Chapter 2: The Gilded Cage

“Whatever misanthropists may say, ingrates and the perverse are exceptions in the human species.”

-Napoléon Bonaparte

---

        It was beautiful. The people, throngs of them in fact, cheering for him as if he were a God, and there by his side, his father, standing by his side with the proudest grin on his face! Soldiers of la Garde Impériale flanked the halls like stone sentinels of old, carrying Imperial tri-colour standards that gave the chapel the appropriate Imperial imagery a coronation deserved. It was everything he ever dreamed and more. Soon a courtier rose, holding in his hands a lush pillow with the crown of Charlemagne itself upon it! Slowly yet steadily the courtier walked, keeping a firm grip on the pillow as he walked up the aisle towards Charles himself. Finally he reached the son of the Emperor, and when he finally stopped in front of Charles, the room became silent in anticipation. Within a moment his father, dressed in full imperial regalia, took the crown, raising it above his head and touching it to his slowly graying hair. Then, he turned to his son, who knelt to the floor before him almost reverently.

        You could practically hear the anticipation of the crowd build up like a volcanic attack, before Napoléon slowly laid the crown on top of his head. Feeling the full weight of his father’s crown finally being passed down to him, Charles rose steadily, his robes and crown only slightly impeding his progress. When he fully rose, the people broke out into thunderous applause once more, as their new Emperor stood before them, Imperial robe and crown practically glowing in the chapel they stood in, as his father shouted triumphantly to the crowd “Vive la France! Vive l’Empire! Vive l’Empereur Napoléon II!”

        As the crowd began to repeat the chant of his father again and again, Charles felt as if everything was finally falling into place. He could practically explode from joy! Finally, he had achieved his destiny, he had made his father proud! All he ever wanted was in his grasp at last. But suddenly, it all ground to a halt. The cheering stopped, the guards dropped their standards, and the air of patriotism and glory that had saturated the air not moments ago had vanished in an instant. And just like that, it was all gone. The chapel, the people, everything was gone. Now, it was only him and his father, in a black abyss that seemed to go on forever. He turned to his father, desperate for an answer. “Father, what’s going on?” he desperately pleaded.

        His father did not answer him. Instead he gave him a piercing glare, one that struck hard against his very soul. Feeling his body quickly begin to drop in heat from whatever effect the endless abyss had on him, he asked again. “Father, please, answer me!”

        This time his father did react, but in the very way he did not want. He turned from him, giving his son only a contemptuous glare as his parting gift. “Who would want to serve you, a man who cares not but for his own desires above that of his people?”

        “What, what are you talking about? Father, answer me!” Charles demanded.

No response came however. Instead, he turned away once and forever more. Charles tried in vain to follow him, to grab him, catch up, anything! But it was a pointless gesture. He was getting farther. And farther. And farther. Till he was naught but a speck in the distance. Standing there, alone in the endless black pit, Charles screamed. But there was no response. Only his own screams, echoing in the darkness.

        Charles’ eyes opened wide in pure shock, the morning greeting him with a fresh burst of sunlight straight through his window that sent a lance of pain straight to his eyes.  He groggily refused to get up for a few moments, instead making sure he was where he was the moment he fell asleep. Still nine, still in Wien, still in his bed. Good. That was the fifth dream in the last few weeks, and that was the worst one yet. Charles sighed into his pillow, taking comfort in the soft sheets and fluffy pillows surrounding him, but it was a temporary comfort at best.  He had to get up sooner or later, he knew this. Mustering his resolve, Charles rose out of bed slowly, his plain gray nightclothes still on from the night before.  Shaking off the effects of a good night’s sleep, he achingly tried to recall what happened the previous day.  He had traversed the capital, he had ventured off for a while on his own and...

        “Oh yes.”  It all came back to him.  The intriguing unicorn, Twilight, had come to the palace with him.  They talked to the Kaiser, they went to his very own room, and ate a most excellent meal shortly thereafter.  Charles filled up on delicious ham, and a large plate of alfalfa grass was laid out for Twilight.  The prince had wondered how hungry the young unicorn must have been; she lunged into the food with such a wild passion.  She even ignored the fine selection (in his opinion) of novels and dramas despite her previous excitement.  He generously shared some of his Apfelstrudel with her once she was done, and Twilight appreciated that greatly.  He didn't dare share the ham though; he knew enough about ponies to understand their aversion to eating meat.  The two spent an hour or so talking some more, but soon they found themselves asleep.

        Rousing himself off the bed and back into the moment, Charles scanned his room to see just where Twilight was.  He remembered offering her some bed sheets--he had more than enough--but he couldn't find them or her.  What he did find was a large structure made from his books right in the middle of the floor, stacked up to resemble a medieval castle.  Stepping down to the floor, Charles approached it curiously, wondering just how in the world it had been erected.  Charles found a large gap in the books that revealed a small purple unicorn covered in blankets and her head laying on an open text.

        Uncertainty clouded his resolve.  He had an urge to 'd'aww!' for reasons he could not fathom.  “Should I wake her up?” he wondered.  He quickly turned towards the window, catching the rays of light again in his face.  The sun was just barely rising over the horizon; time was stuck between day and night.  “Twilight.”  A slight twitch at a corner of his lip betrayed his amusement.  Charles decided it would probably be best to wake her, but he took one last moment to appreciate how the innocent beauty of the young unicorn.  He always had a fascination with ponies, ever since his youngest days at Palais des Tuileries.  He supposed that was why he was so interested by her to begin with.  Unicorns were rare after all, only living with nobles or serving with a select few lucky officers in the army.

        Gently nudging Twilight's shoulder with his hand, Charles watched uneasily as Twilight only grumbled and mumbled under her breath in response, the pony rolling over to her side as much as she was able in the cramped book-fort.  Words seemed to be the only weapon Charles had left, so he took a breath and spoke lowly “Twilight, wake up!”

        Twilight shook a bit more, a few of her errant mumbles passing through Charles' ear. “You're the best dad...” slipped through her muzzle, paralyzing Charles for a moment.  From the almost reverent way she said it, she seemed to care for her father deeply.  Charles could sympathize greatly.  It had been so long since he had seen him though, years in fact.  His father was the greatest man he ever knew, but he was jailed and under arrest on some remote island off the coast of Africa. The very thought of it caused his blood to boil in seething rage.  He was a  prisoner for life once more after he had dared to defy the Anciens Régimes of Europe again and again!

Charles sighed morosely, lost in thoughts of his father and trying to cling desperately to the few memories with him that remained.  He wondered if Twilight had similar fond memories of her father.  If she was awake, he might have been tempted to ask her about him, let alone about Equestria as a whole, but such intrusions into her past were too rude and uncouth.  They had only just met the day before.         

Twilight stirred, her eyes briefly fluttering like butterfly wings.  Charles brushed aside his idle thoughts.  “Now is the time for the present, not the past.”  Twilight's eyes fully opened and focused for a moment on the young human.  “Fr-Charles?” she whispered.

        Charles nodded. “The same.”

        Her head lifted an inch, taking a glum look around the small fort she constructed.  “I'm... I'm still here” she choked out.

        Charles bit his lip.  Thankfully the unicorn wasn't tearing up like yesterday, but he could practically feel the depression oozing off of her.  Now that she had time to fully appreciate the situation and understand the inevitability of never returning to her home, grief overtook her.  Thinking quickly, Charles decided to distract her from her woe while answering a question of his at the same time. “Why are are these books piled up around you?” he asked.

        Twilight didn't respond for a moment, as if she didn't understand what he meant, but realization dawned on her quickly. A luminescent blush appeared on her cheeks. “Oh, this. Well... I was scared that those men were going to come back to me during the night. So I made a place to hide myself in as long as I needed to” she answered nervously.

        The young prince nodded in understanding. He had no idea what horrors the young unicorn had endured, yet he was sympathetic to her plight all the same. And he had to admit, the sheer, he struggled for a moment to find the word, innocence of the act touched him for God knows what reason. “Oh, and I can read whatever I want while I'm in here too!” Twilight added.

        That made Charles laugh. Not a loud laugh, or something bitter and sarcastic, but a small laugh of genuine mirth. “True, that does add to the charm of it I suppose,” Charles coyly suggested, “But I'm afraid it's time to leave such an oasis now.”

        'Mkay' Twilight mumbled, attempting to escape the confines of her blankets now. However, one of her hoofs got tangled in the blanket, and as Twilight struggled to wriggle it out, she accidentally kicked one of the books supporting the makeshift fort up, causing it to fall all over her. Charles was a tad worried when nothing came out of now haphazard pile of books, until the little unicorn's head popped right out of the pile, staring right at him with an embarrassed grin. “I'm okay!” she assured him.

        Charles let him amusement slip through once more as a grin. “Ah ma petite pouliche, rest assured I had no worries about your safety. You look like you're more than capable of handling yourself” he complimented.

        Any rebuke Twilight might have come up with was stunned by the impromptu praise. Looking away from the human child, Twilight almost stammered out a 'thank you'. Charles was more than a bit confused at the behavior, but once more he decided not to press. As the saying goes, patience was a virtue. Charles spoke once more. “Now, I'm going to get dressed, and clean up the books. Just wait somewhere in here till I'm done, and then...” he paused, putting a hand on his chin in contemplation as he realized he had no idea what to do after that. Of course he could do his usual routine and go to his tutor, but what would Twilight do? He didn't think she would be content with just sitting in here sifting through books all day...

        That thought got caught up in his head as several of the books suddenly floated up in the air, a glowing field surrounding them, as if they were held up by... “Magic” Charles whispered almost reverently.

        Twilight, who's horn now glowed a bright pink, smiled at him. “Yep! I'm sorry about causing such a mess, so I'll just clean this up. I used to do this all the time back home after long nights...” she trailed off after that.

        Charles was speechless as the books proceeded to twirl in the air, flying around wildly before being deposited in neat ordered columns on the empty shelves. The room was quiet for a few moments more before Charles clapped, a giddy expression on his face now. “Très bien!” he shouted, “That was fantastic Twilight! The unicorns at court can barely even attempt to lift a few books, let alone all the ones in here. How did you do it?” he inquired.

        Twilight was more concerned with what Charles had unintentionally told her than his question. “Wait, what do you mean most unicorns can't do magic like that? This is pretty simple stuff back home” she questioned.

        “What? Magic like this has been gone for centuries now. I mean, it's been practically wiped out from,” Charles paused for a few moments as clarity dawned on him, “Europe.”

        “Huh?”

        Charles did not answer her, instead going up to a shelf and browsing through his selection once more, until finding his choice. “Here's where it's explained” Charles said, laying the book on the ground and opening it.

        Twilight sat on her haunches next to him as he flipped through pages, until he reached his destination. After a few seconds, Charles let out an 'aha!' as he found the page he was looking for. “Here,” he began, pointing at a certain paragraph, “It explains it well enough.”

        Looking down at the book, Twilight began to read where Charles was pointing at, and very soon she was nearly in shock over what she saw.

Ever since the foundation of the Imperium Romanum Sancrum Nationis Germanicæ (a.ka Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation) under Emperor Charlemagne himself was created, and later solidified by the crowning of Otto I as King of Germany, the positions of unicorns and how they fit in compared to the other equine races grew even more controversial. Compared to the earth ponies, who served as dutiful cavalry and workhorses for the nations of Europe, and the pegasi, who kept mostly to themselves in the clouds above, unicorns and their magic have been a source of controversy and discontent throughout the realm of Christendom.

While the word of Christ himself contains no mention of unicorn magic along with the nature of pony in relation to man, his disciples had numerous opinions on the matter expressed in their various books. Mathew called for restrictions on unicorn magic lest they grow too powerful, while others like Luke called for the banning of all magic, claiming it was unnatural and against the very nature of God himself. This reflected the rather conflicted nature the Church had in regards to dealing with ponies, which was a reason for the numerous branches of Christianity later on, due to the indefatigable nature of the Holy See on matters concerning ponies. Many also claimed that magic was the downfall of the Roman Empire, due to it's increasing reliance on unicorn shock riders as it slipped further and further into decay. The Romans themselves had varying policies both for and against all equine races (Emperor Caligula to this day still being regarded as either a madman or a true hero among the brony community for entrusting the position of Consul to a trusted pony).

So it was that the Catholic nations of Europe convened on the matter in the early 11th century. The discussion was immensely heated, the most notable event being the Pope himself hitting the King of France on the head with the Papal Staff, but eventually a consensus was reached. Unicorns would be limited to select magics they could use, with most of the more powerful spells being banned  from being practiced or taught, and any written knowledge of them burned.  The remnant pagan nations, mostly found within the realm of the Lithuanians and Cumans, kept to using unicorn magic against  their foes, helping to ensure their independence. However, strong resistance from nations like Poland and the order of the Teutonic Knights subdued them in time or brought them over to the true faith.

To this day, most advanced magics are practically unknown save a few hermits who managed to escape centuries’ worth of Inquisitioners and Armies of the state. Even when the Reformation broke out, the general attitude towards magic was one of the few things all the varying sects of Christianity agreed on (Orthodoxy in Russia taking it even further, threatening stiff fines and ‘harsh’ punishment for unicorns who dare to create anything more than a spark in public.)

        Half the words and terms used here were things Twilight had less than half an idea about, though she assumed they were nations or areas of some sort. What she did get though, was that magic was not nearly as advanced here as it was back home. She was worried as to just how bad it was here, but the general amazement Charles gave her at (what was to her at least) a very simple display gave her a very grim idea. “That clear it up?” Charles asked her.

        “Sort of...” Twilight replied. She got the general idea, she could fill in the blanks the more she stayed here she supposed.

        A sudden knock at the door interrupted their research. “Franz, it's time for your studies. Get dressed and hurry up” a timid female voice said from behind the door.

        “Coming,” he answered.

        Before Twilight could inquire more as to what was going on, Charles went up a the single large dresser in the room, pulling a cupboard out and taking out a plain black shirt and a pair of equally black trousers. He moved to take his shirt off, before shooting a look at Twilight. “Um, do you mind... looking away?” he nervously said.

        Twilight scrunched her face up in confusion for a moment, before letting loose a loud 'oh!' in understanding. She forgot humans had their own concepts of modesty. She spent so little time around them back home that it was easy for her to forget. Nodding her head towards Charles, Twilight buried her head in the book once more, drawing up new questions and theories based on the text there.

The New World also still contains a few sects of Aztecs who worship the fictional Sun Goddess of Ponies, Celestia, mainly the Aztec people. Attempts by scientists to link the Aztec  mythology to the Celestian and Lunanite religious sects have also prompted numerous theories regarding their origins. Speaking of Celestia, nothing needs to be said of the isolated land of Equestria that is not already common knowledge to the masses. The Orient has also had experiences similar to ours, most unicorn magic there being little above Europe's own. The Ottoman Empire, while not kind towards unicorn practitioners, are noticeably more lax than their European counterparts, mostly due to the rather strict support for justice for ponies emphasized by the prophet Muhammad himself.

Regardless, the days of magic sweeping away armies by the thousands is long gone. Gunpowder has replaced magic, as is the wont of man, and humanity has proven it's natural place as the benevolent hand that must keep the reins over ponykind, lest they veer off the course of the true path, and become a pit of decay and isolation as Equestria has become to the Americas.

        The Americas? Charles referenced that place before, and now this book was saying Equestria was located there. In all her studies, Twilight had come across few maps, the general isolation of Equestria providing little mapping of the outside world. If possible, she really needed to ask Charles to get a map, or something to just understand how far she was away from home.

        “Done” Charles spoke, knocking Twilight from her plots and plans.

        Twilight gazed up and was surprised to see how Charles looked now. In his tight buttoned black shirt and trousers with strapped sleek shoes, Charles stood stiff and with his chest puffed out proudly. At this sight, Twilight did something completely unexpected to the young prince. She started giggling like crazy. Charles' eyebrow twitched rapidly as Twilight began rolling on the floor in thrills of laughter. “Why are you laughing!?” he growled out through gritted teeth.

        Twilight managed to subside her laughs for a few moments, wiping a hoof over her eye to wipe away fake tears. “Oh, it's just you look so silly! I mean, you're just a kid, and it looks like you're trying to be a soldier” she explained through random bursts of giggles.

        Charles resisted the urge to glare at her. Instead, he only sighed in annoyance. “Looking like a soldier is what I intended. I have to practice looking like a soldier if I can ever hope to be one, and that's before learning all the proper military history and strategy!” he rebuked heavily.

        The amusement of the purple unicorn truly ended now, as only confusion filled her up now (an annoying trend to her as of late). “What, you want to be a soldier?”

        “Because being a soldier is my destiny. I have to learn war if I'm ever going to accomplish anything in my most unlucky life” Charles explained as if that was all he needed to say.

        “But that's stupid!” Twilight countered, “War's not necessary at all. You don't need to learn how to wage it to accomplish your goals.”

        “What do you know of my goals? Of my life, which you seem to assume so much about!” Charles questioned her, walking steadily closer to her with a look that wasn't angry, but demanding, “What do you know of this world besides the bits I have deemed to tell you? Of how the world works besides the peaceful little bubble you seem to live in!”

        Words failed to escape Twilight's mouth as she realized he was right, if not on the topic of war but definitely on the rest of what Charles accused her of. Twilight stared at the floor below her for a moment in silence, contemplating what he said, before finally coming up with a decent response. “You're right, I don't know anything about you, or the world actually” she admitted meekly.

        Charles gave her a semi-smug grin, assured of his victory in terms of wit, before Twilight spoke out again. “But that doesn't mean I'm going to just sit here and stay ignorant! If I'm going to be here for Celestia knows how long, I'm going to learn what I can about it, and you” she defiantly declared, giving him a look, as if to dare him into refuting her.

        The stare Charles gave her after that was rather mixed in terms of look. He stared her right in the eye, but with something new in his countenance now. 'Is that... respect?' Twilight wondered, not at all used to intuitively knowing pony looks, let alone humans. But Twilight could only guess, and that seemed to be the closest response she could posit it to. Charles broke the look suddenly, forming a smooth grin that Twilight couldn't see. “It looks like you're going to be a more worthy pony-” no, that word didn't fit at all to him “a worthy intellect to live with after all, Twilight Sparkle,” he whispered to himself.

        Turning back to Twilight once more, Charles didn't give any hint that he was grinning just moments before, instead giving her a bored glance. “If you so wish Twilight. Until then, I, no, we should head out.”

        “We?” Twilight asked, defiance forgotten temporarily.

        Charles' mouth twitched, giving just the barest hint of a grin now. “Indeed. How else are you going to learn anything if you don't study with me?” he gave a mock sigh “I'm sure my tutors would be willing to teach you along with me, or at least let you listen along. Most of them are among the more pony-friendly crowd anyway, unlike the reactionary rule that dominates Österreich.”

        Twilight had no idea how to respond for a moment, before finally matching Charles grin with one of her own. “That sounds just great” she answered.

        Interrupting what was proving to be a rather defining moment between the two, a new series of knocks pounded at the door, much harsher then before. “Prinz Franz, I demand you get out here right now and stop doing god knows what with that unicorn! Your studying cannot begin if you are not actually there!” a man  with a thick German accent clearly raged.

        Both of the young children jumped up in the air from the sudden verbal assault. Charles mumbled under his breath something about 'accursed rabid counts' before offering Twilight a conciliatory sheepish smile. “I'm afraid that's my tutor. Would you like to confront the grouch first, or should I?” he only half-joked.

        Another surge of harsh knocking proceeded to shake Twilight of any thought of even accepting such an offer, so she quickly shook her head. Sighing, Charles proceeded to the door, opening it to reveal a tall black-haired man in a worn looking uniform, looking sternly down at the young prince. “Prinz Franz, what in the name of the Lord took you so long?” he demanded to know.

        Charles looked up at him with an unbending gaze. “Simple. The unicorn, Fraulein Sparkle here,” he motioned towards Twilight, “needed help getting up. I was helping her” he answered easily.

        The man looked unbelieving for a moment, but soon decided to just go with it. “Fine, it's late anyway. Come on” he turned, moving down the hall now.

        Charles smiled, glad that his studies would begin anew. As he began to walk the path the man took, he turned to Twilight. “Coming?” he asked in the form of a dare.

        “You betcha” she replied.

        Her strange vernacular caused some raised brows from the humans, but they decided to ignore it. Within a few minutes of following the tall man, Charles and Twilight found themselves in a small sparsely decorated room with a few seats located around a large desk populated by a plethora of books. Twilight was visibly piqued at more books to read, and Charles had a pleasant smile on his face as well. The man proceeded to take a seat at the desk, shuffling through his books. “Now Prinz Franz, your studies for today will include...”the man stopped speaking as he noticed the small unicorn standing next to Charles.

        “What is she doing here?” he asked, exasperated already.

        Charles seemed to have no idea what he meant for a moment, till he noticed the man was looking at Twilight. “Oh, her. I didn't think she'd like to stay in my room without much to do besides read, so I offered her to come with me. It'd spice up the learning experience quite a bit I'd say” he explained thoroughly.

        The man digested this news before sighing a bit. He should have known Franz would've tried something like this. Ever since he heard the reports of a purple unicorn living in Franz's room yesterday, he knew Franz would be all over her. The boy had a fascination with ponies, and numerous opinions even at his young age. Unfortunately, these opinions were contrary to the ruling regimes. The man could sympathize with Franz's view, especially considering the good amount of ponies he served over, but he couldn't just allow Franz to do something like this so easily. Even if he did speak of it in such a sensible manner. He cursed the boy for learning how to speak so well, especially at his age. It was plain unnatural that it was.

        “I'm afraid I can't let you do that Franz. For one, it's blatantly illegal, and two, the unicorn can probably not even count to ten!” he countered.

        “What?!” Twilight shouted incredulously, finally entering the conversation, “I learned that before I learned to stand on my own hooves! And I don't know what” she paused temporarily, almost afraid to say what she wanted to say, but pressed on “stupid laws you have here, but I want to learn, and that's that!”

        All the bravery suddenly left her as the man's piercing gaze fell fully on her, examining her as if she was an open cadaver. A sudden clapping surprised them both though. “Bravissimo!” Charles clapped excitedly.

        Twilight blushed once more, but did a mock bow to Charles. “Danke” she said.

        The man watched the glee at his students reaction to the unicorns little outburst, and sighed once more. He was going to get sacked for this, he was assured, but he didn't know what else to do. “Fine, she may stay and learn here, but! Only if you take a renewed interest in your mathematics Your Highness. You've been slacking as of late, and if you want any future in the military you're going to need math!” he offered.

        Charles considered this. In all honesty, he was much more worried about the possibility of not being in the military than not getting Twilight to work with him, but the offer was more then good enough for him. Nodding to himself, Charles gave the man a triumphant smile. “Perfekte.”

        Sighing once more, the man muttered “Damn kids” before giving Twilight another look “Just to let you know, I'm Count Mortiz von Dietrichstein, I've served in the army for more than a few years, and while in this class you will learn what I teach, and learn it without complaint. I have led men with more iron in them than you could ever hope to have, and ponies with a stronger will than the most incomparable of leaders. So do not think you can order me around. Alright?” the Count said.

        “Alright” she answered.

        “Fine. Now, let's begin...”

        ---

        A couple of hours later, and Twilight found herself in a position similar to where she usually found herself back home. Her muzzle buried deep within a book, ignoring the rest of the world save the idle comments of her teacher. Seeing as Count von Dietrichstein did not expect two students, let alone a pony, he had Charles and Twilight share books. Currently they were reading something called The Republic. The Count spoke fondly of the author of the book, Plato, and she found it intriguing to say the least. During her time in Canterlot, she found a variety of texts that imitated some aspects found in here, most from influential ponies or previous Hochmeisters of  the Orden, but they had nothing on this! She absorbed every word the text had to offer her, almost salivating at the bounty of thinking and ideas it gave her.

        Charles sat right next to her, his face as far into the book as her own. They were so close, their faces almost touched, but neither noticed this. The classics always interested him, and he only recently began his studies into them. Twilight seemed as interested as he was, which pleased him greatly. He needed someone to discuss the ideas of old with after all, and he doubted his teachers or the other spoiled princes at court would be so knowledgeable. He went through the words with ease, and asked Twilight whether she was ready to proceed to a different page or not. Thankfully, they both kept up at about the same pace, so he did not have to deal with the boredom of waiting for her to keep up. Just another reason for him to like the unicorn he supposed.

        Sitting at his desk still, Count Mortiz eyed the two of them warily while he prepared a few notes on his desk with a quill pen. Paying careful attention to the way Twilight was absorbed into the book, and the small body motions Franz would make upon reading a certain passage, he wrote all these notes down. This procedure continued since they started, with the only interruption being the Count randomly asking the two where they were in the book, and asking them questions depending on that. “Are you two done with the prologue yet?” he began.

        Charles flipped a page for him and Twilight before answering. “We got that done 15 minutes ago.”

        The Count harrumphed. “And what do you think of their discussion on justice?”

        Twilight chimed in now. “It's rather practical. Plato really seems to get into the idea of the necessity of justice and such. This is really fascinating.”

        Charles nodded in agreement. The Count did not speak after that, instead grumbling to himself once more. Listening to those kids was like listening to a trained philosopher, yet they were hardly over nine by the looks of them! He knew people in their fifties who barely got this into philosophy and reading, yet the two of them couldn't seem to get enough. The precociousness of the two astounded him. It was enough to make a man drink. Which he already did of course, but still.

        Another hour passed by without alarm. The two children proceeded even further into the book, blazing through the pages at a speed that would make college students particularly envious. Finally, the Count spoke out “That's it, it's time for your next lesson. Hauptmann de Foresti should arrive shortly-”

        A loud crash outside the room signaled that he was already there. Just a moment afterward, the door opened to reveal the Hauptmann himself, a thin-built wiry man, with a slick curved mustache and beady black eyes. He brushed off his gray cloak and grinned sheepishly at the Count. “Sorry sir, slipped a bit on the floor! I'm fine though, in case you were wondering whether I was okay or not” he babbled out with an accent markedly different than the Counts.

        “I wasn't, Hauptmann” the Count replied in a deadpan manner.

        That didn't seem to damper de Foresti in the slightest though as he turned to Charles, only giving a slight raise of his brow when he spotted Twilight, both of them still buried in their book. He got the general idea of what was going on here, and was intrigued to say the least. “Now Prinz Franz, it's time to proceed. If you and, if she wishes, the young unicorn here would follow me...” he gestured towards the door.

        While Count von Dietrichstein grumbled some more about annoying princes and weirdly colored unicorns, Charles acquiesced to the request and proceeded to leave, but not before noticing Twilight was still deep into reading The Republic. Suppressing a small chuckle of amusement, and a slight degree of sympathy as he wanted to read more of Socrates himself, Charles poked Twilight's shoulder. This caused the small filly to jump up in shock, her head moving in different directions. “What, who, where?” she chattered wildly.

        “I'm afraid ma petite pouliche that it's time to leave for now. Don't worry, this is just the first lesson after all. You're lucky actually, we were just starting classics today” he informed her.

        “Oh, okay. So where are we headed now?” she sheepishly asked.

        Charles gave her a wicked grin that both creeped her out and made her all the more curious. “Language training, and then, the best thing! Strategy and tactics!” he could barely finish his words before he was practically shaking in excitement.

        “Um, that's... fine” Twilight responded. Learning new languages seemed more than fine after all, but the second part of his statement... well it made her worried.

        “Let's go then!” Charles finished, before running off wildly to the door.

        Hauptmann de Foresti and Count von Dietrichstein, who were watching the two during this little exchange, had markedly different reactions. Foresti was amused and, although he would never admit this, was a little touched by the enthusiasm the two had for learning. Von Moritz, meanwhile, was wondering where in the name of God was his wine. He swore he was not paid enough for this sometimes.

---

        The party of three proceeded through Schönbrunn mundanely with de Foresti at the head, with the two children of wildly different species and equally different backgrounds following quietly behind him. Twilight, while still sneaking glances at all the magnificent architecture and such around the palace, was notably less interested than before. To her, paintings and such were nice and all, but the opportunity to learn, that was worth far more to her. 'Perhaps Charles shares the same mindset?'  she wondered. Suddenly the silence was broken by de Foresti opening up a conversation. “So Prinz, I see you've met a nice little friend there” he began innocently.

        Both Charles and Twilight had raised brows at that, before giving each other quick glances. Friends? They hardly knew each other for a day, yet he assumed they were friends? To Twilight, friends just weren't a necessity, the knowledge gained from learning offering a far more tempting palate to her tastes. Despite the best efforts of her mother and the Princess back home, she rarely came out of her shell. But Charles... she had to admit, his desire for knowledge and his obviously strong character despite his youth intrigued and fascinated her.

        Charles was the same, while he deliberately cut himself off from most ties to the other youth in the court of the Kaisertum Österreich (Though admittedly there weren't many to begin with besides him), the purple unicorn genius tempted him to get closer to her. Technically, she was the closest thing he had to a friend, and vice versa. He wasn't sure if that was pathetic or not. “And?” Charles finally replied.

        De Foresti shrugged innocuously. “Oh nothing. Just wondering, considering how you two were so close when studying under Count von Moritz...” he trailed off.

        “Well seeing as the guy’s such a grouch, we have to stick together and all” Twilight answered him.

        “Oh he's not that bad. He's just a tad... old-fashioned” de Foresti said.

        “I'd say he's more addled” Twilight whispered to Charles, earning a laugh from him.

        The crew stayed silent after that, the only sound being the gentle clacking of de Foresti's boots and Twilight's hooves against the smooth floor. It was only when they passed by a series of clear glass windows. After taking a small look as to what lay beyond them, Charles let out an excited gasp, as he went right up to a window and pressed himself against it, desperate to look outside. Twilight eyed him weirdly for a moment, while de Foresti was both amused and delighted by his pupils interest. “What's going on?” Twilight asked.

        De Foresti went up to the window himself, taking a peek before nodding to himself. “Simple. The soldiers are doing their routines.”

        Wanting to see just what was going on, Twilight went next to Charles, who kept an entirely focused look on what was going on outside. And what she found were soldiers. Dozens of them, dressed in black and tan uniforms, lined up in rows with the weapons the guards the palace guard used, standing straight each with a focused expression. Another soldier stood in front of them all, shouting orders so loud they could hear it all the way up to where they were two stories up. Within moments the soldiers moved in sync, as if they were one single conglomerate mind and marched to the beat of a lone drummer in the front.

        All throughout this, Charles had the most serene expression his face. The beat of the drum was so addictive to him he almost marched in place right where he was, and the soldiers, how he wanted to march with them! Even Twilight was caught up in the bewitching spell of such a forceful show, nearly wishing she could watch them move in such order some more. It looked, neigh it was, divine! It... worried her, how beautiful it looked. De Foresti simply nodded before interrupting the twos  pair’s“ day dreaming. “Yep, good man their officer is. Can't remember his name, but I think he served in Preußen. I thought about visiting their sometime, but sadly, ich bin kein Berliner!” he chortled a bit at his own joke.

        He forced himself away from the window after that, causing the two children to look up at him with watchful eyes. “Now, we were headed somewhere I believe.”

        Charles and Twilight both found themselves blushing in embarrassment. “Es tut mir leid Hauptmann” Twilight apologized, with Charles following soon afterward with an apology of his own.

        The Hauptmann however brushed aside their apologies with a wave of his hand. “It is no problem. I'm a man who can appreciate it when children are happy about something.” 'Though I wish it was in something actually for children instead of the banalities of war; he silently added.

        “Now then, we were headed somewhere, were we not?” de Foresti asked the two, continuing before the two could answer “Right we were. Let'sa go!” he clapped wildly.

        Charles and Twilight shared a look. “Is he always like this?” Twilight questioned.

        A shrug answered her. “When he wants to be” Charles told her.

---

        Soon the three found themselves in a library. This was no ordinary library though. Twilight was practically floored when de Foresti opened the huge oak doors leading inside the room, revealing swaths of books lining the room from end to end on countless shelves. It was almost enough to make her cry from sheer bliss. Sure the Royal Library in Canterlot was fairly sized, but this, this was-

         “Truly fit for an Empire” Charles finished for her.

        Indeed it was. The Hauptmann slid through the tables and chairs that dotted the floor of the library with ease, before stopping at a particularly large one. Pulling out a few chairs for them to sit at, de Foresti motioned for the two to sit with him. Charles and Twilight did so, but not before Charles had to poke Twilight, as she was still lost in how huge the place was. That earned him a glare, but it was worth it if the amused smile on his face was any indication. De Foresti only sighed ruefully at this. 'Such is youth. Better they hold on to it while it lasts' he waxed poetically.

        Seeing the two finally sit themselves down, Twilight climbing up on her seat before sitting on her haunches, de Foresti spoke to Twilight first. “Now Fraulein...”

        “Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle” she happily told him.

        The Hauptmann nodded. “Gut. Now, I have studied this with Charles here a few times now, but seeing as you are an... unexpected newcomer, I'm going to have to ask you this for my own benefit here. Do you know Italian?” he asked.

        “... What's Italian?” Twilight asked after an awkward pause.

        Charles almost laughed at what seemed to him a joke, before remembering that she actually did not know what in the world Italian was. By God, the unicorn probably didn't even know what country she was in right now actually! De Foresti simply nodded, before clasping his hands together in consideration. “Hmm, that is a problem indeed. Quick question Twilight, do you what country we're in right now?” a slow and hesitant shake of her head confirmed his fears, “As I thought. Here, I have an idea” he stopped to raise himself off from his chair, before heading to one of the shelves.

        Both children watched the Hauptmann carefully as he pulled out a book seemingly at random, before heading back to the two and laying it down on the table, flipping through pages speedily. “Practically living here has some benefits you see” de Foresti said, his eyes not leaving the pages.

        Finally his eyes fell on a certain page containing a large map. “Ah, excellent, here's a recent map! Made just a few years ago in fact, and it's accurate enough for our purposes.”

Twilight and Charles leaned over the table to catch a glimpse of it, with de Foresti rotating the book to face them. Charles, having already understood the general topography of Europe, only took a quick glance before returning to his seat. But Twilight found herself enthralled by the existence of actual context on where she was to Equestria. Hauptmann de Foresti then pointed to the yellow blob in the center of the map. “As you can see, we are here in Kaisertum Österreich (a.k.a the Austrian Empire) led by the man you met just today, Kaiser Francis II. We're currently in the capital of the Empire, Wien (Vienna) around the center of Österreich.

Twilight absorbed this information with ease, soon proceeding to her next question. “And what's this country?” she asked, pointing to the gigantic green blob encompassing nearly half the map.

        “Russia” both de Foresti and Charles answered at once, though Charles spoke with a hint of bitterness in his tone that made her a bit worried.

        “And this one? And that one right there! And...”

        And so it continued.  For nearly a half an hour Twilight questioned and questioned the the teacher, who she learned from her questioning was from the northern region of this place called 'Italy', or in his own words 'Brescia to be specific', and she happily accepted all the information he could offer her. Whether on the political systems of the most nations of Europe (She seemed a bit baffled at the ideas of positions above Prince or Princess, something which lead to a near face-palm from Charles) or the history of how they came to be, she inquired about them all. It was only till the reached that green blob on the left of the map that Charles interrupted her, having a strangely soft expression on his face. “If you would Twilight, I would like to speak with you about France on my own time.”

        Twilight almost couldn't believe it, but she could swear that Charles was pleading for her to accept the offer. Such a strange action from him caused her some concern, but she accepted when she saw the blatant want on his face. “Um, okay?” she tacitly accepted.

        Hauptmann de Foresti eyed this with a hint of worry, though it quickly vanished from his face. Instead he put up a charming smile for the two, and began to speak once more. “Now you two, I’m afraid we dilly-dallied for too long. If you would, I would like to begin the Italian lessons now.”

        The two of them quickly quieted themselves. The opportunity to learn a new language seemed positively exciting to Twilight, knowing it would be necessary for the greater world she so recently found herself in. “Now Charles, we’ve already began your lessons a few weeks ago, so Twilight will have to catch up quickly.” de Foresti noted.

        Twilight was astounded that de Foresti so casually called Franz/Charles well, Charles. No one else had called him that yet, and the apparent non-reaction from Charles told her this was a common thing, in private at least. It just added another layer to the growing mystery that was the nine-year old to her. But she was a pony of smarts, and she would unravel him. In time though. But for now, she gathered her bravery, so recently brought back after confrontation with Count von Dietrichstein, and she gave the Hauptmann a confident grin. “I’m a fast learner.” she told him.

        Her answer pleased both Charles and de Foresti, the latter cracking his knuckles in anticipation. “Let’s begin then.” he creepily declared.

        For some odd reason, Twilight felt a shiver dance down her spine. From the wary look Charles gave de Foresti, she knew he had the same thing happen to him once as well. ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ she worried.

---

        Despite his rather ‘eccentric’ behavior, de Foresti was a relentless teacher. After introducing Twilight to a few words, consonants, and pronunciations in the Italian language, he ruthlessly grilled her on them. Charles sought to cut short an attempted complaint from her about the difficulty of it by saying he had to go through the same thing, and without help from another learner at that! Speaking of Charles, all the while de Foresti was having Charles read through a book on relatively advanced Italian, a fact that privately astounded de Foresti since he had only just started a few weeks ago with the boy. And at the general ease Twilight seemed to be getting the introduction save a few mishaps, she seemed to be doing just as good, if not better. ‘Children, so eager to grow up and escape their little seats!’ he mused.

        So they read more, as they were wont to do, and while it was hard, Twilight loved learning as always, this new language in particular. The sound of it, so unique and oddly fantastical, made her want to learn to speak it, to write it, etc. Despite his harsh teaching style, de Foresti was in perpetual states of both joy and worry about his latest student. Joy for her craving to learn and his desire to fill it, and worry for how his employers would react to this. He was sure that Count von Dietrichstein had already had a report ready and submitted to Kanzler Metternich as he was thinking this very thought, and he would soon once their activities for the day were over, as they had done so every day since Charles had arrived in the palace those long five years ago.

        The Hauptmann’s lessons ended not long after that. In just an hour exactly, de Foresti received a note from an aide who walked into the library like a phantom, stalking up to him. Wordlessly, de Foresti accepted the note, opening it and reading it with slit eyes. Twilight and Charles kept a lone eye on both their work and another on him as he scanned it carefully. Soon though he crunched it up in his hands, putting the wad in his coat pocket. “It seems as if we will have to postpone our most excellent meeting here today. I shall be back shortly though, be assured!” he hastily babbled out, before retreating to the exit.

Both nine year-olds gave each other strange looks of befuddlement as silence reigned after the Hauptmann left. “Uh, what was that?” Twilight entreated.

“Most likely off to give his report to the Kaiser and his snake” Charles practically spat the last word out.

“His snake?”

“Kanzler von Metternich” Charles elaborated.

She guessed he was being metaphorical, but she wanted to know why. “And just how is he a snake?”

“Simple. He coils himself around mein Opa, whispering into his ear suggestions that are practically orders, spewing lies to dignitaries and ambassadors, and keeping me locked in here till I can waste away in the confines of this gilded cage!” Charles ranted, his hands twisted into tight fists now.

Well, he was certainly into this. Twilight thought. She’d comment on what seemed to be a childish rant from him, but she feared the consequences. The mare saw that she was entering a delicate topic here, and decided to proceed carefully. “It doesn’t seem so bad here though. I mean, you’ve got teachers, and you’re a prince too-”

“Prince? Ha! A title they gave me to mold me into a proper Austrian Prinz and toady, instead of the heir to my fathers will and ambition,” he said the words with a disgusted inflection, “Back home, I was the son of the greatest man who ever lived, my father L’Empereur Napoléon himself, a man who had all of Europe on him at once and won! Now, I am practically a prisoner in the court of my mother’s side of the family, allowed only to study what they allow me to learn, to act how I am supposed to act! Sure mein Opa, the Kaiser himself treats me with kindness, but it is only out of pity, Metternich’s words poisoning whatever other sympathy he has for me!”

Charles finally stopped to collect his breath. “This... this isn’t my home. Do you know where my home is Twilight?” he asked her slowly, his voice nearly cracking on the last syllable of her name.

A cautious shake of her head answered him. “France, Twilight. France. A land with green fields, and the most joyous people you can imagine. With stunning architecture, with beauteous scenery! Oh what I would give to experience the warm summer’s nights with my father once more...”

Twilight had no idea what to say. Charles had seemingly lost all will to continue, slumping in his chair and staring ruefully at the ceiling. There was a very awkward quiet that had descended upon them, and neither knew what to do now. That is, until an idea came to Twilight’s mind. Charles was stunned to find the little filly jump off her seat and walk right up to his own, giving him a fearsome , at least to her, look. “Look, you said yesterday that we’re both prisoners here now, right?” she said with great gusto.

        His eyes narrowed down at her. “That is correct.”

        “Then we can’t fall into despair! I remember my teacher, the Princess Celestia herself, telling me once that no matter what happens, we can’t let our fears bring us down! That we have to keep going, no matter what gets in our way, to achieve our dreams. And your dream is to get out of here someday, right?”

        “... You’re right. And that’s your dream now too, right?” Charles asked, catching on.

        “Right! So we’ve got to stick together than, and work together till the day where we can go out to the world, when you can return to France, and I can go back home!”

        Twilight froze up right after that long-winded speech, embarrassed and more than a bit surprised that she had made a speech like that. Charles however, had fire come to his eyes as a renewed determination set within him. If he was ever going to get out of here, it’d be in time, but until than, he had more to learn, centuries of knowledge for him to pour over. And, taking a glance at Twilight, a new ally to go through it with.

---

De Foresti hated meetings. Especially this one. It wasn’t so much the social interaction part of it that got to him, but the people who were with him at the moment. Mainly, Prinz und Reichskanzler von Metternich. Metternich stood with his face to the window, only showing de Foresti and Count von Dietrichstein, the only other occupant of the room. Metternich’s hands were intertwined behind his back, his white gloved fingers tapping dully at his palms. “And you let the unicorn study with him, both of you?” Metternich neutrally began.

Dietrichstein spoke first. “I assure you sir, it took hours for me to finally agree to it. He was certainly stubborn over it.”

        De Foresti barely stopped himself from choking with laughter. Knowing Dietrichstein, he probably put up a mock protest at best before giving into Charles’ demands. No matter how much Dietrichstein insisted to the contrary, he cared about all his pupils well, especially Charles. Though Charles was more suspicious of the Count, de Foresti trusted him implicitly, their long years of service together giving them a strange sort of camaraderie. “And you, Hauptmann?” Metternich interrupted his thoughts.

        The Hauptmann kept his face blank, even though Metternich wasn’t looking at him, he wanted to make sure. With that man, sometimes you could swear he had an extra eye in the back of his head, the way he just knew everything at once. “The same sir. He insisted, and I saw no other option but to give in” he lied smoothly.

        “Most intriguing.” Metternich spoke after a moments pause.

        De Foresti and Dietrichstein shared a look. They both had a mutual understanding that neither of them spoke of, to at least make their students stay at the Palace less miserable than it could be. There feelings on the prince were muddled, to say the least. On one hand, they were practically paid to like him. Otherwise their heads would served on a plate. On the other, they liked the kid, despite his more... temperamental behavior at times. That was why they hoped the young mare would balance his temper at the very least.

        “Hmm,” Metternich turned to the two, surveying the two with inquisitive eyes, “This could work in our favor. After the debacle with Heinz, Franz will be looking for a source to entrust. And who better than a new arrival from what just might be the most isolated nation on the planet, Equestria?”

        Metternich considered these possibilities, a thousand variables running through his mind as the two teachers stewed in their boots. Suddenly he spoke. “I say we allow it gentleman, and see how it goes. Complying with his wishes will make him more subservient towards our goals in the future, and it’ll allow us to hopefully crush any dreams of inheriting the dreadful ambition of his father” he decided.

        If they could, the two would sigh in relief right now. They got what they wanted, and Metternich did as well, so he would not look their motives over. The Kanzler was a vicious man when needed, and would hound them relentlessly till they would spill all their secrets. “Yes, yes, this will work perfectly,” Metternich continued, before his mouth twitched to a smirk, “If only the bronies could hear about this though. They’d be cheering all till the morrow with a German prince being taught with an Equestrian unicorn. God knows how the Russians would react...”

        “Sir, are you sure this is the right course of action?” de Foresti interjected, hoping to make himself seem as adverse to the idea as possible.

        “I’m positive Hauptmann. I mean, they’re simply children, how much trouble can they cause together?”

De Foresti resisted the urge to grin just barely. Unknowing of this, Metternich continued.  “ Now de Foresti, return to Franz and Fraulein Sparkle now. I’m certain they’re tired of waiting for you. Count, prepare for tomorrow’s lessons, until then, at ease gentleman.”

        “Yes sir” they both said in sync, before leaving the room.

        It was only till they were a safe distance from Metternich’s office that Dietrichstein snorted. “Ha, we certainly got our way, haven’t we?” he said with a toothy grin.

        “Indeed Count. Plus we got rid of Heinz too, which is a plus in my book” de Foresti mentioned.

        “Why did you hate Heinz so much anyway?” von Dietrichstein queried.

        “He stole a piece of my cake once!” de Foresti said with all the rancor he had.

        “...” von Dietrichstein suddenly had an urge to face-palm.

        “It was my favorite cake!” de Foresti added.

---

        Returning to the two rather precocious youths, de Foresti was delighted to see the two studying more. “Good to see my little student and pony are still doing well. Anything of note happen while I was away?”

        “Not at all” Charles answered with ease.

        “Well that’s just great. However, I believe now is the time to finish up before we head outside. Charles, I believe we’re at your favorite part” the Hauptmann teased.

        The young prince’s eyes brightened just noticeably. “And that is?” he asked, already having a good idea of what was going on.

        His next few words brought an immediate smile to Charles face. “Strategy of course.”

        The next hour or so was relatively simple. Charles and de Foresti talked quietly with each other over an open book, with de Foresti constantly questioning the young prince over what he read. Twilight sat at the other side of the table still, with de Foresti at one point asking her if she would like to join them, but she refused, looking away nervously as she spoke. Instead she continued the basics of Italian, with de Foresti occasionally going to help her, though it was rarely needed. The Hauptmann wondered vaguely if the two even needed teachers at all. At the rate these two were going, they’d be done in months with their current studies, if not weeks!

        Twilight however, was looking increasingly nervous and worried as the minutes rolled on. A nagging thought nibbled away at her brain, making her more and more disturbed the more she thought about it. De Foresti, who kept a watchful eye on her the entire time even when he was with Charles, noticed this, and decided to nip the problem in the bud. “Something the matter Fraulein?” he cautiously began.

        The unicorn fidgeted a bit under his gaze. “Nope.” she laconically replied.

        Now Charles was interested too, if the glance he sent her way was any indication. “Are you sure?” de Foresti continued.

        Twilight looked down at the floor now, anxiously memorizing the patterns in it to avoid the question. “Hello?” he asked again when she did not respond.

        Feeling increasingly guilty and curious now, Twilight found the courage to ask the question that had plagued her since yesterday now. “You know those guys, who I... was held by, right?” she tentatively began.

        The two humans nodded uneasily, still unsure of how badly she was affected by that. After all, it was only a day ago, and Twilight had been thrust from one situation to another so quickly. They barely knew her, yet the two didn’t want to hurt her or anything. “Yes. Why do you ask?” the Hauptmann responded.

        “Well, I just wanted to know... if you found them or not...”

        ‘Ah...’ It all made sense now to the two. She was simply worried about the men that had captured her. De Foresti put on a grim expression as he answered her. “I’m sorry Fraulein, but from what I’ve heard we’ve found no men or pony out there. We did find... ‘evidence’ that they were in the forest though” he said, carefully not mentioning the ‘evidence’ was a corpse.

        “Oh...” her muzzle fell to the floor once more, before looked up to the Hauptmann again with eyes still wide, the timidity obvious from her tone, “I was just wondering, because, well, I was scared I would be... sold.”

        Both de Foresti and Charles had a disgusted look on their faces at that. “Considering that in this day and age the Royal Navy would blast you sky-high for even thinking of enslaving ponies from Equestria, or anywhere, I doubt they’ll find much help” the Hauptmann tried to console her.

        “Despite being... British, they do good work” Charles said, almost forcing himself to actually be able to compliment the Brits.

        “So... slavery for ponies is illegal then?” Twilight nervously asked, hoping her fears were untrue.

        “Oh dear god, of course it is! Thankfully most nations have stopped that years ago now. You did not think we humans were that awful, right?”

        Twilight’s silence answered what words could not. “Oh” de Foresti drawed out the word, not sure whether to feel insulted or not.

        “It’s just... the way Charles said things, it seemed like things were really bad for ponies over here” she admitted.

        “Well...” how the hell was he going to explain this? That things weren’t simply black and white over here, that centuries of tradition were only just recently being unwounded, and new schools of thought on just how in the world humans and ponies were supposed to interact were springing up everywhere? These two were smart sure, but they were still children. They had no sense of practical morality, of the complex nature that dominated society. As much as he would love to say ‘humans are evil!’ or ‘ponies are rightfully below man’ such things were both untrue and a gross simplification of the matter itself. Even he was unsure where he stood at times, the complex nature of the world over-whelming the simple duty he felt to his nation as a soldier.

        “Things are... complex,” de Foresti finally spoke after a few moments pause, “Things here in Österreich are tense” to say the least “but things are much better for ponies in France and the British Isles. Certain rights are unavailable to ponies, but they’re certainly better than even a year ago. Teufel, even Preußen guarantees full citizenship for ponies that serve in the military at least. Civilian jobs... that’s another thing entirely.”

        Twilight considered his words carefully, along with Charles, who was wondering just what Equestria was like for Twilight to form such opinions. So he decided to follow up on his train of thought with an actual question, if at least to distract her from the very awkward pace the conversation was going. “So Twilight, what’s Equestria like?” Charles spoke out.

        If anything his question only raised the awkwardness further, as Twilight only gave him a slight glance before looking at the ceiling, the floor, anywhere other than him. “It’s beautiful” she simply said.

        “And?”

No response. The next few minutes consisted of Charles trying his best not to glare at Twilight, as she refused to answer him. De Foresti was close to tearing his frazzled hair up at the rate this conversation was going. In just a few sentences Twilight had retreated into her shell, Charles looked incredibly ticked off and withdrawn, and de Foresti was assured he had just lost a few years off his life just from the nervousness he felt during this conversation alone. Twilight had just entered their lives, and he already swore they were going to be the death of him someday. “Perhaps it’s time to end the day? It’s getting rather late after all, and I’m sure you two need to eat dinner before you fall asleep” he tried in vain to bring some light-hearted joy to the mood.

He was only half-lying on the late part. From the few windows the library had, he could tell the sun was slowly setting beyond the horizon, as Twilight began. “Fine.” Charles and Twilight said at once, briefly glancing at each other before averting their eyes once more from one another.

De Foresti sighed. He hated his job sometimes.

---

        The walk back to Charles’ room was mercifully quiet, to all parties involved. At first de Foresti was thankful for it, but he could tell the tension between Charles and Twilight was growing every second from a mile away. Despite this, the Hauptmann had some hope for the two. They were obvious geniuses, already pouring over topics that had taken adults years to contemplate in just hours. Charles was easy enough to explain, what with his legacy and all. But Twilight... Twilight was something else. He had met enough unicorns to know that the ones that were not as snobbish as the nobles or as ignorant as the rest of the common ilk were rare indeed. Yet she, she had a certain fire to her, a passion for learning and understanding that was rare in even the most intelligent of man or pony. Now if only he could find a way to bring them out of their respective holes, then, by God, who knows what would happen?

Charles’ path seemed set in stone. An officer in the K.u.K (Kaiserlich und königliche) Armee, and beyond that... who knows? Unless a revolt or something happened in France, Charles was doomed to be denied his birthright, something that de Foresti sympathized with. He had always liked Napoléon himself, L’Empereur being a good supporter of a united Italy, yet he kept these sympathies secret. In the land of the Hapsburg's, sympathies to the Bonapartes were kept quiet at best, and extinguished at worse.

Twilight however, was where his mind wandered. What would she do when she inevitably aged, and could not rest off the laurels of the generosity of the Imperial court? Work? She had no knowledge of the world outside her own, and unless she could learn enough (Which to be fair he supposed she could), the military seemed the best destination for her. He did not know why, but somehow he felt as if Charles and Twilight’s destiny's were intertwined. He still had no idea why the Kaiser had allowed her to live here in the first place, and while he was glad she would, it all seemed suspicious to him. Too convenient. But perhaps he was just being paranoid, and the wings of destiny had taken her here. Only time would tell.

It was only just when he finished his rather long thought process that they reached Charles’ room. Opening it for the two, de Foresti wanted to sigh again as he saw they were still not looking at one another, purposely so in fact. Well, at least it seemed as if they were still children in some ways, no matter how petulant they were. “If that is all you two, I wish you, adieu!” he waved towards the insides of the room with a particular flourish.

“Merci” “Danke” was all that answered him as the two children passed by, Twilight still sullen, Charles still offended. Closing the door as soon as they entered, de Foresti sifted through his hair with a hand. He could only hope things would get better for the two, before they got worse.

---

If ever there was a point in time where historians would look back on the beginning of the historic friendship between the son of L’Empereur Napoléon I and the student of the Princess Celestia herself, this day would be a key moment above all. When they entered Charles room, they wordlessly drifted apart, both focused on doing things that involved ignoring the other. However, they both wanted to do the same thing. That is, read a book. Charles was first, walking up to his shelf and and pulling off a random book that seemed interesting enough from the title. Unknowing of which book Charles wanted to pick though, Twilight began to use her magic to pull a book off the shelf as well. This turned out to be the very same book Charles now had in his had, and he held onto it tightly as a pinkish glow found itself around the book and attempted to wrench itself from his hand. He gave the unicorn a mildly annoyed look. “I believe I grabbed this one first” he said with more then a bit of stewing anger.

Twilight was not so much angry at this moment, more tired and fed up with how life had been treating her as of late. Pouting now, her magical hold on the book increased, the hardcover attempting to wrench itself free again. Still Charles held onto it though with a stubborn grip. “I wanted to read it too though!” Twilight whined.

“Too bad. I got it first, get another” Charles countered.

“No!” her frustration with how things have been going finally reached a boiling point, as she increased her magical hold over the book even more.

Now, neither side here meant much harm to the other. Charles was simply still angered that Twilight had dismissed his question so easily after all he had done to try and make her feel welcome, and Twilight was simply exhausted from the emotional stress of the last few days gone by. It is not surprising then, that this event would occur, or that injury would result from it. Injury that occurred when Twilight’s magic finally twisted the book out of Charles hands. This had the unfortunate side-effect of Charles falling forward from the sudden force, causing his forehead to fall right into the hard edge of his shelf.

With a small thud, Charles’ body went limp for a moment, his eyes closing as he slid nearly unconsciously to the floor. Twilight let out a horrified gasp, her frustration evaporating in an instant as a dreadful fear crept into her. Dashing right by his side, Twilight frantically babbled out “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” as she desperately tried to make sure she hadn’t caused him permanent damage.

“Prinz Franz? Your dinner has arrived” a voice called from behind the door.

Twilight’s heart went cold. ‘Oh no oh no oh no’ her mind went into overdrive as she fearfully tried to decide what to do. She had no medical knowledge, she didn’t know human anatomy, and the server was right outside their door waiting! All the while the horrible guilt that she might have done something terrible and permanent to Charles over something as stupid as a book made her want to just break down into tears. But as she tried to decide what to do as the seconds went by and the server was getting impatient, Charles’ eyes opened. “Charles!” Twilight said, delirious with joy now.

“Prinz Franz, your dinner is ready!” the server shouted, getting tired of this already.

As Twilight was relieved beyond belief that Charles was alright, the eponymous prince’s eyes focused on her once more as his mind became clear again after the harsh hit. “We were acting pretty stupid weren’t we?” Charles simply said.

Twilight wanted to cry. “Yeah, we were.”

“Prinz Franz!”

“Leave it outside! I’ll get it when I’m ready” Charles shouted, with no small amount of effort if the strained tone his voice took on was any indication.

A few grumbling sounds were heard beyond the door, as the sound of clanging plates were heard, and then nothing. Twilight’s heart beat faster and faster, as constant worries continued to plague her, whether Charles was angry at her or not. Charles just forced himself off the ground, covering the huge bruise that now stained his forehead with his right hand. Twilight still practically hovered around him as he dragged himself over to his bed, climbing up on it and sitting down with only a mild grunt as his sole hint of any pain. Twilight stood terrified on the floor below still, thinking he would not even want her near his bed at the moment, but she was proven wrong when Charles looked at her with one eye, the other covered up by his hand still. Patting the spot to his side, Charles waited patiently for her to get it, until her continued terror forced him into speaking. “C’mon, sit here” he said through half-gritted teeth, patting the spot once more.

Slowly at first, Twilight jumped up to the bed, still shying away from Charles. Silence filled the room again, with only the mild pants of pain from Charles providing any sort of auditory sensation. “Are, are you okay?” Twilight stuttered out.

‘AGH!’ Charles cried out as a lance of pain went through the wound once more. Twilight attempted to get closer to him to see if she could help in any whatsoever, but Charles raised his free hand to stop her. “I’m fine...” he tried to comfort her, when he was obviously less then fine.

“But, you’re hurt! Because of me...”

“Ma petite pouliche, I fear we are both at fault here” Charles whispered, wincing from the aftereffects of the pain.

Twilight whimpered in agreement. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m... sorry as well” Charles said after some deliberation.

What happened next surprised Charles beyond all belief. Twilight... hugged him. And not a simple short hug too like the ones he received from his distant family, but a long and tight one, with her hooves attempting to encircle him as her head nuzzled against his chest. To say he was astounded was an understatement, so much so that the little pain he felt now was quickly forgotten,  instead replaced by a strange warm feeling within his heart. “What are you doing?” he managed to gasp out, staring down directly at the purple unicorn that was touching him.

Twilight looked up at him with wide and innocent eyes. “I’m hugging you silly! When I felt bad back home, my mom or the Princess would hug me, and I always felt better afterwards,” she paused as a thought occurred to her, “You’re feeling better now right?”

Staring down at the little filly as she still hugged him with all her might, Charles could only smile, brushing his hand against her mane. “Yes. I do now.”

Sighing in relief, Twilight buried her arms into his sides, glad all was well now. “Yay” she whispered.

After that, the rest of the night proceeded smoothly. Following all that had happened, the seeds of a new friendship were planted, and the beginning of a quest that would engulf all of Europe and later the world in its scope and grandiosity. But for now, the two enjoyed each other’s company as well as possible. The accident had, by chance, brought them together closer then before. Despite having met only the previous day, the two had found a certain camaraderie within one another. After they had eaten, they did some mild chit-chat, trying to get to know each other better, sharing interests and such. Twilight was still hesitant to speak of her home, but Charles was not insistent anymore. Instead, he asked her of what she studied and the things she had learned before arriving there, and she in turn asked him. It was a perfectly normal (relatively speaking), friendly chat. The first one either of them had ever had with someone their own age.

Within the hour, night had totally fallen over the sky, not too long after they had eaten at last. When Charles proceeded to sneak into his covers, he saw Twilight beginning to lie on the floor once more, bringing over the blanket she used yesterday over her with her magic. Having an unsteady look on his face, Charles called out to her. “Hey, Twilight!” he called.

Twilight rustled in her place, groaning a bit. “Yes?” she replied.

“I was wondering, um...” It was only now that he realized how awkward this sounded, but it was too late now he supposed, “If you wanted to be, uh, warmer, that you could sleep... in my bed with me,” he said the last part lowly.

“What?” Twilight asked, her head popped out of the blanket now.

        Charles sighed. “If you... wanted to sleep in my bed.”

        “... Are you sure?”

        “If you want! I’m not saying you should or anything, just-”

        “Because I’d love too!” she interrupted with a gleeful voice.

        “Oh. Okay then. Just... hop up then I guess.”

        Charles buried his head in his pillow as he heard the sounds of hooves pounding against the hardwood floor. It stopped for a moment, and just when he was about to call out and ask her where she was, he felt a small pressure added to the bed. “Is this okay?” Twilight’s voice asked from right next to him.

        He wriggled some more in his covers. “Yep.”

        “Gut,” was all he heard before he felt a very small unicorn snuggle into the sheets, pressing against his back.

        “Gute Nacht, Charles.”

        “Bonne nuit, Twilight.”

        And with that, the two children slept, still unsure of the destiny that awaited the two of them so far into the future. For now though they dreamt, awaiting new days that would come and go, as time passed by in Schönbrunn Palace like sand through an hourglass.

 ---

February 12, 1821, Anno Domini

“Wake up Charles, we’re going to be late!”

Opening his eyes with as much resistance as possible, Charles was greeted by the familiar sight of Twilight Sparkle, that little filly he had gotten to know so well the last few months. Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he greeted her more then a bit tiredly. “Yes?” he practically moaned out, he was that tired.

She poked his forehead with her hoof. “We’ve got to get up and out of here! Count von Dietrichstein isn’t going to wait forever you know” she said accusingly.

“Since when were you so eager to meet the grouch?” Charles said, finally getting up.

“I’m not. It’s just we’re finally moving on to a new book!” Twilight replied, as if this was the most important thing in the world. Which to her, it most certainly was.

“Sigh. Fine” Charles said, hurrying up now.

This was how everyday began lately for the odd couple of friends. Waking up, eating a small breakfast brought to them by a servant in the palace, studying with von Dietrichstein, and then de Foresti. Slight changes were made in their schedule from time to time, like Charles saying he had to go off somewhere on Sunday mornings, and the occasional dinner that Charles called ‘a gathering of fools’ that he was forced to attend by his Opa. After that incident with the book, de Foresti and the Count were suspicious of the bruise that appeared on Charles’ forehead, but raised no questions over it.

Otherwise though, Twilight was adjusting well enough. The pain she had received from having to abandon everything she knew behind her was gradually outweighed by all the exciting things she could learn in the outside world. At least that was what she told herself when it started to bother her again.

“You know Twilight, if I didn’t know any better I’d say the Count’s actually sweet for us sometimes” Charles joked, a rare feat in of itself.

“Ha! As if, the old man’s got it out for us I swear. But he is a darn good teacher.”

“Agreed.”

As Twilight proceeded to turn away from him as he began dressing, Charles thought of his plan for the day. From the random snippets of her past he had managed to ensnare from Twilight through either verbal manipulation or trickery of some other sort, he had managed to learn a few hints about what Equestria was. And the main thing on his mind, was that Equestria had an equivalent to the Gregorian calender. While the names seemed to be different, Twilight taking a while to understand that Montag was not ‘Solanus’ or whatever it was she called it, the general pattern stayed the same. Add to that the references she sometimes made to the day her birth, saying it was during a cold month, he had narrowed it down to January, February, or December.

Again, when Twilight inadvertently told him her birthday was not on his equivalent to the twenty’s or first ten numerals of the calender, he had managed to narrow it down to the twelfth. It was a guess, but the closest he had. Finally, to choose between the three months, he had insisted on knowing if her first few birthdays were followed by a warming period shortly there afterwards. He spaced all of these questions out within days or weeks of each other, all to formulate the plan he had in mind that would be implemented this very day.

        The rest of the day passed as if it was an average one. Well, average to the two children at least. Twilight and Charles had practically mastered the basics of Italian already, and were starting to speak full sentences in it with de Foresti and each other for practice. Charles slowed down his own studies of the language after the first few days in order for Twilight to catch up to him, but he didn’t tell her that. Lord knows how she’d react if she found out he was intentionally slowing himself down for her. De Foresti seemed to get it though. At least, if the sly winks he gave him as he ignored his Italian studies in favor of studying the closest pattern of the floor were any indication.

        Putting on his last buttons, Charles stood straight as he prepared to leave with his unicorn companion. “C’mon Charles, the day’s not getting any longer!” Twilight yelled out to him from the door.

        “Go on ahead, I’ll be right there.”

        After he heard the sound of the door closing behind Twilight (he remembered that time when she first opened the door with her magic well. It was while he was still on the opposite side and his reaction was, well... embarrassing) he checked to see if his item was still in place where he left it. Yep, right under the bed. He had to haggle de Foresti for a while to get it, but thankfully after a short visit to his Opa, he managed to acquire the funds necessary. It was a small enough amount that the Kaiser was happy to oblige him. The other item... well, that would hopefully come later tonight before they arrived. If not... well he was doomed.

---

Several hours later

        The small group of de Foresti, Charles, and Twilight were walking back from the library as per usual, and proceeded to reach Charles’ room with ease. The Hauptmann opened the door for them with his signature flourish, a practice which had continued for them since their first day all those months ago. It made Twilight giggle everytime he did so, which was more then enough reason for him to do it. “Gute Nacht you two!” de Foresti cheered.

“Gute Nacht” the two replied, before entering. Charles seemed awfully insistent on entering first though, if the way he stuck himself in front of Twilight was any indication.

“So Charles, what do you want to read before we go to bed?” Twilight asked him as she tried to look around Charles’ body to the inside of the room.

“Hmm” Charles non-chalantly hummed, his legs moving to block her view.

“Charles?” Twilight questioned him, curious now as to what he was hiding.

“Just trust me Twilight. Close your eyes, I have a surprise for you” he asked. He just hoped that didn’t sound too creepy. He had to admit, what he planned seemed rather... forward or encroaching now that he was actually enacting it, but it was too late now he supposed.

“Ooookay...” Twilight was getting more then a bit confused now, but she went along with this. Charles had his quirks that she had gotten used too over time, but he never meant anything harmful from them.

She closed her eyes, and followed him. A few steps forward for his legs and her hooves, and suddenly she crashed muzzle-first into his leg. “Okay, stay there, I’ll get it out...”

Twilight waited patiently for a few moments, the seconds rolling on as the sound of Charles rustling through sheets and pulling out something metallic. A sudden crash and a grunt of annoyance from him tempted her to open her eyes to see what was wrong, but she would trust him. For now at least...

“Okay, open them!” Charles commanded.

She could practically hear the smirk in his voice, so she opened one eye warily, and right after that they both opened in pure amazement. Right in front of her, stood a large dark-brown cake on a silver platter, topped with several strawberries. “Happy Birthday Twilight” Charles said with a smile.

“Wha, how did you, huh?” Twilight’s mind was boggling as she tried to wrap her thoughts around this turn of events.

        “It was simple. Remember all those questions I asked you about the circumstances involving your birth?” a slow and unsteady nod answered him, “Well I pieced together the approximate date of your birth through that. The palace chefs were more then willing to offer their services in exchange for my favor, so,” he a mock sucking sound, “Bon Appétit!”

        “I... I don’t even,” a new idea caused Twilight to veer into an entirely different line of thought, “Wait, why didn’t you just ask me when my birthday was, and we could have tried to figure out where it fit on your calender then?”

        The smirk left Charles’ face, as he had no answer to that besides one. “... That would be too easy.”

        “...”

        “Just eat the accursed cake.”

        “No, I’m not ungrateful or anything, it’s just that... Wow,” Twilight had to catch her breath momentarily, “You... did all this just for my birthday?”

        “Yes” he answered as if that was all he needed to say.

        Twilight raised a hoof to her eyelid. “Thank you. So much” she choked out, the tears coming now.

        Charles certainly was not expecting this. Cheers yes, whinnies of joy, letting him ride her for a few minutes (Okay not that one, but he could dream!) and despite his general comfort he had gained in her presence over the last few months, he had no idea what to do. Taking a chance, he sat down next to her, and offered her his last gift. “Here” he said, pulling it out.

        The unicorns tears cleared enough for her to see the gift Charles had pulled out, and despite being smaller, it already mattered so much more to her. It was a book. A simple paper-back book, it’s edges slightly frayed and the cover worn a bit, but a book nonetheless. “I bought it, for you” Charles said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously now.

        “...Thank you” was her lone response.

        “It’s just for you, you know?” Charles added, “So you don’t have to borrow from me, or the library. It’s all yours.”

        “Really?”

        “Yeah, really.”

        An altogether familiar feeling of hooves around him soon appeared. Curses, she was hugging him again. This just got a lot more awkward. Tentatively patting her mane again, Charles whispered to her. “Somehow, I just knew you’d like Machiavelli.”

---

March 20, 1821, Anno Domini

        “You’re going to trip over something sooner or later with how much time you spend buried on that book alone Twilight.”

        Charles and Twilight were walking through the hallways of the palace, de Foresti not with them as usual. He had to do something about ‘problems on the home front’ according to his own words, and left early. While his presence was missed by the two, they could find their own way around, Charles already being familiar with the architecture, and Twilight gaining an increased knowledge from her past few months here. Besides, in the case of Charles, he was away from the library and the Count’s room for most of the day, being summoned by the Kaiser. Twilight knew what it was for, which was why she was prepared with what laid in Charles’ room.

Twilight was trotting ahead of Charles, her head in The Prince, being lifted in front of her muzzle due to her magic. She couldn’t get into it’s seemingly cynical and pragmatic nature at first, but ever since Charles told her it was a satire of tyrants instead of a pamphlet of support for them, she found a huge passion for it. All throughout the novel, she was practically bursting with laughter as the satire seemed so clear to her now.  She also loved it, because it was something she owned now, not a borrowed book like the ones here or even back home, but something for her and her alone. Even now she couldn’t make out her gratitude enough.

        Despite their general calm since Twilight’s birthday, Charles seemed rather distant save when Twilight forced interaction between them. He was rather withdrawn from most activities his family participated in, especially when he complained about that place he was forced to go to on Sunday. When Twilight asked him about it, he only said that it was ‘a pile of hypocrisies piled on top of another!’ and left it at that. Save studying and the occasional warm talk he shared with Twilight now, he was still rather distant from the rest of the world. Though to him, there was not much of a world to be distant to, the cold passages of the palace being the only thing allowed to him in most days.

        Reaching his room at last, Charles raised a brow as Twilight used her magic to open the door slightly and dash right into it before closing the door behind him. “Dare I ask what you’re doing Twilight?” Charles deadpanned, before putting his hand on the door handle.

        “Don’t open it yet!”

        Charles sighed. “Fine.” He could humor her, he guessed.

        A few minutes passed, as Charles began to impatiently tap his foot against the ground. He heard a few clangs and small grunts from his side, along with the familiar clop of Twilight’s hooves, yet he had no idea what she had planned. She couldn’t possibly know what day it is, did she? “Okay, it’s ready!” she called out.

        “Finally.” he muttered, opening the door, only to receive a big surprise.

 Floating in the air in front of him, with a familiar magical glow around it, was the most delicious looking cake he had ever seen. Covered with a fine chocolate frosting and with a smudge of cream to the side. Charles could barely find the appropriate words to react. “Twilight, how did you make this?”

Twilight, who now lowered the plate holding the cake down gently, answered him with a nervous smile. “Oh, I asked the head chef here to make a cake for you, but... he told me to leave him alone. But then this really nice man, Franz Sacher he said his name was, offered to make this cake for you, with no charge! He called it, Sachertorte. I kind of let him name it after himself, for being so nice and all.”

Feeling a bit curious as to how it tasted, Charles dipped a finger into the cake, licking the frosting. Immediately afterwards, his face exploded in delight. “By God Twilight, that’s amazing!”

Twilight blushed, trying to hide her face in her hooves. “It’s no problem. I just didn’t have anything to give you as a gift, so I decided this might make a good substitute...”

“It’s more then enough,” Charles looked hesitant for a moment, before hugging the little unicorn, “thank you Twilight.”

“You’re welcome Charles,” she replied, hugging him in return, “and happy birthday.”

A question popped into Charles’ head. “Wait, how did you know it was my birthday anyway?”

“I asked de Foresti.”

“...” Charles’ eye twitched ever slightly.

---

        July 12, 1821, Anno Domini

        “-And that my dear students, was how the world was made!”

        Twilight and Charles were watching Count von Dietrichstein with just a bit of caution as he went into a mild rant regarding the necessity of moral institutions in the fabric of a country’s lifeblood, before going off-kilter about something else entirely. The Count occasionally got into rants like this, more the product of having no one to talk too most of the time save a Hauptmann he had a strange love/hate relationship with, and two children who only one of which he was actually paid to teach. Twilight stayed quiet, as Charles advised her to do when he got like this, saying that he just tired out after a while.

        This was soon stopped though, by the timely arrival of Hauptmann de Foresti entered the private room, with a very strained look on him. “Sorry to interrupt you Count, but I’m afraid I have to take Charles away for now” de Foresti hastily explained.

        The Count made a gesture of mock horror before responding. “This better be good Manuele, I’m in the middle of a very important lesson here.”

        “I can assure you sir, this is big [serious]” he replied, oddly serious.

        Struck by the Hauptmann’s uncharacteristic behaviour, von Dietrichstein called him over. de Foresti obliged, with the two children watching them both with a small bit of worry all the while. When de Foresti finally came over to the Count, he whispered something into his ear, which caused von Dietrichstein’s eyes to widen in shock. Coughing fitfully into his hand, the Count looked oddly solemn as he addressed the Hauptmann. “You may leave with him Hauptmann. Do you think Twilight should go with you?”

        “I... think it might be for the best.”

        The Count nodded. “Charles, Twilight, follow de Foresti. He... has something to tell Charles, that is very important.”

        Twilight gulped nervously, as Charles felt a chill go down his spine for whatever reason. Surely what he had to say couldn’t be too bad... right? Rising from their seats steadily, or jumping off in Twilight’s case, the two followed de Forest out of the room. Instead of traversing through the library as they usually did however, they went into an entirely different section of the palace, one that led outside. They were still in the shadow of the building itself, so the heat didn’t bother them, and so they continued on. Twilight enjoyed the brief respite to breathe in the rich air around her, not having much chances to visit the exterior of the palace. Within a few minutes, they had arrived at a large rectangular building within walking distance from the palace, with a large staircase and dual doors forming an entrance. Walking up the numerous steps, de Foresti pressed the two children on till they reached the door. “I thought this would be a better place to talk. More serene and all that gobbledy-gook” de Foresti attempted a joke, though it was obvious his heart wasn’t in it.

        Pushing the doors open, Twilight was absolutely stunned by what laid beyond it. She knew the palace was a wonder of construction, but she never knew it had something so natural and beautiful inside it. All around in the gigantic room lay an entire cornucopia of flora and fauna that went on for what seemed like miles. A vast row of hedges were set off to the side, forming a gigantic maze, while the open roof allowed rays of nurturing sunlight to fall down on the enclosure. It looked amazing beyond all worse to the filly, especially since she had been here for months now, and knew nothing of it! “Barely anyone’s here today, so I thought now would be a good time to finally introduce you to this place” de Foresti explained.

        Trodding through the lone cobblestone pathway that stretched through the gardens, de Foresti led the two to a small bench, underneath a small tree. Sitting on it first, de Foresti then patted the empty spots next to him. Wordlessly, the two complied, the moment of truth finally coming up to them. De Foresti said nothing at first, instead staring up at the tree branch that hung above them. “It’s an olive tree” he answered a question no one had asked.

        Both children were now confused on top of being worried. “You know, some men live and die in the shade of their olive trees. But some men... change the world. An old saying my family had,” he paused briefly, allowing the saying to be processed by the young minds, “But despite this... death remains a constant. It’s an inevitability in this world of ours. But sometimes we’re not ready for death. Sometimes it comes too soon, or too far ahead, past the point when we’ve trailed past our glories, our triumphs. Do you two understand this?”

        Charles did a slow nod, a hazy understanding coming to mind. Twilight only began to get more worried, the morbid tone of his speech making her fear for the worst. De Foresti tried to open his mouth, to speak, to tell the news he knew would make or break Charles but... he couldn’t find the right way to put it. How to tell a boy such dreadful proceedings, when the boy himself was half-adult half-boy already. Finding his mouth suddenly dry, de Foresti put out the news as truthfully as he could. “Charles... your father... he’s dead.”

        The world stopped. Time seemed to still for just a moment, between the point where the Hauptmann’s words escaped his lips and when they finally registered within Charles’ mind. When they did though, the boy froze. Nothing was heard from him. He was completely still, mouth hung slack-jawed as the shock of this event tore through him like a lighting pouring through a man. “When” was all he managed to gasp out.

        “A few months ago” de Foresti spoke quietly now, ashamed for not being able to tell him earlier.

        Charles remained quiet after that. It all seemed so surreal, so disgustingly fake to him. It couldn’t be true... but why would de Foresti lie to him? During his emotional crisis, Twilight remained in shock. Till this point, Twilight was horrified at the news, assuming Charles’ father was already dead, as he spoke of him in the past tense before, but now, the knowledge that he was only just recently alive caused her heart to ache for her friend. She wanted to talk to him, comfort him, hug him, anything, but de Foresti sat between them still. Even if he wasn’t, she wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate or not. From what she could tell by glancing around de Foresti’s body, Charles was in a state of near total paralysis, no coherent thought going through his head.

        de Foresti coughed, the horrible silence of it all nearly choking him. “I would understand if you want to go back to your home” he consoled, though he knew it would do little. What could truly be done when a boy was told that his father had died?

        The young prince nodded wordlessly. There was no point in staying here much longer. All he wanted right now... all he wanted was his father. To have the dreams of meeting the only parent he cared for come true, to meet the man who meant the world to him and more just one last time. But these dreams were long past expiring now. Instead, he would acquiesce, if only to distract his mind with the dull details of walking.

No one spoke as they proceeded outside. Twilight was still raging inside with conflict, about what words to say to Charles, what to do, but nothing seemed adequate. de Foresti just consigned himself to despising himself for such a cruel act, hating beyond all previously known hatreds that he was assigned the task of telling Charles his father’s fate on St. Helena. And Charles was still in the same nigh-catatonic state, the reality of the situation refusing to meld with his own thoughts.

They entered his room not long afterwards. The palace halls seemed darker now, the shadows deeper and the color browner and less vivid overall. Maybe it was just a trick of the light. Maybe not. Regardless, the two children entered the den without a sound save the clacking of boots and hooves, with de Foresti providing his usual services, only with a stoicism he did not care for.

The former prince imperial crawled onto his bed, sitting down with the same frozen face he had since the dread news had arrived. The purple unicorn stood on her four hooves with a face betwixt sadness and helplessness. Charles could only bury his head into his hands as the seconds rolled on, his mind finally beginning to accept the words he tried beyond belief to suppress. A sniffle squirmed it’s way out of him, despite his best efforts to ensure it did not. Twilight, seeing the extent of his depression now, steeled her resolve and did what she knew she should have done a while ago, and help her friend.

“Charles?” she began, hopping up next to him on the bed.

Charles struggled to respond, pacing his breath faster and faster as he fought to suppress any rampant tears. “Yes?” he choked out.

His attempts to hide his sorrow failed though, Twilight catching his misery with ease. “Charles... do you need to cry?” she asked kindly.

Eyes opened wide at the sheer thought of that, Charles glared at her. “I don’t need to cry! I am stronger than that...” he said.

“But it’s okay to cry. My mom told me that whenever I feel sad, I should just cry if I need to. It’s better then keeping it all walled up” she explained.

His face twisted into a grim expression, the very thought of it disgusting him. Instead, he settled on another course to vent his frustration. “I thought I’d see him again, someday,” Charles murmured, “That he’d get a chance to actually be my father. That I wouldn’t be trapped here, forced to serve as an Austrian prince. Less than one in fact.”

He laughed bitterly now, nearly choking on his own disgust at his weakness. “But... it’s too late now I suppose. It was for a while now that I think about it...”

The feeling of Twilight beginning to hug him did not come as a surprise. In fact, he almost expected it by now, and took his share of comfort he would not admit from it. “Charles, just remember. I’m... I’m your friend, okay?” she admitted the truth that had existed for a while now between them.

Considering these words, Charles’ eyes turned dark. “You are not ‘my friend’, Twilight.”

Twilight was struck silent, her heart nearly breaking in two.

“You are my best friend” he added not a moment after.

And with that he returned the hug finally, enclosing the tiny filly in his arms with the warmest gesture he could. Twilight was nearly awash in joy, the words the young human said touching her deeply beyond all her walls of emotional resistance. Charles swallowed, then spoke once more. “Twilight, can you promise me something?” he asked.

“What?” she said, wondering what he would want her to promise after such a momentous event had occured.

“Promise me,” his voice turned deathly serious now, a dangerous edge that threatened to chill the very fiber of her being with it’s tone, “promise me that you will join me. Promise that you will work with me, serve me if needed, till I can return to France.”

Twilight, stunned at the sudden turn-around in Charles’ behavior, could only ask “Why?” in response.

His face became oddly calm now, the depression he felt before turning into something else now. Bitterness. Hatred. “Because you are the only one I can trust. de Foresti and von Dietrichstein like me, I know, but they serve the word of Metternich, even if they do what they can to help me. You, you are the only one I can rely on. To help me return to France. To one day reclaim the birthright that was stolen from me.”

He pushed her away suddenly, grabbing her shoulders and staring her hard in the face. “Can you promise me this? Can you promise to help me, assist me, fight with me if necessary, till I am Emperor of the French one day?” he continued with a desperate tone, fearing now that she would reject him.

“I-I don’t know, I mean, we’re only ten!”

“That doesn’t matter Twilight! We can wait, plot, think! We are already more knowledgeable than half the court of this damned nation, I can assure you of this! We can play along, act as if I am consigning myself to a fate as a prince of Austria, but we can fool them. Till the day we can escape, and return France to the glory days of my father!”

She hesitated still the prospect of what he was demanding of her seemingly too much, too great. At this Charles nearly fell into despair once more, shaking her in frustration, but not roughly. “Did you not just agree that you were my best friend? And you would deny me this, the help I need? Please Twilight, I admit, I am begging you. I need your help, your genius, for without it there will be holes, gaps in my plans. Please Twilight... I need you.”

Her muzzle shaking as dueling answers fought within her, Twilight finally answered him as the mental battle inside her ended. “... Okay Charles. I’ll, I’ll help you.”

In an instant his despair became joy once more, and he embraced her once more. “Thank you. Thank you so much ma petite pouliche.”

After that, their day was quiet, peaceful indeed after the emotional turmoil the two had suffered through. But something had changed. A certain presence had grown between the two. When Twilight looked at Charles now, he had a certain... fire in his eyes. A passion that had escaped him before. For with his father now dead, Charles had gained the motive that would catapult him into the ranks of history. Revanche.

---

A/N-Hello lovely anonymous Internet bronies! Hope you liked this chapter. Wow, this one was a doozy to write. I initially wanted it to be 20 pages at most, but it kind of spiralled out the more I got into it. And what do you know, I soon found myself with 30+ pages! Well, if you count ‘soon’ as ‘nearly a month’ at least :P. Hope you all didn’t mind the wait though, and if you did I’m sorry.

Also, Franz Sacher was the guy who made the real Sachertorte cake. A reader requested it be put it. Since the real Sacher would not make it till he was 16 in 1832, let’s just say an alien space bat made him older or made a duplicate Sacher, okay? :P

And dear god, if this is how long the first of two build-up chapters will be, I’m terrified how long it’ll be when the story really hits the point I’m interested in getting too!

Regardless, once again big thanks to all the people who helped me write and edit this fic, including: Gerazzi, MONSTERheart (AKA IronTiger63), geggoever (resident Kraut), the Equestria Daily pre-readers, Sethisto for deciding to post the first chapter up despite the general insanity of the idea, Cesco, and the people I probably forgot for all their help. You guys are the best! Till next time then, ciao!