//------------------------------// // 11 - Working Hard // Story: Shadows Within the Light // by Oddling //------------------------------// The sun was high in the sky. Birds chirped among the branches of the apple trees, while a few squirrels played in the grass. There were just a few stray clouds in the skies above, but a gentle breeze kept things at just the right temperature. Still, Mathew had to stop for a moment to brush away the sweat on his forehead. He was hot, sweaty, and covered in a layer of dust, but he felt fantastic. After a few moments of rest, he dug his foot into the ground and heaved forward. His body glowed faintly and the wagon he had hooked himself to began to roll forward again. He had succeeded in fixing the axel of the big wooden wagon the other night. The feat had allowed him to move many more apple trees over the past day and a half. His progress had already brought more than half of the remaining orchard across Sweet Apple Acres to rest in its new home. As the sound of dirt and stone crunching beneath the massive wooden wheels filled the air, Mathew smiled broadly. He was pleased with the effectiveness of the spell he had thought up. There were a few similar spells in existence, ones to enhance the bodies of ponies for specific reasons, but applying it to his unique body had been a challenge. As it turned out, he found he could just use the magic within his body to recreate the effect, which caused his muscles to strengthen substantially while the spell was active. As he neared the location to drop off his latest load of apple trees to their new orchard home, Mathew spotted the large red form of Big McIntosh. The stoic expression Mac wore would have been normal, were it not for the small little fact that he had been avoiding Mathew for a while. Mathew sighed. He really hoped that Mac was not present for the reason he thought… seriously, what was with ponies and having so much trouble accepting forgiveness? Each step brought him closer to McIntosh. His suspicion was confirmed when he got close enough to make out the stallion’s face. McIntosh’s eyes said it all. Mathew stopped and unhooked the wagon from his shoulders, the thick leather straps thudding against the ground. He looked at Mac and sighed softly through his nose. “You still upset about the other night?” he asked McIntosh. McIntosh sighed and looked down. Mathew sighed again and shook his head gently. “I told you I forgive you. Your reaction was normal, especially since Applejack had all the evidence that she had been crying on her face. You did what any older brother would do. Stop beating yourself up, everything turned out fine in the end,” he said. McIntosh looked back up at Mathew and sighed. “Ah still feel bad for hurtin’ ya, though,” he said in his deep voice. Mathew sighed and turned back to lift four of the trees off of the wagon. His magic enveloped them and they floated high above the others. He moved his left hand down to the ground and began to dig out the first of the new holes for the trees. As his magic bored into the ground, he remembered the other night. He and Applejack had talked for another hour after she revealed her parent’s deaths. They shared good memories of their families and enjoyed the warmth of such fond times passed. Eventually they decided it was a good time to head back to the house. When they walked in the front door, Mathew and Applejack had tried to think of how they would explain everything to Twilight, which set them in a melancholic mood. At that moment, Big Mac had come down to check on the hushed whispering. He saw them by the front door and nearly ignored them, until he noticed the streaks on Applejack’s face where her tears had matted her fur. Something clicked in Mac’s chest and he walked forward. Without thinking, he wound up pushing in between Mathew and his sister and he shoved Mathew back. The force of the shove had been enough to send Mathew in the air a few inches. He landed on a crate, which collapsed from the impact, and his back was impaled in a few places. Mathew had cried out in pain, but he quickly stifled his voice in order to force his body off of the wreck. The sight of watching the human rip his body off of the broken crate, with pieces of it sticking out of his back, was enough to make McIntosh’s anger vanish. Fear replaced the boil in his veins, which soon was overcome by the wave of guilt when Applejack shoved her way in front of Big Mac. Applejack was pissed. She scowled at Big Mac like never before. Mathew got to his feet and looked at Big McIntosh with a calm gaze. “I take it, that we can talk this out peacefully now, Big Mac?” he asked the red stallion. From then on, things proceeded smoothly and the misunderstanding was cleared up. Well, it should have been cleared, but since McIntosh was there to resume his apology, it seemed there was more to talk about. Mathew finished placing the other six trees into the ground before he turned to Big Mac again. “Enough. Stop feeling so bad about it. Yes it hurt to fall into that crate, but you can’t expect me to feel angry about it when my body has long since healed, good as new,” he said to the red farm pony. Even though it was extremely unpleasant to feel that puncture through my lung… he thought to himself. Big Mac looked at him solemnly and shook his head. “Ah can’t help it. Ah shouldn’t have done that in tha first place,” he said. “Ah just don’t know what came over me, back there.” “You saw your sister was hurt. You’ve already lost your parents, so protecting what’s left of your family is only natural. Plus, I’m not exactly the most trustworthy… you only met me the other day. Let’s just put this all behind us and move on with life. If you really want to make it up to me, then let’s just start off on the right hoof today and get things done to help your family,” Mathew said with a friendly smile. He really wanted to get this whole awkward situation over-with. Big McIntosh sighed, but allowed a small smile of his own to slip through to his lips. He nodded and looked around at everything Mathew had done for the apple farm. It was quite the feat, considering the human was working on his own. He then looked back toward Mathew, who had already gone back and hitched up to the wagon again. They exchanged looks and went back to their respective tasks on the farm. Mathew worked hard for a few more hours. He was nearing the northern orchard to pick up more apple trees when he heard a squeak from nearby. He ground to a halt and looked around. Just behind a nearby tree, he spotted the red flowing tail of a filly. On the other side of the tree he could see her big pink bow and large deep orange eyes peeking at him. He offered her a smile and knelt down to his knee to be less imposing to the small pony. “Hello there. Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked her. The little filly slowly emerged from behind the tree and Mathew finally got a good look at her. She had a pretty red mane that flowed over her head and neck, with a matching tail. Her coat was like a yellow pudding and her cutie mark was a tri-color shield of red, soft pink, and maroon with a purple apple in the middle that contained a magenta heart. She approached him with tentative steps, but her eyes held a distinct curiosity. “Hi, ah was just wonderin’ about you,” she said with a cute little voice that shared a similar southern drawl as Applejack and Big Mac. Mathew tilted his head at her. “Oh? What were ya wonderin’ about me for?” he asked. She giggled at his attempt to copy the way she spoke and brightened up a bit more. “Mah sister told me about you. She said you were helpin’ to save our apple trees,” She said happily. Mathew nodded at her. “Indeed I am. If these trees stay out here for too long, they’ll eventually die. There’s a crystal cave under the ground here and the gems are hurting the tree roots. By the way, my name is Mathew. What’s yours?” he said with a friendly smile. “Ah’m Applebloom, Applejack’s mah big sister. Is there really a cave under this orchard?” she said, eyes growing wide in excitement. Mathew chuckled at her bubbly personality, but realized he had heard of this little filly. She and her friends had given Twilight and the gang a few headaches in the past with their endless search for their cutie marks. The three fillies had developed quite a reputation for getting into trouble, and the twinkle in Applebloom’s eyes was enough to make Mathew consider his next response carefully. “Yes, there is a cave. It’s almost as big as this entire orchard used to be, before I started moving the trees. Are you interested in gems?” Applebloom shook her head. “Not really, but if there really are that many, how much do ya think we could sell ’em for?” she asked enthusiastically. Mathew had hoped his hunch was wrong, but it looked like the little filly was raring to start digging to get to the cave below. He knew he had to cut her off before she got too into the idea. “No idea, we don’t know what kind of gems are down there. We won’t know for a while, though,” he said. “Why not?” she asked. “Because we need to move all of these trees first. Under normal circumstances, the weight from all these would have caused a normal cave to collapse. One of the reasons why I’m the only one working out here is because my body is indestructible. It won’t be a big deal if I fall into it,” he explained to the little filly. Applebloom’s eyes widened and she looked down at the ground while she lifted a hoof nervously. “Could it really collapse?” she asked. Mathew grinned and looked around. “Yeah… but you don’t need to worry too much. It’s safe enough to walk around here, so long as you stick to the southern side of the orchard. Once all the trees are moved safely, then we can start looking for a place to dig to enter the cavern.” Mathew turned his gaze back to the filly and his grin grew a bit more. “On another note… I have to say that was quite a neat little trap you guys set up the other day.” Applebloom’s eyes popped wide and she slowly turned her head to look at Mathew. A nervous laugh slipped out and she started to blush. “Oh… heheh… yeah… ah’m sorry about that. Sweetie Belle heard from her sister that you were comin’ over, that day. She heard you were some kind of new creature and we wanted to make sure you weren’t dangerous… So we set up that trap to catch ya. We had no idea that my big sis had already met you,” she admitted. Mathew chuckled at her and smiled kindly. “No worries, Applebloom. Sorry for turning it on you guys, but I have to admit; that was a pretty cool trap. I’m gunna get back to work. Was there anything else you needed from me?” Applebloom shook her head and said goodbye before she ran off toward the farmhouse. Mathew was glad that he had met such a sweet little filly. She had a good heart and cared about her sister, but that strong curiosity of hers was a little much. He was sure she would stay away from the cave, but part of him still worried her friends would share in the desire to explore it. Before he resumed gathering more trees, Mathew made sure he’d know if anyone else came to that area and laced the surroundings with his magic in the form of a tripwire. Mathew managed a few more trips between the two orchards before he heard the hoofsteps of another pony. He finished placing the apple tree and turned to see who it was that time. A smile spread across his face as he took in the orange coat and blonde mane of Applejack, another basket in her mouth. With a playful sigh, he walked over to her and took hold of the basket. In it he found a few sandwiches, an apple pie, and a bottle of apple juice. Mathew thanked her for the offer and took a seat beneath a nearby tree. Applejack followed and sat down beside him. She looked around at his progress and whistled her approval. “Ah don’t know how ya do it, but you’ve done a heck of a lot for just three days time,” she commented. Mathew swallowed the bite of the daisy sandwich and gave her a sly smirk. “That’s a mighty fine complement there, but it’s still not much. If I weren’t trying to keep suspicions low, I’d have finished everything by now. By the way, how did it go with your meeting with Twilight?” he said. Applejack sighed and looked down to her hooves. “It went… could’ve gone better, but at least ah was able to tell her what she needed to hear. All she knows is that you’ve been a might good help and that ah’ll need her an’ Rarity to come by in the future to help with getting that cavern opened up. Ah just wish ah could have told her everything…” she sighed at the end, clearly not happy with being vague to her good friend. Mathew put his sandwich down and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. This is probably eating you up inside, huh.” “A lil bit, but it’s not like ah’m flat out lying to her,” she said. “Still, ah agree with ya that we should tell her about it when the time is right. Otherwise she’ll overreact again and things’ll hit the hay harder than one o’ mah apple bucks to an apple tree.” Mathew chuckled at her comparison. “True, and those hurt, by the way,” he said with a wink. Applejack blushed and rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof. “Right… ah’m awful sorry about that. Ah didn’t even know I broke yer hip when ah bucked ya,” she said apologetically. Mathew nudged her shoulder and laughed. “It’s alright, I forgive ya. Besides, I deserved it for not being honest with you from the very start,” he assured her and went back to eating his sandwich. They enjoyed the fading afternoon for a few minutes, until something made Mathew jump to his feet. His eyes fixed on the northern orchard in the distance and his face became very serious. Applejack got up and looked at him. “What’s up, Mathew?” she asked him. Mathew held his gaze on the orchard and narrowed his eyes. “I set up a line of magic earlier. Your little sister came out and had asked about the orchard. I told her a few things, one of them being the cave under it. I just felt three separate sets of hooves cross that line of magic…” he said and turned to Applejack. “You don’t think the three of them would be foolish enough to try and dig down to it, do you?” he asked her in a gravely serious tone. Applejack’s eyes widened and she turned toward the northern orchard as well. “Ah’d like to think she wouldn’t… but ah’ve been wrong about her before,” she replied. Mathew turned back to the orchard and tensed his muscles. “We should get there as quickly as possible. Let’s go!” he said and bolted off toward the three fillies’ location. Applejack sprung after him and they ran as fast as they could. At first, Mathew could hardly keep up with her, but after a quick boost from his magic, he was able to match her. His heart started to fill with a feeling of dread… he hoped nothing would happen to Applebloom and her friends. ~~***~~ Applebloom was behind her two friends as they walked through the northern apple orchard. Scootaloo was in the lead, her young wings buzzing with excitement every now and then. The little orange Pegasus filly had her violet eyes peeled for a good spot. Sweetie Belle was right behind Scootaloo. The little white unicorn had just as much enthusiasm as her Pegasus friend, since the mention of the gem cavern gave her the chance to give her older sister, Rarity, the best gift ever – fresh gems for her many dress designs. Her curly pink and lavender mane would wave around occasionally from Scootaloo’s buzzing wings. They were looking forward to finding a way into the caves below… only Applebloom was unsure of their plan. “Hey, girls, do ya’ll really think it’s a good idea to do this? Mathew did say it was dangerous,” Applebloom called out to her two friends. Scootaloo turned her head around and lifted an inquisitive brow to her friend. “Well, yeah. This is, like, the opportunity of a lifetime!” she said in her scratchy young voice. “Just think of what we might find down there!” “Yeah, plus this will be a good way to help out our sisters,” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “All we’re doing is finding a way in. It will save Applejack and Mathew a lot of time, don’t you think? And while we’re at it, we can find some gems for my sister – it’s a win win.” “Right, so don’t chicken out on us, Applebloom. Let’s do what we can to help out. It’s been a while since we did anything together, anyway,” Scootaloo finished. Applebloom grumbled under her breath, mumbling that she wasn’t being chicken. She did not want to upset Mathew, not since he seemed like a really nice guy. Still, she did want to help her sister. She continued to follow. After a short while of wandering around the hole filled orchard, Sweetie Belle gasped. “Girls! Over here, look at this!” she exclaimed excitedly. Applebloom and Scootaloo ran over to see what Sweetie had found. At the bottom of one of the holes, where an apple tree used to be, the glint of a small emerald was winking up at them. Scootaloo pumped a hoof in the air and she jumped up in excitement. “Yes! There really are gems down there! Let’s grab it and bring it to Rarity to see how good it is,” she said and hopped down to grab it. Applebloom tensed up and went to stop her friend, but the young Pegasus was too quick. Scootaloo landed at the bottom of the hole. She picked up the gem with her hoof and brushed it off with her wing. With the dirt brushed away, the emerald was very pretty and it made Scootaloo pause to admire its gleam. Applebloom was growing more nervous with each passing second. “Uh… Scoots… you should hurry and come back up,” she said tentatively. Scootaloo chuckled at Applebloom’s worry and shugged it off. “Awe, c’mon Applebloom, it’s fine. It’s not like there’s a hole for me to fall through,” She said and took a few steps toward the side of the hole... to suddenly feel her body drop down a few inches. All three of their eyes went wide. Scootaloo gulped. “Uh… guys?” she pleaded meekly. Then, the ground beneath her gave way and she fell. Scootaloo shot her front hooves out and flapped her wings hard to grab onto the edge of the hole that had opened up beneath her. Never before had she wished she could fly more than in that single moment. Her life depended on it and all she could do was lessen her weight on her front hooves as she struggled to find purchase on the still crumbling dirt. Sweetie Belle lit up her horn and caught Scootaloo in her magic. She started to focus hard on lifting her friend out of the hole, but her concentration broke when her body was yanked back. “Watch out!” yelled Applebloom as she pulled Sweetie Bell away from the hole. The ground started to sink in around that hole as the cavern’s ceiling started to give way. Scootaloo fell back down against the edge of the hole and fought with all her might to get out. Her wings started to burn from the exertion and her hooves slid down the side of the pit. Then she lost her focus when she felt a sharp pain on the inside of her scrambling hind leg. The pain increased with each move she made to save herself and then… the ground that had held her up finally gave out. The faces of her two friends drifted away as the dark abyss started to swallow her. Just before she shut her eyes to wait for the end, a dark blur shot by her… ~~***~~ Mathew and Applejack had finally made it to the northern orchard. Applejack was worried for her little sister, but Mathew had assured her things would be okay. Before long, he spotted three small pony figures in the distance. He bolted off at full speed toward them. If it had not been for the urgency, Mathew would have been impressed that he could run so far and not feel tired in the slightest. As he ran, he saw as one of the little fillies jumped down into a hole. Something in his gut sank and he burst forward with all the speed he could muster. The next thing he knew, Applebloom and the little white unicorn saw something happen and they looked shocked. Within a few moments, the unicorn used her magic, focused on something in the hole, but she had to be pulled back. It was then that Mathew saw the hole growing larger, and his heart almost stopped. The cavern had been breached. He cast aside any and all doubts and he burst forth in a blur of magical mist. The only thing that mattered to him was getting to the little filly in the hole as quickly as possible. He leapt into the air and twisted his body to point his head down into the hole and he pushed his magic out of his feet – essentially turning him into an organic missile. He shot down, right after the little orange Pegasus. Mathew’s vision instantly adapted to show him the interior of the cavern. He and the little Pegasus were falling into a death trap. The cavern was lined with emeralds, all varying from little gems to four-foot long spikes – it was like a malicious version of a geode. Acting on pure impulse, Mathew threw his magic out to catch the Pegasus, while he turned his body around to land on his feet. He laced his body with as much magic as he could, while keeping the filly safe in the air. He slammed into the bottom of the cavern. Mathew’s focus waivered as the shards of gems that were too dense to be stopped by his magic saturation skewered his legs. Scootaloo fell a few more feet before he was able to refocus on keeping her in the air. Mathew knew he would have a hard time keeping her there as long as the gems kept digging into his flesh, so he quickly moved her up and out of the hole above. Once she cleared the mouth of the opening, he had to feel her position with his magic. He made sure to set her down a good distance away from the hole. With Scootaloo safe, he turned his attention back to getting himself out. He was burning through his magic quickly. The run to the orchard had taken quite a bit out of his reserves, and with his body impaled the way it was he was literally bleeding out the rest of his stores. He had little time to think, so he went with a gut feeling and pumped magic into his legs. With a loud grunt, Mathew jumped with everything he could muster. He almost made it out with one leap, but had to use more magic to jump in the air again. Mathew’s form shot out of the hole and he crashed onto the ground about twenty feet away. Applejack was right beside him in moments and was stricken by what she saw. Mathew’s legs were shredded and had numerous bloody shards of emerald jutting out. He wasted no time in pushing them out of his legs. He was finally able to heal once they had been removed, though he healed slower than normal with his lack of magic. Applejack breathed a sigh of relief, but the sounds of despair from the three fillies said there was still something wrong. Mathew and Applejack looked over and they saw blood covering Scootaloo’s back legs. They both rushed over to her side. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were crying and offering apologies for not listening, but Mathew did not care for their reasons. He focused on Scootaloo and placed his hands on her. The orange Pegasus’s body was quickly covered with Mathew’s pale blue magic. She hissed as his healing spell started to work, pulling a few shards of emerald out of her legs, and stitching her flesh back together. A few minutes passed and the pain stopped. Scootaloo opened her eyes to see her body surrounded by magic and the human they had tried to prank kneeling beside her. His face showed he was struggling. She went to move, but Mathew’s words stopped her. “Don’t move. I’m almost out of magic, and this is hard enough to do, stay still while I finish healing your legs,” He said with a strained tone. He really was almost out of magic. Even Nightmare was urging him to stop, but he knew he had to heal the little one just a little more. The damage had been bad. If Mathew stopped his healing magic now, the Pegasus would be unable to walk. The shards had cut deep into her little body, severing a few nerves and severely damaging the muscles. He had closed the wound to stop infection, but mending the rest was harder than stopping a bloody nose. A few more minutes passed and he was finally done. Mathew stopped his magic and sighed heavily. “Alright… you can move, but don’t overdo it. I’m not the best at this kind of magic, so if you use your legs too much you might hurt yourself again. Think you can rest for a few days?” he said tiredly. Scootaloo nodded and gingerly moved to stand up. She was a little shaky, but she could manage to stay on her hooves. It was clear that her muscles were weaker. She turned her head to Mathew and gave him a weak smile. “Yeah, I promise I won’t overdo it. My legs feel pretty wobbly. Thanks for fixing them… and I’m sorry for not listening,” she said regretfully. Mathew weakly reached over and tapped her nose. “It’s alright. The important thing is that you’re all safe now,” he said and turned to Applejack and nearly stumbled. She reached out and stabilized him with her neck and shoulder. “Thanks, Applejack. Do me a favor and get them back to the house. Make sure you tell the others about this… I need to rest,” he said softly. Applejack looked at the three fillies, thankful that they were safe, but she could not bring herself to leave Mathew’s side. She turned her attention to Applebloom. “Ya’ll heard him. Get back to the house and tell Granny Smith and Big Mac about this. Also, ah want one o’ ya to run and get Twi and bring her here ta help Mathew,” she said to them, firmly enough to be a command, but laced with sisterly compassion. Applebloom nodded and had Sweetie Belle help her to place Scootaloo on her back. Once the blushing orange Pegasus was in place, they made their way back to the house. It was a bit touching, seeing the three fillies. They really had a strong bond of friendship, and it showed in almost everything they did together. Mathew watched them until they were far enough away that he was sure they would not notice anything. Mathew slumped against Applejack and his breathing quickly picked up in pace. He had been struggling to hold himself together, to not worry the young fillies, but also to keep his appearance from changing. The glow in his hair died and his eyes became a dull silver as his magic finally stopped flowing. Then, much to Applejack’s surprise, his eyes turned a faint golden color and his hair took on the same ethereal texture as Nightmare Moon’s, only his hair looked more like black smoke. “Mathew?” Applejack asked tentatively. “What’s happening – are ya alright?” Mathew’s eyes stared emptily for a few seconds before they twitched and focused on Applejack’s face. His breathing slowed down, not quite normal, but slow enough that he could speak more comfortably. “Sorry… Applejack. I used up almost all of… my magic. Nightmare has lent me some of hers… just for the time being. She’s afraid I might… have overdone it,” he answered shakily. “Is that why your hair and eyes changed?” she asked him quietly. Part of her was scared of his new look. It made him seem… hungry… fierce… dangerous. Mathew nodded weakly. “Probably. It seems to be… normal for this body. This is only a temporary change, though,” he said. “One of the perks of having a magic reliant form, I guess,” he finished, clearly not enthused with that detail. Applejack noticed in that moment that there was something else inside of Mathew’s eyes. A flicker of shadow deep within that seemed to be screaming in agony. Her fear of him instantly vanished and she curled around him to look at him better. “Hey… ah know this might not be the best time ta ask but… are ya alright with… well, ya know, bein’ here; in Equestria?” The flicker in his eyes intensified and his golden eyes seemed to sink into a deep darkness. He blinked and they were back to the golden grey from before. His chest heaved as he sighed deeply. “No… I’m not,” he said in a sad whisper. Applejack was quiet for a few moments. She had not even thought about how Mathew might have been feeling about his situation. Every time she saw him, he looked like he was happy. He always had a smile for others, he never complained unless he thought something was unfair, and he really enjoyed working hard. The idea that he might be unhappy had been the furthest thing from what she expected. “Well…” she said after a pause, “if it’ll help any, ah’ll listen to anythin’ ya have ta say. You said ya’d be there for me… so it’s only right that ah be there for you, too.” Mathew smiled warmly. He appreciated the offer, but he still could not bring himself to open up like that to her. “Thanks, but I’m not ready to talk about that kind of thing yet. Maybe… another time…” he said and his consciousness faded away into darkness. After a few moments, Mathew regained his sense of self. He recognized the surroundings as the interior of his mind. He looked around and spotted Nightmare standing beside him. Her expression indicated she was unsure as to what had just happened. Before either of them could ask, the darkness around them started to shift and morph into a landscape. Mathew quickly recognized the place as a location he had seen from Ponyville. He glanced at Nightmare with a raised brow… and then the world flashed white.