From Prince to Kingby NekoNushiChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1The morning sun shone across the sky, turning its original blue home a light mix of orange and pink. The moon was still slightly visible, but only just. The cart flew through the air, assisted by horned men, piloting it with their magic. The Everfree Forest stood docile yet threatening under them, teeming with creatures and mysterious plant life. “Equestria works differently than Marvalia, in more ways than one.” A horned man was lecturing someone who looked to be his son, judging by their resemblance. “Their monarch, Princess Celestia is immortal. So, there is no need for worry over the next ruler in line. Also, the weather is able to controlled, unlike in Marvalia. Pegasi manipulate the weather by moving the clouds around and setting them off. The only similarity is the moon and sun being raised by the Princess.” “You told me this already, Father,” the youth responded, annoyed. “Yes, I know, but I’m making sure that you remember. Also, you will be staying in the third floor hall in the guest quarters. The room is at the end of the hall, be sure to remember. “Yes, Father…” “King Caesar, we’re nearing Canterlot,” a pilot sounded out from the front of the cart. “Splendid! Czar, help the pilots carry the luggage, will you? Some of the others came down with an illness and couldn’t come,” King Caesar said. “Yes, Father,” Czar responded. The cart came to a stop as it reached the ground. Not one hundred feet away was Canterlot Castle, standing there in all of its glory. Upper crust citizens were walking about the city, as prim and proper as they could be. It was another thing Czar hated about this place. it was so… Czar shuddered, the thoughts of the disturbing things about this place getting to him. He went toward the back of the wooden cart and magically levitated a few packages of luggage. Czar sighed as he walked with the other unicorns into the castle’s front gates. *** Plop. Czar fell onto the bed, which was white and fluffy. This is the only exceptional thing about this place, Czar thought with a sigh. Everyone here was holding themselves as if they had a broomstick formally shoved up their ass. Their noses were always in the air and they strutted around flaunting their lush swagger. The only time they spoke it was about their purses lined with bits or some ‘party’ going on at even more stuck up person’s house. By party, they meant some lackluster get together with expensive champagne and other meaningless refreshments. Czar leaned on his elbows as he surveyed his room once more. Everything was white and pure, the only decoration being a sun carved over the entrance to a balcony. The guests’ quarters were in the Dawn wing, if he recalled correctly. Czar remembered his father telling him about the three different wings: The Dawn wing, the Dusk wing, and the Twilight wing. The Dawn wing was prominently on the white color scheme, while the Dusk wing was mainly colored black and blue. The Twilight wing was the color of twilight: purple. The color scheme was inspired by the royal sisters: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Before Luna’s banishment, the two ruled Equestria peacefully and in harmony. The castle’s builders took it upon themselves to decorate three different sections of the castle, all inspired by the sisters. The Dawn wing on the east was where Celestia woke and rose the sun, and the Dusk wing was where Luna stayed, and it was where the sun set, introducing the night. The Twilight wing was where the sisters met and interacted. It was where the most activity in the castle took place and it was also where the throne room was located. Yeesh, how can I remember all this? Czar thought, I must have listened to him lecture me for over three hours…I need rest. Czar crawled under the covers after kicking off his shoes. Screw acting un-royal, I’m sleepy… *** “Come on Czar, really? We didn’t even arrive an hour ago and you’re already turning in.” Caesar sighed while rubbing his forehead in frustration, his hand tracing the base of his horn. Father, leave me be; I’m tired, dammit. Instead of letting those words pass his lips, Czar sat up and scratched the back of his head. “It was a long trip,” he sighed. “I know that, but you don’t see me passing out, do you? Now, let us go meet the Princess, we have things to discuss.” Caesar left the room with Czar following. White…White…Hey, look, more white…Wow, some more white… Czar was fuming with aggravation that radiated throughout the pure white halls. They encountered few of the castle’s inhabitants, but other than that, the trip was dull. Until, that is, Caesar reached his destination. Czar was taken aback by the sudden change in color scheme. The repetitive white halls were replaced by the wondrous lilac, purple, and violet Twilight wing. Czar actually took interest in the new surroundings, and drank in as much of the vibrant colors as he could. “King Caesar, sir, the throne room is this way,” a servant said, who appeared out of nowhere. “Ah, thank you, good sir,” Caesar replied. The two were led through more ornate, grand doorways until they reached a unique passageway. Two doors stood firm and magnificent. One door was white, the other blue. The white door boasted a symbol of the sun; the blue door had a symbol of the moon. The doors barely reached the ceiling, which was around 50 meters above Czar. The servant turned the knobs and pushed the doors open. Czar’s jaw dropped as he witnessed utter beauty. In the large room, two thrones sat next to each other, one for Princess Celestia, the other for Princess Luna. Tapestries and other resplendent decorations thickly ornamented the room. All around, murals of the royal sisters plastered the walls. Large, ornate windows interrupted the murals, bringing in beams of sunlight into the room. And all this merely magnified the beauty Czar was observing. Princess Celestia was sitting in her throne, conversing with a servant. Her prismatic hair flowed as if it were alive, augmenting her dazzling magnificence. Her eyes were a light pink that looked all-knowing, wise, and full of love. Gah, what am I thinking? Czar shook his head to disrupt his trance. He did his habitual motion of covering his eyes with his silver hair, which casted a shadow over the top portion of his face. He used this tactic to survey his surroundings and other people without being noticed. Using this, he was able to study Celestia and ponder why she put him under that stupor. Was it the curves of her body under her gown? Was it her sparkling, prismatic flowing hair? Was it her flawless, pure skin? The Princess looked over to Caesar. “Ah, King Caesar.” She dismissed the servant, and descended the few steps at her throne. “Your Highness,” Caesar bowed out of respect, as did Czar. Celestia returned the gesture. “A bit early, aren’t you? Ah, no matter. You found your rooms, correct?” Celestia asked. “Certainly,” Caesar replied. “You have heard of my son, am I right?” He gestured his arm towards Czar. “Yes, you mentioned him.” Princess Celestia studied Czar’s appearance. After a few seconds, she said, “Why must you cover your face like that? Can you even see through all that hair?” “Er, sorry, Your Highness,” Czar brushed his hair aside with his fingers, showing off his sharp, gray eyes. “My, your eyes, they’re beautiful,” Celestia remarked, “they blend perfectly with your hair.” “Thank you, Your Highness,” Czar bowed out of respect, and due to the fact that his cheeks grew a light pink. “Please, it’s unnecessary to call me ‘Highness’ all the time. Please, just call me Princess Celestia.” “Of course, Your Hi- I mean, Princess Celestia.” Czar replied. That’s a first; a monarch irritated by being called ‘Your Highness.’ Father so enjoys having his royalty being flaunted about. “Better,” Princess Celestia smiled and ruffled Czar’s hair. “Shall we carry on? We have much to talk about…” “Yes, we shall,” Caesar and Celestia left the throne room, with Czar willingly following behind, only due to the presence of Celestia. *** The wind blew carelessly throughout Canterlot. The white, twisty, curved buildings covered the city; at least, the good part of it. This corner was untouched by the glam and shine of the rest of the city. This is where the menial tasks were carried out. Industrial parks and factories were packed together like a gray city. The fumes that were created were sent through a magical filter placed on top of each building, which disrupted their harmful pollutants, converting them into harmless, breathable air. A lot of the rejected and violent citizens of Canterlot and nearby cities holed up and formed in abandoned factories, making this the all-around unwanted side of Canterlot. Celestia did her best to scrub out the violent people and help them to change their ways, but it was to no avail. They stayed in their places and didn’t try to expand, but they were still festering in their negativity. Despite all that, Czar found this place enjoyable. He was perched on top of a three story tall building that was once a factory. What exactly the factory produced, however, was a mystery to Czar, because nothing but dust, rodents, and more dust called this place home. The building was on the edge of the so-called ‘unwanted’ side of Canterlot, where he could both witness the arrogant tightwads and the roughhousing ruffians go about their day. Eugh, I absolutely hate this place! Czar screamed in his mind. All day, he has to listen to his father go on and on about politics and the make-up of Princess Celestia’s monarchy. “It’s pretty damn simple, Father,” Czar muttered to himself, “Celestia reigns, decades pass, Celestia’s still reigns, centuries pass, and guess what, she still reigns. I don’t see why you need to lecture me on this every damn second…” Celestia…what about her was so amazing? Did she have some enchantment cast on her to swoon everyone that witnessed her? No, that can’t be right. Caesar, for the most part, remained unmoved by Princess Celestia’s appearance. Czar stood and stretched his limbs. Trying to get the thoughts out of his head, he turned over to the white and pure Canterlot city. He could barely see the citizens, and for that, he was glad; he couldn’t take it anymore. After he escaped the grasp of his father by being granted by Celestia to go explore the city, he overheard gruelingly boring conversations. Why can’t you talk about what really matters, Czar began to think to himself, as if he rehearsing what he were to say to the entire city, you can do so much more. You can learn about history, read great stories or create them, find love…but instead, you only look at your cash filled purses and find a way to stuff more in there. You insult those less powerful than you. You waste your life on these meaningless material things, and for nothing… Czar turned his head to the door that led him to the roof. He sat up and approached the open door, and peered down the stairway. The stairs were rusty and old and the walls were gray and the paint was peeling. I must tell Celestia about this, I guess. She might be able to find a good use for it. Czar descended the stairway and reached the third floor. It was void of anything except dust. It was spacious and gray with a stairway that led to the lower floors. He brushed a stray hair that was tickling his nose and turned his toe. He wasn’t going to leave. Not just yet. He was going to enjoy his freedom a little bit more. With a swing, Czar’s legs dangled over the lip of the rooftop edge once more as he surveyed the piece of Canterlot. He examined the so-called “border” the building rested on. A walkway, with business offices on either side descends about a quarter mile, until it reached the abandoned factory. The offices stop there, then a hill adds a small divide. Few working factories are scattered throughout the mess of gray, and not one house is seen. Czar now dubbed this place a new escape for him. No royalty, no tightwads, just himself. Czar enjoyed it in any way he could. Chapter 2“Your son seemed… awkward today. May I ask why?” Celestia situated herself in her seat and crossed her legs. “He’s just rebellious. Czar doesn’t want to do anything, so he just keeps quiet and refuses to speak to anyone,” Caesar replied, writhing in his seat. “You look uncomfortable. Do you not wish to talk about him?” Celestia asked. “It’s not that. it’s just…” Caesar paused. He scratched his nose with his thumbnail and sniffed. “I’m worried that he won’t be a suitable enough heir.” “Ah, I see,” Princess Celestia sighed, “Give him time. You never know what he’s capable of.” “I don’t, but he shouldn’t leave me in the dark. If he wants to become king, he needs to show me he can!” Caesar argued. After a few moments of silence, Celestia responded “What if he doesn’t want to?” Caesar looked at her, perplexed. “You can’t possibly be serious.” “I’ll think you’ll come to believe I can,” Princess Celestia retorted with nerve. “Well, either way, he needs to. Speaking of him, I must go find him. He’s been gone too long. Stupid child probably went and gotten himself into trouble.” Caesar stood and went to exit the room. “I shall return, Your Highness. Until then,” he bowed out of respect. “Until then,” she replied, sharing a bow. “Do you even worry about his well-being, Caesar?” she whispered to herself. *** "You can't just sit here all day, staring over the city. Get back to the castle, Czar. You shouldn't walk about the streets; you're royalty. "There's nothing waiting for me there, Father. I'd just be sitting at a table filled with more politics and other boring riff-raff." "Well, that 'boring riff-raff' is what controls what happens in Equestria!" "Yeah, you've told me before," Czar sighed as he cast his eyes back towards the city. He watched the residents of Canterlot, all prim and proper, go about their daily business. "Listen here, you'll be back to your quarters at five. Do you hear me, Czar?" Caesar pointed his finger authoritatively at his son. "Do you hear me?" "Yes sir, I'll be in my quarters at five." He responded, not making eye contact. Caesar, realizing that taking this any farther wouldn't solve anything, sighed, and made his way back down the stairs of the abandoned building. Czar stared at the city for a long time, not fixing his gaze on anything else. He thought on why he was here, and its importance. To learn what it's like in another country, to gain ideas when I take rule. Sounds like a grand idea to me. Czar wished desperately to be back in Marvalia, back to where his father wouldn't be on his case about every single thing he would do. At least there, he could have some peace... "Who are you, mister?" A child's voice called out. Czar turned around to see a child, about three feet tall, staring at him. He had very short, almost crew cut, hair and dark green eyes. "I'm, uh...I'm a newcomer. I just moved here,” he responded. Czar wanted to stay a little low, for his political status might inspire some people to do some horrid and cruel things to him. "Are you Prince Czar from Marvalia?" the little boy asked. "H-how did you know?" Czar asked in shock. "I stay at the castle, too. I'm a soldier's son, and I'm going to be a soldier when I'm older. I heard that you came here, but I barely saw you around the castle, so I came to find you. I'm Tactic." The child held out his hand, the common gesture for a handshake. Well, isn't he just the formal little bugger. "Nice to meet you, Tactic. And apparently, you already know me." "Yeah, sorry about that. But, I think it'd be best if you came back to the castle," he said bluntly. "Uh, what?" Czar was confused. Is someone uncanny prowling about, someone that wants to harm me? "Your father will be angry if you don't return.” Oh. Just Caesar. "I don't care if he gets mad or not," Czar sighed. "Why? He's your dad, you should listen to him." He said "Look, I don't know how you've been raised, but," Czar looked around, and sat up off of the edge, walking closer to the boy, "just because your parents tell you something, doesn't mean it's always right." "Are you saying...your dad's wrong?" Tactic tilted his head, like a dog. "Er, yes and no. It's just," he rubbed his forehead, just below his horn, "what he wants is different than what I want. He wants me to be this great king, and...I don't." "Well, he wants what's best for you; that's why he does that." "Does he? Marvalia isn't like Equestria. Celestia is immortal. She will live forever." "I know that," he said defensively. "Right. There's no stress over an heir, because she doesn't need one. Marvalia...my dad doesn't have too many years left in him: maybe twenty. And to a kingdom, twenty years is like a day. If I'm not a suitable enough ruler, Marvalia will fall. Father doesn't want that at all. he wants me to be amazing, and just as great a ruler as himself." "Well...you never know." "Huh?" Czar gave the child a strange look. "Maybe it's his way of looking out for you." Tactic began to slowly stride around as he talked. "If you becoming a great king will protect you in the near future, maybe that's what you should do. Or maybe... Maybe he's just confused of what you want..." "You have a point there," Czar sighed. "But, you don't know him. I've seen him, and all he cares about is his kingdom. Spend your life with him, and see how he acts." Tactic stayed silent. Czar wandered what was going through his head. He just stood there, staring at the sky, at Celestia's radiant sun. "I see where you're coming from," he finally stated. "But...you don't want to disappoint Princess Celestia, do you?" Czar's heart skipped a beat when he heard that name. "N-no, I guess not," he sighed. "Good. Now, please come with me, Prince Czar," Tactic said. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he sighed. *** Czar obtained a myriad of strange and spiteful looks as he and Tactic returned to the castle. It looked suspicious, what with someone as shady-looking as Czar traveling with a young child. Don’t you have better things to do than gossip over stupid shit like this? Czar thought to himself as he walked. Tactic carried himself as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Since, apparently, he was only eight, that might be the exact truth. He had no idea that half of Canterlot thought that he was going to get molested and murdered in a back alley somewhere. “Hey, kid,” Czar whispered. “It’s Tactic,” he responded quickly and incensed. “Sorry, Tactic,” he repeated, “how long exactly is it until we get back? I took a different route to get to the building..." "This isn't the quickest way back, but I know the path well, so we won't get lost. Why do you ask?" "Because," Czar glanced around, "we're getting a lot of weird looks...who knows what they're thinking?" "I know they're looking," he replied, "but who cares? It's not like we live to impress them." Damn, this kid's full of surprises, Czar thought to himself. "True, true..." "You have to learn to not worry about what others think about you. As long as you know the truth, you don't have to worry." “Uh…huh… So, how about you tell me a little about yourself? You seem like an interesting young fellow.” “There’s not much to tell,” he replied, “my mother was an average citizen here; she worked at a bakery, selling bread and sweets. That’s how my father and my mother met. Every day, after training, he would stop by the bakery and buy bread. After a while, they talked and after a few more details, they married. They had me after she’d moved into the castle with my father. I’m preparing to train to become a soldier, just like my father.” “Sounds a hella lot better than my life…” Czar sighed. “Well, why don’t you tell me about yourself,” Tactic suggested. “Alright. You know about my royalty, so that’s out already…I was born and raised in Marvalia, and this is the first time I’ve been outside my country. My birth was an unexpected one; my mother found out she was pregnant with me after her time of the month didn’t roll by-“ “The time of the month? What’s that? Is it a gathering?” Tactic interrupted. You dumbass, he’s seven! He doesn’t know what a period is! Czar thought. “Uhm, it’s not important. Anywho, she told my father, and, since he was against abortion, decided to keep me. In a way, I wished they had never met.” “Wh-what! Why? You didn’t want two people to fall in love? That’s horrible!” he shouted, horrified. “No, they weren’t in love…you know where, um, babies come from, right?” Czar stuttered. “Yes, the man p-” “Okay, good, anyways,” he hurriedly interjected, “well, they just ‘did it’ because for the pleasure. They weren’t planning on having a baby, and they weren’t even married. After she gave birth to me, she left me at the palace and ran off. I…still don’t know where she went. She left the country, so it was thought she was killed by Segavas that live in a canyon to the east of Marvalia’s walls. But, I don’t believe that, she knew where they were, and she didn’t have any companions to help her fight them off. I…have no idea where she is.” “That’s…rough,” Tactic sighed, “so, why don’t you wish they never met?” “Because…look who I am. I’m nobody; I’m a useless prince who isn’t even going to take rule. I have no use in this world. I have to live every day knowing I have so much in my hands…l-let’s change topics, okay? There’s no use talking about it.” “Um…okay, er…Ah, we’re here!” Tactic called out. He pointed to the castle they arrived at. “Let’s go meet my parent’s, they’ve been wanting to meet you ever since they heard you’d be arriving.” He ran ahead into the castle steps. Ah…so that’s why he followed me…his parents wanted to meet me. Czar followed the child into the castle. *** A corridor stretched forward, decorated with ornamental suns and moons. A twilight sky was painted onto the ceiling to recreate the feeling of gazing into the beautiful mix of night and day. A large door, about half the size of the throne room’s door, was present to the left wall. Inside was a small, apartment-like room, only a lot larger and more decorative. A couch and table sat in the middle, with a sliding door, leading to a balcony overlooking a courtyard within the castle. The walls were a different color than the halls, mostly due to the of the resident’s status. A door, most likely leading to a bedroom was just out of sight, due to being in a hallway that was adjacent to the den. “Mother, Father, look who’s here!” Tactic called out. Footsteps sounded from a room somewhere, followed by a door opening. “Who is here, son?” A gruff voice said. Soon after, a large, muscular man stepped out from the hallway. He had short, crew cut hair, and green eyes, much like his son. He wore a black vest, connected by an entropic pattern of strings, much like a shoestring. Under that was a plain cotton-looking shirt of same color. His pants were brown, and looked to be something of a casual wear. Not a trace of stuck-up aura about him at all; he seemed to be a decent, modest man. “Who is this?” he gestured to Czar, who froze when he saw Tactic’s father’s size. “This is Czar! I found him in town,” he explained, “I told him that you wanted to see him, so he agreed to follow me. Besides, he was expected to return soon anyway. “A-are you serious?” he responded, astonished. “N-nice to meet you, Prince Czar, my humblest apologies, I should’ve given you a proper welcome,” he bowed out of respect. “Nice to meet you, as well. No need for formalities, I’m much rather comfortable with casual conversation. Actually, I’m comfortable with no conversation, but I’ll deal with it for now. “As you wish, Prince Czar,” he replied. Yeesh, I hate it when people do this. “Please, just Czar. You have a royal status as well; I don’t see why you need to be so formal. We are equals here.” “I-It’s always good etiquette to be kind to royalty, whether it be your own or from another country,” he said awkwardly. “I guess, but still, calm down. I’m not going to crucify you or anything if you act anything less than charitable. So, sir, what is your name?” “Stratagem, Praetor of the guard,” he said. “Are you finding your stay enjoyable?” “Of course,” Czar lied. “Um, where’s Mother?” Tactic asked. “She’s closing the bakery now,” Stratagem answered, “she’ll be home any minute.” He turned to Czar. “So, what do you think of Equestria so far? How different is it to Marvalia?” “It seems…peaceful.” Czar was fishing for words that sounded kinder than dull. “It’s quite different than Marvalia. The weather controls itself; I’ve never seen pegasi control the weather before…” “Interesting. Er, I’m sorry to sound rude, but Tactic and I need to talk.” “About what?” Czar asked. “Is it about his training?” “How did you know?” “He told me about his hopes of being a soldier like you,” Czar explained. “He’s seven, isn’t he? Is that old enough to begin physical training here?” “Yes, but he won’t actually pick up a real weapon until he’s thirteen and passes the exam.” “Well, I’ll be leaving. It’s almost five, and I need to head back to my father.” “Best wishes, I hope to see you later,” the two bowed in respect, and, after saying goodbye to Tactic, Czar left the room. Ugh, that was hell and a half, he thought. He didn’t want to have to deal with that again. Something was different about those two, though. They seemed…simple. Even though they were overly formal, they seemed to know how to carry on basic conversation. The kid himself, though, he was interesting. He appeared to be able to carry on a thoughtful conversation. He was overly intelligent. He even had something to shoot for, even though it was sort of already decided for him. Regardless, he went for it, so he must’ve wanted it himself to some extent… Czar walked back to his quarters casually, passing by no one in the process. As he tumbled into his bed once more, he examined the clock on the wall. 4:17. He had at least forty minutes to rest before having to do whatever his father wanted. He spent those minutes on blissful rest, thinking of nothing, not knowing what was to come. Chapter 3Czar never thought he could miss someone. He’d never once thought that he could ever have the emotional capacity to long for someone’s presence; especially to someone he’d never even met. Especially to someone who abandoned him. Czar missed his mother. He’d never thought about his mother before. If he did, the thought was dismissed quickly, and not much worry was placed on it. His conversation with Tactic made him think about his mother relentlessly as he laid on his bed, staring at the pale white wall. He wondered what she looked like, what she smelled like, how her hair looked, how her voice sounded…He longed to feel the motherly embrace he’d never felt… “Czar, come one, get up; we need to attend the meeting,” Caesar burst into the room and suddenly exclaimed. Czar silently sat up from his bed, combed his hair with his fingers and followed his father. “Hm, normally you have a quip or some other sarcastic remark following something like that. Is something the matter?” Czar bluntly replied, “No.” “Fair enough,” his father sighed. Yet again, Czar was led through the halls of Canterlot Castle by his father. This time, Czar was not mentally complaining about his surroundings; he was calculating the outcome of a decision he was tentative of making. Caesar glimpsed back at his son discreetly to see what he was doing, out of curiosity. As usual, his father thought, hair over his eyes, not saying a word…he worries me. A king isn’t supposed to be anti-social. Ah, well, he’ll get over it. With a sigh, he went back to leading his son. He took a left, through a doorway, up a spiraling staircase, down another corridor, through a door on his right, and, finally, stepped into the Twilight wing. The entire time, neither spoke a word. It was the textbook case of estranged family. “Father…” Czar said quietly. “Hm?” he responded, startled by the sudden sound. “What did Mother look like?” Caesar stopped in his tracks, and so did Czar. Czar could not see what his father was doing. To him, it looked like he was staring at the floor in silence, as if trying to recall the face of the woman he knew long ago, whom he forgot and never thought about until now. “I don’t remember,” he finally sighed. Figures, Czar thought to himself, dissapointed, he completely forgot. He probably never even cared. Caesar hung his head, hot tears falling down his cheeks. They shone against the sunlight leaking through the tapestry-laden window. He said he forgot, but he could never forget. He would never forget. He’d always remember her long, full hair that tickled her waist; her grand green eyes that always shone with happiness and comfort. Caesar would never forget her pure, white face that seemed to glow in the gray and brown textures of Marvalia. Caesar would never forget the woman that crushed his heart and left the pieces to blow off into the wind. He continued walking, hoping his son wouldn’t see his face, hoping he wouldn’t see his weakness. He tried his best to subtly wipe his tears, and succeeded without questioning from Czar. *** The meeting was nothing serious; just an informational briefing on happenings across Equestria. Unlike Caesar, Princess Celestia had done a great job of keeping the kingdom calm and contained. In the past 25 years, the worst reported offense to a local authority was an armed robbery somewhere in Manehatten. It being a big city, it was amazing to hear that its alleys were not completely plagued with crime. Even in the darker, more sinister part of Canterlot, not a lot of immense violence occurs, only heated arguments and the occasional fistfight, but nothing serious. In Marvalia, violence, murder, and burglary are pedestrian, which paints a negative picture for its ruler. “How are you able to handle all this land with the lowest crime rate in the world?” questioned Caesar with wide eyes. “Well, why wouldn’t I?” she responded daintily, “life in all of Equestria is simple. We practice the ways of the Elements of Harmony, to ensure that this is the very way of life. The Elements saved the lives of everyone in the world. So my people worked tirelessly to live their lives in peace and harmony trying their best to forget petty mistakes and problems that can be avoided by taking the calm route. Now, like the Segavas, not everyone decided to live that way of life.” “Ah, understandable,” Caesar replied. “With all due respect, the Elements of Harmony never really made their way into our history. We mainly kept to ourselves majorly due to our size. So…the people of Marvalia never really took to your harmonious ways.” Celestia delicately responded, “To each their own, I suppose.” The Princess of the sun glanced over to Czar, who was sitting in his chair with an unfazed, uninterested look on his face. “Did you hear all of that, dear?” she called. Czar quickly looked up to see Celestia, his father, and other meeting attendants with their eyes on him. “Yes, Your Highness,” he replied in a flat tone. Not enough to be rude, but nowhere near enough to be interested. “Are you sure? You haven’t said a word at all,” she pressed. This might have not been apparent to the others in the room, but Czar caught a trace of playfulness in her voice. “I’m sure, Your Highness.” “Good, it’d be a shame if all this intriguing information went over your head.” She said. Was that…sarcasm? Czar thought to himself, a slight smile touching the corners of his lips. *** The wood of the chair slammed into the porcelain white floor with tremendous force. The heavy breathing of Caesar was reverberating off every wall, making the sound of teardrops dripping onto the floor unable to be heard. Caesar bent over to lift the chair he’d thrown in anger, but as soon as he put his hands around the legs, the anger grew again, and he let go. Instead, he decided to kick the chair into wall. His anger was fueled by the depression, heartbreak, and feeling of failure as a father that filled his heart. He choked back his tears, but failed miserably. The hot, salty water flowed openly down his cheeks and fell onto his shirt and floor. Vented enough to stop vandalizing, he picked the chair and roughly shoved it back to its original place, only slightly more beat up. Caesar sat on the bed and put his face in his hands. “Dammit!” he swore into the flesh of his palms. “Dammit!! Why, why, why!?” he seemed to ask himself. “You had to remind me…you had to make me remember her face… why, Regalia….why…” sobbing, Caesar stood, still holding his face to his mouth as more tears flowed. He desperately tried to block out the image of Regalia, the image of the woman who left Czar in Caesar’s care, and fled the kingdom, leaving Caesar to take care of a son he didn’t want. He tried his best to raise him, but he had no idea. He’d not prepared for something like that at all, and barely knew how to handle it. Even now, he’d seen what a horrible job he’d done. His own son hated him; they never bonded, spent time together, or even spoke. Caesar failed as a father, and it ate him away. *** “Czar, wait,” Celestia called. He turned as Princess Celestia walked toward him. “Yes?” he asked. “Come with me, into the throne room.” “Er, why?” he questioned. “I can’t have a conversation with you?” Celestia asked in with a mock tone of taken offense. “Uh, well…I guess?” “Your Highness?” Caesar approached behind Czar, “do you need him for something?” “I just want to have a conversation with him. No harm in that, is there?” “No, I don’t see why not. Well then, I’ll leave him to you. I, uh, need finish something up.” “Very well. Good day,” Celestia said as Caesar departed. “Well, follow me,” Celestia turned around, and walked in the direction of the throne room. With a sigh and shrug, Czar followed Celestia. “Is…something the matter?” he asked as he walked next to the Princess. “No,” she said in her trademark delicate voice that Czar was beginning to familiarize. He waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t continue. “Is there anything in particular you needed to ask me?” Czar asked again. “You’re asking a lot of questions; it’s not like you. Are you feeling alright?” Celestia asked with a teasing tone in her voice. It was true; Czar was acting very out of character. The silent, ever-bored teenager was now curious and always asking questions. “Well, excuse me; I believe anyone would have a change of character if they were having a sudden private audience with the Princess of the Sun.” Czar quickly recovered. Celestia didn’t respond. She only walked in silence. In a few minutes, they reached the doors of the throne room. Celestia pushed open the doors, a seemingly routine action judging by how she carried herself as she entered the large, decorated room. “Grand, isn’t it?” Celestia sighed. She seemed almost satirical as she spoke. “To be honest, it is,” Czar responded. “It must’ve taken a lot of effort for the artists to paint this mural.” He surveyed the two murals, both ornate and beautiful. “Yes, it did…” Princess Celestia spoke softly. “Luna and I painted these murals ourselves…it took weeks of work…” “You two did these yourselves?” Czar asked in honest shock. “Yes…we wanted to put a little bit of ourselves into our home. But…” Celestia let the sentence trail off. “’But’ what?” “I’m thinking…I’m thinking of covering it.” “W-why? It’s beautiful! You would cover so much work, so much emotion?” Czar protested. “Every day, I look at that mural,” Princess Celestia pointed at the mural showing a silhouette of Princess Luna, “and I see my sister…my beautiful sister who I let down.” Celestia ascended the steps of her throne, and sat, a forlorn, melancholy air replacing her majestic aura. “But, wasn’t it Princess Luna who betrayed you? She’s the one who tried to take over the world with the night-“ “Yes, but it was me who caused it! I never showed her the love a sister should! I abandoned her…all she wanted was my love, and I never gave it to her…and then what? I cast her away to the moon, left her all alone. I was a horrible sister…” Celestia looked away from Czar, not wanting him to see her tears. “I can’t look at her; every day, it reminds me of all the sins I’ve committed, all the wrongs I’ve done to my sister…” Czar was ambivalent as to how to handle this situation. Here was a several hundred millennia year old embodiment of the Sun venting her doubts and pains to him. Off of the top of his head, he said something he thought would never escape his lips; comfort. “Um, Your Highness, I don’t know how you feel right now, but I’m certain that covering up your pain won’t make it disappear. I won’t say that you’re not at fault at all, but both of you had some blame in that. But, now, when she returns from her banishment, you’ll know how to treat her. It was your fault for ignoring her all that time, but…she should’ve said something. She should’ve told you how she felt about everything; that way, you could’ve come to an agreement.” Czar said. He walked to the throne, and started to put a reassuring hand on Celestia’s shoulder. He stopped just as he realized what he was going to do. Instead, he continued, “You did what you had to do, and what’s done is done. Nothing will change it, or make it go away. I don’t want you to hate yourself for it, so…uh…if you…need to get anything off your chest, I, uh, I’m here. Okay?” What the hell did I just say? I hate listening to other people’s problems, yet here I am... …Why is she so different?” Celestia stayed silent for a long time. The only thing that broke the silence was the tears dripping onto the marble stone of her throne. Czar gulped down the lump that was forming in his throat, and did his previous half-baked decision; Czar placed a tentative hand on Celestia’s shoulder. The soft silk of Celestia’s dress felt smooth to Czar’s palm. Celestia finally spoke, with sobs and shudders evident in her speech. “Th-thank you, I…understand.” She stood and wiped her eyes free of tears. “You…even though you seem rude, you’re a good person. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Me? A good person? Yeah, right… Even though Czar tried his best to feel resentful at the compliment, at his very core, he felt good. He tried to block it out, but the thought of helping someone, no matter how insignificantly, made him feel like something; the thought of a heartfelt, true compliment made him feel better than he ever had. “Go, it’s getting late, and you need rest. And…we’ll talk again soon, alright?” Despite his instinct screaming protests, that same feeling that he felt when Czar first laid eyes on Celestia overcame him once more. “Alright,” he said with a nod and a slight, reassuring smile as he left the throne room, and headed towards his quarters. Celestia stared at the mural of Princess Luna for a long while. The night when she banished her sister to the moon all those years ago came to her. What’s done is done… Czar’s words snuck themselves into her mind, interrupting her memory. Nothing will change it, or make it go away. Author's Note: To anyone who is confused, scene three takes place during scene four, and Caesar's little fit was the thing he needed to finish up. I planned on leaving, but I bet one of you would be like, "But when does that thing with Czar's dad take place?" etc., etc... Chapter 4The train’s whistle was barely audible over the commotion of a swarm of countless Canterlot citizens going about their daily routine. “All aboard!” the conductor called out to the masses. Not a second later, a large majority of the crowd filed onto the train, and soon enough, it was on the way to its destination. Czar stood on the platform, one hand holding a train ticket, the other stuck lazily in his pocket. The concept of a train was foreign to him; such a thing was nonexistent in Marvalia. He recalled Princess Celestia and his father’s discussion about the transit system. Despite Czar himself not knowing about such a thing, he found it amusing to see his father utterly clueless about it. One thing led to another, and Celestia suggested that Czar were to take a train to visit Ponyville, a neighboring village. Caesar was tentative at first, but after some convincing, he decided that it was acceptable. After all, the point of the visit was for Czar to experience another kingdom. So now, he stood there, feeling completely out of place. His father proposed that Czar should be accompanied by a few guards, but both Celestia and Czar stressed otherwise. Being followed by a couple of buff, armed and dangerous men wouldn’t bode well, as Czar’s royal standing would be revealed to the masses. As the next train headed to Ponyville arrived and emptied, Czar hopped aboard, only to be stopped by the conductor. It took him a second, but then he realized he was supposed to hand him the ticket. After doing so, he sat down at the first empty seat he came across. Czar leaned his head against the window, and stared at the mass of people. He could hear their cacophony of white noise even from behind metal and three-inch thick glass. Soon, the train whistle blew, and it was off to Ponyville. Still staring out the window, Czar’s mind wandered. To describe his mind as ‘focused’ would be a hefty lie. Czar’s thoughts went to his mother, Celestia, the mumbling of hushed conversation from the passengers, and even to his lookout point on that abandoned building in the rough part of Canterlot. After filing through the experiences in Equestria, Czar’s mind touched upon the subject of Tactic. The last time he’d seen the kid was in the Twilight wing while exploring the castle’s halls out of boredom. He hadn’t seen his parents since Tactic had introduced them. Were they doing alright? Most of all, why would Czar care? Czar stretched in his seat and shook his head, clearing his head of his previous thoughts. If he couldn’t find something to do, his wandering mind would drive him crazy. Instead, he thought of what Ponyville would look like. Czar could tell from the name that it was going to be a very lively and colorful place, where almost everyone was content with their lives. That wasn’t bad; Czar thought peace and vibrancy was enjoyable, he just could tell the mood of the village through the uncanny name. He was far from excited, but was glad to step foot out of that horrid, uptight town. Yeesh, stop thinking about that damn town, Czar commanded himself, rubbing his face with his palms, it’s such a killjoy. Turning in his seat, he adjusted himself so he could rest his shoulder against the wall of the train. In a few minutes, his eyelids closed, and a small nap promptly followed afterwards. *** The whistle of the train and the loud, squealing brakes woke Czar with a start. He groggily glanced out the window, and saw the Ponyville train station right outside. He stood, cracked his back, and measly stepped off of the train. Instead of drab ceramic white and brown wood, the train station held violet and magenta shades. A welcome change of color scheme, Czar thought to himself with a chuckle. Combing his hair with his fingers so the locks would cover his eyes, he thrust his hands into his pockets and set off to exit the train station. After leaving the platform and exiting the station, Czar’s eyes and ears were instantly blasted with cheery, colorful, psychedelic town, choc full of citizens, mostly all wearing slight smiles on their faces. The silver-haired adolescent scratched his head in confusion. Depressing brown and gray, violent and dangerous to uptight, drab and boring to colorful, bright and happy. The one word that Czar had in his mind was ‘what?’ Shaking his head and sighed, he left to explore to the town a little bit more. Not even three steps later, Czar’s stomach suddenly rumbled. Oh yeah…I haven’t had breakfast…Czar thought. He could’ve done with a companion who’d known the town. After swiveling his head around, his eye caught sight of something…different. He approached the little building, questioning the sanity of the designer. It was covered in what looked like cake frosting, lollipops and other mainstream candies. Shrugging, he entered the store. He couldn’t complain, for he didn’t feel like searching for a less strange place to eat. The bell above the shop’s door rang, alerting the employees of a paying customer. Looking around, Czar took notice of the interior design. The walls were a pink hue, resembling that of cotton candy. Multiple yellow tables for dining indoors were dotted about inside, as expected for a restaurant. The inside look a lot less like it was designed by a six-year-old, and made Czar feel a little less uncomfortable. Czar caught sight of someone behind the counter. It seemed to be a little kid, maybe around eleven or twelve. “There’s a customer here!” he called out to an unknown entity somewhere in the back. “Well what’re you waiting for? Go serve ‘em!” a light, happy yet deep voice responded. The child nodded back and hurried to the counter. “H-how may I help you?” he stammered out, his voice trembling with hasty excitement. “Er, can I have a menu first?” Czar asked. Geez, this kid is the definition of eager, he thought to himself. “Oh, yeah, of course!” In a matter of seconds, the munchkin waiter snatched a menu from the counter and thrust it towards Czar. “Do you…work here?” Czar asked, confused as to why a child was waiting him. “Yeah! I’m Carrot Cake, Sweet Tooth’s apprentice! Just call me Carrot,” he cordially responded. “I’m guessing Sweet Tooth is the owner?” Carrot nodded a response, “And why are you an apprentice to a sweet shop owner?” Czar was generally muddled by this situation. “You’re new here, aren’t you?” Carrot quipped. No, I just asked because I’m taking a survey on sweet shop owners, Czar thought. “Yeah,” he merely sighed. “Well, Sweet Tooth runs this place all by himself!” Carrot gushed. “Okay? I don’t see the big deal.” “You don’t understand, he runs, cleans, and maintains the store, calculates finances, and bakes everything he sells by himself! How someone could do that and still be sane is a mystery to me. Who wouldn’t want to be his apprentice?” Despite not sharing Carrot’s feelings in the slightest, Czar could see where he was coming from. The ability to run an apparently famous bakery without help seemed very imposing to Czar. “Wait…” Czar said as he began to realize something, “how is running this place alone so impressive if no one’s here?” the restaurant had been empty the entire time Czar had been there. “Just you wait, this place’ll be packed after six o’ clock!” Carrot said with a giddy tone. The previous voice called out from the back of the store, startling the two. “You gonna serve the guy or what?” Sweet Tooth yelled. “Oh yeah, duh!” Carrot smacked his forehead as the realization hit him. *** The afternoon sun shone down across Ponyville, further increasing the town’s look and feel of a calm, serene place. Pegasi flew through the sky, clearing clouds and having fun, while children, just out of class, ran amok in the streets, happy to be free from school. However, Czar wasn’t experiencing this. The joy of serenity and peace wasn’t intoxicating him like it had done to all the rest. He was in the hills and plains miles away from the town, enjoying his solitude with a full stomach. Unlike the dirty, rough streets of Canterlot’s darker streets, the soft breeze created waves in the grass, spreading the sweet smell of nature over the plains. Czar was enjoying his seclusion, like every day. Until he heard shouting. “I’m s…idn’t mean to h…” the prince could barely hear the details, but he was sure it was there. He scanned the hills, and couldn’t find the source. “I have to go, just, give me some time, please,” he heard again from somewhere behind him; except this time, it was a woman. Then, he caught sight of a pegasus flying back towards Ponyville. “Wait, Serene!...” a sigh came from somewhere to Czar’s left. He looked over to see a pegasus, head held low and an aura of depression hanging about him. Czar could barely make out his features, and all he could see was dark gray hair, and wings of the same colour. The pegasus, with a sigh, turned around and slowly walked towards the tree Czar had seated himself by. Once he realized where he was heading, Czar pulled his head back behind the tree. The pegasus half sat, half fell to the foot of the tree trunk, and silently sulked. After what felt like hours, Czar couldn’t stay silent anymore, and decided to reveal his presence. “So-“ was all Czar could make out before the pegasus screamed in fear. “Gah!!” he jumped away from the tree, landing on his rear and scooting away slowly. “Wh-where are you!?” he called with a shaky voice. “Behind the tree,” Czar said in a dead tone. “Yeesh, jumpy, aren’t you?” “Oh, uh, sorry,” he replied with a cough. “I didn’t know you were there.” “No matter. What happened with your friend?” Czar asked. He would’ve been more considerate, but he didn’t have time for that. He’d reserve his kindness for Princess Celestia. “N-none of your business!” the gray pegasus yelled. “Well okay, no need to yell. Again.” Czar walked back over to the tree and slumped down. “Go sulk somewhere else, this place is taken.” The pegasus stood there for a long time, silent and thinking. “She’s…that pegasus you saw? She’s Serene Breeze,” he paused and blushed, “m-my girlfriend.” “Well, not for long, with how she sounded.” “I…I know…” he responded, sounding like he was about to burst into tears. “What’s your name?” Czar asked. “Abacus. You?” He was about to say his name when he faltered. Would it be alright to tell him my real name? Czar debated with himself until the obvious came to him. Celestia hasn’t even announced my visit. Duh. “Czar.” “That’s a…strange name. You from around here?” Abacus asked. “N-no.” Czar hastily responded. “Okay.” Abacus sat down a few feet away from Czar. “So, you gonna tell me what’s up with you and your girlfriend?” Czar asked again. “Oh yeah, that,” Abacus took a deep breath to explain. “Well, she’s a bit upset because she found out I wasn’t going to graduate next year.” “And why is she mad about something like that?” Czar inquired, scratching his head in confusion. “Partly because I was already held back one year- oh, I’m sixteen, and technically, if you don’t go to Cloudsdale, you’re supposed graduate from standard education school at fifteen. Anyways, she’s mad for that, and she’s also mad because…” “Because?” Czar asked again. “I’m not taking school seriously, my grades and my being held back are proof of that, and she thinks if I can’t take school seriously, than I can’t take out relationship seriously!” Abacus stayed quiet for the longest time. His head was held low, studying the grass, not wanting to make eye contact with the silver haired unicorn. “How…how can she assume that?” “I thought the same thing, too. She’s…very serious about my education though. She’s told me time and time again to try in my classes, but I always dismiss her.” “Why don’t you take your classes seriously? It’s not that hard." “Because, they’re…” Abacus thought for a minute before answering. “They don’t interest me.” “So?” “If I’m not interested in it, I can’t care enough to put effort into it. It’s the same thing every day, boring lectures, repetitive studying activities, tests and exams, it’s just so bland.” “Have you told her that?” “Well, yeah.” He said as if it were obvious. It hit Czar in an instant. How is he not getting it? It’s obvious!? Czar rubbed his forehead in frustration. You think school is bland, boring and not interesting, and thus you can’t take it seriously. She thinks that if you find school uninteresting, then you find your relationship uninteresting. Instead of telling him this, Czar merely sighed. “What’s wrong?” “N-nothing.” Czar looked at the sun’s position, and realized how late it was. He needed to get back before the next train left. “I gotta go, Abacus,” Czar stood and began walking to town. “Will you be back anytime soon?” Abacus stood quickly and looked to Czar. “Uh, why?” “Because, well…” Abacus coughed, “I, uh, I’m afraid Serene might actually call it off if I try to talk to her so soon, so, I didn’t want to be alone for too long…I’m not exactly what you call popular.” Czar wanted to smack him. He wanted to think he was pitiful and not worth his time. But he couldn’t. Instead, he turned his head towards the pegasus, and said, “Yeah, I’ll be back soon.” “R-really? Sweet!” Abacus thrust his fist into the air triumphantly. “Seeya,” Czar turned and jogged to the train station before it was too late. On the train, Czar held his head in his hand, gasping for breath from his long jog. He thought long and hard about why he didn’t just leave that Abacus guy alone, why he didn’t think negatively about him. Why had he been so considerate to a random stranger? Author’s Note: Sorry this took so long guys, the only excuse I have is laziness. I hope you can forgive me, I hope I can finish this soon so I can get to work on some other fics I have planned. If I don’t start Somewhere Out There right away, it’s because I have a lot of other projects I’ve gotten roped into, and I’ve been getting adjusted to school again. (Yay school - _-) Chapter 5A cold breeze kicked up a cloud of dust atop the abandoned building that Czar had become so familiar with. For Tactic, who’d just ascended the stairs to the rooftop and was overlooking a small portion of Canterlot, it was a sad sight not to see his newfound friend perched on the edge like a hawk. Tugging his jacket over him to shield him from the slightly chilly wind, he turned and left the building; he’d figured it would be best just to go back home. He’d become worried not to see his friend where he usually would hole up at for a week now. Tactic had thought about visiting the Princess or the visiting foreign king, but he was too shy to do so, even if Princess Celestia was a thoughtful and caring individual. Not wanting to stay in this derelict sect longer than he had to, Tactic half walked, half ran back to the more familiar, calmer streets of Canterlot. *** “And where exactly would I find her?” “She absolutely loves this place near Everfree Forest; she’d always gather up some clouds and watch the animals frolic. It’s barely half an hour away from the outskirts of Ponyville.” “I still don’t see how you can’t just do this on your own…” Czar recalled the words of his last conversation with Abacus as he leaned against a stationary wagon on the street. His main concern was, if this Serene Breeze was where Abacus had said, how would he reach her? Clouds weren’t exactly accessible for anyone who wasn’t a pegasus. He imagined an embarrassing scenario of himself trying to get her attention via yelling, which ended in a not-so-beneficial way. With a sigh, he pushed himself off the side of the wagon and trekked on to meet this Serene Breeze character. After a good half hour of walking, Czar reached the supposed favorite resting area of Abacus’s lover. As soon as he realized what he was doing, anxiety set in. This…is the first time I’m talking to a girl my age… Czar smacked his forehead, sighing with an exasperated tone. Oh get off it, man, she’s taken, what do I have to worry about? Despite thinking that, Czar was still quite nervous about talking to a female peer. “U-uh…” he said up toward the cloud that held Serene Breeze. “Uh….” He repeated, louder, “are you Serene Breeze?” Straight to the point, good, Czar reassured himself. Wait, should I have been so straightforward? I might sound like a creep… “Erm…wh-who are you?” she responded, her voice frightened and soft. “Um, I need to tell you something,” as soon as he spoke, Czar wanted to kick himself. That’s not how you bring that up! Jeez, you’re an idiot! “And…that is?” her voice was still quiet and shy. Yep, you scared her. “Do you know someone by the name of Abacus?” Czar managed to speak. When she heard his name, Serene Breeze’s mood instantly changed.. “Oh, yes, I know him. Hold on, I’m coming down now,” she called as she hopped off the cloud. With a thud, she landed gracefully on the grass, ready to continue this awkward conversation. “What about him?” she inquired. “He wanted to tell you that,” Czar stopped to sigh. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, he thought to himself. “Abacus doesn’t-“ Czar stopped suddenly. Silence followed the sudden stop. Why am I going say this, the anti-social prince thought, like hell is she going to believe me! I’m just some guy that showed up saying I know her boyfriend. No one’s stupid enough to believe that. I hope. “Um…are you okay?” Serene asked. “Follow me,” Czar blurted out, then turned around and walked away. Serene just stood there, perplexed and oblivious. Czar looked over his shoulder and shouted, “C’mon, follow me.” Not knowing any other option, she followed this strange young man to wherever he was leading her. He doesn’t look too dangerous, thought Serene, he’s going back towards town, at least, so he might not try anything strange. “You better try any funny stuff, okay?” Czar didn’t respond, just kept walking. Serene caught up, and followed behind him. *** “She didn’t listen.” “Wh-what!? For real? She didn’t believe you? At all?” “Nope.” Czar watched as Abacus hung his head in despair. The two of them were at street corner, where Abacus told Czar to meet him after he had done what was asked of him. “You gotta be kidding…how will I talk with her now?” he asked no one. Abacus slumped to her floor, legs crossed forehead in his palm. Czar kneeled down and spoke quietly, trying to lower his voice to a softer tone. “I don’t know, but maybe it was because it didn’t come from you. “What?” the sullen pegasus lifted his head to look at Czar. “If you told her how you really felt yourself, she just might have listened. I don’t know for sure, but I am positive it would’ve left more of an imprint on her if it wasn’t someone she didn’t know. “B-but…she was really, really mad, man! I don’t know if she would even try to listen if I went to her…” he let his head hang again. “Well, look at you now! If you sulk over to her and mumble, of course she won’t listen to you! Go over to her and look her straight in the eyes and talk to her! I rarely actually talk to people, but I know enough that being so depressed won’t get you anywhere.” Czar sighed and rubbed his forehead. He knew that he wasn’t getting through to Abacus at all, and wouldn’t get anywhere at this rate. “Do you love her, Abacus?” Czar said. “Of course I do!” Abacus responded without a hitch. “Then prove it. Show her you’re dedicated to her! You may not care about your education, but make sure she knows you care about her! Isn’t that what started all of this? School?” “I failed my finals for the third time this year…she had enough and told me if I didn’t have enough in me to care about my schooling, then I definitely wouldn’t have enough to care about this relationship.” Abacus repeated. “Do you?” “I… I guess.” Abacus had clearly given up. “Dammit, Abacus, I’m not gonna do this if you’re just gonna sit there and not do anything about this!” Czar put his face up to Abacus’s, where only an inch was between their faces. “Do. You. Love. Her? “Yes…” Abacus said quietly…”Yes!” he repeated, louder. “Do you care about your relationship, and do you want to be with her for the rest of your life? “Yes!” Abacus shouted and stood with new resolve. “I want you to go to her and tell her this. You love her, go show her.” Czar walked behind and Abacus and pushed him forward. “Do it, kid!” “Got it!” Abacus said, and half walked, half ran off. Czar broke into a grin of accomplishment. “Gotcha,” he whispered to himself. Serene Breeze walked around the corner, right into Abacus’ path, causing him to stop in his tracks. “Did you mean it? All that you said?” She blurted out. Not wasting any time, are you? Abacus was clearly taken by surprise, but his resolve didn’t falter in the slightest. “Yeah, Serene, every word of it. I care about you, and I love you so much, and I want to be with you. I’m sorry that I seem like I don’t care about us, but I do.” “You mean it?” “Definitely.” Czar merely spectated the little scene from afar. A weird feeling was festering inside of him as he watched it as well, and he didn’t know what it was. This reunion of sorts was of his doing; most likely, without him, this wouldn’t have happened. They would’ve stayed separated and estranged until they split apart permanently. Was it accomplishment? Success? Sensitivity. Selflessness. Czar had worried about another, and stepped out of his comfort zone for the good of someone else. Czar didn’t want to admit it, but… It felt good. *** “Are you sure this will work?” Serene Breeze asked. “Not sure, but I’ll give it a try.” Czar responded. The two of them were walking through the streets of Ponyville, which was still in its slow phase of inactivity. That was a good thing, because for their plan would cause some strange looks. “Why are you doing this? Do you even know Abacus?” “Not really.” Czar responded. “Then why do this? What do you gain?” Serene, despite somewhat relieved that this skirmish would soon be resolved, was concerned as to why this strange boy would go through this much for a stranger. He didn’t look like the kind type; his flat, shoulder length silver hair was always in his eyes, his head was always somewhat lowered, and he had a bored look on his face constantly. “I…I dunno. Guess I just felt charitable today.” Czar lied. He had no idea as to why he was going through this long, boring, and tedious task. He was getting no reward for this, just a ‘thank-you,’ and Czar didn’t care for gratitude in the first place. Why was he doing this? “Ok, there he is,” Czar suddenly said as he jolted back behind a corner. “Just wait here. You’ll know when to come out.” “Wait,” Serene grabbed his arm, “first, you have to tell me what exactly you’re doing. You don’t know Abacus, or me, so why do whatever it is you’re about to do?” “I told you, I-I don’t know.” Czar was getting annoyed by this girl’s questions. He told the truth, why won’t she lay off? “I don’t believe that at all. There’s got to be some reason, there’s a reason for everything, or else nothing would get done. So why don’t you just tell me?” “Fine, you want a reason?” Czar whispered harshly, to prevent Abacus from hearing him. “Pri-er, someone important to me says that there’s good in me. She said that no matter what anyone else says, I will always have that kindness in me. I guess... I guess I wanted to prove her right.” Czar was surprised of what he just said. It just…came out. And the scariest thing was it felt true. Serene stayed quiet for a while. She looked like she was deep in thought as she leaned her back against the building and bit her thumbnail. Soon, she spoke up. “I guess…that’s a good reason. I just hope you know what you’re doing.” she said. “Me too,” Czar muttered under his breath.
Chapter 1The morning sun shone across the sky, turning its original blue home a light mix of orange and pink. The moon was still slightly visible, but only just. The cart flew through the air, assisted by horned men, piloting it with their magic. The Everfree Forest stood docile yet threatening under them, teeming with creatures and mysterious plant life. “Equestria works differently than Marvalia, in more ways than one.” A horned man was lecturing someone who looked to be his son, judging by their resemblance. “Their monarch, Princess Celestia is immortal. So, there is no need for worry over the next ruler in line. Also, the weather is able to controlled, unlike in Marvalia. Pegasi manipulate the weather by moving the clouds around and setting them off. The only similarity is the moon and sun being raised by the Princess.” “You told me this already, Father,” the youth responded, annoyed. “Yes, I know, but I’m making sure that you remember. Also, you will be staying in the third floor hall in the guest quarters. The room is at the end of the hall, be sure to remember. “Yes, Father…” “King Caesar, we’re nearing Canterlot,” a pilot sounded out from the front of the cart. “Splendid! Czar, help the pilots carry the luggage, will you? Some of the others came down with an illness and couldn’t come,” King Caesar said. “Yes, Father,” Czar responded. The cart came to a stop as it reached the ground. Not one hundred feet away was Canterlot Castle, standing there in all of its glory. Upper crust citizens were walking about the city, as prim and proper as they could be. It was another thing Czar hated about this place. it was so… Czar shuddered, the thoughts of the disturbing things about this place getting to him. He went toward the back of the wooden cart and magically levitated a few packages of luggage. Czar sighed as he walked with the other unicorns into the castle’s front gates. *** Plop. Czar fell onto the bed, which was white and fluffy. This is the only exceptional thing about this place, Czar thought with a sigh. Everyone here was holding themselves as if they had a broomstick formally shoved up their ass. Their noses were always in the air and they strutted around flaunting their lush swagger. The only time they spoke it was about their purses lined with bits or some ‘party’ going on at even more stuck up person’s house. By party, they meant some lackluster get together with expensive champagne and other meaningless refreshments. Czar leaned on his elbows as he surveyed his room once more. Everything was white and pure, the only decoration being a sun carved over the entrance to a balcony. The guests’ quarters were in the Dawn wing, if he recalled correctly. Czar remembered his father telling him about the three different wings: The Dawn wing, the Dusk wing, and the Twilight wing. The Dawn wing was prominently on the white color scheme, while the Dusk wing was mainly colored black and blue. The Twilight wing was the color of twilight: purple. The color scheme was inspired by the royal sisters: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Before Luna’s banishment, the two ruled Equestria peacefully and in harmony. The castle’s builders took it upon themselves to decorate three different sections of the castle, all inspired by the sisters. The Dawn wing on the east was where Celestia woke and rose the sun, and the Dusk wing was where Luna stayed, and it was where the sun set, introducing the night. The Twilight wing was where the sisters met and interacted. It was where the most activity in the castle took place and it was also where the throne room was located. Yeesh, how can I remember all this? Czar thought, I must have listened to him lecture me for over three hours…I need rest. Czar crawled under the covers after kicking off his shoes. Screw acting un-royal, I’m sleepy… *** “Come on Czar, really? We didn’t even arrive an hour ago and you’re already turning in.” Caesar sighed while rubbing his forehead in frustration, his hand tracing the base of his horn. Father, leave me be; I’m tired, dammit. Instead of letting those words pass his lips, Czar sat up and scratched the back of his head. “It was a long trip,” he sighed. “I know that, but you don’t see me passing out, do you? Now, let us go meet the Princess, we have things to discuss.” Caesar left the room with Czar following. White…White…Hey, look, more white…Wow, some more white… Czar was fuming with aggravation that radiated throughout the pure white halls. They encountered few of the castle’s inhabitants, but other than that, the trip was dull. Until, that is, Caesar reached his destination. Czar was taken aback by the sudden change in color scheme. The repetitive white halls were replaced by the wondrous lilac, purple, and violet Twilight wing. Czar actually took interest in the new surroundings, and drank in as much of the vibrant colors as he could. “King Caesar, sir, the throne room is this way,” a servant said, who appeared out of nowhere. “Ah, thank you, good sir,” Caesar replied. The two were led through more ornate, grand doorways until they reached a unique passageway. Two doors stood firm and magnificent. One door was white, the other blue. The white door boasted a symbol of the sun; the blue door had a symbol of the moon. The doors barely reached the ceiling, which was around 50 meters above Czar. The servant turned the knobs and pushed the doors open. Czar’s jaw dropped as he witnessed utter beauty. In the large room, two thrones sat next to each other, one for Princess Celestia, the other for Princess Luna. Tapestries and other resplendent decorations thickly ornamented the room. All around, murals of the royal sisters plastered the walls. Large, ornate windows interrupted the murals, bringing in beams of sunlight into the room. And all this merely magnified the beauty Czar was observing. Princess Celestia was sitting in her throne, conversing with a servant. Her prismatic hair flowed as if it were alive, augmenting her dazzling magnificence. Her eyes were a light pink that looked all-knowing, wise, and full of love. Gah, what am I thinking? Czar shook his head to disrupt his trance. He did his habitual motion of covering his eyes with his silver hair, which casted a shadow over the top portion of his face. He used this tactic to survey his surroundings and other people without being noticed. Using this, he was able to study Celestia and ponder why she put him under that stupor. Was it the curves of her body under her gown? Was it her sparkling, prismatic flowing hair? Was it her flawless, pure skin? The Princess looked over to Caesar. “Ah, King Caesar.” She dismissed the servant, and descended the few steps at her throne. “Your Highness,” Caesar bowed out of respect, as did Czar. Celestia returned the gesture. “A bit early, aren’t you? Ah, no matter. You found your rooms, correct?” Celestia asked. “Certainly,” Caesar replied. “You have heard of my son, am I right?” He gestured his arm towards Czar. “Yes, you mentioned him.” Princess Celestia studied Czar’s appearance. After a few seconds, she said, “Why must you cover your face like that? Can you even see through all that hair?” “Er, sorry, Your Highness,” Czar brushed his hair aside with his fingers, showing off his sharp, gray eyes. “My, your eyes, they’re beautiful,” Celestia remarked, “they blend perfectly with your hair.” “Thank you, Your Highness,” Czar bowed out of respect, and due to the fact that his cheeks grew a light pink. “Please, it’s unnecessary to call me ‘Highness’ all the time. Please, just call me Princess Celestia.” “Of course, Your Hi- I mean, Princess Celestia.” Czar replied. That’s a first; a monarch irritated by being called ‘Your Highness.’ Father so enjoys having his royalty being flaunted about. “Better,” Princess Celestia smiled and ruffled Czar’s hair. “Shall we carry on? We have much to talk about…” “Yes, we shall,” Caesar and Celestia left the throne room, with Czar willingly following behind, only due to the presence of Celestia. *** The wind blew carelessly throughout Canterlot. The white, twisty, curved buildings covered the city; at least, the good part of it. This corner was untouched by the glam and shine of the rest of the city. This is where the menial tasks were carried out. Industrial parks and factories were packed together like a gray city. The fumes that were created were sent through a magical filter placed on top of each building, which disrupted their harmful pollutants, converting them into harmless, breathable air. A lot of the rejected and violent citizens of Canterlot and nearby cities holed up and formed in abandoned factories, making this the all-around unwanted side of Canterlot. Celestia did her best to scrub out the violent people and help them to change their ways, but it was to no avail. They stayed in their places and didn’t try to expand, but they were still festering in their negativity. Despite all that, Czar found this place enjoyable. He was perched on top of a three story tall building that was once a factory. What exactly the factory produced, however, was a mystery to Czar, because nothing but dust, rodents, and more dust called this place home. The building was on the edge of the so-called ‘unwanted’ side of Canterlot, where he could both witness the arrogant tightwads and the roughhousing ruffians go about their day. Eugh, I absolutely hate this place! Czar screamed in his mind. All day, he has to listen to his father go on and on about politics and the make-up of Princess Celestia’s monarchy. “It’s pretty damn simple, Father,” Czar muttered to himself, “Celestia reigns, decades pass, Celestia’s still reigns, centuries pass, and guess what, she still reigns. I don’t see why you need to lecture me on this every damn second…” Celestia…what about her was so amazing? Did she have some enchantment cast on her to swoon everyone that witnessed her? No, that can’t be right. Caesar, for the most part, remained unmoved by Princess Celestia’s appearance. Czar stood and stretched his limbs. Trying to get the thoughts out of his head, he turned over to the white and pure Canterlot city. He could barely see the citizens, and for that, he was glad; he couldn’t take it anymore. After he escaped the grasp of his father by being granted by Celestia to go explore the city, he overheard gruelingly boring conversations. Why can’t you talk about what really matters, Czar began to think to himself, as if he rehearsing what he were to say to the entire city, you can do so much more. You can learn about history, read great stories or create them, find love…but instead, you only look at your cash filled purses and find a way to stuff more in there. You insult those less powerful than you. You waste your life on these meaningless material things, and for nothing… Czar turned his head to the door that led him to the roof. He sat up and approached the open door, and peered down the stairway. The stairs were rusty and old and the walls were gray and the paint was peeling. I must tell Celestia about this, I guess. She might be able to find a good use for it. Czar descended the stairway and reached the third floor. It was void of anything except dust. It was spacious and gray with a stairway that led to the lower floors. He brushed a stray hair that was tickling his nose and turned his toe. He wasn’t going to leave. Not just yet. He was going to enjoy his freedom a little bit more. With a swing, Czar’s legs dangled over the lip of the rooftop edge once more as he surveyed the piece of Canterlot. He examined the so-called “border” the building rested on. A walkway, with business offices on either side descends about a quarter mile, until it reached the abandoned factory. The offices stop there, then a hill adds a small divide. Few working factories are scattered throughout the mess of gray, and not one house is seen. Czar now dubbed this place a new escape for him. No royalty, no tightwads, just himself. Czar enjoyed it in any way he could.
Chapter 2“Your son seemed… awkward today. May I ask why?” Celestia situated herself in her seat and crossed her legs. “He’s just rebellious. Czar doesn’t want to do anything, so he just keeps quiet and refuses to speak to anyone,” Caesar replied, writhing in his seat. “You look uncomfortable. Do you not wish to talk about him?” Celestia asked. “It’s not that. it’s just…” Caesar paused. He scratched his nose with his thumbnail and sniffed. “I’m worried that he won’t be a suitable enough heir.” “Ah, I see,” Princess Celestia sighed, “Give him time. You never know what he’s capable of.” “I don’t, but he shouldn’t leave me in the dark. If he wants to become king, he needs to show me he can!” Caesar argued. After a few moments of silence, Celestia responded “What if he doesn’t want to?” Caesar looked at her, perplexed. “You can’t possibly be serious.” “I’ll think you’ll come to believe I can,” Princess Celestia retorted with nerve. “Well, either way, he needs to. Speaking of him, I must go find him. He’s been gone too long. Stupid child probably went and gotten himself into trouble.” Caesar stood and went to exit the room. “I shall return, Your Highness. Until then,” he bowed out of respect. “Until then,” she replied, sharing a bow. “Do you even worry about his well-being, Caesar?” she whispered to herself. *** "You can't just sit here all day, staring over the city. Get back to the castle, Czar. You shouldn't walk about the streets; you're royalty. "There's nothing waiting for me there, Father. I'd just be sitting at a table filled with more politics and other boring riff-raff." "Well, that 'boring riff-raff' is what controls what happens in Equestria!" "Yeah, you've told me before," Czar sighed as he cast his eyes back towards the city. He watched the residents of Canterlot, all prim and proper, go about their daily business. "Listen here, you'll be back to your quarters at five. Do you hear me, Czar?" Caesar pointed his finger authoritatively at his son. "Do you hear me?" "Yes sir, I'll be in my quarters at five." He responded, not making eye contact. Caesar, realizing that taking this any farther wouldn't solve anything, sighed, and made his way back down the stairs of the abandoned building. Czar stared at the city for a long time, not fixing his gaze on anything else. He thought on why he was here, and its importance. To learn what it's like in another country, to gain ideas when I take rule. Sounds like a grand idea to me. Czar wished desperately to be back in Marvalia, back to where his father wouldn't be on his case about every single thing he would do. At least there, he could have some peace... "Who are you, mister?" A child's voice called out. Czar turned around to see a child, about three feet tall, staring at him. He had very short, almost crew cut, hair and dark green eyes. "I'm, uh...I'm a newcomer. I just moved here,” he responded. Czar wanted to stay a little low, for his political status might inspire some people to do some horrid and cruel things to him. "Are you Prince Czar from Marvalia?" the little boy asked. "H-how did you know?" Czar asked in shock. "I stay at the castle, too. I'm a soldier's son, and I'm going to be a soldier when I'm older. I heard that you came here, but I barely saw you around the castle, so I came to find you. I'm Tactic." The child held out his hand, the common gesture for a handshake. Well, isn't he just the formal little bugger. "Nice to meet you, Tactic. And apparently, you already know me." "Yeah, sorry about that. But, I think it'd be best if you came back to the castle," he said bluntly. "Uh, what?" Czar was confused. Is someone uncanny prowling about, someone that wants to harm me? "Your father will be angry if you don't return.” Oh. Just Caesar. "I don't care if he gets mad or not," Czar sighed. "Why? He's your dad, you should listen to him." He said "Look, I don't know how you've been raised, but," Czar looked around, and sat up off of the edge, walking closer to the boy, "just because your parents tell you something, doesn't mean it's always right." "Are you saying...your dad's wrong?" Tactic tilted his head, like a dog. "Er, yes and no. It's just," he rubbed his forehead, just below his horn, "what he wants is different than what I want. He wants me to be this great king, and...I don't." "Well, he wants what's best for you; that's why he does that." "Does he? Marvalia isn't like Equestria. Celestia is immortal. She will live forever." "I know that," he said defensively. "Right. There's no stress over an heir, because she doesn't need one. Marvalia...my dad doesn't have too many years left in him: maybe twenty. And to a kingdom, twenty years is like a day. If I'm not a suitable enough ruler, Marvalia will fall. Father doesn't want that at all. he wants me to be amazing, and just as great a ruler as himself." "Well...you never know." "Huh?" Czar gave the child a strange look. "Maybe it's his way of looking out for you." Tactic began to slowly stride around as he talked. "If you becoming a great king will protect you in the near future, maybe that's what you should do. Or maybe... Maybe he's just confused of what you want..." "You have a point there," Czar sighed. "But, you don't know him. I've seen him, and all he cares about is his kingdom. Spend your life with him, and see how he acts." Tactic stayed silent. Czar wandered what was going through his head. He just stood there, staring at the sky, at Celestia's radiant sun. "I see where you're coming from," he finally stated. "But...you don't want to disappoint Princess Celestia, do you?" Czar's heart skipped a beat when he heard that name. "N-no, I guess not," he sighed. "Good. Now, please come with me, Prince Czar," Tactic said. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he sighed. *** Czar obtained a myriad of strange and spiteful looks as he and Tactic returned to the castle. It looked suspicious, what with someone as shady-looking as Czar traveling with a young child. Don’t you have better things to do than gossip over stupid shit like this? Czar thought to himself as he walked. Tactic carried himself as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Since, apparently, he was only eight, that might be the exact truth. He had no idea that half of Canterlot thought that he was going to get molested and murdered in a back alley somewhere. “Hey, kid,” Czar whispered. “It’s Tactic,” he responded quickly and incensed. “Sorry, Tactic,” he repeated, “how long exactly is it until we get back? I took a different route to get to the building..." "This isn't the quickest way back, but I know the path well, so we won't get lost. Why do you ask?" "Because," Czar glanced around, "we're getting a lot of weird looks...who knows what they're thinking?" "I know they're looking," he replied, "but who cares? It's not like we live to impress them." Damn, this kid's full of surprises, Czar thought to himself. "True, true..." "You have to learn to not worry about what others think about you. As long as you know the truth, you don't have to worry." “Uh…huh… So, how about you tell me a little about yourself? You seem like an interesting young fellow.” “There’s not much to tell,” he replied, “my mother was an average citizen here; she worked at a bakery, selling bread and sweets. That’s how my father and my mother met. Every day, after training, he would stop by the bakery and buy bread. After a while, they talked and after a few more details, they married. They had me after she’d moved into the castle with my father. I’m preparing to train to become a soldier, just like my father.” “Sounds a hella lot better than my life…” Czar sighed. “Well, why don’t you tell me about yourself,” Tactic suggested. “Alright. You know about my royalty, so that’s out already…I was born and raised in Marvalia, and this is the first time I’ve been outside my country. My birth was an unexpected one; my mother found out she was pregnant with me after her time of the month didn’t roll by-“ “The time of the month? What’s that? Is it a gathering?” Tactic interrupted. You dumbass, he’s seven! He doesn’t know what a period is! Czar thought. “Uhm, it’s not important. Anywho, she told my father, and, since he was against abortion, decided to keep me. In a way, I wished they had never met.” “Wh-what! Why? You didn’t want two people to fall in love? That’s horrible!” he shouted, horrified. “No, they weren’t in love…you know where, um, babies come from, right?” Czar stuttered. “Yes, the man p-” “Okay, good, anyways,” he hurriedly interjected, “well, they just ‘did it’ because for the pleasure. They weren’t planning on having a baby, and they weren’t even married. After she gave birth to me, she left me at the palace and ran off. I…still don’t know where she went. She left the country, so it was thought she was killed by Segavas that live in a canyon to the east of Marvalia’s walls. But, I don’t believe that, she knew where they were, and she didn’t have any companions to help her fight them off. I…have no idea where she is.” “That’s…rough,” Tactic sighed, “so, why don’t you wish they never met?” “Because…look who I am. I’m nobody; I’m a useless prince who isn’t even going to take rule. I have no use in this world. I have to live every day knowing I have so much in my hands…l-let’s change topics, okay? There’s no use talking about it.” “Um…okay, er…Ah, we’re here!” Tactic called out. He pointed to the castle they arrived at. “Let’s go meet my parent’s, they’ve been wanting to meet you ever since they heard you’d be arriving.” He ran ahead into the castle steps. Ah…so that’s why he followed me…his parents wanted to meet me. Czar followed the child into the castle. *** A corridor stretched forward, decorated with ornamental suns and moons. A twilight sky was painted onto the ceiling to recreate the feeling of gazing into the beautiful mix of night and day. A large door, about half the size of the throne room’s door, was present to the left wall. Inside was a small, apartment-like room, only a lot larger and more decorative. A couch and table sat in the middle, with a sliding door, leading to a balcony overlooking a courtyard within the castle. The walls were a different color than the halls, mostly due to the of the resident’s status. A door, most likely leading to a bedroom was just out of sight, due to being in a hallway that was adjacent to the den. “Mother, Father, look who’s here!” Tactic called out. Footsteps sounded from a room somewhere, followed by a door opening. “Who is here, son?” A gruff voice said. Soon after, a large, muscular man stepped out from the hallway. He had short, crew cut hair, and green eyes, much like his son. He wore a black vest, connected by an entropic pattern of strings, much like a shoestring. Under that was a plain cotton-looking shirt of same color. His pants were brown, and looked to be something of a casual wear. Not a trace of stuck-up aura about him at all; he seemed to be a decent, modest man. “Who is this?” he gestured to Czar, who froze when he saw Tactic’s father’s size. “This is Czar! I found him in town,” he explained, “I told him that you wanted to see him, so he agreed to follow me. Besides, he was expected to return soon anyway. “A-are you serious?” he responded, astonished. “N-nice to meet you, Prince Czar, my humblest apologies, I should’ve given you a proper welcome,” he bowed out of respect. “Nice to meet you, as well. No need for formalities, I’m much rather comfortable with casual conversation. Actually, I’m comfortable with no conversation, but I’ll deal with it for now. “As you wish, Prince Czar,” he replied. Yeesh, I hate it when people do this. “Please, just Czar. You have a royal status as well; I don’t see why you need to be so formal. We are equals here.” “I-It’s always good etiquette to be kind to royalty, whether it be your own or from another country,” he said awkwardly. “I guess, but still, calm down. I’m not going to crucify you or anything if you act anything less than charitable. So, sir, what is your name?” “Stratagem, Praetor of the guard,” he said. “Are you finding your stay enjoyable?” “Of course,” Czar lied. “Um, where’s Mother?” Tactic asked. “She’s closing the bakery now,” Stratagem answered, “she’ll be home any minute.” He turned to Czar. “So, what do you think of Equestria so far? How different is it to Marvalia?” “It seems…peaceful.” Czar was fishing for words that sounded kinder than dull. “It’s quite different than Marvalia. The weather controls itself; I’ve never seen pegasi control the weather before…” “Interesting. Er, I’m sorry to sound rude, but Tactic and I need to talk.” “About what?” Czar asked. “Is it about his training?” “How did you know?” “He told me about his hopes of being a soldier like you,” Czar explained. “He’s seven, isn’t he? Is that old enough to begin physical training here?” “Yes, but he won’t actually pick up a real weapon until he’s thirteen and passes the exam.” “Well, I’ll be leaving. It’s almost five, and I need to head back to my father.” “Best wishes, I hope to see you later,” the two bowed in respect, and, after saying goodbye to Tactic, Czar left the room. Ugh, that was hell and a half, he thought. He didn’t want to have to deal with that again. Something was different about those two, though. They seemed…simple. Even though they were overly formal, they seemed to know how to carry on basic conversation. The kid himself, though, he was interesting. He appeared to be able to carry on a thoughtful conversation. He was overly intelligent. He even had something to shoot for, even though it was sort of already decided for him. Regardless, he went for it, so he must’ve wanted it himself to some extent… Czar walked back to his quarters casually, passing by no one in the process. As he tumbled into his bed once more, he examined the clock on the wall. 4:17. He had at least forty minutes to rest before having to do whatever his father wanted. He spent those minutes on blissful rest, thinking of nothing, not knowing what was to come.
Chapter 3Czar never thought he could miss someone. He’d never once thought that he could ever have the emotional capacity to long for someone’s presence; especially to someone he’d never even met. Especially to someone who abandoned him. Czar missed his mother. He’d never thought about his mother before. If he did, the thought was dismissed quickly, and not much worry was placed on it. His conversation with Tactic made him think about his mother relentlessly as he laid on his bed, staring at the pale white wall. He wondered what she looked like, what she smelled like, how her hair looked, how her voice sounded…He longed to feel the motherly embrace he’d never felt… “Czar, come one, get up; we need to attend the meeting,” Caesar burst into the room and suddenly exclaimed. Czar silently sat up from his bed, combed his hair with his fingers and followed his father. “Hm, normally you have a quip or some other sarcastic remark following something like that. Is something the matter?” Czar bluntly replied, “No.” “Fair enough,” his father sighed. Yet again, Czar was led through the halls of Canterlot Castle by his father. This time, Czar was not mentally complaining about his surroundings; he was calculating the outcome of a decision he was tentative of making. Caesar glimpsed back at his son discreetly to see what he was doing, out of curiosity. As usual, his father thought, hair over his eyes, not saying a word…he worries me. A king isn’t supposed to be anti-social. Ah, well, he’ll get over it. With a sigh, he went back to leading his son. He took a left, through a doorway, up a spiraling staircase, down another corridor, through a door on his right, and, finally, stepped into the Twilight wing. The entire time, neither spoke a word. It was the textbook case of estranged family. “Father…” Czar said quietly. “Hm?” he responded, startled by the sudden sound. “What did Mother look like?” Caesar stopped in his tracks, and so did Czar. Czar could not see what his father was doing. To him, it looked like he was staring at the floor in silence, as if trying to recall the face of the woman he knew long ago, whom he forgot and never thought about until now. “I don’t remember,” he finally sighed. Figures, Czar thought to himself, dissapointed, he completely forgot. He probably never even cared. Caesar hung his head, hot tears falling down his cheeks. They shone against the sunlight leaking through the tapestry-laden window. He said he forgot, but he could never forget. He would never forget. He’d always remember her long, full hair that tickled her waist; her grand green eyes that always shone with happiness and comfort. Caesar would never forget her pure, white face that seemed to glow in the gray and brown textures of Marvalia. Caesar would never forget the woman that crushed his heart and left the pieces to blow off into the wind. He continued walking, hoping his son wouldn’t see his face, hoping he wouldn’t see his weakness. He tried his best to subtly wipe his tears, and succeeded without questioning from Czar. *** The meeting was nothing serious; just an informational briefing on happenings across Equestria. Unlike Caesar, Princess Celestia had done a great job of keeping the kingdom calm and contained. In the past 25 years, the worst reported offense to a local authority was an armed robbery somewhere in Manehatten. It being a big city, it was amazing to hear that its alleys were not completely plagued with crime. Even in the darker, more sinister part of Canterlot, not a lot of immense violence occurs, only heated arguments and the occasional fistfight, but nothing serious. In Marvalia, violence, murder, and burglary are pedestrian, which paints a negative picture for its ruler. “How are you able to handle all this land with the lowest crime rate in the world?” questioned Caesar with wide eyes. “Well, why wouldn’t I?” she responded daintily, “life in all of Equestria is simple. We practice the ways of the Elements of Harmony, to ensure that this is the very way of life. The Elements saved the lives of everyone in the world. So my people worked tirelessly to live their lives in peace and harmony trying their best to forget petty mistakes and problems that can be avoided by taking the calm route. Now, like the Segavas, not everyone decided to live that way of life.” “Ah, understandable,” Caesar replied. “With all due respect, the Elements of Harmony never really made their way into our history. We mainly kept to ourselves majorly due to our size. So…the people of Marvalia never really took to your harmonious ways.” Celestia delicately responded, “To each their own, I suppose.” The Princess of the sun glanced over to Czar, who was sitting in his chair with an unfazed, uninterested look on his face. “Did you hear all of that, dear?” she called. Czar quickly looked up to see Celestia, his father, and other meeting attendants with their eyes on him. “Yes, Your Highness,” he replied in a flat tone. Not enough to be rude, but nowhere near enough to be interested. “Are you sure? You haven’t said a word at all,” she pressed. This might have not been apparent to the others in the room, but Czar caught a trace of playfulness in her voice. “I’m sure, Your Highness.” “Good, it’d be a shame if all this intriguing information went over your head.” She said. Was that…sarcasm? Czar thought to himself, a slight smile touching the corners of his lips. *** The wood of the chair slammed into the porcelain white floor with tremendous force. The heavy breathing of Caesar was reverberating off every wall, making the sound of teardrops dripping onto the floor unable to be heard. Caesar bent over to lift the chair he’d thrown in anger, but as soon as he put his hands around the legs, the anger grew again, and he let go. Instead, he decided to kick the chair into wall. His anger was fueled by the depression, heartbreak, and feeling of failure as a father that filled his heart. He choked back his tears, but failed miserably. The hot, salty water flowed openly down his cheeks and fell onto his shirt and floor. Vented enough to stop vandalizing, he picked the chair and roughly shoved it back to its original place, only slightly more beat up. Caesar sat on the bed and put his face in his hands. “Dammit!” he swore into the flesh of his palms. “Dammit!! Why, why, why!?” he seemed to ask himself. “You had to remind me…you had to make me remember her face… why, Regalia….why…” sobbing, Caesar stood, still holding his face to his mouth as more tears flowed. He desperately tried to block out the image of Regalia, the image of the woman who left Czar in Caesar’s care, and fled the kingdom, leaving Caesar to take care of a son he didn’t want. He tried his best to raise him, but he had no idea. He’d not prepared for something like that at all, and barely knew how to handle it. Even now, he’d seen what a horrible job he’d done. His own son hated him; they never bonded, spent time together, or even spoke. Caesar failed as a father, and it ate him away. *** “Czar, wait,” Celestia called. He turned as Princess Celestia walked toward him. “Yes?” he asked. “Come with me, into the throne room.” “Er, why?” he questioned. “I can’t have a conversation with you?” Celestia asked in with a mock tone of taken offense. “Uh, well…I guess?” “Your Highness?” Caesar approached behind Czar, “do you need him for something?” “I just want to have a conversation with him. No harm in that, is there?” “No, I don’t see why not. Well then, I’ll leave him to you. I, uh, need finish something up.” “Very well. Good day,” Celestia said as Caesar departed. “Well, follow me,” Celestia turned around, and walked in the direction of the throne room. With a sigh and shrug, Czar followed Celestia. “Is…something the matter?” he asked as he walked next to the Princess. “No,” she said in her trademark delicate voice that Czar was beginning to familiarize. He waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t continue. “Is there anything in particular you needed to ask me?” Czar asked again. “You’re asking a lot of questions; it’s not like you. Are you feeling alright?” Celestia asked with a teasing tone in her voice. It was true; Czar was acting very out of character. The silent, ever-bored teenager was now curious and always asking questions. “Well, excuse me; I believe anyone would have a change of character if they were having a sudden private audience with the Princess of the Sun.” Czar quickly recovered. Celestia didn’t respond. She only walked in silence. In a few minutes, they reached the doors of the throne room. Celestia pushed open the doors, a seemingly routine action judging by how she carried herself as she entered the large, decorated room. “Grand, isn’t it?” Celestia sighed. She seemed almost satirical as she spoke. “To be honest, it is,” Czar responded. “It must’ve taken a lot of effort for the artists to paint this mural.” He surveyed the two murals, both ornate and beautiful. “Yes, it did…” Princess Celestia spoke softly. “Luna and I painted these murals ourselves…it took weeks of work…” “You two did these yourselves?” Czar asked in honest shock. “Yes…we wanted to put a little bit of ourselves into our home. But…” Celestia let the sentence trail off. “’But’ what?” “I’m thinking…I’m thinking of covering it.” “W-why? It’s beautiful! You would cover so much work, so much emotion?” Czar protested. “Every day, I look at that mural,” Princess Celestia pointed at the mural showing a silhouette of Princess Luna, “and I see my sister…my beautiful sister who I let down.” Celestia ascended the steps of her throne, and sat, a forlorn, melancholy air replacing her majestic aura. “But, wasn’t it Princess Luna who betrayed you? She’s the one who tried to take over the world with the night-“ “Yes, but it was me who caused it! I never showed her the love a sister should! I abandoned her…all she wanted was my love, and I never gave it to her…and then what? I cast her away to the moon, left her all alone. I was a horrible sister…” Celestia looked away from Czar, not wanting him to see her tears. “I can’t look at her; every day, it reminds me of all the sins I’ve committed, all the wrongs I’ve done to my sister…” Czar was ambivalent as to how to handle this situation. Here was a several hundred millennia year old embodiment of the Sun venting her doubts and pains to him. Off of the top of his head, he said something he thought would never escape his lips; comfort. “Um, Your Highness, I don’t know how you feel right now, but I’m certain that covering up your pain won’t make it disappear. I won’t say that you’re not at fault at all, but both of you had some blame in that. But, now, when she returns from her banishment, you’ll know how to treat her. It was your fault for ignoring her all that time, but…she should’ve said something. She should’ve told you how she felt about everything; that way, you could’ve come to an agreement.” Czar said. He walked to the throne, and started to put a reassuring hand on Celestia’s shoulder. He stopped just as he realized what he was going to do. Instead, he continued, “You did what you had to do, and what’s done is done. Nothing will change it, or make it go away. I don’t want you to hate yourself for it, so…uh…if you…need to get anything off your chest, I, uh, I’m here. Okay?” What the hell did I just say? I hate listening to other people’s problems, yet here I am... …Why is she so different?” Celestia stayed silent for a long time. The only thing that broke the silence was the tears dripping onto the marble stone of her throne. Czar gulped down the lump that was forming in his throat, and did his previous half-baked decision; Czar placed a tentative hand on Celestia’s shoulder. The soft silk of Celestia’s dress felt smooth to Czar’s palm. Celestia finally spoke, with sobs and shudders evident in her speech. “Th-thank you, I…understand.” She stood and wiped her eyes free of tears. “You…even though you seem rude, you’re a good person. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Me? A good person? Yeah, right… Even though Czar tried his best to feel resentful at the compliment, at his very core, he felt good. He tried to block it out, but the thought of helping someone, no matter how insignificantly, made him feel like something; the thought of a heartfelt, true compliment made him feel better than he ever had. “Go, it’s getting late, and you need rest. And…we’ll talk again soon, alright?” Despite his instinct screaming protests, that same feeling that he felt when Czar first laid eyes on Celestia overcame him once more. “Alright,” he said with a nod and a slight, reassuring smile as he left the throne room, and headed towards his quarters. Celestia stared at the mural of Princess Luna for a long while. The night when she banished her sister to the moon all those years ago came to her. What’s done is done… Czar’s words snuck themselves into her mind, interrupting her memory. Nothing will change it, or make it go away. Author's Note: To anyone who is confused, scene three takes place during scene four, and Caesar's little fit was the thing he needed to finish up. I planned on leaving, but I bet one of you would be like, "But when does that thing with Czar's dad take place?" etc., etc...
Chapter 4The train’s whistle was barely audible over the commotion of a swarm of countless Canterlot citizens going about their daily routine. “All aboard!” the conductor called out to the masses. Not a second later, a large majority of the crowd filed onto the train, and soon enough, it was on the way to its destination. Czar stood on the platform, one hand holding a train ticket, the other stuck lazily in his pocket. The concept of a train was foreign to him; such a thing was nonexistent in Marvalia. He recalled Princess Celestia and his father’s discussion about the transit system. Despite Czar himself not knowing about such a thing, he found it amusing to see his father utterly clueless about it. One thing led to another, and Celestia suggested that Czar were to take a train to visit Ponyville, a neighboring village. Caesar was tentative at first, but after some convincing, he decided that it was acceptable. After all, the point of the visit was for Czar to experience another kingdom. So now, he stood there, feeling completely out of place. His father proposed that Czar should be accompanied by a few guards, but both Celestia and Czar stressed otherwise. Being followed by a couple of buff, armed and dangerous men wouldn’t bode well, as Czar’s royal standing would be revealed to the masses. As the next train headed to Ponyville arrived and emptied, Czar hopped aboard, only to be stopped by the conductor. It took him a second, but then he realized he was supposed to hand him the ticket. After doing so, he sat down at the first empty seat he came across. Czar leaned his head against the window, and stared at the mass of people. He could hear their cacophony of white noise even from behind metal and three-inch thick glass. Soon, the train whistle blew, and it was off to Ponyville. Still staring out the window, Czar’s mind wandered. To describe his mind as ‘focused’ would be a hefty lie. Czar’s thoughts went to his mother, Celestia, the mumbling of hushed conversation from the passengers, and even to his lookout point on that abandoned building in the rough part of Canterlot. After filing through the experiences in Equestria, Czar’s mind touched upon the subject of Tactic. The last time he’d seen the kid was in the Twilight wing while exploring the castle’s halls out of boredom. He hadn’t seen his parents since Tactic had introduced them. Were they doing alright? Most of all, why would Czar care? Czar stretched in his seat and shook his head, clearing his head of his previous thoughts. If he couldn’t find something to do, his wandering mind would drive him crazy. Instead, he thought of what Ponyville would look like. Czar could tell from the name that it was going to be a very lively and colorful place, where almost everyone was content with their lives. That wasn’t bad; Czar thought peace and vibrancy was enjoyable, he just could tell the mood of the village through the uncanny name. He was far from excited, but was glad to step foot out of that horrid, uptight town. Yeesh, stop thinking about that damn town, Czar commanded himself, rubbing his face with his palms, it’s such a killjoy. Turning in his seat, he adjusted himself so he could rest his shoulder against the wall of the train. In a few minutes, his eyelids closed, and a small nap promptly followed afterwards. *** The whistle of the train and the loud, squealing brakes woke Czar with a start. He groggily glanced out the window, and saw the Ponyville train station right outside. He stood, cracked his back, and measly stepped off of the train. Instead of drab ceramic white and brown wood, the train station held violet and magenta shades. A welcome change of color scheme, Czar thought to himself with a chuckle. Combing his hair with his fingers so the locks would cover his eyes, he thrust his hands into his pockets and set off to exit the train station. After leaving the platform and exiting the station, Czar’s eyes and ears were instantly blasted with cheery, colorful, psychedelic town, choc full of citizens, mostly all wearing slight smiles on their faces. The silver-haired adolescent scratched his head in confusion. Depressing brown and gray, violent and dangerous to uptight, drab and boring to colorful, bright and happy. The one word that Czar had in his mind was ‘what?’ Shaking his head and sighed, he left to explore to the town a little bit more. Not even three steps later, Czar’s stomach suddenly rumbled. Oh yeah…I haven’t had breakfast…Czar thought. He could’ve done with a companion who’d known the town. After swiveling his head around, his eye caught sight of something…different. He approached the little building, questioning the sanity of the designer. It was covered in what looked like cake frosting, lollipops and other mainstream candies. Shrugging, he entered the store. He couldn’t complain, for he didn’t feel like searching for a less strange place to eat. The bell above the shop’s door rang, alerting the employees of a paying customer. Looking around, Czar took notice of the interior design. The walls were a pink hue, resembling that of cotton candy. Multiple yellow tables for dining indoors were dotted about inside, as expected for a restaurant. The inside look a lot less like it was designed by a six-year-old, and made Czar feel a little less uncomfortable. Czar caught sight of someone behind the counter. It seemed to be a little kid, maybe around eleven or twelve. “There’s a customer here!” he called out to an unknown entity somewhere in the back. “Well what’re you waiting for? Go serve ‘em!” a light, happy yet deep voice responded. The child nodded back and hurried to the counter. “H-how may I help you?” he stammered out, his voice trembling with hasty excitement. “Er, can I have a menu first?” Czar asked. Geez, this kid is the definition of eager, he thought to himself. “Oh, yeah, of course!” In a matter of seconds, the munchkin waiter snatched a menu from the counter and thrust it towards Czar. “Do you…work here?” Czar asked, confused as to why a child was waiting him. “Yeah! I’m Carrot Cake, Sweet Tooth’s apprentice! Just call me Carrot,” he cordially responded. “I’m guessing Sweet Tooth is the owner?” Carrot nodded a response, “And why are you an apprentice to a sweet shop owner?” Czar was generally muddled by this situation. “You’re new here, aren’t you?” Carrot quipped. No, I just asked because I’m taking a survey on sweet shop owners, Czar thought. “Yeah,” he merely sighed. “Well, Sweet Tooth runs this place all by himself!” Carrot gushed. “Okay? I don’t see the big deal.” “You don’t understand, he runs, cleans, and maintains the store, calculates finances, and bakes everything he sells by himself! How someone could do that and still be sane is a mystery to me. Who wouldn’t want to be his apprentice?” Despite not sharing Carrot’s feelings in the slightest, Czar could see where he was coming from. The ability to run an apparently famous bakery without help seemed very imposing to Czar. “Wait…” Czar said as he began to realize something, “how is running this place alone so impressive if no one’s here?” the restaurant had been empty the entire time Czar had been there. “Just you wait, this place’ll be packed after six o’ clock!” Carrot said with a giddy tone. The previous voice called out from the back of the store, startling the two. “You gonna serve the guy or what?” Sweet Tooth yelled. “Oh yeah, duh!” Carrot smacked his forehead as the realization hit him. *** The afternoon sun shone down across Ponyville, further increasing the town’s look and feel of a calm, serene place. Pegasi flew through the sky, clearing clouds and having fun, while children, just out of class, ran amok in the streets, happy to be free from school. However, Czar wasn’t experiencing this. The joy of serenity and peace wasn’t intoxicating him like it had done to all the rest. He was in the hills and plains miles away from the town, enjoying his solitude with a full stomach. Unlike the dirty, rough streets of Canterlot’s darker streets, the soft breeze created waves in the grass, spreading the sweet smell of nature over the plains. Czar was enjoying his seclusion, like every day. Until he heard shouting. “I’m s…idn’t mean to h…” the prince could barely hear the details, but he was sure it was there. He scanned the hills, and couldn’t find the source. “I have to go, just, give me some time, please,” he heard again from somewhere behind him; except this time, it was a woman. Then, he caught sight of a pegasus flying back towards Ponyville. “Wait, Serene!...” a sigh came from somewhere to Czar’s left. He looked over to see a pegasus, head held low and an aura of depression hanging about him. Czar could barely make out his features, and all he could see was dark gray hair, and wings of the same colour. The pegasus, with a sigh, turned around and slowly walked towards the tree Czar had seated himself by. Once he realized where he was heading, Czar pulled his head back behind the tree. The pegasus half sat, half fell to the foot of the tree trunk, and silently sulked. After what felt like hours, Czar couldn’t stay silent anymore, and decided to reveal his presence. “So-“ was all Czar could make out before the pegasus screamed in fear. “Gah!!” he jumped away from the tree, landing on his rear and scooting away slowly. “Wh-where are you!?” he called with a shaky voice. “Behind the tree,” Czar said in a dead tone. “Yeesh, jumpy, aren’t you?” “Oh, uh, sorry,” he replied with a cough. “I didn’t know you were there.” “No matter. What happened with your friend?” Czar asked. He would’ve been more considerate, but he didn’t have time for that. He’d reserve his kindness for Princess Celestia. “N-none of your business!” the gray pegasus yelled. “Well okay, no need to yell. Again.” Czar walked back over to the tree and slumped down. “Go sulk somewhere else, this place is taken.” The pegasus stood there for a long time, silent and thinking. “She’s…that pegasus you saw? She’s Serene Breeze,” he paused and blushed, “m-my girlfriend.” “Well, not for long, with how she sounded.” “I…I know…” he responded, sounding like he was about to burst into tears. “What’s your name?” Czar asked. “Abacus. You?” He was about to say his name when he faltered. Would it be alright to tell him my real name? Czar debated with himself until the obvious came to him. Celestia hasn’t even announced my visit. Duh. “Czar.” “That’s a…strange name. You from around here?” Abacus asked. “N-no.” Czar hastily responded. “Okay.” Abacus sat down a few feet away from Czar. “So, you gonna tell me what’s up with you and your girlfriend?” Czar asked again. “Oh yeah, that,” Abacus took a deep breath to explain. “Well, she’s a bit upset because she found out I wasn’t going to graduate next year.” “And why is she mad about something like that?” Czar inquired, scratching his head in confusion. “Partly because I was already held back one year- oh, I’m sixteen, and technically, if you don’t go to Cloudsdale, you’re supposed graduate from standard education school at fifteen. Anyways, she’s mad for that, and she’s also mad because…” “Because?” Czar asked again. “I’m not taking school seriously, my grades and my being held back are proof of that, and she thinks if I can’t take school seriously, than I can’t take out relationship seriously!” Abacus stayed quiet for the longest time. His head was held low, studying the grass, not wanting to make eye contact with the silver haired unicorn. “How…how can she assume that?” “I thought the same thing, too. She’s…very serious about my education though. She’s told me time and time again to try in my classes, but I always dismiss her.” “Why don’t you take your classes seriously? It’s not that hard." “Because, they’re…” Abacus thought for a minute before answering. “They don’t interest me.” “So?” “If I’m not interested in it, I can’t care enough to put effort into it. It’s the same thing every day, boring lectures, repetitive studying activities, tests and exams, it’s just so bland.” “Have you told her that?” “Well, yeah.” He said as if it were obvious. It hit Czar in an instant. How is he not getting it? It’s obvious!? Czar rubbed his forehead in frustration. You think school is bland, boring and not interesting, and thus you can’t take it seriously. She thinks that if you find school uninteresting, then you find your relationship uninteresting. Instead of telling him this, Czar merely sighed. “What’s wrong?” “N-nothing.” Czar looked at the sun’s position, and realized how late it was. He needed to get back before the next train left. “I gotta go, Abacus,” Czar stood and began walking to town. “Will you be back anytime soon?” Abacus stood quickly and looked to Czar. “Uh, why?” “Because, well…” Abacus coughed, “I, uh, I’m afraid Serene might actually call it off if I try to talk to her so soon, so, I didn’t want to be alone for too long…I’m not exactly what you call popular.” Czar wanted to smack him. He wanted to think he was pitiful and not worth his time. But he couldn’t. Instead, he turned his head towards the pegasus, and said, “Yeah, I’ll be back soon.” “R-really? Sweet!” Abacus thrust his fist into the air triumphantly. “Seeya,” Czar turned and jogged to the train station before it was too late. On the train, Czar held his head in his hand, gasping for breath from his long jog. He thought long and hard about why he didn’t just leave that Abacus guy alone, why he didn’t think negatively about him. Why had he been so considerate to a random stranger? Author’s Note: Sorry this took so long guys, the only excuse I have is laziness. I hope you can forgive me, I hope I can finish this soon so I can get to work on some other fics I have planned. If I don’t start Somewhere Out There right away, it’s because I have a lot of other projects I’ve gotten roped into, and I’ve been getting adjusted to school again. (Yay school - _-)
Chapter 5A cold breeze kicked up a cloud of dust atop the abandoned building that Czar had become so familiar with. For Tactic, who’d just ascended the stairs to the rooftop and was overlooking a small portion of Canterlot, it was a sad sight not to see his newfound friend perched on the edge like a hawk. Tugging his jacket over him to shield him from the slightly chilly wind, he turned and left the building; he’d figured it would be best just to go back home. He’d become worried not to see his friend where he usually would hole up at for a week now. Tactic had thought about visiting the Princess or the visiting foreign king, but he was too shy to do so, even if Princess Celestia was a thoughtful and caring individual. Not wanting to stay in this derelict sect longer than he had to, Tactic half walked, half ran back to the more familiar, calmer streets of Canterlot. *** “And where exactly would I find her?” “She absolutely loves this place near Everfree Forest; she’d always gather up some clouds and watch the animals frolic. It’s barely half an hour away from the outskirts of Ponyville.” “I still don’t see how you can’t just do this on your own…” Czar recalled the words of his last conversation with Abacus as he leaned against a stationary wagon on the street. His main concern was, if this Serene Breeze was where Abacus had said, how would he reach her? Clouds weren’t exactly accessible for anyone who wasn’t a pegasus. He imagined an embarrassing scenario of himself trying to get her attention via yelling, which ended in a not-so-beneficial way. With a sigh, he pushed himself off the side of the wagon and trekked on to meet this Serene Breeze character. After a good half hour of walking, Czar reached the supposed favorite resting area of Abacus’s lover. As soon as he realized what he was doing, anxiety set in. This…is the first time I’m talking to a girl my age… Czar smacked his forehead, sighing with an exasperated tone. Oh get off it, man, she’s taken, what do I have to worry about? Despite thinking that, Czar was still quite nervous about talking to a female peer. “U-uh…” he said up toward the cloud that held Serene Breeze. “Uh….” He repeated, louder, “are you Serene Breeze?” Straight to the point, good, Czar reassured himself. Wait, should I have been so straightforward? I might sound like a creep… “Erm…wh-who are you?” she responded, her voice frightened and soft. “Um, I need to tell you something,” as soon as he spoke, Czar wanted to kick himself. That’s not how you bring that up! Jeez, you’re an idiot! “And…that is?” her voice was still quiet and shy. Yep, you scared her. “Do you know someone by the name of Abacus?” Czar managed to speak. When she heard his name, Serene Breeze’s mood instantly changed.. “Oh, yes, I know him. Hold on, I’m coming down now,” she called as she hopped off the cloud. With a thud, she landed gracefully on the grass, ready to continue this awkward conversation. “What about him?” she inquired. “He wanted to tell you that,” Czar stopped to sigh. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, he thought to himself. “Abacus doesn’t-“ Czar stopped suddenly. Silence followed the sudden stop. Why am I going say this, the anti-social prince thought, like hell is she going to believe me! I’m just some guy that showed up saying I know her boyfriend. No one’s stupid enough to believe that. I hope. “Um…are you okay?” Serene asked. “Follow me,” Czar blurted out, then turned around and walked away. Serene just stood there, perplexed and oblivious. Czar looked over his shoulder and shouted, “C’mon, follow me.” Not knowing any other option, she followed this strange young man to wherever he was leading her. He doesn’t look too dangerous, thought Serene, he’s going back towards town, at least, so he might not try anything strange. “You better try any funny stuff, okay?” Czar didn’t respond, just kept walking. Serene caught up, and followed behind him. *** “She didn’t listen.” “Wh-what!? For real? She didn’t believe you? At all?” “Nope.” Czar watched as Abacus hung his head in despair. The two of them were at street corner, where Abacus told Czar to meet him after he had done what was asked of him. “You gotta be kidding…how will I talk with her now?” he asked no one. Abacus slumped to her floor, legs crossed forehead in his palm. Czar kneeled down and spoke quietly, trying to lower his voice to a softer tone. “I don’t know, but maybe it was because it didn’t come from you. “What?” the sullen pegasus lifted his head to look at Czar. “If you told her how you really felt yourself, she just might have listened. I don’t know for sure, but I am positive it would’ve left more of an imprint on her if it wasn’t someone she didn’t know. “B-but…she was really, really mad, man! I don’t know if she would even try to listen if I went to her…” he let his head hang again. “Well, look at you now! If you sulk over to her and mumble, of course she won’t listen to you! Go over to her and look her straight in the eyes and talk to her! I rarely actually talk to people, but I know enough that being so depressed won’t get you anywhere.” Czar sighed and rubbed his forehead. He knew that he wasn’t getting through to Abacus at all, and wouldn’t get anywhere at this rate. “Do you love her, Abacus?” Czar said. “Of course I do!” Abacus responded without a hitch. “Then prove it. Show her you’re dedicated to her! You may not care about your education, but make sure she knows you care about her! Isn’t that what started all of this? School?” “I failed my finals for the third time this year…she had enough and told me if I didn’t have enough in me to care about my schooling, then I definitely wouldn’t have enough to care about this relationship.” Abacus repeated. “Do you?” “I… I guess.” Abacus had clearly given up. “Dammit, Abacus, I’m not gonna do this if you’re just gonna sit there and not do anything about this!” Czar put his face up to Abacus’s, where only an inch was between their faces. “Do. You. Love. Her? “Yes…” Abacus said quietly…”Yes!” he repeated, louder. “Do you care about your relationship, and do you want to be with her for the rest of your life? “Yes!” Abacus shouted and stood with new resolve. “I want you to go to her and tell her this. You love her, go show her.” Czar walked behind and Abacus and pushed him forward. “Do it, kid!” “Got it!” Abacus said, and half walked, half ran off. Czar broke into a grin of accomplishment. “Gotcha,” he whispered to himself. Serene Breeze walked around the corner, right into Abacus’ path, causing him to stop in his tracks. “Did you mean it? All that you said?” She blurted out. Not wasting any time, are you? Abacus was clearly taken by surprise, but his resolve didn’t falter in the slightest. “Yeah, Serene, every word of it. I care about you, and I love you so much, and I want to be with you. I’m sorry that I seem like I don’t care about us, but I do.” “You mean it?” “Definitely.” Czar merely spectated the little scene from afar. A weird feeling was festering inside of him as he watched it as well, and he didn’t know what it was. This reunion of sorts was of his doing; most likely, without him, this wouldn’t have happened. They would’ve stayed separated and estranged until they split apart permanently. Was it accomplishment? Success? Sensitivity. Selflessness. Czar had worried about another, and stepped out of his comfort zone for the good of someone else. Czar didn’t want to admit it, but… It felt good. *** “Are you sure this will work?” Serene Breeze asked. “Not sure, but I’ll give it a try.” Czar responded. The two of them were walking through the streets of Ponyville, which was still in its slow phase of inactivity. That was a good thing, because for their plan would cause some strange looks. “Why are you doing this? Do you even know Abacus?” “Not really.” Czar responded. “Then why do this? What do you gain?” Serene, despite somewhat relieved that this skirmish would soon be resolved, was concerned as to why this strange boy would go through this much for a stranger. He didn’t look like the kind type; his flat, shoulder length silver hair was always in his eyes, his head was always somewhat lowered, and he had a bored look on his face constantly. “I…I dunno. Guess I just felt charitable today.” Czar lied. He had no idea as to why he was going through this long, boring, and tedious task. He was getting no reward for this, just a ‘thank-you,’ and Czar didn’t care for gratitude in the first place. Why was he doing this? “Ok, there he is,” Czar suddenly said as he jolted back behind a corner. “Just wait here. You’ll know when to come out.” “Wait,” Serene grabbed his arm, “first, you have to tell me what exactly you’re doing. You don’t know Abacus, or me, so why do whatever it is you’re about to do?” “I told you, I-I don’t know.” Czar was getting annoyed by this girl’s questions. He told the truth, why won’t she lay off? “I don’t believe that at all. There’s got to be some reason, there’s a reason for everything, or else nothing would get done. So why don’t you just tell me?” “Fine, you want a reason?” Czar whispered harshly, to prevent Abacus from hearing him. “Pri-er, someone important to me says that there’s good in me. She said that no matter what anyone else says, I will always have that kindness in me. I guess... I guess I wanted to prove her right.” Czar was surprised of what he just said. It just…came out. And the scariest thing was it felt true. Serene stayed quiet for a while. She looked like she was deep in thought as she leaned her back against the building and bit her thumbnail. Soon, she spoke up. “I guess…that’s a good reason. I just hope you know what you’re doing.” she said. “Me too,” Czar muttered under his breath.
