Canterlot Castle was usually a bustling center of Government, since the Occisor Regime had taken power most of the spare rooms had been converted to office spaces for the various government agencies headquartered in Canterlot. Ponies and people walked the halls with packets of documents, some were there for their driver’s licenses, others were lodging complaints against their neighbors, it was a hub of bureaucracy that only a master could navigate. Luckily for Altair, he didn’t live in the public section of the castle. He lived in the far more secure portion of the section, the part set aside for military and intelligence use. Entrance to this area was extremely restricted, which made it such a big deal when the Nova-Imperator had insisted on admitting a guest.

Altair and Cassidy stood next to one another at one of the entrance checkpoints into the Military sector, three MPs stood behind the desk, one was on the phone with his superiors while the others were running a background check on Cassidy with their computers. Altair could’ve ordered them to let him and Cassidy through, but he knew that wouldn’t reflect well on him or his father.

“I’m sorry about this…” Altair said to Cassidy sheepishly. “I should’ve called ahead. I’ve never, y’know, had someone visit before.” Cassidy shook her head with an understanding smile while she looked around the hallway at a couple of the paintings that hung on the wall.

“It’s fine, Alley Cat.” She replied while examining a painting of the Battle of New Liberty during the Changeling-American war. “I’ve never been this far in the Castle, I had no idea there were so many paintings here.” Altair walked up beside her and looked at the painting, humming to himself as he recognized the signature. His Mother had painted this one, the mare was quite adept at painting since she had started cataloging the constellations. “Just coming to look at the art would’ve been enough.”

“My parents want to meet you.” Altair replied as he briefly glanced over at the MPs, Cassidy kept looking at the painting. The swirls of the brushes were very precise, but they had a sort of deep soul to them, at least that’s what she remembered from Art Class. “I’m glad you’re coming, too. I haven’t ever had someone over, especially someone like you.” Cassidy looked over at Altair with a raised eyebrow.

“Someone like me?” She asked.

“Someone that… Y’know... I like…” Altair said with a blush while rubbing the back of his neck, he could hear quiet snickering from two of the MPs, though when he looked over they had slipped back into their stoic demeanor. Cassidy smiled and hugged Altair, at first the boy was a bit surprised, but he returned the hug a couple seconds later. They had been seeing each other since fall of the previous year, and considering that it was now the middle of summer, it could be said that their relationship was a bit on the serious side.

“Gentlemen, why are you keeping the Nova-Imperator and his guest from entering?” A voice with a heavy Russian accent spoke from the checkpoint, Altair and Cassidy broke off the hug and looked over to see who it was. The boy smiled as he saw a familiar man standing in a suit, he had an ID tag pinned to his jacket, but Altair didn’t need that to know who it was. “I’ve already cleared the young miss for entry, please issue her a Level Four Visitor’s Card.” The MPs nodded as Altair and Cassidy walked closer.

“Uncle Putin?” Altair asked, Vladimir Putin looked at Altair with a faint smile. The head of the Onorussian intelligence agency, known as Providentia, was none other than the former leader of Russia. Altair had always found that tremendously impressive, and though they weren’t related, Putin was Altair’s godfather.

“In the flesh, Altair.” Putin said as the MPs snapped a quick photo of Cassidy to be put on her access card. “I’m sorry I didn’t get her clearance to the checkpoint sooner, I didn’t expect you to be home so soon.” Putin looked at Cassidy and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Miss Cassidy.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Cassidy replied with a bit of surprise, she had read about Putin, but she’d never thought she’d meet him.

“I’d love to talk more, but I have duties to attend to. I just wanted to make sure I cleared this up before anything else.” Putin said to Altair before giving a slight nod, Altair waved as he watched the older man make his way down the hall. It seemed that he had just been passing by and noticed the hold up, Putin was a good guy to take time out of his schedule for Altair, that was something the teen would remember. The MPs handed Altair an ID tag with a clip on the top, the boy turned to Cassidy and showed it to her.

“Here, don’t lose this, otherwise the guards might freak out.” Altair said, Cassidy took the card and clipped it to the fabric of her raspberry colored sweater, she then made sure that her jeans were pulled up all the way, then finally straightened out her hair. “Oh, and when you meet my Mom don’t let her scare you… She’s just very protective.”

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” Cassidy replied with a slight grin as the two of them were finally able to walk past the checkpoint. It was like flipping a switch, the environment felt a lot more private and homely than the public section of the castle. Cassidy felt like she was seeing an entirely different world, there were paintings she had never seen before, even statues of various ponies and people. “I can’t believe you live here…”

“Well, I don’t, really.” Altair said with a shrug as they kept walking, Cassidy caught sight of a couple thestrals in military uniforms walking along the hallway. There were stars pinned to their collars, meaning that they were Generals. Each of them was talking to one another, they didn’t even seem to notice the two teenagers walking past them. “This is the Military Section… It’s kind of like the Pentagon on Terra, you know? Lots of secret stuff goes on here.” The Generals walked past without so much as looking at Cassidy and Altair, Altair didn’t seem to notice them either. Cassidy also began to notice soldiers in uniform standing outside a couple doors, she could only imagine what sort of stuff was going on in those rooms. “Go ahead and ask any questions, I’ll be your personal tour guide!”

“Alright…” Cassidy said as she rubbed her chin in thought. “Is this the place where they store all the aliens? You know, the ones that crash in the desert?” She pointed to one of the doors, her tone a joking one. She was surprised to see Altair’s face become stoic.

“That’s classified.” He said flatly, Cassidy looked a little surprised by that, then he broke into a smile. “I’m kidding, nah, that’s just a conference room. Though, it’s likely the Generals are having their weekly poker game in there.” Altair said with a shrug, Cassidy nodded and walked a bit closer to the boy. He looked over at her and smiled, his hand cautiously moving closer to hers, Cassidy returned the smile and took his hand. The two of them continued walking through the castle, Altair occasionally pointed out pieces of art or the occasional historic item. For Cassidy it was like having the run of a Private museum. Altair knew every inch of the place, Cassidy never saw him so confident, she supposed that being home had something to do with that.

The two of them eventually came to a stairwell that lead up several floors, it was next to an elevator that went to the same floors. Altair wanted to take the elevator, but Cassidy convinced him to take the stairs. It was an excuse for them to spend a bit more time by themselves, truth be told, Altair made Cassidy feel an odd mix of feelings. Not bad, just… Odd. The fact that he was a snappy dresser was just a bonus. Altair would’ve said the same thing about Cassidy, but he was too nervous to speak his mind. As they walked up the steps the atmosphere became even more like a home, there were windows in the winding spiral stairwell that let Cassidy get a look at the city from a new perspective. Green trees blew in the wind while cars and people looked like ants below, she could see a couple pegasus guards flying around the perimeter of the castle, but they only added to the beauty of the scene.

“We’re almost there.” Altair said as they neared the final floor in the staircase, he looked over his shoulder at Cassidy and smiled nervously. “Now… Just remember what I said about my Mom, she can be really protective… My Mother can be like that too, but not as bad as my Mom.”

“You make it sound like she might shoot me.” Cassidy said jokingly, to her surprise Altair seemed a little unsure about how to respond.

“You know who my mom is, right?” Altair asked, Cassidy shook her head. “Before she was the Imperatrix she was a sniper in the Army. They gave her the nickname ‘Queen of Death’, but don’t bring it up, she doesn’t like to talk about it.” Cassidy thought back to her history classes, she had never really paid attention to them, but something about the nickname clicked. It was from an anime that she had used to watch as she grew up, which as she recalled, was based on a real person. “She has over three hundred confirmed kills.”

“I’ll be on my best behavior, don’t worry.” Cassidy said as she moved up closer to Altair, holding his hand a bit tighter. “What about your Dad? Is there anything special I should know about him? I mean, I’ve heard so much in books that I’m not sure what to expect.”

“He’s just a guy.” Altair said with a shrug, Cassidy raised an eyebrow at him. “No, really, when he isn’t doing government stuff he does guy stuff. Reads, watches TV, takes naps on the couch.” The two of them came out onto the top floor of the staircase, which wasn’t nearly as big as the lower ones. It reminded Cassidy of her own house, though the walls and floors were marble and had much more paintings. There were also two thestrals standing guard near the end of the hallway, Altair waved to them as he and Cassidy walked closer. “Hey Sven. Hey Marv. How’s it goin’?”

“Boring, just how we like it.” Marv, the thestral on the left said with a slight smirk, he turned his attention to Cassidy and raised an eyebrow. “Who’s this?”

“This is Cassidy, she’s um… She’s my…” Altair rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think of a word, he wasn’t sure what Cassidy was comfortable with being called.

“I’m his girlfriend.” Cassidy said, Altair mentally sighed in relief while nodding. Sven and Marv looked at one another with a bit of surprise, then back at Altair with shit eating grins.

“Cassidy and Altair! Sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” The two of them began to sing, Altair blushed fiercly and looked at the floor. The two guards began chuckling before one of them opened his wing and patted Altair on the shoulder.

“We’re just screwing with you, kid.” Sven said before retracting his wing, he looked at Cassidy and smirked. “Sorry about that, we’ve been with the family since Altair was in diapers, we just kinda screw with him from time to time.”

“Sven! Don’t talk about him as a baby in front of his girlfriend! You know Misses O already pulled out the photo albums!” Marv said in a hushed voice, Sven smirked a bit wider but nodded. Cassidy.

“Oh god… Not the photo albums.” Altair said, still blushing bright red. Cassidy giggled and hugged Altair tightly, then she planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Relax, Alley Cat. I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” She said as she let go, Altair quietly sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Besides, I bet you were cute as a baby.” Sven and Marv began snickering to themselves.

“Oh, he was. We could tell you tons of stories, but I don’t think he can get any redder than that.” Marv said with a smile, Altair straightened up and did his best to hide the blush on his cheeks. “Anyway, we’ve given you a long enough stay of execution. Your Mom’s waiting for you.”

“Alright…” Altair said as the red began to fade from his cheeks, he looked at Cassidy for a moment before he walked towards the door that lead to the family room. He paused as he heard the sound of music playing in the room, cautiously he turned the knob and pushed the door open a crack to peek in. To his surprise he saw his Dad and his Mom dancing in the center of the room, Altair recognized the song now, it was his parent’s wedding song. ‘Little things mean a lot’. Altair pushed the door open further, allowing Cassidy a chance to look at the dancing couple, Altair signalled to her to be quiet. She nodded as the two of them stood in the doorway, watching the couple swaying to their song. Altair knew better to interrupt, this was likely one of his parent’s spontaneous moments, and he hated ruining them by accident.

Eventually the song came to an end, Altair’s Mom and Dad let go of one another and giggled. They stopped when they noticed that the door was open and that their son and his girlfriend had just watched them, Cassidy waved awkwardly at the two of them. They both seemed to be in high spirits, smiling widely.

“There he is!” Altair’s Dad said with a wide grin, he looked over at Cassidy and smiled wider. “And you finally brought your girlfriend to visit!” Cassidy gulped as the Imperator, the most powerful man in the country, walked over to her and Altair. The man wrapped his son in a massive hug, Cassidy couldn’t help but giggle as she saw the boy flail his arms about. The Imperator let go of his son and looked at Cassidy, then offered his hand to her. “I’m Dominic, Altair’s dad! Nice to finally meet you! Altair has told us so much about you.” Cassidy extended her hand to the man and was surprised by how big his hand was compared to hers, and yet he shook hers without crushing it.

“Nice to meet you too, Mister Occisor!” Cassidy replied with a slight crack in her voice, it was now only dawning on her that she was meeting with the most powerful people in the country, possibly the planet. What was more, Altair seemed to be spot on. Dominic Occisor, the mighty Imperator that had built a super state from nothing, was… Just a guy.

“Mister Occisor was my father. Please, call me Dominic.” Altair’s dad said with a grin as he finished shaking her hand, he gestured over to his wife who was now rushing over to give her son her own very powerful hug. “This is my first wife, Maria. Luna will be along later, she’s speaking with her team. We may be close to a moon shot, but don’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t.” Cassidy said with a bit of surprise when Altair’s mom finished hugging her boy, the woman looked at her as if inspecting her, but despite that she still had a warm expression and gave off an air of friendliness. Cassidy could hardly believe such a nice looking lady was also the most deadly sniper in Onorussian History.

“Oh, Altair! Why didn’t you invite her sooner?” His Mom asked as she suddenly hugged Cassidy, the girl blinked in surprise as she looked at Altair. The boy and his father both gave her quick thumbs up, which she took to mean that Maria liked her. “Hi! I’m Altair’s Mom, but you knew that.” Cassidy nodded when the woman let go of her, feeling like she had just gotten a hug from her own Mother.

“I didn’t know how to ask…” Altair said sheepishly while he rubbed the back of his neck again, Cassidy could tell that he felt a lot better now that he was in the company of his family. She caught glimpses of that when they were together, but now he practically looked like he was over the moon. “Anyway… Yes, this is Cassidy… And yes… She’s my girlfriend.” Saying it himself made Altair feel all the better inside, he felt like he was on top of the world when he was spending time with Cassidy and it felt so good to let those thoughts out.

“We were expecting you a little later, the cookies haven’t finished cooking yet.” Altair’s Mom said with a slight frown. “That’s okay, I can go start up a pot of tea or coffee while we wait! You two go ahead and sit down, I’m sure there’s tons you want to talk about! Don’t wait on my account!” Maria began walking towards a doorway that lead to the kitchen.

“Don’t take too long, Sweetie.” Altair’s Dad said as he gave the woman a kiss on the cheek, the woman only smiled back as she kept walking. Once she was in the kitchen Altair and Cassidy moved to the family area and took a seat on one of the couches, the loveseat to be more exact. Meanwhile Altair’s father sat on the regular couch and reached over to a record player that had been playing the song earlier, he lifted the needle and moved it off the still spinning record before turning off the machine altogether. “So Cassidy, Altair tells me you’re a singer?”

“Oh, um, only as a hobby. I can’t really sing much else than the blues, it always ends up sounding wrong.” Cassidy replied as she leaned against Altair, the boy paused and faked a yawn, raising his arms into the air and casually draping one over Cassidy’s shoulders. His Dad began chuckling as he watched that, but he didn’t bring it up.

“Sometimes hobbies can turn out to be your career, you’re looking at living proof.” Altair’s Dad said with a grin, he gestured to a stack of books on the table, history books about ancient Rome and other Terran states. “You should keep working at it if you enjoy it, it might just work out.”

“I will.” Cassidy replied with a bit of a smile while she snuggled up against Altair some more, as if making a display of her affections would solidify her place in Dominic’s mind. She wasn’t wrong, Dominic certainly knew about her. As it turned out, he hoped that Cassidy and Altair worked out, but he also knew that Teenagers were Teenagers… As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn’t giving the relationship very good odds. Altair looked over at Cassidy, their eyes met for a couple moments. Altair stared into Cassidy’s beautiful brown eyes while Cassidy returned the favor, after a couple seconds they looked away from one another, Cassidy looked back to Altair’s dad. “So, I’m a little curious… You’re the Imperator, right?” Dominic nodded. “So that probably means you have a lot of money, why did you send Altair to a place like Don Bosco Tech? Not that I mind, it’s just something I’ve wondered about.”

“Well, put simply, he asked.” Dominic replied, Cassidy seemed honestly surprised by that. “He was originally going to go to North Canterlot Prep, but he asked and I worked it out so that he could go to Don Bosco.” Cassidy looked at Altair for a couple seconds, though he didn’t seem to notice. The thought that if things had been different she might not have never met him entered her mind, but she quickly pushed it away, as she had obviously met him so she didn’t need to worry about it. “I went to public school, and it taught me a lot more than history and science. It got me out in the world, helped shape me into the man I am today… I’d be remiss if I didn’t give my son the same opportunity I had.”

“Better people in Public School too.” Altair added as he looked over at Cassidy. “I tried going to private school once, but I just didn’t like the kids there. They were all very arrogant… I’ve always hated that.” He leaned a bit closer to Cassidy and got more comfortable on the couch. “I like down to earth people, y’know? I just want to be a normal guy, I’d say so far it’s worked out pretty well.”

“Aw…. Alley Cat. That’s sweet of you.” Cassidy said while bringing a hand to her chest, she leaned up and planted a big kiss on Altair’s cheek. Altair’s Dad smiled faintly at the display, mentally he gave their chances of working out a reevaluation… He was still skeptical, of course, but things seemed to be working out. “You know, Altair hasn’t told me much about his hobbies… I always thought it was because he was shy about them.”

“Oh, um… Actually…” Altair began, Dominic cut him off.

“He has a hobby alright, a very energetic hobby.” The man said, Altair’s eyes went wide as he quickly shook his head towards his dad. “What, you didn’t tell her about her?”

“Her?” Cassidy suddenly asked, Altair went white and sighed.

“I didn’t tell you because… Well, remember that time we were talking about what we’re scared of?” Altair said nervously, Cassidy sat up and looked at him with a skeptical expression. He looked at the floor and scowled. “Look… Just, don’t freak out, okay? I was gonna tell you eventually.” The boy looked towards the kitchen and spoke with a raised voice. “Wolfy! Kommen sie!” The sound of a bark echoed through the room, this time Cassidy was the one to look nervous as she scooted closer to Altair. From the kitchen emerged Altair’s trusty dog, the German Shepherd stopped in front of the loveseat and sat down, panting eagerly after being called.

“Y-You have a dog?” Cassidy asked in a nervous voice, Altair nodded quietly, Dominic just watched quietly.

“She’s very well trained, you don’t have to worry about her doing anything.” Altair said reassuringly, Cassidy sighed and cautiously adjusted her place on the couch to look at Wolfy. The dog tilted her head at the new comer, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she sniffed a couple times. “As I said… I wasn’t sure how to tell you, since, y’know… You’re afraid of dogs.”

“I-I can see why…” Cassidy mumbled as the dog stared at her with its big brown eyes, Wolfy let out a quiet whine before scooting over to Altair. The boy reached down and rubbed the dog’s head affectionately, causing Wolfy to sigh and lean her head closer. “S-So… You’re sure she’s safe?”

“I’ve been training her and working with her since she was a puppy.” Altair said reassuringly as he continued to pet Wolfy. “She’s a great big ball of love, she’ll try and curl up on your lap if you let her.” Cassidy watched as Altair moved both his hands to Wolfy’s head, he began rubbing behind her ears with vigor, causing the dog’s tail to begin tapping against the floor in delight. Eventually Wolfy rolled onto her back, exposing her belly as her legs flailed in the air, this gave Altair ample opportunity to lean down and start rubbing Wolfy’s tummy. “I can send her out if you want, I don’t want you to be scared.”

“No… No, it’s fine…” Cassidy said as she adjusted her sweater and looked at Wolfy, she had been afraid of dogs since childhood, her neighbor had had a very nasty poodle that had chased her almost every day when she was a little girl. She had heard that facing one’s fears was the only way to overcome them, and she considered this little hiccup in her meeting with Altair’s parent’s to be a sign that she should keep trying. “C-Can I pet her too?”

“You sure?” Altair asked, Cassidy nodded quietly, all the while Altair’s father continued to watch. He was like some sort of scientist observing animals in the wild, forming theories and ideas in his mind, taking in all the facts. “Go ahead, just let her sniff your hand first.” Altair stopped rubbing Wolfy’s belly and snapped his fingers, the dog instantly scrambled back into a sitting position. Cassidy took a deep breath and extended her hand towards Wolfy, the dog sniffed her hand for several seconds before licking it playfully. Cassidy almost recoiled, but forced herself to endure the slobbery kiss. She reached forward and began to slowly rub Wolfy’s head, the dog whined and scooted closer to her. “See?”

“Yeah…” Cassidy said with a surprised smile as she continued petting Wolfy, the dog’s tail began to tap against the floor again.

“I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you sooner…” Altair said as he watched Cassidy pet his dog, Cassidy gave him a look that said she was still a little annoyed, but that she’d eventually get over it. It was at this point that Altair’s Mom emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray with a pot of coffee and several mugs, as well as two little containers for cream and sugar. Her warm smile seemed to lighten the mood as she set the tray down on a wooden coffee table between the couch and the love seat. The smell was unlike anything Cassidy had experienced before, she normally didn’t drink coffee, but something about the smell of that brew made her feel at ease.

“I didn’t miss too much, did I?” Maria asked as she poured a cup for herself, then poured a cup and gave it to Dominic. Cassidy watched as the woman poured a good bit of cream and sugar into her own cup while her husband seemed to take his coffee black.

“No, Cassidy just met Wolfy is all.” Dominic said in a calm voice, acting as if the bit of tension from earlier hadn’t happened. Cassidy was feeling better with each moment that passed of petting the dog in question, even though she was still very much afraid of most dogs, she could tell that Wolfy was different. Well trained, even tempered… If she had to pick a dog to be the first she trusted, it would be Wolfy. Cassidy looked over at Altair, the boy still looked upset that he had kept a secret from her, but he also looked proud... The girl could tell he was very fond of his dog, and that he was glad to see both Cassidy and Wolfy getting along.

“Oh? She met Wolfy? That’s good!” Maria said cheerfully as she drank a sip of her coffee, the woman looked at Cassidy and Altair with that same warm look she had had when they’d first entered the room. “Would you like some coffee, Cassidy?”

“Oh, um, yes please. With just cream.” Cassidy said, looking at Wolfy once again, the dog seemed to be smiling widely while she had her eyes closed. Maria meanwhile poured a cup of coffee, which was then joined by a shot of cream. The woman handed it to the girl, which forced Cassidy to stop petting Wolfy. The dog whined for a moment before moving to the side of the couch and laying down. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, deary.” Maria replied as she set the cream back on the tray, the woman smiled and looked towards an old cardboard box that was beneath the table. “I was just thinking about how fast it seems that Altair grew up… I mean, he has a girlfriend now, but it feels like just yesterday he was a little boy…” She seemed to be a little misty eyed as she pulled the box out, Altair looked a bit nervous as he saw it.

“Honey, do we really need to look at those now?” Altair’s asked quickly, Maria wiped her eyes and nodded sternly as she took out a faded photo album from the box.

“I wanna see what Alley Cat looked like as a baby.” Cassidy said in a joking but teasing tone, looking at Altair to see him squirm a bit. It seemed this was his punishment for not telling Cassidy about Wolfy. Maria set the photo album on the table while Altair and his father looked at one another, it was as if they were trying to devise a plan to keep the viewing of those pictures from happening without using any words.

“You’re in luck! Here’s one!” Maria said cheerfully as she opened the album and turned to the first page, there was a little lock of black hair taped next to a picture of a baby wrapped up in a sky blue blanket, the baby was sleeping. “Oh… He was so small… It’s hard to believe he would grow up to be so big and still be so cute.” Cassidy and Maria let out coos of adoration while Altair sat there in mortified horror, all his father could do was sit there and watch. He rationalized in his head that this was something every mother had to do to their child at one point, embarrassing them in front of their girlfriend was normal… At least, that’s what he told himself. “Back then he had the cutest little toes, they were like little corn nibblets.”

“I’m… Uh… I’m gonna go get a soda! Yeah!” Altair said quickly as he stood up and walked at a brisk pace into the kitchen, his face as red as it had been before. Once he was in the kitchen he moved to the sink and turned the water to cold, then he ran his hands under it and rubbed them on his face. He could hear his Mother and Cassidy cooing in the other room, it seemed there was nothing he could do to get out of the humiliation of having his baby pictures shared with the girl he was trying to impress on a regular basis. Then again, he thought, maybe that was part of being a man… Dealing with annoyances for the benefit of the person he cared about… Altair sighed and walked to the fridge, he pulled the handle and opened the door. From within he pulled a can of cherry cola, the boy closed the door and began walking back towards the living room.

He stopped in the doorway as he saw that his mother and Cassidy were now sitting next to each other, smiling as they continued pointing at pictures in the album. Altair opened his soda and took a sip while he stood there, taking in the sight of his mom and his girlfriend bonding at his expense. As long as they were happy… He caught sight of his father on the couch, the man was looking at him with an expression of proud, as if he could tell the realization that Altair had reached in his head. The teen made his way to the couch and sat down, then got comfortable. After a couple more minutes his Mom had gone through the entirety of the baby album with Cassidy, so at least the torture was mercifully short. Altair sipped his soda once again while leaning back in his seat.

“Thanks for showing me those, Miss Maria.” Cassidy said with a smirk as she looked at Altair, the boy was drinking his soda with a semi-uncomfortable expression. She decided that perhaps she’d gone a bit too far, but it wasn’t like she could change that now. “I was wondering if I could take a look around Altair’s room? You said your other herd mate wouldn’t be home for a while…”

“His room? Alone?” Dominic said with a raised eyebrow. “I assume you mean with the door closed?” Cassidy paused and looked to the side, as if trying to think of a way to explain that she had simply made a slip of the tongue. Maria gave her husband a light smack on the arm.

“Don’t be like that.” The woman said with a slightly annoyed tone. “Altair, you go ahead and show her your room… But leave the door open, just so your Dad doesn’t worry.” Altair nodded and stood from his seat, Cassidy stood up as well. “Show her around the rest of the house if you want, I’m sure you can find something to keep you busy! Your father and I have cookies to bake!”

“Alright, Mom.” Altair said before gulping down the rest of his soda, he and Cassidy walked towards the door out into the main hall, leaving his parents behind. Once they had stepped out into the hall where Sven and Marv were Altair looked over to Cassidy, smiling faintly. “So, did you have fun with my Mom so far?”

“She’s really nice.” Cassidy replied with a smile, she rubbed the back of her neck. “Sorry about that, but… You had it coming.” Altair shrugged as the two of them walked down the hall towards the door that lead to his room, the boy paused and pushed it open. “You were right about your Mom and Dad, by the way… They seem like, well, normal people.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, that’s more of a compliment than you might think.” The boy smiled at her statement and stepped into his room, it had changed quite a bit over the years. Posters for cartoons had been replaced by posters for bands, toys had been replaced by trinkets and souvenirs. The only thing that had really stayed the same was the large Cherry wood desk near Altair’s desk, Cassidy spotted a large leather bound book resting on it, but it was closed. She also noticed several pieces of loose paper scattered on the desk and a record player beside it.

“Whoa… And here I was thinking there would be all sorts of high tech gaming stuff in here.” Cassidy said with a bit of surprise as she looked at the trinkets on Altair’s shelf, there were a couple picture frames as well as several spent shell casings and a model of a tank.

“Yeah, we have a room for that.” Altair said as he walked to his desk and took the leather bound book from the top, he quickly slipped it into one of the drawers. “It’s got all our internet stuff hooked through a Military cypher, so we can’t get hacked if I play an online match.” Cassidy hummed in appreciation of the security as she looked at the bands listed on the posters, to her surprise some of them were old Terran bands, as well as a couple newer metal groups. Most shocking of them all was that most weren’t for bands at all, but instead for singers that Cassidy had never heard of.

“Who’s Luciano Pavarotti?” Cassidy asked as she looked at one of the posters, it displayed a fat man in a tuxedo smiling at the camera. Altair walked over and crossed his arms as he looked at the poster.

“He was an Opera singer. One of the Three Tenors, at least before he died.” The boy said simply, Cassidy looked at him with surprise. “I’m a normal guy for the most part, but… When I was a kid my Mother, the pony one, took me to the Opera all the time.” Altair smiled as he looked at the poster, a nostalgic smile that Cassidy rarely saw on his face. “I always wanted to be able to sing like Pavarotti, but I don’t want people to think I’m weird. That’s kinda why I didn’t tell you about this either.”

“I don’t think it’s weird.” Cassidy said with a smile, Altair raised an eyebrow at her in uncertainty. “I really don’t, I think it’s actually kinda sweet.” The girl walked over and took his hand in hers, then she looked him in the eyes. “Look, you don’t have to worry about coming off as weird to me, okay? You’re the son of the Imperator, that pretty much tops the weird scale.” Altair stared at the girl for a couple moments, processing her words. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide yourself from me, you know?”

“I… I know, it’s just… I’m so used to people trying to use me, or lying… I’m not used to opening up.” Altair replied as he walked towards his desk, his shoulder’s slumping slightly. “It’s hard for me to trust people… But… I trust you.” Cassidy watched him as he picked up the loose papers on his desk and straightened them out, she could make out writing on them, but Altair’s handwriting was so bad she had no idea what they said. “Let’s not get all sentimental alright, this is supposed to be a fun day.”

“Alright, Alley Cat.” Cassidy replied as she walked over to the desk and looked out the window which offered a view of the city. She looked at his desk quietly, noting that there were other trinkets there as well. For instance she could see that there were pens and a couple blank pages of paper in a stack to the right, as well as what looked like a couple toy soldiers. “You have dolls on your desk?”

“They aren’t dolls.” Altair said defensively as he looked at the soldiers, they were twelve inch ‘Major Murderous’ figures with cloth uniforms, Altair had posed them meticulously. “They’re action figures.” Cassidy looked at the action figures more closely, they seemed to be posed like something she’d seen before. She soon recognized it as the New Axis War Memorial in downtown Canterlot. He looked over at Cassidy and crossed his arms as he smiled, she knew that smile meant he’d just thought of something. “Completely unrelated… But I just realized, now I get to meet your parents.”

“O-Oh, no, that isn’t necessary!” Cassidy said quickly, Altair raised an eyebrow at her. “Look, I love you, but… My parents, they’re…” The girl sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “They’re a little… Weird… About who I date.” Altair gave her a deadpanned expression, as if to ask what could be weirder than being the son of the Imperator. “Look, let’s just say they aren’t as open minded as your parents are?”

“What do you mean?” Altair asked, Cassidy sighed and looked at the floor. It was her turn to feel bad for not telling the truth, she supposed, and her’s was a doozy compared to Altair not telling her he had a dog.

“I… I haven’t told them you’re, y’know… White?” Cassidy asked, Altair just continued to stare at her, as if he didn’t understand. “They don’t like white people. They’re racist.”

“Ooooh.” Altair said, he sounded more like he was watching someone solve a rubik's cube than learning his black girlfriend’s parents didn’t like white people. “Well, I mean, you like me, obviously… So what’s the big deal what they think?”

“Wait, you aren’t upset?” Cassidy asked, Altair shrugged and leaned against his desk.

“I’ve learned to face that sort of stuff with a sense of apathy… Now, if someone were to start saying bad things about you, then I’d be upset, but honestly I don’t care what other people think about me as long as we’re happy.” Altair explained, Cassidy smiled and breathed a slight sigh of relief. “That said, I wouldn’t mind meeting them… It’d be worth whatever trouble it was to see the look on their face.”

“You’re the type of guy that would watch a car fire, huh?” Cassidy asked rhetorically, Altair chuckled for a moment.

“You could say that, if it was an interesting car fire.” Altair shook his head and looked around. “Let’s not discuss stressful relationship stuff though, remember?” Cassidy nodded, prompting Altair to walk over to his record player. “I know, everyone uses digital nowadays, but vinyl really sounds better. Let’s see… What do we have here?”

“Why don’t you play me you’re favorite record? I mean, I know you like Opera and Blues, but we never got a chance to talk about what other kinds of music you listen to… It’ll help clear my head after what we just talked about, I still feel kinda bad.” Cassidy asked, Altair looked over at her with a big grin. “And if you say your favorite record is anything by me I’m gonna smack you! Those cheesy lines don’t work on me.” She saw the boy’s grin get even wider, as if he was trying not to laugh. After a couple seconds he shook his head and looked back to the collection of records in a milk crate on the floor next to the record player.

“Alright… Alright…” Altair said simply as he pulled an album from the crate and held it up for Cassidy to see. It lacked any text on the front, it appeared to just be white bricks. “The Wall, by Pink Floyd. My old man used to play this all the time… I’m normally not a ‘Theme Album’ guy, but I dunno, this one speaks to me.” Cassidy raised an eyebrow at the album as Altair removed the first record, he looked it over for a moment before setting it on the turntable and turning on the record player. “Normally I just sort of chill on my bed when I listen to this, but you’re here, so… That might be weird.” Altair proceeded to move the needle onto the record, there was a brief pop before the record began to play.

The first song of ‘The Wall’ began to play through the speakers of the record player, Altair sat down in his desk chair while Cassidy took the chance to sit on his bed. This was something that both of them enjoyed doing when they were together at the club, sitting together and shutting up for a while, just listening to the music. Cassidy watched Altair close his eyes and lean his head back, as if he was soaking in the sound. The girl leaned back on the bed and closed her eyes as well, listening to the lyrics as she continued to watch Altair. The words and sound effects that began to play were… Oddly accurate to what she imagined Altair’s feelings to be.

He had confided in her that he was used to putting on a sort of mask, much like the song described. Being the son of a world leader wasn’t easy, there were times when Altair would have to meet with other leaders families, he was constantly forced to dodge the paparazzi, and perhaps the worst part was the lack of trust… Cassidy had managed to get through many of Altair’s emotional walls, but she knew that she was far from getting him to lower his guard to the rest of the world.

The two of them sat there quietly, enjoying the album as it played. Whenever the record needed to be turned over or changed it would be done quietly, and as the album continued playing Cassidy got a better insight into Altair’s mind. When the last song of the album began to play, she could see Altair shift in his seat. The song, which seemed to be about letting people in, seemed to make him look uncertain. When the album was finally finished Cassidy and Altair sat in silence, after a minute or so both of them sat up and looked around.

“So, yeah...” Altair said with a slight shrug. “That was my favorite album.” Cassidy could see that the boy still wasn’t used to sharing things, there was still the faint look of vulnerability in Altair’s eyes. “I didn’t think you’d want to listen to the whole thing, you could’ve said something…”

“No, no… I liked it.” Cassidy replied with a warm smile, Altair smiled back at her and sat up straighter in his seat. “Hey, do you think your Mother is here yet? I was hoping to meet her, but…” The girl looked at a clock that was hanging on the wall. “I’ve gotta get home soon, my parents will start to worry, you know?”

“She would’ve come in if she was back, I guess she’s just a bit busier at the lab than usual.” Altair said with a thoughtful expression, he looked at the clock as well. “My Mom and Dad probably didn’t want to come in either, since we probably looked like we were having a moment or something… They’re sweet like that.” Cassidy smiled at him and looked at the floor. “Are you sure you can’t stay a little longer? I’m sure you could stay for dinner if you wanted, maybe if you call your folks they’d understand?”

“I really wish I could, but it took a lot of convincing just to get my Dad to not freak out when I told him I was going to visit your house, and we’ve been going out since last fall.” Cassidy said in an exasperated tone. “Sometimes parents are so annoying… I would’ve come visit sooner if I didn’t think my Dad would flip out. I wish we could meet somewhere else that wasn’t at the club…”

“Well, if you wanted to do that, why didn’t you ask?” Altair asked with a raised eyebrow, Cassidy seemed confused. “I know plenty of places we could go, your Dad would never know. There’s this diner that my Mother and I go to all the time, they’re super discreet too, and I have a security detail on top of that!”

“I’d love to do that, but when would we get a chance? We barely have time to see each other at the club.” Cassidy replied while she clasped her hands together. “My grandfather doesn’t say anything about us, but… I think that’s only because he can keep tabs on us at the club. If we went out on our own, I’m worried he’d tell my parents the truth…”

“So?” Altair asked as he looked Cassidy in the eyes. “We’re practically sixteen, that’s old enough for to drive, get a GED… Or to transfer into the Junior MPs! Two years from being able to smoke, drink, and join the army… And other things too!” The boy scooted closer to her and held his hand out for her to take. “Look… Cass, no one has ever made me feel the way you do… And I know we’re young, and that most of the time teens break up, but… I don’t think that’s gonna happen with us.” Altair put his other hand over his heart. “I promise you, that no matter what your parents say, no matter what they do, even if they try and pull us apart… As long as you want to be with me, I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen.”

“Oh… Altair, I… I…” Cassidy’s eyes watered as she looked at his hand, then her gaze shifted to his face. She could see the seriousness in his jaw, and as she looked in his eyes she felt like she was seeing further into Altair than she ever had before, as if he had lowered every defense for her. “Two years… Huh?” Altair nodded, Cassidy let out a slow breath and took Altair’s hand in hers. “Okay…” Both of them heard a sniffle from the doorway, but they didn’t think much of it. They instead wrapped their arms around one another, holding on tightly as they pulled themselves closer together.

“T-That was beautiful!” Sven the Guard said quietly as he and Marv peeked around the doorway, they’d been tasked with making sure nothing unsanctioned was happening. Sven suddenly turned and hugged his comrade tightly, crying like he had just finished watching one of his soap operas. Marv patted his friend on the side while he rolled his eyes. “Love truly conquers all!”

“Sure it does, big guy… Sure it does.” Marv replied in a half annoyed tone. “Go get a tissue or something. Jesus! I’ll keep an eye on them…” Sven nodded quietly and continued to wipe his eyes while walking away, that left Marv to observe the two young lovebirds. Only once Sven was out of hearing range did Marv get a little misty eyed. “I-It was kinda nice though…” He said to himself.

Author's Note

Here's yet another chapter for you lovely people, to be honest I feel like I'm a little out of practice here, so I may take some more time to practice writing before I post a new chapter. As always, I look forward to reading your comments and suggestions, who knows, I may even do a comment driven section of this story in the future. I kind of consider this story a sort of 'Sandbox Mode' before we get into the 'Campaign Mode' of the next story.

Now on an unrelated note, as some of you may know, I have a Patreon thing. Writing takes a lot of time and effort, but I love doing it because I love writing for you guys. Unfortunately I also have to face the reality that I need things like food and water, and that from time to time I have other expenses. The job market in my area isn't the best right now, so if you folks have anything you can spare for a monthly contribution, I would be very grateful. At the moment I have one contributor, and to them I want to say I am eternally grateful. You're contributions have helped keep me afloat, and I appreciate that more than I can say in an author's note. On top of the financial aspect, your contribution has given me more confidence in myself as an author, knowing someone is willing to give me money for my stories is an immense boost to my mood.

As I always say, whenever I make a request like this, I won't start charging for my stories. I write for fun, and for you guys, not for profit. This is the equivalent of a street performer putting out a jar or laying his guitar case on the ground.

Anyway, enough with the serious stuff. I know this may not be funny or interesting, but this song has helped lift my spirits in some rather trying times. I feel like it kind of describes the relationship between authors and readers, but that might just me reading too deep into it.