmm? Why not just ask to have any of the employees to come instead of a specific one?"

Game over. He tried.

Caesar sighed and turned to leave. Before he could step outside, he felt a rough hand slap a baseball cap on his head and pat him hard on the back, nearly knocking him over.

"Fine. You can have 'uh Casper go..." the man grumbled.

Caesar heard his father yell for the said boy to come and told him what was to happen. After some very stern warnings the two of them left out and loaded the motorcycle with the boxes. Casper was too excited to really help out. Once the pizzas were strapped to the back of the motorcycle, Caesar got on his bike and started the engine. Casper hopped on and gripped the edge of the seat.

"Hey, there's barely enough room for you and the pizza!" Caesar exclaimed.

"Don't you worry. Losing them won't be the end of the world."

Caesar handed him his helmet, realizing why his father didn't approve of him going along. The boy checked his rear view mirrors and in the reflection saw himself with his dorky glasses. On his head was a cap that read Pythons in black letters. He sighed and pulled out into traffic.

A long day. A long day indeed.

Author's Note

Hi, people! This is my first time writing a fanfic that isn't completely centered on Sunlight and the Mane 6. Hopefully, this will turn out to be an enjoyable story.