While the response was kind of short, I like the fact that people still took some of their time and reviewed. That shows that I have done something right regarding this story. Please, enjoy this chapter and hope you review. I would like to know what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong. Point me in the right direction! Enjoy.

Caesar was satisfied with the recent turn of events regarding his temporary house. He considered Applejack an ally, and she was a good tool to rid of boredom. Of course, he used his training to rid of it and, at times, impress both Applejack and McIntosh with his abilities It was amusing to see them staring at him as if he was some kind of hero.

He scoffed. Who wanted to be a hero? All he wanted was to protect his family, recognition and, of course, the power he ultimately deserved.

"But what about friendship?" His mother had asked once.

The small colt laughed in her face. "Who needs friendship when you have a loyal family and power?"

His parents refused to speak to him for a few days after that incident, which both confused and angered him. Wasn't that the goal of a good ruler? A good general? Loyal to its people and use the necessary power to protect them? Friendships would be disregarded due to betrayal and the like.

Of course, he was also… curious about friendships. What if there was a way to make those friends loyal enough so that they could be more effective towards his plans? That was something he would like to try.

Applejack was a true testament of that. She respected his privacy, was eager to talk to him and he liked the fact that she was smart, so she could keep up with the things he liked to discuss. She showed particular interest in martial arts. In the first five days at the Sweet Apple Acres, it was also she could talk about.

There was also the fact that it was extremely peaceful outside. Even inside the house, there was peace. Without the noise inside Ponyville, Caesar was able to use a certain technique his mother had recommended in case of stress or something related to that. Meditation.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" Applejack's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Time to go to school."

Caesar scowled. He was already up, gathering his thoughts, but well, he appeared asleep.

He grunted and got up, then descended on all fours to the floor, cracking his spine and hooves.

"Ugh, ah hate that sound!" The orange mare complained as she stood close to the door.

"Then cover your ears!" Caesar snapped.

"Ugh!" She huffed and went to the kitchen.

The young colt immediately smelled apple pie, making his mouth water slightly. Grandma Smith sure made the best pies in the whole of Equestria. She was also a good mare, and he respected her fully because of it.

As soon as he made his way to the kitchen, she smiled at him. "Hey cutie, sleep well?"

"Hn."

"Excellent! Now dear, would yah like som' pie?"

"More like twenty." Applejack snorted, earning a fierce glare of the colt.

"Oh, I know he is of big appetite, so I have stocked well."

Caesar nodded at her, his face blank.

When he received his food, he said, "Thank you, Granny Smith."

"Oh yah are such a gentle colt!"

Applejack pretended to gag, and Caesar shot a smirk in her direction.

The old mare shook her head at their antics. "Alright! Finish up, school is waiting for yah!"

"….so Princess Celestia banished her sister and saved Equestria from being eternally dark. This was a very important point in pony history. Any questions, fillies?"

Caesar had tuned out the teacher by the time she began talking about Princess Celestia. It's not that it wasn't interesting, but he had already read about it, so it made it repetitive. Stealing a glance, he saw Applejack paying close attention. He rolled his eyes.

"Now, let us see if you were paying attention to my lecture." She looked at the class sternly. "Alright, let's start with Applejack."

She looked at her teacher right away. "Ma'am?"

"What was the original name of Nightmare Moon before being banished?"

"Princess Luna, ma'am."

"Good, ten points on your next test, sweetie."

The class began murmuring, some throwing insults. "Poor," "know it all," "teacher's pet." Caesar's ears were picking some of these things, and he could not help but scowl. How dare they? She was just being a good student. What was their excuse to behave so horribly?

"Caesar Ironhoof?"

"Hn."

The teacher smiled, knowing how this student behaved. "How long ago did the war between Celestia and Nightmare Moon take place?"

"There is no estimation, it was too long ago." Came his monotone response.

"Correct!" She beamed at him. "Ten points on your next test."

Caesar rolled his eyes. Some students saw that and giggled. They knew he wasn't the teacher's pet for sure and never got involved unless called upon. He could be an exile, but he was "cool" in that sense. Not to mention the fact that he was the only one to stand up to the upper years. Indeed, they wondered why he only liked to spend time with Applejack.

The teacher continued reigning in her tyranny, calling out those students that failed to answer correctly, while praising those that were close to the answer or got it completely. Caesar was bored out of his mind and eagerly waited for lunch so he could devour those seven delicious pies given to him by Granny Smith. That lady was amazing.

Suddenly, much to his happiness, the bell rang. "Alright fillies, please exit through the door carefully and enjoy your lunch!"

Immediately, Applejack made her way towards Caesar, who was waiting by the door patiently.

"Can we sit together for lunch?"

"Hn."

"Thank you." She whispered.

Caesar understood. She did not get harassed anymore, thanks to him he guessed, but she liked his presence, so they could talk or at least be in companion silence. The colt did not put buts or ifs, she was good enough to have alongside him. She deserved it, too.

Once they sat on a bench and began eating, did Applejack open her mouth, "Ah would like to learn those fancy moves of yours."

The colt stared at her for a bit before continuing to devour his pie. As he finished, he stared at her again, but this time with a calculating look. "You will need to keep up, train every single day."

"Ah do it."

"You will also meditate so you don't get snappy all the time."

Applejack rolled her eyes with a smile. "Yes, ah do it."

"Hn."

"Is that a yes?"

"Did I stutter?"

She laughed and saw how the colt had the shadow of a smirk on his face. Some in the school said he was as cold as a rock, but she knew, deep down, he was warm, probably warmer than most of the other fillies.

"Well, today marks yah first week at mah house!" She smiled. "We should celebrate!"

"Training will do." He smirked. "Are you up for the challenge?"

"Yah can bet yar fringe ah am!"

Nodding, he continued with his lunch, just as she did with her sandwich. For the rest of the period, they enjoyed the silence and watched as their fellow students played. The teacher smiled at their direction. She was satisfied that Caesar had made a friend after so long.

"You have to kick the tree as hard as you can." Caesar began, "Strength is important but above all, a keen mind is the most important trait of a mighty warrior."

Applejack nodded slowly and began practicing, kicking the three with her right and left hooves. For five hours, both were just outside the farm, training. Big McIntosh shook his head slowly, his mouth wide open. He could not believe this little colt was that versed in those kinds of fancy techniques.

Might explain tha fact that he defended Applejack at school. He thought with a small smile.

"Am I doing well?"

Caesar smirked and said, "You are decent."

"Decent?" She shrieked. "Ah think am good enough!"

"Then why do you ask me if you know you are good at it?" He countered, with the same maddening smirk on his face.

She growled. "Ugh, yah are… so… so… annoying!"

The colt chuckled. "Just keep up with your training, mare."

"Mah name is Applejack, how many times do ah have to say it?"

"Hasn't been enough, it seems."

Big McIntosh fought the urge to laugh out loud after hearing their banter. It was funny how their friendship usually depended on snapping and arguing. Yet, anypony could see that they had developed a very close bond.

The red colt then smiled slowly. Caesar kept lecturing that a warrior needed a keen mind. Had he been starting those arguments to see if Applejack was fast enough to retort? Nah, he may be smart, but he was just a small colt, nonetheless. It was working, however. Finally, he guessed that Caesar kept making arguments to get a raise out of her. The colt seemed satisfied each and every time she snapped at him.

For another three hours, they kept training, with Applejack changing her routine to do pushups while Caesar meditated after having been training alongside his orange colored friend.

It was obvious for Big McIntosh that his little sister had found a loyal companion. Taking a glance at that colt, he saw for the first time how he had a strong looking horn, with a deep, almost dark blue color on his body. His eyes were a steely onyx, which was… rare to say the least. He had heard Applejack mention that Caesar's eyes were strange, in a good way. His fringe was the most intriguing part. Very, very black.

"Hey, mare." Caesar called, "It is time to go inside, move your butt, fast."

The mare in question groaned. "Coming."

As they trotted together towards the farm, she asked, "You do this every single day?"

"Hn."

"No matter, I will keep up."

Turning his head, he smirked. This Applejack was truly, shockingly, something else.

"You better keep the end of your bargain." He commented, then smirked when she scowled and ran after him.

"Ah show ya mah bargain!"

Caesar scowled as his parents took him to visit Rarity, the young mare and magic apprentice of his mother. He did not say it out loud, but he hated sharing his parents with anyone else. He would put no resistance if it was Applejack and her family; they were exempted from that rule. However, since it was his mother's job to teach, he wouldn't raise the issue. Unless it was duly required.

As soon as his parents left with the other two bumbling fools he presumed were the parents of the mare in question towards a long, fine looking table, he went to take a seat at a sofa close to the door, ready and eager to leave. He was looking forward to continue his training sessions with Applejack. They were the high point of the day for him. He would never admit that, though.

"Hello darling." He heard a soft, elegant voice to his left.

Turning, he saw a young mare, his age, staring at him with wide, blue eyes and a bright smile. She had a white color and her fringe was a kind of violent. She displayed and screamed royalty, which only helped to annoy Caesar even more.

"Hn." He grunted and nodded very slightly in her direction.

Rarity frowned. "Hey, are you able to talk, dear?"

He scowled. "Only when it is truly needed."

Gasping, the young mare narrowed her eyes. "So, am I someone unimportant to you?"

"You guessed right."

"Ugh, how dare you!" She growled. "Why do you hate me?"

Caesar shrugged. "I don't hate you, I simply don't care what you want or think."

"Well… at least you are honest."

"Hn."

Silence descended on the young lings. Caesar took a glimpse at his parents, as they were seating and laughing with the other two fools. They were most likely discussing the pay arrangements of Rarity, her lessons to be exact. His mother was a very good teacher, he had to admit, but maybe he was being bias. However, the fact that Rarity's family had hired her spoke of praise and excellence in that profession. He was proud of his parents, to say the least.

His father was an excellent merchant, and always fought for the best deals. From what he heard them discuss, it seemed his father's business was doing rather well thanks to the trade routes being paved between Ponyville and the capital of the kingdom.

The other mare, much to his dismay, began babbling about some beauty dresses and how being in contact with the fashion world was extremely important. Caesar pretended to be listening in order to not incur the wrath of his mother later on if the mare started weeping. Seriously…..

"….and one has to care for the body too! To appear dashing, you know?"

"Hn."

Rarity smiled. "You are the first to pay attention to these kinds of lectures of mine."

The colt rolled his eyes in response, and then put his head on the warm pillow. Within minutes, he started snoring, quite loudly.

Amused, the mare right next to him put a blanket on him. That action did not go unnoticed by Caesar.

Finally, after another hour of useless talk, his parents woke him up and left the rather elegant house. Caesar admitted, inside his mind, that Rarity was nice, generous even, but her fashion ranting and constant nagging was extremely tiring, as his head screamed of it. He needed to meditate, as soon as possible.

"How was Rarity, champ?" His father smirked at his direction as they trotted towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Caesar looked at his father and raised an eyebrow, "She was decent enough."

The response to that comment was laughter. His mother chuckled somewhat. What was wrong with his parents now? Maybe some kind of sickness got to them because of talking to the other two bumbling idiots?

He hoped that wasn't the case. His parents were what he was training for, the desire to protect them in case something bad happened. You never knew, not even Equestria was always going to be peaceful. Something, deep inside him, screamed that training was needed to protect his family and close ones. He would always answer that call, no matter what.

"Granny Smith has said you have been obedient and courteous, Caesar."

"Hn."

His mother smiled. "Your birthday is in a few weeks, but we would like to give you this now."

Raising an eyebrow, he watched as his mother got a book out of her bag. It was titled 'Rising Magician: Volume I.' "This is the best book to learn spells at a young age. I heard Princess Celestia assigns them to the students at the capital."

"And, we know how much you like magic." His father smiled warmly and gave him a hug. "Just another week and you will go back home, Caesar, I know you miss it."

Caesar just nodded, his face blank, but his onyx colored eyes showed a ray of happiness. Lily loved seeing that.

"Alright, keep up with the training, sweetie, because next week, we will start with more spells."

"Hn."

The young colt knew this book had to be extremely expensive, so he decided that pleasing his parents would be best, for now.

"Thank you for this gift, I won't disappoint you." There, with that, he knew his parents would be content.

He did not expect, however, a strong hug from both. A group hug, more like it. It completely took him by surprise, to say the least.

"We will see you later, champ." His father ruffled his fringe softly before stepping back.

Lily smiled warmly, her eyes glassy. "I am proud of you, for making a new friend in Applejack." After hearing a grunt behind her, she chuckled. "We are so proud of you, Caesar."

Lifting his head proudly, he smirked at his mother. "Thank you, mother." He nodded at the other colt. "Father."

She shook her head, amused at his show of pride. "We will see you next week."

And with that, his parents left Sweet Apple Acres.

Caesar watched them leave with a soft smile on his face. It became a frown as soon as he heard Applejack's voice.

"Awww, yah are so cute."

"Don't you have anything else to do, mare? Besides spying on me?"

Applejack laughed, a pretty smile on her face. "I love bothering yah, that's why."

"Hn."

"Seriously, yah are a great colt, yah treat your parents with such respect and yah are kind to them too."

He looked at her as if she was crazy. "Of course, it is my duty as their son and only heir to venerate them."

She smiled warmly. "Come on, let us go do some training, yah?"

Caesar nodded, a small smirk on his face. "Today you learn high punches, better be prepared, mare."

Applejack gulped.

"My parents felt that I should attend school." Rarity spoke with her usual elegant voice. "So, I joined you two this year, isn't it fun?"

Caesar groaned loudly, earning a chuckle from Applejack and a glare from Rarity.

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"Because you are annoying."

"Why?"

The colt snorted as lunch period continued. "Because you keep talking about useless trivia, like your dresses and fashion, completely idiotic."

Applejack frowned. "That is enough, Caesar."

They both saw the mare at the point of tears. "You hate me, don't you?" She asked, her lip quivering.

Caesar rolled his eyes. "I told you, I do not hate you, I only find your incessant babbling completely useless."

"Fine!" She snapped. "What do you want me to talk about?"

"Hn." He grunted as he continued devouring his lunch. "Anything other than your fashion nonsense."

And so, Rarity and Applejack descended into talking about, well, apples. Rarity praised the other mare's family work on them, saying they never disappointed with flavor and always looked forward to eating them.

Everything was well until Applejack invited Rarity to her farm. Caesar was going to protest, but a fierce glare from Applejack stopped him, completely. The nerve….

However, he ran with extreme luck this time. Rarity was needed for a family gathering. Thank Princess Celestia and any other deity around for that….

"I don't understand, why do you treat Rarity like that?" Applejack asked him with a frown as they made their way to the farm alongside Big McIntosh. "She never does anything to you!"

"Because her babbling is annoying to me." He shrugged. "You talk about good trivia, debate and argue with me, which is satisfying for my mind."

Big McIntosh smirked at that comment.

"And Rarity doesn't?" The orange filly asked.

Caesar snorted. "All she does is babble, never lets you talk unless you say dress and fashion, along with please."

In the end, Applejack laughed but continued to argue with Caesar about his… less than satisfactory conduct. Fine, if she wanted him to be positive about that mare, he would simply leave them be. Like he needed them!

He did not dare to admit, but he was jealous of Rarity and how she was being able to pull Applejack to a friendship with her. How dare that princess cut his friendship ties?

No matter, it was Applejack's choice, not his. He would leave them be and sit away so they could chat about their idiotic topics while he enjoyed some peace…

Applejack frowned as Caesar sat far away from them. She was shocked when he looked at her and scowled. What was wrong with him? What did she do to anger him so much? Was it something she said earlier in the day?

"What happened to Caesar?" Rarity asked, concern in her voice. "He doesn't seem happy."

He never did seem happy, but to sit far away from her? Applejack needed to find out what was the problem before it grew out of proportions. Her best friend was acting weird, and a solution was needed as soon as possible. She excused herself from Rarity and started walking.

Tentatively, almost with caution, she approached him, "Caesar?"

"Hn."

"What are ya doing here?"

He stared at her, and then his eyes moved towards Rarity. "Aren't you going to babble with the Princess of the Fashion World about useless topics?"

After staring at him for a few seconds, she gasped slightly. Ah… She understood, perfectly. Applejack smiled. "Caesar, are you jealous?"

The colt scoffed. "Jealous of what?"

"Yah know what ah am talking about." She shook her head with a smile and gave him a strong hug, taking him off guard. "Rarity may be a good friend, but yah will always be mah best friend."

Those words… seemed to satisfy him. Deep inside, that colossal urge to protect his close ones ceased, for the moment.

"Hn."

"Alright, grumpy, let's go sit back with Rarity."

He silently obeyed. Today had been important for him. Caesar always thought he would never do it, but now he had to. He had learned to share, and Applejack was… worth that sacrifice, even if it pained him to do so.

Walking towards the store, Caesar thought of the recent turn of events. Rarity seemed a nice enough mare, and after a few days, she was decent enough in his opinion.

The training with Applejack was paying off. He felt stronger, and she could feel that Applejack was also way stronger than before. The fact that she enjoyed training made him realize that having a sparring partner was most excellent for his goal.

His stay at Sweet Apple Acres would end in three days, though. As disappointed as he felt, he… missed his parents, as much as he hated to admit it. Of course, there was no doubt that he would keep visiting Applejack… he needed to see how she was keeping up with her training, after all. It also gave him a good enough excuse to continue arguing with her. It never failed to entertain him.

"Hello!" A bubbly, high pitched voice sounded. "You are new in town, right? No, I am new, how silly!"

Caesar saw a pink filly mare, probably his age, bouncing on her hooves, smiling at him. "I am Pinkie Pie, I love parties, and they are amazing. You should come to my house next week; I will make a huge party, since I am new in town! My parents are kind of mad for being like this, but I still say that laughing and partying are the way to go and live happy!"

The young colt was completely shocked. How… how could this mare babble so much? The capacity on her lungs… must have been amazing. Slowly, he stepped back, shocked, confused, afraid and annoyed, all at the same time.

"You must totally come, it will be fun and there will be cake, and balloons, and music and tons, tons, tons of food!"

While the food part sounded tempting, Caesar was literally afraid of this pony. She seemed… insane, not in touch with reality, perhaps?

"I will also invite all other fillies! It will be fun. I already invited Applejack, and she said that you were on your way to the store, so I came here to look for you! I was so lucky to see you!"

…TRAITOR!. His mind screamed at Applejack. While she probably did not know this pink menace was going to drive him insane, retaliation would still take place.

But… she was going to the party then. Wait a second, when did she go to Sweet Apple Acres? He just came from there and he saw no one entering. This pony was sure fast then… or maybe she was having a delusional trip regarding Applejack?

"So, are you coming or not?" She smiled prettily at him, her eyes shining.

"No." He replied flatly.

And with that, he turned and began walking towards the store. What he did not know was that when Pinkie Pike frowned, things would not turn to be great.

This is when Caesar learned his second lesson. Never attempt to deny Pinkie Pie.

And he would pay dearly for it.

Vegeta/Caesar is slowly learning friendship lessons as his childhood goes. One thing is certain, he will still be learning a lot by the time Twilight comes to the picture. Do not worry, he will also meet the other ponies. A highlight will be Rainbow Dash. You will see. Anyway, any other suggested pairings? Perhaps some ideas you want to share? Tell me in the reviews section. Don't miss the next chapter, Caesar/Vegeta vs Pinkie Pie! Thank you for reading!