//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: An Empty World 
// by The_Unnamed_Pawn 
//------------------------------//

Caesar took a seat on a bench and looked over the empty city. This was the first time he’d rested since this whole thing had started. He had been walking for hours now, and he was finally tired. With a sigh, Caesar laid down on the bench and stared into the sky. “It’s strangely relaxing,” he mumbled. 

The sky was still gray and completely devoid of both life and motion. After the day to day grind and noise that Caesar had to deal with in Manehattan life, he had to admit that the silence was restful. After closing his eyes and finally letting himself relax, Caesar couldn’t help but laugh. “Acceptance” he sighed. He hadn’t expected to make it to this stage. Frankly he’d hoped he wouldn’t get past bartering.

It wasn’t long after Caesar closed his eyes that he realized he wasn’t actually sleepy. With another sigh the stallion’s eyes opened back to the empty sky. “I guess I’m not done yet then,” he said. Caesar took a deep breath and climbed out of the bench. Caesar shook his head, straightened his top-hat and cravat, and placed his monocle back in its proper place in front of his right eye.

With that done Caesar moved on to the next building, a high-rise apartment building just opposite the park. He stopped just short of throwing the door open though. Caesar sighed as he rested his shaky hoof against the door.  “And here I thought I had just had an epiphany,” he mumbled as he gently pushed it open. 

Caesar shook his head closed his eyes as he entered the building. After trotting a short way in and not hitting anything, he decided to open them again. It was just as the stallion had suspected. Nothing was left in the building. It was just another sickening empty room. The only thing that remained was the floor and four walls. Still, there was some hope left. Calmly, Caesar lifted his head and glanced upwards. Again there was nothing but a ceiling far up and away from him. Not even the separate floors remained in the building.

Caesar sighed and trotted back outside. He couldn’t say he was surprised by the sight, after all he had seen the same thing in at least a dozen other buildings. He was annoyed by the fact that it still bothered him though. In fact Caesar was so annoyed that he felt like giving the door a nice solid kick back into place as he walked out. 

“I guess I’m back to anger,” the stallion grunted before moving on.

Caesar didn’t even bother to check the next building he trotted by. At this point, he decided that if anypony was still alive, they would be outside. In the end it was still the survivors he cared about after all. One other living and thinking pony was all he needed to make sure that this wasn’t some sick twisted nightmare.

Caesar paused after a few short minutes of this particularly angry trotting. The situation was getting to him, but that didn’t mean he should lose his cool. Caesar took a few deep breaths and decided to figure out where he was now. Somehow during his little tirade he’d ended managed to make it to Cleveland Street in the shopping district of the city. This was quite a ways from the uptown apartments where he had started, but then again those uptown apartments were quite a ways from the bar downtown where he’d been when the whole city was mysteriously emptied. Caesar noted that he was able to move quite far when he was angry.

Of course, Caesar was still angry, he’d just decided to go about it more calmly at the moment. The stallion steadied his hooves and cleared his throat in preparation for a nice big scream. That was one of the few things about the city being empty, nopony could her you cuss. 

“HHOOOOORRRRSSE AAAAPPPPPLLLESS!”

Caesar shouted as loudly as he could manage. It was wonderfully cathartic, and strangely more energizing than his short rest on the bench had been. Horse Apples was his favorite curse, and he did so rarely get to use it. “Thank Celestia for small comforts,” he said once he’d finished.

With that finished Caesar was free to compose himself and continue his search for other survivors.  This marked the first time he ever felt happy to be looking for something on Cleveland Street. Typically he’d have to meticulously investigate each store in order to find something. That was the only way to shop for jewelry after all.

Today though, for once, it was actually easy to see whether or not there was something of interest in a store. The large windows that these stores used to draw in their customers were serving the direct opposite of their intended purpose today. Caesar couldn’t help but find it somewhat humorous that they were more useful in doing so. It was hardly funny enough to cheer him up, but since he’d already released his anger it was enough for him to crack a smile.

Caesar’s smile didn’t get to last long though. It was replaced by a look of shock not more than two building’s later. In fact, Caesar was so surprised to see another pony actually inside one of the stores that he didn’t stop trotting for a short time. In the end, he actually had to turn back around to make sure what he saw wasn’t just a figment of his imagination. Caesar had already dealt with one of those, and he wasn’t eager to deal with that kind of disappointment again.

Sure enough though, there was indeed a stallion standing in the shop; a pegasus stallion to be precise. More to point, the stallion appeared to be looting the store. Caesar gave his monocle a quick clean in order to make sure he was still seeing clearly. The stallion was still there, standing in the middle of what appeared to be an entire building made of glass.

Caesar calmed himself down again and cleared his head. This was not the time to gawk at what he was seeing. He had to figure out what he was watching quickly, and then he could react in whatever way he felt was appropriate.

Caesar recognized the store. It was a jewelry store known as The Glass House. Supposedly it was excellent, but he himself had never shopped there. The idea of a store made entirely of glass always struck him as just a touch too odd.

Caesar did not recognize the stallion. Though the cutie mark, three shimmering white gems, did strike him as familiar, the stallion’s other features were entirely foreign. Admittedly, Caesar could be forgiven for simply forgetting a pegasus with a golden coat, but he was positive he would have remembered this character’s peculiar mane and tail. Not only was the hair tied into dreadlocks, a style he had never actually seen before in real life, but it was died a mixture of silver, black, copper, and gold. That was far too bizarre a style to forget easily.

So, the situation as Caesar figured it, once he got past the stallion’s absurd mane and the store’s absurd concept, was that a mysterious stallion that he didn’t recognize was robbing a store he’d never been to. Were this any other day, Caesar would have simply walked away from this scene, and perhaps called the police. Unfortunately, today that was not an option. 

The bell rang when Caesar entered the door. This of course caused the robber to jump for fear that he had been caught. Of course like any true robber, the stallion wasn’t going to admit his guilt freely. He managed to toss most of his ill-gotten jewelry over the counter as he turned around to face Caesar. He only managed to drop a single item. “Hello sir, how may I help you today,” the stallion said once he’d finished. It wasn’t even a mildly convincing lie, but Caesar had to give the colt credit for trying.

Rather than out him up front, Caesar chose to show his good will with a joke. “You know that would look terrible on you,” he said with a nod toward the spilled items. The young stallion responded by focusing on the fallen tiara; a lovely piece decorated with baby blue sapphires.

“You want it?” he asked, “I’d be willing to let it go for the low low price of your word.” He winked once he’d finished, as if Caesar might have misunderstood him.

“You are aware that we’re the only ponies here aren’t you?” Caesar questioned. His tone hadn’t exactly been cheerful even when he was telling the joke, but now it was most definitely serious. 

“It won’t be like that forever,” the stallion responded with another wink while slyly kicking the tiara towards Caesar. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t spoil this opportunity for me.”

Caesar nodded, but kicked the tiara back. “That’s very generous of you, but I don’t particularly need a tiara right now.” The stallion glanced from the tiara and back to Caesar with a look of pure confusion. It was as if he actually couldn’t understand what had just happened. “I could use your cooperation though.”

The stallion’s confusion faded somewhat and he nodded. He didn’t speak again until he’d retrieved his sack from behind the counter and tossed it onto his back. After that he began moving towards the door. Caesar moved to block him before he could make it out of course. He had no intention of letting the colt leave without a guarantee. The colt, seeing this, spoke up once more. “Don’t worry sir, I’ll help you out,” he said, “You just need a ride to the castle right?” 

Caesar shook his head. “If I’d intended to see the princess by now, I already would have.” The pegasus responded with a nod before trying to push his way out again. Once more Caesar kept the door blocked. “I need you to help me search the city,” he continued, “There may be other survivors still out there.”

This actually made the young stallion pause. For a moment Caesar was convinced that he had finally gotten the colt to listen to him. Then he was struck by the look of pity on the colt’s face. “There’s nopony out there, sir,” he said, his cheerful tone in direct contrast to his expression. ”Loosen up a bit.”

“What are you talking about?”

The pegasus attempted to maneuver around Caesar once more; again with no success. “Well sir,” he continued, “As far as I’ve seen we have the city too ourselves. Why not take advantage?” The stallion smiled. “Break something, rob a store, curse into the sky; now’s the time to do it.”

Caesar was actually thrown for a moment when he stallion finished. This momentary lapse in attention lasted just long enough for the other stallion to edge his way through the door. The bell jolted his attention back just in time to catch the colt before he left. Caesar did so by not so subtly jerking the stallion’s overloaded robber sack to the floor.

In immediate defense of his now spilled jewelry, the pegasus dove for the bag instantly after hearing it hit the ground. Caesar had to admit it felt incredibly satisfying to regain his advantage so easily. Interestingly the young stallion didn’t even seem angry once he had gathered up the gems once more. The expression he wore was one more reminiscent of annoyance than anything else, and when he spoke again he almost sounded respectful. “Alright old man,” ‘almost’ was the key, “What’ll it take for you to leave me be?”

Caesar actually smiled. “Victory,” he thought. “Well to begin,” he began while extending a hoof the still prone pony, “I’d like to know your name.”

The colt didn’t grab the hoof right away. He was busy slinging the sack of goods back onto his back. It was only once he’d finished that he did grab Caesar’s hoof, but only to give it a shake. “I’m Goldstone,” he said, “Does that mean I can go now?” Caesar shook his head. “I figured as much.”

“I suspect that we still have quite a bit of city to cover,” Caesar said as he dragged Goldstone out of the store. The pegasus didn’t exactly struggle, but he was clearly walking more slowly than necessary. Part of this may have been attributable to the heavy bag he was carrying, but Caesar personally figured that he was simply being uncooperative. “About how much have you seen.”

Caesar waited a fair bit longer than should have been necessary for Goldstone to respond. Feeling annoyed by the combination of both this waste of time and the stallion’s slow pace, Caesar elected to give Goldstone one of his less aggressive glares; a simple, ‘I’m in charge here,’ sort of look. When he did so he found that Goldstone appeared to be lost in thought over the golden wreath mark on his flank. “Goldstone,” Caesar said firmly, hoping to draw the pegasus’s attention to his glare rather than his rear.

“Oh, yeah sir?” Goldstone questioned, while he shifted his gaze away from Caesar’s cutie mark. Upon seeing Caesar’s stare he pulled back a bit. Of course, Caesar wasn’t letting go of the colt’s hoof, so the movement was completely ineffective. “Umm…I haven’t checked out much of uptown yet,” he said nervously. “Say you wouldn’t happen to know anything about the mansion district would you?”

Caesar quickly glanced from Goldstone’s face to the stolen jewels he was carrying and shook his head. He had no intention of telling a jewel thief that he owned a home in that particular district. Although he had little doubt that Goldstone already knew. “I haven’t checked there yet,” he said.

“Well I did, but all of the doors were locked,” Goldstone continued, “And you know how those rich folk don’t like to talk to salesponies right?” Caesar sighed and got back to walking. Goldstone was now following enthusiastically. “You know I bet you could probably get them to open their doors.”

Goldstone’s motives were hardly what Caesar could call hidden. However, he did have to admit that the mansion district was a good place to look for survivors. And he did know a few ponies living there that wouldn’t open their doors for anyone of less stature than them. If they hadn’t gone out today, it was entirely possible that they could still be in their homes. “I doubt that they wouldn’t have noticed by now though,” he said, “But I suppose it’s worth a look.”

“Worst case scenario we can stop by your place while we’re there,” Goldstone added cheerfully as he increased his pace. Now Caesar was the one moving slowly.

“You could at least pretend you were looking for survivors,” Caesar grumbled as he picked up his own pace. Then it suddenly struck him. All of the mansions down in Neighverly Hills had very large windows, and all of the ponies he knew that locked themselves in were notorious for watching the neighborhood. “Hold on just a moment,” he said, suddenly jerking to a stop. 

Goldstone, clearly not expecting this abrupt halt, ended up tumbling forward quite hilariously. Caesar managed to loosen his grip just in time to avoid going down with him. Caesar actually had to strain to keep the serious expression on his face afterward. He even had to clear his throat before speaking to make sure his question was taken seriously.

“Ahem,” Caesar coughed as he extended his hoof to help the fallen colt up. Goldstone didn’t take it. A few jewels had spilled and he was too busy gathering them to pay much attention. Caesar chose to continue nonetheless. “Did you happen to see anypony in the mansion windows?” he asked accusatorily. 

Goldstone chuckled a touch as he picked up the last jewel and tossed it back into his bag. “I can’t say I ever looked, sir,” he said. It was like he wasn’t even trying to lie. 

Caesar nodded. “On second thought, the slums are slightly closer to here.” This was an outright lie of course, but the point was made. He still needed to check the slums anyway. A lot of ponies were likely to be there after all. At least if there were any left.

Goldstone pushed himself to a stand and followed along begrudgingly. “Okay,” he mumbled, “But we’re going to hit the mansion district right after right?” Caesar sighed in response, but nodded. He had honestly expected more of an argument, so a bit of begrudging acceptance was actually quite welcome.

In the end though, the pair never made it to the slums. They didn’t even make it to the end of Cleveland Street before something prompted Caesar to abruptly change direction. That something was a loud train whistle.

“Then again,” Caesar said as he quickly turned down a different street, “The train station is even closer.”

Goldstone sighed and followed along. “You’re never going to take me to your house are you?” Caesar didn’t respond, but the smile on his face was, for once, quite telling. 

The only thing Caesar found himself thinking about as he trotted toward the station was whether or not he’d work with a train robber.