A wide grassy expanse spread out in all directions on either side of the train tracks. It was quite the sight to see. Canterlot was just a small pristine image on the side of the high mountains behind the train. It would not be long before the train reached the little town of Ponyville.
Mathew had thoroughly enjoyed the scenery as the train traveled. He had spent most of the trip looking out through the window. The rest of the trip had been spent talking with Twilight Sparkle. She had been on a near endless quest for knowledge, asking numerous questions about Mathew and the world he came from.
The highlight of his day had been when Twilight had asked him about the reproductive nature of his race. He had been waiting for such a colorful topic to be brought up and wasted no time in giving her the most outlandish of responses he could think up. As amusing as it would have been for human males to dress themselves in their own excrement, decorate their heads in a dazzling display of flowers and colorful feathers, and serenade their partners with crackers in their mouths, all while standing on their heads, the simple truth was that they were very similar in their courtship as old fashioned pony traditions. Twilight had not been as amused as Mathew, though.
Mathew had also taken a few opportunities to learn some things from Twilight, as well. He had managed to distract her with a question about the town they were headed to. According to records, Ponyville had been around for a few generations. It held a population of around thirty-five hundred ponies. The general populace was very friendly and outgoing and it recently gained Twilight’s castle, which was a large tree of crystal and magic.
Mathew also asked her about her friends. He had to admit, they were quite the interesting combination. He was most intrigued by Twilight’s friend, Pinkie Pie. When she had gotten around to explaining all the things the pink earth pony did, which defied the laws of physics left and right, as well as her encounter with the inexplicable "Pinkie Sense," it had gotten Mathew’s mind going on its own trail of finding ways to exploit Pinky for some good fun experimentation. He was always up for getting people to enjoy themselves, and the possibilities were vast with Pinkie as a partner in humor-filled crime.
The train started to slow down shortly after Twilight had gotten a bit of insight on the politics of human society. She put her questions on hold for the time being, knowing that she had to give Mathew a brief explanation of how they would address the issue of him exiting the train and being seen by the citizens of Ponyville. “Alright, Mathew, we’ll be arriving at the station soon so let’s go over the plan one more time. I’ll have you stay here and we’ll make sure most of the other passengers get off first. When we have less of a crowd outside, I’ll come back and bring you out. Since we lost a day, we’ll only be able to meet my friends, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow dash. Applejack and Rarity are busy with their respective businesses and Fluttershy got a request from a family to check on their pet turtle. You’ll get to meet Spike when we arrive at the castle. With any luck you should be able to blend in as a visitor here in Ponyville and the others won’t run away… I hope they don’t. Any questions?”
Mathew chuckled and shook his head. He remembered how much fun he had when they were trying to get him to the train unseen. The whole day had been lost thanks to his natural magic nullification. Twilight had tried to cast a transformation spell on him to make him appear to be a pony. The effect had lasted for all of two seconds before poofing him back to normal. Mathew had enjoyed each and every following attempt by the young magic genius.
By the time she had exhausted herself she finally realized the problem. The rest of that day had been spent exploring the exact levels of magic nullification that Mathew’s body possessed. As it turned out, Mathew’s body made it so that, in order for a spell to work normally on him, it required at least twenty times more magic. Mathew had even laughed at his own joke that he had been turned into a mage’s worst nightmare if he were to be a game character. “None. I hope no one gets scared of me, though. I’d feel bad if I made them all run in fear. My experience, so far, has mainly just gotten ponies to stare at me. I’m not ugly am I?” he asked with a strait face.
Twilight, in typical fashion, missed the joke and her eyes shot wide as she did her best to assure him that he was not ugly in the slightest, just very unusual. Mathew held in his laugh, opting to simply smile at her and thank her for her reassurance. The rest of the trip was quiet and the train soon arrived at the station.
As planned, Mathew stayed in the reserved train car while Twilight went out to greet her friends and wait for the crowd to disperse. He looked out the window again. None of the ponies outside could see him, thanks to an enchantment on the glass that made the inside of the car look empty. The view was surreal, but held a heartwarming effect as well. Ponies were meeting their friends and family outside, exchanging hugs and feelings in a manner that forced him to smile.
His thoughts suddenly brought up Nightmare Moon and Luna. I wonder if those two could be close like that, he thought. It was something he was looking forward to. He then wondered if he could have a quick word with Nightmare, since he had time alone. He sat back against the seat and focused on sending his thoughts deeper within himself. Since he had very little to go on, he figured there was the chance that Nightmare would hear his thoughts if he wanted her to. He thought about her name a few times, doing his best to call her out from within.
After the seventh time he felt a faint shift. It was definitely a change in his magic, but the feeling was so small he almost missed it. A calmer sensation seemed to form in the base of his brain (in that spot right above the roof of your mouth where you get a brain freeze). “You are taking a risk in seeking me out you know...” came Nightmare’s voice from within his mind. The experience was not what Mathew had expected. Hearing a voice in his head was less like wearing headphones and more like experiencing an audio recording from perfect recollection, like when you remember how your favorite song lyrics sound like and the pitch just flows naturally from the depths of your mind.
Wow, I’m actually surprised I was able to reach you. I had my doubts for a few moments, he thought to her.
“Yes, well, now you know you can call upon me at any time. I sense we are no longer near the capital… where are we?” Nightmare asked.
Wait, you aren’t aware of things outside of me unless you… what, come out, or something? Mathew asked, slightly puzzled.
“Yes. With the current amount of influence my presence possesses, which is very minimal at this point, I am unaware of our surroundings unless our bond is strengthened. This is one of those times that I can ‘see’ what’s outside. Now, what is our current location?” she asked, a slight unease becoming more noticeable in her tone.
We’re at the train station just outside of the town of Ponyville. To recap what has happened since we last spoke: I ran into Princess Celestia’s pupil, Twilight Sparkle. Seems Celestia has something planned, but I haven’t gotten many details about it, yet. So far, Twilight is going to educate me on Equestria, Ponykind, and help me with my magic. I’m waiting for the signal to leave the train, since my appearance might cause a panic, Mathew explained.
Nightmare’s unease slowly settled as she listened to his words, though she definitely jumped when she heard they were in the company of one of the element bearers. The only reason why she managed to relax was because Mathew had made sure to be as calm as possible in his explanation. “I see… it does seem a bit odd for such a peculiar circumstance to have occurred. We should be slightly more cautious around the other element wielders then. But, Mathew, what did you need of me?” Nightmare asked. She clearly was unsure as to what her partner would need of her in the current situation.
Mathew let a soft sigh slip through his nostrils and he looked out the window again. Nightmare… I was thinking the other night. While I was doing so, I wound up remembering my past. I know I said I’d help you, but I wanted to know if my personal experiences in early life were what led you to seek me out as your vessel. I hope you didn’t use my past as leverage to trick me into helping you or I’ll have to do something rather unpleasant in response.
Nightmare’s presence in his mind flickered. He could tell that he had touched on something, but instead of a panicked feeling, it felt more like she had been struck with another wave of regret. “You… aren’t wrong. I did see your past… I watched you almost from your birth onward. I know full well what your feelings are about my unique circumstance, but believe me when I say that I did not use it against you in a manipulative way. I chose you because you know what it’s like from the other side of my perspective. I felt that you would be able to see what I wish to achieve in the way it should be seen. I want to-“
I know, Mathew said, stopping Nightmare Moon from going into an unnecessary reiteration. I was just making sure. I’m just nervous and I didn’t want to disappoint you or Luna. With the way things have been, I just wanted to be absolutely sure about this, he thought to her, trying to elaborate the fact that he still trusted her and fully intended to help.
Nightmare Moon calmed down. The feeling in Mathew’s mind was much more pleasant from the happy feelings from her. He started to see a bit more about their bond, thanks to the crystal. With such pure emotions, there was no doubt left in his mind that Nightmare really did want to be with Luna.
Mathew noticed that the crowd outside had thinned out quite a bit since the start of the conversation with Nightmare. He knew Twilight would be back any moment to fetch him, so he decided to cut the encounter short until the next opportunity. Well, time to wrap this up. Twilight will be here to get me soon. I’ll talk to you again when I get more time alone. We’ll need to start working on forming a plan.
Nightmare hummed her approval. “I agree. Be careful when you reach out to me, though. If we had been near Luna or Celestia, I have little doubt they would have noticed my presence… though I’m surprised how little my presence is felt right now. It’s almost as if your body is hiding me more than I expected it would.”
Hmm… if I had to guess, I think it’s because of my unique magic. I think the magic that I gained from bonding with your core has taken on a special quality. My body was resistant to your magic when I was back in my world, right? he asked.
“Yes… I had tried a few times to influence you when you were younger, the same goes for the others I had been watching, but you all seemed to have an unnatural affinity for canceling out all magic. I think it has to do with how your race’s vitality is channeled through your bodies. Some of the humans were able to use their own life essence to achieve acts of heroism at times,” Nightmare explained.
A slight smirk crossed over Mathew’s lips as he heard that information. The few pieces he needed for his theory had been placed on the board and it confirmed what he had been thinking. So it makes sense now, the reason why my body has the canceling effect on magic. The castle doctors had tried to heal me when I first encountered your core’s magic. They failed to do more than stop the bleeding until my heart stopped. They were able to use their magic on me at that time, which means that while I was dead, magic could affect me uninhibited. That’s probably when your core was able to fuse with me. Your powers took hold within me in stages, instead of all at once, potentially causing my body and your power to adapt to each other. The end result was a human gaining magical power, becoming immortal, and retaining the nullification field. What do you think about that? he asked.
“That’s… I think it’s very plausible. I can see how those factors would fall into place with that line of thought. In fact, I had lost hope when your heart first stopped beating that day. I am very grateful that fate found a way to keep you among the living. Your death did devastate me… increasingly so each time.” Nightmare said, her heart’s pain being shared through her connection with Mathew.
Mathew smiled and closed his eyes, taking a deep relaxing breath as he fed Nightmare his reassuring feelings. I’m glad I lived through it, too. Though I was angry with you in the beginning, I’ve forgiven you for bringing me here. I’ll talk to you later. Then we can look forward to a brighter future. Oh, and before you slip back in, you can take more control from now on so you can stay aware of the things that go on outside. It’ll be better if we’re both on the same page. The only times it would be a problem is when Celestia or Luna are around, or at night when Luna checks on my dreams, he suggested.
“I’ll… consider it. We should talk about a possible way for me to remain aware while keeping my presence hidden at a later time. For now I shall simply wait for your call,” Nightmare said. Her presence in Mathew’s mind quickly faded away.
It was strangely saddening when she left his mind. It was almost like a hole had been left where fond memories of an old friend once dwelled. Still, he understood her reason, so he did not linger on her absence for long. After another ten minutes, Twilight peeked into the car and beckoned Mathew to follow her. As they walked through the train, Mathew started wishing that they had gotten him out through similar ways of getting him inside.
Sadly, Twilight had yet to gain back all the magical power she needed to teleport them out of the cramped car, and Mathew was still unable to accurately teleport himself – he needed Twilight’s help to keep the spell stable. The last solo attempt at the castle had placed him nearly a hundred feet in the air. Mathew may have been immortal, but experiencing a fall from that high had been a most unpleasant thing. It topped his list instantly of things he never wanted to experience again.
As uncomfortable as it was, slightly hunched over and squeezing through the pony sized doorways, Mathew put up with it. His discomfort had been replaced easily by the potential events waiting for him just outside. He wondered how the pink party pony and the confident rainbow-maned Pegasus would react to him.
Five cars later and they reached the exit onto the platform. Twilight stepped out first and turned to wait for Mathew. The human had paused for a moment, telling himself it was more for the dramatic effect, when it was actually from the small wave of nervousness. He took a breath and calmed his nerves, then he took the last few steps to exit the train.
His eyes quickly caught sight of Twilight’s two friends. Both ponies had wide eyes. Twilight was the one to break the silence that had fallen over the platform. She gestured to Mathew with her hoof and said, “Girls, this is the one I said we were waiting for. As you can see, he’s not a pony, he’s actually a human… and he’ll be staying with me at my castle,” she said, doing her best to smile and show her friends that he was okay to be around.
Pinkie Pie slowly started to smile. Then she reared up on her hind legs and put her hooves up to her mouth in surprise.
“So that’s what those are!” Pinkie squealed in delight and then popped up right next to Mathew. “Hi! I’m Pinky Pie! What’s your name Mr. Human?” she asked, getting quite close to Mathew’s face.
Mathew’s first thought was about how a smile that big could fit onto a pony’s face, but he quickly dismissed it when he realized what she had said. Had she known about humans? Then he remembered something twilight had mentioned, that Pinkie Sense of hers was notorious for making things weird at times, so he decided he’d ignore her comment, for the time being. “My name is Mathew. Mathew Reese if you want the full name. It’s nice to meet you, Pinkie. Twilight has told me a lot about you. Can I expect a welcoming party tonight as well?” he said, shooting her a sly grin.
Pinkie’s eyes popped open and she sucked in a long breath. Then she hopped into the air. “OHMYGOSHTHAT’SRIGHT! I gotta go get all the stuff together, send out the invitations to everypony, bake the cakes, treats, yums, and goodies – oh, and the decorations! See you guys later!”
With that lungful finally expelled Pinkie was gone in a flash of pink. Twilight simply shook her head. She had expected something like that from her friend. Meanwhile, Mathew had turned his attention to the sky blue Pegasus and offered her a friendly smile. Rainbow Dash had watched the interaction between the human and her friend with a critical eye. After a few moments she shrugged and offered Mathew a smile. “Well, if Twi and Pinkie are alright with you, I suppose I can be cool with it. The name’s Rainbow Dash, by the way, and I’m the best flier in Equestria,” she boasted, striking a cocky grin with a few flaps from her wings to emphasize her point.
“You’re also the Element of Loyalty and a member of the Wonderbolts,” Mathew added. “I can’t wait to see you pull some of those cool moves that Twilight has told me about. That Sonic Rainboom really sounded awesome, too,” he said, genuinely smiling and showing his interest in what Rainbow could do.
As expected, Rainbow took to Mathew’s comment with enthusiasm, telling him of a few of her shining moments. He and Twilight listened to her tales, Mathew more so than her since she had already heard them all. A few nearby ponies had taken notice of the human, and much to Mathew’s relief, they had seen his lively conversation with their local princess and her fellow element bearer. Nopony had run away screaming yet, so he counted it as a small victory.
Eventually the time came when Twilight felt that enough time had passed. She cut short one of Rainbow’s tales, promising that she could tell it another time, but that they really needed to get moving. Mathew remembered the plan. After making sure Twilight’s friends would be alright with him they were supposed to walk around Ponyville for a quick tour.
~~***~~
The tour had been surprisingly peaceful. Twilight had been very informative about each place they passed by. Rainbow had decided it would be fun to tag along, which gave Mathew a whisper buddy when Twilight went on her history tangents at a few locations. Most of the ponies they passed had stopped to stare, but when they saw Mathew smiling and waving to them they were quick to warm up to him.
The whole town of Ponyville was very intriguing to him. The buildings looked like they had been designed from a few mountain towns he recalled seeing in travel magazines. The variety of ponies also took him by surprise. Back at the castle, he had only seen, maybe, a hundred different individuals. With many more that that walking about the town, the differences in color, style and race gave him quite an awe-inspiring view. He even caught a glimpse of a grumpy looking donkey at one point, as well as a pair of cows.
They had been nearing Rarity’s home, the uniquely designed Carousel Boutique, when a flash of yellow suddenly flew into Mathew. The sudden impact sent him right onto his back. Again, he cursed the pain, but his body quickly subdued it as it recovered. He became aware of a warmth on top of him and he looked at his chest to see what it was.
Long pink soft flowing hair covered the face of a yellow Pegasus. She let a soft groan escape her lips, her voice was even softer that her hair. The moment she regained her awareness she instantly sat up and started stammering an apology.
“Oh, my, I am so, so… sorr…y…” she started to say, fading out as she took in Mathew’s appearance.
Mathew knew who it was, just like Twilight had described her, her long silky hair and big cyan eyes combined with that meek little voice were all the signs he needed. He also knew that she was the one most likely to freak out at his unusual form. Thinking as quickly as he could, Mathew did the one thing he thought would help keep her calm… until he noticed a faint trail of blood form from her nose.
“Oh no, are you alright? You’re bleeding!” he exclaimed and quickly rushed forward.
Fluttershy cowered for a moment, until she felt a strange sensation on her face. It felt warm and tingly, and the sound of a spell being used accompanied it. The timid little Pegasus peeked through one eye and noticed the glow of light blue magic on the end of her muzzle. She opened her eyes more and saw that the strange being she had accidentally flown into had one of its arms up with the same color magic covering the end of its paw. The pain in her muzzle soon faded and she was left staring at it.
Mathew sighed when he was sure the damage had been healed enough. He had not used the healing spell more than a few times for practice, since it was only something he had been shown while he had to wait for his test results during an examination in the castle medical room. It was only an impulse that made him try to stop her from bleeding, but he was glad it had worked. He offered a warm smile to Fluttershy and looked her in the eyes. “Does it still hurt? I hope I did that spell right.” he said.
Fluttershy stared at him for another moment and then scrunched her nose. There was no more pain and when she rubbed her nose with her hoof she saw the blood had vanished. The only evidence left behind were the three drops that had fallen to the ground. Her fear of him was gone and she smiled back at him with a small nod. “Thank you, that was very nice of you. I’m sorry for crashing into you like that. I was in a rush to get some supplies for the poor little turtle I was asked to take a look at. He needs some special medicine for his condition and I just ran out the other day,” she said, her voice still soft, but loud enough to show she had grown more comfortable around him.
It was then that Twilight walked up. She and Rainbow had been ready for Fluttershy to try and run away, plus they were also a little shocked at how Mathew was not injured from the rough meeting with Fluttershy. She had been flying pretty fast. Still, it was interesting to see how the two interacted with each other. “Hello Fluttershy,” Twilight greeted her friend. “I see you’ve met our new friend, Mathew.”
Fluttershy turned to see Twilight and smiled warmly at her friend. “Oh, hello Twilight. You know this… oh, I’m sorry, I don’t know what to call you,” she said to Mathew, covering her mouth with a hoof.
Mathew chuckled and waved his hand gently. “It’s alright, I’m not exactly common around these parts. I’m a human. Twilight already used my name, so just call me Mathew, please. It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Fluttershy,” he said and offered her his hand.
Fluttershy looked at his hand and noticed he did not have claws like Spike or Diamond Dogs. She hesitated for only a moment before she extended her hoof out and his gentle fingers wrapped around her hoof. He gave the gentlest of shakes and they were both struck by how warm each other’s appendage felt. The shake was over quickly, but Mathew was content that he had given her a good first impression.
Suddenly he felt the touch of hooves on his back and the back of his head. He looked over his shoulder and noticed Rainbow Dash hovering behind him. She was squinting her eyes and looking for something, which gave Mathew a small smirk when he realized what it was. “I’m alright, Rainbow,” he said to her.
Rainbow sighed and then rubbed at the back of her head. “Sorry, I was just sure that you had hit your head pretty hard back there. Fluttershy isn’t the toughest one of us, but she’s still a Pegasus, and we’re built pretty sturdy. Still, she hit you hard enough to get a nosebleed, but you don’t seem to have a scratch on you. Just how durable is the body of a human, anyway?” Rainbow asked.
Mathew appreciated the concern, but he was still not sure how he should explain it. When Twilight had found him after his big fall, he had made the mistake of telling her his body regenerated. That had led to quite the lengthy discussion about how he was able to do that, which eventually resulted in him revealing the part about his crystal heart. It had taken Celestia and Luna to calm Twilight down after hearing about the potential threat of Nightmare Moon.
So, keeping his last encounter in mind, Mathew simply shrugged and fed Rainbow a simple truth. “Honestly, I’m tougher than I look. I appreciate the thought, though. Thanks for lookin’ out for me Rainbow.”
Rainbow Dash beamed at him and folded her front hooves. “Any time, Mathew.”
Mathew returned the smile and looked at Twilight and Fluttershy. He was pleased that his encounters with the purple alicorn’s friends had gone well, so far. Then he realized that fluttershy was still hanging around and he remembered how it was she came to be part of the group and quickly cleared his throat. “Uh, Fluttershy, didn’t you have those supplies to get for that turtle?” he asked her.
Fluttershy’s eyes opened wide and she gasped. Mathew tried not to grin when he saw both her ears and wings shoot up in synchronization at her surprise. “Oh, that’s right. Thank you for reminding me. I was just distracted with meeting you. I’ll be going now.”
“Try to be more careful,” Twilight chimed in as Fluttershy flapped her wings to get airborne.
Rainbow Dash flew over to hover beside Fluttershy. “Oh, and Pinkie Pie is going to be throwing a welcome party for Mathew tonight. You’ll be there, right?” she asked.
Fluttershy smiled wide at the mention of the party. “Oh, yes, of course. It will be fun to give Mathew a fun first welcome. I’ll see you all later, then,” she said and was fluttered away to finish her task.
Mathew and Twilight watched Fluttershy fly off. Rainbow flew back over and hovered beside Mathew. Twilight noticed Rainbow’s searching eyes as she scanned the back of his head once more. The young princess knew that Rainbow must have seen the faint light from Mathew’s body as it healed the minor injury, but she was not ready to reveal what that light was, not yet anyway. “Well, I think we’ve spent enough time standing here,” Twilight said, partly to distract Rainbow Dash but mainly to get back on track. “We’re almost to Rarity’s house. After we pay her a quick visit we’ll head to my castle and get your room situated. Later we can go out to find anything you might need.”
Mathew turned to her and nodded in agreement. The three resumed their trek to the boutique. When they had finally arrived in front of it, Mathew had taken a moment to admire the building’s unique design. It was very close in resemblance to what it was named after. Though, part of Mathew’s mind connected the shape to more of a two-tier cake. Still, the Carousel Boutique was an eye catcher and the powder blue base color with the light purple accents and gold trim made the building feel balanced.
Twilight opened the door, signaling a soft chime from the bell above the door, and walked in, Mathew and Rainbow following soon after. Mathew noticed the little cyan Pegasus had become slightly more cautious, even if she tried to act perfectly normal. He had heard about the horrors that Rarity had put her friends through in the past. Seemed that Rainbow was still cautious in case she needed to zoom out of the place before Rarity could force her to model for another dress. The thought was enough to bring a small smirk to his lips.
The inside of the boutique was quite the sight. One side of the main room was dominated by numerous racks of clothing and around twelve pony shaped mannequins with full outfits on display. Most of the outfits were dresses, looking very expensive, but well made. The bright colors reminded Mathew of the spring sales that would have been going on in the city back home.
On the other side of the main room stood a short stage with a flower design on top, long light purple drapes cascading behind it from the ceiling to the floor, and a few mirrors to the sides. There was a staircase to the left of the modeling stage that went up to the upper floor. Mathew almost missed the other door, which had been partly hidden behind some decorative curtains, and he was fairly sure it led to the kitchen.
Just as his curiosity had started to let him pick out the smaller details of the room, a voice came from the stairway. It belonged to a mare and held an air of grace and sophistication. “Hello, welcome to Carousel Boutique; where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique.”
Mathew could not help but grin and shake his head. The line had obviously been memorized as part of her sales pitch, but it was still clever enough with its little rhyme. Rarity rounded the corner near the bottom of the stairs and saw who she had greeted. She smiled warmly and opened her mouth to say hi to her friends properly, but she paused when she noticed Mathew.
Mathew locked gazes with the white unicorn. He had to admit that her sapphire eyes were strikingly pretty. They drew his attention more than her indigo colored mane and tale, regardless of how styled they were. He was unsure at first, but the stare she held him with did not seem entirely set on him, per se… it was like she was looking at something on him. Then he realized that was exactly what she was doing. Rarity had been eyeing his clothing.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash were puzzled by Rarity’s odd silence. Twilight stepped closer to her and tilted her head as she asked, “Uh, Rarity? Is something wrong?”
The fashionista suddenly narrowed her eyes and began to smile. The change in her demeanor was slightly more alarming, but none of them were prepared for what she was about to say. “So you’re the one I made those strange clothes for. I’ve been dying to meet you!”