> Castrated Numbers
>  by 3 Unicorns in Trenchcoat
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> Everything Begins With 0
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That stallion. Before I knew about his secret, I wondered about him. The way he had spoke. No matter what, he was calm. Even when it seemed as if all was against him; he continued to speak in that voice of his. Never wavering. Never scared. I had admired this about him. That’s what drew me to him. I, A lovely young mare who never knew anything about stallions. Even my analytical self couldn’t have seen what was coming from him. I don’t even think the Princesses could see what would be coming from him and his… Purposeful shenanigans.

Ucles was already a different stallion. First off, was his name. His parents had supposedly named him after an old poet back in the Classical Times. But, I never found anything while at my time at Star Swirl's University of Magic. It was out of the norm when it came to names. Names that are normal much like mine, Dawning Blossom, were more common. Ucles had never been a part of sports clubs, attended parties, and never really had friends in his life. Those facts, I learned with my limited time I spent with him. He had found comfort in numbers, saying they justified his existence. Something he enjoyed. I had never seen a stallion so passionate about formulas, theorems, and numbers. These ideas were his vocabulary. Numbers were his maternal language. Words were simply nothing more than a second language to him; a polyglot, so to speak. 

Eight years ago is when I had first met him. I had been brought in by the princesses for my magical proficiency both theoretical and applied. I had graduated from the Starswirl University of Magic and majored in mathematical magic and minor in theoretical physics. I was the prime candidate to research old spells that still had many loose ends. Some of the spells were still young, barely explored. Even after millennia of them being researched. The facility I was to study at was located in the heart of Canterlot, though far away from the higher end (and noisy) part of town. That would be certainly the relief for I had never been a part of high life. Being a noble meant you had to be obnoxiously loud speaking, something I was never good at.
As I approached the small building, suspicion made me think I was in the wrong part of the city. The window blinds were closed, signs of slight disrepair were seen. The door hinge and the door had definitely seen better days. The bushes in the front of the apartment were not trimmed. They were growing everywhere. Though the most peculiar part of this was that it was the only house on the whole entire street in a condition like this.

Princess Celestia said that Ucles was a peculiar pony. In the dossier I was given, it had been reported that his social skills were very poor. Though this was made up where he had an IQ of approximately 134. Though there was something about him that I found. His medical records indicated that his hormone levels were extremely low, both estrogen and testosterone. Though the dossier was two years old at the time when I read it. I had looked at it with a pinch of salt, thinking that he could be a changed stallion. I had tried to argue the nature of the documents with Princess Celestia and Luna but they said they were still true. My father had told me that hormones within a pony's body can vary and can ultimately define the character of the person. This would ultimately prove to be true with Ucles. 

I walked up the front porch and approached the door. There were several letters entitled to Ucles. All what either appeared to be junk mail or his bills. I opened my saddlebag and pulled out the key the Princesses gave to me. I placed it into the door and turned it but it didn’t. I tried the other way and I heard a locking sound. Turned it the other way and it unlocked. It was quite peculiar.

I grabbed the letters with a levitation spell. I opened the door hastily and stepped inside. I was greeted by a sudden whiff of who knows what. Though I could make out the smell of old wood, food, and body odor. Mother always said to me that ponies who lived indoors all the time developed strange habits. I slowly walked further in and closed the door. As I trotted, stacks of papers could be seen everywhere. I placed the letters on one of the many stacks of paper. As I placed it down, I saw something different. It appeared the atomic structure of something, though I did not know at the time. 
Cobwebs had formed and dust was prominent. Blackboards had dotted the walls showing applied geometry within the magical manipulation field to form various three dimensional shapes. That was only the surface of what mathematical knowledge there was from the single room alone. The room was only lit by the midday sunlight peering through the windows. The dust could be seen floating through the air. I looked around in the room and it was dead silent. On the sides of the room were several bookshelves. All filled to the brim with various worn textbooks and books. I went to my right and looked at one of these bookshelves. The first thing that immediately caught my eye was the book created by Firelight Streak, a renowned mathematician who was alive during the time of the Old Kingdom a thousand years ago. I remembered studying the book and how difficult it was during my time at the university. It was truly insightful and it was something that even I could not even understand at times. I pulled out the book with my magic and levitated it in front of me. I opened up the book to a random page. Inside it was something that was remarkable. It was the chalk circle design used commonly to summon things. The one only few who can harness the power actually do it. Though, this design was augmented. What first appeared to be scribbles was indeed applied geometry to the whole entire thing. There was a simple equation that was barely coherent, little did I know how significant this theorem would be.
I put away the book and walked around the room. My steps were careful. I made sure the wood below my hooves did not creak. I then suddenly heard low booms just above my head. Some dust had fallen from the ceiling and into my hat. I brushed off my feathered hat with my hoof and as I looked up I saw him. A brown stallion with green eyes, black ragged mane, and eyebrows. He was standing on the stairs. His green pupils were fiercely looking at me in a surprised and confused manner.  I immediately felt myself tensing up and overcoming with anxiety as I was looking at him. I swallowed and remained silent. The idea of how to introduce myself to him that came racing through my mind. I did not know what to do, The anxiety had taken control of me. I felt as if I were nothing more than a little filly meeting a grown-up
He looked at me with squinting eyes and a confused face. He then introduced himself in a way I never thought someone would greet me. “Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my apartment?”