Control of The Self

Matthew and Twilight were making their way to her house after the party, the cool evening air having a nice crisp feel. Spike had accompanied them on the ride back, sitting on Twilight as she pushed Matthew forward with her magic.

“What can you tell me about this place?” Matthew asked, genuinely curious about the small little town he was in.

“Ponyville? Well, it’s a small little village that started about a hundred years ago. It was actually founded by Granny Smith’s family! And she’s still alive to this very day, in fact, she’s Applejack’s grandmother! But it was only ever declared Ponyville when-” Spike, getting bored from the lecture

“Twilight, I don’t think the guy’s talking about the history of Ponyville.”

“Oh… right. Well, I think Ponyville is a great little village. It has festivities all year ‘round and with the ponies in it, it never gets bored!”

“Yeah, lotta excitement in this town, huh?” Matthew said as he looked around the buildings.

“...You have no idea,” Twilight said with a smile. The conversation from there on out was rather quiet, no words needed to be exchanged, nothing of note to really talk about. It was a peaceful calm summer evening.

Five minutes must have passed before the small group got close to the library. Twilight’s smile beamed large as she got closer to the library, but Matthew’s eyes caught something and he couldn’t stop starring at it.

“This here is the Golden Oaks Library! I live here and maintain its large collection of knowledge! I can’t wait to show how much-”

“Is that where I came from?” Matthew asked, his voice carrying a slight haunting feeling behind it.

“What?” Twilight said, turning around to see what Matthew was looking at. In front of them, a couple feet away were burn marks on the ground. The rocky path that was Ponyville’s streets had a burn mark that signified where some sort of alien object had appeared. It had washed away a little but it remained ever present on the pavement.

“... Did I-”

“Yes, you did… Uhm… It wasn’t the prettiest sight, but… hey! That’s in the past now! Let’s just get you to bed, huh?” Twilight said, quickly opening the door to the library.

“... Yeah…” Matthew said as he was quickly pulled into the library by Twilights magic, leaving the burn mark to stand alone.

Once inside Matthew’s attention was drawn away from the burn mark rather quickly and towards the immaculate room he was in. Books lined every shelf, the wood in the tree was carefully cared to have this flowey look to it and it made Matthew wonder.

“How the fuck did you guys manage this?”

“What?” Twilight said, confused at Matthew’s wording.

“I… I mean… The wood carving and all that, it’s almost like we’re in a tree, how?”

“Uhh… We are in a tree?”

The silence in the room was palpable. Matthew stared into Twilight's purple eyes, as though asking for more information, a better explanation other than that.

“Is there something on my face?”

“... No, I’m just… Just gonna accept it.”

“...Oooookay,” Twilight said as she magicked Spike off her back and to a nearby couch. The little dragon managed to fall asleep, a small snot bubble being visible on his face. Twilight then quickly grabbed Matthew’s wheelchair and lead him to a downstairs room underneath the library.

“Is this the part where you do weird experiments on me?” Matthew said as they started going down the steps ever so slowly down into the dark.

“What would make you think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, the whole dark basement thing where I bet no one could hear me scream would be a pretty big red flag.”

“I’m not going to experiment on you,” Twilight said, flicking a switch on the wall and causing the room to light up. “I’m getting you to your room.”

“Wow…” Matthew said as he looked around the room. In a corner there was a bunch of machinery, moved recently, and everything else was more or less the same as upstairs, wood carvings and whatnot. The only thing that stuckout was a rather simple bed set. Nightstands, a clock, the usual stuff. The only thing that stuck out to Matthew was the bed. The bed was much bigger than Matthew would have thought and he was thoroughly surprised to see its massive size.

Twilight, seeing Matthew gawk at its size, couldn’t help but scratch the back of her head.

“Finding your size was a little hard to say the least. So I just got you a minotaur size bed, I hope that’s alright with you,” Twilight said as she lowered Matthew onto the ground.

“You kidding, I never had a bed this big before,” Matthew said as he pushed his wheels forward to the bed.

“Oh, really? I guess it’s a win then!”

“Yeah…”

“Do you need help getting into bed?”

“Oh, no, I think I can manage,” Matthew said as he tried to push himself up off the wheelchair and onto the bed, failing each time he tried. Eventually, after the fifth time, Matthew relented and let out a sigh. “I might need some help.”

Twilight let out a smile and magicked Mathew onto the bed, and made sure he was comfy.

“Do you need any more help?” Twilight asked.

“No, I think I can take this stupid vest thing off,” Matthew said as he quickly wiggled his arms and threw the vest off of him and onto the ground. Matthew let out a small sigh as he laid down fully, the only thing covering him being the cloak now.

“You seem really tired, you going to bed?”

“Yeah, I’m not really a social person. Got pretty drained at that party,” Matthew said as he was taking in the comfort of the mattress he laid on.

“I see. Well, I’ll leave you be then,” Twilight said as she headed back up the stairs, but before she left Matthew, she turned back around.

“Hey Matthew?”

“Yeah, Twilight?”

“... I’m sorry if I made you angry… Ya know about the dots and all that,” It wasn’t visible, but Matthew’s face turned into a sour frown as he replayed the words over and over again in his head, trying his best to not think about it too much. He let out an audible sigh and answered Twilight.

“It’s fine, Twilight, I’d just rather not talk about it.”

“Okay… Well, goodnight,” Twilight said as she walked up the steps and closed the door behind her.

She didn’t get a response.

Discord was sitting down outside of a moon crescent room. He was currently reading a book of more recent human history. Currently he was reading up on the events of World War two.

'Two? Two world wars? I'm more surprised they lived through that plague thing.' Discord thought to himself as he continued to read, checking the door to the crescent moon room every now and then to see if a certain pony would leave Luna after a while.

Eventually though, Discord got his wish as the door creaked open and a night guard stallion walked out of it, his face covered in dark blue kisses pecked all over his face and his uniform put on haphazardly as he seemed to have been dazzlingly walking back to the barracks.

Discord rolled his eyes at the display and morphed himself down the door, waiting a few seconds before knocking on it. Though he loved to teleport in on Luna, something told him he wouldn't come back if he interrupted her little fun session.

After a moment of waiting, and of a slightly audible lighting of candles, Luna called out to the knocking, her voice a slur for words.

"Come in…" With that Discord poofed on a maid dress and walked right in.

What was on the bed was princess Luna, looking like she had just woken up. Her bed was in shambles and the room was littered with incense candles, probably to cover up a certain smell that lingered in the air.

Discord was going to have fun. In mockery, Discord cleared his throat and put on a silly little voice.

"Prrrrrrrincess Luna! I am here to clean your room-" Discord then fakley gasped out of shock at Luna. Luna, hearing Discords voice, turned around in her bed and faced the drconquess, her angry look holding nothing back.

"What. Do you. Want," Luna said as venom was dripping from her voice. Discord poofed away his maid dress and continued to talk.

"Oh, Lulu, did I upset your wittle piwwow tawk," Discord said in a sarcastic tone as laughter seemed to consume him, not realizing the bolt of lightning coming straight for him.

It hit him right in the face, cutting off his laughing as the electricity scoured down his entire body. After the light show, Discord stood there, unamused by the magic, as his turn had a tinge of black on it now.

"Well, I think that was uncalled for," Discord said as he licked his claw and snuffed out a flame that was on his head, aiming a frown towards Luna.

“I think it’s uncalled for your belligerent talk, Discord. If you’re here for games, leave me, I’d rather spend my day at peace,” With a snap of his fingers, Discord's burnt form turned back into his regular self and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Why Luna, I’m happy you found somepony who is… suitable for you. But I didn’t come here to laugh at your little fun. I only came to ask how our mutual friend is doing in the dream world. I was with him earlier, but I would love to hear what he has inside his head… That’s only if you've been able to get through, hmm?”

“I was more than capable of reaching inside of his mind, but I am under no obligation to tell you what he dreams of. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to sle-”

“You need to get up anyways, Celestia is lowering the sun,” Discord said, his grinning growing ear to ear as he could feel Luna’s frustration. Luna let out a loud sigh and magicked her bed sheets off before starting her morning ritual.

“Why would I tell you anything?”

“Well, I’m quite certain Tia’s already told you about my little plan for him.”

“She has, your point?”

“Well, I’d love to know what I’m working with.”

“And I need me to tell you his dreams, why?”

“Do we really need another Nightmare Moon incident?” Luna stopped in her tracks, her neck piece regalia floating slightly above her head. She may not have said a word, but the tension in the air made it all the more harder to breathe.

“You better have a good explanation.”

“Let’s take a step back a thousand years, yes? You were a social outcast amongst your own kind, not even your own guards cared about you. You cried yourself to sleep, you held your own dinners, made your own food, had nopony to even depend on… Not even your own sister. So, in all your rage and anger, you turned into a monster. All I am saying is that our... sweet Matthew, who has powers that are still blooming, may make the same mistakes as somepony in this room,” Discord said, his smile taking a darker turn as he continued to stare at Luna. The princess, on the other hand, couldn’t help but fill even further with anger.

She was fuming, but she held her tongue.

"He has the Element bearers, your point."

"He might be an unstable individual who doesn't see them as friends. Just knowing a bit more information could change him from being exactly Iike you."

“Do not. Ever. Compare me to him. Understood.”

“Oh yes, seems I touched a nerve. My apologies, prrrincesss,” Discord said as he fakely bowed towards Luna.

“You want to know what he dreams about? Intercourse with a past lover and playing as a giant rodent. If that’s all you want, now leave,” Luna said as she finally put on her neck piece.

“Rodent? They almost died to it and suddenly they praise it? That doesn’t make any sense… I do love humans,” Discord said as a smile grew on his face.

“Leave.”

“Oh yes, Luna, I promise I will. One thing though… If he has any dreams of actual note, please… do tell… I want to know everything… Just don’t get so distracted with your little toy next time,” And with that, Discord left with a snap of his fingers. Luna stood there, looking at where Discord was, her anger coming to a boil. Her magic lit up, brighter than day and she let out a shout as whirl of magic. Arcs of lighting cascaded onto the walls, ripping the very paint off of it. Dark energy tore up the ground as cracks formed underneath. Her own furniture was overturned by the strong winds of magic that flew off of Luna.

And then it stopped.

Luna gathered herself and calmed herself down as quickly as she could, trying her best to not think too much on the beast's words. She quickly cleaned herself up, straightened her mane slightly and walked out of her room, her grace taking over her anger.

The room was quiet.

Then there was suddenly a poof of white energy, inside of it was Celestia. Her horn was aglow with magic, as though she was prepared for a fight. When Celestia saw nothing, she let the magic dissipate and let out a small chuckle.

“One of those days I see,” Celestia then lit her horn alight again and started to repair the room to its natural glory. The paint on the walls restored themselves, the floor’s cracks sealed and the furniture righted itself up again. After the magic had done its work, Celestia let out a smile and looked around the room again, detecting something else that lingered behind the door.

“I know you’re there, come in,” Celestia said as she continued to hold her smile. Behind Celestia, the door creaked open and a maid poked her head in. The maid was shaking in her boots.

“I-I-I-I-Uh-I didn’t-Uhm- I didn’t think any-any-anypony would be-be-”

“It’s alright, Clipper. You don’t need to worry about it… I simply fixed my sister's room. You can leave.”

“O-O-Okay!” With that, Clipper closed the door and left. Celestia let out a small chuckle at that.

“Quite a mare,” Celestia soon poofed away back to her quarters, leaving Luna’s empty.

A couple days have passed in the town of Ponyville and it was rather peaceful. The calm chirping of the birds made a small yet perfect song. The air had a fine crisp smell to it and the small breeze in the air made it a perfect summer day. Ponies across all races were going about their day, enjoying the sunlight and the rays that beamed down upon them.

It was a perfect, calm little town.

And there was a child-like scream. The Carousel Boutique is very well known in Ponyville but hearing those cries of pain caused the ponies outside to stare in wonder. Was Rarity punishing Sweetie Belle? Was she killing somepony? Was she up to some dastardly deed in the middle of the day?

No.

She was making Matthew’s clothes.

Inside of the boutique was Matthew and Twilight, they were currently watching Rarity attempt to make something closely resembling Matthew's 'pants'. She had already made a red shirt, which Matthew was wearing now, but she had never made anything of the sort before and it was infuriating her to no end.

"Why must your clothes be so difficult?!" Rarity yelled out as she threw yet another attempt away.

"I… those pants were fine," Rarity was pulling out more fabrics from her collection and inspecting them closely.

"Yes, but I want to make them exactly like they are in your world! I already made the shirt for you, but you never know if there's going to be more humans! And if there are, I get to be the pony they go to for custom pants and shirts!" Rarity said as she dragged out a random piece of material and went to work with it.

“Ya know, I didn’t think after being able to walk again, that I’d be forced to sit down because somebody wanted to make pants perfect.”

“You can walk around the boutique.”

“Nah, this cloak thing wasn’t exactly made for walking,” Matthew said as he tugged on the loak that was still wrapped around his waist. "She always like this, though?" Matthew asked, turning to Twilight.

"Well… not always. She just wants to make sure you're comfy," Matthew looked over at the large pile of pants that Rarity has made, probably twenty or so, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"I mean, I'd be fine with any of those if I'm being honest."

"Yeah, but Rarity wouldn't, she's a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to getting stuff down. At least it's her doing it and not us.”

"What's that supposed to mean? Matthew asked, Twilight turning her head down as she started to remember the fashion show.

"Well… me and the other girls got our dresses designed by Rarity for the Grand Galloping Gala and we uh… got picky…”

“How picky? I mean, if you’re going to wear the dress, it’s not like you can’t ask for beads to be removed or-”

“No, I mean… we wanted to change the dresses entirely.”

“... Wow.”

“Yeah…”

“Was it like… bad?”

“Well… Rarity’s a fashionista and… well-”

“It looked like shit?”

“... Shit? What does that word mean?” Twilight said, raising her eyebrows at Matthew.

“... You know, I never answered Rarity on what ‘fuck’ means either… You might want to write this down cause… there’s a lot of words you’re gonna want to know,” Twilight poofed out a notepad and pencil and looked at Matthew with excitement.

“Do they have some deep meaning behind them! Are they special to your race! Do they mean love and friendship or-”

“Hold on! Hold on! There’s uh… I guess one of them is about love…. But what kind of curse words do you know here?” Twilight seemed confused for the second time today.

“Curse words? You mean like curse spells? Well, there’s a lot of curses, but they’re outlawed and have been for-”

“No, no, no. I mean like… words you scream out when you’re angry.”

“Angry? Hmm… I mean sometimes Applejack would say ‘what the hay’ and I’ve yelled out ‘shoot’ before but uh… That’s about it,” At hearing that, Matthew couldn’t help but look dumbfounded. A world without actual cursing? He’s going to ruin this place.

“...I refuse to believe that this place doesn’t have some form of cursing. You’ve got to be lying to me. ‘What the hay’? What the hell sounds ten times better.”

“Hell?”

“... That’s another topic… I’m just going to stick to the curse words for now.”

“Oh, okay!” Twilight said as she readied herself to write down the words and their meanings.

“Okay, so ‘fuck’ basically means having sex with someone,” Twilight then dropped her pencil and took in a large gasp of air, a blush ever so present on her face.

“Y-Y-Yo-You say that al-lo-lot! Do-Do-Do you want to ha-ha-” Matthew cut off Twilight as she was still gathering her

“No, that’s the definition but it’s more used as an insult than anything else. Like… ‘go fuck yourself’ or ‘fuck you too’. Something like that,” Twilight’s blush fell off at this point and she was back to her normal self, though she seemed rather hesitant to even write down what she heard.

“But… Why would you say that to somepony you hate, wouldn’t it make more sense to-”

“Yeah, but terminology is always changing back at my place, it never stays the same, and you don’t ever want to say that to your partner… ever,” Twilight reluctantly wrote down the word and its definition, though seemed to take her time with it, before looking back at Matthew.

“Okay… and ‘shit’?” Twilight asked with hesitation.

“Feces,” Twilight poofed away her notebook and pencil and sat down, her face turning to a putrid green all of a sudden.

“I think we’re done,” Twilight said, as she gagged.

“Understandable,” Once the two were done with their conversation, they turned their attention back to Rarity who had finished yet another pair of pants. But instead of hating it, Rarity seemed content with what they made.

“It’s finished!” Rarity said as she magicked it over to Matthew, where he then grabbed the pants and looked it over. They were… pants. The way that Matthew described pants was not accurate to say the least. He tried his best to describe what jeans were but whatever words spewed out of his mouth, Rarity didn’t really understand them. Neither did he.

What he had was, at best, could be described as sweatpants. They were stretchy, a little baggy, and not nearly as rough as jeans, but they were pants. Matthew looked up from the pants to the small pile of pants Rarity had thrown away… They all looked relatively the same. Matthew looked back towards Rarity and saw her look of plead coming from Rarity.

Not as in, please just take it and go, but a ‘please tell me if I did it right’. Matthew could give in and tell her that it’s not exactly like the jeans pants he was talking about before and watch as she slaves away at trying to make more pants for him… Or just tell her that’s what it looks like.

“... I like these.”

“Buuuuut,” Rarity said, her eyes twitching as she prepared to get some more material.

“... There is no ‘but’... I think they’re pants,” Rarity let out a little pout and started pulling out some more fabric.

“Oh good heavens, I don’t know if I can keep-”

“Rarity, I like the pants, let me wear them. Hell, I liked the other twenty iterations you made,” Matthew said, his voice becoming a bit more serious. Rarity stopped her talking and looked around flustered.

“I- I… Guess I got a little too into making it perfect.”

“No shit,” Twilight snapped her head towards Matthew, a disgusted look plastering her face.

“Can you not say that word?!”

“In this context, it means ‘obviously’.”

“Bu-But you told me-”

“Yeah, but like I said before, terminology changes,” Rarity looked between the two confused.

“Did I miss something, dear?” Matthew was quick on the draw before Twilight was.

“Oh, nothing you should concern yourself with. Thank you so much for the pants and shirt… Can I take more than just one of them though?”

“You want all of them, but why? They’re so drab, so mediocre compared to-”

“I want more than one pair of pants.”

“Well, I can make more than just that, I can-”

“I have abused your generosity enough. Seriously, I am content with the other twenty pairs you’ve made. Just let me take them, please,” Rarity seemed like she was about to relent but let out a loud sigh and looked at Matthew.

“Well, if you want to wear that, then I can’t really stop you, it is your clothes after all,” Rarity said as she became hesitant of her own words. Matthew didn’t seem to notice, or care, and was just happy to have actual pants.

“Thank you!” He said, as he stood up and looked at the pants in more detail.

“Now, is there anything else about your clothes that I should know of?”

“Uhh… I guess I could use some socks and… well underwear and some shoes,” Matthew said as he thought more out loud.

“I’m sorry, what are those?”

“Well, socks are like… pieces of cloth for feet and shoes are more… They’re for feet too… Uh… I’ve never had to describe shoes before.”

“Is it like the princess’ regalia?”

“Sorta? Just a more flexible material.”

“Hmmm, I’ll try something, what about this ‘underwear’?”

“Uhh, it’s just something to stop the chafing down… there,” Rarity’s face flushed bright red and her face was filled with shock.

“Oh… I uh… what would those look like?”

“Well,it’d look like pants but just out of more flexible material and is worn underneath the actual pants. It’s also a lot smaller in length than actual pants.”

“Huh, alright, just make pants but a lot smaller, understood! Why don’t you try those pants on for now though, make sure they’re okay. You can do that, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll try, though I don’t want this thing scraping my balls.” Matthew said as he went walking toward Rarity’s bathroom, closing the door behind him eventually.

“He’s a rather interesting one, isn’t he?” Rarity said to Twilight, selecting some new fabrics before setting out on her work.

“Yeah… ‘interesting’ is the word…”

“Something wrong dear? He didn’t do anything, did he?”

“Well, not really, he’s just sorta been in his room not really doing much of… well, anything. I thought he’d pick up a hobby or something but he’s really done nothing.”

“Well, darling, why don’t you show him around town more, maybe he’ll find an interest in farming, I’m certain he’d love to talk to the other girls.”

“That’s kinda why we came here to get his clothes made,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he didn’t really want to wear that cloak anymore.”

“Well I understand why, it was perhaps my most horrible work! Still though, happy it had its uses.”

“I really appreciate it, Rarity.”

“Anytime dear!” Matthew then came out of the bathroom with a cloak still wrapped around his waist but a content look on his face.

“Welp, the pants fit, so I’m happy with that.”

“That’s great dear! Now I hope I can make this right… Drats I might as well restart,” Rarity said as she threw away a pair of perfectly made socks.

Matthew and Twilight let out a groan.

Finally, after hours at the boutique, Matthew and Twilight exited the place after so long. They both were happy that Matthew was finally in some clothes that were far more comfortable than what he had previously. The shoes he wore were a little thin but they were better than nothing.

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” Matthew asked as he was getting used to the shoes he wore. While they were walking down the road, Matthew couldn't help but feel stares bore into the back of his head. Every pony they passed stopped in their place.and gawker at the human.

"Well, I didn't really have anything planned but we can go visit Applejack!"

"Not really a farm person," Matthew said, turning around to stare at the ponies who stared at him.

“Fluttershy? I’m sure she’d love to-”

“I do not want to be mauled by a bear.”

“What? Her bear won’t maul you, he’s really friendly and-”

“Nope, I’ve seen documentaries, that’s just a suicide waiting to happen.”

“... Okay? How about Pinkie Pie! Her sweets are just the best!”

“Uh, sure, I guess. I didn’t really eat any of her cupcakes and-”

“You didn’t eat her cupcakes?!” Twilight said, stopping in place and giving Matthew a horrified look.

“... Yeah? I’m not really a sweet kinda guy, never really liked-” Without another word, Twilight grabbed Matthew and started dragging him over to Sugarcube Corner, Matthew stumbling over his steps trying to keep up with Twilight.

“We got to go!”

“Woah, what? Did I do something?” Twilight briefly stopped her gallop and turned towards Matthew.

“You kidding me?! You didn’t eat her cupcakes! She-She-She’s going to be… upset! We need to go!” Twilight said as she continued walking.

“She’s going to get upset because I didn’t eat her cupcakes? I’m just not a fan of sweets! Why would that matter?”

“Her pride is her sweets and her parties! Just come on!”

“Fine!” After that, Mathew started to run along with Twilight towards Sugarcube Corner. After a few minutes of running, followed by even more ponies staring at Matthew, they eventually made it to Sugarcube Corner. Twilight rushed up the stairs and slammed the door open, Matthew following swiftly behind. Once inside, Matthew fell to his knees and started breathing heavily, clutching at his chest as he started to hyperventilate. Twilight didn’t seem to notice.

“Pinkie! Are you here?” The second Twilight was done with her talking, a pink blur came out of nowhere and stopped a mere inch in front of Twilight's face. The smile on the pink pony has never been more present.

“Hi there Twilight! Whatcha doing here! Wanna have more cupcakes?! I have cupcakes!” Pinkie screamed out and pulled a box of freshly made cupcakes out of nowhere.

“Those look delicious, Pinkie! I’m sure Matthew would love to…” Twilight’s words fell off as she finally noticed Matthew still breathing rapidly, his hand still gripping his chest. “M-Matthew?” Twilight said, her voice edging with concern. Matthew looked up to Twilight, his eyes becoming hazy.

“I… I’m fine… Fuck… Don’t… Don’t make me… run… again…”

“Do you have asthma? Why didn’t you say that, we can go get-”

“I don’t… have fucking asthma… Just give me a minute…” Matthew said, his breathing starting to calm down and his heart going back to its normal rate. Pinkie Pie craned her head over to Matthew, her own concern showing.

“Is he okay?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I guess? He just said give him a minute…” Matthew had calmed his breathing down rapidly but was still clutching at his chest. Pinkie Pie, seeing Matthew in his state, hopped right up next to him. The two stared at each other for a bit, no one saying a word before Pinkie Pie offered him a cupcake.

Matthew looked at the cupcake with a bit of confusion. But when he saw the genuine kindness on Pinkie’s face, he couldn’t resist but let out a smile of his own.

“Thanks,” Matthew said as he grabbed the cupcake. Pinkie Pie hopped back with a smile going ear to ear.

“Anytime! I noticed you didn’t eat any of my cupcakes during the party, but I bet that’s just you trying to be nice and saving the rest for everypony else!” Pinkie Pie said with a giant smile on her face. “So I made this very super duper, extra special, cupcake just for you!” Matthew looked down at the cupcake and grimaced, imagining the sugar touching his teeth. Matthew simply put on a smile and looked towards Pinkie Pie.

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but I really don’t like sweets, not even when I was a kid, so I’m sorry,” Matthew said, offering the cupcake to Twilight instead. Before Twilight could even respond, Pinkie Pie scooped the cupcake out from Matthew’s hand and held it out to him again.

“Eat it! It tastes really really yummy and it’s full of gooey goodness that you just have to eat it!” Pinkie Pie said, her smile looking more forced and insane. Matthew looked to Twilight for help but she just motioned her head for Matthew to take it.

“I… I don’t want it,” Pinkie Pie’s eye twitched at hearing that as her smile stayed glued on and her teeth began to show in a weird and horrifying way.

“Eat it! It’s so gooooooood!” Pinkie Pie said again, literally shoving the cupcake into Matthew’s face, icing smearing all over him as Pinkie kept trying to shove a cupcake into his mouth. Matthew’s anger started to build up.

“I-I’m good! I don’t want it!” He said as he tried to push the cupcake away.

“EAT IT!” Pinkie said, her voice becoming more insane and becoming more and more infuriating as she continued to push the cupcake into Matthew’s face, his anger rising further.

“I-I don’t-” Pinkie Pie was practically right on top of him, still trying to force the cupcake down his mouth still.

“Pleeeeeeaaaaaasssseeee!” Matthew at this point, put one hand over the cupcake and the other one her chest, his rage at a boiling point. Pinkie's tail made a weird and fast vibration and then her eyes widened in shock.

“I don’t fucking want it!” When Matthew was done spouting out his words, there was a warp in the air. Matthew, without even moving his arm, had sent Pinkie Pie flying through the air, the cupcake being splattered against the ground. In a blink of an eye, Pinkie Pie went from being in front of Matthew to the back of the room.

Matthew was shocked at what he done, and so was Twilight. When Pinkie's body made a resounding thud, Twilight ran to her in panic.

"Pinkie! Pinkie are you alright?! Pinkie!" Twilight said as she shook the mare. Meanwhile Matthew was looking down at his hands, regret coming into his head as memories of a similar event played out in his head. A similar anger, a familiar thud and a resounding silence.

Matthew looked up with tears in his eyes and quickly got up to his feet, running towards the pair as soon as he could. He didn't get close as he found his body being consumed by magic and shoved into a wall.

"You've done enough!" Twilight shouted out, her rage ever present on her face as she bore her eyes into Matthew's skull. Matthew tried to wriggle his way out of Twilights magical grasp, but he wasn't even able to budge.

"I- I didn't mean it! I- I didn't-"

"Why couldn't you just take the stupid cupcake?!" Twilight shouted out, her eyes becoming a blinding white as she continued to look at Matthew with maliciouness.

Just as Twilight was about to do something she'd regret, a pink frizzy mane shot up from the ground.

"Woowie zoowie! You are strong!" Pinkie said as she shook her head, trying to clear the stars she saw. Twilight released her grip on Matthew and pulled Pinkie Pie into a deep and long hug, Matthew bouncing off the floor when he landed.

"Pinkie Pie I'm so happy you're alright! Are you hurt?"

"Of course not, silly! I've taken worse than that from the twins!" Pinkie said as Twilight finally pulled away from the hug.

"You do?"

"Duuuuuuuuh! Why do you think I showed up at your place one time and said 'hiya Twilight!'. But then you were all like 'Pinkie why are you here it's three in the morning.' And then-"

"Okay, Pinkie Pie! I'm just happy you're alright," Twilight said with a smile. Pinkie hopped around Twilight and towards the still downed Matthew.

"Heya there, Matty! Are you okay? Oh! Is the floor soft, I'll come join ya!" Pinkie said as she flopped onto her side like Matthew was. Matthew, on the other hand, was clutching at his ribs from the awkward angel he fell at.

"Nope… not comfortable at all. I can guarantee that…" Matthew pushed himself off the ground and back into a seating position, Pinkie quickly following suit.

"Oooooh! Are you hungry! I know this great cupcake recipe that I could-"

"I don't want a cupcake! I thought you'd establish that when I …" Matthew's words fell off as he realized what he was about to say. "I'm sorry for that… I didn't mean to hurt you if I did."

"It's okay Matty! But why don't you like my cupcakes they're the best in all of Ponyville! I work really really hard on them and I'm sure you'd love them if-"

"They hurt my teeth," Matthew said, as embarrassment took over his face.

"Whaaaaaaaat?!” PInkie said as her mouth dropped down.

“Yeah I uh… Never took care of them when I was younger and it just… It hurts, I’m sorry,” Matthew pushed himself up off the ground and back to a standing position. Pinkie just looked stunned, her face showing little to no emotion as she was processing what she heard.

“Yeah, I’m sorry but I can’t eat your cupcake,” Twilight walked up next to Pinkie, patting her back to try and comfort her.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Twilight said.

“I- It’s embarrassing to talk about, alright? I just didn’t take care of my teeth and I don’t want to be judged cause of some… stupid stuff I did…” Matthew said as he gripped his arm again, covering the dots that were just poking out. It was a quick, subtle action but Twilight was able to notice it just before Matthew pulled his hand away. Twilight may have said anything, but she made a mental note about what he did.

Pinkie Pie, not noticing his movements, trotted up to him slowly, her eyes still filled with shock at what she heard. For a few seconds the pink pony stared into Matthew's eyes, unwavering and unwilling to move. After an awkward bit of silence, Pinkie sat down and raised her arms wide open, offering a hug to Matthew. The human in question was confused.

"What? Why? I threw you across the-"

"Oh silly, it's okay! I was going a bit cuckoo!"

There was an awkward silence that distilled in the air. Matthew didn’t move, his confusion still ever present on his face while Pinkie Pie sat there with a giant smile still on her face, arms still out wide. Though it didn’t last too long. Pinkie Pie jumped out of her spot and tackled Matthew right onto the ground, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a bone crushing hug. Matthew felt his breath forcefully leave his body and heard something crack before Pinkie pulled herself off of Matthew.

Though the hug was swift and short, Matthew felt like he came out a new man.

“... You got… some damn strong arms…”

“Thank you!” Pinkie said as she hopped in place, Matthew sat up while Twilight walked up towards him.

“I uh… I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I can help fix it!”

“You can fix what?”

“Your teeth! Well, not me, but I know somepony! They can fix your teeth if you-”

“I have no money, I don’t think I can afford a dental plan and coverage with my fantastic zero income,” At hearing that, Twilight stared at Matthew confused, pondering on what he said.

“What do you mean? You don’t pay to have somepony to fix your teeth.”

“... You don’t?”

“No, Canterlot actually pays them.”

“... Huh… Now I know what it’s like to live in Canada.”

“Canada?”

“I’ll explain later.”

“Okay, well, how about I set up an appointment for you?”

“I’d be fine with that.”

“Perfect! I’ll do it as soon as I can!”

“Cool,” Just as the conversation ended, a box wrapped up in a giant pink bow slid right in front of Matthew and Twilight. The pair looked where the box came from and couldn’t see the bright pink pony they were looking for.

The two looked back down at the box.

“She’s in the box, isn’t she?” Matthew asked.

“Yep.”

“I’m not surprised anymore.”

“It grew on you already?”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s good at least.”

“...”

“You gonna open it?”

“What if I don’t?”

“... The thought never crossed my mind to not open a present from Pinkie… I don’t even know what’ll happen.”

“Welp, guess you’ll find out,” With that, Matthew started to briskly walk out of the bakery and out the door, leaving Twilight alone with a party present in the middle of the room.

“I wonder…” Twilight’s hoof slowly approached the present, shaking as it came closer and closer to connect with the box. She could feel the exhilaration enter her body, the adrenaline spiking through her eins as her hoof continuously moved mere inches forward. The sweat on her brow grew more and more as her anxiety filled her stomach to the brim with worry and fear.

Her hoof then made contact with the box, Twilight’s heartbeat racing as she realized she’d have to open the present to see what’s inside. Her hooves shook even more so, the anticipation driving her over the edge more and more as she moved her hoof on top of the box, magic starting to brew in her horn as if she were expecting to be attacked any second. Her face filled with determination as she steeled her nerves and readied herself for what was to come.

And then she opened it.

A hoof of pink came out and booped her on the nose.

Twilight just stood there, her face unflinching as she realized what had happened. Her anxiety quickly turned to annoyance as she processed what just transpired. What she didn’t realize though was that someone was watching from the shadows.

“What the fuck was that?!” Matthew said, as he just stared at her in confusion.

“What? Twilight said, snapping out of her stupor and zipping her eyes over to Matthew.

“That! That whole thing! The anticipation, the-the-THE EVERYTHING!” Twilight’s cheeks quickly reddened with embarrassment.

“I-I- I don’t know what you’re talking about, i was just-”

“You were having the stare down of your life with a fucking present like you were defusing a bomb.”

“I-I- I was just.”

“Jesus Christ, it was like watching a kid find their first porn magazine.”

“Okay! Enough! We can go,” Twilight said, quickly trotting out of the building, not giving Matthew another second to speak. Matthew watched as Twilight left before looking back in the bakery. The present that was opened a second ago, was closed again, but it had a blue ribbon this time.

Matthew simply looked at it.

And then walked out.