//------------------------------//
// 83. Home is where your heart is 
// Story: Rebirth of the Damned 
// by Borsuq 
//------------------------------//

	“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness...” Fluttershy continued to repeat those words over and over like a mantra, as she flew in circle around her living room. She paid no mind to her animal friends’ worried gaze. She was too deep in panic for that.
The shy pegasus couldn’t remember if she ever was this embarrassed before in her life. What she meant to be a comforting gesture for her friend turned into something that should happen only between special someponies, all because of her klutziness.
“What is Matt going to think now about me?!” the thought crossed her mind again. “How will I explain it to Rainbow, or Twilight?!”
With that, she had remembered that they were supposed to have a slumber party this night. Fluttershy gulped nervously, wondering if she could somehow get out of this. But no, that would make her friends worried, and they would also try to find out what’s wrong...
“What am I going to do?”
 



 
Twilight sighed as she closed the ‘Nature of changing matter’. The book was very interesting, but with the upcoming supper she found herself unable to concentrate properly on it. The unicorn put it away, and decided to check up on Spike. She slowly rose, stretching her body that stood still for good few hours, and trotted over to the kitchen, from where a delicious smell was coming from.
“Spike, how are pancakes coming along?” Twilight asked her assistant.
“Almost ready.” the dragon replied, his eyes not leaving the oven.
The lavender mare glanced at the plate near him, where there already was quite the number of grass pancakes. Satisfied, she left Spike to continue his work. Entering library’s main room, she looked at the clock. There was still over an hour before Matt would get here, so...
At the sound of the door opening, Twilight didn’t know if she should be happy or annoyed.
“Hi.” she said to Matt as he closed the door behind him. “Done already?”
“More or less.” the stallion replied, smiling to her. “It’s amazing how a giant flaming bird can affect ponies’ concentration. Since they couldn’t focus on my words, I figured-”
“Wait, what?” Twilight stopped him, confused at the phrase ‘giant flaming bird’.
She listened as Matt explained what happened in the Abbey after they left. In short time, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as the paladin tale took an unimaginable turn. Had anypony else tried to convince her that a gigantic phoenix rose from ashes that were all around a book (the very one that caught her attention) Twilight would think them mad.
“Wow... a Phoenix God...” she murmured, shocked to hear that such being even existed. Then again, Azeroth is such a strange place... “It’s a good thing that Fluttershy was able to calm him down... and that you were smart enough to realize what was going to happen. If he would rose inside that library...”
She cut off, unable to express her horror at the thought of so many books being reduced to dust and ashes, and before she even got a chance to read them no less.
“Will you inform Princess Celestia about Al’ar?” Twilight asked, wanting to get the images of all those books ruined out of her head.
“Yes, although it can wait, I wouldn’t want to interrupt Spike now. It’s not really urgent. Al’ar seems... content, at least, and if he would start making trouble, I had given Storm Clash an order to fetch Fluttershy again.”
There was a strange... uncertainty in his voice and eyes as he said their shy friend’s name.
“He must be still feeling guilty for scaring her back then.” Twilight concluded, and even though she herself was certain that Fluttershy had already forgotten about it, she felt for him.
“So, what do you think of your initiates so far?” she changed the subject, figuring that would be best.
“Hmm?” he asked confused, as he clearly had his head stuck in clouds for a moment there. “Oh, they all show great promise. Serenity so far proved to be most understanding of the ways of the paladin, as she got everything I told them. However, a paladin’s life isn’t only about praying and meditating. I am most curious to see how well she’ll fare in tomorrow training.”
“Serenity said that she wanted to join her brother in the crystal guard.” Twilight remembered. “Perhaps he showed her a thing or two?”
“Maybe, but just knowing ‘a thing or two’ doesn’t make one a good fighter. I will probably have to spend more time with her on that. As for the others, Guard Shield seemed to grasp my words well, and what I know from his service record fills me confidence he will do fine tomorrow. Tucker, on the other hoof...” Matt paused, as disdain for the stallion’s behaviour crossed his face. “He has good battle instincts, and based on his medical report, he was no stranger to combat before he got captured in that amber. And he can focus on other things besides mares. However, when he is not concentrating on anything else... well, let’s just say that I’m glad that the only mare within the Abbey chooses to ignore him all the time.”
“And Storm Clash?” the unicorn asked, the image of the pegasus in question appearing in her mind. She wondered how he had his jaw crooked.
“Hmm...” Matt pondered before he answered. “I can tell that he has doubts about himself. I would guess that he might be afraid of failing, which is something I can relate to. But it’s nothing to worry about; he will find his confidence... at some point.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
“Hi Matt!” Spike, who suddenly came out of the kitchen, exclaimed in greeting.
“Hi, Spike.”
“How was the first day? Also, the pancakes are ready. So come in, let’s eat!” the baby dragon added with great enthusiasm.
“If their taste is as good as their smell, I fear I won’t bother to pause eating to talk.” Matt replied to that, chuckling, as all three of them made their way towards the kitchen.
 
“Spike, you’ve really outdone yourself this time.” he said to the baby dragon as he leaned back, sighing with content.
“No argument here.” Twilight added.
Despite Matthias’ ‘worries’, they talked plenty during the supper, as Spike prepared enough grass pancakes for everypony to not worry about the others eating his or her share. Of course, the first few moments were spent in utter silence, while each one of them was savoring the heaven their mouths became with bites of the delicious meal in them.
Once they were able to speak, Matthias shortly described Spike what happened within the Abbey; minus, of course, that incident with Fluttershy. He didn’t tell Twilight about it either, preferring first to discuss this with the pegasus pony. The stallion had a feeling that she truly didn’t mean to kiss him, and a bad luck that he turned his head at that moment was to blame, but knowing Fluttershy, she was probably in deep panic right now nonetheless.
Instead of dwelling on that, he began telling Twilight and Spike how Al’ar looks like, and how different phoenixes from Azeroth are from Equestria’s. It was easier to explain it to Twilight; to the young dragon, the whole concept of ‘elements’ was hard to grasp. But he tried to, probably due to that in the past; he had once tried to take care of a phoenix hatchling. Matthias didn’t know the details, but apparently Spike saved him as an egg from those three idiotic dragons he had beaten shortly after coming to Equestria, and brought it back home. But shortly after it hatched, it became quite clear that it would be best to return it to its parents.
Matthias would’ve liked to know more than that about this matter, but he figured it would be impolite to ask.
The topic of phoenixes, as exciting it was, was expended around the time they were half done with the meal. So instead, they began to talk about all the things that happened since Matthias began living here. They avoided subjects such as the ‘changling invasion’ or the ‘Crystal Empire’, (and, of course, ‘Twilight and Matt in a bathtub together’), instead focusing on their day-to-day life together. Like the time Twilight thought they were missing one book, until they found it next to her bed, where she dropped it after falling asleep while trying to read it. Or how Spike wanted to check if baking a fire ruby makes it more delicious, which it doesn’t, however it does make the oven explode sometimes. And the time Twilight was out and Matthias decided to help Spike reshelving, and instead of using the ladder he stupidly tried to jump up to the highest shelf. Suffice to say that if it weren’t for Light’s protection, there would be a pancake of him splattered across the floor.
Lost in recalling all that happened, the trio didn’t even noticed when they’ve eaten everything.
“Honestly, Spike,” Matthias continue to praise the cook, “if you ever decide to quit being Twilight’s assistant-”
“Fat chances.” Twilight interrupted him sternly, but the stallion noticed the playful gleam in her eye.
The three friends laughed at that, everypony happy that the others were happy. Matthias shot a passing glance at the clock. They had still about two hours left.
“So...” he spoke up, wanting to use that time as best they could. “Board games?”
“In a minute, I need to check something.” Twilight replied, rising from the table. “And you have a message to write to the Princess, remember?”
Had it been anypony besides Twilight or one of his other friends, Matthias would have gotten slightly offended at suggestion that he forgot about his duties. But as such, he nodded, and turned to Spike, while Twilight left to do whatever it was she wanted to do.
The letter he dictated was short, containing mostly information about what happened and Al’ar’s brief history. Once Spike send it, Matthias expected that they would need to wait for their unicorn friend, but almost immediately she stepped back into the kitchen.
“What were you doing?” he asked her, curious.
Whatever it was, it made her really happy.
“Just checking if my surprise gift for you is all set up.” she replied, smiling from ear to ear.
“Oh, you didn’t have too...” Matthias, while pleased, began to say, but she cut him off.
“Maybe, but don’t say so before you see it.” Twilight told him, and something in her voice made him wonder what exactly she wanted to give him. “And don’t worry; I’m not expecting any gift from you.”
“Then you are in for a surprise.” the stallion mused, already having prepared a gift for her over a week ago.
“Now, would you mind closing your eyes?” the lavender mare asked.
Having complete trust in her, Matthias closed them without a moment of hesitation. He didn’t need to see to know she cast a teleportation spell for all three of them however, as the sound was quite familiar to him, not to mention the sensation of magic associated with it.
“Now, open them.”
The sight that welcomed him was a confusing one. In front of him was Twilight’s telescope.
“Go on, take a look.” the unicorn encouraged him, her voice beaming with excitement.
Now intrigued, Matthias pressed his eye into the eyelid. As he did so, he noticed that the telescope was set on a maximum.
“I wonder what she wants me to see...” he pondered as his eye gazed into the space. “Probably some very beautiful constella-”
In that moment, he realized what he was seeing, and all thoughts evaporated from his mind. It was small, very small, even despite how powerful Twilight’s telescope was (and it was enchanted with magic to pass its technical limits), so small that Matthias wouldn’t have recognized it, if it weren’t for the humongous whirlpool right in the middle of it.
Maelstrom.
He was looking at Azeroth.
 
“So... do you like it?” Twilight asked him, uncertain.
She had no idea how he would react to the sight of what she was certain was Azeroth. How does one react to the sight of their homeworld? Twilight was prepared for anything, from happiness to melancholy, and even anger.
Despite actually trying to find it, it was mostly pure luck that she stumbled upon Azeroth. Matt once described to her some of the constellations that were visible from his old world to the best of his abilities, and she had realized that she recognized some of them. However, basing a search on only that proved really difficult, even more so because of a possibility that the sight of Azeroth could be simply obscured by some other celestial body. But Twilight did not give up and finally, just two days ago, she found it.
The sheer distance between the two worlds amazed her. If it weren’t for Princess Celestia’s theory that Matt’s soul was in Tartarus, a gate to which was on Equestria, Twilight would have no idea how in hay was he brought back here. She recalled how Matt told her about the Dark Portal, which linked Azeroth with a fairly close world once called Draenor. How much more powerful would have a portal to be that could allow ponies to cross between Equestria and Azeroth was beyond her imagination.
Twilight snapped back to the present moment once she had realized that Matt finally pulled back. Before she got a chance to ask him again what he thought about her gift, she found herself in a tight hug.
“I love it.” Matt simply said into her ear.
 



 
Matthias watched as Spike rolled the dices, and then moved his figure accordingly.
It took him some time to get over the sight of Azeroth. Even if it was small from here, it was good to see it once more. However, it didn’t make him feel homesick, much to his surprise. Was it because everything that he could call ‘home’ back there was destroyed by his own hands, or simply he thought now Equestria to be his home? He was not sure, but he currently knew one thing.
He was going to buy a Canterlot Castle.
“Come on, four, come on, four...” he chanted over the Monopoly board as it was his turn to roll the dices. His figure was staying on Canterlot’s Station, one that belonged to Twilight along with two others, which made him pay her a lot of game’s bits during the previous turn. But if he could buy Canterlot Castle, the most expensive ‘street’ of the game, then he could start building residences on it and Platina’s District, the second most expensive one that he already owned. Should either Twilight or Spike step on them... “... come on, four...”
“Can you just throw them already?” Spike asked, clearly impatient.
Matthias glanced at him, but his gaze softened once he saw the baby dragon yawn. He threw the dices, in his mind still going: “Come on, four, come on, four...”
Ten.
“Buck” Matthias cursed, and prepared to pay Twilight again.
 
“That was fun.” Twilight commented as they putted Spike to bed.
“Said the winner.” Matthias countered, winking at her playfully.
Either he had bad luck today, or Lordaeron would’ve gone bankrupt had he not fallen into darkness. Matthias lost as the first, and later observed Twilight and Spike continued playing, until Spike had finally stepped on Platina’s District that was now owned by Twilight. However, Spike’s bitterness over losing was short-lived, as he had fallen asleep almost instantly.
“We should’ve done this more often.” Twilight continued, once the dragon was safely sleeping in his basket. Smirking, she added: “Maybe then you wouldn’t be so bad at it.”
“Har-har, my friend.” Matthias replied, pretending to be offended.
Both of them looked into each other’s eyes, and burst with laughter, muffled by their hooves so that they wouldn’t wake up Spike. It felt good to spend an evening like this, even though it would have to end soon. However, once they’ve stopped laughing, they fell silent, both thinking the same thing.
It was time to say goodbye.
“This is ridiculous.” the stallion exclaimed out loud. As confused Twilight glanced at him, he continued: “I am just moving to the other side of town, which isn’t even that big.”
“I know, I’ve been thinking the same thing.” Twilight said, smiling. It did not surprised Matthias that she understood perfectly what he meant. “You know, you haven’t showed us exactly where you will sleep.”
“I have a bedroom connected to an office within the barracks.” the paladin replied, shrugging. “Both are pretty modest, although... Princess Luna insisted that I’ll accept this weird chair as a gift from her.”
“Weird chair?”
“Yeah, it’s on wheels, and can spin around... It’s actually rather distracting, to sit in it.”
“Oh, I know those!” Twilight exclaimed. “They’re called ‘swivel chairs’, and they are mostly bought by those big companies. I wonder why Luna insisted that you’ll accept it...”
 
Meanwhile, in Canterlot Castle…
“Whee!!!!” Luna exclaimed in excitement as she and her baby daughter, both sitting in her swivel chair with the mother holding Moonlight, swirled around it even faster.
 
“So, I guess this is it, then.” Twilight said instead, abandoning her earlier trail of thoughts. “You have all your things?”
Instead of answering, Matt pointed at the saddlebag near him, where there was also Spottedleaf and her pillow and bowls.
“There wasn’t much of it.” he said with a chuckle. He then turned to her, and his face took on more serious matter. “Twilight, I wanted to thank you for letting me stay here for over... four months. That long, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while.” Twilight replied, giggling. “I’ve kinda gotten used to you being here by now. It will be weird without you.” she added in sadder tone.
“And it will be weird for me to not be surrounded by books.” Matt countered with a smirk. “But we will get over it. You have to focus on your studies, right?”
“Yeah, and you on training paladins. Guess we won’t see each other that often, then...”
“Hey, come on.” Matt interrupted her right when her ears were about to fall down. “We’re friends: we will always find some free time to spend together.”
Twilight looked up to see him smile, and the only thing she could do was smile in reply. She hoped he was right.
“I’ll best be going, then...” Matt said after a while, but as he was about to turn around, he stopped. “Oh, and Twilight, thanks for showing me Azeroth; it really meant a lot to me.”
“No problem. I’m glad that I could show you it.”
“And this might be a funny coincidence, but I actually prepared a little something for you.”
“Really?” Twilight asked, surprised and pleased.
“Of course. Now, close your eyes.”
The unicorn did as he asked without a moment of hesitation, curious as to what Matt wanted to give her. Judging by his behaviour, he did not have doubts that she would like her gift, unlike her when she showed him Azeroth. She waited impatiently.
“Maybe Brann also brought back a book about magic?” she thought, and the idea of learning magic from another world almost made her squeal with excitement.
She continued to wait a bit longer, but it then hit her that it was becoming rather long. She lifted one eyelid...
Matt and his things disappeared.
At first all that Twilight could do was look in disbelief at nothing in particular, but she quickly took a hold of herself. This was Matt she was dealing with; the guy that just loved to tease her. She was sure that he truly had some gift for her, but instead of simply giving it to her; he hid it somewhere, and left.
“You better hope this gift is really amazing.” she muttered to herself, more annoyed than angry. “Or else Al’ar won’t be the only being on fire around here.”
 



 
Matthias stopped himself from laughing only because he didn’t want to disturb anypony at this late hour. Of course, the tavern and a club were still open, but they were on the other side of town.
He was certain that Twilight was now searching for his gift for her around the shelves of the library, in the kitchen, an in bedroom, but was fairly sure she wouldn’t find it until she gave up. After all, he hid it in such obvious place that nopony, especially Twilight, would think about looking for it there.
As Spottedleaf attempted to make his back more comfortable to lie on, Matthias recalled the great lengths he went to find this gift, and then to even greater lengths to get it.
His hoof still ached.
 
“I give up.”
That was all Twilight could think off after good twenty minutes of searching. She would have liked to spend more time on it, but her friends would be here shortly, so she needed her library to not look as if a hurricane came through it.
Resigned, Twilight used a spell to put her books back on the shelves (thankfully, she was careful as to from which shelf the books she put where, so she had no problem putting them back), and the dishes in the kitchen back in their place. Then, wanting to at least catch some rest, she teleported to right above her bed and landed on it softly. She stretched out, put her head on the pillow...
And then abruptly rose.
 
“What are we waiting for?” Matthias replied to Spottedleaf’s curious meow.
They were standing not so far from Twilight’s library. Or rather, he was standing, and Spottedleaf was standing on his back.
“I need to speak with Fluttershy, and I know she will be coming this way.” he explained.
As he wondered how this talk would go, he massaged his right hoof, an act that while in company of others he was careful not to do, so that nopony would figure out what happened.
“I should have never agreed to hoof wrestling.” he thought with regret.
 
As Twilight lifted her pillow, a very familiar shape had registered in her mind. Tears appeared in her eyes by themselves, and the unicorn felt that even if Matt gave her hundred of books, she wouldn’t be as nearly as touched as she was now.
On her bed laid Smarty Pants, holding a small card that said:
 



I’m home!