Two mouths ago...
It took two hours for the guards of the Crystal Empire to defrost Mathiel from the ice. He was escorted to the castle and put by Shining Armor into a guest room. He was feeling still groggy and dizzy from that, but was lucid enough to question the equine body in which was in and remember the hell he went through after his death and escape from hell.
"I don't know nothing about this new world, so I better ask the right questions and invent a new identity." Mathiel thought. "Not for nothing I had told them that I am amnesiac about me being frozen and I remember only the identity of Miner Rift."
As he was waiting to for his host, Mathiel could feel a dark power dwelling inside of him and knew why. Multiple souls of the cursed Von Viltheilm were now fused with his own, included that of his own mother. The thought shivered his spine and gave him a bad taste in his mouth. Putting that aside, he took the time to read the books to learn the history of Equestria.
At one point, someone opened the door, being none other than Princess Cadence, who approached him and stood tall, towering on him. Mathiel could feel a great sense of majesty irradiating from him and was very reassuring. He was kind of speechless considering that he never saw an alicorn in his life.
"You seemed quite surprised to see me like it was the first time," Cadence said. "Are alright?"
"Y-yes, miss..." Mathiel said, snapping out of his trance. "What is your name?"
"I am Princess Cadence, Ruler of the Crystal Empire," Cadence responded. "And you are a very particular case. How you ended being frozen in the ice?"
"You see, I don't remember how I first arrived here. I was dragged here from Ponyville... By someo- ehm - somepony, but I don't know how and why."
"It's that so? I wonder who could gain from ponynapping you and leaving you there."
"I don't want to exploit your hospitality, so I would ask you if I could take my leave."
"Absolutely not. Your had not fully recovered from your actual conditions. You will sleep here tonight."
".... I guess I can't contradict you." Mathiel accepted. "Very well. I will take my rest here. But let me ask you something."
"What?" Cadence asked.
"Princess Celestia really lived thousand years ago?" Mathiel asked. "Forgive my rudeness, but I had always wondered about that."
"Both her and Princess Luna are a prominent part of our history and lived through ages," Cadence confirmed. "I am just younger in comparison."
"Well... Good Night, your majesty." Mathiel said.
"Good Night, Miner Rift" Cadence said before taking her leave, closing the doors with her magic.
Mathiel was left alone to contemplate about his cursed legacy. As he looked at his hoof, a spectral materialized from it. He wasn't this happy about having dark powers and began to pondering about how his new life will be and how much can affect that of the others.
"I wonder... How much of myself I can hide from this world of ponies."
In the following day, Mathiel took his leave from the Crystal Empire and took a train headed to Ponyville. The travel lasted about five hours. As he arrived, he heard something warped, something that sounded like a hellish chorus. He followed the sounds throughout the town and found the source, only to discover that there was a party and that sound was Scratch Vinyl playing her remixes. There are multiple ponies dancing at the rhythm of the music, something that Mathiel wasn't very fond of.
"I will never get used to this," Mathiel said as he leaved. "Hopefully, that has nothing to do with the depths of hell."
Wandering throughout the town, he could admire multiple shops and monuments. He never thought to have been reborn into an almost happy world, if that was the case. In his wandering, he found a violin laying on the ground. Since he has nothing better to do, he decided to pick that up and play it. The melody that came out was emulating a symphony of Bach. He continued to play until he was interrupted by Octavia.
"It's divine," Octavia said, getting his attention. "I don't know if I can considerate you a thief but that was brilliant. Where did you learn to play like that."
"I had multiple masters tutoring me," Mathiel explained.
"And I'm sorry to interrupt you but that's my violin," Octavia stated.
"It's that so? You can take it." Mathiel said, giving the violin back to her. "Now I have to go."
"Wait! Where you came from?"
"I don't have any place to stay. I am just a wanderer with no memory of what my homeland is."
"Well... You can stay in my house, if that isn't a problem."
"Wait, I don't think that is the case."
"Why not? I want know you and your abilities. We can become a ideal duo."
"Well, if you insist. I will stay here, but just for one night."
"Alright, one night," Octavia said. "But in the meantime, do you want spare with me?"
"...... If you wish." Mathiel responded politely.