Canterlot
A few months had passed, and Cadence was strolling down the road to one of the main parks of the city, still somewhat uncomfortable wearing the garments of a princess. With a soft sigh, she made her way through the crowd of ponies, a few respectfully keeping out of her way, others not even noticing her.
Amongst the sea of ponies, Cadence noticed one in particular-- she had never seen him but he looked like somepony…. She walked up to him until they were fairly close
“Hi!” She said cheerfully
The tall stallion turned to face her. He was a dun-colored alicorn with a black mane and tail, blue eyes, and a large scar that looked similar to a spider web on his left cheek. He was slightly taller than Celestia, and was wearing regal blue Saddle-Arabian tack. Indeed, it wasn't just his tack that looked regal--everything about him looked important... and muscular... and handsome.
“Good day,” He said with a warm smile, “You must be the new princess--Cadenza, correct?”
Suddenly a nearby dark green colored unicorn horse trotted over to him to observe what was happening. He had a white mane and tail, silvery eyes, was also wearing some Saddle-Arabian tack, and he was approximately the same height as Luna. Since he was a horse, not a pony, he lacked a cutie mark while the dun colored alicorn pony had a cutie mark that looked like a sandy tornado.
Cadence smiled widely, an idea forming in her head, remembering that Celestia was in that day of the year where countless nobles would try to woo her… yes, it just had to be!
“Yes!” She said, then looked at him without noticing the unicorn “And you are?”
Before the alicorn could answer, the unicorn beside him answered for him, saying, “He is none other than Prince Karam Al-Asif ibn-Khayri-Al-Nasim ibn Malik Al-Aziz Ahl-Rikhab, commonly known as ‘The Sandstorm Prince,’ second son of Malik Khayri Al-Nasim of Saddle-Arabia, ruler of the desert sands and the flowing rivers and all lands within the domain of Saddle-Arabia.”
Startled by the unicorn’s speech, Cadence stepped back a bit, unsure of what to say.
After the unicorn stopped speaking, Karam gave him a cold, bored look as he stamped one of his grey hooves on the ground firmly.
“I told you to stop doing that, Ziad,” Karam sighed.
“Oh… I’m sorry… old habits die hard, Your Highness,” Ziad answered with a low bow.
Turning back to Cadence, Karam smiled again and apologized, “You must forgive my advisor-- my father sent me here to relax, and he sent my advisor and some bodyguards to ensure that I would be taken care of… but sometimes my advisor goes a bit too far in introducing me.”
Cadence giggled softly at that and nodded. “All right, I guess-- I get it… I mean, whenever I walked out of the palace with a guard, the same would happen to me,” She sighed before looking at him, “Relax? I know just the place for that!” She smiled happily. Yes now she knew what she wanted to do and how to do so…
Karam and Ziad looked at each other curiously.
“What exactly do you plan on doing?” Karam enquired.
“Have you ever been to the gardens of the Palace of the Sun and Moon?” She asked, looking at them with a happy smile on her face, almost pleading for them to go.
“Unfortunately, no,” Karam admitted with a longing look in his eye, “When I was sent here, my father told me to avoid doing anything political, to help me relax, for I was worrying too much at home, hence we have had minor contact with the Empresses, and although they know we are here, we have no plans on meeting with them, or touring their castle. Perhaps next time… why do you ask?”
“Well, those gardens are the BEST place to relax in all of Canterlot, and I’m sure you’d love it there… I will make sure you won’t find any political trouble there,” She looked at them with her huge purple eyes, “´pleeease!”
Karam gazed at the sky, pondering how to answer.
“Sire, we really shouldn’t be bothering the empresses,” Ziad warned, the silver rings on his harness jingling as he implored him, “We really should not go---please, let’s just go to the countryside instead.”
However, Ziad knew that when Karam’s eyes had that look in them, there was no turning back.
“I would love to see your gardens, Princess Cadenza,” Karam accepted as he beamed back at Cadence gently while a breeze blew the tassels on his harness softly.
Ziad sighed and shook his head, hoping this would not end in disaster.
Cadence smiled happily, beaming at that. “Right! I’ll meet you at the main entrance of the palace at… say… four?” She looked at him, hoping this would work.
“Of course-- should I dress up in something more regal?” Karam asked.
“If you want,” She shrugged at that, hoping he wouldn’t mind meeting a certain pony in a less… regal environment
“Sire, considering you are supposed to relax… how about something more casual?” Ziad suggested.
“I suppose you are correct--besides, my regal outfits are very heavy and hot in this time of year,” Karam decided, “All right, I shall meet you at four this afternoon, Princess Cadenza.”
Cadence smiled happily and nodded “Ok! I’ll meet you then there.”
She then went back to the palace; there was something else she needed to do.
Soon she happily headed back to the palace, all she needed now was to get Celestia out of that horrible group of nobles…
As soon as Celestia had a moment to herself, Cadence got to her and hugged her, With a happy, if somewhat confused, smile Celestia hugged her back.
“Aunt Celestia… will you be free at four?” She asked, her big violet eyes looking into Celestia’s. The older alicorn smiled at that before Cadence continued, “I have a big surprise for you, but you need to be on the gardens at four.”
Amused, Celestia answered with a warm smile, “I think I should be free by then.”
Hopping happily around her, Cadence exclaimed, “Yay! I’ll see you then!”
Later, Celestia entered the gardens, wondering what surprise Cadence had planned for her today.
Only a few minutes later, Cadence walked into the gardens, followed by a yellow-orange stallion who had dark brown and black legs and was wearing black Saddle-Arabian tack. Neither of the two adults knew what was going to happen…
Celestia stared at the pair with a puzzled, yet warm look on her face. The stallion looked familiar… oh yes, it was one of the princes of Saddle-Arabia.
Karam, meanwhile, was holding his head high when he first entered, but when he saw that Empress Celestia was in the gardens, he halted, worried about what she would think of him being there. Suddenly he wished that he listened to his advisor and went somewhere else that day. Cadence giggled at that and led him in.
“Come on, it will be fine,” She whispered happily.
Cautiously Karam approached with Cadence while Celestia smiled at them both sweetly. Karam realized as he got closer to the empress that Celestia was actually a very faint shade of pink, and not a true white. He also admired her flowing, sparkling mane and tail, and couldn’t help but feel relaxed under her warm and comforting gaze. Perhaps this was not such a bad idea after all. For a moment he wished he let his advisor come with him--seeing the empress in such a relaxing place was surely a once in a lifetime opportunity. Amazingly she wasn’t even in her full regalia-- just a few necklaces and her crown adorned her; indeed she was casual, and Karam may never see her like this again.
“Well… it is a pleasant surprise to see you here,” Celestia told him with a very slight blush and a warm smile, “I Imagine that, since my niece brought you here she has something planned… right?” She looked at Cadence, waiting to see what else had she planned.
“Um… Follow me!” She exclaimed before heading over to a small place under the shadow of two cherry trees, where there was a large cloth with different foods… almost like a picnic.
Karam smiled at Celestia awkwardly, and then looked at Cadence and thanked her with, “I must say, this is quite well done--thank you, Your Highness.”
“Yes, thank you, Cadence--how very thoughtful of you,” Celestia added with a gentle smile.
“Well,” Cadence started, “I just thought you needed a friend.” of course, she was not about to tell her that she was hoping they would go beyond that…
Celestia nodded and laid on one side of the blanket, signaling to Karam to sit on the other side.
“Let me see… Karam Al-Asif, correct?” Celestia recalled as Karam laid down on the other end across from her.
“Yes, Your Majesty, that is correct,” Karam acknowledged with a nod as he stretched his dark brown legs for a bit.
Karam then turned to Cadence and asked, “Are you going to sit down as well?”
Cadence nodded and sat next to them, smiling happily about how this was going.
Celestia used her magic to lift the teapot and pour herself a cup, then turned to Karam and asked, “Would you like some tea?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Karam accepted with another respectful nod.
“Since we are in a casual environment, I would like you to call me by my name--Celestia,” Celestia allowed with another smile while she poured some tea for Karam.
At those words, Karam also smiled and grabbed the cup in his own pale yellow magic.
“As you wish, Celestia-- and I would also like you to call me by my name, Karam.”
He decided that if the empress was going to be casual, he may as well be casual too.
Cadence, in the meantime, smiled as she served herself some tea, looking at them happily at noticing that they were on a first-name basis.
“So, Karam, what is it like in your homeland; I have never ventured there myself,” Celestia asked before taking a sip of tea.
“Well, it is probably as diverse as this land… but smaller--we have rivers, deserts, forests… and at night it can get very, very cold, and in the morning it is usually quite hot,” Karam began, trying to determine how to talk about his vast homeland properly, “Furthermore, we don’t get very much snow, and we do not have pegasi controlling the weather as you do here.”
“I have heard that, but sometimes I wonder if what I read is true,” Celestia confided between sips, “I must say, it is nice to hear it from somepony who actually has been there.”
“Indeed, I found it hard to believe that pegasi controlled the weather here myself,” Karam admitted while reaching for an apple with his magic, “And indeed, there is nothing like seeing it happen before my eyes.” After taking a bite of the apple and swallowing, he added, “You really should visit Saddle-Arabia for yourself; I think you would enjoy the diversity of the land and its citizens.”
“I hope to see it one day… but sadly my duties as an empress are never finished,” Celestia sighed, “Please, tell me about your citizens.”
“Well, we have many ponies, like you do here,” Karam began nostalgically, “But we also have other equines-- donkeys, mules, and horses are most everywhere, and we also have camels, oxen, and in the far regions we have Karkadann as well.”
“I see. Tell me, how do you manage to live together in peace?” Celestia inquired before eating some grapes.
“As long as they obey the laws, we let them be, and I truly am not sure how they all manage to live together, but they do. I suppose part of it is due to our sense of honor and duty, and another part is due to how strongly we value our families… and the rest… who knows. I will say, however, that I know that many times they do have squabbles or disagreements based on their species, but those are often resolved fairly quickly,” Karam explained.
“Ah, so not everything is perfect,” Celestia noted before taking a small piece of cake for herself.
“No, nothing is perfect, but we do our best to uphold our honor and values, and it appears to be working so far,” Karam admitted as he finished eating his apple.
Turning to Cadence, Celestia questioned, “And what do you think of this?”
Cadence looked at them, unsure about what to say, then nodded “w-well, I think it’s great!” She looked at them with a slightly nervous smile.
Celestia grinned at her and then turned back to Karam. For over an hour they talked about various subjects, and enjoyed themselves immensely. Unfortunately, a messenger arrived with some sort of problem that Celestia had to sort out, and the picnic came to an end.
As Celestia walked off to take care of it, Cadence smiled happily at Karam, wanting to know what was on his mind.
Karam stretched his wings as he stood up, and then turned to Cadence, asking, “Well, Young Princess, is there anything else you wish me to do?”
“Well, what do you think? O-Of this I mean,” she said, pointing towards the picnic, “would you do this again?” She asked hopefully.
“If I am ever back in Equestria, I will make certain to try and arrange another such meeting,” Karam decided as he grinned at Cadence gently.
Cadence smiled at that, looking at him.
“Okay! But please, can you write to us?” She asked again with her big purple eyes looking at him cutely, almost begging
“Would your Empress permit me to write? I am not sure if it would be proper for a prince to write to one of such high authority. Besides, I do have duties at home, so I am not sure how often I would be able to write,” Karam pointed out with a shrug.
“I know, but she will allow it,” She looked at him, “And I’m sure it will be fine.”
At this point, Karam raised an eyebrow suspiciously. This filly was certainly determined to have him writing to her empress for some reason. Turning to face Cadence fully, Karam looked down at her and inquired, “Tell me, Young Princess… what is your ‘special talent’ again? I recall hearing of it, but can’t quite remember at the moment.”
She giggled a bit “I won’t tell.”
Again Karam raised an eyebrow at her and stared at her sternly, his blue eyes searching all over her for some sign of what she was strategizing.
At length, he eyed her cutie mark again, and noted that it was a crystal gem in a heart shape…
a heart shape…
heart…
love…
oh no, this filly wasn’t a matchmaker in her young age, was she?
Surely she wouldn’t honestly set up her Empress/aunt with a random prince would she?
Studying the filly’s secretive smile, Karam knew she probably would.
“Young Princess, I am about as old as your Empress-- and in my age I’ve learned a lot about how other ponies think. I have a feeling I know what you are thinking, and I have a feeling your empress would not be interested… especially since I don’t even have a throne,” Karam whispered in an amused, yet firm tone of voice, “I will say, however, that you are one wily young mare, and your enemies should be careful around you.”
She giggled at that.
“I just thought my aunt wouldn’t like any of those old nobles,” She looked at him, “And how do you know she won’t be?”
“AHA!” Karam exclaimed as he stamped his foot, “You sneaky little filly! I KNEW you were trying to make a match!”
At this point he shook his head and laughed, and then looked at her again and sighed, “And in the world of rulers, politics comes first, not infatuation or good ideas.
For the sake of politics, your empress should marry somepony with a great position of power…
I am just the second-born son; I don’t have much power… and such important matches aren’t just arranged by young princesses, but thought out by ponies who rule great areas; if anypony is going to arrange a match between myself and your aunt, it would be my father… or your aunt herself…” After looking around to ensure nopony was watching, Karam whispered, “However, I must admit that your aunt is quite a beautiful mare. Don’t tell anypony I said that though,” After that he straightened up and announced in a louder voice,
“Now, I must return to my hotel before my advisor dies of worry. Good evening, and thank you again for the enjoyable picnic.”
“Well…” She looked at him, “As much as you say that you’re not powerful enough, and leaving simple romance behind… being the second son of your father means that, should you be married away from your court there would not be so much problem… besides, nopony unites two kingdoms just because of a royal marriage anymore… and I wouldn’t be surprised if this happened some day,” She smiled at him sweetly, “But please, write anyways, it was fun meeting you. ”
“I must say, you are more clever than most fillies your age,” Karam complemented her with a chuckle, “and if you keep making up such elaborate plans they shall have to name you ‘Cadenza the Wily Matchmaker.’ As for what I shall do… I would like to write to your Empress Celestia… and also to you… if I have some spare time.”
Cadence smiled at that, containing a giggle at that comment before nodding “Okay! It was nice to meet you,” She told him.
Karam nodded with a grin.
“Indeed, it was most fascinating getting to meet you both,” He confessed as he turned to walk away.
As he left, he thought about his conversation with the Empress of the Sun.
The sun slowly began to set, and as she saw him walk away, Cadence sighed softly and smiled to herself, quite sure that it would come to pass…