Shadows Within the Light

by Oddling

5 - Undertaking

Mathew fell onto the bed. His body did not ache as much as before, but he was still tired. It felt amazing to finally feel the soft blanket beneath him. He had wanted to lay down for the past few hours. It still amazed him how many questions the pony guards had to ask him. It was a little more surprising when he saw that Celestia had personally shown up to observe the interrogation, though Mathew knew he should have expected it.

The sun princess was always watching him. Of course, now he had a better idea as to why. He had learned a lot from his meeting with Nightmare Moon. Celestia seemed to hold a deeper hatred for the dark queen than any other. Part of Mathew felt that she might have known more about Nightmare Moon than what she let on. If that was the case, it would mean, possibly, that Celestia knew about what Nightmare Moon had done to her mother.

Mathew had little proof behind his theory, but it was one that made sense, at least. He would have to fish for clues at some point, but it would take time before he got the chance, since Celestia avoided him most of the time. The size of his quest had begun to make itself known and Mathew sank deeper into the fluff of his bedding. He never really wanted to waste the energy to go through things that were difficult.

Still, remembering the smile he so enjoyed seeing on Luna’s face, he strengthened his resolve to do what he needed to help them. He sighed, satisfied with that, and closed his eyes. Sleep soon took him and he found his dreams among the pleasant times he had spent on the banks of a river.

~~***~~

Mathew awoke sometime after the sun had set. He felt refreshed, more so than he had in years. His eyes flicked around the room. It took him a few moments, but he soon realized that the odd magical glow upon everything in the room had to do with his eyes. Seems Nightmare Moon has already started giving her powers to me, Mathew thought.

He soon became aware of a soft source of warmth nearby. He lifted his head and looked toward his legs. There, resting her head on the side of the bed, was Luna. A slight pang of guilt hit Mathew. She must have been so worried about him. He sat up slowly and reached a hand to touch her ear. A few gentle tickles later, Luna’s eyes fluttered open. She let an adorable yawn slip out as she sleepily looked at the one who woke her up.

Her eyes widened and her ears shot up as she saw Mathew. She bolted up and moved closer to him, concern filling her face.
“How are you feeling? I heard that you had a terrible accident and were hurt.”

Mathew smiled gently and playfully bopped her nose. “Easy there, I’m just fine. I just lost focus while trying to get out of a barrier. On the plus side, I think I might be more like you and Celestia than we previously thought. I accidentally blew off my arm when I lost focus on my magic, but it grew back and I’m still alive. So it looks like I’ll be alive until I run out of magic.”

Mathew’s smile lessened a little and his eyes softened. “Sorry for worrying you, Luna. I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble.”

Luna smiled and shook her head. She inched closer and nuzzled Mathew’s shoulder. “You fool, you had me scared to death. I’m just so glad that you are alright,” she said sighing with relief.

Mathew stayed still for a few moments, but it started getting awkward when he realized that Luna was still nuzzling him. He cleared his throat and wrapped his arms around her neck. The embrace caught Luna off guard, but she quickly relaxed in it. Mathew thanked her for being nice enough to care about his wellbeing and then slipped away.

Before anything else could pass between them, Mathew’s stomach decided it was time to make its own needs known… and quite loudly. Mathew’s eyes met with Luna’s, a moment passed in silence, and then they let loose their laughter. Once they had regained control over their giggling, Luna stood up and gestured to the door with her hoof. “Shall we get something to ease your grumbling tummy?” she asked.

Mathew lifted a brow. “Tummy? I’ve suddenly been struck by the sheer elegance of such a sophisticated word. Give me a moment while I bask in this moment,” he joked.

Luna’s cheeks tinted pink and she looked to the side. Mathew was reminded of a new acquaintance and a warm smile crossed his lips. He reached a hand out and pat her head softly. “Sorry. It was too cute for me to ignore. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

Luna leaned into his hand and sighed. “I’ll forgive you if you pet me some more… it’s really quite enjoyable with your hands,” she said, closing her eyes and smiling.

Mathew could only grin at her while he pet her. He finally remembered one of the things he had come to realize about ponies. Humans were only physical with each other during intimate situations, mostly, but the ponies of Equestria were always more direct with their expressions. His human nature had been giving him the wrong impressions about the closeness Luna had been showing him.

Though he still felt a tad bit awkward about being more touchy with her, Mathew knew that the comforting nuzzling, and his gentle stroking of her head, was a sign of their friendship. He knew she had been worried about him and he truly felt bad for anything he had caused her to miss because of his blunder. The best way to show how sorry he was, was to express it through touch. So he slowly, gently rubbed her head, scratching behind her ears a little, and actually enjoyed the tingle her mane gave his fingers.

The two lost themselves in the bonding experience for quite some time. The only reason they stopped was because, after hearing it for the fifth time, Mathew’s hunger had really started to demand satisfaction. The two friends soon wandered to the dining hall where, much to Mathew’s surprise, Orange Zest had been waiting. She had heard about the incident and wanted to make sure that someone would be ready for when Mathew recovered.

The generous act was almost too much for him, so without holding back, Mathew gave the orange mare a big hug, thanking her profusely for giving her time just for his sake. Orange Zest had been shocked at first, but she returned the hug and nuzzled her favorite patron, giving him just as much thanks for always giving her a reason to be happy when preparing something to eat.

The three wound up enjoying the late night meal together. They made small talk, laughed at a few jokes about some of the guards, and had a very pleasant evening. Mathew, though he had thoroughly enjoyed the time with them, had been a little preoccupied by something else. His thoughts constantly shifted back to how he would get Luna to meet with Nightmare Moon.

By the end of their little chat, Mathew had come to one conclusion. He needed more time… and a lot more information. In order to get the later, he would need to find a way to get onto the subject of Nightmare Moon and how much Luna could remember about certain specifics. The trick was to do so without raising suspicion… but he would get to that eventually. For now, he was content that things had finally seemed to be getting better for him.

Eventually they had to part. Luna had become quite tired, finally feeling the effects of her earlier stress, and Orange Zest had been ready for bed a few hours ago. The three went their separate ways after saying their goodnights. Mathew was still quite wired and, after thinking on his options, decided to pay the library a visit.

The human made his way, leisurely through the castle. Having found some time to himself, aside from the occasional Night Guard patrol, Mathew had decided to explore his new vision. From what he could tell, light was not an integral part of his sight. Instead, his vision was normal in the light, but in the darkness his eyes would pick up on ambient traces of magic. With Equestria being a land full of magic, he saw everything in an astral-like glow, with the normal colors looking more faded.

Once his curiosity was satisfied, he went strait for the library. There were more important things for him to figure out, and the vast archive of literature within the royal library would help him get an idea of what his next moves would be. To his surprise, there were a pair of guards standing outside of the library as he caught sight of the doors. They spotted him as soon as he did them.

Mathew slowed his approach, but did not think there would be any problems with him passing by them. He was wrong. When he was within four ponylengths away, the two guards stiffened and opened their wings to block the way into the library. The action was definitely a surprise to Mathew, so he stopped and gave the two a questioning look.

After a brief moment, Mathew recognized one of the guards. He turned his eyes to that one and cocked a brow.
“Hey, Copper, what’s up? I thought the library was open through all hours,” he inquired.

The Night Guard in question gave a brief sigh and lowered his wing, a slightly apologetic look tinting the Thestral’s golden slitted eyes. “Apologies, Mathew. The library is off limits for the time being. By Celestia’s orders, we can’t let you inside,” he said.

Mathew’s shoulders sank slightly. He had been looking forward to learning a few things about Nightmare Moon and the two princesses. Not only was he being denied that, but he felt that his incident earlier had caused part of the increased restriction. He sighed, but gave Copper an understanding smile. “Alright, thanks for letting me know. Sorry for… any trouble I caused. Have a good night,” he said, and lifted a foot to turn away.

Suddenly, the doors to the library opened and a very peculiar pony took a few steps into the hall. Mathew froze. He knew he had just walked into an awkward situation. The shocked expression on both of the guard’s faces told him that the reason he was not allowed into the library had just walked out. His eyes locked onto the purple pony.

The purple pony had paused just outside of the library doors. The thought to close the doors behind her had come to a complete halt as she laid eyes on the tall bipedal creature ahead of her. She had never seen anything like it before. She was frozen in place, fear and curiosity raging a fierce battle in her mind.

Mathew held his gaze with the purple unicorn… no, Alicorn. She was shorter than Celestia and Luna, but the horn and wings were still there. It took him only a moment to connect the appearance with a name that Luna had mentioned to him before. Twilight Sparkle was in front of him… and he suddenly realized he was going to be in trouble. Celestia’s personal student, and the Princess of Magic, was one of the ponies that he should not have been seen by.

The poor guy felt that he was about to wind up in a very long discussion with the sun princess, but what was done could not be undone. He then noticed how long the silence had gone on for, and decided it was time to break the ice. He forced the best reassuring smile he could, which wound up looking more awkward than it should have, and bowed slightly.
“Uh… good evening. You must be Luna’s friend, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight stared at Mathew for a few long moments. Her eyes had widened when Mathew spoke, but that was about the only reaction from her. Mathew’s eyes were locked with hers, and for a moment, he thought that she had stopped all mental functions. That was, until he noticed an odd twinkling in her eyes. He felt a wave of fear swim down his spine – fear that he had just sealed his fate to a very long and painful series of events in his near future.

The fearful sensation increased when he saw Twilight’s eyes widen even more, which was incredible since they were already so wide, and her open mouth curved into a smile. “What… are you?” she asked, utterly fascinated by Mathew.

Mathew had heard about Twilight’s obsession with learning, especially if she encountered something completely new. He instantly regretted not learning how to teleport… or running away at the least. Too late to escape now… he thought with morbid amusement. “It’s a bit of a long story, but to put it simply; I’m a human that was accidentally brought here by Princess Celestia and Luna. You can call me Mathew,” he said, trying not to let his nervousness show.

Twilight’s smile grew wider and she inched closer to Mathew. He quickly glanced a few times toward Copper and the other guard… only to see them fighting back smirks of amusement. There was no way he would get help from them, so he focused back on the purple princess. Much to his surprise, a quill and parchment had appeared from seemingly nowhere. He let out a quiet sigh, internally groaning.

Twilight walked up and stood right in front of him, getting a closer look at his body, structure, posture, and proportions. “This is incredible…” she said as she circled around him. “So what is a human, exactly?” she asked. “Where did you come from? What is your home like? Is it similar to ours? It is different? How did the princesses bring you here?”

Mathew sighed again, not hiding it that time and he turned right to her. He bent down and put his face right up to hers and gave her a sly smirk. Twilight was not prepared for such a close encounter and paused in her questioning – her quill also stopping in mid-stroke. Mathew chuckled quietly and then tapped her nose, gently. “Relax. I’ll tell you more, but only if the princesses are alright with it. I’m pretty sure that you weren’t supposed to see me… but it seems that now we’ve encountered one another, so you’ll have to go through the ones responsible for me first. For now… I think you might want to get back to what you were doing before you saw me. If you’re lucky, you may just see me again,” he said, standing back up and heading back to his room.

Twilight seemed to get the message, since Mathew did not hear her following him – a fact that he was quietly thankful for. The bombardment of initial questions had been as rapid-fire as Luna had said it would be. Having avoided the interrogation, he counted it as a small victory… if only to make his next encounter with any of the princesses seem less painful. He really was not looking forward to hearing about it from Luna… even less from Celestia.

Still, with the library out of the question, and his hunger properly sated, there was almost nothing left for him to do. Then he had an idea. How much had he recovered? Or rather, could he contact Nightmare Moon? The sudden thought came to an abrupt halt. A new question brought itself to the front of his mind. Had he actually seen her real self in that brief encounter… or was it a trick?

Mathew shook his head, his face expressing a distinct displeasure in his thoughts. He could have been fooled, but until he found reason to think otherwise, he would hold to his end of the deal. For some reason, that made him feel better; knowing that he could stay true to the path – even though the task was more troublesome than he would have liked. He let a pessimistic smirk cross his mouth.
“I really am a rotten person sometimes… I should change that…” he whispered to the darkness of the empty hallway.

With a drawn out sigh, the melancholic young man decided that he wanted to relax. He walked through the halls, exiting through the doorway near the gardens. He wandered around, not knowing where he really wanted to go. His thoughts started to drift to his old home. He remembered his father, the old man had turned fifty-seven a few months back. Mathew wondered how the old fart was holding up… since they were the only family left for each other – even if they weren’t blood related.

A small smile found its way onto Mathew’s face as he remembered the fun times he had spent with his father. He never knew his real dad, since that slacker had won the chance to bed his mother through lies and stolen gifts. His mother had gone through the pregnancy, as best she could, as a single mother. Eventually though… she lost her battle with depression. Her self-loathing from falling victim to such a terrible man and birthing the unwanted child had been too much for her, emotionally.

Despite not having real parents, growing up in an orphanage from the age of three, he was eventually adopted by his father. For Mathew, that had been the best thing he could have ever had happen for his ninth birthday. Alexander was the greatest dad in the whole world, as far as Mathew was concerned. When he was younger, he had periodically thought what his life could have been if his mother had not abandoned him. But after growing into a healthy young man, at the age of twenty-two, he had come to grips with the knowledge that nothing would have been better than his life with Alex.

The sudden soft glow of many lights caught Mathew’s eye. He turned his head, realizing that he had somehow wandered into Luna’s special flower garden. The view was breathtaking. Each flower looked like the most delicate of stars – full of life and otherworldly beauty. Mathew walked closer, stopping just near the middle of the space, and then dropped to his knees. Tears slowly fell from his eyes. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, but he was so alone in that moment that the warmth in his heart struggled against the icy chill of isolation.

For those lonely moments… Mathew really wanted to be back home. He wished, almost more than anything, that he could have shown the view to his father… the one who showed him how to see such wonders in the first place. Mathew's heart could only ache, as his tears left his eyes while he sat in the stillness of the night…

~~***~~

The soft glow of dawn brought Mathew out of his thoughts. He had stopped crying hours ago, but the feeling of being alone in Equestria had continued to hit him. There was little about it that surprised him, though; he had actually been waiting for his emotions to snap. Deep down he knew that his sorrowful time spent was exactly what he had needed. It just took longer because of all the distractions around him.

His thoughts had been dwelling on the fun times he had spent with his father. The bitter sweet melancholy providing him a level of calm, keeping him content enough that his heart no longer felt torn. Mathew had the sudden feeling he was not alone and he turned his head toward the entrance to the lunar flower garden. Luna stood at the entry, her eyes carefully examining Mathew’s form. It was clear that he had been upset, since he was sitting on the ground, leaning against a stone flowerpot.

Mathew sighed and gave her a weak smile. She took a few tentative steps closer to him, lowering her eyes. “You… seem to be quite saddened this morning. Is there anything I might do to help?” Luna asked quietly.

Mathew’s smile became a pinch more genuine and he took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “You already have. I was just thinking about how much I miss my father. I hope he’s alright without me… but I still fear that he might have just died from my disappearing. He really wasn’t the type to handle the loss of family very well.”

Mathew then turned his head toward the sky. “I miss my world… my home, but I think I can move on. At least I have a few friends in this world, so I’m not completely alone. Thank you for that,” he said, turning his gaze back to Luna.

Luna lifted her eyes to Mathew and gave him a warm understanding smile. They shared that quiet moment, silently speaking to the other through their expressions. Mathew eventually decided it was time to get up, and he slowly got to his feet. “So… what brought you out here at such an early hour, Luna?” he asked her while he dusted himself off.

Luna suddenly realized why she had sought him out in the first place and her eyes widened for a second before she looked to the side. “Ah, yes, I was looking for you. You see, one Twilight Sparkle paid my sister and I a visit this morning. I’m sure you can figure out the rest,” she said, trying to hide a smirk.

Mathew sighed and hung his head. “Right… so how much trouble am I in? Please tell me that Celestia isn’t going to send me to the sun.”

Luna chuckled at that, then she gently shook her head. “Oh, I think it’s worse than you might think. You see, my sister actually wanted to avoid you meeting her pupil until she was more comfortable with you. Since Twilight made it a point to explain exactly how she found you, not only was Celestia’s anger pacified, but it would seem that she found amusement in how you avoided the encounter. She’s made a decision for you already, but she wishes to meet with you to explain it in person – to make it more official,” she finished with a sly grin on her lips.

Mathew knew he was not going to like what the sun princess had decided. In fact, he was sure that it involved turning him into Twilight’s personal lab rat. The twinkle of mischief in Luna’s eyes was all the proof he needed to back up that thought. He let loose a heavy sigh and slumped his shoulders. “Do I at least get some time to write out my last words?” he asked with pouting lips, aiming to try and pull off the sad puppy look.

Luna lost control of herself, laughing at the poor attempt to tug at heartstrings. She shook her head and turned away from Mathew. “You may contemplate to your heart’s content as we walk, but I don’t see your life being in danger… yet. Come, my sister wants to pass the sentence quickly, lest her student hasten the decision out of impatience,” she teased.

Author's Note:

Woot! The fifth chapter is done. I've really been on a good roll with this story - so much fun. As always, I hope you enjoy the read.

Also, a friend of mine is currently working on a pic for the cover art, so look forward to that in the near future, too!

... and still waiting for some comments on this story. I know someone has something to say about it, unless my writing is just so epic I've left you all speechless.
Which I know isn't true, I'm just craving some form of feedback (though the likes and the faves are much appreciated btw!)

Comments

[Soul_Fire]

How come this story doesn't have any coments? To my eyes, this is a gem that fell through a crack, as it seems.

Also, just how far do Mathew's regen powers go? Could he get blown to peices, with only his gem-heart surviving and recover from it? Or is it not that potent?

Does Celestia want to shove him off to Ponyville?

[Oddling]

7622831 Thank you for the kind words. :)

As far as Mathew's regen goes, I haven't set a limit for him. This first portion of my little tale probably won't get to test that out to his fullest extent, but maybe (if enough people really like this story) I may go all out with his limitations in a sequel. Although, I did plan for a fairly heated fight scene at one point that I hope you'll look forward to.

In regards to Celestia, yes. Mathew's next stop is Ponyville.

[Gizmo Gear]

7624106 I would set it to be kind of like Wolverine. As long as one cell survives, he will always regen. Though, I dunno how his memories would be affected. As long as wolverines brain wasn't hit, he would still have his personality, but wolverine never had magic. Now, not turning magic into a deus ex machina, but magic could preserve his memories to his soul? I dunno, it's just my idea.

[Detsella Morningdew]

Okay, scratch that last thing I said. You got to it in the end.

[ABronyAnonymous]

The writing and interactions feel very stilted and abrupt. There's little in the way of flow from one scene or thought into the next. Additionally, there's too much telling and not enough showing. You don't have e to explain everything.

I'll keep reading to see how you improve.

[Marandi]

you know ... I see another typical MLP hero. A rag and a stupid mental invalid. Strangely, these are the characters that are the heroes for your fandom. Instead of just running away and living by his own will (the world is huge), the hero begins to go at the will of the forces manipulating him. And of course he goes to Ponneville. A man who understands that he is to be arrested, perhaps he could run into the forest, to Abyssinia and anywhere. But he humbly kneels before the one who orders him to power. As is typical for Americans or Europeans))

[Oddling]

10593262
If you want to tell the world to fuck off and do things on your own, sure. Some people can do that. Some people have no choice but to do so. Others simply go with the flow of things. Nationality has little to do with that, so I don't feel the need to even give that bit any further thought.

Just bear in mind that the time this story was written was before the MLP movie. I'm not one of the more invested fans in this fandom. I had no knowledge, much like the main character, of anything outside of ponies, dragons, gryphons, and diamond dogs at the time of this story's conception. Even if I had known, I doubt I would have created an adventure out of this story.

If you feel like elaborating your points, feel free to do so. Otherwise, I don't see this as anything more than you venting about some things that bother you in general. I'm not the type of person to care much about personal frustrations as it usually has little value in constructive criticism.