• Published 14th Sep 2016
  • 4,097 Views, 60 Comments

Shadows Within the Light - Oddling



A crystal of unknown origin was found in the heart of the Everfree Forest. It was brought before the two royal princesses where they discovered an ancient evil's power dwelling within... Nightmare Moon left a gift for them. What is it meant for?

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7 - Ponyville Party

Mathew’s eyes lit up and a broad smile took over his face at those words. Finally, after waiting for weeks, he could express his gratitude to the one that had given him one of the best gifts. He placed his hand over his chest and gave Rarity a respectful bow.
“Lady Rarity, you have my deepest thanks for these clothes,” he said before lifting himself back up, “and I must say, these are the finest clothes I’ve ever had. If there is anything you need of me, please ask; I’m more than willing to repay you for these.”

Rarity simply shook her head and waved a hoof. “Oh, think nothing of it. I should be thanking you; those clothes of yours were quite the unusual challenge for me. You can’t believe how troublesome it was for me to figure out why such tough fabrics were stitched together so crudely. Once I figured that out, I simply modified the design and, dare I say, I had fun making those. You simply must model for me again! I could make them even better if I had your measurements and-“

Rarity’s mouth was suddenly plugged with a purple hoof. Twilight had put a halt on the fashionista’s creative streak. She then looked at her white unicorn friend’s eyes. “So… you knew about him already, Rarity?” Twilight asked.

Rarity promptly pulled her head back and eyed Twilight’s hoof. “You did wash those… recently… I hope?”

Twilight simply rolled her eyes and gave Rarity a look, silently telling her friend to answer her question about her knowledge about Mathew. Rarity got the hint, but took a moment to work her tongue around her mouth before replying. “Well, naturally I knew about him. Luna came to me and personally requested that I try to replicate some odd clothing for her. She was very brief with me, at first, but once I had studied the clothes I knew that they were not for any pony. All she told me about him was that he was a friend who could use some help.”

Rarity then turned her attention back to Mathew. “So, seeing that you came here with Twilight and Rainbow Dash, I assume that means you’re free to share some information with us?”

Mathew nodded. “Yes, but I was saving most of it for when all of the Element bearers are present. I’ll give you the basics, though. My name is Mathew. I’m a human,” he said.

“He’ll also be staying with me at my castle,” Twilight added.

“Heh, he’s a pretty cool guy, too. You should have seen how he helped Fluttershy earlier,” Rainbow added, flying over to hover right next to him with a big smile on her face.

Mathew smiled back at her. “It wasn’t that big a deal,” he said humbly.

Twilight stepped up to him and gave him a smile, but held a slight air of authority as well. “Actually, not only did you help out one of my friends, but you also used a spell that isn't easy. Healing magic isn’t necessarily a rare thing, but very few can use it. The spell itself is highly complex and uses at least three different types of magic. Even I can’t use that kind of a spell, at least, not as easily as you did. Where did you learn to do that, anyway?” she said, her eyes showing that telltale spark for her eagerness to learn.

Mathew suddenly realized he was not in a good position. The urge to glance at Rainbow and Rarity was strong, but he held his gaze with Twilight. He had to word his answer a little delicately. His hand moved up to the back of his neck and he let a sheepish grin slip onto his face. “Honestly, I’m not really sure. I’m new to the whole idea of magic… but I’m pretty good at copying things I’m shown. When I was in the royal medical wing one of the unicorn doctors showed me how their healing spell worked. When I used it to heal Fluttershy’s nose, it was more on impulse.”

Twilight stood there, holding her eyes on Mathew, and processed what he had said. For her, the fact that Mathew had so much magical power was fascinating. Being the Element of Magic let her actually see how much power the human had within him. She was slightly concerned about his magic though… but the change she had noticed was too subtle for her to draw a conclusion just yet. She did know that there had been a lot of magic used in his healing spell on Fluttershy, yet it almost made no dent in his overall reserve.

While Twilight formulated her thoughts, Rarity stepped closer. She held a small look of concern on her face. “Did something happen to dear Fluttershy?” she asked.

Mathew quickly replied with a kind smile. “She’s alright. While we were on our way here, Fluttershy accidentally flew into me. She hit me pretty hard and her nose started bleeding, so I kinda used healing magic to fix it. Turns out she was just in a hurry to help out a turtle – she needed to get some supplies for the medicine,” he explained.

“Yeah, you should have seen it, Rares,” Rainbow chimed in. “She was going pretty fast, probably the fastest I’ve seen her go in a while, and then she slammed into him. I gotta say, I was a little worried about the guy. Mathew hit the ground pretty hard, but he was just fine.”

Rarity’s expression had gone from glad to concerned once more and she looked at Mathew. Before she could even ask, Mathew put up his hand and shook his head. “Don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine. This body of mine is tougher than it looks,” he said. Then Mathew turned his attention to Twilight. “Hey, so was there anything else we needed to do here? Or are we going to head to the castle next?” he asked the purple princess.

Twilight snapped out of her thoughts and looked around the room. “Uh, no, actually. I had given a bit of time to this part of our tour, but it looks like Rarity’s reaction to you was different than I expected,” she answered.

Mathew nodded slightly. “Cool, so can we head over now then? I’m starting to feel a bit hungry, plus it would be a good idea to get my introduction to Spike taken care of. Oh, and did anyone catch where Pinkie said she was holding the party?” he asked smoothly.

Rarity was put off balance by how quickly Mathew deflected her concerns, but she held her thoughts to herself. Twilight agreed with Mathew that it would be best to get to the castle. Rainbow Dash had nodded enthusiastically at the mention of lunch. Mathew quietly let himself sink into the background of their following conversation. He was getting slightly uncomfortable with things. Deep down he knew the feelings were more from Nightmare Moon. He could feel her presence twitch every now and then when she saw the Element bearers show interest in his wellbeing.

Mathew shared her sentiments on the subject. He had met with five of the six elements. Each one had shown interest in him, but the worst of it was that he knew he had to explain a few things to them at some point. Even he was a little wary at telling all six of them about how he got to Equestria. He was uneasy with the last one of the elements he had yet to meet, Applejack… the Element of Honesty.

Twilight had told him quite a bit about the farm pony. The part that stood out the most for Mathew was how Applejack could tell when a lie was being said. He had been honest, for the most part, with the ponies around him… he just chose to keep some things to himself – telling the truth, but not the whole truth. A small part of him wondered if he could keep up with that partial truth or if she’d see through his attempts to hide things from them.

~~***~~

Their stay at Rarity’s was soon over. The three friends said their goodbyes, and shared their mutual feelings of looking forward to the party later. Twilight, Rainbow and Mathew left the boutique and made good time getting to the castle. Along the way, Mathew had spotted a rather interesting light green unicorn. He had stifled a laugh when he saw the odd way she had been sitting on a bench.

The first meeting with Spike had been surprisingly normal. The young dragon had not even flinched at Mathew’s appearance. Rather, all Spike had said upon first seeing him was that he was as tall as Princess Celestia. As it turned out, Spike kind of felt that Mathew’s human appearance was more like his own dragon look, only less scaly and more lanky. Mathew had gotten a few giggles from watching Twilight reprimand her little assistant for being so rude.

Later on they enjoyed a small lunch. It was then that Mathew came to a small realization about himself. Being a human, he had somehow been just fine eating the same kinds of foods as the ponies of Equestria. He was positive that his body should have needed meat at some point, yet he felt as fit as a fiddle on his diet of flowers, grains, dairy, and copious amounts of sweet treats. Yet again, he had something else to look into regarding his body. In the near future he planned to test to see if he even needed to eat at all, since his magic seemed to be keeping his body alive.

Once lunch was over, Twilight escorted Mathew to the room he would be using. His belongings had already been moved there for him, which he was thankful for, and he was quick to take up a comfortable spot on the bed. He sat there for some time, idly letting his thoughts on the day drift through his mind. His mind soon felt a familiar line of thoughts and a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
You’ve been restless, Nightmare.

“Forgive me, Mathew. I’ve been nervous around the young Alicorn, Twilight Sparkle. She’s been keeping a close watch on your magic… and I believe she’s felt my presence… though I cannot be certain, yet,” Nightmare Moon said as she slipped out of the depths of Mathew’s consciousness.

Mathew let a soft hum slip through his nose and he let himself fall back onto the bedding. Don’t worry about her. I can feel it when she’s looking at my magic. She’s noticed the change in my magic from our time in Canterlot to now, but she’s not sure about the results yet. Her curiosity is what gives me the feeling that she won’t act on her feelings just yet. We have time to work around her peeking… for the time being.

Nightmare relaxed slightly, but she noticed a lingering feeling of anxiousness from Mathew’s mind. He was worried about something. In almost a whisper, she decided to as him about it.
“What is it that weighs on your mind?”

There are a few things, I guess, he answered with a long sigh. I’m pretty sure I’ll have to come clean with Twilight and her friends at some point. Their Elements of Harmony might be deadly for me… if they don’t take the news well enough. But the one thing that stands out is the final element I’ve yet to meet. I don’t want to reveal everything yet, but I wonder just how her ability works. Would she be able to tell if I’m not telling them everything? I don’t intend to lie to them, but could I get away with it if Equestrian magic is canceled by my body? If I do get away with my selective revealing, then how will they react? I’m hoping they are willing to share Luna’s sympathies… otherwise things might get complicated – which would really suck.

Nightmare Moon listened to his concerns, nodding to herself a few times. She had similar concerns as well. It was actually quite reassuring that her partner had thought about such things. It showed that he really was doing what he could to help her. “There is much that could go awry, but I have faith that you can do the right thing. Celestia has been teaching her ponies to be more focused on befriending others. I’m sure the element bearers will be more understanding. The key is how you approach the subject… though I believe you already have an idea of how you will do that,” she said and let her worries disappear.

Mathew inhaled deeply and let a mild sensation of contentment take over him. He thanked Nightmare for her support and cleared his head of any nagging thoughts. But one thing decided to surge up from his heart, of all places. Nightmare felt it as well, and she did her best to keep her guilt in check. Mathew sat up and rested his elbows on his knees, looking quite melancholic.

Nightmare hesitated for a few moments, and went to apologize to Mathew, but he preempted her. Nightmare… are you still able to see things back… back on Earth... he asked her.

Nightmare Moon took in a deep breath, though it was ultimately pointless for her to do so. She felt a lump stick to her throat and forced it down with a few gulps. “I have not been able to see much since we became bound together. But… there may be a way for me to let you see your home again. It would take time and much practice, but you could tap into my essence and use my powers to see into the beyond. Unfortunately… once you use my magic, you’ll be touched by the power of darkness. There will be no hiding your bond with me at that point,” she said solemnly.

Mathew’s heart sank. He wanted to know if his father was alright. His worry for the old man had grown over the past few weeks. Despite his best efforts, Mathew just could not stop his growing anxiety over Alexander’s health and wellbeing. He hated to even consider it, but his gut had twisted over onto itself the other day when he thought about him. It was possible that he no longer had anything left to go back to, but until he knew for sure… no, he had to hope that he was just over-thinking it.

He fell onto his side and curled up slightly on the bed. Sorry about that, Nightmare.

“Not as much as I am, I assure you. I’ll take my leave… you should try to rest. I get the feeling you will need your strength for later tonight.” Nightmare said soothingly. She knew, all too well, what Mathew was feeling. It was the kind of emotion that would never go away, and she had felt it for the past few thousand years. Nothing more was said between the two, but Nightmare Moon made a silent vow that she would try to make things up to the poor human.

Nightmare Moon slipped back into Mathew’s subconscious mind. He followed her shortly after, once his unhappy and unfocused emotions had run their course. His dream was quite pleasant.

~~***~~

Some time later, Mathew’s dreams were interrupted. Loud knocking on the bedroom door drew his attention and he mumbled something about how hooves needed to be padded to make knocking on doors seem less intense than enduring loud noises during a hangover. Another set of knocks woke him up a bit more and he lifted his head up. Oh, yeah… this is Twilight’s castle, he groggily thought. Looks like the sun’s almost down… damn, I missed the sunset.

His thoughts quickly switched to wondering who it was at the door. He heard some muffled voices from the other side of it. The voices were familiar, but he had trouble picking out who they belonged to… that is, until he heard an all too familiar one of them yell. “Oh, c’mon! Let’s just get him already – the party’s almost ready to start!”

The moment those words left Rainbow Dash’s mouth, Mathew knew he was about to be yanked from the comfort of his soft bed. He cocked a slight grin and swiftly flipped over to hide behind the large mattress. Just as he made contact with the ground, the green stained glass doors, trimmed with yellow pine, swung open with a bang.

“What the…? Twilight did say he was asleep in here, right?” Rainbow asked.

“I-I think so. This is the right room… maybe he went out for a walk,” came Fluttershy’s soft voice.

Mathew’s playful mood suddenly felt heavy with guilt. He had planned to spook the intruders to his naptime, but he did not want to scare the poor yellow Pegasus mare. Sighing quietly, he made a quick change to his plans and lowered his body to lay on the floor. Then he closed his eyes and made a soft mumbling sound.

“Huh? Wait, did you hear that, Flutters?”

“Yeah. Oh, do you think he fell off the bed? I hope he’s alright.”

“Heh, if he’s asleep on the floor I think he’s fine. Let’s go wake him up… before Pinkie comes in with her party cannon.”

Mathew did his absolute best to keep his face neutral and his breathing steady. He heard two sets of fluttering wings approach and waited patiently. It was very hard to keep his expression in tact when he heard Rainbow start snickering near his feet. Oh, the temptation was so great, he could get her so good if only Fluttershy was not present. Two sets of hooves landed near him and he heard more snickering and a small squeak from Fluttershy.

“Watch this…” Rainbow whispered to her friend. Mathew could just barely hear the sounds of feathers sliding against each other. The sound slowly grew closer to his head. He instantly knew that Rainbow was about to use her wing in some way to wake him, most likely to tickle him with a feather. He seized his chance and opened an eye to stare at her. Rainbow froze, her feathers mere inches from his ear with her eyes wide and locked on his.

A sly grin crossed over Mathew’s face. “You know… if you want to sneak up on a sleeping human, you’ll need to fly quieter,” he said and slipped into a toothy grin.

Rainbow snorted and poked his nose with her feather. “So you were awake the whole time?” she asked, smirking at him.

“I woke up from the knocking, but was going to prank you for barging in. I hid behind the bed to wait for you to get close… until I heard Fluttershy was with you. I didn’t want to scare her,” he admitted.

Fluttershy giggled by his feet and smiled. “Thank you for sparing me. I don’t handle surprises very well.”

Dash chuckled and walked over to stand beside her friend. “Looks like I have an advantage in the future then. If I keep Flutters nearby then I can wake you up in any way I want,” she boasted.

Mathew sat up and gave the blue Pegasus a devilish grin with a cool stare. “Hmmm… don’t bet on it. I can get you back at any time. You’re welcome to try though, I’m sure it’ll be fun to catch you next time. But I guess you two came to get me for my welcome party?” he asked, letting his expression turn more to a friendly neutral look.

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes. Most of the guests are here. Pinkie said it was about time to bring the guest of honor, so we came to get you. I hope you don’t mind,” she said, adopting a slightly humble look and rubbing her front leg with a hoof.

Mathew chuckled and shot her a warm smile. “I don’t mind at all. Thank you for taking the time to fetch me.”

“O-oh, it was no trouble,” he replied with a smile.

Rainbow shook her head and flapped her wings to hover in the air. “Alright you two, c’mon, the party’s not gunna throw itself ya know,” she said jokingly.

Mathew chuckled and shook his head. “Actually, from what I’ve heard, if it’s a Pinkie Pie Party then it might just do that.”

The three of them shared a laugh at that. It did seem like something the pink pony could manage. They promptly left the room and walked through the vaulted crystalline halls of the castle. It still amazed Mathew that the castle resembled a massive hollow tree made of icy blue crystals (though they took on a deep purple color in low lighting areas or where the crystal formations were thicker). Personally, he thought the designs were a little conflicting. Most places had jagged formations of the crystals, but there were some areas where the crystal had shaped to look like Roman or even, what might pass for, Gothic architecture.

Mathew spent some time to get a little more familiar with the layout as he followed the two Pegasi through the halls. At first, the curved pathways looked like a never-ending circular maze with identical doors and archways, but after taking the time to look at things closely slight differences made themselves known to his searching eyes. Main hallways had slightly larger crystal formations, while the doors to the bedrooms and smaller rooms looked homier. From what he could guess, the doorways that had more intricate details led to Twilight’s royal chambers and the like.

They passed the archway that led into the large dining hall. The room was empty. Mathew had thought the party would be held in that room, but he simply shrugged and wondered where the others were. The next thing he knew, a pink blur popped up from seemingly nowhere and the sheen of a pony-sized blue hunk of metal rested right in front of it. With a boom, the thing exploded and party decorations, balloons, streamers, and confetti engulfed the room with slightly annoying kazoos playing for a brief moment.

Mathew’s eyes opened wide and his jaw hung in awe of the insta-party bang. The room had been decorated in an instant and dozens of ponies stood around the room with big smiles on their faces. Pinkie suddenly jumped up and wrapped a hoof around his neck.
“Alright everypony, let’s all give our new friend, Mathew a great big Welcome-to-Ponyville party cheer!” she exclaimed loudly.

The room erupted in cheering and a nearly unanimous welcome from the whole room. Mathew smiled wide and gave Pinkie a big hug, laughing jovially. “Awe, you’re awesome, Pinkie Pie! Thanks for doing all of this, it’s the biggest party I’ve ever seen!” he said to her.

Pinkie gladly returned the hug and told him it was no problem. She loved throwing parties and it had been a while since her last one. Then she pointed out all the tasty treats and drinks on a table by the far wall. She raved about the cupcakes, she called them the Super Duper Double Scooper Chocolate Icing Cupcakes – supposedly they had double scoops of every chocolate in each one. The thought of all that chocolate in one cupcake sent Mathew’s mind strait to diabetes, which he was sure he’d get from one bite.

Mathew lifted his hand to wave it in decline of her recommendation only to find a plate of them right in front of him. He was starting to get why Twilight had warned him not to try to understand how she did the things she did. Yet, a small part of his mind had started to form a theory about it. Eh, he could think about it later, so he plucked a cupcake from the plate and gave it the mandatory sniff. “Whoa, that smells wonderful,” he said and took a bite.

An explosion of chocolaty goodness swept over his tongue, assaulting his taste buds with waves of each type, white chocolate sliding across first, followed by milk chocolate that melted over the white, then came the crackle of dark chocolate that danced over the milk and the final one was an incredible hug of awesomeness from a rich malt chocolate of some kind. It was so good it actually made Mathew’s eyes flitter in a near orgasmic bliss. Without thinking, he reached over and brought Pinkie in for a kiss. He smacked her cheek with gusto, leaving a slight smear of chocolate icing on her soft furry cheek.

“Pinkie, these are beyond words, they’re amazing – and I don’t even like chocolate – but I love these! You’re the best!” he praised her.

Pinkie stared at him for a moment before her smile grew wider than her face and she literally vibrated with joy. She then bounced off into the party, grinning ear to ear. Mathew watched her bound off. He thought it was a bit funny… until he realized what had just happened. Her reaction was the typical one that showed he had probably started a rather awkward situation with her. With a sigh, he stuffed the rest of his cupcake into his mouth and started to formulate a few ways to explain things to Pinkie later.

Mathew’s attention was abruptly brought around to his side when he felt a poke to his side. He looked to his left and spotted Rainbow Dash, a big smirk playing across her features. “So… how’d you enjoy kissing the cook?” she asked.

Mathew leveled his gaze on her and swallowed the last of his chocolate bliss. “You’re gunna tease me with that for the rest of my life, aren’t you.” he said flatly.

Rainbow’s grin curved up a bit more and she nodded slowly. “Oh, you bet I am. That was priceless, I’ve never seen Pinkie get so happy before. You definitely made her night with that smooch. Just be careful, she’s weird by default, but nopony knows what she’s like in private,” she said with a wink.

Mathew groaned and looked away. “I’ll explain my actions to her later. I honestly didn’t mean anything by it, I was just so happy for a moment there… I’ve never been part of something… this nice before. You have no idea what this welcome party really means to me,” he said, idly rubbing at the back of his neck.

Rainbow almost went on to make another joke, but even she could see the slight shift in Mathew’s eyes. She could almost swear that she had seen the telltale sign of a tear try to form in the corner of his eye, but the human managed to steel himself before that could go any further. Rainbow looked at him with a little concern and stepped closer to him. “Hey, big guy, you alright?” she asked.

Mathew forced a small smile and met her gaze. “Yeah. It’s just a little hard when I remember certain things from… back home. I’ll tell you more later. Sorry to be a downer,” he said, steadily regaining his composure.

Rainbow watched him for a few moments. Part of her wanted to talk to him about it, but then she thought better of it. She did not know him all that well yet. What if asking about certain things was a bad idea? She did not want to anger him accidentally. Rainbow let the topic slip to the back burner of her mind, but still managed to offer Mathew her hoof. “Well, cheer up, this is your party after all. Anyway, Twilight sent me to get you. There are some important ponies here that she wants you to meet,” she explained.

Mathew nodded and asked her to lead the way. He followed her through the crowd, saying hi to those he passed and responding to anypony that walked up to him to ask a question. It was a little annoying having to say he was a human over twenty times in a row. A few had asked him if there were others like him and where he had come from. Obviously there were other humans, but as to where he came from… he simply said it was a far away land that was very difficult to get to.

He soon met up with Twilight. For the first time, since they had met, she looked like a real princess. Her head was adorned with a golden tiara that rose to five points, each point tipped with a dark pink gem that matched the pink line in her mane. She wore a matching pink dress, accented with golden yellow silken trim and a sweeping sash that flowed from her shoulders around her flank. The tail end of the dress was followed by a white silk that drug along the floor behind her. Mathew had to admit, it looked good on her.

Rarity stood near Twilight, wearing her own dress. Hers was more relaxed, a simple light blue that gently flowed over her body, accented with a frilly white trim that had a few diamonds along the edges. They had been greeting a few of the party ponies. When Mathew arrived, rarity had given him a slight look, one that instantly told him he should have changed into better attire for the party. He sheepishly shrugged and gave her an apologetic look, but she soon warmed back up to him.

After greeting each other, Twilight and Mathew walked around the party and she introduced him to a few important ponies that had come. The Mayor of Ponyville had come to meet him, as well as a few of the more important shop keepers. It was a little odd to Mathew that the important figures of the town were business owners. At the same time, it was a relief to him, since he had heard plenty about the nobles back in Canterlot.

The ordeal of the Q and A with the Ponyville hierarchy still took its toll on Mathew, though. He got many of the same questions, but the one that had really caught him off guard was the Mayor. She had actually asked him about his people and what they were like. “Well, humans are complicated in many ways. We’re a lot like ponies in that we stick together and help each other to get things done. The main difference I can honestly say is that we rely more on our inventive nature. My people have more technology than ponies do,” he had said to her.

Eventually, curiosities were sated and Mathew was able to slip away to loosen his mental coil. He had continued to tell the truth to the ponies of Equestria, but it was still hard for him to admit the other part of his race. Humans were wonderful things, no doubt, but sadly they had their darker side. From the time he had spent in Equestria it was clear that these equine residents of the world did not share that darker nature. None of the places he had visited had locks for their doors. Some of the windows had lock-like latches, but those were for high winds during the bigger storms.

Aside from the total trust in their fellow ponies, the guards and police ponies of their world were not the same as back on Earth. In Equestria, their roles were more for morale or to keep things orderly. Even the royal guards of the castle were ordinary ponies, given enchanted armors and mandatory training for crowd control. The level of military training was almost laughable to Mathew, since the biggest threat the royal guards had dealt with was the Changeling attack some time back. Compared to humans, these ponies were about as capable of war as a kindergarten class at an amusement park.

Mathew envied the ponies of Equestria… and pitied them. He was glad they did not know the same pain as his people did, but he felt that they should know about it in order to prevent a tragedy. If a war did happen in the pony lands, the result would be massively catastrophic for their race. Deep down he wished they would never have to see the horrors that violence could bring.

His brooding thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard a peculiar voice from close by. The mare’s voice was friendly and had that distinct southern twang to it. “Well ah’ll be, so yer the one Pinkie mentioned. Ya sure are a tall one, ain’tcha?”

Mathew perked up and turned around to see the orange coat and long blonde mane of the last of Twilight’s friends. He quickly took notice of the Stetson hat she wore, but it was her emerald green eyes that really struck him. Her eyes held no hidden agenda, unlike many of the others he had seen among the party, and he saw why she was the Element of Honesty. Her warm smile made him feel more relaxed and he offered her a smile in turn. “Indeed, though there are other humans that are even taller than I am. You must be Applejack, it’s nice to meet you, finally. I’m Mathew,” he said and bent forward with an extended hand to greet her.

Applejack eyed his hand for a mere instant and happily offered her hoof in turn. Mathew was a little shocked at how firm her shake was. It was clear that she had not held back, and he gave her a good firm response. He felt like the day he had met his old buddy Terry, the farm boy that had moved to his town a few years back to try getting his own farm started up. Terry also had a strong handshake and an honest personality. “That’s a good shake ya got there, Mathew. Ya’ll wouldn’t happen to have any farmin’ in ya, would ya?” she asked, mildly impressed with his strength.

Mathew chuckled and gave a small nod. “One of my friends, back home, was a bit of a farmer. I helped him out a few times. Eventually I started working as a sales associate at the local hardware store. I learned quite a bit there, so I’m pretty familiar with building houses to tilling soil to harvesting, and everything in between,” he replied.

Applejack let out a low whistle and grinned. “Well, that’s a might bit impressive. Think you could swing by the farm sometime? There’s a few things ah think you could help us fix up,” she said.

Mathew thought about it for a moment and agreed that he could. It would be a good change of pace being able to do something more his style. He knew how much magic could be useful, but he still preferred to work with his hands.
“I’d like that,” he said warmly.

The two of them eventually wandered to a quieter side of the festivities and enjoyed small talk. Applejack had shown curiosity in Mathew’s race as well, but her questions had turned more toward his hometown, friends, and family. Though he had slumped a bit remembering his father, and the recent thoughts he had, it still went by as a good thing. He told her how he had been adopted, lived with his father in a small town out in the countryside, and enjoyed the numerous friends he had made over the years.

Applejack listened to his telling, even giving him praise for keeping strong bonds with some of his friends that had moved to the city, though Mathew still admitted that the friendships he had were more or less out of convenience. She was a little shocked by his admittance of that, but more confused. When she asked him about it, he simply said that his life had made it so that he felt better doing things the easy way. It was easy for him to go with the flow of things, which made him friends more easily, but took away the sting of any hardships that might have gone with them.

“If I had to guess, as to why I feel this way about it, it would be because of living in the orphanage,” he said. “Living there for a few years, you make many friends with the other orphan kids, but you make friendships knowing that they could end at any time. It’s nice having others nearby, laughing and having a good time, but when one of us got adopted… that was the end of it. Even now, I still can’t really open up and do things that, well, a best friend could. You’re the first pony I’ve even told about this sort of thing, funny enough.”

Applejack took a moment to take it all in. It was a little sobering for her, since her meaning of friendship was vastly different than his, but she could understand it, nonetheless. In a small way, she felt honored that Mathew would even tell her something like that, but she had found it quite easy to relate to him. He was just as friendly as any pony she had met. She gave him a kind look and sighed contentedly.
“Ya know, ah may not be the most familiar with that kinda thing, what with mah experience in a big family an’ all, but ah think ah can understand ya a bit more. Ah’m glad we could talk about this sorta thing. Ya’ll are good in mah book, fer bein’ human an’ all,” she said.

Mathew sighed and looked away. “Don’t let first impressions mold your opinion of me. I haven’t said it to anyone… well, except for Luna, but even then I didn’t tell her much about it. Humans are great, but there are some things that make us flawed. I’m one of the nicer ones of my kind,” he said.

Applejack saw the look in his eyes. There was a deep pain or regret in them. She swallowed against the slight tightness that had gripped her throat and leaned closer to him. “What, if ya don’t mind my askin’, kinda flaws do your kind have? I don’t mean ta pry, but you look pretty upset about it…”

Mathew sighed again, forcing a small smile. He looked her in the eyes and shook his head gently. “We’re a constantly changing mixture of things. Deep down we want to do good. Sadly… our race’s history made us adapt things into our nature that… well, they’re not that great. I know you’d like to help me, but trust me when I say that it’s best if you don’t know about that sort of thing. It has no place in this world.”

The two fell into silence, the noise of the party taking over the mood. Applejack could tell that Mathew needed to talk about it. Whatever it was, it was eating away at him inside, but she knew that he had told her the truth. She wondered what it was that would be so hurtful to him, that could make him keep it away from her, that was great enough for him to consider the wellbeing of her world even. Her bonding with him had hit its first wall when she realized that, despite his personality, he was really too different from pony kind.

Mathew had felt enough of the awkward silence. He knew that it was his fault, but he also knew he could get back into a better mood. There was a party to enjoy, and he felt it would be a waste to let it slip by without mingling among the ponies who came to welcome him. He turned to Applejack and tapped her nose, smiling warmly. “Come on, let’s find Twilight and the others. It’d be a shame to dwell in an unpleasant mood when there’s such an awesome party nearby. Would you like to join me?” he asked.

Applejack wiggled her nose and smiled back with a nod. They returned to the swaying happy mix of ponies, giggling at Pinkie’s antics near the turntable on the far side of the room. She had been doing something to get the quiet unicorn DJ to laugh, much to the amusement of many other partygoers. The scene was more than what Mathew needed to cheer up again.

Author's Note:

Here's the next chapter folks! I enjoyed writing this part. It was fun showing a bit more of Mathew's fun loving side, plus the little bit of his feelings on the matter of pony vs human worlds.

Hope you guys liked the chapter and please comment on anything that strikes your fancy. I'm always open to hearing what people think of my stuff... like seriously... I almost crave feedback sometimes. :raritywink: