As rain began to ping off his brow and nose, King Caesar hurried his pace through the forest. Taking mind to cover Amore’s infant to keep her shielded from the rain, his attention briefly faltered to the other object he was carrying. The shisa instinctively felt his fur stick up and bristle, despite being damp from the rain. He could literally smell the dark magic coming out of King Sombra’s book. He’d grabbed it on a whim while fleeing, it having dropped out of Sombra’s cloak when Caesar bit his horn off. Perhaps it was some quick instinct to act, an attempt to deprive Sombra of a resource, or maybe a small act of spite; but he’d been carrying it along with him all this time. Caesar’s mind was clear on what was to be done about it hower. His brow furrowed and growl curled around his maw.
 
I have to destroy it.
 
King Caesar moved the book up to his jaws and bit down on the cover with the intent to tear the pages out like a weird parody of the classic dog eating the proverbial homework. His fangs dug in to gain purchase but the tearing that tried to follow never came. A thin glowing line of magic aura formed around the book when he tried to bite the cover and first few pages out, protecting them. As he kept moving through the forest in an attempt to find the infant respite from the storm, Caesar attempted all manner of things to try and destroy King Sombra’s book. Clawing at the pages, shaking it hard enough the binding should have come undone, smashing it against a tree, stomping it, pulling it apart; anything. Everything he tried activated that damned preservation spell. After an hour of attempts, Caesar huffed and snarled. Memories of what transpired in the palace were a recent pain. Being too late to the fight, the agonizing wound that still burned within his side, feeling Amore’s hoof go limp in his paw after he made her one last promise. Even now he could still see the murderer’s visage in the shadows.
 
Having failed to tear the book apart one last time, Caesar roared in a mix of rage and emotional agony as he threw it away and into a tree before dropping to his knees. The rain poured down on his slumped over form and he was still, giving a thousand-yard stare into the beyond. Tiny mumbles eventually called out and a little form wriggled against his chest. Amore’s infant, startled awake and scared of the noise, muttered hushed mumbles and pulled her tiny hooves around the shisa’s mane-covered neck while trying to bury her face into it for comfort.
 
“Puu.. Pup-py…”, the tiny voiced squeaked as she clutched closer and shivered, wanting comfort as all babies did.
 
Caesar was still for a time, before slowly shifting to hold the child close to him. He stayed like that, cradling her in the one warm, dry spot on him until she drifted back to sleep. A tear joined the raindrops after he staggered back to his feet.
 
Caesar quietly walked back to the book and picked it up. The pain in his side was agonizing, he’d soon shut down and rest to try and mend it regardless of if he wished it or not. Lacking the ability to destroy it, he’d have to come back for it to find someone who could, as getting Amore’s child to safety was priority one.
 
With a heart full of worry, Caesar eventually found a hollowed tree and stashed the book in it, leaving a mark on the bark with his claws so he could find it later. Holding the baby close, he reluctantly paced off. Later that night a kindly couple would receive her from him, christening the child they came to adopt with the name of their wedding song. She would be called Mi Amore Cadenza.
 
However, King Caesar wouldn’t make it back to the tree.
 
 
Story created by tarbano  
King Caesar is owned by Toho  
Princess Cadance is owned by Hasbro