Shadows Within the Light

by Oddling

18 - The Sun Sets

Sweat dripped down Mathew’s face as he hovered in the air. His eyes had lost some of their golden luster, now simply pools of a sickly grey-blue. The magic wings and tail had eroded long ago and his black crystal hair had stopped emitting excess power. The heat had gotten intense, fighting in such close proximity to the smoldering body of his foe, Celestia.

As for his enemy, Celestia seemed to only fair slightly better than Mathew. Her coat has darkened in a few places, indicating her lack of magical power as well as places where her body still permitted sweat of her own. The two had broken off from their lock and now took the time to assess each other’s state. The battle had been nothing short of brutal, leaving the sun princess with a few cracked ribs and numerous cuts and scrapes. Mathew likely would have looked similar, were it not for his body’s healing property – though even that had slowed down considerably.

Mathew was quick to recover, though his earlier confidence in succeeding had lowered. He was not fool enough to think he could win now, no… he would be lucky to get through to Celestia now. There was little left of his magic stores and he knew he’d run out too soon if he kept going at their current pace. With Celestia taking her own time to recover, Mathew quickly cycled through his options.

He subtly glanced down toward the barrier. Things had finally settled down there, it seemed, but it was slightly upsetting to see such sad looks in their eyes. Looks like they found out, he thought. He had put everything on this battle, his life included, but had refrained from telling Nightmare. He knew she would have stopped him otherwise.

Mathew’s heart dropped when he saw both Luna and Applejack weeping as they watched him. He tore his eyes away from them and refocused on his adversary. There was no other choice, it seemed. He had to put everything he had left into his next series of attacks and pray that he could get through to Celestia. He hardened his gaze and took a deep breath. “How much more must we fight before you yield, Celestia?” he asked.

Celestia snarled and waved her axe around her. “I’ll never yield to you! Nothing you do will change my mind – I will kill Nightmare Moon.”

Mathew sighed and shook his head. “Why can’t you see that you’re about to make the worst mistake you could ever make – especially for an immortal like yourself? Look at what you’ve done already! Is this truly what you want?”

“Oh sun above, when will you learn?” Celestia barked back, clearly annoyed. “If you had lived for even a fraction of what I have then maybe you could understand. Nightmare Moon’s death is the only thing that will even remotely come close to sating my burning hatred. Each day I suffered has added up, Mathew. At this point… I will do anything to see her dead for what she did to me. Now prepare yourself!” she said and lunged forth once more.

Mathew sighed. His body ached all over, but he had to continue fighting. Time was up so he initiated his next phase. Just as Celestia swung her axe, Mathew let his body become shadow. The weapon passed right through him, still causing magical burns due to the power of Celestia’s sun being channeled into it, but not affecting him otherwise. His shadowy body then bolted down to the ground, where he hit with an earth shattering crash.

Having successfully thrown Celestia off guard, Mathew proceeded to kneel down. He placed his hands on the ground and soaked up the lingering magic of his spell circle, effectively removing his ability to save the citizens of Ponyville. Then he surrounded his body in shadow to dodge Celestia’s next attack, narrowly avoiding the beam and losing his left hand to her blade as she slammed into the ground where he once stood.

In the next moment, using his right hand, Mathew lunged forward and grabbed Celestia’s throat. He roared as he flung her body back into the air and then leapt over to his barrier. His eyes met with Nightmare’s for the briefest moment and he offered her a small smile as his barrier was absorbed into his body. He launched himself back into the air and charged Celestia with one final attack in mind.

Celestia righted herself in midair and faced Mathew as he rapidly approached. She sluggishly summoned her axe and readied it for another swing. Mathew streaked toward her like a missile; his dull eyes focused on her completely. One hundred feet… seventy… fifty… thirty… ten… Celestia swung her axe. Mathew’s body twisted and arced above the blade. His left arm, severed from the shoulder, fell to the ground below.

Celestia’s breath hitched in her throat as Mathew came to a halt, his face less than an inch from hers. He was so close that she could smell the metallic scent of his blood from the wound. She stared into his cold hard eyes, watching as they faded slowly into a grayish brown. His gaze had nearly distracted her from a tingling sensation all around her body, but too late did she realize what Mathew had done.

Mathew floated away from Celestia slowly. His last ditch effort had paid off, though in a more painful manner than he had expected. His severed arm had started to grow back, but it was regenerating at an extremely slow rate. Still, his mind had found some peace as he watched Celestia. A cloud of golden yellow magic was seeping out of her body… her magic had finally been depleted completely.

He watched as shock slowly set in on Celestia’s face as they both lost altitude. She opened her wings wide and started to flap to stay aloft, or to at least slow her fall. Mathew, on the other hoof, simply let gravity take him down to the ground, where he impacted roughly but still managed to stay upright. He looked up to Celestia’s slowly descending form and smiled. “It’s over, Celestia,” he said tiredly, “you’re out of magic… it’s my win. Now let’s talk things out… please…”

Celestia stared at Mathew. She was at a loss for words. The lowly human, the simple tool in the plan, had actually bested the daughter of the Life Giver. He had succeeded in putting a stop to her before she could exact her revenge on her mother’s killer. Celestia’s eyes hardened and she clenched her jaw furiously. “No,” she growled. “I won’t give up. Not now… or ever!” she yelled out and put all of her strength into powerful strokes of her wings.

Mathew’s eyes went wide for an instant before he braced his battered body for the impact of the charging Alicorn. Then, the worst possible thing happened. Luna dashed in between Mathew and Celestia and struck a defiant pose, yelling for Celestia to cease her madness. Mathew’s lungs seized and time slowed down as he watched Celestia’s hate fueled eyes shoot wide open in utter terror. The long white horn of the sun princess had lowered to pierce through Mathew, and the princess would never be able to stop in time, not in her weakened state.

Before he could even think upon his actions, Mathew used his magic. Shadows surrounded him and yanked his body around Luna to place him between the two sisters. He then dove forward and slammed against the charging white Alicorn. Celestia’s body was forced to a halt, her neck cramping from the impact, before her hooves gently connected with solid ground. The world was silent.

Luna’s eyes were as wide as could be. The sight in front of her was like a dream, one she never wanted to see, but still so unbelievable that it could only exist in the depths of her imagination. She did not want to believe that it had happened, but there was no denying the deep red color that coated the grooves of her sister’s horn. The very horn that had stopped mere inches away from her chest.

Celestia could only stare. Mere moments before, her vision had been red with rage, but now all she could see was the red of blood as it slowly trickled down in front of her. Her mind had come to a halt. The last thing she saw was the pleading face of her beloved younger sister before her horn imbedded into flesh. As the reality of what she had done set in, Celestia’s whole body began to tremble. All of her senses had combined into two sensations… the coppery smell and taste of blood in the air in front of her muzzle, and the sickening tingle she felt as that same blood trailed down her horn toward her face.

The gentle touch of a hand on the back of her neck startled Celestia. Her head went to jerk back, but the other hand found a place on her cheek and lightly caressed her. “Shhh…” came Mathew’s soothing sounds. “It’s alright now. There’s nothing to fear. Everything will be just fine,” he calmly assured her.

Celestia’s panic quickly subsided and she slowly turned her eyes up as far as she could to see him. As Mathew softly stroked her cheek she caught her first glimpse of him. He held a gentle smile on his face and his golden-grey eyes looked down at her warmly. A brief moment passed between them before Mathew chuckled and winced. “I stand corrected,” he said quietly. “Looks like it’s your win.”

Celestia eyes widened a little more and her mind and heart became a storm of conflicting emotions. She was pleased that she had come out the victor, nothing more could stand in her way in killing Nightmare Moon. Yet… there was a deep sadness in her heart as well, one that brought tears to her eyes as she continued to look into the slowly fading eyes of her former enemy. Yes… former… why did she not see him as her enemy any more?

Mathew coughed, doing his best to suppress the pain, and a trail of blood escaped down his chin. He groaned pitifully, but held his grip on Celestia. Instinct told her to pull her horn out of him, but for some reason he kept her pinned in place. He took a few slow breaths and forced a small smile for her. “Celestia… will you permit me one last chance to change your mind?” he asked her.

Celestia, not being able to nod her head, forced the ball in her throat down and whispered, “Yes.”

Mathew’s smile turned a bit more genuine and he nodded slowly. He took another pain-filled breath and looked her right in the eyes. “You saw what I did to that dog. It was easy to say I had killed a coyote, but in truth… in my hunt to get revenge on the coyote that murdered and ate my beloved pet, Kicker, I let my rage blind me. I know you think you’re doing something different, that you’re not following in my footsteps… but you couldn’t be more wrong. I became a monster… a monster who killed my closest friend’s pet and then lied about it afterward to hide my shame. In your rage, you’ve nearly done the same thing,” he said and choked as he coughed up more blood, doing his best to aim away from Celestia to spare her pure white coat from his hacking.

Mathew composed himself once his coughing had subsided, with Celestia taking note of how weak his grip on her had become. The position of her neck had started to cause her discomfort, but she dared not move. Mathew took another breath, closing his eyes and squeezing the back of Celestia’s neck. “Celestia… there’s something I need to show you. Do you wish to see the truth?” he asked her tiredly.

Celestia swallowed once more. “Yes,” she said, though she was uncertain as to why she’d even want to waste her time. For a brief moment, she entertained the idea of ripping her horn from Mathew’s chest and stabbing him again, but something deep within her snuffed out that thought quickly.

Mathew sighed and then pushed Celestia back gently. He groaned painfully as her long horn slid free of his chest, barely finding the strength to stay conscious and standing. He acted quickly and placed his forehead against Celestia’s and looked right into her eyes again. “Let me show you the most important thing… regarding your mother’s death,” he said… and the world around the two faded to black.

Celestia opened her magenta eyes and found herself in a void of darkness. Her first instinct was to try and conjure a source of light, but her magic seemed to have been completely cut off. She suppressed her shock and fear using a breathing technique and slowly scanning around her. A sudden feeling of warmth washed over her right side and she quickly turned her head toward it. There, floating in the void was the form of Mathew… as he first appeared in her world.

Mathew eyed Celestia with a small smile on his face. It was slightly amusing to watch her as she struggled to come to grips with her unusual situation, but he did not have a lot of time left. He slowly approached her and extended a hand out in a gesture to their surroundings. “Welcome to the innermost realm that is my mind,” he said.

Celestia raised a brow, feeling slightly alarmed and cautious, yet also curious. “We are… in your head?” she asked.

Mathew nodded and smiled a little wider. “Yes. This is a place I discovered when I had my accident in the castle – the day I messed up my first barrier. I don’t know if this place has always been here or if it was something that came to be when Nightmare entered my body.”

Mathew looked up above them and pointed. “Those stars up there are actually memories. Most of them belong to Nightmare. I want to show you one of my own, though…” he said and opened his arms up toward one of the distant motes of light.

A single star streaked down toward Mathew and slowed to a stop just in front of him, floating between his hands. A sad smile had taken the place of his previously happy one as he gazed at the memory orb. He looked up at Celestia. “I saw this in one of my visions… and I must ask you the same question I once asked your little sister,” he said in a tone that was firm, yet fearful. “Are you prepared to see everything you thought you knew crumble? This memory will destroy your current reality… because it is one of the hardest truths for you to bare witness to. This is your last chance to learn what really happened back then. So you must choose… will you view this memory, or will you ignore it and continue to devote your blind rage toward becoming a monster in the eyes of your little ponies?”

Celestia thought on the question, and felt compelled to ask one thing first. She looked at the human with a cautious expression in her eyes. “Why is this the only chance I have to see this?” she asked quietly.

Mathew smirked, though there was no humor behind it. “You saw what’s become of my body. You won our fight because I’m on my last leg. With this spell, to show you this memory, the final bit of magic I have left to use will be expended… and I’ll be passing away shortly after. This… this is my dying wish… to show you the one thing that might help you.”

Celestia’s eyes widened at first, only to become burdened with the liquid form of her sorrow moments later. She shook her head and pathetically stomped a hoof. “I can’t let you do this. I won’t let you waste the last of your magic if it means your death,” she said as firmly as she could.

Mathew simply shook his head. “I’ll die no matter what you do,” he admitted. “I removed Nightmare Moon from my body, Celestia. Her core essence, the very thing that gave me my magic power to heal, is now within the body I made for her. I fulfilled my promise with her, so that she could have a chance to be with her daughter. I don’t regret my decision. Please, Celestia,” he begged, “please look at this so that there will be just one more good thing I’ve done in my life.”

Celestia hesitated and tried to think of a better alternative. She would have offered to lend him her magic… but he had depleted hers almost completely. Nothing else came to mind and the look in his eyes said that he had already thought of the very same things she had, but knew they would not work. She took in a deep breath, shuddering slightly as she fought off the need to break down and cry for Mathew. Eventually, she relented and looked Mathew in the eyes. “What must I do?” she asked.

Mathew smiled and looked at the memory between his hands. “All you need to do is touch it. The memory will flow into you. I’ll warn you, though… the first time you contact one of these is the weirdest. It’s kind of like falling asleep while you’re in the middle of doing something and your mind will want to jerk you out of it,” he said and extended his hands out toward the waiting sun princess.

The Alicorn eyed the glowing mote for a moment before glancing one last time at Mathew. There was no deception in his eyes, but she felt there was just one more thing she had to ask. “Why would you do this for me?” she asked quietly. “Why help me after all I’ve done to you?”

Mathew stared at her quietly for a few long seconds. Then his face lit up with a kind and warm smile. “Because I would have liked it if someone had done the same for me when I needed the help. You also helped introduce me to a world where I could make lasting friendships… even though I’ll be losing them shortly, they still mean more to me now than any others. I’m eternally grateful for that.”

Mathew fully extended his arms and the mote of memory floated forth to hover right in front of Celestia. She eyed the orb and glanced at Mathew once more and he nodded to her. Celestia smiled softly. “Thank you…” she said and dipped her head forward into the memory.

~~***~~

After an unknown period of time, Celestia exited the memory. Her eyes were filled with a deep sadness, with tears already streaking down her cheeks, but a smoldering anger for something more burned within her as well. She turned her head slightly, noticing Mathew had moved to look at a strange window of some kind.

Sensing her movement, Mathew looked over toward the princess and offered her a knowing smile. “That memory is my gift to you. You can do what you like with it… I take it that you see things in a new light?” he asked her.

Celestia nodded, then looked away from Mathew. “I don’t know how you could ever forgive me for how I acted,” she said, having realized how reckless and immature she had acted.

Mathew simply shrugged. “You are old, Celestia… but you’re still young in comparison to beings like Nightmare Moon and Discord. Not that I’m calling you a foal, but you’re more like those three fillies I met before. You’re smart, but still not quite mature enough to see things as an adult should. I can forgive you for making the mistake you did. All I ask is that you take this knowledge and learn from it.”

His gaze then turned away and looked back at the odd window. “Now then, I should prepare you for what awaits you, at least,” he said as Celestia walked over.

The Alicorn princess looked through the window, seeing her body laying next to Mathew’s, with Luna and the others huddled around them – the air thick with their concern. Celestia turned her attention back to Mathew and he nodded back to the window. “They’re all going to be affected by what you did, Celestia. You nearly killed Luna, which is going to give her reason to be cautious around you. But that’s not the worst of it…” he said and pointed to the edge of the window.

Around the gathering of the element bearers, Discord, and the two reigning regents of the night, were many ponies. The sight hit Celestia like Mathew’s first punch. She could see the pain she had caused in her subjects. Being weak and tired were the least of their troubles as they bore witness to their most respected sun princess’ lowest display. Fear, anger, uncertainty, sadness and betrayal were all present on the faces of those who had been caught in Celestia and Mathew’s conflict.

Mathew sighed softly, seemingly fighting to stay awake. He shook his head and waved a hand over the window. “Everypony that saw you will remember your actions. They are the ones that will be the hardest to gain forgiveness from, and rightly so. Our fight made nearly all of Ponyville suffer. I won’t be around to offer a proper apology… but you will. On the plus side… I have faith in your heart, so I know you’ll be able to make it up to them,” he said and offered Celestia a small smile.

Celestia swallowed and sighed as she fought to calm herself. For the first time in a long time, she was afraid of other ponies. The thought of having to make amends for what she had done weighed heavily on her mind, but Mathew’s words of confidence had helped a little.

Mathew permitted himself a light chuckle as he watched her expression of unease. “Don’t worry too much. You managed to beat me in my own element… I think you can handle a few thousand apologies,” he chided her playfully. “Come on… it’s time I said my goodbyes to the others…” he said as a look of melancholy slipped over his features.

The window suddenly expanded and swallowed both of them. A few seconds later they found each of their bodies stirring awake. Celestia instantly regretted ever taking on Mathew in combat. Her whole body hurt and the emptiness within her from having lost her magic power was nearly nauseating. The small comfort, she soon realized, was that she at least did not have a missing limb and a hole in her chest.

Mathew was in far worse shape than the sun princess. He ached everywhere and the pain from his right stump of an arm was nearly excruciating. At least that pain was enough to distract from the sharp stabbing from where Celestia had impaled his chest. His eyes slowly opened and he noticed everypony had come alive with renewed worry for Celestia and himself. His gaze slowly drifted around until he came eye to eye with Luna.

He smiled weakly at her. “Well hello there, gorgeous,” he croaked out, feeling the sting from his injuries.

Luna shook her head and smirked, but that quickly turned back to a sad look of concern. “How are you feeling?” she asked him softly.

“Painful,” he replied. “I feel like I just fought a sun goddess.”

Luna chuckled, even if she did not want to do so. She could not help it with that goofy face… making cheesy jokes even on his deathbed. A sad smile graced her lips and she leaned over his chest, doing her best to stop herself from crying. “Thou art such a lovable fool…” she said quietly.

Mathew sighed. “Indeed… it actually took me this long to realize something important,” he replied softly and reached a trembling hand up to cup Luna’s cheek. He gently turned her head to look at him and he gave her his best smile. “I realized that… if it was with a pony as wonderful as you… I might have fallen in love. It would have been nice if we could have spent more time together.”

Luna’s throat tightened and she choked back a sob. Nightmare Moon walked over and stood beside Luna, looking down sadly. “Is there nothing we can do to save you?” she asked, her eyes filled with remorse and slight guilt.

Mathew shook his head slowly.

Nightmare grit her teeth and shut her eyes as she steeled herself. She took a deep breath. “Take my essence back,” she said calmly.

Mathew chuckled softly, wincing in pain again. “Can’t,” he replied softly, “I don’t have any more magic left. Even if I did, I don’t think I’d live through the ordeal… not this time. Besides… that would be counterproductive to that promise we made.”

Nightmare huffed and glared at Mathew. “Stop joking like that! There has to be something we can do to save you – there has to be…”

Mathew simply stared back at her with a sad smile. He then closed his eyes and sighed gently. “I know you feel partially responsible for this, Nightmare… but you have to accept this. You know what my life was like… I was finally able to do some good, even if it was in another world. It’s okay to let me go… Luna will need you… and so will Celestia. They’ve needed a mother for a long time…”

Nightmare clenched her jaw and fought back her tears. There was more she wanted to say… but if she dared to open her mouth, she’d give in and become a sobbing mess. So she stood beside her partner stoically while struggling with her emotions.

Celestia finally willed herself to sit up. She tenderly maneuvered herself into a proper sitting position and cast her eyes over the surrounding area. The ponies of Ponyville were cautious of her, but she knew it was not yet time for her to address her apology… so she turned her gaze back to her dying savior to remember his passing. She felt he deserved that much.

Twilight watched Celestia from her place near Mathew. It hurt that Mathew had been right all along about her beloved mentor. Part of her wanted to walk over to her princess and offer her some aid, while the other part of her was terrified. It was as if she was looking at a complete stranger, but she knew that it truly was Celestia sitting there. She opted to leave the princess alone for now… she had a dying friend to be beside in their final moments.

Rainbow Dash was… at a loss as to what to do. She was still terrified of Mathew, but his fierce golden eyes were nothing more than faded husks of that image. Her heart pained her greatly as she beat herself up for not rushing to Mathew’s side – as if her loyalty to her former friend was somehow being betrayed. At the same time, however, she felt she had no place beside him. Luna and Applejack were there already… with Nightmare Moon right beside Luna. The others stood around his body, too… the only spot left was right by his head, and that just seemed an awkward spot to be. Instead she opted to be more like Discord… and she stayed on the sidelines.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were embraced, quietly sobbing into each other’s shoulders. Rarity simply stood beside them, a hoof on Fluttershy to comfort her friend, even when she could have used a comforting pat herself. The only thing that kept her from crying as well was the thought of how much trouble it would be to wash her eye shadow off of her face later… plus she thought it would be more helpful if she held her composure. It might be enough to help her friends cope with the loss better… or so she thought.

Mathew’s focus slowly drifted to his other side. His gaze met with the beautiful emerald green pools of Applejack’s eyes. Strong emotions danced around behind Mathew’s sad expression. He could feel his body slowly shutting down as the last drops of his magic sputtered and faded away. His lips parted to speak, but he could not vocalize his thoughts. Instead, he inhaled as deeply as the burning in his chest would permit – an action that somehow took a lot more effort to do.

Applejack quietly watched as her friend struggled to find his voice. She would have spoken herself, but there was just so much she wanted to say to him… and not enough time. A trembling breath slid out of her and she closed her eyes for a moment. Her eyes permitted a lone tear to slip down her cheek before she opened her eyes once more to look passionately into his. Her lips parted just enough for her to whisper the only thing she could muster the courage to speak. “Ah love you…”

Mathew stared at her for a long moment, his breathing slow and steady. A big genuine smile graced his lips. “Thank you… Applejack. I… I…” the last of his thoughts died on the end of his tongue as his body deflated. Mathew had tried to get out the last part for her to hear, but his body would have none of it - despite every ounce of effort he tried to force into it. The last traces of magic left his body and his eyes faded back into their original golden brown.

Applejack’s head dipped down as her sobs ripped through her. Luna followed her in sorrow immediately, gently placing her hoof on his chest while her tears dripped down onto his cheek. Reality struck home for Twilight and her back legs gave out, plopping her rump down to the ground hard. Rainbow simply stared as her eyes watered and Rarity finally joined Fluttershy and Pinkie in their huddle of tears.

Discord suddenly appeared beside Celestia and gently placed his taloned hand on her shoulder. She spared him a mournful glance, and he returned it sadly. “I hope you never forget what his sacrifice means for you…” he said quietly before removing his hand and vanishing.

Nightmare Moon looked down upon the content expression on Mathew’s face. He seemed to have gone on with happiness in his heart… but she was not ready to let go of him yet. She steeled herself for one last spell… one she knew she just had to try once more. Even though it had failed her in the past, she felt she needed to try to give life to the dead one more time. Her horn lit up with a pale green glow of magic and a single tear trailed down her face to meet with the tiny smile on her lips…

Author's Note:

There it is guys... the last chapter of Mathew's tale. I figured I could release this as a kind of early present for you all. Stay tuned for the epilogue on Monday.

Comments

[Auron Solaris]

I hope this means Nightmare moon if she succeeds in returning life to him doesent die, as that would be like spitting on his sacrifice and all that hes done.
This story is amazing tho, Im glad i stuck here till the end

[Flame Heart]

:'(

[booklover41]

This would a have been a perfect bittersweet ending. The hero successed in his mission, bit at the cost of his live. His friends surround him as he lays dieing, a smile on his face. tis such a perfect way to go.
but whats this I see? There is yet more to this tale! Will the hero live? Or is it mearly what follows after?