//------------------------------//
// 58. ... become miracles 
// Story: Rebirth of the Damned 
// by Borsuq 
//------------------------------//

	Matthias hoped that despite the late hour, Princess Celestia was still awake, as he asked the guards if she could see him in her private chambers. To his surprise, however, he was informed that the royal guards have been told to let him do pretty much as he pleased around the castle. And so Matthias knocked on the door and once he heard the Princess invitation, he trotted inside.
“Ah, Matthias.” she greeted him looking over from his desk, where she was reading some scroll. “I was reading Doctor Angelic Touch’s report... why are you carrying a saddlebag?”
“I will explain in a moment.” the paladin said, shifting his body under its weight. “What did she find out?”
Celestia raised her eyebrow, confused, but returned her attention to the scroll.
“As the doctor suspected,” the Princess began reading out-loud, “the unicorn has some sort of energy source within his body, but she’s unable to identify how it got there, or what it is. Angelic Touch wants to extract a sample of it through surgery. She also reported that the goo on his forelegs is an unknown substance, which she suspects might be the same one he has inside his body, due to its high magical residue and apparent healing properties. The bones in his forelegs were broken, most likely shortly before he was imprisoned within that amber, but because of that goo, they have mended.”
“Interesting...” Matthias commented as Celestia paused. “So whoever trapped him inside wanted him to live, and applied that substance on his forelegs and to his body.”
“The doctor also scanned his brain with few spells, and found out that almost every memory he has is being suppressed by his mind, due to the trauma. She could force him to remember, but it would cause him a mental breakdown, and for about ninety percent chance result in this pony becoming, and I quote, ‘a vegetable’.”
“If that would make him stop talking...” Matthias muttered, but noticing the gaze the alicorn gave him, he quickly assured her: “I’m joking. So there is no way for him to regain his memories?”
“Angelic hopes that if he will be slowly introduced to the society, some of his memories will return over time.” the Princess sighed, worried for the pony, despite how much annoying he was. “Either way, that’s not all that the doctor discovered. She also checked his vitals, and found out that his body has an incredible amount of stamina and strength, able to compete with that of royal guards, and even maybe yours. He has good reflexes, despite being trapped in that amber thing for over thousand years. But, there was one...” Celestia paused for a moment, as if noticing a mistake in her use of words. “... actually, there is a bunch of things weird with his body.”
“How so?”
“He can materialise his life-energy, not magic, in a form of two energy blades sprouting from his hoof.”
“E-excuse me?” Matthias asked with wide eyes. “His life-energy?”
“In other words, stamina, but in this case the term ‘life-energy’ seems to be more appropriate. Doctor Angelic Touch found out about it-” she checked the scroll “- as it appeared when she turned around for a moment, and that pony got a better look at her... well, you can figure out what.”
Matthias rolled his eyes, wondering what the hell is that pony.
“Did she found out anything else?”
“Not for a moment, but she’s still checking him. It will be awhile before he will be let out to from the castle which, as much as is it is reassuring to every mare in Equestria, makes me feel bad. He’s basically a prisoner, and I never thought I would ever try to keep another pony... locked away.”
Celestia sighed as she slumped down, and Matthias found himself unsure what to do. He hadn’t seen her so... depressed, aside from Luna’s memories, which seemed exactly to be the problem right now.
“Tell me something, Arthas.” she spoke unexpectedly, immediately getting his attention. “You’ve seen Luna’s memories. How horrible of a sister am I?”
The white alicorn looked up as she said that. She was on the verge of tears.
“I suppose I should have expected this.” Matthias sighed mentally as he trotted closer to the Princess and sat down.
“Celestia, I have no right to judge others, especially in terms of past.” he told her, closing his eyes. “I don’t know how much Luna told you about me, but I had sister too, and I was heir to my father, so you could say that we are quite similar. Celestia,” he opened his eyes, and looked straight at hers, “you did what you had to do to protect your subjects. There was no other choice.”
“But what about how I ignored her, and...” the Princess tried to cut him off, but Matthias stopped her by raising hoof.
“You couldn’t have known how Luna had felt all those years as ponies kept ignoring her. She only came to talk to you about that once, but all she said then was about extending the nighttime, and she didn’t mention as to why.”
“I should have listened to her.” Celestia whispered. “She came to me, but I brushed it all off as some foalish cravings.”
“Yes, you did.” Matthias told her, putting his hoof on her shoulder. “Everypony makes mistakes sometimes. Those of rulers or that of powerful beings tends to be a lot bigger. But sometimes, you get a chance to fix them, even if it happens after a thousand years.” she smiled at the poor joke as he continued. “Look Celestia, I am most likely the last pony to ever say this, but you cannot dwell on the past.”
“I know that, but... I ruined my little sister’s life. Because of me, she lost both the stallion she loved and her foal... if I paid more attention, if I hadn’t banished her to the moon, if I found a different solution...”
“The foal would still die.” the paladin told her firmly. “She died because of Nightmare Moon’s dark powers. Do not blame yourself on that one.”
“Besides...”
“And as for that unicorn...” Matthias said, dispelling the thought, and not believing what he was about to say now. “... I know I will regret it, but let me try to make a paladin out of him.”
His suggestion managed to completely snap Celestia out of her depression, and now she stared at him with eyes wide with shock.
“A paladin?!? Out of him?” she asked, surprised.
“He’s probably going to be one of the most annoying paladins ever, but based on what you told me so far, he has great predispositions to become one. He’s strong, sturdy, and even has some strange sword, which basically means this is one of few ‘jobs’ he can take on. And who knows?” Matthias asked, shrugging his forelegs and hoping to convince himself as much as her. “Maybe the paladin training will temper that personality out of him?”
“The conviction in your voice is really encouraging.” Celestia chuckled to herself. “Are you sure about this?”
“No, but as much as I hate the mere thought of him being in a hundred mile radius of my friends, I prefer to keep an eye on him personally, so it’s the only way.”
“I suppose. Very well then.” the Princess said, and then added: “Oh, I almost forgot, he chose a name for himself.”
“Do tell.” the paladin replied, not at all enthusiastic about it.
“Tucker Out.”
“Tucker...”
“Because ‘when ladies spend a night with him, he tuckers them out’.” Celestia explain with a displeased grimace on her face.
“... That doesn’t even make sense!” Arthas could only reply after thinking about the reasoning for such a name.
“Well, it’s still better than the other names that he wanted to be known as.” the alicorn said, moving the scroll so that Matthias could read it.
“The Love Doctor, General Harasstitioner, Sexicologist, Looovelogist, Doctor Fu...” Matthias read few of them out of unhealthy curiosity, before he averted his eyes off it.
“Just to be sure, if I kill him...”
 “I will be mad.” Celestia replied, smirking. “Anyway, Arthas,” she said with a warmer and gentler expression. “...thank you; for listening to me, I mean, and your comforting words.”
“Always a pleasure, Your Highness.”  Matthias told her, kneeling.
Celestia chuckled at this display, before she gestured him to get up.
“Now that we’ve got all of that out of the way, why did you come here with this equipment of yours?”
“Well...” the earth pony started, not sure how exactly he should say it, and in the end, decided to be blunt. “I kinda wanted you to send me to the moon.”
He was rewarded with a sight of Celestia jaw almost hitting the floor.
“W-What?!? Why?” she shouted a few seconds later, still shocked by the request.
“Here it goes...”
“When Luna showed me her memories, I noticed something.” he explained. “I cannot be sure, since Luna was almost completely insane by that point, so I want to check it out myself.”
“And what that ‘something’ would be?” Celestia asked, regaining her composure.
“I would prefer to not tell you or Luna until I’m sure. And I would also prefer to go there alone, in case you wanted to tag along, Your Majesty.”
That answer most certainly wasn’t the one the Princess wanted to hear. She stared into Matthias eyes for a long time, searching for truth, but finally gave and sighed.
“Very well, then.” she said, standing up. “I will cast a spell that will send you to the moon, and one more, that will allow you to return back once you’ve checked whatever it is that you seek. All you’ll have to do is concentrate on somepony, and you will appear next to her or him. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, thank you.” Matthias replied, also standing up. “Also, might I ask that you will not mention this to Luna? I don’t see a reason to disturb her now.”
“Neither I, nor my sister enjoy hearing about anything related to Nightmare Moon.” Celestia told him, nodding. “Do not worry, I won’t say anything to Luna. When do you hope to come back?”
“In about few hours, maybe a little longer.” the paladin said as the Princess concentrated her magic in her horn.
“I see. Good luck, then.”
A light flashed in front of his eyes.

Celestia stared for a long moment at the spot in which Matthias stood before she send him to the moon, the very same on which she imprisoned her own little sister so long ago.
“What could he have noticed in Luna’s memories?” she wondered aloud. “Was it something connected to the Old Gods?”
The Princess sighed and shook her head. She trusted him, and after the talk they had, she considered him to be a good friend; and because of that, she was that much worried. Why couldn’t she come with him, did he always wanted to deal with problems by himself?
“I’m beginning to understand more and more why my student likes you so much, Arthas Menethil.” she smiled in her thoughts. “And, even more so, why she gets mad at you so easily.”
 



 
Matthias didn’t know what was more amazing: the sight of world and stars above him, or the shining ground beneath him.
“It’s so beautiful out here.” he thought as he gazed on the globe on which all his friends were on, admiring its beauty.
The world of Equestria was a lot like Azeroth used to be. Prior to Cataclysm, prior to Sundering, when for the first time since the titans left it that almost faced extinction. For one thing, the Equestria didn’t have a giant maelstrom in the middle of it. From where Matthias was, he could see a single continent, but since it was the one he lived on, it was enough for him.
He then turned his gaze towards the many stars, which he never before saw so clearly as now. Somewhere out there, among them was Azeroth, his homeworld. Where his old life had ended, leaving a whole mountain of death, pain and misery in its wake.
Finally, he looked at the ground.
The entire moon shone with the same gentle light everypony could see from the planet below. Except that here, it was much stronger. The very soil and dirt that Matthias picked with his hoof was emitting it.
“Amazing.” the earth pony thought as he tried to take a deep breath.
But he couldn’t.
“As in Luna memories, there is no air here...” he said out-loud... only to realize that he couldn’t hear himself.
“... and moon’s magic keeps me alive without the need to breath.” he concluded in his mind instead, wondering how come Luna didn’t notice she couldn’t speak here. “I guess I will have to intone those prayers in my thoughts... and now that I think about it, the lack of air makes the incense pretty much useless.”
Matthias rolled his eyes as he realized it. Still, he hoped it would work.
It had to.
“No distinctive landmarks.” the earth pony thought as he glanced around at the horizon. He sighed mentally as he picked a random direction and started trotting. “This is going to take a while.”
 



 
Fluttershy yawned as she was about to reach her cottage, coming back from Carousel Boutique; where Rarity and Applejack proposed the plan Cadance came up with to get Twilight and Matt together to her, Rainbow and Pinkie.
“Oh my, it must be later than I thought.” she realised, feeling tired. “I wish we didn’t have to keep this plan a secret from Twilight. It doesn’t seem right, and we wouldn’t have to meet up so late at night.”
The pegasus pony yawned as she opened her door.
“Angel, I’m ho-” Fluttershy began to say as she was about to apologise to the bunny for returning so late, but immediately stopped as she registered what she was seeing.
Angel and Spottedleaf were curled up together, cuddling as they slept on the pillow in her living room.
“Aawww! They look so cute!”
 



 
After many hours of reading, Twilight Sparkle sighed in despair as she put away the book. She had skimmed it, of course, as she did the others. Only interested in certain aspects of them, and wanting to find the answer this night, so that she could relax and be calmer about the upcoming talk she would have with Matt.
What she did find, though, made her anything but relaxed and calm.
According to the book, the relationships between mare and stallion which started as a friendship, becomes much more serious as a couple, if it advances to that level. Apparently, over one third of all couples broke up every year in Equestria, and the chances of that were much higher in cases where ponies were young. And if it was their first relationship, to which for Twilight it was, was both the issue.
But that wasn’t what made this particular situation so dreadful.
When a couple, that were friends, broke up, they very often couldn’t return to being friends, and their other friends often sided with only one side, abandoning the other.
“I cannot lose Matt’s friendship!” Twilight wanted to cry out-loud. “It’s too important to me! And ...my friends are his friends. I wouldn’t want them to chose, or abandon him... or me.”
The lavender pony had no doubt that there was a chance that her friends could choose Matt over her. Rainbow, for one, spend a lot of time with him, learning his fighting moves, and he helped Applejack at the farm every few days.
“Not to mention that he lives in my house.” Twilight fought bitterly as she looked through the window. “I don’t want to throw him out... Argh! How the hay am I supposed to talk to him now?!”
The young unicorn stared at the moon as she continued to think about every possible option she had. The most encouraging one was asking Cadance for advice, but...
Twilight blinked.
“Huh, I must be really tired.” she concluded as she rubbed her eyes. “I could have sworn that I saw a gold light flashing from the moon.”
 



 
“While I am glad that there are so many ponies that don’t go to sleep as the night falls, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy having to work until almost morning!”
Unfortunately for Luna, such was the case at least once a month, which was too often for her taste. Ponies were under the impression that the night court will be much less crowded than the day court, and as such, they tried to present their problems to the Princess of the Night. She didn’t mind, it was her duty as the Princess after all. The problem was, when the problems of ponies stockpiled into the amount of when she didn’t have any break.
“If I didn’t have to lower the moon in, like two minutes, the court would still be in session.” Luna thought as she rolled her eyes, watching the last of the petitioners leave the throne room. “Oh well, now they’re Tia’s problem... or mine in the next night.”
Either way, she had a whole day to rest. Being an alicorn, she didn’t exactly need to sleep as often as other ponies do. Which lets her accompany her sister during the day, simply enjoy the castle’s gardens, company the castle’s staff, and many other, but she still needed to rest.
“Long night?” came the voice of her sister as Celestia trotted into the throne room.
“Indeed, Sister.” Luna replied, smiling at her only close family; the other royals, even Cadance, being descendents of their cousins. “I might actually consider shortening the night if this continues.”
For some reason, Tia didn’t laugh at the joke, only smiled.
“Is something wrong?” the Princess of the Night immediately asked, coming closer to Celestia, so that the guards couldn’t overhear them, as she suspected what could bother her sister. “Tia, if this is about... everything, then the only one that is to be blamed is me.”
She saw her sister open her mouth to object, as she knew she would, but before she could do that, both of them felt a sudden magical surge behind them.
A one that was very familiar to Luna.
She looked to behind her and saw, to her surprise, Matthias who for some reason had a saddleback strapped to his back. Luna didn’t need to look at his shining dust-covered hooves to know where he was.
But what she needed to know was why he was holding some kind of bundle in his hooves. Only one answer could come to her mind and surely he didn’t...
“Matthias...” Luna started, barely keeping the fury out of her voice. “I suggest that you have some very good explanation for...”
 
A soft yawn coming from the bundle interrupted her.
 
“What?” the Princess of the Night whispered, her eyes wide.
“It can’t… can’t be... it’s impossible...”
Luna took few shaken steps towards Matthias, as he then kneeled and presented the bundle to her. She carefully picked it up with and looked at it.
The bundle was, as she suspected, a foal wrapped in blanket. But, what she didn’t expect was for the foal to yawn. The little pony twisted her head and opened her eyes, looking at Luna.
With the same eyes that Shadow Bolt had.
“My... my little baby daughter...” was all that Luna could stutter in her shock, on the verge of tears, as she holds onto a long-lost forgotten joy that she only experienced for a few seconds over a millennium ago.
The little filly giggled happily.
 
Celestia stared wide-eyed at her sister holding up her daughter, which was born dead over a thousand years ago on the moon.
“So this was what he meant... but I thought it was supposed to be impossible to bring somepony to life if he or she stayed dead too long.”
“How is this possible?” she asked, turning to Matthias who was, like her, watching the mother and daughter with a calm and happy expression on his face.
The earth pony looked at her, and Celestia was shocked to see how tired he was. He had bags under his eyes, and his gaze was a bit unfocused.
“When Princess Luna showed me her memories, I noticed she didn’t need to breathe on the moon to stay alive.” he started, smiling. “I assumed that the moon magic itself was sustaining her, and if that was the issue, it would mean that it should also perfectly preserve the body of this filly. Also, Brann pointed out to me that you alicorns resemble demigods of my world, which means normal rules don’t apply to you. And so-”
Whatever else the paladin was about to say, it was cut off as he was suddenly pulled by Luna into a bone-crushing hug.