*Writers note: This is my first fanfic. Yes, I know it’s not perfect. I just hope you all enjoy the writing. Thanks for reading

-alxsmpgmr*

It’s been a long time since I’d accepted defeat. The first time was in elementary school, another filly called me “Blank Flank” for hours on end, and by the time I was ready to kick him in the face, I just gave up. I didn’t want to get in trouble because of my anger. So I gave up. After 5 months of being called “Blank Flank” the little stallion finally stopped, and not because I got my cutie mark, I moved. I had lived in Manehattan for a long time, and my parents decided a change of scenery would be nice. So, off to Las Pegasus we went. It was an interesting place. I actually made some friends there. But even still, I felt alone. It was a common theme in my life.

Loneliness.

In a room full of people I felt alone. At a party, I felt alone. Everywhere, I felt alone. Sure, there were always people there to talk to me, but I didn’t have many people to really “be” with on an emotional level. After 4 years in Las Pegasus, I was finally a full grown stallion. I moved to Canterlot, hoping to find a good restaurant to work in. That was my cutie mark of course. A small chef’s knife and pan showed it well that cooking was my talent.

I loved to cook. My parents had both been terrible chefs, so one day while they were gone and I was home alone, I decided to cook for them. I pulled down some cookbooks and made up a huge dinner. It was delicious and I loved every second of it. Combining the ingredients to create flavors, the herbs and aromas that mingled together in warm pots and pans. I loved everything about it. Best of all, it made my parents happy.

Even if I couldn’t make people happy with my words, I made them happy with my food. I lived there for 3 years, until now. Now. That word didn’t seem to register right with me anymore. I remember when I had first moved here. There was a note on the door of my apartment.

“Welcome, Frying Caesar! The Canterlot welcome committee is so happy to have you here! Happily- Percival Pie” It was a nice thing. There were balloons on the mailbox and an invitation to a party in my honor or something. It made sense I suppose. I’d met a pony named Pinkie Pie once. I left Ponyville almost dead. This was while I was on my way to Canterlot. Insanity doesn’t describe the party she held. Evidently she sent word ahead to her brother that a new pony was on the way. I was terrified at the thought of another party like that one. But, I went to the party. It was fun.

After a couple of minutes of trotting, I found the address. The door was slightly ajar, light seeping into the seemingly empty room. It felt like something out of a horror story, I’d never seen a bakery look so terrifying. Beneath a sign with “Cupcake Castle” a small wooden door, barely wide enough for most stallions to fit through, and covered in sprinkles, was waiting. I didn’t know what to do. This was the place listed on the invitation, and it was the right time. Should I go inside? I heard a whirring sound from behind me in the distance. Before I could turn around, I found myself flying through the door, a small mare crashing into me.

I would have screamed if I had fully comprehended what was happening. Blitzkrieg wasn’t a good enough term to describe it. When I landed I found a small peach/orange colored pegasus standing over me with a scooter laying on the floor nearby.

“Hi there, my name’s Scootaloo! Welcome to your party!” She said in a voice like that of an announcer at a Wonderbolts stunt show. A loud explosion went off, and the last thing I saw was a group of people yelling “Surprise!” and confetti flying everywhere. The colors flying through the air quickly faded to black and the shouting fell muffled, leaving only my heartbeat in my ears.

Today was an important day. I had to go to court and receive my verdict. I didn’t want to go. I wanted to run. But, I had nowhere to run to. I had no one to run to. Hope was gone, and numb acceptance of my fate took its place. I knew what was going to happen. I knew I had no chance. I got out of my bed and stood up. My pillow was streaked with tears and crumpled. I didn’t want this to be true.

“I’ll miss you.” I said absent-mindedly to the pillow and bed. “I could always count on you to cuddle me.” I let out a small chuckle. My voice was hoarse from the night before. I quietly made the bed and made sure everything looked in order. The blanket was dry and tasteless, unsurprisingly. Walking down the stairs to my kitchen, I almost trip a couple of times. I was always clumsy when it came to moving a lot, especially in the morning. At least I wasn’t clumsy with a knife. I’d be in much worse shape if I were. I poured a small bowl of oats and began to munch on them. They were delicious. I don’t know why but they were. They were the same oats I’d eaten every day before for years, ever since I moved to Canterlot. They were cheap, and usually flavorless. Why did they taste so good today? I frowned and quickly lost my appetite.

After locking up I went outside, ready to head to the main castle. I passed Cupcake Castle on the way. I have a lot of good memories there.

I woke up on a sofa in a strange room i’d never seen. Panic is a good word to describe what I did.

“What’s going on?!? Where am I???” I shouted. I looked around. It was a small room, a simple bookshelf and bed the main features in the room. The small sofa I was on was right next to a chest. I guessed I was in a guest room somewhere, but where?

The doorknob creaked quietly and turned, the door opening slowly.

“Is everything ok?” A blue-gray pony asked. I had to do a double take. His hair was pink, but his body was a pleasant blue-gray, I’d never seen that before.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Where am I?” I asked, slowly standing up, feeling I could trust this stallion.

“You’re in Cupcake Castle, silly. You passed out when I fired the party cannon. Sorry about Scootaloo, by the way. She’s a little.... Extreme, to say the least.” He explains slowly. “Anyways, now that you’re feeling better, why don’t you come down to the party?”

“Ummm... Ok.” I said hesitantly. Scootaloo was the peach/orange pony then, that’s good to know. “Wait, what’s your name?” I felt I needed to know, so I know who shot at me with a cannon.

“Oh, my bad.” He chuckled lightly. “I feel terrible. My name is Percival Pie. You can call me Percy, my friends do. How about you return the introduction?” He asked. I had a feeling he already knew, but was just giving me a hard time.

“My name’s Frying Caesar. Most people call me Caesar.” I informed smugly, a smirk popping up on my face. He seemed alright, but if I saw him with artillery again, I was going to run. We slowly made our way downstairs, making sure I could still move right. Once I was downstairs, a loud cheer erupted as the other ponies saw me. Greetings were had and after more introductions I finally got a chance to breathe. I snuck over and grabbed a cupcake from one of the snack tables, and that’s when I saw her.

The castle seemed to loom over everything. Even with its majesty and beauty, it was the scariest thing I’d ever seen. I knew within my fate would be announced. I didn’t want to go, but I did. It seemed oddly empty. The echoes of my hooves went on and on in the arched halls. A small door was where I was headed. The end of the hall came quickly, and the door seemed massive, it looked like the gate to Hades. I took some deep breaths and it returned to being a normal wooden door. I slowly opened it, walking inside swiftly and quietly shutting it behind me.

It was a small room, with a couple of rows of chairs and a stand for the judge, be it Celestia, Luna or Cadence. I sat down and looked around. The only other ponies present were Twilight Sparkle, my parents, and a short little stallion who I didn’t know. He seemed familiar but I couldn’t place my hoof on why. It was too quiet, no whispers or mumblings floated about the room. Only the quiet breathing of five ponies waiting to see what would happen. A click sounded from behind the stand, followed by another. Celestia walked up and looked about. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it, opting to instead, walk around the podium and up to me.

“You’ve committed a heinous crime, stealing the Elements of Harmony. I don’t know how you did it, or why, but you can not be forgiven for this. You’ve put the entire kingdom of Equestria at stake. You put the safety of millions of lives into jeopardy and there is no worse crime. I’ve thought about this carefully, and I see only one option.” She quietly walked back up to the stand. My throat felt like a desert, my tongue was dead in my mouth. I would have said something in my defense, but my lungs stopped cooperating. I couldn’t breathe. She stood up at the stand and pulled out a piece of paper from beneath.

“Frying Caesar, you’ve stolen the Elements of Harmony, and have nearly destroyed Equestria. As punishment you will be banished to the moon. You have three days to say your final goodbyes and will then be sent. Do not try to escape, Twilight Sparkle here will keep tabs on you and will keep you from attempting to flee the city. You may leave the courtroom now.” My heart collapsed in my chest, everything went numb. My parents got up and left, not saying a word. The small stallion had somehow disappeared, Twilight got up and walked over to me.

“Let’s go.” She said. Her voice was quiet, controlled. She was sad. She didn’t want me to go, I didn’t want to go. I felt my heartbeat rising rapidly, I didn’t want to die! What will happen to my kids??? How will my family fare?!? I didn’t want to lose everything! I worked hard to get where I am at, please let this be a dream!!! My heart felt like it was going to explode and the edges of my vision went black. Silence filled my thoughts and I passed out.