Knight of Equestria - On Distant Shores

by SupraMacPringles

Chapter 12: Better Left Unknown

Night had set in nearly an hour ago. Despite being mid-November, the air still held some warmth. Atop a hill just outside Ponyville sat a lonely, withering tree and an even lonelier princess. She sighed as she began to face reality. Though she hadn't expected her lone human subject to visit every night, it had been many a day since last he came. News of she and her sister's failure of sending him back to his home realm had probably infuriated him. She was a fool to think that they would be forgiven so easily. As she spread her wings in preparation to return home, she heard something move on the side of the hill.

After finally getting an afternoon of rest and relaxation, Matt had remembered something very important; he hadn't been to see Princess Luna in nearly a week. He had grown quite fond of the lunar princess and she seemed to equally enjoy his company. When he nearly reached the top of the hill they would meet on, he was relieved to see her still there. He thought she would've given up and gone home by now.

"Greetings, princess."

She folded her wings and looked over to the voice. To her surprise, it was who she least expected. She couldn't hide her happiness as a smile crept onto her face.

"Matthew Nabal? Greetings, indeed!" she responded, raising a hoof skyward.

His features seemed to relax after that, almost as if he was afraid of how she would react.

"I'm sorry I haven't dropped by in awhile, I've been... settling in."

"It is quite alright."

He sat down at the base of the tree without saying anything else. She moved closer to the tree, sitting down and facing him.

"I hope you are... not too upset with me." she said sheepishly.

"Hmm? What reason would I have to be upset?" he replied.

"I am partially to blame for your being... stranded here."

"I wouldn't call it 'stranded'. That implies I'm stuck, or trapped. It's more like... being cast away." he said, smiling.

Though dumbfounded, she felt relieved all the same.

"I see. How has... 'Settling in' gone for you?"

He took a moment to think about it. He was living in a library for no charge, with a princess, no less. He had also grown to know the village's resident party animal and the owner of a classy boutique. He had familiarized himself with Ponyville and the locals didn't seem to mind him much. Things were going well, if a bit boring.

"Pretty well. Everyone's exceedingly friendly around here, so I'm sure they're all used to me by now."

"I'm glad to hear it. Are you still staying with Twilight Sparkle?"

"I am. She's been... quite the generous host."

That she was, providing a home, food, and being insanely patient with his behavior.

"She has always been very helpful. I can think of many times when she went out of her way to assist me, as well." said Luna.

It was becoming more obvious to him why Twilight was gifted the title of 'princess'. She was a genuinely caring individual. Something still bugged him, though.

"I just wish somebody would've told me she was a princess. I... could've said something insulting, and nobody would want that."

After an extended few seconds of silence, he turned to see Luna staring off into literal space. She refocused on him when she noticed his confused stare.

"M-my apologies, I just noticed your... dialect."

Dialect? What dialect? He had lived in New York his entire life, and was proud to have never picked up the accent. He evaluated his last statement in an attempt to figure out what she meant. When he couldn't see a problem, he decided to ask what it was.

"Beg pardon, but would you mind explaining?"

She let out a small laugh, the first he'd ever heard from her. Normally Luna would just be glum or bored-looking.

"It's just, well... Nopony says 'somebody' or the like anymore. It's kind of odd hearing somepony say it after so many years."

It took a moment to click in his mind.

"Oh... oh..."

Another giggle escaped from Luna as Matt frowned.

"I'm sorry; I just find it… amusing." She said, struggling to maintain composure.

"I don't think that'll be changing anytime soon."

She seemingly got over her sudden infection of laughter.

"I understand. I myself am still not… familiar with modern speech."

He felt some small comfort knowing he wasn't alone on that front.

They continued to chat for some time, Luna explaining the proper use of pony-fied words. Eventually conversation devolved into talk of current events, in which she continued to do most of the talking. Apparently after Twilight's coronation things had been quiet and uneventful. After awhile she stopped rather abruptly, seemingly staring at his eyes. He assumed she would soon take note of how tired he looked.

"Your eyes are weary. Is something wrong?" she said as if on cue. She took a look around the night sky, noticing the position of the moon. "Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you out so late. You must be very tired."

He smiled warmly at her concern.

"Its fine, princess. I haven't been sleeping well recently, anyways."

Her expression only grew more concerned.

"What is it that troubles you? Perhaps I can assist."

He didn't see any harm in confiding in Luna, given their past experiences with loneliness.

"Well, for some time, I've been plagued with… nightmares. They began roughly six months ago and haven't ceased since."

Rather unexpectedly, Luna's expression became much happier.

"I believe I can help. As princess of the night, it is my duty to guard the dreams of my subjects. Would you like me to… take a look?"

His eyes shot wide open and his heart rate picked up. He had expected advice, not for her to offer to crawl around in his head.

"Uh, no, that's alright. I'll just, uh… do… something. A-anyway, thank you for the offer."

She stared at him blankly for a few seconds, clearly bewildered by his little outburst.

"Alright, then…"

He mentally released a relieved sigh. Though he would appreciate the help, he perceived the pony mind incapable of dealing with the horrors of the human world. Some things were better left unknown to them.

"In any case," Luna began, "You really should try to get some rest. I will… see you some other time." She said, smiling faintly.

"Very well. Until then, your majesty."

"Farewell, Matthew Nabal. May the stars guide your path." she said as she flew off.

He really should've told her that she didn't need to address him by his full name.

As he descended the hill and walked back onto Ponyville's dirt roads, he couldn't help but be bothered by something. Something unknown to him. Perhaps talk of his nightmares had him wondering why the same event replayed itself night after night. Or perhaps he had remembered why the nightmares began in the first place.

As he arrived at the library and slowly opened the door, he heard something much unexpected.

"Who?"

The lights were off in the main chamber save for a small candle on a desk near the window. There was also an owl perched on the forward edge of the desk, along with someone sat in front of it.

"Twilight?" asked Matt, struggling to make out the figure.

The figure turned towards him, revealing itself to be, in fact, Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh…" she yawns, "Welcome back."

He had never known Twilight to stay up this late. It had to be near three in the morning. He felt a twinge of guilt as he surmised the reason.

"You… waited up for me?" he asked.

She shuffled awkwardly in place.

"Well… yeah. I needed to make sure you got home alright."

There was a moment of silence in the near pitch-black room.

"B-besides, Owlowiscious helped finished up some last minute studying."

He could only assume she was talking about the Horned Owl perched on her desk. The little bird just sat there, occasionally blinking.

"I see." He said, approaching his bedroom door.

He stopped and looked back to her.

"Thank you, Twilight."

"You're very welcome." she replied, smiling warmly through the darkness.

With that, his door closed, and Twilight felt it time to head to bed herself.

Matt stared at the ceiling as he lay in his slightly-too-small bed. He felt bad for making Twilight stay up so late, but also felt a bit of unexplained happiness, which made him feel worse. He thought it best to think about it tomorrow, provided he could get any sleep.