The rays of the morning sun reached into the bedroom. Sensing the change, Mathew began to stir. His eyes slowly crept open and lazily trailed over to the clock on the nightstand. It was a little past six twenty. He took a deep breath, enjoying the faint traces of cool mist in the morning air of Spring, with the slightest hints of the flowers from the garden outside of Canterlot castle.
It was another pleasant morning, compliments of Celestia. Mathew had come to enjoy the subtle beauty of Equestria, even though he had been confined to the castle grounds for health reasons – the doctors did not want him wandering too far from aid, in case he had another magical surge. He felt that the real reason had to do with the fact that he might have a part of a dangerous enemy within him, but accepted the little lie just because it made things less problematic for him.
The faint sound of gently fluttering feathers drew Mathew out of his morning haze. It was a welcome sound. He sat up in bed and turned to the open window. He did not have to wait long. Luna soon flew in through the window, landing softly on the plush violet carpeting. The lunar princess turned her head toward Mathew and the two shared a smile, exchanging friendly morning greetings.
Mathew was relieved to see her, and a bit happy. Luna had gained quite a few points on the friendship scale with him over the past week. Despite the rough and awkward start between them, the two opposite beings had found enjoyment in the company of one another. For Luna, she had a new friend with vast amounts of mysterious and exciting tales of a far away world. In Mathew’s eyes, Luna had been very kind and honest to him, which helped him warm up to her. He appreciated her efforts to keep him comfortable, as well as ease his mental struggles with adapting to his, for the time being, new home.
However, the thing that really made Luna stand out as a good friend, was how she could get Mathew to laugh. Much to each of their surprise, they both had a wide range for their senses of humor. Their first side splitting moment had come from one of their conversations about the anatomy of their races. Luna had remarked on how interesting it would be to walk on two legs, like a human, and be so agile. Mathew had pictured the equine in such a pose and, without even thinking, said that she could do it if she wanted to.
Luna had raised her brow at Mathew’s words, but, since he had taken the step in that direction, felt it might be interesting to see how convincing he could be in his point. He told her that humans all were born helpless, eventually growing strong enough to crawl around on all fours. Humans could manage to walk on two legs by the time they were a year old – all it took was practice and help from the parents. To further prove his argument, he said he could demonstrate how humans could move on all fours and get up onto two legs.
Luna had held doubt, but when she watched Mathew get down on the floor and walk around, quite ridiculously, on all fours, she started to give Mathew the benefit of the doubt. Mathew struggled to keep his amusement in check during the whole display. He hoped that Luna had known that he was just pulling her leg, but when she went to lift her front hooves off the ground and balance on her back ones, the poor guy could not help but clamp a hand over his mouth.
Luna had been focused on the task, and only when she looked at Mathew for approval did she see the err in her judgment. She would have been upset that he had fooled her, but even she could not help but laugh when she realized how ridiculous she looked. The moment she let her own giggle slip past her lips, the avalanche of laughter gave way until they had tears in their eyes. Mathew apologized in the end, but the moment had sparked a small competition between them to best the other in subtle jokes.
Fortunately for Mathew, they usually waited until after breakfast before letting their humor war commence. Mathew slipped out of his bed, shaking his leg to get the pant-leg to slide down from being bunched up under the sheets. He had been grateful to Luna for his new pajama bottoms, as well as the other clothing she had ordered to be made, the silver silk fabric was divine.
As Mathew stood, he gave Luna a slight bow of his head and grinned. “So, what’s on the schedule for today, Luna?” he asked playfully.
Luna hummed and smiled a pinch wider. Though she did her best to hide a mischievous glint in her turquoise eyes, she knew Mathew could tell she had something planned. One of the many mysteries about him had been how he seemed able to read the expressions of everypony around him. Still, she held onto her role and remained secretive about her intent. “Oh, I thought I would surprise you this morning. There are not as many royal duties for me to attend to this day, so my schedule was a bit open,” Luna said. She put a bit of effort into nonchalantly turning her gaze to the side, acting as if she had not been planning the upcoming day. Of course, she did struggle to keep a smirk from growing on her face as she continued her playful antics.
Mathew lifted one brow and gazed at her curiously. Oh he knew she was up to something. It was her turn to pull the next prank, after all. He decided to play along, getting into his own character by getting mildly excited and placing his hand up to his chin. Rubbing in mock thought he said, “Oh, really? So does that mean we have the whole day to spend together? If I didn’t know better, I’d start to think that you were proposing a date with me?”
Luna’s jaw dropped open and her eyes went wide. “I-I- That was not our intent! We simply wished to show thou something new and fun this day! It was merely our hope that thou could enjoy a gift from us!” she stammered.
Mathew chuckled and grinned widely. “Don’t worry, I know. It’s just so cute when you get nervous – you slip into that adorable way of speaking and it’s too good to pass up a chance to coax you into it,” he teased. Then his grin turned to a friendly smile. “And I’d love to receive your gift. I look forward to seeing it and thanks for thinking so highly of me. It’s an honor that you tolerate me enough to be so generous.”
He continued to smile as he watched Luna’s shocked expression simmer into a smirk. It was hard to be too upset with him, since she also found the little tick of hers to be slightly funny. She had gotten much better over the years, only slipping into her old Royal Canterlot way of speaking when she was formally addressing others or nervous. At least she no longer slipped into the loud booming voice anymore.
Luna sighed with a smile and she turned to the door. “When you are ready, you may follow me. I shall wait for you outside.”
Mathew nodded and, once Luna had left the room, proceeded to change into the proper attire for an outing. He went with his new grey jeans, a white shirt, and sprayed his body with a substitute deodorant – which was essentially a perfume that smelled like cinnamon apple cobbler. For the sake of his pride, and masculinity, he picked it simply to avoid smelling like a girl with the other various flower-scented perfumes.
He then slipped on his socks and shoes and proceeded to join Luna in the hallway. As usual, Mathew politely greeted the two guards that stood outside his room, receiving the usual grunt in response. Mathew could not blame them, they were on duty after all, so he simply shrugged it off and followed the lunar princess. He tailed her through the grand halls of the castle until they reached the large dining hall.
The smell of freshly made salad, hot bread rolls, and perfectly prepared eggs greeted his nose as they entered the room. Mathew and Luna wasted little time and took their seats at a smaller table, one that seated ten ponies. Within moments, waiters entered the room and swiftly placed the assortment of food down, only for them to vanish after.
Mathew had found the occurrence quite odd the first time, but had since grown used to it. He took in a whiff of the breakfast and smiled contentedly. “Smells as good as ever. Your chefs are really good at their work,” he stated as he reached for his fork.
Luna smiled and nodded. “I agree, I think they may be trying to impress you… especially with the compliments you keep giving about their cooking. Especially Quick Whisk, I think you made his day when you said how good the cheesecake was.”
Mathew chuckled as he took a bite of the light and perfectly crisp pouched egg. There was no way to deny, the ponies had insanely good cooking skills. He was even shocked by how sweet and crunchy the tulip sandwich was, the other day. Mathew swallowed the bite of food and gave a satisfied smile. “You can’t say anything less about this food, it’s really the best every time. I’d be a liar if I said this wasn’t the best food I’ve ever had in my life,” Mathew said.
The two finished their breakfast, enjoying the flavors as well as the good company. When they were done, Mathew asked Luna where they were going to go next. Her answer was not what he had expected, but still one that he was happy to hear. Their next stop was the castle gardens. Mathew had only caught glimpses of the gardens through the windows of the castle a few times. The big grin on his face showed just how pleased he was with the idea.
Mathew walked alongside Luna, through the grand halls of the castle, and out through a set of large pristine white doors. The warm rays of the sun welcomed him as he exited the castle. It was a gorgeous morning. He came to realize that he had come to a stop when Luna’s soft giggle redirected his attention from the morning’s beauty.
“Looks like my sister’s sun has gained another fan,” Luna teased.
Mathew chuckled and briskly caught up to Luna. “Nah, it’s not just her sun, this whole place is nice. I’ve always liked this kind of natural beauty. Even with the huge white castle here, everything is just crafted in a way that it all compliments together quite well,” he said with a warm smile.
Luna smiled as well, happy that their outing had started off better than she had hoped. Mathew walked with her, well… as best as he could while taking in the pretty views of the large garden. He noticed that they seemed to be heading toward the high arch that led into a maze hedge. The confirmation came when he caught a sly glance from Luna as they neared it.
Mathew stopped just outside of the maze, Luna doing so after a few steps into it. She turned back to him with a curious smile and the glint of mischief in her eyes. “What is the matter? Have you never been in a maze before?” she asked playfully, with the faintest bit of a teasing tone hidden beneath.
Mathew simply cocked his head slightly and glanced around the opening of the hedge. He also gained a playful grin as he looked back toward Luna, meeting her turquoise gaze with his light blue. “I’ve been in a few mazes. This is the first one that’s higher than eight feet, though. I hope you don’t plan to try and get me lost inside,” he said.
Luna chuckled and shook her head. “Were it some other time, I might, but for now… the gift I have lies within,” she assured Mathew, but could not help but find the thought of getting him lost inside very entertaining.
Mathew laughed a little and gave a playful bow. “Lead the way. I’m even more intrigued to find what it is you have for me – in a maze of all places,” he said and gestured for Luna to lead with his hand.
Luna led Mathew through many winding turns and paths. He made sure to count off the turns as they went, mentally keeping track so he could retrace his steps if Luna had intended to prank him. All the while he started to feel Luna’s excitement – her star-filled mane had even started to billow more in that unseen ethereal wind. Then, after taking another left turn, Luna stopped and flared out her wings.
Mathew stopped right behind her and raised an eyebrow at her. She turned her head to him and, with a seemingly fearful look in her eye, spoke to him ever so softly. “This, that I’m about to show you, is something that I hold very dear. You will not find anything like it outside of this place… I hope you like it.”
With that said, Luna dropped her wings and moved to the side. Mathew’s eyes popped open and his mouth opened slightly as he saw what had been behind Luna. Pure white flowers, like a mix of rose and lotus, adorned every wall. In the shadow of the hedge, he could see that each flower had a faint glow to them as well. The flowers were gorgeous. Mathew had no words as he approached a cluster of the white beauties that grew from an ornate stone pot. He leaned in and took a tentative sniff of the buds. His eyes popped open as he realized he had smelled the same scent before.
Mathew turned a good-humored eye of suspicion toward Luna. “These smell like you. And they are breathtakingly beautiful… they remind me of the moon. What are they called?” he asked.
Luna had a faint blush, realizing that Mathew had picked up on her scent, but she was more pleased that he seemed to like the surprise. She walked to a flower and smelled it as well, smiling as she did so. “These are Lunar Roses. They are my favorite flowers. I used to have a whole field of them… before I was banished to the moon. I was overjoyed when Celestia showed me this place. She had saved as many as she could for me. On some nights, I’ll come here just to enjoy their soft glow and relaxing aroma. They remind me of joyful days, when I was young and so much happier,” she said as a pure and genuine smile of happiness filled her features.
Mathew suddenly held a whole new appreciation for the flower filled space within the maze. Luna had shown him one of her most precious treasures. The weight of such an act was not unnoticed by him, even though he was guilty of being dense to this sort of thing normally. He turned to Luna and smiled more warmly than he had ever done for her, thus far. “Luna… thank you for showing me this. I’m honored that you let me see something so precious to you. I’d like to come back… to see what it looks like under your night sky. I bet it would be just as pretty,” he said.
Mathew turned back to the flowers and reached up to gently touch one of the petals. Luna noticed the act, but was too late to warn him. His fingers brushed against the soft petals and were cut by the leaf beneath them. He jerked his hand away, hissing from the sting of the wound. Luna rushed to him and grasped his hand in her silvery magic. Mathew let her inspect the wound.
Luna sighed with mild relief. “Good, it doesn’t look like you have any barbs from the leaf in you, they can make the wound hurt more – eventually leading to infection, but…” her voice faded and she leaned in closer to the bleeding hand.
Mathew looked at her, wondering why she had trailed off. He looked at his wound again and saw what had caused Luna’s pause. His cuts had stopped bleeding and were already closing. There was a faint pale mist seeping out as the cuts sealed shut. Once they had sealed completely, the blood simply turned black and flaked away, leaving his hand as good as new.
Mathew shared a look of surprise and slight uncertainty with Luna. “Well… that was strange,” he said in a near whisper.
“Indeed…” Luna agreed. “Healing magic is rare in Equestria and takes a lot of concentration to perform. It would seem that whatever magic lies within you has given you quite a rare gift to your regeneration. I wonder if the few lessons you’ve had in basic magic practice has anything to do with this,” she said, slightly fascinated by the idea.
Mathew was impressed by what he just saw, but there was still a feeling of unease about it. It was still unreal to see his flesh mend like that, let alone having succeeded in catching on to using magic. He could already levitate objects as heavy as books, but he resisted actively using magic. It was still too unnatural for his human instincts. If anything… he was afraid at how quickly he had caught on to using magic.
Suddenly, Luna realized she had touched on the landmine. She had spoken with Mathew about his discomfort with his magic, and only then realized that she had been careless about her praising him just then. She took a breath to apologize, but Mathew’s hand stopped her, his fingers gently touching her lips. He shook his head and gave her a small smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll get over it. You don’t need to feel sorry about that. It was kinda cool, to be honest.” he said to her, keeping his voice calm and using a warmer tone to get his point across.
Luna nodded, returning the smile. They spent a few more minutes enjoying the flowers before they decided it was time to head back to the castle…
~~***~~
Mathew and Luna exited the maze about ten minutes later. She had taken him a different way, showing him a few other nice spots within. As they left the hedge, Mathew felt an urge to look up. His gaze wandered across the sides of Canterlot Castle. Within moments he spotted the multi-colored ethereal mane of Celestia; she was standing on one of the balconies.
Mathew knew instantly that she had been watching him, for how long he could not tell, but he knew her eyes were fixed on him. He pulled out a smile and waved up to her. “Hey, there’s your sister, Luna,” he said. Luna turned to him and followed his gaze to spot her big sister outside of her room, standing on the balcony. She smiled and nodded to her sister.
Celestia nodded back, letting a warm smile take over her features. The smile faded once she was sure Luna had looked away. She kept her eyes on Mathew as he followed Luna back into the castle. A little while ago she knew she had felt something amiss. Mathew’s unique magic had flared for a moment and it had done so outside of the castle. She had not been all that pleased that the human could use magic.
She still worried about the unknown magic within the human. To make her worries worse, Luna had grown very close to him over the week. If it were under any other circumstance, Celestia would have been delighted to see her little sister making a new friend. Sadly, she could not be happy, not with the fear of Nightmare Moon’s mysterious plot remaining an unknown.
The final piece of information, that had solidified Celestia’s mistrust in Mathew, had come from one of the times Luna had shared the human race’s history. They were intelligent, inventive, and capable of war… very capable. Humans had carved out their place on Earth by subduing all other forms of life on their world. For Celestia, that news had made the human a bigger threat in her eyes.
Unfortunately, Celestia’s warnings had fallen on Luna’s unwilling ears. She could not convince her little sister to give up on her time with the human. In fact, Luna had become more determined to be with him, saying that Celestia could not see the gentler side of him because she had let herself be blinded by doubt. There was nothing more to be done for Luna, so Celestia settled on having the human under constant watch instead.
Thus far, nothing had been out of the ordinary, but Celestia would wait for another thousand years if she had to – she would go to any lengths to be rid of Nightmare Moon…
~~***~~
A few days had passed since Mathew had been to the maze with Luna. He was focused on the words of the tan unicorn at the front of the room. It was another magic class, the subject was on regulating the flow of magic during spell casting. Mathew had been a bit uncomfortable, since he had managed to get into a more advanced class for his knack for magic, but it was fortunate that the other unicorn students around him were paying rapt attention to the professor.
Mathew had been listening to the professor speak about how the proper usage of magical power would change the strength of the spell. It was a little bit past what he had already heard in basic magic, with the differences being in exactly how each change in the magical flow would alter a spell. The current example had to do with a barrier. Adding too much magic to the spell would create a weak barrier, easily broken. To counter such a weakness, adding additional power to the spell during the duration, rather than during the initiation of the spell, would give the barrier strength.
Oddly enough, Mathew had already figured out that much, and on his own to boot. Though it was a bit rude, Mathew allowed his thoughts to wander. He really did not want to do magic anymore. The only reason he had accepted to do so was because Luna had made a very valid point. He needed to know just how far his magical power could go. There was no known way to get him back to earth, but new spells were being created every other week, on average, so he might be able to find the way on his own.
Still… he hated magic. The way it felt as he used it was just so… repulsive. Every time he tapped into the magic within his body he would feel such a thrill from it. The sensation was almost as good as climaxing with a lover, but in a twisted way. The best way he had found to describe it was: it’s like I’m getting sadistic satisfaction every time I cast a spell – as if the power could tear apart everything in my way and feel incredibly good to do so.
It took quite a bit of time, each day after his classes, for him to calm himself afterward. It was another reason why he enjoyed Luna’s company. She was the only one who could find the right gestures and words that would ease Mathew’s troubled mind. He wondered what she was up to, just then. He also wondered if he could ever get Celestia to stop looking at him like he was some criminal. She had not been to see him since the first few days after he had recovered – instead she always stayed at a distance with her piercing eyes watching his every move.
“Ahem!” The sound of the professor’s voice suddenly brought Mathew back to the class. Two of the young colt unicorns were standing at the front of the class beside the professor. Mathew suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. He had missed something and the entire class had their eyes on him. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry, Professor Glint, I was lost in thought.” he said, sincerely sorry for not paying attention to the lecture.
The professor chuckled. “I’m sure you have plenty on your mind, Mathew, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lose track of my teachings. I asked if you’d like to join these two in a demonstration.” The old stallion asked, the small spectacles on the end of his muzzle shifting with his smirk.
Mathew nodded and stood. The majority of the class consisted of young colts and fillies, barely higher than his knees, so seeing him rise always made them gaze in awe. Even the professor had to admit that is was a sight to see, since the only one taller than Mathew was Celestia – by a mere four inches.
Mathew joined the other two students. The three of them had been faced toward the rest of the class. “Now,” Professor Glint started. “For this demonstration, I’d like the three of you to perform your own barrier spells. Use what you know and make the sturdiest one you can manage.” he told the three of them.
The first colt flared his horn. His bright green magic gently flowed from his horn and formed into a transparent sphere around him.
The second colt’s magic flowed out a little faster, forming a yellow sphere, but his wasn’t as perfectly shaped.
Mathew’s turn came. He lifted his hands and, to make sure he did it right, he went through the steps briefly within his mind. He calmly set his thoughts into focusing on the feeling of his magic. His hands started to glow with a pale blue aura, signaling a flawless tap into his power. Then came the initiation of the spell. He pictured what it was he wanted to create and allowed his magic to mold to his thoughts. Then, the application of the spell, letting his magic flow out to conform to his will.
So far, the spell had gone as he wanted it, but the professor had asked for the sturdiest barrier they could make. Mathew took his next step to finalize his spell. He added a second spell to the barrier; a solidification application to add more stability to the barrier. With that in place he added the final component to it, more magic, with a clockwise rotation to make the barrier more resilient.
He felt satisfied with his work and looked over to the teacher. Mathew was a bit shocked to see Professor Glint’s mouth hanging open. For a second, Mathew thought he had done something wrong. Professor Glint’s gaping expression soon shifted to a gleeful grin. “Now THAT is a superb barrier! Take a good look class, this is exactly what I was telling you earlier.” he said as he moved to the first colt’s barrier. “Our first example, it is a solid cast of the spell and follows the steps perfectly, but it lacks the power behind it to stay up against a simple buck. Our second example shows what happens when you don’t use the proper balance of magic in the initiation of the spell. The result leaves you with a weak barrier that will crumble on its own in a matter of minutes.”
The professor then walked over and stood in front of Mathew’s barrier. “And this, class, our third example provided by Mathew, is how a near perfect barrier should be cast. He applied the perfect amount of magic to give the spell its form and then applied his magic a second time after the application of the spell to give it the stability to last for hours.” He then turned his attention to the class, a smile plastered across his face. “But Mathew did something else, which I am surprised to see he knew how to do it. He added a third layer to the barrier spell. He gave it a spin. Does anyone know what happens when you add a spin to a barrier spell?” he asked, scanning the students for any who might know. The lack of hooves raised made him smile a bit more; he enjoyed having this kind of a leg up on his classes. “A rotation, the application of magic to cause the energy to move continuously in a specific direction, causes a repulsion effect. Simply put, the spin makes it difficult for any physical or magical attack to affect the barrier’s matrix. It gives an additional layer of protection, allowing the barrier to withstand up to six times more force than a stationary barrier.”
The class was struck with the incredible feat they had seen. Sadly, they had not heard the last of the amazingness yet. “To put this example into a better point of view, it would take a very powerful spell to get through this barrier, probably a spell strong enough to leave a crater fifty feet wide – one in the range that only our Alicorn princesses are capable of.” Professor Glint’s words rang out into the room.
Suddenly, Mathew realized he had gone too far. The way he had made the barrier was simply due to what he had learned, then estimated through small experiments, and put together in the most efficient way he could imagine. Much to his immediate horror, though he did his best to keep his expression calm, he had created such a powerful spell without knowing until it was too late.
Though the class was in a state of awe, and the professor elated to see such a wonderful example of magical ingenuity, Mathew had had enough of the attention. Plus, he really wanted to find somewhere to freak out in solitude. He cleared his throat loudly, cringing as he let some of his nervousness slip through it. “Um… Professor, I’m not feeling well. May I be excused?” he asked, desperately hoping that Glint would not try to push any unwanted praise into the situation.
Professor Glint looked back toward Mathew. He saw the sweat beading on the human’s forehead and decided that it might be a good idea to let his student take a break. He nodded his head. “Yes, very well done, Mathew. Be sure to get plenty of rest.”
Mathew thanked his teacher and went to dispel the barrier… but there was no response. He tried again, going through the steps that should have canceled the spell. Still the barrier held in place. Professor Glint’s smile had started to turn to an expression of concern as he watched Mathew’s struggle. He got right up to the barrier’s edge and looked at Mathew in the eyes. “Mathew, what’s wrong? You can end the spell and go rest.”
Mathew’s expression started to turn to one of frustration. He grunted and tried to get his magic to do as he wanted, but it would not yield. “Professor, I can’t get it to stop. It’s… it won’t respond to me. I’m going through all the steps to stop the spell, but nothing is working. Am I missing something?” Mathew knew there were many ways to cancel a spell, but after he had tried twelve different methods, he wanted another opinion.
Professor Glint removed his spectacles and lit his horn in magic. He felt around Mathew’s barrier, searching for weaknesses, but soon shook his head. “Mathew, I’m afraid this one is above my ability to dispel. We’ll need one of the princesses to aid you, but that may take time. How is your magic feeling? Are you using up too much to maintain the spell?” he asked Mathew. He was doing his best to remain calm, but he was deeply worried about the strain the magic might be putting on the human’s body.
Mathew took a few moments to check his inner flow of magical energy. To his surprise, he was not losing any magic to his spell – it was somehow self-sustaining. Nothing was going the way it normally should, and with his limited knowledge, Mathew’s stress had begun to reach the limit. He looked at Professor Glint and shook his head, sighing heavily. “No, my magic is fine, for the time being. Is there no other way to get out of this?”
Professor Glint thought for a moment. He had a few ideas, but most of the spells were above Mathew’s current education. However… he had faith in Mathew’s ability to process one of the spells without trouble. He fixed Mathew with a firm gaze. “Mathew, listen very carefully, it might be risky to try this, but it’s well within your ability range. If you want to get out of this, you need to find a way to pop your barrier.” he started to say.
Mathew listened to Professor Glint’s every word. The spell he described was a focused beam of magic. The idea behind it was to hit the barrier from within to work against the natural curve to force the magical matrix to warp out and collapse. The risk was minimal, but there was the possibility of having the beam bounce around within the barrier should the power not be strong enough to punch through.
Mathew had reached the point where he wanted to get out of his predicament as soon as possible. If he had to sit inside that barrier for too much longer, he would crack under the pressure and retreat into a sobbing mess. He hated magic and now he had taken his first dose of having a spell backfire – and in a bigger way than he had wanted. He accepted the knowledge for the new beam spell and started testing his magic in preparation for the new cast.
The basics were there for him to easily grasp. Mathew’s only concern was how much power he would need to put into the spell to break through his own barrier. Based on what he knew so far, it would take much more magic than he had used in the past. Once he had a rough idea of how much power to put into the beam, he waited for Professor Glint to finish evacuating the class. The risk of injuring others was there. Too much power behind his spell and Mathew would probably punch a hole through the side of the building.
The classroom was soon empty, save for a few teachers, Professor Glint among them. The teachers combined their magics and created a dampening field of power to absorb Mathew’s beam, should it be too strong. If anyone had learned from the human, it was the fact that their pony-based estimations did not apply to the unique bipedal being. Creating such a powerful barrier after only having magic for no longer than a few weeks had blown any estimation of his progress out of the water – the teachers could only guess as to the exact level of magical potential Mathew possessed.
With a few nods, the professor and company were ready. Mathew took his cue, tapping into his magic again. He formed the base nature of the spell, charged up his power to his estimated requirement, and then… he had a thought. What if this is too much magic? I might hurt them…
He faltered, and the spell activated.
Having lost the focus needed to direct the spell properly, the magic went off randomly. Three beams shot out in different directions, each one pushing through the barrier like a knife through an apple. The two spells reacted and a bright flash of light blinded everypony present. The fading light was then accompanied by a heavy thud on the floor.
Professor Glint was the first one to recover, and he turned to see of Mathew had succeeded in freeing himself from the barrier spell. His eyes shot wide and, with a yell full of terror, he bolted forward to the human’s aid. Mathew was on the floor, cringing in pain, and desperately grasping the bleeding stump that used to be his right arm.
After gathering their thoughts, the rest of the teachers reacted to help Mathew. They only knew basic medical spells, such as numbing ones to relieve pain and minor spells to stop the bleeding, but they knew they had to do something. They started to flare their horns, but suddenly their eyes became fixated on something incredible. Mathew’s injury had begun to glow, swirling white magic engulfing his stump. In mere seconds, his arm had regenerated by an inch, and the blood had evaporated into nothingness.
The teachers all watched in amazed horror as Mathew’s arm mended in front of their eyes… but little did they know that Mathew’s battle for life had only just begun…