//------------------------------// // First Impressions (Revised) // Story: A Demon In Ponyville // by Terciel1249 //------------------------------// A Demon in Ponyville Chapter 5: First Impressions Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. All other characters are mine. Matthew leaned against the edge of the carriage, his head dangling over the edge on his long neck with his forelegs resting against the edge of the chariot. The wind rushing through his main felt soothing. The rest of the chariot’s occupants were not enthralled. Matthew’s hind legs rested against the floor, his underbelly visible to them. Twilight blushed turning away. Matthew not realizing that his bits were visible to the entire world to see. Or he forgot he was no longer wearing pants. All of the chariot’s occupants turned away from Matthew’s disregard for decency. Rarity threw Matthew a stern look for showing such lack of taste. The chariot flew through the air at great speed towards the Capital of Equestria, Canterlot. Carved into the side of a mountain, the white walls and buildings shone under the bright sunlight. Bright rays of sunlight glinted off the golden roofs. The chariot circled once before landing. Ponies moving about the city did not pay any attention to the chariot flying towards the palace. The golden chariot touched down in the large plaza of cobblestone. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Spike disembarked from the chariot. The group moved towards the tall golden double doors allowing entrance to the palace. Twilight stopped when she realized the group was missing one. Turning back, Twilight sighed in exasperation when she saw Mathew snoozing comfortably in the chariot. “Matthew care to join us?” Twilight yelled. Matthew jerked awake. Looking around, Matthew was greeted with the site of the polished stone of the courtyard surrounded by armored ponies wearing golden armor, glittering under the sun. Those looked ridiculous. Stretching his legs, Matthew jumped out of the chariot to head over to the waiting group. “Did you have a good nap?” Twilight asked sarcastically Matthew responded sarcastically, “I wasn’t sleeping. There was a bug in my eye and I was trying to suffocate it to death.” All the girls shook her head despairingly. Everypony made their way to the grand entrance. Man whoever lives here must be loaded! At least twenty five feet tall, these magnificent doors were a spectacle to see. The door was covered in the depiction of a sun on the left side and a moon on the right, surrounded by a boarder of intertwining tree branches. Two large circled hinges sat on each side of the split formed in the center of the door. Both were in the shape of a circlet of olive branches. A Royal guard stood ready at each side of the door at attention, one a white Pegasus and the other a grey Pegasus. Twilight waved a hoof to the pair. The guards immediately went into action. Each pony took one of the door knobs in their mouths before pulling them open. The wooden doors scraped against the stone yard, echoing in the courtyard. Matthew marveled at the entryway. Polished floors, the grand stair case of pure white marble with matching black tiles and the banners of light blues and pinks were draped across the mirrored ceiling and the pillars of the guard rails. There’s way too much pink. Standing in the center of this spacious room stood two ponies. The white unicorn to the right had a bright blue mane. To his left, a pink alicorn with purple mane mixed with other colors. The pair looked expectantly at the doorway. Matthew analyzed the pair, the unicorn was well built like him and the alicorn looked a little fragile. Upon seeing them Twilight rushed over to Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, wrapping her forelegs around them, “Shiny! Cadence!” When the three disengaged Twilight turned to Cadence and they began to do something strange. Matthew raised an eyebrow, What the hell is this? Twilight and Cadence began to do some strange jig, “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake.” Matthew could not comprehend what had just happened. The two alicorns giggled excitedly. It was so cute, Mathew wanted to throw up. My god this is hell. Cadence turned to the rest of the girls, “It’s good to see you all again.” Twilight turned to Shining Armor smiling widely, “When did you get in?” Cadence answered, “Yesterday. Shining Armor had to take care of some paperwork for Princess Celestia.” Shining Armor commented, “It’s just a little paperwork. No harm done.” Cadence whispered to Twilight, “It’s more than a month late.” All of the girls enjoyed a giggle at Shining Armor’s expense. Fluttershy asked, “How have you two been?” Shining Armor shrugged, “Everything’s been a little slow at the Crystal Empire, but we’ve been able to keep busy getting ready for the Equestrian games.” Am I the only one who would be disappointed if it wasn’t made out of crystal? Shining Armor noticed the extra member of the group. Matthew decided to stand off to the side. Shining Armor offered him a hoof, “Nice to meet you. I’m Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. Who might you be?” Matthew accepted it, “Mathew, how’s it going?” Shining Armor wrapped his leg around Matthew’s, the equine equivalent to a handshake. Matthew raised an eyebrow in surprise at the amount of force Shining Armor was applying. Shining Armor testing Matthew’s strength. Oh, now I have to screw with you. Matthew started to apply pressure to Shining Armor’s foreleg. Shining Armor’s white face went from surprise to a grimace. Matthew offhandedly said, “Nice to meet ya, Shining Armor. How much would you say you bench-press?” Shining Armor didn’t answer his face started to turn red. Matthew continued add more pressure. Not enough to crush his bones, but enough to show Shining Armor who’s the man. “I’d say around 400 pounds.” With a smirk, Matthew continued, “I prefer to warm up with 400, and then move up to 800. That’ll give you a great workout.” All of the ponies rolled their eyes at the pair, muttering under their breaths something that sounded like ‘colts.’ Cadence finally decided to break up the pair, pushing their interlocking hooves apart, “Alright boys! Break it up.” Turning to Shining Armor, Cadence asked, “Do you have to do that to every stallion we meet.” Shining Armor grinned sheepishly, rubbing his throbbing hoof, “Sorry dear.” Shining Armor glanced at Matthew, wondering if he was actually joking about his weight training or not. Cadence turned to Matthew offering her hoof. She said kindly, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadence.” Matthew took the hoof in his own, applying a gentle kiss to it. Shining Armor shot Matthew a very angry look. Mathew said, “The pleasure is mine.” Like a boss. Matthew thought. Leaning over to Shining Armor, Matthew grinned evil. Shining Armor returned Matthew’s grin with a snarl. It’s the little things in life you have to enjoy. Cadence giggled before addressing the group, “It’s good to see you all hear. Before we meet with Princess Celestia, there’s one issue that we do have to address.” All the girls gave her a quizzical look along with Matthew and Spike. Cadence turned to Matthew. “Before you meet the Princess,” Cadence poked him with her hoof, “You need a bath.” Matthew snorted with disdain, “I don’t smell that bad.” Deciding to make sure he didn’t, Matthew lifted up one of his legs and gave an experimental sniff where an armpit would be. Maybe I do need a shower. Cadence said, “Yes you do. I could smell you from Ponyville.” Matthew muttered under his breath, “I could smell you from Ponyville!” “What was that?” “Where’s the shower?” Why is she giggling? Cadence giggled, commenting, “You won’t be taking a shower. The palace staff will by assisting you in taking a nice long bath.” God no! Not a bath! It’s the least manliest way to clean the body. Out of nowhere two unicorns appeared next to Matthew. One had a light lavender coat with her light pink mane pulled up into a roll along her neck. The second unicorn had a light blue coat, her white mane pulled up in a similar fashion. The mint color coat unicorn addressed Matthew, “Hello, sir. My name is Minty Fresh and this is my sister, Lavender Water. We will be serving you today, please follow us.” Matthew turned towards Twilight, giving her a pleading look. Don’t make me do this! The two unicorns took Mathew by his forelegs into and forcibly dragged the stallion off to wherever the bathtub was. Twilight raised an eyebrow to Cadence, “Was that really necessary?” Cadence offered her sister-in-law a sly wink, “No, but it’ll be hilarious.” 0 0 0 I must’ve done something wrong to deserve this kind of punishment. Matthew thought to himself. The two villains made him sit in a large square bathtub surrounded with white marble tile, the depiction of a sun at the bottom of the tub in bright yellow tiles. The pair had chosen to use a foot wide brush with black bristles attacked to a wooden pole. That looks an awful lot like a broom. Matthew thought with disdain. Minty Fresh and Lavender Water scrubbed viciously at Mathew’s coat and mane. I don’t know how I will do it, but I will get you back for this Cadence! Matthew grimaced, the brushes moved across his fur. The unicorns periodically dipped their brushes into the soapy water before continuing their work. Matthew muttered to himself. The rough brushes continued their exploration of his body: lifting his wings up and brushing underneath them, going over his chest, continuing with his sides, and rump. Lavender giggled, “Now time to scrub under that tail sir.” Check please! Matthew jumped out of the water, droplets of water and soap flying in all directions. Matthew rushed to the closest door, making his escape. The pair of unicorns expected this. A light blue and purple aura encased Matthew, holding him in the air. Matthew struggled against his bonds, These two are stronger then they look. Even though he could have broken it with some of his power, but he was in a royal castle and would most likely destroy something or harm someone. That probably won’t go well with whoever runs this show. The unicorns placed Matthew back in the tub, grabbing a smaller set of brushes to continue his bath. Sweet baby Jesus! Help Me! 000 Twilight and company made their way into the throne room. Celestia sat patiently on her high backed throne of gold inscribed with the symbol the sun. Celestia smiled at the approaching ponies. Twilight, Shining Armor and the rest of the group bowed when they came within ten feet of her. Celestia said, “It’s good to see you my little ponies. How was your trip?” “It wasn’t bad. Thank you for asking,” Twilight remarked Celestia stood up from her throne, moving towards the group addressing them, “I have brought you here to ask a very important question. What do you think of this new stallion?” Celestia turned to Twilight first. Her faithful student answering, “He doesn’t seem bad. He’s a little weird, maybe even crazy, but not entirely bad.” Celestia turned to Fluttershy. Fluttershy smiled softly as she squeaked, “He doesn’t seem bad. He’s a little loud at times.” Celestia turned to Rarity. Rarity raised her nose into the air, “He’s quite a barbarian with no care for proper etiquette.” Rainbow Dash shrugged when Celesta turned to her, “I don’t know.” Pinky Pie jumped up and down waving her hoof in the air, “Pick me! Pick me!” Celestia chuckled at her antics, “Yes Pinky Pie, what you think?” Taking a deep breath, Pinkie Pie almost yelled, “I like him! He’s my bestest friend!” Her voice echoed loudly in the open hall. Celestia chuckled, knowing full well that every pony Pinkie Pie had met was her best friend. Celestia turned to Shining Armor, “What is your opinion Captain?” Shining Armor shrugged, “He’s strong. I’ll give him that, but nothing that I can’t handle Princess.” Cadence giggled, sliding her elbow into Shining’s ribs, “He nearly took off your hoof dear.” Shining grimaced at the laughter filling the hall. “I need adult! I needed adult!” Matthew’s panicked screams echoed down the long palace hall. Celestia turned to the giggling Cadence. Her visible eye brow rose, “Where is the stallion?” Cadence blushed. “I thought he smelled bad, so I sent him to take a bath,” Cadence said. Celesta chuckled, returning to the rest of ponies. Small talk filled the room while Mathew swore to heaven on high things that could never be unheard of again. Wow! That was quite good. Celestia thought. Not many ponies knew that she loved to pull all kinds of pranks on any unsuspecting pony. It was the reaction that makes it all worth it. Especially when it comes to creative swears. 0 0 0 After he was properly washed and dried. With enough nightmare fuel to last him a couple of weeks, Matthew sat in front of a large near with bright lights circling its shiny surface. Please don’t put any makeup on me. I’m too handsome for that fake crap. And by sat, Matthew was restrained with a disturbing amount of force. An old dentist chair held Matthew’s legs and torso by thick leather straps. I’m getting a weird vibe here. Minty and Lavender dragged a large cart filled with dangerous looking scissors and clippers to the struggling Matthew. Minty dragged a brush through Matthew’s mane, saying sweetly, “We’ll just style your mane. Then you’ll be ready to meet Princess Celestia.” It’s not like I have a choice. Matthew thought grimly to himself. Lavender Water took out a thick fur brush, running along Matthew’s golden fur. Minty practically ripped Matthew’s hair out of his head. Several strands of red and black hair were ripped from Matthew’s head. Apparently there were a lot of tangles. Minty and Lavender hummed sweetly. You may act sweet, but I know the truth! You’re evil she devils sent from the deepest parts of hell to torment me. After his coat, mane and tail were brushed, the pair traded their brushes for a set of shiny silver combs. Lavender Water and Minty Fresh proceeded to comb through the crimson mane, pulling out any remaining tangles. When they were satisfied, the pair moved to look at Matthew from the front. Their brows furrowed in deep concentration, considering what to do with that spiked mane. I’m scared, Matthew thought to himself. Cold chills ran up his spine. The pair continued to stare at him with unblinking eyes It’s been ten minutes. Make up your minds already! Lavender muttered, “I think we should lay the hair backwards. What do you think?” Minty remarked, “That could work. We’ll need some gel.” Minty Fresh levitaed a small blue squirt bottle over Matthew’s hair as Lavender moved next to him. Applying a squirt of hair gel to his mane, Lavender pulled Mathew’s mane back towards neck. Lavender water smoothed the hair with her comb. Lavender and Minty took a step back to admire their work with a smile. To their horror, and Matthew’s snicker, the hair flipped back to its original spiky state. Confused, the pair grabbed the hair gel and applied the entire bottle to Matthew’s mane. Lavender and Minty pulled the hair back to make it look proper once again. But Matthew’s hair would not give up as easily. Matthew’s red hair sent flecks of blue gel in all directions, dots blue covering the mares and the mirror. Your gel is no match for the power of my hair! Matthew chuckled at the frustrated looks on both of the unicorn’s faces. “Time for the big guns!” Minty fresh exclaimed. With a flourish, Minty summoned a large silver role of duck tap from her cart. I have no idea why a hair stylist would have duck tape. Lavender pulled back Matthew’s hair once again as Minty applied copious amounts of silver duct tape to the back of his head. The pair took a step back from Mathew, daring his hair to move an inch. The red hair remained in place. A sigh of relief escaped Lavender Water and Minty Fresh. The pair sucked in their breath when the red mane quivered, not going down without a fight. In an instant, Matthew’s hair shot back up. Pieces of duck tape stuck to the long strands of Matthew’s mane. Minty Fresh and Lavender Water groaned in unison. My hair is invincible! Kneel before the might of my mane! Matthew thought triumphantly. Minty and Lavender stared in surprise at Matthew’s defiant hair. “Let’s just give his mane a trim and grind his hooves. What do you say?” Minty said in defeat. Lavender just nodded, still trying to figure out how Matthew’s hair was so strong. Matthew remained perfectly still. Lavender and Minty trimmed the red and black hair to a more manageable state. Finally, it’s over, Minty and Lavender returned their tools to the cart. Gasping in horror, Matthew watched the reflections of the two unicorns. Each pulled out what could only be described as two high powered hand held sanders. The machines revved to life with an electric whir. Sparks flew in every direction when the machines made contact. Matthew thought to himself, I swear I will have my vengeance upon you Princess Cadence! You think you are safe! But I will find you! And I will play some of the worst pranks you will ever experience! I will make you run home crying to Mommy! Vengeance will be MINE! 000 The chatter in the throne room stopped. The two white double doors opened, a pair of guards escorting a very clean, very shiny, and very irritated Matthew to the throne room. Matthew noted the tall paned glass windows depicting some ponies doing stuff, I don’t care to even bother to figure out what’s in them. The room was covered with various colors of pink, purple, blue, yellow to contrast against the white marble. Gold ran between the tall columns and tiles. At the end of the hall, Twilight and her friends waited. Two incredible energy sources stood in front of two high backed thrones. The throne to the left depicted a large golden sun and the other depicting a blue crescent moon. It was the energy sources that intrigued Matthew. One energy source came from the tall white alicorn, wearing a golden crown with a flowing multi-colored mane flowing in the breeze. Mathew assumed she was female since this was most likely the princess he had to talk to. Power radiated from her with an intense heat, almost like a miniature sun. It felt warm and welcoming. Man, she’s tall. The second signature confused Matthew. It appeared to be coming from the center of the room, but nothing was there. Why would they be hiding? Matthew though, moving towards the group. This energy felt, for lack of a better word chaotic. It wasn’t evil and dark, but it was swirly and shifting, moving from one color and shape to the next. This energy never stayed in one form, always changing. Almost playfully… Twilight cleared her throat, bringing Matthew to the present. Matthew hurriedly moved towards the group. Shining Armor asked, “How was your bath, Mr. Mathew?” “The word traumatizing comes to mind you snark bastard.” Isn’t he a charmer, thought Celestia behind her amused smile. Twilight motioned with her hoof towards Celestia, “This is Princess Celestia, raiser of the Sun and Co-Ruler of Equestria.” A co-monarchy? I wonder how that works? Matthew turned to Princess Celestia, meeting her gaze. Clesestia and Matthew stared at each other, sizing the other. Matthew saw warmth and kindness behind Celestia’s eye and smile. Celestia found in Matthew’s eyes, weariness. The glimmer of intrigue crossed those brown irises. Celestia would have never thought such a young pony could be so tired. These were the eyes of a pony that’s been through too much conflict and too many battles. Every eye remained intently on the two ponies. The room was silent as a tomb. Every ponies jaws dropped at Matthew. Matthew did the unthinkable. Matthew offered Princess Celestia his hoof, “How’s it going, Princess?” Celestia chuckled. Twilight eyes began to twitch in irritation, unable to process what had just happened. This stallion. The stallion that had just saved Ponyville, has the balls to not bow to the most powerful pony in Equestria! Shining Armor was not going to have any of this. The enraged unicorn shoved his hoof into Matthew’s barrel, almost shouting, “You have a lot of nerve! Not bow to the Princess of Equestria! The ruler and raiser of the sun!” It was a poor choice of words on Shining Armor’s part. In a second, Shining Armor found himself looking not at Matthew but the tall rafters of the throne room. Shining Armor turned his head to see Celestia and Cadence looking at him with shocked expressions. Celestia’s eyes wide with surprise. I didn’t even see him move! Matthew’s face entered Shining Armor’s vision, hovering over him. “I bow to no one. Got it!” Matthew gave Shining Armor a light tap on the side, sending the stallion sliding across the floor into the wall with a hard thunk. The guards were already rushing towards Matthew. The unicorns’ horns ablaze with magic as the rest of the guards drew weapons from their scabbards. They did not know who the stallion was, but he may be a threat to the Princess. Celestia calmly addressed the Royal Guards, “Stand down.” The guards begrudgingly extinguished their magic or returned their weapons into their scabbards. When the guards returned to their post, Celestia turned to Matthew. “Why did you do that to him?” Matthew responded with a shrug, “Don’t take it personally Princess. I bow to for no one and for nothing.” Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy had to hold back Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity from charging Matthew. Cadence rushed to Shining Armor, helping her husband to his hooves. Cadence and Shining Armor returned to Celestia’s side, joining every pony in the room to glare at Matthew. Everypony wanted to do nothing more than beat the crap out of Matthew. No pony expected what happened next. A chuckle escaped Celestia muzzle, her eyes twinkling with delight. Celestia had lived for a very long time, longer than any pony could fathom. In all those years, she has had to deal with the constant annoyance of etiquette and the attitude ponies adopted when dealing with royalty. “It’s been quite some time since a pony has not acted courteous when meeting me. You’re either brave or perhaps very foolish.” Matthew smirked, “Well you know what they say: only fools rush in. Or was it a fool will act the part? I don’t know.” Celestia nodded, “I have some questions for you. Would you please answer all of my questions as truthfully as possible? But first can I have you name” Matthew nodded before saying, “Sure thing, my name’s Mathew. But there’s something I want to address.” Matthew moved over to an empty section of the room to Celestia’s right, looking intently at what appeared to be empty air. Matthew said to the open air, his voice low and threatening, “I have no idea what you are, but you better reveal yourself now or I will force you to.” Every pony looked at Matthew as if he had gone crazy. Without warning, Matthew’s right hoof struck. The shadow covered leg colliding with something very solid. Celesta, Twilight, Shining Armor and the rest gasped at the dragon like figure crashing into the side of the room, cracking one of the tall glass windows. The dragonesque turned to Matthew, his yellow eyes full of excitement. “Wow! You are good!” Matthew prepared to deliver second blow, “Tell me who you are. You won’t get another warning.” Discord jumped to his feet, dusting himself off before announcing with a flamboyant wave of his arms, “I am Discord, God of chaos.” With a mocking bow, Discord continued, “At your service.” Matthew did not like the feeling he was getting from Discord. His energy felt too alien to be anything mortal. Celestia asked Discord, annoyance entering her voice, “Discord, why were you hiding?” Discord gave Celesta a knowing smile, “Oh my dear Celestia! I was simply greeting our visitor from another world.” Everypony except Twilight, Fluttershy and Mathew gasped at Discord’s exclamation. Celestia hurriedly hid her surprise. “Why do you say he’s from another world?” “Because I smell it on him,” Discord answered with a curling smile. “Oh come on! I just took a bath!” Matthew shouted. And I don’t want to go through another one. Discord turned to Matthew, “Oh I don’t mean that kind of smell. What I meant is that you still have a slight residue of the Void on you.” “ The Void?” Twilight asked, unsure of what that meant. Discord appeared to Twilight’s left, “I’m sure you haven’t heard of it before Twilight. But the Void is the separation between worlds, or dimensions if you will. Each world has to exist in its own realm. With its own laws and timeline or else anarchy and chaos will be created. Laws of one galaxy will clash with the next, raining down destruction upon all of the multi-verse! It would be the end of all life as we know it!” Discord threw his arms in the air cackling madly. This guy’s a few French fries short of a happy meal. Celesta asked, “Matthew, is it true? Are you from another world?” Matthew nodded. Celestia continued to question him, “Then why are you here? What brought you to equestrian?” “Well I wasn’t planning on visiting Equestria. Kind of fell here after I was banished from my world,” Matthew rolled his eyes. Each pony looked ready to attack Matthew, thinking him a convict or worse a spy sent to destroy their nation. Matthew continued, unperturbed by the group slowly getting to strike. “I was a soldier in my world. I was made to fight an evil that threatened my entire race. When the last battle happened, we were able to stop threat and saved millions of lives. But humanity was fearful of my kind. My kind possessed special abilities that a normal person does not. We were burdened with these powers and forced to fight for them. Without an enemy, they had no further for use of us. Humanity was afraid that we would use our curses, our gifts, against them. I was banished because I surrendered to my people. I do not want to fight them.” Celesta held up a hoof, stopping everypony from pouncing on Matthew. Matthew was aware of them. He felt them getting closer and closer, but they do not have the strength to beat him. I could take on all of you without breaking a sweat. “What species are you?” Scratching the back of his head, Matthew answered, “Well I started out human, but after my kind gained their abilities humanity gave us a different name.” “Humans are a myth here,” Celesta pointed out. “Tales of human speak about the ingenuity, conquering the seas and heavens. If you are different, then what did they call you?” “Hybrid was one of the nicer terms.” Twilight asked, interrupting her teacher, “What’s a human? What do they look like? Do they have magic?” Celestia silenced her pupil with a hoof. “Let’s see… Humans are bipedal, they walk on two feet and we have hands,” Matthew said. At the confused looks he was getting, Matthew tried to explain, “Hands are um… Have you ever seen a monkey’s paws? You know with five flexible fingers?” When the group nodded, Matthew continued, “Humans are like monkeys, except they don’t have hands on our feet. They don’t have fur either. They’ve got some hair on the top of our heads and in some other areas, but that’s it. No, humans do not have magic. Humans build stuff to help out with certain tasks we cannot perform ourselves.” Everypony except for just Discord and Celesta looked at Matthew confusion. Twilight could not understand what the world would be like without her magic. That’s just insane! Celesta stared into Matthew’s brown eyes unable to sense any falsehoods. “Then I will ask the most important question: what do you plan to do while you are here?” “I don’t know. I’ve no reason to harm or do anything to you or the people of this world, if that’s what you are worried about,” Matthew shrugged his shoulders. Celestia continued to probe Matthew for answers, “When you said you received your abilities, what did you mean?” “That is a difficult question to ask. When my world was under attack, darkness spilled from the Earth and released all kinds of horrors onto humanity. These creatures killed any source of light they could. And what is filled with the greatest amount of light?” Matthew asked. The ponies simply stared at him. “An innocent soul. These demons poisoned the souls of children, forcing them to either die a horrible painful death, or to turn into something like themselves. There are a few that didn’t turn dark. This group turned into something else entirely. That’s the group I belong to.” Celesta turned to Discord. The Spirit of Chaos jumped up and down in excitement, waving his hand in the air like a preschool child. “Did you want to share something with us, Discord?” Celesta knowing from the way he smiled, he did. “Thank you Princess. I would like to share my knowledge on what exactly Matthew is,” Discord said, enjoying the look of confusion Celestia through him. Matthew turned to Discord, along with the rest of the ponies present. Discord began to pace in front of the group, “You see I’ve lived a very long life. For thousands upon thousands of years, I have walked these lands. In the early days of your ancestors there was a time when there was no Pegasus. There were no unicorns. There were no Cutie Marks. There was just Earth ponies. Magic was unheard of. Ponies back then believed in a different power. They believed in nature itself and built using the tools nature provided them. They had to develop not only building, but agriculture as well. Nature didn’t act the same way it does today. The weather acted on its own. Back then the Gates of Tartarus did not exist and there was nothing to stop the demons from running rampant. ” Discord continued his narration, “One of their greatest weapons was not their ferocity, but their poison.” This sounds so familiar. Discord turned to Mathew, “No one likes a smartass.” Did you just read my mind? “No,” Discord chuckled, “I can tell when someone’s making an ass of themselves.” That must be going off 24/7 with you. “Cheeky bastard. Let me tell you something kid. I’m over one hundred thousand years old and I can beat you with one paw tied behind my back.” Bring it on Grandpa! Don’t break a hip walking your ass all the way over here. “That’s a lot of big talk coming from a bipedal monkey,” Discord retorted. Pretty big talk coming from a bipedal bitch! “Oh, real mature. I’ll let you know I am a god!” So? You want a cookie or something? “I will make the sky rain fire, destruction and chaos down upon your head!” Then I’ll enjoy the shade while kicking your sorry ass up and down these streets. “You are going to get it…” “JUST GET ON WITH THE STORY!” everypony screamed, shocking Matthew and Discord out of their childish bickering. “Jerk,” Discord muttered under his breath. “Now, a child who is able to conquer the poison would receive a special mark. These marks appear when a pony has learned a great truth of the soul.” “A great truth of the soul?” asked Applejack. Ah really should have taken more philosophy classes in school. Discord answered, “It’s like when you receive your Cutie Mark. It’s not a special talent you unlock, but the aspect of your being. Or to put in a better phrase: ‘Who you really are deep down.’” Discord appeared to Mathew’s left, motioning towards the black ink, “A pony receives these marks when they have unlocked some hidden meaning. The message is burned into their flesh, bringing with it power and a great burden.” “What kind of burden?” asked Rainbow Dash, not liking the sound of that. “The burden of wielding True Power.” “What do you mean True Power?” Celestia asked, a shiver riding up her spine. “You see Princess,” Discord answered, appearing next to Celestia and wrapping an arm around her neck. “Magic is the product of high concentration and harnessing the power around a unicorn, correct?” Not waiting for an answer, Discord continued, “True power is the power of the soul, the power of one’s own being. True Power is the ability to achieve the greatest of feats. But like all power, it comes with a price. The price is learning the soul’s true essence.” All of the ponies gapped at Discord, unable to speak. “Now these ponies were able to fight along the rest of their kind, pushing the demons back into Tartarus…” “But without anything to stop them, the demons would just keep coming back right?” asked Pinkie Pie, no sign of excitement in her voice. “You are quite right,” Discord said solemnly. “In order to ensure the demons could no longer attack the land, each of these marked ponies sacrificed themselves.” Gasp! “In doing so they released all of their energy into the world, creating the gates of Tartarus and more.” “What else did they create?” asked Celestia. “Their energies unlocked the hidden potential in all ponies,” Discord answered with a smile. “It was through them that the first unicorns and Pegasus began to appear many years later. You see, a unicorn, Pegasus and Earth pony have a deep magical connection to the world. These individual tribes evolved from those who survived the Battle of Tartarus. Each one developing a unique ability based on their environments.” “But how did magic come from that?” Twilight asked. “If magic is all around us, how is it that it took these ponies to unlock it?” “You are right, Twilight. Magic has always existed,” Discord said. “The energy the hybrids ponies released into the world only unlocked the potential to sense it. It took your ancestors hundreds of years to understand how to access it.” Discord held up his arms, “It is from these unlocked potential that the Cutie Mark appeared. How the Earth ponies are able to work with the land better than any other pony. Even how Pegasus are able to tame the weather.” Discord appeared in front of Mathew, his yellow eyes centimeters away from Matthew’s. Startled, Matthew jumped back in surprise. “Mathew here is one of these ponies. But you are quite special, Mathew.” Please let it not be special education special. Celestia’s eyebrow rose, “What do you mean Discord?” “What I mean Celestia, is that Matthew’s soul is in perfect balance.” “What?” asked the group. Discord moved forward, pushing his yellow eyes almost into Mathew’s brown eyes, “Tell me Matthew, how does a child survive the poison?” “By absorbing the darkness.” “Correct!” Discord yelled. With a snap a finger, everypony and Spike found themselves sitting in elementary school desks. Discord stood at the front with a chalkboard. Discord wore a traditional white lab coat. Mathew found himself situated between Celestia and Twilight, How did he just do that? Discord began to educate the ponies, drawing two circles and filling in one, “It is the inherent rule of the universe that light and darkness cannot exist within the same space. Imagine a battery, by itself there is has no charge. But when you connect the positive and negative sides, a current is created. Energy is than created. When light and darkness are brought together, they explode. Meaning that both cannot exist in the same place or they created a massive release of energy. In order for a pure soul to survive the darkness, the light must absorb it. The light than takes some of the attributes of the darkness..” Matthew interrupted, “But during the struggle, a child’s body can burnout.” “What do you mean ‘burnout’?” Fluttershy asked. “They die.” All of the ponies gasped in horror. Discord drew their attention by tapping the board with a sharp claw, his smile disappearing, “Unfortunately during the struggle a pony’s body may be unable to handle the massive amounts of stress. A pony can use all of their energy to beat the darkness that they are unable to survive the conversion.” Discord drew a third circle, filling in only half, “Mathew here survived the process and breaks all the rules.” The confused looks on the ponies’ faces were all Discord got. Matthew was confused as to how he knew all of this. Rainbow Dash blurted out, “I don’t get it!” “Me too,” Applejack agreed. Discord sighed, “Now my little ponies, everpony contains an amount of positive and negative qualities in their soul. These are merely attributes of a personality. A pony can be greedy or a jerk, but they will still be a good pony on the inside. What makes a pony’s soul is whether it is made of light or darkness, not both.” Discord appeared next to Matthew, startling him, and wrapped one arm around him, “Matthew here defies nature… NO, defies the laws of the universe itself!” Discord pulled out a white coned hat with the word ‘Special’ written on it. Placing it on top of the stallion’s head with a cackle, “In all my years, I have never seen a pony, griffon, dragon or any creature alive achieve what you have good sir.” With a snap of his fingers, Discord returned the room to its original order. The ponies looked toward him or at Matthew each wearing a confused face. Celestia asked, annoyance and worry slipping into her voice “Achieved what, Discord?” “Equilibrium.”